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socialwriter · 4 years

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If I Die Young

**gif by @somebodylikeaguardianangel**

Pairing: John B Routledge x Female! Reader

TW: Angst (duh), death, hospitals, not eating, fainting/passing out, near death experience, grief, sadness

1.4k+

Based off of the song If I Die Young

Series masterlist

A/n: Here it is, the first chapter of my glee song fic sereis! A huge thank you to @girlsru1eboysdroo1 for reading this through and encouraging me to post this, ily boo <3

The sharp knife of a short life,

Well, I've had just enough time

The pain was agonizing, all encompassing. It drowned out the sounds of the rain pounding down, drowns out the sounds of Kiara and Pope’s tears, JJ’s screams. He’s gone. John b’s gone, lost at sea because some stupid cops that didn’t care about him chased him out there for no good reason. He was innocent, but because he was just a pogue and just a teenager, no one believed him when it mattered. The hurt didn’t leave you. Not when you were taken away from what was now a crime scene. Not when you arrived at the chateau, glaringly empty. Not when you went to bed, enveloping yourself in sheets that still faintly smelled like him. You were too hurt, too broken, left behind by the only boy you had ever loved.

And I'll be wearing white when I come into your kingdom

I'm as green as the ring on my little cold finger

You all had promised each other that you wouldn’t wear black to the funeral. The color was too dark, too real. It represented too much for the four of you to handle, so you had agreed to brighter and happier colors. Which is why you were in the bathroom of the chateau, smoothing out the wrinkles in the white dress you wore. It hung loosely on your body, making you look like even more of a shell of your former self. Your eyes were sunken in and red from all the crying and lack of sleep, unable to rest without the soothing lullaby of John B’s heartbeat. You looked much thinner than you remembered, probably from the lack of food the past week. You couldn’t bring yourself to eat anything or care for yourself. You did it for him before, not wanting to worry him, but now what was the point? You fiddled with the rings on your finger, stopping when you feel the cold metal on your ring finger. You hold your hand out in front of you, smiling sadly at the small green jewel.

It had been three weeks since you had had a proper date night, or really spent any time, with your boyfriend John B and you were completely and thoroughly pissed off. He’d been avoiding your calls, texts, and barely spoke a word to you when he got home after long days out. None of the other pogues would tell you what was up and frankly you were fed up with it. So, instead of getting dressed up for the date John B had told you about earlier in the day, you sat around moping in sweats and one of his old t-shirts.

“Hey babe are you ready to g- why aren’t you getting ready?” John B’s voice rang out through the chateau, causing you to pull your knees up to your chest, staring at the ground. John B’s shoulders fall when he sees your demeanor, approaching you slowly. “What’s wrong?”

You shrug your shoulders at him, letting out a deep sigh. “You cheating on me or somethin’?” You mumble, tears filling your eyes as soon as you say the words out loud.

“W-what? No, I’m not why would you even think something like that,” John B says instantly, sitting next to you on the couch and placing a gentle hand on your cheek, forcing you to look at him.

“Well I mean, you’ve been avoiding me the past couple of weeks and no one’s telling me anything so what else am I supposed to think?” You ask him, your voice raising slightly in irritation.

John B makes an ‘o’ with his lips, suddenly connecting all the dots. “I’ve been working a lot of overtime, for the money.”

You scoff, pulling away from him. “Cut the crap JB, we get by fine without you working so much.”

John B sighs, fishing something out of his back pocket. “Well I mean, I was hoping that I could give this to you in a more romantic way, but here.” He hands you a small box containing a small ring with a little green gem on top. You gasp as soon as you see the present, easily the most beautiful thing anyone had ever given you. “What is this?” You ask breathlessly.

“A promise ring, like a representation of our love. It sounded a lot better when Kie explained it to me..” John B trailed off, suddenly nervous that you wouldn’t like the present or think it was stupid.

“JB I love it,” you whisper, a small smile gracing your lips. He instantly perks up, grinning at you. “Yea?”

You nod, slipping the ring on your finger. “Thank you JB,” you say, pressing a small kiss against his lips.

“Anything for you princess.”

I've never known the lovin' of a man

But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand

There's a boy here in town says he'll love me forever

Who would have thought forever could be severed

Your home life wasn’t the best. You were a pogue, living alone after your mother had left you for some kook. You never knew your father, never got to experience that love. The only love you experienced was what you had with John b. And now that too had been taken away from you, the world playing yet another cruel trick on you. That promise ring meant that the two of you would love each other for the rest of your lives, what felt like forever. Apparently forever isn’t very long at all. Love wasn’t as strong as you had once thought it was, because it was able to be completely shattered by life, or rather the ending of one. You had never known what love was before John B came into your life, and now that he was gone, you feared that you would never experience love again.

So put on your best boys and I'll wear my pearls

What I never did is done

The four of you all stood looking over the marsh, grieving the one person that had kept you all together. None of you knew how to handle this, how to cope. You couldn’t look out for one another because each of you were falling apart on your own. Your mind wandered to what could have been. The kisses you never gave him, too shy or fearful of rejection. The words you never said, emotions getting in the way. It all felt silly and stupid. Why hadn’t you simply done everything you wanted with John B while you still had the chance? All the what ifs crushed you, made you feel like you couldn’t breathe and your vision blur, until eventually everything just went dark.

The ballad of a dove

Go with peace and love

Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket

Save 'em for a time when your really gonna need 'em oh

Pope caught you before you hit the ground, instantly in a frenzy. “Guys she’s barely breathing.”

Both Kie and JJ turned to look at your all but lifeless form, panic in their eyes. “Shit she- what do we do?” JJ’s frantic voice echoed throughout the marsh, only increasing the tension and worry in the environment. Eventually, despite the money it would cost, the three of them were speeding off to the hospital, trying their best to keep you breathing and comfortable. As soon as Kie pulled into the hospital, JJ slammed the car door open, picking you up and running inside with your limp body in his arms, Kie and Pope not far behind him. Doctors and nurses were all over you in a matter of seconds, pushing the three pogues away whenever they tried to see what exactly was happening to their best friend. The situation felt eerily similar, the painful events that lead to John B’s death still fresh in their minds. All they could do was stand there, wondering if they were going to lose yet another friend. There were no more tears left to cry, all of them already spent on John B.

The ringing of a phone pulls them out of their stupor. “Who’s damn phone is that?” Kie questions aloud, prompting JJ to pull the buzzing device out of his pocket.

“Mine.” He mumbles before answering the call. His eyes widen as soon as he hears the voice on the other end, earning questioning glances from both Pope and Kie.

“John B?”

Taglist: @thelocalpogue @rae131415 @goldenhanna @scandalousfemale @obx-direction-sos @rafecameron @paradigmax @anonymous0writer @x-lulu @futuretaxcheat @olsenholic @jjaybank @starlightstarkey @girlsru1eboysdroo1 @Theyrealldruggy @pit-zuh @tomfreakinghollandneedsaoscar @simonsbluee @outerbongs @stfukie @yxseminx @ilovejjmaybank @abbiesthings @captain-molls-of-the-small-world @kikinuke2 @maddymfperez @pogue-writings @rudths @i-love-scott-mccall @strangerthanfanfiction713 @jj-iz-bae @sguymon21 @kookkyra @wallflowercal @maybanksbaby @jiaraendgame @copper-boom @sunwardsss @starksweasley @trashmouthpogues @allielozoya @vindictive-hearts @kaitieskidmore1 @teenwaywardasgardian @diverrdown @lynniep @apoguecalledjj @dancer0614 @jjtheangel @deathcompass @dpaccione @canibeoneofthepogues @arianabrashierstuff @bolaurel @outerbanksbro @beth-winchester21 @ifilwtmfc

Frenz: @sortagaysortahigh @bluesiderudy @ad-infinitums @midnightmagicmusings @spideymyluv @diverdcwn @softstarkey

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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Hello again! Im the tinfoil hat anon with the long ass asks and I finally had the time to read your response. Thank you, it makes my day reading your answers. I honestly just enjoyed them over a cup of coffee like a good book.

Now, the gun pointing scene I mentioned was in fact the one from the droid fight facility like the other anon suggested. But I really liked that you covered the boat scene too, I haven’t thought of it much myself and now I definitely have!

I also would like to mention I love your “candy bar” choice analogy and I 100% agree Hunter’s “invitation” to join back wasn’t welcoming in the slightest. It is very likely just an obligation as you said. Sort of “you gave us a chance, we owe you a chance too”.

And the problem with it is now I am struggling to figure out how the batch members might change their attitude toward Crosshair going forward, especially Hunter. As of right now Crosshair’s best relationship is not with his brothers but with Omega(as surprising as this is). And I think he does realize now she cared about him the most out of all of them during the short time they interacted(both 1st and last episodes). Even between themselves(not counting Omega) I find most of the bad batch members to be cold and distant to each other. They feel less like a family than Rebels for example. And they aren’t even a “found family”(a trope everyone loves) but an actual one! And I get that they’re soldiers and supposed to be tough, I don’t expect them to share all “the feels”. I just can’t put my finger on it but something feels off. I agree with your previous post, the show doesn’t do a very good job showing or even telling they love each other.

Will Hunter and co only start caring about their brother again only after he leaves the empire?(assuming he does at some point). What about Disney’s prevailing theme and message that “family always love and care for each other no matter what”? I guess it’s “family always love and care for each other but only if you’re good guys making right choices”. There is no room for mistakes or wrong decisions. In the last episode everyone form the batch seemed to have given up on Crosshair(besides Omega). For now their attitude seems to be just “you’re not our enemy” and that’s that.

I realize Crosshair is a “bad guy” and consciously made his choice(and we know it’s the wrong one) but to me it felt like he thought he didn’t even had a choice or rather became so lost and confused he actually thought he chose the empire as “the lesser evil”(as in the less shitty choice out of all the other bad ones). We as audience have the benefit to know exactly how atrocious the empire really is but maybe Crosshair still doesn’t realize that.

So what exactly must Crosshair do to get back “in their good graces” as you say? Start saving “the good guys”? Save the bad batch multiple times? There is a popular opinion on how Crosshair can redeem himself. That he eventually heroically sacrifices himself to save them. I personally REALLY hope it’s NOT what’s going to happen but I heard so many people speculating his story is set up to be redemption=death. I know you mentioned you don’t want “Vader style redemption” either. Personally I think it would be a waste of a character who has a lot of potential. And I just think that the batch kind of don’t really deserve his sacrifice(maybe save for Omega) after how they never tried to save him themselves and how they treated him overall. Maybe he will risk his life to save Omega at some point and that will “prove” to Hunter he cares? Although he has already shown he cares by saving her(even if in Crosshair’s own words it’s just so they’re “even”). And the thing is, he doesn’t need to prove that he loves them, he already did that in episode 15 and made it clear he does care. He actually went to extreme by shooting his squad to prove his loyalty. What were the moments the batch demonstrated they care about him? Hunter saying “you never were our enemy” and taking his unconscious body to safety? To me Hunter “not leaving him behind” during bombardment felt more like guilt about the last time it happened and an obligation to Crosshair for helping them with droids, rather than them showing care. And I kinda of think if that was any random civilian(or anyone other than an enemy or a threat) they would carry them out too just because that’s what good guys do and not because it’s their brother. You also mentioned that minutes later Hunter snaps at him with “if you want to stay here and die, that’s your choice” which I agree can be interpreted in different ways. And I think it’s one more point to it being an obligation that in Hunter’s eyes is fulfilled now. He corrected his mistake of leaving a brother behind and saved him this time, now his guilt won’t burden him any longer.

Anyway, I can’t wait for season 2 and I appreciate you and all the anons sharing the tinfoil hat, interacting and speculating together. Those discussions have been a lot of fun!

TLDR: How do your think the relationship between the brothers will mend or evolve in the next season? Do you think S2 will improve in portraying the batch more as a family rather than a group of mercs doing missions together? What are your thoughts on the popular idea of Crosshair’s redemption by ultimate sacrifice? As in, how likely do you think this scenario is?

Anon, that is just wonderfully hilarious to me. Ah yes, the sunrise, a good cup o' joe, and the overly long character analysis of a snarky, fictional sniper. Exactly what everyone needs in the morning! 😆

You know, TBB is far from the first show I've watched where there's an obvious, emotional conclusion the creator wants the audience to come to—the squad all love each other Very Much—yet that conclusion isn't always well supported by the text. It creates this horribly awkward situation where you're going, "Yes, I'm fully aware of what the show wanted to do, but this reading, arguably, did not end up in the story itself. So what are we talking about here? The intention, or the execution?" It's like Schrödinger's Bad Batch where the group is simultaneously Very Loving and Very Distant depending on how much meta-aspects are influencing your reading: those authorial intentions, understanding of how found family tropes should work, fluff focused fics/fan art that color our understanding of the characters, etc. And, of course, whether someone saw TCW before they watched TBB. I personally wouldn't go quite so far as to say they're "cold" towards one another—with Crosshair as an exception now—but there wasn't the level of bonding among the squad that I expected of a show called The Bad Batch. Especially compared to their arc in TCW. The other night I re-watched the season seven premiere and was struck not just by how much more the squad interacted with each other back then, but how those interactions added depth to their characters too. For example, Crosshair is the mean one, right? He's the one picking fights with the Regs? Well yeah... but it's also Wrecker. While they're trying to decide what to do with Cody injured, Jesse calls out Crosshair on his attitude—"You can't talk to Captain Rex like that!"—and Wrecker's immediate response is, "Says who?" and he hefts Jesse into the air. And then he just holds him there, clearly using his superior strength to do as he pleases, until Hunter (sounding pretty angry) tells him to put Jesse down. If Wrecker had put him into a more classically understood bullying position, like pinning him to the ground, it would probably read as less funny—less "Haha strong clone lifts Jesse up in the air!" and more "Oh shit, strong clone can do whatever the hell he wants to the Regs and few are able to stop him." It's such a quick moment, but it tells us a ton about Wrecker. That he's going to stick up for his brothers, no matter the context (Crosshair deserves to be called out). That he will gleefully assist Crosshair in bothering the Regs (something that is reinforced when he later throws the trays in the mess hall, after Hunter has already deescalated the situation). That he's likely been hurt by awful treatment from the Regs too. That he'll only listen to Hunter when it comes to backing off. Little of this work—that interplay among the squad that shows us new sides to them other than basic things like "Wrecker is the nice, happy brother"—exists in TBB.

Or, at least, little exists after Omega becomes an official member of the squad.

Because, as said previously, she becomes the focus. I don't mean that as a total criticism. As established, I love Omega. But if we're talking about why the squad can feel so distant from each other, I think she's the root cause, simply because the story became all about her relationships with the Batch, rather than the Batch's relationships with each other. Having dived headfirst into reading and writing fic, it occurred to me just how many of the bonding moments we love, the sort of stuff we'll see repeated in fics because we understand that this is where the story's emotional center is, are given to Omega in canon:

Someone is hurt and in need of comfort. Omega's emotional state is the focus + moments like her being worried over Hunter getting shot.

Someone needs to learn a new skill. Echo teaches Omega how to use her bow.

Someone reveals a skill they never knew they had before. Omega is a strategic genius and plays her last game with Hunter.

