#'oops we accidentally did something well the first time! better ruin it on the second try!'

[sallykie]

Tags by @izzythebananaqueen

#the bad composition of the la version is actually symbolic about how httyd film franchise went on #they stopped treating hiccup and toothless’ relationship as them being equals and started treating them as “a boy and his dog” #/j obviously but one can’t help but feel that way

also can i just talk more about how awful the cinematography/shot composition is in a lot of the live action httyd stuff we've seen so far. idk maybe i'm just missing something - i don't have any sort of formal education in filmmaking or anything like that - but a lot of the shots so far seem to be a straight downgrade from the original film. like it honestly seems like they don't know what they're doing. it's truly baffling

^ e.g., one of my favorite shots from forbidden friendship. in the original, both toothless and hiccup are positioned close to the center of the frame. there's a gap between them, which may seem like a small detail but it's one that means a lot i think. the gorgeous pink sky is behind them, while the surrounding cliffs and trees frame them. toothless' perked ear plates are fully visible, allowing the audience to get a better idea of the curiosity he's feeling. his wings are also cleverly hidden/tucked away behind his back, giving him an incredibly strong silhouette.

compare that to the live action version. hiccup is centered, with toothless close beside him - parts of his left wing and leg are literally behind hiccup. instead of them being against the sky with the cliffs and trees framing them, the cliffs/trees are directly behind them. the entire thing is more zoomed in, leading to things like toothless' ear plates being mostly out of the frame. toothless' silhouette also isn't as strong with his wings visible like that.

idk. it just looks bad. and don't even get me started on what they've done to the downed dragon lmao

[inmyloveworld]

in a world of boys (bradley "rooster" bradshaw x reader)

word count: ~1.5k

synposis: dating was hard. tiptoeing the line between casual and official always had you stumbling. and bradley, in spite of how good he made you feel, was no exception.

warnings: insecurity, allusions to anxiety (spiraling thoughts, disassociating, just a LOT of self-doubt and questioning)

a/n: i have cute fluff ideas i swear! but writing from experience always just gets the words flowing. here's to hoping we all find someone as emotionally mature and empathetic as bradley bradshaw.

bonus note: i looped slut by taylor swift writing a majority of this oops

The words had always come easy to you. Every conversation was effortless, no matter what the context. Quips and jokes flowed through you as the blood flowed through your veins. It never took careful thought or pondering. But pondering was consuming you as your fingers hovered over the letters at the bottom of your screen.

Bradley and you had been seeing each other for nearly two months. Late-night rides in his Bronco and one overnight at your apartment had filled the weeks since you had first bumped into him at the Hard Deck. His charm and humor lit up your days. His heart and warmth soothed you in moments of weakness. And for once, you had opened yourself to all of it; to all of him.

There was no limit to the dishonesty and complacency you'd been shown in your prior dating history. Bradley was neither of these things, as far as you were aware. Yet, the lack of clarity for what he felt was beginning to plant a sick feeling in your gut.

Things were going so well. Never had you felt more assured in someone's affection and interest in you. Never had you felt more cared for and adored. You loathed yourself to think of gambling that for the sake of your security.

Me: Hey.. not to ruin the mood, but I was just wo

Pathetic. Delete.

Me: Is this just a sex thing?

Abrasive. Delete.

You groaned to yourself in frustration. Judging by your history, this would only end one way. Still, you weren't sure how much longer you could bear the fluttering in your chest under the guise of nonchalance.

Me: I really like what's between us right now. But can I ask where you think this is going?

Here we go.

You hit the 'send' arrow before you could think through it for another second. God, why did this have to be so complicated? Were you the source of all the complications, with your need for control to figure out how everything had to go? Was this the reason no one would commit to you in the past? Or was the dating world simply reduced to nothing but souls too fearful to stick it out, for what could be lying ahead of them? Were you settling? Were you making him settle?

Two buzzes of your phone jolted you in your seat.

Flyboy: I think it'd be better to talk about this in person. You up for a drive?

Oh god.

You sent back an answer and ran your hands through your hair. Tears started to prick at your eyes already as a familiar sinking feeling settled in. Quickly, you were trying to soothe yourself with the small comforts of the situation.

His car always felt musty anyway.

You won't have to worry about accidental pregnancy!

It's face-to-face, at least. Maybe you'll get proper closure for once.

A dozen other weightless sentiments were stacked in your head by the time you heard the purr of a familiar engine outside. You drew in a deep breath, collected yourself as much as possible, and swiped up your keys.

Flyboy: Here!

You didn't even open the text thread, opting to keep your head bowed as you locked your front door. Goosebumps rose along your skin as it met the night air. With much effort, you inhaled deeply. Your feet were leaden as you trudged toward the Bronco.

All the darkness swirling in your head gave way to that bright smile Bradley held just for you. Something in your chest twisted sharply at the show of affection. Every moment of this adoration passing was the last, you reminded yourself. This drive would loop you right back to the somber state you were in before the greatest man you'd ever known walked into your life.

"Hey there, angel," he greeted. The rasp in his voice warmed you the same way a glass of whiskey would. Steadily, slowly, and then all at once.

"Hi," you called back as you hopped in the passenger side. You kept your gaze ahead, hands beginning a nervous pattern of threading fingers. Bradley raised a brow at the action but didn't call further attention to it. His eyes hooked to the road as he pulled the pair of you off into the night.

There was almost an ache in the absence of his hand on your thigh. Both of the worthy appendages anchored themselves to the wheel, no yield in their grip.

Safe driving; he's just practicing safe driving. It's a late night, dark even with the street lamps, and the Bronco's headlights didn't match the brightness of modern LEDs.

But perhaps it's the first thing to go. Bradley needed to take the first baby step away from this.. whatever it was. And he was having you take it with him.

Was there something you did? Maybe the night you spent together had been too soon. Or maybe you had been too forthcoming in your own intent, without clarity on his own.

You never let things simmer. You always had to know, that eternal impatience winning out against the chance of a simple slow burn. But maybe this wasn't meant to take that direction; maybe that's not what Bradley wanted.

Would anyone ever want that? Was it just that they didn't want it with you? What was so wrong with you? Were you so horribly broken to everyone else that no relationship could ever be fulfilled? What were you not seeing in yourself?

"Hey, earth to angel." An empty parking lot surrounded you. The sounds of crashing waves and the warm autumn breeze replaced the storm of neverending thoughts ringing in your ears. Bradley had his hand on your arm, the first touch he'd granted you the whole evening, the touch that broke your trance. His brows were furrowed again in concern as he scanned your sorrow-filled face. Not wanting to startle you further, he kept his voice soft. "Talk to me. What's going on in there?"

You took a moment to compose yourself. Your eyes shut as you drew in another deep breath, letting it out with a drop of your shoulders. And then, you told him.

Each one of your fears and anxieties, a summation of how your heart and body were carelessly juggled in the past, how you found yourself at fault in every instance. How even in that moment, when everything seemed to be right with him, something had clearly gone wrong out of your view and it was all about to crash. But it wasn't on him, you insisted. It was on you.

The waves and breeze continued to sound long after your voice faded from the air. Tears pricked at your eyes slowly in sullen acceptance. You had nailed your own coffin shut with this whole conversation. You should have stayed silent. Being lost on your path was better than taking an exit, wasn't it?

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Look at me." Bradley was an emotional man, you had come to learn. He wore his heart out on his sleeve the moment he felt safe enough. So, the absence of emotion from his voice churned your stomach worse than anything else. You met his eyes sheepishly, preparing for a more brutal "break-up" than you originally anticipated.

He sighed, the hand on your arm shifting up to cup your cheek. The touch warmed you and drew the tears from your eyes at once. Droplets rolled down your cheeks in single strands, yet you could not bother yourself with embarrassment. This would be the last he would see of you.

Bradley chuckled. "I did this all wrong, didn't I?"

What was there to laugh about? Had he meant to be more direct in his lack of intent, or in ending things-

"My mom's yelling at me from up there, I know it."

What?

Bewildered was the perfect word for your changed expression. And Bradley now knew better than to let you sit on coded messages.

He took your hands into his, rubbing soft circles along your knuckles as he told you, "I'm serious about this, angel. About us, you. I have been from the get-go."

A flurry of feelings coursed through you. Shock and relief mixed with the confusion still lingering behind in the wake of this confession. It was as if you didn't believe what you were hearing, because part of you really didn't. The part of you that had doubted a silver lining to your history of heartbreak was incapable of believing in a resolution.

You didn't know how to accept it or respond. Excitement was chomping at the bit to break your otherwise unsettled demeanor, but fear still held a tight grip on the reins. "Are.. are you sure?"

Bradley could've laughed again, the question ridiculous in his mind. Being with you was as clear as day to him. The ways in which you eased his soul, sparked life back up amidst his dreary routines, and made him picture a future ahead was something he knew he could not be without. He now realized his failure in communicating as such to the person needing to hear it most.

So he held back the laugh and held your hands instead. "I've never been more sure of anything than I am of you."

tags: @avengersfan25

[variousqueerthings]

rewatched the due south pilot again with someone new. gradually pspspspspspssss at everyone i know about this show.

but yeah, two scenes really stick out to me this time about ray in terms of core features in how i come at him:

the second time they meet: their first meeting did not go well, he thought fraser had ruined his case, he was generally quite done with Stuff (and later on of course we will learn more about why he's so run down), there's this stranger demanding his time, and oh- oops he's just insulted his dead father accidentally and, huh, this oddity of a person is taking it pretty well to be honest... the second time they meet is entirely on ray. he seeks fraser out having done research on the case, but first he apologises to him very sincerely for having said those words. that is the first, big thing that ray offers fraser (the next, of course, is giving over his entire life and soul to him, but i don't think he realised that in that moment...)

after he gets blown up and is lying in hospital: he apologises again, this time for screwing things up. we know by now that he had a bad relationship with his own five-years-dead father who never thought he was good enough, that he's struggling under his caseload at work, we've got a sense he isn't super respected there either, and although we've met his family which is actually very loving (if loud and argumentative) he's giving a sense of being pretty lost in the world at that point and nothing that happened before was his fault. he's been helping fraser, against his superior's wishes, done some good sleuthing/detective work, and saved fraser by putting himself in front of the explosion. and then he apologises

I feel like a lot of the time ray's thought about in terms of his abrasiveness with people generally, his shield against the world he's quick to assume the worst of people and doesn't let others in, but fraser neatly bypasses those walls. on purpose? by accident? bit of both? i think he does sincerely See more to ray in their first scene, the "like you, he is pretending to be someone he's not" line feels like it's talking about more than just ray having been undercover in the previous scene, and because he's fraser he never belittles or mocks or gets aggressive about ray's behaviours throughout their first meeting, which probably also draws him in on top of the need to Make Things Right

i think beneath some of the goofier stuff (which, honestly, i dont think theres thaaat much of, but id have to do a proper count and parallel how many times he's there as "comic relief" vs when fraser is, and also times where ray is shown to be extremely competent which is often -- maybe i'd wish for more dramatic episodes for him but that's more to do with how good marciano's acting is than a real disservice done to ray himself) and the more petulant/childish manifestations of insecurities (it's hard being friends with a Saint, as he puts it very fairly in my opinion, although i also think that line partially relates to some other stuff he'd said about Fraser Please Taking Better Care Of Himself throughout the whole season) there's this ray, and that core is quite obvious pretty much from the get-go

a ray who meets sincerity with sincerity and takes fraser in with honestly barely any prompting at all on fraser's part. a man who maybe was desperate for something/one to believe in, who isn't super macho about admitting fault, and then -- in the hospital scene -- a man who's so used to thinking of himself as a screw-up to the point that he'll apologise for getting blown up to save fraser

there's a lot ray gives fraser. for one thing, fraser would be dead multiple times over without him. but ray Needed him to appear in his life in order to get through the damn day. he saw some storybook larger-than-life weirdo and grabbed hold of him immediately and then realised that the rest of the world seemed to want to eat said weirdo alive and pretty much said over my dead body and he's done pretty well living up to that

did, though, very much appreciated fraser finally properly telling him in red white or blue how much he means to him and how valued he is, because ray doesn't always see it. (funnily enough, they had another bomb threatening to detonate at the time. almost a full circle)

two scenes in which ray says sorry, one in which he was right to do so and one in which he was wrong. there's more to it, but that's the... Thing im thinking about

[alltooreid]

hi !!! first of congrats oh my gosh you deserve all of them and more :)

for the blurb celebration could you do a fluff for promot 30 with the reader having she/her pronouns? it could be like friends to lovers with like constant teasing banter and then theyre like oops i accidentally fell in live with you, ya dork? or whatever you want!

thank you so so much, you’re so sweet!! and i love this request omg!!

Prompt: #30: “i'm sick and tired of your attitude”

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader 

Type: Fluffiest Fluff

Word Count: 1.1K

Content Warnings: None! (I think, please let me know if I’m missing something!)

***

“There’s my favorite loser!” Y/N said, ruffling her best friend Spencer Reid's hair as she walked past his desk. “So, what are you doing tonight babe?”

When Y/N started at the BAU, Spencer remembered being overwhelmed and nervous whenever she called him babe, until she called Morgan babe for getting her coffee and Garcia babe when she met her for the first time. What really confirmed for him that Y/N would call anything and everything babe is when she told Hotch “Good morning babe,” on pure accident because she was so used to using it in everyday conversation.

Now Y/N was his best friend, and he found her calling him babe kind of annoying and comical, instead of romantic and flirtatious. However, he couldn’t help but blush when she would ruffle or play with his hair. But Spencer had convinced himself that was a completely natural response, that it meant nothing, and that he definitely had no feelings for Y/N.

“Nothing, really. I’ll probably just stay home,” Spencer said. “I just bought a first edition copy of Pride and Prejudice that is practically begging to be read.”

She rolled her eyes over-dramatically, Spencer laughed, knowing she didn’t actually mean it and was just trying to mess with him. “Or you could do something way better. Instead of reading an incredibly boring book written in old English, you could come to my apartment and we could watch the movie! It’s really good, I promise even you’ll love it.”

Spencer smirked, “I don’t know, movie night sounds fun and all. . .  Maybe I’ll see if Emily wants to watch it with me.”

She laughed, “Oh so now you’re too good for me huh?”

“Maybe I'm just sick and tired of your attitude Y/N,” he said while smiling, they both knew that wasn’t true at all. Spencer found it comforting that Y/N was just as humorous with him as she was with everyone else, sometimes even more so. He often felt that because he was awkward around his coworkers and didn’t always get their sarcasm or jokes that he wasn’t included in the more silly, mundane “water cooler talk.”

Sometimes when he would try to include himself, he would begin to ramble, and by the time he was done most of his friends had walked away. Even more times they would just interrupt him so that he would stop talking.  Yet whenever he would attempt to make himself more conversational, everyone seemed to think it was stupid and a useless endeavor.

But with Y/N, Spencer knew she was willing to take the time to make jokes with him and listen to his interests. So when Y/N made fun of him, he knew that it wasn’t out of malice. He felt comfortable exchanging banter with her; he was never scared of annoying her or messing something up.

“I don’t know how much I believe that Reid. . .  but if you insist I guess I’ll just have to see if Penelope would like this chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles…. What a shame.”

“Wait! Y/N I still definitely want that.”

“Well I’m sure Penelope does as well, and she likes my attitude,” she said, giggling as she walked away.

Not too long after however, Y/N was back, and surprised Spencer by hugging him from behind and nuzzling her head on his shoulder. “Just kidding dork, I would never do that to you,” she dropped the donut onto his desk, “but! I would consider it if you don’t come watch Pride and Prejudice with me tonight.”

He laughed “Don’t worry Y/N, I’ll be there.”

“Yes! I knew it! Pride and Prejudice is on! 7 pm, my apartment, and you better bring snacks.”

She squeezed him again, and then went back to her desk, spinning around a couple of times in her chair and smiling.

Spencer couldn’t help but smile as well, both at the sight in front of him and his newest realization, one that he had buried deep inside himself ever since Y/N started at the BAU.

He was in love with his best friend.

***

“Spencer! You’re finally here! Did you bring snacks?” Y/N said, practically jumping off her couch as Spencer let himself inside; she had a terrible habit of always leaving her door unlocked when she was home.

“What do you mean finally?” he asked, “I’m ten minutes early?”

“Yeah but I’m starving and I really wanna watch this movie,” she radiated excitement, “Now come sit down and cuddle with me.”

This was one of those things that should have made Spencer realize just how much he loved Y/N. Platonic cuddling was not something Spencer was used to, but when it came to Y/N he looked forward to it. Yet now the realization that it was only platonic on one end made Spencer feel awkward.

“You seem tense babe. What’s wrong?” Y/N asked.

“It’s nothing,” he lied.

“Don’t play that game with me Spencer, you’re my best friend. I love you, I know you better than I know myself, you can tell me anything.”

He sighed, “That’s the problem Y/N, you love me, but I realized today that I don’t just love you, I’m in love with you.”

Y/N’s mouth was wide open, and for a second when he looked at her Spencer thought he had ruined everything.

That was until she fit her mouth to his.

“I realized a week ago, it hit me like a truck. When I went to your apartment after the Oregon case, and you read me to sleep because it had affected me so much. I just remember lying there, eyes half shut, and thinking ‘I want to spend the rest of my life with this man, I want to come home to this every single night’ and that’s when I realized I was in love with you.”

“That’s a cuter story than mine, I realized this morning. Something in me finally said that there was no way best friends felt the way I feel around you.”

Y/N pushed his hair off his forehead and planted a kiss there, “Look at us dork,” she said with her lips still brushing the top of his head, “We accidentally fell in love with each other.”

Spencer smiled and then laughed, “Yeah, I guess we did.”

***

taglist!!: @reidingmelodies @hercleverboy @rigatonireid @muffin-cup @takeyourleap-of-faith @wheelsup @spenxerslut @averyhotchner @widow-cevans @laurnrnlds @samuel-de-champagne-problems

let me know if you would like to be added or removed!!

please reblog and let me know what you think!! :))

or send me direct feedback here!

thank you again for this request! if anyone else would like to send request for my 300 celebration please refer to these guidelines!!

[sorry-i-ship-drarry]

49. 5 times harry was a pain in the a** until he wasn't

Prompt used- holding onto others shoulder for support |

Harry and Draco still hated each other, only this time they gave titles or did they really.. ? | ENEMIES to FRIENDS to LOVERS TROPE | SEXUAL TENSION |

The first time draco gave harry the title of being a pain in the ass was when they had lost the quidditch match out of dispute Between the match. And it happened so because they both caught the snitch and wasn't ready to let go. They remained there fighting for an hour until professor McGonagall had to practically drag them by their ears into her office

" explain " professor McGonagall sighed as she pushed her glasses over the bridge of her nose

And they began babbling like idiot, swearing at each other and going on and on about who caught it first.

" o-okay- mr. Potter- mr. Mal- okay shut up you two. I didn't bring you both here to listen to you babbling like a bumbling band of baboons " professor McGonagall sighed. It was hard to believe Harry had held back his laugh

" you're both 18 years old, mature enough to put away your rivalry, but instead you both fight like mind numbing idiots about who caught it first. I've never met any of the two people who so desirably cannot tolerate each other for even a single minute. What is the matter with you two? I thought you had signed up solidarity? Mr. Malfoy is one thing but harry you, I didn't expect this from you " draco looked thoroughly offended as professor McGonagall sighed.

" i promise you this is the last time I see the two of you creating dispute and therefore to solve this, as captains of the teams, you will be in the field, looking for the snitch for as Long as it takes for you two to apologise to each other and settle this and learn how to play together "

" but prof-"

" not a word, mr. Potter. I said what I said. Now take your brooms and settle this or I will have you both banished from the team " she sternly said.

Draco and harry rolled their eyes at each other, mimicking their lip syncs and stomping towards the field.

They remained for almost one hour, still yelling at each other and pushing away, arousing another dispute until darkness invaded and it was becoming harder to see, harry suggested the Wildest idea

" Oi malfoy !" Harry yelled catching draco's attention

" what ?" Draco snapped

" stop being fucking dramatic, listen to me -"

" I won't-"

" shut up. It's getting late and I need an out just as much as you "

" I'm listening " draco raised an eyebrow

" one of us should fake an injury, that way we won't have to stay here the entire time and we can just pretend around professor McGonagall . What do you say ?" He suggested, stumbling Little in the air

Draco thought for a moment, before he sighed " for someone so dumb, that's a clever idea "

" who's faking the injury?"

Harry smiled viciously

__________________________

" your a fucking pain in the ass " draco sneered as he hopped on one leg, his arms around Harry's shoulder for fake support

" that's what you get for calling me dumb sweetheart " harry smugly smiled

" never call me sweetheart or I'll chop you off in pieces " draco snapped lightly

" okay, sweetheart " harry smirked as they reached the hospital wing and before draco Could've said anything else, harry had started talking to madam pomfrey and then basically ran away.

" what an ass " draco mumbled to himself, laying on the bed thinking about harry.

__________________________

The second time draco honorably gave him the title was when they were working on a project on muggle sports for muggle studies.

" if you know it so well, why don't you just do it " draco Snapped

" because I don't want to. not like this anyway. I've only got the material, you can write it " harry shrugged leaning back against the common room chair comfortably

" the information you basically stole from the library. That's not even called researching " draco threw a fit

" okay Smarty pants, calm down. How else do you even suggest us to do this? Want me to watch a muggle tv show or something or what? This is the best I can do " harry frowned

Draco rolled his eyes, groaning to himself " I want you to share your thoughts on this potter, not just copy down Ron's work which by the way is abysmal "

" hey, we worked together on that-"

" save it. I'll do it on my own, while you can sit there and just- b- just bloody enjoy your whatever it is that you're drinking " draco irritatably replied as he stood up

" fine by me " harry shrugged.

