#I specially love Sarge fan >;]

[aguita-mineral]

I drew the weirdos from Papa Louie games, just to practice a bit :]

[jaydexbg]

Aite, Jay's thoughts on Restoration now that the emotional dust has settled.

My non-spoiler thoughts are... it's okay, a love letter to the series? No. A love letter to fans? For the most part.

No shade to RT, Burnie or anyone who worked on this, they did what they could, and had time for. This is going to be loooooong as its my full summary of the movie as a long-time fan, RvB is my special hyperfixation/interest. Spoilers below the cut.

Alright, to start. I personally will believe that s14-17 are cannon, and that Restoration is a simulation/Jax movie/AU/Alternate ending./what have you. I believe this for many reasons, but let's get the Big 3 out of the way first.

1. Sarge's death. I understand it's inclusion, and I understand that with the anvil and steel boot of WB it was hard to produce something of immense quality. Sarge had been a consistent key player and many of us expected this.

But his death was... wrong. It didn't feel impactful, he didn't die a Sarge death. While the reasoning was good (saving Caboose) the execution and runtime made it feel sloppy and just a plot driver(barely). He deserved a much more heroic send-off, and this comes from a avid Red Team supporter, so this should have impacted me. If Sarge had a proper heros death (and the movie had more time), set in a similar vein as Church (or even like he would have died to Meta in s8) then I think I would have had a lot more feelings, and I think it would have also allowed me to accept it much easier, I'm not insanely upset at Sarge dying(however I still would prefer them all to be happy), im upset at how it was handled.

2. Doc's death. Alright, this one peeves me a bit. I LOVE the idea at play, I personally even think it works with Wash given their history in S8, it is a really good reveal. But this also means Doc, an integral character who's been there since Season 2. Doc, who had been the most mistreated and abused character--and JUST got over being overshadowed by O'Malley in universe(S17)... died off screen. And that alone makes me not want to take this as cannon.

It was a moment of "WHAT??-wait." I like Doc, I like all the characters of RvB, but Doc dying off screen after the battle is not it. The Matt Hullum double kill is arguably funny, but I won't stand for Doc dying like this. Sorry.

And 3. The one that bit me the most, hold your sighs/tears; Grimmons. I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that Grif would leave Simmons, or that Simmons wouldn't go with him. These two characters have been joint at the hip since episode one, they have been through EVERYTHING together. There is a LOT of subtext behind these two, Grimmons barely felt like a fan ship, if they revealed the two were married the entire time I wouldn't have batted an eye.

I don't like their ending. They should have either both went to earth, or both stayed in Blood Gulch. I understand Grif's entire thing was hating the military, but he loved his friends, he cared so much (saving Sarge MULTIPLE times despite Sarge still always bullying him, agreeing to go with Sarge and Caboose to fight the Meta even though he didn't have to, him throughout all of the Chorus Trilogy, and this is just the stuff that is cannon no matter what.), and I don't believe him simply being dismissed would have him leave, he stopped being apart of a proper military when Project Freelancer shut down, and while he was apart of Chorus they'd clearly been demoted/let go since they were ranked down to Privates in Restoration. (I also believe S15 handled the idea of them being moved after S13's ending far better)

And while I don't mind Simmons coming into his own as a leader, he dosent... have a team? They abandoned Lopez, Sarge is dead, Donut is an Admiral (likely for the UNSC), and Grif left. The Blues only have Caboose and Tucker. Carolina and Wash are likely going to go back to the hospital to let Wash heal (which is another thing). So its just Simmons, Caboose and Tucker alone in Blood Gulch? Doing... what exactly? Fighting? This is not a good ending for any of them and it barely makes sense. Id honestly have preferred a "where are they now" segment to this ending.

With those out of the way, lets go over a small lighting round of stuff i didn't like;

Wash felt like he was just there to tell us Doc died, and to get Carolina to the final fight. If you removed him entirely and just said "Carolina has been tracking Meta" nothing would change.

Carolina's inclusion felt like someone threw a cyan bolder into the script, her entrance being a homage to Maine's entrance in S10 was cool but she appeared out of nowhere.

I refuse to believe that after all of this none of them would be checking in on Wash, that man has been the glue of the Reds and Blues since he joined the team and I REFUSE to believe they would just dump him at an institution, however this is especially insane for Carolina. She would be with him every second.

Tucker was INSANELY underused, his moments of breaking through Sigma's control were good, but Tucker felt like he wasn't important. He should be, he should have been the main character of the story, he is the main character of Red vs Blue to me (after Church).

The way Lopez and Sheila were just abandoned is disrespectful. Its in character, and the whole gag but for a final season I dont want a gag like that in a finale. I wanted to see Lopez at that campfire scene imagining him not talking but enjoying the reminiscing. That would have been so sweet and nice. This also applies to Sheila.

The lack of Donut outside of a mention of him being an Admiral and the silly memory of him from Simmons is outrageous. He is a main character, we established this in S17 and retcon or not, he earned that development and it should have remained.

Grif was was insanely angry in the beginning, I imagine this more as Geoff because his performance throughout was probably the best of the movie. He's taken RTs closure hard and I completely understand him being upset, so this is barely a complaint.

Alright... with the negative out of the way, lets talk positive! i wish I could say my positives outweighed the negatives, but unfortunately that isn't the case, however I do have two big standouts.

1. The campfire scene. This, this scene alone is what adds a chunk to the positive section of my feelings. It was the scene that really gut punched me, the moment I heard Ed Robertson's voice I crumpled into tears (I am a HUGE Barenaked Ladies fan). The pure bittersweetness of watching these characters who have been through so much together finally taking a serious moment to reminisce is all I ever wanted from RvB. I wished with all my heart that Tucker, Church, Sarge, Donut, Doc, Lopez, and Sheila could share in it, who knows maybe Sarge and Docs ghosts popped by to listen. But, this is to me, what I wanted.

