#i would start a war just to f*ck that old man too | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fe-semi-decent-scenarios · 4 years

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oooh could you do protective headcanons for the golden deer too??🥺

{I most certainly can. Y’all know I love these tropes so keep ‘em coming. Hope it’s to your liking! :3}

Claude:

6/10

Neutral, with just a tad bit of nerves.

Look. Claude has bigger fish to fry than what you’re gallivanting on about during the day. The man has a dream to catch with literally a country and 1/3 (woot woot alliance) on his shoulders.

First, the future. Then, you. Can’t have a life together if there is no place for it to be had, yeah?

This doesn’t mean that he never worries about you. Quite the contrary, if he begins then he can’t stop. So he doesn’t tinker the thought.

Instead he has his most trusted allies at your back. During the Academy days you were left under Hilda’s watchful eye, and during the war you are always nearby (courtesy of matchmaker Prof.Byleth)

Once he puts a ring on it you’ll have guards. No problem.

He also trusts your own capabilities. One doesn’t train every day to walk out with nothing

Also

You make me laugh if you think Claude believes you’ll ever cheat on him

Not that he’s cocky okay, maybe a bit but no one would dare put the moves on “The Master Tactician’s” s/o

Any suitor coming your way is peasant fodder. If not to him, than to your own personal retaliation.

Yupp, nothing to worry about. You’ve got it covered. He’ll only step in if you physically come ask him

and with a bit of teasing he’ll comply

However, Claude is very sensitive to illness for obvious reasons. This is why he’s listed at a six. He always insists on tasting your food

It was a gimmick at first, and in the beginning he’d make banter to sneak a bite while you remain all unknowing of his true intentions

He’ll be damned if someone ever poisons you. They won’t ever get the chance

Ignatz:

9/10

Let us face it. Iggy is a worry-wart.

He freaks out over the most minuscule of situations. The poor lad nearly gets a heart attack at least once a day

And no, i’m not just referring to his pre-timeskip self. Ignatz may have grown a head taller, got a backbone, fancy harem artist pants--but no, he did not lose his inner anxious zealot. That trait will cling until the day he dies sadly

Having you at his side only makes things worse (in a good way. The trouble is worth it to him)

Especially if you’re more of the risky sort. Expect him to mother hen if you cause ruckus around the monastery. He can and will lecture you to death (only to apologize and hide away after)

Now not only does he worry about his own issues, but also yours. I swear Ignatz acts like you are his second being. If someone scolds you, hurts you, etc. he acts like they did it to him

Can be a bit dramatic, not gonna lie. He gets so worked up that his ears go red. Like, you can just t e l l he’s holding so much back because he doesn’t want to go too far

Don’t even get me started on if someone tries to make a move on you

He becomes t o r n. It isn’t his place to tell you who to hang around, but ohmygodwhatifyourealizeheisn’tgoodenough

iggy no, bad iggy. don’t think like that

He feels threatened so easily and not many would peg him the jealous type. He is, but hides it very well.

If need be he will talk out his feelings with you. That’s something noteworthy of Ignatz: he uses his words. He may find communicating such thoughts aloud difficult, but if he truly is concerned then he will be honest with you.

Raphael:

10/10

Raphael believes in trust. He expects you to be honest and to not keep anything important secret. In return he’ll do the same.

This is why he doesn’t care if someone is flirting. He could give less of a thought on gossip, rumors, or anything really. That effort can go towards training

He truly, honest to Sothis, trusts you with all his heart. There isn’t any time to spend doing otherwise. Raph just wants to live happily and that means having you by his side

Nor does he feel intimidated by anyone else either. I’m not saying that he reeks of resolved confidence, but Raph believes that you love him. Love topples any mindless flirting that other people throw your way

but let’s get one thing straight

If anybody, and I mean ANYBODY, tries to hurt you

This guy’s having them for b r e a k f a s t. Pounded, sliced, and Smoked. The same way he liked his bacon.

You are his family. Raphael protects his family, and those he cares about.

You will never be alone. Goddess if you cry and someone else is the cause then he will take action. One fault of Raph is that while he’s a sweetie, he doesn’t think before acting a lot. Similar to Caspar, he just goes for it

It takes a lot to get underneath Raph’s skin.

In short: do not f*ck with his loved ones. He would take on Nemisis himself mono-e-mono if it meant protecting them

Lorenz:

8/10

Y’all going to sit there and try to convince me that Lorenz Hellman Gloucester doesn’t try to establish dominance?

Key word: try

He’s quickly shut down

“Lorenz if you tell one more person that we’re betrothed, I swear that I’ll shave off your eyebrows” - You, one month post-confession

Saying that you’re his perfect match is no excuse. Considering all the preaching he does on noble humility, you’d think he would want your private affairs off the notice board?

It doesn’t take long for your peers to start complaining. Claude finds his behavior entertaining, but not a day goes by that someone doesn’t beg you to make him shut up

Lorenz is also a bit old fashioned. He doesn’t like the idea of you fighting more than necessary

Once again, shut down

Best way to deal with Lorenz is to let him think he has his way, then just do whatever. He gets upset, pouts, spouts his normal lecture, but then relents. All in due process with him

Never thought I’d say this, but perhaps requesting not to be in the same troop together is the best option? You’d think he would fight better with an S tier relationship at his side? Nahhh. HE TAKES YOUR KILLS IT IS NOT FAIR

He gives too much attention to what you’re doing, and not the enemy. Best if you stay separated

Ugh pray no one hits on you in front of him. Just... *screams* I don’t think anyone will, just to avoid him getting defensive. I swear the other deer take extensive preventative measures to avoid it.

Hilda:

6/10

C’mon. This is Hilda we’re talking about

You two most likely grew closer because she “asks” you for help so often

Just like Claude, she has bigger fish to fry. The last type of person she wants to be is Holst (she loves him though don’t misinterpret that)

She does worry though

Not enough to make her take the front lines, but a smidgen. Just to where you’ll get periodic check in’s

Nothing obvious. A simple “what’s going on?” as she inquired about your well-being

A precarious scan-over as she checks for any new scars

She does get jealous though. There’s an entire castle full of available people and someone chooses to flirt with you?

That just doesn’t make sense. Perhaps the “once something is taken it becomes more desirable,” saying has some truth

She’s quite the clinger. You’ll just be walking and suddenly, BOOM, bubble-gum pink arm-candy in the corner of your vision

Once you two bypass the ‘puppy-love’ early stages, she changes.

Despite her negligence beforehand, she does become overprotective

Will fight if needed. Say you have a paralogue? Just so happens she was nearby and wants to tag along

She also has to protect you from Holst. My dear, you cannot do that yourself. Brotherly wrath beseeches you, my god. Run dude run

Marianne:

3/10

A possessive streak is nonexistent in her blood. Such thing is a personal fear of her’s. Marianne refuses to conform to the stereotypes associated with her crest

However, she does believe that one day you may leave her side. Marianne isn’t the most confident person. She...doubts

Often does she wonder if you’re there solely to make her hurt. To love her and then one day disappear without a trace

Anxieties like so will not go away overnight. She will not seek reassurance, which makes her more uncommunicative than most partners

but no one is perfect. Neither are you. All you personally can do is politely decline any advances, and do your best to let Marianne know that you love her

She isn’t particularly protective in any other sense either. She’ll heal you if needed, but special attention isn’t there

Marianne treats being a healer like how an ER doctor operates. On the field, everyone is equal. She is needed everywhere and cannot stay by your side. Otherwise lives will be lost, and that won’t be good for her conscience.

The same goes for all other aspects. If you’re gone, then you’re gone. If you’re sick, then you’re sick. She cannot give you special attention and acts in accordance to severity of the situation. Patients cannot be weighed in value via personal bias

She has a surprisingly strong sense of self control, let me tell ya.

Lysithea:

7/10

She...does not have much time. Entering a romantic relationship was not a possibility that crossed her mind once before you

Why bother when the ending is certain? Why leave someone brokenhearted, or a widow? Why give herself that extra stress when she’s already under so much as it is?

You can’t blame her for being extra cautious. While her life may be hanging on a string, that doesn’t mean yours has to end

After some time she develops a resolve. If needed she would gladly lay her life down if it meant you could live another day

A problematic conclusion. You two will argue often over how she cannot trade a ‘life for a life,’ just because of her special circumstances. Her mind always enforces that it’s the logical decision, and has trouble recognizing her own value

I suppose that comes with being a know-it-all, huh? Once her mind is set then there is no changing it

Despite her brain sending all the signals that acting on jealousy is wrong...well, we know Lysithea

She won’t come out and say she gets protective for your sake. Apparently anyone flirting with you already had business with her

Business that miraculously unfolds once you leave. Then suddenly they no longer have an interest?

What’d she do? Threaten to shove a thoron up their rectum? No one knows

Leonie:

9/10

She is the mom who’d create a strict morning routine for her kids to follow before school

Or a thorough itinerary on a vacation

Not a moment or bullion to be wasted!

Cannot express enough how much this girl cares. She can become annoying from all the interference, but you’ll never become a bum with her in your life

You might want to ask her to butt out. Remind her that you’re not one of the kids from her village, and that you can handle yourself

Sometimes you’ll joke and say “yes mom,” because she gets b o s s y

Which will earn you either: a) a glare, or b) her playing along and confusing everyone else

So in a sense, yeah she’s protective. Overbearing in her own Leonie way

Not the jealous type. Leonie doesn’t look at what other people have, and instead focuses on her own life. If someone wants to shamelessly throw themselves at your feet then that’s their issue. You know better than to cheat on her

I can see her complaining to the captain or to Byleth though. Why waste time when the issue can easily be solved? Obviously someone with the time to flirt has time to do training drills

Bonus! Cyril: (because during my first play-through I kept expecting GD to take him under their wing. They did not, and Nintendo missed out.)

5/10

He personally hates being treated like a child. When someone doesn’t take him seriously Cyril’s self restraint goes b o o m

So he won’t do that to you. You’re a capable individual and that’s that. Nothing more for him to interfere with

His only protective streak lies when you’re incapable of doing things yourself. Aka: injured, ill, resting, etc.

He’ll nag you for not being careful, but it’s not hard to miss the tears pricking his eyes

He’s also very perceptive towards break-in’s. Many people have tried to kidnap/assassinate people of higher standing. He’s witnessed many attempts towards lady Rhea. I see him taking night shifts for patrol often, and after the war the habit sticks with him.

He takes a lot onto his shoulders often. It’s not bad. Being dedicated is an admirable trait, yet if you’re down someone will have to stop him from picking up the slack.

He’s no healer, and leaves that job to the professionals. However he doesn’t want anyone to disturb you with the work your missing. So he’ll do it in your stead

Manuela lets him stay in the infirmary past visitation hours. Mostly because he’s so busy during the day that he can’t come by

He won’t return to his room those nights. He prefers to be by your side, just in case.

Other than this type of situation- no, he’s not protective in the slightest.

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cooltrainererika · 4 years

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A Star Wars Noob’s ideas for fixing the Disney sequels

Okay so just to get this out there, because it won’t leave my mind.

So I’ve been binging on SW lately and the sequels only annoy me more and more by the day. So just wanted to throw my character ideas out into the world. Focusing on characters because I like writing characters way more than plot. Hopefully if I ever actually write this thing, or even somehow pitch it to someone with the right connections to animate it with the actors as voice actors, this wouldn’t have gone viral. But since no one looks at my blog it probably won’t lol. Hopefully.

But just in case, I’ll say that this will probably contain spoilers for a story which may or may not exist by the time you read this.

I’ve deliberately been trying to avoid as much emotional spoilers and normal spoilers as I can before the sequels despite the temptation, so sorry if some stuff is a bit off. Augh I hope I can get the time to watch the full OT and PT soon. I was too tired from hiking when I watched SW4 and I now really wish my dad didn’t show me when I was half-asleep.

Rey: Rainbow of possibilities; Cynical Scavenger, Adventure-seeking Audience Surtogate Geek, or Lawful Good to the core Paladin Padawan with a personal grudge, and may be descended from a family line, maybe not, but currently most likely a Skywalker by blood. Story and other character arcs change dramatically depending on which route chosen.

Finn: Stoic soldier man learns power of friendship, finds meaning of life, causes Stormtrooper mutiny, probably becomes a Jedi and second main character and hooks up with Rey. “What‘s a joke?”. Awkward dork and stunted socially but doing his best. May instinctively find it hard to disobey orders. He may be the one wanting to find his family; but that’s dropped soon enough to focus on what’s ahead.

(Alternatively: Proud warrior guy who acts like a stereotypical North Korean soldier who finds himself outside the First Order, learns power of friendship etc. The rest is the same)

Poe Dameron: What we Japanese people call The Aniki. The funny charismatic ace pilot who keeps everyone sane, overall bro. Wholesome but a bit rough, that guy you would want to share a beer with. But within that easygoing nature burns a hotblooded, determined, dutiful streak, and an even stronger snarky streak. The one with the social skills. Loves his droid like his son though Cynical!Rey and Finn find that initially kind of stupid/strange.

Kylo Ren/Ben Solo: Appears to be yet another quietly imposing Star Wars villain with added edgelord factor, but actually a mentally unstable, borderline yandere berserker of a man crushed under the weight of a legacy, with a horrifying inferiority complex, identity issues, and an unhealthy obsession with familial honor, constantly stuck between Dark and Light. Despite his high rank, basically the First Order’s attack dog. Usually has the emotional maturity of a 16-year-old, if not younger. If anyone is, he’s the damsel in distress of this story.

Luke Skywalker: Cuddly sunshine headmaster sage doing his best, has been on many adventures before that are hidden ads to future Lucasfilm projects. May have gone to search for answers as to what is causing recent events, or is still present at the beginning. May survive at the end. He could be anywhere from kind of jaded but at his core still that sweet optimist, to Basically Uncle Iroh, to can-literally-summon-Porgs-by-whistling/Space Sage Mr. Rogers.

Han Solo: General of the Republic Armed Forces or courier who decided military life just wasn’t for him and now delivers important messages through still unstable areas of the New Republic, a war hero, and a dad doing his best. Wants to hold hope but may have at least outwardly given up on Ben, with Poe filling in the void. Has gone clean from his life of crime and still married 30+ years strong with Leia. He would be the one who is the closest to Poe if he’s still in the military and Leia is a Jedi, with Poe being seen as his likely successor. He might die at the end of 8? Maybe Hamill and Carrie would somehow talk him into sticking around past 7? He might still die in 7?

(Side note: I wish we could have seen Old Harrison Ford in a military casual coat-cape. He would have looked awesome in it. I mean no one would really complain that he plays fast and loose with the dress code if there even is one, he’s Han freakin’ Solo and he gives no f*cks.)

Leia Organa-Solo: Preferably a Jedi Knight, leader while he’s away if he’s away as well as their tactician, or senator considering her personality; maybe have basically what Colin Trevorrow planned for her (I mean… why not just use CGI at this point? They’ve done it before. I’m sure Carrie wouldn’t have wanted her swan song to be such a passive role either), with her bond with Luke being a major factor and us actually being able to see it in practice. May have outwardly given up on her son as well, but still is at the end of the day a mom doing her best. Basically a strong, smart lady like how she’s always been.

Chewbacca: How he always is, but he plays more of a role than basically the guy bussing the cast around, an active combat role definitely. Han’s second in command and maybe fellow dad. Possibly the part-time chaperone of the mess that is the new main duo. Also was Ben’s first friend, and you bet there will be drama here.

Lando Calrissian: Business mogul who probably helps the heroes out, maybe by selling them stuff and using his many connections to get information. And/or he’s basically an economic diplomat for the Republic. Has known Ben since he was a child and may have snuck him on too many joyrides without telling Leia, to her chagrin and Han’s amusement.

Grand Admiral Armitage Hux: Basically how he was in SW7. Calculating, manipulative, coldhearted, intelligent, and ruthless, the brains to Kylo’s brawn. Son of former Imperial officers, killed his own father to get where he is. Gives no f*cks, except when he goes full ham. Maybe even he goes cold and pale if Kylo starts getting angry, just to show how terrifying he can be, but I also like the idea of him being one of two people who can manipulate Kylo out of a tantrum and not end up a pile of flesh or choked to death.

Captain Phasma: How she is in supplemental material probably. A walking chrome machine of merciless death. Probably not very talkative, and probably does not take defectors lightly. She may defect at the end or not depending on how truly evil she’s portrayed to be, but I’m thinking she’s likely this cruel disciplinarian who expects complete and utter, machine-like obedience to the end, and Finn flinches at the mere mention of her, though she herself is equally as extremely loyal to the cause.

Snoke: A mysterious being, the likes of which are not of this galaxy. Probably some kind of ancient eldritch abomination who can torment vulnerable minds with an untraceable curse. Not your average Sith, and despite how it may seem it may not be connected to them at all… Or perhaps it is. Or perhaps it itself serves a larger master. It wants to use Kylo Ren for… something. Just what it is is what Luke has been trying to find out for years.

Knights of Ren: Idea borrowed from Thor Skywalker (check him out on YouTube!); possibly a military cult of Sith/Vader worshippers who see Ben as the second coming of Vader, and have aligned themselves with Snoke. Probably basically Kylo’s personal guard and troops. Or possibly directly liked to whatever otherworldly entit(ies?) Snoke is, not being of this galaxy themselves.

Anakin Skywalker: Determined grandpa doing his best for his kids, grandkid(s), and the galaxy. Doesn’t appear often, but plays a major role in the story; maybe he’s the one who led Rey to his lightsaber, and maybe he advises Luke while training Rey, or secretly follows Kylo, trying to speak to him but unable to be seen or heard by him. He’d be the one who ultimately convinces Ben to return to the light, and to, in an echo of the words Ben heard when he was being impersonated, “finish what I started”.

Rose Tico: A probably relatively new, wide-eyed young recruit in the Republic Military, and maybe seeks revenge on First Order for killing or kidnapping her sister. Not sure if she will be needed, but if there’s room for her she might be interesting. Maybe she’s one of Poe’s friends or part of his squad. She could also be the resident girly girl because there aren’t many of those here.

Vice-Admiral Amberlyn Holdo: She’s in the Aftermath books, and those seem pretty good, so she’s probably how she is there. A quirky mostly background character that is probably at most there for Han and/or Leia and Ackbar to give commands to and salute back, but most importantly she actually does her job properly, even if she’s still a bit of an odd person. Also Poe knows her and they have a way more amicable work relationship. Also give her something which actually looks like something military personnel would wear. She could even be a legitimately good tactician who comes up with off-the-wall tactics.

(Side note: I heard that she basically has the Star Wars version of Autism, and while I’d appreciate that as an Aspie myself, I’ll also have to say that Autistic people would probably be terrible military leaders due to us not being able to adjust to sudden changes well and our bad communication skills. So yeah, sorry, unless she’s recast to something like, say, a mechanic or logistics or medic or any other more Autistic-friendly job, that’s going to have to go)

Maz Kanada: …Admittedly not sure what to do with her. But she’s more likely to be an acquaintance of Lando before Han, if she doesn’t know both. In fact, Lando may be introduced early alongside her. But she would still have the important role of keeping Anakin’s saber; how she has it, either Lando found it, or basically what was cut from TFA showing that she’s indeed pretty awesome.

BB-8: BB-8 doesn’t have to change. He’s perfect as he is. Maybe what he can do should be more consistent though. Poe and him are basically Ash and Pikachu, they stick together whenever possible. If Rey or Finn need a droid to tag along and Poe isn’t in the party at the moment, R2 is right there. I once read a fanfic in which BB-8 was actually a droid Luke made for Ben and I liked the idea… though it probably would be a bit of an unnecessary detail in practice.

R2-D2 and C3P0: They’re basically business as usual. They would still have that boke-tsukkomi dynamic they had going on, sometimes with the added childlike cuteness of BB-8 in the mix. If there’s any extra time left for comic relief scenes, or if they’re sent on some kind of mission together, I can see these three messing around doing their thing (or rather, BB being childlike, cute and curious, Threepio being overly nervous, and Artoo being too old for this sh*t and/or BB’s cool uncle/older brother) being both cute and hilarious.

Also Worldbuilding stuff will be featured at the bottom

Elaboration on the “big four” of the sequel cast:

Rey: Aged 19, speaks with Daisy Ridley’s normal accent, not RP (I mean really, her accent isn’t that hard to understand). A whole rainbow of possibilities with this lady, though many don’t realize it. I might be leaning towards her being Luke’s daughter, though her being Just Rey may also be interesting, and her still being a descendant of Palpatine or the main villain could also have potential, though if Finn is a Jedi I don’t think there’s any need for her parents to be nobody. But the three main routes I can think of for her are these three: Cynical!Rey, a Rey with a backstory identical to the canon Rey from her abandonment onwards, Fangirl!Rey, a sort of estimation of a dorky female Star Wars nerd in-universe and the most lighthearted start out of the three, and Padawan!Rey, a Rey who is already Luke’s Padawan at his academy. Maybe making her starting point less crushingly bleak and Fangirl!Rey could work, but it might dilute both ideas, and that characterization might be a bit too similar to ANH Luke.

As is apparent, Cynical!Rey, is, well, cynical. She’s strong and independent, but extremely distrusting, on-edge, and not used to friendly interaction. Think Female SW4 Han Solo but even more antisocial and probably not even bothering with the bravado, and basically with Anakin’s upbringing except she doesn’t even have a loving mother like Anakin did. Fangirl!Rey was my initial idea but I’m starting to become less partial to it because of the aforementioned similarity to ANH Luke, but my idea was she’s basically Harry Potter, living with stepparents who hate her, or she’s still used as basically child labor but her conditions are nowhere near as bad as Cynical Rey’s, and she would have grown up on stories about the Rebels and the Jedi and everything else in the past movies, collecting every single bit of memorabilia she can get her hands on. If one wants to go for very lighthearted and slightly meta for SW7 this is the route. Padawan!Rey could go anywhere, but I’m thinking she would basically be our D&D Paladin; ever since Ben Solo went berserk and ran off to join the First Order, she’s become very protective of her fellow students and has a really understandable personal grudge against him. She might be the strongest pupil left after the Second Jedi Massacre, and by the end maybe she becomes the successor to headmaster of the academy. It is possible that she was found abandoned on Jakku or Luke’s doorstep, however, so the theme of growing up lonely is there, and because being a Jedi is what has given her meaning in life it means a lot to her. But while I don’t want her parentage to be revealed early if it is Luke, it does raise the massive plot hole of why this was never disclosed to her or to Ben.

