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dsgirl2024 · 7 months

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The World You See | Prologue | Yoongi | BTS OT7 x Reader Fanfiction

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CONTENT WARNING

This story has explicit descriptions of death, drug use, alcohol use, addiction, sex, language, mental illness, suicide, and other possibly triggering content.

If this will effect your well being in ANY WAY, PLEASE DO NOT READ!

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ABOUT

Genre ☆ Fantasy / Romance (Fanfiction)

Rating ☆ Mature (18+ Minors DNI)

Pairing ☆ BTS OT7 x Reader

Story Type ☆ Angel BTS (AU)

SUMMARY

You've always seen the world a bit differently than others. It was like your magic power. And maybe that was why only you could see the lights that night. The big, astronomical explosion of lights that rained down to earth in colors you had never known to have existed until now. Little did you know about a divine destiny beyond your wildest dreams, and seven angelic beings brought down from heaven to guide you.

Apparently, the world is ending, and they're convinced that you're the one to save it. All you have to do, is figure out how.

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Blackness.

Interrupted by the opening of a door. Light seeped through the cracks, casting a fluorescent trail that stretched long on the floor as a lanky figure burst inside; disheveled and angry, an aura of gloom stalked behind him. The entrance fell closed with a gentle clack, any light from outside eclipsed by the room's darkness.

A hooded man in a raincoat stumbled through obscurity, falling into things loudly as he searched amidst the darkness. His hands scaled the wall--desperate, slapping its cold, stony surface in search of a certain place.

Not long had passed when his fingers brushed a smooth steel handle, the metal cold to the touch. Without any hesitation, the man yanked it forward, launching himself over the threshold and into his empty bathroom.

A dismal atmosphere, the smell of bleach and toilet cleaner wafted through the air.

It's been a rough night--Min Yoongi'd wager the worst night, and a suppressed sickness had built up in his gut.

Throwing on the lights, Yoongi practically threw himself at the toilet, keeling over and retching into the water below. Veins popped from his arms as he steadied above the bowl, emptying his stomach contents. Praying for a hasty finish.

He hated puking by the sheer inconvenience of it, the way it felt, how it left a foul flavor on the tongue, bitter and tart. The vulnerable, clamminess as acid burned his throat. Oh, and the smell--Yoongi despised that most of all; the sickly, vile aroma that hung around like an unwanted guest. Arguably the grossest bodily function.

Lucky for him though, it was over in minutes. His body graciously prioritizing relief, a blessing compared to the times he was forced to suffer instead. At least, he was grateful for that.

Yoongi hovered there for a moment, allowing his body time to catch up. He spat a couple times, cleaning his mouth of any chunks, then wiped the extra drool with his hands. When the circulation returned to his brain, Yoongi straightened his stance--a bit dizzy at first, and looked in the mirror above the bathroom sink.

The reflected clock behind him read 11:55 p.m.

Hood now fallen away, the face that had been shielded now stared back at him hauntingly.

Yoongi's skin was pasty and a cold layer of sweat shimmered damp on his brow. Shadows cradled the underside of his eyelids and his long, jet black hair clung to his face like glue. Even he was shocked by his own visage, so gaunt and hollow...

...and bloody?

"Oh shhhit.." Three large smears of red ran down Yoongi's lower lip, catching his attention. The marks looked like vertical slashes, as if claws had torn his flesh, though faded and dull in color.

Quickly, he looked at his hands, eyes widening, pulse rocketing. Heart hammering against his ribcage.

Badum, badum.

In a panic, the man removed his raincoat and tossed it to the corner, the snout of a dragon tattoo exposed on his neck. Eyes locked with his reflection, Yoongi swallowed thickly, nervously. Then, he dropped his gaze to his arms, mostly bare in the black t-shirt he wore underneath. A shallow gasp puffed from his chest.

There was so much blood.

Spreading up his wrists and all the way to his bicep, Yoongi was a vision of horror, like something straight out of the movies.

The blood smeared in a unique way, resembling hand-prints and human scratch marks. The man groaned, flipping his hands forward and back as his eyes scanned the extent of the gore.

"Oh fuck."

Yoongi bowed his head and frantically turned the faucet, shoving his hands under icy-cold water. He splashed the rest of his arms and face in hurried, wasteful motions, not caring that half the water missed, and flooded the floor instead.

He just wanted to be clean.

Clean of him.

Gazing back at his reflection, it were as if the mirror Yoongi was judging his him. Questioning the validity of his actions and waiting, impatient for an explanation.

"I thought you were a professional, how could you be so stupid, Min Yoongi?" It begged to him."You don't makemistakes like this, Min Yoongi. Just because it was him, doesn't give you permission to be sloppy. They didn't train you to be sloppy, Min Yoongi. You're completely fucked, Min Yoongi!"

A lump lodged deep in his throat, impossible to swallow, and the feeling of sickness returned.

It took Yoongi a minute to realize that he'd started to hyperventilate. Short, shallow breaths heaved from his lungs, making him light-headed as the rapid intake of oxygen gave him tunnel vision.

Thoughts proved difficult to form, though the man was aware of the trouble he was in. A panic attack was the last thing he needed to deal with right now.

Yoongi gripped the cold, porcelain sides of the bathroom sink tightly, grounding himself. Trying to snap out of it.

"Get a hold of yourself, idiot." He thought."Now's not the time." There were more important things to attend to.

Like making a fallback plan... and a fallback plan for the fallback plan.

But first he needed a clear head, a little... creative intensive. Something to ease his mind from the anxiety, because in no way did that offer him clarity or focus. Focus.

He had to focus.

Grabbing for the mirror, Yoongi tugged it off the wall to reveal a large, hidden divot. A secret hole, for his secret things. Things that had to stay secret, else he'd suffer the wrath of his country. Careful to not drop anything, he gently placed each item in the sink, eyelashes casting a somber shade beneath his lids.

An elastic band, a spoon, a box of matches, a bag of brown colored powder, and a syringe. The items looked innocent enough by themselves, however, when mixed just right, they possessed the exceptional ability to seduce the mind in deliciously, toxic ways.

And right now, he craved to be seduced.

Cooking the ingredients together was second nature to Yoongi, his pink tongue poked out in concentration as he effortlessly enacted each step.

Powder goes in the spoon, spoon goes over the fire, fire melts the powder into liquid, and the liquid gets sucked up by the syringe-- a murky, ugly brown liquid. And just a little more than before.

All done.

Everything will be okay now.

It'll all work out.

"It'll all work out"

Yoongi repeated that phrase like a mantra, soothing himself, before tying the elastic around his bicep and plunging the needle deep into his vein.

Stepping back towards the wall, the black haired man slid into a seated position, one knee bent and eyes fluttering shut. He exhaled serenely, reveling as his heart rate slowed and the dopamine came crashing in. The cool bathroom tile felt pleasant on his skin, a balance of cold to hot that brought about a sense of calm.

With his head resting comfortably against the wall, Yoongi arched his neck to stare at the ceiling, onyx eyes dilating just as a black hole expands against the universe. There was nothing he could compare to a sensation like this. The utter ecstasy of it proved inexplicable but, suddenly current situations didn't seem so crucial.

He could just drift, existing, yet free of human conditions. Sallow lips lifted at the corners, clearly enjoying the euphoric rush.

It was bliss.

Or...

He thought it was, but...

Hold on.

"Ugh.." The man flinched, features contorting to one of discomfort as he wrapped an arm around his abdomen.

It took a second but, Yoongi's system quickly began to register the presence of something foreign, threatening. There was an unusual fatigue settling, one that made him woozy, and his head had begun to spin at an abnormal speed. And then his muscles fell heavy, sluggish--a numbness overtaking all perception of feeling.

When the man attempted to move, it was like a magnet held him in place."The hell.. is... happening..."

He couldn't give reason to his symptoms, knowing inside and out what an overdose felt like. This wasn't it. This was something else. Something malicious, as if intentionally placed, a predetermined means of killing him off, but for what?

Then, it dawned on him. However, much too late by now. "Shit."

They did this.

Eyes wide, he began to convulse. The drug sedating him to the extent that, even as he seized, the movements lacked violence. Just little spastic jolts as his nerves were attacked. Helpless to do anything really, Yoongi's face almost looked... amused. A minute smirk tugged at his lips as he considered the humor of it all.

"Those bastards..." He managed with a despondent laugh. He should have predicted it, though never in a million years did he anticipate such a fast retaliation.

He thought he could just leave, put the past behind him and throw away the key.

As if they'd let him.

How foolish he was.

How truly foolish.

The man glanced up, black hair falling around his eyes, the bathroom clock now right above his head. Tick, tock, tick, tock. The ticking of the second hand provided him a sense of company as he waited for... well whatever was next. 11:58 p.m.

In an odd way, Yoongi felt relief. Not from the idea of death, no. He didn't want to die, but then again, no one truly does. There was merely something... freeing in the fact that he no longer owed the world anything. No longer owed them anything. Although it had been naive of him to assume a different way out.

Tick, tock, tick, tock. 11:59 p.m.

Yoongi had regrets, of course. The things he'd done, the people he'd hurt. People he'd killed. A killer. A junkie. He was a killer and a junkie.

A shell of a human.

A weapon.

Even though he'd deluded that his hand had been forced, most of Yoongi knew that lie stank of shit. There had been choices he made, paths he walked down, and every single one chosen by his own volition. He alone held that gun, and he alone pulled the trigger.

But at least he tried to get out. At least he felt remorse.

Min Yoongi was not a good person. However maybe, if life had dealt him different cards, he'd have been a decent one. Tick, tock, tick, tock.

0:00 a.m.

Without warning, a room once incredibly bleak burst with a colorful, magic light, radiating in shades beyond imagination. Perfect, other worldly light, that soaked the darkness up like a sponge, leaving behind nothing but the sensation of warmth.

Yoongi's lips parted in awe. Perhaps it was a hallucination, some narcotic, in-flight entertainment as his brain deteriorated, shutting down forever.

Not that he minded--real or not, it was a pretty way to leave this earth. Better than what he deserved, anyway. The marvelous colors refracted his irises, spinning the black orbs in brilliant streaks of pigment--an intentional design.

As if shaping a galaxy.

Motionless, the man listened as gentle whispers encompassed his ears, barely audible, hushed and many, overlapping each other in tongues. Sentences beyond gibberish were impossible to discern. Even so, by some fate, Yoongi understood exactly what was being said, or rather he felt it.

Then, one very distinguished voice presented above the rest, offering him a trade. Yoongi, hardly conscious by now, tried to explain that he had very little to give. Nothing of eminent value. No riches, no possessions, perhaps not even a soul. There was just himself, and everything that he is.

Apparently, that was enough.

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sepdet · 1 year

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Have you SEEN the original moon landing feed, especially the scary bit near the end?

youtube

Now stay with me. I grew up hearing about these few minutes from my parents (in fact I took the TV they watched it on to grad school; DS9 and Babylon5 worked well in b&w).

This is even crazier than it looks like.

My parents were both scientists, my grandmother a planetarium director, and my dad was just about to land his job at a rocket company that built 95 small rockets that were part of the UpGoer Saturn V. (Yeah. Just the small ones. Saturn V was a BEAST.)

So my parents had a fair idea how dangerous this was, how Neil going manual was a bad sign, and just how close he was to running empty and crashing. They knew the problem that every ounce of fuel you carry requires even more fuel to lift off, so the Eagle was built light, carrying no excess weight even in fuel (it had to lift off the Moon with no rocket, after all).

But they didn't learn until years later just how jury-rigged and bespoke Apollo technology was. Every vehicle and part was designed like a Mythbusters build: extremely customized for the procedures it had to accomplish, using parts and even technology invented for specific mission tasks.

rope memory, predecessor to modern silicon chips: 1s and 0s woven by women (of course) at a Massachusetts textile plant

At the time, computers were the size of rooms and very touchy. Apollo's computer memory was core rope memory, never used before or since, to save space. The read/write guidance computer, too, was woven: physical media could better survive the rigors of space travel. (I suspect even my parents don't know it also used some of the very first integrated circuits, soldered by hand under a microscope by Navajo women).

Spacesuits were (and still are) designed and hand-stitched by Playtex bramakers. The lunar rovers' wheels were titanium meshes woven with piano wire to let dust through, and even had a clever navigation system despite no GPS or magnetic north.

They couldn't test these rigs with computer modeling. They didn't know for sure what the moon's surface would be like, apart from basic parameters like low gravity and near vacuum and a temperature ranging from 250°F in the sun to -250° in the shade. And it was nearly impossible to test for or practice in those conditions on Earth.

And then there were the unknowns. A massive solar flare between Apollo 16 and 17 might have killed or sickened them too much to operate their ship.

While the spacesuit and to some extent the rover design carried on, a lot of these hacks were so unusual that they might as well be alien tech. (I'm sorry woven technology fell out of vogue for several decades.) That goes some way towards explaining why humans haven't left Earth orbit since I was two.

The other problem, of course, is expense. Tech for human space exploration requires as much R&D and testing as fighter planes, which have developed through a century of multiple countries' military budgets. Human space programs are lucky to last two presidents; the next president usually doesn't think giving glory to his predecessor is a good use of money.

So for 40 years, NASA has mostly worked with other countries on human spaceflight or built robot explorers that can be launched in 3-4 years before Congress or the president can axe the program. They're less likely to shut down a mission when 99.99% of the money's been spent, and all that's left to do is download data and uplink occasional instructions.

TL:DR; Congress and the White House keep flashing the equivalent of that computer error message, every time NASA gets ready to send humans into space again. Overload. Abort mission.

Unless, you know, American citizens start saying Go. Go. Go. Go. We have some pretty important priorities down here on Earth (which Amazon and Disney and oil companies should be footing the bill for, though they try not to), but I bet the military can cough up the cost of a few fighter jets.

#happy moon landing day #apollo 11 #space #Long post is long #I hope this is a good read despite fibromyalgia making my brain turn to fuzz #but this is so much cool stuff

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braveclementine · 2 months

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Siberia

Warnings: None

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own my OC Elizabeth Lightwood. I do not condone any copying of this.

