#nile's adventures in learning more about her team | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lady-writes · 3 years

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(CREDIT TO THE LOVELY @sindirimba FOR THE GRAPHIC)

Do you love The Old Guard but find yourself lost in the morass of NicoJoe content?

Do you crave simple non-ship based gen?

Do you really just want to read about Andy and Quynh recounting wild things from sometime before the birth of christ and getting razzed to hell and back by all the youngins???

Do you just wanna write a fix-it fic for the Noriko TTT comic?

Do you just want to see more Lykon content because he’s adorable and he’s RIGHT. THERE.!!!

Do you despair of the fact that Nile Freeman is the main character but has the least works tagged in the fandom?

THEN THIS IS THE CHALLENGE/FICATHON/FIC COLLECTION FOR YOU

For the month of July, The BoN Group chat is sponsoring/organizing an ‘Ohana-thon!!! Or for the angry bitter cockroach people among us, a Kaysonova Free Month!

Because ‘Ohana means family and, in the glorious words of our Favorite Baby Immortal, family means...

(gif by @inejsghafaa)

In the beginning, we were rather pissy and in our feelings because TOG fandom is buried up to the eyeballs with Kaysonova fic and while they are a lovely pair, the sheer volume of attention fandom gives them is drowning out the other characters. As tempers cooled, the BoN Group chat realized that we had a golden opportunity staring us in the face… Why not spend July creating and enjoying a wealth of TeamFic in celebration of the 1 year release of the movie!

The Old Guard gained SO MUCH fandom love for many reasons, not just Immortal Gays, but Immortal Wives, A Black woman centralized and cared for in her narrative, A Queer Man of Color- sans the cultural baggage and tropes that are usually attached, The first Black female director of a comic book movie! Charlize Theron with an axe! Charlize Theron drinking vodka in a tank top! The list goes on for days… but the point is the same. We can make a space for fans to love on all the parts of the movie, not just one.

The primary goal here is to genuinely celebrate the togetherness that TOG is about because we (and they) are not meant to be alone. As the comics say at the beginning of each issue: So with that in mind, let’s make some fanworks that reflect that! And then next time you want to read something new, but you can’t find anything on AO3 except 100 new Nicky/Joe AU’s and PWP’s, hopefully you can turn to this collection and see the kind of found family escapism you’re craving.

On July 31st, those of us who want to read stories that aren’t Kaysonova will all go back to digging through mountains of content for nuggets of gen and other ships, but until then we can spend the next 30 days with the entire team, together.

(gif from @theoldguardsource)

Low on inspiration???

Try this ridiculous tv episode title bingo!-https://mfbc.us/m/u9ses3z

And basic word prompt bingo for the folks who like the classics-https://mfbc.us/m/ve7nhw5

Rules and FAQ for the collection are under the cut!

Rules:

1. ‘Ohana-thon is about the team, so all members of the team should be present.

Obviously if you choose to create something set 100 years in the future in movie canon, Andy might be dead so that caveat exists. But Andy’s presence would surely extend beyond her (un)natural lifespan, so consider that angle...

However, if you choose to work in the past, that doesn’t mean Nile should be excluded by rote. This is about the found family that we came to know and love in TOG and Nile is a part of that! Maybe Andy indulges Nile’s desire to learn more about art history and ends up telling her stories about various configurations of the team and the artists they knew. Maybe Quynh and Nile get to know each other by trading stories about the dumb shit they’ve watched their brothers get up to. Maybe Nile gets picked up by the Doctor and dropped into various adventures with her future family members across time!

“But you mentioned Lykon!! How are he and Nile supposed to be part of the same anything!?!?!” That is between you and your own creative muses. That being said adding Lykon is definitely a bonus action here XD. All of the literary devices above can be used to bring Lykon into the story too! If you’re the kind of person who likes to give yourself a challenge then this should be right up your alley

As much as this is about the comics/movie canon and the fund family dynamic that it introduces- if you have an idea that says, “fuck canon I wanna write about 7 people doing cool found family shit together”, then Fuck Yeah- Fuck Canon! ‘Ohana comes first in ‘Ohana-thon

2. As an overall Idea, this collection is not about the romantic relationships between any of the team mates, but of course that doesn’t mean that romance is forbidden, that being said-

Apart from works that view the team through a polyamorous lens, romantic dynamics should not be the driving plot.

If your work center’s around a ship it cannot be or involve Kaysonova

If there is porn it cannot focus on Kaysonova- If you really wanna make something that involves Nicky and Joe fucking, perhaps consider the orgiastic possibilities of 6/7 ridiculously attractive people living in close quarters for eternity

SERIOUSLY LOOK AT HOW AGRESSIVELY BEAUTIFUL THESE PEOPLE ALL ARE. IT WOULD BE DEVASTATING (@sindirimba once again)

None of the works should center around Kaysonova as a pair, as a focal relationship, point of view, etc.

It feels unpleasant to spell it out so plainly, but the entire idea for this sprung from a desire to create more fic about the team and less about the pairing of Joe and Nicky.

3. There are no word limits, but all written works would ideally crack the 2k words mark.

4. Previously published works can be added to the collection after July 31st. We’ll prioritize the new upfront but in time it would be FANTASTIC for this to truly become an archive/rec list/resource for all of the gen/found family fic the fandom has to offer.

Questions:

Does this mean that If I ship Joe/Nicky I can't participate?

Nope! We dont give a fuck who you ship! You can love Nicky and Joe and their thousand year love with all your heart (many of us organizing this event do too!), you just can’t focus on them if you want to use the tag/add to the collection, because the point of the event is to do a little equalizing of the fandom love for all of these characters. Sometimes we wanna read something different, and this would be a great time to expand your views and HCs about the rest of the team!

Does this mean Nicky and Joe cant be in my works at all?

Nope! Everyone in the team should get some space to shine! Take your cues from the movie and comics themselves. Nicky and Joe are only ⅓ of the team, so they shouldn't be the central part of your work. The point of this fest is to enjoy the team dynamic that makes the movie so good in the first place.

This event is sponsored/organized by the Book of Nile group chat. Does my work have to contain Book of Nile as a ship?

Nope! If you’re inspired to write Booker and Nile in a romantic relationship, that’s awesome! If you want to write either of these characters shipped with someone else? Go for it! Want to focus on Andy and Quynh and Lykon instead? Absolutely do it! Shipping is the lowest item on the totem pole here- We just want to encourage more team/family fic!

Can I just see ALL THE PROMPTS???

YUP! You beautiful crazy diamond, click this link Right Here!

With those ideas in mind GO FORTH AND CREATE!!!!!

(Fingers crossed we end up with WAY MORE than two!)

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delightfully-deranged-dagur · 3 years

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How is your version of the Monster High movies different from the canon? Like, what’s your version of Why Do Ghouls Fall in Love, Escape From Skull Shores, Boo York, Scaris: City of Frights, Fright On, Ghouls Rule, Friday Night Frights, and 13 Wishes? I would LOVE to hear how you would rewrite them for your Reimagined series!! I also love how you have background characters like Invisi-Billy and Johnny become the main cast instead of just all girls. I also want to know what town Monster High is set in because they never said WHERE the movies take place.

Okay, this is gonna be a long one. Let's start with the name of the town near Monster High. Old Salem. Cuz the human town in Ghouls Rule is named New Salem. That's all I could come up with.

Now. The movies. Aka, The Timeline!

Let's begin. (Keep in mind that this could change in the future)

New kids at School.

A new School year at Monster High. We get to see the first month of school for new kids, Frankie, Gil and Abbey. We also get to see Invisi-Billy dealing with his new roommate Johnny Spirit.

Main Cast : Frankie Stein. Toralei Stripe. Draculaura. Clawdeen Wolf. Cleo De Nile. Deuce Gorgon. Lagoona Blue. Gil Webber. Abbey Bominable. Heath Burns. Clawd Wolf. Invisi-Billy Where. Johnny Spirit. Ghoulia Yelps.

Fright On!

Belfry Prep and Full Moon high merge with Monster High, bringing a bunch of new students with them. Most notable being Gory Fangtell and Dee O'Gee. Both leaders of their respective student body and they absolutely hate each other. Starting a race war between Vampires and Werewolves. With Clawdeen and Draculaura caught in the middle. And if that's not enough, the so called "human-monster relationship expert" is actually planning on hunting them all down.

Main Cast : Draculaura. Clawdeen Wolf. Clawd Wolf. Howleen Wolf. Romulus Timberwolf. Dee O'Gee. Gory Fangtell. Van Hellscream.

Why do Ghouls fall in love?

It's valentines day at Monster High. Also Draculaura's birthday! And Clawdeen is determined to make it the best day ever for her girlfriend. But Draculaura's ex-boyfriend Kieran Valentine shows up with the intend to win her back. Meanwhile Johnny deals with the fact he might be falling in love. And what secrets does the office of former student, C.A. Cupid hold?

Main Cast : Draculaura. Clawdeen Wolf. Kieran Valentine. Johnny Spirit. Invisi-Billy Where. Frankie Stein. Toralei Stripe. Cleo De Nile. Deuce Gorgon. Neightan Rot. Holt Hyde.

Skull Shores.

A group of students go on a special trip to Skull shores. The best monster friendly vacation resort in the world! The Wolf sisters try to sleep during the day to enjoy the night with Draculaura and Twyla. Johnny asks Neightan for love advice. Hoodude leads Manny, Iris, Wydowna and Billy on "exciting" Island trips. Lagoona helps Gil with his fear of the ocean. And Frankie, Toralei, Cleo and Deuce go on a mystery boat trip and make a huge discovery.

Main Cast : Frankie Stein. Toralei Stripe. Cleo De Nile. Deuce Gorgon. Andy Beast. Bartleby Farnum. Johnny Spirit. Neightan Rot. Lagoona Blue. Gil Webber. Hoodude Voodoo. Manny Taur. Iris Clops. Wydowna Spider. Invisi-Billy Where. Draculaura. Clawdeen Wolf. Howleen Wolf. Twyla Boogeyman.

Friday Night Frights.

Two rollerblading teams. Monster High vs Granite City. Only one winner. Let the race begin!

Main Cast : Operetta Phantom. Clawd Wolf. Clawdeen Wolf. Robecca Steam. Lagoona Blue.

Ghouls Rule.

Frankie gets upset over the incorrect presentation about Halloween. This is nothing like what she read about. She gets some surprising support from Johnny Spirit. He knows what Halloween is and this is wrong. But trying to show how humans really act during Halloween ends with Jackson and Holt getting arrested by humans! It's time for the Monsters to save them.

Main Cast : Frankie Stein. Johnny Spirit. Jackson Jekyll. Holt Hyde. Claire. Chad. Lilith Von Hellscream. Toralei Stripe. Invisi-Billy Where.

Scaris : City of Frights!

Clawdeen wins an opportunity to intern under her fashion icon. Moanatella Ghostier. But she's in competition with 2 other designers. Skelita Calaveras and Jinafire Long. Meanwhile, Rochelle goes searching for her missing boyfriend Garrot with the help of Spectra and Operetta and the local street artist Catrine DeMew.

Main Cast : Clawdeen Wolf. Draculaura. Rochelle Goyle. Operetta Phantom. Spectra Vondergeist. Garrot Durogue. Skelita Calaveras. Jinafire Long. Catrine DeMew. Moanatella Ghostier.

13 Wishes.

Howleen is going through a lot and the bullying from Gory Fangtell just sets her off. She ends up with a magical lamp containing a genie, Gigi Grant. Howleen, still in a fragile state of mind easily becomes manipulated by the shadow genie Whisp. Howleen's wishes end up making Gil a daredevil with no regard for his safety! And she erases Cleo from everyone's memory, almost everyone. Seems artificial minds are immune to genie magic. Clawdeen just wants to help her sister but things don't go well. Can Howleen be saved before it's too late?

Main Cast : Howleen Wolf. Twyla Boogeyman. Clawdeen Wolf. Gigi Grant. Whisp. Cleo De Nile. Robecca Steam. Hoodude Voodoo. Lagoona Blue. Gil Webber. Frankie Stein. Toralei Stripe. Ghoulia Yelps. Abbey Bominable.

Frights! Camera! Action!

Draculaura gets the chance to become the next vampire queen. Of course, she prefers to go on a quest to find the real one. And right when she's away is when Valentine and Whisp return trying to redeem themselves.

Main Cast : Draculaura. Clawdeen Wolf. Cleo De Nile. Deuce Gorgon. Robecca Steam. Clawdia Wolf. Honey Swamp. Viperine Gorgon. Kieran Valentine. Whisp. Elissabat Von Vamp. Lord Stoker.

Freaky Fusion.

It's Monster High's anniversary! And in an attempt to learn more about the past of the school, the ghouls end up going to the past! Where Robecca gets to meet her missing father. They try to return but once they get back to the present, they experience some interesting side effects. They fused! Can the hybrids help Cleolei, Lagoonafire, Clawvenus and Ghoulankie to cooperate?

Main Cast : Frankie Stein. Ghoulia Yelps. Cleo De Nile. Toralei Stripe. Lagoona Blue. Jinafire Long. Clawdeen Wolf. Venus McFlytrap. Neightan Rot. Avea Trotter. Bonita Femur. Sirena Von Boo. Viktor "Sparky" Frankenstein.

Haunted.

Frankie is being haunted. While Toralei is tormented by the return of Meowlody and Purrsephone. Spectra spreading rumors isn't exactly helping. While Twyla, Rochelle, Garrot and Sirena try to help Frankie with her haunting, Toralei joins them as they follow Spectra into the ghost world. And poor Johnny literally gets dragged into the adventure leaving a distressed Invisi-Billy no other choice but to get Headmistress Bloodgood involved.

Main Cast : Frankie Stein. Toralei Stripe. Spectra Vondergeist. Twyla Boogeyman. Rochelle Goyle. Garrot Durogue. Sirena Von Boo. Johnny Spirit. Invisi-Billy Where. Headmistress Bloodgood. Principal Revenant. Porter Geiss. Kiyomi Haunterly. River Styxx. Vandala Dubloons.

