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blindmanbaldwin · 3 months

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Perhaps it was seeing it on a premium large format screen, perhaps it was my mood that day, or perhaps it is because I'm always drawn to the stories of people trapped inside of their contradictions — but I was impressed with "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" last year, especially with its cinematography and editing. I thought bits of the film, particularly the climax, had shots/rhythm evocative of the great Terrence Malick only to find the film's editor Mark Yoshikawa is a frequent collaborator of Malick.

Now I could talk at length about those comparisons, or the sense of gaze of the film (Tom Blyth's eyes are fascinating to track when he's in close-up/medium shot), or the relationship the wider series has with the medium of television. But I'd rather talk about the beginning of one scene near the beginning of the third-act as an example of effective pacing building dramatic tension and establishing character.

Start on this wide shot at a low-angle. "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" uses low-angle shots frequently, which makes sense in a story about insecurity about power/class gaps. Low or high angles means we see something at an unnatural eye-line — which creates a visual power imbalance.

In the background we have a man just barely peaking over the horizon. This is Coriolanus Snow, our boy from the Capitol who comes from a noble family that lost everything in the war. In the first chunks of the film, we learn that Snow wants to restore his family's former glory. He wants to get that power back. The power gap that we see.

But this isn't the Capitol. This is District 12. This is place he was sent because of his failure. He cheated at the titular Hunger Games to win them for his tribute. So what could he be looking for out here to help him with his desire?

POV shot now. Cutting from that low-angle wide to seeing through Snow's eyes. While it isn't the subject of this post, the POV shot is the most direct expression of gaze. Think about cinema's greatest voyeurist Alfred Hitchcock and all his iconic POV shots ("Vertigo"). Nothing gets inside of a character's head like literally showing what they see.

Snow moves toward something — a something we now know was the (relative) perspective of the first shot.

Or, rather, not a something. But a someone:

Now back on Snow. Only this time he isn't obscured in the background but near the center of the frame. The camera pushing in before to emulate his movement seen now in his movement. Going toward the someone seen in the previous shot. Someone we couldn't really see before — but now are getting closer to finding.

Close enough to see her guitar.

Of course, if we were listening we would already know that this is Lucy Gray Baird. For her voice echoes through the forest and calls to Snow. But we're sticking to the visual — where we see him pushing toward someone. Pushing toward her.

Baird was his tribute in the Hunger Games. Living (but not hailing from) District 12, she had the lowest odds to win the Games. But through her own determination and a little bit of a push from Snow, she succeeded in winning the Games.

More importantly — she succeeded in winning his heart, as he did to her.

Go back to earlier: the beginning of "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" establishes Snow's desire as reclaiming his family's lost power. Story is conflict, conflict is character, and character is desire. Think mathematically for a moment: Character is action that is a function of desire. But desire cannot remain static. Pull any book or movie off of a shelf at a library. What a character wants at a start will not be the same thing/only thing they want at the end.

Snow began wanting to reclaim his family's lost power. But through this desire — him cheating the games and getting exiled to District 12, the lowest and poorest district in all the land, runs contrary to this desire. He cannot get more power being among the powerless. Why would he act in such a contradictory manner?

Because once he laid his eyes on Lucy Gray, young Coryo had a new desire in his heart. He didn't want to just reclaim what belonged to him, but he also wanted to protect her.

Like all functional drama, this creates a problem — he wants two things that are mutually exclusive. To protect her requires working against the Capitol which means pushing his family further down the social ladder. But to work on restoring his family means throwing her to the odds, and he can't stand thinking of her brown eyes dying out there.

Speaking of brown eyes...

Now we're on Lucy Gray's face. Focus on her and her playing (notice her eyes looking down and not hyperaware of her surroundings), but with another element in the background. Snow coming on the horizon.

Adapting a work from one medium to another always creates new restraints, but also new modes of expression. Condensing a 450-page novel into a ~2.5 hour film requires conveying the emotional arguments of the work in different ways. As such, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" focuses more on Snow's desires/contradictions than Baird's (even more than the novel) but we still have to some sense of her internal desire to create a compelling character that isn't just an object for Snow's character journey.

Of course, there is the real basic desire of surviving the Games, but that is lackluster and doesn't create real emotional bite. No, her central desire (at least in the film) comes through that one point mentioned earlier — she lived in District 12, but she did not come from District 12. Baird is a wanderer, or at least before the war was part of a wandering culture. Now she is trapped. Her desire is to get back what she lost; she wants to fly as a bird once again.

Look at the above shot. There is no distress on her face. While Snow got exiled for his actions in the prior chunk of the film, Baird got no punishment. She went back to District 12 and could play her music again. Not free to fly high but freer than she was at the start when she got called to fight in the Games.

This natural landscape Baird and Snow find themselves in during this scene is (metaphorical) paradise. It is the closest place to Baird's desire of freedom. The latter bits of the film's third-act use this idea to great dramatic effect.

Baird and Snow's desires both overlap and conflict. Both want to get something that they lost from the war — Snow his status, and Baird her freedom. But their desires operate in opposite direction. Baird wants to go up (free) while Snow is concerned with what's happening down on the ground among the social community. What Snow wants at the start can only be found in having people beneath him, while Baird's is found in having some space to be in.

But recall — Snow also wants to protect her, and this desire comes through a genuine feeling toward her. At the start it may be boyish attraction to her brown eyes and voice, but what his gaze perceived turned into something more. They both want the same thing of undoing loss.

And it's that sameness that pulls Coryo to Lucy Gray. That sameness that pulls him down the social ladder (he has a famous last name, she has no name) and down the society's hierarchy (he is Capitol, she is District) to risk his future for her. That sameness that pulls him to throw his own life and his chance of getting his past back away. That sameness that keeps him walking.

That sameness that makes her bring this strange man into her world. That sameness that makes her trust him with her everything.

Her personal space out here, far from the suffering in District 12 and the tyrannical bloodshed in the Capitol, now has the presence of that strange man she let inside.

Viewing this natural space as her paradise, she had won this peace but found that her ghost still lingers. A ghost that she doesn't really want to let go of — as evident by her attention going to him, and the unconscious act of her voice calling him here. Remember: nothing in conventional narrative is coincidence or happens spontaneously. Every action a character does is an expression of desire.

Why does she sing? Becuase that's her life. She is a performer. She performed on stage in District 12's bars. She performed when got selected for the Games, which is what first caught Coryo's eyes. She performed for the whole nation to survive in the games. And she performs for Coryo — because she wants to perform for him.

And through this her desire reveals its contradiction. She wants to be free and untethered; to fly like a bird. But she has the same feeling for him that he has for her, and this feeling creates an attachment — a tether. The wanderer found a home.

She could tell him to go away. She could tell him to leave. She could tell him to do whatever. Her words don't matter.

Film is a language of image. Sound (music and dialogue) matter, but ultimately is it a moving picture. A film establishes a character through visual actions. Lucy Gray identifies Coryo, and she stops playing so she can talk to him. So she can go to him. He is pulled into her world — but she is pulled toward him.

Think about the sequence of shots, specifically the POV shots. It is basic movement: start far from the object, and move toward the object. As the character whose POV the camera emulates gets closer to the object, the film cuts back to the opposite side to establish the geography of the scene. But it also creates a little bit of tension — these two forces are coming together and one of them doesn't know it, so what will be the reaction when they come together?

A few frames of static. Coryo stands in anticipation. Waiting to see what she will do.

Go back through these ten shots. Notice they all are of the same vantage point. We see Snow approaching from the horizon, and we see Baird playing her guitar on a rock with Snow coming behind her. While the scene progresses by composing more of the frame around the subject as they get closer together, the core angle remains the same: one shot from him walking and one shot of her point in space. We don't change this basic idea.

Until the scene begins with them coming together to have their first conversation since the Games — which also ends the scene as it shows the distance that remains between them.

