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look-at-the-soul · 8 months

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Behind the scenes- Peaky Blinders (Part 1)

Cillian Murphy x reader

BTS master list

Request

A/N: I wrote this to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the series… right on time before this day ends! I had to cut it into two parts because it got a bit longer… there are no words enough to thank each of you (the peaky fam) for what writing and reading has given me. This little project is really really special and I want to thank @notyour-valentine for tagging me in this request a while ago, thank you for your generosity Val, there’s a little gift between the lines for you. And for the help you provided for another part related to horses♥️

But also @heidimoreton for creating this gorgeous moodboard to go with this story! And my dear @holacia3 for the help you gave me too about horses and @forbidden-forest-witch this is for your belated birthday and the little surprise♥️

Word count: 4,745

✨ Summary: Join us at the stables as Cillian gets riding lessons for his iconic role as Tommy Shelby in the series Peaky Blinders. He came to learn all about horses, but he ended up falling in love not only with them.

During his career, he had played several roles, learned how to walk on heels for Breakfast on Pluto, about space for Sunshine, even played a part in a film that was close to home in “The wind that shakes the Barley” about the historic war between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

Acting was such a treat to calm -in a way- his hyperactive mind.

He preferred to not answer what he wasn’t willing to do for a role, because he’d probably do anything.

That included riding horses. Which, in reality he wasn’t a bit familiar with.

He had never even been close to one in his life. His driving skills were so poor, how would he fucking manage an animal that big?

Yet, here he was waiting in the living room of the horses sanctuary located in a remote place of England he had never heard before.

The sighting was breathtaking, the air so pure, no city noise, it was quiet, calm, everything he was looking for before the storm started, he had never been on a series before and the mental challenges of this character was the biggest of his entire career, he had never met a man as complex and with so many layers as this Tommy Shelby he had spent weeks reading, the internal turmoil this man has been through after the war wasn’t his only problem, his background included a household with lots of family problems, taking care of his younger siblings while stepping up to build an ilegal business and endless enemies that he would encounter along the way.

Cillian was greeted by the teenager behind the desk and asked him to wait because the trainer hadn’t show up that morning and she rushed to call someone else on a radio.

“Someone will be here shortly, can I offer you something to drink in the mean time sir?”

Cillian chuckled at the sir part.

“Water would be great.”

Turning around, he was able to see through the window, finding a woman galloping at speed and coming down from the horse without really stopping with just a jump.

Seconds later, the same woman entered the reception out of breath and walked straight to the girl.

“Your horse trainer called in sick again.” Cillian heard the teenager say.

“Thanks Willow, can you help me reschedule the appointment with the bank?”

“Sure, Y/N. Will you also reschedule his sessions?” The teenager pointed at him.

Until now, Cillian had only being able to watch her from behind; petite but lean frame, she had black tight pants, riding boots and a cream jumper on, her hair up in a high pony tail cascading on her upper back.

But when she turned around, Cillian was lost for words as the most angelic face met him.

And he wasn’t one bit religious.

“Mr. Murphy nice to meet you, I’m Y/N.” She offered her hand firmly along with a smile. “Our trainer isn’t available today, please accept my apologies could we reschedule?”

He stammered, not knowing what to say.

“Y/N, you could show him how to ride too.” The teenager proposed.

“I thought you’d be on your way to school young lady.” Y/N raised her eyebrows at the girl. God she was just like her aunt.

“Whatever, I was just saying.” Getting her bag, she stormed from behind the counter. “Should I tell aunt Val dinner is cancelled?”

Oh no.

She knew that look, it was the same her aunt would give her.

“Honey don’t tell your aunt anything.”

“Bye auntie! Bye Mr. Murphy!”

“Sorry, so? I think one of our trainers comes back from a horse fair on Saturday if that day works for you.”

Leaning on the counter, Cillian decided to take a risk. There was something about her.

“I’m in a bit of a hurry, would it give you a lot of trouble if you show me?”

“Not at all! I just thought you wanted a professional trainer that’s all.”

He smiled and for an instant, Y/N’s heart skipped a beat.

“Right, well… follow me this way.” She lead the way outside of the property. “Is this some kind of bucket list thing?” Mondays were usually quiet days at the sanctuary, nothing like the weekends when they were usually packed.

Cillian walked next to her, hands inside his pockets. Unsure about how much to reveal.

“I need to learn how to ride.” He chuckled a little, the script was phenomenal and he was extremely excited about it, but until now he wasn’t able to talk about the project.

Y/N guided him towards the stables, he had seen a few in movies or the telly, but being there in person, it was another story, it was huge and his heart got too excited as his eyes found the horses.

“Do you’ve a particular preference for a horse?” Y/N asked curious about the hermetic man before her.

“Racehorses.”

Y/N turned around slowly to look at him. There was a subtle accent different from his voice, but she brushed it away.

Cillian tried to clear his throat, aware of the voice tone he just used, he was still practicing the accent and mannerisms he had been building over this new character.

“Okay… I can’t let you ride a racehorse if you’ve never been on a horse.”

“Why not?”

“Look, horses are just like people, they’ve their own temper, feelings, the know when we’re scared or aggressive, we don’t mess around them… I’d suggest you start with a gentle horse first.”

“You seem to know a lot about them.” Cillian observed the way she was caressing one as they walked.

“I grew up in this place, my grandparents started this sanctuary, my mother was the only child and she kept the family business, then it was my time to take over.”

“How long have you been running this place?”

“Since I was eighteen.” Y/N admitted. “This is Sally, she’s a good girl.”

Cillian observed Y/N’s moves, the way she approached the horses. And she showed him the right way to caress the animal.

“Can I touch her?”

Bringing the hose to her by the muzzle, she giggled. “She says you can.”

“What else does she says?” It felt soft and he noticed the way Sally was moving her ears.

“That she doesn’t believe you, horses are one of the most intelligent creatures.”

Cillian chuckled, accepting the snack Y/N brought over. He was fascinated by the level of trust she showed with each animal, the way each of them reacted, it was so true, as he was noticing little differences in each horse as their own personalities, it was amazing and as Y/N shared more details about the place with him, he found it was impossible to keep lying to her, she had such an energy that was so inviting, giving him a lot of comfort.

Y/N introduced him to all of the horses, caressing each of them, mentioning little details about their personalities or a couple of qualities. She seemed to know them all well and Cillian was marveled by the way each horse behaved with her. Y/N spent a good amount of time explaining him some of the basics.

“I think I learned how to ride a horse before I started walking, all my childhood I was eager to get out of school to come home and run straight to the stables. They’ve been with me through my worst moments, they own such a healing power humans do not understand about, they’re pure creatures… sorry, I’m boring you.” She mumbled feeling her cheeks burn.

“Not at all, I find it fascinating… the way you talk to them and about them, it’s magical.”

“Y/N! The foal is coming early!”

Y/N’s face went blank they still had a few week left. Turning to Cillian she apologized, but she needed to be there, so she asked Jonah the guy how took care of the saddles to show Cillian around while she was gone, but it could be hours.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine, I’m staying at the small bed and breakfast that’s close.”

And he saw her run out of the stables, Jonah explained to him they built a small facility to those special occasions. The boy around his early twenties showed him the racks full of saddles and other equipment they used, he was surprised by all of the things they had around to use with the horses.

It was until around nine o clock when Y/N came down from the stairs, after taking a long bath, she had been so tired helping in the delivery that she just wanted a cup of tea and head off to sleep.

“Jesus, what are you doing here?” She gasped closing the robe tight against her body, she wasn’t expecting to find Cillian sitting by the window.

“Well I asked if I could use the books you’ve here and they said it was alright.” He smiled gently pointing at the pile of books he placed on the table next to him, an empty cup in the corner.

“You’ve been here reading since I left the stables?”

He chuckled a little, not aware of the track of time, he had been reading. “Yes, they’re fascinating.” He debated himself whether revealing her the truth or not.

Y/N threw him a puzzled look.

“You live here? Upstairs I mean.”

She nodded. “Yes, the house was so big so I turned the first floor into the main offices, the kitchen is in the back if you need anything.”

“Thanks, I’ve been looking around at the portraits, hope you don’t mind.”

Just as Y/N was about to answer him, a loud thunder echoed through the property. it was so loud it felt like the house would come crashing down. The sound of droplets of rain against the windows followed right after.

“I’d love to stay and talk about the books with you but I really need to go.” Y/N explained just as she rushed upstairs to get changed when she came back down a few minutes later, he noticed her hair was pulled back in a loose braid, cascading down her back.

“Wait.” Cillian stopped her placing his hand on her arm, “can I come with you?”

She was unsure because of his lack of knowledge, but Cillian seemed to read her mind. “I promise to stay back.”

“Okay.” She nodded and offered a rain jacket from the small closet next to the door.

“Is everything alright?” Cillian asked her with curiosity after getting in her vehicle to protect themselves from the heavy rain.

“It’s one of my horses… he gets pretty scary of this terrible weather.” She explained absently, holding the steering wheel with such force that made her knuckles turn white.

“Tell me about him.”

“Thunder is… special, he was born on a night like this and I know doing this sounds ridiculous, but how can I stand there and do nothing?”

She looked at him for an instant, all of her feelings right there in the surface for him to see and read. Cillian nodded, fighting against the lump on his throat that formed after detecting the passion in her voice.

In silence, Cillian followed Y/N inside the barn rushing immediately towards Thunder.

“There it is my good boy.” She started caressing the horse by the muzzle, gently. The horse was extremely agitated. “Everything’s fine… just a loud noise, you know that.”

Cillian found himself staring at her, unable to look anywhere else, he was under some kind of spell.

“Shh, shh.” She held the horse by the curb rein, -he now knew some of the horsemanship-. “Listen to me, Thunder.”

Marveled by her tactics and control over the horse, he couldn’t help it but start whispering a Romany poem he recently learned as part of the script for the series he was working in. Locking eyes with the beautiful animal, he felt like time stood still, it was as if the horse was going through every layer of his mind and soul and the rest of his surroundings faded away. Eventually, the horse started to give in, coming to a calm state.

“What did you do?” Y/N asked squinting her eyes. “It takes me ages to calm him down.”

Cillian shook his head, realizing the deep connection with the horse was gone but it was impossible to explain that it wasn’t him… it was his character’s nature. It was in his blood.

“It’s a poem.” He admitted quietly noticing the storm was coming down.

“In a foreign langua-?

“Thunder!” A boy stormed through the barn directly in the horse’s corral.

“Arlo what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

“I thought Thunder might get scared.” He argued, poking his head in to make sure the horse was safe.

“You’re not allowed to come here by yourself in the middle of the night.” She argued.

“But Muuuum!”

Cillian’s heart skipped a beat.

“No buts, Thunder is perfectly fine.” She transformed into a completely different person. “We’re going back to the house right now.”

“Who are you?” Arlo gave him a look, a serious one.

“I’m showing him to ride a horse, focus… on the truck now.” She then turned to look at Cillian. “The only road that could take you to the b&b is probably stuck, it would be better if you stay at the house tonight.”

He wanted to argue, but judging by the intensity of the storm, she was right.

“Sure, thanks.”

She touched the horse’s nose a few times before closing the gate. Cillian followed them in silence, still moved about what just happened with that horse.

“How long are you staying?” Arlo asked Cillian from the back seat.

“A week.”

“What’s your favorite horse?” The kid asked.

“Arlo, it’s late and Mr. Murphy is probably tired.”

He shook his head. “Just Cillian please and it’s fine.”

Y/N’s breath caught in her throat as she saw Cillian giving her a wink and tilting his head.

Parking the truck, Arlo flew inside the house, leaving a wet patch on the floor of his footsteps.

“Boots and bed.” Y/N instructed with a firm voice. “You can stop by tomorrow morning to meet the new Filly.” Cillian saw her kissing the top of the kid’s head and the hint of a smile spread on her lips. “Sorry about that.”

“He looks like you. Must be awesome to have them help you around.”

Y/N made a face. “Them?”

“Arlo and his father?” Cillian asked in confusion.

And now she was moving her head from left to right. “There’s no father around, he left us after learning I was pregnant.” Y/N looked towards the stairs where her son disappeared a few minutes ago, shuddering. “Can I offer you some tea? It’s cold.”

“‘M sorry… shouldn’t have assumed.”

Brushing off the topic, she started the kettle and Cillian went back to feel extremely comfortable around her. And considering the personal revelation she just shared with him, he needed to be honest in return.

“I’m working in a project that involves horses, but like such a real passion for horses.” He ended up confessing after meeting all of them.

“That sounds interesting.” She admitted but decided to not ask further.

“Yeah,” Cillian ran his hand over the back of his neck. “I need you to show me everything about them… please. I’m portraying a character that involves a man that used to be in love with them, horses are a huge part of this man’s soul, it’s for a BBC series.”

Y/N turned with two cups in her hands, her mind trying to register his words.

“I-I’m an actor.” Cillian revealed after an instant. “But I need you to keep this between us because I signed a confidentiality contract and I could get kicked out of it.”

“Goodness I’m sorry, thought I had seen you before but I couldn’t remember where,” an adorable blush turned her cheeks pink, “I hope you understand I don’t go to the movies a lot, my whole life is this sanctuary and my son…”

“Please don’t even say it.” He chuckled. “I actually prefer it that way.”

“I think the last movie I saw you in…” Y/N stared into the ceiling thinking about it, “was it Inception? Probably.”

Cillian smiled and he lighted the entire kitchen with it.

“Yeah.”

Pouring both cups, Cillian stood up to take them from her hands.

“So uhhm… this project? Why exactly do you need a racehorse?” She asked cautiously.

“My character is a bookmaker, he arranges races… it’s placed in 1919 so he moved around horses after World War I. It’s quite interesting.” Cillian raised his eyebrows in appreciation for the tea after taking a sip. “Fascinating actually.”

“Definitely sounds intriguing.” Y/N admitted leaning her elbow on the table.

“As soon as I started reading the script I was attracted into his world.” He smiled, revering when he got the call for the audition. “Sorry I don’t want to keep you up.”

“It’s fine, I’ll stay for a little longer checking some paperwork.” Her thumb rubbed a chip in her mug. “So would it be okay if I show you everything? From brushing the horse, how to hook the saddle? The way you should approach one?”

Leaning back, Cillian looked at her with his head tilted to the side. “I actually need to learn how to ride bareback.”

****

The following morning, Y/N was preparing the lunchbox for Arlo when a deep voice startled her.

“Good morning.” Cillian saw the little jump she did.

“Hello, did you sleep well?”

Nodding, he smiled in her direction. “Thank you for the accommodation, much better than the B&B.”

“So! I just came here to check the new-” Val announced from the front door just as Arlo stormed into the kitchen but she cut herself when she spotted a man in the corner, “horse, but I see you’re busy.” She replied looking at you. “Just wanted to say it’s highly approved by the comitee. Hello, I’m Val.” She greeted Cillian.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Val…” Y/N added as a warning, knowing how Val was.

“What? It fills all the requirements… great breed, elegance, experience.” She made an OK with her hand.

“Val.” Y/N repeated. “Arlo go or you will be late for school.” She kissed the kid goodbye and felt Val’s eyes on her.

Of course her best friend wasn’t talking about a goddamn horse!

“How about I see you later today? I’m about to get a bit busy.” Y/N asked, she needed to get her friend out of her house before she could keep talking about Cillian as if he was a horse. “We’ve a riding lesson about to start.”

“Have a great time at the barn!” Val gave her a look before leaving them.

After a quick breakfast, Y/N gave him a pair of high boots and introduced Cillian to the different tools they used with the horses.

“To check the heel, you have to take your horse from here.” Y/N showed him how to carefully bend the horse’s leg. “It’s important to let them know that you know what you’re doing. They’re very sensitive.”

Cillian watched intensely every single move she made, how her tone was soft while she had a firm grip on the horse. He couldn’t get to move his eyes from her as she used one of the many tools to brush the mare’s neck.

“They also love to get petted.” Y/N added as she noticed Cillian got quiet. “Would you like to give it a try?”

Finally snapping from his trance, he took the brush and tentatively started to brush the mare.

“She likes that.” Y/N encouraged him noticing the little noises Goldie was making.

“She’s beautiful.” Cillian complimented.

“One of the most gentle ones I’ve seen so far.” Y/N caressed the mare from the other side, giving Cillian space to get comfortable around Goldie. “Her owner, Cia is a great friend and client.”

“And I assume the name is because of the color?” Cillian asked with interest, toiling the soft texture of Goldie.

Y/N nodded profusely.

“She’s recovering from an injury so well, now just needs some rest and she’ll be able to go back on the road in no time.” Cillian noticed the way she whispered to Goldie, looking straight into her eyes.

And she showed him how to get Goldie saddled, adding important tips and tricks to do it right, how to do it properly. It took him a few tries to do it right, but Y/N was so patient, she even admitted that was a virtue she had to thank the horses for.

“Y/N I’m sorry for not coming yesterday.” A woman approached them. “They said I could find you here.”

“Brie don’t worry, is everything alright?” Y/N asked while she eyed Cillian from the corner of her eyes.

That’s when Bries’s eyes sparkled. “Yes! Oh! Y/N… I’ve something to tell you.”

Cillian didn’t even look at them, he was totally engrossed on Goldie, all of his senses on brushing the mare, carefully to not stand behind her just like Y/N instructed. She had been answering all of his endless questions.

“Brie what’s happening?” Y/N looked at her horse trainer with curiosity.

“I just found out I’m pregnant!” She explained with excitement, unable to contain it or hide it any longer.

Y/N pulled her for a tight hug. “Brie, congratulations! This is the best news.”

There were tears in her eyes. “That’s why I couldn’t make it yesterday, I got morning sick and stayed in bed all day. But everything is perfect!”

Y/N couldn’t be happier, by the corner of his eyes, Cillian noticed the genuine smile on her face.

“Okay, so how about you go into the office and help me with the paperwork? I will be in charge for the training from now.” Y/N wrapped her arm around Brie and gave her a tender squeeze. “Made some sandwiches, help yourself.”

“That’s delicious! I brought some chips because, well cravings!” She chuckled giving Cillian a quick glance, it had been ages ago when Y/N went to the barn to give riding lessons.

Turning again towards Cillian, Y/N noticed how good he was, and he learned fast. “You’re a natural.”

Cillian smiled pleased with his improvement, he couldn’t wait to get on the horse.

“Got the best trainer to teach me.”

As time was flying, she noticed it was almost time for Arlo to come back home. “Look, how about we take a break? I need to make lunch for my son but you can join us if you want.”

“I don’t want to disturb your dynamic, Y/N.”

Y/N shook her head. “Non of that.” After caressing the horse’s ears, she added; “come have lunch with us.”

Leaving the boots right next to Y/N’s, Cillian changed into his shoes as they walked into the kitchen, finding Brie with her back at them.

“I hope you don’t mind, I made some pasta.” She smiled at them. “Enough for all of us.”

“Brie you’re going to spoil me just like that baby with some delicious food all the time? I mightjustb open the guest bedrooms and rent them.” Y/N joked leaning over the pot, the smell made her stomach growl.

“Well given the financial circumstances that isn’t a bad idea.” Brie admitted.

“Congratulations.” Added Cillian from the corner of the kitchen.

“Thank you!”

“Mum! I’ve already chose a name for the filly!” Arlo’s voice resonated from the entrance.

“Hello, good evening to you too, can you show some modals please?”

“Hello!” Arlo went to wash his hands and started helping his Mum set the table, Cillian offered to assist the kid. “Do you like riding?”

Looking at him, Cillian nodded. “I’m hoping I won’t be an embarrassment.”

“It’s easy!”

Cillian chuckled at him. “You say that because you were born riding.”

“Are you friends with my Mum? Does it means you’re my friend too?”Arlo gave him a hopeful look. Cillian answered him with a nod. “She needs some.”

Catching the last part of the conversation only Y/N approached them with the food, Brie following her steps.

“I need you to not bother our guests.” She answered and disheveled his hair playfully.

“Y/N I was thinking on what you said.” Cillian looked at her cautiously. “If you want of course… I could pay you and stay here instead of the B&B.”