Boo York!

Catty Noir invites some friends to join her to Boo York where she's gonna perform at a royal wedding. The same wedding Cleo was invited too. Upon arriving they learn Cleo's disowned father somehow promised her away in an arranged marriage. While they come up with a way to break the marriage, Catty's voice gets stolen by the werecat twins, employed by Nefera De Nile. During the chaos Johnny decides now is apparently the right time to confess his feelings for Billy. Also, there's a meteor. And it's a musical. Yay!

Main Cast : Catty Noir. Cleo De Nile. Deuce Gorgon. Ramses De Nile. Nefera De Nile. Pharaoh. Johnny Spirit. Invisi-Billy Where. Neightan Rot. Frankie Stein. Toralei Stripe. Meowlody and Purrsephone. Luna Mothews. Elle Eedee. Mouscedes King. Astranova.

The Great Scarrier Reef

A fight between Lagoona and Toralei results in them falling into the pool, suddenly transported to the Great Scarrier Reef. And they're not allowed to leave until Lagoona faces her demons. For once Operetta and Johnny agree for Lagoona to hurry up so they can stop being half fish!

Main Cast : Lagoona Blue. Toralei Stripe. Gil Webber. Frankie Stein. Operetta Phantom. Johnny Spirit. Kala Mer'ri. Posea Reef. Peri and Pearl Serpentine.

Scarily Ever After

During the great school clean up. Draculaura finds a magical book in the attic. Suddenly, she, Clawdeen, Cleo, Deuce and Johnny get pulled into a fairytale maze where they run into the students of Ever After High, Raven Queen, Apple White, Maddie Hatter, Briar Beauty and Sparrow Hood, trying to stop The Evil Queen, Raven's mother, from enslaving Monster High. As if that's not enough, a magical stream swaps the Monsters with the Fairytale students. And who's this mysterious Euna?

Main Cast : Draculaura. Raven Queen. Clawdeen Wolf. Maddie Hatter. Cleo De Nile. Apple White. Deuce Gorgon. Briar Beauty. Johnny Spirit. Sparrow Hood. The Evil Queen. Euna.

And that's all I have so far. Of course there's stuff happening in between. Like the Bloom and Gloom and Freak Du Chic. But this is what I have so far.

#asks #monster high reimagined #monster high #ever after high #this took an 1 hour of typing.

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electricbluebutterflies · 2 years

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Nile/Booker + Leaving flowers at their grave. PLEASE. (Because being fake-dead means they both have gravestones.)

First time writing for these babes aaaaand even that’s on a technicality but I’m trying to find a vibe for them. Nile being Done has my heart, okay? PG-ish and also on ao3.

As per usual, Nile has no idea where the hell they actually are. This is supposedly normal for a baby immortal, and the rest of the team has spent the last year trying to reassure her that she’ll adapt, but… none of them have had the thrilling experience of coming to terms with not being able to die in a very interconnected world, and the only person who could maybe sorta relate is…

That’s why they’re here, supposedly. While they’ve all accepted that the exile will not actually last a hundred years, it will last until there’s a major crisis, and a decade or two is not out of the question. But family is family, and family apparently has creative methods of communication.

Which is to say, Nile is lowkey lost in a French cemetery, and Nile knows approximately enough French to not get lost in an airport, and Sebastian was apparently a ridiculously common first name in the early 1800s, and so help her when they get back to the hotel she’s going to pick a fight about the importance of GPS trackers because she is not doing this again.

The idea of using a grave to communicate with someone is, frankly, the kind of bizarre shit Nile expected there would be more of once she accepted this whole immortality deal. Even considering the team functions as an elite mercenary unit half the time, the average day in the life of someone with an infinite life is kinda boring. This, though, this is an adventure and this is one of her first real solo projects. Joe and Nicky are around, which is to say one of them has probably gotten distracted by something and the other will have to deal with that and no Nile is not guessing which is in which role right now, the two most consistent presences in her life right now are hopeless romantics who have been some kind of together for almost a thousand years and each grew up on some kind of dramatic chivalry, fuck her. She loves them, she does, but they’re doing their thing somewhere she can’t see whereas she gets to place a bizarre bouquet on a grave she cannot find.

The bouquet itself was Andy’s idea – Andy, who was not feeling this outing and is hanging out at the hotel, no doubt wondering how long before this ends with a panic text. Welp, not yet, Nile thinks as she walks down another row. She’s assuming the grave she’s looking for will be decently maintained, the same assumption that has them all thinking Booker will see whatever they leave here. Suspicion, and some tracking Nile has not been privy to, says he’s retreated to his roots. Leaving a deliberate array of flowers is, in theory, a way of showing there are no lasting hard feelings.

So, here’s the fun thing Nile learned this week – plants can have meanings. Especially if one is trying to communicate with someone who… admittedly predated the Victorian era by just a little bit, but was still very active in that prime era of The Language Of Flowers. As far as Nile’s concerned this is a little weird, but hey, the bouquet is pretty.

Finally she finds the right gravestone. Not perfectly maintained but not falling apart either, the correct name and dates and military affiliation. She traces each with a finger, wanting connection to a man she knew for like a week before separation. Is it strange to miss someone like that? Makes sense she’d want someone whose experience is closer to her own, but…

She kneels down and places the bouquet, remembering each plant meaning in turn. Amaranth for immortality. Forget-me-not, a flower named so obviously even she didn’t need that explained to her. Yellow roses for apology and rue for repentance and regret. Supposedly, and Nile refuses to be chill about this whole concept, this is a simple message through this method.

“Fix this,” she murmurs, well aware no one can hear her. “Come back to me.”

She doesn’t know what rights she has to want anything from a near-stranger, but as she walks away, she wants anyway. He had been kind enough to her, more understanding and sympathetic to her newness than the others. She can imagine a much easier eternity for herself with that man more present in it.

Ah well. They’ll need him sooner or later. Until then, she can wait.

#pixievixen #book of nile #ebf writes fic

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inheritorofmemories-archive · 3 years

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Andromaquynh Tomb Raider AU

I keep seeing those Indiana Joe fics and Mummy au post for joe/nicky and they are all very nice and cool but you know which galaxy brain idea no one has explored yet? Tomb raider AU for andy/quynh. Luckily I have nothing but time on my hands so strap in.

I re-watched the first tomb raider the other day (yes, the 2001 movie. Yes it’s 20 years old.) and the Croft universe can actually fit pretty well with Andy and Quynh with some tweaks and changes. I’ll preface this post by saying that raiding tombs and any ancient place really is not ethical At All and stealing artifacts shouldn’t happen in any way and the black market for cultural goods is an enormous spider web with ramification all over the world that is actually incredibly nefast to pretty much everything from sciences to culture to human societies and economy (look it up, it’s way bigger than just a stolen vase sold in a small market) so I’ll refer to this AU as Tomb Raider but know that what I really mean is Andy and Quynh protecting ancient sites and relics from companies and museums and the likes.

Go under the cut to read the rest of my detailed idea of what it would look like.

As much as I like the sci-fi and magic elements of the series, I really think a more grounded feel for this AU would fit them better. So no gods or illuminates or magic relics, sorry. Instead, I see this as them being adventurers who decide to put their skillset to good use and protect sites and places and objects and cultures from capitalism, stealing, overexploitation, appropriation and destruction.

Andy is Lara Croft obviously. She’s the daughter of an archeologist who mysteriously died during an excursion and fueled her will to go in the same field as her parent. Because we like complex characters in this house, I want Andy to start by actually raiding and selling from ancient sites at the beginning of her career because she's young and never learned better before she comes up close to the direct consequences of that particular market and she decides she wants no part of it. It allows for an exploration of real-world issues but it also gives her a deeper backstory and a proactive choice in being the character she is because I’m a sucker for the idea that you are not born good but you chose to be. After that, she'll keep the exploring part of her job but instead of stealing relics she’ll find lost places and give the coordinates to scientists. Daytime she uses the fonds of her family to support initiatives to protect places and restore art and goods to their rightful owners, the rest of the time she goes on cool adventures all over the world to get her hands dirty when legal means cannot get it done.

This is where Quynh comes into the picture. She’s one of Andy’s associates but not really they're in love and married. In the series, Croft has numerous allies that help her out either by giving tips or identifying objects, etc... I can totally see Andy going to Quynh for information about a particular site or object and them sticking together for the rest of the adventure and not leaving each other. Or, even funnier, Quynh has her own little business of going in the field to get things done, they run into each other and then keep running together. I really want Quynh to be a marine biologist and environment activist that also has a background in law because I think she deserves the right to legally bankrupt assholes, as a treat. Andy is exploring an underwater temple when she runs into Quynh doing plant analysis right there, they realize the site and the entire ecosystem is endangered by X industrial complex throwing their waste in the water and they bring it down while flirting and then it takes a year of adventures together and Andy who keeps finding excuses to go seek Quynh's counsel before they get together. And then, power couple who by daytime do activist work and advocate for the protection of sites and the environment and who by night dress in black and go sabotage factories, steal info to leak as whistleblowers and give various object and art back to their owners.

As a side plot that (kinda) follows canon, one of their mission goes wrong and Quynh doesn't get out with them, she's missing and they cannot find any trace of her for months/a few years and they think she's dead until Lykon locates her and they find out she's in prison somewhere. They go break her out and there's angst because Quynh believes she was forgotten by them until they talk it out and also deal with the trauma by going to therapy and bringing down the corporation that had Quynh thrown in jail. Power of love and bombs baby. After that they are much more careful but they keep doing it because they believe in the good of their work.

Also, a thing you don’t see really in the movies but is very present in the game series, about half the story if not two-thirds is spent on resolving enigmas and mysteries, not action. Sure Croft knows how to shoot and is a good fighter but the most important part is her brain and knowledge and associate in various fields (and that she seeks the help of, she's not a mary sue she has limits and has people who assist her). She thinks more than she fights and I really want to see that on Andy and Quynh, them thoroughly researching a subject, planing their op, getting info on people, going to recover intel and tools and associates and also using legal means to get things done and only going to the illegal method in last resort, and even then I want to see stealth mission with no big fight like Sudan in the movie rather than going in with a boom. Basically, show how important their brains are to the overall plot.

I also really want to add Lykon to the mix because their dynamic seems really cool from what we've seen in the movie and also from fanon and he deserves nice things okay. So he’s the tech genius that comes in the team a few years later when they're well established but technology starts to evolve and they're not the best at navigating it but Lykon is, he's the best at electrical systems and robots, internet and all the new tech. He'll help them break into places and do recon op. And then they become this tight-knit family of multiple doctorates and scientists and activists that also have a side business no one knows about (except the world knows there are people protecting the environment and cultural goods from destruction and their nickname in news press totally is The Old Guards okay).

And to end it beautifully, Andy Quynh and Lykon are a badass team for 20 years until Lykon decides to have a family so he cannot keep getting in danger and he retires to teach (happy AU, no death) and Andy and Quynh at 40 and some years old stumbles upon Nile who is starting in the field of archeology and art history and they’ll work together, thus passing the torch down to the newest generation. And you can even have a crossover with Indiana Joe and Nicky doing their things in their corner and they met on one mission, Booker can be a forger they hire from time to time to get false papers, all of them can meet and work together to fight Big Bad Guy Merrick, the possibilities are endless really once you get into the Archeological Actions Cinematic Universe (which is a genre on its own apparently).

Maybe one day I'll get to write this who knows, but I really needed to get the idea out of my head so this post shall be enough for the time being. Feel free to write or draw something from this, there's never too much Andy/Quynh content. And also, add to this post! These are just my thoughts and ideas but I would love to hear more if you have them, consider this an open discussion board about this very specific AU that has been living in my head since late summer.

#andromaquynh #andy x quynh #immortal wives #andromache the scythian #quynh #lykon #tog #the old guard #tog au #the old guard au #andy & quynh & lykon #em speaks

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coffeebeannate · 3 years

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The Old Guard: Vol 2-Force Multiplied (Summary &Overview)

I’d been meaning to make this post for a while, and kept forgetting. Because I know there are those who are curious about the comics and not sure about reading them, or can’t read them, would rather opt out etc. So I’ve put together a basic summary and breakdown of what happens within the issue. I’ll include some information about the characters, some timelines (as I can, we know what Greg thinks of timelines) and mostly keep it uncommented until my own general thoughts at the end.

The movie mostly follows the first comic almost completely, and bits of the second, so I’ve not created a summary of the first volume.

Under a cut, includes images and information. If you want a TL’DR, skip to ‘Final Thoughts’ at the end. Long post.

Content/Trigger Warnings: Mentions of Human Trafficking, Slavery, Torture (This one I need some clarification on, gonna use the word just in case but..basically that’s what it is)

**SPOILERS**

Credits: The Old Guard Vol 2 Force Multiplied is created by writer Greg Rucka and aritst Leandro Fernandez. Colouring by Daniele Miwa. Letters by Jodi Wynne. Publication Design by Eric Trautmann. Edited by Alejandro Arbonna. Published by Image Comics. Graphic Novel Published 2020. USA.

Characters and Settings

Characters are the same from volume one. So we still have Andy, Joe, Nicky, Booker, and Nile. As well as more about Lykon and Noriko (she’s not Quynh in the comics, she’s Noriko). There’s more Copley too.

Additional/new characters are FBI Agent Mustafa King (also called Moose) and people who work for Noriko *none are named*.

Setting is California, USA and historical settings for the flashbacks we have for Andy. Summary and Overview (Basically the story overall, broken down, with my own commentary)

We open here, with a flashback of Andy’s earliest life. It’s a tiny bit vague, but provides the general idea.

I believe Andy is mortal here, but I’m not 100% sure. I believe she’s providing the narration to her first death. Which comes as the result of being betrayed in battle.

