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bookwyrminspiration · 2 years

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Shattered Upside Down

A kotlc wings au: masterpost here

Chapter 41: Beginning Again

word count: 5.1k

chapter summary: They've spent long enough waiting, so Sophie decides it's time to act.

warnings: none that I can think of!

taglist: @cosmogyral-cleo @axels-corner@cadence-talle@ahecktonoffandomsinoneblog@milesspidermanmorales@loverofallthingssmart@cowboypossume@jolieharkness @wings-of-hell-and-beyond @shellyseashell @blossomjenniie @akotlcblog @imaramennoodle @panic-at-the-multi-fandom-chaos @dragonwinnie-kotlc@solreefs@fintan-pyren@jazzanddaydreams@xanadaus@sa-divine

-> ao3 link here or read below

Wordless, Sophie blinked, tilting the image to and fro, waiting for the realization to hit that she’d made a mistake, that her eyes had tricked her and made her think that little boy looked like Murad and really it was a completely different person.

But the moment never came.

Those eyes remained the same startling blue, and he looked like Murad in the way you could recognize in photos of people as they grew. You could see how the shape of their face would change, the slope of their nose, how all the features were there already. And though you didn’t know what they’d become, you could see what everything would become.

“Your mood is all over the place, Foster,” Keefe frowned, poking at her with the edge of his foot from where he lay splayed out on the floor, texts scattered around him that he’d given up on reading. Someone had to do it, but he certainly didn’t want it to be him.

“Sophie?” Fitz asked when she didn’t respond, having set the frozen frame in her lap, unable to deny what she saw.

“Murad’s a half-elf,” she heard herself say, voice echoing from the end of a distant tunnel, far away from where her mind was whirling.

“He’s a what?” Wylie asked.

Biana sat forward. “Wait what? That’s the guy in the red cloak you told us about, right?”

Mutely, she nodded, turning the photo around to show them, though none of them would recognize his face; she was the only one who had ever seen him, and she’d sworn to keep those memories to herself. She’d share what she learned, but if she showed them what she’d been through then they’d never be able to get the thoughts out of their heads.

“How old is he?” Linh asked, amazed, crouching down to peer over Biana’s shoulder, who had moved closer to grab the photo from Sophie’s hands.

Fitz shook his head. “Well given the maps, if this was before even the sinking of Atlantis...” He started counting on his fingers, but got lost, shrugging. “A lot.”

“He’s a lot old?” Tam confirmed, squinting across the pavilion at the photo--maybe they should’ve stolen him a pair of glasses when they were in the Forbidden Cities.

Fitz flushed, running his fingers through his hair as he scrunched up his nose at him.

Tam stuck his tongue out in response.

“How’d you even find that?” Keefe asked, steering the conversation back to her point as he grabbed the blurred photo from Biana. “It’s like. What are the odds, you know? Like someone wanted you to find that.”

Sophie didn’t answer, mind reeling, asking herself on repeat what does this change what does this change what does this change?

But no matter how many times she asked herself, she came up with the same answer.

Nothing.

It changed nothing.

Just because of whatever had happened to him in his childhood, however many thousands of years ago it was, didn’t excuse anything he’d done.

They still had to stop him. They still had to fix what he’d broken. She still had to save Phoenix.

Nothing changed.

They’d spent enough time chasing riddles and waiting waiting waiting for the right moment.

She thought it was about time they got to work.

[Paragraph break]

Sophie could hardly focus, and she wasn’t the only one. They’d been here time and time again, that blur, that buzz--excuse the pun--when everything started to culminate, to connect. When you couldn’t bother to think about your thinking, you only had the drive to think and then do.

They’d been here when they’d planned to break Prentice out of Exile, when they’d prepared for the Celestial Festival with the intel from Fintan that the Neverseen would attack, when they’d stationed themselves in Loamnore to fight, when they’d staged their final stand and defeated the Neverseen once and for all--at least, so they’d thought.

Again, her body thrummed with anticipation, already counting down the seconds until impact, until her family would face the enemy and they’d come away either victorious or with renewed goals, reviewed vigor.

Every step she took, she nearly took flight, wings constantly humming and buzzing with energy, stirring the wind against her back, tangling her hair to the point she’d refused to take it out of her bun for several days, and only then when she needed to wash off the latest grime from the forest as she tumbled and bumped into things in true Foster fashion.

Each day, she spoke with her friends, her family, about what they would do, what the next step was.

Each day, they had to talk her down from bursting into the facility right then and there, the ghost of Phoenix’s fingers brushing against her palms, Murad’s voice echoing in her head, the stab of the needle a phantom tearing into her skin.

They were right, and she knew they were right; she’d say the same thing back to them if the roles were reversed. But she couldn’t stop the need to do something.

Dex had holed himself up in his house with Keefe, the two of them collaborating to make some truly wicked gadgets and elixirs. She’d overheard something about combining the two, gadgets with alchemical ingredients stored inside that would combine when activated, instantaneous reactions in their back pockets.

Biana had paired herself off with Linh, determined to understand the role Keefe’s being had assigned to her, what the colors she could see meant to her. Linh’s baby dragons seemed the perfect opportunity. Occasionally, when she crossed paths with Keefe, they’d compare notes. But for the most part they didn’t, Biana, Linh, disappearing for stretches of time, traveling back to the mountain she’d first found her dragons in to visit their parent, still in a deep sleep within the hollowed mountain.

Wylie and Tam had formed a sort of pair of their own after a misstep at the campfire had mixed their two abilities, reminding them of what they’d been able to do back at the baby alicorns' hive, the illusions they’d conjured. But that’d been before Tam’s study--if you could call it that--of shadowflux, and now they wanted to know what they could accomplish together. Light and dark, afterall, were one in the same.

She’d last seen Fitz and Maruca sitting together on the roof, sharing a clementine, discussing a watch pattern of defense, then a plan of defense for the mission at hand; Maruca’s days of protecting the village from vicious monsters had softened, more and more of them leaving them alone--according to her, at least. Fitz’s observance and resolute determination to be an elf gave him an air of importance from the outside, a perspective they could trust to be impartial while Sophie desperately hesitated, thoughts of Echo and the monster in the vines flashing through her mind.

Sophie drifted in and out of each group, checking on them as the hours passed by, the central hub forming each piece of their group into a whole, into a plan they could enact with finality, a plan that wouldn’t fail.

It couldn’t.

They--no, she--couldn’t bear this kind of loss.

The days passed by, first too full of discussion and preparations for every possible scenario, then conversations about whether or not to split, then final details, until they were hours away from making their move.

In a mere few hours she’d either have Phoenix at her side, or die trying.

“Come on, we’re going” Marella said, flicking Sophie in the shoulder, snapping her out of her heart-thundering musings.

She blinked. “We’re what?”

“Going. Don’t make me say it again, come on.” She gestured in that follow me way, inclining her head with a jerk, though that didn’t make it any easier to understand her.

Obediently, Sophie followed, shaking her head. “Seriously, what are you talking about? Where are we going? Why?” They weren’t set to leave for a few more hours, waiting for the sun to rise.

Marella sighed. “Always with the questions. We’re going to Havenfield.” She held up the home crystal she’d swiped from the grounds on one of her previous visits, wagging it around and letting the chain jingle, links clacking against each other, a sound she hadn’t heard in months; she’d had no reason to keep wearing her home crystal when stuck in the Underground for so long.

“Is there something there?”

“Yeah, a distraction.”

Sophie’s brows furrowed, so Marella explained further as she reached out, lacing their fingers together as she held up the crystal. “You’re doing that thing you do before a big mission where you sit there and implode with anxiety, which doesn’t help any of us, so I’m doing something about it. Everyone else is off working together except for me, so now I’m making us a team. Ready?”

She threw the question and a glance over her shoulder, meeting Sophie’s eyes only long enough for her to say that yes, she’d rallied her concentration and wouldn’t fade away, when Marella pulled them into the light.

[Paragraph break]

“I think I’m perfectly right to be worrying,” Sophie said as their bodies rematerialized in a completely different part of the world. She hadn’t even looked around the place yet, speaking out in response as soon as her lips were attached to her body again.

Sun warmed their skin, this side of the world in the day, while theirs was still under the cover of a waning night.

Marella rolled her eyes, smiling. “Sure you are, but you’re gonna take us all down with you one day because of it.”

She had nothing to say to that; she feared the same. That one day she’d spell the doom of everyone she’d ever loved, that as hard as she tried she could never make it right, that it was her presence that would be the end of it all. That she’d mess it all up for everyone.

Marella bumped her with an elbow. Her wings buzzed. “You’re doing it again.” Her voice near sing-song, she squeezed Sophie’s hand in her own, tugging her along.

It gave her a chance to take in the place, to see just what had been done with it in the time since she’d lived here, since she’d watched it fall apart; she remembered the day, the screams from the pastures, the way the house had fallen under the siege of unprecedented aggression and volatile creature.

And then she’d come back, had stolen a dragon and stashed it away here, unable to think of anywhere else to go with a wild creature; it’d been heartbreaking to see the devastation, to see the cracked windows and crumbled crystals. But that wasn’t what mattered, so she’d pushed it aside. She and Keefe had grabbed what they needed from inside and left, hiding the tracker she’d found and moving on.

Once more she’d returned, that time with Marella, dropping her off to see her dragon. Right there in the field stood Fintan, looking wrong and distorted, a little girl with him as she reached for the very dragon they’d come to see. How he’d found his way into this story was a mystery, but it was one she had to face.

Now the place looked nearly unrecognizable; the grass had been tamed, chunks of crystal and mounds of dirt displaced to allow for open walking, fences between enclosures torn down to make them larger--to make one larger. It’d been spruced up into a place you could inhabit, somewhere you could be comfortable outside. It looked alive again, flowers tentatively blooming in the grass.

“I’m back!” Marella called out, hand cupping around her mouth to amplify the sound, tucking her hair behind her ear as she glanced at Sophie, heart pounding.

Movement rustled and shuffled, and as they moved further and further into this refurbished Havenfield of pastures, the shining red form of Marella’s dragon appeared in the grass.

It lay out in the sun, charred grass surrounding it. It curled in close to itself, but had lifted its head at the noise, slow and steady as fire rumbled in its chest, specks of light escaping through its reaching throat and down into the chest, lighting it up from the inside out just like Marella’s hands.

Hearing them approach, it didn’t seem to care in the slightest, curling back in on itself beneath the sun, scales throwing stinging light in their eyes.

Marella paused a little ways away, so Sophie finally asked. “Why…why did you bring me here? What are we doing?”

“We’re unwinding.” Dropping Sophie’s hand, she plopped herself down in the grass, wings splaying behind her as she sprawled out in the grass.

Already there, Sophie sighed, sitting herself down next to Marella, chin resting on her knees as she peered around the place. “Did you do all this?”

“Most of it. Linh helped with some. So did Tam, since he followed Linh sometimes. But most of it.”

Where’d she find the time to spruce everything up like this? Sitting in the middle of it all, broken pieces of buildings out of sight, cracked edges sealed over and covered, overgrowth tamed and dominance reasserted, fields luxurious instead of wild, she could almost convince herself nothing was wrong.

That if she walked across the pastures and to the front door, Edaline would be there with dinner on its way, Grady coming in from wrangling Verdi into choking down her own meal, Sandor’s grumpy squeak of a voice right behind her as he came to visit because she didn’t need him anymore, because everything was okay.

But it was only here she could pretend that illusion was real.

Because beyond what Marella had fixed were acres and acres of untamed grass, of broken fences and torn dirt ripped to shreds, and even further beyond that were monsters.

Because her parents weren’t inside Havenfield ready to tease her over dinner. Havenfield wasn’t even a place you could live anymore, wasn’t a home, though she’d always remember it as one. And her parents, the ones who’d accepted and welcomed her into their lives after each great loss, despite the danger, were stuck underground with the rest of their world.

Because her friends lived in the trees and the forest around them housed monsters she’d come to accept, to appreciate, to understand; she didn’t know why Echo had picked her of all people to get attached to, but it had, and it had torn everything she thought she knew from under her feet, leaving her free-falling through the air.

Because that free-fall couldn’t kill her, not when each shift of the breeze had feathers tickling at her shoulder blades.

No, that illusion was nothing more than a past she had to let go of.

How dare the Neverseen, Phoenix, put her in this situation. How dare they create a world where she had to run and hide from the mess they created.

Her entire life torn from her a second time, and this time it was all because of them. This time she hadn’t entered a new world of sparkles and hesitance and promise and care.

This time they’d shoved her into a world that tried to kill her.

Sophie flopped back opposite Marella so their heads were near each other.

They’d have to try a lot harder if they wanted her dead; four years since she’d come to the Lost Cities and here she was, still alive despite everything they’d thrown at her.

Honestly, it was getting embarrassing for them at this point. All their work, all their effort, and it’d never been enough. Never would be enough.

“We’ll make them pay, won’t we?” Marella asked into the silence, sensing Sophie’s darkening, vindictive mood. A mood she’d take over uncontrolled worry any day.

“Yeah,” she whispered. “We’re going to make them pay.”

The dragon let out a groan, a huff of smoked breath singing the tips of the fields, teeth snapping together at something the two of them couldn’t see from the ground.

Marella sat up, wings still sagging to the ground, sunlight spearing through the membranous texture, her veins brought to luminous life. “One day it’s going to set this place on fire, I swear.”

Sophie sat up with her, quiet, vitriol boiling in her veins with nowhere to go.

Marella glanced at her, biting at her lip, hesitating a moment before asking, “Do you…do you want to meet it? Properly?”

“Your dragon?”

She nodded. “I um…I know I’ve been upset with you for a while because you were nice with Linh’s dragons but separated me from mine, but I thought…” she trailed off, flushing, then shook her head, starting over. “You didn’t meet under great circumstances, and I want to make things right. So, are you willing?”

Her mind took a second to catch up, watching the ashes of grass blades drift by in the breeze, eyeing the enormous dragon lounging in her family’s pastures like that was a normal thing--she’d seen elven “dragons” before and they weren't anything near like this.

“It’s not gonna bite my head off, right?” she confirmed, eyeing the creature with faux suspicion, hoping to earn a laugh.

Her mission was successful, Marella snorting as she shook her head. “No, it won’t.”

“Then yes, please introduce me properly.”

And hopefully she wouldn’t fuck it up this time, not when Marella offered her this bridge, this opportunity back to who they’d once been.

Pushing through the singed grasses, Marella led the way, steps carefully loud and practiced, wings shifting at her back, rustling leather and shifting scales.

As they neared, Sophie could see why; the scratches through the dragon’s eye had healed over in the time since she’d last seen it, leaving scars through the corneas, a milky film impossible to see through.

So Marella made noise to announce their approach, letting it know well in advance who was coming and from where.

Its head shifted, unseeing eyes turning their direction as they stopped a few feet away, its lounging body taller than she was, neck long enough to curve around her and snap her in half if it wanted.

Stench and acridity blew over their faces as it exhaled; she cringed and turned slightly away, but Marella showed no reaction, as if she hardly even noticed.

“Sophie, this is Dragon. Dragon, Sophie,” she said, gesturing between the two.

“Its name is dragon?”

Marella smiled. “Nope, I just call it that because, well, what else do you call a dragon?”

The dragon grew tired of listening to them talk, but instead rested its head back in the crook of its body, lounging in the sun.

“It’s not actually my dragon. I know we say Linh’s dragons and mine, but it’s not mine. We’re just…friends. It tolerates me. At least enough that it hasn’t tried to kill me in a while. It’s a big creature, so it rests a lot, like now; I thought it would be better to introduce you two at a time like that.”

Sophie started, refusing to look at Marella as she asked. “Were you…planning this?”

