#Billy: *feels like the next kidnapping is going to be really long for some reason* | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

anagentinwriting · 4 years ago

Text

Lifeline - Part 17

Summary: (First Responders!AU) Moving to Los Angeles and living with your brother, Thor, was never part of your plan nor was being a 9-1-1 dispatcher, but plans change when you are faced with your own emergencies. In your case, it was leaving behind a relationship that wasn’t as perfect as it seemed. Will this be the fresh start you were hoping for or will your past find a way to catch up with you?

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Odinson!Sister Reader

Word Count: 3800+

Warnings: Angst, violence, suspense, kidnapping

Lifeline Masterlist / Main Masterlist

Nat kept a watchful eye on Thor when he came back to the waiting room. He was twirling his phone in his hand when his eyes connected with hers; He shot her a hard glare before shaking his head. She grimaced, letting out a scoff and stood up a little straighter. She turned her attention back to assist Clint with asking routine questions to Bucky, Carol, and Val. Bucky’s eyes connected with hers, and he reached out, taking her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze before letting go. She nodded, putting a strand of hair behind her ear.

Nat tried to focus on doing her job, but she was too close to this. You were one of her best friends, and she was scared for you in this situation. She wanted to believe what Thor was saying about Jig and Billy being the same person, but she needed proof or some sort of evidence, pointing them in that direction. Steve’s phone was the key to this, but she couldn’t go through it in case they needed it to use against him in court. She didn’t have a problem with lying, but if the defense found out what she did, she would be screwed and possibly lose her job. Billy deserved to be locked up for everything he did to you, and that cell phone would be another reason on a long list of reasons to lock him up. She wanted to protect you like Thor did, but it needed to be done right.

“Natasha,” Thor shouted, forcing her head to snap in his direction. He was heading their way with Sam behind him. “Sam can confirm Billy and Jig are the same person. He met Jig once.”

She narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest. “Is this true, or are you making it up?”

“It’s true,” Sam nodded. “I met him one night at Happy’s. It was a quick meeting, but you don’t forget that white boy’s pretty face.”

Nat’s mouth dropped open, covering it with her hand in shock. Bucky was beside her, placing a reassuring hand on the small of her back. She looked over at him with tearful eyes as her mind drifted to the worst-case scenario. Bucky pulled her into a hug, and everything around her became white noise.

Billy got to you; he abducted you and almost killed Steve in the process. She squeezed her eyes shut, pulling Bucky closer. How did this happen? How did he even find you? How long has he been here? What was going to happen to you? All these unanswered questions flooded her mind until everything went silent. This was what she needed, evidence to find you and bring you home safe. Her eyes snapped open, pulling away from Bucky. She smirked at him, and his blue eyes narrowed at her.

“Keep me updated on Steve, will you?” She whispered, putting her hands on his cheeks.

He nodded. “As long as you do the same with YN.”

She kissed him, turning around and catching Thor’s eye. “Thor, let’s go.”

“Wait, what? Where?” Thor was looking between everyone as if asking if they had the answers.

“To find your sister, but we may have to ask for a little help.”

“But, I thought you weren’t technically on the case?”

“Small technicality. Nick will forgive me; I’m one of his favorites,” she winked, and Clint nodded in agreement. “Besides, I’m also a concerned friend of the victim, and I’m just following a possible lead. It could lead to something, or it might not.” Nat shrugged, looking over to Clint. “Cover for me?”

“It’s what I do best.”

“Let’s go get this bastard,” Thor stated, giving Nat a forgiving nod.

__________

The soft melody coming from the radio woke you up, but you didn’t move. A breeze hit your face, and the smell of the ocean hit your nose. A calm sensation came over you as you moved ever so slightly, feeling your hands bound, restricting your movement. Taking in another breath, a hint of familiar cologne came to your senses. You gulped, turning your head to what you hoped was a window. A sharp pain hit the side of your face, making you wince, causing your eyes to flicker open. The car sat parked near the ocean, and you could see the sun rising in the distance, cascading a soft glow over the landscape. You glanced at your hands, seeing a zip tie wrapped around them. You gulped, looking over to the driver’s seat to find your ex-husband wrapping his wrist. Your eyes widened as your mind flashed to him on the other side of the door, Steve laying motionless on the ground, the struggle in your condo, Cosmo attacking, and a punch to your face that knocked you out cold.

“Good morning, honey. Did you sleep well?”

“What… what did you do?” You stammered, feeling tears start to form in your eyes.

He smirked, taping the gauze on his wrist. “I think the better question is what did you do?” You narrowed your eyes, wincing as a sharp pain traveled alongside your face. Your hand shot to your face, touching the tender area between your eye and cheekbone. “I warned you what would happen if you left. People would get hurt, but you didn’t listen.”

“Is he dead?”

“Who? Steve? Would it make a difference if he was?” He quirked an eyebrow as your bottom lip trembled, staring out the window at the ocean. “I wouldn’t worry about him anymore.”

“Why did you do that?” Your voice cracked as a sob escaped from your mouth. “He was a good man.”

“Steve was a great guy. I didn’t want to hurt him. I liked Steve. He was one helluva pool player, and we were friends,” he paused, your head snapping in his direction. “But, when he put his hands on you. I wanted to kill him.” Billy clenched his fists, shaking his head. “Steve doesn’t deserve you. He was never good enough for you. Hell, he was just using you to get over his dead wife.” He let out a breath, his dark brown eyes connected with yours, sending a shiver down your spine. “If you stayed home and didn’t leave me, we wouldn’t be in this situation right now. Steve wouldn’t be dead because of you.”

Your stomach dropped, with tears threatening to fall down your cheeks. You squeezed your eyes shut as the sharp pain radiating from your cheek was welcoming compared to what you were feeling inside. You swallowed down a sob, but your shaky breath didn’t dissipate. Your head clouded up, blocking out any other sound besides your racing heart. You slowly opened your eyes, trying to blink the tears away, but a few escaped down your cheeks and landed on your jeans. You stared at the wet droplets, unable to move, only being able to concentrate on your breathing. You sniffled, clearing your throat. “How long have you been watching me?”

“Does it matter?” He arched a brow at you. “I will give you some credit though, leaving that note saying you and Loki took an impromptu trip together. At first, I didn’t think much of it. I mean, you two are attached at the hip, so I knew you would be back in a few days, but you never did come home. Even after I saw Loki’s posts about being back home, but still no you. ” He leaned back in his seat, rubbing a hand over his mouth.

“The most frustrating part of all was that you never returned my calls, which led me straight to Loki, and he told me you were staying with him for a few more days. I thought, ‘Alright. I get it. You want some time.’” He sighed, shaking his head. “After a few more days of no new texts and no returned phone calls. I decided to sneak into Loki’s and quickly realized you weren’t staying there. In fact, it looked like you were never there. Then I proceeded to go to your work, which I now realized I should’ve done to begin with because I discovered you quit.” He paused, hitting the steering with your palm, making you jump in your seat.

“It was embarrassing to find out your wife left you in front of her co-workers.” He clenched his jaw, staring daggers at you. “This led to me tracking your phone, but it never did tell me where you were.” He smirked. “I am almost positive it involved an anti-tracker app. Smart play.” He nodded. “Nice to know you learned a few things from me during our time together, but I’m surprised you didn’t think I wouldn’t be able to find you?”

“Who's to say I didn’t,” you countered, wiping the tears from your cheeks.

He cackled in the seat next to you, shaking his head, and in one quick motion grabbed your jaw and forced you to look at him. You tried to jerk away, but he tightened his hold. All the mischief in his eyes was gone, replaced with his harsh gaze. He clenched his jaw, making you gulp and stare into the depths of his emotionless eyes. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you? Running off to your big brother, thinking he would protect you. It’s cute really, but deep down, he didn't do his job the first time, let alone this time. He didn’t protect you. He didn’t keep you safe. It’s comical, just how easy it was to get you back.” He scoffed, licking his lips. “And Loki’s all the same. They’re both egoistic, self-absorbed, and out for themselves. It’s poetic, how you were always there for them, but they were never there for you like I was.” He reached over and dragged his fingers against your cheek. You clenched your jaw, pulling away from his touch.

“What do you want from me?” You mumbled, observing him from the corner of your eye.

He sighed, dropping his hand. “Isn’t it obvious? I want you to come home where it is safe. Come home to someone who actually cares about you. My god, YN, you have no idea how much I have missed you and….and I’m sorry,” he confessed as his voice cracked. Your head snapped in his direction to see him running a hand through his hair. “I was an asshole for how I treated you, and I can’t believe I became that person.” His gaze caught yours, noticing his lips trembling. “I told you I would change, but I didn’t, and I don’t know why.” He paused, clearing his throat. “I want to change, but I don’t think I can do it without you. I need you. You have always believed in me more than I believed in myself. I don’t want to lose what we have together. Please come home to me. I forgive you for running. I want to start over, start fresh, start that family you always wanted. Anything; I will do anything,” he begged with tears on the verge of falling.

You swallowed, staring wide-eyed at him, not knowing what to say. Billy has always been a confident talker, telling you what you wanted to hear and making all the right promises. He could coax you into coming back every time you left him with his caring apologetic words. You believed you could trust him time and time again. He could persuade you into getting what he wanted, not what you wanted.

You rubbed your lips together, knowing what you should say or at least what he wanted you to say. But, you didn’t need him anymore, like he needed you. You moved on, and in this moment, he couldn’t control you anymore. “I want to start a family, Billy.” His shoulders sank in relief as a smile crossed his features. “But, I don’t want it with you. I don’t want anything to do with you. Our relationship is a repeating pattern that causes both of us pain. I can’t do this with you anymore,” you breathed, your eyes flickering to his; they changed from sincere and honest to dark and destructive in a matter of seconds.

He brought his hand down his face, shaking his head. “You don’t get to say when this is over. I do.” He let out a deep breath and slapped you across the face. You yelped, sending a shooting pain down your same cheek, bringing tears to the corner of your eye. You leaned away from him, reaching for the door handle, and tried to push it open, but he grabbed a hold of you and held a knife to your throat.

“STOP MOVING,” he grunted through clenched teeth. You quit squirming and stared at the blade against your throat. “It didn’t have to come to this. ” He clenched his jaw, grabbing the passenger seat belt and strapped you in. He leaned forward, his breath fanning against your ear as he whispered, “I have a plan, but unlike yours, it will work.”

____________

Thor and Nat walked through the doors of your dispatch center. Thor’s eyes scanned the many individuals typing away at their screens and talking into their headpieces. It was a different scene than what he was used to. It felt calmer and less hectic, but on the other end of the calls, he could only imagine what people were going through.

Bruce made eye contact with them, holding up his pointer finger as he helped one of the dispatchers at their desk.

“Bruce, busy man,” Thor chuckled, and Nat hummed in agreement.

“Thor, Nat, hi. Any news? Have the police found anything?” Bruce asked, walking over to them.

“Don’t get me started on the police. At YN house, they were walking around finding clues and placing their little yellow numbers by them, and taking pictures. Like, what is that going to do? They should be out looking for her since I already told them who abducted her, but no one believed me.” Thor shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Calm down, big guy, it’s called procedure, and we were finding evidence.” Nat patted him on the shoulder before turning to Bruce. “Anyways, we came to ask for a favor, and we think you could help us with it.”

“Name it,” Bruce nodded, putting his hands in his pockets.

“We need to track this number, but the fastest way without a warrant is to go through dispatch, or so I heard,” Nat hinted, raising her eyebrows.

“What is it? Landline or cell phone?”

“Cell phone.”

“Cell phones are trickier since we don’t get an automatic address like we do with landlines. Our system has to digitally request the phone’s location from the cellular network. I will have to put in a manual request, which won’t be a problem, it will just take some time,” Bruce stated, going over to one of the computers. “What’s the number?” Thor read the number off his phone as Bruce typed it in and quickly filled in the necessary information.

___________

Billy pulled into a gas station and parked the car behind it. He reached behind your seat, hearing him shuffle around and come forward with a scissor, wet nap, and a baseball cap. He cupped your face in his hands, using the wet-nap to wipe your face. You squeezed your eyes shut, ignoring the pain on your cheek. “There’s my girl, all cleaned up.” He lifted your head with his finger and tilted it in all directions. He grabbed ahold of your bound hands, cutting the zip tie from your wrists. “Put this hat on, and just know, if you run, you don’t want to know what I will do.”

You nodded, biting the inside of your cheek. He squeezed your hands before getting out of the car and coming around the front to get you. He opened the door, instantly putting his arm around your shoulder, leaning into you. You tensed up, smelling the all-to-familiar cologne that sent your nerves firing in warning. It was a cologne you loved, having picked out for him when you first started dating, but now it filled your head with many unpleasant memories.

“Loosen up, hon, you can trust me,” he whispered in your ear, hitting the bill of your hat, making you readjust it.

You gave him a hard nod, forcing a tight smile. He let go of you as someone was walking out, holding the door for the two of you. You looked the man straight in the face, hoping he would take a look at you and help in some way, but Billy mumbled a quick thanks and took your hand. You glanced at the guy behind the register, but he stared down at his phone while Billy dragged you to the drink coolers.

“What do you want?”

“Can I run to the bathroom? Can’t pick anything on a full bladder,” you smirked, squeezing his hand.

“Of course, make it quick,” he nodded, letting go of your hand.

You walked back up the aisle and down another, glancing at the man behind the counter, who was still staring down at his phone. Keeping a watchful eye on Billy, you snatched a set of permanent markers from the shelf and hid them in the front of your pants and under your shirt. You took one last peek over your shoulder to see Billy’s eyes following you and opened the door to the ladies restroom.

You locked the door and leaned against it, taking in your surroundings, but there was nothing that could help you. It was a single stall bathroom with no windows. How come the only bathrooms that ever seemed to have windows were in the movies. You sighed, rubbing your forehead. There weren’t many options left: leave a note and hope someone sees it and gets help. It felt silly, but what did it hurt? You pulled the markers from the front of your pants and grabbed a brown paper towel, scribbling out a message and placing it by the sink along with the markers.

Gripping the edge of the bathroom counter, you let out a deep breath, staring down into the semi-dirty sink. You removed your hat, running your hand through your hair, and looked up at your reflection in the mirror. It was like you were right back to where you started, staring at the fragile woman you thought you left behind. The color around your right eye was changing to a dark black and blue, your cheek was puffy, and there was a small cut on your lip.

“You can get through this,” you reassured yourself, splashing cold water on your face. “Someone is looking for you.” Splash. “Someone will find you.” Splash. “Steve isn’t dead because of you.” Splash.

You stared at the water flowing out of the faucet as images of Steve started filling your mind. His signature smirk, his chest-grabbing laugh, his caring yet determined personality, and how he... Tears began forming in the corner of your eyes, blurring your vision. You squeezed them shut, sniffling, before opening your eyes to your reflection. “No crying; not yet at least; first, you need to make it out.” You cleared your throat, promising yourself with a nod. You slipped the hat back on and opened the door, jumping in surprise to find Billy waiting there.

“Grabbed your favorites,” he grinned, holding them up. You forced a smile, following him to the register. Billy placed the drinks, snacks, and a few wound cleaning supplies on the counter. You smirked, remembering Cosmo’s rescue efforts. The front door jingled, pulling your attention to a mother and her young daughter walking in.

“Okay, Monica, run to the bathroom, and I’ll grab us some snacks.” You let out a small sigh of relief, smirking at them going their separate ways.

“We should start a family once we settle into our new home,” he whispered into your ear with a smirk on his lips.

“New home?” You questioned, narrowing your eyes at him.

“It’s part of my plan.” He wiggled his eyebrows, paying the man with cash. “You always wanted a family; why not start now.” He shrugged, leaning into you. He smiled at the clerk, grabbing the bag and holding out his other hand to you. You took it, fighting the urge to roll your eyes.

Billy dragged you back out to the car and let go of your hand. He opened the back door while you headed for the passenger side door. “Wait, don’t get in; we’re switching cars. He should be here any minute.”

“Why?”

“I’m sure the police already have the make and model of this car through surveillance video or the license plate number from the note you left in the ladies room.”

“What note?”

“Don’t play stupid. I’m not an idiot, besides why else would you be smirking at a mother and daughter,” he sneered while a car pulled up beside them. “Speak of the devil, right on time.”

A Rolls Royce Wraith pulled up, forcing you to roll your eyes. This was his getaway car, more than a quarter of a million-dollar car, and he expected to get away with you. It was the same car he owned in New York, but this one had updated California license plates. A bald man got out of the driver's side, coming over to you and Billy. It was hard not to be creeped out by him, with a milky left eye and a scar underneath it.

Billy’s phone buzzed once more in his hand. He looked down at it, letting out a quiet snicker. He read off the abduction alert, including your name, what you looked like, and what you were wearing last. “Turns out you got someone looking for you after all. It’s a shame they aren’t going to find you.”

You gulped, noticing the bald man smirking. “As requested, your new phone--” he handed Billy a flip phone while Billy handed him his smartphone “--with a few contacts that you can trust and help you if it’s necessary. And everything you requested is in the back seat, but knowing you, Billy, you two have already disappeared.”

Your breathing quickened at his words, your eyes darting between the two men shaking hands. Billy had the perfect plan, and you were stepping right into it. You were going to disappear, become a ghost, and no one was going to be able to find you. Your defeated eyes caught Billy’s, not missing the amusement dancing in his. You bit your lip, staring into the distance, hoping the daughter saw your note and called the police. But it dawned on you that help wasn’t coming, which left you with two options: start over and try to be happy with him, or adapt and overcome.

“Thank you for your help, Agent Orange. I’ll owe you one.” Orange nodded at Billy, walking over to the previous car before getting in and driving away. “Well, get in, honey. It’s time to go on our road trip.”

___________

AN: Thanks for reading Part 17! This doesn't sound like it will be a fun road trip, and from the looks of it, Billy seems to be one step ahead of her with every move she makes. How is she gonna out think him? If you haven't noticed already, Billy is a real piece of work, and I'm hoping he came off as a psychopath in this part. If not I tried my best, it's hard to tap into a dark mindset like that! Haha! I will say though, Ben Barnes, who plays Billy Russo, is an attractive man, but I will admit his brown eyes can get scary dark sometimes. Like when he's mad, you can just see it in his eyes, so I tried to play off that. And it seems like he has a buddy helping him, Agent Orange, I wonder how they know each other? Also, we kind of have a better understanding where Nat's head was at at the end of the last part. She was worried about her friend and wanted everything to be done right, and put Billy away for good. And what do you think of her and Thor teaming up to find her? And can't forget that little assist from Bruce, but will they be able to find her before she disappears forever or will something worse happen along the way? Is Steve gonna pull through? And man, I sure hope Cosmo is doing okay! Until next week, thanks again!

113 notes · View notes

hickeys-dickey · 4 years ago

Note

Pls share your thoughts about the gays in THAT scene… I would love to read them!

Ahh you are too kind, I am but a little swiss cheese brain but I'll try my best to sum up my thoughts, I have too many! I wanted a chance to grab some screenshots too! I'm going to put a read more because this is a long one buckle up lads.

So obviously the whole punishment for Hickey is designed to humiliate him (I would imagine this is one of the reasons his punishment isn't explained to him, because if Hickey truly was a naval petty officer he would know, and I think it's another way for Crozier to essentially say "I see you" and not in a good way). The fact we're not shown the other whippings shows the importance lies in the scene with Hickey.

I've seen a bit of discussion about his charge of "dirtiness", which isn't listed initially when we see him being questioned by the Captains, and whether or not it alludes to homosexuality but on a quick cursory search it does seem to have been used as a euphemism where an outright accusation of sodomy would mean a death sentence. The way Crozier throws it out there, no doubt to heap the humiliation onto Hickey and add crimes to the list to cover the fact he added lashes on to the punishment essentially for a bruised ego (but that's another matter), suggests a whole lot of venom to the accusation. Hickey's pointed look at Irving and Irving's quick shift of his gaze down suggests they both know exactly why Crozier has listed this among Hickey's list of crimes, and Hickey looks furious for it.