“Are you sure?” Y/N asked considering his offer.

He nodded. “I rather stay here and use the driving time from there to here and back in learning more.” Deep down he loved the familiar energy.

“Mum, say yes! I can show Cillian my cars collection!” Arlo suggested excited.

“Well, yes. How can I say no?” She accepted earning a round of happy chants from everyone.

By the end of the day Cillian learned how to get the horse saddled, it was so important to hold it firmly in place. But also he learned to listen to the horse, he needed to make sure the horse was comfortable. Y/N suggested they could go for a walk and take the horses, it was extremely important for Cillian to learn to control the horse while being on the ground first to then be able to ride one.

The following day, they spent a good amount of time working on showing Cillian how to get on the horse, it took several attempts. It was harder than Y/N made it look. But Cillian was determined to give all of him. And more than once, he found himself staring at her until she motioned him to get closer to have a better look and he’d snap out from his trance.

In just a few days he realized Y/N had a very kind heart judging by the way she treated the horses, she showed them respect and loved them with every fiber in her body. The work she did was admirable, being right there away from everything and everyone allowed him to really understand a fundamental part of his character.

By the third day in the facility, Cia paid Goldie a visit, she wanted to take her mare back home but Y/N suggested waiting a few more days until she was fully recovered. While Y/N walked Cia to her vehicle, Cillian decided to stop by Thunder’s corral.

“Hello! Is Y/N around?” Val approached him. “Arlo said she was here.”

“She went to walk Cia out after checking her mare.”

Val doubted whether to ask him directly or not, but she knew her friend better than anyone. “I hope you don’t find me or what I’m about to say rude… but I’ve seen the way you look at her, Brie says Y/N is smiling again, something she hasn’t done much apart from Arlo of course. Do you like her?”

Cillian took a step back, surprised by Val’s sharp eye. But he ended up nodding.

“Don’t look at me like I grew another head, I care about her but I also know she has been disappointed and hurt before,” Cillian looked down, not knowing what to do or say, “she likes you, secretly.”

Val’s words made him snap his head up to look at her.

“She does, I can see it in her eyes… so all I ask is give her time, slowly just like you would start riding a horse, you don’t go galloping after getting on them. She’s like a wild horse after getting kicked so many times, she acts on defensive mode but underneath she’s a softy.”

And just as she arrived, she left, leaving Cillian alone to face an avalanche to a door he closed because when he signed the contract for the Peaky Blinders series, he decided to end the relationship he was in and making the firm decision that he’d focus on this project only.

But sometimes, life has a different plan than yours.

“I came here willing to learn how to ride, but I think I’m getting so much more than that.” Cillian confessed to the thorough, extending his hand to caress the horse’s muzzle.

***

Part 2

A/N: Nothing, just THANK YOU! ✨♥️🚬🥃

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rogersideup · 9 months

Text

Nice to be Kneaded

Chapter 15

Everything will be Okay

series masterlist

Previous part: Cinnamon Roll Next Part: Crawl Home to You

Word Count: 6,979

Warnings: My blog is 18+ only. All minors or blogs without an age in bio will be blocked. Minors DNI. Mentions of medical equipment, loss, abuse, PTSD, anxiety and depression.

"This is the worst thing I've ever done" Steve complained, puffing out short winded breaths as he worked at the table opposite you.

He decided he wanted to learn how to bake bread after watching you do it so many times. The patiences and techniques behind the art intrigued him, and there was no one better to learn from than you, the best of the best.

You laughed as you watched him struggle to knead the dough on the floured counter facing yours. His cheeks were turning pink and his dough was still shaggy and lumpy, he was completely envious of yours already becoming smooth and bouncy. "Don't look at mine, it's unfair to you. I have experience, comparison is going to kill all your confidence."

"My arms hurt" Steve emphasized.

"Your arms pulled an in-flight helicopter into the top of a building, and single handedly ended World War II. I'm pretty sure they can handle an artisan loaf, Baby." You smiled.

"How long have we been kneading?" He puffed out.

You peaked at the clock, "mmmm, 3 minutes."

"How long do we need to do this?"

"Usually 10"

"Okay, well, you must have arms of steel because this is impossible."

"I believe in you!" You encouraged him. "Use the heels of your palms, push the dough out then pull it back. You can even go diagonally, side to side."

"You're not even out of breath?" He noted in disbelief. "I feel like I'm asthmatic again."

"Do you need an inhaler? I'm sure I can find you one" A giggle slipped past your lips.

"You're a super soldier." Steve stated, his arms coming to a stand still to take a break. "There's no way someone can just do this."

"Here, let's swap. I got a good start on this one so it'll be easier for you." You said walking over to his side of the table, and taking over his dough while he moved over to yours.

"See, much easier. Now I'm a bread master!" He exclaimed, working with your dough that was already almost completely smooth rather than his shaggy mess.

"I knew you could do it! Great job, Stevie" You smiled.

"Thank you, thank you." He accepted your compliment.

A comfortable silence fell between you two as the sound of music filled your ears, you were obviously very concentrated on fixing the monstrosity of a dough pile Steve had left you.

It was sticking to every square inch of your hands, yet also incredibly crumbly and dry. You had no idea how he even went about creating such a substance, but you sure as hell were going to make it work, and you definitely weren't going to say anything about it.

He knew it wasn't correct, it was written all over your face but that made him happy. Watching you try to work with the crumbly goo with furrowed eyebrows and a smile that you tried to hold back warmed his heart, you were always so kind and encouraging.

"So..." Steve broke the silence.

"So?" You acknowledged.

"I was thinking."

"Oh gosh, that's scary..." You joked.

"Our anniversary passed not too long ago..." He mentioned, causing you to look up at him with a fond look on your face.

"That was six months ago" You pointed out, unsure if not too long was the proper description of how much time had actually passed.

Once all of the scary bumps that came along with establishing a new relationship were smoothed out, unlike the dough beneath your hands, your relationship with Steve was so smooth it glided by effortlessly and fast.

The concept of time since the blip in general felt quite odd, it felt like five years had passed by in the blink of an eye, yet the way of living with only half the population was so normal and routine now you couldn't imagine a time in which you lived a normal life before the blip.

That's exactly how you felt about your time with Steve as well. He moved in permanently next door, then before you knew it his lease was up and he moved in to your house. The spaces that were once yours were now yours and Steve's.

Four and a half years deep into your official relationship with the man and you couldn't even remember a time in which his easel wasn't always displaying a half completed work of art in the corner of the living room and there wasn't a Captain America suit tucked away in the very back of the closet, hiding away in a garment bag.

The two of you created the simple, care free life of your dreams. One in which the biggest struggle you faced on the daily basis was keeping the bakery stocked despite the ever growing crowds, and missing Steve whenever he was away on business to the compound in New York.

"So our anniversary is coming up!"'He enthused.

You laughed at his change of words, "only six months away!"

"Can you believe that four and a half years ago I waltzed in here for a cookie, and that simple choice single handedly changed both of our lives?" He questioned.

"Wow, kneading bread makes you so philosophical." You noted. "What a great choice you made, just goes to show that cookies really are the better part of life."

"You're the better part of my life, sunflower." He purposely cheesed causing you to look back up at him once more.

"How sweet" You acknowledged. "If my hands weren't covered in dough I'd reach up and boop your nose."

He laughed while he continued kneading your loaf that he was definitely going to claim as his now. "Maybe we could spend our half-anniversary in New York?"

Steve was going through a phase in which you could've never ever predicted, he hated going up to the compound now. He dreaded work trips, he hated how cold his room in the compound always seemed to feel, he despised all the memories that came to mind when he walked around.

From what you could understand through multiple conversations about this, he just didn't like being away from you. Being away from you when the blip happened and having no control over your arrest traumatized him in a way he would never admit, but in a way you could see in his eyes every time he had to leave town.

Regardless of what it was that made him resent the compound so much, you knew that it was a whole lot easier for him when you tagged along. So now he found a lot of creative reasons to try and drag you to New York.

Each reason was more creative than the last, and you said yes every single time he asked. At this point in your relationship, you were pretty sure you've spent over four months time in New York and it was starting to feel like a second home.

"You know you don't really need a reason to get me to New York right?" You smiled. "I'd love to spend our half anniversary with you, and I'll go with you to wherever you need to go."

"But coming up with a reason is half the fun" Steve admitted.

"Is this fun?" You questioned, motioning to the dough in your hands.

"This is exhausting!" He answered honestly, earning a laugh from you.

"You know what I love about going to the compound with you?"

"That Nat is there?" He questioned.

"That I get to learn about all the cool things you do for once. It's like going to the Avengers bakery and kneading the Captain America loaf!" You explained. "But yeah, I do love seeing Nat."

Steve giggled at your analogy, loving every second of watching your skillful hands try their absolute hardest to make his faulty dough pile work. "I'm always worried that you might be bored whenever I drag you with me."

"Bored?!" You emphasized. "My love, I'm a civilian in the Avengers compound. There's absolutely nothing boring about that."

"Okay, so next week you'll come with me?" He asked just to make sure.

"Of course" you reassured.

"Woohoo!" He shook his shoulders and hips in a little happy dance, hands sill focused on the dough. "Best day ever!"

You laughed at his response, "if this is the best day ever, then I think we should get out more."

"Okay, now is your chance to be honest with me." Steve prompted. "Does that dough lump have any potential at all of becoming anything close to a loaf of bread?"

"You know I love you very, very much?" You smiled, batting your eyelashes.

"Of course I do." Steve giggled.

"We're gonna have to squish this." You told him honestly. "But the bright side is that you're doing so well kneading that loaf, it'll be the prettiest, glutinous loaf to ever come out of this kitchen!"

"You said that so nicely, I'm not even upset about it" Steve shrugged, prompting you to smile.

You walked over to him and rocked up on your tippy toes before smacking a kiss to his cheek. "You're wonderful, we'll try again soon."

Before you knew it, you were right back in New York, smack dap in the compound. Whenever you were here you completely understood that Steve was here to work, so you never expected him to keep you entertained by any means. So you always brought your laptop and took care of business from the comfort of his room or the living room depending on what him and Nat were up to that day.

And 100% of the times you stepped foot into the Avengers home, whoever was lingering around always asked for you to bake them something, and you were always happy to say yes.

This particular night, Nat requested a chocolate chip cheesecake. After going to the store to get everything you needed, making all the parts and popping it in the oven, you started to do the dishes.

Muscular forearms wrapped around your stomach from behind, and the front of Steve's body warmly pressed against your back.

"How's it going, baby?" He questioned.

"Good, almost done in here." You responded while enjoying every second of his embrace. "How are you? Sleepy?"

"So tired." He confirmed. "I have a few hours of work left to get ready for the support group tomorrow but I think Nat is wrapping up for the night. You'll be okay?"

"Of course, I still have to input payroll and enter the supply delivery invoice for the bakery so I have plenty to do." You grinned, wiping your hands off so you could turn around to face him. When you did, you couldn't help but to admire him. His hair, his cute outfit, the fond yet tired look in his eyes. Reaching up, you squeezed his shoulders to try and relax his tense posture as his hands made their way to your hips. "You're so beautiful."

His cheeks turned pink before dropping his head onto your shoulder. "You're beautiful-er."

"Why does it have to be a competition? Just accept your handsomeness and move on" You giggled at his shyness, even after four and a half years together.

"Becauseeeee" he complained. "I'm lucky to have you, and I'm so happy you're here. Then, you're always really nice to me and all the people here that I love and I just can't even process how sweet you are."

You smiled before you both mutually leaned in for a kiss. "I promise you that I feel like the lucky one."

"Impossible." He shook his head in denial with his cheeks stilly adorably rosy. "Thank you for baking for us."

"Anytime, you know I love it."

Steve nodded in agreement. "I'll see you in a few hours?"

"I'll be here." You gave his shoulders another good squeeze. "We'll get those pretty eyes of yours some good rest."

By the time Steve finished up work and made his way back to the living quarters, it was already way past the bedtime he subconsciously made for himself to keep up with living with a baker. 10 at night felt like he had pulled an all nighter, and it seems as though that's how you felt as well considering he found you and Nat asleep on the couch.

Empty plates on the coffee table with Oreo crumbs being the only evidence of the cheesecake you made hours prior, and a movie that Steve had never even heard of playing on the TV provided the only source of light in the big space.

You and Nat had obviously gotten close and comfortable with each other, the shared blanket across your laps and your head plunked over onto Nat's shoulder with her head on top of yours made Steve smile and feel endlessly happy.

As much as you loved Nat, Steve knew Nat needed every drop of love and friendship you could give her. You both knew she was struggling ever since the blip, she spent every waking moment trying to monitor the world and find a solution. Steve didn't even know she was capable of settling down enough for even just a few hours to be able to fall asleep while watching a movie in the first place. You weren't just his sunflower, but everyone's who was lucky enough to earn your love.

Though he hated to break up the adorable scene in front of him, he was just as tired as the two of you evidently were and knew he should get you to bed.

He started by waking up Nat considering you were stuck beneath her. She was a light sleeper so it didn't take more than gently shaking her arm to wake her up, and she came to her senses quickly enough to immediately recognize what Steve was about to do.

"Good morning." Nat grinned, not lifting her head from the top of yours.

"Morning." Steve smiled. "Any chance I could get my girl back so I can send you two off to bed?"

"No. She's mine now." Nat denied. "Shes so cute and cuddly like a little puppy."

"You can have her back in the morning, but if she doesn't get some real sleep she gets a little grumpy." Steve bargained.

"Fine, but she's mine tomorrow. We're gonna go run some errands and grab lunch together."

"That sounds great, you could use a few hours away from this place." Steve encouraged.

"Just for that comment, I'm staying home." Nat joked.

"I will literally pay for both of you to go get your nails done if that means you'll get some fresh, non recirculated air." Steve sassed.

"A manicure and I get to take your girl out? Sign me up." She continued joking.

"The only conditions are that you go get some sleep and let me have nighttime custody of her so that she can get some sleep too."

"You're such a dad." She stated while carefully nudging your head off of her shoulder, then slowly standing up when she had successfully moved you off of her.

"Can I get you anything before you head off to bed?" Steve checked in.

"No, I'm okay. Thank you." She approached him and squeezed his shoulder before he just pulled her in for a hug anyways. "Goodnight, Rogers."

"Night, Romanoff." He reciprocated before letting go and she walked off into her room.

Now, he had you. His precious little lump on the couch. The dishes on the coffee table could be taken care of in the morning, and the TV would auto shut off in an hour or two. So he picked you up and held you tightly in his arms, and you immediately snuggled into neck.

He could tell you woke up at some point considering you started leaving little kisses to his exposed skin before he made it to his room. You were already in your pajamas ready to go, so he gently laid your down on the bed before he changed into some pajama shorts and brushed his teeth before laying down next to you.

Surprisingly, you were still awake and quick to pull the blankets over the two of you as you settled into each other. Appreciating the warmth of his soft bare skin, you laid your head on his chest and wrapped your arm tightly around his stomach, hand resting on the side of his rib cage.

You placed a little kiss to his collar bone before propping yourself up a bit on your arm to spark up a conversation you needed to get off your mind before you could truly get some restful sleep.

"How was the rest of your day, honey?" You questioned as one of his hands slipped up the back of your crewneck, the other drew little circles onto your hip.

"It was okay, pretty routine." He responded softly. "How's Nat doing?"

"That poor girl needs to get a life away from all of this." You sighed.

"I know" Steve nodded in agreement. "It's really hard to take a step back when you feel directly responsible, but it's not healthy. I've been encouraging her to get out more but she doesn't listen."

"I invited her to stay with us in Greenwood in a few weeks, hopefully she takes me up on that." You moved your hand up to his chest.

"That would be really fun." Steve grinned. "Did you have fun tonight?"

"Mhm, I mostly worked the whole time though." You admitted. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something before we sleep."

"What's going on?" He asked, you could tell he was paying a little closer attention now.

"So I ran some numbers on profit and what not, and just for shits and giggles I reached out to my lender and contractor to see if this was even a possibility when I had the idea but now that it's looking very possible, I wanted to see how you felt about this..."

"About what?" He raised an eyebrow in anticipation.

"What would you think about me opening a second location of the bakery?" You asked.

His face immediately lit up in a big smile. "Darling, that's incredible! You should absolutely do it if you feel comfortable enough."

"I do feel really good about it." You confirmed. His happy response made your heart soar. When you first opened Nice to be Kneaded, your last partner ridiculed you every single day. He thought the idea of owning a business would simply be too much of a challenge for you. He told you that you'd never succeed, that it would go under and cause debts for the rest of your life. Though you were at a point in your relationship with Steve where you never doubted his ability to be a kind person, his kindness still made you happy every single day. "The reason I really wanted to ask you is because I was advised the best location to break ground in would be New York."

His big smile grew even wider, and the corners of his eyes crinkled with adorable smile lines. "Are you for real?"

"Yeah" you giggled at his response.

"That makes me so happy!" He pouted his lip and furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm so proud of you."

"So I take it that you think this is a good idea?" The smile never left your face.

"I think it's the best idea you've ever had." He exaggerated.

"Then I guess I'll give it the green light first thing tomorrow morning." You settled the issue then settled back into his body.

The two of you talked for a little while about what life would look like with another bakery in New York. Both of you traveled back and forth so often now that dividing your time between two places was already second nature. He even pitched getting the two of you an apartment somewhere between the city and the compound so you both felt more at home when away from Greenwood. Though you loved the idea, you encouraged him to let all these thoughts settle for a day or two until you had a better idea on the logistics of this new endeavor. Besides, it was already late and you were both tired, there was nothing you could even arrange until the morning.

Though you felt settled and completely relaxed snuggled up to him, you played with his hair and tried to get him to relax too. You could feel his tension, but it was normal. No matter how exhausted he was, if he was at the compound his mind was busy and never quite turned off. His thoughts shifted from the happy thoughts of a future where the two of you hopped from bakery to bakery, big city Avenging to a small town simple life to something that had nothing to do with the sweet girl in bed giving him the most delightful cuddles he could've ever wanted.

You knew he was enjoying spending time with you even if his mind was up in the clouds, his hand that never stopped drawing shapes into your back told you that loud and clear.

"What are you thinking about, love?" You asked.

He let out a sigh and his eyes never left the ceiling, then his lips pressed into a straight line, then a forced grin and he finally looked at you. "What do we do if we can't find a way to undo what Thanos did?"

"What do we do," You motioned to the two of you "or what do the Avengers do?"

"Both. Either." He said, desperate to hear the right answer he couldn't find.

"Well I think both have the same answer." You shrugged. "Acceptance, then moving on."

He gave you the most adorable stink eye you've ever seen, so cute you had to hold back a giggle. "Why does everyone say that?"

"You preach it every time you hold a support group, no?" You questioned.

"That's different."

"How so?"

"Civilians aren't responsible for what happened, they deserve to live their lives exactly how they would if this never happened." He explained.

Whenever he spoke about the situation, you could feel a genuine pain in your chest. His feelings about the snap were like a rollercoaster. Some days, he could see the benefits, he could almost understand why Thanos did what he did. He could go about his day with acceptance, go to sleep with the intention of continuing to rebuild tomorrow. Then sometimes he'd wake up that next morning feeling the weight of every blipped person on his shoulders. As if he was the one who decided this needed to happen. That weight seemed to double every time he was in New York.

So with an ache in your heart, you tried to put a bandage over his. "Right now are you looking for the truth, or are you looking for reassurance?"

He groaned at your level-headedness, before shoving his face into your neck. "I'm looking for anything or anyone to just tell me it's going to be okay."

Understanding now that he needed reassurance instead of actual logical advice, you caressed the back of his head with your hand and used your other arm to hold him safe and sound against you. "Of course it's going to be okay, sweet boy.

"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be so... grim, I just- I have to be strong all day every day for everyone else and sometimes you're the only one who can be strong for me." He admitted.