“Maybe. I wanted to…” she cleared her throat, frowning as her face flushed. “Oh fuck it. I wanted to tell you I forgive you. Completely. I didn’t know when to say it, but with what we’re about to do…I wanted to tell you.”

Sophie needed a moment before she could say anything. “I…thank you.”

They lapsed into silence, watching the dragon’s chest rise and fall, the mellow atmosphere around this destructive creature. It wasn’t its fault it could hurt so many so easily. It wasn’t its fault it’d been created.

Embarrassment tickled at the back of her mind as she remembered how fearful she’d been upon first seeing it. Sure, it was fair to be afraid of a giant deadly creature--if a bear just walked up to her out of the woods, she’d definitely scream. But it wasn’t its fault.

All of this could be traced back to Phoenix, to the Neverseen.

Watching the dragon from a distance, her rage cooled into hardened metal, the silence deafening as her adrenaline thrummed, chaotic strings going from frantic to aligned, ready.

They stayed a little longer, companions in silence, righteousness boiling in their blood.

Then a message binged on her imparter, tucked close to her chest, lighting up as she took it out.

It was from Dex.

We’re ready. Waiting on you, Fos-boss.

Marella’s imparter lit up only a moment later, and she looked to Sophie wordlessly. They already knew what it meant. This reprieve was over, already gone. They still stood in Havenfield’s pastures but they mourned the moment nonetheless.

Brushing the grass off her backside, Marella bid farewell to her dragon, who didn’t acknowledge her existence.

She held out her hand to Sophie, who took it, steady. Squeezing tight, she took a deep breath, letting go of these final moments of peace.

Calling upon the void, preparing to tear through it, at the last moment she could hear Marella’s voice faintly say, “Time to make them pay.”

[Paragraph break]

“I hate this place so much,” Tam grumbled, wings tucked in tight to his back, doing everything he could to stay as far away from the gleaming walls as possible.

Flickering balefire sconces jumped to life with each step they took, a bubble of light around the ten of them as they traversed the hall. She could feel the eyes of the being at the end watching her, knew it knew they were here. The taste of that sweet smoke felt heavy on her tongue, even though it was nowhere in sight; she’d never seen that smoke outside of the room at the end of the hall.

A few minutes in, Sophie nodded to Keefe, and with an exhale he pressed his palms against the wall, the very one Tam had been trying to stay away from, resolutely in the center.

Near instantly, the rumbling began, walls and ceiling and stone and metal distorting and remaking itself, shock waves singing through the structures like ripples in a pond, everyone bumping into each other and trying to protect their heads. If they were more spread out, they could take to the air, but there were too many of them in too small of a space.

All they could do was wait it out.

Dex swore under his breath as the hallway settled, the vast expanse of the facility behind them. Now, a flat, blank wall stood before them--but only in appearance.

Sophie and Keefe went first, the two most familiar with this place, this room. With the being. It loved Keefe, but it never would forget that she was the first one to find it, to not be afraid, in a long, long time.

The wall vanished, the curling arch of an entrance spitting them out in that room at the end, the one lined with shelves of mysterious objects, infinitely more appealing than those in the drowned city of Atlantis, all the muck and muddle coating everything they touched.

Everyone filed in after them, anxious for the next part of their journey; this was only the beginning, after all.

Sophie started and whirled as the being blew that smoke from right behind them, placing a hand over her chest to calm her heart as the being made itself known from over the doorway.

“Jeepers creepers,” she exclaimed, shaking her head fondly, turning back and following the rest of her friends to the steps down into the pit--all except for Keefe, who hung back to press his forehead to the being’s, eyes fading away as a ripple passed through the room.

He jogged to catch up behind her, adjusting his sleeves as he went.

They’d dressed for protection, to be able to hide things on their person. Sophie’s loose top had full sleeves, complete with holes for her thumbs at the end, in the greyest color she owned. Same for her pants, the pockets of which held as much as she could possibly stuff into them from Dex--if only shirts came with pockets, too, then she could really be decked out. They’d forgone the capes, though, despite all the extra pocket-age they could provide, for two reasons.

One, mobility. Capes looked cool on superheroes, but on elves storming an underground facility, they were such a hassle. Thwapping against your legs, getting tangled in your arms when you tried to move. None of that mixed well with a high-stakes mission; they just wouldn’t be worth it.

And two…the wings. It was strange, going into a battle and counting those wings as an asset, but that’s what they were. A tool they could use, though in the halls of the facility, who knew how much use they’d really be--could Fitz’s wingspan even fit in the halls? Maybe not, but they’d never know if they wore the capes, though she’d never forgive herself if it turned out they were one gadget short of victory because they didn’t have enough pockets.

“What’s on your mind, Foster?”

“Pockets.”

“We seriously need to get you some real hobbies.”

Marella called to them from the pit. “Are you two seriously making jokes right now?”

“Yes!” Keefe called back, giving her two solid thumbs up as he leapt down the stairs three at a time, nearly eating shit on the last step, wings splaying behind him frantically to catch himself. “Things are about to get serious really fast, so I’m going to enjoy being stupid while I can.”

Fitz grumbled something about Keefe always being stupid under his breath, but came to stand beside them, all of them crowding around Dex as he stepped into the center of the pit, the oddly round stone sinking beneath him as all those screens popped up.

Instead of looking at them, he knelt down, running his fingers along the edge of the stone where the actual projecting devices and information wells were stored, taking his imparter from his pocket.

Sophie looked away, the idea of just watching and watching and waiting making her mind want to implode, instead letting her eyes wander. She watched the being curl around the ceiling, its head near the chandelier, peering down at them through watery eyes, feathers shifting among scales, fur shedding and drifting down around them like dandruff.

Maruca scooted closer to Sophie, wings tucked in tight, defensive, eyeing the being.

“If that thing tries to sink me in the floor again, I’m bringing you down with me.”

Sophie’s mouth dropped in faux outrage. “I didn’t have anything to do with that! It was Keefe’s fault; you should bring him down with you.”

Before either of them could say anything more, both of Dex’s arms shot into the air with a muffled hoorah sound, as though he had something in his mouth. Wings groaning and gliding, he spun around from the stone in the pit--where his imparter actually was in his mouth--and pointed to Sophie.

“I got it!” he declared, but it came out more Uh gaw hut.

That was quick. All the projections had condensed down into a single one, a solitary picture of a rocky, grassy expanse.

Teal grass scattered through the blue, trees climbing into the sky every so often, branches thick with foliage and scraggly limbs. The sky sat wan and pale in the sky, clouds thin and stretched, as though fading away.

But what truly stood out was the building sitting there, nearly blending into the rocky landscape scattered around the trees.

Falling apart, the grey stone crumbled in on itself, windows smashed and doorway ajar, looking completely and entirely abandoned.

She would’ve thought it an old human ruin if it weren’t for one brick, one with a broken chain engraved right beside the main doorway.

The sign of Phoenix.

“It’s a back entrance,” Dex explained. “I figured it’d be easier to get in than waltzing in the front door.”

“You can get us there, right?” Biana asked, coming up beside her opposite Maruca as she squinted at the image, leaning in to see it better.

Sophie nodded, and that was all the confirmation they needed. They all crowded around behind her, linking hands, Biana and Maruca holding hers.

The being opened the door to the right for them, into the cavern, so that she’d have the space she needed to take off.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the energy from her mind into her legs, into her arms, bolstering their strength as she took off as a run, up the stairs, out off the ledge, dragging them all into a free-fall in the cavern, tearing open the void below her, that decrepit building hiding a horrible buried secret filling her mind.

With a clap of thunder, they were gone.

[Paragraph break]

Sophie pushed up from her knees, having stumbled to the ground as she dropped everyone, looking behind her to assure that they’d all made it.

Teal grass brushed against her skin, getting caught in the fabric of her pants as her wings buzzed from the energy still coursing through her system.

Just up ahead, the building stood--or rather, tried to stand. It looked even more worn and torn up close, roofless, the walls barely taller than her. It seemed impossible anything could hide inside a place like this. It was like the Black Swan’s hideouts and meeting locations, the most unassuming places holding more importance than they had any right to.

Silently, they looked to each other, then started moving.

Closer and closer, until they were at the doorway.

Sophie went first, cautiously stepping through, heart pounding, waiting at any moment for something horrible to burst out from somewhere and kill her.

She could hear howls and wails in the distance, clumps of dirt in the ground hiding burrows as heartbeats lounged nearby. The monsters had come from here, there had to be a plethora of them littering the place, and you never knew at first whether they’d try to kill you or sit in a field ignoring you under the warmth of the sun.

Her worries were forgotten, however, when in the middle of the building, set into the stone, she found a cover.

Just like the grate guarding the Underground it sat circular in the ground, but this one instead had a faint carving of the Phoenix chains, broken and near imperceptible unless you knew what you were looking for. And she knew, against everything she wanted, she knew.

“We’re really doing this,” Marella mumbled as Sophie knelt down, curling her fingertips around the edges. If she could crack crystal, this hardened stone wouldn’t be a problem.

With a grunt, she jerked it to the side, pushing away the cover, wincing as stone grated against stone, revealing a dark tunnel downwards. The sunlight only made it so far, and the ladder lining one side didn’t inspire confidence.

The gaping hole would easily fit any of them, but she declared, “I’m going first.”

No one objected, only telling her to be careful as Wylie sent a small bauble of light down beside her as she took her first steps back down into the facility that had started it all.

#kotlc wings au #shattered upside down #quil's quill #kotlc fanfic #hey...can I offer you a wings au chapter on this friday #i've only posted on sunday's before and never this late #so we're trying some new things with stellarlune's approach #enjoy!!!#this chapter was originally much longer. but then I took a hunk of it for last weeks for pacing #and was left with this kinda mini chapter #and now you can read it :)

2 notes · View notes

englishstrawbie · 2 years

Note

I don’t understand how one day Maya is saying she wants a mini Carina and the next she’s complaining that the baby will be “all Deluca and no Bishop”. Don’t the writers remember what they’ve written before? Like, make it make sense!!!!!! Anyways, I can’t wait to see how you make sense of it in Serendipity! Big love.

Haha, I feel like "make it make sense!" is turning into a popular phrase in the fandom!

I don't believe that Maya's comment about the baby being "100% Deluca and no Bishop" was about its genetics - like I said in my episode rambles, it's about control. So far, the baby stuff has all been about Carina - her desire to have a baby, her body, her egg. And I'm not suggesting that Maya has been forced into this, it took a bit of time but she is on board with the whole thing. (Yes, I know that there's the whole her-career-is-her-priority issue but she's reassured Carina every chance she's had that she's all in.) She's said several times that she is happy for Carina to use her egg and carry the baby - to Carina and to Travis & Andy. She also made it clear to Carina that it's not about the baby having her family's genes.

But Maya is someone who likes to be in control, we know that about her. So far, this whole process has been outside of her control. And when she tried to assert herself over who the egg donor should be, Carina pushed back and insisted on her choice. It was very telling that when Travis said "it's not just your baby", Maya said "it's not just hers". She wants to have some control over who this baby is going to be and choosing an anonymous sperm donor means she's loosing another element of that control, whereas using a sperm donor they know means that they go into this knowing the genetic background of both sides of where their baby comes from.

I'm not saying it's good storytelling, I've been criticising the writers all season. As I've said before, they write the characters to fit the storyline, not the storyline to fit the characters. But at least this week I understand why Maya feels like that, because they've taken the time to explain it, whereas the more frustrating part to me is that they're not giving Carina the same opportunity to explain how she's feeling. So right now we're seeing a different balance between the two of them, because Maya is the one who is being honest and open, while Carina is the one holding her feelings back - which I find quite interesting.

Let's face it, this whole episode was engineered to get Marina to the point of having the conversation about using a donor that they know - becuase that's the story that the writers want to tell. Whether they want that story to be endearing or messy, who knows - since this is Shondaland, I'm always going to suspect that they're doing it to be messy because drama and thrills. Hence why already there is a lot of annoyance at the prospect of Jack being the sperm donor, even though it hasn't happened (yet?!), because that seed has already been planted by Jack offering his sperm [no pun intended!] and no-one trusts the writers!

Serendipity is actually going to end with the wedding. I made the decision a while ago that I'm not going to continue it into season 5, for several reasons. It's already the longest fic I've ever written and the longer the fic goes on, the greater the chance that I won't complete it - especially with the way the writers are really testing my loyalty to the show and the ship. Fortunately, when I go back to season 4, I'm reminded why I love Marina so I'm still enjoying writing it and delving into the aftermath of season 3 and the start of their Covid separation. I'm also not enjoying season 5 enough to want to explore it, the whole baby stuff is just not my cuppa tea. To be honest, I don't think I could make sense of it if I tried! There have been so many episodes already this season where I'm left wondering who these characters are and whether I truly understand them.

#station 19 #maya bishop #carina deluca #i apparently have a lot of thoughts about this!#anon #my rambles

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what-do-1000-swords-look-like · 3 years

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Eddie took Carla's advice - he's following his heart

I think 4x13 is very interesting for Eddie in that they didn't just push Ana to the side once but twice.

First we have the infamous scene where Carla tells Eddie to follow his heart, not Christopher's:

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What I find interesting about this scene besides the fact that Carla sees that Eddie and Ana's relationship isn't all it's cracked up to be, is the beginning where Carla arrives. Christopher opens the door while Eddie and Ana stand together in the background. (right before this moment, Eddie had been rearranging the pillows by himself as Ana and Christopher stood off to the side, because everything needed to be "perfect" which funnily enough is how the picture is portrayed to Carla and the audience upon the door opening; and funnily enough Eddie says "That looks better, right?" to which Ana says "I think it looks exactly the same" which indicates to me that no matter how Eddie might rearrange things to make things look better, it will look the same because it's already "better" and doesn't need to be "perfect" which is cemented by Christopher saying "It's gonna be awesome" but I digress) Carla hugs Christopher and then Eddie leaves Ana's side to hurry over and give Carla a hug at the same time. To be fair, Ana doesn't really know this woman, not the way Eddie and Christopher do, she's not going to rush over for the group hug, that would just be weird, right? But they also don't show her slowly approaching in order to greet Carla or Eddie breaking the hug to turn around and signal to Ana to come over. And then Carla says "oh, my boys" and the show purposely inserts a shot right after this of Ana standing there, alone, her hands clasped in front of her, while she's smiling at seeing how happy Christopher is to see Carla again. We know this is a reunion scene for the three of them since they've been separated by the pandemic. But then we also see Eddie look over to Ana, smiling, clearly happy as Carla and Christopher still hug, but he still doesn't indicate for her to come over or start to mention her with "Carla, you remember Ana, don't you?" or "Ana, you remember Carla?" None of that happens. The point being she's not family yet, she's not in the circle so to speak. Which makes sense time wise and where they're at in the stage of their relationship, but also slightly weird given that Carla's opinion is clearly important to Eddie ("everything needs to be perfect") and he's not bringing her into it. And it's cemented that this is the case (him caring about Carla's opinion on the matter) by the following dinner scene. Ana and Christopher go in the kitchen, politely refusing Carla's help because they have a surprise for her. Ana says "That's right, we have some business to take care of." She gives Eddie a little nod and smile before she leaves and we see Eddie smiling at her, which he then turns on Carla. Carla smiles, and then turns to watch as Ana and Christopher leave. And then the conversation happens afterwards. We were barely given any interactions between Carla and Ana so far and already the former sees right through to the heart of the matter, no pun intended.

"Christopher seems good. I know you were worried about him."

"He's, uh, he's doing a lot better. Almost back to his old happy self. And he loves having Ana around."

"What about Dad? How does he feel about the young Miss Flores?"

"It's nice. It's, uh, easy being with her."