And yes, I did say fellow students and academy. Wiping the new Jedi Order feels really cheap and it makes the whole hopeful Jedi Starting Anew implication that I’m 90% sure the OT ended on feel very pointless. I’d prefer them still being there, though their inclusion would be obviously way more natural in the Padawan Route. This also has tons of marketing potential for Disney, because I wanted to take IRL realism into account; what’s in it for Disney? Maybe potential to expand on other students and Luke’s academy? It could be like a smaller Jedi Hogwarts/Xavier Institute basically. Though the survivors wouldn’t be too numerous; just, like, four at most. Maybe there would be elements of an Avengers/Infinity War/Endgame-esque team movie, even if the rest are a bit out of focus.

I did think maybe the heroes would still go to Ahch-To after SW7 where Luke would have been hiding with his students researching the new threat, but maybe I could have him stay and sort of take a few cues from Harry Potter by introducing the heroes to the world of the Jedi early and giving them a break in the action as they settle in their new homes, so there’s more time to develop the padawan side characters, what the academy is like, and Luke gets to appear in SW7 as well so there can be a OT trio “reunion” (not a reunion in-universe). Though that kind of messes with other parts I want to include like Rey and Finn having to take on Kylo and getting completely whipped because he’s a rampaging madman before having to be saved by Luke. Also Rey getting kidnapped has potential for developing her trust in others, and her and Finn getting a breather moment at the Republic after the heroes and Han regroup would kind of remove a point where that could be easily slotted in the story. It would also require everything before this to be crammed in the first act.

(Newer edit 5/27/21) I also like her getting a golden double-bladed saber like many fans depict her. It’s not only awesome looking (because she only gets her own saber at the end of TROS… Why?), but it’s more toys for the moichendise! It fits her starting with a staff, it has more reach, and it would fit Cynical Rey especially for her to have a style centered around keeping as much of herself defended as possible. Watching Battlefront 2 footage has made me think about fighting styles a bit, and if she and Finn are a duo how their styles of combat might compliment each other, especially as their relationship develops (coincidentally she and Finn apparently are a very good combination in BF2). A Cynical Rey would probably contrast the most, with a fighting style based on keeping enemies away, trickery, and defense (a good choice for a blade made of light), maybe a bit wild at first but initially her goal in fighting would be to hold out until there is an opening to get the hell out, only staying to fight if she has no other option. Fangirl Rey wouldn’t really have a fighting style initially, and it’s gonna be very dependent on where her arc goes. Padawan Rey would have the most Prequel Jedi-esque, choreographed style, showing a lot of skill though not quite mastering it and with tons of openings at first. A Cynical Rey may have an uncanny skill to detect suspicious people, which would make her trusting the heroes easier, and though this ability isn’t super strong and is more “a slight gut feeling but it could be nothing” than “human lie detector” it could maybe be honed more. And while not quite wall vision like in BF2 (because wat? Where do they come up with this stuff?), maybe she’s good at detecting people’s presences too. These are very apt ambient skills for someone in her position. Meanwhile, Fangirl!Rey would have probably suspected she had the Force already, and her ambient abilities could be whatever, just rather passive abilities unless trained.

If she is Luke’s daughter though, that would open up the can of worms of who her mother is. Just making it so that she died before the events of SW7 might seem a bit… unfortunate? I kind of want Luke to have found love sometime (and seriously with how much of a bombshell young Luke was, in addition to him being such a hero, I’m shocked that he never got one. I can see why Mara Jade wanted a piece of that. *wolf whistle*), but then I’d have to figure out how to incorporate her in this already character-dense story without her having cheaply died offscreen. I might be able to think of something? I could always go digging in the dusty pile of old fan theories, I might find something good. Thor Skywalker did hint at her but his story stopped at the end of where SW8 would have. If I do name her Mara there’s probably going to be extra pressure to do something with her. …But I can’t be the only one who thinks that Daisy Ridley kind of looks like Natalie Portman. Then again I’m pretty face-blind. I guess blond hair and blue eye color genes are also recessive traits for Star Wars humans. Though it seems the height genes skipped a generation because she’s actually pretty tall for a woman at 170 cm - I’m sorry what. That’s as tall as the average Japanese man! Holy sh*t Daisy! She only looks a bit small because she’s often depicted with Kylo and Kylo makes everyone not Phasma look diminutive. I guess Ben would get it from Anakin and Han (though he’s still taller than both of them…), so maybe a taller actress would be cast as Mara (?). And despite Rey’s malnourishment in the Cynical route, this actually isn’t that implausible, because stunted growth apparently only happens if children are deprived from gestation to about 2 years of age.

And again, why wouldn’t Ben know about this? But if this isn’t the Padawan!Rey route (the hardest to incorporate Rey The Actual Skywalker into), maybe Ben took Rey’s assumed death as even more of a reason to burden himself with the entire Skywalker legacy? This would give him a reason to already care about her.

Further edits: According to the Aftermath books, Jakku was a “Lightside Nexus” planet. Maybe this has to do with her powers? (Perhaps she was kept sane by the Force speaking to her on occasion, in dreams or as she lies staring at the ceiling after a long day, showing her the loving life she used to live and unknown to her she will return to someday). Or why she was dropped there? Maybe she was supposed to be living with Lor San Tekka (the old guy Kylo kills at the beginning of TFA), but got lost one day or was kidnapped by bandits to be a scavenger because her small size would have been perfect for getting loot from small spaces? Why not take her back then? This probably is one of the biggest plot knots in the Cynical Rey Skywalker route, alongside who her mother is.

Small detail lightning round before moving on: I once read a Japanese fic, and in it she mentioned she hates alcohol because she saw how it turned people into monsters. I actually kind of liked this headcanon, and maybe a bit unexpected. Though there’s also the route of her just being too used to it, setting her apart from previous more wholesome protagonists even more. Also Daisy would have to start hitting the gym and protein shakes because I think her character design evolving from her thin build to a very athletic, Wonder Woman-esque body type would be pretty good in representing her growth as a character, and combined with her height she would be so very badass looking.

Finn: Probably around 23? Infamous for lost potential, so his backstory is the same. However, I’m thinking that due to his dehumanizing upbringing, he’s a bit robotic and pretty stoic initially, a total opposite to Poe. He doesn’t understand jokes or sarcasm, and now that he’s completely left the life he’s always known, he feels pretty lost. He would basically act like a male Rei Ayanami, though I was going more for Drax at first. Alternatively, he’s a proud warrior type, imagine a stereotypical North Korean/Prussian soldier. He’d be a bit more emotional and probably less cartoonish here (I mean I have compared Star Wars to anime but full-on anime tropes in live action probably looks super corny), and he’s a massive hardass who also doesn’t get sarcasm or jokes and fanatical and would have thought of his fellow soldiers as a collective as his band of brothers and comrades, collectively serving the FO like a smoothly running machine. My initial thought was that after a life of war crimes and the influence a certain pilot whose cell he was guarding who gave him his name, and maybe witnessing the death of a comrade, he had defected from the FO, but I started thinking it would be plausible if he defected from the FO probably by accident. Highly likely to be the second protagonist, if not POV character, and if so I think it’s logical that it’s Finnrey that becomes the canon ship here. In the Padawan!Rey route, he’s the newcomer protagonist, not Rey. If they’re shipped, or even as friends, they may bond over their dehumanizing, harsh backgrounds and the feeling of being lost in the world. Also he likely starts a mutiny. Like it was such an obvious plot point but they never use it for some bizarre reason. It’s like the DM didn’t read his character sheet at all. Actually one didn’t and the other kept forgetting it in the third campaign.

There’s two ways I think his arc could go; first would be a focus mainly on his search for identity and becoming his own person. Second, his guilt about having done the First Order’s bidding for so long. Probably a combination of the two, though I’m not sure how to address them both. He also wants to see his colleagues free from slavery. But I am sure about I’d that he’d have to overcome his conditioning, learning to regain his humanity.

Especially if Rey is a Skywalker and he becomes a Jedi, he’d be the one who the movie makes a point about being from nowhere. He has no idea who his parents are, but it would not even matter in the end, it’s what he makes of his life from here on out. And if he and Rey end up together, which is extremely likely in this scenario, he not only finds his family in the figurative sense with the other Jedi and his new friends plus girlfriend, but in the literal sense as well, going from nameless Stormtrooper FN-2187, to just Finn the ex-Stormtrooper, to Finn the Padawan and then Jedi Knight, to finally, Finn Skywalker, Jedi Knight; maybe the last movie ends with one of them proposing to the other, with SW8 having previously ended with the climactic big damn kiss that cemented that they are a thing now. (Cue Luke jokingly asking when he’s getting grandchildren and How It Should Have Ended!Anakin squeeing over him getting great-grandchildren lol) His name would have this real symbolic value to it with how it changes as he goes from nobody to somebody. Not to mention “Finn Skywalker” is just a freakin’ awesome name. If they make up the leading duo, he and Rey may have some kind of inherent connection, or they progress into two parts of the same whole, even attaining something like a Dyad.

I thought an interesting thing to do if Rey is a Skywalker, and this is Cynical Rey, is a twist on the expected pattern by making him the one who sees the good in Kylo, not Rey. Because while Rey might be his cousin, she’s also a very distrustful person who couldn’t afford to think deeply about people act the way they do when she was growing up and fighting to survive. Meanwhile, Finn knows Kylo, and he also knows what it’s like to be determined to be a killing machine from a very young age, and if he has to forgive himself, or if he’s able to see the light, that Kylo deserves a chance as well. It would be the ultimate show of kindness from him, to show him forgiving the man who works so loyally under the same organization that enslaved him. I can also see Kylo being angry at himself for being unable to sense the Force-Sensitive in their midst.

Maybe he was born on a “Lightside nexus” planet too so that it makes sense that he can keep up with other characters? Presuming he’s in his early 20s, I don’t think him being raised by the Order since he was a baby is that plausible, so maybe he was already an orphan? I can see the First Order spinning their Stormtrooper program kidnapping street orphans as “rehabilitating” them, which combined with good old Victorian style citizen apathy to street children allows them to get away with it. But if he was, say, around 6 years old when he was taken away, it would make sense why he was able to break out of his programming. Perhaps Poe showing him friendship awoke the humanity long dormant in him. But on the other hand, the younger, adolescent soldiers may be beyond saving, and I can see that being absolutely heartbreaking.

I can see his fighting style with a saber being direct, forceful, and pragmatic, but unlike Rey the emphasis would be on engaging and keeping up the fight, and be very disciplined, calculated, and controlled in contrast to Cynical Rey. At least he’d attempt it while he gets used to the properties of a lightsaber, before there would probably be a lot of awkwardness as John is directed to swing this weightless prop blade with a weighted hilt like he would a club or sword. If he isn’t a Force Sensitive, he’s a good sniper just like in BF2, in fact this would be his primary combat ability, though still able to hold his own in melee combat. Though even as a Jedi he’d probably still use a gun as a sidearm, and his good aim would also translate to him being very good at spotting openings and spotting danger from a distance, as well as enhanced ability to dodge.

Poe Dameron: Age 29 (?). A total bro. I’ve kind of come to think of him as this embodiment of the good, wholesome side of traditional masculinity. I can best describe him as the guy you expect to think of when you think of the guy who takes the boys to the bar for beers on the house and hosts Super Bowl night (for the Americans out there). Basically just that big bro/cool uncle everyone likes. I think he’s the least changed from how he is in SW7; he’s a laid-back pilot with no special powers, and while he’s probably the most static and admittedly flat character (and unfortunately more minor than the other two) he has tons of charisma and optimism to compensate, though being the one who keeps everyone sane definitely helps. Not to mention his piloting skills; which, note, are never eclipsed by Rey, because that’s dumb. His skills are a bit more downplayed here, but he’s still extremely good, especially for his age. Despite being the pilot he’s the most down-to-earth, and may be the only one of the big four with any social skills, even if he’s a bit dorky, especially regarding BB-8.

Son of Rebel pilots, graduated top of his class in the Republic Flight Academy, and his background is squeaky clean, no drug trading involved, though he spent a lot of his adolescence and his adulthood in the Academy or in the military, just like in pre-TROS supplementary material. He’s the main source of jokes and wisecracks out of the trio in all but the most dorky of Fangirl!Rey routes probably, teaching Cynical!Rey and Finn what it’s like to smile and laugh. He still has a close relationship with Leia and Han; possibly closer to the latter due to the latter being a pilot and likely still a General. Not sure about him keeping his rank because him starting and staying at the top might mesh awkwardly with the rest of the trio, but maybe he’s still a Commander; whichever makes his inclusion in the main cast most plausible. Due to an adorable Pixiv comic I found he may have been inspired to become a pilot by Luke or Han. I’d like to think that he breaks the hotshot pilot cliché a bit by not being too overly arrogant, immediately setting himself apart from Han by being a wholesome guy there for his buddies from the start, even if he is fond of wisecracking and snarkiness (probably from hanging around Han and Leia), and inside that laid-back personality lies a hotblooded, passionate, unwavering core. Like, he’s not exactly hotheaded like a Latin stereotype (*ahem*), but he’s got this more subtle, but still apparent, underlying fiery hotbloodedness to him, something that especially makes itself apparent in high-stress situations and when it comes to his loved ones. He’d also be Rey and Finn’s mentor of sorts in stuff that doesn’t involve the Force, being their role model for what a functional member of society is. He may make some self-depreciating jokes about being “normal”, but I think mostly he’ll take it in stride. Though I can see him and Han having a chat about this in a more quiet scene.

Ironically, out of the trio he could maybe be said to be the most suited to be a Jedi personality-wise, despite the fact that he has no Force Sensitivity whatsoever; he goes with the flow, he isn’t troubled, he’s happy with the simple pleasures in life, he’s just a good, genuine guy who does good things, passionate but not obsessive, and he’s forgiving, willing to give even an enemy soldier a chance, appealing to the humanity in him. The last one is particularly Luke-like, don’t you think? Oh, to elaborate on the escape; I still like the idea of him giving Finn his name (though another idea I love is a fallen friend giving Finn his name, that would change stuff around a lot from what I am thinking at this moment). I also think that perhaps supplemental material or some flashbacks, or even an animated short could be made showing just how Poe broke Finn’s programming; by showing him genuine kindness, because somehow, despite his lack of Force Sensitivity, he saw that FN-2187 could be talked out of his programming if he was constantly nice to him, befriending him, starting up casual chatter with him, and after a while the trooper starts opening up to this pilot. …Yeah, Luke-like indeed. Though since there is the plot hole of why Finn could be convinced in mere days and why he’s the only one guarding such a high-profile prisoner, a more realistic idea may be that they talk to each other this way a few times, then Poe escapes and Finn goes after him before they both crash on Jakku and have to work together, with Poe immediately being friendly with Finn and later Rey, to his (and her) confusion. (I can just imagine Poe being all chipper and trying to engage Finn in conversation, or telling him “Good job, sport!” after they fight off bandits or something, and Finn just is all deadpan and “We are enemies, we have no reason to fraternize” and I find that kind of cute).

He may ultimately be the most static of the main cast, but I can see him having a huge impact in more subtle ways; like maybe Rey and Finn think of what Poe might do in a given situation in their training, and he could be the catalyst behind why Finn thinks that Kylo can be redeemed, just like how Poe was able to light another way when it felt like there was only one path for him. He also definitely wouldn’t be the type to be so reckless with his men like he was in TLJ, if he’s still a Commander; he cares about his men a lot, and in fact they may be the reason why he tends to act like an older brother. I can imagine a pretty poignant scene with Finn where Finn sees Poe by himself and BB-8 paying respects to his fallen comrades by this handmade cenotaph, as he sets some flowers down and pours a drink to them, and Finn once again is able to see how different the culture outside the First Order is, as he would have never been mourned like that if he died on the battlefield, nor can he imagine he ever would have done so himself. Or maybe Rey is there too, because if this is Cynical Rey she’s only known a life where people exploited each other. Maybe other characters like Jessika (who he’s already close to I think? Did she show up in the movies though?) or Rose would have the opportunity to be more than background characters by being part of his crew, and we’d get some charming scenes about the bond he has with his squadron.

Again, admittedly he’d be the least deep character out of the big four, with his feelings not being explored nearly as much. But he probably doesn’t really hide his feelings much anyway. For any supplementary shorts involving him, they would be mainly lighter stories about his relationship with the OT cast and their families and his friendship with BB-8 and his crew, or action-y ones about missions he’s gone on; as opposed to, say, Finn, which would show his life as an expendable trooper who knew nothing but war, Cynical!Rey and her crushing loneliness and growing disillusionment to the world as she struggles to survive, or Padawan!Rey and her anguish and grappling with the Dark Side in the aftermath of the Jedi Massacre.

I can also imagine him being this adorable Shipper On Deck for Finnrey lol. Just looking at his two friends, all proud, maybe even tearing up like “*sniff* I’m not crying Buddy, you’re crying!” when the inevitable big kiss scene happens. I can also imagine him being the one to tell Finn that “Hey Finn, what you’re feeling is love!”…And then he has to spend hours trying to explain what love even is to him lol. He always has his friends’ back after all. Again, he’s most likely the one guy who isn’t completely socially inept among these dorks. I’ve also had the potential idea that he could maybe be a good cook, and he’d be the one who introduces Rey and Finn to actually good food. Some fics I’ve noticed tend to show him cooking stuff probably for that reason. It’s just kind of cute, and it sets a good example if despite his traditionally masculine, salt-of-the-earth character, he likes some less “manly” stuff like such and sees no shame in it.

He may sacrifice himself in a blaze of glory towards the end, especially because quite frankly he may lose his plot relevance as the story goes on, though it would definitely be way more respectful than a lot of deaths were treated in the sequels. But I also want him to stick around because I want to imagine him being all proud of Rey and Finn after they propose to each other and giddily planning their wedding, and I feel he could have some very good interactions with Ben to build on for any spinoffs taking place after the trilogy. Speaking of…

Kylo Ren/Ben Solo: AKA Yet Another Ball Of Lost Potential: Anti-Villain Addition. This is gonna be a doozy, so strap in. He was probably the most developed character here but that just makes his lost potential stick out even more, so I have so much to say about him.

About 27 probably. While people complain about it, I actually like him being a manchild. It makes him a bit unique in this series. It’s kind of like Vader if he didn’t get stuck in that suit and kept acting like Anakin. In fact, that could make him even more terrifying if that feeds into how destructive he can be; at first he seems like your typical intimidating SW villain, not even that bad a leader with a seemingly calm if tense, imposing air, but it eventually becomes clear he’s this terrifying, volatile berserker who can throw some of the most destructive tantrums ever, and is ultimately a pathetic, broken, pitiful shell of a man. …He just happens to be a very powerful shell of a man. Maybe if he becomes emotional or angry enough, he can unleash powerful shockwaves that basically blow up everything around him, or cause mini Force Storms, or cause any number of unpredictable effects. Though he’s not quite constantly raging either; these berserk states are indeed triggered by anger, but I’m thinking that they are also basically weaponized panic attacks, there’s a sense that it’s also a self-defense mechanism that he lapses into when emotions overwhelm him or when he otherwise feels threatened (though whether it’s necessarily involuntary all the time I’m not so sure; but while he’d definitely want to be able to trigger them voluntarily, there will always be some sense that he doesn’t have full control over it). Also a lot of his rage is directed inwards as well, much like with his grandfather. I thought that maybe his unpredictability in these rages would be the key to his destructiveness, though I can see how someone who is out of control would also pose a problem, no matter how powerful; so maybe this is when he becomes the most focused, becoming locked onto the elimination of the perceived threat at all costs, and/or he can be controlled by his Master more directly like some kind of attack animal.

Luke’s first padawan, or at least after Leia or Grogu (I might make him show up as Luke’s first knighted pupil and allude to this, providing more exposition on Kylo, and being one of the Jedi who help fight in the final battle as the Skywalkers go on to take on the final boss (and Grogu’s name being revealed would be a massive hype moment in The Mandalorian)). Due to his storied family, plus the name of his uncle and grandfather’s own master, he had heavy expectations on his (at the time) small shoulders from an early age. However, he had long been tormented by the Dark Side due to an untraceable curse placed upon him by Snoke, and probably a pre-existing anxious personality. The expectations placed on him, or maybe perhaps just self-imposed expectations, only worsened his turmoil, resulting in a festering mess of self-hatred, extreme perfectionism, and an obsession with familial honor and obsessive attachment to his family, especially Luke, that is a nasty combination of hero-worship and the abovementioned complexes and may border on almost incestuous.

There’s three ways for his backstory to go; “Underachiever Ben”, where Ben is either mediocre as a Jedi or still good but outperformed by others, or “Elsa Ben”, where he’s basically like Elsa from Frozen, possessing an extreme amount of power but barely able to control it, possibly due to Snoke’s curse, and a sort of middle ground, where Ben was super strong and a quick learner, but the dark side in him made Luke feel mixed about Ben’s increasing power, which Ben sensed. If the former, Ben becomes increasingly frustrated at himself for being such a “failure”. If “Elsa Ben”, there’s that, and also the added pain of him growing up terrified of himself and able to sense the terror he causes to those around him, so he was taken in by Luke so hopefully Luke could figure something out; he could have been destructive from the start, or maybe he started to become increasingly destructive despite his training. If the middle ground route, he takes Luke’s mixed emotions to mean that he doesn’t think he’s good enough. How severe Snoke’s curse would have been I’m not fully sure on; he could have voices in his head and nightmares keeping him up for days, chipping away at his sanity, tempting him to accept the darkness, or it may have just been an amplifying of his already unstable emotions. They could have even started as the latter and escalated to the former. But I’m thinking that to best explain his behavior I’m leaning towards the Elsa route. Eventually, his nightmares morphed into repeated visits by Darth Vader, his grandfather, who told him about the truth of his lineage and how he became Vader, slandering everything and everyone he ever admired or loved, telling him of his “true” destiny, and how he should give up and embrace it; unable to hear the real Anakin’s ghost screaming at him to not repeat his mistake. This extended campaign of mental torment stunted his emotional growth in many aspects, and at times he may seem to regress even more. Maybe other padawans were afraid of him because of this dark side presence, avoiding him, and/or were jealous of him because of his lineage and relation to Luke. He often felt entitled to be Luke’s right hand, getting jealous at other students and taking any reprimanding, no matter how gentle, extremely personally. Luke would have needed to struggle between not seeming to be biased towards his nephew and giving him the attention he needed, especially because Ben would feel like Han and Leia abandoned him because they weren’t able to help him, but considering how attached he is to Luke this would hurt him. So when Luke went to speak to him one night, or rushed in sensing an overwhelming dark side presence in his room, and was suddenly attacked by Snoke with a vision of what his nephew would become and making him go into fighting mode for a split second, drawing his weapon to protect Ben, and/or earlier admitted in anguish that he had no idea what was tormenting him despite his efforts, the straw broke the pedestal and he resigned himself to his “destiny”. Ironically he’s just exchanging one sky-high ideal for another, but he’s too emotionally immature to realize this, nor does he fully realize the fact that Snoke merely sees him as a malleable, gullible means to an end. Yet he still feels that pesky pull to the light, and he becomes increasingly frustrated with himself that even as a Dark side user, he still can’t be “perfect” or “worth” anything, not even able to sink himself into the darkness and finally rid himself of his pain. For all the privilege and power he has, or because of it, he always feels worthless.

