#why he is in an ice prison when we first meet | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

labrxnth · 7 months

Text

Prison Break- Part 5 (Leon Kennedy x Reader Series)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

CW: Death Island spoilers, suicidal thoughts/tendencies

WC: 5350 (whoops)

Summary: You and your co-worker Leon Kennedy are sent on a mission to rescue a kidnapped robotic engineer Dr. Antonio Taylor. The journey for him leads the two of you to somewhere you thought you would never go, Alcatraz.

A/n: IM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG. I graduated my students, I fell ill, and I had an ADHD fueled hyperfixation on a specific pale elf made by Larion Studios so here it finally it. I hope the length makes up for the month of silence.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* : ｡ﾟ☆. ───

January 27th, 2015

You and Leon had been working together for a year and a half. Last year, you two defeated Glen Arias alongside Chris Redfield and Rebecca Chambers. This year, things were relatively quiet. You hated to say it, but it was quiet.

You were sitting at your desk that was against the wall in now you and Leon’s shared office. A crate of ice coffee was melting, the condensation dripping from the cups onto the top of your desk. Glancing at the clock, you bit your lip. Normally, Leon would be out of a meeting with the President within an hour, but it was now an hour and 15 minutes, something was up.

And with it being quiet lately, you could only speculate another big mission was popping up.

The door opened and Leon walked into the office, looking exhausted and drained. Over the past half a year he had really pulled himself together. His eyes looked more present, less glossed over. He had grown his hair out more, stopped dying it, and styled it like he used to when you first joined. He was also very proud that he started lifting again, something he said that he did all the time in his 20s.

And all that personal care paid off, because even though he was exhausted from his meeting, he still looked gorgeous. You thought he was really attractive when you joined the D.S.O. and even last year when he had lost a bit of weight and had his depressed alcoholic arc. But you didn’t know just how attractive he could be, and it still amazed you.

“Are you going to tell me… or….” You said and looked at him.

He took his coffee out of the tray on your desk and pat your head. Your eyes trailed him to his desk.

“We have another mission coming up,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sat down. He took a sip of his coffee and relaxed in his chair.

Leon had told you multiple times about his relationship with the past few presidents. Apparently, President Graham scared him shitless when he “asked” Leon to rescue his daughter and he was intimidated by him until his terms ended. President Benford was like a mentor to him and helped found the D.S.O. with Leon; they were pretty close until Leon had to kill him a few years ago. Now, Leon was drained from all the politics of the new guy.

You smiled to yourself a little bit because you were right about the mission. “You know that’s just watered down coffee, right?” You asked, looking at his iced americano, trying to lighten the mood.

He looked at you from his desk, almost scoffing in reply. “Like I’m gonna take coffee advice from you. You’d guzzle the grounds if you could,” He said, turning his attention back to the folder in his hands.

You sat there with your mouth open, not knowing how to reply to that. Closing your mouth, you turned back to your laptop, typing away at a case file.

“We have to go to New York,” Leon said after a few seconds of silence. “We’re going to attend an upcoming biology summit and check in on a few things.”

“Meaning, there’s a potential virus being sold?” You asked. The past few months after dealing with Arias had been mostly doing work for the government, so bounty hunting and few and far between B.O.W. hunting.

Leon nodded and your heart jumped with excitement. It was kind of morbid to put it this way, but you loved work like this. This was why you joined the D.S.O.

“We’ll be undercover so be on your best behavior,” Leon said.

“Yessir,” you said and jokingly saluted.

“And another thing…. We’ll be undercover as a couple… so try to pretend like you like me,” Leon said and grinned.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* : ｡ﾟ☆. ───

January 30, 2015

Ingrid’s eyes trailed up and down your figure, looking at the dress and seeing if it complimented your skin tone and hair color. The D.S.O. was providing the wardrobe for the mission, the racks of dresses they had filled you and Leon’s office.

When the racks were brought in, Ingrid didn’t explain why the D.S.O. had so many when you and Sherry were technically the only female agents. She also kicked Leon out of the office so she could help you try on the dresses and pick out the one.

You were standing in the middle of the office, a burgundy coloured dress hugging your figure. The bodice had straps that fell off the shoulder, corset ribbing, and enough cleavage to make your mother pass out while still keeping it classy. The bottom hugged your figure on one side and had a long slit on the other, trailing up to your thigh. It felt Greek and Romantic, while also being modern.

You felt like a million bucks.

“Wow,” Ingrid said, looking over you again. “With your hair and makeup done, you could probably get it at the summit,” she added and chuckled.

You looked down at the dress. “Why does the D.S.O. have this?” You asked again, clearly stuck on the question. Sherry Birkin hadn’t been back from traveling for a mission in years, and she was pretty young, so it genuinely made no sense to you.

“Does it matter?” Ingrid replied. “The D.S.O. keeps them just in case. A lot of times they’re purchased for the mission. Tax write offs and stuff.”

You nodded in reply, letting Ingrid touch up the dress a little bit.

“This will go nicely with what Leon’s wearing…” she said, mentally taking notes. She walked over to a box and pulled out a pair of heels higher than you had ever worn before.

“Are you trying to get my ankle snapped in half?” You asked and looked at her in shock.

“You’ve worn heels before, what’s a few more inches? And they’re designer, when else will you get a chance to wear them?” She asked.

If you weren’t in awe of the shoes, you would have glared at her. “True…” you trailed off and tried the heels on.

“Okay, now take everything off and I’ll pack them away,” Ingrid said and turned around so you could change.

After handing the dress and shoes to her, you put your regular clothes on, feeling less like a million bucks. Ingrid put the dress and shoes in a suitcase along with a box of jewelry.

“Alright… I’ll leave these with you. Good luck,” She said and smiled at you.

You walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. No amount of hugs could make up for her landing you this job, or even just being your friend when you got lost in the sea of USSTRATCOM agents. But still, it was the thought that counted.

The two of you hugged each other for a good while, making a silent promise to work hard and for you to make it back in one piece. “I’ll try not to drive you insane this time,” you said and smiled at her.

“You know better than making promises you can’t keep,” she replied and chuckled. The two of you broke the hug.

The room was littered with clothing racks and discarded dresses. “I’ll help you bring the racks back,” You said, looking around the room.

“Don’t bother, I’ll have it done in two trips tops. And you need to get going, check in time for the hotel ends at 11pm,” she said.

You nodded and picked up your bag and suitcase. “Talk to you later,” you said and gave her a toothy, warm, smile as you walked out the door.

Walked through the D.S.O. office, you made your way to your locker, grabbing the duffel bag you carried around on missions. It had your knives, guns, and pretty much a small armory in it.

“Ready to get going?” Leon asked, walking up next to you to go through his locker.

“Yup,” you replied, slinging the duffel bag over your shoulder.

“Let’s get going then,” he said, smiling at you.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* : ｡ﾟ☆. ───

January 31, 2015

“Name?”

“Nathalie Oakes,” you replied, confident in your fake persona. The two of you, you and Leon were putting the finishing touches on your outfits. With a job like this, all of the details mattered, how he cuffed his sleeves, what you wore for jewelry, everything.

“My name?” Leon asked, fixing the collar of his blazer and undershirt. He was wearing a suit that was matching the dress shade, his blazer and undershirt being the same shade. His tie was black and so were the pants. The way he had his shirt and blazer, the shirt was unbuttoned a little bit so his chest was slightly out. Almost like he had cleavage, which if you were honest he kind of did. That man worked on his chest like he was paid to do it.

“Edward Wingate,” you answered. Your fingers gently pulled the top off of the velvet covered jewelry box, staring at the almost blinding gold necklace. Picking it up, you were trying to figure out how to clasp and unclasp it with your nails.

Ingrid had treated you to a manicure the other day. Adorning your fingertips were acrylics, nude colored and almond shaped. When you had asked how to shoot or fight in them, you were met with snickers and were told to figure it out yourself.

So you did. Spending the last few days in the shooting ring and training rooms, making sure you were confident in your abilities with the nails on your hands. A chuckle came from behind you and Leon’s hand gently grabbed the necklace. “Need help?” He asked.

You nodded in reply and pulled your hair up so he could put the necklace on you.

“It's funny, I’ve seen you kick ass hundreds of times and you’re getting stuck on trying to put a necklace on,” He said, the everpresent teasing fronting his voice.

“It’s these damn nails. I have so much respect for people that function with these things. And I can still kick your ass with these on,” You retorted, earning another chuckle from the man behind you.

Looking at the mirror, you saw a reflection of a life you could only dream of. A woman dressed up to the nines and her partner helping with her jewelry. The juxtaposition to what your reality was was almost taunting. Where there were ivory colored gloves in the mirror, there was usually blood; yours and others’. The hair that fell smoothly like silk sat on top of the head that was filled with nightmares. Nothing in the mirror was a true reflection, except for the man behind you.

You dreamed of finding the one person who got you, emotionally and physically. One who always had your back and would be there for you on the nights where you remembered the blood filled apartment in Manchester. Leon was the one person in your life who could quell the cold isolation, the icy, crushing feeling of your past. He didn’t know about your feelings for him, he couldn’t.

Even if the feelings for him overwhelmed you in only a way that a full symphonic orchestra could. His smile made the world feel a little brighter, his laughter made life sweeter, He was like honey added to coffee, something that made a bitter drink sweet and a different palate.

“Alright, done,” Leon said and pat your shoulder lightly.

Your eyes looked at the gold adorning your neck and you smiled. “Thanks,” you said warmly and turned around to get the purse that matched your dress. The feeling of someone staring at you made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, something you had from the STRATCOM training.

Looking in the mirror to your left you saw Leon staring at you, something that happened quite a bit, but this time it was differently charged. Something was fueling the look on his face, but as usual, he was hard to read. He noticed you looking at him in the reflection of the mirror and he turned his face towards the wall, pretending like he wasn't staring at you.

“You ready?” You asked, willing to ignore that he was blatantly staring at you.

“Yeah,” He replied and grabbed his Sentinel 9, sliding it into his blazer and through his shoulder holster under the jacket.

Turning towards your bed, you grabbed your holster, fastening it to your thigh under the dress. The slit was on the other thigh so it wouldn’t reveal the holster.

“Ready Miss Oakes?” Leon mused, holding his arm out for you.

“Ready Mr. Wingate,” You replied, smiling a bit and taking his arm. This all felt wrong, but right at the same time. What would it feel like if instead of a mission, this was your reality? What if instead of heaving Edward Wingate on your side you had Leon Kennedy? It was jarring, as jarring as the emotions you had been trying to sort out the last few months. Swimming somewhere between your heart and your brain were your complicated emotions.

They really weren’t complicated, your situation was.

If Leon wasn’t your coworker and technically your superior, you would’ve tried to go for it, but the reality was that your lives could get messy. You didn’t want him to potentially get in trouble for fraternization, you didn’t want your relationship to change if there was rejection, and most importantly you didn’t want either of your potential deaths to hurt more.

If you left your feelings unsaid, the chance of you or Leon dying wouldn’t sting as much. So, your feelings were buried between your tight lips, unspoken and never going to be explored.

“You okay? You seem lost in thought,” Leon said, his eyes meeting yours. The clicks of your high heels and his shoes were echoing through the hall on the way to the elevator.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just thinking about the mission,” You replied as the two of you stepped into the elevator. Your gloved finger pressed the 6 button.

“Our target is a potential C-virus sample. Most of the summit will be held on the 6th floor and a lot of the vendors will be here starting tomorrow. Tonight is the dinner party that starts off the summit. Everyone will be busy socializing and drinking,” Leon reminded you.

“Meaning tonight is our best bet to get in and out unnoticed,” You said, smiling.

“Meaning, our job will be a lot easier if we get it tonight,” He said.

The elevator opened to the 6th floor, warm yellow lights illuminating the space. The room was open, the venue taking up the whole floor. Across the walls were floor to ceiling windows, the city lights coloring the dark horizon and sky. The floor was dark wood, glossy in finish, and the ceiling was an off gray color with golden details. All over the room were circular tables with chairs around them, the tables adorned with empty champagne glasses, cutlery, napkins, plates, and candles.

“I feel like I don’t belong here,” You said quietly. The last undercover mission you went on was almost the polar opposite of this.

“Don’t let them make you feel inferior. They’ll see through the disguise,” Leon assured you as you two walked into the room more. “And don’t sell yourself short. More importantly, don’t let rich assholes sell yourself short. You’re worth more than everything in this room put together,” He added.

You smiled a bit, redness slightly painting the tips of your ears. “Thanks for the confidence boost. I’ll make sure to put this down as one of the only times you were sweet to me,” You said, looking at him. He opened his lips to say something, but closed them as someone was making their way over to you two with a clipboard.

“Good evening, I presume you’re here for the North Eastern Biotech Summit?” The man said. He was dressed in a usual black tie suit. He stood around 5’11”, being only a few inches taller than Leon and looked to be around your age.

You didn’t miss how Leon almost changed into a completely new person with his energy level and atmosphere. You also didn’t miss how his arm suddenly snaked around your waist, pulling you close to him. The corners of your mouth upturned into a warm friendly smile at the contact and the man in front of the two of you.

It was all for the mission, that’s what you convinced yourself. Being a couple, that was for the mission, but enjoying it? That wasn’t part of the mission.

