#hope she got a good bonus for like. dealing with knives. in general

[collieii]

i love this pic of chronica bc she looks so chill sitting there with her beverage and she doesn't know that she's about to have the worst fucking week of her life

[depizan]

Forgotten Enemy

Jezari knew that Rogun the Butcher wanted her to pay for the loss of his cargo, even though it hadn’t been her fault. But it was hardly the first time she’d had a bounty on her head, and how important could one measly cargo be to such a powerful crime lord? She’d hoped he’d forgotten about her. She’d certainly forgotten about him.

(I’m probably not going to be this mean in “canon,” but Jezari and her crew will have to deal with Rogun at some point. And I’m of the mind that he matches his reputation, never mind what the game tries to pull at the end. Still, this is more of a “what if,” or at least a “what could.”)

##.##.1#, midday

Millport reminded Jezari a little of Raider’s Cove. A jumble of bland industrial buildings sprouting from a vibrant jungle, walls overshadowed by giant-leaved trees, the landing pads and docking bays ringed with sonic repellers to keep the jungle birds and other creatures away. Sometime back, one of the corps (probably Czerka) had found a rich source of some valuable ore in Bornuu’s jungles. They’d swooped in, built a quick mining city, torn a swath through the jungle, and left again when the seams played out.

The jungle had crept back and the underworld had crept in.

The smelters were rotting, half eaten by the jungle, but the quickthrow and presscrete city lived on—a thriving market place of illicit goods and secret meetings. That was what happened if you left a ready-to-use port close enough to a major tradespine to be useful, but far enough away that only the most desperate of legitimate travelers stopped in. That it was also far enough from Hutt Space to remain independent was a bonus. (Though there were rumors it was secretly run by the Exchange.)

Jezari finished off a skewer of spiced meat and flicked the wooden stick into an overflowing trashcan at another market stall. Bowdaar still had one of the skewers sticking out of the corner of his mouth like a Wookiee-sized toothpick. Risha had noted that you couldn’t be too sure what—or who—you were eating in a place like this, but even she’d bought one.

“Micro-coils, Razoroon Red, reddimeals.” Jezari gestured to Risha’s datapad. “What’s left?”

Her engineer and unofficial second in command consulted the list. “Ferite wire. Hm. The medkit could use a restock. I wouldn’t trust kolto here, but we might find antiseptic.” She glanced at her wrist chrono. “We’ve still got half an hour.”

They were due to meet back up with the rest of her crew then. Millport wasn’t dangerous, but Jezari was a firm believer in the buddy system. There were just too many ways to run into trouble planetside.

Risha had stopped to admire a bolt of iridescent shimmersilk when Corso’s panicked shout rose above the general clamor.

“Captain! Captain!” He dodged around a pair of Quarren, who glared at his passing, and skidded to a panting halt in front of them. “Captain. I’m sorry.” He wheezed. “I couldn’t.”

“Take a deep breath and slow down,” Risha said.

His face was red from exertion, but his green and white armor was unmarked and he didn’t appear to be hurt. He was, however, alone.

“Where’s Kyrian?”

“I’m sorry, Captain,” Corso repeated. “They had a knife to his throat before I could do anything.” He took another deep breath. “They had darts. Like bounty hunters.”

Jezari’s blood went cold. “The Empire?”

He shook his head. “No. They were the… the…” He waved his hands in front of him, almost dropping the comm clutched in one, outlining a person about his size. “The gray wrinkly guys.”

“Weequay?” Risha suggested.

“Yeah. Them. Bounty hunters, I figure.”

“The Empire wouldn’t hire aliens. Not if they could help it.” Risha frowned. “I’m not sure they’d hire bounty hunters at all. Not in his case.”

“Dralick?” Jezari looked around frantically, as if she might spot the Sith lord. There was nothing around them but stalls and shoppers. A building with a couple of scantily dressed humans lounging in the doorway. A Gamorrean and a Twi’lek dicing in an alley.

“Don’t panic, Captain,” Risha said. “We’ll find him.”

The comm in Corso’s hand chimed. “Oh. Yeah. They threw this at me.”

Jezari took it and pressed the flashing button. A blue tinted holo of a Chagrian sprouted to life above the comm. He was tall enough that the top of his horns were out of pickup range, and his expression was almost disappointed.

Her jaw dropped. “Rogun?”

“Captain Solarin,” Rogun the Butcher said, “I was beginning to think you’d forgotten me.

“Look, Rogun, whatever you want—”

“You know what I want. No one steals from me and lives.”

“I didn’t steal from you! That was Skavak!”

“It was,” Corso agreed. “She didn’t have nothin’ to do with it!”

“I’ve tried to settle this reasonably,” Rogun continued, “but you’ve been so hard on my men. No more running, no more tricks.”

“I can get the money,” Jezari said. “Pay you back for the weapons, for my fee, for everything. With interest even!”

“We’re long past that. You’ve made me look bad. Some puny nobody freighter pilot steals from me? Shoots my men? Jaunts all over the galaxy acting like she doesn’t have a care? Like a bounty from Rogun the Butcher means nothing to her? His voice rose, anger replacing all trace of the false disappointment. “No, Captain. I want you.”

“Rogun…”

The holo image blurred as someone moved the camera on the other end. It refocused on her missing crewmember. Kyrian had been stripped to the waist, his wrists fastened individually to a bar or pipe that ran above his head and out of camera range. He looked more wary than worried, and uninjured. So far.

Rogun stepped into view again, next to him. He had a knife in one hand. Kyrian glanced at the knife, then looked away, his expression unreadable.

“Rogun, he has nothing to do with this. Let him go. I’ll meet you. What ever you want. Just tell me.”

“I told you what I want. I want you to meet me. In the back room of the Lucky Stake. Alone.” He pointed the knife at the holocam. “No weapons. No tricks. In the meantime,” he turned back to Kyrian, “I’ll be counting down the time with your friend. Minute by minute.” Almost casually, he set the tip of the knife against Kyrian’s collarbone and drew it slowly downward, cutting a diagonal line across his chest.

Kyrian flinched, but didn’t cry out.

“No!” Jezari yelped. “Wait, I’m coming!”

“I know you will, Captain,” Rogun said. “That’s the point. You come here. The rest of your crew goes back to your ship.” He smiled. “To their ship. No funny business, now. And I wouldn’t take too long. Minutes add up quickly.” He sliced a second cut beside the first.

“Wait! No!”

The comm was dead.

“No! Damn it!” Jezari tried to reestablish the connection, but Rogun had called from a blocked frequency. “No.”

“We’ll think of something,” Risha said.

Bowdaar growled his agreement.

“There’s no time.” Jezari unbuckled her gun belt. “Go back to the ship. Figure out a plan. Call Savler. Get her help. Get her as back up.” She shoved her belt and blasters into Risha’s arms. “Just… hurry.”

“You can’t go. Captain. Jezari.” Risha caught her wrist. “He won’t let him go. You know that. He’ll torture you both to death. That’s what he wants.”

Jezari pulled her hand free. “I don’t have a choice.”

“Captain, she’s right,” Corso said. “You can’t!”

“It’s the only way to stall him. Think of something.”

“It won’t make a difference. Damn it, Bowdaar, stop her,” Risha ordered. “You’re just giving him another victim! Kyrian can hold out for a little while.”

Jezari turned back. “If I don’t go, Rogun will do something worse. He might even kill him. He has to think he’s won.” She took a deep breath. “Make him think he’s won. Move the Luck. Come back. Save us. I’m counting on you.” She turned and walked into the crowd before they could argue.

“Captain!”

Jezari ran.

Tags: whumptober 2021, no. 4, taken hostage, swtor, fic, torture, knives, I write, Jezari Solarin, Kyrian Nessar

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

MINNIE SENPAI!! blease do E, I, K, L, N, O, W, Z for Leo? 🥺💖 (i might have gone overboard, so feel free to choose the ones you like the most fhdgk)

Haha, welcome welcome!! I’m honored kouhai, please don’t worry! 💖💖💖 I hope you enjoy this post~ 

Under a cut for length, yet again LOL

Fluffy ABC headcanons listed here for requests!

E = Emotions (how does he express emotion around her?)

Bold of you to insinuate Leonardo has emotions that aren’t imposed against his will HAHAHA. Just kidding, but he does have a hard time not clowning and hiding what he’s feeling. Say it with me kids, repression. That being said, I think he will always have a hard time expressing himself without hesitation in his relationship. His first instinct is to soothe and protect; he doesn’t really know how to put himself first, very few people have ever cared to put him first in his life. One of the hardest things about being capable with the mental acuity of a blade is that everyone just kinda assumes you'll be fine (compounded by the fact that he feels burdensome asking for help). And while there’s no doubt he can take care of himself, everybody needs a daijoubu from time to time ;-;. I like to hope that his MC will be able to see through to the truth of his feelings over time--even if he doesn’t openly enumerate them--before he can smother his emotional needs into silence. Furthermore, I think he would be a little more open/obvious about the depth of his love over time because, at some point, those feelings would accumulate to the point of overflow.

With Leonardo, vulnerability is a slow burn; he will reveal what he’s thinking someday, but today is not that day. Have patience, be gentle with his absolute clown self-neglect, try to meet him halfway; that trust will inspire him to be everything he thought he never could be for someone else. 

In the meantime:

One of the key signals when it comes to Leonardo is to pay attention to when he’s seeking to spoil her. If he’s being extra uwu, that’s a surefire sign he’s Coping™ by channeling those more negative feelings into making her happy. He thinks the best way to handle The Bad Feels and/or concern for her is to redirect that energy into something constructive, and what better outcome could there be than her pouting or giving him that dazzling smile of hers? 

Honestly, with Leonardo, he tends to convert emotion into action--she will know the warmth of his love long before he ever says it out loud. 

He has a hard time articulating his feelings, so asking him to say them outright might be hard on him--it might not be the best immediate go-to. Spoil him out of the blue, instead. She’ll seek him out and just sit in his lap and cuddle for a nap sessh completely without warning, hold him tight so that he knows she’s here no matter what. She’ll indulge his cute needy moments and lounge in bed all morning together, hold his hand first when they go out, take charge in the bedroom; she’ll show him he’s wanted and needed before he can even think to doubt himself. Murmur compliments to him, make him things he loves to eat, give him a back rub unprompted. It’s the simple awareness of what he enjoys and the execution of it before he can prepare that utterly decimates him into revealing the feelings he keeps under tight control. 