Basically I want to break him down and make his pitifulness obvious, but that’s what makes him sympathetic. He’s nowhere as far gone as Vader, even if he wants to be, kind of like a reverse Jekyll and Hyde situation where the Hyde is dominant but Jekyll hangs on, so to speak? Maybe? Is that the right analogy? Or I guess it is kind of like Anakin but sort of not, but he’s rapidly going down the same route of hurting his family like his grandfather.

From researching a bit, his proposed behavior seems pretty close to the symptoms of BPD, which is actually pretty fitting because I was thinking Luke’s philosophy on the Force would be influenced by a more modern understanding of psychology, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy actually seems pretty in tune with what I understand to be how the Light Side of the Force works (I mean it even has basis in religious meditation…). Perhaps a mystical version of DBT was one of the things Luke was studying in exile. Though obviously it isn’t exactly BPD; portraying an actual, named mental illness not only has way too much baggage behind it, but it breaks immersion. And with him a lot of it will be the influence of the curse, though I think I would rather him have a personality that made him vulnerable to it from the start, so the curse had something to latch onto.

Going with the “Elsa Ben” scenario, his “real” personality is anxious and even a bit shy. While I like the idea of him being cheerful when he was very little, the shyness always being there is also a characterization I like. Combined with his lumbering physique from his teenage years onwards, this made him a kid who gave off an impression of being extremely dorky (an act that would probably be very natural for Adam Driver to pull off lol) and/or withdrawn and aloof, the latter of which may have made some other padawans think he thought highly of himself and start to resent him. Unlike Anakin he’d be probably a dutiful student, almost creepily obedient, probably actively distancing himself from rebellious behavior, though his way of speaking isn’t exactly super formal either because of the influence of the adults around him. In his obsessions lies a genuine love, even if twisted, of his “favorite person” so to speak. He was also a genuinely sweet kid who wanted to please these special people in his life. He could be said to be actually really selfless in a weird way, because ultimately he values familial honor and being “good enough” for whatever higher purpose more than he values himself. TROS implied some sassiness with that Han-like shrug, and while I can maybe see some of Han rubbing off on him like that, that might be something that started from him trying to copy his parents’ air of confidence, and another coping mechanism. He might, like Vader, have a 501st legion 2.0 which Phasma is in charge of and Finn is part of, and show a more nicer side to them. Perhaps he opened up one or two times to Finn specifically; I can see this image of him venting to him while Finn stands still like how someone might vent to their dog, not really expecting Finn to be listening (also sarcasm might help Kylo obscure his true anguish from Finn, because FO troopers don’t understand sarcasm probably).

He will be redeemed at the end… and live. Even if not necessarily paired with Rey. I’m neutral on Reylo (though admittedly I have a weak spot for pairs involving a strong woman and a troubled guy, so it’s kind of growing on me), but I really think this ship, or even centering the story strongly around a platonic relationship between these two, could have worked if it was built up strongly (Though if I were to go this route Finn would have to be established as a secondary character from the start, with Rey as the definitive main character, to focus on this). But either way, he’s definitely going to have to face the consequences of what he’s done, make up for his atrocities at least somewhat, and think about what he truly wants to do from now on. I can imagine him quietly reading stories to younglings as Rey, Finn, and Luke train some other pupils outside, or thanklessly working behind the scenes in other ways. For his haters out there, I could make the pill easier to swallow not just by making the reasons for his fall and how he was slowly and meticulously gaslit more clear, but also making him not as awful. Yes, he’s extremely destructive, but he could show more reluctance, or pause after his berserker rages, staring at the destruction he’s caused as the weight of what he’s done sinks in. He’d of course resent that he still has mercy left in him though. I don’t think that there will be a Starkiller Base, but even if there was he might argue with Hux a bit over whether it’s really necessary, until Hux sneers at him for having mercy, saying that Vader never hesitated when blowing up Alderaan, and Kylo reluctantly backs off.

…Actually, what about making him and Rey cousins? On one hand, if Rey is a Skywalker by blood, a direct daughter of the Master himself no less, Ben is now suddenly freed from carrying the weight of the family legacy on his own. On the other hand… He basically loses the thing he has spent his entire life building his identity around; since his fall would have partially been because of his obsession with Luke, he may become jealous and extremely resentful of her, and/or take this as even more reason for Luke to not “need” him anymore. Or perhaps, he pulls a reverse of “I sense the conflict in you” with her, wanting to “save” her from embracing the Light and wanting her to embrace the “true” Skywalker destiny with him. He could even be overjoyed that he could have someone else alongside him to carry on the legacy with; in this scenario he could have an unhealthy obsession with her that might also start crossing into “are you sure this isn’t incest?” territory. Yeah it’s a “join me and we can rule together” scenario again, but it would be done differently. Or perhaps it’s a mix of some of those. Exploring that and how he chooses to take it could be extremely interesting. Maybe it’s resolved when Anakin tells him to “finish what he started”… not just by saving the galaxy, but by also living the rest of his life loving his family not as an ideal, but as family, like Anakin wasn’t allowed to. And platonic Reylo sounds nice too. Though that’s going to make all that shipping fanart so awkward lol. Well it’s not as if Star Wars shippers haven’t been cockblocked by incest before (though his obsession with family and extremely questionable mental state would probably make such shippers go nuts anyway…).

And going off of Poe being close to his parents, while the main interactions with Kylo from the heroes would be Rey, Finn if he’s the second protagonist, Luke, and his parents, I can see potential for an interesting dynamic and some interesting conversations between them too. Much like how he might react to Rey being Luke’s daughter, I can see him being jealous of Poe and resenting him for being his “replacement”, but after his redemption I can see potential for seeing the start of a friendship between them in epilogue comics, novels, or a mini-series. It would be pretty in-character for my version of Poe to want to help rehabilitate his sort-of stepbrother. Also I now have the adorable mental image of Ben quietly helping Poe (and maybe the rest of his squad) decorate and arrange Rey and Finn’s wedding, or the two surprising Finn with a very elaborate bachelor party, though I’m not sure if those exist in this universe. And because of a certain Inside Llewyn Davis scene I’m also imagining Poe getting Ben to sing with him and BB-8. It’s adorable.

Also if both Rey and Finn are the main heroes, he might have some kind of link with both of them, and the main duo would both contrast him in their own way (lonely scavenger who no one expected anything of and nameless trooper who defected from the First Order vs. someone who grew up in greatness but seemingly threw it away and chose to be in the First Order; and much like Kylo Finn in particular has been manipulated from childhood to do heinous things, so he may sympathize with his situation). Maybe he’s the missing piece needed for both him and the leading duo to reach their full potential, or the main duo are the last piece needed to finally break Snoke’s curse on him, or something. Or it could simply just be Finn showing his growth and strength of character by understanding and forgiving Kylo, despite him now understanding just how badly the First Order treated him, which makes Rey (who, again, might start as this super cynical scavenger or may have seen Kylo go berserk and massacre her friends and betray her Master) come around to the idea. In this scenario it may actually be even more important to emphasize that Rey and Finn are two making up a whole, so as not to bog stuff down. It’s possible to ship Finnrey and want Kylo to have a better ending, what a shock!

Maybe Rey and Kylo could switch places, and he comes back to the light in SW8, which is an idea I’ve seen floated and is something that would make the story truly unique. He would seem like basically a less stable Vader 2.0 at the start, but over SW8 he could be seen breaking more and more out of his own terrible mindset, coming to a head in a cathartic realization that bring him back into the arms of his beloved family. It would also add an interesting dynamic that he and Finn have to be equals now. But that may mean that Rey would have to be killed off and I’m not so sure about that.

Though speaking of her, since in all these scenarios a common thread is that she understandably doesn’t like him, it would be a bit of a twist if Finn sees the good in him but Rey, if she’s a Skywalker, his cousin, doesn’t.

And to bring up Poe again, I also really like the idea of them having been childhood friends and thus knowing each other before the events of SW7; after all, they’re around similar age, it isn’t that far-fetched to think that former Rebel families would be still pretty close to each other, and I’ve seen some adorable fanfics with the concept. It also adds connection between them and adds even more tragedy, even if this relationship may have to be elaborated more in supplementary material due to time. I can definitely Poe speaking like an old friend to Kylo and constantly calling him “Ben”, to his irritation. The abovementioned feeling of being replaced could be what caused Ben to suddenly break off the friendship. And making the main cast kind of tight-knit like this might also help make the cast easier to manage.

Granted, there is the possibility of killing him off, though. I heard that one of the initial ideas for TFA was apparently that Kylo would be a reverse Vader, falling deeper and deeper into the Dark Side as the trilogy goes on. In fact, this may have been where Kylo killing Han may have been leading to. This actually sounded like a super cool idea, but considering the backstory I laid out I thought it would be way too bittersweet for the concluding movie of the saga, and if one were to say Kylo basically has BPD… That might lead to some unfortunate implications. I mean nothing is stopping me from not using the Elsa backstory, and if I didn’t use it maybe this route would be pretty viable, but I’m kind of starting to get attached to it.

—

Other characters:

Hux: I’ve never really been a villain person. I mean I liked sympathetic villains, yeah (but even then I preferred anti-heroes for a while; I’m talking like nothing beyond N from Pokémon levels of “evil”), but straight-up villains I just have merely seen as obstacles. Like back in my Smash fic days I was often like “Eh… They’re there… Because they want to take over the world I guess?”. It’s why I’m having trouble with Snoke probably lol. But for some reason Hux interests me. If I take a guess it’s probably because of the potential he had as an actual foil to Kylo in his own faction. He had so much potential as a villain, and in having this tense dynamic play out. In fact he does seem to have been set up that way in SW7. But yeah, I imagine him as one coldhearted bastard. His backstory, though not elaborated on in the movies, would be much like TFA supplementary material set him up; he’d still have killed his father, but while yes, Brendol was abusive and strict, Armitage didn’t kill him completely because he was a young man who wanted to break free from his strict father, but also genuinely because he knew doing so would be good for his standing. Unlike Kylo when he (most likely) kills Han, he doesn’t regret killing Brendol at all. While he might have a tragic backstory kind of explaining his behavior, it doesn’t bother him at all, while Kylo, who considering what happened to him and how he’s literally under a curse you’d think would have a much steeper fall into unabashed evil, is constantly conflicted. It’s a very Sith Lord-like backstory funnily enough… In fact I’m pretty sure that Palpatine had a backstory very similar to this with his parents.

He’s a very logical, analytical, brutally pragmatic person, and he looks upon Kylo’s emotional state with condescension. I’m increasingly starting to like the idea that he’s somehow able to talk Kylo down, while still being hardly nice. Perhaps he preys upon Kylo’s constant need for approval from others, even if he doesn’t like the person in question (this may also be why Kylo reacts so strongly to Finn escaping as well, in fact. He genuinely cares about people’s loyalty, even from literal no-name soldiers). Though I can’t decide whether he’s this deceptively charming snake or basically an evil Spock. I also can’t decide between him being in this constant state of “Why do I have to babysit this manchild” or giving absolutely no visible f*cks around Kylo no matter what happens, or even straight-up trolling him often, toying with his emotions because it amuses him; preferably two or a bit of all somehow? I can see him using having met Vader as a child to mock Kylo for how much of a pale, childish imitation he is, or reminding Kylo of how much better he is as a leader objectively; perhaps that’s what he holds over Kylo’s head. Or him explaining to Kylo how he was raised by less than stellar parenting and tried so hard to live up to his strict father too… So he brutally murdered Brendol in cold blood (possibly with Phasma’s help), became a better admiral than he ever was, and got over it “Like an adult. Unlike you.”. They’d be in this constant state of delicate, tense equality; Kylo can easily overpower Hux if he pisses him off a bit too much, but Hux is able to walk that fine edge seemingly without much effort.

But when he realizes whatever grand cosmic plot he and the entire First Order has been participating in this whole time is when, ironically, there would probably be a really dramatic villainous breakdown from him. It’s kind of a Zuko and Azula situation with Kylo and Hux perhaps? Or is this Hux more a mix of Azula and Zhao’s roles rather?

——

Worldbuilding stuff: Since I’m more a character person, there isn’t much here, but because the worldbuilding was another issue in the movies I’ll also be adding these.

The New Republic isn’t nuked in the first movie. In fact it stays there for the duration of the trilogy and the hero faction is now its armed forces, not The Resistance (Also that name makes no sense. Seriously. At least name them The Peacekeeper Corps or Vigilantes or something, or since they’re basically Leia’s personal military maybe the Organa Free Army or Organa Corps or something of that sort. No wonder people mistakenly call them The Rebels sometimes. It’s a similar setup to Chrom’s Shepherds in Fire Emblem Awakening, albeit with a better relationship with the kingdom; it would be downright strange if the Shepherds called themselves The Resistance despite literally existing with the queen’s permission, and it still is here. Hell, Leia’s Shepherds is a better name). There would be elaboration on the political stuff going on behind the scenes, and if Leia isn’t a Jedi that’s her plotline probably, though a big part of me wants her to be part of the action instead of being stuck on the homeworld.

Meanwhile, The First Order is made up of Imperial Remnants and people and planets who were unsatisfied with the democratic but still new and fragile New Republic. Basically think White Russians if the Soviets weren’t also awful. It happens a lot in history. While it may have some mining planets in its orbit (not literally, you know what I mean) so it can plausibly refurbish anything Kylo wrecks with his tantrums, Starkiller Base is probably a bit much, and a lot of their equipment might be old Imperial or Rebel stuff, or stolen from the New Republic, with new stuff being produced but not in overly high quantity. Some of the equipment deemed less important might even be kind of crappy due to how old they are. They’d probably be at most an equally powerful faction to the Republic, if not smaller than them, seeming more like a terrorist cell. I don’t have much of an idea why Snoke would want to be involved in it yet though.

But while the First Order might be smaller, the New Republic is hindered by it just now finally gaining its footing, and the military previously only having been used for peacekeeping and sniping stray Imperial remnants. Because it’s peacetime, it might have been kept pretty small, and also the military academies are literally not even 30 years old at this point, so new that it’s possible Poe, despite his youth, was one of the earliest graduates; one of the military’s most high-ranking officers is literally a scoundrel with no formal training - even if he is good at his job - it isn’t exactly a well-oiled machine, though its less rigid, casual structure also does benefit it in some aspects. Also the FO can easily use Kylo as intimidation, and its upper staff is nothing if not driven and motivated as well as ruthless. They may engage in more underhanded actions like sabotage and suicide bombers, or rely on small elite units like the Knights of Ren or small companies of troopers, to poke holes in the enemy just as much as open combat. And maybe if all else fails Snoke causes something really bad to happen seemingly out of nowhere.

While I do think that making the baddies an Empire 2.0 is an… uncreative decision, I want to keep Finn’s backstory, plus it fits Kylo’s story too so blah, I kind of have to keep it. Plus I want to do Phasma and Hux justice. Maybe Snoke or whatever it serves turns into a giant Eldritch abomination and have no use for the FO anymore. And again, reactionary forces are a thing that have existed throughout early modern history. But as already mentioned, due to the nature of the First Order’s existence, maybe the Stormtroopers aren’t kidnapped, but they were orphans picked off the streets, and/or some more dedicated Imperial parents gave them their children? I had the idea that Troopers like Finn are “Junior Troopers”, the child slave type, while older members, “Senior Troopers”, would be legit Imperial revanchists and former troopers. Maybe there’s a separate company of Juniors who think they’re cool by fighting for the First Order, but generally Juniors would be the lowest on the social rung, though some might make it into higher positions, and don’t know any other life than what they have now. Though I also like the idea that Finn was part of an elite unit directly connected to Kylo Ren like the 501st, so he has a reason to be particularly hurt by his betrayal (but that could throw a wrench in the whole Finn was a faceless cog in the machine thing). They’re pretty Prussian in command structure; officers work under mission-tactics, but the rank-and-file are machine-like in their discipline, more than even some actual droids. The Republic’s forces also probably engage in mission-tactics a lot, except how far it is acceptable goes way further down the chain of command, so stuff like the Holdo situation doesn’t happen. If that situation were to happen when mission-tactics were to be expected Poe’s independent action would be seen as reasonable. This would have potential for very interesting battles and tactics, though I’d need a lot of help with those because I’m the furthest thing from a tactician you can find (but even I can tell the bomber scene from TLJ was dumb, which should say something).

I kind of realized that it’s possible that the four OT legacy characters may end up basically representing four major aspects of the New Republic; the Jedi (Luke), law and justice (Leia, if she’s a senator), the military (Han, if he’s a general), and economics (Lando). I think some worldbuilding into how the republic functions should be explored through these characters as they move the story forward, except for the Jedi since they’re obviously a central focus, and Luke might very well be introduced after them, and the military will also get focus for obvious reasons, and Poe exists. The information definitely needs to be conveyed as efficiently and organically as possible through the story, because there’s two, likely three, equally important main characters and an unholy amount of secondary characters who aren’t exactly minor.

May write more later idk. I need to be doing other stuff…

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naruto-littlespace · 4 years

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Akatsuki Littlespace Headcanons

I could and probably will write more, but I don’t feel like it right now, so here’s this.

Disclaimer 1: Littlespace, in the AU and in real life, is a coping mechanism for everything from everyday stressors to psychological disorders like PTSD. If you sexualize littlespace do not interact with this AU or me, I will block you.

Disclaimer 2: Littlespace in this post is slightly different from in real life, magic-ed up in a similar way to how ninjas are magic-ed up in the Naruto universe. Chakra-using littles actually revert to the size they were when they were their little ages, although they retain any bodily changes since then (little Kakuzu still has stitches, little Deidara would have hand mouths.) The exception of course is Sasori, whose body is manmade and doesn’t change. People also do not necessarily remember their big lives when they slip into littlespace, sometimes becoming confused about where they are and who they’re with. They will sometimes be confused about what time period they’re in as well, believing things to have happened that hadn’t happened yet in their little age but were far in the past in their adult age.

This isn’t how I’m going to treat littlespace w/ Naruto characters all the time on this account btw, it’s just an idea I’ve been playing around with, like the psychological defense of reverting to a childlike state inadvertently triggers a transformation jutsu to match.

Nagato:

Little age pre Yahiko’s death was 6-7, post is 2-4

Started regressing shortly after the formation of the original Akatsuki. She and Yahiko had to do research to figure out why their teenage friend had suddenly turned into a child, but after they learned they took care of him: treated him like a child, bought him kids books from the local thrift shop, tucked him into bed. He called them uncle and auntie.

He would stay in littlespace for a surprisingly long amount of time, for 4-6 hours on days between missions.

After Yahiko’s death he spent many days in a row regressed to age two. Konan scrambled to take care of him and handle her own grieving. After that was over he promised her she wouldn’t have to take care of him again.

Nowadays of course she still takes care of him when he regresses, but he tries to force himself out of it if he begins to.

He still has board books and stuffies, so if he does fully regress he’ll have one of his pein bodies bring them to him.

Being ~3 he doesn’t have the mental capacity to control all the Peins, so they just kind of idle for awhile.

Konan:

Little age is 3-5

Pre modern Akatsuki she didn’t like regressing at all and only did it involuntarily. She would handle it by either walking it off or reading Nagato’s board books by herself.

This continued pretty much until she started becoming friends with Kakuzu, who openly admitted he was a little (he thought she should know, in case it ended up delaying his missions--it was mostly so she would stick up for him to Pein. No, he wasn’t hunting bounties, there’s a perfectly logical explanation--)

So she had a bad day while she and Kakuzu were at the same base and went ‘can you please deal with me for a couple of minutes’ and he was like ‘ofc’ so she sat down in front of him and shrank down to a little girl and started crying. He picked her up and bounced her on his knee until she calmed down. She ended up staying little for a couple of hours because Kakuzu took her out of the office and telling her stories about his childhood while they prepared dinner.

Kisame becomes her caretaker too when the three of them start dating.

Sometimes she starts crying inconsolably about something she won’t talk about other than someone leaving her and something being unfair. Pein showed up during this one time and said he knew what she was talking about and it was none of her cgs’ concern which ofc made them concerned but they haven’t gotten the chance to talk to her about it.

Itachi:

Little age is 2-4 but since her chakra is often very low so she doesn’t always physically become that tiny.

She didn’t regress until after she joined the Akatsuki, but when she did Kisame wasn’t surprised. He reintroduced himself as her babysitter, slipped her a lollipop and took her to a library to pick out some kids books.

Loves to be pampered. Oh god it’s the only time she can relax at all

Wears reading glasses because they can’t get her in to an eye doctor appointment

She’s trans in this au because I say so

Likes playing with weasel and crow toys, esp when her caretaker (usually Kisame, Konan and Kakuzu as well when they’re around) plays the weasel and she’s the crow. She’ll tell stories where they go out to the woods to train or just hang out.

She loves to sit in laps <3

She eats a lot more in littlespace than out so whoever’s feeding her makes lots of food. For her to grow big and strong u know

Kisame:

Little age 0. He is just baby

Being reminded of the bloody mist triggers his littlespace, though he has to be in a bad headspace in the first place. It really does not happen often.

Post Akatsuki the first time he slipped was after he, Kakuzu and Konan started dating. Kakuzu woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of crying and woke Konan up immediately afterwards because holy sh*t there’s a baby in our bed!!

It was Kisame. Kakuzu picked him up and rocked him back to sleep. Konan asked how he was so good with kids and he was like ‘oh I had a baby once.’ She does not ask him to elaborate. Kisame wakes up as an adult the next morning.