Steve landed the Quinjet in the snowy tundra and turned the jet off. Bucky meanwhile found the weapons and grabbed a gun. The two of them stood next to each other while they waited for the ramp to go down.

"You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?" Steve asked, looking over at Bucky.

"Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?" Bucky asked, smiling.

"You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead." Steve smirked.

"What was her name again?" Bucky chuckled.

"Dolores. You call her Dot."

"She's gotta be a hundred years old right now." Bucky sighed.

"So are we, pal." Steve smirked, clapping Bucky on the shoulder. Bucky leaned in and kissed Steve's cheek tentatively. Steve felt his cheeks grow hot.

"Just in case." Bucky smirked and went to walk down the ramp. Steve grabbed his arm and spun him around, kissing him passionately on the lips. "No." Steve breathed as he pulled away. "That's how you do it."

"Guess you're the lead now." Bucky chuckled, pecking Steve's lips one more time and then they walked off the ramp.

"He can't have been here more than a few hours." Steve said, looking around. It was bitter cold, the snow and wind blowing around them fiercely.

"Long enough to wake them up." Bucky replied.

They headed downstairs through the elevator and then started to make their way through the hallways. Bucky kept his new gun lifted up as he walked, leading and checking every corner he passed.

They started up the stairs, before they heard a loud thud behind them. They both turned immediately. Steve lifted his shield up so he could see it just over the edge.

"You ready?"

"Yeah."

To their surprise, it was Tony, who stepped out and let his face plate down, "You seem a little defensive."

"It's been a long day." Steve said, walking forward slowly with his shield.

"At ease Soldier. I'm not currently after you." Tony shouted up at Bucky who hadn't moved.

"Then why are you here?" Steve asked.

"Could be your story's not so crazy." Tony said. "Maybe. Ross has no idea I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself."

"Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork." Steve replied. Tony scoffed and Steve finally relaxed, "It's good to see you Tony."

"You too, Cap." Tony looked up, "Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here. You can drop-"

Steve motioned to Bucky and Bucky slowly lowered the gun.

"I got heat signatures." Tony said as they rounded a corner into a larger, slightly more open room.

"How many?" Steve asked.

Tony took a second and then said, "Uh, one."

Suddenly, the lights lit up in the cylinders. They glowed yellow and steam hissed from them, moving around inside. Steve walked forwards slowly and then stopped again when a voice spoke.

"If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep." Steve continued to walk forwards again and Tony matched his steps. He could see now that the soldiers all had bullet wounds in their foreheads, blood frozen to those spots. Steve worried for how Bucky would feel.

"Did you really think I wanted more of you?" The man asked.

"What the hell?" Steve heard Bucky whisper.

"I'm grateful to them, though. They brought you here." Steve noticed Bucky had wandered to look into the cylinders, so he was further away from him and Tony. More lights turned on. Tony immediately shot at where the man was and Steve threw his shield, but it bounced back to him.

"Please, Captain. The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of UR- 100 rockets."

"I'm betting I could beat that." Tony boasted as they all moved closer to the bunker.

"Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark. Given time. But then you'd never know why you came."

"You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?" Steve asked angrily. He walked so he was face to face with Zemo, only separated by the glass.

"I've thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you. I followed you. But now that you're standing here, I just realized. . . there's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes" He chuckled, "How nice to find a flaw."

"They're pretty eyes." A voice interrupted and Steve turned to see Elizabeth had somehow joined them, striding forward, planting herself next to Steve.

Zemo scoffed.

"You're Sokovian. Is that what this is about?" Steve asked, grateful suddenly for her presence.

"Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell. No. I'm here because I made a promise."

"You lost someone?"

"I lost everyone. And so will you." He pressed a button inside and a screen came up on the computer behind Steve. "An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within? That's dead. Forever."

Steve looked at the computer again, with Elizabeth and Tony joining him. Tony looked at the computer and then glanced at it again, "I know that road." Tony said, frowning a little, recognition coming to his eyes.

"What is this?" Tony shouted.

Steve realized what it was when he saw the car crash and a motorcycle go shooting past. The car caught on fire and the motorcycle came back. Bucky got off the back of the motorcycle, opening up the trunk and grabbing whatever was in the back. Knowing the entire story now, it was probably super serum that Howard had made to create the super soldiers here.

Bucky was looking at the ground and Elizabeth was too.

Steve watched Howard get out of the car. "Please. Help my wife." Bucky grabbed Howards head and jerked it backwards. "Sergeant Barnes?"

"Howard!" Maria shouted.

Elizabeth left the computer side and Steve looked up to see her touch Bucky's arm. Bucky was looked traumatized. Steve glanced over and saw the Zemo had gone.

To watch an empire fall. Fall from within. To make them fight each other. And die killing each other.

Tony breathed in deeply and then punched the screen. He breathed out. "I already knew!" he screamed, but he too realized Zemo was gone then.

"Give me a second." Tony shuddered. "It's. . . different seeing it then hearing it."

"You knew?" Bucky asked quietly.

"Y/N told him the minute she found out. Good thing too." Elizabeth said.

"I'm sorry." Bucky said. "From the bottom of my heart I wish I could take everything back. All of it."

"I know." Tony snapped. "I know. Now let's go hunt the mother fucker down."

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T'Challa put his helmet down carefully in the snow as he approached the man sitting on the rock. "I almost killed the wrong man."

"Hardly an innocent one." The man scoffed.

"This is all you wanted?" T'Challa asked, "To see them rip each other apart?"

"My father lived outside the city. I thought we would be safe there. My son was excited. He could see the Iron Man from the car window. I told my wife, 'Don't worry. They're fighting in the city. We're miles from harm'. When the dust cleared. . . and the screaming stopped. . . it took me two days until I found their bodies. My father. . . still holding my wife and son in his arms. And the Avengers? They went home. I knew I couldn't kill them. More powerful men than me have tried. But, if I could get them to kill each other. . . I'm sorry about your father. He seemed a good man. With a dutiful son."

"Vengeance has consumed you." T'Challa spoke slowly. "It's consuming them. I am done letting it consume me."

He let his claws slide back into his paws. His father would not have wanted him to kill either man in the first place in response to his death.

"Justice will come soon enough."

"Tell that to the dead." Zemo scoffed. He went to point his gun under his chin, and T'Challa put his hand over it, the vibranium stopping the bullet from penetrating his skin and killing him. He pulled Zemo back into the snow, wrapping an arm around his neck.

"The living are not done with you, yet."

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Elizabeth was gone. She had stepped out and once the four of them had seen Zemo in the hands of T'Challa, she had hugged Tony, kissed both Steve and Bucky on the cheeks, and then let Heimdall take her back up to Asgard.

Steve and Bucky had left with T'Challa, who offered to take Barnes to Wakanda to see if his sister Shuri could do anything with medicine. And Tony took Zemo to Ross.

He stepped into the Avengers Compound. It felt emptier than it had before.

Vision seemed to be the only one there, sitting on the couch, rolling a chess piece between his fingers.

Rhodey was there as well. His physical therapy was going well. He still had to wear some braces, which Tony had designed himself, but other than that, he was fine. He wouldn't even need the braces after a few months.

He was helping Rhodey with the physical therapy when there was a knock on the window and he turned to see a mail man there. "Are you. . . Tony Stank?"

"Yes, this is Tony Stank. You're in the right place." Rhodey called out. "Thank you for that! Never, dropping that, by the way. 'Table for one, Mr. Stank. Right by the bathroom'."

Tony laughed, then took the package to open it.

Inside was a letter from Steve and Tony felt a little apprehensive. He knew that what Zemo had wanted was for them to fight. To kill each other. That he would be so angry that Barnes had been the one to kill his parents that he would try and kill Bucky. And inevitably, Steve would fight Tony as well.

Tony didn't know who would win. Probably the three of them. Elizabeth would never have let any harm come to the super soldiers. Or maybe she would have tried to mitigate it so they didn't fight.

Yes, Steve probably would've tried to just get them to safety. Steve was to close with Y/N to kill him.

Everleigh came into the room, crawling into Tony's lap. He hugged her tightly and opened up the letter.

Tony, I'm glad you're back at the Compound. I don't like the idea of you rattling around a mansion by yourself. We all need family. The Avengers are yours. Maybe more so than mine. I've been on my own since I was eighteen. I never really fit in anywhere, even in the Army. My faith's in people, I guess. Individuals. And I'm happy to say that, for the most part, they haven't let me down. Which is why I can't let them down either. Locks can be replaced, but maybe they shouldn't. I know I hurt you, Tony. I wish we agreed on the Accords. I really do. I know you're doing what you believe in, and that's all any of us can do. That's all any of us should. So no matter what, I promise you, if you need us. . . if you need me. . . I'll be there.

"Priority call from Secretary Ross." F.R.I.D.A.Y. said as Tony found the cell phone Steve had left for him. A flip phone, how typical. "There's been a breach at the Raft prison."

"Yeah, put him through."

"Tony, we have a problem." Ross said.

"Uh! Please hold." Tony said.

"No, don't." Tony put him on hold and then picked up his daughter to go and take her to bed. "Guess what sweetie? Mommy's coming home."

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You sat in your prison cell, waiting. It was freezing in the cell as well, goosebumps had broken out on your skin. You shuddered a little, wishing there was a blanket or something.

You didn't want to look at the others. They all looked so defeated and it was so hard to look at Wanda in her straight jacket. Pietro kept running circles in his cage like a locked up animal.

You didn't blame Tony. You had read the Accords and nothing about breaking the law said they would put you in the top security prison in the world. Underwater and everything.

Suddenly, you heard people gasping and you looked up. You half expected Steve to be here, breaking you free, but instead there was a mangled, half-burned almost walking corpse of a person.

Rumlow?

You stood up in shock. What was he doing here? Why was he here? How in the world was he still even alive? He certainly didn't look like he should be alive. He looked like he should be very, very dead.

"How the hell are you alive?" Sam asked, but Rumlow didn't answer, not stopping until he reached your cell. He smirked, opening up your cell.

You knew he had an obsession with you. He'd constantly asked you into his bed when S.H.I.E.L.D. had still been a thing. But still, why in the world had he tracked you all the way down here, did who knows what with the security, just to get to you?

You readied yourself for a fight, dodging his quick punches and kicking him in the chest. You ducked as he flung the metal stool in your room at you. You blocked his next punch, then cried out in pain as electrical shocks radiated throughout your body.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Clint, Sam, and Pietro all shouted at him as he ripped the prison shirt off your body. You punched him across the face, before feeling the electrical spasms again.

You couldn't move your body, but you could feel his hands on your breasts. Hands attempting to pull the rest of the clothes off.

You came down from the shocks, but he slammed your head against the ground and you felt dazed, black spots forming in front of your eyes.

Suddenly, Rumlow grunted in pain and you heard the sounds of someone punching him. Huh. Maybe Clint had broken out of his cell or something.

There was the sound of Rumlow's body falling to the ground. Large hands lifted you up into someone's arms. You just barely caught a glimpse of Steve's face, before you blacked out completely.

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You came too in a very white room. It was definitely medical and there was a young black woman standing over you.

"Please stay still, I'll be right back." She said in a heavily accented voice and then hurried from the room.

You groaned, turning your head side to side. It didn't look like any hospital wing that you had ever seen.

"Hey." Steve came into the room, carrying a bottle of water. "How are you feeling?"

"My head aches." You said hoarsely. "This raging pain inside of my head. It's that sort of headache where it feels like it's in different spots? Ya know? The kind that feels like it's in your nose or your eye?"

"Sorry." Steve said gently, handing you the water. "The water should help and they wanted you to wake up before they put you on any heavy pain killers. You want anything to eat?"

"No, I want a blanket." You mumbled, "It's freezing."

"Well, we are in Africa. The buildings are definitely air conditioned." Steve said lightly, grabbing you a blanket and covering you with it.

"Africa?"

"Wakanda, to be exact. I was already taking Bucky here because they have some advanced technology. Shuri, T'Challa's sister, thinks she can remove his trigger words."

"That's great." You said hoarsely, lifting the water bottle to your head. "Does um, Tony-"

"T'Challa called him and he knows you're okay. But he can't get here. I told him once you were better, T'Challa and him could arrange a meet up. He says Everleigh misses you."

"How was Rumlow alive?" You asked, shifting onto your side. Why was it so cold?

"I have no idea. No one does." Steve sighed. "Nor does anyone know how he got into the Raft to get to you."

You sighed. "But he's dead now?"

"Yes." Steve nodded. It was quiet for a moment and he smiled as your eyes fluttered tiredly. "Get some sleep Y/N. You're safe here."

You smiled at the idea, and drifted off to sleep slowly.

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jeniffercheck · 1 year

Note

Everybody moved on I stayed there (Karolina’s cramps hitting while they’re literally all on a private jet over the ocean and shiv helping her) (this may or may not be prompt if you want it)

a cute little one-shot for u under the cut!!! thank you for the prompt<333

words: 1.3k !!!

“Did you get that, Karolina?”

Karolina looks up from her notepad, an expectant Frank staring right at her. She tries to remember what it is he’d just said, something about stock market perception and if they should get out ahead, but ahead of what?

“Uh, yeah, I think—um,” she stammers her way through, poorly biding herself time, and stone-faces herself through another vicious twisting inside her abdomen, it taking everything in her not to cry out. She can feel the eyes on her, watching, as if she’s the only person in the room who could possibly have an answer.

“She already said it’s a non-starter.”

Shiv. All eyes are now on the redhead, whose rolling eyes are poking out from behind an issue of The New Yorker. Frank looks from Shiv and back to Karolina, she thinks if he were any smarter, he’d be suspicious. She also thinks if he were any smarter, he could tell she hasn’t been listening to a word he’s said for the past fifteen minutes.

“Right, thank you, Shiv,” Karolina says, and she scrambles, still trying to bide enough time for her mind to catch back up. “I just think, you know—if we want the public perception to stick with us, then—”

“You wanna know what I think?” Shiv interrupts, the magazine now in her lap.

“Not really,” Roman chimes in, obviously inconsolably bored since Gerri isn’t on this trip to torture. Karolina’s inconsolably tortured since Gerri isn’t around to buffer.