(Much of the stories focus is on Andy. I’ve noted it before, but Andy is our narrator, and a lot of the story is told via her flashbacks, over narration and POV. The comics really are Andy’s story, with the cast supporting around her.

We cut to modern day, of Andy, Nile. Nicky and Joe doing a job in California, USA. I believe the whole job revolves around taking down human traffickers, and in a couple parts. The job at the beginning has a shoot-out during the day, a car chase and then a stealth take down on a dock and shipping warehouse at night.

I just thought Andy looked cool here. Moving on.

Nile and Andy have a cool sportscar. Joe and Nicky have this very stylish *coughs* but exceptionally practical large van.

After the four of them take care of their day business, we cut to Booker being confronted in Paris by Noriko. Now the scene presented in the comics here is close to what we see at the end of the movie. Except this time it’s at night, and Noriko essentially kidnaps Booker. Since she wants to know where the others are, and Booker won’t tell her.

I’ll cut right to the chase. She uh. She tends to torture him. She’s got him on a heavy chain with a metal collar, and at one point drowns him over and over again to get him to talk. He never does, but she keeps him around anyway.

Around this time Agent King (Moose) appears, and then manages to come across Nile. Which leads to the infamous ‘stew of romance’ scene.

However. while Nicky and Joe are amused (and making bets on him asking her out).. (I love them)

Andy is not amused at all and loses her goddamned mind over it. To which she threatens to..spank Nile (????????) and Nicky and Joe basically tell her to calm down. (Andy’s worried that Nile befriending a mortal is going to end badly, and Nicky and Joe remind her that even if it does, they can’t just stop her. And that some things, Nile has to learn and adjust to herself. Nile is smart, and she’ll come to her own conclusions in time. Interfering isn’t right.

(They all look so sad in the bottom there, help me)

After this is the night mission at the warehouse docks.

Another shot I just thought was cool. Nicky’s sniping shots are done really well.

After they finish, Noriko comes out of the actual blue to get them. Or well..attack them. Joe’s the first one to greet her, and all she does is comment about how he (Yusuf) hasn’t changed and shoots him. She shoots Nile and Andy as well. After both of them recover, Andy and Noriko start fighting, and Nicky puts a stop to it by shooting them both.

(It’s after Andy see’s Noriko that we get the first flashback from Andy to the ships, the same storm that ended up throwing Noriko overboard all those centuries ago and causing her time at sea).

After Noriko and Andy revive from Nicky’s snipe shot, they split, leading us into the next day where Copley and Agent King (Moose, our new character) are surveying the damage at the warehouse and trying to decide what went down.

Copley already knows it’s the Guard, and is trying to explain this to Moose. I do kind of like this moment, where Copley comments to himself about Nicky being a good shot.

Hey-credit where credit is due and all.

Shortly after this, Copley falls on Nicky and Joe’s radar. And they quickly accost him at night. Which is far more satisfying than I thought it would be. A lot of the outcome with Copley and them does feel pretty good.

(Nicky’s scary face aside, I kind of love this shot, and this moment)

They don’t beat around the bush nor give him much leeway. They let him know-without preamble, that they’re pissed and his continued existence is on their good graces unless he explains himself.

I have actually discussed this before (here-also has extra screencaps) so I won’t go too hard in detail on it. But I do love these scenes a lot. I like that they’re allowed to be as fuming angry as they have every right to be, and that they present Copley with no bullshit. Nicky and Joe are completely on the same page. And Copley is made aware of where he stands very quickly. This is where Copley presents them with the information he’d collected in his little self driven conspiracy adventure about them, and then drops the bomb that he knows Noriko has Booker.

Around this time, Andy has more flashbacks of Lykon and her old life..including participating in slave trading of humans. (Which comes back near the end) she also meets up with Norkio. Noriko’s main belief system at present is that, they are above humans *mortals* and there is no reason to behave otherwise. They have no need to stay on the same level as mortals when they’re not.

Also around this time Nile hooks up with Agent King.

Copley gives the information about how to track Booker and Noriko to a boat that Noriko is keeping him on and Andy and Nile join them up in the nick of time. This is also where Copley informs them about how Noriko has gotten her money-organized crime..and basically whatever she can get her hands on. Which is also how Noriko has her own personal army.

‘Fancy’ Joe please.

And for whatever reason, Copley seems to think ‘undercover/distracting’ means..being as stereotypically British as possible?

Though I’ll be honest, I mostly post this cap for how badass Nicky looks.

So! Everything culminates in the boat battle, and at the end, they get Booker back, and handle Noriko. Everyone goes back to a hotel to celebrate, and things are fine until Nile asks Andy about something Noriko had told her. She’d at one point accosted Nile, and told her to ask Andy about “Law 282″ which Andy reveals is the Code of Hammurabi. Which is how they all find out about Andy’s participation in slave trades. slavery etc. Back in her more..ancient warrior days. Nile, and the others are pretty appalled and Andy has a bit of a mental breakdown and explains that she can’t carry on anymore. She won’t. She can’t keep fighting, she can’t keep doing this. Which is when Nile tells them that they have to go.

They don’t really want to leave her, and ask her repeatedly to come with them-but she won’t. So they leave, even though Andy says she doesn’t want to be alone, they leave. (This is where I say, unless they physically forced Andy to come I don’t personally see what else they could have done without Andy fighting them, and probably figure that she’ll come around).

Next morning:

I’m not sure what ‘others’ Noriko is referring to here, but I personally think she set a lot of this up. She gave Nile that law to give back on purpose. I do wonder if it was part of a larger scheme on her end to alienate Andy from her team and swoop in, but I have no true proof of this beyond theory.

So that’s the basic summary of what happens.

Other Points:

Noriko vs Quynh

Noriko is very very much NOT Quynh, and I don’t believe the movie is going to act as such either. I’ve seen some *legitimate* concerns with having Quynh portrayed within the movie as she is in the comics, but given the complete difference between the tone of the movies, and the comics, I think that they’ve already set it up to be different. Personally, I’m not too concerned. I have a lot of faith in Gina Prince-Bythewood, and I can already sense where they’re probably going to make alterations.

Andy/Being Abandoned

Andy’s story has some issues. It’s not..great. It is legitimately hard to reconcile the Andy we know with her past, but I don’t see the ending as the team ‘abandoning’ her to the degree it’s presented. I think they FULLY intended to give her some time to cool off and get their bearings themselves, then come back for her. She keeps telling them she won’t come, but they absolutely do try. And everyone knows that nobody forces Andy to do anything Andy doesn’t want to do.

I mean, Idk, but these just..don’t look to be the faces of people who willingly want to leave her behind.

Just Because:

Nicky and Joe looking over Copley’s work. It’s sweet. Feat WWII Joe.

Final Thoughts

There are-without a single doubt, issues with the comics. I will never deny that. I do enjoy reading them, and I enjoy the dialogue a lot. (And Miwa’s absolutely incredible colouring). I think that there’s a definite difference in tone to them and that there are places where things could be expanded upon overall.

The comics are, as I’ve said before-Andy’s story. The other characters very much exist in support of her, and do not do a lot separately themselves. The movie is definitely more..family with them? Everyone’s personality in the comics is harsher overall. A little bit more dry and dangerous. There’s definitely less comradery with the team too and way less of a family vibe.

As characters, Nicky and Joe are very very similar to their movie counterparts, and I think they are written quite well. They seem to make decisions about what to do together, always appear on the same page *when we see them* and follow the same wavelength We get the sense that they’re completely in-sync. I also do like *though I did say it before* that they’re allowed to have the appropriate reactions and some resolution of what happened to them in Vol 1.

Nile still doesn’t feel as fleshed-out as she could be, so I’m really glad the movie put way more emphasis on her.

There’s some truly strong points in the dialogue-and I personally think dialogue and writing is one of Rucka’s strong points as a writer. Even if I still want to beg him to hire any type of historian whatsoever..and someone who can do math.

I sympathize with the math bit, this is why a helper would be good.

I’m going to wrap it up here, because holy moley this got LONG. If you’ve made it to the end, hi! Feel free to message me with any questions.

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lovelikedestiny · 3 years

Text

Under the surface

Booker fills one mug with coffee for himself and adds a shot from his flask. Nile doesn't comment on it, because they all have their problems. “What did you do, Joe? Did you try to make pancakes again?”

After a mission Nicky is angry and the team doesn't know why. With the only brain cell of the group it is up to Nile to set them straight.

Extract:

But it is just a question of time until it comes to an eruption and as Nile enters the kitchen one morning Joe at her heels, she is convinced that the moment has come.

Two mugs of coffee are on the table: one with cream and sugar for Nile, the other one black but with a lot of sugar for Joe. The latter is for a real morning grouch who needs at least three mugs of coffee and the double amount of sugar to wake up entirely.

Nile sits and inhales the scent of the coffee, Joe clasps his mug like a saving anchor and Nicky who is always the first of them awake, curses in Italian.

Even though Joe looks like a zombie, he automatically shifts a little on his chair to face Nicky, because he never swears while he cooks. The kitchen is Nicky's palace, his temple, cooking has a meditating effect on him, but this effect is missing today. “'re you 'kay, my heart?” Joe asks his mug mumbling, his voice sleepy and hoarse.

Nicky pauses from abusing something in a pan, waving a fork aggressively in their direction and makes a movement with his head where Nile can't tell whether it's a nod or a shake. “It could be a great morning, but this fucking scrambled eggs refuse to get the right consistency! Is it too much to ask that these damn animal products look like normal scrambled eggs and not like stupid abominations of a sponge!”

Definitely more alert Joe turns his attention from his coffee to Nicky and Nile holds her breath, because a yelling Nicky is funny and alarming at the same time.

“Nicolo-” Joe starts, dark eyes wide and amazed – why is Joe amazed by that?

Nicky hurls the fork in the sink and puts the pan back on the stove with a crashing sound. “AND THIS BACON IS A FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT! I fried it at medium temperature so it could have the perfect crunch, but these BASTARDS are now too crispy!”

While Nicky keeps muttering about the destroyed breakfast and insulting the eggs and bacon, Joe leans slowly towards her, eyes still fixed on his soulmate. “Is it weird that I am turned on by this?”

Nile grimaces. “Eww, that is gross!” And it explains why Joe is totally amazed by Nicky's performance.

“My love, although you are very hot right now with your eyes gleaming like that and your beautiful, tensed body-” Nile coughs a second gross, Joe pays no attention to that. “- it is just breakfast and I am sure that these eggs and the bacon taste like heaven. Because you made them.”

“It is not just breakfast! Cooking is like art!” Nicky protests outraged and then he curses in Italian and Arabic, and Nile loses the thread, she's never heard Nicky swear that much.

“I am whose son? I didn't quite get the part. If my mother laid with a pig, what-?” Joe asks, brows furrowed in concentration.

“Fuck you!” Nicky snarls and rushes into the living room, leaving a stunned Nile and a confused Joe in the kitchen.

“Nicolo, I would rather fuck you”,” Joe calls after him without hesitation and Nile chokes on her coffee. Even here she can hear Nicky's unfriendly snort. “Or you fuck me, if you like,” Joe continues shamelessly.

The answer is the slam of a door and Nile uses the seconds of silence to take another sip of coffee before Joe can go on with saying things about their intimate privacy – for her own safety.

And she is damn right.

“Maybe I should've offered him to fuck me first, instead the other way round,” Joe mumbles to himself and Nile stands up abruptly, forcing the older warrior to look at her, one eyebrow raised in question.

“Seriously, stop talking about your sex life! It is disturbing and I haven't had enough coffee to hear you say the word 'fuck' that often.”

“Nicky used the word, too,” Joe says mildly defensively.

“Because he is angry and not in a sexual context like you did,” Nile makes clear and takes a look at the food Nicky insulted. It looks just fine, and she picks a piece of bacon and eats it, enjoying the salty flavor.

“I wonder why he is upset. Maybe it's because I laughed during our love making last night. But he was so beautiful and divine with his tousled hair on the pillow and-”

“JOE!”

The man raises his hands in surrender and buries his nose in his coffee, clearly offended by Nile's refusal to hear more about his and Nicky's adventures behind closed doors. Fortunately, Booker's appearance spares her from explaining to Joe why not everybody is keen on learning more about their intimacy.

“I just met Nicky outside and he said, he would go for a walk.” Booker's gaze lingers between Nile standing at the stove eating bacon from the pan and Joe inhaling his coffee and trying to be one of the living again. “What happened?”

“He is angry,” Joe informs him and shuts his mouth after Nile shoots him a warning look to avoid another questionable assumption.

Joe gasps in shock. “What? No! I swore to him I would never do it again and I keep my promises.”

Read more on AO3 ;)

#the old guard #crack fic #Nile has the only brain cell #the immortals are a bit stupid because they are too old #some humor #I just wanted Nicky to yell at eggs and bacon #fanfiction #under the surface

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stillchaoticlogic · 4 years

Text

Stumbling: Chapter 9

Pairing: Raihan X Reader X Leon

Your life hadn’t gone exactly as you planned…

This is why when an old rival walks into the coffee shop you work at he gives you an offer you just can’t refuse. Finally, a chance at the League. Suddenly you are thrust into the spotlight and a world you thought you had left behind. Dreams aren’t always what they are cracked up to be though, especially when you find yourself the tangled up with the champion and a certain gym leader.

Has all your dreams come true?

Or is this your worst nightmare?

Masterlist

Blast from the Past

The next morning is tense as you pop out of your bedroom and into the common area. Leon and Raihan are sitting at the table pointedly ignoring one another, and honestly, you don’t really know why. You sit down in the vacant chair with a coffee cup in front of it and gaze between the two men. After several moments of silence from Leon and Raihan awkwardly avoiding your eyes, you stand up.