Which is exactly why Carla then tells him: "Ana is lovely and I'm glad that you're finally moving on. But just be sure that you're following your heart, not Christopher's, okay?" And even though we see Eddie confused at first, we see that Carla's words have started to process by Eddie watching Christopher and Ana together and his expression before he turns back to the candles.

Then they swept Ana aside also in this scene:

Once again, the scene starts out with Eddie, Carla, and Christopher going through Christopher's toys to give to Charlie. Ana is in the other room, had she not asked to speak to Eddie alone, we wouldn't have known she was there. While Eddie agrees to talk to her, as he follows her, he keeps talking to Christopher and even makes the joking sign of "I'm watching you" as he's leaving, until he has no choice but to look forward since he passed the door. This is very telling to me. He has no idea what Ana wants to talk to him about, but his focus is 100% on Christopher. Which it should be, obviously, but the show purposely had Ana separated from the other three. Even when Ana shows up at Christopher's door and says "Wow, someone's feeling generous", Eddie doesn't even look up. It's only when she says his name that he pops his head up.

Then he's focused on the conversation with Ana, asking what's wrong. He leans against the counter while Ana takes the chair next to him. He teases her about snooping around when she mentions she looked for Charlie's gofundme page which she clarifies what her good intentions were. She then says she thinks something is wrong with Charlie's mom. Eddie immediately says "That feels like a leap. You haven't even met her." Without getting clarification on what Ana means or seeing anything Ana says what she might have found. I think there's a couple of things at play here with that line: one, yes, this definitely shows that while he enjoys his relationship with her, there's still somewhat of a barrier here even just with this simple line of dialogue & two, Eddie sympathized with Charlie's mom because he knows how hard it is to be a single parent so he's automatically defensive. He says it kindly but it's defensive. And I think it's interesting that they go from Ana's reaction to this line to another shot of Eddie beside her where his arms are now crossed in front of him. Granted, I'm sure it might have been a different take used (obviously different from the closeup before) but they chose to keep this shot in. And if we see it, Ana sees it. Which is why I'm thinking she's treading as lightly as possible here. She not only knows how this will most likely affect Eddie but she's already been on the receiving end of Eddie's irritation when giving him not so great news before. Eddie thinks about it for a second, then uncrosses his arms, and moves next to Ana to look at the laptop, asking "About what?" after Ana tells him Charlie's mom lied to him.

Then we transition to a scene where Carla, Ana, and Eddie are sitting at the table, talking about what Ana found. This is where Ana gets swept aside and it becomes clear that she merely is here to provide the information to Eddie about what she found, but it's really Eddie and Carla who are deeply discussing the issue. Eddie and Carla seem to almost mirror each other here, with their arms crossed (I think Carla looks as if she has hers crossed but when we move closer, she doesn't completely), even though Ana is in between them with the laptop. Carla is sitting forward, close, engaged. Eddie is sitting back, not as close. He's in pure defense mode (which on the surface has nothing to do with Ana at all), which is completely understandable given the situation. They almost completely brush Ana aside here though she's giving the information and being empathetic and supportive for Eddie as much as she can be. And they choose to have Eddie standing in a similar posture as to the one we see in Buck's kitchen in 3x09 but Ana sitting. We only see Eddie positioned the same way she is (aka being on the same page so to speak) when Carla is in the room, sitting similarly, and it's about the Charlie situation. They do show Ana's reactions, we do see Eddie look to her a couple of times, he does look at the laptop when she turns it to him so he can see the comments, but ultimately, he's really only reacting to Carla verbally, he doesn't return Ana's physical affection - Ana is basically relegated to observer in this scene even though she's the one that found out this information. This is a story line that affects Eddie emotionally, especially since they made sure to show Christopher and Charlie interacting earlier, with Christopher getting toys and books ready to give to Charlie. And the fact that it does affect Eddie in this way and he seems almost closed off a bit to Ana, especially after the first scene with the heart convo...well, this scene speaks loudly.

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Especially when later on in the episode, we see Buck arriving for his shift, Eddie is already there, he tells the firefam what he found, then gets the call from Charlie, Buck and Eddie grab the Cap's truck and rush to Charlie's home while Buck is still dressed in his street clothes which another firefighter remarks on the truck being used (which indicates they literally ran and jumped in the truck to get there), and Buck and Eddie are the only ones from the 118 present. He literally has Buck with him for the resolution of this story line, not Ana, not Carla, not Chim, not Hen, not Bobby. While that can be explained away by emergency circumstances, they're partners and best friends, etc, the fact that they did choose to have Buck present for the end of this story line also speaks very loudly. Especially, since Eddie ends up being shot in front of Buck at the end of the episode. Shot not exactly near the heart (from what I can see anyway, I think it was closer to his shoulder?) but he and Buck are facing one another and Buck gets splattered with his blood. And had the firefighter not pushed Buck to the ground, he would have been shot as well (which is interesting if you think about it, Buck is still in street clothes, the sniper was only targeting firefighters, had the sniper been present for the arrival in the Cap's truck, he most likely would have started shooting then rather than wait for them to come out from an emergency scene not knowing the circumstances or how long it would be, he could have targeted the other firefighter in uniform, etc). We not only see a shot after the shot, no wordplay intended, of Eddie and Buck facing each other, both in shock (I don't even know if Eddie is looking at Buck, he might be staring past him, but the point is they threw this frame in on purpose) and it's slowed down, before Eddie falls to the ground. Once both are on the ground, their eyes on each other, not only does Eddie's hand moves closer in his direction, but Buck's does as well (though it's more subtle than Eddie's). This whole scene is them mirroring each other: in framing after the shot; in both being targets; both on the ground (positioning); both extending hands out slightly; their eyes never leaving each other; when Eddie's eyes close, Buck's head is closer to the ground and he almost looks as if his eyes are about to close as well.

My point being, they purposely showed us the audience that this is where Eddie's heart truly lies (it's all right there, peeps) and Ana is not it. He's attracted to her (as is indicated by the music cues and Eddie's mystified expressions each time he sees her before they officially begin dating, except the skateboard confrontation, and of course the almost kiss during the math date), he likes her (as is indicated by the flirting and teasing and easy way they have with each other as well as him allowing her to be more involved with Christopher), but his heart's not in it. I like Ana well enough as a character (and I love the actress) but the show is making it obvious that he did what he thought was right for Christopher (after seeing how happy Christopher was to find out it's her that Eddie is seeing), and because he was told it was the right thing to do, to move on, by people he respected, like Bobby.

I also think Eddie's response to Bobby was very telling in that conversation in 4x06: "I'm not over it. Not over her." -> if this was truly about his love for Shannon, he would have said "her" first. "It" could be her death, the fact that they were headed for divorce, what happened in their marriage, how hurt Christopher was by her death or by her leaving or both, any number of things really. But "it" came before "her" and I don't think that's coincidental.

Especially when they started setting up a contrast between Ana and Buck in the very episode Eddie meets Ana. He blows up at her because Christopher got hurt while skateboarding. He automatically assumes the worst, that she allowed the kids to put Christopher on the skateboard so they could have a good laugh, and wants to know why she didn't watch him more closely or prevent it from happening. When he sees Christopher, Carla tries to smooth over the incident and reassure, but Eddie isn't having it and he picks up Christopher, intent on bringing him home. He doesn't want Christopher in Ana's (or the school's care) for the rest of the day. Buck lost Christopher in a tsunami. To be fair, there's a quite a difference there and Eddie even says it himself: "A natural disaster happened." But the point is, Buck lost Christopher and couldn't find him again, though he never stopped looking. Personally, if that happened to my kid, it might not be the person's fault, I might not blame them, but I'd be skittish to let my kid out of my sight again. Or at the very least tell them, you are not to leave this house and I would be calling in to check every hour on the dot lol. Eddie makes a similar remark that is meant to be comedic: "Maybe go to the zoo? Try something inland this time?" Even Buck can't believe Eddie is so willing to trust him again with Christopher, he takes it just as hard (possibly harder) as Ana does. But this all goes in line with what Eddie says to Buck later on in the series about how hard Buck will fight for Christopher. But the point I'm driving at is that not only did Buck "fail" Christopher (or that's how Buck sees it anyway) once himself like Ana did, but they purposely showed Eddie and Christopher with Buck with the custom skateboard that the two guys push Christopher around on, with Carla there. Christopher is excited and happy, Eddie and Buck are happy, Carla is filming them and taking pictures: a very purposeful setup contrast between Eddie with Ana and Eddie with Buck. I know Eddie didn't really know Ana at that point, but the show went there. They even did it again with the crossover episode with Marjan mentioning the skateboard picture she sees - only Christopher is mentioned, not Carla or Ana (which makes sense since Eddie says he's not very active on social media, plus she's a vice principal at an elementary school so it tracks). But then Eddie says "Buck helped" which is true and Buck is in the episode with Eddie as is Hen. But Buck is now forever linked to that contrast they set up in that episode Eddie met Ana and that was the first contention point between them: Christopher. And then when they have another contention point between them being that Christopher isn't happy Eddie is dating again when Eddie tries to tell him about it (not knowing Ana is the person Eddie is referring to), he runs away to Buck. The second contrast. Then it's finalized in 4x14.

They literally brushed her aside in 4x14 when Buck arrives to see Eddie in the hospital, allowing Buck to see Eddie for the first time since he woke up and vice versa. Not only does this indicate Ana is in between them (and now Taylor which they already showed where Eddie rates compared to her with Buck pulling Eddie into the treasure hunt deal when he sees Eddie's disappointment, Buck taking Ana's call instead of chasing after Taylor -> Ana being used to give information again this time to Buck; it was Buck and Carla who stayed with Christopher which was more important to Eddie than himself and they both knew that, which left Ana free to sit by his side and wait for him to wake up) but the show is brushing her aside (literally) because this isn't Eddie following his heart.

And then the kicker. Eddie uses Buck's phone to talk to Christopher and Carla, not Ana's. It's Buck who is taking Eddie home from the hospital, not Ana (yes, I know, she was setting up his welcome home party but her and Buck could have just as easily switched out for this instance). And of course, we get the scene where Eddie tells Buck about his making Buck Christopher's legal guardian in the event of his death. We not only see them mirrored to each other again in positioning, both sitting.

Eddie starts out the conversation with "Great. Since we got a minute" to which Buck asks "Is everything alright?" and Eddie says "Yeah. I've just been meaning to talk to you about something." -> upon first watch, I thought this is it, Eddie is going to take Carla's advice, but then he talks about changing his will. So I immediately thought, wow, foiled again (and some other choice words that I will leave out of this post). But then it hit me, Christopher is Eddie's heart. Carla told Eddie not to follow Christopher's heart, but his. And this scene is him doing exactly that. He is putting Christopher (aka his heart) in Buck's care, he is entrusting his heart to Buck so it would be taken care of should anything ever happen to him. He literally (as literal as it can be) is giving his heart to Buck here.

These are very telling lines of dialogue while also dealing with the surface issue at hand (the guardianship):

"My attorney said you could refuse." *Eddie looks away*

"But you know I wouldn't."

"I know you wouldn't."

"But no one will ever fight for my son as hard as you. That is what I want for him."

"You said you did this last year. Why are you just telling me now?"

"Because Evan, you came in here the other day and you said you thought it would've been better if it had been you who was shot. You act like you're expendable" *Eddie takes a deep breath here* "But you're wrong." *then they both turn to look at one another*

Not only is Eddie still trying to get Buck to see his self-worth as he has been for what feels like the last season and a half, not only is he putting all of his trust in Buck here with Christopher by the decision he made after the well incident, but he is absolutely taking Carla's advice. Another sign that this is just that? Them being seated on the hospital bed (despite the space between them, it still indicates intimacy), some low lighting, nothing breaking the moment between them like the nurse coming in with the meds and discharge papers, and Buck's reaction to the news. On the surface, it makes sense that Buck would need a minute, but if you replace this dialogue with an ILY confession, the initial reaction Buck has could literally almost be the same: "What?" (What are you talking about?) "I-I mean how does that even work? Don't you need my consent?" (How is this going to affect our friendship moving forward? How will we work together? What if I don't feel the same? I need a minute here, Ed) "I mean, he has grandparents, other family." (But you loved Shannon, you're dating Ana) "If it came to that, wouldn't they fight for him?" (How would this even work?) "You said you did this last year. Why are you just telling me now?" (You said you've felt this way for a while, why are you telling me this now? What changed?)

To be fair, it's a bit of speculation on what could be said dialogue wise for that big moment had they chosen to go the confession route, but the purpose behind it is still the same. Not only does this cement Buck's place in the family so to speak, but Eddie delivered on the line he said to Buck back in season 3: "There's nobody in this world I trust my son with more than you." And we know how much he trusts Carla, Abuela, Pepa, the firefam, his parents (if needed, though obviously they would be a last resort before Buck showed up in Eddie's and Christopher's lives), and even the beginning of that trust with Ana. But instead he's doubling down on Buck, on what he feels to not only be right for Christopher, but also himself. Eddie may not have said "I love you" to Buck but this scene is as just as good as imho.

And if Buck didn't return that feeling in some way, shape, or form, we wouldn't have heard the line "But you know I wouldn't." We would have never seen these two mirrored during the shot scene where Eddie's life is in the balance, we would have never seen Buck being a part of this family (not in this way anyway), we would have never seen all the obvious and subtle parallels between Eddie and other important people in Buck's life or the parallel with Buck's relationship with Abby with his friendship with Eddie, and we certainly would not have been shown Eddie's reactions and interactions when something relating to Buck is affecting him emotionally, good or bad.

It's coming, peeps. I have faith. It may not happen in the way we expect or all want individually, but the signs are all there. They threw Shannon and Ali at us in order for Eddie to close up his story with Shannon and for Buck to move on from his broken heart with Abby. Then they threw Ana and Taylor at us in order for Eddie to move on from Shannon and see what he wanted for Christopher and for Buck to be open to another relationship after he got his closure with Abby (which Eddie was mostly present for and we saw his reactions). The point is, we're moving in the right direction. Buddie is coming.

Eddie already gave his heart to Buck

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evil-giggling · 3 years

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Langa VS. the Assholes Who Hurt Reki

Summary: Langa and Reki have finally made up! But that doesn't mean that they no longer have problems.

(or, Langa just wants Reki to be happy, but for some reason people are very against that.)

Warnings: Swearing (Langa has has enough), Mentions of violence, Ad*m.

Words: 1.7k

(haha wdym the title is a star vs the forces of evil pun,,, no it isnt haha)

The stars in Okinawa reflected the sea, and the sound of their laughter along with the scraping of wheels against the cement ground is one that symbolizes peace, unity, and pure, unadulterated love.

Langa and Reki are alright again, and everything is right with the world.

"You... What?" Langa looked befuddled, an unidentifiable look on his features, as Reki nervously fiddled with his fingers, blushing from embarrassment. From what? He doesn't know.

"It's— it's not as bad as you think!" Reki said hurriedly, but by now there was a prominent frown on Langa's face, "it's— I was just ran over by a car—"

"Just," Langa emphasized, his voice uncharacteristically firmer and louder, "ran over by a car? Reki, do you think everyone just gets run over by a car? And do you think people who get run over by a car wake up in a love hotel? With a stranger?"

It's the next day since Langa and Reki's making up from their fight, and neither of them quite expected that the comeback of their roof-top lunches would start with Reki accidentally spilling that he was in a love hotel. Much less brought to a love hotel because he was ran over. By a stranger.

Everything was all so suddenly not-right, and Langa couldn't decide if this was better, or worse.

"—Langa? Hey, earth to Prince Langa!" Reki snapped his fingers in front of Langa's face, and the latter blinked, wondering when he started to get lost in his thoughts, and—wow. Reki seemed a bit too close to his face right now. Not that he was complaining.