Draco groaned, throwing a pencil at harry " you're a fucking pain in the ass "

" you too sweetheart " harry chuckled as he watched draco walk away.

Harry although did ended up writing up his Portion and better than draco.

" what an ass " draco mumbled to himself in class with his chin over his palm, rolling his eyes.

" I know sweetheart " harry whispered as he settled down next to draco.

Draco narrowed his eyes, throwing a fit before mumbling something to himself and looking away.

" such a darling you are " harry chuckled lightly

_____________________________

The third time draco called harry by the so title was when harry had pulled up a prank. However It wasn't meant for draco.

" what the fuck is your problem !" Draco exclaimed, drenched in slime

" fuck- holy shit " harry pressed his lips to control his uncontrollable urge to laugh " it wasn't- it was for Seamus. We just had a bet and you- you just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time "

Draco rolled his eyes trying to wipe off the slime from his black suit " you ruined my fucking suit "

" well- that- I mean who wears a suit at school really. That's your fault " harry poked his bottom lip out, shrugging in innocence until he recieved the death glare from draco "nope definitely my fault "

" you're such a pain in the ass "

" you call me that often " harry grinned as though it was a compliment

" you deserve it " draco sighed, tired from all the snapping, still trying to get that thing off him.

" I'll make it up to you, alright. I mean of course you're gonna say I am ass but your suit looks expensive, what say, I treat you at hogsmeade, take you to shrieking shack and show you the wonders behind ?" Harry suggested amusingly

Draco contemplated for a moment " you better get me a nice treat and if you dare so leave me alone there-"

" you'll chop me off into pieces. I know " harry smiled lightly.

Draco however much furious was not so anymore, he discovered the whole thing to be actually quite funny but dared so not to give harry the satisfaction of laughing.

" you've got something on your shirt " draco pointed as he Walked towards harry.

" what ?" Harry looked bemused at his shirt until he felt arms wrapped around him

" oops, sorry, now you got something on your shirt " draco smirked as he broke the Taunting hug and Walked away, smiling to himself.

Harry was almost furious at draco, Only until he saw draco casting the most impressive cleaning spell over him walking. Harry was thoroughly impressed, and somewhat attracted, not that he admitted it to himself.

" what a sweetheart " harry Chuckled.

_______________________________

The fourth time harry recieved the title from draco was when they were working on an auror mission together and harry had accidentally petrified draco along with the criminal.

The criminal was taken by the team to azkaban while harry took draco back to the hotel, supporting him over his shoulder.

Draco had broken out of the spell only when they reached the hotel room and his first instincts were to push away harry and basically grabbing a pillow and throwing at his face.

" what In the fucking sorcery was that for ?" Harry hissed, throwing the pillow on the bed

" for casting me under the spell, you fucking moron " draco hissed

" I'm never working with you again, I swear" draco snapped

" oh stop being dramatic, you were just a collateral damage, I had to throw the spell, you just accidentally got hit because you were too close. These things happen draco"

"and what if you had thrown a curse or what if it would've backfired. Would you had taken the responsibilities for it and took care of me while the criminal would've ran away" draco angrily yelled

" draco- just calm down- it's all fine-"

" no it's not Harry. You're fucking reckless and careless and you make awful lot of mistakes unknowingly and you just assume that a sorry can fix it but somethings are not fixed by sorry and guess what you haven't even Apologized" draco Snapped as he started packing up his fastly and almost left the room until he turned around one last time at harry

" you're a fucking pain in the ass, potter" and he left to wait by the car for harry.

Guilty, harry packed away his things and picked up the watch Draco had left and sat down in the car next to draco, who hadn't calmed down even a little bit and simply ignored harry.

It wasn't until the night when harry was helping draco into his apartment that he finally spoke

" for the record draco, I would've took care of you if something had backfire, risking the criminal away because your life is more important. I'm not that idiot but I deserved it"

Draco nodded understandably " I know "

" and I'm also very sorry " harry pressed his lips in a thin line, pocketing his hands and walking away backwards to get back to the car

" oh by the way- you didn't say I'm an ass " harry wittily said

Draco shook his head, " what an ass "

" there's the sweetheart of a draco malfoy I know" harry chuckled and ran away downstairs.

" fucking dork " draco mumbled to himself smiling as he watched harry driving away from his window.

_______________________________

The fifth time draco called harry a pain in the ass at a bar when they were all hanging out with their friends, joining in a celebration and draco was dancing away with a random Stranger and he much enjoyed it until of course harry had to interrupt

" excuse me but can you please put away your dick from my boyfriend " harry possessively said.

The stranger immediately walked away in a rush before draco Could've even said a word

" what the fuck did you do ? I was having fun- and who the fuck made you my boyfriend " draco snapped, standing still watching harry standing silent

" I can't believe this. You're a fucking pain the ass harry " draco rolled his eyes, walking away until without even so of an anticipation he was whirled around and met with a pair of lips on his own, leaving him gasping.

" harry-"

" shush " Harry mumbled against his lips and draco finally gave in, pushing his hands into Harry's hair, tugging at the roots erupting a low moan from harry, inappropriately sloppily kissing harry, pulling their bodies closer if possible and definitely ruining their so called friendship.

_____________________________

" how did it happen ?" Ron asked as he slurped his lemonade draco made him

" well you know- he's just a pain in the ass " draco shyly said

" I thought I was last night, wasn't I " harry whispered smirking as he put his arms Around draco's waist from the side and pulling him closer, kissing his neck.

" fuck you" draco Blushed as he bit on his straw

" sweetheart, we only did it last night " harry Chuckled as he kissed behind Draco's ear

Draco's eyes widened, his cheeks attaining a much deeper tone of red

" get a room for fucks sake " Ron groaned as he walked away, mimicking puking.

" we had until you came in " harry yelled back

" harry " Draco whined as he slapped Harry's chest Playfully, shyly laughing.

Harry laughed away until he got kissed by draco, sloppily, leaving him gasping in shock.

" what ? You thought you're the only one with a dirty Mouth " draco raised an eyebrow suggestively

" fuck me " Harry melted away as he kissed draco again.

Well, this was fun...

Requests open | Dialogue Prompt requests open as well.

Day 48- because, its you and me | Day 50- putting a hand over others mouth shut them up

[alyasgf]

Everything Is Gonna Be Okay

mlb fic master list || part 2

Summary- Adrien has known Ladybug’s identity since kwamibuster, but she worked so hard who was he to ruin it?

Or alternatively kwamibuster but Adrien isn’t fooled, realizes who Ladybug is but doesn’t say anything. He helps her by becoming her close friend. He may have also accidentally fallen in love with her. Oops? Ft. Ladynoir, Adrinette, and Marichat (mostly Adrinette )

Notes- Getting to all the prompts I have building up that I haven’t had time for so enjoy! I might come back to this for another chapter with Ladrien and possibly a full reveal we’ll see.

Word Count- 1660

AO3

Begin

Adrien knew it was Marinette. Common sense was that if she had all the miraculous on, she’d probably have the fox. She would’ve gotten away with it, but Chat Noir could clearly the difference. After the Volpina scandal he’d noticed how flat the illusions could look, so when the tiny Multimouse seemed just a bit lackluster, he simply connected the dots.

Still, she’d put so much effort into the whole thing, so who was he to ruin it for her? He’d simply play along.

Ever since he found out Ladybug’s identity, he tried to get closer to Marinette, but she always seemed to be uncomfortable around Adrien. It disappointed him, but he understood. Adrien came with high expectations, while Chat Noir was free of these standards.

He’d visit Marinette as Chat Noir every chance he got. At first, he was worried Ladybug might reprimand him, but Marinette seemed to enjoy the company.

Unlike Ladybug, sometimes Marinette would entertain Chat’s antics (probably because they weren’t in the middle of battling an akuma.)

They’d play video games, watch anime on her terrace, and eat goodies he wasn’t allowed at home. He considered her his best friend, in and out of the suit.

Unfortunately, he let this slip while hanging out with Alya, Nino and Marinette.

“Surely your friend Marinette will help you with the notes you missed.” Alya said, raising her eyebrows and directing a look towards Marinette.

“You mean best friend Marinette.” Adrien replied lightheartedly.

Marinette turned bright red, while Nino gasped in offense.

“Well who am I then? I thought you and I were closer!” Nino pouted.

“I- uh,” Adrien was at a loss, before deciding to play it off. “I can have more than one best friend Nino don’t get too jealous.” He laughed.

Marinette was still red as she handed Adrien her notes to take a picture of. They were all in the park after school, as they did sometimes when Adrien’s schedule would allow it.

Alya whispered something into Marinette’s ear that made her blush harder. Adrien couldn’t help but notice how cute she looked. He couldn’t believe the girl that threw herself at akumas with no fear could hardly look him in the eye without stuttering. He couldn’t help but tease her.

“Everything ok Marinette?” He leaned closer and put his hand on her forehead. She froze and looked up, cross eyed at his hand. “You look like you’re heating up.”

She practically fell backwards trying to scoot away from his hand. “Yeah yeah! You feel great.” She said in a daze. “I mean I feel great!”

Adrien let out a laugh, and everyone joined in. Marinette even seemed to giggle a little. Adrien took that as a win.

————————————

He kept up this rouse for months, visiting her at nights after patrols or whenever he missed her. As he did this, he began to fall in love with her as Marinette. It wasn’t all at once though. At first when he’d discovered her identity he had trouble seeing the two as one person. But as he spent more time with Marinette he could see all of Ladybug’s characteristics in her, and in turn, Marinette characteristics in Ladybug.

Anytime Ladybug would doubt her plans, she’d get the same face Marinette would make when she proposed something to Adrien. The determination Marinette had when it came to her friends was the same attitude Ladybug had toward all Parisians.

And with that Adrien was hopelessly in love with her. Still, there was Luka.

She mentioned there was an other guy as Ladybug, and before he knew who she was he assumed she and Luka already had a thing. Before, he could accept this, but after knowing everything it hurt a little more.

He put this all aside though, because Marinette was his friend and partner first (and romantic interest second.)

But as he got lost in her eyes one night while talking and sharing snacks he had to ask, had to hope maybe he was wrong.

“So I hear a certain boy has caught your heart Marinette, care to share?” He asked casually, looking away after a particularly vulnerable moment.

“Yeah he has.” Marinette said with a sigh as she started off into the distance, lovestruck.

Adrien couldn’t help but feel disappointed. “What’s he like?”

“God Chat, he’s just perfect. He cares so much about everyone, and despite everything the world had thrown at him, he’s still so kind.” Marinette gushed.

Adrien had heard about how Luka’s father had abandoned him and Juleka when they were younger. He knew how it felt to feel like there was a piece of your family missing, but not ever knowing them must be unbearable. He could tell Marinette thought the world of Luka.

“How do you feel about Ladybug?” Marinette ventured.

Adrien laughed, knowing who she was, it was funny when Marinette asked about herself. She did it often, as though she couldn’t believe anyone could think so highly of her.

“Well, what can I say that isn’t already obvious? She’s determined, kind, funny, and a bit of a klutz.”

Marinette pouted. “No one calls Ladybug a klutz.”

“Well no one else spends as much time with her as I do. At least in costume anyway.”

Marinette begrudgingly agreed.

“Although she could entertain my amazing puns.” Chat teased.

Marinette laughed. “In your dreams kitty.”

If Chat hadn’t already known she was Ladybug, the way she delivered that line would’ve gave it away. There was a certain fondness to it that only his partner could use with him.

————————————

At some point after Marinette became the guardian, something changed.

They communicated if he could come over by her leaving out a cup of milk or her sitting outside around 9. Lately that came less and less.

Ladybug started to miss more and more patrols. She said she was busy, and with the way Marinette no longer had time to hang out with her friends he could tell that was true.

He tried to distract himself and change targets, but that blew up in his face. Kagami was starting to believe his excuses less and less. It was no suprise when she broke off whatever they had.

What was surprising however, was when he heard from Nino, who heard from Alya, who heard from Juleka, that Marinette and Luka had broken up.

She was always tired, and this was evident through her red eyes with dark bags beneath them. Adrien felt so helpless. He wasn’t sure how he could help without telling her what he knew.

He started with little things, like giving her notes she missed without her asking, letting her know it was really okay if she had to miss a patrol here and there, and leaving her little treats on her terrace to find whenever she went up.

One night as he passed by her room to leave a gift, he found the trapdoor cracked open and could hear her crying in her bed. He could hear the kwamis trying to comfort her, but it wasn’t working.

He made a show of dropping down so she’d have time to hide the kwamis before he knocked on the edge of the open trapdoor.

“You ok Marinette?”

When she lifted the trapdoor fully open a minute later he could tell she had tried to make herself look better. Her eyes looked freshly wiped and she had a forced smile on her face.

“Hey Chat. I’m fine just a little busy. Sorry we haven’t hung out in a while.”

Chat could still hear the sobs in his head that had been coming from her not even 5 minutes ago.

He threw his arms around her and she pulled herself into the ledge before crumbling into him.

She sobbed so hard, he was worried she’d break.

They stayed like that for at least half an hour. Chat rubbed her back and whispered affirmations into her ear.

“Shhh, it’ll be okay. You’re okay. You’re doing great.”

He didn’t know how she hadn’t been akumatized, but with him there, there was no way he’d let that happen.

When she finally calmed down, she pulled from him to look him in the eyes.

Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, there was a bit of snot coming from her nose. Still, she looked beautiful in the moonlight.

“I’m sorry Chat. Sometimes it’s just too hard to hold it in.” She said with a hiccup.

Chat pulled her back in. “Everyone needs to let it out every once in a while Marinette. There’s nothing to be sorry for, I’m just glad you chose me to be here for you. Do you wanna talk about it?”

Marinette shook her head. Chat sighed. He wouldn’t push her to say anything, no matter how much he wished she’d tell him.

“What can I do?” He asked.

“Stay with me until I fall asleep?” She whispered into his shoulder.

Chat nodded and she got up and climbed into her bed. Chat followed and left the trapdoor open.

There he laid, her head on his chest until her breathing evened out. He really didn’t want to leave. She was so warm and vulnerable. He was so in love with her.

But he knew he couldn’t stay, so ever so reluctantly, he lifted her from him softly and he left.

————————————

The next day when he saw her, he could see for the first time in what felt like forever she looked like she got some rest.

He ran up to her and hugged her tightly. She stiffened before relaxing into his touch.

“Marinette, I know if I ask you’re gonna tell me you’re okay, but I want you to know I can tell you aren’t. I’m here for you. We’re all here for you. Please don’t push us away.” He said into her hair. It smelled like strawberries and sweets, like always. It was comforting.

“O-okay.” She stuttered out. “Thank you Adrien.” She said softly. He felt her hold on a little tighter.

End Notes- Feel free to send in prompts! Also I wanna write more reveals where only one of them knows so look out for that. Reply your favorite part and leave a like and reblog if you liked this it makes my day ;)

[shesclearlya3]

i loved you first. p.2

pairing: Xavier Plympton x Reader

word count: 4,391

warnings: au! in present time, language, a big oops coming

not entirely proof-read. 

*title inspired by joan’s song*

part 1 | part 2 |  part 3 | part 4 | epilogue

One Year Later

"NO ONE, NO ONE, NO ONEEEEEEE, CAN GET IN THE WAY OF WHAT I FEEL FOR YOUUU!"

"YOOOU! YOOOOU!"

You covered your ears as Montana and Brooke screamed sang along to Alicia Keys, while in the kitchen finishing up dinner in their shared apartment. You were recently promoted at work, and they wanted to celebrate with you.

Brooke sniffed, "I miss Ray." she said as she poked at her homemade noodles with a fork.

"It's only been four hours!" Montana interjected, meeting your eyes as the song ended. You smiled softly, taking a long sip from your glass of wine. 

"I know," she said, "He's always gone. I miss him."

"It's too bad the others couldn't join us," Montana said as she stirred something in a pot. "We haven't had the group together in a minute."

You silently bobbed your head as 2006-era Rihanna came on, attempting to keep your mind away from Xavier Plympton.

It's already been a year since you first met his girlfriend, Chloe. You couldn't believe how fast 2019 seemed to go. Now, you were counting down the days you had with him before he moved into his new apartment with her.

When you first heard the news, you assumed he was pulling your leg. You were having a slumber party in the living room, a few drinks in when he accidentally blabbed to you that they were looking for a new place. He admitted he wanted to tell you over dinner the next day, which would probably have gone a little better. Instead, you spent the rest of your Twilight marathon holding back tears and wishing Jacob Black would ride out of town with Chloe on his back and disappear forever. 

But after a good night's sleep, you realized it was selfish of you. You congratulated him and decided that maybe it was time for a fresh start for yourself. Before your promotion, you'd barely make enough to pay the rent all on your own. Brooke and Montana had gladly offered you their empty space, which you wanted to accept. But after your salary doubled, you'd be able to renew your lease for another year.

Even after all this time, it seemed you never really got to know Chloe. She was still friendly, but there was always an uncomfortable aura between the two of you. You had a few things in common with her, which helped make conversation whenever Xavier wasn't around, but it never exceeded that. 

You assumed you were being paranoid when she’d seem to always be looking at you, her eyes observing your every move when you were being your normal self with Xavier. Or how her voice always seemed to become sickly sweet when you’d be minding your own business, hardly remembering they were even there.

"Earth to y/n?"

You glanced up to see Brooke place a large bowl of spaghetti in the middle of the table. Montana was already sitting down, a half-eaten piece of garlic bread in her mouth. 

"I'm sorry, what?" you asked, embarrassed. 

Brooke giggled, "I asked if you were alright. You're quiet tonight - more than usual."

You nodded, helping yourself to her spaghetti as the girls gathered food onto their plates. "I'm sorry. I just keep thinking of Xavier moving out."

The girls nodded understandingly, "You know, the offer is still open," Montana said, smiling at you. Her blonde hair was pinned back, and she looked vibrant as her eyes observed you kindly. "You haven't lived alone in years, it's okay if you're not comfortable with the idea."

You nodded appreciatively, "I know, and thank you both, but... I think it will be good for me," you said, picking up your fork to smash at the bits of lettuce on your plate. The girls watched with amused expressions. "Maybe I'll finally stop moping over him and get myself a boyfriend or a girlfriend, who knows?" you said. 

"I think you should tell him how you feel, y/n," Brooke said simply, drinking her wine as if she was commenting about the weather.

You laughed dryly, "You know Xavier, he'll be pissed I kept it from him this long. We tell each other everything."

"I don't pretend to be an expert on love, y/n, but I say that if he is upset about it, fuck him." Montana shrugged, and you heard the sound of Brooke kicking her under the table. "Ouch! Come on, who wouldn't want to date y/n? He's an idiot for not seeing how she clearly feels about him."

"Xavier is our friend. We all know he can be dense and naive, but it's part of his charm." Brooke defended him before turning her eyes to you. "Why is it that you never made a move?"

The room got quiet as Montana's Spotify playlist came to a stop. You took a few bites of food, pleased that your friends gave you a few seconds to get your thoughts together. That was one of the things you loved about them.

"I guess I was just afraid of ruining what we had," you admitted, smiling a little. "We've known each other since elementary school; all of us, and the only ones who ever progressed into the romantic territory were Brooke and Ray."

Brooke's cheeks flushed, and you knew it wasn't from the wine.

Montana chuckled, a light blush coating her cheeks. "About that..." 

You and Brooke gave her a quizzical look.

"Senior prom..." Montana nodded, "Chet and Me."

Your mouth fell open simultaneously with Brooke, who cackled as Montana blushed a deeper red. You joined in on the laughter as Brooke held her stomach, tears threatening to spill over.

"What is so funny!?" Montana yelled over your laughing, now slightly irritated. "I went with Jimmy Darling, remember!? He got drunk and fell asleep near the food table, so Chet and I decided to skip, and..." she laughed now, refusing to look you in the eye. "It was alright."

"Oh, my God! Why didn't you tell us!?" you said after containing your laughter. Brooke was still giggling, complaining her sides were hurting. 

"It didn't even last long, I think I blocked it out of my memory for a while... but he is packing..." Montana finished.

As you finished up dinner, Brooke refused to delve too deeply into her sex life with Ray. You three finished two bottles of wine and were now lounging in the living room in your pajamas, debating on watching a horror movie or a comedy, and you were already thinking about the snacks. 

After deciding on the original Friday the 13th, the movie was about fifteen minutes in when a message from Xavier flashed on your phone. You glanced at it.

Xavier: Hey, did you leave the front door unlocked?

No, I made sure it was locked like always. Why?

Xavier: I think someone has been in here. Your room is a mess!

You straightened up, glancing towards the girls who were cuddled up, munching on popcorn. Xavier sent you a picture of your room you had just cleaned the night before. A few of your dresser drawers were cracked open, and clothes were peeking through, definitely searched through. Your bed was haphazardly made, and your work clothes were strewn on the floor.

"Oh no," you said, causing Brooke and Montana to look at you.

"What's wrong?" Brooke asked, concerned.

"Xavier thinks someone broke into our apartment!" you said, giving them an alarmed look. 

"Oh shit, let's go!" Montana said, and the three of you wasted no time in driving to your home.

- 

"Well?" Montana demanded as you and Xavier entered the apartment after speaking to the police. 

"They said it looks like someone had a key made. There's no damage to the door, and y/n says it was locked, so..."

"It was, I always double-check. Always..." you said, sitting down in the empty seat next to Brooke, who put a comforting arm around you.

"Who in the hell would have a key made?" Montana asked before she paused. Her eyes looked wild, before finally settling on you and Brooke. You gave her a confused look.

"I don't know. It's not like I have any friends other than you guys." Xavier said sarcastically. The one thing about Xavier is that when he was scared, he was more than likely to be agitated, and it always showed. 