But I think this is also ultimately where the panic begins to set in. Again, there are far greater minds than me who have made excellent posts about queer coded characters in the terror, and I think it's no surprise that most of them are the faces that are focused on in this scence. It is clear long before this moment that Crozier's leadership is lacking, and people have already begun to voice concerns fairly loudly. Tozer for one is livid in the wake of Heather being injured, and the marines have clearly started distancing themselves from both the officers and the men. I feel like this scene, for a lot of characters is a point of major shift in either allegiences or character.

Tozer and the Captains are the first faces that are panned to in this scene and I think the expressions speak for themselves.

Tozer is visibly upset/concerned after the first lash. I do think guilt probably has a part to play, in that is was him whole told Hickey where Silna was, and presumably approved enough of the plan to not rat him out to anyone. Again, very probably part of Tozer's anger at Heather being injured due to what he sees is Crozier's poor management. Fitzjames is stoney faced, but is also the only one looking. As a man who many have noted pushes himself to pick emotional scabs, I think it would make sense for someone who is also notably queer coded and stuggles with trauma to make himself look directly at someone being whipped for a crime he himself might commit. Crozier isn't even looking, whether out of suddenly doubting his harshness or simply triggering something in his own memory it's not clear. I think the end of this shot also speaks for itself.

(Fig 1. Three Concerned (very likely not straight) men contemplate)

The lads at the back behind Mr. Johnson are all looking Directly At the whipping as it is taking place. Interestingly none of the men at the front near the table are looking. This is the stewards, officers, and marines. Whether out of respect or also Concern at their own skins (I think every one of these characters has been addressed as being queer coded at some point, minus the marines who are all, except Tozer, fairly nameless characters).

I'm not a gifmaker which is unfortunate for this section, though this is what is gifed in the beautiful gifset by sashneeka I reblogged (x). Tommy is also visibly upset, whether because he knows Tozer was involved in the plot to kidnap Silna and is concerned for him and any of the rest of the crew who had assisted in someway or voiced support. Billy interestingly does look briefly, and sets his jaw after in a way that suggests he's trying to fight the guilt of being the one to tell Irving about the whole affair with Hickey to paint himself in a better light. It could just as easily be Billy there on that table being lashed, but he somehow rationalises it in his head (probably because Hickey is a little bastard) that he was right in what he did. He does look down fairly guiltily after this, so maybe he hasn't quite settled on an opinion. Jopson also looks incredibly concerned/unsettled, and interestingly looks at Hickey right up until the whip hits where he flinches, and not for the only time in this scene. From what we know about Jopson's past, though not at this point, it may well be he is remembering similar punishment/mistreatment and like Fitzjames looks enough to pick the scab open and flinch from his own trauma.

The closeup of Hickey shows the full extent of his rage and humiliation building, and as I think Adam himself said, they whipped something out of Hickey that day and let him reach this potential that lay inside him (to become an even bigger bastard). He's fully severed all ties and feelings of loyalty after this and it becomes full on train to manipulation station from this point. I have a lot of Thoughts about Hickey also (which I am sure you are all aware of) but I think there was some semblance of Hickey attempting to start afresh on this journey, or at the very least keep his head down and go unnoticed. The trouble is, he notices Crozier as a flawed man, and one not from the upper classes like himself, and his ego can't help but think we're not so different, that could be me with the right connections. Well surprise lads, its murder time now and he's gonna make this old man pay for not recognising initiative but punishing it. I do wonder if Crozier wasn't booze sick and rattled from losing even more men under his command, would he not have come down so harshly for someone clearly defying the Articles to do what he thinks is right and save the men (a la Crozier and his fuck you I'm directly contradicting an order and leading this rescue party myself).

Tozer gets another wee closeup here and again looks like he has resolved something in his head too. Most likely that he thinks Crozier an unfit leader, and admiring Hickey for having the balls to do what he did (Hickey also never reveals anyone else who came with him, and when he talks about Hartnell and Mason's part in taking Silna it highlights their skill and bravery and (he thinks) commends them to the Captain. It's probably the only time we see him building up and applauding others). He looks dead ahead here and seems to have a very steely gaze, like yep fuck it looks like I'm going it alone now. It is interesting that Tozer goes from this to notably disliking Hickey (both at the start and when they are packing up - "you've just given me an excuse to give a big shove". This might be anger at Hickey having caused all the issues with Silna after the fact when Heather gets killed at Carnivale), but still follows him in the end. Hickey has the ability to kill, manipulate, steal, basically do whatever needed for their group to get ahead, which means Tozer can be part of the group and not have to dirty his own hands. I think Tozer probably has a complicated relationship with Hickey, but he does fall for the charm hook, line, and sinker, and the fact he seems concerned for him here suggests how easily he is sympathetic to those he sees as being wronged.

Gibby getting Hickey's blood on his hand (ayy) seems to visibly make him blanch, and I do find it interesting that the shot then pans to Tommy as though they are looking at each other when they are stood side by side. The similarities between them maybe? (I've seen and reblogged a lot of discourse about Tommy loving Tozer, maybe another nod to no one being so different to the man on the table?) Irving doesn't get much of a close up in the rest of this scene but bless him he looks equal parts terrified and guilty (another man who has been noted as having a list of many things to distract from the Gay Thoughts like why do you need to distract from Gay Thoughts Irving?). He also has the Far Off Look of trauma about him, probably because he too could just as easily be on that table.

I have many many thoughts about the way Hickey turns to look (and fucking smile???) at Crozier next, which is when Crozier is looking directly at him and Fitzjames looks at him. Like if I were Crozier I think my fucking blood would chill, look at this man. Being humiliated and lashed still hasn't broken him, if anything he has just become fully unhinged and looks at Crozier as though to say "did you really think this would work?". I would also say, this man has fairly quite for someone who is at this stage something like 22 lashes in? Like what the actual fuck Hickey?? I fully belive Hickey to be a psycopath, and most of what he does in the beginning of the series is an attempt to stay hidden until they get to Hawaii and he can ditch the crew, but I think it is fairly safe to say he isn't hiding it any more.

And he knows this is going to make the men doubt Crozier - I can't do a proper search because I am using my work laptop atm, but I seem to remember reading that a punishment greater than 12 lashes required a court martial (probably why Little steps in to say so when Crozier orders his punishment as well as them technically being lost at sea), which would be another strike against him as a Captain. Not only that, but Crozier does seem to grant him some mercy in letting him only be lashed I think 23 or so times? Probably because the tension is fucking palpable in this whole scene and Crozier can either choose to claw back some sense of control on the matter, or deal with the consequences of many people admiring Hickey for what he has done for the crew and start a mutiny. I think this is the first time Fitzjames sees the damage Crozier is doing to himself with his choices as Captain, and is probably just as concerned at the look Hickey is giving him. He knows this has unleashed something in this tiny rat bastard too, and that he will become the physical manifestation of Crozier's self-destructive tendancies. Crozier perpetually comes to everything just a fraction too late to change anything - he never saves any of the men, only comforts them as they die, and a lot of this has to do with his own ego and bad decision making, and I think this is the first example here of the fact his actions are having an effect on others to the point it will be his downfall.

Anyway, to round it off, I think this scene really epitomises the notion that Hickey is a mirror to the rest of the men, and they see their flaws in him. Those who have questioned Crozier's captaincy look concernced knowing they too could be being lashed. They too would have tried to get Silna to stop the Tuunbaq hunting them. Those who are queer or queer coded know they too could be being lashed for it. Crozier himself sees his unwillingness to follow the Articles in him, sees his own insubordination, and feels what Sir John meant when he said his position afforded him deference. Hickey may as well be a metaphor for all the men being lashed, theres not one among them who haven't voiced wanting to do what he has done. Let them without sin and all that. This is make or break for who holds loyalty to the Captain, and the turning point for who is going where. I think everyone except Jopson, Irving and Fitzjames ends up in the mutineers camp, and Irving ends up killed and mutilated by Hickey and Fitzjames is scavanged by them. Theres not one of them that isn't haunted by what happened in this scene, and Hickey would end up being the death of every single one of them. The only one who remains loyal after this is Jopson, who thinks his care and duty to the Captain can outweigh his other sins. Fitzjames and Crozier have a stronger relationship once he recovers from his withdrawal, yes, but Fitzjames also keeps him in check now (I'm thinking of Edward Little being threatened with flogging again because of course I am), and it is another step too late for Crozier's self-destruction. I've seen a Hickey/Fitzjames Christ analogy on here before too, so I hope you'll forgive me in comparing them, but Hickey in this scene really does get punished for everyone else's crimes in this scene, and becomes a sort of Christ-like figure, reborn as a complete version of the worst of himself from the pain of being lashed. They whipped something out of him!! Anyway, that about sums it up!

#long post #thank you for asking I could talk about the nuances of the terror for days #hickey thoughts

37 notes · View notes

imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl · 4 years ago

Text

Californian Dream (Pt. 08 of 11)

Pairing: Billy Hargrove X Reader

Word count: 2.9 K

Summary: Being part of one of the richest families of California doesn't mean you're happy. Your life is boring, and you're surrounded by meaningless people and their meaningless talk. Even during Summer, with the break you have from college, there's nothing good going on. Nothing but the new pool guy, Billy, the most handsome man you ever saw. You were successfully avoiding him, not wanting to act like an idiot in front of the guy until Billy accepts to be your date for a fancy gala you're forced to attend. The night was going well, even better when he sneaked you out to go to the beach. But a gang of criminals breaks into the party, kidnapping the heirs to the wealthiest families, which includes you. So, for your safety, your parents want you to stay with Billy, living in his apartment until the criminals are caught. And that could take weeks, maybe even months.

Warnings: Light violence

<- Previous part (07)

Next part (09)->

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

{Dacre Montgomery Masterlist}

Decisions

A low knock on the door wakes you up. Your cheeks are stained by dry tears, and your head hurts. It takes a while for you to even process who's knocking, but you don't want to talk to him. “Go away.”

“(Y/N), I'm sorry, alright? I shouldn't have said those things, I didn't mean any of that.” He sounds defeated, tired, sad. It's hard to hear him through the door, but still, the last thing you want is to look at him right now.

“You made everything crystal clear, Billy.” You mumble, pulling a second blanket over your body. “Don't worry, I'll be leaving tomorrow.”

“(Y/N), please, I...” You hear him sigh, and your heart hurts for him. Hugging your pillow, you stare at the darkness. “These guys, they... They said some things and... It reminded me of my father.”

“Your father?” You ask because Billy never spoke of him. He did mention a stepsister, Maxine, and her mother Susan, but never the father. You knew he had a reason for it, but you never wanted to push him into telling you something he didn't feel comfortable with.

“Yes. He was a damn devil. He was abusive, he hit me, and what those idiots said to me today... It was the same things Neil once did and everything just came back and I...” He makes a pause, and you slowly sit up, looking at the door, the piece of wood separating you from Billy. “I shouldn't have said those things to you, I'm sorry. It won't happen again, I promise. And I understand if you want to leave... But I just need you to know that I didn't mean any of that. You're nothing like those people. You're kind and honest and noble... You're... You're amazing, (Y/N), truly.” After some seconds, you listen as he walks away.

Your heart sinks at what he said. At the pain in his voice. And as much as you're hurt by his outburst, he did had a reason. Memories can be tough, they have the power to drag you back to the very moment they were created, and now, thinking about it, you did see a hint of sadness in Billy's eyes earlier, you just couldn't recognize it. So this is why he fled. He wasn't just running from a small town, he was running from living in hell to the place he felt like home.

Taking a deep breath, you stand up, leaving the blanket behind despite the cold air that makes you shiver. Slowly, you move to the door, trying to open it as quietly as you can. As soon as you're out, the low noise of the TV and a bluish light hits you.

Billy is seated on the couch, elbows on his knees, and his eyes on the floor. It takes a few seconds until he notices your presence, raising his eyes.

“I'm sorry your father was a dick.” You whisper, standing there, eyes locked with Billy. “And whatever those guys said, it isn't true. I don't know what it was, but it isn't true.” Making your way to the couch and sitting beside him, you notice the bruise on the apple of his cheek. “What's that?”

“He punched me and I punched back.” As he speaks, you touch his cheek, delicately. “It got me a warning from the company. If it happens again, I'm fired.”

“It happens again, you give me the name and address and I'll beat them up for you.” Leaning closer, you ignore his chuckle, placing a soft kiss on his bruise, but your lips barely touch his skin since you don't want to hurt him more than he's already hurt. “I mean it.” Then you start kissing him. His cheek, his jaw, the corner of his lips. “Don't you ever believe anything they say.” When you realize what you're doing, you pull away, blushing and looking down. “Well, you should go to sleep now. The bed is yours.”

Nodding, he hesitates a little before standing up. But when he does, he doesn't move. “You know... It's a double bed. We'd both fit there.” Billy reaches out his hand, and you look at it for a while, considering his idea before taking it.

“Yeah, it does.” Standing up, you walk with him back to the bedroom.

It happens silently, as if it had happened many times before. When you lie down, facing away from him, you both move at the same time. You search for his hand, to pull it over your waist, as he moves to do so. “Is it ok?”

“Yes.” You mutter, eyes already closed as you slowly sink into a peaceful sleep.

•

When the morning comes, you only notice because Billy starts moving. Groaning a little, and still very cold, you turn around, snuggling closer to his chest. “Don't go.” You beg, knowing it's still on the week days, which means Billy has to work. “You're so warm.” Taking a deep breath, you hook your leg around his waist, as if it could keep him from getting up.

“I have to go to work, but I'd stay if I had a choice.” He giggles, running a hand through your leg. “Funny, you're...” You feel his hand on your neck as he mutters something you don't understand. “That's not good.”

“What?” You whine, a little upset and embarrassed, since you just realize how your leg was around him, so you move it off.

“You're burning up.” Billy gets up suddenly, fixing the blankets around you. “I'll go get something from the drugstore to lower your fever.”

You didn't notice the fever. Well, you've been feeling cold, but you thought it was the air-conditioning. “No. I don't want you to be late because of me.” Pushing yourself up, you sit straight. “I can get it.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Billy...” Jumping to your feet, you walk fast until you reach him by the door. “It's just a fever. There's no reason for you to worry.” Shyly, you take his hand. “Just do your stuff and I can get some medicine later.”

“No. You've been complaining about being cold for a few days, it's bad enough you'll have to be alone here, I'll–”

“I'll be fine. I can call Stacy. Remember she said she has the week off? I will ask if she can stay with me.” It's not a big deal, and you don't understand why Billy is so worried about it. “Really, I'm alright.”

He takes a deep breath, a hand cupping your face, his thumb softly caressing your skin. Yesterday's fight is long forgotten now, for both of you. “Alright. But I'll be at the Whaylands today. Anything happens you call there, and ask to talk to me. Say it's an emergency or something like that, ok?”

You don't know the Whayland's number, but you just nod. “I'll be fine, don't worry.” Smiling, you tiptoe a little but give up halfway, blushing and looking away.

“You can kiss me if you want.” He smirks, bending a little to capture your lips. It takes no time until you react, but when you remember you have a fever, you push him away. “What?” He sounds confused, eyebrows furrowed.

“I might have a cold or something. I don't want you getting sick so...” Shrugging your shoulders, you feel a little brave. “But when I'm better, I wouldn't mind kissing you.”

“That's good to know.” He smirks. “Now, call Stacy and ask her to stay with you. I'll take a shower and get ready to work.”

“Alright.”

Despite him saying you don't have to, you make him breakfast, and a sandwich he can eat on the road. Stacy comes a couple of hours later and you take the pills she brought you. You like Stacy, and you feel free to be yourself around her, the rules you once followed completely left behind. So you're laughing out loud all day, even taking a walk on the beach after lunch. You can't wait to tell her and the others the truth. Your real name at least. They still call you Lily, and as far as they know, you've been crashing on Billy's until you find a place for yourself. But you do want to tell the truth, and you hope they'll understand why you had to lie. But now, that's a distant thought. Jimmy shows up at the end of the afternoon after Stacy calls him. And, with you both annoying him to death, he starts making dinner, which only makes you and Stacy boss him around with giggles and jokes.

“No, listen up now.” He says after putting the chicken in the oven. “Enough with bugging me, you two. I wanna know something.” Raising an eyebrow, he gestures at you, dramatically slamming his hands on the table, making you roll your eyes. “You and Billy.” He says. “What's going on?”

Feeling your cheeks burning up, you clear your throat, looking at your hands. “Nothing.”

“I didn't take you for a liar," Stacy says, crossing her arms.

“I'm not...” Taking a deep breath, you run a hand through your hair. “I'm not lying. There's nothing between Billy and I. Just... We just kissed a few times but–”

“I knew it!” Stacy exclaims, cutting you off and startling you a little. “Since that day at the party when we met.”

“Really?” Despite being a little shy, you do want to know whatever she thinks she knows.

“Billy had a lot of... Flings. But he never stood up for any of them. He never truly cared. So when he beat up Chad like that... I knew something was off.” She exchanges a glance with Jimmy, smirking.

“And, c'mon, the way he looks at you is so cute.” Jimmy makes a funny voice and you giggle. “He's really into you. And Billy was never into anyone.”

“Of course he was.” You exclaim.

“No, no,” Jimmy speaks up, shaking his head lightly. “He gets a girl he finds attractive when he's bored, that's one thing. Being into someone is completely different.” As the plays with the dishcloth, he takes a seat across from you. “And I did find it weird when he suddenly stopped showing up with a different girl every day, and now I know why.”

“I don't know... I mean, we're good now, but... It's nothing official, so...” Shrugging your shoulders, you look down, taking a deep breath. “But I'm happy the way things are now and who knows what may come next? I'll just take things slow.”

“You know what comes next.” Stacy chuckles. “Trust me, you'll two be dating in no time.”

“I bet,” Jimmy adds.

“Guys, just–” The door opening cuts you off, and you can't help but smile to see Billy. “Hey, you.”

“Hey, you.” He answers, glancing at the other two. “Hi, everyone else who doesn't live here.” Closing the door shut, he makes his way over you. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yup.” Nodding, you blush when he bends over to place a kiss on your lips.

“Good. I'll shower and... Something's burning.”

“Jimmy!” Both you and Stacy shout and the poor guy sets in motion, crouching in front of the oven.

“Please don't let Jimmy burn the kitchen to the ground,” Billy whispers on your ear before heading to the bathroom.

The chicken was burned, but Jimmy had the decency of taking those parts for himself. Other than that, he's quite a good cook. And this dinner is nothing like the formal meals you had back home. It's loud, filled with laughter and stupid jokes, that are no fun at all but make you laugh anyway. An hour later, after Jimmy went to the grocery store to buy chocolate bars for dessert, you're just seating at the table, fighting with Stacy for the last piece.

“Oh, listen up!” Jimmy raises his voice, making both you and Stacy quit arguing. And you decide to let her keep the bar. “I spoke to my grandfather's friend and... He'll give you a chance. So show up on Monday by nine and I'll start filling you up with everything you gotta know.”

“Oh my gosh, for real!?” You exclaim, a bright smile on your lips. “That's absolutely amazing. It'll be so fun working with you.” Standing up, you bend over the table a little to high-five Jimmy. “Great!”

“So... Will I have to ask?” Billy speaks up when you sit down again, staring at you.

“Well, I was waiting for an answer before telling you. Jimmy said something about a diving equipment store so I asked him to speak to the owner to get me a job.” Turning your body towards Billy, you smile. “And it seems like it's happening.”

“Are you sure you want an actual job?” He asks, and you know what he means. You never had a job before, and well, you don't understand much about diving stuff. But you want this. You want to have something to do, and you want to make some money too, despite the untouched bag of money you have.

“Yeah. Jimmy promised to teach me everything I need to know and he'll keep his promise or else nobody will ever hear of him again.” As you speak, you stare at Jimmy, lowering your voice.

“I'm not scared of you, Lily. But I'm scared of Billy so don't worry I'll keep the promise.” He winks at you, and you can tell he's bringing the Chad incident back again.

