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thecarnivorousmuffinmeta · 3 years ago

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What would happen if you were sent back and ended up in the orphanage with Tom Riddle—and say you also had magic?

Oh boy.

Well, there's a lot to question here. Judging by the... spirit of this ask, I presume I'm... pretty much reincarnated. I'm in the orphanage, I'm much younger than I am now and a child, I'm pre-Hogwarts age, and I retain my current knowledge.

For the purpose of this ask I suppose I also retain my current mental faculties. Despite being in the body of an eight-year-old, I'm not The Carnivorous Muffin at eight.

Welp, there's a lot to consider here.

First, I probably don't realize I'm in Harry Potter for quite some time and instead assume I've been reincarnated to some parallel universe. It's the 1930's, I'm in England in the depression, WWI has occurred and the vast majority of major historical events I know about seem to have happened in the right order, and this Earth is eerily similar to the Earth I left behind.

Strange that I appear to remember everything of my past life with my adult mental abilities, but alright universe, I guess that's how we're going to play this.

What I do know is that I'm dirt poor, presumably still a woman which does not bode well for my career prospects, and if I want any prospects in life period I'm going to have to fight tooth and nail for it. It'd be great if I got adopted to help with this, and might be nice to have people in my life who love me, but there's a lot of orphans in the world and a lot of orphans who are much less weird than I am.

The orphanage is the orphanage and not great, Mrs. Cole is overworked, the orphanage is chronically understaffed, and the kids are running wild beating the shit out of each other.

Being a girl, I probably don't have to worry about getting the shit kicked out of me quite as much, but I still probably try to keep my head down and don't aggravate the particularly beefy looking orphans.

Yes, there's some very angry gremlin named Tom Riddle around who will shove you down the stairs in retribution, but that's just a weird coincidence. And then supernatural shit starts happening. Billy's rabbit hangs itself, people get injuries when Tom is nowhere near them, and I start wondering if this is really the Tom Riddle.

I'm in Wool's Orphanage, my matron is Mrs. Cole, Tom Riddle is running around lighting things on fire. It's possible, though it could all be a strange coincidence.

Now, how things go from here depends on how controlled my own magic is. Since accidental magic typically does manifest at least once or twice, it probably does manifest for me for.. something. If Tom Riddle's there to witness it then...

Well, I imagine he's very offended. Here he was, special, different, better than everyone else, and then some girl in the orphanage (who dares to get very good grades on her assignments in school) has it too.

And I just stand there, smiling, going "Tee hee".

He probably confronts me to prove that he's better at it than I am, and he probably is unless the universe hates both him and me, but having someone else with the Shining around probably prompts him to take me as his protégé (in part so he can show off and in part because he's genuinely excited to be able to share this super cool talent).

I am now apprentice to eight-year-old Tom Riddle. Whoop de doo.

Well, I don't remember this part of Harry Potter, so now I'm probably confused as to where I am again. Regardless, I try to advise Tom on how to tone it down and not, say, traumatize Amy and Dennis for life and antagonize all the other orphans forever. He probably doesn't take me seriously. What do I know, I can't even light that patch of grass on fire?

Hanging around Tom Riddle gets me a reputation to, given the difference in genders, probably a fairly nasty one at that. When Dumbledore arrives he's undoubtedly told hot gossip about how eleven-year-old Tom and I have had sex in a ritual to summon Satan. Dumbledore takes this seriously.

Dumbledore probably meets us both at the same time and it's a disaster. I tried my best to prep Tom without revealing I'm a prophet, Tom first doesn't believe there might not be others, then doesn't believe they would be antagonist/anything but amazed by how awesome he is.

Well, Dumbledore lights his wardrobe on fire while I sit there. Dying inside. Dumbledore probably also does something to me too, to teach me some kind of lesson about something.

I imagine he temporarily disfigures me/makes me appear very ugly, then sticks a mirror to the wall, that way I realize that looks aren’t everything/being a whore is wrong. Tom, still traumatized over the wardrobe, is no help and my magic’s probably not controlled enough to do a thing about it.

I spend a day looking like a pig, Tom and I are given just enough money to buy new wands and second hand/barely functioning everything else and given the world’s worst directions to Diagon Alley. Thanks, Albus.

Well, months pass, we get our wands, Tom gets excited for Hogwarts and I... start seriously considering the future. WWII is coming, the Blitz is coming, Tom and I live in east London and must be able to evacuate during the bombing of London (which went on well past the Blitz to the end of the war). I also start considering my future in the wizarding world. Do I now actually have career prospects?

Probably not because I’m muggle born and a woman. My best bet is doing very well in useful subjects and finding employment with the goblins, I can’t imagine they have the same hang ups as the wizarding world.

Tom wants to go to Slytherin, of course, I tell him this is a bad idea. “Gee Tom,” I say, “Not sure how I know this but I have this feeling that Slytherin is filled with people who loathe our very existence and will shank us. Why don’t we pick Ravenclaw or Gryffindor instead?”

No one shanks Tom Riddle! Tom says. Tom is still eleven and while he admits that sometimes I may, in retrospect, have been right about certain things that doesn’t mean he wants to go to the house known for hard work. That’s code word for everyone there being a moron and having no other redeeming features than tenacity. As for the other two, Ravenclaws sound like smug, elitist, nerds and Gryffindors like dumb jocks.

Better to be known for ambition, cunning, and actually being competent.

Well, there’s no talking him out of this one, and goddamn it we’re all each other has.

I’m the closest thing Tom Riddle has ever had to a friend in all these years and in the orphanage the only one who could hold a decent conversation with him. And while it’s not my moral obligation to keep Tom from becoming a domestic terrorist, and there’s no guarantee I even can, dumping him for one of the other houses and drifting apart won’t help.

Not to mention that, after all these years, I’m undoubtedly lonely, I’m in this foreign land, and he’s now the closest thing to a friend I have.

Looks like I’m going to Slytherin, YOOOOOLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOO! I shout as a battle cry as tears run down my face. I may have to convince the hat to put me in Slytherin, but like all human beings I am a mixture of many qualities. I’m not cunning in the least, mind games exhaust me unutterably, but I��m full of ambition.

This confirms every bad opinion Dumbledore had regarding me and Tom.

For the next several months, Tom probably beats the shit out of dormmates who steal his things/harass him. He beats up mine too because feminism (TM) means that he should treat all people equally when guilty of the same crime. I... am not sure I can win that fight so I just resign myself to having to adopt some of Tom’s tactics to make sure I’m not shoved in lockers, have tampons thrown at me, or pig’s blood dumped on me at the prom.

Once again, everyone thinks Tom Riddle and I are dating. I don’t even know if they’re wrong at this point.

Well, being in class with eleven year olds who seem to have had little to no prior education, Tom and I are undoubtedly blazing through class. I imagine I’m bored out of my mind (the Hogwarts curriculum sounds unbelievably boring) and Tom is... well, probably devouring the library but probably also bored. I decide to try and see if I can find some real history texts on this world (there are probably none, the wizarding world seems to only have two historians and both... have a different approach to history than current modern thought as I know it) and discover what magic even is. That shit is fascinating: wingardium leviosa is not.

Dumbledore likely gives neither me nor Tom points in class, I think the house cup is stupid, so I really don’t care. I have no interest in playing quidditch, neither does Tom, so that doesn’t happen.

The second world war starts up, Tom, me, and the muggle borns are the only ones who give a flying fuck. I work harder on figuring out how to get lodging during the Blitz/the bombing of London. Unfortunately, Mrs. Cole hates me too for being the Bride of Satan, so that’s a no go. Third year, 1939, I probably write her in earnest anyway telling her to PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, send Tom and I instructions for the summer/where the orphans are staying/how they’ve been dispersed to the countryside. As a back up plan, I try desperately to shmooze shopkeepers in Hogsmeade during every Hogsmeade weekend to get myself and Tom part time jobs and lodging over the summer. As a back up back up plan, I spend my time badgering Tom to become very good at survivalist wandless magic and if the Lord has pity on me gain some ability in it myself.

Hopefully, either Mrs. Cole or one of the Hogsmeade shop owners take pity on us. If not, then Tom and I are going extreme camping. Given Mrs. Cole (and the brain damage brought on by Dumbledore erasing memories left and right) and the likelihood of Hogsmeade shop owners just not getting it, Tom and I probably go extreme camping.

(Tom, meanwhile, asks Dippet and Dumbledore if we can stay in Hogwarts over the summer. He’s told no exceptions. London’s being bombed, you say? No exceptions. Toodles. Tom is never the same.)

Me, Tom Riddle, a tent we made ourselves, several rabbits we had to catch and skin ourselves, and the pitiful fire that we can keep going through pure will alone because if we try to use real people spells then we’ll get arrested. It has the benefit of making Tom feel very manly and impressive, catching his own food, but both of us are well aware that this sucks.

But hey, we aren’t dead.

Well, I’m sure Tom doesn’t appreciate that and this is where I imagine he seriously starts talking about violent revolution. I imagine much of my time is spent discussing the merits of not violently overthrowing our ant overlords. I imagine a thirteen-year-old Tom isn’t impressed by my pacifism, but he’s not married to Voldemort yet (probably).

Then I imagine the horcrux thing comes up and... Well, I will argue hard against it. Humans die, it is a truth of the universe, and simply something we have to accept. Horcruxes are not a measure against that, they can be destroyed, given infinite time they will be, and the sacrifice they require is too high: human life as well as the very essence of who you are.

What is a soul? I’m not sure, we never really learn in HP canon, but whatever it is, it is in some way the essence of yourself. If you take half of it and throw it somewhere else, you will cease to be you, someone or something else is walking around in your body while the other half of you exists in endless agony.

If you must chase immortality, create a philosopher’s stone (as I darkly wonder why it was that couldn’t be replicated and what Flamel had to do to make it in the first place). On second thought, maybe we should search for the Holy Grail.

Whether I can talk Tom out of this or not is... unclear. I’m going to say that I can, in part because I imagine he’ll want to show the chamber off to me, tell me when he realizes he’s Heir of Slytherin, and in doing so I can prevent the basilisk incident from occurring. Without that, there’s no dead Myrtle, which means no first victim. That summer, when he goes to the Gaunts, I’ll go with him and convince him that it’s not worth it. He can just turn around and leave these people alone, I hopefully can talk him down. Which means no second victim.

I start writing Flamel to see if Tom or I can get an apprenticeship (Dumbledore probably beats us to the chase and poisons him against us, but it’s worth a shot).

Then, should all go well, I can convince Tom to find employment with the goblins rather than shady antique dealers on the bad side of town. Hopefully, I can convince him to never become Voldemort, and instead we travel the world together looking for the origins of magic or something.

Dumbledore goes around taking people’s memories of us in preparation for when Tom becomes a dark lord and I his lady of the night darkness.

TL;DR Apparently my life would become an SI/Tom Riddle fic. So, thanks anon.

#harry potter #harry potter meta #harry potter headcanon #tom riddle #albus dumbledore #anti albus dumbledore #meta #headcanon #opinion

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yourlocalshittywriter · 3 years ago

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The Duty of a Hero

Author’s Note: Howdy folks! I’m here with my first proper fic and I really hope that y’all like it! This will be exploring what could’ve happened if the Dabi that Aizawa fought wasn’t one of Twice’s clones. Since this is a fight, I advise the folks that are sensitive to things like that to click off and read another fic. Also, since this story does change scenery and moods a bit, I included some songs that change along with the the stories mood! This is mainly just because I like showing off my music taste and shit. Here’s Part 2!

Songs to Go Along: The Fighter by In This Moment, Acid Bubble by Alice In Chains, The Great Gig In The Sky by Pink Floyd

I felt extremely at peace for once in life. I felt the normal crackling of my joints silence into a warm nothingness. My aching muscles that had been torn to shreds time and time again, the ones that had been strained and stretched beyond the limits of the human body seemed to reform perfectly as they melted into the rest of my numb form. My skin, a forest of calluses, scars, stitches, and open wounds felt as if it was no longer there. I was no longer confined to the space of my body, and instead moved around as freely as water or air. I was a sort of goo, unmoving, stationary, simple, yet free.

With a quirk as self-destructive as mine, becoming a hero was a sort of death wish. My quirk was known as “pain transfer.” Anytime I made eye contact with a person, I could activate my quirk and subject myself to pain only to have them suffer the pain of the injury for as long as I was looking at them. I could also transfer existing pain to my target. Although I may have had a wicked high pain tolerance and quick recovery period, my humanity was bound to catch up to me eventually. Quirks like mine, “villainous quirks” according to most people, should be kept hidden and the people born with them should go on to live normal lives as ordinary civilians. My parents were among these people. When I told them that I was enrolling in the hero course at UA, I was given the choice to either become a hero and be disowned, or ditch my pipe dream and stay their beloved child. I packed my things that night.

It was a miracle that I passed the entrance exam the next day. I was running on little sleep, the loss of my financial support, and the trauma that came with the realization that your parents didn’t love you anymore because you didn’t live in a way that they approved of. I had trained since my will to become a hero first arrived, a sort of passionate drive that crashed into my life so unexpectedly that the impact nearly gave me whiplash.

I supposed that that inferno of, what? Spite? No, not spite, something deeper, hotter, and more righteous than spite. Let’s say ardor. This ardor was what drove me to take out as many robots as I could, despite the fact that my quirk was utterly useless in this situation. I took out a decent amount of robots, at least, decent enough to get into the hero course. A lady by the name of Recovery Girl healed me before I went on my way. I thought that I just had a few scrapes and bruises, but apparently I had a broken wrist. Surprisingly, I wasn’t the worst-off there, some poor kid broke both of his arms and one of his legs.

The time between this moment and when I got into UA seems to have flown by. I came into UA, a semi-blank canvas, and now here I was, bleeding out on the campsite that I planned to spend my summer at with my classmates. Dying feels far less painful than one would assume; you really don’t even realize that you’re dying at first. It’s sort of like that feeling you get after eating a warm meal after starving for so long, sickening at first, but comforting after you grow used to it. It’s like taking a hot bath after spending a day in the snow; it burns at first, but the burning subsides into a comforting numbness. Your senses slowly dull into nothingness but your brain is left to conjure whatever image it pleases. I could have seen dead relatives, met idols, or even pictured an alternate life where my parents still loved me, but I didn’t.

I didn’t want it. Fame, fortune, admiration, acceptance, rebirth, none of it. I wanted none of it. I wanted to live. I wanted to do what I swore to do as soon as I got into UA. I wanted what I signed up for when I packed my bags and left my parents’ house at age fourteen. I wanted what I fought tooth and nail for. I wanted my ambitions and goals fulfilled.

Of course I wanted what I had worked for, that was beyond obvious, however, I also wanted the small things in life. I wanted my afternoon tea with Yaoyorozu, Sato, and Todoroki. I wanted my fashion shows with Aoyama, Ashido, and Hagakure. I wanted my midnight conversations with Shinsou and Tokoyami. I wanted my video game sessions with Kaminari and Sero. I wanted my morning meditation meetings with Shoji, Ojiro, and Koda. I wanted to watch pro-wrestling with Bakugou and Kirishima. I wanted to train with Iida, Uraraka, and Midoriya. I wanted to swim with Asui. I wanted to listen to music with Jiro and Mr. Present Mic. I wanted inappropriate jokes with Ms. Midnight. I wanted to make Mr. Aizawa proud; I wanted to make myself proud. So, with so many incredible things to live for, I opened my eyes, and attempted to move.

Much to my distaste, it turns out that my relief from pain, as well as the disassociation from my body was nothing more than a thin veil that was easily permeated as I rose from near death. The forest was nothing more than a verdant blur, one that was far from easy to navigate. However, all things end eventually, so I decided to run from death and wherever I ended up would be the least of my worries. I sprinted through the disorder and dysfunction, and wound up walking in on my teacher fighting the son of a bitch who had left me to die a lonely death with only the company of insects and whatever plants were to take over my wilting corpse.

As Mr. Aizawa tackled the cremation villain, I rose from the forest, stared at the man in restraints, and activated my quirk. As the pain transferred from me to him, I felt the veil of insensibility slip over me once more. The villain howled out in agony, the very agony that he had inflicted on me only minutes before.

“Whatever you do, don’t break your gaze Eraserhead!” I chimed as I finally straightened my form, not wanting the hero to see me in such a state, “You’ll just have to trust me on this one!” Mr. Aizawa nodded, keeping a steady gaze on his target.

“Tried to kill me off?” I snarled as I made my way towards the sadistic bastard and beloved teacher holding him in place.

“You’re supposed to be dead,” the captive growled through gritted teeth, still under an amount of pain that would knock-out any average human. He looked beyond pissed that I survived, as if he took offense to the fact that I didn’t appreciate his work. I waltzed over to him, just far enough from Mr. Aizawa, but just close enough to the charred villain.

“Surprise, I remain,” I cooed, low enough for only the villain to hear. He bared his teeth at me, looking at me as if he were some sort of rabid animal. I wanted to taunt him. I wanted to make fun of the fact that he had been taken down by a high schooler and their teacher, but I knew that it was never good to brag, because Karma would usually come to bite you in the ass for it.

I stared at the man covered in staples, every blink I took releasing him from the effects of my quirk. Every blink motivated me to continue staring at him, to immobilize him so Mr. Aizawa could use his eye drops or blink, to buy him some time. However, I knew that this game of “pass the villain” could only go on for so long. Something had to be done. Eventually, the patchwork villain would catch both of us off guard and use his quirk, or one of his buddies would come and back him up. Mr. Aizawa and I were miles away from my peers or the rest of the pro-heroes. It was just the two of us up against this villain, and we were growing tired.

Only minutes after the realization had struck me, the villain escaped from Mr. Aizawa’s scarf when the two of us accidentally blinked at the same time. The human crematorium stood before us, and before I could use my quirk to disable him, he shot out a flurry of blue flames my way.

I dodged this attack as Mr. Aizawa ran towards the villain, yelling out the name “Dabi.” Before Mr. Aizawa was able to restrain him, Dabi grabbed the erasure hero and threw him headfirst into a brick wall, effectively knocking him out. I desperately wanted to check on my partner in battle, but I knew that I couldn’t let my guard down, because now Dabi was staring me directly in the eye.

I could attempt to charge at him, but I would be charred to bits, and even if I somehow managed to avoid his flames, I would meet the same fate as Eraserhead, knocked out and at Dabi’s mercy. I was screwed, I had no back up, my teacher was unconscious, and I was face to face with one of Japan’s most notorious criminals. I was dead meat.

That was until I devised a plan, one that would take out the cremation villain for good. One that would end his reign of terror once and for all. However, there was only one downside to this plan, and that was the fact that this plan would result in two casualties, Dabi and me. However, if I went with any other plan, Mr. Aizawa and I were to become the victims while Dabi walked off scot free.

I was destined to become a martyr.

With that realization, I turned to my teacher who was slowly coming to his senses and gave him a gentle smile,

“Eraserhead, it has truly been a pleasure,” I announced as Dabi’s arrogant gaze turned to one of confusion. As Mr. Aizawa slowly faded back into his previously comatose state before he had time to be confused, I focused my gaze back on the blue-flamed bastard. It was time to end it, to end his rule once and for all.

I reached into my pocket, grabbed a tiny weapon that fit perfectly in my hand, locked eyes with the villain, smirked, and painlessly slit my neck. As Dabi grasped his neck and choked on his unseen blood, which was truly my blood, he fell to his knees.

As I took what I knew were my last steps, I came face to face with the first half to my murder-suicide. He glared at me, an amalgam of agony that felt nothing at all, and snarled.

“I’ll see you in hell, you cunt.”

I laughed, of all the things he could’ve chosen to be his final words, he chose to give into the childish desire to have the last word with me. As his oddly-familiar eyes drained of life, I felt the pain I had so carelessly inflicted upon myself finally hit me like a freight train.

I began to choke as I fell to my knees, similarly to how Dabi had fallen only seconds before. I knew that my time was up soon, I would succumb to my injuries and lose the thing I had fought tooth and nail for only moments before. I looked to the horizon to find the sun casting his loving gaze upon my battered body. It was as if Apollo himself was granting me a warrior’s death, like he knew I had made some kind of a righteous sacrifice that warranted a soothing transition from death to afterlife.

The sunrise was something like I had never seen before. The blues burned brighter than the flames I had defeated minutes before, the yellow pooled around my weary being like an evening gown to a death dance, and the red painted a comforting scene in the clouds, as if to distract me from my own red that painted my body and the ground around me. I smiled my final smile as I walked into the loving embrace of the sun.

My duty as a hero had been fulfilled.

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willsimpforanyone · 3 years ago

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Hey there! Ok, first of all, your writing is ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS 🤩!!! Okay, on to the actual request now. Could you plz write a Heroes of Olympus fic with the seven (plus Reyna, Thalia, Nico and Will) X fem!reader who is a daughter of Khione (Greek goddess of snow)? R is struggling with controlling her powers cause they r linked to her emotions. Individually each character helps her with her powers in some way. Thanks! (Idk if that made sense btw but hopefully it makes sense!) okay, bye!!

no stop you're so sweet!! thank you so much omg

i can absolutely do that- for context, we're gonna say that the camp jupiter kids are visiting

i haven't given R a name and i refuse to use y/n

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The camp was huge and busy and full of people. She was overwhelmed, her breaths coming in sharp, shallow bursts. Steam blew around her as her freezing breath met the warm air and her hands fisted in her skirt. She wasn't gonna panic, she couldn't panic with all these people around, gods there were so many people in this stupid little tour group and oh shit she was panicking. She could see tiny flakes of snow start to flutter down around her, settling on everyone's skin. They started looking around and up at the sky and her nails dug into her cold skin as they finally turned and looked at her, the light snow turning into larger flakes and increasing in number. Within seconds there was a blizzard spanning six feet squared. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying her hardest to calm down. A hand touched her own, and a voice reached her ears, muffled by the snow. "Hey, I'm Percy, is it okay if I touch you?" She forced herself to nod, and Percy pulled her gently away from the group. As soon as there were fewer people, she could breathe a little easier. "We're away from everyone else, it's okay, can you open your eyes for me?" Her eyes opened and met green eyes and black hair and an encouraging smile. "Take some deep breaths, that's it, you're doing great." Her breathing became more regular. "It's overwhelming for a lot of people, that's okay. You're safe now that you're here, I promise." The blizzard had all but stopped, just a few flakes brushed off her hair by Percy's caring hand. "It's okay, we don't have to go back until you're ready." She would be ready in a little bit.