“Of course! Edward Wingate, and this is my lovely fiancé, soon to be Mrs. Wingate,” Leon said, his voice sounding like silk. As he spoke, he pulled you close to him, squeezing the two of you in a side hug.

The man in front of the two of you checked his clipboard, his eyes skimming down the list of names on his sheet. His eyes lit up when he saw the two names you presented.

“Ah yes, Mr. Wingate and Ms. Oakes,” He replied, putting the clipboard down and gesturing to a table. “Let me help you find your seat,” He added. The two of you followed the man to a table in the corner of the room.

As you got closer to the table, you tried to process all the people here, their fancy clothes, and their arm candies. The people paired with the lights, and the complete lack of smell in the room was almost too much for you to handle.

Leon and you sat down at the table, your hands immediately going to the glass filled with water. The cool liquid made its way down your throat and relief was evident on your face. As you put your glass down, another couple sat next to Leon, their outfits as extravagant as the venue. There was a man and a woman, the woman looking slightly older than the man.

“Hello! You weren’t here last year, it’s always good to meet a new supporter,” The woman said and outstretched her hand to Leon. After they shook hands, she outstretched the same hand to you, which you took as elegantly as you could.

“Finally got invited to join in on the summit this year. We’re excited to see what the latest developments in biotech are,” Leon replied, smiling at the two of them. He lightly put his hand on your thigh, the warmth spreading through your body. If you were drinking, you would have almost choked on the water.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Blaire, this is Ambrose,” The woman said and gestured to the young man next to her. Looking at his hand, you could see the two of them were engaged, the gold engagement rings sparkling. You slid your hand onto the tablecloth, so the two of them could observe that you and Leon were also “engaged”.

“Pleasure’s all mine, Im Edward, this is Nathalie,” Leon gestured to you, almost showing you off. Your mind wandered off to thinking about what if it was Leon who was showing you off, not Edward showing off Nathalie. Could you ever make him proud to introduce other people to you?

“The summit this year is said to be the biggest yet,” Blaire said. Her midnight blue dress was stunning against her skin. The gold jewelry could catch anyone’s eyes.

“That so? It certainly is a special night,” Leon said and chuckled a bit. You were surveying the room, seeing where the wait staff and other people were coming out of, making it look like you were taking in the decor.

A frazzled worker coming out a door directly across the room from your table caught your eye. From your seat, you could see shelves and what looked like a storage room, or a green room that the items being showcased in could stay while waiting for tomorrow.

Your eyes glanced back over to the couple sitting next to Leon and you smiled warmly at them, playing the role of the pretty arm candy that didn’t talk much.

“We’re going to the bar for a few drinks, want to come?” Ambrose asked warmly and gestured to the bar on the opposite end of the room. It was close to the storage room you saw earlier.

Before Leon could object, you spoke for the two of you. “Of course,” You replied with a smile.

As the two of them got up, Leon looked at you, his eyes asking for an explanation. Giving him a look back, your eyes told him, trust me, I have a plan already. He nodded in acknowledgement and you two got up, following Blaire and Ambrose.

The four of you got to the bar counter and you looked up at Leon. “Hey, honey, I’m gonna head to the bathroom, could you just get me a vodka lemonade?” You asked and held his elbow lightly.

Leon’s eyes twinkled a little bit, him knowing what you were really saying. “Of course, I’ll hold your drink for you,” He said. Before you walked away, he leaned in and kissed the top of your head.

Your rational side knew why he did it, it was strictly to play your parts, but the part of you that dreamt about a different life fluttered when his lips met your head. Heat ran to your face as you blushed and started walking towards the bathroom.

If there was one thing you didn’t want, it was for Leon to see the red painted across your cheeks. Then your feelings would be questioned.

Making sure no one was watching, you walked past the bathroom and towards the storage closet.

The first thing you noticed about the room was that it was cold, like a walk in freezer. The next thing you noticed were the lights, they were a cold blue hue, no warmth found in them at all. The very last thing you noticed was the lack of smell. Where the scent of mildew and/or dust would be filling your noses there was nothing. Not even the various cleaners on the shelf were creating a smell.

Looking around the room, you saw various gadgets and displays set up for the summit. Each piece was on its own roll out table,but one in particular caught your eye. On a smaller display table, there was a closed briefcase. If you were lucky, the vial containing the virus sample would be in there, if not, you would have to survive more socializing.

Walking over to it, your eyes traced over the case, looking for any signs of vents or anything else that could be a trap. Clearing the case, you brought your finger up to your earpiece.

“Condor 2 to Roost, I found the delivery. Am I cleared to grab it?” You asked.

“Condor 2, good job. You’re cleared to grab it,” Ingrid’s voice rang out in your earpiece.

You nodded to yourself and studied the case again, making sure it wasn’t trapped. Flicking the clasps open, you saw the vial. Inside of the small glass container was a red substance that looked almost sticky. Reaching out to it, your hand went to grab it.

Suddenly, you felt a strong sting of heat course through your hand. Smelling a burning sort of smell, you ripped your hand away from the glass and looked at it, seeing a second degree burn forming through the glove you were wearing. Snickering in annoyance, you bunched up both of your gloves and picked up the vial, stuffing it in your purse and thinking of a way to conceal the burn on your hand.

Walking out of the storage room, you made your way back to Leon and the others getting their drinks. Leon went to hand you your glass, but his eyes immediately caught on to the burned palm of your hand. His eyebrow raised in questioning and the look you gave in response didn’t ease his worries.

“Well, it’s been good to meet you two, I think Nathalie is feeling rather ill. We’re gonna head back to our room,” Leon said, looking over at the two he had walked to the bar with.

Blaire and Ambrose nodded in respect and left to go back to the table. Leon’s eyes went back to your hand, concern written across his face.

“You gonna tell me what happened?” He asked.

“I suggest that we get back to the room then have this conversation before the sample vial burns a hole through my purse,” You retorted quietly and walked with him.

The two of you slipped out of the party, unnoticed, just like how you had gotten in. The job was as easy as Hunnigan had said, in and out, and other than the burn on your hand you both came out unscathed.

“We’re talking and walking,” Leon said as the two of you got out of the elevator, walking down the hallway to your room. His voice told you that he wasn’t asking, more telling you that you two were going to talk.

“The glass burned my hand, that was it, everything else was fine,” You replied as you made your way to the door to your room.

“I’m patching that up when we get inside,” Leon said, again leaving no room for debate.

“Fine,” You mumbled and swiped the keycard, opening the door.

The two of you walked in, you immediately getting out of your heels and leaving them by the door. You were about to head into the shower, before Leon closed the bathroom door from behind you. You didn’t have to see his face to know he was staring intently at you.

“Before anything, I’m fixing that hand of yours,” He said, his breath hot on your neck. You turned around, looking him in the face.

“I want to get out of my makeup and this dress,” You replied, a slight whine in your tone.

“You’ll get to later,” He said, almost pulling you to the bed. Begrudgingly, you sat down on the edge of the bed and watched him walk to the bathroom. While you were getting ready, earlier today, you didn’t notice how soft the bedsheets were. The silk pooled under your fingers, wanting to lull you to sleep.

Leon returned from the bathroom, with a bowl filled with water, a first aid kit, and a couple hand towels. Your face scrunched a bit, uncomfortable with the idea of someone doing something that you could do yourself.

“Leon, I’ll be fine. I can bandage myself up after I get changed,” You said, trying to quell him. However, one of the things that you had learned early on while working with Leon Kennedy was that he never walked away from someone needing help, no matter how small or big the need was.

The bed dipped as he sat next to you, pulling your hand so that it was face up on his thigh. “And what happens when you don’t fix it and you get scarring or can’t use your hand as well as you used to? This is your shooting hand, don’t be stubborn,” He insisted.

“‘Don’t be stubborn?’ That’s rich coming from you,” You replied, eyes scrunched together waiting for the pain of him putting your hand in the bowl of cold water.

Where you expected there to be pain from the water, there was relief. Part of you wished that it was running water, but the other part of you knew it might’ve been rough on the freshly buried skin.

“Just relax, I’ll take good care of you,” Leon said, his hands going to open the first aid kit.

“That really makes me feel better,” You said back snarkily.

“Good to hear that you didn’t lose your sense of humor,”

“I got a burn on my hand, I didn’t get impaled,”

Leon chuckled a little bit and took your hand out of the bowl, putting it down on one of the hand towels. “I thought I trained you to say ‘thank you’ when someone helps,” He replied, a glint of teasing in his eyes.

“You didn’t teach me shit other than how to shotgun a beer,” You replied, a smirk on your face.

Leon’s small chuckle turned into a hearty laugh. “Fair, fair,” He replied and started to bandage your hand. “Good eye, seeing where the displays were held. The job was easy thanks to you.”

“Is that praise from Leon Kennedy?” You asked, feigning shock. “Oh my god, the world is ending.”

“Hey, I give you enough praise,” He retorted and lighting wrapped the bandages around your hand, lightly tying them. “Okay, your hand is all set and will be as pretty as it usually is soon,” He added with a toothy grin.

“Thanks,” You said and looked at the bandaging, your voice softening.

“Before you change, I have something else for you,” Leon said, walking over to the fridge in the room. Your eyes followed him and watched him pull a box out of the fridge and a large bottle of sparkling cider.

“What’s the occasion?” You asked as he walked back to the bed with two forks and two flutes.

“It’s January 31st….” Leon trailed off.

“Oh,” You replied softly and looked at the box. Leon opened it up and revealed a tiramisu cake, simple and plain, just like you liked it.

“I’m sorry you had to be on a mission tonight, but our lives are what they are,” He said and handed you a fork. “I know you like tiramisu cake and you hate most types of alcohol so I got you some goodies,” He added with a soft smile.

“Thank you, I haven’t had anyone to spend tonight with for a long time,” You replied, taking the fork and flute.

“Before we eat, actually, I think it’s a waste that we didn’t get to dance while in these fancy ass clothes,” Leon stood up, walking to the radio in the room and putting on a classical music station.

“I don’t know how to dance,” You said.

“If you can fight, you can dance, it’s pretty much the same thing,” He replied and held his hand out to you.

“You say that now, but you won't be laughing when I step on your foot,” You warned, taking his hand with your good one and standing up. Leon laughed in reply and pulled you close to him, his hand finding a respectful spot on your waist.

“How do I put up with you?” He asked dramatically, his eyes sparkling with humor.

“I should be asking that question,” You replied. “Maybe, we were meant to annoy the shit out of each other.”

The two of you chuckled as you swayed together to the music. Leon’s eyes never left yours and the way he was looking at you felt… intimate. Like you were the only person in the world to him and you were all he wanted.

“Happy birthday, (Y/n),” He said after a few seconds of silence and smiled.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* : ｡ﾟ☆. ───

Present Day

You saw Leon’s mouth moving on the other side of the prison cell bars, but couldn’t hear a word he was saying. His blue eyes were staring at you, squeezing shut in a grimace every few seconds. If you were going to get infected after all the missions the two of you had gone through, you were happy that at least you could lose your minds together. Nothing else mattered to you other than the feeling of closeness you two had in the moment and your fingers laced together through the jail cell bars.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* : ｡ﾟ☆. ───

Catch this fic early on my AO3!

#resident evil fanfic #leon kennedy x reader #leon s kennedy x reader #resident evil fanfiction #leon s kennedy x you #leon kennedy #slow burn #leon s kennedy

97 notes · View notes

foxwmulder · 3 months

Text

I just found my list of when I categorized every xf episode (mostly through s7) during quarantine lmao

MONSTER OF THE WEEK CATEGORIES

Cultural

Shapes

Fresh Bones

The Calusari

Teso Dos Bichos

Hell Money

Teliko

El Munda Gira

Theef

Prison or Military

Deep Throat

Space

Sleepless

The List

The Walk

Unrequited

Trevor

Religious

Miracle Man

Revelations

Grotesque

Kaddish

All Souls

Signs and Wonders

Millennium

Cult or Satanists

Gender Bender

Red Museum

Our Town

Syzygy

Die Hand Die Verletzt

Sanguinarium

Terms of Endearment

Nothing Lasts Forever

Lone Gunmen- or CSM-Centric

Musings of a CSM

Unusual Suspects

Three of a Kind

First Person Shooter

This

Skinner-Centric

Avatar

Zero Sum

SR 819

Brand X

Hollywood AD

Kitten

Arthur Dales’s Tales

Travelers

The Unnatural

Agua Mala

Scully Side Quest

Irresistible / Orison

Chinga

Never Again

Milagro

En Ami

all things

Home Again

Ghouli

Mulder, They Already Destroyed the Evidence!

Ice

Firewalker

Dod Kalm

F. Emasculata

Wetwired

The Pine Bluff Variant

Drive

Wait, It’s Actually Aliens?