2. Agent Texas. This was good, this was REALLY good. The bait and swap to have Caboose bringing Tex back and not Church was good, and especially nice development from Caboose despite how rushed it feels. The kicker of this though? this Tex was not the same Tex as before. That reveal that this Tex was not based on the Directors memories of Allison's failure, but instead based on the Reds and Blues memories of her beating their asses is ACTUALLY insane, and a genius twist. And her getting her black armour plus the playing of Round One/Bullfight got me more hype then I was ever expecting to get from Restoration. I also believe that Tex finally being remembered properly and being able to move on with Church was heartwarming and very much deserved.

My negatives far outweigh the positives, but the positives are so good, and with it being the finale of 21 years worth of content I cant in the right mind say I dislike Restoration. I don't like it as the ending to Red vs Blue, call me bias (my favourite season is 15) but the trade off of development for the characters between Restoration and Shisno is just not worth it for me. Say what you will about the Shisno Trilogy but you cannot ignore that it gave us the much needed development for many characters, Grif and Donut standing out the most. While the "god"-plot is far fetched and out there, and I've heard that Tucker was character regressed in s16 (which I do not believe and will die on that hill but thats a topic for another day), or the inclusion of the Blues and Reds putting a wrench in some lore I still don't think it was all bad enough to warrant a retcon entirely. Who knows, maybe this was all planned from the start, or it was just because of WB. But this ending is not satisfying to me. I won't say its a bad ending, if I didn't like Shisno so much and never bothered to watch it I'm sure as a direct continuation from S13 I would have a much more positive look on it.

I also do believe that Burnie wrote it in such a way that you can decide for yourself if S14-17(and 18 if you enjoyed it) or Restoration is the cannon ending and to that I respect it.

So in short, my review of the final piece of official Red vs Blue content, is that its okay. A lot felt OOC, and plot was rushed and messy, things felt like they were all predetermined and not driven by the characters as is RvB's biggest strength. It was far too short and even still I generally don't like retcons. But for what it is, and the positive moments it brings I still think its good. Not cannon to me, but I will definitely be taking points from it into my personal cannon post-s17 (Admiral Donut my beloved, you would be so cool if you actually showed up).

[blood-gulch]

grace blood-gulch's s14 episode ranking list because i am so special and have lots of thoughts on every episode ever :)

Tier 1 - legitimately good quality content i recommend viewing

Room Zero - as someone who was personally Waiting those multiple years to see that rvb animated episode be finished i was so excited by this one. also i just love the animation + attention to character details in the og one. even though it doesnt really add much to that original base, newer fans should watch it to appreciate the animation cuz its cute. especially fond of every character detail moment like church running backward and using his hand to slide or the earliest iteration of grif being canonically animated as fat. idk i love it a lot and i think its p cute and well worth the watch. it's also the first episodically which is neat. good opener for s14.

The Brick Gulch Chronicles - look its stop motion lego and its cute as fuuuuuuck. the plot being sarges bday is adorable. literally awesome.

Fight the Good Fight - okay i just find it cute and quirky and generally enjoyed watching it quite a bit :) it made me laugh. the [Red] team gag was good. it reminded me of the similar gag from the simpsons in the kamp krusty episode. my dad always makes jokes about that specific gag so ahh. definitely worth the watch but understandable to skip.

Caboose's Guide to Making Friends - its just really fucking cute idfk

Head Cannon - This one's just really funny and also adds on to a scene that already was fun in a good way. Enjoyable. Highly recommended.

Get Bent - I wish sarge was still an old woman but dykenut and church bisexuality balances it out. i also wish we had female tucker. it makes me sad we didnt get female tucker.

Red vs. Blue the Musical - The reds' song is about weapons and the blues' song is about church killing himself. 10/10. no notes. perfect summation of rvb in like 10 minutes.

Mr. Red vs Mr. Blue - genuinely delightful like a distilled everything i like about tucker. he's really fun here. also sister is fun here.

The Triplets & The "Mission" - The triplets own hard. the scene with wash connie and south at the end always makes me smile. ohio girl youre fucking crazy but youre everything. I love you.

Tier 2 - Decent content. You can skip but still somewhat worth ur time.

From Stumbled Beginnings and Why They're Here - Mostly fun. Asterisk mostly. There's an episode between these two that's technically an episode trilogy you should skip. Otherwise is pretty fun.

The #1 Movie in the Galaxy: 3 - This is silly and fun. I enjoyed it. It's also short.

Meta vs Carolina: Dawn of Awesome - look man its a death battle. if you like death battle youll have fun. if you hate death battle you can skip it. shoutout sarge deadbeat dad implications though. i cant even be mad its just not the character id expect them to do that to...

Grey vs Gray - i found it fun :) nothing stand out tho. skippable but not egregiously bad.

Immersion: The Warthog Flip - Look if you Like seeing science stuff yeah its a good watch. if you dont like that you can skip it. I like the math and science though. you don't lose anything in skipping though.

Tier 3 - Meh

Orange is the New Red & Invaders from Another Mother - theyre not bad but aged... poorly. i thought they were funny when i was younger but i watched funhaus actively then. i dont know how this would fare to a non-FH fan. Desert Dance [Spins]

Red vs. Blue vs. Roosterteeth - I KNOWWWWW THERES A LOT OF NOSTALGIA its just .... not very funny. its creators meeting their characters but its also odd in a strange way. you can watch it if youre curious enough. i liked the end voice over of s14 a lot tho so like maybe watch it and if youre bored skip to the end lol

Tier 4 - Drink a lot or watch with friends to experience enjoyment

Club, Call, & Consequences - look man the only way youre enjoying this is if you are a hardcore lolix guy or you are wasted out of your mindddd. im sorry who the fuck is siris. i honest to god thought siris was a bit as a joke on the whole thing of "grif simmons and hammer" from earlier. they never even mention siris again. who the fuck is siris. i felt like i was like lied to or something . sorry siris is so fucking funny. well he didnt have a personality but thats ok. i dont know if he actually exists.

RvB Throwdown - Get Miles Luna out of the booth. never let him rap again.

Tier 5 - Bad. Skip it.

