Chris Pine as Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman (2017)

SEBASTIAN STAN as BUCKY BARNES

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier | Episode 4 - The Whole World is Watching

DWC February 2024 - Day 4 - Vengeance/Satisfaction

The coast of Quel’thalas had many beaches, but this one was special. Sacred to her. She didn’t know why it tended to be so quiet, but she was thankful for it.

She and Pollux often came here together, but she had also come alone during certain seasons of life. It was familiar and it was safe. She watched the sun sinking low and attempted to let the sound of the waves quiet her spirit. She had to allow that quieting to happen, consciously, every time.

She waded out into the water with a hidden hitching breath and only a heartbeat or two hammering hard against her ribs. The elven woman took care to not show the shadow of panic that always threatened her, even after all these years. To watch her was to see paradise, to know peace in the breeze that tickled her neck and teased her hair. The gold of the sky was warm and the waters appeared welcoming.

She submerged herself and felt the welling of satisfaction in herself that came everytime she felt the sea cover her. She had chosen to keep working on her swimming, even when Pollux hadn’t there to help her. Even when Ahuatli’s calming, sweet voice hadn’t been there to soothe her.

Learning to swim had been very hard. Learning to be vulnerable and scared in front of people had been excruciating and infuriating. But she had done it, and continued to do it. She could now enjoy surfing and the shallows without much trepidation. Khaeris was proud of this accomplishment, of herself, in a way she had never let herself be before.

Bubbles erupted from her as she gave a single laugh.  Her head broke the surface and she laughed again, slicking her hair back and looking to the near shore. “Aren’t you coming in?”

mentions: @polluxhale @darkspear-dancers Ahuatli

Chris Pine as Caleb in Z for Zachariah (2015)

FEBRUARY DWC 2024 DAY 1 - CASUALTY

There had already been about a dozen casualties among the Elite Forces training candidates. A good chunk had quit on their own accord within that first month, realizing it was just too physically and mentally demanding for them. Another handful had been told to leave after showing they clearly weren’t equipped for the training. They would return to their normal units within the military, but would not be given this opportunity for at least another few years.

It’s what Aerden knew was going to happen. Pollux had filled him in on what to expect during the entire process, although no amount of explanation could have prepared him for the exhaustion he currently felt. It was a brutal process and at times he felt as if he were hanging on by a mere thread; but they all felt that way. That was the point of it all, to push them to their limits and then make them adapt and learn how to push beyond those limits.

Despite it all, he somehow managed to thrive. His training with Cazmilan Fin’endal in particular had been a blessing to this entire process. The older man has a punishingly difficult workout routine and never went easy on Aerden during their sparring matches. Aerden never won, and he reckoned he probably never could, but it wasn’t about winning, it was about learning. 

He may not have inherited Pollux’s precision with aiming, but when it came to hand to hand combat, the young man could fight and hold his own. Ever since they had started the occasional sparring at the beginning of the month, Aerden had, much to his surprise, managed to win every single match. He knew he had become a decent fighter over his years of training with Caz and various others, but he hadn’t realized he had become this good at it. 

The trainers had singled him out, along with a couple of others, to be leaders of different teams within the training group. It was a huge achievement and Aerden found it difficult to believe that he, among all these amazingly skilled soldiers, was the right choice for that role. However, he would put his all into it, like he did with everything, and hope he wouldn’t disappoint anyone. He still felt as if he had so much to prove.

@daily-writing-challenge @polluxhale @cazmilan

The Cleaner Part 1 Following the events that happened in THIS STORY tw: Brief mention of child death

Rasen Cinderblade

Xylaes immediately stopped scrolling through the microfilm. It was the one and only time the name was mentioned that he had found during the hours spent within the Silvermoon Library. An article about a new, upscale restaurant opening in the Court of the Sun, Sage and Salt, owned by the very man in question. There was a faded picture of Mr. Cinderblade along with his head chef, Elrothos Sol’sil. He matched the description given, but this was also many, many years ago. People can change a lot over the years, and sometimes they even change themselves completely with the help of some magic. But perhaps not this particular man, he was vain and had one hell of an ego on him. That much was immediately obvious to Xylaes in the way he held himself in this photograph and in the way he interviewed in the following article.

Printing out a copy of the article and picture in full, he tucked the papers into a folder before continuing to scroll. He didn’t find the name mentioned anywhere else, but he did come across another article that immediately caught his eye. ‘The Hallow’s End Massacre’. A well known mob family had been completely massacred by a rival family while they were celebrating the holiday all together. He knew the story, even while out on the field he had done his best to keep up with things happening at home, and that was one of the more brutal events he could recall hearing about - especially given the timing of it. While neither Pollux nor especially Ouro had directly mentioned this specific event, Xylaes had an extremely good feel for these things.

While Ouro was a man of few words and Pollux had not spoken much of his brother since he had discovered the truth, the context clues were all there if one looked hard enough. Xylaes immediately clocked the gunshot scar on Ouro’s head upon their first meeting, and there was always the general sense of this job being extremely personal. These people whom he would be searching for had disappeared a long time ago after being prominent figures in the criminal world. You only do that when you’ve done something very, very wrong, and you know that someone is coming at you for it. He knew the type well.

But the main reason why Xylaes paused on this particular article - this event had occurred on the exact same day that Pollux was met with his own near death experience after smothering a grenade with himself. It wasn’t just a coincidence, and Xylaes knew it even if he wasn’t sure how. While there had been a public claim that there were no survivors, Xy was certain that he was now working for the only survivor of the Hallow’s End Massacre.

This was a revenge story.

And honestly? Xylaes couldn’t blame Ouro for it. He would be doing the exact same thing; he did do the exact same thing but had been extremely public, quick, and loud about it. His anger had rightfully gotten the best of him after his 'brothers in arms' murdered his beloved wife Callia. And He. Went. Feral. They deserved it, and not just for what they did to her. They were traitors to their people and if he had not done what he had done, the outcome would have been much, much worse for their military as a whole. Ironic that he ended up spending ten years in prison being marked as a traitor himself, but someone had to be the scapegoat even if he did, inadvertently, do the military a massive favor whilst lost in that blinding rage.

He shook off the thought, returning his attention to the matter at hand.

This name that was given to him was most certainly one of the men that had aided in this massacre. While Ouro’s family in general could never be called saints, no one deserved that. He was also fairly certain there were rules set in place among the various mobs and cartels that would make certain people untouchable. This was a huge violation against that hierarchy, not to even mention that there had been children present, and ultimately lost. The more Xylaes read on and thought about the entire situation, the angrier and more pissed off he became for Ouro. He immediately knew why Pollux had suggested him; he was absolutely the right man for this job. He did not make a copy of the massacre article, Ouro could tell him about it in his own time if he so desired. For now, he had his lead. The restaurant Sage and Salt no longer existed, but there would be a paper trail to follow, and possibly a head chef to track down.

@ouroandar @polluxhale