They keep a container of powder formula for him if he regresses but won’t get him a pacifier because they’re afraid he’d bite off and choke on the teat. They have bottles but Kakuzu makes the nipples for them out of one of his threads on the spot bc he’d bite through literally everything else with his tiny demon teeth.

Sasori:

Little age is unclear (unlike some of the others, he’s never said it.)

Signs he’s in littlespace: stops talking, stops walking if he can afford it, walks unsteadily and a little bowlegged if he can’t. Stops using ninjutsu and if he’s near a kitchen he might try to eat despite not having a digestive system anymore. Has been known to ask where Granny Chiyo is. The answer is ‘back home.’

Deidara got him a pacifier and a coloring book. He does use them but not when anyone else is watching, not even Deidara.

He is a bit upset when he’s reminded that his body is wooden. He would like to feel things please. But he learns to just enjoy the sensation of squishing a stuffie and his jaw chewing on a paci.

Deidara:

Not actually a little. He just hasn’t gone through sh*t like the rest of the Akatsuki have, and has coping mechanisms for when he is having a bad time.

He caretakes for Konan when her boys aren’t around and for Sasori if he’ll let him.

Hidan told him about littles after Kakuzu regressed in front of him and thought Deidara might need to know because of how much baggage Sasori has (he doesn’t know what it is but he can smell drama)

So he looked out for Sasori becoming a kid and learned instead to look for him not acting like an adult. He walked out of Hiruko and tried to eat in front of him and Deidara had to tell him he couldn’t have a strawberry because it was bad for his health and not because it would probably make his insides mold. It’s weird but Deidara is also weird and he makes it work.

Kakuzu:

Little age is 9-10

Post Akatsuki the first time he regressed was in front of Hidan in the middle of the woods. He didn’t recognize him and immediately tried to run and then beat him up when he chased him. Hidan had to think fast and tell him he was his new neighbor and pretend to be taking him home. The next time he was babysitting.

Sometimes asks where his husband is. The first time Hidan heard this his response was ‘what the f*ck’ and Kakuzu told him that was a bad word.

Enjoyed activities include reading, sparring, and to the surprise of some, hunting. He’s not bad w/ a bow and arrow.

The best way to keep him in/make him feel comfy in littlespace is to make him a meal. U can let him help to the extent that he sets the table or pours the drinks or smth (because he will ask) but take care of the food for him, because he hasn’t had someone else handle that for him in a long time.

Regressing isn’t necessarily a common thing for him to do but he’s one of the only ones whose regression can be triggered by physical pain as well as emotional. He can usually harden his skin to block attacks but if he doesn’t in time he may turn into a ten year old. It actually can surprise an opponent enough for Hidan to be able to take them out.

Hidan:

Not a little either.

Knew about littles bc there was an old man in his village who had ptsd from some long forgotten war and sometimes turned into a six year old.

Caretakes for Kakuzu pretty exclusively, unless Kakuzu is big and taking care of someone else, in which case he’ll help out if he’s feeling nice at the time. Itachi is actually his favorite to take care of because Itachi is a very manageable child.

Obito:

Little age varies wildly from about 1-11. He blocks his physical regression because he regresses Often and doesn’t want to blow his Madara cover.

He has been regressing since p much immediately after he got crushed. Madara was really having none of it and went from patiently waiting for him to become ‘big’ again to pretending it wasn’t happening, forcing Obito back into a uh. ‘’Normal’’’’ headspace

The Tobi act is actually covering his littlespace though when he’s an adult he has no idea how to realistically act like a kid so when he’s actually a kid it’s kind of jarring for all involved

When he’s a baby he just screams. Not really crying in distress but screaming because he can

He’s so eager for attention. Please talk to him! Play toys with him!!! Read a book, eat dango, run around outside, catch bugs, train!!!

Never mentions Kakashi or Rin but sometimes will mention his grandma or Lord Fourth as if he is the current Hokage

#akatsuki #naruto au #sfw littlespace #sfw agere #god this is so half thought out #i had titled this an au at first but then i made it head canons bc it wasn't really an au. and now the chakra parts kind of don't make sense #but i am tired. and starved for attention and ready to be done. so here we are #beas please

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psychemeanscure · 4 years

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PART 13{ A part with a one whole of Jang Taeyoung. Yayks! Enjoy reading y’all~}

“Good day, Mr. Jang.”

“What’s good in a day when I can only see your ugly face Mr. Kim.”

The prosecutor groan in defeat indeed. It was his third day to be summoned on interrogation and as usual had to deal with the annoying interrogator who just only getting on his nerves every time with its lame question which even too obvious to be needed explanation. Thus with a bored breath he insults. “Can we just start your uninteresting play so I can go in peace, Mr. disloyal prosecutor?”

But seems like the latter got used to it already that he only got a smirking shaking of head instead of its irritated retractions that usually leads him to face its attacking hand who can’t even push through because of his threatening defense from the one-way tinted mirror, voice connecting to an in-charge officer behind it.

“Oh no, no, no. You would rather not do insults until today Mr. Jang, especially now that a solid headache will get you busy for the time being.”

A different counter he heard from the prosecutor somehow. ‘What lame evidences this disloyal dog has to bark again?’ as a simple thought slip into its mind but not too long to laze him later. “Oh yeah? Let me see then, Mr. Prosecutor.” Thus the latter starts then.

And before Mr. Kim could finish his set of litany?

He was already laughing tremendously. He never gone wrong of his instincts with the Prosecutor indeed. “What the hell! That’s it, Mr. Prosecutor? The last time was because of a certain connection from a gang syndicate who’s no longer existed, and now about an old news of SIESTA drug which people involved was long gone? Come on sir, don’t you have more to give to excite me other than this? I’m getting sleepy already.”

Piercing eyes starts to bore from the prosecutor as it only takes a second for a shift of expression. Dropping the document, it holds with vigor. “Okay. Since none of this wavered you still Mr. fearless guy. I might just share the last card instead. Are you ready?”

It caught his interest indeed as a twitched brows came after him. “And what is that, Mr. Kim?”

Thus its clasping hands initially rest on the table after purposely turning off the button for voice over, facing him with confident arrogance. “Zilo Alcaziar. I’m sure it rang your bell, pretty isn’t it?”

His thoughts say it is, yes. He was not surprise either since he knew she’s obviously the one who tip it off, so he only waited sternly in silence to his proceeding sentences. “Son of the greatest gambler Veeros Alcaziar who’s apparently became your business partner. A treacherous partnership or shall we say, with Sung Eunyoung?”

A flick of his brows came in then as he leans a little forward as if to make sure he wasn’t ghost out by his own instinct. “Come again, Mr. Prosecutor?”

Something’s off and he can feel it. From the mere mention of her name he knew there is. If he’s truly working for her, he would rather not involve her name in any means. Unless...

“Who told you that?”

His cold words right then only to be responded by a success laugh from the prosecutor as it leans as well enough to create a whisper to his face. “Sung Eunyoung. Who else would it be? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Poor you Mr. Jang. I tell you, she’s one hell of a b*---“

“I’m asking, who told you filthy dog?”

The latter has been dragged closer onto him definitely as he forcefully grabs its necktie. Nevertheless, its confidence still unbothered by his actions. “Why? You cannot believe it? You’ve been accustomed to her? Oh my, you shouldn’t have trusted her too much Mr. Jang. Look what happened to you. Seems like she became your weakness as well.”

It even starts to tap his shoulder following another words that may surely stirred him. “Let me give you an advice, Mr. Jang Taeyoung.” Its first word which he intended to halt after a closer lean by his ear. “If you go on a hunt down, it’s always the other as the best option.”

And he confirmed it. Finally, as he grips its necktie tight enough for choking, earning a panic grant he expected. Burning eyes fixated to the stubborn dog, gritted teeth resurfaced. He speaks. “I might be reckless in some way but I’m not stupid enough to understand that, moron. Now if you don’t want to die right here right now, then better answer my f*cking question. Eh?”

The prosecutor was struggling, no doubt. Unfortunately for him, his assaulted angle isn’t obvious to the officer in-charge’s CCTV monitor that it looks like he was the one dominantly threatening him, given its bending body block Jang Taeyoung’s move and the voice over button he turn off under the table. “A-ahck. Wa-it. Mr.—Ja-ng. A-ahck.” Had no choice but plead to him. But Jang wouldn’t dare. Why would he? Instead, he chokes him much tighter. With surrendering tap with his gripping hands, it gives in.

“A-alca-ziar. V-vee-ros A-alca-ziar.”

It only takes a second then before he let go. Hearing the gasping sound of Mr. Kim who is still trying to catch his own breath the moment it sits back to its chair. “See? It’s easy Mr. Prosecutor. Now tell me more.”

“W-why should I?” still half catching air prosecutor that only made him decide for another assault. “Why? So you would not be getting more like this?”

“A-Argh!”

Earning another grunt as he vigorously steps on its shoe under the table indeed. “F*ck! Fine. Fine, alright.”

So the rest follows as one thing’s for sure.

This game they were playing is one hell of a dangerous pit ride.

*Beep*

“Bullsh*t! Screw you, woman. Tss. Whatever. Why am I concerning you though? You even expose me anyway. Ugh. F*ck off!”

Tossing his phone with irritation by a nearby couch from her unanswered calls as he glances his own portrait which she also saw last time. Passing his own banters on it as if it was a different person to scold that he even points a finger with assertion. “This is what I’m telling you sucker. On so why? Why did you have to get sti--- F*ck! The hell will I admit either.”

He shifts into firmly punching its side wall when he decided to stand up, appearing like a strict lecturer. “This is all because of you, woman! You, Sung Eunyoung. I swear you’re going to p—sh*t! why can’t I even cursed you! See, Jang Taeyoung? You’re in fault here. F*ck!”

His proceeding soliloquy indeed for he can’t help but to clench a jaw out of frustration as he moved by the glass window. And with a hard slam of palm on it and a following voice of his assistant, he’s obviously pissed.

“What?!”

The deafening reply he did that made the latter being surprised yet only takes a second to regain composure. “Zilo Alcaziar is in the VIP lobby, Boss.”

Its simple word which gives him a scorching deep breath as well. Cursing another headache, he needed to deal with. Thus he responded a piercing nod to his assistant before leaving him again.

“Brother!”

The thrilled greeting from Zilo which only came back from entertaining itself to talking with female receptionist by the counter. Unbothered by his impatient glare trailing its every move till occupying a seat across him. “I was informed that you’ve been waiting on the lobby only to find out you’re actually lurking for bitches instead? Tss. You are wasting my time then.”

“Oh come on brother. As if you didn’t miss it either. Like hey, you’re a single man again. Right? Unless you can’t move on with sister. I bet you do.”

A frown came to him then. Groaning with irritation. “Can you just shut up, or am I going to pull your tongue in a second. Why are you here anyway?”

His straight banter just to be responded by a nonchalant behavior of the other as it even leans comfortably with the seat it occupied. “What do you think?”

“And what is that?”

“Tss. Of course brother, I’m here to continue as your ally.”

Thus a silence came after. He was halt by the thought, yes but not long enough to give the young Alcaziar a stern look. “I’m not in the mood for joking Zilo.” His threatening words then just to be responded by its shaking of head. “Brother I know you’re tempted, don’t deny. Besides, watching your situation right now I’m the only one you’ve got. Punch me if it isn’t true, eh?”

Truth. He’s the only one he got. He’s been calling the investors of the Casino Hotel, trying to convince at least half of them to side him and obviously got declined. Majority of them aren’t even answering. Hell that Sung Eunyoung’s power, who else can he control when she already got them all. Dammit!

“What makes you decide otherwise then, brother?”

“Because as you said, I’m fighting against my father and I truly am. So why not give it a try. I’m getting bored anyway. Father with sister and you with me. Isn’t it glamorous? We’re fighting each other’s past comrade. I can actually imagine the results. Wohoo.”

Zillo was even whistling while gesturing a blow like a bomb on his hand, arrogantly gullible of his own idea. Right there for some reason, the prosecutor’s advice pop into his ears. ‘Guess the disloyal dog makes sense after all.’

His thoughts finally decided. He’s considering the challenge indeed that for the last time after their talk ended, she called her once again yet for the nth time she remains unanswered. If it this what they call war, then war it is.

“Let the best venturer win, Sung Eunyoung.”

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smokeybrand · 3 years

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The Cape and The Cowl

A friend of mine posted a meme questioning who would win a fight between Doctor Doom and Batman. My gut reaction is to say it’s real bad for Bruce but, as i thought about it more and more, i kind of feel like its not so cut-and-dry. There is a lot of nuance that needs to be considered between the two characters rather than just a “smash the action figured together” scenario. Of course, there is the surface stuff like how would they interact generally? What would the catalyst be in order to incite said conflict? Why would Doom even see Bruce as a threat? If you think about it objectively, an all things are even, to Vic, Batman is just a crazy person losing his are on crime in a raggedy ass city. Victor von Doom is a the reagent of an entire country with a GDP that rivals some superpowers in the MCU. Like, the USA has diplomatic relations with a blip in Eastern Europe, because Doom has the military power to wreck he US in open aggression. Latveria will lose in a prolonged conflict, that’s just a question of resources, but that little country would absolutely inflict upon the US in a slow bleed. Imagine the War on Terror but with competent leadership and actual, discipline, military strategy. Why the f*ck would Doom care what the f*ck is going on out in Jersey? More than that. the similarities between the two characters is staggering.

We all know the origin of Batman. We’ve seen that sh*t how many times now? It’s like getting a new Spider-Man joint and having to watch Uncle Ben die all over again. It’s trite at this point but so essential to the character, we need a refresher every time Bats shows up onscreen. That trauma informs everything he is, as it would if you watched your parents gunned down in cold blood as a child, and then laid with their still warm corpses for however long until the police came. What a lot of people don’t know is the origin of Doctor Doom. Being a villain, Doom rarely gets his motivations explored outside of some megalomaniac Dr. No type f*ckery. However, Victor von Doom is a person. He started out life as a happy kid and learned to be Doctor Doom, just like Bruce learned to be Batman. Doom is actually a refugee. True, Doom was born an aristocrat, but Latveria was overthrown when he was still young so he was never able to be raised in that level of opulence. His mom was also murdered before he was ten years old. Just like Bruce, Doom experienced a horrific truth that would color his world perspective for the rest of his life. Doom would eventually find his way to the US as he was brilliant. Like, unheard of intelligent and it would be his exposure to the US lifestyle, after years of conflict and struggle, which would make him realize how easy life could be if someone just did what was necessary. And then Reed happened.

Reed Richards was, is, a fulcrum in Vic’s life. They have a relationship similar to Batman an Superman but the opposite. Whereas Batman values Clark’s perspective because it helps him keep perspective, Vic finds Reed to be absurd. He sees Reed for who e is and doesn’t understand why no one else can. Reed Richards is a reckless, excitable, short-sighted, glory-hog. He is. If you read the character with any semblance of realism, you’d see that. Ho many times has Sue comments on how she and the rest of his family, take a backseat to science? How many times has Reed, himself, sacrificed a relationship or to, in service to the solution of an equation? Doom saw all of that in college. Reed represents the structural issues of the world and it frustrates Vic to no end. In some continuities, the genesis of Vic going full Doom rest on an accident Reed commits because of that shortsightedness. It goes a long way to checking Reeds ego and he does become a better person for it, but it was at the cost of scarring Vic for life, both physically and mentally. Yet another example of the system, ruining Doom’s life.

Bruce, after his trauma, has kept a strong support system. First and foremost, since day one, he had Alfred. Doom had no one. Bruce then built a family, adopting all of the children and surrounding himself with love. Doom’s one true love died and was dragged down to hell. We know this because he punches out Mephisto whenever he can. Also, his mom is down there, too. Bruce eventually met Diana and Kal, becoming fast friends and life long confidants. Outside of Catwoman, I think Diana makes for the perfect romantic partner of Bruce and that is shown in several continuities. Reed just reinforced Doom’s disgust with the machinations of the world, eventually further degrading Doom’s tenuous hold of his ability to trust in others, by psychically maiming him. The negative impact Reed had on Doom’s life is f*cking profound, man. I’m not saying Doom should have taken it as far as he did, but it’s hard to argue against trying to kill a dude who had ruined years of your work, destroyed you reputation, and physically maimed you forever. That doesn’t seem wholly outrageous to me. I think it’s called justifiable homicide? The only reason Doom stopped trying to murder Reed is because Valeria was born. Valeria became the first person Doom felt real affection for, since the death of his wife. I think Morgan le Fay could be another, but that might have just been a time-space booty call. Valeria Richards and her relationship with he Uncle Doom, is what gave Vic the strength to be better. Bruce had that love his entire life, even immediately after his darkest day. Doom went decades without it.

Up until Valeria was born, all Doom had was his time spent as a destitute street rat, struggling to survive, to inform him about life and the world at large. That brazen cruelty for sure emotionally crippled him in a lot of ways, I'm not even going to start to defend his arrogance or superiority complex, but trauma does that. That's why i think Bats would eventually come around. They've both seen the absolute worst of the world and, in a lot of ways, go about righting those wrongs in the same way. If you pay attention, and the writer is worth their salt, you'd see that Latveria is an autocratic socialist paradise. Latverians are among the most literate, healthy, and happy people in the 616. Jobs are plentiful and crime is almost non-existent. Mans even cured cancer, which he made available to the world, if those people choose to make the trip to Latveria for treatment. The world of 616, at large, likes to paint Vic as this evil despot but, if you interview a laymen of Latveria, they’ll sing his praises. Most people forget that, before Doom returned for his birthright, Latveria was a whole ass occupied state. Think the relationship between Israel and Palestine. Latveria was basically falling into doorknobs for Symkaria and pretending that they weren’t in an abusive relationship. Doom showed up and changed all that. It was a bloody f*cking conflict, for sure, and i am certain Vic committed war crimes, but the end result was a free Latveria with a strong international presence. Doom is a hero to those people but a villain to other nations because of how he rose to power and, more importantly, how independent he made hi country from the world system. Doom did what was necessary to free his people, a march too far for Bruce and that’s why Gotham is the way that it is.

People who don’t know the character like to paint Vic as ego-maniacal villain, and that was valid when comics were just "hero smash bad guy", but we've grown beyond that. Every pop culture interpretation of Doom, outside of the comics, has him as this stoic, arrogant, asshole, dictator bu that’s just not an accurate portrayal of how Doom is in a modern capacity. Vic is definitely an autocrat but he’s no dictator. He can be cruel at times to specific individuals but he is generally benevolent to his people. He doesn’t portray himself as a strongman but he does let it be known he’ll nuke anyone or anything if it means furthering his overall goals which, currently, is the safety and security of Latveria. His country isn’t a police state and his people are free to do as they please but their is a line, just like everywhere else in the world. Doom just has a shorter one and enforces that with extreme prejudice. I’m not going to sit here and say everything is great in Latveria, it’s definitely not, but it ain’t so hot in 616 America either. How many Civil Wars have they had? What about that whole tidbit with Hydra Cap? There is nuance and gray nowadays, areas that both Bats and Doom comfortably call home. Batman is, objectively, not a pure hero. He is, at best, a chivalric anti-hero and similarly, Doom is more of an anti-villain than the mustache twirling, boogeyman, mastermind pop media portrays him to be. Batman and Doom are basically the same person, with the same motivations, only Doom is willing to go much, much, further than Bruce; A difference in method you an attribute to their respective upbringings.

If Doom had the same support system as Bruce, he’d create miracles. We’ve seen glimpses of that throughout the years. Dooms last run culminated with him essentially obliterating an entire universe where he had the support necessary to build a proper utopia. Our Doom couldn’t fathom the choices made by this variant Doom because of how broken he is. If Bruce was alone in his formative years like Victor, he’d commit atrocities. We’ve seen glimpses of that over they years, too. There are various narratives that explore just such a tragic turn of events, explored in the Death Metal series of books. Dawnbreaker immediately comes to mind. Bruce and victor are the same side of the same coins. It's literally a crap shoot as to which side of the alignment chart either leans. And as if to inform my point further, we just recently had Joker War. That book went a long way to exposing the absolute necessity of raw force, in order to properly “save”Gotham. Joker was able to completely dismantle that entire city by attacking the machinery put in lace to make it run. He effectively proved that The Batman was part of the problem and would never be the solution because Bruce doesn’t go far enough. He puts out fires but never address the sparks which start those blazes. He doesn’t go far enough. He never will. His code won’t allow him to. But Doom can. Doom did. Honestly, if you really want to keep it real, what is Bruce's endgame? What does a healthy Gotham City look like? It looks a lot like f*cking Latveria.

So to answer this question outright, i don’t think they even fight. The way this hypothetical was set up had three rounds: the first being a standard donnybrook, the second being prep time, and the last being god mode. To be perfectly honest with you, it wouldn't make it past the first round. If i had to say, with pedestrian or normie level understanding of he characters, Doom sweeps all categories. For Round one, Doom’s armor trumps all of Batman’s gadgets. For Round Two, Doom has more resources at his fingertips for prep. For Round The God Emperor Doom exists. He created several realities and killed a few Beyonders. Batman sat in a chair which gave him access to all the wisdom in the multiverse, and realized there were three Jokers. Doom all the way. My informed opinion as someone who adores both these character more than most would have me think there wouldn’t even be a conflict to begin with. I think they’d investigate the inciting catalyst, meet in person with intent to attack if necessary, size each other up until one of them made the proposal to just talk, they'd converse, and the fight would end with both of them walking away from each other with begrudging respect. Doom would admire Bruce's will and Bruce would understand the necessity of Doom's position in the world because, if you can make it make sense, Bruce will usually agree. Batman, for all of his shortcomings, is not naive to the world. He’s seen the same darkness as Doom. Doom, for all of his pompous arrogance, understands the struggle to maintain faith in those around you, even if that noble aspiration is misplaced. Bruce is one bad day away from Doom and Doom is a decades worth of days from being Bruce. They mirror each other and i think they’d see that, taking each other as cautionary tales before becoming collaborators. I don’t see them ever really becoming friends but i don't think they’d ever be true enemies.

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bitchin-beskar · 4 years

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I Just Want to Kill You (Except That I Don’t)

Fandom: The Old Guard

Rating: T (Mentions of blood, war, religious themes, and kissing) (also there are approximately (2) uses of the word f*ck)

Word Count: 2k

A/N: Ever wonder about what it was like for the other crusaders watching Joe and Nicky kill each other over and over? Well I did, and this is what happened! This story is from Ferrando’s perspective, watching as his fellow soldier figures out that maybe, just maybe, he doesn’t hate the enemy (or more specifically, one singular enemy) all that much.

