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mfb-better-fury · 3 years

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Episode 3

Day

? Leone VS Storm Aquario continued

As the blinding light begins to fade, Hikaru and the others hesitantly uncover their eyes. The stadium is wrecked though both beys are still spinning; Infinite Assault has been canceled out. Hikaru’s gaze however is above the stadium, her eyes wide. From within the waters of Aquario’s spirit appears a mermaid of blues and purples, which Hikaru realizes looks like her mother.

As the others watch the spectacle in amazement, Kenta calls attention to Aquario as it runs recklessly around the destroyed stadium. A quick scan from Madoka brings the discovery that just like Leone, Aquario has suddenly changed forms.

Hikaru’s attention is torn away from the spirit as she takes note of her bey running wild. She pushes for control, trying to tell Aquario to settle down to no avail. Kyoya realizes there is no way for her to crash Aquario to a halt like he’d done with Leone the day before, and the destruction is quickly starting to grow. Noting Hikaru’s growing panic, he quickly calls for Lion Gale Force Wall. Aquario is swept up in the winds along with all the debris it had created. Hikaru watches Aquario’s new spirit swirl along the edges of the twister as if swimming up it, then launches into the sky along with the bey itself.

From the sideline, Gingka shouts to Hikaru that this is her bey and her rules, and she can make it come to its senses if she reaches out to it. Hikaru doesn’t understand, too scared to think straight. The crushing cold has begun to grab at her and it’s getting hard for her to stay on her feet.

Ryo now calls out to her, saying that her and Aquario’s spirits are intertwined. What she wishes for most of all, Aquario will respond to no matter what. He believes in her strength and the others voice their agreements. Teary-eyed, Hikaru raises her head to stare up into the sky where Aquario has not yet come down from. She then shuts her eyes, grits her teeth, and thinks: “All I want is for this to be over. That’s enough, Aquario. It’s enough!”

Out loud, she screams Aquario’s name. A few seconds later the bey glints off the sun as it begins its descent, hurtling towards Leone and ripping through its tornado. There is a huge explosion that knocks both Hikaru and Kyoya back. When the smoke clears, both beys are still upright, but Aquario swerves on its own for just a few moments more before coming to a stop to spin in place.

The others are rushing down to reach their friends; Kyoya is struggling to sit up while Hikaru is too stunned by the events to try the same. She can only roll onto her back and stare at the sky, trying to catch her breath. Even as she lies there she watches Aquario’s new spirit come into her line of sight, now calm and slow, and she can’t help but ask herself silently what in the world is going on.

Tobio and the boy arrive at a tea shop. At this point, the boy is having to lean on Tobio for support due to the exhaustion and injuries he obtained while being chased by Johannes. Tobio calls to Ryutaro at the counter to get the first aid kit; after taking in the situation, Ryutaro disappears to the back. Sitting at the counter with a cup of tea, Tetsuya watches this though has little interest.

Not wanting to make the boy walk much farther, Tobio helps him into a seat at one of the tables and asks another worker to bring over a glass of water. He then asks the boy how he’s holding up. The boy starts to say he’s alright, but decides to say the truth – he’s completely exhausted. Tobio remarks on the battle he’d seen and asks what it was about, but the boy shakes his head and answers that he’s not entirely sure. In his mind, however, the boy muses that the stranger was working awfully hard to stop him, and wonders if he could be…

They are interrupted by Ryutaro bringing the first aid kit over and asking the boy to turn towards him. From what he can see at a glance he can guess there may be a few bruises but there doesn’t seem to be anything serious, though they should clean the scrapes and a slightly bleeding wound on the boy’s hand. He then asks the boy for his name, introducing himself as well.

The boy is once again silent and contemplative for a few seconds before answering – Yuki Mizusawa. Tobio now asks what he’s been wondering about – if Yuki might know Madoka Amano. Though startled at this, Yuki nods and admits something that surprises them both – he and Madoka are cousins. He then adds that he needs to speak to her and Gingka immediately.

After exchanging a glance with Tobio, Ryutaro tells Yuki that he won’t be going anywhere until he’s patched up and rested. Madoka wouldn’t want him neglecting his health just to visit her. Yuki wants to protest but has to admit they have a point.

Tobio assures him that they’ll get him to Madoka first thing tomorrow morning. Today he’s had a rough battle and he won’t be able to explain whatever important thing it is he has to tell Gingka if he can’t even stand on his own two feet. After another pause, Yuki finally seems to drop a little bit of his wariness and thanks them. He then thinks to himself that surely Madoka has noticed what has happened and must already be working toward ensuring the safety of the star fragments.

The main group has relocated to one of the waiting rooms in the arena. Hikaru is curled up on the cushioned bench with Ryo’s jacket across her shoulders; her face is hidden against her knees. The transformed Aquario sits on the table while everyone else is gathered around. Madoka is the only other one sitting, trying to analyze Aquario.

Ryo enters the room with a water bottle, which he tries to give to Hikaru with no response. He sets it beside her and turns to the others, saying that he’s called to have the stadium repaired.

Kyoya is leaning against a wall and staring at Leone. He recalls, like Benkei, the way that the light hit him the night before last. He wonders internally if the same thing happened to Aquario, but recognizes that Hikaru is in no condition to answer questions right now.

Gingka starts to say they can call someone for Hikaru but falters as he realizes he’s not sure who they would call in the first place. It suddenly hits him that though she’s worked with his father for months, they really don’t know anything about her.

Seeing Gingka’s hesitation, Ryo offers to call Hikaru’s uncle. Though Hikaru doesn’t lift her head, she nods. Seeing this Ryo kneels in front of her and gently promises that everything will be alright, and all she has to worry about doing right now is getting some rest. They can meet back up tomorrow and try to figure things out. There’s a pause before Hikaru murmurs an apology about the stadium; Ryo chuckles lightly and assures her that it’s no big deal at all. She was able to get her feelings across to Aquario and prevent it from doing further damage – she should be proud of that.

Hikaru does not respond; instead, she curls in on herself more. Ryo pats her head before standing back up and telling the others to go home and get some rest as well.

Finishing her analysis of Aquario, Madoka closes her computer and tells the others that she’d like their meeting place to be the B-Pit so she can collect more thorough data on the two transformed beys. As she stands up she adds that Benkei should join her now and they’ll get started on fixing Bull, to which he agrees.

They all say reassuring goodbyes to Hikaru and make their way out, with Madoka placing Aquario beside Hikaru on her way. Gingka lingers just long enough to tell Hikaru that she doesn’t need to rush anything and they’ll all be there for her. Ryo steps into the hallway to call Hikaru’s uncle, leaving Kyoya the only one remaining with her. Rather than leave, he looks at her for a moment before walking to the table and taking a seat. Neither of them say a word, though Kyoya glances at Aquario.

As Madoka and Benkei are making their way back to the B-Pit, Benkei speaks up, wondering if he can ask her something. He mentions that she’s seemed distracted since all this started and he wants to know what’s on her mind.

Madoka hesitantly admits that she feels as though she’s forgetting something. ‘Lights from the sky’ feels like something she should know about. Benkei is rather confused by this, and they both spend some time walking in silence thinking it over.

After they’ve crossed a street, Benkei exclaims that she must be thinking about the legends of Koma Village and the origin of beyblade. He’d almost forgotten himself what they’d learned from Ryo during Battle Bladers due to everything else that had been going on. Finding that Madoka has stopped in her tracks with a strange expression, he interrupts himself and asks if she’s okay.

Madoka slowly mumbles the beginning of the legend in question – “Long long ago, a star fell from the sky”. After some seconds of deep thought, she jolts in realization – “That’s it! I’m so stupid!”

As Madoka suddenly takes off running, Benkei is forced to chase after her without an answer to his baffled, “What is it? Madoka!”

In Yuki’s observatory, a phone begins to ring in the darkness. The Caller ID lights up with “Madoka”.

Now in her workshop, Madoka is on the phone in her workshop and slams it down in frustration when she ends up with no answer for what is implied to be the third time. As she tries to think of what else to do, Benkei attempts to ask again what she figured out. She doesn’t seem to hear him until he grabs her shoulder to get her attention, telling her to calm down and explain to him what the problem is.

Though she doesn’t do much in the way of calming down, Madoka explains that it’s complicated, but she knows someone who she’s sure would be able to tell them exactly what’s going on, as her own memories are foggy after so long. Benkei doesn’t understand the latter part of her explanation, but focuses on the former, asking if there’s another way to contact them. Madoka tries again to think while Benkei makes a few suggestions – a different number, an email…

Once again Madoka is hit with the answer and she quickly pulls out her laptop, going to her contacts. She stops at Yuki’s name, then thinks to herself that if he doesn’t answer this time she’ll break into the observatory and dig him out of his research in person.

A car stops in front of a small house, Hikaru in the backseat with Ryo’s jacket still wrapped around her. She doesn’t immediately register when the driver tells her they’ve arrived, then jumps a bit when he says her name. Quickly apologizing, she opens the door and gets out; she stops to thank “Uncle Akito” before heading inside. Aquario is currently held tightly in her hand.

When she enters, she hears the TV on and follows the sounds of an action movie to find the woman from Episode 1 with the long blue hair – her mother – in the living room. After a glance at the TV, she asks if she’s rewatching the same movie as when she and Kyoya stopped by to pick up her launcher. Her mother laughs and mutes it, explaining that it’s not her fault the station decided to play it twice, but she quickly notices the state Hikaru is in and urges her to sit down while she makes some tea. As Hikaru sits, her mother stands with the help of her cane.

After Hikaru has explained everything, their cups are nearly empty and Aquario is sitting on the coffee table. As Hikaru stares ahead at the still-muted TV, her mother picks the bey up to examine it more closely. After a moment of doing so, she admits that she had seen the light enter Aquario, but it had been late and she’d forgotten about it by morning. She then muses that if Kyoya’s Leone had changed in response to his blazing spirit, Aquario’s change must have been prompted by Hikaru’s true attempt to try again. She also believes that Aquario’s new spirit is a sign of its belief in her.

When Hikaru expresses confusion at her mother’s claim, she is given Aquario to hold. Her mother explains that this is Aquario’s nature. When its partner reaches a certain point, whether it be by strength, compassion, or just acceptance, the raging waters will shift into an image of their partner’s predecessor. It is a reminder Aquario gives to its partner that they are not alone, and a sign that Aquario believes its partner is truly worthy and capable of great things. When she herself had reached this point, Aquario had taken a form resembling Hikaru’s grandfather. Though, she feels it’s important to add that there’s never been a physical transformation like this that she’s aware of.

“But I believe that whatever that light was, Aquario is telling you that you are capable of taking on what is to come.”

Slightly teary-eyed, Hikaru hugs her mother, who holds her and pets her hair in return.

At the tea shop, Yuki has been relocated to the break room. His injuries have been tended to and he is finishing up a sandwich when something in his bag begins to chime. After quickly brushing his hands off he pulls out his tablet, confused, then surprised when he sees the incoming video call is from Madoka. After a brief glance at his bandaged hand, he shakes his head and answers.

Madoka’s face takes over his screen and she immediately exclaims his name in some mixture of anger and relief, demanding to know why he didn’t answer the phone. He very sheepishly replies that he isn’t home to have heard it, which stops her short. She begins to ask what he means, but cuts herself off and starts over asking where his injuries came from and where he is if not at home. He brushes the injuries off as the result of a fall and admits that he’s currently in her town. This quiets her.

Madoka: “So...It really is time then. Grandpa’s stories…”

Yuki nods, now serious: “Yes. The new star fragment is finally here. And I believe they are aware of it as well.”

Still on the couch with her mother, the movie now unmuted, Hikaru is curled up and idly doodling on her tablet when it notifies her of a new email from Madoka. It reads: “Come over tomorrow morning as soon as you can. I know what’s going on.”

In Ryo’s office, he and Gingka see this email and exchange confused looks.

At Kenta’s house, he reads the email on the computer and wonders if they’re about to get caught up in another big mess.

Kyoya sits on the edge of a rooftop as he reads the email from a beat-up cell phone. He then looks up at the sky, his grip on Leone tightening as he does so.

#Better Fury #Better Fury episode #BF Aquario's Rebirth #Hikaru Hasama #Kyoya Tategami #Ryo Hagane #Madoka Amano #Gingka Hagane #Kenta Yumiya #Benkei Hanawa #Tobio Oike #Ryutaro Fukami #Tetsuya Watarigani #Yuki Mizusawa #Akiko Hasama #she's pseudo-canon she gets a tag lol

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steves-on-a-plane · 3 years

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Destiny Disputed

Words: 2216 Pairing: Ben Solo x Reader Timeline: Pre-Episode VII AU Summary: Ben takes Reader on what they think is a joy ride to an outer rim planet. What Reader quickly finds out is that Ben has come to Tatooine in an attempt to define himself and his place in the force.

“Hold on tight, we’re going in for the landing.” The young pilot behind the yolk of a borrowed tandem x-wing you were riding in told you. His voice came in slightly static through your headset. You looked through the viewport trying to see the planet below. “It’s going to take a while before you see anything good.” He told you as if reading your mind.

“Well, it’s Tatooine, so I won’t see anything good until we leave.” You insisted. “But I never get tired of seeing planets from this high up.” You smiled.

“I used to think that too.” He laughed. “But the magic wears off after a while.”

“I just realized that other than your uncle, who we see every day, you never talk about your family. Did you travel a lot as a kid?” You wondered.

“My mother is in government and my father is the captain of a freighter.” He told you. “So, there was a little bit here and there.”

“A captain?” You commented, clearly impressed. “Is that where you learned to fly?” The curved sandy surface of the planet below finally came into view as the X-wing continued to descend towards Tatooine.

“You could say it’s in my blood.” He answered back. “My Uncle always dreamed of being a pilot. I’m told my grandfather was a pilot too. I’ve been flying as long as I can remember.”

“You have quite the legacy to live up to, Ben.” You told him.

“Yeah.” He scoffed. “Tell me about it.”

“How exactly did you talk Master Luke into letting you borrow this X-Wing anyway?” You asked.

“Right, about that…” His sentence trailed off.

Once the X-Wing was landed and secure at Docking Bay 42, You followed Ben to the crowded streets of Mos Eisley Spaceport. They weren’t streets in the sense that you were used to. They were more like dusty pathways with no clear flow of traffic. Only a few steps off the ship and you were already grieving it’s temperature control settings. The planet of Tatooine was hot, dry, and full of sand.

“What exactly is so important here that you had to steal an X-wing for?” You found yourself coughing violently as flecks of sand managed to find their way into your lungs. Ben rolled his eyes at you.

“Wear this.” Without giving you a change to protest, he wrapped a thin piece of linen cloth in such a way that your mouth and nose were covered. “It protects you from the sand.” He explained impatiently. “And I didn’t steal the X-wing. We’re going to bring it back.”

“You’re still not answering my question.” You remarked. “What’s so special about this place? Other than the fact that it’s a miracle any life forms can survive on it at all.”

“C’mere.” He grasped your hand and tugged your off the street. The two of you were wedged together between two Tatooineian Clay buildings. You hadn’t thought the dual sun planet could feel any hotter, but with your chest pressed against Ben’s, you could feel his every breath on your exposed skin.

“I never tell anyone this. I don’t want the others to make fun of me. Can you keep a secret?” You nodded. “My mother is Leia Organa-Solo. She was the princess of Alderaan. Her husband is Han Solo.”

“As in General Leia Organa Solo?” You repeated.

“Yes, not so loud!” He covered your mouth with his hand. Maybe it was the heat but pressed between him and the building with one of his hands holding yours the other covering your mouth, it was almost romantic. Definitely the heat. You decided. “We can’t be overheard talking about them here, do you understand?” You nodded. He nodded back, removing his hand.

“I don’t understand, you tell everyone your name is Ben Skywalker. Why would you do that?” You questioned in a whisper.

“I couldn’t avoid being Luke Skywalker’s nephew. The others would sense some type of familial bond through the force, but they didn’t need to know about my parents. I want to forge my own destiny. I don’t want to be known as the general’s son, or the smuggler’s son. I just want to be me. You can understand that can’t you?”

“I-I…” You looked into his brown eyes. You could feel the weight of what he was saying. You could feel it in his body language and in the force. You could feel how it had burdened him all this time. How he was pleading with you now to understand him. You were proud of where you came from. Your father was a respectable trader and your mother, who had been a pilot in the rebellion, now worked transport jobs for the republic. She’d even met Leia Organa once or twice and had nothing but kind things to say about the general.

“What’s on Tatooine, Ben?” You asked him again.

“Ghosts.” He whispered. “And we’re going to see them all.” He tugged you out of the ally and towards a land speeder rental.

“You said before that I have a lot to live up to.” Ben recalled your earlier conversation. “Everyone in my family was once a nobody.”

“Everybody is somebody, Ben.” You disagreed.

“Not in the outer rim.” He shook his head. He stopped the speeder. It appeared you were hovering inside abandoned ruins of some sort of colosseum. “When my grandfather was a child, before he was a jedi, he was a slave; a nothing. Where we are now was once the starting point for the Boota Eve Classic. A podrace. A pod race that my grandfather won, his winnings were used to repair the ship of a jedi master named Qui Gon Jin who helped him escape this place. Without pod racing, he never escapes Tatooine, he never becomes a Jedi, he never becomes Darth Vader.”

“There’s no way to know that for sure.” You disagreed. “Master Skywalker says…”

“Master Skywalker.” Ben offered a grunt of contempt.

“Is it Master Skywalker or his teachings that you don’t like?” You asked over the hum of the landspeeder. Ben was already steering the vehicle away from the forgotten racetrack towards another part of the planet.

“What I don’t like are his philosophies.” Ben hissed. You watched his grip on the landspeeder’s yolk tighten. “My father is the sort of man who believes a person makes their own destiny. Uncle Luke thinks all things are determined by The Force. That our destiny isn’t fully within our control. I suppose my mother is somewhere in between, though her opinion was rarely asked about while the two of them debated at the dinner table.”

“So which do you believe? That our choices all mean nothing or that they mean everything?” You watched his brows furrow together. He scowled into the skyline.

“That’s what we’re here to find out.” You traveled in silence for serval miles. You wondered how Ben could so easily navigate the planet. To you Tatooine seems to be nothing but sand for parsecs and parsecs. He navigated the terrain as if he’d spend all of his youngling years there. You supposed it was possible he could have. He’d already admitted to lying about who he was once. You began to wonder if you really knew him at all.

The landspeeder seemed to stop suddenly. You glanced around looking for any type of landmark. Ben reached over and tilted your chin with his forefinger and thumb. He pointed out to the horizon. If you squinted, you could just make out the signature dome shape of a moisture farmhouse. You knew from the stories he shared around the temple that Master Luke had grown up on a moisture farm.

“Is that…” You started to ask Ben.

“Not exactly. Like the legends say, the majority of it was burned down the day my uncle left the planet, but it’s the same land the family farm was on.” Ben nodded solemnly. “The family farm where my great grandmother lived and my uncle lived and where my great uncle died. Did anyone ever tell you who I was named after?”

“Until a few hours ago I’d thought your last name was Skywalker.” You reminded him. “How do I even know your name is Ben?” You turned in your seat and looked at him. You waited for a response.

“I deserve that.” He laughed. “I am named after Uncle Luke’s mentor. A jedi named Obi Wan Kenobi. The people in the area knew him as Old Ben. He lived here for eighteen years here keeping an eye on Luke. Trying to protect him from my grandfather.”

“How exactly is this helping you with your moral dilemma?” You interrupted him. Both Ben and his uncle had an affinity for dramatic story telling. Normally you enjoyed that sort of thing. There wasn’t much entertainment at the temple. Being in the vast openness there in the broiling land speeder, however, had taken away your usual appreciation for grandiose speeches.

“How is it possible that so many people’s stories can be intricately intertwined here, on this one planet?” He didn’t wait for you to answer before asking another question. “How can so many lives start and end here and it mean nothing? Obi Wan brings a baby Luke Skywalker here to this broiling hellscape while his sister is sent to live in the utopia that was Alderaan. What if instead they’re switched? If Luke becomes Luke Organa, prince of Alderaan, does he still grow up dreaming of becoming a pilot and discovering life somewhere else? If Leia Skywalker spends her life here, does she still become the great general who openly defies Darth Vader and helps get the Death Star plans to the rebellion? We have one more stop on our tour.”

The landspeeder gave a sudden jerk forward and you began to move away from the moisture farm and back towards the closest thing to pass for civilization on Tatooine. It was in that moment that you sensed it for the first time. You weren’t sure how you’d missed it for so long. You’d known Ben most of your life after all. Sure, he’d been quiet and mostly kept to himself, but you’d always considered him a friend.

You’d always known he was powerful. That was the burden of the Skywalker legacy. He’d always learned things faster than others and you assumed it was because of his bond with Master Luke or maybe that he’d received additional training on the side. Despite being good friends for years, you realized you’d never been truly alone with Ben. The sheer vastness of Tatooine meant it were just the two of you alone, no other lifeforms for miles.

Your fight or flight response told you to be afraid. You felt yourself stiffen, as if even the slightest muscle twitch would put you in danger. You fought to gather yourself and shake the feeling away. Surely it was the unfamiliar planet that had given you a scare. Maybe all of Ben’s talks of ghosts had put something in your head. Deep down though you knew, the darkness that you were sensing was coming from Ben.

“You’re afraid of me.” He stated. “There’s no sense in lying. I can sense it in you.”

“No.” You told him quietly, your voice barely audible over the speeder’s hum. It was the truth. Ben had been nothing but kind to you, you had no reason to be afraid of him. It was the darkness you were afraid of. You wondered if it scared him too. Had it been the allure of the darkside that had brought him all the way to Tatooine?

“My uncle is.” Ben told you. In the distance the outskirts of Mos Eisley were visible at last. You no longer cared about making it back to the spaceport. “He’s worried I’m too much like Vader. That I won’t be able to fight it.”

“What do you think?” You asked.

“That he doesn’t know me at all.” Ben answered. “That if he knew I had something worth fighting for, he’d understand why I wasn’t really tempted by the dark side.”

“What’s that? The something you’re fighting for?” You questioned.

“You don’t already know?” He stopped the landspeeder a mile from the very edge of Mos Eisley. He turned to look at you. You met his gaze with your own. “My father once said that a man doesn’t get where he’s going alone. You get as far as you can on your own, but sooner or later you need at least one good partner to walk beside. Someone to co-pilot when you just can’t seem to make it that final stretch of the journey. There’s a cantina in town, the same one my father met Uncle Luke and Old Ben at for the first time. You’ll know it’s the right place when you hear a blith band that playing incessant Jatz music. After an hour, if you’re not there, we’ll meet back at the ship, I’ll take you to the temple and we’ll never speak a word of it again.”

“What sort of a co-pilot would I be, if I even got out of the speeder?” You asked reaching for his hand. “You won’t get rid of me that easily, Ben. I’ve got you.” You promised.

#Ben Solo #Kylo Ren #Ben Solo x Reader #Ben Solo Fan Fiction #Ben Solo FF #Ben Solo Fan Fic #Kylo Rea Fan Fiction #Kylo Rea Fan Fic #Kyle Ren FF #Kylo Ren x Reader #Male!Reader #Female!Reader #gender nuetral reader #Ben Solo Reader Insert

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echidnapower · 4 years

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EP’s FanFiction Master Post

So this is something I should have done a long time ago on my previous account, but better late than never. For those of you who find me, this is going to be a place where you can find all the fics I’ve written over the years. This will be added to over time as I fight to revive my muse.

It’ll be categorized by fandom, so you can quickly find what you do or don’t want to read. Here we go.

Pokemon

A Valentines Dream Come True - It's Valentines Day, and a certain redheaded Gym Leader is finally getting to enjoy it with the boyfriend of her dreams. During their time together, they get into a little discussion about dreams, and Ash doesn't wanna tell her his! So to get him to spill, she tells him her dreams...when she finally learns Ash's dream...will both their dreams come true? - Based on a drawing from @miyatoriaka, which can be found HERE.

AAML: Diamond and Pearl Version - Follow me as I remake the DP episodes in order and in sequence, all so I can add the biggest star besides Ash himself. Misty! Watch her and Ash's love grow as they go on their journey. The absolute LONGEST story in my portfolio, and you will see my writing evolve the longer you go on. Be prepared for a massive read that even now is STILL going.

All I Want For Christmas Is You - It's Christmas time and the Ketchum household is hosting a party with all of Ash's friends. But while Ash and Misty dance around their feelings for each other, another Sensational Sister is about to find herself in a situation she never could have expected, but she'll be darned if she lets it slip through her manicured fingers. (Spinoff of @hollylu-ships-it‘s "A Christmas in Kanto" comic which can be found HERE.

Best Friend - "Why? Why did I have to be so stupid as to make the mistake of falling in love with my best friend?" - Story told in Misty’s POV.

Blessings From Heaven - I'm Ash Ketchum, and I'm getting married today! But how did this come to be? Through God's devine planning is how. Here's my story: I'm marrying Misty. - Warning for religious themes, told in Ash’s POV.

I Miss You - Misty misses Ash terribly, and it's affecting her emotionally as she's more irritable than usual, if that was even possible. But Daisy has a plan to get Ash to come and see Misty again. Will her plan have the desired effect? Or will it cause something she never could've seen coming? - Based on a trio of drawings from the long lost Simply-Nicole. The old art can be found on my dA page HERE, HERE, and HERE.

I’m Misty, and You Are? - Misty tells the story we all know and love...literally. She's telling the story. Based on artwork from the long lost Simply-Nicole, which can be found on my old dA page HERE.

Keep The Faith - This time it's May and Drew getting married, and it takes place in the "Blessings From Heaven" universe. Warning for religious themes.

Looks - It's Ash's birthday and all of his friends have gathered together in the woods to reminisce on the time they spent traveling with their favorite Pokemon Trainer. But something's about to happen that could change the way that Ash and Misty look at each other forever…the question is, is it for the better?

Lovesick - Kenny is feeling strange...he feels like he's sick...but is he really ill? Or is he just lovesick?

Madam Zara - When Misty decides to get experimental with her appearance, she finds herself in the hands of a world-famous beautician named Madam Zara. With most of Misty's makeovers ending less than ideally, will this be the one to shatter the mold? And how will Ash react? - Based on a drawing and idea from @hollylu-ships-it which can be found HERE.

Our Own Sunset - Ash and Misty watch the sunset together, but Misty's bothered by it. - Set in the AAML: Diamond and Pearl version universe.

Pokeshipping Week 2015 - My first time participating in Pokeshipping Week ever, hard to believe it was five years ago.

Pokeshipping Week 2016 - This year of Pokeshipping saw me collab with @hollylu-ships-it, you can see the art she put together on her Tumblr page.

Symptoms of Love - Ash and Tracey are hit by a Vileplume's Stun Spore, and Misty has to fend for herself in order to find a cure. But once she gets Ash back to health, Ash still feels many of the same symptoms from before. Why is that?

Tell Me I’m Pretty - It isn't easy being the youngest sister, especially when your oldest sister is getting married and you're the only one without a date for the once in a lifetime event. Misty can't help but feel like she doesn't measure up somehow, but a surprise visit from her closest friend is sure to make her feel pretty once more. - Inspired by THIS piece from @hollylu-ships-it.

The Road Not Taken - When Ash gets some bad news from home, he goes into a depression and starts doubting both himself and the choices he's made. But luckily, someone is there with him to remind him he's loved and cared about. - Based on yet another drawing from @hollylu-ships-it. Look at it HERE.

Warmth - It's New Years Eve, and the recently married Ash and Misty Ketchum are ready to host their first ever holiday party at their home together, but when a snowstorm makes it so no one can arrive safely, Misty is saddened. But will they really end up spending their New Years Eve alone? Or will surprise visitors warm their hearts?

Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go

Iron Girl - A robot girl who hates the fact she's a robot...will she realize just how important she is or will she continue to simply wallow in self-pity?

War Between the Living and the Dead - The war between the living and the dead has begun, and the Hyperforce has to go up against their biggest challenge yet. But with help from their allies across the galaxy, they can triumph! Or can they? This is my take on what Season 5 would've been, plugging plotholes and making sense out of a series that left us all hanging.

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command

Reflections of a Legend - Buzz Lightyear Personal Log - Stardate 92893.81. I don't quite know how to explain this, or what I'm feeling, so I guess I'll just start talking and tell you what's on my mind. There's someone I just can't get out of my head, and truthfully, I'm not sure I want to. - This is a first-person dive into Buzz’s character.