They are pulled together, except Coryo stands above her. They both want to be together but they both occupy different places in the social hierarchy that they can never escape. The contradictions of their desires expressed in the blocking of one shot.

#the ballad of songbirds and snakes #snowbaird #tbosas #coriolanus snow #lucy gray baird #film theory #character theory #film analysis #tom blyth #rachel zegler #gifs #didn't revise this at all so i bet there are typos a plenty #it is late #too late

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selfox · 17 days

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A scene:

Drakken is still working at his desk, his eyes now have not only his patented grunge smudge (which is cool 😤), but also dark bags under them. He knows it is late, he knows it's time for bed. But he stubbornly continues.

And then Shego walks in to see where her boy... Boss is in that late hour. Bed gotten cold without him and she wanted to snuggle, but no one needs to know that shhhh

- Doctor D? You know what time is it?

Drakken, without missing a bit (which is surprising considering how often he gets startled by her) and continuing his work at the same time said:

- Late one

Shego, slightly perplexed by unfazed and flat tone:

- .... Are you going to bed?

- I want to. But I can't

- .... Why?

Drakken turned around in his chair and now facing her. His eyes are blinking slowly ... unsynchronized:

- I simply cannot be stopped.

To which Shego facepalmed, grabbed her lover by the hand and dragged him to their bedroom. Drakken, of course, didn't resist, as he actually was sleep-working.

#shego #drakgo #dr drakken #cyborg's stuff #I am very sleepy #it is late #I cannot be stopped #1:28

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lasagnebats · 3 months

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*spoilers for the batman*

so you know how the Riddler gets locked up at Arkham Asylum at the end of The Batman? what if Dr. Crane is assigned to be his doctor?

#jonathan crane #batman #dr jonathan crane #dr crane #dc jonathan crane #the riddler #dc riddler #words words words #the batman #riddler #scriddler #SCRIDDLER???#i should be ASLEEP #IT IS LATE #BUT MY BRAIN WONT STOP RUNNING WITH THIS IDEA #hhhhh goodnight tumblr i'll remember you all in therapy

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0kayblue · 1 year

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Do You Still Love Him?

You are retired, you are married, you have a foster child, you have all of this without Leon Kennedy.

(Part II) (Part III)

Main character relations: reader x oc-ish husband (Bill) (romantic) reader x Leon Kennedy

Word count: A little over 7k

Angst, angst, and more angst.

A/N: Hello! If you followed me thinking it was all Stranger Things you are sadly mistaken. I have entered my Resident Evil era and Leon Kennedy has a ridiculously tight choke hold on me. Please bear with me through this trying time.

“No.” The word left your lips quietly as you quickly sat upright. You tried not to panic as you began to regulate your breathing. You looked around the bedroom trying to learn to relish in familiar surroundings. You were sitting in your bed, in your home, you were safe. It was a nightmare, nothing more and nothing less, it wasn’t real.

You began to try to relax as you rested back against the bed frame. You heard a moan and the weight beside you started to shift, knowing you had woken him up again. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

“No.” He protested as he sat up and snaked his arm around you pulling you to his side. He cupped your cheek with his other hand and made you look at him. Your cheeks stained with semi-dried tears as his heart broke. He kissed both of your cheeks and then placed a stern kiss on your forehead. “Do you want to talk about it this time?” He asked as he rested his head against yours as he tried to comfort you.

“No.” You mustered out from against his pajama shirt. “I’d rather forget, Bill.” You sniffed, trying not to break in his arms. You’d come to him in time and he knew that, but nightmares back to back weren’t common. His concern was more than valid.

“I know.” He cooed, “You’re okay, it’s okay. I love you. I’m here.”

“I love you too.” You said taking in his warmth and breathing in his strong scent. It was comforting, he was comforting. The fact that your husband was safe and with you was grounding. “What time is it?”

Bill squinted as he looked at his watch, “That time.” You sighed, not ready to face today. “I can get-.”

“(Y/N)!” You heard Sydney yelling for you in her room. “(Y/N)! Wake up, wake up, wake up!” Her voice grew closer as did the sound of little fast footsteps. Your heart felt a little lighter as the excitement in her voice filled the negative dread that strangled you. Before you knew it the bedroom door had flung open and a little dark haired brown eyed girl crawled her way up your bed.

You pulled yourself up and pried yourself away from Bill’s warm embrace. You opened your arms and Sydney was quick to find her way to your chest. “Well, good morning.” You said trapping her into a big hug, “Someone’s excited about a field trip!” You said in a sing-song voice as you rocked her side to side.

“Really? A field trip?” Bill teased, pretending he had no recollection of the trip to the zoo that Sydney brought up about every five minutes.

“Yes! I told you a bunch.”

“Oh, yeah! I remember, you’re going to the mines. About time they put your kids to work.” You chuckled before kissing Sydney on the cheek.

“No! Bill, the zoo! I’m going to the zoo!” Sydney tried not to pout as she argued with her other foster parent.

“What could possibly be at the zoo?” Bill scoffed as he scratched his head.

“Animals. All sorts, too. Tigers! I’ll be able to see a real life tiger. Right, (Y/N)?”

“Well that depends on if we get up, and moving, and get dressed.” You said letting go of Sydney, “So why don’t you go get changed into the clothes I laid out for you last night and I’ll meet you in your bathroom to brush your teeth. What’d you say?”

“Okay.” Sydney began to crawl out of the bed excitedly and head towards the door before stopping, “I’m wearing the shirt with the tiger on it, right? That’s the one I picked.”

“Yes, the one with the tiger on it. You better hurry, we don’t want to be late.”

“Right.” She sent a determined little nod your way before taking off.

The room returned to silence as you got out of bed and went to pull the curtains open, allowing the natural light to flood the room. It was warm and inviting regardless of whether you mentally shunned it.

“I’ll drop her off today.” Bill volunteered as he got up, “No protest, it’s on my way and you need to take it easy.”

“I can handle a couple nightmares. I’ll be alright.” You sighed as you walked into the bathroom. Picking up your toothbrush and turning the handle as water began to come spouting out of the faucet.

“I know you can, I’d just prefer if you took it easy, rest, start to come to terms with whatever has been haunting you.” Bill married you for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, the good, the bad, and the ugly. He knew your story as you knew his; and he still loved you. You still loved him. Rather it be your childhood or your past with the DSO, he was there. “I’m concerned. This is the fourth time this week and it’s only Wednesday.” He followed you into the bathroom and leaned against the doorway. His arms crossed and brows furrowed, his body language conveying the weight of his words.

You spit into the sink, wiped your mouth, and then faced him. He was right, the sooner you faced it the sooner you could move on. You were just frustrated because you had made such big steps lately and now it felt like you were walking backwards again. You sighed, “I’ll give Ingrid a call, okay?”

“Then when I get home we can talk about it.” He raised his brows as his gaze softened.

“Yeah. We’ll talk about it.” You walked back over to him with a smile and wrapped your arms around his waist. “Please don’t worry too much. I’m okay.” You gently placed a little loving kiss on his arm, “Don’t be so dramatic, Billy.” You practically sung the version of his name, trying to get him to lighten up.

William, otherwise known as Bill or Billy, was born in California and was raised there. Bill had a hard life and was also taken advantage of by something that no one could’ve controlled, it was a miracle he made it out alive. Eventually he packed up and got the hell out of dodge with no place in particular in mind; he just wanted to get away. He didn’t plan a single detail so crossing your path wasn’t a surprise, but staying on your path was. The life that he currently had wasn’t something he had ever pictured nor was it something he thought he deserved. Nevertheless, he was willing to do anything to keep it.

He rolled his eyes as he unfolded his arms and wrapped them around you, “Shut up.” He leaned down so his lips could meet yours. You kissed him back as your arms snaked their way up his torso and around his neck while his hands held your hips. As you kissed him back the world around you started to fade ever so slightly, helping you push the nightmare in the back of your head into a room.