Someone is in serious danger and in need of rescue. Omega rescues the group from the slavers + is the most vocal about rescuing Hunter. (Which, again, is a pretty sharp contrast to the whole Crosshair situation.) Omega, in turn, needs rescuing from things like the decommission conveyor belt.

Similarly, someone is kidnapped and in need of rescue. Omega is kidnapped twice by bounty hunters and the Batch goes after her.

Someone saves another's life. Omega saves Crosshair from drowning.

Someone does something super sweet for another. Wrecker gives Omega her room. Omega gives Wrecker Lula.

A cute tradition is established between characters. Wrecker has his popcorn-esque candy sharing with Omega.

Someone hurts someone else and has to ask forgiveness. Wrecker is upset about nearly shooting Omega and they have that sweet moment together.

Note that most of these examples could have occurred between other Batch members, but didn't. Someone could have created a space for Echo on the ship too. Wrecker also could have apologized to Tech for choking him, etc. It's not that those moments shouldn't happen with Omega, just that there should be more of a balance across the whole season, especially for a show supposedly focused on the original squad. Additionally, it's not that cute bonding moments between the rest of the Batch don't exist. I love Hunter selling Echo off as a droid. I love Wrecker and Tech bickering while fixing the ship. I love the tug-of-war to save Wrecker from the sea monster. Yes, we do have moments... it's just that comparatively it feels pretty skewed in Omega's direction.

So, as a VERY long-winded way of answering your question, I think we need to fix the above in order to tackle Crosshair's redemption in season two. Now that we've had a full season focused on Omega, we need to strike a better balance among the rest of the squad moving forward. We need to re-established the "obvious" conclusion that the rest of the Batch loves Crosshair and that's done (in part) by establishing their love for one another too. To my mind, both goals go hand-in-hand, especially since you can develop their relationship with Crosshair and their relationships with each other simultaneously. Imagine if instead of just having Wrecker somewhat comically admit that he misses Crosshair (like he's dead and they can't go get him??), he and Tech had a serious conversation about why they can't get him back yet, despite very much wanting to. Imagine if Echo, the one who was rescued against all odds, got to scream at Hunter to go get Crosshair like Omega screamed at them to go back for Hunter. Imagine if we'd gotten more than a tiny arc in TCW to establish the Batch's dynamic with each other, providing a foundation for how they would each react to Crosshair's absence. Instead, what little we've got in TBB about Crosshair's relationship with his brothers is filtered through Omega: Omega's embarrassment that she knocked over Crosshair's case, Omega treating Crosshair's comm link like a toy, Omega's quest to save Hunter that just happened to involve Crosshair along the way.

Obviously, at this point we can't fix how the first season did things, but I think we can start patching over these issues in season two. It would be jarring—we'd still be 100% correct to ask where this "Brothers love you, support you, and will endlessly fight for you" theme was for Crosshair's entire time under the Empire's thumb... but I'd take an about-face into something better than not getting any improvement at all. It is frustrating though, especially for a show that I otherwise really, really enjoyed. For me, the issue isn't so much that the show made a mistake (since no show is perfect), but that the mistake is attached to such a foundational part of the franchise. Not just in terms of "SW is about hope and forgiveness" but the specific relationship most clones have with each other: a willingness to go above and beyond for their brothers. The focus on Omega aside, it's hard to believe in the family dynamic when one member of the family was so quickly and easily dismissed. I couldn't get invested in Hunter's rescue as much as I should have because rather than going, "Yes!! Save your brother!!!" my brain just kept going, "Lol where was this energy for Crosshair?" It messes with your reading of the whole story, so in order to fix that mistake going forward, we need to start seeing the bonds that only sometimes exist in season one. Show the guys expressing love for one another more consistently (in whatever way that might be—as you say, soldiers don't have to be all touchy-feely. Give us more moments like Wrecker supporting his brothers' bad habits) and then extend that to Crosshair. Which brother is going to demand that they fight for him? Which brother is going to acknowledge that they never tried to save him? Which brother is going to question this iffy statement about the chip? In order to buy into the family theme, Omega can't be the only one doing that emotional work.

Ideally, I wouldn't want Crosshair to go out of his way to prove that he's a good guy now. I mean, I obviously want him to stop helping the Empire and such, duh lol, but I'm personally not looking for a bunch of Extra Good Things directed at the Batch as a requirement for forgiveness. Simply because that would reinforce the idea that they're 100% Crosshair's victims, Crosshair is 100% the bad guy, and he's the only one who needs to do any work to fix this situation. Crosshair needs to stop doing bad things (working for Empire). But the Batch needs to start doing good things too (reaching out to him). Especially since Crosshair made a good play already, only to be met with glares and distrust. He saved Omega! And AZI! And none of them cared. So am I (is Crosshair) supposed to believe that saving one of their lives again will result in a different reaction? That doesn't make much sense. And no, his own life wasn't at risk when he did that, but does every antagonist need to die/nearly die to prove they're worth fighting for? As you say, he's already shown that he loves them, far more than they've shown the reverse. Every time Crosshair hurt them (attacking) it was while he was under the chip's influence. In contrast, the group has no "I was being controlled" excuse for when they hurt him (abandonment). Season two needs to acknowledge the Batch's responsibility in all this—and acknowledge that they're all victims of the Empire—in order to figure out an appropriate arc for Crosshair's redemption.

Right now, the issue is not Crosshair loving his brothers, the issue is how Crosshair chooses to express that love: trying to keep them safe and giving them a purpose in life by joining the organization that's clearly going to dominate the galaxy. The only way to fix that, now that his offer has been rejected, is for him to realize that a life on the run from the Empire, together, is a better option for everyone. And the only way for that to happen is for the Batch to seriously offer him a place with them again. They need to make the first move here. They need to fight for him. And yeah, I totally get that a lot of people don't like that because it's not "fair." He's the bad guy. He's with the fascist allegory. He's killed people and has therefore lost any right to compassion and effort from the good guys... but if that's the case, then we just have to accept that (within the story-world, not from a writing perspective) Crosshair is unlikely to ever come back from this. When people reach that kind of low, they rarely pull themselves out on their own. They need other people to help them do that. Help them a lot. But with the exception of Omega's reminder—which Crosshair can't believe due to how everyone else has treated him—they leave him alone and seem to expect him to fix himself first, then he gets their support. It needs to be the other way around. Support is what would allow him to become a good guy again, not "Well, you'll get our love when you're good again, not before." That's unlikely to occur and, as discussed, it doesn't take into account things like this bad guy life being forced on Crosshair at the start. If the story really wanted this to be a matter of ideological differences... then make it about ideological differences. Let Crosshair leave of his own free will, right at the start. Don't enslave him for half the season, have him realize he was abandoned, imply all that brainwashing, give him no realistic way out, and then punish him for not doing the right thing. This isn't a situation where someone went bad for the hell of it—the story isn't asking us to feel compassion for, say, the Admiral—it's a situation where Crosshair was controlled and now can't see a way out. That context allows for the Batch, the good guys, to fight for him without the audience thinking the show is just excusing that behavior. They should have been fighting from the start, but since they didn't, I hope we at least start seeing that in season two.

Ultimately though... I don't really expect all of the above. The more balanced dynamics and having the Batch fight for Crosshair rather than Crosshair going it alone... I wouldn't want to bet any money on us getting it, just because these are things that should have been established in season one and would have been more easy to pull off in season one. (If the Batch wouldn't fight for Crosshair while he was literally under the Empire's control, why would they fight now when he's supposedly acting of his own free will? It's backwards in terms of the emotional effort involved.) But again, it could happen! I'd be very pleased if it did happen, despite the jarring change. I don't want to make it sound like I think they're going to write off Crosshair entirely. Far from it, I think there are too many details like his sad looks for that, to say nothing of Omega's compassion. But the execution of getting him on Team Good Guys again might be preeeetty bumpy. I expect it to revolve around Crosshair's sins and Crosshair's redemption, even if what I would like is balancing that with Crosshair's loss of agency, the Batch's mistakes, and their own redemption towards him.

Honestly though, I just hope that whatever happens happens soon. It's a personal preference, absolutely, but after a season of Crosshair as the antagonist, I'm ready for him to be back with the group, making the Empire (and bounty hunters) the primary enemy. Whether his return happens through a mutual acknowledgement of mistakes, or through Crosshair being depicted as the only one in the wrong who has to do something big to be forgiven... just get him back with the squad lol. Because if the writing isn't going to delve into that nuance, then the longer he remains unforgiven, the longer some of us have to watch a series while going, "Wait, wait, wait, I really don't agree with how you're painting this picture."

#TBB #The Bad Batch #SW #Star Wars #mymetas #long post

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do-you-have-a-flag · 3 years

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Destiel shippers come get ya’ll juice!

SO @deadwright and I were inspired by Some Tumblr Posts and the twitter Roadhouse Wedding stuff and keep writing headcanons about Thee Destiel 2021 Married Ever After S16 SPN Romantic Event Of The Season, so here’s that.

Arranged in order of marital chronology and cutting out us keysmashing too much:

oh man imagine all the burgers they get catered for the reception dean got it done himself he would’ve been so particular about the catering bridezilla cas would probably be THEE bitchiest bridezilla

it's also definitely that trope where all the other hunters ect KNOW that that many of them and the wedding party are essentially a target for trouble so everyone spends the 24 hours leading up to the vows taking out every beastie who shows up on a revenge kick out of sight because they'll be damned if they let ANYTHING stop this wedding and Dean and cas are both having their marital jitters oh god im not good enough what if something goes wrong about mundane things while monsters are getting their ass kicked outside AWWWWWWWW for sure for sure, they’re hunter royalty this wedding is a big deal like half the attendees are nursing injuries but grinning widely

they don't do the can't see eachother before the wedding thing because you KNOW dean would be fixing cas' tie last minute

dean wears a blue pocket square to match cas' tie cas wears a FLANNEL SQUARE

I’m obsessed w the idea of cas giving dean a little bit of his grace in a small bottle on a chain for him to wear or like a wing feather or some part of him god the grace in a bottle breaks me every time in fic dean probably builds cas something but every time i try to think of something specific i choke up

i was thinking like what if trading grace is as close to a romantic gesture as angels have and he's like..... technically i left some grace behind in your mark when i dragged you from the pit and dean is like ARE YOU SAYING WE'VE BEEN MARRIED THIS WHOLE TIME?

they are so sweet i’m on the verge of tears the ability to do anything by halves in their relationship was burnt out by like the second return from the dead moment they are too insane to be anything less than All In And Then Some

at one point someone was like hey cas do you want to run your vows by someone as practice? and he started reading what he'd prepared and it devolved into Biblically Grand Statements Of The Power Of Love And The Redemption Of - ect ect ect and it's because unlike the confession scene he's had TOO much preparation and overshot into uncanny angelic vibes he makes some edits because he know the expressions he gets when he reads it aren't what he intended

dean writes page after page after page of unused drafts, none of them are particularly floral

he does the cliche of ripping up his vows and improvising at the altar, something he gets mercilessly teased for because he swore he wouldn't but it classifies as a chick flick moment

THAT’S SO PEAK HIM OH MY GOD and you knoooooow you just KNOW it’s beautiful and emotional and everyone is crying

god the NOVELTY of dean being emotionally honest in front of people......im gonna faint YEA yeah... ONE TIME ONLY DEAL he thinks loudly at Sam's smug expression

anyway, at the wedding dean is the one who spends the whole ceremony with like crying cat meme eyes after the confession scene i’m pretty sure the minute the vows start cas is in the same boat USELESS HUSBANDS dean gets passed a handkerchief for his tears and immediately goes to use it on cas' face and they both laugh sob love the idea that everyone individually thought they were too tough to cry but they all broke at various stages yeah sam definitely starts to choke up just standing up there with his brother sam chokes up before the ceremony even started, like probably when he was pinning on dean’s corsage

anyway, Jack dancing with his two dads at the reception CAS’ BEST MAN / FLOWER BOY FLOWER MAN let him heelie down the aisle with the flowers LITTLE MAN GO NYOOM who makes him a little flower crown he wears with a proud lil smile? claire ofc, with those hair braiding skills? she makes it BEAUTIFUL flower crown: on nails: painted dads: MARRIED!!!!

when they say i do and kiss and everyone is cheering you can't convince me that someone doesn't let off what is either a gun or a dubiously legal firework in celebration jack pops a few lightbulbs in his uncontrollable joy

Dean and Cas can't let go of each other, it's at LEAST one point of physical contact for the rest of the reception PERIODT

CAN YOU IMAGINE THEM DANCING TO AIR SUPPLY

they definitely didn't do the wedding gifts thing but a few mysteriously show up anyway; discuss waffle iron from sam bc he remembers the becky incident meanwhile claire gets them flavoured lube because she’s an insane little mean girl she gets them a sampler package with like novelty flavours, gotta spring extra for a wedding PIE FLAVOURED LUBE

it’s gonna be the party of the century omfg you KNOW it! that dancefloor going OFF the BAR is FLOWING

dean gets dragged up onto the bar to make a speech and there's a moment at the end where he drags cas up there too and they're being playfully yelled at not to scuff it and there's hooting and catcalls as dean and cas kiss and dean gestures rudely before almost falling backwards off the bar before cas grabs him and climbing down is less romantic or dignified but he couldn't care if he wanted to

meanwhile sam and claire are outside defacing the impala with silly string and lewd graffiti and tin cans tied to the bumper for the going-away oh it is one hundo percent a just married atrocity there's enough condoms hidden in the car that they're still finding them months later

anyway wanna hear my disgustingly soppy honeymoon roadtrip concept? YOU KNOW I DO OKAY SO

you know at some point dean must have said some sad thing like for the longest time he never thought he'd live long enough to get married and the only circumstances he could imagine was hooking up drunkenly with a stranger at some vegas wedding scenario like that's the best he would ever get and he thinks it's mostly forgotten but then during their cross country honeymoon roadtrip castiel does in fact navigate them to las vegas and quietly mutters that the legal veracity of the little chapel on the city limits is dubious at best and they're already married so it couldn't do any harm and they get officiated by an elvis impersonator and a woman wearing more sequins than fabric throws cheap confetti over them

and after that they stop into every venue they can find that would be friendly to them to pretend they're eloping and at one point dean even pulls out the fbi id badges and the officiant is under the impression he's facilitating some sort of covert workplace romance

one place is a kitchy little house that's clearly just the couple who run it opening their strange home to anyone who needs it and have been since the 70s and Castiel thinks for a moment when they're asked to pin something to the collection of stuff on the walls and ceiling before pulling the receipt for the pie they'd shared earlier in a dinner out and scrawling his and dean's name on it to be added to the clutter

and at one point they stand ankle deep in a pond while some old hippie lady wraps their clasped hands together with soft fabric and chants something that dean knows isn't real magic but hey he's not going to tell her that and after the ceremony they sit on the grass and feed each other sweet bread to complete the binding or whatever and it's nice but it doesn't compare to the ranch where they both tossed their cowboy hats in the air and were given a horse to ride to their camp site

i thought about riverboat gambling for point one seconds and now i know in my bones that one of their many weddings was on a riverboat, they made the captain officiate after cornering him on deck in like five minutes, the crew sent them complimentary champagne and they threw fries at the birds following the boat while sharing it straight out of the bottle

