#people have definitely done it before but this scene came to me in a vision

[faeriekit]

"Okay." Danny slowly laid the already cold body back onto the table, ready to slide back it into the refuge of cold storage. "Okay. Dead guy. Stay there."

The body didn't move.

"Fantastic. Now. Hang out while I pour the embalming fluid into the pump, alright? It should only be a minute."

And it usually did; working in a funeral home wasn't extremely glamorous, but it paid the bills, and Danny had already been used to the rhyme and rhythm of negotiating death with the public by the time he sent in his mortuary school application. It had been a transition that made sense. And in the end, the degree had only cost him a few extra years post-graduation and a little dig into student loans, and now Danny had a stable 12-8 job and health insurance valid in the state of new jersey.

Today, though, the pump had that decided enough was enough. With a bang and a boom, the pump spat out a cloud of smoke and clunked uncomfortably.

The dead body sat up.

Danny scrambled over to push it back down. "No. We talked about this. Dead people don't move. If you want to stay here and have me put you back together all the time, you have to stay put. Got it?"

Whatever the weird gold-eye corpses were on in Gotham, they at least listened to him on occasion. They weren't ghosts, per se— they never pinged on any of the ghost detection devices Mom and Dad had packed in his going-away-to-college bag— but they were, despite being occasionally animate, perfectly deceased.

Weird. Danny had never gotten used to it. Still, they came in droves, too eager to sit on the top of the basement stairwell and lurk in the corners and stare endlessly at them with their weird, avian eyes, and sometimes they heralded the arrival similarly weird-ass bodies that had lost their heads or their arms or their limbs through the more conventional channels.

"I'm losing too much thread to all y'all coming in all the time," Danny complained to the dead body, who, at the moment, was the only person present to blame. "Stop getting your limbs cut off. This stuff is expensive, you know. It's a specialty order."

The body didn't even have the courtesy to blink. Rude.

"At least let them bury you this time. Every time one of you darts off when my back's turned, my boss thinks I'm stealing corpses. My coworkers think I'm building my own Frankenstein or something."

The corpse neither verbalized nor blinked, but Danny hadn't expected it to; with a sigh, he rolled the corpse back into cold storage, locked its little door (not that locking it in had ever stopped it) and called it quits for the night.

It's not like anyone was paying him for the extra hours anyway.

[works-of-fanfiction]

The Love of Another - Part One || Cillian Murphy x actress!Reader

Summary: After meeting on the set of Peaky Blinders, Cillian and Y/N struggle to keep their relationship professional.

Warnings: Swearing, cheating (loose mentions of Cillian being divorced).

Word Count: 3.8k

a/n: I’ve been wanting to write for Cillian for a while, so I hope this reaches the right people! My blog has always been mixed so why not include some more fics with more people?

“I miss you too.” She sighed, sinking deeper into the bathtub with her phone balancing on the ledge. Dipping her head underneath the water, she missed her husband’s next words and came back to the surface with a small splash. The tub was filled just an inch too high, suds lapping over the edge and wetting the bathmat below. “I didn’t catch that last bit. What did you say?”

 “I asked if Cillian had stolen my wife yet.” Her husband chuckled, the laughter trailing off when she didn’t immediately respond. “Y/N?”

She sighed, this time in frustration, as she reached with a wet hand to grab the phone. “I can’t even tell if you’re joking anymore.”

There was silence. Then a stutter. “What? Obviously, I’m kidding!”

“Are you though? These so-called jokes about Cillian are becoming a little too frequent…” She looked up to the ceiling, mentally recounting the three previous occasions in that week alone that he’d felt the need to bring her co-star into the conversation. “You call me to check in, but it feels like you’re really calling to see if I’m with someone else.”

“Y/N…”

“Don’t ‘Y/N’ me. This isn’t the first time you’ve been weary of one of my co-stars. I’m not here on holiday, I’m working.”

“I know – “

“So, please stop calling me and accusing me of something you know I would never do. I married you.”

As much as her husband had always supported her career, he’d never gotten used to seeing her play alongside different men. Kissing and romantic scenes made his skin crawl, and now she was a regular on one of the country’s most loved shows and spending a lot of time around the same man, his suspicions only grew. He was well-known to jump to the wildest of conclusions.

He mumbled an apology, and Y/N made an excuse to cut their call short, tossing the phone onto the pile of laundry on the floor. Huffing, she sank back below the bubbles and turned the tap with her foot, adding more hot water. “Marriage…” She muttered to herself, sniggering before closing her eyes and dunking her head beneath the water once again.

She scrubbed at her scalp, relieving tension from the day, and loosening the insane amount of hairspray that had been holding her hair down since eight o’clock that morning. Holding her breath, she stayed underwater for a moment, savouring the few minutes a day she could spend in silence.

The hot water showering her feet stopped and she sat up, pushing her wet hair out of her face. “What was that about marriage?” A familiar voice asked, and she opened her eyes, vision adjusting to the figure sat on the edge of the bath looking down at her. “Let me guess… It’s not all it’s cracked up to be?” He laughed, tugging at the knot in his tie. His hair was fluffy and messy from wearing a hat all day, his collar slightly dirtied from the face powder the make-up team had spent the evening reapplying beneath the hot, harsh lights of the soundstage. Still, he looked like he’d barely done a day’s work and the way that suit hugged his body made Y/N’s stomach flutter.

“Definitely not when your husband doesn’t trust you.”

“And what reason would he have not to trust you? Because…” He stood, slipping off his shoes and pulling the tie off, letting it join her clothes in the corner. “I can’t think of a single one.” He shrugged his jacket off and hung it on the door handle, unbuttoning his sleeves and rolling them up to his elbows.

She giggled as he lifted his foot and stepped into the bath, most of his clothes still on. The water lapped over the side and soaked the floor as he clumsily knocked the shampoo bottles over. She squeezed her legs together and he knelt over her, lowering his upper body towards her, but keeping a hold of the tub to steady himself. “Cillian!” She squealed, watching the water seep into his shirt and trousers.

“Sorry, love. Forgot to ask. Can I join you?” He smirked, cupping water into his hand and dampening his hair with it. With flushed cheeks, whether from the humidity in the room or Cillian’s presence, she smiled at him, reaching out to run her fingers along his jaw.

“Wardrobe are going to kill you.”

“It’s a good thing they’ve got two more suits just like it then, isn’t it?”

“Hm, it feels weird seeing you dressed like that, sounding like that.” 

“Would you prefer I talk like this, Mrs Shelby?” He adopted his signature Brummie accent from the show, instantly snapping into character and gazing at her through furrowed brows. She stifled back a laugh, unable to take him seriously with his soddened shirt and hands slipping along the bathtub’s edge. “You’re not supposed to be finding this funny.” His accent melted back to normal through the sentence, a smile creeping onto his own face. 

“Sorry, I just don’t see Tommy Shelby diving into a bath on top of his missus.” 

“That’s because he’d probably be the one on the bottom.” He teased, dipping a hand into the water and settling it on her waist. 

“Don’t get too comfortable. Believe it or not I was enjoying my bath before a fully clothed hooligan decided to jump in.” She propped herself up and fiddled with his buttons, her wet fingers making it a little difficult. She started from the bottom and he gave her a hand up top, before he peeled the damp garment off his body. 

“Is that better?” He quipped, as she stared at his character’s tattoo which had started to smudge from a mixture of water and sweat. Nodding, she ran her fingers over his chest, smearing the design even more. “Are you going to wash me? Is that it?” 

“Well you need it. You’ve got more makeup on than I’ve had all series!” 

“Then let’s get these trousers off too, eh?”

Lying on Cillian’s chest, Y/N listened to his breathing and heart beating. The low light in the bedroom made her eyes feel heavy, but she wasn’t tired enough to sleep just yet. His hand absentmindedly played with her hair, gently massaging her scalp with the very tips of his fingers, being careful not to scratch her. These moments behind closed doors away from prying eyes were their most cherished. They spoke about their days, the hours spent together and apart. Y/N praised Cillian for his performance in a scene earlier that day, and he tried his best to deflect the compliment and switch the subject to her scenes instead. “Will you ever accept my compliments?” She teased, poking him in the chest.

“I will accept your compliments if…” He started, stopping to think. She sat up, looking at him in anticipation. “If you let us finally talk about your birthday.”

“Cillian…”

“You know the studio are going to go all out. You can’t avoid it.”

“I’m turning thirty. I’m ancient! This is not something to be celebrated.” Covering her eyes, she shook her head and groaned. Cillian laughed, lightly swatting her hands away from her face.

“If you’re ancient, then what am I?”

“Men age better, you don’t count. Just let me enjoy my last few days of being twenty-nine.”

His chuckling made her frown twist into a smirk which she tried to hold back. Gazing at her with sleepy blue eyes, he scooted closer cupping her cheek in his hand. “I seem to remember your birthday being rather special.” He cooed, his thumb lightly stroking the soft skin below her eye. She sighed, remembering the moment like it was just days ago.

Thinking back to it with such fondness was wrong. She knew that. One moment on her twenty-ninth birthday snowballed into something so much bigger, and the lingering thirtieth celebrations reminded her just how badly things had gotten out of hand. The lapse in time made it impossible to take everything back. However, selfishly, given the chance, she knew she wouldn’t change a thing.

“Cillian…” She whispered breathlessly, his face still close and mouth still hot against hers. He drew back, his hands remaining on her cheeks, fingertips brushing the skin below her earlobes.

As her eyes fluttered open to meet his, he suddenly let go, catching his head in his right hand. “I’m sorry. God, I’m so sorry.” He stumbled over his words, looking around the room in a panic, eyes darting to the door that was still clearly open, wide enough for anyone to walk past and see what he did. What they did.

“I shouldn’t have done that. Fuck, you’re married! What the hell is wrong with me?”  

She stood there, hands trembling by her sides as she watched his gaze jump across the floor, his feet struggling to stay still. Her lips tingled and stung from the contact, almost desperate to kiss him again, to feel his hands on her body. They’d kissed a hundred times on set; playing husband and wife meant that physical contact was just another part of the job, but he’d never kissed her like this. So tender. So slow. Their onscreen kisses were robotic in comparison.

“No one has to know.” The words spilled out of her mouth before her brain could catch up, her arm reaching out for him. He dared himself to look back up to see her flushed cheeks and freshly kissed lips, plump and pink, glistening and hungry for more. Something twisted inside his stomach, and her lashes fluttered innocently in his direction like they were two teenagers in love. She felt as if she couldn’t breathe, like his stare could burn holes through her body.

“No one – has – to know.” She stepped closer with each word, her body making the decisions for her. This feeling and attraction towards Cillian was certainly nothing new, but she never thought he’d return her affection.

Cillian searched for reassurance in her eyes, making sure she really meant what she said as her fingers traced the stitching along his sleeve. Sensing his apprehension, she slipped her hand into his. He sighed, the heat from her fingers sending electricity through his veins, a feeling that felt so right despite how wrong it was.

“We should get back to your party.” He breathed, the muffled sounds of voices and music somehow growing louder as if they were getting closer to the door, closer to finding them together. “Your guests they… Well, you don’t want to keep them waiting.” 

“Cillian.” She uttered quietly, pleading for him to look her in the eye and tell her she hadn’t just dreamt the past few minutes. She needed something, anything that would serve as confirmation that she hadn’t imagined it. That she hadn’t imagined his hands holding her face, pulling her to him, their bodies moulding together as their lips met for what felt like the very first time. This was no rehearsed kiss inside four cold white walls; this wasn’t in front of a crew of ten men with cameras zooming in on their faces. This was between the two of them. Raw and real. 

Defeated, she dropped his hand and headed to the door. Gripping the handle, she went to pull it towards her until Cillian pressed a firm hand against the wood, slamming it into its frame. He cornered her, his intense stare making her neck hot and her cheeks visibly pinker.

The kiss was hesitant at first; their movements staggered and filled with doubt yet fuelled by longing and the sheer desperation to feel each other again. Once each were confident that the other wanted the same thing, they melted into one another’s grasp, Cillian’s hands tangling into her hair, Y/N’s fingers clutching onto his shirt as if he could disappear at any moment. It was feverish, like a craving had finally been satiated for them both. They knew there was no going back now. They were in this, and they’d have to spend every waking moment hiding it from everyone they knew, both mutual and individual. 

“That means it’s been a year since…” 

“Since this started.” Cillian waved his finger between himself and Y/N, a reminiscent smile on his face. She never knew how to react when they actually sat and talked about their relationship. It was undoubtedly easier for Cillian, being divorced and completely free to do and see whoever he wanted, but Y/N was still very much married and playing a dangerous game. Every day she lied to her husband’s face and made fun of his insecurities surrounding Cillian. Little did he know, he had every right to be worried about his wife’s co-star, considering he was the one who wound up in her bed at the end of most days.

Cillian opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself. He knew diving into the specifics of their affair made Y/N uneasy. She didn’t like to talk about her marriage; she preferred to pretend that what she and Cillian had was healthy and real. If she didn’t think about her husband, she could convince herself she wasn’t hurting anybody.

“We should get some sleep.” He said comfortingly, wrapping an arm around her as she laid back on his chest. Y/N knew he was trying to distract her from her thoughts, and she was all too willing to escape them, so she closed her eyes and begged for sleep to come quickly.

“Happy birthday!” The cast and crew cheered, clapping and whooping as Y/N stepped onto set. She grinned in faux surprise having been pre-warned by Cillian that they were planning something. A table littered with cupcakes and cookies stood at the side with some crew members already lingering, hoping for an early treat.

“Thanks guys! You shouldn’t have done all of this for me.” Y/N smiled, hugging various people and receiving more birthday wishes as she made her way around the room. Cillian stood by the cameras pretending to look busy, trying not to draw attention to himself. To the outside world they were just castmates, friends at a push. People praised them for their work and chemistry onscreen, unaware of the true feelings below the surface, and the two had grown very good at playing acquaintances around others.

Reaching Cillian, he gave her a quick side hug and a friendly smile. “Happy birthday, Y/N.” He said politely, pulling a small card out of his pocket. “It’s nothing special.” He raised his voice to purposely reach those around them.

“Thank you, Cillian. I’ll add it to the pile.” She beamed, knowing she definitely wouldn’t be adding his card to any pile for anyone else to see. She didn’t know what he’d written, but judging by the glint in his eye, it wasn’t a decoy card to keep up appearances. It was the real thing, and he was playing with fire bringing it into the studio in the first place, but she’d chew his ear off about that later.

When everyone broke off for lunch, Y/N rushed off to her trailer, Cillian’s card burning a hole in her pocket. Throwing the door open, she was surprised to be greeted by a large cake on the counter, iced in her favourite colours with an obnoxious ‘30’ in the middle made from chocolate.

“It’s hazelnut. Your favourite.”

She spun around, confused, only to find her husband sprawled on the sofa behind her. “Surprise.” He grinned, opening his arms for her. She gulped, taking a step forward and leaning down to hug him. He shifted on the sofa, giving her enough space to sit in his lap as he squeezed her tight, feathering little kisses on her cheek.

Her body felt stiff in his arms from shock. It hadn’t even crossed her mind that he would show up, but it made perfect sense. It was her thirtieth birthday, of course he was going to come!

Glancing out of the window over his shoulder, she saw Cillian engaged in an animated conversation with the producers, throwing his head back with laughter. She sighed, wishing there was a way out of this situation, wishing she could run out of the door and disappear with him, leaving the guilt and the pain behind. Hugging her husband felt wrong. She felt ashamed to be dreaming of another man whilst the one she’d sworn her love to was right there in front of her.

“Are you OK?” He asked, moving so they could sit side-by-side.

“Yeah, I’m just surprised!” She lied, her voice high-pitched and shaky. She felt Cillian’s card crumple in her back pocket, but she thanked her lucky stars she didn’t have it on show when she walked into the trailer.

“I had to come and see you on your birthday. What shall we do tonight?” His arm around her shoulder made her feel suffocated and she hoped the ground would somehow magically swallow her up. She shimmied out of his grasp, standing up.

“The crew have organised a night out. I can’t let them down.”

He stood up, his hand settling on her upper arms. “Then we’ll both go. That sound fun?”

Nodding, she closed her eyes, cringing as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I have another scene to shoot this afternoon. Will you be alright hanging in here for a while?”

“What? I can’t come and watch?”

“I don’t think it’s a scene you’d want to see.” Another lie. The scene was a simple conversation between two characters, no drama or romance involved, but it was easier to let him believe it was something he’d find unsettling. The first time he watched her kiss Cillian in a scene, he couldn’t shake the sickly feeling in his stomach all day. As harsh it was to use his insecurity against him, it was far easier than the truth.

I’m having an affair with my co-star who I repeatedly told you not to worry about, and you being here is complicating things further, so I’d rather not spend any more time around you than I have to.

Yeah… Lying was certainly easier.

“I guess I’ll just uh… Stick a film on then.” He shrugged, sitting back down.

“It shouldn’t take too long.” She hovered for a second, then remembered Cillian’s card again. “I’m just going to use the bathroom.”

“OK.”

Locking herself behind the toilet door, she ripped open the card, stuffing the envelope into the small bin beside her.

‘Meet me in the wardrobe department at 1. I’ve got something for you.

Happy birthday, Mrs Shelby.

