#was waiting for this part!! sorry brook it was a good addition but i like how it flows faster in the manga panels so i giffed it like tha | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mugiwara-no-toshokan · 1 year

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Thrice Prophesized

CisFem Reader x Roronoa Zoro

CW: In-Universe levels of violence, amnesia, romance, reader gets some good bad-ass moments, but shouldn't feel Overpowered if I did my job well, surprisingly no smut in this one loves, but it's book 1 of 2.

Still 18+

Chapter 8: Routine

You and Brook returned to the Sunny, and you spent the rest of the day working on your Haki until Luffy and his group returned. You zoned out through most of the conversation during dinner, since they were talking about what they had found regarding the One Piece, but part of the conversation caught your attention.

“There was a lady that turned into snow!” Luffy exclaims. “The cold was making me sleepy, but Robin and Usopp drove her away.”

Drove her away and right into me, you muse to yourself.

“That was Monet,” Brook says. “We ran into her on Punk Hazard when we were assisting Sir Law.”

“Oooh! That’s right – she froze the gas guy before she flew away!” Luffy says nodding. “I remember.”

“When you drove her off we ran into her,” Brook says and you feel yourself flinch a little.

“What? Hey, sorry about that (Y/N), we didn’t realize anyone else had left the ship.” Usopp says, turning away from Brook and looking at you apologetically.

“No, it was fine. She got away from us as well, but it wasn’t too much trouble. Neither Brook nor I can really feel the cold.” You assure him. “Besides, Brook was kind enough to assist only when I needed it, so it was good practice. I got to correct some of the things I did wrong when dealing with Smoker.”

You take a bite of food and a drink of tea before you remembered something important. “She recognized me.”

“She’s an assistant to one of the Warlords in the Grandline Metro,” Robin says. “Their information network is impressive, so it’s not surprising she was aware of your wanted poster.”

“Warlord?”

“I wasn’t going to get into it until we got back to the Metro,” Nami explains. “I’ll show you a map later and get into better detail, but the short version is that there are three powers in the Metro. The World Government, the Emperors, and the Warlords. They kind of… well, keep one another in check.”

“They’re all technically appointed by the Government,” Usopp says as Nami takes a break to eat more. “But while the Warlords are chosen by the Government, the Emperors earn their territories and title by sheer strength and capacity. The Government,” he waves his hand, “reluctantly names them Emperors, but they’re the biggest forces going against one another.”

“But a Warlord has power enough to be in that struggle, and the snow lady works for one of them?” You ask, and Nami and Usopp nod.

“Hm.” You grunt, making a face as you take a drink of something stronger than tea.

“Eh?”

“The snow lady said her boss – wait, she called him young master – that he’d have an interest in me.” You explain. “The wanted poster was bad enough, I don’t think the additional attention will be welcome.”

“Donquixote Doflamingo,” Jinbei says. “This crew has run afoul of him a couple times. I used to be a Warlord alongside him. He’s a crafty one.”

“I’ll draw you pictures of the warlords that I know,” Usopp says. “And we have posters of the Emperors as well.”

“Are there pictures of some of the marines? That Smoker was not an easy fight, but he seems unique among most marines. It would be useful to be aware of them as well.”

“I’ll help you with sketches.” Robin offers as Usopp starts to look a little nervous.

“Oh, it’s a lot to draw, it seems.” You say apologetically. “We’re setting sail tomorrow, right? You should have a couple days at least, don’t rush.”

“A week, more like.” Nami says, “there’s some nasty currents where we’re going, and since we can’t burst past all of them it’ll take a little meandering.”

. . . . . . .

You held onto the side of the railing, trying to keep your lunch in your stomach as the ship lurched with the combination “nasty current” and “sudden squall”. You didn’t have the sea legs for this, and it was embarrassing. After things calmed down though, you were going to have to ask the cook how it was that he pushed himself around in the air. It was like he was walking on the wind, and it seemed a useful skill to have.

Especially during a time like this, where getting up the rigging and securing the sails faster was important.

You had been concerned before that there weren’t enough people on this crew for the size of the ship, but their efficiency and capacity was almost terrifying. Nami and Jinbei were in perfect sync, and Franky knew every inch of the ship in order to keep it together. Robin’s devil fruit was ideal for assisting Zoro, Sanji and Usopp as they did most of the heavy lifting, with some light assistance from Brook. You and the small doctor were the only ones without much to do, but Chopper could at least make himself bigger to help anchor things.

All you could do right now was try and keep your barfing from landing on the deck of the ship, with Luffy checking on you every few seconds as he bounced around helping where ever he could. The young man’s energy was impressive on its own, but added with the elastic capacity of his body there wasn’t much he couldn’t do – except swim. You peered over the rail again and wondered if you’d be less sick in the water, not that it was a viable option, the current was shifting before your eyes.

The sudden squall ended just as abruptly as it had started, and you laid out on the grass for a second before you got to your feet. The current was still rough, but since the two ordeals weren’t overlapping everyone else was taking a moment to catch their breath along with you.

“This is normal?” You ask doing your best to walk around the deck so you could try and get your sea legs.

“For this world, yes.” Robin replies with a kind smile. Her hands sprout from your body and help steady you before you topple over. “Are the seas in your world calm?”

“I was not a sailor, but my experience was quite calm.” You admit as you find your feet again. “Ships could be lost at sea, but it was more likely they were raided, and not tormented by the seas themselves.”

The harsh current ended so swiftly you nearly toppled over from that. A single finger on your forehead helped balance you as Zoro walked by.

“Ah, thanks.” You mutter, rubbing your forehead idly. “Oh, hey Sanji – how’d you do that thing earlier?”

“Thing?” Sanji tilts his head as he turns toward you.

“You walked on the air.” You clarify, pointing along a path in the air up the sail. “I would’ve thought such was impossible, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Can you teach me?”

“Eh? Eh?! S-Sure!” Sanji’s face lights up. “It would be my pleasure to assist a lovely lady.”

Sanji wasn’t as good a teacher as Jinbei, but he did try his best. The two of you spent several hours going over the technique of his geppo, you even ended up helping him out in the kitchen to keep the flow of the conversation going. You had just enough time to help hand out snacks to the crew before another rough current grabbed the ship.

You braced against a railing by the helm, as Nami and Jinbei went back to work. You weren’t going to be able to practice much of anything while the ship was traveling like this, but you did pulse your haki when you felt like you could risk it. Having your feet leave the deck when the ship could be whisked right out from under you seemed like a bad idea, so you weren’t going to get any practical training in after all the theory crafting from earlier.

The second wave of rough currents didn’t have anything else accompany it, and so you did make use of the time to stumble around the deck and try to climb the rigging as the ship lurched so you would be more useful later. You could sense someone keeping an eye on you while you worked, but you couldn’t sort out who it was. Franky, Brook, Robin, Luffy and Zoro were all out on the deck, and no one seemed to be watching you directly.

It could be all of them, you realized as you reached the midway point of the rigging and started back down. The crew had amazing awareness, even those that didn’t seem to have any capacity for controlling haki had strong perception. Even though they didn’t overtly act as such, they all watched out for one another. If you ended up stranded in this world there would be far worse people to be stranded with.

Something about that thought warmed your heart, and for the first time since the portal closed you felt at peace. It wasn’t just acceptance of what had happened, but actual peace.

You still wanted to go home, but maybe you weren’t going to be okay with going home as a corpse. You didn’t want to just be buried back home, you wanted to be able to tell everyone the wild ride that this world was. You smile thinking about how your fellow knights would react to hearing about honorable pirates.

“Feeling better?” Zoro asks. He’s leaned against the stairs by the rigging, hands behind his head. He looked like he was grabbing a quick nap despite the turbulent current.

Your skeleton nearly leaps out of your skin, but you manage to restrain yourself to a small flinch. You hadn’t even noticed that he’d settled nearby you were so lost in your own thoughts.

“I… yeah.” You step around and squat down nearby. “Are you sure you’re not at least part demon?”

You can see the vein on his forehead twitch. “Why do you keep asking that?” He growls, looking at you.

“Demons in my world are very strong and can read your thoughts and emotions. You seem to do the same.” You admit bluntly.

Zoro clicks his tongue and looks away. You almost think he isn’t going to say anything else when he finally grumbles at you. “I’m going to be the strongest swordsman in the world, that’s why I’m strong.” He explains. His scowl deepens as he continues. “And… that was a real smile.”

Something about the scowl and the words catches you off guard and when the ship lurches you nearly tumble backward before over correcting and leaning forward. You reach out to steady yourself and feel your hand smack into Zoro’s chest. After you steady yourself you pat his chest a couple times before you snatch you hand back when you come to your senses.

“What was that about?!” He barks at you as you stand up and take a step away.

“Sorry, it was just – it was like – are you sure you’re not-.”

“I’M NOT A DEMON!” He bellows.

You tuck your lip into your mouth and bite down on it to keep from pointing out how much more demonic he looks bellowing like that. Your attempt to spare his feelings was completely shattered by the crew members that were nearby.

“Half of your moves have the word demon in them,” Franky points out as he walks by.

“Koby said you were a demon in the body of a man,” Luffy offers up with a smile.

“You sounded very demonic a moment ago,” Robin teases, not looking up from her book.

“Demonic brute.” Sanji scoffs, coming out of the kitchen.

You nearly choke on a laugh and fail miserably at holding it back. The delighted sound floats through the air for a second before you get your hands over your mouth. You take a few steps back before you’re laughing again, trying to apologize while gasping for air.

Zoro clicks his tongue and closes his eye with a grumbled, “Whatever.” You keep your apology and take a few steps back, trying your best not to continue laughing.

“Ah, (Y/N), come here, I have some drawings done.” Usopp says some moments later as the currents start to even out. Making your way over to where he had been tinkering, he pulls a small stack of papers out of his bag and hands them over. The first four are official wanted posters.

“Kaido, Big Mom – what a name,” you murmur looking through the posters. “Blackbeard, eaugh, that’s a face that makes my soul shudder. Shanks, oh.” You look at the poster for a long time, sitting down beside Usopp. “Do you have more posters of this man?”

“Eh? Maybe? Luffy knows him – oi, Luffy do you have any old wanted posters for Shanks?”

“Nope!” Luffy answers cheerfully.

You tilt your head. Something about the man seems familiar. You’re not entirely sure that you’ve ever actually seen him before, but there’s something that tickles at the back of your mind. You shake it off and move past that to the drawings Usopp and Robin had finished.

“This is Donquixote Doflamingo?” You ask and Usopp nods. “He’s a Warlord? He looks like a peacock.”

“Don’t let that fool you, the Warlords aren’t to be taken lightly.” Usopp warns. “No matter how odd they look.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” You mutter as you flip through and take note of the faces of Kuma, Mihawk, Moira, Boa, Crocodile, Buggy. “I know you said what you said, Usopp, but… Is this man a clown? Or does this world not have jesters? Do clowns often become pirates?” You ask, pointing to Buggy’s drawing.

“Buggy is Buggy.” Usopp says with a shrug. “Clowns are a thing here. He’s known as Buggy the Clown.”

“Well.” You shake your head as you flip the page. “Akainu? He doesn’t look like a pirate.”

“He’s a big-name marine,” Usopp explains. “The biggest name one, actually. I haven’t drawn any others yet, but if you see him or hear the name, you need to just run as fast as you can. Another name I’ve heard for him is Sakazuki.”

“It’s a hard face to forget.” You admit, tucking the page behind the stack and seeing the start of the stack. “Thank you Usopp, this is a lot of help.”

He hands you one more page, but this is nothing but a list of names. “I’ll draw them when I can, but if you hear any of these names, they’re bad news too.”

“Borsalino, Issho, Aokiji– ah, he’s not a marine anymore according to your note, but he’s still troublesome it seems. Monkey D. Garp. Eh? Eh, isn’t that-?” You’re already looking for Luffy when the reply cuts your question short.

“He’s Luffy’s granddad.” Usopp admits. “He was hot on your tail when we first rescued you.”

“Oh… Oh, I know his face. He got closer than I would’ve liked. If the squall hadn’t nearly toppled his ship, I wouldn’t have gotten away.” You admit. “What a fearsome man. You said he’s Luffy’s granddad, is Luffy’s father another of these marines?”

“Ah, heh, no. Luffy’s dad is the leader of the Revolutionary Army.” He says sheepishly.

“Rev-…” You pause for a moment to consider the last few bits of information. “A marine, a pirate, and a revolutionary. Quite the family.” Your eyebrows raise in surprise before you add the name list to the stack of drawing. “I imagine family reunions are rather tense.”

“Yes and no.” Usopp says with a laugh. “We’ve had an amicable conversation with Luffy’s granddad before. I mean, he hurled cannonballs at us the next day, but that’s kind of how it goes. We haven’t really dealt with the Revolutionary Army, but one of Luffy’s brothers is an officer, and he keeps in touch. Luffy’s other brother – and none of them are blood relatives – has been traveling with the remnants of the Whitebeard pirates, who are trying to rebuild after their captain was killed. Whitebeard was one of the four Emperors before all hell broke loose last year.”

“And here I thought noble family relationships could get complicated.” You smile as you jot down notes on the empty space on the page of names. “What’re their names? I don’t want to mistake them for a threat if I run into them by myself.”

“His dad is Dragon, and the brothers are Ace and Sabo.”

“Dragon? Does this world have dragons?”

“… Technically.”

You close your eyes and shake your head. “No, no, don’t clarify that right now. I have enough in my head. I’m going to put these away for now and train. Thank you Usopp, I really appreciate it.”

“Aww, you’re welcome, I’m glad I could help.”

After you secure the posters, you train your haki, deal with the currents and random weather conditions, and that’s how the week goes. Eat, sleep, panic, train. By the end of the week, you’re really good at moving around the ship when it’s unstable, and you even managed to get both your feet off the deck practicing the geppo Sanji tried to teach you. Your haki was improving as well, and you were training it further by keeping it active for longer and longer. You doubted that you’d ever get to the point of being able to have it on constantly, but you wanted to be as adept at it as possible, in case you were separated from the crew again.

The only natural phenomenon that you experienced, the second to last day of your travels before reaching the island, that you absolutely hated was called a Knock-up Stream. Your only comfort was that Nami was amazingly adept at predicting them, and avoiding them, and Franky explained all the other options they had if they did get hit by one. It made it a little less terrifying, but before you had seen the event, you had assumed that whirlpools were the worst things in the sea.

Soon, the seas would be the least of worries. Knock-up streams or not.

#x reader #reader insert #one piece fanfiction #roronoa zoro x reader #zoro x reader #Thrice Prophesized #grandline metro au

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re-the-bear · 2 years

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Because this is the part of the void that is existence that I choose to scream into. I'm sorry in advance for the following brain dump as I'm unable to format properly on the mobile app and suffering right now, so I am not functioning at maximum capacity. Please, if it's going to offend or harm you to read about my problems, then please continue to ignore my existence.

~~ Brain Vomit Starts Here ~~

So, aside from my usual insignificance and the depression that follows it, I am literally being told that my government thinks I should pay them more for the "privilege of being a working citizen of this great" (/dripping with venomous sarcasm) nation. We, my partner and I, are being asked to hand over the equivalent to a month's rent in addition to the money they already took from us because they didn't take enough. This government is so asinine and absolutely dead set upon self-destruction that it makes me want to hurt myself.

They tell us that we have to work to live. We need money to eat, to have shelter, to pay for clothing and transportation, to work, just to have to pay to do that. If I have to pay for everything just to exist, then why continue choosing to exist at all? They take take take, and just when you think you're tapped out, they find some ass backward way to take some more.

We are living in Prince John's England, the cops/sheriff steal from the beggarly & the poor to fatten the purse of some buttery soft billionaire or government official. It's disgusting, and we, as a nation, know how wrong it is. Yet we, "the white God fearing people of Rock Ridge," are placidly waiting for someone else to do the dirty work of saving our lazy butts.

An aside thank you, Mel Brooks, for such a beautiful metaphor for white complacency in the face of true villainy.

It's enough to make one consider Shakespeare's Ophelia from Hamlet. An educated woman, smart and well aware of the machinations of the royals around her. Truly in love with the Prince, she seeks to aid him only to find out he's killed your father whilst trying to murder the king, his uncle, and then be sent away to England by the king as a way to discreetly have the Prince killed. Finding your love has killed your father & is on his way to be executed, with no remaining family who can negotiate a marriage for you, no money to start somewhere new, Ophelia must have thought her future so bleak. Surely, the grief alone might've moved her to her "Quietus make," adding the lack of societal or familial support is a recipe for a depression so deep that swimming in a 17th century gown in the middle of winter sounds like a good idea.

So here I am, in a world where the minimum wage is less than Bob Crachet made working for the notoriously pinch penny Scrooge, being fleeced by cops & and government, all for the pleasure of working. While trying not to die. I'm sorry, but you've bled me dry America. I've got no friends, no social life, no time or energy for art or hobbies, can't afford any luxuries like; fresh food, movies, travel, shopping local, eating out, makeup, etc etc. I can barely afford my job, which is laughable because I'm as essential as it gets, I'm a janitor. I clean up after y'all & it's ridiculous how fast a bathroom can devolve into a sesspool.

#3 am ramblings #i'm sorry #rage #screaming into the tumblr void

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outercrasis · 3 years

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Bonded

Part 3

Pairing: Max Phillips x Named F!Reader/OFC (Prudence Walker)

Rating/Word Count: M (18+) / 6.9k

Warnings: descriptions of Max’s new eating habits, language, brief discussion of religion (let me know if something was missed!)

Summary: Over the river and through the woods to Nana's house we go

A/N: Sorry this one took so long to get out! It's a long one to hopefully make up for the wait 😅 See the end for an additional note and thank you as always to @escapades-to-rivendell for the beta read, I couldn't do this thing without you 😘

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All things considered, the car ride is not as bad as it could be. It's not great, considering your passenger is a sullen vampire that's pissed at you for essentially neutering him, but it's not bad either. You were even considerate, stopping at the hotel he'd been staying at to let him gather his things before jetting out of town.

Max doesn't have much – a suitcase far nicer than your ratty blue duffel and a few suits kept carefully preserved in garment bags. You wanted to laugh at those, but you can tell you’re already on thin ice. No need to make it worse.

You expect him to be irritating while you drive, but he's surprisingly quiet. Quiet does not mean easily ignored unfortunately. His stare weighs on you like a twelve-ton brick across the bench seat. You don’t look at him, not wanting him to know that he’s getting to you. Your eyes stay firmly focused on the road ahead as you try to preoccupy yourself with figuring out what exactly that sigil you used did to him.

It's obvious that Max is currently unable to attack anyone, biting or otherwise. The pain that shoots through his head is unquestionably strong enough to overcome his desire to maim and kill. For you, this is good news – for him, you're not sure.

Your vampire friend Brooke had essentially proven that on-tap blood wasn't necessary and bottled would work just fine, but it's still concerning. You're not sure if that's something she can maintain forever or if she'll need to top-up from a fresh source every once and a while. Max won’t be able to manage that in his current state. And sure, maybe he had thrown you against a car, but you stabbed him in the arm so fair is fair, right? That doesn't mean you want him dead.

You make a couple stops along the way, calling Nana about halfway to let her know where you are and who you're bringing with you. She's excited by the news which shocks you when it shouldn't. The vampire part was never going to bother her – she just heard the word guest and ran with it.

When you get back in the car after the second stop (this time for gas and snacks, not the bathroom), Max finally speaks. "Where are we going? Somewhere more private so you can stake me?"

You roll your eyes, peeling open a Slim Jim with your teeth. "You still think I'm going to kill you?"

"Well you did stab my arm, so,” Max sneers. The wound in question had finally closed and Max cleaned it at your first stop on the drive, relieving you both from that overwhelming death stench. By your estimation it had taken an hour and a half to fully close. You wonder if feeding would have sped that process up for him.

"Arm. With a knife that we both know wouldn't kill you, so."

Max isn’t pleased with your answer. He knows you’re right, but definitely doesn’t want to admit it. "Then where the fuck are we headed?" he spits at you.

There's no reason not to tell him. A few more hours of driving and he'll have his answer. There's something about seeing him squirm though that you can't help but enjoy. He's certainly accustomed to having the upper hand and right now you're holding all the cards. You take a bite of the processed meat stick and talk around it. “You’ll see.”

You’ve always enjoyed the drive up to Nana’s house. The long twisting two-track nestled into a dense smattering of trees and undergrowth. It gets tricky at times in the winter, but ever since Nana purchased the plow attachment for the truck they’ve become more manageable.

Thankfully, it’s only autumn and the worst you have to look out for is a dead tree that could have fallen and blocked your path. It happened once before and you’re hoping to never have to deal with it again. Processing a tree is not your idea of a good time and you’re willing to bet Max won’t lend a supernatural hand to help.

Max sits up when you turn in the drive, his pouty mood dissapaiting slightly as he realizes you’ve finally reached your destination. Nana’s house sits in a large clearing within the small forest, looking aged but well cared for. It’s a small, old two-story farmhouse with a porch that wraps around two sides. Plants adorn the sun faded railings, some intentionally planted and others not. It would look overgrown if it weren’t for the careful eye Nana keeps, maintaining the growth to be healthy rather than choking.

There’s a small greenhouse out in the yard for Nana’s more specialty plants nestled in by the shed Grandpa built before you were born. The garden boxes have mostly died off for the season, a few squash plants and green beans all that’s left. Chickens roam the yard, pecking indiscriminately through the grass. A few near the driveway flutter and squawk when they hear the rumble of the station wagon approach the house.

You watch the front door swing open, Nana shuffling out on the worn boards of the porch to welcome you home. It’s been a number of weeks since you were here last, stretched longer by Evan’s unexpected call, and seeing her alive and well comforts you in a way that her voice over the phone simply can’t do. She’s not ill or all that fragile, especially considering her age, but still, you worry.

Dirt crunches below your boots as you hop out of the Suburban, throwing your duffle over your shoulder. You’ll deal with the trash that’s accumulated in the car later – for now, you’d just like a hug from Nana and a bowl of whatever delicious meal she’s surely made.

Halfway up to the house, you notice that Max isn’t following. He’s outside of the car just… staring. It’s not the heavy gaze he’s been leveling at you for hours. This one is quieter, full of something you’re not confident enough to identify. It disappears just as soon as you’ve noticed it, Max returning to himself and confidently striding after you. Satisfied, you turn back and keep walking.

Nana waits patiently as you clomp up the steps, dropping your duffel and leaning down slightly to hug her. She’s not much shorter than you, just enough to require a slight bend in your knees, and it’s well worth it. When you were a kid you were convinced her hugs could heal anything and to some degree you were right. There’s a small part of you now that still holds onto that belief.

Her gray hair is pulled back into a simple bun, a few strands fallen loose from her own long day. Necklaces and bracelets clack as she moves to pull you into her arms. She smells like home, bergamot and jasmine mixing pleasantly with the scent of dinner that clings to her eclectic clothes.

Pulling away from the hug, she rests her hand on your cheek. "I made your favorite."

Your mouth is already watering at the thought of the chicken and dumplings that you now know await you inside. There’s no denying she’s a phenomenal cook, but there is something about her dumplings that are just perfect. You’re certain there’s a secret ingredient she puts in beyond ‘love’ as she’s so fond of telling you.

Nana gently pats your cheek a couple times before looking around you. Max is standing at the bottom of the stairs, hands shoved into his trouser pockets, looking out across the yard. The way the sinking sun catches his facial features is striking. The warm glow lights his skin, erasing the ashen color that made itself more apparent while you drove. He almost seems like a member of the living.

“You told me you were bringing a vampire here, not that you were bringing a hot one," Nana says while gesturing for Max to join you on the porch properly.

"Nana!" you admonish. You can't believe she actually just said that. She’s always spoken her mind but you’re not sure you can handle this. You’re trying to ignore his effortless attractiveness, purposely not acknowledging how good he looks even in his day-old torn and rumpled suit. Max takes Nana's compliment as invitation and stands beside you on the porch.

“What? I’m old, not dead," she says before turning to Max. "Oh, no offense dear."

The smile he gives her is easy and obviously amused. "None taken, doll."

"A charmer then. I'll keep that in mind," Nana laughs and waves him off.

She turns to lead you both into the house, remembering at the last moment to specifically invite Max in. You head towards the kitchen, lured by your nose and the promise of hot home cooked chicken and dumplings. You barely even notice Max as his head twists and turns, taking in the decor of the farmhouse. It’s become so normal to you that you’ve forgotten how strange it can look to others.

The house is filled to the brim. Not in a hoarding way, but in a Nana clearly said fuck the minimalist decor movement sort of way. The kitchen is clean, but cookware and appliances of various ages and styles litter the counter space. It all looks well loved and well used, something you know from personal experience to be true.

On the one wall, Nana has plants strung up and drying for equal use in cooking and the small amount of witchcraft she dabbles in. There are photos hanging on the other walls alongside some kitschy decor. A hodgepodge of clipped out recipes, old photos, and your childhood drawings litter the fridge. You’ve attempted to remove the drawings and more embarrassing photos a handful of times but Nana refuses to take them down. You stopped after she threatened to replace the photos with even worse ones.

It’s busy and there’s something to see in every corner, but there’s also an inescapable feeling of being at home. Even Max seems to feel it, visibly relaxing in the chair Nana directed him to.

You make yourself a plate while Nana rummages through the fridge for what you assume will be some kind of chilled dessert. Instead, she pulls out a take-out container that’s filled with something you can only describe as guts and another full of scarlet red liquid. Max looks equally surprised.

Nana is nonchalant, plating the gruesome meal as though it’s any other delicious feast she would whip up. The contrast of the organs and raw, bloody meat laid out on her reproduction blue willow china is almost enough to make you laugh. Almost. The fork and knife she pulls out are what elicits a snort.

“Prudence told me that you can’t feed like normal right now, but that’s no reason you should go hungry,” Nana says as she sets down Max’s food in front of him. “I made sure to get a few extra livers, I’m sure you could use the iron.”

You can’t imagine Nana going into town and getting that from the butcher has done much to improve her reputation. You’re also willing to bet that she doesn’t mind it in the slightest. For as long as you can remember Nana has been somewhat of a living legend around town, much to her delight.

Whispers suggest she isn’t simply the kind-hearted old woman she appears to be. Rumors that she’s involved in the – gasp – occult float around, most of which are spread because she doesn’t attend a weekly mass. Back when you were no older than six and the rumors first spread to you, you asked her about it and she let you in on her way of thinking.

“There may be one god, child, or there may be many. They don’t know any better than I do and the way I see it, I’m hedging my bets far better than they are.”

Even as a kid you could see her logic in that. As an adult, you’ve grown to appreciate it even more. Worst case scenario, Nana has just been giving the singular god’s creations special attention. If He’s as loving as He’s supposed to be, then you can’t imagine Him taking issue with that. She’s certainly better off than the gossiping townspeople.

