#AND THE METRO IS GOING BACKWARDS TOO

[theyamjam]

im not made2 be in small spaces surroudnd by strangers……

[larsnicklas]

You know, point-wise and stuff, I mean I don't think I've had that many points in a full season than I had in my first four games here. But it's fun to look back to, and the guys helped me come into the team real good. — RASMUS SANDIN FOR CAPS RED LINE

[yourheartonfire]

"Hello! If you are receiving this, [medic] has missed their daily deadman switch check in. All client information will be released in 12 hours."

For a second villain stared dumbly at the text on her phone. Then she bolted from her desk towards the door. It was 10:17 - a taxi would be faster than the metro at this hour to get to midtown -

"Hey!" their coworker said, pulling out her airpods. "Where are you going?"

"Medical emergency," the villain snapped and slammed out the office door.

A precious 29 minutes later the villain arrived at the medic's apartment to find a motley gathering of capes and masks shuffling and looking suspiciously at each other in the hall. There was an air of a 2am fire drill - few supers operated on daylight hours, especially not the low to mid-powered supers the medic took on as clients, and the whole event had the awkward feel of meeting your neighbors in their pajamas.

The vigilante wore their normal black of course, but in the daylight the denim was faded and the jacket obviously cheap pleather. On the villainous side there was that grimy little clown themed duo in plain white face paint instead of their full make-up. For the heroes there was that kid goody-two-shoes try-hard - of course she'd rolled up in full uniform, minus the normal tracker camera the Hero Agency mounted on all its people now. And hero, the villain's nemesis, was there too, having jammed on the cowl and gloves over his t-shirt and jeans, just like villain had over her business clothes. He was standing in the doorway, and visibly sighed in relief as villain turned the corner.

"Oh thank God you're here," hero said and wasn't that terrifying that he had nothing flirty or snarky to say about villain's suit.

The goody-two-shoes did a double take. "Her?!" she snapped, even as she rocked her weight nervously from leg to leg. "You were waiting on her?"

"We sure weren't waiting on you to do something useful, cupcake," the female gremlin drawled from where she slouched against her partner on the hall floor, flicking her knife through her fingers.

"Yeah, didn't realize medic was a pediatrician too," the male gremlin giggled.

"Knock it off." The hero stepped aside, opened the door. "I kept them out, kept the scene clean for you."

The goody-two shoes groaned, buried her head in her hands. "This can't be happening."

"Quick, did someone bring a pacifier?" one of the gremlins stage whispered.

The vigilante pointedly stepped over the two clowns, forcing them to jerk backwards or take a combat boot to the face. "We're assuming this is about us," they breathed to the hero and villain. "What if they got hit by a bus? Dropped dead of a heart attack?"

"No reports from the hospitals or morgues of unidentified persons matching medic's description," Villain said curtly. "Checked on the way here. No communication to or amongst medic's friends and family about an emergency."

Goody-two-shoes blinked. "You... know [medic]'s real identity?"

"And that is why we were waiting on her," hero said patiently. "Now everyone shut up."

The villain curtly nodded acknowledgement, stepped into medic's apartment though it would not be necessary. The medic had disappeared from the street, at some point after they'd used their debit card to buy their usual black coffee at 7:04am and at some point before they'd failed to badge in at work by 8:15am. Still, the villain did a quick scan. The little homemade exam/treatment area had been freshly cleaned, the trash emptied. The tablet and laptop were missing from their docking station, but the go-bag was still in place under the desk.

"Y'all are gonna give me a minute with [medic] when we find them," the male gremlin drawled. "This 12 hour deadline is bullshit. They said we'd have 24 hours if they missed a check-in."

"You're not getting shit," the vigilante growled around the toothpick they were chomping.

"And they shortened the deadline because I told them to," villain said, breathing in the smell of antiseptic and bleach. She'd also told the medic to set the deadman switch to every 8 hours, not every 24, but the others didn't need to know that.

"You what?!" said the gremlins and the goody-two-shoes in unison. The vigilante choked. Even hero looked startled.

"I advised them to consider how long they could hold out under torture to reveal the abort protocol," said villain, using a tongue depressor to lift a latex glove from the kitchen trash. "I'd say medic was pretty generous. Speaking of generous, I've seen enough." She pointed to hero. "Last person you referred to medic and when?"

Hero tilted his head, realization blooming. "You," he said to villain. "Nine months ago."

One of the gremlins pointed to vigilante. "We did you! We did you last Arbor Day!"

Vigilante sighed and jabbed a thumb at goody-two-shoes. "The kid," they sighed. "I dunno when. Summer?"

The goody-two shoes swallowed. "Um," she said very quietly.

As one, the group turned to the kid. She froze, eyes going wide behind the mask. "It was - I didn't mean to!" she cried, backing up. "Just - he noticed the scar and realized it wasn't sanctioned medical care and I - and I - !"

"Okay, slow down," said hero gently, shooting a warning look to the gremlins who were both holding knives and on their feet now. "Who did you tell?"

The goody-two shoes' shoulders collapsed. She looked miserably at her toes. "Superhero. Yesterday."

Everyone flinched.

"You idiot," the vigilante breathed.

"We're going to kill you," the female gremlin said to the goody-two shoes. The male cracked his knuckles. The hero took a deep breath and pushed the goody-two-shoes behind him -

"Save that for 12 hours from now," villain said briskly and dropped the glove back in the trash. "We've got just under 11 hours to find where Superhero's got medic stashed and mount a rescue before our identities and medical records are splashed all over the internet. And frankly, I think it's going to take every single one of us to meet that deadline."

The six of them looked at each other in the shadows of the hall. The hero mustered a grin. "That's why we're all here, right?" he said. "Instead of hiding or running. Medic's saved all of us- now we save them."

"They didn't save me, I wasn't dying," one of the gremlins muttered. But no one walked away.

"Right," said villain. "Let's do this."

[chiefdirector]

Shooting | Tim Bradford | The Rookie

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

Three Years Ago

Tim took a deep breath as he prepared himself. In reality he knew that he would be fine, he had participated in raids like this one dozens of times, but it didn't stop the nerves coming up. He shot a glance to the line of officers behind him, and then he looked back in front of him. This time, instead of facing the back of a leather jacket, he made eye contact with (Y/N).

You okay? She mouthed, as not to alert anyone in the vicinity of their location with the sound of conversation. 

Yes. Tim replied, nodding alongside his silent confirmation.

I love you.

I love you too.

Within less than a moment's notice, the senior officer on site gave the visual go ahead for the raid to start. Tim followed closely behind his wife as they, alongside Metro and a SWAT team, rushed forward to ambush the residents in the house.

From the streets, the house seemed like any other in its neighbourhood. The exterior walls were neat and tidy, the garden was something to be proud of, not a flaw in sight. The property seemed as if it had come straight from a Home-Owners Association’s dream. The inside was of a similar manner, it was modern, clean, and bright. It was pristine, except from the methamphetamine laboratory in the back half of the residence. 

The cartel that used the residence as a home base clearly had no clue of the raid happening until the moment they penetrated the doors of the property. Pretty quickly the quiet and serene neighbourhood was filled with the sounds of glass smashing and bullets being fired. Tim fluidly moved through the house, keeping his six covered as he tried to locate the boss’s wife who was supposedly here. 

The boss was out of town on business, leaving only his partner to run the business in his absence. It gave Sargent Grey and his cohort the perfect time to try to shut down the operation. 

“Lopez,” Tim whispered to the officer next to him. Once her eyes were on him, he gestured to the door at the end of the corridor. Lopez moved forward to position herself to open the door and counted down from three with one hand, the other still clutching her weapon. 

They burst through the door, guns held high as they entered the office. The office was the only room in the house that wasn't immaculate. Papers were strung across the desk, with nearly twice as much spread messily across the floor. The drawers in the cabinet behind the desk looked as if hastily opened with little regard to what was inside. The lamp in the far corner was smashed to pieces; it was mostly covered by a small woman standing in front of it.

She stood tall and proud. Her face was like stone, and her eyes were cold. Recognition instantly crossed Tim and Angela’s faces: the wife. She was not what they were expecting. Reports had described her as timid and mild, someone who would be easy to get to cooperate with their case.

“LAPD. Drop the gun!” Tim said, keeping his gun held high, holding his aim at the wife’s shoulder.

The woman kept her weapon held high. 

“I’d listen to him if I were you.” Lopez said, taking a small step closer to the woman. “Just drop the gun and we can resolve this nicely.”

“And if I don't?” The woman scoffed. 

Lopez took another couple of steps,getting closer as she spoke. “Let's not go down the road. It’ll be easier if you cooperate ma’am.”

Quickly, the woman turned to face Lopez, her gun aimed at her face. Before she had time to pull her trigger, Tim shot a single round into her shoulder. The woman ricocheted backwards, the gun dropping from her grasp as she fell. Blood spilled from her shoulder running down her dress turning the material from white to crimson. She hit the ground heavily as her eyes rolled back as she lost consciousness. Lopez moved quickly to remove the gun from reach before getting down to the woman’s side. She motioned for Tim to join her.

As Angela started to put pressure on the bullet wound, Tim reached for his radio. “I need an additional RA Unit for a woman, mid-thirties, with a gunshot wound. Unconscious but breathing.” He placed the radio back on his belt before kneeling down next to Angela. “You alright?”

“Yeah I’m good,” She stopped talking for a moment, listening to the sounds around them in the rest of the property. “It sounds like it’s quieting down. We better wait here though.”

Tim stood up. “You're right. Do you think there is anything to help stop the bleeding… First aid kit maybe?”

At his question, Tim heard a familiar chuckle coming from the door. Even though he recognised the voice, he still turned suddenly and took his gun out again, his mind and body still on the defensive. 

“This place was a meth lab and you think they cared enough about health and safety for a first aid kit?” (Y/N) walked into the office, looking around at the carnage that had taken place here. “This is going to be a headache to sort through in evidence later.”

“(Y/N), why are you here? Are you okay?” Tim moved towards his wife, eyes looking frantically up and down to check her for any injuries. She looked fine, except for a little graze on her forehead but that wasn’t anything that Tim couldn't take care of later. He stopped himself though, clocking how frantic his words sounded. Remedying that, he took a deep breath and continued. “Has everyone else been taken-”

“Hey, hey hey.” Lopez interrupted, bringing the Bradfords’ attention to her. “She’s awake again.”

Tim nodded, moving towards the door, somewhat satisfied to know that (Y/N) was okay. “That’s good, you two wait here, I’m going to see if the RA Unit is here yet.”

(Y/N) hummed in agreement as her husband left. She spared a glance his way before drawing her attention to Angela and the bleeding lady. “Ma’am? Ma’am.” She said, squatting down to her side. “Can you tell me your name?”

“Regina.” The woman spat.

“Right Regina, you’re under arrest. You will be taken to the hospital before being processed.” Angela said, still maintaining pressure on Regina’s shoulder even though she squirmed underneath her.

Regina gritted her teeth, (Y/N) couldn't tell if it was in pain or anger. The bleeding woman cried out as she turned her head to fully focus on (Y/N). “He will pay for this. You all will. He doesn't know what he has done. He shot me and my husband will make him pay.”

Part Four | Part Six

Series Masterlist | Masterlist

Tags: @xceafh @kmc1989 @buba424

Tags are open :)

[chqolan]

Luke Sullivan boyfriend headcanons

A/N: i'm not a writer of any sort LMAO but i just had to share my hc's for this man because i REFUSE to gatekeep any content for luke. copy pasted from my notes app !

TW: gender neutral reader, luke being a goofball (what else is new?), completely sfw mhm no unholy thoughts being posted 🧘‍♀️

⛧ definitely a soft boyfriend

⛧ always in the mood for hugs, kisses and cuddles

⛧ he's more romantic than most people would think!

⛧ most dates consist of travelling around metro city

⛧ movie dates, picnics, dining out, sight seeing, shopping etc!

⛧ he brings you along to his gym sometimes if you’re free

⛧ luke will always end up trying to show off when you’re watching and his students can clearly tell

⛧ he'd make sure you have a decent relationship with his students

⛧ wether you're a fighter or not, luke probably encourages you to practice and learn with the rest of his kids

⛧ on the days that you don’t go with him to his classes, you pack him lunch!

