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nasa · 3 years

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NASA Spotlight: Astronaut Mike Hopkins

Michael S. Hopkins was selected by NASA as an astronaut in 2009. The Missouri native is currently the Crew-1 mission commander for NASA’s next SpaceX launch to the International Space Station on Nov. 14, 2020. Hopkin’s Crew-1 mission will mark the first-ever crew rotation flight of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts on board, and it secures the U.S.’s ability to launch humans into space from American soil once again. Previously, Hopkins was member of the Expedition 37/38 crew and has logged 166 days in space. During his stay aboard the station, he conducted two spacewalks totaling 12 hours and 58 minutes to change out a degraded pump module. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Illinois and a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering.

He took some time from being a NASA astronaut to answer questions about his life and career! Enjoy:

What do you hope people think about when you launch?

I hope people are thinking about the fact that we’re starting a new era in human spaceflight. We’re re-opening human launch capability to U.S. soil again, but it’s not just that. We’re opening low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station with commercial companies. It’s a lot different than what we’ve done in the past. I hope people realize this isn’t just another launch – this is something a lot bigger. Hopefully it’s setting the stage, one of those first steps to getting us to the Moon and on to Mars.

You served in the U.S. Air Force as a flight test engineer. What does that entail?

First off, just like being an astronaut, it involves a lot of training when you first get started. I went to the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and spent a year in training and just learning how to be a flight test engineer. It was one of the most challenging years I’ve ever had, but also one of the more rewarding years. What it means afterwards is, you are basically testing new vehicles or new systems that are going on aircraft. You are testing them before they get handed over to the operational fleet and squadrons. You want to make sure that these capabilities are safe, and that they meet requirements. As a flight test engineer, I would help design the test. I would then get the opportunity to go and fly and execute the test and collect the data, then do the analysis, then write the final reports and give those conclusions on whether this particular vehicle or system was ready to go.

What is one piece of life advice you wish somebody had told you when you were younger?

A common theme for me is to just have patience. Enjoy the ride along the way. I think I tend to be pretty high intensity on things and looking back, I think things happen when they’re supposed to happen, and sometimes that doesn’t necessarily agree with when you think it should happen. So for me, someone saying, “Just be patient Mike, it’s all going to happen when it’s supposed to,” would be really good advice.

Is there a particular science experiment you enjoyed working on the most while aboard the space station?

There’s a lot of experiments I had the opportunity to participate in, but the ones in particular I liked were ones where I got to interact directly with the folks that designed the experiment. One thing I enjoyed was a fluid experiment called Capillary Flow Experiment, or CFE. I got to work directly with the principal investigators on the ground as I executed that experiment. What made it nice was getting to hear their excitement as you were letting them know what was happening in real time and getting to hear their voices as they got excited about the results. It’s just a lot of fun.

Space is a risky business. Why do it?

I think most of us when we think about whatever it is we do, we don’t think of it in those terms. Space is risky, yes, but there’s a lot of other risky jobs out there. Whether it’s in the military, farming, jobs that involve heavy machinery or dangerous equipment… there’s all kinds of jobs that entail risk. Why do it? You do it because it appeals to you. You do it because it’s what gets you excited. It just feels right. We all have to go through a point in our lives where we figure out what we want to do and what we want to be. Sometimes we have to make decisions based on factors that maybe wouldn’t lead you down that choice if you had everything that you wanted, but in this particular case for me, it’s exactly where I want to be. From a risk standpoint, I don’t think of it in those terms.

Can you describe your crew mate Soichi Noguchi in one sentence?

There are many facets to Soichi Noguchi. I’m thinking about the movie Shrek. He has many layers! He’s very talented. He’s very well-thought. He’s very funny. He’s very caring. He’s very sensitive to other people’s needs and desires. He’s a dedicated family man. I could go on and on and on… so maybe like an onion – full of layers!

Star Trek or Star Wars?

I love them both. But can I say Firefly? There’s a TV series out there called Firefly. It lasted one season – kind of a space cowboy-type show. They did have a movie, Serenity, that was made as well. But anyway, I love both Star Wars and Star Trek. We’ve really enjoyed The Mandalorian. I mean who doesn’t love Baby Yoda right? It’s all fun.

How many times did you apply to be an astronaut? Did you learn anything on your last attempt?

I tried four times over the course of 13 years. My first three attempts, I didn’t even have references checked or interviews or anything. Remember what we talked about earlier, about patience? For my fourth attempt, the fact is, it happened when it was supposed to happen. I didn’t realize it at the time. I would have loved to have been picked on my first attempt like anybody would think, but at the same time, because I didn’t get picked right away, my family had some amazing experiences throughout my Air Force career. That includes living in Canada, living overseas in Italy, and having an opportunity to work at the Pentagon. All of those helped shape me and grow my experience in ways that I think helped me be a better astronaut.

Can you share your favorite photo or video that you took in space?

One of my favorite pictures was a picture inside the station at night when all of the lights were out. You can see the glow of all of the little LEDs and computers and things that stay on even when you turn off the overhead lights. You see this glow on station. It’s really one of my favorite times because the picture doesn’t capture it all. I wish you could hear it as well. I like to think of the station in some sense as being alive. It’s at that time of night when everybody else is in their crew quarters in bed and the lights are out that you feel it. You feel the rhythm, you feel the heartbeat of the station, you see it in the glow of those lights – that heartbeat is what’s keeping you alive while you’re up there. That picture goes a small way of trying to capture that, but I think it’s a special time from up there.

What personal items did you decide to pack for launch and why?

My wedding bands. I’m also taking up pilot wings for my son. He wants to be a pilot so if he succeeds with that, I’ll be able to give him his pilot wings. Last time, I took one of the Purple Hearts of a very close friend. He was a Marine in World War II who earned it after his service in the Pacific.

youtube

Thank you for your time, Mike, and good luck on your historic mission! Get to know a bit more about Mike and his Crew-1 crew mates Victor Glover, Soichi Noguchi, and Shannon Walker in the video above.

Watch LIVE launch coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m. EST on Nov. 14 HERE.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

#launchamerica #nasa #spacex #crew1 #astronaut #rocket launch #space #science #STEM #Air Force #us military #hope #resilience #Spotlight

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makeste · 3 years

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BnHA Chapter 314: ...Or You Live Long Enough to See Yourself Become the Villain

Previously on BnHA: Some random assholes were all “let’s throw exploding spears at All Might and see if it activates his Conqueror’s Haki” and SURPRISE, MOTHERFUCKERS, IT DID!! Elsewhere, Lady Nagant confusingly tried to capture Deku alive by shooting him in the stomach, but to be fair I guess that’s what happens when you send an assassin to do a bounty hunter’s job, so yeah. Deku was all “ouch”, and then because this is a shounen he basically just straight up forgot about it, and did a big fancy Smokescreen thing, and then activated his mildly incomprehensible new ki-blasting quirk which he got from the Third. En and the Third were all “hey Deku maybe let’s not just impulsively activate all this shit in the heat of battle when you don’t know how to use it yet and you’re already injured,” and Deku was all “thanks for the quirks guys but I’ll take it from here” and snuck up on Nagant and grabbed her arm and so now what’s going to happen I wonder.

Today on BnHA: Nagant is all “[shoots Deku again]” because of course she is lol. Deku is all “tell me about AFO!” and Nagant is all “why would I tell you anything?” and then proceeds to tell him her entire life story which is FILLED WITH SO MUCH MURDER, YOU GUYS. Holy shit. So basically she was an assassin for the HPSC, which we already knew, but somehow it’s one thing to know that, and another to actually see her running around capping dudes in the forehead and being covered in more blood than the elevator from The Shining. Anyway, so you’ll never believe it, but all that murder had a negative impact on her psychologically, and eventually led her to question everything she believed about hero society, and so she killed her creepy boss and was promptly sent to Tartarus. This extremely fun chapter ends with Overhaul showing up all “HI, HELLO, I’M STILL HERE”, because for some reason he is still here. Why are you still here, Overhaul.

“the beautiful Lady Nagant” oh you know your audience don’t you Horikoshi

well all right then! so I’m guessing this means that she is not, in fact, going to roll over and die just because Deku’s out here all “GOT YA!” like they’re playing a game or tag or something. ffff may the manga gods have mercy on our young suicidal protagonist

lmao so Deku is all “GOD I’M SO SMART, WHAT A GOOD STRATEGY I HAD, CAPITOL JOB THERE OL’ CHAP, CAPITOL” and lol, okay. I mean, it was a good plan though. but I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop here

“I’ll make you give me information on All for One” well there you go, lol. Deku Angst arc still fully engaged. still no light in his eyes either of course. just a lil chaotic ball of sleep deprivation and rage

lol, fucking THANK YOU though

oh my god what the hell did she do to him lol

did she shoot him with her elbow??? fucking look at this?? THIS IS WHY WE LISTEN TO HAWKS oh my god Deku are you dead

WHAT’S HAPPENING, IS THIS GOOD OR BAD, WHO’S WINNING

things that I wish I could tell from this panel which I unfortunately cannot tell

did she stab him or shoot him?? can you imagine if it was the former lol. why does Horikoshi keep stabbing all my kids. look Kacchan now the two of you can match

did she actually hit him or did he get away??

or did she hit him and then he jumped away?? just, what

well anyway, so now Deku is asking her why she sided with AFO, but he seems a lot more pissed off than when he was interrogating Muscular, though. probably because she shot him three times. fair enough

oh my god

does Lady have a blog here on tumblr dot com?? -- does Horikoshi have a blog here on tumblr motherfucking dot com?? why do I suddenly feel like this man is out here sneakily reading up on all our discourse

oh my god Deku it’s almost like getting up close and personal with someone who can shoot custom bullets from any distance and any position with deadly accuracy was a terrible fucking idea

IF ONLY SOMEONE HAD WARNED YOU NOT TO ENGAGE WITH HER AT ALL COSTS. IF ONLY SOMEONE HAD HAD THE FORESIGHT TO DO THAT sob. can you imagine how much shorter this series would be if characters actually listened to Hawks. Hawks, and Momo. why do we even let anyone else run the show ever

OH MY GOD

DEKU, RUN

OH MY GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING

this looks a lot like what happens to me whenever I play One’s Justice. those fucking combo attacks that you can’t fucking escape from and so your character just has to stand there getting their ass whalloped repeatedly while you wonder why you paid $40 for this

but anyways though. so Lady who did you kill?? I bet they deserved it, don’t worry I forgive you

(ETA: ANYWAY SO FRIENDLY REMINDER THAT LADY NAGANT DID NOTHING WRONG EVER IN HER ENTIRE LIFE. aside from murdering all those innocent people and shit. but there were CIRCUMSTANCES, and THEY WERE EXTENUATING, OKAY.)

-- holy shit

looks like the HPSC arc is back on the menu boys

so are we about to learn that the HPSC was going full Hydra on people’s asses? secretly dispatching anyone they deemed a threat to society?? “taken care of” as in you fucking shot them??

so then was the “hero” she killed actually one of the guys who was giving or carrying out these orders?? holy shit Lady, up until now I’ve mainly just been stanning you for your flawless eyebrow game and metal af quirk, but this shit could actually get real very quickly, and I am prepared to genuinely and sincerely love the shit out of you depending on what we learn next about your backstory

oh my god?!?

so wait, hold up. am I reading this right?? basically the HPSC started murdering vigilantes because they were worried they were gaining too much of the public’s favor?? holy fucking shit???

oh my GOD oh my god

“it’s been a while since I scarred you all with the dead dog and the graphic slaughter of an entire innocent family, huh,” Horikoshi says thoughtfully. “anyway so what do you all think of my new creation, the Spaghetti Bullet.” well, Horikoshi, so you know that squished-up face that Kermit the Frog makes sometimes? yeah. that’s what I think, if you must know lol

holy hell the juxtaposition

I’m actually kind of surprised to learn she had a lot of fans? what with her M.O., I was expecting her to have been an underground hero like Aizawa, but apparently not? then again I still have absolutely no idea how any of that works. I really need to read Vigilantes already

oh snap

nothing like a sweet dose of assassin trauma to finally round out our BnHA Trauma Bingo!! well done guys, we finally collected all of the traumas! hooray!

noooo Ladyyyyyyy

holy shit what a fucking chapter. like, this man promised us an assassin, and went and fucking delivered. I was not expecting it to be this dark, lol, but holy shit I am here for it

you know, at some point you have to start questioning the logistics of this, though

I mean, how do I put this... her quirk isn’t exactly subtle. that murder scene from a few pages back looked like the first season of Dexter for fuck’s sake, that’s not exactly “disappearing” people now is it?? and I mean, her bullets are literally made from her own fucking hair; it seems like it would be impossible not to leave any evidence behind. did no one start to wonder who the fuck was going around murdering all these people? or did the people who asked too many questions wind up getting conveniently “disappeared” themselves??

and hey, speaking of asking too many questions

holy shit is he blackmailing her??!? or no, wait -- what the hell is he reaching for in his pocket boy you better not

(ETA: what exactly was this man expecting fdslkjd. “uh oh my unstoppable hair trigger assassin who is literally always armed is asking questions, better announce that I am going to shoot her and then reach into my pocket veeeeeery slowly while she stands there all of two feet away.” how did this guy ever function as the head of a shadow government with these decision-making skills, I’m genuinely baffled.)

OH MY GOD LADY YES

this. right here. is why “run the fuck away” was damn good solid fucking advice. oh shit. but my god did this dude have it coming

so wait lol has she just been narrating all of this out loud to Deku this entire time

okay but can we just stop for a moment and appreciate the fact that they’re having this deep conversation about the dark secrets of hero society right in the middle of their intense mid-air sniper free-for-all lol

holy shit you guys, Nagant’s the one that should have made the tell-all video. I mean, no offense to you, Dabi, I’m sure you worked very hard on your video and did a ton of crunches every day so that you would look good with your shirt off while you told the world all about how your dad was a jerk. but seriously...

this is already like 100x more convincing than what he put out. also, gasp, is it another flashback

yes it is oh my gosh

so the HPSC Chairladyperson whom ReDestro killed used to be this guy’s direct subordinate, huh? I wonder if she kept the whole assassin program going after she took over. can’t say I was feeling any particular kind of grieving way about her death before, but certainly not now lol

but unfortunately Nagant has finally lost me at the same place where all of the villains inevitably do, which is to say when they somehow make the dubious mental leap from “society sucks and is bad” to “let’s just be openly fucking evil lol, worth a shot.” because when heroes murder innocent people and cover it up, that’s obviously bad (and I mean, it absolutely fucking is lol, don’t get me wrong); but when villains murder innocent people straight up out in the open without giving a fuck, they’re righteous revolutionaries? just -- is there really no non-murdery middle ground here?? I guess that’s what Deku and co. are for, hopefully

anyways oh shit Deku seems to have spotted something?? and he’s doing something weird with Blackwhip what

oh, he spotted her, I guess

lmaooooo

new favorite Deku panel right here. a masterpiece

oh my god you guys our little boy is starting to grow up before our eyes

you love to see it. and you can tell with those elipses that he’s gearing up to say something really cool and determined and badass like the shounen protag he is, yes please, Deku ilu so much please do your thing

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

IS THAT A TEENY TINY LIL EYE SPARKLE THERE OMG. still not anywhere close to his usual standard, but that’s some clear resolve there in his eyes there at long last! it always shines the most clearly when he’s being true to himself and his ideals, so I love that it finally shows up again here, when he’s reaffirming his resolve to help others no matter what

uh oh so what’s Lady going to do now

is it time for a trump card?? kinda sounding like it’s time for a trump card

???

I lied btw, this is my new favorite Deku panel. but anyways what is she up to now lol

ohhhhhh, lol

why does she seem shocked, lol. here I thought this was part of her plan, but apparently she forgot all about ol’ “Look Ma, No Hands” back up there

and so I guess that’s it for this week! so we’ve learned basically everything now about Lady and her quirk and her history with the HPSC and why she agreed to work for AFO. pretty much the only question that still remains is why the hell she decided to drag this asshole along for the ride! because I still cannot figure that out dsklkjlkf

(ETA: actually now I’m kind of wondering if they maybe have some past connection we don’t know about yet. when exactly was Nagant sent to Tartarus? is it possible she was ordered to track down and kill Overhaul at some point before that, but never got around to it? or something else along those lines? idk but now I’m curious.)

anyways Deku, I know that your empathy has no bounds and that you’re on a “saving villains” kick right now, and good on you... but also, if you decide to just like, skip all of that shit just this once, absolutely no one will hold it against you, I’m just saying. just, all I’m asking here is maybe let’s think twice before we start trying to reform guys who imprison and torture little girls for profit. I think maybe that’s a good place to draw the line. next week is going to be a very interesting chapter lol

#bnha 314 #lady nagant #midoriya izuku #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha

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fushiomi · 3 years

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Here’s a video on how to reach Liber/Eng staff about the termination of the English server:

[Video ID: Player is in the A3! app, the songs “Insert the Sunshine” and “Slowly Flowing”, both OST from the game, are playing. The player click on the profile icon, (the content isn’t important). They click on their bio and write “Hi” with a kaomoji on the side, then they write a letter “i” and hesitate before deleting it and click off. They exist their bio and leave the profile page. They instead click on the “Support” button which leads them to a page titled “A3! for Appstore inquires”, there’s a hyperlink that reads “For feedback regarding the ceasing of operations”, and below that in smaller writing it reads “Frequently asked questions (FAQs)”. There are four options viable to the viewer, “I want to play on another device”, “I have received my purchased Gems”, “I can’t login. / I got error 904/905/906.” The player clicks on the hyperlink that leads them to a page to give feedback, it has a green banner and says “For feedback edgar ceasing of operations. Below it reads: “Players that have any opinions or feedback on regarding ceasing of operations can do so here. A disclaimer is below that reads “*Although feedback from users will be reviewed, we cannot respond to individual users”. Green text above a box is present after scrolling, it reads “Please input your feedback here.” The user types in “don’t please ahaha you’re (stylized as ur) so sexy” with a winky emoji, they then access their emoji keyboard and place a broken heart. They can clarify “Actually write something serious though (written tho) with a kaomoji of a smiling person, then press done (two exclamation points) don’t spam and remember to be kind (two exclamation points)”. They then click off the page and settings, the video ends with them on the main page of the game. End ID]

Bellow the readmore is what I ended up (actually) submitting, if you want to copy and paste it, please make a few changes! But ultimately what I felt like was needed to highlight:

- Marketing issues and comparisons between other games that handled international marketing.

- The sudden nature of the announcement and how it impacted the player base.

- The fact the game does have a fanbase and has a market (leads back to the point of bad marketing), and that the success in Japan is an example that the game does have ability to be a hit.

- Other options that don’t include terminating the server (such as a temporary hiatus).

—

Other ideas: Events to connect with the fanbase (example: art contests where winners get “X” amount of gems), twitter events (“Y” amount of retweets in “Z” days will give “X” reward”), subtitles of the stage play so international fans have more content to interact with, etc.

DISCLAIMER: I wrote this while still drowsy from crying and sleep medication, so if you’re able to, please help us write something better than… this.

“Hello, I hope this review/feedback finds you well.

As you can imagine, this is about the ceasing operations of the A3! English/International servers, and the opinions and ideas I (as well as other players) have.

I’ve been observing the way the player base has reacted to the news and, not so surprisingly, the reaction has been pretty negative. A lot of players feel overwhelmed with the sudden news, many disappointed at – what feels like – the sidedness of the decision. While we are all thankful for the amazing localization of the game, we can’t help but feel deeply saddened and, in more extreme cases, betrayed at the decision. The game has garnered quite a community, notably in social media sites such as Twitter and Tumblr, as it became quite a vital and comfort game for many.

Alongside seeing the way the player base has reacted, I looked at the graphics and economical side of things and noticed how players in the server have been lowering. Which, alongside the pandemic and loss of profit Cybrid and Liber have been experiencing as of the last two years, is what I imagine is impulsing the decision to halt activities.

With all of that in mind, I personally still think that terminating content to the English server is a bad idea — in the long run, that is.

The last two years have been quite a financial struggle for many, and to decide to end the game due to loss of profit seems hasty. While I understand it’s not possible to continue operations, I think halting operations until further notice would be a better idea.

Instead of completely pulling the plug, halting operations while focusing on marketing would honestly work better.

The marketing of the game has been, for lack of a better word, quite messy. I think there were lot of missed opportunities, marketing the game as found family and card game — where you accompany a group of people to achieve their dreams — would have been a better strategy than saying it was an otome game - which is what led to a lot of player joining and then leaving due to the lack of romance wh the characters. A good example of marketing, in my opinion, would be the Obey Me! franchise or games such as Cookie Run.

I’m saying all of this, but what I mean is, if the team behind it focused more on the advertisement on social media’s such as twitter and ads on youtube where the nature of found family and the true nature of Mankai (a company where family and brotherly love blooms) the game would find and flourish in the demographic, since it’s not unheard of players wanting a game like that — especially in the west.

Basically, what I’m saying is that I think the idea of terminating operations on the English server is a bad idea especially when there is an obvious marker for it, and A3! really does fit it. Personally, I think halting the events and focusing on marketing the game further — truly pushing the game with ad’s (which could include in game CG’s where we see how the boys grow and connect as a family) where the nature of A3! is shown clearly, A3! English server could absolutely bloom into something amazing.

A3! is about not giving up, even when things get tough, and to try and reach an audience – which is why, I guess, seeing you guys give up on it seems… sad and like a truly missed opportunity.

As someone who’s been with the game since launch, the game has so much potential, so please, please give it another try. Focus on the marketing, push it with ads on youtube and instagram, put the boys’ face out there and make the focus of the story known.

Look into the way games such as Obey Me!, the idol games (mostly female based), and other successful asian/japanese games have marketed themselves and try to adapt it into A3!. An example, instagram ads where you can see parts of a CG (let’s say the Muku and Yuki from Act 1) where Muku comforts Yuki, the voice lines there as you hear the game music and subtitles playing. Be honest about the gameplay, it’s not the most exciting, but market it as fun, add more rewards for when you train the actor — more gems or maybe trophies if you train “X” amount of times in a day instead of just a training card. You can even make more Eng server exclusive cards to insensitive Japanese players to also engage with the English server.

I feel like there are so many ways to go about it that don’t include shutting down the game, because shutting down the game truly feels like the easiest way out… but it doesn’t mean it’s the best way.

Anyway, I hope nothing in this feels malicious, I'm simply passionate about it as someone who’s invested hours and hours, almost 700 days of their life, onto this, A3! and the Mankai company feels like a part of my life, and as many others feel as well, I don’t want to let go. Not when I know there’s so many events and games, gachas and character, left for us as international players to experience.”

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ressyfaerie · 3 years

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Tyka request: I love bit beast merging so the idea that Tyson has been forced to merge with Black Dranzer has always floated in my head. Kai arrives too late. Boris and his Grandfather found a way to break Tyson's will to accept Black Dranzer, probably to save Kai's life and Kai can only watch!

I LOVE THIS. I am the god of angst writing, so when you ask for angst, I’m bringing A N G S T. Anything in * are Tyson’s thoughts!

I’ve now written it all and- I just had so much fun with it. This was the kind of ask I was born for. Thank you for sending this to me- I hope you know I’ve been working on this all day lmao. It turned out way longer than I wanted it to be. But damn, it’s good. I’m going to keep the start in regular format, and put the rest in a read more, I don’t know if tumblr will even let me post this much LOL, but let’s try it:

“Hello, Tyson Granger. Welcome to BIC”

“Call it what it is Boris, BEGA- round two.”

