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lilyevanstan1325 · 4 months

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✨ Astral Lovers ✨

Chapter 11

Philiph McTavish POV

GENEVA - Switzerland

I find myself looking at the monitors from the security room.

Standing, with my hands folded behind my back, I try to figure out how to get out of this situation.

I feel one step away from being able to find the solution to my problem but in the end something is always missing.

I need the Space Stone.

Hydra needs it.

I'm running out of time.

If so far I have been feared and respected, now from the upper floors they have let me know that my time is running out, 10 years is too long and their patience is now at the limit.

They need the Stone now.

I take off my glasses and with the flap of my smock I clean the lenses, I observe them against the light.

I mirror myself in their reflection and the image they return to me makes me angry.

Dark circles around my tired gray eyes.

I don't have time to rest.

I have to find a solution.

If I fail I will lose my prominent place, maybe I'll end up serving as a servant to the subjects we keep in this facility and that would be one of the best guesses after all.

For what is at stake, I would find myself paying for failure with my own life.

Hydra does not forgive.

"Oh Sophia with your death you took away the only secret I was ever interested in..."

I whisper to myself.

When I was given this assignment I did not believe it was that long term, an assignment that culminated in a marriage and a daughter.

Maybe there was a moment when I really loved that woman, with the birth of Elisabeth I almost believed I could be happy.

To be able to devote my life to my family but the importance of my mission ultimately took priority.

We are fighting for the greater good, Hydra needs to return to power.

Destroy the S.H.I.E.L.D. and any other stupid organization that dares to get in the way.

Like the Avengers.

I think back to Dr. Avery's words and sigh.

Finding something she loves to bend her to our will.

Everything that Elisabeth loved was her mother and she is gone.

The mental prison where we closed her is totally different from reality, created so that she would not struggle to return to us.

It took nearly a decade of cryogenesis.

The Project T.A.H.I.T.I. it took some time for it to work.

Agent Coulson worked on his guinea pigs and then on himself.

With the results we had on the same experience as him we decided to try.

So some of our infiltrators stole projects and data and we scientists loyal to Hydra have thought of everything else.

Putting new memories into Elisabeth's mind was definitely not a walk in the park but it worked in the end.

By obscuring her memory and inserting a new story for her life, a sad and monotonous story that kept her chained to the perennial sleep that we would soon impose on her.

As soon as everything was ready she was thawed and sedated and she was induced into a pharmacological coma.

We monitored it and in just over 3 months the situation precipitated.

The Stone is consuming her being and the only solution not to lose her would be to wake her up.

I sigh again but this time in frustration.

I turn to the only window in this room.

It's snowing outside, Geneva is really freezing in December.

Snowflakes swirl in the gray sky, the branches of the trees bend weighted down by the thick blanket of snow that fell tonight.

Suddenly a red light in the room turns on, flashing non-stop and a high-pitched alarm begins to sound throughout the building.

I run up to the monitors and what I see leaves me breathless.

I open the door and begin to run out of breath along the corridor, overwhelming everything and everyone who comes within range.

I am overtaken by dozens of armed men.

"Stop!Stop!"

I cry out of breath but they can't hear me in the midst of all that din.

"Don't shoot idiots!Do not shoot!"

I arrive in front of the door of her room and the scene in front is surreal.

There are about ten guards lying on the floor of the room, they seem to have lost consciousness.

As many guards have encircled the bed in the center of the room, I push forward badly pushing the gunmen.

"Stop!Do not shoot!"

At the foot of the bed is Dr. Avery, stained with blood as if he had hit something with his own face.

All the machinery in the room is scattered across the floor.

And then there is her.

Elisabeth.

She is standing next to the bed that she has hosted her for the past 3 months.

She has her arms outstretched, in a defensive position.

A small creature wrapped in a hospital gown too big for her, her black curls fall messily on her face.

God!

She is the same as her mother.

Her arms are crossed by what appear to be electric discharges, but they are blue.

The Stone is active, showing its power.

Her eyes are bewildered, confused.

Her chest rises and falls frantically.

She looks like a trapped animal.

Dr. Avery keeps telling her to calm down, that nobody wants to hurt her.

What a big lie.

As soon as her eyes meet mine she winces, she seems to relax a little but her hands continue to reverberate with that strange and fascinating energy.

"You?"

"Hi Elisabeth.You finally woke up.I was so worried"

I have to play my part as a worried father at my best.

She looks at me, her big onyx eyes seem to peer into me.

"What am I doing here?Where I am?" she asks me suspiciously.

I will opt for a half truth.

"You are in an old fortress that the people I work for have converted into a private clinic.We are in Geneva, Switzerland.You've been here for 10 years now.You went into a coma after a bad accident in Brookville.The same incident where my poor Sophia, your mother, lost her life.I've been waiting for so long for you to open your eyes again, I've never lost hope"

She doesn't seem to believe me.

Damn!

"I understand you may feel confused now but it's okay.You are safe here"

I try to tell her in a strong and confident voice.

"Why the armed guards?" her voice is scratchy from her decade of inactivity.

"They..." I tell her pointing with my hand before her at the guards and then Dr. Avery "They are only here to protect you"

"Protect me from what exactly" she asks me sharpening her eyes.

Too many questions.

That's no good.

I approach slowly, palms facing up to make her understand that I have only peaceful intentions.

Almost.

But this she cannot know.

As I pass a trolley with medical equipment I see what appears to be a syringe full of sedative, I grab it unnoticed and hide it in the sleeve of my lab coat.

"I defend you from the world my child.Out there is full of people who want to hurt you because of your abilities" so saying I point to her hands still traversed by those electric shocks.

I get even closer.

Now a few steps separate us.

She continues to remain on the defensive, opens and closes her fists as if weighing the immensity of that power.

She raises a hand forward, the guards immediately cock their rifles at her.

"Firm idiots.Put those damn weapons down!" I scream with all the breath in my throat.

The agents look at each other confused but obey.

They are forced to do it.

Elisabeth's arm is now stretched out in front of her, it looks like she's focusing on one of the monitors in front of her.

She then gestures with her hand, as if she is chasing away a fly and at the same time as her movement the monitor rises into the air and crashes into the wall behind me.

The monitor barely touches my face but I try to stay calm.

"Bullshits!" she screams, flames of anger dance in her eyes.

"You are evil.You Doctor Ross or should I say Doctor McTavish?"

I remain petrified.

How the hell does she know?

This is classified information.

Even her mother never knew who I really was, at least until shortly before her death.

She smiles at me bitterly and keeps talking.

"You killed my mother"

"It was an accident Lily"

I call her with the diminutive who her mother loved so much trying to sweeten her.

"I know it was an accident but if you hadn't deceived her, you hadn't married her just because she was a guardian of one of the Infinity Stones, we wouldn't have been there that day.And she would still be alive"

I can't hide my shocked face, it's not possible that she knows all these things.

It is absolutely not possible.

"How the hell do you..." I'm about to ask her but her crystalline laugh interrupts me.

" Jesus Christ Philiph you should see your face right now.Know that you will not get what you want so much.I'd rather die than help you son of a bitch!"

She walks up to me, chest to chest.

The agents behind me fidget, I signal them not to move.

She is challenging me.

And for the first time I am blown away, I don't know how to react.

She stands up on her toes and whispers in my ear "Oh so you know you are not my father" she pulls her face away from mine.

"But you already knew this, didn't you?Or at least you've always suspected it"

Now she smiles at me with satisfaction.

I raise a corner of my lips.

"I thought so" I admit.

"But that's okay, it'll be easier to get rid of you"

So saying I quickly raise my hand and stick the syringe full of sedative into her neck.

She collapses immediately in my arms, tries feebly to rebel.

"Quiet Elisabeth.At the end of all this you will be free and happy.Because in the end you will hug your mother again"

Steve POV

I haven't heard from Lily in nearly two days now.

Yesterday, just before I got home from my mission in Washington with Nat, I spoke to Bucky on the phone about her and he told me he saw her.

He talked to her, he says she's fine.

But I am not well.

Knowing that she feels betrayed by me is corroding my soul.

Now I'm sitting here at my desk and I'm standing there lost in my thoughts because I don't even know where the hell to look for her.

I can't live like this, I can't take it anymore.

I support my elbows on my knees and sink my face into my hands.

My friends were right, I should have told her the truth because Lily is strong.

She is stubborn.

She would have known how to deal with the whole situation.

But I just wanted to protect her.

Just this.

Is it really so wrong to try to protect the one you love?

"Steve?Hey Steve!"

Natasha is standing in front of my bedroom door, one shoulder leaning against the door jamb and her arms crossed over her chest.

"How are you?"

I hate this question.

I lift my face from my hands.

"How am I supposed to be Nat?Maybe I've lost the love of my life forever, how should I feel?"

I reply with a veil of anger in my voice.

"How would you be if you lost Bucky?"

The words slip out of my mouth without having time to stop them.

She looks at me with wide eyes, for the first time I see her unable to hide her true emotions.

"What are you talking about Rogers?" she stammers.

"Please Romanoff spare me your lies"

She sighs and enters my room closing the door behind her.

"Did he tell you?"

"Who Bucky?No, he's too afraid of you"

We both giggle.

I keep talking.

"Really, he has nothing to do with it.I saw it by myself, that day at the Brookville's cemetery.Why didn't you tell me about it?You are my best friends, I would have only been happy for the two of you.You deserve all the happiness in this world.You know I really think so"

The redhead slumps herself on the bed, then she leans up on her elbows.

"Stevie you know I suck with the love stuff" she glances up at the ceiling.

"Besides, I didn't tell you about it just because I was scared of this feeling I guess"

"Natasha loves James" I chirp teasing her.

She reaches out one leg and places her boot on my foot.

"Ouch"

"Shut the fuck up Rogers"

We both burst out laughing.

When our laughter dies I hear her whisper.

"Yes.I think in the end we fell in love"

"I'm happy for you"

We look at each other for a few moments, I feel my eyes moisten under her gaze.

I turn my head quickly to the opposite side.

Captain America doesn't cry.

"Steve?"

I don't answer my friend, I don't have the strength.

I hear the rustle of the blankets as Natasha's body leaves the bed.

I keep looking at the wall in front of me and don't even turn around when my friend bends over her knees by my side.

She puts a hand on my leg and squeezes.

I cover her hand with mine.

Our fingers intertwine.

Some tears escape from my eyes out of my control.

"What if I had lost her forever?"

I feel my heart breaking at the very thought.

"Steve this doesn't exist.I'm willing to look for her all over the planet and kick her to you if necessary"

I smile at her weakly.

I know she would be able to do it.

"Come here hunk" she tells me as she stands up.

When she is standing in front of me she hugs me, her arms are around my neck.

I rest my head on her chest trying to regain control of myself.

"It will be all right Rogers.We're going to make sure that she's okay"

We stand still until Friday's voice catches our attention.

"Captain Rogers.Agent Romanoff.Sergeant Barnes has requested your presence in the meeting room"

Nat and I look into each other's dazed eyes, we are both confused.

"Thanks Friday, we'll be right there" I reply.

Nat releases her embrace and holds out her hand to help me get up.

In silence we go downstairs until we find ourselves in the meeting room.

Along with Bucky are Sam, Tony, Bruce and even Doctor Strange.

I walk in with a slow pace, I don't understand what is happening.

Bucky walks up to me and puts a hand on my shoulder.

He turns to everyone present and begins to speak.

"Now that we're all here we can get started.Dr Strange and I have something to update you on"

I stare intently at my best friend, he returns my gaze only for a moment then looks away as if he feels guilty.

What the hell is going on?

Natasha sits next to me.

Bucky and Strange talk.

They tell everything that has happened in the last 36 hours.

With every word from them I am more and more shocked.

Jesus Christ everything I could have imagined except that Lily was Strange's daughter.

Natasha, on the other hand, is watching Bucky intently, he is blatantly avoiding her girlfriend's gaze.

I know what Nat is thinking because I'm thinking the same thing.

Bucky lied to both of them.

Why did she prefer to get help from my best friend and not me?

My chest aches.

But I try to put my feelings aside and focus on what people in front of me have to say.

Banner is talking now.

"I did the research you asked Barnes and found all the information about the T.A.H.I.T.I. Project.

T.A.H.I.T.I., Terrestrialized Alien Host Integrative Tissue I., was a S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 9 project ordered by Nick Fury and overseen by Phil Coulson.It involved the harvesting of an alien corpse for medicinal purposes.For Lily they didn't use the medical part of the project but they used the Memory Overwriting Machine.That machine is used to scrub the brains and give the patients new lives but Phil Coulson regretted using the machine when he heard the screams that each person gave as they were kept conscious, with their skull caps removed, as their memories were changed.So the project was suspended but apparently Hydra carried the work on"

Bruce sighs, he seems in pain.

"It must not have been easy for her but technically that's what she was subjected to"

A strangled sound comes from my lips, I rest my elbows on my knees and take a deep breath.

I feel my head spinning.

Breath in and breath out.

The waves of nausea seem to subside.

"Everything ok Cap?"

Tony's voice forces me to look up.

All eyes in this room are on me.

A couple in particular seem to be examining me thoroughly.

Stephen Strange.

His eyes so similar to her daughter's.

"Yeah.Yeah.Sorry!I...I need some air.Excuse me!"

I get up and stride away from that stuffy room.

I pay no attention to anything, not even Bucky's voice calling me.

I reach the large terrace of the tower and observe the panorama in front of me.

It's all a lot more complicated than I imagined.

Damn!

If I had asked for help first, maybe today Lily would not be lost who knows where.

Maybe I could have helped her.

What she has been subjected to is something inhumane.

I clench my fists.

I would just like to find those responsible for this and take my anger out on them.

I hear footsteps behind me.

"You know if it can make you feel better you can punch me if you like"

"I will not hit you James"

"Fuck...you call me James this means that you are much more than mad at me"

I sigh without answering him.

I know it's not his fault.

I screwed up everything!

I am the one who was wrong about her by hiding the truth, indeed he has always encouraged me not to lie to her.

I lean on the railing and let my thoughts wander at full speed.

I hear Bucky approaching and he too leans against the railing.

We remain silent without saying anything.

The sun is setting, the outline of the moon is already visible and soon the stars will appear.

Another night away from her.

"Shit!" I exclaim, turning my back to the New York skyline and leaning my back where my arms used to be.

Bucky speaks without looking at me.

"I'm sorry for lying to you brother.I hated every moment I did it.But it was her who begged me not to tell you what she was planning to do.I couldn't tell her no, she made me promise" Bucky sighs.

I laugh.

"I know the feeling.Lily can be very convincing when she wants.Or when she needs it" I reply with a smile on my face.

"You know she has never been in danger for even a moment, right?I would never allow anyone or anything to get close to her.I would have given and still would give my life for her.I love her as I love you"

I know he's sincere and I know I can trust him blindly.

"Thanks for being there when I wasn't there"

"Nah...don't thank me.I didn't do anything extraordinary" my friend replies with a shrug.

"Oh man you lied to Natasha, it means you really care"

We look into each other's eyes and burst out laughing.