He is a lover that thrives on spontaneity and burning, silent consideration for the person he cherishes. The most adorable thing about this is that he is absolutely lost when the same tactic is used against him, he’s utterly defenseless to it!! (look at me. He has zero emotional object permanence. The mere prospect that somebody would worry about him first would send him into shock. And remember: the way people give love can often be the most powerful way they receive it, too.) The sacred texts!! She can use them to make him smile that smile that lets her know he’s an absolute goner for her without the need for words; the smile that says “it will always be you. It can only ever be you.”

When he’s happy, he literally just spoils her with more energy and teasing--expect a lot of wild fun and laughter when he’s in a good mood. He will have exceptionally tender moments now and again (say after a bad nightmare of losing her, for example) where he won’t say anything at all, just holds her close. He needs to know that she’s still here, that she’s okay. It is a rare and huge act of emotional trust; MC’s understanding and her easy proximity in these moments mean the world to him. When he’s distant and evasive, that is the time to give him some space before wedging her way inside. She won’t let him sit and stew in abysmal feelings; he has a bad habit of punishing himself too much or lingering on unhappy moments in his life. Despite how he seems he takes things incredibly seriously--to the point where he exhausts himself. 

When he’s jealous and feeling petulant, he will not hesitate bitch and will get surprisingly grumpy. She’ll coo at him and reassure him that he’s the only one for her, and he’ll calm in the circle of her arms. Fun bonus: he’ll be embarrassed/mortified about being out of control later and she has ENDLESS fun teasing him just a little, even better if he punishes her with a good bangarang. Anger and irritation are emotions he tends to leave be, but if someone directs any kind of threat to MC (or an innocent in general) every trace of his jovial nature dissolves in milliseconds. He is swift, decisive, and deadly when he’s belligerent; he is the last person to push too far. He will often regret it later or worry about scaring MC, but it really does only happen once in a great while. She always reassures him that she knows he only did what he felt he had to in the moment.

You can just hear the Leonardo stan in me, lord jesus

I = Injury (how would he react if she got hurt?)

OH GOD KILL ME FUCKING SOFTLY AUGHGHGHGHGGH

I think it would depend on the injury. If it’s something like a papercut or a scratch, he’ll just be like “yare yare cara mia, be a little more careful next time, yeah?” Will bandage her up and disinfect because he knows enough about medicine to be cautious. Plenty attentive, will probably tease her about being a klutz and/or tell her to ask for help next time. Everything you would expect from Leonardo, essentially; equal parts light-hearted and responsible.

NOW WE GONNA GET SPOICY

If the injury is much more intense--say a broken limb, or deep gashes, so on and so forth--I see Leonardo being very, very grim. His lips would be pursed into a firm line, blanched white from the pressure, and his first step would be to get her out of the danger at any cost to himself. Following his ability to get her to a safe place, he would begin to tend the wound as gently as possible, asking questions to gauge the severity with single-minded concentration. “Where does it hurt? Rate the pain, describe what it feels like. Can you move the injured limb?” He will use whatever he has at his disposal to minimize her suffering if he can’t get her to a doctor immediately. If she requires treatment from someone else, he will be beside himself the entire time; chain-smoking, pacing, running his hands through his hair nonstop. He has ants in his pants until he sees her with color in her face, eyes bright again.

May I offer: They are 100% that couple (in which Leonardo is the one that falls asleep at her bedside) that’s like “you look like shit.” “look who’s talking, stupid.” and they just start laughing, mutually relieved.

During her recovery, he will be incredibly gentle but also subliminally alert. Anything she needs, she gets. If she tries to return to a normal pace of life too fast, he is straight up just picking her up and putting her back in that recovery bed. He ain’t playin’--don’t test him on this. He’s usually pretty easygoing, but he will snap at anyone who isn’t careful with her in this state. He will not take any further risk to her life. (He’s not usually brittle, but under severe conditions he can be.) He’ll tease her from time to time, but it’s much more mild than usual; he’s too consumed with concern to let her get worked up. He’s never really had to deal with a prolonged state of physical helplessness personally, but he’s seen enough in his life to know it can be really taxing on a person’s mind. There will be a thin veneer of calm, only there to keep her relaxed and to ensure the stability of her mental health. He knows that if he shows too much distress, he’s only going to worry her further--and that’s the last thing he wants. He will spend the majority of his time acquiring as many distractions as humanly possible, even if he has to be the distraction; anything to get her mind off of darker things.

When she’s back to normal, he’ll still be on alert for a short while before he goes back to his usual clowning self; might be a little more protective and cautious than usual, or be a little paranoid about the specific thing that caused her harm. (No Leonardo, we need kitchen knives--how else are we going to cut the carrots?? Please relax.) He doesn’t want that kind of heart attack again anytime soon;;;;

Honestly, it’s very likely that MC will have to be the one to remind him that she’s fully recovered--and not quite so fragile--well after she’s returned to the normal pace of life.

K = Kisses (how does he like to kiss her?)

Mah heart, mah soul

When it comes to kisses, Leonardo will vary extensively. Will give her teasing pecks intended to make her grab hold of him and force him to linger, smirking into the kiss as she’s instigated to deepen it. When he’s feeling particularly overwhelmed with feeling--say when he’s jealous or frustrated--his kisses will be dizzying; sucking on her tongue and nipping at her lips, caging her against him as he unleashes all of the desire that was building inside him. The intent will be to drown her in passion. Lazy kisses before/after a nap, where he just wants to revel in the heat of her for a moment--express his affection on a whim--before dozing off. And last, but certainly not least, he will kiss her with the express intent of marking her. Due to his inability refusal to bite her, he seeks to relieve that instinct with hickeys all over her body (most frequently around the chest and neck, sometimes along her thighs and hips when he has fun downtown).

L = Love (how does he show her that he loves her?)

This man is Acts of Service through and through when it comes to showing his love. He is exceptionally observant and sensitive to the feelings of others, so the second he sees her in need he is already seeking an externalized solution. His usual modus operandi is to enact his love as covertly as possible; he doesn’t want her feeling guilty for troubling him. That being said, if he has to be direct--he will be. He won’t ever force her, but he will remind her that he is here and that he wants to help more than anything else. If she needs time on her own he’s happy to give it (even if he pouts and fidgets restlessly the whole time). His most acute expression of love is his reliability: taking care of people is the first way he knows how to express affection.

While that tends to be his primary method, it by no means insinuates that he won’t show affection in other ways. If he teases her, it’s because he wants her attention more than anything but is far too shy to say it directly (is he a middle schooler of a lover? Yes). More to the point, asking for her time and her attention is a way that he expresses love because it means he trusts her enough to know the signs, fulfill those needs, and realize that he meant no harm with his nonsense. Though it may sound odd, his desire to rely on her a little (insert is for me? meme) is his way of showing her he’s letting her in, and that’s a very real form of love considering how Herculean an effort it is for him to rely on someone else. It’s the same reason he will sometimes make his room an even bigger disaster zone than usual. He has every intention of cleaning up after himself, he just wants her to bust in and start fussing over him LMAO  (MC: WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS LEONARDO?! Meanwhile Leonardo, an idiot full of uwus at the sight of his beloved exasperated, sitting in a pile of trash: Just according to keikaku)

As odd as it may sound, it’s almost like a weird reverse damsel in distress sort of dynamic? He carefully constructs situations where she can offer him help with the express purpose (and hope) that she will care enough to bust past his enfeebled defenses. It’s so oddly demure for this enormous punk of a man, but I find it adorable ;-;

Other ways he loves to show how he feels is to take her on trips or on little adventures. One of his favorite things to do is to watch her take in places he knows like the back of his hand--or even places new to him--with all the gleeful excitement of a little kid. It just warms him down to the marrow, and makes him have so much more fun than he ever could alone to see her buzz around nonstop. If he can encourage her to relax and take some time for herself in the process, to live for herself a little (she’s all too giving) then he considers the entire endeavor a success. All the effort is worth it if she can remember their time together with a smile Must You Hurt Me Like This, Leonardo.

One form of love that he will behead me for revealing is that he also sketches her all the time in his notebook, and will look to those little moments he’s captured whenever he’s feeling down or she’s not around. 

He will have times where, if he can’t convey something properly with his actions or through making love, he will level with her. He will take the time to try to explain his feelings with accuracy, and in these moments he is both sincere and heartfelt. While it is a more rare expression of love for him, it is earth shattering when he does. Not only because his feelings run so deep, but also because these moments are unmistakably raw. Leonardo knows that vulnerability is a simultaneous boon and bane; it can inspire so much mutual joy, but it can also mean the exposure of lifelong wounds. It means acknowledging that these feelings are real. Even if she never takes advantage of the truth, he is aware of how precarious that position can be the more intense this love gets. It means facing how hollow he will feel when she's gone--something he works very, very hard to look away from.

(A related addendum because I have brainworms: The reason that people love and trust Leonardo is not primarily based in his intellect, fairly natural charisma, or good looks (though they are very compelling elements of his person). I think what people really see is how--though Leonardo sees through to the truth of peoples’ hearts in seconds--he keeps their secrets and treats them with so much respect/gentleness. It’s this odd capacity to be seen without feeling exposed that makes him such a remarkable and interesting man, and why he grows so close to everyone’s hearts. People feel understood without the need for words, feel cared for without a second thought. That being said, I think he needs someone who is similar. A person who sees all that he is on the surface, but barring that forges deeper still to find and cradle those parts of him that still need so much healing/care.

There’s a reason one of the greatest hits to his heart in his MS--one of the moments MC most powerfully gets through to him--is when she essentially says “Don’t give me that. Nobody ever gets used to loss. When something hurts, it hurts.” Whether she realized it or not, she penetrated straight to his heart with those few words. The truth is often much simpler than we might assume, and no matter how much experience one has with certain emotions--particularly grief and loneliness--no amount of experience makes them hurt any less. We only grow better at concealing or coping with age...)

N = Nightmare (what is his worst fear?)

I have a list (from Comte). I keep them alphabetized.

Jkjk, but if I’m honest I think this man has a good amount of fear inside him. I’d say the highest ones up there would absolutely be losing MC very suddenly, or being the reason--whether directly or indirectly--she gets hurt (like if his familia came after her to get back at him? he would be devastated).