You bring your own food to the table, taking a seat across from Max. It occurs to you that you should find his macabre meal more disturbing – that other people would have a difficult time watching him consume the wet flesh and muscle, drinking down the cup of blood that you assume to be a pig's. He's shockingly clean about it though, actually using the cutlery and making it seem almost normal.

It’s quiet through dinner. Not in the same way that it had been in the car – the new location has had a calming effect on the both of you and the food has created an odd sort of armistice. Nana continues to move around the kitchen, the gentle clatter becoming a comforting backdrop to the meal.

After you both finish eating, Max looking significantly less pallid, you move to the living room. Max, to your immense displeasure, takes your spot on the old, worn couch. You debate fighting him over it but you know Nana won’t tolerate that, so you unhappily take a seat at the other end. You reach over and grab your favorite blanket before he can steal that too.

Nana joins you, sitting in her armchair positioned closest to the old fireplace and stares between the two of you. She arches an eyebrow, waiting for one of you to start talking before letting out a long sigh. “I’m not getting any younger.”

You glance over at Max, the discomfort on his face readily apparent. You’ll take this one then. “Max was trying to kill someone, I stopped him, and now he can’t feed or hurt anyone.”

“You told me that on the phone, child. Tell me something new.” Nana reaches down next to her chair, pulling out her knitting needles and resumes work on her current project. It looks like it’s shaping up to be a pair of mittens.

You don’t really want to tell her this next part. You know you have to, that if you want her help the information will have to be divulged at some point, but that doesn’t mean you’re looking forward to it. You feel ten years old again – when you forgot to close the chicken coop at night and a coyote had snuck in and had himself a small feast. You didn’t want to admit your mistake then either.

Your mouth goes a bit dry. “I may have done a small amount of blood magic with a sigil that I don’t know the origin of.”

Nana’s needles stop. Her eyes fall to your bandaged hand. The fire flickers in the hearth and the grandfather clock in the corner finds that it’s the perfect time to chime. The tolls are deep and loud, rolling like thunder before a devastating crack of lightning. You hope you don’t see it strike.

Nana gets up from her chair, a deep frown settling in, and walks away. As the clock’s ringing ends she returns and throws a pad of paper and pen into your lap. “Draw it.”

You sketch the sigil that you last drew in blood on the dirty asphalt and hand the image back over to her. Sinking back into your position on the couch, you draw your blanket up over you. Her unforgiving stare at your hand makes you feel guilty – an emotion you don’t want to feel given that you saved someone’s life with that wound.

Max breaks his self-imposed silence. “You mean you really don’t know what you did to me?”

Nana ignores him, studying the sigil, and you throw him a confused look. “I told you I don’t know what I did.”

“I thought you were lying,” he says, crossing his arms. The motion sinks him slightly further into the couch. Your irritation grows seeing him get comfortable in your spot.

“Why would I lie about that?”

“Because you’re an asshole?” he supplies. If he were anyone else, you might give him that. Certainly Evan would have every right after you overcharged for the callout fee and still made him pay more later. Max though? He could shove it.

“Says the murderous vampire in the room.”

“Vampire. Murder is in the job description, sweet cheeks.”

“Doesn’t have to be,” you scoff. You look out towards the window, watching the plants rustle in the gentle night breeze. The clear moonlight gives the world outside a ghostly glow. You’ve lost track of the moon cycle, but given how bright it is, it must be somewhere close to full.

Nana interrupts further argument, looking puzzled. “I’m not sure what this is. You’re going to have to give me time to do some research, but first you need to tell me exactly what you did.” It’s clear that this is not up for debate.

You relay the events of your days since Evan first called, carefully avoiding any mention of the kiss you shared with the vampire on the other end of the couch. Max interjects randomly, protesting your view of events at certain points but overall he lets things stand as you tell them. Thankfully, he doesn't bring up the kiss either. It seems he still has enough decency left in him to not air your dirty laundry to your grandmother.

When you explain that the knife you used to cut open your hand was the same one you plunged into Max’s arm, Nana tuts. You hadn’t given it much thought before now, but she caught it immediately. If Max’s blood remained on the knife and mingled with yours in any way, this might be more than a small amount of magic you dipped your toes into. You’re suddenly thankful that vampires are created in part by venom and not a simple mixing of blood.

Max chimes in again as you finish your story. “Another thing, I tried to compel her and it didn’t work. Why?”

Your temper flares. Watching him slowly grow more comfortable in your spot on the couch is one thing. To hear him easily admit to trying to compel you is another. “You did what?” you grit out.

Max shrugs in reply, turning back to look at Nana for an answer. You want to hit him. Better yet, you’d love to have that knife again and sink it into his other arm just for the hell of it. Here he is complaining about what you did when he tried to rob you of your free will. If Max has one thing, he certainly has audacity.

Nana gives a straightforward answer. You know it too, but you’re far more preoccupied with not following through on every violent urge you’re currently feeling. “Compulsion works based on the person’s strength of mind. Prudence is stronger than your average person so it would take a fair amount of effort, if you were able to affect her at all.”

You can’t help but preen under her praise. Realistically it’s because of your knowledge of the paranormal that strengthens your mind against him, but it’s still nice to hear. Doubly so after a night of feeling foolish in front of the person who taught you everything. A welcome reminder that despite your errors, she still loves you and always will.

Max looks a bit put out at this answer and you’re surprised he didn’t know it already. You’re not sure when he was turned, but it couldn’t have been too long ago. Most are perceptible to compulsion, but for you to be the first he tried and failed with? He must be the world’s luckiest vampire. Either that or his usual type is just a susceptible bunch. Considering his general persona, the latter is a bet you’re willing to take.

The grandfather clock chimes again, alerting you all to the late hour and you find yourself unable to stifle a yawn. “Go on to bed, child. We won’t be figuring this out tonight.”

You offer a nod, pulling yourself out of the couch. You can feel exhaustion start to hit you hard, the events of the last few days and less than excellent sleep in the Suburban catching up. Nana speaks again as you get to your feet. “Oh, and please show Max to the guest room. I’m sure he could use some rest too.”

“Thank you, Nana,” Max replies, a look of pure shock and joy on his face.

“Of course, dear.” Nana returns to her knitting, eyes focused on the pad of paper still in her lap. It’s clear that she expects you to do as she’s asked. You aren’t going to protest, it’s her house and she makes the rules in it, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be happy about it.

You don’t say anything to Max as you leave the room. If he wants to see the guest room then he can follow. You head upstairs, the steps creaking slightly beneath your feet. Still irritated by his attempt to compel you, you merely stop in front of the bedroom Max will occupy and gesture to it before moving down the hallway towards your own.

“You sure you don’t want to share, angel?” Max asks.

That stops you in your tracks. Your bed is desperately calling out to you, ready to wrap you in its loving and soft embrace, but really? That’s where he’s taking things? In your grandmother’s home no less?

He’s leaning against the doorframe, a shameless grin on his face. It’s difficult to tell if he’s joking or serious. “In your dreams,” you shoot back.

Max takes a moment to inspect his fingernails, incredibly nonchalant about this entire situation he just created. “I don’t know. I seem to remember someone being very eager not that long ago.”

“And I seem to remember leaving someone behind with blue balls. Or are they just always that color now?”

That breaks his cool facade a little, eyes narrowing on you. “I’d watch yourself, Prudence. If whatever you did to me wears off I’m coming for you first.”

You roll your eyes and readjust the blanket wrapped around your shoulders. “I’d love to see you try.”

You don’t offer Max the chance to reply, taking the few remaining steps to your bedroom and closing the door swiftly behind you. You’re fairly certain if you have to hear one more comment from him tonight that you will go out and find a stake with his name on it.

The worst part is that he’s not even the most annoying person you’ve ever had to deal with. He just gets under your skin, like he knows exactly where to pick that will bother you the most. It certainly doesn’t help that the last remnants of his bite to your lip are still healing – a near constant reminder of your stupid mistake. You caught him glancing at it a few times tonight and if it weren’t for Nana being in the room, you would have called him out on it. It’s not something you want to explain to her.

Not bothering to take your clothes off, you flop into bed and let yourself become consumed by familiar pillows and blankets. Your body rejoices at a real mattress beneath you. Within minutes you’re softly snoring, drifting off to sleep.

It’s late in the morning by the time you wake. You can tell by the way the sun spills in, lighting up old band posters you put up when you were in highschool.

Dragging yourself out of bed, you run a hand over your face and change your clothes. Jeans are not comfortable to sleep in and less so to wake up in. Swapping them out for sweatpants and locating an oversized t-shirt, you take a deep breath and shuffle downstairs in your fuzzy purple slippers. Hopefully today will bring answers.

Making your way into the kitchen, you’re greeted by the strong scent of coffee and Max’s broad shoulders at the table. He’s pulled on a soft gray henley that’s a little too tight, pulling the fabric taut and making you forget for a moment that you are refusing to think of him in that way. Remember: asshole, attempted compulsion, death threat, vampire.

Once you can trust your brain to start functioning properly again you let your presence be known. You make a beeline for the coffee, pouring it into your favorite mug. It’s a hand thrown piece your grandfather had made, the glaze a soft sage green. Nana once told you how he thought it would come out purple. How he managed to mix up the colors so badly you’ll never be certain.

Turning around to face Max you find him eating some sort of animal guts and another glass of blood only to feel your stomach churn. Watching him feed in the mornings was apparently not as easy as you’d found it last night.

“Cold?” Max smirks.

You’re confused until you follow his eyeline, looking down to find your hardened nipples poking through your shirt. You quickly cover them with your arm and frown. “What are you? Five?”

Max shrugs, finishing the last of his drink. You tear your eyes away from the way his neck moves while he swallows, instead focusing on the way the light catches the strings of cut citrus Nana has drying in front of the window. He’s drinking blood anyway. It’s gross.

“Where’s Nana?” you ask. You assume he’s seen her, given his lack of need for real sleep and Nana’s early morning habits.

“She said something about the cellar. I don’t know,” Max offers.

“Thanks. Real helpful.” You leave him in the kitchen and reclaim your spot on the couch. Regretfully you left your favorite blanket upstairs, so you grab another and settle in.

Your journal is sitting on the coffee table in front of you, pulled out last night to show Nana where you’d found it in your disorganized organization. She’d hoped that it might give a better inkling as to where you discovered it based on everything else around it, but you’re not sure it had been helpful. Internally, you vow to never add something to your journal again without at least a bare mention of what it actually is.

The rest of the day passes without major incident. Nana is down in the cellar for most of the day while you and Max do your best to avoid each other. Any time you cross paths there’s usually a snippy comment or two passed between you, but things stay mostly civil.

You occupy yourself by attending to the things around the farmhouse that Nana can’t do or finds more difficult at her older age. You’re pleased that Max stays out of your way, not wanting him to mansplain everything to you. Changing a tire on the lawn mower is well within your skillset, thank you.

Nana comes up from the cellar around dinner time, shaking her head slightly. No luck. She keeps her more important books down there in a small temperature and moisture controlled storage area to keep them safe from harm. When you were a child it was also to keep your nose out of things that were far too gruesome for you to handle yet.

Despite your protests as a child, you’re glad she kept them locked away until you were ready. You still shudder a bit thinking of the firsthand account from a shapeshifter that you’d read in one of them – the vivid detail they’d gone into describing the way it feels to have bones shift and grind, to tear away skin and muscle that should no longer be there. It was enough to give you nightmares for a month.

The next two days that follow are more of the same. You’re starting to feel disheartened, taking up research of your own to try and find this elusive sigil and its intended use. Max is less than pleased. He doesn’t seem to understand that books are unlike the internet and don’t have handy search keys that make things easier to find.

“Have you even tried googling it?”

You look up from the book you’ve been pouring over, glaring at him. It’s clear that he’s bored. There isn’t all that much for him to do here and your suggestion that he help research had been met with a derisive laugh. He’s leaning against a column of the porch, tossing an apple you grabbed for a snack back and forth between his hands.

“Have I even- yes, I have. It’s not exactly easy to search for when I have very few keywords to work with. Do you even know how many sigils and wards involve circles and triangles?”

The apple stops moving. “No.”

“Basically all of them,” you reply and bury your head back into your text. “Now make yourself useful or fuck off.”

Instead of a witty comeback Max wanders off the porch, with your apple, aimlessly walking around the farmhouse grounds. It’s frustrating how easily he distracts you. You’re sure to not make it obvious, but you can’t keep your eyes off of him. Since staying here he’s been wearing more casual clothes instead of the suits, Nana offering him an old pair of boots of your father’s, and it almost looks like he could fit in here. It would, that is, if he didn’t flinch at every chicken that comes just a bit too close to him. A perfect piece of blackmail for later.

About ten minutes after you’ve kicked Max off the porch, you hear Nana calling for you. She’s in the living room, three books splayed out on the table before her.

“What is it?”

Nana looks up and furrows her brow. “Where’s your vampire?” she asks.

“He’s not my vampire,” you protest.

“Semantics,” Nana waves. “Go get him.”

You’re hopeful this is good news – that Nana uncovered something in her research where you’d been unsuccessful with your own. Going back outside, you find Max in the shade of the shed, poking at a clump of lichen working its way up a worn board.

“Come on, Dracula. We’re going inside.”

Max wrinkles his nose at you. “That’s insensitive. And I told you before, I’m not some lapdog for you to order around.” He continues to pick at the fungus, letting flakes gently drift to the dirt below. You don’t know what happened to your apple.

You huff at him. He’s so... petulant. “If you want to know what Nana found you will,” you tell him.

He perks up visibly at that. You imagine you’d shared a similar expression at seeing Nana in the living room. It seems like there’s finally a light at the end of the tunnel. An answer to what you’ve done and how to fix it so that you and Max could go on your own merry, separate, ways. Being stuck with him for any longer than you have to does not sound like your idea of a good time.

Nana is sitting in her chair by the time you return, reading glasses on with her multi-color beaded chain dangling from the arms. You’re quick to grab your spot on the couch, not giving Max the chance to steal it from you again.

“What did you find?” you ask, eager to know why she’d called you so urgently.

Max is perched against the other end of the couch, half sitting on the armrest with his arms crossed over his chest. His expression is stern, but you can tell he’s just as anxious as you are from the consistent drum of his fingers on his bicep.

"I found Prudence's sigil. Would you prefer the good news or the bad news first?” Nana asks.

You feel your stomach drop. “Good first.” Whatever the bad news is, you need to hear something positive beforehand.

“I know what the sigil is.” That’s comforting at least. Having it identified can go a long way in the world of research. At the very least it can set you on the correct path instead of chasing down every possible lead. You expect Nana to continue, to tell you whatever other good news there is. The pause endures though and it’s clear that’s the extent of it.

“What is it?” you ask.

Nana takes the book in her hands and holds it out to you and Max. “It’s meant to be for protection.”

Max’s eyes narrow on the page. You’d like to make a joke saying how surprised you are that he can read, but now isn’t exactly the time. “What do you mean, meant to be?”

“In its original use it protected the spell caster and one other. The two triangles represent the two being protected, the circle is the shield around them, and the line binds all three together.”

Your eyes trace over the lines on the page, putting the pieces together as Nana explains them. It makes sense. Used properly it likely protected from a variety of dangers, supernatural and otherwise. It’s like a walking protection ward that follows the people rather than an object. It’s sweet in a way – trusting another enough that one would willingly enter this bond.

You’re not sure what you’ve done using this with a vampire instead of another human.

Nana pulls the book back. It’s obvious to you that she’s trying to figure out how to phrase the next part. You fear that you already have an inkling as to what she’s going to say and you hope you aren’t right. You consider praying despite not being particularly religious.

She settles on the blunt approach. “You bonded your souls together.”

Both you and Max are taken aback by that, eyes going wide. “He’s a vampire, he doesn’t have a soul,” you immediately protest.

“Not in a literal sense but he still has a sort of life force around him. You know how this works, child. Anything that’s up and moving has an energy you can tap into, unalive or not.”

She’s right. You know she’s right and still you don’t want to believe it. You bound yourself to him? It’s absurd in every sense of the word. Somehow this little sigil, almost overly simplistic in design, has changed the course of your life forever. Now you know why you didn’t write out what it was all those years ago. You never thought you’d use it.

“So why don’t I just push through the pain and kill her? Our souls wouldn’t be bonded and then I’m free to do and eat what and who I want again,” Max says.

“Are you just skipping over the part of that where I’m dead?” you ask, blood boiling.

“Details, toots.”

“My life is not details, you fucking ass.” You don’t even think twice about swearing in front of Nana, getting up from your seat and crowding Max’s personal space. If he wanted to kill you he could try. You’d love nothing more than to see him cower from the splitting pain that’s guaranteed to torment him if he tries to hurt you.

Max doesn’t back down, but he also doesn’t make a move towards you. He’s waiting for his answer before he does anything other than talk.

Nana’s not pleased with either of you. “Knock it off. You’re not killing my granddaughter and there’s nothing you can do to him, child.” Her voice is stern, cleaving between you both like a sharp knife. You continue to glare at one another, but you both back down. The threat of Nana’s wrath is far more terrifying than each other.

“It wouldn’t work anyway,” Nana continues. “I’m almost certain that if she dies then you will too.”

Your staring contest breaks, turning and speaking in unison to address Nana. “What?”

She sighs, picking up one of the other books she brought up from the cellar and begins to read. “To all those who use this sigil be wary, for the protection it grants may also become your undoing. Should one of you die from causes other than natural, the other will also perish.”

She peers over her glasses at you and takes in your reaction. You’ve fallen back onto the couch cushions, disbelieving at her words. There’s no way you ever thought this would be a good sigil to use. The risk is far too great and now you’ve used it with a member of the living dead. How the hell does that work?

Nana allows you both a moment to overcome the initial shock. “I’m unsure what your death would do Max, as technically you’re already dead. Prudence’s, however, would certainly mean your end as well.”

“That doesn’t explain why I can’t hurt her or others without my brain tearing itself apart,” Max says. He raises a good point. Is it some sort of effect due to the nature of the sigil? Has it worked in reverse, preventing him from attacking to protect others? It’s yet another mystery laid out before you to solve. Something tells you it’s going to be even more difficult than uncovering the sigil was.

“I’m not sure. Couldn’t find anything in these books about using this sigil with a vampire.” You consider the books laid out before you. Three books out of Nana’s hundreds that mention the sigil and all of them are from the cellar. This doesn’t bode well for any sort of continued research. It’s a red flag screaming at you that you’re going to have a difficult time finding anything else on the damn thing.

“So I’m stuck with her,” Max says.

“Yes, you’re stuck with my lovely granddaughter,” Nana confirms, a trace of annoyance laced in her words.

You can’t do this. This is not how this was supposed to go. Nana or you were supposed to find the sigil, break it, and then you’d never have to see Max again. He would go on to live a long immortal life or a short one if hunters found him, and you would continue on with your own mortal one. You were not meant to be tethered to him for the rest of your natural life.

The crowded farmhouse suddenly feels too small, too oppressive, and you need to get out. Need to do something that allows you to feel even the slightest bit in control of your own destiny. You frantically get up from the couch and run outside, ignoring Nana’s calls after you.

Without your jacket on the cool autumn air is a shock to your system. You ignore it and press forward, trying to get somewhere you can think straight. Maybe when you get back you’ll learn this was all just some big mistake. A misunderstanding of the texts or some missed passage explaining how to break the bond once it’s been formed. Certainly you aren’t the first two to want to sever this tie.

You don’t even make it off the porch before Max is behind you, grabbing onto your wrist to prevent you from going any further. There’s no yell of pain from him and the surprise from that stops you more than his grip. Max pays it no mind, squaring you with a serious look.

“Where are you headed, angel?” It’s the softest you’ve ever heard him speak.

You pull your arm back, glaring at him. “Somewhere away from you.”

Max hardens again. “I’m not the one who got us into this mess.”

Technically he’s right, but you’re pissed and you’re not going to let him think he’s won this fight. There’s plenty of blame to go around. “Excuse me? It never would have happened if it weren’t for you trying to kill Evan,” you accuse.

“You didn’t have to try so hard to save him. The world would be better off without him.” You go to protest, only for Max to cut you off. “Don’t pretend, sweet cheeks, I know you hated him too.”

Fine. He had you there. You didn’t like the self-important little twerp. So what? “Yeah well, that’s not any reason to let someone die.”

You sit down on the porch’s top step, feeling equal parts embarrassed and annoyed. With your mind clear it’s hard to believe that you’d been so stupid as to use that sigil without knowing what it was. In the moment it made sense – chock full of adrenaline and fighting through the fog in your mind from the mild brain trauma. It had been your only answer. You desperately wish it hadn’t been.

Max sits down beside you, making you grimace. He lets out a sigh and says, “Look, angel, it seems like we’re stuck together until we can figure this out. Can we call a truce until then?”

He extends his hand, offering it for you to shake. You stare at it, weighing your options. You could leave him hanging, making things more contentious than they already are or… you could shake it. That doesn’t mean you have to like him, you just have to work with him. You think you can manage that.

“Fine,” you say and shake his hand. “Consider us partners.”

Hopefully you won’t come to regret this.

I couldn't help myself and made a little moodboard for Nana's house 💕 (Nana doesn't have a dog but the vibes of that room were perfect)

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#max phillips x you #max phillips x reader #max phillips x original female character #max phillips x prudence walker #max phillips fanfiction #bloodsucking bastards fanfiction #bonded #crasis writes

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cyclone-rachel · 2 years

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2022 Omniverse Rewatch + Episode Ranking

