#GUESS WHAT CAPTAIN LINK FINALLY GETS TO BE DADDED

[skyloftian-nutcase]

You know I always love me some dad squad. What are the dads doing? Are they surviving? Have they been thrown into any shenanigans ?

Y’know it’s been a while since I’ve written for them and that’s a darn shame.

.

Fierce sneezed.

It was a surprisingly tame sound considering the entity’s size. The look of sheer alarm on his face, however, was more unexpected.

“Bless you?” Rusl offered hesitantly, wondering what had the deity so disturbed.

The widened glowing eyes returned to their normal size as the deity looked at him. “Bless me?”

Rusl blinked. Then he almost laughed. He supposed this was the last person to be saying that to. “It’s an expression. It’s polite to say whenever someone sneezes.”

“Who bestows the blessing?”

The Ordonian chuckled as Abel sighed heavily. “Well… perhaps in your case that Hylia you keep mentioning?”

Abel’s head whipped around from where he’d been reading a map. “You don’t know who Hylia is?”

“I’m afraid not.”

Fierce watched him with his usual stoic demeanor, but just as he was about to speak he sneezed yet again.

“This is problematic,” the deity muttered. “How do I control these?”

“You hop on one foot,” Abel said flatly as he rolled his eyes and went back to his map.

Fierce stared at him a moment and slowly, curiously started to raise one foot. Rusl burst out laughing. The deity followed through with the motion unexpectedly, though, using the elevated foot to kick a small stone. It flew across the way, cutting through the air until it smacked into an octorok that had just poked its head out.

“I’m always impressed at your ability to sense danger,” Rusl noted, only slightly unnerved.

The deity sneezed a third time, followed by a raspy cough. The widened-eyed, startled expression returned.

Abel glanced over, starting to look genuinely concerned. “You might be coming down with something.”

Fierce’s face grew grave. “So this is what illness feels like. I’ve never experienced this phenomenon spontaneously.”

“Being ill does tend to be spontaneous,” Rusl pointed out, bemused. “We don’t usually plan it. But perhaps we should just rest for the remainder of the day.”

“No,” Fierce shook his head. “I have experienced illness symptoms in the past when…”

Both Abel and Rusl perked up, curious. The deity hardly spoke of himself - his actions and strange mannerisms told enough, but the Ordonian would be lying if he said he wasn’t interested in the mythical being’s history.

Fierce sighed slowly through his nose, coming to a conclusion. “There is something you must know. You two are honorable warriors with pure intentions. I trust you enough with this task.”

“What task?” Rusl asked, glancing at Abel warily. Had the deity not…? Well. He supposed none of them had entirely trusted each other, but Rusl’s secret keeping for Link’s sake had been fairly reasonable - at the time he’d assumed telling his companions that his boy could turn into a wolf would be akin to lunacy. But they’d all learned more about each other - everyone knew of Link’s transformative ability now, everyone knew Abel’s boy was injured somehow, everyone knew all their Links were heroes. What secret was the deity about to reveal, then?

“Take care of him,” the deity said simply, reaching up and pinching just below his chin. Rusl was about to ask what he was talking about when a light flashed brightly, warm energy washing over Rusl as he looked away a moment before hearing a thud. He blinked a few times and heard Abel gasp and run, and he looked back to see a young man—teenager?—lying on the ground where the deity had once been.

[sleepyheadnat]

Forever ago, I had a dream with the Chain in it. I tried turning the plot of the dream into a fic, but ended up never finishing it. Either way, I thought I would share with you guys what the WIP looks like so far! ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ

Before the chain had even stepped out of the portal, a gust of wind came to greet them. Something in its smell felt familiar to their sailor—it felt like home.

“Guys, this is mine!” The youngest hero leaped out of the portal and was thrilled to find himself landing on a very familiar wooden deck surrounded by a very familiar ocean.

And to see a very familiar face. Staring at him like he was a ghost.

“Tetra!” He all but jumped at her, squeezing the pirate captain in the tightest hug he could muster—completely ignoring the way his sudden appearance seemed to have left her with a lack of reaction.

But the hug fixed that. She pawed at him in an attempt to get him off of her enough to speak. “WHERE were you?! Do you have ANY idea of how long we spent looking for you? We visited EVERY island we could find, we scouted the ocean, we–” She finally managed to shove him away. “I thought you’d DIED, you idiot!”

Link was still very much excited at being back home, and Tetra's sour welcoming had not changed that a bit. He was all but bouncing on his heels as he answered all in one breath. “You’re never gonna believe this, Tetra. So, I was fighting those weird monsters back at Wind Island, right? Then, all of sudden, I fall into this swirly weirdo portal. Then, I meet another hero! Like, like the old ones, that had the spirit of the very first hero and whatnot, y’know? And now we’re on this big quest to kill a shadow. I guess.”

She looked at him like he had grown a third eye. “You were right. I don’t believe you.” Her eyes finally caught the eight—strange—men standing on—her—deck. “Who the heck are those anyway?”

“They’re the other heroes I told you about!” Link ran up to Sky first, hastily pulling him by the sleeve so his back was more visible to Tetra. “He’s got the Master Sword, see?”

“Wait, wait.” Tetra was rightly startled by that. “That’s at the bottom of the ocean. How–”

“Because it’s not our Master Sword, it’s the one from his time!” Sky let out a yelp as he was, once again, hastily pulled around to face the pirate, a very enthusiastic sailor all but hanging from his left arm. “He’s the very first guy!! At least out of all of us. He and his girlfriend are the ones who founded THE Hyrule! The one at the bottom of the ocean now!”

“Hyrule is where now?!” Poor Sky never got an answer as their sailor had already dashed towards the next hero he was to introduce.

“This right here is the Hero of Time!”

Tetra gave no vocal answer, but the way her eyes looked like they might pop out of her head at any moment was all the reaction Link needed to know she felt just like he did. There was even the same childlike sparkle in her eyes.

“And he’s just as cool as the stories make him out to be,” the sailor stated proudly, eyes shut in the smugness of being friends with such a remarkable figure, completely missing the look of absolute fondness the team dad directed at him.

As Link turned around to catch Tetra’s reaction, someone else entered his view. The other girl hadn’t been there before, he was sure of it—she must have climbed on deck while he was talking. She seemed way too pale for someone aboard a ship, so she must have been new to this—though maybe it was the very dark color of her almost purple raven hair that made her skin look so colorless in comparison. She had a pretty smile, Link would give her that, but her red eyes were a little too piercing for his liking.

He looked back at Tetra, tilting his head. “Who’s that?”

Tetra glanced over her shoulder at the other girl. “Ah, yeah. About that. Link, this is Marjorie; Marjorie, this is Link. I’ll catch you up to speed downstairs.”

She began making her way towards the stairs, and Link knew that meant she wanted him to follow—and follow he did. He ran into her back when she stopped suddenly, though.

“You.” She pointed at the heroes. “Heroes or not, if any of you damage my ship in any way, you’re paying.” None of them were sure she meant paying as in money, so they all just nodded wordlessly.

The brilliance of the Sun reflecting on the ocean's surface was replaced by wooden penumbra once they reached the underbelly of the ship. Tetra reclined against one of the crates of supplies and Link took a seat on top of another across from her.

“So? Who is this girl? You don’t usually take in stowaways.”

Tetra sighed heavily. “Look, you’re not the only one who's been dealing with weird stuff. We discovered an island that was… I don’t even know how to explain, but it was shrouded in darkness. I could feel something evil coming from it. We killed some monsters like the ones we’d faced back at Wind Island and rescued this girl.

“Now, she claims to be me, but from another…dimension, I think? World? Honestly, nothing she says seems to make sense, but she knows way too much. So she’s either telling the truth about being ‘me’, or she’s been spying on us. Either way, I thought bringing her along and keeping an eye on her was safer than letting her run free with all this information.”

[heckyeahponyscans]

In my search for info about the Oldsmobile ad campaign, I came across this blog post:

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The story of “not your father’s Oldsmobile.” Or how some really bad advertising changed the culture forever!

October 14, 2008

Time for a story boys and girls. It’s a tale that requires we go back 20 years, before copywriters had Macs, before email, before I lost my hair. This story harkens back to a day when Oldsmobiles roamed the earth. And their commercials filled the airwaves. I should know; I made some of them. Including the campaign that served as Olds’ final and famous (infamous?) death gasp: “Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile.”

 Dad’s was better.

The line has become a pop culture catch phrase, in the same ilk –albeit attached to worse advertising-as “Got Milk?”  Both slogans have been co-opted literally hundreds of times, far outlasting their original intent. Try reading your morning paper and not finding a variation on either line. For example, about a candidate: “This is not your father’s Democrat.”  About a technological innovation: “This is not your mother’s sewing machine.” And so on. Sadly enough, more Americans are familiar with the Olds’ slogan than of Shakespeare’s finest sonnets. Way more.

A soft-spoken creative director by the name of Joel Machak wrote that famous line. I actually came up with the campaign’s tag: “The New Generation of Olds.” Both pieces were intended as lyrics. That’s right, a jingle! As a matter of fact, I was brought in to help Joel come up with the refrain. The piece went together as follows (sing along):

       This is not your father’s Oldsmobile…This is the new generation of Olds.

Pretty spiffy, eh? The word “generation” was key. If you recall, each commercial featured a celebrity and one of his or her offspring. This is why the campaign is so damn silly. Outside of a morbid fascination with ogling Ringo Starr’s purple-haired daughter or Dave Brubeck’s motley looking brothers, placing the kin of “B” and “C” celebrities on camera was pure folly. Though I will concede we anticipated Reality TV by 10 years! If you do nothing else today, go to the above link. Trust me.

Where’s my Cutlass Supreme?

The very first spot was for the “totally redesigned Cutlass Supreme.” The protagonist for this commercial was none other than William Shatner, appearing as; you guessed it, Captain Kirk! Riding shotgun was his lovely college-aged daughter, Melanie Shatner. A middling actress, she was pretty darn cute. She also was well endowed. And this became problematic given her wardrobe and where we were shooting. It gets damn cold in the Palm Desert at night. The diaphanous gown provided Melanie was meant to be futuristic a la Star Trek, but it did nothing to warm her up. Subsequently, her nipples went completely rigid, sticking up like Spock’s ears.

beam me up, Scotty!

While this may sound lurid and comical now, at the time (3 AM) it was a “situation.” Imagine the middle-aged suit from GM, replete in a satin Oldsmobile Racing Team jacket, making his way over to the director. “Excuse me, but we can see her nipples!”  Given we’d already shot scenes of Melanie in the gown, a wardrobe change was not possible. The solution? Duct tape. And thus her cleavage had a silver lining.

The other moment I’ll never forget was a captured piece of dialogue (unscripted) between William and his daughter. Between takes, they were side by side in the white Cutlass. Unbeknown to either, the mic was still on. Listening to Captain Kirk school his daughter about the virtues of pep and sleeping pills as a key to nighttime shooting was priceless. What a Dad. What a cad. In a way, it preceded his Emmy-winning turn as Danny Crane by some 20 years.

I know this is trifling gossip, and long past its vintage. But like everyone else, I’m beaten down from our grim economy and an evermore-depressing election. Not to mention the woes of Chicago’s sports franchises… When I was new I used to love listening to the old-timers tell bawdy stories from their shoots. Now that I have a few under my belt, I figured we could all use a respite.

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As a post-script: in 2021 the writer returned to his blog after fifteen years away. He explained that he had dropped out of the advertising biz and become a substance abuse counselor. He began work just as Covid broke out. Wow! I find that inspiring! He also has a Youtube channel devoted to his aquarium hobby, check it out here!

[lire-casander]

#17 holding hands when sitting next to each other

holding hands when sitting next to each other original prompt list here

“What do you mean, she killed her husband?” TK questions as he flops down on their couch.

Carlos clears his throat before correcting, “Allegedly, TK. My dad is still working on proving that point.” He shoots a pointed look at TK as he places a steaming mug in front of his soon-to-be father-in-law and hands another one to his fiancé.

Owen, sitting on the chair across the table, sighs. “Allegedly or for real, Kendra’s accused of murdering Brett. And apparently, it’s not the first time she’s done it.”

“Wow.” TK reaches out and grabs Carlos’ hand for support as Carlos sits down by his side. “She seemed so nice. Even if she had a bizarre take on relationships.”

“Why, because she had a husband when we hooked up?” Carlos cringes as Owen speaks, earning himself a resigned chuckle from the Captain. “I’m sorry, Carlos. I don’t want to make any of you uncomfortable in your own home, but that’s what happened. We had an affair while she was married. These things happen.”

“Guess we have that in common now,” TKk aims for levity but he only manages to make Carlos squeeze his hand tighter. “Don’t be like that, Carlos. You can joke about you being married to Iris while we were dating, but I can’t?”

“We didn’t have an affair,” Carlos corrects his fiancé again. “I love you in a way I couldn’t love Iris. She knew that. What Kendra did was different. She wasn’t clear about her intentions or her real marital status.”

“My fault for not asking,” Owen says sadly. “But I’m not mad because of the husband’s existence, I’m mad because of his death.”

“To think you could have been the next Mr. Harrington,” TK shudders. He squeezes Carlos’ hand, once again silently asking for backup, adding, “I’m glad she’s behind bars now.”

“We still need to know for sure she did it,” Carlos tries to explain. “What if we’re framing her for something that ends up being an actual freak accident?”

“Your father doesn’t think it was an accident,” TK points out. He moves his hands in the air, lifting Carlos’ since he hasn’t let go of his hand. “And your father is almost always right.”

“He isn’t always right,” Carlos says stubbornly, trying to make TK lower his hands.

“No, but whenever he’s wrong, it’s because you are right,” Owen tells him. “So, what does your gut tell you?”