Pilot

Jose Chung

Control the Elements

Fire

DPO

Soft Light

Schizogeny

Rush

The Rain King

Medical Anomalies

Young at Heart

Eve

Home

Small Potatoes

Postmodern Prometheus

Founder’s Mutation

Guys Who Need to Eat Weird Stuff

Squeeze / Tooms

2Shy

Pusher / Kitsunegari

Leonard Betts

Hungry

Switch Lives or Linked Brains

Lazarus

Roland

Oubliette

Paper Hearts

Mind’s Eye

Dreamland I and II

Fight Club

Plus One

Time Travel or Warp

Synchrony

Monday

Lost Art of the Forehead Sweat

Ghosts or Past Lives

Shadows

Born Again

Excelsis Dei

Elegy

Aubrey

The Field Where I Died

Triangle

How the Ghosts Stole Christmas

AI Is Out To Get Us

Blood

Ghost in the Machine

Kill Switch

Rm9sbG93ZXJs

Half Man, Half Monster

The Host

Jersey Devil

Humbug

Detour

Bad Blood

Folie a Duex

Chimera

Mulder and Scully Meet the Weremonster

All Monster, No Man

Darkness Falls

Fearful Symmetry

Quagmire

War of the Coprophages

Alpha

Arcadia

Field Trip

X-Cops

Magic, Psychic, or Lucky

Beyond the Sea

Clyde Bruckman

Unruhe

Tithonus

The Amazing Maleeni

Je Souaite

The Goldberg Variation

MYTHOLOGY CATEGORIES

They’re Closing The X-Files!

The Erlenmeyer Flask / Little Green Men

The End / The Beginning

Fight the Future

Uh…Samantha?

Colony / End Game

Talitha Cumi / Herrenvolk

Sein Und Zeit / Closure

I’m Literally On Board Already, Scully

Fallen Angel

EBE

Nisei / 731

Piper Maru / Apocrypha

Tempus Fugit / Max

Tunguska / Terma

Agent Mulder Is Dead! Or Is He?

Anasazi / The Blessing Way / Paper Clip

Redux I and II

This Is Not Happening / Dead Alive

Mulder…You Good?

Demons / Gethsemane

Biogenesis / The Sixth Extinction

The Syndicate Hates Scully

Duane Barry / Ascension / One Breath

Memento Mori

Christmas Carol / Emily

Patient X / The Red and the Black

Why Was This Made

I Want to Believe

Discarded Categories

Creepy White Guy Predator

This Is a Small Town, We Don’t Lock Our Doors

A Nice Trip to the Forest

#the x files #I remember pouring all my energy into this lol

49 notes · View notes

eddiemunsxn · 2 years

Note

How you meet for Henry x female reader plz

Fluff plz

— cherry blossom.

masterlist. / nav.

❰ warnings. fem!reader, slight angst (blame hawkins lab), surgery scene (blood, wounds), there’s lots of fluff i promise

❰ word count. 2.6k

❰ note. if he just…had a healthy, soft connection with someone he might not have ended up as a moist walnut

danny elfman’s “ice dance” heavily inspired the last scene! 🥰

Trading off a concrete, jungle city for miles of trees and open sky had an unexpected change in pace. Everything from buying groceries to drinking coffee was done slower and more deliberately than in a bustling city.

Hawkins had that cafe sense of community; sitting down with someone they’d known since preschool, which meant the small town was like a knitting circle. Word got around.

Your arrival in the suburban neighborhood drew eyes like flies to a corpse. Especially your work clothes. Blank and professional, it was off putting. You didn’t have patterned scrubs or with characters, but a callback to the second world war; a white ward dress and hat.

Fitting, since your new job was established after that war, built as an X with only one road in and out. Secluded in the woods, barbed wire fences cradled the building. It didn’t have windows, but was covered with chain mail-esque grating, and atop the roof, disks jutted out like a cluster of white mushrooms.

You slowed your car at the gate, and provided your identification tag to the military police. Looking through the many eyes of the gate, something cold breathed down your throat; spreading like food coloring throughout your body.

The other thing you learned about small towns—they weren’t safer. There was a preconceived notion of them being more secure than big cities, but the opposite was true.

Your job was the most perilous thing in Hawkins. In your history of government work, little fazed you, but when you first saw the children, lined up in order of height like Russian nesting dolls, it weighed down your heart. Their names were numbers. Their childhood was white walls, bloody noses, and tests.

“Children,” Brenner said. “This is your new nurse. Say hello.”

In unison, they greeted, “Hi, miss (Y/N).”

Their voices were innocent, but in their spare time they spied through closed eyes and compressed animals to death. They were being trained to kill people.

In a backlash of pre-teen rebellion, one of them had accidentally killed the previous nurse. It wasn’t their fault to lash out in such a way, seeing as where they were being raised and how they were treated. It frightened and saddened you.

But one person, an orderly, was very human with them. You didn’t know his name, but you had watched how he interacted with the children. He never stood over them, looked down at them, or watched them with the stiff demeanor of a prison guard. He was always eye level, sitting on the floor, or across from them in a game of chess.

Without windows to look outside, he became their idea of sunlight; bright at every angle in their days, and warming the cold, emotionless space within the otherwise colorful walls.

Some of that light shone on you, calming the tightness in your chest. You wished to feel all of it. To know him, and to be of some comfort to the children like he was.

The gate peeled open, and you eased your car through—just as you now encouraged one of the children through the door of the rainbow room. Hand on his shoulder, you walked in with him, and your heart hiccuped as the orderly, standing in the middle of the room, turned to you.

He neatly held his hands at his abdomen. His hair, swept in waves, recalled the color and sheen of gold pearls, contrasting his alabaster skin. He made you think of Apollo. Suitable. A god associated with the sun.

“Feeling better today, are we?” He tilted his head, his small smile dimpling his cheeks.

The child nodded.

“Great, why don’t you join the others? You've got some catching up to do.”

The child left your side, and the orderly’s eyes were drawn to you. He approached, and your heartbeat became more quick and pronounced against your chest.

His eyes held the inviting warmth of summer’s first day, but little did you know his heart was the shape of the devil’s forked tongue. Funny how he always wore white, which symbolized purity.

“We haven’t properly met.” He extended his hand out to you. “I’m Peter Ballard. And you?”

“Y/N.” You took his hand, but he was the first to squeeze. He held your eyes, entrancing you with how kind he looked, and how he kept your hand in his. “I’ve been meaning to say…” You trailed off, but he waited, patient, and smiling thoughtfully.

“The way you…interact with them. The children. It’s so human, which might be strange to say, but…no one else has that connection to these kids, not even Brenner. You sit and talk with them. You listen.”

“I used to be very close to the first one they brought in. I knew him well.” Peter stepped closer to you, dipping his chin to keep eye contact as his height grew more over you. Goosebumps traced up your spine like a sensual hand. “But I haven’t gotten to know you. And I want to.” He quieted his voice. “If you’ll let me.”

You marveled at him, lips parted. A worded response refused you, and you nodded.

The brightness in his broad smile echoed in his eyes. He looked relieved.

Peter made sure he lingered in your thoughts, whether in the moment, or when you were apart. You attracted him like flies to a dead body, and he was all over you with subtle touches—standing so close your hips brushed, walking by you and his hand kissing yours in passing.

He once removed a stray thread of your uniform stuck to your chest, letting his fingers draw along the curve of your breast. He was neat and orderly, after all. At least, that was your excuse.

It wasn’t just physical touches. His eyes always sought you out, admiring you as though you were his favorite flower in the garden, as he did now. The children blurred into the background with you around, his central focus.

“Where were you before Hawkins?” He asked. He always had an abundance of questions for you. About you.

“Macon, Georgia.”

“Is there something you miss about it?”

“Only one thing. The cherry blossoms. Each spring, Macon turns into a pink fairground for the International Cherry Blossom Festival, with amusement rides and blossom-themed events. I miss it. The trees were always so beautiful. Especially at night. And I loved sitting beneath them when the wind would blow the petals away.

“I never fit in well with others. I’ve always been reluctant in new places, believing them to be indifferent to how everyone and everything else treated me. Because I was different. With the cherry blossoms, I found…” Your throat closed like a fist, and hurt crawled into your chest; talons writing burning marks.

It wasn’t easy to convey something which could not be conveyed in words. It was in your bones, and could only be felt in those same bones.

Pain’s language was pure presence—pure feeling. Like reading braille. One would have to reach into you and feel the cracks on your bones, the rough texture of uneasy healing in order to understand.

“Solace…” Peter murmured. He looked at you differently this time. A wound recognized another wound.

Vision blurred, you met his eyes.

“I know.” He spoke so softly, with so much understanding it proved a balm to your raw nerves. “My label was ‘broken’.”

“How did you…?”

“Cope?” He lifted his brow. “My solace was black widows nested in a vent. They fascinated me. Comforted me in how misunderstood they were. Like you and I. But then I was take—” Peter cut himself off, swallowing hard, tendons swollen as scratches in his neck. “Forgive me. Memory is a rope around the neck.”

Taken?

“Can you do something for me?” This time, he looked straight on as if to appear indifferent to anyone watching. “I want to show you something, but I am unable to without your help.”

“What is it?” You asked, mirroring his action.

“Meet me after the children are asleep. The infirmary.” He tucked his hands behind his back, and left your side.

Doors shutting, and keys jangling in the locks resounded in the hall. The children were put in their rooms, numbered like their wrists.

You waited in yours, the infirmary, for Peter. What would he ask you to do? Why did it need to be in private?

The door opened, and Peter slipped through.

You strode toward him. “Peter, what’s this about?”

He held his index finger to his plush lips. “Softly.”

“Peter…”

He lowered his hand. “This place is a prison, Y/N.” He spoke slowly in his mellow tone. He wanted to emphasize each word, their importance—to sew them into you. Intricate patterns required the most steady needle. “Everyone here is a prisoner, not just the children, but the guards, too. You. Me.”

Your eyebrows squished together, and you looked down. Words evaded your mind as sudden coldness pricked your core. You hugged yourself, cupping your elbows.

“You may have a home to leave to at the end of the day, but they will always have you—body, and mind, like they do me. And they will kill you.”

You looked back up to him, eyes wide.

“Or electrocute you into mental paralysis if they so choose. What they do here will always be above your life, no matter what you do for them.”

Your stomach quivered, and sweat leaked from the lines of your palms. You believed him. Why else would he approach you with this? The government was always fucked—you didn’t need a reminder, but you never thought, as a nurse, you’d end up in this end of it.

“I’m not trying to scare you.” Peter gently took your hand in both of his, squeezing in promise. “I want to free you from this hell, and the children.” He lifted his brow. “They don’t belong here. You’ve seen, day after day, the brutality. I’ve lived it, too, and they don’t want to let me go. But you can help me, and I can help you.”

They hurt him? Christ. Your heart stuttered at the thought. “What you said before in the rainbow room, or…almost did. Were you…” You winced. “Taken by them?”

“A long time ago, when I was Henry Creel.” He released your hand, leaving a shadow of his warmth on your cold body. “They took my name, and then they took something else from me.”

He angled his head, and drew his hair back, exposing his neck. He touched a scar there—or, rather, what was below it—in him. Something the size and shape of a pill. He was able to push on it, and it rolled up beneath his skin. “Brenner calls it Soteria. It weakens me, tracks me.”

“You want me,” you said softly. “To take it out?”

Peter angled his head back and looked at you, but you saw Henry Creel. Eyes blue as Morning Glory flowers, softened by his silent pleading from the weariness of being Peter Ballard.

He had been bound to these eyeless walls, and the colors of him were flushed white—his individuality and freedom taken. All he had left was that yellow light, that sunlight you always saw radiating from him. What else could he do but try to cling to a color that meant warmth when he never received it in any form. All he had left was the meaning.

You released a breath you had been holding. “Okay.”

“Remember, you can’t hurt me more than they already have.” Henry lay on the bed, and pulled his belt from his waist, bending it into a loop to bite between his teeth.

On a stool, you sat next to him, holding a scalpel. He angled his head, exposing his neck again, and you leaned to him, brushing your fingertips along his skin to push his hair away. You touched the edge of the scalpel to the scar, glancing up at Henry with a silent apology before you drew a clean slit.

He shut his eyes as you had to trace the incision with the blade once more, due to the thick scar tissue. Blood drooled out from the cut, and you switched the scalpel for tweezers.

As you dipped them into the wound, Henry stiffened, and the cords in his neck bulged. You massaged the pill-like device upwards as you pushed the tweezers deeper to grab it.

Henry bared his teeth, and you imagined they’d leave imprints in the leather of his belt.

You clamped the tweezers down on Soteria, and pulled it out. Slick with blood, you held it up in front of you, brow furrowed. What did this thing do? Why did Henry need to be weakened? Did the other orderlies have one?

Henry relaxed beside you, letting the belt fall from his mouth. He worked his jaw, loosening it. His tolerance for pain made your heart heavy. Why did he have to go through so much of it?

He moved to sit at the edge of the bed, his eyes bearing into the device trapped in the jaws of the tweezers. “Who knew such a small thing could be a nuisance.” He grabbed Soteria from the tweezers, and stood from the bed, unconsciously walking away as he admired the device as though it were a rare jewel.

He looked over his shoulder at you, his thumb and index fingers patchy with his own blood. The sunlight in him was brighter than before. “Now I can show you.”

Henry walked you to the doors of the rainbow room, but he trailed behind, letting you approach first.

You turned to him—him, standing there all proper again, hands hidden behind him. Your incredulous look made him smile. He gestured forward with a nod, encouraging you.