if destiel can go canon multiple times they can get married multiple times CHANGE MY MIND THEY GET MARRIED SO MUCH the MOST married i just want them to get gay cowboy married

eventually i want them to end up at the beach bc dean has canonically never been to the coast their road trip is to get to the other coast

they send just married postcards back to sam from every stop sam stops feeling hurt he was left out of their vegas elopement wedding by the third wedding postcard he recieves sam saves them ofc bc GOD can you imagine them looking at the postcards on their 30th anniversary or s/t 🥺 showing their grandkids and recounting the story of each wedding there's a seashell taped to the last one

cas gets a terrible sunglasses tan and dean gets burnt on the tips of his ears and there's sand on sand on sand in all their clothes and at one point dean is blinking away salt water and cas is gripping his arm and saying something about the coral by them in the water and dean thinks that he likes floating beside cas a lot better than flying

dean has cas pick ice cream for them from a truck and hustles at carnival games enough to win them both big novelty foam hats and they both go back to their room and pass out immediately post shower sprawled across the bed and still smelling like sunscreen and salt water

dean tucks a little cocktail umbrella behind cas’ ear

cas spends most of the next day in dean's zepplin shirt and a pair of shorts they only picked up once they got there because neither of them thought to bring beach clothes, they sit on the balcony and dean sips his beer and idly plays with the ring on cas' finger and they play a game of what fictional monsters could they beat in a fight

cas’ true form is the size of the chrysler building he can fight king kong easy that's what he says and dean's like okay but what about mothra and castiel is like how would YOU defeat mothra and dean just goes "bugspray." GDJSGSHSGSHDSJ DEAN WOULD

in honour of misha putting his whole pussy into the role, cas wears a dress in at least one of their weddings

it's at one of those theme parks that's just historical re-enactments and people get their vows renewed there and there's costumes for the photobooth and the staff are like how long have you been married? castiel says two weeks, three days, eighteen hours, and twenty five minutes................ approximately. and the photo is cas in a classical wedding gown and dean is wearing the veil with his old timey suit and there's a moose head on the wall behind them wearing the top hat he was given and they send that print with an arrow pointing at the moose with sam written next to it

i keep thinking bitch!!!! you KNOW WHAT!! you KNOW that dean is the type a guy who's heart races every time he feels his wedding ring/is always fiddling with it in the weeks after the wedding, like an anchor to remind him they really got married this is real he would NEED that physical reminder that he can have good things

he’s never ever going to take it off, the tan line will be permanent

how funny it would be if dean gets injured on a hunt and the monster guy is about to kill him and then the lights blow out and the monsters are like what was that and dean is just like "[spits blood] that's my husband." and nek minnit cas has just ripped through them thanks to teleporting in angel style and is just like Cas: [heals dean] "you're late for movie night" Dean: "Well if you'd gotten here earlier i would have been on time." Cas: >:| [kisses him]

cas is like i didn’t burn the popcorn this time you BETTER be alive to see it

#destiel #supernatural #long post #supernatural season 16 #twitter roadhouse wedding about to pop OFF #destiel wedding #deancas

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beneaththetangles · 3 years

Text

Pushing Back Against Darkness On The Mugen Train

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked into the theater to see Mugen Train. I had only watched around 12 or 13 episodes of the first season of Demon Slayer, so I hadn’t even got to the episodes which introduce the hashira, and thus didn’t even know who Kyojuro Rengoku was. I would have preferred to finish season one, but I was invited by a friend to watch it in theaters and I didn’t have enough free time to finish (It wouldn’t be the first time I go into an anime movie with not much context, and with all the hype surrounding this release, I wanted to see if it would impress me).

Well, I certainly was impressed! Twwk gave a more concise review, so I won’t go into lengthy points as to why I liked the film or what the plot was about, except for what this article has to discuss. The film was fantastic, as it certainly knew what the fans wanted and how to take us for a ride on the Mugen Train. At first, I thought, how can an anime film pull off an entire two hours on just a train? The producers were wise to have parts of the movie be about flashbacks, scenes in the minds of the heroes, and finally, the unexpected battle with Akaza, so it didn’t feel slow at all.

*Spoilers begin from here, especially about the ending*

Before the final fight began, I really thought that Enmu’s death was the end of the movie, until I saw those two red eyes in the distance after the train was wrecked. Akaza introduces himself by almost killing Tanjiro! Kyojuro saves him by blocking the attack, and a discourse ensues about how the hashira, Kyojuro, should become a demon so he can become stronger.

Kyojuro quickly refuses and tells Akaza he will protect everyone from him and not let anyone die. The battle begins, and what a scene it was! The animation, sounds, music, and dialogue were some of the best I have seen in the decades I’ve been watching anime.

Akaza vs Rengoku

Akaza was extremely insistent on Kyojuro becoming a demon, which as he explained would allow the harshira to train for years and years, surpassing the limitations of being human that come with aging and death. He was offering him immortality, a chance to become more powerful than he ever could since one day, as with all humans, Kyojuro’s strength would fail him and he would pass his prime.

Kyojuro constantly rebuffed Akaza, explaining that it is the beauty of being human to live and die. His passion for describing that reminded me of a verse mentioned by the king of Israel, David.

Psalm 90:12-14

12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. 13 Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Our days on Earth are numbered, and we will not be here forever. Sometimes it feels that way, especially when we’re young, but one day our lives will end and we will stand before God and give an account. Kyojuro, though he wasn’t referencing a Christian worldview, understood that our lives are frail and that the stages of life we go through are something to cherish, not abandon in pursuit of power.

Akaza didn’t understand why he would give up the opportunity, just like the devil would tempt Christ when He was in the desert. Satan offered Him the kingdoms of the world if He would just worship him. Simple enough, right? Offer your loyalty but you gain the entire world? Not that bad of a deal, except that Satan will keep your soul when your hourglass of time on this planet runs out. Christ knew better, and refuted him by saying:

Matthew 4:8-10

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

The hashira chose the harder but correct path. He would rather die fighting and defending others than give his life to what he has always exterminated. Sadly, he loses the fight from a fatal wound during the battle but as Akaza ran from the rising sunlight, Tanjiro chases him and even threw his sword at him.

Even though it impaled him, Akaza keeps running while Tanjiro shouted angrily at him, “Don’t forget that the Demon Slayer Corps is always fighting demons in the dead of night where you have the advantage! You’re a coward! Rengoku is stronger than you ever hoped to be. Much stronger! You didn’t win against him. He fought till the very end so no one will die. You are the one who lost, Rengoku is the true victor!”

Rengoku heard Tanjirou’s passionate cry and shared his last words to him and what he would like him to tell his family. His death seemed so real, so honest. No technique could heal him, even though he was one of the highest-ranking Demon Slayer Corps captains. It was over, he knew it, and he still managed to encourage Tanjiro and push him and his friends to continue down their journey of growth and toward becoming hashira themselves. He believed in them, even in his final moments.

Kyojuro shares his last words with Tanjiro

Even though Rengoku did die, so technically he did not win the battle, Tanjiro knew that their mission was accomplished which was to protect everyone on the train. Sometimes it seems like the battle is lost in certain situations in our lives, whether it’s an actual loss of life, not getting a job that you really wanted, rejection or loss of a relationship, giving into an addiction, saying the wrong words to someone at the wrong time, or some other regret or difficult issue.

Life is full of these “losses,” and the more you live, the more of them you will go through in one form or another. I have had to deal with quite a few of these, like being cheated on by my first girlfriend many years ago, arguments with my mother who to this day I still have a difficult relationship with, not getting my yearly contract renewed at a job, car leaving me stranded in the middle of the street, not having enough money to achieve certain goals in life earlier than I wanted, and losing friends because I gave my life to Christ and they wanted nothing to do with God. I can go on and on, but my point is, just like Tanjiro, I am not giving up just because I have had losses in my life.

God gives us the strength to get through the pain in life. If you think that life looks like Instagram pictures, all filtered and beautiful, then you are in for a dose of reality sooner if not later. Christ never promised everything would be easy—far from it—but He did promise He would be with us through it all, through the fire and pain.

I leave you with words penned by Paul in his letters to the Corinthians. He shared with them about a thorn in his flesh that God would not remove, though He asked several times. This was God’s reply:

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

#Anime #Christianity #Kimetsu no Yaiba #Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba #Gekijouban Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Ressha hen #Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train #Challenges #Hardship #Trials #Articles #Author: Samuru

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cryoculus · 5 years

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Can you do angst? If not it's okay, but can you do a scenario with bokuto or tsukishima's long time friend developing feelings for them. But the guy is to focused on his current crush to notice his long time friend. But she wants to be a good friend so she sets up the guy and his crush, and nearly dies. But refuses to tell the guys why she almost died. Sorry if this is confusing for you to understand.

» Word Count: 3,475 words

It took a while for me to fill this in, sorry for that! I just hit a wall with how the near-death experience was gonna play out, but I managed to come up with it this way. Note: this has become Akaashi-centric, ‘cause the best way that I could convey the friend’s grief was through the eyes of someone as perceptive as Akaashi. GOD this is about 3,000+ words, so I put the rest under the cut!

EDIT: I realized that the request wasn’t specific to certain pronouns, and I FORGOT THAT while I was writing this, and subconsciously implied that the friend was female. Sorry!

Akaashi was not one to stick his nose in matters that didn’t involve his direct interference. It was a principle that he trained himself to uphold, since he observed too often that, when one person meddled in another’s business more than he needs, it comes back to bite him in the behind in the near future.

But sometimes…sometimes he convinces himself that inaction could be the worst of sins he can commit.

His predicament began on the day he walked across the bridge that led to his neighborhood, when he didn’t have any volleyball practice. The sun was beginning to set, emitting a resplendent orange glow in the vast sky. At that moment, Akaashi was so caught up with the twilight in the West, that he barely noticed the figure emerging from the bottom of the concrete bridge. He did though.

“(Name)-san?” Akaashi stopped in his tracks, regarding his senpai, whose uniform was soaking wet, with a raised eyebrow.

You snapped your head in his direction, panic filling your eyes. Scrambling to your feet, you acknowledged Akaashi’s presence with a curt bow.

“A-Akaashi! What brings you here?” Your tone came a bit shaky, like you were hiding something from him. Akaashi wasn’t particularly curious, but he was concerned. You’re Bokuto’s best friend, after all.

“Did you…fall into the river, (Name)-san?” That’s what he could deduce from the situation – drenched uniform, scrapes on your legs and arms, and a slight shiver in your composure.

“W-Wha – oh! No, no, no! You’ve got it wrong!” You raised your hands, denying his assumption. “I d-dropped my phone in the water, I came to, um, retrieve it…”

Akaashi retained his aloof expression, but he could somehow tell that you weren’t telling the truth. It was rare to see you like this. You’ve always been a cheery person, who never seemed to lose their glee. However, it wasn’t like him to press others for information, so he ended the curious exchange by saying, “Do tend to your cuts, (Name)-san. They might get infected.”

You chuckled, lightly knocking your fist on your temple. “I can’t believe my kouhai is telling me off for such a clumsy thing I did. Thanks.”

The two of you were headed in opposite directions. Akaashi was treading forward, while you were headed to where he came from. At the corner of his eye, when the two of you passed by the other, he could see the ivory-tinged lilies you held in a tight grip behind your back.

When you finally passed him, Akaashi paused once more, looking back at your retreating form. Why had you picked the rare flowers that bloomed under this bridge, knowing it’d be a risk? He didn’t know.

But he knew better than to meddle.

“Yo, Bo!”

Akaashi’s ears perked up at the familiar voice. Morning practice had just finished, and everyone was beginning to fix their things for their first period. Bokuto, who was at the other side of the gym, greeted you with a high five.

“Ahh, you’re a lifesaver, (Name)!” His captain exclaimed, encasing you in a bone-crushing hug. “It looks exactly like the kind she wanted! I couldn’t find these anywhere! Where’d you get them?”

When you pushed the energetic spiker away, Akaashi could clearly see the lilies you picked from yesterday, the stems wrapped together with a pink ribbon, in Bokuto’s hands.

You flipped your hair. “I got it from a reliable source at a steal price! The guy selling them thought I was cute, and gave me a discount~”

“Oho? As expected from the charismatic class rep!”

You crossed your arms. “Now make sure Saki-chan’s gonna like them or I might’ve wasted my charms for nothing.”

Bokuto hollered, fist bumping you. “You won’t be disappointed.”

It was always loud whenever you paid Bokuto visits during morning practice, and it grated on Akaashi’s nerves every time your loud voices intermingled in his ears. But somehow today, your grin didn’t quite reach your eyes, and your laughter sounded a little forced. It was a minimal shift in your usual behavior, but it was enough for him to notice.

Still, even if was he the only one who saw the bright colored band-aids through your stockings, he knew better than to meddle.

About a week later, he overheard the two of you talking amongst yourselves in the hallway just outside the gym. Not wanting to interrupt the conversation, Akaashi stayed behind the lockers in the corner hallway.

“She liked them, (Name)! She really did!” He could hear Bokuto jumping about in excitement.

You laughed. “Best lilies in town, I tell you.”

“Can I…uhm, get some more? I kinda promised that I’d give her some every week. I-I’ll even pay you!”

Silence followed for a while, but then a fit of giggles resounded in the walls. “Bo, you don’t have to. I told you that the seller has a huge crush on me, remember? He might just give me seventy percent off the next time. y’know?”

He huffed. “Alright, fine. Just make sure that guy doesn’t pull any funny moves with you, though! The moment he does anything perverted, tell me right away!”

“Sure thing, Bo! I’ll give it to you Friday morning.”

After exchanging farewells, Akaashi could hear the double doors to the gym close shut. Footsteps, presumably yours, were getting closer, and he’s in a really compromising position –

“Akaashi?” You furrowed your eyebrows, eyeing his pressed up form on the lockers. You contemplated for a while, and for some reason he didn’t move an inch. “Were you eavesdropping?”

Shit. You noticed.

He straightened himself out, clearing his throat. “I just did not want to interrupt, (Name)-san.”

You nodded warily, brushing past him without another word. But just as you were about to round another corner, you halted, and looked back at him.

“Akaashi, would you do me a favor?”

He slightly craned his head in confusion. “What is it?”

You offered him a sad smile, an expression that he thought he’d never see you make. “Could you…not tell Bo?”

He nodded, not wanting to be part of…whatever this is in the first place. After all, he knew better than to meddle.

For the next few months, your presence after practice has been a staple every Friday morning. Everyone in the volleyball team has been accustomed to the presence of Bokuto’s best friend right after practice ended. However, the girl he was trying to woo was yet to make an appearance in the gym, which more or less baffled their teammates.

“Saki-chan’s really shy, but I’m helping her get through her social anxiety,” Bokuto smiled to himself. It was a rare sight for Akaashi to see his captain like this, soft spoken and not an owl on steroids.

Almost everyone in Fukurodani heard of Ishikawa Saki, the third year that attempted to commit suicide on the school’s rooftop. Akaashi remembered the scene vividly. He was right behind Bokuto when he coaxed her out of her suicidal tendencies, after all.