Yours,

Cillian x’

Her heart fluttered, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she re-read it a second time, then a third. What started as a joke between them became somewhat of a term of affection; calling each other Mr and Mrs Shelby. Cillian could certainly be corny when he wanted to be, but she was no better.

Checking the time on her phone, she had ten minutes to get to the wardrobe department and see Cillian before their lunch hour was over. Remembering her company outside the door, she counted a few seconds before flushing the toilet and rinsing her hands in the sink. She hid the card, pulling her shirt over her trousers so her husband couldn’t see a bump in her pocket.

“I have to go to wardrobe and get into my next outfit.” She muttered, fixing her hair in the mirror and rushing around to avoid making eye contact with her unwanted guest.

“Your lunchtime isn’t even over! Come on, babe. Sit down, let’s chat.”

“You know me, I like to be punctual.” She flashed him a weak smile, pulling out her phone to show him the time. “Plus, we both know how long it can take me to get ready.”

“Fine. But I’m buying you your first birthday drink tonight.”

“I’d be mad if you didn’t.”

He stood to hug her, but she dashed out of the door before he could even get close. Speedwalking to wardrobe, her mind raced back and forth between her husband and Cillian. She was supposed to be happy that he’d traveled all this way for her birthday. She was supposed to jump into his arms and declare how much she’d missed him over the past couple of months, not pray for him to go away. No matter what she did, she couldn’t get Cillian off her mind. He consumed her, emotionally, physically, in every way possible. She never meant for it to go this far, to feel this way, but she couldn’t control it.

Entering the room, she spotted Cillian’s shoes through the racks of clothing. She could hear him mumbling something to himself, but it wasn’t quite coherent. Once he spotted her, his face lit up, eyes twinkling as he gazed at the birthday girl. “Hi.” He whispered, edging closer to her.

“Hi, Cill.”

“I see you got my message.”

“I had to come and see what all the fuss was about.” She smiled, noticing a box on the table behind him. “Is that for me?”

“Impatient, aren’t you?”

“Just curious.” She teased.

Taking her hand in his, he fidgeted with the wedding band on her finger. It wasn’t hers, but her character’s, and Cillian wore a matching one in his role as Tommy. Looking down at their hands, Y/N couldn’t help but think about the ring that was usually in its place, or should’ve been had she not taken it off weeks ago. She thought back to her husband, sitting in her trailer watching some straight to DVD movie on the TV, counting down the minutes until he could finally spend some time with the woman he loved.

Cillian stole her attention, tilting her chin up with his thumb. “There’s something I need to tell you. You’re going to tell me I’m cheesy for saying it on your birthday but - “

“Cillian.”

“No, let me speak, please.” He went over his words again in his head, and Y/N began to panic as his eyes explored her face, pupils dilating. “Y/N, I love - “

“Cillian, my husband is here.” She blurted, exhaling a deep breath. His gaze didn’t leave hers, but the adoration in his eyes quickly switched to shock. His hand fell from her face, and he awkwardly gripped onto the hem of his jacket, rubbing the fabric between his finger and thumb as a distraction.

“…What?”

-

Next Part >

[septemberrie]

Battle Lines: DVD Commentary

I am proud of myself for writing 140k, I’ve never done it before! I thought some people might be interested in scenes left on the cutting room floor and other thoughts I had while writing. Spoiler alert: A lot of this is praise to @gossipqueen2000​​ my beta and @faytalepsy​​ for her cheerleading and artistic vision. Also spoiler alert: contains spoilers, including for the epilogue if you haven’t read that yet.

Chapter 1

I’ve mentioned this in comments but the idea of Eraklyans being at odds with Solarians came from Alliance by @somenamewithepineapple​​, great enemies to lovers Silrah fic! But I wanted this to be a story of a royal and her bodyguard so I changed Farah to queen of Domino, which would also allow Bloom to be incorporated into the story and have a similar enemies-to-lovers arc between Skloom (admittedly entirely offscreen).

The idea of Alfea as an extreme pseudo-military boarding school is an amalgamation of many concepts, namely taking the black/the Wall in Game of Thrones, the various mendicant orders of the catholic church, and of course reading far too many romance novels of sexy soldier/secret agent heroes in high school.

Chapter 2

From the beginning I knew I wanted Farah to have her bedroom charmed so no one can view her decorations other than a couple inoffensive trinkets. I assume as a queen you have very little privacy, even in your bedroom you’ll probably have cleaners coming in, etc. So I wanted to show that she takes great pains to protect the most private parts of herself even in her own home.

Coming up with the council members was quite fun, tbh. I love making up fun names, and borrowing from the OG cartoon too. Although I promptly forgot how to spell “Gehrheart” and had to look it up every time I referenced him thereafter. 0/10 experience, would not recommend.

The discarded scene from this chapter is a squirrel setting off a sensor in Farah’s bedroom in the middle of the night and Saul charging in in a frenzy. I changed it to the locked door scene which fit better tonally. Plus then I thought to add the “Personally I think you’ve spent too much time in [my bedroom] already” line which was funny if I do say so myself.

A theme that never fails to be funny to me as I wrote this, is that Saul isn’t actually a very good bodyguard 😅 Accidentally locking himself in Farah’s bedroom is Exhibit A.

Chapter 3

Having Bloom and Saul be somewhat allies in opposition to Farah was really fun to write! On the surface it’s fun because they both have objections to how Farah handles certain things, but on a deeper level I wanted Saul to crave and tangentially have that pseudo-father/child relationship that he’s been missing pretty much since Sky was born but definitely since his exile.

What made this story so fun to write was the repeated pattern of a) they find some common ground that increases their respect for the other and then b) they find out something new that pisses them off and then c) repeat. Obviously item “a” always has to be stronger than item “b:” they always have to come back to the conclusion that the other is a better person than their first impression. But it was super fun to think of new obstacles to throw at them.

The idea for public audiences comes from The Emperor’s New Groove. 😌 I am the sum of all the art I’ve ever experienced.

Before I wrote too far into this, Mo and I were brainstorming bodyguard story tropes and of course I have her to thank for the “walking in on him shirtless working out” scene. Thank you kindly, Mo, your services are appreciated.

Chapter 4

This chapter was action-heavy so it took a while to write but I think it might be my favorite! You’ve got angst, you’ve got rising stakes, you’ve got protective Saul Silva, you’ve got whump, you’ve got hurt and some extremely stilted comfort, you’ve got the record-scratch cliffhanger that I love writing lol.

The initial draft of this scene had the assassins try to stab Farah as she was walking through the hospital, and they’d say “Andreas sends his regards” to Saul on their way in/out, thus implicating Saul directly. I couldn’t figure out how to make that work and then got the idea to make the assassins patient plants and have the implication come earlier, from Valtor. I’m kind of amazed how well everything fell into place.

Chapter 5

This didn’t occur to me until I was writing the epilogue, but in my head Domino culture is Celtic-inspired (since Fate was filmed in Ireland) but Eraklyon is very Greco-Roman-inspired. The Crypteia (Krypteia/Krupteia) is historically based; there are references to a year-long military service obligated for an elite caste of young warriors in ancient Sparta. Obviously it’s debated how reliably the known historical sources (Plutarch, Plato) convey the details, but I was searching for a militaristic ritual that would have high enough stakes to cause the fallout between Saul and Andreas over Sky’s safety. The Crypteia in my story is just one event, not a year.

I wrote and rewrote Saul’s “monologue” so many times because it was hard to strike the balance between capable but unlucky warrior and poor little meow meow. I think it worked, fingers crossed you agree.

In drafts, when Saul reveals he’s Sky’s biological father, I had Farah toy with the notion of using that information against Andreas, but Saul panics that it’s going to endanger Sky. I ended up deciding this was too calculating for Farah and would be writing myself into a corner. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Side note but I really enjoyed the emotional whump of Farah in the aftermath of the assassination. She’s falling apart but she’s not allowed to fall apart and she doesn’t want this stranger to be responsible for holding her together but also she can’t help it and also and also and also.

I was going to have Saul resign in this chapter to keep Farah safe, rather than later on. Then I decided to extend it because a) I was having too much fun writing this story and b) I rationalized that Saul would take this as an opportunity to lean harder into protecting Farah rather than admitting he’s not the best man for the job. It’s more fun to write about flawed people than perfect people!

Obviously I had to do the “only one bed” trope. Also I’m very proud of the “Don’t be stupid”/”But I am stupid, as you tell me five times a day” exchange.

“How shall I address you?” / “Dowling, in private. Farah, if you are bold enough.” was inspired by the horribly saccharine American ending of Pride & Prejudice (2005) dir. Joe Wright.

The vow of celibacy came to me right away during the brainstorming phase. I went to Catholic school for high school and you do meet the occasional hot priest and well…you’ve seen Fleabag, you can do the math.

Chapter 6

The first draft of the first time they wake up together, since it’s from Saul’s point of view, I wrote Farah as the one to wake up Saul, and Saul—being a warrior—does not take kindly to being roused so he switches instantly from sleep to “action hero” and grabs her throat. At which point Farah also immediately overreacts to Saul’s overreaction and she uses magic to blast him across the room. And from the floor Saul slowly stirs and says “...I’m awake now.” I decided that tonally it wouldn’t fit from the discomfort of the previous night so I just started the chapter in the car.

The dream is inspired by one of my own, in which Louis Tomlinson from One Direction sabotaged my audition to play the part of “the pear” in ??? I don’t remember which musical but not one involving pears. Also, I can’t sing, so Louis was actually doing me a huge favor.

I had a hard time coming up with how to show the passage of time while still escalating the background conflict. Everything up to this point has been over the span of a few days, so I struggled with changing the scale to weeks instead. At one point Valtor showed up back in Domino and Saul disarms him; I cut that after beta help.

Yeah… I changed Bloom’s age a couple times in the writing of this fic. I meant to have Bloom be 18 and Sky a couple years older, but apparently math is hard.

Chapter 7

Reading back on this, Farah is a bit sassy to start this chapter; I specifically remember it was because Jackie had just released a new chapter of Alliance ft extremely sarcastic Farah.

Telluride was always meant to be a placeholder name until I came up with something original; it’s the name of a ski town in western Colorado, the state I moved to during the writing of this story. It’s such a pretty name, I decided to keep it.

Of course I snuck in a reference to Martin Evershed. Love that no one commented on it 😅

This is the chapter where Farah handwrites condolence letters to victims’ families. While writing, I estimated at what point her hand would start cramping and guessed thirty. Well since this chapter, I had to write 60+ thank you notes for my wedding and it’s safe to say that was a dramatic overestimate lol. My hand starts cramping after 5.

When I was agonizing over how exactly to end this story, I can’t believe the climax was staring me in the face, in this chapter. Farah literally says the line  “So gutting Andreas is only a secondary purpose of carrying a dagger?” The explosion that went off in my head when I reread that part. But I’m choosing to take it as: alright well I guess I’m falling my way upwards into being a better writer, that I lay all the groundwork for my future self so well.

Chapter 8

I struggled with the kidnapping scene and wrote and rewrote it many times. I originally wanted all four of them to be together in the same room, but as I was writing Bloom and Farah kept interrupting, kept essentially making fun of Sky for being so deluded by propaganda. So I cut them out so it was just father & son for maximal angst. It was hard to thread the needle of Saul being devastated at Sky’s decisions but also a soldier enough to take him to task for it (while being heavily whumped bc I’m me).

In the original outline I had Sky take a more active role in dissuading the war via campaigning/pleading with Andreas, rather than subverting from the shadows. Ultimately I decided Andreas was beyond reasoning so that’s why Sky and Bloom took the route they did.

The cut scene from this chapter is Saul using a sexy motorcycle instead of a jeep, Farah riding “bitch” so she can hold him tight from behind. Lots of accidental touching. Decided this was not the time and place

Saul says that Sky is nineteen here lmfao. Apparently 14 at the Crypteia + 8 years of Saul’s exile = 19 years old, to renowned author and not mathematician Skye.

Speaking of, it was SO FUN to write Saul as extremely capable at everything except being a normal human man trying to function in society 😅 A drink? What is that? Stand next to hot person?? Must find way to exit; only does so after causing as much psychic damage as humanly possible.

Chapter 9

The masquerade ball was also a plot point that I knew would happen from very early on (Farah and Saul in sexy formalwear? Of course), but it was Mo’s idea to make the ball a cover for some secret diplomacy. Having a beta insanely elevated this story!

After I finished Chapter 1 and realized this was going to be a multichapter story, the dance, mask, and kiss scene was the very next thing I wrote. I am pretty proud of myself for coming up with the mask being the way Saul allows himself to “slip” and step out of himself for long enough to up the slow burn with a kiss.

Chapter 10

Writing Ben and Saul as being somewhat at odds was also very enjoyable. They’re both very protective of Farah, but Ben thinks Saul is a pushy upstart and Saul thinks Ben is a stuffy fuddyduddy. I love writing reluctant allies.

I was very deliberate that in the narration, Saul never thinks of Farah using her first name until they consummate their relationship in the hotel room. Even after the kiss at the ball he calls her “the queen” in his head except in rare circumstances when he’s considering both of them in the third person. Same with Farah; she addresses him as “Silva” in her head until they give themselves to each other in Anolide and he becomes Saul.

Chapters 11 & 12

I have Mo to thank for the introduction of Burnett; what a *chef’s kiss* to include the optimal mirror for Saul and his “failings.”

The name “Degenhard” as Saul’s pseudonym when he checks into the hotel was a result of a hilarious conversation in the WinxSource server. Apparently “degen” is German for “sword” soooo I thought it extremely fitting for what happens in the story that night. Winkyface. Sword hard. Originally the surname was “Petrino,” I think it was published that way for a couple days before I retconned it.

I really hope the final argument before the consummation was clear from both sides. Mo was supremely helpful molding it out of the clay I provided. I struggled a lot; is it ever worth it to give up your “self” for another person? When does “staying true to yourself” veer into stubbornness and aversion to healthy change? What do we owe to our former selves? I hope I answered it well.

Chapter 13

In the first draft of this chapter, Saul was on surveillance rounds when he came upon an injured child, and his panicked rushing into action is what lowers his guard and leads to him being kidnapped. Then, the child would be in the room while Saul was being tortured and she would be the apparition used to torture him instead of Sky. But sometimes less is more so I just didn’t show Saul’s kidnapping, and also I wanted Sky to have a larger role so I changed it to Sky being the apparition.

The fairy who tortures Saul is an earth fairy… know who else is an earth fairy? Ben.

Chapters 14-20

This chapter(s) took the longest. I had such a hard time getting inside Farah’s head before I settled on the rage. I was actually getting the first professional massage of my life, on my honeymoon, when the lightbulb went off: RAGE!! ANGER!!! IRRATIONALITY AND POOR DECISION MAKING CAUSED BY FEAR! All good thoughts to have on your honeymoon.

I think we all knew Saul wasn’t going to betray Farah, but I wanted to leave it as ambiguous as long as possible for the reader. At one point in draft stages, Farah was going to wake up in bed with Saul on top of her, one hand muffling her mouth and the other holding a knife to her throat. Sexy, right?

Chapter 21

The mole! I was angling for the clues to lead to Gehrheart but I had just kind of kicked the can down the road for what the payoff was going to be. I don’t remember exactly when in the story I decided to change it to Ben but it was after S2 (fake Ben!! Who is that man!! evil!!). It was just too delicious not to pass up. The key turning point for Ben was the caravan trip to Telluride when he mentions he hasn’t heard from Terra in awhile. Offscreen, Ben finds out that Andreas is holding Terra hostage for his compliance; he’s the one who sets up Saul’s kidnapping and plants the suit jacket. Farah and Saul know they can’t plan anything in view of the council, because they assume the mole is in the council, so they plot with Bloom in her bedroom, and go back to the council to set up a fake story/concern about how to resolve Saul’s situation. That way Andreas would have fake info passed from Ben (who didn’t know it was fake) and from Sky (who did).

Epilogue

Since Fate was filmed in Ireland, everything in my head for Domino is vaguely Celtic. Royal weddings in Domino are sealed by a stylized dance, to the tune of music in the vein of The Captain’s Dance by Marcus Warner (Youtube; Spotify).

🥺🥺🥺 hope you enjoyed. After reading comments and chatting in the WinxSource server I realized there were so many loose ends I could easily tie up with a couple hundred words... that turned into 6k oops. I have a hard time seeing the forest for the trees when I’m in them. Letting myself rest after finishing Chapter 21 helped me see what I needed to see, and writing this wrap-up was cathartic as well.

You! You’re stellar for reading this! I am always open to chatting more about my fics or today’s tea or another fic you love you want to share! Thank you for reading my ramblings, and my slightly-less-rambling fic, and time to go back into that wave.

[raayllum]

Off the back of your post regarding Callum being happy to kill Aaravos and how this differs to Rayla-

What if the key for him to unlock the moon arcanum is not just his love for Rayla but also realisation that all life is precious? Not to say that Callum doesn’t already believe this (he hates using dark magic after all) but that to take a life is not something done lightly (referring back to the scene in episode 1/2 with the moon shadow elves talking about assassination and how life isn’t taken carelessly) and it’s this realisation/ acceptance in a similar manner to how the moon shadow elves view life/death and taking of life that enables him to connect to the moon..?