Reluctant, you faced the doors, and your spine grew sensitive under his gaze. What could there be to show in here? You grabbed the handle and pulled.

Then you felt a cool breeze, and heard the wind ruffle branches, heavy with billowy pink blossoms. You drew in a breath, and the slightest, sweet smell, faintly of lilacs, caressed your lungs.

You stood in a tunnel of Cherry Blossom trees. Looking up, a blue sky veined the pink canopy.

Like making a wish on a dandelion clock, the petals blew away from their branches, and drifted around you as pink snow.

It was exactly as you remembered it—as if you had stepped into the memory itself. Third Street Park in Macon.

Happiness—golden, wonderful happiness gave you wings. You felt so light on your feet.

But as you looked around, you didn’t see Henry, and your smile faded. Your heart hesitated. “Henry?”

“I’m here.”

And then you were okay, relieved, at the sound of his voice—soft and comforting. Since you met him, you often felt strange, or abandoned, without his nearness. You had longed for people before, but not like this.

You turned, and he stepped toward you, holding all of his tenderness for you in his eyes. How blue, how much brighter they were because of you—like the wings of a morpho butterfly.

“How are you—how is this possible?”

Henry’s eyes dropped, and you looked down to his overturning wrist. He pulled away his sleeve, unveiling bolded numbering against a map of blue veins.

001.

You understood now. They took him because he was just like the children. Except, he was patient zero. The first of them.

You held his wrist, thumb grazing the numbers. Your brow furrowed as you remembered all his pain associated with that branding.

“It’s alright,” Henry murmured, reaching his free hand up to cup your face.

You nuzzled his hand, touching your lips to his palm.

Around you, petals gathered like snowflakes, carpeting the ground in pink. Some clung to your hair, and his golden waves.

He rested his forehead against yours, your noses kissing. “It’s you and me now. I’ll keep you safe.”

#henry creel x reader #peter ballard x reader #001 x reader #henry creel x fem!reader #henry creel imagine #peter ballard x fem!reader #peter ballard imagine #001 x fem!reader

697 notes · View notes

justmultifandom · 4 months

Text

Kidge winter event

Day 1: Ice skating

Every large city during the Christmas period begins to wake up from the cold and sad autumn, just as the yellow and orange leaves fade away, all the streets are filled with a warm atmosphere of joy and lights. In the evening the shop windows, streets and decorations light up while families, couples, teenagers and children stroll with packages in hand and smiles on their faces. New York was covered in snow, and everyone seemed so happy and carefree at the idea of celebrating the first Christmas after the end of the war. One couple in particular, however, were trying to keep a low profile, dodging other people and walking with some haste, and when they arrived at the closed gate of a public park, one took the large duffle bag off his shoulders and gave it to the figure smaller next to him.

“Keith, I swear to God if we end up in prison for any of your stupid shit that you didn't do in your teenage years I'm going to stop hanging out with you!” the girl growled, looking around to make sure they weren't seen.

“You sound so legal, but I'm not the one who illegally signed up to a military space base, Katie”: he sneered, climbing over the fence and landing on his feet on the other side. She tossed him the duffle bag, which fell to the ground with a silent clang on the snow.

“Yes, but that's not why Shiro invited us here…”: she grumbled, taking one last look around before climbing over and following him. Shiro, after declaring that he was engaged to Curtis, bought a large penthouse in the center of New York, which now housed all the paladins including Coran and Romelle. According to him it was a way to meet again and maintain the bond as long as possible after the departure of the lions.

“Okay, but honestly, what are we doing here?”: she asked, adjusting her scarf and shivering at the gust of wind.

"Ice-skating"

"Ice-skating?"

He nodded.

“But what if you don't even know how to skate?!”: she laughed.

“Indeed, but at least everyone will think that we went to the legal track, and not on a frozen lake…”: he smirked, holding her hand and dragging her through the light snow-covered bush up to a point where the snow left room for a flat ice field.

“You're smart, you know?”: Pidge smiled, looking him in the eyes: “You gave everyone a false lead so Lance and Romelle won't know where we are…”

“Do you see that sometimes I think?”: he smiled, sitting down on the snow and taking two pairs of ice skates out of his bag. As soon as they had them at their feet, she began to move to gain confidence by doing a few laps around the perimeter from the pond, while Keith remained sitting next to her watching her move with all that elegance.

“Are you going to stay here and watch me from behind all night or will you come here with me?”: she laughed, approaching slowly.

“The view from here is very beautiful…”: he smiled, standing up and trying to gain balance. As she had said he didn't know how to skate; How could he have learned in the middle of the desert? She helped him, pulling him up gently, then intertwining their fingers. Pidge continued to guide him, showing him how to bend his knees and move his feet. After years of war in which he was leader, Keith finally let himself be carried away by someone else's orders and advice.

When he was finally able to skate slowly without that attention, they remained with their hands clasped as they were transported by the cold mist into their immense solitude. She let out a gasp when he surprised her by whirling around almost knocking them both over, wrapping his arms around her hips as he pulled her into a passionate kiss.

There they were alone: just two hot bodies making fiery sparks, ready to explode. They were alone there. There they could just screw it all and show themselves for what they were. They had wasted too much time hiding their love from the whole world.

“You have no idea how long I've waited for this…”: she smiled, her cheeks and nose slightly pink from the cold.

“Me too…”: he replied, dragging her into another kiss. They remained there for many moments warming themselves with their bodies pressed next to each other's, exchanging fiery kisses. They were interrupted only by the sight of blue and red flashes shining in the night and reflecting off the ice and snow.

“I saw them climbing over here!”: they heard a man grumble: “It must be those usual thugs who deface the walls!”

“I think we have to run now…”: Keith whispered, taking her hand and letting her accompany him to the shore.

“I can't believe that if they reach us I'll end up in prison because of Keith Kogane!”: she snorted in amusement, quickly taking off her ice skates and putting her boots back on.

“Hey, you two!”: shouted a stout and chubby looking man in a uniform. They both laughed as they stood up, starting to run away.

#voltron legendary defender #keith voltron #voltron pidge #kidge #keith x pidge #keidge #kidge winter event

13 notes · View notes

mariabtsos · 29 days

Text

Unsinkable ||j.jk|| - Chapter 1

Index | Next ->

Description: The 1910s are the peak of passenger ships, it was also the peak of classism, Jungkook is a third class immigrant from Korea, and you are a first class “prisoner” not wanting to go back to a life of strict standards. Once you meet Jungkook, life seems worth living, but when tragedy strikes, will you guys make it out to live the life you planned?

Genre: Titanic AU, poor/artist!JK x rich!f reader, angst, fluff, very slight smut, forbidden love.

Warnings: S*ic*de attempt, mentions of knives and stabbing, smoking, near death experience.

Word Count: 1.8k+

You never pictured going back to America in your current circumstances. Engaged to a man you did not love, only to save your family's name after your father’s death.

You looked at the luxurious ship that was meant to take you “home,” White Star Lines biggest ship, the Titanic, your fiancé Namjoon — an heir to his father’s steel manufacturing empire — had been able to get the tickets for her maiden voyage.

“I don’t get the big fuss, it’s not bigger than the Mauritania,” you said, unimpressed whilst holding on to your navy blue, large, wide-brim hat. “Don’t worry honey, it is definitely more luxurious,” Namjoon said, “your daughter is very hard to impress, Irene.”

“She is, isn't she?” Your mother stood close to you, slightly pinching the back of your arm, making me straighten up.

As George assigned his valet — a young man not much older than both of you — you thought his name to be Yoongi, to guide one of the stewards to where your luggage had to go.

As he came back over your way he put his arm out for you, which you took, albeit reluctantly, as you walked up the platform, you looked down, seeing the water below you. Would your troubles be fixed if you jumped? Perhaps not. You didn’t understand why they called this the ship of dreams, it seemed like it was taking all your dreams away.

On the other side, a young man was counting on this ship to take him to his dream. Young artist Jungkook, was playing a heated game of poker with his best friend Christopher, against two German immigrants who had bet their third class tickets to the same ship you were boarding.

Jungkook had jumped around a lot, ever since his parents died when he was 12, he took the first ship out of Korea and hopped from country to country, from Australia where he had met Christopher, to France, to now England. They had been playing for about two hours now, both German natives had struck out. “Damn, talk about an unlucky streak, what do you have Chris?” Jungkook asked his friend, who looked disappointed and slammed his hand against the table, “I got nothing,” he answered bitterly. Jungkook hummed, looking at everyone and then back at his own hand.

“Well, Chris, I’m sorry,” the black haired man looked at Jungkook with despair. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! We bet everything we had and-.”

“I meant, I’m sorry because you won’t get to go back home in a long time,” Jungkook set his hand down and smiled victoriously at his opponents, he had a royal flush, he had won it all.

“AH YOU BASTARD!” Chris got up right away and hugged his friend tightly.

“Well, you young lads won’t be going anywhere,” the friends looked at the bar man who had a silly smile on his face, “the Titanic leaves in 5 minutes.”

They had never gathered their bags so quickly, running through the crowd, avoiding bumping into someone and them falling in the water. They made it to the third class gate just before they took away the ramp. They lied saying they did not have lice, when in reality they had no clue, but he was sure he didn’t have any, his head hadn’t itched in two weeks. And so they made it, making it to their cabin and settling in their bunks quickly.

They explored the ship after they started their journey, sitting down on a bench in the main deck, enjoying the ocean breeze. They met another third class Korean immigrant, Kim Taehyung; his grandfather had been part of the crew that built the ship, he died before it could be done, but he had made a promise that once the Titanic set sail they would move to America. Taehyung didn’t know what to do with the extra ticket so he offered it to one of his University friends, who was somewhere in the third class cabins sleeping.

They were all in the midst of conversation when he saw you, walking out on the first class deck, holding onto the railing and looking out to the horizon. Taehyung saw Jungkook staring off, so he followed his gaze and realized he was looking at you.

“You better get that thought outta your head, she’s way out of your league Jungkookie,” he stated, taking a long drag of his cigarette, “girls like that don’t look at guys like us.” But Jungkook couldn’t help it, you looked beautiful, the sun reflected off your skin wonderfully, and your hair looked gorgeous in that low bun. He wished he could be closer, he could only imagine your beauty up close.

You hated your life at the moment, having to be so prim and proper in front of all these rich, phony people. You even tried having a cigarette, but that was quickly shut down by your mother and your fiancé, who had ordered your food, your drink, and dessert earlier, and now he was putting out your cigarette.

Then they talked about your wedding, and what your life was going to look like, all like you weren’t there, everything was being planned and set for your life and no one seemed to want to ask for your input, so, you excused yourself and ran down to the third class deck that was on the stern, passing by young man who was sitting on a bench working on his drawings, and then hitting the railing. You got a sudden view below, the night was so dark, it almost looked like an empty void. If you jumped it would almost feel like you disappeared, and that would be perfect because that was all you wanted to do. So, you got your foot on the railing and slowly climbed over it, eventually holding on to it was the only thing keeping you from falling, it was the scariest thing you’d ever done, and as you were talking yourself into jumping, you heard him.

“You shouldn’t do it.” he said.

“What do you mean?” You replied in between sobs

“Jumping, you shouldn’t do it.”

“What do you know? You can’t tell me what I should or shouldn’t do.” You turned around and looked at the man who you were talking to. He was the most handsome man you’d seen, you felt your heart falter a bit; to avoid staring, you turned back around, seeing the void again, your eyes had adjusted to the dark and you realized just how long the fall would be.

You heard shuffling after a few seconds so you turned around and saw the young man had taken off his jacket, his socks, and his boots. “You give me no choice, miss,” he said.

“What?”

“You give me no choice, you jump, I jump.”

“Please, I could not ask you to do that…” you almost begged.

“I cannot have you do that,” you pleaded with him. “Hell, I don’t even know if you know how to swim!”

“Like I said, Miss, if you jump I jump,” he took a step, getting slightly closer to the railing where you were standing. “And, I’ll have you know I’m quite a good swimmer.”

You nodded and looked back down again, you gave yourself that same pep talk, telling yourself this was your only way to freedom. “I wouldn’t worry about swimming, the cold will be worse,” your jumping partner stated very matter of factly. “What do you mean?” You asked him. “Well, with how cold the water is at this time of year, it’d feel like five thousand knives stabbing each part of your body, it’d be painful,” You looked back at him, not shocked to find he was looking down. He met your gaze after a few seconds, “that’s another reason why I don’t want you to jump, I wasn’t planning on going through that kind of pain,” he chuckled bitterly

Hearing that made you think of the pain, the image of five thousand knives in every inch of your body, and it sent shivers down your spine, especially because he didn’t mention whether you’d die right away, you assumed it’d be a bit of a longer torturous process. So, you chose to get back on deck, extending your hand to the stranger after stating that you had changed your mind, he took it gladly, and you felt your heart falter one more time, it felt like a surge of energy went through your body.

“I’m Jeon Jungkook,” he smiled, shaking your hand, just like you he felt that same surge. Seeing you up close was like a sudden blessing, you had such expressive eyes, and he could see all the pain hidden behind them.