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Kim Possible

Angels Watching Over Me - Kim and Ron are going down a dark path that could eventually end in their own destruction...literally, not figuratively. When the Sloth dangles over a cliff that holds their fate in the balance, who will come in their time of need? How about...someone they never could have dreamed? - Based on a true story, warning for religious themes.

Busted - Hana wants cookie, Hana tries to get cookie, Hana gets caught trying to get cookie.

The Running Back - All-star Running back Ron Stoppable is about to face the biggest challenge of his life. He's got just a few seconds to win the championship for the Middleton Mad Dogs, but more importantly to him, he's got just a few seconds to make his girlfriend proud.

The True Meaning - Both Ron and Kim are well aware of the true meaning of Christmas, and that's why they're volunteering at a church's Bethlehem Revisited event to spread the word. Kim's happy to help and all, but...why is Ron calling her such a weird name? - Warning for religious themes.

Trick or Treat - Kim is pulling a trick on Ron, will it be a great treat, or is he about to suffer the wrath of Kim Possible? He has no clue, yet.

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Fillmore!

A Promising Tomorrow - Takes place immediately after the end of the episode "A Forgotten Yesterday." Fillmore's lost two of his old friends now and needless to say, he's tired of losing people to the darkness he was lucky enough to escape from. Luckily, Ingrid's there to show him that his efforts to rehabilitate his delinquent friends haven't exactly gone to waste. There's one person who's benefited.

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Miraculous Ladybug

You’re Loved - Adrien Agreste, Chat Noir, different identities but more alike than he would like to admit. No matter who he becomes at any given time, there's always something very important missing in his life. Will he ever find what he's looking for? Or is it possible he's always had it and never realized it?

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Beyblade

We Are One - Kai gave it his all battling against Brooklyn and his bit-beast Zeus. Now, after his close brush with death, Kai must summon the strength to go and support Tyson before disaster strikes the world. But there's no way he's strong enough to do it on his own...but thankfully, he won't have to, which is what Kai is about to learn. Sister story to "I Can't Lose You."

I Can’t Lose You - A week after Tyson's battle against the evil bit-beast Zeus and his trapped blader Brooklyn, the world is slowly making its way back to normal. Kai managed to survive and is recovering in the hospital, and Tyson is getting some much-deserved rest. But when Kenny comes to tell Tyson that Hilary has quit the team, he loses it, and goes to find out why. My first Beyblade story.

Save a Dance For Me - With the all new BBA launching with a gala to celebrate the occasion, Tyson finds himself in the uncomfortable position of needing to ask someone to be his date. He has someone in mind, but will his greatest beyblading rival get in his way and turn out to be his greatest rival in love?

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Teen Titans

Healing Touch - With several Titans pairing up, the lingering emotions are taking a toll on Raven's empathic senses and causing her to lose control of her own feelings. When she gives in and does something completely crazy, it's up to Beast Boy to pull her out of a dark place and bring her back to the light. - There is accompanying artwork from @hollylu-ships-it HERE and HERE.

More Than a Hero - I've learned a lot of lessons under Batman, he taught me everything I would ever need to know about being a superhero, about being Robin...but Starfire taught me how to be Dick Grayson, and she taught me how to fly. - Story from Robin’s POV, accompanying artwork from @hollylu-ships-it is HERE.

Robin Rising - Life is good for Dick Grayson, he's the leader of a team of superheroes he's blessed enough to call his family, and he's about to turn 18 which he figures will open up a whole new world of possibilities for him. But when his old mentor and "father" calls in, showing that he captured a criminal that had eluded the Titans forever, things get flipped upside-down. - Multichapter fic which is part of a much larger universe, plenty of accompanying artwork can be found over on @hollylu-ships-it‘s account. Go give her a follow and fav.

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Sonic the Hedgehog

A Light in Darkness - A small band of heroes go back in time to try and prevent a cataclysmic event that would eventually destroy all of creation as they knew it. But what is the nature of this threat? How dangerous is it? And how far will they have to go in order to stop it from viciously destroying all they hold dear? Features a deep cast of Sonic characters, and a very special OC owned by @e-vay

Anonymous - For Shadow the Hedgehog, Christmas doesn't mean what it means to his friends and the rest of the world. Instead, he has a self-appointed mission he needs to carry out. But this year, he may find something that he's never really had before, and it could change the way Shadow sees Christmas for the rest of his life.

Christmas Wishes - For ten years, Amy Rose has only wanted one thing for Christmas, and she's finally come to accept the reality that she'll never receive it. But a conversation with Rouge rekindles her hope and her Christmas spirit. Will she be let down again? Or will her one wish finally come true this year? Read to find out. (Sister story to my other story titled "Anonymous")

Comfort In the Storm - When a thunderstorm strikes and leaves Cream quivering in fright, it's up to Tails to find a way to alleviate his crush's fears, and maybe even give her a reason to enjoy thunderstorms instead of fearing them.

Cream Adventure DX: Author’s Cut - A redo of an old story. Cream finds a strange statue in the meadow, and she knows just who to go to to figure out what it is, but she gets more than she bargained for when she goes looking for him. What happens?

Dreams of an Absolution - Silver lays awake at night and reflects on his life in this apocalyptic world Iblis has destroyed...but most of his reflections revolve around a certain fire girl with lavender fur. He wants to be happy with her, but a warzone is a bad place to kindle love, and so every night he lays awake, and dreams of an absolution.

Relations - Knuckles has a problem. He's in love...but...that presents a very unique problem...or does it?

Running to the Point of No Return - Sonic is the fastest thing alive, and Amy is told that that's the biggest obstacle keeping her and Sonic away from each other. But what's she supposed to do to keep up with him, when there's NO ONE fast enough to keep up with him?

Scars - Some things that happen in life leave scars behind that go with us for the rest of our lives. For Miles "Tails" Prower, such a thing happened to him in the depths of space many years ago...the loss of his first true love...though the pain weakens and the scars fade, they never go away completely, and Tails has learned to live with and embrace that fact.

Seven Rings and Five Fingers In Hand - A redo of the final battle in Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonamy style!

The Heart of Chao - Chao are adorable little creatures, and they make great pets for anyone who's looking for something to take care of. But there's more to chao than just being cute, they're filled with more heart and love than anyone can imagine, and that can sometimes lead to bringing others closer together. Here are just a few stories of that very thing happening to our favorite characters.

Trapped In This Machine - Sonic has seemingly fallen madly in love with Amy, but is this sudden romance truly sincere, or is it only skin deep, hiding something sinister underneath? - Inspired by a drawing from @e-vay, found HERE.

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love-musicheart · 3 years

Text

NoirBug - Chapter Three - Episode 3: Now in Colour (1970s)

(AO3)

Summary:

Yeah, okay. Everything maybe isn't quite so perfect after all. Marinette is hiding something. And possibly... remembering things. And what's up with Wang Fu and his turtles??

“Hmmm… definitely…”

Adrien glanced up from where he sat on the couch. Marinette had wandered into the living room, her sketchbook in hand. She had a pencil in one hand, another tucked in her hair, forgotten, and her nose in her sketchbook.

Adrien couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her - not just because she looked better than ever, now that she was in colour, but also because of how Marinette it was of her to walk in like that.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, setting aside the book he had been reading to give his girlfriend his full and undivided attention.

Marinette looked up. “Oh! I didn’t realize you were in here.” She snapped her sketchbook shut with a final-sounding snap!

“What are you up to?” Adrien grinned. “Let me guess: Chat Blanc and Ladybug doll designs?”

“First off,” Marinette said, plopping down beside him on the couch, “I’ve already made those. Secondly…” She shrugged. “I left my sketchbook here accidentally. I needed to grab it.”

“So… what’s inside it, then?” Adrien asked. He leaned forward, reaching for the sketchbook in a motion that was half-joking, and half-curious for real.

Marinette yanked the sketchbook away from him, holding it up into the air and out of his reach. “Nothing! Just some plans, is all.” Only when Adrien lowered his arm did she set the sketchbook down on the couch again. “What are you reading?”

Adrien gave her a quizzical look. “Since when do you not want to show me what’s in your sketchbook?”

Marinette chuckled. “Since it had to do with your surprise, silly kitty!”

Marinette had been mentioning his surprise a lot. She was planning something… something that she thought he’d really like. Either that, or it was ginormous, and seeing as Marinette was planning it, both were equally plausible guesses.

But it was starting to worry Adrien slightly how she was being so… mysterious about it. Not to mention, as superheroes, they were skilled in the art of hiding things from their loved ones.

“Why can’t you share anything about this with me?” he asked, scooting slightly closer to her on the couch - and to the sketchbook that likely held all the answers he wanted. Not that he would actually take it; he loved Marinette too much to do something like that.

“Because it’s a surprise,” Marinette said, smiling even as exasperation filled her voice. “If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore!”

Adrien rolled his eyes, smiling. “Really? I didn’t realize.”

Marinette swatted at him good-naturedly. “Adrie-e-e-en…”

He laughed. “Okay! I’ll try and stop asking about it until you’re ready, then.”

“It’ll be soon,” Marinette promised. “I just have some things I need to finish getting ready first. And, speaking of which…” She stood up from the couch. “I have something I need to go do for it.”

“Right now?” Adrien asked.

“Right now,” Marinette nodded. “That’s why I came for the sketchbook now. But I’ll see you later!” She smiled brightly at him - gosh, she looked nice in colour - and headed for the door, sketchbook tucked under her arm.

Marinette headed outside, proud of herself for having remembered to bring a purse. Not that she needed it for Tikki to hide in this time, of course, seeing as Adrien was watching over the miraculouses - but she did need it for other reasons.

“Hey, Kim!” she called cheerfully to one of the neighbours. Kim lived in the apartment building next to Adrien and Emilie’s, but spent so much time outside, he may as well have not been living in it at all.

“Hey!” Kim called in reply from the other side of the low wall before kicking a soccer ball at a goal he’d set up - missing it completely and sending it flying over the wall instead.

Marinette chuckled, stopping the ball with her foot. “Think you might have sent that a little too far there, old chum.”

“So I have,” Kim admitted, chuckling as she picked up the ball and passed it back over the wall. “Thanks, Marinette.”

“Yeah,” Marinette smiled in return. “Don’t mention it.” She headed past the bushes and out the gate, making her way down the road, heart beating a staccato rhythm of excitement in her chest.

Adrien’s surprise was almost ready. She just had a few final things to do today, and then she would finally be able to show it to him.

Marinette paused on a street corner, waiting to cross. She was pretty young to be walking around by herself, but she’d learned how to navigate Paris years ago on her own - and it had only gotten easier after she’d become Ladybug.

Of course, if she’d had the earrings now, she could have made quicker progress. But she and Adrien weren’t supposed to use their miraculouses for personal gain.

Marinette frowned, pausing at another road as she waited for some cars to pass. There was something… something sort of tickling the back of her mind. More of a feeling than anything, but… one that made her feel like she had recently suggested using their miraculouses for person gain.

But why would she have done that? What would that have even been for?

Marinette crossed the street, hurrying down the sidewalk and casting a quick glance behind her. She loved Adrien, but he could be really curious sometimes - which wasn’t the best trait when she was trying to surprise him. However, no one - white cat hero or otherwise - was following her, so she turned her mind back to the problem at hand.

When had she ever suggested using the earrings for personal gain?

Marinette shifted her grip on her purse. She hadn’t had a purse for Tikki to hide in last time-

An image of Tikki falling into an aquarium flashed through her mind.

But… in black and white.

Marinette stopped where she was, looking down at her hands and blinking in surprise. They were peach, and her charm bracelet - a birthday gift from Adrien - was blue and yellow. Her clothes were coloured. In fact, everything around her was.

So… why was this memory in black and white?

Marinette started walking again, struggled to remember. Her brain felt like it was fighting against her; it would be so much easier, after all, to just stop thinking about it instead…

They had been doing a show. Right. And they’d won an award - the inaugural Superhero Performance of the Year, or something like that.

They had been planning on using their miraculouses for the show.

And, even more bizarrely, everything had been in black and white.

Maybe my memory is just fuzzy? Marinette thought uncertainly, though, deep down, she didn’t believe that even for a second.

But even if they had been planning on doing the show in their superhero forms, it wasn’t as if she herself had suggested doing that. And it wasn’t totally for personal gain, seeing as it was for the children.

So why did she feel like she had once-

Wait. There had been another time.

When she and Adrien were cooking dinner.

She’d suggested it.

But the whole scene was fuzzy in her mind. She could barely remember anything, other than a vague feeling of being out of control.

“What…?” Marinette breathed, her mind aching with the act of trying to remember.

“Hello, Marinette!”

Marinette looked up. She had been so deep in thought, she hadn’t noticed that she’d reached her destination already: the vet.

“Hello, Ms. Bustier,” Marinette greeted, forcing a smile. The thoughts easily faded into the shadows of her mind, slipping away as quickly as they had come. “I’ve come to ask you a few questions, if that’s all right.”

“Of course,” Ms. Bustier said, smiling from the doorway of the vet. “Come right on in.”

Adrien stalked about the apartment. Maybe it was just the cat miraculous rubbing off on him, but he couldn’t stay still, wandering about the apartment and swatting at things at random. His mind was busy, the image of Marinette at the forefront.

Marinette, in colour, giving him a mischievous smile as she talked about a surprise.

Marinette, in black and white, telling him about Clara Nightingale.

Marinette, her hair curled, smiling unnaturally as they made dinner.

Adrien forced himself to stop walking, shoving his hands into his pockets and staring out the window, as if he were some moody character from a movie set in the 1970s.

He loved Marinette. He’d gotten her back, and had no plans of letting her go anywhere without him. But it was his love for her that had made him give her control again, cutting her mental strings that he’d held like control over like Puppeteer.

What if that had been a bad idea?

What if she was remembering things now? Things that had happened?

Things… that no longer existed?

Clara Nightingale.

Adrien remembered that day with Clara. He and Marinette had almost put on masks in front of one another, which surely would have outed their identities then and there as Ladybug and the cat superhero.

That was in another place in another time, Adrien tried to dismiss the thought, and with another cat superhero. I’m not who I was then, and neither is this world. Of course Marinette thinks she’s remembering things. I cut her strings, so her mind is just adjusting, settling into reality; that’s all.

“Adrien?”

Adrien turned in surprise, only to find his mother behind him. “Mother? What are you doing home right now?”

Emilie smiled at him. “I could say the same thing to you. Why don’t you go outside for now? I think I saw Kim out front with a soccer ball.”

Adrien paused. He wanted to be here when Marinette got back, but his mother was right. He was acting like a caged tiger right now. He needed to get out, to move.

But not with Kim.

“Okay,” he relented. “I’ll go.” He headed for the door, then paused, glancing back at his mother.

It was good to have the two most important women in his life back.

“I love you,” he said, then slipped out the door.

He would never let them forget that he did, and would never let anything happen to them. Not again.

Never.

“So that’s all I need to know?” Marinette double-checked.

“Yes,” Ms. Bustier nodded. She slid a piece of paper across the counter to Marinette. “These are all the recommendations I’ve made. Try buying them; they’ll work great.”

“Thank you so much!” Marinette smiled, accepting the paper, her eyes skimming over all the items.

“Where are you going to pick… you know, them up from?” Ms. Bustier asked, curiosity tinging her tone.

“I’m going to ask a friend of mine to help,” Marinette replied distractedly. “You said the food for them was available here, right?”

“No, that’s in the store across the street,” Ms. Bustier shook her head. “It was smart of you to come here first to ask me about this. You’ll do a great job with them; I know it.”

“Thank you,” Marinette smiled, blushing slightly at the praise. “It’s a surprise for Adrien.”

Ms. Bustier seemed to pause. “Adrien… Agreste?”

“Yes,” Marinette nodded, popping open her purse. “Do you need me to pay you?”

“Oh, this is just a consultation between friends,” Ms. Bustier quickly shook her head. “No need to pay.”

“That’s so generous of you,” Marinette said gratefully, closing the purse again. “Is that all, then?”

Ms. Bustier nodded, but seemed a little distracted even as she smiled. “Thank you for dropping by. Remember us if you ever need to take them in for check ups.”

“I will,” Marinette promised, standing even as confusion tickled the back of her mind. This was unlike Ms. Bustier. Marinette had known her for years; the woman had always come to her parent’s bakery on the weekend for a cupcake that was as sweet as she was. She was always so kind to children, to the point that Marinette had wished that Ms. Bustier had become a teacher instead of a veterinarian, but…

Marinette paused in the doorway of the vet, scanning the street before locking in on the pet store across the road. She’d pop in there to buy a few things that Ms. Bustier had recommended.

What had she been thinking about again?

Marinette stopped at the edge of the sidewalk, glancing up and down the street for any oncoming traffic before crossing.

Meh. It probably wasn’t all that important if she’d forgotten it so easily.

Adrien pressed his back to the wall of a building in an alleyway he’d slipped into.

Kim had, predictably, attempted to rope him into a game of soccer, but Adrien had managed to wriggle his way out of it.

Now, he unbuttoned the cuff on his shirt sleeve, pulling out the charm bracelet Marinette had given him. The bracelet had always been in colour, even when the world around him had been in black and white.

Not that anyone else remembered it being like that, of course.

For its part, the bracelet now blended more easily into the surrounding world, thanks to the fact that it matched it in hue. But Adrien still kept it hidden away, unwilling to risk losing the earrings or ring.

Now, however, he untied the knot in the bracelet, his fingers practiced in the motion by this point. Adrien slipped the ring off the bracelet, retied the knot, and placed it back under his cuff.

Hidden.

Safe.

“Plagg, claws out!”

A moment later, Chat Blanc burst forth onto the rooftops of Paris, riding his baton and shooting out into open air. His feet hit a rooftop, and he was off.

He needed to run off his energy, to get out of his own head, but his thoughts were spinning in circles faster than his feet could keep up with or overrun. His heart ached, but not with the way it was pounding to get oxygen into his lungs.

Marinette was keeping a secret from him. That wasn’t the end of the world.

But he hated it anyway.

What if something happened because of it? What if something went wrong?

Chat Blanc stumbled, almost missing the edge of a roof. The next moment, he was crouching down in a small ball on the roof, not even sure where he was in Paris anymore, but worry crashing through his system, overriding all sense and thoughts. His hands clutched at his head, fingers tangled up in his hair, the ring and earrings thrumming on his hand even in his superhero form. The power was undeniable, unable to be suppressed even by his costume.

What if everything fell apart, and he was left alone again and everything was as it was before-

Zeep!

Chat Blanc jerked his head up - just in time to watch the lights flicker and go out in the building facing him.

Chat Blanc jerked to his feet, heart pounding in his chest, fear now thrown into the mix with all the other emotions already roaring through him. Was there an akuma in Paris? But, no, that was supposed to be impossible! He’d made sure of that-

It was only then that Chat Blanc noticed the rest of the buildings around him had also gone dark. There were shouts coming from within, confusion obvious in the tones.

An electrical outage.

Not an akuma, then.

Chat Blanc released his hands, which he only now realized had been curled into tight fists. The feeling of power slowly faded away into a haze in the back of his mind again.

Oh.

Definitely not an akuma, then.

It had been him.

The lights went out just as Marinette reached the doorway to leave.

“Huh,” the guy behind the cash register said. “That’s weird.”

“I’m sure it’ll come back on again,” Marinette said quickly. “Have a nice day!”

Not waiting for a reply, she rushed out the door, craning her neck instantly and sprinted down the street despite the heavy load she was carrying. Ms. Bustier had given her quite the long list of supplies.

As she raced back toward Adrien’s apartment, she searched Paris for any sign of an akuma. She hadn’t had to fight one in a long time. Hawkmoth seemed to have gone completely silent. If one was attacking, she needed to get her earrings from Adrien - now.

However, by the time she was a block away from the apartment and finally beginning to slow down, she had to admit within herself that the electricity had likely gone out for completely normal reasons.

When even was the last time she’d fought an akuma?

Before Marinette could try to answer that question, she spotted an old man waiting on the corner. She broke into a smile, shifting the heavy bag in her arms, slowing down to a walk as she approached. “Wang Fu! Thank you for coming.”

“Of course,” the old man replied easily, smiling at her. “You appear to have quite the burden. Do you need any assistance with it?”

“No, thank you,” Marinette panted, stopping in front of him. “I have a different favour to ask you, actually.”

“Is that why you asked me to meet you here?” He glanced over his shoulder towards the apartment building. “If that is where your friend lives, wouldn’t that have been where you’d want to meet instead?”

“Nah,” Marinette waved it off. As luck would have it - and, as Ladybug, she seemed to have plenty of that - she’d bumped into the old man earlier that day and asked him to meet her here later. After that, she’d headed to Adrien’s, where she’d picked up the sketchbook she’d accidentally left there. “I want to surprise him. I just was at the vet, and now I have all the information I needed to be able to tell you about it.”

“Well,” Wang Fu smiled, “I’m all ears.”

Adrien brought his knees up into his chest, watching as Plagg slowly munched on a piece of camembert cheese. Despite himself, Adrien still carried around his kwami’s favourite kind of cheese. He was pretty sure that, after all he’d done, Plagg would accept any kind that he gave him, but… Plagg had been his friend. He had known things about his home life that no one else had - even before Marinette. Adrien couldn’t help but still be fond of his kwami.

“You’re pushing it pretty far, kid.”

Adrien’s eyes snapped to the black kwami of destruction. He hadn’t heard him speak in so long that he hardly even recognized his voice anymore. “Plagg?” Even as the word flew out of his mouth, Adrien’s mind registered what his kwami had said, and he shifted uneasily. “What are you talking about?”

“I think we both know exactly what I’m talking about,” Plagg replied, his voice weary. “You’re pushing me and Tikki to our limits. Constantly making changes and stuff. And…” he cast one of those dry glances that Adrien used to see him give all the time at the building across from them, “now you’re shutting off people’s electricity.”

“That wasn’t on purpose,” Adrien mumbled. He paused, then asked in a whisper, as if worried someone would hear him even when he was on a roof, “Do you think anyone knows it’s my fault?”

“Why should they?” Plagg shrugged.

“Because…” Adrien swiped angrily at his eyes. “You know why.”

For a few moments, Plagg eyed him silently, slipping easily back into his old role of advisor to his young holder. Finally, he said, “The only one who even has the power to suspect anything is Marinette. The rest of them… they don’t think anything.”

“Am I doing the right thing, Plagg?” Adrien asked quietly, his voice tortured, laying his head on his knees.

“Do you really want me to answer that?”

Adrien said nothing.

Plagg sighed. “If you pay attention to pigtail girl, you’ll notice that she’s starting to think that something is… wrong. Off. She doesn’t know what, but… it’s there, nevertheless.”

“The truth is,” Adrien said quietly, “we are in uncharted waters… and you know what? I’m anxious, too. I’m afraid that her surprise is something that’ll throw everything off.”

“We just don’t know what to expect,” Plagg agreed, chewing his camembert slowly. “Not even Tikki and me.”

Adrien peeked over his knees at the black kwami, a tiny grin crossing his face at the way Plagg completely disregarded correct grammar. “I’ve missed you, Plagg.”

Plagg grunted. “You don’t exactly give me much of a chance to talk with you.”

“I know,” Adrien sighed. “I just… I’m trying to keep the miraculouses safe.”

“From who?” Plagg challenged with sudden fire. “Hawkmoth? Or the one person who has the ability to find out your secret?”

Adrien drew back from his kwami as if he’d been struck. “Marinette would never do that,” he choked. “She… she wouldn’t leave me. Not on purpose.”

“And what about the things that have been happening?” The cheese now gone, Plagg flew right into Adrien’s face, glaring, his beady little eyes that had seen thousands of years of life demanding an answer. “You know that they want her - heck, they probably desperately need her!”

“Well they can’t have her!” Adrien screamed, shooting to his feet, tears springing to his eyes, fury mingling with brokenness and agony in his voice.

Plagg jerked back, narrowly avoiding phasing straight through Adrien’s head. For a few moments, Adrien stood there, panting.

He should find Marinette. Make sure she was fine. Make sure they were fine.

“You’re wrong,” he whispered, raising his eyes to Plagg even as the sight of his kwami went blurry with his tears. “They… they’re fine.”

“You’re still you, kid,” Plagg said quietly. “You have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. You may be the holder of destruction, but you wouldn’t destroy anything if you could avoid it. Not Paris. Not Marinette. Not… everything.” He dared to drift a little closer, and when Adrien didn’t move, whispered, “This isn’t you.”

“What about what I was before this?” Adrien shot back, even though his voice wobbled as he did so. “Was that me?”

When all Plagg did was stare at him sadly, Adrien took a vicious swipe at his eyes, sniffing. “I’m sorry, Plagg. I’m sorry that I’ve done this to you and Tikki. But there’s no going back now.”

No reply.

Adrien took that to mean that the conversation was over.

“Plagg, claws out.”

There was a flash of white light, and Chat Blanc wearily trudged to the edge of the roof, sitting down despite the fact that he’d only just stood up.

“Little kitty on a rooftop,” he whispered, “all alone… without his lady…”

Except… he wasn’t.

Not anymore.

Because now he had Marinette.

Marinette shifted her load once again in her arms, only now thinking to wonder as she approached the apartment how she would get the door open.

“Hey, Kim,” she greeted, out of breath, as she passed by.

There was no reply.

Marinette paused at the gate, glancing over at Kim. He was still there, kicking the soccer ball.

But as she watched, he kicked the ball and missed the goal entirely. The ball hit the wall, bouncing back to Kim, where he immediately kicked it again - sending it to the same place on the wall where it bounced off yet again.

Marinette blinked.

What was he doing?

As she watched, he kicked the ball, over and over, mechanically, missing the goal with every attempt.

“What in the world?” Marinette mumbled, confusion flooding through her.

“Marinette?”

Marinette looked up - her thoughts interrupted for the second time that day by a woman standing in a doorway. “Emilie! I have all the stuff.” She lowered her voice, peering uncertainly past Emilie. “Is… Adrien still here?”

“I sent him out, as I said I would,” Emilie assured her. But then, she frowned. “That is… I sent him to play soccer with Kim. But… he’s not here.” Panic began to creep into her voice. “And then there was a power outage! Do you think he’s okay?”

Marinette hustled to the doorway, eager to drop off her stuff in the apartment upstairs. “I’m sure he is.” Whatever happened, she knew her boyfriend could take care of himself. He was the superhero, Chat Blanc, after all. “Is the power back on yet?”

“It’s back,” Emilie assured her, letting out a calming breath before she closed the door behind them. “We can set up the room now.”

Chat Blanc dropped into an alley near his apartment, whispering, “Plagg, claws in.”

There was a flash of light, and a moment later, Adrien Agreste casually strolled out from the alley, hands in his pockets.

No one in Paris was any the wiser to what had just transpired.

“Hey, Kim,” Adrien greeted easily, barely even glancing at his athletic friend as he passed by.

“Hey, Adrien,” Kim replied. There was the smack of the ball hitting the wall.

“You may want to practice your aim,” Adrien advised as he reached the door.

“I have been,” Kim replied. “I’ve always felt like soccer was more than that, though.”

Adrien froze, heart in his throat, the words far to familiar to be mistaken. He glanced nervously back over his shoulder, then down the street, making sure Marinette wasn’t there. She was the only other person likely to remember the words, even if they were now applied to soccer.

No sign of her.

Adrien forced a laugh. “What are you talking about, Kim? Look, just keep practicing; I’m sure you’ll get it.”

Kim perked up. “Yeah, you’re right. Forget I said anything.” He kicked the ball again with gusto - though as Adrien quickly stepped inside, shutting the door behind him, he couldn’t help but notice how Kim missed the goal again.

Hurrying upstairs, Adrien reached his and his mother’s apartment, opening the door.

“How about over here?” Marinette’s voice reached his ears instantly.

She was back, then.

Adrien hurriedly shut the door behind him, heading further into the apartment, looking for Marinette. He stuck his head through a doorway, into the only other room that he and his mother didn’t use.

Sure enough, there were Emilie and Marinette, heads bent close together.

“What are you doing?” Adrien asked.

Both looked up. Marinette leapt to her feet as soon as she saw him. “Adrien! You can’t look! It’s your surprise!” She hustled forward, ready to shoo him out of the room.

Knock knock knock!

Adrien turned. “Who is that?”

Marinette pushed past him. “I’ll get it!”

“What’s going on, Marinette?” Adrien asked, suddenly overwhelmed by the need to know what was going on. “What are you doing?”

Marinette flung open the front door. “Wang Fu! You got them?”

Adrien came to a stop several steps behind Marinette.

It was Fu again.

What was he doing here?