“Yuck!” Sydney said breaking you away from him.

“Yuck! Yuck?” Bill said in a false sense of disbelief. “I happen to let you know that (Y/N) doesn’t find me ‘yuck’ at all. Right, (Y/N)?” You were silent as you looked from Sydney to Bill, “Right?”

“Your morning breath is a little yucky.” Bill placed a hand over his heart as if he were wounded, “but only a little bit. I still love you.” Bill sniffed, “You mean it?”

You kissed his left cheek, “I love you.” You kissed his right cheek, “I love you.” And finally you kissed his lips, “I love you.”

“Gross.” Sydney made a disgusted face and Bill mocked her.

“Speaking of, let’s get your teeth brushed. Come on.” You let go of Bill and went to guide Sydney to her bathroom. You flashed Bill a smile as you left, placing a hand on the seven year old’s back.

Sydney Lomis was put into the foster care system at the age of four. Her parents dealt substances from Maruianja to Crystal and probably beyond to the surrounding communities. Neglecting their only daughter up to their deaths, what all that Sydney had truly been through was unknown for the most part. She went to therapy at least once a week and for the most part her life was truly starting to begin. She’s lived with you and Bill for two years and slowly but surely you were on track to adopt Sydney.

Walking into the bathroom you gesture for her to get on the stool in front of the sink. You recently had moved her into her own bathroom due to her positive reaction to sleeping in her own room. You grabbed her toothbrush as she turned on the water.

“I hate this.” She mumbled as you wet the bristles and put the bubblegum flavored toothpaste on the brush.

“I know. I hated brushing my teeth at your age too. Open wide.” You started to brush her teeth and hummed as you did so, moving your body slightly to dance to the song. Trying to make the experience somewhat enjoyable. Sydney joined in shortly, “Alrighty, spit.” You grabbed a towel as she did so and wiped her face after she was done. “You hungry?” You asked her as your hands found your hips. She nodded and you smiled, “Thought so, let’s go make some breakfast.”

As you both walked out of the bathroom and headed towards the kitchen Sydney started to go on a tangent about all the things she planned to do today and how she was so excited to finally see a real life tiger. Meanwhile you were only half listening to her while you focused on a tag sticking out from her shirt.

As she climbed into her seat she continued describing every little detail she knew about tigers. Their life span, on average how many strips they had, the fact that they were good swimmers. You grabbed the scissors, “You’ve got a runaway tag sweetheart, is it bothering you?”

“No.” Sydney said as she reached for the back of her neck where her shirt rested.

“Are you sure?” She was lying and you knew it.

“Yes.” You tried to bite back a sigh as you placed the scissors back in the drawer. You walked over to her and tucked the tag back into her shirt.

“Alright, sweetheart.” You kissed the top of her head, “If it bugs you be sure to let the teacher know, okay?” You started to take her hair out of the braid you put in the night before as you scanned the room for a brush. You had what felt like a million of them hidden throughout the house, you just had to find it.

“Okay, but tigers can roar so loud that they can be heard from a mile away…” She continued and as you smiled slightly, finding a brush on the breakfast bar. As you ran the brush through her hair you tried to focus on what she was saying and not the randomly highlighted parts of your nightmare. Like the sight of her lifeless, cold, unforgiving body in your arms while you pleaded for them to fix it and take you instead.

“Is that okay, (Y/N)?” Sydney said pulling you back as you stopped brushing her hair.

“Mhm?” You moaned.

“If I name a tiger after you?” Your heart nearly shattered into a million pieces as she said it.

“Me?” You asked as you turned to look her in the eyes.

“Yeah.” She looked a little embarrassed, but you just wrapped your arms around her.

“I would be honored if you named a tiger after me.” Sydney didn’t call you mom even though you told her it would be okay. You figured she would come around when she was comfortable and that’s all you wanted, for her to be comfortable. “Toaster strudel for breakfast? Strawberry or blueberry?” You said as you let go of her headed for the fridge.

“Strawberry.” She said in a defiant tone.

“Good choice.” You smiled as you went to get her breakfast ready.

“What’d I miss?” Bill said, walking into the kitchen, ready for work. Truth be told he didn’t need a job, neither of you did. You were able to retire more than comfortably at your young age. But, you guess it was best to have busy hands and extra cash.

“Strawberry toaster strudels for breakfast.”

“Works for me. I’m going to drop you off at school today, Sid.” He said as he ruffled her just brushed head of hair. “Maybe we’ll take the scenic route, get there late, huh?”

“He’s kidding.” You said as you carefully pulled the pastries from the toaster oven.

“Am I?” He said as he stuck his tongue out.

“You are.” You said setting the plates down and putting icing on Sydney’s while you threw his packet to him.

They ate while you watched with a slight smile. Feeling warm as you basked in their presence.

“Alright, Sid. Are you ready?” Bill asked as he got up from the chair. She didn’t even nod, just got up and grabbed her back pack. “Alright then.” He mumbled as you turned to grab her lunch out of the fridge.

“Make sure she doesn’t forget this and slip her a couple twenties for the gift shop, okay.” You told Bill and handed him the pail.

“Of course.” He came to meet you on the other side of the breakfast bar. His arms wrapped around your waist as he went to kiss your temple, “Call Ingrid, relax, and I’ll be home before you know it.” You nodded before you pecked a little kiss on his lips.

“Let’s go.” Sydney’s voice cut its way between the two of you and you chuckled slightly.

“Jesus, kid, I’m coming. Am I not allowed to kiss my own wife goodbye?” Sydney didn’t listen though as you heard the door open. “She doesn’t care.”

“Why would she?” You kissed his cheek as you ushered him to go after her. “I’ll be okay.”

“I know you will.” He let go of you and went after Sydney. “Wait up, kid! What did we tell you about running off without one of us?” He was still worried and he thought about calling out of work for the day, but knew if he did you’d just continue to dance around the subject.

You let out a deep breath as you headed to the door to lock it and continue with the day.

For the most part you did relax after cleaning up the kitchen. You took a long bath, did some laundry, and read a couple chapters in some random book you found. But you hadn’t picked up the phone, in fact you tried your best to not even look at it.

You usually wouldn’t hesitate to call Ingrid. You two worked close together at the DSO and had become the best of friends. Often you would meet up with her once every couple of months, but talked to her on the phone regularly. She kept you up to date on the DSO drama and you told her the petty bickering you got into at the farmers market.

But you knew it was different. You had this gut feeling that when you called she wouldn’t answer and if you were lucky she would call you back in three weeks time. Any later and you knew what that meant. You feared what it meant. So with a deep breath you picked up the phone and called her. The phone rang as you tried to keep yourself from panicking. It’s alright, you had to remind yourself. Nightmares have no precedence in the real world. You just needed to breathe.

“Hey, (Y/N)! I was just thinking about you.” Her voice seemed cheerful enough, but you knew something was off. Was it a real danger? Probably not, it sounded more like awkward timing.

“Hunnigan, you got a minute?” You asked before fidgeting with your nails.

“No, I’ll-.” She hesitated, unsure if the news she was about to share was even worth your time.

“Hunnigan.” Your tone was firm as that feeling in your gut grew. “What’s going on? Are you ok-?”

“Have you seen Leon?” She just asked you flat out. You blinked in confusion. Leon? Leon Scott Kennedy? The agent that broke your heart? The agent you gave everything up for?

“No.” Hunnigan knew that and truthfully her relationship with Leon hasn’t been the same since. But her agent was MIA and she was running out of places to look. “He died last night.” You said and then quickly followed up on, “In my nightmare. Haven’t actually seen him since my retirement party almost four years ago.”

“He’s been MIA for nearly three days. This isn’t like him and I think-.” She stopped, “I don’t know what I think.”

“I think he’s a damn idiot.”

“So you think he’s okay?”

“He’s Leon fucking Kennedy, if you haven’t found his body he’s alive. That’s what matters.” Your heart rate grew as every single feeling you had felt today turned into rage.