part 6: Arc 6

• I like that Looma is acknowledging that she’s going to settle for Ben. • That’s gross, you never do that in public. • Literally the "I'm cold, too." "well, damn, baby, I can't control the weather!" meme except Ben just shoves his jacket in her face. • Kimberly Brooks has great range too, I’m here for that • So did Ben just get two containers of nachos? • How many Sumo Slammers movies are there exactly? Okay, apparently there are 6. • Rayona’s got some moves • Love how this episode plays on the meaning of “catfight”, as in a fight between two women, but also there are actually cats involved. • Ester’s right. • Thank you, Rayona. • Sorry, “Argit boulevard”? • Is fishing a criminal activity? • Looma just casually rips off someone’s roof • And of course she had to say that. • That was clever of Rook. • Oh yeah that’s accurate. • Not under attack yet, anyway. • The Plumber badge has a video camera? • That is a very interesting visual metaphor. • You’re both teenagers, aren’t you? • They probably should have realized that on their own. • This is why they would never work as a couple. • Ben playing soccer is always fun. Guess he graduated to soccer from baseball? • Would not expect one soccer ball to cause that much destruction. • Legit thought he was voiced by Diedrich Bader. • Also he really does look like a Rob Liefeld character, it’s incredible. • And you would know a lot about that, wouldn’t you? • I’m glad they clarified it’s Screegit-free. • But Ben is famous. • Cannot believe people misunderstood that Gwen and Kevin were one person. • That seems like an exaggeration. • I see there’s some Ben 23 merch in his cart. • Also I like that he mentions the Unitrix and the Nemetrix! • This is Super Alien Hero Buddies all over again. • “fruity plan” that would not fly today. • Isn’t there a reboot alien called Slapback? • Also I guess they’re not gonna talk about that again. • Thank you, Ben. • Okay, it is a problem now • “jumping the root shark”, ha • Wasn’t he looking at the planet anyway? • Simian, you’re such an asshole. • I’m not gonna say who this character could very well be based on, but if you know, you know. • Couldn’t Ben point out that he wasn’t the one who signed the planet, and thus, Collectimus could just take the TV show Ben? • Although okay, I guess Collectimus was planning on taking him anyway. • The least subtle line ever. • Then where the hell are you from? • Collectimus was doing The Collector’s schtick before The Collector was. • Okay never mind, The Collector is cooler. • I love that they spelled “existed” wrong in the subtitles, like how he pronounced it. • I’m glad Ben apologized. • “I’ve dealt with collectors before” like when? • How many old shirts do you have? • That was very smooth. • Wait, does he know? • Also a very un-subtle line. • Okay, finally, we can actually go in the order Hulu has the episodes in, because it’s the same as production order. • Why so specific? • Captain Nemesis is such a sinister name. • Also I like them retroactively establishing Captain Nemesis as a hero Ben was a fan of in addition to Kangaroo Commando, as was the case in that one Ultimate Alien episode. • Yeah, Corey was the clear choice for this character, if one was going to do a recast. • That’s a very good pun. • The way he speaks is very interesting. • Also I think I mentioned this in my original liveblog, but I think it’s great that Christopher McDonald and Corey Burton, who play Captain Nemesis and Kangaroo Commando here, were also Jor-El and Brainiac respectively in Superman: The Animated Series, and they definitely had a significant interaction in that show. • HEY WAIT A SECOND, Yuri Lowenthal, who voices Ben obviously, has also voiced a Superman, so we’ve got a Jor-El, a Kal-El, and a Brainiac in this episode. Fantastic. • I thought that was supposed to taste good? Unless it’s only good for Revonnahganders • You’d think he would learn to take fights outside. • Ben sounds so tired. • He can definitely tell that’s staged, right? • Wait, is his name spelled with two Rs, or one? • Also Billy hired him in the first place? • I guess there are no other superhero teams in Bellwood to begin with. • Billy is so full of shit. • You just said he would remain nameless. • I guess he wouldn’t want Ben’s perspective on all of this, because we know Ben wants to be a genuine hero. • That’s not funny. • Can’t believe he actually said that. • Fuck. I love this Brainstorm fight scene. It’s so good. • Corey has so much range. • Ben getting his Spider-Man 2 moment. • I hope he got his jacket back later. • Can we please get a reporter in this universe who is unbiased and believes in Ben? Thanks. • And of course they’re gonna fall apart. • Awww, there were posters of Ben and Rook I guess. • Gosh, they’re literally watching paint dry. • Wow, they fired the shapes of their symbols into Billions Tower. • “Brainstorm was right” aw hell yeah. • And you finally admit it. • Cannonbolt falls with style. • And they never show up again. • “Vulpin yak wool” so they have yaks on the Vulpimancers’ home planet? • You maybe have that backwards. • Not a bad trap. • Well that didn’t take very long for the phone to lose battery completely. • That’s your idea of trouble? • Wait, he really does want socks? • Yeah, they really want to make it look like Jimmy is Spanner. • He would be a genius in the future. • Gosh, those portraits. • How do they know each other? • “pounding alien face meat” uh. Gross. But I’m glad it’s not meat anywhere else on the body. • “our priority needs to be Argit” yes, because Kevin would never forgive you if it wasn’t. • How many panic rooms does Argit have? • Yeah that is gross. • And how do you define “his time”? • Glad you finally asked that question. • Ben’s got some moves. • And apparently so does Argit. • Yeah, you still haven’t explained that. • And he doesn’t even stick around. • Well that’s not good. • So why did Spanner choose to interfere in this event? • Mood, Ben. • Really liking this use of the Proto-Tool. • That’s not a good idea. • How do you even wash that? • I didn’t even know he could speak. • Well, shit. • Oh, so that’s why he was there. • So does he use that later? I don’t remember. • She does look good in the red armor. • The Omnitrix looked real wonky there. • I guess they don’t already know who the Rooters are. • God, Charlie Adler is real good at creepy villain voices. • Yikes. Yikes. Yikes. • Oh, so at least they know. • You call that an interview? • What does that mean, exactly, in this context? • Way to go, Max. • Peak comedy right there. • Yeah, because “there hasn’t been a Phil in this body for years” • Like Ben keeps saying, he’s not a real Plumber. • Damn, Ben. • I guess they definitely don’t want to cooperate with him because he’s part Cerebrocrustacean. • Well that’s very cool. • So how far away is Kevin, exactly? • Also why are they still calling him an Osmosian? Although I guess that’s the kind of mutant he is. • YEAH ZED • That’s a nice car. • Very much an understatement. • So, kind of like the Forever Knights? Ish? • Conduit and crucible are very different things, probably. • It makes perfect sense that Argit is the source of Pierce’s powers. • He had a serious case of the flashbacks. • But you’re also a hero, and Ben’s best friend. Come on, Kevin. • Damn, she’s ruthless. • How dare you. • Oh no, Zed got left alone for the second time, that’s very sad. • So, basically the word for “we can’t use the word mutant on this show, so here’s the alternative” • He can’t understand himself? • What does that mean, exactly? • So why didn’t Max keep an eye on him when Kevin was a kid? • Oof, that makes them ending up in the Null Void worse. • And are they failed experiments? • Why does he have a lot of nerves? • It is interesting that Zed attacks Phil, given that Phil was the first recipient of the Nemetrix that Zed herself later wore. • Rob Paulsen fighting himself, love it. • Does that word really apply here? • Way to go, Rook. • Well, he’s gonna come back, obviously. • That’s an incredibly sinister ending. • Different sandwich this time. • Had no idea Diamondhead’s arms could be that long. • Yeah, that is good to know. • Skeuomorph, to my surprise, is a real word. • “Defeated by the superlative” is a good line. • Of course they were the Area 51 aliens. • Gosh, I wonder how Ben would react to that “storming Area 51” thing that happened a few years ago. • Okay, so funny thing, there’s actually an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine where some of the main alien characters in that show are also “the aliens at Area 51”, and one of them (well, the character who tries to break them out, but ends up stuck with them anyway) is actually Odo, played by Rene Auberjonois, aka Azmuth in this series. • You know, Kate Micucci’s voice does fit perfectly for Luhley. • Also I love that all 3 Galvans are sitting in that one seat together. • I really need to know how the Galvans work, exactly. Also, he had his hat thing even then? • Blatant lies. • So Azmuth came back just that one time, and then he went into self-imposed exile on Xenon again? • 23rd class out of how many? • These idiots. • How is Max there? He’s not that old. • Does Max have a Hawaiian shirt-print ascot • These days, that guy would definitely be played by John Mulaney. • Would love to know your definition of peace. • Is that what the Galvan language sounds like? • That is kind of impressive. • Ah, there’s Paradox! Nice! I was wondering if Max had met him before. • Is this why he ends up hiring them and having them at the Plumber base? • Again, very blatant lies. • They got real lucky there. • Those lasers do look very cool. • Of course that’s what it means. • Yeah, you keep saying that. • Hell yeah Luhley. • “old nemesis Azmuth”? • Go inside, Ben. • Just get it up to the surface, if it’s gonna explode. • Thank you, Ben. • So, the planet getting destroyed is your idea of peace? • That many, really? • Good luck with that, guys. • These complete idiots. • Oh, Benevelon’s actor is an audiobook narrator? Wild. • Very interesting names. • Can’t you work out with the lights off? • Gross. • That can’t be good. • Didn’t remember it happening that early. • Okay, but he has to call it the Bro-to Tool. • Alright, different thing, same pun. • Is Ben going to get along with this version more, like brainless Azmuth in the season 4 finale? • Spoke too soon. • I do like Ben’s concern. • I also like that music. • Alien brain chemistry must be a fascinating thing to explore in this world, like how different aliens have different parts of their brains. • That smoothie is still new? • Good luck, Ben. • Has his name been said before? • Awww. • Are those even the same area of the body? • It does look like the Infinity Gauntlet. • Okay, Rook has a point. • He looks very different. • Just looked it up, “enneagon” is another name for a nonagon, or a nine-sided polygon. Cool. • Still can’t believe he’s named Liam. • Ooh, one of the fighters is a Piscciss Volann. Neat. • Would love to know more about that guy. • Also is that a blue Pyronite? • So you wanted you and your sovereign to die, as well as having centuries of brutal warfare? • Can’t believe Baumann and Pakmar are watching this fight. • Are The Worst’s species and Fistina’s species the same? Or are they just really similar? • Also in retrospect it makes sense that the two villains with “fist” in their names would be connected in some way. • Was it really that long? • She deserves it. • Gosh, they’re even calling him “Fistrook” now. • So they’re getting him back to normal, right? • Can’t believe he just brought that up out of the blue like that. • You have no memory of that because Ben literally recreated the entire universe. • You don’t look fine. • Does he really want that? • Also is he really your friend? • Not a terrible landing, all things considered. • That was a good line. • Also isn’t Fistrick just a regular guy? • So what, do they use “the Ben 10 defense” in this universe? • Love how he gets progressively angrier over the course of this montage. • You just had to jinx it, didn’t you? • Was he just supposed to let the universe be destroyed? • Did that just float out of his pocket? • Are there other universal courts? • I think it’s neat that this and the first part of the season 4 finale are the two episodes where noted “way-more-than-half-my-life/known-longer-than-my-kid” friends Corey Burton and Rob Paulsen are both included in the individual episode voice cast, and this one has them actually interact. • Sick burn, Rook. • Maybe talk about his good qualities? • One last witness? That was quick. • Are there any other exhibits? • Again, I just love this episode. • Why couldn’t he get that flavor right specifically? • You literally just said this was your first case. • This is the best joke. • Gosh, I love Vilgax twirling a part of his “beard” I guess you’d call it. • Sick hammer. • Way to make him feel worse about this. • Intergalactic law would also be fascinating. • “I would if I could but I can’t, so I…will, I guess.” • He doesn’t have three beings in his head. • This fight scene is so cool. • How would they even have five pieces of Taydenite? • Alan is a smol • Also I can’t believe he’s only been voiced by actors with the last name “Robinson”, or for that matter that two actors with that last name have been in this franchise but their characters were in different shows and don’t interact • Although also they’re both in The Owl House now? So that’s cool. Did Principal Bump and Hunter interact, I don’t remember. • And I like his hoodie. • Love his sarcasm right there. • Gosh, Kevin’s face. • Why does he think absorbing wood is a good idea? • I love how fire is drawn here, with Alan and his abilities. • That’s a bigger problem? • Savior of the universe, everyone. • I refuse to believe Kevin wouldn’t leave love letters for her. • Also how long have they really been dating? • Very smart, actually. • Good girl, Zed. • “experiments”, big yikes. • Okay I can’t remember which predator that is, but why is it attacking a city? Especially what’s supposed to be 5 years before Ben will be aware of it. Unless it’s fiction instead of the news or something. • I love the tiny Amalgams’ looks. • Did he give them their punny last names? • I like how Rook said his name there. • He’s probably lying there. • How did his attitude on Ben change so quickly? • You literally just missed him. • You’re talking like he’s already dead. • YEAH • Oh yikes • Hell yeah • Of course, it’s Feedback. • Don’t tempt him. • Just a kid who wants to have fun, yes. • He’s not wrong? • Servantis is such an effective villain. • Goddamn, Kevin. • The Rooters’ base, aka the “hates Ben” camp. • How many Kinecelerans have you seen, Argit? • And here’s one of them now. • I truly forgot one of the Way Bads came back. • How do you know that? • Glad they didn’t forget Pierce, even though he is still dead. • I don’t think it was safe in the first place. • Gross. • He couldn’t turn into a Celestialsapien back then. • Definitely sounds like one. • Yeah, he didn’t have any better role models, I guess, after Kwarrel. • Snot-rag is an insult Kevin used in the original series. • So Ben, Gwen, and Max just forgot about all of this? • Is it really? • Kevin, you can do better. • “Corona” that aged poorly. • And that was abrupt. • So they’re his failed experiments now? • That all makes sense. • Thank you, Argit. • You definitely did. • And that’s what you wanted to do? • You don’t sound relaxing. • So Ben gave him the scar? • You can use her real name; you all know each other. • I’m sure that would hurt. • Holy shit. • Very good use of Feedback’s powers. • You okay, Kevin? • Hell yeah. • Just destroy that chamber already. • Awwww. • That was abrupt. • That’s very cool. • Oh yikes. • Anyway, really love this episode too.

Arc 6 episodes ranked: 1. Universe vs Tennyson 2. Weapon XI, part 2 3. The Rooters of All Evil 4. Weapon XI, part 1 5. Collect This 6. The Vengers 7. Cough it Up 8. Blukic and Driba Go to Area 51 9. Catfight 10. No Honor Among Bros

Basic thoughts: Again, an interesting season to watch, kind of in a similar vein as arc 4? Like there’s 3 strong arc episodes, a really funny episode that builds off of things introduced previously and has great meta jokes, one of my favorite episodes of the whole show with great humor and a gorgeous fight scene, an episode that I personally have a soft spot for with another really good fight scene, and then a few episodes that are fine but I don’t really vibe with? I feel like again, we could have used another Rooters arc episode, but I do like the ones we got, and I know most people aren’t big fans of the Kevin retcon, but we got a really good villain and 2 great Kevin amalgam forms out of this arc, plus the return of some old friends and some new characters.

Original rankings: 1. Weapon XI, part 2 2. Weapon XI, part 1 3. Universe vs. Tennyson 4. The Rooters of All Evil 5. Collect This 6. The ‘Vengers 7. Catfight 8. Blukic and Driba Go to Area 51 9. No Honor Among Bros 10. Cough It Up

#rachel talks about stuff #ben 10 #ben 10 omniverse

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sfb123 · 3 years

Text

Sapere Aude - Part 13

Book: The Royal Heir

Pairing: King Liam Rys x Queen Riley Brooks

All characters belong to Pixelberry.

Catch Up Here

If you’re new to Sapere Aude, please click the link above to start from the beginning. There’s so much going on right now that you’ll be way too confused to start from this point. Plus, there are some major bombshells that won’t be as fun if you read this and get a bunch of spoilers.

Series Description: I developed a theory of what I think will happen in TRH Book 4, and I was encouraged by some very lovely people to turn my theory into a fic, so here it is. Basically, Riley is recruited to join the Via Imperii, this series will follow her as she joins them to try and bring them down from the inside, and all of the drama and bombshells she learns along the way. Sapere Aude is Latin for “dare to know” it seemed like an appropriate title.

Rating: PG-13 Adult language, discussions of death, conspiracy, blackmail, and other adult themes.

Trigger Warning: There is a brief moment of physical abuse, it’s not much, but I definitely wanted to mention it and give a fair warning.

Warning: The Royal Heir Book 3 Spoilers all over the place.

Disclaimer: I have no current affiliation with any other Via Imperii themed stories. Any claims that I have pre-read anything are false.

Word Count: 2,383

A/N: I know you’ve all been on the edge of your seats wondering what was going to happen, the answer is a lot. This is a pretty big chapter. I hope you enjoy!

Thanks to my pre-reading babes, @jessiembruno & @txemrn. And to @twinkleallnight for my lovely moodboard!

Tags: Listed below, hit me up to be added or removed.

“Um...actually, it’s about the queen. Your majesty, you need to come with me, and we need to send some additional guards along with us.”

Liam’s face paled at Thomas’s words. “Where is my wife, Thomas?” He kept his voice quiet, so that he wouldn’t upset his daughter but his tone was stern and authoritative.

“I believe she is at the old Fierro estate, and time may be of the essence.”

“Li, go. We’re all here, we can take care of Eleanor.” Drake chimed in.

Liam nodded. “Bastien, please send as many guards as you can immediately, and prepare the car for us. Thomas, go with him and tell him everything you know so that we can fill the team in.” Both men bowed and quickly exited the room. Liam walked over to Eleanor, sitting in the chair next to her. “Eleanor, I need to step out and pick up mommy, ok? Your auntie and uncles will be here to play with you until we get back.”

“Can I come with you?” She asked hopefully.

Liam took a deep breath before answering her. “I’m sorry princess, but I need to go by myself. But you have a very important job here. Since Valtoria is your home, you need to host our guests. Being a hostess is something you will need to do a lot when you become queen, so this will be wonderful practice. Do you think you’re up for it?”

She nodded her head rapidly. “Yes daddy, I will be the best hostess!”

“Good. Now go with Uncle Drake, and mommy and I will see you when we get home.” He pulled her into a hug, kissing her cheek as they pulled apart.

Eleanor ran to Drake, taking his hand and pulling him toward the door. “C’mon Uncle Drake, I’m the hostess.” Drake chuckled before looking back at Liam and giving him a reassuring nod.

Liam waited a few moments to make sure that Drake and Eleanor were out of his path before rushing out of the room and toward the front entrance. The car was waiting for him, Bastien holding the back door open for Liam to enter. He jumped in and Bastien shut the door behind him, quickly jumping into the driver's seat. The SUV’s wheels squealed as it rushed toward the gates.

“How far out are the guards?” Liam asked.

“We had a team training not too far from the estate, they should be arriving shortly. They have been briefed.” Bastien replied, looking at Liam through the rearview mirror.

“Excellent. Would someone care to brief me now? Where is my wife?” Liam commanded.

Bastien looked over at Thomas, who was seated next to him. “Thomas, please explain to his majesty the current situation.”

Thomas took a deep breath, his hands nervously balling into fists. “Of course. You see sir, there is an organization, the Via-”

Liam pinched the bridge of his nose, interrupting Thomas. “Thomas, please spare me. I know about the Via Imperii, Riley has been telling me about the meetings, the plans, everything.”

“Everything?” There was a slight crack in Thomas’s voice as he looked back at Liam. If she had told him everything, Liam knew who he was.

“Yes Thomas, everything, including our relationship. Right now, that is the last thing I am concerned with. I need you to tell me what they are doing to Riley, and what we need to do to get her out.”

“Unfortunately, I do not know much. I’m sure you were made aware of the conflict between her majesty and Lord Neville. Well it appears that he and Mara have lured her to the estate under the guise of a meeting with our chapter president. I don’t know what they are planning to do from there.”

Liam’s jaw clenched as he ran a hand through his hair. “Bastien, remind me again why we didn’t dismiss Mara after her charge, the queen, my wife, was kidnapped at our wedding? It seems like grounds for termination to me.”

“She went through a thorough re-training process, and passed all of the associated tests. It was determined that she was able to adequately perform her duties.” Bastien replied.

“Adequate is not acceptable for protecting the life of a Queen. We need exceptional as the bare minimum. She should have never been cleared to return to such a high profile duty. We will be having a meeting immediately to review protocol and standards.” The mixture of concern and rage swirling inside of Liam was becoming overwhelming, he was having trouble thinking straight. He turned to look out the window, taking deep breaths to regain some level of composure.

***

“Since rational discussion is not going to be an option here, I guess we’re going to have to go to plan b, elimination.” Neville said to Mara as they sat across from each other, Riley tied to the chair at the head of the table.

Riley laughed. “Sure, elimination. I bet that will work out great for you. It’s super easy to just make a reigning queen disappear.”

“We have been successful in doing it with two out of the last four queens. What do you think makes you so special?” Neville turned his attention to Riley, genuinely curious to know her reasons.

“Well first of all, Eleanor was in on the plan, so she doesn’t count, so it’s actually one out of four. And second, I’m sure Liam and the rest of the guards, the loyal ones,” she looked poignantly at Mara, “are on their way. I’ve been gone long enough that Liam has definitely already had them ping the location of my phone.”

Mara pulled a phone out of her pocket and waved it in front of Riley with a smug grin on her face. “It has been powered off since I pulled it from your pocket as you were getting into the car.” She placed it on the table and slid it toward Riley.

“Any more smart remarks?” Neville asked, standing from his seat. He approached Riley, taking her face in his hand and leaning in close. “The fairytale is over Riley, and the ending isn’t quite as happy as you thought.”

Riley could feel her nerves starting to take over. Yes, Liam would be missing her right now, but how was he going to find her? She felt her heart rate increase, trying to keep her composure. She had been through this before. For as much as she hated Anton, she had to give him credit, he was much better at this than Neville was. If she could survive that, she could figure out a way out of this.

She thought back to that night at the abandoned castle, she needed to channel that version of herself again. And she certainly couldn’t let Neville know he was getting to her. “What happened? You couldn’t find a woman to kiss you out of being a frog faced asshole? Or you did and it just didn’t work?”

“That’s enough!” the back of Neville’s hand abruptly met with Riley’s face, the force of the impact almost knocking the chair over. She moved her jaw back and forth several times, trying to assess the damage as best she could with her hands tied behind her back. “Mara, do we have anything to gag her with?”

Before she could answer, there was a knock at the door. Neville and Mara looked at each other in confusion, nobody else knew about the plan. “Well?” Neville raised his hands in frustration. “You’re the security guard, go assess the damn threat!”

Mara jumped to her feet and opened the door to find Eleanor on the other side. “Ah Mara, I heard you and Queen Riley had stopped by, I’m so glad I was able to catch you.” She didn’t wait for Mara to respond before brushing past her and entering the room. “Lord Neville, I didn’t know you would be using one of our meeting rooms today. You didn’t clear it through the proper channels. What have we got here?” Eleanor walked straight past Neville and went right to Riley. She took in her appearance, noticing a red mark on her cheek and a small trail of blood running down her face. Her eyes were watering, but she hadn’t shed a single tear. Eleanor was impressed by the strength she was showing under these circumstances. She gave Riley a subtle wink before taking a seat and motioning for Mara and Neville to do the same. “Now, should we talk about where you plan to take things from here, considering you clearly haven’t thought this scheme all the way through?”

“We’re going to do what this organization has done for years, eliminate the threat. Maybe we will be more successful in the king’s next social season, and get a cooperative queen in place.” Neville replied.

Riley took a shaky breath, but the idea of her being taken away from her family was too much for her to bear. The tears she had been holding back broke free, and she began sobbing. Eleanor walked back over to Riley and knelt down in front of her. “It’s alright dear, you aren’t going anywhere.” She placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before standing and turning her attention back to her captors. “Are you insane? Do you have any idea how much time and careful planning goes into enacting an elimination plan? You can’t just decide to kill the queen and expect that everything will go off without a hitch!”

As if on cue, the door burst open and several members of the King’s Guard entered with their weapons drawn. Mara immediately drew her weapon and aimed it at Neville. “Hands in the air, Lord Vancoeur.”

“Drop the weapon Mara.” One of the guards commanded.

Mara continued acting as if she was assisting in the rescue efforts, ignoring the guard’s warning. “I’m glad you guys got here, I was having trouble calling for backup to save the -”

A loud pop filled the room, Riley flinched, keeping her eyes closed for a moment. When she opened them, she saw Mara laying on the ground in a pool of blood as two guards rushed Neville and took him into custody. Two more pulled Eleanor away from Riley and forced her hands behind her back. “Stop!” Riley ordered, causing both guards to look up. “She is not a part of this, she was here rescuing me. Let her go.” The guards complied, and Eleanor went back to Riley’s side, quickly undoing the fastenings that bound her to the chair. As soon as she was free, Riley stood and rubbed each of her wrists before raising a hand to her face, gently placing it on the spot that Neville had hit, and moved her jaw back and forth a couple more times. She looked at Eleanor, her eyes welling up again. “You...you saved me.”

“Of course, dear. I told you I wouldn’t let them take you away from your family.” Riley wrapped her arms around Eleanor and pulled her into a hug. Eleanor could hear her hitched breathing and knew she had begun to cry. “It’s ok Riley, you’re safe now. Let’s go get you cleaned up.”

***

Liam was lost in his thoughts, watching the scenery go by as they neared the estate. The sound of Thomas’s phone ringing took him out of his thoughts. He quickly moved his attention to the front of the car, listening intently to Thomas’s answers to the person on the other end. They were simple, one word answers, and he was unable to read any kind of emotion in his voice. “Well?” Liam said, before Thomas had even fully moved the phone away from his ear. “Is Riley ok?” The seconds it took to get his response felt like an eternity for Liam.

“Yes your majesty, Riley is safe. Lord Vancoeur has been taken into custody, and Mara was killed. Queen Riley is safe and awaiting our arrival.”

Liam breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in his seat. He was glad she was safe, but he needed to get there. He needed to see it for himself, to hold her, to kiss her. He needed to get her home where he could protect her.

The car pulled up to the front of the estate, and before it could come to a complete stop, Liam had jumped out and ran to the door. He burst into the estate frantically sticking his head into every doorway looking for her. Finally, he approached a large sitting area with a fireplace running, and there she was, silently watching the flames dance. “Riley? Love?”

Riley blinked a couple of times before turning and meeting Liam’s gaze. “Liam…” her voice was barely above a whisper as she slowly stood to greet him.

He rushed to her, immediately pulling her into his arms. He held her tightly as he kissed the top of her head. He pulled back, taking her face in his hands. The pressure of his touch on her still tender cheek made her wince in pain. Liam removed his hands and examined her face. “Riley, who did this to you?” He tried to keep calm, not wanting to cause her any more stress or pain.

“Stupid fucking Neville. I made some frog prince joke and he decided to heckle me with the back of his hand.”

Liam clenched his jaw, and took a deep breath. He would deal with Neville, but for now, he needed to be with his wife. “Riley, I am so sorry that you had to go through this. I should never have let you do this. It could have been so much worse.”

She placed her hand on his cheek, he noticed the marks on her wrist from the restraints, and turned his head to kiss them softly. “But it’s not, because Eleanor, your mother, saved me.”

“My...why would she do that?”

“Because I couldn’t let you lose her.” A lump formed in Liam’s throat at the sound of the voice behind him. He hadn’t heard it in years, but he had never forgotten it. He turned around and as soon as they locked eyes, he felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. “Hello, Liam.”

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something-very-special · 3 years

Text

they ran over the seals

More Replicant playthrough observations and general nonsense under the cut. For reference, up to the keystone quest; completed the Forest of Myth and Junk Heap.

This fucking game I swear to god.

A vaguely coherent ramble about sidequests An observation about sidequests in general in this game -- and I don't recall if I ever voiced this somewhere public or it was just a personal observation from my time with the original -- is that the quests in the first half of the game are all relatively easy to complete. There's that one asshat who wants 10 goat hides, but other than him, most of the sidequests are either very much based on finding characters, or gathering a sensible number of items that are either relatively common, purchasable, or given a guaranteed spawn for the duration of that quest.

The sidequests everybody remembers having to do are in the second half, where everybody is demanding and awful and I'm sorry ten MACHINE OILS do you know how goddamn rare those are? They're goddamn rare.

(We'll not discuss Life in the Sands.)

This is generally agreed to, in the technical vernacular, 'suck'. And it's always funny that the most interesting sidequests are the ones with very minimal requirements (Yonah's cooking, getting Popola drunk, the Lighthouse Ladoh my god everything's gone blurry I'm not crying you're crying who am I kidding we're both crying). That particular aspect of the design also feels intentional, not really gating your ability to progress the really meaningful or funny sidequests behind an unreasonable number of rare items. The other aspect of the design is that these quests are not meant to be completed in a single playthrough; most of them are single-stage and just absolutely unreasonable, but if you're going through the game four times you have a... reasonable chance of getting everything you need more or less naturally.

Nobody does that but I think that was the intended design. I think it's a good idea, although the execution of expectation is flawed so I don't really blame people for saying those sidequests suck. (Although I will in turn blame people for saying the sidequests suck as a blanket statement. Yeah getting that guy who burned his kitchen down a billion Broken Motors is aggravating but did you not find that old man's dog? Speak to Ursula on her death bed? Solve a murder? Then again I think tracking down that rotten son who's trying to get away from The Family Business only to learn his father is a con-artist and get literally no reward is the height of comedy so maybe I'm not the greatest point of reference.)

But that asshole in Facade can get bent. I can't exploit my garden properly, jackass! I am no longer a god of time. (I kid, of course.) (This guys sucks even when you can fix your clock.)

Forest of Myth It didn't even occur to me to wonder how they would incorporate the comprehensive voice acting into the Forest of Myth. I like how it plays out, although I wish the voices maybe had a fade as you went deeper into the dream instead of just cutting out at some point, especially for the lines where the characters are being ascribed actions by the narrator that they themselves aren't doing near the start of the Deathdream. But it's just delightful to go back to it. The second half of the game really sticks in your mind both for emotional reasons and because you play it at least three times per full playthrough of the game, but the first half is just so much fun.

Protip: Talk to everybody after you've finished the dream sidequest. Weiss tries to dissuade you. Don't let him dissuade you. I'm still delighted by the Mayor; "We're building a statue of you, made of solid gold. I know you don't own a horse, but we're going to put you on a horse."

I forgot about Yonah being a disaster chef Papa Nier's reaction to the stew is better. Brother is still funny but Papa Nier just expecting to die is comedy gold.

For anybody curious, the joke about the cakes is that Yonah made 'fruit cake' using some of the worst possible fruits for cake-making. If only she'd thrown a tomato into the mix, too.

Lighthouse Lady Every time. what the fuck is a canal I'm aware of the addition of the new-old content but it didn't occur to me until Popola suddenly starts nattering on about fixing the canal when I'm expecting Yonah to talk about a penpal that oh, yeah, I guess Seafront would have had something going on the first half that would play into the second half? (I assume it does. Be weird to introduce these characters just to have groundwork for an added sidequest. ...but it was a cute sidequest.) But look Popola my boy is supposed to be in the next area I visit could we-- I mean he's on the way could we just-- no-- fiiiiiiiiiine. (It was short and sweet, though, and I appreciate that the couple's love is exemplified by them both calling Weiss a floating magazine in tandem.) On a related note but was I the only person suddenly concerned when the sidequest completion maxed out at 50% and not 51%? I had to double-check with a guide just to make sure, since I've spent the last decade telling people to make sure you hit 51% before going on to Part II.

MY BOY I love that nowadays, Emil is everybody's son. But I really wish I could go find somebody only familiar with Automata and just watch their reaction. (I'm guessing there are streams out there that fulfill this but man I'd love to get it in-person.) If you're only familiar with him from Automata this has to be a mindfuck.

Personal anecdote, but I've had the privilege of playing NIER with somebody else almost every time I've gone through it. I had a wonderful experience of doing a replay some years back with somebody who had experienced it with me before but didn't have the most solid memory of the beginning (and had actually missed the entire weapon's lab the first time through). I get to the boy at the piano introducing himself and the 'Wait, what?' was a thing of beauty.

MY ANDROID This was a welcome mindfuck for me; finding Sebastian and having him 'reactivate' in such an unnatural, mechanical way. I don't recall if it was ever officially confirmed that Sebastian is an android (I know that it's just understood that this is the case but I'm not I can't recall a specific one) but the little flair they added to his animation caught me completely off guard. I liked it!