“As promised,” the old man nodded, holding out… was that a carrier he was handing to Marinette?

Marinette turned to Adrien, beaming. “Surprise!”

“What…?” Adrien blinked. Was all this secrecy over a carrier?

Emilie appeared at his side. “It’s inside the carrier,” she whispered to him with a small smile.

Marinette watched as he stepped, an eager smile on her face as he peered inside. “Meet Tommy and Billy,” she announced.

Adrien’s jaw dropped. “Hamsters?”

“Yes!” Marinette squealed happily. “I wanted to get you a nice surprise, and I knew how you wanted a hamster, so…”

Adrien couldn’t reply, too shocked to even think of how to form words.

As if made nervous by his silence, Marinette began to ramble. “Do you want to put them in their cages? Your mother and I worked on setting them up. There’s a spot for them in that room and everything! I had to enlist her help to come home from work today so she could get you out of the house for a bit. I didn’t want you to see us setting up, and I… hey, sorry, did you have something you were going to do today?” She twisted to look over her shoulder at Wang Fu. “I totally forgot to even ask. I can walk you back outside, if you want.” She whipped about to fact Adrien again, not even waiting for an answer, now in total ramble-mode. “Do you like them? I hope so. I mean, I put a lot of thought into the names, but if you don’t like them-”

“No, no!” Adrien said, her attempt to change what was already perfect finally snapping him out of his lack of ability to speak. Warm happiness welled up inside of his chest, bubbling and overflowing, spreading throughout the rest of him. “Thank you, Marinette! This is… I mean… I love it.” He locked eyes with her, a part of him melting just from seeing their bluebell blue. “Thank you.”

Marinette blushed pink, looking pleased with herself. “I’m glad you like it.” She turned back to Fu. “Since Wang Fu knows so much about animals, I thought I’d ask him to choose them out for us.”

Adrien looked at the old man. “Thank you,” he said sincerely - feeling for the first time since he’d seen the old man at the show that he might not actually be the trouble he’d thought he was. “Can you stay for a few minutes? I think we might still have some cookies from a dinner Marinette and I made recently.”

“How could I say no to an offer like that?” the old man smiled. “But… my turtles are outside. I couldn’t bring them up the stairs along with the carrier.”

“I’m heading out,” Emilie offered. “I could watch them for a few minutes.”

“No, that’s fine; I’ll go watch them for you,” Marinette interjected. “You’ve done so much to help me today; it’s the least I can do.”

“Thank you very much,” Wang Fu inclined his head to her, smiling one of those mysterious smiles that used to hold so many secrets.

But he posed no danger.

Which meant he had no secrets to hide from Adrien.

Adrien couldn’t help but grin as Emilie and Marinette headed out the door.

He was glad to be done with other keeping secrets from him.

Marinette spotted the aquarium filled with turtles easily enough. It was standing in the yard in front of the apartment.

As she head over to it, though, she noticed Nino strolling into the yard. She waved. “Nino! How are you?”

“Good, good,” Nino said, seeming almost… distracted. He inclined his head to Kim. “Kim. How’s the practice going?”

“Fine,” Kim said. But even as he said so, he missed his shot again. He sighed, then came over to the wall, leaning against it.

“Is everything all right?” Marinette asked, somewhat bemused by the boys’ behaviour. Were they planning a surprise, now?

Nino glanced up at the apartment, then, lowering his voice, whispered, “What is he doing in there?”

“I don’t know,” Kim said.

“Who?” Marinette blinked in confusion. “Adrien? He lives here, you guys.”

“And the other one,” Nino said, not seeming to have heard.

“He went right in,” Kim said, seeming to be confirming… something.

“Remarkable day we’re having, no?” Marinette interrupted, trying to get a word in edgewise - even though she wasn’t totally sure what it was edgewise against.

“That’s fine,” Nino replied.

“Did you lose power, too?” Marinette added, trying to keep the conversation away from… whatever this was.

“Oh, sure did,” Nino nodded, finally seeming to notice her. “But Chris looks better in the dark, so I’m not complaining.”

Marinette and Kim chuckled.

Nino let out a small sigh. “Okay.”

Marinette gave him an odd look, then slowly began to draw back. “Well. I’ll get back to Adrien.” She paused, then added jokingly, “Neither of you boys are going to steal these turtles, right?”

“Marinette.” Nino’s eyes went up to the apartment again. “Is Wang Fu inside with Adrien?”

“Ye-e-es,” Marinette said, stretching out the word, now thoroughly weirded out. “Why?”

“You and Marinette are very good at baking,” Fu complimented, finishing off a cookie.

“Thank you,” Adrien said, his eyes drifting back down to the hamsters in their carrier. He’d set it on the floor as he got the cookies out for Fu. “Marinette grew up in a bakery, so she’s a whiz at it.”

“Marinette told me that you wanted hamsters for a long time,” the old man said. “I didn’t realize those were the names you two wanted for them.”

“Billy and Tommy?” Adrien chuckled. “I don’t know why. But Marinette already knows what she wants to name her kids in the future, so why not, right?”

“Billy and Tommy each lost their fathers, apparently,” Fu added. “I thought that they needed you and your sweet girlfriend as much as you both need them.”

“I appreciate it,” Adrien murmured, staring at the hamsters.

Silence descended.

“I had a father.”

The words slipped out without his intention. But Adrien was at ease, now that he was sure that Fu posed no threat.

Fu hummed, and Adrien took that as his cue to continue.

“His name was Gabriel.”

The hamsters squeaked, their voices tiny and cute.

“It must be nice to have your mother back,” Fu commented.

Adrien stilled, and, feeling as if ice were slowly spreading out over all his insides, raised his eyes. “What did you say?”

Nino and Kim exchanged a glance, Nino shifting from foot to foot with apparent unease.

Kim spoke up. “He’s… new to town. Brand new.”

“There’s no family,” Nino added. “No wife.”

Marinette gave her friends a quizzical look, moving to go inside and leave this weirdness behind. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Hmm…” Kim hummed. “No home.”

Marinette stopped. “What?”

“What did you say just now?” Adrien repeated.

“I said, I thought that they needed you and your sweet girlfriend as much as you both need them,” Fu repeated. “Should I say it one more time for good measure?” This line was added jokingly, and Adrien would almost have been able to write this all off as his own mishearing if it weren’t for a slight tremor that had entered Fu’s voice.

“No,” Adrien said, eyes narrowing. “What did you say about my mother?”

“Your mother?” Fu repeated. He licked his lips. “I… here, allow me to bring the hamsters to their cage-”

Adrien stood, moving between Fu and the carrier. “No, I think you should leave.”

Marinette took a step closer to the boys. “What do you mean, he has no home?”

Kim swallowed. “He came here because… He came here because…”

“He came here because we’re all…” Nino cut in, but then his voice trailed off, ending in a sigh.

“He came here because we’re all what?” Marinette demanded, fear beginning to wriggle in the pit of her stomach. “What’re you trying to tell me?”

And that’s when he saw it.

“What is that?” Adrien asked, his gaze locking on Wang Fu’s wrist.

“What?” the old man repeated, confused.

“That.” Adrien pointed straight at the green bracelet about Fu’s wrist. “That bracelet.”

“I, uh… I…” Fu began backing up.

Adrien’s gaze snapped up to the old man’s face again, and his lips curled back involuntarily, revealing his teeth. “That explains the turtles, then.” He began to slowly stalk around the coffee table, quietly demanding, “Who are you?”

But Fu just shook his head. “I don’t…”

Adrien stopped, towering over the short man threateningly, his hands curling into fists. “Who are you?”

“Adrien,” Fu said, as if trying to calm him.

But they were far beyond that point now.

“I…” Fu reached out behind him, eyes widening, feeling for the couch, trying to make his way around it, as if suddenly realizing that he was in danger. There was fear in his eyes - and he certainly had good reason to fear, now that Adrien knew. “I… Adrien…”

Out of the blue, Nino and Kim relaxed. “Well, I better get going,” Nino said. “That music’s not gonna write itself.”

Marinette stared in bewilderment as Nino walked away. She turned her gaze on Kim. “Kim?” she tried, her voice rising to a squeak at the end, desperately searching her long-time friend’s face for answers.

But Kim just gave a chuckle. “Catch you on the flip side, Marinette.”

Marinette stared in shock as he turned, walking away. Where was he even going?? His soccer goal was still set up!

Marinette turned - and froze.

The turtles were gone.

“I… what?” Marinette gaped. For a beat, all was silent besides her sharp, shallow breaths.

And then she burst into action, sprinting for the apartment, taking the stairs up to Adrien’s floor two at a time.

“Wang Fu!” she called out as soon as she burst through the door. “Your turtles… I’m sorry but they’re…”

She stopped.

Adrien was standing in the living room, his back to her.

Alone.

“Adrien?” Marinette asked hesitantly, her breath coming fast. “Where… where’s Wang Fu?”

There was a beat of silence.

Then, Adrien turned about to her, smiling easily in that cheeky way of his that she loved. “Oh, he left, Marinette. He had to rush home.”

Zwoosh!

Wang Fu landed on his back - hard. The air went out of his lungs in a single woosh.

“Master Fu!”

“Are you okay?”

“What happened?”

“Where’s Ladybug?”

Master Fu slowly opened his eyes, groaning at the bright white surrounding him.

“Fu,” a firm voice, older than the rest, said. “What happened?”

Fu slowly opened his eyes.

Staring down at him was a group of heroes, their eyes filled with worry to varrying degrees - sharpest of all in a pair of green ones.

“Fu?” It was said a little more insistently this tim.e

Slowly, Master Fu turned his gaze to the hero who was talking. With great effort, he tried to rally himself. “I…”

“Fu?” This time it was worry that tinged the voice.

Master Fu closed his eyes, pained by what he had to tell them, yet knowing there was no avoiding it.

“Bunnyx… I don’t know if we can rescue her.”

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#miraculous ladybug #noirbug #my writing #ml fanfic #chat blanc #wandavision au

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emisfritish · 4 years

Text

Our gift to the world - Episode 3

Summary: Episode codas of an established Pang/Wave in The Gifted Graduation. Episode 3- A conversation between Pang and Ohm after THE speech, and a warm and emotional Wave hearing it all.

Previous parts : Ep.1 / Ep.2

Next parts : Ep.4 / Ep.5 / Ep.6 / Ep. 7 / Ep. 8

Series on Ao3

Notes : Because Wave’s character development came to slap me in the face during that speech, and my main thought was how proud Pang must have felt hearing it. The fond look on his face while Wave was speaking not helping matters at all.

Wave is walking back towards the room where they usually hold their meetings, two small bottled waters held in each of his hands for him and Pang, when he hears his name being spoken from inside the room and he stops in his tracks.

“When are you and Wave going to tag team the newbee to co-parent him into seeing the errors of his ways ?” he hears Ohm ask lightly.

Well, there’s no way he’s entering the room now, only to end up facing Ohm’s unrelenting teasing.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he hears his boyfriend answer. “But I’m not sure I really want to know where this is going.”

“Oh come on Pang ! You have to know that you and Wave are totally the parents in our group of friends. And between your earnest puppy eyes as you explain to Time how you’re disappointed because we were counting on him, and Wave’s eternal glare as he explains where he went wrong with basically… well, his entire life, probably. It’s bound to work and bring him back to Team Gifted !”

Wave rolls his eyes when he hears the boy’s passionate speech, but he remains standing where he is, curious to hear Pang’s answer.

“First, I’ve said everything I needed to say to Time. I give up, I’m done with him,” Pang says, voice hard.

Wave hears Ohm’s answering hum, doubt evident in the tone of his voice, and he can’t help but think that Ohm really does know his best friend well.

Because giving up really isn’t part of Pang’s vocabulary, and if Wave knows anything about his boyfriend, it’s that the man never simply gives up on people, always the optimist. It’ll take a few days of him licking his wounds to get over the treason he felt when Time turned his back on them, but Wave knows that Pang will then reach out to him again and try to help, like he always does.

Pang is soft that way, in a way that Wave himself doesn’t fully understand, but loves him for anyway.

And Ohm is also right about how he’ll be there to glare at Time, while Pang talks to him. This kid has already upset and caused Pang enough grief, there is absolutely no way he’s letting him make things worse.

Wave may have mellowed down a little these past couple of months, but at heart he is still the same cold hacker, and he won’t hesitate to destroy the other man’s life and electronically erase any trace of his existence if he keeps on hurting Pang.

“And second,” Pang continues, and Wave has almost forgotten what him and Ohm were talking about. “I don’t have earnest puppy eyes, and Wave doesn’t spend his time glaring.”

Wave snorts quietly at the words, not wanting the two other boys to hear him yet. Because yet again, Ohm knows them both well. Pang definitely has a look, so earnest that it makes you re-evaluate your entire life and do anything he says, even without him using his gift. And he himself… well. Let’s just say he knows himself enough to know that glaring is definitely his go to way of communicating in many instances.

“I guess you’re right about that,” Ohm admits, pulling Wave out of his thoughts. “I can’t really say he glares all the time and is all grumpy anymore, not after that uplifting speech he gave earlier.”

Pang doesn’t say anything in answer for a while, but Wave can picture the smile and fond look his boyfriend must be sporting right now, the exact same ones he gave him earlier while he was making his speech, and Wave feels his cheeks heat up.

“It was a good speech,” his boyfriend finally says, pride evident in his voice, which warms Wave’s heart. “And you guys should stop teasing him when he does things like this. You know it’s still difficult for him,” he finishes sternly.

Such a Pang thing to do, Wave thinks fondly.

Of course his boyfriend was going to stand up for him, even if it was unnecessary, and even towards their own friends.

“You know we only tease because we care about him,” Ohm defends himself, and Wave can picture him rolling his eyes at his boyfriend’s protectiveness. Wave will never admit it out loud, but he does sort of love it. “He’s our friend, he knows that.”

Not entirely true, Wave thinks to himself once again.

He’s starting to understand, because they spend so much time together that he sees that the way the others treat him is similar to the way they act with each other, and because of Pang’s repeated reassurance that they are indeed his friends too. Still, he struggles with the idea that they do genuinely care about him, sometimes.

‘Patience’, is what Pang always says. His boyfriend is always telling him that he needs to show more patience towards himself, and that it’ll take time for him to fully believe they care. But he’s getting there.

“Still,” said boyfriend starts to argue, before Ohm cuts him off.

“I know, I know. I’ll back off, and I’ll tell the others to do the same,” he relents, and Wave hears Pang thank him quietly in response.

“You’re good for him, it’s crazy how much he’s changed since you two got together. It’s like he’s a completely different person sometimes,” Ohm muses, and Wave is surprised at the words.

He hadn’t realized that it was this evident for the others in the group, seeing as they hadn’t been very close before. Still, he supposes that with the time they spend together now, it was stupid of him not to think that they wouldn’t realize that he feels more at ease now than he did months ago.

“Actually, I don’t think he’s changed that much,” Pang says quietly, seemingly deep in thought, and Wave leans closer to the door so as to not miss a word coming out of his boyfriend’s mouth, surprised at his answer.

“I think this has always been him, and he’s just comfortable enough around us now to show us more of who he really is. It has nothing to do with me, it’s all him and his work,” Pang continues, the care he feels for Wave evident in his voice, and Wave feels his throat tighten at the words.

Pang is wrong though, Wave has to admit. His boyfriend once again selling himself short. It really is entirely thanks to him, that Wave feels safe enough to actually drop the walls he usually keeps around himself to push other people away and protect himself. It’s thanks to him, that he feels safe enough to be more like his old safe, without fearing it’ll come back to kick him in the butt later.

I should make sure Pang knows that, Wave notes, wanting his boyfriend to know how he’s truly changed his life for the better.

“Plus, it goes both ways, you know ?” Pang breaks the silence after a minute, pulling Wave out of his musings.

He hears a questioning noise coming from Ohm, and feels thankful towards the other boy, curious to know what Pang means by that himself.

“I mean that I used to think that it was me against the rest of the world. That I had to fight everything and everyone by myself, and it was lonely. Sure, I had you and Namtarn and you were amazing friends, which helped a lot. But it isn’t until Wave that I fully understood that I didn’t have to go at it alone, that I could rely on all of you for help. It’s also thanks to him that I’m even with you today, having this conversation.”

Hearing the words coming from his boyfriend’s mouth, Wave feels silent tears drop onto his cheeks in emotion, quickly wiping them away with the sleeve of his jacket.

Of course, he knows how much Pang cares about him, and intellectually, he knows that Pang gets something out of their relationship too. But sometimes, Wave can’t help but think that their relationship must feel very one-sided for Pang, what with him being the one to guide Wave through life as often as he does.

It warms his heart to hear that he’s also been of help to Pang, and that they truly are partners in everything.

“Like I said, I think you’re good for each other,” Ohm ends up answering, and Wave feels a tide of gratefulness for their goofy friend. Plus, he has to agree with him. Pang truly is one of the best things that’s happened to him, and he hopes the reverse is equally true.

“You should have seen him when you weren’t with us anymore,” Ohm reminisces. “It was so obvious how much Wave was fighting to do everything in his power to bring you back into the fold, and how much he had to stop himself from walking over to you and just blurting it out to you all the time. I think he really missed you and it was hard for him.”

Wave is surprised at the words. Not that they aren’t true, because it really had been a difficult time for him, but he’s surprised Ohm even noticed. His friend really was more perceptive than Wave had previously given him credit for, hiding it all behind his goofy attitude.

“I know,” Pang whispers in answer to his friend’s words, and Wave feels a shot of pain in his heart at the memory.

Him and Pang have spoken about the situation a little, the time when they were both lost in completely different ways, and it really was miserable for the both of them. He hopes he never has to go through something like that again.

Learning what it was like to have a true friend for the first time in his life, someone that truly knew him and yet still accepted all of him, before it was brutally taken away from him. Seeing Pang everyday but being unable to reach out to him and talk to him… It was one of the worst feelings he’s ever felt, and he hopes he never has to live through it again.

Even if that dark time was what allowed him to realize how much he really did care about Pang. Sure, they’d grown closer once Pang regained his memories and that’s when they started building their way to the relationship they have today.

But if Wave is honest with himself, he knew even then that he felt something for Pang that he’d never truly felt before. All the nights spent plotting together and trying to find the best ways to mess with the system and the director, had only served to confirm what Wave already knew.

And when they finally gave in and fell into each other, well… Let’s just say it’ll forever remain one of the happiest moments of Wave’s life.

He’s pulled out of his thoughts when he hears a chair scrape against the floor, and steps coming closer to the door.

Lost in thought, he must have not heard their conversation come to an end, and he realizes in panic that he has nowhere to hide that won’t make it obvious to whoever comes to the door that he’s been eavesdropping on the conversation.

Before he has the time to make a move, Ohm comes into his periphery and the other boy stops in his tracks, although he remains silent, smiling knowingly towards him.

He silently pats Wave on the shoulder, and he starts to make his way past him, only for Wave to stop him by catching his wrist before the other boy disappears down the corridor.

“Ohm…,” he starts saying, the words never easy, especially when dealing with anyone other than Pang. “I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier, and for the way I spoke to you. I know you were only trying to help and you didn’t do it on purpose.”

He doesn’t go as far as to say the incident wasn’t Ohm’s fault, because the other boy had definitely messed up and Wave doesn’t make it a habit to lie. But still… He can’t help but feel guilty about the way he spoke to the other boy and blamed him for everything earlier, especially after hearing all of his conversation with Pang.

“No worries IT Wizard, it’s already behind us,” Ohm immediately says, a bright smile in place while he plucks one of the bottled water out of Wave’s hands. “Consider this apology enough.”

The other boy starts walking away, whistling happily, and Wave feels a small smile grace his lips. It really is that easy with Ohm, sometimes. The other boy so easy going he doesn’t feel the need to overthink or make a big deal out of things, so different to Wave himself.

Feeling a little lighter after his apology, Wave makes his way into the room.

Pang’s head is already turned towards the door, his boyfriend having surely heard the exchange between Wave and Ohm a moment before, and he beams warmly at him.

Wave lets his feet carry him and as soon as he is standing next to where Pang is seated, he puts the last bottle of water on the table in front of him and bends down to press his lips firmly against his boyfriend’s.

“What was that for?” Pang asks, surprised, when he pulls back from the kiss a few seconds later.

Wave can’t really tell him that the conversation he just eavesdropped on reminded him of how much he loves his boyfriend, so he shrugs and turns around, hiding his face which he can already feel heating up with embarrassment.

“I just felt like it,” he finally mumbles.

“Ok,” Pang answers, doubt evident in his voice.

“Did I mention how proud I was of your speech earlier ?” Pang asks where it’s clear that Wave won’t say anything else, which prompts Wave to turn back around towards him, only to see his boyfriend staring at him with a fond smile on his face.

“You should be, because it was basically me thinking back to all the stupid stuff you’ve told us in the past, and putting them all together in one speech. Indirectly, this was basically your speech,” Wave says ironically. Still, he can feel his cheeks heating up even more at the praise, which isn’t helped by the way Pang keeps on smiling fondly at him, evidently seeing right through his facade.

“And I guess… you did well when speaking to the director. Good job,” Wave in turn compliments him, which only causes Pang’s fond smile to grow wider.

It’s not Wave openly saying he’s proud of Pang, because he doesn’t quite know how to be this open with his affection yet. But still… He knows the negotiation exercise wasn’t the easiest for his usually straightforward boyfriend, and this is the best he can do to express the sentiment.

He thinks Pang knows him enough to be able to read what Wave was saying between the lines, and judging by the smile on his boyfriend’s face, he thinks he got the message loud and clear.

“I guess we make a good team,” Pang says with a smile, and Wave bends down once again until their faces are only inches from each other.

“I guess so,” he whispers against Pang’s lips, before he presses forward and attaches their lips once again.

They really do make the best team, he thinks.

Wave isn’t stupid. He knows that this victory doesn’t mean it’s the end of their fight, and that many more things are likely to come their way.

Yet, he also meant what he said earlier. Together, they really can face anything, and right now, he has faith that somehow, they’ll all end up okay, and will leave this school a better place when they graduate than it was when they first started here.

So for now, he’s going to concentrate on kissing his boyfriend within an inch of his life, and rejoicing in the victory.

Saving the world can wait until later.

#pangwave #pang x wave #wave x pang #tgg #the gifted graduation #the gifted fanfic #pangwave fanfic #wave made me so emotional today and I'm soft for all the friendships in this show #I loved seeing all of them work together to fight and I needed a little more ohm because he truly is wonderful too #also I need wave to know how much everyone cares about him so.... voilà.#emi's writing #our gift to the world

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captainjimothycarter · 4 years

Note

Title: 'What now?' Do whatever you want with it. 😊

Spoiler for Season 7 of Agents of Shield Episode 11: only doing this one because the idea is so fresh in my head post chronicon laser strike Steve was in the middle of cooking a late dinner for him and Peggy to enjoy when she got home. She’d told Steve during their walk around DC on her lunch break that tonight was another long night in the office simply because of something to do with Hank. That was a normal theme between them as of late and Steve was used to it, making dinner for her to heat up or to surprise Peggy with dinner and let her talk about her day. He was going to do the latter tonight - bring her dinner and coffee. Maybe even mention that vacation they’d talked about taking a few weeks ago to visit her brother and Bucky. That was the idea, at least, but it all came to a halt when Steve looked out the kitchen window. The lemon tree had been thick with lemons this year and he had plans to use one when a bright flash of light that burned his eyes struck him. He had just enough time to look away, the sound of an explosion rocking the hardwood floor beneath him. And in his heart, Steve knew before he opened his eyes that something terrible had happened to the love of his life. Just this once, he wanted to be wrong. In his heart, in his soul, Steve knew he wasn’t. That light, the blast, the smoke, and screams echoing down their normally quiet neighborhood told him disaster had struck. It only got worst as he rode onto the scene, pushing past police and workers trying to keep people from entering the danger zone. They didn’t even try to stop Steve nor Howard and Jarvis when they pulled up. There’s little hesitation between them as he started to dig with his bare hands to find Peggy, to find anyone. It takes no time before his hands are raw and tears are burning his eyes, but that doesn’t stop him. He barely notes Michael joining them or Bucky or even Howard. In the corner of his vision, he can see Jarvis calming down a teenage Tony. Those who are not injured are doing what they can. A familiar bracelet catches Steve’s eyes in the setting sun. He’s sobbing before he could even start to move the larger of the rubble out of the way. It’s not her time. It can’t be. She wasn’t supposed to die, not like this. Never like this. Not so cruelly ripped from him when they’d just gotten one another back. They still had a whole life to live. She’s scarcely breathing in his arms, incredibly injured. Peggy must’ve seen something coming because, in her last few moments, she’d thrown her body over that of an intern. Steve didn’t even pay attention as an EMT carefully extracted the intern with Bucky’s help. Peggy’s eyes part opens just enough to see Steve, her hand shakingly laying on Steve’s jawline, trying to comfort him as he tried his goddamn best not to jostle her, not to sob. To keep her safe, like he promised. There’s not a dried eye between the makeshift family as Steve rushes her out of the base and Howard is leading him to an ambulance. Micheal is driving, he knows that much. Howard and Jarvis are following in the car behind them. Bucky sits beside Steve, but he can’t tell you a single word he says. It’s all background noise. There’s an underground SHIELD hospital not on any record. That’s where they end up and Steve feels numb as doctors take Peggy from his arms and rush her back to surgery. Bucky has to stop him from following. Howard does follow after them, shouting something but his ears are ringing too much to know exactly what he’s saying. Bucky has to lead him to a private room to clean him up, ordering any nurse or doctor who steps inside to leave them alone. Michael with Jarvis and Tony returns to the surface to do what they can to help. Steve should. He should help, but he’s far too numb to be of any use. Steve has died a few times in his life, physically. On the slab, heart giving out, too weak to continue fighting with a spirit that refused to give in. He’s known the pain of dying, slowly. Each breath is labored and shakes you to your core. Each day you wonder if it's your last. He knows how it is to die quick and sudden too, to watch the ocean rise to meet you and not even feel the point of impact. But none of those times compare to this. This agonizing wait. The seconds feel like minutes, the minutes hours, the hours days as they slowly melt by. Eventually, Howard returns and makes Steve and Bucky drink some water before he does. Because he knows those two by heart now and their focus is on the woman beyond those doors. Steve loses it when Howard doesn’t come clean, not because he’s mad at Howard or finds any way to blame him but because he needs someone to lash out to and sorry Howard, but you’re there. Howard takes it too, with a stoic face that tells Steve there is as much guilt burning in him as there is Steve. Howard just hugs him and somehow Bucky is in on the hug and Steve is a crying mess. It reminds him of when he comes down a hospital hall very much like this one, a proud but nervous smile on his face as he tells the sleepy people crowding the waiting room so late at night that they’re parents. Twins. Sarah Elizabeth and Micheal James. The memory only makes him cry harder, the thought that their kids don’t know something had happened to their mother. It takes both of them to lead Steve to Peggy, the blonde stopping in the doorway at the sight of the woman he loves. It’s almost a mirrored image from when he laid in that bed years and years and years ago as a pipsqueak kid. Just a lot fewer tubes and wires. There’s something odd that Steve doesn’t notice right away. That he doesn’t catch onto, just so relieved she’d alive. She’s younger. Gone is the gray streaks in her hair, the slight wrinkles. She looks rested and youthful. It takes him a long moment to realize that Peggy is younger as if she’d stepped out from the 1940s. Howard finally admits that they were forced to use Steve’s blood in a transfusion in order to save Peggy’s life, granting her what he described as a watered-down version of the serum. It was aided by the fact that she was given a prototype of the same serum, developed in secret. Not even Peggy knew and Howard admits, that perhaps he shouldn’t have done that, but they had no choice. It was a last-ditch effort to save her life. Steve knows he wouldn’t hesitate to donate again, I fit meant saving Peggy’s or Howard’s or Tony's or anyone’s life in the future. It’s not even a full 24 hours later, where Steve is slumped over Peggy’s lower half while she sleeps, holding her hand that Howard injects Steve with the same serum. He’s too tired to be mad and Howard has a look on that face that tells him he has his reasons. And for once, he’s going to trust the mad scientist. It’s nearly forgotten when Peggy’s eyes open and Steve immediately sits up with a watery smile on his face. He brings her hand up to kiss over the dented wedding bands, a wet sob escaping him when her thumb rubs over his cheek. She smiles at him, her smile lighting up the entire room as much as it did his life. “I’m afraid...I’m a bit late to our dinner date, aren’t I?”