Warning: I am not religious, but there are mentions of Christianity and the Crusades, along with potentially racist connotations when referring to Yusuf and his people. This story is not historically accurate, and any mistakes that I make are my own. This story does not personally reflect my own views on Christians or Muslims.

Tags: @theocatkov, @cosmicbug379, @marydjarin @perropascal

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in any of my works!

Please consider liking and reblogging, I love the feedback!

It had been three weeks since the Saracen had killed Nicolo, and by the grace of God, Nicolo had been brought back. Their commander had declared Nicolo’s resurrection a holy sign, that their cause was just in the eyes of God, and that their siege of Jerusalem was the will of God.

Ferrando had believed their commander, he’d had no reason not to, until the very next day when Nicolo faced off against the same Saracen as before. Ferrando thought that Nicolo had killed the Muslim soldier, just as the soldier had killed Nicolo, but now, here they were, fighting ferociously.

Ferrando watched, stunned, as Nicolo and the Muslim struck each other at the same time, burying their weapons in the other’s chest, falling on the battlefield once more. Surely Nicolo was only entitled to one miracle, and now that he had struck down his foe for good, God would be gracious, and Nicolo would be allowed admittance into Heaven.

But, as Ferrando fought his way over to his fallen brethren, he was shocked to see Nicolo’s eyes open once more, a shuddering breath escaping his fellow soldier as Nicolo grasped the Saracen’s scimitar, removing it from his chest in one swift movement. On the ground, across from Nicolo, the Saracen jerked awake as well, removing Nicolo’s sword from where it was buried in between his ribs.

Both men sat up, and Ferrando watched as their wounds closed, miraculously. The Saracen stood up, and Ferrando raised his sword, ready to defend his shield-brother, but the Saracen merely held out Nicolo’s sword, hilt first.

Nicolo stood slowly, eyeing the Saracen warily. He slowly held out the scimitar, trading weapons with the enemy. An understanding seemed to pass between the two men, and the Saracen turned away, heading back to his campsite. Nicolo watched him walk away, a funny look on his face. Ferrando tried to get Nicolo’s attention, but Nicolo just waved him off, heading back towards their camps.

And so the pattern continued day after day. Every morning, Nicolo would charge onto the battlefield, but he always seemed… distracted. That is, until he managed to cross paths with the Saracen. Ferrando didn’t always see them fight, but he heard stories from the other men. Over the course of three weeks, Nicolo and the Saracen had killed each other in practically every single way imaginable.

At some point, Nicolo learned the Saracen’s name was Yusuf–when on earth did Nicolo find the time to lean the Muslim’s name in the middle of fighting to the death–and there wasn’t a night that went by that Ferrando didn’t hear at least one complaint about their enemy, and more specifically, Yusuf.

“Why must God torment me so?” Nicolo lamented one night, sitting beside Ferrando in one of the tents. “How can it be God’s will that I strike Yusuf down when he rises the same as I each and every time?” Nicolo sounds so despondent, and Ferrando might feel bad for him if this wasn’t the third or fourth time he’d heard this complaint.

“Surely this is the work of the Devil, tempting me so that I may stray from my holy path,” Nicolo mutters, and Ferrando looks over at his shield-brother in shock. But Nicolo doesn’t seem to realize that he’d spoken aloud, and Ferrando is left to wonder just what it is that Nicolo meant.

Ferrando gets his answer two days later, when he once again witnesses Nicolo facing off against Yusuf. The men are evenly matched, and Ferrando notices much of the fighting seems to cease near them, as though the others, Christians and Muslims alike, are waiting to see the outcome of this fight.

The battle seems to last for ages, the clash of metal ringing out, the dusty ground stirring up around the two men, creating the illusion of two otherworldly beings. Finally, Yusuf managed to gain the upper hand, trapping Nicolo between his chest and his blade. None of the other soldiers move, they all remember Nicolo’s anger when a fellow warrior of Christ had struck Yusuf down. Nicolo had raged at poor Benetto, nearly causing the young soldier to faint from fright, yelling about how only he was allowed to kill Yusuf. Ferrando had raised an eyebrow at that, but Nicolo had been too angry to realize what he’d said. Ferrando watched as Nicolo gathered Yusuf’s body into his arms, and to his surprise, he saw fear on Nicolo’s face.

Perhaps their divine blessings only kept them alive if they were the reasons behind each other’s demise. But surely Nicolo should be pleased? His enemy might finally perish? But as Ferrando watched Nicolo press his hand against Yusuf’s wound, pleading with the Saracen to come back, he wondered if perhaps there was something more than just anger tying the two men together.

Now, with Yusuf pressing his blade against Nicolo’s throat, the only thing the Nicolo could do was press back against Yusuf’s chest. Ferrando watched with no small amount of interest as Yusuf leaned forward, his lips a hair’s breadth from Nicolo’s ear, whispering something. Ferrando can’t hear his words over the sounds of the battle raging around them, but he watches as a blush spreads across Nicolo’s cheeks, right before the scimitar slices across his throat, spilling his blood on the dirt. Nicolo manages to stab Yusuf in the side as he goes down, taking Yusuf down with him. Somehow, Ferrando doesn’t think that blush is the result of threats, and he can’t help but wonder what Yusuf said to Nicolo to make his cheeks turn as pink as they did.

***

Ever since that day, Ferrando noticed that Yusuf was getting bolder and bolder in his attacks. He seemed to find ways to ensure that he was in contact with Nicolo in some way each time they fought: pining Nicolo to the ground, against a wall, against his chest. Yusuf seemed to prefer grappling with Nicolo instead of fighting with swords and scimitars. Every time, without fail, Nicolo would flush, which delighted Yusuf to no end. He seemed to enjoy making Nicolo feel embarrassed, delighting in every blush, stutter, and gasp that he could wring from him.

And every single night, Ferrando had to listen to Nicolo complain, moan and whine about Yusuf. He listened, with the patience of a saint, while Nicolo begged for someone to tell him why Yusuf tempted him so. Nicolo was not normally a very talkative man, but in his frustration with Yusuf, he’d spoken more in a month than Ferrando had heard him speak in a year.

By the thirtieth time the two men have killed each other, most of the soldiers in their regiment and the enemy’s camp know of the two opposing soldiers, touched by God, fighting to the death every day. Ferrando is quite proud of the fact that he was the first to notice when their little dance stopped being so angry and hateful and something… other.

He’d run out of fingers if he had to count on his hands the number of times other soldiers had come up to him to ask if the Saracen was Nicolo’s bedmate. Their tension on the battlefield had transformed, and all the men could see it. Except for Nicolo. He refused to. Ferrando would hear Yusuf speaking in Arabic to Nicolo while they fought, and despite not understanding the words, the tone in which Yusuf spoke made Nicolo flush a brilliant red. Nicolo was quite vicious in his kills whenever Yusuf would taunt him, although Ferrando thought it might be less out of hatred and more embarrassment. Nicolo was a priest, after all, at his core. Not a soldier.

But even priests can be tempted, and according to Nicolo’s rants when he thought the others were asleep, Yusuf was the most tempting of all. Cosimo and Giacomo had started a betting pool on when Nicolo would finally snap, and either outright rejecting the Saracen or finally fucking him. Ferrando really should shut it down before it came to the attention of their commander, but he couldn’t bring himself to. There was so little entertainment in the camps, let the men have their fun.

***

Two months from the day that Nicolo and Yusuf rose from the dead for the first time, everything changed. Ferrando wasn’t entirely sure why things changed, today of all days, but he certainly wasn’t going to complain. It had started out normally, just like every other day on the battlefield. The two armies clashed, men fighting and dying like they had every day for the past two months. Once more, Nicolo and Yusuf met on the battlefield, to fight to the death, like they had every day for the past few months. Yusuf had gained the upper hand for the past week or so, and Ferrando knew that it angered Nicolo to no end.

Today, Nicolo gained the upper hand–and fought ferociously to maintain it–rather quickly in the fight, and he managed to force Yusuf to his knees, the tip of his sword pressing into the hollow of Yusuf’s throat. Ferrando was still shocked at the fact that Yusuf never once looked afraid, before any of his many, many deaths at the hands of Nicolo. Somehow, the Muslim managed to look smug, even when on his knees, with a deadly blade at his throat.

Nicolo was red in the face, panting from exertion, his white-knuckled grip on the longsword betraying his nervousness. Both men were dirty, covered in dust and blood from wounds already healed. Ferrando could hear as Nicolo began to yell at the man before him, the one who’d been tormenting Nicolo for two months. He couldn’t hear everything Nicolo was yelling, but he was yelling in Genoese, so Ferrando doubted Yusuf even understood him. Yusuf had shown no indication that he understood Genoese, so Ferrando wasn’t sure how effective Nicolo’s scolding was going to be.

“Why? Why must you torment me? Surely you’ve been sent by the devil, for there can be no explanation for why God would choose you to rise by my side!” Nicolo was frantic, begging for answers, answers no one had, least of all Yusuf.

Ferrando watched as Yusuf looked up at Nicolo, and for a moment, Ferrando thought he was going to speak. Instead, he winked.

Nicolo stared at Yusuf, a blush spreading across his cheeks as the Muslim stared up at him, smirking lasciviously. Ferrando thought Nicolo was about to run him through, but to his and the other soldiers’ shock, Nicolo dropped his sword, yanking Yusuf up by his tunic and pulling him into a kiss.

Ferrando felt his jaw drop, but he made no move to close it. He never could have imagined that Nicolo would actually act on his feelings, but the evidence to the contrary was clear in front of him.

Nicolo pulled back suddenly, his grip on Yusuf’s tunic weakening. He blinked, looking stunned, as though he couldn’t believe what he’d just done. Yusuf slowly opened his eyes, a dazed look on his face. Nicolo started to apologize, stuttering and stammering over his words, but Yusuf was having none of it. Gripping his cheeks, Yusuf smashed his lips against Nicolo’s.

Ferrando and the other soldiers watched as Yusuf kissed Nicolo more passionately than any of them had ever seen, let alone experienced. Many of the men looked away, cheeks red. Even their enemies had stopped fighting, choosing instead to stare at the two men kissing like they would die if their lips stopped touching.

Nicolo buried his hands in Yusuf’s hair, holding the other man as close as possible, and Yusuf’s arm wound around Nicolo’s waist, clutching tightly at the fabric of Nicolo’s shirt. It was as though they’d forgotten they were supposed to be fighting.

Ferrando was startled when he felt a tapping on his shoulder. There stood Cosimo, a smug grin on his face. “You should’ve joined the betting pool, I just won twenty bezants!” Ferrando smacked him across the back of the head, but that didn’t deter the grinning soldier.

“Come on, let’s get out of here. I don’t want to be here when the armor starts coming off.”

#The Old Guard #origin story #the beginning #of nicky x joe #nicolo and yusuf #kaysanova #crusades #historical inaccuracies #Im sorry #canon queer relationship #the beginning of the immortal husbands #the life of a background crusader #ferrando is DONE #joe x nicky #yusuf x nicolo #first kiss #enemies to lovers #fics

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snkpolls · 4 years

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SnK Episode 63 Poll Results (for Anime Only Watchers)

The poll closed with 114 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Manga Readers’ poll, click here.

Anime only watchers, beware of spoilers if you venture over to the manga readers’ poll results.

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RATE THE EPISODE 98 Responses

It would appear that the response to this week’s episode is even higher than last week’s, with 99% giving it a score of 3 or higher. Nice!

Amazing episode overall, it really gives you the feeling that something huge is about to happen

The best episode so far. Music was perfectly matched with animations.

Hype

i liked it!

This was an amazing episode and I can't wait to see what will happen next !

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING MOMENTS WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 100 Responses

The cliffhanger at the end of the episode was by and far the most favorite among viewers, with 56% stating it was their favorite moment from the episode. It is distantly followed by the festival scene in which Reiner sacrifices his money to spoil the kids. And at a distant third, people got a good laugh at the stairwell scene where Porco gets spooked by Pieck.

WOULD YOU SHAMELESSLY EXPLOIT REINER FINANCIALLY IF YOU HAD SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY? 99 Responses

Looks like more than half (61.6%) of responders would agree to exploit Reiner financially (half of those without a hint of shame). Others would either consider it or reject the offer, in that order.

RIP Reiner's money

WHICH FOOD WOULD YOU WANT REINER TO BUY YOU? 99 Responses

Pizza is the clear winner on this one (62.6%), followed by Desser at a distant second (25.3%). Just a little over 9% went for Sandwiches instead. The couple of other responders clearly cheated!

WHICH KID HAD THE CUTEST “BEGGING” EXPRESSION? 100 Responses

Gabi went ahead and knocked out her competition for this tournament (gaining 64%). Guess she really is cute, as she says. Falco’s in distant second (29%), followed by Zofia (7%). Poor Udo has gotten no love.

NOW THAT WE’VE SEEN MORE OF THE NEW CAST, WE’LL ASK AGAIN. WHICH NEW CHARACTER IS YOUR FAVORITE? 99 Responses

We’re back with this question, again. It would appear that Falco has won over the hearts of most responders, gaining 54.5%. Pieck the Enigmatic Cart Titan Shifter is in second place with a little over 25%. Gabi the Fiery Warrior cadet is in third place with 10.1%. Others gave their preference for Willy, Magath, Zofia and Udo in that order. Poor Porco has gotten no love!

Love zofia but my favs always disappointed me.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF PIECK CRAWLING ON ALL FOURS BECAUSE IT FEELS “MORE NATURAL” FOR HER? 97 Responses

When it comes to the scene of Pieck crawling on all fours, almost 60% seemed to think of it as either a cute or even a hot (you know what kind of hot) moment. On the flip side, almost 26% thought the scene was disturbing or simply sad. A few others either didn’t seem to care or thought the scene was funny.

Cute,but sad since she's adapted to being this tool for war of the Marleyans

fan service

Pieck got a dump truck

mixed

Y'ALL NEED TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND TOUCH SOME GRASS, YOU HORNY F*CKS

WILLY TELLS MAGATH THAT THE WARHAMMER TITAN IS PRESENT, BUT THAT MAGATH PROBABLY CAN’T GUESS WHICH MEMBER OF THE TYBUR FAMILY HOLDS IT. WHO WOULD BE YOUR GUESS? 100 Responses

In retrospect, we should have included an option for those who have already been spoiled on the identity of the Warhammer titan, based on many of the responses we received. We’ve blacked out the pie chart to avoid spoiling anyone. But, in order from the first choice on the list to the last available choice, the following options were most favored: Willy, the old man, the old woman, the blonde mother, one of the children, the woman serving food, and one of the guards.

MAGATH AND WILLY TALK ABOUT MARLEY’S SELF-DESTRUCTIVE WAR HISTORY AND MAGATH NOTES THAT IT’S TOO LATE TO STOP IT. DO YOU AGREE WITH HIM? 98 Responses

Most responses assert that Magath’s prediction will come true in the end and Marley’s downfall will be a result of its own conduct (little over 56%). Some others dissent, arguing that although Marley will probably fall, it will not be because of its own previous conduct. The rest either can’t say for sure, believe Willy’s plans will save the nation or simply don’t care.

WILLY TALKS A BIT ABOUT “HELOS,” THE GREAT HERO OF MARLEY WHO SUBDUED THE TITANS. HE SAYS THAT MARLEY NEEDS ANOTHER “HELOS.” WHO, IF ANY, OF OUR PROMINENT CAST MEMBERS DO YOU THINK THAT NEW HERO COULD BE? 96 Responses

“I need a Hero! I’m holding out for a hero to the end of the-“, you get the point. Everybody needs a hero, right? It would appear that a quarter believe Eren could fit in as this metaphorical “Helos”. Almost 20% believe that none of them will fit this type of role. In third place we have our recently promoted Protagonist, Reiner Braun. Other popular options included Zeke, Levi and Falco, in that order. Gabi was written in for one response. Looks like we forgot to include her in our options. 😅

gabi... i feel very early seasons eren vibes from her

IN A SIMILAR VEIN, MAGATH CRITICIZES THE HELOS STATUE BY STATING THAT IT IS HOLLOW INSIDE. WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS MEANS? 98 Responses

When critiquing the statue itself, Magath noted that it is hollow. In that vein, almost 38% believe that Marley’s defeat of the Titans in the Great Titan War is a hollow lie. Others (17.3%) believe the story will simply lack a hero in the end. Almost the same percentage (16.3%) think that Marley’s defeat of the Titans *was* genuine, but their subsequent conduct is anything but heroic. The rest either believe there is some thematic substance in that statement, but aren’t sure what it is or think that Magath is just a cynic.

WHAT IS THE TRUTH WILLY INTENDS TO REVEAL AT THE FESTIVAL? 97 Responses

When it comes to discerning Willy’s plan at the festival, almost 65% were convinced he wants to reveal something about the history of Marley and Eldia. In distant second place (16.5%) we had folks believing Willy wants to reveal certain information about the Titans. The rest were either not sure or thought he wanted to reveal info about something else entirely.

the war

WHAT DO YOU THINK WILLY’S “SOLUTION” TO THE WORLD’S PROBLEMS MAY BE? 96 Responses

We got a rather colorful pie chart for such a bleak question. The slight plurality (27.1%) believe Willy wants to obtain the coordinate in order to obtain the control of all Eldians, others (26%) believe he wants to commit genocide on Eldians living on Paradis island or perhaps wants to obtain the powers of all Nine Titans. The rest believe Lord Tybur either wants to commit genocide on all Eldians in the world or wants to make with the Ethnic group. A whole array of different opinions.

the war Genocide of Marlians

I don't really know lol

DO YOU THINK WILLY CAN CONVINCE THE PEOPLE TO GET ON BOARD WITH THE “SOLUTION” HE WILL REVEAL AT THE PLAY? 97 Responses

When it comes to convincing the audience of the festival to support Willy’s plans, the overwhelming majority believe he’ll be successful, either in part (majority) or in whole (minority). The rather miniscule minority isn’t sure and even less people believe Willy will wholly fail.

I think Willy's speech may lead to a serious division throughout Marley between people that agree with his solution and people that don't

marleyans are a bunch of sheeps anyways so i don't think they will even question his "solution" as long as it's about getting rid of eldians

WE ARE INTRODUCED TO A WOMAN WHO GABI SAYS IS “AN EASTERNER FROM HIZURU,” WHO APPEARS TO BE SYMPATHETIC TOWARD THE ELDIANS. DO YOU THINK THAT THIS WOMAN WILL HAVE ANY IMPORTANCE IN FUTURE PLOT DEVELOPMENTS? 97 Responses

When it comes to the “Easterner from Hizuru”, it would appear that a decent chunk of responses believe she’ll play some sort of role in the story later, either in relation to Mikasa (42.3%) or the Eldians (16.5%) as a whole. Others dissent and argue that she’s there to showcase people sympathetic to the Eldians in the world instead (24.7%). Finally, some are simply not sure (16.5%).

DO YOU THINK THERE IS ANY SIGNIFICANCE TO THE BASEBALL MITT? 97 Responses

It would appear that Eren has a baseball mitt. Does it mean there is any significance to it? I don’t know. I’m just a ghost writing walls of text. Anyway, a plurality (42.3%) of those answering this question believe that there is (significance) and that it’s a hidden message from Eren’s “family”. Some others also believe in the importance of the mitt (22.7%), but aren’t sure of what it means exactly. Others take a middle position (21.6%) favoring a symbolic interpretation of the iteam. The rest simply have no idea.

From monkey boy and his perfect game ? Idk why tbh

Maybe alluding to Zeke, probably helps Eren where to channel his hatred

DO YOU THINK THAT EREN CAME TO MARLEY ALONE, OR WAS HE SENT THERE BY THE SURVEY CORPS TO FULFILL A ROLE? 96 Responses

When it comes to the status of the SC and Eren in Marley, the definitive majority believe they are there with him (59.4%). Almost 22% think he is there alone and without the consent of the Corps. On the flip side, 14.6% believe he is there alone, but wholly with the Corps’ consent.

HOW DO YOU THINK REINER AND EREN’S CONVERSATION WILL GO? 95 Responses

A rather interesting development exists in the prospect of another conversation between Eren and Reiner. Also interesting are the predictions for this question. Just a little over a third believe they’ll have a civil talk, in contrast to their talk from S2. A little under a third believe the conversation will not have any yelling, but will still be rather bitter. Others believe that they’ll either start fighting or engage in another shouting match. 9.5% are simply not sure.

Eren becomes attack titan probably

ON A SCALE OF 1-5, HOW MUCH WOULD YOU LIKE TO RETURN TO THE SURVEY CORPS/PARADIS RIGHT NOW? 97 Responses

Finally, here is another recurring question. How much do you want to return to the SC/Paradis right now? A little over 50% are very eager, though a little under 50% state that they can afford to wait a bit.

Marley is kinda boring

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

I feel like the story hasn't moved that much or maybe there are just a lot of things that haven't been clarified yet. I did read some spoilers of the latest chapters but I can't seem to connect the latest episodes to the spoilers I have read.

Mainly gave it a 4 because I'm in the middle between superb quality of animation and my lack of interest in the Warriors, but added +1 because we are finally getting back to the SC crew!

Gabi is still annoying as hell, she's the effing worst

The build up is nice

I felt bad for Grandad Yeager, wish Eren could have patted his shoulder or something. Guess he's an asshole now. Would love to find out more about the baseball thing.

I can't wiat 2 weeks, i'm going to cry

The more they focus on Gabi, the more unlikable and unsympathetic she becomes. I really hope we don't have to deal with too much more of her after this arc.

It really felt like the calm before the storm. Very interesting episode. I just know something is going to happen during Tybur's speech and Eren's talk with Reiner. Can't wait!

Sucks to be Falco ig

Ughhhhh, just a fucking vibe of an episode. I'll say it.... I like Reiner now😌😌 yeh I know. This episode made me love the warriors crew despite me not giving an f about them before. I hope porco is secretly in love with Reiner and explains why he hated him so much. Still waiting out for [redacted]’s new side part, hopefully we will see him soon. Well... till next week friends ~C

wait too long for next T-T

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 91 Responses

Thank you again to everyone who participated! We’ll see you again next episode!

#snk poll #snk polls #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #snk #aot #snk spoilers

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zora-moyashi · 4 years

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chara takes a deep breath and says bye to killer. she follows calarie. 'oh damn. we didn't get to check out this moth guy shatter! that's not goodd....'