Carlos remains silent for a moment, staring down at his fingers intertwined with TK’s, their pulses thundering as one under their skin. He wishes for Owen to experience something like this, but Carlos knows his father-in-law has had it with Gwyneth — there’s not a chance Owen will have it once again, at least not exactly the same. The same bliss, the same love, the same serenity; those things that make Carlos’ life worth living simply because he gets to hold TK’s hand through whatever life throws at them.

“My gut tells me you should stay away from her as much as you can,” he finally says.

“I was afraid you’d say that.” Owen inhales deeply. His hands shake slightly when he grabs his mug. “I don’t seem to learn. Two divorces, a few short relationships, and then the train wreck.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Dad,” TK attempts to calm him. “You’ll get back on your feet.”

Owen sips from his tea without replying to his son; Carlos notices that he’s looking at their hands, still linked on TK’s lap, and his heart aches for Owen. Maybe one day he’ll find the love he’s looking for, he wishes.

But until that happens, TK might need to hold his father's hand through this heartbreak just as tight as he holds Carlos’ hand whenever he has the chance.

[passionpluto]

Presenting: The Big Four Preservation Project (AKA Operation: Release the Vickles-Shaye Cut)!

What if the first four Altador Cup MVPs were all part of a secret society, and the only one who knew was Tandrak Shaye? That's the question Jair Tollet finds herself asking when her team captain uncovers a sabotage scheme targeting the Altador Cups's high scorers and asks her for help. All Jair really wants to do is lay low and train her new apprentice Scout, but when an old frenemy from her Team Maraqua days is linked to the sabotages, Jair finds herself pulled ever deeper into the mystery...especially once the saboteurs begin to target Scout for her own burgeoning abilities...

The Big Four Saga was an unreleased Altador Cup 'verse written from 2010-11 for the Neopian Times. It was extensively advertised on Neopets forums, mainly Jellyneo Forums. Two stories (Jair's backstory Jumper and the intro short story Big Four Minus One) from it were eventually published, but its main series The Vickles-Shaye Battles was never released because, even after massive edits, it was continually rejected by the NT. It has only ever been read in its entirety by one person, a suburban father from Kansas City...until now.

Okay, so I wanted to do the crazy Defunctland-style narration for at least one paragraph to make this sound more important than it is, but putting that aside, I asked you all if you wanted to read my old AC fanfics in their uncut, ninth-grade glory, and boy did you guys deliver! I'd been thinking about doing this for some time since I'll be switching computers soon for the first time in a long time and wanted a way to preserve these silly things that still have a place in my heart, but wasn't sure if I should do it publicly or just add them to my Google Docs and call it a day. Due to extensive work writing and marketing my current WIP Premiere Nebula to publishers, I knew I wouldn't have time to fully remaster the Big Four Saga, but figured I'd leave it mostly as-is (more on that later) so readers could see the progress I've made in 13 years. I'd like to think I've grown a lot since then!

But point is, thanks to all your morbid curiosity (that you may end up regretting later), the full Big Four Saga is coming to AO3, alongside Paging Doctor Sparkle and the rest of If You Give a Little Love from FiMFiction. This will include both published stories and the full, unpublished Vickles-Shaye Battles 10-part series. Finally, someone other than my dad is going to see these! Maybe the people who actually waited for this on JNF will stumble on it and finally get to read it!

To finish this little self-promotion segment, I'd like to preface the release with one thing: this is a finished series that I'm releasing purely so I can have someplace online to preserve it. The Big Four Saga ended over a decade ago, and I have since moved onto other projects, one of which actually exists because of the Big Four Saga! You see, after Vickles-Shaye, I had intended on writing a sequel series called Valkaine, which was permanently cancelled due to continued rejection by the NT and me realizing the planned genre shift from a sports story to a magical girl-inspired sci-fi was a bit too jarring. If the concept for Valkaine sounds familiar to some of you, that's because it was the basis for Premiere Nebula! So hopefully, you'll all get to read some form of Valkaine someday, or at least a spiritual successor to it.

This brings me to the one change I will be making to the Big Four Saga before publishing it: Scout's name has been changed. The story explains that she was named for a central figure in the Resistance, but in the original version, her name was Valka. This change comes entirely because the name of the magical girl rebel leader in Premiere Nebula is, you guessed it, also Valka. They were actually the same character for a really long time, but as I developed PN!Valka, she got further and further from the original Valka concept that I thought "why not just name OG Valka something else?" So PN!Valka stays Valka while BF!Valka became Scout, purely to avoid future confusion between the characters should Premiere Nebula ever be published. But for those of you who follow PN, it might still be cool for you to know that Scout was the proto-Valka. :)

[charliecoxbf]

I got over a high school crush last week in the most backwards way possible.

So, i had a crush on this guy back in high school.

He... treated me poorly. Or, well, like shit. He was aware of my feelings and he took advantage of them. I won't go into details because it's... bad. Nothing badwrong happened (except for that one time he spit on me and called me pathetic in a mask off moment), but yeah. He's one of those toxic straight alpha guys.

Or he was, anyways. I don't know him now. Maybe he grew. He has a wife and a kid and a successful career and I kinda hate him for it because I'm single and unemployed and living in a shithole of an apartment, but that's neither here nor there.

My crush on him sort of... persisted through the years. I've wasted a lot of time daydreaming about him, fantasizing about running into him, and having a meetcute, and falling in love, and him finally loving me back.

(I have a thing with trying to earn the love and respect of emotionally unavailable men who treat me like shit, I got it from my dad. And I'm aware of it which means I don't have to do any work on it. Don't tell my therapist or she'll get on my ass about it).

Sometimes these fantasies were romantic (him leaving his wife for me), sometimes they were sordid (him keeping me as a dirty little secret), sometimes they were violent (me beating an apology out of him). Sometimes they were... self destructive.

I have this thing I do where, when things get hard, when I'm having a hard time, I imagine myself on the wrong end if situations.

In middle school I was having a hard time being bullied, and not having any friends, so I spent the bigger part of the year imagining myself in Logan Marshall Green's shoes on that one scene from The OC where he gets shot. (You know, the notorious hmm watcha say scene).

In high school, I was struggling with the rapidly developing symptoms of my schizophrenia, my un-reciprocrated (is that a word?) love for a toxic straight boy, family drama, and so much more - and as a result I spent a long time fantasizing about meeting my demise like Robert Downey Jr. in Less Than Zero. (A movie about drugs to which I was introduced by my then best friend, and isn't it interesting that around the time I was falling into alcoholism I was fantasizing about a drug-related death?)

Now I'm having having a hard time. I can't seem to find a job, money is unbearably tight, I'm stuck in a dead end town with no way out, I see no hope for a future. So you can guess what my coping mechanism is.

The piece of media I've latched on now is a gifset by tumblr user captain-hen (linking, not tagging, because they don't need to see my self destructive toxic emotional mess) of Eddie being shot by a sniper in front of Buck (and the aftermath).

The moment I saw the gifset (and the video) my brain filled the blanks with "damn, wish that were me". This is not healthy at all, but as they say, it do be like that sometimes.

So I've been playing with the fantasy of getting shot in the shoulder and losing a lot of blood. I also recently fell back into my high school crush. But it felt different this time.

Then yesterday I was fantasizing about us in Eddie and Buck's shoes, thinking "hell yeah, if i got shot in front of him that would be hella traumatic and he would have to apologize to me and love me back", when something clicked.

My brain just went "wait a second. He treated you like shit. He doesn't deserve to have your blood splatter his face. You deserve to get shot in front of someone better."

Which. What the fuck is up with that. But also, I'm glad I'm over this crush, even if it came in the form of "you deserve to get shot in front of someone better".

Baby steps, as my therapist would say.

[roseofithaca]

As much as I love the show, I do think character arcs - outside of the Captain - are one of its weakest links, but then again maybe there was never meant to be any? The characters straight up say in their final speech to Alison that "they can't help being who they are", sort of implying they will always be that way and any change they have is very minimal - and if they did change too much then they'd probably have moved on, such as with Mary who definitely became more confident and content with herself before she was sucked off.

Perhaps the focus was always meant to be more on the growth of the group itself as a family rather than individuals- because on that level it's (almost) perfect, the best slow burn forced to found family I've seen since Red Dwarf and the Good Place.

Because otherwise, as you say, some are pretty nonexistent.

Several times it's teased that Thomas is going to move on from crushing on Alison but never does.

Julian is the same amoral bastard as ever and I love him for it; though there are tiny changes like his softer moments and regrets over being a deadbeat dad, but we don't see much really come out of that.

Fanny overcomes her homophobia and learns to love Alison like a daughter, though again could have been shown better (hot take, I think the American equivalent improved that one with Hetty and Sam).

Pat learns to assert himself over Cap twice and I guess they are on more equal and friendly terms in later seasons.

Humphrey apparently needed to learn to listen more than talk but...did he? He's been a disembodied head for centuries, most of all he can do is listen, and we saw that he tried with Sophie but...yeah that's a whole mess I can't be bothered to go int but I really don't think they had much of a plan for him.

Robin is such a strange one. He definitely becomes less feral over the seasons, he's less of a prankster and seems to reflect more on what he's gone through, but again is that more audience perspective than his own growth? Its funny because one of the guys said in an interview that the idea of Robin learning how to feel Christmassy by doing a selfless act was to show how he's "matured like a child" over the past five years....which is such a weird concept for a man who is ten thousand years old, was a dad himself, and from the beginning was shown to be wiser and more empathetic than he appeared. I love the idea of him coming to enjoy Christmas because of Alison, but I don't feel like he was the one who needed to learn that lesson.

Who should have? KITTY!

My poor Kitty, what did they do to you, petal. They gave her such a great arc in the third season of overcoming her jealousy about Lucy and expanding on what she'd already learned in the season one finale about caring more about letting Alison be happy than forcing her to stay. But then we get the finale and we have her acting like a three year old who is dealing with having a baby sibling for the first time. Even though she's there with the guys telling Alison to leave, she's still clinging to the idea that they'll stay and has to be told by her father figure that they won't. Again one of the idiots implied she probably voted against it "for her own selfish reasons" implying there was no growth there at all, if anything she regressed. We don't ever get to see her and Alison talk things out and we never get to see her bond with her niece. Thanks, I hate it.

As for Alison, I guess her arc was "learn to accept your limits and quit when it's not working out"? Which to be fair, in her case, isn't a terrible lesson but it is a depressing one when we don't know what else she has other than being a mum (again, nothing against being a stay at home mum, I just don't think they built that up as being Alison's dream when we know how much she loved the idea of building her own hotel and being with the ghosts).

I’ve been thinking about character arcs and ghosts, and how much that’s varied across the characters. I think I should say upfront that I don’t have the best memory and there’s a good chance I’ve mucked up something here, but this is from what I can recall.

Some of the ghosts have had very clear across the entire show, like the Captian learning to accept himself/his sexuality and be a more open, kinder person, Fanny learning to let go of her rigid ways and beliefs, Mary becoming more confident, and Julian becoming kinder (even if he’s still reluctant to admit it).

Then there’s characters who’ve had vague arcs like Pat who learnt to stand up for himself a bit more (and be a bit of a bitch sometimes, affectionate). There is a change with him, but it’s not as obvious as with the previously mentioned arcs. There’s Robin who has had small arcs in various episodes (ie leaning to like Christmas, twice, I think), but not necessarily an overarching one, or at least not a very obvious one. His language improves over the series, but I when I talk about character arcs, I think of emotional arcs/personality shifts, so I don’t really count that. I would argue any change with as more to do with us getting more insight into his history and his mind which deepened our understanding of him than an arc, but idk.

There’s characters like Thomas and Humphrey who had no arc at all (understandable in Humphrey's case as he’s rarely present, baffling in Thomas’ as he desperately needed one), and then there’s Kitty.

I feel like there has been a change with her across the seasons, but I can’t for the life of me pinpoint what exactly and where she falls on the character arc spectrum. Honestly, this whole post is me asking what people think about this, if she did have a clear arc, a vague arc, or no arc because I can’t really and it’s bugging me.

[lollytea]

in love with the fact the Halloween costumes haven't left (and Hunter's still in his wolf shirt). you'd think the crew would have them change into clothes more tonally appropriate for trying to stop the end of the world and having breakdowns and emotional conversations and personal revelations and catharsis but NOPE. sometimes scary/important shit happens when you are unprepared and aren't dressed for the occasion and you gotta deal with it!! unironically love that. they're KIDS, MAN!

I am so grateful honestly because their costumes fucking SLAP!!! Not an ugly fit in sight. And you're right, it really emphasises just how young and carefree they really are. Just a bunch of silly kids who who were torn away from their silly Halloween party and unexpectedly thrown into this madness.

Because I'm Like This, I've also been thinking a lot about the symbolism of their outfits since TTT aired. I'm probably reaching and none of this was unintentional but it's still fun to think about.

Gus, dressed as Captain Avery, the protagonist of the awesome Human Realm book that helped him cope with missing his Dad. The book with the line "We'll find a way back. We have to." A line that apparently stuck with Gus enough that he immediately made the connection once Hunter said it. I like to think the resilient hopeful tone of Cosmic Frontier was something that helped Gus keep his spirits up.

Not to mention that it's Sci-Fi, something that is so distinctively human. Gus, the boy who has defined himself as a passionate human enthusiast, whose dream is to become an ambassador to their Realm, is gonna shine in the final episode wearing a symbol of all his enduring optimism and passion and imagination.

Willow is a peculiar case. She is, ironically, a girl who was once considered half a witch now wearing a big loud declaration that she is, in fact, a witch in full. And then some!! It's not in the same vein that Luz and Amity are dressed as magic girl-esque witches. Willow's got the whole ooky spooky cackling and spiderwebs kinda witch vibe. Well, to be specific, it's a bit of a witch/devil hybrid.

