#but then he’s like. ‘huh! sure was a lack of children on that ship! that’s kind of weird! where are the new humans coming- oh shit.’

[quietwingsinthesky]

you ask even how old they are and they reply with zero hint of irony whether you mean when they were born, how old their body is, or how many years they’ve been alive.

[rayassecretlife]

Visions in my mind

Pairing: Aged!up Neteyam Sully x Fem!Omatikaya!Reader

Summary: What if Neteyam never died? You struggles to deal with the memories of that horrid night, seeing your mate breathless, but Neteyam is here to comfort you, make sure you know he isn’t going anywhere.

Warning(s): Mentions of blood, Mature Language, Mentions of death.

Memories were supposed to be something people loved, something that gave people hope for a better future—but for you, memories only ever brought terror and nightmares back into your life you swore you got rid of.

It had officially been exactly 2,191 days, 72 months, and 52,560 hours since your life changed forever; since you and Neteyam’s life changed forever.

6 years after your mate almost died.

Years ago, you accompanied the sully’s on their move to the reef due to your lack of parental attention and your huge crush on their oldest son that nobody knew about. You were very close with the sully’s growing up, and you knew you’d stick by them whenever they needed.

But that night, something was so different.

You remember waking up on that beautiful day, going swimming with Tuk and Neteyam like you always did to start your morning. The day was fine, perfect almost, but as it got darker you could sense a pit in your stomach and you didn’t know what it could have been.

Now you believe it could’ve been early mate senses… but nothing could have prepared you for what happened that night.

You remember the urgency in Neteyam’s voice when he calls to you and Tonowari’s children, telling you all that Lo’ak was going to save Payakan from the demon ships and of course, you had to go after him.

You remember when all seven of you tried to pull the tracker out of the Tulkun, praying you had got it out in time. You remember Neteyam rushing away with the tracker on his Ilu without even consulting you, trying to draw away the ships. You couldn’t have been more worried so you followed.

You remember seeing him safe, making you so relieved it was insane, but you’d never forget the look on his face when you started to swim towards him.

“Y/N!” Neteyam’s voice slowly fades as you feel the sharp pain in your back, your cries muffled by the water. You felt the strong arms pull you above the water and before you knew it, the demon spawn himself was above you.

“Well, look what we have here” He chuckles, reaching down to cup your shivering face. You could still hear Neteyam’s voice but could also feel the ship moving, and you knew neteyam wouldn’t be able to make it. “Think your on the wrong side of the reef, kid” You hiss, reaching your hands up to claw at him but he quickly shifts away, laughing hysterically at your antics. “Feisty, huh? Sure your not sully’s kid?”

You remember the endless amount of pain you went through, watching bodies drop around you like they were nothing. You were only 15, and you were chained up on a boat, listening to a man threaten the only family that ever loved you. He’d make you talk to them, and you could still hear Neteyam’s words to you when he got the chance to talk. He was so worried, and felt so guilty for your kidnapping.

You remember when Kiri, Tsireya and Tuk were strapped down right next to you, forced to hear all the threats the man made to Jake. The constant comforting Tuk with your words, the constant praying to Eywa under your breath, and the constant hope for Neteyam to save you. You didn’t care what happened to you, you just needed him to be okay. You needed to see him again.

And finally, you remember getting off the ship alongside the sully boys and Tsireya, but just as you were about to turn to Neteyam, you saw his distress clearly.

“Neteyam?” You notice how he’s struggling to keep himself up in the water, placing a hand on his arm to help but he only cries in pain, making you immediately retreat. “Nete, what’s…” That’s when you notice the way his hand held his heart, and how his coughing was slightly hoarse, but you definitely weren’t prepared to see the blood filling the water. “No, no, no—“ You repeated under your breath, looking back at his brother who was laughing with spider.

“Come on bro!” Lo’ak slips onto his Ilu, calling for Neteyam who you were helplessly trying to keep above the water, begging him to stay with you.

“You skxawng! I’m shot” Neteyam informs his brother and all of their faces drop, your hand pressed against his wound so hard it made him since. “Y/N… Y/N I-“

“Shit! We have to get out of here!” Lo’ak rushes to your aid, helping you lift his brother onto the Ilu. His breathing was slow and very heavy as you sit behind him, your horror only growing for the boy. The wound, it was big. His back bled profusely even when you covered it, a slight cry leaving your mouth as Lo’ak rode the Ilu to shore.

“Y/N” Neteyam repeats for the hundredth time and you hear him, responding in your shaking voice. “D-don’t cry, Y/N” You shush him, telling him to save his breath. You were so afraid for him, he was losing so much blood.

“Don’t worry about me, okay? We’re gonna get you help. We’re gonna patch you up and your gonna be fine, Okay?” You ramble in his ear, placing a small kiss to his shoulder which even with the gunshot pain, still made his heart flutter with joy.

You remember having to help him onto the large rocks, meeting with Jake who was clearly distressed trying to figure out what was wrong with his son. All of you were there, and you were sitting right next to him with a comforting but sad smile as you caressed his face, trying to calm him down.

“Your gonna be okay, I promise” Your tears are falling and Neteyam notices almost instantly, even with his shuttering chin and fearful eyes. “Your gonna be okay a-and we’re gonna go back home—to the forest and your grandmother. We’re gonna take that Ikran ride we’ve always talked about, and I’ll even let you teach me how to fish” A small laugh leaves your broken voice, breaking through your sobs. “Just look at me a little longer, okay?”

“Y/N…” His touch is so weak against your cheek, wiping your tears with one swipe of his large thumb. Jake watches the two of you, a huge lump in his heart as he heard the calls of his nearing wife. “I… I lo…” You shush him, biting your lip harshly as you wipe his own tears, shaking your head. You didn’t need him to speak, you knew. You knew it all from the beginning.

“I love you too” Neytiri is approaching quickly, rambling words as she kneels to her son, capturing his gaze away from you. Neteyam’s body is shaking heavily, and his eyes are even more frantic then before. He was terrified.

“I want to go home” He stutters horrifically as Jake holds the side of his face, eyes softening at his sons request.

“I know, we’re goin’ home” Jake soothes, pleading voice as he spoke to his oldest son.

You remember the emptiness you felt once his hand fell from your face, the fear in your heart as you heard his mothers wearing cries for him. Neteyam, the strongest boy you knew, the mighty warrior… the only boy you’ve ever loved, was gone.

But by the grace of Eywa, not forever.

Neteyam fell into a deep coma for weeks, and you remember every moment you laid away next to him, praying every night and day with your hand stuck in his own. You wanted this nightmare to be over, to be able to hear his sweet voice again. Nobody understood how he survived but you weren’t questioning anything, only hoping he’d wake up soon to wrap his gentle arms around you for one last time.

The two of you didn’t wait to express your feelings for one another when he awoke, and you definitely didn’t waste any time in your relationship to do everything you promised each other, whether that be flying, fishing, making food, etc. you did it all.

You’d spend your nights sneaking away from everyone together, laying against his chest under the stars until the sun came back up, talking about the future and what it held for the two of you. He was your other half, and with him you felt whole again.

Except for when you fell asleep.

Six years later and your still waking up with the nightmares of that night, and you could still see his blood staining your hands whenever you spoke of it. You’d spend the rest of your relationship worried sick for him, always urging him to stay home because of that night.

Jumping when you heard gunshots, holding Neteyam extra tight when he came home from hunting, you did everything you could to be close to him. He was Olo’Eyktan and you were his Tsahìk, just like you talked about when you were younger, but that also meant his duties were much more dangerous.

“Y/N, take a deep breath” Neytiri’s voice chimes in from behind you as you pace the room, biting on your nails. Neteyam was supposed to be home hours ago in time for dinner, even his warriors were in their homes by now, but he was nowhere to be found. “He is probably just-“

“Why would he leave for this long? I cooked him dinner and… and I waited for him where he told me to” You turn to her, tears brimming your eyes already. Neteyam was almost always home on time, knowing the trauma it puts you through when he isn’t, and it didn’t help that you were pregnant with your first child, which made your mood swings even worse. “He won’t even pick up when I page him…”

His mother stands to her feet and walks over to you with a gentle smile, placing her hands on your shoulders. “He is alright, He can take care of himself” She tries to reassure you but it of course doesn’t work, seeing as you just shook your head making her sigh. “Y/N, you cannot stress so much. The baby-“

“I’m going to look for him” You don’t waste a second as you pull away from her, grabbing your bow that sat on the wall. Pregnant or not, you were going to find him if you had to. But of course, you were stopped once again before you could.

“Your not going anywhere, Y/N” The hoarse voice sighs, blocking the doorway from your view. You look up at the man with a mugging expression, pushing his chest multiple times until he grabbed your hands. “You have to calm down, you’ll hurt the baby with all this stress, kid”

“Get out of my way, Jake” You command with a calm voice, but he wouldn’t budge. You hiss, pushing him again. “I am your Tsahìk!” Jake sighs, looking over to his wife who already had her head in her hands, rubbing her face. But even with you being Tsahìk, you knew you had no power over your husbands parents. “Please just… just let me look outside” Your voice is shorten by your tears and you don’t even realize how badly Neytiri feels for you, having to go through this same exact thing with Lo’ak and Neteyam after that night.

He soon moves and you walk out without hesitation, looking around high camp for your mate. You could smell him, and his scent was getting stronger. You tell his parents to stay behind but they obviously don’t, seeing as you were pregnant and going out by yourself when they still didn’t completely trust the sky people that worked on pandora.

You follow his scent until you spot his Ikran, your eyes widening as you practically ran towards it, hushing it’s frantic movements. “Where is he, girl? Where is Neteyam?” You caress her face, eyes begging for her to tell you but before she could even make one more noise, a small grunt was heard from behind you.

And to your horror, you saw Neteyam sat with his back against a rock, hand holding his stomach and his breath uneasy like he was trying not to scream. “Neteyam” Neytiri ran over to him, kneeling down to his injured body. You on the other hand, were frozen in place. “It’s just a cut, it’s fine” Neytiri reassures all three of you but you still make your way over to him, your body filling with anger when he looked at you.

“Y/N-“

“I can patch him up” You tell his parents, watching as they lift him up to his feet. He had s large gash on his side, as it his own Ikran did it. He tries to talk to you but your ignoring his every call, walking with them until they got to your cave, setting him down on the mat on the floor. “Thanks-“

“Y/N, go easy-“

“Thank you” You close the cloth covering to your cave’s opening before his parents could finish, still hearing your husbands calls from behind you. “Just stop it, Neteyam” That’s how he knew you were angry, you called him his full first name which you never did.

“My Tìyawn, please” He begs as you sit down in front of him, dipping a cloth in the warm water before running it along his skin, listening to him hiss in pain. “I tried to call you-“

“I don’t want to hear of it anymore, Okay? Just let me-“

“Y/N” His hand cups your face, lifting it to look at him. “I’m so sorry, My love. I… I can’t imagine the hell I put you through when I was gone” You watch as he pulls something out from behind him, showing you the small bowl. “My pager died when I was going to get that relieving lotion you like to use for your feet, because I know the baby hurts them a lot. I also went to get your favorite fruits because I realized we were out of them and I-“

“Neteyam” You were still so angry, but you saw how sorry he was, how worried he was for what he did to you when you were here and he wasn’t. “I’m not mad. I just… I don’t know how many more times I can do this” Your eyes are now staring into his, and you can see his face soften as a tear slips from your eye. “Everytime i wake up next to you and you don’t wake up when I call you I—“

You choke out your words, lowering your head so you didn’t have to look at you mate. Neteyam knew you had nightmares, but there was so much more to it.

“I can’t stop seeing your lifeless body under me—I can’t… I can’t stop seeing your blood on my hands. I-I can’t even bathe without you because I’m so afraid something will happen to you and I’ll find you again” At this point, your throat is clogged with sobs and Neteyam can’t do anything but pull you against him, wrapping his strong arms around your small frame so firmly, you couldn’t even try to excape. “I’m so fucking scared of losing you again, Neteyam. I can’t even stay home by myself anymore”

“It’s pathetic, I know” You scoff, wiping your many tears. You should get over it, you knew that, but you couldn’t. You couldn’t get over the fact that he died in your arms, and now scarred you for the rest of your lives together. “I don’t mean to be a burden for you I just-“

“You are not a burden” He said sternly, grabbing your hands in his but making sure to keep your eyes on him. “Your my mate, Y/N. My wife, my Tsahìk… you are everything to me” He continues truthfully, even growing slightly teary eyed from the subject. He vividly remembered that day, but hearing you talk about it made him so upset. “I promised myself to you because I love you—because your anything but a burden to me”

From the moment Neteyam met you, he knew you were going to be his forever. When he smelled your scent, when he heard your soft voice, when you’d put him in check but always keep him on his toes—you were exactly what he needed, and now he looks at you like your the only girl in the world.

Which is why the two of you stare at each other for what felt like forever, not even having to say anything before you pull him into a tight hug, and let out all your tears once his arms are wrapped firm around you. Words can’t explain the love you have for each other, and you definitely wouldn’t try. His calm voice shushes you, rubbing your back as your hands get lost in his hair, like they had been finding their way home.

“Don’t cry, My love. I’m here, I’m right here” You sob as he places his large hand over your stomach, feeling the small kicks of your first born who was soon to be brought into the world. Neteyam knew the reason you were worse from your pregnancy. You were a fighter before, one of their best warriors but when you got pregnant, Neteyam wouldn’t let you do anything. He was afraid of your baby getting hurt, afraid of you getting hurt. “Can you look at me, Pretty girl?”

You sniffle, wiping your tears one last time as you pull away from him, resting your hand on his above your bump. He reaches his free hand toward your face and brushes a piece of hair from it, a smile across his lips. “Stop doing that, I have to clean you up” You already knew and it made you laugh, pushing away his hand from your face.

He doesn’t say anything else, only cupping the side of your face to pull you into a kiss. Your ears peek at the sudden contact, and you place your hand on his leg for support, giggling against his lips when you felt his tail brush your thigh.

“I’m not going anywhere. You are my home, Y/N. I’ll always come back to you” The both of you sigh, leaning your forehead against each others, noses pressing together. “How about we sleep outside in the hammock tonight? Watch the stars while I rub your feet” You smile, biting your lip to hide it. “How’s that sound, Beautiful? Just you and me, all night under the pandora sky?”

You hum, leaning into him again to kiss him one last time. He knew exactly how to make you feel better. How could you deny that offer? You pull away with your lips pressed together, a smile forming with a small laugh as you run your hand over his chest, ghosting over his cuts.

“Right after we clean these wounds, Pretty boy”

Ehhh, this is okay. Kind of rushed….

Sorry for the inactivity!! It’s been a hectic week but I’m on spring break soooo 😏

Taglist: @doggyteam2028 @luvagirlsworld @mashiromochi @angelsamor @neytirishottie @lu-the-ghost-reader @viajaeger @jakescumdump @myh3artt @rinizitos @luz15sstuff @lalamac125 @countryandsweetbabygirl

[tokkias]

not unwanted (just not yet) ship: natsu dragneel x lucy heartfilia ao3

Lucy was never the type to keep track of her period. It came when it came; she was much too busy with everything else going on in her life to keep track of her cycle on a silly little calendar. This, of course, came to bite her in the ass every time it hit, but she never really learned her lesson.

Though she paid little mind to it, that didn’t mean she didn’t pay any attention at all.

It had been two months since her last period—something even she would notice. It should have been a relief; she should have revelled in the freedom it afforded her, but instead it struck fear into her heart because her mind was stuck on one thought and one thought alone.

She could count on one hand the number of times she and Natsu had recently had unprotected sex. She was usually so diligent about it, but sometimes in the heat of the moment, when perhaps a few too many drinks had her feeling frisky enough to sneak into the supply closet or an unplanned night at Natsu’s had left her with an ache only he could cure. Sometimes they’d simply go on so long that they'd run out of rubber altogether, but she wasn’t in the mood to end it. Mentally, she scolded herself for letting it happen.

Sure, children had always been part of her plan for down the line—children with Natsu specifically—but not right now. This wasn’t something she was sure they were ready for.

How could they raise a child while they were still growing up themselves?

For as much as Natsu had matured, he had yet to grow out of his recklessness. He was always the first to dive into danger, as though he were invincible, but Lucy knew that wasn’t true. She always feared the day that his lack of self-preservation would come back to haunt her, and she couldn’t go through that with a child.

She knew what it was like to grow up with one dead parent and another so deep in their grief that they may as well have been dead to her too. That wasn’t something she ever wanted to put any child through.

They were still so young, with so much ahead of them. Natsu didn’t want to stop going on adventures anytime soon, and neither did she. Having a child now would throw a wrench into the future they had planned together, and the prospect of that was… scary.

Taking care of a child, a real-life human being, their own flesh and blood, was a big change, one that she thought—no, she knew—they weren’t ready for.

She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to break this fear to Natsu, didn’t know how he would react. Sure, they’d talked about kids, but that was always a vague some day, far into the future.

Given the chance, she would have wanted to collect her thoughts before she told him, wait for a less anxious, vulnerable moment, but it seemed as though fate hadn’t wanted to let her have that opportunity.

"What’s up?"

Natsu’s voice came from behind her, and she looked up from the piece of paper she had been blankly staring at to come face to face with her boyfriend, his expression full of concern.

"Huh?"

"What’s wrong?" He clarified, realising that perhaps his initial confrontation had been too vague.

Lucy looked at him for a moment, unsure what to say as her mind suddenly drew a blank on how to respond.

"Nothing’s wrong," she lied as she averted her gaze, knowing full well that he could see right through her.

"Yeah there is," Natsu insisted, not letting her brush this one off. "You’ve been starin’ at that piece of paper for like five minutes, and your hands are starting to shake."

She looked down at her hand to see that, indeed, she had been wracked with nervous tremors. Natsu was a lot more observant than people gave him credit for, and he knew her so well that there was really nothing she could get past him.

"If something’s wrong, you know I’m here for ya," he assured with that soft, ooey-gooey voice that he saved for her alone. "I don’t want ya feeling bad if somethin’s bothering you. I wanna help."

He was looking at her with gentle eyes, his hand now coming to rest on her arm in a bid to provide her with some sort of comfort. He may be loud and reckless, but for her, he was kind, gentle, and unconditionally loving. She couldn’t be certain how he would react, but she could be certain that he wouldn’t love her any less.

Placing her pen down, Lucy let out a soft sigh.

"I think I might be pregnant," she murmured.

She bit down on her lower lip slightly as she waited for his reply, but was instead met with a moment of contemplative silence.

"Okay," he hummed, cutting through the silence, though doing little to calm her nerves. "Are we excited about this? ‘Cause you don’t sound very happy about it."

Lucy looked up at him, taken aback by his answer. Natsu always wore his heart on his sleeve; he never thought it of much use to hide his feelings, and rarely did he think before he spoke, so she never expected something so… well-spoken from him.

Her brain had been running at a million miles per minute, but his words had stopped her in her tracks and left her gaping in confusion.

"Wha-?"

"I mean, you being pregnant sounds cool and all, but you don’t look like you’re excited about it," he observed, brows furrowed as he tried to piece together what was going on in her mind. "You look scared."

"I am scared," she affirmed, her voice little louder than a whisper.

She pursed her lips and squeezed her eyes shut to try hold back the tears that were beginning to well up in the corner of her eyes. Before she could let that fear overwhelm her, she felt Natsu’s strong, comforting arms wrap around her, lifting her off her seat and into his arms. Instinctively, her arms snaked around his body, and her legs wrapped around his waist as he carried her over to their bed.

"You don’t haveta be scared," he murmured, his lips against the exposed skin of her shoulder sending vibrations through her body. "Have you taken a test?"

"Not yet," she replied. "I only just thought about it now."

His hand came to rest on the back of her head, coaxing it back so she was looking up at him.

"How ‘bout we go do that now, and then we can worry about it after," he offered with a grin on his face, as though this whole situation didn’t carry the weight it did.

Natsu was never the planner of the two; he wasn’t logical and didn’t like to think things through. He was an act now, think later kind of guy, which is why she was so surprised that he was being the reasonable one for once.

Though, she supposed someone had to and she would be forever grateful that he had chosen to be the one to step up now.

"Okay," she hummed. "We can do that."

Though the sun had yet to fully set, it was dark enough outside that the streetlamps had flicked on and cold enough that Lucy had chosen to tug on one of Natsu’s hoodies that he had left at her place once and she had subsequently claimed as her own. Their fingers intertwined together, and Natsu swung their arms slightly without a care in the world.

She wondered how he could be this calm when something so earthshattering was possibly looming over them, but then his words replayed in her mind.

We can worry about it after.

He was right. There was no use worrying about what-ifs. In less than an hour, they’d hopefully have their answer, and it wouldn’t do her any good to worry about it every step of the way. Instead, she sucked in a breath and tried to direct her thoughts elsewhere, like the feeling of his hand against hers, how warm his skin felt, and how perfectly their hands locked together.

She supposed that was a testament to how perfect he was for her.

Her gaze was stuck on him, admiring the way he looked lit up under the streetlight. Her soft stare didn’t go unnoticed for long before Natsu turned to look at her, returning her gaze with a fond one of his own.

"How are you feelin’?"

"Better," she replied, squeezing his hand in her own.

There was, of course, still a twinge of anxiety stirring within her that no amount of comfort could subdue, but she simply tried to push that down and instead focus on their short-term task.

The little bell above the door of the late-night convenience store jingled slightly as Natsu pushed it open for her. As she stepped inside and looked around, Lucy was filled with a sense of relief when she found the store was empty. Right now, the mortifying ordeal of being perceived was the last thing she needed.

Only a few steps in, Lucy felt Natsu’s hand leave hers, and she looked up at him in curiosity as they separated.

"You get your stuff, I gotta go grab something," he reassured before taking off and disappearing into one of the aisles.

Wandering off on her own, Lucy located the pregnancy tests and was immediately overwhelmed by the options. She hadn’t expected there to be more than one brand, but all of the choices had her feeling a little paralysed. Instead of dwelling too long, she grabbed a random box off of the shelf before making her way to the counter, though not before grabbing a box of condoms on the way there. Depending on the outcome, it might have been too late for that, but one scare was enough for Lucy; she didn’t want any repeats.

She placed the boxes on the counter, trying to avoid eye contact with the cashier as they scanned them. Before long, Natsu returned to her side, slapping down a few more items on the counter. He had brought with him a block of her favourite chocolate along with the strawberry-flavoured gummies that he knew she liked. When she looked up at him, he was beaming at her with that brilliant smile of his, and she was so totally, completely overwhelmed with love for him.

She tucked herself into his chest beneath his chin, squeezing her arms around him tight, as if somehow through that squeeze she would be able to convey her complete adoration for him in the action. It seemed as though he understood when he squeezed her back, and suddenly, everything felt okay again, even if only for a moment. Their contact was only broken when Natsu pulled out his wallet and handed over the payment for their haul.

He grabbed the bag of goods, and Lucy immediately moved back to his side, which Natsu welcomed wholeheartedly, tossing an arm around her shoulders and holding her close. It was a little uncomfortable to walk like that, but this whole situation was a little uncomfortable for her. This proximity to Natsu, feeling his heat, his love, was enough to distract her for the rest of the walk home.

Lucy carefully placed the test on the bathroom counter, taking a deep breath. Seeing it there, waiting for the little red line to appear, made this whole ordeal... real.

No longer was this a worry just contained in her mind; this was a real question with a real answer, and she was not the only one waiting for it.

The instructions said it would take two to five minutes, and in that moment, Lucy could only think about how this was about to be the longest two to five minutes of her life.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, she noticed that Natsu was already sprawled out on the couch, waiting for her. The moment he noticed her presence, he opened his arms out for her, and she wasted no time crawling into them.

She always appreciated his unusually high body temperature. It was a warmth that could not be replicated, one that she associated with Natsu and Natsu alone. It brought her such deep comfort in the worst of times. Perhaps, considering their history, this was not the worst of times, but the way her brain and heart were racing with anxiety, she would say it was up there. She nuzzled into his chest, and he responded in turn by resting his hand on the back of her head, gently tangling his fingers in her hair to sooth her.

Part of her wanted to lay in silence until the test was ready, but another part of her knew there was something she needed to hear from him.

"Natsu?"

"Hm?"

She paused for a moment to think about how best to get her question across before she finally got the courage to speak up.

"How do you feel about this?"

"About the test?"

Lucy nodded slightly against his chest.

"I think that it’d be cool if we’re having a kid, and I think it’d be cool if we weren’t," he said plainly, doing nothing to answer her question.

It wasn’t exactly the answer she was looking for. Natsu had been so passive this whole time, and while it had helped to settle her nerves knowing he wouldn’t be upset either way, part of her wanted to hear something a little more… definitive.

"But is there an outcome that you want?"

"I don’t care about yes or no; I care about you being happy. Whatever outcome is gonna make you happy is the one I want, but no matter what happens, I’m gonna be here for you," he explained. "We’re a team, we’re gonna make it through together. I trust that you’re gonna make the best decision, and I’m gonna support you in whatever you pick."

That hadn’t been the answer she was expecting, but then again, she hadn’t known what she was expecting at all. He had brought up something that she hadn’t even thought about until now: that she still had a choice.

When the thought crossed her mind that she might actually be pregnant, Lucy hadn’t thought past that. There had been no consideration for what might happen if she was actually pregnant, just a vague fear of what might come next. The idea of terminating their potential pregnancy had been the last thing on her mind, and even now she was unsure how to feel about it.

She reasoned that they had plenty of time to think about it. Hell, they didn’t even know if she was actually pregnant yet, but knowing that Natsu was going to stay by her side through it all eased her worries, even if just a little.

"What do you want?" Natsu asked, cutting through the silence that had since befallen them as she mulled his answer over in her head.