“Calm down, it was a real bad night, huh?”

“You have no idea. We can talk about it later, just forget it for now.”

“Noted.” She said and as silence filled the void between the two she really started to feel for you.

“Ingrid, as soon as you find Leon let me know.”

“Noted. Be careful.” She said before she hung up. You let out a deep sigh as the anxiety took hold of your main focus was protecting the people in this house. You were retired, but that didn’t mean safe.

If Leon was missing it was bad news no matter how you flipped the coin. Leon’s smart and if he had an inkling that something was rotten there he tried to fix it, if it was too rotten? Leon would simply run and try to beat them at their own game. No corporation is ever truly innocent. If it had nothing to do with the DSO then he was in deep shit and was either running or dead. And Leon Kennedy never just fucking dies.

You made your way down into the basement and to the gun safe. In all honesty you were not pro-gun, but being an ex agent, you have a couple for your protection. Your husband’s protection, your daughter’s protection. That being said, you didn’t have an arsenal, just a shotgun and a standard pistol. Nothing fancy.

You grabbed the pistol and headed back up to the living room. You locked the basement door behind you and as you went for the phone to call Bill you noticed the window by the couch opened enough for a body to fit through. You were quick to the window and locked it. You weren’t in the basement long enough for more than one person to get in. You held the gun outwards, ready to shoot.

Carefully you walked forwards, examining as much as the room as quickly as possible. No sign of boot marks imprinted into the carpet or a hint of mud, blood, or the rest on any of the surfaces in your home. Slowly and carefully you pressed onward into the direction you assumed this intruder walked in. Trust your gut, you should’ve trusted your gut. You scold yourself as your palms grew sweaty and your breathing got harder to control. They could be in danger. They could be dead? It was never a nightmare. Your mind started to swim in circles as you started to lose your caution.

So lost in the downward spiral of depression you didn’t notice a hand quickly and harshly grab the same hand that you held the gun in, causing the gun to go flying out of your hand and down the hall. It brought you back and it brought you back fast as you went to swing your other arm in the direction of what you calculated to be your intruder's face. Quickly though he caught your hand as you saw your intruder's face as you tried to yank your other hand free.

“Leon?” You nearly shouted at him in utter anger. The confrontation turned as his grip on you tightened.

He couldn’t help but to smile when he saw you, “You’ve grown soft.” He teased before you yanked your arms out of his grip.

“What are you doing here? Are you insane?” You on the other hand didn’t meet Leon’s joy. You were furious, “Hunnagain is looking for you! Do you have any idea how worried she is? How worried she made me! Then you show up here, my house! My family’s house! What is wrong with you?”

“Look, I know.” Leon started as he raised his hands. Leon felt incredibly bad and he knew you didn’t want a thing to do with him after what he did. He wanted you happy, you deserved happiness. “I’m-.”

“No! I don’t think you do! You have just put-.”

“I didn’t know where else to go.” He cut you off and you just stared at him blankly. Unsure of what to do or what to say. “I’m sorry. I understand what I’ve done and I understand that nothing will make up for it. Trust me if I could’ve stayed out of your life I would.” You shot an icy stare at him, that came out wrong. He took a deep breath, “(Y/N). Please.”

He begged you. As you closed your eyes and took in a frustrated deep breath. You cursed him before your eyes connected with that ocean that you have always drowned in.

“Alright, how can I help?” You gave in to him so easily.

“Just. Let me buy some time.”

“How long?”

“As long as you’ll let me.” Which meant anywhere from four to twenty-four hours.

“Swear to me that if this goes south you save Sydney and you never look back.”

“I swear to you.” Leon said, giving you his word. It was bittersweet seeing you like this, ready to throw it all on the line for your family. To see how far you have come, something he wanted, something he could have had.

“You better.” You nodded, after everything you still trusted Leon. You always would. “Where are you hurt?” You asked as you went to his side. Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, “We both know if you weren’t you would’ve easily had me in any position on the floor if you weren’t hurt.”

His face quickly heated as he slightly leaned against you and chuckled, “You’re still into that?”

Your eyes widened briefly as your face turned a deep red fast, “You better shut your mouth before I kick you back out on your ass.” You helped him into the kitchen and sat him in a chair and finally examined all of him.

He was just as handsome as ever even though he was obviously tired. There was a sizable gash near his abdomen that led up towards the back of his ribs. You cursed slightly under your breath as you grabbed a kitchen towel, “Jesus Christ, who did this to you?” Your eyes left the wound and met his. Leon couldn’t help his heart skipping a beat or the way you still looked at him with the utmost love. It didn’t last long though as your eyes left him to focus on his holster.

“I’m not sure.” He admitted holding his arms up so you could undo it, “Yet. I have an idea.” Giving you something to chew on, but not anywhere near an answer. After setting the holster carefully on the counter you went for the hem of his shirt. Carefully you started pulling the shirt up and off and then disregarding it in the sink.

“Stay put.” You warned as you went back towards your room to retrieve the first aid kit you had.

“No problem.” Leon mumbled as he started to relax for the first time in days. He let out a soft grunt as he rolled his head back, shutting his eyes momentarily. Sleep sounded more than fantastic and if allowed himself to be would’ve started drifting off right there, but he knew better. As he opened his eyes he started examining your house. A simple little house that wasn’t too flashy, but with your sense of decor it really shined. It was warm, homey, and inviting.

Changing directions he focused on the kitchen. A kid's drawing of a tiger held to the refrigerator with three alphabet magnets. A Viva Las Vegas magnet made to look like it was shining held up a picture of a stick figure family with their respective names above each one. The small green one with the Sydney written above it in a matching colored crayon with a backwards ‘S’. Leon knew of Sydney, in fact he knew a awful lot about her. Just because he wasn’t in your life anymore didn’t mean a thing. He put together pieces whenever Ingrid talked about you and he has done his fair share of snooping through the years.

An actual photograph caught his eye next; a photo of you, Ingrid, and Bill in front of the eiffel tower. You hold the camera unaware of how Bill’s gaze was locked on you in admiration or how you had no idea he was going to ask you to marry him right after the photo. Leon’s jaw tightened as he turned his attention back to the living room.

“Okay, so by the looks of it the wound doesn’t look deep enough to need any stitches, but infection is an immediate threat.” Your voice breaks the tension that Leon had created for himself. “So, that means with some cream and bandages this should practically be painless.” You got on your knees in front of him putting the first aid kit on the ground. You began treating it carefully, “Although I am no doctor, so please try and protect the area as much as possible.”

Leon scoffed before looking down at you. Your body is slightly stiff as your movements remain slow and gentle. His gaze softened as he watched you pick up the alcohol and a washcloth. Carefully you held the washcloth under his wound before meeting his gaze, telling him exactly what was next. Leon just nodded and you pushed forward slowly pouring the liquid onto the wound. He snarled lightly and shut his eyes momentarily; alcohol on an open wound, a sting he would never get used too.

“You’re okay.” You say with a little smile, teasing him slightly. He rolls his eyes and the room falls into silence.

He wanted to know what you were thinking. He wanted to know what you were feeling. He wanted to know what your next move was. He wanted to know if you felt little sparks run up your spine whenever you just barely touched him. Did your stomach flip when he looked at you? Did you still hate him?

“So, is it rotten?” You asked not to look at him and continued to take care of him.

“It is looking that way.”

You sighed before reaching his gaze, “Right. Do you have a plan?” You begin to bandage him up as he adjusts himself to let you work.

“It’s in the works.” It was rough to admit, but it was better than saying nothing. You tsk as you finish and stand up taking the first aid kit with you. “Right now I just have to lay low until I can meet Chris and get it settled.”

“What about Ingrid?” Worry laced in each word.

“Huningan is fine and will be kept safe.” He assured you. You just nod before fishing his shirt out of the sink and pitching it.