“Tough shit,” Shiv says as she leans forward. “Why are we bringing attention to it? A security guard got caught insider trading because he decided to fucking Watergate in the twenty-first century, so we fired him. That’s the response.”

Shiv eyes Karolina as she leans back, quirking an eyebrow. To everyone else, it must look like a challenge. To Karolina, Shiv’s just thrown her the ball.

“I hate to say it, but she has a point,” Roman says. “What kind of security guard forgets that we have, like, actual security?”

“Fine, say we’re covered on that end,” Frank says, “That doesn’t solve the issue of the stolen files.”

Karolina feels like she’s back in high school and just got caught doodling, put on the spot for a cold call about a chapter in the book she didn’t even know existed.

“Uh—do we have Gerri’s read on this yet?” Karolina asks. “We can’t say anything until we know the legal implications.”

Safe. Legalities are always a safe bet.

“She’s meeting us at the office after we land,” Karl says. “Ideally, we’ll have a statement or two prepared if we need to move.”

A statement or two. As if that’s not a whole day’s worth of fucking work, and they want her to do it in the middle of a plane ride, and go to the office after, all the while her stomach feels like it’s being carved out by a fucking spackle knife. She takes a deep breath, knowing it probably looks like stress rather than feeling like she could be meeting her untimely death by way of menstruation, but she takes a shot.

“Okay, well—if he’s threatening to expose, then that’s extortion on top of insider trading,” she says. “Blackmailers aren’t protected by whistleblowing laws, it’s simple.”

“And if he exposes us on his way to the big house?” Roman asks.

“Then, he’s a disgruntled employee who got caught with his fucking dick out and we say he’s lying,” Karolina says. “It’s not rocket science, boys.”

All three men look at each other, clearly surprised by the slight outburst. She doesn’t really have it in her to care. They’re being dense, and she’s about thirty seconds away still stuck in this conversation from puking up her guts.

“Well?” Karolina asks.

“Nothing,” Karl says, sharing a look with Frank. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“You’ll write that down?” Frank asks, and Karolina nods sharply, her gaze resuming on her notepad and her laptop. She stares at the blank word processor, willing the words to just come to her, but the pounding in her head is getting worse and the ache that was supposed to dull as a result of four painkillers is still rampant inside her, and she knows she’s getting closer to not being able to hide the pain.

It’s then that she feels a nudge against her arm, something like the pages of a magazine, and she turns her head to face Shiv, eyes less calculating and much more concerned than they seemed to be only moments ago.

“Can I run something by you?” Shiv asks quietly, gesturing behind her. The thought of getting up feels like voluntary torture, and even though she’s not a masochist, she is still a somewhat unofficial handler of the three heirs to the throne, and she and Shiv had promised each other they’d act normal. To not draw attention. So, giving in to a Roy child’s every demand, even if that demand is to go into the back of the jet and run something by her, is normal.

“Sure,” Karolina nods. She stands slowly, thankful the place is small enough for her to use her hand to brace herself against the wall without it being a big deal, and she follows Shiv into the jet’s only bedroom, grateful Roman had already put on headphones and closed his eyes before he could see them retreating.

It’s only a matter of seconds before that deep pain rolls through her again, and ss soon as Shiv locks the door, Karolina tries to get straight to business.

“What’s this about?” she asks, patience wearing especially thin.

“You looking paler than Karl when he saw the Q3 report,” Shiv says, “c’mon, sit down.”

Shiv takes Karolina’s hands and guides her to the small bed, and Karolina sits down, her eyes squeezing shut as she does, every movement opening herself back up to a resurgence of the throbbing. A gentle hand meets her forehead and she opens her eyes to Shiv’s worried gaze.

“What’s wrong?” Shiv asks.

“Just a little motion sickness, Shiv, I’ll be fine,” Karolina says. She knows it isn’t convincing, but the last thing she needs is Shiv hovering, especially when they have a newly lit fire to put out.

“I’ve flown with you how many times?” Shiv asks, “And you’ve never gotten sick.”

Karolina doesn’t have the energy to back up the lie, so she doesn’t. Shiv sighs quietly, a kinder sound in place of her usual scoff.

“It’s me, Karolina,” Shiv says. “I won’t tell on you, alright?”

And then Shiv’s hands are rubbing up and down the sides of her arms, and she can’t hold it back anymore. Tears spring to her eyes, despite what’s left of her efforts.

“It’s just—cramps, Shiv,” Karolina says, already embarrassed. “It’s not a big deal.”

Karolina’s tight knuckles and short breath aren’t as convincing as she’d like them to be, but she doesn’t have a choice. It can’t be a big deal, not when there’s work to be done.

“Have you taken anything?” Shiv asks.

“Enough to cause an ulcer,” Karolina says, dropping her head into her hands. She digs her elbows into her stomach, like the pressure will do anything, and the bed dips as Shiv sits down next to her, rubbing a hand across her back.

“Are they always this bad?”

Karolina nods into her hands.

“I have something stronger at home,” Karolina says, lifting her head. “And God knows how long we’ll be stuck at the office.”

It’s just her luck that her period would come early while she’s thirty feet up in the air, on top of the one trip that needs them directly back at the office, but that’s just life. Beyond that, Waystar isn’t exactly the most sympathetic employer when it comes to women’s issues.

“Well, how does this sound—we’ll bang those two plans out together right now, and when we land, I’ll go pick up the medicine,” Shiv suggests.

“Shiv—”

“Karolina, you could barely form a coherent thought back there,” Shiv says. Then, much softer, “Let me make this easier for you.”

Karolina’s brow furrows, whether from the pain or the small show of affection, she isn’t quite sure, but it seems pointless to deny this ask from Shiv, mostly because she’s too exhausted to reason with her, but also because it just feels good.

“Fine,” she says. “Thanks, Shiv.”

Shiv just pushes Karolina’s hair behind her ear, dropping a light kiss on Karolina’s forehead. The action makes her forget all about the aching in her abdomen for just a moment as she leans into the touch, and she wishes she could hold onto the feeling forever.

“You never have to thank me."

#this is crazy i dont think i've ever written sickfic before #work #shivlina #shiv x karolina #succession fic #shivlina fic #karolina novotney #shiv roy #duskfalls

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mayashesfly · 5 months

Text

Human Vox Headcanons

His old name was Vincent Wilhelm Oxley. He was born in New York within a family of German descent who immigrated to America during the 1850s.

His family is rather rich despite some difficulties. And they own their own studio, so Vox became a child star.

He was born with beautiful blonde hair and complete heterochromia eyes (right brown, left blue)

Due to his mismatched eyes, there were rumors that he was secretly mixed during a time interracial relationships were heavily frowned upon. So he and his parents tried their best to hide his mismatched eyes by using tinted glasses and having bangs on that side of his head.

He failed spectacularly at being a child actor since he wasn't able to convey subtle emotions easily enough unlike over the top personalities. (Not that you should expect much from a child acting mind you)

The industry of child acting during his time didn't help matters much because it was rather fucked up.

His parents, particularly his father, only praises him and gives him attention and affection whenever he did a good job at acting. He would even get toys for a job well done. His mother wasn't as emotionally present in his life either, only providing his basic needs and then ignoring him the entire day to go back to her room. He didn't really understand why, but he swears he heard something like hiccuping behind the door to her room.

After his father and the producers realized his personality was more fitted to be a host, they jumped at the chance of making him a child host on tv. He was able to flourish more in the scene but there wasn't really as much demand for child hosts during his time. Not to mention, he still had to hide his mismatched eyes which limited the amount of appearances he could take without outing himself as "someone who's mixed"

His career as a child wasn't improving much. Which led to him getting more neglected by his father who was always busy.

But thankfully he has a dog he named "Vark" after mispronouncing the bark his new dog made towards him.

And a certain radio show in New Orleans kept him company in his home. As a smooth voice talked and played soothing jazz music well into the night. (Sometimes he would write him fan letters. Written under a shy little Vincent until he grew old and embarrassed. And soon, that certain radio host went missing)

Cut to a few years later and Vincent reinvented himself as "Victor" a TV host just like his younger self but much more experienced and confident.

He dyed his hair a jet-black since it was in style. And wear blue contact lenses almost 24/7 to hide his mismatched eyes.

He has to regularly make eye drop breaks because of how much his contact lenses irritated his eyes from prolonged use, way over the maximum recommended usage, just so he could keep his persona up and keep his secret.

His career sky rocketed. But at this point he hardly cares if his parents give him the time of day anymore. And Vark had unfortunately died, he was a dog after all. And dogs don't have long lifespans compared to humans.

Being so charming and popular due to his success, he was able to find himself a wife and even have a child with her he lovingly named "Victoria"

But he was by no means a good husband. He was busy with keeping up his career. And finds his wife rather boring ever since they stopped having meaningful conversations together unlike before. She used to be so charming and witty. But now she was just like the rest of the boring meek women that stained his circles.

A man would be more mentally stimulating. But all of his "friends" are merely collegues and business partners he can't afford to lose nor even dare to think about confiding his feelings to. (Platonic feelings. Because surely he doesn't feel anything else towards men his age)

The only thing that woman is good for is keeping his little Victoria happy, safe and well-fed while he's not around. And oh, how he's so happy when he can come home and embrace his little girl, spending quality time with her. Looking at him like he was her entire world. Truly a charming little princess he has himself!

He didn't dare to think about making his little Victoria enter the acting scene so young however. No no no, he couldn't bare letting her experience such embarrassment. (An embarrassment on his career. On his life)

She can stay at home, completely safe from harm.

He would never let anything happen to her.

#may asher rambles #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel vox #human vox #headcanons

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paper-gold-theories · 2 years

Note

What if there was a thing called Villain Rehab where hero's take villains to rehabilitate them into heros

Heck- They even have a handbook guide on how to on how to look after their villains (Interogations, Heroic excerisies, how to handle escape attempts, make sure they don't become depressed, ect) with rules for the heros like don't kill your villain and don't fall for the villain before they become reformed

I imagine when Goldheart defeats Flug instead of leaving he picks him up and begins to fly away with flug who assumes he's taking him to jail only to notice that their heading to the hero agency and questions what's going on.

In which Goldheart mentions "Just a little thing called Villain rehab", however his tone makes Flug think some freaky brainwashing shits about to happen and tries to escape

P.E.A.C.E. having cheesy orientation videos like Black Hat Organization for their rehab centers and handbooks for heroes would be absolutely hilarious.😂

____

GoldHeart captures Flug and takes away all his weapons and lands outside of a hero agency. Flug asks him where on earth did he take him. GoldHeart replies in a low tone, that he is taking Flug to "rehab". Flug thought he was going to be brainwashed and started struggling against his grip, trying to escape from him.

GoldHeart, amused, went along with it to see what Flug will do and trails after him at an easygoing pace. Flug ran all the way to a building with an elevator and took it all the way to the top floor, only to see GoldHeart there when Flug came out of the elevator.

Flug shocked, asked him how did he know which floor he would go to. GoldHeart shrugs and says he looked at the floor indicator screen and flew at super speeds up the stairs.

GoldHeart then proceeds to carry Flug over his shoulder again and takes the elevator down before continuing their way outside and towards the hero agency.

Flug panickedly held onto a lamp post along the way and GoldHeart just ripped off the lamp post from the ground and carried Flug with it, much to Flug's shock. (GoldHeart could just have pulled Flug away from the lamp post but he just thought this way was funnier.)

GoldHeart, predicting the reason for Flug's behavior, finally explained that they were going to an actual rehabilitation center to reform villains into heroes. He's not going to brainwash or mind-control Flug or something like that.

----

Flug, finally understanding: Oh, you mean like therapy?

GoldHeart: Yes!

Flug: Take me to prison instead…

GoldHeart: Flug!

----

Even though the staff has a handbook on how to handle escape attempts, Flug does a crazy maniac escape plan a week later on Christmas Eve that no one would expect, while GoldHeart was busy at an event.

He built a rocket and attached it onto a Christmas Tree, before crashing through the roof and riding it off into the night. GoldHeart had to fly after him all around town just to get him back to the rehab.

(One exploding tree later)

GoldHeart interrogated staff and guards (Flug wasn't going to say anything) on how Flug managed to sneak and build a rocket into a Christmas tree.

Apparently, Flug found a glitch and flaw in the electronic ordering system and ordered a total of 3000 happy meals (GoldHeart: Flug! WTF!?) to be served to him for the week, but barely ate any of it, and slowly drained out all the oil from the burgers and fries to be used as jet fuel, and found a room with broken appliances and used the equipment to build a rocket and attaching the tree by hollowing out the inside of it while he was helping to decorate...

GoldHeart faced palms. He didn't know whether to be infuriated or impressed!!Probably both.

He went back to Flug's room who insisted he needs to get back home and to work at Black Hat Organization, while GoldHeart tries to convince him to try to at least take the rehab seriously for at least 2 months, if he does so, he can get him a probation.

Flug agreed, definitely because he needed to think of a new escape plan, (yup, definitely not because GoldHeart gave him a sad adorable golden retriever puppy dog look..)

But he didn't want to do any planned interrogation sessions. GoldHeart accepted the compromise.

Flug went to the activities in the rehab like the several types therapy sessions and exercise sessions while GoldHeart visits him when he can when he is not doing hero stuff to have a friendly conversation see how he's doing with the therapy and the progress, while Flug pleasantly shared with him that he’s doing well and asks him how’s he’s hero work, which GoldHeart also enthusiasticaly shares. So for 2 months, everything is going well...

Until Flug staged another escape plan while GoldHeart was busy with another mission. By the time GoldHeart was informed and reached the facility, he saw the Hat-Ship had already broken into the city and the carnage of beaten up guards left by the Villainous gang. The last thing he saw was Flug in the hat ship getting a hug from 5.0.5. and a friendly noogie from Demencia inside the Hat-Ship, before the before it flew off in high speeds. GoldHeart tried to keep but couldn’t because the hat-ship had somehow upgraded its engine while Flug is in the rehab.