Core

‘I read the King’s mind, and first of all, he’s a bloody asshole.’ Olympia said, actually cussing

'well great. any other tidbits i should know?'

Core

‘They are a variant of Dream, a fully corrupt one, even nastier than Nightmare. They seem to have lost their sentience, and attack any form of light, so they put-‘ Calarie put a glowing collar around Chara’s neck. ‘That...’

"hey! you can't give the other side this much of an advantage! do you guys even want to see a fun fight?" she wines

Core

“She won’t attack otherwise, sorry, believe me I am.” Calarie says, leading Chara to the arena

she sighs. 'screw this' steps into the arena.

Core

Venus unwrapped herself from Chara’s arm, ready to fight.

chara's soul starts to pound 'oh man...' the sun is practically gone and she's the only light in the arena. sense a little extra time she prepares a purple web and sets a couple points.

Core

A dome formed over the arena, as her save points glitched away. A door on the other side of the arena opened

(not save points the blue/green sling shot things) she got ready to jump as soon as she sensed her close.

Core

A blur shot towards her, grabbing Chara by her sweater and pulling her into the air, only then could she see her opponent, who had large moth like wings

chara's left hand grabbed onto moth's shoulder tightly and she formed a knife in the other slashing at where she thought her neck would be.

Core

The knife broke. ‘Kick away! Kick away!’ Olympia told her, Venus had one of their wings in her jaws.

she does as she's told with orange around her legs so she doesn't break them with the force.

Core

Venus was able to rip the wing off, making both fall to the ground

"owwww" she tries her best to get up but she's super jarred from the fall.

Core

Venus helped her stand, after swallowing the wing of course.

after getting up, moth lunged at her which she barely stepped away from. 'why'd that break my knife? is her armor that strong?' she makes a shield and defends for a second.

Core

‘It’s the same coating as Nightmare’s, so it absorbs impacts and magic, and uses it against whatever makes contact.’ Olympia explained. ‘It also means that my powers are useless against her.’ Moth was very unsteady, unable to use her wings to balance

'well that's fabulous.' she hops behind moth and after making a new knife she stabs into the area that the wing was ripped out

Core

Moth screeched, trying to shake Chara off her back as the knife dug in

'can you burn her now?' she grabs onto her hair and climbs on her back digging in as much as she can.

Core

Venus opened her mouth, breathing fire, burning Moth alive inside her own coating. “Incredible! You saw it here folks! The child was able to defeat the Moth!” The announcer said.

"woah... what?" she hops off the shell. and looks around as the dome is opened back up. 'how is it over already?'

Core

‘Hold on..... Look there.’ Olympia said, spotting a particular winged watcher.

she pulls at the light color and it actually releases when she does. 'what?' she looks over trying to focus.

Core

It was Ink, she was watching them.

'well well well.' she solutes to ink and spins on her heel going to the opening, not wanting to interact.

Core

‘Why is she so interested in you? Did you do something to her?’ Olympia asked.

'hey, not everything is always my fault. she just appeared when i was training the kits.' she goes though the gate and it closes.

Core

(Well..... She has seen how close Chara is to Killer and shatter, but she has difficulty manipulating those two) Calarie met her, having one of the devices to remove the disc.

"hey i did it! you impressed?" she grins.

Core

“Very, you did a good job.” She gave a smile and removed the disc.

it clinks to the floor, she really wants shatter off of her arm but thinks better than to rip her out right now. "thank you, thank you." she bows and heads back up the stairs to where killer was.

Core

Calarie sighed, “good job helping her, Scarlett.”

she stops and looks back at calarie kinda surprised she knew but kinda shrugs it off anyway. "she's missed you, shatter i mean." she continues up

Core

Calarie smiled and walked away, Shatter came off of Chara’s arm, leaving marks where the roots were

"here's hoping no one will make me go into another match because it was 2 on one. or more like 19 on one"

Core

“Yeah, I guess it was, wasn’t it?” Shatter said.

"mhm." they get to the top and she goes up to killer. "i lived b*tch~"

Core

“To my disappointment.” Killer hissed, The red king wasn’t there

"did you see ink in the stands?"

Core

“Can’t see, remember?” Killer said. “As for the squid, she can f*ck herself.”

"i know killer, i thought you might have sensed her but ey. and yeah my sentiments exactly."

"so shatter and i have to stay for another day or she'll explode. wanna hangout?"

Core

“I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” Killer asked

"i mean yeah no you don't"

Core

“I figured.” She said, getting up.

she grins and glances back at shatter.

Core

Shatter gave a thumbs up.

\(oI u Io)/ she makes a face like that and grabs killer's hand and grins up at her. "i'm sorry i'm a pain."

Core

Killer flinched at the touch and pulled her hand away. “....don’t worry about it, I’m not perfect either.” She said.

"yep~ no one is, but it's always better to be not perfect together." she turns to shatter and starts to walk back down the stairs. "yeah shatter, you wanna go talk to your mother figure or should we just lay low until the day's up?"

Core

“Best to lay low...” she said, trying to convince herself. “There is a house about 3 blocks from here, old owner died, I’ve been keeping it tidy, perhaps we can stay there?” Killer asked.

"i'm down for that." she leads down the stairs and through the halls back to where they came into the underground area.

Core

Killer followed, but not too closely.

chara looks back to shatter who seems hesitant. "you sure you don't want to say hi to calarie?"

Core

“Just.... could you two wait here, for like 10 minutes tops?” Shatter asked, with a nervous smile. “I could wait all bloody night, us genocides are nocturnal anyways.”

"I second that, take all the time you need"

Core

Shatter nodded and ran off. Killer reached into her coat pocket to grab something.

Chara glances over at what yuma's doing

Core

She took out an small orange container and took something out of it, before putting whatever she took out into her mouth and swallowing.

"....what's that about" she cocks her head

Core

“It keeps me stable, I ran out when you found me.” Killer said.

"oh, well what's wrong with your soul than?" She sighs. "If you don't want to answer you don't have to" she says a little annoyed.

Core

“Nah, I’ll tell ya, you’re gonna find out later anyway.” Killer shrugged. “A being is only supposed to undergo so much trauma, it will break a living thing until that living thing has no will to live, even it’s body will soon no longer wish to heal, scars can’t heal after all. So it just keeps hurting, it continues to chip away. The pills keep my soulstone from breaking itself. Make sense?”

She blinks with her mouth agape. "Yikes. Who makes these pills?"

Core

“One of the people who work only for that red *sshole, so I have to come here to get Them.” Killer said.

"well that's not ideal. Do you come here to fight sometimes? The king seems to love your fights"

"Or are you only able to get the pills by entertaining? "

Core

“Yeah, But that’s just because I find a way to actually enjoy doing it. I play with my prey, pretty risky, yeah, but worth it in the end.” Killer shrugged.

“Nah, I also do favors.”

Chara nods, "least you enjoy it. Shatter seems to hate every part of being here"

Core

“I wouldn’t blame her, to be honest.” Killer said. Shatter returned, with a hint of a smile on her face

"yeah i heard what happened, pretty grousome stuff.""now that shatter's got closure let's get to that house"

Core

They went to the house Killer led them to.

chara steps into the house it's pretty dusty and barren but other than that it's pretty nice.

Core

“Sorry for the dust, been a while.” Killer said, going to tidy up.

"it's all good" she plops down on a fluffy couch

Core

It was a two bedroom home, everything was all in order, even the lone bookcase in the living room.

"how do you keep people from taking your house? you know, sense you're almost never here."

Core

“Snapdragons work well.” Killer shrugged,

".... what does that even mean? you have guard dogs that are flowers? this is the face of confusion."

Core

“Exactly.” Killer said. “They’re in the dining room of you wanna see them.”

"heck yes." she hops up and goes into the dining room.

Core

She saw a vase of plants, with flowers that looked like the heads of Chinese dragons. One spot fire at Chara.

she hits the fire away with her own fire. "well aren't you guys cute." she goes closer. "a little strange though, not gonna lie."

Core

Killer came in, with a container of jerky. “They like this stuff, if you feed them, they swear you are their best friend in the whole world.”

chara smiles and takes some. handing it to two of them.

Core

They fought over it, playing tug of war with it before a third one snatched it.

chara chuckles and pats the one who stole it's head. and around that time there's the sound of the front door opening. chara looks over questioning even though she can't see from here.

Core

Shatter glared at the intruder, the snapdragons made hissing sounds, like that of a hissing cockroaches.

it's the guy she turned into ash about 12 hours ago now. his ashes did glow afterwards but chara wasn't expecting him to ever get back up. he's not compleatly put together but here he is, half falling apart and standing in front of the one who tried to kill him. "fancy meeting you here shatter." his voice seems a bit healed

Core

Shatter’s eyes glowed orange, a sign she was pissed. Killer could feel the room temperature rise “If you burn anything I am going to beat you.” She hissed.

"i heard you cheated in the arena, seems there's a bunch of confusion over who get's the prize money on their bets." he kicks at the ground.

Core

“Not my concern.” Shatter hissed. Killer listened closely.

"you say that, but you still have the tracker in you. because you so rudely decided to attack me, i've given out your tracking number to some of my 'friends' they don't know anything about you or how much you're worth so don't worry about being ambushed or some sh*t. what they want is a formal resignation to losing the match. i recommend you do that. or have your friend killer cover for you. your choice i suppose. i bet you wonder why i'm bothering to tell you this, i just wanted some petty revenge, so." he uncover's his hood and lets out an ear busting screech like black canary before anyone could stop him and while they're reeling from that he just goes back into the sewer form where he came. it ripped up the house a bit, some of the ceiling is now shredded and the organization it's self is nonexistent anymore. chara is on the floor shaking her head in pain.

Core

Shatter and killer seem unaffected by the screech, Shatter went to try to help Chara. Killer growled, “*sshole.” She hissed, cleaning up.

(it them)

chara holds her ears that are ringing and looks to shatter

Core

I am so happy you have no idea

“You Okay?” Shatter asked

"huh?" she can't hear you very well. she shakes her head trying to clear it. "what was that? what happened?"

Core

“Hyper voice.” Shatter explained

"hyper voice?" she repeats to make sure she got it right. "well dang." she rubs her ear and creates a save-star and heals up a bit.

Core

Killer growled. “Damn *sshole messed up my house!”

"shhhhh killer, child in pain over here!" (i think we should switch to the kits and tonic for a bit if you agree)

Core

Shine was playing with skink, having fun.

Shade watched his sibling, seemingly protective of her

tonic is kinda stressed thinking she needs to make sure the kits don't get into trouble even though they're being completely chill at the moment. tonic goes up to killer's brother's grave and glances at it's workmanship.

Core

It was a wooden cross, held together with what looked like silk. Shade could sense Tonic’s stress. “You okay?”

tonics tilts their head "oh, yes. I'm simply confused on what my objective is at the moment"

Core

“Well, I’m sure we have plenty of time for you to think.”

(I think you’ll like this one the most)

who's that second to last? and yee your right! killer's looking fly. but error tho i want her back haha

tonic swipes off some dirt off the cross with their paw and turns to shade. "you're correct. i just haven't been away from shatter for this long."

Core

“Well, neither have we, from any adult that is.” Shade sighed

tonic nods and their tail flicks from side to side. "is there something you'd like to do to pass the time?"

Core

“Well, whenever mom would leave, Shine and I would normally sleep, to pass the time.” Shade explained

tonic didn't seem pleased with the idea and trotted over to shine to see her opinion.

Core

Shine was playing with Skink, who was tickling her

"shine, is there anything you'd like to do while we're waiting for shatter to come back?" she sits by them

Core

Skink crawled onto Tonic’s shoulder. “Yeah, play with Skink!”

tonic flinches as skink climbs them. tonic isn't made to sit around and is getting very uncomfortable with the vagueness of what their objective. tonic looks at skink and lightly headbutts it.

Core

Skink grabbed the jelly like flesh around Tonic’s skull with his small claws, licking his face slightly. “You know, wasn’t too smart of them to leave you three by yourselves.” (As promised, your favorite returns)

(>:DDDD ) tonic shook their head from the grab and looks around for the voice's owner. "who's there." they get defensive all the sudden.

Core

A female star came out of the shadows, she had pitch black hair with blue streaks under her eyes. “Just little ol me.”

(I can feel your excitement lol)

(a;onefo;aiejhfeoj haha ) tonic steps infront of shine. "state your business." their eyes narrow. from what tonic saw of error when they were spying on chara they didn't like the feeling they got when error was around.

Core

“I just want to make sure my sister isn’t causing too much mayhem

tonic cocks their head. "sister?"

Core

Error rolled her eyes. “Yeah I know, big shocker.”

tonic's taken aback and clears her question. "who's your sister?"

Core

“That would be me,” a winged star said from the roof.

tonic looks over to the star questioning to theirself when she got there.

Core

The winged star looked back at Tonic, her eyes lacking any form of emotion. Error sighed. “So how long are you planning on stalking these runts?”

tonic just stared at the new star studding her.

Core

The winged star had a scarf around her neck, and fingerless gloves. “It’s not stalking it’s observing.” Ink clarified. “No, this is stalking.” Error sighed. “Why do I always have to follow behind you and clean up your messes.....” she grumbled

... "... are you here to take her away error? why was she observing us? as far as activities we've been pretty stagnant."

Core

“1- I have tried before to get her to stop her little games, she doesn’t listen to me. 2- she sees you a variable in her game.” Error said, sitting down and taking out an unfinished doll.

tonic looks back to ink. "game? as long as you don't hurt the kits or shatter i suppose it's fine for you to... watch i guess?"

Core

“You expect me to follow your rules?” Ink asked with a somewhat sarcastic tone.

"....um" tonic mumbles quietly. "it's not a mater of expectance. more of a status you should uphold if you wish to not make an enemy."

Core

“One more enemy means nothing to me.” Ink said coldly. Error took a sewing needle from her pocket, and used the strings she made to sew the doll together.

tonic sighs at ink's comment and lays on the grass watching error sew.

Core

Error made the basic shape, before pulling the doll inside out to hide the stitching.

"your sister isn't very nice." tonic states absentminded.

Core

“She just doesn’t understand how to be ‘nice’, she doesn’t understand emotions at all. Which is why she does these games.” Error explained, pulling more strings from her eyes to use as stuffing

"i feel like that's not a great excuse." tonic's tail flicks and she glances to the kits for a second to make sure they're fine.

Core

They were wrestling each other playfully. “Well, excuses or not, it’s the facts.” Error said, sewing the doll shut

Tonic bobs their head around not agreeing or disagreeing. They play with a yellow flower by their front paws a few seconds later they pick it only to place it on error'S finished doll

Core

Error gave her the doll. “Want it?”

tonic's eyes light up this would be their first gift! they nod shyly.

Core

“Well you can have it, I make way too many.” Error sighed, handing it to Tonic.

tonic reaches for it at takes it. They inspect it

And decide they like it and how squishy it is. The liquid around the areas that are touching the doll start to turn an aqua blue

Core

Ink watched this with mild interest. “You know, I’m honestly surprised that Killer is actually getting along with Chara.” Error said

Tonic curls up and thinks 'how does anyone get along with chara.' "Perhaps their goals line up well?" Tonic suggests.

"Nonetheless, killer said she hates chara. As Chara hates me it seems."

Core

(I forgot also I found horror’s old design) “Well maybe they are just jealous?”

"Chara?" Tonic pauses. "That's what someone else said a few days ago. What she could be jealous of is beyond me."

“Maybe that you have people who care for you. I know I would be jealous.” Error explained

"...Chara cares for you, you should have seen her excitement ehen you agreed to think about her offer of joining her group. May I also point out that shatter took chara on their little jurney to find killer and left me. If anything I'd think shatter cares more for her."

Core

“Not based on what I saw.” Ink spoke up. (She has changed so much tho.)

tonic looks to ink. " care to explain?"

Core

“Well, it’s simple really, she feels responsible for Chara since she helped her get her body, but you? She could have left you without consequences, but didn’t. Scarlett sees something in you, and still refuses to leave....” Ink said, looking over at an owl.

Tonic looks over as well and gives a little wave to the owl. "I see. I belive I understand now."

Core

The owl was a light grey, with eyes that were fogged over

"be that as it may..." Tonic thumps her foot on the ground like a rabbit. "I've never been without orders for this long. I really want her back"

Core

“She’ll come back soon, she has to.” Ink said

"to get Scarlett? Is there a limited amount of time she can be away from one of her parts?"

Core

“Well yes, you see...” Ink glances at the owl for a moment. “You know, it would be more entertaining to have her tell you herself.”

Tonic shrugs finding inks coment demeaning. Entertaining being her only worry. Tonic desides to forget about it until shatter herself desides to tell them. Maybe not asking in order to get on inks nerves as well.

Core

Error rolled her eyes, “You and your stupid games...”

"i don't mean to be rude but this will probably come off that way. but can't you try to enjoy your life the way it is instead of messing with others?" tonic asks ink

Core

“I can’t enjoy anything.” Ink replied. “I’m artificial, I don’t have emotions, morals or faiths. I just see things as they logically are.”

"than why bother doing what you do?"

Core

“To gain information, and the best way of finding new data is to create experiments using controlled variables.” Ink said Error sighed. “You know it’s quite ironic, humans think I am the puppeteer because I always have to clean up after Ink, but she is the one pulling the strings.” (Remember when LJ was going to say where Killer was then went silent? She saw Ink)

tonic thinks that over and how it reminds them of their old master. "does that bother you, error?" (no. bad ink. don't be mean to LJ)

Core

“Well, I don’t really get along with people to start, especially humans, so it just gives me more reason to erase them.” Error said

(LJ knows better than to start a fight with Ink)

tonic nods. finding the sister's lives convoluted. "... question, if you wish to erase them in the first place, why do you follow your sister around to fix her messes?" tonic puts the doll behind her head. the liquid in tonic now compleatly aqua blue.

Core

“To erase the people she manipulates.”

"but why?"

"is it fun for you? it seems like a waste"

Core

“Well, it also allows me to get rid of some of my spite.”

Tonic nods. " forgive my ignorance but are you a genocide star? Do you eat meat?"

Core

“Yes and mainly, though I like certain other things.” Error answered. (Yeah, and I also had an idea of an Aurorous tank.)

"alright." now that tonic's powers are completely aqua blue they bet that they'll be able to teleport just fine. but this will be their first time doing it and they're a little scared they'll get stuck somewhere.

tonic also knows the coordinates chara and shatter went to so that shouldn't be a problem

Core

Ink noticed this. “I’ll watch the kits as long as you tell me what happens.”

tonic looks to the kits and then back to ink suspiciously

"i don't think i can trust you."

Core

“I haven’t interfered yet, have I? I have not done any harm. So why would I sabotage my own game?” Ink said

"i wouldn't know honestly. i wouldn't want them to get hurt." tonic says. they get up and thinks about how shatter makes portals and all.

Core

Shatter seemed to always use an almost lavender colored typing, at least that’s what her eyes showed, so she used psychic typing to teleport. “If they get injured it stalls progress, which is honestly... what’s the word.” Ink looked to Error. “Annoying, frustrating, obnoxious, or frivolous?” Error replied. “Both frivolous and frustrating.” Ink Corrected.

"thought you couldn't feel stuff...?" tonic realizes that about shatter and thinks she shouldn't do it the way she does and instead thinks of gaster. "are you two okay with staying with her?" tonic asks the kits

tonic manages to teleport to the other side of the house and back getting a feel for it.

Core

“I can still know when something is a waste and find it frustrating.” Ink said watching. Shade nodded to Tonic. Error thought for a moment, “why don’t I just take you, Tonic? So you can save energy in case Shatter needs help?”

"um, if you would be so kind i would be grateful." they say to error their tail flicking side to side. tonic looks to shine to make sure she agrees with her brother.

Core

Shine was too busy playing to pay attention. Error got up and opened a portal, “ok, so I’m not the best at these, but I can get you there.”

tonic doesn't like the sound of that but they roll with it. tonic goes up to the portal batting a paw at the glitches around it. "this is safe?"

Core

“Yeah, I use them all the time, though Ink hates them....” Error explained, walking through.

Core

(So Ink hates the antovoid, it doesn’t make sense to her and can cause her system to overload, leading to malfunctions)

(serves her right, jk) tonic steps through carefully.

Core

There was a doll, a string wrapped around its arm. It looked like Ink, the string stretched across the floor of an empty white world. “So I can only really make portals to people, more specifically people who resemble the dolls I make,” Error explained as the portal closed, “so if I make one here, we go to Ink.” She said before walking the direction the string went

this intrigues tonic so they keep quiet and listen

Core

This place was as silent as it was empty, so Error and her were the only noise. They passed a few dolls before Error stopped at one that looked like Shatter. “So now I just need to make a portal here, but before I do.” She got something from her pocket, it was doll that looked like her. “If you ever need my help, you or Chara, stick this with a pin, it won’t hurt me, just get my attention.” She explained, handing it to Tonic.

tonic takes it and nods.

Core

Error opened the portal, right in front of Shatter who jumps in surprise

tonic smiles and steps through. "thank you error" as soon as chara sees tonic without the kits she freaks out a little. "where's the kits??? also you're hanging out with error??? why do you steal all my friends you little demon?" tonic is just silent to that.

Core

Shatter quickly turned into a leipard and lunges at Error, her fur standing on end to show her anger. Error moved back quickly, summoning more strings as both were now in the antovoid

chara climbs into the portal as well "hey! cut it out what's the big deal!"

Core

‘Oh only the fact that she is the one that led the hunters to my family in the first place!’ Shatter said via telepathy as she hissed, circling the Genocide Star

"okay okay yeah that sucks, but!-" she runs in between them "killing her now wouldn't change anything! right?"

Core

‘No, but I would feel a hella lot better’ Shatter hissed, jumping over Chara. Killer sighed and looked at Tonic. “I have to do all the work, don’t I?”

tonic gives a shy shrug to killer. chara grabs one of shatter's back paws when she jumped over and chara is dragged along the floor as shatter keeps moving. "okay yeah but likeeeee. she's my friend! remmeber this same thing happend with you and blood and me? she's not even the one that killed them!"

Core

Shatter kicked Chara off. Killer sighed and teleported, turning the area around them black, which immediately seemed to kick Shatter out of her form. “Okay, listen up, I don’t like doing this so I would appreciate it if you would just chill, but until then you can try and attack Error, but with my rules.”

tonic peeks through the portal. chara on the floor blinks as the landscape changed. "woah. that was cool." she looks to killer. "what is that?"