“You know what...” Stacy says, taking a dramatically deep breath and getting up. “It's a little late and I believe these two want some alone time so we should get going.”

“Agreed.” Jimmy quickly follows her lead. “Well, see you guys around.”

“Bye.” You mutter, already moving to the sink to do the dishes.

Billy joins and helps you, so it's done in only a couple of minutes. Then, you move to the couch, and you couldn't contain your happiness when you found Grease on TV, and somehow you managed to make Billy watch without complaining too much. At the beginning of the movie, you were seated normally, side by side, but as time went by, you started to move, closer and closer, until you're lying down, with Billy's chest pressed against your back in a spoon position. But the awkwardness faded soon enough, and you surrendered to the bliss of being held by him.

When the movie ended, you started singing along to the last song, trying to annoy Billy as much as you could. But up next is a horror movie, and of course, Billy is forcing you to watch it since he threw the remote control somewhere on the floor and won't let you get up to take it. But since it isn't very good, both of you started to lose interest.

“Hey...” He mutters. “Are you sure about this job thing? What if your father calls tomorrow saying this whole thing is over and you can go back home?”

“Uhm...” You weren't thinking about that. Actually, the life you're living now has easily become the only life you have. The rest feels more distant with every passing day. But the decision isn't hard to make. Now, you know what you want, and you will do what makes you happy. “I'd still show up on Monday. I want this job. I want to have a purpose in life, even if it's selling diving stuff.” Shrugging your shoulders, you furrow your eyebrows at a particularly disgusting scene.

“I don't think your parents would allow it,” Billy speaks low, and you feel as he moves the hair away from your neck, starting to run his fingers through the skin, so softly you barely feel it.

“To hell with me what my parents think.” His fingertips burn, but it makes you shiver at the same time. You can't help but close your eyes at the sensation, giggling a little when he touches a ticklish spot. “This feels nice.”

“Does it?”

You're about to answer when you feel his lips replacing his fingers, and breath gets caught in your throat. For a girl who had never truly kissed anyone before, this is a whole new level. “Oh...” You mutter, lightly elbowing him, mostly out of nervousness, when you feel his teeth on your skin. “Didn't take you for a biter, Hargrove.”

“Only if you ask.”

“Alright then...” Moving, you turn around until you're facing him, your lips chasing his as if it's a matter of life and death. And it kinda is. You felt like you were dead, suffocated by all the things you had to participate in, the friends you had to pretend to like, the formal meetings, the family business, the rules, and etiquette. Everything you didn't want to be. But when Billy came along, you felt like you were finally allowed to swim to the surface and breathe. Billy is real, he doesn't fake it. When he's angry, he's angry, and when he's sad, he's sad.

In a way, Billy brought back to life, down to Earth, and pulled you up among the clouds at the same time. Because that's where you are now, kissing him, for far too long maybe, with only a few pauses to catch a breath. It's addictive, inebriating, and you'd stay here forever if you could because nothing else matters. His hands run through your body, respectfully, never pushing you, never going too far. You'd never expect this from the Billy Gisele told you about.

“We should be together.” You let out once you break apart again, catching your breath. But you regret it because you might have ruined the moment... But you can't help but wonder how many girls Billy had, in the exact position you are now, making out, just so it'll all over the next day. And you don't want that. You want him, for more than just a couple of days... And yes, you failed. You are falling in love with Billy. Clearing your throat you shake your head. “I mean... I just thought...”

“Look at me.” With his index finger, he lifts your head so you're staring into his eyes again. “This won't ever be accepted by anyone in your circle. Parents, friends, relatives... You know that right? Nobody will support this relationship.”

“I don't need their support. I've been told what to do my whole life. What clothes to wear, what friends I should grow close to, what to major in... I'm tired of this shit, I want you.” It just comes out, too fast, and you don't even know what to say to cover it up. Because it's the truth. “California never felt like home to me until you came along. This... This place feels more like home than the house I grew up in.”

“I... I wish you could stay here.” Billy's voice it's so low it makes you wonder if you heard him right.

“Stay here as in... Mmm... Living here? Even after the gang is arrested?” Blushing, you decide to be brave and ask him. It's not like you could pretend you didn't hear it. And yes, living here sounds a lot better than going back to the house.

“Yeah.” He nods, taking a deep breath. “I can't give you a big ass garden, a pool or–”

“I'd trade all of that for kisses, so I think we'd be good.” Rolling your eyes, you cut him off, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, really?” In a fake menacing tone, Billy stars to move, trying to stay above you, but there's no enough couch and you start falling off.

“Billy, wait!” Laughing, you try to push him off. “I'm falling!”

“That's too bad.” Even though he doesn't stop and you do miss the couch completely, he manages to hold you by the waist, breaking your fall and instead, laying you softly on the floor before moving to hover above you, his body pressing yours against the cold ground.

Smiling, you wrap your arms around his neck. “You know I can–”

“Be my girlfriend.” Billy cuts you off, his face getting all serious suddenly. He's not joking.

“W-what?” It's not that you didn't get it, it's just that you can't believe. And, by the look on his face, he took that as a doubt. He's beginning to move away, but you grab a handful of his shirt, forcing him to stay where he is. “Yes.” You burst out, biting your lip. “I wanna be your girlfriend.”

The smile that comes to his lips is beautiful, breathtaking. Your favorite view in the world. “Good.” And with that, he leans down to kiss you again.

@multific @dontxfearxthereaper @nope-thanks @nikkixostan @shinydixon @clockworkballerina @infinitelycharmed23 @lilred91

#imagine billy hargrove #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove x y/n #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove #billy stranger things imagine #billy stranger things #billy stranger things fanfiction #stranger things imagine #imagine stranger things

58 notes · View notes

darylandbethfanforever9 · 4 years ago

Text

Devil’s Backbone

Chapter 3

AN: I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far, and thank you everyone who has commented, reblogged or liked the story :)

Story Rating: Explicit, 18+

Warnings: Smut, violence, flashbacks of past sexual assault, descriptions of torture and racial hate. Not Tony Stark friendly.

Relationships: Bucky/OC, Steve/Natasha, Billy/Wanda/Grant, Sam/Sharon, Clint/Laura, eventual Clint/Yelena and Frank/Karen Page.

Summary: In the aftermath of the Blip, Bucky struggled to find his place among the world and the Avengers. However, when he is sent on a mission to Madripoor to investigate a mysterious woman, he starts to realize maybe his past isn’t too far behind him. Co-Written with WalkingPotterGirl14.

The girls at the Red Room would whisper about the Winter Soldier. He was a ghost story, a tale whispered to keep them in line by warning them if they didn't succeed in the classes or missions, that the soldat would creep into their room and kill them.

She remembered seeing those cold eyes watching her and over girls when he had come to the academy to train one of their classes. He had thrown a young girl called Polina Paseka across the room after she failed four times to do a pirouette in ballet class.

She frowned as she tried to make sense of how the Winter Soldier had escaped the Red Room. It was rare when someone was able to make it out, almost impossible. She decided to call Carter and inquire about the soldier. Her interest was piqued by the man. Maybe she would know something.

Bucky and the others returned to the compound to inform Fury about the black ops team that the Power Broker had sent to kidnap Isaiah and Eli Bradley. The man must have been hellbent on creating the serum after Zemo destroyed the ones that Dr. Nadler had created. "Hill is identifying the people who were sent to kidnap Isaiah and his grandson. Two of them have already been identified," Fury announced grimly. He pulled up two images of two men, one of whom that Bucky recognized instantly. Jack Rollins. He knew him from being there at the Ideal Federal Savings bank when he had his mind wiped by Pierce after trying to kill Steve, Sam and Natasha in Washington D.C. "You might remember the guy on the left, Barnes and Rogers. That is Jack Rollins, former member of the STRIKE Team. After fleeing the U.S., he settled in Madripoor and began working as a mercenary for the highest bidder. Tomas Calderon is a former S.H.I.E.L.D agent, who was fired after killing a group of Inhuman refugees in Nairobi, Kenya," Fury explained gravely. He paused for a moment before glancing their way. "Rogers, Wilson, I want you to ask Carter if she knows how long this mystery young woman has been living in Madripoor. See if there's a gang war brewing over a power struggle. Barnes, Barton and Maximoff, I want you three to talk to Russo, Karen Page, Murdock, and Curtis Hoyle. See what they know about the Power Broker," the director instructed. They nodded and all left.

The first thing Ana decided to do was renovate the whole damn penthouse that the Power Broker owned. She ordered new bedding, a new mattress, and a nice bed frame. There was no way in hell she was sleeping in his bed. She followed suit with the rest of the apartment, glad to have all this control now. The next thing she did was arrange a meeting with all the criminals who lived in Madripoor. She was putting down some rules. She was no saint - far from it - but no way in hell was she tolerating slavery, sex trafficking, and fucking child molesters and pedophiles. She knew Madripoor thrived on crime, but she was going to be instilling some rules for everyone. She personally called off the bounties on the Winter Soldier, the Falcon and Baron Zemo, from what she had heard around. She had no quarrel with them at the minute. Her main focus was going to be ensuring the Red Room remained shut down. She didn't want anyone else to go through what she had gone through. No child deserved that horror. The buzzer rang then, and she answered the call immediately. She had a feeling that a few of them were going to be aggravating. But she had dealt with worse people. "Miss Liukin, this is Conrad Mack. You wish to speak with me about a beneficial arrangement between us?" The man asked politely. She smiled slightly. "Please come in, Mr. Mack," she said smoothly. The door was unlocked and locked behind him. She might have her bodyguards, but she wasn't defenseless by herself if Conrad decided to play dirty. Two could play at that game. Conrad Mack entered the living room. He was a handsome man in person. He had dark brown eyes, but there was a sharpness in them, like an eagle, always watching. He was wearing casual, but smart clothing. "Mr. Mack, it's a pleasure to meet with you. I've heard a lot of things about you," Ana said warmly. The man offered her a charming smile that showed perfect white teeth. "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Liukin. I have to say that I'm impressed by your bloodless takeover of Madripoor. If you don't mind me asking, what inspired you to take over Madripoor from the Power Broker?" She smiled at his question, as she sipped from her glass of red wine and Conrad drank from his glass of whisky. The man was a gangster, but he did have morals. She decided to give him some of the truth. "The Power Broker wished to recreate the Super Soldier serum after Baron Zemo destroyed the vials that Karli Morgenthau stole from him. But he wanted me to kidnap a man called Isaiah Bradley and his grandson…I presume you know who he is?" she asked meaningfully. Conrad nodded, his smile turning to a grimace. "Yeah, I know who he is. My grandaddy fought with him in World War II. The US government threw him in jail and took his blood. He escaped during the eighties and settled down in Baltimore," the man said bitterly, well aware of America's racial discrimination against African-Americans. Ana nodded at his answer as she looked at the Monet art that decorated the walls. She disliked racists fiercely. "Then you understand why the Power Broker had to go, Conrad?" He lets out a quiet nod at that. "As I've said before, I'm not a saint. I've done some horrible things. But I draw the line at people dragging innocents back into their dirty hands. For years I had no control of what I was able to do, and now that I do, you can bet I'm going to make sure that no one else gets hurt like that." Conrad smiles to that. "That's very noble of you." Ana snorts and shakes her head. "Not noble. It's called being a human. However,…I'm not a good person too. And the reason we're here is because of that." She comes over to him, leaning against her chair. "I know about your little business on the side here. You thrive from the drug community here, don't you?" "If we're being honest, it is one of, if not the most, profitable business you can have in Madripoor." "On the brink of a collapse the city would be if that whole system decided to go belly-up," Ana states, holding her glass in her hands. "Which is why I'm willing to offer a truce with you. An agreement, of sorts. If you keep a low profile and continue your business, I'll make sure it can still run with the people here and the cops won't be on your ass. I know how hard it can be to stay on the downlow but I'm willing to compromise on that as long as your guys don't interfere with what I'm trying to do." Conrad raises an eyebrow. "You're very interesting, you know that?" She raises an eyebrow back at him. "How so?" "You're like the opposite version of what you say you are. You're trying to be good but also trying to keep crime going…it's a strange contradiction, if you will." Ana shrugs her shoulders, walking over to where he sits. "We all have our contradictions. But the main part here is making sure your business can still run despite those contradictions. So…" She holds out her hand to him. "Do we have a deal?" Conrad looks at her hand for a split second before extending outwards, shaking it firmly. "We have a deal."

Talking with Karen, Frank, Matthew and Foggy had gone about as well as Bucky had been expecting. They didn't know that much about the Power Broker except for the fact that he just wanted to have as much power as possible, simple as that. They had stumbled into them when Fisk had gone away to jail, leaving his powerful empire in the city free for the taking. Due to the power vacuum, the Power Broker had tried to break in.

But luckily, they had come in at the right moment to stop him from taking over, before he had escaped off to Madripoor. Bucky truly wondered what went through this man's mind to make him think like that, that he could suddenly own everyone just because one man got arrested. But then again, the man was clearly unstable. If he wanted to still create more and more super-solder serums for the world to use…there was no way he would allow that. Secretly, Bucky really hoped this new mysterious woman had killed the Power Broker. Hell, maybe even taken over herself. If she was willing to help Sharon out and let them know about Isiah, she at least had some sort of morals compared to the original man. But he also had a feeling that Fury, if he did find out who this woman was, was most likely going to send them after her. So maybe he'd get the chance to meet her after all. A part of him still couldn't believe that he had seen Ana at a coffee shop…it was such a small world. A part of her still felt so familiar, and at the same time he couldn't remember where he had seen her before. He was thankful that the Wakandan's had gotten out all the trigger words in his mind but damn it, he wished he had his whole mind back. Something he would just have to live with for now.

Was this a stupid idea? Probably. Could Fury walk in at any moment? Most likely. But Natasha needed to know. She had to know if this woman was alive truly or not. Maybe she would get lucky, and they would be able to swing around this situation. Maybe the woman who had come into the facility wasn't even close to her. When Nat and Yelena had destroyed the Red Room area, they had been able to access their system remotely to be able to view who had died and who had lived from the program. She had never checked for her to see if she was still around. But this time was better than no time. She typed in the name quickly, searching through the files before she lands on the one, she had wanted. And her shoulders sink as soon as she reads through the file on the computer screen. 'Anastasia Liukin. Dead – complications of operation.' "Oh, thank God," Natasha breathes out, running her hand through her hair. This at least said that she was gone. Maybe she would be able to get out of this alive. But something still didn't sit right. A part of her didn't think that she was dead. If it wasn't her…then who? She bites her lip, glancing deeper into the file.

"Fuck it," she said finally, before delving further into the files. She found information on Anastasia about the year she was born. The young woman had been born on July 10, 1995 in Voronezh, Voronezh Oblast, Russia in the aftermath of the Soviet Union collapsing. Her mother had died when she was five years old, and she had no one else to raise her. She was then placed in an orphanage until the age of seven when the Red Room had approached her under the illusion of being taken to a ballet boarding school. There were no other records of her aside from the file about her dying from an operation. The reasons for the operation were redacted, but deep-down Natasha knew the reason. 'I had to do it. I had to protect Yelena. She was too soft for the Red Room despite all the training we put her through,' she thought rationally, ignoring the pang of guilt that pulsed through her.

Sharon was honestly trying to keep herself calm as she drove to the penthouse that was owned by the Power Broker. She hadn't seen the mysterious woman again, but she had told Sharon to call her Ana. Now, she was driving there and was stunned by the sight before her very eyes. The building itself was amazing and very spacious, but the apartment was even better. She was shown into the penthouse by a bodyguard and kept her face neutral as she was greeted by none other than Ana. "You wanted to see me?" She asked politely. Ana smiled at her calmly as Sharon sat down on the comfortable black velvet sofa. The living room was very spacious but had a homey-vibe around it. There were framed photographs on the mantelpiece. "Yes. I was wondering if I could buy some of the Art Deco paintings and sculptures in your art gallery?" Ana asked curiously. Sharon blinked in surprise but nodded and leaned forward. "I'll be happy to sell you them, Miss Liukin," she said reassuringly, stunned that the woman wasn't going to kill her for helping Bucky, Sam and Zemo escape from the Power Broker. Speaking of the man, she hadn't seen him around Madripoor for the last couple of days. She wondered if finally, someone had killed him for having too much control and power. Considering Ana was in his penthouse, she had quite the feeling it had something to do with her, since the man had been tied up by her not that long ago. "Then I'll see you tomorrow morning. I'll enjoy doing business with you, Sharon," Ana said kindly, her voice genuine. Sharon nodded as they both walked out, seeing that the whole penthouse was being renovated. At Sharon looking, Ana smiled as she put her bottle of water down on the coffee table. "This penthouse belonged to the Power Broker, and it didn't give a welcoming feel. So, I decided to have the whole house renovated, including an indoor ballet studio, along with an indoor swimming pool, a library, and many bedrooms," the woman explained amusedly. Sharon smiled before saying goodbye and Ana watched her leave. She had to admit, it seemed the women had the strength to stay around – and wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon.

Bucky was annoyed with himself. He felt like he had seen Ana before and not at the coffee shop. It was irritating to say the very least, as he walked to the conference room, where Fury was holding a team meeting. He entered the room, sitting next to Steve, Sam, Clint and Wanda as Billy and Grant joined them. He wasn't surprised to see Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne being in the room but was wary about seeing Bruce and Tony in the room. Both of them, along with Natasha and Yelena, despised him. He didn't blame Natasha for hating him - he had tried to kill her three times, and had attempted to apologize, but she had refused his apology. "Now that you're all here, I have news about the mystery woman who infiltrated the compound. We ran her through Interpol, MI6, FBI, and the S.H.I.E.L.D database and found nothing on her. She's unknown to us," Fury explained gravely, his face betraying nothing. "So, what you want us to do then? It's pretty obvious that she's dangerous if she escaped the HYDRA base, and they had her in cyrostasis," Tony questioned suspiciously. It was Steve spoke up. "That doesn't necessarily mean that she's dangerous, Tony. She's most like been forcibly placed in cyrostasis. We did uncover some possible information," Steve informed Fury, who looked interested as he looked at the man. "What did you and the team find out then?" The director inquired curiously. He was clearly wondering if the young woman was a threat to them. "We did some digging - plus Sharon called us this morning. The Power Broker might possibly be dead, as he's not been seen for at least three days. He was last seen Monday night, and had arranged to meet a young woman to discuss kidnapping Isaiah and Eli Bradley, so he could use their blood to recreate the Super-Soldier serum. According to Sharon, the young woman refused to comply, and a fight broke out," Steve explained quietly, his voice not quite disapproving at the young woman's actions and possibly murdering the Power Broker. "She was the person who told Sharon about the attack on Isiah." Fury looked thoughtful and looked around at everyone who was sitting at the table. Natasha and Yelena were silent, but they were clearly hiding something. "Is there something you'd like to add, Belova and Romanoff?" he asked calmly. Natasha nodded. "There is something I'd like to add, Fury." Natasha stands as she grabs the file of Ana, placing it on the table. "I did some digging on this girl with the file that we found in the HYDRA base in Siberia. As the ones who shut down the Red Room and the areas surrounding it, we are allowed remote access to the former directory of agents that we've had interactions with. It turns out that Ana has actually died from an operation due to unforeseen circumstances," Natasha states. "At least that was what her records state." "Hold on." Bucky stands from where he was, gesturing to the file. "That's impossible. We've been doing our own research and there has been some steady evidence that she's still alive." "Barnes, I remember her. She's gone." "That's impossible because I saw her literally days ago," Bucky says angrily, but he holds back his temper to a point. He didn't want to let go of his own morals because Nat's words contradicted his own. Her brow raises in shock. "You're-wait, what? How the hell did you-" "She was in a coffee shop," Bucky states, crossing his arms against his chest. "A couple days ago before heading off. I didn't learn the girl's name, but she looked exactly like Ana. There's no mistaking it." "You're insane, she's gone!" "No, she's not!" "ENOUGH!" Fury yells, his booming voice causing them to jump in surprise. They both turn their eyes to where Fury was breathing heavily, his head down, clearly trying to control his own temper. He takes a moment before looking at the two of them. "Sit both your asses down now!" The two Avengers do as he says, knowing that if they pissed him off even more there'd be more than just yelling coming their way. Fury starts to pace before he looks to them. "From what I see, we have several problems here. One is-" His phone suddenly pings, and he pulls it out quickly to glance at it before cursing under his breath. "Now we got even more problems," he mutters, putting his phone back in his pocket. "Just got word from H.Q. Apparently, the original Power Broker is officially dead." Silence rings throughout the room. Bucky knew it. He just knew it.