Yeah, Rayla sees killing as like - a duty or revenge, and something to be fierce in maybe (she wanted presumptive-Viren to know it was her in Chasing Shadows) but not something to... revel in or enjoy per se. Not that Callum does either, logistically (most of the time, with 3x09 as the exception) as he treats the matter of finding a way to kill Aaravos pretty seriously, but he's definitely more... light hearted and eager about in comparison to Ezran and Rayla

I don't think for him it comes from treating life/death lightly, it's just that he's operating on a different set of internal morals. He doesn't like death and violence and dark magic, but he'll still engage in all of those things readily to protect his loved ones on a measure that Ez and Rayla don't have the same... attitude/narrow-ness towards? I'm trying to think of how to articulate it, but it's like... Ezran (hypothetically) and Rayla (in early s1) will try to carry out doing things they know/think of as Wrong (as Callum calls out Rayla on in 1x02) but not typically succeed in going through with it (the exception being a lack of action on Rayla's part, arguably, in 4x05)? Or will loop around and frame it as this is the Right Thing to do or genuinely believe that it's the Right Thing to do (which is far more like Claudia, but I've talked about between how Ezran-Claudia and Rayla-Claudia frame things similarly before / that's a meta for another day)

To me Callum is more like Viren than Claudia in terms of justification (whereas Callum is more like Claudia in terms of his motivations) which I've also talked about elsewhere. He'll know and fully participate in something he believes is Wrong (like dark magic) if the ends (saving his loved ones) justify the means without trying to warp it into being something right - just something necessary

Like I don't think Callum losing his protective / loving nature for his friends is the answer, per se. (I don't know what Viren would've done in 5x09, for example, if killing Sir Sparklepuff had been required to save Claudia's life rather than his own, y'know?) I've said it before and I've said it again but there's nothing Wrong with that kind of love / it is absolutely understandable and where I think most people would fall, even if people might have more limits or lines they wouldn't/won't cross.

On of the things with Callum's tunnel vision / obsessive nature is that he can get fixated on certain things and miss the other side of an equation, i.e. Rayla isn't telling them everything in 1x06, so it takes until the end of the ep for him to settle on prioritizing what she has told him; the resource of magic comes from the primal stone (even though as Ellis points out, it also needs someone to channel it to actually be useful) and so therefore without it he's "nothing"; he put himself and Zym at risk in 2x04 "for nothing" because he didn't even connect anyone, missing the point (as Rayla reminds him) that the important thing is that he and Zym came out of it okay, and that his life is way more important (and is already valuable) regardless of any magical ability, etc etc.

In Callum's worries over Aaravos in S4 ("What if I'm on a path of darkness?") he's losing sight of the potential choices he does have. And obviously S6 is going to be very Greek Tragedy of him playing into Aaravos' hands somehow no matter what or precisely because of the lengths he's gone to in attempting to Not do that, but we're thinking S7 endgame, y'know? In focusing on the darkness, Callum ignores the possibility of light. In focusing on a light or dark dichotomy (as the light, evidenced by the key glowing in the pawn intro, isn't always Good either, just as dark isn't always bad), it's ignoring the fact the can and should and probably will throw the binary away. Just as "powerless human OR dark mage" as a dichotomy has been reconciling to a "a powerless human IS / equals being a dark mage" over the course of arc 2 so far, I expect that to collide with the sentiment of "No matter where you are on the path, every step you take is a choice" as also "No matter where you are on the path [of fate] you can always change the game, create a new destiny, take control back into your own hands, etc" y'know? Not just winning or losing the game, but upending the board in the first place. Breaking the cycle; breaking the system

Basically: if Callum does connect to the moon arcanum (and it is adjacent to the brainwashing and/or fully re-connecting with Rayla in S6), I think it'll come from him being able to remember and reconcile his "inner darkness," yes, but also with light, that these are all parts of him and the sum of them is greater than and that he is not singularly marked by any particular part. That much like the prison and the broken mirror, he is a puzzle in his own right, and the only people that can solve him are himself and the people he loves, and certainly not Aaravos.

[lunar-wandering]

after effect

you can’t expect me to believe they all immediately went back to being happy, especially since Wukong got POSSESSED. this is set inbetween the end of the battle and the scene at the end with the noodles

TW: panic attacks, Wukong throws up (ive marked the start and end of any mentions of it with a *, so it can be skipped), injury mentions

Word Count: 2.8k

Read on Ao3

Wukong bounced his leg.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Macaque's ear twitch in his general direction, but other than that, the shadow monkey currently sitting beside him while simultaneously trying to keep as much distance between them as possible didn't pay any attention to him.

Which was fair. Macaque focus was mostly on the girl laying on the bed across from them, sound asleep, curled up with Mo within her arms.

She'd passed out before any of them had managed to get her name.

The van went over a small bump in the road, jostling them, and the girl whimpered in her sleep.

Wukong winced.

The girl's back had been injured pretty badly. They'd done what they could, and both Macaque and Wukong himself had poured a bit of magic into it... but there was only so much they could do.

It'd be very likely she'd have difficulties walking in the future.

On the bunk above her, MK and Red Son sat huddled up on each side of Mei. Red Son seemed to be nodding off, and MK and Mei were having a whispered conversation that Wukong couldn't pick up. He could ask Macaque what they were talking about. But he won't. Macaque hadn't said a word to him this whole time after all.

Wukong's leg kept bouncing as he shifted his gaze towards the front of the van.

Pigsy and Tang sat in shotgun, Tang on Pigsy's lap, calmly reading a book while Pigsy kept his eyes out the window. Sandy was driving.

A quick check with his golden vision revealed Nezha sitting on the roof, completely oblivious to the winds as they drove.

Overall, everyone seemed...calm. Relaxing, after the long battle, they deserved the rest.

But Wukong just couldn't relax.

The speed of his bouncing leg kicked up a notch. His tail started swishing behind him to accompany it. Macaque's ear twitched in his direction again, but Wukong ignored it. His mind was spinning.

The Lady Bone Demon was gone. They'd evaporated her with the might of the staff and the Samadhi fire combined.

His claws dug into his arm, scratching.

The Lady was gone, so why did he still feel like she was crawling under his skin? Her energy flowing through his veins, surrounding his heart. Her power blinding his vision, swirling in his brain. Her voice ringing in his ears. The spirits contained within him.

Within him.

Oh heavens, she'd been within him.

Wukong shuddered. And didn't stop shuddering. Wukong thought that was weird. People didn't usually shudder for very long did they? Shaking then. No, but that couldn't be right. He's Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, he doesn't shake. He does not tremble.

Wukong took a deep breath in.

It came out a little faster than usual.

He could feel his skin heating up. His heart pounding in his ears. Like the sound of echoing footsteps across a wooden floor.

He tried to take another deep breath, but it caught, once again coming out slightly irregular.

He'd attacked them. He'd frozen Nezha. Frozen Mei. Punched Red Son in the gut. Thrown MK off a cliff. Hurt Macaque so badly he could barely stand.

Wukong ignored the fact that he himself, was still hurt. That his injuries had yet to be treated because he had not brought them up. He was the invulnerable Monkey King after all. He didn't get hurt.

So then why did his chest feel so tight?

Mei was the one with the ring of fire in her chest. Why was it starting to feel like one was forming inside of his?

Why did it make him feel so scared?

...

He could still feel her crawling under his skin.

The fire reached his throat.

Wukong abruptly realized that he was hyperventilating.

*

And that he was definitely going to be sick.

Standing up, he almost collapsed, feeling weak in the knees, but he managed to steady himself. Too deep in his own mind to register the stares of those on the beds around him, he grabbed the bucket that had been placed in the van in case of emergencies, finally letting himself fall to his knees as he pulled it close.

Sandy stopped the van as soon as he heard the dry heaving.

"Monkey King?!" MK slid out of Mei's grasp, jumping down from the bed and hurriedly moving beside his mentor. Mei shook Red Son awake, and Macaque stood up, his tail freezing in shock. Tang got off of Pigsy's lap as they and Sandy made their way back.

Wukong continued to tremble, clutching onto the bucket hard enough that if he weren't in such a weak state, it would most certainly break. Without even meaning or wanting to, he started crying as he dry heaved again. (He hadn't eaten anything in...days, really. Maybe he should've. Would that have made this experience better or worse? Wukong didn't know).

*

Above him, the others shared a concerned glance.

"Easy there, Monkey." Pigsy said, slowly kneeling down beside him and reaching out to rub a comforting circle on Wukong's back.

Wukong's fur, already standing on end, bristled.

"Don't!" He yelled, barely managing enough strength to pull himself off the ground for long enough to spin around, before he was collapsing back to the floor, now facing the others. His breaths unsteady, wheezing, the skin on his back burning, the sensation reminding him of the Lady Bone Demon's energy plunging into his body, of the spear plunging between his shoulder blades, of the mountain, keeping him t r a p p e d-

The armour around his neck felt too heavy. Like it was choking him.

Desperate, nearly choking on a sob, Wukong let go of the bucket, hands instead moving to claw at the armour in an attempt to get it off. His eyes squeezed shut as he couldn't manage it, letting out a whine.

Gentle hands encircled his, holding them away from the armour despite Wukong's attempts to continue clawing at it, and another set of hands carefully pulled the armour off of him. He let out another gasping breath, air still not coming in easy even though the weight of the armour had been removed.

His eyes hurt.

The tears blurred his vision, leaving him unable to tell who was doing what. Vaguely, he heard what sounded like a door being opened, but couldn't register much else.

All he could hear was the sound of tumbling rocks as the mountain shifted above him.

The hands rubbing circles onto his was the only thing reminding him that he was no longer trapped.

Wukong squeezed his eyes shut, trying hard to picture a clear blue sky and open field, and didn't even register that his glamours had fallen. The hands holding his paused, for a second, before resuming rubbing circles into his palms, somehow even gentler than before.

Someone else placed a hand upon his chest.

"Breathe, Sun Wukong."

An aura of energy of some kind entered his chest, and Wukong almost choked on it, expecting the sting of the Lady Bone Demon's cold hands filling his chest-

But no.

This was warm.

Wukong took a deep breath in.

And a slow breath out.

It didn't- it didn't burn, like the smoke of the furnace, the fire of Samadhi, or the molten copper that had been shoved down his throat.

This felt-

It felt comforting.

Before he knew it, Wukong was tilting forwards, all his days without sleep finally catching up to him, his body feeling heavy with exhaustion as his eyes slid shut.

The last thing he registered was the sensation of arms wrapping around him.

-

"What did you do?!" MK whisper-yelled, almost panicked as he caught his mentor, keeping him from having a close encounter with the floor. Mei let go of Wukong's hands, and Nezha stood up, moving back from where he'd been leaning in front of Wukong.

"I calmed him down, nothing else." Nezha said, staring down at the fast asleep Monkey King with an emotion MK could only label as concern. "The fact he passed out immediately though is... odd. When was the last time he slept?"

The room went silent as everyone mentally came to the same conclusion; Sun Wukong hadn't slept in a while.

From where he still stood in frozen in front of the bed he'd initially been sitting on, Macaque let out a shaky exhale. Nezha immediately spun around to him.

"Don't you start up now too, monkey. Don't think I'll do the same thing to you as I did for him." He said, Macaque simply waving him off as he slowly made his way over to look down at Wukong.

He tsked.

"Those sleeves are unsalvageable." He said, the others blinking in confusion before glancing back down at Wukong's sleeves. Sure enough, he'd torn them in his panic, to the point there were very visible tear lines. Red Son let out a strangled laugh.

"Seriously? That's what you're focusing on right now?"

-

When Wukong started to stir, the first thing he noticed was the light breeze on his face. He groaned, blearily trying to open his eyes, wincing as he adjusted to the sunshine.

Wait, hadn't he been inside before-

He tried to rush into a standing position, but failed upon the sensation of pain in his chest and legs, and a surprising sense of weakness (and tiredness. But hey, he was always tired, so that didn't count). He fell back down, grunting, before planting a hand against the ground and slowly pulling himself up into a sitting position instead.

The second thing he noticed was that his glamours were down, and there were bandages wrapped around him.

It was pretty obvious, considering he could now actually see his recently singed fur, it looked like it had been...somewhat treated though. It didn't look nearly as messy as it had the last time he'd looked. There were bandages on his arms- the sleeves of his outfit had been taken off. Weird. He didn't remember that happening.

He brought one hand up to his face and was met with a bandage on his cheek, where Nezha's spear had sliced him. Weird, he hadn't thought it was bad enough to have needed a bandage, it was nothing a quick glamour couldn't disguise after all, but then again, he'd always been bad about telling when his own injuries were serious. All he knew was whether or not something hurt.

There were bandages wrapped around his forehead. He could feel the light pressure from them. It reminded him of when Mei had treated his (already glamoured) injuries on the airship, as well as.... something from a lot, lot longer ago.

He wasn't sure if it made him feel comforted or anxious.

Choosing to ignore it, to put it in the back of his mind to never address again, he finally started to take in more of his surroundings.

They were still in the desert on the outskirts of the city. Sandy had said something about there being a nice camping spot where they could all relax for a bit, but based on the surrounding area he was pretty sure they hadn't made it there yet. He could call their surroundings many things, but "nice camping spot" was not one of them.

The van was parked nearby, they'd placed him underneath the shade of the lone tree in the area. Now that he was paying more attention, he realized he was laying on top of at least 3 blankets (he was pretty sure at least one of them belonged to MK), and one of Mei's older jackets was resting on his lap (it must've been resting on his chest and stomach before, and had slid down when he'd tried to stand). A chill went down his spine, so he carefully picked it up and slung it over his shoulders, pulling it close.

The others were sitting on a picnic blanket nearby, eating what looked like sandwiches. The girl must've woken up while he was out, as she was using Tang's arm for balance as she gently sat down. She looked a little shaky. Wukong would have to- to make her a cane with magic in it or- or something. He had to do something, even though it could never possibly make up for what he'd done-

"I see you're finally awake."

Wukong did his best not to jump, but his fur did bristle, as he turned to the left to see Sandy calmly sitting beside him. He had no idea how he'd missed noticing him. The water demon did seem to somehow have a habit of sneaking up on people.

"How are you feeling?" Sandy asked, before holding out a cup of steaming tea for Wukong to take.

Wukong stared down at the cup blankly.

He didn't exactly...like warm drinks.

"Uh-" He started to speak, and then clicked his mouth shut, the sound of his voice surprising him. He sounded gravelly, and he winced as his throat suddenly tinged with pain. He eyed the cup of tea again. He wasn't exactly keen on drinking it, but any form of liquid probably would help, but then he'd have to explain why the sensation would make him wince and then- 

"Chill out a little, Wukong." A new voice said, and both Wukong and Sandy both leaned back as Macaque appeared out of the shadows beside them, holding his hand out over the tea, forming a little shadow portal and letting a couple of ice cubes fall into the cup. Wukong blinked in shock, and Sandy tilted his head a little, clearly confused and about to ask Macaque why he'd done that-

"Ey- Macaque!" Pigsy yelled, and Macaque, who had been slouching, immediately stood ramrod straight. Pigsy stepped forwards, reaching to the side and taking Nezha's spear out of his hands, the god watching him do this in offence and disbelief, but making no move to stop him as Pigsy approached the shadow monkey, spun the staff around-

And bonked Macaque on the head with it.

"I told you- no shadowy business." Pigsy said.

"Right, you got it, no shadowy business." Macaque sidestepped, brushing the spear away from his face. Pigsy huffed, before walking back over to the picnic blanket, tossing the spear back to Nezha, who caught it expertly. Pigsy sat down, turning his head back to face Wukong. "We've got sandwiches and fruits over here, whenever you're ready."

Wukong could do nothing but nod.

Sandy offered him the cup of tea again, and this time Wukong took it, blowing on it instinctively before taking a sip.

It was surprisingly cool.

Pausing, Wukong looked up and over at where Macaque was now leaning against the side of the van, away from everyone else. Macaque, upon noticing him staring, pointedly looked away, pulling his scarf up over the lower half of his face.

Wukong glanced back down at his recently iced tea.

He took another sip.

Sandy, seeing that Wukong was actually drinking something now, stood up, gently patting Wukong on the head as he walked back over to the picnic blanket. Wukong froze mid-sip, for a brief second, before choosing to pretend it hadn't even happened.

He almost choked when MK sat down beside him, heavily leaning against his side (though notably not heavy enough to actually make any of his injuries hurt). Wukong's tail stilled for a split second, before starting to swish back and forth as he processed the close contact.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"Are you...okay?" MK eventually asked, pulling the staff out of his pocket and fiddling with it.

For a moment, Wukong considered lying.

He thought better of it.

"...No." He answered, feeling MK tense beside him. "I haven't been okay in a long time, MK."

MK let out a breath.

And then he wrapped an arm around Wukong's shoulders, pulling him into a one armed hug. Wukong tensed, but then relaxed into the touch.

"You know you can tell us about anything, right? It doesn't have to be me, it could be Tang, or Pigsy, just. Any of us. We'd be willing to listen." MK said, "Even if it is about your collection of merch from that show you like to watch that's hidden under your bed."

"My wha- I don't have- when did you-"

"I have my ways, Monkey King." MK did a little peace sign, before reverting back to being serious. "But like, seriously. You can talk to us."

"...I'll keep that in mind, kid." Wukong said, "...But also I think you might wanna get back to your picnic, I think Mei and Red Son are having a competition on who can steal the most of your food before anyone notices, and Macaque is winning."

"Oh sh-"

MK quickly got up, running back over to his plate, letting out a loud "Hey!" as he witnessed Red Son trying to take another piece of his sandwich off of his plate. Wukong watched him go with a smile, that quickly slipped back into a neutral expression.