She was a bashful, but gentle girl. Akaashi would almost call her fragile, but with the way that Bokuto was supporting her now, she’s starting to get back up on her own feet. It was quite a love story, as some of the girls he passed by in the hallways said. Who knew that the loud, outgoing captain of the volleyball team would be the suicidal girl’s saving grace?

If anything, Akaashi didn’t like to think of it that way. Bokuto didn’t save her. He only helped her to save herself, and maybe he managed to catch some feelings along the way. Akaashi would have approved of their budding union, but…

“Bo~” Your singsong voice rang in his ears.

When Akaashi spared you a glance, you looked horrible. Of course, you were still the pretty class rep of 3-1 that everyone admired, but there was no doubt of your disheveled state. Your hair was escaping your loose pony tail, your eyes looked tired beyond comprehension, your uniform was unironed, the pleats of your skirt, rumpled (if he looked a little closer it looked damp, even), and you weren’t wearing your stockings. Your legs, which were bandaged all the way up to your thighs, were on full display.

“What happened to you?” Bokuto ran over to you, grabbing you gently by the shoulders. “Why are your legs bandaged up?”

“Oh, this? This is nothing, Bo! I may have gotten into quite a scuffle with the guy selling these.” You feigned ignorance, handing your usual delivery with an unmatched smile. “He probably got mad that I won’t accept his confession.”

He scowled. “He did what?”

You laughed. “Bo, I was kidding! I got into an accident on my bike and might have fucked up my legs.” You forcibly placed the lilies in his hands. “I’m alright, okay? Stuff like this happens.”

Reluctantly, Bokuto accepted the flowers, twirling the stem in his hands. “If something worse happens to you, I won’t forgive myself, you know? I’m supposed to be your best friend…”

For a split second, Akaashi could see your lip quiver, something akin to despair shadowing your face. But it’s as gone as it came. Instead, you flashed him a small smile. “I know that more than anyone, Bo.”

At this point, Akaashi was beginning to have second thoughts on his sentiments on meddling.

The next Friday, it was raining heavily. Classes were suspended because of the torrential downpour, but Akaashi’s mother didn’t have qualms with sending her son out in the rain for some errands. Of course, he complied. The market was just beyond the bridge. It wasn’t too bothersome a journey.

So, he shrugged on a jacket, retrieved an umbrella, and headed out. The sky was so dark, he had a hard time convincing himself that it was only ten in the morning. The raindrops heavily tapped on his umbrella, forcing him to huddle himself under its cover so his clothes wouldn’t get too soaked.

As he closed in on the bridge, he noticed the river rapidly flowing down the stream. It was always like this during particularly rainy days. The slightest drizzle would make the river wild.

However, at the far end, he could see a familiar backpack sitting idly on the sidewalk. That’s…

Akaashi’s eyes widened when he pieced everything together. He only saw you emerge from under the bridge once all those months ago, but hasn’t seen you again in the area ever since. You insisted for months that you got the flowers from some guy that apparently fancies you, but you had also told Akaashi not to tell Bokuto about what he witnessed that time.

His discarded his umbrella, as he ran to the railing, craning his head as far as he could for any sign of you. The rain immediately soaked through his hair and clothes. When he was out of luck on this side, he switched to the other side, and –

The moment he saw the form of a girl with dirty bandages on her legs, lying face down on a slightly elevated island in the middle of the harsh stream, Akaashi peeled off his jacket and shirt, and dived in without a second thought.

The stream was flowing to the direction where your unconscious form was lying, so he didn’t have to propel himself with much effort. When he got to the island, his sneakers almost sunk into the mud. Not paying it any mind, he kneeled down, lifting you up to rest your body against his own.

“(Name)-san? Can you hear me?” He shouted through the loud rain, but you weren’t responding. He placed the back of his hand against the skin of your neck and it was hot to the touch. How long have you been out here?

He gathered you in his arms, as his eyes darted everywhere in search for a route back to the bridge. The stream was flowing against him now, and it would be hard enough for him to swim back on his own, but he had to get you to safety, too –

“Bo…?” You opened your eyes, but they had a glazed look on them. “Bo…I’ve got it…Y-You can give it to…Saki-chan later…” You lifted a trembling fist up to him, Akaashi took whatever you had in your hand in his. When he unfurled his fingers, he saw a white lily, whose petals were frayed and torn from the time you’ve spent protecting it from the rain.

Something pierces through his chest, and shatters the composure he’s kept up all this time. It’s something he’s never felt before, but all he could do is cradle your feverish body in silence, as his tears mixed with the raindrops that fell on his face.

“Why are you doing this?” His voice cracked, fingers digging into the skin of your arms. “Why?!”

You already sustained an injury on your legs, you’ve been out here, passed out and running an incredibly high fever for God knows how long, you’ve got new cuts all over your arms, so…why? Why could you still find it in yourself to grin at him like it was nothing? Why do you sacrifice so much, go out of your way all the time, risk your own precious life…for the sake of his stupid, stupid captain, who was oblivious to your feelings for him?

Still shaking, from the rain or from the fever, or from both, you raised your hand to cup Akaashi’s cheek. What were you seeing right now? He was curious, but for now, he’d tend to your fantasies for your sake.

“It’s…‘cause I want you…to be happy.” A single tear rolled down your cheek. “I…love you, Bo.”

It took a while before you could go back to school, given your multiple injuries and the fact that you almost drowned in pursuit of the lilies you always gave to Bokuto. But that’s not what you told the school. You informed them that the injuries in your legs simply worsened and you had to be observed in the hospital at an indefinite amount of time.

Akaashi was the only one who knew of what truly transpired. He was the one he brought you to the hospital when a few locals spotted the two of you after all. However, when your family arrived and thanked him ceaselessly for having saved your life, he took his leave. His presence wasn’t necessary, anyway. Or maybe he just couldn’t stomach the sight of you in your hospital bed, knowing that he could have prevented this all from happening should he have taken action earlier. He noticed everything, yet did nothing about it…

Bokuto was concerned, of course, but his head was too wrapped up in the fact that they were competing for the Spring High Nationals the following Monday after the incident, that he couldn’t bring himself to at least contact you about it.

However, when you did come back to school on the first Friday of December, you didn’t show up to their morning practice anymore. Akaashi should have gotten used to it by now, given that you were absent for at least two Fridays already. But when you texted him about your return today (you exchanged phone numbers at some point), he half-expected you to be up and running with some stupid white lilies in your hands, giving them to his dumbass captain to treat his girlfriend while being in the dark with everything you’ve been through thus far.

If he was being honest with himself, he hated his captain right now. Akaashi, of all people, was expected to be the one who’d understand all of Bokuto’s behaviors and mannerisms the most, but witnessing firsthand what you went through, the thought of you sacrificing everything for the sake of his happiness… How could he be so God damn oblivious to all of it?

But then, before he let his blind rage consume him, Akaashi got a text message from you.

meet me at the rooftop in five?

The cold air seeped through his clothes when Akaashi opened the door to the rooftop. Winter really has settled in in Tokyo. Rubbing his arms as a pathetic attempt of getting warm, he darted his eyes around for any sign of you, and saw your lonesome form standing by the metal fence. He made his way towards you.

“Hey,” you spoke without facing him, fingers gripping the fence. “Did you know that these were put up here after the incident with Saki-chan? It was to guarantee that no one was gonna pull any stunts like that here anymore.”

Akaashi nodded, gazing out at the view of the city. “Yes, I am aware.”

You hummed, and stood there in silence for a good while. Akaashi suddenly recalled that fateful day from what now seemed like a long time ago. The rain pelting his bare back, the smell of the soaked Earth under his knees, the constricting sensation in his throat, and the glassy look in your eyes, that suggested that you weren’t thinking clearly at the time. When he asked you if you remembered that you thought he was Bokuto, you drew no memory of it. He wasn’t sure if he should be glad or not.

“Akaashi, why’d you save me?”

Ah, but you did remember that he’s the one who actually jumped into the river to save you.

Akaashi exhaled, averting his gaze as far as he could from you because, frankly, even he didn’t know what drove him to strip his clothes and jump into the stream that day. He’s been doing a great job ignoring everything he took notice of with your strange behavior, minding his own business. Wait… You were dying, for God’s sake! If someone else was in his shoes that time, they would have done the same. It’s only natural that he’d go rescue you. And maybe…maybe he wouldn’t be able to live with himself knowing that he kept turning a blind eye to your suffering.

A thousand thoughts swirl in his mind, but all he could bring himself to say is, “Because you’re important to Bokuto-san.”

You laughed, turning to him. “Am I not important to you?”

He raised an eyebrow, making sure his face didn’t betray any discomposure. “Why would you ask me that, (Name)-san?”

You put a finger on your chin. “Hmm… I know you saw through all my lies, you know? I thought it was just a rumor that Fukurodani’s Akaashi Keiji could read the volleyball team’s enemies better than anyone, but to be able to apply that outside of a game?” A grin made its way on your lips. “You really are something, huh?”

“I don’t understand. What am I supposed to make of our conversation?”

You scratched the back of your head, chuckling. “I don’t know either, actually. I just wanted to thank you properly.” You reached out from behind your back – he didn’t notice you were carrying anything – and handed him a lavender flower with two unfurled petals, like it was just beginning to bloom. Akaashi shot you a confused look, but accepted it, regardless.

“I did my research,” you imparted. “The lilies that I was picking for Bo…they’re referred to as the flower of death. Makes sense why Saki-chan would like them… Okay, bad joke, but yeah.” You mulled over your next words for a moment, cheeks beginning to tinge red. “This is an iris. They symbolize hope, or at least that’s what the internet wanted us to know.”

Akaashi examined the Iris in his hands, then turned to you. “Where’d you get it this time?”

His accusatory tone made you laugh, and this time it sounded genuine. “Oh, you think I jumped under a bridge to grab these again? Nah. I got it from the flower market downtown. The guy selling them probably likes me. Gave it to me for free~”

“Did he, now?” He couldn’t help it. His lips turned up into a small smile. “Why have you decided to give this to me, of all people, (Name)-san?”

“Oh, God, don’t ask me. It’s kinda corny.”

“Pray tell.”

“Fine.” You shifted your gaze back to the city skyline. “It’s ‘cause… You were the one who made me realize that Bo’s not the only guy in the world. In a way, you gave me hope that there’s someone else out there just waiting for me.”

He contemplated for a moment, letting your words sink in, before saying, “You’re absolutely right. That was corny.”

An irk mark appeared on your head. “Hah? Who knew Akaashi Keiji, aloof second year setter of Fukurodani, could be a wise-ass, too?”

Then and there, Akaashi realized that he’s glad that he didn’t know better than to meddle, in the end.

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu!! x reader #haikyuu!! headcanons #bokuto koutarou #akaashi keiji #request #anon #hqscenario

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jemeryl · 4 years

Text

Reborn Excerpt

This is a fight scene I wrote for my NaNoWriMo project. I just hit my 20k word mark, although I stayed up too late for it! It’s about my queer elves who go through quite a lot of suffering, but then they hook up, so it’s fine.

***

"Give up," Corporal Garron said, resting the head of his gigantic warhammer on the ground, "and I'll let her go." He jutted his chin in Elrathi's direction.

It did not look good. Apart from Garron, there were about a dozen other soldiers in the clearing, all armed with sword and shield, although none had drawn their weapons yet. They were wearing chain shirts over leather, like her, but Garron was a giant in full plate armor. They were standing in a loose circle with Felana and Elrathi in the center.

Felana glanced over at Elrathi, who gave her head an almost imperceptible nod. Of course even if Garron had been willing to let her go, Elrathi would never abandon Felana here.

"Alright," Felana said, "I'll come quietly – but only once you've let her out of this clearing and she's completely out of sight."

He appeared to consider this for a moment, then slammed the visor down on his helmet. "I'm already bored. Take her alive and kill the half-elf."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Felana said, her voice booming out through the clearing and stopping the soldiers before they could take their first step. Elrathi slid over so they were back to back and drew her short sword and dagger.

Garron laughed. "Are you joking? You're surrounded and outnumbered. You should be begging for mercy."

"I don't think so," she said, slowly drawing her sword and holding it at chest level, two-handed and pointing at the sky.

An eerie silence descended on the clearing as her eyes rolled all the way back into her head so only the whites showed. A shiver of unease rippled through the surrounding soldiers.

Her sword burst into flames, the blade glowing almost white with heat. "I think you're going to be the ones begging for mercy," she said, her voice flat and emotionless, "Those of you that are still alive when we're through with you."

The soldiers jumped back in surprise, and Felana didn't wait. She lunged sideways and slashed horizontally. An arc of flame rippled out following the motion of the blade and swept towards three of the soldiers. They shrieked as the flames washed over them, fumbling the weapons they'd been trying to draw. One of them threw his arm out to ward the flames and it caught fire. He dove to the ground, rolling to try and put it out. The other two jumped backwards, avoiding the worst of the flames.

In the wake of the flame came Elrathi. They might've been able to dodge the flames, but they were completely off guard. She dove between them, short sword in one hand and knife in the other, and neatly hamstrung both of them. They fell screaming, blood gushing from the slashes in the backs of their thighs and steaming as it drenched the snow.

Elrathi ran straight into the treeline and vanished in the shadows beneath.

Felana turned and charged towards the nearest soldier, who only barely got his shield up in time to deflect her blow. Flames belched out of the sword, curling up over the edge of shield, which started to glow red. The soldier yelped and shook his arm wildly, dropped his sword to try and unbuckle his shield. Felana stepped forward, nudging the shield aside with the edge of her sword and drove it forward, under the rim of his helmet and right into his throat.

Some of the other soldiers swore and took a few steps back. Corporal Garron barked, "What are you waiting for? Get her!" The soldiers wavered, not sure who they were more afraid of.

Garron gripped his warhammer, hefted it and pivoted. In one smooth motion he swung it right into the chest of his nearest subordinate. The hammer was almost as tall as he was and the head was almost as big as the chest of the soldier it smashed into, flinging the poor man ten feet straight backwards and into a tree. He fell to the ground, dead in an instant, his chest completely caved in.

The other soldiers took one look at this grisly display and charged into battle.

Felana had finished off the soldier whose arm was on fire – he lay face down in the snow, still smoldering – and was working her way around the circle of soldiers in a clockwise direction. The fifth soldier caught Felana's sword with his shield and gave a hard shove, trying to avoid the fate of his companion. Felana slid to his right, and with nothing to resist him he overbalanced and staggered forward. She ducked underneath the clumsy swipe of his sword, spun and plunged her sword into his back, the white-hot blade slicing through his chain shirt as if it was nothing more than a cloth tunic.

The other seven soldiers were closing in on her. They'd almost reached her when Elrathi came sprinting out of the forest behind them. The two leftmost soldiers had no idea what hit them as they fell almost simultaneously, their hamstrings cut. By the time the others knew what was happening she'd already finished them off with swift slashes across the throat.

The right side of the line kept going, three at once hammering at Felana's defences. She gave ground, parrying blow after blow. Her sword sparked and spat flames with each parry. As she turned one soldier's blade, she jabbed the sword towards his face – it didn't connect, but a jet of flames burst from the tip and flowed over his face. He dropped sword and shield and fell to the ground, frantically grabbing fistfuls of snow and rubbing them into his face. His falling body tripped up another, and as he fell she swung her sword in a tight underhand arc. His face fell right onto the blade, and it ripped a vertical line from his chin to the top of his head. He fell face first, howling.