"Again, now we got even more problems," Fury continues, running a hand along his head before looking to them. "One, we have some mysterious woman that broke into our damn base and now is missing. Two, we have a power dynamic clearly underway in Madripoor, and another young woman there that we don't know about looking to take over. Third, we have two goddamn conflicting arguments about a girl that we don't even know about. There’re too many things here for us to even come to a proper conclusion. I'm over this fighting that we got going." "Then what do you suggest we do, sir?" Natasha asks, raising her brow. Fury sighs and then nods back at the team. "What we do best – undercover. But there ain't no way I'm sending a whole team after this girl. If the Power Broker is dead, that means she's a serious threat, regardless if she'll hurt us or not. She's got friends in high places. Only one of you are fit enough to do a proper undercover mission of this high of a status." His eyes turn directly to where Bucky was. "And that's you, Barnes." His brow raises in surprise. "Me?" "I can't think of someone better than the former Winter Soldier. It can't be Nat or Yelena with personal ties to this said mystery woman, but we don't know how much she knows about you possibly. It's the best option for us going forward. I'm not about to let any other goddamn intruder come in, so we need to find out who this woman is as soon as possible, and if she's taking over as the Power Broker." Bucky was quiet for a moment, letting his words mingle. He wasn't wrong. He most likely would be able to find her the quickest and see exactly who this woman was. "Plus, you've literally seen her before," Steve agrees lightly. "If anything, that'll only help you try and find her again." "I think he's got this," Sam states, agreeing. Bucky rolls his eyes and glances at his friends. "It's alright, guys. I'm fine." He always knew that the ones who were on his side tried their best to show their support for him, but something he just wanted to prove it himself. He turns back to Fury. "I can do that, sir." "Good, glad to hear it." Fury stands and grabs the file. "You leave as early as tomorrow. We want to make sure we handle this with care but as quickly as possible. Don't want to linger any longer. Pack your belongings – I'll inform Sharon that you're heading to Madripoor and you're undercover there." "Sounds good," Bucky responds, standing. "Meeting adjourned," Fury concludes, getting up and heading out, pulling his phone as he does so. Bucky hears Tony groan as he stands, sighing. "He's making a mistake sending you out." "Tony, we don't need this right now," Steve responds, trying to shut down the fight before it even began. "How can you even trust him to do a good job? He was literally part of HYDRA, the place that this mysterious woman is even coming from!" "So are Nat and Yelena and you trust them," Wanda points out from where she stands. "They at least had a head on their shoulders to sign the damn accords." Steve sighs and shakes his head. "I'll never be able to prove to you that Bucky is a good man, but that's your loss. It's not like I'm not surprised Nat is on your side after she did what she did." At Nat's confused expression, Steve snorts. "Don't show me that look, Nat. I know that you agreed with Tony to lock Bucky up is a psych unit even before he was pardoned. I know you don't want him here just as much as Tony doesn't. You don't need to say anything." Bucky runs a hand through his hair stressfully. Good god, this wasn't how he wanted his mission to start out.

#Bucky Barnes x OC #Bucky Barnes faniction #Dark Bucky Barnes #steve rogers/natasha romanoff

33 notes · View notes

grandinventor · 4 years ago

Text

At the risk of sounding like a Jindosh apologist here (I am.) I will preface that Jindosh is a bad guy, he has either killed people personally or got them killed for experiment purposes by his Clockworks and has dissected the dead so he is not good, he is a villain, I acknowledge that.

Now with that out of the way I wanna criticize the narrative surrounding him and his mansion and how it sometimes falls flat on it’s face trying to demonize them thanks to a lot of points my friend @divaythfyr brought up. I’ll put all of that below the cut:

Yesterday I was told this line and I won’t lie it is...bad. Line in question:

Billie: "His home is supposed to be full of marvels. Locals go in as a test of courage, or because they're desperate for a meal. Kids, even. People say you can hear them at night, pounding on the windows, calling for help."

But because I couldn’t live with the idea that he kills children you know the simplest villain demonization tactic in writing history (kick the puppy, kick the child whatever) and I think it’s pretty cheap to try and make him worse than Sokolov, I talked to the Jindosh apologist committee and thot about it so I’ll go over this line by line.

1. "His home is supposed to be full of marvels.“ - Okay but isn’t his home also supposed to be scary? Isn’t the whole “Why would anyone build a scary mansion like this?” line from Emily/Corvo as they enter supposed to tell us that this is a scary place? Which is funny because in reality the mansion itself isn’t scary at all, in fact it’s extremely logical in the way it unfolds and exposes the rooms. It’s perfectly functional and as someone with a major in architecture, I can say it’s the best designed house in terms of organization in the game. There is no way to die in the mansion unless the Clockwork Soldiers and the guards get you - which goes for literally any important/rich person’s house? You walk in someone’s house uninvited and their guards get you. You can die if you get behind the walls but it’s extremely difficult to do so especially in the places where you can get squished. The house itself is completely harmless. So the whole idea from Jindosh’s end that it’s a maze is stupid on it’s own too, the house is perfectly logical and Stilton’s manor is an actual maze because I got lost 10 times in there.

2. “Locals go in as a test of courage, or because they're desperate for a meal.“ - okay first part is correct people go in his house to either steal, test their skills or kill him. He says as much himself. He says fabled thieves and assassins died there. Again probably from his guards and Clockworks since you can’t die from the house in any rational way. And then he dragged them half dead or dead in his lab to dissect them. He has a fascination with watching people die because he is like evil and a villain like that. Which brings me to the next point which is:

There are only two ways to get in his mansion without powers. There is the bridge below which is broken and the railway which is guarded and has a Wall of Light on the other end. So how will anyone that is not prepared with a grappling hook or some kind of way to close this gap gonna get in? How is your random average person gonna go in? And most importantly why? Do people just walk in aristocrat’s houses and expect not to get out in a body bag or?

Besides he has a) a lot of free food and drinks in the lobby which is his threshold as to how far you are allowed to go so if someone wanted food they can just walk in and take it and leave (after you know, scaling a mountain for whatever reason because there aren’t easier houses to steal from) and b) he has an audiograph, because I am sure he assumes people can’t read, which tells you “Do not enter or you will die and I will dissect your remains and this is a promise.” Like why add a warning if you wanna lure people in? Unless those people think they can outsmart him so they come with intent and not just because they need food/shelter. Also he has food right next to that audio.

3. “Kids, even.“ - okay this one, the scary line. I won’t lie this made me uncomfortable. So like if we assume that normal people can enter by normal means (which in point 2 is clear they can’t unless further elaborated by the game on How? and Why?), a child going in as a dare and dying is possible. Billie after this line goes on to say that she saw a child dare his brother to touch the wall of light which vaporized the child, so the implication is possible. It’s possible a child went in his mansion as a dare and bad things unfolded. It’s also equally possible that it didn’t. We know of adult men dying because we see the bodies. For this one is just a rumor. You can take it either way depending on how you feel about Jindosh. It’s very unlikely a child would get this far though, unless this was some kind of Disney movie. Also Jindosh wouldn’t personally have a reason to kill a child you know, like I know it’s the easiest “this villain is super evil!!!!” writing tactic, but he had a pretty shitty childhood, he felt hated by his mother and probably wasn’t treated so nicely by his (bastard) brother. He likes to exercise his lack of control during his younger years by having control over other people through his house and toying with them. He is very childish in a sense too (with his toy house and toy soldiers), and because of all of this I truly don’t think he would kill a child. He wants a real challenge and to test out his machines and his house against the best and smartest Karnaca can offer, not children. Though my opinion here can be highly biased.

Also many children can casually pull 6ft tall levers I’m sure--

4. “People say you can hear them at night, pounding on the windows, calling for help." - we know people have died in the mansion and they have been crying for release, as he says so himself. But again the above points kind of challenge as to who these people that died inside were. However because you know I’ve been playing with his mansion for four years cause I am a dumb hoe, I can say that there are very little windows. In fact the majority of windows that aren’t blocked off by the cliff or the mechanisms are around his laboratory.

Now yes people could go there and bang on them sure. But they literally...face the lab and chances are no one is gonna hear you bang on that side. The other windows not facing the lab are in the foyer where...you are allowed to be and nothing is gonna happen to you.

And the windows that actually face a side where let’s say someone could hear if someone was banging are the windows on the front of the house. Only the thing is, there are no windows on the front of the house except in the foyer.

Here are the buildings from across his mansion which I guess can maybe hear if someone was banging on the windows. But again no windows on the front of the house.

The fake windows is where the mechanism for the ceiling over the gallery in the upper hall is. The one that kinda extends and unfolds from there. So isn’t entirely possible that the banging and screaming or whatever people heard is just...the mechanisms of his house? The scary evil child killing house? Which is actually moving and making a lot of noise at all times?

So in conclusion? Yes, Jindosh is bad, he has no regard to human life, he divides society as innocent bystanders and criminals. He does dream of an army of Clockwork Soldiers to eradicate all crime. Be, he isn’t a senseless killer, it’s his neutrality and fascination with death as well as his black and white thinking that makes him dangerous. He doesn’t see people as human. In the majority of cases we know of (except one for some reason? That cursed baker who got his brain fried why did you have to do that Jindosh!?) he experiments on people who he deems criminals without sympathy. Also in situations where he thinks it’s justified - breaking in to steal from him or hurt him, the Blade Verbena, prisoners that can actually provide a learning experience for his Clockworks and Sokolov. He doesn’t go kidnapping people off the streets to experiment on them.

And despite his evilness being completely logical, the whole game tries to paint his mansion as this big puzzle and trap when in reality it’s...really just a house. The level design is beautiful and amazing but I think it doesn’t really carry the point as strongly simply because it’s not any more dangerous than any other mission and it’s just more fun when it comes to gameplay. The design is great but it never gave me the feeling of it being a horror house. So I think that demonizing Jindosh through hearsay instead of through his actual mission is a bit of a weird choice. A lot of things don’t reflect how evil he is, but not in the good way of “The Grand Inventor doesn’t seem evil but he is.” and instead you get it hammered how evil he is from the start without actually ever experiencing a climax of his evilness you wouldn’t expect. It’s not that every story should have a twist, but usually when you say someone is evil, you either make them good at the end or even more evil. Jindosh never has that climax, he is the same start to finish and that is... mildly annoying and slightly threatening. Like his level is pretty but not scary and they keep trying to convince you it’s scary which makes it weird which I guess is because if you listen to a lot of his unused lines and old concept art, he was supposed to be this stereotypical mad scientist but in the end they changed his visual design and lines so much he comes off as lukewarm. I understand what they tried to do with Jindosh but I feel like they failed to do it and had to rely on everyone saying he is super irredeemably evil to justify lobotomizing him.

Anyway this post is too long, sorry if the read more doesn’t go through somewhere and please feel free to counter my points I am open to different and non biased views (or even information I might not know because I haven’t read the books or found everything).

#kirin jindosh #me putting this with full confidence in the tag #i hope i dont wake up to anything bad

74 notes · View notes

lightsupinthenorth · 5 years ago

Note

Would you do 48 and 65? 🥰🥺

Thank you so much for sending these <3 I hope you like what I came up with ;)

48. “Why are you crying?” + 65. “That’s not gonna happen”

TW: child abuse, blood (minor), alcohol.

Billy’s grounded because he failed to bring Max home on time. Again.

The thing is… there’s a party he really needs to get to. Because Harrington is going to attend that party, and Billy can’t pass on an opportunity to see the guy, even if he won’t do anything more than “see” him from the other side of a room. Billy’s pathetic like that.

So, he sneaks out. There isn’t much else he can do. It makes his heartbeat skyrocket and his whole body shake from the adrenaline when he climbs out of his window, trying to make as little noise as possible. Once he’s on the ground below, in one piece, he thinks he’s made it, that it was that easy to slip past his father.

Big mistake.

He hears the front door open and he instantly knows he’s screwed. It could be Max or Susan. But it’s not. Of course, it’s not. Billy is never lucky like that.

“Where do you think you’re going, son?”

And, see, that’s a trick question. There’s no right answer to that question. Because Billy is not supposed to go anywhere. He’s supposed to stick to his room like a prisoner in his cell. Whatever Billy says, it’s probably not going to help his case. It can only worsen his father’s wrath, which can already be seen in his bulging eyes and reddened face. Billy still tries, though. Let it not be said that he’s a quitter.

“I… I was just out for a smoke.”

“Oh, and you deemed it necessary to sneak out by the window, because?”

“I… uh… I just didn’t want to disturb your movie night” is Billy’s lame attempt at a justification.

Neil is far from impressed.

“Give me your car keys.”

“I don’t…” Billy starts, aware that it’s doomed already.

“Don’t take me for a fool, William.”

His father’s tone brooks no argument, so Billy digs the keys to the Camaro out of the right pocket of his leather jacket and comes forward reluctantly to hand them over.

He’s parked the car down the street when he came home from school, close enough not to seem suspicious, but far enough that he could drive away without being noticed. And now, his carefully thought out plan is ruined.

Instead of just taking the keys from his son, Neil takes a hold of his wrist and squeezes so tightly that Billy can’t help but let the keys go. They clatter to the ground a second later, making Billy flinch.

His father then seizes his shirt collar with his free hand and pulls roughly to get Billy’s face close to his.

“Don’t ever try to lie to me again.” Neil’s voice is low, which usually means trouble.

“I’m sorry, sir. I won’t do it again.” Billy says in his best meek voice.

He’s had many, too many, occasions to rehearse the act of contrition, but it’s still not enough for Neil. Nothing ever is. He lets go of Billy collar and punches him hard, right on the cheekbone, sending him sprawling.

Billy tries to break his fall and ends up hurting the palms of his hands on the gravel covering their driveway. The sting of it lessens the smarting of his cheekbone, where the skin has split open against his father’s ring.

“Pick up the keys.”

Billy obeys and gives them to his father. This time, Neil takes them without trying anything else. Thank God for small mercies.

He’s not finished punishing Billy yet, however.

“And since you needed to be outside so much, I’m not expecting you home until tomorrow morning.” He says, before going back inside and slamming the door behind him.

Billy is momentarily paralyzed, as he hears Neil lock the door, effectively locking his son outside.

Having no other choice, he decides to walk to the party. Carol’s house is quite far from his, but it’s not as if he had anywhere else to go.

He’s not even left his street yet when it starts raining: the universe really does hate Billy Hargrove.

It’s no small rain, either: it’s fucking buckets of water flung from the sky by some vengeful Higher Power.

A tear rolls down Billy’s split cheek, mixing with the raindrops. Soon enough, he’s sobbing and, yes, the weather might seem like a trivial thing to cry over, but Billy’s got many other reasons to cry: the rain is just the last straw.

It’s dark, and Billy’s sight is blurred by tears and rainwater. He can barely tell where he’s going. So, he hears the car that slows down next to him before he sees it.

“Hargrove, what the hell are you doing?”

Of course, it’s Steve fucking Harrington. Just Billy’s luck that the other boy would find him during one of the lowest moments of his life.

“What does it look like, princess? I’m walking.”

Billy means to sound annoyed, but his breathing is ragged and his voice hoarse from all the crying.

“Yeah, I can see that, genius. Why though?”

“Car troubles.”

It’s not technically a lie. Harrington doesn’t nee to know all the details.

“Oh… You going to Carol’s party?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, hop in.”

“Thanks, but I’m fine, Harrington.”

Billy’s still crying wave after wave of warm tears, and he really doesn’t want Steve to notice that.

“Come on, you’re not going to walk all the way over there. It’s dumb. You’re gonna be soaked.”

Billy is soaked already, but he doesn’t argue any longer. He’s too tired to let his pride control his decisions right now. So, he gets in the car. It’s fine at first, because his face is mostly hidden by his wet hair, and the tears aren’t that noticeable because of his overall drenched state. However, nothing can be done about Billy’s red eyes and his suspiciously shaky breathing.

“Why are you crying?”

Where is the dumb clueless Steve that Billy has heard of? Did he choose that day to develop observation skills? Is Billy that cursed?

“I’m not.” Billy denies. It’s a lost cause, but at this point he can’t be bothered.

“Right… we don’t have to talk about it.” Harrington placates.

And Billy hates it.

“There’s nothing to talk about, Harrington.”

He’s getting mad, because he’s got to let his anger out somehow. As always, Steve’s there to take the brunt of it. And, even though it’s convenient, Billy’s gotta stop letting him take it. Because, apparently, Steve is all too willing to.

“Okay, sorry, there’s not.” He agrees, or pretends to, as he makes a U-turn.

“What are you doing? Carol’s house is that way.” Billy says, pointing in the direction they were driving in before, as if Steve didn’t know where his childhood friend lived.

“We’re not going there.”

“Why the fuck not?”

“I don’t feel like going anymore.” Harrington says, as if it wasn’t an obvious lie.

“Well I do, so either turn back or let me out of your car.”

“That’s not gonna happen.”

“What the fuck? Stop the bullshit, Harrington.” Billy growls.

“It’s not bullshit, it’s a kidnapping. I am kidnapping you.” He replies calmly.

“So that’s it, you’ve gone wacko… you’ve finally lost it.”

“I’ve lost it a long time ago, man. Do keep up.”

Billy rolls his eyes and admits defeat. It’s all he’s able to do tonight, apparently. He lets Harrington drive them to his big empty house, and then he lets him clean the cut on his cheek. Steve doesn’t ask him what happened, but Billy still ends up blurting the truth out.

He’s in dry clothes that Steve lent him, sitting next to him on the couch, in front of the fireplace. He’s feeling warm from the fire, and Steve’s thigh against his, and the whiskey they’ve been drinking, and he ends up spilling his guts, unprompted. Once he’s done telling Steve about Neil, he holds his breath, already regretting his confession. He regrets it a lot less once Steve pulls him into a hug.

Billy’s stupid body flinches, not expecting the contact, and Steve withdraws, mumbling an apology and saying he should have asked if it was alright.

He doesn’t make it very far, though, because Billy recovers from the surprise and prevents him from retreating by encircling Steve’s waist and burying his abused face in his neck.

He’ll probably be very embarrassed about this display in the morning, but right now he feels too comfortable and safe to care.

#asks #prompts #bronskiibeat #Harringrove #Billy Hargrove #Steve Harrington #ficlet

174 notes · View notes

ashyblondwaves · 4 years ago

Note

HEADCANNON EXTRAVAGANZA TO BRING YOU SOME JOY

Family stuff

Vision talks to the twins while they are still in Wanda’s belly to get to know them before they are born. They aren’t as active as Florence but they still know that their daddy is there and respond in some way to his voice.

Vision always talks to his children as though they are grownups and almost never does the baby voice thing because he wants to treat them with the utmost respect. He’ll still attack them with kisses and cuddles and he’ll do the voice he does in episode three of Wandavision when he kisses Wanda’s belly. However, he’s never like, ok teeny weeny babies let’s put on our sockies and shoesies (no shame if anybody does this, I do this sometimes lol).

Wanda is super sweet on her kiddos but is not one to be fooled. Sometimes Vision can be naive but the kids have never even tried to pull a fast one on Wanda. She is a really loving mom and would never be verbally or physically abusive/ condescending/ rude but her kids know from the beginning to respect her. They also know that she will cut a bitch for them. Looking at you school bullies/ PTA moms/ homophobes.