You kissed the top of his head a few times before providing the words he probably really needed to hear. "Life was okay yesterday, and the day before that, and it'll continue being okay tomorrow, and every day after that just like it has been for the past five years. Nobody blames you for what happened, and all of you guys deserve to move on too, not just civilians. The ground is still under your feet, the sky is still above your head and I'll never leave your side. The sun and moon are still taking turns, so I'm pretty confident when I say that everything is fine."

"That was great" Steve mumbled into your neck.

"Yeah? You feel any better?" You questioned with a smile.

"Mhm, I'm gonna use that in the support group tomorrow."

You smiled, though he couldn't see it before squeezing the back of his neck. "I love you, you're not going to bring back half the population from bed."

"I love you too, should I get up?"

"Go to sleep" You whispered directly into his ear, earning his sweet laugh that you loved so much.

"You first, traitor." Steve said playfully.

"Traitor?! Why am I a traitor?" You asked, feigning offense.

"You we're cuddling Natasha and not me." Steve fake cried.

You laughed before stating "Excuse me?! You've kissed Nat before, so I don't want to hear anything about my cuddles, sir!"

"Ugh?!" Steve was immediately taken back. "She kissed me and it was for a mission! Don't even start with that!"

You couldn't help but continue laughing at how flustered that statement made him. "Poor, Stevie! Your cheeks are so pink."

"I miss 10 seconds ago when you didn't bring that up." He pouted, a smile prevailing past his attempts to pretend like this conversation wasn't funny. "It was a life or death escape situation and we've never done anything romantic since then, okay?"

"I'm not bothered, baby" You continued smiling while prying his hands away from covering his face. "Were your bothered by our cuddles?"

"No, not at all." He denied. "I actually thought it was really adorable, I was just joking."

"And I think it's really cute that you and Nat shared a smooch" You pinched his cheek between two fingers.

"She implied that I was a bad kisser, by the way." Steve giggled. "So, neither of us enjoyed that experience."

You laughed at the confession before cooing, "awww poor, Stevie. Did that hurt your pride?"

"It wasn't a fair assessment, I wasn't ready for it." He defended himself.

"Exactly, you're a great kisser." You smoothed over the review that obviously stuck around with him for a while. "I know from experience!"

"Thanks, Baby. I appreciate your input on the matter." He gave your hip a nice squeeze.

"I'll be sure to talk to Nat about it in the morning to try and sway her opinions on it ." You joked.

"Absolutely do not do that" His eyebrows raised in horror.

You laughed once more before cupping his face and laying a long one on him. "I would never."

"Good, cause I think the sleepiness has taken over the both of our brains and made us a little crazy." He smiled.

You rested your head back onto its rightful spot on his shoulder, your hand rested over his heart and his free hand that wasn't on your back lovingly wrapped around your wrist. "Are you going to be able to shut your brain off long enough to fall asleep?"

"Of course" He appeased your worries about him. "I always sleep well when you're with me. You're like a little sleeping pill, the second you fall asleep on me, you put me to sleep too."

"Cheese ball" You poked fun at him with a content smile as you closed your eyes and wrapped the blankets tighter around the both of you.

"I might be cheesy, but I always will be. And I'm proud of it!" He agreed.

"I love it so much." You admitted. "And I love you so much."

"I love you too." He kissed the top of your head. "Goodnight, Sunflower."

"Sweet dreams, Stevie."

Not even two whole minutes of silence and attempts at sleeping went by before Steve gasped.

"Wait... are you asleep?" He asked, using his hands to dramatically shake you. "Wake up! This is important!"

"I'm awake, I'm awake!" You alerted his urgency. "Jeez dude, you're scrambling my brain."

"Oh good! You're awake!" He said. You didn't have to see his face to know he was wearing a big sarcastic smile. Steve's favorite hobby was definitely being a little shit.

"What a blessing." You mumbled.

"I forgot to ask you out on a date tomorrow night!" He enthused.

"Sorry dude, I think we're better just as friends." You carried on the tradition of your favorite inside joke.

"Sooooooo... should I cancel the engagement ring?" He quipped.

Recently the two of you were talking about getting married a lot, and if there was two things you both agreed on it's that a marriage was definitely in the books for the two of you soon, and that being engaged should never be truly be a surprise. Sure, time and place of the proposal as a surprise was the fun part, but both of you setting clear intentions and a well timed future that flowed at a comfortable pace for the two of you was important.

"A date sounds great!" You overly enthused.

"Great! I made dinner reservations without asking first so I'm glad you said yes."

"Risky business, Rogers." You smiled.

"Okay now go to sleep." He giggled.

"You first..." You poked his chest with very low effort.

When the morning came, you were up and out way before Steve was to start your morning with Nat. She wanted to get back to the compound before a planned call with affiliates of the Avengers, so the two of you snuck out before most of the compound was awake. Much like most mornings when you woke up before Steve, you covered him up with the blankets nice and snug, kissed him goodbye, and wished him a great day.

A nice long walk and chat followed by coffee, breakfast, and a nice relaxing manicure had Nat feeling brand new.

You dropped her off at the compound then left again to meet up with a friend of yours that lived pretty close by. While catching up on each others lives for a few hours, Steve called you.

Figuring he didn't realize you were busy, you denied the call to clue him in to text you instead. You often times did this if he needed to get through to you at work. But this time, your sunflower necklace lit up four times, a number that didn't have a code attached, then your phone rang again.

Figuring it was probably important, you excused yourself and quickly picked up the call.

"Hi, baby." You spoke timidly into the phone.

"Hi, I'm sorry to interrupt I know you're busy." He sighed. You could tell by his tone that his brain was fried.

"No worries, is everything okay?" You questioned.

"Remember Scott Lang? Ant-Man?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah I do." You nodded though he couldn't see you. "He was blipped right?"

"You see, that's the weird part." Steve puffed out a confused chuckle. "He's at the compound. He just... showed up."

"What?!" You said louder than you probably should, earning weird looks from strangers around you.

"Yeah, he was stuck in the quantum realm and now he's here, and we think-" He started but cut himself off to think about how he was going to phrase this without worrying you.

But the pause was deafening. "You think what?"

"I think you should make your way back here whenever you're done with your friend so we can talk about it more."

"That sounds so scary" You admitted.

"No, everything is fine. I promise." He reassured you.

"Should I come home right now?"

"No, baby, it's okay" He tried to calm you down once again. "Nothing to be anxious about. I just think we need to visit Tony and get a few other ducks in a line and I want to make sure I can get you someplace safe before we start looking into this more."

"So you guys found some good hope?" You asked, this time with a smile knowing that's exactly what Steve needed.

"A lot of hope and possibly the craziest pipe dream of all time, but we can get into that when you get here, okay?"

"Okay" You sighed. "Everyone's okay?"

"Everyone is fine." Steve smiled. "I want you to keep having fun with your friend. I'll see you later."

"See you soon. Love you"

"Love you too."

Though he tried his hardest to reassure you that everything was fine, you couldn't clear your head of the endless possibilities of what this could mean for the future of the whole universe. Those thoughts didn't even allow you to fully appreciate or give your undivided attention to your friend, so you called it a day as soon as you could. And when you arrived back at the compound, you immediately spotted Steve sitting outside on a bench.

You could tell his mind was occupied by a billion racing thoughts, his breathing was steady and there was a pinch in his brows.

Approaching slowly and sitting next to him, he wrapped you up in a side hug before kissing your temple and letting you go. "What's going on, Honey?"

He sighed in appreciation as your hand found its way to his back, rubbing long, firm strips up and down to comfort him. "We think we can time travel."

"What?" Your hand stopped in place.

"Go back in time before Thanos, get the stones from a bunch of different points in time, snap again." Steve explained like it was the most simple idea in the world.

"But..... how?" You we're blown away by the possibility, but the biggest part of you was terrified of what that meant for him, the world, and the entire future.

"Something to do with pym particles and a quantum tunnel, I don't really understand it." Steve explained, his mind was wandering miles away from him. "We have Bruce en route to work on that, but we're going to get Tony. Try to assemble the whole team again."

You didn't quite have the words at the moment, nor the time to even process this as a possibility. Whenever you couldn't quite grasp a concept that was much larger than you, but whenever you felt so tiny in the vastness of the universe, Steve was always there to put you on his shoulders and make you feel big again. "How do you feel about this?"

"I feel ready to just get it done." He explained.

"Are you scared?" You plopped your head down onto his shoulder, he nestled his cheek into the crown of your head.

"No" He denied softly. "Are you?"

"If you're not then I'm not" You smiled. That was a lie, but you always tried to not burden him with your own fears.

Though letting him out of your grasp and straight into battles often appeared in your own nightmares, you reeled in your feelings as to not disrupt his own peace. As often as you wanted to tell him to be careful, beg him not to do risky things like go to space in a ship being piloted by a raccoon to kill a titan that killed half the universe, you trusted him. His entire life was rich with risk assessment that only made him more and more successful the more he lived.

So if he wasn't scared, you'd try not to be either.

"Well, maybe that's a lie. Maybe I am a little scared." Steve retracted his statement.

"Well shit" You joked, earning a laugh from the sweet man.

"I'm scared it's not going to work, and I'm scared of putting anything on the line when my only goal for the future is a life with you." He admitted. "Everything else, I'm not scared of."

This time, your arms wrapped him up and didn't let him go. He was letting his Steve Rogers shine through in a place you typically only saw Captain America. Though he would argue that those two people were the same, you thought he was so very wrong.

Steve was still the little guy he once was. Sensitive and gentle, he'd cry over videos of cute animals doing cute things, decorate cookies with you and asked to be cuddled for as long as he could get you to stay still. But Cap... Cap was strong. Nothing could tear him down. When the uniform was on or public and teammates eyes were on him, he had to be the leader. He stood tall, refused to shed a tear regardless of any circumstance thrown his way. Everyone looked at him to guide them through.

You loved both versions of him, and both were truthful of his character, but it was also true that Steve was a version of himself he was only comfortable showing to the people he loved the most.

So you gave Cap the space he needed to be firm and strong, and gave Steve the space he needed to be vulnerable. Sometimes that looked like a little snuggle on a bench outside of the Avengers compound.

Very surface level and as deep down as could be, he knew that Cap couldn't be the fighter he was without you nurturing Steve. He was strong because you were compassionate, and everyday he amounted his power to you.

"I love you so very much," you started.

"But?" He raised an eyebrow, already anticipating the kicker.

"But doing this is exactly what you need in order for you to live the life you want." You explained. "You and I both know you'd live the entire rest of your life with guilt if the Avengers don't find a way to fix this. And though I don't agree that any of this is your fault, I know you feel that burden every single day. So in a certain way, I think for once, this is a great fight for yourself."

He sat and considered it for a second. "I don't have it in me to fight for myself, so I'm going to consider this a fight for you."

"A happy, relaxing future with you is all I want." You kindled his fire. Though you wished he could fight for himself, any incentive to get him through would work in this moment. "And i'd love to see Sam again and meet Bucky."

"I miss them so much" Steve stated, you could hear the sadness in his voice.

You lifted your head to give him a kiss. Your soft lips mingled for a little while before pulling away and resting your forehead against his. "Everything is going to be okay."

"I think so too" He agreed.

"And if it doesn't pan out the way you all hope, then I hope you know that everything will be okay that way too."

"Well that's not an option." He gently shook his head.

"Hard headed!" You pulled away and raised your hand to gently poke him right in the center of his forehead. He laughed, knowing his words would irritate you. "You drive me crazy!"

"I love driving you crazy" His smile prevailed.

"Really? I couldn't tell." You said sarcastically, feeling the effects of his contagious smile.

"And I'd love it even more if I can keep annoying you on our date tonight." He brought up.

"Stevie" Your face softened. "We can reschedule that if you need to, you know I understand."

"No, I definitely don't want to cancel that." He denied firmly. "Not to bring up the past or anything, but the last time I rescheduled a date it didn't turn out too well for me."

"Awwwww" You cooed. "Classic Cap history"

"Yeah, and we're rewriting it because I'm not doing that again" he said with a chuckle.

"I'm more than happy to help you out with that" You agreed, giving his leg a little squeeze. "How's Scott doing? I'm sure this is a lot to process."

"He seems to be doing alright, but that leads me to something Nat and I talked about that I wanted to present to you."

"What's up?"

"It's no secret that you're kind've one of the most amazing and comforting humans alive, and we were supposed to go home in 2 days but..." He took a moment to find the right words. "I'm my best when you're around, and whether you've noticed or not, everyone is happier when you're here. So we were wondering if you could stay a little longer just to kinda help keep spirits up. I know you have the bakery at home but it could be a pretty crucial part in saving half the world."

"I can't imagine I'd have any crucial part in any of that, but I'll stay for you alone." You giggled.

"Obviously I'll bring you home before the time travel happens because it's such unknown territory, I'd want you far away from the compound. But we're going to bring everyone we've got here, including Thor who we heard is going through a rough patch. I think your love would go a far way."

"And cookies" You grinned.

"Cookies would definitely help."

"Can Rocket eat chocolate chips?" You pondered.

"He's a raccoon, not a dog." Steve reminded you.

"That doesn't answer my question." You eyebrow raised. "What about Nebula? Do cyborgs eat food? Ooh! I know Bruce likes chocolate, and Tony likes hazelnut because they had those Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavors so maybe I'll make Nutella cookies so it's the best of both worlds. Do you know what Rhodey likes? I have Nat covered. Thor probably li-"

"Baby, Baby" Steve cut you off with a giggle. "Don't stress yourself out now. You're not here to take care of us, just keep being you"

"This is me." You laughed. "Have you ever seen me not like this?"

"You know what? That's fair." He agreed.

"Ooh! And I bet Nat knows exactly what Clint would want!" You chirped. "...I should call the bakery..."

Next Part: Crawl Home to You

Tag List: @patzammit @bemysugarbean @buckymydarlingangel @happinessinthebeing @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory @differenttyphoonwerewolf @themotherof10 @talesofadragon @spikeluv84 @royalwriteroftheuniverse @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @bitchy-bi-trash @crazyunsexycool @openup-yourmind @selella @kattreffic @benedict-squirtle @magnificentsaladllama @theroyalmanatee @calwitch @avengersinitiative2012 @rogersbarber @daddywattpad4945

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the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf · 9 months

Text

You're waiting for a train...(12)

Couldn't Someone Have Dreamed of a Goddamn Beach?

Robert Fischer x reader

description - a snowy landscape provides the stage for their final act but how much will be revealed before it's time for curtains close.

word count - 3.3k

warnings - snowboarding/skiing, guns, major character death

a/n - I know I said I was gonna do shorter fics but there was no realistic place I could have ended this chapter :) Also I had to have my gal snowboarding as boarding is just the best! To the day I die I will say that snowboarding is sooooo much better than skiing!

Previous Part Series Master list Master list

If you want to be added to the taglist - here

Cold. The ice burned my skin even through the thick layers. My eyes shot open, and they landed amongst the icy glades of the third layer. My breath shot out in front like a cold whisper dancing through the air. I rolled my bones out trying to feel out my new attire. The jacket was bulky and frame hugging. A warm hat christened my head, and I was thankful for the barrier. I smoothed out my feet which appeared to be locked in position. They glided along the snow as they were held into a state-of-the-art snowboard. I grasped the goggles from my head and snapped them in place over my eyes. With one little nudge I began to skate down the snow hill. I expertly manoeuvred around the trees but once I spotted projections on heading for me, I was able to jump and glide, saving myself without firing a single shot. My eyes darted in search of any familiar bodies to give me any indication of the others location.

“Y/n. Y/n, do you copy?” a buzzing sprung to life in my ear, and I skidded to a stop. I fiddled with the apparent earpiece which had found its way on to my person.

“I copy, what’s your 20?” But before an answer could be said I had spotted their group and boarded down to join.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I arrived to find Ariadne and my dad. Dad had his gun trained on the building. It’s sharp angles made it look so futuristic, but the façade was villainous. There was nothing about it which invited me in, especially not the copious number of armed projections.

“Cobb, what’s down there?” It seemed he was merely using the gun for the lens.

“Hopefully the truth we want Fischer to learn.” Dad’s voice shook with insincerity but right now his fluctuating confidence was the least of my worries.

Ariadne lowered her voice to avoid the angle of my ears. “I meant what’s down there for you?” Dad shot a look to her which was filled with fear. He was now directed toward me with something more akin to guilt. But his crime I had yet to know.

Over the hill, Eames, Saito, and Robert could be spotted. It seems they had chosen to sport ski’s. Too many pieces for my liking but I had no doubt in Robert’s ability, feeling there were a few skiing holidays under his belt.

“Eames this is your dream.” My dad began once we had all reconvened. “I need you to draw the security away from the complex. Understand?”

Eames halted and removed his goggles. “Who guides Fischer in?”

I looked over to Robert’s face which flushed with uncertainty. I dropped to the ground in a more comfortable sit and tugged on his jacket. He looked down to me and I gestured for him to join me. He did so but was unsure in his movements. From the moment he had fallen asleep he hadn’t had a moments rest. A sit down would be good… for the both of us. He smiled, thankful for my kindness and in response I patted his shoulder in a silent show of support.

“I designed the place?” Ariadne placed herself forward.

“No, you’re with me.” Cobb rebutted her idea.

“I could do it.” Saito spoke up. My brows furrowed as I looked up at him.

“All right, you brief him on the route to the complex.” Cobb turned to Eames. I rose hurriedly and attempted to balance myself.

“Excuse me, but no.” Everyone turned to look at me, shocked by my firm denial. Dad’s gaze felt like steel on my weathered face. “It should be me.”

Cobb practically laughed in my face before approaching to whisper close to my face. “I don’t want you anywhere near him.” He spat out. “I saw the hug, I saw your face, and more importantly I saw his face. Don’t do this, you’ll get yourself hurt.” I forced back the tears unwilling to give him a sliver of weakness, but I could no longer decipher whether he was concerned of my physical wellbeing or my emotional.

I strengthened my voice and rose the volume of our conversation so the others would be brought in. “I think you’ll find Saito is still injured and in no condition to be the lead. I am happy for him to come with, but Fischer’s safety will be left up to me.” I angled myself back so I could pour this directly into his ear. “I am the one to do this. And you know it.” I saw his face fall at the harshness of my words and my position was confirmed with a slight nod.

Cobb patted Fischer’s chest where a microphone sat. “Keep this live, I’ll be listening the whole time.” As I turned to make sure Fischer was ready, in the corner of my eye I spotted Saito gripped in a painful cough. And I could only imagine the blood that was to follow. “The windows on that upper floor are big enough for me to cover you from the south tower, you see it?”

“Yeah,” Fischer managed to push out through his clenched breath. “You’re not coming in?”

“In order to find out the truth about your father, you’re gonna need to break into Browning’s mind on your own.” Each man’s breath deepened, gorging on the thin air available. He pulled away and patted Fischer’s back to confirm the end of the discussion. He then gestured to where I stood prepping my board. “Anyways, you’ll have her. She’ll get you through it.” A soft smile spread across both of their faces but when my dad noticed his warm grin was matched, he gripped Robert’s shoulder. “But she is still my daughter.” Robert’s gulp was practically audible, and he shook out his body in a show of understanding. But once Cobb had turned back around, his eyes fixed on me and refused to move anywhere else.

I skidded a bit further down the hill, ground to a stop, and once again adjusted my goggles.

“Ready, boys?”

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

As we approached the building, a clear commotion was visible. It was directed towards a flare which had been set off by Eames causing the ‘guards’ to hustle to exit the building in search of the threat. A worry alighted in my body seeing the sheer size of the garrison which was coming for Eames, but I had to be determined in his ability and focus on my own.

‘Non je ne regrette rien, non…’

The familiar tune filtered through the atmosphere as if bird song in the morn. As soon as the French words whispered into my ear my heartbeat quickened. It was too soon. We weren’t anywhere close to being ready for the kick, but Yusuf couldn’t know that. And without the kick we were stuck.

“What’s that?” Robert questioned as he slid to my side. I turned around to see Saito trailing behind; the struggle evident in his weakened body.

“Nothing. Just a signal. Nothing to worry about.” I hurried out and once again prepared to glide.