She dodged the next soldier's sword just in time, the blade tearing chain links free as it slid across her shoulder. Her sword in the wrong position, but she managed to dive forward before he could get his shield in the way. She tucked her chin to her chest and lunged forward, slamming the top of her head into his nose and mouth. He reeled backwards, dropping his sword, blood gushing down his chin. She reared back and kicked him in the chest, and her sword went through his gut as soon as he hit the ground.

A mountain of steel rose up in front of her. Corporal Garron roared like an ox, swinging his oversized warhammer. Felana dived back desperately, but the very edge of the head caught her left shoulder. She was knocked flying, spun through the air and slammed to the floor. Her instincts kept her rolling, and the warhammer left a crater in the earth where she'd just been lying.

She managed to get her feet under her just in time and danced backwards, just out of reach. Her left arm and shoulder were useless, a throbbing red mass of pain. Her eyes had rolled back to the front of her head and the flames on her sword flickered and faded.

Shouts and the clash of blade on blade sounded from behind her, and she risked a glance back. Elrathi was duelling the two remaining soldiers, but she was being forced back towards the treeline.

Panic seized Felana as she turned back to Corporal Garron, who took a huge step forward and readied his warhammer. Elrathi wasn't a front line fighter, and her odds against two trained soldiers weren't good. She had to end this quickly so she could join the fight.

Garron shifted his weight and watched her. He knew time was on his side. If his soldiers could finish off Elrathi, that would be it for Felana, and the way he was tracking her movements suggested he was going to anticipate her attack and time his swing so the hammer would catch her as she moved towards him.

She let out a scream and charged towards him recklessly. Just as expected, she saw the hammer coming at her in a huge, fast arc. She dug her heels in and jumped backwards just in time. The hammer swung past so close the wind of it washed across her face. As the hammer passed by she lunged forward, sword outstretched and, aiming for the gap under his pauldron, at the armpit. She felt it scrape uselessly across a layer of chain mail and tried to get out of the way, but she was too slow. His huge metal boot caught her right in the chest, throwing her clear backwards. It was like being kicked by a horse. The only saving grace was that he didn't have a chance to get a good windup, or that alone would've finished her.

Her back hit the floor and she slid backwards, the wind totally knocked out of her. Before she could get to her feet, a shadow loomed over her, blocking out the sun.

"Everyone looked up to you, you know?" Garron said, staring down at her with a mournful look on his face. "You were a legend in the barracks. They told all kinds of stories about you, said you could breath fire, that your eyes were gold, that when you went into battle your hair would turn into pure flame. I thought they were full of shit. Looks like at least some of the stories were true."

He looked around at his unit, mostly lying silent now except for a few pained groans. "It's a shame. All those fancy fireworks and you're still lying there in the snow like any other grunt." When he looked down at her his face was full of pity. "You chose the wrong side, and you're too dangerous to be left alive. Captain Lylestra won't be happy, but I've got no choice."

His armor creaked and groaned as he raised the warhammer high above his head and widened his stance.

As the image of Lylestra flashed through her head, hatred filled her body like smoke, dampening all of her aches and pains, driving away her lightheadedness.

She curled upwards just as the hammer plunged into the ground where her head had been just a moment before, showering her back with snow and clods of earth. She got to one knee, and as he strained to try and pull his hammer back for another swing, her right hand shot out and found the bottom lip of his faceplate. She swung it upwards, revealing his face, and buried her fist in his mouth, wide open in surprise. Her knuckles smashed through his teeth and rammed into his throat as she used all the power in her legs to drive herself upwards. He staggered back, letting go of his hammer, but before he could stand she yanked her fist out of his mouth, grabbed his helmet and drove his face downward into her knee. There was a gruesome, satisfying crunch as his nose broke. He gave a gurgling moan and collapsed, blood bubbling and dripping from his ruined face.

Unlike him, she decided not to monologue. She grabbed her sword from its resting place in the snow and used her foot to turn his head sideways. The only gap in his armor was his open faceplate. She placed one foot on his head to stop him moving and drove her sword through his face.

Exhausted, she turned around and raised her sword, dreading what she'd see. Elrathi was limping out of the forest, a hand pressed to a jagged cut in her side. She tried to ease herself against a tree but ended up sliding down it. She sat against it, panting, as Felana lurched towards her, heaving a huge sigh of relief.

Kneeling down, she pulled Elrathi's hand away from her side. The pressure from her hand had slowed the bleeding, but it wasn't stopping. Felana pressed her own hand to the wound and closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind and will energy into her hand. Warmth flowed out of her palm and she moved it slowly back and forth over the wound. When she pulled her hand away a scab had formed over it, as if it had been closed for a day or two. The bleeding had stopped completely and Elrathi's breathing was starting to slow.

"That's all I've got in me right now," Felana slurred, falling onto her back.

Elrathi leaned over her gingerly, hissing in pain as the motion tugged at her new scar tissue. She put a hand to Felana's cheek, then felt for her pulse. "Felana, no," she said, looking like she was about to cry, "You shouldn't have done that. I don't think you've got anything left. Your pulse is so weak."

"I'll be fine," Felana gasped, "I just need to rest for awhile."

And with, she blacked out.

#my writing #nanowrimo #reborn #fantasy #lgbt

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neverwatchedonepiece · 5 years

Text

558-560: "The Noah Closing in! The Fish-Man Island Facing Destruction!", "Hurry up, Luffy! Shirahoshi's Life in Jeopardy!" and "The Fierce Fight Begins! Luffy vs. Hordy!"

This is like watching Hitler stab Elliot Roger. Can you even cheer for this?

I can’t because let’s just say I’m not the biggest fan of either of them. The most I could muster was a grim nod. “Yes, that’s brilliant. Now the other one needs to go.”

Luffy should step up in the next couple of episodes, so I’m looking forward to watching Hordy Jones chow down on a generous slice of Karma pie. It’ll be old and moldy too because Hordy’s comeuppance is long overdue.

I get the feeling that the (literally) biggest problem facing the Strawhats right now, though, is neither Decken nor Hordy. It’s Noah: the massive ship that is currently floating just above Fishman Island.

How big is this ship?

I’ll let Franky sum it up.

Noah: The Ship of Promise

The shots of Noah drifting straight for Fishman Island were weirdly beautiful. I mean, I know this thing was close to killing an entire nation full of people plus the Strawhats, but the art was so good. Dat perspective. Dat chiaroscuro. Dat cool shot of the surface tension stretching the bubble. The seaweed strung chains alone were so huge they demolished buildings and minor geological features with ease. Toei did a good job escalating the sense of threat here.

Another interesting thing is that, for the first time, Neptune has really freaked out with fear. But not for himself. It’s for Noah. Apparently, the ship has a nickname: the ship of promise. Neptune was worried because that ship was Not To Be Used before the appointed time. He even freaked out about the possibility of it being damaged.

Hmmm... Intriguing. I guess this means Noah is culturally significant to Fishman Island (or at least to the Royal Family/Neptune who is the only one who clearly understands its significance, as the princes called it “a relic from the past”). What did he mean by “the appointed time?” Why was it built in the first place? Starting to think it’s not an ancient weapon. Maybe it was built to transport Fishmen to a better place? It has loads of windows. I guess I’ll find out soon. :)

But first, there is a villain to be dealt with!

Long-Distance Roasting

Luffy scrapping with Hordy in 558 was glorious. I’m enjoying watching the new tricks he’s learned over his two year stint with Rayleigh. I love how surprised Luffy was that Hordy staggered upright after being punched through a wall.

He used hardening haki to obliterate iron shields, landed a blistering hardened kick and smacked Hordy with a hardened fist. Faced with an opponent who was levels above him, Hordy panicked and fired off water arrows indiscriminately. Luffy’s observation haki pretty much ruined that half-baked plan. It was hilarious watching Hordy get his ass handed to him. It must have really ground Hordy’s gears hearing the islanders praising the strength of the world-renowned Strawhat pirate captain.

Unfortunately, Luffy couldn’t finish the job because it was about that time the Noah Eclipse moved across the island. At that point, even the Strawhats were thinking, “Shiiiiiiiiit.....”

One of the smaller shadows belonged to the Sea Bonze dude that worked for Decken. It grew rapidly as he plummeted to earth. When he shook himself off, he looked up and freaked out because the ship was sailing without him.

“Stop the ship!” he yelled. “I slipped and fell off. I don’t wanna die!”

You know, I thought for one moment that Decken’s one saving grace was that he at least cared about his crew.

Turns out he doesn’t even have that. He said straight up to his Sea Bonze buddy: “Yeah, I’m gonna need you to become a sacrifice along with the rest of Fishman Island.” What a guy.

I mean, you’ve got to be a proper piece of crap when Hordy Jones, of all people, is pissed off with the psychotic shit you keep pulling.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

But Decken’s deeply creepy breakdown spurred one of my favourite moments of the arc.

When Decken made his appearance, he, of course, took the opportunity to harass Shirahoshi one last time. “SHIRAHOSHI, NO ONE CAN LOVE YOU LIKE ME! SO DROP DEAD ALONG WITH THE REST OF FISHMAN ISLAND.”

Logic? Nah. It’s in very short supply with this guy. Must have departed long ago with the last crumb of sanity.

When it became obvious that Decken was about to involve the entire island in his mad quest to “prove his love”, Shirahoshi did something very brave. Decken had thrown Noah towards his marked target, just like all the knives and axes before. Knowing this, Shirahoshi he put her life on the line and swam right up to the ship, stopping it from crashing into the island where she stood.

“If I am the only one who you want to kill, please do not harm the other people of Ryugu Kingdom.”

She was willing to endanger herself in order to protect her people. Shirahoshi is most definitely no coward. In fact, she’s as brave as Otohime, who threw herself in front of a bullet to stop a revenge killing.

Despite Decken upping the creep factor, “How beautiful you are, even your mind! You’re taking the matter into your own hands to save the country, aren’t you? You’re definitely eligible to become Vander Decken IX’s wife after all. You’d better die while you’re still beautiful and live in my heart forever.”

I have no words. Unfortunately, I know this is not unrealistic.

Decken hurled a dagger at Shirahoshi. But despite being injured, she still swam off and lured Decken - and most importantly, Noah - away from the island. She swam all the way to the open sea.

As far as I’m concerned, Shirahoshi deserves major props for quick thinking and saving everyone from being, as Robin said, smashed all at once. (lol)

Hordy Has a Little Moment

While this was going down, Hordy hauled himself upright and stood there like a lost lemon, grinding his teeth and raging at Decken’s “betrayal.” Hordy, the guy has several screws loose. If he is distracted by Shirahoshi in any way, he will drop whatever dumb scheme he’s involved in to pursue his main interest.

He watched Luffy be lauched after Noah by Sanji (that was cool, by the way. Sanji was about to join him, but Luffy pulled him back and said he had to take care of the plaza. Instead of insisting on running after the mermaid princess, Sanji agreed. Obviously the order from his captain, who he also respects as a friend, takes precedence. That’s much better, Sanji! :D)

Only then did his rage move him to action. He decided to hijack Decken’s plan. He leapt onto the hanging chains, even shooting at the islanders (who tried to slow Noah’s progress because they were so worried for Shirahoshi). I kept thinking, Luffy, now is the time to knock that dumbass off the chain.

But he didn’t. Shirahoshi broke through the bubble and Luffy emerged into open water. He had to use the Bubbly Coral Jimbei handed him. But he couldn’t use the full stretch and strength of his power confined in the small bubble.

Then Hordy swam up behind him and had a little moment when the tables turned. “How inconvenient it must be to be a human!” he gloated, using all his old favourite slurs. “You act so tough on the ground but you couldn’t even win a fight with a Fishman child in the sea!”

Of course, he forgot Zoro beat him in the water before he snacked on a fistful of Roids, but such thoughts are inconvenient. Luffy couldn’t replicate the feat because, as a DF user, he was at a major disadvantage and was forced to fight in the bubble. Hordy was straight up too fast and the water arrows pierced the bubble.

If it wasn’t for Fukaboshi, Luffy would have been screwed. I actually cheered when he showed up. xD It was also nice when Luffy asked how he was. “Thanks for rescuing me. You got hurt earlier. You okay?” (and it was funny when Fukaboshi told him off for being impressed at how Hordy was “almost like Zoro in the water”.) At least they have come to an understanding now. Fukaboshi apologised for suspecting the Strawhats, and Luffy, in his usual way, said, “Don’t mention it.”

They didn’t have time for a drawn out apology-fest, anyway, because Luffy had a plan and he was in a hurry.

Bye, Bye, Decken?

Now, I’m not sure if Ryuboshi and Mamboshi (is that how you spell his name?) gave Shirahoshi the best advice. She was swimming out into open sea away from the island. Instead, they advised her to swim upwards. I guess they couldn’t have predicted Hordy would spear Decken and, once the Mark Mark power wore off, the ship would come crashing down on top of Fishman Island, but still.

The betrayal scene was cool. Decken is obviously so detached from reality he had no idea Hordy was seething with rage when he hopped on deck.

“O hai, pal!” he laughed. “What happened to Neptune? Did you kill him? I’ve been tormenting Shirahoshi with the Noah. What do you think? Good idea, right?”

“Oh, I have an idea,” the shadowy figure of Hordy leered. “If you die now... what’ll happen to this ship?”

Then he stabbed Decken through the chest with his trident. That wasn’t the end of it. Decken hauled himself off it, blood dripping, then accidentally touched Hordy in the process, leaving a mark on him.

“I panicked a bit when Noah sailed over,” Hordy admitted. “But I can’t kill you yet. Then the Mark Mark power will be ineffective and the ship will fall onto Fishman Island and destroy everything. More than anything, I want the Strawhats gone. Thousands of my men will die too, but I can get as many human slaves as I want later.” Nice, Hordy. Thousands of your men will die, but it’s okay, they can be replaced with human slaves. What happened to Fishman supremacy, eh?

Decken told him to drop dead and threw a blade. I’m not quite sure what happened here, but Hordy either ducked or moved behind Decken and the blade sliced into Decken. Ohhhhhhh, the shot of that sweet, sweet long distance body fall. Decken landed right next to his rose axe (which is a bit suspicious, to be honest. As I have not yet seen a body, I bet he’ll use the axe to take revenge against Hordy. The mark has not yet been removed, so...)

Of course, counter betrayal accomplished, Hordy pressed on with his plan to hijack Decken’s psycho scheme. He caught up with Shirahoshi and grabbed her by the hair. Luckily, Luffy and Fukaboshi arrived fresh from a strategy talk. I have no idea what move it was Luffy pulled on Hordy, the snake shot one, but it looked like his hands were on fire? At any rate, Luffy said it didn’t work properly because he needed a bigger bubble, but it definitely hit Hordy hard. Looking forward to seeing it on a proper, ass-kicking scale! :D

“A fool like you can’t protect anything!” Hordy jeered.

“No,” Luffy said, absolutely dead pan. “I will protect them all. That’s what I’ve worked for over the past two years.”