If it is a timeline where he does choose to turn her, he’s beside himself at the prospect of the turning process going horribly wrong. It’s an unpredictable transition, and if she were to come back mentally broken or in constant pain (immortal wounds/aberrant) I think it would really fuck him up emotionally. He would blame himself without a doubt ;-; and that’s assuming she doesn’t hate his ass for the rest of eternity if it does go well (Leonardo I am begging you to use one brain cell)

O = Oddity (what is one quirk he has?) This one’s just a crack hc so if you were taking me seriously for any amt of this post, this is my suggestion that you stop

Leonardo is a man of many idiosyncrasies; among them an incapacity to dance and writing in a mirrored hand. 

Another one is his absolute hatred for mint. One of Comte’s favorite things to do to mess with Leonardo is to stuff the drawers in his desk with peppermint candies to ward off his old friend and make him stop sleeping under his desk (like how people will use salt for demons!). He will also drink mint tea if he’s feeling particularly irritated with Leonardo’s antics, like if he’s received a ton of letters from Leonardo’s familia. Tells him to come to his office and the place is SUFFUSED in the scent of mint. Comte is just sitting at his desk with the stack, wearing that incorrigible look like “If I must suffer, so must you.” 

One time--before MC was aware of this quirk--she had some chocolate that had mint in it after dinner. Leonardo kissed her without knowing (he came in late) and literally died where he was standing; he was biting his tongue to keep from gagging. MC just o: ???? because she’s never seen him make that grimace, especially after sharing a kiss. Comte was in fucking tears laughing at the head of the dining table while Napoleon and Sebastian were both fighting a smile--Arthur was outright wheezing. Isaac, blushing and coughing lightly into his fist, offers the explanation that Leonardo hates mint-flavored things and the scent of it makes him queasy. 

W = Warrior (how does he feel about her fighting? Would he fight for her, beside her, etc?)

Man, this one’s tough, but if I’m honest I think he would be conflicted. On the one hand, he thinks it’s badass and hot as all fuck that she knows how to hold her own in a brawl; he can’t deny it’s sexy and reassuring (he has to resist the urge to gaud her into punching him). But. That knowledge also comes with a lot of concern. Was she in a place or around people that never once looked after her? Or was it a safety precaution? He will think deeply about the implications of her capabilities, and ask about it openly if he can’t deduce the reasons from afar. He will see it as very important information in regards to how to look after her properly.

That being said, I don’t think he would let his MC fight unless there was literally no other conceivable choice (say she was attacked while he wasn’t there or before he could intercept the blow). He would literally rather fall on a sword than see her get hurt. He’s durable and used to pain; he’d rather suffer and heal fast than see her sustain a single scar or bruise. Even if it makes her angry, he’ll take a hit and ask her to stay behind him every single time without fail. He’ll accept her frustration about it and will feel that it is perfectly valid to be annoyed with him. It still won’t make him budge, though. 

Z = Zen (what makes him feel calm?)

Naps and lingering in bed well after morning with MC make this man happier and calmer than anything this world has ever seen. He loves that in those moments they aren’t thinking about anything else but each other, and he can indulge in the certainty of her presence in his life and so close to his heart. He can use the excuse of drowsiness to be tender, making love with a slow, devastating build to pleasure--hand entwined with hers against the sheets. 

Failing that, he goes to things that stimulate his senses to find calm--he can’t really relax if his hands and/or mind aren’t occupied (i.e. cigarillos lmao). It’s why he’s often in the library; he’s always seeking new information and conundrums to sort out mentally if he doesn’t have the energy to go out and about. If he’s in his room he’ll be drafting diagrams, coming up with new concepts and architectural schematics, even making trinkets for MC or fixing something in the mansion. If he needs a change of scene or has the spoons, he’ll make a trip to town to help people with any problems that need solving, or find some excuse to go looking for and tease MC HAHA (he’s a little shit, but he’s our little shit úwù)

[loreparable-writes]

The Thieves’ Aerie

How were you supposed to know that by helping this poor fool who got himself cut up in a bar fight was going to open the door to the city's underbelly? You are only trying to survive in this rat hole but somehow you have managed to become a nurse for worst the city has to offer. Hopefully the two men who have inserted themselves into your life can keep you from getting killed or worse... A Reader/Hawks, Reader/ Thief Takami What if? fic.

---   

Chapter 1 

One Good Deed 

It’s two in the morning and life finds you nursing a lukewarm coffee while sitting at your desk in the clinic. When you started school to become a nurse, sitting alone in a twenty four hour medical center was not what you pictured your life to be.  Go get a medical degree y/n, you’ll be able to work with heroes she said. Maybe find a nice doctor to settle down with she said, hate to break it to you Mom but you are full of shit.

Though in hindsight, the only reason you are currently here is because you picked up the on call shift from a coworker with a sick kid.  Let’s see I can’t just sit here and stare into the abyss until seven am so what can I do instead?… records have been organized and patient charts for tomorrow have been pulled, exam rooms have been cleaned, has anyone gone over inventory recently? You pause for a moment trying to go through dates in your head before ultimately deciding that's what you are going to do to pass the time.

The room where the medical supplies are kept sits towards the back of the clinic and out of sight from the main desk. Just to be on the safe side you bring the clinic phone along so that you don’t miss anyone in need of help.  The next half hour is spent hauling supplies from the back room into the exam rooms. You are forced to stop for a bit when a concerned man calls in with questions about their nephew possibly manifesting his quirk but you were able to provide him with the correct phone number for quirk services. There are enough cotton squares and bandages to get us through the week but I should have it added to the order… we also need more- The subtle click of a door opening sounded so loud in the empty quiet of the clinic and the pained groan that followed instantly had you on alert. Peeking around the edge of the door frame reveals nothing in the hallway for now. You nearly jump out of your skin when a crash shatters the quiet again.

“Where the fuck do they keep it? I don't need much…” From what little information you have gleaned from the current situation, someone in pain has snuck into a twenty four hour clinic… which probably means they are either a druggie looking for a fix or someone from underground.

“Oh I am soo going to regret doing this…” you whispered into the empty air but you are hoping that because there is none of the noise that is usually associated with addicts attempting to rob the place, the person currently in the exam room is someone who can be reasoned with.  As you make your way out of the supply room and into the hall, making sure that your steps are loud, you can hear more of the pained noises.

“Hello? My name is Keele, I’m a nurse for this clinic. Do you need help?”  Everything went dead quiet the moment you called out. Ok this is no different than dealing with a difficult patient, just be prepared to dodge if needed… The door to exam room two sat half closed and with a deep breath to steady your nerves, you knocked twice on the doorframe before pushing the door open.  You are immediately greeted with several crimson knives floating a half inch over all of your vital areas. Though by looking a little more closely at the one pointed towards your face, you realize the knives are actually feathers. Slowly raising your hands up in a show of surrender you tried to explain yourself once more.

“My name is Keele and I am a licensed nurse for this clinic. We are open for service twenty four hours a day which is why I’m here at this time.” You could hear the person behind you snort in disbelief.

“Are you the only one here right now?” he growled

“Yes, Doc is on call during the night shifts.” you allowed your eyes to roam what little you could see of the room taking note of the splatters of blood along the floor and cabinet. “We don't need to call him in depending on what you have going on over there…” Your attempt at turning your head to look at him is met with the feathers pressing closer to you, the sharp edges barely a breath away from your skin.

“Ok! Ok! I’ll stop trying to move. Tell me what you need and I’ll help you find it... unless its the hard stuff… I don't have access to the safe.”

“I need supplies for stitches and bandages…” His breathing is growing more ragged and you can now see even the feathers are starting to tremble with the strain of him trying to play tough. Whoever this is can barely hold it together, he isn't going to be able to take care of himself properly once I give him those items. Time to be the no nonsense nurse and hope it doesn't get me killed.

“Suture kit is in the second drawer and bandaging materials are in the cabinet above. Though frankly I don’t think it's going to be much help to you. Judging from the blood splashed around my exam room and your heavy breathing, you are about to collapse aren't you?” The snarl behind you is borderline animalistic.

“Are you brave or just stupid? Either way it's not going to stop me from killing you once I have what I need.”

“You won’t kill me” despite the situation, your voice is calm and firm. “Killing me serves no purpose other than satisfying whatever primal urge you are feeling right now. Here’s my offer, let me patch you up and get you on your way with antibiotics and pain relievers. In return I don't tell my boss that you attempted to rob us, threatened my life, and made a mess of the clinic. Then as a bonus for your wonderful personality, you may call on me anytime to patch you up when you find yourself on the wrong end of a smashed bottle again.” Mystery man snorts once, twice, before dissolving into full on laughter that ends abruptly with a rather pained ow .

“You know what Kid? I like you~ It’s a deal, just don’t try to fuck me over, it won’t end well for either of us.” When the feathers threatening your life flick away you heave a huge sigh of relief.

“How bad is the wound and where is it located?” Despite the stressful introduction you are all business at this point. Expertly pulling the needed supplies from their resting places and setting them up on the nearby rolling tray for use. You are pulling lidocaine into a separate syringe for use as you turn around from the counter to get a look at him. Oh Shit! Well thank god for learning how to control your facial responses. Nursing school was good for that at least.

Hawks Takami is bleeding in your exam room, sure the news has been on and on about the father-son pair hitting homes and businesses and robbing them blind. But you never expected to see the son in this dirty forgotten corner of the city. Though this close you can see how he gained the moniker of “Hawks”. Besides the bright gold of his eyes and the unique black markings surrounding them, there are hints of blonde feather down framing his face along the hairline and temples. His hair is short in length but despite the fact that it is clear this man has not had a shower recently has a distinct “fluffy” appearance. Pair that with the full crimson wing plumage, thick black talons, and scars across the bridge of his nose and along his cheekbone, he looks like something out of a nature documentary.

“You’re staring”

“I’m trying to figure out where you are bleeding from since you haven't been so kind as to show me. Despite me putting on my best nurse persona for you.” It's a half truth, but he doesn't need to know that.  Groaning in pain he manages to maneuver the edge of the bloody, worn Endeavour hoodie up towards his chin to expose the wound that has been slashed across the edge of his stomach and up his ribs.

“How the fuck are you still standing?! Get that thing off now!” As he fights with the piece of clothing you are adjusting the exam table into a position where he can lie down completely in order to give you full access to the wound. Despite stiffening at your touch, he allows you to support him as he lays down on his uninjured side and adjusts his wings to drape behind him. As you roll the latex gloves over your freshly washed hands, you kick a rolling stool in the general direction of the table and drag your tray along to follow.  