"Did you give one to Chloe?" Montana asked.

"No, I never-..." Xavier paused, throwing a glare in her direction. "What are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything, I'm just eliminating suspects, is all." Montana defended, quirking an eyebrow at Xavier. "y/n, have you given a key to anybody?"

You shook your head, hoping this didn't cause a fight, "No, I have not."

"See?" Montana offered, looking rather smug, "We're just eliminating, that's all."

Xavier glanced at you, and you nodded encouragingly. He seemed to like that, nodding himself and rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, I'm kind of freaked out..."

"That's understandable, Xavier. You don't have to apologize." Brooke said, shooting a small glare at Montana, who hid a smirk. "Do you guys want us to stay?"

"Yeah, if they come back, it's four against them," Montana offered, looking delighted at having the chance to kick some ass.

"No, you ladies can go home," Xavier said, before smiling at you. You felt your heart flutter. "We'll be alright."

After bidding the girls goodnight, Xavier plopped onto the empty cushion next to you. He glanced at you longingly, before saying, "I'm sorry if I scared you." 

You shook your head, "Please, do not apologize. If it were me, I would have called the SWAT team."

Xavier laughed, "I don't doubt that! Seriously though, I'm glad neither of us was home."

You nodded, "But it doesn't change the fact that they were in my room looking for something..."

Xavier frowned now, thinking, "I know... We checked every room, nothing else looked out of place."

"You're right, nothing has been stolen..." you said.

You sat there for about an hour, talking through your day. Xavier gave you his full attention, even when you'd hear his phone vibrating in his pocket every few minutes. He ignored it, asking you questions until you yawned loudly, falling into the back of the couch.

"y/n?" he asked, his voice sounding tired.

"Yes?" you whispered.

"I'm glad you're safe."

2.

You almost forgot about the home invasion completely. Your landlord changed the locks, issuing you a new key. Xavier's stress eased as the week passed, and soon he was back to his old self. 

You didn't think much of it when Chloe started acting oddly friendly towards you, smiling at you or asking you questions about what you were doing whenever you saw each other. You assumed it was because she was bored when Xavier's attention was elsewhere.

The group was finally getting back together, and you found yourself having to face going to Chloe's place for the first time. You dressed for the hot weather, while Montana silently got ready beside you. You wondered if she was alright. She usually was bubbly before a night out. Brooke was just now getting back from her shift, occupying the shower in the other bathroom.

"Do you think this dress is too short?" Montana suddenly asked, turning around in her leopard print, knee-length dressed.

"Nope," you said honestly, "It's the perfect length for your height."

"Aww, thank you, y/n," she said, though her tone didn't match her words. 

You nodded, running the brush through your hair one last time. 

"Are you okay?" you finally asked, looking at her through the mirror.

Montana seemed uncomfortable, and you regretted asking. Montana never liked to be pushed for answers, especially if it regarded something personal. However, she looked at you as if she wanted to tell you, so you patiently waited.

"You know the guy I've been messing around with, Trevor?" she asked.

You nodded, "Yes, why?"

She shuffled in front of the mirror, taking her makeup bag and digging through it quickly. She often did this when she was nervous. Montana started applying mascara, using it as a ploy to avoid looking at you. "Well, I kind of had him do some digging on Chloe Smith."

Your eyes widened as Montana nonchalantly applied her makeup. "You what?"

"You can't get mad!" Montana said, switching the wand to the other eye. "I kept thinking about it, and it doesn't make sense. Like you said the other night, we've all been friends for years. You and Xavier never gave us keys to your apartment. Chloe has been around for only a year. She probably feels left out, and since you live with Xavier, it looked like a red flag to me." she said before observing her work. Montana continued, "So I had Trevor ask his brother to look into her, he's a real estate agent and has access to background checks. So he looked up her name, and he didn't find much, but..."

You egged her on, "But?"

"Long story short, she's a bit of a stalker," Montana said brightly, turning to look at you. "There's a restraining order against her for obsessive stalking."

Your mouth fell open at this, wondering why Montana looked so damn cheerful about this. 

"I know what you're thinking. I think it's great news if Xavier finds out who she really is, then he'll break up with her and be with you."

As much as you wanted to rejoice and praise the Lord above, you knew this was wrong. "Montana, that's not right!"

"Why not?" she pressed, looking through her makeup once again. 

"We don't know if she was the one in my room. Anyone could have a key made-."

"Exactly! She's been with Xavier for this long. If the neighbors saw, they'd think nothing of it. Trevor's brother agreed, he said people have gotten into unavailable apartments by falsifying keys and claiming they live there. It's not that hard to do, as scary as that sounds."

"I don't understand what she could have been looking for," you said, frowning. Your heart rate increased, wondering if Montana was possibly right. 

"I don't know, pictures, a diary, a vibrator?" Montana joked until she saw the look on your face. "y/n?"

Your face paled as you quickly left the bathroom, going to your bedroom, and promptly digging through your dresser. You heard Montana, and now Brooke calling your name as you threw clothes all over the place. Your worst fear was confirmed when you realized your journal was gone.

"y/n!?" Montana asked, stopping in the doorway. Brooke was behind her, dressed and ready to go. She looked concerned. 

"My journal is gone," you choked. 

Montana gasped, placing a hand over her mouth. Her eyes were excited, though. Brooke looked more lost, looking between the both of you with a crinkled face. "y/n? What is going on!?"

"Montana, I think you might be right," you said, looking at her. 

Brooke looked impatient, and you slowly gathered your clothes with shaky hands as Montana filled her in on the possible scandal. Brooke gasped at the appropriate times and quietly asked if they should tell Xavier or not.

"I don't know!" you moaned, sprawling out on your bed. "He's going to be so pissed at us!"

"Not if we catch the bitch red-handed!" Montana interjected, coming to stand in front of you. "Look, y/n, we're all in this together. If it turns out we were wrong, which is a very low possibility, I will personally take responsibility for it."

"I couldn't ask that of you," you said flatly.

"Too bad, I'll do the same," Brooke piped up from behind Montana, smiling at you. "I always thought something was off about her. She won't get away with this."

Montana turned to her, grinning. "Get it, babe."

Brooke blushed and glowed the entire way to Chloe's place as you thought over a plan. 

- 

As you waited for the boys to arrive, you were getting a headache thinking of all the things you wrote in your journal about Xavier. It's probably been well over two months since you wrote in it last. Still, you gushed about your best friend more than once, praising how much you loved him. 

The atmosphere in Chloe's home was warm, and you hated that. Brooke and Montana were helping her in the kitchen while you lounged on a chair to keep up appearances. Brooke had brought you a hard lemonade, which remained untouched as your head got worse by the minute. 

The television was on low; MTV was playing an 80s rewind, and you attempted to distract yourself, focusing on George Michael. You occasionally heard Chloe's voice chime in, and your friends laughing at whatever she said. As much as you hated to admit it, you felt left out.

It wasn't long before there was a series of knocks on the door. You shot up, calling out that you'd get it. You were almost knocked onto the couch when a tall, redhead breezed past you. Chloe swung open the door, squealing at the sight of Ray, Chet, and Xavier holding bottles of alcohol and a bag of snacks. Xavier was barely in the door when Chloe was all over him, causing Ray to roll his eyes and push through.

Chet met your eyes and smiled, and you couldn't help but smile back.

Montana and Brooke came out after hearing the commotion, and for a few minutes, there was loud laughter and talking as everyone began to settle in. Xavier was dressed like he came straight out of a magazine cover, and you clenched your legs together. 

"I'm starving, is the pizza here yet?" Ray asked as he followed the others into the kitchen. You followed hastily, not wanting to watch nor hear the sounds of Chloe and Xavier making out in entrance.

"We just ordered it fifteen minutes ago!" Brooke said, hugging Ray tightly as he kissed her forehead. You smiled, amazed at how in love they were. Montana nudged you, throwing a protective arm over your shoulders as Chet stuffed the alcohol they brought into the fridge. 

"We'll wait until she gets a few in her," Montana mumbled, "Then we'll give her a taste of her own medicine."

You nodded silently, still feeling like it was a bad idea. As much as you loved your friends, you feared this was going to blow up in your faces. Chloe and Xavier squeezed into the crowded kitchen, going for the alcohol as they managed to hang onto each other. 

You followed the others into the living room, taking your original spot on the couch and opening the lemonade Brooke had given you. You beckoned for them to sit next to you, but was aghast when Chloe and Xavier sat next to you, Xavier in the middle. You felt your cheeks get red as Chloe threw her long legs over his lap, her feet just inches from you. The girls gave you an apologetic glance as everyone found a spot on the remaining furniture or on the floor.

The first few hours were spent eating and laughing at all the outrageous stories Ray had from working on the road. After you ate, you felt your headache slowly melting away. Chloe was definitely lightweight as she quickly became more clingy and loud towards Xavier, who seemed to be more interested in what Chet was talking about than her babbling incoherently. 

Ray convinced Chloe to dig out the Wii, and he was fighting with Montana on who got to be the first player. From the corner of your eye, you could see that Xavier was watching you. You fought the urge to look, smiling as Brooke leaned back against your legs, laughing at her boyfriend and best friend arguing over who the best Mario character is.

"Xavieeee, I have a secrettttt..." you heard Chloe whisper a little too loudly, her wide eyes staring at Xavier, who was still looking at you.

"Not now, babe," he brushed her off, before turning his attention on Chet, who asked him a question you couldn't hear.

"I have to pee!" Montana said suddenly, standing up and meeting your eye. 

"Me too!" you said, catching the hint and throwing Chloe's long legs off you. Brooke nodded in support, scooting closer to Ray, who was loading Mario Kart. 

You did your best to appear nonchalant, but you were still nervous as you followed Montana down the hall. Instead of veering right into the bathroom, you crept down the hallway and walked straight into her bedroom. 

It was an ordinary room, white walls, a large bed, a record player with a bin of records underneath. There was a guitar shoved in the corner, and it felt wrong invading her space like this.

"Don't feel bad, y/n," Montana said quietly, looking at you. "She has no respect for you. But we have to hurry!" 

You nodded and quickly began to dig around. You made sure to put everything back in its place and not make too big of a mess. Montana had the same idea, but her actions were more rushed than calculated. You heard Chloe's laughter, along with the others as someone turned on the sound-bar. You could hear an intense game of Mario Kart going on. 

Montana's loud gasp sent chills up your spine. You turned from your spot looking underneath her bed, seeing her holding a box she got from the closet. "What is it, Montana?" you asked.

"I found your diary," she whispered, looking at you.

You realized you forgot to listen to what was going on in the other room. 

Montana quickly grabbed you, forcing the two of you two squeeze in the little closet as Chloe's voice grew closer. Montana held a hand to your mouth as she shut the door, and it became silent as Chloe entered, giggling to herself as she grabbed a jacket from her bed, stumbling back out.

You waited a few minutes before Montana pushed you out, and the two of you stared at each other in disbelief.

"What do we do now!?" you hissed, pointing to the small box Montana still had clutched in her hand. 

"I didn't think this far!" Montana shot back, before opening the lid. Your heart stopped, seeing your journal, along with a small notepad on top. It was no bigger than the palm of your hand, and underneath, it looked like there was a photo of you and Xavier. 

"We can't cause a scene with everyone here!" you said, and Montana nodded in agreement. "We have to go back out there, or they'll think we're up to something."

"I need you to play sick," Montana said, removing the contents and shoving the box on the shelf. "We'll be in deep shit if we're caught. I'm going to sneak this out, and we'll present it to Xavier later,"

"How is he supposed to believe we found it here?" you asked as Montana shoved it under her shirt. "This isn't going to work!"

"y/n, trust me this once, please," she said, before wrapping her arm around you. "Lean into me like you're sick so we can hide the this between us." 

You went along with it, stumbling out and hiding in the bathroom. Montana flushed the toilet, and you ran the water for a few seconds before coming out, back in your position. 

"Guys, y/n isn't feeling well, I'm going to take her home," Montana said, leading you towards the door.

"What's wrong, y/n?" Chet and Ray asked while Xavier stood up, almost knocking Chloe off his lap. She looked disgruntled, shooting you a glare. You pretended you didn't see, scrunching your face up.

"She got sick, I'll stay with her until Xavier gets home," she pushed, attempting to get away as Xavier walked towards the two of you, clearly concerned.

"Hey babe, are you good?" he asked you, and you hid your smile as Chloe frowned at the name.

"I think the alcohol just isn't agreeing with me," you lied, giving him what you hoped was a weak smile. "You don't have to worry about me, Xavier,"

"I'm always worried about you, y/n," he said, frowning at you.

Chloe stood up, coming over and attempting to put her arms around him. Xavier allowed it but didn't reciprocate as she gave you a dirty stare. Montana returned the glare, squeezing your arm, silently begging you not to move.

"She'll be fine, Xavieee!" Chloe said, "Let M-Montana take her home,"

You desperately wanted to tell her to fuck off but refrained. "I'll wait up for you," you assured Xavier. But before you could say anything else, Montana stumbled, forcing the two of you apart. Your journal, along with the photo and notepad, clattered to the hardwood floor.

Your friends watched them clatter to the ground, and you immediately wished lightning would strike you down. 

Chloe blinked before recognition flashed in her eyes. "WERE YOU IN MY ROOM?"

Montana, bless her soul, bent down and scooped it. "Don't act so fucking surprised, you lying sack of-."

"Montana!" Xavier said before he recognized your journal. Chet squeezed his way towards you as Chloe fumed in her spot, the others watching quietly. 

"You went into y/n's room and stole this!" Montana accused, waving the journal in Chloe's face. "You're fucking psychotic!"

"Chloe, is that true?" Xavier asked, giving her a dumbfounded look. 

"Of course not, baby! They're setting me up!" Chloe hiccuped, tears welling up in her eyes as she pointed at you and Montana. "They're lying."

"If they're lying, what is this?" Chet asked, holding up the notepad that Montana left on the ground. Your face paled as you saw your name continuously written in black ink before scribbled with red ink. "And that's not even the most fucked up thing in here!" Chet glared at Chloe and Xavier, "This is fucked up."

"I need you all to leave," Xavier said, "Now!"

Chet was yelling at Chloe and Xavier as the others hurriedly grabbed their things, almost pushing each other out of the apartment. 

"Xavier-," you said, wanting to plead with him to believe you.

"y/n, go!" he said, his eyes hard as Chet carefully pulled you into the hall. The last thing you saw was Xavier's angry expression before the door was slammed in your face. 

taglist: i’m so sorry if i missed anyone, my list accidentally got deleted :( if i missed anyone, please let me know!

 @the-walking-daryl @trichy-knitts @shydragonrider@thefandomzoneisdangerous @lemonwhiskers @jetblackpayne @langdonsvcrd @okoktrinity22 @uwonman @stefanmikaleson1864 @sevenwonderwitch @rubbrninja @iamnotjesha @leatherduncan @imshakingandcryingrn @bratzblitz @goblackcat69 @brookethompsonownsme @bookoffracturedescapes @zodiyack@bitchchatter@guiltyfiend @psychobitchtess  @aangrana  @thexmancometh @wtfcas​ @pleasforhelp​ 

[inimitable-muse]

your first date with robin

[robin buckley x reader]

request: hi! could you do a hc for robin x reader on what their first date would be like? and when you can could you write something about their first “i love you”? basically anything with robin + fluff! thanks! 💘

warning: none.

author’s note: i decided to save the first i love you request for another post which will fit well in terms of its narrative, so that will be coming soon :) this serves as a continuation of the 'meeting robin for the first time’ headcanons i wrote a while ago which can be read here.

with you talking on the phone with robin for days on end and your constant visits to family video

the realisation hit that you guys still have yet to plan a date

ofc you and robin got caught up in the ‘will we? won’t we?’ dance, slightly teasing but shying away from the subject of your growing interest in one another

cause you know, suspense!!!!

your guys’ inability to move things forward was starting to get maddening

especially for keith

he was catching on to how you would only drop by the store just to talk to robin 

“quit distracting our employees, you’re ruining business here!”

“isn’t that the whole point keith? for people to come up to us and- you know what, just forget it” - robin

although not the slightest bit intimidating, he was threatening to kick you out if you didn’t rent out at least two tapes

this whole situation acted as a catalyst of some sort

it was now or never, you had to make your move

“well i just stopped by to see if you wanted to…”

“to...?” she was anticipating what was going to come out of your mouth next

“go on a date”

robin leans her elbow on the counter, propping her chin on her hand, “sure, with who?”

what a smartass

you jokingly roll your eyes at her, “with me, of course,” and eventually a smile slowly tugs at the corner of your mouth

“well it took you long enough [y/n]”

now it was time to think of what to do

there aren’t many exciting things to do in hawkins besides:

a) starcourt mall which *spoiler alert* is now obliterated

and b) the arcade, although fun, is filled with too many annoying kids

you were stumped on where to go

it wasn’t until robin ended up ringing you in the middle of the night talking

telling you about how an annual roller rink is set up in hawkins and open from a limited period of time before it moves to the next town over

you were open to the idea, but one problem came up

“robin, i have no idea how to skate”

“don’t worry, i’ll teach you… eventhoughibarelyknowhowtomyself”

“what?”

“alright goodnight!”

so it was official

the idea of roller skating as a first date was perfect, but not so perfect at the same time

cause you and robin had little to no experience

but it would provide you both the opportunity to learn together (a great bonding experience, if you will)

so the date goes as follows:

as soon as you and robin enter the place, you’re immediately greeted with a kaleidoscope of colours flashing before your eyes

with neon strobe lights blinking intricate patterns

the latest releases of songs blaring from the speakers located at every wall

as well as a whirlpool of skaters gliding smoothly to the beat

you two were pumped

robin promptly gets the correct roller skates sizes for the both of you and you start to tug your shoelaces tight

as soon as you get ready to step into the rink, your confidence disappears and is instead replaced by nerves

robin notices your sudden change of mood

“hey, it’ll be fun don’t sweat it,” she reassures you as she rubs your arm

you take her words in for a second and believed them

when you got started, it wasn’t all that bad

depends if you consider ‘not all bad’ as just you clinging on the barrier of the rink for dear life for 10 minutes

but after a bit of convincing from robin, you release yourself from that sense of safety that the barrier provided you

what she says she knows about the basics of roller skating was “slightly bend your knees and kick off one foot and the other, so you keep up a continuous momentum”

so you do just that

unfortunately your efforts are futile, you just barely end up gliding across the rink

you’re like a deer stranded on thin ice, awkwardly stumbling around in one spot

robin finds the whole thing endearing, and she continues to help you out

after a few falls and bumps here and there, slow but surely you were getting the hang of skating

“hey look robin, i’m finally doing it!”

she watches as you crash into two people

oops nevermind

you were contemplating whether or not to resort back to holding onto the barrier again

just for the sake of not developing anymore bruises

“are you sure you don’t want to grab onto me?” robin suggests

“if i'm going down, you’re going to get dragged down with me”

out of nowhere she grabs your hand and threads her fingers with your own, it takes you by surprise

“that won’t stop me in the slightest”

robin’s confidence was admirable, it was something you wanted to gain for yourself

she winks at you, “let’s roll”

very punny

you hold onto her hand so tight, you swear your knuckles are gonna burst

also you were hoping robin doesn’t notice your palms sweating

not because you were afraid of falling cause you did that too many times already

oh no no

it’s cause you were holding her hand

or she was holding your hand

anyways, how could we forget

it wouldn’t be a proper roller rink without the highly anticipated “couples only” skate segment

the whole atmosphere changes in an instant, all the lights turn into a cool blue and a mirrorball descends from the ceiling

you and robin find yourselves in the middle of the rink, surrounded by a myriad of people pairing up and circling around you both

robin turns to look at you with a sheepish smile “you think you got the hang of it?”

you just lightly nod at robin which compels her to move closer next to you

so close that you’re brushing shoulders

in a collaborative effort, you both begin with your right foot and start to move slowly along the main direction people were going in

robin cautiously snakes her arm around your waste

“it’s just for more stability... if that’s okay with you”

sure jan

you utter a light “yeah, o-of course,” and do the same thing with her

subconsciously, you can’t help but rest yourself against robin’s shoulder

the disc jockey starts playing how deep is your love by the beegees to set the mood

the two of you didn’t have many words to say for the duration of the couple skate besides stealing brief glances

robin was just happy to be near you, to be close to you right now

getting lost into the trance of the music, and all that

you two are getting used to the pace at which you were skating, and your movements are in sync together

growing confident in your skills, your footwork becomes more swift and agile which robin silently admired

your hair is caught in the slight breeze as you pace faster, you’re starting to feel invisible as you take the reigns

combined with that, there was something about the lights reflecting off the mirrorball and decorating your face in all the right areas that makes robin’s heart skip a beat

she gets all too consumed with her thoughts and accidentally misses a turn that you simultaneously try to make

suddenly you both are heading towards the barrier at a fast rate

“oh shit”

you try to help swerve away from the direction you both were going in, but you end up losing balance

it results in the equilibrium you two have going to falter

where your left leg clashes into robin’s right leg

while you are leaning backwards and she is leaning way too forward

both your guys’ arms are interlocked tighter than ever, preparing for the inevitable impact

as expected, you and robin end up tumbling to the ground which catches the attention of the other couples in the rink

your cheeks begin to turn hot as you find yourself lying on top of her

you worry for robin as she was the one to land on her lower back

“are you okay???” you gently shake robin by her shoulders

she doesn’t respond to you at first, but you could feel a slight chuckle vibrating against her chest

robin abruptly starts laughing out loud which startles you

you didn’t know if she was laughing because the situation was funny, extremely embarrassing, painful, or a combination of all three

either way you can’t help but succumb to her air of hysteria, robin’s laugh is too infectious to avoid

time (as well as some people) stood still and it was just the two of you in your own world

the music drowns out, and you and robin don’t care to shamefully avoid the eyes of onlookers

finally when you guys compose yourselves, you steadily get up and try to help her off the ground

“c'mon let’s get out of here, i think us amateurs ruined the mood for these so-called professionals” robin grins as she reaches your level, one of her hands still interlocking with your own

“you think?”

still in a daze, robin’s only response to your quip is to playfully nudge you

as you guys return your roller skates to the counter and make your way to the exit

you and robin suddenly stop in unison to notice something in the corner

it’s a photobooth

the two of you share a look and instinctively know what you wanted to do without even saying it at all

although your first date with robin didn’t go quite as how you planned it in your head

she promised there will be more (and even better) ones to come

robin also got something to commemorate your guys’ first date too

a single black and white photo of you kissing her cheek, that is tucked safe in her wallet

taglist: @ronnie-loves-bees

[gingerwritess]

I was thinking of Loki being the little shit he is and stealing readers food just to see her get worked up and at one point maybe saying she looks cute when she’s angry just to piss her off?? I love you!!!!!

