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professional-idiocy · 3 years

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On Thin Ice - pt. 4

You see when I took the break. I got a lot of energy to work on this again so here we have it much earlier than normal. WOW productivity plus I stopped listening during English classes and in Finland, it's just learning words that I already know. Also, I'm trying the new post editor so I don't know how this will go.

Pt. 1 - Masterlist - Next

CW: Mentions of torture, Colby's thoughts, Ellie's cat threatening Rosa. Please tell me if I have to add more ^^

Taglist: @whoopsalittlewhumpy, @cupcakes-and-pain, @uncooly-supreme-whump, @thegreathowdini

Kevin sighed in relief when the doorbell finally rang. Ellie was here to help him. He was so lost with everything and finally, he’d have someone who knew what they were doing. He gently woke up Colby who’d curled up at the opposite end of the couch clinging to a blanket he’d given to him.

He smiled at the memory of how amazed and grateful Colby had looked when he’d been given the blanket. He’d treated it like a prized treasure that shouldn’t even be given to him. It broke his heart, but it also made him want to protect Colby more.

The doorbell rang again, and Kevin rushed to the door, glad to see it really was Ellie. He did have someone he didn’t recognize with him, but it didn’t matter. He smiled letting them both in.

“Thanks for coming. I’ve been completely lost this whole time” Kevin said as Ellie smiled warmly not judging him at all as the man behind her scoffed, but it was quickly quieted by Ellie nudging him with her elbow.

“You still did well, since he seems to be doing decently” Ellie said gesturing towards Colby who was watching them warily.

“I hope you don’t mind that Blake came too” Ellie asked pointing to the man behind him who just nodded at Kevin. He awkwardly nodded back, something made him uneasy around Blake.

“Do you mind if I go catch up with the kid while you talk?” Blake asked his face twisting with worry. “He looks more uncertain than normal”

“Wait you know him?” Kevin asked tensely when as Blake chuckled his appearance subtly changing into all too familiar villain that had disappeared years ago. He watched silently as Mimic just looked back at him clearly enjoying the surprise.

“Well, yes. I’m a retired villain after all” He said smugly as Ellie smiled fondly, before ruffling Blake’s hair as the retired villain turned all red and looked away. Kevin just watched in a mix of surprise and fear. It did explain why she was so willing to help Colby.

“You’re always such a dramatic cat but I’m sure Colby could use a familiar face” Ellie said, before turning to Kevin who just looked at him in slight confusion.

“I know Blake is a bit surprising, but I’ll teach you how to properly take care of injuries since copying from TV shows is honestly a terrible idea. They’re wildly inaccurate. Like seriously who forgets chest compressions! That’s like the most important part!”

“Yeah, sorry… Let’s go into the kitchen to talk” Kevin said awkwardly as Ellie just smiled.

“Don’t worry not everyone is a doctor but NEVER attempt to do anything without proper knowhow especially with medicine. Text me or google it before doing anything”

Kevin just nodded continuing on. He hadn’t expected that

Colby watched in surprise as the man who’d come along with Miss Doctor had been Mimic. He’d disappeared years back and never reappeared. He’d worked together with him a few times and he was always surprisingly nice for a hired killer. It was relieving to see Mimic doing well. At least he hadn’t been caught.

“Hey, kid” Mimic said sitting next to him, Colby beamed at the old nickname.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that” Mimic mumbled awkwardly scratching the back of his head as Colby watched smiling softly. It was reassuring to have someone you knew around. Mimic had taught him a lot back then, but he’d never been the best at showing how he felt. They sat there in silence for a long time before Mimic continued.

“I know you’ll have a hard time, but I promise you don’t have to worry about Ellie. She’s really nice and doesn’t judge. It’s the reason I married her actually” Mimic said softly being all awkward as Colby chuckled at it.

“It’s fine. I know I deserved it”

Mimic smiled sadly at that. “Yeah, we’ve done fucked up things but you’re a kid. You shouldn’t think like that”

“You do know I’m 23, right? You’re ancient if you think that”

“Hey, I’m only 30, that makes me young enough” Mimic said pouting as Ellie laughed at Colby’s comment walking from the kitchen. Mimic ruffled his hair before getting up and finding a wall to lean against as Ellie sat next to him.

Colby watched as Mimic zeroed in on Kevin and threw a hand around his shoulder, taking him into the kitchen. Ellie shook his head smiling fondly before turning to him.

“Nice to meet you, Colby. I’m Ellie Walker” She said with a smile as Colby watched meekly before nodding. Ellie seemed nice enough. Mimic trusted her so she should be nice.

“I know you’re a bit nervous so how about we make a deal” Colby tilted his head curiously. No one had really made deals with him before, so it felt strange.

“Blake told me you liked chocolate so I brought some with me” She said taking out so much chocolate that he couldn’t even believe it. “You can have it all if you promise to be honest with me. If something hurts or feels slightly off you tell me, alright?” Colby nodded enthusiastically.

“Of course, it was her! Kevin Mills and Rosa Mills. No wonder you got Colby out without getting killed. Your psychopathic sister did this to him. Fuck that bitch for torturing a child! Even I’ve never hurt a kid” Blake said storming out the kitchen as Colby tensed in fear.

“I’m going to stab her”

“No stabbing” Ellie said making him freeze, before turning to her.

“what about a non-lethal poke?”

“That’s the same thing but look at what you’ve done. Colby is terrified right now” Blake turned to look at her before flinching as soon as he saw Colby looking at him in fear.

“Sorry, I think I’m just gonna sit in the car for a while. To uh- calm down” Blake explained awkwardly as Ellie smiled softly before shaking her head.

“I know you’re worried about Colby but that’s not the greatest way to show it” Blake nodded as Ellie seemed so understanding and kind. Colby’s eyes widened. Alaric would’ve been mad, very mad but she just calmly explained it!

“How about you help Kevin understand Colby better? You’ve known him the longest” Blake nodded quietly turning to Kevin as he just shrugged walking into the kitchen.

Ellie smiled at Colby sitting back down. “Sorry about his outburst. He cares about you but as you probably know he’s bad at showing how he feels”

“I know.” Colby said softly “You’re really nice, you know that right?” He piped up as Ellie smiled warmly. This would help him get back to Alaric.

“You’re really nice too. So where does it hurt?” Ellie smiled warmly and Colby just could feel himself melting. She just- she just was so nice. He just watched as she waited and waited. Shit, he needed to tell her!

“Everywhere but mostly my right ankle. I can’t walk because it refuses to work with me” He said in a hurry hoping Ellie wasn’t mad. He’d wasted time and- he shuddered at the memory of how it led to- Don’t think it, don’t think it. Just focus on the current event.

“I see, can I take a look?” Colby nodded without hesitation closing his eyes hoping it would just be over. Ellie kept poking and prodding as he answered questions and she did doctor things. He didn’t know anything about medicine, and it didn’t bother him. Mimic trusted her so he could trust her too.

She moved to inspecting the injuries and taking care of them. He kept answering the questions she asked but they didn’t make much sense to him. He just answered truthfully since it probably would help him get to Alaric faster.

“There you go” She said finishing the last bandage Colby watched her curiously “And here as we agreed the chocolate is all yours” Ellie said as she pushed the chocolate to him. He smiled gathering it all up and hiding it underneath his blanket.

“Hey, how are you doing?” Kevin asked as he walked in with Blake in tow who immediately found a wall to lean against as Ellie turned to them with a smile.

“We’re all done here Colby seems fine, but you need to clean the wounds regularly, so they don’t get infected and watch out for the sprained ankle” She stated packing up her stuff before pausing and turning to Colby.

“Mostly I’m concerned how the welts on your soles didn’t bother you. It would explain why you couldn’t walk when combined with the ankle” Ellie said as Colby’s eyes widened as he flinched. Kevin bit his lip in worry. He should’ve noticed!

“Sorry. I didn’t think it was that serious. It was just that one time I tried to escape and I- I learned my lesson” He muttered softly as he fiddled with the hem of the shirt Kevin had lent to him.

“Please don’t take the chocolate. I really want to keep it” Colby said softly, sounding panicked, but Ellie just ruffled his hair with a smile.

“It’s fine you’ve earned it” She looked at the clock before smiling, quickly packing a bunch of stuff, handing Blake the stuff she’d packed.

“We sadly need to get going” She said getting up before wandering around for anything she might’ve forgotten before turning to Kevin.

“Kevin, memorize the stuff I wrote down for you. It’ll be better than constantly looking at the stuff” She said leaving as Blake smiled fondly at her antics, before following behind her.

Colby and Kevin just stayed there in silence before Kevin sat down next to him. Colby just carefully took two of the chocolate bars resting his head on Kevin’s shoulder nuzzling close. He handed Kevin one of the bars before beginning to eat his own.

He closed his eyes pulling the blanket up before melting in pure bliss. He liked these silent moments of comfort. Best of all Kevin had accepted the chocolate meaning he’d done well and didn’t have to worry about Kevin getting mad for a while.

#whump #original writing #original whump #my writing #on thin ice #civilian caretaker #villain whumpee #villain whump #whump writing #you're stuck in here with me pal #torture mention tw #Colby x chocolate is the one true ship :3 #I've already written pt 6 so now I just need to write pt 5 #i love how my writing isn't chronological at all #now quickly before I start to regret this decision

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zuffer-weird-girl · 5 years

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How u think kai will react if he raised his hand during argument&his s/o flinched thinking thst he will hit her? He didn't know but s/o was abused by her*hero*parents for being quircklss&went through inhuman experiments to activate it.They abandoned her in orphan announcing their*precious daughter*died while the truth thy didnt want her 2 bring shame 2 them.Kai discovered that latter bc those info are top hero secrets&she didnt tell him thinking kai will hate her if he found shes hero's daughter

HAHAHA, HOW WOULD KAI REACT?! KAI CHISAKI?! OVERHAUL. REACT TO THIS?!

My god; he would be enraged, completely surrounded by hatred and desire of execution of these two worms considered to be your biological parents.

Discussions between you two were normal; you are a couple, it happens; but even knowing that Kai would never lay a finger to hurt you, you couldn't help but squirm in terror and guard youself with your arms at the moment he raised his hands to only emphasize his point in the argument.

He immediately stopped talking as soon as he saw your scared look; sadly, he knew that expression way too well; and ended the argument right then and there.

Hearing your back story was enough for making his blood boil in a way it never had before but he maintained his composure for your sake.

Now, really, you only increased like, 100x more his hatred for heroes... Congrats.

"They're all sick. This hero syndrome has to be cured, look at what happens when we let those verms in the street... Absolutely disgusting."

Chisaki would become a little more affectionate after this just for ease your nerves. But when he is certain that you're at peace again...

That's when the real show begins...

The hero entered his home completely exausted due to his busy day at the agency as he took off his boots and called for his wife. When he heard no response he went in allert; knowing that she had taken a day off, she must had stayed in home.

He called once again checking every room in his big mansion. When he entered the living room he went rigid when he saw, not his wife, but a man in a green jacket holding one of his extremely expensive cups looking at the window.

Frightening and cold golden eyes; that seemed to pierce his soul; found them qs he finally spoke

"You're late." He spited the words before the hero felt something strongly hit the back of his neck, causing him to pass out immediately.

The man awakened feeling extremely sore as he heard his wife pleading for him to wake up. When he finally got back to reality, he noticed that both of them were chained tightly with their backs against each other.

"W-we were kidnapped dear...!" She whispered in fear "Use your quirk to get us out before the raptors come back, hurry!" She pleaded.

"Alright don't worry, we will be out of here in no time."

Suddenly, a bullet came out of no wear and hitted him straight on his chest, causing the woman to scream if her husband was okay.

"I wouldn't move around too much if I were in your shoes..." spoke a man covered in a plague mask and white hoodie aproaching the trembling couple, never once lowering down his gun.

The man winced in pain before trying to use his quirk to attack the shooter.

Sickes bitch

"W-what?" The man spoke in shook "W-what happened with my quirk?! What ylu did to me your fucker?!"

"Language." Spoke coldly the man before merciless shooting the woman's leg.

The female hero cried in pain letting out a few curses at the stranger.

"For two heroes, both of you are completely useless and disposable, aren't you?" A hushed voice spoke in the shadows of the cold building.

"What do you want from us, damn villain?" Struggled the man in the chains.

The young yakusa boss lifted himself from his place on the dark and slowly walked toward the frightened couple; looking at them with murderous, wide, psychotic eyes; following right after them two mans with also plague masks covering their faces.

Actually now that they notice, there was eight in total... all of them around.

"W-wait a second-!" Said the woman in realization "You're that young leader of Shie Hassaikai! That young yakusa group, his name is Overhaul!" Chisaki didn't seem to even listened the woman, opting to look down in nothing but disgust at the quivering man in front of him.

"Despicable, you and your wife are just disgusting... Not only carry in your veins the hero syndrome but also did something that I can't just let slide..."

"We didn't even once got into the yakusa young man, I swear on all of my career-!"