“You are extremely lucky, this could be so much worse than it is.” The wound itself doesn't go too deep, the part that clipped the edge of his abdomen did not break through into the body cavity. Nor did it make it down to the bone where it trails over his ribs.  

“What can I say? I’ve always.. gnk.. been a fortunate bastard. Shit! What the hell are .. gah.. you doing?!”

“Cleaning off all the grime. Give me a minute I’ll numb you with the lidocaine before I start stabbing you.”

“Ha what ever happened to your gentle hands nurse? I thought you were supposed to take my pain away.”

“Gentle went out the window the moment you threatened me and when I recognized who exactly is now laying on my exam table. Now I’m just a little irritated that it's going to take me forever to nail all my belongings down to the floorboards in my apartment because I invited a known thief to bother me whenever he pleases.” He stays mostly silent throughout the procedure aside from a couple of hisses as you inject the numbing agent. You have already placed a handful of stitches into his skin before the silence becomes too oppressive.

“Mind telling me how this happened?”

“How were you able to tell I was slashed by a broken bottle?” You level him with a flat look that has him shifting on the table in discomfort.

“When you have worked in this area for as long as I have you pick up on patterns. Try not to move too much, you’ll tear the stitches before I’m done.” You place a steadying hand across the curve of his hip to get him to settle before continuing to sew the wound up. “I can tell who has been in a bar fight, warning shots, and stupid quirk rivalry battles. Then there are those who I refer to as being Underground. You're not the first to cross my table with those connections but I do need to warn you there are undercover heroes and vigilantes that come here often. They have helped the clinic in the past so we look the other way. That offer is being extended to you as well so long as you keep your troubles far away from the clinic while you are in it, that is the only rule.”   You are finishing up the last few stitches when he speaks up again.

“Some guy at the bar I was relaxing at didn't like the fact I was talking to his woman and that she was enjoying it. Came charging over mad as hell, I was willing to take the blame for it and enjoy a bit of a fist fight, but instead he started hitting her right in front of me. I just reacted, threw the guy halfway across the bar, it was his friend that came in from the side and cut me up like this. The bouncer got involved at that point and kicked everyone out, pointed me towards this place to get help.” You’ve finished stitching him up and have already taped the bandages over the sutures to protect them.

“The bouncer who helped you was probably Hiro, he is a good guy. Try to keep your head down for a little bit or at least until the stitches can come out. Those drunks tend to keep grudges and will not hesitate to take you out for good.” Hawks gingerly maneuvers himself up into a sitting position as you take one final look at your work. Eyeing the dirty hoodie thrown onto the floor with contempt, that is not going anywhere near my sutures.

“Follow me, I need to get you some antibiotics and a clean shirt.”

“What's wrong with my hoodie?” he whines

“It's filthy and those sutures need to stay clean and dry. We keep spare clothes on hand so we should have something I can modify for you.” He follows you carefully back into the supply room completely soundless despite the massive wings on display.

“What is your shirt size usually?” you ask as you rummage through the selection of grey cotton shirts the clinic keeps on hand for these situations.

“Whatever I find that fits honestly.” He shrugs as you regard him in disbelief, taking a critical review of his body type and shape you pull out the size you think will work best.

“Give me a moment to find some scissors and I can cu-” RIP      

“No need~” he chirps as one of his feathers makes two neat cuts in the back of the shirt with practiced ease.

“The bandages need to stay on for at least two days, you can wash around the wound with mild soap and CLEAN water but do not get the sutures wet.” You pause to hand him the medications and a wound care pamphlet “as for the antibiotics, take two tablets tonight and then one once a day until gone. The stitches can be removed after ten days.” As he pulls on the new shirt you quickly step back into the exam room to pick up the sad hoodie from the floor and offer it back to Hawks in the hallway.  

“I hear cold water and hydrogen peroxide are helpful in getting bloodstains out of fabric.”

“It's not the first time this old thing has been soaked in it, I’ll figure something out.” The two of you pause by the back door, you are waiting to see if there is anything else he needs before diving back into the wilds of the city, he on the other hand seems reluctant to leave.

“I did say you could come bother me whenever you needed help…” He turns to you with an odd look in his eyes before seemingly coming to a decision on something. You watch as the hardened persona he projects slides back into place, he gives you a curt nod as thanks before disappearing into the night once more. You think you hear the rustle of wings but turn back into the heart of the clinic and lock the door behind you.

Seven am and Kanna finds you at the front desk getting things set up for the day. The scent of fresh brewed coffee floats from the break room but it fails to hide the scent of the heavy duty cleaner that they use to clean up body fluids.

“Have an interesting shift last night?” she asked as she placed the small paper bag with your favorite muffin inside next to you.

“Hiro sent over another victim of the bar scene, they needed stitches but nothing too crazy. Oh my god this is still warm~”

“Go enjoy your breakfast in the break room. I can get things started up here on my own. I’m pretty sure Dr. Maeda will send you home once they get here in the next fifteen minutes or so. Get a cat nap in so you can make it home safely.” With a mock salute in her direction you scurry off to enjoy the morning peace with a warm breakfast and fresh coffee.

Eight thirty am has you walking up the street to your apartment saying hello to the neighbors who are heading off to work as you are coming home. The hush that falls after the morning commuters have gone is a unique one that often has you standing just outside your door to enjoy it for a moment. You close your eyes to enjoy the warmth of the sun and violently startle when you are shoved into your front door and a loud bang resonates from beside your head. As your eyes snap open you all you can see is a wide, fanged grin and brilliant gold eyes.

“Hey Kid, we forgot to exchange our phone numbers…”

[claihn]

[Crystal/Balmung] LFRP: Specifics for Kincaid & Kini

I am absolutely itching for some specific hooks for my characters and they are listed below! However my active characters are all open for connections in general. So if you have an idea or one of my others has caught your fancy, feel free to poke! My characters are Crystal/Balmung and I am an EST evening person. All RP is for in-game only, until RP has been established. (Then I’m willing to do Discord RP for vacations/finishing scenes.) I am always happy to chat via Discord though and can be reached at Lain#0004 or through DMs here. I hope that’s alright!

[ Kincaid Crowe | No-good Mercenary | LFRP Info || Profile Snippet ] He considers himself a bastard, has plenty of secrets and will lie with a smile.  “Didn’t you know it’s the biggest smiles that hide the sharpest knives?”  Looking for... + + +  “Good” characters! He’s a bad guy. He’s got plenty of friends that kill, deal in dark magicks or tango outside of the law, but it’d be interesting to have him interact with those who don’t make a habit of such things. Examples would be characters that would be considered gentle, innocent or who do “normal” things like run a flower shop or bakery or w/e! Warning: He’ll probably add some chaos. Genre of RP would still be considered dark, mature or at least serious considering he’s in the equation even with some extra fluff! I’m open to all other dabblings in between.  + + + A Doctor!  BONUS points if they’re a Conjurer. Extra bonus points if they’re also a “good” character. (Mad scientist types need not apply, he’d stay faaar away from them.) He doesn’t like conjury, so that little snippet just could make an interesting dynamic and help the other character explore other avenues. This would definitely be long term if possible, since he... well, he really could use a consistent doctor since the last one kinda died. It was an accident. Honest! Trust issues would be heavy in the beginning. Genre of RP would be the same above, but I’m also flexible with whatever. 

[ A’kini Khotan | Useful Doll & Buff Magic Specialist | LFRP Info || Profile Snippet ] Kini is a cheerful individual who wants nothing more than to be useful and wanted, while hiding her own problems deep inside of her closet.  “I have to try my best not to be useless or I’ll just be trash.”  Looking for... + + + An individual who wants a helper/gullible servant/buffbot in their pocket/etc! Long term connections! Kini is the kind of character that I can come up with almost anything to get them involved with another character’s story. I dearly enjoy her and would love to get her some long lasting, serious & meaningful RP. Despite outward impressions, she is a mature, dark-themed character and would be a great support to any bad guys, mercenaries or individuals needing a helping hand. She is extremely talented with buff magic (it’s the only magic she truly knows outside of minor healing cantrips,) which is probably her best hook. 

My other active RP characters are:

Mana Mizu (PvE main | LFRP post)  & C’laihn Venator (Namesake)  I do not have specific idea hooks for them currently, but they are open as well for anything because yas RP?! (Mana especially!) You’re more than welcomed to check out their profiles (just click on their names) and throw stuff at me if an idea pops up or they suit you better. 

[batgirl-87]

MC Character Challenge

Tagged and Created by @cptaincarswell 

(If there is another one like this I was never tagging in so…) Thank you so much for tagging me! Honestly this is a lot harder than my Jacob’s one! I hope I did a good job explaining my MC…

Rules: Choose five characters (movie or tv show) that represent your MC/ MC’s different layers.

1. Sirius Black - Harry Potter

Let’s just get the obvious out of the way =p 

Where to start…

Dramatic entrances

Just dramatic tendencies

Good hair (even after 12 years in Azkaban, the rest may be a mess but the hair is looking fabulous! =p)

Love Remus Lupin

Okay, a bit more siriusly now 😉

Unwavering loyalty and fiercely protective nature (that may be taken too far…)

Witty and sarcastic (“run along and play with your chemistry set” - classic! =p)

Charming and charismatic (she can probably convince almost anyone to do anything… maybe a bit manipulative too…)

Rebellious and mischievous

Flirtatious and seemingly confident

Secretly really insecure

Dark vengeful side, can be vicious towards those he hates

Sure, we have magic, but you know what’s satisfying? Punching someone in the face!

2. Emma Swan - Once Upon A Time

Forced into be the Savior seems fitting, right? Fine, if she has to do this, she will, because no one else will =p Plus she’s probably the best at it anyway 😉 It may be stressful and a weight on her shoulders but she’ll handle it herself and appear cool and collected while doing it.

A natural leader and hero even though she may not want to be (Have to deal with the Cursed-Vaults and R/Cabal even though this is definitely not what she signed up for)

Strong and independent (but also lonely)

Practical and realistic

Strong sense of justice

Will do anything to protect and save those she cares about

Self-sacrificing (which is easy to do if you don’t care really if you live or not)

Dark Side

Distances herself from others to protect them

Trust issues

Abandonment issues

Very guarded with her feelings (particularly when it comes to love)

Feels like she has to appear strong and keep things together despite how stressed and overwhelmed she is with great responsibility thrust onto her shoulders - probably also feels like she has to handle it all by herself/on her own

Gets Captain Hottie Hook =p

3. Kate Beckett - Castle

I think Kate shows how determined and even obsessed Keira is with finding her brother. She’ll push herself to her limits and doesn’t care about placing herself in dangerous situations, even engaging in reckless behaviors that could severely harm or even kill her to find her brother. And she’ll try to do it all herself. (Also I love Stana Katic!)