"I don’t think we’re ready for kids," she answered honestly, sidestepping his question slightly.

"You’re probably right," he mused, running a hand up and down her clothed back. "I still got lotsa adventures I wanna take you on. We’d probably have to put that on hold if we had kids, huh?"

Wordlessly, she nodded her head. Starting a family was a whole adventure on its own, one that she wanted to take with Natsu one day when they were more prepared for it.

"Do you think the test is done?" He reminded her, pulling her back to the reality of the results that they were waiting on.

Perhaps she should have set a timer, but in her rush to be back at his side, the idea had evaded her. Even still, she reasoned that it had been long enough and didn’t want to risk any inconclusive answers by leaving it much longer.

Pulling herself off of the couch, Lucy strode over to the bathroom, and this time, Natsu followed. His hand was held in hers as they walked together to check the results. She dropped it when they reached the counter in favour of picking up the test, and Natsu, in turn, wrapped his arms around her waist and looked over her shoulder at the results in her hand.

One red line.

Not pregnant.

She placed the test back down and let out a sigh of relief before letting her weight fall into Natsu’s chest. He didn’t stumble as she did so, only tightening his grip around her to support her body weight.

"That’s what we wanted," he murmured into her ear.

She wasn’t sure if it was meant to be a question, but it came out more like a statement than anything, and Lucy agreed nonetheless.

"Yeah," she breathed. "It is."

Just like that, every fear left her body in an instant, and she could finally relax. It felt like all the adrenaline that had been pumping through her body had suddenly dissipated and suddenly she was no longer stuck in the horrible limbo of fight or flight.

Once she had a moment to regain her composure, Lucy wiggled out of his grasp slightly to face him.

"No more unprotected sex, ever," she hissed, pushing a threatening finger into the middle of his chest, though her tone didn’t seem to scare Natsu, who simply laughed at her.

"Never? Never ever?" He grinned knowingly, and Lucy rolled her eyes.

"You know what I mean," she spat back.

Natsu still remained unphased, however, and his hands roamed down her back before resting on her ass, where he made sure to give it a good squeeze.

"We might not be trying for a baby now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t practise," he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes, and suddenly Lucy was happy she had the foresight to buy condoms.

[yanara126-writing]

Navigating

Anon Harlock, newly minted von Valancius, was assuredly running out of patience. She needed a Navigator and since the keeper had, admittedly unsurprisingly, revealed himself to be a traitorous idiot and the old man had decided to spontaneously die, that left her with the brat. Who just wouldn't stop crying.

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Read here or on Ao3 (1214 words)

Have fun! Comments always welcome! :)

-

Anon Harlock, newly minted von Valancius, was assuredly running out of patience. She needed a Navigator and since the keeper had, admittedly unsurprisingly, revealed himself to be a traitorous idiot and the old man had decided to spontaneously die, that left her with the brat. Who just wouldn't stop crying.

After a few minutes of very grating waiting, the girl had just lost her home and despite some rumours she was not entirely without a heart, the Lord Captain had enough. She crossed her arms and glared down at the younger woman.

"Enough tears, you're coming with me now."

Despite her impatience and rough tone she truly hadn't meant it as a threat, it was a simple fact that they couldn't stay. Unfortunately it seemed that even the blood and guts splattered all over the walls and floor were not enough to spur the inexperienced heir of house Orsellio into wanting to leave her defiled home. The lighting flickered ominously as the mutant girl's head snapped up to stare at the stranger who had seemingly uprooted her life. Without meaning to, Anon's hand twitched to her rifle's handle. Wide, tear stained eyes staring up at her were hardly a new experience for the hardened pirate, but they were significantly more unsettling when they were a shimmering blood red without a pupil and coming from beneath a third eye that could rip her to shreds simply by opening.

"And if I refuse? What... What are you going to do to me?" Coming from another, Anon might have taken it for an invitation to start flirting, but despite robbing quite a few ships and occasionally planets in her time, she was not in the habit of robbing cradles. There were better ways to tie important children to her person. Particularly when they had been isolated from any and all reality like the young woman before her had clearly been. The three Fs had yet to fail her. Firm, frank, and funny.

"I shall give you the honour of a prolonged session of admiring my wonderful visage to this sour backdrop. We'll both be stuck here considering my lack of a Navigator and your lack of a..." She threw a pointed look around the gore decorated room, before raising her eyebrow at the young woman before her. "Well, anything."

The navigator girl hesitated, staring up at her in confusion. Well, at least she stopped crying. Small victories. Unfortunately the victory remained small and the only person who could get the Lord Captain's fancy new ship out of the dump of a system remained on her knees, fingers buried in viscera. Hopefully she'd wash her hands before touching the stirring stick. Did Navigators use those? Maybe she should have checked in more with the old geezer in her old crew...

Ah but of course all that still necessitated that the little princess got on her feet and came along. Preferably willingly, handing a desperate captive the controls to the entire ship during the extremely sensitive moments of warp jumps did not for a safe travelling experience make. Anon von Valancius, Rogue Trader of the Koronus Expanse and Lord Captain of the Reginatrix Universi sighed with annoyance, her dark blonde hair falling over her left eyes as she briefly lowered her head.

"Oh alright fine. Abelard, where's my booklet?" The ever diligent senechal stepped up beside her, making sure not to step on any corpse bits in process.

"I have it here, Lord Captain."

As he handed over a small but impressively thick little booklet, he glanced at the young Lady Cassia, kneeling on the ground and splattered with her guardians' blood, with a sympathetic frown. Huh, a thing to note. She already knew that Abelard Werserian, despite his claims to the contrary, was not first and foremost a navy officer, but a family man. A sentiment that was seemingly not limited to merely his own offspring. With a short blink Anon filed that piece of exploitable information away in her brain for later use. First, the navigator girl had to be convinced. If she wanted to play the spoiled little princess, Anon would just have to play along for a little while. At least marginally.

With fleet fingers she quickly rifled through her booklet. The smell of ink and fresh paper mingled in the air with the stench of rapidly cooling blood.

"Let's see, where is it... Ah yes." With some theatrics the Lord Captain cleared her throat, straightened her and back and audibly knocked the heels of her boots together. "Lady Cassia, I, Anon von Valancius, Rogue Trader of the Imperium of Mankind, offer you my protection and grant you shelter aboard my vessel." The speech ended with a dramatic bow, certainly much too deep for a Rogue Trader towards a crew member, however noble they may be. Still bent down, she looked at the girl in front of her, now at her actual eye level, and raised an eyebrow. "Happy now?"

The emotions rolling over the young woman's face were certainly entertaining, ranging from appreciation over outrage to girlish glee. In the end she settled on plain confusion. "Why... Do you have that?"

Anon straightened again, grinned, smoothed out her leather coat and waved the little booklet around. "This? It's useful to keep track of all the little details of etiquette, ceremony and all that. I am still somewhat new to the job and practicality has taken precedent over decorum for now." She resisted the urge to turn away and give her treasure another loving lookover. The first thing she'd done after Theodora's untimely and extremely convenient demise had been to dig through all documents on her new writing desk. In the process of vetting everything for interesting information she'd found the little booklet abandoned in a corner of the office together with other material Theodora had apparently not found worthy of her attention. It was of smooth, pearl white paper, with the distinct smell of cotton grown in the peculiar soil of Kolarrax Six, a world deep in the Winterscale protectorate, and bound in wonderfully soft, red grox leather. A beauty and a joy to write in. Using a datapad for her notes would have been an unforgivable waste.

"I see... " The young Navigator's eyes unfocused for a moment, as if she was looking somewhere beyond this reality. For a second Anon thought she might start crying again at the sight of the corpses strewn everywhere behind them, but instead something like resolve finally seemed to wash over the bone white, unsettling features. The young woman rose to her feet in a disturbingly fluid manner, as if reality itself had shifted rather than her body. With squared shoulders and lifted chin, hands crossed behind her, she finally gave an answer.

"I, Lady Cassia of house Orsellio, accept your most gracious offer." The following bow was elegant and deep, just as was appropriate for a Navigator to a Rogue Trader. The Lord Captain grinned.

"Good job, girl." She gave the still bowed young woman a light pat on the head and turned around, confidently striding towards the shuttle bay. Her retinue quickly fell in step behind her. Including, after just a moment of hesitation, her first stepping stone to not Theodora's empire, but her very own.

[newpathwrites]

Another queer excerpt from my fics in honor of pride month!🏳️‍🌈

This excerpt is from A Marriage of Convenience, my first baby. It details the progression of a loving and physically intimate but non-sexual queerplatonic relationship between Din and his work partner who have bonded for mutual convenience.

In this passage, they discover that they have asexuality (and aromanticism) in common, though slightly different flavors, when Din asks why she was so terrified when she asked him about consummation rituals the day they took the vows.

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“Can I ask you why you were so terrified that day?  You know I would never hurt you… or expect something like that from you, marriage ritual or not… right?”  You hesitated to respond, and he shook his head guiltily.  “I’m sorry, that’s your business, I shouldn’t have asked…”

  “No, it’s alright, I’ll tell you,” you said, as you reached up to squeeze the hand still resting across your shoulder.  “But then you have to tell me why I’ve never seen you pursue anyone… or even visit a brothel… in the five years we’ve known each other.”  You winked, to make sure he knew you were joking.

  He did look a bit taken aback by your only half-serious demand but acquiesced with a soft chuckle.  “Okay, deal.  But there’s really very little to tell - I’m not sure it’s a fair trade of information.”

  You let out a long puff of air and began.  “Well, I’ve really never been one for relationships, never really liked the idea of getting married and having children.  But it was the norm in my village, and my family made it clear that becoming a mother and housewife would be expected.  So I tried to play the part, found a man I could tolerate…” Din chuckled at that.  “...but being in a romantic relationship never felt right to me.  It felt suffocating and unnatural, and acting like I was ‘in love’ was exhausting.  And then the sex issue came up - because that’s what most people in romantic relationships do, I guess.” 

You paused, collecting your thoughts.  “I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t particularly enjoy it, either, and I never really felt compelled to initiate it with him or anyone else.  Anyway, my lack of interest ended up being a big problem, and he started trying to make me feel guilty about it, and eventually that turned into blatant coercion.  By that point, I was traumatized and totally repulsed by the whole thing.  I broke it off with him, left my village, and happily lived the lone bounty hunter life for the next twenty years, until I met you…,” you smiled at him as you spoke the last few words.  “I guess the idea of broaching the sex topic again with anyone, even the person I trust most in the galaxy, was a little terrifying.”

  “I’m sorry, cyar’ika.  I wish you hadn’t gone through that.”  He thought for a moment.  “So you’ve never felt attracted to anyone that way?” he asked.  You nodded in the affirmative.  “Huh, we have that in common, then.”

  You tilted your head as if assessing him, “I suppose I’m not surprised.  It makes sense.  How did you come to realize it?”

  “I was a lot like you - I wasn’t really all that interested in having a relationship.  My Mandalorian brothers were eager to find romantic partners, have children, serve the tribe by expanding their clans.  That didn’t feel right to me at all.  It’s one of the reasons I became our beroya.  I could serve the tribe without all that… romantic nonsense…” You giggled at his summation but didn’t disagree.  “Sex was a weird thing for me, too.  It’s all anyone wanted.  It was supposed to be this amazing thing that made you forget all of your troubles.  After Mandalore fell, I had a series of unfortunate flings in an attempt to forget… and it only made me feel worse - it wasn’t really enjoyable at all, just awkward and uncomfortable.  Eventually I realized that I didn’t actually want, like, or need that kind of intimate relationship and resigned myself to a life alone on my ship... until the kid… and then you.”

  “You know, Din, sometimes I really do think we were meant to find each other.  I never imagined there was a man out there who would enjoy my company for so long without any promise of a romantic relationship… or expecting my clothes to come off.”

  He laughed, joking, “Well, you know me - the more clothes the better.”

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I may post a couple other excerpts that demonstrate how the two do experience asexuality a bit differently. Din is meant to be sex indifferent here, very willing to try stuff if she was ever interested but totally cool with a sexless relationship, while Cyar'ika is sex averse but very open to more sensual forms of intimacy. Kissing becomes one of their favorite pastimes 😁

[bluarlequinno]

So i wanna talk about something that troubles me and i see it happen often not only on this fandom, but in many others.

Why are men who are literally crazy murderers like William praised and simped for while Elizabeth his literally child daughter which probably no more than like 8 years is being shamed for being this pure evil villain, huh? I'm not saying it's happening in the with everyone or that all fans do it, but enough fans misinterpret her character as this pure evil villain when she's literally an abused girl who's a victim of circumstances.

William murdered 5 children just because he wanted and we don't know if he murdered more, but considering he built the funtimes even before the missing children accident we can determined he did or at least was already planning to.

What did circus baby do? Sure she did what she did to Micheal, but she did it to escape a place where she had been forced to be for years, alone forgotten by her own father who preferred to leave her there than deal with the problem. I'm not saying she's innocent, but she was a little girl with an abusive father and an unstable family and lack of any human kindness? I don't know i can't blame her that much also her siblings were always fighting with each other as Micheal bullied Evan, we aren't really told how her realatio ship with her brothers is, but by how it seems she seems to be distant with them.

Oh but William is a literal murderer with no remorse whatsoever, but he is loved and simped by the fandom while Elizabeth is treated as the evil daughter and the evil sister who was so mean to Micheal and blah blah

I'm not saying that simping for William is bad as long as you are not a dobal moral who praises a man for being a literal murderer and shames a woman in this case a little girl for being a villain if you can even call her a villain.

So yeah just had to get this out of my system after presenting this game to a friend and then her telling me that she hated Elizabeth because she thought she was bad but loved William yeah

[dontbipanicjonsa]

I’ve been reading Sansa fanfic and honestly I am so fucking tired. What is up with people making her out to be some selfish, mean, vindictive, I-don’t-even-fucking-know-what-else little kid????? Where the fuck does this come from???? What books are you reading?? 

How is it that in a book where characters are committing murder, rape, and even fucking baby exchanges, it is SANSA who needs to repent for her ‘crimes’?

Tell me again how Sansa is a shit person because of one mean thing she said to Arya in a fight but Jon, canonically called a ‘bully’ was the fucking paragon of good behavior as a child. Who’s gonna write the edgy Jon-was-a-pre-canon-bully fanfic huh?? That’s right. Fucking no one. Because we know Jon’s poor behavior at the Wall was driven as much out of his lack of awareness and appreciation of his privilege as it was by his struggle to reconcile the Wall of his dreams with reality. His behavior was an anomaly for him. 

Tell me again how Arya’s seeming class blindness in AGOT is so much better than Sansa’s raging classism. Who’s gonna say it was Arya’s fault Mycah got killed, because she didn’t recognize or appreciate her own privilege? Fucking no one. Because she’s nine, a child, and we’re not monsters.  

Sansa was selfish for expecting things that were already promised to her, but Arya wasn’t? Sansa is selfish for wanting to go to a tourney that’s being held in her father’s name. Sansa is selfish for expecting to be...married to her betrothed? Sansa is selfish for romanticizing/building up the life she is already expected to live? Sansa is selfish because she says Arya will ‘ruin everything’? Lemme tell you I have an older brother and I sure as fuck have ruined plenty of things for him as a kid stuff his friends lent him, that one time he went to watch some Hunger Game movie with his school friends and thought I would be mature enough to tag along and I really really wasn’t. That’s kind of what siblings do???? If Arya comes across as less ‘selfish’ than Sansa, then that’s because she’s hardly ever denied, and even when she is she’s made to understand why. Arya wants to learn to fight? Arya wants to flout expectations? Arya wants to take Syrio along on the ship? She gets it all. Is she selfish? NO. She’s a child. THEY ARE BOTH CHILDREN.

Sansa is mean, for having sibling fights with Arya? Never mind that she’s grieving the death of a part of her, Lady. Jon lashing out at the Wall may be an anomaly, but Sansa lashing out isn’t? WHY. Sansa is vindictive? Sansa who cried when fucking Joffrey dies? Sansa who is repeatedly described as sweet? Innocent? Courteous? 

When exactly is Sansa vindictive? When she doesn’t trust her father- who has been a pretty shit parent to her and fully deserves her distrust- to make the best decisions for her (as he hasn’t in the past) and decides to break one (1) rule in her life to...go to another adult to explain her problem? When she lashes out at Arya in her very valid grief because no one seems to give a flying fuck about helping her deal with it? When she utterly and absolutely ices out Tyrion, the fully grown Lannister man she has been forced to marry? Fuck you.

Ok no. I know. She’s power hungry. Just dying to be queen. I quake in my boots when I read her POV, honestly. Never mind that she is not the one who makes or even influences the decision to betroth her to the prince. (Alright she does in the show. But hey, Arya of the show is a misogynist, Jon is an absolute moron and Tyrion is the good guy so I won’t put a whole lot of stock in show characterization.) Never mind that Sansa’s desire to marry a ‘prince’ is driven more by her romanticizing  and wanting to have a life like the songs, and less to do with power. But nooo. Sansa wants to marry a lord even as late as ASOS. She’s willing to marry Willas because he’s a lord. 

Right. Because it is so much more terrible for a girl to want to marry a rich, powerful, upper class guy to get her out of her current shitty situation where she is utterly powerless, than it is for a slave owning girl to order the massacre of 13-years-old, upper class children. People forget that their fave wouldn’t be the character she is now if she hadn’t been married off to a powerful man all the way back in the first book, who unwittingly gave her a position of power of her own for the first time in her life. Or there wouldn’t be any dragons, there wouldn’t be any khaleesi. Isn’t that how patriarchy works??? Fuck Sansa for daring to want what Dany got- control over her own life via marriage. 

I’m just so tired. The point of Sansa’s character is that she’s empathetic. She’s soft. She’s polite and courteous. She’s nice to Sandor when he doesn’t deserve it. She calls Jon half-brother because that’s the politest term she can use. She stands up for others (Dontos, the people right before the riot, Tommen, fuck she even warns the Tyrells about Joffrey) even when she’s at her most powerless. She cries and feels bad and prays for her abusers. She’s unwilling to play ‘the game’. She chooses to continue to believe in and place value in the songs and stories as ideals that deserve to be lived up to in the midst of a harsh reality that has driven lesser people to nihilism and bitterness. This is who she is. To dismiss these things for the sake of making her out to be some mean and petty little girl is to misunderstand her entirely. 

But who would deign to lower themselves to the perspective of a pre teen girly girl anyway, right? 

[prairieprayer]

legit not a dream fan though i like some of the other minecraft lets players (like wilbur and tommy, they can be pretty wholesome), but i still think some of the anti mcyt things i’ve seen floating around are nuts. like lets go through a few

- “dream is an alt-right industry plant, not a real indie creator who boomed in popularity during the pandemic” what the hell are you on. he’s just a dude

-  all the dream smp players being lumped together with dream by sheer proximity (are they really out here saying someone like that kid tubbo_ is a racist alt-right ablest nazi for just being a player of the smp? really? that’s the hill you want to die on? to what end, even??)

- posting a pic of a random dude and claiming it was a doxed photo of dream, so now a bunch of anti-dream posters on twitter are fat shaming and making fatphobic comments at some random guy because hahaha it’s dream so it’s okay right? (it wasn’t dream...)

- saw a post a few min ago saying they wish they could shoot anyone who shipped the “minecraft white boys,” which i assume is meant to mean george and dream. charming

- caring about content creator’s comfort levels until the content creator’s comfort level is “i’m okay with shipping and even NSFW” then suddenly it’s just icky and yucky and wrong (and sometimes even throwin’ in a nice lil comment about their mental health so that’s fun). gotta pick one bud. or just admit you were pretending to care about their comfort levels until you learned it didn’t line up with your opinions on RPF

- criticizing literally any mcyter for posting support to their lgbtq fans, because you’re treating them like a brand and not just random dudes who have high follower counts. sorry, but 17 yr old tommyinnit posting about how he supports the lgbtq community for pride month is not the same as target selling rainbow shit for marketing reasons, and you know it

- looking at these youtubers like corporations at all. they’re just. dudes. you probably don’t think the same thing about your fav youtubers do ya. nah. just these guys

- whining about fans putting these figures on a pedestal, but then you, sweet and tender anti mcyt posters, acting surprised when one of the mcyters does or says something distasteful or scummy. what are you expecting. i’m tired of dream wiping his ass the wrong way making the news. and if you are too then stop being surprised and making like 10 tweets about this shit. chalk it up to “he’s a dumbass white american from florida, that checks out” and leave it be

- i keep being recommended at damn 28 minute long video with a title calling that animated video for mask an abomination. you guys really out here making a nearly 30 min long video ripping apart a bunch of kid’s art huh. make fun of dream’s direction as you will but the art itself? i feel bad for those kids. quit bullying them and shitting on their art because you hate dream good lord

no one has said it yet that i’ve seen so i’m just gonna say it. mcyt is popular af now and we all know it’s fans are mostly girls and children. like every other piece of shit torn to shreds by a community who hate it (like, say, undertale), i’m pretty sure this is just the new target of cringe culture. there are plenty of things to criticize dream over, but all these shitty takes lumping in the entirety of mcyt and its fans with literally one creator, when rather there are dozens and dozens of creators, is a load of sketchy shit and you know it. 

you are using your hatred of dream to justify hating every other minecraft content creator and i’m convinced that, under it all, your lack of critical thinking skills is far removed because it’s yet again a fandom of “cringy” kids. quit trying to fool yourself and those around you :P

[ashxllbey]

Starman - Poe Dameron x fem!reader - Chapter 9: Flirtin' With Disaster

GIF by james flint

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Word count: ±11.5k Warnings: TW: swearing, canon-typical death, mentions of past trauma, violent flashbacks (non descriptive).

Twelve hours. That's how much it took Poe to tell everyone about their next mission. And the man sure knew how to create a good cliffhanger. He hadn't said a word despite Y/N's insistence during the flight back home. After they all had woken up with a hangover that was worst for some of them (namely, Klana, who had barely spoken to anyone and had just collapsed on a couch on the yacht), Poe had made sure not to let anything slip. He had even briefed Finn about his surprise, as Y/N had so painfully discovered when she had tried asking him. The General had laughed at her attempt, and his only answer was: "no, sorry, can't tell you anything. You'll have to wait." Y/N wasn't a very patient woman. 

She had been wondering all day about the mission, and her excitement was reaching new heights as time went by. Poe had slipped through her fingers with a smirk as soon as he had landed the ship. He had disappeared inside the base, not to be seen for the rest of the day. That pissed Y/N off. He was the worst tease in the entire Galaxy, she was sure of it, and she would have to find a way to get back at him sooner or later. And then, FINALLY, he had called for both squads under his command. Blue and Green squadrons had met in the control room, gathering around Poe like children around their mom or a flock of birds around their nest. The General was grinning from ear to ear when he started talking. "Ladies, gentlemen, we're going to Hoth!" People frowned, snorted, sneered, and Y/N just stared silently, expecting him to continue. After all the teasing, he HAD to tell them more. Behind him, leaning against a table, Finn was watching with his arms crossed and a smile on his face, seemingly amused by his friend's enthusiasm and theatrics. "Come on, come on. We're going to Hoth because some drunk Senators let it slip while we were on Coruscant that there is a separatist base hidden on the planet. They're apparently causing trouble in the sector and are hiding in what used to be the Resistance's compound. It was mostly destroyed during the Empire's attack years ago, but some of it is still intact and has been fixed. We need to go and check it out to plan a raid if needed."

That sparked some genuine enthusiasm amongst the pilot, Y/N included. She elbowed Skylen, who stood by her side, and the bearded man grinned. He leaned forward conspiringly and whispered: "Hey, you're gonna be on your very first high-stakes mission! Excited?" Beyond excited. If she were alone, Y/N would have shrieked delightfully, but she still had some self-esteem and a bit of professionalism left in her that hadn't been lost to her slightly disproportional consumption of Merenzane Gold the night before. "Now, don't get too excited. It's impossible to go right now," Finn chimed in, stepping forward to come and stand next to Poe. "The weather is too good right now. They would see you coming from miles away. We have to wait a few weeks for the snowstorm season to start before we send you all there. So, for now, you're gonna prepare. Poe and Skylen will lead training missions to get you used to Hoth's particular climate. Most of you have never been there, and it's pretty… Kriffing cold." Laughter rippled across the group, and Y/N smiled. Yes. Hoth was a frozen hell. She had never stepped foot on the planet, but she had flown over it, and it was pretty inhospitable. They were right to train them. Although Y/N had no doubts that every pilot in this room was more than capable of handling themselves, additional training wouldn't hurt. She, for one, was glad for the extra courses. The last thing she wanted was for the mission to go south from lack of preparation, and she wasn't so confident in her abilities to fly with low visibility. 

"You're awfully proud of how you got the Senator to talk, huh?" She heard Poe whispering to Finn as the pilots chatted among themselves. Finn chuckled. "Obviously. I'm very proud that I got him to talk, and you couldn't. You're supposed to be the smooth talker, not me." Poe groaned, annoyed, and his friend laughed. Y/N observed the two of them as they continued to bicker. Their friendship was heartwarming and she found herself staring with a smile on her face. Poe's gaze suddenly went to her, and their eyes met. He gave her one of his infamous smirks and winked. The pilot turned bright pink and rolled her eyes for lack of knowing what else to do. His low chuckle came to her ears, and it made her turn Sith red. Poe had the uncanny ability to make her feel either really relaxed or incredibly ill-at-ease. This time, it was the latter rather than the former, to her dismay. She was pretty cold-blooded —most of the time— but Poe had her confidence vanishing with a flutter of his long eyelashes. His confidence was disarming. Even after a week, she wasn't used to such a solar personality.