Fifty Shades of Red - Fifty Shades of Red has possibly one of the worst jokes in the series that immediately assassinates Tucker into a pretty fucking awful light and retroactively ruins his character for the preceding 13 seasons. I honestly recommend skipping Fifty Shades of Red to avoid that one tucker joke. its not necessary and contributes nothing. The rest of the episode is fine and on the level of stumbled beginnings & why theyre here. but god that one joke is so bad i can't in good faith recommend it. it just leaves me fuming LOL i could write an essay as it being the origin point of post s13 writers room tucker hate where they start trying to make him an irredeemable asshole & dont understand his whole deal for the rest of the series.

[incorrect-pipravi]

do more headcanons!! i love those!

Hi! I hope you are having a good day. Thank you so much for the request and I hope you like these!

Pip often teases Ravi because he needs to wear glasses, but her heart races each time she sees him wearing them! (Same Pip same)

Pip tried to give Ravi nicknames, but she failed to be creative (she has no pizazz) that’s why in the books she uses some of Ravi’s nicknames (when she called him Sarge/Grumpus).

Ravi bullies her for that (which is why she told him he’d be mean if he knew the names she picked for the podcast) ,but it warms his heart when he sees Pip trying to find a nickname for him.

Ravi and Pip never say “no” to each other. They would literally go to the end of the earth for each other which makes the fact that Pip said “no” when Ravi asked her to marry him ten times more heart shattering. (Sorry)

Pip’s favorite color is brown and Ravi’s favorite colour is blue because it reminds them of each other’s eyes.

Ravi wasn’t much of a true crime fan especially when considering what happened to his family, but after he learned that Pip loves true crime podcasts, he started listening to them so he can talk with Pip about them.

For their first Christmas back together, Ravi learned how to knit and knitted a matching sweater for him and Pip.

Pip loves the sight of sleeping Ravi. It gives her peace.

Ravi is the type of bf to buy random stuff for Pip because it made him think of her.

He is also the type to read books and annotate them before giving them to Pip.

Ravi “sends a lot of TikToks” bf and Pip “watches and replies to all of them” gf!

Pip and Ravi watch the Barbie movie together and they end up crying.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention that the Barbie movie was Pip’s surprise for Ravi since he won’t shut up about it.

Pip “loves cuddles with Ravi because he’s warm” Fitz-Amobi

Pip has a picture she took of Ravi as her wallpaper!

That picture is a mid-laugh kind of picture.

Ravi didn’t notice Pip when she took it.

Ravi’s wallpaper is a pic of his mom and Pip conversing at one of the dinners at the Singh’s.

We know that Pip keeps a document of everything Ravi has told her about his family, but what we don’t know is that she has a special one just for Ravi himself. Not because she wants to impress him or anything, but because she wants to memorize every single detail about him.

[therealslimshakespeare]

I just read every chapter of Sarge and I mean, I power read it, absolutely binged it. You are so incredibly talented. It was the best novel I have read in a while. And not because it was about Elvis. The world you painted was so vivid there were times I was moved to tears or to laugh out loud or feel anxious for Elaine to really feel that anxiety on her behalf. whatever you do I hope you decide to continue writing because you really are skilled at it. Thank you for sharing your talent with us.

Oh my darling, what a sweet note! This touched me deeply, I’m giddy you devoured it all and liked it so much! I became/am so invested in that story and the fact it’s still gaining new fans who find the little world captivating is so special to me, literally never imagined a few years ago I’d have this much shared love with y’all. I don’t really have the words for it (what a joke as a writer) but it means everything to me that you’d feel all those things while reading something I so badly wanted to explore and make sense of myself.

Thank you for taking the time to holler out and spread the love. I’m a little starry eyed puddle right now.

Xoxo

Marina

[rubykgrant]

I would very much like to see the experience of Tucker introducing Poppy to Reservoir Dogs. I live that kind of stuff. Before he passed, I introduced my dad to RWBY because we had already been RvB fans together for years, and during COVID I introduced my aunt and sister to RWBY and we all keep up with it. Needless to say, I love that kind of stuff, and it'd be neat to see Tucker experience that. Bonus if Junior is there too cuz 20 years from now I want my kids seeing RvB

(I'm sorry to hear about your dad, but glad to know you could share things together like that. My dad died several years ago, and many of the movies I enjoy I watched because he showed them to me, and as I got older, I would share new things with him. I still have my mom, and we enjoy either re-watching movies we've loved for years, or me showing her something new)

I wish I had the time/energy to draw out all the interactions I have in mind for Poppy and the others, but I do indeed have a lot planned! Poppy was meant to be the new Red Team member, and because Simmons so rarely gets to make any new friends, I thought it would be funny if in the beginning, Sarge is like- "Look boys, we got a new Red! She's a real firecracker!". Simmons' internal knee-jerk reaction is KILL-DIE-HATE-DEATH-MURDER-DESTROY (because that's HIS father-figure that he also tried to bury alive one time, back off!). Then Poppy has ONE conversation with him about the Ewoks Cartoon, and Simmons just goes- "Oh, sibling?". Yes, sibling! It also helps later when Gene shows back up; Poppy can tell them apart just fine- "They don't even sound the same. Simmons sounds like Simmons. Gene sounds like an obnoxious little dipshit".

I wanted to have a few different interactions with Poppy and everybody else, to show how they would get along, and how they would argue (because that's just the fun with all these goobers! they love each other, and they WILL bicker constantly). Tucker becoming Poppy's first friend in the group (besides Sarge) wasn't planned, but then it was accidentally cute? She first meets him when he arrives to do some special training as a favor to Sarge, but he immediately trips and falls down a hill. Poppy is the only one around, so when she helps him up, he doesn't say right away WHY he's there (a bit embarrassed). She introduces herself with her first name, and he does the same- Lavernius. It eventually comes out that yes, he was here to help with the same "Freelancer Training" that Wash put him through, and Poppy is nice enough not to tell everybody he ate dirt 10 minutes ago. They then proceed to get along, because a couple of the others training under Sarge try to give Poppy a hard time, and Tucker gives her some fun suggestions as come-backs (Mr Quick-Witted, Mr Sarcastic). She tells him- "You're funny!", and it takes a sec for Tucker to process that- "I... I am?". Most people just groan and complain about his jokes, but they are vibing!