“I’ve got training to do, when you two have dealt with yourselves we’re leaving,” you say in annoyance as you make your way into your room. You emerge about 10 minutes later fully dressed with your pokemon belt stocked with your team. You had sent Queenie, your Vespiquen, to your box and pulled out Arum, your Bounsweet. The Egg is in your backpack nice and snug while both Nile, your Vaporeon and Bastet, your Eevee follow along behind you. You know you are going to have to trade out some pokemon soon, but you wanted to assess your team before you made any decisions.

Once outside you release your team and introduce them to the new pair or members. They all seem pretty happy with one another.

“Alright, everyone! Let’s line up and do some assessments! We’ve got the Hulbury gym next. It’s a water type gym so I’ll need Arum and Axel front and center!”

The duo takes a step forward and you chuckle as Axel lays his head on top of Arum causing the berry pokemon to squeak in indignation.

“Nile, you’re going to be going up against Kabu at the Motostoke Gym in about a week, so we need to get you used to your new form and get some formal training in!”

Nile yips in agreement and you chuckle as he swishes his fin-like tail around. Bastet is standing next to him and you laugh as she scolds him for almost hitting her with his much larger tail. He has the grace to look apologetic at his mate and sits still.

“Bastet, have you given any thought to your evolution?” The Eevee nods her head decisively and steps up to you. You sit on the ground and pull out your Pokedex with all of her options. When you get to Glaceon she puts her paw on the screen indicating that the ice Pokemon is her choice.

“So you want to be a Glaceon? What a perfect little pair the two of you make!” She yips happily and jumps around before going to stand back with her mate and new team.

“Alright, I’ll have to get my hands on an Ice Stone soon!”

Turning your gaze to the last three Pokemon you smiled as Serenity bounds up to you and plops herself onto your head. You had a feeling she would be evolving soon and indulged her whenever she wanted to ride with you now. Davine and Hades lumber over and you regard them critically. Why don’t we see how you two are doing with a battle? Davine pouts up at you while Hades just lets out a little roar of happiness. However, before you could start the battle a commotion in the trees alerts you to some visitors.

“Or you can hand over that Deino andJangmo-o!”

You whip your head around and see a Pokemon thief and several men and women standing behind him.

“What are you doing here?! Did you escape!?”

“Saw your battle on TV. Good job getting your first badge! They never had me! I got away before the cops could show up!” he says in a baby voice before he burst out laughing.

You narrow your eyes at the male before you, “What? Do you think just because I’ve only gotten one badge I can’t take you? I beat you before with no badges…”

“Big talk for a little girl… Where’s your knight in shining armor at? The dragon trainer?”

“I don’t need anyone to beat you…”

“Wanna bet?”

The thief and his accomplices release their Pokemon. With a frown, you notice many different types of dark and poison types like Nickit, Purrloin, Stunky, and Croagunk. The leader, that can’t seem to leave you alone, sends out a Drapion. You curse to yourself as you notice your opponents’ Pokemon all take a fighting stance.

“Well, everyone… This is the real challenge, gyms be damned. Let’s show these thieves what we’re all made of!” A chorus of cries meets your ears as they all get into a fighting stance. Your team leaps into action at the same time your opponents do. Luckily with the training, you’ve done thus far the only ones you really have to coach are Nile and Bastet.

“Nile! Bastet! Use Water Pulse and Swift!” The duo attacks Croagunk while Hades and Davine work on the Drapion and the rest of your Pokemon take on the remaining three themselves. You aren’t surprised when a bright light glows to your left and notice Arum evolving.

“Arum! You’re a Steenee now!” you exclaim in glee ignoring the rest of the battle so you miss the moment that the Drapion breaks free from its battle with your dragons and charges at you. You go to leap out of the way of the scorpion-like Pokemon as you scream when all of sudden it stops in its tracks its stinger inches from you. The Drapion is thrown away from you and faints upon its impact with the ground. Looking up you see Serenity panting and on the verge of passing out.

“Serenity!” you yell as the Stunky bares its teeth and bites your unsuspecting antenna pokemon. She lets out a tiny cry and you scream her name in worry. Axel throws its fists down onto the Pokemon making it release its grip. Arum rushes over and you watch in awe as leaves whip up from the ground and assault the Stunky, knocking it out. You’re surprised when Davine, with a battle cry you’ve never heard before rushes the Nickit heading butting it and sending it reeling back before hitting it with a dragon tail.

“What is going on here!? How is some little girl beating all of us?!” he yells in anger.

“First off!” you yell as you hold Serenity in your arms, “Don’t call me little girl. I’ve kicked your ass twice now.”

You watch in satisfaction as the other Pokemon fall to your team, “Secondly, I train my own Pokemon, I don’t steal other peoples!”

“You stole my Deino! I want it back!”

“Hades made his choice.”

You watch in amusement as Hades whips his head towards the voice and a low growl emitted from his throat. The ring leader takes a step back in fear.

“So you’ve named the traitor.”

“Fitting isn’t it?” you ask with a smirk.

“You’re such a little bitch!”

“Maybe… but I still beat you.”

“You only think you have.”

Your eyes widen as several more thieves step out of the trees surrounding you. You square your shoulders and begin to call back your team knowing you’re going to have to find another way out of this.

“What? Giving up so soon?”

“Not exactly… but tell me… Why do you care so much about me?”

“Let’s just say you’ve interested someone…”

“Someone?”

“Oh yes… He’s quite interested in you and your Pokemon… And once we hand you over to him and show him what you can do… Well if you’re a good little girl maybe he’ll have a use for you. After all, he did tell us to bring you in alive…”

You let out a smirk, “Is that so?”

He didn’t notice you switch out the Pokemon in your team, so he’s completely unprepared for the moment you threw a Pokeball into the air. Titan your Corviknight glares down at the unsuspecting group before you.

“Let’s go Titan!” you yell as you rush to him and leap onto his back. He takes off and you clutch his feathers tightly so you don’t fall off.

“Gust!” you yell as several of the newly released Pokemon leaps to catch hold of the two of you. The wind knocks them to the ground and you smile as you pat him.

“Good job, Titan…”

He cooed back at you happily, a single red eye gleaming at you as he turns to gaze at you.

“Thank you for being here for me… I promise you I haven’t forgotten you… It’s just… Not time yet… Your new teammates have so much to learn…”

He coos back at you as if he’s saying it’s okay. You just pat his neck and tell him where you need to go. When you arrive back at the Inn you notice Raihan and Leon in the front of the building yelling about something.

“What are you two going on about?!” you exclaim as you land.

The duo whipped around to face you with equal looks of shock on their faces.

“When did you get a Corviknight?! Where do you keep getting all these Pokemon at?!” exclaims Raihan.

“Wow! So Titan evolved?!” Leon exclaims as he approaches the two of you.

Titan dips his head down so that Leon can pet him, “Last time I saw you you were a Rookidee!”

Titan straightens up and fluffs up his feathers obviously preening under the attention.

“I trained Titan when I was younger, I have several Pokemon that I raised when I intended to challenge the League. They mostly hang out at my family’s place, but since starting my adventure I had them put back into my storage box in case I need them for any reason. A good thing to… I needed Titan today or I wouldn’t have made it.”

“What do you mean you wouldn’t have made it?” Asks Leon his voice almost dangerous.

“The thieves are back… You were right, they wanted revenge and to take back Hades and take Davine. Also… They wanted to take...me…”

“They wanted to kidnap you?!” Raihan exclaims as he rushes up to you his hands clenched into fists.

“That’s what they said… I was able to take out the first wave, but there was a second wave surrounding us. I couldn’t fight them all off so I ran…”

“I’m glad you did if something would have happened to you…” Leon says as he pulls you into a hug holding you close to him.

You hear Raihan curse from beside you as he looks down the path, “I bet they’ve run by now… Damnit! I can’t believe we let you go off alone…”

“You can’t be there all the time Rai…” you say as you pull away from Leon.

“No, you need protection at all times now. We can’t let them take you, who knows what they intend to do to you…” Raihan argues.

“I’m not a damsel, guys…”

“No one is saying you are, but you are being targeted by an entire organization of thieves and that’s dangerous,” Leon reasons.

You heave a sigh of annoyance, “I know… I just… I want to have a normal journey… Not one filled with unnecessary danger and people trying to kidnap me and steal my pokemon.”

“Look, we're going to make sure nothing happens to you okay?” asks Raihan as he pulls you towards him. You nod knowing that the two of them will protect you, you just don’t want to need protection.

“You know… you aren’t weak for needing help… if that’s what you’re worried about,” Says Raihan as he squeezes you a little tighter. You smile to yourself wondering how he could know you so well already.

“They found me because of the televised battle, so they are going to know what city I’m in all the time.”

“We won’t have your battles televised then, I’ll talk to the League-”

“No that’s too obvious, plus I doubt that would keep them from finding me, they probably have eyes in all the cities anyway…”

“She’s right, they’re probably watching the gyms, so not having her battles televised would just hurt her career,” Raihan reasons.

The three of you take off down the road to the Pokemon center. You allow Titan some time to stretch his wings as he flies ahead of you all, playing lookout even if you didn’t ask him to.

“So what we don’t do anything?” Leon argues.

“We should let the other gym leaders know what’s going on and have them on the lookout for anyone suspicious,” Raihan puts his hands behind his head and you gaze up at the tall male beside you.

“Besides, I want to be the one to take them out…” Raihan growls, his sharp fang-like teeth showing in a dangerous smirk.

You suddenly know why Raihan is known as the dragon tamer, he may as well be part dragon himself.

“Well, you’ll have to get in line…” Leon says with an edge to voice and glance to your other side you see the champion radiating with power, not the boy you grew up with.

“OH! I have some good news!” you exclaim as you pull out Arum’s Pokeball, “Arum evolved! She is now a Steenee!”

“Sweet!”

“That’s great news!”

“It is! She’s so proud!” you exclaim as you send her out. She blinks up at them with her big eyes before she giggles and begins to dance around on the path before you all. You know you’re trying to keep your mind busy. The return of the thieves is startling and you’re scared. You’re scared for your Pokémon as well as yourself.

‘I need to get stronger…’ you think as you gaze at Arum. She is getting stronger every day as is your other Pokémon. You know you have to be patient, but you can’t help but feel pressured to be strong now.

“Hey, nothing is going to happen to you…” Leon says softly.

“You don’t know that…” you mutter back.

“You’re right I don’t… but I know that while I’m around I’m not letting someone take you from me okay?”

“Okay…”

The trip to the Pokemon center is relatively quick. You all end up stocking up on supplies and you trade out Titan for Nile once again. Your team now consists of Serenity your Hatenna, Axel your Toxel, Davine your Janmo-o, Hades your Deino, Arum your Steenee, and Nile your Vaporeon. Once you have all finished up at the center you head off down Route 5 in order to get to Hulbury. You don’t like the thought of sleeping in the tent and you can feel your paranoia creeping up.

“If we end up having to sleep in the tent tonight, we will keep guard,” Leon says with finality.

“When are you two going to sleep then?”

“We can’t not keep watch, you know this,” Raihan interjects.

“But if you’re tired will you be able to battle if something happens?”

“(Name) you need to calm down and trust us,” says Raihan as he drapes an arm around your shoulders.

“What if they attack us again? What if something happens?”

“We are just going to have to be diligent okay? Just focus on getting stronger for your next gym battle this doesn’t change anything,” Raihan says calmly.

You spend the rest of the day training your team and despite your best efforts to make it to Hulbury, you have to set up camp. There is a small clearing near a pond that is perfect for camping. You all fall into the same routine as you have for the past few weeks. Raihan sets up the tent, Leon starts the fire and you start dinner. The other two pitch in when needed and feed the Pokemon. Everyone is out and meandering around the clearing and whether or not you want to admit it the sky is gorgeous with its pinks and oranges. You focus your energy on the curry you’re making and Serenity volunteers to be your taste testers especially since she hasn’t left your side for hours. You notice Raihan poking around the tall grass, but you don’t pay much attention to him. Leon is at your side helping you with the vegetables and rice.

“How are you holding up?” Leon asks as he chops the potato.

“I’ve been better… Its moments like this that my head just screams at me to go home, but there isn’t anything left for me there…”

“No, you need to get stronger and running from this isn’t going to solve it.”

“I know…” you say softly as you avoid his eyes.

“Hey…” he says as he comes up behind you and wraps his arms around your frame. He rests his head on your shoulder and you feel his warmth and his strength and you feel secure. You feel yourself lean back into him and you rest your head against his.

“You did amazing today. You defeated them and you ran when you knew you couldn’t. That’s all you could do and that’s all I could ask you to do. I’m sorry that you were alone when it happened… It’s my fault for jumping to conclusions about you are Raihan…”

“Jumping to conclusions? Leon, Rai and I are friends and what you saw last night wasn’t anything. Nothing happened. Also, what does it matter if something does happen? Aren’t you-”

A loud squawk interrupts you and you look up in just enough time to see Axel jump back in fear. Rushing forward you watch as your baby stumbles away and rushes behind Arum who is just staring in confusion at the overzealous Farfetch’d who is waving his leek stalk wildly in the direction of the baby.

“Axel… what did you do to it?!” you scold as you watch the bird hop about wielding its leek.

Axel looks up at you with tear-filled innocent eyes and rubs at its head.

“I’m sure you’re fine…” You mutter as you pick up the baby Pokemon to examine his head. He pouts at you as the Farfetch’d lunge at the two of you.

“Oh absolutely not… Not after the day I’ve had… Serenity! Psybeam!”

The angry bird is knocked back a few feet but seems undeterred. Serenity hops to the side and hits Farfetch’d with confusion causing the Pokemon to become disoriented. With one final attack from Serenity, Farfetch’d falls back into the grass and you just chuckle triumphantly.

“Well catch it!” yells Leon from your right.

“Oh! Right!” You pull a Pokeball out of your bag and throw it at the bird Pokemon. After it shakes a few times it finally signals that Farfetch’d is caught.

“You caught a Pokemon the normal way for once… Good job!” says Raihan as he walks up to the two of you.