The forest was quiet. She liked the quiet. She knew she hadn't been avoided, exactly, but it was hard to feel that way when there wasn't anyone sitting at her table. No one talked to her, but it was just because she was new. Talking to new people was awkward, she knew that. So it was her choice, and her choice alone, to go sit in the woods. She didn't know why there were tears down her cheeks, and she hated that they froze on her skin. A snapped twig made her look up sharply. There were two people in front of her. The girl sat down next to her. "It's cold out, why are you sitting out here?" She shrugged. "Don't really feel the cold. And it's either being alone out here or alone in a cabin so it doesn't really matter." She gave a small smile. The guy sat next to the girl. "You're the daughter of Khione, right? No wonder you feel lonely," he turned to the girl. "Hazel, there's no one else in her cabin." Hazel gasped and rubbed her shoulder. "Come with us. We'll see if you can be moved to my cabin, there's only me and my brother in there." "Oh, I couldn't do that to you," she said, but the warmth of hope and companionship bloomed in her chest. "If you really don't want to, that's okay, but at least come with us to the campfire, come with me and Frank." Hazel's soft smile melted away the resistance, and Frank stood up, offering his hand. She stood, using the hand held out, and followed the pair. Frank held her back a moment while Hazel joined the group of ten, twelve-ish people around a campfire. "If you really don't want to join, it's okay, I'll take you back to your cabin, I promise." He smiled warmly and a little nervously. "But it might be fun. Coming?" She smiled back, and walked towards the promised warmth.

Hunched shoulders, her ears were being assulted with jeers and taunts. Loser, loner, ice freak, anti-freeze. That one wasn't even right. The small table felt a lot bigger when she was the only one there, but she was getting used to that. It didn't help that the Ares cabin was very loud. To be fair, it wasn't the whole cabin, just the very loud minority. She tried to remind herself of that when she got called all these names. The table was covered in a heavy frost, the cutlery in her hands was cold and clutched tightly. She took a few deep breaths. There was minimal snow, and she smiled to herself. She was gaining a little more control. A plate slamming onto the table made her jump, and she looked up to see sharp blue eyes and a shock of black hair, piercings decorating ears. The girl sat next to her, scowling at the Ares cabin. "Hey! Leave her alone, assholes!" The girl turned to you. "I'm Thalia, ignore them." She smiled at Thalia. "Thanks, but you don't have to be here." "It's no problem," Thalia shrugged. "My brother is at his girlfriend's table so I was alone anyway and you looked like you could use a little help." That normally would have made her defensive, but Thalia seemed more protective than pitying. "...thank you, I'm not good at confrontation." She frowned. "Sorry about the... ice." Thalia shrugged. "I struggled too. And being the daughter of Zeus, my power was a lot more destructive than yours, trust me," she grinned. She felt less self-conscious with this strong, angry girl next to her.

The rings of seats surrounding the dead campfire were cold. There was a light layer of frost, but she was too tired to know if it was because of her or just the chill of the night. The nightmare had been bad, and waking up in an icy cabin alone hadn't helped. The outside had seemed warmer, more welcoming, and as she looked up she could see the stars. The campfire was central to the camp, she felt like she could check every direction. For example, the second she heard footsteps coming from the left, she snapped her head to see another girl, wrapped in a blanket and walking with determination towards her. The girl sat firmly beside her. "You're the kid of Khione, the one Frank and Hazel introduced us to the other night, right?" "...yeah," and suddenly she remembered the girl's name. "You're Piper, right? Daughter of Aphrodite?" Piper nodded. "Yep. What's up, why you out here?" She shrugged. There was no stigma around nightmares in the camp, everyone got them, but she still wasn't comfortable going into detail. "Just a nightmare, didn't want to stay in the cabin." Piper made a noise of understanding. "Me too," she shivered. "The frost natural or you?" She laughed ruefully. "Not sure, to be honest." She ran a hand through her hair, and it came away covered in ice. "Although judging by that, I'd say a good portion of it is me." Piper stood up. "Stay here, I'll be back in a minute." She grabbed her blanket and ran back to her cabin, returning with a larger blanket and a wide-toothed comb. "Can I get the ice and frost out of your hair?" Surprised, she nodded hesitatingly. Piper sat cross-legged on the wooden seat by her side and wrapped the blanket around them both, gesturing for her to turn round. "I'll be gentle, I promise. It'll calm us both down, then you can get the frost under control."

The sword shattered yet again and she threw the hilt on the ground, yelling in anger. She barely noticed the two others in the arena, too focused on the fact that the blade of her sword had gotten so cold it had broken- this was the third time. Every time she got into her training and concentrated too hard, ice spread from her hands to the sword and it was only a matter of time before she shattered it. "Hey, stop throwing stuff on the ground, kids train here." A harsh female voice came from across the arena, and she flinched. Turning, she recognised the pair- Jason and Reyna, they must be training. "Sorry, I'm sorry, I'll clean it up." She frowned, kneeling and picking up the remnants of her sword. Jason jogged over, followed slowly by Reyna. He knelt down too, helping with the jagged edges. "It's okay, what's got you so worked up?" She sighed. "If the metal gets too cold, it breaks. I get freezing if I concentrate too hard on fighting, apparently, so I've broken three swords in the past two hours." Reyna grabbed the discarded sword hilt, examining it. "You know, you should find a specific sword for your abilities." "You can do that?" Jason and Reyna nodded. "Yeah, mine turns into either a sword or a spear depending on the flip of a coin," Jason explained. "I'm sure we could find something that can withstand low temperatures." Reyna frowned, considering. "I'm sure if you asked Chiron he'd figure something out. Although maybe you should work on controlling the temperature issue." Jason's eyes lit up. "Hey, you should go see Leo! Remember him from the campfire the last week? He's always too hot, but he's great at changing his body temperature. Go see him tomorrow!" Reyna nodded her approval. She smiled. Okay, let's go see Leo.

"Um, hey, Jason said you could help me?" She knocked on the open door of the Hephaestus cabin, settling her eyes on the curly-haired kid- Leo- screwing around with bits of metal on the floor. He leapt up, scattering metal everywhere. "Yes! Hello! I remember you from the campfire, Piper said you'd be knocking on my humble door." She grinned as he approached, hands still fiddling with a screwdriver. "She was right, she recommended I talk to you about helping with my heat regulation?" Leo practically vibrated with enthusiam. "Yeah! I'm always hot-" he winked, she laughed. "-but it took me a while to regulate it, so I wasn't spontaneously bursting into flames. May I?" He held out his hands for hers. They were searing hot against her freezing skin, and she yanked them away. Leo pulled away too, a dismayed look on his face. "Uh, okay, too hot, got it. I'll lower my temperature as best I can." She placed her hands back in his, the difference a little less painful this time as she breathed deeply. "Sorry, it was just a little surprising, I wasn't aware of how cold I was." Leo shook his head, and pulled her further into the room. "Don't worry chica, you'll get the hang of it. Don't concentrate on the hands, focus on the feeling inside," he nodded towards a small bench, and they sat down. "Think of your body as a... car. If the hood it hot, you open it up and cool down the engine, right?" Nodding, she relaxed her shoulders and hands. "Got it, focus on the internal cooling issue rather than the results." That earned her an encouraging squeeze of her hands. They sat together for an hour, maybe two. She could almost increase and decrease her temperature at will. Leo taught her a weird handshake, where they changed temperature every time their hands met. "Thank you so much, Leo," she grinned, getting up to leave. "No hay problema, I'm glad I could help," he lightly punched her shoulder. "And hey, any time I need to cool down, I know who to come to."

The tiny ice towers sparkled in the sun, almost looking like crystal. She was curious- she'd come so far from the girl who caused a snowstorm at the slightest anxiety, so how much control was she capable of? The ice was sharpened to a point, but there wasn't much distinction between the small structures. There was someone who could help, with a mind almost as sharp as her ice. "Hey Annabeth? Can I steal your attention for a second?" The girl looked up from her Ancient Greek book, and smiled upon seeing her friend. "Sure, come in, what's up?" She walked towards Annabeth, sitting next to her on the bed. "You're good with architecture, right?" "'Good' is an understatement," Annabeth nudged her in the ribs. "But yes, architecture is kind of my thing." "Can you help with my power? I think I can control it better now, but I need a guideline- can you draw up a blueprint or something for me to model out of ice?" Annabeth's eyes sparkled as brightly as ice in the sun, and she darted to her desk, grabbing graph paper and a pencil. "We can experiment with different temperatures and thicknesses of the ice-" starting to spout facts about architectural structures and buildings. "Annabeth, this is awesome, but just know you have to be patient with me," she said. "I need a lot of practice." Sitting back down on the bed, Annabeth wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I know, but we can do it. It'll be awesome."

"Hey! Over here!" Will beckoned her over. She smiled and jogged over and into the medical tent. "Hey Will, what's up?" She gave a small wave to the shadowy boy next to him. "Hey Nico." She recieved a vague nod in return. Will gestured to a kid, maybe eight or nine, holding his wrist sitting on a camper bed. "We've run out of ice packs, and we're waiting on an order of ambrosia and nectar so can you do me a favour?" She shrugged. "What do you need?" His next words came as a surprise. "I need snowballs." Laughing, she nodded. "Okay, sure, how many?" Nico kicked an ice box next to him. "Fill this." She nodded, and started creating lumps of snow, balling them up in her palms and chucking them into the box. The kid stared, fascinated. She grinned, pausing her snowball-making to blow a flurry of snowflakes in the kid's face, eliciting a delighted laugh. The slight smile on Nico's face didn't go unnoticed. She leaned into Will. "Hey, get Nico to summon a skeleton outside the tent." "What? Why?" She whispered a plan into his ear, and Will giggled. He grabbed his boyfriend by the arm and dragged him outside. She kept making snowballs and entertaining the kid with snowflakes until Will grabbed her arms and pulled her outside, a huge smile on his face. "Come on, come on, do it!" Will jumped up and down excitedly. Nico raised an eyebrow, but smiled fondly. "What did you want the skeleton for?" She grinned, and pushed her hands forward, snow flying from her hands and surrounding the skeleton. Bones clad in thick snow and from somewhere Will produced a carrot. Nico rolled his eyes, but took out two solid black earrings to stick into the face of the snowman for eyes. Together, she and Nico manipulated the snowman to walk into the medical tent, and from within came screams of delight- it was Christmas in August.

She felt home.

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this took me so long and my shoulder is killing me but i did it! i very much hope you enjoyed, thank you so much for requesting!

#heroes of olympus #percy jackson #annabeth chase #jason grace #piper mclean #leo valdez #hazel levesque #frank zhang #nico di angelo #will solace #reyna ramirez avila arellano #imagine #hoo #pjo #percy jackson and the olympians #seven

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momowho34 · 4 years ago

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No but the divide between the Dionysus’s maenads Artemis’s hunters is fascinating actually. They both embody different attitudes towards women, womanhood, freedom, and oppression, and they parallel eachother perfectly.

Trigger warning: talking about sex and historical oppression of women.

The idea of the Huntresses of Artemis is to escape the societal expectations for women by never getting married or having sex. Huntresses don’t hate kids, actually Artemis is explicitly the goddess of young girls and sometimes birth, but it’s the constraints that come with marriage/sex/motherhood that they’re trying to avoid. By refusing to adhere to the strict social code and living apart from it, they shed any responsibilities that would be expected. Virginity is a big deal because it’s seen as individuality. Like you don’t have to get far to see the freedom symbolism, deer and wilderness and dogs and night time etc. Huntresses are noble and brave; they’re pure but they’ll fight tooth and nail to preserve that. They are deliberate and graceful; they can’t be jerked around by Aphrodite like men or other women. They don’t have any innate “temptation,” they’re happy to live how they want to without sex and see it as a distraction. Men are boring in comparison, life can be so much more then raising children and being seen as a sexual object. It’s like cutting ties.

But compare that to the philosophy of Dionysus and his maenads. Maenads are just as free from societal constraints as the huntresses; just in the opposite direction. The historical context of Maenads is that Dionysus’s cult specifically appealed to marginalized groups like slaves, foreigners, and especially women. Dionysus’s cult promised liberation: rather then find freedom in refusing to be sexual, they find it in embracing their sexuality. Maenads are often mythologized to have tons of orgies and Do The Sex Which Is Evil Because Women etc etc etc but it’s because they want to do. They play on the double standard of being seen as either a tease or a slut etc depending on how sexually active you are. By saying “fuck you, I am sexually active and that’s okay and it’s for my pleasure and not yours” it gives them the power over their bodies/lives etc. And yes, the Greeks would characterize them as being mind controlled by dionysus or whatever, but you’ve gotta be careful of perspective and historical context here. People didn’t like Dionysus’s cult in the beginning because it preaches equality and craziness and partying and freedom and just generally raging against the machine. So what’s easier, pretending that your wife ran away because The Bad Guy brainwashed her or because she decided to just genuinely leave because she didn’t like you or how she was treated?

It’s also interesting to note what different roles they play before joining their respective groups. Most nymphs and humans that are portrayed as joining the hunters of Artemis are young maidens who don’t want to be owned and want to be strong and don’t see the point of sex/don’t want to be bound by the values society puts on it. They’re drawn to being something more. Maenads get this treatment too, but a lot of the named examples we get are older women who are just... tired. Mothers and wives who are angry at never having their own agency and being demonized for natural impulses, having these endless expectations placed on their shoulders. They don’t want to structure their lives differently, they just wanna he allowed to go batshit.

And both of these are valid attitudes! Seriously! They are both fair things to do and believe in. I’m tired from writing this so much so sorry if I’m not wrapping this up very well but yeah, moral of the story is that they’re both fair and can both apply to different people for different reasons.

#what is this #a crossover episode?#huntresses of artemis #huntress #diane #artemis #greek myth memes #greek mythology #mythology #history #maenads #cult of dionysus #dionysus #bacchus #shitpost #sex tw #tw sex mention #tw sexism

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xxgoblin-dumplingxx · 3 years ago

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Pawn: Two

Bucky flipped through the pages of the prenup and felt his eyes glaze over. You had quite the list of riders that you wanted to be included and, so far as Bucky was concerned, you were overestimating your value. “No infidelity clause?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow at the man sitting across from him.

Tony shrugged, “Said she figures you’re smart enough to know that for this to work you’re gonna have to fuck around discreetly.”

That made Bucky take notice. It was something he didn’t expect. For you to not demand he stay faithful. He figured that you’d want… More. Not that Bucky was complaining. There was something to be said for the fact that you wanted some control over yourself, the house you were going to live in, things you wanted to not be prevented from doing. It said a lot about where your head was.

Reading between the lines told him that the material things you wanted were there to snow him. To not make him expect any affection from you. And even if he didn’t want you either, he’d be lying if he said that that didn’t sting a little. Sure. He didn’t expect to sweep you off your feet. But he wasn’t a monster. Or bad looking. He was used to women falling all over themselves.

“So she doesn’t want me to not sleep with other people but she wants to redecorate my house?” Bucky couldn’t help but not feel a little incredulous. And Tony’s smirk as he looked around the office made Bucky itch to pop him in the mouth.

“You could do worse,” he said looking meaningfully towards the outdated faux vintage sideboard that served as a bar cart. “She’s got good taste… Even if it is expensive.” Tony didn’t bother to explain that he was glad you had expensive taste. That you deserved everything you were asking for and more. He didn’t want to tip his hand and short sell you. Hell, he thought you were selling yourself short. And his stomach was turning at the thought of the Punk reading to contract being responsible for your wellbeing.

Sure. Tony had done his homework. He knew that Barnes wasn’t a woman beater. He knew that his only vice was a sweet tooth, really. And he knew that he’d probably do okay as a family man. But that didn’t make him feel any better about trading your future, your chances at being loved properly for security. He watched Bucky roll his eyes and turn back to the contract. He’d added some addendums of his own. Some things that he added not just to protect your body but to protect your heart. Something he never in a million years he would have thought to do before Pepper had dropped into his life like a bomb and brought you with her.

He’d never wanted kids. Least of all daughters. But now that he had them, he wanted them cared for. Properly. And he spent absurd amounts of time wanting to go back and punch his younger self in the face… But that was an issue for another day. Tony took a sip of his drink and smirked a little when Bucky looked up at his scowling.

“Stark-”

“The ball’s in her court,” Tony said shrugging. ‘And I want to make sure you’re gonna take care of my kid.”

“But-”

“Sign it or don’t Barnes… But just know. I won’t let her take any counteroffer. She’s going to get everything, ANYTHING she wants.”

Bucky watched Tony, feeling like he was in the middle of a western. Like he was playing Chicken. The first one to flinch was going to lose. And he could tell that that person wasn’t going to be Tony. Even if it was a pain in his ass, he was grateful. There was someone fighting for you. You weren’t being forced into this… Not like he thought Tony would do that. But there was some comfort in the fact that Tony was willing to play hardball for you. It made him feel less sick about doing all this.

He set the contract on the table and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll have my people look it over,” he said looking up.

Tony inspected his nails for a second and nodded, “She’s a good kid, Barnes,” Tony said quietly. And Bucky heard the underlying things he didn’t say. That Tony didn’t like this but he understood it. That you deserved better but “better” wasn’t an option right now. Not with the threat growing. The thunder growling in the distance. All Bucky could do was nod. Standing and offering Tony a hand.

“I might have a few things to add,” Bucky warned.

“And if she refuses them?” he countered, taking the hand that was offered as he stood.

Bucky smiled a little, “She’s got me by the short hairs,” he snorted, “And she knows it, doesn’t she?”

“Without a doubt,” Tony said smirking. “I might have got a late start with her but, she’s a fast learner.”

_____________

“I can’t believe you’re going along with this,” Pepper said, glaring at you over her coffee mug.

“What would you have me do, mom?” you sigh, “Tell him no? Let Rumlow murder us all in our beds?”

Pepper set the cup down but didn’t stop glaring at you, “They’re big boys.”

“And your Manolo pumps don’t pay for themselves,” you say smiling a little.

“But-”

“Mom,” you say gently, “It’s not like Papa is holding a gun to my head and telling me to do it or he’ll kill me. It’s not like I’m already dating someone and I have to break up with him. I don’t have to give up all my charities and stuff… I’ll still have a life. A contractually obligated one, sure. But, not too terribly much is going to change.”

“That’s not-”

“I know that’s not what you wanted. But it could be worse.”

Pepper sighed and patted your hand, “At least Morgan is excited to be a flower girl.”

“Someone is going to have a good day,” you say smiling a little. Morgan had already told you that she wanted a pink dress. The subtlety of your colors not involving pink was lost on her. Or, more likely, she was appalled that there was no pink and decided to add some.

Pepper watched you out of the corner of her eye for a moment. She could see the gears turning as you stared at the book shelf in front of you. She could see you planning how you were going to pack. How you were going to decorate. How you were going to make yourself comfortable in whatever little niche you could make for yourself.

“What are you going to do about kids?” Pepper asked softly.

“You mean the kids we don’t have yet? And don’t really need?”

“Y/N,” Pepper scolded, “What’s going to happen if he wants a legacy?”

“He’s got money. He can build a library… make sure no other kids are illiterate because he clearly didn’t read the contract.”

Pepper quirked an eyebrow and you smile a little. “I put a clause that I can’t be compelled to just start popping out kids. And that if that happens I reserve the right to get my tubes tied.”

“What about if you want kids?”

“I don’t so-”

“Y/N,” she scolded.

“You know I don’t. And if you tell me I’m going to change my mind I’m going to get my tubes tied out of spite.”

Pepper leaned back and folded her arms. “Sometimes when you open your mouth Tony comes out, you know that?”

And all you can do is smile a little, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “It’ll be okay, mom,” you tell her. “It’s not like I had any other plans.”

#Tony Stark #Pepper Potts #Bucky Barnes #Bucky x reader #mob!bucky #Mob!AU

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auroralightsthesky · 3 years ago

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Remember me (Sledge x Reader)

Summary: You, Sledge and your adopted daughter decide to take a detour after exploring your new home

Gene had always liked Hawaii and so had you. The tropical breezes, the friendly people and locals who treated you two like their own family was a much needed change in your lives, especially since Keiko was starting to grow and was now at the age where she would get into everything and anything.

You two had been walking in the bright, hot afternoon sun, Gene in his dress uniform and you in your best hat and sundress for church. Your heels clicked on the burning sidewalk as you and Gene each held one of Keiko’s hands, her pitch black hair tied neatly behind her head, her little brown sandals slapping against the ground while the sleeves of her little pink kimono fell past her elbows.

“I don’t know about you,” you said. “But I’m about ready to go straight home and crawl back into bed.”

“Same,” Gene replied. “If I had known Mass would go for an hour and half, I wouldn’t have woken either of ya’ll up.”

“Well I feel bad for Father Napua,” you chuckled. “He was practically sweating through his robes.”

Along you went through the streets close by to the base where Marines and Navymen strolled with their wives and girlfriends, friends or commanding officers. Cars rolled along the roads, occasionally honking at one another while civilians hastily crossed the streets to avoid the threat of oncoming traffic.

As you both walked on you noticed a group of Navymen and three Marines near the base hospital where you worked, unfolding the flag with great care as they prepared for the raising. “Ah shit,” Gene said.

“What is it?” you asked.

“I forgot,” he said. “It’s been seven years to the day.”

“Has it been that long?” you asked.

Gene nodded.

December 7th.......a day which Roosevelt had said would live in infamy. You remembered that day like it was yesterday and the terror you had felt as you and the other nurses fought to save lives and yourselves. You remembered the letter you had gotten from Gene some time later, the panic in his words as you read every last mark on the paper. You feared for your friends and family that day, especially Irene Inouye who had to fight tooth and nail to remain a nurse while the rest of her family was interred in Crystal City and her husband Patrick remained with the 1st. As dreadful as the memories were, you, Sledge and the others had carried on until the end of the war, doing your best until it was done.