There was a cute pout on Reki's lips, Langa guessed it was caused by his own neglect of their conversation. The former, though, upon noticing that his companion's eyes were on his lips, blushed bright red again, and brought back distance between them. Langa didn't stop the disappointed sigh from his lips, but the disappointment didn't last long.

His face once again etched up in concern, looking at Reki, who was facing down at the ground, his headband covering his cheeks, in an attempt to cool them down. Langa let a small, fond smile on his lips, before shaking it off once he remembered what Reki mentioned earlier.

"Reki, you can't just brush this off," Langa said, eyebrows furrowing and his chest hardening in both concern and frustration, "what else happened to you when I wasn't around?"

Reki sneaked a glance at Langa, before sheepishly turning away.

"Nothing," Reki said, but the lie obvious to Langa, "and you're talking a lot about this, like last night."

Langa frowned, "of course I am, you worry me a lot when you say 'it's nothing' or 'I'm fine'," he played with the hem of his shirt, before letting go and continuing, "because most of the time, you're lying."

Reki said nothing, only burrowing farther in himself. Langa huffed, frustration building up in him. If Reki thought it was surprising to see him chatty, he'll definitely have a heart attack after this.

Langa engulfed Reki in a hug, and it wasn't only the latter who gasped in surprise. Perhaps they've gathered some nosy onlookers?

Who cares?, Langa thought, Reki's the only thing that's important right now.

"Reki, be honest please?" Langa said, voice muffled, as he buried his face on Reki's shoulder.

"O-okay! Langa, okay, I'll tell you!" Reki stuttered out, a flustered mess, from the way he spoke, "just, let go, please?" He whispered to Langa, "people are kind of looking at us right now."

Langa didn't care who saw them, honestly. But he got what he wanted, and he didn't want Reki to be embarrassed too bad, so he let go of Reki's waist, and sat back to where he was positioned earlier.

He looked at Reki expectantly, but with patience. The latter picked at his nails in nervousness, wherein Langa took one of his hands to ease his anxiety.

Reki brought back Langa's hands, and started staring down at them and playing with them. He seemed to calm down, as his cheeks were no longer red, and Langa sent a dirty look to the passersby who were looking at them with keen interest, when Reki wasn't looking.

Reki swallowed, and looked up at him.

He scrunched up his face and looked away for a second, scratching his cheek with a finger, a small flush on his cheeks, "uhm..." letting out a sigh, Reki collected his thoughts and said, "erm, before I met you, I used to be in this sort of team? Gang? Thing... It was for skating." Reki added, upon the worried and horrified look on Langa's face, and the latter let out a sigh of relief, and encouraged him to continue.

"Er, they were sort of—they weren't really people I wanted to hang out with?" Reki mumbled, sheepishly, "they, uhm, they weren't really ones who enjoyed skating? They did it for the aesthetic, basically, and it made them sort of lame for me.

"So, I quit after three days."

Langa only seemed confused, so Reki added, "and well, I saw them while walking through the market and they kind of..." Reki mumbled the last part, and Langa blinked.

"'They kind of' what?" Langa pressed on, and Reki swallowed.

"They jumped me, but—" Reki immediately started to add, silencing a seething Langa with the palm of his hand.

Langa was nothing short of furious, and he was ready to tell Joe about this development to gang up on the little fucks that put a hand on Reki. And you know what? He'll do the same to that stranger! He'll make them have hell to pay, damn it, how dare they hurt his Reki.

But he couldn't express any of this right now, with Reki's hand on his mouth, so he (begrudgingly) let Reki continue.

"—but, it's fine! It's all in the past now. 'Sides, I kind of felt like I deserved it? I mean, I didn't actually deserve it—" he said, at the furious glare Langa sent to him, "it's just—well, it didn't compare to the people at S, y'know I—oops."

Reki flustered, detaching his palm from Langa's mouth to cover his own. Langa squashed the giddy feeling of that indirect kiss, and firmly, but with a gentleness Reki absolutely deserved, placed his hands on both of Reki's shoulders.

"What did 'the people of S' do, Reki?" Langa grounded out, tired of all of these people out to hurt Reki. Out of everyone he knew, Reki was the last one to deserve this much abuse.

Reki looked up at Langa, and knew he couldn't just lie his way out of not telling him. He looked down for a moment, simmering in guilt—of what?— and looked back up at Langa, setting his hands on his lap.

"They, uh. They would talk behind my back, and uhm, and talk about... How I'm just... A useless... Er," Reki struggled to find the words, and he felt tears sting at his eyes, and he looked up, not wanting them to fall. Langa felt guilty at making him relive these memories, but he needs to know exactly how he'll hurt these assholes.

Reki looked down, at his hands, and then at Langa, then he said, "they'd say that I'm no one... That I'm just... 'the guy who hangs around Snow'... Or just..." Reki bit his lip, "the one who's not Snow."

Langa was reminded of a meme, back from when he was still very much devoid of Reki and his kindness, talent, and all around amazing-ness. It was a dubbed line from an anime, wasn't it?

This is the first time in my life that I've been provoked to hit a woman.

Except they weren't a woman, in fact, they were the plethora of annoying assholes who made Reki feel worse than he already did.

Talk about kicking a guy while he was down.

"Names." Langa said, plain and simple.

"Huh?" Reki said, confused and flustered.

"I want their names, Reki."

"Langa, they were total strangers! Which makes it even more pathetic that their words got to me, honestly—"

"Don't blame yourself for them being stupid and blind." Langa said firmly, "you're amazing, Reki. Don't let them make you think otherwise."

At that, Reki smiled, and playfully punched Langa's shoulder, "thanks, Langa."

Before Reki could pull his hand away, Langa took it in both of his own, "I'm serious. You're so amazing Reki—"

Reki blushed, "th-thanks man, you're amazing too—"

"—you really don't understand, when you skate, you're the only thing I see—"

"—that's really enough!"

"—and you know exactly what I need, and you don't even have to try that hard to figure it out—"

"—is this even about skating anymore, Langa?"

"—and I think your headband is neat, but you look so cute without it, and your hair is a lot more fluffy—"

"Alright!" Reki squeaked out, just as the bell rang, signalling the end of the lunch period, "we'll talk about this later, we have to go back to school—er, class!" Flustered, Reki fixed his headband, and stomped his way back to the classroom.

Langa let out blissful laughter, and for now, he was satisfied with his work. He hoped it'd be enough for Reki to temporarily forget what those people did and said to him. Hoped it distracted Reki enough to not figure out that Langa was planning to find out everything with the rest of the gang, and would be punishing the ones who offended Reki accordingly.

He ran up to Reki, and offered his hand to the latter, whose cheeks were still flushed.

To his delight, Reki took his hand, and they walked down back to their classroom, hand in hand.

Later that evening, uncannily enough, Adam proposed an idea to the duo. A rematch, he had said, to redeem Reki of his loss in their last beef. There was an obvious, underlying malice, in his offer, though. Reki looked terrified, yet determined, but before he could agree, Langa had stepped in front of him, a chilling glower directed at Adam, who only smirked.

Langa had enough of people wanting to hurt Reki, and hated that smug face on Adam's features so much (it promised to hurt Reki to the point that he would be irreparable, and Langa was furious), that before Adam could even comment at Langa's protective stance, he had been punched in the face by the latter.

And, well, Joe seemed a bit inspired to do the same.

——————————————————————

A/N: haha i dont know how to make titles someone help

@andromeda612 @yunolik87

#also should i make a full fledged fic of joe and langa just beating up adam #i feel like it would be very necessary to us and our belief #renga #langa x reki #reki x langa #langa hasegawa #reki kyan #kyan reki #hasegawa langa #sk8 the infinity #im also planning to make a fic for the cindereki thing #we love pining langa but pining reki is smth that's so intimate...#sk8 the infinity spoilers #sk8 the infinity fanfic

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silverisbestboy · 4 years

Text

Sonic Boom x Reader

Requested by @blackace1993: Conversation was accidentally deleted but from what I remeber of it, they wanted hc for the Sonic Boom characters who has a partner who frequently gets into trouble and/or captured by Eggman. They didn't specify which character they wanted so I just did all of them minus Tails. Hope you enjoy!

Sonic:

There's no denying it

Sonic was smitten

The moment you set foot on the island Sonic was taken aback by you

To him, you were drop dead gorgeous with a great personality so I guess you could say it was love at first sight for him

This boy is a fool for you

It's actually quite funny watching him zip across the island at the slightest remark that you need something

"Man, you what? I'm feeling kind of hungry"

"Say no more!" He'll say as he zooms away and reappears seconds later with a chili dog in hand

"Uhhhh"

But, unfortunately for you, being in any sort of relationship with Sonic is not wothout complication

Eggman sees you as a new oppurtunity to best Sonic and ends up taking you hostage on a regular basis

The first time it happens, Sonic all but destroys Eggman's fortress looking for you

But after it continuously happening, it starts getting kinda old

"Greeting Sonic! I see you've come to rescue your little girlfriend"

"Yeah, yeah. Can we just we just get to the part where I clobber you?"

It gets to the point where Sonic starts teaching you how to defend yourself so you can hold your own against Eggman

Not that he doesn't mind rescuing, it's just he can't always be there to protect

With the amount of times they've had to save you, the team are already very familiar with you and consider you apart of their friend group

But as you get better is self-defence, Sonic officially announces you as part of the team and you start joining them on missions

While Sonic does tend to stick to your side more than his other teammates during battle, he's glad to have you fighting alongside them

After all, he's happy to spend as much time with you as possible, even if that means having to bash Eggman's robots to do so

Knuckles:

You're not a bad person

So what if you have anger issues

So what if you get into fights from time to time

So what if you've been in trouble with the cops before

Doesn't mean you're a bad person, it just means you've.... got some issues

One day you're not in the best mood and have already had a pretty shitty day, and you're just a ticking time bomb waiting to explode

So it's no wonder that when a big guy bumps into you and causes you to drop the tray of food you're holding, you go off on him

Unfortunately for you, this guy is huge, a tall red echidna with bulking arms that looks like he could punch you into next week

But you're not one to back down from a fight, you've beaten up guys twice your size before and you're not afraid to do it again

"Woah, hey, sorry about that, didn't see you there."

What, is he dense?! Who does this guy think he is barrelling into anyone he pleases just because he's big? You bet he was just gonna walk off without even helping you. Well, you'd show him!

Without warning, you lunged at the echidna with the intent of knocking him over the same way he almost did to you

But you underestimated his initial strength and reflexes and he caught you midair with your legs kicking and your hands clawing for his face

"Woah, dude chill! I said I was sorry!"

He just kinda holds you up in air at arms length with you kicking and screaming until you eventually tire yourself out

The echidna stares at you cautiously

"Are you good now?"

After a moment, you reluctantly nod, and he gently sets you back on your feet

He then carefully leans down without takong his eyes off you and grabs your burger which is still wrapped in foil and reaches it out to you

"How about we start over? I'm Knuckles."

You thought after that encounter, that was the last you'd see of him

But one day, you've gotten yourself into another fight, and to say you're losing would be an understatement

It's once again, a guy twice your size and he's absolutely beating the crap out of you

But by some miracle, Knuckles happens to be walking by and immediately notices you

He steps in to save you, and the guy you're fighting knows about Knuckles being part of Sonic's team and doesn't even bother attempting to fight him

Knuckles takes your half conscious body to Tails's work shop where they fix you up

After that, Knuckles refuses to leave you alone

Even if you try to leave, he always ends finding you to make sure you don't get into more trouble

He helps you find outlets for your anger by sparring and working out with him

You grow a soft spot for Knuckles that you'd never thought you'd have for anyone

He's your big goofball that somehow always manages to calm you down and get you out of whatever trouble your in

Though it's beyond you why anyone would want to put up with you, eespecially a lovable ray of sunshine like Knuckles, you're so grateful that you have someone like himin your life to keep you in check

A/N: Might make more hcs for that because I absolutely love the idea of big, strong goofball Knuckles having a little ball of pure rage as a partner.

Amy Rose:

Some would say you're a pacifist

Some would say you care too much

Some would say you're too nice

But you like to think that you're just trying to do good in the world

You're definitely the type of person that hates conflict and wants everyone to get along, and you're more often than not a bit of a pushover

You like to give people benefit of the doubt and prefer to see the good in people, although sometimes, this affects you negatively

A kindly looking (or at least in your opinion) wolf with a showman's top hat and a certain glint his eyes one day stops you in your tracks and asks you ever so politely if you would kindly lend him some money to help feed his family

Of course, you're quick to help, but little do you know that this is none other than T.W. Barker himself, and he's been watching you carefully for some time

He notices the way you jump at the oppurtunity to help someone in need, and he being a con man at heart, decides to take advantage of that

But before you can lend the man all the money you have in your pocket, a certain pink hedgehog decides to interfere

"Hey, you leave her alone Barker! Go find your own ATM machine!"

Amy Rose herself stands not far behind you, hammer in hand and ready for trouble

"N-now, now, let's not be too hasty. I was simply accepting a generous donation from this unsuspecting-- I mean self-less young lady."

"Yeah right. Beat it before I hammer you into next Tuesday, punk!"

You're in utter shock as the seeming wolf in sheep's clothing (pun intended) makes his escape

"Gotta look out for scumbags. Seems this village is getting more and more of them everyday. Anyways, I'm Amy, what's your name?"

Since then, Amy keeps a close eye on you to make sure you don't become prey to anymore scam artists

Now Amy will never admit she has anger issues, but she does get... irritated from time to time

On more than one occasion, you're there to help her calm down and have a sleepover planned or a spa day for when things get particularly rough for her

Whenever she needs help choosing which paint to redo her wall with, or which dress she should wear to a party, she calls you up, because no matter what you're interests are or how inconvenient the timing might seem, you're ready to help a friend, even with mundane things

Amy has you become a part of the Sonic family, and while you never do join them in battles, you help keep the peace between the team whenever there's an argument

And Amy always makes sure your overly caring attitude isn't being taken advantage of

No matter the time or the place, Amy knows she can always count on you, and you know she's always got your back

Sticks:

Well this is quite the predicament you've gotten yourself into

A lot of people would descibe you as clumsy, but you knew you just bad luck

And to prove just that, here you were dangling upside from a rope trap after deciding to take a liesure stroll through the forest

What are we, nomads? Who sets out traps in the middle of the woods anymore?!

After about 20 minutes, the blood is rushing to your head and you're starting to feel faint

But just as you think that your bad luck will finally be the end of you, figure bursts from the bushes with a fierce battle cry

It's a badger girl with a boomerang clutched in her paw, ready for a fight

But after a moment she realizes just who's gotten caught up in her trap

"Hey, what's the big idea?! Why're you in my snare?"

"Why am I in your snare? Why did you put out a snare you loon?!"

After about 5 minutes of arguing, Sticks reluctantly cuts you down, begrudgingly explaining that she set out a trap for any woodland monsters

You run into her again on another walk, crossing a small stream before tripping on one of the stepping stones and almost falling in before a furry arm wraps around your waist

"You outta be more careful out here. The wilderness is no place to be a klutz."

"Hey, I'm not a klutz. I just have bad luck is all."

And what more to gain the attention of a superstitious badger than the possibility of supernatural forces at play

"You could've been hexed by a witch. Or worse, there could be a vengeful spirit after you! We gotta get you an exorcist!"

"I'm fine, I'm just unlucky. Always have been always will be."

"We should still burn some sage in your home just to be sure."