⛧ he loves your perfectly packed lunches with cute and positive notes that always have a smiley face at the end :)

⛧ you try your best to pack him healthy food to break his bad eating habits

⛧ he can definitely notice, but he'll still eat everything you packed him

⛧ going back to the topic of his classes, luke would probably order pizza for his students on a good day

⛧ it’d be the same type of pepperoni pizza you both had while on a date last night

⛧ his students would be celebrating once he announces he’s ordering pizza for everyone, meanwhile you and bosch just face palm

⛧ bosch would be wondering how eating junk food is supposed to help while they’re trying to exercise and train

⛧ you would be wondering how he still wants more pizza after eating 7/10 slices you guys had the night before

⛧ now about those dates with the two of you

⛧ luke also enjoys cozy dates at home with you too

⛧ sometimes he'll like having you watch him play video games, or even tell you to play with him

⛧ or cuddle up in blankets on his bed or couch to watch movies

⛧ but no scary movies allowed LMAO

⛧ if y’all are ever out, he'll still treat you good

⛧ he prefers dining out to satisfy his insane appetite

⛧ you'll be full and watch luke finish your leftovers and continue ordering more food

⛧ you reassure him that it’s okay and he can eat as much as he pleases, but he was already gonna do that anyways

⛧ he'd probably have moments where he kisses your cheek or forehead and clumsily places his hat on your head <3

⛧ he'd place it backwards and say that you look even cooler than him now

⛧ after playing world tour, it’s canon that luke texts A LOT

⛧ expect lots of good morning/good night texts from him!

⛧ he'll text you throughout the day to see how you're doing, and even ask you're free to meet up with him

⛧ he sends you the stupidest memes as well and will be like “this reminded me of u”

⛧ it’s so stupid but you can’t help but laugh

[buthowboutno]

HELLO I'm new to asking things here but I've a small,,, tiiny question that idk if anyone's asked before or not but

What happened at metro tower between sweets and Leo? And, I suppose, with everyone else there, if anyone (like April) recognized Sweets

Because Donnie didn't, Raph and Mikey didn't say anything,,,

Leo and April are the only two that basically said "oh! You're the kid that almost died while we saved the world" so Idk I kind of was curious on, I guess

Like other than, obviously, Leo saving sweets but I guess how he found them? Because I know it's stated somewhere Sweets locked themselves in their moms office but idk

You don't gotta answer this at all (especially if it's a stupid question 💀💀) I just I got myself curious ig

this ask prompted me to write a whole ass snippet about what happened. i blame you. /aff

(snippet under the cut)

If it had been up to Splinter, Leo wouldn’t even be five feet away from his cot in the med bay, much less searching through the remains of Metro Tower. Mikey was still out of commission and Drax was doing some weird mystic ritual on Donnie to help with his head.

If it had been up to Leo, Raph would be in the med bay instead of digging through rubble by his side. April tagged along as well, but she was a floor below looking for… something.  

Leo might have been too ticked off about April and Raph bulldozing his plan to listen beyond every fifth word of their justification.

(Didn’t they know that this was Leo’s—?)

(After all that, they still trust—?)

They hadn’t found any survivors since the first day of searching, when Donnie passed out after manifesting a mystic slide for a group of harried interns that were stuck on the third floor. Mikey’s hands had cramped up so bad after guiding the lone barista out from their cupboard on the second floor that he was still having trouble holding a fork.

Leo wasn’t even sure why he insisted on coming back, to be honest. After four days trapped in this building, there was a good chance that any stragglers would have died of dehydration by now. Donnie’s scans, at least, didn’t show anyone in the building that they didn’t get out already.

Leo just… had this feeling. He couldn’t explain it.

Raph jumped up and tapped the big red ‘5’ hanging from the ceiling before the stairwell, startling Leo out of his thoughts. Under his massive hands, the sign crumbled off of the wall.

“Uh, whoops?” Raph said, looking sheepish as he turned towards Leo.

Leo snorted, “Property destruction. Nice.”

“That was… not my fault,” Raph said, his face screwed up as he stepped towards the stairs, “This whole buildin’ is— "

The floor creaked dangerously beneath Raph’s feet, prompting him to stumble backwards out of the stairwell. Leo took a few tentative steps forward, noting the slight shift in the floor but otherwise no other changes beneath his feet.

“Falling apart,” Leo finished, jumping up and down for good measure. No change, but Leo didn’t like the cracks slowly making their way up the walls.

“Maybe it's time to head back?” Raph suggested gently, taking another scared step backwards when the floor started creaking again, “Raph is getting a little geeked out.”

Leo nodded, taking a step towards Raph before he was struck with this urgent feeling in his chest. Like he had left something behind.

“I’m gonna take a quick look around,” Leo said, stepping back into the stairwell, “You’d better go back down and grab April.”

“Leo–”

“I’ll portal out if the building starts falling down, scouts honor,” Leo said before ducking up the stairs. Raph’s responding groan told Leo that Raph wasn’t going to march up there and grab him. Probably more due to the fact that the stairs would give out underneath him, but Leo would take what he could get.

(Leo was going to be majorly cussed out about this stunt when he got back.)

(Worth it.)

(At least, he hoped it was.)

The sixth floor of Metro Tower, surprise surprise, was functionally identical to floors two through five. The building was mostly leased out to a bunch of different companies doing Spirits knows what in their copy and paste cubicles. 

(They didn’t find any survivors above floor twelve. Leo tried not to think about it.)

Leo raided a few of the fancier looking offices, sending various pieces of tech back to Donnie’s lab through mini-portals. Bribery, maybe, but mostly practice. Leo’s portals had felt off since the–

…Yeah. He needed the practice.

Leo heard a muffled shout from down the hallway, immediately pulling out his second katana and running quietly towards the noise.

Leo noticed the kid first. They had dustpans duct taped to their chest and back like some budget LARPer. They held a yardstick out with a broken pair of scissors haphazardly attached to the end, trembling like Mikey after a fourth cup of coffee. A Kraang zombie shuffled towards them, its face half-melted at this point. 

Why was it still–?

Leo needed to tell the others about this. Donnie was positive that everyone who got infected would’ve been released after they closed the portal to Kraang Prime. This was– this wasn’t a good sign.

The kid shouted at the zombie like they were trying to scare off a bear and tossed a stapler at its head. Decent shot, but ultimately useless. The stapler landed on the zombie’s head and was slowly absorbed into the Kraang viscera protruding from its skull. 

The kid yelped, moment of bravery apparently lost, and ran in Leo’s direction.

Leo recognised that face. It was just a passing photo, something Casey swiped past while stammering about nerd shit like the ‘space-time continuum.’

(Donnie’s influence, no doubt. Leo may have been Casey’s sensei, but Donnie tended to infect people with his intelligence.)

This kid was younger than the photos, though. Their hair was cut short just above their ears, and the dark circles under their eyes told Leo that they hadn’t been getting much in the way of water or sleep since the invasion started.

That half second of thought cost Leo his chance to take down the zombie before it lunged at them.

The kid, thankfully, heard the zombie before it had the chance to grab them and whirled around with their makeshift spear. Their jab landed solidly in the zombie’s chest, but that still didn’t stop it. The zombie's neck craned out in a truly unnatural manner and bit the kid’s hand while it was still holding their spear. The kid let out a painful shriek that rattled inside of Leo’s skull.

That finally spurred Leo into action, sprinting on the front pads of his feet and slashing the zombie clean into three pieces. The body hit the ground without so much as a tentacle reaching out in protest.

The kid fell to the floor, eyes open with fear as they held out their left hand. The mutagen had already started spreading, past their second knuckle already, but it was moving slower than when–

Leo should’ve thought a little harder before he let his reflexes take over. In a second, he sliced off the kid’s pinky and ring finger before the mutagen had a chance to reach their palm. 

They screamed out in pain, immediately clutching their left hand to their chest and staring up at Leo with wide, terrified eyes. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Leo tried, “I’m here to help.”

Their face was quickly turning white from the blood loss, but the look on their face made Leo think that they’d still try to stab him if he came any closer.

He’d probably deserve it, to be honest, but the kid needed a hospital above anything else. Leo reached down and grabbed the kid before they could fight back. He quickly sliced a portal through the wall and walked out onto the sidewalk in front of Metro Tower. With two more twirls of his katana, April and Raph were standing right next to him.

Leo tried not to think about the ache in his chest after opening up those portals. He pushed the pain out of the back of his mind as he focused on putting pressure on the kid's hand.

“What the–?”

“Med kit, now,” Leo demanded, not even looking at Raph. The kid was trying to wriggle out of Leo’s grasp, but the blood loss was obviously starting to get to them.

Raph wordlessly took the kit from his belt and handed it over. April was standing behind him in shock, hands twitching as if she was trying to figure out what to do.

“Fucking… wizard,” the kid stammered, now clutching onto Leo instead of fighting him, “My g-goddamn hand.”

“You’re welcome, pal,” Leo said flatly. He dumped the travel bottle of rubbing alcohol on their hand haphazardly before wrapping it up as tightly as he could.

“Eat my ass, Dr. Strange,” the kid muttered before looking up at Leo with a sudden and unusual clarity, “I think I’m going to pass out now.”

“Wh– no, wait!” Leo protested before the kid slumped fully into his arms.

That must’ve rattled April out of whatever funk she was in. She reached into the med kit and grabbed one of the instant cold packs, harshly squeezing and then shaking it to activate it.

“They’re going into shock,” she said, leaning down to apply the pack to the back of the kid’s neck, “Leo, can you portal–?”

The moment April touched the kid, Leo was sent into the mindscape. It wasn’t the same as a normal ninja mindmeld; typically, Leo was still able to see through the eyes of his physical body while it happened. This was like his entire consciousness was captured and taken somewhere else.

Leo turned his head to the left and saw April standing next to him, her eyes trained on something else. 

Donnie? No, not Donnie.

Not his Donnie.

This Donnie was… older. Scarred. Taller than Leo thought his twin could ever grow to be. He didn’t speak a single word, just held Leo’s gaze with an intense expression and nodded.

Leo understood, in a split-second, that the kid in his arms was precious. They were family. The pull, the call that compelled Leo back to Metro Tower was more than an antsy feeling driving him out of his cot. 

This… this was one last wish of a doomed timeline.

Leo also understood that if he let this kid bleed out on the streets of New York, the ghost of Donnie future wouldn’t let him sleep peacefully for the rest of his life.

“April? Leo?” Raph asked, his tone incredibly concerned as Leo snapped back to reality.

“Donnie called them ‘Sweets’,” Leo murmured under his breath.

“...What?”

Leo shook his head, clearing the images from his mind, “Right. Let’s go.”

[catierambles]

"What do we got here, sweetheart?" Syverson asked as they approached the chasm, the depths murky with what looked like swirling sand. "This definitely wasn't here yesterday."

"Would account for the seismic activity your equipment read." She said and took out her own instrument. "It's an aetheric torrent of air and earth aspected aether." He went to peer over the edge but she pulled him back by his vest. "Stay away from the edge, Seth. We don't know how far down the bottom is and you wouldn't make it anyway, the aetheric energies would literally tear you apart if you fell in."

"Yep, got it, backin' away." He said, "So I'm guessin' the giant pit of horrible death probably wouldn't be safe to explore."

"Not without the proper protection." She said and put away her reader, heading back to the truck and taking her fishing pole from the back.

"I thought nothin' would survive in there."

"No, you wouldn't survive in there." She said, attached a lure to the hook. "To quote one of your movies, life finds a way." She cast it into the pit, tugging on the line and soon it went taught and she pulled, turning back on the reel. With a jerk backwards, the end of the line popped up, something attached to the lure.

"If I didn't know any better," He said as she removed the hook from it's mouth, "I would say that's a trout. Bit dusty, but it's got the markin's."

"Certainly does look like it." She said as she measured it before tossing it back.

"Not to your likin'?"

"Want something a bit bigger." She said as she cast her line back into the abyss.

"What do you think caused it?"

"Probably collapsed sandworm tunnels." She said, tugging on the line. "If too many make too many tunnels in aether rich areas, they tend to collapse and cause, well, this."

"We are by the mountains. You did say they like to burrow there." He said, hooking his thumbs in his vest. The ground started to shake under them, "Please don't tell me it's gonna widen." He started backing away from the chasm.

"Nope." She said, reeling her line in quickly, "Back in the truck, right now. I'm driving." He didn't question it, tossing her the keys as she threw her rod back in the bed of the truck, getting behind the wheel and starting the engine. He barely had the passenger door closed before she peeled away, kicking rocks and sand. There was what sounded like an explosion behind them and he looked back, seeing the massive creature twice the size of metro bus emerging from the sand, covered in spines with a gaping mouth full of rows of razor sharp teeth like a shark.

"Let me guess, sandworm?!" He asked, turning back around and holding onto the suicide handle as she tore off across the desert.

"A very angry one!" She said and jerked the wheel as it exploded out of the ground a few feet away, "That chasm was probably its' home!"

"What's your plan, doll?!"

"Keep driving! It'll give up eventually!" She said and he nearly ate dashboard a couple times from her maneuvers before he saw the worm give up in the side mirror, turning around and diving back into the sand dejectedly. She didn't let up until they drove back through the gates of the camp, screeching to a halt. "You okay?"

"I'm good." He said, relaxing back in the seat. "Next time we go out to one of those horrible death pits, we're bringin' a mounted gun with us."