Like let's get it out of the way, she looks like Evelyn. The stripey tights, the jagged skirt, the fact that her costume was originally meant to be red, just like the witchy cutout that hung above them during the hayride. Although only the last episode will tell if anything is gonna come from this. Maybe it's just a coincidence. But I think it's very interesting that she's dressed as a stereotypical reflection of how the Human Realm views witches/demons. And then there's Belos, a human man who is defined by his black and white perception of witches as the scum of the earth. He believes they're wild, they're evil, they're dangerous, they're monstrous. Which, at first glance, doesn't represent Willow at all. But then FTF happens, and the viewer is reminded that Willow's magic can be unstable. That she can be dangerous. She can be monstrous.

However, there's also that little W patch on her arm, reminding us that she may be a witch but she's also a silly girl named Willow wearing a personalised Halloween costume. She's not defined by being dangerous. She's so much more than that. She's full witch Willow and she's going out with a bang.

Amity is dressed as Hecate, Azura's rival turned friend turned heavily wlw coded best friend (I guess???), which obviously mirrors Amity's own role when the story initially began. There's a bit of significance linked to the Azura books and what they mean to Amity. Namely, from Lost in Language, when her chilly exterior began to crack. Her secret hideaway in the library was discovered, which acts as a representation of the person that she really is, but desperately tries to hide. And, on full display, was the Azura books. She had all but one, which Luz allowed her borrow. The missing piece that set Amity's whole motivation to change into motion.

That book was the tentative olive branch between her and Luz. And, with Luz's influence, it kickstarted her journey into becoming a better person, taking control of her own life, cutting toxic relationships, repairing others, etc. It's possible that Amity wouldn't be the kind and happy girl she is today without the Azura books. So, her diving into the finale while representing those books is very sweet. Also....I love her Hecate outfit. Its SOOOOOO pretty. The boots, the dress, the celestial aesthetic!!! Serve!!!!

I feel like I don't need to go that in depth about the significance of Hunter's costume. We all get it. He discovered Cosmic Frontier when he was struggling to come to terms with his status as a grimwalker, which severely clouded his sense of identity. Hunter not only connected with O'Bailey, but it gave him the opportunity to see a representation of a thing he hated about himself from a more empathetic perspective. Hunter accepted O'Bailey, Hunter loved O'Bailey, Hunter became obsessed with O'Bailey. The book was probably a big stepping stone in accepting himself. Hunter cannot ignore the fact that he's a grimwalker. He can't sweep it under the rug. But he can embrace it. As somebody who is tied to the legacy of Caleb Wittebane against his will, it must be comforting to feel like he can latch on to a cool space hero, rather than an anonymous witch hunter from 400 years ago.

Hunter's sense of identity is very important to his arc. So, the T-shirt is also very fitting. Hunter's gonna have his final confrontation Belos, who constructed him as a doll of someone else, while wearing the wolf T-shirt he personalized himself and a homemade O'Bailey costume. Because his name is Hunter and Hunter loves wolves, sewing and Cosmic Frontier.

And Luz....man. I feel like there's SO MUCH significance to Luz ending this story dressed as the Good Witch Azura and I don't even think I can do it justice. It's like....that's her. Azura means everything to her. It's shaped her into the person she is today. The Good Witch Azura is the reason Luz loves magic. And if Luz didn't love magic, she never would have stayed in the Demon Realm. It brought her closer to Amity. It's what inspired her to read and write and draw and imagine and create. It's an outlet for all her passion for stories. It was the thing that comforted her and brought her genuine hapiness during the darkest point in her entire life. It reminds her just how much Manny loved her. It reminds her just how much she loves Manny.

Luz is a character who is defined by all this relentless love and almost all of it can be linked back to Azura. Fiction, art, magic, family. She's a kid who has endured so much pain but she has such a capacity for appreciating the eccentricities of the world around her. She's full of light.

It's worth noting that Luz began the story having a hard time differentiating fantasy from reality. As such, using the Azura universe as a form of escapism was a little unhealthy. However, that's not the case anymore. Luz has matured into a much wiser person, but that doesn't mean she has to let go of her love for fantasy stories. She's found this perfect balance where she can accept the world as it is, while still being able to indulge in her storybooks in a healthy way. I don't think Azura will ever stop being an important aspect of her life.

Luz is carrying the memory of Manny with her until the finale. She's weird and she has always been loved for being weird and once this is all over, she'll keep being weird and she'll keep being loved for it.

[holylulusworld]

Kidnapping Captain America

Summary: You are a wannabe criminal, trying to prove you are worth your father’s attention.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Criminal?Reader

Characters: Tony Stark, unnamed father

Warnings: angst, language, kidnapped Steve, Steve is the best, violence, hurt & comfort, shitty father, criminal activities, fluff, Steve has a crush, chaotic dumbass reader 🤣

Divider by @firefly-graphics​

“Do not move,” you nervously check on the ropes holding your hostage to the chair. It creaks under his weight, threatens to break if he moves too much. “You are officially my hostage, Captain.”

“Where? What?” an amused smirk colors Steve features as his eyes land on his kidnapper. She’s not one of Hydra’s assassins or a rogue Shield agent. It’s a cute and small girl standing in front of him, her umbrella her only weapon. “Why do you wield an umbrella in front of my face?”

“I-uh, it’s a top-secret weapon,” you lie poorly. Steve can see through your lie but bites his tongue to not laugh about your attempt to look tough and dangerous. “You are my hostage. M-my dad will finally see, I’m bad and rotten too. Right?” he looks you up and down, wondering why you ask him. “I kidnapped Captain America.”

Hands-on your hips you stand in front of the tall super-soldier, looking all proud and self-confident. His heart flutters, making it hard for him to reveal he could easily break out of the ropes and take you down.

“Right, you kidnapped me. You’re a big bad criminal, doll.”

You giggle at the pet name. It’s the first time a man called you more than useless, or goody-two-shoes. People around you are crude, and rough…and criminals.

“Oh, are you hungry? Thirsty maybe,” chewing on your lower lip you look at Steve. “I’m an awful host. You must be hungry. A tall man like you, restrained to a chair for two hours.”

“More like twenty minutes,” he softly says.

“What?” looking at your watch you groan. “Crap, my watch is broken.” You grumble, shaking your wrist as if you could bring your watch back to life again. “Are you sure it has only been twenty minutes?”

“Yes, the clock on the wall tells me so.”

“Aw, no,” crouching down, you wrap your arms around your legs, sighing deeply. “I wanted to keep you hostage for two hours and let you go. I’m bad at time management, I guess.”

“You could take a picture now and let me go,” Steve suggests. He smiles softly when you sit on the cold floor, looking up at him with teary eyes. “Doll, why did you kidnap me?”

“Uh-I’m not a crazy fangirl or something, Captain,” he nods, watching you get back up to step closer to the chair. “My father, he’s important, dangerous, and…ya know.”

“A criminal?” Steve asks, already knowing the answer. He saw pictures of you and articles all over social media. People called you the weak link in his organization. That you are too soft and vulnerable to take over his empire one day.

“He said,” you choke out a sob as you take another step toward the chair, “there is no place for me in his organization nor his life. I had to move out of my home only as I do not want to hurt anyone, Captain. I had to do something…right?”

“Doll, you are a sweet little thing, huh?” Steve waits for you to free him, to admit you made a mistake as you round the chair he’s sitting on. “You don’t have to be ashamed of yourself. Being a good person is not a bad thing. It makes you a good girl, is all.”

“A good girl?” while Steve tries to convince you to not turn toward the dark side, you fight with the ropes. “Damnit, I can’t undo the knot. What now?”

“I can handle this, doll,” he says, flexing his muscles to rip the ropes into pieces. “See, no need to cry,” Steve gets up from the chair, watching you backpaddle. “How about I bring you home now?” he asks, gently cupping your cheek.

“I’m still a big bad kidnapper,” grumbling under your breath you watch Steve pick his shield up. “Uh, I put it onto the other chair to make sure it won’t get dirty.”

He nods, smiling softly as you stand in the room, completely lost. “Where are we?”

“My apartment,” you shrug when his eyes widen. There is nothing but an old couch, two chairs and a table with three legs, one of them broken. “I got a bedroom too…a small one.”

“It’s…nice,” he lies, walking back toward you. “I think you should pack your things,” his features harden, and you swallow thickly, fearing he will throw you against a wall now, or worse. “You are a dangerous criminal, and I will arrest you now for kidnapping me. We will have dinner and you can tell me about all your evil plans.”

“That’s not a cell nor an interrogation room, Captain,” glancing at the house you frown. “Where are we? Is this a secret hideout where you torture criminals?”

Steve chuckles at your serious expression. “It’s my townhouse, doll. I thought we should keep it a secret you managed to kidnap Captain America, using nothing but a rope and your umbrella.”

“My umbrella is a top-secret weapon,” you press the yellow umbrella with duck print to your chest. “I hit a guy in the subway. He tried to feel me up and I hit his balls.”

“You’re right,” he says, carefully taking the umbrella out of your hands, “it’s a dangerous weapon and I will confiscate it for the time being. Better safe than sorry.”

“He cried like a baby,” snickering Steve watches you step into his house. “I had to defend myself since my dad kicked me out. People don’t get he doesn’t care about me. I’m nothing to him.”

“Go into the living room and wait for me. I’ll bring your belongings into the guest room, doll. Don’t worry, I will interrogate you later,” he smirks. “I can’t let a dangerous criminal like you go.”

“Oh, sure,” you worriedly look up at Steve. “I didn’t scratch your shield, right? I’m not some hooligan ruining other people’s things.”

“Capsicle, you can’t just take your kidnapper to your home,” Tony watches you sit on Steve’s sofa, sipping on the tea he made you this morning. “Steve, she’s the daughter of a very dangerous man. What will happen when he gets to know you took her with you?”

“Nothing,” Steve whispers to not catch your attention. He made sure no one knows about your whereabouts and will keep it that way. Steve feels responsible for your well-being; so he’ll do anything to protect you. “Tony, she’s harmless. Girl kidnapped me using an umbrella and a rope.”

“She’s not the smartest, huh?” smirking Tony looks at you again. He knows why Steve took you home. You look a little lost and he’s close to offering a place to life in to you too. “Man, you got a thing for stray cats. First, you took the old dog home, now little miss kidnapper over there. What comes next?”

“She needed help and someone to protect her,” hating to argue Steve rolls his eyes as Tony wants to make his friend see, he could get into trouble. “If they want to come for me, they can try.”

“Steve, you can’t fight a whole syndicate on your own,” already knowing his friend won’t give in Tony gets his phone out. “I’ll get you all the needed information. Just keep it low until then.”

A few days later, …

“Daddy, I kidnapped Captain America,” you proudly show your father the pictures you took with your phone before you freed Steve. “See, I can be bad too.”

“Did you kill him?” your father sneers. “Or at least try to hurt him?” your heart sinks hearing your father laugh about you once again. “You are nothing but a silly child playing hide and seek with the golden boy. I bet he willingly let you take the pictures.”

“No—I kidnapped him. Had a rope and my secret weapon,” sniffling you try to convince your father, grasp for his hand but he slaps your hand away, making you stumble backward.

“Everyone is laughing about you. Stop fooling yourself, kid. You’re not my daughter, and will never make me proud,” tears run down your cheeks when your father points toward the door. “There is the door, Y/N. Never come back if you know what’s good for you.”

“Dad, I-“ you nod silently. He doesn’t care that you choke out a sob or that tears stream down your face. “I’ll never bother you again. Pity you will never win a prize for the best dad, huh?”

He slaps your face. Hard. “Get out. Never come back or else…”

“I told you to stay here, doll,” Steve presses a cool pack to your swollen cheek. “Y/N, why did you leave? Huh?”

“I wanted to show him the pictures of you on the chair,” you sniff. “I know it was stupid, but I had to try, Captain.”

“Let me just lock the door, okay,” you look up at Steve with teary eyes, but try to put a brave face on. His heart breaks a little seeing you fight the tears. “It’ll only take a moment, Y/N.”

“You know, I could easily manipulate your alarm system,” you mumble as Steve activates the alarm system at his house. “I’m a criminal mastermind.”

“Doll,” running one hand down his face Steve sighs deeply. “We need to talk, Y/N. You need to stop telling anyone you are a criminal.”

“But…,” he runs his hands up and down your arms, making you sigh. You know that you’ll never turn into a criminal mastermind, but it was nice imagining your father will be proud of you one day. “What else can I do? Daddy never let me work. All I got is a degree in English literature, though. He called it a waste of time.”

“That’s wonderful, sweetheart,” Steve carefully wraps his arms around you to let you rest your head against his shoulder. “How about you try to find out what you want to do with your life.”

“No one ever asked me what I want,” you hide your face in Steve’s chest, sniffling silently. “I could try, I guess. Do you think it’s okay if I go back to my apartment? I promise to not kidnap anyone else.”

“How about you stay here for a while? You can sleep in my guestroom for as long as you want to. I want you to take your time,” he gently runs his hands up and down your back, making you feel safe and warm. “Let me make you dinner and we talk tomorrow, okay.”

“Steve, my father he…he said all those awful things about me. I think he’ll kill me if I ever come back,” you can’t see it, but Steve’s jaw ticks, and his eyes darkened a little.

“C-aptain America is here, boss. He wants an audience,” one of your father’s men stumbles into his office, coughing as Steve roughed him up a little. “I think he’ll not take no for an answer.”

“What do you want here? Revenge for the stunt my daughter pulled?” your father sneers as Steve enters his office. “I had nothing to do with her silly daydreams. Arrest her. I don’t care.”

“I did come here for your daughter,” Steve lowers his voice, “but not to punish her…”

“Will you tell me why her father has a broken nose, arm and walks funny, Steven?” Tony sips at his coffee as he watches you neatly sort papers at Steve’s office. “And why is she working for you now?”

“I offered her a room at my house, and she’ll be my assistant for the time being. Y/N tries to figure out what to do with her life. Can you stop observing her now?” Steve mutters. “I didn’t even know there are cameras at my office.”

“You almost broke her father into two halves, Steve,” switching to the next camera Tony ignores Steve’s glare.