You and Gene watched the men raise the flag, hoisting it higher and higher until the bugler had begun to play TAPS. Keiko had loosened her hands from your grip, making her way towards the pole where she looked up at the flag and saluted. Though you and Gene thought she was absolutely adorable, you both prayed she wouldn’t interrupt.

“Honey come on back,” you called to her.

“No, no she’s ok,” chuckled one of the Navymen, a tall African American man who had Gene beat by almost a whole head in height. “Alot of times we get kids that do that.”

“Thanks,” Gene said. “You’re Navy?”

“Through and through,” the man said as he and Gene shook hands. “Where you from? Ya’ll sound like a Southern boy.”

“Mobile, Alabama,” Gene said with a slight smile.

“You’re a Mobile boy too?” the man aid with a huge grin. “Ya’ll must be Dr. Sledge’s son! My daddy and my Momma used to work with him.”

“Theo?!” Sledge exclaimed. “Theo McKnight! You and I grew up together! Now I remember ya’ll!”

Sledge and Theo embraced and shared a good laugh over the matter. Though it had been years, they were still happy as ever to see each other. “This lovely lady must be the wife and the lil’ one your baby girl?” he asked.

“Yep,” Sledge replied. “(Y/n) and I got married about a month after Keiko was adopted.”

“China?” Theo asked.

“Nah,” Sledge said, a hint of sadness creeping its way in. “Okinawa.”

“Ah man,” Theo said, shaking his head. “I feel you Gene. I was at Leyte and heard all sorts of stories about what went on there.”

“Oh!” Gene said. “I meant to ask, is Julius around at all? If he was I was hoping to say hi.”

A bittersweet look crossed Theo’s face when he shook his head. “Nah,” he replied. “My brother was on board the Arizona when it got hit.”

Gene felt himself sinking. He remembered Theo’s older brother Julius, the three of them having been homeschooled together while Athena McKnight had worked a nursing job and George had worked with Gene’s father. “Did he say anything to ya’ll before he left?” Gene asked, trying to bite back the sadness.

“He said ‘remember me’,” Theo replied. “That’s all he said.”

Gene still couldn’t believe it. You gripped his hand in yours and gave it a reassuring squeeze, knowing how the war still crept in to pull at him every so often.

You two invited Theo to come and walk for a while when he was let go from his morning duties. You, Gene, Keiko and Theo all walked your way towards the water, catching up on whatever it was you had missed, shooting the shit back and forth when you suddenly noticed Keiko darting for the flower bed in front of one of the buildings.

“Woah! Woah! Honey what are you doing?” you questioned.

Keiko babbled something that you couldn’t understand, her tiny feet carrying her towards the water’s edge as she gripped a handful of tiny white flowers. “Baby who are those for?” you asked.

“Uncle Theo’s big brother,” Keiko chirped.

Gene knelt to her level as she dropped them in one by one, making sure that she herself didn’t fall in. Keiko waved and said goodbye as they floated away on the turquoise current. Gene gave a final salute to his old friend, praying that wherever he was, that he wouldn’t be forgotten.

#the pacific hbo #eugene sledge #sledge x reader #original child character #original characters #hbo war #hbo war imagine #k company

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filthy-reckless-rp · 2 years ago

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♛ Spotted on the Upper East Side…

Name: Jamie Park Pronouns: She/They Age: 50 years old Hometown: Nepean, Ontario Occupation: Actor Social Status: Insider Faceclaim: Sandra Oh

Who Is Jamie?

“I crashed my car into the bridge, I watched, I let it burn. I threw your shit into a bag and pushed it down the stairs. I don't care, I love it!”

I have to admit, I’m a little starstruck! I mean, most of my Upper East Siders like to think they’re the most interesting, most well known and most dramatic person in the world but you have them all beat, Jamie Park. A legend, an icon! You were making headlines and causing scenes long before I ever logged in. You’re an inspiration. You’ve always known your own worth, fighting tooth and nail if need be to get what you want (what you deserve). You’re a force to be reckoned with. Drama practically flows through your veins. You live life at 110% all the time. You’ve never been caught once without a fabulous outfit, killer heels and an extremely dry martini. You’re living life to the fullest and you encourage all your beloved fans to do the same. Truly, we are not worthy. XOXO ---Gossip Girl

A Little Extra

Jamie Park is one of the most famous and beloved actors of our time. She, along with her fellow ‘brat pack’, were the ones to watch. The rising stars. If there was a teen drama, a soap opera, a horror movie that wanted to succeed at the time- they hired Jamie Park. They hired them all (Johnny, Di and Becca). Jamie catapulted into success what seemed like overnight (although, it wasn’t). She started out modelling at home before chasing success everywhere and anywhere. The big break came in Jamie’s very early twenties in the form of a new TV show that had more twists and scandals than most people have meals. It’s the show that made Jamie a household name. The show that launched a thousand rumours and introduced her infamous triple slap technique. Jamie was loving life. Of course when you’re young, you get into trouble. When you’re young and have money, you get into even more.

Jamie wasn’t afraid to cause a scene and the paparazzi were always happy to immortalize it. Sure, they could be a little too wild. Occasionally cause damage. Maybe once or twice fill up a swimming pool with Dom Perignon but you only live once, darling! Once. Jamie had wanted to burn as bright as they could for as long as they could. Did that mean that sometimes she made selfish decisions? Yes. Did it mean sometimes she wasn’t as patient, kind or empathetic as she should have been? Yes. But you can only own up to your mistakes and try to be better. Life is for learning and life is for living. Now, Jamie had been producing, writing, overspending around the world when she got the call. There was a hot new show on the scene: Friday Night Bites. It was soapy, it was supernatural. It wanted to have an iconic, older cast along with the new kids on the block. Most of all, they wanted to reunite the ‘brat pack’ on screen for the first time in decades. With something so juicy on offer, how could she refuse?

What Does Gossip Girl Have On Them?

Honestly, whoever wants to talk about Jamie can go ahead in their opinion!

Connections

Meredith Park - the niece! Jamie has so much love in their heart for Meredith. She sees a lot of herself in Meredith and nurtures that devious side whenever she can. Jamie is that fabulous, single, auntie who flies in with presents before flying off again.

Rebecca Ravenwood - ‘brat pack’ member and one of Jamie’s oldest companions. Becca always had a way of getting under Jamie’s skin. All she ever wanted was, well, her. They were together on and off a lot before Becca had Veronica (and some times after). They either loved or hated each other with no in between. Jamie can’t wait to see her again even if it’ll undoubtedly hurt.

Diana Watts - ‘brat pack’ member and consistent BFF. They clicked from day one and have stayed in touch all this time. Jamie and Diana have no secrets (right?). They dated for a little while as well but it wasn’t a dreaded ‘forever’ kind of thing.

Johnny Hastings - ‘brat pack’ member and a gorgeous mess. Johnny and Jamie were famously married for exactly 16 days before calling it quits (just long enough to have the wildest honeymoon ever!). They’re both kinda screw ups and soulmates, y’know?

#t #*#insider #fnbcast #c: jamie park #seoul #meredith #rebecca #diana #johnny

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impalas-r-important · 4 years ago

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Love of my Life - (6) How it all started

Summary: This is the story of how Dean and Y/N met.

Warnings: Some show level violence. Dean being a sap.

A/N: Okay, we're hitting rewind to delve into some back story before we continue on any further. I loved writing these next few chapters about how Dean and Y/N met. This is set just weeks after Dean returns from hell in S4. The italics are Dean's thoughts. Let me know if you'd like a tag for the rest of the series. Thanks for all the love!

Series Masterlist

DEAN'S POV

Sam and I were in over our heads and we knew it. What was supposed to be a small nest of vamps ended up being a whole house full. The first few we took care of easily, then they started coming out of the woodwork. Left and right, up and down, they were everywhere. So, we did what we always did; we went to work. Heads were rolling, blood was spattering, fangs were flying, but I was backed into a corner with 3 of them closing in on me and Sam had his own problems. He was on the floor, trying desperately to back away from two onrushing blood suckers. Both of us weaponless, we exchanged looks as if to say goodbye, and I prepared myself to fight for my life.

I raised my bloodied fists, staring straight into the eyes of the monster who would surely kill me. He took half a step forward before stopping dead in his tracks as a quick flash of a blade sliced through his neck so smoothly that his head stayed balanced for a moment before slipping off to the ground with his body following suit. I didn’t have even have enough time to feel shocked when the remaining two vamps who were cornering me met the same fate. What the hell? I thought to myself. I looked up to gauge the situation when I saw her. Long Y/H/C hair danced through the room, swiftly flowing as she expertly beheaded pests left and right, a machete in each hand.

“You just gonna stand there, or are you gonna help?” She yelled as she slid one of her blades over to me. I picked it up and joined back in the fight. She had already taken care of the vampires after Sam and he was by her side, picking them off quickly. I took care of another three, leaving just two left who were quickly retreating and too far away for us to catch them on foot. The strays had almost made it to the door when I saw the mystery hunter throw her machete, nailing one square in the back. She then grabbed my knife from my hand, flinging it at the other, leaving both of them lying on the ground. Two bullseyes. Damn.

Sam and I jogged over to them, pulled the blades from their backs and, in unison, sliced their heads off. Chests heaving, we looked up at each other, then over to the new girl who was wiping blood from her machete on the jacket of one of the victims.

“Bleh.” I heard her mutter to herself as she casually kicked a severed head from her path and walked over to us.

“Sam and Dean, right?” She asked.

Sam and I, both still shaking off the shock, hesitated to answer. Sam cut the silence. “Uhm, not to sound ungrateful, but who are you?”

“Your new favorite person.” She gave a teasing side smile. “I’m Y/N. Bobby Singer called me and asked if I could check in on you boys. He said something about you having your heads too far up your asses to ask for help.”

I got lost in her eyes when she looked at me and my heart was beating so heavily that I felt my legs shake with every thump. I could only hope she and Sam couldn’t hear it beating. Sam noticed my dreamy state and hit my side, pulling me from the trance. I cleared my throat and desperately searched for the words to invite her to stick around for the rest of the night. I had to get to know her. A million phrases ran thought my mind, but all that managed to slip from my mouth was, “We have a shower.”

Sam dramatically turned his head and looked at me like I had lobsters crawling out my ears. Y/N raised her eyebrow and nodded a little. “Okay. Good for you?” She replied, clearly confused.

“Oh, no, I just…. I, uh…” I stammered. Sam quickly interrupted me. Thank goodness.

“I think what my brother is trying to say is that you are welcome to come back to our motel and clean up if you want.”

“I actually have a room not too far off from here, but I appreciate the offer.”

Crap. Say something, Dean! Don’t just let her go.

“Well can we at least meet up with you and buy you dinner? We owe you that.” I, too eagerly, counter-offered, just relieved that I spoke in full sentences.

“Okay, yeah that sounds good. Let me go get this blood washed off first though.” Y/N agreed.

“Great, meet us at that old timey diner on main street at five.” Sam added.

“See you then, boys.” Y/N looked between the two of us and smiled.

“It’s a date!” The words flew out of my mouth before I even thought about them twice. “Well, not an actual date, but you know…” I rubbed the back of my neck and grimaced at my own stupid self. Y/N gave a small laugh and sent a wink my way before leaving.

Sam waited until the door was closing behind Y/N before he turned to me. “Dude... We have a shower?” He mocked, clearly trying to suppress his laughter, which escaped in a snort anyway. “You’ve got it bad!”

“I do not!” I tried to fight, but I knew I was lying to myself. Right now, I should be feeling lucky that we didn’t die a horrible death, but all I could think of were Y/N’s deep eyes, brilliant smile and that wink she sent my way. Damn, that wink. “Shut up. Let’s get outta here.”

Sam’s laughter continued all the way back to the motel. He was having way too much fun reenacting the “lost puppy” look on my face.

Sam was in the shower and I walked over to the mirror hanging above the desk and gave myself an internal pep talk.

You are Dean freaking Winchester. Girls don’t scare you and you will not be an idiot tonight!

I gave myself a reassuring nod then reminded Sam to hurry so I could wash all the vampire gunk off of me.

We pulled into the diner just before five and the waitress seated us. The minutes seemed to drag on and I couldn’t help but check my watch every few seconds.

“Dude, relax. I can feel your anxiety from across the table.” Sam said, not picking his eyes up from his menu. I sent him a glare and began to read down the list of food they had here. The bell at the door dinged, signaling someone had entered and my eyes shot up. There was Y/N, dressed in blue jeans and a plain white shirt. How could she be so beautiful in something so casual? She looked around and I waved my hand at her, my heart singing the second she saw me. I was mesmerized by her doing something so simple as just walking over to us at the table.

“You two clean up nice.” She greeted. Sam had purposely sat in the middle of his side of the booth with our coats on either side of him so she wouldn’t have any choice but to sit by me. You would have thought I had just finished running a marathon with how fast my heart was beating.

“So,” she picked up her menu and glanced over it, “you guys been here before? What’s good?”

Sam answered first. “We got some take out last night. The grilled chicken salad is pretty good.”

“Nah, come on. We’re celebrating! I don’t know about you guys, but seventeen vamps inside an hour is a personal record. You can’t celebrate properly with salad.”

I tried my best to hide my smile at her comment.

“My go to is always a cheeseburger of some kind. Preferably with bacon.” I added.

“Mmm, you know what? Bacon does sound good. I’ll go for the BLT.” She smiled and shut her menu, placing it on the edge of the table. Man, this girl just keeps getting better. “So, I’ve gotta admit, I never thought that the first time I’d be meeting the famous Winchesters would be me saving your asses.”

“You’ve heard of us?” I ask, trying my hardest not to stare too much.

“Are you kidding? Everyone in the hunting community knows who you two are. Plus, Bobby loves you boys more than he’d ever admit.”

“I remember Bobby talking about you, too.” Sam joined in. “He said he loved you like a daughter, but he never sent us out on cases with you because he didn’t want us to ruin you.”

“Hah! Yeah, that sounds like Bobby.” Her smile absolutely lit up the small diner. “He told me he didn’t want me ever getting involved with you boys because you were bad influences. Well, mostly just Dean actually.” She looked at me and added, “Bobby said you’re too much of a womanizer for me to be around.”

I didn’t want her to think that I was interested in her just to use her. My soul wanted to get to know hers.

“I used to be.” I admitted. “Not so much anymore.”

“What changed?” Y/N asked.

“I guess going to hell and coming back really changes a guy.” I laughed.

“Fair enough.” Every time Y/N looks at me, I get a rush of adrenaline. I’m trying my hardest not to blush when the waitress comes over to take our orders.

Dinner was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. We exchanged hunting stories and talked about our lives a lot. Y/N’s family had died when she was little, and she bounced around between Bobby and a few other hunters who helped raise her. She seems to be the most put together person for having a past like that.

Y/N excused herself to use the bathroom and Sam made his move. “Alright, Dean, I’m going to head back to the motel. You good to walk?”

“What? Why?”

“I’m going to give you two some time to yourselves. Tell her I was just tired from the hunt and wanted to head back.”

I give him a suspicious look, but I’m actually more than happy I get some one-on-one time with Y/N.

“Oh, and don’t sleep with her. Bobby will send you straight back to hell.” Sam added with a hard pat on the back as he takes the keys from me and heads out the door.

Y/N comes back and asks where Sam went.

“Oh, he’s kind of a party pooper. He went back to the motel for some shut eye. You don’t mind if I keep you company, do you?”

“I’d like that.” A shy smile crept up on her face.

“So, we’re celebrating. How about some dessert?”

“Hell yes. You are speaking my language. I have the world’s biggest sweet tooth.”

“What are you in the mood for? I guess you get to pick since you saved my ass.” I was obviously hoping she’d choose pie.

“Anything chocolate.”

“Hmmm,” I look over the small menu off to the side of the table, “chocolate cream pie? I love me some pie.”

“Perfect!” She waived the waitress over and order a whole pie. A girl after my own heart.

A few minutes later, a beautiful, massive pie is set down on our table with two forks and we dive in. I ate my fair share, but Y/N polished most of that thing off.

“I’m impressed.” I sit back and rub my full stomach as I look at her finishing the last few bites of the pie. “I’ve never seen any girl eat that much.”

She shrugged. “I love chocolate. Plus, hunting makes me hungry.”

I can’t help but admire her every movement. She’s so kind and graceful, and her hair falls so perfectly around her shoulders. I can’t find one flaw and I know I’m in trouble. She catches me staring at her a few moments too long, but I shake off the embarrassment and keep the conversation flowing, not wanting this night to end. We talked for hours about anything and everything. Dreams, hopes, fears, music, food, family, and before I know it, the waitress is telling us that we have to leave because they are closing. My heart drops because I just can’t get enough of this girl. Everything in me was so drawn to her.

I open the door for her, and the slight breeze is just cold enough to give her goosebumps. Immediately I take off my jacket and wrap it around her shoulders, holding it up enough to let her arms slide in.

“Thank you.” She smiled.

“Don’t thank me, I’m only standing here right now because you saved my life.” We stand silent for a few seconds just looking at each other before she breaks the stare and reaches into her pocket, pulling out her car keys.

“Well, let me at least give you a ride back to your motel. It’s too cold out here for you to be walking.”

It wasn’t too cold, but I wouldn’t turn down that offer in a million years.

“You mind driving? I’m pretty sleepy.” She held her keys out to me. Something about the way she said “sleepy” and looked up at me while drowning in my jacket made me go crazy. I hadn’t known this girl for even 12 hours, and she owed my entire heart already.

“Of course.” I gladly took her keys from her and subconsciously placed my hand on her lower back like we were some cheesy-ass couple, but she didn’t stop me, so I left it there as I lead her to the only car left in the parking lot, which I assumed to be hers.

“Where are you staying?” I asked.

“At the Red Rock motel, about ten minutes that way.” She pointed north. I couldn’t help but laugh as I moved her arm to the right.

“Sam and I are holed up there too, but it’s actually east.”

We both laughed as I started up the engine.

“Don’t judge me. I drove twenty hours straight to save your asses and I’m tired.” She joked. “Plus, I’ve never been that good with directions.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you’ve got your own personal compass now.” I sent her a wink, and she bit her bottom lip, trying to fight the blush that was creeping up on her cheeks, which, in turn, made me blush. Dammit, am I a freaking teenager again?

We pulled into the motel and I walked her to her room. She shrugged off my jacket and thanked me as she gave it back and told me goodnight.

I couldn’t wipe the stupid smile off of my face the entire walk back to my room, and upon entering, Sam noticed.

“Aww, Dean’s in love.” Sam half mocked from the bed he was sitting on, with his computer in his lap.

“Whatever.” I brushed him off. “You got a new case?” I nodded to the computer and newspapers that he had been studying.

“Yeah, I think so. Some missing people in Montana have shown up with their hearts ripped out.”

“Sounds wolfy to me.” I added as I began to get ready for bed. “Maybe Y/N wants to come with us. You good if I invite her?”

Sam raised his eyebrows at me. “No, I don’t mind. But be straight with me for a minute here. Dean, how much do you really like this girl?”

I didn’t even feel the need to lie. “I really, really like her. Like I’m already in way too deep for not knowing her for a full day.”

“Wow. The great Dean Winchester is whipped. Never thought I’d see that day.” Sam closed his laptop and began to gather up all his papers. “Be honest, was it when she threw the machetes?”

“The freaking machetes, man. That was the most badass thing I’ve ever seen…” I trailed off. “But no, I mean, that’s part of it, but it’s just everything about her. I can’t say it’s one specific thing, because it’s just every single detail about her draws me in.”

“Alright Nicholas Sparks, well I’m getting some shut eye and you should too. We have a long drive tomorrow.” Sam turned off the lamp by his bed and turned away from me, snoring almost instantly. I slid under the covers, knowing that I should be exhausted after a long day that involved almost dying, but all I could think about was talking to Y/N tomorrow.

Chapter 7

Tags:

@vicmc624

#dean winchester #dean x reader #dean x y/n #dean x you #dean winchester fanfiction #supernatural #spn

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popurikat · 4 years ago

Note

Ruin Teresa Agnes career. Aka: the Teresa analysis. Take all the time you need >:3

Okay I’m saying this right off the bat in case someone who stans this character misses the point above, but well I hate Teresa Agnes’ character in the maze series, both movie and book. However, in my analysis I will try to explain why her character misses the mark both as a villain and as a sympathetic character. So, to analyze her in depth, I’m putting this into parts under the read below. HEADS UP! As of now this analysis will exclude Death Cure Novel review as I have not finished that one, though it will mention one major spoiler I have been informed of from that book that I need to add for the sake of her character; other than that I will be discussing the other three novels before it (yes that is including the prequel Fever code) and the three movies from the series in broad ideas as I am not about to scavenge for quotes like I did in my last long post… well at least not as many.

Part 1: Teresa the master manipulator

No matter which way you look at it, Teresa has a way to bend others to her will, whether we blame WCKD for teaching her so well; or she used it as a means of survival, the idea still stands. Though she is extremely skilled in combat, especially at using spears and knives, Teresa’s biggest skill is her silver tongue, she can lie her way out of anything. Most evident is her betrayal in Scorch when she has such a good poker face that she not only convinces group B that Thomas is the problem they have to eradicate to get WCKD’s good side, but she also doesn’t hesitate to maim Thomas to the point of threatening to kill him: “Get in the room or I’ll hit you again. I swear I’ll keep doing it till you pass out or bleed to death” (Ch. 51). /sarcasm/ Charming ain’t she? /end of sarcasm/ The thing about lying though is that sometimes it backfires, for instance in the case of Group B, Harriet and Sonya hear Thomas out on why they shouldn’t kill him like Teresa asked, and when they listen and observe him they realize that Teresa is the worst and side with him; which in turn makes Teresa have to take drastic measures which involve getting Thomas alone with her to finish her duties to WCKD. Anyways, she even goes as far as to cement her betrayal by kissing Aris and crushing Thomas’ feelings by saying they were never a thing; she does this mind you without so much as breaking this character she builds up even though later she tries to say she still cares for Thomas. She is so convincing that Thomas has stated that: “Thomas had never heard such arrogance from her. She was either a really good actress or had started going crazy. Gained a split personality or two” (Ch. 45, Scorch). So yes, Teresa is too good at lying to the point I can say she can align as a Pathological Liar because she’s deceptive, goal-oriented in order to get HER way meaning she will not tolerate anyone interfering with her methods, she disregards the feelings of everyone around her, and she is constantly tweaking her excuses to adjust to the situations at hand. She is so good at lying she oozes self confidence when elaborating her defense by staring directly at the person she is talking to, unblinking, and will lash out in defense if someone calls her out on any inconsistencies.