Every week, they have family nights where everybody cuddles in the couch/ in Wanda and Vision’s bed. Because the boys are little it’s something suitable for them. When Wanda is pregnant she cries at whatever is going on in the movie and Vision holds back his laughter and puts on a supportive face. He and the boys attack (gently) her with kisses and hugs. The boys hold her face in their hands and look her right in the eyes and say “it’s ok mommy it’s just a movie don’t be sad” and give her a kiss. And she’s like “thank you mommy feels so much better now” and snuggles into Vision who rubs her belly soothingly and kisses her forehead.

When they are at the store, Wanda pushes the cart (like you said for balance) while one of the babies rides in the cart and Vision carries the other one. Billy and Wanda are singing wheels on the bus (he’s getting better with the words over time and he giggles and claps his hands). He knows not to kick his feet because his baby sister is still cooking and he doesn’t wanna hurt her. Vision is carrying Tommy in a baby bjorn and dancing with him/holding onto his hands/ singing a song from spongebob.

When they are out in public, the boys try to reach for everything and Wanda has trouble keeping up with them sometimes because she’s kind of waddle-running, so it’s Vision’s job for the most part to corral the boys. Wanda trades their cooperation for fruit snacks. By the end of a shopping trip, he’s not sure if Wanda or the boys are more tired and he knows that everybody probably needs a nap when they get home.

During Wanda’s pregnancies Vision does everything he can to make sure Wanda’s comfortable. He’s also obsessed with her so he’s always there anyway. It helps her back if she leans back against him, so they take up that position in the bath/ shower/ watching movies or TV in bed. Sometimes they just stand and away with her leaning back against him. Other times she bends over and holds onto his shoulders so she can stretch.

Wanda has fallen while adjusting to her new center of gravity during her pregnancies and Vision was terrified to leave her side after that. He wants to be there to protect her and the babies. He is worried about her falling and hurting herself or getting stuck in the tub regardless of whether or not she can use her magic to help herself.

Vision ties Wanda’s shoes during her pregnancies and when he’s getting back up he kisses her belly and her lips on the way.

Angst

Wanda has passed out from exhaustion/ dehydration when her morning sickness was especially bad. Vision was really scared when he found her laying on the bathroom/bedroom floor. Everything was ok in the end but she had to spend a couple of days in the hospital getting fluids and making sure the babies were ok. It was the most agonizing time in Vision’s life. He stayed home from missions until Wanda was well again.

Sometimes Wanda and Vision still have really bad nightmares. They get especially bad for both of them when Wanda is pregnant because things are changing and they always feel a bit helpless because they can never be 100% sure that everything is fine in the world. They take a lot of midnight showers and baths and have comfort sex to calm down. A lot of time is spent with their foreheads pressed together to ground them.

Vision has gotten kidnapped on a mission before and it took a week to get him back. He was seriously (not gravely) injured but when he woke up in a hospital bed, Wanda was asleep in a chair next to him with one hand in his and the other on her belly. When he rolled over to get a better view of her face, pain shot through him and he winced, waking Wanda up. She burst into tears and made him promise to always come back to her.

Wanda has also been kidnapped on a mission. Vision asked Pepper to watch the boys (who are a year old at this point) for a couple of days while he and the other Avengers find her. When they break into the facility where she is being held, it looks like she might be gravely injured at first. Her vitals are weak but she’s alive. When he takes her into his arms she groans but curls into him. At the hospital, she wakes up to Vision holding her hands and staring off into space. He almost looks like a broken man and when their eyes meet she can see how scared he was. They cry and kiss and revel in being together.

One time on a mission, they aren’t speaking because they’d been having an argument when they got called to headquarters. They still squeeze each other’s hands on the ride over but they are completely silent. During the fight, one of them goes down and the other is worried the last thing they said to each other was something stupid during a fight. Everyone lives and there’s some crazy hot “I thought I lost you” sex in the shower later but it was really scary.

They are both risk takers and would sacrifice themself to save others. They fight about the other one putting themself in harms way.

Wanda and Vision get very worried when the other is out on missions. When Wanda is pregnant she’s extra worried and waits at headquarters for the Quinjet to land to make sure she can see Vision step off. One time he flew separately for some reason and he saw Wanda sobbing on the landing pad and thought something was wrong with the babies. The other Avenger’s hadn’t gotten the chance to explain when Vision pulled her into his arms.

One time Wanda had to be carried off of the Quinjet and Vision staggered over to her. She gave him a pained but sly smile and teased him through her pain. Everything was ok but she needed him to stop worrying so that she could stop worrying.

Wanda’s hormones make her seriously jealous. Vision is a hot piece of ass and she’s always worrying that someone is going to try and snatch her man away. Or worse, that Vision will find someone better. She gets mad at him because she thinks the pizza delivery guy was flirting with him. He calms her and feeds her pizza and all is well.

Her jealousy has led to full fledged arguments. She demands proof of his fidelity and he is seriously hurt by the accusation and leaves the house for a couple of hours to cool off and have some time alone. She’s terrified that this will be the thing that breaks them even though he means everything to her. When he gets back, she throws herself at him and they have a long discussion about how her jealousy can get out of hand sometimes. He also takes his time explaining how in love with her he is, how there could never be anybody else for him, and makes love to her nice and slow in the shower. And then the bed. And then the bed again.

Cutesy

Wanda and Vision sing to the kiddos during bath time. Vision makes sure to sing to big bird as well when she’s cooking in Wanda’s belly.

Vision says good morning and goodnight to Wanda’s belly during her pregnancies.

In his sleep, Vision still rubs Wanda’s belly and tries to calm the baby if she’s being particularly active.

Wanda is the most adorable thing in the world to Vision. Especially when she is grumpy in the morning with bed head and waddling to the kitchen.

I hope these make you smile :)

PS: can you tell my favorite place for them to have sex is the shower???

These are fabulous and had me smiling the whole way through. Thank you for sharing them. They sound like they're pros at making shower sex super hot and I am here for it!

"Vision is a hot piece of ass" put this on my urn, please.

Ahh I loved these so so much. Again, thank you! I really am so glad to have something fun to read during these long nights of work.

#follower headcanons

7 notes · View notes

aros001 · 4 years ago

Text

Going in blind: Watching season 2 for the first time. Random thoughts.

Huh. Only 7 episodes. Not complaining necessarily. For series with an ongoing plot I've definitely become more in favor with their seasons only having as many episodes as they need rather than them having to stretch themselves out to full up a certain number of episodes, which can lead to padding and just bad character moments.

Episode 1: Jeez. Catra visiting Shadow Weaver's cell just to rub her success in her face and verbally abuse her back for once. It's like a twisted version of Zuko and Ozai from ATLA. Catra's upbringing under her was abusive but this is far from a healthy way for her to deal with it. She's basically deliberately swimming in her resentment.

Episode 2: It's not that I'm rooting for her but by-golly was it fun to watch Catra act like just the absolute worst she could while she was Glimmer and Bow's captive.

I touched on this in season 1 but part of the drama of the heroes feeling guilt over leaving Entrapta behind is kind of lost on me a bit simply because it was her own fault it happened. She deliberately went back into the purge room because of her machine obsession, which then closed on her and erupted in flames. It was more than reasonable to assume she was dead and no one but her was to blame, so I'm not really able to be invested in their guilt over it.

That said, weirdly enough I do like that her "abandonment" doesn't seem to be even a blip on the radar for Entrapta herself. She hasn't joined the horde because she resents the heroes or felt left behind, she simply is so obsessed with machines and experimentation that she'll be on the side of whoever lets her do the most of that. Like, it's selfish and irresponsible but it's very in-character and I'd far rather have a traitor motivation be based in that over something stupid like a misunderstanding.

Episode 3: I love the mental image of Shadow Weaver thinking up princess-themed ghost stories to tell Adora as a child.

So, if the previous She-Ra Mara separated Eternia from the other realms/planets/whatever she did and that's what cut off the She-Ra line for 1000 years, I'm guessing Hordak may be from the time before that happened, thus his drive to create portals and calling Eternia a backwards world. Either he's naturally long-lived or his technology is extending his life.

Episode 4: You know, you could maybe argue it was vague enough that it could be taken other ways but I'm definitely getting some vibes here that Scorpia is crushing on Catra. She literally refers to the two of them as soulmates at one point. I know she says she's trying to be friends but this feels a level beyond that.

Fun little reference to the original She-Ra cartoon thrown in there (and maybe Cowboy Bebop...? James Bond...? What was Glimmer's art style supposed to be?). I like how it is more like just playful ribbing than anything outright dumping on the original. Again, I've never seen original She-Ra but whenever remakes/adaptations go out of their way to trash to the original I always kind of wonder why they bothered doing an adaptation if the original is just that bad? Also, I was having trouble sleeping so it was about 2am when I watched this episode and the very Eartha Kitt Catwoman Catra made it very difficult for me not to lose my **** and stay quiet. With how much of a contrast that version is from the one in this series, that was hilarious. Bonus note, it's a nice touch that Frosta's version of Catra is a pretty crasher in that sweet suit, since that's the only impression of Catra she's ever had.

Adora being a chosen one is definitely elevated up simply by how much the pressure of what she's supposed to be is getting to her. I'm likely going to keep making Avatar The Last Airbender comparisons throughout the series but that's partly because I went into this series figuring it'd be at least structured similar to ATLA (season 1 being more episodic and a little more kid-friendly as it builds up the world before getting more serious later). Adora and Aang are interesting to compare here. Aang's worries early on were less apparent because he was more in-denial/choosing not to think about his problems that much, which fit with his character as a free-spirited Air Nomad. While Adora is much more military-minded. She can't keep herself from thinking about her problems and trying to prepare for the worst-case scenario. And jeez, that idea of who/how Catra is in her mind. Not only beating her but making her watch as she takes everything she cares about away. Not Shadow Weaver, not Lord Hordak, but Catra. That whole Lion King Mufasa/Scar moment between them in episode 11 and their fight in the S1 finale really did a number on her mental image of her old friend. Not reasonably so.

Minor note: I'm sure I'm the only one who got this impression but by the look of it, the way the robot's eye moved, and the music, after getting the soda spilled on it that little spybot gained sentience for half a second and then immediately died. It was so darkly comedic I had to laugh.

Episode 5: So that red disc is basically She-Ra's Red Kryptonite, having an effect on the mind rather than the body. The drunk Adora joke doesn't really do it for me but it did get some nice interactions going between Scorpia and Sea Hawk, two characters I certainly wasn't expecting to bond. I did really like Catra's panic when berserker She-Ra nearly beheads her. The implication is that is Adora really wanted to kill her Catra would already probably be dead. It's a thing I like about powerhouse characters like Superman or Aang, who could just demolish everything around them and don't simply because they're a good person...which in turn makes them the scariest person on the planet when they're well and truly ticked off. I'm not going to lie, I do kind of want to see a She-Ra version of Aang when Appa was stolen or when Superman fought The Elite.

Also, Catra's line of "I have control over Adora. I'm not giving that up for anything.". There's a lot to read into there.

Episode 6: I guess my prediction was sort of right. Shadow Weaver became basically a magic parasite and while it did increase the power she's capable of the implication seems to be that she needs a constant fix of magic to keep herself going, thus her attachment to the Black Garnet.

Have we seen Micah before? Given how long ago the flashback seems set, the fact that Shadow Weaver didn't kill him and thus he probably becomes someone important later in life, I'm guessing he's Glimmer's dad and the queen's late husband, since I think he's the only important male character whose face we haven't seen yet. Also, he's voice by Ezra from Star Wars Rebels and that cracks me up for some reason. It's the exact same voice and a relatively similar character.

I compared Catra and Shadow Weaver with a kind of twisted version of Zuko and Ozai and that definitely still fits here. Both Catra and Zuko confront their parent and call them out for the inexcusable abuse they put them through but while that moment was the start of Zuko's upwards journey this and SW's betrayal seems like it's going to cause Catra to spiral even further. Makes sense why Adora leaving affected her so much. She's probably the only one Catra's ever had that she could consistently trust and rely on, even if she did somewhat resent her.

Not surprised Hordak is getting along with Entrapta. She's not socially aware enough to be scared or intimidated by him, so she'll speak frankly, and since all she wants to talk about is the machines, experiments, and how they could get them to work Hordak probably doesn't take much issue with that. She's producing results, which is what he cares about, thus also why Shadow Weaver and Catra started losing favor with him. I wonder if Catra is going through imposter syndrome? Shadow Weaver had that line that Entrapta earned her place next to Hordak and, if you think about it, Catra hasn't really "earned" anything. We saw that she didn't really take her training or studies that seriously, showing up late to combat practice and even getting partial credit for what Adora beat. She wasn't promoted to Force Captain because of her own abilities but because Adora had defected when she was supposed to get that title. She's come close to a few victories but never really had any except for Glimmer and Bow's kidnapping...whom she then basically let escape when she returned Adora's sword to her. She doesn't have the slightest clue how the horde's bureaucracy works when trying to get things done, like simply getting troops armor. Given how much better than her Adora always was and how little she herself has to her name, I wonder is subconsciously Catra believes she doesn't deserve her current position and thus why she's fretting so much over trying to prove herself.

Episode 7: Am I mistaken or did Bow's parents say that he's the youngest of TWELVE siblings? I was going to ask whether Bow was adopted or if his dad's used a surrogate or if maybe there's even just simply magic in She-Ra's world that allows two people of the same sex to have a child together but now I'm just focused on the 12 kids thing. I get nervous just imagining myself having more than one. You should see me when I'm with two cats. I have to pet both of them because I'd feel like I'd be making one feel left out and like the other is the favorite. I'm a mess with kids.

The dad with dreadlocks (Lance?), his design looked familiar to me and I finally realized it reminded me a of a fanart design for a human Grim from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. Very different voices between those two characters though.

I wonder if there's any significance to the robot protecting the crystal having the same design as those in the artic in episode 5? Obviously both have the connection to the First Ones but the robot in the forest who was also protecting First Ones' tech had a more insect-like design over these more worm/Graboid ones.

I'm kind of curious what Hordak would have done if Catra had told the truth. Given his interactions with her and Shadow Weaver he doesn't seem like the time to tolerate failure but I suppose the implication here is that he at least would respect those who own up to their failures. Or I suppose more simply he was just testing to see if she would lie to him and since she did there's little merit in keeping her in a position of authority anymore where she could lie about important things again.

Season 2 verdict: Still enjoying it. Another person on this reddit recommended I view seasons 2 and 3 as one since they are basically just one season split in two. I was going to do that but this ended up longer than I thought I would, so I'll just do 2 and 3 separate to keep them semi-organized and easier to read.

I think overall Catra is my favorite character since she has the most interesting backstory, interactions, and just general path through the story out of everyone. She's like Pearl from Steven Universe or, well, Zuko. There's just so much baggage there that she's trying and kind of failing to deal with. I'm always invested in whatever's happening when she's onscreen. Hordak so far is a good big boss villain for Adora to face but Catra is a good archenemy for her.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PrincessesOfPower/comments/o027y3/going_in_blind_watching_season_2_for_the_first/

#she ra #she ra spop #random thoughts #reddit repost

6 notes · View notes

rungalwaysheretolisten · 4 years ago

Text

Armada Review episode 9-13

I am putting the read more so that you do not have to read all of this if you do not want to. This is a review for episodes 9-13 season 1 and again, a reminder, these are my thoughts, if you don’t agree with what I have to say that fine but please respect my thought and opinions on what I think about the serious.

Okay so we at the end of this season which mean will be going into season 2 and oh boy I am hipped because that things started to fall into place and kinda where I watch the serious more. But where not here to talk about season 2 and we not here to talk about season 1 as a whole, that in another post which here is the link if you want to read the summer of my review for the whole season as a whole and what I think was good, what need to be fix and what things really made it good or bad.

Anyway, so here the review for 9-13 starting with.

season 1 episode 9 Confrontation:

Okay, so this is the episode that come back from a previous episode of which was call Carnival, and if you read my review on that episode that was the episode that was just not a good episode in my opinion. So you think I would hate this episode too. No, it not that bad and in fact it make more of a point of why that episode was pointless. So it pick up with the bullies Billy and Fred, talking about seeing the Autobots and them talking about how they might be evil or not good, and them saying some thing about them being from the future. Which just made me laugh and insert joke here:

I know I’m a nerd.

But it was mostly them talking about what happen and how no one, saw anything that day. Even thought I call bull shit on that, but still the bullies see are young main children hero heading to the Autobot base and try to follow them, before all of the kids are confuted with Cyclonus, who kidnaps the the bullies, which turn make the Autobot have to go and get them, they ask for the min cons they say no, they fight. Which end up with the other main kids and bullies getting taken hoisted by Megatron, which in turn force them to have to give up there min cons to save the kids, however Rad is able to use Laserbake to shock Megatron into drop the other kids expect himself, which then Fred, fight back with Laserbeak and even ask Megatron min con why they can’t be friends which stunts him because I guess he never thought about that? And then it end with Hotshot kick Fred out of Megatron hand saving him and having the Depections retreat. Fred and Billy are welcome into the team, even thought they are later not show in this season expect till the last of this season episode 13 Swoop.

So overall this episode has some pro and cons to it. The pros, I like that they show that this kid can get kidnap by the Depections and that even thought technically Fred and Billy are not on the Autobot team or with the other kids Optimus still calls them his kids and want to project them and the Autobots care about them too. I also thought it was interesting about Fred talking to the Megatron min con not only is that brave to do but this could have gone into a very interesting scenario, does the min con really follow Megatron because it wants too or does it do it out of fear, which you could say he does do it out of fear but he almost seem like he could have made a choose to not listen to Megatron.

Which if they had gone that route, rather then having Fred get upset and leave, I think it would have been interesting to see what Megatron does and how he act to a min con not listening or obeying him. He already wanting more power and to control the min con, to just have one not obey him, would have show us that the min con have in fact choose and even could have show what Megatron would do to a min con who didn’t listen to him. They could have even gotten dark and crush the min con and that would have made interesting impact to the serious.

However, they didn’t do that but if they had, I think it would be just amazing to see them dare to do something like that to a min con during the first season. I mean we do see him later in this season forcing a min con to wake up, but to see him kill one would just be interesting.

So the cons, this episode had too many back and for, kids are kidnap, then they are not, and then they are again. They don’t fight for every long and I feel like the other kids were a little to mean to Fred and Billy in the began when Alexia ask if they were going to join them and they laugh it off as if they are not important. I am summing they are for jokes. But honestly, I think if any character should be treat with more repeat it Fred, he always the butt of the joke about bring fat but he really has a good heart and I just feel bad that he treat so wrong. Maybe that why I somewhat like this episode but at the same time didn’t think this is one you need to see. The only reason to see it would be because you would need to know why Fred and Billy are know part of the Autobot team. Other then that it an episode you could skip.

The next episode however, oh boy here we go!!

Season 1 Episode 10 Underground:

Oh my god, this was the episode that I love the most only because of one reason and one reason only. It gave us Smokescreen!!

No, no, not that Smokescreen, that from Prime.

Yes!! This beautiful old guy that I like to call grandpa of the team and you can not tell me otherwise. That what he is to me and always will be! He is the wonderful commandment of Kup and Ratchet or any older mech from the transformers serious and I just love him so much!

But I getting off track, so this episode is about there being a min con in the city subway, the Autobot, children and Depiction are looking for the min con down in the subways. The children fine the min con on their own, are attacked by the min con that the Depiction told to search by themself because they can’t really transformer down in the subway like the Autobots can.

The children run from the min con and some mysterious robot, that they children think it might be a Depiction when it only are good old friend Smokescreen who come to save the children from the Depiction who tried to kill them to get the min con, which cause them to get buried by rocks, Cyclonus get his first min con which is somewhat strong but isn’t really that as strong as Starscream. They retried and the Autobot go to save the kids only to see there good old friend Smokesceen has project the children and has finally reunited with the Autobot after he got separated from them when they first when to come down to earth and is know part of the Autobot team!

This episode start off a bit slow but it is worth it at the end to fine out that we get a new Autobot join the team, and this is where the serious become really inserting because of reason I will later talk about in other season to come as why this become inserting and make the show really good.