Destroying the food source A lot of people will cite a major inciting incident for the game as being when the protagonist heading back into the village and killing the child Shades just outside the entrance. This moment is such a great bit of subtle foreshadowing that's so easy to miss... but kind of joining that, just before the Knave of Hearts attacks, I realized that the Shades out on the Northern Plains are clearly ramping up for an assault of their own by murdering the sheep. The sheep population at this point is decimated (which is great when you realize you haven't gotten the Sheepslayer trophy and you're about to enter Part II and you don't know if the boar drifting minigame got carried forward with the inclusion of 15 Nightmares). You go out onto the Plains and you will find not only small clusters of sheep left behind instead of the vast, terrifying herds from the start of the game, but until you get their attention the Shades are prioritizing killing the sheep. (Also annoying because that doesn't count toward my sheep murder number.) The Shades will be out there also killing sheep earlier on, but since the whole map is in Overcast mode after talking to Yonah it's especially prevalent to go out to the Northern Plains and seeing the slaughter. And I realized-- they're cutting the Village off from a primary food source. Shades don't eat and they don't have any beef with the local ungulates (at least, no more so than anybody else does), so why are they hunting down the sheep? To deprive their enemies of resources. Sheep are extinct by the timeskip. It's actually really clever of them, and a really clever indication of their sentience and intelligence before it's fully verified.

"Let's get these shit-hogs!" Everything about the way Kaine and Emil interact across the entire game is perfect I will brook no argument this is objective fact.

Emotive Rectangles I wrote an essay about this before but it really bears repeating that the job the original animators did with this scene is just phenomenal. The way Weiss drifts, flits, flips, fans his pages, drunkenly swerves, shoots around the room in defiance... He's a goddamn rectangle, but there is so much emotion and personality in this scene just based on the movements conveyed through a what is effectively just a box. Ten years later and triple-A titles with full facial capture don't have this much seething personality. I really have to give props to the cavia animators, wherever they wound up. That studio could really put some subtle love and care into their titles, utterly unnecessary and easy to miss but you can tell that whoever was working on it was giving it their all. The books are probably the exemplification of this, but every time I go into Seafront and visit the seals I can tell that the guy on seal duty was having just the best day. They made Emil so pretty There's an FMV cutscene right smack in the middle of the original game after the battle against Noir. I understand why it was a necessity on a technical level, but it always looked pretty out of place and a little uncanny valley compared to the rest of the graphical fidelity. That's no longer a necessity so this cutscene is rendered in-engine. I admit I was actually curious to see it redone this way and it looks fantastic. I single out Emil since he is the focal point of cutscene and because his particular high-poly model had some pretty weird difference from his in-engine model, but he and Kaine both look great. But, like, it's almost mean how pretty he is.

They made Brother Nier so pretty Yeah okay you got me he's kind of hot. Kaine's expression when she wakes up and looks him over is... significantly easier to read now. Good voice, too. (Ancient rumors tell that one of the issues with international releases of RepliCant was that they couldn't find an English VA with a voice that 'fit' Brother Nier. He sounded good out the gate but hearing him growl "Let's go TAKE CARE of those KIDS" during the thief sidequest-- I got chills. It sounds so silly but there's a kind of percolating fury to that delivery. Papa Nier was like frustrated but mostly disappointed dad; I felt like Brother was going to take care of those kids, and nobody was going to find the bodies. Younger Brother Nier just never stops looking goofy to me but Older Brother just looks great in motion, between the alterations they made to the movement and just the entire weaponry system. The distinction between the two halves of the game was always a little odd in the Gestalt version-- not odd enough to really raise eyebrows if you didn't know about RepliCant, but of course you can tell that this age gape between the optimistic doe-eyed dogooder and a man largely ruled by his fury and calloused by tragedy is what the timeskip was going for. Swab me down and call me Ishmael, it works. Younger Brother wasn't quite clicking with me-- not because of any writing or voicework issues, but I've got Papa Nier on the back of my mind and it's impossible not to compare and contrast the delivery and dialogue between the two. I know that this is intentional, too; Younger Brother is supposed to be that happy-go-lucky video game protagonist, always doing the right thing and helping people, in order to contrast against the man he becomes. Even just edging into Part II the effect is dramatic and it recontextualizes Younger Brother into a much more effective overall character. And let me reiterate, I enjoyed my time with Younger Brother just fine, I have no issues with him. But he's up against Well Meaning Big Dummy Part I Papa Nier. No contest. And I'm excited to see where Older Brother goes from here.

Speaking of voices I mentioned this before but the delivery on the character's lines is different. The entire game was re-recorded and quite a few lines are still pretty similar to the original, but there are some that are... definitely different. Part of this is a difference in the relationship between characters based on their life experience and ages-- Weiss is much more of an ass to Younger Brother but has a much more even respect for Older Brother (neither of which are like the rapport he established with Father). Some of Kaine's lines feel more aloof, dismissive, and almost tired in the front half of the game. I haven't really gotten to a point to dig into Emil's rapport with the other characters, but the delivery feels more hesitant and uncertain (which I think is more in line with his Japanese VO, but I'm prefacing that on an untrained ear and a presumption rather than recent memory). It's been interesting to see not just where hey adjusted dialogue (and how-- there are some lines that didn't need to be rewritten), but also how they adjust tone and delivery. Dealing with Younger Brother is one thing, but as I said, I'm very excited to see what's different in the second half, especially being much more familiar with that part of the game. Speaking of Voices! Halua got dialogue! I... preferred when it was inferred (and the implications of "I'll always be watching over you" are borderline malicious given the results of their fusion dance, yeah THANK YOU HALUA this is GREAT). Halua's delivery also felt a little too innocent and upbeat both for the situation and when compared to her narrative voice in The Stone Flower, where she comes across as much more cynical and cold. But given what she's been through and the nightmare she's finally escaping I guess she's allowed express happiness. She's certainly earned the right to having a spoken line. No matter what. Every fuckin' time.

"Here we go." This was always a great line to kind of ease in to the officially-official start of Part II-- every time you start up a New Game+ you're greeted with Emil musing about his conflation of Halua to Kaine, and then the phrase "Here we go". There's a lot in that one line. On a personal level he's grounding his thoughts in the moment and steeling himself for what comes next and pushing through his pain and sadness and fear. Whatever Nier told him in the facility he's still terrified, desperately terrified, that Kaine -- who was the one who told him his life had meaning -- is going to reject him. And why wouldn't she? Ultimately they don't know each other, not really. He understands at that moment that his relationship with Kaine is based on confused memories of his sister, that maybe the bond he thought they established isn't actually real. As soon as he frees Kaine he's going to have to confront her, like this, and how could she ever-- she won't-- but he can't just leave her. Whatever happens next. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. (God it matters.) "Here we go." On a meta level, that's our introduction into the second half of the game. The first half is all prologue. This is where we'll be spending the rest of our time, even to the point that 'New Game+' skips straight ahead to this moment. Now that we've finished the establishment, this is where it all builds and where it all matters. Here we go, audience. The ride starts now. You get up to this point now in Replicant. You get the same lead-in. My dumb ass even whispered "Here we go", because I can't help myself. And he says, of course he says--! "Anyway." ... ...a-anyway? What the hell kind of line is that? "Here's some deeply personal musings that are also an indication of my own discomfort as I babble to myself just to fill the void so I can stave off thinking for just a few more seconds. ANYWAY." What a... bizarre decision. Just bizarre.

Upgraded melee combat The introduction to the armored Shades always feel kind of rough-- the defenses on those Shades are significantly higher than anything you've faced and the new weapons you're given to combat them just aren't that good. (If you got lucky you could have a fully-upgraded Faith by now, which is nearly three times as powerful as the 'heavy' two-handed sword you're given; if you downloaded the 4 YoRHa pack for Replicant you've probably been able to upgrade one of those weapons once, which are also a really nice strength boost that leaves the freebie heavy swords and spears in the dust). As an introduction to the new weapon types it always feels like rough going. But then you get a chance to get decent weapons and the combat system truly opens up, and compared to the first game you really feel it. At this juncture I would always just bustle off to Facade and grab the Phoenix Spear and never look back-- the raw power compared to the rest of your arsenal coupled with the triangle dash is basically the bread and butter of the rest of the game. It's not exciting, but it's effective. No more triangle dashing, which was deeply disappointing... but both weapons definitely feel good. I am also somewhat ashamed to admit that it wasn't until now that I realized attacks weren't just about rhythmic input-- you can hold the attacks down to do different charged hits and combos depending on when you execute them in your combo, similar to Automata. I, uh... I felt a bit dumb. But hey, wow, it's a welcome adjustment and it makes all of the weapon types feel equally valuable for different purposes. I never liked using the heavy blades in the original release because they just felt too slow for the damage output they did, even if their 'point' was mostly to sheer off armor (and they definitely felt too slow for use in crowd control). Now they're still heavy and slower, but not to the point that you're basically leaving yourself open just trying to attack. Spears now do crazy sweeping combos and multi-hits. Both of these properties were borrowed from Automata and I find myself prioritizing melee combat and almost forgetting I have magic because honestly it just feels intuitive and fun. I feel like Kaine and Emil might have gotten a power boost as well? Not that I can really confirm this but going into some of the Junk Heap rooms I'd focus on killing a few robots in the corner and then turn around and just see a field of item drops and no more robots. Don't take my word on that, of course, but they felt a little more effective, and a placebo effect is still an effect. "You're staging a protest? That's fun!" Emil. Rebel without a cause. Will not hesitate to kill you if you trespass on his property. (Might explain the statues in the courtyard, actually.) I'll have to double-check this dialogue because I definitely remember more of a melancholia before we get to roasting marshmallows. I think Papa Nier actually offers to talk to/implicitly threaten the villagers to let them in the Village whereas Brother offers to sleep outside with them... which is actually kind of funny. In the former it comes off as Emil and Kaine maybe kinda-sorta not wanting to be allowed in the Village for their own reasons (they're not happy reasons but they're reasons nonetheless) and reassuring Father that no, it's okay, it's fun! The latter is almost telling Brother to stay inside because he'll ruin their sleepover.

(They're absolutely having giggly girl talk about him outside the gates, 100%.) they ran over the seals All I want in Seafront is to enjoy the music and run out to the big beach and hang out with the last living seals and they put a fucking pirate ship on top of them. Oh, wow. Gideon. Wow. OG Nier featured a Gideon that tried to keep himself together and then had fits of mania. You'd be concerned about him during some of the dialogue but generally speaking he came across as... functional. The delivery on all of his lines is now so insanely murder bonkers, like every line he's addressing you like you're already chained to the wall of his serial killer dungeon and it's glorious. I don't know if the distinction between the games is deliberate (in that Gideon in Gestalt was just more even-keeled between his 'rip 'em apart' snarlings and was always just totally nutso in RepliCant) but I do appreciate it. It's a good mirror to Brother Nier's own anger, which only ever seems to be mollified when he's talking to his friends (even kindly accepting sidequests there's a pretty consistent -- not universal, but consistent -- air of barely-bridled frustration). The other characters that Brother encounters are various reflections of himself if things had just been a little different-- Gideon was a representation of the kind of obsessive madness that would have eaten Brother alive if he hadn't had his network of support. Gideon's constant fury and bloodlust even bleeds into him just saying "What can I do for you?" He has no anchor to keep himself sane, nobody to stay human for; he's all mania, all anger, and he only takes any real interest in Brother on his return because he sees an opportunity to act out his vengeance. After defeating Beepy and Kalil he even goes so far as to not only blame Beepy for killing Jakob, but for also killing their mother, which is patently insane but really speaks to how far his justifications and fury have taken him. Papa Nier responds to his anger toward Beepy by basically backing away slowly and saying "Oookay then". Brother, however, actually commiserates; "That's enough. [...] We get it. We really do." This is definitely one of those moments where Brother's context works better than Father's; he absolutely sees himself in Gideon. He completely understands him and sympathizes. He recognizes the madness of his own quest, he sees where it could take him, and there's a resignation when he speaks to Weiss: "Revenge is a fool's errand." "...yeah." Papa Nier has a similar delivery and similarly implies that he understands how terrible his quest is, but there's something decidedly haunting in Brother's sympathy. Also just verifying something on the wiki and this bit of 'Trivia' really jumped at me:

Gideon is the only character to only cause the deaths of other characters. In his case, he caused a platform to crush Jakob and ordered the deaths of P-33 and Kalil, with P-33 surviving.

Metal AF.

#NieR #NieR Replicant #Rambling #He will always say 'here we go' in my heart #And that's probably a serious medical condition

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wiypt-writes · 4 years

Text

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch42: Maybe Baby Part 1- I Made That

Intro: Katie and Emmy both meet a new friend, and Tony and Pepper welcome their baby girl to the world. As the family enjoy the happiness the new addition brings, it leads Steve and Katie to a big decision of their own…

Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut! (NSFW) No under 18s. Teeth rotting fluff…

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 41 Part 2

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

May 2019

“Come on, Emmy, throw me a bone here!” Katie sighed as she sat in the chair of the coffee shop. “I can’t do anything about it if I don’t know what’s wrong.” She paused and rolled her eyes. “Jesus I sound like Steve.”

Emmy sighed and looked out of the window. “Why do I have to go back?”

“Because.” Katie said, rubbing at her temple “Look, you’ve already been out of school for like nearly a year, and it’s only for a couple of months and then it’s gonna be summer.” “So what’s the point of going then?” Emmy persisted. “Can’t I just wait and go back in September?”

Katie let out a groan, dropped her head into her hands before she heard a soft chuckle. She looked up to see the woman who was behind the counter had come across to clear away the empty mugs on the table. “She sounds just like my daughter.” The red haired lady smiled. “Nothing but back chat.” “I thought a hot chocolate and a muffin would help.” Katie side eyed her foster daughter. “Clearly I was wrong.”

Emmy scowled at her in response.

“The Decimation screwed a lot of things up” The woman sighed. “Tell me about it.” Katie breathed out. At that point the woman was joined by a girl who was the spitting image of her, Katie assuming it to be her daughter.

“Oh.Em.Gee!” The girl spluttered, looking at Katie “You’re Katie Stark, I mean Rogers!”

Katie grimaced and glanced around the shop. There were only three other people in and as they looked over she let out a relieved noise as they simply nodded to her and turned back to their drinks. “Brooke!” The woman chastised before giving Katie an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry, you’re clearly here for a quiet drink and-” “It’s fine.” Katie hastily said, glancing at Emmy who was looking at the girl, frowning.

The woman looked at her daughter before she glanced at Katie, then to Emmy. “Brooke here goes to MS in Brooklyn.” she offered suddenly.

“What’s MS?” Emmy looked at Brooke.

“The Maths and Science Exploratory School.” Brooke nodded. “It’s really cool. Before the err…well, before they used to do all sortsa stuff…” “Brooke, why don’t you take Emmy into the back and show her some of your work and the website?” the woman offered “If that’s ok with you.” She looked to Katie. “Fine by me, what do you think Em?” Katie asked.

Emmy gave a nonchalant shrug. “Whatever.” “Manners!” Katie looked at her sternly. Emmy had the good grace to look a bit abashed when she stood up and turned to Brooke.

“Sorry, yeah I’d like to see.”

Katie watched her go before she looked at the woman “Thank you.” The lady smiled and nodded to Katie’s mug “Refil?” “Please.”

“Coming right up.”

Katie leaned back on the comfy sofa and pulled out her phone. She had a message from Steve, asking her how it was going. She responded with three words ‘Fucking hard work’ before she slid her phone away as the woman came back with two mugs.

“Mind if I join you? Might as well take a break whilst we’re quiet.”

“No, of course not.” Katie gestured with her hands and the woman took a seat on the chair at the other side of the table.

“I’m Jennifer by the way.” She held out her hand “I own this place.” “Nice to meet you.” Katie smiled “I would introduce myself but…”

“My loud mouth daughter did it for you.” Jennifer rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sorry about that. I wasn’t sure she would recognise you and I didn’t want to draw attention to you by warning her not to say anything…”

“Don’t worry about it” Katie shook her head “I mean it’s not like my identity is a secret. It’s just not everyone is particularly pleased to see us now-a-days. They seem to flip from either thanking us all for our efforts or screaming at us that it’s all our fault.”

“People are idiots.” Jennifer said simply “Anyone who blames you guys for any of this needs to get a check of themselves.” Katie smiled, sipping at her coffee “You know this is a really good roast. I’ll have to tip Steve off about it, he’s a coffee fiend.”

Jennifer smiled and then she looked over to the counter before glancing back “So, sorry for being nosey but I know you didn’t have a kid before, well, you know.” “Oh, she’s fostered.” Katie smiled. “I’ve known her since she was eighteen months old and she lost her last foster carers in the snap. We took her in for a night and she never left.”

“That’s good of you.” Jennifer smiled

“Least we could do.” Katie glanced at her coffee “When I look round and see what others lost, it brings it home to me how lucky I was, you know. I mean don’t get me wrong we lost people we cared about, a great deal. But my brother, my family, my husband, all still alive.”

Katie trailed off and thought to their baby. It had struck her on the first anniversary of the snap a few weeks earlier that their baby would have been with them now. Either a boy or a girl, blue or green eyes, blonde or dark, they’d never know.

“You can’t think like that.” Jennifer shook her head. “It doesn’t matter who you didn’t lose, you still lost. Hell, everyone lost, and everyone hurts, regardless of whether it was 1 person or 10. It doesn’t feel any less shit.” “You lost someone?” Katie looked at her.

“My dad.” Jennifer looked at her hands “My mom died a few years back and my husband was killed in Afghanistan not long after Brooke was born. So now it’s just us” “Sorry.” Katie bowed her head as the woman wiped at her eyes “I didn’t mean to…” Jennifer waved away her apology and smiled “Don’t be. It is what it is.” At that point the two girls came back into the main part of the shop, and Emmy was clutching a pile of paper.

“We printed some info off, mom.” Brooke said, “So Emmy can read it later. And we exchanged numbers, so she can text me later if she has questions and stuff.” “Good thinking!” Jennifer smiled.

“Right, you ready to go?” Katie looked at Emmy. “Steve’s cooking so we should go make sure he hasn’t burnt the compound down.”

“You live in the Avengers Compound?” Brooke looked at Emmy, wide eyed “Man that’s awesome.” Emmy smiled before she looked at Katie “What’s Steve-o making?”

“I think he said he was doing carbonara.” “Oh, that was good last time he cooked it.” Katie smiled, pulling on her jacket. “Yeah, it was actually.” She stood up and smiled at Jennifer. “It was really nice to meet you.” She reached into her bag for a twenty to pay but Jennifer waved it away “On the house.” “Oh, no.” Katie protested, dropping the twenty to the table, but the woman picked it up and handed it back. Pursing her lips, Katie spotted the tip jar on the counter and quickly strode over to it, depositing the note through the slot before giving the woman a smug look. Jennifer laughed and shrugged before she reached over the counter and handed Katie a business card.

“My mobile number is on there.” She smiled, “If you ever fancy a chat or a drink some time, anything at all.” “Thanks” Katie beamed. “That’s really kind of you.”

“Bye!” Emmy waved as they exited the shop. She turned to Katie as they walked to the car. “They’re nice.” “Yeah, yeah they are.” Kate smiled “Come on, let’s get home before we’re late and we get the eyebrow of disappointment.”

****** The last week in May brought some unusually cold and wet weather for the time of year, which wasn’t surprising as the climate was still all over the place. It was normally the time of year they celebrated Tony’s birthday on the 29th with a BBQ or something, but there was none of that this time. Not least because of the weather, but more over that his birthday was overshadowed spectacularly by the arrival of his daughter, Morgan Hope Stark some four days earlier on the 25th.

“Guys.” Katie gulped, tears welling in her eyes as her baby niece gently stirred in her arms, her eyes not opening as she moved her hands gently, “She’s…” “Amazing, I know.” Pepper gushed beaming up at Katie from where she was sat, propped up in the hospital bed.

“I made that.” Tony bragged, his chest puffed out. Katie knew how genuinely proud he was simply by the affectionate gleam in his eyes. Pepper rolled her eyes playfully, sharing a look with her sister-in-law.

Steve’s arm curled round Katie’s waist as he gazed down at the baby in her arms, smiling gently as he smoothed the blanket down to get a closer look. She had a light dusting of dark hair, Tony’s cheekbones and Pepper’s nose.

“Wanna hold Uncle Steve?” Katie asked, looking at him.

“Erm, yeah, sure, that ok?” Steve looked at Pepper and Tony.

“Just don’t drop her.” Tony narrowed his eyes “Or throw her, she’s not a shield.” “Tony, you’re such a dick.” Katie sighed, passing the precious bundle to Steve who gently took her, supporting her head with his large hand.

As Steve cradled the tiny baby in his large arms, filled with wonder at the miniature human he was holding, he suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

This would have been them.

As Morgan curled her hand around his large index finger the lump grew larger and he fought to keep the tears that had sprung into his eyes from dropping down his cheeks.

Across the room, Tony curled his arm round his sister’s shoulder and dropped a kiss to her head as she wiped away the single tear that she herself had shed hastily before Steve saw.

Steve collected Emmy later that evening from Brooke’s. Emmy had decided to go to MS after all, and as such the two girls had fast become inseparable during the week and often at weekends too.

“She’s been ever so well behaved and polite.” Jennifer smiled, handing Steve Emmy’s rucksack. Steve nodded and gently placed a large hand on the back of Emmy’s head

“Good.”

“Gerroff.” she shrugged him away “I’m not six.” Steve rolled his eyes as he looked at Jennifer and raised an eyebrow “Clearly just us she gives back chat to.”

Jennifer chuckled “And they say it’s gonna get worse as they get older” “I can’t wait!” Steve replied, sarcastically. The woman laughed, Steve thanked her again and they headed to the car.

“So what’s Morgan like?” Emmy asked as Steve set off back up the main road to head out of Manhattan and towards the Compound. “Does she look like Tony?”

“A little, more like Pepper really.” Steve smiled

“Phew.” Emmy grinned and Steve gave a snort.

“Katie got some photos so she’ll show you when we get home.” Emmy glanced out of the window at the passing trees before she turned back to Steve “Do you think you and Katie will ever have a baby?” Steve’s knuckles tightened on the steering wheel as he took a deep breath, and he instantly regretted it when he felt Emmy recoil in the seat next to him.

“I’m sorry.” she began, and Steve cursed himself for being so damned easy to read. He hated it when she got scared and fearful that she’d done something wrong. Every time they tried to discipline her for misbehaviour she would end up trembling out of deep rooted fear she was going to get a beating.

“Sweetie, I’m not mad, and you have nothing to be sorry for.” Steve sighed, “It’s just, well,” he bit his lip “,in the Snap, Katie and I lost a baby. Katie, was pregnant and we didn’t know.” “Oh.” Emmy frowned, looking back at her hands “That’s sad.” “Yeah.” Steve said with a small smile. The simple words she had used were spot on, there was no other way to describe it. “Yeah it is. But, we got you to look after and you can throw some spectacular tantrums so it’s kinda like having a baby in a way.”

“Rude.” Emmy glared at him, and he couldn’t hide the smile on his face at her indignation.

The two of them arrived home to Katie declaring from her spot on the sofa that she didn’t want to cook so had ordered take-out Pizza much to Emmy’s delight, but one look at his wife told Steve she’d been crying. As soon as their foster daughter was out of earshot and had gone to her room he sat down next to her and turned to face her.

“What’s wrong, Sweetheart?”

“I’m fine.” She shrugged, and Steve quirked an eyebrow.

“You forget Mrs Rogers, I can read you like a book.” He snaked his fingers in between hers and she took a deep breath “Talk to me, honey.”

“Just seeing you there with Morgan before, I couldn’t help but feel that…” she stumbled over her words as her tears began to form again “That could have, should have been us, you know?” Steve sighed and gently reached out to her, pulling her to his chest.

“I know.” He whispered softly, dropping kiss to her head “I know.”

“They would have been coming up for six months old now, give or take.” Katie sighed gently and his arms tightened around her. Taking a deep breath he decided to voice what was on his mind and dropped his head slightly, nudging her face up with his nose.

“You know, we could always…” He trailed off, and she licked her lips as she looked at him, understanding immediately what he was suggesting.

“I dunno.” She sighed, “I mean I like the idea, but…” “But?”

“I’m scared, Steve.” “What of?” “Well, that something will go wrong.”

“Why would it go wrong?” he frowned.

“It did last time.”

He sighed. “Katie, nothing you could have done would have made a difference. Once he snapped…”

“Do you really want kids?” She cut him off, looking at him.

“Yeah, I do.” He answered honestly “I wasn’t that bothered about it before but now, well with Emmy being here and Morgan, the thought of our own child, running around, one that’s half me half you…I can’t even begin to explain how amazing that feels.” Katie looked down at her hands and Steve took a deep breath. “But if it’s not what you want then it doesn’t matter” He gently titled her face up to look at him.

She looked at him, her eyes locked onto his and her words were almost a whisper. “I do want. I want a baby with you.” His eyes flashed and he gave a grin. “Well that’s good, I’d be worried if you wanted one with someone else.” “Jerk.” She scoffed, hitting his chest as he laughed before she took a deep breath “Maybe we could like try but not try.” “I’m not following.” Steve frowned.

Katie sighed. “I don’t wanna get hung up on it.” She shrugged “No pressure. So maybe not try as such, just don’t try to stop anything.”

Steve smiled, if he was honest, a baby to him should be borne out of love and not some kind of weird planned parenting mission.

“Is that ok with you?” she looked at him. “Oh, Kitten.” Steve’s face split into a huge grin and he took her face in both his hands “It is very, very ok.”

******

August 2019

“Thor came here?” Katie asked as she looked at Tony, the two of them sat on his porch. Katie was bouncing Morgan on her knee whilst Emmy was busy helping Pepper feed Gerald, Tony’s newest addition, an Alpaca.

“Yup.” Tony nodded “He came to see Morgan. He’s errr, changed.” “Changed?”

“Yeah, erm, he’s a little bit portly.”

“Portly?” Katie stopped what she was doing until Morgan let out a screech, encouraging her to continue. “As in…” “Fat.” Tony nodded.

Katie snorted “Bullshit…” “Straight up Kiddo. Apparently he’s got his brewers working on a new beer. Clearly been sampling it a little too much.”

“Other than that how did he seem?” Katie asked. Despite herself she couldn’t help but wonder how the man she had once been good friends with was holding up. Tony took a deep breath “Ok, I think. I mean it was a surprise him showing up. I haven’t seen him since, well, that day at the compound.” “He took what happened really hard” Katie sighed. “But the rest of us had to move on, he needs to do the same. I tried to talk sense into him…” “You punched him in the face.” Tony raised an eyebrow. “He deserved it.” “I know.” Tony paused “And for what it’s worth, he hates himself for it. He told me.” “Well maybe he should apologise.” Katie shrugged, and that was the end of the conversation. They stayed for a few hours before heading back to the compound and, given that it was a nice night Katie and Natasha retired to the large garden area and the hot tub for a girl’s night in.