Mind you this isn’t the first instance we get at how well she turns the story to her favor. In Fever Code, she is the one to help put the Gladers in the maze and erase Thomas’ memories, which transfers in Maze Runner with how she openly gaslights everyone by pretending she doesn’t remember much about WCKD’s doings even though her memories are the only ones implied to be in tact based on that email she wrote in Fever Code: “I’ve just said my goodbye to Thomas, and he’s now in the Glade, safe and sound. Tomorrow, it will be my turn. Dr. Paige has asked me to send a final note to everyone, sharing my thoughts. I’m more than happy to do so. I feel good about the plan to leave my and Aris’s memories intact. You need someone in each group with whom you can communicate and plan during the phases of the Trials”(FC epilogue) and also based on this specific tid bit in Maze Runner where she slips she knows more than she lets on: “Though I guess a Griever can’t squeeze through this window, so I’ll be happy, right?” The mention of Grievers surprised him -- he didn’t remember talking about them to her yet. ‘Teresa are you sure you’ve forgotten everything?”(Ch.37, pg.246). Griever knowledge in general for Teresa in Maze seems to be code talk for “I am here to cause trouble, I kept my memories'' because during the sequence with the fiasco with the invasion of the species in Group A’s field, Teresa casually wakes up after the event’s commotion subsides earning Newt’s suspicion that maybe the map fire was not done on accident. Anyways, in keeping things down low and having an advantage in memory recollection, she ensures Thomas and co. don’t recall events correctly unless it's vital to her mission. And yes, Teresa will use violence and anger if necessary; she is perfectly fine with murder...”So we’re just going to kill them all? [...] They’ll die anyway [...] No, Tom, It’s be tough now or everyone dies later”(Ch. 47, Fever Code). Or even this small aside on her stance on death overall: “This is kind of fun,’ Teresa whispered to Thomas. ‘Walking along with my new friend.’ He looked at her in bemused disbelief. ‘Really? You drop that bombshell about kids dying and now you act like it’s no big deal? You’re so weird.’ He tried to make a joke out of it to hide just how horrified he’s been by her second question” (Ch. 9, pg. 55, FC). And she has killed, mind you, yes they were cranks, but they are still humanly conscious. Thomas in comparison shows pity about the fact that they were still human, Teresa didn’t bat an eye. And now, you might say “Hey Popuri, you know, she’s just willing to kill if it means saving everyone else right?” to which I go, sure she’s stated that if it means saving the rest it doesn’t matter if thousands or so die. However, she is also clear that she only cares about Thomas’ survival in specific, no one else; which immediately gets falsified by her “lie” in Scorch, thus she will kill anyone if need be no matter how close they are. What I’m saying is that not even Teresa has a clear path in why she manipulates everyone when she can so easily be convinced to make elaborate murder scenarios at the snap of WCKD’s fingers. She claims it's to save her “crush” but will not hesitate to shed his blood and drag him across the desert.

She claims it's to help WCKD, that WCKD is good, but she has bore witness time and time again that the facility makes countless errors and knows there's no REAL cure available … and Teresa is a smart kid, so why continue believing a hopeless façade? Because she's desperate to cling to some hope? No. Teresa doesn’t do the whole hope thing, she's convinced WCKD is good period, there's nothing else. So, even if there is no evidence anymore she will fight tooth and nail for something she herself is trapped in because no one will want to be there for the girl who treated her only connections as poorly as WCKD treated her. Therefore, is it because she can’t help it then? I can only imagine that's the case. She’s willingly this puppet for WCKD, she could’ve escaped them any time she liked like Thomas and co. did, but she prefers to stay on the burning train even if it means her own demise because she refuses to admit any of her actions were wrong, the truth will NOT set her free because she cannot confront it.

Moving forward, I wanna delve more into the whole telepathy dealio she specifically shares with Thomas and we actually never really learn if she can talk to others as she evades the question when it does arrive in book. The only certain thing is that if you have a chip, you can talk using your mind. Now this would be a fine plot device, but in the hands of someone who wants to control your every move and thought, well....”Thomas, this is Teresa. He was going crazy. He was actually going crazy. It was the oldest and most common symptom -- hearing voices in your head. ‘Uh...’, he said aloud. Is this working? Is this working? The last words landed between his eyes like a thunderbolt. The pain knocked his legs out from under him and he collapsed onto the floor. Never had the world felt so fluid beneath him, as if nothing solid existed, no form, no substance“ (Ch.20 , pg. 112, FC). So first things first, Thomas hates it when he gets a mind message, he feels extreme pain when someone tries it, this is recurrent throughout the series. He has told her a few times not to contact him through that method, but it's their little secret and besides, if he told anyone who would believe him? “Teresa shrugged. ‘You didn’t tell anyone, did you? They’d think we’re crazy“(Ch.36, Maze Runner). So we have a situation where Teresa has a huge way of overpowering Thomas, she can send images to his head without his consent and yell into his mind even if it means it hurts him. And the kicker? She doesn’t teach him how to use it on purpose. And when he tries to contact her? Well depending on her mood she can either be flirty or... well this: “Teresa? A pause. Teresa? A longer pause. Teresa! He shouted it mentally, his whole body tensing with effort. Teresa! Where are you? Please answer me! Why aren’t you trying to contact me? Ter- /GET OUT OF MY HEAD!/ The words exploded inside his mind, so vivid and so strangely audible within his skull that he felt lances of pain behind his eyes and in his ears. He sat up in bed, then stood. It was her. It was definitely her. Teresa? He pressed the first two fingers of both hands against his temples. Teresa? /WHOEVER YOU ARE , GET OUT OF MY SHUCK HEAD!/ Thomas stumbled backward until he sat down once again on the bed. His eyes were closed as he concentrated. Teresa, what are you talking about? It’s me. Thomas. Where are you? /SHUT UP!/ It was her, he had no doubt, but her mental voice was full of fear and anger /JUST SHUT UP! I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE! LEAVE ME ALONE!/ But, Thomas began completely at a loss [...] /LEAVE ME ALONE, OR I’LL HUNT YOU DOWN AND CUT YOUR THROAT. I SWEAR IT. “ (Ch.8, FC). *sarcasm* ah yes, nothing says true love like a death threat that actually comes to near fruition later in that same book and pretending to not know that person only to later, upon meeting Thomas acting like a sobbing mess, kiss him and disappear...she sure knew him then huh? *end of sarcasm* Having a power imbalance in a relationship is, you know, not good, especially when you’re making it so you gaslight the person anytime they know something you don’t want them to or to have control over the situation. Teresa does this OFTEN. To the point that it makes Thomas so emotionally attached to her he finds it hard to admit he doesn’t need her, even when he’s been badly hurt.

Part 2: Your past does not excuse your bad actions in the present. Period.

Now let me clear something up, PAST ABUSE does not CONDONE you to HURT OTHERS in turn, let alone allows you to use it as an excuse to justify wrong actions. I am aware Teresa, aka Deedee, was abandoned due to an outbreak of the flare at an early age; had her name changed, was confined to a room with Thomas as her only friend who was the same age as her, and openly manipulated by adults to believe WCKD is good. But you know who else goes through the same treatment? LITERALLY EVERY KID EXPOSED TO THIS EXPERIMENT! AND THEY DON’T THREATEN EACH OTHER IF THEY DON’T GET THEIR WAY OR KILL EACH OTHER. And this is not said in order to justify that everyone with the same experiences will have the same reactions, I understand stressors and trauma affect everyone differently and acknowledge everyone needs a different support system. But like, for peeps sake, Thomas who is Teresa’s exact foil as a narrative play to show that they are more alike than they realize which is the flimsiest proof to grab at as to why they need each other to an extent; literally has the exact same story cut and paste from her and he has more empathy and compassion to those around him, than Teresa ever shows. WHY? If the idea is to show Teresa has hardened from her own experiences, she should in theory act more like Brenda, a renegade civilian that isn’t soft for anyone except the boy who will save her. I know in my explanation I compare Thomas and Teresa a lot, but it's hard not to when Teresa, though having Aris as another buddy who is also in on the whole WCKD scheme, still decides to CLING to Thomas to be her saving grace. And the thing is, even if she only ever trusted Thomas in this whole experiment, then why not confide in him or tell him what is happening? She doesn’t LISTEN to anything he says to her in turn. YES, Teresa knows more about the situation as a whole, YES she is capable of doing things by herself, but she never trusts anyone. You’d think she would be more open to talking to the kids her age or be the quiet type because she knows what will happen to them all if they don’t comply; but no, I can’t even describe her personality other than stoic one moment and complete chaos in the next, and she does that switch VERY often. But sure, she prefers to skew half truths and put everyone in danger because ….WCKD? She’s supposed to be the intellectual one and she doesn’t know how to spread her capabilities, no wonder Brenda is introduced in the second book.

It's also incomprehensible to me why she feels it necessary to follow WCKD in general when she was the first to know of all their evil doings? “They were at the door when Teresa stopped and asked Dr. Leavitt a question. Two, actually. And it was enough to change the man’s demeanor completely. ‘What’s a swipe trigger? And is it true that seven kids died during the implant surgeries?’ The questions stunned Thomas. He turned to look at Teresa as the doctor fumbled for an answer. ‘How...’ the man began, then stopped, realizing at the same moment what Thomas did: Teresa had stumbled on something major. Something true”(Ch. 9, pg.54, FC). You’d think she would have the maturity to one up WCKD and knock them from the inside out to save the one she “loves'' but she doesn’t, instead she abides by the facility...even when knowing they are the ones who made the Flare in the first place. Call me naïve, but wouldn’t it make sense that if she wants to help stop the Flare than it would be in her best interest to hold Ava at an inch of her life (and Ratman) until she fesses up how to reverse the Flare, only to then realize oops there never was a possibility for a cure ~, but in knowing this finally be rid of the one thing holding her back? Again, someone can argue that hey, she thinks the people who made it HAVE to eventually find the termination and either way what possible choice does she have when her own manipulators control her? But remember, in the end it's always been a huge experiment to eliminate the human populace, and that's motive enough to rebel and/or snap at the hand that feeds when it's gone too far. EVERYONE has a breaking point mentally and physically, THOMAS BREAKS DOWN SEVERAL TIMES IN THE SPAN OF THE SERIES BECAUSE HE CAN’T MAKE SENSE OF THE EXPERIMENTS AND THE REASON TO CONTINUE SURVIVING ONLY ON WCKDS TERMS. And it drives me insane that Teresa would openly keep the Gladers from knowing about their procedures when she has known the longest from everyone else! Oh? You want evidence that Teresa keeps her memories intact and lies about ever losing them, sure! Here, have a morsel: “Teresa..., he started to say, but then stumbled a void. He had no idea how to respond. Did you....did you already know this stuff? /I’ve heard rumors./ And you never told me? He was stunned. How could she have known this and never said anything? She was his best friend. The first person he went to with everything. /I just don’t see the point. Yes, we have reason to hate these people. But how is dwelling on the past going to help anybody? The solution is what matters./ Thomas had never been so blindsided in his life.../I’m really tired, Tom. Can we talk about it tomorrow?/ She was gone from his mind before he could respond [...] The next day Teresa refused to talk about it, emphasizing that she’d rather focus on the future than the past Dr. Paige also blew it off, saying that those decisions had been made well before her time. it was almost like they were both determined to forget” (Ch. 43, pg. 239, FC). TALK ABOUT BECOMING THE ONE THING THAT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO OVERCOME. Like goodness sake, Teresa was part of the prep and launch of putting each Glader into the Maze and she never doubted it, never fussed over how this was bad. The excuse of “this is for their own good, my own good, and the world’s” can only go so far when you are in an environment that is full of violence and trauma, you expect me to not believe Teresa just never broke down and truly analyzed how she can use her lies to one up her own abusers? She’s supposed to be this “empowering” female character and she can’t even get THAT right.

Part 3: How come the films did it better?

The film actually humanizes her a lot more and makes her motives at least justifiable in a fit of protecting the one you love. I know a lot of people dislike her character in the movies because it's more frail and sympathetic, but it was a very good way to justify her motives and plan out her actions from point A to point B. What do I mean by that? Let's take a look. Film Teresa enters the Maze without the ability to communicate to Thomas through telepathy, she still has her memories and she is still in close contact with WCKD, that much is still the same. Her motive though is to get everyone out of the maze and into stage 2 where the facility can round up the ones who have been viewed to be immune through the Maze Trials. So far so good, but pretty on par with the book right? Well, here is where it differs for the best. On the last act of Scorch, Teresa tells Thomas WITH SENTIMENT, no more lies and no more hiding that she contacted WCKD because it was needed to keep Thomas alive and well. WOW, notice how she doesn’t emotionally manipulate him and her innocent nature of trusting the scientists of her world to cure everyone actually leads her to be more sympathetic and relatable to the audience? In Death Cure, she doesn’t expect Thomas or ANYONE to forgive her for her actions and in fact takes her actions at face value. This Teresa is more understanding of the phrase “You can change, but those you’ve wronged have no obligation to forgive you” than book Teresa ever will. To the point that when she finds Thomas in the city and has bore witness to the startling realization that there indeed could be no cure cause her patient flares back up; of which is intentionally a little girl to reflect without showing that she can relate to the Flare stripping away her childhood, she then betrays WCKD by allowing the Gladers to infiltrate the facility, thus redeeming her when she dies in the explosion. Thus, making her in the film's eyes an anti-hero. As Skquill once told me, “Film teresa really did want to create a better future, and wanted to help people and that's what I like about film teresa. It didn't work. It literally blew up in her face. But, she tried, and she saved Thomas in the end.”

The only reason I don’t like Teresa even in the film is because she is kind of a wet blanket there, barely expresses any emotion beyond stoic token girl that cries sometimes, and she could’ve saved herself the whole betrayal arc if she just learned to better communicate her intentions instead of sobbing pathetically every time no one wants anything to do with her for her ill doings.Not to mention she still maintains her personality to a degree from the book (just call her diet Teresa really) because once both enter the sequence in Scorch where they ran out of pawns to move around they claim that they did what they had to do and they wouldn’t change a thing, they’d do it again if they could. It is only when both are at death’s door with no other choice that they give in some noble sacrifice at a chance for redemption, which is well too little too late. And in the opposing corner of knowing some people blame Thomas for not just allowing himself to be experimented on since the beginning, my rebuttal to be fair is that Teresa just again, sucked at explaining herself and the intentions of WCKD until it was deserving of a literal showdown bloodbath that evidently Tommy boy had to take defense to and threaten his life if anyone else died due to miscommunications. ALSO, IT'S HIS OWN BODY, HE CAN DO WHAT HE WANTS WITH IT INSTEAD OF HAVING OTHERS DICTATE WHAT HE NEEDS TO DO.

BUT ANYWAYS, book Teresa in comparison has even less characterization, I am sorry to say. SHE'S BARELY IN SCORCH AS IS, only coming out toward the climax because before that she is crying and kissing Thomas before going MIA for 45 chapters. Ouch. And when she does appear? She purposefully causes trouble that leads to essentially no where, we could’ve gotten to the safe haven way sooner without her interference.

Part 4: Is Book Teresa a good female character?

The simple answer? No.

The slightly longer answer? Even if I were to place her as the villain of the story she’s...not that good? Mostly because again, she acts as a puppet for a rich, governmental organization that basically implants how she should think and act. YET, somehow she is still smart, brave, lethal, and *ahem* UNBELIEVABLY BEAUTIFUL WITH HER LONG HAIR THAT IS BASICALLY DESCRIBED THE EXACT SAME WAY AS BRENDA’S, WHO FYI IS THE SLIGHTLY BETTER FEMALE LEAD THAT STILL CAN’T HOLD A COIN TO SONYA OR HARRIET (the background characters) THOUGH. I also need to say plainly, she has no gradual growth, she remains by her ideals and thinks she's right constantly in all but one book...which is one book too late and thus made meaningless. By no means is Teresa a mary sue, yet she still manages to be a stereotype in Maze Runner: “If you’re going to decipher a hidden code from a complex set of different mazes, I’m pretty sure you’ll need a girl’s brain running the show”(ch.43); then again going most of the book in Scorch missing, and then unceremoniously gets crushed by a boulder in Death Cure as her final hurrah for all the bs she caused isn’t really a means to become a memorable character. This is the female supportive character I’m supposed to relate to and or praise for her dastardly, cunning intellect? If I were looking for a strong female with various flaws and a tragic end I would saunter over to Hunger Games’ Katniss instead. Teresa fails as a character the moment that her sole purpose is to be so emotionally/physically attached to Thomas that her whole character gets washed down the gutter so badly that Kill Order had to be made to justify her actions through a tragic backstory. In no way or form was I able to entertain this character as a favorite because she is everything I don’t want to be or befriend, and even as again, a “villain” she doesn’t exactly do much as the real masterminds are Ava and her cronies who MADE the disease and the trials. Even going as far as calling her an anti-hero feels off because none of her actions deliberately affect the plot or progress of our main character’s story. But that's kind of the thing with D*shner’s characterization of females overall? They’re either brutish or simply there. I don’t think any of them even pass the Bechdel Test.

Final thoughts:

I don’t like Teresa, I would personally fight her in a Denny’s parking lot at 3am if I could. I recall saying multiple times how she should just “shut up” as I read Maze and Scorch because most of her quotes are not memorable nor important. But in no way do I blame the character for the angst and tragedy of the novels overall. D*shner just...doesn’t seem to know how to make honest character growth and a decent plot, thus, in turn the story and its leads suffer tremendously as the narrative gets stretched out. (me yelling in the distance about how Crank Palace was made for clout). HOWEVER, In no way should my analysis stop people from finding Teresa as interesting or “cool”, I actually ENCOURAGE anyone that stans her to explain why to me because I personally don’t understand why beyond thinking “I just think she's chaotically evil and her treachery is fun to witness”. COOL IF THAT'S THE REASON OR EVEN IF YOU RE-WROTE HER TO BE BETTER! I just personally don't find her presence necessary for plot progression or as a love interest in general. It in fact sucks that she gets essentially replaced by Brenda almost as soon as the opportunity arises. In turn though, for others who don’t like her either as much as me, feel free to add onto this post any other “Teresa sucks and here's why” moments as I know there's a lot of moments out there to quote or paraphrase. Thanks for reading~

#Maze Runner #Maze Runner Series #Rant #Character dislike #I don't like Teresa #asks #Skquill #Long post