“He hit her, Tony! No man should raise his hand against a woman,” the blonde exhales sharply. “I didn’t hurt him on purpose. I stepped toward his desk, wearing my suit and the shield. He ran out of his office, down the stairs, and fell. End of story…”

“Why are you doing this for the girl? You barely know her,” Tony sighs deeply. “I know she’s a cute girl, but a bit silly and clumsy too.”

“I kinda like her,” Steve laughs when you sit on his chair barking orders at imaginary people. You imitate his voice, giggling now and then. “She needs guidance and a friend is all.”

“Just don’t fall in love with her, Capsicle,” Tony watches his friend lean closer to watch you. “I mean it Steve.”

“I won’t fall in love,” the super-soldier grits out. He hides his heart jumps a little when you call him Stevie or that he loves having you at his house. “I mean...I will try...”

Tags in reblog.

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

Dream SMP Recap (April 25/2021) - The Red Banquet

The day has finally come.

All the preparations have been completed. The invitations have been sent out. Everything has been leading up to this moment, and the Eggpire is ready to make their move.

It’s time for the Red Banquet.

A brief summary of the week’s total events can be found at the end of the post.

---

VOD LINKS:

Captain Puffy

Badboyhalo

Antfrost

Eret

Skeppy

Ranboo

---

- Puffy walks around on the surface. Everything is prepared, the armor is where it should be. She hopes everything will go well.

- Everyone is dressed up for the occasion (except George). Hannah, Niki, Fundy, Eret, George and HBomb are all there.

- Bad says hello to Ponk in the Egg Room. Ponk tells him that no one has arrived yet. Antfrost greets them by the entrance and they go up the stairs to find Niki waiting. 

- Puffy and the other guests soon enter the room as well. Antfrost points them towards a coat room where they can put all their items. Foolish arrives with the Rolexes. They drink some cider, head to the dance floor and play some tunes.

- Bad comes over and greets Puffy. Foolish informs Bad that he peed on the Egg. Sam also has a dumpy and HBomb has two of Fundy’s cocks. 

- Antfrost goes off to speak with Ponk alone and check for some last guests. They watch as George arrives.

Ant: “He looks sort of lost, but that’s okay -- we welcome everybody here.”

Ponk: “Hold up...I don’t know...hmm. Hmm...”

Ant: “I mean, he looks harmless enough.”

Ponk: “We need to get a real good look at him first. Quickly.”

Ponk: “I don’t know what that’s about.”

Ant: “I don’t know. Well, we’ll just keep an eye on him.”

Ponk: “Yeah...”

- They then go speak to HBomb and Niki. H hasn’t stopped dancing

HBomb: “I’m doing my best impersonation of a white dad.”

...

Ant: “Did you guys notice that the guy over there -- George -- just sort of wandered in? He seems sort of lost.”

Ponk: “I feel like he’s hiding something.”

- From the walls, Ranboo in a shadowy outfit can be seen watching. 

- HBomb is the DJ.

- Bad comes over to say that dinner is ready. Bad tells Puffy that they have shrimp cocktails and they all go to sit at the table. Some people are in jail and weren’t able to attend. Ponk cooked all the food.

- Bad welcomes the guests to give toasts to the meal.

First up is Foolish, who says that he hopes that after today, nobody has to say “turn a new leaf” or “let bygones be bygones” ever again. Everyone has come here in agreement in the hope of something new.

Next is Eret. 

Eret: “As the monarch of the SMP, it’s awesome to be able to maybe see the SMP going back to being reunified again, and seeing all of us not have to worry about fighting each other on different sides. I hope this is a new chapter of the entire community as a whole. Cheers to that.”

Then Ponk steps up. Long ago, an old, wise man told him “People change like the tides in the ocean.” Now he truly knows they do.

Puffy steps forward. Bad and Antfrost, she considers as friends, and the Egg has separated them. She hopes this brings them all together and makes the server more peaceful. 

George was asleep twenty minutes ago. He asks about the soup. Ponk says it’s made from organic, free-range beets.

Finally, Bad says he appreciates everyone coming. This is the perfect opportunity for everyone to come together and let bygones be bygones. To set aside past issues to grow and advance forward, even with the wrongs that have been done. 

- He nods to Antfrost, who breaks a block behind them, revealing a button. Antfrost presses it.

Bad: “I was very, very happy that we were able to gather everybody here together for what is, I’m sure, going to be a banquet that none of us are ever going...to...forget.”

- Lava starts pouring down from the ceiling, walling them in.

Bad: “Yep. Prepare to die.”

- Everyone panics. 

- Puffy tells Bad that she didn’t trust the Eggpire anyway, and planned for this. She removes the cover from the table and looks into the chest -- it’s empty.

- They watch as the Eggpire members all don the diamond armor that Puffy and Sam had prepared. Hannah says she had to do it, had to tell them. For the Egg.

- Sam says that he had another plan, because he didn’t trust the Eggpire. He’s tired of all this fighting, and it’s about time that they blow up the Egg for good this time.

- Sam flicks the TNT lever and the explosives rain down on the Egg. When they explode, though, the Egg turns into crying obsidian instead of getting destroyed, reverting back to normal Egg blocks after a few seconds.

- After Quackity’s attack, Bad and the others took preparations to make sure that the Egg wouldn’t be vulnerable to TNT anymore. Now, it’s time for the executions.

Bad: “You see, the Egg needs something, and it’s gonna get it from each of you. See, in order for the Egg to hatch, it needs energy. And it gets that energy by people dying near it. And that’s the role that you guys are gonna fill! We’re gonna kill you, one by one--”

Eret: “You’re a monster.”

Bad: “What’d you say, Eret?”

Eret: “You’re an absolute monster. How could you. We all trusted you, Bad!”

Ponk: “Trust! Okay, Eret. Keep talking. Keep talking about trust.”

Eret: “...That was a long time ago.”

- Bad says that Eret is the perfect person to sacrifice first! He leads Eret to a spot in front of the Egg lined with Netherite blocks.

- Foolish steps forward, saying he’s had enough. The Egg can shield itself against TNT, but can it withstand lightning?

- Nothing happens. Bad laughs.

Bad: “You really thought, Foolish? You thought you could enter the Egg’s domain and beat it in a battle of power? Come on...you’re in the Egg’s territory, Foolish.”

- The Egg is suppressing Foolish. Ant suggests they start with Foolish instead and take Eret’s life later.

- Puffy steps forward. She and Antfrost shout at each other. Puffy says she gave them chance after chance. Antfrost says that Puffy betrayed them first.

Ant: “Foolish, your own son, is about to be slaughtered because of you!”

Puffy: “I’m only one person!”

Foolish: “Puffy, Puffy, it’s okay, it’s not your fault--”

Puffy: “NO! It’s not alright!”

Ant: “Puffy, you could have stopped this if you had stayed with the Eggpire. But this is your fault.”

- Antfrost kills Foolish with a sword.

---

CANON DEATH: FOOLISH

Cause: Sacrificed by Antfrost to the Egg

---

- Everyone screams in horror. The Eggpire wonders who to kill next.

- Suddenly, Quackity shouts at them to stop and drops into the room. He tells Bad to calm down. He puts on diamond armor.

- Quackity tells them they’ve just killed a man, asking if this is what they wanted. Bad tells him that he’s doing all this for the Egg, for what the Egg can give them.

Quackity: “I’m telling you, Bad, you’re a pawn to power. You’re nobody, Bad. You’re working for something that, quite frankly, doesn’t even care about you. I mean look at the Egg, look at the Egg! Look at what it means! It doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean anything, Bad. So how about...how about we just stop playing games.”

- As Quackity monologues, he subtly slips Puffy a Netherite axe, potion of strength and a golden apple.

- Bad can’t stop, or else he can’t get what he needs. 

Bad: “Guess what, Quackity. If you wanted to stop us, you should’ve brought more than just yourself. You should’ve brought an army.”

Quackity: “Guess what, Bad? I did! I did. In fact, I brought the next best thing...I brought my biggest enemy!”

- Technoblade logs on and drops into the room, his hoard of dogs following.

- Not only that...Quackity also went looking across the lands for the best mercenary he could find. Purpled drops into the room as well.

Bad: “We HIRED you to take out Puffy, and you join the enemy’s side?!”

Purpled: “Bad, to be frank with you, Quackity just had the better price.”

- Techno explains that he didn’t want to work with Quackity, but the Egg is too great a danger to the server and it’s against everything he stands for.

- Suddenly, Puffy jumps forward with her axe, attacking Ant. The Eggpire is shocked that she has a weapon.

Puffy: “You’ve taken my kindness for weakness, Antfrost!”

---

CANON DEATH: ANTFROST

Cause: Killed by Puffy with an axe

---

- A fight breaks out. Bad shouts for the remaining Eggpire members to retreat. They run out. Quackity orders Purpled to go track them down.

- Bad leads the Eggpire out. They can regroup later. For now, they have to run. They have to split up. They can’t get caught, they have to stay safe and go as fast as they can.

- Alone, Bad thinks to himself.

Bad: “This is such a trainwreck. This whole plan...everything was for this moment! And it’s gone! They -- they have the Egg now...they have it. What can I do? I can’t do anything! I need to get out of here. I need resources...”

“Wait, I know where I can go. I know who I can see...but the Egg, the Egg is -- it’s in their possession right now. What can I do? What can I do against it? I can’t do anything, they have it! I needed the Egg, I needed...I needed what it was gonna give. It was gonna help me get what I wanted, but now they have it...they have it...I just...I just wanted what...I just wanted what it could give me.”

“I didn’t really -- I didn’t really want to hurt anybody. I just wanted what it could give me, but...I don’t know. Did I screw up? Am I in the wrong here? I don’t know...I just need to go. I need to get out of here.”

- Bad starts rowing away into the ocean.

- Quackity asks Sam what to do next. The Egg is invincible.

- Purpled lost them in the labyrinth. Sam says he’ll build a prison for the Egg if he has to. He wants to find a way to destroy it, but for now they need to lock it away where it can’t be accessed.

- Quackity makes sure everyone is alright. They then exit the room through the whole in the wall. Quackity tells Techno to come with him and Sam to talk. They leave the others to escape the rest of the way.

- They make it to the surface, relieved. HBomb hands them all soup to remember the event by.

- Puffy goes off on her own down the Prime Path. While she talks to herself, Ranboo walks down the path with potion particles coming off of him.

Puffy: “What did I do? What -- I...My son died! And I killed my best friend! I...I need to find Foolish. I...I don’t even know who I am anymore. The life I swore to protect, I didn’t at all, and then I took one myself! I don’t even...I...I can’t do this anymore. I just...can’t.”

- Eret mourns Foolish after the events of the Banquet. Foolish sacrificed his life for Eret, so at the very least he should be commemorated.

Eret: “I don’t even feel like I knew him that well...which makes things even harder. He’s helped me out with so many things, just from the kindness of his heart. He claimed to know me. He claimed to know a me which I don’t even remember... And he sacrificed himself for me.”

“At the very least, I need to commemorate his sacrifice, I...I should’ve been the one to die, not him.”

- Eret builds a Totem statue in his fortress. 

RIP Foolish I’ll miss you, old friend.

- Eret builds a replica of the Egg in their museum.

- Ranboo logs on in his house. He decides to go around the main area today and fix some stuff. His inventory is quite empty, so he grabs stacks of grass blocks from a chest and heads out.

- He heads over to the main area and remarks that the server is beginning to look okay now that the Blood Vines are gone.

- He notices some posters for the Red Banquet.

Ranboo: “Oh, that was today! ...Cool!”

- He carries on and runs into Sam near the Community House. They exchange some steak. Sam says he’s collecting materials for the bank, as people need it now more than ever. 

- Sam suggests Ranboo invest money and charge cash for his hotel. Ranboo points out that they already have currency in the form of emeralds and diamonds. Sam explains his waiver idea for the bank.

- Also, Sam needs to build a vault. People can come and rent a spot to lock away important items. 

- Ranboo asks if you can lock away people in the vault. Sam says that’s what Pandora’s Vault is for already.

- Sam mentions that they’ll put the Egg in there. Ranboo asks what makes this different from regular storage. Sam says it’s more secure.

- Sam and his associates will be there day and night to actively defend everyone’s belongings. Ranboo asks how many guards Sam has under his command. Sam says quite a few.

- Why now? Sam says there’s no time like right now and quotes Oogway.

- Sam doesn’t plan on charging interest. He just wants to establish a better system of trade on the server.

- Ranboo explains to chat that he can use this system to make infinite money by trading emeralds and diamond armor.

- What if someone is, say, already quite rich on the server? Sam says the trade and the guard of supplies is most important. 

- Ranboo asks how fragile the system would be. What would it take to bring it down?

- Sam says a whole nuke. Ranboo replies that he was thinking systematically. He asks how the Great Depression happened and Sam explains inflation and the circumstances for economic crises. 

- Sam gives Ranboo a “prototype Sam dollar.” (One iron ingot)

- They go to Hannah’s house to steal and then find an anvil in the spider spawner to name the ingot “Smollar.” They go down the tunnel and Sam says that Ranboo shouldn’t go down to the Egg Room. It’s under quarantine.

- He’s planning on moving the Egg and asks if Ranboo heard what happened. Ranboo didn’t. Sam fills him in in the Egg Room. Ranboo is curious about the Egg turning into obsidian and picks up a piece of the Blood Vines, suggesting Sam do some experiments.

- They exit the Egg Room and find some strange llamas. Ranboo shoves a chest in Drip Llama.

- Ranboo, Sam, and Foolish breed a ton of llamas to begin the Industrial Revolution.

- Bad comes over and becomes one with the llamas to cope. Foolish turns into a L’manburg Llama and is promptly slaughtered by Ranboo.

- Ranboo, Bad and Foolish create a gigantic llama train.