GoldHeart and some P.E.A.C.E. officers tried to interrogate the guards, staff and the inmates on how did Flug manage to escape the facility, considering that he has been banned from using any technology (e.g. TVs) and was carefully monitored, after his last escape attempt. They eventually found out from some of the inmates that Flug has been doing a secret barter trade with the patients by making makeshift alcohol and drugs with only ingredients from the kitchen in exchange for multiple favors. With Flug being secretive and all patients kept giving different contradicting stories, (GoldHeart suspected might have asked also for random favors to throw them off) they had no idea how to piece the info on how Flug managed to inform his team to escape and do all this without the guards and staff knowing.

Overall GoldHeart felt frustrated that Flug was able to escape his clutches again.

------

A week later GoldHeart got an email. Noticing it’s from Flug’s BHO email address, he opened it up immediately. Flug wrote that the rehab did help him a little bit, so he felt he should at least give GoldHeart an explanation on how he escaped.

Flug suspected that the inmates might have told GoldHeart and P.E.A.C.E. about his barter trade but didn't know the exact details. He said that in exchange for makeshift alcohol and drugs he asked the inmates for scrap metal, in order to build the communicator to send messages to his team and explain his plan for them to charge in and break him out of the facility. He also sent a code to order and program his Hat-Bots to modify the Hat-Ship engine fast enough so that it can outfly GoldHeart.

How he was able to do all this without the guards and staff knowing was by asking some of the inmates for favors to put a paper bag over their heads and pretend to be him to distract the guards and staff while he goes to a secluded area to initiate his plan.

(GoldHeart laughed and couldn't help but be impressed by Flug's ingenuity and creativity, as he continues to read the email)

Afterwards, Flug said when he came back Black Hat was immorally pissed at him for taking an unprompted leave and had mountains and mountains of piled up work from over 2 months. But he said that he does feel a lot better after rehab and the therapy sessions help him deal and process some things about himself better. So, he thanks GoldHeart and appreciates him for bringing him there.

This put a smile on GoldHeart’s face and gave him hope that Flug could still be redeemed.

#villainous #villanos #dr flug #dr kenning flugslys #goldheart #gold heart #herbert leth #villainous fanfic #flug #villainous headcanons #505 villainous #villainous demencia #villainous blackhat #black hat organization

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elbiotipo · 1 year

Text

More details about the ANCE Johann Sebastian Mastropiero, the dear ship of our heroes Beto, Ragua, Suisini and probably some more.

An HA-116 "Barrilete" class ship. Built by Haedo Astronáutica as a strategic multi-role transport, with production massively ramped during the Machine War to supply remote outposts. Widely licensed and appreciated by its rugged nature, there are thousands still on service, many on civilian hands.

Looks like a mix of the Space Shuttle and the Ilyushin Il-76, but in a retro space opera style (sleek yet all "burned" from lots and lots of atmospheric reentries). The size is about of a C-17 Globemaster, with some more crew space.

The engines are fusion rockets working on as of-yet undiscovered tech, but commonplace by the future of the setting (not more complex than modern jet engines). Once in space, to enter FTL, it docks with a drive ring in orbit (common for this kind of ships)

Full travel time for a standard mission, is about 3-5 days until you need refuelling. It all depends of course where and how you want to go but that's about the max without dangerously stretching it.

It takes off and lands from any kind of airfield, even unpaved ones; in fact, this is what the ship was designed for, to deliver any kind of cargo to any place, no matter how remote. As long as there's some kind of flatish surface, it can land and take off.

The interior is very, very cramped. It has 4 cabins for crew and 8 for passengers (with 16 seats/beds), but they are standard "pod" designs, roughy 2x2m; you get your own pod with two acceleration couches, a TV, a hilariously tiny bathroom, and that's it. Think a capsule hotel with some more space. It's not for luxury travel.

No artificial gravity either. Travel is relatively short so you don't have to worry that much about muscle degradation, but there might be some gym equipment stored around.

The cargo bay is the most spacious place, because that's what's the ship's for. It can fit up to 6 shipping containers or equivalent cargo (depends what's in).

When it's empty, it's fun to hang out there (not like there's much space in the ship)

Like I said, outside it's decorated in a fileteado style, with celeste, silver and red, the colors of the Esteloplatense Confederation. It might have some details reminding old Rioplatenses buses and trucks..

Inside, of course, it feels cozy. Beto, of course, has some malvón flowers, a estamptita of San Carlos de los Astronautas, a Mary statue and a crucifix (everything helps) and a flag of River Plate on the cockpit.

Beto's pod cabin is full of whatever memories and stuff he finds on his travels (all safely stored of course). Suisini's pod is basically a sun-room with crystals for focusing different wavelenghts of light, it kinda has a hippie vibe. Ragua has a bathtub, and she finds it depressingly tacky compared to what she's used to.

Now as for its service story (no dates, assumes all this happens around 600-700 years After Gagarin):

Built for the Machine War, served for years (on the command of Beto's grandfather) on many supply missions in the counterspin front, mostly supplying bases and building sensor outposts, but also in a few hostile landing missions.

Returned to the Confederation Astral Prefecture, served as a reserve transport ship for a few more years.

Refitted for civilian service and sold in an auction of surplus military equipment

Bought by a group of former pilots, including Beto's grandpa, who started a transport cooperative. Refitted and put to work once again.

After a crash, it languishes in an hangar at Aerolito for a few more years.

Beto takes a loan, repairs it and rejoin the coop, and it flies once again.

It should be roughly 40-50 years old. And still flying...

#campoestela #cosas mias #worldbuilding #science fiction

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typingtess · 6 months

Text

NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14 Rewatch: “Dead Stick”

The basics: Aiden Hanna’s jet crashes and the team works to find out why it happened.

Written by: Lee A. Carlisle wrote or co-wrote “Golden Days”, “Reentry”, “Into the Breach”, “Concours D’Elegance”, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, "Sundown" and “Pandora’s Box”.

Directed by: Dennis Smith directed “Fame”, “Standoff”, “Rocket Man”, “Cyberthreat”, “Exit Strategy”, “Patriot Acts”, “Out of the Past” part one, “The Livelong Day”, Between the Lines”, “Deep Trouble” part two, “Black Budget", “Black Wind”, “Blame it On Rio”, “Defectors”, “Matryoshka” part one, “Granger, O”, “The Queen’s Gambit”, “Hot Water”, “From Havana With Love”, “Plain Sight”, the lighthearted “Monster”, “Superhuman”, “One of Us”, “Smokescreen” part one, “Decoy”, “Mother” (episode 250), “Alsiyadun”, “The Bear”, “Angry Karen”, “Signs of Change” and “Fukushu”.

Guest stars of note: Kavi Ramachandran Ladnier as NCIS Reserve Agent Shyla Dahr is back from season 14 premiere “Game of Drones”. Richard Gant as Raymond Hanna returns from last week’s “Body Stitchers” episode. Tye White as Aiden Hanna is back from “Watch Over Me”, the 17th episode in season 11. Joanna Bacalso as Navy Lieutenant Commander Kristina Hirsch, Gabriel Burrafato as Navy Commander Jose Espinoza, Ryan Radis as Jake Primiani, Christopher Amitrano as Navy Maintenance Master Chief Brian Frazier, Sean Freeland as Marco Madsen, Brittany Freeth as Navy Air Controller, Erik R. Norris as Patrick, Linara Washington as Nurse Constance Harper.

Our heroes: Work to learn why Aiden Hanna’s jet failed.

What important things did we learn about:

Callen: Doesn’t think Aiden is at fault but needs to investigate fairly. Sam: Son of Major, father of Sonic. Kensi: See Deeks Deeks: Absent. Fatima: Praying in the burn room. Rountree: Distracted by his issues with LAPD. Kilbride: Running things in Ops with ease.

What not so important things did we learn about:

Callen: Shares Raymond’s enjoyment messing with Sam. Sam: May have found a caretaker for Raymond. Kensi: Absent. Deeks: See Kensi. Fatima: Going out for a sad celebration with Shyla. Rountree: Looking to the Admiral for guidance. Kilbride: Offering guidance by telling Rountree the team has his back.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange? Nary a mention.

Who's down with OTP: Who knows. They weren’t here but there weren't there together, so that's good.

Who's down with BrOTP: Very little BrOTP time though the three generations of Hanna men were great.

Fashion review: Callen wore a black polo-style shirt (really more Chris O’Donnell than G. Callen). Sam in a dark blue long-sleeve tee. Fatima had a grey sweater over a white mock turtleneck. Rountree wore a pale purple Carhart long-sleeve tee (great color). As always, the Admiral wore a blue three-piece suit, pale blue dress shirt, blue tie.

Music: “Sunday Morning Underground” by Faustus is playing during the opening scenes at the beach. “Initial Mailing” by Cargo is playing while Marco is being questioned by Fatima and Rountree.

Any notable cut scene: Four straight without a deleted scene.

Quote: Sam: “Oh, Callen told me something interesting...Sonic.” Raymond: “Now, see, I'm confused again.” Aiden: “Uh, it's my call sign, Grandpop. Your squadron picks it for you, usually after you've done something pretty stupid.” Sam: “Yeah, like, say illegally breaking the sound barrier? Something like that?” Aiden: “Well, let's just say that my plane wasn't the only thing that went supersonic that day. I have never seen my CO use that many curse words.” Raymond: “My boy.”

Anything else: Some previously-s with Aiden telling Sam he’s going to fly for the Navy, Aiden flying for the Navy, the Rountree siblings traffic stop from hell.

On the beach, a hustler is scamming a fisherman into getting a fishing license for a public pier. As they negotiate, a military plane passes over them but the jet’s engine blows out and the plane starts to fail. The plane crashes but the pilot ejects just before impact. As his parachute lands, the fisherman races over to see the pilot, who is alive but not conscious. The hustler isn’t thrilled, especially since the fishing liecens thing may have been less than legit. Ambulances are heard in the background as the hustler pulls the fisherman away from the pilot. Best not to be involved.

The pilot’s uniform nameplate reads “Hanna”.

Walking through the office, Shyla gets a number of messages and calls on her cellphone. Looking for somewhere quiet to take the call, she walks into the burn room only to find Fatima praying. Shyla is surprised Fatima would pray in a place like the burn room but “anywhere is a place of prayer” for Fatima. Well, not bathrooms and graveyards.

Shyla explains the calls are coming from her soon to be ex-husband. They have been separated for three-years but just started with the divorce proceedings. While her ex isn’t contesting the divorce, he also doesn’t want it. All the papers have been filed, just waiting for the court to say everything is in order. The phone rings again so Fatima leaves Shyla to deal with the soon to be former Mr. Shyla.

In wardrobe, Rountree is rummaging through his stored pants. He is searching for his wallet – he thought it may have left it in one of his undercover outfits. The Admiral arrives and finds the wallet immediately on a nearby table. Seeing Rountree is out of sorts, the Admiral asks him what is going on. According to Det. Whiting, LAPD wants Rountree to speak to their PR department. The plans is for LAPD to give paid leave to the officers involved in the traffic stop where Rountree and Jordyn were harassed. While Rountree didn’t know what LAPD planned to do with the officers, paid leave “sure as hell” wasn’t part of the plan.

Knowing it isn’t his place to comment, the Admiral says that things may not get better even if Rountree pushes it. “Crooked cops have gotten less for doing worse.” Rountree knows that. He also thinks that if he wasn’t a federal agent, LAPD wouldn’t be interested in doing anything at all. Again, not wanting to tell Rountree what to do, the Admiral reminds Rountree that NCIS works with LAPD and LAPD could make things tough for Rountree. “Tough is what I do,” Rountree tells him. Then the Admiral thinks it should be easy for Rountree to clean up his mess in wardrobe.

An annoyed Raymond walks into the boat shed with Sam as Callen sits at the boat shed table. Seems pancakes are Raymond’s issue. Sam’s mom would make Raymond’s pancakes with premade mix while his caretaker makes them from scratch and says she makes them from the mix. And if she lies about that, what else is the caretaker lying about.

Callen apologizes for not knowing Raymond was coming – he only got two cups of coffee. It’s not a problem for Raymond, he take Sam’s coffee. The coffee isn’t the only thing Sam lost that morning – Raymond’s caretaker quit. Sam can’t believe this is all about pancakes while Callen disagrees – breakfast in the most important meal of the day. Raymond teams up with Callen to mock Sam.

Walking to the back of the boatshed, Sam is looking for someone to take care of Raymond that day. Callen helpfully suggests Agent Castor. Raymond and Callen share their mutual enjoyment of messing with Sam. Sam’s phone rings – Aiden is in the hospital near Point Magu. Sam and Raymond are on their way while Callen tries to find out what NCIS knows.

NCIS doesn’t know much, according to Fatima, except Aiden’s F-35 crashed. Fatima and the Admiral meet Shyla and Rountree in Ops, Callen is on the big screen with Lt. Commander Kristina Hirsh, a JAG Officer. Lt. Hanna is fine, being held for observation overnight. The Admiral asks about the cause of the crash. Hirsh is tasked with finding out what caused the crash. The cause of the crash could be as simple equipment failure or pilot error or something worse. Hirsh mentions the F-35 taken down by the drone swarm in “Murmuration” last season – nice callback show! Since both crashes were in the OSP’s backyard, she’s asking for their help. She is going to question Aiden but will need help looking for evidence near the crash site. Rountree is all in.

Hirsh tells the team that Aiden was on a test flight out of Point Magu when the plane crashed. The plane barely missed an apartment building. The Admiral sends Fatima and Rountree to the beach to interview witnesses being held there by LAPD. Shyla is going to the boat shed to meet Callen and interview the maintenance supervisor who got the plane in the air. Hirsh makes it clear, Special Agent Hanna can’t be involved with the investigation into Lt. Hanna. “I’m sure he’ll have no problem with that,” the Admiral says.

Callen calls Sam, who understands he can’t be involved with the investigation but isn’t thrilled. Sam is arriving at the hospital with Raymond. He asks Callen to keep in him the loop. Walking into Aiden’s hospital room, Sam and Raymond find Aiden with a walking boot on his right leg, some bumps and bruises but a big smile and a promise that he’s just fine. Aiden just finished a call with Kam. Raymond is thrilled to see Aiden and the feeling is mutual – though it isn’t ‘grandpa’, Raymond is “Major”.