When Poppy officially becomes part of the group, Tucker gets to catch her up on everything (who has what annoying habit, etc), and at last, somebody new to show Reservoir Dogs to! This is like having a new friend you get to show all your favorite stuff to! Tucker truly has incredible depth as a character, he's smart and clever, he carries so much responsibility, and he CARES a LOT about other people. When he jokes about being important, it is usually just false bravado... but then he actually IS important, VERY IMPORTANT. Which is why he struggles with not feeling good enough, falling back on his own annoying habits. Tucker realizes Poppy has issues with feeling comfortable just being HERSELF, and losing the group of Reds and Blues who used to be her friends (Flag Zealots who ran out of ammo, and started harmlessly pulling pranks on each other, mostly fighting over who got to keep Poppy on their team). They both just make each other feel welcomed in a very simple and easy way.

In the larger part of my story-line, it takes a while, but they DO find Junior again. Poppy has heard so much about him from Tucker, she's more than happy to really get to know him. Poppy is very good at making Junior feel accepted right away (the kind of person who can chill with kids, talk about stuff sort of on the same level, but is also very comforting and supportive, a balance of a cool friend who will still be responsible).

[prophecydungeon]

ok i'm watching the first half of S12 and doing the same as for 11. here we go:

the sniper rifle gag still hits

felix playing tucker like a fiddle (chefkiss)

hoo hoo wow tucker really did just watch one of his subordinates die directly in front of him

felix playing tucker like a fiddle (again) (chefkiss) and i made a Poast about it already but it's a special slap to the face that felix immediately starts laughing about it after seeing that it's really eating at tucker

"my naps take longer than five days" beerus and grif have this in common

man i love the way that 12 (and 13) started to play with halo canon. it's such a clever way to integrate a bunch of different assets without alienating non-halo-fans

f: ah, mm, okay, so you want me to help you rescue your friends because...? what? it's the right thing to do? t: yeah, it's called not being a dick. f: you know, if i recall, the first time these people ever asked you for help, you turned them down. figured this whole civil war thing wasn't your problem. in fact, i bet, if your friends had never been captured, you'd still refuse to lend them a hand. even if it was the "right thing to do." everyone has their price. i learned that a long time ago. and you're no exception.

whew, what a monologue. hitting them all (and tucker especially) right where it hurts and showing a teeeeensy-tiny bit of his hand in the process. felix's Baddie Moment monologue and the one at the end of this season are both really good too but this one's got to be my favorite. it's the "and you're no exception" that really seals it, tbh.

grif's sarge arc is also fantastic

tucker jumping over the crate and directly into the hole is exactly what happened to me during a spire of the watcher run a while back and blueregard was like "you hit that hole like nobody's business"

"i don't [care about losing people]. you do." (CHEFKISS)

"just sayin', guy does stuff for money" is unironically THE funniest read on felix possible and i th[TRUCK PASSES BY, HORN BLARING]

"i never wanted to be a soldier, tucker. none of us did. but felix? he chose this lifestyle. and he chose it because he's good at it."

i love kimball, A Lot, and i love how much this says about chorus. no one wanted this conflict to happen. no one wanted it to get as bad as it got. and as much as she leans on felix i feel like kimball also resents him for choosing to be what he is, even before everything comes to light. she would never have chosen this. it is unthinkable that he did.

i really like that the felix-and-locus backstory doesn't come right when we meet felix, or even at the very start of 12. it's at about moment that we're thinking "is there something else going on with the way that felix always zeroes in on locus as a threat?" after the battle at the end of 11 and the sortie at the start of 12, and it's also - even as The Lie he's selling - very tasty.

(my only regret with how i watched this season originally is that i wish i'd had more time to percolate in this lovers-to-enemies scenario for felix and locus because wowee if that ain't right up my alley... and to get The Reveal after weeks would've been Something. alas.)

grif's sarge arc.

felix's and locus's story, as kimball knows and tells it, is also really interesting for how different it is from any other antagonistic relationship we've seen in this show so far. there's really no one else i can think of who had a similar relationship. i guess wash and the meta, if you're really reaching, but the thing about felix and locus is that they chose to be on opposing sides, and rivalry bloomed into something uglier (at least in this version of the story). it makes for a GREAT yarn and it clearly strikes tucker very deeply when kimball tells him.

i loooove that the conclusion tucker draws from his conversations with both felix and kimball is "we should stop trying to be something we're not" and that it really was kimball who (inadvertently) pushed tucker to round of everyone else and leave

nearly 45 minutes into S12 and we get the first little crumbs that something bigger might be happening than just the civil war. again, love the way the chorus arc uses other H4 assets and the hardlight weapons especially

"they didn't take us to get shot, but they sure as hell left us to die."

"well, orders only work on soldiers. i am a mercenary." ooohoohoohoo. delightful crumb.

Team New Republic running face-first into Team Federal Army is so good. legitimately SO good.

honestly it would also have been really fascinating to see both sets of captives really buy into each side's motives and start fighting against each other in earnest. and THAT is a whole 'nother post

w: i did what i had to do. l: don't we all?

i love Bitch Mode wash, he should be allowed to do this more often

love the way this all starts to fray at the seams :)c

it's interesting that locus's portion of The Lie isn't actually much of a lie at all, and from what we see of felix in the second half of 12 and then in 13, i think felix would have been entirely capable of playing it like locus did: brutal and matter-of-fact, no frills. but he chose to become a (checks notes) charismatic mercenary with a heart of gold (or whatever it was), which, you know, speaks volumes

the shot focusing on the pistol wash is carrying when he faces locus in person again :)

locus really said "the mercenary (derogatory)"

"holy shit he's bilingual" ppl at work when they realize i'm not just smiling and nodding (joyful in this case not derogatory)

"the only people who aren't wearing armor these days are dead!" is still one of the bleakest things in this whole trilogy. man. i know it's a justification for machinima, but man.

wash moving to diplomacy immediately is so good. love that for him.

i've watched The Reveal a few times over in the past couple of weeks for reasons but it's especially good in context. man.

i love the way that locus tries to curb felix's monologue but lets him go on -- he's probably frustrated with hapless-as-fuck doyle and the others, too, and they're about to just slaughter all the reds and blues so whatever, toss felix this bone, right?