[jennsterjay]

Punkprowler Headcanons (because you can never have enough 😌👌🏾🎸💜✨)

---

-Hobie makes Miles G mixtapes of songs that remind him of him, and Miles G uses his uncle's old cassette player to play them. Miles G figures out a way to do a backwards compatible mp3 to cassette recording (because he's tech savvy like that) and gives mixtapes with his own favorites on them to Hobie. Hobie plays them on his Sony cassette deck in his boathouse

-Miles G helps Hobie take care of his wicks when he's tired after battling Osborn and his symbiote army, and Hobie likes to braid Miles G's hair in different styles because he loves it when he wears it proudly

-Miles teaches Hobie how to cook Puerto Rican dishes, and Hobie and Riri help Miles G with his physics homework on the days he's too tired to think after coming from nightly patrols

-At Earth-138B Miles G fits right in because he has no problem fighting fascists and V.E.N.O.M. symbiote cops, and even though rock isn't his top genre, he did have an alternative Linkin Park phase and Hobie convinces him to rap at some of his punk concerts. He becomes an urban legend

-After Hobie makes Miles G his own watch, Hobie often pulls him into spontaneous dates and adventures at other dimensions. Miles G warms up and starts doing it too, and before they know it, crossing time and space just to spend time with each other becomes a regular part of their lives

-Mattea Murdock teaches Hobie Spanish so he can use it to surprise Miles G. Miles thinks Hobie learning Spanish for him is the coolest thing on the planet

-These two are good-hearted vigilantes but watch out. Hobie has no problem killin it on a guitar, and Miles G has no problem handling his business like wolverine. Oooo What's up danger?

-As the Punk spider who's the Prowler in another universe, and the Prowler who was meant to be Spider-man, these two are the definition of opposites attract

-When Hobie meets Rio he introduces himself as his boyfriend with a smile. When Hobie meets Aaron he introduces himself as his girlfriend with a toothy grin. Both of these times were unplanned and Miles G was mortified until Rio smiled at Hobie, and Aaron laughed and told Hobie he liked her style

-Hobie Brown, Miles G Morales, and Ganke M Lee (Earth-42) often play video games and do graffiti at Miles G's spraypaint mural at the abandoned Metro Station. This is how Hobie finds out Ganke is Miles G's guy in the chair. Hobie can't tell if Ganke likes Miles because he can never get a read on him, and Ganke likes messing with Hobie just for the entertainment value

-When Gwen V. Stacy (Gwenom) meets Hobie, Hobie thinks Miles' friend has somehow succumbed to a V.E.N.O.M. symbiote that followed him from Earth-138B, so he tries to 'rescue' her from the symbiote but that goes about as well as you would expect. Gwen and Hobie are pretty evenly matched in a fight but eventually Gwen convinces him her symbiote is different and can be trusted. After their rocky start, and Hobie finds a symbiote dog in his own world that he takes care of, he brings this little inkblot with him to visit her and they become friends. They both mess with Miles G, and Gwen is ready to go to their wedding already, because Gwen and Hobie are friends in every universe

-Miles G plays some Childish Gambino while chilling with Hobie, and Hobie says that that singer is The Prowler in another universe. He smugly mentions he caught him once. Miles G doesn't know what to do with this information

-These two love to mix and match each other's clothes. Hobie takes the shirts Miles gives him and turns them into sleeveless crop tops with FNSM symbols and Anarchy symbols painted and spraypainted on them. And Miles takes the patched jackets and hoodies that Hobie gives him, and adds his own designs and spraypaint to them with his own tag designs and symbols on them. Peak punk style and NY streetwear solidarity

-Hobie teaches Miles G how to play the guitar and the drums, and Miles G teaches Hobie the salsa, cha cha, the jerk, the dougie, the wobble, and any other dance he thinks Hobie needs to catch up on and learn. He finds that Hobie is a quick learner

Cue a timeskip and Hobie has long defined dreads, and Miles G has dreads in a braided bun to match. Miles G stopped Hobie's canon event where he was fated to die young with a signature Morales "Nah imma do my own thing", and Hobie helped save Rio and Aaron from the final battle with Kingpin and the Sinister Six when Miles G's identity was revealed and he had no choice but to lead an avengers assemble style fight

Now that things in Earth-42 and Earth-138B have calmed down, they can say that their futures are looking bright

And at the end of the day, no matter what obstacles they may face, they're glad to have each other

[whereianonymouslypostfics]

The Flip Side Part 9

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~9.2k

Summary: Your motivation to continue working as a mobster in Chicago is dwindling after the birth of your daughter.

A/N: Things get heavier in this chapter. Mind the warnings and please don't read if it makes you uncomfortable. Enjoy! 😁

Warnings: physical/emotional abuse, gaslighting, references to sexual assault, threats of violence, angst, car accident, mention of blood and injury

12 years ago

Your neck aches from how often you’ve looked over your shoulder today. You’d been frantic in your escape, but too paranoid to draw too much attention to yourself as you went between the bus station, metro, and lastly train station. You were finally escaping your abusive, terrifying girlfriend, and it had only taken 2 years. 

Planning the imperfect escape and saving enough money hadn’t taken more than 6 months. The longest part of the process was finding the courage to finally go through with it. You’d made sure to cover all of your bases so you wouldn’t be caught until it was too late to stop you, but you couldn’t help but be fearful. In the time you’d been with the brunette, you’d gained a healthy appreciation for fear and you’d realized how it could save your skin in certain scenarios. Sure, most of the time you experienced it as a by-product of being with someone who was both unpredictable and reliable in their ability to tear you down. 

This morning before she’d left for work, you’d made breakfast for her and your bodyguard with milk that you’d kept out in the sun for the afternoon before. It hadn’t been enough to notice immediately, but only an hour later you see him leaving your lecture hall with an uncomfortable look on his face. 

You wait exactly thirty seconds before leaving class as well, but not before squeezing your friend’s hand in thanks. She’d been the only person you could confide in about your horrible relationship, and she’d helped you any way she could. You grab the bag she’d brought to class with her that has three changes of clothes and some extra tip money from her waitressing gig. You’d wanted to use most of your own money, but that was difficult to do given how closely it was watched and how any deposit or withdrawal you made was scrutinized. 

You’d changed clothes in a bathroom at the bus station first and took a bus to a city an hour away. It’s larger and has a metro that you catch to get as close to the train station as possible. You’re going backwards in your journey to cause confusion, but you’re hoping your wardrobe changes and use of cash only will keep you from being found. 

You’d had to ditch your phone and wallet to make sure you weren’t tracked, and now as you sit on the second train, you’re starting to grow less tense. You’d been on edge since arriving to your first class this morning, and it had only gotten worse as you followed through with each step of your plan. You’d almost chickened out, but the idea of having to face Hela when she came home and inevitably blamed you for her food poisoning kept you on track. The last time she’d hit you was earlier in the week, and you were still sore from it. 

As you stare out the window watching as the world blurs by, you wonder how you managed to land yourself in this mess. You weren’t even 23, but the past two years had been enough to age you significantly. You felt at least 10 years older from the stress and the amount you’d seen and had to experience firsthand. You’re not sure what you’ll be able to make of yourself once you arrive to your destination, but for now the most important thing to you was getting away and being free. 

For the first time in two years, you might have a chance to be your own person. You can’t fight the smile that tugs at your lips as you sigh in relief. 

When you first met Hela, you were sneaking into a bar with friends a few months shy of your 21st birthday. You were the youngest of the group and all of them had been able to get in, but you’d been stopped at the door. You ended up trying to get a ride home alone when a tall brunette had come up to you and offered you an alternative. 

Despite being young, you weren’t stupid and you knew there would be a catch. You didn’t have the self-esteem to believe that this beautiful woman would want anything good from you. You’d been right, but you wouldn’t figure that out for nearly three months. That night she’d only asked to buy you a drink and keep you company while you drank it. You were going to refuse until you realized that getting in the bar meant you could stay there even after you finished your obligatory drink. Except you didn’t leave after the first drink or the third. You’d talked with Hela for nearly an hour before your friends noticed you were there.

It had surprised you how easily you’d been able to talk to a total stranger. She was charismatic, attentive and showed a genuine interest that you hadn’t been prepared for. Thinking back on it, this is probably when she trapped you. Despite giving her your number, you hadn’t heard from her until a few weeks later, and she’d been on your mind almost every day after that first drink. 

Looking back, things had moved surprisingly quickly given that you’d never been in a serious relationship before. Hela had just lured you in and made you feel safe with her until she knew you wouldn’t be able to leave. By the three-month mark, you’d moved in with her, mostly to avoid going into more debt paying for school and an apartment, and you’d also learned what she did for a living. 

You hadn’t believed it at first. You thought she was lying and you’d made the mistake of laughing in her face. She’d made you regret it by pulling a gun on you and asking why you thought it was so funny. You’d said all of the wrong things and after claiming to find the idea ‘absurd and reckless’ she’d hit you for the first time. You knew you should have left right then and there, but the idea of her being in a gang was terrifying. You didn’t have any money or even an idea of what would happen to you if you left. 

She’d tried to make up for her misstep, for revealing her personality to you by apologizing and promising that she would never do it again. She’d just ‘had a hard day at work’ and you ‘couldn’t possibly understand it’. You hadn’t been able to argue even if you wanted to. You lost all ability to speak as your fear caused your throat to go dry and a cold sweat to break out. You hated the unknown and you’d asked her to explain what she did. You wanted to have a better idea of what you were facing if her work was going to help you prepare for her mood swings.

However, you failed to realize that ignorance really could be bliss. 

Hela had told you the truth. That’s how she’d conned you. She’d told you that she hurt people, she sometimes even killed them if they got in the way of her business of dealing drugs, laundering money and running several illegal money-making schemes. She claimed that she’d protect you because you were special and had no idea what you’d be up against if you were on your own. You were convinced to fear the unknown threat when really the only thing you had to fear was the woman who swore to protect you. 

She’d sometimes take you with her when she had business and you didn’t have class. The first couple times it was a question, then attendance became mandatory. You were mostly ignored on these trips, but you’d learned quickly that you had to pay attention. You had to watch, but you couldn’t say anything unless Hela spoke to you directly. You made the mistake of answering one of her client’s questions and she’d beat you black and blue with her belt as soon as you got home as punishment. 

By the 7-month mark of your relationship, you had no friends anymore, and the only people you saw other than her and her business partners, were your classmates. You weren’t allowed to see them outside of lectures unless it was strictly necessary, and you’d only tried to argue this once. Hela claimed to want you nearby or at least in the apartment at all times so she could know you were safe. You’d begun to hate coming home to a place that felt foreign and filled you with apprehension. 

Eventually, you’d learned more about gang operations than what you were studying in school, but you didn’t quit. You did well enough to stay enrolled because you didn’t want to flunk out. This would only give Hela another reason to drag you around with her or keep you locked up. You would sometimes sit in the apartment for hours wondering how you’d been so blind. Hela’s front was a good one and it had to be for her job, but you wonder why she chose you of all people to target. Why did she want you by her side when she could have certainly found someone else to abuse and belittle? 

One night you’d failed to cook dinner and she’d found you just sitting at the table where you studied in the living room staring off into space. When she’d asked you why you didn’t cook, you’d countered with a question of your own. 

“Why me?”

You remember the look on her face when you’d asked her why she’d chosen you that night. What had led her to you? Hela had just smiled coldly before sitting down across from you and propping her elbows on the table between you two. She’d wondered how long you’d wanted to ask her this. She was honestly surprised it took you this long to bring it up.

“Because you’re you.” 

You had no chance to feel a fleeting sense of self-esteem before Hela continued and quickly cut you down to size so you resembled an ant. 

“I knew the moment I saw you that you were clueless. Such a pathetic little thing that I could easily manipulate and shape to my will.” 

You remember feeling embarrassment followed by rage and you’d tried to leave then and there. You’d gotten up from the table without a word and gone into the bedroom to pack a bag. Hela had realized what you were doing as soon as you made a racket throwing things around the room and yanking clothes from the closet. She’d come to stand in the doorway and simply watch you tearfully pack your belongings. You didn’t see her condescending smile as she scoffed and dared you to leave. 

“Where are you even going to run to? You’re broke. I’m the one paying for everything. You need me.” 

You didn’t want to believe this and you tried to convince yourself that you didn’t care. That it didn’t matter, but it truly didn’t make a difference. As you finished packing and began to zip up your suitcase, Hela came up behind you and grabbed your hair and yanked you backwards. 

“You’re not going anywhere you little bitch.” 

She’d thrown your suitcase to the ground before shoving you onto the bed. You caught yourself before you could fall all the way back, and you were going to push yourself up when Hela pulled out her gun and held it against your forehead. You hadn’t understood true fear until that moment, and you’d stayed perfectly still barely daring to breathe as your girlfriend smiled at you lovingly. 

“Are you sure you want to leave me, Y/n? Who will protect you from all of the bad people out there who want to hurt you? Who’s going to stop you from becoming a worthless dropout?”