“You know better Tyson, The Beyblade International Congress is so much more.”

Tyson scoffed, he scrunched up his face in Voltaire’s direction.

He had one hand in his pocket, where dragoon would normally be. Instead, his hand held emptiness, there was nothing, and no one, to comfort him now.

The room security had led him into was windowless. It could have been the basement or the hundredth floor of the building.

Tyson had lost all sense of direction since Dragoon was stolen from him, the feeling was nothing out of the ordinary.

The world champion wore an expression no one had ever seen before. Determined, enraged, vulnerable, confused, he felt everything all at once, there was only one thing he was absolutely certain of:

He had to get Dragoon, and his friend’s bit-beasts back, at any cost.

“You two know why I’m here.”

Boris grew a porcelain smile from ear to ear.

“To finally join our team of course.”

Tyson laughed in response, “I never had any intention of joining BEGA, which means its shitty counterpart is out of the question.”

“This child has grown up since we last saw him.” Voltaire leaned more on his cane, inspecting every bit of Tyson’s body.

Tyson felt like some kid’s science project in their backyard. He shuddered, terrified to think the abbey boys lived like this every day.

“I hoped he would have grown-up, Voltaire. It’s been almost three years after all.”

Boris waved his hand. The security guards that escorted Tyson turned on their heels and marched out the door. Tyson was left alone with two old men, but he still felt danger.

The silence that ensued was deafening, the glares they locked on Tyson made the hair raise on his spine.

He now understood Tala and Kai’s fear of these men. The pure power they confidently exhibited by just standing there, was compared to nothing he had ever experienced.

Two men, three times his age- two men who should be in jail, serving life sentences- one man who raised and abused his best friend, one man who was his best friend’s flesh and blood.

Tyson took a deep breath. He stabilized his voice before stating his demand.

“Give me back my bit-beasts.”

The men let out deep laughs, starting out as low grumbles, and ascending into loud chortles.

Boris spoke first.

“You think you can just waltz into my high-tech facility- and I’ll just give you back what I stole? And stole so easily mind you-”

“So, you did steal them.” Tyson’s firsts were curled, his fingertips formed indents in his palms, he wanted to lash out in anger, but he knew better.

“Of course, wasn’t it obvious?”

“I have proof- I’ll get the police-”

The men laughed again, this time louder.

“I own the police.” A shadow fell over Voltaire’s face.

For the first time, Tyson felt true fear.

No bit beast- no battle- nothing could compare to this.

Tyson’s heart sunk, as he became painfully aware his overconfidence, could be his downfall.

Now, he was trapped.

“Would joining my team sound better if I told you you could have Dragoon back?” Boris’ voice was coated with honey, but Tyson knew better.

Tyson’s eyes shot in Boris’ direction. He squinted his eyes.

“Without making a deal with me, you and your friends will never see their pets again.”

“I’ll never make a deal with you.” Tyson spat.

“Pretty soon you’ll have no choice-” Voltaire cut Boris off.

“How old are you now Tyson?” His voice had changed, he leaned more into his cane.

“Almost nineteen.” Tyson grinned, “I’m an adult now. You can’t hurt me.”

The two men gave each other a look Tyson didn’t miss. Voltaire spoke first.

“What if we told you we needed your help.”

Tyson put up his shields immediately, he raised an eyebrow. “Help? What could I possibly help two billionaires with?”

“Something that only a blader as strong as you can.”

“No.” Tyson refused.

“Hear us out.” Boris took a step towards him, Tysons swore he heard a door lock behind him.

“We have a theory- if that theory is correct, we can change the future of the sport- no, the future of everything.”

Tyson’s interest was piqued, but that wouldn’t change his decision.

“The answer is still no.”

Boris took a step towards him, “what if we gave you your bit-beasts back in exchange?”

Tyson saw through Boris’ trap, it was a deal he couldn't ignore.

Tyson just stared back at him.

Voltaire interrupted, “we have found a way to merge bit-beasts with humans.”

Tyson felt his heart stop.

Boris grinned, presenting his hands in front of him, “the possibilities are endless Tyson, imagine- superhumans. Beyblading would ascend to a whole new level. The history of warfare changed, just like that.” He snapped his fingers.

It was terrifying how a man could keep a smile while talking about changing the history of warfare.

“I’m not helping you experiment by changing people into weapons.” Tyson’s face wrinkled into a disgusted scowl, “what do you need me for anyway?”

“See, Tyson…” Boris continued, “the science has been researched for decades- but I’m fairly confident this process requires someone of a certain caliber…”

“Someone who already has a strong connection to bit-beasts.” Voltaire stated.

“Don’t you have tons of kids lined up in your arsenal? Why me?” Tyson’s voice grew louder.

“Ha! None of my boys are as strong as you and your team Tyson.” Boris chuckled before continuing, “you’re special, your connection to dragoon and other spirits is stronger than anyone on the planet. You are my missing puzzle piece, I’m certain you’ll be the right fit.”

“The other members of your team might work, but no one is like you.” Voltaire nodded,

“No. I refuse.” Tyson took a deep breath, “I’m not your pawn, I won’t help you.”

Silence.

Voltaire clicked his cane on the tile floor.

“I hope you are aware; if you don’t do this, we will make sure Kai will.”

Tyson swung his head in his direction, ready to scream if necessary.

“Ah, watch it Tyson.” Boris threatened the boy, Tyson’s chest heaved erratically.

“What do you mean?” Tyson said through gritted teeth. “He would never agree to this-”

“No, he wouldn’t.” Voltaire shook his head, then became totally still as his glare set on Tyson, “but I don’t need his permission.”

“You’re sick.” Tyson spat.

“It would be so easy.” Boris reached into his pocket grabbing a remote, he pressed a button, a screen rolled down in the large room.

The screen turned on, on it was a picture of Kai, and a ton of numbers Tyson didn’t understand, but what caught his attention, was a simple map, with a blinking red dot.

“We know where Kai is at all times,” Voltaire said in a low voice.

“If you refuse to help us, we will take him as needed.”

“That’s kidnapping.” Tyson pointed out the obvious fact, he should have known better, that stealing a person was one of the minor crimes Boris has committed.

“Not like I haven’t done it before.” Boris shrugged, as if he was talking about taking a candy bar.

Tyson swallowed, “he- he wouldn’t let this happen without a fight.”

“As expected. If he fights it, the process could easily mess up… Ideally we want someone who will work with us, but it’s not necessary.”

“I’ll find him. We will run away-”

“When I say we know everything about Kai I mean we know everything, Tyson.”

Voltaire looked to the ceiling, “We know when he goes for jogs.”

“Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings.” Boris raised a finger in the air.

“We know when he eats, when he sleeps, where he sleeps.” Voltaire emphasized ‘where’ maliciously.

Tyson growled. Voltaire hummed.

“That’s right Tyson, he’s been staying at your place frequently.”

Boris tried to suppress a laugh, “we even know what happened last Saturday-”

“Boris!” Voltaire hissed.

Tyson’s eyes widened, “How would you know that!? We were alone, in my room, in my home!?”

“We know everything, Tyson.”

Tyson met Voltaire’s eyes with disgust.

“It seems like a win-win situation, Tyson. I’m giving you a good deal, when you know I don’t have to.” Boris folded his arms. “You go through with this procedure, we give you- and your friends their bit-beasts back, and we leave Kai alone.”

Tyson’s body felt ice cold.

“I want you to know Tyson, Boris is too afraid to admit it-” Voltaire’s voice was draped in darkness, “we aren’t letting you leave here today without doing something.”

Tyson stopped breathing.

Boris confidently waltzed to Tyson’s side, Tyson didn’t move, he was paralyzed with fear.

The purple-haired man’s face was inches away from Tyson’s now.

“You either take the deal, or have it happen anyways- but if you take the deal, world champion, you must work with us willingly.”

Tyson was his height now, but he still felt small.

Boris placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t- touch me.” Tyson shrugged him off aggressively.

“Last chance world champ.” Voltaire clicked his tongue, “what will it be?”

Tyson met both their eyes, looking back and forth, his breathing showed anger, his fists clenched in frustration.

He was stuck. Trapped. Nowhere to go. He took a deep breath, held it, and let it out. He let his body accept defeat.

“Fine. I’ll take your deal.”

“Where did Tyson go anyways?” Max hummed to Ray while sliding his feet on the smooth wooden floors of the dojo.

“Is he with Kai again? They’ve been hanging out a lot…” Ray pointed out.

Kenny was sitting on the floor with his laptop open. “Tyson left just before lunchtime.”

“No lunch!?” Hilary snapped, “that’s not like him.”

“It’s not like him to miss practice…” Ray tried to hide the subtle worry on his face.

“I’ll try phoning him,” Max suggested, pulling out his rose gold iPhone.

“I’m sure he’s fine guys.” Hilary rolled her eyes, knowing the bluenette was always late.

“We can’t be too careful…” Kenny hesitated before saying his next words, “With Boris being back…”

The room fell quiet, the only sound was the ringing of Max’s phone.

“He’s not picking up.” Max hung up the call.

“Try Kai’s phone,” Ray smirked. “They’re always together now.”

Max flipped through his phone and put it on speaker. The phone rang a few times, they heard the click of it being answered.

“Hello?” They heard Kai’s familiar gruff voice.

“Hey Kai, sorry, are you driving?” Max spoke a little louder than usual.

“Yeah, but I have you on speaker, it’s fine.” They heard the sounds of the highway around him.

“Hey, is Tyson with you?” Ray asked, his voice shaking a bit.

“No, why?” They heard the sound of Kai’s blinker in the background.

“He disappeared before lunch, he's not here for practice yet.” Max eagerly awaited Kai’s response.

“That’s odd,” Kai remarked.

“Are you going to be here soon?” Ray asked.

“Yeah, I’m just coming down the road now. Have you tried phoning him?”

“I tried…” Max fidgeted with his open hand, “he didn’t pick up.”

“He always answers his phone.” The team detected a hint of worry in Kai’s voice. “I’m outside now.”

They heard Kai hang up the phone, without as much as a goodbye, but that was very typical Kai.

They sat in the same positions, wordless. They heard the front door open, the sound of Kai taking off his shoes. They heard the floorboards creak as he made his way down the hall to the dojo. The door slid open.

“Hey Kai!” Hilary tried to be cheerful, but she just sounded worried.

“Hey,” Kai responded. Without missing a beat, “where is Tyson?”

“No one knows.” Kenny stopped typing at his laptop to look up at the master blader. He readjusted his glasses.

“He left before lunch, he’s been gone a few hours.” Kenny had a hard time keeping eye contact with Kai, when Kai got serious- he got scary.

“It’s weird of him to miss practice…” Max fiddled with his thumbs.

Ray looked up at the ceiling, “not like we can do much practicing anyway.”

The room went quiet. They were all still in mourning over the unexpected loss of their blades. The day they woke up to discover all of their blades had been stolen, was the moment they realized Boris coming back now, in their late teens, was serious.

“I’m worried.” Kai admitted, he pulled out his phone, and began to phone Tyson.”

“That was fast, do you have him on speed dial?” Ray grinned trying to lighten the mood.

Kai responded seriously, “yes.”

They heard the phone ring a few times, before going to voicemail. Kai hesitated, before deciding to leave one.

“Hey, Tyson- It’s Kai. Get back to me soon, I’m getting worried.” He hung up the phone and held it loosely in his hands.

“Aw, Kai’s worried.” Hilary cooed.

“With Boris back, and our blades gone, we can’t be too careful.” Ray crossed his arms.

“What’s goin’ on here fellas?” Grandpa poked his head through the doors from the garden.

“Tyson’s been gone for a long time, he’s not answering his phone.” Kenny went back to his laptop, most likely trying to find out any information he could.

“When did he leave?” Kai asked Ryu.

“I told Kenny when he got here, right before lunchtime- Wait K-man didn’t you stay the night last night?”

The whole room went quiet.

“Yeah, but I was gone early in the morning,” Kai responded.

“You stayed the night?-” Max got cut off by Ray.

“Was he in an alright mood?”

“He was fine.” Kai knitted his eyebrows in thought, “now that I think about it, he was in his head a bit.”

The ground collectively became agitated, everyone knew a moody Tyson could be anywhere.

“Did you do anything to piss him off?” Ray squinted his eyes in Kai’s direction.

“No.” Kai knew for certain he didn’t hurt Tyson. After all, they had a great night.

Kai tried to suppress a smile, remembering how they fell asleep beside each other watching movies in Tyson’s room.

“You stayed the night?-” Max got cut off again by Ray-

“Are you sure Kai? You know you have a habit of annoying him.”

“I’m absolutely certain. Tyson was fine when I left this morning.”

“Was he up? How did you know?” Ray interrogated him more than questioning.

Kai hesitated, he didn’t know if it was okay to tell them they slept in the same bed.

“You *stayed* the night!?” This time Max yelled it, so he couldn’t be ignored.

Everyone stared at Max, “Why did you stay the night? Where did you sleep?”

“Um-” Kai tried to retort back, but suddenly realized he didn’t know what excuse to make.

They caught his awkwardness, it was unlike the silver-tongued boy to not have a sassy remark.

“Family troubles. I stayed in the spare room across from Tyson’s. He got up to eat breakfast with me- He was fine.”

All lies.

“I’m going to check his room.” Kai turned around to go upstairs.

When Kai was out of earshot, Max coyly asked Tyson’s Grandpa, “Did he really stay in the spare room?”

“Ha! No, that boy has been staying here often, and those sheets have never been changed- or used.”

The group followed Kai upstairs like a lost herd.

In Tyson’s room, Kai was scanning it, looking for anything off.

The whole team looked around, but only Kai knew what was out of place.

“Hey Kai.” Ray giggled.

On Tyson’s vanity, yes- Tyson had a vanity, because of course he did. He had a thumb-sized picture of kai stuck to the edge of the mirror.

“There are no pictures of us, just you- what’s up with that?” Ray pretended to act jealous.

Kai ignored him. He gave Tyson that photo when Tyson asked for a photo of him. It wasn’t his favourite thing to look at. When he looked at it he would laugh, because it was, simply, so Tyson.

Kai’s eyes landed on his pillow, it was poofier than usual. He ripped up the pillow and tossed it to the side. Under it was a book. Kai knew it was out of place, he had never seen Tyson pick up a book in his life.

He opened the book and flipped through it, everyone watched him, knowing something was up.

In the middle of the book was a note, Kai pulled it out, and threw the book to the side.

‘I guess if you’ve found this, you’re looking for me huh?’

‘That means I’ve been gone a while, sorry.’

‘I guess you should know, if I’ve been gone a long time, something has probably happened to me.’

‘I’m going to see Boris. I’m leaving at 11am.’

‘He invited me. I know it’s a bad idea. I don’t want to bring anyone else into this.’

‘Especially you Kai. You’ve dealt this enough shit from that guy.’

‘I know he stole our blades, even if we don’t have proof, I know.’

‘I’m going to get them back, no matter the cost, and I don’t want anyone else’s help.’

‘I love you guys! I love you Kai.’

Ray snatched the note from Kai and began to read it.

Kai put a hand to his face in shock. His eyes started to water. He was terrified, his body didn’t know how to begin to process this, but he knew he needed to go.

“Where is he?” Kai had a voice of white anger.

“We don’t know Kai.” Kenny recoiled.

“Boris, where is he.”

Kai picked up the book and flipped through it.

“We don’t know where his base is Kai-” Kenny blubbered.

Kai threw the book against the wall at full force.

“WHERE IS HE!?”

Ray flipped the note over, “there’s an address on the back.”

Kai ripped it out of his hands.

“I’m going-”

“No, you are NOT Kai!” Ray scolded him. “We’re going to go to the BBA, tell Mr. Dickenson, and call the police-”

“We don’t have the time for that!” Kai yelled at Ray.

The team was stunned, Kai had never been this angry.

He placed his hands over his face and pulled them down to cover his mouth. “I need to save him.”

“We don’t know he’s in danger-”

“I KNOW he is.” Kai was shaking.

Suddenly, Kai bolted out of the room with the address in hand-

“Kai!” Max called after him.

Kai frantically began to put his shoes on, the team barrelled down the stairs behind him.

“You can’t go in there without a plan, you moron!” Hilary screeched at him.

“Try me!” Kai yelled back.

“What’s going on?” Grandpa had come from the kitchen, Kai used the distraction to bolt out the door to his car.

He started the car as fast as possible and pulled out of the driveway. The team ran out to the street behind him, they watched him leave, worried they could lose both of them.

“Take it off.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your jacket, off- now.”

Boris pulled at the zipper on the front of Tyson’s jacket. Tyson sighed and pulled it down.

Boris helped him out of the jacket, he took it and wrapped it in his arms, it was oddly paternal. Boris looked him up and down, judging him, like he was looking for the best cut of meat in a shop.

He only wore a thin black muscle shirt now, and his dark ripped jeans, with the shoes he made Kai help him pick out. He was fully clothed, but he felt naked.

“Boris, what did I say about being creepy?” Voltaire scolded him, like a child.

Boris rolled his shoulder, still keeping his gaze on Tyson, “Sorry, can’t help myself.”

“Come into the lab.” Voltaire turned, heading for another door.

Boris gently pushed Tyson by his shoulder. Tyson followed willingly, worried what would happen if he resisted.

Inside the steel double doors was a dark room. The light turned on upon entry, to reveal computers, servers, chemistry equipment, and large water-filled tubes, big enough for a person, or a monster.

Boris threw Tyson’s jacket to a swivel chair, he turned on a computer, Voltaire stood beside what Tyson recognized as a large bey dish.

“I want to see my friend’s beyblades.”

“Of course.” Voltaire disappeared behind some servers, out of sight.

Boris clicked a mouse a few times, “huh, looks like Kai was in your bedroom. His heart rate has skyrocketed, do you have any idea why that could be?”

Tyson tried to hide his surprise.

*Could he have found my note? No- I don’t want him to come here.*

“I don’t know.” Tyson kept his eyes on the wall.

“Maybe he’s just doing something freaky.” Boris grinned.

“You’re disgusting.”

Voltaire reappeared with a black briefcase. He placed it on a table close to Tyson, but not too close. He opened it, to reveal Dragoon, and the rest of the blades delicately blacked in foam inserts.

“I want to see them.” Tyson reached his hand forward.

Voltaire slammed the case shut. “Not until you finish our task.”

Tyson scowled, all he wanted was to feel Dragoon in his hands again.

“Voltaire, come here.” Boris gestured to bring him over to the computer.

Tyson tried to follow, but Voltaire stopped him with an aggressive hand signal.

Voltaire leaned over the chair and inspected the computer screen.

“It looks like he’s heading in this direction.” Boris was deeply concentrated on the computer screen, clicking around fast.

“And he’s approaching fast.” Voltaire hummed, he rubbed his chin. “Stop the car.”

“Really?” Boris had a surprised expression.

“We can’t have him coming here can we?”

“Alright.” Boris began to type at the keyboard frantically.

Voltaire placed a chair in the middle of the room, he patted it, silently telling Tyson to sit down.

Tyson shook his head, Voltaire gave him an intense glare- Tyson approached the chair and sat down, making sure the men were still in his vision.

“Boris, are you done?” Voltaire demanded.

“Yes.” He reached towards a cupboard with glass drawers. He unlocked it and pulled out some medical supplies.

“What’s that?” Tyson asked, worried it was for him.

Boris swiveled over in his chair towards him. Voltaire grabbed a metal table with wheels and moved it towards Tyson.

Boris unwrapped a cloth to reveal four syringes.

“What are those? They better not be for me.” Tyson flinched as Boris picked one up.

“There’s magic,” Boris got a syringe ready, and grabbed a small damp wipe, “and then there’s science, today we will be utilizing both.”

He wiped the small cloth on Tyson’s bicep. He recoiled.

“Don’t be scared Tyson, it won’t hurt.”

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” Tyson was concerned, Boris got the supplies ready expertly.

“I used to be a doctor.”

Tyson’s focus lingered on ‘used to’.

“Don’t look if it bothers you,” Boris grumbled.

Tyson turned to look at the wall in the opposite direction as he felt the numb jab in his arm.

Kai had never driven faster. He swerved in and out of traffic to get to the building downtown. Flying down the highway with intense speed. He slammed his hand on the wheel.

“Fuck!”

He looked at the speedometer, it was going down, even though he knew he was accelerating.

“What the fuck?”

Kai felt his car lose power.

“No! No no no no no-”

The lights in his car dimmed, and suddenly the whole car lost life.

He pulled over to the side of the road. Slamming his hand on the radio as if it would help. He opened his door and got out kicking the wheels of the car in frustration.

He swore and cursed. He didn’t know enough about cars to know what went wrong, and he didn’t have time to fix it. He stared into the mass of buildings. He could make it.

He just had to run.

Tyon had four needles shoved into his arm in total. Boris refused to tell him exactly what they were, he only answered with ‘you wouldn’t understand even if I told you’.

Now, Voltaire watched the computer and Boris hooked up a few devices to Tyson. He wrapped a bracelet around his wrist, and something around his bicep.

“Take off your shirt.”

“Do I have to?” Tyson tried to give him a sassy retort, he might have been completely vulnerable, but he still wanted to keep his dignity intact.

“Yes.” Boris grinned, flicking the end of his shirt.

“No, you don’t have to,” Voltaire stated without pause.

Tyson narrowed his eyes at Boris.

“I have to attach something to your back.”

Tyson still wore a suspicious expression, but he did it anyway, he didn’t think he could feel any more naked than he already did.

Shirtless, he felt the cold of the lab prick at his skin. Boris attached a few small stickers to his back.

“There.” Boris smiled, looking Tyson up and down, “I’m done.”

“You didn’t have to take off my shirt for that.”

Boris nodded.

“How did I get stuck with a creep like you.” Voltaire squeezed the brim of his nose.

“I’m merging with Dragoon now?” Tyson’s skin prickled in anticipation of getting his bit-beast back, then he realized, his skin was prickling with a different sort of heat.

“Oh no- you won’t be merging with Dragoon.” Voltaire turned to look at Tyson.

“Dragoon is far too unpredictable, we haven't studied him enough yet, but there is one bit-beast who we know everything about.”

Boris turned to open a locked metal box on a table.

Tyson rose from his seat, staring at his forearm, his body felt- weird.

“What did you do to me?”

“Science.” Voltaire said just under his breath, “here.”

Boris held his hand upside down, Tyson held out his palm. He felt the familiar touch of a blade. Boris pulled his hand away, Tyson felt instant panic when he stared into his open hand.

Black Dranzer.

Tyson felt his whole world sway. His eyes felt heavy, but strangely, he felt strong.

“What did you give me? Am I allergic to it?” Tyson stared at Boris.

“No,” he laughed, “You’re fine.”

Voltaire gestured to the dish, “Tyson, launch it.”

Tyson felt the nerve endings in his hand, anything touching black Dranzer felt numb, completely void of power. He could see the veins on his forearm, sticking out more than ever before. He felt cold air enter his lungs, and exhale. Everything was enhanced. His world was spinning, but he felt invincible.

He could feel pulses from black Dranzer, the raw power emanating from it was toxic. Tyson could feel it begging to be used.

‘Use me, use me, use me.’

It pleaded with him. It felt addicting. Tyson now understood why Kai was so attracted to the blade, and he understood how hard it was to give it up.

He noticed Boris had been handing him a launcher for who knows how long.