Poe clapped his hands to draw the attention back to him, and everyone fell quiet at the same time. "We will talk about it more before we depart for Hoth, but I'm briefing you quickly now; so you know what to expect. We will form two groups. Most of you will fly around the planet, far from their radars. You will scan the surface for any movement and point us toward it. I will lead the team on the ground. Y/N, you know the inner infrastructure of the bases better than anyone. You will fly with me." Wait. What?  He was right, her job had opened doors that were usually closed for the rest of the First Orders soldiers, and she knew secrets most people didn't, but there was a difference between having intel and being sent on a one-on-one mission with THE leader of the pilots. Her smile had instantly vanished as everyone stared at her, Poe included. He seemed curious to see her reaction.  Talk about putting pressure on her shoulders.

She forced her body to relax and put on a neutral expression that probably wouldn't fool Klana, Skylen, or Poe. She gave him a short nod. "Understood, General." He hummed, seemingly pleased, and went on to list what they could be looking for; droids, metal scraps, weather stations. As he spoke, Klana subtly stepped forward until she was directly standing next to her friend. Her eyes still on Poe, she leaned to the side and whispered: "You look a little pale. You okay?" "We will talk later," she whispered back.  No, she wasn't okay! Why had he told her that NOW?! Of course, it was an incredible opportunity, but one Y/N was extremely worried she'd blow. She suddenly felt underprepared. She needed to take flight strategy lessons! Oh, how about a crash course on fixing your ship in the extreme cold?! And special lessons on low visibility flight and mechanical constricts on X-Wings in an ice-cold environment, and— CLAP! "Great! Get some rest; we'll take off at dawn tomorrow morning. Commander Lightring will lead the operation on Manaan. I want Green Squadron to train in overworld scans in a hostile environment. Blue Squadron will go to Cona. You're all dismissed. See you on the landing strip bright and early. Y/N, stay for a moment."

Great. As the room slowly cleared and soldiers walked out, whispering excitedly to one another, Skylen clapped Y/N's back and mumbled — more like shouted, he wasn't a quiet man: "Once he is done grilling you, come meet Klan' and me at the cafeteria if you're still alive, okay?" She hit him as he walked away, cackling. He was so not helping. "Y/N. A word outside? If the communication officers hear me talk any longer, they're gonna kick me out." Poe had popped by her side, and although he had most probably heard Skylen's comment, he graciously kept himself from commenting on it. His face was solemn, but his tone was still light, which gave hope to Y/N that he wasn't going to grill her on the spot. "Of course, General."

He didn't comment on his title for once, and Y/N followed him outside. The hallway was empty, save for the droid that had spilled some soapy water the last time they had seen him. Poe walked further down the hall until he was far enough from the control room's doors so that they wouldn't open accidentally. He then turned to his pilot with the hint of a smile on his face and his arms crossed on his chest. He looked more well-rested than the day prior — which was a complete mystery considering how little sleep he must have gotten during the night — and, more than anything, more relaxed. Y/N liked to think it was partially because of their talk. "I want to reassure you, Y/N," he started without missing a beat. "I will make sure you are perfectly trained to ensure this mission will be a total success. It must go well. This is the most serious lead on a potential separatist base we've had since the war ended, and the Senate is interested in seeing how we're gonna handle it." Ah, yes. Political pressure. A real delight.

Y/N nodded. She knew Poe would do his best to get her ready. And if she was being honest, she was slightly proud that she was trusted again with important missions. She could criticize many things about her experience in the First Order, but she had to give credit where credit was due; she had gotten the opportunity to go on exciting missions and sharpen her skills. "I know," she simply answered. Poe hummed and glanced down at his commlink. When he looked back at her, he still wasn't smiling. "Get some rest. After the night you've had, you need it. Did you go to the medical ward for a check-up?" No. "Uh-uh." He cocked one eyebrow but said nothing, and Y/N didn't say anything either. She hadn't technically lied to him since she hadn't said anything. "See you at six tomorrow, Y/N." And with that, he left, going back to the control room.

The pilot watched him as the doors closed behind him, and a frown made its way to her face. He hadn't touched her arm like he usually did or given her one of his bright smiles. Was the pressure from the Senate troubling him so much? She didn't know, but something felt off. He wasn't his usual, tactile — and smiling — self.  Ah, well. Now, Poe knew he could talk to her. She couldn't force him to open up. With one last look at the doors he had disappeared behind, she walked away, off to meet with Skylen and Klana to discuss their next mission.

"I'm SO HAPPY FOR YOU!" Klana's loud shriek earned her a loud hush from Y/N, a boisterous laugh from Skylen, and several annoyed looks from the other soldiers sitting in the room. But she ignored all three of them, leaning forward to grab Y/N's hands in hers instead. "This is such a great opportunity! I'm sure you're so excited! This is your chance to prove yourself worthy as you said." Y/N groaned loudly. She was right, of course, but… "You didn't have to voice my lack of self-confidence out loud, Klana," she mumbled, but the curly-haired pilot swept her concerns away with a flick of her wrist as Skylen leaned forward conspiringly. "She is right, you know. It's a good opportunity. Some people wait for years to get it, sometimes. LIKE THAT ASSHOLE TARSEN," he added, almost shouting the last part as the said pilot walked past the door. He flipped Skylen off as Y/N shushed him. "Are you crazy?! Be quiet, you Rancor!" "What? You're going on a solo mission with Poe Dameron, and I'll shout it from the moon if I have to."

She froze and stared at him in panic. "Oh, Maker, please don't. I'm terrified enough as it is." Klana frowned and squeezed her hand in support. Y/N squeezed back. The woman was observant as usual and had probably picked up on her fear when they were being briefed. "Hold on," Skylen interrupted, running a hand on his long beard. "Let's get back to the part where you said you're scared. What are you afraid of? You should be excited! People would kill to be in your shoes! And I mean that quite literally, please close your door tonight." Klana hit him under the table, glaring daggers at him as he bumped his knee on the table, spilling some of his coffee. "That's not funny, you idiot!" He mumbled an apology he probably didn't mean, and their banter made Y/N smile. They weren't helping, but their constant bickering always seemed to calm her nerves. "Okay, but seriously, what are you afraid of? You're kriffing fast," Skylen added, frowning. "I mean, I get it; Hoth sucks ass. But you've seen worse in your career, I'm sure of it."

Y/N bit her lip, a habit she seemed to have picked up from Poe as she thought about it. She knew they were going to make fun of her, but at this moment, she didn't really care. She needed to talk to someone. "Well. Hoth isn't the issue. I mean, it's part of it, definitely, but that's not the main problem. I just… I just don't want to disappoint anyone, you know?" Her two friends shared a knowing look, and Skylen smirked, as she had expected. "Suuuure. And by 'anyone,' you mean Poe, right?" Y/N exaggeratedly rolled her eyes, but she couldn't exactly say no, either, because he was right. "Yes. Poe is the one offering me that opportunity. And even more importantly, he is trusting me with the mission. I can't let him down by screwing up." Again, they shared a glance, and Klana let out a giggle. Y/N's head snapped in her direction, and she squinted in annoyance. "I swear if you say anything—" "I won't, I promise!" The pilot immediately said, throwing her hands up in defense. Her smile hadn't left her face, though, and it annoyed Y/N to no end.

"Well, I didn't promise anything, so I'm just going to say it," Skylen interrupted, leaning against the metallic table, elbow on the table and a shit-eating grin on his face. "I think it's adorable how you're trying to get his approval. You're cute with your cru- OW, THAT WAS MY KNEE! SERIOUSLY? That's the second time in less than five minutes!" He complained, his tone going from playful to downright offended. "If you don't want to make it three, I suggest you shut the kriff up, Skylen!" He laughed, and Y/N sulked even more as he went on to 'imitate' her and Poe. Truth be told, she wasn't as offended as she pretended to be. It made her smile to see them have fun, even if they were laughing at her. It wasn't malicious or out of cruelty. They were messing around, and if it made them laugh, then so be it. "Seriously, though. You have nothing to be worried about!" Klana piped in. "Follow his instructions, fly as you normally would, and be mindful of your surroundings. Be the pilot you are. You might need to adjust your technique, but nothing too dramatic. There is, objectively, nothing to be worried about."

Once again, she was right. She usually was. Y/N was putting unnecessary pressure on her shoulders. Worse: it could jeopardize the mission because being stressed about making a good impression would take her focus away from the main goal: completing the task at hand. She promised herself she would try and be confident in her skills or fake it until she made it. The best way to prove her worth was by being the best version of herself she knew she could be.

That had been nearly three weeks earlier. Things had drastically changed in that time. Finn had been clear; they had to wait for the next big storms. After careful calculations and precise observations, it had been decided that they would leave for Hoth twenty days after they had come back from Coruscant.  During these almost full three weeks, Poe had set up various missions to sharpen different skills for the upcoming mission. He wasn't leaving any detail to fate, and, for someone who was hot-headed, he surely knew how to be a meticulous planner. Something he had, undoubtedly, learned from General Organa. Y/N had taken off for the first mission with determination, Skylen and Klana's words still echoing in her head. She was determined to be focused on nothing else but her flight. Not her doubts, her fear, or her wish to prove herself. Nothing but the joystick between her hands and the various objects floating around in space.

The first mission had been on Cona, a deserted planet that reminded her of Tatooine. Poe had taken them there to remind them of the safety rules regarding particles 'trailing' behind them as they flew. Indeed, flying low picked up some dirt and dust and deposited it in the air in little clouds that were anything but discreet. Although the snow was lighter than sand, Poe had said, it was still a great way to train for this issue, and they had spent the day scanning the planet while also improving their stealth. Y/N had been pretty satisfied with her run that day, and she had felt way more confident when she landed her ship, thanking the mech droid and knocking on the hull before she made her way down to the ground. She had gone back to the rest of her squad once her tight helmet had been lifted off and her ponytail had been freed from its prison, laughing with Mara (who was slowly warming up to her). With her Starbird helmet under her arm, she had stood around, debriefing with her fellow pilots, when Poe had interrupted their talk. "Good job, everyone. You did great today." And then, once again, he had brought Y/N farther away from their coworkers and had told her: "Be careful of one thing; the shape of the X-Wing is very different from the one of the TIE fighters. Its main body is way larger, which means it picks up more dust as the contact surface is bigger. Avoid flying as low as you usually would, okay?" Y/N had thanked him for the advice, taking notes. It was a good one, and Poe knew the size of the ships better than anyone else. 

And then, he had left with only a small smile and no pat on the shoulder, leaving Y/N perplexed yet again. She had shrugged it off once more, writing his behavior off as resulting from some General-related issues she didn't know about. But things had gotten worse. As they went out on more missions, Poe made more comments. And even though Y/N was always happy to learn, especially from a seasoned pilot, she couldn't help but feel like something was off. Poe wasn't his usual, joking self. He was still messing around with his squad, but his debriefings were always pretty… factual. She wasn't sure she had heard him be encouraging on other occurrences than the ones where he congratulated the entire team. And it wasn't such an issue: Y/N wasn't doing her job to be praised. But the fact that he was now treating her almost like a stranger, only pointing out her mistakes in a neutral tone that was nothing like his usual, warm one caused her newly-found confidence to melt. What had she done wrong? Days before, they shared stories and a drink on Coruscant, and he had opened up to her. And now, this? 

She was probably overreacting. When she had asked Klana about it, even her observant friend had frowned. "What do you mean, acting weird? Did he say something out of the ordinary? I haven't noticed anything bizarre." And since Klana couldn't see it, well, she probably was imagining it. Y/N didn't have exceptionally sharp people skills, that was a fact, so she would trust her friends on this one. And then, it had gotten worse. When she was initially confused by Poe's sudden change of behavior (though he wasn't unfriendly, just very… unlike his usual self), she now grew more frustrated. One day, after they had gotten back from a mission on Jedha, a deserted moon that looked literally like hell, the whole team had landed on Kuat with exhaustion and bad headaches looming over them. Jedha had been partially blown away during the war, and the zone was filled with dangerous flying pieces of rock, shipwrecks, and an overall gloomy ambiance. Not the greatest place in the Galaxy, and the mission had taken a toll on everyone. Not many words had been exchanged upon landing. Except, of course, the usual remarks Poe was now a specialist of.  "You have to fly closer to the objects. Use the shape of the ship as an advantage." Y/N bit back a comment that had been burning her tongue. First, if she had flown closer, she would have crashed since there must have been a meter maximum between her ship and the damn rock. And second, because Poe had already told her that, she had already adapted to follow his advice.

The long day and exhausting mission had destroyed whatever was left of her filter. "General. Is there a problem?" She had asked the question without any anger or even annoyance in her voice. It was a very matter-of-factly tone she had used, but it was evident she wasn't joking. Y/N had put down her helmet on a random cart, running after Poe before standing her ground in front of him, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. He had looked surprised, which was the most expressive she had seen him in a while when they were alone. "I don't know what you're talking about. Can you be more specific?" Again, it wasn't his usual way of speaking, nor was he reacting like he usually would have. Y/N swallowed her frustration and shrugged. "I don't know. You tell me."

They stared at each other for a moment. She was making it clear she saw through Poe's bullshit and knew something wasn't right. It was his chance to come clean about everything. He didn't. "Nothing's wrong, Y/N." He had taken a step forward to walk around her but stopped right by her side. Y/N hadn't moved an inch, too annoyed at him for not acknowledging such a blatant issue. He had turned his head toward her and smiled softly. "You did well today. Don't forget it." And then, for the first time in weeks, he had squeezed her shoulder before disappearing inside the base. Y/N had found out she had missed the little gesture, something that had pissed her off even more.  But things had gone back to normal, so he must have had something on his mind. A temporary issue, perhaps. And she thought she had imagined it once again. She hadn't.

Sure enough, things had gone back to their new normal. Here and there, Poe graced her with a smile, giving her enough of them to make her think things hadn't changed. Which confused her even more. So much more that she had brought the subject up with Finn himself during their training one day.  Because another one of the reasons why Y/N was worried was that Poe had bailed on her for their training sessions. She knew he was busy, and he had said as much himself when she had asked him about it, and she was grateful for Finn's help since he had excitedly offered to take Poe's place for the time being. It didn't mean she wasn't worried. The pilot had been the one to offer to train her to begin with.

Finn, nevertheless, was a great teacher. He had decided to train her in target practice, which greatly amused Y/N. She hadn't said anything about it as she didn't want to sound ungrateful, but the irony of the situation hadn't escaped her. They had met for the third time in the secluded training room, in which the dust had simply disappeared from using the equipment. At that particular moment, Finn and Y/N were at the shooting range, working on her quick shots. She was a relatively decent shooter, as she had proved to Poe, but aiming accurately and fast wasn't her forte. And it was even less easy to hit the bullseye when her head was kilometers away from the range. During the last five minutes, she had missed every single shot. And although Y/N wasn't one to get discouraged easily, her frustration was reaching new heights, fueled by the lingering one caused by Poe's mysterious behavior.

"Okay," Finn had said, startling the woman. "We're going to take a break, and you're gonna tell me what's wrong." Weighing her options, she put her gun back in the holster on her thigh and bit the inside of her cheek. Y/N knew Finn wouldn't tell Poe anything should she vent to him, but she didn't want to make things awkward for him by putting him in the middle of a conflict she didn't know the origin of. "A stormtrooper is teaching me how to shoot. Excuse me while I laugh at the irony," she chose to say instead. It was true, to some extent, and it made Finn laugh loudly. "Wow. I'm offended. More so at the fact that you're lying to me than that you're laughing at my shooting skills."

Ah. Kriff. He hadn't looked offended: rather concerned. Leaning against the protective screen separating the two shooting stands, Finn had his arms crossed on his chest and a curious look on his face. "Come on. It's obvious something's bothering you, and you're leaving tomorrow for your last mission before Hoth. Might as well tell someone about it, huh?" He had been right, once again. Y/N had let out a sigh, looking around for some support she knew she wouldn't find.  "I…" She had licked her lips, finally looking at Finn. "Is Poe okay?"

Finn had stared at her blankly for a solid ten seconds before chuckling. "Okay. I was not expecting that question." Y/N had chuckled as well, mainly because she hadn't expected to ask it.  "Can you be a little bit more specific? Because there's always something up with Poe." She had then proceeded to tell him everything. What she had noticed, what she had deduced, what everyone had told her, what she was convinced to know. True to his words, Finn had listened intently, frowning here and there. When the woman was finally done, she felt truly relieved of the weight on her shoulders. And even more so when the General, after mulling over her words for a moment, had said: "I've noticed it, too." For the first time in the past weeks, Y/N had smiled. 

"I didn't say anything because I was sure it was linked to the mission. But Poe is never stressed out about any mission. I've seen this guy run to the battlefield without a care in the world, fly through war zones with a smile on his face, and stare death in the eye. I don't understand what's up with him, Y/N. But even though he is my friend, I can't tell you to be worried about him right now. You have a huge mission coming up. You need to be focused. After you're back from Hoth, you can confront him. I'll lock him in a room for you if that's what it takes." They had both laughed, and Y/N had nodded. Yes, he was right. She needed to be focused. So she picked up her gun again and started working on her shooting skills under Finn's attentive gaze.

"Y/N, you here?" Skylen's voice cracked up in her commlink as they got out of hyperspace, and she got out of her thoughts. The memories of the past few days had occupied her thoughts during the boring hyperspace jump to their last destination before Hoth. Kashyyyk. The ghosts of her past were hovering over her as the planet came into sight. She squashed her daydream away. It was a very green planet, covered with high trees and vast oceans. The climate was nice, and although it was dangerous to go there alone since Wookies weren't the friendliest creatures, it was still a beautiful planet. One that had seen many horrors during the war.  As Blue Squad and Green Squad started descending toward the surface, the ships' wings spread out in their infamous 'X' shape to slow their fall, Y/N couldn't help but think about the last time she had been here. Years ago. On a mission for the First Order. If she closed her eyes tight enough, she could see the battle unfold in front of her eyes. It was a beautiful planet, but it was also the graveyard that housed her lost innocence.

She didn't even understand why they were there. Kashyyyk was nothing like Hoth. It was a warm, lively, dense planet, not some sort of frozen hell. But Poe had explained that the fog, ever-so-present in the planet's dense jungles, was a good substitute for Hoth's blizzards. So, here they were. "Look alive, squads," Poe's voice said in her ear as they reached the top of the trees and adjusted their trajectory. "Let's make this quick, go back to the base and take the rest of the day off. We're gonna have a look around the fog. Watch out for the trees." And off they went. The fog was dense, that much was true, and they had to rely on their radars more than on their eyes. The commlinks were quiet, and everyone was focused, maybe more so on the upcoming mission the day after than on the current one. Y/N was, at least, until the frequency was activated again. "Black Leader, I'm getting something on the scan," Klana said. "The signature of several starships, coming in our direction."

That wasn't unusual, but something told Y/N that it wasn't just a bunch of transport ships. "What is their codename?" Poe asked, undoubtedly alert, too. A heavy silence was the only answer he got. Klana's sigh could be heard through her commlink, and Y/N frowned, helplessly looking around to spot her friend through the thick fog. But she could barely see the tips of her wings, let alone her fellow squad members. "They're Imperial ships. TIEs. I'm getting a reading on their ID… It's strange. TIEs usually don't have names." Y/N's blood ran cold.

Anxiety crept up under her skin as warnings flashed in her mind, red and yellow lightbulbs turning on and off at dizzying speed. She almost ripped the commlink off her helmet as she went to grab it. "Green Three. What's their reading?" "… I.F.W-5, Blue Five." She cursed loudly. She knew that codename. Hers had been I.F.W-1.

Hate, anger, fear, and adrenaline were propelled through her system as her cardiac rhythm picked up like crazy. This couldn't be. This just couldn't be… "Black Leader, one of them is an ex 204th ship," she stated matter-of-factly, even though she knew Poe could sense the burning hatred in her words. Her blood was boiling as the blinking dots got closer and closer. They couldn't see them, but Y/N knew they could pick the X-Wings' signals on their radars too. Her grip tightened on the joystick as she remembered her former team. I.F.W-5, short for Imperial Fighting Wing - fifth fighter, had been the codename of a soldier she hated and who hated her. One that had gone above and beyond to track her down after she had deserted. His name had been replaced by resentment, and she couldn't —for the life of her— remember who he was. All she could think about was that he was everything she despised in the First Order; cold, cruel, harsh, brainwashed. Now, there was a good chance the ship had just been stolen and the person flying it was not her ex-subordinate. But Y/N had a bad feeling about it.

Poe's voice, as usual, interrupted her thinking. "We need to get back into orbit. They've spotted us. They're gonna attack, and I don't want a fight so close to the treehouses. Green leader, we're splitting up. Blue squad, follow me. Everyone, get ready, fighting formation." The X-Wings jumped upward, taking off at full speed toward the sky and the vastness of space. As soon as they got out of the fog, Y/N looked around. But she only saw her friends flying around her, sufficiently far away from one another to not take anyone down with them should they be hit during the battle. But no sign of the ships tailing them.  They hadn't disappeared from her radar, though. And Y/N had the strange feeling they were being played with, much like a game of loth cat and mouse.  Who was the mouse and the loth cat in this scenario was still up for discussion.

When they finally made it to space, Y/N could feel the tension even hundreds of meters apart from her fellow pilots. Poe's orange and black X-Wing was the closest to hers, and she could easily picture him with his gaze deadly focused on the planet's surface. Skylen's squadron was nowhere to be seen, but Y/N knew they were just a little further away, ready to strike and catch the enemy ships in the crossfire if needed. Ten, twenty, thirty seconds went by before they finally caught sight of the ships tailing them. Six TIEs in fighting formation. Standard 204th fighting formation, could she add. She knew. She just knew.

"This is General Poe Dameron of the Republic Alliance speaking. You are trespassing on a civilian zone with warships. This is a violation of the peace treaty of the New Republic. Vacate the perimeter, or we will be forced to take you down." Poe's voice crackled through the commlink on the general radiofrequency. The threat in his voice wasn't even thinly veiled; it was glaringly obvious he wasn't joking, not for a second. But no answer came. By the time he was done with his warning, the TIEs squadron had reached their level, and the two sides were facing each other, neither of them making the first move.  But Y/N's eyes were focused on one ship in particular. One whose wings had one of its spokes painted bright red. She snarled, suddenly grateful to be alone in the cockpit so nobody could see her.  "Blue Five. One of these guys was in your squad, correct? I need you to rattle them. We can't open fire freely. They need to shoot first." Oh, Poe wanted her to piss the guy off? She kriffing would. "With pleasure, Black Leader." Right before she changed her frequency to the general one, she mumbled to her droid: "BB-6, I need you to direct all energy toward the front shield and the reactors. And buckle up."

Y/N took a deep breath before turning her commlink on. "This is Y/N Thunderbird of the Republic Alliance. This is your last warning. Vacate the area, or we will open fire." She closed the communication and waited. She waited. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe it wasn't- "Well, well, well. Look at what we've got here. We looked for you in the whole kriffing Galaxy, and I finally find you here, on Kashyyyk. Long time no see, Captain. It looks like I'll finally get the chance to finish the job and send you back to hell."

At that moment, two things happened. Poe's voice crackled again, shouting orders. Y/N heard every single one of them. For Skylen to get out of hiding, for everyone to prepare for battle, for BB-8 to turn on his deflectors. For his squadron to stay in position. But, at the same time, Y/N's brain completely disconnected. And, somehow, Poe knew. "Blue Five, keep your position." But she couldn't. She wouldn't. "I'm sorry, Black Leader." "Y/N, stay the FUCK where you are; that is an ORDER—"

She turned off his frequency.  If she got out of that fight alive, she was sure Poe would kill her himself. But she couldn't think about that right now. Instead, she turned the general frequency on. "You want me? Then come and get me, you son of a bitch." Her engines roared to life at full power as she bolted to the side, heading for the asteroid field. The TIE zoomed forward, close on her heels as all hell broke loose around them, X-Wings scattering around under enemy fire.  She addressed a quick prayer to the Maker for the safety of her friends right as she entered the field, red energy bolts missing her cockpit by a hair.

This part of space was littered with space rocks and various shipwrecks, charred cockpits floating around in the vast emptiness. Some of them probably belonged to ships Y/N had blown up the last time she had been here. But she hadn't come back here to reminisce. She was here because she had the upper hand. Y/N knew that asteroid field like the back of her hand. It had been a while, but if there was one battle she had been in that she remembered more than any other, it was that one. The miraculous shot. Maybe she would get lucky twice.

"BB-6, can you see him?" Y/N asked, expertly avoiding the space rocks gravitating around her. The asteroid field was dense, which caused both her radar and her eyes to struggle to catch a glimpse of the ship on her trail. Adrenaline was roaring through her whole body, drowning out the fear of being blown to pieces. The droid beeped negatively, and Y/N clenched her teeth, flying deeper into the field, where the rocks were huddled even closer together.  Suddenly, a loud shriek filled the cockpit, and Y/N sent her ship tumbling to the side, narrowly avoiding a direct hit to her cockpit. The shot hit an asteroid the size of a droid, and it burst out into millions of pieces. Well, that could have been her head. "Full power to the rear deflectors. And don't lose sight of him." The TIE was closing on her, which was what she wanted. It was becoming almost impossible for any of them to go forward. Except Y/N's ship was much slimmer than a TIE.