"Yeah dude, you owe me a huge favor.Did you see that fiery glances she threw at me?This time she will kill me" Bucky replies with a chuckle.

Fuck.

I feel guilty.

"Actually there is more..." I reply scratching the back of my neck.

"She knows that I know about you two" I admit with a sigh.

Bucky looks at me with wide eyes.

"Oh c'mon man!Why?Hell hours will be waiting for me now"

I'm a little sorry for him but just a little.

"Sorry Buck, it just slipped out of my mouth"

I apologize to him.

We remain silent again.

Then Bucky turns to me.

His words exude confidence.

"We are close Steve.Right now I am sure she is fighting to find the truth.Just have a little faith in her"

"I trust her, I'm just afraid for her.I think it's normal when you love someone, right?"

Bucky claps his hand in Vibranium on my shoulder a couple of times.

"I know man, I know"

Together we walk back to the meeting room but suddenly Bucky stops and claps a hand on his forehead as if he were berating himself for forgetting something.

"I forgot I promised to give you a message"

I'm a little confused.

"Lily left me a message?"

"Yes man, she literally told me to tell you that she loves you and in one way or another she will see you again soon"

I feel a little hope inside me.

Maybe in the end she doesn't hate me.

We continue on our way and when we get to the meeting room I can't believe my eyes.

My breath catches in my throat.

Lily POV

I snap my eyes open and put my hand around my neck where the needle has penetrated my skin.

I quickly sit up and look around.

Shit.

I'm back in my room in Brookville.

Fuck!

Ok, no panic.

In the end it is not a bad thing that I am here.

Now I know where my body is and I have a chance to warn Bucky.

And Steve.

God how much I need to see Steve again.

I get up and go to the kitchen, I need a moment to rearrange my ideas and understand how to act.

I prepare a cup of hot and steaming tea, I warm my cold hands with the heat of the cup.

The golden liquid warms me to my bones.

I think about the way I dealt with all those men, how I landed them like nothing had happened.

The power of that Stone is truly unlimited.

I can't help but feel a puddle of excitement in my being, knowing that there is a high chance of being able to return to live in the real world just freaks me out.

I go back up and after a quick shower I get dressed, wearing a midnight blue knit dress and a pair of gray boots.

Now it's time to go back to New York.

From Steve.

I try to relax my muscles and clear my mind.

In no time I find myself in New York in front of Steve's apartment.

I run up the stairs and frantically knock on the door but no one comes to open it.

Shit.

Maybe I should have appeared in front of the tower.

I turn and start to leave when I bump into Sharon.

"Hi, are you here for Steve?" she asks me curiously, tilting her head slightly to the side.

Her long honey-like hair sways as she moves.

She is very beautiful.

Elegant and sensual.

I feel an abyss expanding between us.

I shake my head slightly to dismiss these troublesome thoughts, I already have enough problems at the moment.

"Yes, I just arrived and I thought I would find him at home"

She looks at me without saying anything, her gaze puts me in awe.

I look at her better.

She is wearing a white sweater and jeans that wrap her long legs perfectly.

At her feet he wears high-heeled pumps, in her hands he holds a long black coat.

"Excuse me if I dare but are you and Steve together?" Sharon asks me suddenly.

I don't know why but her question does not surprise me in fact I expected it.

I focus my gaze on her.

About many things at the moment I'm not sure in my life but I know that our love is the only certainty.

"We are in love, I love him"

She raises an eyebrow, she looks skeptical.

I understand her a little.

Sometimes I even find it hard to believe that Steve can love me.

"Well, if you say so" the blonde in front of me replies with a mocking smile.

She turns and walks towards the lift.

If first I thought she might be the right choice for Steve, now I don't think so anymore, her beauty is just an empty shell.

Inside there is no kindness and compassion but only envy and wickedness.

And Steve deserves only the best.

I call her.

I will not allow her to make fun of me and above all to put a spoke in the wheel in my relationship.

"Sharon wait" I approach her walking slowly, I stop a few steps away.

"Listen to me because I'll tell you only once"

She crosses her arms over her chest, our eyes are chained.

All the courtesy that has been between us so far has disappeared.

I start talking again.

"I know there was a flirtation between you and Steve but I want you to get it into your head that he will never come back to you"

Her gaze hardens.

"Steve and I love each other.So much.I just want to ask you to have respect for our relationship.If you don't want to do it for me, do it for him"

This time I'm the one to go away, I pass by her without looking at her.

Her voice stops me.

She is behind me but I don't turn around.

"Do you really think a man like Steve, Captain America, can settle for a little girl like you?If I were you I would not be so calm"

I clench my hands into fists, she wants to make me explode but I will not give her this satisfaction.

"Whatever Sharon"

I go away.

At a brisk pace I leave the building, my heart beats furiously in my chest.

The tears press to come out but I push them back.

I won't cry because of Sharon Carter.

I love Steve and Steve loves me.

Nothing matters.

Nobody matters.

I run through the streets of New York, pushing passersby who give me fiery glances.

I'm tired but I have to get to Avengers Tower as soon as possible.

After all, I don't know how much time I have, Doc Psychopathic might decide to wake me up at any moment.

Or he could kill me.

I run even faster, across the street and a taxi stops a millimeter from me.

The sound of his horn makes me jump.

"Excuse me" I yell as I continue to run.

I'm almost there, I see the large entrance door.

I enter like a fury, my exhausted legs push as hard as I can but my run is interrupted by a voice on my left.

I turn my head away, my lungs burn.

"Sam!Thank goodness!"

I embrace him with enthusiasm.

"Hey sweetheart, I'm glad to see you're okay"

He holds me tight in his arms.

"Bucky and Strange told us everything" the man replies.

"Strange is here?"

"Sure, they're all upstairs.Steve is here too"

As soon as I hear his name come out of Sam's lips, my heart begins to beat even more furiously.

It seems to want to get out of my chest.

"Come sweetheart, I'll take you to them" so saying Sam grabs my hand and drags me into the elevator, once inside I lean my back against the wall and with my hands on my knees I try to catch my breath.

"Are you okay Lily?"

"Yeah.Sure.Give me a moment"

I breathe deeply in search of as much oxygen as possible.

"I came running from Steve's house"

Sam laughs.

"Wow!We have a marathon runner in the team"

I too laugh at his words.

The elevator doors open.

I go out at a fast pace and head quickly to the point where I hear several voices coming from.

I don't even bother waiting for Sam but I hear his footsteps right behind me.

As soon as I approach the door of the meeting room, the only one who notices me is Stark.

"Thank goodness you are safe!" he exclaims attracting everyone's attention.

Three pairs of eyes quickly land on me but the only irises I'm really craving for aren't here.

But another man is here for me.

And it's enough for me.

I run into the room and throw myself into the arms of my father, the only man I want comfort from at this moment.

It was an instinctive gesture but I couldn't help it.

His arms are immediately around me that hold me and reassure me.

"Are you ok?" he whispers in my ear.

I can feel his heartbeat, it's accelerated.

I nod against his chest without answering.

I will tell what I have discovered but not now, I need a moment.

Then that voice.

"Honey?"

I quickly pull away from my father's chest and turn to the door.

On the threshold is Steve.

Handsome as a god, his blue eyes like a Caribbean sea are veiled with tears.

Beside him is Bucky who looks at me with eyes full of relief and a sweet smile on his lips.

Steve advances in great strides overwhelming a chair in front of him, he doesn't even care and continues on his way towards me.

I throw myself into his arms.

My hands on his chest grip his shirt between my fingers.

I burst into a liberating cry.

Steve's arms hold me so tightly that I can barely breathe but I don't care, I'm back with him at last and everything else doesn't matter.

Laundry soap, sun and leather.

The smell of his skin that I had missed so much now fills my nostrils intoxicating me.

"I'm sorry honey, I'm sorry I lied to you.Forgive me" he whispers in my ear with a trembling voice.

"I'm sorry too babe.Sorry"

His arms hold me even tighter as much as possible.

We stay like this for a few moments, then I feel his hands move to the sides of my face, his thumbs dry my tears.

I see him lowering towards me and I go towards him, getting up on tiptoe.

Our lips touch.

A sweet kiss.

Sweet as a welcome home after a hard day's work.

Sweet as the feeling of a fireplace on a stormy night.

I deepen the kiss.

My hands go up behind his neck pushing him more towards me, my lips part and our tongues caress each other sensually regardless of the audience around.

Steve's hands come down to my hips squeezing with possession and desire.

Tony Stark's amused laugh brings us back to reality.

"Ok you two, save yourself for the honeymoon.Otherwise daddy going to have a heart attack here"

So saying he gives a pat on the back of Strange.

My father can't take off his sharp, protective gaze from Steve's figure.

Perfect, we just needed this.

I see Natasha and James smiling in amusement, Doctor Banner looks a bit embarrassed.

"Dude take it easy!Your father-in-law doesn't seem to like it" Sam whispers to Steve.

Thank god no one has heard it besides the two of us.

"Oh shut up Sam" I answer, pushing him playfully.

Now I think the time has come to tell what I have discovered.

It will not be easy.

I sigh and move away from Steve's chest, he looks me in the eye as if to instill all his courage in me.

"I found out where I am" I begin point blank.

Steve at my side gasps, his fingers intertwined with mine increase the grip.

"Where?" Nat asks me.

"I am in Geneva in Switzerland. Dr. McTavish keeps me locked up and sedated in an old fortress used as a private clinic"

"Ok, we can prepare an expedition right away, how many old fortresses can there be in Geneva?It won't be difficult" Tony speaks confidently.

He and Steve exchange a meaningful look, I can see that they love each other.

"I knocked out a dozen men"

I don't know why I say that.

Maybe because I'm afraid of what the Stone has turned me into.

I look down at Steve's hand intertwined with mine.

Then I lift up my gaze to meet his eyes.

I speak without ever taking my attention away from him.

"It was completely involuntary.When all those gunmen surrounded me it was as if the Stone inside me protected my own life.A rush of power knocked everyone out"

"It's completely normal" Bruce intervenes, we all turn to him.

The doctor moves uncomfortably, he doesn't like being the center of attention.

He adjusts his glasses on his nose and continues.

"As far as Thor told us, when the Haeter, the Reality Stone, entered in Dr. Foster attacked anyone who tried to harm her.It's the Stone's way of defending itself"

"Ok.So I'm not...I'm not dangerous, am I?"

This time it's Strange who answers me.

"Absolutely not.You just have to learn to manage its power but there is time for that.We will talk about it in the future"

Steve raises our intertwined hands and kisses the back of my hand.

He turns to his friends in the room.

"I can't ask you that much so anyone who doesn't feel like taking part in this mission I don't blame you"

"I'm in" Bucky is the first to answer.

He walks up to me and grabs my hand, the one free from Steve's grasp.

"I'll be there to save your ass, again"

I roll my eyes and then smile sweetly at him.

"Count on me too" Natasha's voice rings firmly in the room.

I detach myself from the grip of the two men next to me and embrace her.

"I'm sorry I cut you off Nat" I murmur into her ear.

"Forget about it.I don't blame you"

Even if we have known each other recently, I can always count on her.

She is a good friend.

Sam turns to Steve.

"You already know that man.I'll always follow Captain America"

Bruce clears his throat.

"I...I...I'm sorry Steve but I can't.I can't risk him awakening.I'd rather help you from headquarters"

Steve nods.

"It's okay Bruce.No problem"

Poor Bruce, forced to share his existence with his alter ego.

Hulk.

From what my friends have told me it is better not to be around him when he shows up.

Tony shrugs.

"Just give me time to do an inspection and organize the trip"

Strange approaches me, puts a hand on my head.

"When you wake up I'll be by your side, count on it"

After which he exchanges a long look with Steve.

"Now I have to go" my father says turning to Tony.

"I have things to take care of.Keep me updated"

I hug him and with hands movements he opens a portal in front of him and then disappears inside.

"Capsicle I'm afraid her father doesn't like you" Tony says to Steve.

Steve rolls his eyes.

"Yeah.I know.I noticed it"

Everyone laughs including me.

"Ok now why don't we all get out of here?" Nat says to everyone present and gradually pushes them out the door.

Steve and I are left alone.

"Thanks me later, lovebirds"

The head of the redhead pokes out from the corner of the door giving us a wink.

I smile at her as Steve shakes his head.

Steve sits down in one of the large chairs around the table.

"Come here" he whispers, holding out his hand.

I grab it and sit on his lap.

His hands surround my back, stroking and massaging it.

"I missed you so much" he whispers and then kisses me.

I reciprocate his kiss, my hands wander across his chest.

I feel him tremble with pleasure, I can feel his erection pressing on my ass.

I feel a fire burning in my gut.

I move on top of him, rubbing my hips.

"Babe, be a good girl" just a warning from his lips, almost a snarl, and I feel my core ignite.

The power of his words makes my soul reverberate.

"Yes sir, I'm sorry" I whisper with my face on fire, my words come spontaneously from my lips.

His hands grab my neck, squeeze strongly.

A pain at the limit of pleasure.

His eyes are veiled with lust as if only with my words I was pushing him to the edge.

I feel him clearing his throat.

"It's okay, I'm not angry"

I kiss him again, bite his lip and then slide my tongue into his mouth.

I seek command of the situation and he gives it to me.

I place my hands at the height of his heart, I feel it beating like a fury.

I break the kiss and place my forehead against him, in this position I turn to him.

"Soon we will finally be together.Really together.And then nothing will keep me away from you, do you know this, don't you?"

I hear him smile.

"I hope so, honey"

This time he's the one kissing me.

Claim my mouth with possession, I can feel his muscular body pressing against mine with desperate urgency.

His mouth descends on my neck tracing an imaginary path with his tongue, his hands caress the contours of my breast.

A shiver runs through my spine.

"Steve?" his name comes out of my lips like a moan.

"Tell me, honey"

"I have to confess something but I'm afraid you'll be mad at me" I whisper with a breath of voice.

He immediately detaches from my body, his hands go up my face.

His bright baby blue eyes watch me full of love.

"Lily, nothing you can do could ever make me mad at you.You could even stab me and I would still love you"

I roll my eyes.

"Exaggerated"

Steve pinches my side and I laughs.

"What would you have done?" he asks me crossing his arms over his chest.

I speak keeping my eyes fixed on my hands playing with the collar of his shirt.

"I talked to Sharon"

"You what?"

I look up at him, he seems obviously amused.

A sly smile curls his beautiful lips.

"I'm serious Steve!Before I got here to the tower I came to your apartment and she was walking out the door of her house.We had a chat and before leaving she asked about the two of us.If we are a couple"

He is looking at me intently

"And what did you answer her?"

"I told her we love each other and she...and she..."

My eyes fill with tears, tears of anger at Sharon.

"Honey what happened?Did she treat you badly?"

"No" I replied in a trembling voice.

"She looked at me and she laughed at my answer, as if it were impossible.As if the idea that you can love me were absurd"

I look down.

Because even if I am sure of Steve's love, there is always that little part of me that is afraid that one day he will tire of me.

"Lily?Lily please look at me"

I feel his hand massaging the middle of my back.