Strong sense of justice (even if it’s her own set of morals/ethics)

Strong and independent

Her own savior/hero

Doesn’t like when someone tries to control her or even protect her - she demands respect and wants a partner, not a protector (Keira just doesn’t do well with being told what to do/authority figures - she wants to do what she wants when she wants!)

Determined and hard working 

Determined almost to the point of obsession and recklessness - doesn’t care about what happens to her as long as she succeeds and will cross lines to do so

Can be secretive

On a one-woman mission

Speaks multiple languages

Likes to keep her past and personal life/feelings private (Keira doesn’t really talk about herself much to her friends - her mom, life in Canada, etc.)

The loss of her mom drives her - serves as her motivation to become a detective (while Keira lost her mom as well, the loss of Jacob is a strong motivator for her influencing even her career choice as well)

However, wants to be defined more than just by her mother’s death (Keira wants to be defined more than her brother and the Cursed-Vaults)

Struggle to love herself and accept someone else’s love

Survives getting shot to the chest (it’s very difficult getting rid of Keira =p)

4. Mazikeen “Maze” - Lucifer

(Kind of looks like a batarang right?! =D )

She’s beauty, she’s grace, she’ll punch you in the face (and then stab you and rip your throat out). Keira enjoys a good fight but also has a darker side that primarily gets unleashed when people she cares about are threatened or harmed. She can and will cross the line and do what’s necessary especially in difficult and stressful times. And those clothes!

Quick to anger and acting out violently (prefers getting mad than showing she’s actually sad)

Gets a thrill and pleasure from fighting (Duelling is fun and all but Keira does really enjoy physical fighting. May also have a taste/skill for knives - related to Bellatrix afterall 😜)

Confident in her fighting abilities

Sarcastic

Can come off as cold and uncaring

May sometimes act impulsively especially when angered (Keira has a classic fiery Irish temper)

Struggles with showing vulnerability and opening up

Secretly lonely and insecure about her friendships - like she cares more/does more for them and they don’t really care for her - worried about betrayal 

Fiercely loyal and protective - so much she easily becomes a sadistic vengeful killer if anyone harms those she cares about (well Maze is a demon =p - Keira definitely has a dark side that hasn’t really needed to come out much but after this Rakepick stuff…. Anyway she’d have no problem torturing or inflicting pain and destroying someone’s life if they hurt those she cares about)

Keira would definitely wear a lot of Maze’s clothing actually - leather, duh =p badass and a little sexy 😜

(Bonus - since you included Eve in yours 😉) 

5. Jamie Moriarty - Elementary 

Besides the fact that I just love Natalie Dormer, I also want to highlight Keira’s intelligence and manipulative capabilities, as well as her not really being good or evil but as more of a neutral. (If she wanted to run a criminal empire she could =p Who knows what the future will hold? =p) Also could possibly show what she could become if she didn’t have her friends. (More reasons she needs Bill as a partner).

Diabolical mastermind

Clever and cunning

Manipulative - uses people to do her dirty work or distract them from interfering

Likes a challenge/mind games

Likes to feel smarter than others  

Likes to be in control/have the upper hand/be one step ahead

Confident (possibly overconfident) in her skills, intellect, and abilities

Gives credit where it’s due and respects other intelligent, manipulative, and clever people

Can view situations as a game (but she’s pretty sure she’ll - and determined to - win)

Focus on benefitting herself and doesn’t care who she has to take down in order to get what she wants

Curious

Will stop at nothing to protect those she cares about (i.e. her daughter)

Doesn’t like to appear/show her vulnerability (aka her daughter)

More dramatic reveals?! Yes please =p Love a good plot twist!

Honorable Mentions: The Witch - Into the Woods; Blair Waldorf - Gossip Girl; Veronica Lodge (or maybe even Cheryl Blossom) - Riverdale; Loki - Marvel; Wolverine - X-men; Selene - Underworld

Summary: (This got long - don’t have to read! You can probably see the running themes here)

Keira comes across as a strong, confident, sarcastic person who actually hides a lot of insecurities, trust issues, and overwhelming stress. While charming and charismatic she actually is quite guarded and doesn’t like to open up or be vulnerable but that also leaves her feeling alone. While appearing even flirtatious at times she is particularly guarded and insecure about the whole ‘love’ thing and struggles with believing anyone would actually accept her for her, flaws and all. Takes awhile for her to feel comfortable around others and a long time for her to feel safe opening up and even then she rarely shows her vulnerability to those close to her. Likes being independent and handling things on her own even if that means struggling and being overwhelmingly stressed - doesn’t like to admit she needs helps or can’t handle things on her own (even though she needs support she prides herself on her independence). Normally pretty cool and calm but definitely has a fiery temper than can easily be set off causing her to lash out angrily and even violently. Also has a flair for the dramatics and can be quite rebellious and mischievous. 

Is an incredibly determined and resilient individual, particularly when it comes to finding her brother, but in general when she wants something it’s hard for her to let it go and she’ll cross lines to get it and even push herself to extremes and engage in dangerous and reckless behaviors - doesn’t matter what happens to her as long as she succeeds. Normally likes to take things into her own hands without involving others, in a way to protect them, but also keeps her at a distance from them so maybe also in a way to protect herself from her fear of being betrayed by people she has opened up to and trusted - again leaving her feeling alone, especially when she truly does need support. But she also just doesn’t like being told what to do =p 

She has a strong sense of justice, and has a hard time keeping her mouth shut when she sees an injustice, and is fiercely loyal and protective towards those she cares about; however, is a true neutral, living more in a grey area, so her code of ethics may be different than others (she’s not a Death Eater but she totally understands killing Dumbledore, would have done it herself if they asked! And she’ll fight Harry about it! =p). She doesn’t normally get involved in things (such as the second wizarding war) unless necessary and rewarding from her own perspective. She enjoys a good fight and is probably the first to sign up for some dangerous mission (as long as she feels she’ll get something out of it even if it’s just the thrill and adrenaline rush). While she may have insecurities when it comes to her relationships with others, she’s confident, maybe too much so, in her skills, intellect, and capabilities (and therefore does not handle defeat well and does not like being the one be to used and manipulated when she likes to have the upper hand and be one step ahead). 

She definitely has a dark side, particularly when anyone she cares about is threatened or harmed or when she feels it’s called for in difficult situations. She can be vicious and has no issues torturing, inflicting pain, and completely destroying someone’s life - quite literally will cut a bitch =p (and if she needs to be a bitch she can be a bitch =p) She can be very manipulative and vengeful, no problems using others has her puppets, although again normally only does so to protect or avenge those she cares about (i.e. doesn’t do so for her own personal amusement). Also I think she’s good at compartmentalizing. Honestly feels like her friends need her because, let’s face it, they’re too “nice” and “good” and they need a friend willing to do the dirty work and cross that line into the darkness… even if they don’t know about her doing that…because she does try to keep that darkness in her hidden from her friends. (But her friends and that support truly keep her from snapping and acting out more violently and diving into that darkness as easily as she would alone).

Think that’s it =p Hope I explained her well, I don’t know…

Tagging: @wilhelminafujita @bluerosesburnblue @arnyan @callmederok @jadeowl19 @missnight0wl @changeling-fae @sly-vixen-up2nogood @gryffinpuffthunderbird @unforgivablecurse-breaker and anyone else who wants to!I’m sure I’m forgetting people - I’m sorry, it’s not personal I swear! Just please do it and tag me! =)

[douxreviews]

Cloak and Dagger - ‘Restless Energy’ Review

"I like this. You and me. Going out. Doing good. Best we can."

Cloak and Dagger are back, and as you might have heard, season two is going to be Mayhem. But not quite yet.

It still seems hard to believe that we're getting a second season of Cloak and Dagger. Fifteen year old me would never have believed that this day would come. And as a bonus, going by this episode, season two is maintaining the impressive level of quality with which season one spoiled us.

A quick note up front – Freeform aired the first two episodes back to back as a 'two hour premiere' event. I'm reviewing the two episodes here separately, partially because they appear to be two separate episodes from a storytelling perspective, but mostly because I'm pedantic enough that I can't bear the thought of not having separate individual review links under the episode listing on the show page.

I realize that that's a ridiculous thing to care about, but the voices reassure me that it's not a sign of any serious mental issues, so there it is.

As a result, I haven't yet watched the second episode as of my writing this and so if any questions I raise here are answered in the second episode I beg your indulgence.

Second season premiere's are difficult. Season one finales tend to have more complete closure than finales of other seasons because you're never sure whether or not the show is going to get picked up for a second year. The end of Buffy's first season and beginning of its second is a good illustration of this issue. So, not only do you have the usual season opener need to re-introduce your characters and general premise, you also have to begin you story with, '...but wait, there's more...' and that can be tricky.

Season one of Cloak and Dagger leaned heavily into the 'Divine Pairing' take on Ty and Tandy's relationship. It was the story of how their powers brought them together for that one specific incident, so that they could save the city. That's a different story than bringing them together to become a crimefighting duo of superheroes, in that the 'becoming heroes' storyline is open ended and the 'becoming the mechanism that saves the city' is a one time event that happens and then is done.

The C & D writing room dealt with this by leaning into it and making that the point of the episode, which was a good decision. Ty and Tandy, and to a lesser degree Brigid, are essentially hanging around and thinking 'OK, now what do I do?' Ty and Tandy are both dealing with the titular restless energy by going out and making little vigilante runs at night; Ty by hitting drug gangs and stealing their product and money, Tandy by identifying abusive partners and terrorizing them. That's very in character for both of them, and hey – how about the way that they allowed Tandy enough self awareness to understand that she was really lashing out because she's still dealing with the knowledge that her dad was an abuser. Tandy is in a fascinating place at the moment, emotionally speaking. The domestic abuse therapy group she and her mom are attending appears to be genuinely helping her, and we see several examples of her actively engaging with it and doing the work for herself, but she hasn't been magically 'fixed' by it. Her first instinct is still to run away when she feels emotionally vulnerable, and we see her do that twice this week, once with her mom and once with Ty.