Core

“Well, you already know how Shatter and I are similar, well, I can change the rules.” Killer said simply. Shatter growled as she tried to change shape again, unable to turn into what she had hoped, she ended up turning into a Muk, but it was made of sand. ‘The hell?’

"palossand but muk. that's pretty fancy. so like... shatter" she gets up and goes up to the muk who's not moving very fast she can't help but poke it. "can you stop? please?"

Core

Shatter growled slightly as she turned back to her humanoid form. She glared at Killer. “I hate you now.” “Dully noted.” Killer said as Error teleported somewhere else. Shatter sighed and got up. “Fine, I guess I won’t get even.” She said to Chara as she went to the portal

chara giggles at their exchange. she quickly follows shatter. "hey hey i'm sorry about that i really am! but i just i don't want to watch two of my friends fight you know?"

Core

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, but wouldn’t you want to at least get even with the ones who led the attack on you and Asreil? Even a little?” Shatter sighed as Killer seemed to recollect the black terrain before following. She pat Tonic’s head when she saw her.

"to be honest that whole mess was my fault i should have known asreil was too chicken to do what he promised. but yeah i get it. i do. but what did she even lead them there for? she wanted to kill your little village?" tonic smiles up at her happily

Core

“No she was running from them, and happened to lead them directly to what was my home.” Shatter explained. “That’s what happened with you? I ran away from home, then sh*t happened and next thing I know I had killed everyone I cared about.” Killer said way to casually....

chara looks over to killer silently for a few moments baffled. "well damn. you're hardcore." tonic kinda shifted away from killer a bit.

Core

“It wasn’t my fault persay, I can’t remember anything after running into a version of Gaster. Well, that is until after I had killed them both.” Killer clarified. “Ok, can we just stop talking about this?” Shatter asked

chara giggles under her breath and heads away from the group a little. tonic looks very curious as to what the whole story is but is too loyal to shatter to ask for more info.

Core

“Why? I know I’m fine talking about this stuff, so why aren’t you?” Killer asked. “Well you’re more numb to it.” Shatter responded. “Says the one who’s favorite way to kill is to either suck the life from people or burn them alive. If you ask me that is sick.” Killer said

#rp chain #sakkar stuff #arc 5 #sorry for spam i'm done for now

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helpmewriteright · 5 years

Text

Bro - Zoned (KBTBB) Chapter 1 : We’re Just Bros

Eisuke X OC

Romantic - Comedy

PG - 13 for language used

Eisuke, the powerful and proud owner of the Ichinomiya Group, with Tres Spade, the biggest and most luxurious hotel chain in Japan and possibly in the world, is well, on a cross roads between friendship and love with Andie, one of his “bros”, the only lady in the gang of bidders, and head interior designer of his hotel empire.

*The story would have 2 point of views. To be honest, I don’t even like Eisuke, I mean he’s not obviously my fave, but with the story, I believe he is the best suited.

As for the setting of the story, it takes place 4 years after season 1, so expect the characters to be older haha! We can say that they are moving past those old times and really trying to get serious with their lives. But still, we know our boys, they’ll always have fun.

So please enjoy this light romantic comedy story of two people confused between love and friendship.

"I want the first option. Good job."

Eisuke pointed out the first perspective out of the two options that I presented, the room perspective that shows all shades of purple in a bedroom. We are here in his office discussing the final design for the lobby of his new hotel in Osaka, Japan, after countless, tedious revisions. I can’t let his hotel and my design to suffer for his horrible ideas.

“Eisuke, are you sure? I think as a designer, this, in particular is the best lobby design for your hotel.”

Still trying to be patient because he still is my boss, I tried to convince him once more. I presented the second design again which I find the most appropriate for his vision. Sighing, He looked at me with authority in his eyes and no intention of backing down.

“Who owns the hotel? Me. So I get the final say. ”

Pointing to himself. He stated that matter of fact, with his legs and arms crossed. Growing impatient, I grabbed the rendered perspective board of the other option and almost shoved it in front of his eyes. I stated my opinions as an interior designer in what is best for the hotel.

“This design is the best in the lot! Remember, this is a seven star! Not some cheap love hotels!”

Growing irritated himself, Eisuke being stubborn, stood up and walked towards me. He grabbed the rendered perspective of his choice in his one hand and the other pointed at it.

“No. This will go through. Only this. This discussion is over.”

And my patience meter, snapped. hard.

He placed the board in his desk with the papers ready for him to sign for finalization. As he is seated in his chair, grabbing his pen for him to sign the necessary papers, My body automatically moved forward, across his desk, and took hold of his right hand to stop his terrible, terrible decision. F*ck this.

“What are you doing?“

Eisuke, shocked from my actions and stared at me hard with daggers in his eyes, looking completely irritated. Unbothered by his menacing stare and tone, I stared hard with all my pent up frustrations venting right through my eyes and voice.

“Stopping you from making the most stupid, dumbest decision in your fucking life.”

“Hands. off.“

“Never. I was patient enough to even hear your ugly shitty ideas, Even my eye bags have bags in them! So I can’t let those sleepless nights be in vain! And I freakin’ swear I’m not gonna let you ruin your damn hotel and my reputation. Not on my watch.“

“Again, hands. off“

“Consider your business dead if you want your guests to kill themselves in your hotel.“

“...“

“....“

Eisuke and I had a staring contest on who would back down and admit defeat. This is a battle I won’t, ever, ever, back down.

“...“

“Eh-ehemm”

Breaking the deafening silence and over flowing gaze exchange of tension from one another, Baba, who was relaxing on the couch intentionally coughed. Turning our attention on what he has to say, he stated his opinion.

“Boss… I think Andie’s right… her take on the interiors is good, probably the best design I’ve seen. I mean.. even better than Ota’s lobby designs were for your previous hotels. No offense man.”

Looking straight to his enigmatic artist buddy. Ota, who was seating beside Baba checking his phone for emails then spoke his views.

“None taken. I mean as an artist, I would say the other option is not only better but God, it looks amazing! Great job on that Andie! I mean the neutrals and the purple, and from the ceiling to those intricate wall details, and even the floor design!”

“Thank you Ota and Baba, that’s very sweet.”

Throwing a huge smile and a thumbs up on my direction. Still holding Eisuke’s right hand, I said my gratitude to the two gentlemen with a smile. To break more of the tension, Baba then again gave his opinion.

“Anyway, even I would have a headache with a room made out of purple.”

But I think it wasn’t the best idea as Eisuke then shifted his glare to Baba and Ota for not backing him up. Not wanting to add more salt in his wound, both Baba and Ota then continued to chat with themselves. After silencing the two, he’s gaze was back on me. After minutes of cold war, he finally sighed with his head low, admitting defeat.

“Fine, you win, Ms. Young. Now, let go.”

Feeling great upon winning the war, I enthusiastically let go of his hand and throw my hands in the air! I’ve never felt so great! I grabbed his hand again and shook it enthusiastically.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! You finally listened! For the love of God! There is a miracle!! Thank you Eisuke! Thank you Thank you!!“

“Okay okay, let’s get this over with, where are the papers.“

After my winning moment, I immediately gave the necessary paper works to get the proposed design finalized and approved. He signed my proposed designs gave back the documents but not without laying down his terms..

“I don’t want any problems. No buts, good won’t cut. I want it perfect.”

“No worries Boss, I know the drill. I got this. Thank you for acknowledging my vision.”

Holding the documents close to my chest as it was like the most precious possession I have, I gave a reassuring smile and bowed to him. With my designs approved I hurriedly went to the door to head outside and go to the next phase. Before leaving I said my farewells to the gang.

“Got to go! I need to schedule meetings with the contractors and engineers to start with the construction. Bye guys!”

Almost at the door, Baba then said a reminder that almost slipped my mind. “Wait Andie don’t forget! Party at the penthouse. 8pm. You have to come okay?“

“Yeah I’ll go! I have reasons to celebrate too!“ Pointing to my trophy, my designs sealed with Eisuke’s signature.

Seeing Eisuke scoffed and continued to review other files, I turned my head to the two gentlemen who helped me tame the lion. I mouthed “Thank you guys.” to Baba and Ota for supporting my ideas and quickly exited his penthouse office.

________________________________________________________________

As Baba heard the door clicked and Andie’s footsteps gone, he walked towards me and sat on one of the chairs in front of my desk then spilled his thoughts.

“Have some faith on Andie, Boss! I mean she’s THE Andie Young that bagged numerous awards from her designs on your last hotel.”

Still reviewing other business files on my desk, I sighed still feeling defeated from the previous discussion,

“I know that. I was the one who gave her a chance... I was just testing her like I used to before.”

Ota then chimed in, still on his phone for his emails, on what he remembered before. “She was just starting back then, but now look who she became! I think she is entitled to treat your ideas like that.”

“Look at her now, she’s like the only female member of our gang. Minus the wives. It’s good to have a muse.” Stated by Baba with a seal of his approval.

“Muse my ass. Look at her, she’s like one of us. And we don’t need a muse.”

Ota, still checking his phone for emails then spoke: “I think that’s her charm. The laid back quality. It is her take on her individuality.”

“At least you like her, boss.” Baba whispered and winked at me as he slipped some of my secrets.

Crap. What the hell is he saying!

I fully stopped reviewing the documents, catching me completely off guard,this moron! I immediately glared at Baba who in turn just smiled. Like a fool. I quickly glanced at Ota’s direction to check if he heard the convo. Okay Ota’s still on his phone. I need to stay calm. God this lad needs to shut his mouth. This piece of crap needs to go. I glared coldy, menacingly at Baba for fooling around then spoke to end this conversation once and for all.

“Instead of pestering here in my office, are you done with the tasks that I gave you? Both of you?”

“...”

“...“

Sensing my irritation and anger, both Baba and Ota became silent and looked to one another. Making them stand on their feet and ready to exit my office.

Ota: “Okay Eisuke, have fun with your work!“

Baba: “Yeah, we’ll be off boss! See ya!“

But before completely closing the door, Baba gave me a cheeky wink, then hurriedly closed the door and left, leaving me no chance to respond to his childish teasing. Now all alone in the office, I let go of the documents and started rubbing my forehead. I sighed, releasing stress from the morning banters and arguments.

What a morning. I recalled the events that lead to my early morning stress. the arguments with Andie, and especially the conversation with Baba. “That sick bastard.“ whispering to myself, remembering what happened awhile ago.

Andie, why do I even think of her. There are a lot of women far more suited for me. She isn’t even my type. Look at her, she’s too laid back, too stubborn, and she doesn’t even listen to me! I’m a freakin’ billionaire for God’s sake. This shouldn’t even be a problem! Why does Baba have to put words on my mouth. What does he even know? I don’t like her. Period. We’re just friends, bros even. Yeah, that’s right, I don’t like her! That’s the truth. And the---

*Knock knock

A knock on my door stopped my inner thoughts and let me get back on the reality. Now that’s great timing. Before I lost myself to thoughts she stopped me from being crazy. My secretary, Ms. Hori, then entered.

“Mr. Ichinomiya, the preparations are done. Let us proceed to the meeting board of directors.“

Now this is what I should be focusing about. Expanding my empire. This is what I’m meant to do. Not thinking some lady who I shouldn't even like.

“Okay. Thank you Ms. Hori.“ I stood up, fixed my suit, forgetting those trivial matters, then completely regained my composure and confidence, and left for my meeting

-----------------------------

This proved to be a very busy day. With the new hotel almost finishing up and is getting ready for the grand opening in Osaka, I went from one meeting to another and before I knew, it’s already 8:30pm, so I sent Ms. Hori home from today’s work. I almost forgot that there’s some party in the penthouse. As I was entering the elevator, my thoughts immediately remembered what Baba told me this morning. That bastard. And now, I’ve got to see Andie. Just great.

“You know when you’re in love, It actually happens in the most unexpected moments, I knew I was in love with my wife Emi while I was brushing my teeth. I just thought ‘oh I love her’. That’s it. Stupid right? But it feels so right.”

Wait what?...

What?!

Why am I remembering Baba’s old stories? What the fuc--

*Ding

The elevator stopped at the penthouse floor. Still weirded out by that random thought, I exited the elevator and headed towards the gang. God, my head is completely all over the place. I think I need a drink. Before entering through the doors, I stood up there, trying to reassemble my thoughts and letting out a sigh.

*Ding

My thoughts were interrupted once again by the sound of the elevator. I turned around to see who it was whose later than me.“Really? Someone’s late too?” As the elevator doors opened, I was surprised as I did not expect that she is behind that doors.

“Oh? Heyy! Your late!“

Andie.

Andie Young, the one who just exited the elevator. Of all the people who can be late, why her? She quickly walked towards me with a smile on her face, the type that shows her gums. I was just staring at her, registering how, of all people, she is with me, at the same moment, just when I was thinking about her. Still weirded out by the universe’s work, I answered her shortly and quickly.

“Yeah, meetings. You?“

“Meetings. Come on! I’m hungry and I want to drink!“

“...“

I can tell how tired she was, her back slightly slumped, walks by dragging her feet, and still see those bags under her eyes even with her makeup. But even with all those, her smile, her eyes... still glows. I just continued to stare at her. I couldn’t say anything back. I just let her take my arm and drag me to the rest of the journey.

And now I’m staring at the back of her head.

Why is my heartbeat weird?

Why is everything in slow motion?

What’s wrong with her?

What’s wrong with me?

....

This... This cannot be!

What the fuck is happening to me?

________________________________________________________________

Thank you so much for reading the first chapter! I never knew writing would be this hard! I’ve been imagining this story for quite some time now, and to translate it into a literary from is really hard work! Kudos to the people who can finish their stories!

So please do appreciate and support our writers!!

Again, thank you very much! Hope you’ll stay tune for the later chapters of these duo. Don’t hesitate to message me regarding your opinions and other stuff hahaha! Thanks guys! :)

#eisuke ichinomiya #kbtbb #voltage inc #voltage fanfic #kbtbb fanfic #kissed by the baddest bidder #eisuke x oc #eisuke #fanfiction #voltage fanfiction #voltage fandom

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fernwehbookworm · 5 years

Text

Woke The F*ck Up- Chapter 11

November 30th, 2017

Of course, it couldn’t last. Cadmus seemed to be everywhere. Now it wasn’t just drugs and guns. They were now spreading propaganda. Hate speech against anything and everything. Immigrants to minority citizens to the LGBT community. The city was being whipped into a fury. Protesters took to the streets as elected officials debated equal housing rights which lead to a riot as the right-winged conservatives started throwing bottles and rotting food at the rainbow-colored crowd sitting in the park across the street from city hall with colorful signs held up to display their thoughts.

Shootings were occurring more frequently in the Hispanic neighborhoods, bullets being traced to high-end weapons that were similar to weapons Kara had turned over to the police from various busted Cadmus warehouses. Cadmus was the embodiment of the ‘Ideal Conservative American’ to the point where Kara was sure they were killing and driving away anyone who didn’t fit into their mold. As a bisexual woman, and James as a black man, Team Superfriends was starting to take this personally. Kara even had Winn sew a pride flag onto her sleeve. When someone got a picture of that during a daytime bank robbery, Power Girl was plastered on protest signs and became the main target of hate speech. Kara felt like she was living in a war zone, trying to find terrorists who want to build a wall and keep everyone out. Kara was growing more and more frustrated at the stupidity of people. They were no longer debating laws, they were debating whether humans should be treated like humans. It made Kara sick. She had to stop Cadmus, it wouldn’t solve everything but it would stop the fan from stoking the fire.

Kara was so busy that she had to hire contractors to do most the renovating when she had planned on doing some of it herself. Winn did manage to install a secret door from the first floor to the basement where their operations were held. He kept the men from even thinking of looking down there.

Days ticked by as Kara spent more and more time in the city, helping the police contain the violence as well as trying to find the source of everything Cadmus. She even skipped on going back to Midvale for Thanksgiving with Eliza and Alex, Eliza still not knowing how Kara really spent her time. Kara just told her foster mother that the gym was taking up a lot more time than she thought. Alex was furious. Her and Eliza had had a strained relationship ever since Kara was adopted. They moved past most of it but the Jeremiah died and Alex fell into drinking, which caused new issues to open old wounds. Kara always acted as a buffer. Alex made sure Kara knew of every awkward detail. Kara was too focused to care too much. She still couldn’t figure out who was in charge of the seemingly ever-expanding group. Only that it was a woman. One that no one ever saw up close. A woman who had an extensive chain of command and rarely got her hands dirty. Always a woman, never a name.

Lena’s tour had four weeks left and Kara’s heart ached to see her. Phone calls and video chatting didn’t help. Kara wanted to hold Lena again. She wanted to paint her. Well, Kara was painting her, and sketching her, and doodling her, any chance she could. Sometimes Kara didn’t even realize it was happening, she would be talking to Winn about something and all of the sudden Lena’s likeness would be on the paper below her pencil. Kara had it bad. She thinks she may love Lena but something was stopping her. That’s a lie. She knows what it is. Kara is a vigilante, who risks her life and jail time daily, and is still keeping it a secret. No, Lena knows she is going to tell her in just a matter of weeks. It's not really a secret then.

Despite Kara’s aching heart, she still missed phone calls and flights, every time she seemed to be caught up in one mission or another, or helping to stop riots before escaping with Guardian from the police. The cops weren't really trying to arrest the two people making a difference but the police chief was determined to bring down all criminals. Lena seemed to be understanding but even Kara was growing frustrated with not seeing her girlfriend and she was surrounded by friends. Kara texted Jess daily to really know what was happening with Lena, she was lonely. When not performing, Lena locked herself away to work on her music. She almost had a whole album recorded, ahead of schedule.

“Damn it, Kara. Again? How hard is it to be on time to the airport?”

“I am so sorry Lena. National City is in an uproar. Whole streets are closed to contain the protests and riots. James wanted an extra set of hands to take pictures and I got caught in the middle of it.” A couple of beats of silence.

“James… You are spending a lot of time with him lately.” It took a second for Kara to comprehend the jealousy underlining Lena’s neutral tone.

“No Lena, god, no. James is just a friend. Even less, he is my cousin’s friend and I do stuff like this for him and he will help with advertising for the gym.”

“Okay.”

“Lena, please believe me. I know you, I know you are thinking that of course, you won't be good enough. Damn it, I hate that’s the first place your thoughts go. But it isn’t true. Lena, I am so sorry this is my fault for not planning ahead. I miss you so much. I hate breaking promises but I am trying...”

“Kara-”

“I was looking forward to seeing you and meeting Sam and Ruby because you always sound so excited when you talk about dinner with them or teaching Ruby to play the piano and-”

“Kara! Shut up! All I said was okay. Yes, I feel a little insecure because this is the fifth flight you missed but also I know I ask a lot of you to put your life on hold there. Just try and make the next one. Now, I have to go tell a preteen that her new idol won’t be joining us tonight.”

“New idol? What do you mean?” Lena laughs

“Ever since she found out I was dating you, she has found every little bit of information on you. Including pirated videos of most of your fights. You should have seen Sam when Ruby told her she wanted to start taking boxing lessons. She literally had no words. It was quite hilarious.”

“And now I feel even worse for missing my flight. I hope she isn’t too disappointed. But please, have fun with them. When I meet Ruby, I will give her a few lessons, with her mother’s permission, of course.” Lena laughs through the line.

“I will let Sam know. And Kara? Please, stay safe. It sounds dangerous there and I worry about you being in the middle of all that.” Guilt washes over Kara. She swallows past the lump in her throat.

“I will. Goodbye, Lena.”

“Bye Kara,” Lena says softly. The line goes dead and Kara sighs as she returns to gazing over the crowd below in the park. She was perched on top of city halls roof. James stood next to her as they watched for signs of trouble.

“Still haven't told her, huh?”

“It's none of your business.” Kara snaps at the man in metal armor.

“I think it is when you go galavanting to another country every other weekend and take phone calls on the job. You are distracted and it's going to get you hurt.”

“Don’t act like some wise sage James. I have been doing this much longer. Hell, the only reason you are here with me is so you wouldn’t die trying to do this yourself. So don’t talk down to me James. Don’t forget, I never wanted you here. You forced your way into this. I was fine with just Winn and I. So stay out of my relationship.” Kara can see James’ eyes tighten in anger behind his helmet.

“Fine. Just, I think there may be a real reason you haven't told her, more than she would be mad. I’m going to the other side of the park. We should probably spread out anyway, there are a lot of people here and that threat wasn’t very specific.” He leaves without another word. Kara keeps her eyes below.

Lena hangs up and sighs. Kara knew her too well. That was exactly where her thoughts went. And still were. Her brain knew that Kara wouldn’t lie to her about this. Kara liked her and would be faithful. But missing flight after flight and then it took three phone calls just to get a hold of Kara today alone. It was chipping away at Lena’s barely pieced together heart. She hadn’t told Jess or Sam yet, but she lost her momentum in her music. Her worry no longer allowed the happier music she had been writing to flow out. Each chord felt like a dead end. She walked back into the studio and found Sam at the soundboard. The tall woman spun in her seat to face Lena, her smile faded quickly at the frown on Lena’s face.

“Kara missed her flight. It's just the three of us for dinner.” Lena plops down next to her friend/ producer. Sam scowls.

“Look, I know you like her, but I like her less and less every time this happens. Are you sure she is worth it.”

“She really is Sam. I know how this looks since you never met her.”

“It looks like a pretty girl weaseled her way into your life, received free trips around the world and the fame of dating Lena Luthor and now she is ghosting you because she is over it and got what she wanted.”

Tears prick Lena’s eyes. That is exactly her worst fear with Kara. Sam picked it right up and said it out loud. Lena tried to blink the offending liquid back but it just made it worse. The hot tears escaped. Sam looked over and noticed. She pulled Lena in for a hug.

“Oh geez Lena, I am so sorry. I don’t know why I said that. I mean I do but I know you like her I should have kept it to myself.”

“I-it’s just t-that that is exactly wh-what I have been th-thinking this whole time. I mean, it was so small at first but now, now it feels like it’s shouting in my h-head and I-I don’t know what to do. God, everything was s-so great until she left in Munich.” Lena is actually sobbing. She hasn’t felt like this since college. She feels ridiculous, but Sam is soothingly rubbing her back and she feels safe. After a while, Lena manages to catch her breath again and pulls away, but Sam firmly holds on to her hand still.

“I’m sorry, I haven't cried in… years. I don’t know where that came from.”

“Lena, this is completely normal. Crying is good because it helps you process emotions. If this is a fear you have then you definitely need to talk to Kara about it.” Sam says seriously. Lena barks a watery laugh.