Upcoming Events:

- Quackity’s business opening

- Tommy’s plan

- Tales From the SMP: “Space Race”

- Dream’s lore video

- The Banquet aftermath

---

END OF WEEK RECAP:

4/19 - Nothing much happens.

4/20 - Nothing much happens.

4/21 - HBomb makes a diamond game, Jack plans to open a pub sidechain for his hotel business

4/22 - Tubbo shows Tommy how to make TNT cannons

4/23 - Puffy, Foolish, Hannah and Sam meet on Cloud Prime to discuss the Banquet, Ranboo’s Enderwalk Saga: “The Lessons”

4/24 - HBomb’s diamond game, George’s anniversary dream, Bad hands out invitations

4/25 - THE RED BANQUET.

[coollemonsaresour]

The Love That Don't Stop

Pairing: Steve Rogers x daughter reader, Steve Roger x Natasha Romanoff. Warnings: Child abandonment, angst, fluff

Summary: It is Y/n's birthday, and she gets an unexpected present.

Word count: 2632

Request: @maximeevansblog ; The reader (me ) is the daughter of Steve rogenrs and its the readers birtday, and he takes her to the nail en hair salon , and they come back, and in the tower, they have a suprise party for her, and natasha comes with adoption papers and, he wants to her mom and a lotts of fluff thanks, and if its ready you tag me right ( natasha and Steve are dating) thanks. And if its ready you tag me right thanks

Request: Anonymous; can you do a Natasha x black!child!reader? I really liked your other fic. You don't have to if you don't want to.

A/n: I made lots of changes, cause when I went to go post it two weeks ago, my fics were two similar to the other two. The highlighted words are in realtion to the person that requested. Because I wanted to incorporate them into the fic 🙃

Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, BeEeee- you were starting to get agitated, and brought your fist down on your alarm clock, smashing it to pieces. But hey, it’s not your fault, you got your father’s enhancements through genetics, just the perks of being a Rogers.

Still in bed, you let out a yawn, and you began to stretch; mid-stretch that is when it had clicked.

It’s My Birthday.

And that’s when you smelled it. The sweet smell of a birthday tradition you and your dad have had for the past nine years of your life.

One day you showed your dad Steven Universe, and it happened to be the together breakfast episode. So ever since then, every morning of your birthday, you and your dad sit down together and have Together Breakfast.

As soon as you got out of the shower, you threw on some clothes and dash to the Kitchen. As soon as you enter you were met by a horrible sight. Your dad and a redhead kissing.

Nat and your dad have been friends since he had come out of the ice, a became even closer when you were born. Nat was like a mom to you, but you never would say that out loud, cause you didn’t want to make it wired or have her feel uncomfortable.

Your mom was never in the picture, she left you and your dad five days after you were born. Steve had no idea of how to raise a kid, he was completely lost, but then Nat had offered to help him out. The pair worked as such a great team people often thought that they were actually a couple. After years of a long, long sturdy friendship, your dad finally asked the assassin out. So basically they have been dating for about two and a half years now.

“Ew, gross,” you said, dramatically shielding your face from the sight. “ Good Morning Y/n, happy birthday,” they both said. “Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable,” you said as you sat down at the island stools. “You mean this public display of affection?” he said with a smirk and then pulled Nat in for another kiss. You then shield your face away and then began gagging and reaching.

“So it is….10:30,” you said looking around “Where’s Together Breakfast?” you said whining. “It’s right here you big baby,” Nat said teasing.

“ Cheers to fifteen years of chaotic life,” you said holding up a fork “Cheers!” they said, you each then taking a bite.

“So, Y/n, anything special on thing on the agenda today,” Nat said wriggling her eyebrows. “Not really, I was hoping that we could just go to the spa, then the salon, and just have a chill day.” You said taking another bite. “Oooh, sorry, y/n I can’t, join you today, I have busine- “ you cut Nat off with a loud groan. “ But its’ my birthdayyyyy,” you said with an adorable pout. “I know, and I’m sorry,” she said squashing your cheeks together “and I will make it up to you, but for right now-” she paused reaching over the counter to grab her bag “ I have to go,” she said giving you small hug and then turning to give steve a quick peck on the lips, and heading for the door. “ Bye,” Steve said, “bye Nat,” You say still mopping. “Bye babes,” she says giving the two an air kiss before disappearing out the door.

“So, I guess it is just me and you, Y/n,” Steve said as he started cleaning up breakfast. “Ya, I guess so, though I really wanted Nat to come today. Alright, imma got get ready so that we could go,” you said heading back to your room, leaving Steve smiling at your comment about Nat; not that you even realized.

---

“Alright, where here,” Steve said as the uber pulled up to the salon. You both walked in and were greeted by an overlay excited worker. “Hi, my name is Jess, I will be helping you out today” you then gave her a small, that she returned, then started eyeing Steve like he was her last meal. She looked like she was in her early-twenties, pale skin, about 5’3, blonde hair, and brown eyes. Probably working this job to pay off student loans. She turned to Steve, with scrunched eyebrows.

“Are you Captain America?” she asked with a smirk of curiosity, but it looked like she was trying to amuse him before he could answer “yes, he is, and he’s taken, Maybe next time sweetheart, ” you said pulling you dad away from Jess, and toward the receptionist desk.

“ Hi, Appointment for Y/n Rogers,” You say, leaning against the desk. “Right this way.”

---

You were currently sitting in a chair in front of a medium-size mirror, your hands resetting on the armrest, careful not themes up the freshly done nails. Then two Beautistions approached us, then one of them turned to Steve and asked, “are you getting your, hair done too,”

“No”

“Yes”

you and Steve say at the same time.

“Please dad, you can you a new due,” you say, Steve just rapidly shakes his head rapidly no.

“What wrong with the style I have now?” he asked. “You look like an upgraded BackStreet boy,” you reply in full honesty. He then puts his hand over his chest and pretends to be hurt. “You should die it!” one of the Beautistion said, “Great Idea…” you hesitated, search for her name tag.

“Max” she finished for you, seeing what you were trying to do. “If you don’t want to, die your whole head, you can start with highlights,” she said with a smile of excitement. Steve was about to say no until he saw your adorable pleading face. “Fine,” he said putting his hands up in defeat and moving into the salon chair next to yours.

---

After you left the Spa you and your dad headed to central park for a walk, something you two did a lot when you were younger.

You then pulled out your phone and tried to Facetime “Natty Bare 😘” but there was no answer. Which was strange, because Nat always answers your calls, no matter who, what, when, where, and why. Steve saw what you did and smiled, a smug smile. "What are you doing?" Your dad asked

"I wanted to show Nat your blue hair streaks" you said with a pout.

Halfway through the walk your legs were getting tired so you jumped on your dad’s back, you wrapped your arms around his neck and your legs around his hip.

“You’re like a pretzel,” he says linking his arms under your knees for better support. “And, you’re like a Dorito,” you tiredly mumble into the crook of his neck, Steve chuckled at the comment.

After walking a little longer you fall asleep. Steve then tightened his grip a little, as if he was giving a backward hug. He just could believe how fast his baby girl was growing up.

---

When they reached the tower’s elevator, Steve placed Y/n down on her feet to wake you.

“Y/n, baby, I need you to wake up for a minute.” “But why,” you mumbled as you leaned against him for support since you were still tired. “Cause if you don’t then this could be a very embarrassing photo.” “what pho-” before you could finish, the elevator doors opened, and then...

“SURPRISE!”

A tired smile then played its role on your face. You looked around and saw everyone there, except Nat.

Mabey she will show up later you thought to yourself.

---

An hour later she still has yet shone up. You asked around and Tony told you that she had a last-minute mission, but that she should be back at any time now. That failed to relieve your nerves.

But those nerves became worse when it was time to cut the cake. You know she was busy but would she really miss your birthday.

Apparently, yes, yes she would. Because the party was over, over an hour ago, and now it was currently 9:30.

Your dad knew that you were really bummed out that Nat missed your party, so he suggested a movie night. Movie nights were special to you and your dad because it became something you two did together, to destress. Just the two of you, Daddy and Daughter.

“Got room for one more.” came a voice that you recognized immediately. “Sorry, this is a two-person couch,” you shot back, anger leaking from your voice, your eyes never leaving the tv screen, ignoring the Russian, as she came into your view.

Steve then paused the movie, causing you to turn your head toward him, annoyed.

“How was the mission,” he asked her.

“I don’t know” She replied accompanied by a tight-lipped smile and shrug. You were about to say something but “Because it is not over yet,” she said looking nervous.

She then pulled out a manila folder and approached you and sat down in between Steve. The Folder was labeled “Confidential” with a red ribbon and bow tied around. The folder She then handed you the folder causing you to look up at them in question.

“Open it,” Steve said pulled Nat toward him sat her in between his legs, and then wrapped his arms around her shoulders, trying to help calm the nerves surging through her.

You carefully untied the ribbon, and open the folder. “On this day Y/n M/n Ro-” You mumbled quietly and then stopped, your face going blank. Your vision then started to get blurry with tears threatening to spill.

“Wow, y-you’re really, um getting good at that face,” Nat said, a million thoughts going through her mind.

“Y/n,” Nat said, voice flooded with worry. When you didn’t look at her, she used her fingers to lift your chin, so that you were looking at her. And when you locked with her that’s when the dames broke, as the tears sprang free from your eyes.

“Oh, no, baby, baby please, don’t cry,” she said trying to wipe away the tears rapidly falling down your face. “ I understand if you don’t want to go through with it,” she said wiping the tear that fell from her face.

“We don-”

She was cut off with the air being knocked out of her, as you crashed into her wrapping your arms around her torso, burying your face in her stomach, sobbing. She then wrapped her arms around you and held you close, one hand rubbing up and down your back trying to calm you, the other gently twirling some of your coils with her fingers.

Nat always felt like you were her child, even some people in public would mistake her for your mom, But she didn’t know how you felt.

Nat was so nervous that her soul was shaking. She knew how the topic of a Mother, is one that stings for you.

---

*Flashback*

Nat POV

I pulled up to Y/n’s school, today was her first day of Kindergarten, and in the morning she was so excited. That morning I bruised her hair into two puffs, curled her sideburns, and she then wore a Captain America shirt, with joggers and light-up sneakers. I swear she was the cutest four-year-old in the world.

I then saw Y/n exit the school, but my smile flattened when I saw the sad expression on her face. I then hopped out of the car and head toward her, as I get closer it looks as if she was crying. When I get to her I pick her up and place her on my hip, and instead of her giving me a hug like she usually does she just tucks her head into my neck.

“Hey, baby,” I saw trying to cheer her up “You okay,” I ask she just nodded and let out a little sigh. Then I hear laughing voices and I turn my head to see a group of second graders.

“See I told you to see was adopted, her parents probably didn’t love her,” one of them said.

“ There is no way Captain America is her dad If that lady is her mom, they’re both white, and she’s not”

“She just a baby and a lier,”

“ She probably doesn’t even have a mom,” another said laughing, causing Y/n to sniffle.

I then cleared my throat, successfully grabbing the attention of the bullies, sending them a death glare, and then headed to the car, and then buckled Y/n into her car seat. I then sat in the driver’s seat and adjusted the rearview mirror so that we could look at each other.

“Don’t listen to those, mouth breathers Y/n you hear me.” Y/n still didn’t look at me her eyes trained on her fingers fiddling in her lap.

“Um, Nat, umm, where is my mom, and w-why, um, why does she, not love m-me?” Y/n said with a sniffle. Her question made me want to go up to those kids and beat the shit out of them.

“ well y/n your mom had to do something important and should be back soon,” I had to lie to her because I didn’t know how to explain to a four-year-old, that her mother abandoned her and her dad because she thinks giving life to the sweetest little girl was a mistake.

Like what did Маленький шар совершенства, ever do to her.

“But Y/n, let me tell you this, Your dad loves you, so much and would let anything bad happen to you, you know that right detka,” she then nodded her head, sniffled, and wiped her tears.

“And I love you too, milashka, and I will never stop loving you.” I love you, Nat” “Now how about we get some Ice cream annnnnd, not tell Steve, because he is going to be mad because you haven’t eaten any dinner yet,” I said starting the car and putting a smile on Y/n’s face.

How could a mother ever leave a child like this, so sweet, innocent, and pure?

*Flashback over*

---

No one’s POV

“So is that a yes, baby?” Nat asked nervously that you might say no because you were crying.

You just nodded your head yes, as Nat hugged you tighter.

“Oh, dad I forgot to tell you, while we were out...I, um, need a new alarm clock,” you said with a nervous chuckle.

“Again,” they both said, not surprised at all.

“Mabey you should use your phone, you’re always pretty careful with that,” Nat said bopping your nose and squishing your cheeks together. You then reach into your pocket and pull out your phone. You went to the contacts and changed “Natty 😘” to “Mama🔥”.

“What’s my contact name Y/n?” Your dad asked.

“❤️Captain🤍Crunch💙,” you said sliding your phone back into your pocket and laying back down on Nat’s stomach.

“ I love you, mama,” you said nuzzling further into her

“I love to baby, always has and don’t plan on stopping”

*Bonus*

(Nat and Steve in the kitchen after putting Y/n to bed, because she fell asleep during the rest of the movie because you were tired after crying)

“So...what’s up with the hair, “ Nat said sipping on her tea, taking a step closer to Steve. He then shrugged his shoulders, and shook his head, with a goofy smile. “Uhh, Y/n thought I needed a new look,” He responds shaking the colorful hair from side to side. “Well, I like it,” she says as she runs her hands through his hair, “ Oh, do you,” Steve said placing his hands on her hips. “Yea…I do,” she says standing on her tippy-toe, kissing his lips. Steve then leaned more into the kiss. They went from kiss to make out sess, really quick.

“How about we don’t do this in the kitchen,”

“Mmhm”

---

@the-bau-quinjet

[natashxromanovf]

I want to see you smile

Pairing: Pietro Maximoff × fem!Stark! reader

Word count: 1.7K

Warnings: swearing (I think that’s it? If not, please let me know)

Type: fluff, friends to lovers

Summary: What happens when one friend falls in love with another? Are feelings mutual?