"I love you.You cannot have doubts about this and you must never allow anyone to make this uncertainty grow in your heart"

"I know.In fact, I replied rudely.I'm sorry!I know that she is your friend and you are colleagues at work but I have not been able to keep silent.I told her to step aside from you, that you will never love her"

I look at the wall in front of me, I don't have the courage to meet his gaze.

Then suddenly I hear him laughing, a spontaneous laugh full of hilarity.

I turn to him, his head is thrown back with one hand resting on his chest.

He looks like the portrait of happiness.

"Did you really do it?" he asks me through the tears caused by the excess of laughter.

"Yep" I can not help but I also begin to laugh.

"C'mon Steve, he's not cute" I say.

He hugs me in response, squeezing me against his body.

"I like to know that you claim my possession.It's exciting"

"Oh my God, this is gross babe" I reply laughing.

We remain embraced for a long time.

"I'm not mad at you for what you said to Sharon.I think she deserved it.However, if that makes you feel better, I'll talk to her.Ok?"

I nod against his broad chest.

"I love you Steve.I love you and I am so afraid of what you will face because of me...that man, McTavish, is evil.Please promise me you'll be careful.That all of you will be alert.I would never forgive myself if any of you get hurt.If you get hurt"

I tell him with my voice broken with fear, my hands caressing his beautiful features.

"Don't think about it my love.Everything will be fine and we will finally be together"

"Please Steve just promise me" I beg him.

I hear him sigh.

"I promise, I'll be careful"

Another sweet kiss to seal our promises.

Please comment, share and rate ❤️

Taglist

🔥 Masterlist 🔥

@deansapplepie

#marvel #captainamerica #chrisevans #steve rogers #fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction recommendation #captain america #captain america fanfiction #captain america x oc #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers x oc #chris evans fanfiction #astrallovers

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poppunkdee · 3 years

Text

Brown eyes

#I’m going to combust #I really can’t take today #just everything that culminated to us getting din #sans helmet with his brown beautiful eyes #and messy curly hair #I-#add to that Hayden coming back #and that Ahsoka series #and just #fuck #I’m really going to combust #the mandalorian spoilers #ALSO MY SOACE LATINO CASSIAN ANDOR GETS HIS OWN FUCKING SERIES #UGHHHH #IM FUCKING FROTHING

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forever-rogue · 3 years

Note

91 from prompt list one with Din? Thank you!

91. “I didn’t realize I needed your permission.”

Some angst and softness with Din? Say no more!

Din Djarin x Fem!Reader ; warnings: pregnant reader

The Mandalorian Masterlist

»»————-　♡　————-««

You sighed lightly as you looked at yourself in the mirror, a hand subconsciously running over the growing bump. You were excited, very excited if you were being honest, about your upcoming arrival but still...you wished things were different. You wished you weren’t just pregnant, or knocked up, as plenty of people not so lovingly put it...but here you were. You wanted, craved even, everything that went hand in hand with it. You wanted the domesticity, the relationship, the shared excitement of welcoming your child with your husband.

But no. You had none of that.

Just an awkward relationship with the father of your child, aka your work partner but also kind of your employer that had culminated in a one night stand that ended with you getting pregnant.

Yeah - things weren’t exactly typical.

And ever since your little discovery, something neither of you expected since one - you had the implant and two - it was just a one night stand. It had occurred at the end of a long and stressful mission, close brushes with death for both of you and something just snapped. It had become a Herculean task to stay from each other, to keep your hands and lips from one another, and eventually you both just...gave in. If you were being honest, it had been a long time coming, and neither of you could deny the feelings that had developed and blossomed between the two of you.

But now there was...nothing. It was like as soon as it was over, he had turned cold. Not cold…just colder. You wondered if he regretted what happened; now with you almost halfway through an unexpected pregnancy you really wondered if he regretted that night...you...your baby. He’d never said anything in the negative, reminding you constantly that he supported whatever decision you wanted to make. It might have been unexpected and unplanned, but he wasn’t about to turn his back from your or your child.

And yet...things felt different. Gone were the days filled with light and laughter, of simplicity and happiness, and instead everything felt off. You’d worried for a moment that he’d think you did this on purpose, but he knew and you knew he knew that he didn’t think you would stoop to something like this. Besides, it had been a night filled with passion for the both of you, not just one of you. Maybe...maybe once the baby was born things would be different.

You scoffed at yourself as soon as the idea entered your head. Things weren’t going back to how they were; if anything he’d grow more distant and closed off. You hoped he would at least love your son or daughter; he was such a good father to Grogu, you wanted the same for the new addition.

As you stood there, trying to keep yourself from crying and to calm down, you paused and wondered what your baby would look like. Then it hit you - you’d still never seen his face. You had no real clue as to what he looked like; you knew his features were dark, that much you could decipher even in the darkness, but the rest was...a mystery. Kriffing hell; you were having a child with a man who wanted nothing to do with you anymore and you had no clue what he looked like. It might as well have been a stranger.

It would work out one way or another, you supposed. Scared and nervous didn't matter - the baby would be here no matter. That part was inevitable by now.

"It will be okay, my love," you whispered tightly to your bump, pulling your tunic back down over it.

The silence on the Crest was almost deafening and slowly driving you crazy. You needed to get out and do something, even if it was just for a walk to stretch your legs. Din hadn't said a word to you all morning and besides breaking your heart it had sent an awkward air over the whole place.

Snapping you out of your daze, you heard some tiny footsteps and gentle cooing. Look at the door, you found the little green bean coming and smiling at you. Your heart softened as you beamed back at him; there was something so reassuring and calming about his presence that instantly made you feel so much lighter and happier.

"Hello my little love," you sang at him as he toddled over to you, reaching up towards you with his small arms. Grinning, you tried to bend over, realizing that was too much of a challenge and opting to awkwardly squat down and pick him up. He didn't seem to mind, a smile on his face as he tried to wrap his arms around your neck and cuddled against your chest.

Something about the tender moment caught up with you as emotion overwhelmed you, pregnancy you decided, with the small bean on your chest and the tears just started to flow down your cheeks. You stood there and sniffled, deciding to get it all out before leaving the room and possibly seeing the Mandalorian. Little did you know, the man in question was just down the small hall, his heart breaking at the sound of your soft cries.

Rocking back and forth on your heels, you held Grogu closely, feeling more comforted by his presence than you had in days. He cooed lightly at you as he tried to hold onto you as tightly as you did him.

"I know," you acknowledged with a small, despondent laugh, as he reached up and attempted to wipe your tears away, "I know it will work out, right now it just feels...all wrong. I love him you know. You and him and the baby - more than anything. And now he hates me."

He looked at you, attempted to get you to understand just how much he loved you too. Even if without words, you knew what it meant. Kissing the top of his fuzzy little head, you let out a long breath, "you're right. I shouldn't worry like this. Let's go outside and at least get some sun and fresh air. Clear my head anyway."

He seemed to nod in agreement as you started towards the door. Din had already stepped out of the way and pretended to be unaware of what had been going on. As you needed you towards the exit of the ship, baby and silence in tow, he gathered up...courage? Something and called out to you.

"Where are you going?" he asked as you spun on your heel and gave him a curious look. After so much silence that's all he was going to say? The nerve. You scoffed at him lightly before shrugging your shoulders and turning to leave again, "wait!"

"Why?" you didn’t have enough energy left to full fight or argue so you just gave him a despondent look, “what does it matter, Din? I didn’t realize I needed your permission!”

“At least tell me where you’re going,” he took a step closer but stopped immediately when he noticed how you flinched, “y-you have the bab...ies.”

“And what about it?” you huffed, “it doesn’t seem to matter other times, but now it does? Hot and cold, hot and cold, what do you want? I know you hate me, you don’t need to pretend to care!”

“I don’t hate you,” his voice cracked at the insinuation and he felt like the wind had been knocked out of his lungs. Is that really how you felt? He hadn’t realized he’d fucked up to this extent; he’d just panicked and been nervous and...well. Apparently pushed you away more than he had realized, “I just…”

“You don’t have to lie to me,” you insisted meekly, “I know this isn’t what either of us wanted or planned on it, but it’s happening. And I don’t care if you hate me or whatever, but don’t blame the baby when they come. It’s not their fault.”

“Listen, I...we need to talk-”

“There’s nothing left to say Din,” you felt another tear run down your cheek, “I don’t know what to even say...I just...I have to go right now. I’ll be back.”

“It’s dangerous out there,” he called after you, running to the door as you walked away without another look back, “the baby! Please be careful...mesh’la!”

But you didn’t turn back and he didn’t chase after you. He stood there silently, cursing himself a million different ways as he watched your retreating form.

“Kriff,” he hissed at himself. He had fucked up, totally and completely. He pushed away the only woman he’d ever loved all because he was scared and didn’t know what to do in a moment of panic. Ever since you’d told him you were pregnant, it was like he gone into a panicked frenzy as he tried to figure out what to do, tried to figure out how to tell you he loved you fully and completely, tried to figure out how to be his best for you, Grogu, and your baby - his baby.

But instead of doing anything of the sort, he had shut down completely and pushed you away.

Pushed you away to the point where you believed he hated you. To the point where you believed anything but the fact that he loved you.

And he did. He’d loved you from the moment he’d laid eyes on you when you threatened to “kick his ass to hell and back” and then had fallen a little more every single day.

All because he was scared and couldn’t face the truth. And now?

He was afraid he might have ruined everything. He might never get the chance to love you like he wanted to. He might never get to have his family with you. He might…

No. He was going to make this right. Even if you didn’t believe him or didn’t want to hear it.

He was going to tell you everything.

»»————-　♡　————-««

You’d finally found a quiet place to rest, a small little hidden spot in the forest that he’d landed the Crest by. It wasn’t much, but it was better than being stuck on the ship in the tense atmosphere. Once you’d found the spot, you plopped down in the soft earth and leaned up against the large tree. The little one had found some butterflies and was instantly fascinated by them, running after them as fast as his little legs would carry him.

It was a sweet sight - so pure and innocent as you watched him play. If only everything was so easy and tender. Unfortunately, you know the harsh and cruel realities of the world. But even for just a moment, you decided to push away your worries and get lost in the sanctity of this moment.

Eventually Grogu tired himself out and toddled over to you. He grinned at you sweetly before climbing onto your outstretched and clambered for you to hold him. When he reached your belly, making it a challenge for him to cuddle up like he wanted to, he stared in wonder at it, inky eyes wide and curious.

“That’s your brother or sister, my love,” you told him, a hand gently running over the bump, “they’ll be here soon…ish. I know they’ll love you so much. Just like I do.”

He looked at you excitedly before blabbing a string of sounds you couldn’t make quite interrupt. He reached a hand slowly up to replace yours, a little smile on his face. At his gentle touch, you immediately felt warm and light, like some happiness had managed to seep into your bones. Grogu kept a small hand on your bump as he curled around it and made himself comfortable. You looked down at the sight, wishing you could capture this forever.

Closing your eyes, you gently stroked his ear as you tried to clear your mind. It was calm and quiet for a few moments, nothing but the woodland sounds around you meeting your ears. Finally a moment of peace and tranquility to rest and ground yourself. After a few moments, you heard the sound of crunching leaves and snapping twigs. Opening your eyes, you studied your surroundings and quickly spied the Mandalorian. Your eyes widened as you swallowed the lump in your throat at the sight of him.

“Mesh’la,” he said softly as he came over. You thought about jumping up (as fast as you could in your current state) and running away, but couldn’t force yourself to move, or disturb either of your babies, “can we talk? We need to talk - I need to talk.”

“If you’ve come to punish me or yell at me,” you sighed softly, “please spare your breath. It is no use, I already know how you feel.”

“No, that’s not what I need to say,” he insisted as he came over, “I know you know you don’t want to hear this or think I hate you, but I need to talk to you. First of all...I just...I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” you looked at him with wide eyes as he sat down near, all decorum out the window as he flopped onto the ground, “what in the galaxy are you sorry for?”

“For how I’ve treated you,” he admitted and your heart stilled instantly, “for how I’ve acted ever since you - we - found you’re pregnant. I’ve...it’s bad enough to the point where you think I don’t care about you, that I hate you. I don’t...I could never hate you.”

“It sure feels like that right about now,” you laughed, a small little bitter thing, “I know this wasn’t ever what we expected or wanted, but...I’m scared too. Terrified and I don’t even have my best friend anymore. It’s like there’s a wall between us now and I’m afraid that it’s never going to get better. That it will always be this way.”

“It’s not you, it’s never been you,” he insisted, letting out a long sigh, “it’s me. When we...I’d wanted that for a long, long time. And then it happened, and I panicked because I didn’t know if you wanted that too, and things seemed different, and instead of asking, I closed myself off. And it’s the worst thing I’ve ever done. And then when you found out about the baby...I just...I couldn’t handle it.”

“It was scary for me too,” you laughed lightly as you wiped away the tears that had started to well up, “how do you think it feels to be the one that’s pregnant and alone?”

“I was scared and thought you wouldn’t forgive me, or hate me, or think I’m a horrible father or partner,” he confessed as you watched him closely. That wasn’t what you had in mind at all, “I completely shut down and pushed you away when that wasn’t what I wanted at all.”

“You...I would never think that, Din. I know you’re a wonderful father already, to Grogu, and you will be to one this one as well. I’m not mad at you for what happened, nor do I regret...our time together. The only thing I regret is...how we’ve drifted apart,” you admittedly softly, “even if we’re never more than this, I just want us to be friends. For our sake and this baby…”

“I...want this - more than this,” he whispered, finally getting out what he wanted to say, “I...kriff - I’m in love with you, Mesh’la. I have been for so long, and that night...I wanted to tell you then, I just couldn’t figure out how. And that’s when I panicked.”

“You - you love me?” you looked at him with the sweetest, most confused expression he had ever seen as he could only manage to nod, “me? Like you’re not just saying that because of the baby? You don’t need to just say it…”

“I have loved you since before the baby, now, and always will,” he promised, “I just happen to also be a huge fool. Do you remember the first day we met?”

“Of course I do,” you said through a few tears, but unlike your previous ones, these were not of sadness or grief, “you scared me and I freaked out and threatened-”

“To kick my ass to hell and back,” he said as you laughed, “that’s when I fell in love with you. And it’s never changed. I just never knew what to say or do.”

“Din...maybe it’s obvious or I don’t know anything anymore, but I’m in love with you too,” you sighed contentedly as he reached over and delicately wiped away your tears, “I always have been too. When we...that night together was everything, but afterwards I thought you regretted it because of what happened and I didn’t know what to do either.

“I know, and I am so sorry for how I acted,” he whispered as you nodded slightly, “I wish I could take it all back and have you understand how much I love you from the beginning. But I can’t…”

“I know now,” you laughed lightly, “and you’re here. That’s what counts. This.”

“I know nothing can change what happened,” he scooted closer to you, reaching over and touching your cheek, “but I promise it won’t ever happen again. Things won’t go back to what they’ve been or what they were. I want this...with you. Everything - I want us to be a real family, not just as friends or work partners but…as my riduur.”

“Really?” you asked softly, unable to keep the smile off your features as he nodded, “I want that too...truly. I want everything with you.”