“THE CURRY!” you yell before you can answer and you rush back over to the pot in just enough time to keep it from boiling over. Raihan picks the Pokemon up from the grass and walks over to you.

“When he evolves you’re going to have a fighter on your hands,” he says as he hands your new Pokemon over to you.

“What are you talking about? He’s already a fighter…” you mutter while you stir the pot.

“You know what I mean!” he chuckles.

“I do…”

You send Farfetch’d to your box knowing you will get him out to train later. Raihan hangs out with you while you plate the food and then helps you divvy the food out to everyone. The meal is quiet with everyone lost in their own thoughts about everything that has been going on. After dinner is over and everything is cleaned up you decide to turn in. You know that sleeping will be very difficult tonight.

You hear the front of the tent unzip as Raihan steps in, “Leon is taking first watch so let’s get some sleep okay? You have a gym badge to win tomorrow!”

You can tell he’s trying to make you feel better about the situation, but what you don’t expect is for him to lay his sleeping bag down right next to you.

“Rai?”

“Look I’m right here okay? Just go to sleep…”

You nod at him and roll so you are turned away from him, but you’re so restless it isn’t long until you roll to face the top of the tent and then to your side again. After a few more minutes of rolling around and just being restless and annoyed you feel an arm wrap around your waist and a chin rest on your shoulder.

“I’ve got you…” is the only thing that a sleepy Raihan mutters before he pulls you closer to his body and slowly his warmth and the feeling of security that surrounds you allows you drift off into a fitful sleep.

Notes: Hey guys sorry for the long wait things have crazy lately... Also, if you didn’t see my post earlier about my sweet kitty baby, he’s had some blockage. If you are unfamiliar with kitties and blockage it’s very dangerous and deadly. If left untreated for a day they will die, it’s that serious... So I now have an astronomical animal hospital bill to pay but my baby is alive and recovering so I won’t complain. I think I’m going to open up commissions to help pay for the costs. I’ve set up a Ko-fi and I have no idea how it works... I think the link is hanging out in my description... I think... So look for commission information too! Don’t worry this won’t affect my other stories. Anyway! I hope you all are having a wonderful New Year! As always leave a comment below! Reblog to show some love and send an ask if you want to be tagged!

Taglist: @Ichigokage @pinktowne @marina-and-the-memes @ssskeletonsoffun @secretly-a-weeb @duizhangdeluxe @swiftly-heart @invaderbekk @crowkie @narees17 @skinklady @nerdyeldritchhorror @wthyuta @serendipityseoul @crescentrax @ninjarose23 @chiizwiz @cherryrocks505 @just-a-dregular @bonniestreet @theofficialkanekibarbie @maryry24 @zea-is-amazing @loch-monsta @artisticchihuahua @hadeselegy @rociomz

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pameluke · 4 years

Photo

Lay Your Head Down (5859 words) by Pameluke

Fandom: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)

Rating: Explicit | Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolo di Genova

Additional Tags: Team Bonding, Post-Merrick, Recovery, Domestic Downtime, Rimming, Shaving, Background Andy, Background Nile, Italy, Domestic Fluff, References to Temporary Character Dead, Porn with Feelings

Summary:

The team takes time to recover after Merrick and finds refuge in the hills of Tuscany. They find a new equilibrium, and Joe and Nicky take time to indulge in one another.

Read on AO3 or below the cut.

They bunker down somewhere in the middle of nowhere in the Maremma Toscana, in a remote house in the hills, surrounded by fields, olive orchards and patches of forest. The closest village is 20 minutes away by car on a dusty rocky road up the hillside, and the closest houses are abandoned farmhouses, big, sprawling ruins that only house birds and mice now.

For a week they mostly sleep, eat and recover. Andy isn’t used to being in pain for a sustained period of time, so she’s cranky and quiet. She disappears to the roof for hours on end, staring at the wide-open skies spanning the rolling hills, her necklace held tight in her fist. But she sticks around, and that’s what matters. Nile still misses her family, going back and forth between bouts of energy in which she swims in the pool, cleans the kitchen or trains until the sweat is running down her back; or no energy at all, in which she stays on her bed or stares into her coffee for hours at a time. She joins Andy on the roof sometimes, but they don’t speak.

Booker’s betrayal isn’t mentioned by anyone, but his absence is felt all the more in the quiet and empty spaces.

Joe keeps touching the back of Nicky’s head as if to make sure he has indeed healed. Nicky keeps grinding his teeth, the callous words of dr. Kozak ringing through his head. “The Nobel Prize.” He tries yoga and meditation, but nothing frees him from the memories. It’s not so much the violence and death, he can usually shrug that off. It's the being captured and the threat of being tortured indefinitely – what if Nicky would have to have watched Joe in pain for decades, for centuries, what if they’d taken Joe away, what if Nicky would never have known if he was dead or captured somewhere, what if they’d found a way to kill him – while being faced with Andy’s new mortality.

They all have nightmares. Some old. Some new.

When the bone-deep exhaustion starts to fade, they slowly start to drift towards one another. Joe draws: the views, Nicky, some dark and violent abstracts that make Nicky kiss his temple and coax him to bed. Nicky cooks, throwing himself on old recipes that require focus and time, making sure to serve Andy some of her favorite dishes, and learning Nile’s taste in food in an attempt to cheer her up.

He doesn’t bake croissants.

Andy, always bad at doing nothing for a long time, lures Nile into sparring with her by pretending to need help with her recovery. Nile mostly agrees in an attempt to make sure Andy doesn’t put too much strain on her injuries. Soon they’re all involved and taking turns, getting used to Nile’s fighting style and presence at their backs while coming to terms with the fact that Andy is no longer unbreakable.

Nile is enthusiastic and hungry to learn, eager to battle away her demons and frustrations, and her determination to take at least one of them down makes sparring almost feel fun again. They roast and jest and mock each other goodheartedly and it doesn’t take long for it all to end up in a bet. For a moment the quiet following Nicky’s dare is deafening because they all expect Booker to throw down the gauntlet and some cash, but Nile breaks the silence and they power through it.

Nicky and Joe team up against Andy and Nile, hand to hand, no broken bones, their honor and the dishes at stake.

After almost a thousand years of fighting together, Nicky and Joe are two sides of the same blade, half a look enough to coordinate their attacks and defensive maneuvers. Andy, however, is a force of nature all on her own. Even with her still-healing injuries, she hits like a hammer. What’s worse, she knows Nicky and Joe almost as well as they know each other, so she seems able to predict every move they make. If not for Nile, the three of them would probably have ended up in an hour-long stalemate, grappling and dodging each other deep into the night. It’s Nile who serves as the tie-breaker, her moves unexpected, and her team work with Andy surprisingly smooth considering their short acquaintance.

“It’s because she tried to kill me,” Andy jokes from her position on Nicky’s back, his arm and leg in a tight hold he can only get out of if he dislocates an arm. Which he can and would do, but per the standing game rules, dislocations fall under broken bones, even if self-inflicted. So he’s well and truly stuck.

It takes Nicky a second to recognize the splashing sound in the background as Joe falling in the pool. No help is coming.

“You actually killed me!” Nile protests, indignant and breathless. Her shirt’s ripped, but she’s laughing as she holds out a hand for Andy to high five, her face alight with glee.

“Can’t argue with that kind of connection,” Joe says, spitting out pool water and wiping wet hair from his eyes. He winks at Nicky, mirth obvious in his eyes even though he looks somewhat like a wet poodle.

Andy gets off of him, patting him on the back in apology. Nicky just grins and perches his chin on his hands, staying on the terrace floor a little longer. His gaze lingers on Joe as he rises from the pool, following the water rivulets down his body and drinking in the way his wet shirt clings to his chest. He’s all smooth steps and languid stretches as he dries his hair and a familiar warmth pools in Nicky’s belly. A really attractive wet poodle, Nicky thinks.

Between a new mortal Andy and a new immortal Nile, and with the absence of Booker, they’ve both been too tired and sad, too focused on finding a new equilibrium, to do more than seek comfort and closeness. But now the warmth keeps spreading through Nicky’s body with the way every stretch puts Joe’s body on display.

Soon, Nicky thinks, licking the corner of his mouth, turning on his side to better be able to admire Joe. He gets a wet shirt in his face for his trouble.

“Later,” Joe says, grinning at him, chest bared, droplets still clinging to his chest hair. “Food first, and then the dishes.”

Nicky pretends to grumble while he gets up and they make their way back into the house, but mostly he admires Joe’s naked back while he enjoys the simmer of anticipation.

They’re paying their debt and doing the dishes when Andy joins them in the kitchen, leaning against the counter with a cup of tea. “Me and Nile are going to do some sight-seeing for the next couple of days.”

Nicky’s first reaction is a deep sense of discomfort and the urge to vehemently object. Andy is mortal now, he wants to be there to watch her back. Joe’s hand creeps under the hem of his shirt, fingers pressing into his lower back, and Nicky leans into the touch, centering himself. Andy juts her chin forward as if she can read Nicky’s thoughts and disagrees on principle. “I don’t like being cooped up this long, Nile has never been to Italy before, and you two could use a little time on your own.”

It’s all true, but that doesn’t make Nicky feel any more comfortable with the situation. He’s never worried about Andy being on her own before, and it’s not like she’s lost the centuries of skills she’s gathered. It’s just that he’s supposed to have her back. He loves her. She’s family.

He’s already lost Quynh and now Booker is lost in a way as well. He can’t lose Andy too.

He doesn’t say anything, though, just sighs.

“Where will you go?” Joe asks, diffusing the tension. Internally, he’s probably making a shortlist of restaurant recommendations of the wider area, taking into account their culinary reputation as much as available exit strategies, as if Andy needs any help in that regard.

Andy shrugs. “We’ll stay in the area. Pienza, Asciano, definitely a couple of days in Siena.” Her eyes get a little glint in them, and Nicky shakes his head at her. She wouldn’t. “We’ll probably make a stop at the abbey at Monte Oliveto, to admire the frescoes.”

She would.

Next to him, Joe bursts out laughing, and Nicky groans, bumping his head against Joe’s shoulder. “Don’t,” he objects, although he knows it’s of no use.

“Don’t worry, Nile won’t recognize you,” Joe consoles him, patting his butt very deliberately. Wicked, wicked man. They both know she won’t need to recognize him, Andy will be more than happy to point him out.

“At least it’s flattering,” Andy shrugs, sealing his fate.

In the morning, Nicky makes everybody breakfast and makes Andy and Nile lunch to go. They agreed that Andy and Nile would only stay away one week, and they’ll both check-in through phone in three days.

Still, nobody can blame him if he holds Andy a little longer than he normally would. He hugs Nile too and is thanked with a softly whispered, “don’t worry, I’ll watch her back, I’ve got this.” It makes him smile with surprise at how she already knows parts of his heart.

He watches the car drive up the hill, Joe next to him until the dust on the road has settled. “They’ll be fine,” Joe says. He presses a kiss to Nicky’s cheek, then bumps their shoulders together. “At least the Palio isn’t for another couple of months, so she can’t get killed in the horse races,” Joe jokes. “Again.”

Nicky laughs, and for the next couple of hours, they reminisce about old adventures, lazing in the dappled shadow of the oak trees, soaking up the warmth and peace of Tuscan spring. In the evening, Joe reads to Nicky, Nicky’s head resting in his lap, letting Joe’s impassioned annotations and commentary wash over him.

Neither of them makes a move to turn the evening into something more. Sometimes it’s enough to be close, to take the time to be at peace together.

In the morning Nicky wakes up when Joe’s knees bump into him when he gets up, but Nicky just pats his butt and burrows back into the blankets. After two weeks in the Tuscan countryside, he feels safe enough to linger in bed alone.

When he finally gets out of bed, Joe gives him a kiss with his coffee, hands curving around Nicky’s jaw, scraping gently over his scruff. Warmth pools low in Nicky’s belly and he lets his own hand roam over Joe’s back, balancing his coffee precariously with his other hand.

“Morning,” Joe mumbles against his lips. He tastes like coffee and smells like soap and man, and his skin is still cool from his morning shower because Joe is a madman who prefers cold showers. After all, it’s the only way to wake him up right away. Nicky often argues that it’s the only thing that wakes Joe up, but that always ends up in morning blowjobs and Nicky has other ideas for today. He wants to take his time.

Nicky wants, but breakfast and coffee first.

Joe stays close, regaling him with a rundown of Nile’s texts, who’s blown away by the beauty of Pienza. Nicky likes seeing the city through her eyes when his own view of the are is colored by memories mostly, not all of them pleasant.

“I’m going to take a shower,” he tells Joe, once his coffee is finished. He can tell Joe wouldn’t be opposed to joining him, but he doesn’t press an invitation and simply lets Nicky go with a caress down his arm.

Nicky will always appreciate the luxury of a hot shower, but he doesn’t linger. Looking at himself in the steamed up mirror, his wet hair a little too long and his scruff of over a week becoming unruly, Nicky’s vague thoughts and desires become more firm. The warmth in his belly turns to heat in anticipation.

Dressed only in his briefs, he grabs his shaving kit – his straight razor is one of the few personal items he tries to keep with him when traveling – and makes his way back to the terrace, where Joe is drawing in the late morning sun.

“Beloved,” Nicky says softly, holding up the leather envelope. “Would you do me the pleasure?”

Joe smiles, eyes warm and immediately turning a little heated, and he puts away his pencils immediately. “Always,” he says softly. He hands Nicky his cup of coffee, then disappears inside with a fleeting caress to Nicky’s back.

Joe returns dressed only in briefs as well, with a towel slung over his shoulder. He carries over cushions, a bowl with warm water, more towels, and toiletries, including a brush and a collection of small bottles. When he’s gathered all the necessities – Nicky never takes this much care of himself, but Joe likes to spoil him – Joe sits down on the table, feet on the bench, knees spread with the cushions between his thighs.