#Steggy #StevePeggy #agentsofshield #agent carter #agents of shield #agents of shield season 7 #Howard Stark #Howard and Peggy Friendship #Peggy Carter #Steve Rogers #Bucky Barnes #Michael Carter #edwin jarvis #Where I was going with this I don't know

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fortheloveoffanfic · 4 years

Text

Lullaby

Keanu Reeves x Reader (Chapter Summary- Two months later and one person is still being affected by a decision they made and another’s apparent rejection bothers them more than they’d prefer to admit.) (Warning- slight NSFW)

Chapter1 Chapter2

Chapter 3

A breathy sigh escaped her parted, plump lips. The silkiness of her legs rubbed against his thighs and her breasts felt firm and warm, just enough to fit in his palm with room for him to knead appreciatively. The slick heaven between her parted legs was so tight, cocooning Keanu’s member perfectly as he slid in and out of her in controlled thrusts. Her little gasps bounce of the walls, joining his low throaty grunts. Oh the sounds she makes. Y/n’s hair haloed around her on the white cotton pillow, messy and wild. She looked so divine in the most corrupted way. She’s so young, beautiful, oozing with youthful appeal. And she’s all his.

Except, she’s not. Not really.

With startle, Keanu awoke, sitting up in his bed, drenched in sweat......and something else. “Fuck,” he breathed, scrubbing his hands harshly over his face, proceeding to rub sleep out of his eyes. It was just minutes away from five in the morning and the sun hadn’t even risen yet, but Keanu knew that there was no chance of him falling back asleep.

It had become almost routine by then, his slumber being interrupted by dreams of Y/n, naked in his bed, or other parts of his house. The location never mattered, but for two months, it had been her. His mind had taken it upon itself to conjure up a slew of different sexual fantasies, ideas never seemed to be in shortage, much like his body’s gullibility when it came to believing them.

With a disgruntled sigh, Keanu shook the covers off and took a minute to offer his deflating crotch an annoyed stare. There was a stain at the front and those would be yet another pair of sleep pants that he’d have to hold back of the laundry hamper and deal with himself, lest Linda find out that she was actually working for a thirteen year old boy just discovering the mechanics of his body and not a grown man with the ability to not nut in his pants.

“The fuck is wrong with me?” He asked himself as he striped lazily, heading for the shower. As he got in, Keanu turned on the hot water, looking up as the water rained down from the entire ceiling of the sizeable cubicle. The shower in the master bath was one of the many things he loved about his house. It mimicked rainfall and could be easily controlled by the sleek silver knobs on the dark tiled wall.

As Keanu washed himself, his hands rough hands passing over his body, his mind flashed to the night from not too long ago, when he had gotten off the mere memories of a dream of Y/n. Since then, he had refrained from masturbation, at least to her image. It felt wrong, like he was violating her somehow. Y/n had probably forgotten their encounter by then, returning to....whatever women her age did. Shopping, dating men who weren’t fifty-something- learning how to run multi-million dollar empires.

He had refrained, yes. And Keanu liked to think that he was normally a man of great, strong restraint, but that morning, as he stood in the shower, hot water washing over him, his fingers brushed his member and thoughts of Y/n took a racy turn. He closed his eyes and started imagining that she was there, her hands touching him, settling to circle his growing erection, pumping slowly as her lips pressed to his, and she mumbled against him, “This what you want, huh? Let me make you feel good baby.”

Throwing his head back, Keanu groaned, his imagination running wild, his vison going white.

Men. They were all the same, weren’t they? Y/n was starting to believe the archaic stereotype. They had to be, else, she wouldn’t be in the position she was in. Sitting in a boardroom, eyes blank and teeth clenched as she listened to rantings of an ancient CFO, who apparently didn’t understand the concept of seasonal changes. As he spoke, Y/n found it hard to stay in the moment.....until he called her out on it, “You know, Miss Warren, if you don’t want to stay, the door’s right there. I’m sure kids your age want nothing more than to run wild all, boozed up.”

At his comment, Y/n sucked in a deep breath, closing her eyes as she tried not to snap. After a minute, she plastered on a wide smile, “Run wild?” She quoted, malice edging her tone, “I can assure Mr. Priestly, I’m not bored, just in awe of you’re.......stupidity. I’m not sure if it’s ignorance or if you’ve never watched the news, but the reason we aren’t making in the tropics is because of the hurricane season. You know, hurricanes; big scary storms; lots of wind and rain, really dangerous and we’ve had to close three braches so far because of them,” her words drew down, her tone grew whiney and mocking and an episode of quiet laughter ran across the table as other board members snickered.

The older man’s face grew hot pink with either embarrassment or anger, and from a mile away anyone could see that his jaw was clenched. The stocky, sausage fingers of his wrinkled hands clenched into his fist before he stuffed them into his pockets, fuming, “Michael, maybe teach your daughter a little respect,” Priestly glared at her father who sat at the head of the sleek glass table, combating his own proud smile.

Michael cleared his throat, leaning back further into his impressive leather chair, folding his arms and nodding, “Yes. Of course. Good observation Y/n,” he tried to look serious, clearing his throat and nodding stiffly, “But perhaps there are better ways to correct our colleagues,” before Priestly could grumble a remark about Y/n not actually being his colleagues, Y/n’s father continued, “But Roger, maybe next time, read the brief first,” he tapped his tablet screen knowingly.

The rest of the meeting went by mostly uneventfully, save for a few snide remarks traded back and forth between Roger and Y/n. At the end of it, everyone gathered their things, dispersing; heading back to their respective offices. After a quick word with her father about the rest of her tasks for the day, Y/n did the same. Usually, they’d ride the elevator together, but he’d promised her mother a lunch date, and Y/n had opted to stay back at the office.

As she stalked past the receptionists’ desk, one of the young girls, just about Y/n’s age or a little younger; Emily, called her back, “Oh! Miss Warren-”

“Emily, we’ve been over this, you can call me Y/n, we went to middle school together,” Y/n chuckled, rounding back to the large shared desk.

“Y/n,” Emily smiled politely, “You’re cousin is here, she’s waiting in your office.”

“Great! Thanks,” after pleasant good byes, Y/n went straight to her office, pulling open one side of the mahogany doors, the long silver handle cool in her palm, “Jill I-”

“Surprise!” A cluster of voices yelled in cheery unison.

Taken a back, Y/n jumped, stumbling back into the already closed door. It took barely a minute for her expression of pure shock, with just a bit of fright mixed it, before her face took on a more excited expression. There in her office, was almost everyone she had called a friend over the past ten years; a few girls her age from the country club her parents frequented, a couple people from college and just some others she’d met at parties and other snazzy events, “Oh my god! What are you guys doing here?”

“We’re here for you, obviously. Jill told us that you’ve committed yourself to these four walls,” a guy, someone who Y/n had met on her very first day of college, Mathew, broke from the small crowd, pulling her into a sideways hug, “And we’re here to tell you, that we won’t stand for that.”

“Matt,” Y/n yelped, hugging him back, “It’s been forever. How is the world of venture capitalism?” She laughed lightly.

“About as fun as it sounds,” he grinned, finally pulling away, going to a cooler that they had somehow managed into her office, and getting out a couple beers, “I’m serious though. We’re taking you on a vacation.”

“In May?” Y/n’s brows furrowed in confusion, “We can’t just-”

“Nuh uh,” Catharine, a young woman her age, who Y/n had known since she was sixteen cut her off, “Relax Y/n/n, it’s a week, not a month. You need to unwind and relax. And you’ve missed at least two birthdays, so you have to make up for those too.”

Y/n sighed, a little excited for the activities in the near horizon, but also a little worried about what her father would think if she just stole away from her work for an entire week. Seeing her tormented expression, Jillian stepped in, placing her hands on Y/n’s shoulders, “I already asked Uncle Michael; he’s okay with it and Aunt Heather thinks that this could be good for you,” Jillian's hands rubbed up and down the silk sleeves of Y/n’s blouse and her eyes pleaded with hers, “Come on cuz, all you’d have to do is pack a bag and grab your passport.”

Y/n worried on her bottom lip, thinking that it might be nice to get away for a week, to wear something other than high heels and skirt suits. Sighing, she rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed, her friends seemed to be holding their breaths in anticipation of her answer and a smile tugged at the corner of Y/n’s lips as she spoke, “Well, where are we going?”

Excited cheers erupted and someone popped a bottle of champagne, quickly handing her a glass. Jillian was the one to propose her toast, and answer Y/’s question, “To beautiful, sexy people, old friends, and yachts in Greece!”

At that, glasses clinked, and everyone drank.

“Hey, whatever happened between you and you sexy movie star friend?” Y/n along with Jillian, Catharine and a couple other ladies were gathered in her closet, helping her pack while everyone else made last minute preparations.

“What sexy movie star?” Amanda, another one of Y/n’s college friends, who had taken her business expertise to Silicon Valley after they graduated asked, “We talked on the phone last week and you didn’t tell me about a movie star. Who was he?”

“He’s hot right?” Catharine interjected, holding up a deep green sundress with happy colorful flowers on it. Briefly, she examined it, then, satisfied, she tossed it into a suitcase.

Another friend, Tracy, the lone doctor of their group giggled at their questions, before asking a couple of her own, “I think the real question is; which one of Hollywood’s silver foxes is Y/n hiding from us. Tell me his last name, an I’ll tell you if I’ve seen his dick.”

Y/n, who had taken a quick shower when they got back to her place, stood in her bathrobe, surveying her selection of bathing suits, “Why would you have seen his dick?”

Tracy scoffed, “You’d be surprised, I make a lot of money on penis enlargements. I’ve seen some pretty famous cocks.”

At that, the girls laughed and Jillian shook her head, “I too have seen famous cocks,” she laughed, “But don’t you have some kind of doctor-patient confidentiality?”

Tracy shrugged and it was Catharine who spoke up again, “I think we’re losing focus here; Y/n slept with a movie star and didn’t tell us. And she won’t even tell us who he was.”

“Or if she’s seen him again,” Amanda inserted.

When Y/n turned to face her friends, holding a bathing suit in each hand, one with a colorful pattern from a season ago and the other a timeless, black, designer bikini, all eyes were on her, expectant and awaiting an answer. Even Jillian, who knew exactly who he was and that Y/n had in fact not slept with him, look amused. “Well, I didn’t tell you because it didn’t happen. We almost had sex. Almost as in someone,” she shot an accusing eye at Jillian, “Interrupted us. And he was Keanu Reeves.”

“Excuse me?” Tracy laughed loudly, dropping the pair of denim shorts she had been holding, “As in Johnny Utah, Jack Traven, and my newest favorite; John Wick. Wow,” she paused breathlessly, “I’ve actually never seen his dick.”

“Oh” Catharine, an eternal romantic exclaimed, clapping her hands together, “He’s in my favorite movie-”

Before she could even finish, everyone was saying, “Sweet November,” then a little more disconnected, “We know.”

“You should call him,” Amanda suggested matter-of-factly, “That’s a once in a life time opportunity right there.”

“Yeah, okay,” Y/n began sarcastically, “I’ll just pick up my phone and call him, with a number that I don’t have, and ask him to come fuck me on the way to the airport. Hope seven isn’t too much of a crowd,” she ended with a chuckle.

“Like Y/n Warren who has everything at her fingertips can’t get his phone number,” Amanda argued lightly, “You could have anything you want. Any phone number, any address, anything. And that’s what’s stopping you?”

“Yeah,” Y/n gasped, not believing that she was actually being pressured about something like that, “What do you think it is?”

“Fear. He’s nice guy, at least according to everyone who’s ever met him. What if it doesn’t live up to whatever you imagined. You know what they say about nice guys,” Amanda winked and Y/n could have sworn that Tracy whispered something about over achievers.

Jillian was the one who spoke up next, “Well let’s not breath down her back, while we take a minute to consider that this might not be all her fault. Why don’t you tell them what you did.”

Y/n’s cheeks took on a bright pink tint, heat rushing to her ears, “How do you know that?”

“I heard, I was standing like, a foot away.”

Scoffing Y/n shook her head, zipping her suitcase closed and pulling it to the floor, “I.....invited him over. And he never came. There,” she finalized, moving on to finding something to wear to the airport, “He essentially rejected me and that’s it, it was two months ago and I don’t wanna talk about it anymore.

Before anyone in the room could propose otherwise, Mathew was poking his head into the doorway, “I swear I’m not looking,” he put a hand over his eyes, “But we need to get going, the car’s downstairs and the jet’s ready to go.”

Hurriedly, they finished packing and Y/n quickly got dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a grey cable knit sweater, hustling down the stairs, hoping to put the lingering disappointment from Keanu not showing up in the rearview.

******

Tagging- @baphometwolf666 @a-really-bi-girl @paanchu786

#Keanu reeves #Keanu reeves x reader #Keanu reeves x you #Keanu reeves fanfiction #Keanu reeves fanfic #lullaby #lullaby chapter 3 #Keanu reeves series #john wick #john wick x reader #fanfiction #ff #fanfic

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senoritaimperfecta · 5 years

Note

Here's a headcannon for you. What if there was an episode where everyone pretends to forget Da Vinci's birthday and plan to have a surprise party for her where everyone makes their own paintings as a present for Da Vinci? At the party, she has the courage to admit that she's lesbian. What would the reactions be?

This actually inspired me to write a second part to lesbian DaVinci fanfic so here we go

The room was filled with music and laughter. DaVinci smiles as they watched as they saw all of their siblings singing and dancing with excitement. It was more than they could have ever asked for. They’ll admit that when the day started off, they were disappointed when nobody paid much attention to them, they were worried that everyone had forgotten their birthday. Clearly DaVinci should have put more trust into their family because now they realized why their whole family was acting so strangely the whole day.

As soon as they heard them all cry out, “Surprise! Happy Birthday DaVinci!” There was already tears forming in their eyes. The Dimitris were the first ones to give DaVinci a hug before quickly moving out of the way of dozens of pups who had the same idea. Each one of them wagging their tails, telling DaVinci how much they loved them. A few of them had asked DaVinci if they loved the art they all made and giggled with excitement when they’re older sibling complemented their works.

It wasn’t long until Dante and Dj managed to pull DaVinci a side and give them a hug of their own. It meant a lot to the artist, knowing how much the two of them liked their personal space.

“I love you all so much.” DaVinci said as they gladly welcome the hugs from her two siblings. “This is all so wonderful, I could ask for anything better.”

“Well you’ll be happy to know it was my idea.” Dj responded with pride.

“Liar, it was totally the Dimitris idea.” Dante rolled his eyes as he bumped Dj’s shoulder with his paw.

“Well they told me, I told you, then we told mum and dad, and the whole family joined in. It was a team effort.”

“Well, I Love the party so much!” DaVinci let out a small chuckle and things got quite between the three of them. Dj and Dante watched as DaVinci looked around the room and smiled lovingly at all of their family members. Once they returned their gaze to Dj and Dante they could have swore they saw stars in their eyes as they said, “I think it’s time I tell everyone.”

“Time to tell everyone what?” Dj said as he tilted his head.

Dante shook his head and just repeated what DaVinci said in a more slowly, “they want to tell everyone.”

It took a few moments but once the gears started moving in Dj’s head everything clicked. “Ohh, that. Gotcha.” He sent a wink at the two of them, signaling that he knew what they were talking about. “I think I know how to get everyone’s attention so you can do just that.”

DaVinci nodded in excitement with a bright smile on their face, “it's a plan.”

___________________________________________

It was almost time and DaVinci was too energetic to stay in one place, however Dante made it happen. Dj was in charge of playing a few songs before they would turn everyone’s attention to DaVinci, saying that the birthday pup had a few words to say on their birthday.

“You nervous?” Dante looked up from where he was laying down next to DaVinci.

“I’m not sure? I think I might be but I might just be too excited to notice. I’m also kinda embarrassed, I don’t know!” DaVinci said, speaking almost as quickly as Delgado. They held their paws up to their face, “I think I’m kinda worried about being embarrassed? I know the Triple D know because I already told them a while back! They’ve helped me a lot so I’m happy that now I have the courage to tell everyone else.”

“That’s understandable.” Dante shrugged, “I’m not the most positive dog out there but I can foresee everything going okay.”

“That’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” DaVinci said as they gave Dante a quick hug. Just as the hug ended they could hear Dj stop the music, to the disappointment of all their siblings.

“Sorry to stop the music guys, but this is really important. DaVinci has a few things they’d like to say.”

DaVinci immediately stood up and could already feel all their siblings eyes on them. This time though as they walked up to the microphone they couldn’t help but have a wide smile on their face.

“I honestly don’t know where to begin.” DaVinci chuckled, “but I guess I’ll start at thank you. The party is amazing and I’m so happy to see everyone joining in and making art together! You guys just know me so well!”

“Well duh, of course we do DaVinci!” Dolly laughed and the sound of Dylan shushing her could be heard throughout the whole room.

“I have a big family that can sometimes be hard to keep track of, but I know that no matter what you’ll always be there for me.” DaVinci took in a deep breath and then held their up high. “This is why it’s so important for you to know all of this, because it’s a big part of who I am as a person. It took me awhile to be proud of it but the Triple D where a huge help.” DaVinci could hear the soft whisper of the triplets since they were in the front. They could hear The quiet exchange of “oh my dog! are they gonna do it?” “Oh, totally.” “What else else would they be talking about Dejavú.”

“I like girls!” DaVinci said a big too loudly into the microphone and cringed. “Oops sorry…” they let out an awkward laugh as they rubbed the back of their head awkwardly. “But yeah...I’m a lesbian!”

Immediately from the front you could hear the Triple D cheer, with Dimitris, Delgado, and Dolly joining in. A chorus of, “we love you DaVinci!”, “We’re so happy for you.”, and everything in between could be heard from the group.

Delilah and Doug made their way up to DaVinci and wrapped them into a tight hug. “Oh honey, you have no idea how unbelievably proud I am of you right now.”

“I’m just glad that you had your sisters their to help you with everything, DaVinci. But never forget that we’re here for you too alright, kiddo?” Doug said as he ruffled the fur on top of DaVinci’s head.

“Awe, mum and dad, you’re the best.” DaVinci laughed, tail wagging happily.

____________________________________________

The whole party went on as before but now DaVinci felt like they were receiving twice as more hugs and nuzzles from her siblings. The second that DaVinci was away from the microphone, the Triple D said that they were glad they could be a big help. Dolly, Delgado, Dizzy, And Dee Dee all came up and teased DaVinci about getting a girlfriend only to be stopped a few moments later by Dylan. He also told DaVinci how happy they were for them.

Dawkins came up next though they didn’t really talk about it first until he got quite and said “That was really brave of you, DaVinci. But then I again I never expect anything less from you.” Dawkins smiled, “will you keep a secret for me?”

“Yeah, of course.” DaVinci said as they returned Dawkins smile.

“I hope to do they same thing soon. Perhaps you could drop by tomorrow and I’ll show you what I have planned? I could really use the help.” DaVinci just nodded as they both agreed on a time to meet each other tomorrow.

After their chat with Dawkins the Dimitri immediately all tackled DaVinci in a hug, tails quickly wagging in excitement. It was nice to see that they didn’t let their cool fasque hide how excited they all were.

“Here you are DaVinci!”

“We’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

“We made this for you, we were inspired.” They quickly pulled out their sloppily done drawings, clearly each one was done in a rush.

“Of course it’s not as good as your stuff!”

“But hey! We’re learning!”

The drawing held by Dimitri 1 was clearly a drawing of DaVinci with a lesbian bandanna. Dimitri 2 drawing was pretty much the exact same thing except he had time to draw a background. Then Dimitri 3’s drawing was a drawing of some street art but all the colors in the picture were pinks, oranges, and whites.

“This is just an idea of something you could do for your next graffiti art!” Dimitri 3 smiled sheepishly. DaVinci smiles and took all three drawings into their paws and held them close to their heart.

“Thank you, I’ll be sure to keep these in a safe place.”

As DaVinci was making their way out of their room they bumped into Deepak which caused them to trip onto the floor. “My bad, sorry about that DaVinci.”

“you’re good Deepak. You okay though? I haven’t really seen you at the party.”

“Oh just trying to find a quiet place for a moment or two. I love you all but crowds can be quite overwhelming for me.” Deepak explained, “but I should be fine now, I was just heading back.”

DaVinci smiled and nodded, “Well, if they’re anything I can help with, just find me alright.”

“Thank you, DaVinci. Also I was looking for you, just wanted to talk to you for a second.”

“Really? About what?”

“I’m really happy for you, you know. I know we’re not the closest but you’re still my sibling. I care about you.” Deepak sent DaVinci a rare genuine smile. “I could feel how tense you were a few weeks ago. Which is also when you started hanging around the triple D more often, I imagine that’s probably when you found out?”

DaVinci just nodded, as Deepak continued. “I’m just glad you’re acting more like yourself. I can tell you’re really happy now.”

“I am, thanks Deepak.”

____________________________________________

Soon after DaVinci finished talking with Deepak, they bumped into Diesel. He seemed to be pouting to himself. So DaVinci being the concerned sibling that they are, they went up to try and comfort the younger pup. “Hey Diesel! You okay there buddy?”

“I’m just thinking, I’m kinda confused.” Diesel said slowly, clearly still pouting.

“You mind if I asked about what?”

Diesel finally looked up, “Well I guess I could ask you, I was thinking about you after all.”

“Well ask away!” DaVinci ruffled Diesel’s fur to which the younger pup pushed their paw away but giggle happily nonetheless.

“You said you liked girls, right?” Diesel started and pointed a finger to himself. “So it got me thinking that, if you don’t have to like Boys, then maybe I don’t have to like girls?”

“No diesel, you don’t have to like girls if you don’t want too.”

“But I don't know if don’t like girls! All of this thinking is making my head hurt, I don’t like it.” Diesel once again returned to pouting as he moved some dirt around on the floor.

“It’s okay Diesel, you don’t have to think about it right now.” DaVinci chuckled softly at her baby brother. “You can think about it again when you’re older, there’s nothing wrong about that.”

“Oh, thank goodness! I was worried I would have to sit here and think about it all day.” Diesel sighed overdramatically.

“Don’t worry Dies, you’ve got time to figure it out. You’ve always got time.” DaVinci nuzzled the top of his head. “But all you need to worry about is how much you’re gonna dig today.”

“Oh you’re right! I was going to dig a tunnel all the way to Australia! I’ve gotta go DaVinci!” Diesel quickly got up and ran away and as DaVinci watched they couldn’t help but smile.

____________________________________________

The sun had already set and DaVinci laid down with Dante and Dj as they all talked together.

“So it went really well with everyone, huh?” Dj asked, laying their head down on their pillow, headphones still on despite it almost being time for bed.

“It really did, in fact it was better than okay! It was absolutely amazing. Best birthday I could ever ask for,” DaVinci said, from their voice you could tell they were exhausted.

“I told you that it would all be okay. Another prediction 100% accurate.” Dante yawned as he curled up in his bed.

“Oh don’t worry Dante, I never doubted you for a second.”

#101 Dalmatian street #DaVinci Dalmatian #Dante Dalmatian #Dj Dalmatian #Dawkins Dalmatian #Deepak Dalmatian #Diesel Dalmatian #Dimitri 1 Dalmatian #Dimitri 2 Dalmatian #Dimitri 3 Dalmatian #the Dimitris #the triple d #Destiny Dalmatian #Dallas Dalmatian.dejavu Dalmatian #Dolly Dalmatian #Dylan Dalmatian #Delgado Dalmatian #txt #fan fic

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snowbellewells · 5 years

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Self-Promo Sunday: “And by a Sleep We Hope to End the Heartache”

(This story was originally written for the second edition of the CS Storybook on Tumblr – go check that out if you haven’t, it’s amazing!! My episode for that project was 5x04 “Broken Kingdom”, and within that framework, I wanted to imagine how Killian might have tried to help comfort a sleepless Emma as she fought the darkness within. The title is taken from a line in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Hope you enjoy! I’d love – as always – to hear what you think!)

“And by a Sleep We Hope to End the Heartache”

by: @snowbellewells

“Lass…Emma… Love, please, you have to stop…” his quiet voice, vibrating with emotion despite its soothing timbre, still somehow managed to slice through the paranoia, the swirling images, and yammering voices roiling inside her skull. It was the one thing, other than her son’s hopeful, trusting face, which had managed to do so since she had risen from the ominous hatch in the Camelot forest, alone, confused, and the newest Dark One. Her stride faltered at his plea, her step finally pausing before the window of the castle suite they had been given by Arthur for their accommodation.

Looking over her shoulder to find his fraught gaze, Emma turned slightly toward the pirate, a glance half exasperation and half desperate need on her conflicted face. “What do you want from me, Killian?” she whispered tiredly, her shoulders slumping with a weary defeat he had rarely seen from her. He had no way of knowing that Emma desired nothing so much as to cross the large open chamber and collapse into his arms, as she had a week ago when they’d first found her in the stone circle about to crush Merida’s heart. His embrace tight around her, his heart beating frantically just under her palm, those few moments had been the only time the riot inside her head had seemed to cease – when she could think clearly, as only herself. She needed that relief again, and yet she feared letting down her guard, even for a moment’s comfort. She was barely keeping all the violent, persuasive urges twining through her consciousness at bay, barely keeping all the raw power tingling under her skin from breaking free. She could not allow herself the peace of Killian’s embrace; rest might let the horrors loose upon them all.

Her pirate watched her knowingly, his eyes gentle, yet seeing and understanding too much as his discerning gaze studied her from across the room. Those blue pools of his stare took in the way she vibrated slightly, no matter how she tried to hold still. He saw the tangled, disheveled fall of her hair – usually more a silky sheet of gold – the strange, rough grey duster she wore, still trailing dirt and dried leaves from the forest floor behind her. This was his Swan before him yet, but she was in distress and guarded once more, in a way she had finally begun to put in her past – and he experienced a disorienting, long rush of despair at how to help her. He only knew for certain that he must find a way.

“Come here, Lass,” he finally murmured, half a directive and half an appeal, as he held out his hand to her from where he sat at the edge of the room’s large canopy bed.

“Why?” she fired back nervously. “I’m the Dark One now. I don’t sleep, remember?”

The unhinged tone in her voice, as well as the unvarnished bitterness, worried him more than he cared to admit. Killian hesitated, biting his lip and considering his next words carefully. His pause only seemed to agitate her further. Why indeed? And yet, he could not help but want her near, wish to gather her to his side, run the curve of his hook down her spine, and attempt to soothe her, bring her some measure of comfort, however ineffectual it might prove in the end.

Heaving a deep sigh, Killian forced his voice to remain slow and even, despite his frustration and his utter anger at the situation his Love had been cast into. Crooking his fingers in invitation, beckoning her forward while keeping his hand extended to her palm up, he raised an eyebrow slightly in challenge. “Nor am I trying to force you to, Emma. I have not forgotten what you are battling, but can I not try to aid you in the fight? Can I not hold the woman I love for a few moments?”

Her lower lip trembled in response, before she pressed her mouth tightly closed, considering his offer, the longing clear on her face, until she let her swirling green eyes meet his at last. “Y-you still…you still see me?” she finally whispered, her voice desperately fearful, quivering at the end with hope.

There was no need for flowery words, only to hold her gaze, give a decided, affirmative nod and answer, “Aye.”

At that single word, Emma took one hesitant, faltering step toward him, then another, until he could clasp her hand in his questing fingers and pull her against him, sitting at the edge of the rich, overlarge bed. Mumbling quiet nonsense, Killian tucked Emma under his chin, cradling the back of her head in his palm and rocking them gently from side to side. “Shh, Love, shh… it’s going to be alright,” he crooned, injecting steadfast certainty he wished he truly felt into his tone.

Emma’s voice was broken and child-like as she spoke, her words muffled slightly by the leather of his sleeve. “How can it be?” she asked plaintively. There was something achingly human about her now, when before she had seemed so steely and impervious – untouchable as she stood at the window like a sentry, proud and strong, but cold and hard as well, looking out over the courtyard into the dark night. The power within her was a distancing shield, a barrier higher and more impenetrable than her emotional walls had ever been. Pulling back again briefly to look into the limitless eyes of this man who had pulled her back from the brink, her face was flushed and wet with silently shed tears, as real and vulnerable as he had ever seen her. “I’m hanging by a thread, Killian. There’s so much pressing inside, trying to escape, and the voices, the Dark Ones before me, they’re constantly whispering, watching, tempting me and trying to take over. If I let my guard slip, if they get loose… I’m terrified of what might happen, what I might do… who I might hurt…” The last words dropped to the barest whisper, her eyes falling to their intertwined fingers anxiously, unable to see the disgust and disapproval that must surely be on the face that had always before been nothing short of adoring.