“And you will have it I will give it all to you,” he promised softly, “I know we have a lot to figure out still, but I love you - I’m in love with you, our baby, the little green menace - our family.”

“Din,” you leaned over, trying not to disturb the little one as you pressed your forehead against his, “I love you. We’ll figure this all out. Just promise me one thing.”

“Anything.”

“Please don’t shut me out again,” you whispered softly, “we’ll get through anything - together.”

“I won’t,” he promised, “I love you, sweet girl.”

“I love you too, Din - you and our little family. Always.”

“Always.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

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#din djarin #din djarin x reader #din djarin x fem!reader #din djarin x you #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #the Mandalorian #the Mandalorian x reader #forever-rogue's follower celebration

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hamartia-grander · 3 years

Text

Mandalorian chapter 15 spoilers

This episode is my favourite so far.

I swear I say that for every new episode but if was just so GOOD.

Lemme try to unpack.

My love for Din Djarin transcends all realms. I love him so much I could be sick with it. I'd spend a day writing him a sonnet yet it'd never be enough. He's so beautiful I want to punch a wall. I would die for him with no hesitation. The removal of his helmet was him saying once and for all that his SON is more important to him than the religion he was raised on. He was so uncomfortable the whole time, but he did it for his SON. He's going to get his child back if he has to singlehandedly take down all that remains of the Empire (which he could do). His transmission to Gideon was forged on pettiness and spite, spitting the moff's foul words back at him but with the real meaning of a heartbroken father and the vengeance of a thousand suns. He's lost EVERYTHING and there is NOTHING that could stop him from saving his son.

Mayfeld's development was wonderful to watch. I actually like him now. He struggles w a fluctuating but powerful moral code, and we see him help Din question all he's known even more for the sake of what he had to do.

Din slowly breaks rules of his Creed the whole episode, culminating in showing his face. I audibly choked. My sister and I cried.

Cara and Fennec were just chilling, taking down baddies, being ~lesbians~ together.

Boba Fett's armour is clean af and you can tell it fits him better now, the aesthetic suits him better, and he's more comfortable in it.

The seismic charge from Boba's ship. That is all.

Din's overall exhaustion yet complete unwillingness to give up.

The poetic juxtaposition of a man who's losing his faith but becoming more sure of himself, and a man who's rejected all faith and is losing touch with who he is. Rick Famuyiwa directed and wrote this episode and once again I'm blown away by the beauty of his work.

Cara and Din's banter. wlw/mlm solidarity.

The pacing was engaging the whole episode. Even the 6 minute scene with Mr. Imperial KFC was entertaining.

Pedro's acting was immaculate. Every single nuance of his body, every twitch of his eyes and mouth, his control over his voice; he executed all of these things brilliantly and showed us that not only can he portray such emotions with just his body language and voice, no face, but that when his face is shown he's equally skilled in telling the audience EXACTLY how Din feels at every moment.

This episode was truly flawless from beginning to end.

Ibic cuyir te ara.

This is the way.

#The mandalorian #The mandalorian chapter 15 #Chapter 15 the believer #Din Djarin #The Child #Baby yoda #Grogu #Cara dune #Fennec shand #Boba Fett #Migs mayfeld #This is the way #Mando'a #Mandalorian #Dave filoni #Jon Favreau #Rick famuyiwa

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lovelessdagger · 3 years

Text

Starlight - Prologue: Before

Pairing: Din Djarin x OC, Din Djarin x OFC

Rating: Mature

Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn, Canon Divergence

Warnings: Blood, Violence, Explicit Language, Trauma

Words: 2000

Summary: What's past is prologue.

There's a new trend since the fall of the Empire, everyone is rising from the dead.

She's haunted by memories of the Empire that abandoned her, he's plagued with thoughts of what if and doubts of the future. The stars align in a string of constellations which guide them to their fates, decided long before them.

Tortured with echos of before, they're alone in an endless galaxy. But orphans have a funny way of finding each other, and the gods have a sick sense of humor.

Read on AO3 Here

Tatooine was the galaxy’s own personal hell, Mustafar at least had the pleasure of fauna. Demonic nightmarish fauna that was more than likely poisonous, but fauna nonetheless. Tatooine? Tatooine was a barren wasteland that had gone to the dogs, and even the dogs had decided they wanted no part in its misfortune. At least on Mustafar she could go inside and be relieved of the heat, at least Mustafar could be considered home.

Or at least it used to be, before.

“Maker,” An assassin mutters, crossing over a sand dune. The red tracking fob in her gloved hand sounds, it’s light flashing a similar color. To her relief, she was close. The sooner to the target, the sooner she could leave and never set foot on sand again.

She could count the total number of visits to Tatooine in her lifetime on one hand. The first she couldn’t have been more than fourteen, then again at an older age to meet with the Hutts. Nine years ago, her father had sent her on a reconnaissance mission to some abandoned moisture farm. It had been terribly boring, full of memories of family dinners and old beaten up droids.

The irony that that very mission essentially caused her to lose everything wasn’t lost on her.

Five years ago she sat in the very cantina she walks to, warned to run away. A mere twenty-one years old—give or take, her birthday after all was a random day chosen by her and the waking sun. There was no telling her true age, so with her knowledge of human anatomy and development, nine years ago she decided on being seventeen.

“Why seventeen?” He asks her. Entering hyperspace she sits behind him, tracing passing stars on the window.

“Because,” she begins matter-of-factly, “Seventeen is a completely insignificant year to be alive. Sixteen is old enough that I won’t be questioned for traveling alone, but still too young to be taken seriously. I’m not quite ready to be an adult yet, but next cycle I will be. So I am seventeen now, so that I may be prepared to be eighteen later.”

Eighteen hours later, the first Death Star exploded.

The events which follow guide her on a fragile string of stars throughout the galaxy, the culmination of which lead her back to hell. Or Tatooine, as the New Republic liked to call it.

Maybe if she had listened things would have been different.

Or maybe they would be worse.

Either way she would be here. The designer of her cruel fate and dictator of her misery have decided this long ago. Forever would she be trapped in hell with her memories.

And everyone else’s.

Condemned to relive the worst of what humanity had to offer, over, and over, and over again. It wasn’t so bad anymore, it’s easy to get numb to that sort of thing when your entire life was filled with it. Still, out of all the places in the galaxy, why did it have to be Tatooine?

She could understand the appeal for those on the run. Away from the New Republic’s oversight, moisture farms as the only viable landmark, and everyone being too overworked to give a damn. Theoretically it should have been easy to hide, the only issue was every criminal in the Outer Rim had the same idea. Originality be damned.

A detached hood and mask shield her identity, not that she believed anything with a penchant of life would be anywhere near. All that surrounded her was sand, rocks, and sand. Still, she could never be overly cautious. Walking up to the cantina, her eyes roll. It was like they wanted to make her job difficult. She could only assume the bar would be crawling with other criminals. Defected imperials, thieves, murderers.

It could have been a family reunion.

Eyes fall on her entrance, the suns backlight her into a silhouette. She becomes the one cascade of darkness in the light of the desert.

“Boys,” she greets, walking in. Her eyes scan the room, there couldn’t be more than ten men. She counts the passing of ten seconds before one approaches her. Within those seconds her mind remarks on the state of the bar, essentially unchanged. Same busted chairs, same creaking floors, same hideous decorations.

“What’s someone like you doing here?” a man grunts, stalking up to her. The most she does to acknowledge him is an eye roll. He grabs her arm, holding her in place. “Does your daddy know you’re out here?” he asks, leaning down to her ear.

She mocks a laugh. “Does yours?”

The man spits at her boots. “Bitch,” he says, walking away from her. His spit slowly rolls off her toe, leaving a glimmering streak along the leather in its wake. She pulls her blaster out, pointing the gun behind her, she shoots the man in the back of the head. He drops, his body heavy with a thud.

The cantina falls to silence. Nine bodies are now watching her. No one makes a move, even the bartender stops his clinking glasses. She’s almost inviting them to try her next.

“No?” She asks, holstering her gun. “Pity,” she mutters.

She walks up to body number seven, he sits in the same spot she had all those years ago. She places her soiled boot on his seat, grabbing his attention. Motioning for him to stand, she barely makes eye contact.

Her fingers run across the tables’ wood, rubbing over permanent stains and rotting cracks.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” he says. He always worried too much about her, “Whatever he’s planning, you won’t come out of it.”

“I’m not a little girl anymore,” she says. “I can take care of myself now.”

“I know. That’s what scares me. You’re not safe anymore,” he replies.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been safe.”

Seven stares at her incredulously, slurping his liquor.

“Come with me,” his voice echos around her. If she closes her eyes it’s like he’s still sitting in front of her. Pleading.

“I don’t like making messes inside, it’s bad manners,” she says, reaching for her blaster. “Get up.”

“Am I supposed to be scared, girl?” Seven asks. He scans her appearance and truth be told she was no Rancor, certainly no Hutt. While her build was athletic, her height physically left her the smallest in the room.

“You owe a lot of credits—” Seven stands, “—That’s better.” She drops her foot. “Now—“

“Step aside,” a modulated voice speaks behind her. She catches a reflection of the intruder in the glass of the framed artwork above Seven’s head. A Mandalorian, covered in pure Beskar, stands a whole head above her. Of course a fucking Mandalorian would show up right now, this had to be his doing. Even in the grave he had to fuck with her.

“Mando,” Seven laughs, he wipes his sweaty palms on his trousers. “I was uh, I was just talking to the missus here,” he grabs the girls shoulder. “Say, now’s not really a good time so how about we—“

“I don’t have time for this,” the Mandalorian says. He drops a bounty puck on the table, in blue holograms Seven’s profile appears.

WANTED: EDI MOURI

“Let’s go,” Mando says.

The girl shakes herself from Seven. “Listen Shiny, I was here first so move along.” The Mandalorian’s head tilts.

“Are you with the guild?” He asks.

She picks up the bounty puck, examining the emblem. “Not yours.”

Mando’s head turns to One’s fallen body on the ground, a growing pool of blood by his head.

“Your work?”

“You could say that.”

Seven clears his throat. Whispers of bets trail within the crowd. “In fairness. She did find me first.”

The pair are incredulous in their stare. “You want to go with the assassin?” Mando asks, a slight twinge of amusement escapes past his modulator.

Seven’s face turns to ice, his deep emerald skin becoming a pastel like hue. “On second thought. I always loved the Mandalorian stories I heard as a kid, I’m a big fan. Let’s go big guy.” He takes a step towards Mando, the assassin pulls out her blaster, pointing it to his head. At the same moment Mando pulls out his own, pointing it to her.

“Drop it,” he says. “I need him alive.”

She cocks her head to the side, pressing her forehead against the barrel of the gun. “Do it,” she purrs.

He’s motionless.

She grabs the Mandalorian’s wrist with one hand, striking the bend in his arm with the other. A blaster shot fires, Three falls to the ground with a hole in his head.

Mando lifts her by her neck and slams her into the table where Seven sits. Her vision flashes white and she groans on impact. Her hands fumble across the wood in frantic search of anything to defend herself with.

“Wait for me, I’ll come for you in two days.”

She smashes Seven’s plate against the table, shattering it. With a jagged edge of porcelain she slashes the Mandalorian’s arm, staining the edge with his red blood. In his stumble back she rolls off the table.

Harsh stabs are swung to the openings between the pieces of armor, he easily blocks but her movements are quick in succession. He ignites the flamethrower on his arm and she flips out of range.

Six isn’t so lucky.

She lands on his table, he’s charred and slumped over. She grabs a baton resting against his chair, cringing at its touch. Jumping of the table she strikes his helmet. The tune of impact horrifically melodic.

Brought to his knees, Mando grabs her leg sweeping her onto her back. The baton falls out of her grasp. They tumble on the ground, scathing for any advantage they could find on the other. She slaps a taser disk on his armor, the shocks malfunction the electronics.

The Mandalorian lays on the ground, emitting heavy gasps for air. Sounds of passing credits come from a back table. She straddles him, pulling out the knife kept in the welt of her sleeve. It’s metal presses against his capes fabric gathered around his neck.

A smile twinges under her mask. “Not bad,” she pants, leaning down over him.

The cantina doors automate open, in perfect eye-line, a green little creature. It waddles in, cooing with bright eyes at the patrons, greeting them all. It locks eyes with her, head tilted. The veil of her mask conceals her dropped jaw.

The Mandalorian takes the chance of her distraction; flipping their bodies over, he straddles her waist, pinning her hands above her head. The assassin’s chest rises and falls heavy from under him. “I told you to wait outside,” he grunts. The green thing coos, waddling to the pair. It reaches out for her. “No,” he says next, raising a scolding finger to it. It whines, plopping on its rear.

Past the visor, his eyes lock onto hers, he clears his throat. Suggestive positioning aside, he had claim to victory. Though, had it not been for the child he would have been a dead man, throat slit under her knife.

He could still kill her, his blaster was in reach, so was her knife.

He should kill her.

But he doesn’t.

“Hey Mandalorian,” she breathes. “Where’s your bounty?” Seven’s seat empty, table broken, shattered porcelain fallen on the floor.

“Fuck,” he swears. He stands, pocketing the knife she held. He picks up the creature, sparing her one last glance. “Stay out of my way,” he warns. Exiting the building she’s left on the floor.

The surviving witnesses avoid her glare. There are holes in the flooring, broken furniture, blood stains splattered on every surface.

So much for not making a mess indoors.

She scoffs, picking herself up. Her muscles ache, bruises are forming under her clothing, her head pounds.

Carelessly, she shoots Five on her way out.

It’s a redemption of sorts.

Officially, Tatooine was worse than hell.

Chapter One: The Meeting

#Mandalorian #the mandalorian #Din Djarin #din djarin x original character #din djarin x original female character #din djarin x oc #mandalorian fanfic #din djarin x reader #Starlight #the mandalorian fanfiction #mando x oc #mando x ofc #mando x original character #mando x original female character #din djarin x female oc

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ncfan-1 · 3 years

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Because I feel like we’re being set up to encounter Sabine once more in The Mandalorian, some of my more discontented feelings regarding what happened to her in the epilogue of Rebels have been coming to the surface, because I just can’t be 100% okay with anything, can I?

But I really, really do not like what is implied to have happened with Sabine in the epilogue of Rebels. Over the years, I have become more cognizant of the problems I have with certain things in the back half of Season 4 of Rebels, but I think my problems with what happened with Sabine were there in the forefront of my mind from nearly the beginning, even if it was a while before I was willing to really engage with it.

Okay. The natural culmination of Sabine’s character arc over the course of Seasons 3 and 4 was for her to accept the mantle of leadership. We’re all in agreement about that, right? I remember having problems with her shirking that role on Mandalore back in the Season 4 premiere, but I had thought at the time that, from there, her arc would culminate in her accepting the mantle of leadership within the wider rebellion, rather than merely in the Mandalorian Resistance. After all, Sabine has had Hera as one of her most important role models since early adolescence, Hera who decided that it wasn’t enough merely to liberate her own homeworld, but that for liberty to last, she had to go out and free the whole galaxy. Sabine might more readily follow Hera’s example than, say, her mother’s, or Bo-Katan’s. It would have made sense for Sabine to transcend the need for just her own people’s liberation, would have made sense for her take everything she has learned since she was cast out of Mandalorian society as a child and dream bigger than just the dream of a liberated Mandalorian society.