She turned the wings of the X-Wing, flying vertically and avoiding a collision with a particularly big space rock.  "Come on, come on…" she mumbled to herself, eyes focused in front of her. And finally, an opening.  The hallway-like huddle of asteroids suddenly took a left turn, and Y/N pushed her X-Wing forward in the opening, making a U-turn at an impossible speed. The tip of her wings grazed against the rocks, and she gritted her teeth, shouting words of encouragement to both her ship and herself as she yanked the joystick as hard as she could. The engines roared, the droid beeped, and alarms went off in the cockpit, warning Y/N about the proximity of the asteroids.  "COME ON!" She shouted as the ship gave its all. Rocks hit her cockpit, bumping against the transparisteel canopy, but she narrowly avoided hitting the side of the asteroid tunnel at full speed. Finding herself directly facing the TIE, who couldn't follow her through the narrow space. "Gotcha." She unleashed the full power of her proton torpedo launchers, clearing a path in front of her before making laser cannons' shots rain on the ship. The other pilot barely avoided a direct hit to his cockpit, but Y/N's shots nicked his left-wing. "EAT THAT, SUCKER! Let's see how fast you can fly, now, heh?!"

Understanding that Y/N had him trapped, the TIE pilot changed his tactics and went up, trying to hit the X-Wing from above. If he beat her to it, she was dead. "Oh, no you don't," she hissed, tilting the joystick toward her as the ship zoomed upward too, wings clasping together to reach the cruising speed.  X-Wings were incredibly fast, even more so than TIEs, especially TIEs with a hit to their wings. As the fusal thrust engines gave their all, Y/N beat her ex-pilot to it, making it out of the field a split second before he did. Without the protection of the asteroids, she was left unprotected, and the other pilot took the opportunity to fire. The X-Wing, its wings now extended, narrowly dodged the hits as Y/N slalomed in the vastness of space, zigzagging at full speed. She needed to get behind him to have a chance to shoot him down- The entire ship shook, and alarms pierced her ears as a hit got her nose cone, tearing it apart and leaving a charred piece of metal behind. Y/N cursed loudly as her radar all but shut down. "Kriff, I'm flying blind." The droid's head disappeared inside the ship's guts as he did his best to fix the hit. It was a lost cause, however, and Y/N didn't have time to get frustrated over the damage in the paint job. What caused her to curse again was realizing that she couldn't see him anymore. It was now or never.

She sent her ship up, flying vertically, away from the planet she could see underneath her. The TIE followed suit, as the droid told her. Perfect. Y/N slowed down ever-so-slightly, letting the other ship catch up to her a bit. He was still shooting, aiming for her cockpit. Y/N did what she could to avoid being shot on the spot, but her main concern was to get him aligned in her trail, not directly behind her, slightly to the side so she could- Alarms blared again, and an alarming amount of smoke erupted from behind her. Y/N craned her neck back to the best of her abilities. "What the heck did he hit?!" She asked, eyes moving from the translating screen back to the empty field in front of her. The answer came quickly as the droid extinguished the flames. Central wiring compartment hit. There is a short circuit disabling all of the electronic aids.  All of the- Ah, kriff. "Are the deflectors still in working condition?" she asked as she avoided another hit. "And the wings' opening mechanism?" The answer was an affirmative one, and Y/N sighed in relief. She still could win that fight. "Okay. Then do what you can to direct the remaining power to the deflectors and my engines. And as soon as I tell you to, redirect everything to my laser cannons. Including the power from the deflectors." The droid beeped quizzically, and Y/N laughed as she swerved right. "What I'm gonna do? Something really dumb that hopefully won't get us both blown up."

She could see a blinking dot in her peripheral vision, telling her somehow was trying to contact her — most likely Poe. But she didn't have time to reassure him. She had to act fast. With her sensors down and her radar out of order, she didn't know how much longer she could avoid being hit. "Here goes everything." She took a deep breath to clear her mind and made her move.

In a split second, she killed her engines, snapped the wings shut, and made the engines roar back to life at full power, but backward, this time. The ship zoomed down at full speed, and the sudden change of direction hit her like a Bantha with full strength, the G-force crushing her ribs and knocking the air out of her lungs hard enough to cause stars to appear behind her eyelids. The X-Wing backed up with the full power of its four fusal thrust engines, and in two seconds, Y/N found herself behind the TIE. "NOW!" She shouted, and her deflectors turned off to give full power to the cannons. They crackled with energy as Y/N stopped the X-Wing in its 'fall' and took aim with the manual scope. Don't fail me now, Kashyyyk luck. "Say hello to the devil for me, bastard." She fired.

Her two torpedos hit the left-wing and the cockpit, and the TIE fighter blew up, orange flames ravaging the ship as Y/N screamed at the top of her lungs. Her hands were shaking, and her head was buzzing with the sudden lack of oxygen she had endured for a second, but she didn't care. She was grinning like a crazy person under her helmet as the scope returned to its original place. Her heart was threatening to break her ribcage. One down. Although she was exhilarated to have completed her task, she knew it wasn't the time to be overcome with joy. Her friends were still out there, engaged in a vicious dogfight with the rest of the enemy squadron, and she wasn't about to leave them alone longer than necessary. Taking one last look at the glowing shrapnel of what was left of the infamous TIE fighter, she turned around and flew at full speed toward her squadron.

When she returned to the group after a few seconds, she turned her commlink back on, right on time to hear Skylen bark an order. Without thinking, she opened her mic and said: "Duck, Green Leader." Skylen wheezed in surprise but did as he was told, and his ship dropped downward, leaving a clear shot to Y/N, who blew up the last of the TIEs. As she flew through the ship's remains, she allowed herself to catch a break and slowed her X-Wing down as both squadrons came together. A wave of relief crashed on her when she realized none of them had been severely hit. Everyone was alive. "KRIFF YEAH, THUNDERBIRD, I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!" Y/N laughed loudly as her heartbeat slowly calmed down. Ecstatic screams filled the frequency as the pilots voiced their happiness to be alive.  But from the corner of her eyes, Y/N saw something approaching. A black and orange X-Wing. She was screwed.

Poe stopped a few meters away from her, and although she couldn't see his face because of his helmet and the stars' reflection on his transparisteel canopy, she could feel him glaring at her. "Your ship has been hit, Blue Five. What's your status?" Y/N ran a quick diagnostic with her droid, and her finger hovered over the coming button, suddenly feeling anxious to talk to her leader. She licked her chapped lips, shook her head, and picked up his transmission. "Nothing major, Black Leader. My landing gear is slightly faulty, my sensors are fried, and the electronic aim was blown up, but that's about it." "Is your hyperdrive intact?" She told him, yes, and he didn't add anything, ordering, instead, for Klana and Mara to quickly scan around and make sure nobody else was left. "How did you pull it up, Blue Five?" Skylen's excited voice crackled. "I saw you headed right for the asteroid field." Y/N wanted nothing more but to excitedly share her fight with her former pilot, but she had a feeling Poe was annoyed enough as it was. Instead, she chose to tell him a quick summary and hope to still have a job by the time she had landed back on Kuat. The pilot explained how she had led the TIE to a bottleneck in the asteroids, then flipped her ship around to open fire when he couldn't follow. Then, she described how she had pulled a reverse card on the enemy pilot, blowing him up from behind. Skylen gave a boisterous laugh. "Kriffing Hell, Y/N. I'm glad you're on our side. That was a smart move."

Congratulations came timidly from some of her fellow pilots, but Poe's frequency was still dead silent until Klana and Mara returned from their scan. "The zone is clear, Black Leader." "Then let's jump into hyperspace. Follow me." He turned his ship around as everyone entered the coordinates to Kuat. Right before he disappeared in a flash of white light, Y/N's commlink crackled. "Blue Five, we will talk when we land." And with that, he made his jump, leaving Y/N to follow suit with a feeling of worry in her chest.

Y/N landed her ship with great difficulties on a free landing spot a dozen meters away from the rest of her squadron, barely avoiding knocking over a droid rushing to her assistance as the X-Wing dangerously tilted to the side. The engines were overheating, the alert lights in her cockpit blinked like a Christmas tree, and reports of errors came uninterrupted from her droid, who was telling her, panicked, "get out of here now." He didn't need to ask twice. The second she killed the engines, Y/N unclasped her security belts and smashed the button commanding the opening of the transparisteel canopy. It didn't budge much; the opening mechanism was presumably jammed due to the short circuit. Y/N pushed it open herself with a curse, using her still helmeted head as a battering ram. With a grunt, she managed to lift herself out and made her way down the ladder that had been conveniently pushed by her side, jumping to the ground as mechanics rushed to the aid of her wounded ship. 

Only when she had been ushered a bit further away by one of the workers did she allow herself to relax a bit, wincing as they pulled the droid out of the mess she had made. She unclasped the helmet with nifty but shaky fingers and handed it to a nearby cleaning droid.  Her hair was sticking to her face due to the grease and sweat accumulated during her fight. She was still shaking with adrenaline and was slowly coming down from her high, realizing what she had done. "Dang, you sure did a number on her, huh?" She jumped, startled, and turned to see Skylen walking toward her. The members of both squads were still landing, but he had apparently just touched the ground. In the distance, his ship was looked at by a crew of mechanics. The X-Wing seemed in much better shape than hers, although Y/N was sure that nasty burned gash on his left wing wasn't there when they had taken off earlier that day. "Yeah, yeah. It hit the wiring and messed the whole thing up. The astromech droid did what it could, but the mechanics need to open her up."

Skylen cursed and joined his friend in her wincing. Behind them, a black and orange ship was landing. Poe's. Welp. He was going to murder her.

"You should get out of here while you can. Dameron is beyond pissed." Ah, so Skylen shared her opinion on her not-so-bright future, then. The temptation to follow his advice, run away, and hide was good, but Y/N wasn't a coward, and she knew that putting the argument off would only make things worse.  Y/N grimaced, trying to sound way more confident than she was. "I'll be fine." He snorted, looking at the General coming out of the cockpit as BB-8 was lifted in the air. "Well, it's your funeral." Ah, so it was that bad. "On a scale of one to ten, how badly am I screwed?" Skylen seemed to think about it, eyes glued to the X-Wing. He ran a hand through his beard, which had engine oil in it —something that would usually make him go crazy. "Judging by how angrily he is walking toward you? One hundred."

Y/N followed Skylen's example and looked to the side, only to find Poe walking in her direction. Kriff. "Well, you're on your own for that one. I'll give you a good eulogy. Nice to have known ya." "Skylen, you kriffing-" she started whisper-shouting as he promptly walked away, but the sounds of footsteps (rageful ones) closing on her made her shut up. She tensed as Poe appeared in her peripheral vision, he walked past her, ordering for her to follow, and she did without a single word. He led her away from the mechanics and coincidentally closer to Skylen's ship. Poe stopped a meter away from her. Everyone had strangely vacated the perimeter, eager to busy themselves to avoid witnessing the storm that was about to rage. Except for Skylen, but he was out of earshot anyway. "What the KRIFFING HELL was that, Thunderbird?!"

Oh. Poe was super mad. Y/N was sure she had never heard him even remotely close to being so angry. He was furious. Somehow, he had kept his tone relatively even, a skill that probably came with his General handbook. It broke her heart slightly that it was her he was so mad at. But she had to stand her ground, and she didn't regret what she had done anyway. So, instead of cowering in fear, she turned toward Poe. His hazel eyes were dark with anger, and his jaw was clenched so tightly it must have been a hair day from snapping. "A direct hit to the central wiring compartment, General. The droid managed to bypass the short-circuit well enough to avoid most of the damage, though, so the ship will be fine." The way he rolled her eyes told her that playing dumb was NOT the right tactic. "Don't be a smartass with me, Y/N," he all but growled, anger giving more and more weight to his words. "You know KRIFFING WELL what I'm referring to." She did.

A quick look down told her that not even BB-8 was around to soften the blows. Oh, well, it didn't matter. Poe was too riled up to listen to his droid anyway. Since he was burning a hole in the side of her head with how hard he was glaring, Y/N turned around to face him, arms crossed on her chest.  "I did what I had to, General. I saw an opportunity, and I took it—" "No, what you did was go against DIRECT orders in a personal vendetta," Poe interrupted.  Technically, he was right. But it didn't mean that she wasn't. She didn't even understand why he was giving her such a hard time. Not only had she taken the pilot out, but she had also successfully managed to provide a distraction long enough for the rest of the squad to wipe the rest of them off the surface of the Galaxy. That was a win in her book. Why he was going off on her was beyond her.

"What was I supposed to do? Let him go?" She all but angrily asked, arms outstretched to emphasize her point. "No, you were supposed to follow the orders!" Y/N huffed. So THAT was what it was all about, huh? Her, disobeying HIM? Not his order, but him? She made an effort to lower her voice, not wanting to make a show out of their argument. Poe wouldn't appreciate it. "Is that the issue? Me, disobeying you?" Yes, she had said that with audible sarcasm to piss him off. Yes, it was slightly childish. Yes, it worked. His eyes grew impossibly darker. "The issue lies in you thinking you can do whatever the hell you want, whenever the hell you want, just because you feel like it. It ended well this time, but what about next time, huh? When you think you can just be a hero and do the 'right thing'? What if someone dies? What if you die?"

She understood where he was coming from. She really did. Y/N would never forgive herself if anything happened to her friends. But protecting her friends had been the EXACT reason she had lured the pilot away, to begin with. Because once Poe had gotten her involved, he had placed a target on her back. Given the dog a bone that he had been trained to never let go. It was something she had to take care of herself.  "Oh, come one, spare me the moralizing speech," she said, giving him a humorless snort. "You're the LAST person on base who can lecture me about defying orders to do what's right." Her anger was flaring up with every word she was getting out. It was getting increasingly tougher to not go ballistic on her squad leader. He was still her superior. She couldn't tell him off.

"This has NOTHING to do with me and EVERYTHING to do with you," he countered, pointing his index angrily at her while taking a step forward. He was now standing really close to her, directly in her personal space. And had Y/N been less angry, she would have certainly been slightly scared. Anger radiated off him, and he was glaring daggers at her. But Y/N was at least as angry as he was —if not more —and her self-preservation instincts had been left behind on Kashyyyk's orbit when her ship had zoomed forward. So, instead of being scared, she grew impossibly more aggravated. "Of course, it's all me, huh. Can't stand the fact that I made the right call." "It doesn't matter. It wasn't your call to make." Words were flying between them like blaster shots on a battlefield. Y/N opened her mouth to clap back at him, but he beat her to it. "This is not the First Order anymore, Y/N. You might have been used to doing whatever the hell you wanted for Kylo Ren, but he isn't there. And you're not giving the orders. I am. And I won't close my eyes on your actions just because you're part of my team."

…What? What did he just say? Her eyes grew wide, and her heart stopped beating for a second. Had Poe just… "What you did was unacceptable. You are under my command, not your own."

"You had NO RIGHT to do that! Who do you think you are?! I own you. I OWN YOU!" Ren shouted as his lightsaber crackled to life, the humming red blade suddenly thrust forward in her direction. Y/N took several steps back as he walked until her back hit the wall. She was trembling with fear as the black mask came to face her, and the heat of the lightsaber threatened to break her skin. It was merely a centimeter away from her throat, and Y/N was frozen with fear on the spot.

"Sure, it worked. It still doesn't make it acceptable."

"But I… I did it; I managed to capture the spy—" "I DON'T CARE!" He roared, voice thundering out of his modulator, buzzing around the edges with the strength of his fury. "You went against MY direct order and almost blew your cover. What if anyone had found out where you have gotten your skills from? Do you REALIZE what you've done?! 

"You're reckless. That was dangerous."

"You were reckless, and you are a fool."

"You can't do that again, Y/N."

"Do that again, and you die. You're lucky I still have a use for you, or you'd be dead by now. But disappoint me again, and I will KILL YOU." 

It took everything in her not to slap the hell out of him. But it felt like she had just been the one hit in the face. He had no right to say that. No right at all. Y/N clenched her fists and jaw hard enough for her teeth to hurt, biting back the obscenity threatening to jump from her mouth. She was angry —no, scratch that. She was kriffing livid. Saying that was a low blow. And Y/N didn't deserve that kind of argument thrown in her face over the ONLY mistake made in the month and a half she had been part of the team. But was she even part of it? She felt betrayed, hurt, and angry beyond words. So much for not blowing this chance up. Now, not only had she screwed up, but she had lost his trust. It seemed like she could never get her superiors to trust her abilities. The anger in her eyes was replaced by a flash of pain. If Poe noticed, he certainly didn't show it.

Y/N didn't say anything for a moment. She was just staring at him in disbelief, shocked that he would go this far. "Will that be all, General Dameron?" She had exaggerated it so much that the honorific title sounded like a mockery in her mouth, but Poe didn't comment on it. Her voice had lost all of its anger and was cold —colder than the frozen hell she was supposed to go to the following day— that she didn't even recognize it. But it did seem to slightly dampen Poe's enthusiasm to grill her on the spot a bit longer. He crossed his arms.  "Yes. You're dismissed." She didn't wait for him to change his mind and all but stomped away, bumping her shoulder with his with more force than she had intended, angry tears burning her eyes. His words were replaying in her mind like a broken record. Maybe she deserved to be lectured; maybe what she had done was wrong. But he had hurt her; that was also true. And her mind kept replaying his words, followed by Ren's, so many years before. Maybe some things couldn't change after all.

"Well. That was painful to watch." Poe fumed silently for a little longer, watching Y/N storm off before turning to Skylen. The pilot was leaning against the hull of the X-Wing, eyes trained on his friend's silhouette and arms crossed on his chest. Poe sighed deeply. "How much did you hear?" Skylen shrugged. "All of it. I didn't mean to, but I was working on my ship next to you, and you were really loud anyway. You're lucky nobody else was around. They all flew away, and they had the right idea." That was a relief, at least. Skylen might have enjoyed gossip, but he was never malicious and wouldn't tell everyone about what he had seen. Poe was angry. At himself, at her for being reckless, at himself for letting her be so overdaring. 

Silence followed for a moment as Poe's eyes remained glued to the door Y/N had disappeared through. After the adrenaline from the fight, the dose he had gotten from the argument fueled his anger even more. He needed to take a walk to clear his mind because he was in a terrible mood. But Skylen didn't seem to care. "Can I give you my honest opinion, General?" Poe snorted slightly. "When have you ever not given it to me." Skylen chuckled for a second but quickly quieted down as he walked toward his leader and stopped next to him, following his gaze and staring at the door. He wiped his hands on his already dirty jumpsuit before crossing his arms on his chest. "That was a dick move."

Well. Poe had expected something along those lines. He still didn't like to hear it, though. When he didn't say anything and only groaned, Skylen raised both of his eyebrows. "I'm serious! Did you have to bring him up?" "Who?" He had answered out of pure stubbornness. Of course, he knew who he meant. "You know exactly who, General," Skylen answered with an unimpressed look. Poe sighed. Did he have to? No, not really. It wasn't so relevant to the point he had been making. But he wasn't about to admit it. He was still too angry — and stubborn — for that. "Yeah, well, she had to understand," he grumbled weakly instead, not quite finding his argument compelling. And Skylen wasn't fooled by it either. "You could have explained it to her without being an asshole," he said matter-of-factly. Poe didn't have the strength to contradict him, mainly because he was right.

And, to his dismay, Skylen was not done. Maybe he should have refused to hear his opinion. "She was right, you know. Don't tell us you never did anything stupid." That was… Well… "Not like that," he mumbled, which caused Skylen to snort loudly. "Oh really? How about the time you blew up the Dreadnaught?" The smile in his voice was very much audible, and it pissed Poe even more. "That's not the same thing." "Are you for real? And how come?" "I don't know! It's just not!"

He was angry again, now. He never had the best temper, and although he had gotten better at controlling it ever since Leia had made him General, he still was no Jedi. He still got angry quite often; it was one of those times. Fortunately, Skylen seemed to take the hint. "She was looking forward to that mission, you know." Poe turned his head back toward the pilot, who seemed lost in his thoughts, eyes locked on a point in the distance. Mechanics were hard at work on Y/N's wounded ship, and nobody seemed to be paying attention to them; a nice change. "She has been asking around about you for days. Noticed something was off with you. For someone who keeps telling us she has awful people skills, she is certainly really perceptive when it comes to you," he added innocently, and Poe blatantly ignored the innuendo.  "She did?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer. It didn't take a genius to figure out how it had confused the heck out of her. He was still surprised she had brought it up with others than him.

"Uh-uh," Skylen groaned. "Figured you must have been stressed over some General thing. She was so hell-bent on doing everything in her power to stress you out as little as she could that she worked extra hard for weeks. For Kriff's sake, Poe, she made kriffing spark notes with bullet points on everything you told her and read the ENTIRE flight manual," Skylen said exasperatedly, throwing his arms in the air to emphasize his point. Poe frowned. "I never even read that thing." "EXACTLY! And you thank her for her hard work by pulling the REN CARD? Of all things?" He stayed quiet. Usually, he wouldn't have let anyone talk to him like Skylen was. But he knew by now that he was doing it because he respected his leadership, not the opposite. And he was, well… Kinda right. "I get it; what she did was wrong," his pilot rambled. "She went against direct orders. But you know, as I do, that it wasn't a rebellious move just for the sake of it. Heck, if she wanted to contest your authority, she would have. She's a feisty one. She bumped head with a damn Sith Lord for years. If she wanted to tell you off, she would have. And you're both to blame. You've been acting weird for weeks, AND she should have known better." Objectively, Poe knew he was right. He had been behaving strangely. Sure, he had valid reasons — reasons he should probably give her — but it didn't mean he hadn't noticed how confused it had made her.

Skylen laughed quietly by his side, and Poe frowned, confused. The bearded pilot shook his head, a hint of amusement in his E/C eyes. "You're too damn similar; it's so funny. I'm surprised this didn't happen earlier, to be honest." Poe sighed and bit his lip, toying with it and with the idea of opening up to Skylen a bit. "That's the issue. We are. And I can't let Y/N be that way." This time, his pilot laughed wholeheartedly. "What? Afraid she might come after your title of best pilot of the Galaxy?" He was visibly enjoying himself, and Poe rolled his eyes. "Never. No, I mean, I can't let her be as reckless as I was. It's gonna get her killed." Skylen hummed in understanding and got closer to Poe, uncrossing his arms. "Well, you do what you have to. You're the General. I'm just telling you what I know: you genuinely hurt her. What you said… I get the need to get her to understand who's calling the shots, but you know damn well how badly she hates herself for working for Ren. So, if I have one piece of advice to give you: go talk to her. After you've calmed down. She ain't stupid, General. She will listen." And with that, he hit him in the back and went after her. 

Poe stayed where he was for a moment, barely registering the shouts and the sounds of people working. Metal hitting metal, droids beeping.  Speaking of droids, his had tentatively rolled in his direction when Skylen had left and was now looking at Poe, his little head tilted upward. He beeped softly. "Yes, I'm gonna go and apologize to her. But I need a walk and a shower first," Poe sighed. Whoever said being a leader was a walk in the park was a kriffing idiot.

[palaceofpassion]

Tempverse: Episode 1:The Desert Flower

Sooo there is a special reason I’m reposting this.

Alone, that’s how this girl felt, no one in this world to talk to on one to be her friend.  Throughout her years she found herself unsociable, unable to start up the simplest of conversations with her peers.  She found herself eyed as if she was a strange creature, something that never really belonged.  And despite this, despite her constantly being alone, and shying away from others she wanted to belong.  Wanted to have a friend, to be with someone who she could be true with.  One day, her parents set off, a vacation they had told her they would be back, they said.  Leaving her with their neighbors, a house full of young girls they said, she could make friends they told her.  

She didn’t believe them, she’d met the girls before, but never did it click.  Never did she find herself drawn to them.  They however, were nice, they never made fun of her, never joked about her loneliness but she still felt a level of uncomfort near them.  But she heard the rumors, there was one more child, a child hidden away because the family was ashamed of him.  Or so the nasty talks of the playground children went, she was unsure of how true this was.  But she supposed… she would learn whether she wanted to or not.  

And learn she did, however… The stories were quite different from the truth.  A lone boy, born alone among a total of eight.  Sickly and unwell he barely left his bed, but alone he was not.  Unlike May who found herself ostracized, even her parents showed little care for her, he was surrounded by warmth and love.  Despite his lack of use, he was greeted frequently by his sisters of different types.  Despite being weak, he was treated as if he was one of them.  Something May didn’t understand, this was not how children acted, they chose to ostracize those different than they.  This was not how families treated one another, they rather not it be their problem.  

Yet in this house of blondes and browns, she found herself… welcomed?  The feeling of uncomfort soon vanished.  The boy, he reached out to her, befriended her in a way none other had.  And through him, the family grew close.  She found herself suddenly wrapped in kindness, pulled into the embrace of a loving home.  This boy would be first of many for her, the first to be her friend, a young confidant whom she could be herself.  Another was the first she spilled her heart to, the first she considered real family, and a third, the first she would give her heart too.  She felt like she could be herself, and the boy had stolen something important.  But the fourth was a sense of fear and dread.  

There was a time, when the boy's eyes shut, for a day he did not wake.  The worst was assumed and the worst they prepared for.  Not a single soul left him, all staying near his wake as they held him close.  Thankfully the fear would pass, he would awaken fresh and anew.  The girl knew that she would never leave his side, so long as she could afford to.  

Unfortunately… she was but a young girl.  Her fate was yet in her hands.  She could not control the flow of time, could not control the will of those that could control hers.  One day… she would leave, from Vale to Vacuo, she would travel back to her homeland.  Begged and cried she did, but upon deaf ears her pleas fell.  The family of ten held her close, they would miss her.  The second eldest, she swore this would not be the last they see.  That she was sure that destiny would intertwine them together once more.  Perhaps there would be a Beacon, a Beacon that could guide them once again?  She did not know the meaning of these words at first, but she held them true to her heart.

To the boy though, “I’ll miss you.”  He said, holding the girl close.  His tears did not fail, even as he struggled to hold her, even as he struggled to leave his domiciliary.  He continued to hold, hoping that it was but a dream, that his best friend, his closest confidant wouldn’t depart.  But… they both knew this wouldn’t be the case.