However, what she found when she looked up was far from devastating – so tender it made her very pulse still, bringing her up short and blinking in disbelief. “That will never happen, Emma. I know it with every fiber of my being, as surely as I know the way around my ship and as clearly as the navigator’s course is marked by the stars in the sky. You are stronger than that demon, Love. Though I hate that you must fight so bitterly, I have no doubt that you will win.”

“Thank you for believing in me, Killian,” she bit her lip, the lower one caught by her teeth, and she continued to play with her fingers, again avoiding his eyes to stare at their joined hands. “But I can’t help worrying. You can’t know that for sure! When you found me yesterday evening, trying to take the dagger from Regina’s hiding place, I nearly took your head off! It was your quick reflexes that saved you, not any restraint of mine. I wasn’t in my right mind at all. Wh- what if you had been killed? What if you had been Henry? Or my mom with my little brother?”

Killian sighed, giving a moment for Emma to feel her words had sunk in, gathering her closer still against his chest and pressing his lips to the soft hair at the crown of her head, humming gently against her skin, hoping to quiet her anxious quaking in his arms. When he did speak at last, his voice was low, a mere warm undertone at her ear. “Swan, you have already fought back since then. Think of our ride this afternoon, and that moment of perfection in the Middlemist field. The Crocodile’s vile echo, any of the others, they were not present then, were they? Those insidious voices vanished, aye? Do not grant them a way back in.”

Emma nodded weakly, burying her adorably perfect little nose into his thickly furred chest, as if it were the softest pillow she had ever rested against. Killian had never seen her so fragile – his angel of boots and leather and steely resolve – and though his heart swelled that she would finally turn to him in her need – he hated the burden she bore. It was too much, too much to ask of a woman who had been so strong and carried such hurt all her life. A little sigh escaped her rosebud lips, the breathe tickling his collarbone, and Killian felt a rush of tension and wild energy drain from her, her shoulders slumping and her slight form leaning against him more heavily for support.

“So, do you think you can allow yourself a bit of peace?” he asked, smoothing mussed strands of her hair back over her shoulder affectionately, just as he had done almost since their first meeting.

Emma only muttered unintelligibly against him at first, before she finally put enough distance between them for him to make out her husky voice. “I’ll lie down with you and try to rest a bit. You still need to sleep, Pirate. But I won’t…it won’t work…I’ve figured that out by now. It’s just the way it is…”

“Fair enough then, Swan. I will make do with what I can get,” he assured her, offering a crooked half-smile and scooting back toward the pillows piled at the head of the bed while still keeping her in his embrace.

She made no effort to distance herself, moving with him and placing her hand over his heart near her flushed cheek as he settled comfortably on the mattress, looking up at the high, stone ceiling above them. His one hand began to trace idle patterns on her shoulder and arm as they cuddled together, neither drifting into sleep yet, but perhaps finding a bit of respite all the same.

Eventually, when Killian did find his eyes fluttering closed, he began to speak, softly and almost without thought. He would not leave her alone in her struggle, and so he began to fill the void with words to keep himself awake and with her. To his own astonishment, what came to his lips were tales he had long forgotten until that moment, memories from when he was but a lad long ago, which no other person had heard – not even Milah or Bae – until that moment. And he was grateful then for Emma’s warmth and full attention as he spoke, emotions that had needed vent for centuries were now finally loosed – all the pain and rejection of being left alone and afraid in the dark, a child who had started out on an adventure with his papa and instead been thrown rudderless into the heaving waves of a cruel and treacherous adult world.

His voice dwelt haltingly on his one light – both his anchor and his compass – his Liam. Once begun, the story of their stolen boyhood streamed from him, the bits and pieces of the beloved older brother who had been his companion and the only family left to him, in a harsh, dark world of slavery and bleak deprivation. Liam, who had told him stories when he couldn’t sleep for the suffocating pitch blackness of the hold where they were sometimes locked at night merely for the sake of the other crew’s entertainment or for some imagined mistake, the growing young man who had given half his rations to his gangly younger brother whose belly never felt properly full, who had found a way to splint Killian’s ankle when the sadistic bosun on their master’s ship had yanked and twisted it to keep Killian from scaling the ropes to the crow’s nest where he could hide from the hulking man’s mistreatment, the protective father figure who had curled around his sibling offering body heat when they both shivered in their bunk, one threadbare blanket between them on winter nights at sea, and his hero who had given Killian the one gleam of hope he had possessed in those endless suffering years. It had all been pent inside him for so long that once he began to speak of Liam, Killian couldn’t bring himself to stop until it was all voiced. Liam Jones had been taken from the world much too soon, and Killian had not allowed himself to grieve – taken to piracy and retribution, plunging headlong down the ages - until that moment in Arthur’s kingdom with his silently listening True Love.

His deluge of words did not seem to faze Emma; in fact, she appeared to welcome his outpouring, tracing gentle fingertips over the contours of his face and into his hair, the strokes as soothing as his touch had been to her a short time ago. Killian didn’t know how long he talked and Emma listened attentively, but his eyelids at last drooped closed in the still watches of the night, his voice slowing and tripping sluggishly, exhaustion and flagging adrenaline towing him under until he could not fight sleep any longer. He thought he saw Emma’s hand wave over him, but then he was lost in slumber.

~~~88~~~

When he woke with the next day’s dawn, the spot where she had rested beside him was still warm, but Emma was no longer there.

~~~88~~~

They set up a reassuring pattern after that. Night after night, for as long as they were guests in the castle of Camelot, Killian could at least coax Emma to lie down in the circle of his arms and rest her weary body, if not her mind in actual sleep. It was better than nothing, and the pirate strove with all he had to stay awake with her, to keep vigil at her side through the lonely grey hours, when she was most vulnerable and her strength might flag. Exhausted though they both were, it could have been so much worse, and Killian was grateful for what she did allow him to do. The first time he had fallen into slumber and woken with her gone, his heart had been in his throat, fearful for where she might have gone and what horror could have gripped her and spurred her from their resting place. However, when he found her where they all convened for breakfast, a tiny, almost light, smile curved her lips upward at the corners when she spied him. Something in her face let him know that she appreciated what he had shared, that he had allowed her to comfort him, and that somehow in granting her that caring gesture, he had made her feel more human once again, given her back a bit of herself.

Those sleepless nights in the broken kingdom of legend’s Once and Future King, when Emma curled into his side and he finally felt the shaking ease from the taut muscles she had held under rigid control all that day, more terrified with each passing one that she might slip and do some terrible magic she couldn’t take back, and he sensed more than heard her say that the hissing demons in her mind had ceased their torment for a while – those nights were when their fragile love, born in Storybrooke over moonlit walks, pizza with Netflix, and interrupted coffee dates, took root and grew into something dauntless, lasting, and True. From those nights he held her until his body gave up and forced him to sleep, or they both stayed awake and saw the morning paint the sky together, from then on Captain Hook and his Swan savior were joined in a bond which could not be severed by distance or foe, the Darkness or even Fate.

Once they left the land of Avalon, there was further pain and trial. The fatal cut from Excalibur would have been Killian’s death; he had been resigned to it, had lived much longer than he’d ever been meant to and begged Emma to let him go. But the threat of losing her pirate – her reason to finally open her heart again and let herself fully live – caused Emma to make a tragic mistake. The temptation that had finally broken her resistance and blackened her soul after all her desperate struggle and restraint was bending the laws of nature to keep him alive and at her side. His angel fell to the need to save him, to not lose one more person who loved her and allowed her to love – to feel – in return. And when she crumbled, it drug him into the pit along with her. Harsh words and rage, bitten into blades that wounded and scarred, passed between the True Loves who then shared the worst Darkness the realms had ever known.

Yet, after the torture, the fire, and one more crippling separation, they found the way back to each other. Exhausted, battered, but hand-in-hand, after traveling to the very Underworld itself and defying the lord of that domain, in the end even death could not part the Savior and her captain forever. When they finally stole a moment upon their return – tripping tangled together up the front steps of the house that Killian and Henry had chosen by the dim light of the stars on a chilly May night in Storybrooke, Emma was so sleepy she was nearly punch drunk in her pirate’s grasp as he barely managed to catch her before she fell onto the wooden porch. Both of them were chuckling lightly, blearily only half awake, but so glad to be alone together and safe, at least for a moment, that anything else could wait. It had been a long time coming, and the austere hall and front room were somewhat haunted yet by their distorted alters’ presences and the barbs they had thrown, but they bypassed that silent space – it would keep for the morrow – to finally enter the bedroom they had always meant to share.

The peace which washed over Emma in that moment they fell together, sinking into the thick, cushy comforter, navy blue dotted by tiny white anchors she had chosen with him in mind, and the joy she felt at the sleep-muted delight on his face on first glimpse of them, was the most comfort she had felt since he stole her away on horseback that afternoon in Camelot. It seemed lifetimes ago now, though she could still feel the pink petals of the Middlemist flower he had handed her in that green haven and the sun slanting down on their faces as they had kissed.

She realized then that though there was healing still to be done, they had once more reached the place of hope they had found amidst the dazzling field of blooms and golden light. There was the promise of forever in that hazy remembered moment, with the white dress and cape, the wind in her hair, the kiss that had swept her up in delight. Though the sky had been their only witness, Emma had felt her heart blend irrevocably with his in that moment, and there in their home by the sea, weeks or months later, so jarring and confused she hardly knew which, as he pulled the sheet and blankets up to her chin before huddling beneath them with her and hoping to banish the world outside, it felt as if they were finally going to enjoy the vow that had been made between them in that fairytale scene rose-tinted in her mind’s eye. With Killian at her back, arms wrapped around her so that hand and hook could rest upon her skin, and his nose nuzzled warmly at the nape of her neck, at long last Emma finally slept.

Tagging a few who may enjoy: @kmomof4 @hollyethecurious @searchingwardrobes @effulgentcolors @winterbaby89 @resident-of-storybrooke @ilovemesomekillianjones @whimsicallyenchantedrose @jennjenn615 @therooksshiningknight @gingerchangeling @blackwidownat2814 @bmbbcs4evr @teamhook @revanmeetra87 @spartanguard @laschatzi @drowned-dreamer @ps1473-4 @let-it-raines

#self promo sunday #cs ff #cs missing moment 5a fic #cs canon divergent 5x04 #cs one shot #cs angst

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lady-divine-writes · 5 years

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Kurtbastian fic - “What You Deserve: Chapter 1/2 - The Life You Deserve” (Rated NC17)

Summary: Sebastian is making a huge change in his life, and he’s starting by going to Kurt, a man with a specific talent that will help Sebastian move on. (5312 words)

Notes: Written for the Kurtbastian hiatus project prompt ‘free day’. Warning for anxiety, forced relationship due to homophobia, mention of self-harm scars and (on an unrelated note) an image including blood. (No gore in this.)

I’m posting this again because 1) it’s been a bit refreshed and 2) I will be posting chapter 2 soon. Also, I’ve played with the title a bit because I think it better reflects the theme on the story. Also the rating has been changed to reflect upcoming sexual content.

Read on AO3.

Sebastian paces outside the run-down, red-bricked, residential loft that he had to bribe a taxi cab driver to take him to. He can honestly say that he has never feared for his life before tonight, so he can chalk this up as a first on his list of life experiences. He runs his hands up and down his arms while he tries to decide whether he will push the buzzer for the door or not.

No matter what happens, he came here willingly, so he has no one to blame but himself.

The loft is located on a filthy side street in Bushwick – a neighborhood in Brooklyn that Sebastian didn’t even know existed until a few months ago. He looks around at the stacks upon stacks of black trash bags, brittle and disintegrating in the cold, piled up along the curbs, left to degrade as the garbage trucks seem to have forgotten that Bushwick exists. Sebastian side-eyes a multitude of young men in black jackets with their faces covered shooting him curious looks. He had tried his best to dress down in an effort to blend in, but in his khaki pants and Burberry peacoat, he sticks out like a sore thumb. Sebastian is neither too proud nor ashamed to admit that this is definitely not his element. Yes, Sebastian could have probably lived happily the rest of his life having never come here, but now that he’s here, he’d feel like a coward if he backed out.

Sebastian hears footsteps race down a staircase beyond the metal door in front of him and pauses in his tracks to see who’ll come out. Maybe he can slip through the door quietly when whoever on the other side leaves and continue his pacing inside. But the door only opens a crack big enough for a man’s face to peek out – an unnaturally pale face with a shock of teal hair sticking up from his forehead, and piercings on almost every conceivable piece of skin. His lipstick is dark purple, nearly black, though it’s difficult to tell the subtle differences beneath the orange glow of the arc sodium street lights. He stares at Sebastian – icy blue eyes ringed in black liner – not blinking for nearly a full minute, which Sebastian finds alarming.

“Are you coming upstairs?” those dark lips say in a high-pitched voice that Sebastian did not initially expect, but which fits the face. “Or are you going to pace back and forth out here all night? You’re making my neighbors nervous.” His eyes look past Sebastian to the group of young men in the black jackets that Sebastian had been wary of. With a nod and a smile, he says, “Don’t worry, guys. This one’s with me.”

“Cool.”

“Alright.”

“Later, dude.”

The men wave, giving Sebastian one last judgmental once over before turning down the street and disappearing around the corner.

“Why?” Sebastian asks with a twist to his lips. “Did they think I was casing the joint?”

The pale man’s right eyebrow shoots almost as far up as his teal hair, the smirk on his lips mirroring Sebastian’s.

“Sort of.” He opens the door wider and steps aside to let Sebastian in. “You look like a fucking narc.” Sebastian hurries through the door, shivering the moment the heat of the hallway hits him, and catches the pale man shaking his head. “Casing the joint.” He chuckles as he closes the door, throwing about fifteen bolts to lock it tight. “Who the hell are you? Columbo?”

“I’m Sebastian, actually,” he replies lamely, following the man as he leads him up the stairs.

“I know that,” the man says, throwing a look over his shoulder. “I was keeping an eye out for you. You’re not the kind of man who usually comes all the way out to Bushwick looking for my particular services.”

“Really?” Sebastian asks, intrigued. “And what kind of man am I?”

“Privileged,” the man answers quickly. “Private school boy, a captain of industry who’s lost his way and is struggling to find himself. But you can afford to. You have more money than you deserve.”

“Wow,” Sebastian says with a dry, unamused chuckle. “You definitely don’t pull punches.”

“Don’t need to.” The man turns a corner and starts up another long staircase. “You’re paying to be here, and your credit card’s already cleared.”

“Wait” - Sebastian finally catches on to something the man said before - “you were watching me for the last half hour while I was outside freezing my ass off?”

“Yup,” the man says unapologetically. “From my fire escape.”

“Why didn’t you let me in earlier?” A latent chill runs up Sebastian’s spine to remind him how cold it is outside.

“Because I wanted to see what you’d do.” The man turns another corner to yet another staircase. “Besides, our appointment is for eight, and it’s eight right now.”

Sebastian looks up past the man at the remaining stairs and groans internally. Who the hell lives in an apartment with this many stairs and no elevator?

“Do you know who I am?” the man asks when Sebastian goes quiet.

“Your name’s Kurt, right?” Sebastian hopes he’s right. He has the feeling that this man - who he’s about to become very intimate with in the next few minutes - will be extremely offended if he’s not.

“Very good,” Kurt says with a smile that the devil himself might wear on Sundays. It makes Sebastian nervous.

It almost makes him miss the time he spent waiting outside.

“Are … are you allowed to be doing this out of your loft?” Sebastian scans the staircase around them, the awkwardly long steps and the antique scrolled wood railing an odd contrast to the otherwise industrial feel of the building.

“These are working lofts. The people who live here are artists who conduct their business out of their homes. And since what I do qualifies as an art, so do I.”

“You think so?” The words slip out before Sebastian can stop them, and he mentally slaps himself.

Kurt walks up to the next landing in silence, leading Sebastian down a hall to one of the only two doors on the floor. Sebastian waits for the fall-out from his arrogant remark, but Kurt smiles wider and winks at him.

“I know so.” He grabs the handle and slides the immense door open, gesturing for Sebastian to enter.

Sebastian turns a circle as he walks, looking the loft over. It’s a dark space - oppressively dark, a reflection of the unsafe atmosphere of the street outside. The walls are brick, but painted in abstract swirling patterns that fluoresce under the numerous black lights hanging from tracks installed along the beams of the ceiling. Art prints hang everywhere, alongside mirrors that make this enormous space seem even bigger. Kurt owns a whole lot of nothing furniture-wise. Sebastian sees a kitchen with no table, a living room with no sofa. The only furniture in the whole loft, it seems, are two chairs over by the window, and a king-sized bed off to the far end.

It’s the bed that has Sebastian captivated. It looks pristinely made, with a designer comforter tucked in above crisp, white sheets, and a mass of pillows in all sizes stacked neatly along the headboard.

Kurt snaps his fingers in Sebastian’s face as he passes in front of him, drawing his attention to the two chairs by the window – one a regular rolling stool, and the other a large, vintage barber’s chair. Kurt settles down in the rolling stool and pulls up to a black counter that had been obscured from view originally by the shadows in the room. Kurt flips on a few lamps, and bright white light floods that corner of the loft.

Sebastian approaches the barber’s chair, peeling off his peacoat and swallowing hard. He has sudden flashbacks of an old CSI episode he once saw where some mob guy would castrate men in a chair just like this one. As he gets closer, he notices that it looks impeccably clean. Castration would probably leave a lot of blood stains, stains that even a really thorough person might miss, so the fact that this chair looks brand new has to count for something.

Sebastian drapes his coat over the back of the chair and sits down, the thick, red vinyl cushions sucking him in, squeaking loudly as it accommodates his weight. It’s the kind of chair you have to recline in. The moment his back touches it, he feels himself relax, even though his mind is still a whirlwind of alarms.

It’s the same reaction he gets when he goes to the dentist – knots in his stomach as he checks himself in, a momentary façade of calm as he sits in the chair and makes himself comfortable …

… then the dentist walks in, the drill comes out, and all he wants to do is scream and run.

Sebastian watches Kurt set up his station – laying out inks and making adjustments to his tattoo gun – feeling less inclined to scream or run than he thought he would. Kurt steps on a pedal and listens to his machine buzz, then shuts it off and makes more adjustments.

Sebastian’s brain aches with a need to interrogate this man on everything from his stark apartment to the color of his hair, but only one question burns to be asked.

“Are you really psychic?”

“I have a reputation for having certain abilities.” Kurt steps on the pedal again. “But no answer I give you will matter if you don’t think I am.”

Kurt glances at Sebastian, his brief stare a challenge.

“I don’t believe in psychics.” Sebastian folds his hands in his lap and looks up at the ceiling where a row of black bulbs glow a metallic purple, lending color to Kurt’s skin when he rolls in and out of their light.

“Then why are you here? There are tons of tattoo artists in this city. I’m sure you could find one closer to you. Or, at least, in a safer neighborhood.”

“Because, like you said, my credit card already cleared,” Sebastian replies, being as evasive as possible. If Kurt really is psychic, then he should know why Sebastian is there, waiting to be tortured.

“Why are you here?” Kurt repeats, paying no mind to Sebastian’s snarky remark. Sebastian frowns. He was trying to prove a point, which he may have well done, but he’ll feel like an ass making an issue of it.

“You came highly recommended,” he says, which is as close to the truth as anything else.

“By Andy, right?” Kurt puts his gun down and pulls out a box of latex gloves. “The chick with the circular rainbow on her shoulder?”

“Yeah.” Sebastian nods, not wanting to sound impressed that this man seemed to know off the top of his head who Sebastian had mentioned recommending him when he made this appointment over six months ago. “She said you gave it to her for good luck.”

Kurt looks up at the note of derision in Sebastian’s voice that he can’t seem to hide. He carries it like it’s embedded in his DNA. “What? You don’t think the poor woman deserves a little luck?”

Sebastian agrees in his mind that she does. After three failed marriages and two miscarriages, the woman deserves all the luck she can get, but Sebastian doesn’t see how a tattoo is supposed to give that to her. Sebastian stays tight-lipped about it as he watches Kurt prepare. Kurt sees the determined set of Sebastian’s mouth and rolls his eyes.

“What were you thinking about getting?” He turns in his stool to face Sebastian, giving him his complete attention.

“Aren’t you supposed to tell me what I want?” Sebastian asks with a bitter edge. “Isn’t that your shtick? My body is your canvas or some shit?”

Kurt chuckles. He sits with his back resting against his counter and looks at Sebastian again, this time taking particular interest in his eyes. Kurt stares until Sebastian feels uneasy with his eyes on him, staring like he knows too much – staring like he knows everything. Kurt licks his lips, reaching to his counter and grabbing a bottle of water.

“You don’t really want to get a tattoo,” Kurt starts, taking a drink from the bottle before he continues. “That’s why you’re so willing to put the decision in my hands. Not because you think I have any real psychic talent. And you’re right. I don’t.”

“So, what am I …?”

“You’re paying for the benefit of my expertise.” Kurt stands and walks over to Sebastian. Placing one knee between Sebastian’s legs and leaning in close, he grabs Sebastian by the jaw and tilts his head down so he can look deeper into his eyes. Again he stares, the blacks of his pupils wider now, pushing the blue of his irises aside, making his eyes look very much like an owl’s – dangerous and unreadable. “You’re changing lives,” Kurt whispers, his breath ghosting over Sebastian’s lips at this close distance, “job, address, the whole shebang. And you’re here because you need to cover up some … scars …” Kurt’s eyes drift down to the long sleeves of Sebastian’s dress shirt, pulled down to his wrists and buttoned tight at the cuffs.

Kurt looks back up to Sebastian’s face, but instead of inscrutable and cold, his eyes are sympathetic.

It’s a sympathy that borders on pity, and Sebastian doesn’t want pity.

“So, you’re a good guesser.” Sebastian darts his gaze away, feeling exposed and violated that this man figured him out so easily when his closest friends and family haven’t even tried. “Besides, everybody’s got scars. That doesn’t make me any different.” Kurt pulls away slowly, standing up straighter, his fingers trailing down Sebastian’s arm, brushing his wrist before they disappear. He stares again, and Sebastian feels as if another layer of his soul is being stripped bare. He’s about to give up, stand from the chair and leave, a thousand dollars be damned, but Kurt’s eyes drop back to Sebastian’s cuff and, with swift fingers, he starts to undo the buttons.

“This one’s the worst,” Kurt mumbles as he works the buttons open. “Your left wrist, because you’re right-handed.”

Sebastian’s rational mind thinks he should pull his wrist away before Kurt sees, but his heart – which has been screaming out for weeks for someone to notice that nothing is okay in his life, that he’s in unbearable pain – wants Kurt to see.

He wants someone to share the burden of his secret.

Kurt undoes the last button, but the marks had been visible after the first, and Kurt looks at the silvery shadows of these violent, angry scars with regret in his eyes.

He doesn’t like uncovering people’s secrets – he just happens to be good at it.

“I … I wasn’t trying to kill myself,” Sebastian says, his hand trembling beneath Kurt’s fingers.

“I know,” Kurt says softly. “I can help you with this.” The caress of his eyes on Sebastian’s skin is soft, but his fingertips are softer. “What did your wife say when she found out?”

Kurt doesn’t look up when he asks his question, working now on the buttons of Sebastian’s right cuff to see the matching marks. He doesn’t need to see Sebastian’s face to know his eyes are wide and his jaw is hanging open.

“How did you …?”

“The tan line on your left ring finger.” Kurt undoes the last button and runs his fingers delicately over the scars he uncovers there. “It’s narrow, part of a matching set, but not something a man would normally choose for himself unless he had small hands, and you …” Kurt lets a smile slip as he opens Sebastian’s curled fingers “… definitely do not have small hands.”

Sebastian’s return smile wobbles at the corners. “She hasn’t yet. I left her. I didn’t give her a reason.”

“But the reason is you don’t love her. You never did,” Kurt declares boldly, and even though it’s true, Sebastian flinches. “You had to marry her” - Kurt laces their fingers together - “but your heart never beat that way.”

Kurt looks even deeper into Sebastian’s eyes (and how that’s possible, Sebastian doesn’t know), trying to unearth more, but Sebastian can’t imagine there’s anything more there for Kurt to see. It’s true, all of it, but it doesn’t feel like truth because Sebastian hasn’t confessed it.

He needs to start speaking for himself.

“I married her because I was expected to.”

Kurt unlaces their fingers, stepping away to take his seat. He rolls Sebastian’s sleeve up to his elbow and grabs his tattoo gun. He turns the machine on and dips the needles in a cup of ink. The machine buzzes like an angry wasp in Kurt’s hands, but he holds it still, the needles barely an inch above Sebastian’s skin.

“Keep talking,” Kurt commands, waiting patiently for Sebastian to continue.

“My father …” the words come out, then a hiss as Kurt touches the machine and their driving needles into the sensitive skin of Sebastian’s wrist.

“Yes,” Kurt says, concentrating on the mark he’s made, blending the red ink with a silver scar.

“My father is old money, so to speak,” Sebastian grinds out between his teeth, scolding himself in his head for being a wuss. “He’s also an asshole, a misogynist … a homophobe …”

“A Republican?” Kurt gives Sebastian only a moment to breathe while he switches inks. Sebastian uses that moment to chuckle before the needles hit his skin again.

“My dad makes Republicans look compassionate.” Sebastian bites his tongue to keep from embarrassing himself by whimpering.

Kurt whistles low. “Jesus. That sucks.”

Sebastian makes a fist and Kurt looks at him - squinting into the darkness, his jaw locked, his face tense, his breathing coming a little too fast.

“Try to relax, sweetheart,” Kurt says in a soothing voice, “or you’re going to pass out before we’re even halfway done.”

Sebastian takes in a huge lungful of air and lets it out slowly.

“That’s better,” Kurt says, assaulting Sebastian’s skin with the gun again. “So, tell me more about this asshole father of yours.”

“Well …” Sebastian searches for a good place in his story to start. If he starts at the very beginning, then he’ll have to mention the constant badgering he got to strive for good grades and the threats if he didn’t succeed, if he didn’t become the captain of his school’s lacrosse team or the head of the debate team, and the emotional manipulation that led him to Harvard instead of NYU. So he decides to start with his wife, Clarice. “My dad wants Smythe money to stay in the family – to be passed down from generation to generation. For that to happen, he needed his son – his only son – to get married and have kids. ”

“Did you ever tell him the truth?”

Sebastian looks at Kurt, hoping to see those icy eyes trained on him, but Kurt’s total focus is narrowed to the image erupting beneath his gun.

“No,” Sebastian admits, scowling at his own weak voice. “He started pressing me to find a wife since the day I started college – which was about when I had finally become comfortable with the idea of …” Sebastian stops mid-sentence, not yet comfortable with speaking his own truth out loud. Even now, as he is beginning to realize what is right for him, it still sounds wrong to say.

The gun stops biting into his flesh, and Kurt does look up, tilting his head as he reads Sebastian’s eyes.

“The idea of exploring your sexuality?” Kurt asks.

“Yeah. Exactly.”

“Did you ever?” Kurt’s voice is strangely shy when he asks, though it could be the buzzing from the tattoo gun, Sebastian thinks, distorting the timbre of Kurt’s voice.

“A few times. But you know, I felt so Goddamned guilty that I didn’t even enjoy it.” Sebastian laughs out of anger, then hisses when the needles find another sensitive area of skin.

“That’s a shame.” Kurt stops to grab a paper towel. He wets it, then wipes down the image so far. The soothing sensation lasts only a second before Sebastian’s skin ignites beneath the tattoo gun again. “Did you meet your wife in college?”

“No, she’s a … friend of the family.” Sebastian’s description is vague and Kurt leaves it. “She was kind of chosen for me.”

“Was it an arranged marriage?”

“No, not arranged. It was greatly encouraged.” Sebastian sighs. “It might have well been arranged. By the time I asked her to marry me, I couldn’t care less either way. I had been hounded and threatened with everything from being disowned to being locked away. She was as good as anyone else. The worst part is she’s such a lovely woman. She deserves so much better.”

“You both do.” Kurt wipes the tattoo down again. He returns to his work, and the studio goes silent, the buzz of the machine filling the air with its constant drone. Sebastian keeps his eyes fixed to the ceiling, intent on not peeking at the image until Kurt is done with it. He feels Kurt finish with his left arm – over three hours’ worth of work – and spin the barber’s chair around so he can move on to the right.

“Where were you thinking of running?” Kurt pipes up halfway through the right arm.