You reciprocated his pretty bunny smile, “Yn.” He pulled your hand a bit and asked, “are you ready to get back on deck?” You nodded enthusiastically, but things went wrong. You don’t know how but you slipped on your dress, barely able to catch yourself before meeting an untimely end, you started screaming whilst holding on to the rail. Jungkook jumped into action right away, trying to get a hold of your hand but you were too scared to grab it, he looked at you with pleading eyes, you could tell he wanted you to live, that he was worried. “Take my hand, please, I promise I’ll get you up here!” He screamed, and although you were terrified, you grabbed his hand just in time because your other hand had slipped, so he was now holding onto you by just one of your hands, you subconsciously reached to grab on to his wrist, and although it was a terrible scare, he pulled you up to the deck again, the way you fell he went on top of you, you were both looking at each other in shock, eventually taking a breath of relief.

Namjoon showed up with Yoongi and the Master-at-Arms shortly after. Needless to say things did not look good for your savior, as obviously he was on top of you, and parts of his clothes were on the floor, it looked like he had… But you shot that down quickly, with the excuse that you were trying to see the propellers and slipped, saying that Jungkook was, luckily, close enough to hear you scream. Everyone looked at the young third-class passenger to confirm this, he agreed with your story and was called a hero by the Master-at-Arms, which prompted Namjoon to only give him $50 and a cigarette.

“Isn’t him saving my life worth more than fifty dollars and a cigarette,” Namjoon looked down at you, and you made that one face you knew would get him to say yes to anything you wanted, and so he invited your hero to dinner, as you were leaving you mouthed a thank you to Jungkook, who held his hand up as way of saying goodbye.

“It’s interesting that Yn fell so suddenly but you had time to take off your jacket, socks and shoes.” Yoongi said, squinting at the younger man, Jungkook could tell he didn’t believe you.

AN: It's officially here! I'm trying to get on a schedule so I'll try upload this story every other Friday, let me know of any constructive criticism you may have and what you think of it so far!

#bts #bts fanfic #jeon jungkook #jungkook au

19 notes · View notes

temporarypenintraining · 1 year

Text

This is a continuation of this post! Now to get into the third terrible topic: the tragedy of the Julien family. I've spoken before about how isolation creates monstrosity, and how this is sort of the "family theme" of the Juliens. However now I want to talk about how it coincides with the other common thread: an inability to face grief head-on and properly work through it. Julien avoids grief. He isolates himself from the world, surrounds himself with his own creation (which, as mentioned earlier, can give someone a bit of a god complex). When he dies, he tries to keep his son from experiencing any sort of grief by erasing his memory, which only creates a boy who's further isolated from the world, because he doesn't know his place in it. When he is captured and held prisoner by the Skulkin, he tries to avoid grieving the separation from his son by creating a replica. By his own admission, he feels like a monster for having done so, because on some deep level he knows that trying to replace Zane was wrong. Having Echo around most likely only created more grief, because he was so much like Zane and yet never quite enough. But once again, instead of facing that grief, he pushed away the source and locked it in a basement. Zane does not initially have this problem of wanting to avoid his problems. He even asks his father to remove his memory switch, because he doesn't want to forget his loved ones again (he gains power from knowing his past, acknowledging everything that happened, everything he is), and what does Julien do? He refuses. Because Julien likes to take the easy way out. It isn't until after his own death that Zane adopts his father's toxic mindset. He locks that memory away, pushes away his problems, refuses to talk about them. He willingly utilizes his ability to delete memories that he doesn't want, and over time he utilizes it often. "Oh, I massacred multiple species and became a dictator of an entire realm? Haha no I didn't." It's terrible, it's toxic and unhealthy, and it takes completely shutting off his emotions and then having a heartfelt conversation with an overly emotional teenage girl to realize that maybe his father had some bad ideas. Then of course there's Echo himself, which is where this analysis turns more to headcanon and speculation to fill in the gaps in canon, but stick with me here. When we meet Echo, he's perfectly cheerful and having a great time, just kinda vibing with Tai-D. It is my personal belief that this is because he, after breaking out of the basement only to discover that his father had left him, decided to flip his own memory switch and forget the pain of abandonment. Then, he later turned it back on (having forgotten why it was off in the first place) and suddenly remembered the devastation he'd experienced. This conveniently coincided with his discovery by the Sons of Garmadon, and he was primed and ready to seek out revenge against the brother who stole his father from him, instead of allowing himself to grieve that loss. We see time and time again that isolation and refusal to acknowledge grief is a dangerous combination. It breeds darkness in a person. The Ice Emperor and Mr E were the products of toxic mindsets passed down from Dr Julien to his sons. Aaaaanyway that's been [part 3], folks. Buh-bye or something ig.

#Ninjago #Ninjago analysis #Zane #Zane Julien #Echo #Echo Julien #Dr Julien #The Ice Emperor #Mr E #Mister F #Mr F

57 notes · View notes

twoidiotwriters1 · 3 months

Text

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: My nephew helped me queue this one (he is a literal baby) -Danny Words: 2,379 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Goldrush' -by Stela Cole

X: Are You Serious? Right in Front of My Salad?

I wake up with a start. My mouth is dry as if I've been running for hours. I just had the weirdest dream about Janus in a forest and now my mind is racing, so I get up. I leave Annabeth in Geryon's old bedroom and make my way downstairs.

Nico is seated on a tall chair in the kitchen aisle, he doesn't look up as I walk past him, but as I'm filling a glass with water, he speaks to me. "How's Lily?" He asks hoarsely. "And Michael?"

I want to ignore him, but his voice is so broken my heart can't bear it. We spoke to his sister's ghost today, and Bianca told him to stop trying to bring her back.

"You know, now that you're all grumpy, you and Lily would get along even better."

"I don't want friends," he cuts me off, voice quivering. "Just wanted my sister."

"Nico," I leave my glass on the counter and cross my arms. "I grew up in an orphanage—"

"What's that got to do with—"

"Shut up and listen," I scowl. "I didn't know how it felt to have a real family until recently, and sometimes Percy annoys me on purpose, but no one cares for me the way he and my mom do. If Bianca, your only sister, was asking you to trust us, you should've listened."

"Like how you listened to Percy when he asked you to stay put?"

I tense. "That's different. Geryon would've killed him if I hadn't—"

He interrupts me bitterly. "Percy's not your real brother, and you'll never know what a real family is. You get in everyone's way trying to be a hero."

I try not to pout, but I'm not succeeding. "That's mean."

If Nico is ashamed, I don't sense it. "It's the truth."

"You don't talk to your friends like that," I say, voice quivering. "Bianca—"

Nico gets up and exits the room hastily, speaking through gritted teeth. "We are not friends."

"...Gaea told me that she needed the blood of only two demigods—one female, one male. She—she asked me to choose which boy would die." Piper explains during the meeting.

"But neither of us died," Jason replies. "You saved us."

"I know. It's just... Why would she want that?"

"Guys, remember at the Wolf House? Our favorite ice princess, Khione?" Leo mentions. "She talked about spilling Jason's blood, how it would taint the place for generations. Maybe demigod blood has some kind of power."

"Oh..." Percy leans back in his chair looking nauseous. "Oh, bad... Bad. Bad." He turns to Hazel and Frank. "You guys remember Polybotes?"

"The giant who invaded Camp Jupiter," Hazel replies. "The anti-Poseidon you whacked in the head with a Terminus statue. Yes, I think I remember."

"I had a dream, when we were flying to Alaska. Polybotes was talking to the gorgons, and he said—he said he wanted me taken prisoner, not killed. He said: 'I want that one chained at my feet, so I can kill him when the time is ripe. His blood shall water the stones of Mount Olympus and wake Earth Mother!'"

"Jolly way of dying..." Ara mutters.

Piper makes a face. "You think the giants would use our blood... the blood of two of us—"

"I don't know," Percy replies. "But until we figure it out, I suggest we all try to avoid getting captured."

"That I agree with," Jason sighs.

"But how do we figure it out? The Mark of Athena, the twins, Ella's prophecy... how does it all fit together?" Hazel questions.

Annabeth leans on the table. "Piper, you told Leo to set our course for Atlanta."

"Right. Bacchus told us we should seek out... what was his name?"

"Phorcys," Percy responds.

"You know him?" Annabeth looks at him with surprise.

"I didn't recognize the name at first. Then Bacchus mentioned salt water, and it rang a bell. Phorcys is an old sea god from before my dad's time. Never met him, but supposedly he's a son of Gaea. I still don't understand what a sea god would be doing in Atlanta."

"What's a wine god doing in Kansas? Gods are weird," Leo points out with a shrug. "Anyway, we should reach Atlanta by noon tomorrow, unless something else goes wrong."

"Don't even say that," Annabeth shivers. "It's getting late. We should all get some sleep."

"Wait," Piper intervenes. "There's one last thing. The eidolons—the possessing spirits. They're still here, in this room."

There is nothing but silence for a few seconds before Hazel sighs. "Piper is right."

"How can you be sure?" Annabeth questions.

"I've met eidolons. In the Underworld, when I was... you know."

"So..." Frank looks around anxiously. "You think these things are lurking on the ship, or—"

"Possibly lurking inside some of us," Piper replies. "We don't know."

"Okay," Ara fixes her posture tensely. "Do you have a plan to get rid of them?"

"Yes," Piper looks at her. "I think we can fix this."

Ironic, how the skills that have proven to be handy so far are the ones she had as an Aphrodite and not the ones she worked hard for. "Okay," Ara nods with confidence. "What do we do?"

"We talk, and everyone else has to listen," her sister explains. "Your voice is stronger than mine, so it'd be better if you call out to them first, and force them to stay put."

"You're a better negotiator, though," Ara reminds her, "so you'll do the talking after I've got them in place."

"Deal."

"Girls, what are you—"

Ara hushes Jason and lifts a finger. "Be quiet, I have to focus." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. The girl's skin glows pink, and the dark brown has been replaced with iridescent tints when she opens her eyes. "Eidolons, where are you?"

A ripple of warm air crosses the table. Leo, Jason, and Percy sit up stiffly, their gazes are the same golden color. "Here," they speak all at once.

Frank jumps out of his seat and presses his back against a wall. Hazel covers her mouth in horror.

"You are not allowed to leave your seats," Ara tells them.

"We won't move," they reply.

Annabeth looks at the two daughters of Aphrodite with worry. "Oh, gods—Can you cure them?"

Piper raises her hand to ease her, and when she does, her palm trembles a little. Ara holds it as soon as she notices.

"Are there more of you on this ship?" Piper asks.

"No," Leo responds. "The Earth Mother sent three. The strongest, the best. We will live again."

"Not here, you won't," Piper's eyes blaze with anger. "All three of you, listen carefully. You will leave those bodies—"

"No."

"We must live."

"Then find another way," Ara glares at the Eidolon possessing Leo.

Leo's face twists into a smirk. "You are a spoiled child of Olympus. We do not answer to you."

"Mars Almighty, that's creepy!" Frank draws out his bow. "Get out of here, spirits! Leave our friends alone!"

Leo looks at him. "You cannot command us either, child of war. Your own life is fragile. Your soul could burn at any moment."

Frank manages to aim an arrow at Leo. "I—I've faced down worse things than you. If you want a fight—"

"Frank, don't," Hazel gets up, then turns to the others. "Listen to Piper."

"Daughter of Pluto, you may control gems and metals. You do not control the dead," Percy snarls.

"Listen, eidolons," Hazel spits out, "you do not belong here. I may not command you, but Piper and Ara do. Obey them."

Piper looks at Ara, the girl squeezes her palm and absorbs the fear her sister is feeling so she can speak. Piper takes a deep breath and tries again. "You will leave those bodies."

Jason grimaced. "We—we will leave these bodies."

"You will vow on the River Styx never to return to this ship, and never to possess any member of this crew."

Leo and Percy groan in protest, but their eyes are slowly changing colors.

"You will promise on the River Styx," Piper repeats, squeezing Ara's hand.

Ara shakes off the shivers she's getting from sponging Piper's anxiety, but she doesn't let go of her. "Promise!" The girl stomps her foot impatiently, and another ripple of hot air pushes out of her place on the table.

"We promise on the River Styx," the boys spit out in different levels of distress.

"You are dead," Piper continues in a steady voice.

"We are dead."

"Now, leave."

The boys fall: Percy against the table, Jason over his chair, and Leo onto the floor. "Ow!"

"Leo!" Ara lets go of Piper and circles the table, she finds Leo sprawled next to his toppled chair.

"Are you all right?" Hazel asks the boys.

"Did it work?" Leo speaks groggily.

"It worked," Piper announces. "I don't think they'll be back."

"Does that mean I can stop getting head injuries now?" Jason groans.

Piper laughs. "Come on, Lightning Boy. Let's get you some fresh air. And Ara..." she tilts her body to see her over the table's surface. "Thank you."

Ara helps Leo to get back on his feet, she dusts off her jeans and looks at Piper. "You saved my brother and my boyfriend, I should be thanking you."

"What was that thing you did?" Hazel questions in shock. "You glowed pink!"

"Aphrodite's blessing," Ara replies. "I can use those from time to time, but not often and not one after the other, it tires me out too quickly."

"You have more than one blessing?" Frank asks in shock.