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moonflower-31 · 4 years ago

Text

I Won’t Forget You - Spencer Reid x Reader

Masterlist

Part 6

Pairing: Spencer x Reader

Warnings: Descriptions of murders, cases, Serial killer facts,

Tags: @dra-reid, @eevee0722, @ceeellewrites, @anotherr-fine-mess, @ssahoodrathotchner

~~~~~~~~~~

○●♡●○

It had been about two months or so since your little impromptu sleepover at the resident genius's place. Things had gotten a little better, at least on your part.

"Hey!"

You jumped from your make-do desk in your room, snapping your head towards the doorway where a friendly face awaited you. Gabriel had a bag of sweets in one hand and a malt in the other. "Jesus, Gabe you scared me." You cursed, holding a hand to your chest.

"At least we're even." He points out, putting the malt on the table in front of you. Also inconveniently on top of your written notes for the paper you had to write. You growled and moved the drink, glaring at your best friend.

"You've gotten even with me plenty of times since then! How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" You ask in exasperation. Gabriel pretends to ponder your question as he pops a caramel apple sucker into his mouth.

"Says the girl who didn't call me to tell me she was home and instead decided to stay with the coworker she has a crush on. You didn't even bribe me with details!" He complained, dumping a few sweets in front of you.

You grumpily grab one of the sweets he had graciously offered and tossed it into your mouth. "It was one time! And I hadn't slept for like, four days! Besides, it wasn't my fault my mother decided to drop by and visit!" You huff.

"Yeah yeah. You know how much I hate that hag. Nothing against you, sugar tits." Gabriel comments, pulling the pop from his mouth. "But still, no excuse not to call me. Send me a text even. Some proof of life." He grumbled. "That malt is yours by the way. Iris insisted I get one for you while we were out. Couldn't say no."

You look over at the bright pink striped cup dripping with condensation that created a wet circle on the desk. For being pissed at you for over two months, Gabriel was a good friend.

You took the malt and started sipping generously. "I'm sorry, okay? What do I have to do to prove it to you?" You ask.

Gabriel smirked. You hated when he got ideas.

"Tell me about your night with Mister teacher's pet. Then I'll consider it." He teased, quickly bopping your nose.

"I already told you. After my bitch mother confronted me, he convinced me to head to his place. I couldn't say no. He eventually read me a poem and I fell asleep. And… he knows my real name now. Happy?" You asked with a groan.

"Oh come on, that can't be all of it!" He whined, almost like a child about to throw a tantrum for being forced to eat his vegetables. Not that Gabriel was any different. He would fight you tooth and nail if you tried.

"It is! Nothing else happened! No kiss, no dramatic display of feelings, no nothing. Just a really awkward drive to work." You huffed.

The thought of the drive was a little hurtful. After the night you both had, well more like morning and you slept through the rest of the day, Spencer had been distant. It didn't last long as a couple days later they all had to get on the jet for another case. Spencer then began to re-warm up to you and now you knew nothing different. Though he didn't try to flirt with you anymore. Not like Morgan. But the previous moments where he had you backed up against the map, or had called you a good girl. He never did it again. And to be honest, you missed it despite how embarrassed you were afterwards.

"Boo! And I thought you liked the guy!" Gabriel exclaimed, acting baffled at the chain of events in your life. He then shrugged. "More fish in the sea I guess." He teased, obviously gaging you for a response.

"I do! Just… I'm not as obscenely obvious about it as you want me to be!" You hissed, sucking up more chocolate malt into your mouth with a little bit of a pissy attitude.

"Well if you were, I'm sure he'd be your teacher's aide boyfriend by now. Now, who's right and wrong in this situation? Hm? Yeah, me. No debate." He insists, putting the sucker back into his mouth.

"Shut up. I have to write this paper. For my doctorate in social science." You explain. "Just because you stopped going to school doesn't mean I can't go ahead and add another doctorate to my belt." You try to change the subject, hoping Gabriel would ease up on you.

"You and those doctorates. Are you seriously trying to build a filing cabinet up there or are you just bored with working for the FBI already?" Gabriel asks, flopping down onto your bed.

"Neither. I just want to know as much as I can in all of my areas of schooling. Be taken seriously." You insist.

"Boring. Why don't you take classes on making candy or something? That would be seriously cool. And then you can open up your own business just to spite those parents of yours!

I can see it now!" He rants, hanging his head over the edge of your mattress as he spreads his hands as if displaying the business name.

You roll your eyes. "No thanks. That sounds like something you should do though. You'd fit right into that role, you know. Candyman." You tease. "Now I really gotta finish this paper." You insist.

"Fine fine. Just be sure to come down from your academic heaven long enough to eat dinner once Iris is finished." He insists, winking at you before he leaves your room.

Finally, you had your peace and quiet. But it was weird. The peace and quiet was very quickly becoming deafening by the influx of thoughts. Not the helpful kind either.

You began to come up blank on ideas for your paper and had more ideas on how you could have maybe done something different to prevent that awkward drive to work all those weeks ago. Where did this uncertainty come from?

You grumble and close your laptop after ten minutes of no progress. Maybe you just needed a break. Then again, it was your day off. And you didn't feel like wishing bad things on someone just so you'd be able to go into work.

Almost as if the universe had been listening and decided to throw you a sickened bone, you heard your phone begin to ring. You eagerly pick it up, knowing it would be something to keep you busy.

"Hello, Agent (L/N)." You answer without checking the caller ID.

"Yes, (L/N) I need you to come in. We have another case." Hotch answers the phone. You feel a slight feeling of excitement strike at your core. Sure, you'd been on 6 cases so far, but you enjoyed being around your fellow agents and putting another unsub away.

"Do I get any insight, Hotch?" You ask.

"It's a case in Lebanon Kansas. We have a large group of bodies piling up. We have two suspects we believe are working with each other. We just need to profile them and catch them before they kill again. I'll inform everyone once you've arrived." As soon as he finished, he hung up. He didn't give you any chance to reply. Typical Hotch fashion.

You stand up immediately, grabbing your bag and your go-bag you had packed at all times just in case this happened. You grabbed the malt you still had and drank the rest of it, grabbing a couple of the caramel apple pops Gabriel had left and shoving them into your pocket.

You wandered into the kitchen, grabbing a plastic container and putting some of dinner into it.

"Woah, woah, where the hell are you going so late?" Gabriel asked in a fatherly tone. You rolled your eyes and glared at him for a moment.

"I have work. Duh."

"Work? I thought you were off?" Iris asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I am. But unfortunately serial killers don't care that I'm off. Sorry guys. I promise I'll call you guys once I get back, okay?" You promise, finding a lid and putting it on the tubberware.

"You better. Or else I'll stick gum in your hair. And not the easy to get out stuff." Gabriel threatened teasingly, taking a quick bite of his food. "Have fun arresting some muttonheads!" He called.

You chuckle and sling your bag over your shoulder. "Will do!" You reply before you turn around and head out of your shared apartment.

○●♡●○

"Hey! (L/N)!"

You turn your head as you arrive to the bullpen. You smile as the eccentric Penelope Garcia raced up to you to give you a hug once you were down the stairs.

You graciously accepted the hug and turned to everyone else. "What did I miss?" You ask.

"Nothing much. Only Reid finally showing us another magic trick!" Penelope answered for everyone. Morgan chuckled and Reid blushed slightly. Emily was leaned slightly against Reid's desk, looking at you warmly.

"Seriously, he's really good." Emily affirmed. You chuckled and walked over in interest.

"Really now? Show me." You insist, standing in front of Spencer. He looked up at you and did a nervous chuckle.

"W-well your gonna have to turn around." He says, giving you an adorable michevious smirk.

"Oh come on-" you begin.

"He does this everytime, you'll get used to it." Emily adds, laughing slightly as she begins to turn around.

"Spencerrr… please? For me?" You asked, batting your eyes pitifully. You knew it would probably get you nowhere, but you could at lease try.

"No." He insisted.

"Pleaseeee!" You beg again, putting your hands in a clasped position. You even bended your knees slightly to add to the effect.

Instead of the immediate rejection, he pondered for a moment and stared at you.

"Come on kid, one person knows a magician's tricks. Let her be your protégé." Morgan suggests. You giggle and shook your head.

"No really, it's fine. You don't have to show me-" you begin to backtrack, not wanting to force Spencer into showing you.

"I'll do it. I-I mean… I have to find someone to pass my gifts onto." He chuckles, rubbing his neck a little nervously.

"Really?"

"Yeah!" He expressed.

Morgan raised an eyebrow and stifled a chuckle as he watched you two. He leaned over to Emily who had made her way over to where he stood and whispered into her ear.

Spencer then told everyone to turn their heads away except for you. Then he began to show you the way he made the mini bottle rocket. He wrapped his hands around yours and helped you with each step. The warmth of his hands spread to your cheeks, and the touch of them sent shivers down your spine.

"Then turn it upside down and…" Spencer instructed in a whisper, helping you to turn the cap upside down. You watched the foaming top for a few seconds, moving closer towards the unknowing danger of the cap. As soon as it began to jump up, Spencer pushed you back with an inaudible warning. You watched as the bottle skyrocketed and flew fast Hotch's ear. Through this, his hand clutched as your shoulder and refused to leave it.

"Reid, I thought I told you not to do that." Hotch warned.

Reid's face grew a little brighter with embarrassment. You didn't know what came upon you then, but you stood up and gulped. "It-it was me. He taught me and I shot it. Sorry sir." You insisted.

Hotch's lips pulled into a slight smile as he looked back towards you. He didn't say anything afterwards, but you knew he was just teasing you both. "Meet up in the confrence room in five minutes, we have another case." He says after he cleared his throat. You nodded with a cheerful smile and put your bag in your chair. You glanced to Spencer, flashing him a gentle smile before you turned to enter the conference room.

You entered the room and took your seat, taking the tablet out that Garcia had given you before. "So what do we have?" You asked.

"We have what is assumed to be over a dozen bodies killed with different MO's and different stages of aggression. The only thing that links them are the DNA from one or both of these suspects; Jensen and Sam Westchester. And boy do they have long records. That's why we were able to find their DNA matches so quick." Penelope answered.

Spencer took a seat beside you, causing your heart to skip just slightly. "How come we don't have these men yet? Why do they need our help?" You ask.

"We need to apprehend them. And get a confession. The Kansas state court system has been known to be unpredictable. Sometimes evidence is enough, other times they get off with a warning and community service." Hotch answers.

"At least they do that." Morgan grumbled. "How come we don't have these guys yet? Are they that slick?"

"Unfortunately yes. They are like Houdini when it comes to busting out of prisons and facilities. The last prison they were held in, one up in Ohio, said they were able to escape through knocking out a guard and switching clothes with him. They were in for a robbery charge." Penelope continued.

"So why escalate to murder? Unless these murders were scattered." You ask.

"They are. Over 15 years worth. It looks like they could maybe have more." Spencer spoke up, looking over the picture of one of the more recent bodies.

"It's quite possible. After all, Harold Shipman managed to get away with 218 proven murders. But they think he could've done as many as 250." You answer, sharing a serial killer fact you found interesting.

"So we just need to profile these boys and figure out the motive. And if we apprehend them, keep them apart." Emily points out.

"Why do you say that?" Rossi asks.

"If you notice the trend in each of these escapes, they only manage to escape when in contact with the other. In the prison they had time to be able to see one another and formulate a plan. Even when in questioning they were able to get notes to each other."

"Then we'll have to split up and get seperate confessions. These two are brothers, and neither seem to fit the submissive type.' Hotch explains.

"Two alpha males killing for seemingly no reason for half their lives. This'll be easy to get them to confess and rat out their partner." You say sarcastically.

"We have to try. Wheels up in thirty." Hotch announces, standing up and leaving the room.

You sigh and pick up the tablet. "Garcia, can you go ahead and check more than just their juvie records? I wanna have a list of information I can pick from for the profile. Possibly pinpoint some areas of their lives that lead to this behavior." You ask.

"Oh, but of course Queen! I'll get straight on that. But most of it will probably be sealed." She warned.

"Unseal those records Garcia. Anything that can help us." Morgan interjects as he grabs his bag and he too leaves the conference room. Garcia nods to him and quickly clicks her heels as she leaves the room. You sigh and pick up your things as you prepare to get onto the jet.

"You didn't have to defend me."

"Hm?" You ask, turning to look at Spencer. "Oh, you mean the rocket-thingy?" You clarify. "I was the one to beg you to teach me. Let's just be happy it didn't hit him in the head." You giggle. Spencer looked at you intently for a few moments before he nodded and turned his head away silently. Although it caused you to be uncertain, you brushed it off and walked out to your desk to grab your things.

As you grab your bags, you feel the small raised bulge in your pocket. You remember the caramel apple pops and smile. At least you could enjoy one of these on the way to deal with a pair of serial killers. Fun.

You pulled the sucker from the wrapper and popped it into your mouth, beginning your trek out to the jet. As you begin to walk towards the elevator, you notice a pair of hazel eyes following you. You feel a slight burning sensation on the back of your neck and your cheeks as you realized. He looked away once he noticed you were staring back.

Was he really staring, or was he just spacing out? You hoped it was the former. You were practically begging and praying for it to be. But you knew you'd never be that lucky.

As you began walking, you heard a jumble of feet behind you and the jingle of things inside a bag getting tossed around. "(Y/N!)" You heard. You widened your eyes and turned around, glad no one besides Spencer had been behind you.

"Spencer! You can't just call me by my first name right now!" You hissed.

"S-sorry, I just wanted to apologize if I sounded upset with you. I… I find it honorable that you tried to defend me. No one really does." He explained. You felt your heart melt a little.

"Spencer… I didn't think that in the slightest." You knew you were lying, but it was going to make him feel better. Besides, it wasn't that big of a deal. "And if that last part is true then I'll be your legendary defender. Like Voltron!" You insist, already beginning to geek out in front of your workplace crush. Way to go, (Y/N).

"Voltron? What is that? Is it like Star Trek?" He asked, beginning to walk towards the jet with you. You widen your eyes at him and gasp playfully.

"You, haven't seen Voltron Legendary Defender? Okay, when we get back you HAVE to come over and watch it with me. Afterwards we can watch some documentaries." You insist, practically bouncing on your toes. Spencer looked over you and smiled, unable to tell you no.

"Sounds like a plan."

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x reader fic #spencer reid x you #spencer #spencer reid x reader fanfiction #spencer x y/n #spencer reid x y/n #Criminal Minds #Criminal Minds Fanfiction #criminal minds fandom

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eyesforjade · 4 years ago

Text

2: the snap

Summary: The situation wasn’t going as Tony wanted, not even close. When he went out for a walk with Pepper that morning, he didn't expect to be on an alien ship going to another planet, much less that a magician would appear during this walk, accompanied by Bruce Banner with yet another threat for them to confront. Stark hoped his life would become easier after he had partially abandoned his armor and chosen to live a normal life with Pepper and his daughter Elisabeth, but things had to get worse in one way or another.

Word count: 10,5k.

Warnings: I’m from Brazil, I write in portuguese and translate to english, with what I know and learn from the language, and with some help of google translate, it may oy may not be understadble, but I’m trying my best, and hope you like it.

Masterlist

The situation wasn’t going as Tony wanted, not even close. When he went out for a walk with Pepper that morning, he didn't expect to be on an alien ship going to another planet, much less that a magician would appear during this walk, accompanied by Bruce Banner with yet another threat for them to confront. Stark hoped his life would become easier after he had partially abandoned his armor and chosen to live a normal life with Pepper and his daughter Elisabeth, but things had to get worse in one way or another.

He remembers the tranquility of things before leaving home. Lisa was talking excitedly about an excursion the Midtown school would take the students, and how excited she and Peter were. He remembers to smile, and to face Pepper who had a huge smile on her face, he remembers when his daughter left home to go to school, and Pepper looked at him saying that these two were unexpected, and that she was curious to know where that relationship would go. Tony thought the same thing, and so he fought tooth and nail to keep the boy safe.

Thinking on a positive side, Tony was happy to be with Peter, because it meant his little girl was safe on Earth. It was selfish to think about it like that, the boy took an important part in Tony's life, he was like the son he never had, and he has won this place since he started a friendship with his daughter a few years ago. The boy had acquired powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider and assumed the mantle of Spiderman after that, years later, Stark would recruit him to help him with the Captain America X Sokovia Accords case, or as his daughter nicknamed "Civil war".

Which led him to the current situation. Trapped in a spaceship, with a plan based on a movie about aliens, without many options, Tony follows the boy's plan without hesitation, and in the end, it was a good plan, perhaps not the best way to save the wizard, but a plan that had worked. The spaceship belonged to the three now, and the next step was to think about what they would do next, Stark watched Peter talking to Strange's magic cloak, while his own costume retracted, turning over the clothes he wore for his walk.

"We got to turn the ship over." Stephen speaks, getting up quickly, the cape quickly adapts to his body.

“Yeah, now he wants to run. Great plan”. Tony replies approaching Parker, seeing if the boy hasn't been hurt in any way. If in Sokovia his daughter had gone against him, just because he was using Peter in a battle that wasn’t his, imagine what she would do if the boy got hurt here.

"No, I want to protect the stone". After checking it, Tony turns to the steering part of the ship, it wasn’t designed for human hands, but rather, Thanos's hands, alone he wouldn’t be able to control the ship.

“And I want you to thank me. Go ahead, I’m listening”.

"For what?" He hears the man's voice. "Nearly blasting me to space?"

"Who just saved your magical ass?" Tony turns around, facing the man. "Me".

"I seriously don't know how you fit your head into that helmet." Tony goes back to analyzing the system, while Stephen approaches him.

"Admit it, you should have ducked out when I told you to". Peter didn't dare say anything while the two argued, so he just kept close to the two of them watching. “I tried to bench you, you refused. Almost as stubborn as my daughter...”

"Unlike everyone else in your life, I don't work for you."

"And due to that fact, we’re now in a flying doughnut..." The comment made Strange roll his eyes, this conversation wouldn’t take them anywhere. "Billions of miles away from Earth, with no backup".

"I’m backup". Peter takes the comment as an opportunity to join the conversation.

"No, you’re a stowaway". Tony says quickly, pointing a finger at himself and then at Stephen. “The adults are talking”.

"I’m sorry, I’m confused as to the relationship here." Stephen looks at Stark with a confused expression, pointing his finger at Peter. "What is he, your ward?"

"No". Peter quickly extends his hand. "I'm Peter, by the way."

"Doctor Strange". Stephen speaks quickly, not shaking Peter's hand.

"Oh, we’re using our made-up names". Peter steps back nervously. "Um… I'm Spiderman, then". Stephen looks at him, and without saying anything else, starts to approach Tony.

“This ship is self-correcting its course. Thing’s autopilot". Tony informs the other man.

"Can we control it?" Peter begins to approach the two, while Strange leads questions about the situation. "Fly us home?" After a time of no response from the other man, Stephen speaks again. "Stark?"

"Yeah?”

"Can you take us home?" Tony nods, but his mind doesn't want to follow that plan. "Yeah, I heard you". Stark folds his arms, looking back at the wizard. "I'm not so sure if we should".

"Under no circumstance can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos". The wizard makes it clear once again, making Tony sigh. "I don't think you quite understand what's at stake here".

"No". Tony approaches the man. “It’s you who doesn't understand, that Thanos has been inside my head for six years, since he sent an army to New York and now he's back!” Peter remembers the 2012 attack, like it was yesterday, Lisa was at his house when the attack started, Pepper had left the girl there before going to a conference in Washington, and he remembers what it was like to see his best friend worried about her father. "And I don't know what to do, so, I’m not so sure if it’s a better plan to fight him on our turf or his... But you saw what they did, what they can do". Stephen regarded Tony as if he was as crazy as he seemed, that plan could end terribly badly, and trial and error wasn’t a viable option. “At least on his turf, he’s not expecting. So, I say we take the fight to him”. Tony was silent for a few seconds, considering the other man's expression, he didn't know how far they could go, and it was a very risky thing, but it was worth the try. "Doctor. Do you concur?"

"Alright, Stark". The man speaks calmly, he knew what he was risking there, and understood the responsibility he had the moment he put the necklace holding the stone on his neck. “We go to him. But you have to understand... If it comes to saving you or the kid or the Time Stone... I will not hesitate to let either of you die”. While Tony didn't look shaken, Peter's heart had probably skipped a beat or two, it was a lot of responsibility, planning such an attack, and it was at times like this, that he would rather have listened to his best friend, he should have stayed on the bus. "I can't, because the fate of the universe depends on it".

"Nice. Good. Moral compass”. Tony fiddles with his cloak, as if fixing it, and starts to approach Peter. "We’re straight. Alright, kid". Peter didn't move, and just watched Tony make a hand gesture, from one shoulder to the other. "You’re an Avenger now." Despite his nervousness, and as the whole situation scared him, Peter couldn't help but smile at what the man had said, he understood the responsibility of carrying that title, and he knew that he couldn't let Tony down, he couldn't let anyone down.

☼

It was supposed to be just another excursion, or that was what Elisabeth Stark thought when she left home. When you're the daughter of the famous billionaire and philanthropist Tony Stark, you can expect literally anything when you leave the house, going from being recognized by your father's not-so-secret "identity" to a donut-shaped alien spaceship invading Earth, and today, the tour to the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan had been interrupted by the second option, and Lisa couldn't be more nervous.

Elisabeth had seen the ship from the place she sat near MJ, who was just talking to her about her friends and the place they were going to. She could see that Peter had also seen the ship and knew well that the boy wouldn’t be on the bus for very long, which made her even more nervous. She knew him well enough, knew that he wouldn’t miss an opportunity to help the city, and understood that she wouldn’t be able to stop him for anything in the world.

"Holy shit!" Lisa and MJ turned their gaze to Peter and Ned, the four now aware of the ship in the sky, and Elisabeth was sure that Parker had asked Leeds to distract the rest of the students. “WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!” Without having to do anything else, Ned gets up and goes to the back of the bus, followed by MJ and several other students, leaving Peter and Lisa sitting in their seats. "THERE’S A SPACESHIP!"

"Think about what you're doing". Lisa whispers to her best friend, watching him put web shooters on his wrists.

"Saving the city". He responds with a smile, trying to reassure the girl.

"Putting yourself in danger". Peter with a quick gesture, puts his hand on his friend's face, giving a huge smile.