I can't overstate how refreshing it is to see a show portray abuse, therapy and recovery realistically as the complicated and messy process it is, right down to the way that it appears Melissa Bowen seems to be leaning into therapy as a sort of 'replacement drug,' devoting all the energy she used to give to drinking and pills to the therapy process. That's a very real thing, and it was nicely understated here. Also realistic was the way that Tandy's attempts to punish Jeremy the abusive boyfriend only resulted in his girlfriend becoming more dedicated to staying in the abusive relationship.

In fact, Ty and Tandy's attempts to help other people this week rebound in unpleasant ways all over the place this week. Ty's laudable desire to use his powers to get drugs and the dealers thereof off the streets only results in making the gang he didn't hit more powerful and dangerous, and his attempts to fix that error result in his completely screwing up the official investigation that Brigid had been running to try and take them down. Like Tandy's attempts to scare abusive partners, lack of focus on the big picture is undermining their attempts to be a force for good.

This is nicely set up by the ballet teacher's chastisement of Tandy not focusing on what she was spotting as she did whatever those ballet spinny things are called. Neither Ty or Tandy has been watching their spot as they spin, and as a result they're not getting anywhere. The show has retained its love of visual metaphors, clearly.

One last word about Ty and Tandy. I really love how real and comfortable their friendship is at this point, with the movie nights in the church, and her kind offer to steal him t-shirts and underwear. Even when they fought in this episode, it was clearly a fight between close friends, and not some kind of 'our friendship is over' blowout. This is a big part of why I  hope that they don't make Ty and Tandy a romantic couple. There are just so few positive examples of non-romantic friendship between men and women out there.

And finally, Brigid O'Reilly. It's a little odd that she's back at the police force without serious issues after everything that went down last season, but we only see her at the firing range and not at the department proper, so we'll have to wait and see how her work relationships are currently doing. It was a little surprising that she didn't start out as Mayhem, since that was the way we last saw her as she climbed out of the lake, but New Orleans appears to be heavy into 'we'll seed your powers now, and then get around to activating them at some point in the future,' and in any case, it made the massacre in the final scene a nice payoff to our expectations. We are all assuming that that was Mayhem, right? So, is Mayhem a Jeckyl and Hyde thing, or can she control the transformation, or what? I've been avoiding being spoiled on this on social media, and as I said I haven't watched the second episode yet. Perhaps this question has already been answered.

Bits and Pieces:

-- I really like what they're doing with Ty's teleportation effect, and I get that they were establishing that he's been practicing, but I hope they don't make the mistake of thinking of him as just a teleporter. Teleporting is the least interesting part of his powers.

-- Brigid told Ty that unless Connors resurfaces it will be hard to get him cleared for Fuchs' murder. I wonder if they're setting up Ty trying to rescue Connors from the dark dimension inside him. Is that the way that we're going to see Tandy going into the dark dimension? Am I just fanboy dreaming?

-- I like the detail that they watch movies on VHS. It's an abandoned church, it makes sense that there would be an old VCR somewhere. It's a little odd that the electricity is still on, though.

-- The effect of Tandy's light knives gouging the walls was particularly well done.

-- Are ballet teachers actually that mean, or is that just a movie and TV thing? Anyone know?

-- Andrea Roth consistently brings a little extra something to every scene she's in.

-- Hopefully we'll get to see Evita properly sooner rather than later. And Mina. And Ty's parents. And I still miss Liam.

-- There was a nice detail when Ty is describing watching Evita get hit on and refers to her having 'rebuffed' the guy. He has such a prep school vocabulary. It's clearly deliberately done, because none of the other characters talk that way. Very nice and subtle.

-- Also nicely done is the way the camera work is developing little tricks to show Ty's appearances and disappearances. They're finding a lot of clever and inexpensive ways to move the camera so that his coming or going looks astonishing, but in reality is very simply achieved. I specifically liked the way his weight shifted the car's balance when he appeared in Brigid's back seat.

-- Did Ty want his physics books so that he could do his schoolwork as a coping mechanism for being isolated, or is he researching the physics of what happened to him and how his powers work?

-- Lots of nice detail work in the drug processing houses. The set dressers really put some effort in.

-- Newton's second law of thermodynamics gets a curious amount of love in genre fiction. I'm betting someone on the writing staff has seen 'Logopolis.'

Quotes:

Girl in therapy: "Kinda sucks when your livelihood relies on being nice to people." Tandy: "Yeah. That’s why I got into roller derby."

Ty: "Note to self. Tandy has no idea what studying is." Tandy: "Solitude has made you sassy."

Tandy: "Note to self – You’re still a horrible liar."

Tandy: "Not to rookie-mistake you, but marking up a map of the city is extremely nerdy, and kinda damning as well."

Tandy: "It’s possible I’m not over my dad the way I wish I was over my dad."

Ty: "You know I don’t drink." Tandy: "Ah, that’s OK. I can drink for the both of us."

A great start to the second season, and hopefully an indicator of the quality to come. Now bring on the Mayhem.

Three and a half out of four VHS tapes.

Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, volunteer firefighter, and roughly 78% water.

[morhath]

I put a lot of thought into my Gen/Irene mix and even though this is probably an unnecessary and uninteresting amount of rambling I wanted to get those thoughts written down somewhere.

In the Forest by The Coral: so originally I was going to have the first song be Green Garden by Laura Mvula, but as the playlist progressed, I realized that neither of the two versions I have worked with the sound of the other songs.  Luckily, this song worked even better.  This is meant to be Gen seeing Irene in the garden--so some things don’t add up, yeah, it’s in a forest instead and the woman is sleeping.  But I felt it really captured that feeling of them both being outsiders and him watching her and realizing how lonely she is.  And the line “you’ll never know how much I [love] you” fits that time period in their lives because I think at this point Gen doesn’t think he’s got much of a chance.

A Fine Line by Louise Page: partly I just put this on because I’m obsessed with Louise Page’s album and partly because I needed another song.  I think that, for it to make sense for Irene to fall in love with Gen so quickly, there was a certain amount of... interest? earlier on.  She definitely is a bit obsessed with him, and I think it’s mostly because he is a political threat.  But I do wonder, in hindsight, if some of that was fascination or attraction, even if she didn’t realize.  So this song is meant to be for when they meet during The Thief; Irene hates Gen, but we know that she’s going to end up loving him.  And the “I gotta be gentle when I start to love” fits in later, because she’s hurt him so badly and does in many ways have to be very gentle with him.  I also think that the bit about wanting to shed weight from your heavy heart but feeling like there’s no time in which to do it is a very Irene sentiment, specifically end of QoA.

Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs: this goes back to being more of a Gen song, where he’s got this perspective as an Eddisian that none of the Attolians have, and so he sees Irene differently from them.  This song is very repetitive and the main line is “They don’t love you like I love you”.  I read this as a) many people don’t love Irene at all, and b) many people who do love her love a false idea of who she is.  I do think Gen put her on a bit of a pedestal when he was younger (read: pre-QoA) but because he’s seen another side of her, he views her as more of a person than other people.  He also knows that even though she’s very strong in some ways, she’s fragile in others--I think most people see her as strong all around.

From Eden by Hozier: I do feel a bit bad about implying that Gen is the Devil, esp. since that’s completely the wrong type of mythology.  I thought of this song for the mix pretty late in the game, and it was because of pronunciation--due to my URL, I almost always pronounce “Eddis” with a long “e”.  So it sounds pretty close to “Eden”.  I was thinking that a lot of Hozier songs are kinda Gen/Irene, and those two things combined to make me use this song.  There are deffo some lines that don’t quite work, but the first two verses?  Those describe how Gen sees Irene so well.  This playlist is somewhat chronological, and this song is supposed to be for the beginning and middle of QoA, where Gen is scouting out Attolia and plotting.  “But I might be hoping about this/Oh what a sin” is just very much... him hoping that maybe she won’t completely hate him and his plan.  I’ve realized, writing this, that there’s a significant point in their chronology I don’t have a song for--the beginning of QoA.  There are song that definitely reference it, but I never put a song in for the hand scene.  Interesting.

Can’t Help Falling In Love With You covered by Fleet Foxes: okay so yeah, of course this was gonna be on there.  It’s where my Gen/Irene tag (which is also the title of the mix) comes from.  But it’s not just my Ultimate Gen/Irene Song because of the hand pun!  In many ways, the hand pun is more of a nice bonus.  The “Wise men say/Only fools rush in” is everyone thinking this is a terrible idea and that Gen’s making a mistake.  I’ve used this song for them long before TaT came out, but the line about the river gains a whole new meaning after that.  And the “Take my whole life too” isn’t just referring to “oh haha she cut off his hand”; it’s really more about the part where he gives her the knives back.

Hello My Old Heart by The Oh Hello’s: I feel like a few of the songs on this mix are ones that tend to be overused for ship mixes--Can’t Help Falling In Love, this one, and Flaws.  But they all fit Gen and Irene well!  This is a very, very Irene song, referencing all of the emotional reflection she deals with more towards the end of QoA.  Especially the part where she thinks Gen’s been poisoned.  She’s realized that she loves him, or she could, and she’s worried if she’ll be able to deal with that or show it because she’s been so emotionally closed off for so long.  And then boom!  She thinks he’s dead!  There are lines about being left alone after loving for just a little while that I think fit in very nicely with her emotional state.  Then the end of the song offers the possibility that the singer will open up and love again.

After the Storm by Mumford and Sons: so I think a long time ago I saw a post or something where someone said they thought this was a good Gen/Irene song?  I agree.  The beginning is a bit more Gen than Irene, at the beginning of QoA--on his knees and out of luck.  But the chorus is about Irene to me, learning that after her previous terrible husband, love actually can be a good thing and it can make her happy.  The “flowers in your hair” part also inspired me to put flowers in her hair in the cover art.  There’s also the “I’m scared of what’s behind and what’s before” line.  They’re both scared that their past is going to ruin their relationship, and then it’s also leaning towards the impending volcano.

Flaws (Acoustic Version) by Bastille: this is another song where it doesn’t totally fit.  I think that both Gen and Irene bury their flaws, and neither actually displays them.  But a big part of the sort of smokescreen that Gen puts up to hide what he’s actually like makes it look like he is very open about his flaws, and I think up until maybe the middle of QoA, Irene falls for it.  I love the message in this song just in general, that your flaws are part of who you are and like... if you completely got rid of them you’d be a different person.  I think Gen and Irene do wish that they hadn’t hurt each other so much, but if they hadn’t, would they have even ended up together?  (There’s a fic I wanna write about that, actually.)  And then there’s the “There’s a hole in my soul/Can you fill it?” part, which matches up with Irene wanting love and affection but not being able to ask for it or get it.