"Your words are simply equal to trash to me so don't even need to spend your breath." Interrupted the villain, extending his open hand at his side.

A black thing that was on the shoulder of a much taller man gave it to him what seemed like an really old newspaper. When the young leader grabbed, he immediately oppen it on one od the pages, reading out loud.

"'Today, unfortunately, we announce the loss of our beloved, quirkless yet respected only child (Y/N) ... While we were just enjoying the few but precious family moments together, a despicable villain attacked us and took her life during the combat. We, with pure grudge and thirsting for justice, have put the evil factor in behind the bars, but still it does not fill the void that our beloved deceased daughter left us ... rest and peace my sweet (Y/N), we will always have you in our hearts.'" Chisaki read all of what was written in pure rage.

"You two are quite the actors, to have to say that on a jornal." The man wearing a white hoodie spoke coldly.

"Actors?" Laughed nervously the woman "Our daughter died during a villain's fight long ago... She was quirkless, couldn't even protect herse-"

"I don't even need to use my quirk to identify your lies woman." Spoke the man on Overhaul's side "Those are beautiful words but clearly false."

"You really think we are that dUMB YOU PUNks?!" Screamed Mimic in offense.

"What will be your orders boss?" A blond with green shirt spoke in pure sadistic exciment.

Overhaul raised his hand, demanding silence with his gesture, as he messed in his jacket pocket before pulling out a small picture.

He abruptly shoved both of the old newspaper; which had the photo of the supposed deceased child; and a picture that he had took it of you.

"Don't you verms think that these two are a A BIT too similiar?!" He couldn't contain his wrath and shouted at both at them making both heroes flinch in fear.

"Abandoned by you both in a shelter just because they couldn't reach your expectations of being what you two are..." Spoke coldly Chrono aiming his gun close to the womans forehead.

Overhaul gave the paper back to Mimic and right after, saving the photo back in his pocket.

"Usually I don't like dirting my hands, but you two are a real special case..." he started to lower his gloves down.

"Wait a second, please!" Pleaded the man almost tearing up "H-How about a deal? Me and my wife can give you all of our money we earned as heroes! Think about about it!" The woman gave her husband a glare due to his offer.

Greddy woman... despicable. They didn't remind him any of you... thankfully.

"How much you're willing to gave us?" Spoke in interest Mimic.

"Anything really! Just let us go and don't mention about... her to anyone." Chisaki wanted to rip this man's head out of his body at the way your "father" mentioned you.

"Give them all of your credits cards and you passwords. Now." Demanded the quivering man at his wife who hesitantly showed where it was in her purse.

Chrono took all of them, right after giving Kai a silently sign that it was real and he got them right.

"Everyone, except Chrono and Mimic, get out of here and wait outside." Commanded Overhaul which everyman respind with an "yes sir."

Right after Nemoto closed the door, Mimic unchained the couple, but just as them got up to their feet, Kurono headlocked the woman as Chisaki punched the man with all his force, making him hit the floor.

"HON-" Chrono pressed the gun in the women's temple.

"Shut your mouth if you don't want your brain to explode it with this damn bullet."

Overhaul marched his way and grabbed the man's collar shirt staring at him what only could be described as a death glare.

"B-but our deal-!"

"Yo punk, we accepted the money but we didn't say anything about letting you go." Said Mimic checking all of the credit cards while holding a phone.

"You didn't really think I would let go that easy did you?" Groaned Chisaki "After everthing you and your project of a wife did to my angel..."

"Y-your what-" the man couldn't even complete his question when Chisaki merciless touched his forehead and overhauled him on the spot.

The woman screamed in terror. Trying to get out of her captor's hold.

"Don't worry I didn't forget about you... disgusting." Overhaul muttered as he rubbed his hand.

"MONSTER! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" the woman shouted not even caring about the gun glued to the side of her head anymore.

"You really are just as dumb as your husband here. I will bring him back, his punishment isn't over..." he looked at her with threatening eyes "Monster huh? Look at both of you, damn hypocrites... Listen closely." He approached the woman who trembles in fear and hate at the villain.

"For every moment of pain; physically and emotionally; for every single tear that escaped from my angel's eyes due to your actions... I will kill; torture even; you both and bring you back over and over again until I am deeply satisfied..." the woman started to sobbing in fear as she pleaded for forgiveness and beged for let them go.

"Isn't it glorius? Feeling completely vulnerable, useless and totally submissive at the power at someone else's hands? I am not the person who you should be begging for forgiveness, but I guess you let that chance slip years ago, didn't you? What a great mother..." he spoke in pure sadistic sarcasm.

In a quick move Chisaki comanded that Chrono let go of the woman, making her hit the cold ground. And just before her eyes could've had catch it, he touched her face with all of his hand and overhauled her.

"Despicable creatures..." mumbled Chisaki as he saw the mess on the ground. He made his way to your once father when Chrono called his attention holding his cellphone for Kai to see.

"It's (Y/N), she's asking how are you doing and if we will take too long to come back. What should I respond?"

"Hey Overhaul? Isn't tommorow or after the day when you meet her or something?"Asked Mimic pointed one of the many credit cards at his boss. Subconsciously giving the young villain an idea.

"Tell her is going to take a little more than we expected, my job here isn't totally complete... But tell that I have a surprise for her so just be patient." Chrono nodded as Mimic snickered.

"Getting lucky with your partner Overhaul?"

"Shut your mouth Mimic."

#overhaul x reader #overhaul scenario #fanfic overhaul #chisaki kai imagine scenario #chisaki kai x reader #bnha x reader #bnha character x reader #bnha villains x reader #bnha #bnha imagine scenario #bnha characters #bnha villains #overhaul #chisaki kai #I LOVED WRITING THIS #my writing #zuffer writings

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exodusmc · 4 years

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Insider 03

Genre: Power au, war au, rebel au

Words: 1388

Paring: Light manipulator Baekhyun x Reader

Side character/s: Exo, mentions of bts(not bad guys)

Warning!: Talk about nightmares, panic, talk about needles,

a/n: I’m really not good at updating but hope everyone had had a good day :)

Gif is not mine

Previous Next

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol had a goofy smile on his lips, the red eye putting Baekhyun of.”How have you been?”

Sleepless...He hadn't been able to sleep because Yixing didn't return and nothing was familiar anymore. Sleepless because if he closed his eyes would nightmares cloud his mind. Sleepless because he just couldn't sleep.

“Good..”the taller one smiled wider, putting an arm around the other’s shoulders. Baekhyun had never been in a place where people were like him, where people didn't care that he had powers because they were like him...He had suddenly become an insider..

“Did you hear that the reaper are going to leave?..finally did Jun bun do something about her..”Chanyeol looked annoyed in some sense but Baekhyun didn't have a clue of who he was talking about, the clear confusion in his eyes ticking of the blue haired one.”You don't know who I’m talking about?”

Baekhyun shook his head, a worrisome feeling sitting tightly in his stomach. Reaper was something he knew about, an older folklore about a man with a scythe, coming to collect the dying souls.

“Yeah I guess you couldn't have heard that name if you were with her?” the lieutenant, that’s who he was talking about. Not a man bringing death but a woman.” She has murdered so many..she’s worse than the reaper…”

Suddenly, Baekhyun realized what Chanyeol said. She was leaving...she was leaving him there and in the midst of everything was she and Yixing the only thing he had left. Panic rose again, a feeling he never seemed to get rid of...but on the other hand should he be happy that you were going away..it was your fault after all..

“A-ah...Okay…”it was all he could say, eyes fading on a little greyer spot right behind Chanyeol.

“Aren't you happy?You know she is one of them and you are one of us, right?”but Baekhyun thought that sounded weird, since all the ones with power were to fit in so why further the groupings? It was like it couldn't be both of them but that was what created war and death.”Whatever, let’s do something else instead...Like meeting Sehun!”

In a day or two would you be out but at the same time would it be hard to escape without weapons, so you knew what you had to do. Find them and secure them, at least a knife...

At least a knife, you could use it to defend yourself against the elements and it wouldn't kill them, just hurt…

“Hello Y/n..”Junmyeon waltzed into your so called room. A small scrub like thing with a bed and a flickering light. You had been told you stayed there because you were leaving soon and to be real, you didn't care.”..I have spoken with the others so you will leave tomorrow, is that okay?”

Junmyeon always had this special way of speaking. Always asking for opinions and if things were alright, something you never had encountered before. In the republic was it just orders, never a chance to disagree.

“Yes..”the light flickered over your head, giving an allusion of a thunderstorm.

“Good..”he smiled a little and you wondered if all he could see was murdered when he looked at you, or if he saw something else. A void.”Let me fill you in on how this is going to work.”

Sehun was a younger boy with steel grey hair and uninterested eyes. He was taller than Baekhyun but acted like a child. Chanyeol said that Sehun was like his little brother, the closest to family he could get, and Baekhyun saw it too, the bickering, the laughs every time Sehun would create a storm which ripped at their hair. Their elements were quite different to each other, wind and fire, but he guessed that was why it worked.

“Come on Baek, show us something!”Chanyeol grinned, leaning forward across the steel table in the common area.”Flicker the light or something!”

The thought of creating light made Baekhyun sweat, the needles breaking his skin again and the sheer force which tried to tear him apart. He couldn't do it, a mere pass over the call out to light made him warm and his nerves on high alert. If he did, it would be a death sentence to him.

“I-I I can't …”he lowered his head to avoid looking at Chanyeol or Sehun. Both of them got to learn to control the energy but Baekhyun never did, he could only reach out to a small part and not lose control.

“Why?” Sehun asked with a monotone, his gaze hard but not empty, nothing was ever empty, but you.

“Because he had to go through 090NM.”Yixing rolled up, the softness in him having an edge.”It almost killed him..”

“The nightmare finder…”Chanyeol lost all goofiness, the fire burning to blue in the red eye. He was mad because he knew who did it, he knew what it could lead to. Death.”It was her right? The reaper?”

Yixing looked at him, seeing so much hate. The thing was that the doctor didn't believe in a war to get rights, an ending to the torture, because he knew they were scared, he knew that hate would only bring more hate. He once read a quote saying that the hero lived to become the villain and the complex emotion of hate was the writer.

“She did..”Chanyeol was fuming, air heating around him. Baekhyun noticed how when he was feeling strong emotions would everything become hotter, the call amplified with what he felt.”..she also jumped through glass to save him..”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened. No one had ever told him that..it was you who saved him. Why? Why put him through something like that and then risk your life to save him?

“Bullshit…”Sehun was quiet, eyes set in a man he knew to be a survivor from a town somewhere. He was listening, it wasn't hard to figure out..but why?

Sehun didn't realize he was staring until Chanyeol stormed off, low curses falling off his lips. His friend was passionate and he had zero control of his emotions, only Sehun knew how scared he was of himself. Fire burned down, it never saved.

“So, you will go by car half of the way but you will have to walk the other…”you nodded, not listening to a 100 %.

Junmyeon was speaking about the plan and who would meet you and where and how long it should take and where the military were and a bunch more stuff. You were just quiet, studying the two guys who would follow with you. Minseok, a man with blue hair, leaned against a wall. He seemed confident and calm, a possible threat to you and your escape, especially since you didn't know his power. Your best guess was something related to water but you couldn't be sure. He would hold your glare without disgust or any strong emotion, just acknowledgement. The other was a blonde man with a smile stapled on his face due to the ever upturn of his lips. You believe he was named Jongdae, his gaze sparkling and non threatening, but you can't be naive.

“Someone named Seokjin will greet you and follow with you the last bit..”Junmyeon glanced around the room, making sure everyone understood.”You two will stay there with her until you receive confirmation from me, okay?”

“Yeah..”Jongdae grinned as he answered, stretching. He seemed carefree, so unlike you.”It’s going to be fine so can I go back? Kinda want a good night's rest..”

Junmyeon nodded, waving at the two men, but he looked at you standing by the corner. He knew you didn't trust anyone so he chose Minseok and Jongdae because those two were best with people, especially if they knew ones with a past.

“Are you okay?”it was almost annoying, his constant concern. No, you weren't fine and wouldn't be until you were somewhere else but he can't know that.

“Yes.”

“Good. You will go after breakfast...around 7 am, okay?”you nodded again, not wanting to talk. You just wanted to be alone, in the forest or at least outside but you were locked inside.

Tags; @shesdreaminginoverdose

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jbuffyangel · 5 years

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Strength: Arrow 8x05 Review (Prochnost)

We’re headed back to Russia for some Queen family vacation fun, except their version of “fun” is kidnappings and fight clubs.

Let’s dig in…

Oliver, Mia and William

Do you remember how we used to pray for a scene of Oliver teaching Felicity the bow and arrow?

The scenes with Helena fueled my hate fire for years. The closest we ever came to Olicity “training” was Oliver offering Felicity a few punching pointers

and the glorious salmon-ladder-leads-to-sex scene.

I’m not complaining! All I’m saying is we could’ve had a bow-and-arrow-training-leads-to-sex scene too. I have several insert-scenario-here-leads-to-sex scene ideas this show has yet to explore.