“And if it's true, do you think she would just come out and say it? And if it's not true I’ll just hurt her with my doubt.”

“I just hate seeing you like this. I didn’t really know you before Kara but this Lena Luthor has been great and happy and Ruby loves you. By the way, she asked if she could start calling you Aunt Lena.”

“Really? God, I am going to cry again. Tell her yes I would love that. God, what is happening to me? I used to not have feelings.”

“It’s called being human, Lena. And having a family. Sometimes feelings suck, sometimes they are the best thing in the world.”

“I hate feelings.” Lena mopes. Sam laughs.

“Well too bad. Now, let's get back to work.”

December 5th, 2017

They finally had what they needed. The Cadmus Leader would be in National City organizing their next plan. Kara learned this from a scared new recruit as she transported him to police custody in a less than ideal manner. Winn was busy figuring out which warehouse she was actually going to be in while James and Kara suited up. And then they were on the move, Winn directing them through the still bustling nightlife of National City.

Warehouse was a loose term. It looked to be converted into a compound. High fencing with barbed wire. Shipping containers stacked high to serve as watchtowers. Armed men patrolling around the building. Everything was brightly lit and made it hard to find a dark corner to slip in. Winn's newest toy hovered silently by Kara's head. A small drone capable of x-raying through walls and tracing heat signatures. It would relay those back to Winn so he could better direct the vigilantes. With the extra eye in the sky, Kara and James carefully circumvented each prowling, trigger-happy, guard and made it to the roof of the warehouse. Skylights peppered the roof to let in light during the day. Now they shone brightly as the occupants worked to spread terror to the outside world. Kara crouched over one near the center and peered through.

Down below was everything. Tables of what Kara assumed were kidnapped women in their underwear as they bagged drugs for distribution. More men circled them along with the rest of the warehouse. Weapons caches were well guarded. Men and women were training in hand to hand combat and on a shooting range. There were even tables set up to act like an eating area and bunks in rows in a darker corner. In the middle, separated with fencing, and heavily guarded, was a bomb.

“Winn, are you seeing this?” Kara whispers.

“Oh yeah. Scanning now. Give me a second.”

Kara waits and takes deep steadying breaths while James shifts beside her. Part of her wishes she had left the man behind But also she knows she could never handle this alone. Whatever becomes of this she is glad to have back up, even if it is as inexperienced as James. The pair on the roof watches the work below in silence.

“Yup, that’s a bomb. When that is complete it can level at least ten city blocks.”

“Well shit.”

“Kara, if that goes off where it is, most of the surrounding community is Latino or African American. It will kill most of those populations in National City.”

Kara pauses. Thinking. Cadmus was bringing everything to a head. Hate was spreading like a virus and this was literally going to blow it into a nationwide problem.

“Winn, you said when this is complete. So it's not right now.”

“Correct. If it blows right now it should just take down the warehouse. But it will kill almost everyone inside.”

Kara watches the rounds of men. She watches the women working and a man entering the fencing around the bomb. He sets to work. Kara sighs.

“Winn, call Alex. We are in over our heads. Patch her through.” A pause then a beep.

“Kara? This better be good. Do you know what hour it is?”

“Alex, I need you. Actually the whole FBI. Cadmus has officially turned terrorist and I am in over my head.” Rustling through the line indicates Alex probably getting out of bed and dressing.

“What the hell am I supposed to do with that. How am I supposed to get a unit out because my sister the gym trainer told me to.”

“I don’t know Alex! Say it was an anonymous tip or something. Alex, They are building a bomb. One to level several blocks of National City. Men are heavily armed. Captured women are sorting drugs. This is it. Winn, send Alex the address. Get here.” Kara tapes her earpiece and ends the call.

“So, we are just going to wait?” James asks, voice oddly echoey in the helmet.

“Yup. Might as well get comfy.”

After a few minutes, something begins to happen below. Almost everything seems to halt. Doors Kara previously missed, opens. Out of the darkness and into the center of the warehouse, walks Lillian Luthor. Kara recognizes her from an old photo Lena had shown her. The woman is tall and proud. Commanding a room without speaking. A leader. It sends chills through Kara. Lillian says something and then listens to the response from the man working on the bomb. She nods approvingly, then strides towards the front of the warehouse, flanked by much more seasoned looking men. Men who do this for a living, for a life. Kara hears engines approaching and she knows in her gut that it isn't Alex. Lillian is going to escape.

Kara stands suddenly, starling James who had reclined against the slightly sloped roof.

“We can’t let her get away.”

“Let who?”

“Lillian Luthor, the Leader of Cadmus.”

James looks through the window.

“Kara, we can’t take them on our own.”

“We just have to stall until they get here.”

Kara crouches to keep her center of gravity low and strides towards the front of the building. There will definitely be too many guards out front to deal with if she doesn't take a few out before Lillian gets there. A glance in the next window shows that Lillian has stopped to talk to someone else.

At the edge of the roof, just out of the flood of light, Kara peers down. She unholsters the Night-Night gun and aims for the closets man perched on shipping containers. She silently prays the hours Alex spent drilling her on various weapons pays off. Once Alex joined the FBI she wanted to make sure Kara could protect herself, then it became a way for them to bond and spend time together. It slowly escalated over the years to more advanced weapons and targets. Kara had put it on hold though when she started her vigilantism. She takes a deep breath, slowly releases it, and pulls the trigger. A small clicking sound and a small flash of blue in the darkness, the silhouette drops to the ground.

“Way to go, Winn,” Kara whispers.

“Thank you.” He says cheekily. Kara just rolls her eyes and aims for her next target. She empties the clip, making one guard drop after another, before popping in another. Soon no one remains outside the front and not a sound has risen to raise the suspicion of those inside.

Until of course the front doors open and Lillian Luthor begins to make her way to the front entrance and where three heavily armored transport vehicles wait for her. She pauses a few feet out the front door when she sees a man slumped against the wall. The men flanking her draw their weapons. Kara drops behind them and knocks the knee out from one. The other turns and fires but Kara has already rolled away. Shouts from inside. Lillian holds a hand to stop the man from firing again. James drops next to her and holds up his shield.

“Oh good, both of my favorite vigilantes. This will make getting rid of you two so much easier. You have made my life more than difficult.”

“You have been causing panic through the city,” Kara says, the voice modulator changing her voice.

“Oh my dear, we have been restoring order to the city. And soon the country.”

“Order never follows bombs. They just cause death and destruction.”

“It will be a new beginning. A fresh start to build on.”

“You are insane.”

“I am right.” Lillian Looks to the door behind the heroes.

“Kill them.”

The woman turns away and Kara’s attention is diverted to the mass of men. All were armed and armored. Kara and James stand back to back.

“There is too many.” He says through there comms.”

“We just have to stall. Alex will be here.”

A man breaks the standoff and the first punch is thrown. They are too tightly packed for weapons or risk shooting each other. At first, everything goes well. James uses his shield to protect most of his body while smashing the others. Kara drops man after man. But soon their overwhelming numbers separate the pair. Kara is being attacked from all sides, slowly being forced from her partner. One punch hits, then another. A kick throws her off balance. Someone throws her over.r third shoulder and she is outside the ring of bodies. From the ground, she can see Lillian's retreating form. She pushes from the ground to chase the woman down. Mere feet from her, Kara is stopped by a grip of iron pulling her back to the ground. The man stands over her, he looks vaguely familiar but it escapes her how. Kara's vision is blurry from her head hitting the ground.

“You can't stop this Power Girl. Actually, how pretentious is that? What do you say I know who you really are?” Lillian appears over Kara, Kara tries to sit up but a heavy boot is planted in her chest. Lillian reaches down to pull back the hood and remove the mask. She frowns, almost like she ate something distasteful.

“Why if it isn't the little blonde who has been running around with my daughter. Another way for her to disappoint me. I wonder, does she know about your evening activities?”

“She isn't your fucking daughter. And she is not a disappointment.”

Lillian looks amused.

“Oh, so she doesn't know. How wonderful. Kill her, make it hurt.” The last part directed to the man above Kara.

Sirens in the distance cause Lillian to hurry away but Kara can no longer worry about that. The boot over her is gone, just long enough to swing back and hit her ribs. Kara has no advantage. She can't get her feet, can't get away. Kick after kick lands to her sides and stomach. A high kick brings the man's hell down and she hears the snap of her collarbone breaking. He straddles her and brings his hands to her neck. She tries to throw him off but he just headbutts her eye and slams her head back down. Everything is going dark, whether from head trauma or lack of oxygen, Kara isn't sure. Gunfire. Shouting. The night from her chest is gone, but the darkness is still coming.

“...ara!” A muffled yell. It's familiar.

“Kara, please…” it begs.

“Kara you are going to be fine you big idiot.” It's Alex standing over her, but her mouth isn't working. Then there is nothing as Alex’s tear-stained face fades away.

December 9th, 2017

An annoying beeping invades the darkness. It becomes insistent, begging to be noticed. Kara tries to open her eyes and winces. She tries to rub at then but her hand is trapped by something, a desperate grip. Kara blinks and looks down. Alex is asleep in a chair with her head on the bed, fingers tightly gripping Alex’s. Her other arm is in a sling. Kara's movements must have roused her because Alex is sitting up a blinking sleep away.

“Kara!” She exclaims.

“Hey…” Kara's voice is hoarse and gravely.

“I ought to kill you but I'm too happy that you are okay.” Alex stands and kisses Kara's forehead. Kara leans into the affection from her sister.

“What happened?” Kara manages to get out. Her sister reaches for the pitcher of water and hands Kara a cup with a straw.

“You were almost killed, that's what happened.”

“Lillian… Did you catch her?”

“No,” Alex says solemnly.

“James is he…?”

“He's fine. That armor took the brunt of it. Although he isn't too happy with you I don't think.”

“So, I guess this means my identity is blown.”

“Yes, and no.”

Kara looks at her sister curiously.

“Kara, I don't work for the FBI. I work for a secret government organization inside the government looking to take down local terrorist groups and our main focus has been Cadmus. They haven't done enough to be classified for our intervention until you called with the bomb information. But since we were keeping tabs on Cadmus, we were also keeping tabs on you. I did not tell anyone, but someone else found out who you were. My director has made the decision to let you do what you are doing because of how you do it. You are now in one of our facilities and are getting the best care possible. So yes your identity is out, but only to those who already knew.”

Kara goes quiet and stares straight ahead while she processes. That was a lot of information to take in.

“Kara, say something. Please.” And Kara opens her mouth to do so when the television Alex must have been watching before falling asleep catches her attention. Lex Luthor arrested for conspiring with terrorists. Kara grabs the discarded remote off her bed and turns it up.

“Yesterday, with the aid of one Mr. Clark Kent. Another Luthor was put behind bars. Kent's investigation into the Luthor family in conjunction with the police and FBI…”

Yesterday he was arrested.

“Alex, how long have I been asleep?”

Alex winces.

“You had considerable head injuries and several broken bones and your lung even collapsed due to a broken rib…”

“Alex. How long?” Kara asks sternly.

“Four days.” Kara swallows hard, forcing back the continually rising panic.

“Where is my phone?” Kara says forceing calm in her voice.

“I brought it with a change of clothes that Winn packed for me.” Alex gets up and digs in the backpack sat in a table against the wall. She hands the phone to Kara.

Kara turns it on and waits. Two missed calls from Cat. Three from Eliza. A string of texts from Winn. A missed call from Clark. One last ding. A voicemail from Lena. Kara should have left to see her last night. With a shaking thumb, she hits play on the voice mail.

December 8th, 2017

Not even an apology this time from Kara. Lena just returned to the hotel from a fruitless trip to the airport when the news broke. Lex had been arrested. Jess was striding around her hotel room fielding calls from reporters as Lena stared out the window. Crowds were forming below in the street. Clark Kent had enough evidence to put away her brother and accuse her mother who had magically disappeared. Lena was the last Luthor standing. She was isolated at the top of her tower and sharks were circling below. She was alone. Lena remembers Kara mentioning that Clark was her cousin. Did Kara know this was coming? Is that why she didn't come? Is that why she began to pull away? The crushing weight of this spiral pressed down on her chest with each passing minute that she didn't hear from Kara.

Why was this so hard? It wasn't this hard when her father blew himself up. She got drunk, got high, fucked a girl, and moved on. Now her walls were gone and she felt each hard word thrown at her like a knife. Each Twitter comment chaffed like she had newborn skin. With her walls gone, her heart was unprotected because the person who protected it was half a world away and hadn't been heard from in three days. It was too much. Lena quickly crossed to the bed where she threw her phone. Jess gives her an odd look while still yelling at whoever is on the other end of her phone call. Lena waits with bated breath as the phone rings. And rings. And rings. Then Kara's sweet voice asking to her leave a message. That almost breaks Lena but then it beeps so she powers through.

“Kara, I just can't do this anymore. I can't have this hope. I needed you here and you weren't. You haven't been here and you won’t tell me the truth because I know you are lying. This was the last time I go to an Airport to pick up only find out you never boarded. I can't need anyone like this. As long as you give me hope then I won't be the person I need to be. I'm sorry to do this like this, but I am glad I got your voicemail because if I heard your voice I know you could convince me otherwise. But we can't Kara. I can't. This is over. Don’t try and come here, don’t try and change my mind. We are just too different, this never would have worked. Goodbye.” Lena hung up the phone in tears.

This whole thing was a mistake. From the moment she let Kara sit down at her cafe table. Kara had torn down all the walls Lena built up to protect herself and now with her brother in jail and her mother wanted, she had nothing to keep the pain out. Then Kara missed her flight again, off doing something with James probably. It was too hard. James was someone Kara should be with, someone good and who was making a difference in the world. Lena had let Kara build her up, love her, and rip her defenses down. Then Kara all but disappeared, leaving Lena raw and exposed. Lena needed to build back up her walls and she couldn’t do that with still having a possibility of Kara. Lena’s next phone call was to Sam.

“Do I need to get a babysitter?” She doesn't even say ‘hi.’ Damn that mother’s intuition. She already knew.

“Yes. I need a fucking drink. And I can’t go alone.”

“Okay, I’ll find someone for Ruby. Then I’ll pick you up and you can tell me everything.”

One good thing came out of this half of the tour, Sam. And a night at a Sinclair Club conveniently down the street from Lena’s hotel.

Sam quickly took up residence at the bar to keep her eye on Lena while letting her do what she needed to do. Lena lost herself in the crowd after two quick shots and a kiss on Sam's cheek. Quickly she is surrounded by hot bodies all looking for someone to dance with. A man saddles up behind her and with a quick glance, Lena decides to allow the attractive man to press to her back. Especially when an attractive blonde presses herself to Lena's front. Both are moving Lena in sync and Lena is suspicious of their intentions because there is no way this was an accident but then the blonde is playing with her hair and Lena doesn't care. It feels good to let go. To let someone make her feel wanted because she hadn't felt that way over the past few weeks. After the song, the guy offers to buy them both a drink and Lena allows the girl to lead her over to the bar. Flirtaive touching happens while they wait. After two more shots, Lena is significantly buzzed. Then more dancing. Another shot.

“Lena Luthor. What a surprise to see you here.” Veronica's silken voice comes from behind Lena. She turns to the woman.

“Well, sometimes you need a drink when your brother gets arrested for terrorism. And after you break up with your girlfriend.” Lena adds as an afterthought. A gleam lights Ronnie's eye and she flicks her gaze to the couple standing behind Lena. They were, in fact, a couple, trying to woo Lena into their bed. Lena had decided to break her rule about threesomes because she needed this.

“You two can go.” They start to protest Veronica’s dismissal but Lena waves them off.

“You know I don't like foreplay.” Veronica states.

“Meet me out front. My hotel is just down the street.”

Lena goes to find Sam and tells her she's leaving. Sam eyes Veronica making her way to the door.

“Your sure you want to do this? With her?”

“I'm sure the sooner I move on, the better.”

“The mom in me is screaming that this is a mistake and I should stop you. But I won't.” Sam looks at her conflicted.

“I'll call you in the morning. Thank you for coming with me. For being my friend.”

“Always,” Sam says. She hugs Lena and lets her go while she pays for her drink and heads home to her daughter.

December 9th, 2017

Silence fills the hospital room after Kara plays the message. It was left just hours before. Kara glances at the clock. It would only be seven right now in London. Alex had heard the whole thing.

“Kara, I'm so sorry.” Kara's head snaps up.

“Don't. This isn't over. How fast can you get me to London?”

“Me?”

“You and whatever organization you work for.”

“Kara we can’t…”

“You will. This is the biggest break you have had against Cadmus, you said so yourself. If you don't get me to London then I will have Winn broadcast my suits body camera footage all over the media. Yes, that's right. A camera. That I'm sure you didn't remove until after I was inside this secret government operation or before you said things you shouldn't over an unconscious vigilante.” Alex's eyes widen.

“Are you threatening the United States government.”

“Yes,” Kara says matter of factly. Alex sighs and stands. She leaves but Kara knows she has won. A jet is soon fueled up to fly her to her chosen destination and Winn turns over the video files of the fight and subsequent care afterward. It's faster than trying to fly on her own. But it still leaves too much time to think.

December 10th, 2017

Kara knocks on the door. Tears sting her good eye and makes the one swollen shut throb. Her body ached. But she had to come. Had to tell Lena everything. This wasn't what she had planned, nothing was as she had planned. Lena’s heartbroken message still rung in her ears. This wasn't how they were going to end, because they weren't going to. Kara was determined. If Lena knew the whole truth it would be fine. She was just scared and thought Kara didn't care enough. But once Kara showed her the suit in the duffle that was digging into her bruised shoulder, Lena would know that she does. That Kara cares too much.

Movement on the other side of the door pulls Kara from her thoughts and she fumbles in her bag to prepare to pull out her suit. She had rehearsed what she was going to say the whole red-eye flight. Then how she would beg for forgiveness because she lied to the woman she loved. All that dies in her throat as she sees a fading smile on Lena’s face. Her body wrapped in a hotel sheet and her hair a mess. It was obvious what had been happening behind the door and Kara feels a punch worse than the beating she received days before. Fear floods Lena’s eyes and she clutches her sheet closer.

“Kara,” she says softly, as if not meaning to at all.

“Lena, darling, who is that at this hour?” Kara recognizes the silky smooth voice without seeing her face. Veronica Sinclair. And it hurts all the more. Kara shoves the red and blue jacket in her bag and turns back down the hotel hallway.

“Kara!” Lena calls louder, but it doesn't stop her. Kara just turns the corner and finds the elevator still on the floor due to the late hour. She hears a door slam closed and hurried footsteps but the elevator is already closing. Tears stream down Kara’s cheeks and she hurries back down to hopefully catch the first flight back to anywhere in the United States and away from here.

Kara collapses on her couch numbly. She hasn't slept, really slept, in at least four days. Being unconscious doesn't count. She cried the whole flight back and numbly sat through a taxi ride from the airport. A quick text to Alex saying she home and didn't want to talk about it. She closes her eyes and falls quickly to sleep after being so emotionally drained.

Kara wakes to her sister shaking her shoulder and a concerned look.

“Hey,” Alex says softly.

“Hey.” Kara sits up and Alex sits next to her rubbing shoulders and pulling Kara's hand into her lap. Kara rests her head on her sister's shoulder.

“Want to talk about it?” Alex asks Kara shakes her head.

“No. I just… no. Can you tell me something good? Like you captured Lillian and stopped Cadmus.”

“Sorry no.”

“Okay, well then at least you and Maggie are completely happy?”

Alex stiffens and Kara feels her stop breathing. She looks at her sister.

“Can't tell you that either. We broke up.”

“Oh, Alex no. Why?”

“Umm… well, we started talking about what we want in the future. You know, like where we want to live, and family and stuff. Well, Maggie doesn't want kids. At all. And you know me, I've always wanted to be a mom. So, here we are.”

“When did this happen?” Kara says, putting an arm around Alex’s shoulders.

“The night you called me. We had a long conversation. This was a deal-breaker for both of us. So…” Alex shrugs. Kara squeezes her shoulder.

“How are you handling it?”

“Not well. But I'm glad we had this conversation before we got too serious. I mean, can you imagine the hell it would be if we didn't talk about it before we moved in together, or hell, got engaged. I love her, so this is going to take some time and a lot of tears but I think it was for the best, for both of us.”

“Guess it's time for a sister night then. You pick a movie, I'm ordering take out.”

“No superhero-ing tonight?” Alex teases.

“I couldn't even save my relationship, let alone anyone else.”

When Kara comes back Alex has picked some action movie and Kara plops the bottle of whiskey in front of her sister. Alex's eyebrows shoot up.

“Kara Danvers has alcohol?” Alex peers closer at the label.

“Expensive Alcohol.”

“I bought it for… her. It's her favorite. I was just going to pour it down the drain but I figured now was as good as time as any.”

“For what?” Alex thinks she knows but she wants Kara to say it.

“To get drunk with my sister because we both need this right now.” Alex smiles and pips it open. Kara fetches two glasses.

“Kara you may want a mixer of some kind. Straight whiskey is hard to handle sober.” Kara fetches some sodas before joining her sister.

By the time the food arrives Kara is at least three shots of whiskey in and feeling buzzed, Alex is still fine and pays for it. Kara doesn't even try to follow the plot of the movie, all she knows is that it is loud with lots of explosions and her and Alex can laugh at the cheesy fakeness of it all. This felt good. She hadn’t spent much time with Alex lately, both of them were at fault for it but right now that didn’t matter. Right now she was with her sister, and right now she was very drunk. Her mind was foggy and a warmness was settling over her. No that wasn’t right. She shouldn’t feel warm. Kara felt like she should still be upset. Upset about what? Sluggishly, memories rose to the surface. Lena wrapped up in a sheet, but not because of Kara. Veronica. She was there. Then Kara had left Lena, or Lena had left Kara. One thing was clear, they were over. Kara bursts into tears so suddenly her sister jumped. Alex quickly recovered and pulled Kara into a hug, then Alex pulled Kara on top of her as she eased them both into laying position on the couch. Eventually, Kara cried herself to sleep, cradled in her sister's protective arms Alex sang to her. Kara always wished Alex would sing more. She had a beautiful voice but maybe that's why it made it all the more special. The special lullaby about a red robin fades as the alcohol does its job of pulling Kara into unconsciousness.

#supergirl #supercorp #kara danvers #lena luthor #singer #Vigilante #au #WTFU #fanfiction

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