FINALLY WROTE THIS SHEESH

this was tough stuff right here but i like it and i hope you do too! big thanks to @avenging-blackwidow for beta-ing m w a h

part 13 of loki’s happy ending, and as always, masterlist in my bio!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

You’re turning out to be quite a pest of a human.

First with all the attempts to kill him when really, he’d made it perfectly clear when he’d have liked that, and now pestering him about the whole Chitauri ordeal…Loki would be lying if he hadn’t considered a muzzle.

You’re an extreme liability, and he knows. You’ve seen too much and definitely seen too much of him - not that getting a few ogles in the midst of dying was particularly detrimental to the whole operation.

Actually, it might’ve been…nice. But you didn’t hear that from him.

Breaking up the accidental relationship was a smart move. The best move, by far. The only remaining problem happens to be you, though.

You still…remain.

You still walk around the tower with your arms full of papers, heels clicking annoyingly along the vinyl floors, turning up your nose whenever you stride past his office.

He has a nicer office than you. By far.

Loki gets a window.

Most of the time, when you happen to have to walk down his hall, he leans against the open window and gazes out at the city as you walk by—a smug little grin on his flawless, fake jawline, knowing that the breeze ruffling his strawberry blond hair serves so kindly to piss you the hell off.

The one time you’d realised he’s doing it on purpose, you’d stepped into his office, smiled sweetly over to him at the window, and dumped your coffee on his precious floor.

And then you ran, cause he flipped back to Loki in a split second and lunged at you, snarling like a rabid animal as you shrieked and sprinted down the hall.

So…things aren’t exactly good between the two of you.

Which, of course, is why you’ve been avoiding him for the past couple weeks, sighing dramatically and saying “I’m just not ready to talk about it” when people ask why the two of you broke up.

You’ve been trying to avoid break rooms altogether. They’re just a hive for questioning, and you never know if you might run into him some accidental Thursday when you don’t have witty comebacks pre-prepared.

In other news, your bagels keep disappearing.

This is day four. The bagel is in your hand when you walk through the door, you set it on your desk, turn to set your bags down, and it’s gone.

Something tells you by day four that you’re not hallucinating carrying bagels into work with you just because you’re tired, so today you’re trying a set up.

You’ve got a hunch.

Sure enough, on day five, you don’t turn around to put your bag on the chair, and you watch your bagel seemingly melt into the desk.

“Get your ass out here, Loki.”

There’s a stack of green sticky-notes next to your computer, and a word being scrawled onto the paper catches your eye.

No.

You rip off the paper, crumple it into a ball, and throw it in the trash.

“Stop taking my food,” you hiss in the empty room.

Again, the loopy handwriting appears on the next sticky-note.

You assume so much.

“Oh, sorry,” you snap, glancing at the door to make sure no one sees you about to scream at a sticky-note, “I don’t know any other magicians. Give me back my bagel.”

I’m enjoying it.

“You fucking dick - oh, hey, Nadine.”

You give a sheepish grin and wave at your coworker, setting down your scissors with a nervous laugh as she walks by.

The moment she’s out of sight, though, you take the scissors right through the stack of notes—and Loki, ever the saint, sends a spurt of black ink from the paper like some kind of inky blood, a muffled scream coming from the little stack of green sticky-notes.

“What the—”

“You wound me, darling.”

One leg thrown haphazardly over the arm of his chair, Loki grins and waves his fingers at you across the desk.

Ink drips down your arms.

Loki takes a slow bite of your bagel.

“Mmm…”

“Oh, fuck you,” you scowl, grabbing an eraser off your desk and chucking it at his face. “You owe me five days worth of breakfast, asshole.”

“Mm, no, I don’t think I do,” he hums, taking another bite. Then he decides to let out a very unsuitable for work groan, throwing his head back as he swallows.

You quickly blink and look away.

“At least you’re enjoying it,” you grumble and flop down in your chair. Fishing some napkins out from a desk drawer, you try to sop up the ink staining your arms, Loki’s gaze burning into your skin as you scrub furiously at the stains.

“That’s a lovely colour on you.”

“Shut it.”

The ink stains, but you at least get the liquid wiped away, fuming at the splotches that ruined your shirt, too—Loki and your clothes don’t seem to get along; first the coffee, now this?

He’s licking his fingers when you toss the napkins in the trash and glare back up at him.

His middle finger leaves his mouth with a pop.

“You’re quite…enchanting when you’re angry.”

“Fuck off,” you groan, and he just laughs, licking slowly along his thumb.

“One might even say…” he pauses, thumb on his lip, gaze floating to the ceiling in thought. “Cute.”

You stand up and walk to the door, holding it open without another word to the god smirking at you from your desk. “Get out.”

“Or what?”

“Or I taser you into oblivion again,” you frown, pointing out the door. “I enjoyed it the first time. I think I might get off on it the second time.”

Loki almost laughs—you catch the twitch of his mouth before he fizzles back into Dr. Laing—probably a good idea, considering you’re holding the door wide open.

“Banter,” he sighs, leaning back in the chair and draping a dramatic arm over his eyes. “Look at us, all this tension. Why did we break up again?”

“Because you were using me? You…keep threatening me and treating me like shit for trying to help you, that’s why—”

“Is that what you’re telling yourself?” He chuckles, and your forehead hits the door with a groan.

“That’s the truth, Loki. Please, get out.”

His arm lifts, just enough for him to peek out from under his elbow at you. “I’ve been thinking.”

“Oh, goody.”

“You pose a terrible threat to me,” he continues, ignoring your implying waves out the door. “And in the best interest of myself, I should avoid you at all costs.”

“Which is why you’re in my office.” You gesture at his lazed form, spreading across your chair. “Right.”

“Precisely.” He gives you a curt nod. “But…well, you have a phrase that puts it quite nicely—keep your friends close and your enemies closer?”

He lifts a hand towards you, lips curling.

“I can’t let you out of my sight.”

Perfect. Just what you needed, more clinging from the deranged—well, whatever the hell he is, cause at this point, you’re just confused—godly criminal.

“Look,” you sigh, leaning against the door, “I haven’t told anyone anything. I’ve lied for you, I pretended to date you, I haven’t brought up anything about your scars—”

“Oh, but you just did.”

“I—no, hold on—”

“See what I mean, darling? You can’t be trusted. That little mouth of yours tends to run whether you like it or not, and either I silence you once and for all, or you learn to control this little pity problem you seem to have.”

“Don’t,” you growl, grip tightening on the doorknob. “Don’t call me that.”

“Mm. How would you feel about having your memories altered?”

Loki stands up, wiping long fingers off on his thighs.

The air seems to drop twenty degrees and you gulp, stepping backwards into the hallway—better to at least be out of the office when you’re brainwashed by a god. Maybe, just maybe, Iron Man will happen down this hallway before your brain is fried.

Something tells you not to hold onto that hope too tightly.

“Just a quick little tweak of the mind,” Loki continues, slowly making his way towards you, hands clasped behind him. “In the interest of solely protecting myself. It’s not personal, I hold nothing against you.”

“That sounds pretty personal.”

“Oh, darling, I wouldn’t waste my precious feelings on the likes of you. You were simply in the wrong place…at the wrong time. You weren’t supposed to see anything in the first place.”

“Is this really about those cuts on your back? I haven’t - oop, h-hey.” Your back hits the far wall of the hallway.

“How cliché,” Loki hums, a small grin on his lips. “The tall, dark villain has you up against the wall.”

“I haven’t told anyone,” you remind him, hands coming up between the two of you—just in case. “You’re just scared of the possibility, right? Can’t we, um, make a deal or something instead?”

“Deals with the devil never end well.”

“I thought you were a god.”

Whoops.

Loki goes stiff, leering down at you as that patronising little smile turns cold, frozen.

His fingers press against your forehead in a matter of milliseconds.

“I don’t know what I am,” he whispers sharply, a hand slipping up to cover your mouth when you start writhing, muffled shouts for help falling short behind his hand. “And don’t pretend like you do.”

“Mmf—no, ‘oki, stop—”

“You know I can see in your mind. Do I make you feel better about yourself? Is that it?”

Your heart plummets when his eyes go red, flashing deep crimson for a split second before the hand covering your mouth starts glowing, the same golden hue that surrounded his body that fateful day he showered at your place.

Head furiously shaking no, you try to think an apology to him - not that you know what to even apologise for.

Helping him? Seeing that at some point in his recent past, someone lashed him to pieces?

Your mind does feel funny, almost…fuzzy. It’s a warm kind of fuzzy and you want to give into it, but his hand over your mouth and blue-green eyes boring into yours—

“Stop apologising,” he hisses, eyes narrowing as he presses his fingers harder to your forehead.

You fight it a moment longer.

I’m sorry, your thoughts plead, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry no one’s listening, I’m sorry you don’t know—

“I don’t want your pity.”

Your eyes widen above his hand. He heard you, that actually worked.

I’m sorry you’re hurting, I’m sorry, I’m sorry I saw, I’m sorry I tried to help—

“Stop that.” Teeth bared, his hand tightens around your mouth. “You have to stop that.”

You can trust me, I swear on my life, I won’t tell anyone anything about you, you have to trust me—

Then just like that, he pulls his hands away.

You gasp for breath and stumble away from him as quickly as you can, not noticing how he clutches his hand to his chest, eyes glistening.

“Just trust me,” you cough. “Just trust me, you don’t have to kill me o-or wipe my memory—”

“No,” he snaps, raking a still-slightly gold hand through his hair. “No, no, I don’t—I can’t do that.”

“I promise, Loki, seriously, you don’t have to—”

Footsteps down the hallway make your words fall dead in your throat. Loki immediately switches to Laing, grabbing you by the arm and hoisting you to your feet, a finger to his lips and a silent threat in his eye.

It’s Tony, sprinting, flanked by a small group of armed guards, and they come to a stop right in front of the two of you.

“What’s going on??”

“Loki,” Tony pants, bending to rest his hands on his knees for a moment, trying to catch his breath. “Decoy, clone, it’s a double in the cell, he’s—he’s out—”

Your heart drops to the pit of your stomach.

“Are you sure?”

Laing’s fingers curl around your wrist and squeeze hard.

“Yes, for sure, he just flickered for a good two seconds, it was a dead give-away to Thor. Now c’mon, we’re moving you to a safer location—”

“What??”

Laing still won’t let go, jaw clenched so hard it looks painful.

“We know you’re one of his targets,” Tony says with an exasperated sigh, waving you after him. “Move, we’ve gotta move, the son-of-a-bitch is a god, we don’t know how much time we have!”

One of his targets.

The feeling of his palm over your mouth is still as present as it was not even two minutes ago.

His red eyes, those fingers rifling through your mind.

You wrench your hand from Laing’s grip and run after Tony Stark without a thought of looking back.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

feel free to send me ideas!!

if you enjoyed…what if i linked my venmo…haha no i jest…no obligations….just in case….u don’t have to ha ha…….unless… ??

~ masterlist link in my bio ~

loki tags: @bluediamond007 @himitoshi @drakesfiance @destiel1597 @dangertoozmanykids101 @archy3001 @jcalpha1 @yzssie @skullvieplu @forthesnakeofdragons @skulliebythesea @wegingerangelica @storiesfrommirkwood @agarwaeneth @adaliamalfoy @laurfangirl424 @paradisaicsam @fitzsimmons-is-forever @ladylokimischief @katelinwrites @tarynkauai @polaristrange @loavesofmeat @canadian-ravenpuff-multishipper @lou-makes-me-strong @holyn0vak @chocolatealmondmillk @swtnrholland @kenzieam @jessiejunebug  @catticas @the-republic-and-face-of-texas @doralupin01 @whitewitchdown @atomiccharmer @falconfeather23435 @babygirlicecream @avengrcs @vethrvolnir2 @bookgirlunicorn @wabisabigrl @myhealingstar @khaleesi-marvel @ei77777 @spacecrumbs @scarlettghost13 @rocks-are-pretty-odd @confessionsofastrugglingteen @easilydistractedwriter @arttasticgreatnessoftheawesome77 @fluffyllamaswearinghats @milktearose @lcyouinhell @h0tshotholland @dontmesswithmemundane @southsidesarcasticwriter @helnik-s @lilith-akemi @fire-in-her-veinz @unlikelysamwinchesteronahunt @mischievousbellerina @kcd15 @mellowgirl01 @lokislilcaribbeanprincess @allthingzhiddleston @scorpionchild81 @lokixme @blue-automne @galaxycharmed @devilbat @kangaroobunny @end-up-well @planetariumx @sarcsep @mrfandomtastic @amaru163 @im-way-too-many-fandoms @caswinchester2000 @kybaeza @wester-than-west @vintagesunshinebitch @adefectivedetective @poetic-nikolai @moonduhsted @kerri-masson @iamverity @innaminitus @spnbarnes @narcissxblack @woohoney @anxiousamandapanda @padmeisgay @authordreaming13 @lokisironthrone @theunknowinglys @highfuncti0ningfangirl @epicfallenismine @stubby-toe-589331 @fandomnerdsarecool @retrofantasyland @arch-venus25 @forever-trapped-in-my-dreams @littleredstarfish @marshyrebelcloud @okie–loki @atterodominatus @stfxlou @pandacookieowo @tonakings @shinisenko @tinchentitri @nildespirandum @thefallenbibliophilequote @vodka-and-some-sass @highfunctioningfangirl19 @sadwaywardkid​ @lokioneshot​

[shinygoku]

Liar Revealed! A Bug’s Life Essay

A Bug’s Life is my favourite Pixar movie and thus, it turns out I have a lot of thoughts about it. In this case, what was originally my interpretation soley in response to points I’ve seen raised on YouTube and TV Tropes has spun off into this mega essay.... all focused on a single scene.

But hey, it works with one of the film’s main messages; that something big grows out of a small idea!

The scene is the most notorious in the movie, at least from what I’ve seen, and I’m inclined to agree it’s the weakest part of this giant clock. But why is it like that and how could it have been handled better?

As I’ve said, this is actually my favourite (albeit not what I consider their very best) of Pixar’s output, and I wouldn’t have been able to go into such depth without a huge amount of love for the finished product, flawed as it may be.

It’s also possible I’ll write a more generalised thing on what I love about the film in the future, but I won’t promise anything o7;; 🐜

The Lie is ...laid

Actually, I should talk about two scenes. First is where the Lie is established:

After the humourous mutual misunderstanding between the Circus Bugs and Flik, the former are quite horrified to discover they’re expected to fight the Grasshoppers off themselves instead of putting on a show. Ahh, that old classic~

But no, they want out and Flik, who has just been informed by them during the welcoming shindig, is understandably rattled and despairing over this addition to his list of failures. He says the fallout will not only brand him, but his hypothetical grandchildren as a Terrible Loser and even says he’s as good as dead as soon as the other ants find out. Owch.

Before things get too heavy, the focus shifts around until The Bird becomes the main immediate threat. The whole Bird scene leads the ants to become convinced the Circus Bugs are really amazing warriors and, as this is the first time in what could be years that they have a crowd cheering for them it’s the success and Flik’s later idea to make a Giant Mech in the shape of a Bird instead of planning any actual combat that convinces them to play along.

So, that’s the lie set up and solidified. Now for the eventual fallout:

During a fun party after the Bird has been built, an ominous force arrives... PT Flea, the Jerkass ringmaster who had fired the Circus Bugs. This local bug promptly ruins everything by literally shining a light on the Circus Bugs and their nature as such, and then Flik is accidentally outed as the Guy Who Thought Up The Bird.

The Liar Revealed Trope

I would link the TV Tropes article here, but as tungle doesn’t like external sites I’ll just quote the more relevant parts from it:

“Liar Revealed in the Internal Reveal of The Lie, the facade maintained by a protagonist which provides the primary dramatic tension for the plot. This usually sets up the third act where the protagonists are forced to deal with the consequences of the lie on top of any external threats.

There are a few usual ways this ends up. If the lie was for selfish reasons, the protagonist will doubtless face the wrath of those he lied to, but along the way end up having a change of conscience, and try to redeem themselves through good acts and An Aesop about "what really matters". If the lie was well-intentioned, the protagonist may still find that others turn their backs on him, but go on to carry through with what they said they'd do anyway, proving themselves a hero after all.

It's worth noting that this trope is particularly easy and common to misuse, either in the tendency of the protagonist to Maintain the Lie for reasons that make no sense except for dramatic tension or of the deceived to turn against the protagonist for the deception in spite of other considerations that should by all rights absolve him.”

And in the folder there’s a specific entry for this film:

A Bug's Life has Flik supposedly finding "warrior bugs" to save his colony after misconstruing a situation. When he realizes his mistake (that they're circus performers rather than trained warriors), he's forced to keep the lie going in order to not cause panic among the other ants. Once the colony finds out, it inevitably results in one of the most painfully Played Straight examples of this trope in animation history... 

As you can see there, the dislike for this scene has seeped into the entry. Of course, TV Tropes is pretty informal and I like that, but it’s telling that this is a general perception.

Continue reading below the Cut! ✂

What I don’t like

So, I think my main issue with the scene boils down to... it’s very nebulous and unclear as to what’s so bad about Flik lying. Between the Council, the Queen and Atta, there seems to be a jumbled, confusing motive traffic jam that somehow results in what TV Tropes refers to the Liar Reveal Trope being played “Painfully Straight”.

But uhh, what’s the problem? Yes, Flik lied, but we know that wasn’t something he’d planned on doing, it was his attempt at damage control. The other ants don’t know that part, but still, what are they objecting to, specifically? That the Circus bugs are Circus bugs? That the Bird Plan was Flik’s? That.... lying is treated at an absolute moral failing regardless of the circumstances??

The council dudes are like: “OH WHAAAAT, the defence plan was by Clowns??” [No, it was Flik] “OH WHAAAT, we don’t have our mafia money prepared what if Hopper finds out we nearly sicced a fake bird on him!?”

The part about objecting to Clowns drafting the defence plans is actually the more reasonable explanation, but I guess they presumed warriors habitually made Decoy Bird plans instead of fighting themselves? There’s already a hole in their objections but it only gets worse.

The Queen is like: “Wow Flik evidently you’re a self serving prick. Anyway the best thing to do is pretend this never happened and no we’re not going to tell Hopper.”

Why the fuck would that happen? ‘Oh sorry Hopper we got sidetracked doing a ...thing... so we’re still picking your food no please don’t break my legs’

But also, why THE FUCK is this the plan? Some ruler you are, you old prune. ‘We have the bird all made and ready to go but oops the idea came from a DIRTY LIAR so we’re going to return to the doomed harvesting racket even though we’ve been set an outrageous amount and we can’t possibly hope to catch up and even if we had been picking the food the entire time it was established earlier on we won’t have time for our supplies on top of all that.’

Fucking.... astonishing lack of logic. YOU MORONS HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE, GO WITH THE BIRD! Flik himself says something to a similar effect lol

But noooooo, his arguably selfish lie [which is more Omitting the truth once he knew it, really] has forever doomed everything, apparently. Honestly it comes across more like they just hate Flik and see anything he invents as doomed to fail, so the second the truth emerges that he spearheaded the Mech Bird they dismiss it as a lost cause. Even though everyone worked together to build it, and Flik’s inventions weren’t the issue but him being awkward and clumsy. But seeing how Flik’s mere presence in his first scene seemed to drive the Council members into a quivering fury, it really does feel like their objections are from them refusing to give him a chance.

And then there’s Princess Atta. Hoo Boy.

In this scene, she comes off as being ridiculously vindictive, petty and hypocritical. This applies to the Council too, but it’s more galling coming from Atta as by now she’s realised that Flik gets a lot of flak [yay wordplay] from the others and she had resolved to give him more credit. BUT OOPS, that didn’t last!

She takes the Lying thing so personally, acting like he was cheating on her or something. “You lied to MeEeEee” well golly gee whiz, was there any particular reason why he would tell you the truth? Other than his rather obvious crush on you, that is? Cause that would still be a weird reason, seeing how the ‘lie’ was after he’d finally got a bit of decent treatment from the others, why would he wanna upset the apple cart?

He probably feared coming out and confessing to Atta [or anyone else] that they’d lose all faith in him and scrap a valid plan that was the only way out of the grasshopper racket mess. Which would be a bit silly and probably the result of someone with low self esteem and confidence issues overthinking the situation but it’s Exactly what actually happens!

It wasn’t a personal slight against you, Princess! To quote Helen Parr: THIS IS NOT! ABOUT! YOU!!

And wooow, you must be awfully chilly up there on your high horse, Miss “Lied to Flik to get rid of him earlier in the film”! Did you ever feel like fessing up? Like ‘hmm I’ve grown much fonder of this doofus, maybe I should be honest with him before engaging with some more light flirting’ ? Maybe if you had, he woulda been honest in return!