Anyway, if we can’t have Felicity training with Oliver then second best is their daughter training with Oliver. The intro to “Prochnost” is almost three minutes long and it’s pure fan fiction from start to finish.

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

Oliver teaches Mia how to tennis ball and uses cooking as analogy before he remembers she’s 50% Smoak.

It is clear Mia still has a lot to learn not only from a vigilante perspective, but also in terms of her archer skills.

When we met Oliver Queen in the pilot his skill set was perfected. He was a fully formed bad ass.

We haven’t seen Mia train other than a montage with Nyssa Al Ghul in 7x16 and I am thoroughly enjoying there’s still a lot she can learn from her father.

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer

Oliver reviews all of his trick arrows with Mia, but doesn’t want them to become a crutch.

Source: lucyyh

What he doesn’t say is trick arrows became more of a necessity in disabling criminals after killing them was no longer an option. We’ve come a long way with Oliver Queen. If you had told me father/daughter training sessions were in our future when I watched the pilot then I would’ve laughed you out of the room because that’s a special brand of CRAZY.

Of course, a training scene without the stick thingies wouldn’t be a training scene on Arrow.

Source: miasmoakdaily

Yes, I know there’s a technical term for the stick thingies, but if I haven’t learned it by now do you think I ever will? No is the right answer.

Oliver: Nyssa taught you well.

Mia: Mom made sure of it.

I think Arrow makes an important point during this scene. Nyssa Al Ghul is good, but she’s no Oliver Queen. There’s been many seasons where it feels like the writers down played Oliver’s skills to give the other team members something to do *cough*L*urelLance*cough*.

However, the writers seem particularly focused on showing how Oliver’s skills are a whole other level now. Remember, he’s the guy who killed Ra’s Al Ghul – probably the greatest fighter of all time. It’s why Riccardo Diaz being a formidable threat was so laughable. When Felicity reached out to Nyssa she was asking the best for help, but there truly is no substitute for Oliver Queen.

Source: miasmoakdaily

Mia “The Machine” Smoak-Queen (her official title btw) doesn’t need a break, but I love how Oliver worries about her nonetheless. DADDY OLIVER IS SO SOFT.

Source: amunetblack

Mia gently reins in William’s ramble and this is the brother/sister banter I am here for. Look, I know we’ve clocked a season and a half with these kids and I should be used to moments where they remind me of Oliver and Felicity, BUT I CAN’T GET USED TO IT. It still fills me with absolute glee anytime it happens.

Children are individuals with unique personalities, but one of the more fun aspects of parenting is seeing traits of other family members, or maybe even yourself, emerge in the child you’re raising. I feel the same glee when my daughter reminds me of my husband or mother. And since William and Mia are my fictional TV children why should I be any different?

There’s a Curtis reference in this scene, so naturally I doze off when that happens, but the cliff notes version is the energy wave that destroyed Earth 2 can be recreated. There’s a Russian general trying to replicate it via pulse wave generator weapon and Team Arrow needs to get the plans.

I think. Plus they need plutonium which Diggle volunteers to get.

Oliver invites the kids to Russia with him and they are equally as shocked as I am.

Really? We’re going to Russia? I mean, I know we’re going to Russia, but Oliver’s casual invitation makes this trip sound like the equivalent of a grocery store run. The kids are so excited to be invited they think they’re going to Disney World with Dad.

This is so not going to be Disney World. TELL THEM THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE DISNEY WORLD OLIVER.

Oliver: I’m a better man. Different man. I think I can teach them the good without showing them the bad.

Oliver thinks this is going to be Disney World.

Diggle accurately points out visiting the place which was home to the darkest point of his life may not be as simple as Oliver would like it to be. His answer is equally wonderful and sooooo WRONG. It’s WONDERFUL Oliver believes he’s a better man. It took us 8 long years to get here and his statement is no small thing. Round of applause for our boy.

Unfortunately, this is where the wonderful ends. Oliver is determined to only show his children the good. I guess it sounds ok when he says it, but upon closer examination it misses the forest through the trees. Everything that happened to Oliver Queen, good and bad, has formed the person he is. He cannot extricate the bad from this story anymore than he can the good. They are a sticky wicket forever entwined together. Take out one and you don’t get the full picture. And what his children need and deserve is the full picture.

That’s not to say Oliver’s filter is entirely wrong. There are certainly topics and information children are not ready to hear, can’t understand, or wouldn’t be appropriate to tell them. Every parent has some kind of filter when raising their children because that’s what good parenting requires.

This is appropriate when children are small. As your child grows into an adult then your relationship with them must become more adult, which requires more transparency. This is the problem between Oliver and his children. He is parenting like William and Mia are still little. And they are not.

If plans for a pulse generator sound like a flimsy excuse to go to Russia then you’d be right. The real reason we’re going to Russia isn’t because of some rando general. It’s to say goodbye to one of Arrow’s greatest supporting characters - Anatoly Knyazev

“My brother.”

I block out most of Season 6 because half of it was a walking horror show, so I don’t remember where Oliver and Anatoly left things after he joined and then betrayed Team Bad Guy.

I guess their cool now? I don’t really want to spend all kinds of time on Oliver and Anatoly hashing out their issues, so if a hug gets the job done then I’m good. Also William speaks Russian. Queen men speaking foreign languages is hot.

A+ reaction Steve.

Source: arrowdaily

Anatoly was bored in the Maldives, now owns a bar and has a delicious pina colada recipe so that pretty much catches us up on him. He offers to help find Burov, but Oliver doesn’t want Anatoly’s “friends” involved because they are Bratva and he’s not discussing the bad parts of Russia with his children. I think the good parts of Russia ended at pina colada, Oliver. See how this is going to be a problem?

The best place to meet up with Burov is a local fight club. This prompts William to share where he met his baby sister and gives us Oliver’s best dad reaction to date.

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer

Bless you William. You do God’s work my boy.

Mia: Why did you bring us on this mission if you aren’t going to let us help?

Oliver: This is the Bratva. They are terrible people and you guys are my kids.

Mia: Yes, but we’re not children.

Oliver: Well you are when I look at you.

Aww… my sweet, lovable, wonderful Oliver.

Do we ever stop looking at our children as children? Probably not. I know I will always be my parents’ baby girl and my daughter will always be mine. It is difficult to fully accept a human being as an adult when you’ve changed their diapers. And in Oliver’s defense he changed Mia’s diaper about five minutes ago in the present timeline, regardless of the future adults standing before him. We must give him some time to… adjust.

But Mia is Mia and doesn’t listen to anyone, other than William (SOUND FAMILIAR?) and he’s firmly on her team this week, so they go to the fight club and watch Dad in action. Mia has heard the stories of her father all her life but seeing him in action is an eye-opening experience. She is difficult to impress, but her dad is AWESOME. Yeah, we think so too honey. Welcome to stanning Oliver Queen.

Source: olivergifs

Unfortunately, the Bratva aren’t cool with the deal Oliver made with Burov and kidnap him along with Mia. Her Spidey sense was tingling, so she went to check on dad. Oops.

Source: feilcityqueen

If there is one lesson the Arrow villains consistently fail to learn it’s DO NOT MESS WITH PEOPLE OLIVER QUEEN LOVES. He gets very angry and wildly unpleasant, which leads to many broken bones and occasionally murder. You put hands on Felicity Smoak and even I’m down with Oliver ripping off your head.

Of course, Oliver wakes from unconsciousness and his immediate question is if Mia is okay. Can’t-Admit-I’m-In-Love-With-You Oliver,

Boyfriend Oliver,

Fiance Oliver,

Ex-boyfriend Oliver,

Husband Oliver,

and Dad Oliver are all the same Olivers.

Mia doesn’t understand why everyone in Russia knows who Oliver is and quickly deduces Dad was Bratva. Our princess is a smart cookie! Oliver is ticked Mia didn’t listen to him and there is truly no greater justice in the world than God creating a child who is exactly like you. Robert and Moira are having themselves a nice little chuckle.

Source: lucyyh

The Bratva threatens to torture Mia if Oliver doesn’t tell them what’s on the zip drive. Mia is very brave and tells Daddy not to say anything. Pfft. Not likely Little Miss Square Bear. He points a gun at Oliver’s precious girl and counts down from five. The Green Arrow breaks like a pretzel. Honestly, I’m shocked Oliver didn’t give the guy the whole store after four.

Source: olicitygifs

Unfortunately, nobody believes Oliver is telling the full story and a very large knife is brandished in Mia’s direction. Seriously? The one-time Oliver tells the truth he’s accused of lying. How ironic is that? The goon was at least 20 feet away from Mia, but Daddy was ready to flay him alive seven different ways.

Oh. He was only cutting the restraints. Okay, we’ll knock down the flaying to five different ways.

The Bratva force Mia to play the Ring the Bell game. I don’t know if that’s what it’s called, but it works for my purposes. Oliver is very much HELL NO CHILD, but really her only other option is death. Of course, if she doesn’t ring the bell she dies too. ISN’T RUSSIA FUN?

Mia kicks major ass, but is unable to ring the bell in under 60 seconds. This might have something to do with her wasting time to look back at the clock and then waiting an additional 3 seconds to reach for the friggin bell, but that’s just details. Be less stupid Arrow.

The Bratva don’t shoot her because… they’re nice gang of Russian mobsters now?

Source: arrowdaily

This made very little sense other than Arrow doesn’t want to shoot the female lead of their new television show. On second thought, good enough for me. Oliver shoots death daggers at the man who scared the friggin bejesus out of him and it’s pretty much a certainty he will be flayed eight different ways.

William has a full-on panic attack over his father and sister’s kidnapping and it’s pretty much the cutest thing ever. Then L*urel actually provides some necessary and helpful information. Is that the second week in a row this happened? I’m scared fandom. Hold me.

L*urel: Aren’t the people in your family constantly injecting each other with tracking devices?

William: Normally I would say God I hope not, but now I guess I can see the advantages.

He’s able to track them down, but L*urel and Anatoly show up right after Oliver has already freed himself by dislocating his thumbs. I love that trick. Mia’s reaction is the perfect combination of horrified and impressed. She really wants that trick to be on the next lesson plan.

Mia is bumming hard over not ringing the bell and boozes it up with some scotch. THY NAME IS GENETICS.

Oliver has had enough of his kids almost dying and is putting their asses on a plane back home BECAUSE THIS ISN’T DISNEY WORLD.

William jumps firmly on Team Mia and reminds their father he’d be dead without them. Oliver has been dislocating his thumbs on his own for awhile now children. I think he’d survive without your help.

It’s time to set these kiddies straight.

Source: oliverxfelicity

Mia tries to argue the whole adults saving the city angle, but that’s not going to fly in this timeline cupcake.

In this timeline, Oliver smooshed those perfect chubby cheeks one more time before he left to save the universe

Source: oliverxfelicity

and his rebelling teenage son, who was ousted from the present storyline to make a ridiculous plot point work in the future storyline, ignored his phone calls. (I’m never getting over the whole William never moves in with Mia and Felicity thing. NEVER.)

So, all of his children can take several seats and do what they’re told or they will be grounded! That includes no computer for you, William and Oliver will be taking that bow and arrow back little miss Mia.

Side note: This was a perfect time for William to explain WHY he didn’t return any of Oliver’s calls or if he even received them, but NOPE. Why would these writers attempt to clean up this mess of a storyline with reasonable explanations? Better to just ignore the Grand Canyon sized plot holes and keep driving through.

Stephen Amell does a wonderful job in this scene as Oliver’s voice quivers with emotion. He’s skating the edge of keeping his composure and losing it all together perfectly this season. Neither Mia nor William have offered much understanding for where Oliver is coming from. Yes, they are adults but 1) No matter how old they get they will always be Oliver’s children and 2) HE MISSED TWENTY YEARS.

Oliver has been very clear this was not a choice he wanted to make. Mia and William are not the only ones who lost something precious. Oliver lost a lot too. Part of being an adult is letting go of the natural narcissism we all have as children. So, if Mia and William want to put on their big boy and big girl pants then they need to show their father a little understanding and compassion.

Mia: And because you made the choice to protect us I had to spend my whole life alone. I didn’t have a chance to get to know my brother to get to know you.

Mia is not ready to do that yet. She throws Oliver’s choices in his face once again. He is still the one she wants to blame. If this reaction frustrates you then that’s understandable because Mia is supposed to be frustrating right now. It’s odd for us to be identifying through Oliver, but that’s what happens when the hero becomes fully evolved. This entire episode is about showing how much Mia still has to learn not only physically, but emotionally too.

Source: oliverxfelicity

Oliver is getting used to Mia’s blame by now and it doesn’t really change his opinion on this situation. The worst part of this argument is Oliver believing his children hate him. His worst nightmare was Mia and William not understanding his choices and resenting him for it. Oliver’s greatest fear isn’t death. It is his children believing he abandoned them.