Tyson took it, a blade and a launcher in his hands was his default state, but now felt foreign.

“Launch it,” Boris demanded.

Tyson turned to the dish near them. He stood in front of it. His pupils invaded his iris.

*The pure power of black Dranzer…*

He loaded it. He stood there, breathing erratically. He got into position.

Silence. Total silence. No sound existed, he forgot what it felt like to hear. He heard the screech of a bird in the back of his skull, and he let go.

A shockwave erupted as black Dranzer was released, finally, after years of being locked up. The equipment in the lab slid backwards, Boris and Voltaire almost lost their footing.

Tyson wobbled as he let the blade center in the dish, perfectly still, spinning so fast it looked stationary.

In front of him, he saw it, the dreaded bit-beast. It felt unnatural. Dragoon felt different, Dragoon felt right, black Dranzer felt… Sad.

*She’s not supposed to exist.*

“I can feel her.” Tyon felt tears roll down his face.

He held open his arms.

“I can save you!”

Black Dranzer screeched, with a powerful gust from her wings she soared into him. He felt a dark sludge seep into his veins, stopping his heart.

“AhK!” Tyson held his chest, suppressing screams.

Then, everything went black.

“Tyson!” Kai screamed in an alleyway behind the building he suspected Boris was holed up in.

He tried a back door, wiggling it frantically. His back was covered in sweat from running. It was locked, with no chance of it opening.

He tried another door, the same issue.

He could run in the front doors, but he would be noticed instantly.

“What’s that?!”

It looked to be an old laundry shoot, a lot of these old buildings had them. Before he could use his brain, he was scaling the shoot, it looked to be only a story and a half until it turned into the building.

He started climbing.

*Tyson, I’m coming. Just hold on.*

Tyson opened his eyes. Boris was beside him holding his shoulder shouting unintelligible phrases at him. Words meant nothing to him.

His head was pounding. He used his arms to hug himself, rocking back and forth.

“Don’t fight it Tyson. Accept it.” Boris whispered in his ear.

“N- No.” Tyson whimpered. His head felt like it had been split open.

His tongue felt different when he talked. His vision felt different, things felt… Wrong. He fell over to his side, letting the feeling overtake him.

Kai was running through the empty corridors. He had run past a training facility and dorms. He had viewed a map and determined where he thought Boris would have put a lab. He threw open a door to a stair corridor and flew down them, almost tripping. He just hoped he was right about the location of Boris’ lab.

He was right.

He found himself in a huge room, He stopped, placing his hands on his knees and gasping for air.

In front of him were two steel doors. He knew Tyson was inside.

With every last bit of his strength, he ran towards the doors, when he tried to rattle the doorknob it was locked, he kicked it, once, twice, three times. He took a few steps back and thrusted his whole body against them. The doors ripped open, shattering the lock in between them.

Boris wasn’t a surprise, but his own Grandfather-

In the middle of the room, Tyson’s body was splayed on the ground.

“What did you do to him!?” Kai screamed.

He ran over to Tyson, Boris tried to stop him-

“Fuck off!” Kai hollered landed a fist into Boris’ stomach.

Boris keeled over in pain.

Kai stopped before kneeling down.

The most important person to him- he didn’t look like himself.

His blue hair, now black. His nails, ebony talons. On his back, were black wings. Kai felt nauseous.

“Tyson…” Kai collapsed beside him.

He reached under his lower back and pulled him into a sitting position. Kai brushed back his long hair. He didn’t know what he expected coming here, but not this.

“What happened- what did-”

“He merged with black Dranzer, and he- is beautiful.”

“You don’t get to speak Boris!” Kai screamed but wouldn’t dare take his eyes off Tyson.

Tyson’s eyes flickered open, they stayed half-open, Kai shook him.

“Tyson? Tyson, answer me, please.”

Tyson didn’t move.

“We just got started- You can’t- Don’t you die on me.” Kai’s throat was dry, he could barely make out words.

“Change him back!” The blader who was most well known for being emotionless now threw everything he had at the world. Tears streaming down his face, screaming at the people who held him back his whole life.

“We can, but we won’t right now.”

To hear his Grandfather say it, somehow hurt more.

“Change him back, right now.” Kai shook, holding Tyson close to his chest.

Boris managed to stand upright after taking the powerful blow.

“We will change him back when it suits us.”

“Mm- Kai?”

Kai stared into Tyson’s eyes, “You’re awake!” Kai kissed his forehead, thanking the god he didn’t believe in.

Tyson’s wings seemed to shudder when it happened.

“I’m fine Kai, don’t worry about me.” Tyson held up his hand to stroke Kai’s face, his eyes grew wide when he saw his own fingertips.

“It’s okay- don’t look at them look at me- hey- me, look at me” Kai covered his hand with his own and made sure Tyson was focused on him.

Tyson choked back tears, “I love you-”

Kai closed his eyes and squeezed his hand.

Voltaire took a confident step forward.

“We don’t want to hurt you-”

“Look at what you’ve done to him!” Kai screeched.

“We just want you to join the new BEGA.” Boris wore a cheeky grin, he knew he won.

Kai’s chest heaved, “I’ll never join you, never again-”

“You’ll find you have no choice Kiai.” His grandfather tilted his head.

Boris laughed, his evil sinister laugh, the laugh Kai remembered from the abbey.

“BEGA owns you.”

52 notes · View notes

canonconspiracy · 4 years

Text

Choices (Jasper Hale x Reader)

AN: This one is a...little different, and I’m honestly not sure where to place it on my AO3 or Wattpad yet, so it’ll be a tumblr exclusive.

Fandom: Twilight - SPN Hunter Reader

Pairing: Jasper Hale x Fem!Winchester!Reader

Warnings: Combat?

WC: 1779

Choices, decisions you made on your day to day, had been much different when you were a Winchester. You thought that moving to Forks, Washington would have taken you away from everything, but your brothers knew as well as you did that the monsters don't just stay away. Not only had you fallen in love with a monster, but you had been targeted by another.

You would never call Jasper a monster, nor any of his family. They were good vampires, vegetarians as they would call themselves. Though you knew your brothers wouldn't understand your choice of paramour, they had been hunting while you grew closer to the Cullen family. Finding yourself growing closer to them, you had also found yourself growing close to a young woman named Bella, one who had made the same decision you had. She had chosen to be with Edward, and now the two of you had been driven out to a hotel far, far away from Forks.

The tracker changed his course, and within minutes, decisions were to be made. Had you been thankful that you had your hunting supplies with you? Of course, as you watched the brunette making her way past Alice Cullen and her mate, you knew the only decision that was to be had. Though the Cullen family had never seen a hunter in action, they were about to. Everyone was about to.

Following the woman out, taking a taxi cab to the location that Bella already mentioned, had not been difficult at all. Dead man's blood, a machete, and a plan formulating on your side was what you needed. There was a human in danger, and she was endangered by a true monster. Everything about this set up had trap written all over it.

Moving with stealth, you saw the moment that the monster, James, had Bella pinned against the wall. He was clearly cocky, talking down upon the woman as he pulled out a camera. Surely he had not expected a human to jump into action, nor had he known a lick about what dead man's blood did to a vampire. The syringe had taken mere seconds upon sneaking behind the vampire to administer to his neck, before you moved to pull the brunette away from the male.

"What did you just do to me, you bitch?!" He clamored, his voice shrill as he moved to grab the aching in his neck. The ache burned, acidically eating away at the immortal as he screamed. It took seconds for him to move his red eyes back to the two of you, a glower in his gaze. "You're going to pay for that."

"Bella, go!" You exclaimed, moving in front of her as you made some distance between the human and the vampire. "Come on, fangs, let's dance."

His movements had been slowed from the aching pain coursing through his body, the dead man's blood seeping through his veins. Though he came at you at a decent speed, you still found yourself dodging as you wielded your machete, soaked in dead man's blood. Each strike you made to the man, though it had not wounded him more than a touch, still caused him to exclaim in pain.

"You're going to regret ever taking this chase," you growled, your body thrown back into the mirror behind you. The mirror shattered, and you were sure your arm had been bleeding, but you knew you had him on the ropes. All you could hope was that Bella managed to get out safely, as you charged back at the man. "I came to Forks for peace, not for this bullshit."

"Well, let me end your suffering," he chided back as he lunged upon you once more.

With a skillful strike, you watched as his head went tumbling to the floor. In that moment, watching the vampire drop to his knees, headless in front of you, a smile crossed your face. Your veins raced with the adrenaline of the kill, the adrenaline of saving the woman's life.

Your trek had not been over as you realized there was more steps to this supposed kill. Edward had mentioned in the car about how the limbs were to be severed, and the body to be burned. With a soft sigh, you glanced from the body, back to where Bella had been cowering wide-eyed in the corner of the room.

"You may want to look away," you warned as you readied your blade once more.

"I mean, it's a little too late for that," she said in a small voice as you moved to sever the first arm.

By the second, the two of you had not been alone, though you still finished what you had started. Your arm ached with each strike, but as you had the vampire in a pile, you could hear the floorboards being cracked clean off. The Cullen family moved to light the flames for you, while you stood back, wiping your brow.

"You took him down by yourself, Darlin'?" You could hear the southern drawl of Jasper in your ear. "Do you understand how dangerous that was?"

"I'm a hunter, Jasper," you said as you tucked your machete back into your bag, a sullen look against your lips. "It's in my blood, and this one wasn't nearly as bad as some of the monsters we've faced."

"Is that how you see me?" Jasper asked, his voice cracked as his lips curled to a frown. "My family?"

You shook your head, allowing your y/h/c locks to bounce as you did. Y/e/c orbs shifted to his amber eyes as you breathed out, "None of you are monsters. Djinn who feed upon humans, crossroads demons who kill for fun, even angels who simply see us as playthings, now those are monsters. Some humans are monsters, too, Jasper."

"I believe you, Darlin'," Jasper said with a smile, though his hand was placed against his face as he spoke. The scent of your blood was already getting too strong for him, and he knew he had to walk away from you. He had waited until Bella caught your attention to go by the others.

"What's a djinn?" You could hear Bella ask from behind you, causing you to cringe. "And angels, demons...those are simply religious folklore."

Sighing, you said, "I'd rather you believed that, but vampires aren't the only playing cards on the field. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little shaken up," Bella replied with a reassuring half smile. Her smile quickly turned to a frown as she noticed your arm. "You're bleeding, though."

"I'm alright," you said with a reassuring smile, before you realized Jasper's presence had been replaced by Carslie.

"Let me see," he said in a soothing tone, holding his hand out for your arm. As he examined your wound, he frowned, before reaching in his pocket to bring what looked like a kerchief out. Wrapping it around your wound tightly, he continued. "You're going to need stitches, but it's not bad. I-I feel we should thank you for taking care of James. I'm impressed, and a little intimidated. How did you do that all on your own?"

"Dead man's blood," you said with a sheepish smile. "And technically, I got the dose in when he was too preoccupied with Bella. My machete is coated in the stuff as well." After a pause, you found your lips drop to a frown.

"I don't think I've even heard of that," he said with a soft chuckle. "Let's get you stitched up, though."

***

After your arm had been stitched, you realized that Edward had already taken Bella back to her home. She had been adamant in the car about apologizing to her father, and you couldn't blame her for going without so much as a goodbye. Beside you now sat Jasper, in front of you a nearly grinning Carslie.

"That should be all better now," Carslie confirmed. "And thank you again. Unfortunately, Victoria got away from us."

"Surely she knows I'm a hunter, if they had not already, and she'll come prepared," you said with a huff. "I'm willing to help any way you all need."

"Darlin', didn't you say you wanted to get away from hunting?" Jasper jested beside you, placing a chilled hand upon your own as he smiled. "Isn't that why you're out here?"

"I told my brothers I'd be getting away from the supernatural entirely," you said with a chuckle, "and I'm sure this is the opposite of what they expected. It's not like I can sit this out, though."

"Well, you're not wrong," Carslie chimed in with a frown. "She will likely be targeting you."

"I may be able to make a call and get a search party," you said with a sigh. "But that's a conversation I need to work up to with my brothers."

"For now, rest," Carslie interjected quickly, shifting his amber eyes from you to Jasper. "Make sure she rests."

"Come on, Darlin'," Jasper cooed with a grin against his lips, gently tugging your hand to get you to stand with him.

With a light tint of blush against your cheeks, you allowed yourself to be led out to the living room, and then upwards into the upstairs. Heading to Jasper's room, he motioned for you to sit on his couch, before curling up beside you. Stroking your cheek gently, he allowed you to lie against his chest, everything at peace.

"So, are you really okay?" He questioned as his hand moved to your y/h/c locks, gently stroking them as he felt your body calm.

"Here, in your arms, of course," you murmured with a smile against your lips, closing your y/e/c eyes. "My brothers have both tried to escape, at one point or another as well. The younger of the two, Sammy, actually had a long relationship with a demon while my eldest brother was in purgatory and I was rotting in hell." You allowed a chuckle to escape your lips. "So, honestly, this is the best I've felt in probably my whole life."

"I don't want to let anything like that happen to you ever again," he whispered soothingly as he stroked your hair. "I mean, we both sound like we have pretty colorful pasts, and you're, what, twenty?"

"Yeah, but I've died about three times," you replied with a shrug. "Time goes significantly slower in hell, so it could be speculated."

"Well, you're here now," he said softly. "And I'm not going to let you suffer through that ever again." As he spoke, he moved to press a gentle kiss against your head.

#jasper x reader #jasper hale #jasper whitlock #twilight x reader #twilight spn #crossover au #oneshot #twilight oneshot #supernatural twilight #winchester reader #tumblr exclusive

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vivithefolle · 3 years

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Not sure if you already talked about this. (I’m pretty sure you have) but someone seemed to notice that when the trio get into fights, Hermione’s always in the right. Even when she’s supposed to be wrong she always seems to be half right. That kind of bothers me. Especially since it’s evident in the whole Scabbers situation.

I have indeed, on Quora, so let’s move yet another answer of mine to Tumblr!

Hermione is seldom wrong in the Harry Potter books. Sometimes she makes mistakes but those mistakes are either completely swept under the rug or downright ignored.

It’s partly due to lazy writing and partly due to Rowling’s own growing bias in favour of her Author Avatar that was fuelled by Steve Kloves, the primary advocate of the Hermione Granger Is The Perfect Girl Ever line of thinking (an utterly ridiculous line of thinking mind you).

Lizo: Steve, Hermione is a character that you have said is one of your favorites. Has that made her easier to write?

Steve: Yeah, I mean, I like writing all three, but I've always loved writing Hermione. Because, I just, one, she's a tremendous character for a lot of reasons for a writer, which also is she can carry exposition in a wonderful way because you just assume she read it in a book. If I need to tell the audience something...

JKR: Absolutely right, I find that all the time in the book, if you need to tell your readers something just put it in her. There are only two characters that you can put it convincingly into their dialogue. One is Hermione, the other is Dumbledore. In both cases you accept, it's plausible that they have, well Dumbledore knows pretty much everything anyway, but that Hermione has read it somewhere. So, she's handy.

Now this, right here, is the exact core of the problem.

Rowling herself admits it: if she wants the readers to have information, she puts Hermione in the scene. Hermione is our primary means of exposition because, like *grits teeth* Sssssteve puts it, it’s easy to assume that she’s read about it somewhere and it makes sense.

That’s all well and good but at first, if you notice, Ron also gave us exposition about the wizarding world, mostly about its culture. He was able to recall the exact year of the Wizarding Confederation that outlawed dragon breeding in Philosopher’s Stone! He explained what were respectively a “Mudblood”, a “Squib”, and Parseltongue, Hermione doing a little exposition about the history of that last one! He was also able to identify Sirius, after being dragged into the Whomping Willow, as an Animagi!

But then Goblet of Fire happens and you can notice the first change that will exponentially grow through the books: instead of Ron, pureblood Ron, born-before-the-end-of-the-war Ron, lived-through-the-aftermath-of-the-war Ron, identifying the Dark Mark, it’s instead Hermione, muggleborn Hermione, lived-as-a-Muggle-for-most-of-her-life Hermione, has-no-idea-about-the-emotional-impact-of-the-Mark Hermione who looks terrified as the Dark Mark shoots into the sky!

And it only will get worse, by the end of the series, Hermione pretty much knows about everything the plot needs her to know, instead of having to work with things she knows but can’t always apply to the situation:

Suddenly has a deep knowledge of Magical Law (in the will of Dumbledore’s chapter, while we had Rufus Scrimgeour who could have provided it to us, or to a lesser extent, Ron could have explained how a wizarding will basically worked)

Is suddenly an expert at finding edible plants and mushrooms. Apparently books are always the goddamn answer in JKR’s world, you can literally learn anything from them

She can decipher all the Tales of Beedle the Bard (may I remind you that they were written in Runes, okay Hermione may have a few years of Ancient Runes education BUT I once tried to translate a 3k+ story I had written for fun, from French to English, which means I knew what the subtleties and intentions were, I knew which turns of phrase I had to preserve so it would make sense in the end, and it still took me two gruelling weeks to get a satisfying result!)

Has suddenly grown a sense of quick-thinking (escaping Xenophilius’ house, using the jinx to make Harry’s face weird-looking) despite it being the only remaining flaw she had at the time (remember when she turned her back on her enemy while he was still conscious just to compliment Harry, and almost died as a result, even though she had been training in the DA to learn how to fight Death Eaters?) Quick-thinking under pressure can be learned, but it takes time and a lot of work to force your brain to override its instinct - and it’s fine because we’re all human and different. But no suddenly Hermione is the Greatest Strategist Evah™ and those silly boys (who actually were the original quick-thinking ones, and one of them was established as the strategist early on) better be grateful for this literal goddess because she protects them from all harm with her superhuman brain.

Somehow knows about Quidditch stuff - she knows about a Snitch’s “memory-touch”. Why should she give all the answers? Why can’t Ron give us this particular tidbit of information?

And then when we come to something Ron actually knows, the damn narration itself goes “woah a book that Ron has read but Hermione hasn’t??? shocking!! incredible!! Ron is not dumb, somebody call the news channel”. But… is that really so surprising? We’ve never seen Hermione read wizarding fiction or even Muggle fiction. We’ve never seen Hermione with anything other than schoolbooks in her hands. Of course Ron has read books she hasn’t read since she doesn’t seem to read fiction at all!

Sorry, bit of a tangent over here.

There are only two characters that you can put it convincingly into their dialogue.

So, that’s one part of the problem: the fact that Rowling, after making Ron our insight into magical culture and Hermione our provider of knowledge, ended up saying “eh whatever I guess Hermione can tell us everything we gotta know because it’s more convenient for me”. Which is a decision that was not based on Hermione’s character, but simply lazy writing. Long story short, it probably went: “Could Ron explain this bit of trivia? Meh, better make Hermione say it cause she’ll have read it in a book. It’s convenient and I won’t need to bother myself with exploring Ron’s characterisation.”

(And thus completely forgetting that Ron could maybe ask his big brothers via owl and provide us with a good heap of extra advanced knowledge - Bill is supposed to have aced his NEWTs after all.)

The other part of the problem is quite simply that Hermione is more often than not, either painted as a victim by the narrative (which makes more people take her side, classic manipulation tactic), or made to be right anytime it’s about a plot point.

Hermione’s mistakes are never explicitly stated, corrected, or even pointed out as being unethical.

Hermione only gets one mistake expressedly pointed out as being a mistake: her misadventure in Polyjuice Potion. The rest of them? Even her crush on Lockhart can’t be counted as a mistake - people get crushes all the time, based solely on physical appearance, it’s not something awful or terrible (Except when it’s Ron who crushes on someone. Ron crushing on someone is absolutely forbidden, and he must be punished with much ridicule and humiliation if he thinks he can get away with not worshipping Hermione like the goddess she is. The nerve of him, really.).

Throughout the books Hermione eventually morphs into Rowling’s Powerful Angel of Vengeance, that punishes the people who dared to do something she disliked - Rita is silenced but at a very ethically dubious price; Marietta gets scarred for life because she was more loyal to her mother than to a bunch of people her friend insisted she hang out with; Umbridge is led to a very, very alarming fate that is never made clear but some people have ideas and they’re not all very kid-friendly; Ron first is “helped” without knowing it because Hermione can’t be bothered to have faith in his capabilities, then when he fails to dutifully reward her for “helping” him, she causes him bodily harm before actively bullying him for not mind-reading her interest in him; causes even more bodily harm to Ron because that’s how feminism works; etc.

Hermione’s mistakes are always justified through the plot itself (which is lazy writing).

Turning into a cat? Only affects her.

The Firebolt? Scabbers? Well, in the end, it was really sent by Sirius Black and Crookshanks really wasn’t the culprit. Therefore all the feelings that were hurt and all the trust lost are irrelevant because Hermione was right all along.

Trying to free the house-elves? Well, it’s the intent that counts, right? And we’re never told enough about house-elf lore to know whether they’re poor brainwashed victims or powerful Penate-like symbiotes who need to serve a wizard to survive?

Kidnapping Rita Skeeter, trapping her and blackmailing her? Rita may be one foul little beetle, but that’s going a bit far, isn’t it? Harry approves? Oh, well, I guess it’s okay then…? A main character can’t have a dubious morality, right?

Manipulating Harry into forming Dumbledore’s Army and forcing him to relive a traumatic event with the same woman she’s kidnapped and blackmail and that she knows he hates? In the end, it all works out for the best and Harry’s hurt feelings don’t matter since it’s all about the greater good.

Using the centaurs to get rid of Umbridge (which poses the highly distressing question of what did the centaurs do to her?), realizing that the centaurs aren’t nice little horsies that are going to gently obey her every orders like good Disney princess’ companions, my goodness could this be an opportunity for character growth - nevermind, here comes Grawp the Giant Ex Machina, saving her arse and protecting Hermione from all that scary possibility of introspection. Thanks, Grawp Ex Machina.

Trying to dissuade a highly stressed-out and irrational Harry from rescuing Sirius by telling him exactly what he needed not to hear, a.k.a. “you have a saving people-thing” which causes Harry to completely go bonkers and go save his godfather without thinking twice? Well she was right after all, it was a trap! Nevermind how mind-boggingly insenstive and inadept at dealing with someone else’s feelings she was being, she was right! That means it wasn’t Hermione’s mistake!… probably. (Geez, I’m sensing a pattern here…)

Endangering Cormac’s life (Confunding him WHILE HE’S ON HIS BROOM) to promote Ron’s success? Oh but that’s so romantic! (Yeaaaah, how romantic to display exactly how much faith you lack in your crush. Top it off with a broken neck and that’s a picture perfect first date!)

Assaulting Ron with magic and causing him even more scars than he already had? But he was being cold with her first, right? And he totally should have known she was asking him out! It’s not like her invitation was even worse than his attempt to ask her out two years earlier! Plus she’s just a teenage girl expressing her emotions, anyone who tries to find fault in this is a disgusting abusive misogynist pig! Ha!

Getting all jealous that Harry is better than her at Potions, then pretending she’s not jealous by claiming that TEH BOOK IS EVIL, HARRY, and giving him the cold shoulder too? But no, she’s right, look, Harry used Sectumsempra and he almost killed Draco, nevermind that he’s very horrified about it! Hermione was right, like she always is!

Hermione Obliviating her parents, which pulls her from the “ethically dubious” zone into the “wow okay I’m pretty sure that this counts as a violation of basic human rights” zone, makes her one of those quirky wizardfolk who have the privilege to control those simple-minded Muggles because it’s for the greater good? But nooo she’s crying about it so it’s obviously very sad and angsty and it shows her devotion to the cause!