He'd have to apologize to MK later. For...everything.

[tellmegoodbye]

✨️ weekend wip game ✨️

Rules: List your WIPs below (if you only write one fic at a time, feel free to include future WIPs/ideas!) then answer the following questions. Then, tag as many people as you have WIPs (or more). (There are also questions for artists/GIF creators below).

Or: harley attempts to answer the following questions without responding with push coda for half of them. 😂

Thank you @lemonlyman-dotcom and @thisbuildinghasfeelings for tagging me!

1. List your WIPs.

First I will list the WIPs I'm actively working on because there's only two of those

Push coda - we all know about this one

5 scenes before the wedding and 1 after - this one is pretty self explanatory, and I've shared some snippets from this as well

And these are the WIPs I have planned for the future

3x08 + 3x13 coda - this is pretty much what it says on the tin

hurt/comfort fic - two parts, the first one being hurt TK and the second one being hurt Carlos, this fic is going to focus on the unique ways they take care of each other

"green eyes" fic - this one was inspired by a song and the plan is to do an entire s1 fic from Carlos' perspective, but we'll see what happens

spicy fic (that is the working title we're rolling with for now) - this is essentially four chapters of pure smut with a ton of different emotions rolled into one ultimate spicy experience...at least that's my vision as of now

murder mystery AU - I still desperately want to write this, but the problem is that I initally outlined it for gallavich, accidentally deleted said outline (that I spent months working on) and now I'm considering switching it to tarlos

2. Which of your WIPs is currently the longest?

Push coda!! My beloved and belothed...I swear to god this was not meant to be as long as it ended up being. It's currently at 27k and I'm still stuck on this one scene that's bugging me, but the end is in sight!

3. Which WIP do you expect will end up the longest?

I have no idea what came over me when I wrote the majority of push coda...that's the longest thing I have ever written as of now.

I'm sure the murder mystery fic will end up being longer if I do end up writing that, but out of the five different future WIPs I listed it's the least likely to see the light of day just because time is a factor for me.

4. Which WIP is your favorite/the most enjoyable to write? Why?

I think the spicy fic is going to be extremely enjoyable. I have so many ideas for that one!

5. Which WIP do you find the most intimidating to write? Why?

Definitely the murder mystery fic. There's a lot of intricacies in that fic and it took a lot of planning when I initially outlined it. I'm usually a more "go with the flow" writer so it's very out of my element.

6. Which WIP do you experience the most self-doubt about? Why?

Probably push coda right now just because it's been a while since I've written and now that it's nearly done I'm afraid it's too long or that the pacing is weird, but I've been staring at this thing for so long that it's hard to be objective about it.

7. Which of your WIPs will you seek out a beta/sensitivity reader for? Why?

All of them, hopefully. I'm scared to ask people but it's always nice to have an extra set of eyes, especially if you've been working on something for a while.

If anyone is offering, I wouldn't say no. 👀

8. Have any of your WIPs been struck by the curse of writers block?

All of them!

9. Which WIP has your favorite OC? Tell us about them?

I have an OC in my murder mystery AU that is very interesting in my opinion. I can't say a lot about this character without spoiling anything, but let's just say this character is a lot of fun to write. I also don't often make OCs, so that was a fairly new experience for me as well.

10. Which WIP is the sexiest?

WIP that is currently in progress? The 5+1 fic has a smut scene at the end that I've really been enjoying writing. If we're talking about my future WIPs, then of course it's going to be the spicy fic!

11. Which WIP is the angstiest?

Push coda! Some of the 5+1 fic is also pretty angsty, but I think as of now push coda is winning in that regard.

That's just what I've currently written. I have a feeling the hurt/comfort fic is going to be pretty angsty as well.

12. Which WIP has the best characterization in your opinion?

I'm not sure. I always try my best when it comes to characterization, but in terms of what I've currently written, the push coda delves much deeper into the characters' emotions than the 5+1 fic does, but that's probably just because I have a lot more written for push coda.

13. Which WIP has the best scene setting in your opinion?

Push coda for sure. There's just something about the combination of bad weather and angst. Very visually satisfying for me.

14. Which WIP have you worked the hardest on?

........push coda, again.

15. Which WIP do you have the highest expectations for? Why?

I have high expectations of everything I write. I'm definitely a perfectionist.

16. Do you dream about any of your WIPs?

I never remember my dreams, but I think about my fics a lot! Part of what helps me visualize the scenes I write is by letting them play out in my head like a movie.

17. Do any of your WIPs have particular complexities that your other fics don't?

The 5+1 fic is a new format for me! It's been a challenge but also a lot of fun.

18. Which WIP is the funniest or has the most humor?

I don't write much humor. I'm sadly not very good at that.

19. Do any of your WIPs contain outside POVs or a deep dive on a character other than the main ship? How are you finding that process?

I have no plans for this but I would absolutely be interested in an outside POV fic, especially a character like Owen. I could totally write a whole fic from his perspective.

20. Tell us one thing we don't know about one or more of your WIPs.

Push coda has some song lyrics included in between each scene. The lyrics are from this song.

-

I'm not sure who has and hasn't done this so open tag. Feel free to tag me if you do this!

[writingwhilecaffeinated]

20 Questions for Fan Fic Writers~

First, thank you @crotchety-old-emu for tagging me, it was kind of you, and I had fun doing this!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

49, admittedly quite a few unfinished. I’m hoping now that I’m older and on a better roll with finishing I’ll go back to some… eventually. This is not including old stuff from FFN and LJ that just either wouldn’t go well on AO3 Or don’t have fandoms to speak of anymore.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

436,778

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently Bridgerton. But done Harry Potter, Sense8, The Old Guard, The Little Mermaid (Live Action. Jonah and Halle were precious, ok???), Doctor Who, Julie and the Phantoms, Narnia, Avengers… waaaaaay back on LJ I did some KPOP fandoms and WAAAAAAYYY back on FFN I write for InuYasha, Merlin, Prince of Tennis. Like, I was YOUNG. It was a time. 😆

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. no matter the years (my heart is yours) - Bridgerton Reverse Harem. Penelope with Anthony and Benedict and eventually Colin, but it’s hidden because it’s still set in the Regency. No incest, just good old polyandry. While admittedly the smut scenes are explicit, it had a lot more emotional heart than even I originally planned.

2. Bathymetry of the Heart - Little Mermaid Live Action, telling of Eric/Ariel after they’re reunited. Just emotional fluff.

3. some of it’s transcendental (some of it’s just really dumb) - Bridgerton, Benelope story. Basically season 3 ish if it became Benelope. I had a vision of what I wanted, no one else had written it so I just… did it myself. It is also very sweet and more emotion than what I originally intended. Not as much smut as I thought.

3. Curiosities - continuation of the first Ariel/Eric.

4. Proud of Your Boy - Same as above

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try very hard to respond. I don’t always get to them, but I try to even to those that are just a heart or something. I only don’t respond to outright mean comments. Better to just ignore.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

One that was a one-shot from forever ago, a super weird crossover to. It was soon after the avengers movie came out and it was a crossover with Doctor Who, and Steve fell for River Song but he would never tell her cause she so obviously love the Doctor. Don’t judge me! Honestly it’s a one-shot series called “i defy you stars.”

7. What’s the fic you wrote eith the happiest ending?

Most of them, I’m not good with writing sad endings. ANGSTY middles yeah, but not endings most of the time.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

For sure! Mostly on my reverse harem, the ABC+P one. People though I didn’t like Colin for how his character was treated and ended up, and that’s not it at all. Colin was just in a completely different place from his brothers, and in my head even past the story I wrote he grows more and fits into the family created beautifully and maturely, eventually staying home full time. But I didn’t have enough space in that narrative to tell that so it didn’t come off well to most people.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do! I didn’t used to, I used to be very uncomfortable with it. But I wanted something specific in order to tell the story and it just… happened? Now I’ve become a heathen and gotten slightly more kinky with it. 😆

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Yup, see above. The Avengers and Doctor Who one for sure.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of/remember.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not in the sense of splitting the writing but definitely in terms of plot planning!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I can’t pick one, I’m sorry. I’m Bridgerton right now it’s Benelope (let me be clear I LOVE Benophie and Polin! I’m just a crackship girly by nature). HP it’s Fremione or Dramione. The Old Guard It’s Nicky/Joe. There’s a lot more I’m forgetting.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Probably Pick Your Poison, a Dramione fic where Hermione enters an underground ring that’s like Russian roulette but with poisons. I liked the idea.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Oof um… I’m tough on myself. That’s hard. Can I say “ideas”? Im great at developing plot points and stories, maybe even character reflections.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Details that aren’t what the characters are doing. I focus too much on body movement and not what else is going around that could tell the story.

Oh, and commas are my enemy.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Limited personally. If the character knows another language I do my best to research it, but otherwise I avoid.

19. First fandom you write for?

InuYasha on FFN.

20. Favorite fics you’ve written?

Probably some of it’s transcendental (some of it’s just really dumb) because I proved to myself writing that gif I could write a chartered story to completion, and with writing I was proud of.

Also one of my The Old Guard ones, mostly because I wrote a fight scene I was proud of -> When You Least Expect It

Tagging @velvetcovered-brick, my lovely friend who has been helping me talk out my latest fics lately. ♥️♥️♥️ youuuuuu.

[mosshook]

20 questions for fic writers

thank you sm for the tag, @mangatxt / ani!!! <3

to any of my friends who write fic, feel free to do this if you'd like! (@astertiae, @catbandits) this is just for fun :]

the questions are below the cut.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

12, currently

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

44.5k

3. What fandoms do you write for?

right now, i'm not actively working on anything. but if i get a chance to work on a project over my holiday break in december, it'll probably be for our flag means death or lord of the rings.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

two very old merlin fics, my singular mandalorian fic, and both of my mob psycho fics that are over 1k words.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i usually do, yes! i think it's really cool that people take the time to leave a comment after they're done reading something of mine, be it long or short. it touches me every time, and even if i don't always know what to say in response sometimes, i appreciate them so, so much.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

probably ouranos. it's canon-compliant with the merlin timeline for season 4, and it follows lancelot from his sacrificial death for merlin, to his limbo existence in underworld, to being resurrected by morgana and eventually being killed in combat with arthur.

on a language level, it's also one of the first fics i wrote that started to lean more into what my style currently is! so it's kind of sweet on the occasion i reread it and can see my roots.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

definitely without a question it's this is a life. no fictional character has ever touched me quite like reigen, and i wanted to finish that specific piece on a note that was less emblematic of an ending and moreso felt like a triumphant beginning. like a promise of a new, better tomorrow.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

i did once, and in hindsight it's pretty funny. but basically, i made critical comments about a character on twitter, so someone went into my comments section and told me to NEVER write for this one specific pairing anymore. (for the record, i didn't. but that was because i realized the pairing in question was kind of lame.)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i tried my hand at it once. it went horribly, but it was a learning experience. let the record know it was SO MUCH HARDER than i thought it would be.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

not really, no! i mean, i published a self-insert fic as a joke for my friends a few years ago, but that's not quite the same thing.

if we're talking "not published and will never see the light of day" stuff, i did write a little blurb where keanu reeves' jonathan harker meets alex winters' vampire marko from the lost boys.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

yes. the title was taken, as was the premise, from a popular author in the community.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

not to my knowledge!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

yeah!!! nothing serious that ever got published, but me and my friends have collaborated on mini-projects together and have old google docs together. i used to write mini fics with my friends all the time on twitter, but sadly i never archived them.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

probably yuuri and victor from yuri on ice. i can't express enough how much yuri on ice changed my life when it came out, or the sheer euphoria i felt as a kid in the closet watching someone so much like me - yuuri - be out, and happy, and brave. i miss my show so, so much.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

my aquarium fic with serizawa as a education volunteer and reigen as a schoolteacher who takes his kids there on field trips. i have so many little scenes from it and an incredibly specific vision for it as someone who loves the sea, has a lifelong appreciation for marine life, and has always wanted to live by the shore.

16. What are your writing strengths?

oh man. i think that i do a good job of integrating leitmotifs and playing into my semi-poetic voice. i also think that over the years, i've gotten better at creating tangible atmospheres, specifically with the quiet. i love portraying the quiet.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

grammatically, i'm a bit of a nightmare sometimes. dialogue takes a while for me to develop, too.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

i wouldn't do this unless i knew the other language well (like vietnamese). most likely i don't think i'll end up doing this at all because even with my personal and professional writing, i'm hesitant to write in another language that isn't english.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

merlin. i was 11 and wrote my first fic on my ipad in the pages app...it was a merlin fix-it that was over 15,000 words long, and it was absolutely atrocious. said ipad is at my parent's house locked forever because i forgot the password, and i hope it stays that way. some things should stay lost.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

honestly? i think it's still principles of stellar connectivity. i wrote this for community during lockdown in late 2020, and i conceptualized a lot of it with my friend, @combeferres. (they're credited at the beginning as the person who made the fic's mixtape!) it's got everything i love: rock music, troy and abed being silly, national parks, stargazing, celestial motifs. i wanted to do a serious character study with sitcom characters while still retaining the core of who they are and what makes them so special, and to this day, i think i was pretty successful.

[theeliampayne]

number 17 from the drabble list?

When Louis agreed to Harry taking him for a surprise trip, he hadn't expected them to actually have to drive out of town - even if the town was only twenty minutes away.

Although he should have been prepared for that, knowing Harry.

But once the large sign for the local zoo came into Louis' vision, he knew something bad would happen.

He had to explain the situation to Harry.

"Em, Haz," Louis tried to get the boy's attention.

"What is it, Lou?" Harry quickly glanced over to Louis. He then kept his focus on finding parking, almost missing what Louis said.

"I can't be here."

"What?"

"I can't be here," Louis repeated slowly, looking over at Harry expectantly.

"What do you mean you can't be here?"

"I mean that I've been kicked out before. Banned, unwelcomed, removed from the list of people who are allowed back."

"I hope you're joking," Harry looked over at Louis once he parked the car.

"I wish I was, but, alas, I've been banned. Never to be seen here again," Louis responded, dramatically throwing his arm over his forehead.

"What the hell did you do to get banned at a zoo?" Harry felt like he would regret asking that.

"It's a bit of a long story."

"Just tell me, Lou, so I'll at least have an idea of what's going on."

"Okay.."

"So, remember when Zayn and I went out of town a few years back?" Louis started.

"Yeah, I remember that," Harry nodded.

"Well, we went down here one of those days. At first we had planned on just looking at the animals, but we figured, what's the fun in that?"

"Oh god. Both of you here at the same time definitely wasn't a smart decision."

"I'm going to ignore that," Louis rolled his eyes. "Anyways, as I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted."

"Just keep going."

"Fine. So when we were near the gift shop, Zayn thought it would be funny if I made a scene, right? A whole big thing."

Harry groaned. "You listened to him?"

"Hey, don't you insult my Zaynie like that," Louis joked, pointing a finger at Harry.

Harry giggled a bit, shaking his head. "Idiot."

"Ehem, anyway," Louis cleared his throat. "When Zayn told me to do that, I decided I should go all out. Standing up on a table, taking my shirt off, screaming. Might have called this whole place a shit show. It was hilarious. Even out ran a security guard."

"And Zayn, the fucker - he never got banned. Claimed he didn't know what had happened with all that. Smart lad."

Harry stayed quiet for a moment, before barking out a laugh. "You're telling me you got banned for that? Louis, you could have done better than that."

"I have never been more proud of you than I am right now. You've learned so much," Louis responded dramatically, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Only because I'm around you so often."

"And you love it."

"Maybe."

[erigold13261]

B2J, especially Mayday really remind me of songs Rewrite by Asian Kungfu Generation and Zankyo Sakka by Aimer! Since both songs are in Japanese, I recommend you listen to the English covers! (Caleb Hyles Cover for Rewrite, and mewsic cover for Zankyo Sanka)

The WHOLE song Rewrite and the lines

No matter how hard, I will never stray

I will choose my heart, not whatever you say

I'll follow the light of the dream that I drew, I know I'll find a way

I didn't come so far and cry so hard to run away, it's time to go!

And even if I won't be chosen, I will choose myself

For Zankyo Sanka! Sorry for the long ask! Hope you have a great morning/day/evening!

Yoooo! Those songs are so good! Putting my analysis under a read more. It gets pretty long lol

Rewrite:

Okay I can definitely see how Rewrite makes you think of Mayday. It actually makes me think of some kind of standoff between Mayday and Tatiana. Tatiana rewriting the past and May rewriting what the future holds.

Like that first stanza of lyric really fits Mayday:

The reason I want to spit out these sentiments, Is I have no other proof I even exist My future that I thought I’d managed to grasp, Is a contradiction of all I thought that I had

They really just feel like May trying to make a mark for herself, saying what's on her mind and creating her own future because she wants to be remembered, she want to make proof that she exists in this world.

The next stanza is a lot more Tatiana:

The reason I want this old image erased Is I see my limits and I’m out of place In the window of my own self consciousness I see last year’s calendar with no dates on it

And it shows how Tatiana turned her back on her past, shut out everything and erased what once was because she wasn't who she needed to be.