I don’t even see why she and the Council bothered lying about their Snipe Hunt ploy, seeing how now they act like he crossed a moral event horizon. Why even bother making a phoney baloney decoy idea to get him away, when they clearly dislike him enough to play the Brutally Honest card without fretting over his feelings. They coulda just ordered him to stay in a corner away from interfering but instead they’re willing to risk his life on a wild goose chase.

...And she then Banishes him! For what?? Lying? About what, the circus bugs or the bird plan? Both?? It really feels like her taking undue personal offence and the Council hating him and the Queen being old and senile.

So yeah, wow, this scene has what I think is the Unintended side effect of making me hate the stupid jerkface Ant colony as every named ant in it except for Dot fucking suck and throw Flik under a bus the second they deem him to be untrustworthy. In spite of, like, that the plan itself was solid and that the Circus Bugs have all been proven to be Good Eggs. They don’t give him a chance to explain and made their own bed to lie in, so I feel dark joy and satisfaction when the grasshoppers do arrive and kick them around some more.

Wow gee, if only you dumb ass ants had some sort of already made contraption to fall back on?

Why is it like this?

I can only make guesses here, be warned!

From what I’ve gathered of an older version of the story, mostly via Wikipedia, I kinda feel like the exposing would have fit that take better. In the beta version of the story, instead of Flik the lead would have been “Red”, who was a red ant and circus bug from the start. The first draft Circus lot woulda been out to scam the ants initially and I guess would have grown genuine fondness with time. The idea of an outsider flim flamming his way into the good books and later being exposed makes the overblown outrage a lot more understandable. But that’s my hypothesis for the direction they ultimately didn’t go in. Also look at how Red looks like a fuckboi here:

But in the final version, Red doesn’t exist! Flik is a part of the colony from the get go, but also apart from it cause no one likes him as, again, his ideas were good but poorly executed and he seemed to be a hindrance. But the ants should at least see that Flik is genuine in his attempts, that he’s trying his best and they should maybe cut him some slack.

The way the ants have their knickers in a twist doesn’t gel so well with the “Well meaning screwup” angle, especially compared to a possible “Opportunistic so-and-so who doesn’t have real attachments to the colony” route.

Also it may be worth noting up there where I put a TV Tropes excerpt, I bolded the relevant half of the run down, but it seems the other half applies much more to this first draft. Interesting...

So I don’t know, but I got the idea that the scene in the movie is basically a holdover from earlier that didn’t get sufficiently updated. The Liar Revealed Scene is the first thing I’d change if I were rewriting the script, and I might go back and change it again after other parts had been redone too, cause the story needs to flow from point A to point B etc. smoothly or else viewers will get annoyed and point it out in Youtube videos or overly long tumblr text posts.

How could it be fixed?

I’m not saying I’m sitting on the perfect idea of a rewrite. But the main thing is what I already touched on, the jarring disconnect between what happens and how the stupid ants respond.

Like, Atta’s sudden grabbing of the Jerkass and Idiot Balls in this scene. Wouldn’t it have been better if she was instead unsure and conflicted? She had lied to Flik earlier and, unlike the Council, was shown to actually realise Flik Has Feelings Too and apologised for the general lack of faith. She didn’t come clean about the Snipe Hunt Lie, so that could be weighing on her during this scene, maybe she would have been the only Council member to Not want to kick him out but felt pressured into it and hasn’t got into the groove of being the Future Queen enough to pull rank and talk them down from being hate filled twats. Maybe someone will mention the flirting that had been happening as muddying her judgement?

That’s my main idea, compare that with her barging in and taking undue personal offence and shooing him off. She’s supposed to feel like she’s doomed to fail too, so her facing a moral dilemma and falling on the wrong side of the fence could tie into that! (To be honest, her arc is kinda undercooked so hey, I’m killing two birds with one stone here!)

Flik being banished at all is a casualty of The Narrative, that he and the Circus Bugs have gotta go away temporarily for the finale to be cooler and more exciting. It’s a Necessary Weasel of writing and you’ll find them in every story ever made. Sometimes things have gotta happen cause Story Structure. The trick is having them more organic and concealed.

So yeah, have the Old Fogeys be in the wrong [which is so far unchanged] but also the majority of the ‘voting’. Make it difficult for Atta to choose between loyalty to the colony as a whole and her sense of duty versus trusting in Flik, who she now knows to always have his heart in the right place. She comes close to standing up for him and herself, but ultimately falters and gets pressured into the call made in the movie. She’s still ultimately responsible as leaders are, but in a much more sympathetic way.

Summation

This got way longer than I had initially imagined, and that’s even after I cut stuff in the editing process! Let’s quickly review the three main points I’m trying to make.

The Issue with the scene - A big song and dance is made over The Lie, but no reason why it’s such a terrible thing is offered. A perfectly sound plan is dismissed nonsensically.

Suspected reasoning for the writing - The tone matches a potential alternate story much better, where someone would have lied for self serving purposes instead of for the greater good.

A suggestion for a rewrite - Make it much more nuanced and fitting the character arcs. Give the characters a reason to react the way they do and have different responses per person. If the ants are going to drop the Bird plan, at least offer a more viable alternate route than going back to what wasn’t working before.

Does it really matter?

Well, I don’t expect a 22 year old film to suddenly get a rewrite, no. And I maintain that it’s a real gem which deserves much higher praise with the other Good Pixars instead of being so constantly overlooked.

Part of what spurred me to think about the scene and what I’d alter is seeing it referred to as ‘Kinda Bad’ in a youtube video that was talking about another Liar Reveal scene in another movie, and that is a bad take, but the point about how clunky this part is isn’t wrong. I don’t want people to dismiss the whole, beautiful image cause one section of it doesn’t vibe!

It doesn’t ruin the picture, but when people have something negative to say it’s this which is the magnet. And I’m kinda guilty of doing the same thing here, haha. But I wanted to really dissect and examine it, to figure out why it’s like that and to guess how simple it may be to rework. It’s bittersweet, but there ain’t such a thing as a perfect movie.

This has been fun for me to go into though, and it’s nice to get thoughts out from just swirling around inside my head, so even if barely anyone sees and makes it through this whole dissertation, I’m glad I wrote it out. It’s a funny way to derive enjoyment from the bumpy part of a beloved movie, but hey, I’ll take it~

[authenticcadence18]

“The Flower Box”Love Square Fluff Week 2020 Day 3: “Flowers”

AO3

-

“....so why flowers?”

Marinette startled, the fabric beneath her fingers crumpling and the sewing machine groaning irritably.

“Chaaaat,” she groaned. “You startled me!! Now I have to tear this stitch and start over.”

“Oops, my bad…” Chat replied sheepishly, putting a mess of yarn to the side and standing from Marinette’s chaise lounge to meet her by the sewing machine. “Will it take long to fix?”

“No, not too long,” Marinette replied, her momentary irritation gone. “And it was my fault, I’m just the queen of being jumpy. No worries!”

Chat breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness!” He grinned. “I wouldn’t want our impromptu sewing-and-crocheting party to get ruined due to one messed up stitch.”

Marinette chuckled, recalling how she and Chat had struck up a conversation about design when he’d walked her, Alya, and Nino home from school earlier in the week. When he admitted he knew next to nothing about sewing, knitting, or anything of the sort, she’d half-jokingly invited him to stop by her place if he ever wanted lessons.

An hour ago, he’d shown up on her balcony with a ball of yarn and a crochet hook, offering to make Marinette “the perfect scarf”...if she taught him how to first.

Marinette had smiled, invited him inside, and showed him a few simple stitches before turning back to her own project. Though she rarely “hung out” with Chat Noir--usually their paths didn’t cross outside of akuma attacks, whether she was in or out of the mask--she found sitting in comfortable silence and working with him to be more enjoyable than she’d expected.

“How’s your scarf coming along?” she asked, eyeing the tangled mass of pink and black yarn laid out across her chaise.

“Uh...not great…” Chat admitted. “I would’ve asked you for help earlier...but you were so focused on your sewing… Which reminds me, did you know you stick your tongue out when you’re focusing really hard?”

Marinette rolled her eyes with an exasperated grin. “Yes, I am aware. I don’t need you making fun of me for it.” (Tikki had pointed the phenomenon out to her on several occasions.)

Chat gasped, clutching his chest in mock indignation. “I would NEVER make fun of a princess!” he breathed. “I simply wished to point out an adorable habit of hers. Is that so wrong?”

“No, but you’re treading on thin ice!!” Marinette warned teasingly, trying to ignore the way her heart had skipped a beat to hear Chat refer to her as a princess.

“Anyway, what did you ask me?”

Chat’s ears perked up. “Right! That!” He gestured to the design on the back of Marinette’s chair. “I was wondering, why did you choose those flowers as your signature design?

“They’re really pretty!!” he quickly clarified. “And very you! But I was just wondering, what inspired you to choose flowers instead of, I dunno...black cats?” He gave her an mischievous grin.

Marinette’s expression brightened. “No one’s ever asked me about that!!” She smiled softly as she opened a desk drawer and pulled out a small pink box before standing, crossing her bedroom, and sitting on her chaise lounge. Chat quickly followed suit.

Marinette placed the box on the edge of the chair, out of Chat’s line of sight, and retrieved something from it before shutting the lid again.

“This inspired my signature design.”

With a gentle smile, Marinette revealed the contents of her palms to Chat: two cherry blossoms, their petals brittle with age and former rosy hue all but faded.

“My maman wore these flowers in her hair the day she and my papa got married.”

Chat’s heart swelled. “Woah…” he breathed, awestruck.

He could only imagine what his mother had looked like on her wedding day...even before her disappearance, he’d never seen any pictures of her and his father tying the knot.

“When I first started designing a few years ago,” Marinette continued, almost lost in thought, “it was more stressful than fun. I didn’t know what I was doing or even what I wanted, and I just felt so lost! I didn’t have an Alya to back me up back then, so I probably would have quit all together...if my maman hadn’t sat me down for a pep talk one day.”

Nostalgia washed over Marinette’s face as she lost herself in the memory. “Maman reminded me how much she and Papa loved me and supported me, and she gave me these cherry blossoms so I’d always remember it. And that inspired me to make my signature design a cluster of flowers, so I’d remember their love every time I created something!”

“Wow, that’s amazing…” Chat sighed. “Your parents are the best!”

“They’re pretty wonderful,” Marinette agreed, setting the box on her lap to place the flower back inside.

As she lifted the lid, Chat Noir caught a glimpse of something else within. His eyes widened.

In an instant, he’d snatched the box off Marinette’s lap and was peering inside.

“Hey, wait a minute!” Marinette stammered, clamoring to retrieve the box. “Give that back!!”

But Chat was already grinning a Cheshire grin.

“....is this what I think it is?” he asked, revealing a dried pink rose.

Marinette buried her face in her hands and groaned, confirming his suspicions.

“This is the rose I gave you!!!!” Chat exclaimed with a triumphant grin. “Aw, Marinette, I didn’t know you kept this!!! Especially considering how traumatic that day must have been for you.”

“Of course I kept it, you silly cat,” she grumbled. “You’re my friend!! The day you gave me that was the day we really BECAME friends, that’s all.”

“And you kept it in the same box as the flowers from your mother’s wedding…” Chat wiped a fake tear from his eye--possibly in an attempt to hide how sincerely touched he was--and continued, “I’m flattered, Marinette, truly.”

“Thanks,” she deadpanned, eager to reclaim her box and put this conversation behind them. “Now can I have that back please?”

But Chat had noticed a final curiosity in the box.

“....is this a RED rose?” he asked.

Immediately Marinette’s pulse spiked.

Was it hotter in her room all of a sudden?

“...so what if it is?” she replied, attempting (and failing) to add an edge to her voice to conceal her apprehension.

“Who gave you this?” he voiced quietly. He gazed at the flower for a few seconds, unsure why his heartbeat felt so unsteady all of a sudden, before an idea occurred to him and any momentary hesitation or familiarity was forgotten.

“The boy you told me about!!! He gave you a rose!!!!! Aw, Marinette, you finally won his heart!!”

“What?? NO, that rose is NOT from him. Now give it back!!!”

“Oh...well then, you have a secret admirer, perhaps?”

“I wouldn’t exactly call him a SECRET admirer…”

Their eyes met at that, teasing green irises meeting flustered blue ones.

“Well then, who is he? This cat needs to know who holds your heart, in case he ever breaks it!”

“It’s nothing, it doesn’t mean anything, I don’t like...I mean...I just liked the flower…” Marinette insisted, almost more to herself than to Chat at this point.

But Chat was persistent.

“Are you lying, Marinette? Because it seems to me that any guy who could make you blush like that with just a rose must mean SOMETHING to you…”

Marinette couldn’t bear to look at Chat after that.

Because looking at him would mean acknowledging the cause of the blush on her face and the pounding in her chest and the buzzing in her head.

Looking at him would mean remembering the night he’d decorated a rooftop with candles and shared it with her--both sides of her--before giving her the rose and a kiss on the cheek.

Looking at him would mean tempting her heart when it had already been through enough over the past few months.

So instead of looking, Marinette tumbled off the chair, grabbed a pillow, and threw it at him.

“PILLOW FIGHT!!!!!” she shouted, clamoring up the steps to her bed to grab another cushion (and desperately urging her cheeks to cool down).

“Oh, it’s ON!!!!” Chat exclaimed with a grin, grabbing his own pillow from the ground and hurling it at Marinette.

...

The pillow fight went on for a few minutes more, until they accidentally knocked down Marinette’s coat rack and agreed to call a truce for the night. After reclaiming his yarn, Chat climbed up to the balcony, Marinette following close behind.

“Thanks for the lesson, Marinette! Sorry it didn’t go quite as we expected.”

“No worries, Chat Noir! There’s always next time, right?”

“Next time….”

For a moment, Chat found himself back on the steps of Françoise Dupont in the rain without an umbrella, the warm, fuzzy feeling of knowing Marinette filling his soul.

Hopefully Marinette knew just how much he cherished and appreciated her.

Chat smiled before taking her hand in his own and pressing a chaste kiss to her knuckles.

“Until we meet again, my princess. Perhaps I’ll bring you a new flower next time.”

Marinette more or less melted into a puddle on the roof as soon as he sprang out of sight.

“...not one word, Tikki.”

And if Adrien spent the better part of the night frantically researching flowers and their meanings on the internet, trying to find one that articulately communicated the perfect, wonderful way Marinette made him feel?

He’d bribe Plagg with cheese to prevent him from speaking of it ever again.

...

Thanks so much for reading!! And thank you @lovesquarefluffweek for working so hard to make this event so fun!!! :)

[banashee]

 Second Time is the charm

 "Oh God, who's dead or dying?"

 Tony turns around, spatula in his hand and a confused look on his face.

 "Huh? No one is dead or in the process of getting there. I'm just cooking."

 "Yes you are. Which is why I'm asking."

 "Rude, Pepper." he gestures with the hand holding the spatula, accidentally flicking sauce in her general direction. "Oops, sorry 'bout that."

 Pepper looks at him, unimpressed. She does that a lot. Then, she dips a finger into the drop of sauce on the counter top, and in an spontaneous boost of bravery, tastes it. To her credit, she manages to keep a mostly straight face, even when her insides shrivel up at the sensation - there is a whole lot of salt and little else. Probably a bit of an burned aftertaste, too.

 Tony, however, is well practiced is reading her micro expressions - they've been friends for too long.

 "That bad?" he asks, and Pepper just looks at him, very very flatly and then nods.

 "Who are you planning to feed this to, and what horrible thing did they do to deserve this?" she asks, getting a glass from the cabinet and filling it with water from the fridge dispenser.

 Tony sighs, waving the spatula around as he talks, splattering sauce around the kitchen once again - Pepper tries to side steps the mess.

 “This was supposed to be a test run. You know the wedding anniversary is coming up and I was gonna surprise Clint with a nice dinner at home. He cooks all the time and I wanted to return the favor, but, well.” he waves at the half burned and over salted mess on the stove. Then, Tony dips a spoon into the pan to taste it - his face scrunches up in disgust and he drops the spoon into the sink and nearly dumps the pan after it, making a gagging noise and glares in the general direction of the ruined dinner.

 “Maybe not. Unless giving your partner food poisoning is considered romantic these days. Even then… Okay so this was a shit idea.” he grumbles, clearly annoyed and more than a little disappointed.

 Pepper has been typing on her phone ever since she learned the reason for the cooking attempt, making thoughtful noises. Now, she quickly walks over to stop Tony from making any harsh decisions right now. Gently, she grabs him by the shoulders, stirring him away from the stove. He lets her, and her next words are firm but reassuring.

 “Stop. Don’t move. Help is on the way.”

 As if on cue, footsteps come closer to the kitchen. A familiar voice says,

 “Please tell me nothing caught on fire.”

 And another sighs, “Oh dear.”

 In the doorway stand Bruce and Steve, clearly expecting the worst and prepared for everything. Tony would be offended but as it is, they’re his best hope right now. Pepper may be a good moral support, but she hates cooking, so he is actually happy to see those two.

 “Not yet but I’m working on it.” he quips back, grinning brightly for a few seconds with one of his million dollar showman fake smiles. Then his face falls.

 “Please help, I’m about to throw this whole thing out the window.”

 Pepper leaves them to it, with a small smile and a kiss to his cheek she turns to the door.

 “You got this. Just don’t attempt doing this alone on the day and you’ll be fine.”

 Meanwhile, Bruce inspects the concoction on the stove with a mildly curious expression that he’s often wearing in the lab, mainly when something unexpected and slightly concerning happens and he wants to see how it’ll work out. Steve, in good foresight, pulls out more ingredients from the refrigerator.  

 Both of them taste the sauce, despite Tony’s warning protests. They taste it very, very carefully and it’s a testament to their friendship that they do so - neither of them spits it back out but the cringe is enough.

 “Okay, let’s start neutralizing the salt for one.” Bruce decides, and who would have known that heavy cream and honey help with that - so does the stretching of the liquid. In the end, the three of them manage to salvage the meal, and even more so, are able to enjoy it despite the burned bits they need to pick from their plates.

 A little while later, when they clear the table and get to washing up, Steve says,

 “Let us help on the big day, alright? Just to be safe.”

 “Please do.” says Bruce, and Tony huffs a laugh as he stands in between them.

 “I hate you both.” he claims, but the fact that he’s got one arm wrapped around each of them and the happy smile on his face betray him. Pulling his friends close, he adds, “Really tho, thank you. I would totally screw this up otherwise.”

 “We know, that’s why we’re here.”

 “Oh, fuck you!” he scoffs, but they’re all laughing.

 *+~

 On the morning of the second wedding anniversary, Tony wakes up to a text message from Clint.

     ‘On the way back rn, debrief on base after. Might even make it home on time! :) I Love you’  

 It brings a happy smile to his face, even early in the morning before he’s had coffee. This mission had come up last minute as always, and the possibility of them having to spend this day apart had been quite high. As it looks now, they might at least have a nice and quiet evening together, and it’s more than they could have hoped for.

 Tony types a reply,

     ‘Good morning beloved, that’s great news - you better get your ass over here asap, I miss you ;)’  

 Then he opens up another chat, his ongoing conversation with Natasha which for about 60%, consists of memes and links to obscure YouTube videos.

     ‘Hey-o, can you please let me know when you guys are wrapping up at HQ? Possibly distract Clint if you finish early? Gotta prepare a surprise. Should be done around 7-ish.’  

 Her reply comes almost instantly.

     ‘Sure thing. Happy anniversary :)’  

     ‘Thanks, Itsy-bitsy. You’re the best :)’  

     ‘I know.’  

 The day passes surprisingly fast, then. One moment, Tony is relaxing on the couch, drinking coffee while Lucky sprawls happily over his legs as he scratches the good spot behind his ears and then, his phone alarm goes off that tells him he’s got a cooking date with Steve and Bruce. And because these guys are amazing friends, they show up on the door to the penthouse just in time for the three of them to start preparing a nice three course dinner.

 It’s fun, and with the “adult supervision” Tony finds himself perfectly capable of doing this.

 Once upon a time, this would have been impossible.

 “Tony, you’re one of the smartest people alive and you have many talents - but cooking isn’t one of them.” he’s been told on more than one occasion, and it’s been true for most of his life. But things are different now - he wants to learn. He wants this small part of everyday life.

 Those last few years, he finds himself happier than he can remember being, possibly ever, and it feels simply amazing to have this - this life, this love. This      family    .

 Just as he’s put the main course into a low oven to keep warm, the door opens just in time for him to enter the hallway, and then Tony gets pulled into a embrace and lifted off his feet for a moment.  He holds on tight, then he pulls Clint down for a proper kiss to welcome him home.

 “Hey there.”

 “Hey yourself.”

 The two of them take their time in greeting each other, and despite being apart for only about a week, it feels like they haven’t seen each other in forever. And it’s their anniversary, for fuck’s sake. They’re allowed to be as sappy as they damn well please - at least until Lucky interrupts them because he’s tired of waiting and jumps up on Clint until he’s slobbered all over his face and happily demands cuddles right then and there.

 Dropping his duffle bag to the floor, Clint asks Tony what he would like to eat and it causes him to smile knowingly.

 “Can I cook for you?” he asks, and Clint looks at him, blinking.

 “Right now? I mean… Don’t take this the wrong way Babe but is that… Safe? We can just order something in if you want.”

 “Trick question, I already did. Well, I had help. So it won’t send us into the hospital if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

 “Wait, you-” Clint steps closer to him, gently placing his hands on Tony’s upper arms as he smiles at him. There is something soft in his eyes, and Tony falls in love all over again.

 “You made an effort to cook something for today even though you almost never do?”