A/N: If you haven’t already noticed, I’m in love with friends to lovers trope. So yes, that’s what I’m writing. Again. In this fic, Thanos doesn’t exsist and everyone is alive. Just for clarification, Jenna is supossed to be Morgan’s babysitter. Also am I passing my obsession with Soy Luna to Morgan here? Yes, I am. This song is just so beautiful, yet sad at the same time. I don’t really like this, but oh weel, not everything can be amazing. Enjoy <3

Here's the link to the song

“And don’t forget to turn in your essays tomorrow!” yells the teacher, right before the bell rings, dismissing you from your last class. You pick up your backpack and look at Peter, who just stood up from his chair. “Are we hanging out today?” you ask. “Yes, we have to go to the compound, remember? Everyone will be there, there’s some important meeting, even we have to attend,” he explains. “But Steve said it’s not going to be long, so we can hang out after,” he says and you nod. Peter and you were best friends, ever since junior year of high school. The first time your dad introduced him to you (not knowing you two already know each other), was hilarious.

“Y/N, come in here honey!” yelled Tony from the common area. You were doing your homework, minding your business when you heard your dad calling you. “Coming dad!” you answered back. Once you got to the dining area, your father immediately started to speak “I want you to meet someone.” he said, gesturing to the boy beside him. As your head turns, you recognize this boy as none other than Peter Parker. “Peter?!” 

“Y/N?!” you both scream at the same time. “What are you doing here?” you asked, your eyes wide, surprise lacing your voice. “What am I doing here? The better question is what are you doing here?” he squeaked, his expression matching yours. “Woah, Woah, Woah, you two know each other?” Tony asked, just as confused as you were. “Yes we know each other, he’s basically my best friend,” you explained, Tony’s jaw dropping to the ground. “So that’s why you never let me come to your house,” chuckled Peter, finally putting all the pieces together. “Yea, that’s why.” you gently smiled. “Let’s introduce again, shall we? Hello, I’m Y/N, Y/N Stark.” you introduced yourself, making Peter laugh slightly. “Hey Y/N, I’m Peter Parker, also known as Spider-man.” now it was your turn to be surprised. “You’re Spider-man?!?” you asked. “And you’re a Stark! We’re even.” 

“I guess we are.”

Once you got to the compound, everyone was already there, even Morgan, to your surprise. “Mom, what’s Morgan doing here?” you question. “Wait a second, mom what are you doing here??” you now almost scream. “Didn’t Dad tell you?” she says and you shook your head no. “Oh, well, I told him to tell you, but what can you expect from Tony Stark?” she sighs. “Last mission went wrong and now a HYDRA base knows the addresses of all the Avengers, including ours, that’s why I’m here. And about Morgan... well we couldn’t reach Jenna, so we took her with us.” she frowns. “Oh, okay-” you were cut off, by none other than the famous Captain America. “Okay, so, I know you’re probably asking yourself ´What the hell are we doing here on our free day?´ but I have a good explanation for it. It has come to our attention that while we were on our last mission, fighting off HYDRA agents, some of them snuck into our jet and stole some information, including our home addresses. Now, since more than half of us lives here, or is from another planet,” he says, gesturing to Thor, “it’s not so serious, except for Tony, Pepper, Y/N, Peter, and Bruce. Your addresses have been compromised, so I would suggest for you to stay here for a couple of weeks, just to be safe.” he ends his long explanation, and all of you agree to stay here. “Wow, I need to call Aunt May,” says Peter, and you nod, gesturing for him to go. After you shoo Peter away, to go and talk to May, Pietro appears behind you, his usual smirk printed on his lips “Hey, printsessa.” he greets and you wave. “Hello Pietro, how are you?” you smile, his presence always making you happy, no matter how hard the day was. “I’m good, you?" he questions. “I’m okay, it just sucks a little, all this not-going-home thing. But at least I get the time to hang out with my favorite speedster.” you chuckle, Pietro joining. You make small talk, just usual things. Somehow you end on the couch and the next time you look at the clock, it’s already time for dinner. Today is Wanda’s turn to cook, and to say you are starving is an understatement. You couldn’t wait for her famous paprikash.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s been a couple of days since the meeting and you and Peter just came back from school, to a very unusual scene. Before you, there are all the Avengers, looking at something on the big screen. You and Peter look at each other confused, as to what could leave them in such a state. As you get closer, you see what they’re all so interested in. It’s a show called Soy Luna and you burst out laughing, now all the attention focusing on you. “Y-you’re watch-watching Soy Lu-Luna?” you say through giggles, making some of them blush. “Well, as a matter of fact, it really sucks you in.” defends Natasha, receiving hums of agreement. “Sure, whatever you say.”

“On which episode are you?” Peter asks. “I think it’s season 3, episode 25,” answers Wanda. “Oh my god, I love this episode, scoot over,” you say to Bucky, gesturing for him to move. He moves a little to the right, making space between him and Wanda. You sit in the middle while Peter sits on the ground, besides Steve. “Morgan wanted to watch it, right?” you ask, a smirk still playing on your lips. “Yea.” Wanda sighs defeated, and your smile widens, just a little. Right as you were about to turn your attention to the screen, Morgan appears in front of your eyes. “Hey bubba, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be watching the series?” you question, your brows furrowed. “Yea, I just wanted to be with you!” she exclaims and turns around, sitting into your lap. “Awwww,” you whisper, overwhelmed with her cuteness. 10 minutes in, Morgan screams that your favorite song is coming. “Look Y/N, Matteo is about to perform your favorite song!”

“You’re right Morgan,” you say, trying to calm her down from her excited state. “Will you sing it? Pleaseee,” she demands, looking at you with puppy eyes. Oh, damn it, not her puppy eyes, you think, agreeing, because c’mon, who can say no to those pretty eyes of hers. “But only because you asked nicely,” you add, making Morgan smile. Soon enough, the first tunes of Quiero verte sonreir start to play. She looks at you expectantly, as do all the others. Right before you start singing you make eye contact with Pietro. 

“No lo puedo evitar,

yo no te dejo de pensar,

y las noches son frías si tú no estás.

No lo puedo entender,

como no te has dado cuenta...”

(I can’t help it, I can’t stop thinking about you, and the nights are cold, if you’re not here. I don’t understand, how you haven’t noticed...)

There’s something in his eyes, that makes you not look away, not wanting to look away. Finally, your stare breaks, as Morgan bumps you, wanting some attention. “...Pero tengo miedo de pensar,

que no te vayas enamorar...”

(...But I'm afraid to think, that you’re not going to fall in love...)

You bump her nose, making your heart feel loved, because you made your little sister happy, even if just for two minutes.

Your eyes are back on Pietro, decided to dedicate the chorus to him, even if he doesn’t understand you.

“... Quiero verte sonreír,

quiero verte junto a mí,

no puedo ya no quiero,

no es fácil ocultar mis miedos...”

(I want to see you smile, I want to see you next to me, I can’t take it anymore, I don’t want to, it's not easy to hide my fears...) 

But you forgot there’s someone else in the room, who speaks Spanish fluently. As the song comes to an end, you know what’s coming, so right when you finish with your singing, you quickly scream: “Someone cover Morgan’s eyes, she’s too innocent to see what’s coming.” as a joke, not expecting for Bucky to actually cover her eyes. “Oi, Barnes, I was kidding!” you say while laughing your ass off. You spend the rest of your afternoon with your team, binge-watching Soy Luna, completely falling into trance. The duty of cooking dinner falls on you and Peter, others still not turning their eyes away from the screen. You decided to cook Mac and cheese, the only thing you both actually know how to cook. “How long have you been into Pietro?” he suddenly asks, making you choke on your water. “Wh- what?” you struggle while coughing, Peter tapping you on your back, helping you to regain your breath again. “C’mon, you don’t have to pretend with me.” he smiles, reminding you just how of an awesome friend he is. “Is it that obvious?” you ask, looking at him like you just swallowed a spider. “No, but I notice these things, the way you look at him, the way your lips always form a smile, the second you lay eyes on him, the way you speak to him like you’re gonna melt any second. Besides, I speak Spanish, so that right there,” he gestures to the living room, “tells me enough.” he finishes with a light chuckle. “Shit, I forgot you understand Spanish,” you exclaim, joining him. “Soo, you like me?” you hear someone say, his thick accent lacing his voice, knowing who he was. “Fuck,” you whisper under your breath, slowly turning around. “How much have you heard?” you carefully ask, scrunching your nose and closing your eyes. “Enough,” he says, that adorably annoying smirk playing on his lips. “I’m gonna just slowly go, because, well, this is awkward.” Peter quickly exits the kitchen, making you angry at him for leaving. “Is it true?” you hear him say, and you focus your attention back on him. Oh, fuck it, you think before speaking “Yes, it is. But I know you don’t feel the same, so can we just pretend this didn’t happen, because I don’t want to make things akw-” he crashes his lips onto yours, guiding them into a sweet yet passionate kiss. His hands are on your waist, yours travelling up his body till you reach his hair, slowly playing with his blond curls. Cheers erupt from the door, making you look at them. And there they are, the whole team clapping and cheering, a “Finally! I couldn’t take the tension anymore!” escaping Wanda, making you chuckle. “I hate all of you, I swear to god,” you say, looking away from them and into those beautiful ocean eyes of his.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[o-wise-corvid]

Okay so I had a small idea hit me this morning. So we all are about 95% sure that we’re getting Cody in the Kenobi series and most of us are pretty sure he’s gonna be in an antagonistic role. Which I’m good with. But what if between RotS and Kenobi, he somehow overcomes his chip. Wolffe and Gregor did it. Why couldn’t Cody?? But he stays in the Empire because how the heck else is he supposed to try to help his brothers and maybe strike a covert blow for good every once in a while. A man on the inside.

So a few years pass and the Empire is rounding up Force sensitive kids to either kill them if they’re too potentially powerful or turn them into assassins, Inquisitors, etc. Cody is placed in control of five of these kids for combat training. Becuase naturally. And he trains the ever loving heck out of these kids.

And he loves them. He softens the terror of the Dark Side that their other instructors instill in them and tells them about his old General. Every sting of Dark Side corruption that is leveled at the kids, he manages to soothe away and soften. It kills him a little inside when his five little ones come to him for training with burn scars from electric prods and bruises where they’ve been slapped or punched for mouthing off. He never fails to reassure them that it’s not their fault but that they must guard their tongues and thoughts. Always keep vigilant, always protect yourself. You’re better than this and you will be free one day. One day. Cody never mentions that that day will probably the last time they’ll be together.

They’re able to use the Dark Side but do not surrender to it, enough to the point that they’re more like Mace Windu, channeling the power but refusing the consuming plunge. They learn to shield their emotions like Palpatine did, disguising themselves in the Dark Side just enough to never trigger Vader’s feelers. Cody has to be careful that doesn’t let his affection be too visible but the kids know it and they all call him “Dad” when it’s just them.

Much like his brothers, Cody encouraged the kids to name themselves and lets them explore their own individuality as much as they safely can. The kids grow and are known as one of many teams to send in when there’s a serious target to be taken down. Most of the time, they’re utilized to take down old, entrenched Sep forces and they do such a stellar job that everyone begins idolizing them. They spend loads of time training, meditating and keeping fit when they’re not in the field, which isn’t terribly often. Which is how Cody likes it because they’re his babies. They all get matching tattoos like Cody’s scar. They all wear gold accented armor and carry yellow lightsabers in Cody’s honor as well. They call themselves “Sunshine Squad” in private.

The bond between them in the Force is almost symbiotic, to the point that they can marshal their abilities together to overpower an enemy that might otherwise kill any one of them alone. They echo the Clones heavily in that alone they can be easily overwhelmed but together, they can be a wall.

So one day Cody comes to them with a mission from himself, a defensive mission rather than an offensive one. Another team is being sent to Tatooine on the possible trail of a Jedi. Cody thinks he knows who it is and he can’t just sit by and watch this happen. So he sends his babies and makes sure they know that Kenobi will probably either be horribly difficult to find or he’ll attack them outright with everything he’s got. (See Uutapau?!) The kids leave; they’re grown but that’s how Cody thinks of them collectively. He silently prays that the General won’t overreact and kill one of them.

Kenobi does indeed rush them in “hello there” style and the kids are just trying not to die while also trying to convince him to chill his paranoid butt all the way down and listen. The eldest, a young woman who actually resembles Cody, finally pulls everybody together and collectively, they Force lift and restrain Kenobi long enough to keep him from killing any of them. He’d dropped his lightsaber in the fight and she scoops it up. She marches right up to him and just smacks him in the chest with it. “Now,” she pants, “are you dead?”

Kenobi just sort of stares at her.

“What?”

“Did I just kill you?” she demands solidly, eyes boring into Kenobi’s.

“No...” he answers cautiously. “If I could’ve just now, wonder why I didn’t.” She continues in a slow, methodical conversation to get Kenobi to arrive at the conclusion on his own rather than hand it to him. Cody encouraged her to do this should a confrontation arise.

“Uh... you don’t want to?” he finally guesses.

The woman patiently nods. “That’s right. Now take this blasted thing before you lose it again.” And everyone slowly lowers Kenobi to his feet. He begins sensing something familiar and not unwelcome. He can’t place a finger on what he’s feeling, like it’s a smell from childhood that evokes a pleasant but unclear memory. And then he sees it. His old friend, the Clone Commander in gold, is literally stamped on each of these people, in the way they talk because they’ve all picked up Cody’s accent, the way they stand and especially the way they fought. One of them tackled him in the one-sided fight; it was like being hit by a gundark. Another had performed a truly beautiful kick to defend herself from his lightsaber, knocking it out of his hand. And the same person had returned it.

“You’re not Sith,” he ventures, still holding his lightsaber in a ready defense pose.