Once I felt a safe distance from the two men, I pressed my ear piece to activate it. “Eames, Cobb.” I could practically hear him sigh at my use of his name. “Was that what I think it was?”

“Affirmative, baby cob.” Eames soft lilt came through the buzzing. I rolled my eyes at the previously rejected nickname.

“Yusuf’s 10 seconds from the kick, that gives Arthur 3 minutes.”

“Which gives us what?” Dad questioned.

“60 minutes.” I answered free of hesitation. “But can we make this route in under an hour? Ariadne?”

“You still have to climb down to the middle terrace.” Her voice came through.

“They need a new route, a more direct route.” Dad pressured Ariadne to think through her design.

Gunfire alighted around us, and the tension rose an exorbitant amount. I dodged as best as I could which was easy on my board, the boys struggled on their skis. I desperately wanted to throw my arms up in a futile attempt at self-preservation, but I remained firm, knowing my vision was more important.

“It’s designed as a labyrinth.” The panic in her voice was clear.

“Even Theseus found a way through.” I joked attempting to lighten the mood.

“There must be access routes that cut through the maze, right?” Dad’s voice began to rise. “Did Eames add any features?”

“I don’t think I should tell you.” I was getting frustrated with this back, and forth which had no appreciation for the lack of time.

“We don’t have time for this! Did he add anything?” Cobb was shouting now.

“He added an airduct system which can cut through the maze.”

“Ariadne, tell me where to go. Now!” My tone was sharp, but my nerves were high.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Yusuf crashed through the bridge’s barrier.

Arthur was thrown forward through the hallway.

I paused my descent up the rock and shivered as I watched the bundle of snow collapse down the mountain.

The kick.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I clipped off our rope and yelled down before throwing the three of us off the rock before the avalanche could reach us.

We tumbled down with the snow blanketing our fall.

Once our fall had ceased, I could only feel ice water fill my lungs as my face was cushioned in a perfect cold. A pair of hands grasped my shoulders to turn me over. I took a gulp of fresh air and my eyes focused on his concerned face.

“Are you okay?” Robert softly asked my numb frame. When the realisation set in, I dragged my body up fuelled by pure frustration. I ripped off my hat and goggles. Throwing them on to the ground. I paced around, tears daring to spill out at everything I had just lost.

“Was that it? Was that the kick? Did we miss it?” My thoughts tumbled out onto our radio lines.

Silence.

“Yeah, we missed it.” My father broke through.

I turned around to see Robert in his own torment. He was flinging about his arms trying to remove some invisible attacker. I could only assume the cold and confusion blended together to destroy his heart.

“Couldn’t someone have dreamed of a goddamn beach!” He whined out. I ignored the radio conversation and ran over to take him into my arms, to soothe his woes.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. It’s okay. I’m here.” I stroked down his back in a comforting repetition. “I’m here.”

My earpiece pierced back through. “What do we do now?” Eames defeatedly asked.

“We finish the job.” My dad stated. I halted my movement confused by his assurance. “Before the next kick.”

“What next kick?” I asked.

“When the van hits the water.”

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I continued, confident in my father.

We made it to the airduct. It was a copper pipe so decrepit it looked as if it had lived under the sea for the past century. Saito had gone ahead to open the gate as I had stayed back to make sure Robert was still following. My hand firmly in his.

The gate blast open from the charges Saito had set. I pushed Robert to go in front of me. His scepticism meant I had to physical direct him into the pipe. I followed closely behind.

Once we entered, I ripped off my hat and goggles, feeling breathless at the constriction. My hair tumbled loose, and I spied Robert glancing at me.

We climbed up before Saito rushed to the side to expel the cough he’d been repressing. I ran to him as his body nearly collapsed. I rubbed his back for the only comfort I could provide. I knelt down to him, so Robert was not privy to my words.

“I’ll take him in. Here,” I placed my pistol in his hand. “Cover us.”

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

“We’re here.” Robert spoke into his mic from behind me as I continued to walk.

“You’re clear but hurry.” A crackly voice informed our movement. “There’s an entire army headed your way.”

After the mic cut off, I felt a grip on my arm, and I turned around to meet the eyes I was willing myself to forget. I could see his lips were trying to form words, but his brain struggled to keep up.

“Robert, we don’t have time.” I hurried out whilst gripping his hand to drag him along. But he stalled so I would be forced to face him again.

“That’s exactly my point.” He was serious. I could see it and didn’t feel any desire to stop it. “Look I don’t know who you are or what this place is. And your father is a scary dude who seems quite dangerous.” I giggled slightly at this. He took my hands in his. “But there is something special about you and I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t –” He rushed towards me, and our lips met in a passionate kiss. As I sunk in deeper my hands grasped around his waist and his came up to my shoulder blades. The space between us was now imperceivable and the kiss deepened more. I reached up and ripped out our earpieces, refusing to share this moment.

Eventually we pulled away and I bit my lip when I looked up at him. The lines on his face had smoothed and his expression had calmed. We smiled in synchronisation and matched each other’s happiness.

“I don’t even know if any of this is real, but I couldn’t go back without having one last moment with you.” He spoke to me, his words dripping with passion. My eyes fell deeper to swim in his blues. My body slumped into his arms, never wanting to leave. Something snapped me back and I realised that if I wanted this, I needed to get him through that vault.

I grasped his hand and dragged him back through. “We need to go, come on.”

“Wait.” His saddened voice stopped me. I turned back around and cupped his fallen face.

“I feel the same, but if we want forever. I need you to follow me.” He nodded in understanding and followed me.

We stopped in front of an imposing vault. With a gentle nudge, I pushed him to walk forward. As he did the hairs on the back of my neck prickled up.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

*3rd pov*

“There’s someone else in there.” Cobb whispered to himself as he spotted a figure drop down into the room. He couldn’t make out the frame, but he could sense the danger.

“Fischer, Y/n! There’s someone else with you! Abort! Turn around.” He shouted and shouted to the broken line.

“Why aren’t they answering?” He questioned Ariadne. “They can’t hear me.” He stated with a morose realisation.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

*your pov*

I watched Robert walk forward and felt his tentative steps. I stayed back fearing my presence would disrupt.

I trained my ears backwards as I heard the gentle sound of boots land on the floor. The hairs had not calmed so I slowly turned around and faced...

“Sorry, sweetheart.” Mum raised her gun which was trained on Robert. He turned to face the voice. I reached into my empty holster. A shot rang out and Robert fell dead.

I screamed.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Eames stormed up through the grate and watched my grieving frame which was bent over Fischer’s cold body.

He ran to the side and brought out the defibrillator. I hurriedly wiped away my tears fearing the reaction. Eames’ hand laid over mine and spoke more comfort than any words could have said.

Ariadne and Dad ran up to meet us. Even as they watched on, I couldn’t stop the free flowing tears which came from all I’d shared with this man in the moments before.

“What happened?”

“Mal killed Fischer.”

Cobbs eyes lingered on her lifeless frame. Once I found where his eyes rested, I could barely drag mine away either. It was all too familiar. Why was I cursed to have a recurring nightmare which I had been forced to live twice. My mother’s death causing such conflicting feelings.

“I couldn’t shoot her.” I scoffed at him.

“She’s not real.” I seethed from my place on the floor. “Robert. Robert was real.” The sentence cracked at the end as my voice gave up. Dad came to kneel beside me and offer a consoling hug with my onslaught of emotion.

“Look, there’s no use in reviving him.”

“Shut up.” I spluttered out.

“His mind’s already trapped down there.” He stood firm in everything I didn’t want to hear. This didn’t stop Eames applying the pads as he looked at my broken expression. Dad kissed my head. “It’s over.”

Eames stopped all movement.

“That’s it then? We failed?” Eames stated, throwing down his gloves.

“We’re done.” My dad stood up to shuck off his gloves. “I failed you.” He then saved his final words for me. “I’m sorry.” He whispered out as if speaking it louder could hurt me more.

“Well, it’s not me that doesn’t get back to my family, is it?” I glared at Eames. “Sorry.” He quickly corrected. “It’s a shame, I really wanted to know what was gonna happen in there. I swear we had this one.” Eames seemed unable to accept, despite his apparent contentment, as his hands flitted about his face in different motions.

“Let’s set the charges.” My dad solemnly walked away.

“NO!” I shouted and he stopped at my yelp. “There’s another way.”

“Darling, you’re hurting, I know.” He refused to look at me as he searched for the charges.

“We just follow Fischer down there.” I gestured to his peaceful expression as he lay still.

“Not enough time.”

“There will be enough time down there.” They both finally stopped to consider my words. “And we will find him.”

Now that I had their attention my adrenaline spiked at this possible plan.

“As soon as Arthur’s music kicks in just use the defibrillator to revive him. We can give him his own kick down below. Look, you get him in there.” I gestured to the locked vault. “And as soon as the music ends you blow up the hospital, and we all ride the kick back up the layers.” I was giddy with excitement.

“Well, it’s worth a shot.” Eames agreed. “If Saito can hold the guards off whilst I set the charges.”

“Saito will never make it, will he?”

I interrupted the boys muttering and threw myself against my father. My pleading eyes bore into his. “Daddy. We have to try.” I stuttered out.

He silently contemplated but his mind was made up once our eyes met. We communicated in a way only known to the two of us. And with the slight tilt of his head, I knew it was on. We rose.

“But if you are not back before the kick, I am gone with or without you.” We both solemnly nodded at Eames, understanding the very probable outcome.

Cobb took my hand in his and solidified our agreement. Together, we would go down deeper. The risks were even stronger than up here but we both knew neither of us would be able to return without at least trying. Dad would rather spend eternity in limbo than not know he did everything he could to save our family, and I knew I couldn’t live a second more without Robert.

We prepped the machine.

“If we’re doing this, you have to trust me.” Dad warned. “Whatever you see down there, we must have trust.” I worried for the seriousness of his warning. “Do you trust me?”

“Do you trust me?” I threw back. He smirked at the familiar stubbornness which he had known many years ago.

“Forever.”

Dark.

LAYER FOUR: LIMBO

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Oooooo we're getting so close to the end!!

taglist: @jonsncws @h-l-vlovesvintage @theethy @fashionki11a @felicity1994 @bearchermer @idkyoutellmesmh @mimimarvelingmarvel @butterfly-lies-chase-them-away @neotanpopper @deliriouslybi @folklorde24 @thefandomdiaries07 @viarosemcmissile @noirrose21-blog @thepoeticfirefly @xoxo-gothic-girl @skeletonwrite @jellyzelek @kaylamarie306-blog @bloodcanbehot @lazybot @raineeace

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imagines--galore · 1 year

Text

||The Thread of Fate|| Part Three

Summary: Soulmate AU. They say the Thread of Fate connects you to your one true love. It may tangle. It may stretch. But it will never break. Wrapped around your little finger it tightens when it feels your soulmate is close and loosens when they are far. And becomes visible with the colors of your soulmate’s Nation when you finally fall in love with them.

Pairing: Zuko x OroraOC (ATLA)

Rating || Genres || Warnings: T+ Romance. Adventure. A little mention of blood and fighting.

Previous Chapters - Part One, Part Two,

A/N: So I’m just working on building Orora up before everything. You know her personality, her appearance and stuff. I just think that developing an OC helps to connect them with the overall story. And yes, there will be romance along the way fear not! I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! Lemme know your thoughts!

I am now taking requests so go ahead and send me stuff. You can find my rules here. Please send me stuff to write!

She had parted ways with her tribe.

Not for good, Orora figured she would return someday, or at least run into someone who was from the Northern Water Tribe, still it was sad to see the last of her home sail away without her.

While the Aang and his friends had departed a day earlier to meet up with some General Fong, the small ship had made port to a nearby harbor, wanting to restock supplies. It was here, while wandering the village that Orora had decided that perhaps she should explore the world a little. Being on sea for days or even weeks sounded tedious and boring. And she had had enough of that to last a lifetime.

She wanted adventure and excitement and maybe get into a little trouble. Hopefully not too much though. She had no desired to be robbed or captured by the Fire Nation. She had enough trinkets she could pawn to get money along the way, and she was fairly decent when it came to her fighting skills. They were still mostly centered around using ice as a weapon, and despite the training Master Pakku and Katara had given her during their few short weeks on the boat, Orora had decided that she needed to test her skills in the real world.

Master Pakku had not been happy with her detour, saying she had a duty to their sister tribe to help, she had countered that how could she help them when she didn’t know the full potential of her water bending capabilities. He had tried to argue, but he knew it would be of no use. He had learned his lesson that when it came to stubborn teenage girls, they were hard to break.

He had given her his blessing, which had meant a lot more to Orora then she cared to admit. As a parting gift he had given her a smile white tile with a lotus, telling her that should she ever need help she should find someone with the similar emblem. It didn’t even have to be on a tile. Doorway, tattoo, carving, anything would do. So long as she showed them the tile, she would have help.

Orora had never before bowed so low to another elder as she had done the old yet wise Master.

Before she had parted he had told her a little story. Of how there had been a girl and a boy, both from the Northern Water Tribe. Engaged to be married despite not being soulmates, the boy had loved the girl, and he had thought the girl loved him too. And yet, she had wanted to find her soulmate and live her days with him. She did love the boy, but not enough.

The girl had left, leaving the boy heartbroken to pick up the pieces and rebuild his life without her. She had found her soulmate and had lived a happy life, but now? The boy, now an old man, was going to find the woman he had loved, and perhaps they could be together now?

“So, you loved her, despite her not being your soulmate?” Orora questioned as she stood in front of him. The rest of her tribe were loading everything back onto the boat while she spoke to Master Pakku.

The old man gave a sage nod. “Being a soulmate does not mean you will end up together. Just as Avatar Aang said, people do fall in love with someone else.” He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “It is up to you who you want to love. The thread is just in place to help you find that someone if you do not have anyone else. We are all beings of free will Orora, and no one can force us to fall in love.” The girl tightened her hand on her strap before giving a small nod.

“Thank you for your words of wisdom Master Pakku.” She bowed in the fashion of her people. “I hope to become a Master waterbender just as you are.” He gave a small chuckle before patting her on the head. “My dear girl, no one can be as good as I.” He stated with a grin of faint arrogance that had her matching his posture. “Then I shall have to become better then you.” His loud laugh of fond amusement had echoed in her ears as she stood at the dock, waving farewell until the small boat disappeared from view.

————————–

Orora was absolutely amazed with what lay before her.

Land. Brown land. And trees. So so many trees. All green and bursting with life. The very air was alive. She had never once ventured outside of the Northern Water Tribe, and seeing the unfamiliar landscape around her was a little nerve-wracking sure, but it was also exhilarating.

And the scents! Every single thing had it’s own scent. The dirt. The leaves. The flowers. Oh she loved the flowers the best! Then there were the streams and ponds she would find. Small natural bodies of water. Everything at the Pole had been created by the Benders, and yet here was a little stream, carving its way across the land and traveling beyond her line of sight.

One thing was for sure. She definitely preferred the Earth Kingdom over the North Pole.

————————–

Her first run in with trouble came in the form of slavers.

In her excitement of going out to see the world, Orora had forgotten several significant details. One of which was that she was a girl. A young teenage girl who men would consider easy pickings. When she had been made aware of just how much attention she attracted, the girl had bought herself a nice long hooded cloak. For one it would keep her features hidden, and for another it kept her warm at night. She didn’t dare make a fire for fear of being noticed, and only ate her food cold. If she happened to pass through a village she would manage to grab a hot meal but that was it.

It didn’t seem to be enough since she had to evade her would-be-captors while passing through a small fishing village. It was ridiculous just how persistent they were. If she had been a boy, she mused angrily to herself afterwards, they wouldn’t have bothered her much.

Orora had managed to leave the village quickly, forgoing a hot meal and finding refuge by a small stream. The flowing water calmed her she had found earlier during her initial travel days, and she had stuck to it for as long as she could. Where there was water, it would always have people living nearby.

Reaching down she cupped some water in her palms and washed her face. She’d thrown her hood back, her hair was tied back with the comb she loved. It looked much too fine to belong to a simple traveling girl. Maybe she should take it out. But what would she tie her hair back with? Orora sighed, lifting a lock of hair where it had escaped from her bun. An idea flitted across her mind.

Why couldn’t she? Cut her hair! It was brilliant! People would dismiss her being a young boy. Her still developing figure was hidden under a cloak, under which she wore loose baggy water tribe clothes.

Pulling out the small dagger she had stolen from her brother’s room before leaving, Orora removed the comb, allowing her waist length hair to tumble down her back. With one last look at her thick gleaming locks, she lifted a huge chunk and began to cut.

A few minutes later she rose, dusting off the hair as she examined her reflection in the water. Well, her hair was sheared as close to her scalp as she could without cutting her skin. It stuck out at odd angles, giving her an even more rough look. Her tanned skin was tanner then ever from walking under the sun the past two weeks or so. The short hair and tanned skin allowed her ice blue eyes to stand out even more, but she didn’t mind. Easy to intimidate people with just a glance.

Orora smiled in satisfaction. She could easily pass as a boy.

————————–

Along the way she began to use her healing abilities to heal people. If she happened to come across anyone in need, she would try and help them however she could.

Orora had been aware of the devastation caused by the Fire Nation, yet seeing innocent people suffer first hand just made her hate them more.

“There, that should heal.” She muttered, keeping her voice a little deep so as to keep up her persona of being a smooth skinned young boy. Did boys even possess the ability to heal? The people weren’t complaining though. The merchant gave a small nod in thanks.

“My gratitude boy, blast these bandits. They seem to be everywhere today.” The old man groaned as he rummaged in his purse to take out a few coins and give it to her. “You’d do best to avoid the roads at night, boy. There is a Spirit lurking around, stealing from whoever it comes across.” The man warned her, already standing up and shuffling off after giving his warning.

Orora stared after him, biting her lower lip. She had been sleeping in the darkest and the remotest places she could find. Sometimes in a cave, if she were lucky. Humans she could avoid easily. But Spirits!

She hoped she never run into one.

————————–

It seemed luck wasn’t on her side. Or in a twist of fate, maybe it was?

She had been sound asleep underneath and old tree, huddled against the roots and nearly invisible. But the Spirit that approached her could see her perfectly. Another target. Someone it could steal from.

The Spirit crept forward, eyes on the prize, ignoring all other feeling.

Orora, however, was woken by a sudden yank. Her eyes snapped open, instantly falling on the her hand where the string was so tightly taut she was afraid her finger would be cut off.

A twig cracked, and the sound echoed in the clearing where she slept and chaos broke loose.

The Spirit attacked her by leaping into the air. She retaliated by throwing her arm out, water whipping out of her canteen and forming several icicles that flew towards her would-be attacker. Several of her ammunition managed to snag the black clad figure, cutting through fabric and skin in several place. The assaulter had not been expecting her to attack back and fumbled. As the figure fell to the ground, Orora wasted no time in creating a wall of water and threw her arms out. The figure flew through the air, slamming against a tree, a solid wall of ice forming all around, leaving only the head able to move.

Just then the moon came out from behind the crowd and Orora was able to see her attacker. A blue mask stared back at her, blank and looking even more horrifying in the shadows cast by the branches of the tree. She didn’t bother masking her voice as she pulled out her dagger, ready to attack the figure if need be. “Who are you!?” She demanded.

Suddenly the figure stilled, the mask covered face facing Orora, allowing her to to assess it quickly. It didn’t....look like a spirit as the merchant had claimed. She frowned a question forming on her lips when she suddenly felt that yanking feeling in her finger again.

“What?” She glanced down, just in time to see a string appear out of thin air, taut as it stretched across the distance between her and the.......Spirit. Her eyes widened, and her heart leaped in her throat and her gaze became fixed on her prisoner.

Her feet seemed to move on their own as she slowly walked to stand in front of the figure. They were almost eye to eye, given that she had pinned her attacker a little lower against the tree. The string shortened with each step she took, her heart picking up speed as she finally stood before the would be Spirit.

Fingers trembling, eyes still wide, she reached up, grasping the mask from around the edges and lifting it away from the skin. She paused, as if allowing them both a moment to gather prepare themselves before she slowly lowered the blue mask to reveal the face that lay underneath.