You wanted to defend yourself and tell her that she was wrong. You don’t need her. You open your mouth to tell her this but she cuts you off as her finger moves to the trigger and she shoots you a challenging look that you’re not brave enough to defy. 

“Go on, darling. Tell me I’m wrong.” 

Your continued silence is answer enough, but Hela decides that you should still be punished for trying to leave. After setting her gun down on the bed still too close for comfort she started to take off your clothes. You were still too fearful to protest and you let her touch you, claim you as hers because she was right. Where would you go? You had no one else. They’d all moved on with their lives after you’d been convinced to stop seeing them. You had no friends, no money. You really were stuck with Hela. 

On your 1-year anniversary, you’d begun planning your escape from Hela. Unsurprisingly the day passed as any other and any attempt to do something special was thwarted by your bodyguard. They were assigned to you around the 10-month mark when someone in one of your classes asked you out very insistently. Hela didn’t trust you and she wanted to make sure you weren’t stepping out on her, so she assigned one of her goons to watch you. He was rude and very intimidating given that he was over a foot taller than you. You could maybe outrun him but if he caught you, he could probably snap you like a twig. 

Needless to say, you hadn’t attempted to run away yet, but you were careful to study him and see how attentive he really was. Unfortunately, he was probably afraid of Hela’s wrath too and he did a very good job of watching you and making sure all of the rules were followed. 

Hela began to feel more like an overbearing abusive mother than a significant other. She’d stopped touching you unless it was to hit you, and she criticized everything you did no matter how it was done. You’d given up trying to make things right or even easier for you. You just accepted that depending on the day you could be met with cool indifference or white-hot fury. You knew which one you preferred. 

You shudder at the thought of what Hela would do to you if she caught you. You’d made sure to act no different in the days leading up to your escape. You’d planned it down to the hour, and you knew that short of her knowing about your plan all along, she won’t find you. 

You try to keep this in mind as you step off the train a little later with a victorious smile. Although it felt a little premature, you allowed yourself to feel pride in the fact that you had outsmarted the brunette. She had shown you early on that she liked being in control of all things in her life, and the idea of losing you…well you hoped it drove her crazy. 

You walk outside of Chicago Union Station into the cold night and release a sigh. You look around and wonder what your next move is going to be. You have very little money, and no identification so you’re not sure what you’ll be able to do tonight other than sleep. The sound of sirens in the distance forces you to walk down the road away from the station. You decide that you'll crash at the first place you find that is within your budget. Then tomorrow, you'll begin to figure out what to do with your newfound freedom. 

Your last night in jail was certainly the worst. It was the worst night you’d had period, at least in a while, and you had another panic attack. That was a record you hadn’t broken recently. 2 in a week. It’s been years since that happened. You don’t remember much of it, but you’d ended up on the ground in the middle of the cell being stared at by your confused cellmate. You’d woken up when someone kicked you and told you it was time to get ready. 

You’d jumped up quickly because thinking about your ex last night had only made you more eager to get out of here. You have to stop yourself from running to the showers and speeding through breakfast so you can leave sooner. Gavin had told you someone would be here first thing in the morning, but you honestly can’t remember if he gave you details. He’d told you after showing you Hela’s picture, and you’d been a little distracted afterwards. All that mattered was getting out and making sure that your family was okay. You were desperate to see how Wanda was feeling after what happened yesterday. You can’t imagine that she feels good, and you want to take care of her. 

“Y/L/N, your ride is here.” 

Natasha ended up staying most of the night at Wanda’s after Steve and Pietro went to sleep. She had wanted to give them a break for the night, and she’d called Bucky to let him know. Instead of staying downstairs alone he decided to come up and keep Nat company. They’d taken turns staying awake and they’d both helped get Little Nat up in the morning once it was obvious that Wanda wasn’t going to wake up on time. It was almost 8 before either Pietro or Steve reappeared, and at that time both Nat and all of the dogs were taken care of. 

“Good morning.” 

Steve looks up to see Bucky at the stove in the kitchen cooking while Nat is sitting with Little Nat and some of the dogs at the counter. She’d just finished burping the little one when the duo shows up and she smiles at the sight of them fairly well-rested. 

“Morning.” 

“How’d you sleep?” 

Pietro just mutters something resembling ‘like the dead’ while Steve offers an appreciative smile. He was glad to get a bit of a break given how stressful yesterday had been. He was also very glad that you were coming home today. You would be all over Wanda for a while, but that was understandable given that your wife had been hurt while you were gone. You were probably feeling guilty.

“Very well, thank you for taking over last night.” 

Both of them smile and Bucky nods before he grabs his phone from the counter as he’s flipping an omelet. He’d seen this message last night but hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to anyone about it but Nat. Your warning was rather vague, but still specific in the sense that they needed to watch their backs. You seemed to think that whoever broke into the restaurant and hurt Wanda was behind everything that had happened in the last week. 

“Did you get a text from Gavin yesterday?”

Steve shakes his head as he sits down next to Natasha before reaching out to greet Natalya with a smile. He wonders if it’s just specifics about pick up today, but they’d already figured that out. He is grateful for the cup of coffee that Pietro brings him because he’s a little lost by this conversation already. 

“No, what did he say?” 

Bucky finishes up breakfast while he mentions what Gavin had told him yesterday. Pietro is almost finished with his coffee and plans to check on his sister in a few minutes. He wants to make sure she’s sleeping soundly, or if she’s up, see if she needs help changing her bandages. Those would be difficult to do by herself. 

“Apparently Y/n recognizes the woman in the picture. Her name’s Hela and she’s bad news.” 

The vague description doesn’t do much to quell their fears or explain how you know the brunette. They supposed you would tell them soon so they’d know who they’re up against. Steve checks the time and realizes they need to get ready to leave soon to pick you up. The jail was about half an hour’s drive, and they’d rather be there early than late for this. Nat seems to realize where his mind’s gone and she’s handing the blonde Natalya before she exchanges a look with Bucky. They’d talked about this a little last night, and as long as their friends didn’t feel strongly otherwise, they planned on picking you up today. 

“We’ll go get, Y/n. You eat up and see if Wanda needs anything.” 

Wanda had slept very well. The drugs had hit her hard and she barely felt her burns until she woke up the next morning. She’d been reluctant to take anything stronger than an OTC pain medication, but leaving the hospital yesterday had been harder than she’d anticipated. Once her IV drugs were discontinued, she couldn’t ignore how painful her arms were, and she’d caved and taken some Oxy. She was hoping not to have to do that again, but as soon as she was conscious, the first thing she registered was the stinging in her arms and she wanted to cry. 

If she remembered correctly, these wouldn’t heal for weeks and the thought of that makes her cry. Not just because of the pain because that won’t be fun, but she’s not sure if she’ll be able to hold Natalya for days. She couldn’t hold her yesterday and she wasn’t sure how she’d be able to do this long term. 

She doesn’t realize that she has tears rolling down her face until her brother comes to check on her. He’s finished his coffee and brought Wanda a cup as he knocks quietly on her door in case she’s still asleep. Rogue is on his heels because he hadn’t seen his mother in hours and he wasn’t going to wait any longer. Pietro figured it would be fine because the dog had seen how out of it his sister was yesterday, and he’d immediately picked up on something being wrong. Whenever Wanda was sick or hurt, which wasn’t often, Rogue would do his best to be by her side to comfort her. It was truly adorable to find him curled up next to his sister when she had a cold. 

Even as the years went on, he continued to do this and from his wagging tail and low whines, Pietro knew the dog was as eager as he was to check on the other Maximoff. 

“Wanda?” 

Pietro hears shifting and sniffles as he opens the door quietly and just enough to stick his head in. The light from the hallway is enough to illuminate his sister, and he sees that she’s trying to sit up but is having a difficult time without the use of her arms. She’s crying and Pietro’s quick to put down the cup of coffee he’d brought as he steps inside. 

“Here, let me help?” 

Wanda wants to tell him she can do it herself, but she’s not sure she can. She nearly screams anytime she moves her arms. She feels the burns rub against the bandages and it sends shooting pains up her arms and through her body. She really needs her pain medication. 

She just nods as she holds her arms up and lets her brother help her into a sitting position. Rogue whines by the bed as Pietro has to wrap his arms around Wanda’s waist and hoist her up, and she sighs in relief as she leans against the headboard. She looks to the bandages on her arms and realizes they need to be changed, but she doesn’t want to do that right now. 

“Thanks, Piet. Hi buddy.”

She looks to her dog who’s placed his head on the bed in an attempt to get closer to her. She reaches out for him and taps his nose before turning her attention to the older Maximoff. He’s looking at her carefully and since she’d clearly in pain, Pietro shoots Wanda a questioning look. 

“Where are your meds, sestra?” 

After being directed to the bathroom he goes in and turns on the light just long enough to find a couple of pill bottles. He also grabs the glass by the sink and fills it up with water before heading back to Wanda’s side. Rogue is still sitting beside the bed, more leaning on it as he tries to get closer to Wanda without getting on the bed. Wanda would consider letting him up if she were just sick, but she’s afraid any additional movement won’t help her feel better. 

She’s still smiling and petting his head as Pietro returns with pill bottles and some water. She turns to him with a sigh of relief despite feeling guilty for wanting pain medication so badly. She knows that they will make her feel better, but hopefully she won’t be knocked on her ass again. 

“Thanks, Piet.” 

Wanda watches as he opens the bottle before she realizes that she’s only on one medication. She frowns before stopping him from opening the other one that’s not hers. 

“It’s only one, Piet. The other is Y/n’s. “

Pietro just nods before placing the bottle on the bedside table and handing Wanda the pill and a glass of water. She grimaces as she grabs it but she wants to give it a try. Pietro waits until she’s taken her pill before setting the glass down with a smile. 

“Speaking of Y/n. Nat and Bucky are on their way soon to go get her.” 

Wanda feels more tears fill her eyes at the news of you getting out of jail. She’s not sure she could have been told anything that would make her happier today. She sighs happily before wondering if she’d be able to go with them, but the idea of getting up right now and changing clothes to go out sounds daunting. Not to mention she needs to take care of Natalya. 

“I’m so glad. I wish I could go.” 

Wanda’s gaze drops back to her arms and she has to stop herself from frowning at the intrusive thought that kills her mood immediately. She hasn’t looked under the bandages yet, she honestly doesn’t remember what her arms look like, but she’s certain she’ll see soon. You will also see them soon and she can’t help but worry about what you’ll think. Will you be disgusted, or will you get mad and try to go out and find who’s responsible for her injury? Do you even know who you’d be going after? 

“What’s wrong, sestra?” 

Pietro saw Wanda’s smile fade immediately and he doesn’t know why until she starts to pick at her bandages. They need to be changed soon, but he was hoping to get his sister some breakfast first. Maybe she could spend some time with Natalya so they can both feel better. The youngest Maximoff was a little fussy this morning, and it didn’t take a lot of thought to figure out why. 

Wanda shakes her head as she pulls her hand back from Rogue’s furry head as she starts to get out of bed. She shifts and winces as she swings her legs over the edge of the bed. Pietro holds his hands up and is about to help his sister to her feet, but she speaks up before he gets the chance. 

“I just wonder how she’ll react to these. She’ll probably be grossed out.” 

Rogue steps back to give Wanda room to stand up, and she groans in effort, but she does it on her own. She holds her arms at her sides stiffly as she starts to head for the door. She stops short when Pietro shakes his head with a sigh. He puts his hand on the handle of the door, but doesn’t open it as he shoots Wanda a look. 

“I’m pretty sure she’ll be horrified, Wands. She’ll hate that this happened to you and she’s either going to cry on the spot or be out for blood.”

Wanda’s still frowning at the idea of this, and she shakes her head before turning to her brother. She barely notices Rogue standing beside her nosing at her leg as she contemplates how to stop you from going on a rampage. 

“I don’t want her to do that, Piet. I just want her home.” 

You’re waiting impatiently to get the last of your belongings as one of your friends waits outside. It’s barely 8 o’clock, but you’re glad to be leaving sooner rather than later. You’d been here too long and you just want to go home and hug your wife and kid. You sigh in relief when you see the guard who had disappeared to grab your things. You take the plastic bag with a smile before heading for the door.

“You’re good to go, Mrs. Y/L/N.” 

You nod and head out to the car that’s waiting outside. You’re so eager to get out that you don’t even care that your friend isn’t greeting you, and you just hop in the back seat of your car. 

“Hey the--.” 

You pause when you realize that you don’t recognize your driver, and you berate yourself for even getting in the car without checking first. You brace yourself on the front seats as they take off quicky down the road as if they’re your getaway car. 

“Wait, who the hell are you?” 

Instead of any of your friends, or wife, you see someone you don’t recognize in the driver’s seat of a car that is basically your own. You know it’s not though because of a few details, but you don’t bother with those now. Even on no sleep you’re still paranoid as hell and you just sit back slowly as you watch the driver carefully. 