"does it hurt? knowing just how much death you've brought to this planet?"

see, okay, this. this is a GOOD way to use the medium for what it is. chorus is the first time that the reds and blues (minus wash lol) have ever racked up a considerable body count. and with machinima, the whole point is that you interact with the game world in a way that's different from the gameplay itself, so this lands really well as the reds and blues making the choice to kill, rather than a video game chiding you for being violent when the only thing you can do is click button to shoot gun.

"faster than you" : )

"miss me, assholes?" no. not in the slightest.

[buttsmasher]

This story is for @tyohlerrr. I think you'll really enjoy this one. He submitted a fucking sexy photo to go along with this story. Take a peak here.

Warnings/Tags: Face Farting, Farting, Gay Farting, Farting on Tongue, Willing Victim, Teasing, Musk, Musk Play

Today has been one of the roughest days since you’ve joined the army. You and Booker somehow pissed off your commanding officer again and were made to run until he told you stop.

“Yo Books.” You say as you jog next to your partner.

“Sup?” He keeps looking ahead, following the track with ease.

“Is your ass sweating as bad as mine right now?” Booker looks over at you and laughs.

“It’s probably worse man. That shit in the canteen is fucking with my guts.” Booker stops and lifts his leg up.

PFFFFFFFFFTTTT

Your heartbeat quickens, as you watch Booker get back to his previous speed. “Fuck man, sounds rough.” You joke trying not to let your mind wander.

“I’d hate to be behind me right now, the Booker brew is toxic.”

“I know, that’s why our barracks smells like shit all the time.”

PSSSSSSSSSSS

An airy fart hisses from him as he continues his jogging. “Fuck.” Booker huffs. “I’m telling ya man, once I’m on leave, I’m finding myself a pig slut and letting him go to town.”

“What?” You laugh confused.

“You ever had a fag eat out your hole?”

“I ain’t gay man.”

“I ain’t either. I’m just saying though, you get one of those piggy fags, hoo-wee. They know how to make you come just by using their tongues.” You stare at him briefly wondering if he knows your secret. When you’re about to pass Sarge you hear Booker let out another loud fart.

“God dammit Booker!” Sarge yells and you can’t help burst out in laughter. Booker reaches out for a fist bump, which you oblige.

“Good timing man!”

“You know I’m a pro.”

You go back to focus on your breathing and how fast you're moving when Booker surprises you: “I saw you sniffing my boxers.” You nearly trip over yourself as the realization of what he just said hits you.

“What are you talking about?” You feign.

“Two nights ago, when I went to shower.” Fuck he really did see you. “I saw you pick em off the ground and huff on them.”

“Sorry man, I-I don’t-”

“It’s no biggie man, I ain’t judging.”

“It’s just-”

“You’re a little piggy and you need to get my stink in you.” He interrupts again.

“Shut up.” You go to push him but he deflects you easily.

“Look if you want to sniff my drawers it’s cool. But I can probably offer you something better.” His mischievous smile intrigues you.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Let’s just say, when we get back-”

“Keep running maggots! Don’t slow down!” Sarge yells as you pass him again.

“I swear to god if I just had one day with him.” Booker balls his hands into a fist.

“When we get back what?” You can’t contain your excitement which makes Booker give you a smug smile. “Fuck.” You say realizing how you sound.

“So you horny-horny.” Booker laughs.

“Fuck off man! I like what I like.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be under my fat ass in no time. Hope you like rotten eggs.”

“I-I.” You stutter as you watch Booker pick up his pace and runs ahead of you. That’s when the scent hits you. You swear it smells like a skunk just sprayed someone and you cough as you fail to catch back up to him. “Fuckin’ hell man!” You yell and he gives his ass a smack while he keeps running.

After an hour and half of running, Sarge finally tells you to stop running and sends you back to your barracks where you find Booker. He’s standing there shirtless, sweat glistening off his body, and his ass is hanging out from his shorts. “Nice outfit.” You joke as you throw off your sweaty shirt.

“You think so? Thought I could wear it out tonight.” He quips as he uses his hands to jiggle his ass. You shake your head as you pull off your boots. “You think you can handle this?”

“Hell yeah, your ass ain’t anything special.”

“Oh we’ll see about that.” He pushes you onto your bed and sits down on your stomach. “I kept it nice and ripe for you piggy.” He drags his bare ass up your body and then slowly back down.

“I ain’t no piggy.” You use your hands to grab ahold of his buttcheeks.

“You will be after I’m done.” You pull his cheeks apart to be gifted with a short airy fart.

PFFFFFFFFFTTTTTT

The warm gust of air escapes from his ass blowing across your exposed stomach, making you shiver. “You like that?” He gives you the cockiest grin you’ve ever seen.

“Stop teasing man.” You groan.

“Just warnin’ ya, I’m gassy as fuck!”

“Like I just said, your ass ain’t special.”

“Aight then.” He laughs as he twists around to plant his bubble butt right on your face. It’s musky as hell and much, much better than his boxers. You take some deep breaths as he squirms around to get comfortable. “Just remember you wanted this.” His hole gets into place right against your waiting.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

An airy fart gets blown against your nose smelling like that rotten fart he let earlier. It’s extremely overwhelming and you’re immediately seeing stars.

“Fuck man!” You cough out. “That’s rank!” You pull away slightly but he uses the opportunity to push your head so it’s trapped between his ass and the bed.

“I told ya! Didn’t wanna listen.” He pulls off his shorts completely to let his dick free. Your mind goes to the same place and you attempt to pull your sweats down over your now hard cock.

PFFFFFFFFFFFF

Another quiet and airy fart gets blown across your ready face and you let out a loud moan as you take a large inhale. It smells like rotten eggs and old meat. “Lunch ain’t sittin’ right, all the better for you huh?” Booker jokes as he shakes his ass on your face.

PFFFFBBBBRBRBRBRRRRR

“See, that was wet as fuck.” Booker laughs as you cough the wet fart down. You groan, but continue to keep sniffing loudly as you slowly stroke your hard cock.