“I’ll miss you more…”  She followed up, she would miss him, miss him more than she could ever imagine.  True to her words, “I will never forget you…”  She wouldn’t, his name, his eyes, his hair, his scent, everything about him would remain.  

She prayed, prayed that one day they would reunite, that when they did she could take him from his lair, take him from the confines of his self defined prison.  She knew how he dreamed of being a knight, but she would be his eyes, his ears, his world.  She would take him and see him off, hoping that one day they could be together once more.  

“We’ll meet again, I promise.”  And so he promised her, and he was an Arc, true to their word till the very end.

However, life isn’t easy, and she knew this. And as she grew older, her hopes of seeing the boy grew dim.  She aged into a fine young woman.  Though she experienced… difficulties, oftentimes having to pretend to not be what she really was.  She found ways to hide her true form, to pretend that she wasn’t something she was.  Eventually her thoughts of a Beacon began to seep through once more… she knew what she had to do.  There was a Beacon she could travel through, and then-

THUD

May’s eyes fluttered open, “Huh?”  slowly she began to scan the room around her.  “Oh… right…”  She quietly spoke to herself, she was on a Bullhead, headed towards the start of her new life.  Headed towards Beacon Academy, she… she remembered the Arc’s, remembered the words of Rua.  She… she hoped that maybe, even with a sliver that the promise would come true.  But, even as she tried to hope, she held herself tightly pulling herself into a ball around her backpack.  For now she would stay small, insignificant to the world around her.  She didn’t want attention, she didn’t even want to be surrounded by this many people.  But she had a dream, and no matter how scared she was, she had to push through.

TCH

“We will be arriving at Beacon in 5 minutes, please prepare your property.”  The jostling of the ship stirred her into  action.  Her right eye suddenly snapped open when she looked around the room and realized that several of the students had already started to walk out. Grabbing her bag she quickly got up heading outside and decided to take one last look around realizing that she was finally here.

It was exactly as she imagined it to be,It was huge and gorgeous.  The various greens caught her attention almost instantly, how a school on top of a mountain made any sense went right past her, but she couldn’t ignore the spectacle.

However, she was pulled away from her admiration as soon as she heard an explosion. She blinked and once the dust  died down amongst the chaos she noticed three girls.  However, once she got a better look at one of them her face burned crimson.  She tried to pull her attention to the other two, one was pristine white, full, a young woman who liked like she was made of snow.  The other was a girl in a red hood, her hair was dark with tinges of red.  However the third one was in nothing but rags, a collar, and a leash, a leash held by the red hooded girl. Though she didn't catch the start of the conversation she did hear the red girl say "I'm sorry I didn't know that she'd slam into your into your stuff sorry. I have to take better care of her next time I'll make sure she pays better attention to where she’s going, I promise!"

To her surprise several of the students simply walked by but she couldn't get over how the little red one was pulling on a leash as if trying to call the young woman away. Then she remembered from what she had heard before coming to Vale, something about a new law being enforced to entrap Huntsmen and Huntresses that broke the law.  They would have their auras locked, their bodies bound, and they would be given or sold depending on if the person who brought them in wanted them or not.  This… this must have been that, May did her best not to look, however as her gaze fell upon the lithe form of the dark skinned woman, currently on all fours looking away sheepishly as her master was berated, she felt a dark desire burn within her core.  “Bad, bad May!”  

Her attention diverted back towards the direction the remaining students were heading.  Following the crowd she couldn’t help but let her nerves get the better of her.  Her hand clenched against her jacket, pressing against her special binding.  Her chest ached, a problem she had when her anxieties got the better of her.  “Hopefully things won’t be so bad.”  She eventually moved forward.  Lost in her own little world she didn’t see the young blonde man who arrived shortly after her, greeting the girl with short red tipped hair.  

Eventually she made her way into the auditorium, the sheer number of people sent goosebumps down her arms.  “Too many…”  Not wanting to garner any attention she made her way to the corner of the room, thankfully finding an empty spot with very few people.  Eventually she felt her legs give out, her bottom bouncing off the tiled ground as she did her best to calm herself.  However, as she tried to calm herself, sitting away from others, the hustle and bustle of the booming voices began to wear down upon her.  She was never great with crowds, and the fact that so many were her age didn’t make it any better.  She was all alone, perhaps it was her fault, but it didn’t ease her pain.

“You can do this… you can do this…”  She tried to chant to herself, she was never good with lots of people, never good when any amount of attention was put on her.  And though she knew that none of these people would even give her the time of the day, which honestly hurt in its own way, she just knew that she had to keep herself from losing it.  Clenching her eye shut, she tried to chant to herself one more time, “It’ll be okay, it’ll be okay, it’ll be okay.”  You won’t be okay, you won’t be okay, you’re going to fail.   But even as she tried her best, as more people began to gather, she found herself being lost in the quagmire of doubts.  Her eye began to sting as tears pooled in.  She felt a deep pool form in her chest, her breathing became ragged, and her thoughts started to scatter.  “Why now?”  She thought she could do this, thought that this was the right idea.  But then why were all her fears and anxieties suddenly hitting her now?

She felt herself being washed away by her negative emotions, a sea of dread surrounding her as she sunk to the bottom.  She wanted someone to be there with her, though she had no one, she needed to be told she was going to be okay, but any words would simply sound hollow to her, she hoped to find help, but would help ever come?  You don’t matter, go home, you won’t make it, why should yo- Suddenly her body jolted as a gentle hand pressed against her shoulder.  In her panic she tried to shift away, her vision blurred by the clinging tears that stung at her eyes.  “I… I’m sorry!”  She hadn’t meant to bother anyone, she had wanted to AVOID attention!  Panic filled her chest once more, her anxieties boiling over, until she heard a soothing voice call out to her.

“Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay, breathe.”  Another hand gently pressed against her other shoulder.  “Don’t think, just try to breathe.”  She couldn’t see the other person, but hearing their voice call out to her was enough to calm her nerves just a little.  Yet, that didn’t fully wash away her anxieties.  Her chest still beat as her heart continued to pump uncontrollably.  Then, another voice, this one a bit more masculine than the previous, though it was low and… and oddly calming, more so than even the first.  

“Hey.”  They said, keeping their comment short, “Uhm… here you can use this… it should help you just a little.”  She felt something press against the base of her palm.  Her fingers wiggled around trying to figure out what it was.  After a minute inspection she realized it was paper, “Oh!”  It was a paper bag… how did they?  “Just bring it to your mouth and nose, and take deep long breaths.  It helps me when I start to have uhm... yeah.”  They didn’t finish the sentence, they hadn’t needed to.  May brought the bag to her lips, surrounding her nose as well.  “Okay, that’s good, breathe in.”  She did so, “Breathe out.”  She followed the instructions.  Eight times she did so, her heart finally calming down.  Eventually she pulled away, exhaling fresh air and not the carbon dioxide trapped in the bag, then once more she began to breathe into the bag.  

Eventually she was able to calm herself, and thankfully the stinging sensation in her eye cleared up.  She was finally able to open her eye, her vision flickering back into focus as she was met with the smiling faces of two very different individuals.  The one to her left must have been the first one to come to her aid.  A young woman with long bright red hair and clear green eyes, her lips parted into a warm gentle smile that seemed to brighten May’s mood instantly.  The other… he was… her heart started to thump again, but not for the same reason as before.  

“Hey, you’re okay, that’s good.”  She… she almost started crying again.  No wonder his voice had sounded so soothing to her, no wonder she’d felt herself calm almost instantly.  “Uhm, I know this is sort of odd timing all considered but, hello.  It’s nice to meet you two, I’m-”

Her lips parted as his name left her lips, “Jaune…”

He blinked stunned that she’d known who he was.  “I… that’s right, how do you…”  She didn’t give him the chance to answer as she practically threw herself at him.  Her arms stretched out, winding themselves tightly around his back.  

A soft, “Oh my.”  Escaped the other girl's lips.  May knew this was embarrassing, knew that she was probably drawing attention to herself, but for once she finally felt just a little bit safer.

“It’s been so long, I missed you so much.”  Her old friend stood there frozen for just a moment.  She hadn’t seen him in so long, so she couldn’t fully expect him to figure out who she was, at least not till she told him anyway.  

But to her surprise, “May?”  “Mmhmm.”  She responded, his arms suddenly wrapping around her pulling her into a tightly knit hug.  She thanked the brothers for her special binder, she would have never been able to get this close to him without them.  Eventually though the two let one another go.  Her heart finally calmed down as she felt she could finally relax.  

Though, “Oh! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have seen that.”  She had nearly forgotten her other hero, the one who had shown up first.  Her eye shifted over towards the absolutely stunning woman in front of her.  She couldn’t help the unusually hot feelings burning inside of her as her eye swapped between the unknown woman and Jaune, and then back again.  

“No!  No, that's alright.”  She felt Jaune’s hand press against hers, squeezing gently as if to reassure her that everything was alright.  Her heart practically drummed in her chest at the way this reunion was going.  “I uh…”  May noticed the way that Jaune looked as if his words were lost on his lips.  She couldn’t really blame him, the girl in front of them WAS rather beautiful.  Though perhaps he hadn’t gotten any better at social interactions?  

Now that she thought about it, what was he doing here?  When had he gotten better?  Did his parents end up training him?  There were so many questions flashing through her mind and she wasn’t sure she WANTED to know the answers, none of that mattered though.  All that did matter was that she was holding him, and oh brothers did it feel good.

She wondered though, was she supposed to feel jealous of how flustered the other girl made Jaune, cause she didn’t, which was weird?  She wasn’t sure if that was weird, did she have feelings for Jaune?  If he was anything like the boy she remembered, then absolutely.  But, that brought up the question, why did she find herself drawn to the other girl's emerald eyes, she felt oddly warm, not uncomfortably so either.  

Apparently the other girl noticed the staring, she seemed to give them an awkward laugh as she looked away trying to avoid their gazes.  “Hahah… I should have known.”  May caught the nearly silent comment, now she had questions, yet she didn’t know how to start them.  

“What should you have known?”  Thankfully she didn’t have to, apparently Jaune was still as socially awkward as ever, that again brought up the question of what he’d been doing up till now.  She’d have to keep an eye on him during initiation, just to be safe.  Though for now, she turned her attention back to the stunning redhead before them.  

“Ah.”  She paused, obviously trying to be polite to Jaune’s abrupt question, “You must have a million questions for me, yes?”  

May and Jaune both blinked, “Why?” came the same question from both their lips.  

This apparently stunned the other girl as she blinked at them owlishly.  “Do… do you not know who I am?”  

May sure didn’t, then again she wasn’t really in the know with a lot of things, she’d spent so much time training, trying to improve herself that she’d kind of fall out of the loop.  She shook her head, “No… I’m afraid not.”  She sure hoped that the other girl didn’t find it offensive.

“Same for me, are we supposed to?”  

The girl paused once more, almost as if she was a dear who’d been caught in the headlights.  “I… no.”  The uncomfortable feeling that she’d fallen into had suddenly vanished, a soft smile suddenly spread across her face.  May couldn’t help but feel the warm and fuzzy feeling coming back ten fold.  “No, that’s actually…”  She was full on smiling now, “It is a pleasure to meet you both.  My name is Pyrrha, Pyrrha Nikos.”  She stopped after, waiting on something and when that something didn’t happen she simply smiled.  

She had such a really pretty name too!  May felt like everything about this girl was just… oh gods she was amazing.  She wasn’t sure she had the courage to introduce herself, thankfully Jaune did,  “Hi… I… I’m uhm… I’m Jaune… Jaune Arc, Sho… you know nevermind.”  May blinked, thankful she wasn’t the only nervous one around the really pretty girl.  

She was about to introduce herself, finally getting her courage when suddenly two things happened.  “Hi I’m May Z…”  Suddenly the lights turned off, all of the other students suddenly swapped their attentions towards the stage, that was the first thing and the thing she would suddenly become VERY thankful for… then… then the second thing happened. SNAP She heard it first, then she felt it second, then she saw it third.  Suddenly her binding came undone, her jacket which had been tugged due to her little anxiety attack had already been pulled up a little leaving only her thin white shirt… and finally she nearly screamed as her bust suddenly exploded from the binding, her bra nearly flying away smacking Jaune straight in the face and her massive horrendously titanic absolutely gigantic bust popped into view!  Popping straight from under hear shirt she felt her face grow red hot as both Pyrrha and Jaune stood there for nearly a full on moment watching her ginormous tits jiggle freely, the fleshy uselessly big bags of flesh wiggled and bounced as if they had a mind of their own.  Thankfully the shirt hadn’t come fully undone so they didn’t get to see her truly shameful secret!  Them seeing the massive size was enough of a shame for her, she was going to cry, she was going to cry!  

Then it happened, a strange sense of determination suddenly filled Jaune’s face as he eyed Pyrrha who suddenly seemed to wordlessly understand what he wanted.  She watched as Jaune suddenly lifted his hoodie, handing her bra/binder over to Pyrrha like he was used to handling them, which he probably was now that she thought about it.  And then suddenly her world went black as she was covered by Jaune’s previously worn hoodie.  In the brief period of darkness she realized a few things, one she was suddenly being raised up and taken somewhere.  And another…the jacket… it was filled with the scent of her childhood friend.  A wave of nostalgia and… and lust oh gosh she felt her womb practically tremble as she inhaled his scent, washed over her.  Lost in her own thoughts she didn’t notice the sudden thump behind her as her childhood friend nearly passed out at the new revelation… or TWO MASSIVE HULKING revelations.  He had… had sent her away with Pyrrha to clear his own thoughts on the matter.  

May did her best to hide herself within Jaune’s jacket as she could practically feel the gazes from the other students suddenly falling upon her, though to her surprise as they continued on the gazes began to die down.  Even as she attempted to shelter herself within the jacket she could still feel the judging gazes coming from the other students.  A soft whimper escaped her lips as she felt her world about to break down, then she felt a soft hand press against her shoulder.  “It’ll be okay, I’m here okay?”  An angelic voice called out to her, and her anxieties seemed to simply melt off of her shoulders.  

With a nod the two girls eventually made it towards the changing room, Pyrrha stepping forward first making sure that no one else was in the changing room.  Thankfully, the two of them were alone, though from the way Pyrrha began to shuffle her towards one of the small booths, she wasn’t sure for how long.  

While the changing process didn’t take too long, the two of them found themselves wrapped in an  oddly comforting silence.  “So…”  Pyrrha was the first to break it, much to May’s gratefulness.  “You and uhm, Jaune… have you two known each other long?”  It was an odd question, but May supposed there was no harm in answering.  

“Yes…”  She took a moment, perhaps long wasn’t the right word, “We used to live near one another, when we were kids, but my family moved away… we used to be very close…”  May hid away a blush, as thoughts of snuggling closer to her childhood friend came to mind.  

For her part Pyrrha seemed oddly displaced, May couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something was off about the obviously popular girl.  “A...are you okay?”  When Pyrrha suddenly snapped from her confusion May noticed the small tinge of red on her cheeks.  

“Ye...yes!  Sorry!  I’m just not…”  She watched the Cereal Mascot stare blankly at nothing, wishfully.  “I don’t have any close friends.”  May, may have been shy and introverted, but she was also observant.  She knew there was more to the story than just that, but she wouldn’t push it.  

“I… if… you like I could be your friend, and… and I’m sure Jaune would like to as well.”  

Pyrrha had liked the idea so much she hadn’t even bothered to give it a second thought as she quickly blurted her excitement out, “Yes please!”  For all her sudden confidence the crimson haired beauty began to bluster, “I mean… yes please… that would be grand.”

May couldn’t contain the rampage of giggles suddenly bustling through her lips, she didn’t have many friends herself, but meeting Pyrrha had been quite pleasant.  “That would be nice, I think Jaune already thinks of you as a friend as well.”  

The crimson haired beauty simply smiled, May hadn’t really been sure of her sexuality up till this point, but she was starting to think she was bi, if the sudden beating in her chest was anything to go by.  “Oh, we should get your uhm, Bra fixed.”  

“Ri...right!”  May had almost completely forgotten about their initial goal.  Without really thinking about it, she began to shift, slipping her arms through the comfortable hoodie and pushing it upwards.  What she didn’t notice, while her head was trapped in complete darkness, was the sudden lustful gaze that Pyrrha had suddenly formed upon her face.  She didn’t notice the way emeralds stared at her, as the jacket began to shift upwards tugging at her voluptuous form.  She wasn’t aware at the way that Pyrrha’s tongue instinctively ran across her lips, or the way that a deep crimson seeped from her cheeks running through her entire body once May had managed to free her luscious bouncing bosom.  She also didn’t notice Pyrrha draw closer, getting incredibly close to her plump mounds of fat.  “P...Pyrrha?”  She called out behind the combination of clothing currently trapping her in place.

“Ye...yes!”  The oddly anxious tone in her new friends voice caught her off guard, but she simply chopped it up to not being used to others, much like herself.  

“Can you help me please?”  She wiggled a little, unknowingly causing her monstrous mountains of fat to sway back and forth.  

“O...of course…”  

She wasn’t sure what had taken Pyrrha so long to answer that time, but the girl eventually moved to assist, taking a position behind her… for some reason?  Eventually the two of them had managed to clear the jacket, stripping May of her top based apparel.  While she hadn’t put much thought into it at first, the sudden realization that Pyrrha was LOOKING at her, caused a general warmth to flow through her.  Her body shook as Pyrrha’s hands slowly sipped past her shoulders, gentle fingers running across her collar bone.  

She wasn’t sure what had it at first, but something hot started to form inside of her lower region.  The heat only grew stronger as the crimson haired goddess behind her, continued to slowly eat up her appearance.  It was an odd feeling, whenever May had people look at her, they were always either one of two categories, treating her as eye candy, or simply thinking ill of her.  But there was something coming from Pyrrha, something she didn’t quite understand on her own.  

“You’re gorgeous…”  The words came out of Pyrrha’s mouth faster than May would have anticipated.  “I… uhm I…!”  

“Thank you…”  Was May’s response, unwilling to let Pyrrha backtrack.  She wasn’t used to compliments, but… she really liked them.  She let out a small sniffle, “I don’t get complimented very frequently… I’m kind of…”  While she’d moved her hands to hold her breasts together at one point, she let her right one loose, running it across her side.  May wasn’t… obese by any means.  But when compared to women like Pyrrha, or that white haired girl from earlier… she was plump.  She had a round bottom, wide hips, and a large chest.  She had belly fat that she’d never been able to get rid of no matter how hard she tried… it was an odd thing, one she wasn’t very proud of.  

“No… no you’re quite beautiful though!”  She felt the heat radiating off of Pyrrha’s hands as they hovered just behind her back.  It was obvious Pyrrha wasn’t used to giving compliments as she was just kind of blurting things out, but May liked them.  

“Th...thank you… so are you… you’re really… you’re hair is really gorgeous, and you have stunning eyes.”  

She missed the way that Pyrrha blushed, the trembling of her fingers, the way that she held her breath.  The two of them sat in silence for quite a bit of time, at least till May ended up breaking it.  “We should… we should get dressed…”  

“Right… right, what time is it?”  May heard shuffling behind her as Pyrrha pulled out her scroll.  “Oh!  Oh no!”  

“What’s wrong?!”  

“We’ve been here for almost an hour!”  

“Wha?!”  

May began to freak out, that meant there HAD to be other people coming in soon!  She needed to get dressed quickly, but by this point they needed to put their sleeping wear on.  

After a quick hustle the two girls began to get dressed, and despite the hesitation in Pyrrha’s touch, she did aid her with putting her bra back on.  May didn’t like wearing it to sleep but she didn’t really have a choice at the moment.  

Finally they’d gotten dressed, both wearing simple cute one colored pajama’s.  May’s own were a light maroon, while Pyrrha’s were a deep crimson.  “Odd…”  

“What is?”  

Pyrrha eyed the room, “The others should have shown up by now, I wonder why it’s so empty.”  

May thought about it as well, it was strangely empty, though as they got near the entrance they noticed a ruckus forming on the outside of the door.  

“Hurry up and move!”  The shrill voice from that Princess Looking girl from earlier called out.  A few more frustrated and angry voices called out as well.  

Eventually as they opened the door they realized what was going on.  Standing in the way of the door was Jaune, in what May thought was incredibly adorable looking blue onesie pajamas with a rabbit on them!  He’d apparently been holding up the door for some time as he did his best to not eye the angry crowd.  

May nearly jumped when she heard Pyrrha’s voice change its unusually calm tone, “What’s going on here?”  

“Oh!”  The white haired girl apparently noticed their change, “Pyrrha Nikos!”  It was quick, but May saw the way that Pyrrha flinched at the girl’s words, obviously not liking the way she said her name.  

“Yes, Ms. Schnee?”  

The girl seemed quite pleased to be known, as she started to practically vibrate, “We found this lout in front of the changing room!  He was obviously acting suspiciously of you in an attempt to do something most untoward!”  

To her surprise May found her fist clenched, she was about to step forward knowing full well that Jaune would never do anything of the sort.  But to her surprise she was beat to the task, “That is not the case Ms. Schnee.”  Despite her fiery appearance May needed to take a step back as Pyrrha practically released an aura of sheer cold.  “I asked Jaune here.”  She pointed at Jaune who was currently bowled over, obviously having taken a blow to the stomach at one point, “To watch over us, as my friend, May.”  She now pointed towards May, “And I got changed.”  She turned her attention back to Ms. Schnee, “You must understand that I do need my privacy.”  May wasn’t sure why, but she felt Pyrrha wasn’t acting like her true self, though she supposed she must have been someone important if everyone was suddenly listening to her.  Questions for later?  

“I… I understand!  He could have said something however!”  

“Tri.. tri…”  Jaune was obviously trying to talk, however seeing as he was currently bowled over he wasn’t able to say anything.  

“It doesn’t seem you gave him the chance.”  Pyrrha stepped over to Jaune, hooking an arm around and under his own lifting him up.  May herself quickly moved to the other side, doing the same thing.  “Now if you’ll excuse us.”  Pyrrha said nothing further as she started off with the duo.

May turned to Jaune once she knew they were out of ear shot, “Are you okay?”  

“Ye...yeah… sorry… ow, they hit hard.”  She heard him grumble something else but couldn’t understand it.  “Sorry… I was worried someone may show up while you were getting changed, I tried to keep them out.”  May smiled, not having once doubted Jaune, she could tell from the way he spoke that he was telling the truth, not to mention how he had been holding his arms outstretched in front of the door.

“Thank you.”  Pyrrha was the first to say her thanks, “I appreciate it… and I”m sorry that I may have tangled you in a mess.”  

“Huh?  No, that's fine, you saved me, so thank you.”  His head swivled back to her, “And sorry, I uhm… I always thou…”  

“It’s okay.”  May smiled, “I was kind of tomboyish growing up.”  If she was being honest she was still pretty much a tomboy even now.  

The trio made their way to a corner in silence, choosing to lay their sleeping bags close together.  While waiting for lights off, the trio ended up making a bit of small talk, May and Jaune learned a few things from Pyrrha, firstly and to their surprise the three of them had been pretty friendless growing up.  Jaune had admitted that he’d been mostly home schooled.  Which May had figured, but at the same time she had noticed the lack of actual training… worry had started to build up inside of her upon a certain realization.  If he was anything like the Jaune she knew… then well… ignoring that moment, May found herself quite entertained by the other two, and from what she could see Jaune and Pyrrha got along quite well as if they were two peas in a pod.  The obviously famous girl is enamored by his talk of having to deal with seven sisters, and his day to day life.  She noticed he’d kept a tight lip on how sickly he used to be, but that was perhaps for the best.

Once they called for lights out the trio began to head to their own beddings, however May had a different idea.  Mustering up a bit of courage she turned her attention towards her friend.  “Jaune?”  

His eyes lazily fell upon her, “Hmm?”  

“Can we… can we cuddle?  Like old times?”

Even in the darkness cast upon them she noticed the way his face tinged red, and the way that Pyrrha suddenly looked quite a bit interested in their conversation.  Of course she expected him to say no, but to her surprise he responded with a calm but quiet, “Yes.”  

Her lips curled into a smile as she drew closer to him, the duo squeezing into his overly large sized sleeping back.  May was much smaller than Jaune, so her feet only reached to about halfway between his own feet and knees.  She found herself snuggling into his neck, his arms wrapping around her back and pressing her close.  

What surprised her however, was how close Pyrrha had moved towards them, “Sorry.”  Her quiet voice reached out to the snuggling duo.  “I’ve never really… had friends… and I”d like to be closer, if that’s okay.”  

A small hum of approval came from Jaune, “That’s no problem Pyr.”  

“Pyr?”  

“Oh hahah… sorry… well we’re friends, and I thought maybe calling you by a nickname wouldn’t be so bad?”  

May herself smiled as she pressed her face into the crook of his neck, she knew he was trying to include her as much as possible.  

“I… I like that, thank you.”  

She couldn’t make out Pyrrha’s face, but by the tone of her voice she figured that the girl was most likely blushing.  “Good night you two.”

“G’night.”  Both girls called out simultaneously.  

As the night rolled on May found herself almost unable to sleep, the thoughts of tomorrow eeking into her subconscious, however even that was overshadowed by how ecstatic she felt being so close to her childhood crush and friend.  

Though as she started to fall into the daze of sleep, she felt him shift, his arms gently reaching to her lower back pulling her closer to him.  Then quietly, almost too quietly, she heard him call out to her.  “May?”  

“Hmm?”  

She tried to match his tone of voice, “May, I don’t belong here…”  His voice was cracking, his anxiousness finally getting the better of him.  Thankfully he’d spoken almost directly into her ear, the only way someone would have been able to hear is if they had been right next to them.  And the only person close enough, the other students were keeping their distance, was Pyrrha who was soundly asleep.  And the next closest person was snoring loudly, some blonde girl next to a shorter girl, the one who got yelled at learlier.  