For know Smokesceen off the bat, has this old man, won’t take shit from anyone, and is a really close friend to everyone, he also a very good fighter and I just love his voice, it the type of voice that sound very kick ass old man voice that you get from a lot of characters in show. It just a good voice that fix the character so well. I just loved how he fight with his hook and he just is overall a good interaction to talk about other Autobot past as well as being helpful for in the next episodes with fighting the Depiction because they are know out number with this new addition to the team. So I do recommend this episode just because it bring in a very cool and wonderful character to the mix!

The next episode is season 1 episode 11 Ruin

This episode was really interesting and began to bring up a lot of question which I loved so much!

So the Autobots get this messaged from a hologram of a girl from a ancient city that has sank along time ago. They messaged at the began is asking for help, they go down to the city and are right way having to fight the Depection while Optimus who has the children, get shot at and has to quickly bring them into the city before he leave to fight the Depection while the chidren have to go into the city because they have to look for the min con. While they are there, they fine out the truth of why their city was sank to the ground and discover a truth about how powerful the min con are especially the min cons that form the Star Saber and how dangerous it is for them to be in the wrong hands.

The Depection get one of the min con that forms the Star Saber and The city falls and get distorted and leave Carlos heart broken about not being able to save the pretty hologram girl who he was very much wanting to save her image and help her from being erased, which then Rad comforts him and tell him that he might see her again some day.

So, first I just want to point out this, I was looking at the wiki for Carlos and the first thing it has on there for an instruction to him is this:

If you having a hard time reading it, I’ll just get you to the point you to the words that is very cringe and focus on this pacific episode. “Fantasizes about holographic dead girls” no joke, that is what it say!

It blow my mind that is the instruction to Carlos in the wiki has for poor Carlos and I want to defined him on this because this is a bad instruction to a character that isn’t really that bad. First it is only one girl not girls! He not think about hologram girl all the time, just one.

Second Carlos, just is a kind and caring person who just wanted to keep her image alive. He wasn’t fantasying about her because he thought she was beautiful, even thought she is and he did like her look. I think there was more to it then just that. He wanted to save her from being erase and forgot by time. He wanted to make her last moments not so sad and painful, even if she not real and is only a hologram. Yes, this serious can be corny and silly, but Carlos, just care about her and want to saver her that it.

Other then that this episode was good, and it help bring around the idea about maybe no one should be controlling the min cons and that there might be more to the story then what the children or audience know. We can’t just assume that what the Autobot are doing better then what the Depection are doing. Yes, they wear the end and purple badges but there more to it then just that and this episode and the next one, it wonderful bring that up and make you question what they are doing.

With that said in the next episode Season 1 episode 12 Prehistory

In this episode Rad start question the Autobot about why they need the min cons. He ask why they can’t just stop fighting and why do the Autobot get to make the choose and not the min cons. Which then Optimus Prime, start talking about the history of their war, about foreshadowing a big mystery about the min cons that they just came out of the blue and that they where very strong and where stared to be use by the Depections and other to fight in the war. He talk about sending them away, and later in the show, they another signal for a min con which is most like the Star Saber that has been foreshadowing for some time again and they go to get it off of an amusement park that as a volcano that is active and is going off. The Depection and Autobot start fight, the children hide with the autobot min cons, until the see the min con in the volcano and the min cons that are working with the Autobot finally start help and make the Rad see that the min cons do in fact have a choose to fight with the Autobot or not.

After a while they are able to get the min con and finally are able to convents the children to keep believing in them and trusting what they are doing is right.

This episode brought a lot of question and also made me think about things. On one hand, yes what the Autobot are doing is right, they trying to save the min cons from going into the wrong hands, but also at the same time the problem raise with them want to use them to project them, and yes, the min cons that are working with the Autobots do want to help but it does set up a lot of question if what they are doing is right and if when everything is over, will thing be change or will they turn on the min cons.

It really make you think with both of these episode together about if the Autobots are really good or not, and why they are still fight for so long before the min cons came into being, they say the Deceptions were righting to gain power, but because I have read mtmte and other comics it make me think that maybe Optimus is somewhat make the story a bit more different then it really is, honestly I think the Depections want to be treat equality and the Autbots didn’t want that again we don’t get the side of the story from the Depections and even if we did we wouldn’t be sure if we could turn Megatron to tell the story correctly or not, maybe Starscream would but it bring up a question about trust in story and what other say. This episode is really intresting and I love to know what you think, do you think Optimus might have been elaborating the story a bit or do you think he was being honest?

Finally we get to the last episode of the season and the one of most turning point of the serious.

Season 1 episode 13 Swoop

In this episode the Depection figure out a way to brake into the base and try to steal the two min cons that make the Star Saber, the Autobot try to project them with there base, meanwhile Fred and Billy get caught up in all of this when there being show around which cause the Autobots to lower there defeats because they have to project the kids from getting hurt, the other Alexia, Carros and Rad go to save Fred and Billy from getting hurt and are even able to trick Cyclonus in a very claver way. Which then the Autobot have to face off with each Depection to get them either trap, hurt or even both, to keep them from getting the min cons.

However, Megatron is able to make them form into the Star Saber but luckily Hotshot is able to not only use the min cons but also us it to damaged Megatron a little bit before he retires and the Autobot know have the powerful Star saber which is given to Hotshot to use to fight the Depections. Megatron scream that he will get them next time you know team rocket style and that is the end of the season!!

So with this episode how did I feel well.

It was okay! It wasn’t as good as the other once before it, but for the finally, it was a good episode to end on. It show the Autbots how they would handle if the Depections did brake into their base. How each one use there strangest and teamwork to keep everyone safe. Even the kids thought of a great idea that was very good way to get ride one of the Depections. Optimus and Megatron had a good fight and I thought it was great that Optimus didn’t get the Star Saber and Hotshot was the one to use it because he was able to use his skill and the in encouraging of the kids to fight Megatron. I also thought it was so cool to see Megatron antler be cut off like that showing how strong that sword is and how embarrassing that has to be get his ass kick not by Optimus but by young Hotshot. So overall this is a good episode to end the serious and wrap up everything nice for the most part and really hypes you up for the next season.

So, I do recommend this episodes the biggest one I think not to miss are the episode 10-13 just because they bring the whole serious together and it just a lot of fun. The animation is good in this episode too, even thought there are some funny moment with the animation but mostly there really well draw and the music is good too. Overall yeah, I say go watch this episode sometime soon because there worth watch them and I had a lot of fun rewatching this episode. It brought me back to my childhood and why I love Transformers so much.

#rung mun is talking again #Review on Transformers Armada by Rung mun #Transfomers Armada #Optimus #Hotshot #Red Altert #Min cons #Starscream #Megatron #smokescreen #Cyclonus #Demolisher

11 notes · View notes

jadynrosetta · 5 years ago

Text

Okay so I may have caught COVID (not sure I’m going to the doctor tomorrow) so to occupy my time I got a prime account and decided to FINALLY watch Promare.

This movie has been on my Watch List since I first heard of it, which was before 2020 started. I just never got around to it, till I realized I was going to be stuck in my room to avoid people :(

So I watched it... twice. I probably will watch it again cause it’s the only movie I bought and I am not buying anything else. So here’s a little review and my thoughts about the movie. (Spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen it)

So the plot I thought was very interesting. For those who don’t know, the story starts with introducing “The Burnish”, a group of people who can create and control flames. These people seemed to come out of nowhere and it started a whole movement for Burnish rights and it caused a lot of problems for society. It ended, but The Burnish were labled as terrorists and do not have the same rights as humans. (Harsh)

Our main character is a part of a group called the Burning Rescue. Which is a group of fire fighters that deal with emergancy flames caused by The Burnish.

The team includes: Lucia, Varys, Remi, Aina, Ignis the leader, and Galo Thymos.

Now as I said, this himbo (Galo) is the main protagonist. He’s a rookie in the Burning Rescue, and has a “Firey Spirit”. He always goes off on some random speech and enjoys his job being a fire fighter and takes pride in saving people. He keeps this mindset and energy throughout the whole movie.

He gets sent up a building to save people on the roof and meets a terrorist group called the Mad Burnish. There aren’t many of them out now, but the top generals and the leader are still at large.

(This was the first and only image I saw from this movie and I was so confused I had to see it... months later)

After a tense fight with the generals (Both noting that Galo is an idiot) he defeats them and takes on their leader. The leader isn’t so easy to defeat, not backing down easily and even pinning Galo, but ultimetly he was taken down by the whole Burning Rescue squad. Their leader is actually a very small young man who goes by the name of Lio Fotia.

(I specifically wanted this scene so I looked hard for it)

Lio, who was mistaken for a child, is shown to be one of the strongest Burnish alive and takes pride in it. Wanting nothing but rights for his people and will never stop fighting for that.

He’s actually a good foil to Galo for many reasons and why I like them being the protagonists for the story. Galo is loud, over the top, and loves to show off his skills. While Lio is more on the quiet side, and doesn’t really show off, more on the reserved side.

But the two are very alike. Both feel the need to protect their people (Galo with humans and Lio with Burnish), but they don’t hate the other. Galo wants Burnish rights while Lio vows to never kill humans. They also share a god damn brain cell and 90% of the time neither of them have it.

So yeah, Galo gets a medal from his hero, Governer Kray, impressive prison break and all that. We cut to Galo and Aina having a moment, which Galo realizes the Burnish had escaped prison. He finds them in a cave and thus we learn more about the Burnish from their very leader, Lio, who remembers Galo, but Galo forgot him.

(Fire go pew)

Lio explains to Galo that the Burnish are people too, even showing how disgusted he is by Galo thinking otherwise (some very racist viewpoints). There Galo witnesses the death of a Burnish, turning her to ash. Lio explains to Galo that the Burnish can hear the flames, they speak to them, wanting to burn more. He also learns that his hero, Kray, was using the Burnish for human experiments, and calls Galo an idiot and to believe what he wants. Then the Burnish run away and leave Galo tied up...

Galo’s whole view changes on the Burnish and see that Kray is conducting human experiments on the Burnish, even though they’re people like them. The reason being that the Earth is gonna become a dead planet and everything is going to shit. So Kray is going to take 10,000 humans to another planet and use the Burnish as fuel. (Fucked up).

Galo goes against this and gets arrested. Meanwhile Lio and the other Burnish are found and taken as fuel, but Lio’s loyal generals get him to safety (much to Lio’s disagreement).

Lio goes into a full on rage and uses his full power to attack the city and Kray. Telling him to free the Burnish, or watch the city burn.

He takes the form of a dragon and damn near destroys the whole city. He almost succeeds too, getting to Kray. But of course Galo cuts in and fights Lio in an effort to calm him down. Aina decides to drop them off by the frozen lake to “cool off” and discover a lab under all the ice.

They meet Professor Deus, the man responsible for all the cooling gear. He wanted to help the Burnish, but was killed by Kray for disagreeing with him and his viewpoints. Deus, who is now a living computer, tells Galo, Lio, and Aina about the “Promare”, A group of aliens from another dimension who connected with a human, Burnish. However the Promare feel what their human host feels, even extreme pain. If Kray’s plan succeeds, then the Earth is gonna blow up due to all the pain the Promare feel.

It’s up to Galo and Lio to stop Kray from his evil plans (cause they happened to be there) by piloting the Deus X Machina. Later on the suit gets a name change, Lio de Galon.

A suit powered by a firefighter and a Burnish. Both Galo and Lio work together to stop Kray. Along with their allies they succeed in stopping the ship, but Kray was not finished. He reveals himself to also be a Burnish, and kidnaps Lio, saying he was going to be the new core to the ship. He then attacks Galo and sends him flying in flames. But Galo was saved last minute by Lio’s flames, and now he plans to save Lio, with the help of his team, and goes into the core to save his new friend.

He makes it, stopping the ship a second time, and sees Lio is dying, turning to ash right before him. Kray was ready to fight, but could not harm Galo due to Lio’s flame. Galo punches Kray and says he’s gonna save Lio, stop the magma, and even save him. Then we get the scene. The scene.

The “Kiss of Life” some like to call it, or just CPR. Either way, it’s a pretty romantic scene. Galo brings Lio to life and the two have a new plan. Save the Earth. Lio says the Promare want to burn out, so with the help of Galo, and all the Burnish, they create Galo de Lion

This behemoth of a mech saves the Earth and everyone on it. As well as burning out the Promare, sending them home. The movie ends with everyone being okay and the end of the Burnish. Thus the next plan, to clean up the mess they all made. The End

Longer than I thought, sorry... So what’s my thoughts?

Well let’s start with the animation. It was done by Trigger (if it wasn’t obvious just by looking at it), and they go ALL out on it. Everything is stylized and looks gorgeous. The colors just pop out at you, nothing in this movie looks dull. Action scenes are very fast pace and intense, and their calmer moments are beautiful and let you relax with the gorgeous scenery, everything is gorgeous in the movie.

The characers are pretty good, one complaint is that we don’t get to know some of them well, like some of the Burning Rescue. We only get to know Aina out of the Burning Rescue team. Plus a few other side characters, like the two Generals, Meis and Gueira, don’t get enough screentime, but I guess they weren’t the focus.

Galo and Lio, again, were really good main characters, who play off each other well. They both open each other’s eyes and see things in a different light, especially Lio who showed Galo what the Burnish are really like. They do tend to argue and seem to disagree, but they are an amazing team. We see that when they pilot Lio de Galon and together create Galo de Lion. I do believe they fell for one another in the end, but I cannot say it’s canon since I don’t know for sure.

Voice acting was also great. I watched it dub, don’t kill me, and I actually think the dub was better than the sub, and this is coming from someone who watches subs more and is very biased. Billy Kametz played Galo well, just giving off so much energy and really selling his performance. I’ve heard people not liking Johnny Yong Bosch playing Lio, but he was perfect for the role. Enough sass and emotion for Lio, I don’t think anyone could have done it better. Everyone else did a great job as well, Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld as Aina, Crispin Freeman as Kray, and Steven Blum as Ignis. Just... everyone did amazing.

Do I need to say anything about the soundtrack? It’s beautiful and I love every song in this movie, I am listening to is as I type this review. From upbeat songs like Inferno, to the saddest like Ashes. Each song that plays puts the whole scene together, music makes the scene after all. Gallant Ones is the most memorable example (plays during the scene) and it really sets the mood on how the characters feel about one another. Ashes is really good in my opinion since it plays during the death of a Burnish. But they all are good, if you haven’t seen the movie and don’t plan on watching it, go listen to the soundtrack, it’s worth it.

Overall I adore this movie, it’s over the top and super entertaining, keeping my attention the whole time. It has helped me relax during this pretty scary time for me ^^; I highly recommend this movie. It’s got way too many good points that I dare say it’s one of my favorites. It sold me on the plot and I stayed for the great and entertaining characters. If you haven’t seen it (which I would be surprised) then go check it out. If you want to see the sub then it’s on Youtube, but if I sold you on the dub then it’s on Amazon Prime, (you’ll have to pay for both and I’m too lazy to find it for free).

That’s all, thanks for reading my overly long review of this movie.

44 notes · View notes

mirkwoodshewolf · 5 years ago

Text

Caring for Zero; Four/Billy x reader

*Author’s note*

Wow so many updates for you guys (even though the last two have been done for years) but still. Now ever since watching 6 underground like all of you out there I have been DYING to make a Four/Billy fanfic and so this was born. Now I apologize for the laziness in the main mission idk how to write an action sequence Michael Bay style (even though it’s all action and explosions and that’s it). So I hope you all can forgive me for it.

Warnings: MAJOR swearing, like rated R swearing, ANGST, some fluff, paralysis (you’ll find out I won’t spoil it for you), explosions, cultural references.

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@psychosupernatural

@waddles03

@ixchel-9275

@mexifangorl

@fan-of-everything-and-nothing

@bohemiansweede

@simonedk

_______________________________________________________________

“But the entire perimeter is patrolled not only by guards but by air fleets.” Said Three as the entire 6 Underground was looking over the map of their next missions, well mission and a half, maybe a quarter.

“Wait an air fleet? Why the fuck would someone have an air fleet patrol?” Four snapped.

“Because the guy’s an arrogant, cheap asshole that has cause too much military abuse of power. But no worries guys we’ve got an Ace up our sleeve.” One stated proudly.

“And just who is that exactly?” asked Seven.

“To answer that question with a question of my own, how do some of you deal with the cold?”

“Wait you don’t mean….” Started Five.

“Oh I mean.” One grinned.

“You know she won’t do it.” Two stated coldly.

“I agree with Two on this One, she said she never wanted a part of this again.” Four said defensively.

“Coming from the guy that slept with her.” One snapped at him like the smartass billionaire he was.

“Okay wait, wait just who are you all talking about?” asked Seven.

“No more questions, we’re going to see her now. Pack the gas jugs and let’s go.”

With that the group were forced to packed up their stuff from their haunted house in California and headed up North to the Yukon Alaskan provenience. When all they saw was nothing but forests, Seven just had to ask Four.

“So who exactly are we going to see? And did One really mean what he said about you slept with her?”

“Look you’ll find out soon but I guarantee she’s not gonna help us.” Four spoke with a hint of pain and heartbreak in his voice. Eventually after another hour of driving through the endless forest, they soon came up to a cabin that stood all alone in the middle of the woods.

From the chimney smoke came up which indicated that someone was home.

“And here we are.” One stated as he got out of the jeep in front. Suddenly jumping out from the woods was a pack of wolves. All ranging from light tan color to pure black.

“Oh shit!” Three cried out.

“In the cars now!” screamed Two. But before they could make a run for it, two charcoal wolves came in front of the team snarling and snapping their fangs almost telling them ‘Just try and get past us!’

Soon the pack of almost over 10 wolves surrounded the team and just circled them. All the team members withdrew their guns but it did nothing to stir the wolves out of fear. The pack continued to circle the group and that’s when Five said.

“Still think this is a good idea One?”

“Well I could be wrong.”

It was then one of the wolves, particularly the large white one came right up to Four. To say that Billy wasn’t scared shitless right now, he’d be lying. He’s done many dangerous things in his life being the ‘Skywalker’ of the group, but staring down a possibly rabid, giant wolf was something he NEVER in a million years thought he’d be doing.

The white wolf looked at Billy and sniffed him a couple of times before ceasing his snarling and walked closer to him and sniffed his leg even closer. It was like—the wolf detected something familiar on him. It was a faint scent but it still lingered there on his pant leg.

Then something caught the wolves attention as every single one of them ceased snarling and their ears erected as they turned towards the house. The white wolf looked back towards Billy and Billy looked down at the haunting golden eyes of the black wolf before it took off running. Followed by the rest of the pack who barked and howled away as they disappeared back into the forest.

“Okay what just……” started Seven and that’s when a voice came out from the speakers of the cabin.

“You’re lucky I let them spare you, otherwise I’d let them rip you all apart.” With that the team slowly approached the cabin and when One was the first to look inside, he saw just a few feet away a young woman with (h/l) (h/c) doing pullups on a set of monkey bars.

“Sarah Connor, from Terminator 2.” One proclaimed. The woman then flipped herself around and just hung onto the bars and sneered.

“Fuck you’re old!” At that One just let out a fake gasped-out laugh as he mocked her.

“Fake laugh, hiding real pain.”

*My POV*

I can’t believe this guys would come back, and what’s with the new guy? Where was six? I swear if this is the new six I’ll call my children back and have him ripped to pieces.

“Whose this guy?” I asked gesturing to the gunman still holding the AK-47 in his hands.

“This is Seven.” One simply stated.

“It’s Blaine actually.” Seven or should I say Blaine answered.

“Okay I’m still not gonna get used to that. Yeah a lot’s happened since you left.” One told me.

“So what? You’re now all chummy with each other? Going to café’s together to sit on a couch like you’re a group of Friends?”

“Yep that’s our Queen of the North, heart like Ice. This past two years have not done you well socially.” Said Three.

“Like you’re one to talk Three. Our last mission in Budapest you nearly killed our target just because he wouldn’t cooperate with the kidnapping.”