Now I, I rewrite All these worthless visions And I’ll be unforgettable Come to life, and rewrite All my bad ideas I will make them disappear before your eyes

This stanza above goes back to Mayday with some Tatiana in it. They are both rewriting what they think is worthless. Mayday rewrites to become recognizable, give herself life and purpose, to keep going into a future she wants to forge herself. While Tatiana is rewriting to get rid of her past mistakes, making a future she thinks will learn from what she has done. But her rewriting only erases what she has done so people don't learn. They forget. Not what Mayday wants, which is to be remembered and for people to learn from her.

I cut off all my youthful feelings year after year After all they don’t mean much, they’ll soon disappear This rotten heart These filthy lies

And finally this last stanza (before the Japanese part which I will try to analyze thanks to someone's lyrics in the comment) is basically all Tatiana. She cut away her past, she threw them away and made them disappear. However, Tatiana never saw herself as the villain until Mayday came along, so I think those last two lines are Mayday talking/thinking about Tatiana and how she is a liar with a filthy heart because May has no idea of Tatiana's past because of the rewriting and erasing that has gone on.

Keshite riraitoshite / Erase and rewrite Kudaranai chougensou / the pointless ultra-fantasy Wasurarenu sonzaikan o / and the unforgettable sense of existence

Putting the last two stanza together (I was going to but I actually split it to make it easier to read). But these both again are about Tatiana and Mayday. It kinda feels like it is at the time of their battle, but slightly before and after, like a pendulum swinging between two moments in time from different perspectives.

The before fights scenes would be the"erase" part of the song, where both Tatiana and Mayday are trying to erase each other's fantasies and "unforgettable... existence."

May wants to wake Tatiana up from this complacent place that Tati is in where she thinks everything is fine when it's obviously not. To shatter Tatiana's existence and make her realize no matter what she does to erase the past, it won't be truly forgotten with how much influence Tatiana has.

Tatiana on the other hand wants to snap May out of this fantasy that rock is the answer to everything, make May realize that she is not qualified to rule Vinyl City because of her short-sightedness. Tatiana wants to erase May's influence on the city, on the world, and on herself, but the influence that May has caused already is never going to be undone, the problems of the city and Tatiana are now seen by everyone.

After the fight though, that is where the "rewrite" part comes in. Together they rewrite not a fantasy, but a future. A future they all thought was a pointless fantasy until after the revolution made it real. They are rewriting their existence from the past back into the narrative while also writing their future together so that it will be unforgettable.

Kishikaisei / Like rising from the grave Riraitoshite / Rewrite Imi no nai souzou mo kimi o nasu gendouryoku / the meaningless imagination that is also the force that drives you Zenshin zenrei o kure yo / Give it your whole body and soul

This last stanza feels like Tatiana's speech at the end of the game. She is looking back on the events that happened. She sees how Mayday rose from the grave of Rock, how she rewrote history. Not only that, but even though the word "meaningless" is used here, I can see Tatiana also saying May's dreams and imagination are "meaningless" but in a good way.

May doesn't have true meaning behind her thoughts a lot of the time. She is impulsive and reckless, but she has an imagination and morals that guide her. To Tatiana, these feels kinda meaningless, but she knows they mean so much to Mayday to the point that they are her driving force and what was used to stop NSR and bring a brighter future.

If anything, Tatiana calls it "meaningless" BECAUSE these are the same things that drove her when she was younger. The only difference is, that Mayday gave her body and soul to her imagination while Tatiana didn't. Mayday was able to do and to continue what Tatiana wasn't able to. So even though Tatiana might personally think it is meaningless, she knows that it is what is going to let Mayday write her own future and create and unforgettable existence.

Zankyou Sanka:

You know what, even though you gave me lines to specifically look at, I am going to also talk about this whole song because it literally sounds like Mayday and Zuke fighting against NSR. Maybe not entirely in order but definitely most of the cast (So get ready for more analysis!)

A flower slowly bloomed right here Glowing with red and spreading love around And with the moon shining high up above, they melt the harrowing colours away

So obviously with this first stanza it feels more like it is about Yinu. Yinu full of love, mainly from Mama spreading it. It is a nice and welcoming sight that NSR likes to promote to people. A workplace that a little girl can happily play piano and spread her happiness, love, and passion is something many people would love to have.

I was going to say the second half reminds me of DJSS, but that was just because they mentioned the moon. It actually feels more like the moon is acting like a spotlight onto B2J as they are at the Lights Up audition. Being on stage in the moonlight (stage light) melt away the harrowing colors, which would be the anxiety and stress that B2J felt before starting their audition. Once they started they no longer felt anxious as they let the music flow through them.

Rolling with the wind, stumbling again But each time I fall, I grow stronger and then I will embrace all the light and the pain, the anger deep inside Because if I won't be the chosen one, I'll choose myself

Okay, this stanza is DEFINITELY about B2J. The two just going with the flow a lot of the time but stumbling every so often. Especially if they get hit in the fight/level. However, they get stronger and more determined as they go on, even if they get hit. The two take that pain and push through to the end where they... get rejected.

They are embraced by red lights, but pain, by anger. They weren't chosen, Tatiana full on disrespected the two. And to Mayday, if she isn't going to be chosen by the elites, she will choose herself and show them what she can truly do. To make them regret ever rejecting her and Zuke as they will take that pain and anger and only grow stronger than NSR can handle.

I will shout and let my voice roar throughout the darkest of nights I'll wipe my tears to find the light Letting the sound ring and reverberate past everything in sight

And here is May's freakout before the blackout. I can see her crying and screaming at the pain she feels. So angry and bitter at NSR. Making a new song in her head to call them out for their shitty behaviour and treatment to smaller artists. She becomes an echo chamber for her own thoughts as she convinces Zuke to help her bring back light to the city. They both come together, looking past everything in their way to focus on the light they want to find.

Even if I'm not sure quite yet what every sound really means, or who I want to hear me sing No matter if I am scared or in pain No matter how long the struggle will take I'll let my song ring out loud!

This stanza feels like something that goes on in both of their heads as they fight their way through everything. They don't really know who they are fighting for. Yes they say they are fighting for the little guys, but they are also fighting for themselves in a selfish manner. They are fighting on behalf of Kliff without even knowing it. They are fighting for freedom in their heads but also potentially a worse future of control as they could go down the exact same path Tatiana did and make Rock the only genre.

But they fight still. Through the pain, through the struggles, they let their song be heard. Their voices echo with the voices of everyone who likes rock, of everyone who hates EDM, of everyone who sees the flaws that NSR has. This song rings out loud and becomes heard by the masses, boosting May and Zuke further into their fight for the light.

And even in a thousand nights, a single one is all you truly need As all the colours then reveal themselves, the scent of crimson covers it all

This would be the fight with DJSS. Out of all the hundreds of nights that the Lights Up audition has happened, out of all the years NSR has been running, all it took was this one night for the blood to hit the water and the course of history to change. A colorful glimmer of hope shines through the glass soon to be shattered as B2J defeat their first boss, showing that they are stronger.

No matter how hard, I will never stray I will choose my heart, not whatever you say I'll follow the light of the dream that I drew, I know I'll find a way I didn't come so far and cry so hard to run away, it's time to go!

This stanza kinda feels like Sayu's battle. May already is following her heart, she isn't straying from the path just because of Sayu's words. Zuke on the other hand, because even though he is in this 100% with May, his heart isn't fully in it, that is why Sayu is able to through him off his game for a moment with the "follow your heart Zuke" line.

And May snaps him out of it. She didn't come all this way, infiltrate the internet/Sayu's level, just to be stopped by a silly comment about following her heart. She IS following her heart! She's not going to run away, it's time to go!

And even if I won't be chosen, I will choose myself

And again, their resolve to beat NSR is once again bolstered as they defeat another artist. May doesn't waver in her choice for herself.

I will shout and wither my voice, and break through all of the dark A burning flower lights a spark Here in this world that feels hopeless and vague, my song will leave a mark

Now this stanza I at first only say Yinu and Mama, but looking at it a bit longer I can also see Neon in it (not so much 1010) and a bit of Eve.

Overall, it feels a lot like Yinu's stanza right now. She is fighting her own battle through the dark, just like May, but her world is hopeless and vague at times. The only thing keeping her going is her mom and her piano. They both leave marks on her that help her through the dark.

And Mayday destroys that. She lights that flower on fire. She makes Yinu feel hopeless again. And in turn, May is left with a mark from her actions. That song Yinu and Mama play at the end leaves a mark on B2J to think about what they've done. They just made the world hopeless for a little girl. They don't know how to truly feel about all of this anymore and are wondering if they are doing the right thing.

Lighting that flower on fire lit a spark though. It brought out 1010 and Neon's fight, especially Neon's. He's seen how dark and hopeless the world can be. He's broken through the dark into the light. His voice reaches out as he shouts commands and sings, even if it has been withered from war and injuries, he still can leave his own mark.

And as he is defeated, feeling that hopeless, vague feeling he never thought he'd feel again. That is when he marks B2J. He asks them what are they fighting for. He demands to know what they have planned. He is back in the dark while May and Zuke leave him there, in the ashes that they made from their fire.

As they make it to Eve, someone who still feels hopeless and vague, someone who is trying to shout her voice out and break through the dark, only for her shouts to wither away and not be heard, she takes the mark that Zuke left on her and uses it as a spark for their fight.

I'll count every single night so I can paint every morning I'll scream out my voice, so hear me sing No matter if I regret everything No matter how high the limits will swing I'll drown it all out, and shout!

As Eve's fight continues in this next stanza, we see how is trying her hardest to reach out to someone. Pleading for people to hear her, anyone. She is counting her nights, she is painting her mornings, she can't just live because no one is there to help her, no one is there to hear her.

She shouts out, and thankfully Zuke is able to finally hear her and that allows her to hear beyond her own shouts. She is able to see the paintings of mornings she made finally and appreciate the work she has gone through.

The rest of the stanza can also be seen as May and Tatiana's big fight. No matter if May regrets her actions or how high she swung at NSR, she still pushes through as she thinks she is right. She thinks having her shouts be heard will be the correct thing to fix the problems. She drowns out all her regrets and thoughts, trying to get through the fight.

And she does. But instead of continuing to drown things out, she stops and hears Tatiana. Here's the screams of the past, of the satellite, of all her regrets coming up to hit her in the face.

She chooses to help NSR. She is no longer going to choose herself, because she sees all pain, suffering, and mistakes she has caused to people. But she also doesn't push the pain and regrets away.

After she helps NSR against the satellite, everything is drowned out by her shouts and tears as she is finally chosen by NSR, and she is able to reject them because she wants to choose freedom and growth.

[osp-originals]

That Time Lucas Broke his Ass and Passed Out

This is set in Penelope, Armando and Lucas’ sophomore (second) year, when Pen had just joined the film club, so she and Lucas have not know each other very long

Inspired by #7 and #2 on my favorite whump tropes list

TW: breaking bones, syncope/fainting, avoiding medical treatment (due to the cost)

———

All he was going to do was walk backwards while filming. He had done this many times before. Totally normal situation.

Little did he know, this time would be anything but normal.

“Camera?” the director, Henry, said.

“Rolling,” Lucas responded as he pressed the ‘record’ button on the device.

It was his first time using the university’s biggest, heaviest, fanciest, and most expensive camera.

“Sound?” Henry asked.

“Speed,” said the sound tech, Penelope.

“Scene one, shot one-A, take two, marker,” Armando, the assistant director, said.

He then let the top of the clapboard fall, making the distinctive loud click. He stepped to the side.

“Action!”

The actors began saying their lines and walking toward Lucas. He started walking backwards quickly to keep pace with them. His mind was focused intensely on keeping the shot steady and walking smoothly. His feet barely lifted off the ground.

His heel caught on something. Sounds of concern came from several people in the room.

In the next few seconds, several thoughts raced through his mind.

Oh shit, I’m falling!

I can’t drop this camera. It’s way too expensive!

Welp, this is going to hurt, but it’s a sacrifice I’m going to have to make.

In real time, it just looked like him falling unceremoniously on his butt without even trying to catch himself.

It was way worse than he thought it would be. His tailbone smacked the tile floor hard. The pain shot up like a bullet through his spine. He definitely felt the right side of the bone crack.

“FUCK!” he yelled out involuntarily.

“Ooch, that’s gotta hurt,” Henry said.

Lucas squeezed his eyes shut and breathed shakily and slowly, trying not to scream.

“Are you okay?” Penelope asked.

The lightheadedness started to creep in.

Oh, I should’ve expected this…

He carefully set the camera down next to him.

“I think I actually broke my ass,” Lucas said.

Henry couldn’t hold back laughter. Lucas cracked a slight smile. He couldn’t say it wasn’t funny, even though it was extremely painful.

“Seriously?” Henry asked incredulously.

“Yeah, seriously,” Lucas responded.

Henry laughed even harder.

“Here, I’ll help you up,” Penelope offered.

He finally opened his eyes to see that she was standing next to him, holding her hand out for him to take.

He didn’t want to move, but he couldn’t just sit there forever. He grabbed her hand and started to pull himself up. The pain spiked, as he expected it to, and he pushed through it and stood up.

That may have been a bad idea.

The lightheadedness increased as well, as it usually did in response to pain. The room started to spin. He stumbled forward a few steps as his vision filled with colorful sparks. Penelope caught him by the shoulder and steadied him.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, just a bit dizzy,” he answered, leaning his head down to try to get the blood flow back. “It happens to me sometimes.”

“You should probably sit down then.”

“I’d rather lie down, considering my ass is broken,” he quipped.

“Okay, yeah,” she said with a laugh.

She started leading him to the nearest bench, her hand on his back. He staggered again. His balance was practically nonexistent. Penelope put his arm over her shoulder so he could lean on her.

He tried to blink away the colored dots but they wouldn’t go away. His legs got weaker and his head spun faster.

He heard her say something, but he couldn’t understand. It felt like he was floating away and falling asleep at the same time.

***

He seemed to be leaning on her shoulders more and more. She looked over and noticed his face looked paler than normal.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she said.

The blush vanished from his cheeks. His eyes rolled back and he went limp in her arms.

“Lucas!?”

Luckily, he was rather light and she was rather strong, so she lowered him gently to the floor so he was laying on his front.

“Did he just pass out?” Armando asked in disbelief.

“I guess so,” Penelope answered. “Lucas?”

Everyone started to gather around him.

“What the hell? Why would he pass out?” Henry wondered aloud.

“I don’t know,” Penelope said. “He said he was dizzy, and he said ‘it happens sometimes,’ and then he just… went out.”

“Oh, if it happens sometimes then this might be, like, normal for him,” said senior and director of photography, Olivia. “So maybe we shouldn’t freak out about it yet. Plus, I’ve seen him get dizzy before.”

“Did he faint though?” Penelope questioned.

“No, he just sat down for a bit and had a snack and he was fine,” Olivia explained.

“Look, I think he’s waking up,” Armando noted.

***

The first thing he was aware of was some voices talking around him. The second was the white-hot pain in his ass. (No, not inside his ass. In the bone.)

Then he opened his eyes. Things were somewhat blurry, but he could see the floor and two sets of shoes and someone kneeling in front of his face. He noticed his cheek was pressed up against the cold tile floor.

Why am I laying on the floor?

He blinked the blur away and recognized the person kneeling in front of him was Penelope.

Nothing made sense. He didn’t understand what anyone was saying, where he was, or why he was there. Penelope seemed to realize she wasn’t getting through to him and placed her hand on his back. The feeling of it helped him stop panicking.

That’s really nice of her. She looks so worried about me, too. What should I say to her?

“Hi, Penelope,” he slurred out.

“Oh, hey, he said something!” she said to the others. “Hi, Lucas. Can you hear me?”

“Yeah, I hear you,” he responded.

“Good.”

“How do you feel right now?” Olivia asked him.

“Uh.. weird,” Lucas replied.

The feeling in his head was hard to describe, and it certainly wasn’t a state of mind that lent itself well to putting difficult descriptions into words.

“Are you still dizzy? Lightheaded?” she asked.

“No, that’s not it,” he told her.

The feeling was slowly disappearing.

“Well, have you ever passed out before?” Penelope asked him.

He took a second to process the fact that that must be what just happened—he passed out—and then to remember whether it had happened before.

“Yeah, I have,” he said. “Twice, I think. And it’s always been when I was in a lot of pain.”

“Ohhh. I guess this makes sense, then,” Olivia figured.

Lucas propped himself up on his elbows.

“Yeah, and a couple of times, I’ve just gotten a bit dizzy when something hurts. A lot of times, actually.”

“Oh, alright,” Penelope said. “Well, if you think you actually broke a bone, I guess you should go to an ER or something.”

“What are they gonna do, put my ass in a cast? No. I’m not gonna pay a bunch of money for them to tell me it’s broken and send me home.”

“They’d probably give you prescription painkillers,” Olivia suggested.

“Maybe,” Lucas admitted. “But I’m fine without them.”

“Are you sure?” Penelope questioned. “You did just say you pass out from pain a lot. That sounds… rather inconvenient.”

“It’ll be fine. I have Tylenol.”

“If you say so.”

———

The end

I’ll definitely be doing some follow-ups to this set at different points in his recovery!

[yhwhrulz777]

Morning and Evening with A.W. Tozer Devotional for July 23

Tozer in the Morning Spirit Taught

Having as the High Priest of our profession the incarnation of all divine wisdom and having as our source book of religious knowledge the holy Scriptures, the soundest and saltiest work ever written, why do we tend so easily to become confused about things spiritual? I believe the causes are four, and I propose to state them in this and the next chapters.