"I wouldn't be the friendly neighborhood buddy if I didn't do that". Before Peter could move, Elisabeth held his hand, making him look at her quickly, Ned's distraction had worked, but he needed to be quicker if he wanted to leave before anyone noticed that he was gone. "I'll be right back".

"No matter what you think at the time..." He looks at his friend confused, not understanding where she was going. "If my father thinks about getting on that ship, stop him, and above all, if he gets in that thing, get back to the bus".

"Lis, I ..."

"Promise me". Without saying anything else, the boy nods, leaving through the emergency exit quickly, leaving Elisabeth alone on the seat. Taking a deep breath, Elisabeth gets up, following the example of the other students, but soon realizing that one of the students hadn’t followed Ned's distraction, sitting on the seat in the back, Harry Osborn was smiling towards her.

"That was... interesting?" With a nervous smile, Lisa notices the students return to their seats and the bus stops, quickly, she sits down next to Harry. "So, Spiderman and Iron Heart, great partners..." Harry was one of her best friends, she met the boy at a science fair when the boy complained about his father giving more recognition to other people than to his own son, this started a friendship between the two, and has been expanding, and now Harry, Peter, Ned, MJ and Lisa were inseparable.

"Didn't you go see the donut-shaped ship?" Harry smiles widely at the comment.

“Are you kidding? This to me is like a weekend dinner at home”. Lisa accompanies her friend, laughing about it. The driver suggested that everyone stay calm and reported the situation to the teacher responsible for the excursion, and it seemed that Roger Harrington didn’t have a smooth trip.

"I urge everyone to remain calm, the roads leading to Manhattan have been temporarily closed." The professor points to the ship. “Because of that. We have no prediction for when we can continue our journey, or if we should continue, so stay together and stay on the bus, and...” All students remain silent, and the teacher seemed lost in his lines, just nodding his head and sitting back down.

"You know, I'm starting to think that this guy should take a vacation". MJ says quickly, approaching the bench that Osborn and Stark sat on, Lisa turns around with a smile, seeing that Ned and Flash were with her.

"Stark, you who are experienced in this kind of thing..." Flash starts making MJ roll his eyes, waiting for something stupid to come out of her mouth. "How likely are we to die on this bus?"

"That’s so low mood, Thompson." Brad yells from the back of the bus.

"Yeah, nobody's going to die." MJ replies, but in her eyes, I could see that there was a certain uncertainty in what she said.

"We will only be stuck on the road for a few minutes, it's not like the world is going to end for this". Betty speaks, rolling her eyes and sitting down next to Ned.

However, what would be minutes ended up becoming hours. Stark remained vigilant with the ship practically all the time, talked to her friends to distract her mind, while the bus wasn’t moving anymore, and after practically an hour, the ship disappeared from the skies, and she had no news of Peter and neither of her father, indicating that the two of them would probably be inside the ship. After a few more minutes, Elisabeth realized that she also couldn't stand there, she had to get off the bus and find help as soon as possible, to know what was going on outside the bus.

She could hear Harry and Flash talking about the ship, and Ned was asking her what would happen next. MJ sat in silence on the bench next to her and looked out the window as if all of her problems were going to disappear while she didn't look, Betty stayed close to them, but hardly talked, Lisa was sure she liked the company of Leeds, and that somehow it comforted her. Stark didn't know how to answer all of the questions, and felt almost immediately, her heart ease when her cell phone started ringing. She looked quickly at her cell phone, seeing the contact name “Uncle Rhodey”, without thinking twice, she answers.

"Hello?" Her words came out almost in a whisper, and she felt relief when James Rhodes started talking to her.

"What's up, little princess?" The group of friends she had around her were practically silent, and all she could hear on the bus was the other students talking to each other.

"He's on the ship, isn't he?" Elisabeth knew the answer to that question, she understood that everyone needed to act quickly to stop the threat, including her.

"According to Pepper, he is". The girl hears this, and closes her eyes in agreement, as if she is trying to assimilate it yet, the chances of Peter being on the ship with him were enormous. "And that's why I need you, there's something coming, and we don't have enough people to fight it".

"Which is?" She opens her eyes again, seeing Harry looking worried, he even holds her hand, and she realizes that her friends had practically the same expression as Osborn.

"A big guy named Thanos, he's after some Stones". Stones? Stark had so many questions in his head, who was Thanos? What did he want? And what were these Stones he was looking for? “Listen, I need you here, where are you? Do you need me to pick you up?”

"On a bus on the Queensboro Bridge, where do I need to go?" From the expression that Harry had now on his face, he knew that she wouldn’t be with them, and quickly, the boy was already getting up to talk to the teacher, being followed by MJ and Ned.

"Do you have your suit with you?" She quickly says yes. "Perfect, meet me at the Avengers headquarters, I'll explain everything here".

Ignoring Flash's various questions regarding what was going on, Elisabeth gets up, passing Harry and MJ, looking at the teacher. He seemed nervous, but he wasn't sure how to deal with the situation, letting one of his students out was practically irresponsible, all the students on the bus were under his supervision, not that Peter Parker cared about this, but looking at situation, he knew that the girl wouldn’t be useful here, and wherever the Avengers were, it would be the best place for her to be.

That was her cue, and she quickly went out of the bus, feeling every single eye of each classmate on her back. She passed a few cars, until she found the perfect takeoff point without damaging nobody’s property. Her suit had the same technology as her father's suits, Lisa had designed it herself, but always with some adjustments from Tony, the nanotechnology used in both suits was put on their bodies succinctly, while Tony's armor fit in his body according to the clothes he wore, hers fit inside a nanotechnological bracelet, where the armor stayed when she wasn’t wearing it, and with just a touch, the armor fit on her body.

With the armor on her body, she starts to take off, going to the meeting point. Passing through Manhattan made her aware of the damage done by the invaders, the records of her father's armor, indicated that Friday had evacuated the streets until 43, and notified the rescuers in the case of injured civilians. The streets were practically impassable, cars abandoned in practically the entire region of attack, and some places destroyed, probably due to the fighting that happened there.

Without thinking too much, Lisa accelerates the flight, needed to get to the Avengers headquarters right away, and find out how she could help. She took advantage of the flight to check some things about her father and Peter, Tony had activated the sending of 17: A, a new suit for Peter that the two had work together, with nanotechnology the suit would give an upgrade in everything that the old uniform of Peter had, including a way to go after his father in space, both his suit and Tony's were far from being traceable, and that worried her a lot.

Arriving at the base, she didn’t need to be received by anyone, her costume had already retracted into the bracelet, and she walked quickly through the halls of the place, meeting James in one of the meeting rooms, having a conference with the secretary Ross. Elisabeth remained silent, waiting for Rhodey to finish that conversation, she didn't know what was going on, but from what she heard from the conversation, Vision hadn’t yet been found, which only opened more questions in her head, why were they after Vision?

"Still no word from Vision?"

"Satellites lost him somewhere over Edinburgh". Rhodey sends a smile towards her, being returned, she leans against a wall near the door that she had entered, crossing her arms.

"On a stolen Quinjet with four of the world’s most wanted criminals”. That's when she realized, Steve and Natasha were involved in this, she was sure Wanda was with Vision, just as Sam would be with Steve wherever he wanted him to go. If the situation was a case of life and death for the four to reveal their location to the world, it meant that it was imminent danger, just as Ultron was to Sokovia.

"You know they're only criminals because you’ve chosen to call them that, right, sir?" She looks back at Rhodes.

"My God, Rhodes". Rhodes had a serious look; it was the kind of look she only got when she did something that no one would approve. "Your talent for horseshit rivals my own”.

"If it weren't for those Accords, Vision would’ve been right here”. She looks at the hologram, seeing Ross quickly approach James.

"I remember your signature on those papers, Colonel".

"That’s right". Rhodes nods. "And I’m pretty sure I’ve paid for that".

"You have second thoughts?"

"Not anymore". The noise of the door; indicates that new people arrived at the place, she approaches Rhodes, seeing Steve, Natasha, Wanda and Sam, who was helping Vision to walk, her heart squeezes, she hadn’t seen the four in a long time.

"Mr. Secretary". Steve speaks, stopping at the door, looking at the three, Elisabeth can't help but smile at him.

"You got some nerve". The secretary walks again, facing Rogers. "I’ll give you that".

"You could use some of that right now". Natasha replies, the woman is completely different from what Elisabeth remembered, her hair was short at the shoulders and blond, as if she had changed to be easier to not be recognized.

"The world’s on fire". The secretary looks back at Steve. "And you think, all is forgiven?"

"I'm not looking for forgiveness." Steve speaks quickly. “And I'm way past asking for permission. Earth just lost her best defender. So we’re here to fight”. Rogers gets closer to the hologram. "And if you wanna stand in our way, we'll fight you, too".

"Arrest them". The secretary says, turning his gaze to Rhodes, that he does not lose his serious expression.

"All over it". Without thinking twice, Rhodes disconnects the communication with the secretary, making the holograms disappear. "That’s a court-martial". Elisabeth smiles at the comment, making James smile too. "It's great to see you, Cap". The two shake hands, while the others enter the room smiling.

"You too, Rhodey." Elisabeth quickly hugs Steve, while Natasha hugs Rhodes, and then quickly hugs Lisa.

"You grew up so much, what did two years did to you?" Natasha comments, staring at the girl, while Steve smiles and agrees, the little reunion is short-lived when Rhodes speaks again.

"Well... You guys really look like crap". Lisa turns her gaze to the other three, Wanda looked a little shaken, Sam had the same expression he always had in situations like this and Vision had a serious wound in his stomach. "Must’ve been a rough couple of years".

"Yeah, well, hotels weren't exactly five star". Sam says, giving a big smile.

"Uh, I think you look great". Another voice appears, and almost instantly, everyone turns around, seeing the new presence in the room. "Uh… heh… Yeah, I'm back”. Bruce Banner had a nervous smile, the Hulk had stolen a ship two years ago and fled far away, and now, he was back.

"Hi, Bruce". Natasha says, making the man practically speechless, the two looked at each other as if nothing else was important, while the rest of the room just watched the two.

"Nat".

"This is awkward”. Sam whispers, making everyone look at him, and then everyone started moving, going to another room, where they finally discuss what to do next. Elisabeth went to the other room with Natasha and Steve, and the two were telling about how much they had lost from her growth in the past two years, the two have been with her since the attack in 2012, where her father had become friends with the other Avengers, everything changed with the Sokovia Accords.

"So, we gotta assume they’re coming back, right?" Elisabeth turns her attention to Rhodes, who was facing a hologram of the two aliens who called themselves Children of Thanos, who ambushed Wanda and Vision.

"And they can clearly find us." Wanda comments, looking at everyone, Bruce walked around the room, and seemed to be the one who knew most about Thanos.

"We need all hands on deck". Bruce says aloud, looking at Natasha. "Where's Clint?"

"After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal." Bruce nods his head. "It was too tough for the families, they’re on house arrest".

"Who's Scott?" Bruce asks.

"Ant-Man". Steve responds, making Bruce turn around in confusion.

"There’s an Ant-Man and a Spider-Man?" Elisabeth nods, making Bruce wince. “Okay, look... Thanos has the biggest army in the universe... And he is not gonna stop until he...” He pauses, as if trying to ease the situation. “He gets… Vision’s Stone”.

"Well then, we have to protect it". Elisabeth speaks, getting up from the chair.

"No, we have to destroy it". Vision joins the conversation, making everyone look at him, who has a calm expression on his face. “I’ve been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature”. Everyone was silent, just watching him, as he approached Wanda. "But also, its composition. I think that if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something, very similar to its own signature, perhaps… Its molecular integrity could fail".

"And you, with it". Wanda looks at him calmly, everyone had understood what Vision was suggesting, destroying the Stone meant that Thanos wouldn’t be able to catch her. "We’re not having this conversation”.

"Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it”.

"That’s too high a price”. Vision holds his partner's head gently, staring at her.

"Only you have the power to pay it". Without saying anything else, Wanda moves away from his touch, walking away. "Thanos threatens half the Universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him". Vision alert everyone, nobody seemed interested in following that plan.

"But it should". Steve speaks. "We don’t trade lives, Vision".

"Captain, 70 years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people". Vision approaches Rogers, making him turn completely towards him. "Tell me, why is this any different?"

"Because you might have a choice”. Elisabeth lets go, facing Bruce.

"Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays". Vision is silent. “J.A.R.V.I.S., Ultron, Tony, me, the Stone. All of them mixed together. All of them learning from one another”.

“You’re saying Vision isn’t just the stone?” Wanda asks.

"We are saying that if we take out the stone..." Elisabeth turns to Wanda, gesturing with her hands. “There’s still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts”.

"Can we do that?" Natasha asks, facing the two.

"Not us. Not here". Bruce replies, looking at Lisa, the two knew that alone, neither of them were capable of that nor they didn’t have none of the resource needed.

"You better find someone, and somewhere fast". Rhodes speaks quickly. "Ross isn’t exactly just gonna let you guys have your old rooms back”.

"I know somewhere". Steve concludes, giving everyone a smile.

☼

"You alright? That was close". Tony lets go, helping Stephen pull himself together. They had controlled the ship to land on Titan, ready for a surprise attack on Thanos. "I owe you one".

"Let me say…” The two turned to Peter, who was hanging upside down on one of his webs. "If aliens wind up implanting eggs in my chest or something, and I eat one of you, I’m sorry”.

"I don’t wanna hear another single pop culture out of you for the rest of the trip. You understand?" Tony says quickly.

"I’m trying to say that… Something is coming". Peter concludes, making Stephen and Tony look at him crookedly without understanding, and that's when a bomb is dropped between the two adults, making the three fly with the impact.

"THANOS!"

Everything happened very fast, the three attackers entered quickly where the ship had landed. Attacking without thinking twice, the same man who had screamed attacked Stranger, who quickly defended himself with magic, and then immediately sent his cloak to disable him. Tony fought with another man, who were wearing what appeared to be boots with thrusters, two guns in his hands and a strange mask, in a blow to fight back, the attacker attached a magnetic device to his armor, causing it to be pulled onto the beam of nearest metal. The first thing that Peter manages to focus his vision on, is a woman with antennae, which makes him move away as quickly as possible.

"DON’T PUT YOUR EGGS ON ME!" He quickly gets up, throwing webs in her direction, holding it in place, then Peter is hit by the same man who fought Tony earlier.

"Stay down, clown". The man starts to shoot, making Peter move quickly upwards, trying to avoid the shots, the boy commands the armor to open the new feature, the four mechanical arms attached to his back, helping him move faster, an attempt who was thwarted by the man, who threw a device towards him, who dispersed itself on two electric cords that he tied around his waist, stopping him.

"Die, blanket of death!" Tony quickly detached himself from the beam and put his foot on the attacker's chest that had been trapped by Stranger's cloak, he now looked at Tony, while he pointed one hand at him, ready to shoot.

"Alright, everybody, stay where you are…" The man who arrested Tony on the beam screams was holding Peter hostage, aiming the gun at his head. "Chill the F out". Strange had a spell ready, and hoped he didn't have to use it, the man holding Peter tightens something on his helmet, revealing his face, his weapon turns to Tony. "I'm gonna ask you this one time. Where's Gamora?"

"Yeah, I’ll do you one better”. Tony's helmet retracts showing his face, while he aims at the fallen man and the man who had Peter. "Who’s Gamora?"

"I’ll do you one better". The man on the floor says. "Why is Gamora?"

"Tell me where the girl is, or I swear to you, I’m gonna Fench-fry this little freak". The other threatens again by pressing the gun further on Peter's head.

"Let’s do it!" Tony shapes a large nanotechnology weapon, aiming at his partner lying on the floor. “You shoot my guy, I blast him. LET’S GO!"

“Do it, Quill! I can take it". The man on the floor screams, revealing the name of the man aiming the gun at Parker.

"No, he can't take it!" The alien that Peter had webbed screams after Quill.

"She's right." Strange speaks. "You can’t ".

"Oh yeah? You don’t wanna tell me where she is?” Quill speaks again. "That’s fine. I’ll kill all three of you and beat it out of Thanos myself”. Quill turns his gaze to Peter, tightening his grip on the gun. "Starting with you".

“Wait, what. Thanos?” Stephen asks looking at Quill. “Alright, let me ask you this one time: What master do you serve?”

"What master do I serve?" Quill repeats looking confused. "What am I supposed to say? ‘Jesus’?” Tony takes a deep breath, looking at Strange, rolling his eyes as he turns to Quill.

"You’re from Earth?"

"I’m not from Earth, I'm from Missouri". Quill responds, staring at Stark.

"Yeah, that’s on Earth, dip-shit". Tony removes his foot from the man and returns his armor to normal. "What are you hassling us for?"

"So, you're not with Thanos?" Peter asks slowly.

"With Thanos?!" Quill repeats, facing Tony. “No, I’m here to kill Thanos! He took my girl-” Quill stops aiming the gun at Peter. "Wait, who are you?" Peter follows the example of the other two, and removes his helmet, revealing his face.

"We’re the Avengers, man". Quill takes his arm from Peter's neck, moving away.

"You’re the ones Thor told us about!" The woman speaks again, making Tony look at Quill.

"You know Thor?"

"Yeah. Tall guy, not that good-looking, needed saving”. Peter looks at Quill with a confused expression.

"Where is he now?" Strange asks.

"He went to a planet called Nidavellir, with two of our teammates". Quill speaks, approaching Tony and Stephen. "We split up, we went to Knowhere to retrieve the Reality Stone, but by the time we got there, Thanos had already taken it, well, the Reality one and two more".

"Excellent". Tony says quickly, starting to get out of the ship's rubble. "And who are you?"

"We are the Guardians". The woman speaks quickly, the other partner had helped her with Peter's webs, and soon everyone was outside.

"I am Quill, Star Lord, this is Mantis and Drax". Tony nods, Peter was beside him, and Strange was analyzing things. "We are a team, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thanos took Gamora, and Rocket and Groot are with Thor."

"Tony, Peter and Strange". Tony speaks quickly, pointing to each one. Quill starts to fiddle with a device, and soon starts talking again.

"The heck happened to this planet?" Everyone was watching him. “It’s eight degrees off its axis. Gravitational pull is all over the place”.

"Yeah, we got one advantage." Tony approaches Quill, leaving Peter to watch Mantis, who randomly jumped where she was. "He’s coming to us". Tony turns to the others. “We’ll use it. Alright, I have a plan. Or at least the begginnings of one”. Quill turns to him. "It's pretty simple. We draw him in, pin him down, get what we need. Definitely don’t wanna dance with this guy. We just want the gauntlet”. Drax yawns, making Tony turn to him without patience. “Are you yawning? In the middle of this, while I’m breaking it down? Huh? Did you hear what I said?”

"I stopped listening after you said, we need a plan". Tony takes a deep breath, it seemed that the three were seven times more difficult than his daughter.

"Okay, Mr. Clean is on his own page". Tony turns to Quill.

“See, ‘not winging it’ isn’t really what they do”. Quill informs Tony and Peter.

"Uh, what exactly is it that they do?" Parker asks, looking at Quill.

"Kick names, take ass". Mantis replies.

"Yeah, that's right". Drax agrees, making Tony roll his eyes in silence, thinking about what they have in hand.

"Alright, just get over here, please". Quill looks at Tony confused. "Mr. Lord, can you get your folks to circle up?"

"‘Mr. Lord’. Star Lord is fine”. With a quick nod, Drax and Mantis join the three at the circle.

"We gotta coalesce". Tony crosses his arms. "‘Cause if all we come at him with is a plucky attitude…”

"Dude, don't call us plucky". Quill speaks, rolling his eyes. “We don't know what it means. Alright, we’re optimistic, yes. I liked your plan. Except it sucks, so let me do the plan, and that way it might be really good”.

“Tell him about the dance-off to save the universe”. Drax says, making Tony take a deep breath, where had they gone?

"What dance-off?" Tony asks.

"It’s not a… It’s not… It’s nothing". Quill responds quickly.

"Like the Footloose, the movie?" Peter asks, making Quill smile.

"Exactly like Footloose". Parker looks at him confused. "Is it still the greatest movie in history?"

"It never was". Peter responds quickly, getting quiet again.

"Don’t encourage this, alright?" Tony tells Peter, who quickly agrees. "We’re getting no help from Flash Gordon here". Tony approaches Peter, standing beside him.

“Flash Gordon? By the way, that’s a compliment". The two turn to Quill, who was approaching them. "Don't forget, I'm half human. So that 50% of me that’s stupid..." Tony nods. "That’s 100% you".

"Your math is blowing my mind". Tony comments, turning his gaze to the floor.

"Excuse me, but…" Mantis says softly, making everyone look at her, and consequently at Strange. "Does your friend often do that?" Tony looks nervously in his direction, the man was doing something with the Time Stone, but it didn't seem to be doing him any good, his head was moving all over the place and the man was floating, definitely not normal.

"Strange, we alright?" He didn't seem to hear, so Tony approached slowly, and soon the man woke up from what he was doing, falling to the ground, Tony holding the same, who was breathing quickly. "You’re back". The others approached the two with concerned looks. "You’re alright".

"Hey, what was that?" Peter asks nervously.

"I went forward in time to view alternative futures." Strange was speaking with difficulty, still trying to breathe properly. "To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict".

"How many did you see?" Quill asks.

"14,000,605".

"How many did we win?" Tony asks worriedly.

"One".

☼

When the Quinjet landed in Wakanda, Elisabeth didn’t know what to expect. Steve and Natasha left first, and it was possible to see that the new king of Wakanda was already there and accompanied by some of his soldiers. She never imagined that she would visit Wakanda, and if she ever did, it would be under better circumstances. Lisa was walking beside Rhodes and Banner, and she could hear when the scientist asked if they should bow, she could practically hear the smile when Rhodey said they should, because T’Challa was a king.

"Seems like I'm always thanking you for something." Steve speaks looking at the king, who just smiles, shaking his hand, is when Bruce starts to kneel, earning him a disapproving look.

"What are you doing?" Elisabeth whispers as she joins Rhodes, who keeps a smile on his face.

"Uh, we don't do that here”. Bruce gives an embarrassed smile, exchanging looks with his partner beside him. "So how big of an assault can we expect?" T’Challa speaks, starting to walk with the other Wakandians, being followed by the team.

"Uh, sir, I think you can expect quite a big assault". Banner speaks, approaching Rogers, who just looks at him with a weak smile, Bruce was gone for two years, but it seemed that he had never lived on Earth, lost all customs from there.

"How we looking?" Natasha asks, looking at the girl who was in the middle of Steve and her.

"You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and..." Elisabeth's eyes followed Wanda and Vision being guided by two guards, but she soon gained something new to look at, coming towards the group, James Barnes approached with a smile.

"A semi-stable, 100-year-old man". Steve smiles widely, hugging his friend.

"How you been, Bucky?"

"Uh, not bad, for the end of the world". Bucky responds, and then T’Challa guides them to where Vision had been taken for analysis, that’s where the team met Shuri, the king’s sister. Bruce and Elisabeth offered to help her, since Bruce had helped with the creation of Vision, and Elisabeth read just about everything her father had about him, and the knowledge needed to be able to help. Banner was impressed with how smart the girl got with each passing day, he couldn't wait any less, the girl was a Stark.