“You talk to Steve today?” Nat asked, pouring Katie a glass of wine from the ice bucket at the side.

“Not yet.” Katie shook her head, turning from where she had been watching Emmy playing fetch with Lucky to look at her “I’ll speak to him later. He’s ready for home though. Keeps moaning about how the chef doesn’t make Mac and Cheese as well as me.”

“He loves it really.” Nat grinned.

“Yeah, he does.” Katie smiled “It’s nice to see him so focussed, you know with something to do.”

“When’s he back? Feels like he’s been gone for ages”

“He has, it’s been almost three weeks this time” Katie smiled, “But he’s home in a couple of days and on that I got a favour to ask. Could you maybe have Emmy for us? Thought we might go out or…” “Or stay in?” Nat raised her eyebrows, smirking.

“Something like that.” Katie snorted.

“Yeah, no probs. We can have a girl’s night in my apartment.” She nodded over to the pre-teen who was running across the lawns. “She’s never any trouble.” “Thanks Nat.” Katie smiled, sipping her wine and pulling a face at the sour taste.

“How’s she been recently?” Nat nodded to Emmy.

“Good.” Katie nodded. “The nightmares have pretty much stopped. She still gets a bit reserved now and then but I think getting her back to school has helped a lot. She’s a bright kid, good at art as well as the technology and science. Should see her and Steve when they get going.”

“Yeah they seem pretty close.” Nat smiled.

“She’s like his shadow when he’s here.” Katie snorted. “I don’t get a look in.” She took another sip of her drink and shook her head. “Does that taste right to you?”

“It tastes fine, but then so did that Tuna you said was off.” “It was off.” Kate grimaced, nodding to the dog that was currently splashing in the shallows of the river, after his ball “Even Lucky wouldn’t eat it.”

“Well I ate it and I’m fine” Nat shrugged.

Katie took another sip shook her face before tipping her wine into Nat’s glass “I can’t drink that. It’s nasty.” “Errr, that is a fifteen year old vintage, stolen from Tony’s old stash in the cellar!” Natasha grinned.

“Don’t give a fuck what it is, it’s gross.” Katie shrugged, standing up and stepping out of the tub. “I’ll stick to the beer.”

She pulled a Bud out of the fridge, twisted the top off and threw it into the garbage. She took a swig as she walked back outside and, as she sank back down into the water, Nat took a deep breath and leaned forward.

“I got an email from Rhodey. More bodies have turned up, this time in Johannesburg, some drugs baron and his cronies.” “Clint?” Katie asked, pausing her beer half way to her mouth as she nodded.

“It’s his MO.”

Over the past six months more and more bodies had been turning up, along with numerous witnesses, which led them to the conclusion that Clint was acting as some kind of vigilante, hunting down Crime Lord Syndicates and taking them down one by one. Natasha at first had point blank refused that it was him, until one of Rhodey’s contacts had sent an extremely clear shot from some CCTV footage. There was no denying, it was Clint. Natasha had been heartbroken, locking herself away and refusing to speak to anyone, emerging only when Steve threatened to kick her door in. She’d opened it, red eyed but with a glimmer of a smirk on her face and called him a “bossy, interfering bastard.”

“Any leads on where he could be?” Katie asked

Nat shook her head “he doesn’t want to be found. But then, when have I ever listened?”

They drank and talked until late in the evening, probably more than they should have done which is why the next morning Katie woke up with a killer hangover and barely made it to the toilet. She threw the contents of her stomach into the bowl before standing up, splashing cold water onto her face and heading to make sure Emmy was up and getting ready. Sometimes, being a responsible adult sucked.

Once she had managed to get Emmy packed off to the summer day-camp her School was running, she grabbed a slice of toast and an orange juice and felt ready to face walking and talking at the same time. She called Steve quickly, who wasted no time in telling her that they’d drunk called him the night before. Katie groaned as he laughed down the handset, before the conversation grew slightly more serious and he said that Rhodey had filled him in on the murders in Johannesburg. They discussed it for a while when he declared he had to go and after promising to speak to him later that evening, sober, Katie cut the call.

She headed down to the common room to find Nat was already in there.

“Hangover too?” Natasha looked at Katie pulling a face. “I feel like shit. How much did we drink?”

“Enough.” Katie sighed “You sank two bottles of that wine, I went through a full crate of bud.” “And that was before the vodka.” Nat groaned, dropping her face into her hands. Katie grimaced, picking up a bottle of water and taking a long drink before they got down to business, looking over some plans for an old School they were intending to acquire to make into a half way hours for the older teenagers that had been left without homes or families in the snap. Too old to be in an orphanage or children’s home, Natasha had pointed out they probably needed somewhere they could live independently, but safely. It was a great idea and one Katie was fully behind.

“I’ll get it typed up into a formal proposal this evening,” Katie nodded to Nat “then we can start the ball rolling. All goes according to plan we can get the Real Estator on the phone tomorrow and push ahead with the purchase”

Nat nodded. “Yeah, about that.” Katie groaned “You’re going to Johannesburg aint you?” “I have to.”

“Nat…”

“He’d do the same for me.”

“When?” Katie sighed, knowing there was no point in trying to talk her out of it. “This evening. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”

“Just be careful,” Katie said, “and prepared. Chances are you won’t like what you find.”

“I know.” She said, her eyes tearing over. “But I have to try.” Katie nodded, dropping a hand to her shoulder as she picked up the files and laptop before leaving her to her thoughts.

She was sat in the office working on the proposal that evening when she heard the jet taking off. Glancing out of the window Katie watched as it shot into the grey sky and vanished behind a cloud. Emmy paused to look up from where she was outside on the lawn with Lucky before she tuned to look at Katie, mouthed the universal sign for “I’m hungry” and Katie grinned, deciding to call it quits for the night.

**** Chapter 42 Part 2

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #Katie Stark #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers fic #steve rogers fanfiction #mcu #mcu fanfic #chris evans #chris evans characters

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justjessame · 3 years

Text

Starting Over Chapter 12

“Brooke?” I shook my head when I heard Connie’s voice on the other end, the sounds of cartoons playing in the background told me she was home. “Are you alright?” The worry in her voice made me feel guilty for not calling more often, or checking in at least.

“I’m fine, worrywart.” I settled into my spot on the couch, smiling as I caught a whiff of Bucky’s scent. “I -” I took a deep breath and bit my lip. “I’m sorry I haven’t -”

Connie shushed me. “Stop,” I closed my mouth, worried that she was going to tell me that she didn’t have time for fairweather friends and that she had a family to take care of now. “You don’t have to explain anything to me, Brooke.” It felt like my heart restarted. “I can’t imagine how you must have felt coming back.” I heard a rustling in the background and then the noise that had sounded like cartoons went away and it got quiet. “Sorry about that, Bryn wanted to watch Tangled again.”

I smiled, my goddaughter, or she would have been if I’d been here to do the honors was three years old. “Tangled is a good one.” I was happy that Connie was willing to talk to me, that she was willing to make time, even if I’d pushed her away. “Is that her favorite?”

Connie laughed and I was happy to hear that it was as familiar to me as my own. “She likes all of the princesses. Joey is thinking we’re going to have to push up the trip to Disney by a year.” I was grinning at the thought of Joey Amoruso playing girl daddy through the Magic Kingdom. “Don’t worry, I made sure she got to see Beauty and the Beast, too.” That got a laugh out of me.

“I can’t help loving Belle,” I argued, and listened to her snort. “How’s your mom?” Connie worked at her mom’s beauty salon, she’d started as soon as she was tall enough to reach around a customer’s head into the sink to wash their hair and after high school didn’t blink about going straight into cosmetology school.

“You know Mertle,” her mom’s name was Ismerelda, but some hard of hearing old lady had misheard it once and called her ‘Mertle’ to our forever hilarity. I laughed. “She makes me do Mrs. McGillicutty’s hair now, every damn week, just because she got tired of doing the same style over and over.” I remembered Mrs. McGillicutty, she was a sweet lady, but a little dotty. “Today was my half day, Bryn’s preschool runs a half day every other day.”

“Who keeps her on the off days?” I got up to grab a drink and listened as Connie told me all about the nightmares of finding childcare, even with an extended family like hers. Falling back into the type of conversation that two friends have, if one had gone away for a while. I grabbed a glass of water and my eyes landed on the flowers that Bucky brought me, a smile finding its home on my lips again, I sat down at the table and talked to Connie while I pulled the vase closer and played with the petals.

Before we said our goodbyes, a good hour and a half after we’d started talking, Connie finally asked the question that I knew she had to have been burning with since she saw my name appear on her phone screen.

“Not that I don’t LOVE hearing from you, Brooke, but what brought this on? Why now?” I’d wandered back to the living room, curling into the chair that Bucky sat in, letting the residual scent of him cradle me.

“I met someone,” she squealed, causing a tiny mimic to happen from the background and I chuckled. Good God, she had a mini me. “You’d know him, actually -” I bit my lip. “EVERYONE knows him or knows of him.” I squinted, shit, should I tell anyone?

“Tell me EVERYTHING.” But then I heard a male voice, Joey her husband. “Shit, the conquering man returns.” I snorted. “You are NOT off the hook, Brooke. I expect details and a NAME.” I promised she’d get both and then we said goodnight.

I’d missed a text while I was on with Connie. Another attempt at a selfie, this time it had part of another person that I found out was supposed to be Sam when I read the accompanying text message. “See UR cuter.” I was grinning, but the next message made me sigh. “Stuck w/ Sam. :(“

Sad face emoji indeed, I thought. Contemplating what type of reply I could send to a 106 year old without pushing him away or over a cliff, I went back to the kitchen where his flowers were still holding tight. Thinking about how creative I felt like getting, I found the largest bloom, went to the bathroom and brushed out my hair. I tried to remember what the women from Bucky’s younger days might have done to look tempting. Dramatic eye, red lip, then putting the flower behind my ear I hoped like hell that I didn’t look completely ridiculous before clicking off a shot and sending it.

“Too bad. Sam’s a lucky guy. :*”

I was washing off my work and thinking about reheating some more leftovers for dinner when my phone chirped. Glancing down I was left smiling by his answer.

“No, I am.”

Dinner, a shower, then bed. Well, after a LONG staring contest in the mirror where I did my own personal pre-bedtime mantra. It was rote, and I did it with the same vigor that I’d done it with every other time. And I was just as certain that it would work as well.

Without Bucky, I had my bed remade and I was settled back on my pillows. The soft blue glow of the television had been a nice addition, so I flipped it on. Turning the volume down so it was the same murmur that was soft enough to not keep me awake, I hoped it would work as a surrogate for the anchor that Bucky’s presence seemed to be.

The flashes came red, blue, unnameable colors. The feelings of pain and suffering, darkness and terror creeping closer and trying to pull me back. I still couldn’t see what caused it, where the pain came from, what was so terrifying that I felt trapped by it. What or who was trying to drag me back to wherever I’d been was still as unknown as it had been when Thanos snapped his gold encased fingers and after the Blip the answers were still unavailable. I didn’t feel as pinned down or as in danger or being yanked away from home, so I was still tethered to reality. I just had to wait through it, to survive the feelings that I couldn’t figure out, until the flashes of colors came to let me know the end was coming and I was waking up - coming home again.

I woke to a text from Connie.

“It’s McGillcutty’s day. Come visit me. PLEASE.” I shook my head at the plea, but it wasn’t like I had plans or a job to get to. I hoped she knew I wasn’t planning on spilling ALL while she was cutting hair and styling the neighborhood ladies, because I hadn’t been gone so long that I’d forgotten how fast gossip travelled.

“Fine.” I hit send. I got ready and grabbed some toast and a bottle of water. My bag with a book, my earbuds and a charger for my phone, just in case, and I was out the door and heading to Connie’s mom’s salon.

I was at the salon by the time both slices of my toast were finished and most of my water was gone. Tossing the napkin I’d wrapped my breakfast in in the trash when I walked in, I almost missed the hush that fell over the entire room when I entered. Almost. Shit. Standing up I realized that all eyes were on me. Great.

“Brooke!” Connie beckoned to me from her station at the back of the shop, one she’d picked out when she was still washing hair. “Put your eyes back in your heads,” she rolled her eyes. “It’s JUST Brooke.” I shook my head, only Connie would try to brush off the fact that I just walked into the neighborhood hen coop after steering clear of it for a full six months, and I looked five years younger than I SHOULD.

Her mom grinned at me and called out a “looking good, Brookie” as I passed, getting a little red added to my cheeks, but aside from that Connie had shamed most of the clucking hens into at least pretending that they weren’t amazed by the very sight of me. I made it to Connie’s station and found that she’d prepared for my visit by grabbing one of the waiting area chairs and brought it back so I wasn’t stuck leaning against the wall or counter.

Plopping down, I watched as she went about styling Mrs. McGillicutty’s hair. After I’d said a polite hello to the elderly woman, of course. It was almost mesmerizing, watching Connie wrap each curler with the blue washed thinning hair of the bird thin woman. And as she wrapped she talked.

“You remember how Tawny and Sam were planning on getting married the year after we did, right?” I told her I did, and she snorted. “Yeah, that went south so quick.” I heard Margaret Andrews pipe up from two chairs down that it wasn’t all that surprising.

“They were on again and off again so much growing up, I’m surprised either of their mamas let them make that much of a plan.” She offered up. I bit my lip, the hen house was raring to go.

Connie’s eyes met mine and I could see them sparkling with mirth. And we were off, the mission seemed to be to get me back in the swing of things and she’d brought the troops.

I got another ‘selfie’ in the middle of my visit with Connie and I glanced at it and bit my lip. It was marginally better. Bucky was at least visible and discernible this time. I couldn’t tell where he was, but the message wasn’t optimistic about my odds of seeing him soon.

“Baltimore w/Sam.”

A sigh escaped and Connie glanced up from where she was cutting Kelly Taggert’s hair. Since Kelly was someone who wasn’t exactly in our sphere prior to leaving school, much less before the Snap, Connie held her curiosity at bay. Too bad Kelly didn’t get the memo.

“Bad news, Brookie?” I glanced up, thinking about reminding Kelly that very few people had the privilege to call me that, and she most definitely wasn’t one of them, but held back. This was Connie’s place of business after all.

“Not really. Just spam.” Fuck it, why give her any grist for the mill? Connie could smell my bull from a mile away, but Kelly didn’t know me from Adam.

“I hate that, there should be a way to input a block for those automatically -” and she was off. I grinned at my phone as I typed a reply to Bucky.

A selfie was out of the question, not with this crowd. “I’m socializing. Willingly.”

Kelly was still telling everyone, because her voice could pound a nail into a wall it was so fucking loud and annoying, all her ideas for dealing with spam texts, emails, telemarketing calls and on and on. I almost felt bad about setting her loose. Until my phone chirped and I got another selfie from Bucky looking shocked in answer to my text.

Tucking my phone away, I set back and let Kelly rant until Connie finished her hair.

I stayed until closing and it wasn’t as bad as I’d thought it would be. Connie told me that her sister-in-law was keeping Bryn after preschool, and we had some time to just relax and chat. I had a feeling she made those specific plans after we talked on the phone, she was just that freaking curious.

She grabbed two cans of soda from the breakroom and plopped into the swivel seat her customers usually sat in while she played fairy hair godmother. “Spill.” I rolled my eyes as I cracked open my can.

“You only invited me to hang out today to ply me for information about my personal life, didn’t you?” I squinted over the top of the can as I took my first drink. She grinned and nodded, not the least bit shamed. Swallowing, I dramatically sighed. “Fine.” I couldn’t stop the smile that started growing at the thought of Bucky. “Do you remember when Mom and Dad took us to the Smithsonian?”

She was staring at me like I was crazy and didn’t know where I was going to go with the trip down memory lane, but she nodded as she opened her own drink. “Yeah, we were like ten.”

I bit my lip. “We were,” it had been a fun trip, just Connie, me and my parents. For Connie who had siblings and me as an only child - we both had a blast. “We went to the Captain America exhibit.”

“God we went to ALL of the exhibits it felt like, your dad was gaga over the Air and Space one -” she stopped, suddenly HEARING what I said. “Wait, the -” Her eyes met mine and went wide. “NO.”

“I bumped into him,” my hand went to my chest, still a little bit tender. “He’s - he’s amazing.”

Connie leaned forward and looked almost exactly like she had when we were 15 years old and I told her that Todd Garrison kissed me behind the bleachers during the pep rally. Wide eyed and excited, she bit her lip. “Is he -” she looked like she couldn’t quite decide what to ask first. “Tell me EVERYTHING.” So I did, within limits, sort of.

#bucky barnes/oc #the falcon and the winter soldier #slow burn #eventual smut #fluff #humor

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anamikaa · 4 years

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Beatrix Kuroki and Miriam Brooks: Bad Guys

This story is a second part of a round robin story. Its part 1 'Absent Friend' was posted by @kino-indiana . You can reblog with your own addition or you can check out @kino-indiana for more round robin stories.

⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫

Miriam woke up to a buzzing sound of an alarm clock. The bedside clock showed the time 7:00 am. She could probably get an extra hour of sleep, since her school had been suspended for two more days for the death of a fellow student, but she chose not to. After a shower and a breakfast, she decided to call that girl Beatrix.

Last night, when Beatrix came up and offered help, all she could feel was relief. But thinking back with a clear mind, it seemed a little reckless to trust a complete stranger with a matter as grave as murder. On the flip side, Beatrix could provide her with some vital information that could help her investigation. Hopefully, it’s something concrete enough to convince the others of Stillman’s murder. Shoving all her doubts in a metaphorical box Miriam finally hit the call button on her phone.

Beatrix Kuroki was on her fourth cup of coffee of that morning when her phone started ringing. Without looking at the contact name, she knew it was the girl from the last night, Miriam. Subconsciously, her fingers tightened around the half-empty coffee mug. The uneasy feeling in her gut multiplied tenfold with an intense urge to run and hide somewhere. And she would have done just that, if it could solve her problem. A boy was dead. It’s not something she could forget with a good night’s sleep.

Beatrix answered the phone on the third ring. Which irked Miriam a little. They decided to meet at Park Prakriti, around two miles away from her house, in fifteen minutes. Her mother was already out for work. So Miriam grabbed her cell phone and house keys, locked the doors and headed out.

She found Beatrix standing at the gate of the park, staring blankly at the clock tower of Kino Temple, that could be visible from any other part of the town. “Hey! Beatrix!” Miriam shouted when she was close enough. Beatrix turned and waived with a nervous smile. She was wearing a loose white t-shirt and a leopard print jeans, her jet black hair put in a messy bun.

The park was mostly deserted except for a group of six to eight-year-olds playing tag. Their shouts disrupting the silence of the place like stones thrown in stagnant water. The girls settled on a bench, far in a corner, that was designed to look like a half cut tree log.

“I’m sorry about your friend.” Beatrix started.

“Me too.” Miriam replied.

Beatrix glanced back at the children. Her mind was still debating if going back there would be a good idea. What if she’s only endangering another life.

To Miriam, Beatrix seemed even more anxious than the night before. But that’s kind of normal assuming your daily activity doesn’t involve investigating the murders of your classmates.

“So coming to the point, why do you think Cealan Stillman was murdered?” questioned Beatrix, as she turned to face her.

“You tell me, Beatrix. Why do you think Stillman was murdered? As far as I know, Stillman didn’t have any friends in school. Hell, I have scarcely seen him interact with anyone outside the detective career track. And the fact that you call him by his full name doesn’t help the case. So what reason do you have to believe that he was murdered?”

The look on Beatrix’s face faltered. It was enough for Miriam to realise that she had messed up. The art of subtlety was not one of her many talents. But still, she could have made an effort to make it sound less like an interrogation.

“Look, let’s not make it harder than it needs to be. You can be honest with me right now and I promise, I’ll do the same. And if you don’t want to be a part of it then that’s okay too. What do you say?” Miriam further added hoping her voice sounded amiable.

“No. I want to be involved. And you’re right. We need to be honest with each other.” After a brief thoughtful pause, Beatrix declared, “There’s something you need to see. Come with me.” With that she jumped to her feet, not waiting for any answer from the girl next to her.

After five minutes of walking in suspenseful silence, they were back at the place of their first interaction. Miriam followed Beatrix as she made her way around the towering headstones. Kino Cemetery was a work of art, forbidding and attractive in its own way, even more so in daylight when you can see the misty forest behind the burial ground. Beatrix suddenly stopped, causing Miriam to knock into her back. Her gaze glued to the grave of the boy who recently died.

“Don’t tell me we are here to dig up Stillman’s grave” Miriam spoke up, her tone suggesting she wouldn’t be much opposed to the idea.

“What? No. Why would you say that?”

“Hey! You’re the one who’s acting all mysterious and brought me to see his grave. What am I supposed to think?”

“Well, I see your point but this is not what I wanted to show you.” Beatrix moved away from the grave. “For that we have to go into the woods.” She said, looking Miriam in the eye, as she tried to gauge her reaction. The townsfolk usually never ventured into the forest. Rumours surround it, lots of it, including being inhibited by some tribe that didn’t like being disturbed and being hunted by the spirits of witches, keeping it away from people. Even the rebellious teenagers left it alone. How convenient for them.

The expression on Miriam’s face was not one of wariness, as Beatrix had expected, but of a curious anticipation. Though, she never believed in those over imaginative theories, Miriam always knew there’s something off about the forest; like the untimely deaths of people working in the cemetery. All from natural causes. Nothing suspicious. But she knows how to connect the dots. And despite what Ryan Murphy says, her gut feeling is never wrong.

For Miriam, going into the forest felt like walking into another world. The fog was thick, so much that it was getting harder to see where the trees stood. But Beatrix seemed to know her way around. As they went deeper, the fog started thinning out too, and they could see more clearly. Ironically, it made Miriam feel more vulnerable like a blanket of protection was stripped away from her.

“Don’t make any noise and stay with me.” Whispered Beatrix, to which she could only nod. She refrained from commenting on the fact that Beatrix appeared more nervous than her. Miriam strained her eyes and ears in an attempt to stay alert. Still and all, nothing could be heard other than their light footsteps and the occasional chirp of birds or insects. The trees around them stood tall and uptight as if too proud of their primeval heritage to look down on two feeble animals. Suddenly, Miriam felt her feet fly out beneath her as she landed on the dirty, mouldy ground of the forest, staring up at the sky. She could feel something wet and squishy under from where her left hand was perched as she was trying to brace her fall. Reluctantly, she turned her head to find a dead raccoon-like animal halfway through decomposition with half of his organs outside his body. A loud screech, Miriam never knew she was capable of, escaped her lips. Beatrix was quick to cover her mouth reminding her to keep quiet. Miriam’s hands quivered with a chilling sensation. She didn't even have a minute to calm herself as they heard a series of footsteps echoing through the forest. Before she could make sense of what’s going on, Beatrix dragged her to a nearby bush that was entangled with vines making it a good hiding spot. Through the gapes, they could see men wearing black uniform pants and black t-shirts with face covered in ski masks, some with guns, some not, running around. 'They are searching for us.' Miriam thought to herself. She tried to calm her nerves, to come up with something that could help, but her brain drew a blank.

They sat there with bated breath, curled in a ball, trying not to make a sound. It felt like an eternity until they couldn’t hear the footsteps anymore. Miriam emerged first to make sure that no-one’s around. Dry leaves and branches were tangled in her curly brown locks. She walked a bit further from their spot to see if anyone’s hiding behind the trees. All of a sudden, a hand clasped her face and someone was dragging her back. Miriam tried to kick and elbow the person but soon she was backed into a tree with the guy pressed against her, blocking her escape. From his attire, it was clear that he’s one of them. Miriam could feel the butt of his gun against her stomach. She just hoped to God Beatrix would stay where she was. In another attempt to free herself, Miriam pulled his head with her free hand and banged it on the tree.

“Ow! Fuck!” He groaned in pain, momentarily losing his hold and giving her the perfect chance to escape. But something froze Miriam in her place. The voice behind the mask was one she knew too well. Impulsively, she peeled off the mask only to find a familiar brown eyed boy staring back at her.

“Look, I can explain. I’m not the bad guy here, I prom-Ow!! Jesus Christ!”

Before Patel could elaborate, he was hit with a heavy rock on his head above his left ear. Beatrix, who had succeeded in both sneaking up on them and injuring the man in question, was standing there with a perplexed expression, staring at a groaning Colin Patel, who was lying on the ground showcasing his very colourful vocabulary.

“I really thought he was the bad guy here.” Beatrix said when she caught Miriam’s eye.

#writers #writblr #writing challenge #round robin story #original writing #free write #writers on tumblr #writeaway

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jamielea81 · 5 years

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Conversations

Chapter 13

Description: You accompany your friends on a day trip to Animal Kingdom Theme Park where you meet Scott Evans by chance. This one afternoon leads to a year long friendship with both Chris and Scott over text messages and phone calls.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader

Warning: Fluff, curse words, a little bit of NSFW - If you are under 18 please do not read!

Word Count: 6,700

A/N: I know nothing about the lives of the Evans family and mean no harm. This is purely fiction and for fun. Reblogs and comments are much appreciated! The tag list is now closed. Each chapter tends to get reblogged from me a few times, so if you’re following me, you can’t miss it.

*Italics are internal thoughts

Catch up with Chapter 12

The boys had no clue about your plan. Frankly, no one knew what your plan was. You weren’t trying to be secretive, no, you just didn’t want all the fuss. One week was more than enough time to host someone in your home. Two weeks was outlandish. You would simply tell them later in the week that you were staying in Boston for an additional week. On your own.

You had rented a one bedroom apartment in the city near the harbor. Chris had been putting a lot of extra effort into your relationship recently by coming to stay with you every few weeks. You wanted to see if Boston was a place you could see yourself spending a lot of time in. Staying with Scott or Chris for the second week wouldn’t really allow for you to see if you could be comfortable there by yourself. You wanted to check out the coffee shops, parks, and small eateries. You had read through numerous travel sites and blogs by locals who boasted the neighborhoods that were not only hip, but had low crime rates.

Chris had gone back to Massachusetts from his latest visit just over a week ago and you had already begun to miss him. When he sent you a text three days after leaving, telling you he was missing you, you instantly felt relieved. The two of you had spent a lot of time talking on his visits which ultimately brought you closer. He slept in your bed all three days of this last trip, never pressing for more than a cuddle and a few kisses. Chris spent a great amount of time talking with you into the early morning hours about how it would be when he was away filming. The two of you would need to survive on Skype or Facetime as he was often away for months at a time. He said that you could visit him on set, but your time together would be limited.

The additional week in Boston was born from the vacation time you had to use or lose with the Orlando Sentinel. Asia was quick to agree that your start date with News Now could begin a few days after you returned from your trip. Having the ability to work from anywhere was a huge positive. Your lease would be coming up for renewal in February and you were honestly struggling with staying or leaving Orlando.

