JUST LUCKY

　𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 [ … ] 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 '𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞. ahri is, however, reluctant towards the act of self - immolation that would leave her heart bare and edible in front of his eyes: she does not weep nor growl over his decisions to leave, choosing instead to momentarily tighten her embrace so that he may know how barren of ill feelings her ribcage currently is. truth to be told, the she - fox had never expected him to grow his roots here, where the willows weep in purple petals and the yews greedily reach out for the skies above ▬▬ he is a dandelion, carried towards unfamiliar and mysterious lands by the capricious winds, meant to always be in flight and never to be caged.

another kiss, less playful and more zealous, is pressed 'pon his shoulder. how can she express herself, when the tongue of men has already failed her so ? within the chaotic recesses of her ever so turbulent mind, she searches for poems and rhymes that might accomplish what her maw now fails to achieve: words of tender gratitude in the lieu of beast - like laments.

Something about her reply has him visible relax. However he thought she might respond, it is clear the reality is better than he had expected. Her declaration makes him chuckle. He finds it endearing, if nothing else. He lets his right hand brush over her hair. " Oh love , if all it took was a few murders I would have left that place a lifetime ago . " He says. Normally, he would be stringent on details regarding his arrangements. But her reaction to his departure has left him in a good mood, and eager to trust.

He sighs, then turns away from her to give himself some space as he starts to explain. " It's my brother . He ... has a talent for getting himself into trouble . " He smiles wistfully. Even when explaining their troubles the care he has for him is evident. " At first it was his debts . Under pressure , I accepted help from the worst monsters of all ... Now I can't get out . They cheat me out of my pay , find some reason to keep my debts up , or simply threaten to kill my brother if I stop working for them . " He shakes his head. " He's my only family . All I have left in this miserable galaxy . Everything I've done is for his sake . If anything happened to him - " He cuts himself off. Turns to her again.

" My time with you has been nice . So nice that I fear I might let myself forget . If they - if he - " He huffs, then retries. " I would never forgive myself . "

space feels cold and unforgiving, empty. he isn't sure how long he's been drifting aimlessly in it. it could've been weeks, even months since he abruptly left earth with destruction in his wake. there's little way to tell, beyond the fact that his hair had grown, longer and unkempt.

something compells him to land, eventually— a planet of no particular note. perhaps it's just been weeks since he's last taken a breath. he makes contact, taking a minute to draw in fresh air and survey the landscape. the sound of distant gunfire breaks his concentration, snapping his head towards it.

lifting himself into the air to get a better look, his vision centers on a figure outnumbered, being helplessly manhandled and battered. perhaps it's ingrained instinct that pushes him to act— an echo of the hero he'd been for twenty years— like a bullet, he shoots forward. and in the span of seconds, the assailants are scattered and motionless on the ground. he takes care enough not to kill them; he's got enough blood on his hands as is.

turning away from his work, he acknowledges the figure below him. there's barely response to his statement, or much emotion showing on his being to begin with. at least not at first glance, beyond a solemn gaze, something hidden behind his icy eyes. this is what mark would have done. his jaw set, he pushes down his internal struggle for now.

" I just - need a second to catch my breath . " He says, not sounding very convinced himself. His entire body hurts. Nothing as much as his head though.“ Thank you , by the way . For doing that . “ He adds after a moment of heavy breathing.” Unless I missed a longer struggle , it looked like this was nothing to you . But you probably saved my life … “ He trails off. He's not used to a stranger's kindness.” My name is Just Lucky , by the way . I'm pretty sure these assholes led me here to kill me . " He explains. The man saved his ass, the least he deserves is some context.

Even if he looks like he just escaped the weirdest holovid ever.

❀ ‧ ° • * ˚ ⁀ ➷ @cnlyluck , has left a tender love letter at the vulpine's shrine ( source ) : "I don't want to be alone tonight."