“It smells great down here.” You struggle to get out. “This ain’t nothing.”

“You’re disgusting. To think I was holding all these in for you.” He hikes his leg a little higher.

PFFFFFFFBBFFFFFFTTT

“I mean, who actually enjoys this shit?” He laughs as you can feel him stroking his hard cock. The toxic fumes assault all of your senses making your eyes water and your nose burn. “Fuck that stinks.” He waves a hand in front of his face. “That’s worse than normal.”

“Yeah.” You agree as you struggle to hold back the bile that’s burning it’s way up your throat. “I love it.”

“You sound like you’re struggling down there. Need me to stop?” Booker says, concern in his voice. You remove your hand from your cock to wrap your arms around him so he doesn’t move.

“I’m fine. Give me more.”

“If you say so.” You move one of your hands back to your cock as the other pulls and squeezes his massive ass. A silent fart graces your nose making your eyes flutter as you take the rotten smell into your lungs.

“Fuck Books, you smell so good.” You can hear him laughing above you but he doesn’t say anything. And by the way he’s shaking he’s getting off on this as well. “Seriously man,” You take another large inhale. “You’re addicting.”

“Just admit it dude, you’re a piggy.”

“Not…*sniff* a piggy.” He laughs.

PFFFFFF PFFFFFFFF PFFFF

He breathes out a sigh of relief. “Can’t lie, feels good gettin’ all this out.”

“I bet.” You smack his large ass. “Let me eat you out.”

“Run that by me one more time.”

“Let me, eat your, oh so beautiful ass out.” You say mockingly.

“I don’t know piggy. It’s kinda dangerous down there, you sure you want your tongue near that?” You don’t even respond, you just swipe your tongue against his musky ass. “Oh fuck.” Booker moans above you as he grabs onto the bed for support. “Do that again.” You do as he says and his back arches even further.

PFFFFFFF

“Fuuck.” He groans as you struggle with the terrible taste he left on your tongue. “Okay, yeah, keep doin’ that.” You don’t argue, you just keep swiping your tongue on his dirty hole and every few swipes you poke your tongue into his ass. “Shit, we should’ve been doing this, uhhh, sooner.” His body is twitching above you. “I got a big one coming piggy. Fuck, get your tongue out” You can hear his stomach rumbling, but you refuse to pull your tongue out eager to get a taste.

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTFFFTTTTTTT

The loud 15 second fart gets ripped right against your tongue and your mind goes haywire. The taste is god awful, making your thrash and attempting to push him off you. At the same time you can hear him groaning loudly as you feel him shooting his load all over your chest and stomach. You’re not far behind him cumming in your hands, shooting the largest load you think you’ve ever shot.

Immediately as you finish shooting everywhere, you start thrashing about again to get him off you. He gyrates his hips for a few moments until he notices that you’re not moving as much. He pulls off you and takes a look at you.

“Shit, are you okay?” You give him a thumbs up as you cough. “I think you’ve had enough.” He says helping you sit up from the bed.

“Fuck.” You manage to get out as you look at him. He just shakes his head and pulls his shorts back up.

“You’re fucked up man.”

“Yeah, probably.” His scent is lingering and you know you’re going to be tasting that ass for at least another day.

“You need a shower more than I do.” You punch his arm but he’s probably right.

“Told you I can take it.” You brag.

“Don’t push it. I have more in my tank.” Booker gives you a hard pat on the back.

PFFFBBBRRRRR

He makes an effort to fan the fart towards you and you just laugh. “See you in the shower?” You nod and follow him, where you get to play with his ass just a little more.

[bitchassbucky]

.zip

Word Count: 2k

Warning/s: toxic/abusive relationship dynamics, gaslighting and manipulation, abduction, injuries were mentioned, stalking, dark!bucky x dark!reader, emotionally/mentally unstable!reader, dismemberment (not gore-y but still), three very special character mentions, shady corporate stuff, career sabotage?, food mention, sedation/drugging, f-words.

A/N: oh my god, this is the final chapter of CTRL. to all who read from the start, thank y'all so fucking much - from the bottom of my big-ass heart, thank you so much for coming along with this journey. this is my first FINISHED series, oh my god. to @babyboibucky (CTRL's number one fan), @sarge-barnes-sir, and @borikenlove thank you so much for indulging my inner degenerate GHJSDFG and for screaming (affectionately) at me when i first let y'all read the finished draft.

BUT THIS IS NOT THE END (just yet), i will be uploading TWO epilogues very soon: the explicit version and the not-so-explicit version. stay tuned!

follow the CTRL series:

i - .exe

ii - .avi

iii - .raw

iv - .png

v - .zip

epilogue:

.eps (explicit)

.eps (cut)

CTRL playlist CTRL moodboard

Your demeanor, character, even tone, changed.

Calculated, cold, unnerving.

But you sat there like a housewife in front of her husband, eating spaghetti and meatballs. Acting all dandy like there isn’t a man strapped onto the chair four feet away from you.

“C’mon, darling, eat! I made your favorite,” your eyes twinkled as Bucky helplessly tugged on his restraints, “oh, sorry, you’re tied up.”

Hm, sick in the head, bad for the heart.

“What do you want?” Oh, wow, even talking hurts for him. His throat is all dried up, he tasted something bitter under his tongue.

You chuckled, moving half a meatball around your mostly empty plate, “for you to stop treating me like I’m stupid.” You spear the meat with your fork, swirling it in the sauce, “I know you’ve been… checking in on me, Bucky.”

Oh, fuck.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I was-- I mean, look at you--” He’s making it worse. You’re mad. You’re angry because he was being a good friend.

He only did that because you were lonely and he’s right: you are lonely.

So lonely that you’re willing to kidnap a grown man to keep you company, “I’m so sad for you.”

“You’re aware you’re the one’s been tied up, right?” You’re curt as you should be, scooting over near Bucky to feed him.

“I can’t eat that—” If he wasn’t sitting down and tied, Bucky would’ve vaulted over you and called the neighbors, she’s fucking crazy!