“Mrs. Y/L/N. I was sent by your friend Gavin to pick you up. He will meet us at your penthouse.” 

Your bullshit detector is going off like crazy, and you look out the window as you hear the engine revving. You’re going fast, a lot faster than the speed limit and there’s very little chance you’ll be able to jump out without dying. You’re not sure what the options are, and you’re not sure where you’re being taken.  You just sit back for a couple of seconds as you speed down the road before deciding that you’re not going along with this. You’re going to get home to your family today no matter what.

“That’s a little disappointing. I would have thought someone would want to see me.” 

You’re plotting your escape when you see something in the road ahead. You curse under your breath while putting on your seatbelt before the brakes squeal and you’re thrown forward as your chauffeur tries to stop in time. You brace for impact right as the tires hit the spike strip and you curse the fact that you hadn’t seen this coming. 

“Well fuck.” 

After waiting for Pietro to come back from checking on Wanda, Bucky and Nat left to head for the jail to pick you up. They’re a little later than they wanted to be because they wanted to see how Wanda was feeling before heading out. She wasn’t doing great but she was excited to have you back, so they left her to eat breakfast while they go pick you up. They figure that’s the best thing they can do right now.

Nat scoffs as she puts her phone away after receiving another text from her sister. She was on house arrest and she did not like it. However, she wasn’t trying to get away again because Kate had threatened her and for once her sister was taking something seriously. 

“Yelena’s not liking house arrest. No surprise there.” 

Bucky chuckles at this because he’s not surprised at all to hear this. He wasn’t going to tell Nat this, but he had anticipated that the blonde would try to escape at the soonest opportunity. He was certain that Nat knew this on some level, but he didn’t want her to feel guilty about not being able to stay with her. She’d had to figure out what was going on with you, but leaving her sister with Kate probably wasn’t the best idea. Kate, as well-intentioned as she was, was easily duped. 

“What is Kate’s threat this time? Dumping out all of Yelena’s vodka?” 

Nat laughs at this as Bucky speeds across the bridge toward the prison. She looks down toward the water with a sigh. She’s not sure what to do about her stubborn sister, but right now her priority is you. She smiles before turning toward Bucky who’s going 15 over near a federal prison. Hopefully he slows down before they run into a cop. 

“That and making her sleep in the car for a month or two.”

Bucky’s already slowing down, but not because he sees a cop. He sees what he thinks is a car wreck down the road and he slows as he drives past part of a bumper and a hubcap. Nat’s focusing more on the wreck up ahead and she eyes the smoking black car that’s flipped upside-down with a scowl. She looks to see the rest of the wreckage before noticing the shredded tires that were caused by more than just a nail. 

“Let’s go see if they need help.” 

The fact that there’s no one visible outside of the wreckage isn’t a good sign, but as Bucky parks the car Nat sees someone in the driver’s seat. She doesn’t recognize him, but as she kneels down to look into the car, she can tell he’s dead. Her gaze moves to the back and she sees nothing of interest. Nat stands up and looks around to try and get a better idea of what happened here, but Bucky’s already walking around the car. 

“What is it, Buck?” 

Bucky walks over to the side of the road where he sees what looks like drag marks into the grass. He follows the path before hearing a groan somewhere past him. Nat’s already wading through the tall grass and clovers for the source of the sound. 

When the car had run over the spikes, unfortunately the expected had happened. The front tires blew out and the car veered off the road before flipping several times. You’d been buckled, but still thrown around a bit as the car flipped and finally came to a stop upside down a ways down the road. You had been suspended upside down and your neck was bent at an odd angle as you tried to unbuckle yourself but not land on your head. You were only a little successful and you land uncomfortably and the car rocks threateningly. You roll yourself over before lying on your stomach for a few minutes to try and regain your bearings. You feel something ticking your face, and as you try to brush it away you realize you’re bleeding. You groan under your breath as you try to move everything else to test for other injuries. Other than being sore in general, you don’t feel anything else scream at you so you decide to try and get out of this fucking car. 

It's not as easy as you hoped and by the time you manage to crawl out of the broken window, you’re sure you cut yourself on something. You sigh deeply as you let your head fall into the grass with a frown. You see the empty road and wonder how this had happened to you, or rather why. You know why you got into the car but whoever had decided to try and kill you probably wasn’t Hela. 

You remember too much about the brunette, but one thing that you’d tried hard to forget was the fact that she didn’t half-ass anything. She wasn’t responsible for this meaning that someone else might try to come back and make sure that the job was finished. This thought made you groan in annoyance as you started to drag yourself off of the road and into the possibly snake-infested grass. You would get up soon, but you just needed to lie down for a few minutes first. 

You’re not sure how much time had passed when you hear the sound of a car door slamming shut. You open your eyes and wince immediately at the bright sun that sears your retinas. You decide to just listen for whoever’s stopped to check out the wreck. You stay quiet as you hear murmuring, but you’re unable to hear what they’re saying. You try not to panic as footsteps sound nearby and you release a groan as you reach for the gun that unfortunately you don’t have. 

“Bucky!” 

Nat’s voice makes you open your eyes and you are pleasantly surprised to see the redhead kneeling over you. She’s shielding you from the sun and you offer her a smile as you reach out your hand for assistance. 

“Nat. Good to see you. I assume you’re my actual ride.” 

This question makes Nat frown and she’s already trying to figure out what happened to you. You’d clearly been released from prison, but why had you gotten in the car with someone that you didn’t know? You turn slightly to see Bucky appear behind Nat and you smile at him as well before Nat takes your hand. 

“Why are you here? What happened?” 

Nat pulls you up into a sitting position and you cringe when your neck protests the movement. You imagine you have whiplash, but if that’s the most you suffered, you’d be grateful. You forget about the cut on your brow until Nat reaches out to touch it making you flinch. 

“I was told my ride was here, and well you see how that worked out."  

Nat and Bucky help you to your feet and besides grumbling in annoyance you don’t complain much. You look over toward the road to see your ride and the wrecked one with a frown. You are stuck trying to decide between the police being responsible for this or one of your rivals as you take a step toward the car. 

“Thanks for coming to get me. I can’t wait to be home!”

Bucky and Nat watch you with matching incredulous looks as you just walk back to the car like nothing happened. They supposed you were used to things like this happening to you given your earlier years with the mob, but it was a little disturbing to see how easily you accepted this. They had a lot of questions, but they figured they could talk on the ride home. 

Wanda groans as she looks down to her newly bandaged arms. They’re so itchy but she knows that scratching them will hurt her more than it will help. Her brother had helped her treat and rewrap her arms after she’d decided she wanted it done before you got back. She knew you’d see the burns eventually, but she’d rather not hit you with them right as you walked in the door. She’d been able to greet and hold Natalya on her lap for a while with her brother’s help. She leaned back against the couch as Natalya clung to her like a koala. At least she tried to, but she mostly tugged on her mom’s hair while Pietro supported her. Steve was already figuring out how to order more first aid stuff when Nat texted him a little later. 

I figured we should all hang around for a bit so Y/n can catch us up. We’ll be there in 15.

Wanda holds back her grimace as she carefully reaches out to grab one of Natalya’s hands. She doesn’t need Little Nat pulling her hair out despite how upset she is. She feels bad that her baby feels neglected, but it’s going to be a long few weeks if she doesn’t get over it soon. 

“How about we try something else, hmm?” 

Wanda reaches for the little stuffed bat that Yelena had gifted her a few nights ago and Natalya is briefly distracted by it. She grabs it and holds it out to Wanda and the brunette smiles before taking it back and flying it around for a bit. She keeps Natalya preoccupied as Steve texts Nat back and asks if pickup went okay. She simply responds with a facepalm emoji and a picture of the wrecked car and Steve’s at a loss for words. 

“Bucky and Nat will be back with Y/n soon.” 

Wanda perks up when she hears this and she’s smiling widely as she turns back to Natalya excitedly. She wonders how much Natalya really understands, and if she’s aware of your absence. You’ve been around more recently, so hopefully Natalya will be excited to see you come back after a few nights away. She’s probably just feeding off of her own energy, but her daughter smiles gleefully at what she says next. 

“Did you hear that, milaya? Mom’s coming home!” 

Wanda’s only a little apprehensive about your return when the elevator dings a few minutes after signaling someone’s on their way up. The dogs that had been lounging in the living room immediately head down the hall to investigate while Wanda takes a deep breath. She looks to Natalya who’s resting in Pietro’s arms before she stands up in anticipation. She’s excited to see you and she pushes down her anxiety to go greet you.

You’re tapping your foot so furiously on the way up the elevator that Nat puts her hand on your shoulder to stop you. You turn to her before cursing yourself for turning against the crick in your neck. You should probably go to the doctor, but you’re not delaying your reunion, and leaving anytime soon doesn’t sound appealing either. You mutter a ‘sorry’ under your breath but both of your friends just smile at you as Nat shakes her head. They’re glad that you’re no longer in jail and they can’t wait for you to reunite with your family. You certainly hated being away from them for so long and you nearly run out of the elevator when it arrives to the top floor. 

“Thanks again for breaking me out you two. We’ll talk about everything soon, okay?” 

They both nod in agreement but don’t respond as you dart out of the elevator only to fall over your dogs. You slam into the ground and land on your side to keep from squishing your confused dogs and you groan loudly. 

“Ow!” 

You look up at the sound of a whine and open your eyes just in time to feel someone lick your face. You can’t help but smile at the sight of your two shepherds and Rudy looking at you curiously. You reach out to pet them all before you climb to your feet with a sigh. You pet them one more time before heading for the living room with barely contained excitement. 

“I missed you guys too, and I’ll be back. I just need to say hi to your mom and sister.” 

You get up and, a little more carefully this time, hurry toward where your wife is. You find her standing at the end of the hall waiting with a smile, and it takes all of your limited self-control to not throw yourself at her. You can see the bandages covering her arms and you can’t help but feel a pang of guilt at the reminder that she’s hurt. 

“Hi detka. Are you okay?” 

You close the distance between you and your wife with a relieved sigh before you contemplate how to do this. You don’t want to hurt Wanda, but the idea of not being able to hug her is not acceptable. You try to work out the best way to do this while your wife looks you over carefully. 

You’re wearing the same clothes that you left in and not only are they wrinkled, but they’re covered in dirt and a little bit of blood. Your face is also covered in dirt and blood that’s coming from a cut above your eyebrow. Wanda notices a bruise around your other eye that looks older than your other injury. She's frowning by the time you come to a stop in front of her and just smile widely as you reach out for her. 

“Wands. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you.” 

You drop your hand at the last minute because even before you touch her hand you see Wanda tense in anticipation. That answers the question you hadn’t wanted to ask, but had suspected you knew the answer to regardless. You frown as you kneel slowly and make sure this will actually work. You stifle a groan as you sink down until you’re basically eyelevel with your wife’s belly button. Wanda frowns slightly but she doesn’t get to ask as you’re reaching up to carefully wrap your arms around her waist. She lifts her arms slightly so they’re out of the way and she takes a deep breath as you hug her gently first before tightening your hold when you feel Wanda relax. 

“God, I missed you.” 

You don’t notice your friends all watching as you hug your wife and bury your face in her stomach. Wanda wishes she could hold you better but simply lifting her arms and putting them on your shoulders is uncomfortable. She moves one of them to run it through your surprisingly clean hair, but she does take out a twig that came from somewhere. She’s going to have to ask about your appearance. 

“I missed you too, detka. What happened to you? Are you okay?” 

You nod despite feeling your neck strain just from trying to look up at your wife, but you know you’ve had it so much easier than she has. You sigh heavily before you squeeze her one more time before getting to your feet. Your knees are starting to ache and you’re getting a little self-conscious of the fact that everyone’s sitting in the living room waiting for your explanation. 

“I’m fine, Wands. Just had a little issue with my ride, but Nat and Bucky came to my rescue. How about you? How are you feeling?” 

You risk reaching out for your wife’s hand just to hold it, and she lets you as she shoots you and then your friends a confused look. You take a second to look at the extent of Wanda’s injuries and you’re shocked by how much of her arms were affected. You feel your anger at Hela come back ten-fold at the fact that she’d gone after your wife. You’d like to shoot her in the face now, but that would require leaving your wife, and you don’t want to do that anytime soon. You are distracted by the sound of your wife’s voice, and you look back up at her face to see she’s frowning at you. 

Wanda tries not to shift uncomfortably as you zero in on her arms, and everyone notices it. They couldn’t blame you for being surprised by what you saw, and you hadn’t even seen the burns themselves. You probably imagined it differently based on what Bucky told you, but they mostly saw concern and a bit of anger as you studied your wife. Pietro tried not to frown at the fact you were unintentionally making his sister very uncomfortable. 

“I feel okay right now, Y/n. The meds help, but it hurts to move too much.” 