Splinching Ron while fleeing from the Ministry? Eeeh, but he’s fine, they’ve got Dittany, he’s good as new!… blood loss? Anaemia? What’s that?

Hermione was wrong about the Deathly Hallows not existing? Um, um, that doesn’t matter, LOOK DOBBY IS DEAD AND HARRY IS BACK TO LOOKING FOR THE HORCRUXES!! Therefore Hermione was right, the Hallows weren’t important for their quest, therefore the Hallows might as well not exist, HERMIONE WAS RIGHT NO REALLY I’VE GOT RECEIPTS -

The books never forget to remind Harry and Ron of their own shortcomings and moments of weakness.

Harry’s wrath and recklessness cost Sirius his life. This is the lesson he has to learn from his entitled behaviour in OotP: actions have consequences, and the greater your responsibility, the greater the cost will be.

Ron’s envy and insecurity lead him astray; they’re used to humiliate, ridicule and torture him throughout the books. They’re supposed to teach him that he’s worth something - but how is he supposed to believe that, when nobody ever tells him he’s worth anything? When nobody ever apologizes to him? When his feelings are taken for granted over and over? When his two friends seem to discard him whenever he does one thing wrong?

Hermione is never punished. Hermione is never said to be wrong, never shown to be wrong, never called out on her behaviour. From Prisoner of Azkaban to mid-Deathly Hallows, she stays exactly the same character. She doesn’t grow up. She doesn’t learn. She doesn’t change. She has virtually no character arc.

The only time, THE ONLY TIME IN SEVEN BOOKS, the only time we have something remotely resembling a call-out of Hermione’s horrible behaviour is with this sole quote in HBP:

Harry was left to ponder in silence the depths to which girls would sink to get revenge.

Note how it’s about “girls” and not Hermione in particular, which implies that any girl would do what Hermione does to Ron. Thanks for the generalization, JKR, but I like to believe I’m actually a decent sort of person that doesn’t resort to petty cruelty and exploits my friends’ insecurities whenever I’m angry with them.

Hermione NEVER has to apologize. Hermione NEVER has to learn from her mistakes because she’s always presented as a victim when she really isn’t. Hermione NEVER develops into something more - she’s emotionally stuck at fourteen years old. Even less than that when you consider that her reaction to Ron’s return in Deathly Hallows is to trash him with her fists - and she was going to get her wand!! The utter psychopathic b- wanted TO THROW BIRDS AT HIM AGAIN!!! - and this reaction is an appropriate one for a four-years old girl, but certainly not for a supposedly “mature” seventeen-years old.

(Yes, because what separates a child from an adult is the ability to reign in your emotions and not succumb to your impulses. Exactly what Ron did when he left the tent (notice that he had drawn his wand, then he left before he could start hexing Harry), he left to calm himself down. Exactly what Hermione fails to do when Ron returns (she has the impulse to strike him and immediately succumbs to it, which proves to us that The Brightest Witch Of Her Age has all the maturity of a very small child).)

All of that, on top of the awful portrayal in the movies which removes all of Ron’s characteristics to stuff them into Hermione and turns her into some impossible epitome of perfection, eventually contributed to the portrayal of Hermione as the one who is always right and knows everything.

Add to it JKR’s own ridiculous bias (“Ron was quite emotionally immature compared to the other two”, yeah right I don’t see him trying to force freedom onto unwilling creatures or making Harry fly into an irrational rage with mere words but you do you, Jo) and the sexist misconception that “girls are innately more mature than boys”, and you get yourself this apparent behemoth of righteousness that was literally the sole reason why those two silly boys survived everything, and don’t you dare criticize this angel of perfection OR ELSE.

#vivi answers #ask #hermione granger critical #hermione granger #hermione critical #harry potter series #ron weasley #jk rowling #anti jk rowling

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palimpsessed · 3 years

Text

So @captain-aralias did one of these and invited other writers to do the same. And I wasn't really going to because it feels a bit late now and also I've done quite a few other year in review posts for 2020. But then I got to thinking that it would be really nice to have one of these for each year to look back on and compare, which convinced me. So, here we go!

If you’re a writer, I’d also encourage you to steal this. Tag me on your post so I can see your thoughts! 🥰

List of Complete Fics for 2020 1. At the Top of a Tower, With You- General, 900 words 2. Use Your Words- Teen, 16k 3. A Man of Letters, or Five Times Baz Retreats and the One Time He Doesn’t- Teen, 54k 4. To the Manor Borne- Teen, 43k

Total: 4 fics, 113k words

Every one of these fics was written for an event, which, realistically, is the only reason they got finished. I have so many ideas I'm working on all at once, and I came into fandom with a focus on making art, so to actually find the motivation to sit down and write/finish/post a fic was entirely deadline based. And it's a technique I'm sure I will also employ in 2021.

Best/Worst Title?

Well, I've mentioned a few times before that I usually have a title before I have much in the way of a fic concept. I don't really dislike any of the my titles, because they all did exactly what I needed them to do, which was help me focus on what I wanted to accomplish in the fic. Comparatively speaking, though, I can answer this.

Best: Use Your Words - succinct, idiomatic, a book quote/motif that also has the potential to be a spell, does what it says on the tin, is probably what all of us are constantly yelling at Baz and Simon to do throughout the books and the fic itself

(Honorable mention to A Man of Letters because that title forms a perfect heart shape when viewed on mobile on AO3. ❤️)

Worst: At the Top of a Tower, With You - this is also a quote and it fits the fic perfectly, but it is a bit of a mouthful and it has a comma in the middle of it, which, while I love commas, feels a bit off-putting in terms of a title - also, it's always kind of bothered me that it's a Baz WS quote used for a CO-era Lucy POV

Best/worst summary?

Again, I don't really dislike any of my summaries.

Best:

To the Manor Borne: The gang decides to spend Christmas together at Pitch Manor. Romance, hijinks, and holiday cheer ensue.

Anything that lets me use the word hijinks is always good! - it's short and sweet - it does a fair job of setting up the premise for the fic and giving highlights, without giving anything away

Worst: A Man of Letters

I'm not going to include this one because it's so long, I had to cut down the version I posted on tumblr to fit in the AO3 field, which is really why I rank it below my others - it effectively sets up the world of Simon and Baz in Regency England prior to where the story starts, but it is prohibitively long - and it's set up, not summary, so it also loses points for not doing what it purports to do - I could have said exactly what this fic was in one sentence: "Simon and Baz meet at several Regency-appropriate venues over the course of a London season and reflect on their acquaintance in letters", but instead I did the full book jacket version because it was more interesting to me.

Best/Worst First Line?

Oh, this is interesting. I can honestly say that I have no idea where this will go. Going to pull up my docs and find out! Okay, since I only have four fics to consider, and I'm feeling split, I'm going to do two for each. I feel good about my words, but I will say that half of my first lines actually provide information, and the other half are incomplete thoughts. Those were stylistic decisions I made, but when taken alone, it does somewhat limit the effectivness of a sentence when it can't stand without the rest of the paragraph. Perhaps that decision will lure readers in for more?

Best:

In the end, we wind up at Pitch Manor. (To the Manor Borne)

I know that you won't be surprised when I tell you that I do not like writing letters. (A Man of Letters)

Kind of interesting that these both contain key words from the titles 🤔

Worst:

I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do this. (Use Your Words)

I love how the title seems to be answering Baz's question when the two are put together like this 😂

Strange that it should end here, where it all started. (At the Top of a Tower, With You)

The title also seems to complete the first line in this one, too. I'm learning about my writing as this goes on, so that's cool!

Best/Worst Last Line?

Hmm. Okay, again, no idea. Also, a little leery of including last lines for anyone who hasn't read the fics they're from yet. (Tho I guess it's unlikely those people would be reading this😆) But let's see what we've got.

Use Your Words and A Man of Letters have very similar final lines, and both are somewhat spoilery.

Best: The ending of A Man of Letters felt risky to me, in the way that it is formatted and changes tone from the rest of the story. It was something that happened as I wrote it and I loved it. I had no idea if readers would like it, if they would feel like it worked as an ending, but I felt strongly enough about it to let the entire fic hinge on that and I think it really paid off. So, without giving you the actual last line, which is only one word, I'm going to say that one is my best ending.

Worst:

To the Manor Borne: "Carry on, Simon."

It's not bad, it's just not mine.

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, fewer than you thought, or about what you predicted?

I did not set out to write any fics in 2020. I was supposed to be taking a break from writing. I've been an aspiring novelist for half my life now, and have been going through major ups and downs with my writing. I decided I needed to re-evaluate and figure out if writing was something that was even going to be able to make me happy anymore. The answer is: YES! Just…not original fiction. At the moment. I'm happiest when I can write for the sake of writing and not have to DO something with that writing. Which is why discovering fan fiction was AMAZING!!!! 🥰🥰🥰

To actually answer the question, yes, I wrote more than I thought I would. I also wrote exactly as much as I thought I would, simply because these were all things I signed up for (with the exception of my Countdown fic, but I committed to it as if it were something that required a sign up).

I have a lot more ideas for 2021, but I don't know how many of them will come to fruition. I'm not putting pressure on myself to have to do anything beyond what I sign up for again, because it did work out so well for me starting off.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

I mean, the pairing and the fandom were in no way a surprise. 😆 They're my only ones, so those were both a given. The genre is also not surprising.

What's your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest?

A Man of Letters, without any hesitation. I adore it so much. It's the kind of fic I know I will unabashedly sit down to read over and over, even if I'm the one who wrote it. I had one reader to please and it was ME. By far, my most self-indulgent fic.

Okay, NOW your most popular story?

That depends on the metric.

To the Manor Borne leads in Comments (107), Kudos (153), and Hits (1992), and Use Your Words leads in Bookmarks (26).

But since To the Manor Borne is top in 3 out of 4 metrics, I'll say that one.

Story most upderappreciated by the universe?

I mean, the least popular by a wide margin is At the Top of a Tower, With You, but I don't know if I'd call it underappreciated. It's short, it's angsty, it's got a very unusual style, it's Lucy POV, it's the first fic I wrote and posted. I didn't really go into it with high performance expectations. I'm proud of it, I just didn't expect it to be popular. It would be nice if more people read it, but I'm not broken up over it.

Story that could have been better?

I'm not even going to touch this one. Everything can always be improved upon, but if I go down that route, nothing will ever be done. This is one of the things I have come to appreciate about traditional art versus digital. With traditional, there is only so much you can do before something is permanent and you have to live with it. It's an exercise in letting go and acceptance. Digital is flashier and more flexible, but I could (and have) spend months on a single piece and never feel satisfied, never stop tweaking. I think that's also the reason I started to hate my novels.

Sexiest story?

Based purely on overall vibes, I find the understated tension of the Regency the most appealing, so I'm going to say A Man of Letters. I didn't actually stray into sex territory in any of my fics (though Simon and Baz have had sex by the time To the Manor Borne starts, and refer to it, and probably do it "offscreen"), but A Man of Letters is the one that feels sexiest to me. Lots of thirsting!Baz and feral!Simon and sensual hand touching (how risqué!) - and YEARNING. That, to me, is the sexiest vibe of all. So. Much. Yearning.

Saddest story?

At the Top of a Tower, With You - for this one, I tagged "angst without plot" and I stand by that. It's Lucy losing her connection to Simon at the end of CO and trying to find a way to reconcile herself to leaving him alone again. I gave it as much of a hopeful bent as I could, with the refrain of Baz's spoken "love" to cling to, but it's very sad.

Most fun?

To the Manor Borne - All of my fics have their fair share of angst, but this one also has some good, silly, holiday fluff thrown in. Since I wrote it for the Countdown, each chapter was based on a different prompt, which led to this one going in all sorts of directions no single fic probably ever should. Plus, it has the most Shepard, and Shepard always makes things more fun.

Story with the single sweetest moment?

Oh my god. I don't know. No, never mind. I do. It's To the Manor Borne, but it's split between the two gift giving scenes, the Constellations and Secret Santa/Gift Giving prompts. These were private moments between Simon and Baz, sharing themselves with each other, being vulnerable, and communicating. It's the gifts they give each other, yes, but it's more so the reasons they chose those gifts, and how they show part of themselves and share their love for each other, through those gifts, that had me in tears writing those two scenes. I'm super proud of them.

Hardest story to write?

Use Your Words - it was written for an exchange and that made it really hard to write it knowing there was this pressure of making my gift-ee happy with the fic. I'm proud of it, and they really liked it, but the anxiety was too much for me.

Easiest/most fun story to write?

A Man of Letters - if there is a fic better suited to me as a writer, I haven't met it. I started writing after reading Pride and Prejudice in high school, so I started out writing Regency and I spent years and years and years of my life obsessed. When I transferred into college, an administrator I had never met before heard my name during orientation and said, "Oh, you're the Austen scholar." (It is a small, private college, and I was a transfer, so the pool of students was even smaller. But still. Many years later, I'm clearly not over it.) I also did my senior thesis on an epistolary novel (Frances Burney’s Evelina), and my English Lit emphasis was for that time period. So, I felt like I had been preparing for this fic my entire adult life. 😂

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

I don't think so. I tend to let my writing be dictated by the characters, so I'm always following their lead. Sometimes they'll do or say something that surprises me and takes me down a route I didn't necessarily foresee, but I don't think there was ever a point where one of them did something that made me rethink who they are as a character.

Most overdue story?

I will say A Man of Letters, since that one felt like a culmination of my seventeen-year-old self's wildest writing dreams. But I should probably say the Scooby Doo AU I still haven't managed to finish, because that one has been a WIP since I joined the fandom. Oops. (I'm hoping when I look over this in a year, I can feel smug that it's finally done.)

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

Writing at all was a risk for me! And writing fan fic for the very first time! Writing an entire fic told only through letters. And then ending it in a completely different style from the rest of the fic. Doing a multi-chaptered fic for the Countdown, using a different prompt for each chapter, and publishing a chapter every single day for thirty days (with the exception of two days that had art). Signing up for fandom events in the first place!

What I learned from taking risks in my writing is the same thing I learned when I took risks in my art this year. I have a much better appreciation for what I've done when I push myself, I feel better about the end product, and I like it longer. I think it's really good for me to challenge myself creatively.

This year's theme and the story that demonstrates it most?

Oh boy. Um. Therapy! Both Use Your Words and To the Manor Borne had their big HEA moments built around sending Simon and Baz to therapy. I don't think that's likely to change for future fics, either. I feel like therapy as the theme for 2020 seems very fitting. (Also, I think I keep sending the boys to therapy because I'm trying to get myself there…)

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Just to write what I want to write, have fun, not put any pressure on myself, and to take risks in my writing and my art because it will help me to grow.

#fan fic year in review #my fic #at the top of a tower with you #use your words #a man of letters #to the manor borne

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maxwellatoms · 4 years

Text

The Dead Meat Script (from the Quarantine Book Club)

TL;DR: Here’s the link:

https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A9e2aa451-e04a-433a-b76f-a47f295aadcf

And here’s more about the script and the project, if you’re so inclined:

Remember that time I tried to make a movie about a dog in quarantine and a society that runs on toilet paper?

Back in the decidedly quaint year of 2013, I was suffering through a bad career move. And a messy breakup. My world seemed to be coming apart at the seams. I didn't know where my next job was coming from, and all of the prospects looked bleak. So I decided to break myself out of my rut and just make something. I then proceeded to drive myself insane for the next seven years.

I wrote Dead Meat as a satirical take on action movies at the time, the decay of American society in general, and my own self-loathing. Some of the jokes weathered the years better than others, and every year or so I'd go over the script to see how I felt about it. What you're seeing here is the most “final” version I produced.

Honestly, not much changed from the original 2013 draft. I did one big addition pass in 2016 because the script was only 88 pages at that point, and I wanted to make sure that I broke the 75 minute barrier for home video. I also felt like Dead Meat and Suzuki's relationship was a little anemic, and (like the violence) I felt like it was very important for the relationship to feel real. Or as real as you'd want a relationship between a woman and a puppet to feel. So I added the scene with Suzuki and Dead Meat talking in the bus while heck is sleeping. That later led to the Black Mirror, which made Suzuki's struggle more visual than it had in the early drafts.

The electoral college joke was a jab at the 2000 election. It's probably important to remember that this was all written before 2016. And before Fury Road. And before the Happytime Murders and the current glut of post-apocalyptic ultra-violent comedies and real-life people hoarding toilet paper. Anyway, the Electoral College line was going to stay until I could see it in context, and then I'd decide it I needed to cut it. The goal was to be subversively satirical, and not painfully on-the-nose. This dilemma would recur in another dozen forms over the course of the production.

What would have been shocking and uncomfortable revelations are now probably pretty pedestrian. Heck(!), I mean the whole thing starts out with a torture scene. At the time, it was a reaction to a smattering of torture scenes that started to crop up in late night dramas like “24”. Now I don't think I can even turn on a teen CW show without seeing someone tied to a chair getting their fingers cut off. We've become as desensitized as the characters in the story, so I think that some of the impact has been lost.

“Bieberism” has been through a lot of iterations. It's unlikely that Justin Bieber would've made it all the way through production. The idea was that there's this other wasteland religion based on some appropriately dopey celebrity. That's another decision that would've been made in the final days of shooting to make sure that the gag was relevant. But hey.. The Biebs is on a comeback, so who knows?

When I read Dead Meat now... I still feel things. Assuming you read it, hopefully you will too. I'm releasing it to the internet today because... well, because I may as well. We're all trapped at home (stay home you bozos), and if this script can bring a chuckle to even a few people, I'll take it!

As most of you know, Dead Meat became too expensive in terms of money and personal time for me to complete on my own, so while I do plan to make the trailer and hopefully sell the idea somewhere, this is as good as it's gonna get. At least during Quarantine.

As always, thanks for sticking with me!

ENHANCING YOUR MEAT:

If you do decide to read it and want the “Premium Experience”, here are a few tips:

MUSIC:

This is all fantasy now, but I was going to try to license two songs. One for the opening credits and one for the end.

When you get to the “DEAD MEAT TITLES” on Page One, play “Bloodstains (original)” by Agent Orange, and then stop playing it right in the middle of the crazy scream.

When you get to the top of the last page, start playing “You Make Lovin' Fun” by Fleetwood Mac. There's no way I could afford that song, but since we're just fantasizing... I think Mick will forgive us.

VISUALS:

I have a ton of stills and gifs on my Tumblr, though Tumblr's admittedly a slog. I'll try to find some time in the coming weeks to get a collection of pics and gifs together. What you won't see is what I was planning for the color correction. I wanted to have the tone be a fairly typical green, de-saturated wasteland most of the time. But when the violence kicked in, so would the color. A lot of the environments (including my kitchen) were designed to support this idea.

And the violence itself was meant to be rough. Like... fucking horrific. I felt like we needed to see just how awful the world had become, and just how blasé' everyone was about it. I wanted the final battle to reach “Dead Alive” levels of gore.

There are a lot of other things you won't “see” in the script. There's no mention of a couple of the characters pitched in the Kickstarter (like Mew-Tant) because they were going to have ad-libbed dialog during the action scenes. As with my animated projects, I like to give the actors room to play. Potentially any of the dialog or action in the script could've been replaced with some brilliant moment ad-libbed by the actors. There are also some purely visual moments that exist only in the storyboard or in the unfinished footage. Like any project, Dead Meat grew beyond what was on the printed page.

I guess I'm just saying... As long as you're using your imagination, imagine big. ;)

As always, if you have any questions about Dead Meat or screenwriting or the dangers of independent filmmaking... you know where to find me!

XO,

Maxwell

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mcleaha · 4 years

Text

hello lovelies ! i’m bøffy , i’m 20 years old , prefer she/her pronouns , and currently reside in the pst timezone ! uhh . . . i am posting this intro at nearly 5 AM my time , and i would be almost willing to bet it’s littered with errors and it’s . . . probably a bit all – over – the – place since this is very much a new muse ! however , with that being said , if you give this a like , i will definitely contact you via tumblr ims or d!scord ( 𝓲𝓷𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓪 / 𝓮𝔁𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓪#1384 ) to plot !

[ jasmine brown . 21 . cis female . she/her ] just saw MALEAH AMICK dragging their suitcase up the steps to CABIN 1B . good luck living with HER , i hear that that they’re INDECISIVE , FORGETFUL , SOCIABLE & CREATIVE . Apparently they’re the ATTACKING MIDFIELDER . let’s hope the upcoming season doesn’t affect their JUNIOR year of ART EDUCATION .

STATS:

name: maleah amick .

nickname(s): leah .

age: twenty one .

gender identity: cis female .

pronouns: she/her .

sexual orientation: bisexual / biromantic .

birthday: 26 february 1999 .

zodiac sign: pisces .

myer-briggs: esfj .

pinterest: coming soon !

HISTORY:

born on the 26th of february 1999 in orlando , florida , maleah was the youngest of the three amick siblings . her mother worked as a prestigious board – certified pediatric surgeon at a local children’s hospital , and her father worked as a high school mathematics teacher and volunteered as the school’s unpaid soccer coach , a move that saved the program from ending due to budget cuts ( he claims he was roped into the position as a first – year teacher with no seniority , but while he’s reluctant to admit it , he eventually grew a passion for the sport he had previously known little about ) .

with her mother’s long shifts and emergency work – related calls , she ultimately became closer to her father and two older brothers while growing up . most knew her father as a man who towered over them at 6’7” , ordering his team to run laps or practice drills ; however , maleah knew him as the man who would crawl around the living room floor playing barbies with her or would prepare fruit and herbal teas as she twirled around dressed as a princess , declaring it time for a royal tea party . just as easily , she could be found exploring the great outdoors or playing whatever sport was currently in season alongside her brothers .

she practically followed in her brothers’ footsteps . as they approached high school , each brother chose one sport to specialize in , hoping to secure a position on a college team and eventually on a professional team . maleah did not have professional athletic goals , but although she had immaculate grades with limited effort put towards academics , she knew extra – curricular activities were important for college applications . thus , when it was maleah’s turn to choose which sport to pursue , rather than having to weigh the pros and cons and make her own decision ( or perhaps , fearing that she would make the wrong decision ) , she simply chose the sport that her brothers had previously chosen : soccer .

her high school coach knew the perfect position for maleah . years of informal practice with her brothers in the backyard had enhanced her skills . she had learned how to evade skilled high school defenses by pretending as if she was heading in one direction before bolting in the other . soccer was one of the few areas in life in which she possessed enough knowledge to make quick and effective decisions ; she could read the field and immediately determine the best course of action : dribble , pass , or shoot . ultimately , she possessed the vision and the creativity necessary to secure playmaking and goal-scoring opportunities for her team .

with a line of college scholarships , both academic and athletic , waiting for the attacking midfielder’s choice ( unfortunately , none from either of the schools her brothers played for ) , the time came for maleah to make a decision . as deadlines for summer practices , class registration , and tuition payments crept closer , she finally determined a means of deciding . she numbered her offer letters , 1 through 13 , and allowed a random number generator to make the decision for her . thus , mere chance ( or perhaps fate ) led maleah to hollis university .

her first semester at hollis was . . . rough , to put it lightly . while most freshman shed a few tears as they watched their parents’ car drive off into the distance , homesickness lingered in maleah’s life . coasting through high school with limited effort had done her zero favors ; with no effective study skills , her grades dropped dramatically . between soccer and trying to salvage her grade point average , a social life was virtually out of question . ultimately , she found herself on academic probation , unable to play soccer , for her second semester of freshman year at hollis .

luckily , she was able to develop effective study habits , and even discovered along the way that maybe pre – med was not the best major for her . when asked what she wanted to do , maleah gave an entire list of generic answers – “i want to help people” and “i want to make a difference” came up quite often , but nothing specific enough to point her in the right direction . thus , she changed her major almost every semester , desperately seeking for the right fit . in the meantime , though it took several letters petitioning her temporary removal from the team , she was able to resume playing soccer during her sophomore year .