NFWMB by Hozier: like I said, Hozier does a lot of Gen/Irene #moods.  Realizing that this song worked for them and that I now had the beginnings of a playlist was what made me put the mix together.  This song is meant to be both of them about each other, during KoA.  Gen and Irene are badasses, okay?  And I think they really admire and respect each other’s badassery.  That’s why I chose quotes in the 8tracks annotations that really reflect times that they’ve both shown significant Big Dick Energy.  There’s honestly not a huge emotional thing I was trying to convey here.  While this song’s tone is somewhat dark, it’s meant to be a relatively happy song in context.  It’s basically just Gen and Irene thinking, “Wow, it’s so hot when my spouse does something really badass and scares the shit out of people.”

[l0chn3ss]

Color Me Red: A MaStar Reverb, 2018

View Art by @happyisahabit​: [Artwork]

Read Story by @l0chn3ss​: [Read Here: FFNET | AO3]

Bonus Recordings by @fynneyseas ♪

Betaworks by @psychadelicrose ♥

Chapter 2: Silver is the color of resolve, of progress [ x ]

He didn't think he'd be meeting that girl again so soon.

It was early morning in Clarines. The sun was barely making its appearance, but Black Star had been awake for hours. He adjusted his weight on the branch, allowing himself to shiver against the early chill.

He regretted not insisting on a room in the castle; his benefactor would have had the means to acquire it. But even if he was given one, he didn’t know whether he would’ve taken it or not.

There was a lingering feeling of awkwardness that he just couldn’t shake when he walked through the corridors, like his era was over. It’d been years since he’d been there or even stepped foot in the country. Instead of continuing his life in Tarbarun-- if he could call it that-- he ran to Clarines, metaphoric tail between his thighs. Some people believed he was dead, and others speculated that he settled down with a new family.

The truth was far from it. He simply didn’t want his line of work anymore, performing high risk tasks and putting his life in danger for a quick coin.

Who knew that his first day in the area and his last job would be to scare a poor young woman and to prevent her from staying in the castle?

Black Star flashed one of his throwing knives, the rays catching on the edge. His reflection in the metal was one of pity. It was clear that he didn’t want to be there in the castle, doing what he called the most pointless and petty job he’d ever been assigned.

In all honesty, for such a simple job, he was getting paid too generously. Who was this person, and why was there such a heavy price on her head?

His curiosity piqued; he was never good at keeping his nose out of other people’s business.

While tailing her for the last few days, he found that his target, Maka, was nothing more than a regular person. With wide eyes and lithe body, she struggled to carry heavy materials and talked to herself when she was alone. She attracted unwanted attention by just being in the room, and how could she not-- her hair was red, like the traitorous knight who abandoned his kingdom so long ago. Never loved and in a place filled with her parent’s enemies, it was downright cruel to hunt her like livestock.

The severity of the action didn’t meet the cause.

Just yesterday, he was sure that she had seen him. He stood at the front of the gate to the castle and told the guards that he had a royal decree from the Young Prince himself. Reading the document that he forged, seeing the confusion on the guards’ faces, he knew that she’d already befriended them well enough to allow her in anyway.

He left them with one more warning to follow their job, but knew that soon, they would check with their lead to verify its authenticity. Already feeling like he’d failed, he turned to exit, only to see a flash of red behind the columns closest to the entrance. He flashed a smile, and he vanished for the night.

Once the sun was fully detached from the horizon, Black Star jumped from the tree top and made his way to the young woman’s dormitory. She got up just barely before the sun did to prepare food for the day, he remembered. She should’ve just barely been leaving her room then.

He found her half-way between the library and the eastern wing, clutching a clipboard and a few papers already in her arms.

Drawing a borrowed bow, he tied a note to the shaft of an arrow, aimed, and fired. It hit its mark, planting itself into the wall beside Maka’s head. She fell over in shock and dropped all of her belongings in a clatter.

Black Star hid himself behind a bush quickly, spying as she shakily checked the paper attached. He knew the contents read, “Red-haired woman, do not take another step forward. Leave,” and he hoped that she would be scared enough with just that threat.

However, he watched from behind as she picked herself up, brushing off her skirt with the paper in hand. She crumpled it up and threw it aside, leaving it with the arrow on the side of the wall as she continued down the corridor, undeterred.

It happened as quickly as he fired it; Black Star was left wondering if he did it at all. Shocked, he went to report to his benefactor.

The woman was brave, if not stupid.

She intrigued him.

In the later parts of the afternoon, there was a confrontation by the young prince who found the message. Strangely enough, he knew exactly who it was and caught Black Star in the middle of the meeting with the nobleman. A few quick words were all that he needed to get his point across.

Maka was someone who he trusted, who he found to be more than worthy to stay despite her family’s history.

He nodded to Black Star and told him that there was no need for his services anymore. Once the noble man left the two alone, Black Star was able to greet the young prince familiarly.

They cheekily struck a deal, and off Black Star went to find Maka again.

She still hadn’t noticed his arrival so he made a little effort to make some noise. With some exaggerated rustling, she finally looked behind her, jumping at the sight of him.

“Woah,” he put his hands up. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

Maka didn’t answer him, but her accusing eyes followed him as he inched closer.

“Just kidding,” he chuckled, bending low. “That was a bad introduction, huh. I’m the young prince’s attendant now, but don’t ask how it happened. It just did.”

“You… were the same person…”

Black Star hummed. “Oh?”

“The one who caught me before... as I was moving in.”

He blinked. “You know, I was also the person who shot that arrow at you. And who you saw at the gates. And who was paid by a noble to get rid of you.”

“I see.”

“But I won’t do that again. It was only a job.”

“A job,” she repeated slowly, deliberately. “What kind?”

“It doesn’t really concern you.”

Maka gave a look. “It was about me. I think that makes it my business.”

“Well, I’m at your service now!” he bowed. “Your protector from all who try to harm you.”

“I don’t need one.”

“Is it because you’re afraid of me?”

“No,” she said plainly. “You’ve saved me before, so why would I be? Don’t be weird.” Turning away from him, she said her farewells to him, as if her business was finished.

“Hold on, don’t you want to know who wanted you gone?” Black Star called out to her.

That at least caught her attention. He smirked as she stomped up to him and demanded a name. Instead of giving it to her immediately, he dangled it in front of her and used it as a bargaining chip-- the name for her acceptance. He was to be her new bodyguard; no buts.

“I told you, I don’t need one!”

“Do you want his name or not?”

She simmered for a bit before giving into him. “Fine.”

“Black Star.”

“I don’t know him--”

“That’s not who it was, that’s me,” he snickered, laughing more loudly as he endured her temper.

She was far more brave than any woman he’d ever met.

Once he gave her what she wanted, her eyes hardened and she dropped her errands. For the first time that day, she beckoned him to follow her and took a sharp left to confront her enemies.

Black Star tailed her in amusement.

<-- Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 -->

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

NOTES: As Forkannukkah draws to a close, I give you incoming floof and a very tiny bit of almost-smut. Also for some reason, I was listening to a lot of Rilo Kiley while writing this part, as I normally seem to be; just fit.

And this is not the end! Well… it is, but there's also going to be a bonus smut chapter. But it's entirely optional, and I promise you will miss NONE of the plot if you don't read it; almost more like a PWP oneshot sequel. Anyway, thanks to everybody who liked this fic and read it, I appreciate all of you and hope you enjoyed yourself!

Jessex

We crashed hard that night. I mean, morning. By the time we woke up, it was night again; we slept the whole day away. My phone told me that it was after midnight, even. Guess we needed to recover, even though I had been literally still as a statue for most of the ordeal. Mental exhaustion is real.

I woke up first, finding her sweet body next to mine, and I wanted to ravage her with kisses. Which was a lot more forward than I was used to being. The part of me that still wanted to believe that the whole ordeal was a dream quickly gave up; it had never been this easy to be sweet to Knives. Even after we started dating. Again, it wasn't that different from before… just that I could let myself do the things I thought of, instead of angstily talking myself out of lovey-dovey shit.

But I didn't ravage her. Instead, I only kissed her cheek as gently as I could, watching her lips twitch into a sleepy smile before she rolled over and snuggled down into the pillow. Biting my lip to keep from laughing about how cute she was, I bounced out and into the bathroom.

Really bounced. Yes, me. Yes, Kim Pine bounced.

From there, into the kitchen. Made pancakes. I made coffee and pancakes for my girlfriend, and dumb as it was the whole situation made me blush. By myself! In the kitchen! What a complete difference allowing yourself to actually accept and enjoy things makes.

Even threw in some chocolate chips. Revolutionary.

It wasn't easy getting two plates, two cups, and a jug of maple syrup into the bedroom in one trip. But I got it. Set my own and the syrup on the nightstand on my side of the bed, then slid in next to her. She stirred again, and this time the smell must have gotten to her because she rolled over slightly, blinking up at me.

"Hnnh? Morning…"

"Hey," I breathed, heart pounding in my throat and eyes misting over at how cute she looked there. "You gonna sleep all night?"

"Whuh? All night?" She sat up a little quick, then her eyes crossed slightly. "Ooh… that was… a bad idea."

"Here, this might help," I chuckled as I handed her the coffee. She wrapped her hands around it and sipped.

"Mmm… Nesquik. You remembered."

For a few seconds, I just watched her, feeling like I'd never known a person I cared about enough to literally watch them drink coffee. Then I plopped the plate into her lap. "Breakfast."

"O-ooh," she shivered, squirming a little. "Warm plate."

"Yep. You okay?"

"Well…" Now it was her turn to blush, seemingly over nothing. Which was what I thought until she whispered, "You set it on top of my morning wood."

My eyes went a lot rounder before I hissed, "Shit, sorry! I didn't even notice, I'm- you need me to-"

"I got it," she laughed at my panic, nudging the plate slightly to a more comfortable position on top of one of her thighs.

"Okay." Then I turned to sit next to her, grabbing for my own plate and the syrup, offering that to her first. She took the bottle with an overly polite little dip of her head, and I grinned. Once her pancakes were covered, she held it over mine and began to drizzle, very, verrrry slowly.

"Say 'when'!"

Still giddy and smiling so hard my cheeks hurt, I went, "Okay… okay, wait… when." Then she tipped it back up, and I took the bottle and set it aside before digging in.

About a third of the way through, she swallowed and said, "Thanks for this. I don't care, pancakes are a food for every time of day."