You frown deeply at this and want to say something else, but your wife redirects your attention. She reaches up to brush your hair away from the dried blood on your eyebrow with a questioning look. She doesn’t appreciate your vague answer and she wants you to give her a better one. 

“Back to your eye. What happened?” 

You winced slightly before you nodded and turned toward your friends that were all seated behind you. You reached out for Wanda’s hand, but changed your mind and just waved her over so you wouldn’t have to touch her arms again. You take a detour toward Pietro and Natalya and smile as you reach out for your daughter. 

“Hi my baby. I missed you.”

Wanda watches with a smile as you and Natalya greet each other. Natalya reaches out with a gleeful smile and smacks your face a couple of times. Wanda can’t help but laugh at this and your shamefaced expression as you move to sit down on the loveseat before motioning for Wanda to join you. She does and watches for a few more seconds as you play with Natalya before you kiss her face multiple times with a sigh. 

“So someone came to pick me up around 8. Said that Gavin sent him, but since I knew that was bull…a lie, I decided to jump ship.” 

Wanda’s only very confused, and a quick glance around tells her that she’s not the only one. You reach out to pet Boone who’s come to sit at your side with a whine. He wanted a better hello than he’d gotten, and you’re happy to oblige him as you explain your eventful morning to your friends. 

“I honestly thought the car was going to explode, but we just ran over some spikes and the car went rolling into a ditch. Then Nat and Bucky found me, and here I am.” 

Wanda’s jaw drops as she tries to figure out how the hell you’re sounding so nonchalant about almost dying. She also wants to know why you got into the car in the first place knowing that your friends were picking you up, but she’d get to that later. She sighs in defeat before she reaches out for you with a grimace that you don’t miss. 

“Y/n. You could have died! Why didn’t you wait for Nat and Bucky!” 

Your only response was a shrug and Wanda scowled in annoyance at your apathy. You just held your hands up in surrender for a millisecond before they went back to squeeze Natalya’s sides until she shrieked in response to being tickled. Wanda tried to stay mad at you but you were making it really damn difficult. 

“I’m sorry, Wands. I was just really looking forward to being home with you and this one.” 

Wanda rolls her eyes at your excuse but she can’t be too mad at you right now. She’s just so grateful to have you home, and her arms twitch as she considers trying to hug you. She really wants to especially as she watches you be so adorable with Natalya, but she knows it wouldn’t be a good idea. She glances around to her friends and her brother and they are all waiting for something. It’s not that Wanda doesn’t want them here, but they usually would have taken off by now, at least Bucky and Nat.

“We’ll talk about that later, Y/n, but first can we talk about the elephant in the room?” 

You’re immediately set on edge and this makes you remember that you’ve been off your meds for a bit. You doubt they’d help you in this situation, but you can’t resist the urge to at least look to the bathroom and consider running to get them. You don’t though and you just frown slightly as you consider what Wanda could be talking about. There are a lot of possibilities and you are not sure what Wanda’s talking about. You’ve missed more than you had hoped by being in prison for nearly 4 days, and you wrack your brain for the right answer. 

“Um…” 

You look around the room before you tap your fingers against your cute plump baby with a contemplative hum. You pause as you flex your fingers and then look down to your hands with a smile. You look to Nat who just raises an eyebrow in question while your wife frowns. 

“Right, right. Nat, do you have my rings?” 

You’d almost forgotten that you’d taken them off and left your phone with Wanda so the cops wouldn’t take them from you. You miss Wanda’s eyes widening in realization before Nat curses and nods before digging into her pocket. She’d meant to give these to Wanda, but it kept slipping her mind with everything that happened with Yelena and then Wanda. She stands up and hands a small black box to you and you smile happily before opening it carefully. Your daughter of course wants to be included and she reaches for one of the shiny rings with a curious noise. 

“No, no, little one. These aren’t for you.” 

You quickly put them on before explaining that you hadn’t wanted the cops to take them. If you’d lost these you’d probably cry for weeks. Wanda smiles at this but she shakes her head as she tries to address the real reason why her friends are sticking around like there’s news to share. 

“I’m glad you thought of that, detka, but I was talking about something else.” 

You know that and you’d just been buying time. You know you can’t do that any longer though because your friends are waiting for an explanation and they all deserve one. You take a deep breath before nodding as you lean back and look at your squirming child. 

“Pietro said that you know something about whoever broke into the restaurant.” 

You’re nodding as you get up suddenly and cause everyone but Wanda to start. You hold Little Nat up and away from you before turning back to Wanda. You’re about to hand her your daughter, but you stop short when you remember why that won’t work. You frown and try cover up your mistake by bringing Natalya with you. You excuse yourself quietly before you walk to the bedroom where you hope you’ll find your meds. 

“Right, right. Of course. Let me just run to the bathroom first.” 

No one says anything as they watch you flee into the bedroom and shut the door behind you. A couple people frown and Wanda sighs before she looks to her friends and her brother worriedly. She has a bad feeling that this isn’t going to go well. If Wanda focuses she can hear the faint sound of water running and continues for maybe 30 seconds before it stops and a door opens again. You take a deep breath to try and prepare yourself for this. You look to Little Nat and squish her cheeks making her giggle before you try to match her smile. This is going to be painful to remember, and awkward to tell anyone for the first time while they’re all together. There will be a lot of different reactions and too many feelings for you to deal with in addition to your own, but you can’t delay it. 

It wouldn’t be polite or even fair to tell everyone to leave so you can just tell Wanda about this. Despite having plenty of opportunities to tell Wanda about your previous relationship, you’d held back for too many reasons to count. You wanted to forget it, and you don’t think that anything that you’re going to face in the next few days will be easy. 

Not if you have to see her again. 

You take another deep breath and pretend that the extra few seconds will make your meds kick in faster. You bounce your daughter gently before kissing her cheek and reaching for the door handle. 

“Ready for this, little one?” 

Masterlist

[definitelynotnia]

im sorry i have to rant im so fucking pissed

my exams end on 19th and I have to get rid of some books and buy some books which are quite pricy online so I had planned on going to college street on 20th and selling my books and buying the new ones at a cheap price and i was frankly really excited about it because all I get is a one day break to relax bcz i have to start studying for entrances from 21st so all I have is 20th and i wanted to spend it at college street and then get some food and basically have like a solo date kind of thing.

and i was so so excited about it i told my boyfriend about it like 500 times bcz i kept forgetting i've already mentioned it and it was literally on my mind a lott so i kept bringing it up and ik it seems like not a big deal cz i can just sit at home and chill too but i literally do not get to go outside my house. like- the last time i went out was new years eve and after that the only time i've gone out is to school or to give my boards that is it. my mother has some weird like problem wiht me going out like even if i tell her that i just want to go to our terrace for 5 minutes just to get some fresh air she won't even allow that she'll be all suspicious and like sTaNd In ThE bAlCOnY aNd TaKe FrEsH aIr like she herself doesnt leave the house (and blames it on me and my brother ???? when have we ever stopped you bro, she said I HaVe To Be HeRe To KeEp An EyE like im 18 i dont need to be watched 24/7 stop blaming me for choices you put upon yourself) and i just feel so suffocated ALL THE TIME i feel so overstimulated and im so sick of rotting on my bed and i dont want to wait for some birthday party or friends meet up to be able to leave my goddamn house i just wanted to go and have a fun day and get me some books thats it.

anyway so initially the plan was that my mom would go along but something came up so she wanted to postpone it to 21st and i didn't want to bcz i'd already be missing 3 days bcz of my boyfriends birthday, holi and my brothers birthday (all of which are important and i dont want to miss which makes me the villain apparently bcz i should "adjust" and cancel my "parties" instead of trying to stick to my plan bcz that makes me too demanding and selfish apparently) so i suggested that ukw why dont u go do ur thing which came up and i'll go to college street by myself...which is when the solo date idea came which i had really wanted all along but didnt bring up bcz i knew she'd say no but now there's a valid reason for me to go alone so like, its a pretty easy fix i can just go alone but noooo. First of all,

I've been to college street multiple times before so its not like its an unknown area to me

im going by metro which is quite safe

im going when there is stark daylight and i will return home much much before it gets dark and im literally 18

she never lets me go anywhere alone, not even take ubers alone if i want to get back from somewhere my bf has to come drop me everytime and then go backwards to his house which is so so so stupid and i never get to go out alone unless accompanied by family or by a male friend, so obv when i said i'll go to college street alone she refused to let that happen and started screaming about how 'if its so important to go on 20th bcz u dont want to miss a day of studying then cancel ur 'parties' and study then' and i was like no its not about missing a day its just that there's a very easy and logical fix to this problem which is i go alone and its not inconveniencing anyone so why cant i just do that but she will not listen to that bcz im 'adamant' and 'everything has to be according to me' bcz i found a viable solution to the problem. so instead of letting me just go she was literally ready to pay much more money and buy the books online, like.....why cant i just go bro??? (and she keeps telling me im a waste of her money bcz i will amount to nothing in life and my education was a failed investment or wtv so like now why are u wasting more money??? im literally trying to save the money that u 'waste' on me so just let me ???)

anyway i called my dad last night and told him and he was super ok with the idea he said its a good idea that i go alone and that he would speak to her but then today when i asked her if dad spoke to her she said yes, we'll go on 20th and i was like .....we? so apparently she CANCELLED her previously immovable thing for which she wanted me to cancel my 'parties', she cancelled that and agreed to go with me on 20th just so that i dont get to go alone- like ???????????????? what is ur problemmmm

so obv i was super annoyed and i went on a whole ass rant about how i literally struggle to even cross roads bcz i dont know shit about basic travelling bcz all my life ive been in a car and its a running joke with all my guy friends that i 'cannot navigate' and 'dont know any places' and obv??? if im never allowed to go anywhere then how tf will i know the places- the only places i know is bcz recently i've been paying a lot of attention and asking my dad stuff about what roads to take to reach certain places and when i go out with my friends i kind of try and learn a bit but thats it i've only ever gone alone completely alone to two places which is my beauty parlour thats 5 minutes away from my house and one bazaar one time that was 2 bus stops away, thats it. thats my extent of public travelling alone. and now im supposed to go to a whole new STATE for college and i cant even call myself an auto without struggling. and like- is this not a basic life skill??? like ok yeah its not rocket science and i will probably figure it out even if i start later in life but why not now? most of my guy friends literally go everywhere alone, why not me? and my dad agreed with all of this but my mom was just like "you'll be in the hostel only, no need to go out of the campus" like ARE YOU FOR REAL????????? and she's like "if u want to learn skills learn how to cook" like ok yes i will also learn how to cook for sure but i wont have a fucking kitchen in the hostel but somehow cooking is an urgent skill i should learn but going places by myself is unimportant bcz i should just never? leave? the? hostel?

anyway after much screaming and shouting my dad gave up and just cut the call bcz he doesnt want to get into an argument with my mother and my mother was being all suspicious like why do u hAvE tO gO aLoNe AlL oF a SuDdEn even though i literally explained why i want to do this alone but she doesnt think thats valid. so she refuses to let me go and i asked her for one reason why i shouldnt cz usuallt its always "no u have exam what if smthn happens" but now i literally dont even have exam so whats ur excuse now? streets will always be unsafe forever so "what if smthn happens" is not a reason to never let me go out without a man so just gimme one reason and she couldnt give me a single reason she just said "i said no, thats it".

and now she's gone off about how im useless and blah blah and "high maintainance" bcz i want books and "everyone else (some pishi's son) just studies online" and so the whole option of college street is apparently now cancelled and she's trying to set up a whole ass kindle account (half the books i need arent even available as ebooks) just because i wanted to go by myself.

[dinomite2]

Female Agent 8 x male reader relationship headcanons

Yay ! Another Agent 8 x reader fic !

also what month do think side order going to release it said that it was going to be released sometime in spring so think March to April is a good time

Featuring: female Agents 4 & 3

● when 8 got out of the surface after a few months after she got out the deep sea metro defeated Commader Tarter she settled in for a new home at inkopolis Square to meet new people and to have fun in turf wars and ranked battles and so far things have been normal for her

● That was until 8 met you for the first time in the middle of inkopolis Square she was about to get a the new Quadruple fried Cosmic Shwaffle Meal from the crust bucket, but she didn't have a ticket for it since it was very rare ticket to get

● But luckily you were nice and lucky enough to get the ticket and share with her and you two ate together ,started to know about each other and what you do and quick became friends

● Your usual activities together would either be mainly just hanging out together and uncommonly at times you'd either see one or both of 8's friends Aka Agent 3 and Agent 4 and both of them are mysterious wonders to see

● we start with who seems to be the most rowdy of the two Agent 4 when she First Met you She was a friendly fellow but at times she'd be strangely and jokingly flirty with you and it mostly happen at random times but Don't worry 3 will take care of her if things go weird

"And that how it takes 6.79 seconds to refill a ink tank with no ink recovery up while it takes exactly 4.19 to fill up with ink recovery up everyone got that? " 3 said questioning 4, 8 and You

"Yep!" 8 said happily

"Yeah" you said giving a smile and a thumbs up

"Y/n would fill up my ink tank in 3 seconds~"

"4!" 8 groaned and covered her face looking down while blushing you did the same too keeping a straight face while blushing wildly while 4 just sat laid back with a smug smile on her face

3 threw her shoe Mach speed at 4 after she said that

● And secondly we have Agent 3 who's not a bad gal herself but she takes care of both 4 and 8 while also keeping a close eye on you, and making sure that your not taking advantage over any of them

●and by that a friend group was made ! And everything had gone swell for awhile hanging out and having lots of fun and doing lots of turf wars Until 8 started to show more "feelings" for you

● she blushed whenever you looked at her she stuttered 8 when was talking to you, when she looked at you from afar she looked at you with a wavy smile on her face and would sometimes do REALLY stupid stuff to try and to impress you

"um 8 are you sure about this this doesn't look safe" you said looking at 8 holding a VERY spicy pepper

"I'm a trained agent Y/n I can handle anything" 8 said with high amounts of confidence as she ate the pepper

.