Mia being angry at Oliver over not growing up with William is really not his fault and it’s bizarre how the writers are insistent on lumping that in with everything else she’s ticked about. I did a deep dive on Mia’s emotional and psychological viewpoint last week and I won’t repeat it here because everything still stands. But how is Felicity never going back for William Oliver’s fault?

I’m not putting the blame on Felicity here either. It’s a ludicrous plot point that makes absolutely no sense, so it’s pointless to even try to argue the logic. And yet, that’s exactly what the writers keep trying to do. But it merely shines a brighter spotlight on their illogical reasoning behind the decision.

We are already sympathizing with Oliver because we know how heartbroken he was to leave his children. We know he sacrificed everything for a bunch of ungrateful twats who caught a lucky break for existing in the universe. But forcing Mia’s character to continually blame Oliver for EVERYTHING can rapidly make this character unlikeable. Particularly since her father left to SAVE THE UNIVERSE. The writers need to tread carefully. This has the same nonsensical threads of the Season 4 break up. Or, even worse, Mia channeling the same the anger/blame/bitterness of Season 1 & 2 L*urel Lance. Nobody wants a repeat of those hot messes.

Oliver is floundering. He missed twenty years of his children’s lives. They’ve arrived from a different time as adults. Oliver was still learning how to be a parent and then the universe flipped the board. He has no idea how to do this and the one person who can help him isn’t here. If there was ever a time Oliver needed his Felicity this is it.

So, the only guiding light Oliver has right now is the promise he made his wife and mother of his children.

Source: oliverxfelicity

Not to get too nitpicky on the details Oliver, but as @callistawolf pointed out in our Watchover episode of 8x05, we never heard him make any promises to Felicity about the children.

In their final goodbye, it was Felicity promising Oliver to do whatever was necessary to keep their children safe (re: Nyssa Al Ghul). So, let’s just create our own head canon there was some Olicity discussion about the future kids being in present day off screen and he made the promise to her then. Cool? Cool.

OR Oliver is merely trying to score points in an argument via emotional manipulation, which hey man. More power to you. Whatever it takes to keep kiddos safe, I guess. I did have to chuckle about Oliver keeping his promises to Felicity NOW that she’s off the show. Where was this guy in 6x23? Or maybe I sobbed quietly. Probably a little of both. Regardless of the reasoning, it’s an EPIC speech. Dad for the win.

Oliver decides it’s time to get boozy. Amen brother. Pass the scotch.

Anatoly is no Felicity Smoak, but in the ever-spinning weekly wheel of characters trying to fill her role, he asks the obvious question. Is Oliver sending his children home because he believes they cannot handle Russia/vigilantism/life?

Of course, the answer has been obvious from the moment Oliver decided to only share the good. It’s not about what his children can handle. This is about what Oliver can handle.

Anatoly: That is understandable. You’re ashamed. You have truly done some terrible things.

Oliver: Thank you for the reminder.

Anatoly: But you also have done some good things. It’s important that the kids see both.

Can’t you just hear Felicity Smoak saying these lines? Only in an adorable ramble and less booze? I miss her. Just leaving this here.

I absolutely understand Oliver’s refusal to share the darkest moments of his past. It’s not like my dad has gone chapter and verse into his Vietnam experiences. But I know he was there. I know some of the stories. Maybe Oliver doesn’t need to go into detail about the time he skinned a guy, but he can be honest with his children about being in the Bratva.

Anatoly: That’s the thing about teaching. It’s not about what you want to say. It’s about what they need to hear.”

This part of the speech is all Anatoly.

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer

He taught Oliver living was not for the weak because this was the lesson Oliver needed to hear. Maybe he missed out on teaching William and Mia how to tie their shoes or ride a bike, but nobody understands what it means to be a hero better than Oliver Queen. The Crisis is coming and if Oliver is marching slowly but steadily to his death then he must pass on all he’s learned. There is still so much to teach Mia and William about Oliver’s life and who he is. Those lessons can only come from their father. What William and Mia need to hear is the truth.

“You were so little. I think that’s what I’ve always wanted all these years. Is for you just to stay little, quiet and safe. But you’re not any of those things. You’re loud and fearless and it scares the crap out of me.” Derek Shepherd, Grey’s Anatomy

His children are loud and fearless and it scares the crap out of Oliver Queen. But there’s a deeper fear driving his hesitation. Oliver is afraid that if he tells Mia and William the truth about his past then they’ll only hate him more. He is constantly afraid of losing his children’s love.

But truth is the path to understanding. Anatoly is right. Oliver must give Mia and William a chance. The real truth is there’s nothing he has done or will ever do that will make his children stop loving him. Sure, Mia is angry at Oliver, but she’s only angry because she loves him. She craves her father’s approval more than anything.

Oliver changes his parenting tactic. He cannot shield his children from the very life they have chosen for themselves. He asks Mia to fight in the ring with him and William to help get them in. Oliver treats his children like they are part of the team – like partners.

Mia has been trying to show her father what she’s capable of since the moment she came to the present. Underneath all that anger and blame, is a little girl who just wants to make her daddy proud. What Mia needs to realize is she already makes Oliver proud merely by existing. However, he offers her the support and belief she’s been craving as they enter the ring together.

Source: oliverxfelicity

The look on her face says everything about how Mia truly feels about her dad.

Source: arrowdaily

FATHER DAUGHTER FIGHT CLUB. From the moment, we met Blackstar in the ring I hoped she was Olicity’s daughter and we would somehow, someway get a scene of Oliver and Mia teaming up. But I never imagined these circumstances. It’s awesome.

After kicking butt as a team and a family, Oliver opens the door to his past and lets his children walk through. And what better place to start than the beginning?

Source: olivergifs

The truth is a tie that binds and it will be the foundation of Oliver’s relationship with his children. Something he never had with his parents until it was too late.

And did William and Mia stop loving Oliver after they heard the truth? No. They understand him better and love him all the more for what he’s survived.

Mia: Don’t forget to send me that picture of my dad with that haircut.

Anatoly: Don’t forget to ask about Bratva tattoo. We have matching.

Oliver: Used to. Used to actually.

William: Oh I’m gonna need to hear that story immediately.

Well... son this raving loony burned my tattoo off my chest after several hours of torture.

The warm banter of this scene isn’t to make light of what Oliver Queen suffered. It’s to show the power of telling our stories. Pain and fear lose control over us, bit by bit, the more we talk about it and share with our loved ones. We let them inside the good and bad, so we don’t have to carry it by ourselves anymore. Overtime, we begin to see our suffering for what it is - something we survived. Children, in particular, have an ability to find the light in the dark. We can see our life through their eyes and remarkably, yes even find the humor in what was once unspeakable pain. And come on - Oliver’s flashback hair is always funny.

Family is the source of Oliver’s strength. It always has been. It’s what helped him survive the unsurvivable.

He can only become his children’s strength by teaching them how he became a better man. William and Mia can only understand who their father is, and how to be heroes, by knowing the good and the bad. Hiding either tarnishes the beauty of his story. Oliver is finally strong enough to tell it and his children are strong enough to hear it. And that’s how the past, present and future will find harmony, acceptance, forgiveness and love.

Source: oliverxfelicity

Diggle and Roy

John enlists Roy’s help obtaining the plutonium.

Source: thistributeisonfire

We’re going to run through this pretty quick because this storyline is all about getting Colton Haynes back on Team Arrow for the final episodes.

Diggle tells Roy what happens to him in the future. The cure for Roy’s bloodlust wasn’t hiding out on Lian Yu for 20 years. It was rejoining the team and fighting for the city again.

Diggle: Maybe this time you don’t have to wait that long.

Diggle’s ENTIRE motivation is to change Roy’s future and it’s not difficult to figure out why. Obviously John cares about Roy and wants to help him. However, Roy also makes a very good test case. Diggle is also desperate to change Connor, JJ and Zoe’s future as well. If they can make their own hope in the present then maybe things can be different for his children in the future.

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer

We all need love and support. None of us can truly survive on our own - particularly when we are suffering. Roy fights John at first, but eventually he comes to realize he’s right. Roy found purpose and family when he met Oliver so it makes sense to him they are the reason he gets better. So why wait? He comes home and begins the path to healing twenty years earlier. And thus, a major storyline from Season 7 flash forwards begins to change.

ROY MADE SENSE Y’ALL!!!

L*urel L*nce

I truly could not figure out why L*urel was in Russia. I guess to help Oliver track down these plans, but she spent the better part of the episode staring at her fingernails. That’s not even an exaggeration. KC stared at her fingernails for an entire scene.

Source: thistributeisonfire

Her interactions with Oliver are even more bizarre.

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer

I’m sorry, but does L*urel go here? Bl*ck S*ren has been on the show since Season 5. You’d think at this point she’d know Oliver Queen can easily handle one guy twice his size. I’m chalking up this stupidity to the acting version of a layup, so Stephen Amell can spike it with the epic comeback of, “I’ll give him half a chance.”

I guess L*urel is primarily in Russia to betray Oliver Queen and steal the plans or something, per Lyla’s instructions.

LL: And here I thought I was supposed to be the bad guy.

At last count Lyla never murdered innocent people, so I think she's still ahead by the numbers Bl*ck S*ren. This is the problem with L*urel’s character this year. The comparisons her character makes this season are INSANE. Putting on a new suit and calling yourself Bl*ck C*nary doesn’t automatically make you morally superior to everyone.

At least when Season 7 L*urel was playing attorney she had a healthy perspective on herself. I was a big fan of the snark last season and found her character to be refreshingly amusing in her biting honesty, but this year the writers lost the snarky humor and have gone straight to obnoxious hypocrisy and judgment. Sometimes she’s just downright mean in a way none of the other characters deserve. Yes, Lyla is being shady, but this in no way erases the horrors of your past L*urel.

L*urel: If saving it means going back to the person I used to be then what the hell is the point?

We all know this whole betray Oliver thing the Monitor is playing at with L*urel is a trick. She’s not going to betray Oliver and prove herself a worthy and useful hero. Ok. Whatever. I know I’m supposed to get excited about her big speech, but this line kind of gnawed at me.

L*urel is unwilling to save an ENTIRE EARTH because she’d have to do something shady. She’s not willing to do any dirty work if it sullies her good name. So, Earth 2 only matters as long as L*urel gets to be a hero on it? I guess I should be happy L*urel is holding onto her moral center, but if there’s anything Oliver Queen’s story has taught us sometimes heroism requires doing unpleasant things for the greater good.

Take Lyla for example – a person L*urel feels quite comfortable judging. Lyla has been lying to her husband, something she does not want to do, for the greater good. I think we know enough about Lyla’s character by now that even though her actions are hurtful we can trust her reasons.

LL’s primary function this week it seems is to rat Lyla out to Diggle and Oliver.

Source: stevesrogered

I guess we’re supposed to rejoice there’s no price L*urel is willing to pay for her morality, but this is still the same person who has yet to take any responsibility for the people she’s murdered. The line just sounded so arrogant and self serving to me. I don’t know. Maybe it was just KC’s delivery.

It’s been difficult for me to imagine what role either L*urel or Dinah will play in the spin off and seeing as how the writers are struggling to find a purpose for their characters in the final season of Arrow I am not encouraged. That said, L*urel’s scene with Mia was one of the few bright spots for her character in this week’s episode. Mia believes she’s not cut out to be a hero because she failed to ring the bell like her father and Zoe’s death still weighs heavily on her conscious.

Mia: Every time I try and live up to my dad or to prove I can do what it is you all do. I fail.

L*urel: If you’re trying to live up to us, don’t. We are just as flawed as anyone. Especially me. All you can do is live up to yourself.

Damn L*urel. That was really good advice and a truthful reflection of the person you are. CAN WE HAVE THIS ATTITUDE CONSISTENTLY WEEK TO WEEK PLEASE WRITERS? This is the first time I can see a version of L*urel working in the spin off, but that’s always the problem with the writing of her character. We never know which version we’re going to get.

Season 8 is slipping back into very bad Season 1 habits. There’s a lack of cohesiveness with L*urel and they really need to get this sorted out before the new show hits the air. Otherwise, we’re going to have the same problem we’ve always had with her character. No matter how many versions of L*urel’s character these writers create they never figure out who she truly is because they don’t want to devote the necessary screen time. This leaves us with a half baked canary every single time.

If L*urel is going to play Rupert Giles to Mia’s Buffy in the spin off then this scene is a good indication of how it could work, but that’s only if this path stays on track which seldom happens with this character. The key to LL is a very specific supporting role. She worked great in Season 7 because her focus was getting Oliver Queen out of jail. Then,it was about fleshing out her redemption and shipping her back to E2 to make amends.

L*urel lacks a concrete To Do list this year. They toss her into scenes and she takes up space looking at her fingernails. Or she arrives a few minutes after Oliver frees himself to scream down a door he could have easily opened. Or she says something hypocritical and nasty. REALLY? This is the best these writers can come up with? Sadly, history points to yes.