“Oh and he did it again with our real mission.” Said Two.

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” I muttered.

“Look we came to ask for your help. Can you come with us?”

“Why would you need me One? I told you I can’t help you. Not in that way anymore.”

“You can’t or you won’t?” asked Blaine. At that point I knew I had to show him. Might as well get it over with. I released my right hand and touched my watch with my nose and soon my automatic wheel chair came rolling under me. I released my grip and landed right on my wheelchair and just stared at Blain like I was expecting the sympathetic eyes.

And there they were. His eyes widened and his jaw unclenched and dropped even though his mouth remained closed.

“Yeah, you can take a picture it’ll fuckin last longer you know.” I then took the motor handle and moved my chair towards One. “And as I told you before, I won’t help you. I know the only reason you would come up here in person, with the whole team for that matter, is because you physically need me.”

“C’mon Zero we need our Ace back. For the new mission. It’s right up your alley and you know military corruption like no one else.”

“True but that still won’t make me help you.”

“(Y/n),” I heard Billy’s voice say. I looked up at him and he looked at me with those kicked puppy dog eyes of his. “We need you.”

“You don’t need me. None of you do. Now please leave my cabin. I’ll give you the weapons you’ll need by tomorrow.” I wheeled out of my cabin and headed out to the backyard.

I looked out into the lake that stood by my backyard and that’s when I heard his voice say.

“(Y/n)—”

“I already told you Billy nothing you say will make me change my mind!”

“I already knew that.” I turned and looked at him and said.

“You do?” he nodded. “Then why are you here?”

“I just—wanted to see you. It’s been…..awhile.”

“Yeah, a long time since we—we’ve seen each other.” God the awkwardness you could just cut the tension with a knife. Why did I have to fall in love with the cute green eyed thief? Why?! WHY!?

“Can’t we talk about….what happened between us?”

“Billy we talked about this.”

“No you just decided that we should end it! Why couldn’t you give me a chance to speak about how I felt!?”

“BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT YOUR FUCKING SYMPATHY BILLY!!! Every day all I kept seeing was the look of sympathy in your eyes after that day. I knew you’d try to make me stay out of sympathy, not just for what you wanted. One knew I was practically useless except for building weapons. He wants all of us on the field or none at all. Cause if you aren’t, then you’re nothing but collateral damage.”

“He’s actually started to loosen up on the rules.”

“Oh really? The day I see that is the day I can walk again, and without the help of machines.”

“(Y/n), please.” He then kneeled down beside me and gently cupped my face in his hand. I tried to fight back his touch but I couldn’t help but swoon at finally feeling that calloused touch that I’ve missed so much. “I’m sorry okay. I never wanted you to think I was acting out of sympathy, I was—you don’t know how hard it was for me to see you in that pain. I’d give anything for it to have been me in that crash instead of you. I thought I lost you that day, but in the end I did end up losing you. I’d give anything to go back in time to that day and stop you from getting in that plane.”

As he spoke, he pressed his forehead to mine (a common form of affection the two of us did to each other) his nose gently brushing against mine. I then felt the familiar, intoxicating taste of his lips on mine. It was a brief kiss but it still held so much love, passion and regret behind it. He then kissed my cheek, then my jaw, but just before he could kiss my neck I stopped him and rolled away snapping out.

“NO BILLY! Don’t! You can’t just—kiss me and expect everything to be okay! I already told you…..it’s over. So please don’t make this harder than it has to be.” His eyes were full of pain as he looked at me in shock.

“As you wish.” Damnit why say that? He knew that was our secret code for ‘I love you’. And with that he just walked away. I sniffled and wiped the tears that were starting to form in my eyes away. I then heard a soft grunt at my side and there I saw my white wolf mixed German shepherd “Ghost” standing beside me.

He whimpered and sniffed my hand and licked it comfortingly before placing his head down on my lap. All the while he let out another whimper as he looked up at me with those haunting yet beautiful golden eyes.

“Oh Ghost.” I stroked through his thick white fur and I told him. “I know you smelled me on him. But I can’t go back to him. He—deserves better than a handicapped.”

“So you do still care about him?” we both turned around, Ghost snarling defensively as we turned and saw Blain standing behind us just a few feet away.

“Ghost Platz!” He turned toward me and using his former commands that he once learned as a K9 officer, he obeyed immediately.

“You taught a wolf K9 commands?” asked Blaine.

“He’s a wolfdog actually. All those dogs you saw were in some degree a species of wolf dogs. From mixed huskies or German shepherds like Ghost here, to the traditional Czech wolfdogs.”

“So what you just—rescued them?”

“Some. Others I found as puppies at the puppy mill just half an hour away from here. I found them, busted them out and raised them. But of course I kept my distance because of the wolf blood within them. What people don’t seem to understand with wolfdogs is that they are just dogs that look like wolves. But they are also half wolf too, and sometimes that trumps the dog half within them. Two different species colliding together trying to overcome till one just takes over whether dog or wolf. And when the wolf takes over, people reject it. Fear it.”

“You say that like you’re talking from experience.” I grinned.

“You could say that. My team didn’t call me ‘Bad Wolf’ for nothing.”

“You mean the others?”

“No. My old team, my flying team. Before I got this job I—was an officer in the US Air Force. Officer (Y/n) “Bad Wolf” (L/n).”

“Wait. I think I heard about you from a former friend of mine. Carol Larson.”

“Ahh good old Carol. How was she last time you ever saw her?”

“She seemed fine. Last I knew she was gonna have a baby.”

“Ahh my older sista from another mista. That girl taught me everything I needed to know. I became the female Maverick thanks to her.”

“Now I hope you don’t mind me asking but from one Military officer to the other, was it a field mission that—”

“Oh no this? Nah this was from working with those sons of bitches you’ve got roped in with. Can’t say I blame them, hell none of us saw it coming.”

“What exactly happened?” I sighed heavily and turned towards him. Sensing my distress and anxiety, Ghost came up to me and placed his head back on my lap and I explained.

“It was while we were still looking for information on the Turgistan dictator. One of our quarter missions. I was the eye in the sky for the team to take out any in coming police choppers or dick face’s military birds. I was having the time of my life, taking down one bird after the next. I was on point, before I knew it I had a bandit at my six. I tried to shake it off but it wouldn’t get off, nothing I did deterred it. Next thing I knew I was flying dead stick.”

I lowered my head remembering that horrible day like it was yesterday. It’s true what they say about PTSD. It never leaves you, even when you’re no longer part of the military.

“As you know One was gonna leave me out there, the entire plane was leaking of fluid and gas. It was gonna blow, but—for some miracle Billy managed to find me and he—pulled me out of the wreckage just as the plane blew up. Next thing I knew when I woke up, I couldn’t feel my legs anymore. At first I thought Five had to amputate my legs. Then again I wish she had.” I chuckled icily. “L3-L4 spinal injury, been paralyzed from the waist down for the past two years.”

“But you should be thankful that you’re alive.” Said Blaine.

“Is it really worth living when you have to look down at your feet and be reminded that they are useless. Like I said, I wish Five had amputated them. So that way I wouldn’t have to fucking look down at these useless mother fuckers and be reminded of my screw up! And Billy he—”

“Deserved better. Yeah I heard that, but did it ever occur to you that he would rather want you alive than to see you dead that day? On the way up here he just got this heartbroken look in his eyes. And I know he tries to hide it but I’ve seen the picture of you two together in his trailer.”

“Oh my god I thought I told him to burn that picture.”

“Billy loves you (y/n). And he still seems to.”

“I wish he didn’t.”

“Why is that?”

“Because after my accident I can’t give him what we once had. I’m just dead weight to him at this point. A Zero. And nobody cares about Zero.”

“He does. But then again I guess that is you. So if you wanna sit here in self-pity licking your wounds, that’s fine by me. But if you’re as good as One says you are, then prove that not even losing the ability to walk can’t stop you.”

“You know you speak as if this is from experience yourself. What branch were you from soldier?”

“Army. Delta Force.”

“Huh, and just what were you to them?”

“Sniper.”

“Ohh well look whose special. Got a Hawkeye on the team now.” Blaine grinned softly.

“Yeah. Survivor’s guilt is a bitch so I know about military corruption too. What it’s like for you to try and do your own thing but your superiors won’t do that. So if you can find it in your heart to save those soldiers under Hassan’s ruling from making the biggest mistake of their lives, then come with us. Or like I said just sit here and wallow like a wounded dog. Your choice Officer (l/n).” he saluted me before walking off.

*3rd Person POV*

After the failed attempt at getting their Ace back, Two asked as they arrived back at the cars.

“So now what? We knew she wouldn’t help us, so what do we do now?”

“We still stick with the plan and hopefully those weapons she gives us tomorrow won’t fuck us over.” One stated as he got back in the front car. As Billy and Blaine got in the second car, Blaine couldn’t help but notice the heartbroken expression on his face.

“She’ll come around.”

“I doubt it. Two years and she still doesn’t want to see me.”

“Every soldier goes through grief differently. But when she snaps out of it, she’ll be back, and she’ll need you when she does.” He gave Billy a brotherly pat on the shoulder as Five drove them out of (y/n) home and they drove all the way back to their home base.

The next day the weapons arrived from (y/n) and so the team decided to go on and move forward with the mission so they were on their way to Iran through one of One’s personal jets.

After awhile they arrived just a few miles away from where their target, Iranian military General Hassan Yazin was currently residing in his home palace just behind the Iranian military station.

“I still can’t believe this guy would choose the build his palace behind a military station.” Said Three.

“Look the quicker we’re in the quicker we’re out.” Snapped Four.

“I don’t know something doesn’t feel right here, usually a military base wouldn’t allow anything not even a jet to land within 100 miles of their base perimeter. So how were we able to get close enough?” asked Seven.

“I don’t know, but I prefer not to question it. Four’s right the sooner we get him, the sooner this mission is done. And I don’t want any fuck ups like what happened on our first mission.” One said.

“Okay fine, fine.” And with that the team moved forward. Quick as they could they raced towards the base towards the first hiding spot they could find which was a tank.

“Alright I think I can make it to the east side of the tower and get a clear viewing of Hassan’s palace but I’ll need backup.” Seven said.

“Three and I got you covered till you clear it.” Two told him.

“You know I’m beginning to agree with Seven. I mean we haven’t even seen a single guard on patrol. And usually we run into some by now.” Said Five.

“Again not questioning it! Now get into your positions.” At that point the team started to move forward. Seven raced towards the tower with Two and Three covering him in case of an ambush. Once they cleared the tower, Seven proceeded to scale up the tower thanks to the tools designed by Zero.

But just as he was about halfway up the tower, suddenly the sound of a jet flew right over head. However it wasn’t just any jet or plane for that matter, it was a C-5 Super Galaxy.

“Ahh shit!” Seven swore.

“Motherfucker!” swore One.

‘Did you all really think I would make it easy for you?’ through the speaker’s Hassan’s voice rang out.

“Shit, he knew we were coming for him.” Two snapped.

‘Now I may not know who you six are exactly, but it seems you all are of unimportance. So your death wouldn’t even matter. Especially if it were from shall we say…..an accidental base explosion.’ The Galaxy C-% opened up and soon about 20 jets flew out of it and began to circle around the base.

Then faster than anyone could blink, all 20 jets rained fire down onto the base.

Seven scaled down the tower as fast as he could but was soon caught in the explosion and fell the rest of about 6 feet from the ground before he, Three and Two made a break for it before the tower could crush them.

Meanwhile One, Five and Four tried to find cover but every step they were blocked off by an exploding blaze of fire. They knew they were majorly fucked. With this constant rain fire, One knew there was no way he or his team was gonna get out of this alive. As he managed to crawl

From his palace, General Hassan Yazin watched with pride as his military force rained fire on the supposed coup were now nothing but ants ready to be disintegrated one by one with each shots each of his jets dished out.

But suddenly the ships stopped firing down at the six members and changed their firing from the ground to further out into the sky.

“What the hell? Lieutenant what is going on?” he snapped into the commlinks.

‘Sorry General, our radars have detected something from the upper atmosphere.’ His Lieutenant spoke out. Peeking out from their hiding spots, all the members just looked up confused.

“The hell are they shooting at?” muttered Two. But it was then they saw it. Something came right out of the clouds and it turned out to be a Grumman F-14 Tomcat was heading straight for the giant C-5 Super Galaxy. The Tomcat soon then just rammed into the side of the C-5 like it was nothing as it exploded.

It was soon the team began to realize that this was a very familiar Tomcat that circled back around towards the underbelly of the C-5 and it was at that point Three laughed manically as he cheered out.

“OH YEAH KAMIKAZE!!” The tomcat once again went through the C-5 from bottom to top and the explosion boomed like a firework as the team were in awe.

“God I love that psychotic bitch.” One said in awe. While Billy couldn’t help but smile and laugh ecstatically.

“That’s my girl.” He muttered softly.

*My POV*

As I shot back up over the roof of the C5 Super Galaxy jet, I watched as it fell to the ground in a grand overture of explosions knowing that not only that giant ship was now gone, but the rest of the artillery inside was gone too. I knew the team was dealing with more jets than they had out there, so I downsized the problem.

Because no one messes with my family.

“You guys take care of the General and his ground fleet. I’ve got your back on the aerial ambush.”

‘It is good to see you again Zero, cutting it kinda close aren’t yah though?’ One’s voice spoke through my radio.

“C’mon One you knew I was one for dramatics. Plus you gotta admit I looked like Captain Marvel back there.”

‘God you and Four with your millennial references.’ I grinned smugly.

‘Glad to see you’ve come to your senses Zero!’ I heard Blaine say.

“Thank me once you guys get that son of a bitch in his palace. You all finished one mission without me, I intend to see this one to the end.”

‘You got it. Care to be our eye in the sky?’

“It’d be my pleasure sniper.” I then pulled the accelerator and my Tomcat took off. I flew after the jets that were still out that didn’t get caught in the C-5’s takedown and had them chase after me, leaving my friends alone down there.

So far I managed to take five of the 20 jets so far and nearly got shot out of the sky by a few others. But it wasn’t until I saw Billy was in trouble from not only the ground assault but the incoming aerial attack he didn’t know was coming right at his front.

‘Billy 12 o’clock!’ I proclaimed as I chased after one of the jets and fired at ready.

*Billy’s POV*

I heard (Y/n)’s voice in my earpiece and I saw one of Hassan’s jets heading right for me. Just before I knew I was a goner, the jet exploded right before my eyes and I watched as (Y/n)’s tomcat flew right past me. Up and down I saw her fly with ease and grace taking down each plane in her sight.

Even when some of Hassan’s soldiers tried to take down her plane, she fired at them blowing the ground from beneath them. Doing her famed loop-de-loops and even going in between a tag team of jets forcing them to lose control before firing at them before they could get the chance to recover.

As I fired at any soldier nearby I could help but cheer for my baby. As he place flew right over me once again I couldn’t help but cry out.

“TOM CRUISE DOESN’T COMPETE WITH YOU LOVE!!!”

‘Damn straight he don’t!’ She cheered. I widely grinned and shook my head at seeing her in her element. She really was like a Falcon in the air, but a She wolf on the attack.

‘Hate to interrupt the little love fest going on here but can we please focus back on the mission? Four I want you, Three and Two to head into the mansion and get that slimy son of a bitch before he tries to deck out.’ One’s voice rang out.

“Got it.” I then raced on ahead with Two and Three coming right beside me and the two of us entered the mansion.

For some reason and I have no idea why but Hassan barely had any guards left to protect him inside which was suspicious to me. After I had just taken down a guy along the upper hallway near where Hassan’s room was said to be, I looked out the window to see Hassan trying an escape attempt through a chopper.

“Fuck!”

‘What’s going on Four?’ Five asked.

“He’s making an escape in a chopper.”

‘Not for long he won’t.’ (y/n)’s voice said. Soon enough I saw her flying in and with just a few dropped bombs I saw the fireworks blow up his chopper.

“Two, three he’s outside let’s go!” I slid down the railings before successfully landing on the ground and we raced out the backdoor. There I saw the rest of the team surrounding him, my girl’s Tomcat having an addition to it as she now aimed a GAU-17A machine gun aimed right at Hassan.

He turned towards us and he must’ve known he couldn’t win. Wow what a pussy. He surrendered right then and there and we exposed him to the Iranian President with the recorded confession Two got out of him. Soon the news blew up with News about the military corruption Hassan had played in the Iranian government.

And with that another mission concluded and we all once again went our separate ways, except (y/n) and I.

*My POV*

After the mission, Billy and I went back to my cabin because the two of us deserved to talk about what happens now since I’m officially back in the game. Billy and I were lying on my bed and the two of us were staring at each other, our hands softly and occasionally brushing up against one another’s.

“You were right Billy.” He grinned and said.

“I know I’m right.”

“I’m trying to be sincere here, don’t push it.”

“You’re right, you’re right I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t give you a chance to explain because—well I thought you could do better than me. You know that I—can’t perform well anymore so I’m basically a rag doll from the waist down. How could you love someone like that?”

“For one thing that girl’s got a whole lot more to offer than just the incredible sex we used to have together.” He tipped my chin upwards so that I was caught once again in the spell of those enticing green eyes. “Love the sex was just a plus from you. What I really fell in love with was your wicked sense of humor, you’re a fucking badass pilot, you’re beautiful inside and out, and even when you fall down like shit on the ground, you pick yourself up and brush yourself off and keep moving forward. Like today for example, you didn’t let your paralysis stop you from flying that plane and taking down a C-5 Super Galaxy. A fuckin C-5, do you know how big those things are?”

“75.53m in length, 19.84m in height and wingspan of 67.91m.”

“See? Even your brain is beautiful love.” He praised as he cupped both sides of my face. The two of us smiled as I felt his thumbs brush against my cheeks. “You see love, there is so much I loved about you. That I still love about you. So can we—pick up where we left off?” I thought about it and I said.

“Will you still make me those warm pancakes in the morning?” he laughed and said.

“I will make you pancakes for every single meal if it means that we can be together again.”

“Okay I’ll take you back.” He cheered and leaned forward and began to frantically kiss me all over my face. I giggled as he was now starting to act like Max, my youngest pup who was such a lovebug even after the hell his owners put him through.

“Oh you won’t regret it love, I promise! I’ll help take care of the dogs, I’ll help with the chores, I’ll be your workout buddy, I’ll even push your wheelchair around—no screw it I’ll carry you from place to place.”

“Billy, I’m paralyzed but not incompetent.”

“Oh c’mon love, please let me just spoil you. Just this once please?” he cooed out as he pouted his bottom lip out and looked up at me with those puppy dog eyes again. I groaned and said.

“Fine. But you can carry me only once a month.”

“Seven times a week.”

“Twice a month.”

“Ten times a month.”

“Billy!” I laughed.

“Okay, okay fine. Three times a month, that’s as low as I’ll go.”

“Twice a month.” I confirmed again.

“Okay. Twice a month.” We then kissed each other to seal the agreement. “Why must you be so cute in order to get your way?”

“Not my fault.”

“No I think it is.”

“No it’s not.”

“Yes it is.” It was then he gave my sides a quick tickle which made me jerk up and take his hands in mine.

“No don’t do that!” I laughed.

“Why can’t I?”

“Because you know what tickling does to me, and I’m at a disadvantage now that I can’t kick you away anymore.”

“Oh really? Well then I think I may be tempted even more.”

“Billy!”

“Okay, okay I won’t tickle you. Yet.” I groaned and punched his arm which made him groan in pain. “Ow what the fuck that was hard!”

“Oh you big baby it didn’t hurt that bad.” He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me to pull me in closer to him.

“God I love you.”

“I love you too. And I really did miss you Billy, really.”

“Of course you did.”

“Don’t push it.” He smirked before capturing my lips with his again. This time our kiss deepened as I felt him cup the side of my face. When air became a desperate thing, he separated from me and our breaths intertwined with each other’s. “God I’ve missed kissing you.”

“How do you think I’ve felt?” he kissed my cheek and snuggled close to me.