She’d honestly figured as much by this point, though… she wondered what she was supposed to do with that information.  The right thing would have been to turn him in… but she wanted him by her side.  Unknown to the two of them, while they had their private conversation, emerald eyes flickered open.  Their neighbor hadn’t quite fallen asleep yet, although she hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on the conversation, she’d been unable to rest not with the two so close to her.

May simply nodded against him, “How so?”  She quietly asked.

“I… I faked my transcripts.”  

May hummed to herself, she doubted that fake transcripts would have gotten by the headmaster, or the Headmistress if she was remembering things correctly.  “Do you have Aura?”  

“Ye...yes… My parents unlocked it for me when I told them I got accepted.”  

May nodded, she knew that uncle and auntie wouldn’t have left him high and dry like that.  “Did they teach you anything else?”  

“A little… they taught me how to use the shield to protect myself from falling, I’m not sure why.”  

Ah, so they at least taught him a landing strategy, May had to wonder if they knew something?  She was perhaps being a bit overly suspicious of the situation.  “Okay.”  Quietly she snuggled against him, taking a deep breath of his surprisingly fresh scent, a mixture of lavender and vanilla.  This was no different than her original goal, just that the time table was pushed up a little.  “I promised I’d protect you back then, I’m going to protect you now, okay?”  

She felt him hesitate as he tried to think of the words.  She knew he hated the idea of being protected, he’d been protected his entire life after all.  “No… I ca-”  

She cut him off, doing something so very unlike her, her lips gently pressed against his leaving a chaste kiss.  “Jaune… I want to.”  She could feel the temperature on the back of his neck heat up.  And before he could get another word in edgewise she wanted to clarify, “We all need help… and… you haven’t been trained right?”  

“Ri...right…”  

“Then I’m going to help you… I don’t know if I could do a sword and shield, but I want you to succeed, and until then I’ll be by your side.”  

“Oh… ok…”  

She smiled, once more burying herself into his chest, though she pulled back as she suddenly felt something press against her.  “Jaune?”  

“Ye...yes?”  

“What’s that?”  

She knew what it was, but she was feeling coy, something she never thought she’d ever feel before.

“Oh uhm… I…”

“Am I turning you on?  Now that you know I’m a girl?”  Perhaps the accident WAS for the best after all.

She felt him rumble, trying to find what to say.  “Well I mean… I’ve always… even when I thought… I still thought you were… uhm… really attractive… so it’s not… too different?”  

A silent, ‘Oh’ escaped her lips at the sudden realization.  “Well.. uhm…”  Now she was the one at loss for words.  

“I’ll be honest.”  He started to speak, “Meeting two incredibly gorgeous women in one day, and then finding out one was my best friend, and the other wants to be friends?  It’s kind of a lot to take in.”  She nodded against his chest, she was in a similar position, except she was one of those women according to him, and that realization forced a blush to creep down her face.  Though she had to agree about Pyrrha.

“She’s really pretty, and nice, and amazing.”  

“Yeah, apparently she’s famous?  Those girls were kind of being weird with her, and that uhm Schnee?  I think her name was?  She was kind of… I think she was drooling at one point?”  

May tried not to giggle, mostly to keep her voice down.  “Well it doesn’t matter if she is famous or not, she was nice enough to help me when I needed someone.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t really know anything about it either way, and she seems to genuinely want friends.”  

While the two of them carried on their conversation, they still hadn’t realized Pyrrha herself hadn’t fallen asleep yet.  The girl in question attempted to keep a small sniffle down, as she felt herself overwhelmed by strange yet positive emotions.

The duo continued on their conversation for a little more, until it came to an abrupt stop when May shifted a little, her thigh brushing against the thing poking her.  “Can… can I touch it?”  

If she thought Jaune was warm before, he was suddenly blazing hot.  She was actually a bit afraid that he’d end up burning up before the big initiation at this rate.  But “Okay…”  Even she almost didn’t hear that one, his voice almost a mumble instead of a whisper.  Unable to control herself she slowly brought one of her hands from around his back gently rubbing it against the front of his onesie.  

A bit of excitement started to build as he shivered beneath her touch.  Her finger gently brushing against the solid rod of mass resting against her leg.  She couldn’t believe how big it was, like… she’d seen several already, going to an academy left very little to the imagination especially if you roomed with mostly boys who refused to… well now wasn’t the time to think about it.  Still, none of them had even matched up to half the size of the beast between the two.  If she hadn’t realized what it was earlier she would have sworn it was another arm or leg.  

The anticipation in her bosom began to build the more he shivered at her touch, her fingers gently rubbing against the swollen thing through the fabric.  She could feel heat pulsing from the staff as it started to throb against her touch.  “It’s really big, really really big.”  

He didn’t say anything in response, choosing to bite his lower lip in order to keep quiet.  She could tell he wasn’t used to this kind of treatment, or at least she hoped he wasn’t.  The more she touched it, the braver she got, eventually causing her to take a firm grasp of his thing.  Despite being behind the rather soft fabric of his onesie she could feel each and every vein pulsing beneath her firm grip.

She wanted more, wanted to feel skin to skin, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to convince him… at least not if she didn’t offer something else up as well.  “Jaune?”  

“Huhuh?”  

Fighting back a few giggles she continued, “Would you like to touch me?”  

“Wha?”  

“Yeah…”  The very thought of having someone touch her directly would have made her skin crawl, but when that other person was someone she cared very deeply for?  Well she knew she wouldn’t mind.  

“Ye...yes please…”  

“Okay.”  

She felt his hand shift from behind her back, gently rubbing against the curvature of her stomach.  She could feel his hesitance through his touch, so deciding to actually take hold of the situation she tugged against his sleeve, pulling his hand lower.  Once he’d found the band of her shorts, she let him know what she wanted with another gentle whisper.  “Inside please~”  

To her surprise, he was quite quick to respond.  Squelch his fingers sunk between her soaking wet lips, digits digging into her flesh.  A soft moan escaped her mouth as she pressed her lips between the crook of his neck in order to stifle the erotic sounds.  

Despite his earlier confusion, his interest began to overshadow his nervousness as his fingers began to curl inside of her damp viscous passage.  His knuckle roamed against the back, while his finger rubbed against the front.  Her legs parted allowing him to position himself better, and as he found his own pace, allowing soft quiet squelching sounds to escape between the two of them, she found her hands moving towards the zipper at the top of his onesie, thankfully placed in the front for easier access.  

He didn’t question her, possibly too excited to be playing with a feminine body.  Despite moving as fast as she could, she found the pace at which she pulled upon the metal zipper to be agonizingly slow.  Finally, she’d found the bottom, tugging on it once more she was suddenly hit with a quick SMACK her body trembled at the new sensation.  Something big, hard, and hot was pressing against her belly, pulsing against the swell of her stomach.  A thin trail of something gooey and sweltering, rimmed her belly button as the two of them shifted around uncomfortably.

The more he played with her, his fingers now bearing into her sensitive kitten all the way down to the base, the more she applied pressure to her grip.  He was even hotter flesh to flesh, with every stroke his member pulsed in her hands, the soft skin burned with excitement as she continued her own little venture.  Eventually she pulled up against the tip, the massive swollen glans practically scorched her skin as globs of sweltering hot precum dripped from the tiny slit.  

Something began to churn inside of her as their bodies paced back and forth their minds practically closing the rest of the world off.  So much so that the duo failed to notice the sudden rustling besides them.  

The young crimson haired champion could practically smell the sweetly sick stench wafting off of the duo.  She could hear every word, every moment, despite what one may say about her she was still a young woman.  Her hands had moved between her thighs, her fingers running across the smooth slick line between her vulva.  Her core trembled when her middle finger slipped between her folds, running across the rigid insides of her deep moist canal.  She tried as she may to scratch an itch she’d never truly experienced before, tried her best to stay quiet and calm herself as her body betrayed her.  She wondered how it would feel to have another touch her so?  To be wrapped in the warmth of someone that she could say she loved?  She wasn’t sure… hopefully she’d find out one day.

The two found themselves enraptured with one another, May no longer able to hold back had tugged on the head, the member gently shaking beneath her touch, as she positioned it between her thighs.  Jaune’s hands slipped past her belly, leaving a wet rope of juice against her tanned skin.  “Jaune… please?”  She asked, nay begged him to do it, to slide inside of her, to treat her like the woman she wanted to be treated like.  

Yet to her surprise he simply placed a gentle kiss against her forehead.  “No, not yet…”  Before the disappointment could build she felt a sudden heave.  His member sliding between her plump soft thighs, the thick veins grinding against her pussy, her lips split apart as the rough shaft glided past.  “Ah~♥”  His fingers scraped across her unprotected back, nails filing down her spine until he reached her plump bottom.  She could feel him grasp upon each cheek, his strong hands sinking into her flesh as he squeezed at her bottom.  

While the previous sorrow from having to possibly wait in the future started to vanish, the realization that they would still be getting intimate proved to suffice.  “May.”

Her attention fell back to him, their varying shaded blue eyes meeting each other in a deep loving gaze, but only for a moment as he pressed his lips against hers.  Their first kiss had been quick, simple, chaste, this one was fiery and intense.  Their mouths wrestled with one another as their tongues clashed in fierce combat.  Her arms slipped between his, her fingers grasping onto his surprisingly broad back.  In a move unlike her normal soft demeanor she found herself digging into his skin, her nails raked across his flesh grinding into him like a cat in heat.  

He responded in kind, his fingers plunging further into her taut bottom spreading her cheeks apart as his hips bumped against hers.  Her core trembled whilst his member slid against her lips, rubbing against her already dripping sex.  She wanted him so badly to mess up, to pull back a little too far until he pushed all the way inside of her.  She knew how big it was from feeling it alone, she could tell it would ruin her, destroy her insides so no other man could possibly hope to satisfy her!  And that’s what she wanted, she wanted to have her body split open, wanted him to crush her cervix right into her womb to mess her insides up and to churn her without a hint of remorse.

These feelings and thoughts were so unlike her, she’d never figured herself for the violent sex type, but… the thought of being dominated by Jaune just… it lit a flame in her.  And yet as she closed her eyes, another person came to mind, perhaps in a different way.  She knew she wouldn’t be satisfied with another man once they got to that point, but well… What if it wasn’t another man?  What if it was a woman?  Emerald and Crimson swarmed through her thoughts as Jaune continued to toy with her.  “Oh gods~”  

She knew she couldn’t keep her voice down anymore, her womb was already squeezing, begging to be filled with rich Arc seed, even though she knew it wouldn’t get that chance yet.  She found herself lost too much in a fantasy that she wasn’t even sure would happen yet, “Wh...what about… abou… Py…”  She didn’t get to finish her question as Jaune shoved his tongue down her throat, forcing her to silence.  

By the time he’d pulled back she was too out of breath to continue.  “Shhh, we can’t be too loud May~  And… ye...yeah I’d like that too…”  She knew he was just being cautious, she knew no one could hear them, and Pyrrha was asleep by this point.  But she supposed erring on the side of caution was for the best.  “My shoulder… bite it.”  

She wasn’t sure how she felt about the command, but as his nails pressed in between the valley of her ass she felt something coming closer to her.  Far too quickly for her liking she latched her mouth around his shoulder, her teeth gnawing into his flesh to keep herself silent.  Her eyes rolled back as the strongest orgasm she’d ever had in her life finally took over.  A haze fell over her as everything practically faded to black, her hips shook while her sex trembled thin streams of liquid squirting from her quivering core.  

She wanted nothing more but to fall into a deep slumber, however one thought kept her from falling over.  Jaune had started to pull back, satisfied with having pleasured her.  “Jaune, finish.”  

“I… I can’t… it would get on the sleeping bag.”  

She shook her head as she began to pull up her shorts, sliding the back against her plush round bottom and left the front part lowered.  “Here, here.”  She guided him to the slightly sticky center of her shorts.

She could practically see his face illuminate in the darkness, she knew he was the kind of person even till this day that wouldn’t want to trouble someone… but she wanted this.  Before he could utter another word she reached for the base of his member, her fingers gently brushing against his soft neatly cut pubic hairs.  From the start all the way down to the tip she began to stroke him, her hand unable to fully grasp around the entirety of its girth.  

She heard him start to moan, a husky, low growl nearly escaping his lips only stopped when she pulled him into a deep loving kiss.  She felt herself begin to buck against the air, excited for the cumming sensation.  Thankfully she needed not wait long, hearing it before she could actually feel it, thick spurts of white began to splash against her clothing pooling in the center.  

A rush of adrenaline filled her as she pumped him faster, harder, longer strokes!  She wanted his body to give into her, to surrender all his precious seed to her.  When he was done, she felt her confidence begin to pool for one final step.  “Thank you~”  She whispered into his ear, her fingers grasping against the hem of her clothing, tugging upwards till, SQUISH, “OoooooooOoOh~”  There had been so much more of it than she thought.  Her pussy drowned in semen as it pressed against her entrance, squirming inside of just the beginning however unable to get further.  She found herself unable to contain a happy little squee as she kissed against him.  

By this point the two of them had grown fatigued, exhaustion hitting them harder than they expected, they pressed themselves into one another, enjoying each other's warmth.  She wasn’t sure what they would do for tomorrow, but she was going to make sure he passed no matter what.

Just to the right of them, the sleeping bag belonging to their new friend rustled louder, Pyrrha’s fingers dug into her pussy two digits reaching as deeply as they could into her soaking sex.  The other hand rubbed against her backside, a finger gently sliding inside of her trembling hole.  Her toes curled as a surprise orgasm struck through her leaving her nearly defenseless as her brain began to run haywire.  She wasn’t sure what had compelled her, but as the thick sent of sex wafted her way, she wasn’t sure it would be the last… she had a lot to think about tomorrow...

[the-panmixxia]

Logan Accidentally Steals Two (2) Children - Chapter 15; (in)Custody Weekend

Original Link (by me!)

Rating: Gen

Characters: Logan, Remy, Virgil

Ship: (eventual) Logan x Janus

Summary: Logan Sanders is so excited to study this exciting new creature that's been discovered! The spider-like creature is very interesting, and oddly adorable.

A few weeks later, a similar situation arises when an octopus like creature is discovered.

But surely they couldn't know each other. They aren't sentient. They're not related, and they definitely don't have an overprotective (and oddly attractive) snake parent looking for them. Nope, definitely not.

(or, how Logan became part of a monster family)

Warnings: Spider, accidental kidnapping, laboratory

Master Post

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(fic is not in this font)

Logan was so engrossed in his work, hunched over the laptop since four this morning, he almost missed the little patters coming downstairs. Without his dad there to wake him, Roman had woken up at just past nine, messy hair, clutching his Rarity teddy, and slightly confused.

"Daddy, good morning! I'm awake!" Roman greeted, cheerful despite the change in routine.

"Hello, dear, good morning to you, too. Did you sleep well?" Logan gave his best smile, closing out of the windows he had open, leaning back in his seat. In a few seconds, Roman was there, clamoring up to sit on his lap.

"Uh-huh! Was nice and cosy…" Roman glanced around as Logan played with his hair, noting the lack of packed lunch or school bag ready to go. "No school?"

"Not today, I'm afraid, I'm not going to work either."

Roman frowned, processing the information as he stared at daddy's desktop picture; Roman on a swing at the local park, smiling widely. The legs of the person pushing him was in frame, , reminding him of who wasn't here.

"Issit cause of Remy?"

"Is it." Logan corrected, before conceding. "And yes, in a way, but Remy hasn't done anything wrong."

"But he's still in trouble." Roman responded, somewhat sadly. Logan gave him a little squeeze.

"Yes, that's right, dear, but daddy is working on it."

Roman nodded along, kicking his little socked feet as he mused to himself. "What are you going to do, daddy?"

"Well, first, I'm going to cook us both some breakfast. Then I'll need to make some phone calls, then we're going to look for Remy."

"Maybe he's out getting a coffee."

Logan pressed a kiss to Roman's head, smiling softly. "Maybe. We'll check there first, huh?"

…

Later that morning, Logan approached their local Starbucks, Roman holding his hand and following. They'd gotten on a bus, since Logan's car was still seized to find non-existent evidence for Remy's alleged crime. Roman had only come here when in the car, whenever Remy managed to convince Logan to go through the drive-through so the teen could order - an event that had increased in frequency until they were here nearly every day.

The establishment was mildly busy, the rush of university students wanting a morning coffee had tapered down as lectures started, a few older couples and students deciding to skip class remained.

Roman tugged on Logan's jacket, prompting the scientist to scoop the toddler up in a secure hug as they waited in line.

The barista was only a little older than Remy, and a little shorter, looking rather tired yet with a cheerful expression. Logan readied his picture as it was their turn next, smiling politely as he read the name and pronoun badge.

Peter.

He/him/fae/faem

Happy to help!

"Hi there, welcome to Starbucks, what can I get for you today?" Peter smiled, ready to type an order into the till.

"Hello. Sorry, I'm not here to purchase a drink, I need to make an inquiry."

"Oh. Do you need a manager? I-I can get you a manager, no problem.” Fae asked, glancing around for a superior.

“No thank you, I need to ask about a missing teen that comes here rather frequently. I fear he’s being pursued and would very much like to get to him first.”

“Oh, fuck.” Peter mumbled, before his eyes widened and stared at Roman, realising fae had cursed in front of a child. “I’m so sorry sir -”

“It’s quite alright. Please, look at this picture, I need to know if you’ve seen him.”

Peter blinked, smiling politely and leaning slightly to see the man’s phone. He recognised the teen instantly, how could fae not?

"That's Remy." Peter said, nodding, before realising that the customer probably knew that already and wanted more. "He's in here pretty much every day, knows all the staff and other regulars by their name. I mean, everyone knows the staff names cause we've got uh. He knows our names without - he doesn't have to look, you know?"

"Yes, I understand." Logan said, patient with the teen. "Have you seen him? Within the past two days?"

"Oh. No, actually, I haven't. Which is like, strange, do you know where he is?"

"I don't, he's missing."

"Ah, yes sorry. I uh, forgot."

Logan sighed, taking the phone back. "It's alright. I apologise for holding up your line, thank you for your time."

With that, he turned to leave, and though he hadn't expected much, he still managed to be disappointed.

"No Remy?" Roman asked, rather sadly, so Logan gave him an affectionate squeeze.

"I'm afraid not, dear, but we'll find him."

…

Next visit was to the college Remy attended, a rather small yet prestigious institution for science and industry that sat within an old church. Remy claimed that he simply enrolled because he 'loved the vibe'.

Roman was less shy in this building, tottling off to read displays, but responding with an enthusiastic 'Okay, daddy!' when he was reminded to stay where Logan could see him.

The person behind the desk was idly typing away, glancing up at Logan.

"Hello, my name is Dallon, and welcome to West Shores Technical, college of Sciences, Mathematics, and Industry. How can I help you?" The line sounded as forced as humanly possible, but Logan smiled regardless.

"Hello. I'm looking for a teenager I believe has gone missing - he goes here, so I was hoping I could receive some useful information on where he could be."

The receptionist clicked their tongue, looking around the desk before sighing slightly. "I can't tell you much unless you're a carer, what name is it under?"

"Remington Dormir, first year."

"Hmm, uh okay, is he in biochem level four?"

Logan puffed up slightly, feeling proud that Remy was at such a high level at such a young age - being able to skip three whole levels, totalling six years, due to his intelligence and dedication. After a moment he realised that he hadn't responded, and nodded.

"Ah, yes, that's him. I have a picture of him, if you'd like to match it to the student id."

Logan showed the picture on his phone, watching as the receptionist eyed it critically for a moment.

"Yeah. That's him. Are you a relative?"

"Not exactly…"

"Oh, are you Logan?"

Logan blinked, but nodded. "Um, yes, how did you know?"

"You're the only contact listed."

"Oh…" Logan mumbled, feeling a little sombre. Obviously he wanted to be on it, but to be the only one listed -

"He's put your relation down as 'science guy'."

Logan laughed slightly, caught off guard. "Yes, that sounds like something Remy would say. So, do you know if he's here? Has he been in here today?"

"No. He's not been in since Monday to attend a lecture, and has spent the rest of the week in work placement."

Logan physically deflated, the stress of getting his hopes up and having his time wasted.

"Okay, well thank you for helping…could I please ask that you call me if Remy does happen to show up? I'll leave my number if you need."

"It's okay, we have it. You're a contact."

"Oh, yes, sorry. I'll get going then, come on Roman." Logan called, watching as Roman tottled over from watching a plasma ball.

"Bye bye!" Roman called to the receptionist, smiling sweetly. "Thank you for letting me play with your toys!" He beamed, gesturing to all the nick nacks dotted around the lobby.

"Aww." Dallon cooed, gentle. "You're welcome."

Logan smiled for a moment, before sobering back up, and leaving - holding Roman's hand as he went.

…

The search continued much like that, a litany of people unable to help. Dallon had called later that evening, only to tell him that the police had showed up to the college demanding the same information with no warrant.

The news was frustrating, though he forwarded the information to his attorney, and went about his business.

Sunday morning was spent, as usual, at the park with Roman. It was a children's play group that he adored, though Roman insisted on walking a lap around the park with Logan first, in case they found Remy. There was no luck, though Roman did enjoy petting a very muddy doberman, in turn becoming rather muddy himself. Logan simply hoped it didn't reignite the 'can we have a dog' conversation.

Playgroup ran smoothly, though Roman often paused mid-game to watch his dad, picking up on the nervousness Logan was radiating. The scientist tried to relax, and give a little wave, but Roman only nodded, more certain that his daddy was upset about something.

He'd taken Roman to a family-run café for lunch, the toddler politely asking for macaroni and cheese before working on his activity mat with an intense focus. Logan had connected to the cafe's Internet so he could keep in contact with his solicitors via email. He received the notification from his news app, the headline instantly catching his attention.

SEARCH FOR MISSING RESEARCH PROJECT - TEENAGE BOY ALSO UNACCOUNTED FOR

Logan scanned the headline, frowning deeply as Remy's face was plastered over the tabloid. The story was framing Remy as collateral in a horrific robbery - though it was more accurate than Remy being the perpetrator, it was clear that the authorities were hoping a good samaritan would find Remy and call them.

He bit back a simmer of rage, glancing around the cafe as if checking who was watching. He half expected one of the scientists to be sat at another table, laughing at his disdain, but alas. Roman was still working diligently, colouring in a sentient milk carton bright pink.

Right, this situation wasn't ideal, but it was surely manageable.

Dialling their main solicitor, Tyler, confident they'd pick up despite the out-of-office hours. After five rings, Logan was correct.

"Tyler Windsor speaking."

"Yes, hello, this is Logan Sanders. I need a meeting with you, as soon as possible."

A moment passed before Tyler responded. "Oh. I've just seen the headline. Nine Thirty, tomorrow morning? Should be enough time to drop your kid off at daycare."

Logan scoffed, stroking Roman's hand as the child stopped drawing to look at him. "Roman isn't going anywhere until I have assurance another officer won't be able to take him without my consent."

"Yeaaaahhh." Tyler responded awkwardly. "Still trying to figure out how he was able to do that. The warrant certainly didn't cover it."

"I'll see you tomorrow, thank you for seeing me on such short notice. Enjoy your Sunday."

Roman gently handed his daddy a blue crayon, smiling as his expression softened. "Is okay daddy, we'll find him."

Logan smiled at his son, holding his hand.

"Thank you, Roman. We will find Remy, and he'll be okay. For now we need to wait nicely for our food to come." He inspected the activity mat, smiling gently at the doodles. "Can you tell me what you're drawing?"

..

Remy didn't manage to sleep, despite the fact his head was throbbing painfully and his eyes were tired, the weird situation he found himself in made falling asleep rather difficult - nevermind his chronic insomnia acting up. It was still pitch black when he clumsily rose back up, eyeing all the weird shadows cast in the room. The only light he had was the glow of the strange forest outside, slowly changing hues every few minutes. It was calming, in a way, though Remy had no idea what was making it glow like that.

"Wonder if I could get an uber out here…" He mumbled to himself, trying to stay somewhat relaxed in such an odd situation.

Wandering out the room - not his room, regardless of what snakey said - revealed a slightly more illuminated hallway, though the long, empty corridors instantly put Remy's hackles up. It was just wrong.

Creepy. Didn't like it.

"Don't like it." He whispered, to no one in particular.

Back down the stairwell, because now was not the time to snoop, Remy just wanted to see if there was any way to go home.

He determined the front door was locked after a moment of uselessly wiggling it, along with all the windows, although it was a perfectly normal thing to do at night Remy couldn't help the flicker of frustration and nervousness at being closed in.

"Ugh, this suuucks. Where's Lo…"

A sudden, gentle tap on his leg was enough to startle Remy, jerking backwards and almost tripping over the little guy.

Virgil trilled in concern, uncurling now it was safe, and staring up at Remy. Even he could tell the human was a little shy, especially around Papa and Uncle Pat. When Virgil was woken up, nestled in a big web above Papa's door, he thought that Remy might've been going to knock on the door. It's what Virgil and Remus do if they can't sleep - instead, he went downstairs to mess with the door.

Silly, that wasn't how you got back to sleep.

Ideally papa would be here, but Virgil was happy to lead Remy to the couch.

"Where are you taking me, spider baby? Is this revenge for stealing you?"

The creature, the baby, just tittered at him, urging him to follow until they got to the couch.

"Uh, nice couch? What do you - oh yikes you're crawling up me, here -" Remy huffed and shifted around to accommodate the spider, stroking his carapace gently.

Virgil chirped, wriggling, trying to encourage the human to sit down.