��as junior year approached , maleah was almost certain that she was back in her coach’s good graces – no longer viewed with a sense of skepticism . she had proven herself capable , finding her name on the dean’s list nearly every semester and assisting her team in numerous wins throughout the soccer season . however , with hollis’ soccer teams’ restructuring , maleah can’t help but question if her coach views her as a valued athlete or a liability .

PERSONALITY:

two words : social butterfly . almost to a fault . even if someone has expressed quite literally zero interest in talking to her / getting to know her , she will still make an attempt . kind of a . . . people – pleaser , in a sense , she just wants to be well – liked ?

avoids ! conflict ! at ! all ! costs ! generally just . . . tries to avoid people or situations that upset her . not very prone to like . . . yelling or crying , but those close to her can definitely sense a change in her demeanor when she’s upset ? just . . . a lot more tense , probably lots of eye – rolling and just . . . subtle , quiet signs that she is over whatever the problem is .

kinda . . . chill , mellow , easygoing ? she very much lives in the moment , and tries not to stress too much about the future . always down for a drink , a party , whatever – genuinely just around for some fun and some friends !!!

the kind of person who genuinely gets excited over like those fun facts and jokes that are on popsicle sticks and whatnot – absolutely must share the information with everyone within earshot . honestly , those jokes are very . . . on point with her own personal sense of humor jflakdsj .

HEADCANONS:

she suffers from a terrible case of youngest child syndrome . ultimately , without guidance , she’s terribly irresponsible . she’s always having to run extra laps because she sets her alarm too late to make it to morning practices on time . she’s always receiving overdraft fees for spending more money than is available in her checking account . forgets everything – from homework assignments to names to grabbing her keys before locking the door on her way out . just . . . imagine a child asking for an adult’s help and her looking around until she comes to the realization that “ oh , shit , i am an adult ” .

she’s practically always doodling – in the corners of notebooks , on napkins while eating lunch , on her clothing , on her own skin . she loves making art , particularly drawing or painting portraits or nature . ( ultimately , she only decided to incorporate this into her choice of major after hollis threatened to not allow any further changes to her major ) .

she has a . . . unique sense of style . she has a passion for thrifting and upcycling . practically lives in hoodies and t – shirts that she has purchased from secondhand stores and cropped herself . always adding cool iron-on patches to her clothing . she should be listed as your emergency contact if you’re prone to ripping your clothing because she can definitely fix it .

she probably thinks she’s good at trash-talking on the field , but she actually sounds like a second grader ( and that’s being kind ) . if you looked at her browser history , there’s probably at least one record of her actually googling “ best soccer trash talk ” .

CONNECTIONS:

friends !! friends she’s met through courses throughout her adventures of attempting every major possible , mayhaps soccer friendships that continue off the field , mayhaps that complicated emerging new friendship state for some who are new to hollis ! unlikely friends ! best friends !!! quite literally those unbreakable ride – or – die friendships !

muses !! i feel like every artist needs that little dose of inspiration , even if it’s simply the inspiration of a work – in – progress portrait throughout the duration of camp ! complaints of “ stop moving ! ” and her stopping every ten minutes to ask what they think and probably at some point , her flinging a brush dripping of paint in their direction (if things didn’t end in an all – out paint fight djlfakds ) .

enemies !! honestly i’m sure there is ?? so much ?? potential for this , bt . . . mayhaps someone’s just . . . fed up w her irresponsibility ? thinks she doesn’t take her soccer position seriously ? maybe someone doesn’t think she takes anything seriously ( they wouldn’t be . . . wrong tbh ) . maybe someone from cali takes that “ california vs florida ” feud a little too seriously jflskdja . idk there’s always bound to be personality clashes !

exes !! relationships that ended badly , so she actively tries to avoid them and who even knows what happens when she’s forced to acknowledge their existence at some point at this camp !!! maybe relationships that ended on mutual terms so they’re still p chill with each other ?? maybe ended relationships that never quite got closure so there’s still unresolved feelings !!

hook-ups !! they are . . . college students . they are . . . college students stuck at a camp all summer . idk i feel like this one is pretty self – explanatory jflakds .

honestly i am tired & want to sleep , bt genuinely i am up for & open to anything ! good influences , bad influences , unrequited crushes , requited crushes , idk the world is y(our) oyster !! these are . . . rlly just some ideas to get the whole process started bc i am actually terrible at . . . thinking of plot ideas on the spot . always open to jst . . . doing a thread and seeing how things naturally flow too !

#hollis.intro #i . . . don't know what most of this is #it is jst #almost 5 am now actually i need sleep #also too lazy to log on to my other account to access my other gifs so :) this is what we have to work with for the time being jflaksdj

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my-whumpy-little-heart · 4 years

Note

🍰☕🍼 :3c

Thank you so much for the ask Allen! I may have spent multiple hours writing all of this, but they were a very very happy few hours and I’m just happy you enabled that.

🍰- strawberry or vanilla?

Oooohhhhh this question. This. Question. Everyone always asks vanilla or chocolate and that’s so easy for me because I easily prefer vanilla more! But vanilla versus strawberry? That’s such a difficult debate!

On one hand, vanilla is the plainer of the two. That’s easy to dock it for, but it’s so classic! You can’t get vanilla flavoring wrong unless you really try to. I can go anywhere and ask for a vanilla milkshake, and I can be sure that sucker’s gonna taste like good ol’ vanilla.

But then, thinking about strawberry, it’s so much more flavorful! It’s distinct and fruity and sweet and even when toned down by being included in something such as ice cream or cake it’s still a lovely flavor. But then again, when you bake with strawberries they can make things really funky and not be all that great. The fault of that in store bought items is mostly them being artificial so the strawberry flavor can’t be properly replicated... but sometimes it’s super good!

If I were to make a definite decision, I’d have to go with strawberry and blame it solely on the fact that I’m thinking of some really tasty strawberry ice cream that this one place around us has. It’s got little frozen strawberries in it which provide an exquisite texture and pop of flavor in the duller flavor of the ice cream itself. It’s a lovely experience, especially paired with a scoop of cookies and cream (cookies and cream is the best ice cream flavor and you can’t fight me on that because I’m feeling too soft to threaten people right now)

☕- coffee or tea?

Ahaa, so sorry to report that I’ve gotta go with neither. The smell of coffee repulses me, and tea has never really struck my fancy.

Since I couldn’t provide a very good answer for that, I will instead that I’ve been listening to This Is Home by Cavetown and TrusT by half·alive repeating while answering these asks and am just now switching to Stranded Lullaby by Miracle Musical. If you need calming tunes, they’re all certified Chill~~ songs as dictated by the playlist I put them in.

🍼- what is your favorite memory?

buckle up. you opened the floodgates of I’m Really Feeling About This so soft puddle boa ahead, I’ve melted all over the floor and it may be slippery. crossing my fingers that i haven’t already mentioned this on here and forgotten about it because this is just one of my favorite memories ever and I’m going to get lost in it and gush about it.

OKAY. SO. LISTEN UP. I got very VERY happy about this coming segment. By that, I mean there nearly 3000 words ahead. So. Fair warning, It’s all super fun positive stuff and if you need a pick me up I hope I can do it for you but I’m gonna try and use a read more cut here. Really hoping Tumblr works with me on that.

This is a memory from last summer, just over a year ago now. A whole group of my extended family and us got together and we all took a vacation to Southeastern USA. One of the days down there we spent in Savannah, Georgia. First of all, it’s a beautiful city. Temperatures there are Very High, especially in the middle of summer, but it’s so scenic and I loved the whole aesthetic of the parts we walked around in as well as the history we learned about it.

During the day we took a walking food and drink tour (’drink’ for those of the proper age, not for me lol) and then spent a little while wandering on our own. We found through a newspaper that there was this cool little donut shop that had just opened its doors a few days prior and went to check it out. And it was the coolest little place! They’re called 8-Bit Donuts so look that up and scroll a little in google images if you wanna get a visual of their store, but it’s this cute, geeky little donut place! It was a fun discovery and we sat in there to have a few donuts before heading off to meet up with the rest of the family for what we’d scheduled for that evening.

We headed over to the Savannah Theater which, if I’m not mistaken, is one of the oldest still operating theaters in the country. It looked pretty unassuming from the outside, and even still when we stepped in. It had those nice old theater vibes but I still wasn’t completely informed on what we were doing there. My parents said something about a ‘variety show’ and this being something my great aunt was really looking forward to doing, so I was chill with it.

When we stepped in to the theater space itself, that’s when I was starting to go ‘oh, oh yeah okay i can vibe with this.’ It had so many cool old timey vibes and I just felt like I’d stepped into a different time period than my own. We had seats all across the back rows because I think it was more of a last minute decision and we wanted to sit our large group as close together as possible. So I got an aisle seat (aisle seat best seat and I stand by that) and chilled there for a bit while we waited for the show.

I feel inclined to preface this with, yes, I was in the height of my theatre phase that summer. And I was excited to see some live performance because I had been living on bootlegs for months. As I think about this I really want to talk about something else that I greatly admire and have lovely memories of, but I can’t get very in detail because unfortunately this is something closer to where I live. I’ll see if I can expand on it once i finish this explanation because I thought about it and I’m remembering some lovely things I’d forgotten,,,

Alrighty! did all that for an hour so now I am Back to talk about this. So, right, sitting in an aisle seat. So the show started and immediately I was entranced. They made an announcement beforehand encouraging audience participation and excitement. So I was like oh, this isn’t gonna be a very traditional theatre performance huh. And it wasn’t! Variety show basically meant they performed songs from a ‘variety’ of different shows and time periods, and some more from pop culture through the years too!

I think this was really mostly aimed at older folks, but oh my gosh let me tell you; I had the Time Of My LIFE that night.

I was so into everything they did, even when I didn’t know the songs because the theater was buzzing with their energy and enthusiasm and I just can’t describe to you the feeling of euphoria I got from watching that show. I never would have chosen it, yet here I was completely over the moon and throwing my hands in the air to the tune of Shout by The Isley Brothers (oh my gosh even now I just turned on and aaah if you need to ever lift your spirits please turn this on i’m dancing around in my chair i forgot how much i loooove this song aaaaaaah!!!!!!). Listen I know it sounds really stupid but I promise I was just having so much fun not worrying about what I was doing or how I was coming off but just being so joyously immersed in the show.

And right during that song, the performers had actually come off the stage and into the aisles. Walking down them, singing, dancing, all that. And one of them came down our aisle too. So let me back up and say that they all looked super Fancy and Cool and I was over here like starry eyed because dancing around with a three piece suit on is life goals okay I just think formalwear is awesome! That’s not an important detail but you needed it for the Imagery that you probably won’t get any more of because I’ve been typing this for literally three hours and I’m becoming incoherent. Not that that’s a bad thing because I am having Genuine, Unadulterated Fun.

Yes. So. Guy comes down our aisle, the slow part of the song comes on, and he extends his hand. Towards The Me. And I’m here like 👀??? Looking around and pointing to myself like “me??” and he nods and I’m like !!!!!!! because listen crowd participation is just the coolest shit. Whenever people are picked out of an audience for something during things like this I’m over here like “oooooh i wanna do that thing!” So!! For him to probably have recognized me in the back row just having a whole time and a half with their show and gone back like ‘okay, I recognize your enthusiasm and I think that’s great and invite you to join me in having fun’

I was just !!!!!! So I took his hand and keep in mind that I Cannot Dance. He led and Knew What He Was Doing which was good because I’m a fool but it was cool!!! I nearly fell over when I twirled!! I laughed and smiled and I could not care less about looking dumb and I really aspire to be that version of myself more often. I think those seconds are some of the Purest Glee I’ve ever felt and I’m so grateful to all those actors, but especially that man, for making my night something I’ll remember fondly for years to come!

The rest of the show was great after that little adrenaline rush and we came out after it and I was still just a little bundle of Excitement. The rest of my family around us commented on it and my parents had apparently managed to get their phones out quickly enough to catch footage and pictures of that hilarity that I still have saved on my own phone. But yeah there was another half of my family that had ended up on the far side of the theater from us. And it was then, after everything, that I learned they had also! seen me dancing! And I was like oh wait, hold up, you what??

So yeah, I had not realized at the time that there was a bit of a spotlight on us and the Whole Entire Theater had seen us dance. There was a little embarrassment mixed in there, but honestly I was far too happy to care at that point.

After that we went out to get some ice cream and it was just a really nice cooldown after what I can easily say was one of the best days of my life.

OKay okay dammit I’m writing it now and putting it at the end of the ask. Hello, future reader, this is directly continued off of the paragraph where I talked vaguely about something else I was thinking of. So, detailed explanation undetailed, there’s this beautiful, scenic place near me. There’s this old mansion that I’ve toured and aaaaaaahhh it’s really a beautifully preserved place. Old architecture like that is. Ohhh I could stare at it for days on end.

And there’s a lovely, what, ‘reserve’ I guess of nature around it? I’d describe it as walking through an enchanted forest. It’s just natural and sometimes if you’re close enough to the mansion you can catch glimpses of it through the treetops, and it’s genuinely one the most peaceful places I’ve ever been. I. Just. AAAAAH and that’s not even my whole point!!

Because right in the middle of this incredible greenery there’s a stage. And no, not the kind of stage you’re imagining. It’s like a little set of its own, a wooden ground stage and there’s a climbable second level with doors and all that. An all purpose sort of structure where they put on Shakespeare plays. They put on Shakespeare plays on that beautiful stage in the middle of the enchanted woods and I just want to cRY THINKING ABOUT IT I CAN’T GET TO MY POINT HERE.

So. SO. In order to tell this story. I. Need to go on Another side tangent and dearest Lord if you’re still with me I commend you, and I love you because this has been so stupidly self indulgent and rambly up until this point. I don’t know if I’ll even be able to make a cut work. Hm. This is off topic. It’s off the off topic from the off topic and was there even a topic to all this in the first place? I swear I’m completely sober and have never been Not Sober I’m just. Like This I guess.

Right. Other side tangent. So, this happened the summer after my freshman year of high school specifically. Why is that important? In my English class, we had done a class reading of Romeo and Juliet. And by class reading, I mean Class Impromptu Performance. I looked forward to that class So So Much because. Every day we would read through a scene or so of the story, and we had assigned roles that rotated every act. The combination of people in the class made for one of my favorite class dynamics I’ve ever had. Along with my teacher, everyone in there was so fun and silly but also knew when and how to stop so we could get work done. Far and away one of my favorite overall high school experiences. but yeah!

In the first act of Romeo and Juliet, I was assigned to be Mercutio. And, well, I was looking ahead a bit on our second day of reading because I hadn’t popped up yet. And, ah, if you know anything about Mercutio’s role in act one, you’ll know he’s got a Long Ass Monologue. And as I flipped ahead in our English book I found that and. My first thought was. “Oh woah, that’s a big ol block of text I wonder who reads th-” and my second thought, after reading the character name, was “oh shit.”

Sooooo I went over and asked my teacher like, “Hey, uh, Mrs. L. Am I. Am I reading that?” and she was like “yeah.” and I’m sitting there like “ah, alright, coooool.” and on the inside I really couldn’t figure out if I was excited to try my hand at it or Very Very Terrified. But I think my teacher that year knew me far better than I knew myself, because when it came to that Thursday and we’d made it to act 4, I fell in love with Mercutio’s character. He’s so overdramatic and expressive while also tossing a little snark in there, and he’s not afraid to be seen as a little insane. I had fun reading off the monologue, especially after reading it a few times beforehand to myself so I’d at least know what it said.

I think it was a few days later when I was talking to my teacher about that, and she said that every year she picks the roles very specifically according to her students. And with the Mercutio one, especially the first act, she said she just kinda Knows the students that role would resonate with. And, well, it resonated alright.

And. And ohhhhhh yeah you know where this is going. I read ahead at home on no fear Shakespeare because without the help to understand everything that we got in class it would have been very difficult for me to read that and get all the jokes and plot points myself. So yeah, when I got to act three I was suitably Very Upset to find out that Mercutio died. Since I had that English class for the last period of our day, I may or may not have stayed after the day after I read his death scene at home and grieved with my teacher over it. It was a fun conversation but yes I may or may not have been Quite Distraught that my favorite character died in the middle of the play. I could continue that answer, but yes that’s what you need to know. Mercutio was my favorite character by a long shot.

SOOOO fast forward to that summer where this Outdoor Shakespeare thing I was rambling about announced that the tragedy they put on that summer would be none other than Romeo and Juliet. And immediately I was super excited, because I knew the plot to that! I’d just experienced it in English class and it was absolutely too perfect to pass up.

So one summer evening, we took the trip out there to see this theater company’s production. It was such a lovely night. We brought takeout dinner and a picnic blanket to eat out on the grass before the show, then got in our seats to wait for it. And so something I hadn’t known about this before is that they do something called a ‘Green Show.’ It’s a crowd-pleaser sort of thing, an appetizer before the main show for the evening, and a warm up for the actors as well.

I don’t have clear memories of exactly what they did, but everyone was in this very simple folk-clothing if you catch my drift and it was very casual, like I was in some old town and watching some group of people sit on a corner and just have fun making music together. It was energizing and just made me feel so warm inside. It was familiar and homely, even though I’d never experienced it before. But during that show, I picked out this one guy apart from the rest who seemed especially enthusiastic. His energy was enthralling and he had a really beautiful voice. And I was just wondering, ah, I wonder what character he’s playing.

Yes, I know you can see where this is going. Let me have my fun with the dramatic reveal that past Boa got to experience.

Through the beginning of the show, I hadn’t seen that guy yet. Or I didn’t think I had, I’ve known to be very unperceptive. But finally at that fourth scene where he appears, I saw the Romeo and Benvolio actors walking up through our little aisle of chairs and behind them was Mercutio. And I was already excited because aaH! the monologue! the monologue i did in class but now i got to see it performed live! by a professional!! And then I got a good look at him and i was like !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT’S THE COOL GUY FROM THE GREEN SHOW!!! aND I was just. Aaaaaahh!!!! I was so excited and it probably sounds really dumb but I. Just. Yeahhhhh that was awesome.

And what do you know, he was incredible in the role! From monologue to death scene, I thoroughly enjoyed his performance as Mercutio and the rest of my family probably knew that all too well from how excited I was at intermission. I just!!! I saw Mercutio and I Latched right on to his character so seeing him come to life in just the way I imagined and right before my eyes I. It was freaking incredible I don’t know man that actor just. Worked magic.

And after the show, all the actors kinda lined up by the exit and said farewell as we headed out. And I really wanted to say a word or two to the Mercutio actor but I nearly didn’t ask my parents to stop because I was kinda scared about it. Either I worked up the courage to ask my parents, or one of them asked if I wanted to go up and say hi, but yeah I did. I don’t remember my words exactly, but I was just stammering and nervous but got my point across of “hey i read the play this year and love your character and you played him super well and i just think that’s super cool and i’m lowkey idolizing you right now!’

So I went home with those warm butterflies in my heart that night. And it was such a wonderful experience that I just dug back out of my brain tonight so I’m really really happy I got to remember and record all that,,,

#you guys i am #So Fuckin Sappy On Main right now #sappy on main #To The Max #I didn't know I was this soft #what even #just all the best memories of my entire life are crawling out of the woodwork #and you know what #sometimes you really need to focus on those good things #so #i #yeah #i really did focus #Three hours of focus #i swear i'm actually insane #but i'm repeating myself and rambling but i'm so damn lost in my thoughts and happy about just existing at the moment #this is wild and kinda weird to be honest #why did i write more about my Big Rambly Feels than I have for a full chapter in months #what is life?#who is she?#never met her #i think quarantine is just making me sappy and remembering things i really enjoyed when i had socializing rights #i'm gonna stop rambling #this isn't even worthwhile rambling this time #if you're here #you must be a maniac like me #i'm so sorry for the brain damage my entire fucking essay above has brought you

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thecassadilla · 3 years

Text

Change of Pace - Chapter 4

Pairing: Kristanna

Chapter 4 on AO3

Read from Chapter 1 on AO3

Word Count: 4,779

Summary: With her sister’s blessing, Anna takes a step back from her royal duties and finds herself working for a ski resort nestled in the mountains. A chance encounter with the resort’s maintenance technician leads them down an unexpected path, as they must work together to plan the resort’s annual ball - and maybe fall in love in the process.

Author’s Note: Hi everyone! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's been reading it so far!!! It really means so, so much to me. Hanukkah is this week, so Happy Hanukkah to those of you that celebrate!!! And once again I apologize for all of the asterisks - tumblr removes posts with “bad language” from the tags. Uncensored version is on AO3! I hope you enjoy this chapter!!!

There was a part of him that felt like a complete a*shole for taking the brunt of his anger out on Anna, watching as she curled into herself and attempted to placate him before he stomped away. The other part of him was too busy seeing red to care - the situation may not have been directly her fault, but it was one that could’ve been avoided altogether. He knew that helping her was a bad idea from the start, but he foolishly did it anyway. Even Andrew was shocked when he initially asked if he could leave for a bit.

“Hey man,” he said. “Do you mind if I step away for a few minutes?”

“What’s going on?” Andrew asked.

“I have to take someone somewhere.”

The other man furrowed his eyebrows. “I’m confused.”

Kristoff sighed. “I have to take the lady from the event office to the abandoned building right off the C Ski Lift. So she could scope it out for her party.”

“Is she pretty?”

“Is that relevant?”

“Go for it, man,” Andrew said, a knowing look plastered across his face.

Frankly, it was a bit humiliating; Andrew wasn’t the type to tease or make a fuss out of things like that. But in hindsight, Kristoff, himself, wasn’t the type to jump in and save the day for a stranger while he was on the clock.

And it had gone really well - at first. Sure, she’d said a few things that had indirectly insulted him and he’d been a little sharp with her, but it was abundantly clear that she meant no harm. Other than that, she was immensely grateful for his help - going as far as calling him a hero and rewarding him with a hug. Truth be told, he was looking forward to getting away from her as quickly as possible. Despite the fact that she was pretty and sweet, she was also the absolute last thing he needed in his life. His life was already pathetic and sad, and there was absolutely no reason to even attempt to get to know her when she’d inevitably leave just like everyone else did.

And then she enthusiastically told Bonnie that he had a hand in finding the new venue and his life changed in the blink of an eye. Not only would he have to step away from the job that he so desperately needed to be present for, but he’d also have to spend forty hours a week with her for months. And he was certain that it wasn’t the type of job where they could just sit around and mind their own business - he’d done a repair in the event office a few years prior and it was nothing but constant chatting the entire time he was there.

By the time he marched back into the ballroom that afternoon, a couple of his other coworkers had made it in and Andrew was giving them a rundown of what had happened and what the game plan was. Upon noticing that he returned, though, Andrew decided to stop what he was doing and inquire about his excursion.

“Hey, how did it go with your event planning girl?”

And at that point, despite the blazing inferno of anger inside of him, he couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. “Horrible. Absolutely horrible.”