You giggled, rolling your eyes as if he had the freedom to make a choice right now, “if you’re thinking of screaming… More than half of my neighbors are felons or on parole, I doubt that they’ll call 911.”

Jutting forward the fork, you let the prongs gently touch Bucky’s lips, “now, eat! We have so much to talk about.”

“No. I don’t-- I’m not hungry.” He shakes his head, the fork hitting his chin and clanking down the floor.

“Just eat the fucking food, Steve!”

Bucky flinched at your sudden outburst. The words—the name—seeping in a moment later. Steve? Who the hell is Steve? Was he your husband? Boyfriend? His head throbbed again, his mouth filling with saliva like he’s about to throw up.

You kneel down, pulling a napkin from the table to wipe the meat and the sauce from the floor.

“This better not stain.”

—

He promised thrice.

Once over pasta and meatballs, once over dessert, and once when you were clearing the table.

You relented, of course. Half because you love him and half because it’s getting annoying.

“As long as you don’t leave me, okay?”

“Yes, I promise. I won’t leave you.”

Bucky’s still seating on the dinner chair, slightly slumped without the ropes holding him up, “look, I’m really sorry about the anesthetic, I went overboard with it.” You look over to him—at least he’s regaining his fingers and arms again.

“It’s okay, babe, I wouldn’t trust me either.” If he could stand up, he’d go over and hug you. Helping with the dishes, peppering you with sweet kisses.

A genuine laugh slips out of your lips, “ugh, still… I’m really sorry.”

The last of the plates were neatly stacked, cups and cutleries were placed gently on a drying rack. It was getting late, you could tell.

“I’m not mad, by the way.” You muse, prompting Bucky to lean forward, listening to you.

“What do you mean?” He takes your hand into his, ever so gently.

“You did that,” you squeeze his hand back, gazing into his soulful eyes, “because you love me.”

Did you know that some people could read microexpressions well? Bucky went through a whole lot of them before answering, “of course, I do.”

Contemplating whether you call him out on it or not, you hum, placing a gentle hand on his jaw, “it’s okay, you’ll learn how to love me.”

He has to. He has no other choice.

Bucky clears his throat, “have you seen my phone?” His tone was hopeful, upbeat, maybe he can reach out to someone, anyone, before you can do any more damage.

“Yeah, ‘s on the couch.”

He tried to move, he really did. Bucky’s fairly strong, he can bench an easy 140 on a good day. But even the beefiest motherfuckers have no match for Propofol.

“Don’t worry about your friends, they’re not worried about you, Buck.” The coolness of your tone sends Bucky into a panic—again. “D’you wanna check your messages though? There’s a lot of ‘em.”

Grabbing his phone, you asked Siri to read him his latest notifications.

Urgent: Notice of Immediate Termination

From Joaquin: Where are you, man?

From John W.: Do you have copies?

Urgent: Notice of Immediate Termination

Urgent: Gross Misconduct

From Joaquin: Bucky, what the fuck?

From Samuel Wilson: Pick up the phone, Barnes. You’re fired.

17 missed calls from an unknown number

From John W.: I knew you were a freak but holy shit, dude!

72 text messages from an unknown number

Bucky never really liked horror movies. It made him jumpy and anxious. Too paranoid, even. But now? Now he’s sure that people have never experienced sheer fright before.

His toes cramped inside his boots, his feet were cold, sweating. The little hairs on his legs stood up, goosebumps littering the entirety of his body. If he held his breath, he’s sure he could hear his heart hammering out of his chest. The blood rushes past his ears and onto the base of his skull—he’s gonna be sick.

“What,” he gulped back the saliva pooling in his mouth, “what did you do?”

You’re irritatingly calm, “well, I mean… We’re already together, what do you need those for, right?”

Putting a warm hand over his forehead, you cooed, “poor thing, you look sick.”

—

Bucky thinks it’s well past midnight when the anesthetic wore off.

His limbs were heavy, he had to lean on the wall every couple of steps to regain his balance. Helpless. He’s helpless and you both know it. As if it’s a bear trap, Bucky carefully took his phone from the coffee table.

Why would you leave it unattended?

The screen lights up as soon as he picked up, his lock screen littered with ‘fuck yous’, ‘sicko’, and his personal favorite, ‘motherfucker.’

Ignoring the glaring messages, he went straight for the emergency dialler and—you took out his SIM card, snapping it into two neat pieces, placing it beside the phone.

Bitch.

The golden surface of the card was scratched too, he can’t do anything, use it as a toothpick, maybe? His phone was just as good as a paperweight.

He looks out of the window, limping towards it. Even if he could climb over, it would take him forever to get onto the street. Your neighbors would probably think that he’s just on a bad trip.

“It’s bolted shut. Perks of living alone as a single female.” Your voice made him flinch back, like a kid whose hand was halfway down the cookie jar.

Bucky plays it off with a cough, he can’t be weak now, “no, babe, I was checking out a noise. You ready for bed?”

You smiled softly, taking his hand and draping his arm on your shoulders as you prop him against you, “almost, big guy. Gotta get you settled in bed first. Are you tired?”

Nodding, Bucky kisses your temple, “yeah.” He just needs to play with your sick little games until he regains his strength.

Where would he go? His reputation and his job are besmirched, his apartment is probably crawling with forensics too.

“You fell down and banged your head earlier. Nasty cut on your head too. I told you to not tire yourself much.”

You hit and drugged me but I digress, “Yes, darling. ‘M sorry.”

“You scared me, Buck. I thought you were dead.” Are these tears forming in your eyes?

“I’m not leaving you, not by any chance. I promise.”

He promises a fourth time.

—

Your bedroom was bigger than he thought. But of course, he only saw your desk and your bed through the webcam.

Save from the Ted Bundy-esque corkboard you have in front of your workspace, he feels weirdly at home. You tucked him in, reminding him to wake up every two hours for the painkillers.

“You’re not going to bed?” He muses from behind you, all cocooned in your blankets.

“Just need to take this phone call real quick, babe.” Your back was turned from him as you work on your company laptop. He noticed that the webcam is covered with white tape.

The sound of an incoming call filled the room before you quickly answer it, your voice turning hoarse and raspy as if you’ve been crying.