Central Florida had been your home for sixteen years, but you were still only renting. That had to mean something. You didn’t miss the long winters of Minnesota, but you did miss your family. Minnesota felt safe and comfortable for a place to start over again, but you still weren’t sure that was the right step for you. Logically, it was too soon to move to Boston. You were never the girl to move somewhere for a guy. Chris was one of the people closest to you, but the two of you were barely a couple. But why the hell was your heart telling you to give it a shot? At least you had a couple of months to figure it all out.

You had swung by Krispy Kreme on the way to Jana’s office armed with a coupon for half off a dozen. Not that you needed a dozen donuts, but a deal was a deal. That’s how you’d always been. You weren’t one of those coupon clippers, but you always shopped on sale and always looked in the clearance section. If there was a bargain to be had, you were a willing participant. This is why even looking at places to rent for the long term in Boston frightened you. Sticker shock was an understatement. You could buy a new, large family home in the suburbs of Minneapolis for the same price you could purchase a studio apartment in Boston. Technically, you could look outside of the city, but that’s something you’d have to think about later when a decision needed to be made.

“I brought food,” you greeted her, shoving the box in her face as she signed you in to the building.

“That’s not food.”

“You can eat it Jana. I’m pretty sure Brooks consumes these five days a week.”

“Fine. Maybe just one,” she replied, reaching into the box and pulling out a glazed one once you got to her office. You gave her a satisfied smirk before grabbing one for yourself. “You ready to work with Brooks again?”

“Is one ever ready? But seriously, I didn’t exactly work with him when he was at the paper so even now I still won’t see him,” you shrugged, taking a huge bite and promptly licking your fingers to Jana’s dismay.

“When are you starting again?”

“Like the twenty eighth. Some time that week. I’m going to try to have something to submit that week. Maybe about my time in Boston. Who knows?”

“You call me the workaholic, yet you’re working on vacation,” Jana said.

“Well, I’m nervous as shit, so I just want to be ready to go with something.”

With promises of dinner together when you returned, you left her office with the box of donuts in hand. Rather than heading straight for the elevator, you decided to stop by Ethan’s office. His door was open, but he was engrossed in a law book.

“Hey,” you called out loud enough for him to hear you but soft enough not to startle him.

He looked up, grinning when he saw it was you. “How are you?”

“Good. I’ve come to tempt you with sugar,” you said holding up the box.

“No bribing needed. Whaddaya got?”

“A little bit of everything,” you said, stepping into the room and placing the box on the desk. You opened it for him to pick. He quickly pulled out one of the custard filled ones, moaning at the taste.

“Thank you,” he murmured, mouth still full.

You gave him an honest smile. Speaking to him the last time you were in the office really got rid of that tension about seeing him.

“You’re welcome.”

“What are you up to?” he asked.

“How much time do you have?” you asked.

“For you? As much as you need.” He gestured to one of the empty chairs in front of his desk.

You told him about the new job and how much you were looking forward to the change. You left out the part about possibly moving since nothing was set in stone, so there was no need to get into that.

“I’m sorry Y/N,” he started, you giving him a questioning look. “When I said that stupid thing about your job. 100% didn’t mean it. I was just angry and I aimed low. You’re a great writer. I read everything you wrote when we were together, and I still read it today.”

You gave him a small smile. “Thanks for saying that. And you still read it?” you asked surprisingly.

“Got to get my Disney news from a reliable source,” he shrugs.

Boston’s weather seems to be all over the place with predictions for the next two weeks being anywhere from the fifties to the low seventies. You packed a large suitcase and your trusty leather carryon with a few sweaters, sweatshirts, t-shirts, jeans, leggings and a couple pairs of short boots. You’ll wear your sneakers to the airport. At least that’s one less thing to pack. You’re staying with Scott and Zach, but you toy over bringing your cute yet flirty pajamas and lingerie. You and Chris aren’t exclusive, at least not technically. He told you he isn’t seeing anyone else and isn’t planning on either. But the words boyfriend and girlfriend or partner haven’t been uttered. Taking a guess, he’s most likely waiting for you to say it since he doesn’t want to push you. You’re not even sure how much you’ll be seeing him this trip. He said he’ll be around, but never made actual plans with you. Picking up your cell, you shot him a text.

Y/N: When am I seeing you in Boston.

Chris: All the time?

The fact that he adds that question mark makes you laugh.

Y/N: Well, we never made plans, so I wasn’t sure if you have stuff going on all week.

Chris: You’re such a dork. You’re coming to my town and you have to question when you’re going to see me?

Y/N: I thought it was Scott’s town, you know, since I’m staying with him.

Chris: What?!

Chris: That’s not fair. You didn’t even give me the chance to offer 😔

Y/N: My poor baby. I’ll be sure to kiss it all better.

Chris: You better

Yep, you were packing the cute underwear.

You sent Scott a text as soon as you landed.

Scott: On my way. White BMW.

Grabbing your bag from the conveyer belt, you grabbed a coffee before going out to short term parking where he said he’d meet you. The temperature was a cool sixty-three degrees, so you were dressed in a cozy hunter green sweater, jeans, and browns boots. You thought about throwing on a jacket, but figured the boys would tease you. Minnesota you would have teased you, but you’d been in Florida too long now. Sixty was cold.

Crossing over to the ramp, you looked around for a white BMW as instructed. A sudden honk jolted you, causing coffee to spurt out through the cup’s cover.

“Mother fucker!” you whispered to yourself.

The offending driver jumped out of the car, jogging toward you. “Shit! Sorry!” It was Chris rather than Scott. NASA hat on his head, Pats sweatshirt, and jeans. The epitome of casual, yet it he looked good.

When does he not look good?

“You scared the shit out of me,” you said, dropping your carryon to the ground and hugging him with your free hand. “I should be smacking you rather than hugging you.”

“M’sorry. Wanted to surprise you,” he said pulling away.

You kissed the pout on his lips, Chris smiling as soon you pulled back. He bent down grabbing your bag from the ground and then grabbed the handle on your suitcase. You followed behind him, admiring the view.

He really is America’s Ass.

The drive to Scott’s didn’t take long. He had a large two-bedroom condo in the city. Parking was a challenge, but Scott had purchased a second spot a year ago and since Zach wasn’t’ home, Chris parked there.

He grabbed your two bags while you easily toted your purse and now empty coffee cup into the building’s entrance and up the elevator. Chris walked in without knocking, but you supposed Scott knew you were coming since you did text him when you landed.

“I brought you a gift!” Chris called out.

Scott walked into the entry and living room giving you a big smile. “Oh. Is there a return policy?”

“You are such a brat!” you spat out. “Does your mother have room at her place? Feel like I’d getting a warmer welcome there.”

“Sassy, don’t give me no lip. You know I love you,” Scott said, pulling you into a hug. You let your arms hang to give him that bit of attitude, plus you still had your purse and cup in hand.

“Ahuh, love you too,” you replied.

Scott showed you to your room for the week while Chris followed behind, setting your bags on the floor. Light blue walls with dark wood furniture made up the room. A queen size bed placed in the center with a chest of drawers sat on the opposite wall. A relatively large flat screen TV mounted to the wall above the chest. On each side of the bed were a matching set of night stands. A vase of white daisies sat on the right-hand side.

“Bathroom is across the hall. Dinner is at six. Don’t be late. No fucking in your room,” he said, pointing between you and Chris, closing the door as he left. “Or at least be quiet about it,” he said through the door.

Chris looked at you with raised eyebrows while you shook your head. “Uh, we don’t have to,” he said.

“Well, definitely not now.”

“Yeah. Yeah, totally. That’s just Scott,” Chris said, shrugging. He was nervous and it made you smile.

Chris stayed for dinner but left around eight kissing you breathless before wishing you a goodnight.

Scott, Zach and yourself hit the road early starting with the Freedom Trail, making sure to see the graves of Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere before stopping at the Old State House. Chris had wanted to join the three of you, but when you mentioned he would draw in a crowd being that you would be surrounded by tourists, he was quick to change his mind.

Scott brought you to Beacon Hill where you fell in love with the architecture of the beautiful brick homes. When he told you the average price, you choked on your breath, quickly deciding it wasn’t anywhere you would be able to live.

You moved on to Charles Street, stopping in a few shops to buy something for Jana as well as yourself. When it was time for lunch, Scott and Zach brought you to Cheers bar on Beacon Hill. Scott told you there actually two locations, this one was used for the exterior shots for the show. It was everything you imagined it would be. You were too young to enjoy the show when it aired originally, but picked up on the reruns when you were in your late twenties.

Harvard University was as grand and as beautiful as you imagined it would be bathed in the gorgeousness that is fall. You treated to the boys to ice cream, finding a nice spot on a grassy lawn filled with students and tourists alike. Scott took a few pictures of you with ice cream cone in hand and red and orange leaves all around you. You did the same for each of them. The spontaneous photoshoot turned into a leaf fight as Zach dumped a large handful on Scott’s head.

Nervous seemed like such an inadequate word to describe how you were feeling. You weren’t even a nail biter but you couldn’t keep your thumb out of your mouth as you chewed the corner repeatedly.

“Would you stop it? You’ve met her,” Scott said, taking his eyes off the road briefly to look at you.

“Yeah and she thought I was some floozy.” Scott snorted. “Do people still say floozy?”

“I’m pretty sure they don’t. And you know that’s because she didn’t know you were you. It’ll be fine. She loves you. I talk about you all the time. Well, not all the time, but I talk about you and she loves you.” You took a deep breath. “Now keep that finger out of your mouth. She will judge you for jagged fingernails.”

“Such a brat,” you said softly.

“Me? Do I need to have Chris take you and all your luggage back to his place tonight? Why’d you pack so much anyway? Must’ve packed like three winter coats or somethin’.”

“Shuddup,” you murmured. You’d only been in town for four nights and weren’t planning on having this conversation until Friday. “Was going to tell you later, but might as well tell you now. But do not tell Chris. I will tell him later,” you warned.

“Sounds serious,” he said.

“You know how with this new job I can pretty much work from where ever I’d like?” Scott nodded his head. “I’m still trying to figure that all out. Not that I don’t love Florida. Jana and Brooks are my family there, but I’m thinking it might be time to make a change. I thought about Minnesota since my parents and brother are there, but I also wanted to see how I’d like Boston.”

“What are you gettin’ at Y/N?”

“I’m staying in town next week. I rented an apartment to see if I feel comfortable here.”

Scott let out a low whistle. “Chris is going to be pissed,” he sing-songed the last word.

“You think?” you asked.

“Oh yeah.”

“Like pissed because I’ve thought about maybe splitting my time here or moving here?”

“Oh god, no. He’d probably love the fuck out of that. He’s going to be pissed you aren’t staying with him.”

You didn’t even think of that. The idea of having your own space to see if you’d like being here was still the right decision, but he was right. Chris would probably be upset you didn’t tell him what you were thinking. And he’d probably be mad you weren’t staying with him.

“Shuddup,” you said again.

“Ma! Your favorite son and Sassy are here,” Scott called out after opening the front door to his mother’s house.

“I’m already here,” Chris called from what looked like the kitchen. He walked into the entryway pulling you into a hug. “Missed you.”

“You just saw me at breakfast,” you replied, kissing his lips quickly before anyone else came in the room.

“Still missed you.” He interlaced your fingers and pulled you toward the kitchen. “Cah’mon.”

Lisa, the boy’s mother was in front of the stove, a few pans sizzling on the burners. It smelled delicious, so you knew you were in for a good meal.

“Y/N, it’s nice to see you again. How are you enjoying your stay?” she said turning to face you.

It was all so formal, you instantly jumped into interview mode.

“It’s been quite wonderful. Scott’s been a great host,” you replied.

She smiled warmly and went back to her pans.

“When are the girls getting here?” Scott asked.

“Should be here soon. Why don’t the three of you show Y/N around?”

Chris gave you the tour while Scott plopped himself on the sofa in the family room.

“And this was my room,” he said, opening the door. It was set up as a guestroom with a full-size bed pressed against the center of the far wall.

“So, is this where the Sandra Bullock poster used to hang?” you said pointing at the ceiling.

“Et tu, Brute? Never going to live that down.” Chis said, shaking his head.

“Oh, everyone does it babe. I’m pretty sure I had a couple of NSYNC pictures torn from magazines hanging on my walls. I know I had one of Joey Lawrence.”

“Joey Lawrence?” he chuckled.

“He looked good in Blossom when I was a kid. He had great hair.”

“Yeah? What do you think of my hair?”

You ran your fingers through his hair, giving the end a slight tug. “This hair?” you said softly, your face close to his. “This hair, I can’t get enough of. Probably the sexiest head I’ve seen in a week.”

“A week? You runnin’ your fingers through someone else’s hair?” he asked, his breath hot against your lips.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

He pressed his lips against yours. Arms instantly tugging you closer while you kept one hand in his hair and the other around his neck. Kissing Chris would never get old. He walked backwards until his legs hit the edge of the mattress, lowering himself down and pulling you onto his lap. You wrapped your arms around his neck, his hands instantly going to your ass as he pulled you to straddle him closer. A moan broke from your throat, catching you off guard.

“That’s it baby,” Chris whispered, lips attaching themselves to your jaw.

Instantly you were reminded that you were indeed in his mother’s house. The same mother who thought you were just a hook up when she first met. You sighed, loosening your grip from around his neck. Chris continued to kiss across your jaw and down your neck.

“We’re in your mother’s house babe,” you said.

“And?” he muttered into your neck.

“And, she probably wouldn’t appreciate this going on in her guestroom.”

He pulled back a bit, finding your lips and placing a kiss there. “I beg to differ, but I suppose this isn’t how you want to meet my sisters.”

“Nope,” you said, popping the p. You crawled off his lap and a ran a hand through your hair. It was a good thing that you only had on lip balm, because surely had it been lipstick it would have been a mess on your face. You tugged at your sweater, making sure the neck was straightened before turning back to Chris and smiling. “Why don’t I spend the night at that construction zone you’re calling a house tomorrow night?”

“Really?” he asked, eager smile on his face.

“Yes, really.” You’d tell Chris tomorrow about your extended stay. It would just be the two of you tomorrow, so it would be easier to talk to him about your thoughts on possibly moving. You hoped he’d be honest with his feelings on it as well.

The two of you made your way back to the family room, immediately spying Chris’ sisters. Scott told you tonight’s dinner would just be the siblings as his mom wanted to keep it small and casual as they got to know you. Saturday would have the whole Evans’ clan in attendance for a potluck type lunch.

“Nice of you two to finally join us,” Chris greeted Carly and Shanna.

“We’re on time, you’re just always early,” Shanna said.

“Wait until you have kids. You’ll see how long it takes to get out of the house,” Carly spat.

“Anyway. This is my girlfriend Y/N. Y/N, these are my sisters Carly and Shanna.”

Whoa. Girlfriend. I guess he’s saying it first.

You felt your face heat up, but you quickly extended your hand to Carly first who pulled you into a hug and then passed you to Shanna who did the same.

“Great to meet the often talked about Sassy,” Shanna said with a giggle.

“Oh boy. Hopefully only good things,” you replied.

“Maybe. Siblings never rat each other out, so we simply can’t say,” Carly added shrugging her shoulders.

“You know damn well, no one is saying anything bad about you Sassy. It’s Chris that needs to worry,” Scott said. Shanna instantly nodding in agreement.

“Let’s get a drink!” Carly said, putting her arm around your shoulder and dragging you to the kitchen.

With beers in hand, the five of you went back into the family, sandwiching between Chris and Shanna on the couch. A few minutes later Lisa came and joined you. “Dinner in ten minutes kids,” she said, squishing next to Scott on a large oversized chair.

“Sounds good, Ma,” Chris said.

“What are you kids talking about?”

“We were just getting ready to interrogate Y/N,” Carly said, giving you a wink.

“No, we most certainly were not,” Chris said, putting his arm around you and pulling you close.

You chuckled lightly, patting his thigh with your hand. “Babe, it’s fine.” You pulled away and looked at each of the three women. “What would you like to know?”

“Dinner’s almost ready, why don’t we wait until we sit down?” Lisa offered.

With dinner on the table, you readied yourself for an onslaught of questions.

“So, you’re from Florida?” Carly asked.

“Actually, I’m from Minnesota. I moved to Florida for college and just stayed.”

“And you’re a Disney person?” Shanna asked.

“Absolutely,” you smiled. “I worked, well, still work for the Orlando Sentinel covering anything and everything Disney parks. I’m not sure if the guys told you I recently took a different job, but I’ll still be covering some Disney parks’ news.”

“They did. Congratulations Y/N. It sounds like it was a change you were looking to make,” Lisa said.

“It was. I love covering the parks, but I’ve written a lot of current events articles for various magazines and I’d really like to delve into that.”

Chris squeezed your knee pulling your attention to him. He beamed at you, literally beamed. You knew he was happy for you but this told you that he was happy with how this meeting was going.

“Do you have any siblings?” Shanna asked.

“I have one brother and his name is Heath. He’s three years younger than me. And I have a bunch of cousins that are all around our age, so they always felt like siblings growing up.”

“Are you all still close?” Lisa asked.

“My brother and I are, but it gets harder to keep in touch with my cousins as we get older.”

“Have you ever been married?” Shanna inquired.

“Shanna!” Chris hissed.

You looked at Chris and gave him a smile. “It’s fine. No, I’ve never been married nor engaged. I’ve had a couple of long-term relationships, but not in the last few years.”

Shanna smiled, apparently satisfied with your answer.

After dinner, you offered to help Lisa with pouring coffee and dishing up the cake she had made.

“Y/N, I just wanted to apologize for that day I met you in Epcot. I didn’t treat you fairly and I honestly feel awful about it.” She turned away from the cake to face you. “Scott has always spoken so highly of you. I truly am sorry that I wasn’t as welcoming as I should have been.” Lisa stepped closer to you, grabbing both of your hands with hers. “Chris hadn’t mentioned that you were the same friend that Scott had told me about. So, when he said he was meeting up with a friend, I was a little annoyed. I thought that this friend was someone that he just had met, so I was disappointed it was taking time away from the kids.” She chuckled softly. “That sounds awful. It’s not that Christopher does that regularly. He never does that.” She took a breath and started again. “Oh boy, I’m probably getting him into trouble with you.” You chuckled at her words and shook your head. “My point is, I’m sorry and I hope we can be friends because you are obviously a very important woman in both my sons’ lives.”

“No hard feeling at all and I hope we can be friends as well.” You leaned forward and wrapped your arms around here. She quickly followed suit, patting your back gently with one hand.

“Are we getting cake or what?” Chris asked, stepping into the room. “Didn’t know I was breaking up a Hallmark moment.”

“Har-har Christopher. Come grab some of these plates,” Lisa said.

Chris stepped close to you, grabbing a plate while you poured another cup of coffee. “Everything okay?”

“Completely,” you said with a smile.

“Are you really leaving me for my brother?” Scott asked in his best daytime soap opera voice.

“Well, I’ve seen him naked, so...” you trailed off, shrugging your shoulders.

“All you had to do was ask,” Scott offered.

“I’m sure Zach and Chris would love to hear that.” You patted his head, grabbing your carryon bag from the couch, making sure you had everything for the night. “I’ll be back with you tomorrow night for our best friends sleep over party like we planned. No boys allowed except for you.”

“Damn right! I’ll be sure to stock up on raspberry vodka.”

“No! Only wine. I learned my lesson when you got me drunk.” Scott scoffed, but waved you off. Chris was down stairs circling the block since he couldn’t find a spot to park. “Tell Zach when he gets up from his nap that I’ll see him tomorrow.”

“I will. Have fun and use protection!” Scott yelled out. You promptly flicked him off and shut the door.

Chris’ house was beautiful, even if it was being remodeled. The rooms that were currently being redone were the two guestrooms, the office, a guest bathroom, and the deck.

“See, you totally could have stayed here the whole time. Plenty of space for just you and me.”

The two of you were laying on his really comfortable couch. You between his legs and back against his chest. He kissed your neck and you hummed.

“Well, I remember someone telling me his house was practically unlivable. Then Scott offered and who am I to refuse? You’ll just have to have me stay another time.”

“Oh, I will,” he replied, then kissed your neck again.

“Your house is gorgeous. I really love this room and I’m sure this wall of windows out to the deck will look even better when it’s finished.”

“It’s going to be great. Like a second living space. At least that’s what the designer tells me. How are you likin’ Boston?”

You turned to face him slightly, tucking one leg underneath yourself. You licked your lips nervously.

Now or never.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.”

“Okay, what’s on your mind?”

“Now, don’t get mad,” you started, Chris raising his eyebrows. “That’s not what I mean. Um. Okay, so you know how I mentioned that with this new job, I can spend time here with you or I could spend time with my family and work at the same time?” He nodded his head. “Well, I’m thinking about maybe relocating. I’m not sure what I want to do yet and I don’t need to make a decision right away. My lease isn’t even up until February.”

Chris face lit up, his smile as big as you’ve ever seen it. “What are you saying, Y/N. You movin’ here?”

“Not sure yet, that’s what I’m getting at. I’m staying in Boston another week.”

“You want to stay with me?”

“That’s the thing. I gotta make sure I’m comfortable being here. You’re not always here. Months at a time when you’re filming even. So, I actually rented an apartment for a week to see if I like the area.”

“Sweetheart, you could still stay with me and figure out if this is the place you want to be.”

“I know, but if I did move here, I’d have my own place so I wanted to get the feel of it. I didn’t mention it to you or Scott because I didn’t want you both insisting that I stay with you.” Chris narrowed his eyes at you. “Don’t give me that look. It’s way too early for me to be moving in with you. We both know that.”

“Fine. You’re probably right,” he murmured.

“Maybe I can cook you dinner at my pretend apartment next week,” you offered.

“You better. Don’t think you’re staying a whole ‘nother week and not seeing me almost every day.”

“Babe,” you sighed out. “The whole point of me staying another week is to see if I can get along on my own. If we are hanging out every day, that’s not how life is always going to be.”

“Five days.”

“Two days,” you offered.

“Two days?! Sweetheart…Four days.”

“Three, and that’s my final offer,” you concluded.

“Deal. But that’s you and me time. No Scott.”

“That’s fine by me. But it’s not an all-day deal. I want to try to work.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said, grabbing your face and pulling it to his lips.

“Let’s go to bed,” you said, standing up and pulling him up with your hand. The two of you walked into his room, you slipping into the en suite.

You pulled off your sweater, cami, and jeans, folding them neatly and placing them on the far side of the vanity. You took a deep breath, admiring the see-through black bra and matching panties. You were ready to be intimate with Chris again and you hoped he was feeling the same. Giving yourself one last look, you ran your fingers through your hair and pinched your cheeks. You were feeling confident and you hoped it showed. Taking one more deep breath, you steadied yourself and opened the bathroom door, walking back in the room to Chris who had changed into a t-shirt that he wore with his boxers.

“Sweetheart,” he said with a shaky breath.

“Hi, Chris,” you said, moving closer to him. He sprung to his feet to stand in front of you. Your hands went to his chest, placing both palms on him. “Make love to me.”

It came out more like a statement than a question and you were proud of yourself in that moment. Chris visibly gulped, licking his lips, he nodded. His arms instantly wrapped around you, caging yours to his body.

“Oh sweetheart, I’ve missed you,” he said softly. His lips trailed from yours to your neck, back up to that spot behind your ear that made your knees shake. He walked you to the bed, gently laying you down with him coming to lay beside you. His knee went between your legs opening you up to him. One hand caressed your pussy over your panties as he mouthed your nipple through your bra, causing goosebumps to erupt down your body. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes, god yes. I want you babe,” you moaned as his mouth went to your other breast.

While the first time the two of you were together was fun and full of nervous energy, this time was the two of you truly making love. Chris took his time worshiping your body. It was slow and soft and you knew that it was absolutely right.

Lisa’s home was stuffed to capacity, much of the guests spilling into the backyard. It wasn’t just the Evans clan in attendance today. Everyone brought friends who they considered family. The names of everyone you met started to swirl together. The family was easy enough to get down as you met the kids back in May. Carly’s husband, Shanna’s boyfriend, a few cousins, and uncle were added to the list. Chris had a few buddies there as well as Scott that they introduced you to. Everyone was warm and welcoming and you felt at ease as they all seemed to want to get to know you. These were the important people in Chris’ life, so they were important to you as well.

Chris was relaxed which you loved to see. He had a few beers but wasn’t out of control. When you were around each other, he kept a hand on you. On your back. On your side. Around your shoulders. On your cheek. It was sweet and welcome, especially after the night you spent together.

You decided to stick to lemonade during the day, switching to white wine as the day went on. Getting drunk in front of these people wasn’t something you wanted to do even if Scott was trying to make that happen. He’d walk by with a bottle in hand and you’d quickly cover the top of your glass with your hand. It was slumber party night back at Scott’s, one of you had to be responsible enough to drive you home later.

One person you hadn’t even thought of meeting was Courtney. It was foolish of you to forget about her since Scott had told you she had been a long-time friend of the family, not to mention Chris’ on and off girlfriend for years. You wanted to like her and you wanted her to like you. It was such a weird thought to have. She’s Chris’ ex after all. She had been around for his other girlfriends including his longer relationships.

“Y/N, this is Courtney,” Scott introduced.

She gave you a polite smile and a wave which you returned. “The famous Sassy! I’ve seen you on Scott’s Instagram account,” she said.

Okay. This isn’t so bad.

“That would be me. It’s nice to meet you.”

She was prettier in person than she was in pictures. The kind of girl that didn’t need makeup but wore it anyway and it only enhanced her natural beauty. She was dressed casually in jeans and sweater, yet she looked unbelievably put together.

“You in town long?” she asked.

“Another week, then I’m back to the warmth,” you said with a smile.

“Suppose this is quite the change for you. Plus, the Evans family can be quite overwhelming.”

Scott scoffed at that, pushing her shoulder. “Only some of the Evans’ are overwhelming. I’m wonderful.”

You grabbed him around the waist, kissing his shoulder. “You sure are sweetie,” you said sarcastically, earning a laugh from Courtney.

Scott excused himself, leaving you and Courtney to chat. She was nice and sweet and easy to talk to. You immediately understood why she remained friends with the family when her and Chris broke up the first time. It was still odd in away to be friendly with your boyfriend’s ex, but if everyone else loved her, you needed to give it a shot. Boyfriend. That was another thing. Chris was your boyfriend. You really liked the sound of that.

It was close to seven and Scott was itching to take off. He wanted to order pizza and have a dance party. Zach was staying with Chris for the night so the two of you could have that sleep over. You both had great boyfriends to put up with you. Confiscating Scott’s keys earlier in the day, you went in search of Chris to tell him goodbye.