"What? I'm holding you! Am I doing it wrong?" Remy frowned, examining his hold, anywhere that could be causing issues.

Virgil made a series of clicks, standing on Remy's shoulder before deliberately dropping into a lie position, and repeating. After a moment of blank staring, Remy lowered himself onto the couch, sighing at the celebrating chirps.

"Weird baby." Was his only comment, though kept a careful hold on Virgil's carapace.

Unbeknownst to him, the serpine father was at the top of the stairs, listening in with a soft smile.

Virgil set about making himself comfortable, turning in little circles on Remy's chest before plopping down. The teen sighed, breath tickling the spider.

"Cheeky little thing, you are. Just using me as a bed. I've got plans, you know!"

The spider baby began purring, unprompted, sending pleasant rumbles through his sternum.

Remy was a little chilly, but it didn't stop him from drifting.

And soon enough,

He was…

Asleep.

Too deeply asleep to notice as a soft, warm blanket was tucked in comfortably with six arms, a gentle hand touching his forehead affectionately before leaving the two to sleep on the couch.

[him-e]

what did you think of shadow and bone? have you read the books? i only read the duology

Thoughts on Shadow and Bone, now that you've probably seen it?

I think the show is alright? It lacks a real wow factor as far as I’m concerned, but it’s enjoyable. It’s especially enjoyable in those parts I didn’t anticipate to like / didn’t even know would be there. 

Whereas the main selling points leave a lot to be desired.

The good stuff: the visuals. The aesthetic. The overall concept. Production, casting and costumes are excellent, the setting is fascinating. The worldbuilding isn’t perfect and is sometimes confusing, which is probably due to the show jumping ahead of the books and introducing elements that happen much later in the book saga, but I’m loving the vague steampunk-y vibe of it mixed with more typical fantasy stuff and slavic-inspired lore, the fact that it’s set in dystopian Russia rather than your usual ye olde England.

I find it interesting that in this ‘verse the Grisha are simultaneously superstars, privileged elite, legendary creatures and despised outcasts, according to the context and the type of magic they wield. It’s A Lot, and so far it’s all a bit underdeveloped and messy, like a patchwork of different narratives and tropes sewn together without an organic worldbuilding structure. (there are hints to a past when they were hunted, but how did they go from that to being, essentially, an institutionalized asset to the government isn’t clear yet. There’s huge narrative potential in this, and I hope future seasons will delve into those aspects)

Many of the supporting characters are surprisingly solid. I appreciated that Genya and Zoya eventually sort of traded places, subverting the audience’s assumptions about them and their own character stereotypes, despite the little screentime they were given.

Breakout characters/ships for me were Nina/Matthias, and even more so the Crows, i.e. the stuff I didn’t see coming and knew nothing about (having only read the first book). (I thought the entire Crows subplot was handled in a somewhat convoluted way, at least in the first episodes; it was hard to keep track of who wanted Alina and why, but the Crows’ chemistry is so strong it carried the whole Plot B on its shoulders).

HELNIK. As an enemies to lovers dynamic, Helnik was SUPER on the nose, I’d say bordering on clichéd with the unapologetic, straight outta fanfiction use of classic tropes like “we need to team up to survive” and “there’s only one bed and we’ll freeze to death if we don’t take our conveniently damp clothes off and keep each other warm with the heat of our naked bodies” (not that I’m complaining, but i like to pine for my ships a bit before getting to the juicy tropetown part, tyvm). And then they’re suddenly on opposite sides again because of a tragic misunderstanding - does Bardugo hate high-conflict dynamics? It certainly seems so, because between Helnik and Darklina I’m starting to see a pattern where the slow burn and blossoming mutual trust is rushed and painted in broad, stereotypical strokes to get as fast as possible to the part where they *hate each other again* and that’s... huh. Something.

^That’s probably why I’m almost more interested in Kaz x Inej, because their relationship feels a bit more nuanced, a bit more mysterious, and a bit more unpredictable. (I didn’t bother spoiling myself about them, so I really don’t know where they’re going, but it’s refreshing to see a dynamic that the narrative isn’t scrambling to define in one direction or the other as quickly as possible)

-

Now, as for Darklina VS Malina... I found exactly what I expected. 

Both are ship dynamics I’m, on principle, very much into (light heroine/dark villain, pining friends to lovers) but both are also much less interesting than they claim to be, or could have been with different narrative choices. I’ll concede that the show characters are all more fleshed out and likable than their book counterparts, and the cringe parts I vaguely remembered from the books played out differently. And, well, Ben Barnes dominates the scene, he’s hot as HELL, literally every single second he’s on screen is a fuck you to Bardugo’s attempts to make his character lame and uninteresting and I’m LOVING it, lol.

But yeah, B Barnes aside, Darklina is intrinsically, deliberately made to be unshippable. 

It makes me mad, because it’s - archetypally speaking - made of shipping dynamite: yin/yang-sun and moon, opposites attract, COMPLEMENTARY POWERS AND SO ON. And what does Bardugo do with these ingredients? A FUCKING DELIBERATE DISASTER:

^ Placing the kiss so early on (season 1, episode five) effectively kills the romantic tension that was (correctly) building up until that point, and leaves the audience very little to still hope for, in terms of emotional evolution of the dynamic. 

Bardugo lays all the good stuff down as early and quickly as possible (the bonding, the conflicted attraction, the recognizing the other as one’s equal, etc) only to turn the tables and pull the rug so y’all sick creepyshippers won’t have anything to look forward to, because THEY’VE ALREADY HOOKED UP AND THAT BELONGS TO THE PAST, IT’S OVER, THEY’RE ENEMIES. This, combined to the fact that she falls for him *without* knowing who he really is, is the opposite of what I want from a heroine/villain ship (it’s basically lovers to enemies, and while that can be valid too, I wanted to see more pining and more prolonged, tormented symbolic attraction to the Shadow/Animus on Alina’s part). 

But here’s the trick: it’s not marketed as lovers to enemies - it has all the aesthetics and trappings of an enemies to lovers (the Darkling is, from the get go, villain-presenting, starting from his name), so it genuinely feels like a trollfic, or at the very least a cautionary tale *against* shipping the heroine with the tall dark brooding young villain, and I don’t think it’s cool at all. It makes the story WAY less interesting, because it humanizes the villain early on (when it’s not yet useful or poignant to the story, because it’s unearned) but it’s a red herring. The real plot twist is that the villain shouldn’t be sympathized with, just defeated: there’s a promise of nuanced storytelling, that is quickly denied and tossed aside. So is the idea of incorporating your Shadow (a notion that Bardugo must be familiar with, otherwise she wouldn’t have structured Alina and the Darkling as polar opposites who complement each other, but that she categorically refutes)

Then we have Malina. The good ship.

Look, I’m not that biased against it. I don’t want to be biased on principle against a friends to lovers dynamic that antagonizes a heroine/villain one, because every narrative is different, and for personal reasons I can deeply relate to the idea of being (unspeakably) in love with your best friend. So there are aspects of Malina that I can definitely be into, but it troubles me that in this specific context it’s framed as a regression. It’s Alina’s comfort zone, a fading dream of happiness from an idealized childhood, to sustain which the heroine systematically stunts her growth and literally repressed her own powers, something that in the books made her sickly and weak. But the narrative weirdly romanticizes this codependency, often making her tunnel vision re: going back to Mal her primary goal and centering on him her entire backstory/motivation, to the point that when she starts acting more serious re: her powers and alleged mission to destroy the Fold, it feels inorganic and unearned. 

Mal is intrinsically extraneous to Alina’s powers, he doesn’t share them, he doesn’t understand them, he has little to offer to help her with them, and so the feeling is that he’s also extraneous to her heroine’s journey, aside from being a sort of sidekick or safe harbor to eventually come back to. People have compared him to Raoul from Phantom of the Opera, and yeah, he has the same ~magic neutralizer~ vibe, tbh.

The narrative also polarizes Mal’s normalcy and relative “safety” against Aleksander’s sexy evil, framing Alina’s quasi-platonic fixation on the former as a better and purer form of love than her (much more visible and palpable) attraction to the latter. This is exacerbated by the show almost entirely relying on scenes of them as kids to convey their bond. I’m sure there are ways to depict innocent pining for your best friend that don’t involve obsessively focusing on flashbacks of two CHILDREN running in a meadow and looking exactly like brother and sister. LIKE. I get it, they’re like soulmates in every possible way, BUT DO THEY WANT TO KISS EACH OTHER?

Which brings me to a general complain: for a young adult saga centering on a young heroine and full of so many hot people, this story is weirdly unsexy? There are a lot of shippable dynamics, but they’re done in such a careless, ineffective way that makes ZERO EFFORT to work on stuff like slow burn, pining and romantic tension, and when it does it’s so heavy handed that the viewer doesn’t feel encouraged at all to fill the blanks with their imagination and start anticipating things (which is, imo, the ESSENCE of shipping). The one dynamic that got vaguely close to this is, again, Kaz and Inej, and coincidentally it’s also the one we didn’t get confirmed as romantic YET. Other than that, where’s the slow burn? What ship am I supposed to agonize over during the hiatus to season two? Has shipping become something to feel ashamed of, like an embarrassing relative you no longer want to invite in your home?

Anyway, back to Alina/Darkling/Mal, this is how the story reads to me:

girl suspects to be special, carefully pretends to be normal so she can stay with Good Boy

the girl’s powers eventually manifest; she’s forcibly separated from Good Boy

the girl’s powers attract Bad Boy who is her equal and opposite but is also a major asshole

girl initially falls for Bad Boy; has to learn a hard lesson that nobody that sexy will ever want her for who she is, he’s just trying to exploit her

also, no, there is no such thing as a Power Couple

girl is literally given a slave collar by Bad Boy through which he harnesses her power (a parody of the Twin Scars trope)

you know how the story initially suggested that the joint powers of Darkness and Light would defeat evil? LOL NO, Darkness is actually evil itself and the way you destroy evil is using Light to destroy Darkness, forget that whole Jungian bullshit of integrating your shadow, silly!

conclusion: girl realizes being special sucks. She was right all along! Hiding and suppressing her powers was the best choice! She goes back to the start, to the same Good Boy she was meekly pining for prior to the start of the story.

... there’s an uncomfortable overall subtext that reads a lot like a cautionary tale against - look, not just against darkships and villain/heroine pairings, but also *overpowered* heroines and, well... change? Growth?

Like, it’s certainly a Choice that Alina starts the story *already* in love with Mal. That she always knew it was him. The realization could have happened later (making the dynamic much more shippable, too), but no. 

[my-writings-and-musings]

Idea, a group of young human liaisons (late teen/young adult) join the lost light crew and the different crew members essentially adopts them (any bots of your choice)

That's adorable so absolutely yes! I chose the bots I thought most likely to adopt in any capacity.

Tailgate

·Being amongst the tiniest bots on the ship, and having loved human culture whilst never meeting a human, compounds his excitement at their arrival to nearly critical levels. They're so tiny! They can answer all his earth questions! They can go on missions together and he can show them around the galaxy! His first step is to learn how to tell humans apart and to memorize all their names, as well as anything they find important about themselves, so that way they'll feel welcome.

·During this introduction it's revealed these humans are on the younger side, and his reaction immediately becomes one of shock. You're all still little ones?! Not done growing even?! The explanations that human development is quite different fall on deaf audials; he knows what it's like to be small and new in the galaxy, and he won't let anything hurt these protoforms!

·The liaison team now has a permanent guardian, and they quickly learn that his size doesn't tell his full story. Of course, it doesn't hurt that he's still twice the height of the average human, so calling him "tiny" doesn't make much sense to any of them. Being so much taller is something he absolutely adores experiencing for a change, and that combined with his super strength leads to a lot of piggy back rides for the whole crew.

·If anyone, bot or con or whatever, says a mean word to even one of them he's on the warpath. Think you're a big tough guy, huh?! Picking on his little buddies?! Well, he's not gonna give you a chance to pick on somebody your own size! Unless you offer a heartfelt apology, and if the human in question accepts that, then everything is just fine! But he will punch you if he hears this is recurring!

·The various liaisons start referring to him as their "big brother" and once the meaning of that is explained he's absolutely touched. Him? A part of their family? Movie nights henceforth involve him being surrounded by a group of young humans, just chilling around their adoptive older sibling who happens to be six million years old, and should anyone glance at his visor they'll find it absolutely shining in the dim light.

Ratchet

·Having worked with and studied humans of this age group in the past, he's far less upset and far more worried by their arrival, but he pretends he's merely the former. The truth is that he knows their species is especially vulnerable at this age, and getting the rest of the crew to understand that will be an impossible task, even if he asks them to imagine a delicate protoform taking nearly two decades to mature instead of a few hours and to try and comprehend how much trouble that would be.

·His first step is to establish that he's their doctor, one fully capable of handling human medicine, and he quickly catches the rest of his team up to speed. Every medic needs to be able to meet the needs of every crewmember, and these juvenile humans are part of the crew now, as well as their responsibility for the sake of diplomatic relations... Somehow that last part doesn't stress him out in the slightest.

·These humans will quickly find his gruff to be little more than a personality trait. When he's with a patient, specifically one who's a little frightened, his demeanor rapidly softens just as his touch becomes gentle even to a being quite soft and tiny by comparison. For a species not necessarily accustomed to medical care just... whenever they need it, the young liaisons can't help but like him. His reaction to the fact that most humans can't afford medical care is... a very long sigh.

·His attention to these new patients extends well beyond appointment hours, though he does try not to be overbearing. But he just needs to be certain; are they exercising enough? Does the atmosphere of the ship upset their respiratory systems in any way? Is there any chance the modification to the lighting system was ineffective and they're not getting enough vitamin D? Are they eating all their vegetables?!

·It's impossible for the group to ignore the gigantic alien robot very obviously fretting over them like a mother hen, and thus he often gets a "Yes, mom" in response to his queries from them, but in a good natured way. He huffs at first but their genuine appreciation for his efforts is... well, he'd be lying if he said his actions weren't driven by something more than medical duty. Maybe he's the first Cybertronian with a kind of maternal instinct, who knows? What matters is that his "children" are all safe and healthy, and he certainly doesn't start smiling when "Dr. Mom" becomes what he's listed as in their communication contact list.

Ultra Magnus/Minimus Ambus

·Rodimus agreed to this diplomatic mission despite all his warnings (and pleadings) to say no and find some other way to encourage a good relationship between the species. He has experience with humans, specifically of this exact age range, and while that relationship is one he treasures he's not looking to put any humans in potential danger again. He is, of course, duly ignored and the group is brought on board.

·For the sake of fostering a welcoming and structured environment, he memorizes their names in advance and has them all come to his office for an abridged two hour orientation on the ship and its rules. Knowing they have to be on the move often for neurological development is the only reason he doesn't keep them for a proper five hour orientation. It goes relatively well, but he's less distressed by their lack of attention than he is by how intimidating they seem to find him.

·For some reason this bothers him, no matter how fine he is with bots finding him to be frightening, seeing humans flinch from his presence actually hurts him. So he endeavors to be... friendly! If he earned the nickname "Uncle Magnus" with one human, he can do it again! The best strategy he can think of isn't actually that off base; he'll try to mentor them in their individual pursuits. Dropping down in height whenever he can, typically by getting on a knee to ensure he doesn't tower over them, also proves to be a big help.

·Initially he's determined to keep his Minimus self hidden from them completely, down to the very existence of his split identity. It's less about size, as even his most base form still stands well above the tallest liason, than it is about respect. He wants to be an inspiration to these little ones, and Ultra Magnus is obviously the more impressive of the two. It's only once one particularly affectionate liaison gives him a hug, or more accurately an attempt at one around his offered hand, that he feels compelled to reconsider.

·It makes him nervous for weeks, contemplating the potential fallout of being honest with them, and how it could ruin everything... In the end he blames his own moral compass for forcing him to be honest. He gathers the liaisons together and explains the entirety of his identity in detail, taking all of their questions and praying he won't see any kind of disappointment, before finally removing his armor and "introducing" them to Minimus. The reaction is far from negative. There are exclamations of "botception" and "nesting dolls" in the wild surprise that follows, but nothing that could even be interpreted as dissapoint, and in fact the young humans are only that much more amazed by their "Uncle Minimags". It takes everything he is not to cry.

Swerve

·He knows enough about human culture to have seen that this particular age group tends to party, and is also way more likely to enjoy pop culture, so he's delighted when they join up. Of course he introduces himself, but he doesn't need to mention much more than his bar before he has their full attention and fascination. The Manhattan sized spaceship run by giant alien robots has a bar?! They're all begging to see it and he's so thrilled he forgets he can transform and runs there with them.

·Their amazement only doubles when night comes and they get to see the place in full swing, but he makes sure they're safely seated on the bar itself, to avoid squishing. As always he's able to chat endlessly to these new arrivals, and his knowledge of human culture quite surprises them. Even if there's a fair amount he doesn't know, the fact that he's aware of anything at all shocks them.

·The rush to get him caught up is a shared effort between the liaisons. Does he know what social media is? Would he like to have an account? For once he's the overwhelmed one and he has to work to keep up with everything they give him, but the attention and genuine interest these little humans have in his thoughts and experiences is... it's a good thing he's got some help around the bar to help him stay caught up. Because these little sort of protoforms have convinced him to get Twitter.

·Movie nights become so massive they actually have to consider expanding the bar. Not only are old movies watched, but all the latest releases as well, some as soon as they're in theaters because look they know it's not technically legal but it's promoting good diplomacy so... However, even when he starts serving and mixing human alcohol, he's quite firm on requiring the humans who drink it to be of age. There's still fun drinks for the younger ones though.

·The humans bond with other bots, but as their first contact on the ship and the most fun he's always got a few of them by his side. Maybe he's just better with other species? He doesn't really know or care, but somehow when there's a little moment and they all take a selfie together he just... he just feels not alone. It's something he keeps a little on the down low, but he's a bit too easy to read for the humans not to notice, and since they're good kids they pretend it's a secret that they mean the world to him. On especially rowdy nights they even help clean up, and each human develops their own little nickname for him, making it less like he adopts them and much more like they adopt him.

Whirl

·Humans come in fun size too? Neat! But he's admittedly a tad curious when their age is explained and he realizes that, in their own super weird alien way, these are still protoforms. Something almost akin to worry flashes in his spark for an instant. Still, he plays it cool when they're brought on board, pretending to be no more interested than any other bot they're introduced to.

·Before he meets them, he's told quite firmly that these humans are to be protected at all costs, and that any behavior seen as antagonizing in the slightest will be punished. He ensures the top bots he's no Decepticon and that squishies aren't on his radar. But he's admittedly a little concerned that they'll notice his... peculiarities. His own species recoils at his appearance, and while he can handle that, getting it from aliens would be unpleasant.

·But there's no such reaction. They ask him his name, share theirs, and react with the same enthusiasm they do to every bot and even ask the same questions. It's pleasantly surprising, until they all get excited upon his description of his alt mode, at which point it's freaking fantastic. It's with pride that he confirms he's the only flying bot on the crew, and when he's immediately corrected by a random passerby, he explains that he meant the only one who could fly worth a damn. He's greeted by a chorus of laughter for his amazing joke and he vows that he'd die for each and every one of these little squishies.

·All it takes is one hint of a request and he's offering to take them all for a lift through the hangar. This is just the beginning of an impossibly interesting friendship. Eventually he just carries them all around in his cockpit whenever they're walking anywhere, or on his shoulders if they won't all fit, and either way there's a row of humans sitting across him. This friendship is why he's so mortified when his identity of an Empurata is accidentally revealed and the questions begin.

·He reluctantly answers and braces for the impending disgust or revulsion to realize he's been mutilated. But it never comes. Instead, there's genuine sympathy and anger on his behalf, and their little hands reach out to comfort him. Initially he can only be awed. How are these little, fragile, and oh so very young protoforms better than so many members of his species?! Does it matter? They shall be called; "The Whirl Scouts", trademark pending. They'll all have to be trained in combat for their own safety, and he will be their mom now, because he won't just die for them he'll kill for them. They're his kids and his family.

[cheeriecherry]

Space Between [Aizawa Shouta x F!Reader x Yamada Hizashi] [1/9]

EraserMic x Reader

Part 1/8

Warnings: None, like 2 swears

You stare out the window of the plane, past your own reflection. In the darkness below, you can see the runway lights approaching fast, bright beacons in the shadow of night. You can hardly believe you’re about to land back in Japan.

It’s been years since you’ve set foot in the country, two and a half, to be specific, and to say you’re nervous is an understatement. You wonder if they’ll be there, your old friends, waiting for you. You’d called them earlier in the week, only ever reaching their voicemails, but you’d left them messages saying when you’d arrive…and that you’d explain everything.

When you left so long ago, it had been without a word. One day you were living your life, the next you were being shipped off to the United States, to work undercover. You hadn’t been allowed to tell anyone where you were going, or for how long. You’d just…left.

You hoped that they’d both be there. God, did you hope.

Not that they owed you anything, but the logical side of your mind told you they’d be likely to give you the benefit of the doubt, and hear what you had to say. At least, Hizashi probably would.

You’d known the blond since you were small children, having lived in the same neighborhood and gone to the same elementary school. You hadn’t met Shouta until years later, when you started high school.

The two of you hadn’t hit it off immediately. In fact. you’d found him to be aloof beyond measure, uninterested, and stubborn…but Hizashi really seemed to like him. So you’d made a point to try and get along, and it had eventually proved fruitful.

He had been difficult to get to know, but once you learned a little more about each other you’d found you had a lot in common. He was funny, in his own way, kind, and cared deeply about others, even if he didn’t show it on the surface.

And Hizashi seemed pretty pleased that you two had finally made nice with one another.

Your thoughts drift further along as you think more about the friends you left behind, the shaky beginnings of friendship, the stressful mayhem of your budding hero careers. You smile to yourself, recalling the shitty one bedroom apartment the three of you had crammed into in your early twenties, none of you being able to afford much more.

It had been nonstop work, back then. Double shifts for weeks in a row, extra patrols, second (and third) jobs on the side, all to earn enough cash to make your own way in the world. You’d been so grateful to have them back then. They made the hassle of it all worthwhile.

You’d come to the conclusion pretty early on that your feelings for them weren’t totally platonic, but you’d never had the desire to act on it. You were comfortable with where your life had been, and maybe fear had held you back, but you hadn’t wanted to risk messing anything up.

Besides, the two of them always seemed to pay more attention to each other than to you.

“Pardon me, Miss.”

You snap out of your thoughts when a gentle hand rests on your shoulder. You look up at the smiling flight attendant with wide eyes, electricity buzzing through your body where she touched you.

She lets you know the plane has landed and that the rest of the passengers have exited the deck (a quick glance around proves this), and that if you need help carrying anything to let her know. You thank her quietly, apologize for holding everyone up, and make your way into the airport.

—-

You squint as you walk into the building, which -even at such a late hour- is busy with people. The fluorescent lights almost burn your eyes, and the din around you is loud enough that you almost miss the sound of your name being called.

Thankfully, you manage to hear the quick footsteps behind you, before you’re scooped up like a doll and squished in a hug.

“Y/N! We missed you!”

You squirm a little in Hizashi’s arms, trying to regain your balance, but he only spins you in a circle and hugs you harder. You find yourself smiling, despite your earlier unease. He was here. He’d heard you. He’d come for you.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Shouta meandering towards you, hands shoved in his pockets and donning his usual expression. You smile at him, too, and offer him a hug after you’re finally set down.

He’s softer and significantly more calm about it, but his grip on you is tight and warm. You sigh and lean into him, resisting the urge to stay like that for longer than necessary.

“I have a lot of explaining to do, huh?” you say, keeping your tone light. A fresh wave of guilt washes over you when you remember everything that’s happened, and everything you did. They were here now, but you could only guess what they were thinking and feeling; disappointment, shock, anger…

The three of you wander over to the baggage claim area, and stand in a small huddle while you wait for your things.

“Your voicemail said you were undercover,” Hizashi says, and you nod.

“Yeah, for two and a half years.” Shouta grumbles, low enough that you almost miss it. You fiddle with the sleeves of your shirt, avoiding their gazes.

“I’m sorry,” your voice is small, “Truly. If I could have told you about anything, I would have. The commission estimated the mission would only last a couple weeks, but…”

“Two and a half years.”

You droop. “It was supposed to be a small takedown, for some small-time ringleader in the states. Get in, get out, don’t get caught.”

Shouta watches a luggage bag pass by, carefully disinterested. “So what went wrong?”

You shrug. “Local lowlife ended up being part of an international smuggling ring. We could have taken the guy out, but then we would’ve lost the only source we had to something bigger. So we stayed, and we spied, and we put a lot of people in prison.”

Hizashi pulls a bag off the conveyor. “And you got yourself on someone’s shit list.”

“Oh, without a doubt,” you laugh, but neither of them do.

You reach for the handle of your bag, but Hizashi swings it away before you even get close. You roll your eyes and complain, but let him carry it anyways, the three of you lulling into silence on the way out.

Only when you’re outside do either of them speak again.

“You kept saying ‘we’, back there,” Shouta says, and Hizashi tacks on, “Did you have a partner?”

You’re quiet for a moment, pensive. Sad. Guilty.

“Yeah,” you try to keep your voice even, “I did.”

My fault.

You shake the thought away and pretend to miss the glance that the two of them share with each other, walking a few steps ahead of them. It’s obvious that it’s not something you’re willing to talk about right now, even if you weren’t exhausted from the flight and lack of sleep.

You reach the car before them, recognizing the old vehicle as the one Hizashi owned before you’d left.

“We’re glad you’re back, in any case,” he says, unlocking the side door for you to slip in. “It hasn’t been the same without you around.”

You smile at that, but you’re certain it doesn’t reach your eyes. Your mind is elsewhere, now, lost in old thoughts. 