“Hmmm?” Sebastian asks. His mind had started wandering – going over all the details, all the moments that had led up to this point. Was there ever a time where 5-, 10-, 16-year-old Sebastian could have stood up to his father? In retrospect, there were times where he might have been able to confront his father and act braver than he felt, but the reality is no. His father is a man that most grown adults don’t like to talk to – not because he’s so intimidating, but because there isn’t any point in it. His father doesn’t listen to anyone.

Sebastian also thought about those boys he experimented with in college.

Adam – soft spoken, beautiful Adam. Musical theater major. At first, Sebastian thought the idea of majoring in musical theater was ridiculous, but he squashed that when he realized that was his father in him talking. Adam had such a beautiful voice, such a way with music. He had the heart of a poet, and the soul of a performer. He was meant for the stage. Sebastian has never looked him up, but he hopes he got there.

Elliott –poli sci major. Energetic. Dreamer. Determined to make a difference in the world, both politically and with the help of his punk rock band. Sebastian was certain that Elliott, with his glam leather outfits and glitter rock vamp make-up, was the edgiest man he had ever met, but he’s sure that Kurt could give him a run for his money.

Hunter – the only one of the bunch who had any chance of understanding what Sebastian was going through. He had a strict, conservative upbringing; a father he could never make proud; and a trust fund whose existence hedged on his constant obedience. But unlike Sebastian, Hunter had the balls to spit in his father’s face and split – and the business-minded brilliance to siphon away his trust fund from underneath his dad’s nose without the man being any the wiser.

Could any of those men have been the love of Sebastian’s life? If he had sacrificed a little here, compromised a little there, would any one of them have made him happy enough to bid his family and his inheritance farewell?

He even let his mind drift to another universe where he and Kurt could have met a long time ago, maybe even gone to the same school together. Kurt is so easy to talk to. Maybe it’s an occupational hazard, spending so much time with people, listening to their life stories. Tattoos are very personal, or so he’d always been told by the few people he knew who had them. In order to dish out a thousand dollars for a custom tattoo, sight unseen, from a man with “psychic abilities”, you have to have one hell of a story to tell. Kurt must have heard them all. Sebastian would think he’d get tired of listening after a while, but Kurt doesn’t seem to. He’s worked hard to reveal Sebastian’s story, though he probably doesn’t have to do that with everyone.

The one thing that Sebastian has noticed the entire time he’s been in that barber’s chair is that Kurt hasn’t revealed a single tidbit from his own life, not a morsel of his backstory. Sebastian is dying to get to know him better. Something about Kurt clicks in his head, like a key opening a rusty lock.

What would it take to get Kurt to reveal his secrets?

“You’re running away,” Kurt says, his comment bringing Sebastian back to the present. “Do you have an idea which direction you’re headed?”

“No, not really,” Sebastian admits, which is one of the flaws in his plan. He took back his freedom, took control of his life. Now he needs to figure out what to do with it. “Do you have any suggestions?”

“Well” - Kurt rolls back to his counter to change inks - “I think I would just travel America. Don’t look for any one particular destination. Make the whole country your destination, but,” Kurt says pointedly, returning to Sebastian’s arm, “I would definitely start in California.”

“California?”

“Yeah.” Kurt finishes the shading on Sebastian’s tattoo, then sits back in his stool to take a look. “Start off in San Francisco and start your own sexual revolution. Then hit the beach, get some sun. Head out to the desert. Glory in the big blue sky and all the quiet. Sleep in your car. Make friends with the locals. Eat some peyote. Find some enlightenment.”

“It sounds like you’ve done it once or twice.”

“Loads. As often as I can get away.” Kurt turns off his gun and sets it down carefully. He wets another paper towel and pats down Sebastian’s tattoo. He pulls Sebastian’s arms together to get a look at the images side by side, giving them a final review. “There.” He gets up and turns on a few more lights. “Take a look.”

Sebastian doesn’t look down right away. He takes a deep breath, counts to three. What Kurt has put on his arms isn’t just a tattoo. It’s a jumping off point for the rest of his life. So, like starting any journey, he has to convince himself it’s time.

But if not now, when?

He looks down, absorbing the image now permanently etched on his arms. The colors are vibrant. That’s the first thing that hits him. More vibrant than he would have chosen if given the option. On his right arm, Kurt has tattooed a rose in black and white. It looks hyper-real, like it was printed from an old photograph, but the rose itself is withering, curling at the petals, drawing back toward itself as it begins to die. The stem of the rose goes from brown to green and seems to weave through his skin, breaking in and out of his arm, leaving drops of blood in its wake. The stem becomes a vine, and the vine grows thorns – ragged, sharp thorns. The vine continues on to the next arm and becomes wire – razor wire that curls and coils. It spirals at his forearm around a heart – an anatomically correct, extraordinarily authentic looking human heart. Sebastian stares at it, and the more he does, the more it looks like it’s pulsing, thrumming on his skin, trying to break free from its metal cage. The heart bleeds, but it still beats in protest, and in the very center where the heart bleeds most, Sebastian can see the razor wire starting to break.

But most importantly, the stem and the vines and the wires perfectly cover the scars that ran down Sebastian’s skin. Nothing of them remains.

“It’s … it’s perfect.” Sebastian turns his arms to catch the way the colors light up his skin. “How did you …?”

Kurt taps his finger against his forehead. “Intuition. That’s all.”

“Well, you’re an amazing artist.” Sebastian can’t stop smiling at the art on his skin, but he’s still a bit unsure. “It’s just …”

“Just, what?” Kurt asks as he starts putting his inks away.

“It’s so personal, so incredibly spot on. What do I tell people when they ask me what it means?”

Kurt lifts his eyes to meet Sebastian’s, his gaze unforgiving.

“You got that tattoo for you, Sebastian.” Kurt walks up to him and puts his hands on his upper arms, pinning him to the chair with the intensity of his stare. “You don’t owe anyone an explanation.” Kurt’s lips crinkle sideways as he goes back to his counter. “Besides,” he says, not meeting Sebastian’s eyes again, “the guy you’re going to be thinking about your entire trip, the one that you’ll come back to when you decide that New York will always be your home, he’ll understand what it means.” Kurt returns with a handful of black pads and surgical tape. He spreads a light layer of clear ointment over Sebastian’s tattoo, then covers it with the pads, layering them so that the tape doesn’t touch the tatted skin. He pulls Sebastian’s sleeves down to cover those areas and does the buttons up again.

The entire time Kurt stands in front of him, dressing him, Sebastian holds his breath, trying to decipher what man? Who could Kurt mean? Could he possibly be referring to …?

“Now, if you go to my website,” Kurt says, giving Sebastian a hand up, “I have all the information you’ll need for taking care of that tattoo.” He reaches past Sebastian to grab his coat, opens it, and helps him into it.

“How can I repay you?” Sebastian asks, at a loss for how to express his gratitude, but he’s also hoping he can parlay this into a roundabout way of asking Kurt out to dinner.

“Technically, you already paid me.” Kurt takes Sebastian’s hand and leads him from the loft. With every step toward the exit, Sebastian feels his chance with this man slip away, and he realizes that regardless of his “taking charge of his life” and his painful tattoo to the contrary, he’s still a coward.

Otherwise, he would just open his mouth and ask Kurt out to dinner.

But he doesn’t.

He steps outside, and the cold air hits him hard. He turns to face Kurt, and the man with the icy blue eyes smiles.

“Thanks again,” Sebastian says, stalling for time.

“You’re welcome,” Kurt replies, the door creaking slowly shut. Then it stops. “Actually, there is one more thing.” He walks out the door and into Sebastian’s space, quickly threading his fingers into his hair and fitting their mouths together.

It’s not a long kiss, but it’s a powerful one. It warms Sebastian straight to his feet in his shoes and to the roots of his hair where Kurt tugs lightly. Sebastian’s arms come up to hold him, winding around his narrow waist, hands crawling up his back, begging for something more. But suddenly Kurt steps away, leaving Sebastian to chase his lips.

Sebastian opens his eyes and looks into Kurt’s smiling face. “Why … why did you do that?”

Kurt shrugs.

“Because I wanted to. Because you needed me to.” Kurt backs away toward his loft door and slips through. “Call me when you get back. You can take me out to dinner.” He closes the door for good this time, leaving Sebastian out in a cold he no longer feels.

#kurtbastian #sebkurt #sekurt #Frankie writes

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ellanainthetardis · 6 years

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Hello! Just a word of update: next week is christmas and the one after that is new year’s eve so we’re on a two week-ends hiatus for this story. I’m not leaving with you with a toooo big cliffhanger because I’m nice like that ;) I hope you enjoy this chapter and the completely crazy parents hayffie are!

Also don’t forget Hayffismas week starts tomorrow! I hope a lot of you are participating!

[ff] or {ao3]

47. 14 Weeks

“When are you coming back?”

Haymitch figured someone had to ask because Effie was all about the live and let live approach on that subject. Katniss sighed in the phone. He could hear noises on her side, someone was moving stuff in the distance, probably Johanna packing up her house. They had finally made it to Seven – talk about taking the scenic road – so he guessed she wouldn’t be away for too long now.

He desperately wanted her to come back to Twelve where he could keep an eye on her.

The incident with the Peacekeeper had made all his fears rear up their ugly heads. He was back to being paranoid, suspicious of everyone. The thought that some of the people who had hurt his family were free and running around… It kept him awake at night. And despite everything Effie had to say about it, he regretted not killing the man when he had had the chance.

It would have landed him in prison though, she had a point about that. And not seeing April grow up… No, it wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t worth it but it was a damn shame.

He knew he was hovering but he couldn’t help himself. He checked on Peeta at the bakery twice a day and stayed with Effie as much as he could – which meant until she got fed up and told him to give her space, something that usually ended up in a fight of epic proportions that only April’s crying could break.

It hadn’t been an easy week.

And he wanted Katniss back.

He wanted to stop worrying about someone getting the jump on her while she was at the other side of the country.

“I don’t know.” the girl admitted. “It might take a while to pack and we were talking about swinging by Eleven. I wanted… I thought I could check on Rue’s family.”

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the kitchen wall. He wanted to tell her to forget about that and come home but…

“You’re careful, yeah?” he insisted needlessly. “Both of you.”

There was another sigh, clearly more irritated this time. “We’re fine. We can take care of ourselves, Haymitch. We’re big girls.”

They were adults even and he knew that. He simply wasn’t sure how to handle it. His job was to protect his girl, wasn’t it? The feeling hadn’t stopped when she had reached eighteen and it certainly wasn’t going away now.

“If you do swing by Eleven… It’s a big District, chances are slim but… Can you look up Fay Mitchell? That’s Chaff’s sister… Guess I should have made contact sooner but…” he hesitated. “You know.”

He wasn’t sure it would be particularly well received. Fay had a temper and her brother was dead when Haymitch was still walking around.

“Sure.” Katniss agreed at once.

“If she needs anything or… Her sons maybe. I know she’s got sons…” He made a face, feeling ill-at-ease. “You let her know she can ask, yeah?”

“I will.” the girl promised. She understood, he supposed, she was going to do the same for Rue. “Plutarch’s being annoying. Can you give him a call? If he asks one more time if we’re interested on going on an official Panem Tour, Johanna’s going to get on a train to the Capitol just so she can strangle him. And I won’t stop her this time.”

Haymitch rolled his eyes. “You inspired him with your little road trip. Should have left well enough alone.”

The Mockingjay’s travels regularly appeared in the press and on various news channels. Her moving at random made it difficult for them to anticipate where she would turn up but it had became a sort of game by now.

For the government, it was a heaven sent distraction to the debate about private clinic versus national healthcare rights. The fact that some Capitol private structures were using technology acquired while experimenting with Mutts to grow perfect tailored organs for wealthy people who needed them when the rest of the population had to go on a national waiting list and make do with transplants that weren’t always successful had brought up the debate about the wealthy being above the law. Peeta was fervently opposed to it and it had made for more than a lively debate at the dinner table lately.

Truth be told, the question had been bouncing around for months now and Haymitch thought it was much more complicated than simply labeling it right or wrong. His own main objection was the Mutt thing, it wasn’t natural and it made him shudder just to think of it even if their success rate was ninety percents. Should the technology be shared with everyone? Sure. But he could see Paylor’s problem. If that option was only available to the elite it was because it was very, very expensive and financing it for the whole country would have lead Panem to bankruptcy. And the same went for other medical procedures that weren’t out there for everyone but that could save lives. It was either giving everyone a fighting chance or selecting a lucky few if the national healthcare was to hold.

It was a huge debate, elections would be coming in a little less than two years and the opposition was having a field day dragging Paylor. So, yes, Plutarch had seized the story of the Mockingjay popping around Panem with pleasure. It was never too bad for their approval rate to remind everyone who had fought in the war and who had not and Katniss was the perfect way to do that.

Of course, the Secretary of Communication would have preferred for the whole thing to be entirely supervised and organized by the government. A sort of modified Victory Tour that had Haymitch cringing as soon as the Capitol had mentioned it.

“I just wish they would leave all of us alone.” Katniss grumbled. “You’ve seen their last one?”

If she referred to that morning headline, he had in fact seen it. Apparently people were wondering if she had left Peeta for Johanna now.

“You tell me if I need to give Johanna a talk about not hurting your feelings, sweetheart.” he teased.

The girl scoffed with some amusement and then cleared her throat. “How’s Effie?”

The question was tentative.

He was tempted to snap that Effie would have been better if the girl had been there because she was just as paranoid as he was those days. He bit that back. It wasn’t Katniss’ fault after all and it wouldn’t have been fair.

Effie and Peeta freaking out in the middle of the town had also hit the newspaper, naturally. At first, they had speculated that Peeta had had one of those episodes that had sent him in a clinic after the war – the tracker jacker’s venom thing was known, there had been no way to keep that private with so many rebels aware of the situation – and that Effie had simply been afraid for her daughter. Then, it had come out that Effie had been the one to freak out first and that had triggered speculations about her own mental health. And then, of course, someone had finally ferreted out that the man who had started it all was a former Peacekeeper – although blissfully unavailable to comment – and now all the gossip rags were in a frenzy about why that would send Effie screaming. Peeta, they understood but Effie?

It had brought back to light the whole debate about what had really happened to her during the war and why the rebels and the government had been so closed off about it. It had raised questions that hit a little too close to home.

It had been dying down in the last couple of days and Haymitch didn’t give it two more days before they all moved on to another scandal but it had been rough.

Effie hadn’t stepped out of the house further than to go to the mailbox for more than a week. She was having nightmares that kept them both up at night – and when she managed to get rest, it was his own night terrors that kicked in. She was obsessively cleaning the house every day. He sometimes caught her looking in the distance as if she had completely forgotten where she was…

Being around their daughter helped her a little but it wasn’t a magical remedy. She had been smiling more in the last few days though. She looked a bit calmer too, less on edge. He took it to mean they had weathered through the worst of it.

“Better.” he offered. “It’s your niece you want to ask about.”

Katniss snorted. “Alright. How’s your precious daughter, Haymitch?”

“She crawled for the first time three days ago.” he said, so pleased by that information he flushed.

Well… They called it crawling. Peeta had tactfully pointed out there wasn’t much moving involved. However, April managed to roll on her stomach and move maybe half an inch forward and that was already huge so it was crawling in his book.

He couldn’t believe she was already four months. Only just, of course, but still… Four months almost to the day since Effie had given birth. Four months since his life had drastically changed. Four months and he was so happy. He thought it wasn’t fair sometimes, how happy he was. Surely he didn’t deserve it… But he wouldn’t change it. Not for the world.

“You’re gonna burst with pride.” Katniss mocked, openly laughing at him.

He shrugged, a bit annoyed but not enough of a fool not to see she was right. “What can I say… My girls always make me proud.”

Katniss softened at the end of the line but he could feel the awkwardness creeping in a little. She wasn’t one to accept a compliment gracefully and he wasn’t in a habit of giving them so freely.

It was just that he felt stupidly sentimental lately.

April had made him soft.

“And… How’s Peeta?” she asked with enough detachment that it sounded very fake. He could hear the yearning in her voice. Hidden but not quite well enough.

“Miserable.” he replied cheerfully even if it was just as fake as her apparent disinterest. “Wasn’t that the point? That boy misses you like crazy.”

“You know it’s not like that.” she muttered.

“Do I?” he taunted. “Give him another week and he’s gonna go after you himself.”

He could almost hear her rolling her eyes. “No, he won’t. Not if he knows what’s good for him. I’ll come back when I come back.”

“Think he learned his lesson, you know.” he insisted. “Maybe you can let him out of the doghouse now…”

“He’s not in… What the fuck are you even talking about?” she sighed. “Look, it’s not just about Peeta, okay? It’s about me too. This trip is great.”

He could understand that, he admitted. At her age… If he had had the means and the freedom to do it, he might have liked visiting Panem at his own leisure.

“I’m impressed you haven’t killed Jo yet.” he joked.

“Me too.” Katniss scowled. “Speaking of, I need to go make sure she’s buying actual food or we’ll just have alcohol for dinner. She drinks more than you do.” She must have realized what she had said because she backtracked quickly. “Used to.”

He frowned. “Yeah? That’s a problem? ‘Cause…”

Johanna, not unlike him, had a tendency to turn to derivatives to bury her problems.

“Don’t think so.” she answered, a little wary. “I think she’s just enjoying not being around a three years old for a change. I’m keeping an eye on her anyway.”

“Okay.” he sighed, letting it go. It wasn’t like he could do much about it at the moment. “Be careful, sweetheart. And if you need anything you call right away, alright?”

She promised in an exasperated tone, said her goodbyes and hung up before he could open his mouth again. He placed the phone back on its cradle with a sulk.

Then he followed the sound of laughter to the living-room and leaned against the doorframe for a moment, content to watch.

Effie was on her stomach on the rug in front of the fireplace where he had left her. She was playing with their daughter who seemed intent to escape by any mean necessary. April was slowly trying to crawl away, half an inch at a time, while Snowball who though that a game crawled at her side at the very same pace, awkwardly shimmying this way and that. It was, admittedly, hilarious to watch. And not very effective.

The more Effie laughed the more offended Snowball looked.

April wasn’t disturbed in the least.

“We’re gonna be running after her soon.” Haymitch commented with an amused smirk, pushing himself off the door to drop on the couch.

“Is it true?” she asked, gently rolling April on her back to press kisses all over her stomach. “Are we going to have to run after you, my darling?” More kisses had April flinging her arms and legs in obvious delight, her face all joy. “Are you going to be the little terror Papa says you will be?” Effie teased, poking the baby in the side, prompting more of those noises that sounded so much like giggles. Too soon for that, according to the books. Haymitch had long decided the books were bullshit because their baby clearly giggled. Effie play-bit her hand and Snowball bumped his big head in her shoulder, either to be let in on the game or in fear she would hurt the child. She ruffled his fur. “Yes, you’re a good boy.”

Haymitch shook his head and clicked his fingers once to get the dog’s attention. It didn’t take much more for Snowball to leave the girls be and jump on him. He was definitely too big for that now but Haymitch suffered to be crushed by the Samoyed, scratching and petting where he liked best.

Yeah…

He probably didn’t deserve to be this happy or to love his life so much.

Effie gave April her plain attention a little while longer until it became clear that their daughter was more interested in being allowed back on the playing mat. Her latest passion was to try to catch the blue fish hanging above her head. It made him smile.

“How’s Katniss?” Effie asked, distracted, as she started gathering the toys that always seemed to get scattered around.

“Good. They’re in Seven.” he told her, quickly summing up the conversation for her.

Effie squeezed the stuffed fish Haymitch had bought April two days earlier to her chest, in deep thought. “Peeta is miserable. And with what happened last week… He needs her…”

“They talked about it, I think.” he shrugged. “She didn’t say but the boy told me she called after it hit the papers. He told her not to change her plans for him.”

“Of course he didn’t.” she scoffed. “How stupidly noble.” She checked that April was fine and then stood up only to wince and sway dangerously left and right. “Oh.” Haymitch pushed the dog off his lap and was halfway up when she waved him back down. “I’m fine. It’s a spell of dizziness.”

She didn’t look fine and he forced her to take a seat next to him on the couch with a frown. “That’s been happening a lot, Effie.”

Since the incident with the Peacekeeper. He had dismissed it at first, had thought it was just a side effect of the nasty flashback, but she was better now and her head still tended to spin from time to time.

“I just stood up too quickly, that’s all.” she reassured him. “I’m not… I’m not exactly at the top of my game, I’m afraid.”

Not sleeping and taking care of a baby on top of it made her tired. He supposed it could explain the bouts of dizziness but there were some other symptoms he was sure she was keeping to herself. He had heard her throw up a few times.

“If you’re sick, you need to tell me.” he chided her. “We need to have it checked out.”

She immediately shook her head. “I don’t want to go to the hospital.”

And there lied the crux of the problem, he figured.

“Sweetheart, you’ve been dizzy… You’ve been throwing up…” he frowned. “That’s not exactly normal.”

Guilt flashed on her face, probably because she had tried to keep that away from him. “It was only twice and… It was out of anxiety. I worked myself up badly and it resulted in an upset stomach, that’s all. There is no reason to worry, I promise. I’ve just been tired since… I’m fine, Haymitch. I feel fine. Just tired.”

He wasn’t pleased with that assessment and he wasn’t sure he was buying it.

“If it doesn’t go away you’ll talk to Larcher.” he insisted. He didn’t want to push right then because he didn’t think it would have gone out too well but he wasn’t going to let that slide either, not if something was wrong with her.

“Yes.” she surrendered, curling up against his chest, her knees propped on his thigh.

He wrapped his arm around her and rested his cheek against the top of her head. Snowball had lied down next to the playing mat and was watching April with rapt attention. The baby was having the time of her life trying to catch that fish. Everything was perfect and it made his chest ache.

“Can’t bear the thought of losing you.” His voice was gruff and he could feel his cheeks flushing a little. As if it was still a secret.

“You won’t.” she hummed, cupping his cheek to press a kiss against his lips. It wasn’t quite chaste or innocent and he leaned into it, chasing a little after her mouth when she retreated. “I promise if I don’t feel better in a few days I will talk to Larcher but honestly I am fairly sure it is just nerves.”

“Okay.” he breathed out, tightening his grip on her shoulders.

She settled back against his chest, her fingers drawing random distracted patterns on his chest. “Do you know Mrs Leemon?”

He frowned, a bit thrown by the change of topic. He had to think hard about it too. “Four houses down the street, yeah?”

She had been amongst the first to come back to Twelve but he had never really had any occasion to talk to her.

“Yes.” she confirmed. “Well… She saw a couple of the outfits I made for me and April and… She asked me if I was for hire.”

“When?” he asked. “You haven’t been out in a while.”

“She cornered me at the mailbox while you were walking Snowball.” she chuckled. “I thought she was out for gossip at first. She might have been actually but…” She gave a small shrug. “She still looked interested in the outfits so I invited her in to discuss what she would like and… One thing led to another, I showed her my sketches…” She was taking pain to sound calm and detached but he could hear the cautious excitation underneath. “I was a little nervous, you know. She has always been polite but I do not know her that well…”

She had been nervous about the woman possibly laughing at her work. Thanks to Elindra’s wonderful parenting skills.

Haymitch did his best to keep the sudden anger from her. There were times when he managed to forget just how her parents had treated her but there were also moments when he would have gladly bashed their heads against the wall for it.

“She liked them.” he said confidently.

He had never claimed to be an expert in fashion and he had made his opinion on her eccentric outfits clear over the years but she had toned that down a lot since coming to live in Twelve. She always looked classy, too much for the District, but rarely outlandish. And he might not be paying attention half the time but he had seen her sketch or sew enough times to know half her wardrobe was composed of things she had made by herself – and most of April’s clothes were too.

Effie was Effie. Heads always turned in her wake – and not only because she had been an escort – and she was so naturally charismatic and beautiful that some women tried to emulate her just to catch the same kind of attention. She was still launching trends. Of course, people would be interested in her sketches. She was the only one who doubted that.

“She did.” she beamed, not bothering to reign her enthusiasm in anymore. “Well, she wasn’t really interested in the gowns but she liked the summer dresses and a few of the other outfits… And she loved the baby outfits. She has a little girl, you know? So she asked if I would take an order for a few things both for her and the child and… And I said yes.”

“That’s great, sweetheart.” he offered, dropping a kiss on top of her head.

“I wasn’t quite sure what sort of fees I should set but… We figured something out that worked for both of us.” she explained, sitting up straight. Her eyes were bright and sparkling. She looked happy, excited… It made her look ten years younger and he was reminded of the bubbly exuberant girl she used to be when he had met her. She kept on talking, waving her hands in the air in her enthusiasm. “A few people asked where I bought my clothes and I was always flattered that they would think I bought them but I didn’t look any further than that. Eileen suggested that I should open a shop a few times, you know…”

He tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear, amused by her antics. “That’s something you want to do? Open a shop?”

He didn’t really know how he felt about that. It would mean that she would be busy. He had no experience with opening or even tending to a business but it seemed time consuming. And they just had a baby… He wasn’t sure he wanted to share her that much.

But she looked so happy and excited…

He wanted her to be happy in Twelve. He had always known she wasn’t good at being idle and that she had an independent streak. Effie Trinket needed challenges. She needed goals. She needed something that was completely hers in which she could not only excel but be admired for.

And he wasn’t about to take that away from her if it could make her life easier.

He could take care of April while she worked, he figured. He had no need or inclination to get a job that was more complicated than raising geese. He would have all the time in the world for their daughter.

“Perhaps.” she admitted, looking a little sheepish. “But the capital…”

“You don’t need to worry about money.” he cut her off. They had enough money. If she wanted a shop, he would give it to her. He owed her that and so much more. For failing her during the war. For the years of anguish before that.

“Yes, I do.” she frowned, her enthusiasm deflating a little. “We have a child to think about. If I open a shop and it doesn’t work out…”

“It will.” he shrugged.

“You are sweet but you cannot know that.” she countered.

“Yeah, I do. ‘Cause you’ve got talent.” he growled. “And I’ve yet to see you fail at anything.”

“I don’t want to risk our savings on a whim.” she insisted.

He rolled his eyes. “Then, talk to your father. He bought half the place as it is. What’s one more building?”

She immediately shook her head. “Absolutely not. If I am to do this, it will be my project. I do not want my father – or my mother for that matter – meddling.”

He was lost. “You don’t want our money… You don’t want your father’s… How are you gonna do this, then?” He made a face. “Not a loan. I trust those bankers just as far as I can throw them.”

Her lips twitched in amusement, probably because she thought he was being unnecessarily paranoid. “With my own.”

“You don’t have any money of your own.” he replied before he could think twice about it.

The comment hurt her, he saw it plainly.

Money wasn’t a topic they discussed often, mainly because it was better left unaddressed. Effie had always been proud of her independence, being forced to financially lie on him for almost two years had always been a sore point for her. Haymitch had never minded. Mainly because, even though he would never had been stupid enough to voice it in her immediate vicinity, he found it natural. He was the man, it was his job to provide for his family. It was how it had always been in Twelve before the war – even though most women ended up finding a job to make ends meet. She would have found it very old-fashioned, of course, and probably insulting so he kept his mouth shut but he had considered it his duty to make sure she had everything she needed well before they had tied the knot.

Nevertheless, she resented it. Her pride had suffered when she had been forced to tell him about the debts she had left behind, when she had asked if he could help her out. He hadn’t hesitated a single second, had never even thought twice about it. It had been implied – and often stated in the beginning – that she would pay him back for the scores he had settled on her behalf. He had never wanted to hear about it. He still didn’t. Money was just money. She was so much more important.

“Precisely.” she said, forcing herself to sound just as cheerful as before. “I thought I could establish myself as a dressmaker first. It would allow me to build up a customer base, to control the amount of work I would take and to earn some money. Besides, I can do that from home so I won’t feel like I am abandoning April. It would be slow going but… It would test the water… If there is enough demand in a year or so then I will think about opening a real business. What do you think?”

It was very thought through.

“How long have you been planning this?” he asked.

She looked a little sheepish and dropped her eyes to her hands before meeting his gaze. “A while, to be honest.”

He shrugged, studying her with some amusement. “Sounds like a plan, then.”

She beamed.

He wasn’t exactly expecting to get his lap full of her but he played along willingly, responding to her kisses, barely remembering to keep his hands from roaming all over her because April was in the same room.

“You really thought I wouldn’t support you?” he mumbled between two kisses, a bit taken aback by her reaction.

“You aren’t my best fan when it comes to fashion.” she argued.

He drew back, coiling a hand around her nape. “I want you to be happy. Whatever form that takes. You know that, yeah?”