You head back to your room, “Feel free to move to the couch, I’m going to go get you a shirt before someone gets the wrong idea.”

He chuckles before standing and pushing in the chair. As he takes a seat on the couch he notices a framed picture of you and Bill at the altar. His arms wrapped around your waist holding you closely to him and your arms wrapped around his neck as you planted a kiss on his cheek. Leon was there that day, you didn’t know it. He snuck his way in and watched the ceremony. Listened to your vows. He even got absolutely hammered at the reception.

You walked back into the room with a clean shirt; along with a pillow and blanket under your arm, “You can stay here for the night. When Bill gets home I’ll whip something up quickly for dinner and we will take Sydney-.”

“Do you love him?” He cut you off as his eyes locked with yours. The question took you aback. Leon’s gaze became uncomfortable with each passing millisecond.

“I do.” You answer, “I do very much.” You answer him. Leon’s face fell even more, it was stupid to hope for anything different; but he selfishly did.

“He doesn’t treat you badly, does he?” He doesn’t, Leon knows. If Leon knew that Bill wasn’t any good he would’ve gotten rid of him long ago.

“He doesn’t, never has.” You started to get angry with Leon as it came out short, “Here.” You handed him the shirt and went to put the blanket and pillow on the couch.

“I’m sorry.” He apologized quickly and softly, “I just have to make sure you’re happy.”

“My happiness is none of your concern.” There it was, his damn question was answered. You still hated him. “As I was saying, Bill and I will take Sydney to our cabin. I’ll leave them there and meet you wherever is next.”

“What? No.” He took a step closer to you, “You are not meeting me anywhere. You’re retired.” His tone was firm, he had already put you in enough danger by just being here.

“You will not tell me what I will do. You need as many hands as possible.”

“Not yours.” He stated through gritted teeth, “You have a daughter to protect.”

“And I am protecting her!” You screamed at him. You couldn’t believe the audacity he had to bring up Sydney, “I am getting her out of dodge! I am getting my husband out of here! If the DSO is fucked it’s only a matter of time the world is! I will be damned if my daughter doesn’t get to know a normal world, so I am going to help you fix this and then she is going to live the best damn life I can give her!”

“You can’t give her that if you’re not here!”

You scoffed, “You can not yell at me about this!” He had no right to get you tied up in this in the first place.

“I can and I will! You are staying-!” He was cut off as the front door started to creek open. Leon was quick to grab your once disregarded handgun from the floor where you dropped it. He was quick on his feet as his frame blocked yours from the doorway. “Do. Not. Move.” He instructed you quietly.

“I just don’t understand why the obvious choice-.” You heard Bill’s voice.

“Stand down.” You put a hand gently on Leon’s back. “Please. I don’t want her to see this. This is her home.” You pleaded as your other hand met his elbow. Your touch was so warm and you were so close, how could you still handle him like this? He lowered the gun as his gaze met yours. His gaze made your knees weak, after everything you were still such a sucker, “Thank you.” He studied your face, you had aged but still were just as beautiful as the day he first laid his eyes on you.

“What’s going on?” Bill asked, cutting through what felt like hours of eye contact. His hand covered Sydney’s eyes as you pulled yourself away from Leon’s side and over to your husband and daughter. Leon set the gun down on the coffee table before going to put on the shirt you got him.

“Relax.” Leon said as he saw you pick up Sydney and lean against Bill, “Nothing is going on.”

“We gotta move though. A trip to the cabin?” Your eyes met Bill’s telling him the next course of action. “Just a fun little vacation.” You said looking at Sydney, “How’s that sound, hun?”

“I have school.” Sydney went to defend cautiously, glancing at Leon. He sent her a small smile with a tiny wave.

“I know, sweetheart. Something has popped up and I have to help that knucklehead over there.”

“Knucklehead?” Sydney laughed, “He’s a knucklehead?”

“The biggest.” Leon smiled warmly, “Although I prefer to go by my name. My name’s Leon.” Leon moved over cautiously as he held out his hand to shake hers, “What’s yours?”

“Sydney.” She said, taking his hand cautiously, “Bill calls me Sid and (Y/N) calls me sweetheart.”

“Sydney? What a great name, well it’s my pleasure to meet you, Sydney.” He said gently as he shook her hand.

“Let’s go get you packed real quick? You can tell me all about the zoo as well.”

“Oh!” Sydney remarked remembering what she wanted to tell you as she let go of Leon’s big hand, “I named a tiger after you, I did!”

“You did? Tell me all about it.” You nodded slightly at Leon as you left for Sydney’s room. Leon watched you walk away and for a minute daydreamed that he was standing in Bill’s place and not his own.

“She was supposed to call Ingrid.” Bill’s voice cut through it though, “What are you doing here?”

Leon defended himself, “I had nowhere else to turn. It was a last resort.”

“Right.” Bill scoffed, “Whatever brings you here, I want you out.”

“Why’d she have to call Ingrid for? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine.” Bill said through gritted teeth.

“You have given me reason to believe otherwise.” Leon started, glaring at Bill, “Look, I’m going to be hitting the road soon anyway. (Y/N)’s plan is to take you and Sydney up to your cabin up north and leave you and Sydney there and meet me-.”

“Not happening.” Bill cut him off returning the daggers that Leon had sent him.

“She’s not meeting me anywhere and I’m leaving it up to you to make sure she doesn’t. Keep her there, keep her safe. I’ll be there to retrieve you all when this is dead and buried.” Leon said as he went to grab his holster.

“She didn’t just give you the location of the cabin and I’m not either.” Bill furrowed his brows as he crossed his arms.

Leon couldn’t help but to chuckle, “No need. I’m a DSO agent, if there is something I want to know I will find it.” As he fastened the straps he added, “Same goes for if I want to hide something. I hide it.”

“How long have you been watching?” Bill knew exactly what Leon was on to and it infuriated him to no end. Bill loved you and knew that he wouldn’t be able to piece himself back together if you left with Leon. Leon was his greatest fear.

“Long enough.” Since the beginning of the end. Leon watched you break at the altar that he couldn’t walk down. Leon watched you retire from the DSO shortly after. Leon watched you begin a normal life. Leon watched you date crummy person after crummy person until you met Bill. He watched it all. “After this I’ll make sure that adoption paperwork gets pushed through.”

“Okay, I think you’re all set.” You said walking into the kitchen and setting Sydney’s bags on the breakfast bar, Sydney right on your tail.

“There was a baby tiger too, I named her after me. Even though she had an official name, I didn’t like it.” She rambled as you picked her up and sat her in a chair.

“Stop for a minute, okay? I need to tell you something very important. Can you listen to me very carefully for a minute?” Sydney nodded and you smiled warmly, “Good.” You pointed to Leon, “See even though you just met Leon, I have known him for a very very long time.”

“How long?”

“Way before you were even born.”

“Before me?”

You nodded, “So I can say that I trust Leon very much. So much so that I trust him with you.” You continue to break his heart and break Bill’s along with it.

“I just met him, though. He’s like a stranger. You said stranger danger.”

“That is true, but this time is very different.”

“Why?” She questioned and your heart shattered. Peering into her big innocent eyes as you had to figure out how to re-teach every lesson you had taught her.

“Because something has happened and there is nothing I, or Bill, or Leon could’ve stopped. So right now we have to do our best to trust.” You tried not to cry as you felt so much love for this little girl that it hurt to try and explain how rotten things could get. “So Bill and I are going to take you on a little vacation and we are going to try our best to wait all of it out. But if something happens to me, or Bill, I want you to go to Leon and never look back. He will take care of you.” Your eyes left Sydney’s and found Leon’s, “He swore to me that he would take care of you.” Sydney turned in her chair and looked at Leon, “Right, Leon?”

“Right.” You sniffed and looked back to Sydney.

“See?”

“But, why would I have to-?”