For all Luffy adopts a happy-go-lucky attitude, I’ll never forget how low he was post-Marineford. It’s obviously affected him and this is one of the times he lets it show. He will never let something like that happen ever again. If anything threatens his crew, his friends or anyone he loves, they will regret it.

And speaking of...

Meanwhile... Back in the Plaza

Zoro and Sanji are having a great time!

I can’t wait to see Zoro kick that drunken Fishman swordsman’s ass. That guy is such a liability. Imagine killing all your allies just because you love cutting people. Great hire there, Hordy.

Classic Robin. xD

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iceman-maverick · 6 years

Note

Favourite avengers movies scenes?

i went through avengers 1-2 because i’ve done similar posts to this about IW and i’m not really in the mood for reopening that wound at 1:32am and this really got away from me i make no apologies LOL

(but i do thank you for asking!!)

avengers

Nick Fury’s drama in the opening scenes surpasses Real House Wives

NATASHA ROMANOFF

the fact that her stockings are ripped when she leans down to pick up her heels was such a fucking moment for like 11 year old me it meant big things that my badass angel was also feminine and still badass

Bruce pushing the baby carriage when he first meets Natasha foreshadowing omf he deserves more (and so does she)

Tony’s “his first name is Agent” to Coulson

Tony’s hair in this movie

Tony in this movie

Tony in every movie

Steve’s costume, specifically the cowl that makes him look like a big dumb EGG

“What you scared of a little thunder?”

pilates

Dick measuring contest between The Big Three that levels a forest

the sexual tension that launched mcu stony

tony rubbing at his eyes afterwards

literally i could do an entire thing about the argument on the helikraft mac and cheese

LOKI BLENDING THE GUY’S EYE AND THAT SMIRK

LOKI’s GERMANY OUTFIT

“you rented my room”

bruce banner was not here to play in this fucking movie

BLUEBERRIES!!

maria hill’s fucking useless “INCOMING!!” as like something i can’t fucking remember flies through the window this could be ultron actually idk i’m in a convent with nuns right now my memory is hazy

“ta r g ET ANGRY T A GRET ANG RY”

THE HULK ROCKETING OFF AND JUST YELLING DISTANTLY

“son you’ve got a condition”

NICK FURY’S FUCKING BAZOOKA WHY DID H E HAVE T HA T

the comic book styling of having the camera track tony buzz around

tony and steve firing off the shield paralleling civil war angst omf

[TRUMPETS INTENSIFY]

the theme song that my heart beats to

tony hero stark saving the fucking world again

okay actually for the first time but you know, starting a trend

OKAY WAIT ONE OF THE FUNNIEST “NOT FUNNY” SEQUENCES IS WHEN TONY IS FALLING BACK TO EARTH AND THOR JUST STARTS WINDING UP THE HAMMER AND IS LIKE “HE’S NOT SLOWING DOWN” IDK WHY BUT I ALWAYS INTERPRETED THAT AS HE WAS GONNA LAUNCH THE FUCKING HAMMER AT TONY FOR NO FUCKING RE A SON

thor ripping the iron man mask off is hot

STEVE’S FUKCING FACE WHEN TONY WAKE S T UP

tony literally died and his first thought was like literally DID CAPTAIN AMERICA KISS ME

the fact that in canon all of the big gay babies also known as the Avengers decided it was necessary to smoosh together for a big group shot just to be like “hey loki we w o n” and loki being just like “booze. now”

loki in chains ;)

get in losers we’re going to do science

the super dramatic nick fury monologue that is never addressed or revisited in ca:tws like fury is really like reverent about the avengers in this movie but then in winter soldier he’s just all like cap, listen, i have a story about paper bags and grandaddy

avengers: age of ultron

guys i know this movie sucked but it was also a stevetony Event

gROUP SHOT in the opening sequence

tony’s little “yay!” with the secret door

the vALIDATION OF TONY’S BIGGEST FEAR BEING STEVE DYING ESSENTIALLY IN HIS ARMS OMFFFFFFFFFF STUCKY WHERE

tony grabbing the scepter and then bIG DOOMSDAY MUSIC

literally the entire party sequence

especially slutty, slutty thor

bruce’s hair is BIG in this movie for no reason lol

tony looking sO CUTE WHEN THEY’RE BUILDING ULTRON

cliNT WHIPPING THE SHIELD TO CAP

TONY AND THE FONDUE FORK THING

tony mourning jarvis (j fucking k whedon sucks)

“aw junior you’re gonna break your old mans heart” foreshadowing to hoco

im joking but imagine ultron having a “i didn’t want a little brother” complex with peter lmfAO

ultron chopping the guys from black panther’s hand off

i really really hate the 9/11 symbolism with the hulk and the tower ngl just wanted to put it out there how not okay that shit is

Bruce Banner sponsored by Beats by Dre

“we can go home steve” fORESHADOWING KINDA WHATEVER PARALLEL IDK TO IW STEVE BEING LIKE “LET’S GO HOME” I JUST REALIZED THIS AS I WROTE THIS IF YOU COULDN’T TELL

natasha backstory

when the red room lady is just like “schloppy” instead of sloppy and like the Russian Intensifies

“together” is the gay agenda

tHOR STRANGLING TONY MAKES ME ANGRY BUT IT’S ALSO HOT

hawkeye’s stupid fucking family sucks bUT

bed-sharing fics

i wondered who got top bunk (steve)

THE LOG SCENE FASKLJFSDFSASF

I WILL FUCKIGN YEET MYSELF INTO THE SCREEN JUST TO FUCKING SHAKE STEVE FUCKING HYPOCRITICAL ROGERS LIKE A POLAROID PICTURE

MY TEAMMATES DON’T TELL ME THINGS

HUH

WOW

YEAH

HOW RUDE

AND COMPLETELY COUNTERPRODUCTIVE

TO HIDE CRITICAL INFORMATION

FROM TEAMMATES

INFORMATION THAT AFFECTS THEIR ENTIRE LIFE

EVERYTHING THEY KNOW TO BE TRUE

INFORMATION THAT IS NOT YOURS TO HIDE

WHAT A COMPLETE BETRAYAL OF TRUST

ON WHICH THE AVENGERS WERE FOUNDED UPON

TRUST THAT SHOULDN’T BE B ROKE N

ESPECIAKLY TO SERVE YOUR OWN NE E DS

PRIORITIZING YOUR OWN AGENDA OVER THE TR UT H

okay sorry im back

nick fury is tony’s dad!!!!!!!!!!!!

STEVE IS SO FUNNY IN THIS MOVIE FOR NO REASON

when clint is like “cap hold off ultron” and steve is just getting his ass kicked and dangling off of a truck or something and is like “wHAT DO YOU THINK I’VE BEEN DOING”

“you’re not a match for him cap” “thanks barton”

WHEN THAT TRUCK TAKES FLIGHT

yOU DIDN’T FINI S H

“thor you’re irritating me”

quick little bastard

nobody

the entire ending of that movie lowkey sucks

costel. we were in the market more like L AM E you let the wrong twin die

“They think order and chaos are somehow opposites and try to control what won’t be. But there is grace in their failings... I think you missed that” is weirdly beautiful but also a whole lotta yadayadayada it’s like a fake deep lana del rey song which i really never thought i would associate with vision but now that i think about it he’s like basically carmen

elVATOR’S NOT WORT H Y

BESIDES THIS ONE, THERE’S NOTHING THAT CAN’T BE EXPLAINED

that man has no regard for lawn maintenance

a lot of manful tears oh tony if only you knew how he was gonna break your heart sweetie im sorry you never stood a chance

self driving car was a nice touch

why is tony’s car that hideous red tho like it’s loud and ugly

“i’m home”

i thought you two were still gazing into each other’s eyes

why was nat just staring at that wall in the room

what the fuck is that room anyway

like is that in interpretative art peace

what the fu c k

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wardsquake-nowandforever-blog · 6 years

Text

Winter’s Secret Chapters 1-3

Winter’s Secret- A Marvel Universe Fanfiction AU

Setting the Scene: This story is an AU that begins during Captain America Winter Soldier when Captain Rogers, Black Widow and Falcon are coming into contact with the winter soldier for the first time.

Introducing Original Character: Davina DuCaine aka Huntress. She is a shield agent and part of the inhuman and mutant universe.

________________________________________________________________

Chapter 1: Cognitive Recalibration

As Natasha cowers behind an abandoned car, the Winter Soldier pushes forward through the crowd who are desperately trying to escape the destruction caused by Hydra. Knowing from previous battles with him, she had dialed an emergency code as fast as she can could when she first saw him. A bullet to the shoulder, her pulse is pounding so fast she can barely breath .With each second the one opponent that she has never been able to best gets closer to ending her life. Suddenly the monstrous roar of a crotch rocket speeding its way towards her is her saving grace. Backup has arrived.

“Bad Dog!” Nat can hear screamed from behind her. She twists around the car to see a woman casually strolling towards the soldier who is now standing on top an SUV, a rocket launcher rifle pointed in her direction. Pulling twin Berettas from hip holsters the strange woman begins barraging the soldier with cover fire as she screams over her shoulder.

“Nat get Cap to safety!”

Before checking to see if they were clear, she rushes the soldier. Within a series of charged kicks and a series of left hooks to his shoulder she has disarmed him and drove him under the cover of the overpass. As he pulls a knife, she throws off her aviator shades and gracefully flicks her hands to the sides of his face; tendrils of shadow radiate from her fingers as she catches his gaze.

“It’s time for some cognitive recalibration.” she sneers, dropping the power.

“Razdrobit!” She growls in Russian, while her pupils shift into predatory slits.

His knife falters, his eyes blinking rapidly like waking from a dream.

A smile spreads across her lips as he slowly looks her up and down. Standing before him in her leather jacket and jeans, weapons strategically placed all along her body as her raven hair flows around her in the breeze.

While he centers himself she snatches his earpiece, crushing it beneath the heel of her boot.

“Vina?” He whispers huskily, confused at the woman in front of him.

She reverts her eyes back to normal, putting her hand up halting him from speaking.

“First... the muzzle.” She interjects, her fingers wrapping around the lower face mask, yanking it off his face.

“How?” he begins once again but she can feel the Hydra operatives drawing into their location.

She shushes him into silence, leaning forward she quickly whispers into his ear, following with a roundhouse kick to his face, making him stumble backwards as she sprints to her motorcycle, burning rubber as she speeds away from the onslaught of agents.

Cracking his jaw, he picks up the rifle and rejoins the forces. Now with newly awoken urgency inside of him.

Chapter 2: Reconnect

Hours of debriefing followed by repairs to his arm leave the Winter Soldier desperate for his next mission. The following evening one such event arose, Hydra leader Pierce called him late at night for briefing, he is to track down and eliminate two rogue shield agents that had managed to escape the city. He was given a 72 hour window to complete the task yet the first thing he had on his mind was the address whispered in his ear that he couldn’t seem to shake from his consciousness.

Using the cover of darkness he scaled rooftop after rooftop, traversing many obstacles along the way to guarantee he remained a ghost within the city. Hours passed and he finally stumbled upon the rooftop entrance to the address, slipping through the high tech security system and dropping down into the dark apartment.

Scouting each and every room he discovered it empty and bare except for a thin mattress on the floor, duffle bags by the door and food canisters sporadically placed along the counters.

________________________________________________________________

Hours later the sound of tumbling cogs in the doors’ lock groan throughout the room. Creeping through the entrance, pistol at the ready; the woman shifted through the shadows readying her aim at the figure sitting by the table.

The closer she steps towards the intruder his features becoming exposed. The gun swung limp to her side.

“Comrade?!” she beseeched breathless.

Slowly he stood, crossing the distance between them.

“Vina?” He whispered again.

Holstering her pistol against her thigh, she changes her luminous green eyes to slits once again.

He lets out the breath he had unknowingly been holding as she jumps forward wrapping her arms around his neck, tears searing her eyes.

Her body calms as the warm heaviness of him envelopes her in his embrace; his metal fingers beginning to stroke her hair.

“How long?” he questions, his voice gravelly from unuse.

“9 years.” she mutters.

His grip on her tightens, clasping her closer to him.

An eternity later they finally break apart, as she steps away he gently wipes at her tear stained cheeks, as small smile spreading across his face as he looks into her catlike eyes. Her cheeks flush, blinking away the slitted pupils that drew his attention.

“How did you find me?” he began, folding his arms across his chest as he leaned against the wall.

It’s my job.” She replied, finally taking a minute to remove her jacket.

“What?” He growls.

She took a deep breath, “Eight years ago S.H.I.E.L.D recruited me, I’m a specialist.”

He remained still as a statue, processing the information, “What about? Do they know about your?”

“Powers. Yes, they know.” She stated, a tint of venom in her words.

“Do they know the full extent?” He urged, She paused for a second, hearing the worry in his voice. Turning back to him, her face softened.

“No… no they don’t I won’t let them find out either. They think I’m a mutant and I am keeping it that way.”

He strode to her once more, putting his hands on her arms, “Davina, do they know where you came from...what happened before?”

She shook her head, “ Nyet... but the director does know where I was first trained.”

He ran his hand through his hair, turning away from her only to spot sunlight breaking through on the horizon.

“I’ve stayed too long.” He groaned, frustrated.

“I know.” She whispered, shifting her eyes back to slits. As he turned back towards her, her hands snapped up to rest on either side of his head, shadows dancing from her fingertips.

“Zamok,” She chanted, her Russian fluid and perfect as the tendrils locked away his recent memories of her, so deep not even Hydra could ever wipe them away.

He refused to look back at her once her power had subsided, as he headed for the skylight to make a quick escape, her voice rang out.

“I’ll miss you Comrade.”

He simply nodded knowing that if he looked back he wouldn't be able to leave, and that this mission might be the end of her.

Chapter 3: Winter’s Past

** December 13,1996**** 22:50 hours****Rural Province in Romania**

Hydra is slowly pushing their reign of terror across the country, driving out and destroying all those who oppose them; leading their army is the Winter Soldier. After the onslaught of bullets, flamethrowers and panzers have rolled through on this bone freezing night, the soldier does one last sweep to uncover hidden enemies as the tanks and trucks move on towards the next province.

The once crisp white snow is now saturated in crimson, slick beneath his boots. Carefully he listens and watches with his heightened senses, rifle pointed at the ready as he wanders over the smoking remains of a bombed building; with each motion creaking boards and breaking glass echo through the field.

After his final sweep he heads to his motorcycle, as he holsters his rifle on his back he pauses, the softest whimper drifting his way on gusts of wind coming from the far side of the devastation. Quickly drawing his pistol he rushes toward the sound, it takes mere seconds for him to charge across the huge field. As he reaches the outskirts of the black forest the raspy whimper is louder. Silently he tracks it, cautiously digging his boot through the snow till he hits a solid unmoving mass.

Kneeling down in the frigid snow he quickly begins to dig. Within minutes the still form of a child is revealed. Her thin grey scrubs covered in blood and ash, her breathing raspy and shallow. The stinging metal of his pistol against her temple forces her eyes open, revealing her slitted pupils which were quickly clouding over, her life slipping away in the arctic night.

Gently he rolled her frozen form into his arms, noticing the twisted symbol of Leviathan printed on the sleeves of her raggedy shirt.

“Eu nu am făcut-o,” She wheezed, going limp in his embrace.