"Even morning wood time?" I whispered. Her hand came up to cover her face for a second, but we were both laughing. "I dunno… just woke up and felt you there, and was thinking about how much you did for me…"

"You don't have to. Like, it's not that I expect you to 'pay me back'; I did what we needed to happen. You'd do the same thing if I ever got stuck in my own head or whatever, right?"

It was tempting to jokingly say "Nah, I'd leave you to rot." And I knew Knives would have laughed. But in that moment, I didn't want to use my usual biting humour. It was becoming easier to make other choices now. So instead what I said was, "In a hot second. You're everything in the world to me."

Her fork fell to the plate as she stared at me, mouth slightly open. I had to look away, because that gaze was so intense. Then she pulled me a little closer and pressed our two sets of syrup-coated lips into each other. It was delicious and sweet in more ways than one.

"Fuck," I breathed when she let me go.

"I love you," she said easily, cheeks bunched. "Cutie."

"I am n-not cute," I protested weakly as I blushed almost as red as my hair. Not making much of a case for myself, I know.

"All lies. Princess Pine is the cutest princess."

Sighing, I finally reached for my own mug. "We're not calling me that."

"What about the dress? You promised."

"I didn't 'promise', I just didn't shoot it down. But… okay, maybe later."

"Yay!" she giggled, and I rolled my eyes as I sipped. "But if 'Princess Pine' really bothers you, I can stop."

Unlike before, I actually considered instead of demanding she never speak those words again. Finally, I set my mug down and muttered, "Just not in front of other people. Please? I have a reputation as a badass drummer chick to maintain."

"Deal. And I mean it, if I slip up you can punish me."

"Punish you how? A spanking?" That seemed to shock her more than I intended, so I cleared my throat. "Or maybe I withhold Nintendo privileges?" There; totally saved it.

"Y-yeah, that seems more appropriate," she giggled, cheeks rosy now. For a few seconds, we sawed our way through hotcakes and drank coffee. Then she swallowed and asked, "Unless y-you have a thing."

"What?"

"A spanking thing."

Again, I said, "What?" But the tone was a little more scandalised now. "No, I- what the fuck? I don't want to hit you, that's not the kind of thing I want any part of."

"Not 'hit', just like… kinky paddling? Nevermind." Now she seemed embarrassed, and I couldn't stand for that.

"Hey, maybe we could try it if you want. But no, I don't really have a specific thing that I know about. I mean, aside from liking you in general, which it already feels 'kinky' enough just dating a girl for the first time."

The little smile appeared. The one that always popped up when I called her a girl. Sometimes I missed it, and a lot of that was because the smile was usually so tiny it was almost insignificant. But I got it. Even though I didn't smile about it, I always liked when people called me Kim. Not that I have tons of love for my name, but being called "the drummer chick" or "the redhead" annoys me. So it's a very slight relief if someone doesn't do that. Probably the same for her when people got her gender right instead of calling her a dude, or whatever name she had before "Knives."

Which I asked her. I knew it was probably rude, but this was different from some random friend or stranger asking. I just decided not to hit her in the face with it. "So where did the name 'Knives' come from? Like… it's pretty unusual, so I'm surprised I didn't already ask before."

"Oh, it's really dumb," she laughed as we ate. But when I didn't say anything else, she shrugged. "Okay. Um… so my name was Qiang Chau, or Chau Qiang really. But like, I both wanted a Western name and a girl's name, so when I came out my mom let me change it on my birth certificate. And, um… I was still in junior high and trying to be edgy." By that point, she was blushing hardcore.

"Nothing edgier than 'Knives'. But I kind of figured you would go for something a little… girlier? Like, to make it more obvious to people that you are who you are now, and not still who they thought you were."

For a few seconds, I just kept eating and sipping at my coffee. When I realised the room was still silent, I looked over to see her eyes all watery. At first I thought I fucked up somehow, but then she leaned up to kiss my cheek, holding there for a long moment.

"What?"

"You're so sweet, Kim. Like… I dunno, just really hit me then. You're not messing up and saying stuff like I 'chose' being a girl or whatever. And I wouldn't mind much if you did, but like, it's so great to hear you getting it now. Makes me feel loved and stuff."

Now understanding, I set down my coffee and reached over to cup her face. "Yeah. Feel like I'm finally past the 'let's figure this out' stage. Not that much to figure out, except how I'm supposed to be a good girlfriend."

"Breakfast in bed is doing good, for sure." Then she looked back down as she started cutting up her last few bites. "And yeah, Knives is really my first name. But um… my middle name is embarrassing and dumb."

"Then don't tell me," I said easily. "I don't want you to feel embarrassed."

"Whatever. Um… it's Mulan."

Putting down my coffee again, I turned to raise an eyebrow at her. "Mulan? Like the Disney movie?"

"Yeah," she groaned, definitely wanting to crawl under my bed and hide. "Like, it was my fave growing up because she was Chinese, she was really strong and badass even though she was a girl, and… I dunno, she did the whole cross-dressing thing, so somehow that kinda fit to me, y'know? But I didn't want it to be my first name or I'd just get a lot of teasing. Like Japanese girls who get called 'Hello Kitty' or whatever. At least with Knives, other kids in high school tried to laugh at it but then I could pull out a knife and they'd be like 'oh'."

"Knives Mulan Chau. I dunno, I like it." I finished off my pancakes and set the plate aside, then turned to snuggle into her side as she finished. "My name's so boring. Kimberly Annabel Pine. Mom usually just called me 'Kimberly Ann' when I was being good, and only the full middle name when I was an unholy terror."

"That's sweet. Even the yelling part, unless she would yell about nothing. My mom does that sometimes." To my surprise, she offered me one of the last bites, holding it up to my lips. Feeling a little self-conscious, I opened and let her feed me, and we both grinned. It was such a randomly cutesy moment that I almost couldn't handle it.

"Y-yeah," I finally said once I swallowed. "She's a good mom. You'll have to meet her if I head back north again."

"That'd be awesome! And you can meet my parents, too; just make sure you wear hockey pads." I laughed, and she grinned before taking a sip of her coffee. "Nah, they're actually pretty cool, just nosy and set in their ways. But like I said, they both accepted me, which is way better than it could be. Families can be kind of mean about transitioning without even like, doing it on purpose."

Didn't have much to say to that. She would know better than me. I watched as she finished the food and the coffee, then set the dishes aside and slid down to snuggle a little closer to me. We kissed, and she wrapped her arms tightly around me as if she never wanted to let go.

"Thank you."

"What? For what, breakfast? No big."

"For existing," she whispered, and I felt my heart skip over a beat. "Being everything I wanted. A rock star who can treat me sweet. Like… everything."

"I'm not a rock star," I grumbled, but she just kissed me again. We tangled limbs and enjoyed each other's mouths for a few minutes. I forgot the thread of the conversation, forgot everything except how much I loved this, loved being with her.

Even when I felt something poking me again, I ignored it. But she didn't; not this time. Her lips pulled off mine and she whispered, "Guess you can tell how much I… like rolling around with you."

"And you can't, so I'll tell you: a lot." She grinned against my mouth, and we kissed. "But I'm having fun just like this."

"Me, too. Hey…" Her hand rubbed up and down my side. "Um… I think I'm gonna get a shower. Sleeping for that long makes me feel gross. After that… you wanna spend the rest of the morning before work just hanging out?"

My lips quirked upward. "You gonna jerk off in the shower?"

"No, I promise," she giggled, waggling her hips back and forth. A little gasp of desire fell from my lips. "You gonna do it while I'm in there?"

"Maybe." She pouted, so I changed it to, "No. I can resist."

Nodding, she kissed me again and began to get out of bed. Turned away so I couldn't see the tenting in her cute little floral-patterned panties. Hesitated. I was reaching up to put my hand on the small of her back, just to ask her something like if she was okay or needed something, or forgot something. It just barely brushed there before she turned around, and I found myself touching her again.

"Oh, shit," I breathed, staring at my hand. At the firm form resting there. After a couple of seconds, I drew my hand away and looked up at her. "Sorry, Knives, I wasn't-"

"I know," she said in a nervous voice. She knelt on the edge of the mattress, and I had to fight to keep from glancing back down again. Holding her eyes. "Do you like it? For real."

"What?"

"My dick. I mean…" She hesitated for a second. "My plan was always to have bottom surgery after college. Y'know, because of recovery time. Some people have more trouble with it than others, and I don't wanna flunk out of classes. But like… if you like me how I am, and I do get surgery… that affects you, right?"

That was a pretty big question. And I didn't want to answer right away, afraid of fucking up my words or hurting her feelings on accident, but she needed an answer. So I let Princess Pine take over. I kissed her hip, far away from the actual bulge but close enough to show I wasn't remotely afraid.

"I want you… to be happy. Yeah, you're hot like this, but you would be hot like that, too. So just… do what you feel is right for Knives. I'm not going anywhere."

Tears were in her eyes. She couldn't seem to respond, and was still holding herself still and watching me, so I kissed a little closer to the middle. A fraction of an inch at a time; giving her plenty of time to pull the ripcord. When she never said anything, only smiled blearily down at me while I kissed, I pressed my lips against her semi-firmness.

"O-ohh…" I didn't do it again, so a moment later she opened her eyes to look at me again, licking her lips. "Kim… how can you be real? You just… you didn't even flinch."

"Not everybody is Young Neil, Knives."

"That wasn't exactly what I was thinking about… and it wasn't just him. But yeah, you're amazing. I can't believe…" When I knelt up, putting our faces level, she smiled a little wider. "Hi."

My lips ghosted over hers before I whispered, "Love you," then kissed her harder for a moment. Satisfied that she believed it now, I pulled back and swatted her butt. "Now go shower, you stinky ninja."

"AH! Kim!"

"Testing out that spanking thing a little." Giggling, Knives backed off the bed, holding her backside as she skipped away. I saw her little CN Tower was still partially erect, but for once she wasn't trying to hide it away, wasn't turning or crossing her legs. Just grinning at me while she floated out of the room to bathe and I moved to take care of our dishes.

Nope, I really didn't have any problem at all. And I don't just mean with that one issue; I mean at all. There are days when you look around and just realise how precious life is, and this was one of those. And I expected to have plenty more where that came from, thanks to the cute stalker who changed my life from the inside out. Healed my heart. Made me happy when I never thought I would be happy again.

Happily fucking ever after. In both senses.

                                           The End (kinda? But not quite!)