The bruises on Aiden’s face are from the ejection. He has a concussion and a sprained ankle from the landing. Aiden is trying to remember what happened when Lt. Commander Hirsh arrives. She apologies for intruding while Aiden struggles to salute. He’s quickly told “at ease”. After introducing herself to Sam, she’d like to get started on Aiden’s official statement.

In the boat shed, Navy Maintenance Master Chief Brian Frazier is answering questions about his responsibilities inspecting all aircraft for Aiden’s squadron. If there is an incident with a plane, all logbooks and maintenance records for an aircraft are secured so they can’t be altered. The records are available to be reviewed at any time.

Aiden’s plane is a newer plane. It wasn’t due for a full maintenance review for another 100-hours. The plane went through the proper pre-flight inspection before “Sonic” took off that morning. “Sonic” confuses Callen and Shyla but Sonic is Aiden’s call sign. Frazier was shocked to hear about the crash – Aiden is a great pilot.

Callen asks about it being a test flight. It was and it is classified but the company behind what they were testing is Starling Aeronautics. Frazier really can’t say much but things with Starling are overbudget and behind schedule. Frazier’s CO would know more. Shyla goes to get the Admiral involved with contacting the CO.

Aiden tries to take Hirsh through the flight with Sam and Raymond sitting in on the interview. Things went off without a hitch flying to the area where he was going to put the plane through an exercise. All systems worked perfectly. Returning to Point Magu, he’s not sure what happened next. His memory is fuzzy. He knows he had to punch out but can’t remember why. Raymond suggests working backwards from what he can remember – that works for Raymond sometimes.

None of this is working for Hirsh. She notes that the autopilot was shut off before the crash – does Aiden remember doing that? He does not. Hirsh brings up that Aiden received several LOI’s – Letters of Instruction – for “pushing the envelope”. He purposely broke the sound barrier while flying over the continental United States. Raymond is shocked, Sam says Aiden would never do that. One look from Aiden and he did do it. Sam is not pleased but Raymond reminds his son that he wasn’t always “Mr. Perfect” as a kid. While Sam doesn’t see what breaking the sound barrier has to do with the crash, Hirsh tells him that Aiden’s performance, including past incidents of “flat-hatting” (showing off), are a part of the investigation. The Navy just lost a $94-million plane. Raymond wants to know if the afterburners are jewel-encrusted at that price tag.

Saying she only allowed Sam and Raymond to stay for the interview because they are decorated combat veterans, Hirsh tells them they have to stay quiet. Sam is offended Aiden’s integrity would be called into question. Hirsh orders the two senior Hannas out of the room.

At the beach, Fatima and Rountree learn nobody noticed anything until the plane crashed. No signs of a surface to air missile, which would have left a smoke trail, or a drone swarm. Some witnesses saw the hustler leave in his van. The beach has a license plate reader – they may be able to find him.

In Ops, the Admiral speaks to Master Chief Frazier’s CO, Commander Jose Espinoza. Espinoza explains that Starling is providing software that upgrade the electronic warfare capability. The plane, according to Espinoza, is a “flying computer” that can be improved by software upgrades. The Admiral asks if the software test could have caused the crash. Espinoza does not believe it could – the software test was not a part of Aiden’s return to base. The Admiral asks if there is someone he can talk to at Starling. Espinoza will tell the software’s project manager.

Outside of Aiden’s hospital room, Sam is outraged by how Hirsh is handling the case. Raymond is more on Hirsh’s side – she is doing her job. Sam is surprised by Raymond’s attitude – why was he cracking jokes? Where was the hardass that made Sam call him “Major”? Raymond is letting go of things he held so hard when he was a younger man. He’s sorry – sorry for what he did to Sam and what he did to Sam’s mother.

Sam didn’t appreciate Raymond’s tough love at the time but it made Sam the man he is today. And he loves Raymond for that. Raymond tells Sam that seeing the man he’s become allowed him to loosen his grip and now it is time for Sam to do the same thing for Aiden. Because Aiden can handle it.

Testifying, Aiden said he was struggling with the controls. The plane was no longer performing as it should. Hirsh asks why didn’t Aiden call in the plane issues. Aiden tells her he did. When she looks confused, he wonders if he didn’t. Hirsh asks if Aiden was trying to liven-up an otherwise boring flight back to Point Magu. The flight was being monitored at Point Magu and according to the data, everything was working fine until the autopilot was turned off. If Aiden turned off the autopilot, the cause of the crash would be pilot error – a likely career-ender.

Hirsh leaves Aiden, she has some paperwork to do. Raymond asks if she knows where the cafeteria is. She does and wouldn’t mind some lunch herself. The two leave Sam with Aiden, who is up and trying to pour himself some water. Sam asks how things are going - “badly”. Aiden tells Sam if the crash is due to pilot error, he’s done. But he can’t remember. Sam suggests going through what happened but Aiden collapses.

Sam gets Aiden back to his bed – the concussion is an issue. Raymond’s dementia may have been from concussions he received in the service. Sam had them too from football and to SEALs. Nobody knows for sure what happens. Raymond and Sam were told to shake things off. Aiden has to learn from them and take better care of himself.

A very impatient Shyla is waiting with Callen for the Starling Aeronautics project manager in the boat shed. Callen actually thinks they is good – project managers usually make NCIS visit them. Shyla asks if Callen thinks Aiden actually caused the crash. Callen turns the question on Shyla – what if he did think Aiden caused the crash. A good NCIS Agent looks past what they think to look at the case from every angle. Pilots make mistakes. The F-35 pilot program only takes the best and while high-end pilots hotdog it from time to time, it is all part of the job. So if it isn’t pilot error, what is it. Callen admits he doesn’t think it is pilot error but that’s not their side of the investigation.

Wandering into the boatshed is Jake Primiani, complete with his Starling Aeronautics embroidered polo shirt. He wants to get this over with – a tad nervous.

At the beach, Rountree asks Fatima if she thinks he’s making a mistake pushing for more punishment for Officer O’Neal. Fatima doesn’t think he is. He doesn’t know what to do. He was so angry that morning when he thought he lost his wallet. He’s had moments like that since the stop. Fatima sympathizes. Whatever Rountree choses to do, she knows he isn’t weak for making that decision. He doesn’t want this to define who he is as an agent. Fatima says he can’t control what others think. Some will always think badly of him if he fights. Others will know the principled person she sees every day. She wants him to do the right thing for himself – “tree may bend but tree don’t break.” Rountree likes that.

Fatima gets info on the license plate for the van. She asks the Admiral to run a Kaleidoscope search for the van. He can do that and doesn’t need the pat on the back Fatima offers. He’s no CYO soccer brat looking for a participation trophy. The van belongs to a Marco Madsen, the fish license hustler on the beach. He’s just a few blocks away.

Primiani is nervous – the software is being run in flight simulators to recreate what happened to Aiden but nothing matches. Shyla asks why the project is running behind. Primiani says they were not given enough time – there is never enough time for a project like this. The normal glitches and bugs happened early in the project and while it took time to fix them, the deadline stays the same. Primiani needs to get back to Point Magu to prepare another flight. Callen and Shyla release him.

Raymond is having a hard time with a vending machine. He wanted a Twinkie is told the machine is now cashless after COVID, according to a nurse. She gets him a Twinkie with her credit card and refuses to let Raymond pay for it. She also gets one for herself.

In his room, Aiden asks how “grandpop” is doing. Sam mentions Raymond’s good days and bad days. Aiden has a flash of memory – the engine flamed out. When the engine flames out, the autopilot automatically switches off. Commander Hirsh said the data says everything was working fine but it wasn’t. Sam goes off to find Hirsh.

Discovered in his van, Madsen tries to run from NCIS. That goes poorly. Rountree mentions the plane crash. Madsen says yes, a plane crashed. With some prodding, he remembers that the engine was flaming out. This confirms what Aiden remembers and disproves whatever data was given to Hirsh. While Fatima calls this in, Rountree wants to know about the fishing licenses.

The Admiral has another conversation with Espinoza. Another flight is testing the software so Kilbride wants Espinoza to know that an eyewitness confirms Aiden’s account of the crash. The engine cut out and only restarted when Aiden punched out. Behind Espinoza, the Navy flight personnel at Point Magu lost contact with the pilot of the second flight. The plane is losing altitude. Kilbride gets Aiden on the phone to try to walk Espinoza through what happened on his flight.

Aiden remembers who he almost got the plane restarted. He gives the instructions to Espinoza to give to the pilot – “Kegger”. While Kegger falls off the radar screen for a few seconds, the instructions work and both pilot and plane are saved. Hirsh witnessed Aiden’s heroics. She wants him to finish his statement. Sam asks about Raymond but Hirsh last saw him with the nurse by the vending machine.

Arriving at Point Magu, Callen and Shyla want to talk to Primiani, who does not want to talk to them at all. Plus there is no proof the software is the issue. Callen wonders how two of the best trained pilots in the world flying two separate cutting edge planes nearly suffer the same “never-before-seen” system failure. Primiani said they knew there was a flaw but it was patched months ago. The flaw – the new system can override the flight computer. But unless someone bypassed the fix, it couldn’t happen. And he wouldn’t do that. Primiani’s entire career is about making this system work.

Asked about who else could override the patch, Primiani says the computers are all air gapped and stored at Point Magu. Everyone on the flight and maintenance crew would have access to the computers but like Primiani, why would they risk their careers to override the patch. There is one computer that just records who logs in and out of the computers. Callen, Shyla and Primiani are off to check.

Walking into Ops, Fatima asks Kilbride for a “sitrep” – saying she always wanted to do that. The Admiral is not pleased. They have to investigate every Starling employee to see who could be either taking part in terrorism or industrial espionage.

Sam finds Raymond and his newly found nurse buddy walking back to Aiden’s room. The nurse is kind to Raymond and to Sam. Sam is surprised Raymond let the nurse help him. Constance, the nurse, is per diem at the hospital and does some side work in home healthcare. She passes Sam a card as she leaves.

Hirsh tells Sam that the investigation is moving from Aiden to Starling Aeronautics. Sam has been released from the sidelines and can return to work with NCIS. Raymond is going to stay with Aiden, Sam is on his way to Point Magu.

At the Starling Aeronautics office at Point Magu, one of the computer hard drives is missing. The Admiral wants everyone at Starling investigated but Fatima has found only one person with irregular financials – Master Chief Frazier. Frazier is walking to his vehicle when Callen and Shyla try to stop him.

Shyla calls base security as Frazier carjacks one of the base’s work trucks. Callen jumps into the flatbed and while Frazier tries to get away, Shyla chases in the NCIS vehicle. Sam is arriving at Point Magu as Frazier tries to leave.

Frazier gets out of the stole vehicle and puts his gun to his own head. Shyla tells him not to do it. Frazier says Starling knew about the troubled software and he tried to tell everyone about it. He allowed the second flight go take off to prove that Aiden’s flame out was due to the software and not pilot error. Sam talks Frazier out of killing himself, saying that he forgives Frazier for what happened as he knows others will. Frazier puts the gun down and is arrested. Shyla is shocked Sam can forgive but he is being gracious and is willing to try.

Back at Ops, Shyla and Fatima talk. Frazier wasn’t being quite so selfless. He was paid by one of Starling’s rivals to help tank the project. Fatima asks about Shyla’s earlier calls. The divorce is finalized. She’s surprised you don’t get anything official – it is just over. Fatima offers a celebration drink to make it official. Unless Shyla wants to be sad because Fatima can do that too. Shyla decides on celebration with a little sadness and they’ll be doing that once the after-action reports are filed.

A calmer Roundtree has a very neat desk except for his football for when his team beat the Admiral’s Tigers. Rountree asks the Admiral what would he do if he was Rountree. The Admiral makes it clear, it isn’t up to him, it is up to Rountree. That said, he’d like to see “the bastard’s hide nailed to the outhouse wall instead of just a slap on the wrist.” Rountree is worried about making NCIS’s job harder. The Admiral makes is clear that Rountree is a part of a very elite team and every member of that team supports whatever Rountree does.

Sam and Hirsh talk – Aiden will be back in the jet as soon as the flight surgeon clears him from his injuries. She also says that Aiden staying with the plane so long saved lives – he got the plane to fire and when it did, it missed an apartment building. Aiden saved lives and will be getting a commendation for it. Hirsh is impressed - was a “stick jockey” herself.

In his room, Aiden is playing backgammon with Raymond. Sam arrives with a Martin Baker Squadron patch. Martin Baker is the seat ejection manufacturer. Raymond breaks out his flask and is willing to share but Aiden has a concussion and Sam is driving so Raymond had a swig while the other Hannas have some water.

Sam brings up “Sonic” which confused Raymond. “Sonic” is Aiden’s call sign – a call sign is given to a pilot by the squadron after the pilot does something dumb. Like breaking the sound barrier of the United States. Aiden assures the older Hannas that he wasn’t the only one to go supersonic that day – he never saw the CO use that many swear words.

What head canon can be formed from here: For an episode that had a lot of family storylines – the Hanna men, Rountree and Jordyn’s nightmare experience, Shyla’s divorce – it was a rather sterile hour. Not a lot of emotion or passion about Aiden nearly dying or Aiden possibly ruining his career. Rountree who was so full of righteous indignation over what happened to him and to Jordyn is now looking to walk away. And Shyla seems more bothered that her soon to be ex is calling than their marriage is over. I would have liked a little more passion or fire in any of those storylines.

The episode had a season 12 feel – Sam was largely siloed with the family, Callen worked with Shyla, Fatima, Rountree, the Admiral and a little Shyla in scenes.

The random JAG officer was well played but why not find Bud or Sturgis or some other JAG series actors to play that role. Manetti was out, Tamlyn Tomita played a DHS Officer in season six on the show. Admiral Chegwidden's multiple appearances would have totally made this work.

The burn room was back! I missed that place. It was a great piece to the super-secret office set-up over the years.

Episode number: Episode 306, season 14’s fourth hour.