You let Sticks do what she wants with you, after all, her superstitious perspective is a nice change from everyone just thinking your clumsy

You think her attempts to "cleanse" you are endearing, she tries something new everyday, and you end up learning a thing or two about survival and the corruptedness of politics from her

Weeks later, her attempts slowly dwindle down, and she just comes to accept she's just gonna have to keep an extra close eye on you, especially when she sets out booby traps

The time y'all have spent together, although it was somewhat motivated by Sticks not wanting to get whatever curse you exposed her to, lead to y'all having a close bond

Everyone has their quirks, she's paranoid and you're clumsy, but you two always manage to work things out

And that's the beauty of a relationship

A/N: Sorry I haven't been that active lately, so take this as an apology. Four hcs for the price of one!

#sonic headcanons #sonic the hedgehog x reader #sonic x reader #sonic boom #amy rose x reader #sticks the badger x reader #knuckles the echidna x reader

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still-busy-being-mortal · 3 years

Text

the rising of the moon

word count: 4544

rating: G

fandom: the mechanisms

warnings: major character death

summary: They've lived so long together, perhaps it is only fitting they die alone.

story notes: so this came about as a result of wanting to cry MORE about the mechs. don't ask me why.

features raphaella spouting unnecessary science jargon, ivy being emotionally repressed/depressed, drumbot brian holding a conversation with himself, and the toy soldier being actually emotionally intelligent.

——————

JONNY

It’s a quiet day aboard the starship formerly known as The Aurora. Most of the crew is out, and she’s drifting slowly through a dusty asteroid field. Ivy has stayed aboard to read, and Drumbot Brian was designated ship-sitter, so he’s stayed on as well. When enough time has passed (Is it days? Or decades? No one knows anymore, and no one cares. They are all so tired.), Brian hits the alert switch that will tell the Mechanisms to come home.

Ivy feels the gentle vibration in her brain --the pulse of The Aurora’s beacon-- and she puts her book down before walking slowly to the navigation bridge. Marius’ hand starts to buzz, messing up his note-taking; he apologizes to the rather fascinating asteroid-dweller he’s interviewing and takes his leave. Ashes feels their chest hum, and they turn away from their beautiful, fiery meteor shower.

[read more on ao3, or continue below!]

One by one, the Mechs find their way home. It takes some longer than others, but they all return eventually. Or they should; right now, there are only seven crewmates in the navigation bridge.

“I’m sick of waiting--where the hell is Jonny?” Tim whines.

“I guess he decided to stay in the asteroid belt?” Marius says.

“Woulda been nice to let us know,” mutters Ashes, “So we’re not all sittin’ here for ages.”

Brian stands and raises his hand. “All in favour of leaving and returning in a few decades?” They all agree, so he pilots Aurora away from the asteroid field.

Time goes by, and they do not hear from Jonny. Of course, members of the crew sometimes stay away for long periods of time, but that doesn’t mean their absence is not felt. And Jonny hasn’t appeared to try and contact them at all.

After a while, they vote to return to the asteroid belt. When they arrive, they split up, communication devices in hand.

Ivy combs through her memory, trying to summon any knowledge she has on Asteroid Field 01.18.20. The Toy Soldier moves methodically from meteor to meteor, searching for their lost comrade. Raphaella interviews any inhabitants she comes across, axially coding their qualitative responses to identify patterns in the data. Tim goes to a bar for a drink, irritated at Jonny’s latest antic.

He walks into some nameless, backwater joint and sits at the counter, flagging down the bartender with a lazy wave. He orders and waits, mechanical eyes roving the establishment. And then he freezes.

On the far wall hang a few dozen photographs, all dusty and poor quality. Above the photos is a crudely-done banner that simply reads “Cheers to Our Past Patrons.” One of the pictures is of Jonny.

When the bartender returns, Tim asks: “What’s the deal with the wall of fame, then?”

“Oh, that,” they answer tiredly. “Just sum dark joke the old owner thought up. Them’s the folks who kicked it in this here bar, you see.”

Tim was confused. “You mean those people died here? That can’t be right; my friend’s up there, and he can’t d--he’s alive.”

The barkeep shrugged. “Don’t know, pal. We had to bury most of thems out back, if you reckon you want to check.” He chuckled darkly and went back to drink-making.

Tim quickly finished his drink and went out the back door. He debated alerting the other Mechs about this development, but decided he might as well see for himself first.

He found the makeshift graveyard quickly, small rusty mounds amid the equally rusty asteroid outback. Some displayed names on roughly carved wood planks, but obviously none of them said “Jonny d’Ville” (Tim laughed at the idea of Jonny carrying around an ID). Most were unmarked, however, so he started to dig.

He used his hands, too impatient to try and find a shovel. He came across bodies and bones in various stages of decay, but none that had any chance of being Jonny. About fed up with this ridiculous idea of his, he decided to dig up one more grave. He shovelled dirt and rocks out of the way, until his hand hit something hard and cold. Something metallic. He pulled on it, and came away with a belt. Christ , he thought.

He quickly scooped away the rest of the dirt, revealing the corpse of Captain First Mate Jonny d’Ville. Dead. Tim stumbled backward, hand fumbling for his comm. “Um, mates, I-I found him.”

The Mechanisms were different after that. Yes, Nastya had gone Out long ago, but they had never actually come across her dead corpse , so it wasn’t the same. Marius had examined his body and declared him fully, completely, and irrevocably dead. They had held a funeral, but they were all too much in shock to really remember it. All they knew was that they were down a crew member, without a captain first mate, and terribly aware of their own mortality.

ASHES

About half the crew was in Raphaella’s lab, helping her with some complex kind of experiment. Raph was mixing two viciously green liquids together, while Marius was unspooling wire from a large bobbin. The Toy Soldier was holding an ultraviolet light against a motherboard, and Ashes connected the motherboard to the chartreuse concoction using the wires. After pouring all of the chemicals, Raphaella pulled on some rubber gloves and pulled out a small pocketwatch from her shirt. “Are we ready?” she asked gleefully. Without waiting for an answer, she started the countdown. “Five! Four! Three! T--curses!” The pocketwatch slipped from her gloved grasp and fell into the churning beaker. All at once there was a flash and a bang, and the lights went out. They stood in complete silence for a minute, before the backup generators flicked on.

The Toy Soldier clapped its hands, “That Was Jolly Good! Can We Do It Again?”

“No, TS, look, I got goop on my--wait!” Marius shouted, “Where’s Ashes?” They all turned to look at where the quartermaster had been just moments before. The floor where they’d been standing was a scorched, intricate, dark pattern of swirls. “What the hell is that ?”

“I Do Not Know, But I Will Go Get The Archivist!”

TS returned with Ivy, who took one look at the patterns on the floor and asked: “Who is it that has been time travelling?”

“Time travelling?!” Raph exclaimed.

“Yes,” Ivy said, “Those marks are a perfect exemplar of the evidence left behind when one has been forcibly transported forward or backward in the time continuum. Which one of you did it? Did you happen to bring back any books?”

“It wasn’t us: it was Ashes.” Marius said, “And we don’t think they’ve come back yet.”

Ivy grew very pale. “That is highly alarming. There’s a less than 0.1% chance that a time traveller ever comes back if they do not return instantly after the outset of their journey.”

“Y-you mean Ashes might not...” Marius trailed off, “...Wait a second! That doesn’t make sense! We don’t experience time linearly!”

“That may be true, but we are not forcibly moved through it either. We are at the whim of the narrative flow, and any alteration to that usually produces negative results.”

The Toy Soldier flashed through many emotions at once, though its face never changed. “So Quartermaster O’Reilly Is...Gone?”

“We can’t prove that yet!” Raph cried, fluttering around the lab and grabbing various scientific instruments. “Maybe if I can pinpoint when exactly they’ve been transported to, we can...we can bring them back.”

“That’s quite a long shot,” Marius said.

“What is science if not a shot into the ignorant dark?” Raph replied, rigging up a technological monstrosity. She aimed the thing at the charred spot and clicked a button, causing the machine to emit a pulsating, whirring sound. “Oh, you all might want to close your eyes.”

With a burst of green and a harsh dial tone, the thing spit out a strip of paper. Raph grabbed it and read it intently. She dropped it suddenly, eyes distant and empty. “They are gone.”

The room burst into a cacophony. (“What do you mean?!” “Gone How? Gone Forever ?” “It was statistically unlikely that they could have returned.”) Raph picked up the paper and pressed it onto the lab table. Most of it was meaningless words and numbers, but Raph pointed out a string in the center: “RESULT) DATE: %& INFINITE ROUNDING ERROR $! _ LOCATION: SINGULARITY!UNIVERSAL IMPLOSION. ANALYSIS) CHANCE OF TERMINATION: 100.0% +-0.0 R = 1.0”

“They’re gone.”

RAPHAELLA

The crew was far more disorganized after Ashes left. With no one to maintain inventory or keep the crew in line, The Mechanisms started to fall apart. Raphaella tried for a while to build some kind of time-travelling device, some way of defying the inexorable march of the story, but it was in vain. She was left with only one option; one experiment she hadn’t tried yet.

She carefully laser cuts some metal from the starship once known as the Aurora. She sits in Nastya’s former workshop for hours, bending and twisting and fabricating until she is left with wings; wings more breathtaking than any she has possessed before. Once on, they fan out behind her in a starburst of blue and metallic grey.

But her crew will never see them. In the cover of darkness, she steals away to the airlock. The ship is currently sailing past a black hole (Raphaella has the Messier number and NGC identification memorized, but that’s not her concern now). With one final look backward at the place that had been her home for millennia --the place she thought she would call home forever -- she casts herself into the black hole.

Ivy finds the note she left, succinct and unmincing as ever:

“Addressed to whoever finds this first:

After a brief review of prior literature, I have found extensive holes (no pun intended) in the study of singularities, specifically as it relates to a singularity’s effect on a humanoid body and mind. I seek to rectify this, as well as explore the possibility of horological manipulation, though perhaps my methods are not entirely replicable. It is every scientist’s dream to be on the cutting edge of research, and so I initiate this experiment joyfully. Also, black holes are hypothesized to have magnificent magnetic fields!

Yours,

Dr. Raphaella La Cognizi”

TIM

Tim, Marius, the Toy Soldier, Brian, and Ivy wait. They do not wait together, and they do not know what exactly it is they’re waiting for, but they wait nevertheless.

Time passes.

Brian pilots the ship towards various planets, pointless battles, dying stars. One day, the remaining Mechs arrive at a lawless sea-based war occurring on a planet composed entirely of liquid obsidian. They commandeer a ship (which they dub the ‘Dawn’) and spend decades wreaking havoc as the most formidable group of pirates. But Tim knows something is wrong.

“Tim, take out that vessel off the starboard side.” Brian orders from the prow of the Dawn.

Tim smoothly preps, loads, and positions a cannon to aim directly at the enemy ship in question. He lights the fuse, and the cannon fires. The crew watch as the projectile hurls through the air, arcing like a cold meteor into the distance. They watch it come down towards the enemy vessel. And they watch it miss.

The crew turns to stare at Tim. He’s not nearly as mortified as they expected. In fact, he’s perfectly serene.

“Um, Tim…” Marius starts slowly, “D-did you know you, uh...missed?”

“Yep.” he responds, popping the ‘p’.

“Did you mean to?”

“Nope.”

“And...you’re not upset by that?”

“Not especially.”

(“That’s a fascinatingly abnormal psychological response,” Marius mutters under his breath, jotting something down in a notebook he appears to have produced out of nowhere.)

The crew continues to stare as Tim goes below deck to his bunk, humming slightly.

Tim has known something was off for a long time now. His aim started to err by nanometres, then by millimeters, then more, until he was missing entire ships like today. He’d panicked at the beginning, of course, but now? Now, he was ready to be done.

He’d felt the pressure building up in his head, behind his eyes. He got spurts of tunnel vision randomly, and sometimes his vision just went to static. He gradually lost the ability to see some colors, as the electronic rods and cones went out one-by-one and refused to self-repair. But he wasn’t nervous or distressed or alarmed; he was excited.

You see, he’d been saving something for a special occasion. He didn’t know what ‘special occasion’ entailed, since the Mechs never consistently celebrated holidays or birthdays, but permanent death seemed like a pretty good one. He rooted around in his rucksack, and withdrew a set of shiny silver keys; keys he’d stolen a long, long time ago. These were the ignition keys to the largest gunship existence will ever see, and Tim planned to go out with a bang. That evening, he told the crew he wanted them all to return to the starship so he could be dropped off somewhere. They all agreed, since they didn’t have any real cares anymore, and they set off for the planet Tim had etched into his memory.

Tim sits in the cockpit of the gunship, the planet itself already ruined and smoking from fighting his way to get here. The Mechanisms were long gone, as he’d told them to leave without him. He hadn’t exactly said he wasn’t planning on coming back, but he thinks they understood. With one last grin of pure, unadulterated madness, he kicks the gunship into gear and blasts off.

The ship goes too fast to comprehend, and in an instant he’s shooting across the cosmos, shattering stars and razing entire systems of planets. The universe has never before witnessed such complete and utter desolation. Tim doesn’t process much during this rampage...until he starts to die.

He doesn’t know what he hit, but something has jolted the gunship just right, and he’s flung out the front glass. He knows he should die instantly, and he is, but his eyes are moving faster. They’re replaying his life, backwards, and he wants to groan with the cliché-ness of it all. But then it’s over. Or, almost over. At the very end, so fast, so short compared to the millennia he has lived, he catches sight of a young man in a trench. Bertie. A face he will never forget no matter how much longer he could have lived. And in the moments of blackness before he stops forever, he thinks about Bertie, about what comes next.

Faith is a moot point when you’re immortal, since you’ve quite literally come into contact with gods and demons, eldritch horrors and cosmic powers. But here, at the end of his wretchedly long existence, Tim wonders if he will ever see Bertie again. If he will ever see Jonny, or TS, or Ashes, or anyone ever again.

He dies blind, with their names on his lips.

IVY

Exposition: Ivy is quite spectacular at suppressing her emotions. She’s also skilled at identifying patterns, so by the time Raphaella left, she knew what was going on with 98% certainty. Without much fanfare, she packed her bags (5 for books and 1 for everything else), said goodbye to Marius, Brian, and the Toy Soldier, and left.

She rifled through her memory archives for the quaintest library she knew of, and headed there.

Rising Action: And so time passed.

Ivy read, and organized, and wrote, and...existed. Nothing happened, and nothing changed. Carmilla must have made an error in her mechanization because she’d never been the best at processing feelings, but she was happy, she thought.

Climax: A war came, and her library was attacked. With the numbest, most detached sense of purpose imaginable, she loaded an escape pod with random books she thought should be preserved and fired it out into the void. She didn’t even know she’d been hit until she’d fallen to the floor, blood streaming from a massive wound. She knows she is dying; she’d seen the patterns.

Denouement: Her brain whirs slower and slower, until it stops. The end.

MARIUS

They are not a crew any longer. Brian has firmly rooted himself on the bridge, more robot than man now. The Toy Soldier wanders the ship, searching for its friends who are playing the best game of hide-and-seek that the universe has ever seen. Marius putters along, doing some maintenance, writing down his thoughts, and waiting for his death.

He’d always known this life of theirs couldn’t last. Besides the conceptual and moral implications of an eternal existence without consequences, it didn’t even make sense physically . There was no such thing as a perpetual motion machine, and he was surprised his more rational-minded crewmates didn’t question it more. But now his theory had come to fruition, and his crew, his family , had slowly dropped off one-by-one, like leaves from an autumnal tree.

He’s at a bit of a loose end now. With no people left to talk to, no minds to pick, he doesn’t feel any sense of purpose. It’s not depression--he knows that; it’s more of a...cosmic futility.

He feels one last pull, one last tug of the all-pervading narrative, a tide of finality, urging him towards a certain door. He knows this door, knows what it means when he opens it. But he also knows all things come to an end eventually, so why not go out doing what he always did? Providing the comic relief.