Keep her scenes short. Keep her scenes specific. Keep her scenes supporting. That’s the only way this character works. And believe me I wish it was different, but there doesn’t seem to be any version of L*urel L*nce these writers can keep a handle on.

You know what I appreciate about this scene between Anatoly and William though? Anatoly addresses his less than honorable past and apologizes. I can’t fully remember what Anatoly did to William - I think it might have been related to kidnapping or a bomb or a nuke or all three. See? I told you I don’t remember S6. My point is - can we expect an apology from L*urel for being an accessory to William’s mother’s murder? I won’t hold my breath. It would be extremely helpful if they addressed LL’s past in an honest way and actually had her show remorse to one of her victims, but again that requires more screen time and effort than this show is ever will to give her character.

SO WHY DO THEY KEEP HER AROUND?

Stray Thoughts

Connor isn’t in this week’s episode because he’s checking in on Sandra. Soooo… Connor can visit his mother but Mia and William can’t visit theirs? I know this is yet another EBR plot hole, but find a better reason for Connor to be MIA writers. It just makes the Smoak-Queen family look uncaring, which we know they are not. And if Connor can get an off camera mother moment mention then why can’t Mia and William? THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT ANNOY ME.

“Has anyone fought six men before?” Mia and Oliver’s side eye is hilarious, but didn’t Mia fight six goons by herself? And we’ve watched Oliver take down twenty without breaking a sweat. Raise the number in the ring a little if you want me to take their hesitation seriously.

Diggle is absolutely horrified to find out Lyla is working against the team with The Monitor. “I didn’t want to believe it was true.” Boy, really? Who are you kidding? This is Lyla Michaels, super spy. She’s been lying and doing shady things from minute one. She’s the Oliver to your Felicity. Get out of here with that nonsense. This is totally something she would do and you know it. Lol

William doesn’t like the field, but the allure of beautiful couture convinces him otherwise. At least he didn’t have to go on a skeevy date with Ray Palmer to wear it. Source: felicitysmoakgifs

William’s “Wrap it up” sign while Mia was fighting was such a funny and wonderful way of showing their team within a team.

“I can be the fun uncle.” Raise your hand if you want Anatoly as a fun uncle.

He was a complicated, but ultimately wonderful character who made Arrow a better show.

Goodbye Anatoly. I will miss you. source: oliverxfelicity

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kylandara · 5 years

Text

A very interesting take. I would sadly agree Jon fell from grace, because whether political Jon is true or not, he enable Dany this far to cause the destruction she did. Not that Dany doesn’t get the max blame, but Jon has his share for his own soul. I can almost imagine his PTSD when this is all over. Onwards

——————-

The hysterical reactions to Dany’s dark turn were initially amusing to me because I enjoy suffering, but as this week has gone on, I have grown more disconcerted by 8x05 myself. I am not an emotional person by nature, but each day I am more agitated by the episode rather than less. I didn’t know exactly why it bothered me so much until I realized that I was running through the same stages of grief that Dany stans were.

Both of us lost our heroes.

I had been laughing about Dany stans not seeing where her arc was going when there is ample foreshadowing in books and show as pointed out in articles, metas, posts on Reddit, answers here on Quora, YouTube videos, wherever it is you go for GoT fan content, Dark Dany has been discussed. I thought the proof was so overwhelming that to not see it meant you were in denial.

I did not know I was in denial myself.

I thought Dany stans were watching a different show than the rest of us.

The truth is, I was watching a different show than some of you.

As much as this has frustrated me to no end, I think it has been the greatest success of GoT that D&D have exposed us to ourselves. Or at least, it would be if we pulled ourselves away from our feelings long enough to acknowledge what’s been staring us in the face the whole time.

Dany was not the only hero who fell from grace Sunday. I have been grieving for my own.

Dany burned thousands, tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of people Sunday, a horrific and inevitable event.

My hero stood by and watched. Worse, my hero knew it was likely to happen and enabled her. Even worse, my hero marched his men South to help her. And still worse than that, when Varys looked him in the eyes and said they knew what was going to happen, Jon refused to even try to stop her.

My hero did not commit the inexcusable evil that Dany did (Yes, EVIL. Yes, INEXCUSABLE.) But my hero did not take a stand. My hero was not heroic. My hero stood by helplessly while children were burned alive. How harshly did I condemn Stannis and the Red Woman for burning Shireen because I loved her? How harshly should I then condemn Dany for the same crime tens of thousands of times over? How harshly did I judge Stannis’ enablers for not stopping him? How harshly must I then judge Jon for not doing something, anything before Dany burned King’s Landing?

Dany stans justified every life she took before 8x05. I justified every life Jon had taken. No, there is no moral equivalence between those, but on Sunday, both committed wrongs that there is no justifying. Again, there is no moral equivalence between Dany’s actions and Jon’s inaction, but I realized my emotions as a Jon fan have been paralleling to a much subtler degree, Dany fans.

They are shrieking about bad writing and OOC behavior, and I have been saying much the same of Jon. But, maybe I was just as deluded as they were, believing what I want rather than paying attention to what I was seeing.

I thought the Battle of Winterfell was bad writing. I didn't think D&D were actually trying to tell us something about Jon, but maybe they were. Yes, his strength is uniting people, but if they are being led by the wrong person, it is meaningless to do so. As seen on Sunday, the wrong leader leads to madness.

The events of 8x05 may be the narrative punishment for Jon not taking up his crown with further spiraling yet to come, or, perhaps it was the rock bottom of him refusing his destiny and what we witnessed is what motivates him to rise up. We might see him well and truly defeated in the finale by what he has participated in, or he might take a stand.

Either way, I don't think this season has been the total destruction of his character I initially thought it was. I think what we’re seeing is writers allowing a hero to suffer the emotional and psychological impact of what he's been through. I wish they would let us experience it with him, I wish they would have give us more that a rare glimpse, but just because I wanted something different doesn't mean they weren't being purposeful.

I resent what they've done because they took my hero from me and gave me a broken man. That's too realistic for me to enjoy, and I wanted to enjoy this season, not suffer through it. I did not want my vision of a victorious hero thwarted for anything. And that’s when it hits me. This is why it hurts. I can either morally compromise myself to pretend like Jon wasn’t wrong, or I have to allow my hero to fall.

Many were upset by Jaime returning to Cersei because we bought into his version of himself as a man escaped from his captor. We thought he had become good. We wanted him to be with Brienne. Yet, how can we objectively say that staying with a new lover is the morally superior choice to trying to save the life of the woman who bore his children? The woman who was pregnant with his child? In falling from grace in the eyes of Braime shippers, Jaime made the right choice.

Jaime is a better person for having died trying to save Cersei than he would have been had he chosen to fulfill his own selfish desire to let her die alone. He wasn’t good enough for Brienne before, he certainly wouldn’t have been if he had let his child die without attempting to save it. In breaking the hearts of shippers and fans around the world, D&D (damn them for making me appreciate them after I decided I didn’t!) turned Jaime into a morally superior character in 8x05 than the Breaker of Chains. A guy who pushed a child from the window attempted to save life while our Khaleesi took it.

Just because we have a version of a character in our head and a path for them to follow, just because we know what we want and are upset when we don’t get it, doesn’t make it better. Jaime chose better for himself than we would have chosen for him. Shame on us for being so morally incompetent that we didn’t recognize it immediately. By leaving her and trying to rescue Cersei, Jaime was closer to deserving Brienne than he ever had been before.

Another surprise in the episode is that The Hound had more moral clarity than Arya. The Hound who murdered for a living became the voice of sanity when he told Arya that if she followed where he led she would only find death. He told her to choose life even when he couldn’t. Arya listened, she chose to put aside vengeance and preserve life rather than take it. And here, we, the audience had been cheering her quest for vengeance, only to then cheer on the new decision, because we are led by our emotions and dumber for it. The Hound had better morals than we did. THE HOUND.

Cersei, that power crazed woman was just another victim. The bells rang and Dany burned them all anyway. And all the Dany stans who are finding ways to excuse, rationalize, or simply crying out “character assassination” are just in denial. Your hero failed the test of basic humanity because she has always wanted to. Her first instinct has consistently been to burn and destroy, she’s just always happened to have someone holding her back before.

That’s not bad writing. That’s making your audience question what we’ve been accepting and reject what characters say about themselves and think critically about what we have witnessed with our own eyes. It’s mental torture, but it’s the right kind of subversive because there are threads we can find that were always going to lead us here.

Some of us had been condemning Cersei and cheering on a woman who was essentially doing the same things. We just didn’t recognize it because we didn’t want to. Because Dany was framed as a hero, and we all know Cersei is a villain, we didn’t stop and think about what Dany has been doing for years and ask if it was right.

Jon didn’t know as much about Dany as we did. Maybe he hadn’t heard of what Dany did before coming to Westeros. Perhaps he didn’t fully comprehend what happened during the loot train attack, but he saw her talking about wanting to burn the Red Keep in s7, he saw what dragons were capable of beyond the Wall and during the Battle for Winterfell, he heard his queen threaten Sansa’s life for the horrible crime of asking what they were going to feed the armies. And yet, he refused to ever question her.

I don’t know that he had a good alternative, but Varys chose to defy the queen and die rather than take part in her plans. Jon refused to help him. Was Jon being a fool or was he being cunning? I still don’t know, but either way, he stood by while an innocent man burned. Either way, he did nothing. Nothing is never the best you can do. Except, nothing is what humans do all the time. I was prepared for Jon to lie, to be sneaky, to outsmart and use people. I was not prepared for that. I wanted clean margins around my hero, and they didn't give them to me.

People wanted Jaime to kill Cersei because we all know she’s evil, never mind the fact that Jaime has done his fair amount of evil, never mind that she was carrying his child. We don’t mind evil, we just don’t want it to upset us. In our heads, murdering Cersei was fine, but hurting Brienne wasn’t. We accept the grey, the dishonorable, the bad, but only when it’s in line with what we want.

I wanted Jon to be darker this season than the Jon we’ve had before, but I wanted it to be in line with the hero’s journey. I wanted it to be justifiable. I didn’t want it to be in the form of a mistake. I didn’t want it to be him misjudging the character of his queen. I didn’t want it to be at the cost of the lives of countless children.

I was willing for Jon to stray from the hero’s pretty, pretty path just enough to make it interesting, not enough for it to matter. This was a detour I did not expect, that I can’t just ignore, and that is a brilliant move by the writers. Oh geez, I’ve just complimented D&D again. Someone save me!

Jon, no matter what he does next, is stained in blood. He can’t be the hero I wanted him to be, there is no erasing this mistake. I didn't want him to fall prey to a cult of personality, I didn't want him to be stupid. I still don't believe he’s a total idiot, but while I watched 8x05 I took notes and when I reviewed them, I sounded like two different people. One screaming at Jon for being a moron, the other entirely sympathetic because he didn't have a choice. Both views were guided by my emotions. Whether he fell in love and was in denial or if Pol Jon is true and he believed he had no choice, Jon was complicit.

Either because he allowed love to blind him, or desperation to take over, while I still have hope for him, I can't deny what I saw. I hated seeing Jon as he is now: a man made less than what he is. He isn’t the hero I had fabricated in my head. I didn’t even know I had done that, but I had. This isn’t what I wanted. It’s not how the story is supposed to go.

But it is how this story went.

I wanted the fairytale. I wanted Jon to be untouched by what Dany did. I wanted him to remain innocent. I didn’t want him to be weak. I didn’t want him to fall. I wanted him to be above this.

But on Sunday our heroes fell.

What happens when they fall?

We can deny, excuse, insist its solely bad writing, claim it’s OOC, or we can accept that we are simply upset because it isn’t what we wanted. The second step is to acknowledge that this is what it means to have morally grey characters. This is the realism in fantasy GoT has always been touted for, we just never had to suffer so much for it all at once. We never had to face the reality that our heroes aren’t pure goodness, our villains aren’t pure evil with such high stakes before. It’s one thing for Jon to miscalculate and be murdered by his men, it’s another for him to not prevent a city of people from burning alive.

The “grey character” idea only works if you still recognize good and evil. We can’t twist right and wrong to make sure our heroes are always in the clear. Grey characters does not mean we should be morally colorblind. It means that the good and bad still exist, but that both reside in each character and in each of us. We have to choose how to act, and in certain situations, we will wander closer to one side than the other. It’s saying, let’s make heroes falter and villains sympathetic and force ourselves to see ourselves in what we hate, and what we hate within ourselves.

We had seen the good side of Dany intermingled with the bad, but the bad emerged in an unprecedented way on Sunday, and suddenly now we know that how we had masked it was always about protecting our own feelings, not about understanding who that character was at her core. Some in the audience have found strength in Dany, and to see her fall tore at parts of themselves that she had impacted.

Jon is still lighter grey than Dany, but on Sunday, I saw a streak of something repugnant to me, something that is the natural fallout of Jon’s behavior all season, but I had been ignoring it. Before this season aired, I expected victorious Jon. Now I think, even if Jon survives, I don't know how he'll live.