Her words, “I did not do it.” Puzzled him as he carried her to his motorcycle.

He could feel her heart rate slowing rapidly as the bike roared to life, her lifeless form pressed tightly against his body. His programming screamed at him to end her life because if she was part of Leviathan she was an enemy of Hydra but his gut refused to let the helpless child waste away.

He urged his bike faster and faster through the blistering wind, frantic to locate the small dilapidated hunting cabin Hydra had cleared earlier that day. Seconds felt like hours as he glanced down every few seconds only to see her frostbite taking hold. Finally after racing through the growing blizzard he found the shack, rushing her inside. Gently he laid her frozen body on the floor next to a crumbling fireplace. Her hands clung to his metal forearm as he turned to make his way back to the bike for supplies.

Kneeling back down he brushed the hair from her forehead, her lips, a deep shade of blue quivered as her eyes fought to focus.

“Shhhh,” he soothed sensing the fear in her inaudible cry. “I will be right back.” he assured her.

After he had built a fire and brought in his bedroll, she was now sleeping. He sat against the wall watching, knowing full well she most likely wouldn’t survive the night.

________________________________________________________________

He wasn’t sure when he drifted off but it must have only been a few hours because the sun was nowhere to be seen. His attention instantly snapped to the child, who was bundled in his bedroll but shivering so hard he could hear her teeth chattering from across the room. Without thinking he crossed the room and laid down next to her, propping himself up on his arm and pulling her in close. The warm humming of his metal arm soothed away some of the tremors as he rubbed circles along her back.

Slowly her eyes opened making a weary smirk spread across his tired features. Her once cloudy irises now a vibrant predatory green.

“I didn’t do it.” She whispered.

“What didn’t you do?” he asked, readjusting the blanket to bundle her more.

“The storm.”

“What storm?” he responded, a puzzled look on his face.

“The one that killed all the people.” She whimpered burying her head in her frostbitten hands.

He gently lifted her face to his, silently amazed by the slitted pupils staring back at him.

“No, of course that wasn’t you. It was…” he paused unsure what to answer, “Me and my men.”

They sat in silence for a long while, “Thankyou.” she rasped.

He composed himself, vexed by her answer.

“Why do you think you could have hurt anyone?” He questioned.

“If I tell do I have to go back?”

He knew that fear. “Never,” He growled.

She twisted slightly exposing her hands, crackles of power began emanating from her in coils of shadow. Night itself seemed to radiate off of her till the entire room was engulfed in darkness. She cried out in pain as it retracted back to her, her eyes finally shifting to normal as beads of sweat rolled down her face.

“I’m sorry.” She whimpered. “I don’t feel good.”

He shook his head, “You are very special, don’t ever be ashamed of that.”

Her tiny cheeks flushed at the compliment.

“What’s your name little one?” He asked.

She thought for a moment, “The man who gave me medicine called me Davina.”

He sat up and carefully moved her into his lap, she stared as he pulled a flask of now lukewarm water from his pack. He knew since her core temperature was rising it was time to treat her severe frostbite the best he could.

“This is going to hurt but I promise it will help you feel better.” He assured her, carefully dipping her fingers in the bowl.

Not even a wince, she sensed him staring at her worried. “ It’s ok, I’m use to pain.”

Anger flooded his veins as he held her close taking the time to carefully examining her.

“Davina… did they hurt you?” He questioned staring at the Leviathan insignia on her tattered scrubs.

She stayed silent, fixated on her fingers.

“Davina.” he called, reclaiming her attention.

“Where…. How did you get here?”

“I’ve always been here.” She told him matter of factly.

“What happened to you here?” He finally asked, the question burning within him since the moment he discovered her body in the snow mound.

“I stayed in my room.” She began, “I wasn’t allowed to leave.”

“Did people come check on you?”

“Mmm-hmmm, the doctor brought me food and medicine…”

“What else did this doctor do?”

She grew quiet,

“Davina, you can tell me, I promise it will be alright.” He assured, staring at her blue-black fingers.

“Can I show you?” She stuttered minutes later.

He nodded unsure what was to come.

She wobbled to her feet, carefully he grasped her hips so she wouldn't topple over. Quivering, she placed her hands on either side of his face, her pupils slowly shifting.

“It’s ok.” he assured her as he could feel her hands shake.

“She stared into his eyes, he could see hers begin to glow, then was suddenly thrust into the dark a disembodied voice in the distance.

Flashes cascaded into his mind’s eye, men dressed in military uniforms and lab coats bearing the Leviathan symbol. An underground base hidden in the dark recesses of a forest. Then the visions wavered and he was now looking through someone else’s eyes. Her eyes.

A dark room, the only light streamed through three slits of bars on the massive metal door. A tiny bedroll in the corner and a chamber pot. She sat on the bedroll, barefoot and shivering till a young man in a lab coat came through the door rolling a trolley. Suddenly light filled the cell, so bright her eyes burned.

Syringe after syringe of multi colored serums he injected into her arms, legs, and spine. Patches of foul smelling chemicals stuck to her body. Searing pain radiating from every organ and limb.

Then the vision changed just as quickly as it appeared, when the next cleared she was in a different cell staring at a pile of blue crystals on a pedestal in the center. The next second they exploded into dust, her whole body froze unable to move as a cocoon began to encase her tiny body.

The visions continued for minutes, images of her using her powers and the doctor beating her when she didn’t accomplish the task he had made, constant medication and serum injections. No toys, no companionship. Just the cold, dank cell that remained dark for 95% of her day and the constant torture of her gifts.

When she finally withdrew from him she moved to sit next to the fire away from him. Shame plastered on her young face.

Icy rage welled up from deep within as he fully came out of the dark trance. He stood and refilled the pan with lukewarm water, bringing it to rest at her feet. She glanced up at him quickly before dipping her frostbitten toes into the liquid, repeating her treatment from earlier.

He couldn’t say he was sorry, but he could understand, he understood all too well what she had endured.

“Davina, you are a brave and powerful young lady,” he began as he sat next to her against the wall. “I swear that I will never let them touch you again.”

She nodded, unsure what to do or say.

“Who are you?” She asked.

He let out a sigh, “I’m just a Winter Soldier who has lived a very similar existence to yours.”

His words confused her a bit but the pain that reflected within his eyes, and the emotions she felt while sharing her memories echoed within her soul.

“My comrade.” She stated.

“Da,” He agreed beginning to formulate a plan on what to do with her before his unit came looking for him.

Chapter 4 No Rest for the Wicked

coming soon

#Winter Soldier #wintersoldier #thewintersoldier #wintersoldierfanfiction #original character #captain america #Black Widow #marvel cinematic universe #marvel fanfiction #alternate universe #agents of shield #shield #hawkeye #Bucky Barnes #james bucannan barnes #mutant #Inhumans

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lissaremade · 6 years

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alek’s backstory

i post a lot about my dnd character, alek, so here’s his entire backstory up until the very end of the campaign

it’s gonna be ONE HELL of a long read because A LOT has happened over the course of his backstory and the campaign, so heads up this will be EXTRAORDINARILY TEXT HEAVY

this will be focused on alek’s arc for the most part! the campaign has a lot more going on in it, lots of character arcs, lots of small details and lots of worldbuilding.

(PICTURED: the first ever reference i drew of alek, drawn over a year ago)

alek desona was the first dnd character i ever made. he’s a firesoul genasi sorcerer who’s lawful neutral. he has four siblings: two older brothers (arun and ciro) and one younger sister (luce). his parents are named roshan and kamara; they the leaders of the genasi clan they live in.

(PICTURED: my very first reference of milo)

milo soryn, another oc of mine, has a backstory very much intertwined with alek’s. the same age as alek, and an only child, his parents were merchants who traveled around the continent selling goods. about once a month they stopped by alek’s community, which is how the two met at a pretty early age.

milo and alek are pretty much the childhood friends into lovers trope. alek considers milo his closest and most trusted friend, and milo feels the same.

when they were 18, milo was drafted into a war against a neighboring country full of dwarves. not wanting milo to go alone, alek followed him to ensure he stayed safe.

they fought together as foot soldiers until they were both 22, when milo was killed in combat, protecting alek from an oncoming attack. alek lost control of his powers after being overcome by grief, and razed the entire battlefield, leaving behind nothing but himself and a broken sword - the very sword used to kill milo.

ashamed, he immediately fled the scene, never looking back.

he traveled around for a bit before running into two half-elf men called rufus and roy at the bees and brambles tavern. there, he met the people who he would travel with for the course of the campaign. they were assigned a mission to retrieve an artifact from none other than a goblin brothel.

(PICTURED: art by @kay-o of, from left to right, rosamythe, daegal and alek)

other player characters in the campaign include:

daegal, a tiefling ranger

rosamythe, a half elf cleric

batholomew “spudman”, a human bard

khepri, a dragonborn rogue

after some shenanigans in the brothel, and running into a mysterious cultist named miss princey, they manage to retrieve the artifact. but, are forced to fight their way out. alek gets the finishing blow on the boss, but after the fight ends miss princey, the cultist, murders a goblin named bluechest seemingly in cold blood, claiming he had betrayed the cult.

our cleric, rosamythe, who was drunk at the time, decided to immediately enact revenge by killing miss princey, sending her body hurtling off a cliff. a small puff of white energy left her body as it fell, rising into the air. we thought nothing of this, until we were receiving our promised payment when everything went black.

and that was the story of how we survived the ending of our first world.

(the rest will be VERY shortened to save space btw)

basically, we were tasked with finding and killing the guardians of the world at first, after running into a guardian posing as the god deneir and basically brainwashing his followers. we were able to kill him because spudman impulsively killed an old lady who told him he had to kill her because she wasn’t supposed to exist. (we later found out that the only way to kill a guardian is to first kill someone who isn’t supposed to exist)

daegal’s brother/uncle (it’s complicated) waegal appeared on behalf of daeg’s demon grandfather, varius. he started to fuck shit up in the capital, pretty much brainwashing people by telling them everything was fake and nothing was actually real.

along the way, shortly after arriving at the capital and shortly before shit started hitting the fan, alek was turned into an ash genasi by some wind elementals because we tried to threaten the captain of a ship who was part of an underground organization. (we later joined said organization but that’s another story)

after killing the guardian, we decided to follow a map alek received in a special christmas one-shot where we were transported to the town of christmas to help restore holiday cheer. the map provided insight to a way alek might be able to become a fire genasi again.

while en route, waegal appeared again in front of the ship. after provoking him, he cast fireball on the ship. alek realized his map was still inside the cabin of the ship, so he ran for it at the last minute. while he was running, time slowed down for him and he heard a voice inside his head asking him if he could have one wish, what would it be?

so he responded “for things to go back to the way they were in the past.”

CUE SAD ALEK ONE-SHOT THAT MADE ME CRY A LOT

alek was suddenly transported back to his childhood home. he was the same age, however, and all his siblings appeared to have aged accordingly as well. he found out milo was coming around to visit.

it turns out that there was a surprise - milo’s family would be staying in the town, meaning they could spend all their time together. something was fishy about this however. and upon confronting milo about the strangeness of the circumstance, milo got a little aggressive.

eventually, this escalated and it became very clear that something wasn’t right here. carrying a fire orb alek needed to return back to the “real” world, milo turned into a wind genasi, and alek was forced to fight him.

not wanting to harm him, alek turned invisible and tried to grab it from him. (i’m pretty sure i rolled a 2 and our dm rolled a 1 when i tried to do this lmao)

alek was forced to come to terms with the fact that he couldn’t un-do the past, and that milo was gone for good. and by turning his back on this fantasy world, he was accepting that milo was gone and letting go of the past. i cried a lot during this whole encounter ok

eventually, he found out that this was all the doing of a genie who had granted alek’s wish to go back to the way things were. the version of milo was a guardian, and alek was able to defeat it because the genie ceased to exist (since genies aren’t supposed to exist in the world)

/END SAD ALEK ONE-SHOT THAT MADE ME CRY A LOT

upon returning to the real world, we traveled through the desert, following the map alek received. we came across a phoenix namyed alcatraz who turned out to be the ancestor of all genasi. (in our campaign, genies aren’t the source of all genasi, but phoenix are)

by using the last of his power as well as the fire orb milo had held (which he still had when he woke up), alek was turned back into a spicy fire boy.

we fled the desert after a bunch of demons appeared from the sky, and after some travel through a forest where daegal and rosamythe were put on the spot for backstory stuff (we found out daegal killed rosamythe’s dad under the influence of varius, his demon grandpa) we were forced to fight varius. eventually the final blow was dealt by some mysterious beings who appeared from the sky.

with varius gone, we moved on and eventually ran into none other than aboran, the town we appeared in. except we were in the old world, and aboran had previously been in the new world. the two worlds were somehow merging.

we had to rescue our half dead npc son, lance, from a dragon who hoards souls. during the fight with the dragon, milo’s soul, which was taken by the dragon and in its lair, helped us out A LOT by inflicting an exponential amount of damage on the dragon and then pulling a mipha’s grace on alek by reviving him to 1hp when he got ko’d by the dragon’s last desperate attack

after that shit REALLY started hitting the fan, as the world around us began to end in itself. robots invaded, and all the people who had survived the end of the original world began becoming possessed by the god rahat, who we found out had created the very world we were in but was unhappy because we all forgot about him.

after hearing about the fact that a queen from the old world was possessed and we had to take her down, we traveled there where we ran into none other than alek’s brother ciro, daegal’s mom, and another character from daegal’s backstsory. ciro told alek that the rest of the family was dead - after the world ended, their mother hadn’t stopped aging like everyone else and passed on due to old age. luce, their youngest sister, had become possessed and killed their older brother, father, and milo’s parents, before ciro was forced to kill her. he then left, and ended up traveling with his companions.

(this was originally intended to be much darker, as our dm, josh, had planned for us to have to fight a possessed luce at some point had the campaign gone on as long as it was originally supposed to)

we killed the queen, but then were forced to flee to an alternate version of reality (”what the world really looked like” apparently) in order to save the ending world. upon entering this alternate version of reality, everyone else we knew was killed in the onslaught of enemies which overwhelmed the world.

we were transported quite a bit after that, ending up in the tavern we originally started our campaign’s journey in - the bees and brambles tavern. the world around us was gone. nothing was left. thus, we had survived our second world ending.

we were forced to confront the god rahat, in the form of the fused form of roy and rufus, the half elves who had given us our original quest that brought us together. angry and feeling betrayed by the people he had created from himself, we managed to calm him down and convince him to restore the world to its previous state.