Bright gold, a color she had never seen in eyes before, stared back at her. They were intense and seemed to hold a fire within. There was something.....powerful behind the gaze. Though that power was subtle, almost as if it was hiding. It didn’t take long for her to break the intense stare and slowly begin to take in the rest of his face. He was just a boy. Perhaps a year or so older then her, but still. There was nothing much to see since half his face was marred by a scar. Her lips parted in silent horror.

Her Healer mind kicked in, informing her that this was a scar left after a severe burn of some kind. But who would do something so cruel?

Involuntarily, her hand lifted, fingers only barely brushing along the edge of the rough skin of the scar. Her gaze flitted to his eyes once more which had a sudden sheen in them that had her pulling her hand back, and tripping over her feet as she backpedaled. A sudden burst of light didn’t help her startled situation as the boy melted away her ice with a blast of fire and dropped to the ground.

Unfortunately, the fire blast was just powerful enough that she couldn’t manage to catch herself. Her ankle twisted and she fell.

A sharp pain bloomed at the back of her head.

And everything went dark.

————————–

He had his eyes on the prize. The figure was alone and would be easy to rob. Zuko had barely been able to see them given how cleverly they hid in the shadows, but the moon had decided to come out from behind a cloud just at that moment, allowing him to see the figure.

What had didn’t understand was, how had the figure been able to sense his presence. He had been careful with his every move and silent. His entire concentration had been focused, perhaps this was why he didn’t feel the insistent tugging at his finger.

But when he was pinned to the tree and was struggling against the ice that suddenly encapsulated him, he was able to see the error of his ways. For one his hand felt like his finger was being pulled off. For another he recognized the figure as she stood in front of him. His eyes widened behind his mask and he stopped struggling.

It was her!

The watertribe girl he had saved during the Seige. Sure she looked very different from their previous meeting, her long hair was completely gone and there was no blood on her. Yet he remembered her eyes. He had never forgotten them. They haunted him in his waking hours, and lurked in his dreams when he would sleep. And seeing her, standing in front of him, his body forgot to fight. Forgot to struggle and forgot to escape.

All he could focus on was her eyes.

She asked him a question, he barely heard her.

Zuko watched as her eyes trained at the thread that connected the two of them. Her entire demeanor changed as she came to the realization. He had no idea when she began to walk, but suddenly she stood in front of her, lifting his mask away from his face.

She stared at him, and he stared back.

He allowed himself to assess her as he hadn’t done so when he encountered her in the past. Her skin was brown, a stark contrast against his pale complexion. Her features were soft and her short hair seemed to make them stand out even more. Her eyes were a blue he had only ever encountered when he dealt with ice. They were blue yet they held a certain coldness in them. It wasn’t like Azula’s, no this was different. Calculated, suspicious yet...... understanding and kind.

But then he felt her fingers against his scar and whatever spell had been cast was broken. He grunted as he escaped her trap, dropping to the ground expertly and shaking out his hands and feet. It only took him a few seconds, but by the time he looked up, the girl was falling to the ground, followed by a dull thud before she fainted.

He strode over to her, wincing as he caught sight of the rock she had hit her head against. She wasn’t bleeding, a quick brush of his hand against the back of her head proved as much, which was a good sign. He should leave. Leave and not look back. He had managed to dodge her during the Seige, perhaps he could do the same now?

Nodding to himself he quickly retrieved the swords he had stashed near a tree and began to walk off. He had only taken a few steps when he paused. He glanced back. She laid there in the clearing, helpless and defenseless. His mind flashed back to just a month or so ago, when he had saved her from that Fire Nation soldier from......finishing her off. The more stubborn part of his mind urged her to leave and just go.

But the part that thought with his heart, that always seemed to speak to him in his Mother’s voice, gently reprimanded him for leaving her like this when it was his fault she was hurt. The thread had disappeared, yet he could still feel the tightness of it around his finger. Zuko didn’t know how long he stood there, raging inwardly.

Finally, he let out a small growl.

Quickly picking up her fallen dagger and pack, he pulled her up, securing her arms around his shoulders and with his arms under her legs, he managed to hoist her behind his back and began the trek back to where his Uncle was.

The small puffs of breath that fell from her lips was the only indication to him that she was alive.

#Zuko x OC #zuko x reader #zuko imagine #zuko x y/n #atla imagine #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender fanfiction #avatar the last airbender imagine #the thread of fate

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writingquestionsanswered · 4 months

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Hi,

Do you have any tips on how to write a character who has a bond with a symbiote?

Both help each other to survive, as character A (the human) was severely wounded and character B (the symbiote, a spirit) heals these wounds and keeps them from 'opening up again'. In return, they share a body, which keeps Character B alive as he receives the necessary nutrients to build up energy. In my mind, the whole thing goes in the direction of Venom from Marvel or Justice from Dragon Age.

My biggest problem is to write the whole thing so that it doesn't sound too absurd and to include character B's thoughts or just to remind myself that they are there. Do you have any tips or resources for this?

Searching the internet doesn't bring up anything for me.

Thank you for your time and kind regards.

Writing a Symbiote and Host

This is outside of my wheelhouse as far as personal writing experience goes, however I have a few directions I can point you into for research, as well as some general advice and parallel advice.

Symbiotes fall under the "body and host" trope, and there are a whole bunch of subtropes under that umbrella. I'm not exactly sure which one your story would fall under, however here is the entry at TV Tropes along with the subtrope list at the bottom. Just reading through the the trope entry and the applicable-sounding subtropes can give you a lot of helpful information. You might also read up on the Two Beings, One Body trope as well as the Sharing a Body trope--and look through the examples of both--as this can give you some ideas/information about how to portray it believably and in a way that doesn't let you (or the reader) forget the symbiote is there.

And my feeling on that last bit--making sure the symbiote isn't forgotten and including their thoughts--would be that you'll want to convey those via internal dialogue between the two characters. What's leaping into my mind here is Marvel's Moon Knight if you've seen it. It's not a symbiote situation, but I'm just thinking of the way Marc speaks to Steven (the "host") inside his head, and Steven verbally responds. So, they have a conversation but anyone witnessing can only hear Steven's side of it, obviously, since Marc's end is inside Steven's head. You could also just have them communicate via fully internal dialogue, so the conversation takes place entirely via thought. Either way, having this sort of running dialogue between them allows you to keep the symbiote present in the story.

There are all kinds of devices you could use to give this a relevant framework. Ultimately, you can assign the symbiote a character role that they can fulfill while they're recharging inside the host's body. For example, they could be a mentor... like let's say your character is afraid of public speaking--which advancement in their job requires--so they feel stuck where they're at. But the symbiote, by way of being in their head and experiencing what they're experiencing, coaches them to do better and helps them get over their fear. They could be the comic relief if you want your story to have a bit of levity. Or they could be the foil to the host character. They could even just fulfill a sort of sidekick role, but giving them a role will help give them a place in the story outside of just being stuck in your character's head.

I hope that helps!

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dittoapokemon · 3 months

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The major discourse I see about Saltburn is whether it’s about class or queer obsession. Surprise! It’s both! Spoilers below.

So at the start it’s definitely about queer obsession. Ollie is enthralled by Felix and as we learn at the end is happy to play the hapless little damaged boy to get his attention. We see a lot of affection and intimacy between the two. And at this point Ollie has never seen Saltburn. He knows Felix is rich and has a castle but that’s it. @magicspeedwagon7 has a great post about how we get a tour of Saltburn but not really. The whole scene is focused on Felix. He points to things out of frame and we don’t see them because we are watching him through Ollie’s eyes. We see him impressed by the house but once Felix is in the room he is all that matters. Here is where we see the major theme being his obsession with Felix.

And we see this building obsession with Felix. Leading to the bathtub scene. I think here and the grave scene is where we see Oliver at his truest. His most uncontrolled. He just can’t stop himself. He is alone and can act on pure emotion and simply do whatever he desires. He doesn’t just love Felix. He wants to ABSORB him. He wants to become one with him. Of course these are interspersed with scenes of him manipulating the family. This is when we see him desire both the house AND Felix. And the way to get the house is through Felix. We see the mingling of both themes, his obsession with Felix and his obsession with having more in terms of wealth and status.

He is being taunted constantly that Felix will throw him away because he simply enjoys broken toys until a new, more broken object comes along. He tried to disregard it. And then Pamela dies. And he watches how easily the family disregards her. She had lived with them for months and they threw her out.

Before I continue this whole thing hinges on the mirror scene. We watch him meticulously wrap his hand and then punch the mirror. Most people would just punch the mirror in a rage by Oliver takes the necessary precautions but in all that time still can’t calm himself. He still has to react with emotion.

And then his lies are revealed. And he tries to talk to Felix and he’s not having it. We see him cry alone, not for an audience, twice and one is when Felix first rejects him. He blows him off so he follows him to the maze. At this point he’s already dosed the bottle. So even though Felix is showing some tenderness. Even though he nearly kisses him. He shows concern. Ollie can’t see it. He has acted meticulously, dosing the bottle, taking a drink, throwing up, but he is acting on pure rage and fear. He’s been rejected by Felix and that’s driving him insane. And he’s scared that this is it, he’s being thrown away so Felix can go find his next fix. He can’t stop himself at this point. He can’t see the tenderness through his own emotion.

And so Felix dies. And Oliver doesn’t know what to do. The object of his desire is gone because of him. He killed him after being rejected. And he can’t handle that. He can’t accept that he reacted based on emotion. No! He’s a mastermind! The puppet master pulling the strings! But the only other time we see him cry while alone is over Felix’s death. All the times he cries in privacy are over Felix. He desired Felix and Saltburn and now there is only Saltburn. We have gone through him being obsessed with Felix, to being obsessed with Felix and Saltburn, and finally obsessed with Saltburn and convincing himself it’s always only been Saltburn.

It’s important to also understand the Cattons aren’t just rich. They’re British nobles. Oliver could only become one of them through marriage. And there’s a tendency of the middle class to appropriate the lives of those poorer while constantly desiring to the top of the food chain. Keeping up with the Joneses. They want to be the top 1% but while in America it’s possible to get there from the middle class (not easy, usually you still have to be born into that but you can do it) in Britain that’s the nobles. You can have more money than God you’ll still never be able to be them without marriage or birth.

It’s also worth noting that while killing the Catton women Ollie has no problem getting his hands dirty. He slices Venetia’s wrists, and he pulls out Elspeth breathing tube. But the men? James he simply waits to pass, I think he knew he’d never truly get an opportunity to kill him and not get caught. And Felix he poisons. He kills him in a way that not only requires no physical violence but one he also doesn’t have to witness. And he doesn’t kill Farleigh. He gets him kicked out. I think he knew Farleigh was the one who could truly see him. Not entirely, not the darkness, but he knew something else was going on there. So he was the biggest threat. So instead of neutralizing him himself, he convinces the family to do it.

Well Ollie has lost the man he loved/was obsessed with. Who could’ve been his ticket into this life. And he can’t stand he lost him to such a disgusting display of emotion. So he convinces himself it’s part of his plan. See he wanted the house. Never Felix, just Saltburn. Like so many middle class men he just wanted more. Greater. To be a part of that elite social class he never could. So he keeps going. Devising a plan to get everyone else out of his way. He’s willing to play the long game now. And if taking Saltburn allows him to also retain pieces of Felix, well that’s fine by him.

And he gets what he wants. But there’s the rub, he owns Saltburn. And all the money he could want. And he will still never be noble. He can never bridge that gap. The only way to become noble is birth or marriage. Because he lost what he truly wanted: Felix.

#idk this is probably dumb and ramble but I have thoughts #saltburn #saltburn analysis #oliver quick #felix catton #emerald fennell #elspeth catton #james catton #venetia catton #farleigh catton #farleigh start #there is also the themes of like the wealthy can be openly awful but everyone else must disguise it but that’s a whole other discussion

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sepublic · 1 month

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Another Crystalized Wasted Potential coming up: I feel that Pythor was pretty underutilized in Crystalized. Dude is such a long-stay with Ninjago, being the villain from its first season (and thus only preceded by Garmadon and Samukai). He's basically an evergreen villain for the ninja at this point, he's been here since the dawn of time, long around to have been at both villain get-togethers. He's got the personal connection to Lloyd as well, and he's a fan-favorite.

He and the Overlord, I argue, are the true arch-nemeses to the ninja, with the Overlord being more of an endgame threat, while Pythor is more recurring, and that makes the team-up between the two feel very natural. Given Crystalized is the finale to mainline Ninjago as we know it, Pythor being the big bad of its first season should've been bookended more.

That's another thing that separates Pythor and Harumi, it's that he's simple and static enough that you can apply him to just about any situation, if you ever want to come up with a scenario where Pythor is the villain; But Harumi is a lot more complicated and dynamic of a character, you really have to justify why she's here, why she's doing this, what's going on in her head. She doesn't have staying power as a villain compared to Pythor, especially since Harumi was originally written as a tragic, short but sweet villain who had her time and it ended. And with Crystalized extending that time, ultimately to redeem Harumi...

I think Pythor should've been emphasized more as the Overlord's second-in-command, his lieutenant, his new chosen champion. Part of the idea behind the Overlord in Crystalized is that he's learned, he's taking no chances. He's already been beaten twice before by the ninja, plus his defeat by the First Spinjitzu Master; He's deeply ancient, he's seen everything, which means he'd reasonably learn from all that. His entire council is comprised of villains who have also been defeated by the ninja, others who also thought they were hot shit, different and unique from other foes, only to get their asses kicked all the same.

Considering how much of a gap there was between Rebooted and Crystalized that the fandom actually had to live through (compared to the gap between FSM vs Overlord and Legacy of the Green Ninja), you really got the sense that the Overlord was painstakingly patient and cautious this time. Biding his time. Making sure every detail was right, sparing no expense by building up an entire army made of the stuff that cancels out the ninjas' powers. He was there in the background since Masters of the Mountain, he always had enough to rush in and be a threat, but he wanted to wait until he had enough to be a decisive threat.

...So why does he stick with Harumi once Pythor and the rest of CoCK are there. Like it makes sense for the Overlord to latch onto Harumi in his vulnerable state, she's all she has and vice-versa. But once he has other villains, he should've gotten rid of Harumi because like. His first introduction in Crystalized is the Overlord acknowledging that Garmadon failed Harumi, as he failed the Overlord; And that's because Garmadon isn't an unrepentant monster. He has a heart. He cares, in his very deeply twisted and misguided way... And so does Harumi. Her gut reaction is to reject the Overlord in horror because he's irrefutably pure evil, and she only goes along because she wants to live, and the Overlord reframes his goals as peace.

So with all that in mind, it's blindingly obvious to the Overlord that Harumi is just another Garmadon, whose defiance could easily spell trouble for him at a crucial juncture. He even calls out to Harumi, to her face, that she cares for Lloyd and is focused more on corrupting than killing him because of it, just like Garmadon. She freaking idolized and emulated the dude, Harumi's forcing you to see the parallels between them!

Now, it's worth noting that for all of Garmadon's hesitation... He never really DID get a chance to disrupt the Overlord's plans during his stint as a chosen champion. Whereas Harumi did, which could be why the Overlord underestimates her, because Garmadon's second thoughts never really amounted to anything in terms of HIS plans. But then Garmadon was also a real pain in his ass during Rebooted.

Again, the idea behind the Overlord is that he's become genre-savvy, he's learned, he's not taking any chances and Harumi is a huge one here. He's taking the ninja truly serious as a threat, in a way he respects them now, and that makes him uniquely dangerous for it. They always find a way, the Overlord should be paranoid because of it, and he should be paranoid over anything that could go wrong.

And that's where Pythor comes into play here; Harumi and Garmadon, they had heart, they cared for Lloyd, they ultimately went to the side of good. But Pythor is straightforward evil at this point. His motives might've been a bit more complex back in S1 and then S4, but ultimately, he strikes me as someone who's stubbornly looking for an excuse to be angry and vengeful and hurt people. He's bitter now, he's cut ties with his own kin that he originally claimed to have done all this for. He cared for the memory of his Anacondrai brethren in S4, but they're all dead and that's been long-resolved with Chen's death anyhow.

The Overlord picked up Garmadon and Harumi at a vulnerable point in their lives, when they had nobody else, and he had to manipulate and convince them throughout. Pythor is the reverse; The two had zero connection to one another prior to Rebooted, and yet Pythor goes out of his way to rescue the Overlord at a vulnerable point in his life, when he otherwise would've been eliminated by the ninja. Rebooted lasts four times as long because of Pythor, Zane dies because of him, which leads to Tournament of Elements, the death of Garmadon, the Preeminent's campaign, Djinjago's destruction, etc.

Pythor's legacy and impact through the Great Devourer, and other actions, is longstanding. Just like the Overlord. They're both responsible for Harumi's trauma, because one created the monster, but the other allowed it to continue wreaking havoc even after its initial defeat. The Overlord, entirely of his own volition, says that he likes Pythor to his face, and despite having power over the Overlord, it's Pythor who agrees to place himself under his power, and then continues to rescue and look after the Overlord, even keeping him in his stomach. They're both purple villains.

Pythor is unconditionally loyal, but unlike Kozu or Cryptor, he's actually competent and menacing and effective. The Overlord should've recognized Pythor's loyalty in Crystalized, and at least promoted him to equal standing alongside Harumi, and when Harumi inevitably brings up how Pythor released the Great Devourer, he just tells her to shut it, and deal with it, and even tries to get rid of Harumi shortly afterwards when he senses her hesitation.

Not only does this make more sense, it also goes nicely with an alternate storyline for Harumi in Crystalized where her redemption arc is more fleshed out and naturally paced, her feelings explored. And again, from a meta standpoint, Pythor’s always been there (maybe at other events we don’t know about because of his invisibility), even longer than the Overlord, as a villain. So to end things with Pythor and the Overlord feels right.

TL;DR Pythor was wasted in Crystalized, both in his relationship with Harumi, and the Overlord. Even though he's been a much more consistent villain to ninja than either of them, moreso than Garmadon, whose iconography the Lego Ninjago Movie revived, which led to the Oni trilogy. The Overlord is a force of nature, but Pythor's less of a fighter, more of a cunning schemer, which makes him fit Harumi's role just nicely. It improves the writing of all three of these characters to address Pythor more.

In particular, I'd have liked Crystalized to delve more into Pythor's motives at this point, and elaborate what he's even running on after all these years and developments. There's just so much history to work with when it comes to Pythor, but in actual canon he's just kinda there, another one of the Crystal King's lieutenants, and played off as comedic relief no less.

#Ninjago #Pythor P Chumsworth #Ninjago Overlord #Harumi Jade #Ninjago Crystalized

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voxmortuus · 10 months

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►PAIRING: Capt. Syverson X F!Reader ►UNIVERSE: Sand Castle ►WORDS: 974 ►SUMMARY/PROMPT: You are a female solider, so naturally you're walking into a "male dominated territory." Syverson and you naturally but heads, not a fan of his abrasive ways and his lack of giving a shit for most things. In your eyes, he's unprofessional. You and him start off with this wit he brings out in you, tensions start to build. Eventually you two realize there is something there between you two, but being who you both are, this forbidden fraternization just can't happen, but over time, words are exchanged, and hot heavy moments happen. Soon you're discharged and sent home, eventually you and Syverson end up with the happy ending you both deserve but it will absolutely be trying and hard to get there. Do you have the guts to stick it through? Does he have the means to learn to control his urges? ►TRIGGER WARNINGS: Reader Angst | Syverson Smart Mouth | Reader Smart Mouth | Reader Syverson Tension | Foul Language | Sexist Comment ►NOTE: I want to thank @mrsevans90 for the inspiration to create a Syverson Series. ►IMAGE & DIVIDER CREDIT: @nyxvuxoa ►My Master Masterlist | Henry Cavill Masterlist ►Chap. 1

With a roll of your eyes as Syverson's back was turned, you shake your head and lean against a pile of sandbags. Wiping the sweat from your brow with the back of your hand you push yourself off the sandbags and follow Syverson as he heads into one of the tents.