“Come here, carino,” Joe invites him, voice soft and husky. Nicky slides between his legs, hands grabbing Joe’s thighs, forgetting about the shave for a moment, but filled with a need to kiss Joe that feels suddenly overwhelming. It’s languid and slow, deep kisses and soft kisses, mingled breaths and the taste of Joe on his lips.

“You know I rather like you with the beard, right,” Joe says when they part, as if Nicky still needs to be reassured of his attraction after almost a millennium. “I know,” Nicky says, diving in for another kiss. It takes a while for him to resurface and he has to catch his breath to be able to whisper, “I want to feel you against my skin.”

It’s all the explanation Joe needs, and he motions at Nicky to turn around and settle down upon the bench in front of the table. The moment Nicky is sitting down, Joe’s hands are on him, carding through his hair with his fingers, stroking down his neck and shoulders. He presses a kiss to the back of Nicky’s head, breathing him in for a moment. Nicky knows he’s thinking about the headshot at Merrick’s again, so he closes his eyes and enjoys the closeness while Joe reminds himself Nicky’s alive and well.

After a couple of breaths, Joe trails his fingers over the shell of Nicky’s ear, making Nicky shiver. Anticipation is rising with every single one of Joe’s touches, and he has to force himself to relax and not turn around and climb in Joe’s lap to devour him and be consumed in return. Blessings upon the patient and devout, and Nicky has both in spades when it comes to Joe.

Most of the time.

Gentle as always, Joe cradles Nicky’s head in his hands and guides him down, until he’s settled back with his head upon the cushions, one hand loosely wrapped around Joe’s ankle, stroking the bone. Joe strokes his cheekbones with his thumbs, and Nicky takes a couple of deep breaths, relaxing under his lover's hands. He’s safe and loved, and this moment belongs just to them.

Slowly, Joe trails his fingers over Nicky’s face, mapping the curve of his brows, the always present faint circles under his eyes. He draws the edges of Nicky’s beard, scratches softly under his jaw and circles the mole on Nicky’s cheek with a careful reverence until Nicky feels like he might drown in Joe’s effortless affection. With a soft sigh, he turns his head to press a kiss to Joe’s fingers and smush his whole face against the palm of his hand.

Above him, Joe hums and cards through Nicky’s hair with his other hand, stroking it back out of his face. It takes Nicky a couple of moments to recognize the cadence and tone, but once he does he can’t suppress his smile. “… your heart, the joy of the world,” Nicky finishes the stanza in Arabic, looking up at Joe.

“Still true,” Joe says. “I wrote it 300 years ago, and I still mean every verse.”

“327,” Nicky says with a grin. He reaches up to touch Joe’s lips, traces the corner of his smile. “You had ink stains on your fingers, and a little spot right here, and all I wanted to do was kiss it, until you started speaking and your words froze me on the spot.”

Joe’s cheeks darken slightly, and it never ceases to amaze Nicky how his beloved can have a heart filled with love and a soul filled with beauty, and can still be thrown by something as simple as Nicky’s appreciation. It’s one of the many and myriad facets Nicky loves about him, so he lets Joe distract him by lifting Nicky’s hand and kissing his fingers, and doesn’t comment further.

“Let me take care of you,” Joe says, and Nicky closes his eyes again, nodding. It’s easy to relax, the gentle sounds of Joe humming his poetry mixing with the clattering of water as Joe wets the towel. The warmth of the towel on his face only makes Nicky relax more, and for a couple of moments, he just drifts, safely sheltered by Joe’s body.

It’s a form of love, he thinks, giving himself over to his lover's capable hands.

When Joe takes away the towel, Nicky is hit with the scent of eucalyptus, and his stomach swoops at the familiar scent. “I love you,” Nicky mumbles, and almost gets a mouth full with lather for his sentiments.

Joe tsks at him and thoroughly covers Nicky’s face with soap, the brush gentle against his skin. It’s Proraso, Nicky’s favorite shaving soap for the past 50 years. Joe must have gotten it for him on his grocery run earlier in the week. The menthol prickles a little on his skin, the coolness of it contrasting with the warmth of the air and Nicky’s skin. It wakes him up, and the gentle strokes of the brush somehow make him tingle all over.

Affection and anticipation, Nicky thinks to himself, truly the most powerful of aphrodisiacs.

He’s pulled from his wandering thoughts by Joe dapping the brush against his nose, making Nicky curse and swipe at his nose, slapping Joe’s thigh with his other hand. “You know I hate that,” Nicky sputters, but Joe’s laughter is infectious as always and melts Nicky's brief annoyance away.

Nicky closes his eyes again. The familiar sounds of Joe stropping the razor fill the air, making a shiver run down his spine, the warm anticipation back once more. Joe gently tilts his face, presses the blade against his cheek, and carefully slides the blade over his skin, in short, even strokes, working his way from under his ear over his entire left cheek. Joe’s holding Nicky’s chin between his fingers, keeping his head steady, humming and vocalizing while he works. It’s a gentle hold, careful but steady, and it’s that hold that makes the very last remnants of unease leave his body. Nicky is cradled. Nicky is held. Nicky is safe.

Once his left cheek is done, Joe tilts up Nicky’s chin, pulling the skin of his neck taut. He’s even more careful here, taking the time for every stroke, gently angling Nicky’s face to give him better access. After every stroke of the blade, Joe trails a finger over the now naked skin, as if to check if he’s missed a spot. With every touch of his finger, Nicky’s skin comes alive, until his toes are tensing up with every slide of the blade, only to relax when Joe touches him skin on skin, his whole body thrumming with sensation.

When Nicky’s throat is bared completely, Joe doesn’t move to turn his face and shave his other cheek. Instead, his fingers linger on Nicky’s skin, and soon he can feel the dull side of the blade slide over his throat, following a familiar path.

There is no scar.

Nothing has left a permanent mark on his skin since the first time they killed each other. They’ve never needed the reminder, however. Nicky has lost count of how many times he’s died, but he still remembers everywhere he’d struck Joe in those first violent confrontations. Every cut and wound is imprinted on his eyelids, and he’s spent many hours kissing every memory off of Joe’s skin.

Joe’s thumb ends up at his pulse point, Nicky’s heart beating against his skin.

“I watched you bleed out,” Joe says on a whisper. It’s unclear if he means the first time he slit Nicky’s throat, or Nicky bleeding out after Keane’s headshot.

Nicky opens his eyes, grabs Joe’s fingers to kiss them, spreading shaving cream everywhere over his hand. “Beloved…” He doesn’t have any other words of comfort. Isn’t sure comfort is what Joe needs. All the violence, the hatred, the fury and rage… All the damage and violence they’ve endured. Everything they’ve put each other through when they were still righteous and sure of their respective place in the world… It all blends together. It’s all washed away by time and their shared history. Only the love between them remains, now.

Only love shall remain.

Joe is surely capable to read everything Nicky feels in his eyes, because he breathes out heavily, then curves his hand around Nicky’s throat again, even more gently than before. “Since you still trust me with your throat, I better finish the job.”

“I trust you with my heart, beloved.”

Joe just presses his thumb against Nicky’s pulse point and smiles softly at him, until Nicky closes his eyes again. Joe reapplies the soap on his face, and then the blade is pressed against Nicky’s skin. Nicky’s heart skips a beat, and it has nothing to do with fear or trust or danger. One slow stroke after another, Joe bares the rest of Nicky’s face, until Nicky can feel the breeze against his cheeks.

Joe tilts his head to the side again, until the top of Nicky’s head is resting against his thigh, and Nicky’s head is held perfectly still, between his leg and his forearm. Then, Joe pulls the skin next to his mouth taut, and carefully shaves around his mole, his upper lip and his chin.

“There, all done,” Joe murmurs. He uses the towel to wipe off the remnants of soap and hairs from Nicky’s face. Then he carefully applies some aftershave, smoothing it into Nicky’s skin with his fingers.

Nicky doesn’t open his eyes, not yet, but he can picture Joe perfectly. The little furrow in his brow he gets when he’s focused. The warmth in his eyes. The way the sun behind him will backlight him and paint a halo around his curly hair from Nicky’s vantage point.

“Are you sure you didn’t miss a spot,” Nicky asks, keeping his eyes closed.

Joe clucks his teeth at him. “Very sure,” he says, sliding his fingers over Nicky’s face, ending at his bottom lip, pressing his thumb against it. “It’s not the first time I wield a razor, you know.”

“I know,” Nicky murmurs. Joe must have shaved him hundreds of times over the centuries. “Just wanted to make sure…” He looks up at Joe, locking eyes with him. “I’m going to rub my face all over you, and I don’t want you to get beard burn.”

He can feel Joe’s thighs tense around him, can hear the faint catch of Joe’s breath. Neither of them blinks, both frozen in place.

Then, the anticipation that’s been simmering under Nicky’s skin since he woke up, crashes over him like a wave, and just like that, his whole body comes alive with arousal.

He’s not sure which of them moves first. Nicky twisting and kneeling on the bench, or Joe grabbing his arms and hauling him up, but they’re moving and touching and finally, finally they’re kissing. Joe’s breath is hot against his lips, his tongue thrusting into Nicky’s mouth while he leans back on the table, pulling Nicky with him. Joe’s beard is slightly prickly but mostly soft against his face and his lips are even softer and the catch in his breath is barely audible but it all heightens Nicky’s arousal. It feels like their first touch, their first kiss, the first time Nicky felt Joe against his skin without blood being shed.

He puts a knee on the table, slides a hand around Joe’s neck to deepen the kiss and somehow he ends up on top of Joe, straddling his thighs. Joe feels warm and steady under his hands, every curve of him familiar. With every kiss, Nicky’s desire rises, until he’s thrusting his cock against Joe’s, both of them hard and hot in their briefs.

Joe’s hand slips down under Nicky’s waistband and while that feels great and Joe should touch him everywhere, it’s not what Nicky wants right now. He tears himself away from Joe’s mouth with difficulty, panting while he tries to gain enough presence of mind to be able to form words again.

He curves his hand around Joe’s neck and lets the other slide down his chest. “I want to feel you against my face,” he says and presses Joe down against the table. Joe goes willingly, letting himself fall back and crossing his arms under his head, looking up at Nicky with a gleeful smile filled with expectation.

Anticipation.

Nicky ducks down to kiss Joe on the lips first, taking his time to properly explore all the nuances of his mouth. He cradles Joe’s face in his hands, burying his fingers in Joe’s beard until he’s sure Joe won’t move and let Nicky have his way with him. Then, with a final kiss to Joe’s lips, he moves down, nosing against Joe’s throat, pressing open-mouthed kisses everywhere. He likes the feeling of Joe’s beard against his lips, likes the feeling of it against his still sensitive and bare skin even more, and before he’s made the conscious decision, he’s rubbing himself against Joe’s cheeks and throat, until Joe lets out a sound halfway between a moan and a chuckle.

“Just let me,” Nicky murmurs. He doesn’t plead, even though his voice has turned soft and breathy, but it’s a close thing. Joe just nods and doesn’t move, except that he tilts up his chin, making himself more available for anything Nicky might want to do to him.

Nicky wants. The desire that’s been simmering on and off since he watched Joe rise from the pool yesterday has become almost overwhelming now, and seeing Joe spread out like this underneath him, all his to touch and please, is only stirring him on more.

With a soft curse, he leans down again, burying his face against Joe’s throat, kissing and mouthing his way over Joe’s skin, until he’s reached the spot under Joe’s ear that always makes him shiver. Joe doesn’t disappoint, sighing softly, and while he keeps his hands securely under his head, he wraps one leg around Nicky’s hips, pulling him closer.

Nicky answers by rolling his hips and pressing their cocks together, until Joe is pressing his cock up against him, his leg trembling where it’s wrapped around him. He grabs Joe’s thigh and shifts them both so neither of them is in danger of tumbling off the table, then he returns his attention to Joe’s throat. He follows the edge of his beard, shivering himself now when he can feel it against his cheek and eventually moves down to his collarbone.

He spends some time sucking bruises onto Joe’s skin. He likes the heat under his tongue when he sucks them to the surface, likes the way he can feel Joe’s heartbeat against his lips. He likes to see them disappear and know bone-deep that Joe is healing and alive.

He moves down further — he has plans, and while he’s taking the scenic route over Joe’s body, he’s not losing track of his goal — and rubs his face against Joe’s chest hair.

In comparison to Joe’s beard, the density is much lighter and the hair is softer too, so it almost tickles against his skin. A frisson runs down his spine, and Nicky feels like his cock might burst out of his briefs any second now. He licks at Joe’s sternum, then moves to his nipple, sucking it into his mouth until Joe is squirming and panting. When Nicky looks up, he’s satisfied to see Joe’s hands are no longer pressed under Joe’s head, but he’s grasping his own wrists, pressing them against the table above his head.

The sight of Joe, all flushed and breathless, holding himself back so Nicky can take his time, almost makes Nicky moan, his cock leaking precome, a wet stain growing in his briefs.

“Fuck,” Nicky curses, and twists Joe’s nipple, just to see him arch against his hold on himself. Their eyes meet, and Nicky knows what the heated look Joe throws him means.

If Joe reaches for him, Nicky wins.

Nicky does moan then, and his desire turns urgent. He moves back, until he’s kneeling on the bench, rather than on the table, sliding his hands over Joe’s chest and belly until he can grab Joe’s briefs and pull them off. Joe’s cock springs free, thick and dark with arousal, and Nicky’s mouth waters at the sight.

Still, he can’t resist building up both of their anticipation even more, so for now he ignores Joe’s cock. Instead, he buries his head in Joe’s groin for a moment, breathing in his scent, feeling the heat of him against his face. Joe’s pubes feel different against his skin too, not as thick as his beard, longer than his chest hair. Joe’s skin feels hot and a little sweaty, and the head of his cock is leaving wet smears against Nicky’s chin and throat.