And she really did seem on track for that culmination in the finale. There was a moment that I was sure was the culmination. You guys can probably think of what it is yourself, but it bears pointing out here. It was that moment after Sabine spotted Ezra sneaking off to carry out his own plane, that moment after she covered for him, that moment after the others realized that Ezra had gone off on his own. It was that moment when Sabine stopped Hera from trying to force Ezra to come back, that moment when Sabine took charge of the situation and formulated a plan of action for the team—and her leitmotif started playing.

This was the moment to me. I watched this play out, and I well and truly believed that Sabine had finally reached the culmination of her character arc. I believed that this was Sabine finally pushing past all of her doubts and insecurity. I believed that this was Sabine overcoming her feelings of unworthiness and taking up the mantle of a leader. I believed that this was Sabine accepting herself, accepting the fact that she was capable of being a leader, that she was a leader. And every part she played in the finale after that moment seemed to bear this out—it was Sabine acting as a leader without hesitation, without doubt, without second-guessing herself. She’d finally overcome that block.

And then, the epilogue. Then, Sabine’s voiceover talking about the parts everybody else played in the events to come—and behold, she is nowhere to be found in those recollections, and behold, the absolutely hideous implication that she completely abandoned the fight after the liberation of Lothal, and spent the rest of the war on the planet.

No, it’s never said outright, and that’s the one saving grace of it all. But it certainly is implied, isn’t it? It’s implied, and it’s such a monumental step backwards for her character, so out of left field, that the only way to make sense of it is to look at the man behind the curtain and think about it Doylistically, instead of Watsonianly.

It feels to me like Sabine was forced to abandon the culmination of her character arc in favor of shouldering the natural culmination of Ezra’s arc. Ezra’s arc would have had a natural conclusion in him remaining on Lothal to protect the planet from further reprisals and help it heal from the damage done to it, but it really hits differently when it’s a character whose arc was never heading in that direction before the last five minutes of the show. It’s not natural, is it?

Now, I don’t have as many problems with what happened with Ezra as I do with what happened with Sabine, and I honestly think that what happened with him works fairly well as an alternate culmination of his arc. But it doesn’t work with Sabine, does it? It does not work with Sabine to have her character arc mutilated this way, because what’s happened is that the implication that she abandoned the fight and stayed on Lothal makes her regress as a person as a character. I was originally going to say it regresses her to her early Season 1 self, but actually, it doesn’t, because even in early Season 1, Sabine was still willing to take the fight to the Empire, even if she was daunted by her doubts and all of her baggage. Where it regresses her to is her pre-series self, right after she and Ketsu escaped Mandalore, and Sabine is so utterly discouraged and heartbroken by her family and society’s rejection of her that she abandons the idea of fighting the Empire for a long time, and turns her heart away from the suffering of the galaxy at large.

It makes no sense, but then, forcing one character to take on the arc of another character rarely ever does.

Now, like I said, it is the strong implication that Sabine abandoned the fight after the liberation of Lothal. It is strongly implied, but never outright stated, and like I also said, that’s the one saving grace of all of this, that it’s never outright stated in the show itself. If The Mandalorian has her saying that oh, she actually was out doing stuff with the Rebellion during the war proper, it might go against the implication, but I’ll still accept it, because it would be so much easier to engage with a Sabine I actually recognize, rather than the stranger who was dropped on us in the epilogue.

I write all of this both to get it off of my chest, and as a long, long preamble explaining why I am writing this. I write it because I think that after meeting Bo-Katan, the next logical step for Din Djarin is for him to meet Sabine. He’s met someone who performs the Mandalorian identity differently from himself, and by the end of ‘The Heiress’, he seems to be on the way to accepting that there is more than one valid way to perform Mandalorian culture and identity. Sabine is the next logical step in the progression, the next step after Din coming to accept that there is more than one way to perform their culture: someone who has a deeply complicated relationship with her cultural identity as a Mandalorian, someone who has done harm to that culture while also deeply harmed by it, someone whose identity as a Mandalorian includes not only battle and loyalty to her family, but self-expression through artwork.

I think that self-expression through art, always so important to Sabine’s character, might be introduced here as well. Because Din’s unpainted armor has always been jarring to me, and I think that his ability to engage in self-expression might have been just a little stifled (or more than a little stifled) by his raising in the Watch, and the values the Watch inculcated in him. Sabine might well introduce him to the concept of painting his armor, whether in his clan colors (and if he doesn’t have any at present, there could well be a scene of him deciding what they are), or in colors and designs that he chooses, that are personally meaningful to him, without clan affiliation or loyalty to the Watch entering.

There is something else about Sabine that I think will be of interest in this show, especially since she is most likely to turn up in Ahsoka’s company. Sabine provides an interesting inverse to the Child’s present situation—where the Child is a Force-wielder sheltered and cared for by a Mandalorian, Sabine was, once upon a time, a Mandalorian child sheltered and cared for by a Jedi, a Mandalorian child who was in her adolescence brought up alongside a child who was a Jedi.

I don’t think that Din’s journey leads him ultimately to give up the child to the Jedi, because that would be a betrayal of the bond that has formed between them. I think that his journey leads to him finding the middle way, finding that place where Mandalorians and Jedi can coexist, held fast by bonds of care and loyalty and love. That Sabine has all of these bonds with Jedi—with Kanan and Ezra, and by the implication of the finale, with Ahsoka as well—may well be the thing that proves to Din that it can be done, that just because Mandalorians and Jedi have traditionally been enemies, does not mean that they must always be enemies.

Din has gone out into the galaxy as the man who has everything to learn about life and how his can be richer than it has been, who has everything to learn about how his own people can be more than just one thing. Both he and Sabine are alienated from their culture in their own ways, and I’m interested to see the way they might play off of each other, what they can learn from each other, and especially what Din is willing to learn from Sabine. I know it’s not a sure thing that Sabine will show up, but it feels right, and I’ll be interested to see what role she has to play in the show.

#The Mandalorian #Star Wars Rebels #Din Djarin #Sabine Wren #Meta

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tailorvizsla · 4 years

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A Proper Mandalorian Courtship - Chapter 4

Title: Fire (Or Some Mando Slice of Life) Pairing: Paz x OFC, OFC x OMC, Paz x Reader Word Count: ~6800 Rating: PG-13 Warnings: Sort-of graphic description of an injury and its treatment.

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 📚 My Master List 📚

Tag List: @hdlynn @princessbatears @ffiiggyy

If you want to be tagged, let me know! :)

[flashback]

Paz returns to the karyai. Zephyr is with Norj in the nursery, safely shielded from the shit-show that is about to happen. Three minutes after his return, Armorer strides back into the room amidst pure silence. Mere seconds later, Zeli and Liam slink into the karyai, buckets firmly back in place. Neither even dares to look up as they come stand in front of the table where Armorer is standing. She stares at them for several moments. The silence drags on, his heartbeat roaring in his ears.

“You broke your Oath. Why?” Armorer asks, in a tone that some might regard as casual.

Paz knows better than that. Armorer is livid. She has probably gone from incandescent rage to calm and back several times. They take too long to respond, and she finally loses her temper.

“Why?” Armorer barks sharply at them.

“I have no explanation,” Zeli says, her voice wavering slightly.

“I have no explanation,” Liam says hoarsely.

Like a cold autumn breeze rasping leaves across the ground, whispers erupt through the crowd, and sends a wave of prickles down his flesh.

“The Tribe cannot come to a decision regarding your punishment,” Armorer says, her voice like ice. “Twelve votes for marriage, twelve votes for exile.”

The two of them exchange a look between themselves. He knows what they are thinking: there are twenty-eight adults in the Tribe; since the Alor usually abstains from these votes, the stalemate should have been broken.

“One individual abstained from the vote,” Armorer says, her tone calm and cold. “Thus, the decision falls to me.”

She withdraws her own dagger. Though beautifully ornate, it is honed to a lethal edge. It has taken many lives over the years. It is only fitting that it decides their final fate with the tribe. She does not hesitate to drive the blade under the tongs. Marriage. It shocks him to his core. Of all the people here, he thought she would vote for exile. She withdraws, her entire body tense. No one dares to argue, though he can hear angry mutterings.

“You will marry,” Armorer says flatly.

“What about – “ Zeli starts to say.

Zeli dares to look at him. Paz tightens his jaw, biting into the sides of his cheeks to avoid the caustic response. Here, right now, he feels no sorrow. Only anger. Pure unadulterated rage. While he simmers, Din growls. She quickly looks back down.

“What about Zephyr?” Liam finally asks.

How could a buir even hesitate to ask about their child’s wellbeing? Paz is beyond disgusted with Liam.

“What about Zephyr?” Armorer repeats, enunciating each word carefully. “Did you think to ask yourself that before you bared your face to Zeli?”

“Did Paz see our faces?” Liam asks.

“No,” he responds. “I did not look.”

“Then why take our helmets?” Zeli asks quietly. “I would have thought you would want us gone…”

Paz does not look at either of them.

“My Oath to this Tribe comes before anything else. If I had not acted – if I had walked away, pretending I had not seen what I saw, I would be complicit in this blatant disregard for the Oath we all swore,” Paz says, every word carefully modulated to remain as neutral as possible. “I did what I could to ensure the best possible outcome for Zephyr, which is more than I can say for either of you.”

More muttering, though it is a lot quieter than before. To drive the knife in deeper, he continues. He cannot help himself.

“Regardless of what has been done to me, I am no liar. I still have my honor and my integrity.”

This time, everyone remains silent.

“Do you wish to exchange vows?” Armorer asks, her voice silky soft.

“We…we will exchange them,” Liam says.

His voice is hoarse. Pained. Paz feels his lip curl in disgust. The two adulterers turn to one another. Quietly, they exchange their vows. With each word, Paz feels his stomach tighten to the point of pain. He wants to throw up, but he forces himself to witness their farce of a marriage.

This is not how it is meant to be. The riduurok – the marriage bond – is formed from love. To a Mandalorian, especially one as conservative as him, marriage is an oath of loyalty, fidelity, and unconditional support.

Marriage comes from a love that is formed from mutual admiration and acceptance; from whole-hearted, joyful surrender to ones’ other half. It comes from the type of respect that grows deep, strong roots. It culminates with two people joining their lives as one, from the moment the vows are spoken until the day they go marching far, far away.

Marriage is not the love that is formed from passion, lust, and deceit. When the heat leaves their hearts, and the nights grow cold, their roots will dry and weaken. They will not grow together and become one. There will only be rot stagnation until there is only distance and bitter resentment. He can only pray that Zephyr does not suffer further.

When they finish exchanging their vows, Armorer sighs and retrieves her dagger. One by one, the others follow suit. No one looks at them. Paz turns to exit. He will not be able to make them suffer the way he wants, but at least he can make them hurt a little. He can make them know how much he despises them for what they have done. Before he leaves, he pauses next to the newlyweds.

“My congratulations to the newlyweds. It is my greatest hope that the two of you will find peace and prosperity together,” he says calmly, coolly. “My gift to you.”

He reaches into his pocket and withdraws the ceremonial blade he had hoped to give her one day. Then he flicks it down onto the table, embedding the tip into the table before Zeli. She lets out a choked sob. Liam exhales and looks away.

“Paz,” Zeli starts to say.

“Please, ner vod,” Liam tries to say. “I am so sorry – “

“Do not ever address me by name again, demagolka,” he hisses at them, finally unable to keep his temper under control. “You are dead to me.”

He turns around before either of them can speak to them. From there, Paz heads back to his room. He hesitates at the door for just a moment. Then he exhales. The sooner he gets this done, the easier it will be. Entering, he finds Din already in the process of cleaning out Zeli’s property, tossing everything carelessly into a crate. He pokes through whatever Din has already packed to make sure nothing of his accidentally ends up in there. Paz unfolds another crate and starts going through the main room, listening as Din occasionally mutters an expletive or insult.

He finds several things that had once been at home with his – her second pair of boots, a bright pink sock, and a book. All of it goes straight into the crate. Piece by piece, he removes her from his life, each article erasing part of their eight years together. Like all other wounds, this pain will eventually heal, but he will not be the same as he was before. He can only hope that his new course in life will allow him to become a better man.

From here, he watches Din strip the bedding off the mattress. He balls it up and dumps it in the bottom of another crate. Paz turns away as Din flips the mattress over. Paz has never been one to get emotional about objects, but he cannot sleep there. He will replace it eventually, but it will do for now. A firm knock at the door makes his shoulders tense. He hadn’t the foresight to tell them to stay away, that their belongings would be left at their door.

Din is at the door before he can respond.

“What?” he asks.

A gloved hand pushes a basket into his arms.

“Take care of alor’ad,” Neten says. “He’s the only one…who can kick our asses the right way, you know?”

“Thanks,” Din says gruffly. “I’ll let him know.”

He shuts the door. Before Din can put the basket down, there is another knock. This time, it is more insistent. Din opens the door again.

“Hey, Reva - what the fuck – “

“Damn it, Djarin,” comes Revala’s voice. “Grab the other end, would you?”

“Let me put this down,” Din says indignantly.

Paz watches as Revala and Terys push a mattress into the room, brand new and still wrapped. He blinks a few times in utter confusion.

“Uhm…where did this come from?” Din asks, as he backs into the room, holding his end steady.

“Eh, Terys just had a spare one laying around,” Revala says briskly. “Thought the old man could use better support for his back.”

“Yeah, we got sick of hearing him bitch about it,” Terys says. “Every other fucking day. My back this, my back that.”

The other man drops a linen bag onto the couch.

“We’ll just help tidy up,” Terys says, going straight to the bedroom.

Paz watches in silence as the two of them swiftly push the old mattress toward the door.

“Don’t want to hear you bitching about your back, okay?” Revala asks, her voice choking up.

Suddenly, Paz realizes that Terys and Revala had been planning on moving in together. That they had bought the mattress for themselves. He did not even suspect they had been in a relationship, much less being at the point of moving in together. Sudden guilt wracks him.

“Yeah,” Paz says. “I won’t. How much – “

“If you even think about trying to pay me back, I will stab you in the kriffing balls,” Terys says flatly.

“You just want any excuse to touch his balls, don’t you?” Revala asks in a saucy tone.

“Oh, fuck off,” Terys snaps.

Paz holds both hands up in surrender. The two of them disappear, bickering between themselves. Paz helps Din set the bed up on the makeshift frame. It hangs over the edges a bit, but it will do until he can replace the frame. Din unpacks the sheets and snorts.

Paz stares at the monstrosity Din has lifted out of the bag. The sheets are a violent shade of pink with fluorescent green stripes. As if the eye-watering combination is not bad enough on its own, whoever had designed the pattern also included lines of tiny black taun-tauns running parallel to the stripes.

“Holy hell,” Din breathes. “That man has no taste.”