#NCIS: Los Angeles Rewatch #NCIS: Los Angeles #NCIS: LA #NCIS Los Angeles #ncis la

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wixelt · 1 year

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Going through the AU once again and I was reminded of Grian blitzing past Andrias on Elytra wings as a distraction followed by Sasha dive bombing him with swords on her own pair, Grian serving as a surrogate mentor to Sasha in Scar's absence, and the idea that the portal is likely open for a good amount of time before they finish preparations on the dragon-duper allowing the resistance to actually have access to Elytra for ever so slightly less time, especially with both Iskall and Ijevin around to go End Raiding (an idea of it's own,) leading me to one cunclusion

Grian giving Sasha flying lessons.

Also R&D probably made either rocket boosters or jet packs out of scavenged Frobo parts to act as propulsion for the Elytra.

This is very plausible.

Tango doesn't work out how to do the impossible & build an End Portal til very late in Season 3. Even then, though, they have a bit of breathing room.

After dealing with the existing dragon - if its even there naturally, given how odd Amphibia is compared to other worlds - an effort led by Iskall & Jevin accrues a surplus of elytra. Enough for pretty much every Hermit plus a few others, namely Anne, Sasha, Marcy & - after pleading with Hop Pop - Sprig as well.

And from there begin the lessons.

Anne, Sprig & especially Marcy only learn enough to get by, having other things they'd rather put prep time into. If they make it through this, there'll be time to learn without repeatedly faceplanting, later.

Sasha, however, soars as if it were second nature to her.

Scar - much like the rest of the Earthbound group - is back with the resistance now, but Grian was a big support for Sasha whilst he, Anne & Marcy were gone. A second mentor figure, even if Scar forges a much stronger emotional connection in the long run.

So maybe the fact that Grian's the one leading the flying lessons has something to do with how well Sasha takes to it.

Either way he's impressed, & Scar's just relieved Sasha doesn't take after how he flies. :P

And yes, in the absence or perhaps in the inefficiency of using fireworks in this situation, Frobot derived rocket packs - makeshift as they are, not meant to last long term no matter how much Tango works on them - make these flying fighters all the more dangerous.

#hermitphibia au #hermitcraft #hermitblr #hermitcraft au #amphibia #amphibia au #anne boonchuy #sasha waybright #marcy wu #grian #goodtimeswithscar #sprig plantar #hopediah plantar #hop pop plantar #tango tek #iskall85 #ijevin

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team-mavericks · 1 year

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"I fully acknowledge that she's a good person, but I can't look at Makoto and not be reminded she used to be in Team Rocket."

"She's done a lot of good since she's been with us. Short of turning herself in, she has done everything she could to atone for her actions, right Makoto?"

"Y-yeah, of course! What kind of person would I be if I didn't? Ha ha."

Gatz, overhearing the conversation, comes and puts a hand on Makoto's shoulder from behind. Makoto felt a chill run down her spine. She knows what this touch means.

"She can't take back everything she's done. It's not like she, or all of us, have the strength and skill to steal back every Pokemon she has turned into her superiors. Tracking down the specific Pokemon and their respective trainers would prove mighty difficult. Not like they keep a log or anything."

Rin sighs. "I guess not. Would be easier to convict if they did."

"By the way, Morgan is almost done with the new Obstacle Course. Y'all should take a look! Looks intense!"

"OH, HELL YEAH! C'mon, Rin! Let's go check it out!" Jet said, rushing to their training room.

Rin followed close shouting at him. "I'm not letting you get the advantage with the first look, fucker!"

Makoto stayed behind, Gatz' hand still on her shoulder

"It's gonna break his heart when he finds out, you know."

Makoto sunk down a little bit, looking to the side. Her hand touched one of her Pokéballs very lightly.

"... I know..." She whispered softly, with sadness.

#ic (jet)#ic (gatz)#ic (makoto)#ic (rin)#// ooooo #// im teasing you #// naughty naughty

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thedryswan · 2 years

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After yesterday's rather gloomy ficlet, here's a slightly more cheerful one...

___

It was dark when Jeff woke, no surprise since his body clock was all over the place, and resisting the reflex to open his eyes, he rolled over. His bed felt a bit more comfortable than usual. It had been a good dream.

The meteorite his ship rested on had been rocked by tremors recently and cursory inspection confirmed that it would soon break up entirely.

He had gone for a walk, more like a hop and a bounce given the varying gravity, just to check a few of the more worrying fissures in the rock. The one which concerned him most was definitely worse. Returning to the wreck of the Zero X, his home now for over 8 years, he noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Odd, he thought, he was sure he had closed it. Looking around, he saw a figure standing at the edge of the meteorite with his back to him. Taking a couple of steps towards the tall stranger, the rock began to give way. Running as fast as gravity allowed, his heart skipped a beat as the man vanished, falling into the void.

Jeff grabbed his grapple gun, jumped over the edge, fired behind him without looking - hoping his aim was true - and caught the stranger's wrist.

Impossible. It couldn't possibly be him. Scott? Here in deep space?

Reeling the grapple in, he hauled both of them back to safety, his muscles complaining.

Scott, if it really was him, blinked at his father as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing. At that moment, the rock beneath their feet gave a huge shake and the remains of Zero X disappeared.

"Time to get out of here." said the young man. He even sounded like Scott.

They flew through space, propelled by jet pack, towards a hulking great ship, parts of which looked familiar.

The man who looked eerily like his son called to John, strange coincidence, his middle son was called John, asking him to open the doors and prepare the med bay.

Scott guided them up into the belly of the ship and Jeff wondered if these really were the Thunderbirds. If so, the little yellow submarine Scott clung to to steady themselves looked different to his recollection.

"You can take your helmet off now Dad."

The lights were considerably brighter than his eyes were used to but he did as instructed, his attention caught by the arrival of four more young men in blue flight suits.

"Boys?" he asked, wondering if they were his sons and if they were real. He had to remind himself that he had been away for the best part of a decade so his pre-teen boys probably were young men by now.

Doubts about their reality were vanquished when the smallest, in a suit of blue and red, launched himself towards him, knocking the helmet from his hand and grasping him around the waist. Thankful for zero gravity - he would have been knocked off his feet otherwise, he opened his arms as the others flew towards him, wrapping arms around him and each other. For some strange reason, the Scott look-alike hung back a moment. Jeff reached out to him, if he was going to have an imaginary hug with his sons, he wanted a hug with all five.

A siren sounded.

Well, that was his morning alarm clock. Time to say goodbye to the dream and inspect the meteorite.

Sitting up, he opened his eyes. This wasn't the Zero X, this was his room on Tracy Island!

Jumping out of bed, he ran to the balcony doors, flung them open and looked out. There was a breeze, the moon suddenly slid out from behind thick clouds and shone on the ocean surface. He could hear the sound of waves lapping on the beach far below. Even his most vivid dreams weren't this realistic.

Hurrying to his door, he yanked it open walked out and looked down. There, in the sunken lounge, holographic John was briefing Scott and a sleepy, possibly grumpy, Virgil on the latest rescue mission.

Returning to the balcony, Jeff gently lowered himself onto the soft recliner, watching as first a rocket, then a large green transporter launched into the night.

It wasn't a dream after all. He was alive and home.

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druidgroves · 2 years

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cassandra lore under the cut

29 years old

she grew up in quincy with just her mom, delilah, & her grandmother, mama murphy.

mama murphy had a short affair with a “handsome young boy” mentioned in her wiki who had at one point convinced her to stop taking chems because he believed they made her a “slave to something evil.”” however, they got into a situation where they needed her use of the sight the most but did not have it & faced the consequences. her dialogue says “now the boy’s gone & the girl’s old” but doesn’t specify what happened to him. my theory is that they were in a life or death situation, & because mama murphy couldn’t use the sight, he died because of it. that man would be delilah’s father.

delilah hated the idea of “the sight” (always said with heavy finger quotes). she thought her mother was just batty. they have a strained relationship but it’s kinda one-sided; delilah was constantly exasperated & stressed out by her mother, while mama murphy still held great affection for her. with cass in the middle, most days it was just her mom saying “your grandmother is crazy, don’t listen to her” & her grandmother saying “it’s alright kid, she’ll come around one of these days”

cass however, came into the picture when delilah was around seventeen. cass’ father was some trader from the capital wasteland but that was all she really knew/cared to know about him. delilah rarely spoke of him but when she did, it was always bitterly.

cass & delilah also have a strained relationship due to delilah’s attempts to keep her from being influenced by her grandmother. cass loved listened to mama murphy’s wild stories from her youth & was fascinated with the concept of the sight. despite her mother’s best wishes, cass took after her grandmother in more ways than one.

in case you couldn’t tell, the vibe is strained, vaguely traumatizing mother daughter relationships.

for the longest time though, delilah did her damnedest to make sure cass never touched a chem. she’d go through her room sometimes just to make sure she wasn’t hiding anything.

but because cass was a shit, when she was a teen she’d steal some of her grandmother’s jet & go get high in the red rocket station outside of town. it was during one of these illicit moments that she had a vision, though it hadn’t been her first time taking jet. her vision involved marcy long finding out she was pregnant with her future son kyle. cass kept it to herself, but when word around town was that marcy & jun were expecting, cass began to freak out a little. she talked to mama murphy about it, who understandably was pretty happy that someone in their family inherited the sight. turns out, a lot of delilah’s negativity towards the whole concept was because it never worked for her, no matter what chems she did. so they kept it a secret between themselves.

cass’ visions don’t happen every time she does chems, but when they do they always surprise her. she doesn’t have it down to a science yet, but they usually come if she’s used jet or mentats within a certain period of time of each other.

as an adult, cass helped sturges with handy work & the like. hanging around the red rocket by herself gave her plenty of time to familiarize herself with tools & he was happy to have someone to mentor :)

she had moved out to the red rocket station & made it her own when she was older, but she’d reached a breaking point with her mother & left quincy for good. refused to be in the same room as her let alone the same town. lots of building disagreements & arguments that devolved into a big yelling screaming match. so she left quincy & hitched a ride to diamond city. stayed there for a while, but ended up in goodneighbor after a year or two because it started to suck & also mcdonough was probably raising those taxes like craaaazy to make up for the drop in diamond city economy after he kicked out all the ghouls.

found herself in goodneighbor after that & made it there as a server in the third rail. she’d go up to whitechapel charlie with a list of drinks & then go serve ‘em to people too lazy to go up to the bar themselves. made decent caps most nights, & when she didn’t, she’d just make sure she did :) watch your pockets while she’s around <3

anyways. she’s still there today. keeps her visions on the downlow. also here’s a sim i made of her. just imagine her with dark roots & a chemical cut bc she doesn’t know how to bleach her hair properly.

#ch: cassandra murphy #this got long oh no #anyways if u wanna know what she looks like i made a sim of her that's at the v bottom.#this is all so niche i feel embarrassed 2 post this so im going to bed a;sldfkj #rae.txt

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genshingorlsrevengeance · 1 year

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House Isekai: A Realm Reborn - Part 1, Old Places and New Faces (1 of 2)

House Isekai Masterlist Here

Rean, Towa, Aigis, and Kazuma are the first responders to Sitri's call for aid.

Their stay was supposed to be only brief, but forces beyond them has the group change plans... Word Count: 5.8K

(Kazuma) "Towa? This is Kazuma. Let's send in the cavalry."

Kazuma noticed a small ripple in the air in front of him before it erupted into a blinding white light, then finally ripping a hole into reality.

And through it, he was able to see three familiar figures on the other side standing on a circular platform surrounded by shining lights and steel walls. It was his friends' presence that made him stomach the unfamiliar surroundings. Just like how it was back then.

(Rean) "Glad to have you with us, Kazuma."

(Towa) "Kazuma!"

(Aigis) "Hello again."

Kazuma smirked as he stepped through the portal, eyeing it as it closed behind him.

(Kazuma) "Yo. Been a while."

Rean and Aigis gave Kazuma a nod while Towa ran up to hug him, he was startled before returning the hug. After Towa backed off, Kazuma took a moment to look closely around him. There was no way into the room as there wasn't even a door, yet somehow the three of them were here.

(Kazuma) "So, where exactly is this?"

Rean looked around the room, crossing his arms as he spoke.

(Rean) "Apparently this is inside the Zanado Tower. Sothis mentioned something about being able to teleport us directly to Fodlan by first transporting us here, then to Garreg Mach."

(Aigis) "I suppose it makes sense, seeing how the Tower is why we even arrived here to begin with."

(Towa) "Anyways now that you're here, Kazuma, we'll go ahead and give Sitri the go ahead. We'll all catch up later once the immediate threat is taken care of!"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Whatever transpired in their own worlds would have to wait. Towa pulled out her ARCUS unit and was preparing to call Sitri before the room suddenly started humming to life with electrical parts sparking.

(Kazuma) "...This suppose to happen?"

Towa took a few steps forward and looked left and right.

(Towa) "Well, we can still move around, so maybe?-"

An almost deafening crack of thunder cut Towa off as the room suddenly turned jet black, voices that were not their own suddenly filling the void.

The four lost their footing as they quickly plummeted downwards as if they were falling.

(Everyone) "GAH!" "S-SHIIIIIT!" "Whoa!"

As they fell downwards, shards flew rapidly past and around them, the speed of which became faster the longer they fell. Rean extended his hand to catch Towa, making sure she was holding on tight. Aigis's legs opened and revealed a jet booster, rocketing to catch Kazuma's shirt, and finally grabbed Rean and Towa with her other free hand.

They all looked straight down now that they were together and realized the shards all had some kind of picture on them. Listening closely, they realized the voices were more familiar than they thought.

Voices of their friends in their worlds, ones from Fodlan, and sometimes even themselves echoed throughout the void, all replaying some sort of memory from long ago. Though no one could make out the words as it was incoherent, with every voice speaking almost at once as it sped past their heads and quickly faded away.

After what seemed like an eternity falling, they finally began approaching the light they were falling towards. The speed at which they fell gradually began to reduce as their vision was once again enveloped in white, the four bracing themselves as Aigis's boosters tried to ease their landing.

...

The world turned from a bright white to a fair blue and green as the four fell out from the sky. Though the combination of Aigis's booster and the portal slowed down their fall, the group still fell on top of each other with a loud thud. The weight of four people falling at such speed knocked the wind out of them, trying to make their worlds stop spinning for a moment.

(Kazuma) "Augh! Motherfu...!-"

(Towa) "Ooow...!"