Andrew chuckled nervously. “What happened? She turned you down?”

“Nope, I wasn’t even planning on asking her out,” he answered. “But I don’t work here anymore. Starting Monday, I report to the event planning office as her assistant.”

Andrew’s face fell. “Wait, what?”

“She told Bonnie that I helped her find the place and Bonnie decided to reward me for my good deed by shipping me upstairs.”

“Dude, we need you here. Do you see the state of this room?”

Kristoff shrugged. “I tried to tell that to Bonnie, but she didn’t care.”

“I’m going to talk to her,” Andrew insisted. “There’s not a chance in hell that we’re losing you so you could go sit in an office and plan a party.”

“Please,” he practically begged. “I really don’t want to be pulled away from this.”

Andrew nodded. “I’ll do whatever I can.”

But just as he expected, Andrew wasn’t able to get very far with Bonnie. She emphasized that he was needed in the event planning office, and that if the maintenance team needed extra hands, they could hire temporary employees - which was a*s backwards, if you asked him. It was totally illogical to hire several temps, when she only had to hire one assistant event planner, but he chalked it up to the fact that Andrew would be responsible for hiring the temps, not her.

So, he made a decision. He’d go in and begrudgingly do whatever they asked him to in the meantime - but he wasn’t going to make any promises. If another job popped up elsewhere and he was offered the position, he was going to take it without a second thought. Event planning office and Valley Ski Resort, be damned.

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

On Monday morning, Anna woke up before her alarm and laid in bed for what felt like an eternity, staring at the ceiling and trying to calm her racing heart. When her alarm finally went off, she crawled out of bed and started her day, meticulously applying her makeup and choosing nice clothes in an effort to create a better second impression. For the first time in two months, she was absolutely dreading going to work - a feeling that she hoped would pass with time, since she actually liked her job.

“Good morning,” she called upon entering the office, relieved to see that only Holly was there and Kristoff had not yet arrived.

“Morning, Anna,” Holly responded.

“How are you?”

“I’m okay. How about you?”

“Could be better.”

“I’m sorry,” Holly frowned. “Is it because of the new guy?”

“Yeah.” Anna closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. “I’m not looking forward to today. I actually feel a little sick to my stomach.”

“You do look a little green. I have an antacid if you want it.”

She shook her head. “No, it won’t do anything. I’m just anxious because I feel like I ruined someone’s life.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Anna. You can’t blame yourself.”

“Not only am I blaming myself, he’s blaming me too. He said as much.”

“He should be blaming Bonnie.”

“I know,” she sighed. “I feel really bad, though.”

“I know. But you have to remember that you were trying to do the right thing. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Holly assured her.

“Thanks, Holly.”

“And I may have some good news for you.”

Anna raised her eyebrows. “You do?”

“So, I know you said that you weren’t interested, but my husband and I went to dinner with a few of his work friends over the weekend and there’s this one guy who is, like, super single. I started talking about you, of course, and I showed him a picture of you, and he’s very interested in going on a date with you - if you want to, of course.”

“Really?”

Holly nodded. “Oh, yes. His name is Darren. He thinks you’re beautiful and I was telling him how you’re sweet and friendly, but kind of down on your luck right now for reasons I didn’t want to discuss, ahem.”

She smiled. “And?”

“He asked for your number. I didn’t give it to him because I wanted to check in and make sure that you were okay with it first - you know, because you specifically said that you didn’t want to be set up on a blind date - but I can send it to him right now if you want me to.”

“Sure,” Anna agreed with a nervous giggle. “You can give him my number.”

“Yes!” Holly cheered, pumping her fist in the air. “I was beyond convinced that you were going to say ‘no.’”

She shrugged. “It’s not like I have anything to lose.”

“That’s the spirit! You deserve to have a little fun! Don’t let a new job and a rude maintenance man get you down.”

As if on cue, the door to the office opened and both women turned toward it as Kristoff walked in.

“Hi,” Holly said before clearing her throat and standing up. “Kristoff, right?”

“Yup,” he answered shortly.

“I’m Holly Williams. I never had the chance to properly introduce myself last week.” She offered him her hand and he accepted, shaking for a moment. “And I’m sure you remember Anna.”

Anna gulped before squeaking out a simple greeting. “Hi.”

He didn’t bother to answer or even look in her direction.

“You can hang your coat up on the rack over there and then I’ll show you to your desk,” Holly said. They both watched as he shrugged out of his coat and hung it up before Holly led him to the desk at the back of the room that once belonged to Jenny. She pointed to a post-it note that was stuck to the border of the computer screen. “This is the login information for the computer, and I’m going to have an email account set up for you by the end of the day.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m sure you have some questions about what exactly your role is going to be.”

Anna glanced over, trying to gauge his mood and how he was reacting to all of this. Instead of answering Holly, he kept his eyes cast downward.

“So,” Holly started, once she’d come to the realization that he wasn’t going to answer. “You’ll be the assistant event planner. Um, basically you’ll be helping Anna host the rest of the events for the season, since the events have mostly been planned in advance. The primary event you’ll have to focus on is our annual ball -”

“I know about the party,” he said, cutting her off mid-sentence.

“Of course.” Holly clapped her hands together. “I heard that you were an integral part of finding our new venue.”

“Yup.”

“So, Anna is actually working on finalizing the guest list today, and the invitations have to be mailed out later this week. We’re expecting to have around five hundred invitations to send out, and you’ll be responsible for helping her with assembling the envelopes for mailing.”

“Okay.”

“Aside from that, you and Anna are going to have to work together on the rest of the planning. She’ll be able to explain what that entails. Oh, and I ordered new tables and chairs since all of the furniture in the ballroom was destroyed. The first few are going to be delivered this week, so you’ll have to make sure that they arrive at the new venue.”

“Okay.”

“Let me get you one of our event calendars,” Holly said, walking away from his desk and back to hers. “So you have an idea of what’s happening over the course of the next few months.”

Anna’s eyes trailed her silently as she made her way across the room and back. Holly handed him the paper and his eyes scanned the page.

“Do I have to be at all of these events?” Kristoff asked incredulously.

“Typically, yes,” Holly answered. “Unless you have some kind of prior obligation.”

He scoffed, tossing the paper onto the desk and shaking his head in disbelief. The two women exchanged a worried glance.

Holly cleared her throat. “I know this is probably going to be a bit of an adjustment for you, but it’ll only be for the next couple of months. So until April -”

“April?! I’ll be here until April?!”

“According to the email that Bonnie sent me, yes.”

“I thought I was supposed to stick around for the party and then go back to my regular job.”

“Well, Anna will be leaving in April so that’ll give Bonnie a considerable amount of time to fill both positions.”

“And hypothetically, if Bonnie isn’t able to fill those positions - what will happen to me? Will I just be stuck here?”

“I don’t know,” Holly answered with a sigh. “You’ll have to talk to Bonnie about that. But I understand that this has to be an incredibly difficult situation for you.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You could say that again.”

“How about you tell us a little bit about yourself? And then Anna and I will talk about ourselves.”

“I live here, I work here - there isn’t really much to it.”

Holly smiled. “Oh, did you grow up here?”

“Yup.”

“I did too! Did you go to Valley High School?”

“That’s the only high school here,” he muttered.

“When did you graduate? I graduated in oh-eight.”

“Fifteen.”

“Ooh, my husband started working there the year before. But he teaches freshmen, so you wouldn’t have had him.”

He smiled dryly. “Nice.”

“Anna, when did you graduate?” Holly asked, clearly trying to bring her into the conversation.

“Seventeen.”

“You’re the only one who was lucky enough to escape the woes of Valley High School.”

“That’s true,” she nodded. “I was homeschooled.”

“Lucky you,” he scoffed. “Valley sucks.”

Holly clicked her tongue. “It isn’t that bad.”

He rolled his eyes. “Speak for yourself.”

“It’s a small town high school, everyone knows everyone and there’s a lot of gossip,” Holly explained to Anna. “The stuff you go through there kind of follows you through life.”

“That’s unfortunate,” she remarked.

“One of my friends got pregnant junior year - her family literally had to move away because the whole town knew within a week and they wouldn't stop talking about them.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “So why do people stay?”

“Small town charm, friendly neighbors, more relaxed than a big city.”

“Or because they don’t have a choice,” Kristoff chimed in.

“That too,” Holly agreed. “Before the resort expanded, tourists only visited during the skiing season. This town relies on the revenue that tourists bring in order to stay afloat. I think there was a collective sigh of relief when we became a year-round tourist trap.”

Anna nodded sympathetically. “That’s good, at least -”

Holly’s phone rang then, interrupting the conversation. “Excuse me,” she said, strolling over to her desk.

Kristoff sighed. “So what am I supposed to be doing right now?”

“If you want, you can start stuffing the invitations into the envelopes,” Anna offered. “And once I finish the guest list, we can start sticking the addresses on.”

“Fine,” he agreed.

She took the box of invitations out from her desk drawer, walked them over to him and set the box on his desk. “Don’t worry about sealing them. We’ll do that another day.”

By the time she made it back to her desk, he was already looking at the invitations. “You realize that the wrong location is printed on these, right?”

“What?”

“The location is wrong,” he said, holding one up. “It says that the party is in the ballroom, not the new venue.”

“Oh god, I forgot about that,” she blurted, jumping up and grabbing the invitation from his hands. “No, no, no...”

“Now what?”

“I don’t know,” she confessed, biting her lip and glancing over at Holly, who was still on the phone. “It took a few weeks for these to get shipped to us, and I don’t know if we have enough time to order new ones and ship them out with enough time for the guests to respond. I don’t know what to do.”

“Great,” he huffed. “You really run a well-oiled machine around here.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, you just said you don’t know what you’re doing, didn’t you?”

“You seem to forget that a pipe burst and destroyed the ballroom on your watch on Friday,” she pointed out defensively. “It’s Monday.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Are you blaming me for a burst pipe?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Only if you’re blaming me for invitations that were printed before the pipe burst.”

“Look, all I’m saying is that if you’d have caught this three days ago, maybe you could’ve ordered new invitations.”

“You do realize that a lot of businesses are closed on weekends? That it probably wouldn’t have made a significant difference? Besides, we may not have the time to order new invitations and we may have to send these as-is. That’s my point.”

“The point is that you still don’t know what you’re doing.”

“And what would’ve happened if the pipe burst the day before the party? Hmm?”

“Why are you acting like I should know the answer to this?” he argued. “This is not my department. I’m only here because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut.”

She felt her jaw tense. “You know that’s not my fault.”

“Woah, what is happening?” Holly interjected loudly.

“The invitations have the wrong location on them and it’s my fault for not immediately catching it and ordering new ones after the pipe burst on Friday,” Anna explained, her blood practically boiling. “Oh, and I don’t know what I’m doing because I’m too busy running my mouth. Not because of the wrench in our plans, but because I talk too much.”

“I didn’t say that,” he hissed.

“Yes you did! When you blamed me, yet again, for something that Bonnie did. I didn’t ask for you to come work with us.”

“You’re the one that told her that I found the venue!”

“You did find it and I was trying to be nice,” she growled. “Something that you seem to be incapable of.”

“Don’t forget that you just blamed me for a burst pipe. What should I have done? Put some duct tape over it?”

“You know, this could’ve gone so differently if you had kept your mouth closed on Friday. You’re the one who told me about the new venue, remember?”

“Okay, enough,” Holly stated firmly. “Kristoff - it is not Anna’s fault that you got transferred here, and the situation with the invitations is not her fault, either. Anna - it’s not Kristoff’s fault that the pipe burst and we’re happy that he found a new venue for us. I already have one baby at home and I’m not interested in coming to work and taking care of two more. This is an office, not a boxing ring or a debate stage.”

The silence that came after Holly spoke was deafening; the only noise in the entire room was the sound of their collective breathing and the heaters running.

When things had cooled off slightly, Holly piped up again. “Now here’s what’s going to happen - we’re going to send out the invitations as-is, but we’re going to stuff the envelopes with information about the location change. On the day of, we’ll put signs out all over the lobby and we’ll have someone wait by the ballroom to direct people to the new venue - I’ll do it myself if I have to.”

“That’s a good idea,” Anna agreed, exhaling with relief.

“The deadline to RSVP is by mid-January, and the invitations take three weeks to order so we can’t order new ones. We wouldn’t be giving the guests enough time to get back to us.”

“Told you,” Anna gloated, smiling smugly in Kristoff’s direction.

He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, but didn’t argue back. After a moment of sulking, he sat up and started on the task in front of him.

The rest of the day passed without incident and with minimal noise. Anna and Holly repeatedly exchanged glances with each other and tried to avoid talking like they would’ve on a normal day, though there were a few slips - specifically when Darren texted her to introduce himself.

“Look who texted me,” Anna said, pushing her chair over to Holly’s desk with her feet and holding out her phone.

Holly squinted at the device before squealing. “That’s so exciting! You’d better say ‘yes’ when he asks you out.”

“I’m going to,” she giggled. “Obviously.”

“This is really so great,” Holly smiled. “I’m so happy for you.”

On her way back to her desk, she noticed that Kristoff was looking in her direction through the corners of his eyes but she did her best to pretend like she didn’t see it and went about the rest of her day.

“It’s five,” Kristoff spoke up finally, after literal hours of silence. “Can I go now?”

“Of course,” Holly nodded. “Let me walk you to the elevator.”

He looked less than thrilled at the idea, but nevertheless, grabbed his coat and held the door open for Holly to follow behind him without uttering a goodbye. Anna eagerly awaited Holly’s return, knowing that she’d finally be able to talk freely now that he was gone.

She barely waited for Holly to close the door behind her before asking, “Did you say something to him?”

“I told him that he needs to stop being a d*ck or he’ll be out of a job,” Holly answered matter-of-factly. “We don’t have time for arguments.”

She cringed. “I know, I’m sorry.”

“To be clear, I’m not blaming you for what happened earlier. I told him that we understand that he’s angry, but he’s stuck with us whether he likes it or not. Picking fights with you isn’t going to solve any of that.”

“I don’t want to fight with him,” she confessed. “I don’t want to fight with anyone.”

“I know.”

“I don’t know if I can work with someone who hates me. It was so easy to get along with you and Jenny.”

“Oh, honey, I really don’t think he hates you.”

“Did you forget the part where he ignored me, then got into an argument with me, then didn’t speak for the rest of the day?”

“I think he’s angry and conflicted, but I don’t think he hates you. If he hated you, he wouldn’t have shown up today.”

“He doesn’t have a choice about not showing up - he needs a job.”

“My point is that I don’t think you’re the problem here. Just a few days ago he was willing to help you for no reason. If his first impression of you was that bad, he wouldn’t have done that.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “He didn’t know me then and I practically had to beg him to help me.”

“He still doesn’t know you, technically,” Holly pointed out. “You’ve only spent eight hours together and most of it was in silence.”

“Yeah, but he knows that I ruined his life and that’s a great reason to hate someone.”

“He’ll come around. You’re a very likeable person.”

“I doubt it,” Anna mumbled.

“Keep your chin up,” Holly said. “Everything is going to be fine. We have a new venue, the problem with the invitations was caught with time to spare, and you’re going on a date with Darren. By the end of this week, you may be the happiest girl on the planet.”

She exhaled. “You’re right. Everything is going to be fine.”

“See? You just have to stay positive. Now let’s wrap things up, it’s been a long day,” Holly directed, scribbling down some information on a post-it note. “Oh, and don’t forget that tomorrow’s Tuesday. It’s just going to be you and Kristoff all day.”

And just like that, the tiny bit of hope that had started to brew inside of her popped like a bubble pressed up against a thorn.

Of course, the following morning started off less than smoothly. Her alarm didn’t go off, so she woke up late and got a late start to the day, which meant she’d have to forego looking halfway decent in order to make it in on time - no makeup and a messy bun, it was. She ran around her cabin, gathering her belongings and trying to make sure that she’d have everything she would need for the day before jetting off, hoping that it wasn’t some sort of bad omen.

By the time she actually made it to work, Kristoff was leaning up against the wall outside of the office, his arms crossed over his chest and a pinched expression on his face.

“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting,” she said breathlessly, as she fumbled through her purse for the keys to the office. “I’m usually early.”

“It’s okay.”

He didn’t really seem to care, but she continued to explain herself nonetheless. “Holly doesn’t work on Tuesdays or Thursdays, and this is my first time here without her or Jenny. I’ve never had to use my keys before.”

“Oh.”

She finally managed to find the keys in her mess of a bag, promptly unlocked the door and pushed it open before stepping aside and holding out her arm. “After you.”

“Thanks,” he said skeptically, walking into the dark office.

Anna flipped the lights on before closing the door behind her. “Holly left a note on your desk with your email and temporary password. You can log on and change the password and we’ll cc you in our emails.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to run downstairs and grab a cup of coffee,” she said, deciding to be nice at the last possible second. “Do you want anything?”

Her offer actually invoked a reaction from him for the first time that day - he definitely seemed a bit startled by it. “Um...no thanks.”

“Alright. I’ll be right back.”

She made a mad dash for the coffee shop on the first floor, grateful that there was no line. The last thing she needed was to look like she was intentionally trying to avoid him or slacking or doing some other negative thing that he could run to Bonnie with in an attempt to get her into trouble. As soon as the cup was in her hands, she returned to the office, where Kristoff seemed to be patiently waiting for further instruction.

She cleared her throat and set the cup down on her desk. “So, you finished stuffing all of the envelopes yesterday, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, Holly had the location cards printed out overnight,” she said, grabbing the large stack of papers from the printer. “You’ll just have to cut them into the appropriate size and then stuff them into the envelopes.”

“I have to cut all of these by hand?” he whined, his face falling.

“We have a g*illotine,” she assured him, trying to remain calm. “It’ll make the process a lot easier.”

“You have a what?”

His reaction made her giggle. “Oh, sorry. Holly and I call it a g*illotine. I don’t know what the actual name of it is, but it’s basically an industrial paper cutter. I’ll get it for you.”

The g*illotine was stored in the closet, so she walked over and retrieved the heavy tool, staying weary of the bl*de. She placed it on his desk with a thud.

“Now I see why you call it a g*illotine.”

“Right?! Okay, so you may have to stand up to do this - I know I do,” she said, picking up a few of the papers. When he stood up, she demonstrated. “So basically, you slide the paper under the little guard and then you line it up with the grid to make sure it’s straight. Then, you just pull the bl*de down and voila, you have a bunch of cut up papers with minimal effort.”

“Seems easy enough.”

“Just make sure that you hold the paper against the grid while you’re cutting or they’ll come out crooked. And be careful - we can always print out more of the location cards, but we can’t replace your fingers so easily.”

He let out an amused snort. “Okay.”

She smiled to herself as she sat down at her desk, grateful that it seemed to be going much better than the previous day; they were getting along for the time being and there was no hostility or tension. They both worked quietly, and though Anna missed the constant chatting like when Holly was around, she had no idea what she could possibly talk to Kristoff about. So, the sound of the bl*de scraping against the side of the g*illotine and her typing were the primary sounds that filled the otherwise silent space.

The day went by at a snail pace, but when five o’clock finally came and they’d managed to survive the day without an argument, she admittedly felt quite triumphant. She looked forward to updating Holly about how the day had gone, especially since Holly had insisted that she stay positive.

“Have a nice day,” she said, as he was pulling on his coat. “See you tomorrow.”

“You too,” he replied, offering her a half-smile.

I can do this, she thought to herself as she watched him leave. If it stays like this for the next five months, I can do this.

#my writing

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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 5 years

Text

Witness : 16

A Painful Truth

moodboard created by @chuuulip

Character(s): dark!Bucky, later dark!Steve, too

Warnings: this is a dark!fic, it contains non/dubious-consent elements. Some violence as well at the beginning. It goes without (and with) that this is 18+.

Summary: Bucky answers some questions.

Notes: I am reposting this fic here. It was originally on ao3 but now it’s on tumblr too! If you read, I love feedback and would love any comments you have. And if you can, please share! Anyhow, enjoy :)

You thought about sneaking out before Steve could catch you but he was painfully punctual. Right as you were due to leave he appeared before your desk expectantly and you forced a smile as you packed up your purse and shut down your computer. A bruise had darkened around the gash on your leg and throbbed with each step but you tried to ignore it for the nuisance of the man beside you.

“How’s the leg?” Steve asked as you stepped onto the elevator.

“Still in tact,” You replied, glancing down at the band-aid. “Thanks, again. You really don’t have to drive me.”

“I want to,” He smiled, subtly moving closer so that his arm was almost touching yours. “Better than the subway, isn’t it?”

“Anything’s better than the subway,” You grumbled and he chuckled.

“Unfortunately, I can’t do this everyday, duty calls and all that,” The doors dinged and he waited for you to exit ahead of him. You swore to yourself as you felt his eyes on your backside. Damn Bucky and this stupid tight skirt. “Got a mission coming up in a few days.”

“Oh, yeah?” You humoured him awkwardly. You weren’t really sure what to say to the man. The first time you had seen him in person he had killed someone. You couldn’t help but think about him pointing a gun at you. Like Bucky had...did Steve know too? Was this some game?

“I could lend you my car--”

“No, please, it’s already too much. I’ll manage,” You interrupted him as he led you down the steps into the parking garage,

He led you to a shiny black car, opening the door for you with gallantry not witnessed since his heyday. You slipped inside and he closed the door. You suddenly felt trapped. He climbed in next to you and started the car, the engine whispering as he reversed out of his spot and smoothly made his way to the gates.

“You can just punch your address into the GPS,” He opened up the program on the console with one hand as the other steered out onto the street. “Do you live far?”

“Not really, but traffic,” You typed in your address warily. You only then realized that this whole arrangement included him knowing where you lived. You hit enter and leaned back in your seat, peeking over at him. He didn’t look like a murderer. Nor did he look like he meant to hurt you. He was just doing you a favour...but why?

“You from New York?” He asked, his blue eyes lost in the cars ahead of him.

“No, I moved here for university and just kind of stayed,” You replied, looking out the window to keep yourself from staring. The situation became all the more surreal as you thought about it.

“Oh, university? What’d you take?” His curiosity was unsettling. Did he really want to know about you or was he laying some trap? Jesus, Bucky had made you entirely paranoid. No! You had a right to be cautious. This man’s best friend had invaded your life and put you through hell.

“History, then a masters in Library Science,” You tried to keep your voice steady. You recalled your naive years spent in post-secondary purgatory. Back then this man had still been on ice. He was still known as the Nazi-punching first avenger, but what was he now? A ruthless mercenary who sold his honour. “Boring I know. And useless. Don’t really need a degree to do temp work.”

“New York is hard. This world is hard. In my day--” He stopped, laughing at himself, “Well my day is well and gone. It’s all money now. These days, a bill can buy you just about anything. In a way, it’s more complicated than it was but in other ways, it’s so much simpler.”

You glanced over as his voice sharpened and were unsettled by the smirk on his face. He looked at you as he came to a stop at the light, his eyes flicking without shame to your chest and back up. You pulled your sweater forward and turned back to the window. The computerized voice of the GPS chimed and you clasped your hands together on your lap. “It is what it is,” You said wistfully, “I make due.”

“That’s what I like about you,” He turned onto your street, stopping just outside your parking lot, “You’re a hard worker.”

“Uh, thanks, I...try,” You swiped up your purse from the floor and pulled the door handle, “Thanks,” You kept the handle halfway, preparing to bolt from the car. “For the ride.”