"Don't you have someplace else to be Y/N?" He shoots you a look.

"Last time I checked... Sir, my orders were to follow you around... so here I am, like a lost fuckin puppy... Sir... following you around. So, do you have anything you want me to do?" You ask with a bite in your tone and a knitted brow.

"A lost fuckin puppy huh? Well Lost Puppy, why don't you get on all fours, tuck tail and go be useful elsewhere. I've got adult thing to do." He bit back.

If looks could kill, he'd be dead. You spin on your heel and turn to walk out.

"You're forgetting something." He states.

With a rolling of your eyes, a clench of your jaw a tightening of your fists you snarl. "Yes. Sir." You state as you walk out of the tent and off to your own and you throw your cap down on the bed and you begin to pace.

Oh you're pissed, almost beyond so. How fuckin dare he?! Shaking you're so angry you sit down, let out a loaded breath and re-read the letter from home. You miss home, you miss the comfort, and that damn air conditioning you will never complain about again after dealing with the heat here.

For the moment reading from home calms you. You're able to think and able to come down and remind yourself why you're here. Closing your eyes you let out a very soft breath. You end up reminding yourself why you're here, looking at the picture of your family, and the picture of those you consider family. Everything comes down, and it gives you that moment of calm.

But as quickly as it happened, it was quickly ruined. The moment you heard his voice you tensed, your whole body tensed. You were about ready to throw fists.

"Listen..." He went to speak but you cut him off.

"No, you fuckin listen. My orders were specifically to follow your ass around. To do what you needed done. And you come along and treat me like some sort of object. Let me make this very fuckin clear.... Sir... I'm not some object for you to objectify, I'm not some thing for you to just... Fuck you. Fuck you and fuck this whole fuckin thing." You stated finding it difficult to find your words.

Syverson looks at you and crosses his arms, at first, he was defensive, but you had a point. His jaw clenched and he looks at you. "If you can't hack it, pack your shit and go the fuck home." He stated before he walked out.

Reaching down you grabbed your helmet and threw it in his direction. Not realizing you hit the back of his head with the helmet considering you weren't really aiming, he snarled. "What the?" He looked down seeing your name on it. He growled. "Pick up your helmet Y/N. Be in my tent 20 minutes." He ordered before walking away.

He couldn't lie, he was mildly impressed, but he also just took a helmet to the back of the head, so he was a little pissed, though truly not enough to really do anything. He crossed a line, he knew it, but at the same time, he felt you needed to grow a backbone, and maybe he was right.

"You wanted to see me." Fuck his Sir, after all that, fuck him.

"Yeah, take a seat." He stated shoving the chair on the other side of the table with his boot.

Looking down you take a seat and look over at him. Waiting for him to start going off at the lips.

"Tomorrow, we have to head into the city. We have to meet with someone big about some crap. Trust me, I know just as much as I'm telling you now. I'm not gonna lie, I don't want someone who likes me with me. I'd rather have someone who hates me cover my ass than someone who likes me. Be ready, we leave at 05:00. Think you can manage... At least I know you throw a grenade, you'll hit your target." He stated with a mild compliment.

Looking over his face you clench your jaw a moment and your nostrils flair, really? A compliment... fuckin whiplash! "You just want someone to follow you around... is that me tucking my tail and finding somewhere else to be useful... or are you going to treat me like a normal person?" You asked.

"Don't push your luck. Be ready. It's going to be a bit of a hell storm if shit goes south. Also... you speak native Because I'll need someone to translate." He stated.

Finally, something where you can truly be useful. You smile a bit and nod. "Yeah, I speak Arabic... I can translate." You state kinda proud of it.

"Good, be here. 05:00. Don't be late." He states shooing you off.

Nodding you get up and start to head out of the tent. He looks at you. "Oh, one last thing Y/N... smile more. Looks good on you." he stated

Walking out of the tent after that, your emotions are kind of all over the place. You don't know how to accept not one but two compliments, one indirect, and the other direct. What the fuck...? It was a lot in an odd way. Looking back toward the tent you furrow your brow and let out a heavy breath and head to your post for the rest of the day.

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lazytitans-world · 2 months

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My pitch/outline for a Wish series

I wanted there to be a way for the abandoned concepts of Wish, such as Starboy and evil Amaya, to be utilized without re writing Wish out of respect to the team behind it. And so I thought, why not make a series that starts after Wish ends and uses those concepts in ways that stays true to the movie while the show can be its own thing.

Keep it mind these are just basic outlines of what the major stories are plus ideas for some fun filler episodes

Season 1: The main storyline of season one is a force of dark magic has appeared in Rosas and Asha must venture into the magic mirror to speak and possibly free Magnifico as he has the most knowledge of dark magic. Asha's journey into the mirror world would entail as a kind of therapy session for Magnifico as Asha and the audience learn more about Magnifico's past. Ultimately Magnifico would end up free from his mirror but would utlimately choose evil over good and in doing so harms Star with more powerful dark magic. Star is in critical condition and as Asha is caring for the star another ball of light makes it way outside of the building where Asha is caring for star. When Asha steps out to see what could have caused this, she is shocked to see a human-like boy her age standing right in front of her that is made of the same magic as star is made out of.

Season 2: This season will focus on building the relationship between Starboy and Asha. I do not want to go into detail on Starboy's character just yet but his relationship with Asha be a smaller enemy to lovers type story as he is weary of Asha's skill as a magic wielder and as a protector of Star. We would see their relationship grow as they try to help star recover from Magnifico's attack,, Starboy helping Asha master the wand given to her, and as they also deal with Amaya being corrupted by the dark magic let loose by Magnifico.

Amaya's turn would be a slow burn, as like her husband, her kindness and warm personality is teared away by the dark magic. The climax of the season would see Asha and Starboy learning that the effects of dark magic can be reversed if the person being corrupted is "pure of heart" or something along those lines and them having to battle Amaya who has gone full evil queen mode but would ultimately be saved by Asha who brings the good back out of her.

We'd also get little hints to how the stars, in this world at least, operate i.e. why and how Starboy is different from Star, Starboy's connection with Star and how Star might be more powerful than one would think.

The ending of this season would have Asha and Starboy officially become a couple, Star regaining its strength and even having some more power than it had before, and Magnifico, who has fully given into evil, preparing a major attack on Rosas but in particular wants the powers of both Star and Starboy.

Season 3 (final season): This season would build up to a two- or three-part finale that has Magnifico unleash his full powers of evil on to Rosas. Asha would reach her final form and be just as good as wielding magic as Star and Starboy are, maybe a little better in some respects.

I have yet to really settle on an ending but one idea that I see potential in is when once the battle is over and Magnifico has been held off; Asha, Starboy and Star would become this celestial power team that fights for love and the wishes of those who are good of heart as they will lead the fight against Magnifico who is using the power of evil and selfishness to defeat the power of good. Each side would begin looking to others to help in this lifelong battle as no one can do this alone and we'd see outlines or models of characters that resemble classic Disney helpers and villains such as Malefecent and the fairy godmother.

I am torn on making that the ending as I really don't want Wish to become an DCU style mess where everything was "always connected". I want this story to have ties and tributes to the disney movies of the past but do not want this story to interfere or be the cause of previous disney stories. I also toyed with the idea of Asha and Starboy influencing the original writers of the stories like Hans Christian Anderson or the Brothers Grim but I found that idea to be way to meta for its own good but maybe it could work I don't know.

Random episode pitches:

I want there to be at least one episode that deals with Amaya processing her husbands betrayal and defeat. Amaya, in the movie, cared for Magnifico and I would like to explore how his choices affected her personally and psychologically.

There would be a few episodes that would be used to reaffirm the relationship between Asha and Starboy as they deal with having a good first date even though everything seems to be going wrong and one getting jealous as someone else tries to flirt with one of them. I kind of want to give most of these episodes to Starboy as it grows his personality as I feel like he'd be the one getting jealous and trying to make the evening perfect.

I have considered some adventures taking place outside of Rosas, in other cities and kingdoms that look a lot like ones from other Disney stories. This is where we'd see Asha showcase her growth in magic and maturity that sets the stage for classic Disney stories to be told. I'd want to do at least one episode like this earlier on to gage reactions to see if the audience enjoys it when we tie into other Disney movies.

Early episodes in season one would focus on Asha growing her skills as a magic user. Once Starboy arrives he will be Asha's guide into more advance magic skills and season 3 would see her discover skills not even the stars knew were possible.

Season 2 would see an episode that has Star trying to push Asha and Starboy together but their relationship is not at that point yet but in the end we'd see the beginning of the romantic interests.

When Asha and Starboy admit their true feelings, I have considered doing an original song and not the demo version of At All Costs as everyone has done this and I want this to be different plus the moment may call for a song that fits it. I would like to use the song as its a nice callback to Asha's first meeting with Magnifico and what started this journey.

I want some episodes that showcase Asha's friends as well as other citizens of Rosas. I want to give Asha's friends a bit more to their character than just representations of the seven dwarfs and flesh out the kingdom a little more.

I am unsure if Sabino should pass away during the series or not. If he does I want to take it serious and have Asha and Starboy be there with Sabino having interacted with Starboy before then. This most likely would happen in the final season as Sabino's passing would give Asha the motivation to venture outside of Rosas.

We'd have an episode to learn more about Asha's dad, his backstory, how he met Sakina and how his passing affected the family. Starboy could learn more about Asha's family from this and that strengthens the bond between him and Asha as well as make a good parallel between his relationship with Star and Asha's relationship with her family.

In the mirror world we'd see how Magnifico interacted with Asha's mother, father and Sabino before the events of the movie. It would be interesting to see how that relationship fit into Asha working under the royal family.

Conclusion: I think Wish has a lot of potential but I know something like this has little to no chance of happening. And before you ask, I do not see myself writing actual scripts or stories because I just don't have the time or patience at the moment to go fully into this. This is just to satisfy my creative needs and to get these ideas on paper. If you're inspired by some of these ideas you are more than happy to make your own scripts, stories, animations and whatever just please credit me for ideas. Thank you for reading and have a great day

#disney wish #disney #wish #wish 2023 #wish reimagined #wish rewrite #disney star #asha x star #fandom #starboy #tv series #concept

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xoxobuckybarnes · 1 year

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February 2023 Stucky Fics

Completed

Heroes are Easy, People are Hard (series) by Halberth / @histrionic-dragon & art by Lorien / @drjezdzanyart

Heroes are Easy, People are Hard (Rated: T, Words: 152K)

Summary: Shuri and Wanda cleared Bucky's triggers shortly after Killmonger's attempted coup, and he and Steve went on the run. But it turns out there's more to "fixing Bucky's head" than "getting Hydra out of it." When a group of rogue scientists manage to neutralize the serum and make Steve very sick--pre-serum "this is bad" kind of sick--and they're cut off from contact with Wakanda, Bucky knows only one person with resources to help. He calls Tony and surrenders on the condition that Tony tries to help Steve. From there, it's basically three variously messed-up guys’ trajectories from "This Is Fine", "Reasonably Speaking I Know It’s Fine", "I Will Be Fine With It" to actually being fine, guest-starring a far-better-adjusted teenage boy who climbs walls, a 1957 Ford Thunderbird, two women with a keen sense of the absurd, and Bruce, the Zen master of “it’s fine that it’s not fine.” Add in the fact that Bucky's been secretly in love with Steve since the thirties and things only get harder. Learning to be a person is the hardest thing Bucky Barnes will ever have to do--but he's got company along the way.

Post-Credit Scenes (Rated: NR, Words: 2K)

Summary: “Hi.” Bucky ran his thumb around the edge of the shield. “I’m, uh. Not dead.” Takes place immediately after the end of Heroes are Easy, People are Hard.

More than the Sum of our Faults (Rated: T, Words: 15K) by Oh_i_swear / @oh-i-swear-writes & art by lemonadehearts / @lemonadeswift

Summary: When Steve Rogers adopts a dog he rescued from a collapsed building he realizes that due to the nature of his job he needs a dog sitter. Enter Becca Barnes, owner and sole proprietor of Happy Hounds, a dog walking and sitting service that comes Sam-Wilson-approved. What Steve didn’t bank on was the gorgeous owner of his dog’s best puppy pal who happens to also be Becca’s older veteran brother, and he certainly didn’t bank on running into the man - quite literally, let alone falling completely in love with him.

Another Song, Another Spring (Rated: T, Words: 46K) by somanywords / @somanywords

Summary: Bucky smiles into his phone. “Yeah, thanks, Mom. Actually, I had a few questions? What age do babies start mimicking language, aka cussing? And what age do they start walking?” “Is this for your book?” his mother asks suspiciously. “Yes,” Bucky says, staring into the eyes of the baby on his couch. “Yes."

On The Back of A Raindrop (Rated: E, Words: 52K) by musette22 / @musette22

Summary: Despite the fact that Steve Rogers’ life hasn't always been a bed of roses, he’s fortunate enough to have a lot of good things to call his own. He has a loving mother, two wonderful kids, marvelous friends, and a beautiful house with a big, sprawling yard, to name but a few. One thing Steve does not have, however, is green fingers. One late spring morning, Steve decides to call in the help of a local gardening company to restore his yard to its former glory. When gorgeous gardener Bucky Barnes shows up on his doorstep the next day, he unwittingly upturns not only Steve’s yard, but his life, too. Over the course of the summer, it’s more than just the garden that begins to blossom.

Atoms (Rated: M, Words: 49K) by Andrea1717 / @andrea1717 & art by kahey2804 / @kahey2804

Summary: After a hard year and the end of both his military and his short career as a personal bodyguard Steve Rogers did not expect the call from his best friend and ex- colleague Sam Wilson. He offers him a job, full time and long term, starting on the next day. At first it sounds perfect to finally move forward from the devastating events in his past career and life - being one bodyguard in a group of four for a rich kid from a famous lawyer. How hard can that be? What Steve didn’t expect was the kid - Bucky Barnes, twenty two, traumatized from his dark past, devastatingly beautiful and a real brat. After a while on the job Steve not only discovers that Bucky seems to play a role most of the time, he also discovers that parts of his heart who seemed to be dead for a while are very much alive.

honey don’t feed it, it will come back (Rated: M, Words: 18K) by thedoubteriswise / @thedoubteriswise & art by ellebeesknees / @ellebeesknees

Summary: He lets out a long sigh and watches Bucky. Back home he was always too vain to let more than a day’s worth of stubble build up, but now he’s got about three days of scruff on his chin. He shouldn’t look handsome like this. His eyes are shut, but Steve can tell by his breathing that he’s still awake. The cat is curled up on his stomach and purring like an idling motor.“ He’s actually pretty cute.” Bucky smiles softly, too sleepy to make whole faces.“ Damn right,” he hums. He’s stroking the cat’s fur, which is soft and fine now that it’s clean. He looks so open and inviting. Steve doesn’t close his eyes, watching Bucky’s gentle fingers and trying to come up with a plausible excuse to go touch him.

I was never cool (and all I wanted was just to have you) (Rated: E, Words: 2K) by dreamsinthewitchouse / @dreamsinthewitchouse

Summary: Bucky is slouched behind the circulation desk, chewing on a pen and staring morosely at the computer screen. He’s wearing headphones, his head just barely moving to whatever he’s listening to. Steve is halfway across the room before Bucky notices him, startled into dropping his pen. “Oh. Hi.” Bucky straightens in his chair, pulling the headphones down to his neck while his face does something complicated. “Why— is there something you needed?” “Um, yeah,” Steve says, his chest suddenly tight. “There’s this book I really wanna read?”

***This fic is complete, but the series (booksmart) is not***

He’s All That (Rated: T, Words: 88K) by crinklefries / @spacerenegades & art by fingersnaptothat

Summary: “That one,” Tony says gleefully. “I pick him.” “Him?” Bucky hisses. “Steve Rogers?” “Bet’s a bet,” Tony says smugly. “Make Steve Rogers the class president by the end of the year.” “Motherfucker,” Bucky curses. Then he takes a fortifying breath. He can do this. He’s Bucky Son of A Senator Barnes. He runs a hand through his hair, messing it up in the front just the way he knows men and women like it. “Fine,” he says. “Okay. By the end of the year. Easy.” *** When Bucky Barnes--son of a state Senator, future president of his fraternity, and co-captain of his college’s soccer team--gets unceremoniously and very publicly dumped at a party, his entire reputation hangs on by the thinnest thread. Drunk and humiliated, he does the only thing that makes sense--he makes a bet with Tony Stark. Now Bucky has the length of the school year to take Steve Rogers--small, asthmatic, environmentally-conscious art nerd, political activist, and complete social disaster--and turn him into the student body president. How many misunderstandings, shenanigans, and college tropes will abound before Bucky realizes that Steve Rogers, well, he’s all that?

WIP

Treading Water (Rated: M, Current Words: 76K) by sparkagrace / @sparkagrace & art by Dyslexic_Fetus / @reagy-jay

Summary: Olympic swimmer Bucky Barnes always believed that when the time came to retire, he would walk away with his medals and world records firmly in the history books and never look back. He never thought the water would leave him first.

***Be sure to check out the rest of this amazing series : Lane Lines: Lane Lines (Rated: M, Words: 132K), Lumière (Rated: M, Words: 5K), & New Traditions (Rated: M, Words: 6K)***

An Appropriate Omega (Rated: M, Current Words: 195K) by BeauRadley

Summary: Steven Rogers, the Duke of Brooklyn, is in a bind. The provisions of his father’s will mean he must marry before his thirty-fifth birthday or lose his mother’s inheritance. The catch? He has to marry a suitable omega. James Barnes is the third child of the impoverished Barnes family. If he or his sister don’t marry before the season is out, their family will fall further into poverty. If he doesn’t find someone else soon, he’ll be forced to marry the sinister Lord Pierce. The two men realize they can solve each other’s problems, but will their marriage of convenience turn into something more?

Dichotomy (Rated: E, Current Words: 4K) by papesdontsellthemselves / @turtle-steverogers

Summary: After getting signed to SHIELD Audio Inc., The Commandos have been taking the world by storm. Industry golden boy, Bucky Barnes, is just happy to have a chance to share his music. However, his world threatens to get turned on its head when The Commandos get sent on tour with the Howlies, where Steve Rogers spreads into his life like wildfire, waiting to burn.

Rereads

Targeting (Rated: E, Words: 149K) by queenmab_scherzo / @queenmabscherzo

Summary: Steve and Bucky end up playing for rival college football teams.

#Stucky #Steve and Bucky #Steve Rogers #Bucky Barnes #fanfic #XOXOBUCKYBARNES' Stucky Fic Reading List #february reading list

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major-wren · 1 year

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Sonic Timeline (?)

Okay guys.. help me with this. Is THIS the current canon timeline for the main-line games? I really wanna figure out some sort of standard main-line canon, so feel free to pitch your two cents in comments & reblogs.

Read below the cut to see the timeline I put together, based on what I'm pretty sure might be the official canon timeline we're in right now.

HEAVY SONIC SPOILERS WARNING

> Ancient times,

before humans or animal-folk existed: The "Ancients" (shown in sonic frontiers) have their planet destroyed, and escape to Sonic's world to rebuild, but are destroyed again. We do not know who destroyed them either times, but their cyber-world containing their memories are left behind along with the chaos emeralds.

>In Sonic Riders, they establish the "Babylonians," or "Children of Babylon." They are another ancient alien race with advanced technology, although Sonic's world was not their home, they just got trapped there by accident. They built the Babylon Garden, a floating island that was originally their space ship, but eventually it was all destroyed as a "punishment from the Gods." The Babylonians did not go extinct, but it seems that they evolved into the bird-like species that Jet, Storm, and Wave are.

> 4,000 years before the 1950s:

"The Fourth Great Civilization" existed and were able to harness chaos energy. They built a gizoid capable of destroying the world, which Sonic would later name Emerl. This Gizoid became too powerful and ended up destroying the civilization that built it.