(Rean) "Tch, are you guys okay?"

(Aigis) "No external damage detected."

Aigis's eyes changed from a bright blue to pure white as she examined her friends.

(Aigis) "Minor bruising will be likely, but I scan no internal damage."

(Kazuma) "My ass! And speaking of, I'm pretty sure you landing on me cracked it..."

Aigis and Rean helped Towa and Kazuma up before finally realizing where they were. The group landed in the middle of a crowded courtyard, with several students and knights staring at them in both awe and confusion.

At least it was Garreg Mach they fell into.

(Towa) "...H-Hello. Sorry for the intrusion!"

Towa laughed nervously, but no one even moved in an inch in response. Kazuma put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder before clearing his throat.

(Kazuma) "Yeah, sorry for the heart attack. We'll be on our way."

Kazuma shoved the three in the opposite direction to hopefully avoid any more eyes staring before a group of knights cut them off and stood in their way. The students began to slowly back away as more and more knights began to surround the four.

(Aigis) "Please, wait a moment! We're friends of Sitri, she asked for us to -"

(Woman's voice) "Aigis?"

The four's head turned behind them, recognizing that voice. Mercedes gently pushed aside the knights as her smile grew bigger.

(Mercedes) "Ah, it is you! And some other familiar faces!"

(Kazuma) "Mercedes!"

Everyone seemed to relax upon seeing her, calming down the sudden ramping of tension.

(Knight) "You know these people, ma'am? They just dropped out of the sky!"

(Mercedes) "Yes, they tend to do that. Strange, is it not?"

Mercedes turned to address the students still watching.

(Mercedes) "Please be at ease, everyone! These are old friends of the faculty who have a...particular way of traveling. Continue getting ready for the Practical Exam, and good luck!"

Mercedes then walked up to the group as she looked at the knights.

(Mercedes) "I'll handle it from here, as you were."

The knight gave a small salute and nodded.

(Knight) "Ma'am."

The students began chattering among themselves as the knights shrugged and went back to their business. Mercedes put a hand to her mouth as she giggled.

(Mercedes) "You really need to find a more elegant way of making an entrance."

(Rean) "Hah, yeah..."

Mercedes extended her arms for a wide hug and somehow managed to catch everyone in. Rean, Towa, and Aigis gladly returned the sentiment while Kazuma was getting crushed between everyone.

(Towa) "It's so good to see you again, Mercie!"

(Kazuma) "ACK! S-SUFFOCATING!"

(Mercedes) "Oh, come on, Kazuma! I haven't seen you in two years, at least let me hug you just this once!"

(Aigis) "No complaints here."

(Rean) "Think this is bad? You should see Elliot's dad."

Mercedes let go after a few seconds, Kazuma trying to regain his breath.

(Kazuma) "Whew... Thanks for saving our asses there. Now what's changed around-...!"

(Towa) "Kazuma? What's-"

Towa stopped as well once her eyes glanced over to the direction he was facing. Aigis and Rean were quick to catch on and realized there were mechs walking around Garreg Mach. Not only that, but the Monastery itself was far more advanced than last they saw it. A few students were walking around with small flat pocket crystals that lit up. The knights were walking around with mechs out on patrol, every group bearing the insignia of Adrestia, Faerghus, and Leicester. Mercedes turned around and finally realized why they stopped talking.

(Mercedes) "Ah, yes. Fodlan has advanced quite far in technology since you left. Honestly, it leaves me speechless, too."

(Kazuma) "Advanced quite far? You guys skipped genres! You have god damn mech suits?!"

(Aigis) "And the pocket devices the students are carrying resemble technology from our world."

(Towa) "Actually Rean, don't they remind you of-?"

(Rean) "ARCUS units and Panzer Soldats..."

Mercedes nodded and motioned the group to follow her. They went through the main entrance hall of Garreg Mach, taking the long way to get to the Listening Chamber.

(Mercedes) "After you had left, Edelgard decided to pursue technological advancements that the Church had previously banned. But I'd be lying if I said we didn't take any inspiration from your worlds."

Rean and the others looked slightly uncomfortable with that fact.

(Towa) "Well, I suppose it was bound to happen considering how effective we were during the war, but I never would have imagined the speed of your progress."

Passing by even more students and guards, it was then the group realized many were staring at them. Mercedes continued to inform them on their current tech and how the Empire was leading Fodlan's advancement of it. As they got out of public sight, a group of students whispered to each other as they went up the staircase.

(Astrid) "Hey, did you see those people behind Professor Mercedes?"

(Stefan) "They didn't look like any of the typical mercenaries that pass by here."

Helena just shrugged as Elizabeth cleared her throat.

(Elizabeth) "Tch, pay them no mind. We've got more pressing matters at hand! We're already late to the assembly!"

(Kairos) “Then why are we stopping? Let’s go already!”

The student body all rushed towards the Cathedral, all accompanied and watched over by various soldiers who were directing the flow of people into their designated spots.

…

Mercedes opened the door to the Audience Chamber, clearing her throat.

(Mercedes) “Lady Sitri, our guests have arrived.”

Sitri turned around with a smile that only grew upon seeing the four. Sothis popped out and waved hello.

(Sitri) “Thank you, Mercedes. I’ll take it from here.”

Mercedes smiled at the four before taking her leave. Rean, Towa, Kazuma, and Aigis stepped inside, making sure the door behind them was closed.

(Sothis) “Well, look at you all! You’ve all grown since last we spoke…Except Kazuma.”

Rean just smirked while Towa and Aigis failed to contain their giggles. Kazuma clicked his tongue, frowning.

(Kazuma) “I come to save your ass and THIS is the treatment I get? I should’ve just stayed at home.”

Sitri chuckled as she bowed towards the group and cleared her throat.

(Sitri) “Thank you all for coming on such short notice. Though, you are here a bit sooner than I expected.”

(Sothis) “Yeah, weren’t you supposed to call them?”

(Rean) “About that, we were just teleported without warning once all four of us gathered. Did you maybe channel your magic too early?”

Sitri and Sothis looked at each other.

(Sothis) “I…was speaking to Sitri, actually. She hadn’t even made the call yet.”

The smiles faded from everyone’s faces once the implication was made.

(Aigis) “But...Towa said she had received a message from Sitri calling for House Isekai a few hours ago.”

(Towa) “T-To be fair, it’s not like the flow of time has always been 100% accurate from Fodlan to our world. This is the first time we’ve actually shown up willingly, after all. Maybe it's just being wonky as per usual.”

(Rean) “I…Yeah, that’s a good point, actually.”

Everyone took a breath of relief. The explanation made sense.

(Sitri) “Regardless, we are glad you’re here. I may have to modify my plans a bit, but this will do perfectly!”

(Kazuma) “So, why did you call us? It doesn’t look like Garreg Mach is in much danger at all.”

Sitri stepped forward to the center of everyone’s attention while Sothis floated to her side.

(Sitri) “You all are former students of Garreg Mach, and my son Byleth. Together, you all have traveled and endured many trials that the people of Fodlan could not even dream of. I formally request your aid in the teaching of an elite group of students that will receive the most dangerous tasks of the three nations of the Fodlan Alliance, as the Headmaster of Garreg Mach Monastery.”

(Towa) “You...want us to be teachers?”

(Sothis) “Advisors, more accurately. We need people who have seen all types of combat to make sure our kids are ready for anything.”

(Kazuma) “H-Hey hang on a sec! We’re here to kick ass the moment we see a monster or person, not to fight a buncha brats!”

Rean couldn’t help but laugh, everyone turning their attention to him.

(Rean) “Honestly? I think this is better than having an actual emergency. Besides, it’s just pretty much doing more of what I already do.”

(Aigis) “Wait, you’re a teacher now?”

(Towa) “Both of us, actually! Rean teaches another Class VII, funnily enough!”

(Sothis) “Hm, I can see it. He pretty much was the one of the few responsible ones in that group. But back to the point, your stay won’t be for very long. Just enough to where you think they’ll be ready without your guidance.”

(Sitri) “Indeed. We understand if you need to return home, since you have responsibilities in your own worlds.”

(Towa) “Well, I think we just need to phone a few people so you don’t have an entire army invading the Monastery guns blazing. But, I don’t see why not. Rean?”

(Rean) “No complaints from me. Aigis, Kazuma?”

(Aigis) “It’d be an honor to help carry on Byleth’s legacy.”

The attention turned back to Kazuma, who mumbled something under his breath before groaning.

(Kazuma) “Fine, fine! Guilt trip me more, why don’t cha?”

(Sothis) “Been spending too much time with Aqua? I can hear her complaining in you-”

(Kazuma) “Compare me to that useless blue thing one more time, AND THERE WILL BE NO DIVINE PULSE TO REVERSE WHAT I DO TO YOU.”

Sitri loudly cleared her throat to stifle Kazuma’s anger and the others’ laughter.

(Sitri) “Now, as for what my plans are for you…”

…

The students all chatted amongst themselves, splitting off into their respective classes. Mercedes, Yuri, and Constance all organized each House, making sure everyone was present and accounted for. Recette and Tear eagerly spoke with groups of students and guards, easing their fears of being able to pass and making small talk.

Kairos and Helena were split off to the Golden Deers while Astrid and Elizabeth were with the Blue Lions. Stefan spoke to Constance about what was being looked out for in their performance.

After around half an hour of getting situated, Sitri finally entered through the main halls with students and guards alike standing at attention. Mercedes, Yuri, Constance, Recette, and Tear all filed in behind her as she made her way to the center of the cathedral’s massive room, standing in a straight line. Two Armigers and a contingent of guards all took position behind the line of staff, giving the Headmaster a proper air of authority, commanding the room full of students.

Sitri stepped forward, having the attention of hundreds of people on her. Two years ago, she would have been sick to the stomach at the very idea of a speech like this. But now…

(Sitri) “Students of Garreg Mach Monastery. I would like to congratulate you for having the talent and the courage to enroll at the Officer’s Academy during these troubled times. I pray that the Goddess blesses you with good fortune, and good health throughout your studies here. And whatever it is you wish to find, whether that be stability, glory, or simply an education, you shall have it all, alongside good company.”

Sitri, Recette, and Tear heard Sothis scoff, her voice echoing throughout the entire chamber, thankfully with no one else hearing it.

(Sothis) “Psh, if only they knew that the goddess doesn’t even know any of their names-”

Sitri moved subtly to where it looked natural enough to where no one would question it, while elbowing Sothis so hard she lost balance and almost stopped floating.

(Sothis) “H-Hey!”

(Sitri) “This year, your House will travel across Fodlan and learn how to live your life to the fullest. However, do not be under the pretense that this year will be easy. There will be many hardships ahead of you. There are a few among you who will be pushing themselves to the very brink.Testing your limits, your faith, your way of life, even. But do not let that discourage you. I believe that every one of you has the strength to persevere and emerge a greater person than you are now.”

Sitri began pacing back and forth slowly as she continued her speech.

(Sitri) “Today’s Practical Exam will be the first of many tests of your mettle. Though you have attended the Officer’s Academy for a month now, it is today where you all shall truly become students. You will demonstrate your ability to handle yourselves on the battlefield, first and foremost. While your individual skills are indeed important, never forget that it is those at your side who will win you victory. Teamwork will be the key to your success today, for this will be no ordinary exam. I have…altered it.”

The room quietly grew in noise with murmurs, all the students looking at each other in confusion.

(Sitri) “The plan was to have you all fight your Professors, just as the mock battles of the past have done so. You all will have no such repeat. Your opponents today will be far more formidable than ever before.”

Sitri gestured to the side, where Rean, Kazuma, Aigis, and Towa all walked and stood in a line, facing the students. It was now the entire room erupted into chatter, with even guards giving a glance to one another. The staff behind Sitri remained steadfast while the four resisted the urge to look at each other. After a few moments of the chatter dying out, Sitri continued.

(Sitri) “Give your all to defeat them. I will be watching closely. You are dismissed.”

Mercedes, Yuri, and Constance led their classes out as they were all escorted by Guards, all of them making their way out to the fields outside Garreg Mach. Once the room was relatively cleared out, Kazuma was the first one to speak.

(Kazuma) “Call me crazy, but I don’t think any of them are exactly pleased to see us.”

(Aigis) “Are you sure it is wise to make them fight us?”

(Sitri) “Honestly? What we need now is something they aren’t prepared for. If no one in our student body can hope to defeat even one of you, then we have our work cut out for us…”

(Rean) “Well, if even Instructor Cocytus could turn the School-Living Club into somewhat decent fighters, I think we can manage.”

(Towa) “Don’t you worry, we’ll make someone in that sea of people shine, you have our word!”

(Sothis) “Heh, I wonder if they’ll be as rowdy as the last generation…”

(Kazuma) “For the sake of our sanity, I hope to god not…”

…

[Swift as the Wind - Fire Emblem: Three Houses OST]

Every class organized their gear and adjusted their uniforms as they prepared for the mock battle. Some were confidently boasting on how they could take on a couple of nobodies from another world, while some were raising concerns of why they were even back to begin with. The feeling was tense, and not just because battle was drawing near.

Regardless of their feelings, they were now on the field, some were in an open plain, a forest, or a mixture of both. They stood far enough from the staff to where they were completely out of sight from one another.

Elizabeth flipped through her spellbook as she buttoned up her collar.

(Elizabeth) “Ridiculous! How could Lady Sitri think inviting those offworlders back was in any shape a good idea?!”

Astrid twirled her lance before sheathing it on her back.

(Astrid) “Oh come on, they don’t look that scary! They kinda look like us. ‘Cept that green fella. He looked pretty young.”

…

Helena sharpened her daggers in an almost rhythmic pattern. It was almost second nature to her at this point. Kairos scowled as he adjusted his glasses and put his spellbook on his belt.

(Kairos) “I cannot believe that Lady Sitri invited those offworld meddlers back to Fodlan, just when we finally got rid of them!”

(Helena) “Hm.”

(Kairos) “Honestly, they need to learn how to mind their own business and…are you even paying attention to me?”

…

Stefan took a deep breath as he adjusted the straps on his shield.

(Stefan) “So, some of House Isekai is back…”

He closed his eyes for a few moments before taking one final deep breath, and nodding to himself. He left to join the rest of his class.