“Search your feelings,” one of the younger ones responds. “We didn’t even raise our sabers to you. If we were Sith, aggression would be our leading edge, don’t you think?”

“Who are you?” Kenobi asks, almost daring not to hope.

The whole group smiles at each other and replies in perfect unison: “Sunshine Squad. Captain Cody sends his regards.”

The woman introduces herself as Gaia, then there’s the twins: Soren and Rex (he chose his name when he asked Cody who his favorite brother was). The other girl is Kali and the youngest is Shriek.

The leader clears her throat. “General, you’re in danger and we need to get somewhere secure before the real strike team lands. We have an hour at the most, sir.” And Obi-Wan hears Cody that time. It might as well have been the man standing right there.

So, he takes them to his little hut. And they all just stop dead about 100 yards away and a chorus of “This is not secure” shaded comments.

“Well, I’ve always managed to defend it when I needed to,” Obi-Wan says, a little offended. He receives five polite but firm looks that are all basically this. 👇🏻

If y’all want more, I have more in my head. But this post is big enough.

Here’s more

Aaaand some more

And here’s a link to the first part of my fic

[ineffable-snowman]

sambucky christmas fic

As always, Bucky set Sam up.

“Any plans for the holidays?” he asked in the aftermath of one of their more bizarre missions. Bucky was holding a fake Santa Claus in a chokehold while Sam tied his wrists with Christmas string lights. Several children looked on in horror.

“Christmas is family time, so I’m heading down to Delacroix. Sarah’s big on Christmas traditions, everything has to be done exactly like Mom and Dad used to do.”

“Sweet.”

“Mm.”

“As for myself…well.” Bucky shrugged with a little self-deprecating smile. “I guess I’ll just have to see what’s on TV, get some takeaway, you know.” The lights from the Christmas fair shimmered in his sad eyes, and Sam knew he was being played and that he did not have a choice.

Sam huffed. “Why can’t you just ask like a normal person?”

“Ask what, Sam?”

Now he even tried to trick Sam into asking, the nerve of that man! “Hey, Sam, wanna spend Christmas together?” Sam sing-songed. “How about that, huh?”

“Well, you just said Christmas is family time, so you obviously want to spend it with Sarah and-”

He was really making him ask then. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, we can all celebrate together.”

“I wouldn’t want to intrude, you know, with Sarah being big on traditions...”

Just then, Torres finally arrived with the handcuffs.

“I might just use these on you,” Sam threatened Bucky, “and drag you to Delacroix with me.”

“You wouldn’t be able to handcuff me,” Bucky said with that cocksure grin of his and tried to stare Sam down.

“Yeah? Wanna bet?” Sam stared hard back at him and that infuriating grin.

“Er.” Torres cleared his throat. “Bucky, you might wanna let the man breathe for a bit.”

Sam tore his eyes away from Bucky, and Torres was right, the fake Santa’s face had turned an ugly shade of red in Bucky’s grip.

“He’s going to survive,” Bucky said, unimpressed, without loosening his hold. “And do you really wanna hear any more of his bullshit?”

“Bucky,” Sam said.

Bucky rolled his eyes but let the man go.

The fake Santa coughed and gasped for breath. “Jesus, just ask him out already,” he wheezed between coughs, “but let me live. I’m not a murderer, I only wanted to-”

“Nope,” Sam interrupted him before it could get any more embarrassing. “No more words from you or he’s going to choke you, for real this time.”

“You can’t do that, you’re Captain America, you, you-!”

“Like hell I can’t.” Who was he kidding, he was on a Christmas fair among several witnesses. Also, that man wasn’t technically a murderer because they had stopped him just in time. And obviously they didn’t execute people. But Bucky flashed the guy his most psychopathic grin and that successfully shut him up.

Link to the next two chapters on AO3

[discotreque]

LwD 2.05: An Embarrassment of Dooplers

So I was a little nervous about this one! I hadn’t heard any spoiler-spoilers, but screeners have been out for weeks now, and I’d heard a bunch of individual, vague, non-spoilery hints about (1) big character moments, on the scale of a mid-season finale even though the show’s not taking a mid-season break; and (2) an ending that would make me cry.

I guess I imagined something relatively serious and dramatic, like “No Small Parts”? This show makes me cackle with laughter and giggle with nerdy glee and “d’awww!” at heartwarming friendships every week, but it’s only ever made me cry once—and then I was impressed that they were going to get there from the wacky hijinks we saw in the brief teaser.

The lack of a cold open made me apprehensive too—in my experience, that’s typically a sign that there’s so much plot in the rest of the episode that they need that extra scene—but after ~21.5 minutes of aforementioned hijinks, I was having so much fun that I’d completely forgotten about the alleged tear-jerker at the end…

…and they were not the tears I was expecting.

I didn’t think I’d be smiling and crying!!!! That was wholesome as SHIT!!!!!

I almost can’t believe they earned that—but they totally did.

After a Mariner–Tendi episode and a Boimler–Rutherford episode, we’re back to the “usual” Season 1 pairings… except the relationships between these characters have changed since Season 1. Mariner still feels thwacked in the abandonment issues by Boimler bailing for the Titan, and Rutherford’s having a tiny little existential crisis about losing an entire year of his life.

Both of which are extremely understandable and very heavy situations—and both of those situations get resolved because everyone in them is vulnerable with each other and honest about their feelings—AND that honesty and vulnerability brings both pairs of friends closer together. Are you kidding me?? I would watch SEVENTY seasons of that shit. Put it in my veins.

Onto the notes:

So basically Dooplers are Tribbles, but for cringe comedy instead of slapstick? Ohhhhh boy.

Look at Ransom the diplomat, tossing his own fork on the floor! I like that he’s actually a pretty competent Starfleet officer, despite also being a completely ridiculous person.

Wait a second, is that—OH HOLY SHIT, THE DOOPLERS ARE VOICED BY RICHARD KIND.

It makes sense that B. Boimler would find William annoying—who likes seeing their own flaws reflected back at them? And who could be a better reflection of one’s flaws than one’s literal duplicate?—but most interesting to me is that it implies on some level, Bradward knows the stick up his butt is a flaw. (Does William?)

Why does the Cerritos model have working phasers?!?!

I’m loving hot pink as the currently en-vogue colour for “dangerous sci-fi energy” in animation (cf. almost every previous episode of this show; Into the Spider-Verse; other stuff I can’t remember right now). As a former child of the 80’s, I’m living for it… but as a former teenager of the 90’s, I can’t help but wonder if it’s going to age as poorly as the harsh neon green of The Matrix, every Borg appearance on Voyager, and like 80% of the websites I made in high school…

SKANTS! SKANTS! SKANTS!

That fake-out joke with the fly-by over the Cerritos model was in the season trailer weeks ago, and I was so enthralled by that handsome lady that the sticker coming into frame still got me good 😂😂😂

BECKY Mariner????? omg yes

Some top-quality Boimler screams in this one. Poor Jack Quaid must drink gallons of throat-coat tea when he records.

One of the great things about Star Trek to me is that you never know what you’re going to get from any random episode. A murder mystery? A road trip? A spooky thriller? A cheesy romance? Broad comedy? Body horror? Didactic political screeds shrouded in tissue-thin science-fiction metaphors? Brain and brain, what is brain??? And after this many years of watching, you’d think I’d be hard to surprise. But if I ever told you I thought I’d see a Blues Brothers–style car chase through a frickin’ shopping mall on an episode of Star Trek, I would have been straight-up lying to you. I loved it, it worked for me, my jaw was on the floor and I was clapping with joy—but I’m definitely comfortable calling this one “unexpected.”

It’s CAPTAIN SHELBY!!! And an ancient babydyke crush rose from the depths of my childhood subconscious… (Also I think her Number One is based on the original makeup—eventually deemed too complicated—for Saru? Now that’s a deep cut.)

In 20th-century Trek, you almost never got to see what was going on inside a starship from the outside. Even after they switched from physical models (where it was next to impossible on a single episode’s budget) to CGI (which was still in its infancy, still not exactly cheap, and still broadcast in SD anyway), it was a rare thrill to see any meaningful interior details in an exterior shot. Disco’s modern VFX have given us some tasty, tasty treats in that department, but nothing quite as sublime as all the pink Doopler light glittering through the Cerritos’s windows.

Mariner says she’ll take her contact Malvus down with her, and threatens that they’ll end up “in the same cell.” Malvus is a Mizarian, a species introduced in TNG’s “Allegiance,” in which Captain Picard is held in a mysterious prison with one. I think I see what you did there, McMahan?

Bartender… so hot… lesbian circuits… overloading…

The Tendi and Rutherford C-story was, well, a C-story within a 22-minute episode, so there wasn’t much to it, but the one scene that mattered actually mattered a lot. I’m ambivalent on whether they should end up romantically involved—I’d prefer they don’t, but they’ll be one of the cutest couples in Trek history if they do—and as long as they keep that pure, sweet friendship between them at the heart of whatever else happens, I’m on board.

Carol Freeman was already one of my favourite captains before this season, and she’s been steadily moving up the list. The quiet throughline about her ambition to be on a better ship has been fascinating so far, and it’s starting to actually make me feel a little conflicted: I’m of course rooting for Captain Freeman to recognize her worth, make Starfleet recognize her worth, and become the ass-kicking captain of a hero ship that she’s clearly ready to be—but that almost surely means she’d be kicking ass off-screen, because LwD isn’t about those kind of adventures, and I’d be devastated not to have Dawnn Lewis on the show every week. So I’m kind of on the edge of my seat about this one!

I had so many favourite jokes this week I put them in a separate list:

“Even the replicated water on the Titan tasted better” is a low-key brilliant dunk on people who can’t shut the fuck up about the cooler places they used to live.

“Ooooh, they have a Quark’s now! That used to just be an empty lot where teens would make mistakes!” ← That’s literally me every time I go back to where I grew up. I felt so Seen™ I almost hid under a blanket.

“I would never go down the stairs!” (evil grin) (goes up the stairs)

The “well, shit” expressions from Mariner and Boimler as their crashed car sank right into the water… which started to bubble innocuously… and then the bottles of Data bubble-bath popped up, paying off a joke I thought had already been paid off—that was the one that woke up my poor cat this week. Just exquisite timing.

“YOUR PAGH IS WEAK, AND IT DISGUSTS ME!” “I don’t even know what that is, but I don’t like your tone!”

“Okona’s in there? He’s not even Starfleet! This is outrageous!” made me shout “NO!” at the screen like I was scolding my cat for scratching furniture. (She did not wake up that time.)

Best background joke: the neon sign at the dive bar advertising FREE SHOTS & BEERS. (Get it? Because they’re on a Federation starbase? Where nobody uses money?)

And of course Quark merchandised DS9.

This wasn’t just a standout episode of Lower Decks, this was a brilliant episode of Star Trek, period. The Dooplers, though extremely silly, are nevertheless also a clever sci-fi metaphor for real and relatable personal/interpersonal issues, and an effective plot catalyst for meaningful character growth from all four of our ensigns and the captain.

The jokes were hilarious, the action was kinetic, the A-, B-, and C-plots linked up thematically, the visuals were consistently and thoroughly gorgeous, the character beats—between Mariner and Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford, Mariner and Capt. Freeman—were all genuine, heartfelt and wholesome, and the references to other Trek canon were both deep and deeply affectionate.

Only 15 episodes in, and this series knows exactly what it is, exactly what it wants to do, and knows that it can knock our socks off doing it. Mike McMahan has said in recent interviews that the back half of S2 (and the apparently almost-fully-written S3) is a straight line uphill in quality from here—which surprised me at first, because McMahan seems like a pretty chill dude who doesn’t normally brag about his own work like that.

But then the Prophets sent me a vision of my space dad Ben Sisko, who reminded me of the words of 1930’s baseball player Dizzy Dean:

“If you can do it, it ain’t bragging.”

[Thanks to cygnus-x1.net for the screenshots this week—I was too lazy to do my own.]