> "Thousands of years" before Sonic Adventure

(unknown how many thousands): The last Ancient maybe evolved into Chaos? The echidna tribes exist now and live in harmony with Chaos and the little chaos, but one tribe becomes power hungry for the master emerald and Chaos transforms into his monster-form and wipes out the power hungry tribe to protect the emeralds (I believe that tribe he wiped out was the largest echidna tribe but not all of them). Tikal seals herself and Chaos within the Master Emerald. Also, when they were alive the echidnas painted a mural based on a prophecy of someone using the chaos emeralds to go super in the future.

> 1950's, or 50 years before SA2

(Assuming SA2 takes place in the year of its release date, 2001, and then subtract 50 years because Shadow said thats how long he was asleep.) Ok, 1950s: Gerald Robotnik's niece/granddaughter Maria becomes terminally ill with NIDs. He seeks government funding to find a cure but they only agree on the terms that he also builds a weapon for them. He agrees, and lives on space colony ARK with Maria to work on his creation. He researches the ancient echidna tribes and the chaos emerald, as proven by the structures he built on the ARK that are identical to the structures the echidnas left behind. Its also believed that he was inspired by the mural the echidnas painted of that prophecy that depicts Sonic's super form, and that's why Shadow looks like Sonic, especially with the red eyes and upturned quills that Sonic's super form has. The mural can be found in Sonic 3.

>Gerald makes contact with the black arms aliens race and strikes a deal. If they let him use their alien DNA, then he'll let them use Shadow to take over the world when their comet comes by again. He makes the lazer on the ARK to explode the aliens' comet when they come by again so that they can't actually use Shadow, then combines the black arms DNA and the chaos emeralds to make Shadow (and also adds part of Maria's soul somehow I guess). If you like to keep parts of the Archie comics, then it's implied Gerald personally raised Shadow himself alongside Maria, as he calls him son in the Archie comics.

>Gerald also finds the old gizoid I mentioned earlier. Upon learning of its powers, he fears what could happen if it's left unchecked and tries to build safety measures into it so that nobody can use it to destroy the world. Yknow, since it wiped out an entire civilization 4,000 years ago. Relations with G.U.N are rocky as they're beginning to fear Project Shadow, and to make things worse, Gerald loses control of the gizoid and it destroys part of the space colony. In order to fix relations with G.U.N and protect everyone from the gizoid, he tries to destroy its core but is unable to, so as a last ditch effort he puts part of Maria's soul in it. Seriously... how is he doing that??

>G.U.N fears the weapons Gerald is building (bio-lizard, emerl the gizoid, and Shadow) and decides to shut it all down. As they rush the space colony ARK, Maria is killed by a G.U.N soldier as she tries to help Shadow escape. Gerald is sent to prison island with an unconscious Shadow. He is allowed to continue working on Shadow under supervision in prison island but ends up augmenting Shadow's memory to make him believe Maria wants him to destroy the world, so he can get his revenge. G.U.N finds out hes double crossing them somehow and he is executed, and Shadow is locked away deep within prison island. The gizoid is also sealed away.

> 1990's, "classic" era

Young Sonic begins his adventures saving flickies from eggman bots. It's assumed Knuckles was also born at a similar time as Sonic, and that by now the echidna species has slowly dwindled down over time to just Knuckles. I assume that since echidnas lay eggs, that Knuckles wasnt able to meet his parents because they died before he hatched, or when he was super super young and had no memory. But also... let's not think about that too hard. Anyway, Tikal is still sealed inside the Master Emerald with Chaos, and the little chaos and flickies are on Angel Island too, so hes not entirely alone.

>Sonic happens to run by and save Tails from some bullies, and Tails decides to follow him and become his side-kick. On a solo adventure, Sonic then faces off with Eggman and his new robot Metal-Sonic, who are holding Amy hostage. Amy's fortune telling tarot cards told her she'd meet her hero in that location, and since Sonic saves her there, she decides to follow him too. Sonic then meets Knuckles, who has been deceived by Eggman. Eggman lied and said Sonic is trying to steal the Master Emerald, so Sonic and Knuckles fight, but when Eggman's lie is revealed Knuckles teams up with Sonic to defeat him. They all become friends and everyday heroes, going on adventures together, as well as Tails having his solo adventures and Knuckles has an adventure with Team Chaotix and Mighty the armadillo. (Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic CD, Sonic Drift, Sonic 3, Sonic Mania, Sonic Drift 2, Knuckles' Chaotix, Tails' Adventure, Sonic R, and Sonic Origins.)

> 1999, Sonic Adventure 1:

Eggman unleashes Chaos from the Master Emerald to take over the world, but Sonic defeats him. Tikal's spirit was also released from the Master Emerald when eggman shattered it, and so she commits to taking care of Chaos after Sonic defeats it, and Knuckles restores the Master Emerald. Sonic's growing up into his teens and becoming a hero on a bigger scale now (he is 15 at this point). Knuckles, Tails, and Amy seem comfortable working as a team now too.

> 2001, Sonic Adventure 2:

Eggman discovers Gerald's diary and wakes up Shadow 50 years after the ARK massacre so he can use Shadow to take over the world. Shadow double crosses him to completely destroy the world, killing everyone including himself and eggman, but after a heart to heart with Amy (who happens to say something similar to Shadow's key-phrase, Maria's last words), he regains his true memories and saves the world at the last minute through self sacrifice. Rouge also joins in this game, at first as a double spy working for the government, but throughout the game she begins to care about Shadow as she uncovers his past, and in the end she allies with Sonic team, at least on neutral terms.

> Sonic Advance 1 & 2:

In Sonic Advance 1, Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Knuckles all go on a classic adventure beating up eggman's bots in the familiar Greenhill zones. In Sonic Advance 2, Cream the rabbit is introduced and Team Sonic help save her mother Vanilla the rabbit from eggman.

> Sonic Heroes:

Shadow turns out to have survived his fall from space, and eggman has sealed him within his base with a guard robot named Omega. Rouge finds him and takes him under her wing along with Omega, forming Team Dark, although shes unsure if its the real Shadow or one of the robot replicas that eggman built. Neo-metal sonic is the big bad guy of this game but everyone defeats him together (team chaotix, team rose, team dark, and team sonic).

> Shadow The Hedgehog (the game):

The black arms return just like they said they would but Sonic crew defeats them with Shadow, who regains his memories with his friends' help. It's a good thing Gerald made so many video messages and diaries for people to find in the future lol

> Sonic Battle:

Eggman uncovers Emerl the gizoid, an ancient robot his grandfather Gerald discovered before him in the 1950s and gave a part of Maria's soul. Emerl is unresponsive though, so Eggman abandons him. Sonic finds him and brings him to Tails to fix up. Shadow attempts to destroy Emerl, saying something along the lines that Sonic (and bio-weapon creators) don't understand what its like to be a living weapon, that it's a life not worth living, and that he won't allow Emerl to exist knowing he has the capability to destroy the world, and also that no one else should have to live through what he has. Sonic protects Emerl and is adamant that every life has value and that he'll keep Eggman from using Emerl for evil.

>Everyone except Shadow decides to collect all the chaos emeralds so that Emerl can be reset through a key-phrase Rouge found, but there's also a chance he'll default to destroying the world if he's overwhelmed with power. Shadow refuses to give the last emerald in fear of Emerl losing control, but Rouge explains that Gerald gave Shadow and Emerl souls, so that even if someone tried to force them to destroy the world, their souls would prevent them from being able to do it. Deciding to trust Rouge and his shared soul with Emerl, Shadow gives up the last emerald and says the key-phrase (Maria's last words, which is also Shadow's key-phrase). It works and Emerl gains free will, but after a while Eggman captures him again and overwhelms him with power, which causes Emerl to lose control and attempt to destroy the world, forcing Sonic to fight him. Emerl self destructs as Gerald's last safety measure for if he is weaponized, ending his story there. Also, side note, Chaos is mentioned by Knuckles, meaning its still alive on Angel Island.

> Sonic Advance 3:

Eggman creates a new robot named Gemerl made out of the leftover data he could scavenge from what was left of Emerl after he self destructed. He then uses chaos control to break the world into seven pockets of reality so he can conquer it all and turn it into the Dr. Eggman Empire. Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Amy, and Cream all group up to fight the eggman bots, Gemerl, and collect the chaos emeralds. Once they have all the chaos emeralds, Gemerl betrays Eggman and steals the emeralds for himself to become 'Ultimate Gemerl.' Sonic becomes super and teams up with Eggman to defeat Gemerl, who explodes.

>Later on, while Cream and her mother are at the beach, they find Gemerl's damaged body on the shore and bring it to Tails. Tails repairs Gemerl and reprograms him to be friendly and non-violent. From then on, Gemerl lives a peaceful life with Cream and Vanilla in their cottage, and becomes Cream's protector. In a way, Emerl was able to be reborn into Gemerl and have another chance at life.

> Sonic Rush 1 & 2:

Blaze the cat is introduced when her dimension collides with Sonic's. Unlike the chaos emeralds, princess Blaze needs the sol emeralds to stay together or else her islands will drop into the ocean. Blaze, Sonic, and Tails fight the Eggman of her dimension to save their worlds. In the second game, Marine is added and they go on a pirate adventure when Sonic and Tails end up in Blaze's dimension. Later on in The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog, it is revealed that Blaze is able to open a portal whenever she likes so she can cross into Sonic's dimension to visit or help in bigger adventures.

> Sonic Riders:

I honestly haven't looked into the story yet, I think these bird people are like... the descendents of aliens or something?? Why are there so many ancient aliens in sonic lore. Well anyway, the Babylon rogues are introduced with Jet, Wave, and Storm. Also hoverboards exist.

> Sonic The Hedgehog 2006:

Okay so... Silver is definitely canon and still needs to exist because he's in the IDW comics, but... Is anything besides him still canon in this timeline? I mean, even if Elise is out there somewhere, do any of the characters remember her?

> Sonic Lost World, Sonic Colors, Sonic and The Black Knight, and Sonic and The Secret Rings:

Lost World introduces the Zeti aliens, and Colors introduces wisps. The storybook games further support/imply the existence of other timelines and dimensions, or maybe Sonic was just dreaming.

>I don't think it really matters exactly what order these games happen in, including Sonic Unleashed, as long as they happen before the events of Generations. By release date though, it's Secret Rings > Unleashed > Black Knight > Colors > Lost World. HOWEVER, release dates don't always matter, because writers have said before that release dates dont always line up with the story. For example: Sonic Battle actually takes place before Sonic Heroes, even though Sonic Heroes came out first.

> Sonic Unleashed:

Since the beginning of time, a god-like being named Dark Gaia has been sleeping within the core of the world and wakes up to shatter the world at a certain time every however many years, and each time Light Gaia would put it back together. I wonder if this is what keeps wiping out the ancient alien civilizations? Clearly the Ancients in Sonic Frontiers, the aliens from Sonic Riders, and "The Fourth Civilization" from Sonic Battle each had time to build up their civilizations to amazingly advanced technological landscapes, but would then get wiped out and the next civilization would have to restart.

>Eggman learns how to drain the chaos emeralds' of their power, and condenses their power into a lazer that he uses to shatter the world's crust in order for Dark Gaia to escape (but couldn't he already do that with the ARK's lazer?) He also drained Sonic of his super form, which turned him into a werewolf with stretchy arms for some reason, but only at night. Since Light Gaia was taken from the Earth's core prematurely, he is in a weakened state with amnesia, and follows Sonic around until he remembers his true purpose.

>The Dark Gaia absorbs whatever power was inside of Sonic that caused him to turn into a werehog, curing him of his curse, and then Light Gaia weakens Dark Gaia so that Sonic can defeat it in his super form. Light Gaia, or Chip, then helps Sonic return to the Earth's surface, and seals himself within the core once again.

> Sonic Generations:

Sonic is celebrating his birthday!! Which proves that he and everyone else have been slowly aging throughout their adventures. Suddenly, the "Time Eater" attacks, and scatters all the birthday party guests all across space and time. Sonic and Tails meet their younger selves from the past, and they all race through all of the adventures Sonic's been on to restore the timeline. They defeat the Time Eater, which is being piloted by eggman and eggman from the past, with the help of their friends and their past selves. Afterward Sonic and his friends return to the present, with the Sonic and Tails from the past. Sonic tells his younger self that he's going to have a great future, before sending him and the young past Tails off to their correct time through the remaining time portal. Current Eggman tells Past Eggman that he's yet to defeat Sonic, and Past Eggman considers getting a teaching degree instead like he had wanted. It's unclear if Past-Sonic will then go through all the same adventures, or if his time-travel hijinks opened up a new timeline, maybe even one where Eggman becomes a teacher instead! But probably not, lol. At the very least, it opens up a timeline where that Sonic gets deja-vu in all his future adventures leading up to the Time-Eater's attack.

> 2017, Sonic Forces:

Sonic is captured by Infinite and they have to open up a portal into a different timeline/the past to get Classic Sonic to help them save our Sonic.

> IDW comics:

Everyone fights neo-metal and the zeti aliens again, eggman lost his memory but then regained it, the whole zombot arc happened, and now Surge and Kit are on the rise. To those who have not read, I highly recommend at least reading up to issue #29.

> 2022, Sonic Frontiers:

Sonic Frontiers happens somewhere on this timeline... Maybe sometime after Sonic Forces but in the middle of the IDW comics. Sonic crew learn about the Ancients (mentioned first on the timeline), who supposedly are the ones who brought the chaos emeralds to Sonic's world in the first place. Also, the characters are all clearly growing older, as their voices are much more mature, and they each decide to commit to independent adventures to prove their growth. It's honestly really sweet watching Amy and Tails start out with literal child voice-actors, then seeing them grow into their new older voices. I assume Sonic is going from 15 (his last recorded age in SA2) to his 20s, which will probably mean we'll get more lore-focused games that hold space for an older audience while still keeping it kid-friendly.

...I think that's everything? Someone please fill in the gaps on Sonic Riders, I know there's 3 games for that series. I think the details on their alien race might be important if we want to try and piece together the first four ancient civilizations.

Also, someone please share what happens in Sonic Rivals (2006) because I'm not willing to watch like over eight hours of game play yet, but I know it has a big story that most fans aren't familiar with.

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c-e-d-dreamer · 1 year

Text

Falling For Your Fools Gold: Chapter 4

A/N: And we’re back babyyyy! Excited to get back into all my chapter WIPs but especially excited to get back to sexy, pirate Cassian ;) Hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Also, I like to imagine Fifth Harmony’s That’s My Girl playing in Cassian’s head at the beginning here. Trigger warning for injuries and blood.

Chapter Masterlist // Previous Part // Next Part

“One. Two. One. One. Two.”

Nesta follows along to Baz’s instructions, hitting her closed fists against his palms in the combinations he calls out. Even with the linen wrapped around her knuckles, she can feel every punch, but in these past few days, she’s started to relish the ache there, pride swelling deep in her gut as she continues to learn more, continues to grow her own strength. Every bruise, every split knuckle is proof of how far she’s come, how many steps she’s taken away from that rigidity, that expectation that society forced upon her from a too young age, that darkness trapped in the corners of her family’s manor house in Adriata. It’s certainly not how Nesta imagined breaking free and finding her freedom, certainly not how she expected it, but she’s not complaining.

Baz swings his arm across and toward Nesta, but she’s quick to duck out of the way just as she’s been taught. She stands back to her full height, keeping her arms up as she returns to the punch sequence. Another swing of his arm and Baz starts to walk Nesta back across the deck of the ship. She stays light on her feet, moving and dodging and punching until Baz finally drops his hands back to his side with a wide smile.

“Nice,” Baz tells her, shaking out his hands. “I think we can officially declare you’ve mastered hand to hand.”

“Really?” Nesta asks, already feeling excitement building at the prospect of finally graduating to using her dagger.

“I don’t know, Baz. Perhaps she should really test it first.”

Nesta doesn’t even bother swallowing down her sigh or holding back her eye roll. She had hoped that after spending a large sum of Cassian’s money at the market when they were in port, he might finally leave her alone, that they could have some tentative, albeit separate peace between them, but of course things are never that simple.

Instead, Cassian has quietly watched each of Nesta’s sessions with Baz. Most days, he doesn’t say anything, but Nesta will always feel his eyes on her, his gaze burning a wildfire across her skin. Other days, he’ll offer small comments or critiques, and on the rare occasion, he’ll guide Nesta’s movements again. And all the while, Baz will simply stand by looking amused.

Like now.

The first mate in question currently has his lips pressed together, but it does nothing to hide the smirk he’s desperately trying to bite down. His brown eyes practically twinkle with amusement as he watches over Nesta’s shoulder, and Nesta is half tempted to put all her new skills to work, punching him in the face as well as the annoying pirate captain behind her.

“What do you say, princess?” Cassian continues, and even without looking, Nesta can hear that stupid grin dripping from his tone. “Are you up for a little sparring?”

Nesta huffs, but she turns around to face Cassian properly, settling him with her coldest, most unimpressed stare. “Fine, but only because it will give me an opportunity to knock you on your ass.”

“That’s not very ladylike,” Cassian teases, his eyes alight with amusement, but he raises his arms and gets into a fighting stance.

Nesta mirrors Cassian’s stance, her eyes quickly sweeping over his frame, accessing for any tells of what he might do, any weaknesses she might be able to exploit. Cassian circles around her slowly. It’s reminiscent of their first meeting, when he had done the same thing in her cabin on her father’s ship. It already feels like so long ago. Like another life, like a dream. Although, Nesta is beginning to wonder if that life or this one is the nightmare in the end.

Nesta moves in a circle with Cassian, keeping her steps careful so he won’t be able to catch her off balance, so her feet don’t get tangled. She doesn’t miss the way his gaze glances down quickly to her feet, the impressed face he makes. She opens her mouth, a dry remark already poised and ready on the tip of her tongue, but it’s the opening Cassian’s been waiting for. His arm swings out, and Nesta just barely blocks the hit.

Cassian continues the offense, swinging punches in quick succession. Nesta retreats back and away, but he’s quick to follow. As Cassian steps forward to keep up his onslaught, Nesta decides to take advantage of his unbalanced stance, spinning and ducking under his outstretched arm. Unfortunately, she’s only able to land one punch against Cassian’s side before he’s turning as well, blocking her next attempt. He sweeps Nesta’s feet out from under her, and she falls hard against the wood of the deck.

Despite the pain splintering out at the impact, Nesta feels more determined than ever. She jumps up to her feet, and goes on the offense herself, swinging punches until it’s Cassian that’s retreating. She takes advantage of his imbalance again, but this time, she shoves at his chest hard. Cassian goes tumbling back, but his fingers curl around Nesta’s wrist and he pulls her down with him until they both go sprawling across the deck. Nesta is quick to scramble up, straddling Cassian’s chest to pin him down and pressing her forearm against his throat.

“Yield,” Nesta tells him, her voice hard despite the way her chest heaves from the exertion.

“I think you’re the one who needs to yield, Nes.”

Nesta blinks in confusion at Cassian’s words, at the smirk pulled firmly across his face, but rather than say anything more, Cassian merely glances down. Nesta follows his gaze and notices the metal glinting in his hand, the dagger now poised against her abdomen. It takes Nesta’s mind a moment to catch up, to understand exactly what she’s seeing but then her head snaps back up to glare at Cassian.

“You cheated,” Nesta declares, her anger only growing as Cassian continues to smirk unfazed. “It was meant to be hand to hand sparring.”

“I’m sure Baz taught you the first rule of fighting, that there’s no such thing as a fair fight, especially when you’re fighting a pirate.”

Nesta lets out a frustrated growl, shoving off of him. “We go again. A rematch.”

Cassian chuckles, standing up as well and making a big show of dusting off his clothes. “You’re on, sweetheart.”

Nesta resets back into her fighting stance, waiting for Cassian to raise his hands and mirror her. He gives a small nod to indicate he’s ready, and Nesta doesn’t bother waiting for him to make the first move, doesn’t bother staying on the defense. Her anger and frustration feel like a beast writhing deep in her gut, chomping at the bit to be released and desperate for a taste of blood. She throws punches and kick combinations in quick succession, every smack against him sparking within her, every blow landed fanning those flames.