It is shocking to me how much it hurts to let go of my delusions and think, this is it. This is what all those words I’ve been spouting off about complex characters mean, and now I have to accept it. I have to “Look the truth in the face” as Sansa says, and as silly as it is since it is a tv show, it genuinely hurts! To a certain as yet to be quantified amount, Tyrion and Jon refused to do this. To a greater extent, Dany stans refused to.

I refused to.

So, what do we do when our heroes fall?

We must choose to be heroic ourselves. We acknowledge the truth. No more complaints or excuses. Our heroes fell last Sunday because this is that story.

I mentioned in a previous answer that I had a general feeling of defeat this season, and I think this is why. Jon has been slipping off the pedestal, and I have been trying to keep him up there anyway. Whether Jon was a “Northern Fool” or unsuccessful “Political Jon,” he isn’t the man I wanted him to be. D&D emphatically knocked him off his hero perch Sunday. Silly to be so attached to keeping him there, but I was. Emotionally, I was depending on my hero to make it all better. Maybe the point is, there is no hero who can?

Dany climbed too high and fell too far. She isn’t coming back from this. In my eyes, Jon hasn’t. D&D just made him fallible. He made a grave error and thousands upon thousands of people paid for it. I thought he would rise up a hero and prevent this, but there was nothing in this season to indicate that he could or would, and when the time came, he didn’t. I didn’t expect to see consequences for his “My Queen” routine, heroes don’t usually suffer those, but it is right that Jon see where that leads. It is good that we see it.

I think that’s what I’ve been mourning. I wanted hero Jon, not human Jon. Seeing Jon stand there with Drogon over his shoulder while Varys burned was very upsetting. I couldn’t reconcile it with who I thought Jon was, but that’s because I was thinking in the traditional sense of hero. In other books and shows, that wouldn’t happen. But, Jon made a series of choices that led to his presence and inability to do anything at Sunday night’s slaughter. Based on his decisions this season, Jon’s fate of standing there while people were murdered was just as inevitable as Dany’s fate of being the one to burn them.

It is much harder on the audience to endure this kind of story, but GoT has never tried to be easy. I didn’t want this, but it’s okay to not always get what we want. It’s okay for the writers to crack my rose-colored glasses.

Regardless of my misconceptions, in spite of his mistakes, Jon is still Jon. I still have faith in him. He’s just not impervious to failure, and somehow, I had forgotten that. And, for the first time, I genuinely do not know what the cost of this will be. That’s why I am so disturbed. I don’t want Jon to suffer, but his inaction may require narrative punishment. Maybe what we witnessed is the only catalyst that would force him to do what he needs to do, but it may be his mental and emotional undoing.

I don’t want that. I am uneasy after this episode because for the first time, I am genuinely wondering if I was wrong all along. Maybe this story isn’t building up to Jon defeating all odds, maybe the odds defeat him. So, instead of insisting that the writers are wrong, I am wondering what story it is they are telling. Is this a story about what it takes to make a man who can survive the game? Is it about a man who refused to play the game and will therefore be punished? Is it about a man who tried to play the game and learns that there is no winning without losing? Is the point that there is no winning at all?

I don’t know anymore.

So, in this, I have sympathy for the other side of the fandom that has broken hearts this week. And it isn’t entirely because D&D made bad choices, wrote this season poorly, should have had a longer season. I am upset because I am not liking the story they are telling me. I am not sure that that is anyone’s problem but my own for not recognizing what this was from the beginning. I’m still hopeful, I don’t know what we will see in the finale, but I have to accept that my hero fell on Sunday, and I don’t know if he will get back up. He could, but it is possible that he won’t

#anti daenerys #grey!Jon

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searchingwardrobes · 6 years

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Desdichado: Ch 11/?

Finally, the next update on this fic! Unfortunately, this has no Captain Swan in it. However, it is very important to the plot and sets up the next chapter. This also has the development of two of the other couples: Aurora/Phillip (which is good for CS, right?) and Outlaw Queen.

Summary: I think I’ve summarized this differently every single time, but basically this is an Ivanhoe AU. It’s also a fix-it fic (for me anyway) because I never liked how Ivanhoe ended. So basically you’ve got knights, jousting, chivalry, castles, lords & ladies, and Emma and Regina under suspicion of witchcraft. (That last part hasn’t been a big plot point yet, but trust me, it will. You know what I’m talking about if you know Ivanhoe.) Did I mention Killian is a knight? That’s always good, right?

Rating: T

Trigger Warnings: “set in a time period where women were treated like crap” basically sums it up, also starts off Sleeping Captain, but you all know why I’m here . . . lol. Oh, and it Neal is a straight up evil villain in this . . . shocker from me, I know!

You can catch up on Ao3

@bethacaciakay @teamhook @kmomof4 @whimsicallyenchantedrose @snowbellewells @kday426 @snidgetsafan @delirious-latenight-laughs @jennjenn615 @mythologicalmango @wellhellotragic

Chapter Eleven

Aurora blinked, but no light penetrated the dark of the forest around her. She shivered. Even with Sir Phillip’s cloak added to Emma’s, the chill of night could not be warded off. This was the second night spent under the trees since fleeing their captors, and still Phillip insisted upon giving her added warmth while he took none for himself. He did the same with the meager rations in his satchel and the meat from the coney he had managed to shoot for their dinner. He was different from the rest of the knights in his company, and his gentleness and kindness warmed Aurora’s heart even as she feared what her father and Killian may be suffering.

She shifted on the hard ground, wondering what had awakened her from her slumber. Then she heard it, a sharp cry from the other side of the cold embers of last night’s fire.

“No, no! Please, no!”

It was Phillip’s voice, and the brokenness and fear in it made Aurora’s heart clench with an almost physical pain. She heard him thrash and cry out again. The mumbled tone of his voice let her know he wasn’t awake. She crept across the ground to where he lay, letting his cloak slip from her shoulders. She eased down to kneel next to him, and was concerned to see how he trembled. Whether it was from the dreams plaguing him or the cold, she wasn’t sure, but she draped his cloak over his shoulders nonetheless. Her hand drifted to his shoulder and lingered there. She startled when he grasped it firmly in his own.

“Mother?” he asked in a wavering voice.

She eased forward, eyes straining in the dark, but she didn’t think he was awake. She squeezed his hand and ran her thumb along his knuckles soothingly.

“Phillip?”

“Mother,” a slight cry trembled in his voice, “you’re here.”

His voice slurred, and his hand grew limp in hers. She reached out and traced his forehead with her other hand and felt furrows under her fingertips. He was grimacing in his sleep; evidently still within the throws of his nightmare.

“Don’t leave,” he whispered, sounding so much younger than his years.

It was the most vulnerable any man had ever sounded in her presence, and something about it made a part of her heart unfurl in a way she had never known before. She shifted to sit next to him, running her fingers through his hair.

“I am going nowhere, Phillip. I promise.”

“There’s so much pain here, mother, so much hate . . .”

“Shhh, sleep,” she whispered, her fingers still gently soothing his scalp. He let out a sigh, and as she traced his forehead with her thumb, it was smooth. His breathing soon evened out, and his fingers slipped from her grip. He was asleep again.

Aurora gazed into the darkness, tears rolling down her cheeks. She knew what he was dreaming of; it was the Crusades.

*******************************************************

Regina stomped across the campsite, looking around for something to kick, and frustrated when she could find nothing. The rising sun was burning off the mist of dawn, and she squinted against its light as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her fingers dug into her upper arms as she ground her teeth.

“I always find ladies quite fetching when they want to hit something.”

Regina spun around to see Robin Hood leaning cockily against a tree, his own arms crossed as he watched her with an infuriating smile upon his face. She scowled openly at him.

“You make women irate on such a regular basis?”

He chuckled as he pushed himself off the tree. “My wife would have said so when she lived. Yet her fire was one of the things I loved about her. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. All men need such a partner in life, in my opinion.’

Regina rolled her eyes. “Please, you believe no such thing.”

Robin’s eyebrows rose, “You think I’m lying?”

Regina stomped closer to him, “Yes, I do. For one, men universally wish women to be meek and worship them no matter how infantile their actions. Secondly, you certainly didn’t listen when I spoke my mind just now.”

His face softened as he placed both hands on Regina’s shoulders. Her skin heated at his touch. “You have to trust me.”

Regina blinked, thrown slightly by the tingle that skittered down her spine at his nearness. She shook her head and took a step back.

“Trust you? Why should I? You’re a bandit that I’ve known for only two days. And the plan that your merry men and Stefan’s knights have cobbled together could very well get Emma killed.”

“Don’t forget that I fought alongside Sir Killian in the Crusades,” Robin retorted, his voice rising slightly. “I do not wish to see him harmed, nor does Lord Stefan want his daughter endangered.”

“Then we storm the castle!” Regina cried.

Robin stepped directly into her personal space and gazed into her eyes with fire in them. “And we would fail. You heard our scout. He saw Prince James and his knights heading for the castle where our friends are being held. We are far too outnumbered.”

Regina looked away, partly because she didn’t want to hear his arguments and partly because the way he looked at her had her feeling off-kilter. She blinked rapidly as worry and fear threatened to overwhelm her. But Mills women didn’t show softness; they didn’t show weakness, so she squared her jaw and took a step away from the bandit at her side. He stopped her with a gentle hand to her elbow.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned eluding the Sheriff of Nottingham, it’s that you don’t reveal move three before you’ve made moves one and two.”

Regina jerked her arm away. “This isn’t chess. Emma is no pawn.”

He grinned at her. “But how do you know I don’t have an extra knight – or even a king – up my sleeve?” He reached out for her again, running his hand up and down her arm in what she assumed was supposed to be a soothing gesture. How could he know his touch left fire in its wake? “We’ll draw the Templar knights away from the castle where my men fight best. Meanwhile Stefan’s men will attack from the rear –“

“- and set fire to the garrison,” Regina interrupted in irritation, “I was there for the strategy meeting, remember? So excuse me if I don’t want my dau – my ward – set on fire!”

Robin shook his head. “It’s a diversion, remember. It will give us time to –“

“To search every inch of that enormous castle?” she barked a sarcastic laugh. “There are so many holes in this plan, it’s ridiculous.”

Robin’s eyes narrowed, a sure sign he was beginning to lose his patience with her. Regina could care less. She may have been the only women in this little band, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to just be dragged along in any fool hardy scheme they concocted. The two of them were in an obstinate standoff, but before either of them could get in another barb, a sharp, high pitched cry pierced the edge of the camp.

“Please! Mercy! I beg of you!”

Regina’s eyes rose in alarm as they met Robin’s, and they raced across the camp. At the edge of the forest clearing, the merry men had a figure surrounded, their bows fitted with arrows to point at the interloper. When Regina and Robin pushed through the crowd, they were both shocked to find a slight young woman with dark brown hair crumpled on the ground with both hands raised and a look of terror upon her face.

“Stand down, men, she’s but a child!” Robin barked. Then he reached out for the girl and helped her up, speaking soothingly to her until her trembling ceased. He led her over to one of the logs by the fire, his eyes connecting with Regina’s as he did so. She understood his meaning and rushed to get the girl a cup of water. She accepted it gratefully, but only took a sip before speaking.

“My name’s Violet, and I am a servant at Glowerhaven castle.”

“Where they’re keeping Emma!” Regina gasped as she eagerly sat beside the girl. “No one seems to know who the Lord of that castle is. What can you tell us?”

The girl’s eyes filled up with tears, and Regina rubbed her back soothingly. She took a deep breath, then spoke.

“It will be Sir Baelfire’s once he weds. It’s part of his father’s holdings, though it’s only been a summer holiday retreat all the years I’ve worked there.”

Robin clenched a fist as he growled under his breath. “Lord Robert.”

Violet nodded. “Aye. His main estate is Fortress Gold on the far side of the kingdom, though I’ve never been there.”

Regina shook her head in frustration. “But what of the prisoners. What of my Emma?”

“And my dear Aurora,” Stefan added, coming to stand beside Robin, his face a tortured mask of worry and fear.

“It was Lady Emma and Sir Killian who told me to run. You see, her and Lady Aurora switched places that first day. I was to be the Lady Aurora’s chamber maid, but I’ve been Lady Emma’s instead while she cares for Sir Killian’s injuries.”

“Switched places!” Stefan cried. “Where is my daughter now?”

“She fled with Sir Phillip. To . . . Misthaven I believe?”

“She fled in the company of one knight?” Stefan moaned as he sank to the log. “She’ll be ruined!”

“Your daughter managed to escape from her kidnappers, and that’s what you’re worried about?” Regina exclaimed. Lord Stefan gave her a disapproving glare that could have curdled milk, but Regina could care less. Of all the patriarchal, ridiculous –

“Oh, but she had no choice, my Lord!” Violet exclaimed. “Prince James was on his way to force her into a marriage.” The child flushed as she glanced at the two men before her, then leaned towards Regina and whispered. “She was terrified, m’lady, she seemed to think he would . . . deflower her.”