Shouta slides into the front passenger seat, peering back at you in the mirror. “We’ll be home soon. Try not to fall asleep back there, you know you get motion sick.”

You snort, but you can feel your eyelids falling. “I won’t fall asleep, I’m stronger than-” You break off into a yawn. “…Maybe not. Just drop me off at a hotel, okay? I don’t mind staying there for a while-”

“You’re kidding, right?” Hizashi plops into the driver’s seat, and starts the car. “You seriously think we’d just toss you out like that? No ma’am, you can crash on our couch!”

“It’s gonna be a couple weeks until I can find a place,” you explain, tiredness beginning to seep into your voice, “and I really don’t wanna take up space-”

Shouta reaches back without looking and pinches your leg. “Your money is better spent on new living arrangements,” he says, and you swat at him, “Don’t blow it on some shit hotel when you have people who want to house you.”

You grumble a little, but relent, knowing he’s right.

“So, you two are still living together, huh?” you ask, trying to change the conversation to something more comfortable. “I would’ve sworn you guys would have enough saved up to get your own places by now.”

“We’re engaged, so it makes sense.”

Your eyebrows shoot up at this, surprise evident in your expression. Engaged? Your stomach does little flips, and for a moment you’re not sure if they’re good or bad. On one hand, you’re glad they’re happy and together. On the other hand…seeing them after so long has definitely begun to resurface some old feelings.

You smile, masking the sadness. “I really missed a lot, huh? I didn’t even know you guys liked each other.”

Hizashi grins in the rear view mirror. “Some things came to light after you…left. We admitted some feelings, tried a few things out, and the rest is history.”

Your stomach sinks, all the butterflies you’d had instantly dying. “I’m glad you guys had each other. I’m…I’m sorry.”

Shouta reaches back again, but you manage to dodge his pinching attack this time. You slap at each other for a couple seconds, before you’re scolded for roughhousing in the car.

“You don’t need to keep apologizing,” he says, “we get why you had to leave, now. Besides, you’re back. We can pick up where we all left off.”

Where you left off, huh? Where you’d left off, you’d been overworked and pining hard for two of the dumbest smart people you’d ever known. Were you doomed to that fate again?

Still, you tell them, “That sounds perfect.”

[astraljedi]

Oblivion | Part I (The Mandalorian)

Summary: The Mandalorian was summoned to Nevarro by Greef Karga for a specific quarry after one of his favorite hunters is presumed dead.

Pairing: The Mandalorian x Reader (she/her)

Rating: 18+

Warnings: Mention of death, lost of memory, violence, blood, abuse, curse words, drugs and some traumatic shit. ALSO SOFT DIN 

Word count: 3K+

A/N: I’m new to the Star Wars fandom and to be honest I’m a little scared posting this. Please don’t scream at me if I made any mistakes, I’m still catching up with everything. Also, this is going to be a two part story and It has taken me about three days to fully finish the first part, so I hope you guys enjoy and happy new year’s eve! 

The warm volcanic air of Nevarro greeted The Mandalorian as he exited the Razor Crest and headed towards de cantina to meet with Greef Karga. As per usual, everyone's eyes landed on the shiny beskar helmet while The Mandalorian quietly walked by himself with his Amban sniper rifle on his back. 

Walking into the busy cantina, Mando moved towards Karga, sitting on the room's far end. "Mando!" Karga greeted him, ushering him to sit down on the opposite seat before Karga. 

"What's the job?" Mando asked, cutting straight to the point and skipping the "friendly" welcome. Karga sighed, his hands landing on the beverage on the table. 

"Right to the point, okay." Karga began. The Mandalorian watched through his visor at the man before him, who leaned in closer, not wanting anyone to eavesdrop on the private conversation. 

"No offense, but you're one of my faithful hunters who knows how to get the job done, no questions asked. But I also have my favorite hunter, similar to you, without the beskar armor." Karga announced, his eyes wandering around the others surrounding them inside the cantina. He didn't want to drive more attention to the table, more than its already been drawn by the beskar armor. "She's strong, straightforward forward, and never fails me. Reasons why I gave her the quarry only her or you could've handled, especially when the rich would pay any amount to end any theft from their fortune. You were away with other pucks, and she was free, so I gave it to her."

"Let me guess, she failed you, and now you need me to do the job?" Mando sighed under his helmet, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"We presume she's dead; some members of the Guild found her ship raided and full of blood. It's a loss we all felt deeply, which you don't see a lot in here. She cared for everyone, and it rubbed off on some of us. Her death is on that quarry's life, and I count on you to avenge her death." Karga was resting his back on his seat, waiting for a response from the hunter in front of him. 

"Do I need to bring them in alive?" 

"No, only bring the body for confirmation." Karga disclosed, sliding the puck over to Mando with the tracking fob. "It's double the amount of what I originally offered. It's going to be a heavy payday for you, Mando."

"She was that good, huh?" The Mandalorian stood up from his seat, hanging the sniper rifle again behind his back. He was a bit curious about the girl and how comparable she was to him. 

"You might have seen her before. She used to work here from time to time in the cantina. And now that I think of it, one time you came here to meet with me, and she was serving me the drinks that day." Karga remembered, and so did The Mandalorian. "The bounty's last known location was Maldo Kreis. Good luck, Mando."

On the way back to his ship, Mando was deep in his thoughts. He remembered that day very clearly. 

He remembered the girl. How could he forget? 

"I don't want to be rude, but I would offer you a drink, but I know you can't take that shiny bucket off." Y/N chuckled, grabbing Karga's empty cup to replace it with a new one full of spotchka. She had watched him arrive earlier into the cantina; her older brother used to talk about The Mandalorians when they were children. She had never seen one in person before. She watched him glide through the people in the cantina towards Karga, how only a few dared to look at the man in the beskar, and others had their eyes on the floor. Too scared to even look at the feared hunter. 

Karga chuckled at her comment before taking a sip of his new drink. Mando tilted his helmet at her in curiosity. She wasn't intimidated by him and made a light joke about his armor. 

When The Mandalorian didn't answer, she sighed and looked away from the tinted T shaped visor. Y/N walked away with Karga's previous empty cup and headed towards another table to serve them with her funny jokes instead, where others will appreciate them. 

Thankful for the helmet, he heard Karga tell him about the previous bounty Mando had captured, how he never disappoints in getting the job done. "You might give my favorite hunter a run for her credits." Karga joked, emptying his second drink of the day. But The Mandalorian's eyes followed the girl. She was behind the bar now, laughing with her other customers as she leaned herself on the counter. Her mid-length dark hair bounced around every time her shoulders moved from her laughing and her tiny figure moving around the back of the spacious bar, gliding through without a hassle. "Y/N! Get your pretty face over here with another refill, sweet face." Mando's eyes shifted to the very drunk customer far away from the bar where Y/N stood.

She laughed at the drunken state he was, filling up his cup with some water instead, cutting him off from his usual drink. "That's enough for the evening, Gyan. You have a family to get to, remember?" Her sweet voice passed right him, the sweet scent from her hair hitting him with a whiff. 

Y/N, now the girl who he watched over had a name.

Many people were intimidated by the beskar armor, but she didn't even flinch from making a joke about it. Even after he didn't answer her, she didn't shake in fear, and she walked away disappointed. Was she expecting something else? The Mandalorians came across as cold and people of not many words. She knew that, but deep down, she didn't believe it entirely from all the stories others would tell about them and their creed. 

Mando landed on the ice planet two days ago.

Tracking down the bounty was surprisingly too easy, Mando thought. The tracking fob immediately started going crazy on the first day while he hunted around the planet. Once he found him, he watched his every move. 

Not only did he want to assure a good plan, but he also wanted to figure out how the girl got herself killed for a simple quarry that didn't even bother hiding. 

Maz was wanted for theft, and he owned a lot of people's credits. The usual. Maz had the same routine strangely; he visited the markets early, creating chaos with innocent villagers, and then spent the rest of the day in a cantina with possibly other bounty's.

One of the things Mando noticed first was that Maz wasn't ever alone. He always had to be surrounded by people to praise him and make sure he felt he had the power. Maz still had six guards with him. Four of them guarded the outside. While two were by the back of the cantina, the others guarded the front door. And that left the Maz and two other bodies with him inside. 

Mando could quickly grab the guards in the back successfully and then attack the ones in the front before dragging them with the rest of the bodies behind the cantina. He liked those odds. 

Part of his evening entourage, he brought one woman with a metal neck collar hooked on to a chain for him to drag her around like some pet. The woman had barely any clothing on for the shivering weather, and it was torture and cruel. 

They had her wearing a tiny leather top that did nothing to hide the purple bruises on her neck and shoulders. Mando also noticed marks that could only be caused by a whip on her exposed back. She also wore a torn skirt that didn't cover much of her barely functioning legs. But Mando never saw her face. They always dragged her around with a bag over her head. 

The Mandalorian prepared for his attack on the third day. As planned, he managed to seize the men on the back of the cantina without any problems. And then he followed with the other two guards by the front door. Maybe the guards were for appearances because they went down quickly and quietly, or The Mandalorian was that good. Mando swiftly dragged both bodies towards the back and huddled all four of them in a pile against the bar's walls.

The cantina's door unlatched and revealed The Mandalorian standing under the frame while the snow flew into the cantina. Immediately, all eyes were on Mando as his eyes scanned the place, looking for Maz. The air in the cantina stiffened at The Mandalorian's presence. Every single pair of eyes followed him while he proceeded to take a seat by the bar, a safe distance to the corner of the room where he spotted Maz with the girl sitting down on his lap miserably. 

"Two chowders to go," Mando ordered, trying to blend in as he wasn't there for a quarry. He passed some credits to the bartender while his eyes caught a glimpse of the girl's face when she moved uncomfortably on Maz's lap. 

"Y/N." Mando thought to himself, how could he forget her? Her hair was longer, and she looked slimmer, probably caused by the lack of meals Maz didn't give to her. Mando's blood boiled as he watched the dirty man's hands caressing Y/N's bruised and sensitive skin while he chatted away with another person sat on the table as well. 

Y/N dozed off, her head feeling heavy, and her exhausted body was about to give out on her. She couldn't even remember how she got there and what they gave her to tame her down. Everything was a blur. 

If she could, she would've blown up the whole bar into ashes. Make every living being that touched, drugged, and tossed her around to burn into oblivion. 

Mando had a plan to grab Maz, but it flew out the window once he noticed who the girl was. The seat that Maz's "friend" occupied was now free, and while "waiting" for his chowder, he slipped into the empty chair. 

He regretted his change of plan the moment his eyes landed on the poor girl. The open wounds that would heal into scars horrified him. It angered him the most. Mando was going to make Maz pay for every mark he left on her body. "A Mandalorian? Thought those only existed in stories." Maz tried to hide his widened eyes from the hunter. Mando smirked under his helmet, sensing the fear in Maz's eyes. 

Mando's hand rested on top of his blaster that rested on his side. Tilting his helmet, he studied and watched Maz, and he knew the guy would never be the criminal to carry a blaster. He needs a pack of guards because he didn't even know how to handle a blaster by himself. He was all about appearances and less about his fighting skills. "And now they are going to exist in your worst nightmares." 

The first shot from Mando's blaster went off and hit the closest guard to Maz in his chest. The first guard's body fell to the floor with a loud thud while others either stared at the fight that was about to break down, and some decided to leave the bar. Before it, all got a little too messy for their liking. 

Maz shot up from his seat, not caring that Y/N had fallen to the floor. He gripped on the metal chain tied to her neck collar and dragged her up to her feet as he made a run for the door. Mando had purposely let Maz get a head start; he knew he couldn't get too far with Y/N's weakened state. 

The final guard, who was the furthest, made a run towards the hunter, but Mando was quick to his feet and grabbed one of the knives on the table and flew it across the bar for it to land on the guard's shoulder. Stomping his way towards the guard, he hovered over his unbearable body and sent his final shot from his blaster to his chest. 

The bartender rose from behind the bar, where he had found shelter from the fight. He watched as the hunter exited the cantina to catch up to Maz, who hadn't gotten very far as Mando had anticipated. 

One thing The Mandalorian didn't expect was seeing Maz holding a blaster to Y/N's temple. "God, she can't even lean on him for support from the pain she's in." Mando thought to himself, his grip tightening on the snipper he pulled out from his back. He aimed it at Maz, taking slow steps towards his quarry. 

"Give up, Maz. We both know you don't stand a chance." Y/N heard Mando's filtered voice from afar. She was thrown around by Maz for a long time, that the little hope she had of being rescued from the torture had faded every time the sun left the horizon and left her in complete darkness. 

Maz had the safety on his blaster. What an idiot. 

Mando was about to shot at Maz's shoulder when suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, he watched Y/N slip out a blade from the waistband of her skirt. She must have gotten it after she fell from the first guard laid on the floor after Mando shot him. Maz didn't even know what was coming for him. 

Y/N used the little energy she had and pushed the knife into Maz's abdomen, causing him to force her out of his grip and fall on to his knees from the sudden pain. He shrieked in pain while holding the knife still pressed into his body in shock. "He did tell you that you didn't have a chance." Y/N coughed only a few feet away from him, looking straight at Maz as the blood-stained the pale snow underneath him. 

"Should've given you a painful death the night we took you." Maz groaned,  pulling the knife out of his stomach. "You were worth-" Maz's words caught short, Mando shutting him up with a shot to his chest. Maz's eyes rolled back, and he fell onto his back on the snowy ground. 

Tears spilled out of Y/N's eyes. She never thought she was going to make it out alive at all. "Hey, we need to get you out of this weather." Mando knelt to her level on the floor, wrapping his cape around her shoulders to bring in a little bit of warmth to her body. She nodded in response, but before she could force herself to stand up, he already had her in his arms pressed into his chest. 

Instead of going to his ship, he preferred getting those chowders he had ordered earlier for her to eat before the flight back to Nevarro. "You might want to eat first." His voice was soft, caring for the petite hunter before him. 

Food. Y/N hadn't had a warm meal in such a long time that she devoured the first bowl of chowder too quickly for her liking. Mando sat silently across her, watching her finish up the first bowl in minutes. "Want the other one?" Mando asked, sliding the second bowl towards her. 

"Please, I'm starving." It was good that she was eating. The drug that made her doze off was wearing off quicker thanks to the food. The other great news was that Mando had managed to break off the metal collar from her neck. She was free to walk and eat without the cold metal pushing up against her neck. "Thanks again for everything." She went from living a nightmare to finding some peace. Maybe it won't last that much longer, but she enjoyed it a little bit. She enjoyed the hot meal. 

After she finished the second bowl, Mando brought the empty dishes to the bar counter a few feet away from the table where he previously sat with her. He tried passing the bartender some extra credits for the mess he caused earlier, but the bartender refused to take the credits. He was merely glad that Maz was gone from his cantina.

 Mando nodded as a thank you towards the bartender when he gave them extra food for the flight. "She suffered a lot in the hands of those criminals. I'm glad she's safe now." The bartender explained to the hunter as they both watched her from afar snuggled up into Mando's cape. 

After Y/N and The Mandalorian said their final goodbyes to the cantina's owner, he pressed her close for her to lean on him as they walked to her rhythm towards his ship with Mando dragging Maz's body behind him with the same chain Maz had tied up to Y/N neck collar. Y/N was grateful for the food, but she was even more when Mando's ship greeted her with its warmth. "I have never been this excited to see a Razor Crest before." She chuckled, her cheeks gaining a slight red tint. 

Mando moved around the ship, trying to gather up a couple of blankets he had stored away. "I don't have a change of clothing, but I did grab these for you." 

Y/N mumbled a thank you to Mando and pulled off his cape from her shoulders to replace them with a slightly thicker material to keep her even warmer. "I suggest you rest for a while if you can." He suggested, sitting on the pilot seat and getting the ship ready for departure. Y/N made herself more than comfortable on the chair behind him by the right side of the cockpit. 

Y/N relaxed her shoulders as she let the soft material of the chair rest snug to her body. "Thanks again for rescuing me, metalhead." She mumbled, sleep consuming her quickly. 

Mando snorted under his helmet. Even after going through what she did, she managed to make fun of him. He watched her over his shoulder, her chest rising up and down while she faded into her deep sleep. He pulled himself away from staring and sent the Razor Crest into hyperspace after placing the coordinates to Nevarro. 

"You don't need me to rescue you. You saved yourself out there." Mando whispered, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. 

[crystal-moon-101]

Ben Gen 10 - Live Reaction Review

Right, so since I’ve finally got my hands on the new crossover episodes, and since my favourite show of all time is Generator Rex, I thought I’d watch it and write down things along the way. Mostly just reactions to things happening as they go, and then probably a simple review at the in another post of what I liked, didn’t like, and maybe what other ways this episode could have gone.

Spoilers! Kind of, for those who haven’t seen it yet! But onto the watching!

Should probably mention I haven’t seen a whole lot of the Reboot Ben 10. Not awful from what I’ve seen, some interesting and well-done aspect even, but certainly not my cup of tea. But I’m here for my boi Rex anyway so…

This is actually quite a cute theme song intro, not gonna lie

Ah, yes, a very American opening in a very American location.

Lol, of course they use Heatblast as the first alien in the episode, got the same voice actor as Rex, nice touch.

Evil...trees? Are these actually villains in the show?

Also, that little girl is precious.

Ben, are you trying to start a forest fire in the middle of the park?!

Ha, Gwen gets it!

Ah, yes, more American stuff.

“Don’t wreck the precious monuments” should have seen what you did to Mount Rushmore in your past, Ben.

Sup, Hex.

Music is evil, got it.

So Ben’s aliens are pretty famous already, at least being treated more like celebrities than monster sightings.

“Burn the flute!” A.K.A nearly burn Hex in the process.

And that’s why Ben never passed music class.

And why exactly do you want the world, Hex?

“Hopefully the last one of the summer” Don’t jinx it Max!

Time goes by so fast, doesn’t it Ben? Especially with aliens, villains and timetravel.

Max is secretly an EVO with that kind of growl.

Yes, because as we all know, villains will stop trying to take over the world once summer is over. They must hibernate for the winter.

Also, Max, did you steal those marshmallows?

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…….Ben, you good there?....Did Hex do something to your brain?

Who thought this would be great to animate!?

We all have those existential crises and talk to smores.

Jesus, Rex, got ninja skills I see.

Some homeless kid and his monkey stole my food? Time to kick some ass!

My favourite alien, Canonballoon.

I’ve missed my boy and his chimp.

Awwwww they’re sharing! Also just….feel so bad for them already. Homeless and struggling for food, my poor boys.

So EVOs do exist here? Wonder how that will be explained.

Ben out here really trying to beat up some other kid, lol. What a great hero.

Bobo, you are great.

I feel like...Ben’s going through some issues.

Ah yaaaaaaaaaaa, bring on the EVO powers! BFS!

Look ma, no hands!

Rex 1, Ben 0

Ben really wants to commit murder or assault here, wow.

Overboard is the word I’d use, yes.

The life of a background character.

Nanites confirmed! And now they’re in the watch, that ain’t good.

Huh...not what I thought was gonna happen.

The little girl is still precious.

This would be fun to explain to Azmuth.

This ain’t good.

On the run from Providence I see.

Awww, poor Rex. Really doesn’t want to hurt anyone.

I can’t tell if these people are angry because of the DNA affect them, or they’re really just being angry in general.

See ya, Gwen and Max.

Interesting to see that the Providence aircraft looks straight out of the show.

Evening, Six.

Still a badass like normal.

He said Omega, he said the word!

Also, nice blame game there Ben. It’s not like you provoked Rex by, ya know, trying to crush him like a grape.

Um...Six...did you just….try to kill a kid? He didn’t know Ben had powers, that pillar could have easily crushed a normal human.

“This is how you try to convince me you’re not a threat?” Say the dude who just tried to murder a kid!!”

Oh no, he Naruto runs! 

Oh, hello Hex.

Also, what is Providence in this world? What are EVOs and Nanites in this world? None of this has been explained yet.

Ok, so that’s what Providence is...You’d think we would have seen them before based on all the aliens showing up who want to destroy the world.

EVO Generator....I wonder if that means that there aren’t very many EVOs, like maybe there is only a set group from the same lab, and Rex is considered the most dangerous because he can make EVOs.

Ben, do you even know what an EVO is?

Jeez, I know Six is like, the sixth deadliest man on the planet, but he just tackles alien Ben like it’s nothing. This guy should take on Vilgax.

Did he say nib libs?

My boi’s back!

I’m not liking this Six...very much not the character I’ve come to love. Who are you and what have you done with the real Six!

Lol, gotta make sure the kids at home know these aren’t real guns!

Using a net on one kid, and about to beat the crap out of the other, nice.

I do have to ask why Hex was picked to me the main villain, beyond whatever the hell Providence is doing. Why the magic dude and not a tech based villain? Someone who could be both interested in the watch and nanites.

What a covenant spell you have there, Hex.

Again, why do you want to take over the world?

“No, those are my aliens!” I think that’s the least of your concern there, Ben.

Bobo 1, Hex 0

Why is Bobo one of the best-written character’s here? Not that I hate Bobo, but just…

Lol, Rex did you just lay there, the entire time? What was that net made out of?

Ah, right. Let’s attack the children rather the magical manic who clearly stated he wanted to rule the world.

Those nets are fireproof apparently.

Ooof, ah….quite the sore spot there, Ben.

Just let me hug Rex, please…

Are there EVOs are are there not!?

I know this is supposed to connect with older fans, but most of this info would fly over the head of anyone who hasn’t watched Generator Rex. They act like everyone knows what EVOs and nanites are.

Still with the blame game are we, Ben?

Judging by that look, Rex’s parents are also dead in this world. Guess he’s not allowed nice things in this universe either.

That flashback was….so latching in the dramatic department. 

Now ya wanna help, Ben.

He’s so scared of himself, noooo!

Ya, but the different between you and him, Ben, is that he lost his parents, his home, got mutated, his memories became hazy, got locked up and called a monster, and now lives on the streets stealing smores. I think Rex has more of a reason to feel scared at being new with the hero business.

Bobo gets it.

Gotta love they added details on Gwen and Max’s alien forms to make them stick out from the rest. Don’t want to confuse anyone lol.

Thinking of a clever comeback on the spot is hard, not gonna lie.

Yes, Ben, drown him.

Again, with the American music, lol. It ruins the fight scene here.

What is this fight scene?

Original Providence agents would have died on screen rather than ditching the fight.

God, everyone’s made Rex feel like everything is his fault, poor guy.

Rock 1, Ben 0

This message and heartfelt moment falls flat, the build-up wasn’t there and it just...kind of happens. It lacks a lot of flavour and impact, and it doesn’t help with how most of these characters are written.

Old people jokes.

Now we shift the blame to Kevin.

Is Fourarms Gwen bigger? Because if so, nice touch, since we know female Tetramands are stronger/bigger than the men.

Ok, so attempted murder is fine when Six and Ben try to do it, but not Rex, got it.

Get in line Hex, you’re not the first who wants to ‘recruit’ Rex. You’ve got Providence, Van Kleiss, Quarry, Black Knight, that one band, and so on so fourth.

Why is this heartfelt moment suddenly happening now? This feels like it could have been placed back when Rex refused to fix the watch.

Ben…”I’ve already tried that!” Bruh, you tried beating him up, telling Six and Providence you saw him, basically acted like he wasn’t a good hero because he refuses to get over his trauma, and reached out your hand once because it benefited you....I get what they’re trying to do, but it just makes Ben look like a jerk. I get he’s ten, but still…

Just...slap him Bobo, please…

Why are we so nervous about Rex’s sword? Ben you have aliens that can burn, cut, smash and so on, and you barely care what you do. Remember how you nearly started that forest fire at the start?...

Yo, what!? What kind of logic is that, Providence? “Whelp, guess earth is screwed, might as well burn it”

Ya, remember that time when EVOs infected the whole world, and Providence decided to just burn everything down with lasers? 

Extendo blade.

Huh, so Six’s blades can break down Rex’s builds.

Salamander...don’t you mean...Skalamander?

One ship? What is Providence packing!?

Yasss, Punk Busters!

Rex is crying, how dare you!

Now we got Smack Hands, you’re in for it, Hex!

Ooooooooooooooonnnnn iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttttttttt!

Ah yes, the sixth most beautiful man on the planet.

Again...what is with the nuking?

Magical cloth fixing, just what I need.

Pure chaos with my boy.

Cracking his neck made me cringe.

Also why the sudden change in heart, Six? This feels out of character for the character who is out of character.

Look, Rex, you’re either gonna fix the watch, or you’re gonna start the self destruct countdown. Everything is going to hell, so might as well take that 50/50.

And it worked!

Ah ya, about that missile.

See’s missile inbound “I can handle it!”

Iron Giant vibes around here.

Screw ruling the world, I’m gonna murder this one child!

My cat’s the same.

REX, DID YOU JUST KICK A MISSILE!?

So that’s his full name?

I think you need to work on those vacation days with your boss, Six.

You are not Six, I will never accept you.

So the episode starts with Rex being alone, homeless and being chased by Providence, and ends with him being alone, homeless and being chased by Providence. What was the improvement here? Self Confident?

Ben even just lets him go, doesn’t even offer him to stay with his family.

Rex deserves better.

Another heartfelt moment that just...falls flat…

“Always be family and be there for you, Ben” Until you go to college without telling him before hand

So!...That was the crossover. Not...amazing sadly. I didn’t have high hopes to begin with, and mostly was just happy enough to have Gen Rex be acknowledged. But this Crossover missed a lot of points, and fumbles quite a bit. It reminds me a lot of the Secret Saturdays Crossover and what was wrong there. But I’m tired and will do a break down/proper review another day, if people are keen for that. Thanks for reading this if you did, it was a rollercoster!