"Whoa, the structure is polymorphic". Shuri says after evaluating the structure of the Stone.

"Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially". Bruce informs, receiving a curious look from Shuri.

"Why didn't you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?" Vision looks at Bruce curiously, Banner just looks at her without knowing what to say and takes a deep breath.

"Because… We didn’t think of it"

"I’m sure you did your best". Shuri says with a huge smile on his face, eliciting a weak laugh from Elisabeth.

"Can you do it?" Wanda asks.

"Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here”. Shuri stares at the three near the table, looking back at Vision. "One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures". She looks back at the king. "It will take time, brother".

"How long?" Steve asks, they didn't know how much time they would have for this to work, they didn't know how long they would have before Thanos attacked again, they needed to do it right.

"As long as you can give me". Suddenly, the technology on Okoye's wrist starts to fire, indicating that something was not right around Wakanda.

"Something’s entered the atmosphere." Elisabeth joins the others, approaching the window of the room, seeing what had entered, several ships falling around the land of Wakanda, they didn’t have much time.

"It's too late". Vision speaks, having difficulty sitting. "We need to destroy the stone now".

"Vision, get your ass back to the table". Natasha speaks, leaving the room.

"We will hold them off". T'Challa speaks, starting to walk around the room, being followed by the guards, Steve turns his gaze to Wanda, taking a deep breath.

"Wanda, as soon as that stone’s out of his head... You blow it to hell".

"I will".

“Evacuate the city. Engage all defenses procedures”. The king turns to Steve. "And get this man a shield." Everyone started to leave the room, except for the one who would be responsible for the stone, Stark and Banner.

"Your green friend isn’t going to join the battle, is he?" Banner shakes his head. "Maybe he doesn't have to..." Bruce looks at her confused, and Lisa instructs him to follow her. Elisabeth quickly informs her what she needed to do for the king, and it gives her enough space to call for the armor she needed.

The Veronica suit was worn when the Hulk lost control during one of Ultron's attacks, and it was time for her to be used again. Elisabeth quickly accessed the satellites, and waited for the King of Wakanda's cue, where he would allow a piece of the dome to open up for the armor to pass, and it would be in this way that Bruce Banner would join the battle, not with the Hulk, but with a Hulkbuster.

☼

"Oh, yeah". Strange says when he sees Thanos leaving the portal created by the Space Stone, the plan was set, ambush Thanos and take his gauntlet out, and Strange would follow the plan, making the enemy think that only he would face him. "You’re much more of a Thanos."

"I take it the Maw is dead". Thanos replies, noting that his partner wasn’t there with the stone, but rather, the stone keeper himself, who just nods. "This day extracts a heavy toll. Still, he accomplished his mission". Thanos starts to approach the stairs that Strange was sitting on.

"You may regret that". Stephen warns. “He brought you face-to-face with the Master of Mystic Arts”.

"And where do you think he brought you?" Thanos continues to approach.

"Let me guess. Your home?" Thanos stops at the beginning of the stairs.

"It was". With a quick movement, his hand closes, and the Reality Gem begins to shine, and soon all around him is transformed, showing what that planet once was. “And it was beautiful. Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, and not enough food to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution”.

"Genocide". Strange completes, watching Thanos' expressions.

“But at random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike”. Thanos turns his gaze to Doctor Strange. “They called me a madman. And what I predicted came to pass”. He stops using the Reality Stone, showing the destroyed planet.

"Congratulations. You’re a prophet".

"I’m a survivor".

"Who wants to murder trillions".

"With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers…" With his free hand, Thanos snaps his fingers, demonstrating how easy it would be. “And they would all cease to exist. I call that mercy”.

"And then what?" Strange gets up, starting to approach.

"I finally rest..." Thanos takes a deep breath. “And watch the sun rise on a grateful universe. The hardest choices require strongest wills”.

"I think you’ll find our will equal to yours." Strange moves his hands quickly, summoning his Mandalas, preparing for the fight.

"Ours?" Thanos looks up, seeing the piece of stone that was coming at high speed towards him, with a quick movement, he closes the hand of the gauntlet, using the Power Stone to defend himself.

"Piece of cake, Quill". Tony speaks, dropping the stone and passing the Starlord, who just rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off."

Quill activates his helmet, starting to fly. Thanos soon breaks the stone dropped on himself, and the team could see when the purple stone on the gauntlet stopped glowing and the red one took over, causing the stone's debris to turn into bats and attack Stark. Peter throws a web under Thanos eyes, and quickly kicks him, while Drax stabs one of his legs, and soon starts attacking his upper part, followed by Strange, who emerged from a portal.

With difficulty, Thanos throws Drax away, holding the sword created by Strange. He finally takes the web out of his eyes, staring at Strange, in a quick stroke, he breaks the spell of the sword, and kicks Strange away, which resists the blow, and already does another spell to fight back. An attack from behind made by Quill, hits Thanos back, who tries to fight back, but fails because Star Lord and Doctor Strange coordinate an attack together, which results in Quill depositing a shock bomb on Thanos back, which disoriented by the shock suffered. Strange quickly opens a portal and Quill leaps out of it.

"Do not let him close his fist". Strange orders to his cloak, which quickly grips the hand with the gauntlet, leaving Thanos trying to get it out of his fist.

"Magic!" A new portal opens behind Thanos, and Peter passes him by punching him in the face, and then entering another portal. "More magic!” Again, and Thanos seemed to be paying attention to the coordinated attack. "Magic with a kick!" Peter yells through another portal. "Magic with a--" Thanos let himself be hit one last time, and when the portal opened again, he grabbed Peter by the neck, hitting the boy on the floor.

"Insect!”

With a quick move, he throws Peter against Strange, knocking them both down, and that's when he finally rips the cloak off his wrist, only to be met with an Iron Man missile attack. Thanos closes his hand, using the Space and Power Stones, to suck the energy from the explosions and turn them against Tony, who is hit and thrown away. Peter hits the gauntlet with a web, pulling his fist down, Thanos soon breaks the web, tearing what is left of the gauntlet, without being able to attack back, a small ship is thrown against Thanos, revealing a new fighter.

"Well, well". Thanos lets go, staring at the woman he knew very well.

"You should have killed me!"

"It would’ve been a waste of parts!" The woman follows a series of attacks, which didn’t appear to affect Thanos.

"Where's Gamora?!"

With a kick, Thanos tosses it away, being met by another attack by Strange, several magical threads trying to pull the gauntlet, something Thanos tried to loosen with his other hand, but was kicked in the leg by Drax, even so, he reacted to that, and started pulling the magic threads, pulling Strange close. Quill used a device to pull Thanos hand, making him unable to pull anymore, while Peter held him with one of his webs.

Tony takes the place of the wires, and begins to pull the gauntlet, under Thanos head, Strange opens a portal, through which Mantis passes and sits with his legs around Thanos neck, quickly placing his hands on his head. From there, everyone collaborated to hold Thanos. Mantis held him still, controlling his mind, while Drax held his legs, Peter and Strange his other hand and Tony was still trying to pull the gauntlet off.

"Is he under? Don’t let up" Tony says, analyzing the situation.

"Be quick. He is very strong". Mantis informs with difficulty, Tony takes a deep breath, looking at Peter.

“Parker, help! Get over here". Peter quickly runs to his side, holding the gauntlet. “She can't hold him much longer. Let's go!" The two begin to pull, while Quill lands in front of everyone.

"You need to open your fingers to take it out." Peter speaks by pulling hard on the gauntlet.

"I thought you’d be harder to catch." Quill looks at Stark. “For the record, this is my plan”. Quill looks back at Thanos, approaching. “Not so strong now, huh? Where's Gamora?”

"My Gamora…?" Thanos speaks with difficulty, as if he is in pain.

"No, bull-shit". Quill speaks quickly, facing the other angrily. "Where is she?"

"He is in anguish." Mantis informs.

"Good". Quill speaks, facing Thanos, but Mantis' expression changes.

"He… He mourns”.

"What does this monster have to mourn?" Drax asks.

"Gamora". The woman who had joined the fight later says, she was standing behind Quill, and looking at Thanos angrily.

"What?" Quill turns to the woman, taking a deep breath.

"He took her to Vormir”. The woman speaks slowly. "He came back with the Soul Stone, but she didn't."

"Okay, Quill..." Tony retracts his helmet, looking directly at the man, everyone there seems to understand, and all they didn't need was to miss this opportunity. “You gotta cool it right now, you understand?" Quill seems to ignore the same, turning his gaze to Thanos. "Don’t, don’t engage, we’ve almost got this off!” Tony screams, seeing that it would be useless to keep trying to talk, then pull the handle back with all the strength he has.

"TELL ME SHE’S LYING!" Quill screams. “Asshole! Tell me you didn't do that!”

"I… had… to". Thanos speaks with difficulty, making Quill take a deep breath.

"No, you didn't." Quill speaks slowly. "No, you didn't." He repeats again, before placing a punch in Thanos's face, moving the structure they had set up to hold him. "NO, YOU DIDN'T!" He punches one more, feeling the anger seep through his body, and before he can deliver more, Tony takes his hand, holding him back.

"QUILL!" His helmet comes back, and he looks at Quill, holding the man. “Hey, stop! STOP!"

“It's coming! I got it!" Peter announces, but before he can take it out, Thanos awakens, headbutting Mantis, and pulling the gauntlet back on quickly, he holds one of Mantis' legs and throws it away. "Oh, God..." Before jumping quickly and holding her against his body, using the mechanical arms to fall to the floor without getting hurt.

Thanos kicks Drax forward, hitting Quill and the woman. He pulls the wire that Strange was holding, throwing it away too, Tony tries to attack him, but Thanos retaliates with a punch, pushing him away. Quill, Drax and the woman start to get up and run, but using the Power Stone, Thanos knocks them down again. Tony molds one of his armor's arms into a giant sword, and tries to attack again, which doesn't seem to affect the man, who just defends himself and throws Tony away again.

From where Tony lands, he could see Thanos wearing another of the Stones, to pull a moon from the sky, he tries to fly when he sees the huge stone approaching, but he cannot escape and ends up trapped under it. The other pieces of the moon still fell under Titan, and Peter swung from web to web saving the companions from the remnants of the moon, with the impact of the larger stone, all who were temporarily fallen flew away.

"I got you, and you!" Peter tried to remain calm, he knew the plan had gone wrong, and he feared what would happen next, but he tried to remain calm, he needed to make sure that everyone was well and safe from the rest of Thanos's attack. "Sorry I can’t remember anybody's name!"

While Peter was sure he had saved everyone and placed them close to where he had left Mantis, he could see Strange fighting Thanos, all of Doctor Strange's movements were precisely calculated, and Thanos didn't seem to be affected by any of that, just dodged and remained trying to attack. Peter continued to follow their struggle and saw Strange perform a doubling spell. Thanos didn't seem to be affected, he just wore a combination of Jewels and found the real one, eliminating the copies, using the stones again he pulled Strange close to him, holding his neck.

"You’re full of tricks, wizard." Peter sees Thanos pulling Strange's eye necklace, seeing him despair. "Yet you never once used greatest weapon”. Peter approached, watching Thanos crush the necklace. "A fake". Thanos tosses Strange away, and Parker was about to act when he saw a part of Tony's armor cling to the gauntlet's hand, preventing him from closing his hand again.

"You throw another moon at me..." Tony says after landing near Thanos. "And I'm going to lose it."

"Stark".

"You know me?" Tony asks nervously, the man in front of him was his nightmare for years, and he was finally face-to-face with him.

"I do". Thanos says calm. "You’re not the only one cursed with knowledge".

"My only curse is you."

Peter sees Tony resume the attack, and although it started well, it didn’t end gloriously for Tony. He managed to fight back in the best way he could, and even managed to make a bleeding wound on Thanos, something that the man mocked Tony for having managed to do, the fight continued, and it was Thanos's turn to fight back, which ended up with Stark being stabbed with a piece of his own armor.

"You have my respect, Stark". Thanos says, holding Tony's head, who held the spot where the armor was tucked. "When I'm done, half of humanity will still be alive." Thanos releases his head, moving away. "I hope they remember you." Without saying anything else, Thanos closes his hand, ready to use the four Jewels.

"Stop!" Strange speaks, drawing Thanos's attention. "Spare his life..." Tony turns his gaze to Stephen, not believing what he heard. "And I will give you the stone."

"No tricks". Stephen nods in agreement, and Thanos changes the target of the stones, ready to end Strange if he were lying.

"Don’t". Tony speaks with difficulty, something that Strange ignores, since he reveals the stone with his hands and hands it to Thanos, seeing the same quickly put it on the gauntlet.

"Only one to go". Quill last tried to attack Thanos, but he creates a portal with the Space Stone and disappears from there. Leaving everyone there, aimlessly.

"Did we lose?" Quill asks, taking a deep breath, Tony uses a last resort of the armor, to stop the blood from his abdomen.

"Why would you do that?" Tony asks, staring at Strange.

"We’re in the Endgame now."

☼

Things weren’t going well, not even far. Elisabeth fought with everything she had, she had already fallen and stood up several times, and that didn't seem to be enough for her. She saw when Thor and two other partners joined the battle, and she saw when Wanda started to fight too, she saw Vision being attacked and heard Banner's call about Vision. She flew as fast as she could, and saw Bruce pull the largest of the ‘Children of Thanos' away from the Vision, leaving the other, she tried to defend Vision, fought the alien, and was thrown away after delivering a few blows, the alien didn't seem affected and just attacked Vision once again.

"I thought you were formidable, machine". Elisabeth gets up, checking the damage to the armor, there were many, but she couldn't think about it now. "But you’re dying, like any man". She ran towards the alien, pushing him away from Vision, who just stayed on the ground, trying to recover from another blow, so she saw Steve running towards her, making a coordinated attack with her.

"GET OUTTTA HERE!" Steve yells towards the Vision, who just looks at him taking a deep breath. "GO!"

The attack of the two continued, until the alien threw Steve away, and Elisabeth was left alone to fight, which didn’t end very well, since he hit a part of her leg, causing her to fall, and the alien grab her neck with his hand. Steve tried to focus his eyes on her, and help Elisabeth, but it wasn’t necessary when he saw Vision with the enemy's spear attack the alien, taking him off Lisa and finally killing him. Vision was weak, so as soon as the attack ended, he fell to his knees next to Elisabeth, who was trying to recover her breath, Steve ran close to the two, helping Vision to get up.

"I thought I told you to go." Steve says looking at him, that he just smiles weakly and replies.

"We don't trade lives, Captain." Elisabeth remained with Vision until Wanda arrived, when the woman ran close to him, Lisa got up and went towards Steve.

"How are things going for the others?" She asks worriedly, her helmet retracts with the rest of the suit and Steve can see her tired face, her blond hair was stuck in a bun made at the last minute, and her face had several bleeding bruises, he couldn't even imagine how the rest of her body was, it was not the place he wanted her to be, and he couldn’t think how much Tony wouldn't want her to be there too.

"Everyone is holding on as they can." Elisabeth nods, taking a deep breath. "Are you okay?" Before she could respond, Vision let out an agonized cry of pain, causing the two to turn to Wanda and Vision.

"What?" Wanda asks. "What is it?"

"He’s here". Stark turns his gaze to Steve, putting her suit back on and standing next to him, Rogers puts his hand on the communicator to his ear and starts talking.

"Everyone, on my position". If what Vision said was right, Thanos had finally arrived, and none of them were in any shape to face him alone. "We have incoming". Everyone approached quickly, and watched the blue-colored portal open, and a large man emerged from it.

"Cap". Bruce says softly. "That’s him".

"Eyes up." Captain pulls his shield, starting to walk towards Thanos. "Stay sharp".

Elisabeth saw when Bruce tried to attack him, and all Thanos had to do was use one of the stones and pin the man into a wall. She saw him use another stone to send Steve away, she saw him take down T’Challa and she saw him turn Sam’s wings into nothing. She tried to attack him too, but like the others, she couldn't even get close, her body was tired, and she had bruises over most of her body, her heart was pounding, and she felt like everyone had failed.

All that was left of everyone there was to see Wanda fight. Watching her kill the love of her life and at the same time preventing Thanos from getting close, she fought, and fought and in the end, the Mind Stone was destroyed, as was Vision, who was now dead. Elisabeth tried to get up, like the others, Thanos approached Wanda and the corpse of Vision, and started talking to the woman.

"I understand, my child". Wanda looked at Vision, she cried, and she didn't have the strength to fight him again. "Better than anyone".

"You could never." From where Elisabeth was, she could see Thanos put his hand on Wanda's head, and take a deep breath.

"Today, I lost more than you can know". He gets up looking at the Vision. "But now is no time to mourn". He starts to get closer. "Now, is no time at all." Unable to react, Thanos uses one of the stones, and as if by magic, Vision who had died within seconds, was alive now.

"NO!"

Wanda tries to attack him, but he just throws her away, pulling Vision by the neck, he pulls the jewel off his head, and throws it to the side as if it is nothing. And finally, he has the last stone, Elisabeth looks desperately towards Steve, who seemed mesmerized by what had just happened, thunder strikes Thanos, and Thor announces his arrival to the titan, throwing his axe in his direction, hitting his chest. Thor approaches, holding his head.

"I told you..." He holds the ax head. "You’d die for that!" With that Thor squeezes the axe across his chest, making Thanos scream.

"You should have..." Thanos starts with difficulty. "You should have gone for the head." Thor looked at him confused, but soon realized what he meant, quickly Thanos snapped his fingers with the gauntlet, making Thor scream. The stones shone brightly, and when Thor finally saw it, the gauntlet was destroyed, burned, as was Thanos's arm.

"What’d you do?" Thor asks, looking at Thanos. "WHAT’D YOU DO?" Without saying anything else, Thanos uses the stones as a way to escape Thor’s grip.

"Where’d he go?" Steve asks approaching Thor. "Thor?" Steve catches your eye. "Where’d he go?"

"Steve?" Rogers quickly turns to the source of the voice, Bucky approached him, but something was wrong, his body were disappearing, as if he were disintegrating, his legs disappeared causing him to fall to the ground, but before his body hit the ground, he had turned to dust, gone. Steve approaches, playing in the same place where Bucky disappeared, he exchanges glances with Thor, who seemed shaken and without understanding.

Soon, many around Wakanda started to disappear. Warriors who fought against Thanos's army had the same fate as Bucky, Thanos got what he wanted, it was happening all over the world, half of humanity erased. Steve took a deep breath, and watched one by one, his partners disappear, T’Challa disappeared right after, the tree that came with Thor, Groot, Wanda, Sam, and finally, the girl he considered as a daughter, Elisabeth.

She felt nothing, it seemed that her body was no longer in her control. She remembers looking at Steve with a weak smile, before feeling her legs gone and fall to the ground, Steve ran towards him, being followed by Thor, he hugged her, and assured her that things would be fine, that she would be fine. He will never forget her last words, "Tell Dad and Peter that I'm sorry". And as if it were nothing, they were left there, the survivors of Thanos's snap.

☼

On Titan, Peter helped Tony to his feet. They had lost the fight, lost everything, nothing could fix things now, Strange assured them that was the only way to fix things, Tony didn't think so. All Tony thought about was taking Peter home, he wanted to go home, meet Pepper and Elisabeth, have another normal day with them, it was all he wanted, but things were not going as planned.

"Something's happening." Mantis says, and then, her body begins to disintegrate, the woman disappears, and all that is left of her is ashes, dust. They turned to Drax, and the same thing was happening to him.

"Quill?" Quill turns to Tony, and somehow, Stark knew, it was happening to him too.

"Steady, Quill".

"Aw, man". It was Quill's last words, before the same thing happened to him.

"Tony". Stark turns to Stephen, who is sitting on the floor, and looks at him seriously. "There was no other way". And then the same thing happens to him, Tony takes a deep breath, it couldn't be happening.

"Mr. Stark?" And Tony realized, the fear on Peter's face, realized that it was happening to him too. "I don't feel so good…"

"You’re all right?” Tony says calmly, and Peter quickly approaches him.

"I don’t know what’s-- I don't know what’s happening…” Peter stumbles, and Tony quickly takes him in his arms, Parker was crying, and Tony didn't know what to do. "I don’t wanna go. I don't wanna go, Mr. Stark, please". Peter kept repeating this, and Tony bent down with the boy in his arms, not knowing what to say or do, Tony laid him on the floor, and Peter looked at him. "She was right, I should’ve stayed on the bus..." Tony didn't understand at the time, but he tried to smile, tried to make sure everything was fine, even though in the end, he knew he wasn't. "I'm sorry..." Those were Peter's last words, Tony hoped it would happen to him too, it was the only fair thing to happen, but he didn't disappear, neither he nor the woman, the two survived it, and Tony wished he hadn't.

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vitanitf · 3 years ago

Photo

BASIC QUESTIONS

First name? “Vitani.”

Surname? “Leu.”

Middle names? “Alala.”

Nicknames? “V.”

Date of birth? “August 20th, 1998.”

Age? “Twenty two.”

PHYSICAL / APPEARANCE

Height? “5′4.”

Weight? “121 pounds.”

Build? “Athletic.”

Hair color? “Pink right now.”

Hair style? “Buzzcut.”

Eye color? “Brown.”

Eye shape? “Shit, I don’t know. Deep set?”

Glasses or contact lenses? “I wasn’t born with no weak ass eyes.”

Distinguishing facial features? “Freckles.”

Which facial feature is most prominent? “My jawline.”

Which bodily feature is most prominent? “While I’d love to say my ass, I think it would be my arms.”

Other distinguishing features? “A shit ton of little scars.”

Skin? “Light.”

Hands? “Strong.”

Make up? “I do eyes and lips, that’s all. Eyeliner, lipstick. Eyeshadow and mascara if I’m feeling frisky.”

Scars? “Trust me, honey, someone like me has a lot of those.”

Birthmarks? “Wouldn’t you like to see?”

Tattoos? “None. Yet.”

Physical handicaps? “Non-existent.”

Type of clothes? “Depends on what kind of mood I’m in.”

How do you wear your clothes? “I’m guilty of a little tailoring if needed.”

What are your feet like? “What the fuck? Weirdo. Good enough, why? You want pictures?”

Race / Ethnicity? “Half black, half white.”

Mannerisms? “I’m a shifter. Always moving my weight from one leg to the other.”

Are you in good health? “Better be. I ain’t worked my ass off for nothing.”

Do you have any disabilities? “No.”

PERSONALITY

What words or phrases do you overuse? “Fuck, shit, Hell, ass, damn. Bitch too, if you catch me in a bad mood.”

Do you have a catchphrase? “What kind of cheesy ass bullshit would that be?”

Are you more optimistic or pessimistic? “Pessimistic.”

Are you introverted or extroverted? “Introverted.”

Do you ever put on airs? “Sometimes it’s necessary.”

What bad habits do you have? “Saying inappropriate things at inappropriate times. Wanting to punch something when I get pissed.”

What makes you laugh out loud? “People falling. Gets me every time.”

How do you display affection? “I don’t.”

Mental handicaps? “Listen, if I didn’t have any of those after my childhood, I’d be fucking unstoppable, huh?”

How do you want to be seen by others? “Important.”

How do you see yourself? “Lost.”

How are you seen by others? “Intimidating.”

Strongest character trait? “My independence.”

Weakest character trait? “My stubbornness.”

How competitive are you? “Hella.”

Do you make snap judgements or take time to consider? “I make snap judgements. I’m working on it, alright?”

How do you react to praise? “If I ever get any, I’ll let you know.”

How do you react to criticism? “I either get pissed or I try to do better. Or both. Usually both.”

What is your greatest fear? “That I can’t stop myself from turning into my mom.”