Paz hears the grin on Din’s face, and he can’t help himself. From losing two people he once loved all the way to his Tribe rallying behind him to support him through the clusterfuck his life has suddenly become…today has been a bizarre, surreal ride of emotions. He can only laugh. Hard. Din chortles a bit, though he is clearly worried about him.

“I’m keeping them,” Paz announces.

“You’re insane,” Din retorts.

“They’re great,” Paz shoots back as they get the bedding back in place. “They add…uh…character.”

Nothing in the bag matches. One pillowcase is fluorescent orange, while the other is black. The flat sheet looks like someone spilled a child’s watercolor palette onto a dirty tissue. It might have been bleached by accident at some point, but he cannot tell. At least the thick blanket is a relatively normal shade of brown, despite being made of cheap velour-like fabric.

“They certainly add something,” Din says, as they take a step back to survey the horror scene laid out in front of them, “But I’m not sure it can be called character.”

Paz nods, suddenly sober.

“Hey…thanks,” Paz says to Din.

Din responds by grabbing him by the chest plate and headbutting him hard enough to make his teeth rattle in his skull.

“If you need anything, send me a message,” Din says.

Cheekily, he reaches into the basket Neten had brought by. He grabs a beer and a handful of the snacks. Then, with a jaunty salute, Din leaves. After locking the door, Paz goes to the basket and takes out the alcohol. He pops the cap and takes a big swallow. He grimaces. Far too bitter, no flavor. He drinks it anyway.

Turning to the bottle is an unhealthy coping mechanism that has claimed a number of his brethren, but he has no plans to make it a habit. Tonight, he just wants to be numb.

[end flashback]

“My fayshe feels funny,” Paz says to Din, who sighs.

“Doctor Shen, Paz is starting to slur his words,” he calls out through the door.

No one responds.

Paz tilts his head to the doorway as Doctor Shen and Armorer argue in the main room. Well, it really is not an argument. The two of them are just repeating themselves over and over in different ways, trying to tell the other what needs to happen. Armorer says the bucket does not come off due to the Oath. Doctor Shen says that the bucket comes off. The two of them have been going around in circles for a while now, long enough such that the pain medications were starting to lose their edge. It is not until Doctor Shen brings up the fact that traumatic brain injury can render him completely useless to the Tribe that Armorer relents.

“Then we blindfold you,” Armorer says.

“How the fuck do you expect me to treat him with a blindfold on?” Doctor Shen asks in exasperation.

“That is the only way,” Armorer says.

“Can I use the deep tissue scanner?” Doctor Shen asks bluntly. “I technically won’t be looking at his face – just the bones and tissue underneath the skin.”

Armorer falters.

“Can you assure us that you will not know his identity?”

“Yes,” Doctor Shen stresses.

“Very well, do what you must to ensure Paz’s health and preserve his identity,” Armorer says.

“We are going to discuss this oath with the rest of the Tribe, Armorer,” Doctor Shen says flatly. “There must be an exclusion for medical professionals.”

“Doctor Shen – “

“Armorer,” Doctor Shen hisses through her teeth.

“I will leave you to your work, Doctor.”

Paz snickers as Armorer gracefully concedes defeat. It has been such a long time since he has last witnessed Armorer backing down from a fight. Then again, there is an unspoken rule – the chief medical officer outranks even the Alor when it involves someone’s health.

Coming into the room, Doctor Shen wheels the bed over to the deep tissue scanner. She positions the arm of the machine over his head. Then Din takes over, draping a sheet over everything to keep him from being seen. Once it is set to the deep scan mode, he removes his bucket. He grimaces as the bright light stabs straight through his pupils and into the back of his head.

“First of all, how many times have you gotten your nose broken?”

“Lost count,” he remarks.

“Fuck’s sakes. Hunters,” Doctor Shen hisses. “Stay still. You’re going to feel a bit of a tickling sensation in your teeth. I’m trying to set the bone fragments without causing further damage.”

Searing pain jolts down the side of his face. Paz gasps.

“Only a sadist would call that a tickle,” he groans.

“Din, jab this into his neck, right into the jugular.”

“What is it?” Din asks.

“Painkillers,” Doctor Shen says. “Now go do it before I take it back.”

“Aye, Doctor,” Din says. “I’m gonna stab you, okay?”

“How long have you been wanting to do that?” Paz asks.

“Stop moving,” Doctor Shen growls.

Din laughs as he jabs him in the neck. After a few seconds, Paz feels his head swim.

“N-now that…that’s the good shit,” he slurs out. “C-can’t f-feel my face.”

“That particular cocktail contains a bacta infusion as well as anti-inflammatory drugs that are targeted specifically to brain tissue. There’s also a mild muscle relaxer in there for your neck muscles. So, hopefully, that’ll keep you still.”

Paz relaxes, nearly falling asleep as Doctor Shen works to reposition the bone fragments in his face through the equipment. Once his nose is put back together, she gives him another injection to stimulate the bone cells and help support the bacta infusion. She reaches under the blanket, wearing latex gloves.

“Alright, I have to do this part by touch, since I can’t look at your face,” she says. “Stay. Still. I don’t want this falling into your mouth or your eyes.”

With one hand resting on his cheek, Doctor Shen’s other hand disappears. Then it returns with a strip of quick-set stabilizing bandage. She quickly maneuvers it into place. It heats up uncomfortably as it dries.

“That will keep the bridge of your nose in the right shape,” she says. “You can wear the bucket, but please be careful putting it on and taking it off for the next few days.”

“Sure thing, doc,” he says.

Din returns to his side and slides his bucket under the sheets.

“Hey, you cleaned it out,” Paz says. “Thanks, ner vod.”

“Your neck is fine, no damage to any of the nerves, muscles, or vessels,” she says. “But those muscles are going to hurt if you agitate them again before the bacta can do its job. I don’t want you doing anything stupid, Vizla.”

“I won’t do anything stupid,” he insists.

“You’re a hunter,” she retorts sharply.

“Point taken,” Paz says. “Nothing more vigorous than light sparring, then?”

“No sparring at all,” she says. “You can lift weights and jog for the next week. No sparring until I’ve had a chance to check your muscles again.”

“Can I go shooting?”

“Handheld blasters only, nothing heavier than a child,” she says.

“Fine,” he says. “Light shooting.”

“Alright, I’m happy with where you are right now health-wise,” Doctor Shen starts to say.

“Does…does this mean I can leave today?” Paz asks as he carefully puts his bucket back on.

Then he reaches out blindly, trying to remove the sheet from his face. Doctor Shen takes the sheets away, tossing them at Din. The unspoken command is clear to them both. Din goes and puts the sheets into the bin to be washed and sterilized.

“Absolutely not,” Doctor Shen says in an exasperated tone. “You have a concussion, Paz. We take brain injuries seriously around here. Your ass is staying in that bed overnight. In the morning, I’ll decide if you can leave.”

“Doctor Shen, please,” Paz says. “I have something very important that I need to do.”

“No. Your only job right now is to heal.”

“Please? It’s extremely important,” Paz insists.

“What is so important that you want to risk further brain damage?”

“Well…I have a date,” Paz says. “So, surely, you understand – “

Her head shoots up.

“Oh, no,” Doctor Shen says. “You are staying in bed and you are cancelling your plans.”

“But – “

She turns around slowly. Paz swallows as the inky black visor of her helmet tilts down toward him.

“Alright, I’m cancelling my plans,” he says. “No problem at all.”

“Good,” she says, pacing closer to his bed, looming over him. “I would hate to have to pull rank on you.”

Paz grimaces to himself under the bucket. The last thing he wants to do is piss off Doctor Shen. He knows she will make him stay another night if he mouths off. So, wisely, he stays where he is, hoping to be put out of his misery soon.

Din sends a message, informing him that he will be getting him some clean clothes. Paz sighs and closes his eyes. Doctor Shen allowed him to wipe some of the blood off with wipes, but everything from the chin down is saturated in blood. Once she can confirm the bacta is working and that the pain medications have not caused any adverse reactions, she will let him have a proper shower.

When you see Din come out of medical, you approach.

“How is he?” you ask, trying to keep the worry from your voice.

“Concussed,” Din sighs. “Idiot broke his nose, but he’ll be fine once the bacta kicks in.”

You nod. A broken nose and concussion aren’t too bad.

“Does he need anything?” you ask.

“Nah, he’ll be – “

Din suddenly stops talking as he tilts his head. Then slowly, he turns his head to look at you. You wait, hoping there’s something you can do.

“You know what, I think he might need a clean set of clothes,” Din says, in an odd tone. “But I need to take care of some stuff. Can you grab him something to change into?”

You jump at the chance to help Paz.

“Absolutely,” you say. “Did Doctor Shen specify visiting hours, or - ?”

“He’s going to have a checkup in two hours,” Din says. “Take stuff to him then. He’ll appreciate whatever you bring him.”

“Okay,” you say. “I can handle that.”

Din nods. A few minutes later, a message from Din pops up in your HUD, containing Paz’s door code. Immediately, you return to your room and grab one of your larger storage bags. Chewing on your lower lip, you consider what he might need for an overnight stay in medical. Pajamas, clean clothes for tomorrow, and toiletries. A small smile crosses your face – he will need his snacks, too. Warmth spreads across your cheeks as you stride down the hallway toward the officer’s quarters.

Paz always enjoys eating whatever you cook, even when it means he sneaks something off behind your back. You have long since started making extra so he can have some as well. He is also considerate and polite, a far cry from some of the coarser company available in the Tribe. You decide that you will be as considerate with him as he is with you.

Once at his door, you type in the code and let yourself in. His room is huge, you think enviously to yourself, as you look around. He also seems to have half the armory stacked on tables and in bins around his room. Along wall, he has a large table with neatly organized tools and a few partially assembled blasters.

Turning toward the bedroom, you hesitate. This is his bedroom, his personal space. You almost feel like you are trespassing here. Taking a deep breath, you shake your head, and move forward. Din gave you his code. If he didn’t trust you, he would not have given you access to Paz’s private space. You step in and head toward the shelves opposite the end of the bed. There, you find his clothes. Tonight, he will need pajamas, so you grab one of the soft-looking flannel sets. For tomorrow, you grab a suit, a set of padding, and a cowl in matching dark grey.

In one of the boxes on the lower shelves, you find compression shirts, shorts, and socks. Those are also added to the bag. Finally, you find his shower caddy and grab it as well. Once you are finished there, you leave the bedroom, and come into the living space. Stopping by the couch, you pick up the book on the table and add it to your bag. From there, you make your way through the karyai and into the kitchen.

He will need something edible to keep his strength up. You’ve had hospital rations before and they are unpleasant, to say the least. No flavor, no spice, and certainly no heat. Doctor Shen says that the rations are bland to ensure the patient can rest and heal, but you think she secretly enjoys the torture.

In the bottom of one of the bins, you find your cake supplies. You check the time. One hour and fifty-two minutes before you can see him and drop off supplies. Plenty of time to make him a small cake and get him some snacks. Exactly two hours and a minor burn later, you finish your gift to Paz. One small tray of uj’ayali cake, made with your dwindling stock of spices, syrup, and wine. You wrap the entire thing in parchment paper and include a fork.

Then you go to the stasis unit in the corner and steal some of the cheeses, crackers, and a small container of pickles. There, something to tide him over. In one of the bins, you find some apples. You take two for him so Doctor Shen cannot complain about him eating too much cake.

You would not do this for anyone else. You love your Tribe, but Paz is special to you. Nervously, you stop that train of thought before it can even depart the station. Paz is your friend first and foremost.

Glancing around, you take in your mess. It is extensive. Well, that all can wait until later. Paz needs you more than anything needs to be cleaned up. You turn the lights off and make your way to medical, hefting the bag onto your shoulder. You wait patiently inside the main room, listening as Doctor Shen scolds Paz for something or another. When Doctor Shen steps outside of the private room, she does a blatant double-take.

“What can I do for you?” she asks.

“I’d like to see Paz,” you say. “Is it okay if I go in?”

Doctor Shen pokes her head into the private room.

“You okay with seeing more visitors, buckethead?”

“Depends,” comes Paz’s voice. “Who is it?”

“Shu’shika,” Doctor Shen says.

“Sure,” Paz says. “Send her in.”

You step in, noting that Doctor Shen is watching you, her head cocked to one side. As soon as you come into the room, she follows you to the doorway, carrying a tray of equipment. Paz is resting on the bed, his legs crossed at the ankle, and his boots on the floor.

“Hey,” you say, echoing his words from earlier.

“Hey,” he repeats. “So, uh, what brings you here? What is all this, anyway?”

“Din said he has some really important stuff to work on, so I volunteered to get you some supplies,” you say to him. Digging into the bag, you grab his book and hand it to him. “Din sent the code for your door, by the way, I didn’t like break in or anything.”

Paz’s head jerks up at your words.

“Din…sent you the code?”

“Yes,” you say. “He was in such a rush to go finish his work. I hope you don’t mind?”

“Not at all,” he says, in an odd sort of tone. “I am so glad I cleaned up last night.”

You laugh as you hang the bag onto one of the wall hooks.

“I also came to see if you’re okay,” you say quietly, “And to see if you’d like some company?”

He nods in response.

“You want to stay and keep this cranky idiot company?” Doctor Shen asks, as she goes to the deep tissue scanner in the corner.

Paz growls as you sit down next to him.

“Well, of course,” you say. “Why wouldn’t I come see Paz?”

“I don’t mind,” Paz says. His voice takes a mischievous tone. “You did say you didn’t want to speak to Lyras. So now you don’t have to talk to him.”

You laugh, relief filling you. Then you clear your throat a bit.

“I…I also wanted to give you this,” you say, holding the tray to him.

He takes the tray from you, still slightly warm from the oven. He unwraps it and stares down at your offering to him.

“Uhm…my buir always said to eat plenty of uj’ayali if I was injured,” you say.

Inexplicably, you feel yourself blushing cherry-red, the heat filling you all the way down to your bellybutton.

“Where the hell did you find uj’ayali?” Doctor Shen asks.

“I-I made it,” you stammer out.

Oh, gods above, why did I even come here?

“You made this for me?” Paz repeats, his tone so gentle that your breath catches in your throat.

You nod earnestly at Paz. Thankfully, he does not seem too weirded out by your forwardness. In fact, he might even sound a bit happy at it.

“You made… You made - ?” Doctor Shen asks.

You can feel her incredulous stare through her bucket.

“I have some of that wine that you like,” you admit softly. “I kept a few bottles…for a special occasion.”

“Thank you,” he says, his voice sounding almost awed. “I really appreciate it, Shu’shika.”

“I’ll go finish something else,” Doctor Shen says, backing toward the door. “Uh…somewhere else.”

She shuts the door, leaving the two of you alone. As much as you appreciate the doctor, you are grateful that she has work to do. You have not had a lot of time with Paz in the past few weeks, so you would like to make the most of your visit with him today.

“Would you like to try some?” you ask. “I can wheel the privacy curtain over, if you’d like. We can…we can hang out. Since we can’t go shooting.”

Hopefully, he will not think that you are being clingy.

“Yeah,” he says, “I’d like that.”

You beam at him. You have no idea why Doctor Shen would say he is cranky.