"See nothing happened im fine" 8 said As her entire body was sweating and slowly starting to turn entirely red

"is sweating excessively and your body becoming red count as normal?" You questioned

"Nope I'm still fine" she said with a strained smile and was now melti- WAIT MELTING!?

"OH COD 8 now you're melting now do you want me to get 3!?"

"don't worryyyy" she said melting into a puddle of herself eyes and mouth separated like 3 cereal pieces in a bowlful of milk

"I'm getting 3 " You said walking backwards looking at the liquidfied agent 8

● and while this frantic loveshowing was in tow 3 and 4 both took notice of this and eventually found out that 8 has a crush on you!

● And 8 couldn't really hold her secret to 3 and 4 as it was eventually found True so they planned to teach 8 how to show her feelings toward you By a beautiful picnic date!

(I took this pic during the start of a big run/splatfest)

It was a crisp night on top of a hill up standing there was a tree plastered with warm colored lights and under there was picnic carpet, basket and a boombox and 8 sitting as she was waiting for you to come thanks the invitation that 3 gave you hiddenly.

"Um guys are you sure this will work?" 8 said questioning 3 and 4 on her hidden mic

"Don't worrrrrry 8 me and 3 will guide you through " 4 said reassuring 8

"And ill make sure she doesn't say anything STUPID "

"Ok ok geez I won't, look! He's coming greet him!"

"Hey 8! What's up you invited me here?"

"Uh-h hello cmon over !" 8 said blushing as you both sat down on the picnic Blanket she then pulled out a disk and placed it into the boombox

(Ost/video not mine) (also new fav music ever man)

"ohh pop 'n' schlock that's my favorite! How did you know ?" You said questioning 8

"I-ii heard from 4, uhm want a drink?" 8 said quickly pulling out a bottle of fruit punch

"Yeah I will !" You said picking up a cup

8 poured the punch into your cup and then you drank it

"Ok you're doing good Now complment him, say that you have pretty eyes " instructed 8

"Ok, um Y/n"

"Yeah?"

"I have pretty eyes "

"Uh yeah they're nice -they're" You said feeling a bit awkward about what 8 just said looking away

"No not yours his !" 3 said into the mic

" Oh! I meant you have pretty eyes not mine ok mine work" 8 Said embarrassingly

"So 8 why did you invite me you wanted to say something?"You said As pop 'n' schlock was playing

"Ok now tell him how you feel"

"Ok uh-m Y/n I like you"

"Yeah and I like you too"

"No I meant a bit more than that I love you Y/n i had a crush on you since we met"

"Oh uh well um uh i" you blushed while looking away until 8 kissed you on the cheek causing you to blush even more

"Well I'm great you showed your feelings to me 8"

And done SORRY MAN for the massive wait it was supposed to be done in the early December but I caught up on school, Christmas and my own laziness a three distraction combo lol

Also requests haven't been coming in for the past few weeks so if can request.... plz i need something else to do for Christmas break

Anyway enjoy!

[sillypiratelife]

Modern au silly little Zoro headcanons based on stuff I see normally in Latam:

He's the one friend that falls asleep as soon as the car starts moving and awakes on his own when they are near their destination, like it's magic or something.

Hates protein bars and protein milkshakes because a lot of them are sweet tasting.

Genuinely the one that hangs on the sides of the open bus door and rides there when the bus is busting with people. Never falls.

Overly respects the sacred ritual of drinking a couple of beers before and a lot of beers after the regular softball/baseball game with the pals.

He actually has a favorite liquor store. They send him new stuff to taste all the time and it is on the house.

The bank would call him saying that someone is trying to retire money from his account not knowing that it's literally him trying to pay.

Big Bro of the whole neighborhood, whenever he comes around he gets dragged into five different houses to chat and eat and he ends up having to join a basketball/baseball game before he's allowed to leave.

Probably the type who doesn't care about football ⚽ that much, so the "alpha dudes" look at him with suspicion.

Oblivious to how dangerous certain areas are because he's the Danger in the streets, which means it's useless to ask him to suggest a place to eat (he'd eat literally anywhere lol).

That one asshole friend that is not bothered by the mosquitoes. Theory says that it's the not showering that aids him.

Carries three freaking pocket knives with him at all times, instead of his swords.

He doesn't wear jewelry except for his three earrings. He has gotten in a lot of fights with people trying to steal them from him (yes it's real gold, it makes him look like a criminal).

Instead of a bandana, he wears a baseball cap backwards. If he rights it, it's game over for the person he's about to completely destroy.

The metro workers already know him and would help him get into the actual station he needs to go to. It's safer for him underground than when he's on his own in the city streets.

Actually a great dancer, he's just too busy drinking at the party and he is not particularly interested in finding a dancing partner. He learned to dance as extra training for his arms legs coordination and found out that he was a natural because he has good ears.

Gets money from helping people move out. He's the one who the elderly people of the neighborhood call when they need extra help with anything, also the one the kids wait for every summer because they want to play with him. A man of the people.

He's lonelier when he's traveling around for his tournaments/competitions. The straw hats always make a point to at least send one of them with Zoro if not all of them can go.

Before the straw hats, Zoro barely used his phone. After the straw hats, he had to put it in mute because they won't shut up. He loves them a universe for that, not that he'd say it.

[las-lus]

I wish I could begin to explain. I got moat of this from tiktok. But j.cole and drake released a song last year called first person shooter where j Cole was like we the big three (Kendrick Lamar, Drake and himself)

Recently on a track w future and metro boomin Kendrick had a feature and literally said "fuck the big three it's just big me" and popped shots primarily at Drake tho jcole caught some too.

(Warning my timeline on the next two events may be backwards. They happened kinda fast)

JC dropped a diss track called might delete later, talking on Kendrick. However Cole said something to the effect of "actually this ain't right in Mt spirit so I'm taking it down." Resulting in people clowning on him (little did we know)

Drake dropped push ups, taking shots at Kendrick and also other people??? But it was mostly about Kendrick being short and some other shit

Shortly after that drake drops a now deleted song that had not one but two AI voiced verses, one from Snoop Dogg and one FROM TUPAC (which is insane) he caught a cease and desist letter from the Tupac estate and drake deleted it

Everything's quiet for a minute. And then April 30th happens.

Kendrick finally responds to drake with a 6 minute diss track titled euphoria. It's fairly brutal. There's literally a bar in it that goes "I hate the way you talk I hate the way you walk I hate the way you dress" calling drake out on being a culture vulture, asking when he'd have enough features to finally feel black enough other rightful but insane stuf. Also, Kendrick was straight like "I hate the way you say [n word]" and then ends the song with "we don't wanna here you say [nword] no more."

Silence. And then may 3rd middle of the night kdot drops ANOTHER DISS TRACK on insta called 6:16 in LA. Which is at the very least a rip on the way drake titles his stuff. This one proceeds to tell drake that there's a mole in his house feed Kendrick this shit. There's a lot more to that one but it keeps happening

Shortly after that drake drops "family matters" its again a wide spray type thing, calling Kendrick short, shooting at others that type a shit. The thing to note is drake was like "don't you beat ur wife? Ain't one of those kids not urs" which is wild bc Kendrick even came out a while ago on Mr Morales album and said he and his wife had some problems but they were working them out behind closed doors and drakes just dragging that shit out all over again. Also he opens the song saying the n word but by all accounts (the black people I watch on tiktok) He made it sound weird coming out of his mouth. Plus he had a weird slave reference line in it??? Left people feeling a little sus about it

AND THEN. Kendrick drops THIRTY MINITES LATER. THREE ZERO (30) drops Meet the Grahams. Bitch (neutral but I'm excited) Kendrick starts the song TALKING TO DRAKES SON. APOLOGIZING TO ADIONS THAT HIS FATHER SUCKS AND IS A BAD DAD. He then goes on to talk to drakes parents, telling his mother "your sons a sick man with sick thoughts. Aought to be with weinstien in that cell" ecta talking about how drake and the OVO protects predators and gives em allowances and shit

It gets worse in meet the graham's. THE THIRS VERSE STARTS W dear baby girl. This verse basically implies drake has ANOTHER HIDDEN CHILD???? but this one might be a girl and also ELEVEN YEARS OLD. Kendrick is eating drake alive

And now as of May 4th, Kendrick dropped ANOTHER DISS called not like us FLAT OUT CALLING DRAKE A PEDOPHILE. Like "I know you like them young. [...] trying to strike a cord, probably a minorrrrr" to some other crazy shit. PLUS HE SAYS HES GOT MORE???? WHAT ELSE JS THERE

There is far more nuance then I'm giving but this is the bare bones crazy shit going rn in the hip hop rap game world. This all started with Megan Thee Stallion when she dropped HISS bc as much as people wanna say kt was all about Nicki Minaj, there were lines in there Abou Drake. Kendrick Lamar saw the opening and took, trying to put that bitch in the ground.

Its insane and it's only may. And drake hasn't even responded to meet the Grahams let alone not like us. Even if drake responds he's cooked. At this point I think we'd rather just watch them throw direct hands with each other (I highly recommend getting on tiktok to see the break downs and reactions to it.) (Or even youtube the diss reactions) its insane

Anyway thanks for your time, sorry for this to be such a mess

OH THIS IS EVEN MESSIER THAN I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT

Thank you so much for this, you also gave me psychic damage 💙

[ninjadeathblade]

Mouin Rouge Discotrain AU (Christmas Special Part One)

Summary: It's Christmas! Our lovely and strange little friends are all celebrating in their own ways.

Beginning | Previous | Next

Word count: 1,272

Warnings: Mentions of toxic relationship, mentions of death, discussion about how life isn't always good

Author's notes: I left it far too long to write this. I should have prepped these chapters sooner. But, they are here! Congrats!

“That is the dumbest thing you've ever proposed,” Empress deadpanned as she locked up the shop for the night.

“You're just a coward,” Snatcher goaded.

The cat's tail twitched with annoyance and she stared at him for a long moment before speaking.

“Okay then. What do you propose with this little… bet?”

Snatcher grinned and looped an arm around her shoulders, turning her to face the giant area at the centre of the metro.

“We both take a different half of this place. Decorate it to the nines with as many lights, inflatables, sculptures, blow-ups and decorations as we want,” Snatcher pitched.

“On Christmas, every resident of this forsaken place votes on who did it better. Loser has to buy the winner dinner for a month.”

Empress smirked, elbowing him in the side. “You really think you could beat me?”

“Why of course!” Snatcher shouted, stepping away from her and making a flourishing gesture.

Small crystals of ice shot out from his hands and both stared at the fragments.

“That's new,” Empress said warily, hoping that Snatcher wouldn't push himself with this challenge.

“And isn't it just the best!” Snatcher replied with a false happy tone.

One of Empress' ears flicked backwards, another bit of worry tensing her muscles.

“So?” Snatcher extended a hand, a slightly tight smile on his face, looking as if he was going to burst with excitement.

Empress placed her paw in his hand and shook. “I am going to regret this.”

“Never.” Snatcher's features stretched back into a genuine grin and he retracted his hand, dragging it through his curls.

She noted briefly how vivid the blue streaks seemed to be.

“You'd make a good radio show host.”

He turned back to her with a curious expression, head tilted slightly to the side. “Yeah?”

Snatcher paused, staring as if he were somewhere very far away.

“I never really put thought into wanting to do something other than law,” he admitted quietly.

Empress hit him gently on the shoulder, slowly drawing his attention back to her.

“Come on. We've got some decorating to do.”

Days passed and all too soon it seemed to be Christmas.

Snatcher strolled into Empress' shop with a self-satisfied smile.

His friend was shouting at some poor cat who scrambled out of the shop as soon as possible.