 “Yeah, I- I wanted to do something nice for today, and I didn’t know when you’d be home so I didn’t book anything. Besides, you cook and bake all the time for us, for      me    , and well. I appreciate that a lot and I just wanted to do this for you. I had help, but yes. Come on!” He pulls him into the dining room, which he’d actually decorated. Nothing big, just a few candles and a bouquet of flowers but it does look nice.

 On the table, there is a large bottle of Asgardian mead, a gift for them that Thor left before he went to spend the weekend with Jane in New Mexico.  It’s strong, and more than even the two of them can finish in one evening. But it’s good, and they know it.

 The dinner is relaxed as always, and they enjoy each others company and the conversations - anything and everything they can talk about, and while Clint fills him in on the latest SHIELD gossip and rumors, some of which leave Tony laughing hard enough that he almost chokes on his mead, he tells him what has been going on back home, including the first dinner mishap and how their friends had saved his ass.

 In the meantime, Lucky has made himself comfortable under the table, chewing on one of his giant treats.

 They’re just starting on the main course - steaks with garlic potato casserole and roasted asparagus, when Clint says,

 “This is really good, Tony. Thank you. For the effort and for doing this.” He smiles, and reaches over with one hand, which he happily takes and squeezes back.

 “I’m glad you like it. And it makes me think that I should do this more often, since, well, you do it all the time. Seems fair to do my part, you know.”

 “You do other things all the time. It’s just… Both of us do different things, and that’s okay with me. I like to cook, you build and fix stuff.” He shrugs. “Love languages and all that.”

 A while ago, they’d talked about that for a bit, and it’s true. They show their love and affection in different ways sometimes, and that’s okay - they know and recognize these things by now, and it only helps them understand each other better.

 “Well, cooking is kinda fun.” Tony says then, and a big smile spreads all over Clint’s face.

 “We could do that together if you like. I could teach you and we could try new recipes!” He’s clearly excited about that, in this familiar and almost childlike way of his, and it’s all Tony can do to agree. God, he loves this man so much.

 By the time dessert is on the table, they share that and a pot of coffee and have moved their seats even closer together, ankles hooked around each other.

 “Oh hey, I’ve got a surprise for you, too.” Clint says then, as if he just remembered but he pulls and envelope from somewhere on his person which makes it clear he’s been waiting. The envelope is thick and slightly off-white - clearly good quality paper. Curiously, Tony opens it up.

 There is a card, and it looks handmade. Sturdy, structured paper, and two birds on the front - parrots on a tropical island.

 On the inside, there are just a few words written, in Clint’s familiar large scrawl, but it makes him smile widely.

     ‘Voucher for two weeks vacation on Bora Bora. All responsibilities back home are covered’     it says, followed by a time frame,       ‘Happy anniversary. I love you’    and a lopsidedly drawn heart.

 “Aw, that’s great! Thank you. How did you manage that all is covered?” Tony asks, beaming at Clint - it’s been too long since they actually had any time off without being interrupted via The End Of The World. And they’re in desperate need of a break and some alone time.

 Clint just grins. “Magic and good friends.” he says ominously, and leans close to Tony, pulling him into a soft kiss as he runs one hand through his dark hair.

 Once they break apart, Tony takes both of Clint’s hands in this, and despite being happy and content he looks a little bit nervous - there is no need to, he knows, but still. Clint seems to catch on to it, looking at him with his head crooked slightly to the side.

 “So, uh, dinner wasn’t the only surprise I had for tonight.” Tony says, and takes a deep breath.

 “This is kinda ridiculous, given for how long we’ve been together already and especially how that happened, but. I was wondering, would you like to marry me agan? Sober and properly this time?”

 The answer comes almost instantly, in the form of another long kiss and an enthusiastic “Yes, of course!”

 It takes them a while to let go of each other again. But they happily continue drinking coffee and eating chocolate mousse, simply enjoying the time together.

 “Same day?” Clint asks, pragmatic as always - neither of them is great at remembering important dates - two different wedding anniversaries would be too much for people like them who were to forget their own birthdays if it wasn’t for JARVIS and teammates who know them too well.

 “Yes, please. Everything else would just call for a disaster.”

 “It would. And hey, we can avoid Fake Elvis this time!”

 Tony laughs out loud. “I’m sure he will be heartbroken.”

 “Oh well.” Clint shrugs, grinning. “He’ll live.”

 *+~

     Prompt No. 54: “Can I cook for you?”  

[rayshippouuchiha]

I came out of Endgame with tears in my eyes and my heart filled up to the brim with absolute seething rage.

Even as I write this now my hands shake with some sick mixture of sadness, rage, and bitter disappointment.

So I preface this by saying that I am emotionally compromised and some of my views might shift with time and distance.

But, for better or for worse, this is my first rage flushed take:

I am so disappointed and so angry that after all of the tension, all of the build, all of the time and sweat and tears, all of the loyalty, we were rewarded with this.

Endgame had its high points, I’m not saying that it didn’t.  There were some genuinely funny moments and some heart rending ones as well.

Every single second Tony Stark was on screen was flawless as always.  Robert Downey Jr. once again proved why he and he alone was suited for the role of Tony Stark and the task of carrying the majority of the MCU for the past 10+ years.

That’s not to say that the rest of the cast wasn’t good.  All of the actors all obviously brought their A game and then some when they were allowed to by what I loosely call a script.

So yeah, there were some highs.

But when its comes to Endgame’s low points?

Its low points were subterranean.

They lowered the bar and then they dug underneath it.

Again I’m writing this basically fresh from the theater and with my emotions still high so do forgive me if this is a bit jumbled around or if I ramble a bit as I cover some of the real issues I had with the film.

So, first thing to address was the overall tone of the film.

For this to be the much glorified Endgame, the “battle of our lives”, there was, in my opinion, a distinct lack of true tension in this film.  Instead of a fraught, nail biting, tension filled ride, Endgame is more of a ... brisk jog through some vaguely sticky situations.

Instead of playing the story straight and giving the situation the gravity it deserved, the narrative went out of its way to put humor that served no other purpose than to ruin what tension had been previously built.  And, in my opinion, the tone of the film suffered for it.

The humor and jokes were humorous, I’m not saying they wasn’t.  I genuinely laughed out loud in the moment.  But I also feel that, with the majority of the comedy that was wedged into the narrative, the film suffered for it.

Now let’s move on a bit to the actual plot of the film.  Again, forgive me if I bounce a bit:

Jeremy Renner was breathtakingly heartbreaking as Clint Barton.  Renner was finally allowed to stretch his legs a bit in this film and he proved that, had he been given the chance, he would have given us a Clint Barton to take our breath away.

Watching with Clint as his family died helped to set what should have been the tone for the majority of the film from there on while reminding us of just what was lost and just what was at stake all at the same time.

Chris Evans brought heart to his portrayal of a Steve Rogers who seems both lighter and more weighted down in this film than ever before.

Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha finally showed more emotion than “head tilt”, “lip purse”, and “arched brow” and it was beautiful.

The brief flash of friendship and affection between Nebula and Tony was perfect and heartwarming as well.  Nebula was magnificent as the “feral space cat desperately in need of softness and a friendly hand” when placed side by side with a slowly withering Tony Stark who is, even at his lowest moments, still kind to this alien cyborg he doesn’t know but to who he owes his life.  They flowed together with an onscreen chemistry in their few moments side by side that felt organic and aching.

Together Tony and Nebula embodied a truly important life/plot point of “meet kindness with kindness and kindness will be your reward”.

Moving forward in time hearing Tony vent his anger and his pain and his distrust at Steve was cathartic in a lot of ways.

As was watching Tony rip the arc reactor from his chest and slap it into Steve’s hand.

In this moment Tony is handing Steve his metaphorical broken heart and leaving someone else to, for once, try and pick up the pieces.

But then, unfortunately, things go rather steeply down hill from there.

With Tony out for the count in a hospital bed the others hunt down and execute Thanos with basically a hand wave and all hope for the stones is lost.

Until deus ex rat-ina unleashes Scott Lang from the quantum realm and the logic of the film takes a sharp left turn.

Scott Lang was missing for 5 years.

To him it was 5 hours.

To which I say, why did Janet van Dyne, age during her stay in the quantum realm?  If, according to the MCU canon, every year in our world was roughly only an hour for Scott Lang, then why didn’t Janet come out of the quantum realm only 30 hours older instead of 30 years?

I feel like the answer is probably “because” but yeah maybe I’m just fuzzy on my Ant Man so if I’m wrong then just ignore that bit please.

Also, just a side note, I adore how it’s been 5 years, Wakanda is very much an ally and still up and running, and yet Rhodey still don’t have working legs.  But alas, racism.

Moving on. 

So with the main villain dead and Tony Stark having solved time travel in his living room, because I stan legends only, we’re now subjected, and that is the very word I’d use to describe what happens next, to what is called a Time Heist.

Cute.

Also Bruce Banner and Hulk have now merged Steven Universe style despite Hulk being scared green-less 5 years ago.  But that’s all good, Bruce smoked a ton of weed, they meditated, went on a cleanse or whatever.

Either way Bruce finally did that character development that everyone had been shouting at him since Avengers 2012 and accepted Hulk as part of him and they’re now Dr. Hulk which was … something that happened?

A thing that they chose to do.  The direction in which they set their narrative wheels and then powered full steam ahead and plowed us right over in the process.

But yeah, Time Heist!  That’s the way to go, the only way apparently.

Because going back in time to stop the Snappening isn’t an option due to reasons that are explained and still look and feel paper thin but probably just honestly boils down to “Russos”

Our intrepid heroes will now split up and surf through time Bill and Ted style to collect the Stones from different points in history.

Yay.

So the rest of the film is basically that, a big old jewel hunt through space and history where the Russos attempt to fool us into thinking their plot points are cohesive and cool by donkey punching us repeatedly in our nostalgia-sacks.

We’re treated to, in no particular order, such hits as:

“Ah 2012 and the invasion of New York only not as interesting but Tony Stark is very much an ass man, but then we been done known that.”

“The Ancient One and her still very distracting skull vein coming at you right now”

“LOKI YOU LITTLE SHIT”

“The one time I envied Scott Lang because, for a split second, he got to be inside Tony Stark”

“Let’s watch Tony Stark simultaneous take a Hulk to the face and have a small cardiac event all at the same time but from different angles”

And let us not forget

“Tee Hee Hee us white bois just had to find a way to make sure Captain America say “Hail HYDRA” but it was for “spy reasons” so weren’t we clever???????”

Yeah boys, great job.

So edgy.

(Although as a side note I do agree, Steve Roger’s ass really is America’s ass and I’d like to thank him for that. Personally.)

But then, of course, Endgame would not have been complete without:

“Steve Rogers stares longingly and creepily at Peggy Carter from behind a window, further backing up his one defining character trait in the MCU which is the inability to move on.  Also she doesn’t look up at all despite being a trained spy and all around badass who probably should have noticed the 6 foot slab of American Beef staring at her from less than a foot away, dark room or no dark room.”

And then my personal favorite:

“Tony Stark sees Howard Stark, the father he described as “calculating, cold, he never told me he was proud of me, never even told me he loved me” but it’s all good cause Tony’s a dad now so looking back all he sees are the good times with his emotionally neglectful and abusive father who says there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for his unborn kid and now they awkwardly hug while I try not to scream “FOOTAGE NOT FUCKING FOUND HOWARD AND NO THAT ONE 3 MINUTE VIDEO DOESN’T COUNT YOU SHIT” at the screen and explode in pure rage.”

Joy.

Truly a scene that was necessary and fit the narrative of Howard Stark’s personality and was needed for Tony to uh get closure or grow as a man and a father or something …

It totally wasn’t yet another excuse to give a canonically abusive father screen time in a way that seems genial and sweet in an attempt to give them a bit of redemption that they neither earned nor deserve.

But yeah, whatever, moving on.

Also Rhodey remains an absolute gem and he and Nebula get shit done.

Only oops, not so fast.

Because apparently the only one who is going to run into the whole “two of you can’t exist in one place at one time without consequences” rule is Nebula who, despite her bitchin orange stripe/badge of character development, managed to like synch up with her past self?

Because she didn’t turn her bluetooth/quantum entanglement function off I guess.

Either way Orange Stripe Nebula, O’Snebula as I call her, has accidentally air dropped all her files into OG Nebula’s mental iPhone.

So yeah now big old Past Grimace knows what’s up.

Ooops??

So shit goes down and then Past Grimace is like “you need to Trogan horse this shit, least favorite daughter” so OG Nebula does because “daddy issues”.

Dr. Hulk puts on the gauntlet and Kentucky fires his arm bringing all the people lost in the Snappening back to life now, 5 years after they got dusted.

Which is … honestly a recipe for disaster in so many ways.  What about the people, like the guy in Steve’s support group, who have started to move on?

What about the people who have remarried, have built new lives?

All of that’s ruined now.

It’s fantastic all those people are alive again but jobs, housing, food, healthcare, government, all of it is back in massive disarray across the universe.

And bringing those people back does nothing to bring back the people who didn’t die in the Snappening but died from causality instead.  All the deaths caused by suicides, by car/bus/train/plane/ship/etc crashes, by a lack of first responders, by the civil/world/interplanetary wars that probably raged across the universe due to entire governments disappearing?

All of those people are still dead.

The Snappening killed half of all life in the universe.  Causality probably killed another good ¼ after that.

And Dr. Hulk’s Un-Snappening saves none of them.

This isn’t a true solution, it’s a shitty band-aid.

But yeah, Russos so….

Moving on.

Yadda Yadda Yadda, plot plot plot. OG Nebula goes undercover, Past Grimace ends up in the future, there’s some fighting (which was admittedly BAD ASS), shit happens, and Tony saves the day like we all knew he would.

YAY!

Despite the massive rambling up above I’m not gonna plot out the entire movie right here though a lot will probably get covered coming up because here’s where I get down and start talking about the various character arcs too.

Because what a wild fucking ride those were.

Okay to take it from the top Scott Lang’s arc was fine.  Beyond my questions about the quantum realm his was clear cut and fine although I do wonder at his luck at being, apparently, the only Scott Lang in San Fran to go missing.  Well either that or he was staring at some other Scott Lang’s name instead of his own and in that case “awkward”.

Bruce’s arc was … look I could have done without all of the cringy Dr. Hulk stuff that they played up for laughs.  If they were gonna brush Hulk being terrified under the rug they could have found a better way to do it besides just erasing the duality between Hulk and Banner with a hand wave.

But yeah, Russos.

Carol Danvers was beautiful and magnificent and completely brushed aside.  Yes she was out in the universe handling shit, yes I know they did that so they could focus on the core Avengers, etc etc etc.

But it’s a damn shame that Carol Danvers, and her glorious haircut, was reduced to being the sorely needed and totally badass cavalry and last minute ace in the hole when she should have, logically, been a part of the vanguard.  Honestly I have thoughts on why Carol’s entire character should have been saved completely for the next phase of the MCU instead of introduced so late in this one but I digress.

O’Snebula was a perfect shining bionic light and I love her.

Gamora is now alive in the future but at what cost?  Not that her life isn’t worth something on its own, it totally is and she deserved the loophole resurrection 10000%.

Shit’s gonna be awkward though cause she doesn’t love Quill, she doesn’t love the Guardians, doesn’t really know O’Snebula or the universe she’s been thrown into.  She doesn’t have the memories or the experiences or the character growth and even if she does go back to her family she’ll never be the same person.

Now her and Quill’s relationship, if they ever have one again, will be reduced down to Quill going “you fell in love with me once you could do it again despite us no longer having the shared experiences that bonded us together”.  Same can be said for the rest of the Guardians as well.

Guess we all know what the plot of GotG 3 is gonna be about.

And that brings us to the story lines that really and truly upset me.

Which is basically all the rest of them.

Natasha/Clint’s combined story-line, Thor’s everything, Steve’s … Steve, and then finally Tony.

Now the Natasha/Clint story-line started out promising.

Clint’s rage and pain was obvious, his heartbreak poignant.  His decision to use all of those to cut a bloody swathe through the criminal underworld was both Dramatic(™) and understandable.

Natasha’s love and grief for him, her desperate attempts to hold onto what she has left by throwing herself into her new job, was a perfect demonstration that Natasha Romanoff is very much not a robot.  She was exhausted, frayed at the edges, and she had tears in her eyes, over Clint.  And then she pulled herself together, slipped her mask back on, and pushed her way forward.  This was all excellent.

It was also a nice narrative callback/parallel to have Natasha be the one to go out and bring Clint in from the cold.

Natasha plays touch stone, plays stability, for Clint and for many of the others.  For the first time Natasha is truly portrayed as a person all the way down to the core instead of some witty quips in a catsuit.  Plus her eyebrows finally came back from the war and her hair looked good again.  So there was that.

Clint and Natasha’s arc comes to a climax on Vormir as they search for the Soul Stone and Red Skull, the Nazi cockroach that he is, gives them the same spiel he gave Thanos.

To get the Soul Stone you must give up the life of the one you love the most. A soul for a soul.

Narrative wise this is consistent, we all knew this would happen as soon as they started searching for the Stones again.  It was obvious.

It was also obvious that Clint was the perfect sacrifice.

He’s got nothing left, his family is dead, he’s already lost the people he loves the most, he’s spent five years being a borderline monster.

And he is also, without a doubt, the thing that Natasha loves the most.

Clint was ready and willing to go, ready to die for the blood on his hands, ready to sacrifice himself for the chance that his family would be saved.

Ready to lay down on the wire and let Natasha walk over him for the sake of everything.

Clint dying made sense, was narratively sound, and heartbreaking.

All of which are only a few of the reasons why Natasha’s death was such a goddamn betrayal.

Instead of following along with the narratively sound death of Clint Barton, an Avenger that’s been ignored for most of the films as is, the Russo brothers instead chose to fridge Natasha.

Clint dying would have been the perfect mirror to Gamora’s death.

Gamora was a daughter unwillingly sacrificed by her father to destroy half of all life in the universe.

Clint would have been a father willingly sacrificed by a friend to save half of all life in the universe, his own sons and daughter included.

But no, we didn’t get that, instead we got a gratuitous scene of Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, splayed angel like and bloody on the rocks below.

Instead they fridged the Black Widow, the only woman of the original Big Six, because they couldn’t bring themselves to fridge a man.

So Clint gets the Soul Stone.

Such a fitting end for the Black Widow right?  Dying in a man’s place, mourned on screen by a circle of men, but ultimately set aside rather quickly.

I understand why Natasha wanted to be the one to go, I understand that she didn’t want Clint’s family to lose their husband/father and that her true family was the Avengers. I get that.  It doesn’t mean I enjoy or agree with the decision they made any more.

It doesn’t make me any less tired of watching female characters die for the sake of men and their families.

Natasha Romanoff sacrificed herself for the universe and her family and that deserves respect even if I absolutely hate it as a narrative choice.

Oh and what about the absolute NERVE of the Russos to have that awesome Lady Power Battle Strut happen but only after they killed Natasha, one of the Big Six?

Bitter? Me? Nooo.

Now, moving on to Thor.

Thor.

Oh my actual God, Thor.

The levels of disrespect Thor, Chris Hemsworth, and the fans were shown with this character arc/story-line in Endgame is breathtaking.

The absolute, shameless disrespect.

They turned Thor into a cowardly, drunken slob who has spent the last 5 years ignoring his responsibilities to what’s left of his people and instead has spent his time drinking, sulking, and literally yelling at kids over PSN??

Endgame’s Thor has the bullshit reasoning that he needs to stop trying to be who he thinks he should be and instead be who he is.

Which flies completely in the face of literally all of his character development from Thor all the way to Thor 3 and then Infinity War.

The entirety of Thor 3 was Thor’s hero’s journey culminating in him finally being the king he was always meant to be.  Finally maturing and stepping forward to lead his people.

I am supposed to believe that Thor, depressed and guilty or not for not killing Thanos when he had the chance the first time, just abandoned his people like that?

I’m supposed to believe that Thor would piss all over everything the majority of his family and friends died for?

I’m supposed to believe that Heimdall, Loki, countless soldiers, and The Warrior’s Three and Lady Sif (I guess), all died to protect Asgard, died for the people and for Thor, and Thor just what? Turns his back on all of that to become a drunk?

No, Thor wouldn’t do that.  Thor should have been down there beside Valkyrie working those fishing vessels when Bruce and Rocket came calling.  If Thor had any hesitance to join them it should have been, “I can’t abandon my people, I am needed here.”  He should have been fiercely guarding the tiny fraction of Asgard that’s left.

Thor’s depression and guilt was valid. Don’t mistake me on that. But they played it for jokes.  They made him a caricature of depression, made him “gross” and incompetent and the butt of the jokes, and in the process diminished what should have been a painful and poignant arc for Thor.

Instead we got Big Lebowski Thor, bathrobe included, who does stand up and fight yes but, in the end, gives up his crown and just fucks off to space to have petty pissing competitions with Peter Quill so he can?? find himself?? despite finding himself in Ragnarok already???

Thor’s entire arc in Endgame was shallow, mishandled, and disrespectful to the character, to Chris Hemsworth, and to the fans.

You, we, he, all deserved better than this.

Now we get to Steve.

Steve Rogers, Captain America himself.

I’ve had a lot of salt about Steve’s character and actions in the MCU but, all of that aside, he deserved so much more than what the Russo’s did to him in Endgame.

Hell he’s deserved so much more than what’s been done to him since post-CA:TFA.

But this is about Endgame specifically soooo….

Steve’s shown leading a support group in the beginning of Endgame, is shown talking about moving on and moving forward and learning to let go. Which is wonderful.  It sounds like the exact character development we’ve all been waiting for for Steve.

Which is, of course, the exact moment when Steve goes “nah just kidding, we don’t ever move on”.

Which, given the circumstances, is pretty fair.  If Steve was only thinking/talking about Thanos and the events of Infinity War.

But of course he wasn’t.