The first cause of religious confusion is our failure to understand that the truth as it is in Christ Jesus is a moral and spiritual thing and not something intellectual merely. Let a man approach the burning bush of divine truth with the desire to grasp it in his hand and the intensity of the fire will blind his eyes and cauterize his hands and face to the point of insensibility. Before the awesome vision of revealed truth, the human intellect should kneel and hide its face in trembling adoration. Because Moses was afraid to look upon God, the Lord could speak to him face to face as a man speaks to his friend; but God hides His face from the man who does not instinctively hide his own.

Intellectual pride, then, with its corollary, irreverence, is one cause of religious confusion. Satan's original doctrine, "You will be like God, knowing . . ." (Genesis 3:5) has been accepted by millions of religious persons through the centuries and commands a big following today even among professedly orthodox Christians. In spite of all Christ said while among men and all His inspired apostles wrote after His ascension, we seem never to learn that the inner essence of truth cannot be apprehended by the mental faculties. We still come at the awesome supernatural reality headfirst.

Tozer in the Evening Grappling with Change

We need sweeping reformation. Let me give a definition of reformation as it is given in a religious dictionary: "Change by removal of faults or abuses, and a restoration to a former good estate." Now that is not so bad. I do not know how anybody who believes he or she is a Christian could ever object to changing in the direction of the removal of faults and abuses toward the restoration to a former good estate. The problem is change, which disturbs many people. They have accepted the status quo as being the very tablets given by God on the mountain. Most people, if they happen to be in any church anywhere, accept the status quo without knowing or caring to inquire how it came to be. In other words, they do not ask, "Oh God, is this of You, is this divine, is this out of the Bible?" Because it was done and is being done, and because a lot of people are doing it, they assume it is all right. Then songs are written about it, and it gets into magazines. P retty soon people are called to it, and the first thing we know we have gotten into a religious situation that is not of God. It is not according to Scripture, and God is not pleased with it at all. Rather, He is angry. Yet we do not know it because we do not like the word change. The change took place slowly, before we arrived on the scene, and we think because it is everywhere it is therefore right. We accept the status quo, the existing state of affairs, and say, "This is it," forgetting that history demonstrates that religions invariably degenerate.

Copyright Statement This material is considered in the public domain.

[leonidascinema]

FILM ADAPTATION

Meet our film adaptation team!

Alex Lennen - director

India Marshall - Cinematographer

Fionntan McCaughey - Sound designer/recordist

Niamh McPherson - Scriptwriter

Nikola Jurcaga - Producer

Leonidas Ibarra (me) - Editor

PRE-PRODUCTION

We sat down before class to discuss what short story we wanted to adapt for our short film. After going through many ideas, we finally settled on the Cop and the Anthem.

Obviously this part of the production was primarily focused on Niamh getting the script done and Nikola preparing all the paperwork, schedule, and booking the necessary equipment. I tried my best to be as present in this process, sharing my input about what would/wouldn't be possible as editor. I also talked with Alex and India about the visual idea they had for the film as well as the pacing to get a rough idea and be prepared.

Once everything was ready, Nikola sent us all the information and schedule for us to prepare.

PRODUCTION

Production was shot over two days on the 17th and 18th of March. I was present as runner throughout the whole shoot. We faced a lot of obstacles, most of them being unwanted noises and people interrupting, which we could only do so much about. It also started raining at a point, which delayed the shoot quite a bit.

I had to look over the equipment most the time and got to meet a lovely man who told me a bit about Dean village and lived right next to where the equipment was kept.

When I wasn't looking after the equipment, I was helping Fionntan with sound, and we tried our best to get as much coverage in the time frame that we had.

I would have loved for us to get more time, because with the two days that we had there would be little coverage for me to play around with.

POST-PRODUCTION!!!!

Now that the shoot for film adaptation is finally over, it is my time to shine as editor.

Before starting anything, I had made sure I was comfortable enough in my editing skills by attending as many tutorials as I could (medical consultations and surgery over the months of March/April made attendance quite difficult). I also made use of the avid resources that were given to us in previous semesters and took notes.

Once all the files were sent to me, Alex set my deadline and I got to work. The toughest part of editing this film was definitely the sound, and trying to pick footage that wasn't going to be a nightmare to manage for the sound designer. I had little coverage and a lot of scenes did not have shots that linked together, so I resorted to whatever I had. For instance, I used B-roll footage of Soapy walking to link two scenes, and I reluctantly used a cut to black as a scene transition, but it worked alright as a whole. I had a lot of fun solving all these tiny details and was particularly happy with how the busker scene looked.

I also checked in with Alex with every scene I edited to make sure the film was still accurate to his vision. He was very responsive and gave me a lot of useful feedback that I applied to the best of my ability.

After the edit was done and the film was in picture lock, I was still asked to go back on it to make changes for the scene with the Lady. Alex was able to show it to different audiences and they mentioned the scene made little sense with the laughing stranger (Max Brodbeck) not there.

Then came the colour correcting. I had a lot of trouble trying to get the initial colours I was going for (blue to more yellowish tones starting at the busker scene) as I was ill prepared and did not do much research on the way colour correction worked. I will definitely delve further into it and find resources for the next project I work on as I think I was one of the biggest problems I faced in my work on this production.

With the film exported and colour corrected, my job as editor was over.

I was not very present for the sound design part of the post-production because of surgery and recovery, so there is not much I can say.

Overall, this was a really fun production to work on, it gave us a lot of perspective on film adaptations and their process. Though there are certainly things we could improve on, I am proud of everyone's dedication to the short.

Meet the team!

Alex Lennen - director

India Marshall - Cinematographer

Fionntan McCaughey - Sound designer/recordist

Niamh McPherson - Scriptwriter

Nikola Jurcaga - Producer

Leonidas Ibarra (me) - Editor

[mrs-dr-reid]

Infinity War Part 1

Word Count: 4599

A/N: Sweet JEEBUS, that GIF tho!!! That is all. Enjoy!

———————————————————————

Status Report:

Steven Grant Rogers will be lucky if he lives to see another day when I’m through with him. Don’t worry, I have an entirely valid reason for wanting to beat him up, but I’ll give you more information strictly for your benefit.

Right after we broke everyone out of the Raft and brought Bucky and Jess to Wakanda, Steve went to form a team of what was left of the Avengers on his side while I stayed in the States to help Scott and Clint strike a deal with the government for house arrest since imprisonment would be too tough on their families (obviously behind the scenes, because I was technically still a fugitive). Steve gradually started checking in less and less until it had been a month since I’d last heard from anybody, but that didn’t stop me from doing what needed to be done.

I dug my old S.H.I.E.L.D. catsuit out of the archives at the Compound to repurpose it for my needs (FRIDAY helped me sneak in because she knows the truth about the Bucky situation), then went around the country as a vigilante to help out wherever I could. Not that I’d ever admit it, but I’d scroll through pictures of Steve and me as well as all the romantic text messages he sent before everything went to shit at night. And this went on for about 2 years.

And going along with that, seeing as Wanda didn’t have a Visa and technically wasn’t allowed to be in America, I formally adopted her paperwork and all so she could stay, even if the both of us were still on the run from the government. She’d check in with me every once and a while to let me know she and Vision were okay and to make sure I wasn’t dead, but just like Steve, the check-ins stopped coming, which made me freak out and start searching frantically for the both of them, because it was a lot more dangerous for her to stop checking in than it was for Steve.

After about 2 weeks of searching, I finally found them in Edinburgh, Scotland, because Vision had turned off his transponder without warning so he and Wanda could have some alone time (I don’t remember Steve and me ever being like that, but whatever). I was understandably furious with the both of them because if they weren’t careful, Ross and his guys could have found the both of them and taken Wanda back to the Raft, which I simply was not going to put up with (those assholes put her in a frickin straight-jacket and a shock collar, for God’s sake).

I dropped through the ceiling of the train station and saw Wanda cradling Vision (who appeared to have a stab wound through his chest) in her arms. I was too annoyed to ask what had happened to him, and I started chewing the two of them out like the angry mother I was. I said, “Two weeks, Wanda Pauline Maximoff. Two weeks! I have been worried sick for the both of you, and then when I finally find you, Vision has gotten himself impaled. Alone time sure was a great idea, wasn’t it?”, (she wanted to keep her last name, which wasn’t a problem for me) and Wanda looked at the ground sheepishly before mumbling, “No, Steph.”

Then two alien people crashed through the ceiling, so I snapped back to reality, and Wanda and I prepared to defend Vision. The girl alien (at least I think it was a girl) stared at the wall across the platform as a train passed, and when I turned my head, a man was standing in the shadows. His figure looked vaguely familiar to me, but I wasn’t sure why (I hate when that happens). The girl alien threw her giant spear at him, but he caught it and stood it at his side. He stepped out of the shadows, and behind his brown shaggy beard and brown hair, his face triggered something deep inside me. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but Wanda definitely looked relieved when she saw him for some reason.

Sam flew in a few seconds later and Falcon Kicked™ the girl alien through a shop window, then Nat came running in with short platinum blonde hair to catch the alien spear the mystery man threw to her before she stabbed the guy (🤷‍♀️) alien in the stomach. Rose came running in with short jet black hair to snatch up the dying alien’s spear, Mystery Guy came over and caught the spear when Rose threw it to him to help Nat, then they fought with the chick until she was finally knocked back by Sam kicking her again.

The girl tried to get the guy to stand up, but he couldn’t because of his injury, and Nat said, “We don’t wanna kill you, but we will,” so the girl said, “You’ll never get the chance again,” then pressed a button on her arm, and the two of them were teleported away, the alien spear getting pulled from Mystery Guy’s hand as well. After the aliens teleported away, the four of them came over to us, and Sam helped Wanda get Vision on his feet.

Vision looked at Mystery Guy, then said, “Thank you, Captain,” and the guy said, “Let’s get you on the jet,” and started to walk away, but when I heard his voice, I started putting the pieces together (as mixed up in my mind as they were). I stood up and said, “Wait. Who are you? I’d like to thank the guy who saved me and my daughter,” so he stopped, then turned around, and after I got a good look at him, I noticed that there was an outline of a star set in the chest of his suit, and my mind finally clicked.

I said, “Steve?”, and his eyes softened before he said, “Hey, Stephanie,” confirming my mind even more. I stepped closer to him, brought a hand up to his cheek, and when I looked into his sparkling ocean blue eyes, my heart fluttered and I whispered, “Oh, my god. Steve…,” then after a few seconds of smiling at each other, my smile dropped and I slapped him across the face with my other hand, making everyone else wince and say, “Ooh!”

Steve rubbed his face where my hand made contact and said, “Yeah, I deserved that,” after a couple of seconds, so I said, “Damn right, you did! Two years, Steven Grant Rogers. Two years! At first, I was fine with it because you’d check in every now and then, but then you just stopped replying to my messages! Do you have any idea how shitty that feels?! For all I knew, you could have been dead, and I was leaving voicemails on a dead man’s phone for the last two years like a total loser. You had me worried sick, Rogers. Sick! God, I’m so angry at you, I could just…,” but I didn’t get to finish my tirade because he grabbed my face, pulled me closer, and crashed his lips to mine in a desperately passionate kiss (something that I’ve been craving from him ever since he got out of touch), making me grab his wrists and kiss him back.

He pulled his lips away, then wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug and buried his face in my hair. I heard him mumble, “God, I’ve missed you, Steph,” so I hugged him back and said, “I missed you, too, Stevie,” tears threatening to well up in my eyes. He released his grip on me, and I cupped his face in my hands before I said, “Never do that to me ever again,” so he grabbed my wrists and said, “I won’t. You have my word,” and I gave him another quick kiss before I went over to Nat, Rose, and Sam to give them hugs.

We got on the jet, and as the bay door closed, Nat said, “Now, I thought we had a deal. Stay close, check in, don’t take any chances,” and Wanda said, “I’m sorry. We just wanted time,” so I put a hand on her knee and said, “I get it, Hon. But next time, promise me you’ll let someone know first so we can come help out if something goes wrong,” making her nod in agreement and say, “I promise, Steph,” before I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed slightly in a loving fashion.

Sam said, “Where to, Cap?”, and Steve replied, “Home,” making me raise an eyebrow at him because, by the looks of him and everyone else, they haven’t been home in at least the amount of time Steve had been out of touch. I got up from where I was sitting after a few minutes of thinking, then I walked over to Steve before grabbing his arm and tugging him to the other side of the jet, and he must’ve known I had something on my mind because he let me drag him along without any resistance (sometimes I hate that he knows me so damn well).

I said, “I need to have a serious talk with you, Rogers. I really hope you didn’t assume that two kisses and a hug fixed everything,” and he replied, “Of course not. I may be an idiot, but I’m not that big of an idiot,” so I made a face and said, “Mmm, that’s debatable,” making him let out a small chuckle (wow, I really missed his smile (ugh, focus!)). I said, “I’m sure you were very busy with your vigilante justice and being on the run and all that, but I honestly feel kind of hurt that you just stopped keeping me in the loop without so much as a head’s up. I spent two years in the States, all by myself. I was state-hopping, keeping an eye on Wanda and Vision, and going insane with worry for you after I stopped receiving updates. Did you ever stop for even a second to consider how that would make me feel?”, making him shoot a guilty look at me.

I must have started crying, because he wiped away a stray tear that I didn’t know had fallen with his thumb, then said, “I really am sorry, Stephanie. I know I never should have dropped off the face of the earth on you like that, but we were still under a lot of surveillance, and I didn’t want Ross to go after you if he found out you were still in contact with me. I love you too much to let you get sent to the Raft for an indefinite amount of time,” making me smile and say, “Thank you for the explanation, and I love you, too. I’m still a little bit mad at you, but then again, I’m dating Steve Rogers. If I’m not at least annoyed with you 80% of the time, something is wrong.”

He smiled, then nodded and said, “You’ve got a point there,” before wrapping his arms around me in a hug and kissing my forehead. I loosened my grip slightly to look him in the eye, and I put a hand to his cheek while saying, “I’m gonna say it. You look really hot with a beard, Cap,” so he chuckled slightly before grabbing my hand, saying, “Glad you’re a fan,” and kissing me gently. I smiled against his lips, then buried my face in his chest after he pulled away to hold him close, relishing in the fact that my Stevie was back with me again.

We landed at the Compound an hour or so later (which kind of confused me, because the Accords pretty much banished us from the building), and we walked into the lab area to see Rhodey talking with a hologram of Secretary Ross (god, I hate that guy). Steve said, “Mr. Secretary,” and he said, “You’ve got some nerve. I’ll give you that,” which made Nat say, “You could use some of that right now,” which made me let out a snort of laughter and lean into Steve’s back.

Ross continued, “The world’s on fire. And you think all is forgiven?”, so Steve said, “I’m not looking for forgiveness. And I’m way past asking permission. Earth just lost her best defender. So we’re here to fight. And if you wanna stand in our way… we’ll fight you, too,” which made me step out from behind him and put a hand on the place where his star used to be while saying, “Steve…,” which made my presence known to Rhodey and Ross alike.

He said, “Ah, Commander Carter. It’s been a while. How have you been?”, so I shot an incredulous look at him before saying, “If you think you have any business speaking to me like we’re on good terms after everything you put my friends - no, my family - and my daughter through… then you can go to hell. I may not have the legal ability I used to have, but when it comes to the people I love and care about, I will not hesitate to tear you apart and watch you burn,” making him shoot a hard look at me before turning to Rhodey and saying, “Arrest them.”

Rhodey said, “All over it,” then ended the conference, and after the holograms disappeared, he said, “That’s a court-martial. It’s great to see you, Cap,” and stepped forward to shake his hand. Steve said, “You too, Rhodey,” and he chuckled slightly before giving Nat and Rose hugs. He shot me a look and said, “Can I give you a hug, too, Steph?”, so I smiled and said, “Yeah, go for it,” before stepping forward and giving him a quick squeeze.

He released me, then after he looked around at all of us, he said, “Wow. You guys… really look like crap. Must’ve been a rough couple years,” so Sam said, “Yeah, well, the hotels weren’t exactly five star,” and I let out a small laugh before a voice I haven’t heard in two very long years said, “Uh, I think you look great.”

All of us looked to where the voice came from, and Bruce Frickin Banner was standing on the other side of the room. He walked towards us, then said, “Uh… Yeah, I’m back,” and I could have sworn I saw Rose relax like she had collapsed onto a memory foam mattress after a long-ass day. She smiled and said, “Hi, Bruce,” so he tensed slightly and played with his hands for a little bit before saying, “Rose,” and there was a short silence before Sam mumbled, “This is awkward,” making Vision and Wanda shoot a look at him.

We moved to another room to discuss what went down, and Rhodey said, “So we gotta assume they’re coming back, right?”, Wanda added, “And they can clearly find us,” so Bruce said, “We need all hands on deck. Where’s Clint?”, before turning to look at Rose, who said, “After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal that Steph helped them strike,” and Nat added, "It was too tough on their families. They’re on house arrest.”

Bruce said, “Who’s Scott?”, and Steve said, “Ant-Man,” making him say, “There’s an Ant-Man, a Spider-Man, and an Arachnid-Girl?”, so I said, “A lot changed while you were gone,” and smiled at him before he continued, “Okay, look. Thanos has the biggest army in the universe… and he is not gonna stop until he- he gets… Vision’s stone,” which made all of us look over at the android. Nat said, "Well, then we have to protect it,” but Vision said, “No, we have to destroy it,” making all of us turn to look at him.