Her blue eyes twinkled when she leaned in to place a teasing ghost of a kiss on his lips. “It takes the form of you letting me turn the study into a proper workshop.”

“Thought we were making it a guest room?” he snorted but then shrugged. “You can have the whole house for all I care.”

“There is always the big cupboard upstairs…” she frowned after a minute. “How big is it anyway? Given the house’s proportions, it must be quite large… Now that I think about it… This cupboard doesn’t make much sense… Why… It must at least be as big as the study, right? And… Wait a minute… Isn’t there a window? I am sure there is a window on that side of the house…”

“Ah, yeah… That cupboard…” He cleared his throat.

How did he even begin to explain that cupboard…

It was full to the brim with all the boxes full of Capitol bullshit that he hadn’t managed to cram in the attic plus most of the horrible sculptures the house had come with – some of which had been as tall as he was – as well as a few pieces of furniture he really hadn’t liked and some awful paintings… Step by step it had become a room he never opened because it was simply full of junk – real junk, not the burned mementoes he had religiously kept in the attic. Every time he had broken something and had cared enough to get rid of it that was where he had tossed it.

When she had come to work for him Hazelle had glanced once in there and had never opened that door again. Effie had never really checked it out, he figured. She had asked once, a little after she had moved in, he had dismissed it as a storing area and she had simply run along with the cupboard assumption.

To be really honest, he didn’t even notice the closed door anymore. It was part of the wall at this point, like a framed painting or the vase full of flowers Effie had insisted would brighten the hallway.

“See… I never specifically said it was a cupboard…” he winced.

She didn’t look impressed.

He could see the wheels turning in her head as she mentally compared the layout of their house to the children’s and put her interest in architecture to good use. She must have reached the logical conclusion because she licked her lips and her arms became a little heavier around his neck. She hadn’t moved off his lap though so it couldn’t be that bad.

“Haymitch, please, tell me there isn’t another guest room in this house I knew nothing about.” she requested.

His wince deepened and he tightened his hold on her wait. “Technically, it’s not a guest room either.”

It was a room full of junk that was impossible to enter because he had done an excellent job at making things fit where it shouldn’t have. The smallest room upstairs too. Really, it wasn’t that far off from a cupboard.

It would take a hammer and a lot of patience to get inside.

“Haymitch.” she growled. She narrowed her eyes at him, her lips pursed.

“It doesn’t even have a bathroom!” he exclaimed in his defense.

And it was probably the only reason there was a bathroom unattached to either bedroom at all on the first floor. They never used that one anyway. It was what Effie called “the guests’ bathroom” because apparently it wasn’t done to make their friends and family cross their bedroom to use the toilets or to wash their hands.

“I cannot believe you.” she sighed, shaking her head. “And I cannot believe I didn’t figure it out sooner.”

He dropped his head against the back on the couch, very much pouting. “You’re gonna make me clear it, yeah?”

She didn’t even bat an eyelash. “What do you think?”

He thought he was sentenced to moving a lot of heavy things around and that she was going to have a field day cleaning and decorating. He also thought they wouldn’t have an excuse not to host her parents when they would come to Twelve now – and that chagrined him most of all. And lastly he though three years earlier he would have told her to do it herself if she wanted it done when now he would obey because it would make her happy and save him an argument.

He was whipped.

Oh, so whipped.

He wondered how someone could be that happy being so whipped.

#hayffie #effie trinket #haymitch abernathy #april showers

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furederiko · 7 years

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Random-News-Digest time everyone! It's the final one for the month of June. And yes, I admit that it's mainly published to address the recent update of a certain... game XD.

NOTE: This post hasn't been formerly proofread, so I have to apologize in advance. I'll get to that when I have the time, which might take a day or two, or even faster than that. Big religious holiday is supposedly starting later tonight, and although I'm not celebrating, for some reason I've always got caught up in the moment (can't actually get some rest due to the festive noise anyway. Gah!!!). And also, the internet has been rather slow thanks to that same reason. So there's that! (^^;) Proofread and minor updates completed on June 26th 08:10AM. See? Told you it'll take a while... XD

Star Wars

Big storm is brewing against the franchise! In an unexpected and perhaps unprecedented (for the franchise at least) turnaround, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are no longer attached to the "Han Solo: A Star Wars Story" (tentatively titled) movie, which is currently IN PRODUCTION! Nope, make that 'only a few weeks away from finishing the filming' stage. So it's more than halfway done. Unbelievable, right?

Creative differences is the diplomatic excuse as always, because well... this IS Hollywood. The duo even issued a statement with the cliché tune of "Unfortunately, our vision and process weren’t aligned with our partners on this project", because well... cliché HOLLYWOOD. But it turned out the reason was a bit more personal than that. Apparently they had a clash of style and vision with Lawrence Kasdan (who's writing the movie's script with son Jon Kasdan) regarding the titular character's personality, an issue that was not backed by producer Allison Shearmur who's overseeing production in London. Since the long-gestating problem that has begun since day one of production couldn't be solved, they have practically been let-go (or fired, if you prefer the more blatant term). Rather blindsidedly too, some sources claimed. I'm not taking sides here, but honestly, if this was intended to be such a serious movie, I personally wondered WHY Lord and Miller were even hired. Considering their portofolio so far has been none other than comedy. No wonder there was a clash of tones there!

Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm immediately announced that there would be a replacement, with names like Ron Howard, Joe Johnston, and Kasdan himself being in the mix. And well, yesterday the studio has officially chosen Howard to take over Lord and Miller's directorial duty. A news that was met with mixed reactions, because while some were aware of Howard's superb Oscar-winning talent, many others have so easily forgotten all the critically acclaimed works he has delivered and... lamented this decision instead. Some even started complaining that the movie doesn't need to exist in the first place. LOL. That's our INTERNET people, get used to it! By the way, Howard is no stranger to the "Star Wars" franchise. He's an acquaintance of George Lucas, and had previously been approached to direct "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace". His hiring is said to be keeping up with "the spirit of the saga that George Lucas began 40 years ago", inspite of how old-fashioned it might be.

It's currently unclear if all the works that Lord and Miller have done since February would be scrapped and replaced anew, but since the issue stemmed from such fundamental ground, I feel many scenes will be redone in extensive reshoots during the Summer. Not unlike what happened with Gareth Edwards' "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" last year... which thankfully came out unscathed. For the record, this Han Solo movie starring Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke, and Woody Harrelson is still scheduled for May 25th, 2018, so the studio might need to salvage as much footage as they can to fulfill the target date. As for Lord and Miller, there are rumors that they might get back to talking with Warner Bros about "The Flash". Not surprising, considering they DID write its original script, and left to do Han Solo. That poor superhero movie is pretty much a vacant production anyway, having lost directors over and over again. For the moment, there's no official confirmation about this. Heck they can even go back to working on sequel to "The LEGO Movie", right? We'll just have to wait and see.

Suffice to say, with this news, as well as the fact that Colin Trevorrow's recent movie "The Book of Henry" tanking both critically and financially... the Force is definitely NOT with the franchise. It makes good sense if fans are beginning to doubt that Trevorrow will wonderfully fulfill his duty as director for "Star Wars: Episode IX", the last of the modern/new-era trilogy. Not to mention, the firing of Lord and Miller might affect the franchise in terms of... behind the scene dealings. I'm not hyperboling here, but things are definitely not looking good. Then again, Lucasfilm managed to crawl out from risky situation before, as evidenced by "Rogue One", so perhaps this won't be a huge deal? I for once am glad that I'm not that invested in the franchise. But I'm aware that many nerds, and general audience out there care deeply enough for it to be more than just casually concerned. Let's just... hope the best and expect the worse. Okay?

Dark Universe

Another major franchise (if we can even call it that way, because it's still in infancy state for now) that has also become a major question mark, is none other than Universal and its modern Shared Monsters universe. Much were riding on Alex Kurtzman's "The Mummy" to jump-start the whole universe, but it sure didn't play out as planned. It wasn't the breakout hit that Universe was expecting. Nope, it was worse. It was already riddled with bad reviews prior to release, hence the opening numbers for the movie was underwhelmingly weak, and now it has plummeted 56% domestically in its second week. It's another "Ghost in the Shell" and "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" situation, folks! Not even a household name like Tom Cruise and/or Russell Crowe can do anything about it.

The good news is, it's doing better in the global market having passed the $600 million mark. The bad news? One would easily wonder if this is a good sign for Universal or not? After all, isn't this like... the "Dracula Untold" situation all over again? Will Bill Condon's "The Bride of Frankenstein" need to re-start the universe from scratch again? I'm honestly skeptical about it, but this is Hollywood we're talking about. A business that in general, couldn't care less about what its audience is thinking. Perhaps we should be doing that instead, then? Hmmm...

Mission Impossible

Speaking of Tom Cruise, he's currently filming the currently un-subtitled "Mission: Impossible 6". Aside from introducing Henry Cavill as a likely expendable member of the movie, director Christopher McQuarrie also personally confirmed several additions to the cast, old and new. Namely, the female cast who have joined series veteran Simon Pegg, Alec Baldwin, Sean Harris, and Ving Rhames for a 2-hours session with Cruise's Ethan Hunt (Jeremy Renner is busy with Avengers, so nope, he won't be around). Surprisingly, these gals consist of returning actresses Michelle Monaghan and scene-stealer Rebecca Ferguson, as well as new ones like Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, and Sian Brooke. That's like, twice the number of women compared to each previous installments! Who would've expected that we're getting a balanced gender in the 6th movie, and not just another sausage-fest, right?

McQuarrie is writing and directing the movie, and seemed proud with his extended cast. We still however, don't know much about it or the plot. I can only hope that this one will have a fresh story, that doesn't revolve in recycling has-been-plots. This franchise has that kind of unfortunate tendency, by the way. I'm not and never a fan of the movie series (I liked the TV better? Idk why), but it's totally commendable that it still has a good spark for another round. Heck, perhaps it might be turned into its own Shared Universe in the near future? LOL... Naah, I'm just kidding. But really, that might actually happen. I hope I didn't just jinx it...

Transformers

Reviews for Michael Bay's latest bombastic explosive robot-destruction-porn have hit the market, and well... should we even be surprised if they are BAD? Like... really BAD? "Transformers: The Last Knight" has even surpassed the Chinese-heavy "Transformers: Age of Extinction" by debuting in a... lower RottenTomatoes score. YIKES! 17% on RT, and 29 on Metacritic. Critics haven't been kind with the franchise, as evidenced by how they were torturing "Age of Extinction", but they weren't holding back with this one too. According to many, this one has even more bloated overstuffed plot, it's an overlong mess of badness, eventhough it has an ambitious screenplay and Mark Wahlberg giving his best as Cade Yeager's swan-song to the franchise. Some however, also said that it was bearable and would likely please its true fans no matter how bleak it might be. So... it's not for everyone, then? Hmmm...

In another NON-surprising news, Bay also announced that he's retiring from the franchise. AGAIN! Yes, I've even lost count how many times he had sworn these similar lines, but in an interview with Fandango, he just openly reiterated his intention. AGAIN. Hopefully for good this time, because I'm intrigued to see other directors taking their chances with this. I admit, I'm rather skeptical about his words though, because as I said, he kept on saying he's done with the franchise, only to jump back in while boasting his pride all over the place. It's like, a Decepticon knocked him out cold, and gave him amnesia every single time he finished making one movie! The bigger problem in the bigger picture though, we still have many more movies in the planning! I think it was 14 more scripts, right? I lost count as well. A Bumblebee spin-off has even been set to arrive next year as the beginning of this supposed Bay-less era. The logic here, is... do we really NEED more? It's a rhetoric question, by the way, don't bother answering. "Transformers: The Last Knight" is out since June 21st, so it should be crashing down in theatres near you as we speak *sigh*.

Jurassic Park

Well well well... title for the sequel to "Jurassic World" has been revealed! Announced through an official poster, the movie will now be called "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom". It's unclear what the 'Fallen Kingdom' actually means, although it somehow reminded me of... the 2nd Transformers movie. Which is not a good sign, considering the first "Jurassic World" made A LOT of money, but in a way, suffered through poor reviews by many critics. Will this franchise fall into the same category to Transformers? We'll see. "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" is set to arrive next year!

DC Films

"Wonder Woman" was the FIRST critically-good DCEU movie, so it's not even a surprise that WB is already planning a sequel. Once again, this IS Hollywood, people! Director Patty Jenkins and DC Comics and DC Films' Geoff Johns are currently collaborating for the treatment. Their goal is, "to make another great Wonder Woman film". The twist in this equation, Jenkins hasn't been officially signed to the project. Given the sudden recent development on "Star Wars" (which MIGHT carry Lord and Miller back to DC Film), this can mean anything. So it's unclear if she will or will not direct it, or just working behind the scene as writer and producer. Creative differences happen every now and then. But you know what? I'm more curious to how Johns can even manage to work on so many projects at the same time! Is he a cyborg, solely created for multitasking? He DID write "Vision" for Marvel Comics before... hmmm

Meanwhile, "The Justice League" is expected to have a new look now that Joss Whedon is in charge of the reshoot. Splash Report said that the movie have been overhauled by the studio not just once, but TWICE. This was seemingly evidenced by what happened after production was wrapped on October 2016. If it was done, how come actors like Jason Momoa subsequently had to cancel guest appearances and also postponed production for "Aquaman" just to do reshoots? And looks like it's not just an everyday reshoot after all, but a 'serious' and 'significant' one. Similar to what happened to "Rogue One" for half of its runtime, I say. The sources of this rumor said that WB didn't like what they were seeing, and commanded a rehaul. Big or small, it's none of our business, but surely, by now they have learned that messing around too much in the editing room could resulted into something equally awful. Like... last year's "Suicide Squad".

So as we speak, Whedon is likely working hard to change the team-up movie into something... better. Why would I blatantly said Whedon's name? Because Zack Snyder is no longer in charge, considering he and wife/producer Deborah have walked out since March due to personal family issue. Clearly, Whedon is solely in charge now, even if he's not given the credit he deserved (WB said the movie is still Snyder's no matter what). I don't know about you, but this situation suddenly feels eerily similar to the Lord and Miller, "Han Solo", and Ron Howard situation. According to random unconfirmed buzzes, Whedon has also been heavily involved in the DCEU. I don't actually know what that means, but it's probably similar to his previous overseeing-role for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Again, do take this with a grain of salt, because once again, no official word has been made about it. But you know what? I'm NOT surprised if that's indeed the case. Whedon had successfully created "The Avengers" in 2012, back when almost everyone in Hollywood thought a Cinematic Universe was a dumb idea. And now every studio want their share of a similar cake! It just makes perfect darn sense that WB hired Whedon to fix their DCEU, with the exchange of giving him freedom with his upcoming "Batgirl" project. I don't think it takes a genius to figure this one out. LOL.

X-Men Universe

At the same time, 20th Century FOX is also confidently moving forward with "X-Men: Dark Phoenix". True to the rumor, producer/writer Simon Kinberg is set to turn this into his first directorial project. All Most of the cast from that dreaded boring "X-Men: Apocalypse" are set to return. Wait... WHAT?!

Yep, that's quite a surprise indeed. I, among many others, thought that actors like Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, and especially Jessica Lawrence were done with their roles. J-Law in particular, has publicly expressed her disdain to play Mystique like... over and over again. Not to mention, "Apocalypse" tanked critically (and also financially? I forgot about that one). But this is indeed happening folks, which means expect those three, as well as Nicholas Hoult to be reprising their respective mutant characters once again. Since the title obviously is a reference to the character Jean Grey, all the younger cast have been confirmed as well. Sophie Turner, Alexandra Shipp, Tye Sheridan, and Kodi Smit-McPhee will be playing Jean Grey/Phoenix, Storm, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler once again. They are contractually-tied to the movie anyway. Hold on... where's Evan Peters? And... why aren't people talking about him? Will we not see his over-powered Quicksilver this time around then? Hmmmm... good riddance. Perhaps Taylor Swift is primed to take over his scene as the official... Dazzler?

Anyways, the studio is aiming big as always. After completely wasting and misuing the talent of one great Oscar Isaac, as well as the character Apocalypse that he was entrusted, now FOX is aiming for another big star to... probably ruin: Jessica Chastain! Yeess, the Oscar-nominated actress who had been approached by Marvel Studios before, has entered negotiations with the studio last week. She's the studio's top-pick to play the antagonist, Shi'ar Empress Lilandra Neamani. This is a character closely related to the alien-entity Phoenix, by the way. But knowing FOX, and also the hack that is Kinberg, I wouldn't bet too much on Liliandra to actually resemble anything she looked in the comics. She wasn't even a villain there, because it was her sister instead! Intriguingly, the Shi'ar is a Marvel Cosmic character. Does this mean, FOX is trying to have their share of the space opera-cake too now? Without even seeding hints towards it? That's FOX all right...

Seemingly, production is reaching the start of production in Vancouver, Montreal (marked by random set-photos on social media), eventhough Chastain hasn't even been locked. With an inexperienced director, a rushed production, a major storyline that has been done and sadly damaged before, and the level of CG necessary to pull of the scope? Those variables just don't add up. I've lost interest to this franchise a long time ago, so clearly I don't have faith in this one either. How they will even manage to achieve the November 2nd, 2018 release date is beyond me...

Speaking of production, "Deadpool 2" filmed scenes at the Hatley Castle Victoria, British Columbia. The place serves as a stand-in to Professor X's (which one? LOL) X-Mansion. True to his character, Ryan Reynolds sure didn't waste time to make fun of his fellow X-Men side. It's officialy the first set-pictures from the sequel! Also, Japanese actress Shioli Kutsuna has joined the cast in a key role. Perhaps, as the X-Men Hisako Ichiki/Armor or Noriko Ashida/Surge? "Deadpool 2", which is still a tentative-title (seriously, it's an epidemic!) will arrive on June 1st, 2018.

One last thing! Those Marvel fans who have been speculating that the copyright for "Fantastic Four" has reverted/been sold back to Marvel Studios... can now swallow their hopes and dreams in whole. As Kevin Feige has repeatedly stated (to which I'm scratching my head because nobody believed such an honest guy like him), this is NOT happening! And thankfully, we get an actual confirmation now, because FOX is... *drumrolls* set to make another movie! YIKES. YIKES. YIIIKEEESSSSS!!! Exaggerating response aside, this isn't that much surprising, since Kinberg had sung similar tune several times already. The failure of the really honest-to-God-really-BAD 2015's "Fant4stic" movie, as well as the whole backstage drama with director Josh Trank, apparently didn't stop FOX from further claiming their feet in this franchise. Because yeah, clearly they are only stalling time, trying to avoid the copyright from being reverted automatically to its rightful owner.

Third time's the charm, huh? Not so fast. This one won't be another reboot apparently, because it's going to focus on Franklin and Valeria Richard, a.k.a the chidren of Reed and Sue. Seth Grahame-Smith, the same guy who also walked out from "The Flash", is said to be writing a draft about this movie. Grahame-Smith was already involved in the 2015 movie to do some rewrites, so he's not necessarily a new name in the project. I'm not sure what to think about this, because I believe FOX has totally ruined this particular franchise. So much that I would really love to see Disney and Marvel Studios' take on the superhero family. Hey, it could be a live-action version of "The Incredibles", right? But the idea of focusing on Franklin and Valeria is intriguing nonetheless (assuming FOX can pull this off), because it might end up becoming a fun family movie like those "Spy Kids" series. Plus, they can easily use the same cast from the 2015 movie because they have aged now. But... that might be a wishful thinking. I still would rather see the copyrights revert back, so Marvel Studios can bring justice to, and have actual-legit fun with these characters in their upcoming Cosmic Universe. LOL.

SONY Marvel Universe

During the press junket with FilmStarts for the upcoming Spider-Man movie, producer Amy Pascal delivered a mindblowing statement that... in just seconds rocked the Marvel fanbase to their core. For better or worse, I say. When asked about SONY's upcoming plans for Spider-Man spin-offs, ones that Kevin Feige had openly said to be "a SONY Project", Pascal gave an arguably... contradicting answer. "Well those movies will all take place in the world that we are now creating for Peter Parker. They’ll be adjuncts to it, it may be different locations but it will still all be in the same world, and they will be connected to each other as well.", she said, ambiguously confirming that both Ruben Fleischer-directed "Venom" and Gina Prince-Bythewood-directed "Silver & Black" will exist in the same universe to Tom Holland's Peter Parker. Which means... the... MCU, right?! O_O... She even added that "There’s a chance [that Peter Parker will appear]. There’s always a chance. I think one of the things that Kevin has done with Marvel that was so brilliant is by bringing the fans along and making each movie seem like a chapter in a book, that you have to read that chapter in order to go forward. And I think the investment that the fans get to feel in being a part of a larger story and understanding what’s happening, I think is something that I know Sony would want to emulate.".

This small news, was immediately met with various kinds of reactions. Some was calling Pascal out to be a 'hack' who didn't understand what she's saying. On the other hand, others are calling Feige to be liar, especially due to how 'surprised' or 'confused' he looked upon hearing the words coming out of her mouth... which was followed by a mysterious 'smile' (Monalisa much?). And other variations of those. Want to know my immediate reaction? Allow me to share what I wrote on the 1st draft of this post: Okay, this must be a joke right? Or Amy Pascal is confused or mixed up about something? Because that means SONY is messing around with the MCU! And I'm not too sure I would like that. It's bad enough that Marvel TV division is already chipping away potential characters from ever being used in the big screen, now this. Isn't that like, overstepping much? If anything, this gives Avi Arad an access to mess around in the MCU. And also, not only the Earth-based but the cosmic side through Venom as well.

Ignoring my personal-beef with Marvel TV aside, nor my natural grumpy bed-side manner (what can I say, I've been in a bad mood lately. LOL), that WAS indeed my response when I first read the news a few days ago (earlier this week in fact!). Of course I've calmed down ever since, and managed to carefully assessed the situation with a cool head. Nope, there aren't any official confirmation or clarification so far, from neither SONY nor Marvel Studios. But many sites have chimed in with their take on the matter, and well... it's starting to make sense. The way I see it, neither Pascal and Feige are spreading lies. They are only speaking in their own personal style and gesture. So we can't really take their words or sudden expression at face value. Collider and Marvelous Realm pointed out the generalising word 'adjunct' that Pascal used. As Birth.Movies.Death pointed out, Feige is a man of diplomatic answer, and had always refuse to give out unnecessary information when it's not needed. Pascal on the other hand, is spontaneous and her role is to help sell her own studio... SONY. A studio who by the way, had also stated that "Venom" and "Silver & Black" are NOT connected to the Peter Parker movies. But she wouldn't be talking like that without having prior discussion about it, right? If we look at it closely, Pascal herself NEVER stated that those movies would be part of the MCU. That's not how their collaborative deal is happening anyway. In a way, this is a situation that rhymes a bit in comparison to Marvel TV's Netflix series, or their other non-ABC projects. Once again, as I've said over and over again, the arrival of 2016's "Doctor Strange" helped Marvel Studios to expand their universe into a Multi-verse state. So perhaps, speculatively-speaking... that's exactly what's happening with the SONY Marvel Universe, right? That it's part of the MCU, just not in the same realm to The Avengers?

The Hollywood Reporter's thorough piece about the relationship between SONY and Marvel Studios, surprisingly shed some hidden lights about the SONY movies too. Apparently, SONY is also working on projects that will focus on Sergei Kravinoff a.k.a. Kraven the Hunter, and Mysterio. As if we don't get enough villain-based movies, Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock is set to take on (if not feature) another Spider-Man's symbiote antagonist: Carnage! According to Omega Underground (via ComicBook.com), the R-rated movie will begin production on September 1st for the October 5th, 2018 release date, and is set to film in Atlanta and New York City. Meaning it won't be long before we get to know who will play the totally-NOT-PG13-character sociopath murderer Cletus Cassidy. "Silver & Black" is also eyeing for a Fall start. A rumor detailing the movie's possible plot has also been flying around the internet. For the record, the source's credibility is questionable, particularly because it includes several characters like Jessica Drew and Dominic Fortune that might not even be SONY's to begin with. It also introduced many names from the Spider-Man lore, like The Scorpion, The Chameleon, and Norman Osborn... that somehow sounded a little too good to be true.

For now, Tom Holland isn't attached to any of these movies, but the intention of SONY is clearly to do so. And I hope that's indeed the case, because it probably would give me a slight of interest to see it. To be honest, I'm still mulling over the fact that SONY is going to flesh out amazing villains like Kraven, Mysterio, the Symbiotes, and many others, robbing their connection to a Spider-Man. I personally would love to see Holland's Spider-Man taking on these characters as PART of the MCU, not the other way around. I'm still happy that at long last, those names have been reconsidered for a big-screen feature, because as disappointed as I've been to realize that Hardy won't ever be portraying Kraven now, we DO need to see a "Sinister Six" movie somewhere in the future, right? But on the other hand, the absence of quality control from Marvel Studios is undeniably concerning. Don't forget, Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach practically ruined Venom in "Spider-Man 3", and other characters like Goblin and Electro in the consequent follow-ups. Which leads me back to the most nagging question: Is the SONY Universe thing REALLY a good idea? Will its movies be enjoyable and not disappointing like those "The Amazing Spider-Man" series? Hard to tell. Somehow its future is still looking dark and cloudy to my curious eyes...

Marvel Studios

You've seen that official first teaser for "Black Panther" that arrived two weeks ago, right? Yes, I'm sure you have. I've always thought that Marvel Studios is keeping wrap Ryan Coogler's movie for a grand debut in San Diego Comic Con next month. Turns out it arrived much earlier than I have anticipated. Am I disappointed though? Of course NOT. It looked grand like its poster, amazing like any Marvel Studios' releases, gloriously and explosively epic, and character-focused (if that new synopsis is any indication). And surprising too, because it was much more colorful than I expected!

I honestly didn't expect the costumes to be so... vibrant. But as it turns out, the designs for those bright red, dashing yellow, lush green, and navy blue outfits were completely inspired by actual African culture. Which is of course AMAZING, because I got to learn new things from it. I can already expect a nomination in the Costume and Production category in the next Oscar race. Yes, Production too, because the fictional country of Wakanda itself is also looking grand. A combination of African culture and high-tech, this country looks and feel like Thor's Asgard that takes place on Earth. A hidden utopia! Also, we got plenty of women in action thanks to the Dora Milaje! Lupita Nyong'o strutting as Nakia in a casino, Florence Kasumba's Ayo kicking people's behind with a tonfa, and Danai Gurira as Okoye who seems to be serving as Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa's right hand. And then there's Angela Bassett who's rocking grey hair as Queen Ramonda, Letitia Wright's Science-Princess Shuri with Panther-shaped Iron Man-style gauntlets, and singer Nabiyah Be as Tilda Johnson who is connected to Michael B. Jordan's Erik Killmonger. Johnson's name might be unfamiliar in the mainstream, because she's a character best known as the supervillain Nightshade. Oh, and also don't forget returning actors Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis as Everett Ross and Ulysses Klaue respectively. Sure, it would've been great to see some Asian tone, but at least the two added some colors to an otherwise African-American cast.

Executive Producer Nate Moore, who also worked on the last two Captain America movies, talked to Complex and shed some details about the movie. He confirmed that "Black Panther" takes place right after the event of "Captain America: Civil War", and that the untimely passing of John Kani's T'Chaka will serve as the catalyst for the plot. In a sense that, T'Challa himself wasn't automatically a King and had to prove himself, while internal threat presumably coming from Killmonger will challenge that notion. Chiming in to Kevin Feige, Moore reiterated the studio's goal to "tell the best stories with the strongest developed characters and scripts" they can work on, and not to rush something that's not ready or not according to their standard. Particularly when asked about the issue of diversity, to which he kindly compared to the "Fast & Furious" franchise. "I think an upshot with Marvel is that our characters and brand are both big enough where we’re not limited to just using actors and actresses who’ve done a ton of movies. We work with big name actors but we’re not under the pressure of saying that we have to work with, say, Matt Damon or Will Smith, or no one’s going to want to see this new idea. Hollywood is a bit agnostic as far as race and gender. They’re just trying to get as many people as possible to see movies so they just want faces that get people into seats, frankly. And because there aren’t as many roles for people of different ethnicities, you tend to see a lot of guys like Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio who are super talented, but who maybe aren’t as diverse as other actors out there.", he said, negating the practice that has recently been done by other studios like Universal with their Dark Universe, or WB with DC Films.