"She's got four," Leo replies hoarsely, rubbing the side of his face. "Gods, doll, you could've asked my ghost to land on his butt..."

Ara grins. "We should call it a day. Y'all go to sleep, I'll take the night shift."

Everyone starts to leave, but Percy stays behind to talk to Ara and Leo. "So..." He makes a face. "That sucked. I'm sorry for... you know..."

"It's alright, man," Leo shrugs. "I would've reacted the same way if some weirdo claimed to be my sister's sweetheart and then proceeded to bomb my house."

"A real fancy way to put it, Leo," Ara scowls.

"My point is—now we can start over, right?" Leo reaches out to take Percy's hand.

Percy shakes his hand with no hesitation. "Definitely." He glances at Ara. "I know Ara can take care of herself, but... just try to be careful."

Ara feels weird about the way he says it. Her mind goes to Hazel and Frank, and how they called Leo 'Sammy' the first time they spoke to him. She thinks Percy knows something about that.

Leo is checking the ship's status before ending the day. It could be done by just one of them, but he insisted and Ara refused to let go of him now that he's eidolon-free.

"Not that I'm complaining," he walks from one place to another with Ara hugging him from behind like a little kid. "But it wasn't that serious, doll. Getting possessed is kinda like the flu."

"It's not funny," Ara mumbles, squeezing his waist. "Last night he could've taken over while you were kissing me—"

"Yikes," Leo cringes. "Let's not go there."

"But it could've happened!"

"Nah," he taps the morse code for 'I love you' on the back of her hand. Leo does it without noticing, or at least that's what Ara thinks, she's never asked because she fears it'll make Leo self-conscious and then he'll stop doing it. "My Eidolon was scared of you—all bark and no bite. The reason why they felt brave enough to attack you in New Rome, was because you were caught off guard."

"Love your blind faith, but—"

Leo turns and wraps his arms around her. "No buts! You're strong, smart, and hot when you use your blessings."

Ara gets flustered and tries to step back. "Okay, I got it—"

The boy kisses her without warning. He hadn't kissed her like this in... well, probably never. When he ends it, Ara is speechless and light-headed, her soul-light glows as bright as gold. Sometimes he does things that make her doubt he's not a fidget of her imagination, the way he can make her forget everything that bothers her and all she can do is stay focused on him in just a matter of seconds.

"Talking about last night... you mentioned Hazel," he says quietly, paying close attention to how she reacts. "We're gonna talk about that, or..?"

Ara leans her forehead on his. "Do we have to?"

Leo frowns. "Yeah, think so. That girl and her boyfriend freak me out! I don't know what I did to them..."

"Percy knows, but I don't think he wants to tell me," she sighs. "You should ask them face to face."

Leo snorts. "And say what? 'Hey, are you two planning my murder?'—bet that would lighten the mood around here."

Ara rolls her eyes. "Obviously not like that! I'm sure there's a way to address this without making it awkward..." She holds his arms. "Do you think Hazel..."

Leo stares at her, and he doesn't know how, 'cause this has never come naturally to him, but he guesses what Ara's trying to ask him. "You think she likes me?" He squints. "I mean, I am more good-looking than Frank, but—"

"Leónidas!" She hisses under her breath. "I'm serious!"

"Me too!" Leo exclaims. "Okay fine, grown-up talk," his grip on her gets a little tighter. "I don't know. It's like she's scared of me or something... I'll try to talk to her if you want me to."

Ara's uncomfortable for a wide variety of reasons. Mostly jealousy, but she's having negative thoughts about a girl that she's supposed to look after, and to top it all she's Nico's half-sister. She tries hard not to antagonize Nico too much, but she's always finding ways to do so.

"I hate feeling this way." She makes a face. "When we got the celestial bronze, you guys had like... a moment. I'm still thinking about it."

"A moment?"

Ara blushes, knowing how ridiculous she's about to sound. Her eyes avoid his when she talks, they're no longer golden, but they still have power over her. "You locked eyes for a second. It looked intense."

Leo presses his lips together, stopping himself from laughing. "Hm."

"This is stupid, I don't know why I'm even—"

The girl turns to leave, but Leo pulls her close again, grinning from ear to ear. His soul-light brightens. "Arae Jackson, are you jealous?"

"No!" She exclaims indignantly. "Being jealous would mean I don't trust you and I do! I don't care if you talk to girls, I'm just—worried."

"Worried," Leo repeats tauntingly. "Sure. Whatever you say, sunshine."

Ara slips out of his grasp and hurries away. "I'm telling Frank you said he's ugly."

"Hey! I didn't—Ara—STOP!"

Next chapter →

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicks

#twoidiots writing #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus #leo valdez x oc #leo valdez fanfic #doo

8 notes · View notes

fanfiction-artist-prototype · 10 months

Note

I see you too are making a spidersona :eyes: may I share some lore/ideas around mine?

why yes of course Castle, I'd love for you to lore/idea share!! But only if you excuse the lore/art dump im about to drop on here for mine!!

I wanted to take the gwen stacey approach to spidersona's but obviously playing into the self-insert fun aspect of it as well! So we have my oc Jane Johanna Jamerson - niece/ ward of James Jonah Jamerson talking head and head of the Daily Bugle.

Jane is this worlds MJ, Harvey Oswald is this worlds Harry Osborne and of course you have Peter Parker because I wanted a trio in a spiderstory again!

Jane lives with her uncle because of circumstances and got bitten by a spider from Oscrops research when her, peter and Harvey were all playing in the main research building, because Norman Osborne let them play in his office whilst he was in a meeting and they went and explored - thats how she got her powers.

Most of the villains in this universe are a result of escaped Oscorp experiments or intervention form the company, so you have Curt Conners as Lizard obviously, but the Vulture is less tech inclined in this universe and more infected by Oscorp with modified vulture DNA - yes that means he has a twinge of cannibalism in this version! Rhino was tech-inclined at first but ended up taking his 'mysterious benefactor' aka Norman Osborne up on his offer to become a super solider the likes of which the world hasn't thought to create since Captain America. (the universe is set just before cap awakens from his ice nap so he's nothing more than history at the start of Lumo's journey)

Jane is called Lumo-Spider because of my recent obsession with Zinc Oxide, which is luminescent at room temperature and so I wanted her to have glowy webs, and so i decided that her spider had zinc oxide production as one of its unknown but mundane mutations - so Lumo's webs both glow in darker spaces but also have really good conductivity based on temperature! Which means she's accidentally lethal to those that get caught in the crosshairs of her and Electro's fights in the winter.

She got bitten around age 12 and exhibited signs of the X-gene (actually the spider mutations) so Jamerson sent her off to be evaluated by Xaviour's school for gifted children, where they quickly concurred she was an artificial mutant - similar to deadpool or Wolverine where she didn't posess the X-gene but outside forces had forced her body to accommodate what should have been handled by the x-gene causing adverse side effects. For her its not being able to control her abilities. Her uncle is under the assumption that she's simply got super strength and that's the limitations because the school help her cover her other abilities and spider-like mannerisms up because she -and the school- are worried that her uncle might disown her, and she's one of the only 'mutant' children that seems to have a supporting family willing to keep their child and nobody wants to risk that.

Oscorp starts being the villains after Lumo's first spin around new york. I'm thinking she was training part time to control her powers so the x-men gave her a training suit that she personalised with her friends help (because i know in some of the cartoons, and older comics i have that students at the school got their own x-men suits as like a 'pe uniform' even if they weren't going out into the field) and they came to the conclusion that a competitor stole their feasible spider mutation and made their own super soldier and decide to try and capture Lumo to figure out who she works for.

Her canon event doesn't happen till she's eighteen, when she finds Peter Parker mauled to death by the Lizard and Vulture, after her uncle sends Peter out to cover a prison break case and tells him not to come back without pictures, putting him in the crosshairs. It's what forces her to break free form her uncles side because he considers lumo 'worse than the x-men' because she's just another law breaking vigilante but she can't even keep other mutated from killing NY citizens and she can't ever imagine her telling him turning out well and now he's 'gotten peter killed'.

Harvey ends up being the Green Goblin rather than Hobgoblin here, but i could literally do an entire post just on ideas for Harvey.

Also the second picture is my FAVOURITE idea for this spidersona.

Little 14 year old Jane getting seriously injured and for the first time in the 2 years she's been fighting not knowing how to hide it, not knowing how she's supposed to keep this hidden, especially since she's got two massive facial injuries, who got hurt before she put the suit on and had just enough time to change back before she was found by rescue teams because she was in a half-collapsed building.

Jamerson is on the ground reporting for this one because it's Lumo's most destructive fight yet and he's prepping with his cameraman going on a rant when the camerman points Jane out to him and all Jamerson can see when he sees his niece - who should be at home, oh god she'd been walking home from SCHOOL when the attack started, to be bleeding this badly she must have been caught in it from the beginning, why hadn't he thought to phone her to make sure she was okay!?- is the seven year old girl who he had to take in because there was nobody left who could - or would do it properly.

#spidersona

22 notes · View notes

linagram · 5 months

Text

[ 𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚞𝚛𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚊'𝚜 𝚝𝟸 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚊 ] 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚛

and with this, we're finally done with all the second trial's mvs and vds! woooo! this trial surely was. something.

after reina's vd, there's gonna be two post-t2 vds (similar to this trial having two pre-t2 vds), the first one will be jackalope explaining some stuff (and miki finally getting to meet him) and the third guard's full name reveal and the second one will be about everyone's second trial verdicts.

Warnings for Reina's VD: None

Warnings for Reina's MV: None

(sounds of footsteps)

Miki: "It's Himura-san's turn already.."

Miki: "This trial has been so stressful and we also have to judge everyone later.."

Miki: "Wait-"

(footsteps stop)

Miki: ".. Will Eiji-san even be able to judge someone this time?"

Miki: ".. I don't think he will. No, actually, it would be better for his health if he didn't participate in the trial this time."

Miki: "But if he can't vote, then-"

Miki: ...

Miki: .. Hehe..

Miki: W-wait, why am I-

Miki: Why am I.. laughing?

Miki: I should feel sorry for him. I should hope that he gets better.

Miki: .. What has this place done to me?

Miki: Wait, is that-

(sounds of other person's footsteps)

Miki: Huh?..

Miki: W-who's there?!

Miki: "Is it one of the prisoners?.."

???: Calm down, calm down!

???: Here, do you recognize me now?

Miki: .. Are you..

Miki: Hiyuu-san?

Hiyuu: Yeah, that's me.

Hiyuu: Sorry for scaring you like that, haha.

Hiyuu: Well, at least now we finally get to meet each other in person!

Hiyuu: Ah, right, I should probably take this off..

Miki: What-

(sounds of Hiyuu taking his mask off)

Hiyuu: Here we go.

Hiyuu: Wow, breathing sure feels easier now.

Miki: ...

Hiyuu: Hm? Is there something wrong with my face?

Hiyuu: Hold on, let me-

Hiyuu: .. Ahaha, I still have some ice cream left on my face..

Hiyuu: I should wipe it off..

Hiyuu: Wait, do I even have anything to wipe it off with-

(sounds of Hiyuu talking to himself in the background)

Miki: "CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE-"

Hiyuu: Is everything okay, Miki-san?

Miki: I'M FINE!

Miki: .. Oh my god, sorry, that was so loud, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry-

Hiyuu: Don't worry, I just wanted to make sure you're alright, haha.

Hiyuu: I want to help you with interrogating the tenth prisoner, is that okay with you?

Miki: Y-yes, sure! Interrogations can be.. very tiring..

Miki: Ah, but only if you're okay with that-

Miki: H-huh?

(a sound of Hiyuu putting his hand on Miki's head)

Hiyuu: I left my room exactly because I wanted to help you. So of course I'm okay with that.

Miki: O-oh..

Miki: Wait, didn't you say that you can't leave your room?

Hiyuu: Ah, about that..

Hiyuu: That rabbit thing told me I can't leave my room, so I assumed that the door was locked, but when I tried to open it, I didn't have any trouble with it.

Hiyuu: So, uh, I guess he was just messing with me, haha..

Hiyuu: Or maybe I was supposed to interpret his words differently..

Miki: .. Rabbit thing?

Hiyuu: Y-you didn't meet him yet?..

Miki: N-no??

Hiyuu: .. Now I feel awkward.

Hiyuu: Okay, let's go interrogate the tenth prisoner now, haha!~..

Miki: "Oh no, is he going to turn out to be a weird guy too.."

Miki: "But he's still cute.."

Miki: .. You remind me of someone, to be honest.

Hiyuu: Hm? What did you say?

Miki: N-nothing!

Miki: "I'm probably just ovethinking it.. It must be a coincidence.."

Miki: "But they look and act so.. similar.."

Miki: Wait, Hiyuu-san, do you even know how to interrogate prisoners?

Hiyuu: I have watched recordings of your interrogations, so yeah, I know some stuff.

Miki: W-we were being recorded?..

Hiyuu: Of course you were.

Hiyuu: Now, are you ready for the final interrogation? We're already here.

Miki: ...

Miki: *nods*

Hiyuu: Great. Excited to work with you, partner~

(the door opens)

Reina: Ah, there you are-

Reina: Wait, what?