He said, “I’ve been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head. About its nature. But also its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source… something very similar to its own signature, perhaps… its molecular integrity could fail,” so Wanda said, “Yeah, and you with it. We’re not having this conversation,” which made me exchange a look with Steve, because as far as Wanda and I are concerned, Steve is her dad just as much as I’m her mom, with or without adoption papers.

Vision said, “Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can’t get it,” and Wanda said, “That’s too high a price,” so Vision cupped her face in his hands and said, “Only you have the power to pay it,” but she drew back and walked away from him, making me sigh, because I didn’t need telepathic abilities to know what she was thinking ((adoptive) mother’s intuition, I guess). Vision said, “Thanos threatens half the universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him,” and Steve said, “But it should. We don’t trade lives, Vision,” so Vision replied, “Captain, 70 years ago, you laid down your life… to save how many millions of people? Tell me, why is this any different?”

Steve almost made a response, but Bruce cut in and said, "Because you might have a choice,” which made Steve, me, and Vision look over at him. He continued, “Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. Jarvis, Ultron, Tony, me, the stone. All of them mixed together, all of them learning from one another,” so I said, “You’re saying that Vision isn’t just the stone?”, and Bruce said, “I’m saying that if we take out the stone… there’s still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts,” making Nat say, “Can we do that?”

Bruce said, “Not me, not here,” and Rhodey said, “Well, you better find someone and somewhere fast. Ross isn’t just gonna let you guys have your old rooms back,” so I exchanged a look with Steve, and he said, “I know somewhere,” making me smile and grab his hand. All of us loaded back onto the Quinjet to head off to the home of a certain friend in high places, and when we were getting close, Steve went up to Sam and said, “Drop to 2600, heading 0-3-0,” which earned Sam’s reply of, “I hope you’re right about this. Or we’re gonna land a lot faster than you want to,” before doing as he was told.

Just as we were about to ram into the side of a cliff, it melted away to reveal Wakanda, home of King T'Challa, the Black Panther. We landed the jet, and when the door opened, T'Challa, General Okoye, and the Dora Milaje were waiting for us. Steve said, “Seems like I’m always thanking you for something,” and shook his hand, and for some reason, Bruce bowed. Rhodey said, “What are you doing?”, and T'Challa said, “Uh, we don’t do that here,” making me and Rose fight to contain snorts while Bruce shot a glare at Rhodey, who only smirked in response.

T'Challa said, “So how big of an assault should we expect?”, so Bruce said, “Uh, sir- sir, I think you should expect quite a big assault,” and Nat said, “How we looking?”, earning T'Challa’s reply of, “You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and…,” before he gestured to Bucky (with much longer hair and a full beard) and Jess (with a pixie-bob cut parted to frame the left side of her face), who were walking towards us. Bucky said, “And a semi-stable 100-year-old man and a water bender,” and Jess smacked his chest playfully before giving him a quick kiss on the lips, which made my eyebrows raise slightly in surprise, but I didn’t question it. Bucky hugged Steve, and Steve said, “How you been, Buck?”, so he replied, “Uh, not bad, for the end of the world,” and Jess said, “Bucky…,” making him shoot her a grin and say, “I’m kidding, Doll,“ while raising his arms in mock-surrender.

Jess rolled her eyes lovingly, then hugged me and said, "Good to see you again, Steph. Did you dye your hair?”, before pointing to my dark brown hair (normally my hair is more dirty blonde), so I said, “Yeah. Had to do something to keep the feds off my scent. And your hair looks way different, too! Why did you cut it?”, earning her reply of, “Well, since I’ve been training with Okoye and the Dora Milaje, I felt weird being the only one with long hair while everyone else was bald. So I decided to get it cut!”, while shrugging happily. I nodded in understanding, then Bucky said, "And she looks fantastic,” before wrapping his new vibranium arm around her waist and kissing her temple.

Jess scrunched her nose and squealed playfully in response, and Steve said, “Good for you, Pal. I always knew you’d find a dynamite gal to get you through,” which made them smile at each other before saying, “Thank you,” making me wrap an arm around Steve and squeeze slightly because I was so frickin happy that they got together (her and I were Text Buds™ while she was in Wakanda waiting for Bucky to get better, and I was still stateside on my vigilante expedition).

Vision was taken to the lab of T'Challa’s little sister, Shuri, who is the resident tech genius in Wakanda that designed all of the weapons and gear T'Challa and the Dora Milaje use with the power of vibranium, as well as the technology the Wakandans use for everyday things. And this is impressive because she’s only 16 years old (crazy, right? The Spider Kid and Rebecca would adore her if they were here).

She did a scan of Vision with her Kimoyo Beads (Bruce was very impressed with the hologram technology) before she said, “The structure is polymorphic,” so Bruce said, “Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially,” and when she said, “Why didn’t you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?”, Vision shot him a look before he said, “Because we didn’t think of it?”, earning Shuri’s reply of, “Well, I’m sure you did your best,” making me let out a snort.

Wanda said, “Can you do it?”, and Shuri said, “Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures. It will take time, brother,” so Steve said, “How long?”, earning her reply of, “As long as you can give me,” before the alarms started going off, and Okoye pulled up a hologram of the Earth with her own Kimoyo Beads. She said, “Something’s entered the atmosphere,” and all of us looked out the window to see weird alien-like ships crashing around the Wakandan border.

Vision said, “It’s too late. We need to destroy the stone now,” and started to get up, but Nat snapped, “Vision, get your ass back on the table,” before stalking over to him, and T'Challa said, “We will hold them off,” while walking past Steve and me. Steve said, “Wanda, as soon as that stone’s out of his head… you blow it to hell,” so she said, “I will,” and I kissed her on the forehead before saying, “You’ll stay safe, right, Hon?”, making her smile and say, “Yes, Steph. I’ll be safe,” then T'Challa said, “Evacuate the city. Engage all defenses. And get this man a shield,” while pointing at Steve.

He nodded slightly, then Shuri said, “Miss Carter, follow me please. I have something for you,” so I squeezed Steve’s hand before walking away while pulling my hair into a ponytail (and if you know anything about me, you know that means I mean serious business). I followed her to the heart of her lab, and she said, “After your first visit, I immediately got to work on these after taking a look at your old suit. These are the 19th versions, but they were only a passion project until now,” before pressing a button, making three white dummies of a female figure with belts made of tiny snowflakes around their waists rise from the floor, one white, one red, and one black.

I walked up to them, then after admiring them for a few seconds, I said, “What exactly are these for?”, so she replied, “Don’t you wish you could put on or take off your suit at a moment’s notice?”, and when I nodded, she walked over to me and scanned my neck with her beads. She said, “Tell it to go on in your mind,” so I did as I was told, then red particles came flowing out of the snowflake belts until all three dummies were covered in a red suit with embellishments corresponding to the belt color, making my jaw drop.

She laughed and said, “I thought you’d like that. The entire suit sits in the branches of the snowflakes. I designed them so you could wear one with any outfit you choose and it wouldn’t stand out. At first, I thought about making only a red belt, but then I realized that red doesn’t go with much, so I made two other ones to give you options,” and while I ran my hand over one of the suits, she said, “Strike one. But not too hard,” making me turn to look at her.

I said, “Just… hit it anywhere?”, and she said, “Mmm-hmm,” so I grabbed the one with the white embellishments by the shoulder, then socked it in the stomach, making the place where I punched it glow white. I said, “What the…?”, and ran my hand over the glowing area, so Shuri said, “The nanites absorb the kinetic energy and hold it in place for redistribution. I made my brother and Miss Lewis’ suits with the same technology,” making me say, “Huh. Cool. But what’ll happen when I do my ice thing? Will I still be able to fly?”, with my hand still on the suit.

Shuri said, "Yes, but it will be much easier for you now. Watch this,” then pressed another button, and the dummies turned the same shade of blue I do when I go icy (I yanked my hand away because it startled me), the suits reacting and turning blue as well. The dummies went back to white after Shuri pressed the button again (the suits returned to their normal color shortly after), then she said, “The suit will react to the change in your heat signature, and the nanites will change their structure so you can fly. And when you change back, the suit won’t be brittle like your current one, so it won’t hinder your movement.”

I smiled and said, “These are amazing, Princess, but I feel kind of guilty taking these without giving you something in return,” earning her reply of, “Well, then we can call it a thank you for coming to protect my country. And call me Shuri,” making me smile before telling the suits to go back into the belts. Shuri said, “They are waiting for you, Winter Rose,” so I smirked, grabbed the black belt, then took off to take off my catsuit and put the belt on over my black tank top and leggings. I told it to go on, then I dashed out of the lab while putting on one of the matching cowls Shuri had made (obviously made of vibranium) to catch up with the others, ready for whatever intergalactic shit Thanos decided to throw at us.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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[cjfilmblog]

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

FN2 CRITICAL REFLECTION

My Role: Director 

The process of making this film was both challenging and really enjoyable. Initially our group had a lot of ideas and struggled to narrow them down but after many discussions we settled on the idea of an AA meeting as we thought that it would be an interesting idea to build upon and explore. 

This was my first time being director so I was very nervous about having so much control on set, but my team worked extremely well together and supported me in as many ways as they could. Davide Alonge came on set to help with sound and the clapper board, which helped alleviate a lot of stress when it came to some technical things. There was respect for each other’s roles and great communication between the team, actors and extras which made the production process go very smoothly. I felt that my strong points in directing were definitely people management. i think i was able to take control of the situation and get people on set to listen to my vison through clear communication.

We definitely received a mixture of feedback but there was some reoccurring points made by our lectures in the crit. The main point being that the narrative was unclear. i think that all of the group agreed with this, we felt that we could've done more work on developing on the subtext and instead of moving on to different points in the story.

In addition, relationship between the characters seemed empty, potentially due to the lack of understanding the actors had on the script or the lack of subtext. This therefore made the story disconnected and not engaging. To improve me as the director would need to sit down with the actors in future and have a better conversation about what my vision is and how I want them to portray the characters to achieve the best outcome.

Sound was another problem within the film. There was inconsistencies between day one and two of shooting, so we need to make sure that the audio levels are correct on both days and that all our equipment is working and mixing in post is done correctly.

As for camera work and set design we were praised for the composition and the set was dressed well enough to convince the audience it was an AA meeting, however the space between characters was too much in certain shots and the 180 degree rule was broken at times.

There were also comments on the frequent swearing on Camerons part. This is was inappropriate at times and lost its effect the more he swore. So we would need to be careful with the use of swearing in the script as it can lose its intensity at times if it’s used too much.

Overall the feedback was mixed but I’m happy with the feedback we got because it was constructive and gave not only myself but the whole group things to improve on and learn from to take into our projects in future.

As for the feedback in tutorials and lectures I found that challenging us on our script was very helpful because it made us think more about character development and narrative on how we could make it translate onto the screen. We didn’t want to create something that had been done before like other support group scenes so having tutorials with Kate helped to challenge our ideas.

I think the strongest point in our film is the cinematography. Even though the narrative isn’t 100% the mis en scene that we created as a team definitely reflected the tone we wanted to convey. So aesthetically it came across as pretty dark with the low exposure and heightened shadows with predominant cool green and blue tones. We achieved what we set out to do from the start so I’m happy with that. However the main thing as I have mentioned before was the lack of subtext in the story and problems with the sound.

We worked extremely well as a group and everyone got on, but in future we could had a little more focus on set. I think because we were all friends, sometimes we would get sidetracked and didn’t make best use of our time.

My main points of learning from this project is that time management is really important in getting all the shots we need and for us to be able to have more time to figure out any problems. For example with the problems with sound, if we had managed our time better we could’ve gone back a third time to shoot and redone the sound, or re-recorded with the actors in post. Story is one of the important if not most important parts of a film, so for next time I would put a lot more time into developing the story and speaking to the actors about their characters and backstory’s so that they have a better understanding of what they need to portray on screen.

I learnt that there is a varied amount of experience among the film course and it definitely shows within the films, some people are stronger in writing, cinematography, sound, editing etc. So when watching we all needed to take that into consideration but it seemed there were a few films that had problems with sound and the ones that didn’t really stood out. The use of Foley in some really helped to alleviate the films even if they were lacking in other areas. The creativity with props and set design was really impressive in most of the films, so that’s something that I would like to get more into in future as it makes a big difference to the overall look of the film. My personal favourite was “WICKED THINGS” the sound and set design was really effective.

[stranger-nightmare]

𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐉

Pairing: Rick Flag (DCEU) x (female) Reader

Summary: you’re on Task Force X, you’re on a mission with Col. Flag when things go wrong, leading him to take you to a safe house. In that alone time some feelings get revealed, and one thing leads to another…

Warnings: angst, hurt / comfort, wounds / blood, smut, penetrative sex (m+f), slightly rough sex, choking, orgasm denial, Dom!Rick vibes, minors DNI

A/N: my first time writing for Rick!! I’m still not over my Rick Flag phase from watching The Suicide Squad so I needed an outlet, here’s what I came up with, hope you like it! Also this kind of trope has definitely been done before and I in no way take credit for that, this is just my spin on it! Hope you enjoy!!✨🖤🥰

This is for people 18+ only. Minors do not read on. If you click ‘keep reading’ you are hereby agreeing that you are 18 or older.

Another day, another mission. This time, however, your team was small. Very small. Just you and Colonel Flag in fact. This mission was more about stealth and strategy rather than heading in somewhere guns a-blazing, as was Harley and Boomer's usual tactics. You and Flag were to break into an abandoned enemy facility and attempt to retrieve any data or info they may have left.

Unfortunately once you got there it turned out that said facility was, in fact, not so abandoned after all. You and Flag were pinned down under a desk, the enemies blocking the hallway and the only way out. There were at least five of them, all with loaded guns, whilst the pair of you were fast running out of bullets and of options.

"Shit" you hear Flag curse to himself as he reloads his gun with his last round of bullets. You knew there was no way you were getting out of this with your guns alone, you needed something else.

"Hey Flag!" you hear one of the men shout. "Tell Waller we're coming for her. We'll kill her and her little band of freaks, starting the pretty one you've brought with you here. There's more where this came from" you hear the man laugh. Shit. They knew who were. And who you were working for, even if it was technically against your will.

You look over to Flag whose face is the perfect picture of rage. You needed to get out of here, time was running out.

An idea strikes you suddenly. It's risky, but would likely give you the break you need to get you and Flag out of here. You knew he wasn't going to like your plan so you decided to just run with it and get it done quickly before he has the opportunity to stop you.

You reach for Flag and grab two grenades from his utility belt. You have just enough time to register the look of confusion and concern before you duck round the desk. You do a quick forward roll to the wall just next to the hallway where the five men were.

"Y/n, what the hell-?" Flag shouts. You don't hear the end of his sentence as you roll forward again, across the hallway gap, throwing the grenades as you go.

Just as you duck into cover behind the opposite wall you feel a sharp pain sting in your shoulder and know you've been hit. Your yelp of pain is cut off as the grenades go off, obliterating the hallway and all five men inside it. You sit stunned, leaning against the wall, your right arm clutching at the wound in your left shoulder. You blink dizzy and confused, the blast from the grenades leaving your ears ringing and your vision blurry.

You see a shape appear in front of you, the blurry outline of a face. You can hear a voice but it sounds distorted and far away. You suddenly feel two hands grab your face, shaking you slightly. You blink several more times and the face in front of you slowly comes into focus. Flag. And it hits you that it's his voice that you can hear, calling your name over and over again. You can see concern and something like anguish plastered on his face.

"Y/n? Y/n? Can your hear me? Hey, hey look at me. Focus on me" he urges you. He sees your eyes start to register the scene, your mind slowly coming back into focus.

"There we go, you can hear me now?" you nod slightly, your face contorting as the movement sends a jolt of pain from your shoulder.

Flag looks down to where your hand is limply holding onto your shoulder, seeing the blood soak through your fingers.

"Fuck" he spits. "Fuck sake y/n." Your eyebrows knit together in confusion as anger spreads across his face again.

He sighs in frustration, grabbing your hand and pushing it harder into the wound, applying more pressure. You yelp in pain again.

"What the hell were you thinking? That was a stupidly risky move" he growls.

"I was thinking it was our only option" you say defiantly.

"It was stupid" he repeats harshly.

"It was pretty much guaranteed we'd die if we did nothing. What I did at least gave us a chance!" You scoff incredulously.

"You shouldn't have done it regardless. I would've come up with something. It's my job. It's my job to protect you. I have to protect you. I can't- I can't imagine..." he rambles quickly, the words seeming to spill out of him almost involuntarily. He ends his ramble with a deep sigh, as if stopping himself from saying anything more.

You're about to prod him, ask what exactly he was going to say when he cuts you off. "Keep pressure on that" he nods towards your bullet wound. Flag rips the hem of his shirt, tearing off a strip which he then wraps tightly around your shoulder in an effort to slow the bleeding. You inhale sharply as he pulls the knot tight.

"That will have to do for now, we need to get out of here before any reinforcements arrive" he huffs. Clearly his anger at you wasn't going to dissipate any time soon. You decided at this point it was probably best to just keep quiet and do as instructed. He was right, you did need to get out of here. You can argue about what you did later. You nod in agreement.