“No problem,” He stretched his arm across the back of your seat and you gulped. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning. What time do you usually leave?”

“Um, around eight,” You pushed the door open and shoved one foot out, “Anyway, I’ll let you go.” You stepped out before he could get any closer, “See ya.” You closed the door and smiled as you waved at him through the window. You spun on your heel, trying to keep a calm pace, as you set off towards your building. You heard him finally drive off as you reached the door, looking back to make sure he was really gone.

Somehow you weren’t surprised to find Bucky waiting for you. He was sat in the armchair he so favoured, scrolling lazily on his phone when you entered. He glanced over his shoulder as you set aside your purse and sat across from him on the couch. You crossed your arms, waiting for whatever is was he had in mind. He tucked away his phone and smiled at you.

“How was your ride?” He asked sweetly.

“Quick,” You answered curtly. “What was I suppose to do? I tried saying no but--”

“It’s fine,” He said evenly. “Really, I don’t mind. Steve is...Steve. He’s not going to let up.”

“But…” You thought back to the day he had seen Steve speaking to you in the cafe and what had followed. “You said--”

“You asked me before why you?” He interjected, “I’ve wondered the same. Shit, you should be long gone by now. I’ve killed others for less. They never weighed on my mind. Never gave it a second thought. It was duty; self-preservation.” He leaned on one arm, his eyes fixed on you as you listened in confusion. You were used to the sharp, decisive super soldier with the short orders and cruel snarl. “I watched you for a while. A whole week. I should’ve dealt with you in the first day but, well, it’s hard to explain.” His eyes were distant, his eyes clouded with memories. “Life goes by in a flash. I was kept alive for sixty years; under control, brainwashed, but I was alive. When I woke up, I hated what they had done but then I thought about it. Like, really thought about it.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, “If Hydra hadn’t kept me for so long I would’ve died in that war. It would’ve been a sad life to end there. What did I ever do but what was expected? My parents expected good grades so I studied hard and when the war came, well, I didn’t want to sign my own death warrant. They forced my hand, I was drafted. I would have just been another boy bleeding for a flag.

“I hate what Hydra did to me, but I’m still thankful that they kept me alive. They gave me what I needed to survive. To live, today. And well, I’ve done the same for you. I could’ve killed you weeks ago, but it just didn’t feel right. After watching you in this life,” He looked around your apartment, “Sometimes, we need control. You need control, you see? Otherwise, what would you be doing right now? Ordering in a dinner for one so you can sit alone and watch some pointless drama. Fuck, that’s the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.” He stood and sighed, sitting beside you, his arm around your waist as he drew you closer. “Y/N, I’m saving your life. I’m giving you something more than a desk and a one-room apartment. I’m giving you what you’re too afraid to admit you want. That you need.” He spoke in your ear, dragging his lips across your cheek. A shiver went down your spine as you listened. Was it embarrassment or epiphany? Was he right? Well, he was about your life being boring but you couldn’t quite agree that he was doing you any sort of favour.

You thought about before he had become a fixture of your world. When you had worked your nine to fives and come home to an empty apartment. You had your hang outs with Allie but she had become increasingly tied up with her flings. You had never minded solace so much but maybe you just hadn’t noticed because you had nothing to compare it to. How long had it been since your last relationship? When had everything become so grey?

“I’m giving you a second chance to live the life you've always wanted.” His hand was on your thigh, pressing against the thin fabric of of your skirt. “And, as for Steve, I’ll let him have his fun because we both know who you belong to,” His fingers bunched your skirt, pulling the hem higher and higher. “Just don’t forget your rules,” His hand slid under your skirt, running along your panties, “No lying. You tell me everything.”

You were trembling as the heat gathering below his hand, radiating where his fingers had trailed along your thigh. The swirl of his words and touch were overwhelming as you tried to keep your bearing. “Y-yes, sir,” You stuttered as he pushed your panties aside, toying with you as he nuzzled against your neck.

He removed his hand and sat straight, staring you down. “Show me,” He said, “Show me that you understand what I’m doing for you, Y/N.”

Your lips fell open, the blush burning at your cheeks. You were stunned as the flutter tickled your pelvis and you pressed your legs together to stifle the sudden yearning. You wanted his hand back between your thighs, you wanted him to touch you. No, you didn’t. Did you? It was an overwhelming feeling, as if you were watching yourself from above. Your mind had been completely disembodied and what was left was a blind, carnal shell. Everything was happening in a haze.

You tilted your head and stood, turned to Bucky and pushed his knees apart. You knelt before him, running your hands up the thighs of his jeans. He smirked, spreading his arms across the back of the couch. You bit your tongue as your eyes widened, your mind reeling at your own actions. You slowly undid the button of his fly and pulled down his zipper. He shifted as you tugged at the elastic of his briefs and his erection sprung forth easily. You traced a finger down his shaft and he shuddered. You gripped him firmly, slowly stroking him as his head lolled back. You looked up as he sighed in pleasure and your own began to pluck at your core. You licked your lips as you leaned forward, resting your weight on his legs as you took the head of his cock in your mouth. You moistened the tip, slowly making your way down his shaft. As you reached your limit, you tried to pull back.

Bucky’s hand caught the back of your head, forcing you to take more of him. “Show me.” He repeated. You breathed through your nose, loosening your throat as you tried to accommodate his length. When at last you had taken all of him, he let go of you and you began to bob your head up and down, his groans adding to the fire licking at your thighs. Your own moans were added to the sinful melody as you gasped around his cock. You picked up speed, desperate to be free to catch your breath. You brought your hand up to aid your mouth, hoping to ease the strain on your throat and bring him to a quicker end. His hand knotted in your hair and he was panting heavily. He guided your head and he grunted, his orgasm quick and sloppy, his cum filling your mouth and leaking down his shaft. Finally, he released you as you sat back and wiped your lips as you rose shakily to find the sink.

“Ah,” He caught your wrist, “No. Swallow it.” Your mouth was full of his lukewarm cum and you stared at him, your other hand over your lips. You dropped your hand and willed yourself to swallow, careful not to gag. You opened your mouth to show him that you had obeyed. “Good girl.” He let go of you, patted the cushion beside him and tucked his cock back into his briefs, “Your turn.”

#dark!bucky #dark!bucky barnes #dark bucky #dark bucky barnes #dark!fic #mcu #marvel #series #fic #witness #au #darkverse #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fic #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader

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mdelpin · 4 years

Text

The Red Dragon - Chapter 23

AO3 | FF.Net | Tumblr: Ch1 | Ch22 @ao3feed-gratsu

After Natsu had left him without any explanation, Gray had spent all of his free time searching the woods for any signs of him. He could feel through their bond that Natsu wasn’t far, but no matter how hard he looked, he could never seem to find the elusive dragon slayer.

He’d even ventured towards the dragon slayers cave once, figuring Natsu must surely be there, but he lost his courage when he heard the noises coming from inside. Loud roars and heavy dragging sounds accompanied by scuffles, obviously belonging to multiple creatures, led him to believe some of the dragons might have returned as well. An image of Atlas covered in hellfire was all he needed to turn himself back around.

He was having a hard time cataloging his emotions. On the one hand, he now knew for a fact that his mate was alive, and that made him incredibly relieved. On the other, he was frustrated that he had no idea what was going on. Why was Natsu hiding from him? Where had he gone? More importantly, and the one question that kept him up at night, what had happened to make Natsu so reticent and full of despair?

His mind, which had already been filled with questions relating to his missing memories, was now even more overloaded, and a part of him began to wonder if the two things could somehow be connected. He’d heard a voice when he’d woken up in the field, a familiar voice that had asked for his forgiveness. Could that have been Natsu?

The uncertainty continued to gnaw at him, and after a particularly long day of training and patroling, he found himself drawn to the lake. It wasn’t a place he often visited, much preferring their field, but it was peaceful, so he sat down and stared out at the water while his fingers did their usual dance with the fringes of Natsu’s scarf. He had no idea how long he’d been sitting there when he felt someone sit next to him.

He didn’t bother glancing to see who it was, automatically assuming it was Lyon. Gray had made the mistake of telling him everything that had happened between him and Natsu during the summer solstice, thinking that Lyon would be happy for him.

He now had undeniable proof that Natsu was alive, but Lyon had been furious. He was determined that Natsu had used him and then disappeared, adamantly refusing to listen to any of Gray’s claims to the contrary.

It was only in the last few days that they’d begun to talk again, but it was still awkward, and he was too tired to deal with it now, so he remained silent.

“I see you’ve found my thinking spot,” Erza remarked, smiling at him warmly when he startled at her words.

“It’s nice here,” Gray replied simply.

“It is,” Erza agreed, working her hair into a ponytail as the wind began to work at it, “I like to come here to think about my mom.”

“It’s hard not to know, isn’t it?”

Gray nodded, absently playing with his scarf once again.

Erza studied him briefly before asking in a kind voice, “Does Natsu know how you feel about him?”

She chuckled as he blinked at her, his features settling into a shocked expression before blurting out, “Did Lyon tell you?”

“No, Lyon would never betray your confidence, not even to me,” Erza assured him, remaining quiet for a few moments, eyebrows furrowing in thought before finally explaining.

“When I saw how upset you were when Natsu left, I first thought the two of you had become very close friends. After all this time, though, the only reason I could think of for you to continue carrying on this way was if you were in love with him. Then it was just a question of thinking back to how you acted around him.”

Erza’s eyes twinkled at his bewildered expression, and she asked again, “So, does he know? “

Gray thought about denying it, but the truth was now that he knew Natsu was alive; he saw no point in it, “He does.”

“I don’t understand why you felt the need to hide it, it’s not like you’re the only ones. Sting and Rogue, my mother and Anna, and I’ve seen a few other couples around town. There’s no shame in it.”

“You mom and Anna?” Gray thought back to another time they’d sat at the lake, suddenly understanding what Erza had been trying to tell him. “I didn’t realize.”

He thought about how to explain his feelings in a way that would make sense, but he knew a lot of it had been stupid superstition on his part, “We’d just gotten together before he left. We never got a chance to discuss it, and then I felt like if others knew, he might not make it back. It was stupid.”

Erza grabbed his hand and squeezed it sympathetically, “No, I understand that quite well, actually. I’m sorry for all the Juvia business,” her expression was sheepish as she apologized, “I just wanted you to come alive again, but I should have talked to you instead of trying to force something on you that you clearly didn’t want.”

“It’s fine,” Gray dismissed her apology, now that Juvia was content to be his friend he’d rather not remember how things used to be between them.

“I was, uhm, actually looking for you,” Erza stammered nervously, “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Erza’s cheeks rivaled her hair, and that alone was enough to grab Gray’s interest. Erza rarely acted this way, so he assumed whatever she wanted to talk to him about must be related to his brother.

“Lyon asked me to marry him last night.”

“He did?! That’s amazing, when’s the wedding?” Gray managed an honest smile for his friend, pleased that his brother had finally gotten the balls to ask her and surprised that he hadn’t mentioned it.

“I told him I needed some time,” Erza blushed again, “I wanted to make sure you were okay with it before I gave him my answer. I know you need him right now, and I don’t want to get in the way of that.”

Gray was incredibly touched by the gesture, but it made him sad to think that the two people closest to him would put their own future on hold for his sake.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you never know what’s going to happen. If you get a chance at happiness you need to grab it before it can be wrested away from you. I know you know that too.”

“I’ve known Lyon most of my life, and I’ve never seen him as happy as he is when he’s with you.”

Erza tried to hide her smile, but it shone through all the way to her eyes, “Thank you.”

Gray enveloped her in a heartfelt hug, “I hope he makes you as happy as you do him.”

“He does,” Now that she was sure of her decision, Erza’s entire face radiated joy, and Gray could feel some of it rubbing off on him.

Erza was a beautiful woman, both inside and out, with a will of steel and a heart big enough to hold the entire town in. Lyon really was quite lucky, and Gray was pleased for him.

“And if he ever gets out of line, I will gladly beat him up for you,” Gray cracked his knuckles in demonstration.

“I can handle that myself,” Erza replied, eyes blazing with confidence.

“Oh, I know, but it would be fun for me,” Gray laughed, the first real one he’d managed in weeks. He’d been debating whether to tell her about seeing Natsu or not, but now that they were sort of having a moment, he felt she should know. The dragonslayers had been her friends first, after all.

Gray peered down at his hands, not sure how Erza was going to react to what he was about to say. “I uhm, I saw Natsu a few weeks ago.”

“You did?” Erza’s excitement was unmistakable, “Were the others with him? Are they okay? Did he say anything about my mom?”

“I couldn’t get much of anything out of him before he took off again,” Gray admitted, “Only that the others are all alive, but I think some of them might be hurt. He uh, he had a lot of scars, some of them looked pretty bad.” He could hear the way his voice was trembling, and this time it was Erza who was hugging him.

“Natsu is strong, it’s not just his magic, it’s his will,” Erza reminded him, “No matter what he has to go through, he will find his way back to you in the end. I know it.”

“And when he does, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind,” Erza fumed comically, “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me that date was with you!”

And in the blink of an eye, she beamed at him, “He did say it was perfect, though!”

Gray could only marvel at her response, but it was enough to lift his spirits somewhat. Erza was right. Something was obviously going on with Natsu that he needed to sort out before he could return to Talos for good. As much as it irked Gray to be kept out of it, he would just have to trust that Natsu knew what he was doing. He just wished the idiot wasn’t so reckless, though.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching the sunset, neither one noticing Lyon watching them from a distance, a pleased smile on his lips at seeing the two people he loved the most sharing a moment.

0-0

The Village Guard had spent a lot of time and resources on putting the village back together after the attack of the black dragon. In doing so, they had neglected some of their regular duties. That, coupled with the decrease of the number of red dragons in the area due to the war, had allowed the Vulcan population to grow unchecked, which in turn had begun to attract larger predators, hungry for a substantial meal.

More and more Gray and the others spent their time tracking and hunting Vulcans, trying to keep their numbers away from Talos, but no matter how many they killed, more seemed to show up in ever greater numbers.

Gray and Juvia were patrolling the area near the mountains. Gray was only half listening to Juvia chatter on about how beautiful the colors of the changing leaves were when he heard a loud noise through the trees, getting closer at a fast rate.

A group of Vulcans ran towards them, and Gray and Juvia readied to fight, but the Vulcans raced past, paying them no mind as they screeched in palpable fear.

That’s when Gray heard the much more disturbing noise, as a giant creature flew past them, the flapping of its mighty wings causing some of the colorful leaves to fall prematurely from the trees. To their horror, both recognized the shape of a dragon flying overhead towards the town.

Without a word, both mages raced toward Talos, hoping to get there in time to help the other guards fight off the creatures, with Gray creating a trail of ice to speed up their progress. He tracked the dragon’s flight, noticing it was smaller than the sampling of red dragons he had seen.

There was no time to heed his growing fear, all he could think about was reaching Lyon in time. He tried to attack the Vulcans with some of his ice spells to attempt to distract them or, at the very least, redirect them away from Talos, but they were moving too erratically.

Soon Talos came into view, and he heard the alarm going off. The town engaged in the type of chaos that can only be created by people who are in a state of panic. Adults collected children, dragging them to the guard headquarters, which was the safest place in the village. Guards running towards the town entrance donning weapons and regrouping at the request of Erza’s barked orders.

Gray and Juvia finally entered the village and took their places next to the other mages. All their regular fighters engaged the Vulcans even as the dragon loomed overhead. Gray could feel eyes on him and turned to see both Lyon and Erza watching him worriedly.

The sound of a child’s scared cries was followed by Anna screaming out a name in desperation. Gray’s eyes widened when he spied a young boy, one he vaguely remembered seeing running around town, outside the town’s walls.

Memories of Isvan clamored for his attention, but he refused to let them paralyze him. Without a thought to his own safety, he ran towards the boy, wanting to protect him as his parents had done for him. He could hear Lyon, Erza, and Juvia screaming out his name, but he kept running.

He peered up at the dragon, seeing it had begun to dive towards the boy, its talons searching for the tender flesh. Gray molded an ice bow, using it to shoot arrow after arrow at the creature, but with what almost passed as a grin, the dragon opened its mouth and unleashed an attack with his breath weapon, and Gray found himself on the receiving end of his own element.

He managed to tackle the boy, covering him with his body while creating a cocoon of ice around them to try to deflect as much of the attack as he could. He could hear Lyon screaming his name, right before molding his snow dragon to fight against the ice dragon. The fear in his voice making Gray wince guiltily.

Checking on the boy and finding him unhurt, Gray dispelled his ice, grabbing him in his arms and running back through the entrance as fast as he could. He peered at the sky, wanting to know where the dragon was and seeing Erza hovering in mid-air, requipped into her Heaven’s Wheel armor, one of her prettier ones in his opinion. A large circle of swords surrounding her, all pointing toward the dragon.

Juvia was also attacking the dragon with her water slicer spell, but none of their attacks seemed to be doing anything. Gray got the boy back to Anna, who hugged him so tightly in her relief, he almost collapsed to the ground.

He watched with dismay as the dragon readied his breath weapon against Erza, who was in the middle of requipping to a different armor. He attempted to scream out a warning, but before he could open his mouth, he was distracted by a red blur that was advancing at an alarming pace.

He blinked his eyes quickly, trying to get a better look at the object which had materialized into a red dragon, one that placed itself in between the ice dragon and Erza.

“Move back!” the dragon growled at Erza, who looked as perplexed as Gray felt, although she complied, coming down to stand by Lyon, who was checking her frantically for any injuries even as she waved him away.

The red dragon butted heads with the ice dragon, his arms reaching out to grapple with the smaller dragon. He breathed a cone of fire into his face hot enough to make the ice dragon howl in pain.

“The Dragon King has decreed this village and all the humans in it to be under the protection of the red dragons,” the red dragon hissed, “Leave, now.”

Although the dragon had not uttered a threat, the implication was unmistakable.

Lyon, Gray, Juvia, and Erza stared at each other in shock, trying to understand what was happening.

The ice dragon didn’t seem pleased with the outcome of his attack. However, it backed down against the might of the more massive dragon, grabbing one of the Vulcans that were still fighting the other guards in its talons before flying off in the opposite direction, the Vulcan still struggling and screeching in its grasp. The red dragon followed them, flying away from Talos without speaking another word.

Juvia’s eyes were glued to the red dragon, her mouth open in disbelief.

“What is it?” Lyon asked.

“That’s the same dragon that fought the black dragon,” Juvia announced.

“Are you sure, Juvia?” Erza asked.

Juvia nodded, “Juvia is sure, it had the same scars. That is the dragon that saved Gray and took him away.”

Gray could feel a headache coming on, he still refused to believe what had happened, attributing it to Juvia’s overactive imagination, even though he had no other explanation for how he had gotten to the field while injured.

“What did he mean about the Dragon King?” Lyon wondered out loud.

Gray shrugged, suddenly feeling overcome by exhaustion as all his actions in the last twenty minutes caught up to him. He allowed himself to collapse where he stood, and the others did the same.

“I have no idea,” Erza replied, her brow furrowed in thought, “but it seems I was correct in my assumptions, the red dragons have been protecting Talos all these years, and now it seems like they are back.”

“Are you alright, Gray?” Juvia asked, noticing he’d withdrawn from the conversation.

“Just great,” he responded with a definite edge to his voice.

“This could be good news,” Erza remarked, “If the dragons have returned, maybe the others will too.”

“Let’s hope so,” Lyon said before lying back on the grass with a groan, “I hate to admit it, but that red dragon has saved our asses twice now. Ugh, it’s not even noon, and I’m already exhausted.”

Erza and Juvia agreed that it was indeed lucky that the dragon had interceded on their behalf.

The others continued their chatter, and Gray ignored them, lost in his own thoughts. Natsu had said most of the dragons were gone from this world, yet they had seen more dragons in Talos since the dragon slayers had left to fight in the war than ever before.

Natsu had clearly said that his wounds had been caused by other people. What did that mean? Had he been fighting those renegade dragonslayers that he’d talked about before he left? Is that why he’d had to go again, were they still fighting? But if that were true, then why were the dragons back? No matter how much Gray analyzed the little information he had, it made no sense to him. Could Natsu be trying to protect him somehow? Was he afraid those same renegade dragon slayers would follow him to Talos?

Then there was Juvia’s observation. As much as he wanted to deny it, Gray couldn’t help but think that the red dragon had information he wanted, no needed. If it had fought in the war, which seemed likely given its scars, maybe he had information about Natsu.

If nothing else, maybe the dragon could tell him why he had ended up in the field and who else had been there with him. The idea of searching for the dragon was not one he was very keen on, but he was tired of having only questions. Besides, it had said all the people who lived in Talos were under the protection of the red dragons, so he should have nothing to fear. Right?

0-0

As rational as his little pep talk had sounded in his head, it still took Gray several days to get the courage to go looking for the mysterious red dragon. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t terrified.

No matter how many times he conjured up images of Happy embracing Natsu to try to soothe him; or reminded himself that the dragon had said they were all under its protection, he still couldn’t help but think that what he was doing was insane.

Dragons killed people. He knew that better than anyone. Thoughts of Happy were quickly replaced by images of Deliora and Atlas, and he almost turned back, but then he remembered the despair in Natsu’s eyes and let that image bolster his resolve. Natsu trusted the red dragons, and so he would try to as well.

He arrived at the beginning of the path the dragon slayers had traveled daily, taking a deep breath before following it up the mountain. He strained his ears, trying to pick up any noise that might tell him where the dragon might be and hoping against hope that he wouldn’t be inside the cave with the others. Gray wasn’t sure he could handle that.

It was a crisp fall day, full of sunshine and cold weather, the combination making for a pleasant hike with breathtaking views of the changing foliage below. He continued climbing until he reached a path he wasn’t familiar with.

After some deliberation, he decided to follow it, curious as to where it led. He followed the path for about thirty minutes through increasingly rougher terrain, almost deciding to turn around when he found what looked to be an entrance to a cave, complete with a large ledge that jutted out from the side of the mountain. On this ledge lay a sizeable red dragon who appeared to be sleeping in the sun, much like a regular lizard.

Gray wasn’t dumb enough to wake it, so he decided to sit down on a flat rock, as far away as the ledge allowed and wait for the dragon to wake on its own. He examined the creature from the safety of his spot, fascinated by the number of scars that littered the parts of its body that he could see, several looking severe enough to be life-threatening. He could instantly see why Juvia would recognize it. Once seen, those scars were not easily forgotten.

This was a dragon that had been in many fights. The fact that he had managed to survive them all spoke of his fierceness and determination. Or maybe like his mate, he was just too stubborn to know when to give up. The thought brought a wry smile to Gray’s face that was quickly followed by a longing so intense it almost made him cry out.

The dragon shifted in his sleep, muttering uncomfortably, and for a moment, Gray thought he saw a red glow coming from the dragon’s claws, but he soon forgot all about it as a sense of peace soothed away his previous distress.

He shifted slightly, trying to keep his limbs from falling asleep in case he had to make a quick escape. His body tensing as the dragon moved once again. This time opening its eyes and sniffing the air before scrambling into an upright position with a speed that was almost comical. Until you remembered it was a giant dragon.

Its bright green eyes fixed on Gray as it remarked gruffly, “What are you doing here?”

Gray’s mouth dried up, and his mind immediately went blank, his initial courage disappearing as he began considering his life choices. That was until he felt a warmth on his chest and looked down to see that his necklace was glowing brightly, something he’d never noticed it do before.

What the hell?