“I don’t know. Things just happen sometimes, sweetheart.” Bill’s brows furrowed as he shut his eyes. He didn’t need to hear this. Sydney didn’t need to hear this. So he left the kitchen. Your eyes followed him as you stood and just as you went to call after him Sydney spoke.

“Mom?” She asked, fear evident in her voice. “Where is dad going?” Your heart broke as you stifled a sob and looked back at her.

“To pack. We’ve gotta get moving soon, honey.” You managed to get out while biting back a sob. Leon’s blood boiled as he approached you and Sydney.

“Go get packed, I’ll watch her.” Leon said and you nodded.

“I’ll be back sweetheart. Just sit tight with Leon. Get to know him a little more so you can trust him like I do, okay?” Sydney grabbed the hem of your shirt, “I will be right back, I promise.” You kissed her forehead as she let go of you and you headed for the bedroom after Bill.

“So tigers, huh?” Leon asked, trying to lighten the mood, “Don’t they have like a million stripes?”

“They only have a hundred, which is still a big number.” Sydney corrected him as her attention shifted from the empty hallway and to Leon.

“Really? I’m intrigued, tell me more.” Leon smiled as he leaned against the breakfast bar.

“What is wrong with you? Running off like that?” You try not to yell as you shut the door behind you.

“Wrong with me? You have got to be joking?” Bill was appalled by the fact that now you wanted to fight with him.

“Yes, what is wrong with you? You could’ve said something; helped me explain, or at least backed me up, that’s what parenthood is!”

“Explain to a seven year old that her mother is running off with her ex-lover to save the world and probably die in the process! Her second mother with a bullet in between her eyes! Is that what you wanted me to tell her while you told her that you trusted a man who hasn’t been in your life since he left you at the altar! Are you fucking nuts?” Bill boiled over the edge and you just threw your arms in the air and went rummaging through drawers.

“We are not arguing right now! We most certainly aren’t arguing over this!” You threw various articles of clothing onto the bed in a fit of rage as you continued to bite back tears.

“Why not? Does the topic of him make you uncomfortable? Make you freeze up? Because it makes me! You left this life behind and he saunters in here and all of sudden this responsibility is thrust upon you- and regardless of everything that you have- you are going to go running to take care of it!”

You slammed the drawer shut and faced Bill, “He had nowhere else to go! I wasn’t going to turn him away!” You finally gave as tears streamed down your face.

“Wasn’t or couldn’t?” Was all Bill asked as he looked you dead in the eyes. The eyes he peered into this morning with so much love that he was convinced that nothing would ever separate the two of you. With doubt he carefully pressed forward, “Do you still love him?”

“I love you!” You yelled at him.

“That’s not what I asked and you know it.” You scoffed as you walked past him and into the closet to grab a suitcase.

“Well that’s your answer.” You said cruelly as you made your way back into your room and through the suitcase on the bed. Bill’s heart shattered as he finally let himself begin to cry. Anger coursed through his blood stream as he hit the side of the door before going into the closet and grabbing some clothes off of the hangers.

After unzipping the suitcase and throwing clothes into it you went and reached under the bed for the small safe you had with all of your medical records, social security cards, fake IDs, and a small handgun. Taking out the gun you put it in the waistband of your pants and put the documents into the suitcase.

Bill came back into your room and put a collection of yours and his clothes into the suitcase.

“You’re staying with us in the cabin. We already decided.” Bill got out behind tightly closed lips.

“No, I have to help him finish-.”

“No, you have to keep your daughter safe. He knows where the cabin is, and said he’d find us when it was all done.”

“I don’t care what he says-.”

“Do you care what I say?” He cut you off and stared you down with a fire of a thousand suns. This rage you haven’t ever seen in Bill and it caused you to freeze.

“Yes.” You admitted softly as you stepped back from the situation and your hand found his.

He softened and sniffed, “Then stay. Please. Stay with me.” Tears fell down his face as your other hand cupped his face.

“Okay. Okay. I’ll stay.” His hand found yours as he gripped it tightly and kissed your palm.

“Promise?” He asked, he begged.

“Promise.” You brought your lips to his and kissed him gently. As his arms wrapped around you and deepened the kiss he couldn’t bring himself to call your bluff. He just wanted to savor you against him for as long as he could. You pulled away from him, “We have to go.”

“I know.” He said and you zipped up the suitcase. You both dried your eyes and you sniffed. He picked up the suitcase and you both left the bedroom and met Sydney and Leon in the kitchen. Sydney was laughing as you gazed over to Leon with a sad little smile.

“Looks like you’re ready to go.” Leon started, returning your sad smile.

“Are you ready, Sid?” Bill asked as he took her hand.

“Yep! I’m ready.” Sydney said, getting down from the chair still holding Bill’s hand.

“Leon, you take Bill’s car and we will take mine.” You instructed as you grabbed the keys that hung by the door. “Don’t worry, it’s fully covered so when you wreck it don’t feel too bad.” You joked, handing the keys to Leon.

“Thanks.” He chuckled, “For everything.” You nodded.

“You’re welcome.” Bill said glaring at Leon while he led Sydney out of the house and to the car.

You sighed, “You’re welcome.” You both stared at each other in silence. Sharing something that shouldn't be. Regret? Anger? Love?

“Motherhood looks good on you.” He said, unsure of what to say, just knowing he still wanted to talk to you.

“I think so too.” Guilt shooting up your spine as soon as you recognized it that you wished that you would have grown into it with him. “Leon,-.” You started and then stopped. “Please be careful. I don’t want to live my life knowing that you aren’t out there.”

Leon took in a sad breath, before plastering on a smile, “I’ll notify you as soon as this is done.” You returned his smile and headed towards the door and to the car. Your family was waiting on you and time was starting to tick.

As Leon heard the car start and back out of the driveway he waited until he could no longer hear the subtle rumbling of the engine to confess, “I still love you.”

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phanta-friends · 1 year

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ID: A digital drawing of Harry Du Bois facing away from the viewer and holding a leash tied to a bin. Above the drawing is the text "new pet :)" End ID

#disco elysium #it is late #haunted art #thankyou databf for the id :D

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x-reader-things · 2 years

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“Something about art.”

The Ghost Crew x Reader [platonic]

Summary ; In which ranting about your favorite art pieces that you’ve seen in your travels before joining the rebellion brings you closer to the Ghost crew.

Requested? ; No - just self indulgent stuff, lmao-

Warnings ; The characters might be slightly out of character, since this is one the first times I wrote for them. Other than that, nothing else besides found family things because yes and because why not.

Word Count ; 764 words.

——————————————————————

“…. Oh and this one! This was was amazing, seeing it in person - I saw this piece when I visited Naboo with my family a long while back”, You said, as a holographic picture was shown to them through Chopper, who (was kind of forced to but he owed you a favor) had generously agreed to help you show them the pictures you were raving about after a mission.

You had the pictures stored on an old hard drive you kept safe for a while, just in case you wanted to look at them later on. What had spurred this conversation on was a visit from a certain swindler who was an ‘impressionistic connoisseur’ - most commonly known as Lando Calrissian.

After the mission was done - just after you and the Ghost crew dropped the smuggler and his puffer pig off at his mining site - you and Sabine sat in front of the holochess table, jokingly lamenting over the fact that Lando Calrissian wasn’t really going to buy one of her art pieces. What had started off as a joking conversation turned into how you two got into art in the first place. That got the attention of Ezra, which in turn got the attention of Zeb.

Well, Zeb only decided to pay attention when your voice got louder and ‘more obnoxious’, in his words. However he still decided to sit back and listen to you ramble on about the amazing things you’ve seen from all over the galaxy.

Kanan had joined in the conversation after hearing you noisily clamor around yours and Sabine’s shared cabin in search for the old hard drive. The noise drove him out of a well deserved rest, but he couldn’t blame you too much after seeing the excited state you were in. Excitement like that was a rare find nowadays, especially with the Empire all over your backs.