Violet began to tremble again, and Regina shot a glare of her own at Lord Stefan as she pulled the poor girl close. After a few moments of Regina’s soothing fingers in her hair, the girl lifted her tear streaked face to Regina.

“Lord Killian was mending well under Lady Emma’s care, but then Sir James arrived. He frightened me so! He may be the prince, but he’s cruel.” She turned her gaze to the men. “He plans to use them as bait to capture Lord Stefan.”

Robin nodded, rubbing his chin with his hand. “He assumes we still believe Aurora to be imprisoned at Glowerhaven.”

“And we did,” Regina put in, giving Violet another smile, “until this brave girl found us.” Then she sighed deeply before looking up at Robin. “I do hate admitting when I’m wrong, but . . . what was that chess move you were planning again?”

Robin grinned down at her, and she felt a blush rise up into her cheeks. He clapped his hands, “All right, Merry Men! Let’s prepare for battle!”

Regina rose to her feet, relieved to finally be doing something to help her ward. She was also relieved that she hadn’t been forced to make her final chess move in order to ensure Emma’s safety. But before she could follow after Robin, Violet grasped her hand frantically.

“They have to hurry!” Violet implored with a trembling voice. “Prince James has murder in his eyes.”

Regina swallowed the bile that threatened to rise in her throat. She knew all too well Prince James’ true nature, and she’d be damned if the past eighteen years had been for naught.

#cs ff #cs ff au #historical au #sort of #Ivanhoe au #Killian as a knight #starts out sleeping captain #captain swan is end game

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hitchell-mope · 6 years

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Descendants 1 and 2 but....

Zendaya is mal

They have a cinematic budget

The magic works like that in once upon a time (IE the smoke travel heart ripping and force choking) but there no price

There is magic on the island but the only way out apart from how the rotten four leave is the fairy godmothers wand

It’s also part jukebox musical and they swear (except ben and gil they too nice)

Zendaya!mal doesn’t use a potion on ben instead she uses a truth gummies on herselfand tells him what her mother wants her to do and ben helps them get out from their parents influence

Bens allowed to get a word in edgewise and breaks up with Audrey at the lockers then goes to ask mal out

The xenophobia angle is more prelevant

Carlos and mal call out Leah on her bullshitting saying just cause they were raised by villains doesn’t mean they’re carbon copies of their parents and tell them exactly what cruella did to Carlos (insert horrifying theories here)

In the sequel a subplot is ben trying to get the councils support in bringing more kids to auradon but for six months they’ve been denying him because they don’t believe lightning can strike twice

Carlos listens to mal when Evie doesn’t and tells her to talk to ben and she tells him to try the bandaid solution and tell jay how he feels cause if she has to tell her guy he has to tell his guy

So she goes to try to talk to Ben but the press finds them and they give chase back to where the films started and they keep trying to ward them off but the press don’t take no for an answer and keep asking questions mal doesn’t know the answer to. That’s when it happens

Mal screams in pain her eyes glowing bright green and she rises off the ground until he hands level with bens forehead buildings disintergrate trees and statues get ripped up all the while she’s in the middle of green tornado her hair changing from dark brown to its original dark purple. She’s screaming in pain because she’s never felt this much power before. After all it’s what happens when you try and deny yourself your inborn magic coupled with stress and pent up evil over six months

She is incredibly lucky bens there. Anyone remember the last air bender episode where they’re in the desert and aanf almost eviscerates the sandbenders once he finds out they stole appa? And katara talks him and and calms him? Yeah that’s exactlywhat ben does. He talks her down gently and just holds her as she collapses sobbing in his arms. Then she passes out

She wakes up Velcroed to a hospital bed to the sounds of ben arguing with his father about why magic should be reintroduced to auradon so something like what happened mal doesn’t ever to someone else. Beast says no stating that’s unfair advantage crap he used to justify retiring it in the first place to which ben yells at him to leave noticing mals awake he goes to her and apologises saying he should known she was struggling. She says it’s not his fault she never let on she had a problem in the first place. Then they see the television. 12 dead 4 injured. This causes her to breakdown again. Ben switches off the tv and continues to comfort her

That night bens in the chair next to her bed asleep. Mal removes the restraints and leave the hospital room smoke travels back to her dorm. Then she decides she can’t stay in auradon anymore because she’s now a killer so she goes back to the isle same way she did in the film when she gets to the hideout she collapses on the couch in tears saying “it’s my fault” over and over again

This time she goes to curl up and dye because she’s trying to atone and she feels the only way to do that is check in on dizzy. Then when harry arrives and starts perving on mal she does the logical thing and breaks his arm and leaves him there on the floor apologising to dizzy on her way out

When ben wakes up he has a mini break down cause hey his girlfriend who needs his help up and left in the middle of the night when she needs all the support she can get. So in a fit of panic he makes a bee line for the limo intent on going to the island to apologise and support her cause god Satan and the Olympians all know she needs it.

The Evie finds him on her way to visit mal. He’s in the limos drivers seat trying to get it to work and it isn’t and he’s crying and screaming obscenities at it and just lies his head on the wheel crying his eyes out. She takes him to the boys dorm where he lets her have saying mal tried to tell her and Evie laughed her off cause. Evie says doesn’t ben thinks she knows it’s why they’re going to the island to try and convince mal to come back cause let’s face it she needs help now more then ever

So chillin like a villain and Gil recognises ben like on the film. Then at the hideout he insists mal will get help if she comes back with them. She says can’t because she’s killed people and beast will be waiting with handcuffs the moment she steps out of the limo. Ben doesn’t but that to him she a good person who’s been under a lot stress and hasn’t been able to cut loose. Then sad song/space between happens. Mal decides she might return if ben can promise she’ll get the help she needs and she can’t be relied on as much as she has been because it’s obvious she wasn’t coping. What mal wants mal gets (within reason obviously) so of course he says yes he just wants her to be happy and if bringing magic back to auradon and being more selective in duties is what would make her happy then magics coming back to auradon and she’s getting less work to do. Council be darned (my child doesn’t swear) mal says yes she’ll go back

This time he is euphoric when he leaves to start the limo that’s when he’s jumped he tries to fight them off but gets knocked out.

Mal heard Harry talking to the others so she poofs down there and uses a taser on harry starting below the belt the the stomach aorta throat eye and brain. She then tells him it can be used as a suppository. She asks the others to restrain him while she goes to talk to uma

Mal poofs into the restaurant and riffs on her mother’s speech (well well not quite the glittering assemblage I was expecting no nobility no gentry just the rabble how quaint) uma says there’s no rabble here but mal. Mal retorts with “oh dear what an awkward situation”. Then the arm wrestle happens. Umm wants to know where harry is. Mal says if Uma returns ben unharmed then mal will return harry in one piece. If not well harry will come back in weekly instalments.

To prove she’s not kidding mal conjures up gil and Harry’s aortas and threatens to destroy them if uma doesn’t give ben back. Uma pokes the bear by saying she saw the news. “All the hard work for nothing eh? You had it all and lost it all in a pitifully short time.

This gets to mal and is when control happens. Mal spends the musical number just mentally torturing uma and gil (mostly uma) until her eyes start to glow again and she collapses in pain at umas feet. This is when uma gets the idea to bring the wand and harry in exchange for ben (attack them at their lowest point and all that)m

Mal reluctantly agrees and is about to leave when uma asks what auradon is like. Mal says it’s so much better off with out her (Mal). She then throws gils heart back to uma and leaves

Back at the hideout Harry’s trying to mess with their heads. They’re not being sucked in. He now looks like he’s been dragged face first over a cheese grater. Then Mal comes back she poofs him back to uma leaving the hook which she then burns she also leaves all his valuables.

Mal tells them the plan. Get the wand or ben dies. Evie goes in to panic mode and tries to treat mal with kid gloves. She keeps telling Mal not to panic. And then she tells Mal not to blame herself after all it’s no ones fault

Mal doesn’t blame herself she blamed Evie. Cause if Evie listened instead of laughing her off then maybe just maybe ben wouldn’t be captured. Evie says she did listen. Mal says no Evie laughed her off. CARLOS listened and gave her useful advice but she never got the chance to implement it because of the damn press. Evie tries to counteract with ben would’ve gone with or without them but she’s cut off my Mal throttling her with magic and just before the light dies from her eyes Mal poofs her back to the limo.

She asks the boys how they can get the wand cause she can’t magic up a fake because uma will sense her magic. Carlos suggests the 3D printer and Mal sends them on their way. Before they go carlos years into her. She cannot keep doing this she cannot keep pushing her pushing people away. If she keep doing that she won’t have anybody left. So yeah the boys would go make a fake wand but not for Mal, for ben cause he didn’t ask to be caught up in Mal and Uma’s childish rivalry

#descendants au

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theclaravoyant · 8 years

Text

Apples & Dandelions

AN ~ A potential-future-fic based on the 'Fitz' dad as the Big Bad' concept. Contains some references to canon compatible past (verbal) abuse, and themes of manipulation (via blackmail, not brainwashing etc). Rated T.

After Fitz' father sends a number of threatening messages and an ultimatum to Shield, Fitz decides it's time to confront his father. As it turns out, the apple can fall as far from the tree as it likes, especially when there's someone there to catch it.

Read below or on AO3 (~3500wd)

Apples & Dandelions

It’s the fourth time Jemma’s checked that his tac vest is sitting properly. He’d be annoyed by now if his attention weren’t swamped in his own anxieties. As it is, she works around his twisting, flapping fingers without a word. She knows the vest is fixed, she just needs something to fret over that isn’t quite directly related to the fact that Fitz is about to enter a dangerous, unpredictable confrontation with a man he barely knows, but who has his emotions on a knife’s edge.

“You shouldn’t be going.” Daisy’s standing on the other side of them, by the table, biting a nail but otherwise keeping her body as still as possible, as if unlocking her feet from this position will result in her forcibly stopping Fitz from leaving. “It shouldn’t be you.”

Fitz shakes his head, and though he wishes his tone could sound a bit more solid when he says it aloud, he stands by his words.

“I have to go. This the man that thinks I’m an idiot, and he wants to take us down. I won’t let him play mind games with you – he’ll have us all at each other’s throats or our own before we know what hit us. No. It’s too dangerous. It has to be me.”

“It has to be us,” Jemma corrects him. Mack comes in to stand by Daisy, and May hovers by the door, a visual reminder that he’s not alone. Fitz smiles a little. It hurts his heart to let them follow him, to let them endanger themselves on his behalf, but he knows they’d never have it any other way.

“Right. Us.” He squeezes Jemma’s hand and she smiles up at him, a proud if slightly sorrowful smile. She’s worried too.

“Fitz,” May beckons. “It’s time.”

He sighs and clips his pistol into its holster. He looks around at the team solemnly and it feels a little like they’re seeing him off to war.

“We’re right here,” Daisy reminds him. They’ll be on comms the whole time. Right beside him. He finally manages to force the air out of his lungs and draw in more, and follows May with his head held high.

Standing at the door, Fitz feels a metallic tang in his mouth. He wonders if his arms might suddenly become so weak he can’t push the door open. He wonders if his tongue is going to stick to the roof of his mouth, or if the sight of his father will manage to chase the words away to behind that white sheet of aphasia. He can only imagine what would happen then.

Clenching a fist, he listens to Daisy’s steady breathing on the other end of the comm link. At this very moment she’s sitting in a room full of everyone who loves him. Everyone he is about to stop his father taking away.

Fitz pushes the door open and finds it easy. Surprisingly easy. Almost suspiciously so. But then it clangs shut behind him, a dry sound that seems to cut through the air in this place, and suck it out. It feels like he’s been swallowed by something; a giant whale made of concrete and steel.

“Fitz,” Jemma breathes, and he nods – reassuring her, reassuring himself.

He steps forward slowly, an ant…not quite an ant, a cat perhaps, in this giant space. The warehouse towers above his head and stretches out all around. He wonders if anyone would be able to hear him scream standing at the other end of it, and he wonders by what miracle they couldn’t already hear his heart. Slowly, frustratingly slowly, he makes his way to a table in the middle of the room. There’s a setup of servers and crates around it – a makeshift computer lab – and two men in black stand guard with machine guns almost as long as Fitz is tall.

“Leopold.”

He doesn’t recognise the voice, of course he wouldn’t, but it grates on him. It’s the voice that cuts through him like a knife every time someone uses his first name, and though he’s forgotten what it sounds like he remembers how it feels. Like it’s turned his heart black, rotting and hollow. Like whoever speaks it has the power to carve his insides out and make him nothing.

“Arthur,” he greets in return. It doesn’t carry the same weight – a power play is not nearly as strong when it’s that obvious – but it makes him feel a little better. It makes him feel at least like he can try, even when his father waves the guards away and snorts with laughter.

Fitz’ father shakes his head, drawing himself slowly out of the chair in the midst of the lab setup as if he’s about to coach an overzealous child out of their dreams. Fitz would hardly consider being summoned under the threat of, essentially, the blackmail-and-or-torture of his closest friends to be a dream, but as long as his father doesn’t try to touch him or charm him or Leopold him again, he might just be able to stomach it.