He kisses and rubs himself all over Joe’s hips and groin, until Joe is squirming beneath him and his pants have turned into pleading moans. Joe is a man of words, but sometimes arousal turns him quiet. Nicky doesn’t mind, he has long ago learned the language of Joe’s body, the vocabulary of his movements, the meaning behind his breaths and moans.

Only when he can’t hold back anymore, he moves to Joe’s cock. He kisses the head, then slides his nose down the shaft, so he can press his face against Joe’s balls and suck them gently into his mouth. He grabs Joe’s thighs and pushes them up, spreading them open so he has better access.

Joe bumps his foot against Nicky’s back to spur him on, making Nicky grin. “Patience, habibi, patience.” He doesn’t let Joe wait much longer though, and eagerly takes him into his mouth, bobbing his head until his mouth is filled with the taste of Joe’s precome. He gets lost in it for a moment: the trembling of Joe’s muscles under his hands, the way Joe’s cock fills his mouth, the soft moans that keep spilling from Joe’s lips.

When he can hear Joe mumble something unintelligible, Nicky lets go of Joe’s cock. He doesn’t want him to come yet. He kisses Joe’s cock in apology, which makes Joe curse.

Nicky grins. Victory is close, he can tell.

He slides his hands under Joe’s ass, kneading his cheeks and pulling him closer and spreading his cheeks. He doesn’t waste time and licks over Joe’s hole, shivering when he can feel Joe’s skin and the soft hairs of his butt against his face. He starts with slow licks, making Joe nice and wet. When he pushes his tongue in, Joe’s thighs tense around his shoulders, and suddenly there’s a hand digging into his hair. Joe pulls at his hair and pushes him down simultaneously, and the feeling of it goes straight to Nicky’s cock.

Victory.

Victory is the heat of Joe against his tongue, the feeling of his fingers clutching at Nicky’s hair, and the desperate sounds that are filling his ears.

Nicky feasts. He licks and sucks and thrusts his tongue into Joe, pulling sound after sound from his lips, until Joe is cursing out his name in at least four languages, and his thighs are a vice around Nicky’s shoulders.

He thought he’d lick Joe open, get him hot and bothered and relaxed, stretch him on his fingers and tongue until Nicky could fuck him hard and slow and deep. But Joe is pulling at his hair and pleading, his hole fluttering against Nicky’s lips and Nicky knows Joe is close.

Nicky can be benevolent in victory.

He bites at the inside of Joe’s thigh, hard this time, enough for a bruise to bloom and melt away while Joe’s back arches off the table. Nicky licks at his hand, spreads Joe’s precome down his cock to make him even wetter, and then ducks between Joe’s legs again. He tries to time the thrusts of his tongue with the rhythm of his hand, and it only takes a couple for Joe to come, his whole body jerking with it.

Nicky can feel the wet heat of Joe’s fluttering hole against the bare skin of his face and when Joe lets out a satisfied little groan, the last remnants of Nicky’s restraint break. He climbs on top of Joe, on leg still on the bench, the other on the table. Joe clutches at him, welcoming him with open arms, but Nicky doesn’t have any coordination left. Joe’s come has spilled all over his lower belly, and it feels hot and wet against Nicky’s cock. Overcome at the feeling, Nicky hides his face in Joe’s armpit, breathing him in while he mindlessly ruts on top of Joe.

Joe pulls at his hair and it’s enough to pull Nicky over the threshold, his orgasm a sudden rush of pleasure, leaving him boneless on top of Joe.

Nicky drifts for a couple of moments, happy and dazed, completely sated and relaxed. It’s only when Joe starts to hum again, that Nicky finally lifts his head from Joe’s armpit.

Joe looks like a vision, flushed and a little sweaty, his whole face crinkly with satisfaction, like it only gets after a good bout of sex or after he’s finished a painting. He wipes Nicky’s hair out of his face with lazy affection, then trails a finger down to Nicky’s chin.

“I did fine work,” Joe says, his voice hoarse and a little self-satisfied.

Nicky splutters out a laugh. “I’m pretty sure I did all the work, since I just made you come on my tongue.”

“True,” Joe concedes, but the glint in his eyes says something else. “But the lack of beard burn is all me.”

Nicky laughs and ducks down to kiss Joe’s teasing mouth.

“Maybe we should move to somewhere softer,” Nicky suggests when they part. He strokes his fingers through Joe's beard and presses their groins a little closer, ignores the wet mess between them. “I think I would like to receive some beard burn of my own.”

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fantomcomics · 4 years

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What’s Out This Week? 12/11

The triumphant return of Pop Culture Uncovered AND a Holiday Crafternoon?? Pinch us, we must be dreaming! (please don’t actually do this)

Breathers #1 - Justin Madson

Breathers follows a small cast of individuals as they struggle to make sense of the dystopian world they live in, as a virus is unleashed into the air, rendering it deadly to humans. Among them: a detective whose addiction to the drug known as "Filter K" takes over his life; a brother and sister who, due to recent events, start to wonder if the air really is deadly, or if it's all just a conspiracy; a mother and daughter who will do anything to keep their family together; and a breather salesman who is looking to make amends for his past mistakes. They are all survivors of this virus-plagued world. They are all "breathers."

Criminal Macabre: The Big Bleed Out #1 (of 4) - Steve Niles and Gyula Nemeth

Supernatural detective Cal McDonald, found wandering the streets as a disheveled vagrant, is ripped from his self-imposed retirement to resume his monster-killing career. But Cal is reluctant to return to the fray. What has the hard-bitten investigator so shaken? It's a long story that begins with a beautiful woman who happens to be a vampire . . . and ends with a bang.

Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child #1 - Frank Miller and Rafael Grampá

It's been three years since the events of Dark Knight III: The Master Race. Lara has spent the time learning to be more human, and Carrie Kelley has been growing into her new role as Batwoman. But a terrifying evil has returned to Gotham City, and Lara and Carrie must team up to stop this growing threat-and they have a secret weapon. Young Jonathan Kent, "the golden child," has a power inside of him unlike anything the world has ever seen, and it's about to be unleashed...

Dungeons & Dragons: Infernal Tides #1 (of 5) - Jim Zub and Max Dunbar

A new Dungeons & Dragons adventure begins here! Minsc and his friends are caught in the middle of devil-tainted corruption that has taken hold of Baldur's Gate. Unravelling the secret of its source will take our heroes to unexpected places and threaten the sanctity of their very souls. Even if they survive this perilous journey, there will be Hell to pay!

Dying Is Easy #1 (of 5) - Joe Hill and Martin Simmonds

Meet Syd "Sh*t-Talk" Homes, a disgraced ex-cop turned bitter stand-up comic turned... possible felon?! In part 1 of Dying is Easy, Carl Dixon is on the verge of comedy superstardom and he got there the dirty way: by stealing jokes. He's got a killer act, an ugly past, and more enemies than punch-lines. So when someone asks Syd Homes how much it would cost to have Dixon killed, Syd isn't surprised in the slightest. He's already got a figure in mind...

The Red Mother #1 - Jeremy Haun and Danny Luckert

After losing her eye and the man she loves in a brutal mugging, Daisy McDonough is left trying to put the pieces of her life back together. Just when she begins to think she can heal- move on, she begins to see strange things through her new prosthetic eye. And The Red Mother sees her in return.

Whatcha snagging this week, Fantomites?

#The Red Mother #Dying Is Easy #Dungeons & Dragons: Infernal Tides #Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child #Criminal Macabre: The Big Bleed Out #Breathers #What's Out This Week?#WOTW #comic #comics #comic book #comic books

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thedcdunce · 5 years

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Red Devil

“What? What kind of Titans are you guys? We don’t let anyone kill anyone!” - Red Devil

Real Name: Edward “Eddie” Allan Bloomberg

Aliases:

Kid Devil

Gopher

Gender: Male

Height: 5′ 8″

Weight: 165 lbs (75 kg)

Eyes: Yellow

Hair: Grey

Skin: Red

Powers:

Unique Physiology

Abilities:

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)

Weaponry

Mechanical Engineering/Gadgetry

Weaknesses:

Monstrous Appearance

Equipment:

Devil Power Suit

Rocket Trident

Universe:

Earth-One

New Earth

Base of Operations: Titans Tower III, San Francisco, California

Citizenship: American

Origin: Trained by her mother and grandmother.

Parents:

Robert Bloomberg; father

Sylvia Bloomberg; mother

Marital Status: Single

Occupation: Adventurer

First Appearance: Firestorm Vol 2 #24 (June, 1984)

Appearance of Death: Teen Titans Vol 3 #74 (October, 2009)

Powers

Unique Physiology: Eddie's blood is now a thick gasoline-smelling liquid, his breath is hotter than fire, he possesses a prehensile tail, and his internal temperature is six hundred degrees. When Dr. Niles Caulder, leader of the Doom Patrol, tended Kid Devil's injury, he revealed that the young hero isn't a demon despite that his powers were granted by the demon lord Neron. Rather, Neron activated Eddie's metahuman gene which gave him his powers.

Fire Breathing: His new form gives him a capacity to breathe fire.

Superhuman Strength

Enhanced Agility

Enhanced Endurance

Enhanced Durability

Enhanced Healing

Burning Skin: His own skin is able to cause burns and he has been seen to be able to increase this to the point of his skin turning white hot. At high levels this ability can easily melt metal of considerable durability.

Retractable Wings: He has retractable wings underneath his arms.

Infernal Teleportation: By focusing on where he wants to be he can use his tail to open an infernal portal to teleport to the target location.

Abilities

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)

Weaponry

Mechanical Engineering/Gadgetry

Weaknesses

Monstrous Appearance

Equipment

Devil Power Suit: Eddie wore a Devil suit, which gave him enhanced strength and agility, near impenetrable armor, a weapons system that included bright light burst effect, exploding bubbles, night vision and mini-gills.

Rocket Trident: He also had a rocket trident which could propel him through the air for distances of up to several miles and could emit flames and/or electric shocks.

Origin

Eddie Bloomberg had the good fortune of being a gopher in his Aunt Marla Bloom's film company. He met the Blue Devil on a film set, and became quite a fan of the hero, dreaming about one day becoming Blue Devil's sidekick.

Bloomberg snuck into Blue Devil's workshop at night and, using his prodigious knowledge of electronics, created a battle suit incorporating the designs of the Blue Devil suit. Even though Blue Devil didn't want a sidekick, Bloomberg was determined to make a go at being a hero. As Kid Devil he assisted his hero in foiling an airplane hijacking, and later helped defeat one of his enemies, the Vanquisher. After these adventures, his parents left Bloomberg's education and supervision to professors at the Institute of Hypernormal Conflict Studies.

After Blue Devil's deal with the demon Neron resulted in Bloomberg's Aunt Marla dying in a helicopter crash, Bloomberg attempted to live up to her name and succeed in the movie business. His attempts failed, however, and Bloomberg continued to have adventures as Kid Devil, even helping Young Justice's assault on Zandia.

Teen Titans

After Infinite Crisis, Bloomberg tried to join the Teen Titans with little success. Pulsar helped Bloomberg into a project Lex Luthor had been using to give normal humans superpowers. However, Bloomberg failed because of "psychological problems." One evening, Bloomberg was visited by a cloaked figure who gave him a candle. Bloomberg's then-friend Zachary Zatara told him that the candle had some magical properties. Bloomberg decided to light it, and the two were taken to Neron. Neron made a deal with Bloomberg, transforming him into a new Kid Devil. Neron's magic gave Bloomberg a new, demonic appearance and inherent superpowers. As part of the deal, Bloomberg wouldn't lose his soul to Neron if he could still trust Blue Devil by his 20th birthday. Before Bloomberg left, Neron told him that it was Blue Devil's fault his Aunt Marla died. Zatara helped Bloomberg join the Teen Titans, they battled Kid Crusader and Zatara promised to keep his secret.

One Year Later

One Year Later, a rift had formed between Bloomberg and Zatara. Though Bloomberg was still friendly with Zatara, the boy magician wanted nothing to do with Bloomberg or any of the other Titans. Bloomberg also forged a bond with Rose Wilson, as both new members felt like third string Titans. For many months, Bloomberg told the Titans of multiple daily phone calls to Blue Devil as his way of confirming that "everything is fine".

On a Titans mission, Bloomberg was disemboweled by Plasmus and the EMTs were unable to help him. The new Doom Patrol arrived and took Kid Devil to their HQ for treatment, where the Chief healed Bloomberg , while also attempting to manipulate him into joining the Doom Patrol. During the operation, the Chief revealed to Elasti-Girl that Kid Devil isn't truly a demon by nature, but rather his powers are the result of metahuman gene manipulation. Robin confronted Bloomberg about his relationship with the Blue Devil, who claimed not to have heard from Bloomberg for two years. Bloomberg confessed he was only pretending, in order to better fit in with the Titans. The Chief's manipulation was stopped by both the Titans and the other members of the Doom Patrol, which made Bloomberg feel as if he was finally accepted as a Titan since they stood up for him. He also tried rekindling his bond with Blue Devil, but Cassidy did not show up to a meeting Bloomberg invited him to. Later, Eddie Bloomberg found and confronted Blue Devil. Cassidy admitted lying to Bloomberg about his aunt's death. As part of a deal for gaining fame and fortune, Cassidy was tasked by Neron to destroy an unmanned power plant. Despite his various precautions, a resulting power surge accidentally killed Bloom, who was scouting the nearby area for a film. Bloomberg stormed off before Cassidy could explain further, telling Blue Devil to stay far away from him. Now having lost his trust in Blue Devil, Bloomberg knew that he would lose his soul to Neron. Still, Bloomberg decided to make the best of his remaining years by having a good time with his friends. He comforted himself by saying at least he had Bloom's memory and Neron couldn't take that away from him. However, it is revealed that Neron is holding Bloom's soul captive.

Kid Devil was attacked by Kid Crusader who vowed to "save" him from Neron by turning Eddie back into a human and then killing him. Kid Crusader appeared to have succeed on the first step, when he exorcised the demon from Bloomberg and returned him to his human form, but the demon was then bound to Kid Crusader himself. When given the choice later to either return to his demonic form or stay human, Bloomberg chose his demonic form, not wishing to damn anyone else to his fate as Neron's protege.