So now, it was Hera’s turn to join in.

After running some diagnostics on the Ghost to check for any damage the Puffer Pig incident caused, she went into the lounge to finally see what the fuss was about.

“This is from Naboo?”, Sabine asked incredulously, admiring the artwork on the hologram.

“Yeah! Art is a BIG part of their culture over there”, you began, both Ezra and Sabine looking back at you to listen intently on what you were going to say. “It’s said that a lot of well known artists and musicians and architects come from there - its close to the Outer Rim, too…” After a moment of thought, you scoffed to yourself. “Maybe if the Empire wasn’t on our tail for a day we could try to go there.”

Ezra chuckled bitterly. “Like that’d ever happen.”

“Ah, well, a person can hope.” You said with a wistful sigh. Chopper changed the picture to another one, grumbling something about hoping too much in droid language. You ignored what he said with a roll of your eyes, looking at the new picture.

With a small gasp at what you saw, you began to enthusiastically ramble on and on about the artwork again, the atmosphere around you all quickly turning back to the wondrous nature it had before.

Hera stood next to Kanan as this all played out in front of her, a fond smile on her face. Turning to him, she asked the Jedi quietly, “So, what do you think spurred this on?”

“Oh I dunno”, Kanan answered with a shrug, a playful tone in his voice. “Something about art, I think.”

“Haha - very funny”, Hera quipped back, looking back at you four in the lounge.

You were now all sat in front of Chopper, looking at the images before you four. And for once, Hera didn’t see a shred of war in your eyes. Just a kind of awe that you would see in someone talking in extensive and in depth detail about their interests. A kind of child-like wonder and light that spread to others as well.

Seeing the other three Spectres besides you listening quietly to your talking, and look at the art on the hologram with the same amount of engagement you had, was definitely a sight to behold for her.

Especially since Chopper, Ezra and Zeb weren’t at each others throats either. It’s strange how all it took was pictures to keep them at peace for now; with the occasional jabs at each other, but still. They stopped the moment the rambling took over again, and when the pictures changed once more.

“… We’ll, it’s something about art, alright.”

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aerkame · 5 months

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Just because of this alone, I am going to assume that Machine Spirits are either souls or literal spirits inhabiting a gun. I do not really agree with the idea that Machine Spirits are AI because AI does not have a soul, biological body, or real sentience(as in the living kind) and I doubt an AI could be corrupted like that if there is no body or mind to corrupt in the first place, also it just doesn't make sense in my opinion, they have the tech, but I doubt the kind for AI guns.

Context for non-Warhammer40k fans: These big space marine dudes often fight demons (spelled deamons in-universe) with these really cool guns that shoot exploding bullets. That is not all, these guns are also said to be sentient or implied to be because of the Machine Spirits in said guns. Or at least it is implied as well that there are souls in these guns and the space Marines will pray to their gun before missions.

#Warhammer 40k #just a rant #it is late #wh40000 #space marines

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pullakori · 10 months

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Febuwhump 2023

Day 8. Panic

TW: Violence, non-con

Charles was sitting in the bridge of The Blackbird, a spaceship meant for scientific research of planets and moons of the Star Union's outer areas. They had been doing fieldwork on several moons for five months and were now on the return journy back home.

He was keeping Raven company as she was on pilot duty. There was not much to do, as the ship's computer did most of the driving at this point of the journey, but in case something happened, someone had to be on the look out at all times. As a precaution.

The banteringly conversation kept them both entertained. They had met when they were small children and had been tightly knit ever since. Raven was a Mystique, a shapeshifter with beautiful dark blue scaly skin and yellow eyes and Charles was a human, but they saw each other as siblings.

Raven was just complaining how her parents were still not understanding, that she could not smuggle a plant or a jar of sand for them as a souvenir for them, when Charles' personal radio buzzed to life.

"Found the problem in the communications room 3. I need some extra tools to fix it though, can you bring me a yellow toolkit?" It was Erik's voice.

Two weeks of travel accross vast space had gone farely well, but today the ship's inner radio had stopped working. Erik was looking into it.

"Of course he is asking you." Raven rolled her eyes and Charles smirked, before answering to Erik through his radio.

"On my way." He said and stood up.

"At least put your radio somewhere where you won't broadcast your moaning to everyone." Raven warned him and Charles laughed despite slight feeling of embarrasment colouring his face. That had been an unfortunate accident. Even if their crew was relatively small for such a big ship, consisting of only 9 people. But the journey was long and there was a lot of time to kill. He and Erik just had found a very pleasurable way to do it.

"I'll make sure that your ears are safe." Charles assured Raven as he took the right toolkit and left the room.

"Slut!" Raven shouted after him and Charles just smiled and shouted right back before the door slid shut behind him

"And proud!"

Charles arrived at the door of the communications room three with haste. Just because it was important that they got the ships inner radio system working again. No ulterior motives whatsoever.

The door slid open and Charles was slightly taken aback by the low light of the room, it was almost completely dark, but his confusion was quickly replaced by amusement. It seemed that Erik had known how to set the mood.

He stepped inside and locked the door, just to be sure, before leaving his radio on the nearby table.

"So," He began as he turned to look at Erik, who was working with the wires inside the wall, lighting his work with a flashlight. "-did you actially need the extra tools or can we just skip to the good part?" He walked closer to the other man, who chuckled.

"Believe it or not, I did actually need the tools, even though the problem itself is quite easy to fix." He said before he leaned away from his work and smirked at Charles. "But the others don't need to know that."

Charles mirrored his expression, setting the toolkit down on the floor.

"Well, in that case, better not fix it before we are done." Charles teased, stepping right next to Erik, running his fingers along his arm. "We can just say that the repairs took a bit longer." Not that any of them would believe it.

Erik turned fully towards Charles, looking him quickly up and down before pushing him to the wall and smashing their lips together. Charles was surprised by the sudden roughness, but melted into the kiss soon enough. It seemed that Erik was in particular mood and Charles would most likely not be able to walk properly later, but it was certainly be because of a good time.

He wrapped his arms around Erik's neck and let Erik take the lead. Erik's hands felt warm even through his shirt and jacket as they ran up and down Charles' body. He should have left at least the jacket at the door too. Erik seemed to think the same, because suddenly he leaned away and gripped the fabrig of the said garment and pulled it open, sending buttons scattering all over the floor. Any small feeling of annoyance about the broken jacket was promptly buried under a surge of lust.

"Whoa! Easy there- Ah!" Charles tried to slow things down a notch, but Erik leaned back down and sucked on the skin of his neck.

Alright, it was clear, Charles was here just for the ride. So he bared his neck, giving Erik more room. He grinded against Erik's thingh that had slotted between his legs and let his head rest against the wall as Erik's mouth worked its way lower. He's going to devour me, Charles thought.

He was about to close his eyes, when something caught his eye in the dark upper corner of the room.

"What's that?" He muttered aloud, but Erik didn't seem to hear him, biting Charles' shoulder quite hard. That and the uneasy feeling about whatever was lurking in the darkness made Charles push Erik away. "Stop. Erik stop!" It took few tries but finally the other man stepped back.

"What?" His tone was harsh, displeased and it made Charles falter. Erik had never been impatient or selfish when they were intimate. Something weird was clearly going on with him today.

But first, the dark.

"There is something in that corner." Charles told Erik, pointing at the right direction. The other man glanced there and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, they are called pipes, Charles" He mocked, and tried to take hold of Charles' arm again, but the smaller man side stepped him, his own frustration intensifying.

"It is not a pipe!" He pushed, because clearly it wasn't and Erik had to have gone blind with lust if he couldn't see it.

To prove his point, Charles grapped Erik's flashlight from the floor.

"Wait!" Erik ordered him, but Charles had already turned the light on and shined it to the back corner.

...