You found Chris with a few of his friends you had met early in the day along with Courtney standing on the patio outside. Chris was telling a story, animated as ever. His arms flailing about, head tipped back as he laughed at his own joke. You stood back to admire him as he had the group enthralled with whatever tale he was telling. Courtney stepped forward, wrapping an arm around his middle. It seemed innocent at first until she placed a hand on his sweater clad chest, hand trailing lightly. Chris looked down at her hand and then to her face, neither of them noticing you had stepped outside. He lifted her hand from his chest, much to her surprise, and then stepped out of her embrace. “I have a girlfriend,” he said softly, but you still heard it.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Courtney quickly replied.

You wanted to escape without being seen. It definitely felt like a moment you weren’t meant to witness even though you were happy with the outcome. You were mere inches from the patio doors when Scott popped out, calling out your name drawing the attention of the group standing nearby.

“Hey sweetheart,” Chris said, leaving the group and walking up to you, kissing your temple to greet you. You wrapped an arm around his middle and leaned into him. “Are you taking off?”

“M’hmm,” you replied. “Just coming to say goodnight.”

“I’ll walk you out,” he said.

“Hey, Y/N? Can I talk to you for a moment?” Courtney asked. You turned around to see a small frown on her face.

You nodded your head. “Sure.” You squeezed Chris’ hand. “I’ll see you inside,” you said to him.

Courtney followed you further into the backyard, taking a seat on a small bench.

“I’m not sure what you may have seen, but I wanted to apologize. I had my arms around Chris and If I had known he was with someone, I wouldn’t have been as handsy as I just was. That’s not me and I don’t want you to get that impression of me. M’sorry and I hope that you can accept my apology.”

Scott had not introduced you to Courtney as Chris’ girlfriend, so you did believe that she didn’t know and she did seem sincere. You didn’t want things to be weird, especially if you did end up moving here at some point.

“Already forgotten. I’d like for us to be friends, so no hard feelings,” you replied.

“Thank you,” she said, giving you a soft smile.

Both of you stood up, you walking back into the house and Courtney staying outside. Chris intertwined your hand with his, walking both of you out the front door to Scott’s car. He pulled you into a rocking hug, before pulling back, placing both palms on your cheeks and kissing you deeply.

“I’ll see you Monday for our day one of three?” he asked with a grin.

“I’d like that.” You kissed him again before climbing into the driver’s seat of the car. Scott already asleep in the passenger’s seat.

“Oh, Scott,” you said, shaking your head. He was lucky his car had GPS and you had his address.

Chapter 14

Tag list: @mustangshelby04 @bellaireland1981 @carolina-thiell @straightforwardly @torntaltos @denise1605 @mcuclintasha @southerngracela @iam-cj @trynnabemultifandom @chrisevansforever @kelbabyblue @broadwayandnetflix @kyjey @thevelvetseries @i-just-feel-like @daddieslittlefangirl @hista-girl @stankface @im-not-an-armrest-im-short @whymalu @the-doctors-fallen-angel @mariswritingforfun @tessabb7 @chrisevansfanfic @lakamaa12 @thinkxlovexloud @deidrashouseofpain @nea90sweetie @the-murder-strut-murdered-me @greyeyedsmile14 @dangerouslovefanfic @ripvandrinkle @bitterstar88 @andymi3ntus @zestygingergirl @xstudiousslytherinx @hidden-behind-the-fourth-wall @cocomel0613 @onceuponathreetwoone @supraveng @michelehansel @fanfictionaffair @genesgoingtohamslam @agirlcanstilldream @what-is-your-plan-today @jessyballet @capstopavenger @wiczer @titty-teetee @tanelle83 @pinknerdpanda @allaboutthebooz @estillion14 @panicfob @patzammit @heartislubbingdubbing @collinsstanharbour @twittytelly @linki-locks11 @mywinterwolf @ab-baybay @rda1989 @impalaimages @jesseswartzwelder @rainbowkisses31 @xostephanie @smoothdogsgirl @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk @xxloki81xx @thenormreedus @firstangeldragonranch @soitmightgetweird @maeleeme @denisemarieangelina @rvgrsbrns @icanfeelastormbrewing @velvetwonderbucky @kitkat1690 @smilexcaptainx @suppu97

#chris evans #scott evans #chris evans x reader #chris evans x you #chris evans x y/n #chris evans reader insert #chris evans imagine #conversations #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fan fiction #chris evans fan fic

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taiblogcomics · 4 years

Text

Begin Again With Season Ten

Hey there, visual glitches. I guess since that last Ravagers issue was actually on the good side, we broke the curse. That shipment of comics I was waiting for finally came in, and we can review something relatively new for once. Remember that? When we used to review My Little Pony comics? Wow, it's been a while, huh? Is this preamble long enough? Let's get to it~

Here's the cover:

Ah, this cover is pretty good. At the very least, I mean, it does what a cover is supposed to do: grab your attention. It's very bright, and it calls out exactly what the next arc of comics is going to be. Yes, this is a continuation of the series following its finale. Which is a great place to jump back in, don't you think? There's really only one thing from the final season you need to know, and we'll cover it, but good cover. Also puts all the major characters on the cover, just to let readers know they exist~

So we open in Canterlot, since Twilight Sparkle doesn't live in Ponyville anymore. She's become ruler of Equestria and Celestia and Luna have retired. That's it, that's your spoilers. She's put out a call to all the most relevant characters: her friends, the Pillars, the movie-only characters, and even a few fan favourites. The comic even confirms that Lyra and Bon Bon are getting married, which is nice for all you shippers out there. Zecora's last to arrive, via the Rainbow Dash express, and with that, Twilight calls this meeting to order.

Well, you see, with Twilight now in an active position of power, she can't go galavanting all over the world solving friendship problems anymore. It just wouldn't be responsible. And the world has expanded quite a lot. The Crystal Empire popped up during season 3, for example. A whole bunch of new races appeared during the movie and season 7... So while we're now on good terms with yaks, griffons, dragons, and the like, there's still other places out there to extend the hoof of friendship toward. And thusly, she'll be sending out teams helmed by her closest friends to explore these lands.

Rainbow Dash, Captain Celaeno, Spitfire, and Lyra and Bon Bon are headed to the home of Celaeno's parrot people. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are pairing up together with Capper, Discord, and Trixie to where the catfolk live. Rarity is taking herself, Big Macintosh, Mage Meadowbrook, and Maud Pie to find the Diamond Dogs' lost kingdom. (Try looking between Pin-Ups and Young Americans.) And, most relevant to this first story arc, Applejack, Tempest Shadow, Rockhoof, and Zecora are off to the Farasian Shores, where the zebras live. At least, they are until Zecora hears where they're going.

For some reason, Zecora is very reluctant to return to her homelands. Sorry, Zecora, you had nine seasons to develop anything about your backstory and your people. Now you have no choice! She's so upset about the idea of returning home that she even stops rhyming to explain her feelings. Zecora explains that she prefers her life to be private, and that she has some bad blood back home. Applejack apologises, and Zecora reluctantly agrees to go with the group anyway. As she walks off, Applejack notices Zecora stopped rhyming for a moment there, and Zecora be's mysterious about that as well~

So, how to get to the Farasian coast? Well, on a boat, naturally. Did you know Cranky Doodle is a boat captain? Because I didn't. Also on his crew is a Gilligan-looking fellow named Ragamuffin and a surprise cameo by Steven Magnet. Tempest spends most of the journey being grumpy, though she does use her magic to fend off a storm. They also face down pirates, narwhals swimmin' in the ocean, and Rockhoof's restlessness in not having a use for his shovel on the sea. Finally, they set sights on Farasi, which causes Zecora's anxieties to rise again.

On the shore, they part with the crew for now. Get out of here, ancilliary characters! We're about to introduce a half-dozen more, and we need to keep the cast down as much as we can. Say, speaking of, the group meets their welcoming committee: a zebra named Marini with purple stripes. She greets Zecora warmly, but Zecora pulls away. Rockhoof takes her up on those offered hugs, though. Marini takes them on a tour, which includes a reference to Casablanca, and she's surprised Zecora has never explained anything about their home to them.

After mentioning that this is the home of Abraxas, one of Farasi's four princes, Applejack is kind of reluctant to meet with a full prince. Fortunately, she's got a different welcome wagon to meet first: Marini's friends! In addition to her, there are two lanky, two-horned ponies called Dust Devil and Cactus Rose. They don't tell you until next issue, but they're abadas, roughly the zebra equivalent of unicorns. The other two, Crystal and Medley Brook, are kelpies, which are ponies with control over water. They're all old friends with Zecora, who panics and runs away when confronted with her past. Who knew zebras had such anxiety problems?

Well, let’s start with the notion of season 10. It’s a neat premise and a good direction to take the series. No more sitting around in Ponyville! It’s a bit more of an ongoing adventure series than an episodic slice-of-life. I’m not sure they could have actually done this in the show, particularly with Twilight and Spike essentially retiring from main character status. But it definitely works for comics. Additionally, I’m glad they decided to do it as part of the main ongoing series instead of a “Season 10″ miniseries like the Adventure Time comics tried. It didn’t work out so good there~

As for the story itself, I’m very intrigued. Zecora’s status as a zebra was always the biggest mystery that the series had left by the end, so it’ll be neat to explore that in some depth. We’ll get to know her friends more next issue, trust me, but I like them. And speaking of friends, splitting up the main cast is something that also might not have worked in the TV series, but here it works just fine. It’s the Marvel Team-Up rules: pair some characters who normally don’t interact together and see what happens. It’s good for development~

#comics #reviews #My Little Pony Friendship is Magic IDW #Taiblog #Zecora #Season 10

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syncogon · 4 years

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[QZGS TL] Season 2 sneak peeks

During Tencent’s livestream on August 8, in addition to releasing the full ending theme performed live, the voice actors live-dubbed three sneak peek scenes from Season 2.

Was hoping there’d be better / official quality videos released, but in the absence of, I’ll just post “subs” like this.

Video links below cut.

official ED: https: //v.qq. com/x/cover/mzc00200cgcstr9/m0034uz558u.html

Let me know if there’s an error in how I labeled the speakers.

1) New Year’s: https: //m.weibo. cn/5408696551/4535738797925359

SMC: Happy new year! SMC: Ah, I’m sorry! CG: Su Mucheng?! SMC: I’m sorry! I thought Ye Xiu was on the night shift SMC: I thought he’d be the one opening the door at this hour CG: It’s fine, it’s fine! CG: Come in, come in! No need to be polite! CG: You can sit down anywhere CG: Ahh- that- SMC: Happy new year! YQ: What is this?! SMC: You’re not Ye Xiu… you’re Ye Qiu? SMC: Got it wrong again, now I don’t have any more… YX: You can just buy more YX: You’re here? SMC: Yeah YX: Is that guy gone yet? YQ: I’m leaving now CG: Leaving so early? Why don’t we get lunch together? YQ: I can’t stay YQ: Otherwise I’ll be late to the family New Year’s Eve dinner YQ: I’m not like a certain unfilial son YX: Yes. Be good at home for me YQ: My dream still isn’t fulfilled yet YQ: You’d better return soon CG: He still hasn’t given up… YQ: I’m heading out CG: I can send you off YQ: No need, I’m leaving! You jerk brother…

2) Pro player group chat: https: //m.weibo. cn/7003680178/4535748332626731

HST: @Ye Qiu @Ye Qiu @Ye Qiu @Ye Qiu! HST: See? He’s not coming out CYX: Try a different keyword HST: @One Autumn Leaf @One Autumn Leaf @One Autumn Leaf… CYX: Still One Autumn Leaf? SX: Huh? Who’s calling me? all: …… HST: Not calling you, looking for Ye Qiu! SX: Ye Qiu? Isn’t he retired, why’s he still in this group? HST: Careful, the group admin might kick you out CYX: Try @Lord Grim YX: Oh, who called me? HST: Fuck! You were pretending to be dead, how shameless! YX: Hi everyone, long time no see all: Greetings to the god! YX: Okay, done greeting, bye HST: You only said one sentence!! YX: I’m not you…… all: [lmfao.gif] HST: Zhou Zekai! What are you laughing along for! ZZK: Haha HST: And you, don’t run away! HST: What have you been up to lately? YX: Leveling up… HST: You bastard! Who’s asking about that! HST: What are you trying to do by joining Heavenly Justice? YX: When playing an online game, joining a guild is a very normal thing to do HST: Don’t play dumb! YX: I’m being honest YX: Which of your guilds is willing to take me in? I’d go immediately YX: But see, there’s no one willing HST: You can come to our Blue Brook! YX: Do your words count? YWZ: No HST: Captain don’t take down my stage!

3) In-game EE hunting: https: //m.weibo. cn/7003680178/4535748348348244 (disregard the part after the scene ends, which is just a lower quality version of the ED linked at the top of this post)

CG: More people are coming CG: No guild tag YX: Run. It might be Excellent Era’s people CG: Even if it’s Excellent Dynasty, we don’t need to be this nervous, do we? YX: I said Excellent Era, not Excellent Dynasty CG: You mean - pro players?! YX: He Ming. Liu Hao. Wang Ze CG: Excellent Era is sending their main roster players to kill you? CG: Are they crazy? YX: Let’s split up and run CG: Why run? They’re fixated on you CG: Let’s just fight it out together YX: What fighting? YX: Fighting will just get us killed YX: Use your brain CG: I’m not dumb, I know my limits CG: I just wanted to stay back and fight together CG: So what if I die in-game? CG: You can use me as bait or something too, no problem YX: Then listen to my instructions YX: Jump to the rock at (1456, 856) CG: And then what? YX: Stand back. Further back. YX: There, good CG: Then what? YX: Wait for my command CG: Up here… I can’t see anything YX: Give me your mouse YX: Stinger! CG: You can do that? YX: Grenade! YX: Heat-Seeking Missile! YX: Satellite Beam! LH: Oh no! EE (someone): Satellite Beam! HM: This partnership - could it be - LH: Retreat!

#quan zhi gao shou #qzgs #the king's avatar #tka #全职高手 #mine #translation

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andrewmoocow · 4 years

Text

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 3: Cracks and Buds (originally published on December 21, 2020)

Author's note: Like I said last chapter, this will be where things get interesting and diverge a bit from the original version of Future. In addition to merging Rose Buds with Volleyball, A Very Special Episode will mostly be skipped since while I did enjoy that one, it pretty much rendered itself non-canon by the end. However, elements of that will be incorporated into the final episode of Part 1. But I've been talking too much, let's get on with the show!

Synopsis: Steven is forced to air out more of his mother's dirty laundry when Pink Pearl and a group of Rose Quartzes visit Earth.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst, Ocean Jasper, Lace Amethyst, Famethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl, Pink Pearl, Shell, Mega Pearl

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Kimberly Brooks as Shy Rose, Superfan Rose, Hippie Rose, Angel Aura Quartz, Zebra Jasper, Biggs Jasper, Carnelian, Skinny Jasper

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Amy Sedaris as Teal Zircon

Lamar Abrams as Wy-Six

Cristina Vee as Jay-Ten

Dee Bradley Baker as Lion

Noël Wells as ?

"Thanks for stopping by to help me with this painting while I help some of these Gems today TZ." Steven, wearing a doctor's uniform, thanked Teal Zircon while she stood before a painting of her former leader Rose Quartz. "Seeing this after all I've been through recently is kinda making me uncomfortable, so I want it moved somewhere else."

"Can do Steven!" Teal exclaimed while keeping her eyes on the painting, contemplating what to do with it. "Now where to put this."

First, Teal tried hanging the portrait above the temple gate. "Naw, no good."

Next, Teal went up to Steven's conservatory and thought Rose's serene expression would fit well among the greenery, but then changed her mind. "Hm, needs to be more grandiose."

Then, she tried going up to the temple's hand and hung it on one of the fingers. "Nice view, but I'm not sure."

Warping back down to Steven, Teal Zircon carried the Rose Quartz painting over to the kitchen and leaned it against the trashcan. "Hey Steven, you think this is a good spot?!" she called to Steven, who had just wrapped up healing a Ruby.

"Wait, in the garbage?" Steven asked as he walked over to the painting near the trash. "Why would you choose that place?"

"Well, it's simple really." Teal explained. "Y'all think Rose is trash now so therefore, she belongs with actual trash."

"No, it's not like that!" Steven objected to the Zircon's decision. "Rose may have done some highly questionable things, like faking her own death as Pink Diamond and lying to both sides for thousands of years, but that doesn't mean she should just be thrown away like that!" Before Steven could continue, there was a knock at the door. "Hang on, gotta take this."

When Steven opened the front door, he was greeted with tons of Quartzes with cracked gems and physical deformities. "Volleyball must've gotten real wild, eh?"

"You said it!" Biggs Jasper replied, sticking out a finger that had an eyeball at its tip.

A few minutes later, all the Quartzes were back to normal thanks to Steven, and they returned to their volleyball game while he waved them off. "Come again!" Steven cried. "But not like, too soon. Remember, volleyball isn't a contact sport!"

"Yo Schtu-ball!" Steven's father Greg called for him while he walked towards the beach house with Amethyst in tow. "Did you and that crazy Zircon find a good place for that painting yet?"

"No can do." Teal answered with a shake of her head.

"What she said." Steven agreed. "After everything that's happened lately, I don't know if I still want her hanging over us, y'know?"

"Hey, speaking of pink Gems, I think someone might wanna talk with you." Amethyst said, and she & Greg moved out of the way to reveal Pink Diamond's former Pearl standing behind them.

"Oh, it's you!" Steven exclaimed, recognizing Pink Pearl from when he managed to free everyone from White Diamond's control, including her. "What brings you to Earth?"

"I came here because I heard you might be able to help with this." The Pearl said, stepping forward while gesturing to her hideously cracked eye that extended to parts of her face and even a small portion of her hair.

"Well step right on in!" Teal Zircon exclaimed before she and Steven walked Pink Pearl into the house and sat her down. "You came to the right guy. You should've been here earlier. He was able to fix up all these Quartzes, including one that had an eye growing on her finger!"

"Thanks TZ, but let me take care of this." Steven said. "I'll have you fixed up in a jiffy." He began to lick his palm, which grossed Pink Pearl out. "Don't worry, it may seem gross but it gets the job done." He placed his healing saliva-covered palm on his patient's gem and waited for her eye to be healed. But sadly, nothing happened.

"Did it work?" Pink Pearl quietly asked.

"Maybe you should try touching her eye?" Teal suggested.

"That's exactly what I was going to say." Steven stated before he licked his hand again. This time, the spit went on Pink Pearl's injured eye. But just like last time, nothing happened. "This can't be right!" he said to himself. Steven rushed over to a plant and plucked off a leaf to double-check. He tapped on the stem the leaf came from, and out of it came a bouquet of flowers. "It's alright, my powers are fine."

"But what if there's something more to this?" TZ guessed, sitting down where Steven once sat right across from Pink Pearl. "Tell me, I've been told you were controlled by White Diamond once. I know this might be a touchy subject, but is there anything you remember from that time?"

"Nope!" Pink answered. "8,000 years just, blip! Gone!"

"So you don't remember getting cracked in the first place?" Steven asked.

"Oh no no." Steven's patient corrected him. "This was from before."

"So White must've hurt you at some point!" Teal guessed earnestly. "Is that right?"

"Oh stars, no!" Pink Pearl stated. "This was all Pink Diamond's doing!"

"My mom?!" Steven yelped at this revelation and began tensing up, turning a little pink in the process.

"Told you." TZ muttered, unintentionally making Steven more nervous already until Pink Pearl let out a gasp.

"Are you okay?" Pink Pearl asked Steven, who began to ease up more thanks to her.

"Sorry, it's just baggage." Steven let out a sigh of exhaustion. "And thanks a lot Teal."

"Oop, sorry!" Teal giggled nervously. "No hard feelings?"

"It's fine." Steven said to Teal and turned back to Pink Pearl. "Anyway, I think I know just the Pearl to help us fix you!"

As Steven took Pink Pearl outside, Amethyst joined the two as they began searching for Pearl. "So, I take it fixing her eye was a no-go?" she asked.

"You're right, and that's why we're looking for Pearl." Steven said. "You know where she is?"

Before Amethyst could answer, a stray volleyball zoomed past her, Steven and Pink Pearl. Right in front of them, the same group of Quartzes Steven healed earlier were playing a very aggressive round with Pearl serving as the referee.

"Think fast!" Angel Aura Quartz yelled before she spiked the ball towards Zebra Jasper's head, followed by Pearl blowing the whistle.

"Next set!" Pearl declared before she noticed Steven. "Oh, if it isn't my favorite medical professional. How's your clinic going?"

"Hey Pearl, you got a moment for she and Steven here?" Amethyst asked, pointing to Pink Pearl.

"Sure." Pearl accepted as she looked at Pink Pearl. "Did you come to compete?"

"Pardon?" Pink Pearl asked confusedly.

"I mean, in the volleyball tournament." The other Pearl blushed awkwardly.

"Actually, we came here because we need your help." Steven said.

"Okay, what can I do for you?" Pearl asked the two.

"So, this is Pearl." Steven introduced Pink Pearl to Pearl. "She was Mom's, I mean, Pink Diamond's Pearl too, a long time ago." Unfortunately for Steven, introductions quickly got confusing. "And Pearl, you remember Pearl? She was also Pink Diamond's Pearl, AGH! That's too many Pearls!" he snapped in befuddlement. "We should probably give you a nickname."

"A nickname?" Pink Pearl blushed in surprise.

"Yeah, a nickname." Steven repeated.

"Like how Steven calls Teal Zircon stuff like Teal or TZ." Amethyst said. "Maybe we could put an eyepatch over that eye and call you Captain Pearl!"

"Oh, I know what a nickname is." Pink Pearl stated. "It just reminds me of how Pink Diamond once gave silly little names to everything." She added, reminiscing on her former owner with a longing stare. "She was so funny like that."

"Looks like someone's still holding a torch, am I right?" Amethyst snarked. "Now if only I had an eyepatch lying around."

"How about-" Steven began just before a volleyball hit him in the face, and an idea hit him just as hard. "Volleyball!"

"Volleyball? You're so funny!" Pink Pearl, now known as Volleyball, blushed with a cute giggle. "You're just like her."

"No, I'm not like," Steven yipped in surprise. "Anyway, we're here because of the crack on-"

Steven was cut off however by the beach growing darker as a large rumbling sound rang out, and an equally large dagger-like silhouette descended towards them.

"Uh guys, is that who I think it is?" Greg rushed to join the Gems, as the shape grew closer to the Earth.

"Um, is whoever's in there with you?" Volleyball asked nervously.

"Yep." Steven answered, before the Human Zoo docked itself right in front of him. "They're with us."

"Ste-Van, greetings!" Wy-Six, one of the humans inhabiting Pink Diamond's former human zoo, merrily greeted Steven alongside Jay-Ten through the communicator in Steven's conservatory.

"Jay-Ten, Wy-Six, how did you get your space station all the way to Earth?" Steven asked just as cheerfully.

"We took the Zoo ship and made it into a cruise ship!" Jay-Ten answered.

"Um, I don't think I was told there were humans that made it to space." Volleyball stated.

"You were still under White's control when Pink had this human zoo made for her." Pearl suggested to Volleyball just as Greg, Amethyst and Teal Zircon arrived in the conservatory. "I'll fill you in later."

"Oh hey Jay-Ten. Hey Wy-Six." Greg nervously greeted the two Zoomans, whose pleasant expressions turned sour in his presence. "I haven't seen y'all since the Choosening!"

"You mean since you DIDN'T choosen us?!" Wy-Six said angrily. "Don't you have any sound discs to listen to in your wheeled conveyance?"

"Yes, yes I do." Greg replied as he nervously walked away from the conversation.

"Now that he is gone, we'd love it if you came by for a visit." Wy-Six offered.

"Sure thing." Steven accepted the offer. "Is it okay if Amethyst came along and saw the Famethyst?"

"You're right, I gotta introduce the Quartzes to them!" Amethyst exclaimed before preparing to run off. "Oh we're gonna have such a ball!"

"As long as she is not Ga-Reg, she is welcome." Jay-Ten smiled.

Since Steven had last been there, the Human Zoo had received a massive overhaul. Now that Era 3 came with the end of the caste system, the Famethyst and the Zoomans essentially took over control of the zoo from Holly Blue Agate and turned it into a paradise for themselves.

"Ste-Van, welcome to our cah-ruse!" Wy-Six declared, introducing Steven, Pearl, Volleyball, Amethyst and the Little Homeschool Quartzes to the new & improved Human Zoo.

"Wow, it looks so much different that last time." Pearl gasped in astonishment at how much change they brought to the space station.

"Um, was it always like this?" Volleyball asked the Zoomans.

"Kind of." Jay-Ten said to the Pearl. "We were descended from humans that were taken here and choosened, but it's all different now for us while the Amethysts and Jaspers laze around like delinquents! Am I right Holly Blue?"

"Stop relaxing and get back to your posts, you low class twits!" Holly Blue yelled orders to the relaxing Amethysts, despite the fact that she no longer had power over them. "How can anyone function with this total lack of order?!"

"Aw come on Holly, chill out." A Carnelian the size of Amethyst said while another Amethyst put a flower crown on the angry Agate's head. "You know you want to."

"I give up. No one answers to me, and I answer to no one." Holly Blue kept ranting, unaware that Steven and Volleyball were standing behind her. "I'd give anything for an order from the Diamonds, but all they ever talk about is Steven, Steven, Steve-STEVEN?!"

"Hi Holly!" Steven casually greeted Holly Blue. The Agate gave a stink-eye to Volleyball before nervously shuffling away while performing the Diamond salute, and ran off as her former subordinates laughed at her expense.

"Soon boy. Soon." Holly growled under her breath as she ripped the flower crown off her head and the doors slowly closed behind her. "That Pearl we made into a sleeper agent better work."

"Bye Holly." Steven said just as casual, unaware of what Holly Blue murmured.

"Yo, Famethyst!" Amethyst called to her fellow Quartzes. "Meet some of my new homies!"

"AMETHYST!" the Famethyst cried out happily before Amethyst spin-dashed towards the group and knocked them all down like they were bowling pins.

"Hey, you came here with Amethyst here?" a very skinny Jasper asked Zebra Jasper as she held up Amethyst. "You guys are gonna love it here."

As the large group of Quartzes laughed and played together, Steven looked on with a grin. "What a weird, happy family."

"Ste-van, we have some special friends we'd like you and your Pearls to meet." Wy-Six said to Steven and the Pearls before he led them out of the Zoo.

"They wanted to meet us?" Pearl asked in total confusion.

"Yes, it is they who wanted to come with us to Earth." Jay-Ten replied before they stood in front of the door that led to a room where so many Rose Quartz gems were bubbled by the Diamonds. "We cannot wait to see the look upon your faces when you see their faces! Ooh, here they come!"

The door opened, and standing before Steven, Pearl & Volleyball was a Rose Quartz with a face and hair eerily similar to the Rose that Pink Diamond had disguised as. While Steven and Pearl stood wide-eyed in shock, Volleyball was still left in the dark.

"Yes, that's the look we wanted to see!" Wy-Six exclaimed.