Doctor Shen finishes putting her equipment into the autoclave just as Din carefully peers into the room, edging in as if expecting to be attacked. She looks up at him. He has to know about you and Paz. She goes to him.

“Did you know about Paz and Shu’shika?” she asks him in a low tone.

“Yes,” he says. “Are they - ?”

“Yeah,” Doctor Shen responds. “I’ll let her stay until I close down for the evening.”

Din nods just as they hear what seems to be a minor explosion down the hallway. Doctor Shen almost purses her lips as she hears Garan’s familiar bellowing. There is nothing new about this situation – some idiot hunter has rightfully earned their tongue-lashing from Garan. He takes nothing from anyone, especially not hunters.

“What’s all the noise down the hallway for?”

“I don’t know,” Din says. “Maybe someone left the water on again?”

They listen for a few moments, the occasional shout drifting back to them. She turns back to Din.

“Is Paz serious?” she asks.

Doctor Shen knows you well – after all, she has been caring for you for years now. Even as a child, you tagged along after her, pestering her endlessly with your questions and tendency to injure yourself. She was there when you put your bucket on at thirteen. She watched you grow up to become a skilled, competent, and hard-working member of the tribe. It is everything that she could have wanted for you.

“Dead serious,” Din responds. “He’s been thinking about this for a while. He went to Armorer two nights ago to talk to her about courtship.”

Doctor Shen feels relief fill her stomach. If there is a hunter she trusts, it is Paz. He is a good man and will not take advantage of you. Doctor Shen knows that you are an adult, but she still sometimes sees the little girl you used to be, complete with a busted lip and two scabby knees.

“Good,” Doctor Shen says to him. “Shu’shika might be a walking disaster, but she is our most precious disaster.”

Someone taking an interest in you was bound to happen eventually. She cannot help but to be overjoyed that it is a hunter of Paz’s caliber. Before Din can respond, they hear Garan shout your name.

“Where is she?” Garan roars. “If she’s not already dying, I’m going to kill her – “

Din grabs the surly mechanic by the chest plate and shoves him back out into the hallway.

“She’s busy,” Din says in his most menacing tone. “You will leave her alone.”

Undeterred, Garan shoves him back. This time, Din slams him up against the wall, pinning him in place with one arm against his chest plate and one finger pointed at his visor.

“I. Do. Not. Care,” Din hisses.

“This is the third time her carelessness has gotten something caught on fire,” Garan growls. “That little shit – “

“That little shit is busy,” Doctor Shen says from the doorway, her voice like ice. “Go back to the kitchen and take care of the mess. I’ll send her by later.”

Garan snarls but eventually concedes. Din grabs him by the shoulder and forcefully marches him away from medical. Doctor Shen goes to listen at the door. She hears only your combined laughter. Nodding to herself, she goes back to working on cleaning the equipment.

Din makes sure to keep Garan going forward to avoid letting him interfere. It is rare that you and Paz can spend more than a few minutes alone, so he wants to ensure that the two of you have as long as possible to talk and get to know each other a little better.

“Why the fuck are you even involved?” Garan asks moodily.

“It’s none of your fucking business,” Din says. “Workshop, I assume?”

“Yes.”

He escorts Garan to the workshop, where they pick up the parts they will need to replace the melted circuitry and charred air vent. Din carries the bag without protest, even as Garan complains with every single step. In the karyai, they find Dezha and Armorer at the kitchen window, watching as Terys finishes putting the flames out. Jalyn is by the backmost kitchen vent, trying to waft the smell of burnt wine and sugar out with a tea cloth. Din knows better – Jalyn is just here to snoop like the shameless little gossipmonger he is. Regardless, Din shoves Garan into the kitchen and bodily blocks the doorway.

“What is the problem?” Armorer asks, looking between the two of them.

“Just making sure Garan fixes everything in time for dinner,” Din says.

“Apparently, poor wittle Shu’shika is so busy I can’t yell at her for her carelessness,” Garan snaps moodily in his direction as he starts unpacking the components onto the counter.

“Yes. She is busy,” Din confirms.

Terys puts the fire extinguisher into the cabinet. Then he looks across the counter. Din can see the wheels turning. A few seconds later, Terys looks up sharply, having come to the logical conclusion.

“Did she make her special uj with wine syrup?” Terys asks slowly.

“She didn’t clean up after herself,” Garan interrupts as he shoves a pile of dirty dishes over. “And she didn’t even leave any for us. Brat.”

“Yes,” Din confirms. “Just for him.”

Garan continues grumbling as Armorer and Dezha look at each other. They come to the same conclusion.

“I will help you tidy up,” Dezha cuts in smoothly. “We can overlook this minor mistake.”

“Again?” Garan asks, turning to Dezha. “This is the third time, Alor. This has got to stop. We can’t afford to keep replacing everything her kriffing hands touch.”

“I am aware of that,” Dezha says. “But we will overlook it this time. I’ll talk to her when she is finished.”

Din leads the cleanup effort by picking up the charred pot. He tosses it straight into the trash bin. He will have to buy a new pot before Hannah discovers one is missing. Din pauses. Then again…Hannah will overlook any mistake as long as she knows that Paz is trying to court you. Din wonders if he can enlist their cook’s help in ensuring the process is as smooth and painless as possible for the rest of the Tribe.

Armorer starts sweeping the powder from the fire extinguisher into a neat pile on the floor, while Dezha works on wiping the counters down. Jalyn just keeps fanning the acrid air toward the vent. Judging by the wide grin on his face, he seems to have caught on already, though Din cannot fathom why he is still here. At long last, Garan seems to realize that something isn’t quite right. In the middle of replacing the filter, he pauses, and looks around, slowly taking stock of his present company. Everyone is quickly working to put the kitchen back in order in time for dinner.

“Why are you all here?” Garan asks slowly.

“Good question,” Hannah says, as she puts her apron on. “Why the hell are you crowding into my kitchen, anyway? And why do I smell smoke?”

“It was a minor incident,” Armorer says, cutting Garan off. “We are rectifying the problem.”

“Minor?” Hannah asks, picking up the charred remains of her pot out of the trash. “Did Shu’shika set another pot on fire? Gods above, someone needs to have a serious talk with that girl.”

“That’s what I tried to do earlier,” Garan says, “But nooo, Din said she was too busy to get a proper tongue-lashing for her kriffing carelessness.”

Din looks at Hannah.

“Shu’shika is looking after Paz,” he says diplomatically.

Hannah blinks, turning to look at him.

“Shu’shika…and Paz?” she asks.

When Armorer nods, Garan drops his wrench onto the counter. It goes clattering onto the floor. Garan wordlessly stares at each of them in turn. The only sounds that can be heard are Jalyn’s snickers and the sound of the tea cloth he is flapping at the vent.

“You’re shitting me,” Garan says as he shakes his. “Oh, no. No, that is not happening. I absolutely forbid it.”

“And what authority would you have to interfere?” Armorer challenges immediately, coming forward a step, her hand falling to the hammer tucked into her belt.

Din cracks his knuckles threateningly, though he is certain that his muscle will not be needed here. Armorer is lethal with her hammer. Garan sinks down to a seated position on the counter and rests his face plate in his hands.

“We are not going to survive this,” Garan says in a defeated tone.

“That is an unfair over-exaggeration,” Armorer scolds. “They are good together, Garan.”

“Do we know when he intends to propose? He won’t make us – her wait too long, will he?” Hannah asks nonchalantly, as she starts sorting through the ingredients for dinner.

No one is fooled by her tone. Everyone knows where her mind is – the bonfire feast. Hell, Din has found himself thinking about what he will bring back to celebrate their marriage. He has already purchased a scope for Paz and set aside a small piece of bes’kar for you. Now, he needs to figure out what food he is bringing, but that can wait until later. He doesn’t expect the two of you to marry for at least six months, if not more.

“Paz managed to give himself a concussion before they could go on their first date,” Din says. “It isn’t happening for a few months at least.”

Hannah and Armorer both seem to sulk at his words.

“You know, it might not be so bad,” Terys says. “He’s a bit older, you know. He will look after her. Maybe get her trained up so she can actually start participating in hunts on the regular?”

“We can only hope,” Garan sighs dejectedly. “We can only hope.”

Jalyn puts the cloth down and picks up his cane. Carefully, he picks his way back to them. Din wonders what the little shit-stirrer is going to do next.

“Oooorr,” Jalyn says, somehow splitting a single-syllable word into three. “Imagine what it’s going to be like once he finally knocks her up. Can you imagine them having a few Vizla brats with his temperament and her propensity for accidental arson?”

Silence fills the kitchen. Garan lets out a low noise of distress. Armorer and Dezha exchange a look. Din thinks that any child that you and Paz name as your own will be perfect the way they are, even if they end up being prone to damaging their surroundings. Hell, under the right conditions, that could be a benefit in combat.

“Regardless of their unique personality traits,” Armorer says. “Anyone who interferes will be made to regret their actions most severely. Be sure to pass that along with your gossip, Jalyn.”

“Please, everyone here wants more children to look after,” Jalyn says dismissively. “If there was a way to get them married tonight, we would do it.”

Garan picks up the bottle of wine and checks it. There is a quarter of it left. Garan shrugs to himself and lifts the front of his bucket. He chugs the wine down straight from the bottle. He wipes his mouth with the back of his gloved hand and lets out a rude belch.

“May the gods take mercy on us,” he says.

demagolka - someone who commits atrocities. Paz chooses this word because they risked hurting a child just so they could carry on an affair.

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inkribbon796 · 3 years

Text

Radioactive Ch. 1: Unthinkable

Summary: Science marches on as magic and science mix in the most dangerous way.

A/N: Title comes from “Unthinkable” by Cloudy June and Imagine Dragon’s “Radioactive”. This was supposed to be the season finale but there’s still shorts I want to do with this arc so the season finale will be at the end of September with the wedding, where I assure you nothing unfortunate will happen. Absolutely nothing.

In other news, this is my 200th short, and that makes me very happy. Hope you all enjoy this mid-arc short.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

A thunderstorm started in the city, slowly rolling its way towards the north. Time was of the essence. Hours of testing, born from months of planning now culminated in a single moment.

In a bunker in the middle of the woods, two young men were conducting the first test. It was dark out and the city was in a frenzy, but that didn’t matter out here.

Barely anything mattered out here.

Tubbo and Jack Manifold stood in a well shielded bunker in the middle of the woods to the north east of Egoton. They were hundreds of miles into the cursed woods. They wore lab coats over their clothes.

“You know,” Jack Manifold chuckled to Tubbo as they got in place at the computer, a screen in front of them that overlooked the top of the forest. “It would be hilarious if all this thing did was smoke, shake, an’[1] then catch fire.”

Tubbo made an amused chuckle. “Then I guess I got arrested fer nothin’.”[2]

The two of them descended into a fit of laughter before Tubbo sobered up. “Goggles down.”

“Check,” Jack made sure his goggles were securely over his eyes.

“Safety shields one through ten?” Tubbo called next, his eyes and hands already moving to the array of sensors.

“Safety shields one through ten are all stable, an’[1] showin’[3] a steady magical signature,” Jack responded.

“Forest clear?” Tubbo grabbed the microphone and flipped the switch on that sent a signal to dozens of speakers and cameras that the two of them had set up and hidden in the “kill” and “cancer” zones weeks prior. “Attention! Attention! This is a serious warnin’ fer radiation if you are in the vicinity ‘a hearin’ this you must make yourself known so we can safely clear the woods. If you do not, you will die or become severely injured an’ get sick.”[4]

The two of them waited for a couple minutes, flipping through cameras to double check no one was going to get hurt. There was a malfunction from one of the cameras where an audio error was happening but nothing was on the camera and Tubbo sent one of his bee familiars to check it out and it came back with nothing.

Tubbo sent the message again and after nothing, he declared, “Forest clear.”

“Payload in place?” Jack was already checking the sensor.

“Check,” Tubbo double checked it.

“Reason fer[5] use ‘a[6] launch code?” Jack was looking down the button for any sign that something was out of order or going to malfunction.

“Testing payload in a safe environment before storage,” Tubbo answered.

Tubbo took a deep breath. “Here we are.”

Jack nervously swallowed.

The young teen took out a key card with a radioactive symbol and a bee on it. The number 1 marking it. “Ready?”

Smiling, Jack pulled out his own match card with a radioactive symbol and a skull, the number 2 marked on it. “Ready.”

Tubbo hit the sirens as they blared out, a final warning as Jack looked at Tubbo and saw the nervous anticipation.

“Inserting keycards for launch on my mark,” Tubbo announced. “I will count to three, an’[1] then I will say: “go” they are not ta[7] be inserted sooner or later.”

“Understood,” Jack called out, readying to insert the keycard. “Ready.”

“On my mark,” Tubbo called out, copying him. The room was deathly silent as the thunderstorm got closer. “3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . Go! Go!”

The keycards went in and a signal raced along the current until they hit a panel far off into the distance. The pause was a fraction, of a fraction, of a second but it hit the payload and lacked it over the tree line until it struck a random tree on its starting descent.

The two young men had been expecting a small explosion, or no explosion, but the opposite happened. The earth shook the entire town for a couple brief seconds as a pulse of magic mixed with a deadly radioactive payload made a mushroom cloud that rose over the treeline and left a crater in its wake.

Tubbo and Jack screamed in horror and surprise as the tremors quickly subsided and Jack was so frozen in terror and surprise that he thought that it was his tinnitus making that sound.

But that was laughter. Tubbo was letting out a mad cackling laugh. The shields had protected them from the explosion, protecting the city. But Tubbo was so charged with energy, and in their surprise no one had yet to notice that Tubbo’s bad right eye had changed. It had been initially blinded and scarred, along with his hearing in one ear, in a close range explosion a couple years ago. Tubbo had designed a replacement and then grew out his hair to hide it. Now it was scarred again, a permanent radioactive symbol etched into the iris. Forever branding Tubbo for his bastardization of magic and science.

Jack looked over at Tubbo, watching him laugh and fight to collect his composure again with a new wash of horror.

“Tubster,” Jack tried to reach out to what he thought was a young man in desperate need of comfort. “It’s okay, it was just a test.”

“We have two more,” Tubbo said in a giddy tone of voice that terrified Jack.

“Wh-What?” Jack saw something briefly glowing underneath the fridge of Tubbo’s hair.

“We’re more powerful than Techno,” Tubbo smiled before remembering something. “But how’s . . .”

Jack found himself unable to speak as Tubbo reached for a RV control and operated his bee drone to head for the site after getting it ready to collect radioactive samples.

What he got brought the smile back to his face. “Cept fer the larger explosion, this looks better than I could have e’er imagined. The magic is helpin’ ta neutralize the radiation. By tomorrow it’ll be clean.”[8]

Jack leaned in to look at the camera, “Oh my—”

Tubbo’s eyes widened as Jack went slack jawed at the video image of the crater. There was a deep hole where the explosion had dissipated most of its force.

The echoes of another mad laugh bubbled in Tubbo’s chest, but he reigned it in. “I think it’s time ta[7] pack up, don’t you?”