“Time this for me, will you, Aurora?” he calls out. He turns the handle and steps inside.

BRIAN

Since Jonny’s death, Brian has been at war with himself. He supposes he’s always been at war with himself though, and his current moral quandary reminds him uncomfortably of his first.

Sitting on the bridge alone, he decides to have a conversation.

“So the crux of the problem is that we can bring people back from the dead, correct?”

He flips his switch. “Correct.”

He flips it back. “But the dilemma is whether we should bring the Mechs back or not.”

“Also correct.”

“Which we shouldn’t, because they wanted to die.”

“No, we should. We want them alive, right? Using magic is definitely the easiest way to achieve that.”

“But we need our family to be happy. God knows how long it’s been.”

“Is the end goal their happiness or our happiness?”

“If I answer that, will I change your mind?”

“Is altering the end goal really the moral way to win this argument?”

“You know what? Damn you.”

Time passes, and each crewmate’s departure only makes Brian’s contempt for his own inner hesitation grow. He spends years staring out into the cosmos, thoughts whirling just as fast as the dust and gases beyond the glass. He wonders if he will ever die and join his family, or if the degree of his artificiality will render him truly immortal. He hates that thought more than most anything else.

He stops smelling the smoke of Ashes’ fires one day, and wonders if his olfactory systems are shutting down.

He stops feeling the rumble of Raphaella’s experimental explosions, and wonders if his nerve endings are rusting.

He stops seeing the flash of Tim’s gunshots bounce around the corridors, and wonders if he’s gone as blind as the gunner himself.

He stops hearing Ivy’s narration, and wonders if his auditory fluids have finally trickled away.

One day, the lone violin that has been echoing throughout the empty starship fades out, and Brian feels his heart stop.

It restarts of course, but Brian knows.

He knows that it’s finally, finally time. Soon, very soon, there will be no more life aboard this ship. No life, where there had been life for eons. No life, where there had been life immortal.

His sense of taste has never come into doubt, because he can still taste the acridness of the Toy Soldier’s cooking wafting on the air. He decides it’s only right to bid goodbye, so he makes his way back to the kitchen. On the way, he passes the Doctor’s old laboratory. He briefly considers destroying it, bringing down the whole ship in a blaze of fire and brimstone, but he knows that isn’t right; it wouldn’t fulfill anything.

In the kitchen, the Toy Soldier is pulling something pink and grey and on fire out of the oven. “Hey, TS,” Brain says gently, leaning against the doorframe as his heart falters again. “I-I’ve got to talk to you.”

The Toy Soldier spins around. “Drumbot Brian!” it shouts joyfully. “How Have You Been, Old Chap! I Have Been Playing Hide-And-Seek With The Rest Of The Crew For A While Now, And They Are Definitely Winning! Have You Seen Them?”

“Oh, TS,” Brian says sadly, “We’re all who’s left now. Don’t you know? The others have gone.”

He sees the Toy Soldier’s wooden eyes soften, betraying an agedness he’s never seen before. “Of Course I Know, Bean. But What Have We Been Doing This Whole Time, If Not Pretending?”

Brian smiles sorrowfully, and TS matches it. “I just wanted to let you know, TS, that now it’s my turn to go.”

“I Know.” It salutes him. “Goodbye, Drumbot.”

Brain gently returns the salute, and leaves.

He stumbles through the ship, heart failing rapidly now, but he makes it to the airlock. He knows deep down that there’s only one way his story could end. His whole existence has been framed by empty solitude, with his family providing the best aberration one could wish for. With his body more an empty metal frame than a robot now, he opens the airlock and casts himself back into the cosmos, from whence he came, and where he would die.

THE TOY SOLDIER

Its friends are all gone away now, and it knows this. There is no more laughter aboard the starship once known as the Aurora. There is no more gunfire or explosions. There is no more music. The cold mass of metal drifts through the void of the uncaring cosmos, with no living being aboard.

But The Toy Soldier has to be sure; it has to guarantee that it is truly all alone now. So it visits its friends’ final resting places.

It spends some years gazing out the front windows of the ship. The thrusters have been broken for a long time now, and the Toy Soldier doesn’t know how to repair them, so it just sits and watches. It wants to see the Drumbot, so it pretends that it does. Soon enough, out the starboard porthole, it spies him. His metal is rusted and warped, frost rendering most of his face unrecognizable. A drum is still looped around his shoulder. The Toy Soldier tethers itself to the ship and goes outside for a moment, drifting towards the robot. It lays a wooden hand on his deformed chest, and feels that his heart beats no longer. It carves off a long curl of wood from its side, and places it in Brian’s frozen hand.

It returns to the ship. It hadn’t known where Marius had disappeared to, but now it feels the force of the narrative driving it towards a certain room. It opens the door, and a handful of mangy octokittens hiss at it and scurry away. There’s nothing in the room besides a pile of crumpled clothes, a broken violin, and a metal hand, but the Toy Soldier could recognize that style anywhere. It gently twists one of its own wooden hands off, and lays it on the mound.

The Toy Soldier knows that Ivy went somewhere far away, so it closes its eyes and pretends that it’s there. When it opens them again, it finds itself in the charred ruins of some great marble building. At its feet lay bones, a metal flute, and a mess of circuitry, untouched by the ash. The Toy Soldier reaches up, removes a piece of wood from the back of its head, and lays it besides the flute.

The Toy Soldier has a harder time finding the gunner. It’s drawn this way and that, chasing an intangible trail through the stars and galaxies. All of the planets it passes are devoid of life. Finally, finally, it stumbles across an enormous, gaping wreck of a starship, all mangled and smashed to pieces. The ship is so large, it’s drawn smaller asteroids into an orbit around it. On one of these rocky satellites, the Toy Soldier spies a body: a skeleton covered in a long brown coat with a guitar slung across it. A pair of mutilated, metal eyes rest in the skull. The Toy Soldier smiles sadly, removes one of its own wooden eyes, and slips it into the pocket of the coat.

It knows it cannot follow the science officer into a black hole. It does manage to find the sketches of the wings Raphaella designed, so it gathers them up, takes two chunks of wood from its back, finds Raph’s keyboard, and casts everything into the nearest singularity.

After pretending to be at the end of space and time, it finds itself there. There is nothing, absolutely nothing. It removes two segments of wood from deep within its chest and places them in the nothingness, along with the strings of an old electric bass it had found. As it winks back to the ship, it catches the faintest scent of gasoline.

It returns to the asteroid Jonny had died on, the start of their ignoble demise. It visits his grave, in the taupe dirt of the desert behind the backwater bar, and sees all of the trinkets and mementos the crew had left behind. It knows none of them left anything during their makeshift funeral, so that means each of them must have slipped away at some point to come here on their own. Ashes has left their best lighter, Tim a pair of dogtags. Marius left behind all of his notes of Jonny’s disaster of a brain, and Brian has deposited some sun-scorched piece of space station. His harmonica has also found its way here, somehow. The Toy Soldier slowly, slowly reaches into its chest and removes its wooden heart, laying it down atop the mound of dirt and memories. It walks away, and knows that it can finally, finally stop pretending.

AURORA

There is no record of where the Toy Soldier went next. It certainly did not return to the empty ship once known as the brilliant Aurora. The lifeless, soulless, music-less ship drifts on alone through the cosmos, rusting and warping until no one could tell it had ever been a ship at all. Eons pass, and whatever memory the universe might have had of The Mechanisms has been utterly lost.

Until the misshapen mass gets stuck in the orbit of a planet. Molded and formed by the planet’s gravity, the ship is reborn as a moon. And all at once, she comes to life.

As dawn washes over her, the young moon hears a voice. “Hello, dear,” a woman coos, “My name is Dr. Carmilla.”

#hi please read my fic #am i posting it yet again? yes #the rising of the moon #the mechanisms #fiction #ao3

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lettersfromn0where · 4 years

Text

Zutara Week 2020, Day 1: “Reunions”

IT’S ZUTARA WEEK BABEY *smoke nostrils emojis*! Here’s my contribution for Day 1 :) @zutaraweek

Title: the most beautiful thing (that I have never seen)

Summary: This should be no sweat. After all, Katara's had the entire duration of Zuko's trip to the Earth Kingdom to work herself up to task of giving him news that'll rock his world. That doesn't make said news any easier to get out, though.

A/N: I couldn't be more excited about my first Zutara week! I kinda went back to my roots for this with all of my favorite tropes: clueless Zuko! Affectionate Zuko! Protective/Worried Zuko! Kidfic! Fire Lady Katara! Domestic fluff! Screw Canon They've Been Happily Married For Decades! ...okay, Sarah, that's enough exclamation points *takes the box of exclamation points out of my hands*. Anyway. To kick off Zutara week, this one is just pure fun and fluff, and I hope it brings you joy - because that's the entire reason this exists.

Zuko has a feeling something is up when he steps onto the dock and he’s nearly knocked into the harbor by a blur of…something…flinging itself full-force at him. For a moment he remembers to be worried that this is some sort of improbable and incredibly strange assassination attempt but when the blur settles and he realizes that he’s feeling arms around his waist, holding on for dear life, he lets down his guard.

“I missed you,” the blur that Zuko now recognizes as his wife mumbles into his shoulder. He’s a little shell-shocked – he wasn’t expecting her to meet him – but he smiles softly, moving his arms from their startled paralysis at his sides to encircle her waist. Katara nuzzles against his neck. “I missed you, I missed you, I missed you-“

“I was only gone for a week,” he chuckles, privately wondering what’s going on here but too happy to see her to question it. “But I missed you, too. I’m glad to see you feeling better.”

(Even though it had been a short trip, one she’d been meant to accompany him on but had chosen not to when she’d come down with something the week before, he truly had. He could’ve used her assistance, and her conversation, and the pillow he had to cuddle with as he fell asleep in her absence – because, though he’d never admit it, he’d grown so used to falling asleep with her in his arms that he could no longer drift off easily without something there – was a rather poor substitute.)

“I’m still not feeling fantastic, but I’m doing better.” She leans back a little to look him in the eyes, and her smile is radiant and he almost falls into the harbor for the second time in five minutes. “How was Omashu?”

He groans, and that’s all the detail she needs. Linking her arm through his, the Fire Lady laughs and drags her husband (followed by a retinue of guards whose prying eyes she doesn’t seem to notice) to her waiting palanquin.

To Zuko’s surprise, Katara isn’t very chatty on the ride back to the palace. She’s clearly happy – to see him, probably, but he can’t shake the feeling that the smile on her face isn’t just for him – but a little nervous, too, wringing her hands in her lap. He takes one of them in his, both to still her and to feel her skin against his (something he never gets sick of after several years of touch starvation), and massages circles on the back of her hand. “Are you all right?” he asks, flipping her hand to trace the lines of her palm.

Her breath hitches and for a moment, when he glances up in surprise at the sound, she looks suspiciously close to teary-eyed. “Of course I am,” she says shakily, holding out her arms to him in a gesture for please hug me, NOW, or I believe I might cry. And as a wide-eyed and incredibly confused Zuko takes folds her into his arms, he finds himself at a total loss.

“Are you…” he’s almost afraid to ask. Something’s definitely going on here. What am I not understanding? “Is this about whatever you came down with last week?”

“I’m okay,” she says with a watery smile, sniffling. “It’s nothing bad. Don’t worry, I didn’t get sicker.”

He’s too relieved to notice that she doesn’t outright deny it. “Good.” He lets her snuggle up against him and his heart would be melting right now if Katara wasn’t crying for some unspecified reason of which he remains completely unaware.

(It still is, a little bit, but…this can’t be good.)

-----

Zuko is starting to be very worried about this.

Usually, he’s the earlier riser. He’s up at sunrise nearly every day, so he’s a little taken-aback when he opens his eyes to find Katara’s side of the bed empty, gone with no evidence that she was ever there but a person-shaped impression in the satin of their sheets. “Katara?” he calls groggily, rubbing at his eyes. “Where’d you go?”

She pads back down the corridor from their washroom when she hears Zuko’s voice. “Here,” she calls back softly; though there’s no one but him to wake up in this wing of the palace, it feels wrong to raise her voice in the quiet hours of the early dawn. She tries to smile reassuringly as she slides back under the covers and snuggles up to her husband, sleepily clinging to his neck, but he can’t help but notice that her expression is a little pinched. The relief on her face when she finally lays down is obvious, even though she’s nearly asleep.

“Are you still not feeling well?” Zuko asks, pushing a tendril of hair that escaped her braid overnight behind her ear. “Do we need to call-“

“No,” she mumbles sleepily. “’m fine.”

She drifts off after that, and even a few hours later when they have to wake up, she won’t get out of bed. It’s not like her to sleep in – she’s normally so industrious – but her eyes are heavy, and she looks miserable at the idea of starting her day. Zuko can’t bring himself to protest that she has meetings to attend (she does) or that there are documents to review (there are), but it worries him all day. She’s clearly not over her illness and the fact that it isn’t gone makes his stomach twist.

When he returns to their rooms that evening after an exhausting workday to find her passed out in the same clothes she wore to bed last night, he wonders if she’s moved an inch all day.

Zuko shakes his head. There’s definitely something she’s not telling me, he thinks as she sheds his robes and gets ready to join her in sleep (if he even can). It’s a thought that only feels like a dagger to the heart when she unconsciously presses herself closer to him, so trusting she’s drawn to him even as she sleeps.

He can’t let anything happen to her.

--------

It has been four days of this now, and Zuko is definitely worried - infinitely moreso because Katara won’t let him call in a doctor. One minute she’s burrowed in his arms like her life depends on it and the next she’s yelling at him, and he’s really on the verge of a nervous breakdown now-

“For the last time, I’m fine!” Katara snaps, turning her back to him. She’s been acting out-of-character lately, but this sheer, unadulterated rage is new. “You do not need to call the doctor, I’m not dying, and you’re not helping by worrying about me all the time!”

“How could you possibly expect me not to worry?” he yelps. “Are you kidding me? You’ve been” – he starts to tick off her symptoms on his fingers – “crying, sleeping badly, getting mad at nothing, sometimes not waking up at all, running off without telling me why, looking sick, eating almost nothing and then going and eating weird things at weird times – Katara, you’re not fine. And I can’t just sit here and watch you get sicker anymore.”

She hangs her head. “There’s a reason I’ve been running off,” she says quietly, seated at the end of their bed and looking…defeated. It’s not a look she wears often and Zuko’s already-frazzled brain has yet another item to add to its list of Things to Worry About now. “I’m…getting nauseous a lot.”

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?” Zuko’s face blanches. “You’re sick and you didn’t tell me?”

“This is exactly why!” she protests, throwing up her hands. “It was only ever going to freak you out, and I was waiting for the right time, and honestly, I kind of hoped you’d put two and two together but clearly you’re too dense to-“

“You’re really sick, aren’t you?” Zuko feels like the room is spinning. “Something’s-”

Katara crosses her arms, her defeated expression turning to one of…amusement? Zuko is rather confused – in an instant. “No, Zuko, I’m not sick,” she says, and he’s pretty sure she’s laughing at his expense. “I mean, yes, I am. I mean, feeling sick. But I’m not gonna die.”

“Then why won’t you tell me what’s actually wrong with you?” Between the information he’s just received and her latest sudden mood swing, Zuko is at wit’s end.

“You really haven’t figured it out yet?” she smirks, and, crawling to the other side of the bed where he stands, she sits up on her knees to stand at his eye level and loops her arms around his neck. “I’m not dying, Zuko. I’m pregnant.”

“You’re-“

Oh.

Zuko blinks a few times to make sure he’s not dreaming (or…hallucinating – it wouldn’t be the weirdest thing he’s ever experienced), and when he opens his eyes again, Katara’s still there, her blue eyes huge and level with his, waiting expectantly for a response.