CA:CW should have been the end of the Peggy Carter saga for Steve.  He mourned her, he was finally moving forward, he’d kissed Sharon, he threw everything away to save Bucky, he gave up his shield, etc etc.

But no.  Endgame finds him right back there, clutching that goddamn compass, and making moon eyes at a woman who we all thought went on and lived a life without him, got married, had kids, and generally existed outside of Steve Rogers.

But no.  The Russo’s had to take that away from us too.

And yes yes I know I know multiverse or whatever but still.

Steve steamrolls his way through Endgame with skill and determination.  He picks up Thor’s hammer, finally worthy, which how??? Why???  (perhaps because he’s no longer keeping secrets??? Or maybe that’s just my salt talking? Who knows? Not me?)

And then he fights Thanos head to head.

(Although him wielding the hammer brought up an entire separate set of issues cause I’m pretty sure Mjolnir doesn’t actually summon lightning. Ragnarok pretty much said that the lightning has always been within Thor.  Mjolnir was just a control accessory.  But, you know, Russos *jazzhands*)

And then, in the end, he insists on returning the Stones on his own.

Only he doesn’t come back like he was supposed to.

Instead we’re given old Steve Rogers.

Because Steve returned the Stones and then ….went and found Peggy Carter and got married and lived an entire life with her ignoring everything he would have known was going to happen to her and around the both of them or something???

Or maybe not if the multiverse thing holds up but then who knows any more???

But then how did Old Steve end up right there by that lake on that day at that right time if he’s technically from a different multiverse???

Either way Sam gets his shield and the mantle of Captain America, which was fantastic, and Bucky more than likely knew Steve’s plan all along but the best read I really got on him was basically “eh” so he might well have been happy for Steve too.

But still, instead of finally achieving peace and continuing to learn to live in the future with Bucky and Sam and the remnants of the Avengers, his family and the life he’s built there over the past years, instead of putting the shield down because he’s learned to let go in the now, Steve only puts the shield down because he chooses the past.

He chooses the past over all of that and all of the people left who love him. Sure the argument could be said that he knew they’d be alright but still.

There is a deep well of dissatisfaction inside of me as to how Steve’s entire ending arc was handled.  Why did peace only come to Steve after Tony and Natasha were both dead and then was only found in the past?

No disrespect to Peggy Carter, I adore her, but were the relationships he had in the future worth so little that the past was the only place he could find happiness?  A past with a woman that he knows loved him but still moved on and found happiness outside of him, lived a full and happy life without him?

Steve didn’t get a character arc so much as he got a character circle.  A character loop.  He went right back to where he started.

Endgame erases all of the character development Steve underwent post-Avengers.  Just brushes it all under the rug.

The Russo’s stole the character development Steve Rogers spent a decade undergoing to give him their version of a happy ending.

They robbed him and us both of every bit of growth and forward motion Steve has underwent and I will never forgive them for that.

And now we get to Tony Stark.

Anthony Edward Stark.

The Iron Man.

Tony’s arc is, was, the longest and best developed arc in the entirety of the MCU.

It’s spanned 10+ years and has been nurtured and hand fed by Robert Downey Jr.

If Endgame got one thing right, one thing at all, it’s how they handled the majority of Tony’s arc.

From him laying the smack down on Steve once he was home, finally venting his emotions and his anger, all the way to him solving time travel before tucking his kid into bed, and then building an Infinity Gauntlet on his own even though Thanos committed genocide to get the one he had.

Tony Stark’s arc was glorious and expected and sad.

I think that my one almost complaint is that Tony stopped for 5 years.  On one hand he deserved the rest, deserved the chance to find happiness.  He was hurt and tired and he’d faced his demons and been left bleeding out with the death of half the universe weighing on his shoulders.

He deserved to just stop for a while.

On the other hand stopping is not something Tony has ever been good at, just like Pepper said.  A part of me thought Tony would be working, frantically, to find something, anything, to turn back the hands of time.  To track Thanos down. To get the Stones and then to get everything else back.

To get Peter and all of the others back.

But that’s not the route they went and I’m … okay? I guess, with that.

Tony was validated and vindicated and everyone would have finally listened to him.  It only took the death of half of the universe to do it.  But he was too tired, too hurt and untrusting to keep pushing.  I can respect that.

But of course once an idea worms its way inside Tony can’t let it go.  So he solves time travel on the fly and sets out to save the world.

Again.

His one stipulation is that he will do anything, everything, he has to in order to keep what he has now.  His wife Pepper and Morgan, his sweet little daughter.

So of course he doesn’t get to do that either.

After all of the blood, sweat, suffering, and mental illnesses, Tony doesn’t get his happy ending.  Not really.

He gets to rest, yes, but he loses out on everything he wanted to do with his kid.  In the process of saving the universe he becomes the one thing he never wanted to be for Morgan, a distant father.

A face on a screen, stories, memories other people have.

No matter how many holograms or inventions or whatever Tony left to Morgan, it’ll never replace him.

Morgan got 5 years with her father.  She’ll spend the rest of her life hearing stories about him, about how much of a hero he was.  And hopefully, with Pepper and all the others behind her, Tony will remain a hero to her and will not, instead, become her version of Captain America.  An untouchable symbol that Morgan will never live up to.

So, in the end, Tony sacrifices once again.

Watches the future he wanted crumble to dust in his fingers, lightning scorching him from the inside out as infinity rips him apart.

And he dies there, surrounded by some of the people who love him best.

His best friend.

His wife.

The son he almost had.

And, despite all of that, it is very very fitting that his death was at his own hands.

Thanos could take out half the universe, he could traverse time and space, he could humble Thor, terrorize the Hulk, rip Steve Roger’s up, survive shield and hammer and so much more, but the one thing he couldn’t do?

He couldn’t kill Tony Stark.

The only thing that could kill Iron Man, could kill Tony Stark, was his own heart.

Tony Stark takes the Infinity Stones in hand knowing how this is going to end, knowing that Stephen Strange set him on this path years ago.

Because didn’t Strange warn him?  Didn’t Strange tell him outright “I’ll let the kid and you both die to protect the Time Stone”?

Tony just never expected it to take a few hours and then 5 more years for Strange’s promise to finally be fulfilled.

So Tony does it knowing that after everything he’s been through, all of the pain and the suffering and the battles, it was only enough to have earned 5 years of happiness, 5 years of his dream.

5 years of being the father he always swore he’d be.

Tony Stark takes the Infinity Stones and dies for the entire universe, for his family, for his daughter.  Dies knowing that he’ll be doing the one thing he didn’t want to do, swore he would never do.

Leaving them behind.

Tony Stark brings us full circle as he stands as both equal and mirror of Thanos once again.

Man to Titan.  Good Father to Bad Father.  Life to Death.

Tony Stark picks up the weight of the universe and then he dies making sure that it has a future free from the same fear that has haunted him for a decade.

A warm light for all mankind, sent to sleep, to rest, knowing that finally everything will be okay.

And all he had to do was die for it.

So, I’ll close this out saying this:

This was written in one solid push after my first viewing and Endgame was dissatisfying for me as you might have guessed.  I am disappointed and angry at so much they chose to do to end out this iconic decade of cinema and to close out these character’s arcs.

There were a lot of points and little details I didn’t get to cover in this and perhaps a lot of points you might not agree with me on.

That’s okay.

Because, no matter what, there is one thing I know for sure.

We, I, will always have Tony Stark and the lessons he taught me.  The pain he endured and shared with all of us.  The bravery and strength he inspired in so many of us as we watched him struggle with physical and mental illnesses on screen.  As we watched him obsess and stress and love and grow.

I have never loved a character more than I love Tony Stark.

I have never been impacted by a character as much as I have been by Tony Stark.

I’m not sure if I ever will again.

So, Tony Stark is Iron Man.

He always will be.

And he saved more than just some fictional universe.

He saved a lot of us along the way too.

And we’ll always love him for that.

[thedistantstorm]

Dawning Delights 02: Baking Cookies

Summary: Hawthorne invites her newfound family in the Tower to experience a City-Style Dawning with the family that took her in years ago. The holiday is not without it’s charm, or aggravation, and certainly has plenty of surprises in store. A season-inspired, trope-tastic story about a family forged by something greater than blood, finding reasons to enjoy the season - and cherish each other. Main Post

Pairings: Hawthorne/Zavala, Sloane/Amanda, Devrim/Marc

Updated every Tuesday/Friday & both holiday eve and days for Christmas and New Years.

-/

Marc, in typical Marc fashion, revises a midday brunch to a family-style dinner not long after making their arrangement. Apparently he’d got Amanda’s very enthusiastic RSVP and decided she should be treated to a home-cooked meal and be able to provide input on their Dawning Celebration. After all, accepting Zavala into their unorthodox family meant Amanda came along with it.

"Oh, this isn't going to end well." Suraya rolls her eyes as Amanda hollers, "He doesn't know the difference between salt and sugar!"

The Clan Stewardess pulls a beer from the fridge and hands it to the Shipwright. "Take this, and go back to watching your sparrow racing, would you?" When Amanda goes, she lays a hand on his forearm. "You're doing fine."

Zavala sighs. "I don't have to help with these-"

"Yes, you do. You’re psyching yourself out. Stop doubting yourself. Cooking and baking are two totally different things."

"And yet you excel at both."

"Both my fathers taught me what they knew. Besides, I don't think anyone was baking cookies in the dark ages," She reminds him. The exaggeration earns her a subdued half-smile. "Blend in the butter. Slow, fold it in on itself." She watches the consistency change, sticking her fingers into the mixture to test it. "Perfect," She tells him, voice even, not indulgent. Tension bleeds from his shoulders. "I'll roll it out. Amanda picked the cut-outs, right?"

He turns, finding them on the counter near the refrigerator and brings them to her. "Here."

"You can do this too, it's easy." She hands him back one that looks suspiciously like a jumpship. They exchange a glance at the rest - also jumpships and sparrows - and Hawthorne grabs a few more that look like stars and bells, even a little Ghost-shaped one.

He presses the cookie cutter into the flat roll of dough carefully.

"You can't hurt it, Zavala, push all the way through." 

He does, and when he pulls back the cookie cutter, the dough comes with it. Halfway through transferring it to the cookie sheet nearby, it flops out of the plastic. He catches it in a fist, effectively ruining the shape. 

Hawthorne laughs, opening his fist and plucking out the dough. "Put your hand under it next time." She rolls the misshapen cut-out back into a ball and pops it back in the bowl with the other half of the dough. "You really can't hurt these. I promise."

"You've seen me try to cook," He reminds her, pressing into the dough again.

Her hips nudge his. "You've got this, Commander. Besides, Marc will be more obsessed with us baking together than he will about the quality. He can't bake to save his life. Ask him about the time we tried to make Dev a birthday cake. He'll love it." 

Amanda shouts something in the background, kicking her feet against the bottom of the couch. No doubt she has glimmer riding on the results of the race. Meanwhile, Suraya works with precision and experience, rolling out more dough on the counter beside him to speed things up.

"Did Marc try often?" Zavala knows by now that her childhood isn't a secret, but she grows embarrassed easily and won't share much without pointed questions. As it happens, Zavala is curious, wanting to know as much about her as he can.

He'll get the story from her first, and still ask her adoptive parent later. By then, Suraya will be loose enough to point out any inconsistencies, and add her own commentary. 

"No. He looked up ‘easy to bake recipes for kids’ exactly one time," She admits, sheepish still. "Dev was on assignment and due back on his birthday. We did some accidental chemistry." She wipes her forehead with the back of her hand, spearing a dab of flower on it. He spares it a fond blink and meets her eyes once more. "Some cakes use vinegar, and baking soda. It helps them rise. It's also the same thing used in children's experiments, science fair volcanoes, that sort of thing." She shrugs. 

"My Dad - I mean, you've seen him, he cooks by heart. The recipes are just guidelines." Zavala hums in agreement. "So he dumps the vinegar in right after the baking soda, and he's got the mixer on, right?" She claps her hands. "Just, bam! Everywhere. Chocolatey ruin, all over the kitchen." She laughs and he can't help but smile. "I must have been eight or nine, I can't remember. I laughed about it for a week. He spent an hour washing chocolatey goo out of my hair, and three more trying to clean the kitchen."

"What did you do?"

"He all but sprinted to the bakery. We made it home with maybe ten minutes to spare? Dev probably wouldn't have known," She grins, "But I ratted Marc out immediately."

Zavala laughs.

"He was so stressed, and Dev was so confused, and," Suraya giggles, "I didn't know what to do." She snorts, having to stop what she's doing, she's laughing so hard. "Marc started raving. 'The damn thing said it was for kids,' he kept saying. He's sworn off baking to this day, and I'm not kidding, he hasn't made a single dessert." Finally, she composes herself, wiping tears from her eyes. "I am so making him tell you the story. He'll lose his mind."

"Are you sure you want to antagonize him?"

She is. "He's a primadonna. He loves it. He'll start with the hand motions-" She flops a hand towards him, dusting his sweater with flour, lips snacking as she tries to belay her laughter once more. "Oops."

Blue eyes look down and narrow. "Suraya," He warns in a tone that says he’s already determined his next move and it’s not in her favor.

She grins, sheepishly. "Whatever you're thinking, don't."

Dark shapely eyebrows rise and fall in a silent insinuation. 

The next time Amanda comes into the kitchen, there may or may not be hand prints on Suraya's back, and flour in her hair. Zavala isn't faring any better, she sees what she'd guess is a Suraya-sized palm smeared across the seat of his jeans. She takes one look at them and makes an about-face, leaving her empty on counter, sneaking into the fridge for another, unwilling to join in the chaos. They're too busy carrying on to notice her, and she's not about to spoil their fun.

She will, however, bring it up to Marc later, because she knows he'll want to hear all about it.

-/

It's well after dinner when the girls are laying on the couch watching some old holiday feature that Zavala pulls Marc aside. He waits until Suraya is nodding off onto Amanda's shoulder - Amanda is too enthralled to mind, she loves these reruns - to slip back into the kitchen unnoticed. 

"Plans in plans?" Marc queries smartly, unprovoked. His hair is starting to turn more pewter than black-brown these days, but he still doesn’t look a day past forty (he’s thankful to his skin-routine and hairdresser for that). He gestures to the large kitchen island, and the stools beside it.

“Well,” Zavala doesn’t look nervous. Perhaps that’s why it radiates off him so obviously. Marc doesn’t believe in auras, but projection and a little context do wonders. “I do need to ask you something.”

Marc shakes his head, patting Zavala’s folded hands. “When and how? Is there a plan and can I help?”

“You don’t even know-”

His hazel eyes shine in fond amusement. “She sees right through you, doesn’t she?” He muses aloud, to which Zavala shifts uncomfortably, exposed. “That’s not a Devrim trait, you know.”  He tips his head down, trying and failing to conceal his grin before swinging his gaze back up to ethereal blue. “She gets that from me."

"Still-"

"I am absolutely certain my husband gave you the curt, gentleman's heart-to-heart and relished every awkward second of it." He crosses one leg over the other, and smiles. Devrim had called him immediately after this particular conversation, resources and satellites, encrypted comm protocols be damned. After all, it wasn't often that the Vanguard Commander snuck into the wilds unannounced to ask your blessing to marry your child. "You don't need to convince me. I'm here for this. And you.” His eyebrows dip in an insinuation. “So spill."

Zavala leans in, voice dropping to barely a whisper, and Marc scoots closer, visibly vibrating with excitement.

-/

The Guardians waste no time presenting their Vanguard with presents. For Ikora, flaky pastries replace last year's overabundance of donut holes. Zavala finds himself inundated with Gjallardoodles again, within hours of the Tower's festivities officially beginning. Eva, laughing from her place between Tess, Kadi, and Rahool, only encourages it. 

Hawthorne watches from afar. She doesn't have the heart to tell them that Louis doesn't eat birdseed when they bring it by the bag. Instead, she sets it aside for Colonel, who is still roosting comfortably in the Hangar and will - unlike what Cayde insisted previously - eat anything.

At some point, she sees Zavala approach Ikora for some sort of exchange. Pastries for cookies, conversation between them unrushed and pleasant. She can see it in their body language. They may not be close, but it warms Suraya to see Ikora smile, for her to be getting along with Zavala and them to be working as a team once more. 

The year prior had been rough for everyone. Hawthorne and Zavala were still working to well and truly define what was between them when Cayde was murdered. Sure, there were feelings and Suraya's relatively certain they both knew what those feelings were at the time (they just wanted to be careful), but losing Cayde changed things. 

The Vanguard was forever changed. At one point, Suraya had been pulled into a meeting with the Hidden - which was something - and been asked about Zavala's stability (they really did know everything, which was alarming) and her opinions on the Vanguard being necessary at all. It had been a time. Of course, she understood why those questions begged asking. Zavala threw up walls like she did, closing himself off to everyone.

But, Suraya knows better than anyone how to slip in the cracks. She did not push or prod. Did not beg his attention or time or push him to cheer up. She simply existed, constant and quiet, at the edges of the room, the other side of his bed. Waiting. It didn't take nearly as long as she had expected.

Now, she knows, she has Eva to thank for that. There was a reason she'd made sure Suraya only received edibles for her feathered companion (misguided though it was). The old woman had given him a reason to be concerned, a reason to share his overabundance of holiday treats with her, and it paid off.

It took far longer for the Vanguard to make peace and try to move on, for Ikora and Zavala to set aside their collective pride and grief and foster a relationship once more.

Here they are, though. She can hear Zavala's low laugh from here, see the way Ikora reaches out to test one of the better looking cookies in the tin he's holding. They're better together, the both of them.

Louis squawks something agreeable, and she doesn't think on it much when she turns to feed him a little nibble of the treats he'd been given that he does enjoy. Some of the Hunters who know a thing or two about hawking have brought him presents, as well. He hasn't gone hunting yet, and 'tis the season. He's a little underweight as it is. He chitters on like the spoiled brat he is, keeping her attention. She smooths his feathers and grins at him. He looks at her, head tilted, beak parted. Asking for the rest.

"No more," She says, and his cries grow a little more urgent. "You want food, you have to hunt. You're not a chicken."

He beats his wings petulantly before crying once more. Suraya laughs and sends him on his way.

When she turns back, Zavala is entrusting the two tins of leftover Gjallardoodles to Ikora. The Warlock slips the smaller one into a drawer at her station. Suraya doesn't think anything of it.

Back to Main Fic Post

[tuwasduwillst]

Shadowbringers (pt 4/end)

This just has spoilers for everything, basically. :U I finished it and don’t feel like splitting stuff up because I have over 1k screenshots to go through...

Katana-bearing Centurion: Besides, there is but one hand that can make me whole again. My enemy... my friend...

He probably just says “friend” there in Japanese, but I don’t have my whole game switched, so I don’t get to know for sure. Good to know you’re still being weird, Zenos.

Don’t you smirk at me like that, mister.

Here’s Urianger being handsome, as usual

I hated fighting this old dude as Thancred.

1) I still can’t believe he can easily take out the WoL like he did

2) Stop making me be sword dudes!!

3) I get why they wanted people to see the dialogue here, but it was so slooooow and I died once near the end and had to do it all over again and ughhh, just go away

Ryne looks cute with her new hair and eyes, at least. :) Thancred is still a bad dad, but at least he’s doing better now... I guess.

Also, Urianger’s reaction to finding out that Thancred was paying attention to some of his talks about pixies was really good, haha.

...I wanna listen to Urianger give a pixie lecture...

Wow

This was something the game threw together when I asked it to pick recommended gear. It’s... some kind of look.

The Exarch/G’raha Tia is a qt. Y’know, I figured it was probably G’raha Tia, but I didn’t remember him being so short... and the lack of cat ears also made me doubt myself, haha.

I’m really glad I did the Crystal Tower stuff, though, because otherwise I’d... well, I’d still think that G’raha Tia/the Exarch is cute and like him a lot, but it wouldn’t have had the same impact.

I took a bunch of screenshots of Mikh’a. :U

& Emet-Selch, ofc

that one old dude: If you would pass me, you must endure all that I have learned on the battlefield... For I am a weapon forged in the fires of war!

~*oooh, I’m so scared of you and your tiny amount of health left*~

My MP doesn’t even have a dent in it, really. This is why I had such a hard time believing this dude could take out the WoL!! Even the first time we fought, I had tons of MP available to me and could’ve made a full recovery from being brought down to 1 HP. (...well, I have Benediction which is kind of cheating, but still.)

At least this was the last time I had to deal with him. He’s probably the worst thing about the expansion, which I guess I can deal with since the rest of it was so good.

Lots of really pretty screenshot opportunities in this expansion. c:

Mt. Gulg is something I thought was common to a bunch of FF games for some reason, but apparently it was in the original Final Fantasy, FFIX, and some random spin-off games. Weird.

How did Mikh’a hear him talking from that far away??

Emet-Selch has such a good design and you can tell that a lot of work was put into him. The expressions he makes, the way he stands and walks--it’s all unique to him and it makes him stand out a lot.

Even after everything that happened in the expansion, I’m really fond of him. They made the right move in having him kind of forge a more personal relationship with you/the WoL, because if he hadn’t been obnoxious in the background throughout most of the expansion it wouldn’t have been anywhere near as interesting/good as it ended up being.

I obviously chose to say that they were all Alphinaud’s assistants. :P

This little scene was so cute... lali-hos for everyone...

Crystal Exarch: Ugh! I would thank you not to shoot me!

I’m sorryyyyyy ; ~; You were there and I wanted to see what would happen!!!

Crystal Exarch: Ah heh... It may interest you to know that Mikh’a is a great hero in the land whence he hails. Some would say the greatest.

This little venture made me feel like I’d suddenly gotten married and adopted a child

(Which I’d be totally fine with, tbh.)