　　𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐯𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 - 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 - 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐢𝐥 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬. this is why she is now taken aback, surprised by a display of frailty that she had not expected [ ... ] her body reacts before her heart can, settling behind him on the gargantuan roots of a millenary tree in order to coil lithe arms around him and thus drag him into her embrace. her hands fold on his lap, she presses herself flush against his tensed back whilst her face comfortably nuzzles in the welcoming crook of his neck ; his scent is everything that her enhanced senses can focus on, his heart - beat resounds fragile and bashful against the much louder song of her own.

He lets his hands drape over hers. Turns his face in acknowledgement. " I will have to leave soon . " He says. He doesn't think she would care all that much. Maybe brief disappointment, if nothing else. This thing that's been going on between them, at least to him, was clearly going to have to stop sooner rather than later. " I won't lie , usually I just disappear one morning without a word . " Hoping he goes so quietly they might forget that he had ever been there at all. " But I can't do that to you . You didn't kill me , which is already more than I would have expected as a trespassing stranger . You also showed me a glimpse of something that I would have loved to have ... In a better life . "

He looks around then. Takes a pointed pause to take in the nature around him. The chaotic serenity of it still manages to perplex him. " I always dreamed of places like this ... Of having a quiet , simple life . As a farmer , maybe . Or the owner of a local shop . " He shakes his head to pull himself out of the impulsive daydreaming. " But I have responsibilities I have been neglecting for too long . My life ... Is not my own . I can't escape that fact much longer . "

both modest and oddly embarrassed at once, she thought while studying his reaction to her statement about his skills. then again, if it'd been her who'd found herself particularly dexterous and gifted in aiming a ranged weapon, she wouldn't 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲 have been over-flowingly proud or loud about it, especially in times like these. whether or not he was exactly proud about this talent didn't matter, not now, as all they were doing here was sort of experimental passage of time. the rifle felt heavy in her hands, yes, but the words she spoke in front of millions of beings were heavy too, and had just as much impact. and so, instead of focusing too much on the universal questions about morals or anything alike, she decided to take the moment as a chance for learning something new and perhaps finding details that might give her more perspective regarding the matter at hand. ❝ it makes sense to me ❞, she mused and offered a soft hum. lucky. ❝ symbolism doesn't always require an excessively artistic background. my name has simple origins, too — it means lotus. my mother loves those. ❞ or at least she used to, the two hadn't been in proper contact for a good while.

" That's alright . I'm pretty sure I'm a shit teacher anyway . " He jokes.

He comes to stand in front of her then. Takes one of her hands in his and places them one the rifle. One on the barrel, one on the trigger. " Keep your finger off it until you're ready to shoot . Both for ... Obvious reasons. " He pushes the barrel a bit farther away from himself. " And because this is the kinda weapon that can injure you too if it fires and you're not ready . "

He goes around to her side and taps her shoulder. " You press the stock here . Nestle it in the dip of your shoulder. When you look through the scope make sure to leave some space between. You don't want that thing to smack into your eye when you fire it . Usually I get on my knees . More stable that way . That's what these are for . " He taps the knee guards he wears. " But it's not necessary for a target at this distance . I will say , some people hold their breath . I've found exhaling right before I shoot works best for me . "

ISN'T IT THE WORST WHEN SUPERHEROES FIGHT? DO THEY EVER FIGHT VILLAINS ANYMORE?

Lev's non selective ROBOT / RUDY / REX from INVINCIBLE

BEWARE SHOW SPOILERS, comic spoilers will be tagged as such but may be featured heavily on this blog ! TW for canon typical gore & ifykyk Default show verse - comic verse will be present

with this fine piece of craftsmanship in her hands, padmé quit biting at the inside of her cheek and let her lips part to release a faint hum, ❝ it feels much heavier than i expected. ❞ there was a pause as she 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝 the feeling of the weapon in her hands, ❝ i assume you're an expert in handling this ? ❞

Lucky is usually quite protective of his rifle. It's expensive, after all, and he can't exactly do his job without it. But he is also not an asshole, and knows better than anyone the use that can come from knowing how to handle these things in the thick of the moment. How a hit or miss can be the difference between life and death.