As for the future, the studio is always thinking ahead, but in a limited capacity as things evolve naturally. He admitted that they are "finishing up what we call Phase 3, which will sort of end with the fourth Avengers film in 2019. And then I think for us, we continue that conversation of, what’s next? Who will be the new heroes who can tell great new stories and bring us to new worlds that we haven’t even had a chance to visit yet, while still expanding on the slate of heroes we have and finding the next step for characters people have come to love? We’re looking for the next best story. And then we let the story tell us what we should be making as part of that one united narrative in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.". Once again putting focus on the story first and not just trying to make the MCU continue rolling. And what kind of stories? One that would please the fans. Because for the studio, fans are "the forefront of our minds when we talk about development. What does our audience want and how do we give it to them in a way that’s unexpected? What do they want to see? What can we show them that they don’t know they want to see, but that we think they’ll really respond to? And a big part of that is plunging into new worlds with characters that offer a different flavor than what people are used to. Those are the stories that we want to explore.". An attitude that so far hasn't been taken as good lesson by other studios.

"Black Panther" will arrive on February 16th, 2018. Considering that's less than 3 months prior to "Avengers: Infinity War", it's clear that the movie's going to be have some set-up towards that ensemble movie. While Chris Hemsworth is seemingly having a fun time on set on Instagram, Boseman posted a video showing that Chris Evans' Steve Rogers and Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff will be filming a scene with him that's set in Wakanda. This hinted at the possibility of the Secret Avengers' members visiting Wakanda to request T'Challa's aide. Some members of the "Black Panther" cast (Winston Duke, Danai Gurira, and Letitia Wright) have even been confirmed to reprise their roles. which makes sense, really. In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Johansson stated that there's going to be a scene consisting around 32 characters. It wouldn't be a surprise to expect the representatives of "Black Panther" to be part of that big ensemble. Heck, even Iron Man and Hulk might have already shared a scene with Doctor Strange and Wong!

Actress Hannah John-Kamen has joined the cast of "Ant-Man & the Wasp" in what Variety called as a key role. John-Kamen is a rising star, and her ethnicity comes into mind with what Moore had stated in regards of diversity. But what character could she be playing? Young Janet van Dyne? Or another female antagonist for the MCU, which might sound a bit offensive for her background? I bet we're going to hear more details about her role pretty soon, since the movie will begin production in Pinewood Studios Atlanta, under working title "Cherry Blue" next month, after the 4th of July holiday. That's less than two weeks away from now, folks! According to information on OmegaUnderground, this production will run concurrently with Avengers 4, which will commence production on July 17th under working title "Mary Lou 2". This clearly hints that Evangeline Lilly's Hope van Dyne will eventually join the ensemble movie like many fans have hoped, along with Brie Larson's Carol Danvers. After all, her "Captain Marvel" is also expected to begin production in the same location, from January to May 2018 under the working title "Warbird".

Can you believe it? Those three are the FINAL three movies of Phase 3. Which means, the end is near. For the 3rd Phase that is, because somewhere out there writer/director James Gunn is already hard at work to deliver the next iteration for Guardians in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3". A movie that will mark the beginning of the Marvel Cosmic Universe. It's unclear what shape it will take though. Does that mean introducing new heroes like Nova and others? Or can we expect members of the existing team, like perhaps Rocket Raccoon and Groot to star in their own separate title? During E3 2017 World Building Panel, Gunn admitted that he has completed the first draft of "Vol. 3", but apparently, it comes with an issue. Namely, a retconning issue. Gunn specifically pointed out the mugshot scene from the first 2014 movie, causing many sites to speculate that it has anything to do with Rocket, Lady Lylla, and his Halfworld origin. Since Gunn is prone to debunking false rumors/speculations, and this time around he's not saying anything... it's safe to assume that there might be some truth to it. Then again, this is just the first draft! Even Adam Warlock got kicked out from the first draft of "Vol. 2", right?

Enough about the future, and let's talk about the... near future. As in what's coming in the next weeks. About "Spider-Man: Homecoming", of course! Obviously, its World Premiere is coming, because early social media reviews for the movie have officially arrived a few hours ago! Nope, let me correct that. It started a few days ago. Apparently, some early screenings have been held, and one of its particular audience is the nice guy I've been following on Twitter. And should I be surprised that it's... AMAZING? Well... duh, that's what you get when you let Marvel Studios work on it, right? While he had since ranked it under "Logan" and "Wonder Woman", he didn't hesitate to compare it with "Spider-Man 2" that has been his all-time favorite. His response rhymed really well with Robert Downey Jr.'s statement on his Facebook account, so it's indeed a good sign.

And just earlier today (local time, meaning last night in the US), social-media embargo for critics have been lifted, and they have been tweeting their official responses ever since. And well, they are singing the same tune! Here's a glimpse of what they say (in list form... because I love lists): - Collider's Steven Weintraub simply LOVED it. He said that the movie was "Tons of fun". Mike Ryan of Uproxx added that it's an absolute delight. - Germaine Lussier of Gizmodo/io9 compared it to "Spider-Man 2", calling it close to the Sam Raimi's movies. He also added that the movie had several genuine surprises, while exuding young innocence that differentiate it with other MCU movies. Others like William Bibbiani of CraveOnline thought it was fluffier than the Raimi's though, because the drama is thin. - Some critics, like Sean O'Connell of CinemaBlend and Brandon Davis of ComicBook.com easily called it their new favorite Marvel movie. Davis even added that it's endless fun and flawless. - Chris Sylvia of RegalMovies reminded that it's also a good High School movie while calling it his favorite Spider-Man movie to date. Angie Han of Mashable also said that it balanced superheroism and high school drama nicely. - Kristy Puchko of Nerdist, Vanity Fair, and ComicBookResources praised Michael Keaton as an amazing antagonist, even compared him to Tom Hiddleston's Loki. Jeff D Lowe, social media producer of Good Morning America also said that Keaton is fantastic, saying that his character is a great villain with depth. - And of course, praises are being sung for Tom Holland's performance. Molly Freeman of ScreenRant said that he's definitely the best Peter Parker so far. Erik Davis of Fandango called it spot-on casting and spot-on Spidey, while Matt Singer of Screen Crush gave him thumbs up. That all sounded positive, so I don't think it would take long for the 1st Rotten Tomatoes score to generate, right? Let's just hope that unlike the questionable posters, word of mouth will help boost the movie's appeal, and it will exceed the $100 million estimated opening number (which has already gone lower since previous tracking).

That whole talk concerning the state of SONY Marvel Universe also shed some light to the production of this movie, and what's to come. It's revealed that SONY's new head Tom Rothman, is betting high on it to kickstart their own Cinematic Universe. With the budget of 'mere' $175 million, it was unveiled that "Homecoming" is totally taking the Marvel Studios method of "Keep costs down on the first two outings and spend bigger on a third". The movie was intentionally made to replicate the John Hughes-vibe, and those who have seen it said that director Jon Watts and his young actors (who went on a picnic together for some fun real-life bonding time) delivered that promise. Michael Keaton is only signed to play Vulture in this movie, so it's unclear whether he'll be reprising in the sequel or as part of "Sinister Six" in the future. And speaking of sequel, we can expect NO Iron Man in it, because there will be another to-be-determined Marvel Studios character instead. Doctor Strange and/or Hulk comes to mind, Captain Marvel, even Charlie Cox's Daredevil since Feige had indeed stated that a crossover with Marvel TV will eventually be inevitable. But perhaps... an original character? Here's hoping it will be hinted in the movie's post credit scenes.

Lastly, be sure to check out SDCC 2018 next year, because Marvel Studios will be releasing a special 10-year Anniversary logo. Darn it, it's almost 10 years already! Time flies by soooo quickly...

Marvel TV

Freeform's Marvel's "Cloak and Dagger" won't be arriving until 2018, but according to SpoilerTV it has quietly been renewed for second season. They said the production will begin next month and ends in October. Now this sounded a bit odd, since last we heard, they've only completed the pilot in February. Is this report accurate, or is SpoilerTV merely making a mistake when they were meant to refer to the rest of the Season 1? We'll have to wait for further news to clarify this.

Netflix

In case you're forgetting, Marvel's "The Defenders", Marvel TV's FIRST-ever (yes, unbelievable right? What took them so long?) crossover between their series is coming in August. It's easy to lose track about it, since the marketing has been swept away by coverage for "Homecoming" as well as other big-screen titles. Not saying they aren't promoting this mini-series though, because very recently the official Twitter accounts of the four core heroes have released motion posters to remind audience and Marvel fans of their existence. Charlie Cox's Matt Murdoch was obviously the first, followed by Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones, Mike Colter's Luke Cage, and Finn Jones' Danny Rand. Each carrying their own tagline and personal swagger, before culminating into a catchy foursome poster.

No offense, they looked COOL, but... I don't know. Perhaps Marvels "Iron Fist" had given such a negative after-taste, that I no longer anticipate this mini-series as much as before. No reason to be worried since Scott Buck is not doing it, but... likely I'm already feeling tired of waiting too darn long to see this happening. As I said above, unlike the movie side, Marvel TV is burning me out so much faster than I've expected, I ended up developing some beef against them. With that said, I WILL be watching this mini-series, but that's likely as far as I'll go for the Netflix side. I'll likely even give Jon Bernthal's Marvel's "The Punisher" a huge pass when it arrives later in November. Not saying these series are bad, but... the dark, gritty, and gruesomeness are seriously wearing me down. Oh well... to each their own, I guess. Marvel's "The Defenders" arrive on August 18th, 2017.

DC Television

I'm not a fan of "Watchmen". When Zack Snyder made a movie version of the 1985's series back in 2009, it made me cringed. The whole nudity revolving Doctor Manhattan, and that unnecessary extended intimate scene between Nite Owl and Silk Spectre were... disturbing for the then-young version of me (still do though LOL). Then again, that's probably just me not digging Snyder's style, so probably not the series' faults. I also understand that many people are loving this series, and since this is the Golden Age of superhero adaptations, should we even be surprised to hear that another version is coming? Yes, this time in form of a TV series. According to Variety, Damon Lindelof is currently in talks with HBO to develop such series. HBO had tried to do so in 2014, but it didn't pan out, so there's no reassurance if this time it's going to be... better. No confirmation so far from HBO, but I'm sure we'll be hearing about this in the near future. Same question though: Is this a good idea? I seriously can't say. Perhaps it is, perhaps it might be great and I end up liking it. But at the very least, this is a good news for the series' devoted fans! There's one for everyone, right?

Super Sentai

Long time Tokusatsu scooper Dukemon, has revealed the possible rumor to the upcoming Super Sentai series. Yes, "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" is still airing, and it's not even halfway done. But projects like this usually takes 2 years in advance to work on, so it's not a surprise. According to Dukemon, the 2018 season/team will once again be Car-based, particularly to celebrate the 10th anniversary of "Engine Sentai Go-Onger". A team-up with its members is also in the rumor mix. Now I can't say for sure whether I like this or not. I'm probably among the few weirdos who LOVED Go-Onger and their talking Enjins (basically the team consists of 19 members because of them and Bomper), but another Car-themed series feels... redundant somehow. Sure, it's easier to pull off for the mecha/toys design. But unless it has other meaning to differentiate it (like "Kyukyu Sentai GoGoV" with the whole Rescue-theme, or "Go Go Sentai Boukenger" with the adventure/expedition angle), we've seen too many of those already. Of course, Tokusatsu is a genre that LOVES to rehash popular themes, just like they do with story tropes in a yearly basis, so it's not out of the realm of possibility to see them going back to vehicles. Oh well... here's hoping we'll be getting a "Go-Onger 10 Years After" V-Cinema too. With the way the series ended, I would LOVE to see the cast reunites. Beside, all if not most of them are still active in the entertainment business anyway.

DuckTales

Now THIS is a series I'm going to be watching. Hearing that modern version of the classic theme song alone, complete with the various swashbuckling adventure scenes of the characters... already got me fired up for no particular reason! Perhaps, the effect of nostalgia-blast? Granted, I never actually watched the original series religiously, because I didn't have the means to do it. But now that I can, I'm going to give this show a chance. Sure, the character design and art-style might need some time to get used to, and yes, I'm still taken aback by the non-Donald-esque voices for the nephews (especially knowing that "Parks & Recreation" annoying Jean-Ralphio is voicing one of them). But the six Short-Episodes I've seen so far, were enough to convince me that this is going to be great. And that Launchpad is still my favorite character of the show. LOL. Here, check out this First Look trailer on Youtube if you don't believe me...

A one-hour episode/movie for "DuckTales" is set to embark David Tennant's Scoorge McDuck's adventure with Tony Anselmo's Donald Duck, as well as the three nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie (Danny Pudi, Ben Schwartz, and Bobby Moynihan). It will premiere on August 12th, 2017, which will then be followed by the series regular run starting in September 23rd. That date is the 30th anniversary of the original series, and will bring two brand new episodes. The series will also star Kate Micucci as Webby Vanderquack, Beck Bennett as Launchpad McQuack, Toks Olagundoye as Mrs. Beakley, as well as featuring special celebrity guest stars. We have Lin-Manuel Miranda as Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera/Gizmoduck, Allison Janney as Goldie O’Gilt, Margo Martindaleas as Ma Beagle, Paul F. Tompkins as Gladstone Gander, Kimiko Glenn as Lena, Jim Rash as mad scientist Gyro Gearloose, Josh Brener as tech billionaire Mark Beaks, Keith Ferguson as Flintheart Glomgold, Eric Bauza as the Beagle Boys, and Corey Burton as Ludwig Von Drake. This already sounds MORE than just fun, am I right?! XD

The King of Fighters

Chinese-produced series "The King of Fighters: Destiny", has released its second official trailer. This one is more story-oriented, and well... gotta admit, the more I see it, it does grow on me. From what I gather, while Kyo Kusanagi can be seen sensing the arrival of the Orochi, the bulk of the story will focus on the Fatal Fury Trio's beef with Geese Howard. Geese killed Terry and Andy Bogard's father Jeff, and so the brothers, alongside Joe Higashi will attempt their revenge to the guy who is ruining Southtown. I was a bit skeptical when I first saw Geese's right-hand Billy Kane, but he looked okay now. Particularly after seeing him wearing his iconic Union Jack headband. There's a special clip showing Terry, Andy, and Joe dealing with Billy and his henchmen, and it looked nice. A press conference video, also confirmed the appearance of iconic female characters like King, Mai Shiranui, Yuri Sakazaki, Athena Asamiya, and others, though I'm not sure casting BEJ48 idols as their voice actresses is a wise choice. They should've hired the respective voice cast from "The King of Fighters XIV" instead. Of course, I'm going to check this series anyway. I just hope it exceeds my expectation, and that this would be good, because we all know that video-game adaptations don't really have good reputation...

Tomb Raider

Possible title for the next Tomb Raider game has probably been revealed. Rumored at least, courtesy of NeoGAF. Some artworks by the title of "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" have seemingly been leaked via an entertainment marketing company. Further adding credential to this rumor, was the fact that the images have since been removed by the website. If this rumor is true, then it seems Lara Croft will be exploring Egyptian Pyramids once again, which is a really nice decision. We'll just have to wait and see if this rumor pans out or not. So take it with a grain of salt for now...

Dynasty Warriors

Koei TECMO has debuted the first official trailer for their open-world "Dynasty Warriors 9 / Shin Sangoku Musou 8". The footage will undoubtedly thrill fans of the series, while also teasing the updates the company has given to this iteration. Koei TECMO weren't kidding when they said that it's meant to be "the most immersive and ambitious Dynasty Warriors experience to date" because it sure looked that way. Having been converted into a fan over the past years, I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to see this game come to shape.... even if I won't be able to play it, since it's likely a PlayStation 4 exclusive. There's no fixed 2018 release date for now, but expect details about the game and its 83-plus characters to be delivered in the near future.

Professor Layton

Following details for the second episode that was unveiled during E3 2017 last week, LEVEL-5 has debuted the official second trailer for "Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and The Millionaires' Conspiracy". This one previewed the main stories of the game, and also unveiled the looks of all titular seven millionaries in cinematic motion. With only four of them detailed for now. Those who were worried that this title might look and feel different to the previous Layton titles thanks to a female protagonist, can rest assured now. It feels just like another chapter in the Layton storybook. Heck, even the great Herschel Layton himself made a cameo appearance in this trailer! Just look at Katrielle and his dad, and tell me you didn't go... "Aaaaaaww".

Also, in an exceptionally clever marketing to commemorate the game's release, LEVEL-5 collaborated with real escape game creators SCRAP for a "Real World Puzzle Solving" campaign. It's a free to play experience that is accessible to anyone worldwide! There will be 50 puzzles released on the internet one by one from June 20th to September 21st. The first one has famous Japanese entertainer Pikotaro doing a puzzling-rendition of his "Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen" song. It's available on Youtube, if you don't believe me. That particular puzzle is pretty easy, but the next one? You're going to need a paper and pen to figure out the message. And not just that, the question will also direct you to 15 different websites hosting clues in form of another puzzle. How THRILLING is that?! Go ahead and visit Layton.world to test it out, because once again, the treasure hunt is free for play! "Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and The Millionaires' Conspiracy" arrives on 3DS in Japan, and iOS and Android worldwide on July 20th.

Zero Escape

Spike Chunsoft released an official trailer for PlayStation 4 version of "Zero Time Dilemma" last week. The point of this trailer is clearly to give us a glimpse to how the game would look in PS4. I'd argue that it's not that much different to the PC Version, but it does have some minor details like shading and such that somehow looks... clearer. This is a good chance for those who have played the first two games (or the recently re-released "Zero Escape: The Nonary Games"), but hasn't had chance to experience its third. Assuming you own a PS4, of course, LOL. "Zero Time Dilemma" will be released on August 17th in Japan, and Fall in North America.

Final Fantasy

Square Enix has officially released the trailer for "Final Fantasy XV" next DLC, "Episode Prompto". You can check it out on Youtube. If the E3 2017 footage showed the gameplay of his solo adventure, then this one is focused more on the story... which of course is all about his unexpected origin. This DLC will launch several days from now, on June 27th, 2017. Here's hoping the Final Fantasy fans will receive this much better than Gladio's.

Street Fighter

CAPCOM has rolled out a Season 2.5 patch, and an alleged leak about future updates immediately floated in the internet. This report, assuming it's accurate, said that data miners have found signs of future DLCs and new game mechanics among other things in the patch. The character DLCs, which are now speculated to be coming as Season 3, consisted of 6 additional characters that should make many fans happy. Fan-favorites Sagat, Sakura Kasugano, Oro, C. Viper, Q, and Necro are all mentioned to be on this list! Admittedly, this isn't that much surprising considering most of them (with the exception of Sagat and Q) have already appeared in various Story Modes since the game was first released.

The leak also include the existence of second Critical Arts for all characters, an Arcade Mode, and also a second Cinematic Story expansion. And now suddenly it sounds a little too good to be true *sigh*. Now remember, take this with a grain of salt. This could be real, or a deliberate ruse by fans to force CAPCOM to eventually turn their wishlist into reality. Especially considering, as far as I know, the 2nd Season DLC (Akuma, Kolin, and Ed, with three others remaining) hasn't been received as well as expected. But if CAPCOM is true to their words of saying that "Street Fighter V" will be the only version of its generation (so there will be no 'Super', 'Arcade', or 'Ultra' upgrade), it can very well be true...

Pocket Monsters

Yeah, this is the reason why I'm posting this R-N-D! To be precise, WAS the reason, because it was initially scheduled to go up yesterday. Following the subjectively-disappointing Solstice Event, Niantic has begun rolling out update for "Pokemon GO" in terms of their new Gym system, and it is... well, elaborate, to say the least. I wanted to say 'Complicated', but I've slowly warmed up to it that it's no longer a suitable term. The transition had started on June 19th (local time) with Gyms throughout the world being closed down (which made the App looked somewhat-eerie, to be honest), and was officially implemented as soon as the extended Solstice Event (for another 24 hours until June 21st, 1 PM PST) ended.

Gyms have been reactivated since yesterday's morning (I know, because I've clearly experienced it myself), and new feature called Raid Battles have been made available for Level 35 above later in the afternoon. Today, many users have reported that the Level warning has been lifted, and those with lower levels than 35 has even obtained their daily Raid Pass. Niantic confirmed through an official announcement, that Raids are available for 'Level 25 above' now. This confirmed that the limitation was purely for Beta Testing, and thus the feature will be rolled out for even lower levels in the future.

Calling this a major update would be an understatement. Those who are in the game purely to collect Pokemons might not be majorly affected, but those who relied on Gyms to farm PokeCoins and such will definitely need to learn from scratch. Practically, it has altered the way Gym-goers going to behave. This update changed the whole pattern of the Gym System, forcing Players old and new to adjust their gameplay. And of course, this gave me mixed reaction. Here's what came in the update, along with my thoughts on them (once again, in list form):

- Let's start with the simple touches! A handy Search Function in the Pokemon Collection screen has been added! This is well appreciated, as now we don't need to waste time scrolling down the long list just to check/compare our Pokemon. It also works for searching based on Types or species. So when we enter the word 'Fire', the result will feature every Fire-Types on our list, and if we enter the word '+eevee', every Pokemon related to Eevee including its evolutions will show up. Convenient! There's a marker on PokeStops now, indicating which one we haven't spinned for the day. This is small, but also convenient! - Having Photo Disc on Gyms that unlock items is a wise decision, because that means the game now has more PokeStops than before. Standing by near a Gym feels rewarding now! And in return, the same is happening to PokeStops with some of them being turned into Gyms. This helps give access to wider-range of Players who usually can't participate in Gyms because of their limited occurence. - I'm really happy to see that one species of Pokemon can only be assigned once, and the improved UI allows us to see the team of Pokemon lining up together like badasses. Also, they are no longer sorted by CP. It's a first-come first-served situation now, which admittedly sounds more fair to low level users. Yes, many users are complaining to the fact that Gyms can only contain 6 Pokemons now, but they seem to be forgetting that it's the maximum number of PokeBalls a Player can bring in the core RPGs. So it's still a great nod! - Trainers also felt more incorporated, as we can see their in-game silhouette decorating the Gym's backdrop and/or doing cool battle pose prior to Pokemon Battle. This is where the whole wardrobe-customization feature comes into play in an interesting manner. It's honestly thrilling to see it in action. - The addition of Gym Badges that keeps track of activity is also a neat touch. Aside from serving as memento of the places we have visited, now we can monitor whatever is happening to the Pokemon we've placed there without the need to travel the distance just to check them nearby. Eventhough I would've prefered it better, had it were Type-based like in the core RPGs, this was more than acceptable. Curious about the Ranking System though. How do I get a Basic/Vanilla, Bronze, Silver, and Gold? - Gone is the Prestige system, and enter the Motivation Level. Many Players have been complaining about the whole Prestige system that drains out excitement, so in a way, good riddance. On the other hand, its replacement might be a bit tricky to judge. Berries that were once treated like waste, is now important because they are necessary to restore a Pokemon motivation level. So as long as you, as well as other people continue feeding Berries to one Pokemon, it will continue its reign in the Gym. Even if they are NOT yours! I'm starting to understand that the point of giving Berries to Gym Pokemon of the same team, is a way for other users to participate in Gyms without the need to submit their own. So those who are more focused in collecting, can still gain Stardusts by giving up their unused Berries to Gym Pokemon. Aside from getting items via the Photo Disc, of course. Unfortunately, although it felt good and fresh at start, in less than 48 hours many Players are already complaining because keeping track of Gyms to feed Berries to their Pokemon turns out to be... reasonably exhausting. Just between you and me, that's practically one of the reason why this R-N-D suffered a one-day delay (I got too exhausted, it practically knocked me down cold)... - Inline with the Motivation Level, is the new PokeCoins system. Previously, Players had to assign a Pokemon for at least 20-24 hours before automatically receiving 10 Coins by collecting them at the Shop. That's no longer the case now. Coins will now be earned by the duration a Pokemon had spent in the Gym, and will be accumulated to Player's in-game pocket after it has completed its duty (as in defeated and lost all of its motivation). There's a maximum number of Coins that can be earned a day. The rule for this one however, apparently is still being tweaked and tested as we speak, as proven by the latest changes. Defending Pokemon will now earn 1 Coin per 10-minutes, to a maximum of 50 Coins daily (regardless of how many Pokemon assigned on numerous Gym). I'm still personally anxious about this change, and how this will affect my daily Coins-revenue. I'm not a pro, but Gyms are definitely my primary source of income in this game. LOL. - A new real-time push-notification has been added, thus a message will be sent to Player whenever their Pokemon is defeated and has left the Gym to return to their owner. I just got mine several hours ago, and it was both fun and sad. Fun because the progress feels up close and personal, eventhough the game isn't even activated. But also sad because clearly it's not a good news... *sniffs*. - Raid Battles is an intriguing cooperative feature. I haven't experienced it myself (it's happening in every Gyms nearby... while I'm practically stuck in the house *sigh*), but it plays out similar to what was promised on the App's teaser trailer... more than a year ago! Yes, the idea of 'multiple Players gathering around to defeat Mewtwo in Times Square', has at long last become reality. Players will be alerted of Raids event on the Nearby Screen. A giant Egg can then be seen on top of a Gym, which will then hatch into a strong giant-sized Pokemon. Using a one-per-day free Raid Pass, Player can cooperate/participate with others to defeat this Pokemon. It will be active for 1 hour, but each Player will only be given 5 minutes each. If they succeed, said Pokemon will be available to be captured. Premium Normal Raid Pass, alongside Max Revives are now available for purchase in Shop to support this feature. - There are several ranks of strong Pokemon that will hatch as Raid Boss. I saw a 1-star hatched into a Croconaw with CP 5000+, a 2-star into Exeggutor with CP 12000+, a 3-star turned out to be Vaporeon with CP 16000+, while a 4-star is Snorlax with CP 25000+. For the record, you don't really need to be nearby to see this process... which is how I was able to spot them while cringing knowing I couldn't participate. There are 5 levels of difficulty to Raid Battles, and each will award different prize. All are new items for the game: Premiere Ball, Rare Candy, Golden Razz Berry, and Fast/Charged Technical Machine. - Higher difficulty Raid will also include the Legendaries Pokemon like Moltres, Articuno, Zapdos, and others, as proven by the variants of Lugia Badge discovered in the APK. A Legendary will have a unique egg, and to battle them a different item called Legendary Raid Pass is required. Clearing a Legendary Raid will also give three ranks of Badge: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Now, before you get excited, there's a catch to this. Apparently... this special Pass is only awarded to high-level players who have participated a good amount of regular Raid Battles. Which is such a bummer for a lazy introvert such as yours truly *sigh*. Nevertheless, Niantic did confirm that this Pass will be given to active Players, so let's not rule out any possibilities just yet. After all, they are still tweaking the system with feedbacks from Players. - Last but not least, a new anti-cheat measures have been implemented. Players who obtained high levels, as well as rare, region-exclusive, high-CP Pokemon through illegal means such as hacking, GPS-spoof, or other 3rd Party Apps, will have their Pokemon specially marked. This doesn't necessarily kick GPS-spoofers, botters, and illegitimate players out from the App, it just disables them from using Pokemon and participating in Raid Battles. In theory, it's a much-anticipated update that answers the cries of many legitimate Players. But in practice, is it really effective? I'm personally not sure if the punishment is working or not. I'm still seeing many Players who have over and over again showed signs of cheating (proof? One user kept stealing my spot after I cleared out Gyms, and there's NOBODY in the area but me. Clearly a spoofer!), comfortably placing their high-level Pokemon in various Gyms.

Thanks to mining the latest APK, there are many details that have since been made available by several fan-sites like Pokemon GO Hub and The Silph Road. Most are just confirmation to what Niantic has officially announced, but some of them might hint at future additions to the game that has yet to be activated. So those who are interested can go ahead and visit those websites to check them out. The first site also provided some fan-made guides, such as technical details on how the new Gym mechanics works, Raid Survival guide, how to battle Legendary, guide to predict how manyPokeCoins we can obtain, and others.

In the end, whether this Gym System rework is effective or not, remains to be seen. Despite some of them had behind-the-scene technical updates, popular Pokemon like Vaporeon, Gyarados, Dragonite, Blissey, Tyranitar, and others are still occupying every single Gym I've encountered. Personally, this shows that the issue of seeing the same old Pokemon species over and over again isn't yet solved. And then there's the cheaters, who have gotten high levels yet was given early chance to test out the Raids. So while some Players are enjoying, others aren't quite feeling the same thing. As I said, this changed how Players think, and clearly forcing them to adapt with the new situation. As proven by the PokeCoins issue, things might still be in process of worldwide-scale beta-testing for the time being, and that minor changes can still take place on the fly. So let's just wait and see how the final system turns out when "Pokemon GO" officially celebrates its first anniversary next month!

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