Miki: U-um, Himura-san, Eiji-san had to be replaced, I mean, not exactly replaced, but-

Hiyuu: Hello there. You're Reina-san, right?

Reina: .. (to Miki) I'm assuming you know what's going on here.

Miki: .. I know that better than anyone.

Reina: So, it's my turn now, huh?

Reina: Let's go then, yay..

Miki: *sits down* You don't really sound that enthusiastic, you know?

Reina: Really? Sorry. I got tired of waiting for you, haha..

Miki: .. What happened to you, Himura-san?

Reina: You have to be more specific here, Guard 002-san.

Miki: .. You used to call me "Miki-chan" before.

Reina: Well, I thought we were friends, Guard 002-san. I thought we were gonna get along.

Reina: But I was wrong.

Hiyuu: .. Did something happen between you two?

Miki: I-I don't think so?

Miki: Himura-san, did I do something wrong? If so, please tell me-

Reina: Oh, I'm gonna tell you.

Reina: Innocent verdict, baby! Woooo!

Reina: *laughs*

Reina: *takes a breath*

Reina: What the hell, Miki-chan. What, do you want me to sing a whole villain song for you or something-

Reina: Oh, wait, you have my video for that.

Reina: Then why was I still forgiven, huh?

Miki: Because..

Miki: Um..

Hiyuu: Because the guards had their own reasons for that. And who exactly are you to question their judgement?

Miki: H-huh?

Reina: Wow, you're a smart guy, aren't you?

Reina: Well, I'm going to start sounding real smart right now too.

Reina: ...

Reina: (her voice sounds more emotionless now) Guard 002-san, what did I tell you last time?

Miki: Y-you mean the serial killer part?

Reina: Exactly. The "serial killer part".

Reina: Now, what are you supposed to do with serial killers?

Miki: .. P-punish-

Reina: That's right. Punish them.

Reina: But I still wasn't punished.

Reina: Would you say that it was a good decision? A wise one? A morally correct one?

Reina: And I have a lot of questions about the guilty prisoners too.

(sounds of Reina standing up and walking around)

Reina: Shun, who is now this close to just breaking Kei and turning him into a mindless puppet.. was voted innocent.

Reina: Akio, who always said that his crime wasn't his fault, obviously trying to shift the blame, but who still mostly was just a nerdy 16 year old obsessed with attention, was voted guilty and now he looks like he can die at any second.

Miki: W-we had our-

Reina: Eiko, who feels no remorse for her crime at all and can easily tell anyone all the details if they just ask, was voted innocent.

Miki: But we-

Reina: And just a reminder, you don't know ANYTHING about Kei's murder, but you still voted him guilty-

Miki: WE HAD OUR REASONS, NOW SIT DOWN!

Reina: ...

Reina: *sits down*

Hiyuu: I don't think you understand how this whole system works, Reina-san.

Reina: Well, do you understand it then?

Hiyuu: Kind of.

Hiyuu: I was told that we are allowed to judge prisoners based on.. literally anything.

Hiyuu: So if you thought that our decisions have to be nothing but morally correct.. Sorry to disappoint you.

Reina: .. "Literally anything"?

Hiyuu: Yeah. It's possible that someone was forgiven just because one or both guards find them cute or attractive.

Reina: ...

Reina: Haha..

Reina: .. I don't have any energy left for all of this.

Reina: ...

Miki: .. A-are you okay, Himura-san-

Reina: So, I don't sound that enthusiastic anymore, Guard 002-san?

Reina: Well, as you can see, I'm not exactly satisfied with my verdict.

Reina: And I'm gonna be honest, I'm getting tired of the whole "most dangerous prisoner" act myself and I can see that it's not convincing enough.

Reina: So yeah, the show's over.

Hiyuu: Reina-san, do you want to be punished that badly?

Reina: Oh, I wanted it more than anything.

Reina: If I could, I would've just asked you to execute me even before the second trial starts.

Reina: But now..

Reina: It's a bit more complicated than that.

Reina: *laughs* But wow, I can't believe this. We're really letting someone like you judge us.

Reina: What, are you gonna vote me guilty now? Are you gonna vote me guilty because I'm not a "I'm the cutest serial killer ever!" type of girl anymore?

Reina: And I really thought you're going to still like me even after I show you my real self! You're breaking my heart, Miki-chan.

Hiyuu: When you say "It's more complicated than that"..

Hiyuu: What do you mean by that?

Reina: Oh, right. What I mean by that is..

Reina: I can't let you two..

Reina: Or three?

Reina: Anyway, I can't let you all judge me and the other prisoners.

Reina: I already know what I deserve and what my verdict should be like. Who are you to tell me what to do and who I am?

Miki: W-well, um, we're the guards-

Hiyuu: Hold on, Miki-san.

Hiyuu: Okay, but what will you even do to stop us?

Reina: You know what's really bothering me about this whole situation?

Reina: .. You all aren't even trying to figure out what's going on.

Reina: How can you accept your new reality so easily?

Reina: Or is it because you hated your old reality so much that you were okay with anything?

Miki: ...

Miki: .. A-and what if we did?

Miki: I had my worries about this place. Of course I was afraid at first.

Miki: But now.. It feels like home.

Hiyuu: I don't really hate this place either.

Reina: .. I feel sorry for both of you.

Reina: But fine, whatever, I'm not going to share anything with you then.

Miki: What do you mean by "anything"?

Reina: .. I have some theories about this place.

Reina: And, um..

Reina: How it works.

Miki: !

Reina: But I doubt that you two are interested, so-

Hiyuu: No, no, I'm curious. Come on, share with us.

Miki: But we don't have much time-

Reina: Well, let's see..

Miki: "Wait, didn't she just say she's not gonna tell us anything?"

Reina: .. So, we have.. what, three guards now?

Reina: (to Hiyuu) Hey, can you tell me where have you been all this time? Why didn't we get to meet you sooner?

Hiyuu: .. I was asleep.

Reina: And when did you wake up?

Hiyuu: I think it was shortly after the first trial's verdicts were announced? But why?

Reina: .. Three guilty prisoners.

Miki: Huh?

Reina: There was only three guilty prisoners. Guard 001-san was the one who wanted to vote everyone guilty.

Reina: (to Hiyuu) And you woke up after Guard 001-san had lost that round.

Reina: .. They're just going to keep switching you all until they get bored.

Miki: Who? Who are you talking about??

Reina: No idea.

Reina: I don't even know how many guards they actually have.

Reina: .. I don't even know how many prisoners we actually have.

Miki: .. W-what does that mean, Himura-san?

Reina: Oh, I don't know.

Reina: Maybe something like..

Reina: .. One of us isn't actually a prisoner?

Miki: Wh-

Reina: Anyway, the clock is ticking, right?

Reina: So, wanna talk about my crime?

Hiyuu: That was a sudden change of topic..

Miki: But Himura-san-

Hiyuu: Miki-san, please, let's talk about Reina-san's crime now.

Hiyuu: .. If we don't, I'm afraid I will end up wasting all my energy soon and I don't want that. I want to be useful to you.

Miki: .. Himura-san, do you have anything to say about your murder?

Reina: I guess I do.

Reina: But I wanna ask, what did you learn about it from my video?

Miki: .. I guess you really were a criminal in a way, but..

Miki: .. We never saw you actually kill anyone.

Reina: .. Haha.

Hiyuu: What's so funny, Reina-san?

Reina: So you haven't seen that part either.. Interesting.

Reina: Hey, but you saw, like, my victim or something?

Miki: .. I guess we did.

Miki: But we didn't see all the details, so we don't know what your victim actually looked like.

Reina: I see..

Reina: He was completely covered in blood, of course, you wouldn't be able to see it, haha..

Miki: .. You were laughing in your video too, Himura-san.

Reina: Really?

Miki: And crying. Both at the same time.

Reina: ...

Reina: Well, how else was I supposed to react after I saw my little brother's corpse?

Reina: H-he came there because of me too, haha.. He always was such an idiot..

Miki: !

Miki: LITTLE BROTHER?!

(bell rings, machinery sounds)

Miki: Himura-san, I'm begging you, please, tell us more!

Hiyuu: Miki-san, time's up. Let's calm down and extract the video-

Miki: BE A GOOD PARTNER, HIYUU-SAN, AND SHUT UP FOR A SECOND!

Miki: .. Your victim was your little brother, Himura-san?

Reina: Haha, what, now you're going to vote me guilty this time?

Reina: You don't want to save me anymore?

Miki: ...

Miki: *starts crying*

Hiyuu: Miki-san, please, can you take a deep breath for me? Here, again, let's calm down..

Hiyuu: You're shaking.. Let's talk about it later, when we're done with this.

Hiyuu: I already have all the information we need. It was me who interrogated everyone yesterday, remember?

Hiyuu: Also, we're going to watch the video together, so we'll see everything that we have to know-

Miki: .. Himura-san, what are you doing?

Miki: HIMURA-SAN?!

(sounds of Reina throwing something and that thing falling on the floor)

Reina: Ugh, didn't work..

Reina: Should've seen this coming.

Hiyuu: .. Reina-san, did you just try to break the video extracting machine?

Reina: Yeah, kinda. More like wanted to see if that thing can even be broken.

Miki: .. You tried to break it with your shoe.

Reina: Yeah. I'm an idiot, just like my brother, haha.

Miki: ...

(sounds of Miki's slow footsteps)

Hiyuu: Miki-san, are you sure you can do this? If you need any help-

Miki: I can. Thank you.

Reina: Well, what's it gonna be this time, everyone's savior?

Miki: .. Prisoner 010, Reina, please, sing your sins.

42% ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░ 100%

[MV Description]

The video starts with little Reina (most likely ten years old), sitting in her room and talking to her toys. Everything is black and white and it looks like an old silent movie. We can't hear Reina's voice, we can only hear the music and how it's slowly becoming more and more repetitive. Reina looks happy at first, but then she starts getting tired and when the music becomes almost unbearable to listen to, she throws all the toys off her bed.

It turns out that it really was a scene from a movie and now someone is interviewing little Reina and she's still smiling and overall looks like a very happy child.

"Look at me, the little star of the show

Aren't you proud of me? Look at me! I'm such a good girl!

Except I don't feel anything at all

I'm not even proud of myself"

The scene changes and now she's older, she's still being interviewed, but now she looks and acts more like a "problem child": she doesn't want to be there and she makes sure everyone knows it and her parents find her embarrassing.

"Oh no, it looks like your little star has gone wild

She's rude, she's violent, she's going crazy

Except she doesn't feel anything at all

She's not even proud of herself"

Now we can see Reina and her parents going to see her new movie together and when it starts, it has even darker colors than the first one.

"I keep achieving goals, I keep making accomplishments

But this story isn't going anywhere

Will my character ever change for the better?

No motivation, no backstory, no reason for me to grow"

Reina just sits there with her parents and watches her character kill so many people on screen without showing any signs of regret, but even though Reina looks bored at first, when you look closer, you can see that she's actually.. uncomfortable with that kind of role.

"Is this who I am? Is this who I'm supposed to be?

The villain of this story was me all along

At least that's what I thought

But it looks like you see me in a different way"

Her parents eventually leave without even watching the full movie, meanwhile Reina stays and sees her character finding a dead body that we can't see clearly, but this is the first time when her character actually looks scared. Reina stands up from her chair, looks like she doesn't remember making that face in that scene. Actually, she's not sure if this movie even had a scene like that, she doesn't remember filming it.

Reina continues watching the movie and she can see how her character keeps getting more and more emotional and how she yells at one of her "partners in crime" and throws her weapon on the ground. Reina turns around to see all people in the cinema enjoying the movie a lot more now. It looks like they really like the development this character is getting.

"Ah, so that's how it is

Am I a hero in your eyes now?

Have you forgiven me already?

You don't even know anything about me, how can you say those words so easily?"

Reina decides to leave, but before she does that, her character looks right at her and nods. Reina nods back with anger and hatred in her eyes and right when she leaves and closes the door behind her, everything starts to burn.

The whole cinema is on fire now. Her character sees everyone running and screaming and smiles while trying to hide the dead body from earlier, meanwhile Reina sits on a nearby bench and watches the cinema burn to the ground.

"So, who will tell this story: me or you?

Will you rewrite everything, will you decide how it ends?

I'm not against that, I just want you to know

You won't be able to forgive me until I forgive myself"

She looks relieved and she sighs while looking at the night sky.

#a note about the honorifics: since reina isn't putting on an act anymore she just calls everyone by their first names without -kun or -chan #minus miki and eiji (and hiyuu in the future) but she uses them in kind of.. mocking way maybe?#listen i didn't even try to make this vd so miki x reina (mikirei?? reimiki??) but here we are #no but they have potential. i can see it i can see it #something something both of us don't know how to cope with our guilt and we blame ourselves for what happened to our little brothers #and both of us have different coping mechanisms and one of us is trying to take all the blame and portray herself as the villain #while the other one is trying to save everyone but uses questionable methods and tries to distract herself from her own feelings of guilt #and also one of us is very >:3 (at least on the outside) while the other one is very >///< (again at least on the outside)#yeah reina's mv is kinda short but i also think it fits? i imagine her video actually being the shortest one (like double)#and after all she DID try to break the machine :)#🎤 voice dramas! 🎤#🌼guard 002: andou miki 🌼#🎭prisoner 010: himura reina🎭#milgram #milgram oc #ocgram #milgram project #(also a note: one of the reasons why there's also a fire in reina's mv is because i had this idea in my head that if all mvs were watched-#in order akio's mv also starts with a fire so it's like. you get it. it'd be like a loop. it'd be fun)

9 notes · View notes

blatantlyright · 1 year

Text

Strictly Business

_________________________

Eddie x reader

Angst/language/drugs/referring to sexual acts

18+ blog, minors DNI

Part 2 is now available here.