(Expectantly. Zuko almost laughs at the fact that he’s so addled he’s making accidental puns now.)

“That makes so much more sense,” he says, breathing a long sigh of relief. Now he really is laughing, partly out of the delight that’s managed to seep through the cracks of ‘I need to process this’ and partly out of sheer relief, because she’s okay, and this is good. “So you’re okay?”

Katara rolls her eyes and pushes her nose against his. “Yes, idiot husband, I’m fine.” She leans in to steal a fleeting kiss. “But check back with me in seven months and I probably won’t have the same answer.”

Then it hits him like a ton of bricks, and his eyes are moist and he’s laughing and crying all at once and all he can think to do is reach down to lift her legs, scooping her off the bed and into his arms and pulling her closer than close. He doesn’t spin her (because he will not be a walking cliché…or, realistically, because his arms are trembling and he’s terrified he’ll drop her even though he does this often), but she gives a delighted little yelp of surprise as he cradles her to his chest, pressing kisses to every exposed surface of her face.

“Someone’s happy,” she teases, and he just kisses her.

“I am,” he says after they finally break apart. “Katara, I…” the lump in his throat won’t let words pass by. “I can’t…I’m sorry, this…I love you.”

He sets her back on the bed and she flops against the comforter, pulling him down with her. They’re laying parallel on the comforter on their backs but Zuko flips on his side to get a better look at her. (An awed smile overtakes his face, and he concludes that whoever it was that decided pregnant women glow was really onto something.) Katara notices, and reaches out to ruffle his hair.

“Aww,” she mutters, moving closer. “You’re cute when you’re speechless.”

They’re silent for a moment, lying there to let themselves take it all in, and then Katara takes his hands and sets them against her still-flat stomach. Zuko feels like he should say something, at first, but the thousand emotions running through his mind won’t let him. And that might be for the better, he realizes.

Words aren’t enough for this moment.

#zutara week #zutara week 2020 #day 1: reunions #myfic #fanfic #writing #mywriting #zutara #zuko #katara #atla #otp: i should be the one thanking you

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lovetheplayers · 5 years

Conversation

Taylor's interview on the Roz and Mocha show | KISS 92.5 (May 1, 2019)

Mocha: Hello, is this the one, the only Taylor Swift?

Taylor: Hi, how are you?

Mocha: Doing great. It's the Roz and Mocha show. You are talking to, like, every single person in Canada right now. What would you like to say to your Canadian fans?

Taylor: Oh, my god. That's so much pressure. I just want to say thank you for everything. They've been amazing and I can't wait to see them again. How are you doing?

Mocha: You know what, we're on the phone with you finally, we're so happy, and we know how busy your life is. You just wrapped up the Reputation World Tour in November. When did you start working on new music for this new album?

Taylor: I started working on it pretty much immediately after that, but I did have a lot of ideas that I've been kind of cultivating while I was on tour, so as soon as I got off tour I just went right into the studio and pretty much stayed there.

Mocha: Okay, and how long did that that process take from the time—like, was there any type of downtime after the tour to when you started working on new music?

Taylor: Not really, um, I just—I was very ready to make the next thing. I knew exactly what I wanted to make next.

Mocha: Okay.

Taylor: Sometimes that takes a long time. Like, for the album before it, reputation, that took me a very long time to realize what I wanted to make because after—the album before that was 1989 and I felt so kind of stifled by, like, "Okay, what do I do now?" But with this album I just knew exactly what I wanted to make and so I started making it immediately.

Mocha: And how does a collaboration like ME! come to light where you're working with Brendon Urie? Like, do you reach out to him, did he reach out to you? Were there talks of you guys working on music together? Are you writing together in the same room; are you texting back and forth?

Taylor: Well, yeah. It is very organic like that. Well basically, like, I was writing the song. I wrote the chorus and the first verse with Joel Little who wrote and produced the song with me, and we were in the studio and I was just thinking, "I think this needs to be a duet. I think it would be cool if both people in a relationship were saying this about each other and about themselves, just in the nature of, you know, you're worthwhile and irreplaceable, and so am I and that's why this works," and kind of make it into more of a conversation. And I also wanted it to be very playful. I didn't want it to take itself seriously at all, so I was thinking, "Who would be an amazing person to bring in to really elevate this; who could be such a good performer and who would want to do this and really want to perform with me on, like, award shows?" Like, you want someone who's going to be a full team player—no pun intended with the song. But basically I thought of Brendon and I was thinking, "I wonder if he would want to do this," because obviously he's having such an amazing year and I figured he's so busy, but then I saw that he had said in an interview that he would love to collaborate with me and I was like, "Oh, my god. Maybe he'll do it." So I, like, reached out to his management and he was immediately on board. He literally came to the studio, like, a week later and recorded his part and also, like, helped write the bridge with us and just really finished the song with his personal touch on it which was nice.

Mocha: Oh, so all it takes is a shout-out to Taylor Swift. So if I said right now next time Taylor Swift that you were in Toronto and we would love to have you live in studio on the Roz and Mocha show, we could totally make that happen?

Taylor: Well that would definitely help, yes.

Mocha: In the lead-up to the release of ME! you made an appearance at the the NFL Draft which had some people, including my co-host Roz, speculate that you might be performing at next year's Superbowl halftime show. We know that or may not know that you are or not working with Coke anymore which would totally open the door for a deal at the Pepsi halftime show.

Taylor: I mean, I hadn't even thought about it, but I'm really flattered that you have such big dreams for me.

Mocha: The internet detectives are out there. Your fans are the ones that are piecing this together as well.

Taylor: Yeah, they're really—they're so, so clever and I mean with that I really just thought it was a coincidence that it was in Nashville. Like, the NFL Draft is in Nashville and I'm from Nashville and that was really—it was the Nashville connection. I wasn't, like—I wasn't, like, at that point in time I wasn't, like, leaving a cryptic tapestry. But I am with most things.

Mocha: Okay, and other than Brendon Urie are there any other features on the new album?

Taylor: I'm gonna definitely let people kind of discover that when the time comes. You are so curious and I love it. I'm loving your energy.

Mocha: I'm asking the questions that the fans are trying to get answers to as well, including the album title.

Taylor: I don't break under interrogation.

Mocha: Taylor Swift, it was such a pleasure talking to you. Thank you so much. Again, I know that you're super, super busy right now. Congratulations on the success of ME! especially breaking YouTube and VEVO in 24 hour view records. That is amazing; we cannot wait to see you live in person in Canada, across the entire country in various cities. You know this country has mad love for you. Thank you, thank you, thank you and we can't wait for the album

Taylor: Well thank you so much. It's awesome talking to you too, and thank you for saying that you can't wait for the album. That's amazing to hear. I'll talk to you guys soon and hopefully see you.

Mocha: Yeah, for sure. Take care, Taylor.

Taylor: Bye!

#taylor swift #me! radio promo #roz and mocha

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zombiiesque · 3 years

Text

Nocturne Alchemy Seth's Dinosaur Collection - PART ONE

Originally published on 6/27/2017

Hello, everyone! I've been wanting to write some reviews for a while now, but we moved, and then I promptly came down with a really bad case of bronchitis, that did not seem to want to go away. I ended up with two different antibiotics and almost went to the hospital at one point, but it's mostly dissipated finally. Well, then I had to put my house together and get everything situated here, and I'm sure anyone that has moved understands how much effort that takes. I haven't moved in over four years, and I felt really bad about not getting my house organized! And here I am, going on and on. Anyway, I had intentions of reviewing Seth's Dinosaur Collection for quite a while, but I think it's particularly relevant now. Nocturne Alchemy is reopening in 4 days, on June 30th! *squeeing and flailing* I'm so excited to see the site redesign. Also, they've been working on new label art, and from what I understand, they'll be adding new scents to the various Permanent Collections. So much fun. I'm sure it's going to be beautiful. If you'd like to keep up with them in the meantime, they have been posting fun things on their Facebook Business page, including a sneak peek video of the new logo, which is absolutely elegant.

Well, I started this last night, and ended up having things to do that needed my immediate intention - so I had to put it down and come back to it in the morning! It seems like that's the way things have been going lately, so now this review is even more timely. Before I delve into it, I want to make mention that I had an email conversation with the NA crew, because I wanted to address some of the rumors I'd seen going around since they'd been closed. I saw that folks were concerned that they wouldn't be reopening, because they've been gone so long, and I also saw that many were worried that the catalogue as it was known might not be returning, so I wrote to see if they'd give me something to share with people - and they did! Such lovely, kindhearted people, and that is the reason I am such a huge "fangirl". I mean, don't get me wrong - they make the most exquisite perfume oils, and of course that drew me in, but once I began to see how much heart they pour into their company, and how much they care about their customers, that really made me fall head over heels. Honestly, in the world of indie perfumes, NA is a pretty good sized company. They've been making perfumes for 10 years now - actually, as it's June, they're into their 11th year, and they have a pretty extensive catalogue! So in their own words, I'll use a direct quote here from Nocturne Alchemy.

NA will return June 30th. We asked our customers last year what they thought of the old NA site. Constructive criticism concluded that it was dated. The truth is, we knew this and had been looking for the right host site for the past two years. We knew it would take time to migrate and create a new site but we'd have to be 100% involved and the focus of a new site would mean we'd have to shut down the old site. In the process, we decided to recreate the art for the labels of the Permanent Collection (we call it the PC because we view perfume as you would at an art gallery, where there is a Permanent Collection and a Limited Collection or the temporary exhibit if you will). In the past six months we've taken some much needed time off after a decade of perfume making, perfume soul-searching, travel for more unique perfume, and also back in the Studio for months now working on new PC, new art for new labels and a new look for NA. It took two years prior to opening NA in 2006 creating a small collection of PC and Limited perfumes, designing labels, the site...the fact that we can do this in six months, means we are at the top of our game. We know what we want to create but you can't rush art. NA will return June 30th. Find us on Facebook to stay up with current information. The PC and Studio Limited will return, as well as the beloved VApothecary line that has been rebranded under Nocturne Alchemy to facilitate cohesiveness at the new site.

So, there you have it! In addition to completely redesigning the site from the ground up, including a different type of "shopping cart", they've been working on all kinds of wonderful things. I am not sure I will even know where to start on Friday! I'm certainly looking forward to digging through the new site - bad pun intended? And now, I have to apologize. As I said, I'd meant to get this posted a few weeks ago, but life sort of threw me under the bus, and I just couldn't give it the proper time it deserved, as the Dinosaur collection, and the eNVie review, both deserve a bit more depth than just reviewing a single perfume. I'll be working on the latter today, to get it posted up hopefully by tomorrow.

So, roughly two summers ago, Nocturne Alchemy released the original Dinosaur collection, which was Seth's baby, as his other passion, from his early childhood, was dinosaurs, and he wanted to do a collection with that theme. I must tell you, it's been one of my very favorite collections, and I'm only missing a few of them. Last summer, they released a Resurgence, and added some new perfumes to the collection. It's alternatively been called the Prehistoric collection, but the name "Seth's Dinosaurs" has kind of become the popular name among the fans, and often gets shortened to "the Dinos". A little note about this collection: "These dinosaur perfumes are created with the beauty of resin in mind for each of them. The concept to this perfume, the label and the respect of the dinosaur is built on imagination. If you look at the label, there is an egg to the left. It is the same color as the Dinosaur. Apply the perfume on wrist and inner elbow and allow the scent to bind with your chemistry. Once this has occurred, inhale. This conceptually, is the egg. To allow the dinosaur to hatch, we wanted you to go to your Studio Limited Library and pull as many as you want, especially your favorites. The magic in layering the dino's with your Studio Limited Library will give your library a new NAVAlchemy aspect of layering and creating your own personal Dino scent. The fun in NAVAlchemy and hatching the dino eggs is all up to you!" - note from Seth. So, I've seen a few comments floating around the internet that say these oils seem to be rather linear, or flat - and I hope that people will read this, because if they don't realize that these were created specifically to be layered, then they'll miss the beauty of these. I do like them on their own, but I find that when they are layered with other perfumes, the beauty and versatility really shines through. I was never adventurous about layering until I was introduced to these beauties, and they really taught me to branch out, because the possibilities are quite endless. What's interesting is that a lot of the SL (Studio Line) is also fantastic for layering, so I'll make some suggestions for these together for you to try. I believe, from the hints that they've been dropping on the Facebook page, that we'll once again be graced with new Dinos this summer. I don't know if it will be happening with the grand reopening, or at some later time in the summer, but it seems that we'll be getting new Dinosaurs to play with! I cannot wait.

So, let's get started! I'll go with the first round of Dinosaurs that I have, and then the second round will be in a separate post. All of the Dinosaurs also make this mention: "*tiny bits of resin may occur in the Dino blends, these will only enrich the blend even more with aging!"

Cryolophosaurus: Resinous Amber Accord, Limestone Amber, Aged Organic Studio created Patchouli, Black Patchouli, SL Crimson and only a drop of fine aged Egyptian White peppercorn eo. So, this was my first love of the Dinosaurs. I was pretty new to NAVA at the time the first collection came out, so I was still trying everything via decants before I sprung for full bottles, because I hadn't learned what worked on me and what didn't yet. I think I ordered decants of everything but Spinosaurus, because I had learned at that point that black honey and I don't get on. Still salty about that! Anyway. The decants arrived, and I tried them all out - and fell madly in love with Cryolophosaurus, and promptly ordered a full bottle. It's....what are words! I feel as though I'm going to be repeating myself here with this collection, but I'll do my best for y'all. The patchoulis in this blend are bright and sort of herbal, almost minty? I don't know if that's a proper patchouli trait, but as a bit of a hippie, I've been a lifelong fan of patchouli (thanks, mom!) and was exposed to the dark and dirty hippie type patchouli early on in life. This was the first time I was exposed to patchouli as a more herbal note, and I was absolutely blown away. I often find NAVA ambers to have a "fresh" sort of quality, and the two ambers used in the Dinosaur collection definitely seem to have that, so it keeps any of these blends from being overly dark. There's definitely a depth and a sort of stoney feel to each one of these, but as I've mentioned, that seems to come out more once you layer them with another perfume, and Cryolophosaurus is no exception. I can wear this happily alone, it's quite different than say Hessonite, which can be a little overwhelming if you're new to patchouli, the ambers lift this up and seem to give the patchoulis a different nuance. You don't get the red musk (Crimson) or pepper aspect very much until you wear this one layered, but those aspects come out and shine once you pair this with another oil. Also, this oil is red! As I've had my bottle for 2 years, there's definitely some resinous bits forming now, but I couldn't seem to capture a picture of it.

I could rave and rave about this one. Goals: If they bring this back as a Resurrection again this year, GET A BACKUP BOTTLE. Hah!

TL;DR A fresh, sort of bright, herbal patchouli. The nuances of the ambers, red musk, and pepper come out to play when you layer this, but you probably won't notice them while wearing it solo.

Layering suggestions: Try this with Kashmir, Crystalline, Amethyst, Santalum, Crystal, White Ambre Ombre. If you have Labyrinth Oudh, this pairs beautifully with that. If you are a patchouli fiend, you might try hatching it with Patchouli Ombre or Hessonite. I like it with Sekhmet Amber and Black Raven, also.

Diplodocus: Resinous Amber Accord, Limestone Amber, a drop of Cacao, Boswellia carterii Frankincense from United Arab Emirates and a drop of steam distilled Oman Frankincense tears we picked from the actual Frankincense tree.