That was enough to break him from his panicked state. Gray noticed the dragon staring at his necklace with interest.

“Why is it doing that?” Gray asked, somehow knowing that the dragon would know.

“I have no idea,” the dragon responded, but he looked away, making Gray think he wasn’t being entirely truthful.

“Well, it’s never done it before,” Gray insisted.

The dragon remained silent, but its eyes never left Gray.

Gray was beginning to get irritated, “I wanted to thank you for saving my friend the other day,” he managed through clenched teeth, wanting to work his way up to his real questions.

“I didn’t do it for you,” the dragon shrugged, “as I said, Talos is under our protection. Why are you really here?”

“What is your problem?” Gray snapped testily.

The dragon’s eyes widened, and it muttered something under its breath before remarking, “Don’t most humans dislike dragons?”

This time it was Gray who looked away. “Fine, you’re right, I didn’t come all the way up here to thank you, I wanted to ask you some questions.”

The dragon seemed to think about it for a bit before responding, “Ask your questions then.”

“Do I look familiar to you?”

The dragon startled but answered honestly, “You are the human Acnologia attempted to kill some moons ago.”

“Why did you save me?” Gray asked anxiously.

The dragon shrugged, not giving the question much importance, “You were hurt and smelled of dragon.”

“I smelled like a dragon?”

The dragon nodded, “Yes, I flew you to safety and healed what I could. If that is all, I must go.”

“No, wait!” Gray exclaimed hurriedly, afraid the dragon would leave before he was able to ask the question he most wanted answered. “Natsu Dragneel, the fire dragon slayer, do you know where he is?”

The dragon blinked at him, his bright green eyes dimming before he lowered his head, “That I cannot tell you.”

“Please, I’m his mate, surely you can tell me something! Is he in danger?” Gray pleaded, desperate to know any detail, no matter how small.

The dragon remained stubbornly silent, and Gray began to feel the worry consume him again. What did this dragon know about his mate?

“Natsu Dragneel is assisting the Dragon King,” the dragon finally explained. “The best thing for you to do is to forget him. He can never return to you.”

“That’s not true!” Gray protested, he just wished the words didn’t sound so empty, “Natsu will always come when I need him, he’s told me that many times!”

“Do you need him now? Cause I don’t see him anywhere.” the dragon was gazing at him with what seemed almost like pity.

“You don’t know anything!”

“From when I stand, you’re the one who seems to be in the dark. Forget him, human. Move on. Dragneel will cause you nothing but pain.”

“Please,” Gray begged, hating how pathetic he sounded but not caring if it got him what he wanted. “Please tell me what you know.”

Silence was his only response.

“Natsu was wrong about dragons,” Gray spat out, “you are heartless after all.”

“I’m sorry,” the dragon said before taking to the air and flying away from him. If Gray hadn’t known better, he would have sworn the dragon had looked sad.

As ready as Gray was to hate the dragon for its callousness, those words rang too familiar for him to ignore. He’d heard them from that very same voice once before. And while he was disappointed to discover Natsu had not been there, a bigger question remained. Why had the dragon felt the need to apologize to him in the first place?

He sat alone for several hours waiting for the dragon to return, using the time to think over what it had said, and the strange way it had acted. Gray was somewhat surprised to realize that even though he had disliked it, and had wanted to throttle it on instinct, he’d still never felt the urge to attack it.

0-0

Gray couldn’t pinpoint when it had started, he vaguely remembered seeing a likeness of the dragon drawn with red chalk on a shop window. Soon other shops followed suit. Then the townspeople began leaving tokens of food outside the wall as an offering, hoping to ensure the red dragon’s continued protection. He’d even heard the Talos elders were already planning some sort of festival for the summer solstice dedicated to the creature.

It was almost impossible to walk around town without bumping into kids pretending to be dragons, arms flapping as they ran in pretend flight. Juvia and Erza thought it was adorable, the latter even telling stories of how Sting would do something similar when he was a child with Natsu and Rogue never far behind.

Now that she knew about their relationship, she’d begun sharing stories of Natsu’s exploits whenever she noticed Gray struggling with his emotions, knowing it never failed to put a smile on his face. Gray wasn’t sure if she was just oblivious to Lyon’s scowls at those times or if she just chose to ignore him, but either way, he was grateful for her efforts. It kept Natsu near even when he felt so far away.

He was tired of not knowing if Natsu was alive or dead, of the constant worry and fear, and although he knew it wasn’t fair, he couldn’ t help but think that the happy moments in their relationship had been few and far between.

He knew that wasn’t Natsu’s fault. He couldn’t help his situation. On days when Gray was feeling generous he even somewhat understood the impossibility of the choice his mate had been forced to make. But there were other days, ones where his darkness was at the forefront when he wondered if it was all worth it. If perhaps the dragon hadn’t been right all along and it was better to just let go rather than continuing this destructive pattern that Gray knew was tearing both of them apart. He tried to fight it as best he could, but it was getting harder every day.

It certainly didn’t help that the damn dragon seemed to be everywhere. It flew over the town daily, often rewarding the children’s happy cries with involved aerial shows, which as much a Gray hated to admit, even he enjoyed. The dragon’s scarlet scales glinted prettily in the sun as it moved gracefully in the sky before flying back towards the mountain.

Gray knew everyone loved the dragon, heck even the other guards seemed to like it, so he kept his opinions to himself. Until the dragon managed to do something so unforgivable in his eyes that he could no longer remain quiet. When Gray arrived at their field, the one that he felt belonged to him and Natsu, he found the red dragon already there, surrounded by the town’s children.

The children talked eagerly, asking the dragon all manner of questions, and unlike his own experience, the dragon was actually answering. If that wasn’t bad enough, they had begun to climb on it, squealing happily as they used its large body as a climbing toy while Anna watched from a safe distance. The dragon smiled, seeming content with the children’s play.

Maybe it was the smile that proved to be too much, but Gray found he’d had enough of this ridiculous dragon fever the whole town had succumbed to. The wretched creature had the nerve to invade his field, and it needed to leave.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Gray raged at the dragon, not caring about the surprised looks he was getting from the children, who had never seen him upset before.

He addressed them as well, “Get down from there!”

“Aww, Gray,” the kids complained, “Why? We’re having fun, and Anna said it was okay.”

“Because it’s not a playmate, it’s a vicious creature.”

He could see the dragon huff angrily, and once again, he felt the necklace warm-up, distracting him for a moment from his rant, but when he looked down, it seemed dimmer than he remembered. Before he had a chance to wonder about this, Anna stepped in to humor him.

“Alright children, listen to Gray, he’s a guard and just wants to make sure you are safe. Besides, its time for your afternoon snack,” Anna reminded them cheerily.

The children cheered at this news, climbing down carefully and waving goodbye to the dragon as they ran back towards the village, all promising to play again soon, much to Gray’s dismay.

“Do you have something against me in particular or just fun in general?” the dragon demanded, surprising Gray with its terse tone.

“I don’t trust you,” Gray enunciated each word, squaring his shoulders and feeling his magic respond to his unstable emotions, creating an icy mist around his fingers in preparation for his molding.

“Therefore, I don’t want innocent children around you. What if you took one home to eat or something.”

“I would never do that!” the dragon protested, and Gray could feel the air around it becoming hotter as it became angry.

“Right, cause dragons don’t do that sort of thing,” Gray retorted sarcastically.

“Don’t stand there looking all high and mighty, you don’t know the first thing about dragons, Gray,” the dragon seethed.

“We’re on a first-name basis now?” Gray raised an eyebrow, for some reason enjoying getting a rise out of the dragon, “And what pray tell, should I call you?”

The dragon remained stubbornly silent, and Gray pushed further, “What’s the matter, too stupid to know your own name?”

“Fuck you!”

“Rather unorthodox, wouldn’t you say?” Gray smirked, “But I can work with it. Fine, I’ll call you Fukou. Rather perfect actually, it means sorrow and misfortune, among other things.”

“I know what it means,” Fukou grumbled as he started at Gray unblinkingly.

“Well, then you’ll know I’m right, fukou is all you will ever bring to everyone you meet,” Gray sneered.

“You’re probably right,” Fukou acknowledged, “but I tried harder than you’ll ever know.” And with that, he took off, looking incredibly hurt.

And even though Gray now had full reign of the field like he’d wanted, he found no pleasure in it, suddenly feeling like the monster he’d accused the other of being.

A/N: I won't lie, I had been dreading this chapter and its companion also known as Chapter 24 from the moment I thought of this part of the story. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what you think is happening and where you think the story will go from here, so feel free to drop me a line.

#fairy tail #gratsu #ftlgbtales #update #fairy tail big bang 2018

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bgn846 · 5 years

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FFXV Vampire AU ft. Batio!!

I saw a piece of art done by Mintfoxmimi for her Batio AU and asked if I could write some short stories for it. Like this amazing one. So this little project was born. I hope you all like it and there will be more!!

A big thanks to @mintfoxmimi for letting me use her Vampire Batio AU setting (including extensive creation of the lore and human/vampire relations) for some short stories.

Please check out Mintfoxmimi's amazing art on their Twitter and Tumblr account!

Summary

Ignis is newly arrived in the small village of Insomnis and secures a job at the local hunters guild. He thinks things are going well enough until he meets a vampire one night. Things do not go as planned. Or a short story of how Ignis and Gladio meet for the first time.

Chapter 1: One Dark Night It All Started

The ancient adage of watching your life flash before your eyes when you were dying was true. In between the moments of intense panic and running frantically Ignis’ mind was awash with memories. Strangely, they only consisted of the past two weeks. Despite this fact he was still certain things were not going to end well. Being chased by a vampire was usually not a good thing.

Especially when said vampire stood at six foot six and had the muscles to match. He became dimly aware that he was being herded away from the town center. Ignis had only arrived in the bustling little town of Insomnis a few weeks earlier. A job position at the local hunter’s guild had awaited him courtesy of his uncle. Now though, he wished he’d never come.

Why was fate so cruel? He’d literally been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Witnessing a meeting between two vampires in the street after an evening stroll just didn’t happen. They were supposed to be far more secretive than that. Yet here he was running away after he’d seen one of them banish their fangs in a blink of an eye. Ignis couldn’t shake the feeling of his blood running cold when the vampire’s eyes had locked with his own. He watched in morbid fear as they easily returned to a human-like state.

Without thinking Ignis had turned and bolted. Only one vampire had given chase, and it seemed to know his name. Hence his current life threatening situation and why he was running like a fool. He was going to die that night and his poor uncle would most likely think it was his fault.

Ignis was trained as a fighter and could do quite well, but he was alone and this vampire was bigger than him. A feeling of immediate dread flooded his senses when the street he’d been running along suddenly ended. Ignis had run straight out of town and into a field of wheat. Astrals this was very bad.

There was no time to dwell on his bad decisions, when a growl from behind him nearly stopped his heart. Turning slowly Ignis was greeted by a truly terrifying sight. A giant monster now stood in front of him. Had the vampire shapeshifted or was this one of his minions? Staggering backwards Ignis managed to stay upright as he looked up in fear. Reaching for his daggers out of habit he assumed a defensive position. Maybe if he yelled like a man possessed, someone might come to his aid.

The looming shadow of muscle and teeth lunged at him the second he started screaming for help. What happened next was unexpected. Instead of having his head bit clean off Ignis was flying. Somehow he managed to hang onto his daggers after the creature had grabbed him. Two strong limbs held his arms firmly as they rose higher in the sky. The moon was low and provided enough light for Ignis to see what had attacked him. It appeared a giant winged bat was now carrying him away.

The illogical part of his mind wanted to try and slash at the claws holding his upper arms. He quickly dismissed that idea as he’d certainly fall to his death. Realizing that he was still yelling at the top of his lungs Ignis attempted to stop. He could barely breathe from the rush of adrenaline and screaming his brains out didn’t help.

What was going to happen to him when they landed? If they landed? This bat could merely let go and continue on its way. Ignis didn’t think he could take much more. He was already overly tired from working late the past week. Now he was going to die and that was depressing. Risking a glance downward it appeared the ground was getting closer. He’d been trying not to stare. No human ever reached these heights unless they were being carted off by a huge winged monster.

The decent back to Eos was controlled and slow. The air rushed past Ignis’ face in giant whooshes as the bat gently dropped him back to solid ground. The second its claws released Ignis’ arms he attempted to run away. His knees had other plans, they were like pudding. Crying out in desperation he collapsed on the grass.

His body felt like molasses as he tried to roll over and raise his daggers. The opportunity to fight was taken from Ignis a second later when the bat outright pounced on him. Surprisingly he didn’t get crushed, but his arms were pinned again. Slashing at the huge bat wasn’t going to work anymore.

Ignis felt light headed as he worked to breathe in enough oxygen to stay conscious. His heart was pounding furiously at the shock of the situation. The monster tilted its large head to the side and twitched its ears as if listening for something. Then without warning it leaned forward quickly and licked his forehead.

Momentarily stunned by the action Ignis could only manage a strangled guttural noise. Was this bat tasting him first before he ate him? The monster hovering over him was squeaking softly and sniffing his hair. On the third inhale it snorted and leaned back. Its long snout scrunched up and it sneezed.

Unable to stifle the yell he let loose Ignis tried to scramble away. The bat was now gone and in its place stood a man, no a vampire. He shook his head a few times and looked down at Ignis. The charismatic grin he flashed did not match the mood. Ignis was still breathing raggedly and trying to figure out if he was going to in fact, die.

“What are you going to do to me?” Ignis croaked.

“Nothing bad.” the vampire defended.

“Why did you capture me?”

“For a tactician you’re a little dense sometimes. I didn’t want you waking up the whole damn neighborhood with your yelling.”

“Wha? You attacked me! What was I supposed to do?” Ignis gaped, forgetting his predicament.

“No, you turned white as a sheet and then --.” The vampire made a point to stop and point at him, “Then you ran away.”

“I didn’t want to die.”

“I wasn’t out to kill you. Why would I do that?”

“I’m human!” Ignis shouted in frustration, “That’s why!”

“I don’t kill humans unless they deserve it. You are one of the good ones.”

Suddenly picking up on the fact that this vampire knew his job position Ignis couldn’t help but continue his questioning, “How do you know I’m a tactician?”

“I’ve seen you at work. I’m a member at the guild too, but we haven’t had a chance to meet until now.”

Shuddering at the idea that a vampire had made its way into the ranks of the guild Ignis groaned out loud. “Why me?”

“Bad timing I suppose.” The vampire offered, “Its better this way, now you can help me with my research. I see you slaving over piles of paperwork all day long. They gave you that job because you’re smart.”

“Why would I help you?” Ignis asked in disbelief.

“I may be a vampire but there are ones that are far more dangerous than me. That’s why I joined the guild. I needed to keep track of the bad apples so to speak.”

Ignis’ adrenaline rush was starting to wear off and he could feel his mind growing sluggish, “How far from town are we?”

“Close enough, I can fly us back in a jiffy.”

“NO! I don’t think I can handle that right now.”

“Well the walk might be a little longer.”

Sighing heavily Ignis attempted to right himself. This resulted in terrible things happening. He fell straight into the vampire as he was unable to support his own weight anymore. Having his body pulled in close to the vampire Ignis wondered if maybe the giant bat wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

Something strange was happening to his mind as they hobbled along the dirt path back to town. Things were getting fuzzy but he was fighting desperately to stay awake, “What are you doing to me?” he asked after a moment.

“I’m not going to hurt you. Relax it’s alright. Let go and sleep.”

Ignis figured he should be terrified at being this close to a vampire, but he was oddly calm. His feet were dragging more and more as they slowly walked. He remembered his knees buckling and the vampires’ deep voice telling him everything was alright. Then nothing.

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

The second Ignis’ body went slack Gladio picked him up. Poor human he’d only been at the guild for barely two weeks and was already overworking himself. Hoping his charmer spell for sleep would last Gladio took his time walking back.

Morphing into a bat once they’d neared town, Gladio was able to get Ignis up to his rooms above the guild headquarters. Using the front door wasn’t an option as it would have led to questions about what had happened. He also didn’t think Ignis would appreciate being carried inside like a sack of potatoes.

Ignis’ room was neat despite the appalling amount of paperwork he had lying around. Why did the guild have so much stinking paperwork anyway? All they did was hunt and kill. Shaking his head in wonder Gladio gently placed Ignis on his bed. Realizing he should probably take Ignis’ boots off started a chain reaction.

First the boots were removed, and then Gladio worried about his vest. Of course it came off next. Spectacles were not something one slept in so those had to go. His belt, that was lumpy with the dagger holsters attached, and not fun to roll around on. Astrals, Gladio had never thought about how much stuff encompassed an entire outfit. He was used to changing when his clothes needed it and that was that.

Finally when he was satisfied with Ignis’ comfort level he buried the man in blankets. Gladio was a pure bred vampire so he’d never known what it was like to be human. He did know they got cold and that was not something he wanted to have happen to Ignis.

Ignis was an interesting human. He’d arrived from the village of Tenebra a few short weeks ago without much notice. Gladio hadn’t been in that part of the Eos for many years but he remembered it being a large community.

Merely by word of mouth Gladio had been aware that Ignis could fight. The guild preferred him to manage their day to day operations. This meant he was stuck fixing years of mismanagement instead of out fighting. Gladio had recognized Ignis’ natural planning skills right away and had tried to convince Drautos to let him go on a few hunts. The captain had always refused citing Ignis was doing hard work for the guild. The poor human was so busy Gladio hadn’t even had a chance to introduce himself properly.

Their official introduction was less than stellar, but it did give Gladio a rare opportunity to discover something important. Ignis was a dulcis. When he’d shape shifted earlier the man looked like his heart was going to stop out of shock. Gladio did the only thing he could think of at the time to try and calm Ignis down. Lick him. Animals that licked people were cute right?

It was at that moment when Gladio had caught a whiff of something unique. He had sniffed intently to confirm his suspicions. Sneezing accidentally wasn’t part of the plan. It had been enough to convince him though, Ignis was a rare dulcis. Most higher ranking vampires craved humans of this kind.

Lore surrounding dulcis was varied and wildly inaccurate. Some believed if you drained a dulcis human of all their blood it would grant the drinker increased strength. Gladio knew this was untrue as he’d witnessed the act centuries ago. Nothing changed except an innocent human life was lost. It was somewhat comforting to know that Ignis’ dwelling was in the same building as the guild. There was always a hunter around or at least nearby.

Gladio was thankful he’d been present earlier. Ignis had unexpectedly come down the alleyway on his way back to his rooms. The other vampire he’d been talking to was a friend and Gladio wasn’t worried about him hurting Ignis. However, he didn’t need the new guild advisor running in hollering about Gladio being a vampire.

This thought brought up the issue Gladio had been pondering earlier. How to get Ignis to keep his secret? He wasn’t sure not killing him was enough motivation. Ignis was a tough character and did things the right way or not at all. The short time he’d been at the guild operations had improved drastically.

Resigning himself for a wait, Gladio pursued the human’s book collection and selected a volume. He could at least entertain himself until Ignis woke up. Taking a seat near to the window but not directly in front of it he cracked open the book. Being of noble descent meant Gladio had certain abilities. Shapeshifting was his specialty as he’d already demonstrated to Ignis. His other skills were not as honed but still came in handy.

The charmer spell he placed on Ignis to help him sleep was always useful. The thing he enjoyed the most was the benefit of being able to withstand sunlight. Granted he couldn’t handle a full day in the sun, but he could go out in the late afternoon and partake in hunts. This helped Gladio blend in with the humans and hunt the more viscous of his own kind.

Gladio was the protector of a vampire prince. His interest in human affairs stemmed from his desire to keep his charge safe. The more information he knew about both sides the better. Hoping Ignis would come around to the idea of helping him Gladio settled in for a nice read.

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

Sighing contentedly Ignis rolled over and kicked his blankets away. For the first time in weeks he felt truly rested. Waking up toasty and warm helped, though he was starting to overheat. Ignis didn’t normally use this many blankets. After a moment he remembered the terrible dream he’d had. Six it was so scary, he’d been chased by a vampire.

Stretching slowly he sat up and promptly yelled. Clapping his hands over his mouth he stared at the vampire sitting in his wing chair with wide eyes. The sound of stomping feet could be heard pounding up the stairs towards his room.

The door knob wiggled but it was locked. The guild captain’s voice rang out a moment later, “Ignis are you alright?”

“Yes.” He squeaked.

“What the hell is going on?” He continued not accepting the short answer.

Ignis had his eyes locked with the vampire. He was still alive and human so it had kept its word and helped him back to town. Taking a risk Ignis finally replied, “I’m sorry Drautos, I stubbed my toe badly.”

“Are you feeling okay? It’s not like you to sleep in so late.” The captain huffed through the door.

“Late night sir, I’m sorry.” Ignis hollered back.

“Take your time kiddo, you’ve been working hard.” With that final comment the conversation ended and Ignis could hear Drautos walking away.

“Don’t forget to limp later when you see him.” The vampire offered quietly from his chair. “Drautos will notice otherwise.”

“I could yell again and call him back!” Ignis hissed.

The vampire merely chuckled at him. Apparently his threats were amusing, “What is your name?” Ignis demanded.

“Gladiolus of house Amicitia.”

The vampire before him had a name Ignis recognized. He’d seen the name Amicitia on many old documents. This was no ordinary night walker, “What is your end game?”

“Keep my family safe.” Gladiolus announced.

“How do I factor into that?” Ignis queried with narrowed eyes.

“You are smart and have access to records. With your help I can better track the people that would cause my family harm.”

“Why would I help you exactly?”

“My family has been peacefully co existing with humans for nearly five hundred years. I see no reason to cease that arrangement.”

“That’s it? You like hanging out with humans and scaring the life out of them when it pleases you?”

“What?” Gladiolus frowned, “No, the only reason I picked on you last night was because you were running back here to tell everyone about me. I couldn’t let that happen.”

“You should be more careful when you reveal your true self.”

“For your information you don’t smell like a normal human, I didn’t realize you were there.”

Ignis couldn’t think of a comeback. No one had ever told him didn’t smell normal, “Do I smell bad?” he asked instead.

Gladiolus shook his head and smiled that disarming grin of his, “So will you keep my secret?”

“How do I know I can trust you?” Ignis asked since he really didn’t know how to answer the vampires’ question.

“I prove it to you. I did get you back here safely and still human.”

Humming to himself Ignis slumped back into the bed and stared at the ceiling. Maybe he could work with Gladiolus. It wasn’t unheard of for vampires to be friends with humans. Hoping it wasn’t because he felt alone in a new place and simply wanted friendship. Ignis decided to stay quiet about the vampire in the guild, “Very well, I won’t tell anyone about you.” He sighed.

A quiet laugh and an even quieter utterance of thank you met his ears. Looking up to see if Gladiolus had anything more to say revealed he had disappeared. A small squeak garnered his attention and he spun around to its source. A small impossibly fluffy bat sat near his partially opened window staring at him. Ignis could swear it was smiling but that was ludicrous, bats didn’t smile. It squeaked again and then flew off into the afternoon sun.

Ignis eventually got his thoughts in order and got up to go back to work. Taking Gladiolus words into account he limped around his little office until most of the guild members had gone home. Drautos would give him a sympathetic look anytime he passed by. The memories of his encounter with Gladiolus flooded his senses for the rest of the night. Wondering when they’d cross paths again Ignis focused on his work. Burying himself in mountains of paperwork seemed to be the only avenue of distraction that worked.

#ffxv #fanfic #gladnis #gladio #ignis #batio

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