BUT THEN bosharifal, rahat’s godly brother, busted in, angrily confronting us about stealing his brother from him. we managed to get the two to talk, however, and bosharifal realized how unwanted rahat felt back in their home, since no one worshiped him anymore.

with this all settled, the gods decided to allow the world to exist, and all the people in it to exist as more than just parts of the god rahat, but as their own people with their own lives and journeys. all the dead were brought back to life, and our characters were able to live their lives in peace with their loved ones.

at this point, we were told to say goodbye to our characters, and goodbye to roleplaying them because their lives were their own now. we couldn’t control their destinies anymore. everyone was crying. i was like full on sobbing. they thanked us for bringing them to their happy ends, and the campaign ended.

the end

#oc tag #alek #milo

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waxingmepoetic · 7 years

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Book #9: Cress- The Lunar Chronicles, Marissa Meyer

Star Review (out of 5): ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Spoilers below

Summary: In the thrilling third installment of the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow aboard a stolen American Republic vessel. Together, they haplessly plot to overthrow the ruthless Queen Levana. Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who’s only ever had her netscreens as company. Queen Levana knows that Cress’s skill as a hacker is unrivaled, and utilizes the girl to spy on Earthen political leaders. Fortunately for our heroes, all of that exposure to Earthen culture and politics has made Cress sympathetic to their cause… but unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her motley crew. When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but at what cost? Meanwhile, Queen Levana will stop at nothing to ensure that her marriage to Emperor Kai takes place. Cress, Scarlet, Wolf, Thorne, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope it has left. - Goodreads, Edited by me (it needed some serious tlc)

Review: I am biased going into this book because Tangled is my absolute favorite princess film, so let’s get the flippity do into the thick of it!

First, let’s talk technicalities.

Meyer actually used shifting POV to create situational irony and suspense AT THE SAME TIME. Let me explain how incredible this is.

Situational Irony: Thorne goes to the satellite via escape pod to jailbreak Cress. Sybil Mira (one of the Queen’s top thurmatuges and Cress’s shitty guardian) ejects the satellite from space- setting the untested satellite for a disastrous crash-landing on Earth. Cinder DOESN’T know they survived the crash. The audience does, however, and are comforted by the 50/50 ratio of Cinder/Wolf to Cress/Thorne (squeal) narratives.

Suspense: In a scuffle aboard the Rampion, Scarlet is taken prisoner by the wretchedly awful Sybil Mira. The POV does not shift back to Scarlet until near the very end of the book. Even when it does, they are cliffhangers of the worst kind. In this case, the audience and the protagonists have no idea if she’s dead or alive by the end of each scene. It’s terrible and made me want to scream. (In a good way but I’m so mad about it. Still. I am a salt mine, my dudes.)

Plot time. (There is cursing. I’m sorry, I was excited. )

Now this one made me fall head over heels in L-O-V-E with Carswell Thorne. The moment he went all survival army guy, I was gone… Holy shit. Even though he might have seemed like a narcissistic thief and talk-himself-out-of-most-things extraordinaire in Scarlet, but woooooo Jesus. Unfortunately, the cost of survival was that Cress and Thorne got stranded. In the middle of the Sahara desert and their portscreens don’t work. Oh, joy.

And Thorne gets a concussion that severs the optical nerves in his eyes. In other words, my poor child is blind. BLIND. LIKE IN THE ACTUAL RAPUNZEL FAIRY TALE. SUPER PROPS TO YOU, MEYER- BUT ALSO ALL THE TEARS FOR THE REST OF TIME FOR THORNE. He took it in such stride with such fucking grace that I was like “fuck, I love you and hereby give you permission to marry my sweet baby, Cress. Immediately.”

Their relationship is developed so painfully and it’s heart-breakingly sweet. Cress is shy and book smart, but naive- and Thorne… well, he’s a womanizing thieving pretty boy, and he comes to realize what it might be like for someone to truly love him for who he is and for what he’s done. Even when he tells Cress that he is not the honorable man she believes him to be. Where she does take him off the pedestal she placed him on before she met him, she finds that she does not hate him. In fact, she loves him in spite of everything. At the same time, Thorne realizes that he doesn’t deserve Cress… even if he likes her. A little A lot. I will fight a very large man or muscular woman for this ship. COME AT ME. I DARE YOU.

(Literally everyone: no one wants to fight you for this ship. Literally, no one.)

Thankfully, there are zero plot holes to talk about. JOYOUS DAY! And we finally get to meet up with Dr. Erland, where there is a reveal that knocked me for a loop. Oh… the heart break. It hurts. I’d like to cry now.

I could go on forever about this book, but I have to go to a company dinner, so I’ll leave you guys with this… fangirling mess. I’m so sorry.

UPDATED 4/28: Back again!

I did want the chance to talk about the plot device surrounding the Shells- or the Lunars that are not susceptible to manipulation or have any powers of manipulation of their own. Spoiler: Cress is one- which is part of the reason why she was imprisoned on the satellite. This is an extraordinary power play on Queen Levana’s part. Not only does it strengthen her power over the Lunars in the form of uncontested control, but there is something deeper in her vendetta against the Shells. It is buried in her painful past, and for very good reason. I’m not justifying what she does to them, but I can understand why she does it.

As a credit to Meyer’s ability to manage plot and character complexity, I cannot even begin to tell you how incredible this tapestry is. This is, for me, JK Rowling level skill. That is not a compliment I serve lightly.

Cress’s backstory is reminiscent of the well-trodden special child/government experiment trope. There is a twist here that is absolutely disgusting and marvelous. We glean that the Lunar government is harvesting Shell blood, but that is all we really know at this point in the story. Obviously, I’ve already read Winter, so I know what the government is using them for already. (PLOT TWIST- Warning: it’s super fucked up, but wow is it a great plot twist.)

#cress #the lunar chronicles #marissa meyer

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daleisgreat · 7 years

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Top 10 and Worst 5 Films of 2014 through 2016

I meant to do this last year, but completely neglected it. When I ran my old podcast, one episode a year, my friends Matt, Jay and I would host our annual best and worst movies of the year episode. We did three installments for films that hit in 2011-2013. The podcast is not around anymore so I have not done it since, but I still have been keeping Word documents on my computer with a list of all the movies I saw each year and constantly update my top 10 and worst 5 rankings of the year. I meant to post the best and worst of 2015 as a blog, but as I said it just slipped past me and I will make up for it now with a triple best and worst list for 2014 through 2016. I had a whole extra year to catch up on Netflix and VUDU on 2014 and 2015 releases I missed so I have seen about 20% more films than I did than 2016. So hopefully that will excuse any glaring omissions that did not make my rankings. That said, I am still feeling pretty good about my 2016 list and there were only a handful of films that slipped by me that I have not seen yet. Movies linked on the lists will take you to my review of the film if you want to see my expanded thoughts on the film. One last thing before the lists, I want to give a shoutout to one of my favorite film critics, Scott Sawitz! I have discussed movies, wrestling and a ton more with Scott for well over a decade and have had the pleasure of having him guest host on my aforementioned podcast several times. I have always been a fan of his reviews and weekly column, Monday Morning Critic, over at Inside Pulse. His latest column is his annual top 10 films of the year I always look forward to. Scott has a twist on his rankings this year because he has been putting a ton of work into his weekly YouTube series, Confessions of a Super-Hero, weekly bite-sized episodic viewing all about what super-heroes do in their off-duty downtime. If you have a moment, please check it out! Now, onto the lists! 2014 TOP 10 10) Wild 9) Nightcrawler 8) Gone Girl 7) Equalizer/John Wick 6) Imitation Game 5) Interstellar 4) Guardians of the Galaxy 3) Whiplash 2) Captain America: The Winter Soldier 1) Boyhood Best Documentary – Life Itself

The two comic book films on the list ranked high with Marvel having a stellar year. Guardians surprised me because the concept just seemed impossible to pull off in live action with an animated tree and talking raccoon, but somehow Marvel did it and it kicked all kinds of ass. Winter Soldier was an awesome modern day follow up to The First Avenger. I seem to be in the minority of people when discussing Interstellar, and while I would rank it a notch or two under other non-Batman Christopher Nolan classics like Inception, I still very much enjoyed it that it made it into the midst of my top 10. Life Itself is an excellent documentary all about Roger Ebert in his final days as it documents his and Gene Siskel’s breakout rise as the go to film critics of the nation. Wild hit all the right nerves for me on Cheryl Strayed’s arduous journey of self-discovery. Nightcrawler shocked me at the lengths Gyllenhaal went to get the ultimate creep-o look down and his convincing transition from wannabe ripoff artist to the quintessential conman. I was expecting Equalizer to be a by-the-numbers action flick, but Denzel Washington proved me wrong by adding on many layers to it, and it is bizarre how John Wick came out within weeks of it and both were nearly identical plots, but both delivered in their own unique way. John Wick also gets my dubious award for best ever Kevin Nash cameo. Finally, props to Richard Linklater for delivering on his film that was literally 12 years in the making with Boyhood. Linklater is a risk taker with his ambitious projects, and he knocked another one out of the park with Boyhood getting my vote as best film of 2014. 2014 WORST 5 5) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4) Tekken 2 3) Pro-Wrestling Zombies 2) Amazing Spider-Man 2 1) Transformers: Rise of the Fallen 2014 saw many terrible films, I actually had nearly 10 films as being ‘worst 5-calibur’ material. The TMNT remake had a few bright spots and scene-saving moments from Will Arnett, but he alone could not save a film with so many gut-wrenching jokes and awful retconning of the TMNT lore I grew up with. I actually dug the first Tekken film as a kind of solid nonsense fighting tournament movie that was kind of faithful to the source material ala Mortal Kombat, but the sequel was this awful attempt at a mafia-crime-mystery-drama that failed on all levels. Pro-Wrestling Zombies was a very low budget zombie slashing film starring Matt Hardy, Jim Duggan and Roddy Piper, but with these wrestling legends it was not even enjoyable in an ironic way like most zombie films, and was just flatout bad. Amazing Spider-Man 2 shocked me because I legitimately enjoyed the reboot, and thought this would be another easy follow up with most of the same cast and crew returning. However, Spider-Man and Electro both cast painful jokes and banter throughout that did not exist in the prior film, and there were countless groan inducing moments. The latest Transformers film outdid the straight-up bad humor and moments throughout the entire wreck of a film. Michael Bay somehow found a way to make it a nearly insurmountable task to get through. 2015 Top 10 10) Southpaw 9) Ant Man 8) The Martian 7) End of the Tour 6) Mad Max: Fury Road 5) Revenant 4) Creed 3) Steve Jobs 2) Spotlight 1) Hateful Eight Best Documentary – Tie: Electric Boogaloo & Winning: Racing Life of Paul Newman

Yeah, I like my feel good boxing/sports films as Jake Gyllenhaal shined again this year in Southpaw and Creed surpassed my expectations with its contemporary take on the Rocky franchise. While the lighthearted moments from Damon seemed a little forced, I still very much dug his Mars survival story, but not as much I got immersed into Dicaprio’s and Tom Hardy’s intense wilderness survival adventure that is The Revenant. Fury Road marked the first Mad Max movie I saw and the bombastic costumes initially had me raising an eyebrow, but once the heavy metal guitar semi-truck graced the screen in its infinite glory I instantly went on board with the film and never got off. I recently reviewed Steve Jobs, and if you recall I absolutely loved its use of creative license to tell a nonstop dialogue juggernaut of three big moments in Jobs’ life. Spotlight is the perfect way to tell a slow building mystery film where investigative journalists gradually picked away at their biggest scoop ever. Finally, I am biased towards Quentin Tarantino as I view the man as being one of the absolute best at dialogue in films, and he delivered once again with countless another excellent script and scenes that stole the show in The Hateful Eight. The setting worked perfectly and I was on my toes waiting to see which one of the eight was going to make the first move in a powdered keg filled with characters ready to burst. 2015 Worst 5 5) Fantastic Four 4) Jupiter Ascending 3) Chappie 2) Ted 2 1) Pixels

I was surprised at how bad Jupiter Ascending turned out to be, and did not expect Channing Tatum to be the only decent part of that film. After the dud that was Sucker Punch and now Jupiter Ascending, I am cutting myself off from all future Wachowski-directed films. I am a fan of District 9 and its director Neil Blomkamp and felt burned by his latest film, the insufferable Chappie in numerous ways. I was anticipating bad things from both Fantastic Four or Pixels, but part of me forced myself to go to see how awful they ultimately were. Fantastic Four was mostly drawn out and dull, and had some very head-scratching moments throughout. I cannot remember the last Adam Sandler film I legitimately liked, does the first half of Funny People count? Any marginal hopes of a semi-decent film were squashed the second Kevin James popped up on screen as the dopey president of the USA. Practically the entire film was bad, but I will at least give it minor props for some pretty good use of the videogame CG in the film. 2016 Top 10 10) Purge: Election Year 9) Deadpool 8) Star Trek: Beyond 7) 13 Hours: Secret Soldiers of Benghazi 6) Captain America: Civil War 5) Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice 4) Hacksaw Ridge 3) Sully 2) Fences 1) The Accountant Best Documentary – ESPN 30 for 30: The ’85 Bears

The last two Purge films have turned into guilty Halloween pleasures like the old Final Destination films. Election Year kept up the same gritty, over-the-top tone and pace as Anarchy Reigns before it. Deadpool surprised me at not being a dud, and far exceeded my expectations with tons of great jokes, dialogue, action and unapologetically aware 4th wall-breaking references throughout. It has been awhile since I got wrapped up in an intense R-rated war film, and 2016 had two of them with 13 Hours and Hacksaw Ridge that both get high recommendations from me. I am a wee bit of a Clint Eastwood fan, but I will give him and Tom Hanks righteous props on how they somehow made Sully’s heroic emergency plane landing into the Hudson River a thrilling feature length film. Some of you who saw the list are probably baffled at why I rank the controversial Dawn of Justice over the much-loved Civil War, but the two ranked so close together I just might change my answer if you ask me any day of the week. If I am splitting hairs I did not care for the shoehorned Spider-Man extended cameo, and his dialogue has me worried that Homecoming is going to be filled with an equal, if not worse script than Amazing Spider-Man 2. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis are sublime in Fences. The small, but mighty cast here delivered powerful performances, with Washington and Davis especially delivering in this dialogue-driven-tour-de-force about hard times for a family making ends meet in the 1950s. I did not know too much going into The Accountant other than it had what appeared to be a gimmick of an assassin with Autism. I could not have been more wrong as there is so much more going on with this film that it entertained me throughout its near two and a half hour runtime. Ben Affleck continues his streak of excellent performances, and I cannot wait to see how his upcoming solo version of The Batman turns out. Worst 5 2) Suicide Squad 1) Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

I have only seen two movies this year that qualify as “worst 5-caliber.” I could not get into Suicide Squad. The first third of the film played out like an extended trailer scored with worn out songs that I am use to only hearing off trailers. There were several WTF moments throughout, and add in the film felt compromised after audiences griped that Dawn of Justice was not lighthearted enough. DC/Warner Bros. responded by pasting in several post-production groan-worthy zingers that played more to the mainstream, but made me cringe. I am optimistic for the presumable sequel though, because I did dig Will Smith as Deadshot and Margot Robbie’s portrayal of fan favorite, Harley Quinn and I am even interested in what direction they take The Joker next. Halftime Walk usurped it as my worst film of the year however because of how unlikeable the cast is. About 20% of the film is war flashbacks that I actually liked, but the other 80% is the members of the military squad’s day being honored at a football game, and just being super dick-ish and incredibly un-empathetic throughout it. I know this is based off a book, but I do not know if something got lost in translation or if this was the desired vision of the film. Either way, it yields my worst of the year honors! Thanks for sticking with me rambling all this way, see you next year!

#random movie #top 10 #boyhood #transformers rise of the fallen #the hateful eight #pixels #accountant #billy lynn's long halftime walk #suicide squad #spotlight #captain america #fences

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