For all that Nesta thinks she has the upper hand, though, Cassian spins them around, knocking Nesta off both her balance and her focus. He wraps his arms around her, holding her back against his chest and pinning her arms to her side. She tries to wriggle free, tries to find enough space that she can make a counter attack, but his hold is firm, his strength clearly outmatching hers.

“Do you yield?” Cassian asks lowly, his breath fanning out hotly against Nesta’s skin.

Nesta lets out a huff, opening her mouth to begrudgingly agree before his words from earlier clang around her mind, an idea quickly forming. She arches her back against him, and with Cassian’s mouth still pressed near her ear, she can hear the way his breath hitches at the gesture. She turns her head to face him, looking up through her lashes and making a big show of glancing toward his lips. As she slowly starts to lean in, she can feel Cassian’s grip finally relaxing.

Once she has the space enough to move, Nesta picks her leg up and stomps her heel down hard against Cassian’s foot, slamming her elbow back into his abdomen. The pirate captain lets out a shout of alarm, but Nesta spins out of his hold and faces him. A hard shove to his chest sends him stumbling back and falling against the deck once again, but this time, Nesta makes sure she steps back before he can latch onto her wrist with his hands.

Nesta walks over to Cassian, pressing her foot against his chest and pinning him down, offering him a smirk of her own. “How’s that for unfair?”

A loud laugh comes from Nesta’s right before Baz pretends to be coughing instead. Nesta expects Cassian to glare at his first mate at the response, but instead his smile is wide as he blinks up at Nesta, and she swears she sees pride twinkling amongst the golds of his hazel eyes.

“I think she’s officially ready for weapons training.”

~ * * * ~

On the fifth day of learning the skills and particulars of the sword with Baz, Nesta steps onto the main deck to find not just the first mate waiting for her, but another pirate as well. It doesn’t take long for Nesta to recognize him as the pirate whose gaze always follows her around the ship with that distrustful look in them. The same gaze he watches her with as she approaches. It has Nesta’s hand anxiously and instinctually going to the hilt of the sword that now sits at her hip.

“Nesta,” Baz greets with that same easy smile he always wears. “I hope you’re ready for today’s lesson.”

“Yes,” Nesta answers cautiously, her eyes glancing toward the other pirate once again.

“I’ve taught you all I really can, and you know practicing makes perfect,” Baz explains after following Nesta’s questioning gaze. “Kallon’s the best swordsman on the ship, so he’s agreed to spar with you.”

“I don’t think he cares for me,” Nesta leans in to whisper to Baz, hoping not to be overheard by Kallon, but judging by the snort from the pirate in question, she wasn’t successful.

“It’s not personal,” Baz offers, his voice quiet as well. “Kallon is just superstitious.”

Nesta continues to eye Kallon dubiously at that, quite confident that it’s more than just his superstition about women on ships, but she doesn’t say anything more on the subject. Baz walks her through a few stretches to start, and then she and Kallon are facing off, swords raised between them.

For a moment, Nesta swears she can see the deep brown of Kallon’s eyes darken, that his mouth quirks up just that smallest bit, but before she can dwell on it, he’s stepping forward and swinging his sword. Nesta is quick to deflect, knocking Kallon’s swing to the right and away from her body, but then the pirate is lunging forward again.

Baz certainly wasn’t kidding about Kallon being a skilled swordsman. His movements are quick and every attack of his sword is filled with enough force that each time Nesta deflects, each time her sword clashes with his, the vibrations shake all the way up her arm. It also means that Nesta spends the entire fight on the defense, never once having an opportunity to advance on him.

As the fight continues to go on, Nesta can feel herself growing more and more tired. Sweat beads along her brow, her chest heaving as she tries to keep up against Kallon’s onslaught of attacks. Her arm feels heavy, the weight of the sword leaving her muscles trembling slightly as she tries to keep it held up. She turns her head back toward Baz, ready to relent and ask that they call it quits for today, but then there’s a sharp pain along her side.

“Kallon! What the fuck?”

Nesta’s sword drops back down to her side. Confused and shocked, she looks down, surprised to find a long tear in her blouse along her ribs, red already beginning to seep in and ruin the white fabric. She presses her hand against the cut, wincing at the pain that ricochets through her body, that radiates from that spot. Her fingers tremble even more when she pulls her hand away and takes in the blood staining her skin.

Her heart pounds in her chest, her ears ringing, and it’s only when a firm hand squeezes at her shoulder, when she looks up and finds Baz’s face right in front of her, that Nesta realizes he was speaking with her. His eyes are swimming with concern, his lips pressed firmly in a frown, as he moves his hand to put pressure against her wound.

“We need to get you to Wiley. Are you okay to walk?” Baz asks, but suddenly Nesta’s mind feels too sluggish, words too far for her to reach. “Nesta.”

Nesta swallows hard, but she offers the pirate a nod. Or her best attempt at a nod. Baz settles Nesta’s arm across his shoulders, gently wrapping his own arm around her waist, and the two of them head below deck. Baz leads them into the makeshift medical cabin, Wiley quickly clearing space for Nesta to lay down. Nesta can’t swallow down her wince as Wiley peels back the fabric of her blouse, pushing it up and away so he can work. He wipes at the gash with a wet piece of cloth then quickly presses another piece of cloth against the wound.

“Hold the pressure,” Wiley instructs Baz, the first mate stepping closer to do just that.

Nesta squeezes her eyes shut, unable to watch as Wiley starts to thread surgical thread through a needle. Already her stomach starts to roil at the implication, her nervousness spiking. She’s never been particularly good when it comes to this sort of thing. Nesta can still remember that time Feyre had fallen out of a tree and seriously injured her arm when they were children.

A shuffle of feet has Nesta’s eyes opening again, and when she turns her head, she finds Cassian now standing in the doorway. His expression is stormy, hazel eyes hard and mouth pinched tightly in a frown. But his gaze doesn’t look toward Nesta, instead it’s pinned to Baz.

“Who?” Cassian asks, a dark promise lacing his voice.

“Kallon,” Baz answers quietly.

Cassian doesn’t say anything more, merely turns on his heel and leaves the cabin. Nesta watches him go, her eyes lingering on the doorway even after he’s vanished from view, and she considers asking Baz what exactly the pirate captain intends to do. But before she can, Wiley steps back over, and Nesta’s stomach drops as her attention is once again drawn back to what’s coming. At the first pinch of the needle against her skin, all Nesta can do is squeeze her eyes shut and focus on her breathing.

After Wiley has stitched, covered her wound, and given her some sort of herbal concoction for the pain, Baz helps Nesta back to her cabin so she can rest. She grabs one of her newly purchased books and curls up with it on the bed, wincing at the stretch and pain in her side until she’s able to find a comfortable position. She only makes it three chapters before the exhaustion of the day starts to weigh down her limbs as surely as it makes her eyelids feel heavy. The book slips from her fingers and into the blankets, and soon, Nesta is giving in to sleep’s siren song.

She’s awoken by the sound of clattering against wood. She blinks her eyes open, and it takes her a few moments to adjust to the sudden darkness of the room, just the candlelight casting the whole space in a soft, orange glow. Her mind still feels foggy with the remnants of sleep clinging to it, her limbs still sluggish and heavy. The whole thing leaves her feeling disorientated, having no idea how long she was sleeping.

She finds Cassian standing over by the desk, a bowl and plate of bread in front of him seeming to be the culprit of the clatter. As if he can feel Nesta’s eyes on him, he turns his head to meet her gaze. The candlelight leaves his face cut in shadows, draws emphasis to the scar on his cheek and through his eyebrow.

“Sorry,” Cassian offers quietly. “I just wanted to make sure you ate something.”

Cassian picks up the dishes and walks over toward the bed, holding them out for Nesta to take. She reaches out and does just that, but her eyes catch on Cassian’s hands. His knuckles are split, dried blood smeared across the skin there. The sight has Nesta’s breath catching. Part of her wants to ask, wants to hear Cassian say the words she knows would come, but she swallows them down.

With a muttered thanks, Nesta settles the dishes in her lap, picking through the fruit and cheese before deciding to tear off a piece of bread and nibbling on that. She can still feel the licking flames of Cassian’s intense gaze on her, but when she glances up, his eyes aren’t on her face, but pinned to her side.

“It’s probably best to change to a fresh bandage, just to be safe,” Cassian explains, reaching out his hand before he seems to catch himself. “May I?”

Nesta nods her head, scooting forward on the bed to give him better access and lifting the hem of her blouse. Cassian unwinds the cloth Wiley had tied around her waist with careful fingers, and Nesta tries and fails to bite back a wince when he pulls the cloth away from her skin. She turns her head away, not particularly interested in seeing what she’s sure is still a nasty wound, but thankfully, Cassian doesn’t comment on her squeamishness. He merely steps over to the basin of water and soaks a cloth in it.

His hands are surprisingly gentle as he slides the wet cloth over the affected area, his fingers slow and careful. He cleans the wound with such tenderness that Nesta finds herself looking toward him in surprise, but Cassian keeps his head bowed. His hair falls forward against his shoulders, scraping against his temples and framing his face. His eyebrows are drawn low, hazel eyes flickering in the candlelight even as they stayed focused on the task at hand.

As if he can feel Nesta’s gaze on him, Cassian looks up, his hand stilling as their eyes meet.

“Does it hurt still?” Cassian asks, his voice quiet. “I can ask Wiley for more tea for the pain.”

“It’s alright. It’s nothing I’m not used to.”

The comment has Cassian frowning, his lips parting and a question seemingly poised on the tip of his tongue, but he swallows it down. He steps away from Nesta, setting down the cloth he used to clean her wound and grabbing a fresh, dry one. He wraps the fresh cloth around Nesta’s waist, her skin prickling with each pass of his fingers against it. The feeling soon morphs into another wince, though, when he ties a knot directly over the wound, keeping the pressure tight.

“Thank you,” Nesta tells him, tugging her blouse back down.

“You don’t have to thank me,” Cassian replies, washing his hands and then his face in the water basin.

Nesta nods, but there’s a part of her that feels like she does, a part of her that wants to thank him for more than just helping to clean her wound. It’s a voice that goads and whispers in the back of her mind, reminding her of the freedom she’s found on this ship despite being a prisoner. If she can even still call herself a prisoner at this point. It reminds her that she’s been given the opportunity to learn to fight, allowed to truly be herself with no one to reprimand her for sharing her opinion or being too harsh with her words. There’s no more societal shackles nor fresh scars; at least, not the scars born from the shadows that still seemed to lurk in every corner of that manor house even after her grandmother and mother had passed.

The words weigh heavy on Nesta’s tongue, pressing against her windpipe until a lump is lodged firmly in her throat, but she can’t seem to squeeze them out. She can’t find the way to thank Cassian for what he’s unknowingly gifted her by bringing her onto his ship. The idea of thanking a pirate, thanking the infamous Lord of Bloodshed for that matter, is terrifying.

But even more terrifying still, is just how much Nesta would mean it.

—

Updated Taglist (let me know if you’d like to be added): @moodymelanist @nesquik-arccheron @sv0430 @talkfantasytome @bookstantrash @eirini-thaleia @ubigaia @fromthelibraryofemilyj @luivagr-blog @superspiritfestival @hiimheresworld @marigold-morelli @sweet-pea1 @pyxxie @dustjacketmusings @hallway5 @dongjunma @glowing-stick-generation @melonsfantasyworld @isterofimias @goddess-aelin @melphss @theladystardust @a-trifling-matter @blueunoias @kookskoocie @cassiansbigwingspan @unlikelypersonalknight1 @blurredlamplight

#nessian #nesta archeron #cassian #acotar #nessian fanfiction #nessian fic #nesta x cassian #pirates au #my fic

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that-left-turn · 9 months

Text

This fic isn't ready for proper posting, but since I seem to have a bad habit of flashing my dirty drafts on Tumblr 🙈🙊 here's a small sneak peek of the setup.

If you choose to read, thank you 💞 Hope you enjoy!

✿*°⋆ ✿⋆────── CHEROKEE ROSES (a Caryl TWD: Dead City variant)

"He shows up limping, with a gash on his forehead which has scabbed over, and various visible scrapes and bruises. He's tired and dirty, swaying slightly with the breeze when Carol arrives at the gate. He's shown up without Lydia."

Lydia is abducted, whisked away to parts unknown and the shadow of Sophia looms as Carol and Daryl set out to find her.

˖✿*⋆✿

The Maggie & Negan spinoff reimagined as a storyline tailored to Carol and Daryl. Set sometime during the time jump in the series finale, "Rest in Peace."

Some of the characters from TWD: Dead City will appear, but no Negan and no Maggie. Other supporting characters have appeared on the flagship show in minor or recurring capacity. ──────⋆✿ ⋆°*✿

He shows up limping, with a gash on his forehead which has scabbed over, and various visible scrapes and bruises. He's tired and dirty, swaying slightly with the breeze when Carol arrives at the gate. He's shown up without Lydia.

"Where is she?"

Carol's heart's in her throat. She can't be dead. She can't be dead. Lydia has persevered more hardship than most, even by apocalypse standards. She's survived abuse, homelessness, famine, mutilation, amputation... She can't be dead. Lydia is the child who lived, who's thrived—the one who broke the curse.

"I'm sorry," Elijah says, as if that makes anything better.

As if Carol can't hear... feel a syncopated pressure, a whooshing in her ears of her own pulse—very much alive—while Lydia, her child surprise whom she didn't want and didn't choose but loves all the same, is lost somewhere along her courier route. A route Carol gave her, along with the same fate as all the other children.

"We fought, but they were just too strong. They took her," his voice breaks and Carol can see the toll it's taking on him. How weary and heartbroken Elijah is. She can't allow herself to feel his pain, so she can't offer him support and she has no time to expend on comfort.

"What do you mean, they took her?" She knows her voice has grown cold, softer. Deadlier. Someone took Lydia. Someone took her. She's alive somewhere out there, captive and Carol can focus on that bit. She won't fall apart if she has a goal, a mission. "Who are they?"

She knows, intellectually, this isn't Elijah's fault, that he cares for Lydia, but Carol trusted him to protect her. Lydia wasn't ready, yet, for an extended excursion, or to fight outnumbered against a superior foe. She was still learning how to master a new weapon, adjusting to the changes in her balance.

"I tried to follow." He's pleading with her, wanting her to know that he tried. Carol's been here before and trying isn't ever enough. Letting someone else protect her children—Rick, Daryl, Elijah—no matter how capable and well-meaning, in the end, her children die. She's negligent. Careless. Unfit to parent. "Got as far as some place called New Babylon."

˖✿*⋆✿

Lydia stares, bewildered, at the river. The island in the distance... At least she thinks it's an island. The big buildings, half-obscured in the fog, look imposing even from a distance. Testament of the world she can hardly remember.

They've traveled far, she knows that, hours from where she was separated from Elijah. He was just left on the ground, vanishing in the distance and Lydia doesn't know how badly hurt he is. If he's still alive. It gnaws away at her, but she needs to stay in the moment. Alert. Ready.

It's a young woman leading the group and she speaks a foreign language with the others. Lydia isn't sure, but she thinks it might be the same one Princess speaks sometimes. Spanish. She has dark hair, pulled up high on her head, like Rosita used to and she moves with the same confidence. Light in her step and vicious with her dark-bladed knives. In a direct fight, Lydia can't match her. Not anymore. Not yet. She doesn't understand their conversation, so she's at a double disadvantage.

They've encountered others along the way and their group now includes two other reluctant travelers. A younger boy and a girl who might be around Lydia's age. They ask questions and cry. Beg to be let go. Plead with their captors. Lydia smiles at them, to let them know she's friendly, but she doesn't speak. She knows the value of being silent, unnoticed. Underestimated.

There's a boat that will take them across the water and it makes Lydia nervous. When the opportunity comes to break free—and it will come—how will she cross this river? She knows how to swim, having lived on a riverboat early in the apocalypse, but she doesn't know the currents or what's in the waters. Doesn't know if she can still swim with only one arm.

˖✿*⋆✿

When the gate opens, Daryl is greeted by Ezekiel and he's suddenly filled with dread. Something's happened and Daryl breaks so abruptly he nearly clears the handlebars of his bike. "Where is she?"

The other man looks sympathetic. Pained, like he knows his words will change Daryl's reality forever. Look at me. Just look at me. He's held Carol at the loss of her children—twice—but who will hold him if Carol's gone?

"New York, probably."

Daryl stares for a beat. That doesn't make no damn sense. He squints at the leader of the Commonwealth. It's only been a few hours since he left and Carol couldn't possibly have planned a trip to New York in that amount of time, not without him knowing. They make regular forays into Pennsylvania, but it's a big damn state with a lot of Amish communities and CW intel so far hasn't extended all the way to New Jersey, much less New York. Why would she head to a place that's probably a massive walker infestation?

"Mercer is with Carol and Elijah, planning."

Elijah. The pieces fall into place. The she is Lydia, not Carol and Daryl needs to get to her. To Carol. He twists the throttle and takes off in a spray of gravel. He should thank Ezekiel, but he doesn't have time for that. Carol needs him and Daryl needs to get to her before she takes off for New York without him. Every second counts.

˖✿*⋆✿

"It's a military mission," Mercer says, "not a diplomatic one." He's speaking to Carol's back as she's busy stuffing things into her oversized doomsday bag. His eyes flick to Daryl as he enters the office. "An extraction behind enemy lines is not–" He stops when Carol turns, but she doesn't look at him. She makes eye contact with Daryl and the other men no longer matter.

She looks... formidable and Daryl nods. They will go, together. Just the two of them. Carol doesn't need comfort and she can't sit on the sidelines. "I'll get a car," he says, "Tell the kids."

"I should come," Elijah says. "I know where they went and I'm a good fighter. You need backup."

Mercer scoffs, "You can barely stand up straight right now."

Out of the corner of his eyes, Daryl can see the truth of that statement. Elijah is tired and unsteady, holding onto the back of a chair. Definitely worse for wear, but determined. Steadfast. They won't bring him, not for this, but Lydia deserves that in her life. "You heal up, so you can look after her when we come back."

He reaches out to clasp the younger man's forearm, to steady him, but mostly to extract an agreement. Elijah meets his eyes, unwavering. His grip on Daryl's arm firm as he nods almost imperceptibly. It's a promise. A pledge on his honor.

"Firepower won't help and you know it," Carol's voice breaks the moment and Daryl's attention lands squarely on her once again. "You can't bring a convoy to New York, it'll be too visible. Subterfuge is the only way to get in and out without risking Lydia."

Her breath gets shaky and Daryl can see the shimmer in her eyes, so he holds out his hand for Carol to take. Draw whatever strength she might need. She laces their fingers together when her hand finds his and Daryl smiles at them completing the gesture without breaking eye contact. Things are different now.

"Daryl is the best hunter/tracker we have and he knows Lydia better than any of your men." She looks into his eyes as she continues speaking to Mercer.

There's always a frisson of pleasure whenever Carol compliments him, even when he feels self-conscious and awkward. She's the smartest person Daryl knows, so if she thinks highly of him, he's not without worth. He matters. He matters to her, just like she matters to him.

"We're quiet, don't need words between us and Carol is the head of intelligence 'round here. No one's better at infiltration or information gatherin'." He squeezes her fingers. Together, they're enough.

Mercer sighs, resigned. He's not happy, but he knows better than to argue with the united front of Dixon. "One of the troopers, Vasquez, had family in that region. They could still be there. He'll give you directions."

✿*°⋆ ✿⋆────── Who's Who:

The trooper to whom Princess talks about toilet paper (TWD 1102 "Acheron: Part II") is called Vasquez and on Dead City, the owner of Easy Stay Motor Inn mentions "Vasquez down the road" as someone who might have sent Maggie to spy on them (DC 101 "Old Acquaintances"). The familial relationship between the two is entirely of my making—Vasquez is a relatively common name in the tri-state area, so suspend disbelief liberally and reapply as needed.

˖✿*⋆✿

Dedicated to the TWDU power brokers, McDermott, Gimple, Jorné and Zabel: "May your penis hurt when you pee."

#caryl #caryl fanfiction #dead city #cherokee roses

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