“So you—you don’t mind if we don’t…..”

“(Y/n), it’s fine. The sex was just a plus with you. I don’t mind just cuddling close with my best girl.” He lay down and pulled me close so that my head was resting on his chest and I felt him stroke my back, specifically my lower back where my L3-L4 spinal points were located at.

“So you don’t mind having a paralyzed girlfriend?” I asked him.

“So long as that paralyzed girlfriend is you. I’m always gonna love you (y/n) no matter what. Never, ever doubt that.”

“I—I think I may need to be reminded again.”

“I’ll gladly tell it to you a million times a day if it’ll get you to understand.” I felt him kiss the crown of my forehead lovingly and I breathed in his intoxicating scent that I always found addictive. His cologne mixed with a bit of sweat from his parkour scaling. I closed my eyes and buried my face into his chest and embraced my love once again for the first time in two years.

“I love you Billy. My King of the skies.”

“And I love you (y/n), my Queen of the skies.” And with that the two of us fell asleep together holding each other close and exchanging kisses every now and then.

#ben hardy #6 underground #6 underground fanfic #6 underground fanfiction #billy x reader #ben hardy imagine #ben hardy imagines #ben hardy fanfic #four x reader #billy imagine #billy imagines #four #four imagine #four imagines #four/billy x reader #ben hardy x reader #ban hardy imagines #netflix 6 underground #ryan renolds

510 notes · View notes

biillyhargroves · 5 years ago

Note

If I am able for a request when u have the time. Where the part with Robin and Steve in the bathroom floor. But instead it’s Steve and Billy and at the end when Billy says he likes guys he goes in for Steve I just need fluff Thank u

For the sake of brevity, let’s just say that this is in an AU where Billy worked at Scoops Ahoy with Steve (although I do have an idea for an AU where Billy is freed from the Mind Flayer but is kidnapped by some sneaky Russians before the kids can get to him post-sauna test, so if you want to think of it in that sort of scenario, be my guest! and someone let me know if you’d be interested in reading something like that because…now I’m tempted).

take this to your grave(fic requests open)

The words leave his mouth before Billy can stop them. He can feel them popping off of his tongue and he cannot tell why, what their purpose is, if he even wants to hear the answer. “Have you ever been in love?” It’s a silly question. The kind that pre-teen girls giggle over at sleepovers, the kind that movie characters ask just before they confess their undying love for one another. Of all the questions that he could ask a drug-addled Steve Harrington, of the dirt that he could dig up, this is what his own hazy brain comes up with:

Have you ever been in love?

And maybe there’s a reason for it, a reason that Billy is not quite ready to admit - that he won’t admit until he hears Steve’s answer. But maybe it’s there, lying underneath his softly slurred inquiry. Maybe there’s even a little glimmer of hope behind it.

From the next stall over, he hears Steve hum in thought. It a long while before Steve answers, so long that Billy things that he has forgotten the question - he almost hopes that Steve has, but then he hears Steve’s sleepy-sounding voice say, “Yeah.”

“Yeah?” Billy nudges.

“Yeah,” Steve repeats. “Uh, Nancy Wheeler. I don’t- I didn’t think I’d ever get over her.”

“No?” Billy asks. He cannot see it, but Steve shakes his head.

“It, uh, it took a long time,” Steve admits.

“But you did get over her?” Billy asks, trying to sound teasing but coming off curious. When Steve does not answer, Billy asks, “Are you still in love with her?”

“For a while I was,” Steve says. Again, he falls silent, and that silence stretches the full length of the empty bathroom. It fills it up and rings against the walls and Billy thinks it’ll make him go mad. When Steve says quiet for too long, he clears his throat.

“What happened?” he asks.

“Uh,” Steve stammers. Billy thinks he sounds a little more sober, but he can’t be sure. “I met someone,” Steve says. “Someone else. And, uh, this…this person…sort of made me feel…not quite how Nancy did, really. I mean, it’s similar, but not the same, you know? It might even be better. I’ve never met someone cooler, you know? Or, like, funnier. Or smarter. I mean, I’ve known some cool people, right? But not like this. I mean, I’ve also never met anyone more stubborn, and for a while I thought…I thought that I’d never met a bigger fucking asshole. I mean, he’s got this wild temper. Fucking insane. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“He?” Billy asks. His heart catches in his throat and he has to swallow hard to get it to go back down. Even when he does, he can feel it pounding hard and fast in his chest, so severely that he thinks it’ll burst right out. Steve doesn’t seem to hear him. That, or he chooses to ignore him.

“I guess things changed, though,” he says, though Billy is only half-listening now. He cannot move past that one little syllable that so casually fit itself on Steve’s tongue. He. It came out as easy as a breath. Steve says, “Changed in a a good way, you know? Like…really good, I think. I don’t know. I guess a kidnapping can bring people together.” Billy can hear the smile in Steve’s voice. It makes Billy’s heart- hell, his whole chest -burn. He thinks that he is fitting the pieces together, but he won’t let himself believe it. He won’t let himself think that Steve Harrington is making some grand, film-worthy love confession in an empty movie theater bathroom. Surely, his tongue is still thick with the drugs. Surely, his brain is as fuzzy as Billy’s whole head feels. Billy is so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost doesn’t Steve falter when he says, “But…I don’t know. I don’t think anything can happen there.”

“Why not?” Billy asks. Steve huffs a small little laugh.

“I don’t think I’m his type,” he says.

There it is again, Billy thinks. His, Fitting so easily in Steve’s speech that Billy has to wonder if Steve even knows that he’s saying it. Has it found its way there on purpose? Does Steve hear it, too?

“I mean, how do you know, right?” Steve asks. “If someone swings that way, I mean. If I asked him I think he’d just punch me in the face, and I’ve about taken all I can of that.”

Billy goes silent- really, really silent. The gears in his brain are churning so hard that Billy thinks he can smell the smoke they’re surely working up. He hugs his knees to his chest and buries his face against them. He breathes in deeply, exhales fully, tries to get his heart to quit skipping every other beat.

He must be quiet for a long time because eventually Steve says, “Billy?” Billy peeks up over his knees and sees Steve’s shadow moving in the next stall. One sneakered foot pokes into Billy’s, and then another, and then Steve comes crawling his way under the gap. Billy raises a brow as Steve settles his back against the wall. “Thought I lost you,” he says quietly.

“Still here,” Billy says. He straightens his back. He loosens his hold on his own legs and tries to regain some semblance of composure as the heat of Steve’s eyes- one of them so purple and puffy and bruised that it is nearly swollen shut -lock onto him. He lifts his chin, rolls his shoulders, though each little movement comes across less confident and more fidgety.

“Did you, uh…” Steve starts, his hands doing some fidgeting of their own, “connect the dots?” Billy does not say anything, not yet, and these seems to touch on Steve’s already frayed nerves. “I mean, I’m not good at the, uh, code talk? And I guess, uh, well…I mean, you haven’t hit me yet, so-”

He is cut off, suddenly.

He is cut off by Billy’s lips on his. He is cut off by Billy kissing him. Billy’s heart in his throat and Steve’s jumps up into his own. Billy’s hands fall on Steve’s knees and he smells like disinfectant and sweat and he tastes like salt and copper and Steve’s back is pushed flush against the red wall of the bathroom stall because Billy Hargrove is kissing him.

When they part, Steve is breathless. He counts to five before opening his eyes and he finds Billy looking at him. He forces himself to exhale and he says, “Um.”

“I connected the dots,” Billy says.

“You- uh, you-” Steve stammers. He clears his throat, then asks, “You…you like guys?”

“Sometimes,” Billy shrugs. “You do?” he asks.

“Uh,” Steve stutters. “Sometimes.” He leans closer, and they kiss again, and Steve feels like there are fireworks exploding inside of him. Billy brings a hand up to tangle in Steve’s hair. He kisses him deeper this time, and Steve lets him, and, God, they both pray that this is not some drug-induced fever dream. Steve even whispers, between the breaths swiped between kisses, “Is this real?”

And Billy answers, “Yes.” It’s real. It’s real.

#harringrove #harringrove fic #harringrove fanfic #harringrove fanfiction #canon divergence #stranger things fic #and then dustin walks in and screams #the end #superlokidwholock #answered #thank u this was fun!!!#lex writes fics

414 notes · View notes

imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl · 4 years ago

Text

Californian Dream (Pt. 07 of 11)

Pairing: Billy Hargrove X Reader

Word count: 2.6 K

Warnings: Light violence

<- Previous part (06)

Next part (08)->

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

{Dacre Montgomery Masterlist}

Broken

“Listen, listen...” Cupping your cheeks and drying off some tears, he looks into your eyes. “I'm all sweaty and disgusting. Let me shower and then we'll talk, alright?”

Forcing yourself to nod, you look down, suddenly ashamed of how you were clinging onto to him. “Alright.”

“Ok.” He hesitates a little before heading to the bathroom.

With both hands on your head, you pace around the living room, the image of Alice's hands burning through your mind. Why did they do that? Was it some kind of punishment for her trying to run? Or were they sending a message? Or are they just that cruel? What will happen to the others? To the last one, if the police don't find them and if the private investigators fail?

Turning the damn TV off, you messily wipe the tears away, going to the bedroom, sitting on the bed and waiting for Billy to come out. You just want him. You feel safe with him, and if this makes things weird after, you'll apologize.

This time, when the door opens, you manage to hold back, pushing back the urge to jump into his arms again. Billy looks sad, only breaking eye contact to put his shirt on. “Come here.” And that's all it takes for you to run into his embrace again, more tears taking the place of the ones you dried off, then fighting for more space. “I'm sorry.”

You can't say anything. There are no words to be said now. So you just cry, arms around his midsection as you let your heart out. It's a mix of fear and desperation. It could've been you if Billy wasn't there to sneak you out. You wish you could see Alice, but at the same time, you don't want to. Seeing her hands on the TV was bad enough. You can't even start to think about the trauma she went through. This whole thing can't be happening, it feels like a nightmare.

“Come. Lie down to rest a little.” Billy guides you to the bed, and you only move because of him. You barely feel your legs. When you lie down, and he moves to stand up, you hold his arm.

It's not the time to blush or feel nervous. Or to think about what it means. You want him, you need him here. With you. “Stay, please.” Begging, you move aside when he nods. Billy lies down on his back, facing the ceiling. You hold his arm, just so you're touching him somehow, but it's not enough. The tears keep coming, your mind keeps imagining what else those people, your friends, the people who you grew up with, are suffering right now. “B-Billy...” Your voice cracks, and you squeeze his bicep a little.

“What, princess?”

“I'm sorry...” You whisper, already moving closer to him.

Billy's eyes meet yours, a worried and confused expression on his face. “What for?”

You don't say anything, you just move closer to him, laying your head on his chest. A breath escapes your lips when you feel his arms around you, grounding, protecting you. Now more than ever, you understand what Billy did for you when he sneaked you out of the gala. It could've been you with chopped fingers, or going through something much worse.

“You make me feel safe.” You mutter, eyes closed shut. His heartbeat is calming, and slowly, your breathing starts to slow down until it's steady again. Billy has a hand around your waist and the other comes to caress your cheek every once in a while. But the most important thing is that he doesn't let go.

You're not sure how long you stay there, but the only thing keeping you from falling asleep is the pain in your stomach. You're hungry, and that's the only thing that makes you move, sitting up straight. Moving the hair away from your face, you look down at Billy. “I'm sorry for... Doing this, but I just needed to... I needed you.”

“It's alright.” He sits up too, a hand softly rubbing your arm. “Are you feeling better?”

“Not really.” You mutter, running a hand through your hair. “But I'll make us something to eat. We're both hungry and it'll distract me.”

“We can do it together, what do you think?” He asks as he stands up, offering you his hand. You take it, letting him guide you to the kitchen.

Billy keeps the small talk as you cook and then eat, even succeeding to take a few laughs from you. When you're done with the dishes, you go back to the kitchen table to share an ice cream you bought yesterday. Seated side by side, you have a little fight every time you happen to move to get some ice cream at the same time, slapping each other's hand with the spoon.

“Do you wanna talk about...” Billy speaks low, careful. But it's ok. You'll have to talk about it eventually.

“They cut off three fingers from her right hand and the index finger from the left.” Your voice is weak, and you look down at your empty spoon. “They showed it... I mean, it was covered by white bandages but... It was obvious, and there was some blood on it and I just can't understand why they'd do something like that.”

“They don't need a reason.” Billy caresses your cheek, his finger running through the line of your jaw. “I know you feel awful but I can't help but feel relieved that's not you.” His stare is intense but kind. “Even before, I'd hate to see you in her place.”

“Even before?”

“Before I knew you better. Now... It would kill me if anything happened to you.”

“I don't think I wanna go back home.” It comes out suddenly, without considering what it truly means. But it's the truth. The truth comes to a lot easier to you now that you're not constantly trying to hide what you think or feel. “I know it's mean to think about myself now but I don't think I can go back. I can't keep doing that. I can't waste the summer with those stupid events, and I can't go back into studying law, I can't...” You stand up, pacing around with both hands in your head. “I can't keep pretending those people are my friends and I can't keep pretending that person is who I am.”

“What is your plan, then?”

This makes you turn around to look at Billy again. He hasn't moved, the ice cream long was forgotten and his attention on you. “Won't you even try to make me change my mind?”

“No.” He stands up, coming closer until you're face to face with him. Billy seems sad, a deep breath leaving his chest. ”We are responsible for our happiness. That's why I left Hawkins and if you want to leave California–”

“It's not about California.” Cutting him short, you sigh. “I love California. I just want... This.” You gesture at the apartment. “Having a place that I like, that doesn't fit a hundred people. Studying something that I care about, going to the places I wanna go, making real friends.” Since Billy started taking you to some parties, you've been growing close to Stacy, Anne, and Jimmy, Billy's friends who are now becoming your friends too. You feel more comfortable with them than you ever felt with the people you grew up with.

“Well, you don't have to think about it now. When you have to make a decision, you'll know what to do.”

“Yeah... I think I will.” You should look away, but his eyes... You feel like you could sink, and drown, and die. Slowly, you stand on your toes, trying to feel if Billy will step back. You don't even know what you're doing, it's almost involuntary, you're just chasing his lips.

But instead of moving away, he meets you halfway bending down a little to connect his lips to yours. Your arms quickly embrace his neck and you end the final distance between your bodies. You don't wanna think too much. Whenever you kiss Billy, you don't wanna think about anything. You just wanna feel. And right now, more than ever, you need him, this close, the taste of his lips so addictive, making you a little mad when you need to pull away to breathe. But you don't move away, you stay there, foreheads touching. With your eyes tightly shut, you caress his cheek, fingers tracing his jawline.

He's just about to say something when the phone starts ringing, and very reluctantly, you step back, gesturing for him to answer it. When he turns his back at you, you immediately touch your lips, smiling a little. As stupid, as insane as it is, Billy is the only guy you want to kiss. He's the only one you'd ever want to kiss. “What's up?” He says. “No, I can't go today... Because I have something more important to do here. I'll go on Friday. Bye.”

You're just about to ask him what was that about when you remember he was supposed to go to the gym today. “Hey, you can go. I'll be alright.” No, you won't. But still, you don't want him to stay if he wants to be somewhere else.

“Completely out of question.” He walks to you again, reaching out his hand. “Come. Let's watch some nice movies or something.”

And so it happens. There's this random movie going on, and you try to focus on it the best you can. On the couch, Billy holds you all the time, and it doesn't take much until your head is on his shoulder. But the happenings of the day got the best of you, and soon enough you feel yourself tired, eyelids heavy with sleep, falling close.

When you open your eyes again, you're in bed, with the morning light piercing through the light fabric of the curtains. You have the blankets all around you, and for some reason, when you get up, you feel cold. Maybe it's the air-conditioning, but Billy likes this temperature, and you haven't had a problem with it until now. So you just decide to put on a cardigan instead.

It's a war against yourself not to watch the news. You want to know how's Alice, but you don't want to see another take of her mutilated hand. Or hear what the reporters are saying about it. So you basically pace around the house, doing nothing, but trying to keep busy. For some reason, you're terribly tired, exhausted even, struggling to focus on this afternoon talk show instead of changing the channel.

The gang probably already let out the next rescue. Will it be the same? No, it's probably more. Who will be the next one they'll release? How many fingers will they still have left? Will they have both arms? Or all of their teeth? The thoughts won't leave you alone, and the talk show sucks, so you stand up, moving to the window and setting your eyes on the ocean out there, the horizon on a light shade of blue as the sun sets.

The noise of the door opening makes you look over your shoulder. A wave of relief washes over you when you see Billy, and you're just about to run to him when he mutters a harsh ‘hello’, moving straight to his room. Stopping in your tracks, you try to process it. Turning the damn TV off, you brace yourself as you go back to the couch, waiting for him to come back. But it takes longer than normal, and when you finally hear the bedroom door opening, your eyes follow him when he moves to the kitchen space. And that's when you notice you're starving.

Pushing yourself up, pulling the heavier coat you have on now even closer to your body, you walk over to the table. “Billy, can you make something to eat, I'm really–”

“You've been in here all day and you couldn't even cook something?” He suddenly snaps, both hands on the sink and his back turned at you. The roughness of his voice gets you by surprise, startling you.

“I–”

“I have been out all day, working my damn ass off, and now I have to come home and make dinner too? Don't you think I might be exhausted?” Without looking at you, he opens the fridge, looking for something, but after a few seconds, he violently pushes the door shut.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Bursting out, you try not to let the tears roll down. You're overwhelmed right now, and the last thing you need is Billy freaking out for whatever reasons.

“What the hell is wrong with me?” He finally turns to face you, slamming his hands on the table. “You have no idea what it is to deal with your kind. I clean your pools, I fix and wash your fancy cars, I change the lamps from your chandeliers, and I'm not even treated nicely. I'm the staff, the working class, a freaking nobody who's only useful to put together broken things, and then I can be kicked out.”

“My kind?” Raising your voice, a humorless laugh escapes your lips. “Haven't you said something about me being the only owner who ever offered some help?”

The laughter that escapes his lips surprises you. It's mean and cruel, so unlike everything you have seen of Billy. “And how exactly would you help me? Raking leaves?”

“Yeah, I–”

“When you're skimming the pools, it's cute. You're a good soul helping the unfortunate. When I'm skimming the pools, I'm the unfortunate, who couldn't find a better job other than serving the upper class.” He's yelling, his eyes full of anger. This isn't Billy. Something happened, but right now, you don't care. You don't think it's fair to throw it on you, but maybe he's right. Maybe coming here was a mistake. “And that's exactly what I'm doing here, in my own house. Or have you forgotten what your dad said, huh? That I'll be paid after those assholes are caught so I gotta make sure all your needs are attended? So yes, I guess I'll make you something to eat. I wouldn't dream of letting you do it yourself, ma'am.”

“This good soul will be leaving your apartment tomorrow morning.” You mutter, turning on your heels and heading to the bedroom. It's his turn with the bed, but you don't care. If that's how Billy sees you, this is who you'll be. The mean, rich kid you were raised to be. You push the door closed so violently that the loud bang startles you, a hand coming to your heart. Locking yourself inside, you climb into the bed, hiding your face in the pillow.

After all this time, you can't believe that's what Billy thinks of you. After opening your heart to him, saying things you haven't even admitted to yourself before, he still sees you as one of those people. Maybe this was a huge mistake. Maybe letting Billy get so close was a mistake. Maybe kissing him... That was the worst part. You never thought you'd want that with anyone, but he came and lit up this spark in you. Now, it's over, and you're heart is broken. Tomorrow you'll either find a place or just check if Anne or Stacy can let you crash at their place for a while. But you can't stay here. Whatever you thought you and Billy could become... It's over.

@multific @dontxfearxthereaper @nope-thanks @nikkixostan @shinydixon @clockworkballerina @infinitelycharmed23 @lilred91

#imagine billy hargrove #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove x y/n #billy hargrove imagine #billy stranger things #billy stranger things imagine #stranger things #stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfiction

54 notes · View notes