And, well, as much as he hates to admit it, shooting blasters is the only thing he's ever been naturally gifted at.

"I don't know those things. I don't know why you'd want details at all."

Her expression disarms. Realizes mouth's been puppeted to hard into jealousy. She hardly can tell if he shares this in common or if he speaks from somewhere else. He meant to make her this green, right?

He crosses his arms. Is this really about them? Is she still hung up on their inability to compromise? He tries not to feel guilty - logically, he knows he shouldn't feel that way for not agreeing to be what he interprets as her glorified lap dog - but he has come to care too much about her not to feel for her.

while she couldn't exactly tell whether or not a note of sarcasm had colored in his words, her lip curled to indicate fast paced shifting between several thoughts and 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬. surely the little group ( with each member now separately exploring the planet of gilded surfaces and stained riches ) had entered the atmosphere in a shuttle, and the pilot had relocated the vehicle shortly after landing; just for extra security, they'd said, which hadn't really aged well considering how thoroughly everything about their original plan had failed. his dryly spoken mention about a hotel room didn't get tangled onto her radar, and instead she thought out loud, ❝ there is a shuttle, yes, but keeping preferably low profile doesn't exactly walk hand in hand with skipping through a half of the bustling streets, does it. ❞ then again, getting lost in the crowd so to speak could be as good of a tactic as any other.

while the aforementioned tempted her, padmé had already admitted her defeat; he'd gotten injured and nothing would soften the fact she was partially responsible for it. pulling more stunts couldn't possibly bring her any closer to the answers she'd come looking for, not tonight. a sound sigh escaped through her nose as she tilted her head to the side, eyeing the person who she presumed used this sort of 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫 as a way of coping with possible tiredness that must be taking its toll on them both. ❝ worry not, such matters hold no interest whatsoever on my scale ❞, she responded calmly even if something about his choices of words had irked her,

He uses the wall to help raise himself to his feet. " Fine . This is what I get for playing tour guide in the first place I guess . " He mutters, more to himself than to her. A hand touches her shoulder as he walks past. A suppressed hiss of pain as he rose and a slight kink in his step the only remaining hints towards his injury.

" There's a nightclub nearby I go to lay low when it's too risky to go home . Wouldn't be the first time I brought a ... Companion with me . They won't ask questions . " He explains, his back to her as he surveys the streets. He gestures for her to follow before rejoining the dwindling crowd.

° • * ˚ ⁀ ➷  @cnlyluck , has left a tender love letter at the vulpine's shrine ( source ) : ‘ i am yours tonight. ’

　 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 '𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥 ? 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 - 𝐟𝐨𝐱 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 [ … ] 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭, 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭. with the promise of delicious food and interesting traditions, she had quite literally dragged him to the nearby villages, whose houses and streets were now wholly abloom with lanterns and flowers, with statues depicting their heroes and their saints, with song and dance and the boisterous echo of mirthful voices. ahri guides him through the streets, pointing here and there to share what knowledge she has acquired through the stolen memories of her preys, before quite literally tricking him into joining a group that danced oh so joyfully across the main plaza.

Lucky isn't one for mournful melancholy though. He'll have to face the consequences of his prolonged absence soon enough. All the more reason to enjoy this unexpected vacation while it lasts. Void knows they're few and far between.

He has been content following Ahri's lead. The playful young woman has an irresistible air about her that he would usually be instinctually distrusting of. But in this setting, almost perfectly out of his childhood dreams, he can't quite help but let his guard down. He isn't naive enough to think she's not dangerous. Still, it's all too easy to go along and listen to her tales about a place he would have never even known existed if he hadn't been abandoned there.

A dance is as good an excuse for closeness as anything. One would have had to be a special type of clueless to not see this is where the evening was going. Lucky's words are meant to put the ball in her court. This evening has been an escape for him, whatever the night holds, he wants her to know that he's willing to reward her for her efforts. Whatever way she may choose.