“Merry Christmas!” Snatcher said, sitting down on one of the counters.

“Get off of that right now!” Empress snapped and he quickly hopped back off.

The cat's tail lashed from side to side as she muttered to herself.

“You good, Em?”

“I'm fine,” she growled.

Snatcher frowned, reaching towards her before pausing, hand hovering near her shoulder.

“Let's just pecking get this over with.”

Snatcher walked a step behind the bristling cat into the main station.

His side was decorated on every possible surface with lights, trees and a couple ice sculptures that had exhausted him for a couple days.

Empress' side had a measly few bits of bunting and a string of half working lights that was trailing across the floor.

A few dozens cats were shifting nervously in the plaza, a mere fraction of residents.

Snatcher snapped his fingers as both of them stood in position, a message made of shadows displaying behind them.

All the darkly coloured cats’ eyes widened, and they scrambled to change what they'd written on their slips of paper.

As Empress turned around the message disappeared and Snatcher waited a moment longer before revealing everyone's votes.

The letter E floated above every cat's head.

The crowd dispersed as quickly as possible.

“Nice going, you won,” Snatcher said, trying to cheer his friend up.

Empress continued to scowl before striding back towards the shop.

He let out a defeated sigh, waiting a couple of minutes before following her.

He expected to find her breaking something, maybe ripping something to shreds.

What he didn't expect was to find her crying on the sofa.

Snatcher slowly crossed the room, settling down beside Empress.

The cat quickly scrubbed a paw across her face and hissed at him. “Go away.”

“No. You're family. I'm not-” he took a deep breath in. “I'm not going to ignore my family when they need me.”

Empress' ears were flat against her head and her tail twitched. “That so? And what exactly makes us family?”

“I mean, I practically live here for one,” Snatcher said with a slightly bitter laugh. “You helped me after the whole thing with Vanessa. And you're someone who's opinion I care about. And who I want to live a happy life.”

“Like anyone ever gets that in life.”

Snatcher sighed, hazy memories of his life flitting through his mind.

“Yeah, okay, so happiness is a fluke some of the time. But not always. I mean, you've told me about what you were like when younger. You were happy then, right?”

Empress narrowed her eyes at him before making a miniscule nodding motion.

“And I wasn't always happy while alive. Hell, me and Vanessa were an arranged marriage that I knew about since I was five years old. But I tried to make the best of it despite it all.”

The cat's ears perked up slightly as he went on.

“And peck, I hated how infatuated she became with me. I didn't realise it at the time but I look back at it now and it was such a toxic relationship. And sure I hated dying and what it meant for me but…”

He trailed off momentarily and realised that talking about it was making him feel choked up.

He swallowed down a sob and blinked away the tears at the edges of his vision.

“But if I hadn't died the way I had, I don't think I'd have my power. The curse gave me the power I had for my deals and you wouldn't be able to see me without it. I would never have my friends- my family if it weren't for it. So yeah, life does suck sometimes. But you've got to look on the bright side of things. I had to become a glass-half-full kind of guy. And I think it'll help you as well if you do that.”

Empress uncurled herself slightly, reaching for him and pulling him into a hug.

“It's Christmas, you shouldn't be crying. But you're allowed to show weakness you know.”

Snatcher finally let his wall break, sobs pouring out of him as he clung to her.

How much had he been holding back? How long had he just brushed things off and accepted them as they were? How long had it been since he truly accepted how unfair life had been to him?

It felt like ages until he stopped crying.

“I'm sorry I've been so grouchy,” Empress apologised, her tail winding itself around his arm. “Scarlett died around this time of year. And no matter what I do, it always hurts.”

“You two were really close, weren't you?”

A small nod brushed against his shoulder.

“Not a day goes by that I don't miss her. I wish I could speak to her again. Hell, even just seeing her would be great.”

Snatcher tightened his grip around her. “Would it help to watch a movie?”

Empress let out a small laugh, pulling away from him enough to look him in the eye.

“It won't cure everything but it might help, yeah.”

Snatcher twisted around slightly so they were both laying down on the sofa together.

“Okay then. Movie night it is.”

“Actually, TV show night,” Empress stated.

“Christmas show?”

“No. But there's a character I think you'll like.”

“Evil?”

“Mhm.”

“Count me in.”

[francesderwent]

imissthembutitwasntadisaster said: Wait you got hit by a truck? Did I miss the Cate Lore? Babes when did this happen please elaborate

I searched the annals of my blog but I can’t find a time I told the whole story?? doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, but ah well.

it was December, in the year 2017. I had just finished my first semester of PhD school, and was going to leave the big city the next day to go home for Christmas break. I had probably written something like fifty pages worth of academic papers that week, and I was pretty sleep-deprived, but it was my turn to make dinner for my roommates one more time before we all went our separate ways for the holiday. at this point in my life, I was not in possession of a car, so I walked for twenty minutes or so to the local family-owned grocery story, bought the ingredients for fajitas, and started to walk back. “started” being the key term here.

there was a particular intersection I crossed every single day, any time I had to get anywhere. I think it was a four-lane road crossing another four-lane road, but I can’t remember now. anyway, it was right next to the metro stop, and every time people got off the train a whole crowd would jaywalk across the road without waiting for the light. and I, being a despicable goody-two-shoes, never did that. I would wait nicely for the light to change and the little pedestrian light to turn on, and then I would cross in the crosswalk.

on this particular day, I waited at the curb with my two very heavy bags of groceries, and when the light changed I stepped into the crosswalk, as per usual. it was not at this point that I was hit, because then it would be my fault for not checking to see if anyone was coming before I stepped into the crosswalk. no, I was at least eight steps into the crosswalk. at this point in the story I’d like to introduce a new character: a blue pick-up truck. the driver of said blue pick-up truck had been planning to make a right turn on a red light, and had been looking up ahead to the left to check for oncoming traffic. he was not, as it turns out, looking up ahead to check for four-foot-ten graduate students whose groceries weighed more than she did. I believe the driver saw me right before impact, and braked. I had also noticed the truck, just in time to know it was definitely going to hit me and there was nothing I could do.

the grille of the truck hit me in the vicinity of my left hip and knocked my feet out from under me. I landed face-first, caught myself on my hands and arms, and then bounced/slid/flew another twelve feet or so backwards. (I never had any bruising on my knees, so I can only assume I caught myself on my toes like the winter soldier.) I was fairly certain I was going to be run over by any, if not many of the cars waiting for the light, but when I looked up I just saw a row of drivers looking at me in horror with their mouths open. “alright,” I thought, “they see me. I might not be about to die.” nobody made a move to do anything or came rushing out to help me. the driver of the blue pick-up truck got out, and was looking dazedly one of my grocery bags, which was under his car. I waited for him to say something. he said, “I’ve completely crushed your groceries.” “that,” I said coldly, “is not really what I’m concerned about right now.” “no,” he said, “of course not.” seeing that I wasn’t going to get any sense out of him, I picked myself up and went and sat myself down on the curb and called my roommate. she was making candles or lemon curd or something for Christmas presents, and didn’t answer. the driver of the blue pick-up had pulled his truck over to the side of the road and was now hovering over me nervously. his all-too-clear shock was beginning to be funny. I offered my hand to shake, and introduced myself. he said his name was Bob. “You couldn’t have done this last week when I had finals, Bob?” I said. Bob did not think this was funny, and seemed to think he had really knocked something loose in my brain.

I examined myself for injuries. I had some road rash, and some pebbles in my arms. I picked them out. my roommate had not called back, and I was starting to contemplate just walking the rest of the way home. Bob did not think this was a good idea. just when I was about to start my trek, my roommate called back. “I was hit by a car,” I told her. “WHAT?” she said. I told her where I was, and a minute later she came screeching up in her car, got out, slammed her door, and stalked up to Bob demanding, “What happened?” my roommate is tall, and full of the intimidating confidence that comes from being the only girl in the PhD program while she was in classes, and she lifts weights. Bob cowered. I sat back and let her berate him. when he had cringingly handed over his insurance information, my roommate and I got into her car. “How do you feel?” she asked me. “Like I’ve been hit by a car,” I said. we both laughed. “I’m gonna stress-cry now,” I said, and promptly did so.

“I bet Specific Other Roommate cries,” my roommate said, after we’d gotten home and she’d called one of her doctor friends on speakerphone, and also the police. “She wasn’t even there, and I’m fine,” I said. Specific Other Roommate, when she got home from work and was told what had happened, first screamed, and then cried. I did not make fajitas. we ordered Greek food, and ate it while watching Guardians of the Galaxy 2, which I had never seen before. 

I bruised extensively, and was extremely stiff for about a week. my road rash was not fun. I did not go to the doctor. I did tell the story all throughout Christmas when I would normally have been trying to make doctoral studies sound interesting and approachable. I did manage to get out of doing any chores while I was home for the holidays. and I did act as bridesmaid and cantor for a friend’s wedding while I was still visibly bruised and abraded.

and that, my dear, is the lore.

[dybdahlsvisitportugalspainfrance]

More of Lisbon. Hey - it's a big place!

September 4, 2023

We spent the morning exploring parts of Lisbon that we haven't explored on this trip. The weather was not perfect - with lots of intermittent rain showers and wind, but it is never the weather that is bad - just the clothes you have on to deal with the weather. So we were OK!

We met our bus driver, Paco and watched his amazing skills as he navigated forward - and backward - places this huge bus should not go. Our bus is designed to comfortably seat 53 people - so the 17 of us are quite comfy.

We started with a small tour of some places Mark and I had seen on the Hop-on/Hop off bus and then started to explore other places too. We saw the Portugal Parliment but my picture taken through a rain spattered window was pathetic - so "hello my dear friend, Internet."

We worked our way to the one neighborhood that survived the earthquake, fire and tsunami of 1755 - the Alfama.

The roads are small and twisty and many of the roads cannot be transversed by even the smallest vehicle.

The place is built into hills - so steps are everywhere. (That is our sweet leader, Carolina. That is Car-o-leena. FYI.)

These houses were built in the 1500s. Many are covered with tile for easy maintenance.

St Anthony is the patron saint of Lisboa and he was born in the Alfama. This cathedral was built on his birth place.

So the buzz on St. Anthony is that he is the patron saint of match making. Women hoping to find the man or their dreams come here and light a candle. Also he is the patron saint of "missing items". Can't find the car keys? Light a candle and ta-da!

To get to St. Anthony's just grab a trolley.

Shortly after our St. Anthony experience we stopped for coffee and an egg custard tart - Pastéis De Nata - THE Portuguese treat.

And - I can eat these. YUMMY!!!

Our walk eventually took us to the main square of the city - the square where the palace of the king and queen USED to be before it was destroyed by the tsunami in 1755. The new palace was built far from the sea after that event.

We continued exploring in the rain and saw the elevator

We kept walking and got to the main square of the city - the end of the line from the traffic circle from Marquis de Pombol. Check out the patterns in the circle. It is an optical illusion - because it is flat. Weird!

Some our group headed back to the hotel and some of us stayed on to enjoy - a local favorite - Bifanas (pork belly on a bun with mustard.) I couldn't have the bun - but the pork belly was yummy!

As we walked to the Metro we saw this...

Carolina explained to us that this atrocity was a recent find in the hidden history of Lisbon. In 1506 in the middle of the Portuguese Inquisition a congregation of this church...

...mainly made up of "new" Christians - former Jews who had converted rather than die or be expelled - experience a "miracle." The alter was suddenly illuminated and the priest fell to his knees overcome by this miracle, but a parishioner said - HEY - WAIT - that is only the sunlight coming through that window. The priest was enraged and demanded that this "doubter" be killed - there and now. He was - and then the "real" Christians fell on the "new" Christians and killed them too. Then it was buried deep in the history books to be found quite by accident 500 years later.

Now, this church, has a series of bad events. Fire and other things have haunted this place for 600 years. Karma? Whatever it is, it has never had the same power as it experienced before 1500. To quote my granddaughter. when we are discussing history- or new jewelry, "I'm intrigued!"

From here we took the Metro to our hotel. PERFECT. Many people did many different things - but I took a nap. Only 40 minutes - but just the right amount of time to re-charge for dinner.

We took a lovely walk down the Avenue da Liberdade until we reached the funicular. The weather was perfect!!! We had some" technical difficulties" so we waited, waited, and waited but finally - we were headed up. We arrived at the overlook that Mark and I had visited yesterday. We felt so superior knowing exactly where were were...

At the top of the funicular we had a wonderful surprise from Carolina...

A cherry liquor served in chocolate cups. SWEET!!!!! Then on to our Welcome Dinner.

We had a wonderful dinner and a Fado performance. Fado is a Portuguese tradition and is a UNESCO intangible culture designation.

It was so much fun!!!

Check this out - (these are not the artists we saw - but it gives you a good understanding of this art.)

Tomorrow we will explore the city of Sintra. New discoveries await. I love my life!!!!

Stay tuned.