“Ye-Yeah,” Jack said uneasily as Tubbo secured the other two payload cores into a leak-proof led box and made them vanish into his coat with his aura. Then Tubbo grabbed their books. Jack’s keycard was burning a hole in his pocket.

Then, once everything incriminating was cleaned up and stored on either Tubbo or Jack’s person.

When Tubbo double checked the area they set up a portal grid that charged with foaming purple aura. Tubbo felt a comfortable release of tension at the bits of Ranboo’s aura that came from the grid. As familiar as Tubbo’s own aura, and it felt like a refreshing breeze when he passed through the portal and into a nightclub that had three different layers to it. A dinning, dancing area. The VIP room was up a flight of curved stairs, and up at the top was a fighting area with cameras that projected the combatants all over the club.

Dream’s Server, where he was judge, jury, king, and executioner. Frequently Dream stayed in the VIP room unless Techno walked in and wanted a fight, or he had to leave to tend to some business.

Tonight everyone was down on the main floor, a match clearly interrupted and when Tubbo and Jack walked in everyone was staring at them, and anyone looked at Tubbo. Staring at him as if he was covered in human entrails.

“What did you fuckers do?” Sapnap spat.

“Language!” Bad gasped from where he was standing amongst the crowd.

“Nothin’,”[9] Tubbo braced his hands on his hips.

“Quit with those muffin-filled lies,” Bad yelled over several other people who were trying to call Tubbo out on his bullshit. “Where were you, young man?”

“Since when does anyone care what I do?” Tubbo scoffed. “I’m not a captain anymore.”

“How about when we feel a fucking explosion,” Quackity spat.

Bad let out another gasp.

“Skeppy, get him out of here,” Quackity turned to glare at Bad. “Bad, I love you, but I can’t deal with your language issues right now.”

“But,” Bad pouted sadly.

“Come on, buddy,” Skeppy patted Bad’s arm and started to walk back up to the arena. Bad glancing between Skeppy and the group before rushing to catch up to his friend.

“You guys felt somethin’[10]?” Jack asked in confusion.

“Of course we did, you guys were nearby doing weird shit and didn’t expect us to notice?” Quackity snapped.

“We weren’t in town, we were north ‘a[6] Egoton,” Tubbo felt a slow smile creep along his face. “Didn’t think it’d shake the whole town.”

“Did it work?” Dream asked, his mask staring at Tubbo.

Everyone, even Jack, stared at Dream.

Tubbo smiled, “Better than I imagined.”

“Alright,” Dream clapped, a smile in his tone. “I have nothing more to talk to you about, you’re free to go. You need any help sorting out the police?”

“Dream, you can’t just leave it at that,” Quackity snapped as Tubbo shook his head.

“We gotta at least know what they did,” Puffy reprimanded. “Cause[11] if they were anywhere near where they said they were and we felt, you can bet Dark felt it. Him and every other demon in this damn town.”

“Fair, fair,” Dream relented. “Tubbo, you wanna share some notes with the others?”

“I just became the strongest glitch in this fuckin’[12] town,” Tubbo proclaimed. “I put myself on the map. An’[1] Jack was there ta[7] help.”

Jack wasn’t sure if he wanted to take any kind of blame and correct Tubbo. Honestly if Tubbo was planning on using or even threatening his “nukes” against demons Jack knew he was already in too deep, and he needed to bail as quickly as possible.

“I’m gonna[13] go lie down,” Jack told everyone. “I’ve used a lotta magic an’ I need ta clear my head.”[14]

“Wait, you two fuckers are just going to walk off?” Quackity demanded, pissed.

“Quackity’s right, your aura’s will have to be tracked for the next little while,” Dream agreed, an air of disinterest.

“Sure, whate’er,[15]” Tubbo shrugged. “Going ta[7] the lab.”

“I’m not done with you yet,” Quackity followed the young man out to a hallway. “I am trying to run a business and you know what drives business away? Fear. I can’t have fear near my fucking casino. Loneliness and hunger gets people to indulge, and when they indulge they spend money. Fear makes people do crazy things.”

Tubbo stopped and just watched Quackity rant at him before leaning in, looking every bit like a mischievous teen that Quackity often forgot he was. He even had his hands folded behind his back and leaned up on his tiptoes. “Can I tell you a secret, Big Q?”

Disarmed a little bit, but not nearly as much as he used to, Quackity sighed, “Depends.”

“You e’er play Civ 5, Big Q?”[16] Tubbo took another step and Quackity watched mischief turn into malice, that smile never fading.

“Yeah,” Quackity answered hesitantly.

“I just became Gandhi,” Tubbo confessed, leaning in. Then he spun away on his heels. “I think I’ve said e’erythin’[17] I needed to say.”

“Hey, what did you just say to me!” Quackity became furious. “You little bastard, what did you do?”

“Go back ta[7] your card tables, Caesar,” Tubbo waved his fingers back at Quackity who looked so outraged he was shaking. In Tubbo’s glee his eye was glowing a sickly yellow. “Rome won’t build itself.”

Quackity watched the young man go, kicking himself for letting his guard down again. When Tubbo turned into a room and left. “Fuck you, Tubbo,” Quackity sneered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Accessibility Translations:

1. and

2. Then I guess I got arrested for nothing.

3. showing

4. Attention! Attention! This is a serious warning for radiation if you are in the vicinity of hearing this you must make yourself known so we can safely clear the woods. If you do not, you will die or become severely injured and get sick.

5. for

6. of

7. to

8. Except for the larger explosion, this looks better than I could have ever imagined. The magic is helping to neutralize the radiation. By tomorrow it’ll be clean.

9. Nothing

10. something

11. Because

12. fucking

13. going to

14. I’ve used a lot of magic and I need to clear my head.

15. whatever

16. You ever play Civilization 5, Big Q?

17. everything

#Superhero AU #Masks and Maladies #footnotes #Dream SMP #Tubbo #jack manifold #C!Dream #Quackity #bamf Tubbo #bamf Tubbo supremacy #nukes #magical nukes #unhinged Tubbo #mad scientist Tubbo #Dream the manipulative Pez dispenser #this is when you know you're in too deep

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smokeybrandreviews · 3 years

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Rise of the Skywalker

This sh*t with Lucasfilm is wild to witness. I’m not really one to buy into entertainment gossip but i am emotionally invested in Star Wars so I’m feasting n these rumors and leaks. I’m an Eighties kid, man. Star Wars helped to shape our childhood growing up. Vader is one of my all-time favorite antagonists. Ahsoka has grown to rival him in my heart as a beloved character. As a cat who creates, myself, i can’t help but adore the passion and creativity within the entire lore around the Skywalker legend. I mean, look at everything built upon those first three films. Just taking Legends into account, you have the absolutely excellent Shadows of the Empire and the Thrawn trilogy. More than that, and probably one of the best game franchises ever realized, you have Knights of the Old Republic. F*ck, dude, Revan? Nihilus? Bastila? Kreia? HK-47? This is Bioware at it’s finest, save Mass Effect 2. And then Disney came in and f*cked it all up.

Kathleen Kennedy has been a poison to the franchise, and not because of her identity politics. Look, you can work in your ideals and messages without being so goddamn heavy-handed with it but this chick, and her “writer’s group” can’t craft a story to save their lives. That’s the problem here. Not Rey or Finn or Poe. Not Holdo or Rose Tico. Not even Snoke. It’s how these characters were presented, it’s how the writing shaped them. I’ve written at length about how Rey was a missed opportunity and, according to the original leaked treatment, that misstep was more like an outright face-plant. The narrative where our heroine grows throughout the Sequel trilogy, culminating in a battle between a fully realized Jedi Knight Rey and a fully realized Sith Lord Ren, is what we should have gotten. Instead, we got what we got and it shattered the credibility of the entire franchise. Star Wars, the most successful franchise in cinematic history until the MCU came through, is on life support. Forty years of solid, narrative storytelling, ancillary material, and fan passion, squandered because the chick in charge wanted to instill everything with her identity politics and ego driven entitlement, using something she had no creative relationship with, co-opting the shine of another, to secure a phony legacy. And she did just that; Kathleen Kennedy was the person who almost killed Star Wars. Kennedy’s legacy of failure is now quite secure. But then, a new hope. Jon Favreau, the progenitor of the MCU, stepped forward and saved Star Wars with his show, The Mandalorian.

John Favreau is a great creator. Dude not only gave us Iron Man but Chef, Swingers, and Elf. He gets the content. Favreau understands how to craft a goddamn story. He was appointed to The Mandalorian and given creative control by, at the time, CEO of Disney, Bob Iger. Favreau, in partnership with the genius pariah, Dave Filoni, architect of Star Wars: Clone Wars, Rebels, and the best f*cking character created in the modern era, Ahsoka Tano, set about crafting a proper Star Wars series in more than just name only. With these two at the helm, Mando returned to the true essence of a Star Wars tale. They created their own pocket universe, one with the evolution of actual Mandalorian culture and sprinkled in shenanigans of an adorable, and marketable, Baby Yoda. That first season gave us amazing characters like Din Djaran, Cara Dune, Greef Kaga, and Moff Gideon. That first season saved the franchise and that is not an exaggeration to say. It felt like Star Wars. The characters were rich and developed. More than anything, the stories told were absolutely excellent. The funny thing about that? Mando wasn’t expected to succeed like it did. No, everyone, including Kennedy, thought it was going to fail. She fought, tooth and nail, against what Favreu was trying to create, sabotaging him at every turn. But he was able to complete his show and the fandom received it with utmost fervor, eclipsing anything Kennedy and her idealouges ever created. Then season two dropped.

I’m not going to sit her and say that the narrative for season two was better than the first. It wasn’t. But that’s because season two of The Mandalorian was a love letter to the fans. Favreau and Filoni had a hit on their hands with and they made Star Wars profitable again. This gave the two of them a margin of creative freedom which expanded into something truly marvelous. That second season was able to dig deep into the lore, introduce fan favorite characters like Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan Kreyze, reintroduce Boba Fett while giving him a bad-ass second in Fennec Shand, while expanding the universe for spin-offs, culminating in the franchise altering return of a Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker! Kennedy spent her entire sequel trilogy discrediting and marginalizing the old trilogy, typified by the complete destruction of Luke in The Last Jedi. Mando season two set out to overturn, redeem, and empower Luke with a two minute gauntlet of Force awesomeness that rivaled the utter dominance displayed by his father at the end of Rogue One. That tidbit about Vader? Yeah, Kennedy fought against that, too. The Mando came through and proved that following Lucas’ path was the true way of the Star War and Chepek, the new CEO over at the Mouse House, agreed. We now have this entire blueprint of shows birthed from this one season, that will build toward an Avengers-level event set in the Star Wars universe and i am losing my sh*t over it. Ahsoka, Rangers of the New Republic, and The Book of Boba Fett, will all culminate in a cinematic experience, most likely a theatrical film, based around Thrawn. People are excited about this sh*t. People are looking forward to this sh*t. People want this sh*t. What they don’t want is more of Kennedy’s politics and bullsh*t hot-takes, masquerading as Star Wars canon. Case in point, the abject failure of The High Republic.

Before Favreau and Filoni came through to save a galaxy far, far, away, Kennedy had this entire idea for a full-on Star Wars universe built upon token diversity and f*cking Space dinosaurs. There was a pitch meeting that showed a literal checklist and story was the third or fourth option. How the f*ck is story not the first thing on the list for an actual narrative you’re writing? Why the f*ck isn’t the writer’s group, not putting story first, in a narrative they’re constructing by committee? That is the genesis of The High Republic. In the time that Youtube preview hit the fandom with all the force of a wet fart, Mando came through and proved no one wants that sh*t. Then season two came through and proved people want more Luke and more Lucas Star Wars, weeks before The High Republic, the jumping off point for Kennedy’s original vision for “New Star Wars” was supposed to launch. Yeah, that launch ain’t go so well. The High Republic is out, right now, and you can buy it. No one is buying it. They’re all paying for Disney+ memberships to watch Mando sh*t on everything Kennedy has done or will do. Disney announced a whole slate of Star Wars shows and material. One of which is The Acolyte, a spin-off from The High Republic starring Brie Larson and written by Leslye Headland. The Acolyte is going to bomb for the same reasons The High Republic is bombing; No one wants to be preached to and that’s all these woke blue hairs want to do. I know that because they’ve told you as such.

The Force is Female. All of that sh*t with Pablo Hidalgo. The recent controversy of Justina Ireland telling people not to buy The High Republic if they don’t agree with her politics. The fact that Kathleen Kennedy has been trying to get Favreau fired for “sabotaging” her High Republic launch by redeeming Luke and galvanizing the entire fandom. The thing about this, though, is the fact that everything Kennedy has crated, is creatively bankrupt. Everything Favreau and Filoni have built with Mando, has been genuine, organic, and fun. Just to be clear, i actually like Brie Larson. I think she’s an excellent actress with very valid opinions. I think the sh*t she wants to make should be made. I don’t think she should co-opt a long running franchise with decades of lore and a ravenous fandom who are already on the outs with the current management of their beloved franchise. I can’t say i like Headland but i did adore her Netlfix show, Russian Doll. Tat sh*t was hilarious and dope. I don’t think her type of film making lends itself to Star Wars, however, for the same reason i don’t think Larson should have a show in the fandom. Having opinions is fine. Installing those opinions in your writing is fine. Installing your opinions in an established property is not fine. You can do that, Black Panther was able to integrate that sh*t successfully, but they did it with deft nuance and genuine aplomb. It didn’t get clumsy and ridiculous until the end. Kennedy’s writing group started with the awkward preaching. Those weren’t the droids you were looking for, bro.

Ultimately, The High Republic is going to fail, as will the rest of Kennedy’s Star Wars legacy. Favreau is already working toward altering her most precious OC, Rey Palpatine. There are plans in the works to make her a Kenobi going forward, redeeming the most egregious of Darth Kennedy’s transgressions, something that wouldn’t even be necessary if they had followed the original treatments JJ left for them. Rey Palpatine should have been Rey Skywalker. She should have been Luke’s daughter. She should have been trained by her pops and took that discipline into the final film where she and her cousin would have a proper reckoning. Rey should have been a real character with an established legacy. Jjabrams is a lot of things but idiot is not one of them. He knew exactly what Rey was supposed to be in order for the next trilogy to make sense, to tie in with the first two. Kennedy decided otherwise and in that hubris, she failed. She has failed, not because she is a Femanzi or has an eye toward activism or an agenda to push. Kennedy has failed because she decided to heavy-handedly force those politics down our throats with no nuance or grace, by slighting everything that came before with malicious intent, while bolstering her analogous creations with the worst kind of writing and non-existent development. Favreau succeeded by weaving a compelling tale, that mirrored the Hero’s tale which has been the bread-and-butter of great Star Wars narratives, filled it with realized characters who became fast fan favorites, staunched in the lore that came before. He respected the genesis and built something great from it, while revering the stuff which came before. Kennedy thought she was bigger than the franchise. Favreau understands he is in service to it. That’s the difference. That’s why Mando is flying high and The High Republic has been laid so low.

#Star Wars #Star Wars: The High Republic #The Mandalorian #Kathleen Kennedy #Jon Favreau #Lucasfilm

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