[glitterandmoondustofficial]

Lost And Found

Characters: Law, Lammy, Heart Pirates Rating: Teen Warnings: Language, PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety mention Notes: I know this has probably been done a million times but it’s my turn (: AO3 Link

~~~~~

“Where are you going today, Cap?” Shachi grinned at Law. Law shrugged. “Wandering?”

Law grunted. He watched his crew walk off the Polar Tang. Not at the actual port, of course. Submarines were suspicious enough, let alone one sailing with a black flag. They found a quiet little beach to disembark safely. Law looked back at Shachi. “You know what they say about assuming things.”

“Pawn shops for coins, then.” Law rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m going to find some good grub.” Shachi rubbed his stomach for emphasis. “Want to come with? Or have you decided this is going to be a day where you ignore your own advice and not eat?”

“You’re being rather annoying this morning,” Law quipped.

“Just worried about my cute junior,” Shachi cooed at him. Law rolled his eyes again. Shachi patted his back with one hard pat. “I’ll see you later, Captain. Enjoy your day.”

Law muttered his thanks before adjusting Kikoku. He watched Shachi walk off of the Tang for a moment before sighing and moving to leave the submarine himself.

Shachi was not wrong. Law planned on wandering the island and then probably going to look at coins. Simple pleasures, Law supposed. After a life of whatever in the hell his life has been,  it’s nice to have some form of hobby that doesn't involve violence or medical procedures…or both.

Law walked off the Tang and along the beach, watching the sea hit the shore. He watched a tiny crab scurry from the sand to the sea in some hurry that only crabs could be in. As he walked further down the beach he noticed that people were starting to appear. It looks like he made it to the public beach. Law made a disgusted face. He supposed it was time to look in the town, lest he be surrounded by a bunch of fun-goers.

Law made his way to the port town. Nothing special about it. He wondered if his trip would be fruitless. He might have gone to an island with no new books, no island-specific coffee, or worse, no new coins. He huffed. He wouldn’t know until he actually looked.

His shoes made a tapping noise as he walked on the stone ground. People walked past him, completely unaware of who he was. Or maybe they just really, really didn’t want to acknowledge who he was. Either way, Law didn’t care. He was on a mission. Buy stuff.

He walked past food stands and restaurants, not paying them any mind. He wasn’t in the mood for food, and no one seemed to be selling any quality coffee. He continued walking, looking for anything interesting. He caught sight of a bookstore. Finally. Maybe this place would hold his interest.

He adjusted Kikoku and walked towards the shop. He was almost smacked with the door when someone decided to exit at the time he tried to open it.

“Oh! Sorry!” The woman apologized.

“Whatever. It’s fine,” he grumbled.

He looked at the woman. Her light brown hair was in a braid. Her gold eyes met his and they stared at each other silently.

Of all the things that Law expected to find on this island, this was not one of them.

He stared at the ghost in front of him, not sure what to do. He swallowed bile in his throat, everything coming back to him at once. She looked like her. She looked like his mother. He took a deep breath and looked her over again. No, too much of his father. She looked like Lammy would have, had she had the chance to grow up.

“Law?” The woman spoke up and Law’s ears started to ring. It couldn’t be. “Law?” Her voice grew more anxious. “Is that you?” She knew him? Is that really her? He let out a shaky breath and felt himself reach towards her.

Law snapped back to reality and withdrew his hand. Of course she knew him. He was Trafalgar fucking Law, the Surgeon of Death. He looked at the woman’s face and noticed the tears running down her face.

“Law, it’s you isn’t it?”

“That’s not exactly a hard thing to figure out. I’m sure my bounty poster is everywhere.” He tried to sound calm but his voice was shaking.

“That’s not how I know you. That’s…” she trailed off. “You’re alive! You’re-”

“In the way,” a flat tone said from inside the building.

“Oh!” The woman said. “I’m so sorry. We’ll get out of the way.” The woman took Law’s arm and started to drag him away. Law was so stunned by the action that he didn’t fight back at first.

Once he realized what was happening he pulled his arm back swiftly. “I don’t know who you think you are but-”

She turned to look at him, tears still flowing down her cheeks. “You remember me don’t you? I’m Lammy. You’re my brother.”

Law felt nauseous again. “Lammy died,” he snapped. “She died in that fire.”

“I didn’t. Almost did, but I didn’t. I was saved.” Law eyed her, not believing a word she said, but as he did he noticed the all too familiar white splotches on her tan skin, just like him. Just like his splotches. But still - there’s no way she was saved. It was genocide. They set the hospital on fire on purpose. It was to kill everyone inside.

His chest tightened and it was hard to breathe. He felt a cold sweat run down his face. Anxiety. PTSD. His vision was blurry for a moment until he felt a hand on his forehead.

“You’re hot,” she said. “Come on. I’ll take you to my flat.”

She started to drag him off again and this time he couldn’t find the strength to fight back. Before he knew it he was laying on a couch in a small apartment with a cold washcloth on his forehead.

He stared at the ceiling and then over to “Lammy,” who was reading a book in a chair across from him. He narrowed his eyes at her and felt himself become nauseous again. He felt hot, like a fire was lit under his feet. He smelled smoke and corpses. He swallowed down bile again. He needed to get out of here.

“Don’t even think about it,” she said, not looking up from her book. “I know that look. That’s the “I’m going to run” look patients get.”

“What, are you a doctor?”

“Yep. It’s natural, isn’t it? I mean, Mom and Dad were.” Law sat up, the washcloth falling into his lap. He looked around the apartment. Not much to it, honestly. It looked very bare. “And you became a pirate captain, interestingly enough.”

“I’m still a doctor,” he said automatically, not thinking about it.

They stared at each other for a moment, scrutinizing and analyzing each other. Law realized how much this woman looked like his mother. It made him want to cry. An old buried ache in his heart that was long repressed.

“I can’t believe you still have the hat,” Lammy spoke up.

“My sister got it for me.”

Lammy smiled brightly. “Ah, I suppose that makes sense. I don’t have anything from that time.” She sighed and closed her book. “What’s with all the tattoos?”

“You did just state that I’m a pirate captain,” he said flatly.

Lammy chuckled. “Yeah. How exactly did that happen?”

Law narrowed his eyes and his skin prickled. “Why would I tell you that?”

“Ah, you still don’t believe that I am who I say I am.”

“You think I’m just going to believe anyone who says they’re my dead sister?”

“How many people know you have a dead sister?” She questioned.

Doflamingo, he thought to himself, very aware of the fact that this could easily be a trap and he was already shit out of luck. What an idiot he was! He was so easily taken away by some random woman because he had a little PTSD. He should be better than this. When was the last time he made a fool of himself like this?

“How about I tell you what happened?” Law didn’t answer so she took that as permission. “The hospital was set on fire and I was dying. Well, dying faster. I passed out from the smoke, knowing that I was about to die alone,” she frowned and rubbed her arms. “The next thing I knew I woke up in a bed by a window with a curtain blowing in the breeze. It smelled like honeysuckle. A nurse walked in the room and started taking care of me. I asked all the normal questions. “Where am I? Where was my family? What happened?” And the like. She didn’t answer any, she told me to wait for the doctor.” She went silent.

“And?” Law prompted.

Lammy blinked. “The doctor came to see me eventually. He told me someone had pulled me out of the hospital and took me to another town near the shore. The doctor had heard about Amber Lead and was trying to work with anyone who could help cure the poison. Turns out he was too late,” she said bitterly. “Everyone died.” Law didn’t say anything. “I was sick and dying. I couldn’t get out of bed and I barely had a voice due to all the smoke I inhaled. I felt like whatever had happened was just a bandaid on a bullethole. I was going to die. Amber Lead was going to kill me. And I was miserable. I endured too many surgeries when I was so young.” She sighed. “The doctor performed one last surgery and I was okay. I wasn’t dying anymore. Something about it being in my liver.” She shrugged

Law swallowed. “And after that?”

“I helped the doctor in whatever way I could for saving me, but over the course of the months I was there the Navy ran raids, looking for people from Flevance who may have escaped, and as you are well aware, the scars never faded.” Law looked at his hands and the white splotches on his skin. “So, I found my way off the island. I stowed away on a cargo ship, eating scraps and sharing space with rats. I hid pretty well for a recovering, sickly eight year old girl. I would stop at an island, stow away on another ship, and then do it all over again a few times until I found an island where I finally decided to stay. Found an orphanage. Stayed there. Went to school and got the best grades so I could do everything on scholarship. Became a doctor and found myself on this island. Uh, that’s it, I guess.” She sighed. “I suppose it’s not believable and sounds like any story book tragedy. I mean, why would anyone save me when they were killing everyone else and…”

Law tuned out her anxious rambling and stared at her quietly. He let out a breath, starting to become far too emotional for the cool and calm captain of the Heart Pirates. What if this wasn’t a trap? What if she was who she said she was? What if she really was Lammy? What if what if what if…

“If,” he spoke up and interrupted her. “If you’re really Lammy,” he continued slowly. “Tell me something I would only know.”

Lammy frowned. “Well, let me think that far back. It’s been years since we saw each other and I barely remember anything it was so long ago.” She tapped her fingers together. “Do you still collect coins? Do you collect the Sora comics? I remember us reading them together.” Law frowned and his bottom lip quivered a bit. “Uh, let’s see, you once got in trouble at school for bringing a frog to your class photo.”

“Okay,” he said quietly. He breathed in through his nose. “Okay.”

“Do you believe me?”

He wanted to. He so badly wanted to. “If I did, what would you do?”

“Uh, hug you, I guess.” She cleared her throat. “I heard about a Trafalgar Law becoming a pirate captain, but I thought “no way, that’s not my brother.” However…it is you and-”

“What’s my middle name?” He interrupted her.

“What?”

“What’s…our middle name?”

Lammy blinked. “Duh, I suppose that would’ve been the easiest way to figure it out. It’s “D.””

Law didn’t mean to make a tiny pained noise that came from deep within his throat, but he did. It was Lammy. Who else knew that secret information?

Lammy smiled softly. “Want that hug?”

“Shut the hell up,” he said, holding every emotion back and failing spectacularly at it.

Lammy walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Law immediately held onto her. Lammy was here. His baby sister was here and alive.

He blinked away tears to the best of his ability. He heard Lammy sniffle and his heart ached. He dreamed of this. He had prayed for this knowing that it would never be answered. Life was cruel and painful and yet she was here, crying with him.

They held onto each other crying, letting their pain out. Their hearts were bare for one another. Law had never felt this much joy and hurt at the same time. His head and heart were racing. He felt light headed and nauseous. Of all the things he ever counted on happening, this was one he knew was never going to happen.

After long minutes of crying like he hasn’t cried in years, they pulled out the wine. Lammy asked him what happened and he told her. He told her cautiously, but he told her. Of a twisted fate marked with pain and suffering. He told her how he escaped and of The Family. He told her about Cora-san. He told her about how he survived with his three companions for so long.

Lammy nodded. “A lot has happened to you,” she giggled after a moment. “And you became a criminal.”

“What else was I supposed to do?”

She shrugged causally. “It’s your life, you did what you wanted so that’s what mattered. You’re happy now, yeah?”

Law took a sip from his wine. “Ish.”

“Ah, yeah.”

“What about you?”

“Eh.” She shrugged. “Could be worse. Could be better.”  She paused. “Tell me about your adventures.”

Law raised a brow. “Why?”

“What do you mean “why?” Because I wanted to hear what’s out there!”

Law chuckled. “Okay, I’ll tell you some.”

Law told her about the many islands and adventures he had been on, leaving out the more…violent parts. He didn’t need his sister to know everything about being a pirate. She listened eagerly, her eyes wide like a child being told an exciting bedtime story. They finished the wine together and were laughing by the end of the bottle.

“That all sounds amazing!” She exclaimed. “I wish I could see the world like that.”

Law hesitated for a moment before swallowing. “You could come with me.”

“Huh?”

“You could come with me.”

“To be a pirate?” She squeaked. Lammy looked at him with wide eyes. “I-I don’t know. I mean, we’re together again after so long but…to become a pirate…”

Law frowned. “You’re right. Never mind. I don’t want to put you in harm's way. If you stay here, I know where you are and that you’ll be safe.”

Lammy sighed slowly and nodded. “Yeah.”

They went silent. Law looked out the tiny window. It was getting dark. It wouldn’t be out of the question for someone to spend the night somewhere and off the sub, but it didn’t feel right staying over. Yes, they were reunited, but they were still strangers. It had been over a decade since they saw each other, they had no idea who each other were anymore. In fact, Law was sure that if Lammy really got to know him, she’d turn him away.

Law placed his wine glass on the coffee table and stood up. “I should probably head back to my ship.”

“Already?” Lammy frowned sadly. “We just…” she trailed off. “I’ll walk you to your ship.”

“You want me to let my sister walk alone at night?”

“I’ve got tiny safety weapons,” she pouted. “Besides, this island is safe, there’s never any issues here.”

That she knew of. Law thought to himself. Who knows what the government and Navy could be covering up.

“No, Lammy. I want you to be safe at home.” He reached out and ruffled her hair. “I will write to you.”

He watched tears fall down her face. She stood up and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and frowned. He didn’t want to let her go again, but their lives were so different that he had to. He needed to let her live her own life and let himself live his own life.

Eventually they said their goodbyes and Law walked home alone. He was a mix of emotions that would certainly keep him up all night. He barely acknowledged anyone on the sub, stating he was tired and wanted to go to bed. He slinked into his room, placing Kikoku against the wall and throwing off his clothes. He laid in bed and stared at the ceiling, no longer willing to let his brain function for the rest of the night.

~~~~~~

“Where did you go yesterday? You disappeared.” Penguin asked Law early the next morning while they stood on deck.

“Nowhere,” Law grunted and sipped coffee.

“Okay. Why are we leaving so early?”

“Because I want to.”

“Okaaaay.” Penguin eyed him suspiciously.

Truth be told, he wasn’t wanting to stick around anymore. He didn’t want to leave Lammy, but he knew if he didn’t it would be harder to let her go. There was only so much heartbreak he could handle, and he’s had enough in his lifetime.

The crew was either coming back from a long night and/or getting ready to shove off. Law sipped his coffee and stared at the island. This was best. This was what was best for him and his heart.

He closed his eyes and sighed. He turned and leaned his back against the railing.

“Captain,” Bepo came up to him. “We’re ready.”

“Okay, let’s go and get ready to sub-”

“Waaaaaaiiiiiitttttttt!!!!” He heard a faint voice from behind him.

He and Bepo looked at each other confused before looking behind him.

A tiny figure was running towards the sub with a suitcase trailing behind them.

“Law!! Wait for me!!” They waved at him.

Law blinked. “Lammy?! What the hell are you doing?!” He called to her and ignored the various “Lammy?’s”  and other such things the nearby crew members muttered to each other.

Lammy didn’t answer, she kept running and dragging her suitcase behind her. She heaved and puffed when she made it to the side of the Tang.

“I’m,” she took a deep breath. “Wow, I am so out of shape. I’m coming with you.”

“…” Law stared at her wide eyed. “What?”

Lammy took a deep breath and walked up the ramp to the deck. She looked around the deck and then to him. “I’m coming with you, brother.”

“Uh, Captain?” Bepo said anxiously.

“Why?” Law asked. “Didn’t you say-”

“I know what I said but…but screw it! I want to be with my brother! It’s not fair that we went through everything we did but can’t actually be around each other because of silly rules like “pirates are criminals!” If I have to become a criminal to not be alone anymore, then I will!”

Law stared at her while everyone else stared at him. Law looked around and then back at Lammy. He snorted. “You know this means I’m your captain, right? You have to do what you’re told.”

“Oh…well, whatever! Who cares!” She grinned and rushed over to hug him.

Law wrapped his arms around her with a soft smile. There was various confused voices that surrounded him but he’ll answer them later. For right now…he’ll just let himself be happy with his sister.