Eddie is over for the usual, paying you to do his homework. You’ve graduated and got an apartment but he still comes to you.

How many times can you do this? Eddie Munson has been paying you for homework for years. He never shows up for tests, never applies himself, but somehow gets away with perfect homework and essays. How do they even believe this is his work?

“I’ll give you twenty if you take my midterm in government for me,” he teased, “we just need to get you a leather jacket. Our hair is almost identical.” Eddie’s fingers slid through your thick brown curls. Goosebumps creeped up your legs and arms. You twitched away, pretending to hate it. Eddie stared apologetically, taking a sip from his flask and shifting his body weight away from you on your bed.

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” he sighed. He stared off at the painting of a fox on your wall. It absorbed his entire focus. As you finished up the last math problem on his work sheet, you slammed the book shut and placed your pencil on your nightstand. “Why do you still pay me to do your homework?”, you asked.

Eddie looked over at you, then back to the fox. “I want to graduate this year,” he answered coldly. He was shutting down on you. As badly as you wanted him to touch you again, you knew it wasn’t right. There was nothing good that could come from the two of you going further than business.

“It’s just, I mean, you could totally save yourself some cash and do your own,” you mumbled as you reached for his chemistry book. “I could start tutoring you in place of doing it for you,” you suggested. Eddie scribbled down the answers you had written down. “Ya know what? I’ll get out of your hair. Sorry, thought we were back to friends by now,” Eddie huffed, snatching up his book and shoving it into his backpack.

He was stomping down the stairs by the time you made it to your bedroom door, which he had slammed behind himself as he ran from you. “Eddie, I didn’t say I didn’t want to help you anymore!”, you shouted as he opened the front door. The walls of your small apartment vibrated as he slammed the door. A tear creeped into the corner of your eye as you mulled over the reasons you could never quite lean into his touch.

You had met in junior high. Eddie was new to Hawkins, having moved in with his uncle Wayne after his dad went to prison for arson and attempted murder. You were one of the first people to encourage him to take guitar seriously, and you even helped him learn to read music. Summers were filled with trips to the ice cream store with Eddie and Wayne, your own parents supportive of your new friendship.

Wayne lost his job, his pension, and his house. He hit the bottle pretty hard. Eddie was always well taken care of. Wayne just lost track of things and ended up moving into the trailer park. Eddie started selling drugs to help pay his own way in life. He was fourteen-years-old, meeting men in dark alleys and risking his life just to help himself be less of a burden. The local police caught him on several occasions, sending him to juvenile hall five times in one year.

After his fifth release, your father told you that you were forbidden from seeing Eddie. He did not want you to risk your future over this friendship. As you both started your high school years, you gave Eddie the cold shoulder and shut yourself off to him. Your once jovial meetings to study turned into business transactions under the bleachers or sneaking into his trailer when your parents went out. It stung, especially since Eddie felt like he deserved it. When you stopped coming around, he didn’t even ask, he just started saying “I knew your dad was going to flip.”

Things were always so strained. You wanted to wrap him up in a big hug and brush his hair from his eyes. Even since you had moved into your own place, you followed the direction of your father and kept your distance. Your dad paid your rent so you could get a bachelor’s degree without the added stress of work. He had been trying his hardest to set you up with Steve Harrington. Your dad took your lack of interest in men as shyness, but the truth was you didn’t want anyone if they weren’t Eddie.

You sat on your bed and stared out the window. Every fiber of your heart was screaming for you to go out to your driveway and beg him to come back inside, to kiss him, to let go of the stone wall you had been forced to put up for far too long. Your brain knew better, distracting you by focusing in on a squirrel on a power line. Hours passed and you didn’t move an inch. Every once in a while some tears would fall, but you didn’t flinch or sob.

Downstairs the phone rang. It was now 9:30 in the evening. You assumed your dad was checking in. “Hey daddy,” you smiled, burying your sadness. There was a dark chuckle on the other end of the phone. After a deep breath and a long pause, he spoke. “Hey baby,” he beamed. It was Eddie. Your face flushed and your head spun. “Oh did you think it was someone else calling?”, he teased. “What do you need?”, you asked, now fighting back tears.

“I’ve been talking myself out of making this phone call all evening. I chugged a few beers and here we are. I accidentally left a very important vile in your bedroom. I would like to come back to retrieve it, but I don’t want to be a disturbance. Can you sit it on your stoop and I’ll come get it sometime tonight?” You could hear him chugging down more beer.

“Do you really think you should be driving?”, you asked. Eddie snorted. “You’re a very good actress.” You tugged at the hem of your skirt. Anxiety had you shaking. “What’s that supposed to mean?”, you huffed.

“You’re pretending like it matters to you whether or not I make it there in one piece. It’s very convincing. I almost believed you still cared about me. You don’t gotta do that, sweetheart, I’m a big boy. Besides, don’t you have a hot date with Steve Harrington tonight? Ah, shit, well there’s a little tiny bottle of… well, none of your business. It’s amber glass. It’s somewhere in there. Just set it out for me, alright?”

The lump in your throat was suffocating. “Let me see if I can even find it,” you managed. You sat down the receiver and ran into your bedroom. The floor, your bed, the dresser, you couldn’t find it anywhere. You ran back to the phone, out of breath. “Hey it’s not in my room, are you sure you didn’t drop it in your van?” Eddie smacked his tongue against his teeth. “Yes, dear, I tore it apart. Well if you have a date with The Hair, maybe I can look around your place while you’re gone? I swear I won’t steal anything.” You looked over and saw a tiny amber glass bottle with a cork holding it closed. “I found it. I’m not going anywhere tonight but even if I did have a date with Steve, what’s it to you?”, you argued.

“I just like to think about his hands crawling up your skirt, how much you’d mess up his hair when he ate your pussy, his dick throbbing into your mouth, how wet you probably get as he fucks you,” Eddie breathed. “And then he probably cums in your eye and doesn’t call for days,” he laughed. “I’ll be over for my shit.”

#eddie #eddie x you #angst #angst fanfic #eddie munson angst #Eddie x reader #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fics #Eddie munson fic #eddie munson fem!reader #stranger things imagine #eddie imagine #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things 4 #eddie stranger things #eddie munson scenario

94 notes · View notes

sshbpodcast · 10 months

Text

Won’t someone think of the children?! A Rok-Tahk Appreciation Post

By Ames

Last week, we covered just why your hosts here at A Star to Steer Her By largely dislike the children characters in classic Star Trek (tl;dr: it’s mostly because they’re written as props instead of people, or so I make my claim). There is one show in the franchise, however, that’s a huge outlier in how its children characters are written, acted, and treated overall as individuals who grow and develop. Obviously, it’s Star Trek: Prodigy. Since basically all of the main characters are children, the show would have failed if it couldn’t make them compelling and relatable to both a young audience and the preestablished fanbase.

And against the odds, it succeeded like whoa. There’s a reason why the fanbase is in such an uproar right now about Paramount’s avaricious cancellation of the Emmy Award–winning animated underdog (go sign the petition if you haven’t yet!), and that’s that the show is just so surprisingly good. We’re the last group of people who would laud a kid’s show so much, and we absolutely adore it.

Read on below for what Prodigy gets so right when establishing its children characters. Rok-Tahk is the prime example here because a) she’s voiced by Rylee Alazraqui, a legit child voice actress, who NAILS IT, b) she ticks all the boxes for what makes a good child character, and c) she’s just the best. Period. But let me explain anyway…

Rok is more than you expect

I think all the kids who made our favorites list in last week’s blogpost have one thing in common: they had some kind of hidden depth to explore. A character having some kind of twist or secret or hidden identity is just a staple of science fiction. We see it in Barash and Taya, who turn out not to be the children they appear to be. We see it in Mezoti, whose dual nature as both a young innocent girl and a Borg drone with the collective experiences of a whole hivemind makes her endlessly fascinating.

So when this massive rock creature whom we start off being intimidated by turns out to be the sweetest little girl, we’re immediately interested because it subverts our expectations. We’re forced to remind ourselves not to judge someone by how they look on the outside, something Star Trek has been doing since its very conception. And then when we learn even more about her and realize that her jailors put a child in a prison camp, we can’t help but root for her.

Rok is allowed to just be a kid

Sure, Rok is still smarter than your average kid, but she’s smart without being obnoxious like other naturally brainy kid characters I could name. *cough cough Wesley Crusher* As the obvious example, Wes is exhausting as a character because he’s a boy genius who is acutely aware of it and his supernatural smarts force him into situations another kid wouldn’t be in. He isn’t allowed to be a kid because he is first and foremost a child prodigy.

Rok, on the other hand, is first and foremost a child in the show Prodigy! Her excitement about new encounters is because most encounters to her are just that: new! She plays “Delta Heart Magical Veterinarian” in the holodeck, she loves ice cream, she plays with the cute little creatures on “Dream Catcher” planet, she naturally cares for Murf as though he were her puppy. Rok’s youth informs how she reacts to circumstances in the show and she acts accordingly in ways that aren’t forced, better suited for other characters, or just downright unnecessary. And seeing the universe through the eyes of someone with such a clean slate allows the audience to make their own judgements about the Protostar crew’s circumstances episode by episode.

Rok is a freakin’ alien monster

Prodigy also introduces us to the Brikar, a new alien race of rock monsters. And everyone accepts her without a single word! Now that’s the Star Trek way! From the moment we meet Rok-Tahk, she’s not physically cutified or even feminized, which is frankly refreshing. She’s less humanoid than most creatures we meet, outside of say, the Horta or Murf. It’s also a great use of the CGI-animated medium because live-action shows can’t pull stuff like this off.

I’m honestly impressed to see any female character, let alone a little girl, portrayed in a way that isn’t that cookie-cutter kind of attractive that we see everywhere. Rok is BIG. Rok is HARD. She’s not feminine or pretty or soft. Her cuteness comes from how she acts, talks, and treats people. And the crew of the Protostar and the Starfleet officers we meet later treat her like they treat everyone else: like a person. The people who run the slave show in “Preludes” pin her as a monster because they don’t/can’t know her. But our other main characters do get to know her and barely even bring up her size! And when they do, Rok subverts it by proclaiming that she doesn't want to be the muscle on the ship, and they go with it. I love that.

Rok has character flaws

Like any person, especially a well-written character in a television program, Rok isn’t perfect. Perfect people make for obscenely boring television (unless it’s a satire or something), and perfect children are just plain not believable and take you out of the story. But Prodigy writers went a few extra steps in developing someone like Rok to have credible flaws for her situation that also informs how she acts, changes, and grows. Rok overthinks and doubts herself constantly because she has anxiety. She’s suffered through traumas, like some of the orphaned boys mentioned in last week’s blog have, and that gives her something to overcome over the course of the season and [hopefully] beyond.

And, as mentioned above, she’s also really young! She doesn’t have the experience and knowledge yet to save the day every week. She knows she has limitations and when she remembers this, she panics, freezes, and languishes in self doubt. I’m thinking specifically about the turmoil she goes through in the supremely excellent “Time Amok,” in which she is forced to be alone (already terrifying) and also with so much pressure put on her (downright immobilizing!). Audiences can relate to anxiety and stress like this. It doesn’t matter that she’s a kid: we all get what she’s going through and connect with her immediately.

Rok grows throughout the season

You’d think it would be easy to create story arcs that help child characters grow since they’re going to grow up just by virtue of natural development anyway, but it’s harder than you think. Both Jake Sisko and Wesley Crusher get things to do as they get older that build on the foundations for their characters, but they also had several seasons to work with. Rok, in just one season, has her entire world opened up for her because of the nature of the story, and she runs with it!

This is a science fiction show, so of course the characters are going to love science, and watching Rok learn, try new things, occasionally fail, and try again is an excellent entry point into STEM. Just like how a lot of today’s doctors credit watching Dr. McCoy and today’s engineers got their start because they wanted to be like Scotty, and just like how many women and people of color joined the space program specifically because of Nichelle Nichols, I really hope that kids today watching Rok-Tahk and crew are captivated by science in that same way. I would be.

We love you, Rok! We love the other crew members of the Protostar too! We love Star Trek: Prodigy! Check out the other character appreciation posts for Dal R’El, Gwyndala, Jankom Pog, and Zero while you’re here. I know I can speak for not only the other hosts here at A Star to Steer Hey By but for myriad other fans when I seriously hope someone picks up this wonder of a show. We’re really looking forward to seeing more from these amazing child characters, and we’re seriously wishing we get that opportunity. #SaveStarTrekProdigy

#star trek #star trek podcast #podcast #star trek prodigy #prodigy #save prodigy #save star trek prodigy #rok-tahk #brikar

17 notes · View notes