What are your biggest secrets? “I’ve done a lot of shit I’ll never repeat. I can’t.”

What is your philosophy of life? “I don’t know anymore. I’m just trying to go day by day.”

When was the last time you cried? “When I ended up at Kiara’s after beating the shit out of some poor girl in a club. First and last time I ever remember crying.”

What haunts you? “My past. A lot of it.”

What are your political views? “Anyone but Scar.”

What will you stand up for? “My beliefs, no matter how twisted or wrong or confused they may be. I think I’ve proved that point.”

Who do you quote? “No one.”

Are you indoorsy or outdoorsy? “Outdoorsy. I hate being inside too long. It feels like being a wild animal trapped in some tiny enclosure. I can’t stand it.”

What is your sinful little habit? “Oh, baby, I’ve got plenty of those.”

What sense do you most rely on? “You have to rely on all of them to get by. You can’t pick and choose. You have to keep them all sharp.”

How do you treat people better than them? “Excuse me? Who are you saying is better than me? At what?”

How do you treat people worse than them? “Depends what they’re worse at.”

What quality do you most value in a friend? “If I had friends, I assume it would be loyalty.”

What do you consider an overrated virtue? “Kindness.”

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? “I’d like to be content in my skin, not have to strive for approval anymore. It’s a hard habit o shake.”

What is your obsession? “Knives. God, I love knives.”

What are your pet peeves? “Hypocrites. Cutting in line. Loud ringers. Pop music. Too much traffic. Goody two shoes.”

What are your idiosyncrasies? “I lick my lips too damn much.”

FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Is your family big or small? Who does it consist of? “As far as I’m concerned, there’s Nuka. That’s it.”

What is your perception of family? “It’s fucked up, it’s a trap, and you’re better off if you never have any.”

Do you have siblings? Older or younger? “Two brothers. I’m the middle child.”

Describe your best friend. “I don’t have one.”

Ideal best friend? “Someone that wouldn’t annoy the Hell out of me.”

Describe your other friends. “I don’t have friends.”

Describe your acquaintances. “Okay, those. They’re cool. I’d put Penelope, Sadie and my boss on that list.”

Do you have any pets? “No.”

Who are your natural allies? “My brother.”

Who are your surprising allies? “I guess you could say Kiara.”

PAST AND FUTURE

What were you like as a baby? As a child? “Fucked up. I didn’t play with other kids. I wasn’t allowed to have friends. I went to school, I trained, I went to bed. A lot of times without dinner. I spent I don’t know how many nights listening to gunshots hoping we weren’t next. So, yeah. Fucked up.”

Did you grow up rich or poor? “Poor.”

Did you grow up nurtured or neglected? “What do you think?”

What is the most offensive thing you ever said? “How long do you got?”

What is your greatest achievement? “Making it out of that shithole alive.”

What was your first kiss like? “It wasn’t even a first kiss, it was a make out session during sex. I’ve never been kissed just to be kissed.”

What is the worst thing you did to someone you loved? “I let my family treat Nuka like shit, then I let him leave and I didn’t follow. I didn’t check up on him. I guess I thought… I guess I didn’t realize I had a choice, or how clear the right one was. There’s no excuse. I should’ve stood up for him.”

What are your ambitions? “I just want to do better.”

What advice would you give your younger self? “Run. As soon as you can, run as far as you can get. It has to be better than this.”

What smells remind you of your childhood? “Copper, mildew, sulfur and smoke.”

What was your childhood ambition? “To make mama and Scar proud.”

What is your best childhood memory? “You’re going to think I’m shitting you if I say I don’t have one, but I don’t have one.”

What is your worst childhood memory? “Oh, those, I’ve got a whole notebook of those.”

Did you have an imaginary childhood friend? “No.”

When was the last time you were crushed with disappointment? “When I was told to leave. Do you know what it feels like realizing your entire life was a goddamn lie? It’s maddening.”

What past act are you most ashamed of? “Thinking it was okay to live the way I was living.”

What past act are you most proud of? “Deciding I was going to move and move on. It took a push, but I decided to be a bigger person. I did that.”

Has anyone ever saved your life? “More than a few times. Where I grew up, if you’re not saving one another, you’re all fucked.”

Strongest childhood memory? “It was storming. We didn’t have any candles or lamps or nightlights. I remember wanting to run to Kovu’s room. I was so scared I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I was just a kid… but I wasn’t allowed to be scared. So I laid there watching the lightning until I fell asleep.”

LOVE

Do you believe in love at first sight? “No.”

Are you in a relationship? “No.”

How do you behave in a relationship? “I wouldn’t know.”

When did you last have sex? “It’s been… what, a week?”

What sort of sex do you have? “I’m a little kinky. I’ll leave it at that.”

Have you ever been in love? “Hell no.”

Have you ever had your heart broken? “If you want to call it that.”

CONFLICT

How do you respond to a threat? “Threaten back.”

Are you most likely to fight with their fists or their tongue? “Fists, but I can multitask if you want to keep it interesting.”

What is your kryptonite? “A hot girl. I’m putty in her hands.”

If you could only save one thing from your burning house, what would it be? “I don’t have anything worth saving.”

How do you perceive strangers? “Threats until proven otherwise.”

What do you love to hate? “Cockiness. It can be pretty damn sexy.”

What are your phobias? “I don’t have any.”

What is your choice of weapon? “Guns are more effective, but I’m a knife kid through and through.”

What living person do you most despise? “Zira.”

Have you ever been bullied or teased? “Kids were too afraid of me to tease me.”

Where do you go when you’re angry? “I’m trying to remember to just go away. Take a deep breath, count to ten, chill the fuck out. It’s really fucking hard.”

Who are your enemies and why? “The outsiders. I wasted two decades fighting tooth and nail for them. I put my life on the line. I gave them everything I had and more, and they turned their back on me. They can all rot in Hell.”

WORK, EDUCATION AND HOBBIES

What is your current job? “I’m a bartender at the Pit Stop.”

What do you think about their current job? “It’s not a bad job. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not glamorous, but it pays the bills. The guy hired me on the spot. No experience. No nothing. I’ve got a lot of respect for Mr. McQueen.”

What are some of your past jobs? “You don’t wanna know.”

What are your hobbies? “It all revolves around combat training.”

Educational background? “High school GED.”

Intelligence level? “Higher than yours.”

Do you have any specialist training? “Twenty fucking years of it.”

Do you have a natural talent for something? “Yeah, martial arts and spear throwing.”

Do you play a sport? Are you any good? “I don’t play any sports, but trust me, I’d be good.”

What is your socioeconomic status? “I got too much other shit to worry about. Check back in a year or two.”

FAVORITES

What is your favorite animal? “Lions.”

Which animal do you dislike the most? “Giraffes. What do they even do with those long ass necks? Eat leaves? What a waste.”

What place would you most like to visit? “Africa.”

What is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen? “Don’t you dare laugh at me. I’ll fuck you up. There’s something about sunsets that always stops me in my tracks. I’m serious, not a giggle.”

What is your favorite song? “I don’t listen to music.”

Music, art, reading preferred? “Art.”

What is your favorite color? “Red.”

What is your password? “And why would I tell you that?” (576342rtsyssy572xlc2l)

Favorite food: “I’m partial to steak.”

What is your favorite work of art? “Dunno.”

Who is your favorite artist? “Dunno times two.”

What is your favorite day of the week? “There’s something about Thursdays that just feel right.”

POSSESSIONS

What is in your fridge? “I’m not gonna lie, it’s running low right now. I know there’s some strawberries and half a carton of milk left, probably not much else of mine.”

What is on your bedside table? “Glass of water, earbuds, phone charger, pocket knife, wallet. There’s a pistol in the drawer, but you didn’t hear that from me.”

What is in your car? “Don’t have one, but I left a spare charger in Nuka’s.”

What is in your bin? “It’s empty.”

What is in your purse or wallet? “ID. Fake ID, just in case. Cash. Debit card, credit card. Some grocery rewards card I got talked into signing up for. Oh, and a coupon for Fudge Stripes, I need to remember to get those before it expires.”

What is in your pockets? “A knife.”

What is your most treasured possession? “My most expensive sword. It’s not that expensive, I found it at a thrift store, but I fixed that baby up.”

SPIRITUALITY

Who or what is your guardian angel? “I’m not buying that I have one.”

Do you believe in the afterlife? “There’s gotta be something. There’s too many people I know that deserve to burn in Hell.”

What are your religious views? “Don’t really have any.”

What do you think heaven is? “Dunno.”

What do you think hell is? “A well deserved torture chamber.”

Are you superstitious? “Eh.”

What would you like to be reincarnated as? “Some big cat. That’d be really fucking cool. If not a lion, a tiger or a cougar or something. But not in a zoo. Hell no.”

How would you like to die? “I hope I go out in a blaze of glory.”

What is your spirit animal? “Lioness.”

What is your zodiac sign? “Leo.”

VALUES

What do you think is the worst thing that can be done to a person? “Taking everything from them.”

What is your view of ‘freedom’? “Not being forced to do anyone’s biding.”

When did you last lie? “It’s been awhile now.”

What’s your view of lying? “Don’t lie to me. Sometimes it’s gotta be done. But don’t you dare lie to me.”

When did you last make a promise? “I don’t make promises.”

Did you keep or break their last promise? “I’d probably break them. That’s why I don’t make promises.”

DAILY LIFE

What are your eating habits? “I have trouble remembering to eat, so sit’s a little sketchy, I’m working on it.”

Do you have any allergies? “Nope.”

Describe your home. “It’s not much, but it’s more than I’ve ever had.”

Are you a minimalist or a clutter hoarder? “I’m a minimalist.”

What do you do first thing on a weekday morning? “Look outside.”

What do you do on a Sunday afternoon? “Work, usually.”

What do you do on a Friday night? “Stay up too late.”

What is your soft drink of choice? “I don’t like soda.”

What is your alcoholic drink of choice? “I lack too much experience to choose.”

MISCELLANEOUS

What or who would you dress up as for Halloween? “Dressed up as a kickboxer once, I think that’s it.”

Are you comfortable with technology? “Yeah. I guess. What does that mean?”

If you could save one person, who would it be? “Nuka.”

If you could call one person for help, who would it be? “Nuka.”

What is your greatest extravagance? “Don’t have much of one.”

What is your greatest regret? “Wasting so much of my life to come out empty handed.”

What is your perception of redemption? “All I know is I’m trying.”

What would you do if you won the lottery? “Buy Nuka and I a real place instead of an apartment.”

What is your favorite fairytale? “Hansel and Gretel.”

What fairytale do you hate? “Jack and the Beanstalk. It’s fucking stupid.”

Do you believe in happy endings? “No.”

What is your idea of perfect happiness? “I don’t know if it exists.”

What would you ask a fortune teller? “Where do I end up?”

If you could travel through time, where would you go? “Back to the start. Redo it all. Right this time.”

What sport do you excel at? “Never played much sports.”

What sport do you suck at? “I don’t.”

If you could have a superpower, what would you choose? “Shapeshifting. That’d be fucking cool. Turn into a mouse, squeeze in a crack, turn into a bear and rip someone’s fucking face off if you need to.”

#take a shot every time they use a swear word ...#walttasks #tasks.

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be-ready-when-i-say-go · 5 years ago

Text

Tired of Feeling the Blues

The stress is a recipe for disaster, but thankfully Calum’s there to help her all through it.

This is what we call self-indulgence 101. Enjoy soft Calum.

It is a female reader, only referred to as ‘she’. No specific race.

Please stay safe during these uncertain times. Drop a sweet message to your favorite blogger. Reblog your favorite fic. Recommend a fic to me if you want! We need to spread some joy. If you feel so inclined and have the means, you can support me on Ko-fi.

Enjoy my masterlist as well!

___________________________

The tension resides at the base of her skull, creeping its way up the back of her head, pulsing in her temple and right behind her eye. It beats the back of her skull on the left side of her head and the left side only. Her neck is heavy and not even the pillow beneath her neck is able to support it or alleviate the pounding. Closing her eyes hurt. Rolling onto either side hurts. It does not help with the lingering twinge of cramps in her lower back. Physically, she is falling apart. And mentally, she isn’t doing much better. The world in a panic to the pandemic and with her job now closed, she worries about bills. Thankfully right before the shutdown on her job, she had figured housing arrangements with Calum. But that didn’t stop the dizzying worry about her student loans, providing basic necessities for herself and her dog, Ace.

The room is still dark when Calum peaks his head inside. She lays still, not fully under the sheets with Duke on her chest and Ace curled up on her side. It was a slight worry when she first moved at the end of February that Ace would be just too big of a dog around Duke with the German Shepherd abundantly clear in him. There were a couple other things, the best guess was Australian Shepherd. But the vets hadn’t been too sure and the people at the shelter couldn’t quite place it either. And though Ace did like to play rough, the moment she felt like he was getting too rowdy and called for him to cool it, he listened immediately. He was well trained and there was no doubting that.

“Head still hurting?” Cal asks, stepping into the bedroom more. He uses his body to block the light from the hallway as he shuts the door close.

“If you have a guillotine hiding out anywhere, feel free to break it out.”

The bed dips as he settles and his hands settle onto her clothed leg not covered by the sheets. He rubs soothing circles over the black cloth. “You take something for it yet?”

She nods and it’s a fucking mistake. Immediately, it feels like needles in her neck. She groans, throwing her arm over her face. “Yeah. I did.”

Duke picks his head up and upon spotting Calum jumps up. Calum grins, petting the top of his head. “Taking care of Mamas?”

“He has great bedside manners,” she jokes.

“It’s a little past noon. Care for lunch?” Her headache had been plaguing since the night before and she thought sleep would ease the ache. But now it was proving more stubborn that impeded her from going on their morning walk. Calum handled the dogs with ease. But he did worry the entire time about her. Part of him doesn’t want to admit that some of it was out of a panic that somehow she had contracted the disease. But a larger part of him knew that between temporarily losing her job, her period, and overall panic, that the stress wouldn’t be nice on her physical body either.

Her reply is soft. “I’ll take leftovers.”

“I do have soup if you want. Easier to get down.”

“Hmm, I’m a chicken noodle soup kind of gal.”

“Chicken noodle soup then.”

She can feel the bed lifting again. From her lifted arm, she watches him. “You don’t even eat meat. Why do you have chicken in this house?”

“Because you do.”

“I told you you didn’t have too,” she calls as the door starts to creak close with Calum slipping out of it.

“It’s like a treat. A little chicken as a treat,” he winks and closes the door.

Though it makes her feel like one of the dogs, she has to laugh. “A little chicken as a treat.”

There’s a few moments of silence before Duke climbs off her chest. He pitters over to the door and a whine leaves his throat. Though it hurts, she stands and opens the bedroom door. The house isn’t in too bad of shape. She managed, in the time it took Calum to walk the dogs, to collect the trash bins from the curb. She washed the dishes from the late night snacking, put one load of laundry into the washer and scrubbed down the bathrooms. She had meant to sweep too but it hurt to be upright after that so she retired to the bedroom.

Calum hears the click of paws and when he glances down there’s Duke at his feet. “What happened to Nurse Duke?”

“Missed his pops,” she returns sliding into the bar seating. Ace settles onto the couch, but keeps his attention trained onto her.

“You could’ve stayed in the back. I was going to bring it to you.”

She doesn’t quite have the energy to respond, though she does simply wave off the comment before resting her head on her forearms. Calum stirs the soup on the stovetop for a few moments before walking over. His fingers take up the soft muscle of her shoulder. She hums as he guides two fingers up her neck, up and over the tension. It hurts just a little but it helps. The pressure combatting the pounding that seems to have taken up the whole residence of the entire left side. She knows amongst all this, the worry about her, Calum has meetings and promotion to do. She knows he’s got a million other things to juggle but he stopped his world for just five minutes for her.

“I love you,” she sighs when his fingers run up her neck and even into her scalp.

Calum’s laughter is a soft exhale. “You’re just saying that.”

“No, I’m not.” And it’s not that he ever thought that she was kidding. But his heart still jumps a little at the furrowed brows that face him as she lifts her head and turns. “I do love you and I would never just say that. Never. You got that?”

It was easy to just say a phrase. But it wasn’t lost on him that it was her that brought in the cans, or did the laundry, or washed the dishes. That was how she always showed her love, helping around the house, doing something to take it off his plate. “I know,” he says. It’s softly and she notices the tears pooling just slightly at his lower lashline.

“Good,” she murmurs against his lips before pressing a soft kiss. “Don’t burn my soup being a sap though. I don’t think I have the mental capabilities to handle that.”

As their noses brush, Calum can’t help his grin. That’s his girl, forever honest. “On it.” The kiss is brief, yet again. His fingers are still kneading at her neck and though it hurts when he pulls away, she knows it’s better than burnt soup. She drops her head on her neck, eyes closed again. When is the pain going to end? When is she going to find relief? From everything really and not just the headache. She needs relief from debt, from social distancing, from panic.

Calum can only watch as she carries herself to the couch. Wrapped in one of his hoodies, she curls herself around Ace. He’d offer sitting outside with him but the sun’s not going to help her headache. There’s almost nothing to do but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t do whatever he can. With the soup warmed and in a bowl, he carefully carries it over to her. Her groan is heavy and drawn out as she sits up. “Yeah, just decapitate me please.”

“I’m sorry, love. Eat, try to sleep, okay?”

“Have you eaten?”

“Yes. Don’t worry about me right now, okay? Cuddle Ace. They look so sad that Mamas is not in tip top condition.”

The lip roll is exaggerated, pulling out and down. Calum kisses her forehead, gently cupping the back of her head with the action. His breath is a whisp against her skin as he whispers something. She doesn’t even catch it, not if it were English or Maori. He turns out the lights in the living room for her and soon he’s gone. Not without draping a blanket around her shoulders. She assumes another meeting. He’s taken to sitting outside during those calls. Maybe it’s so she’s not interrupting with the cleaning and that noise and he’s not in the way.

She has every intent to wash the dishes from her quick lunch. But once the soup is settled and she’s curled up again with Ace, it’s just so much easier to sleep. The bowl rests on the coffee table and she can’t find it within herself to get up. And she thinks it’ll be a quick nap too, by the time she gets up, Calum will still be on his conference call. It’s just a quick nap that wraps her up.

Until she finally blinks awake and the living is dark. The kitchen light is one still but there’s no sun peeking in from the blinds and she swears she couldn’t have slept the whole day away. When she pushes up, there’s less pounding in her head but a manageable dull ache. Her bleary eyes try to find the clock in the room to let her know what time it is but it’s much too far. She stands, eyes squinting against the light of the kitchen. It’s just about three and she spins, not sure if it’s three pm or three am. But there’s no way Calum would’ve just left her on the couch.

The blinds are drawn up and the curtains closed. When she pulls them apart, the sun comes blaring through. Her racing heart finally settles. “Thank fuck,” she grumbles.

“Ah, she lives,” Calum teases, peering into the living with a basket on his hip. Laundry. Not the load she started.

“It was dark and I thought I slept the entire day away.”

“No, just a few hours.”

She remembers the dishes, throwing a quick glance down to the coffee table. The bowl and spoon are gone. As her eyes scan, the pot and everything sit in the drying rack. “I can fold laundry,” she offers.

“It’s the last load.” And it’s meant to deter her, but she wiggles her fingers, stepping out from the couch. Calum shakes his head. “I got it.”

“I was supposed to clean my dishes and I didn’t. Let me, please?”

“How’s your head?” He knows as she walks closer that she’ll fight tooth and nail about making up for the dishes. But it’s not a big deal. She continues on and Calum shuffles into the bedroom to hide the basket from her. “Hey, no, you’re supposed to be taking it easy.”

“Give me the basket and no one gets hurt Hood.”

“It’s the last load, baby. Really, it’s okay.”

“You fixed me lunch and cleaned my dishes. Just give me the basket.”

“You’re not feeling well, so of course I did all that.”

She stands toe to toe with him, the basket behind his back pinned between him and their shared dresser. “Basket, Hood.”

“You can use my last name all you want, love. I’m not giving up this fucking basket.”

This happens all the time with them. And she should’ve learned to give up the good fight a long time ago, but giving in was not in her nature. So they stand there, staring, sharing breaths. But neither one of them budges. Calum doesn’t give in and let her take the basket and she doesn’t walk away.

“I have to pee but I’m not walking away,” she utters. The second she goes to pee, it’s over. Calum will start folding.

“Don’t burst your bladder.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

Calum watches her, the way her leg starts to shake and he knows she’ll wait this out. There’s no sense in making her prove that point any further either. “Go pee, Christ! I’ll let you help, alright?” She sticks her tongue out, before racing to the bathroom. Calum hollers as she goes, “That’s not a victory for either one of us though!”

“Gray sock,” Cal calls before tossing the sock in her direction. It arches and lands in her waiting hands. To her left are all the unpaired socks. As she finds the matches, she rolls them together and places them into a pile to the right of her. The living room is scattered with clothes. Piles of underwear, separated by owner, and further separated from there, t-shirts rest on the top of the coffee table, alongside the bath towels.

“Who’s shirt?” she asks, wiping the cotton material out so she can get a better look at it.

“Merch,” Calum explains, holding his hand out for it. It takes more effort to toss, so it doesn’t land on their piles incorrectly. He folds it, like she taught him, hooking his pinkies to flip the sleeves back behind. It folds in half once and he folds it half again, creating thirds so that the screen print of the top of the faces peak out. The same thing that graces the cover of the album.

Softly behind the quiet sounds of the dogs clicking about, is the hum of the latest binge that’s already been long forgotten. They’ll restart it again later on when they’re better focused. Calum sits with his laptop open and facing him. Notes for another meeting and he’s bored already just looking at the text. “Where’s the pile for kitchen towels?’ she asks.

Calum, with his eyes still locked on the screen, thinks for a moment. “There’s no pile.”

“You have more space than I do.”

That’s all he needs before he tears his gaze away and catches the towel floating through the air. “What do you want for dinner? And you can’t say whatever is fine.”

In the midst of folding a bath towel, she huffs. “I’m fine with anything.”

He knew she’d find a loophole. She’d find a way to shove off the responsibility onto him. “Burgers?” he suggests, thinking of the patties that might’ve been lingering in the freezer. Her only response is a nod accompanied by a soft sound of agreement.

It’s back to the notes, back to barely listening to the voices on the TV. When all the clothes are folded and tucked away, Calum pulls her onto the couch, into his chest, arms winding around her body. His fingers gently cradle her head. “Any more pain?”

“Just a little pressure.”

His heart is beating against her ears, the steady beat comforting as she burrows into his chest. All it would take to curl up inside the cavity, tuck herself away from everything. Though she can’t physically shrink herself, she happily accepts the soft brush of his fingers over her scalp. “Tomorrow we can make it a mile and a half walk, since you missed out today.”

“You are trying to kill me.” The sentence is punctuated by a kiss to his jawline.

“Ace got scared by a bush today,” Calum relays with a soft laugh. “Some birds were in it and when they flew off, it shook the bush. He got a little freaked. I guess he was too occupied by the couple walking their dogs on the other side of the street.”

“He’s big but he’s a baby. Sounds like someone else I know.” The jest isn’t lost on Calum but he lets it slide for the moment being, taking in the feeling of her tracing patterns on his chest with her fingers.

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