Raven was scrolling his holopad with little thoughts. Having Charles here had helped the time pass, but now it seemed to move with sluggish pace. And why had she been left alone? For dick! Apparently for a very good one but still! Raven groaned out from frustration. Those two were like rabbits, and while she was happy that Charles had found someone who truly cared for him, they could show the other's of the crew a little bit of decency. Not everyone wanted to know about their sex life, thank you very much!

She was pulled out of her thoughts when the door to the bridge opened. She turned to look who it was and was shocked to see Erik there.

"Well that was fast." She blurted out.

"It's not fixed yet, I still need to go check in the other communication rooms." Came Erik's gruff answer as he looked around the bridge, trying to find something. Raven in turn checked the time from her holopad.

"Did you shag Charles' brains out in less than ten minutes and left him broken in a closet somewhere?" She asked him, because if that was the case, it had to be a some kind of a record.

But surprisingly, Erik looked utterly confused.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You just radioed Charles to bring you a yellow toolkit." Raven told him, not understanding what was so hard to get here.

"No I didn't. I couldn't have, because I misplaced my radio." Erik explained and from his voice, Raven knew that he was telling the truth. But...

"Then who..?" She thought aloud, because the voice she had heard had sounded just like Erik.

This was bad. Raven shared a worried look with Erik, before the other turned and hurried towards the door.

"Where did he go?" He asked as he went and Raven didn't waste time.

"Communications room 3!" She told him just as he got out of the room and sprinted through the ships hallway. Raven reached for his own radio and hoped that this was just some kind of a misunderstanding. Or that they were not too late.

...

The room went completely still as Charles stared at what he could only discribe as a large grey cocoon. It was attached to the ceiling, wall and the pipes with some kind of gluelike substance. But the most terrifying thing about the whole picture was that the cocoon was open and empty.

The static of his radio broke the silence, Raven's voice filling the room.

"Charles, get back in here! Whoever called you there is not Erik!"

Charles turned his head slowly to look at, what he had until now assumed to be, his friend. There was no sign of him being anyone, or anything, but Erik, other than the cold, calculative eyes that stared at him, unblinking. The feeling of dread that had slowly been building up inside Charles suddenly grew tenfold. He had to get out, but the creature stood between him and the door.

In one second, Charles made his choice. He took his gun that was set on the stun mode, but it had to do. He pointed it towards the creature, ready to pull the trigger, but it was faster. It jumped on him, bringing him down on the floor and landing on top of him. The impact caused his grip on his gun and the flashlight to weaken and they flew out of his hands, out of his reach.

With no weapon, Charles tried to fight with his bare hands instead, adrenaline flowing through his body and only one thought in his mind. Get out! The creature was holding his right arm tightly, but he managed to punch it with his left, the impact causing its head to swing to the side. Charles didn't stop, shoving the creature and kicking it until its grip lessened enough for him to crawl towards the gun. The radio buzzed again.

"Charles?! Can you hear me?!"

The creature didn't stay down for long. It turned to look at Charles with eyes that were no longer Erik's, but completely black. Its skin was turning pale grey and when it let out an inhuman screech, its teeth were thin and sharp, reminding Charles of the deep sea fish of the Old Earth.

Charles scrambled towards the gun, but right when he was about to get to it the creature's weight was back on his lower body and its teeth sank deep into his side. Charles screamed, pain blinding him for a moment, but his hand still reaching for the gun. And with some kind of miracle, he managed to grap it.

His aim was poor, but he fired anyway, he had to get that thing off of him. He hit, but the monster didn't fall prone, only recoiled from the impact. Still, that was enough for Charles. He pushed himself up, groaning as the pain on his side flared. He pushed his hand against the wound, blood covering his shirt and his hand.

He stumbled towards the door, past the monster that was trying to stand up itself.

"Chhhaaarrrllssssss!" It screeched as it looked up at the running man. Charles shot again, not looking if he hit, making it to the door and trying to open it, only to remember that he had locked it. He struggled with the keypad, his hands shaking as he tried to push the right code to open the door. Come on, come on, please, oh please open! Pleaseopen! He could hear the monster closing in just as the door opened.

He pushed himself out and shut the door, locking it from the outside. He could just see how the monster tried to leap at him as it was stopped by the door, its body smashing against it, making it rattle. It kept punching the door as Charles backed away, holding the gun towards the door with his right hand and applying pressure to his side with his left one. The door shook from the monsters efforts to get out, until suddenly, it stopped, silence filling the hallway.

Charles hash breathing and his racing heart beat were the only things he could hear for a few seconds. Until there was a rattling sound over him. Inside the ceiling. In the vents...

Charles pushed himself to move, his side was protesting with every step but he couldn't stop, he had to keep moving! The sounds of the monster followed him, getting closer with every second. There was nowhere to run, no place to hide! There were shouting and the vents went quiet, but Charles didn't stop, he had to get away!

"Charles!" It was Erik's voice. No, it wasn't Erik. It was the creature. Charles froze and leaned against the wall. His legs were shaking and he felt light headed. He couldn't run anymore... With, what felt like his final decision, he changed his gun from stun to lethal mode. He didn't know if it would be enough to kill or even hurt the monster, but he would not go down without a fight!

There was another shout, calling his name and soon the creature rounded the corner, looking like Erik, its eyes full of panic, that seemed to lessen slightly when it saw him. It looked so damned convincing that Charles couldn't move.

"Charles! What happened?" It asked before it saw the wound on his side. "You're hurt!" It tried to step towards Charles, but the younger man lifted the gun and it froze, lifting its hands. "Charles?" Its voice sounded confused. It sounded just like Erik!

But it wasn't his Erik, was it? How could he know?!

Charles couldn't think. He was frozen in place, pointing the gun towards his friend. Or the creature.

"Charles," Erik spoke with quiet, steady voice. "-put the gun down."

"No!" Charles shook his head, gripping the gun harder. He would not be fooled again!

"It's okay." Erik looking creature hurried to reassure. Of course it would. It tried to fool Charles again!

"You're not him! I know you're not!" And yet he couldn't pull the trigger. This was wrong, this was all wrong!

"Charles, it is me, it's Erik." There was no way for Charles to know. The last Erik had acted and sounded like Erik too, but it hadn't been him. But he had to be certain before he could shoot.

"Prove it." Charles ordered, his voice as shaky as his breathig. Erik looked taken aback by his words.

"What?"

"Fucking prove it!" Charles screamed, tears filling his eyes. Bracing himself for taking the shot.

Erik looking creature seemed to hesitate and Charles almost pulled the trigger. But then Erik spoke up.

"The first time we met, I called you a spoiled little brat and you proceeded to buy me a drink." He told and Charles froze completely. Could it be? "The first time we kissed, I did it to shut you up." Charles remembered that, they had been playing chess and had been arguing about something. Erik had pushed the board off the table when he had pushed himself up and kissed Charles. He had blushed when Charles had teased him about it later. "You told me I wasn't alone after I heard my mother had died." Charles began to shake, again, his breathing becoming unsteady. But Erik kept talking. "I told you that I loved you for the first time in planet Aapa. You were covered in mud and were rambling on about the evolution of the giant dragonfly looking creatures and I finally understood how much you meant to me."

It was Erik. Charles let out a brath he hadn't realized he was holding. It was his Erik.

Charles slid down to the floor, his body heavy and his limbs weak. The wound on his side throbbed as did his head. He was so damn tired...

Erik was by his side in a blink of an eye, replacing Charles' hand with his own and adding more pressure to the wound. Charles cried out, but Erik hushed him, his voice incredibly gentle.

"It's okay Charles, you're safe now." He promised and Charles believed him, a sob escaping his mouth, tears falling down from his eyes. Erik touched his head with his other hand, moving it to rest against his shoulder. "You're safe now." He repeated and Charles let go, sobbing quietly against his friend's shoulder.

#it's already over midnight but i did it!#charles whump #febuwhump 2023 #cherik #space au #no powers au #charles xavier #please excuse any mistakes there still might be #it is late

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