Titans Tomorrow

Possible-future versions of the current Titans team arrived in the present to aid the Teen Titans against Starro-controlled villains. Kid Devil is shown as part of the team, now known as Red Devil. He claimed that even though the loss of his soul to Neron at 20 was bad, the power he received far outweighed the consequences. Bloomberg initially watched as Ravager battled alone against Rampage & Livewire, before betraying his older self in order to aid Ravager. Later, Ravager, Red Devil and Kid Devil returned to the Titan's Lair, where they meet with Blue Beetle. There Bloomberg learned that he is supposedly destined to murder the Blue Beetle at some point in the future.

Shortly after, Eddie, Rose and Jaime find themselves surrounded by an Army of Titans led by Lex Luthor, before they all battle against an invading army of Starros. Thanks in large part to Blue Beetle's powers and Robin and Wonder Girl managing to supposedly alter Robin's future, the Army of Titans is supposedly defeated. However, prior to his vanishing, Red Devil warns Eddie against trusting Ravager and Blue Beetle.

Terror Titans

A Group of supervillains under the leadership of the new Clock King began a systematic assault on the Titans. With Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle, Ravager and Robin away, Miss Martian still reeling from the battle with her future counter-part, Eddie decides to throw a party in Titans Tower and invites several titans fans. The party quickly gets out of hand when the guests trash the place, go through personal items and prank calls Batman. Lectured by all members of the team, Eddie goes into town with one of the guests, who reveals himself to be Dreadbolt, son of Bolt. A fight ensues and the arrival of the rest of the Terror Titans puts a quick end to the battle. Kid Devil is next shown chained to a wall and severely injured and held captive by the Clock King who continues to torture Eddie by telling him that Rose Wilson couldn't care less about his status. Clock King then encourages Eddie to accept his place as a monster. Whe Miss Martian is captured by the villains, she is placed into a room with Eddie, who has become savage and bestial as a result of his beatings. After a brief battle, Eddie and M'Gann are placed in a cell, and Eddie is later brought out to face Hardrock to the death.

Later Eddie was finally freed and helped his friends combat against the Terror Titans. Since then he has become more comfortable on the team has begun to develop a good relationship with Blue Beetle and even changed his name to Red Devil.

Fun Facts

Early in his career as Kid Devil, Eddie became pen pals with Jason Todd when Jason also had only recently started his superhero career as Robin.

#red devil #edward eddie allan bloomberg #edward allan bloomberg #edward bloomberg #eddie allan bloomberg #eddie bloomberg #kid devil #gopher #Teen Titans #dc #DC comics #thedcdunce

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theonyxpath · 6 years

Link

It’s that time for a brief (riiight) look at just why we even have Monday Meeting Notes in order to have this blog. As we tighten up and re-purpose this and our other blogs, as you may have noticed these past few months, let me fill you in on just what this one, in particular, is all about.

Really, it’s an extension of the basic idea of starting the week off with a situation report that looks back at the last week to see what was accomplished, and looks forward to the coming week and what needs doin’. Full disclosure, I stole the idea from my head of Creative Services back in my TV days, and grafted it to the company-wide lunch meetings we had in the first months of White Wolf way back in the day.

Back then, I used the meeting to see if the production team had hit their goals from the meeting before, re-evaluate those goals based on why they were missed, and if they were met we set new ones at the meeting. They were individual goals, mostly, and such things as “Finish Mage splat character pencils”, or “Get half of Wraith laid out”, or “Get quotes from three different printers for the Aeon plastic book”.

By doing this during the meeting, the whole department was aware of both the challenges and the status of the various parts of the creation of the books. Sam needed Josh to finish those Mage splat drawings so he could get the initial layout done, for example. I’d also share the info I had learned during the previous Friday’s X-Meeting, which was the name for the WW weekly managers’ meeting. So long as the info was not top secret, I’d share it so that our team had the best information to base their decisions on.

It was a good system, and we had fewer left hands not knowing what the right hands were doing. I even heard rumors that the developer boyfriend of one of our designers would ask her for notes on the info to share with the devs at their meeting.

So naturally, I incorporated a Monday Lunch Meeting when I started Onyx Path. Putting the notes up in this blog was also based on a previous incarnation, this time with notes that started informal but turned into a formal weekly thing years later at WW after we had internet venues to post them to. With our belief in community and transparency, it just made sense to use this blog format to provide a regular reporting on how things stand at Onyx.

They Came From Beneath the Sea! art by Aaron Riley

Plus, for me, this was the modern equivalent of Stan Lee’s Soapbox, a “column” that appeared in the news page of Marvel comics way back in the day that enabled the lead guy at Marvel to continue to talk right to the reader, even if he wasn’t working on every book like he had been.

Love him or hate him, Stan succeeded in making readers feel that there were actual people involved in the making of the comics. At least young Rich Thomas did as he pored over the new X-Men – isn’t that Wolverine from Hulk? – and all the other 20 and 25 cent comics.

As for the meeting itself, we’ve actually put together a pretty organized routine at this point. We start the meeting with any big-picture, company-wide news. Then, Eddy, Matthew, and Dixie go through the status of the upcoming projects they have oversight over, then Mirthful Mike goes over where the projects are in art direction and layout. We discuss all news about the projects, with special emphasis on any roadblocks they are having.

Then Mighty Matt McElroy goes over any Operations news – which is basically things like conventions, sales and sales venues, business opportunities, etc. If there’s anything not covered previously, like vacations or the like, we wrap up with that.

Using their reports, which are also written out and updated each week, I then update the project progress parts of this blog, and then pick through the jokes and banter to get to several topics that the gang discussed in more detail that I think you folks will be interested in.

Which is really a huge part of the point of this blog. Where once, Monday Lunch Meetings allowed our staff to be aware of what everybody was working on, now the Monday Meeting Notes blog is set up so all of you erudite blog readers can look right into what we’re up to, and how, each week.

Cover art for Wraith20’s Handbook for the Recently Deceased by Michael Gaydos

And with that, here are a few highlights from the meeting today:

We’re excited to announce that we’re partnering with Fabricate, LLC to provide Scarred Lands adventures for Expedition!

Expedition is a light RPG using cards and a smartphone or tablet. Whether you’re new to the genre or a D&D veteran, whether you’re playing alone, with a group of friends, your spouse or with your kids – anyone can learn to play in less than 5 minutes! There are new quests and adventures every week, and the Expedition community can even create their own adventures and share them with others. With this new license, Scarred Lands-specific content will be available as booster cards and through the app. The team are really excited about this, so don’t be surprised if you see them posting in our Scarred Lands forums soon as well! If you want to learn more about Expedition, you can look them up here: https://expeditiongame.com/

Gen Con 2018 is only a month away, and we’ve been busy with new brochures (one with all of our lines, and one just for Storypath System games), pins, card hand-outs, signage, all that con stuff we do. We’ll be announcing at least one new license, new projects, and two separate “What’s Up With the Onyx Path?” panels (Thursday and Saturday) which will pretty much cover the same info although the panelists may differ. It’s an experiment to see if we can open up more time for everybody, not jamming folks in to one session. There’s also a freelancing panel and a developer boot-camp session for those creators wanting to get into the biz.

The Onyx Pathcast audience continues to grow, and last week the Trio of Terror interviewed writer and developer Steffie de Vaan and talked a lot about Promethean. This Friday’s Pathcast is all about freelancing in general, since they all do that, and freelancing for Onyx Path specifically. Plus, we’re making plans for some Onyx Pathcast broadcasting at/from Gen Con. More on that when we know more.

We went over the Fetch Quest Kickstarter a bit, just reaffirming that it did well for its audience, but didn’t break out into the larger card game audience. It would have been nice, but we funded and more than tripled that amount, so it will be great to have it in stores. Card games are still something that we’ll do when a cool idea comes our way, and we’ll continue demoing Fetch Quest and Prince’s Gambit, and see where that kind of exposure leads.

Next, we have prepped most of the material for the Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition Kickstarter, and are audaciously planning on putting it live on Monday, July 2nd at 12 noon EDT. We think that the audiences for this and Fetch Quest are significantly different, so there shouldn’t be much KS fatigue, and so we can run this before Gen Con. If, for some reason, we can’t make that happen, we’ll run it over Gen Con – but I’m trying to give our guys a break by letting them enjoy the con and any August vacations they so rightfully deserve without worrying about an ongoing Kickstarter.

So, like we end with every week, you know:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

Thanks, everyone who backed Fetch Quest and helped us bring it to stores!

Next up, Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition Kickstarter…we’re aiming at starting this Kickstarter at 12 noon EDT on Monday July 2nd…if we can!

ELECTRONIC GAMING:

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking!

Here are the links for the Apple and Android versions:

http://theappstore.site/app/1296692067/onyx-dice

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onyxpathpublishing.onyxdice&hl=en

Three different screenshots, above.

ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue you bought it from. Reviews really, really help us with getting folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Endless Ages Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage II (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Ascension: Truth Beyond Paradox (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: The God-Machine Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Curse of the Blue Nile (Kindle, Nook)

Beast: The Primordial: The Primordial Feast Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Beast Within Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: W20 Cookbook (Kindle, Nook)

Exalted: Tales from the Age of Sorrows (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Tales of the Dark Eras (Kindle, Nook)

Promethean: The Created: The Firestorm Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Demon: The Descent: Demon: Interface (Kindle, Nook)

Scarred Lands: Death in the Walled Warren (Kindle, Nook)

V20 Dark Ages: Cainite Conspiracies (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Strangeness in the Proportion (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: Silent Knife (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Dawn of Heresies (Kindle, Nook)

OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there!

https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://theonyxpath.com/press-release-onyx-path-limited-editions-now-available-through-indie-press-revolution/

And you can now order Pugmire: the book, the screen, and the dice! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296

DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

This Wednesday is a veritable Sword and Sorcery Day, with the DriveThruRPG releases of the PoD version of the Scarred Land‘s adventure the Dagger Of Spiragos, and the PDF and PoD versions of the third of the Scarred Lands adventures: the Ring of Spiragos!

Along with the Gauntlet of Spiragos, these three adventures provide an outstanding way to first get into the epic fantasy Scarred Lands setting – available in both 5e and Pathfinder versions.

As if that wasn’t enough, it is the last Wednesday of the month – so here are our Monthly Exalted 3rd PDF downloads:

For Hundred Devils Night Parade, we have Susurrus and Lodestar, and for Adversaries of the Righteous, we have Fivefold Mask & Lies.

CONVENTIONS!

Prep is seriously underway for Gen Con 2018 in the first week of August, which takes place in Indianapolis. In addition to our booth presence, be sure to check out the games and panels in the Gen Con Event Schedule.

From Fast Eddy Webb, we have these:

Eddy will be speaking at Broadleaf Writers Conference (September 22-23) in Decatur, GA. He’ll be there to talk about writing for interactive fiction, and hanging out with other writers who have far more illustrious careers. http://broadleafwriters.com/3rd-annual-broadleaf-writers-conference/3rd-annual-broadleaf-writers-conference-speakers/

Eddy will also be a featured guest at Save Against Fear (October 12-14) in Harrisburg, PA. He’ll be running some Pugmire games, be available for autographs, and will sometimes accept free drinks. http://www.thebodhanagroup.org/about-the-convention

If you are going and want to meet up, let us know!

And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM FAST EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

CofD Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Tales of Excellent Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

Adventures for Curious Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

Changeling: The Lost 2nd Jumpstart (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Witch-Queen of the Shadowed Citadel (Cavaliers of Mars)

Redlines

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

In Media Res (Trinity Continuum: Core)

Wr20 Book of Oblivion (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

Second Draft

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Night Horrors: Shunned by the Moon (Werewolf: The Forsaken 2nd Edition)

Dog and Cat Ready Made Characters (Monarchies of Mau)

Aeon Aexpansion (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

C20 Players’ Guide (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Development

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

Fetch Quest (Pugmire)

They Came From Beneath the Sea! Rulebook (TCFBtS!)

CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Dystopia Rising: Evolution (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

Manuscript Approval:

Editing:

Guide to the Night (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

Post-Editing Development:

Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)

GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)

M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Night Horrors: The Tormented (Promethean: The Created 2nd Edition)

Indexing:

Wraith 20

Cavaliers of Mars

Monarchies of Mau (Monarchies of Mau)

ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Scion Hero – Stuff is progressing…slowly, but progressing.

Trinity Continuum

Geist 2e – KS artwork continues.

The Realm

M20 Gods and Monsters

Ex3 Dragon Blooded – More sketches coming in.

Promethean Night Horrors: The Tormented – Sketches and finals coming in.

VtR – Guide to the Night – Sam is doing the fulls and cover.

Marketing Stuff

Posters and Displays

Gen Con Cards

In Layout

Fetch Quest – Playtest decks uploaded.

Proofing

Scion Origin – Onyx review.

Changeling: the Lost 2 – Josh is working on the interior fixing.

Storyteller System Brochure

At Press

V20 Beckett’s Jyhad Diary & Beckett Screen & V20 Dice – KS backer rewards shipping.

Scion Dice – At fulfillment shipper.

Monarchies of Mau – In Indexing.

Monarchies of Mau Screen – Files sent to printer.

Cavaliers of Mars Screen – Files sent to printer.

Wr20 Guide for Newly Departed – PoD uploaded.

Gen Con Buttons – At press.

WoD and CofD reroll cards – At press.

FQ and PG Gen Con cards – At press.

Wraith 20 Screen – Files sent to printer.

GenCon Brochure – Files sent to printer.

TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: Although the one-year anniversary of his passing was last week, here’s to the creative work and legacy of my friend, and co-founder of White Wolf, Stewart Wieck. A year? Really? Doesn’t seem real.

#Onyx Path Publishing

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