I loved this thing, actually!! I got to heal G’raha Tia, he healed me, we both healed our new tiny dwarf child, it was great.

c:

I’m still using the Mogrod. I’m never going to stop using it. Give me another thing that has a flower and swirly rainbows all over and maybe I’ll switch weapons, but until then? No.

...unless there’s, like... a really, really pretty plant weapon, especially if it matches Mikh’a’s outfit... but I don’t think there is.

I got to put my bubble on them. :D

He’s so cuuuuuute. And Mikh’a clearly agrees with my thoughts on him, considering the expression on his face when he looks at him.

One of the reasons I keep Mikh’a wearing the WHM gear is because I really like the contrast I get--a lot of the major characters wear black, so it looks nice when they stand next to each other. :D

Katana-bearing Centurion: The whereabouts of my one true friend, however--they interest me greatly. I but hope the beasts of this “First” are providing him proper sport.

Zenos is so funny to me. He just pops up like “did someone mention my friend” while his dad and Elidibus are having a serious conversation.

Innocence has beautiful hair and if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I’d never believe that he was Vauthry.

You can kind of see @tarifu in this screenshot! :D

You can definitely see her here--wait... why is half the party wearing dwarf beard outfits...

This is probably weird to say, but I genuinely like when characters I play in games like this suffer/are in pain. Not, like... constantly. I just like it when NPCs get to express concern and you aren’t some kind of unbreakable hero 24/7. >_>

Obviously I was going to say his name, who wouldn’t.

This made me cry!! I thought he was dead. :C

But thankfully Emet-Selch didn’t want him dead, so he did not die.

...why’d he even need a gun? Has he always had a gun?

I wish I could just float off into the sky after ruining everything and being a big jerk

sad kitty

I died when I came here with Jack and Mari because I didn’t realize I was being targeted by the boss until it was too late. :,)

I got to practice using my shield, though!! I’m not used to having one so I’m not super great at remembering it exists and using it; the tether thing is a good visual for “this specific person is going to be damaged soon and a shield would be Good”. ...unless everyone’s bunched up and I can’t tell who has it until it’s too late, I guess.

I know I’m level 80 now, but there’s still a lot I haven’t done and I’m still trying to figure out what the best way to do things is sometimes... I still need to mess with my hotbars and stuff, actually. I think I might switch some things around more than I already have, because some useful things aren’t as easy to use as they could/should be and I’ve been wanting to mess around with stuff for a while. The Trust dungeons should be a really good opportunity to test new configurations! Or the squad dungeons, I guess. :/a

I’m still not Ardbert’s biggest fan, but I don’t dislike him.

Poor Urianger, getting stuck with the role of the only other person to know the Exarch’s plans. :(

& then everyone died going to the bottom of the sea and the game ended

I got to help put dwarf helmets on sineaters :U

I also remembered that I have fancy wings now, wheee

I got a nice new outfit after doing my last Healer role quest! :D I like it a lot~ The whites are brighter than the last outfit, and the bit in back accommodates his tail much better than the corset did.

I might play around with mixing and matching some pieces once I get newer stuff, but for now this is what I’ve got! c:

...and I refuse to wear the hat. 100%. I’m not making Mikh’a look like a weird nun. :|

Amaurot was really good, even if being there mostly just made me sad. >_> The not-people were so cute and nice, though...

Big

The WoL hanging out on this giant bench is so cute.

I liked getting to talk to Emet-Selch’s friend. c: Well... kind of, anyway. Since it’s not really his friend...

tiny

Emet-Selch: I have broken bread with you, fought with you, grown ill, grown old! Sired children and yes, welcomed death’s sweet embrace.

I still don’t 100% understand how Ascians work, but I guess it’s canon that Emet-Selch fucks :/a

I regret typing that, I think, but it is apparently true

i think your fireplace has something wrong with it

Really though, this dungeon was excellent.

Alisaie decided that she wanted to LB right as one of the bosses was doing one of those “hide behind a rock Or You Will Die” things so she died & I accidentally walked right off the edge near the end of the last boss fight (oops), but other than that things went okay!

D:

ardbert could you please clean your axe somehow before you point it at me like that. tia

This was a really neat moment :U

I’m not calling Emet-Selch Hades ever. Sorry, Emet-Selch.

I was kind of afraid to do this trial and almost waited until someone would be able to do it with me, but it really wasn’t that bad in the end!

...except for when I died five times to the same attack... orz It was that arm-sweeping one, too, so it’s not like it’s not obvious that it’s coming. My problem was that I kept getting Raised in bad places right before it happened, so he basically just kept smacking me down over and over again.

(Which was partially my fault, because I should’ve waited to accept the Raise until I knew it was safe to be alive, but... I don’t like leaving the other healer alone and I don’t want to just be lying there uselessly if I can avoid it.)

Fortunately(?) the party wiped due to something completely unrelated (a failed mechanic I had nothing to do with) and I didn’t die at all the second time around! So at least there was that.

I liked this bit in the dark. c:

I also liked when I got trapped in the bubble and didn’t have to do anything. Thanks, Emet-Selch!

Genuinely though, it was a nice little chance for me to calm the hell down because my anxiety was getting real bad before/during this fight. >_>

Poor dude. :c Obviously he’s responsible for some absolutely terrible things and I’m not going to try to deny that or anything, but he’s lived for so long and he’s had to deal with the loss of basically everyone he ever cared about for that whole time. He recreated that entire city and all of its people, that’s how much he cared.

Still no excuse for basically trying to kill all of the people he didn’t consider “real”! But also still sad, IMO.

This made me go “awww” out loud and start to tear up, haha...

I didn’t want to leave him ; ~;

Estinien said a full sentence here about how these guards were dead, too (in a way that implied he assumed that’s what they’d find), and the localization translated it as “hmph”. Kind of a weird choice there, but okay.

Zenos basically went Full Yandere since he killed his father just because he could potentially get in the way of his thing with the WoL, so... that’s something that’s going to have to be dealt with at some point.

I’m interested in seeing how things go, but I’m also a wee bit concerned that other people might get caught up in whatever this obsession is. I don’t want anyone to get hurt or killed because of Zenos’s yandere tendencies. :(

Elidibus is being Boring on the moon.

But who cares about that! I got to lead a Girl Scout meeting for my level 80 WHM quest.

Oh! Almost forgot about the story I got to tell the girls: “The tale of a man who crossed time and space to save the world... and me.”

I think the second one is about (original) Minfilia, maybe? :/a I wanted to tell them about G’raha Tia, though.

Aaaand that’s all I’ve done! \o/ I unlocked a new dungeon and I know there’s more than one post-80 dungeon, so I’ll probably check those out when I get a chance... but I finished the main stuff.

Which is kinda weird, because now I’m done again, haha... but I’ve got plenty of stuff to do before the next new stuff comes out. Especially since I discovered that Vamo alla Flamenco is the “dancer’s theme”, apparently. Need to dance ASAP >:O

[xswestallen]

Meant to be Together: chapter 2

WestAllen soulmate AU

When you kiss your soulmate for the first time, their name will appear on your wrist.

Barry Allen doesn’t need a name on his wrist, he’s always known who is soulmate is. What he doesn’t know, is how to tell her, kiss her, and prove it.

Iris West is dying to know who her soulmate is. She’s been eagerly awaiting him for years with no luck. But, when Eddie Thawne and Patty Spivot join the Central City Police force, Iris is confident they are her and Barry’s respective soulmates.

Chapter 1

Barry and Iris strolled arm in arm into the restaurant. Barry was wearing a suit for the first time in forever and Iris was a vision in a tight blue cocktail dress. Upon entering, they were treated to the harmony of love songs played on piano and violin.

"Hi, we have reservations for four under Allen." Barry told the maître d'.

"Ah, the other half of the double date." He replied with a smile. "The other couple has already arrived."

Barry blushed. He looked nervously from Iris' face to their intertwined arms. Quickly, he let go of her.

"Oh- Uh- No, not us. We're not a couple. Um- The people we're meeting are our dates."

The maître d' didn't seem to care. He gestured for Barry and Iris to follow him into the dining area. It was an intimate setting with a single rose as the centerpiece on each table. Outside the windows, downtown Central City looked picturesque. The glow of candles made the atmosphere even more romantic.

As Barry admired the room, Iris smirked at him.

"Told ya this would be better than just a cup of coffee at Jitters."

Barry had to agree with her. "You know romance better than me, I guess."

At a table to their left sat Patty and Eddie. Patty waved and smiled shyly at Barry. When Barry and Iris walked up to Eddie and Patty, they both stood to greet their dates.

"You look amazing!" Eddie said right away.

That was true, but Barry still scowled on the inside. He pulled out Patty's chair for her and sat down between her and Iris. Envy oozed over him as he watched Iris make heart eyes at the rookie detective.

"Sorry we're late." Iris apologized. "But, when you go somewhere with Barry, that's what happened."

"Hey, I wasn't the one who changed outfits three times." Barry said defensively.

Patty and Eddie laughed. Barry relaxed a little, seeing how the evening's conversation started out naturally and light. The waiter took their orders and brought a basket of delicious bread as an appetizer. Barry laughed to himself as he watched Iris, knowing she was internally struggling with the temptation to eat every single piece.

"It's nice to see you again, Barry." Patty said.

Barry turned his attention over to her. She looked almost as awkward as he was feeling. Although, Barry wasn't sure why. She looked really beautiful. Unlike the previous night when she had been in uniform, Patty's honey colored hair was down and she wore a figure flattering, sparkly dress.

"It's nice to see you too, Patty. You look..." Barry swallowed. He wasn't sure how to compliment her. "Really, really pretty."

Patty smiled more genuinely. "Thank you. That's what I was going for."

"You achieved it!"

She and Barry laughed a little, looking down at their plates. When they looked up, their eyes met. It felt romantic. Barry thought he should hold Patty's hand. As he went to reach for it, she met him halfway.

"Bon Appétit." The waiter said, placing their food on the table.

The food's presentation was even fancy, with sauces drizzled over the dishes in a zig-zag and garnish on top.

Patty wafted the scent of food towards her. "Mmm, Barry, yours smells so good."

"Would you like to try some?" He picked up a bite on his fork and held it up to Patty.

Barry had been expecting her to take the fork in her own hand and eat. Instead, she bent her head down and took the bite of food off Barry's fork while he held it.

Iris nudged Barry with her elbow below the table, her way of telling him good job. He was surprised to find that this date he didn't want to be on was going remarkably well. Patty was great and she did seem to like him.

Things became a little more uncomfortable for Barry when Iris and Eddie scooted their chairs ever so slightly closer. They leaned in and whispered. Barry tried to listen to what they were saying, but all he could pick up on were Iris' little giggles. The sound made Barry's stomach sour. He rolled his eyes, thinking Eddie must moonlight as a comedian.

After a few minutes of eavesdropping, Barry remembered that he should be talking to Patty.

"So, uh- Are you having a good time?"

"Yeah." Patty nodded. "I'm really glad you asked me out tonight."

"Me too." Barry said. He almost meant it, till he saw Eddie put his around Iris.

Patty was telling a story about how guys were intimated by her, after she arrest a rude date of her for drunk and disorderly conduct. It was all mumbles to Barry. He was watching Iris and Eddie over his wine glass. Eddie had just whispered something into Iris' ear, that make her eyes widen. The pair stood up a second later.

"Excuse us." Said Eddie. "We're going to go out on the veranda and dance to the music."

"Have fun!" Patty wished them with a smile.

Barry watched Iris and Eddie go outside. He cursed the building's architecture for having the veranda at his backside, making it impossible for him to spy on Iris and Eddie through the window without being obvious.

"Dancing sounds like fun, would you like to go too?" Barry offered.

Patty titled her head in surprise. "You like to dance?"

"Yeah!" Barry lied, his voice an octave higher. "I love dancing!"

"As much as I would love to see Barry Allen dance, I think it would be rude to go out there right now."

"Why's that?"

Patty giggled. "Something tells me Iris and Eddie were more interested in being alone than dancing."

To Barry, that was all the more reason to head out there. He gave up fancy restaurant etiquette and piled a few heaping forkful of food into his mouth.

Patty launched into another story, this time about how she accidentally pepper sprayed her Police Academy instructor instead of one of the cadets. It was funny, but Barry still found himself making the conscious effort not to tune her out. He felt like a jerk. This should be an enjoyable evening, the food was good and Patty was nice company. But, it wasn't enough to protect Barry from the intrusive thoughts of Iris and Eddie kissing.

"But, enough about me and my job. I have always been interested in forensics. It was actually my first choice of career, till I decided to become a cop. Oops, there I go, talking about myself again." Patty rambled.

She was awkward, but it was cute. Barry wondered if this was how Iris felt when he went on about science. He hoped he managed to be as endearing as Patty while doing it. Iris had told him so, but Barry struggled to believe her.

"So, what made you want to be a CSI?" Patty asked.

"Because of my mom." Barry said, purposefully not going into more detail.

"Was she a CSI too?"

This was a topic Barry hated. Not because he had a problem telling people about his mother's murder, but because it turned what should be light hearted small talk into a wake. He hated seeing people go from carefree to horrified with one sentence. But, since Barry knew that he would be working with Patty at CCPD for the foreseeable future, he had to tell the truth. She was going to find out about his mom eventually anyway.

"No, she wasn't a CSI, she was realtor. But, when I was 11, she was murdered."

The familiar look of shock, sadness, and regret at ever asking swept across Patty's face.

"Oh Barry, I am so sorry."

"No, you don't have to feel bad. It uh- It was a long time ago." Barry said with a somber smile. "Now, I'm able to help people get justice, so that's one good thing that came of it, I guess. Plus, I got to live with Joe and Iris."

"That's how you became so close with Joe and his daughter."

"Yeah, me and Iris were friends before, but we got a lot closer living in the same house, you know."

Patty brightened up. "It's so nice that you two have had each other all these years. I wish I had a friend like that."

A warmth built in Barry's chest. He swelled with pride whenever his friendship with Iris was brought up. It wasn't lost on Barry how lucky he is to have her.

"So, as a CSI," Patty delved back into her seemingly favorite subject. "Do you watch crime shows, like CSI: Miami, and laugh how unrealistic they are."

"I have, yes." Barry laughed.

"And are they ruined for you?"

"A little bit. CSI: Miami isn't so bad. The worst is NCIS."

"Really?"

Patty and Barry both laughed. What Iris and Eddie might be doing on the veranda had almost slipped Barry's mind, when the clacking of heels and soft cries made him turn his head.

Iris was running across the room, teary eyed. She made a beeline for the restroom and once she'd closed the door behind her, a sob echoed out. Barry looked to see a crestfallen Eddie sanding in the doorway to the veranda.

"Excuse me, Patty. I have to go check on Iris." Barry said.

"Of course."

Barry stood outside the women's restroom and knocked on the door.

"Iris, it's me."

"Bear?" A cracked voice answered on the other side.

"Can you come out so we can talk?"

"No!" Iris instantly objected. "I'm a mess. I can't go back out there."

The men's restroom door swung open, and Barry was too close for comfort to the stuffy, elderly gentleman who exited.

"Iris, I want to make sure you're ok, but I can't stand out here."

"Then," Iris began. Barry heard the lock of the door click. "Come in here."

Barry was dumbfounded.

"I can't go in the woman's bathroom."

"Why not?"

"Because!" Barry said, thinking he was emphasizing the obvious.

"It's not the kind with stall. I'm the only one in here."

"But still!"

"Barry!" Iris whined.

He sighed. A little hesitantly, he opened the door and went into the bathroom.

Iris was sitting on a little chair in the corner of the bathroom. It was dimly lit and smelled strongly of lavender. If there was ever a relaxing room to have an emotional breakdown in, this one wasn't so bad.

Barry leaned against the wall next to Iris. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"What happened?"

Iris held up her wrist. It was still blank.

Barry had been expecting that. To be frank, he been hoping for it. But, seeing Iris distraught over it made Barry feel bad.

"I kissed him and nothing." Iris cried.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm such an idiot!"

"Iris, no you're not."

"But, I am. I keep falling for people, believing they'll be the one and my search will finally be over, but I end up sad and alone every time."

Barry knelt down in front of Iris.

"You're not alone."

Iris half smiled.

"Here." Barry handed Iris a box of tissue off the skin counter.

"Thanks." She said, wiping her eyes. "Do you want to know what's the saddest part of all?"

"What?"

"I really liked Eddie." Iris sighed. "He's handsome, nice, fun, and we have a lot in common. When we kissed, I really thought it was going to happen. This time really was different from all the other I thought might be my soulmate because, for once, I wasn't hoping just to be with my soulmate, I was hoping to be Eddie's soulmate."

Barry's heart broke. He felt like crying too. The jealous side of him that longed for Iris was crushed to hear how deep her feelings for Eddie were, while the kind side of him that was Iris' best friend wished he could ease her pain.

Iris sat bent over, head in her hands.

"It's not fair that my soulmate isn't the person I'm in love with."

Barry wanted to speak, but he didn't know what to say. He shifted his jaw as he thought.

"You know what," Iris sprang up from her chair. "I'm done with this."

"Done with what?" Barry asked.

"Soulmates." Iris specified. "Why does everyone trust the universe, or God, or fate, or whatever to decide who is right for us? I think it's time I start deciding for myself."

Barry was stunned. He stared in disbelief as he watched Iris touch up her makeup in the mirror. With a little more liquid lipstick and confidence once again exuding from her, she turned to Barry.

"From now on, I believe we choose our own destiny."

"Iris, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying I choose Eddie. Screw soulmates." Iris reached out a hand to Barry. "Come on, let's get back out there."

The rest of dinner was a blur to Barry, who'd lost his appetite and his desire for conversation. After a short one on one talk, Eddie and Iris returned to the table and resumed their whispering and giggling. Barry like He felt as if a storm cloud of depression was raining down on him alone, meanwhile the others smiled in sunshine. As cover for his stoniness, Barry told Patty he had a stomach ache. To spare his conscious the guilt of completely blowing off Patty, Barry still offered to walk her home. He hoped it might take his mind of Iris and Eddie, who'd decided to continue their date with a walk by the waterfront.

"Thanks for walking me home." Patty said.

"No problem." Barry shrugged.

"It's sweet of you. Some of the dates I've had in the past said 'see ya' and left me to walk home alone, at night, in the city. I know it probably sounds silly, but I think it's nice when a guy makes sure I get home safe."

"That is silly." Barry said. "Because, if a bad guy comes up to us, you're the one with the gun and I'm guessing much better self-defense skills."

"I don't know, Barry." Patty said. She squeezed his bicep. "I think you're holding out on me."

They laughed.

After a few moments of silence, Patty asked, "So, not to pry, but what happened to Iris before? Was she ok?"

"Yeah." Barry replied, too fast to not sound suspicious. "I mean, she was sad for a minute but then she..... got over it, I guess."

"You don't look like you're over it." Patty observed.

Barry sighed. Was he that obvious?

"Did you get some bad news?" Patty asked.

"No, it was just that uh- Iris and Eddie ummm- They uh- They kissed and errr- They aren't soulmates."

"Oh."

"Iris was really disappointed."

"That's a shame. They seemed good together."

Barry raised his eyes at Patty. "You think so?"

"I did, but I guess I was wrong. The universe works in mysterious ways."

"So mysterious some people lose faith in it." Barry mumbled.

"Some people, as in you?"

"No, not me, Iris." Barry corrected. "She's decided that she wants to be with Eddie, even if they aren't meant to be together." He tried to keep contempt out of his voice.

Patty looked deep in thought. After a moment, she said, "I could never do that."

"Me neither." Barry told her.

"I would just be nagged by the feeling that I was missing out on something better."

"Something so much better." Barry elaborated. "The kind of love soulmates have, it's electric."

"You're parents were soulmates?" Patty asked.

"Huh?" Barry was caught off guard to be asked about his parents. He'd been thinking about his love for Iris when describing the soulmate kind of love.

"Mine we're soulmates too. They were so happy together."

"Were?" Barry noted the past tense. "I'm so sorry."

"Can I confess something to you, Barry?"

"Yeah, sure."

Patty closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "My dad was murdered."

"What?"

"He was killed by the Mardon brothers when they robbed a bank he was in."

"Patty, that's awful. I know how that feels. I'm so sorry."

Patty looked at Barry, studying his face.

"Strange how we both have a murdered parent."

"Yeah." Barry agreed. "That is strange."

"I wanted to be a CSI, but I became a cop after my dad's murder, so I could stop the Mardon brothers." Patty explained. "Isn't it also strange, Barry, our careers were shaped by our parents' murders."

"Yeah, I guess."

"We have so much in common, more than we'd like to have in common. That leaves me thinking we might be......"

Patty looked at Barry starry eyed.

"You think we're soulmates?" He asked.

"Do you?"

Barry pulled Patty close against him.

"Only one way to find out."

They kissed. The glow of the street lamps substituting for the glow of candlelight around them.

When their lips parted, Barry and Patty examined their wrists.

"Nothing." Barry said, voice void of emotion.

Patty kept rolling her wrists, looking closely at them, as if she believed Barry's name might be there and she missed it. When she accepted that Barry's name wasn't on her wrist, Patty looked back up at him, resigned.

"I'm sorry, Patty." Barry said. He wasn't sure what he was apologizing for, but he felt bad that Patty was disappointed.

"I'm sorry too. I like you a lot, Barry. But, I can't be with someone who isn't my soulmate."

"I understand." Barry told her. It was the most honest thing he'd said all night. He couldn't see himself with anyone but Iris.

"Well, this is my place." Patty gestured to the building behind them.

"Good. I want to make sure you're safe and everything's ok before I go."

Patty nodded. "It is."

"Ok." Barry held up his hand in a sad little wave. "Goodbye, Patty."

As he walked away, he heard Patty whisper, "Bye, Barry."