…

Rean adjusted his tachi’s sheathe and pulled out his ARCUS unit and began to calibrate it. Towa checked her pistol and did the same with her ARCUS. Aigis went through a self diagnosis, checking her weapons systems and ensuring her weapons were set to non-lethal. Kazuma stood with his arms on his hips, impatiently tapping his foot and fingers rapidly tapping against his dagger and short sword.

(Rean) “Well, beats being dropped into a pit.”

(Towa) “Hah, could you imagine their reactions if we pulled that stunt?”

(Aigis) “Systems nominal. Training ready to commence.”

(Kazuma) “How come Aigis and I gotta go by ourselves while you get to have Towa as backup, Schwarzer?”

(Rean) “I thought you’d like the opportunity to test your legendary stealth on ‘brats’, Kazuma.”

Kazuma wasn’t looking at Rean, but he could hear the smirk.

(Kazuma) “How about you just summon your giant robot and hurry this up?"

(Rean) “Oh come on, Valimar is overkill.”

(Towa) “Just play nice, okay, Kazuma?”

Kazuma rolled his eyes.

(Kazuma) “Sure, whatever. Let’s get this over with.”

(Rean) “Good luck everyone.”

The four nodded and went into their own directions. Rean and Towa walked towards the plains, Kazuma casually strolled into the forest while Aigis quickly ran towards the hybrid area.

…

Sitri stood on top of a hill, overlooking the entire battlefield to where she could get a good view of the action. Looking off to her side, Sothis crossed her arms and yawned.

(Sothis) “Think the ten minutes of preparation passed. Shall we see what these students got?”

Sitri gave a nod before turning around to her escort.

(Sitri) “Guards, sound the trumpets!”

Two guards gave a salute before they played a short tune that rang out across the field.

…

(Rean) “Let’s show them what Class VII can do, Towa!”

(Towa) “Right behind you, Rean!”

…

(Aigis) “Mission commencing.”

…

(Kazuma) “All right ya little shits, come at me!”

…

(Elizabeth) “I will bring glory to the Mcgrath House today!”

(Astrid) “You can calm down there, Elizabeth. It’s just a practice fight…”

…

(Kairos) “Hmph, I’ll show them all!”

(Helena) “..Meh.”

…

(Stefan) “Okay, you got this, Stefan! Focus!”

…

(Sitri) “Let the exam begin!”

[Fodlan Winds (Embers) - Fire Emblem: Three Hopes OST]

As soon as the trumpets began playing, the students all rushed forward. The Golden Deers rushed to the open plains while the Black Eagles cautiously walked into the forest. The Blue Lions marched towards the area containing both the plains and forest, with all their teachers watching on the hill with Sitri.

(Yuri) “So, you think any of them are actually ready for what’s about to happen?”

(Mercedes) “If all of our Houses were barely able to keep up after getting an entire year to know them, I doubt it.”

(Constance) “I do hope that the students don’t take defeat too hard.”

(Sitri) “I think it might be too early to say just yet, let us observe for now.”

…

The Golden Deers saw 2 figures standing in the open. Both of them were in white clothing wielding strange weapons. As the class approached, the two slowly walked up to greet them.

(Towa) “To which House do we owe the pleasure of today’s mock battle?”

The students were taken aback, not expecting a pleasant greeting to begin the fight. No one was sure what to say as they awkwardly looked at each other. Helena eyed the two of them while Kairos rolled his eyes and stepped forward.

(Kairos) “The Golden Deer House. What are the names of the offworlders we’ll be defeating?”

(Towa) “Towa Herschel of Class VII!”

(Rean) “Rean Schwarzer of Class VII. And it’s a bit too early to think you’ll win, isn’t it?”

(Kairos) “It’s only two of you against nearly two dozen of us.”

(Helena) “...They’re dangerous. Don’t underestimate them.”

(Kairos) “What?”

The entire house turned to Helena, who suddenly changed into a completely different fighting stance. Before, her body language showed uninterest, lazily keeping up with the class as she mindlessly twirled her dagger. Now, she held her weapon completely still and straightened her back. Kairos didn’t know Helena that well, admittedly, but he knew she never took anything seriously. Until now.

(Rean) “Allow us to demonstrate what these ‘offworlders’ can do, then.”

Even Rean and Towa’s friendly demeanor seemed to change as they readied themselves for battle. Rean’s left hand stayed on the hilt of his weapon while Towa held the strange small weapon to her chest. With one free hand they both pulled out a small device-

(Rean and Towa) “ARCUS, activate!”

A group of five bigger students pushed Kairos aside as they wielded a myriad of lances and swords.

(Student) “Out of our way, we can handle these chumps! LET’S GET THEM!”

They all laughed as they boldly charged the two who were still standing there.

(Kairos) “W-What are they-”

Helena’s eyes grew wide as she motioned to the rest of the class.

(Helena) “Get back, now!”

Hearing the urgency in her voice, the remaining students and Kairos fell back a few good paces, waiting to see what the two did. Towa’s began to glow with a green aura as she suddenly darted to the furthest right student.

(Towa) “Target scanned! Weak link is on the right, start with him!”

Rean nodded as his free hand grabbed his hilt and started leaning downwards.

(Rean) “Second form, GALE!-”

In the blink of an eye, Rean seemingly teleported to each one of them before leaping back in front of Towa in less than a second. His sword slashed forward and blew every single student flying back with their weapons shattered. Kairos and the others had their jaws drop as they saw their fallen comrades.

(Helena) “Casters, Archers, quit staring and get firing! That small one’s analyzing us too!”

Everyone hastily got into position and began charging their attacks while Helena kept her eyes entirely on Rean. Kairos began to sweat. He suddenly felt that all his studying would amount to nothing in the face of these offworlders.

…

Kazuma looked around the surroundings of the forest for a brief moment. He chuckled as he reminisced about the first memories he had of Fodlan, which included this exact mock battle, although that was against the Houses themselves. At that point, only his group was present before everyone else showed up.

(Kazuma) “Hmph, time just goes in circles doesn’t i-”

An arrow flew by his head as he yelled out in terror.

(Kazuma) “-FUUUUUCKING HELL!”

He quickly leapt back and pulled out a dagger as students began to emerge from the trees with their weapons drawn.

(Kazuma) “Who’s the punk who was firing that arrow?! You almost took my head off!”

A student raised a hand sheepishly.

(Student) “S-Sorry, I’m new at this!”

(Kazuma) “Yeah, I can tell! Jesus, Bernadetta at least could aim toward my damn foot for a warning shot!”

(Female Student) “Wait, you know Lady Varley?”

(Kazuma) “...Oh yeah, she was a noble, wasn’t she-? Wait if you recognize the first name, that means you guys are the Black Eagles?”

(Stefan) “Er, yes sir, we are. A-Are you ready to fight or-?”

(Kazuma) “Do I look like a sir to you?! I’m at the very least just 2 years older than you!”

(Female Student) “Man, you’re pretty whiny for an offwo-”

(Kazuma) “ALRIGHT, THAT’S IT! YOU’RE FIGHTING SATOU KAZUMA, AND I’M KICKING YOUR ASSES!”

Kazuma jumped backwards behind the tree and was quickly pursued by the three students. However when they looked behind it, he was nowhere to be found.

(Student) “W-What in-, where did he go?!”

(Female Student) “He was just there a second ago! How could he-?!”

(Stefan) “Keep your guards up! Everyone stick together and-”

WIthout warning, the student holding the bow suddenly screamed as he dropped the weapon and shook. Stefan and the female student were shocked as they saw only a glowing hand on his neck before it vanished behind the darkness. The affected student fell to the floor groaning.

(Stefan) “D-Did he just drain…?! Nevermind, we need to stay calm and-”

(Female) “He’s in the trees…! HE’S IN THE TREES!”

The remaining Black Eagles students began to flail helplessly around as they heard Kazuma’s laughter echo throughout the forest.

(Stefan) “Oh man, it’s going to be a long day, isn’t it…?”

…

Elizabeth and Astrid led the first group of Blue Lions students towards the field as the other groups kept an eye inside the forest area.

(Astrid) “Hey, Elizabeth. Do you hear screaming?”

(Elizabeth) “Pay it no mind, I’m sure they can handle it. Besides, our House requires my expertise and your brawn, we cannot afford to spare it for others! And speaking of which-”

They saw a blonde haired woman standing out in the open, and seemingly appreciating the view. Astrid motioned for everyone to surround her while Elizabeth confidently strolled forward, planting herself right in view of the offworlder.

(Elizabeth) “I am Elizabeth Mcgrath of the Blue Lions! Today, we shall be your opponents, I would ask yours before our duel!”

Aigis finally turned her attention to Elizabeth and slowly looked around her.

(Aigis) “My name is Aigis. A pleasure.”

(Elizabeth) “Let it be known that my holy magic can knock anyone down, so fear Noble elegance incarnate!”

(Astrid) “I think you’re gonna hurt yourself if you keep patting yourself on the back there-”

(Elizabeth) “Shush, Astrid!”

(Aigis) “I trust none of you will hold back?”

Elizabeth’s hands glowed with a white aura as she scoffed.

(Elizabeth) “To an offworlder? I think not!”

(Aigis) “Affirmative. Neither will I. Evoker use authorized. Athena.”

The area around Aigis suddenly exploded into blue flames, making everyone take a step back. A massive woman with a helmet and white robes, wielding a shield and lance now stood behind Aigis in the flames, yet they could slightly see through the woman. Elizabeth and Astrid looked at each other to confirm no one was hallucinating it.

(Elizabeth) “Everyone, attack!”

(Astrid) “MOVE IN!”

In an instant, Athena’s shield deflected a pillar of holy magic that shot up underneath her as Aigis leapt several feet into the air, avoiding Astrid and the other students’ charge. Aigis’s right hand transformed into a weapon no one recognized and fired a single tube-like object at the ground as she landed, erupting into an explosion and created a smoke screen.

(Student) cough “How did she-?!”

(Astrid) “Everyone, out the smoke!” cough

Athena suddenly blinked into existence in front of the retreating student and charged forward with her shield, pushing every single one of them into each other and sending them tumbling into Elizabeth. Aigis twirled towards incoming reinforcements from the trees and her left hand began firing small pellets rapidly that forced them into cover.

(Elizabeth) “T-That’s not a human…!”

Aigis turned to her with a smirk slowly growing. Although she wasn’t a human, the expression definitely was.

(Aigis) “Affirmative. I am Aigis, an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon.”

…

About ten minutes had passed and already most of the students were limping away with bruises or getting picked off. Sitri, the staff, and some of the guards watched with concern at the lack of cohesion fighting the former members of House Isekai.

(Yuri) “I know it’s been a while since we’ve seen them fight, but I swear they’ve gotten even better since they left.”

(Recette) “Man, they’re really getting their butts kicked.”

(Tear) “That…is an accurate description.”

(Constance) “Goodness me, and this is them holding back as well! We’re expected to send these children into life-threatening fights?”

(Mercedes) “I suppose it’s better to humble them now where their life isn’t in immediate danger. Your thoughts, Headmaster?”

Everyone turned to Sitri, who was holding one hand to her forehead, seemingly disappointed.

(Yuri) “Yikes. Suppose that says everything we-”

(Sitri) “M-My apologies everyone. The fight is not why…Erg, my head!”

(Guard) “My lady, are you ill?”

Sitri didn’t reply, at least not to the people around her.

(Sitri) Sothis, you’re feeling this too, right?

Sothis also held a hand to her head, which Recette and Tear moved closer to comfort her.

(Recette) “Hey, is everything okay?”

(Sothis) “Y-Yeah, I am…!”

Before anyone could question what was happening, a thundering crack from the sky made everyone almost jump and reach instinctively for their weapons. Sitri fell to the floor on one knee while Sothis was caught by Recette. Several of the guards rushed over to Sitri, including the staff.

(Guard) “Lady Sitri!”

(Mercedes) “What’s happening?”

(Tear) “Guards, stop the battle at once, I fear something terrible is about to happen…”

Nodding and without hesitation, the two guards with the trumpets rang off a single low note throughout the field.

…

Kairos and Helena were nearly out of breath as they could barely dodge Towa’s shots anymore. Both of them had been hit several times by her weapon, feeling the bruises on their shoulders. Meanwhile, Rean had dispatched most of the class with ease with pure speed. Some of the others were dumb enough to think Towa was defenseless and paid the price by limping away pathetically.

(Helena) “H…How do you have so much stamina…?!”

(Rean) “You two are pretty good, I’ll say that much. You’re the only ones actually working together, albeit a bit loosely.”

(Kairos) “What, now you’re mocking us?!”

(Rean) “Simply making an observation-.”

The sound of a nearly deafening crack interrupted Rean and made everyone look up to find the source. Shortly after the sound, Rean and Towa reached for their heads, cringing in pain.

(Kairos) “...H-Hey, are you two alright?”

…

(Kazuma) “Son of a…bitch! Agh, my head!”

(Student) “H-Hey, I found him! But, he’s in pain!”

(Stefan) “Um, do we have a healer still around? Hang on, Kazuma!”

He looked confusingly up towards the sky, trying to find anything unusual to notice.

(Stefan) “Is it because of that noise…?”

…

(Aigis) “S-Systems overloading…?”

Aigis fell down to the floor as her sensors were beginning to overflow, her Persona quickly dissipating into the air leaving everyone concerned. Astrid slowly rose up from the ground as she helped Elizabeth as well, looking at Aigis.

(Astrid) “Preeetty sure she’s not down because of us.”

(Elizabeth) “First it’s that crack and now it’s-”

The sound of a horn quickly grabbed everyone’s attention.

(Astrid) “The battle’s over already?”

(Elizabeth) “That’s not the sound they make when we conclude the fight…That’s the emergency note!”

(Astrid) “Crap! Okay okay, help me grab the crazy lady of steel and-”

Another thunderous crack echoed throughout the air, this time it was far more violent and audible as rays of light suddenly shone down onto the ground. It was then everyone began to notice that the cloudless skies were suddenly turning black.

...

[Part 2 Here]

#House Isekai #House Isekai ARR #crossover #fanfic

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