"I suppose she looks familiar to you?" Volleyball asked her friends, who were still silent in alarm as two more Roses, a medium pink-colored messy haired Rose with her gem on her shoulder and another with her gemstone on her chest and slightly straighter hair of a lighter color, rushed out of the room, where tons more formerly bubbled Rose Quartzes frolicked about.

"S-s-so many Rose Quartzes." Steven finally stuttered in surprise. "But how?"

"Now that it's Era 3, we were all unbubbled, so now we're making up for lost time!" the shoulder-gem Rose revealed excitedly while shaking Steven's hand. "Hi, I'm Rose Quartz! And you, you must be Steven!" she added while picking the boy up. "You're so much smaller than I thought you'd be! Is it because you're half-organic? Isn't he amazing Rose Quartz?"

"It's, like, we were bubbled but, like, now we're not." The chest-gem Rose pointed out while speaking like a hippie while her super-excitable companion presented Steven to her.

"Uh yeah, it's really great." Steven laughed awkwardly. "I'm glad to see you're adjusting well."

"Oh, isn't Steven just the best?!" the hyperactive Rose exclaimed. "You're so kind and friendly and brave and smart and handsome and gentle, and we haven't seen the Earth since we first emerged! Tell us, what's it like living there?"

The familiar-looking Rose Quartz peeked out from behind the hippie-like Rose, continuing to make Steven & Pearl nervous while Volleyball still looked befuddled.

"I'm sorry, what?" Pearl stuttered.

"You know, the planet you live on, Earth!" the happy Rose shouted as she lowered Steven to the ground. "What's a day in the life like for a hero like you?"

"Well, most days I am pretty busy." Steven answered shyly. "I wake up pretty early and-"

"Where's your house at?" the hippie Rose interrupted with a question of her own.

"Oh, we have a beautiful view of the ocean." Pearl answered.

"I've never seen the ocean before!" the exuberant Rose said, placing a hand on Steven's shoulder.

"I've never smelled it before." Her relaxed friend added as she placed a hand on Steven's other shoulder, making him even more disturbed. "Speaking of smell, what's it like breathing?"

"It's mostly nitrogen." Steven explained. "My friend Connie says-"

"I bet you sleep ALL the time!" the Rose that had pretty much become Steven's new number one fan cheered.

"Well, not all the time." Steven replied. "I only need eight to ten hours of sleep at night at my age."

"What's it like eating food?" the fangirling Rose squealed eagerly.

"W-w-w-well why don't you come to dinner and find out?!" Steven blurted out while looking at the shy Rose with a massive degree of unease. "That is, if you want?"

"I'm still lost. Why are Rose Quartzes such a touchy subject for you?" Volleyball piped up, breaking up the tension.

"Oh ye of little faith." Pearl declared as she put a hand on her fellow Pearl's shoulder. "You have so much to learn."

Just then, the Quartzes suddenly arrived via conga line led by Amethyst; seemingly unaware of what just happened. "Yo Steven!" Amethyst cried, before she turned catatonic at the sight of the Rose Quartzes with Steven and the Pearls. "Uh, what did I miss?"

"Family reunion." Steven answered meekly before the Quartzes conga-lined away. "So what do you say girls?"

"I'd love to Steven!" the shoulder Rose cheered and gave Steven a big hug. "Come on guys, Steven's having us over!"

"Like, wow man." The chest Rose replied. "You really are a real sweet guy Steven."

"You go on ahead, I'll catch up later!" Volleyball laughed while Steven and Pearl walked away with the Roses. When she was left completely alone, Volleyball hesitantly knocked on the wall and a peephole opened up. "I've come to report Holly Blue."

"Excellent, at least I have one bright spot." Holly Blue sighed happily from the other side of the wall. "Can you give me any important info?"

"Yes. Apparently this Rose Quartz they once spoke so highly of is a rather uncomfortable subject for the Crystal Gems." Volleyball said nervously. "I could see it in Steven, the Pearl and the Amethyst's eyes when they met those Rose Quartzes."

"The boss will like this." Holly Blue purred mischievously. "Return to that boy at once and see what else you can gather."

"That reminds me, I think I'd like to back out of this revolution." Volleyball murmured. "I know it's because of Pink Diamond that I'm like this, but Steven is barely anything like her! He even gave me a nickname!"

"You one-eyed moron!" the Agate yelled at the Pearl. "Our master has brought us together in the first place because Steven bent all of Homeworld to their knees by being a controlling brat, just like how Pink constantly threw tantrums because she didn't get what she wanted! Is that clear Pink Pearl?!"

Volleyball didn't listen however, and instead walked faraway from Holly Blue. "I still won't have any part in this." She declared hotly. "And by the way, they call me Volleyball now."

"What kind of stupid nickname is that?!" Holly shrieked furiously. "Get back and do as you're told, like the slave you are!" Her yelling fell on deaf ears and Volleyball was gone, leaving Holly to panic. "The master will not like this."

"He's cutting one of those carrot beans again." The excitable Rose announced as she, her fellow Roses, Garnet and Pearl watched Steven cut up some carrots on his dinner plate. "Going up…..into…his mouth!" she continued before Steven picked up a piece of carrot to eat. "Ah, and it's gone! No one can eat a carrot bean like you!"

"I've been doing this for most of my life now." Steven said, still unnerved by the Roses' obsession with him. "I'd hope that-"

"Hey Scthu-Ball!" Greg cheerfully greeted his son as he entered the beach house. "Any idea when the Zoomans will leave? I haven't had this many of my exes visiting since-"

"You must be Steven's human dad!" Shoulder Rose exclaimed. "Hi, how are you?!"

Greg completely stopped in his tracks at the sight of the three Roses, especially the one that looked almost exactly like his late wife. "I can feel the rest of my hair falling out."

Just as Greg was about to leave, Steven tried to stop him. "Don't go Dad. You wanna join us for dinner?"

"Nope!" Greg answered without hesitation, and left just as quickly as he came. As Mr. Universe left, Volleyball finally returned to Steven.

"Hi everybody, sorry I took so long." Volleyball fibbed. "Amethyst wanted me to stay a while."

"Uh…" Steven muttered.

"Okay, now back to this eating thing!" Shoulder Rose continued while she took Steven's plate for herself. "So, you take this food stuff and you put it in your face hole like this, right?"

"Yeah, that's basically it." Steven laughed nervously.

"Y'know, if I had my own Pearl, I'd totally, like, want it to be just like you." Chest Rose said as she gazed at a very unnerved Pearl. "You tried this butter stuff? It's real groovy."

"It's okay, but thanks anyway Roooooose." Pearl answered very uncomfortably.

"Excuse me Pearl, but are you alright?" the shy Rose Quartz asked Pearl.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Pearl abruptly declared and, as she stated, moved away to the bathroom.

"Yo, you're lookin' kinda tense." Chest Rose said to Garnet with a hand on the fusion's shoulder. "How about I give you a nice relaxing message while we talk?"

"I'm also in need of the bathroom!" Garnet stated and got up to follow Pearl to the john.

"Okay Steven, I think I got this eating thing down." Shoulder Rose proclaimed while holding a carrot from Steven's plate in front of his face like he was a little boy. "Here, open your face hole." With that, Steven reluctantly took the carrot and ate it. "Good job!"

"I, uh, should probably see how Garnet and Pearl are doing." Steven nervously said. "Why don't you talk to Volleyball here while I chat with them?"

As Steven left for the bathroom after Garnet & Pearl, the three Roses stared at Volleyball.

"So, what was it like as Pink Diamond's Pearl?" Navy Rose asked Volleyball.

"They're not her." Steven whispered to himself as he watched the Pearl talk with the Quartzes, with a hand on the doorknob. "It's not weird at all."

Steven found Garnet and Pearl waiting for him in the bathroom as he closed the door behind him. "So, how's it going?"

"Don't you think this is super weird?" Pearl asked her son figure. "I mean, we've lived without Rose for sixteen years now, and then here come these Rose Quartzes that were bubbled because of her! And one of them even looked like her!"

"Of course it's super weird Pearl!" Garnet answered bluntly.

"Come on guys, we can't all be like this." Steven tried to calm the two down. "It's like Pearl said, they were bubbled because they looked like Mom. Now they're finally free, and all we're doing is hiding away in the bathroom whispering to each other about the same thing."

"I know it's wrong," Garnet stated. "but I'm overwhelmed."

"You know what? They don't just look like her, they are here!" Pearl exclaimed. "Because she made them!" The ex-servant took a deep breath and buried her face in her hands in embarrassment. "I thought I'd be more prepared for this."

Just then, they heard someone rushing down the stairs, followed by a familiar voice. "Hey Steven, where are you?! I still need help with the painting!"

"That's gotta be TZ." Steven recognized the voice and prepared to go back outside. "You two wait here, I'm gonna go back out to make sure they're having a good time. And that they don't see the painting."

"Oh Steven, come out come out wherever you are!" Teal Zircon called for Steven around the house while she hauled the painting around on her back, when she noticed Volleyball and the Roses. "Oh hey Pink Pearl, who are your new friends?"

"Oh, you're that Zircon from earlier." Volleyball said. "I was about to tell these three Rose Quartzes about how I got my eye cracked when you came around. How are you doing?"

"I still can't find a good place to hang this doohickey that won't make Steven freak out." Teal explained as she flipped the painting off her back to show Volleyball. "I understand why he doesn't want it within his line of sight, but it's a very nice lookin' "meep morp" as I've heard some Gems call art."

As Steven finally emerged from the bathroom, he saw that Teal Zircon was presenting Rose's painting to Volleyball while the Roses looked on.

"I think we should leave." Navy Rose suggested. "We wouldn't want to overstay our welcome."

"But we're having so much fun!" Chest Rose complained, and the trio looked at Steven with hurt on their faces.

"Do you not want us here?!" Shoulder Rose asked Steven sorrowfully.

"N-no, you're totally welcome here!" Steven stuttered bashfully, taking a brief moment to glare at TZ for bringing up the painting at such a bad time as he slightly began to turn pink. "I-in fact, I think there's still something we should t-t-t-t-took, I mean talk about, like Volleyball! We haven't brought up your eye yet!"

"Oh yes, it's a real shame what White Diamond did to this poor thing!" Pearl dramatically agreed as she impulsively burst from the restroom, realizing far too late what she just did and covered her mouth in shame. "Oh, darn it!"

"Yeah, I mean, Steven's healing powers won't work on her eye." TZ replied. "Hey Pearl, you know a place where she can get fixed?"

"Well, when a Pearl was damaged, they're usually taken to the Reef." Pearl explained. "It's located on one of Saturn's moons

"Yes, that's exactly what Pink would do!" Volleyball chirped happily.

"Ooh ooh, can we come too?!" Shoulder Rose asked Steven and Pearl. "I always wanted to know how Pearls are made!"

"Oh sure, the more the merrier!" Steven accepted.

"That's so awesome!" Shoulder Rose yelled, and she dropped down to the floor. "I'm dying, I'm dying, I am dead! I am dead Rose Quartz!"

After they all had a good laugh, Steven, Pearl, Volleyball and the Roses all left for the Reef via Warp Pad, leaving Teal Zircon all alone in the living room. At least until Garnet peeped out of the bathroom. "I predicted you would play a role in screwing the pooch TZ." She coolly stated.

"Was it something I said?" Teal said meekly.

Far from Earth, past Saturn & Jupiter and on the moon called Titan rested the Reef, a Gem facility that was essentially the birthplace of Pearls. And it was just the place that Steven was looking for.

"Here we are." Pearl announced as the Warp Pad took her, Steven, Volleyball and the Roses to a clamshell-like building surrounded by water.

"So this is the Reef." Steven declared as he looked around the place.

"This is where Pearls are made, right?" Navy Rose asked.

"Were, but you're right." Volleyball answered. "It also serves as a luxury boutique and center for refurbishment & repair."

"Repair, yes!" Steven exclaimed. "Just what I needed to hear." When Steven pressed his hand on a nearby pedestal, the facility turned on and a voice similar to Pearl's spoke to the group.

"Welcome, Pink Diamond." The voice greeted Steven.

"No, my name's Steven Universe." Steven corrected the voice.

"Welcome, Steven Universe." The voice corrected itself. "My name is Shell, your guide to the Reef."

"Wow, it sounds just like Pearl!" Shoulder Rose chirped eagerly.

"Well, this is a place for Pearls." Pearl stated with a chuckle. "Anyways, tell Shell why we're here Steven."

"Okay." Steven said, and then he turned to Shell. "My friend Volleyball here has a big crack on her face, and we'd like to get it fixed. Can you show us where you can help?"

"Understood." Shell obliged as a path to the center of the facility was lit up. "Please follow the illuminated path to the Care Center."

"You really didn't need to go all this way for something so trivial." Volleyball smiled.

"It's not so trivial Volleyball." Steven assured Pink's former Pearl. "Soon, we'll all be able to put this behind us."

"And don't you worry." Pearl added while taking her fellow ex-slave's hand. "I'll be with you the whole way."

Steven and his Gem friends began following the lit path to the Care Center while they examined all the boutique's accessories and holograms of Pearls.

"This is like, so cool." Chest Rose commented. "Pearls are so lucky to get all this cool stuff."

"Please feel free to take your time looking at the boutique's latest offerings as we make our way to the Care Center." Shell instructed. One offering in particular caught Volleyball's eye.

"Look at these darling fans!" Volleyball exclaimed, pointing to an assortment of fans.

"I'm taking one of these for the road." Chest Rose snickered while taking one of the fans for herself.

"What about you Pearl?" Steven asked Pearl. "Any memories rushing back into you?"

"Please, nothing like examining all these glitzy tchotchkes to get you remembering the simpler days." Pearl scoffed when she found a ribbon wand on display. "I mean, who even needs something as tacky as a ribbon wand, right Volleyball?!"

"What a sweet ribbon wand!" Volleyball gasped at the wand on display. "It looks just like mine!" To demonstrate, she summoned a ribbon wand of her own just like what was displayed and began twirling it around. "It was a gift from Pink. Isn't it exquisite?"

"Ooh!" Shoulder Rose whooped in excitement.

"Takin' this one too." Chest Rose declared as she snatched the ribbon wand from its stand.

"It's sweet she gave you all these keepsakes." Pearl laughed sardonically. "But I don't think there's any need to get attached." She tried to remove the ribbon wand from Volleyball's grasp, but the other Pearl refused to lose it.

"Guys, can we keep moving already?" Steven said impatiently.

"Yes, let's." Pearl obliged grumpily before she stomped away to the Care Center. "I've had enough of this old circus of objectification."

"Welcome to the Care Center." Shell introduced the almost featureless round room to its guests as they stepped into it. "We have everything you need here to update and repair your Pearl."

"If only I had something to help us remember this trip by!" Shoulder Rose whispered to her fellow Quartzes as Volleyball stepped onto a panel in the middle of the Care Center.

"Hey, I got these." Chest Rose replied, holding up the trinkets she took from the boutique. "Can't wait to show everyone at the Zoo."

"Scanning in progress." Shell informed as the one-eyed Pearl was scanned for any injuries to her form.

"So how do I look?" Volleyball asked Shell, but the answer she got was nothing like she expected.

"I am sorry." Shell apologized. "There is nothing I can do."

"But I thought this place was for fixing Pearls!" Navy Rose exclaimed. "There's got to be some kind of misunderstanding!"

"That's right! What's wrong with her?" Steven agreed.

"There is no visible damage to her pearl." Shell analyzed. "Perhaps the damage was severe enough to impact her even if her gem shows no signs of disrepair."

"So, it's psychological?" Steven gulped at the AI's answer.

"That's absurd!" Volleyball laughed creepily while turning to the others. "I'm totally fine!" The forced smile on her face and the worsening cracks on her eye, on the other hand, told a completely different story.

"How could White be so careless?!" Pearl shouted furiously at Volleyball.

"Oh no Pearl, you got it all wrong." Volleyball revealed. "This was all Pink's doing."

"What did you just say?!" Pearl yelled in Volleyball's face, as Steven watched in horror.

"Ah dudes, I don't think Steven's looking too hot." Chest Rose muttered while she noticed Steven sweating very nervously.

"It's a real funny story." Volleyball said. "Once, Pink got so fed up with Yellow and Blue Diamond refusing to give her a colony that she went straight to White Diamond. Of course, White told her that she wasn't fit to have one, and that set her off."

"Set her off?!" Pearl shouted, currently unaware of the stress Steven was under at the moment. "What kind of crazy talk is that?!"

"You know how Pink's powers were so destructive, how she threw tantrums left & right and that her screams could crack walls!" Volleyball continued explaining, accidentally earning her more of Pearl's ire. "But she didn't mean to hurt me! I was just standing a little too close during one tantrum and-"

"It doesn't matter!" Steven yelled while averting his ears from more of his late mother's dark secrets. "I don't want to hear anymore, I just want to fix this!"

"Destructive powers? Tantrums?!" Pearl exclaimed in disbelief of what Volleyball was saying. "The Pink I knew was a healer who kept her feeling secret!"

"The Pink I knew couldn't keep a secret to save her own gem." Volleyball admitted.

"Are you kidding?!" Pearl replied as Steven's angst reached a boiling point. "If anything, she was too good at keeping secrets! In fact it was because of one secret that we're even here today!"

"STOP IT!" Steven finally screamed as he fully turned pink and his shout knocked the Roses off their feet, catching the Pearls' attention. "I've had enough with hearing about all the horrible things she did! I get it already, she was the absolute worst, can we just cut it out already?! I don't want to think about it anymore!"

"Steven, please!" Pearl cried out, shocked at both Steven's outburst and how it changed his body.

"I just want to fix it!" Steven exploded, causing a room-wide shockwave created by his fury, forming a crater beneath where he stood. Pearl rushed to the traumatized Volleyball's defense as the pink-colored Pearl curled up into a ball on the floor. When Steven finally calmed down, he gazed at his reflection in the broken floor and immediately regretted what he just did.

"I am terribly sorry for the troubles these defective Pearls have caused you." Shell coldly apologized while the whole Care Center turned an ominous red. "Rejuvenation is required to contain these two."

Suddenly, a pair of oyster shells emerged from the ground and began trapping the Pearls inside of them right before Steven and the Roses' eyes.

"Zoinks man!" Chest Rose yelled, a complete 180 from her usual hippie-like persona. "What do we do?!"

"We have to use our heads!" the panicking Shoulder Rose suggested, and her two sisters turned to face her. "Uh, what are you looking at me for?"

"When the process is complete, they will obey you without fail." Shell continued while pulling up a viewscreen showing the Pearls inside the clam-like trap.

"What have I done?!" Steven yelled frightfully while banging on the shells. "Please, let them out!"

In the midst of the chaos, a loud clanging noise was heard from the other side of the shell, which came from Chest & Navy Rose trying to use Shoulder Rose as a battering ram to help free the Pearls. "I didn't mean use my head!"

"Do not worry Steven Universe, your Pearls are about to be better than new!" Shell assured the boy while presenting him the viewscreen. "Feel free to examine this process from the outside using this screen."

While Steven was forced to watch as Pearl & Volleyball were writhing from the pink energy they were zapped with coursing through their forms, the Roses kept on using Shoulder Rose's head to try breaking them out.

"What are you three still doing?!" Steven cried out at them.

"We're just trying to help, uh doy!" Shoulder Rose yelled while rubbing her head.

"Can't you all take a hint?" Shy Rose stated. "He doesn't like us because we look like his mom, and us coming here made it worse!"

"There's no way that's true, right Steven?" Shoulder Rose began sobbing in disbelief.

"That's not important!" Steven replied. "What's important is that we have to save them!"

"Wow dude, not even considering our feelings?" Chest Rose said. "That's just cold!"

"Never meet your heroes." Shoulder Rose began crying.

"No please, don't leave me like this!" Steven yelled for them while they tried to escape the Reef. "You can still help me, it's just that you guys look so much like my mom! I thought I could finally move on from her, but then here you three come and start making feel all twisted up. I've been pretending I'm fine this whole time, but to be honest, I'm not."

"We've been pretending to be fine too." Navy Rose confessed.

"But not pretending to have fun with you!" Shoulder Rose added.

"And not pretending to take all this cool stuff." Chest Rose also stated.

"Your mom created us, and then we were bubbled because we looked like her." Navy Rose said. "Because we were Rose Quartzes. I don't really expect you to understand."

"But I do understand." Steven responded softly. "If anyone knows where you're coming from, it's me."

While Steven and the Roses were still outside, Pearl and Volleyball were on the verge of being rejuvenated into completely new Pearls, and used these last moments of their current selves to confide in one another.

"I'm sorry for not believing you!" Pearl apologized quickly to her fellow Pearl. "I just can't stop making all these excuses for her!"

"Is that what you've been doing?!" Volleyball asked while twitching in agony. "Like I said, she didn't mean to do this to me!"

"But you were hurt!" Pearl yelled. "Badly hurt!"

"You were badly hurt too!" Volleyball exclaimed. "But how did you stop all the hurt?!"

Pearl simply responded by hugging Volleyball tightly and proclaiming, "I didn't." When Volleyball hugged her back, the two began glowing in harmony.

"Don't worry Pearls, we got you!" Steven exclaimed as he and the Rose trio raced to the viewscreen just as it disappeared. "Oh no, are we too late?!"

Thankfully for Steven, his question was answered in the form of the clamshell exploding and from its remains came a fusion of Pearl & Volleyball, standing calm and confident. The fusion had a single gold eye while the other got its cracked eye from Volleyball, and was dressed in very regal attire.

"You fused!" Steven exclaimed joyously. The Roses were just as amazed, particularly Shoulder Rose who just kept squeeing in amazement.

"WARNING: UNKNOWN ENTITY SIGHTED!" Shell roared in alarm while activating the Reef's defense systems. "FACILITY DEFENSE PROTOCAL INITIATED!"

"We can cheer later dudes, we gotta bounce!" Chest Rose cried out as claws emerged from the walls. The Pearl fusion, however, detained all of the claws with elegant ease using a weapon that was Pearl's spear combined with Volleyball's wand.

"That's so awesome!" Shoulder Rose cheered. "Go Mega Pearl! Yeah, that's what I'm gonna call her, I call dibs!"

"Hang on everyone!" Mega Pearl exclaimed as she rounded up her four friends and sliced the Care Center's door open immediately after it was shut. Laser began firing from the walls, which Mega Pearl nimbly maneuvered through. But as one last defense, smaller clamshells tried to block the exit while tendrils emerged to keep Mega Pearl restrained.

"We were almost there!" Steven groaned in frustration, before Mega Pearl picked him and the trio up in her hand.

"You four take it from here." Mega Pearl said before she turned her ribbon spear into a lance that pierced straight through both the clams and the exit. She then tossed Steven, Shoulder Rose, Chest Rose & Navy Rose forward, and Steven used his shield to slide on as he reached for the pedestal to shut down the facility once again.

With the defense systems finally off, the door opened and Mega Pearl was lying gracefully on the ground, now free from the tendrils, and gazing tenderly at Steven.

Steven smiled back just as Shoulder Rose rushed up from behind him. "That, was, SO AWESOME!" she squealed and squished her cheeks in excitement.

"Best day ever." Chest Rose declared with her face to the ground and a thumbs up in the air.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Navy Rose sighed, exhausted but relieved that everyone was okay.

Unbeknowst to all the Gems as they left the deactivated Reef, a peculiar device left out some dying beeps in the Care Center, and then finally shut down.

Night fell by the time Steven and the Gems returned to Earth, and they all gazed out at the ocean together.

"Wow, everything looks so pretty at night." Shoulder Rose muttered in awe.

However, Steven was silent for most of the night, until he turned to Mega Pearl and the Roses. "I'm sorry that this whole trip was for nothing." He apologized to the fusion, and then turned to the trio of Quartzes. "And I'm sorry I made you guys feel bad."

"Nothing personal Steven." Chest Rose accepted the apology. "And like you said, no one could understand us more than you."

"Yeah. Guess that kinda makes us siblings in a way." Steven admitted.

"What does that mean?" Navy Rose said shyly.

"Well, my mom created you, just like how she created me." Steven guessed. "I think that would make you my sisters in a way."

"That sounds awesome!" Shoulder Rose cheered, and she gave Steven a big hug. "Siblings forever!"

"I'm glad to be related to you." Chest Rose agreed with the sentiment.

"I can't wait to tell all the other Rose Quartzes about this." Navy Rose said. "It was very nice getting to see Earth."

"This whole endeavor wasn't for nothing." Mega Pearl finally said softly. "Your mother's Pearls just never knew the whole story. One knew your mother as she was trying to change, but didn't know why. The other never expected her to change at all. But now, I can understand it all, and they can have each other."

With that, Mega Pearl unfused back into Pearl & Volleyball, holding hands and gazing out at the night sky. As Volleyball leaned on Pearl, Amethyst and the Little Homeschool Quartzes suddenly returned.

"Yeah, Famethyst for life!" Amethyst cried, accidentally ruining the mood as the others stared at her from behind. "Hey, what did I miss?"

"Oh, Steven!" Teal Zircon yelled as she raced towards Steven. "First things first, sorry for making your guests feel bad. And second, I think I finally found a place to put Rose! And no, I won't put her in the trash this time."

"That's great TZ." Steven smiled at the Zircon. "What did you have in mind?"

Later that night, Steven was lying peacefully in bed with Lion by his side. And within Lion's mane, Rose Quartz's painting leaned against the tree within its pocket dimension, no longer hanging over everyone.

"So she just up and left?!" a voice barked at Holly Blue Agate from a computer screen in a hidden room at the Human Zoo. "Why didn't you stop her?!"

"I tried your clarity, but she refused to listen!" Holly Blue pleaded on her knees. "Please forgive me, I can do better on whatever assignment you give me next!"

"Okay, I'll let this slide." The voice sighed, bringing joy to Holly Blue's face. "Return to Homeworld at once, I have another assignment for you. But in the meantime, what about that tracking beacon we planted on the Pearl?"

"It seems to have short-circuited, last I checked." Holly Blue declared. "Last known location was the Reef on Titan."

"And that's why you never send a Pearl to do, well, anyone else's job!" a slim, black figure wearing a white cape complained on the other end of the call via a green visor, pinching the gemstone replacing her nose in irritation as she arrived via Warp Pad at the Reef. "I'm already at the designated location. I'll keep you all updated with further orders."

Pushing the pedestal, the facility suddenly reactivated, to the figure's delight.

And cue For The Damaged Coda! Gotta say, this was probably my longest chapter yet. Now that we have yet another load of dirty laundry cleaned up, it's time to ask some bigger questions. Who is Holly Blue taking orders from when she said earlier she didn't take orders from anyone? What does this mystery character want with the Reef, and how will Steven react to a possible revolution taking place right under his nose? Join us next week for more answers, and happy holidays!

#steven universe #steven universe future #steven universe alternate future #steven quartz universe #garnet #amethyst #pearl #pink pearl #teal zircon #superfan rose quartz #hippie rose quartz #shy rose quartz #holly blue agate

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