“Why did you come here?” Fitz’ father asks. Fitz is confused for a second, and feels a flare of anger in his chest, and something akin to hurt.

“You…told me to. You told me to come.”

The warehouse swallows his words and he regrets having opened his mouth. His father leans in rather than stepping closer, cupping his ear.

“What’s that?” he teased. “Cat’s got your tongue?”

“You told me to come!” Fitz shouts – more of a yelp, really, but it’s too late to do anything about that now. His father laughs again and it sends a shiver down his spine.

“No, no, my dear boy. I told you to prove yourself.”

“How?”

He hears it almost immediately, as if another set of doors has clanged shut behind him. He’s walked right into his father’s trap, fallen into a pit he may not be able to climb back from. His father’s mocking smirk spreads into a hungry grin, watching, waiting for Fitz to trip over himself, just like this. To prove him right.

His father gestures to a set of folders on the table and Fitz can’t help but follow the gesture to study them. Basic manila folders, some thicker than others, laid out overlapping each other. In small, surprisingly neat, hauntingly familiar handwriting he sees at the top of each, names are written. Lance Hunter. Bobbi Morse. Antoine Triplett.

Fitz lifts his eyes back up and his father must be able to see the fear in them.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” he commands.

Jemma takes another deep, calculated breath.

1…2…3. Out, 2…3…

1…2- 3. No, it’s okay, breathe, 2…3…

The seconds stretch on. Long, painful seconds. She wonders if anyone else is as worried as she is, and tries not to rock from one foot to the other. As it is, her fingers are already buried in the top of Daisy’s chair. Is it distracting, the way she bristles? It’s not like she could do much more than she’s doing about it anyway.

“D’you think-“ she requests haltingly. “Could we get- by any chance – a visual?”

Daisy almost lunges at the keyboard. She’s been sinking herself into a meditative state, not very successfully, for the last few minutes and her heartbeat is at a reasonable if high level and she hasn’t broken anything yet, but she’s been dying for someone to ask. Dying to do something even if it’s not race out there and give Fitz backup, or beat his father into the dust.

The CCTV at the warehouse has been deactivated, and most of the cameras have been smashed for good measure, but eventually, Daisy finds something. Her fingers hover.

“What?” Jemma wonders, and Daisy can hear the tightness of her chest in her voice. “Why aren’t you doing things?” Some computer nonsense would be really comforting right now.

“I think…he knows,” Daisy explains. “All the other cameras are destroyed except this one. Is it like a supergenius evil villain to forget to dismantle the surveillance of his lair? One specific item of surveillance?”

Jemma presses her lips together.

“Could you do it, though?” Coulson wonders, passing a foam ball from one hand to the other. He only squeezes it with the flesh-and-blood one; in the other, it would burst.

“Of course.”

“Then do it,” Mack suggests. “If Fitz knows we’re here and he knows we’re here, we might as well actually be there.”

Daisy takes a deep breath. She checks the other faces in the room and decides she has the go-ahead, so she taps in and brings the last surviving camera under control. And of course, it’s the one with the best view of both Fitz and his father, standing on either side of a table that’s surrounded by boxes and cords. They’re glaring at each other like they’re about to have some sort of duel.

Fitz has one pistol strapped to his leg and another at the small of his back. He hasn't drawn either, and there’s no weapons Daisy can see on his father. Daisy wishes she could comfort herself with the thought that it’s because Fitz’ father doesn’t want to hurt him, but already she can feel the cold creep into her veins. She remembers the way it had clawed at her lungs on the deck of the aircraft carrier; how her heart had struggled to pump and the bridge of her nose had felt like it was going to snap in half; how her knees had given way beneath her as her mother had drawn the life from her with her own two hands.

Daisy swallows hard and slowly clenches a fist. It’s going to be a long day.

Then -

“Elena Rodriguez,” Fitz’ father says, as if it means something. His voice is syrupy. And more Americanised than she’d been expecting.

It takes a moment, but Daisy jumps. They shouldn’t have been able to hear him. Beside her head, Jemma’s nails clench the chair so tightly Daisy can almost feel the leather and stuffing begin to rip. She wonders what Jemma would do if she got within punching distance of Mr Fitz’ face. Probably the same thing she herself would. Daisy grinds her teeth together. He definitely knows they’re here, and he’s probably going to use that. Should she tell Fitz, not tell Fitz? Her fretting is distracted by his reply:

“Colombian,” Fitz says. “Nice voice, nice hair. Probably thinks my Spanish is the most ridiculous thing she’s ever heard.”

Elena snorts. It’s true, but that doesn’t mean she approves of this bastardo using it against her friend.

“You speak Spanish?” his father challenges.

Fitz says nothing. He can’t. His Spanish is infamously terrible and his father would only laugh. And the only words he can remember at this very moment are, funnily enough, ay carumba! He could bring up how he learnt Hebrew, Arabic and Latin too, but he has nothing to prove it. How, how could he look mobsters and terrorists in the face and speak and be faced with his father and –

“Nothing?” His father tuts and shakes his head. “Can’t say I didn’t see that one coming.”

Fitz clenches his fist. He knows, they know, he’s better than this. They’re all in his head, standing right beside him. He has to remember. He is better in every way than his father believes him to be. He is worthwhile and he is standing here and he is going to get out of this game.

“But you didn’t know it,” he points out. That was the challenge, after all, wasn’t it? He raises an eyebrow at his father and maybe – just maybe – catches a flicker of respect. Then his father puts Elena’s file down and picks up another, and Fitz feels like he’s just stepped up a level in difficulty.

“Lincoln Campbell.”

“Made great popcorn.” Fitz smiles, a little bitterly, and hopes Daisy gets a smile out of it to, even though his father shoots him a glare. Technically, though, Fitz has beaten the game, so he slaps the file down with irritation and picks up another. He points at Fitz with it, jabbing the air, irritated at the table between them. He grinds his teeth together. He put it between them, he can take it away.

Fitz’ father rounds the table, and watches a shiver of fear run through his son. It’s taking all Fitz has not to take a step back, but he resists. His father jabs the file at his chest one more time. The manila card bends and flexes, harmless against his tac vest, but he starts to itch, claustrophobic all of a sudden in this giant space.

“No more tricks,” his father growls. “Facts. Proof.”

Fitz nods before he even knows what he’s doing. Not that it matters; he doesn’t have any choice. Still, he clenches his fist and stops himself. The stakes are getting higher. He must keep control. He must. He can.

“Jemma Simmons.”

“Scoliosis adjustment surgery when she was twelve.”

Medical records were the first thing he thought of and he knows so much about Jemma that it leaps from his tongue. His father’s clearly not expecting that, but doesn’t give him the satisfaction of showing it for long before folding Jemma’s file carefully, pointedly closed. He puts it on the table in a separate file of things to follow up on.

“She also has a scar on her leg from where she stitched herself up on an alien planet,” Fitz adds, his blood burning. He relishes the burst of confidence. “But they don’t have much in the way of medical records in space.”

“Then it can’t be proven,” his father points out, feigning indifference. “So we move on. Alphonso Mackenzie. Mack, isn’t it?”

Fitz is frozen, not the video, that much Daisy can tell. She looks around at the others uncertainly. They can feel the tension in this room almost as if they’re down in the warehouse. They’re all looking at each other. Jemma is looking at Mack. Mack is staring at the screen, waiting, listening. Fitz seems stuck on what to say. He can’t play games anymore, for fear of whatever his father has in waiting, but he can’t say anything he can’t prove, either – like about the shotgun-axe. Mack wonders if Fitz remembers he has a brother. That, he could prove. But that might mean putting more people in danger, and maybe Fitz is avoiding it on purpose. There must be something else.

“Give me that,” Mack says gruffly, reaching a hand out to Daisy. She unclips the comm unit from the console and passes it over to him, curious. Elena is watching him with a solemn expression, and as Mack leans over the counter with a tight sigh, she rests a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey,” Mack greets Fitz, who does a very good job of not reacting too much to the new voice in his ear. “Tell him – Tell him I had a daughter, born April 16, 2006. Hope, her name was.”

“Her name was Hope,” they hear Fitz echo. His eyes drop to the floor for a moment, feeling the weight of it settle over him. Mack has never mentioned her before and tears fill his eyes as he thinks about the implications of it all. Especially had.

Mack puts the comm unit back in its setting and everyone in the room lowers their eyes, one by one, giving him as much space as they can, and feeling bad for staring. Daisy’s eyes drift meaninglessly over the console, her heart aching with the knowledge that now two of her friends are suffering instead of one, and she almost doesn’t notice Fitz raise his clenched fist on the video. She sees, but doesn’t register it, until Fitz shouts over something his father says –

“Well he would’ve been a better dad than you were!”

Fitz’ dad raises his eyebrows.

“Excuse me?”

No turning back now. Fitz can see his heartbeat in his eyes and it feels like he’s facing down anyone who’s ever betrayed him.

“He would have been a better dad than you were,” he repeats, in a low, dangerous voice. He maps out, in his head, what he’s going to do if his father tries to attack him. He’s got two pistols, he could get at least one up. He could duck under the table. He could knee him in the groin.

“Hope,” his father growls back, “is dead. How much fathering’d your friend get to do in four days, hm?”

A vision flashes into Fitz’ head, of Mack holding a tiny baby girl, so softly, like a bird. He opens his mouth and no words come out, it’s so violently horrible to think that he’s handed over that image, that vulnerability to his father.

“Huh?” His father challenges the ceiling and the walls. “How much? Did you read her stories? Did you wipe her arse? Did you throw a little baseball around or listen to her natter on about bloody monkeys all day?”

Fitz looks around, his heart pounding, his eyes awash with fury and tears.

“It’s alright,” Daisy assures him, just before his father booms:

“Did you think I wouldn’t have my own team checking up everything you say? Did you think I’d sit here, in perfect view of the camera – “ he points to the only working one, the one Daisy’s hacked – “and let you watch me like some sadistic voyeurs? No, no, Leopold. You have your friends, I have mine. And there’s only one friend of yours I can think of that could have given my friends this much trouble.”

He pauses at the table, and taps his fingers on the cover of the last remaining file. There’s only one friend, Fitz knows, who is glaringly left. And it’s the thickest file on the table. Fitz laughs – a cold, hollow, pained laugh like a man who knows the circumstances of his death are going to be particularly ironic.

“This was never about me at all, was it?” he checks. “You always wanted Daisy. This whole time. Of course you did.”

The tension in the room is no longer suffocating him. It crackles through him, like electricity. Like fury in his veins, and sickening terror, working together to keep him alive because if he doesn’t get out now, it’s too late.

“Okay, okay, something you don’t know –“ the words are springing from his lips now, everything he’d wanted to say since he’d walked in here. “- I am never going to give her to you. No matter what you do or say, or try to goad me into doing or saying. No matter how stupid or worthless you’re going to try to make me think I am…no matter how you blackmail me, or my friends, none of us are ever going to give her to you because we love her. And she sure as hell loves me more than you ever did.

“And you know what? I thought she was a pain in the ass, too, when I first met her. High school dropout, unqualified hacker-slash-troublemaker. I thought she was going to get us all killed, I really did, but she ended up saving my life. A lot of times. In more ways than one. Okay?

“And she reminded me that– that just because people don’t treat you with love, it doesn’t mean you don’t deserve it and it doesn’t mean you can’t be loving anyway. And she taught me that you can be brilliant - Absolutely. Brilliant. - without abusing yourself over it and without jumping all those hoops you held out for me.”

Blood singing with freedom, Fitz pulls the pistol from the small of his back and points it dead at his father’s chest with a surprisingly steady hand. He peers down the barrel for a moment to check his aim, and then stares into his father’s eyes. He seems to be finding this amusing. Well. Fitz’ eyes glint with steel, and he tightens his grip. The hurt and fury and liberation are eating him up like a storm, it’s exhausting, but he just has to cling to it for a few more seconds…

“And do you know what else she taught me, Da?” Fitz breaths, his voice low and dangerous. He steps up – one, two, three strides, until the nose of his pistol is pressing firmly into his father’s chest. His father looks down at him with a sardonic expression, as if the barrel pressed to his chest would do no more damage than a water pistol. Go on then, he’s saying. Go on then, if you’re so Good.

Fitz smiles, and finds it surprisingly easy to do so. He’s been expecting this exact reaction. Perhaps he does have more of his father’s manipulation skills in him than he’d thought.

“She taught me, I don’t need you to tell me who I am.”

And then he pulls the trigger.

(It’s an Icer, of course, and the team come down as quickly as possible to help him clean up and clear out the operation. Then Daisy hugs him so tight and for so long, he forgets what it feels like to stand alone.)

#fitz #fitz backstory #thefitzsimmonsnetwork #brot3: bus kids #aosteam #fitzdaisy #brotp: a tonne of weird crap #fitzsimmons #aos s4 #aos spoilers

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