"Can you stand? You're alright to move?" the sudden tenderness in the question takes you by surprise.

"Yeah I think so."

Flag places an arm under your armpit, the arm that did not have a bullet hole in it, and helps lift you to your feet. You grunt in pain as you do so.

"You good?" he checks again, his hands just barely touching the sides of your waist, just making sure you were okay to stand by yourself. You swallow the butterflies blooming in your stomach from his touch. You nod again.

"Yeah, let's just get out of here" you reply. He nods affirmative before heading towards the hallway, making sure you were tucked in close behind him. He grabs one of the guns from the enemy men on the way, taking his military stance, both hands on gun, carefully peaking around each corner before continuing.

You eventually make it out of the facility with no problems. It seems if they did have reinforcements coming they were taking their sweet time. Flag finds a random parked car and jimmies the lock open. You slide into the passenger seat as he hotwires the engine. Within the next minute Flag is speeding down the road, getting you both as far away from the facility as possible.

You didn't even realise you'd fallen asleep until you suddenly blink your eyes open and it's pitch black outside. You can just make out that you're driving down an empty road, completely surrounded by forest on either side.

"Yes ma'am. *pause* I don't think it's a good idea for us to head back to base just yet. *pause* Yes I'm taking her to Safe House J. *pause* Yes of course. I will keep you updated ma'am" you hear Flag talking quietly on the phone.

"Safe House J?" you ask once he's hung up.

"I thought you were still asleep. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you" he responds. You shake your head slightly. "Yeah I'm taking you to Safe House J, it was the closest to our location. We're almost there actually, ETA 20 minutes." You nod again. You try to cover the sharp intake of breath as you feel the pain shoot through your shoulder again. Of course your sound does not escape Flag.

"How you feeling?" he asks.

"I don't know" you answer honestly. "It hurts, but mostly I just feel dizzy and weak."

"You've lost a lot of blood" he sighs and you can hear the genuine concern and frustration in his voice. "Just hold on, we're almost there. We're almost there." You're not sure if he's trying to comfort you or himself.

You start to feel consciousness slip from your grasp again, the world beginning to go blurry as sleep beckons you.

"You'll be okay. You have to be okay" you think you hear Flag mumble to himself. "I won't lose you, I can't lose you..." the whispers swim around your head and you can't tell what's real and what's not. Then suddenly everything is black and silent.

Your eyes start to open, taking a second to adjust to your dark surroundings. You blink a few times before you realise you're staring at an old wooden ceiling. You can feel that you're lying on a bed. You move to sit up when a wave of pain rolls through your shoulder.

"Shit" you whisper to yourself as you finally manage to pull yourself into a seated position, swinging your legs over the side of the bed. Looking over at your shoulder you see that it's been cleaned and wrapped up properly in bandages. It hurt like a bitch but it felt better then before, and so did your head. Slightly.

"You okay?" you hear a quiet voice speak. You look up to see Flag squatting whilst he tended to the fireplace in front of the bed. His gaze is trained so intensely on the fire, as if he was actively trying not to look over at you.

"Yeah I think so" you answer. Flag stands up and nods curtly but doesn't turn around, he simply remains with his back to you, staring into the fire. You notice he's changed into a tight black tee and tac pants. You can see the tension sitting in his shoulders through the thin material of his shirt, his balled fists, a rage that's barely contained. You feel suddenly awkward, a strange tension simmering in the air.

You clear your throat quietly. "Uh, so where exactly are we?" you venture, trying to break some of this palpable tension.

"Safe House J" Flag answers bluntly.

"Okay... And where exactly is that?"

"It's need to know and you don't need to know. All you do need to know is that we'll be safe here until the rest of those guys can tracked down and dealt with" his voice is as sharp as a knife.

"So like how long exactly do you think we'll be here then?" you push your luck by questioning him further but you simply couldn't stand the deafening silence that was eating away at the room.

"I don't know!" His voice raising slightly as he answers. The sudden small outburst makes you jump slightly. "It'll probably be longer now you've specifically pissed them off" you hear him grumble under his breath.

"What? So this is my fault?" you ask almost outraged. He still refuses to look at you. You scoff loudly in disbelief.

"Those men were after us anyway. All I did was provide a way out. They were gonna kill us! What else was I supposed to do?" You rant at him.

"You should've let me handle it" he states simply. Oh now you could feel yourself boiling into a rage.

"Oh yeah? And what would you have done differently Flag? Huh? How would you have gotten us out of there? I guarantee it doesn't even matter, they were clearly going to hunt us down regardless!!"

He continues to stand silently, staring intently into the fire. A sigh his only acknowledgment that he's heard you.

"Why are you so mad about this?!" You shout now, severely pissed off that he's somehow trying to pin all this on your actions. "I got us out of there, I gave us the opportunity to escape!" He spins around suddenly, his eyes finally meeting yours. His eyes are afire with rage, and yet glossy with what almost look like tears...

"Yeah you got us out of there" his voice suddenly alarmingly quiet and controlled, like glass that's seconds away from shattering.

"And then almost didn't make it much further than that because you recklessly endangered yourself and ended up getting shot for God's sake!!" his voice raising, breaking, the glass cracking.

You're taken aback slightly by his sudden shift in attitude. The rage was most definitely still there, but it was shadowed by something else, something hidden deeper in his emotions.

"Why do you even care huh? What am I to you other than some perfectly replaceable soldier? You know, Suicide Squad?" You emphasise the last two words. "Isn't that kinda our thing? You're the only one that Waller really cares to see return after missions" you spit, standing up at last, your own anger almost getting the better of you.

"This isn't about Waller" he growls, his gaze shifting to the floor.

"Then what is it about huh? What's really the issue? Honestly I don't see what the big deal is. So what if I die? It's not like I'm really living in that prison anyway."

The look on Flag's face instantly makes you regret your words. He looks somehow livid and heartbroken all at once.

"So what if you die?" he whispers, a slight crack returning to his voice. "So what if you die?" he repeats incredulously.

"Yeah. What do I matter?"

Flag's eyes abruptly lock with yours again, a kind of ferocity shining in them. You swallow, suddenly nervous.

Then he's stepping towards you, grabbing your face in his hands roughly.

"You matter" he breathes harshly. "You matter to me" he growls. You can see the sincerity and seriousness in his eyes. That anger that's just softened by something else.

You don't even have a chance to take in what he's just said before his lips are crashing into yours. His hands hold your face firmly in place as he kisses you roughly, teeth clashing. A surprised moan escapes you and Flag takes the opportunity to open up your mouth with his own, letting his tongue slide against your own. You'd be lying if you said this isn't exactly what you'd been wanting for months now. After constantly being sent on missions together your feelings for Rick had only grown. You knew a relationship between the two of you would be forbidden, and you figured that he, a polished military man, would never be interested in someone like you, and so you had bottled your feelings. No need to set yourself up for disappointment.

And yet now you here were. His lips moulded against yours, his hands cupping your face so tightly as if he's afraid you'll pull away. The kiss is sloppy and messy, a feeling of desperation and urgency conveyed through his lips.

And yet suddenly he does pull back, releasing you completely. You stand looking at each other, both of you breathing rapidly.

"I- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Sorry" he pants quietly.

"Shut up Flag" you say just before attaching your lips to his again. He stiffens for a second before finally relaxing and melting into the kiss again, a moan escaping him this time. You reach up with your uninjured arm to hold onto the nape of his neck, tugging gently at the short hair there, your other arm rests gently on his waist. You use this hand to fist his t-shirt, tugging it gently. Rick gets the hint and steps back slightly to pull his shirt over his head and throw it to the floor.

For a second you're in awe at his spectacular physique. You instinctively reach your hands outs to run your fingers over his impressive chest and stomach. Your lips meet briefly again before you feel him pull lightly at the hem of your own vest shirt, as if asking for permission. You nod once, signalling to him that it was okay. You break the kiss again as he delicately lifts your shirt up and over your uninjured arm, manoeuvring the material so he could slide it down your injured arm with as little movement as possible. You grimace slightly as the shirt brushes past your wound before being tossed to the floor to join Rick's.

"You okay?" his eyebrows furrow with concern.

"I'm okay" you reassure him leaning up to kiss him again, the both of you moaning as your lips make contact. Rick begins to walk you backwards, towards the bed.

"Are you sure about this?" he breathes just as the back of your legs connect with the edge of the bed, resting his forehead on yours.

"Yes. I want this. I want you, Rick" you emphasise calling him by his first name. To further prove your point you reach your right arm behind you and unhook your bra. Rick looks down at you intently. His fingers trace your skin as he slowly drags each bra strap down your shoulder, extra careful to be gentle on your left side. The moment is so painfully intimate, the only sounds your heavy breathing mixing and the light crackling of the fire. Once the straps are down you let the bra fall to the ground between you. Rick's gaze flickers down to your breasts, his eyes lighting up at the view, the tiniest of smirks tugging at his lips.

His eyes meet yours again and his lips latch onto your own. His arms snake around your body, pulling you tightly against him, your bare chests colliding, his dog tags digging into your skin. Your shoulder throbs with the movement but you don't care anymore. You lift both your arms so they can wrap around his neck, ignoring the pain again, you just wanted to keep him close. The urgency from before returns and you're both suddenly frantic for each other, afraid this moment might somehow slip away from you.

Your tongues find each other again as Rick holds you tightly, lowering you onto the bed. Your mouths never part as he shifts to lie on top of you, his hips slotting against yours, finding a home between your legs. You buck your hips up into his, feeling how hard he is even through the fabric of both your pants. Rick responds by rocking his hips against you, grinding his length against your clothed core, applying just enough pressure to tease you. You can feel the cold of his dog tags against your chest again, only adding to the sensations.

"Rick" you moan into his mouth. You pull sharply at his hair, silently asking for more. He groans in response and shifts his hands down to undo your jeans. You wiggle your hips slightly as he pulls them off your legs, leaving you just in your underwear. Your mouths continue to devour each other as you feel him drag a hand down your body, tantalisingly slow, his fingers gently brushing the skin from your neck all the way down to your hips. As he drags his hand down your body his lips move across your jaw and down to your neck. He nips and pulls at your skin roughly before sucking your skin harshly, ensuring to form a bruise later.

His fingers toy with the hem of your pants, teasing you again. You push your hips again, encouraging him. But he doesn't. Not yet. He just continues to trace the skin on your lower belly, following the waistband of your underwear. Your groan in frustration and deliberately dig your nails into his back. You can feel a small chuckle rumble in his chest.

Then, finally, his hand slips under your waistband. His fingers delve lower and, at last, brush against your clit. You're already wet from the teasing when he was just barely grinding into you. Rick swipes his fingers up and down your slit a few times, gathering the wetness there. Before long his fingers are returning to your clit, circling slowly. You moan again at the contact. Rick lifts his head from your neck to watch you as you squirm under his touch. He watches you intently, observing your reactions as he speeds up his circles, applying just a touch more pressure to your sensitive bud.

The intensity of the day, the adrenaline, the fact that this situation was actually happening, all these thoughts and feelings flow through you as you rock against Rick's hand. You were desperate for relief; after today, you needed it. Your moans begin to get louder and more frequent as Rick's movements push your body into a state of euphoria, your release so close...

And then Rick is pulling his hand away from you, leaving you rocking against nothing, your climax retreating. You moan in frustration, looking at him incredulously. You're about to complain when he cuts you off.

"Uh no. You don't deserve to cum just yet. Not after the shit you pulled today" Rick glowers down at you. Okay so despite all this it appeared he was still pretty mad at you.

Rick is then climbing off you, moving to stand in front of you at the foot of the bed. You push yourself up on your elbows to look at him, unsure what exactly he was up to.

"Take off your underwear" he commands in a low tone. You stare at him blankly.

"I said" he grabs your ankle and pulls you to the edge of the bed. "Take off your underwear" he emphasises and enunciates each individual word. He keeps his eyes trained on yours as you reach to slowly work your underwear down your legs before throwing them to the floor. You're leaning back on your elbows again but you have you knees touching so you're not completely exposed to him just yet.

He just barely gives you a nod of approval, that tiniest of smirks returning. He keeps his eyes on you again as he unbuttons his tac pants, shacking them off. He's then pulling of his own underwear, freeing his aching cock. You eyes flick quickly to his cock, it's just as spectacular as his broad chest and torso.

He takes a step forward so he is right at the edge of the bed. He grabs your ankles again, this time to force your legs open, situating himself between them. He looks down at your aching cunt for a second. Rick surprises you by suddenly spitting right onto your waiting pussy. He takes the head of his cock and uses it to spread his spit up and down your folds. He does this for only a few seconds before he's pushing inside you.

Rick gives you no time to prepare for his impressive length as he thrusts inside you right to the hilt. You gasp in shock, a slight sharp pain ringing through your cunt. He pulls almost all the way out again, this time moving slowly, before slamming right back into you again. He quickly sets a ruthless pace, fucking himself harshly into you. It hurts slightly at first, nothing in comparison to the way your shoulder is crying out as you're pounded into the mattress. It doesn't take long, however, for the pain in your cunt to turn to pleasure. The same could not be said for your shoulder, unfortunately. But again, right now, you just didn't care, your focus solely remaining on Rick Flag fucking you mercilessly. He slides his hand down one of your legs, grabbing at your thigh, hoisting your leg up until it was flush against his chest. He leans forward slightly, pushing against your leg and reaching a whole new angle inside you. He was impossibly deep, his cock meeting the most sensitive spot inside you with almost every thrust.

His grunts and breathing get louder as he continues to fuck you hard. Your body is trembling in response, your thighs shaking already, your moans jolting with each slam of his cock inside you.

"Don't ever do something reckless like that again" he suddenly commands, ruthlessly pounding into you. You're barely able to acknowledge his words as your head spins from combined sensations of pain and pleasure.

"Hey" he growls, gripping your jaw in his other hand, his fingers pushing roughly into your cheek. He forces you to look at him. "I said, don't ever do something like that again" he almost shouts in your face, that rage returning to his features.

You just about manage a nod, his grip on your jaw like a vice. He returns an affirmative nod, his face softening the slightest bit before his crushes his lips to yours again in a bruising kiss, still keeping you firmly in place with his hand on your jaw. You moan loudly into the kiss, your orgasm fast approaching. The kiss turns sloppy and uncoordinated as you both feel the pleasure start to take over your bodies.

Knowing that you’re close Rick moves his hand from your jaw to your throat and squeezes gently, applying just the right amount of pressure.

"Oh fuck" you barely choke out as Rick applies just a bit more pressure around your neck. He's pounding into you so hard you're sure he's actually going to split you in two. You drag your hands down his broad back, leaving angry red scratches in your wake.

Your strangled moans just top the sound of your bodies slapping together. Rick can feel how close you are, your cunt starting to tighten around his cock. He shows no mercy, continuing his relentless pace as you're about to tip over the edge and your climax seconds away. Just as you're about to cum Rick releases your neck, allowing the oxygen to flow properly through you again. This added relief timed perfectly with your orgasm has you seeing stars, your vision blurring for a second as your pussy clenches repeatedly around Rick.

"Oh fuck. Yes" you hear Rick groan quietly into your ear as you cum, your clenching pussy causing his relentless pace to falter. His pace becomes sloppy and stuttered, only a few more thrusts before he's stilling and finishing inside you. He collapses forwards as he does so, his huge frame towering over you. He keeps you in place as you both revel in your highs, attempting to regain control of your breath.

After only a couple of seconds Rick pulls of you and walks off to the bathroom. You feel oddly hurt by his abrupt departure, your heart sinking slightly.

Your spirits lift again though when he returns momentarily with a damp cloth in hand which he silently hands over to you. You take it and begin to clean yourself off whilst he searches the floor before pulling his boxers back on. Rick pads back over to you giving you your underwear and his black shirt to put on. You hand him back the cloth and he runs it back to the bathroom again as you pull on your underwear and his shirt, your shoulder protesting the movements. As Rick returns from the bathroom you head over to the fire to feed it a couple more logs. When you turn around Rick is sat on the bed.

You go to walk past him, to climb into the other side of the bed, when you feel his hands grab your waist. He turns you slightly and pulls you into him, slotting you between his legs. You look down at him in confusion, your hands resting on his chest, fingers toying with his dog tags. His eyes look up at you, all the rage and anger from earlier completely gone, replaced with what looked like a sadness laced with worry.

"Is your shoulder okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asks softly.

Damn this man's change in attitudes were gonna give you whiplash. You smile at him reassuringly, placing your hands on his face, stroking his cheeks with your thumbs.

"It's nothing I can't handle" you tell him gently. "Someone patched me up pretty well so I reckon I'll live" you tease him lightly, placing a soft kiss to his forehead. He leans his head forward, losing himself in your chest as he pulls you even tighter to him, locking his arms behind you. You reach to hug around his head tenderly with your good arm, your chin resting on the top of his head. Your injured arm rests lightly on his shoulders, stroking his back absent-mindedly as you remain in this position for a while.

"Seriously. Don't do something like that again" you hear him whisper into your chest. "Please" he adds, his grip on you tightening briefly.

You squeeze his shoulders in response, placing a soft kiss to the top of his head.

"I won't."

Masterlist

A/N: I actually really like how this turned out, it was definitely fun to write so I hope it was fun to read too!! Fun fact: this was actually like the third thing I ever wrote, it’s just been sat in my drafts for that long😂

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