Believe it or not, although I tried all of my decants the summer that the Dinosaur Collection came out, I did not really pursue full bottles of any except Cryolophosaurus. When I heard that the collection was to be resurrected last summer, I decided I needed to try my decants again, and came to the conclusion that I would have to acquire full sizes of all the originals that I had decants of - oh boy! And then there were new ones joining them. I was in trouble. So, I was trying to decide which of these I absolutely had to have, and at first, I had decided since I had Holiday Egyptian Frankincense, I probably didn't need Diplodocus. Well, I fell pretty hard for HEF last summer and found myself layering it with everything, and before I knew it, I had gone through a half a bottle. Panic set in, and I decided I was probably going to need an alternative frankincense, as it was a note I was falling more and more in love with. Diplodocus became a must have, and I am glad I was able to sneak it in my last order before the collection came down. As a stand alone perfume, this is pretty much a linear frankincense - albeit a lovely one. Beautifully woody, you could wear this alone if you were in the mood to wear a sort of single note frankincense, but this lends a wonderful aspect with so many perfumes, I prefer to layer it. Once I layer it with another perfume, the bright, resinous, stony amber comes out to play with the woodiness of the frankincense, and it's heavenly. The cacao is not a starring note, I can find it with my nose only if I keep sniffing, but it plays a lovely supporting role.

TL;DR A perfect frankincense layering note, it does well with adding a sort of grounding to perfumes that might ordinarily be too bright or feminine for my particular tastes, and is lovely paired with the SLs as well to create a duality.

Layering suggestions: Kobalt Dark, Santal Ombre, Egyptian Musk, Crystal, Diamond, or even to add a tad more frankincense to Ember. I've also paired this and love it with Gabriel, Eternal Egypt, and Ozymandias. I love it with several LC perfumes as well; Black Velvet, Black Crystalline Black Fig, Vamp, Anticipation, Blue Lotus, Snow Amber.

Pteranodon: Resinous Amber Accord, Limestone Amber, a drop of Cacao, Pure Sandalwood left to age in the perfume, Santalum Gold, Santalum and a drop of Blue Santalum.

GODS. Gods. This was the one that made me sit up and take notice, why had I missed out on ordering a full bottle, and I need to rectify this immediately! All of the Dinosaurs are fantastic, versatile little workhorses when playing with layering, but Pteranodon became a quick favorite of mine, and dare I say? Yes, I dare, it became my favorite sandalwood thus far. Don't get me wrong, you'll be prying my gloriously aged bottle of SL Santalum out of my cold, dead hands, I absolutely adore Santalum White, especially when spring and summer roll around, but really I can see using it all year...but this, this is special. Samantha tells me that's because it has the most precious of precious, Santalum Gold. Since she sent me a little sample of her precious bottle, I can understand the obsession - there's something pretty amazing about Santalum Gold. It's a little more woody and resinous, more fully sandalwood than the new version Santalum. I love mine, don't get me wrong, but I can see why Santalum Gold is so popular that if one pops up in the secondary market, it is gone within minutes. Ah well, one day I will be quick enough! Until then - Pteranodon. Yes, I can and have worn this alone, and I absolutely adore it. I like it in my hair, it's one of my favorite layering components when I pair it with something and add a few drops of unscented hair oil and run my fingers through my hair. Hnnnnggg. It's hauntingly familiar, it reminds me of when I lived briefly in Minneapolis in the early nineties and I hung out in the head shops and the kitschy little knicknack shops of uptown and the fantastic thrift stores....ahhhh the nineties, it brings me a feeling of nostalgia, for that's when I discovered how glorious sandalwood was. Oddly enough, my mother is a darker creature, and I don't remember her wearing sandalwood during her hippie days, mostly patchouli and musk and especially dragon's blood. She was missing out, I tell you. This. This really evokes some strong emotions in me. So, once layered, again the ambers come out to play, and the cacao is there as a supporting note, but the star is the variety of sandalwoods. You really get a sense of the four once this is layered. I don't know what to say other than IF THIS COMES BACK AND YOU DON'T HAVE IT YOU'D BETTER GET ONE. I'll be picking up a backup. I might not be able to get my hands on Santalum Gold, but this will do.

TL;DR HNNNGGGG GORGEOUS INCREDIBLE SANDALWOOD.

Layering suggestions: Gods, it goes with everything. Seriously. One of my favorite things is to hatch this with a combination of Diamond, Crystalline, and Tibetan Crystalline. Alternately, I'll do Bloodstone, Egyptian Musk, and this (maybe some Amethyst too). It's fantastic with Ember Vanilla or from the LC, Phantasm Kiss. I love it with Egyptian Temple Oudh. Umm, Eternal Egypt, Bastet Amber, Raphael, Black Raven. Ambre Ombre, or even Santal Ombre. I love it with the OPs, Baba, Tawaret, Pakhet, Hathor. I've got a smidgen of my sample of Egyptian Peach Blossom left and it's lovely with that. Polichenelle. Cecilia, Adele, Music, Snow Amber, Patchouli Ombre. There hasn't been a layering combination with this one I haven't loved, so be adventurous. If a perfume seems a bit too sweet or floral, this makes a nice "grounding" effect. Just do yourself a favor and nab this if it comes back!

Tyrannosaurus: Resinous Amber Accord, Limestone Amber, a drop of Cacao, Dracaena Draco of Morocco (Dragon's Blood resin) and Sangre de Grado Dragon's Blood.

One of the things I don't think I've talked about a lot is exactly how much I love NAVA's dragon's blood. I seem to like dark, red, resinous things quite a bit, I mean, Kashmir is practically my signature, followed closely by Bloodstone. So, what is their dragon's blood like? It's that perfect mixture of spicy and fruity. It's so, so well balanced. I don't really like it when a db note veers too much into either territory, leaving the other territory well behind. I want that combination, just a little spicy, just a little fruity, almost delicious. This is another workhorse. Alone, it's a beautifully resinous, juicy dragon's blood with a little kick of spice. It might be too dark alone if you're not into db, but layer this big boy - did Seth name this one well or WHAT? Layer Tyrannosaurus, and it becomes bright and lifted with the amber, and it's possibly even more beautiful than Bloodstone. Wait, what? Blasphemy. Okay, maybe not my bottle of aged, thick, glorious Bloodstone, but it's pretty amazing. Worn alone, T-Rex is a hint of the amber, and the two dragon's bloods. Layered, and he comes into his full glory, the amber comes out to really play, and that lovely supporting cacao becoes just a little bit evident, to give it a little more depth.

TL;DR: T-Rex is a big boy, and this perfume more than lives up to its name. I find it apropos that his scent is dragon's blood. Layered, he is just the right amount of resinous, spicy, juicy dragon's blood and glorious, fresh stony amber. Mmmm. Mm. It makes me hum with happiness.

Layering suggestions: Ember Vanilla, Ambre Ombre, Patchouli Ombre, Santalum, Ember, Black Raven, Mists of Arcacia, OP Anubis, OP Pakhet. From the LC, try it with Phantasm Kiss, Blood Moon, Egyptian Temple Oudh, Copal Oudh, or Pandora.

Utahraptor: Resinous Amber Accord, Limestone Amber, hungry chomps of Kashmir and Black Musk Absolutes, Egyptian Musk and a drop of Crimson and Sri Lankan Black Peppercorn eo.

Oh, Utahraptor. I've listed this last, but not because I love it least. In fact, I adore it, and it's quite versatile - different layering options bring out different facets of this one. I'm sure I've made mention of the fact that I really, really love NAVA musks. Kashmir is probably one of my favorite perfumes. So naturally, I had to have this. Worn alone, this comes across as mostly Kashmir, with a breath of Black Musk underneath, and the amber lifts it up - it might seem like a heavy blend, but it's saved from that by the beautifully clean Egyptian Musk and ambers. Start playing with layering, and while Kashmir, a bold red musk, remains the star, Black Musk and Egyptian Musk come out to play a bit more vocally, and I love that little kick of spiciness in the background of peppercorn. I'm a big fan of pepper in perfumes - Music is a great example of this, I feel, and it's kind of a surprising note, I think that many people would envision it from a cooking spice standpoint, but it's a bit different when added as a component of perfume. It adds a little kick, and it's quite fun. If you've never had the experience, I highly recommend giving it a chance. Anyway, enough about pepper, it's a supporting note here, and gives this "egg" a bit of pizzazz when you hatch it with another perfume.

TL;DR: Kashmir, a bold red musk, is the star here but plays beautifully with the other two musks, Black and Egyptian, when layered. Don't be afraid of the pepper. Despite the musk heavy blend, it's not nearly as heavy as you might think, the ambers lift and brighten this perfectly, and it's quite fun with a variety of different types.

Layering suggestions: Crystalline, Tibetan Crystalline, Santalum White, Egyptian Musk, Ozymandias, Pharaoh Anniversary, OP Baba, OP Set. For LC options, I absolutely am nuts over hatching this with California Redwood Crystal Musk. Also, Underlord Akhenaten, Pyewacket Cat, Pumpkin #2, Copal Oudh, Enigma, and it's amazing with the Byzantium Amber from their 9th Anniversary perfumes.

Okay, whew! That was pretty extensive, I am sorry for the wall of text, but I do hope you'll find my "hatching" suggestions helpful. This really did provide me with the courage to really branch out and become a layering fiend, and now I will layer various perfumes in with my unscented hair oils too, and I get a lot of compliments about how amazing my hair smells. Tomorrow, I'll get the second half of this posted for you, with last year's additions. From the first year, I do not have Spinosaurus, Stegasaurus, or Styracosaurus. Feel free to offer up your own layering combinations with these amazing perfumes! I want to mention one more thing in closing, these are another collection that do even better with age, they become richer and seem to come into their own even more. Have a wonderful evening!

Editing to add a note, and a link to part two! I forgot to mention previously, is that these are lovely when you pair them together! And I've done this several times with different combinations. Pteranodon with Protoceratops or Deinonychus, Velociraptor with Utahraptor, Diplodocus with Giganotosaurus, Protoceratops with almost anything! Hah.

Another thing to mention, if you have eNVie Saphir, many of these are stunning when hatched with Saphir. Definitely worth experimenting with - I have Saphir, Ambre Saphir, and Encens Saphir, and they all do well with the Dinosaurs.

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sparatus · 7 years

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Headcanon: Saren wields puns as weapons... to devastating effect. Especially against Des. Des is target alpha in the Pun War. It's perfect because no one believes that Saren Arterius, of all people, likes puns. They've gotten to the point where Des will say something (especially around his subordinates, oh yes), and Saren will just slowly make eye contact, and give him The Look. He doesn't even have to voice the pun. It's just There. And Des just... internally combusts. And no one's the wiser.

i’m making a fic of this now you can’t stop me

“That brother of yours,” Desolas’s grandmother had told him, when Saren was six and the paperwork had cleared to let the brothers stay together until either Desolas finished his mandatory service or Saren started his, “is going to be trouble when he gets older. There’s a lot of your father in him.”

His father had been a peaceful man who just wanted to hide out in his studio all day and make nice pots. Desolas wasn’t sure how that translated to “trouble” for his parmat, so he just nodded and said he’d keep that in mind, and call if he needed her.

It started when Saren was seven.

Desolas had come back from the base in a stew that day. He’d flopped down on the couch without even bothering to take his armor off. Saren had been watching vids, some nature documentary about the horrors that lurked deep in the Palavenian oceans. He hadn’t responded to Desolas coming inside; Desolas had slowly learned that simply meant there was nothing to report, and he wasn’t bored enough to be entertained by his brother’s return.

“I swear, Posnus is getting on my last nerve,” he’d growled, pulling his gloves off with sharp, jerky motions. “If he takes my gear one more time, I’m gonna stab him, just watch me.”

Saren had cast a disinterested look over his shoulder at him then, one that lasted a good few seconds before he turned back to the vidscreen. “That’s not very knife of you, Des.”

It had taken a moment for what he’d said to sink in. When it did, Desolas had sat up quickly, balancing on his elbows and giving his little brother an incredulous look. He hadn’t wanted to dignify that horrible comment with a response, but at the same time, he couldn’t just let it go.

He’d finally settled on reaching out with one foot and giving Saren’s back a little shove. “Very funny,” he’d groused.

Saren had giggled, just a short, little noise, like he didn’t want to admit he’d even made the joke. Then he’d gotten to his feet, hopped backwards a few steps, and clambered up to lie down on top of Desolas for the remainder of the documentary, like he always did when his brother came home.

That was only the beginning. As it turned out, Grandma had meant that her son, their father, had been terribly, horrifyingly good at wordplay, especially puns. It seemed like Saren had a bad pun for every conceivable situation, and then some. He even knew puns in other languages. And as many of them as possible were directed at Desolas, specifically.

He tried to be diplomatic about it. Really, he did. When Saren was still a kid, he’d push him a little, just enough to knock him off balance, a reprimanding blow. He’d tell him to knock it off, but there must have been something in his voice telling Saren he wasn’t really mad, because he just kept at it. Once he was older, and significantly less fragile, Desolas ramped it up, making him stumble, sometimes whacking him just hard enough to sting for a day or two.

Nothing worked. Still they couldn’t go more than a day or two without Saren slipping at least one pun into casual conversation, still Saren went out of his way to add puns to the messages he sent, still Desolas was repeatedly tempted to call his grandmother and beg her to do something.

The worst moment came during a routine patrol, with Saren hitching a ride to get to his next super-classified Spectre mission without having to spend his own money (little cheapskate). Desolas had been talking to the troops, outlining the usual mission, and had turned to Saren when he was done. “As for you-” he began, only to pull up short when he realized Saren had an unwelcome Look in his eyes. “Fuck.”

Saren’s mandibles were flickering in the rapid little way they did when he was trying not to smile. “I noticed you put a lot of emphasis on this ship’s weaponry,” he said, subvocals whispering of mischief.

“It’s a patrol,” Desolas harrumphed in return. “Of course I did.”

“I couldn’t help but notice, brother dearest,” Saren drawled, leaning forward slightly, “that you were turning your head back and forth frequently when the lieutenant was watching. You weren’t displaying for her, were you?”

The obvious punchline was dangling in front of Desolas like an animal in a snare. Nobody had to say it, and Desolas wasn’t going to give him the chance. “I’m gonna kill you,” he forced out through clenched jaws. “I swear to fuck, Saren-”

“Something going on, sir?”

Abrudas seemed to always have a sixth sense for when somebody was needed to step in. Her hand was on Desolas’s elbow, and he didn’t realize his talons were flared out until a thumb-claw along his bicep coaxed him to relax.

He swallowed. “There won’t be, if this one keeps his damn mouth shut,” he hissed, flaring his mandibles at Saren.

“‘This one’ being your little brother, sir?” She didn’t sound impressed.

Saren gave a little bow, obviously knowing when it was his cue to get lost. “A minor sibling disagreement, Lieutenant, thank you for your concern,” he said.

She nodded to him, and he was gone before Desolas was done turning on her. “He punned at me,” he complained, pulling his arm out of her grasp.

She folded her arms under her keel and raised a brow plate- a stance she took rather frequently, he’d noticed. “So you were threatening him because he made a bad joke?”

“You don’t get it, Valis. He’s been doing this for years, every time we talk-”

“- because he knows it gets to you,” she interrupted, shaking her head. “Yeah, my sibs do the same kinda shit to me. It’s a sibling thing, you keep doing the things that bug them because you like being a little dick. Get over it. He’ll knock it off when you stop reacting.”

“You don’t know him like I do, Valis.”

“Des, with all due respect, that’s what they all say.”

#mass effect #saren arterius #desolas arterius #lieutenant abrudas #danceswithturians #SLIDES IN AN ABRUDAS APPEARANCE AT THE END CAUSE I LOVE HER #and ya can't have des being an officer without abrudas hanging around ya just can't #frid writing #saren tag #desolas tag #thank u for sending this btw!!!#i started laughing and des watched his life flash before his eyes it was great #danceswithturians-main

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