Hi, Mr. Wilson. I’m so sorry for the late call. Do I- do I need to come in tomorrow? I just... I don’t feel comfortable facing everyone—I used all my home hours this week and—

Miss L/N, I’m glad you reached out to me. Is it okay if I record this call for security purposes? It’s just for you, me, and the HR department.

You turned to Bucky, your face is stone-cold but your voice belonged to someone so utterly helpless.

No, you don’t have to call into work tomorrow… Or any other day.

A dainty gasp and a fucking sob comes out of your mouth, your eyes were telling a different story.

Am I fired?

God, no. Please, Miss L/N, don’t worry about that. We want you with us through this entire debacle. We want you to take some time off—paid. We’ll also grant you… a grievance package.

You could almost hear what he would say next.

As long as you don’t talk to any members of the press or any journalists until our friends in the PR department can clean this up.

A triumphant smile creeps on your bare features, putting a finger in front of your lips, you mimic a ‘shh’ gesture to Bucky.

You round up another mirthless sob as the CEO drones on about the bureaucracy of this whole thing.

He was really nice to me, you know? He took me out on dinners and lunches. He even brought me to his place and I– nothing happened but I can’t stop thinking about it.

I’m really sorry, Miss L/N. I thought he was…

A good guy? I really thought so too.

Please stay offline for a bit, just for the weekend, alright? Someone from the HR department will be in touch with you for the process. We don’t wanna be a hassle more than what Barnes is. On our behalf, please accept our deepest apologies.

Jesus, this guy had the PR department cook up an apology letter.

Thank you—thank you so much, Mr. Wilson. I’ll keep in touch.

You burst out in laughter a second after the call ended. Hearty laughter, the one where you can feel your belly tightening.

“Did you hear how good I was, baby? Oh my god, we had them fooled.”

We? Fuck your ‘we.’

You slide over the covers, propping up yourself with your elbow as you turn to face Bucky, “don’t worry, you don’t need them anymore. You have me, yeah? We have each other.”

—

Out of the most bizarre things that happened to him last week, finding dismembered fingers in the fridge was the least of his concerns.

“Honey!” Bucky calls out, holding the ziplock bag with a pair of tongs.

You bound down the stairs, your laptop in hand as you squint, “what am I looking at?”

Bucky hesitated, maybe he’s going insane too, “fingers. Dismembered fingers—are these yours?”

Setting down the laptop onto the table, you peck him on the cheek, smiling as if him holding a baggie with human remains is just your Sunday normal, “god, I hope not. I need my hands to do things.”

As soon as you look back at him, you dropped the facade: “those are Steve’s. Well, used to be.”

Bucky’s afraid to ask the question where’s the rest of him?

“You know the term pinky promise, right? Well, it has a dark origin.”

Just as fast as a bustling train, Bucky rakes his brain for all the times he promised you something. Hoping that he won’t end up with a stump for a hand.

One vividly bright memory is seared into his brain though, the days blurred together with sharp edges and mismatched colors: we love how we were taught to love.

So, who taught you how to love like this?

[bugsbucky]

Special Birthday Girl

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Prompt: DDs: it’s your birthday and unfortunately, you and Sebastian/Bucky had a fight a few days ago and still aren’t talking. There’s a delivery of a large bouquet of flowers from your partner but the note attached makes you anxious he’s hinting for a breakup. How do you make up when you learn the note was just worded incorrectly?

Warnings: Angst, lots of tension, fluff, happy ending!

Word Count: 1,466 (Yikes!)

Authors Notes: This is for @the-ss-horniest-book-club​​ Extended Drunk Drabbles! A really really big thank you to my tumblrmama @hawksmagnolia​​​ for your help with this prompt! Couldn’t have finished it without you!! 

Happy birthday sweetheart!!! Hope you have a great day!

Many kisses Y/N! Have a fantastic day!

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy birthday, you beautiful human!

The birthday messages kept pouring in from your friends and family. Everyone close to you had wished you a happy birthday, everyone except Bucky.

The atmosphere in your tiny single bedroom apartment was uncomfortably thick. Even his Avenger friends picked up on the tension as soon as they had walked into the space.

The two of you had had a pretty heated fight a week ago about his continued grumpiness. Bucky was tired, you understood that since he’s been working so much, but his short patience with you was making you crazy. It seemed he bit your head off every time you opened your mouth. You were officially done with his surly mood so you chose to put him in his place, warning him that if he didn’t stop talking to you like that then he shouldn’t bother talking to you at all.

Since that day, he has chosen the latter and hasn’t spoken to you since. Whenever you and Bucky have fought in the past, one of you would usually break the silence after an hour. You kept expecting him to try and fix things, like apologise for his hostile remarks but nothing. You feared this was the end of your relationship, that this was his way of breaking up without saying it.

It was like two strangers under the same roof. You still shared the same bed, but at different times. You cooked and ate your own meals separately and spent most of the day in a different room away from each other.

 But today was your birthday and while you were really happy to receive such beautiful messages from those who loved you, the memory of your angry outburst and his silence sat heavily on top of your shoulders. Just knowing that you and Bucky weren’t okay was making it difficult to enjoy your day.

A sudden knock echoes throughout the apartment startles you and your head jerks to the door in the hopes to hear Bucky striding to answer it. When you hear nothing after a couple of heartbeats another loud knock comes. You huff in frustration and stomp towards the door. You hadn’t heard Bucky leave the apartment and knew he was here somewhere. He had come in very early this morning and you assumed he’d crashed on the couch. You’d been hiding in the bedroom, hoping the door would muffle any tears. 

Would it really be such an inconvenience for him to answer the damn door?

You yank the door open with more force than you intended to use and your eyebrows shot up into your hairline. A delivery man in brown uniform stood in front of you holding a beautifully wrapped large bouquet of flowers in one hand and a clipboard in the other.

“Good afternoon ma’am! Are you Miss Y/L/N?”

You nodded. “Um yes, that’s me.”

“Great. I’ve got a delivery for you from Mr. James Buchanan Barnes.” Hearing his full name caused butterflies to erupt in your stomach.

“Oh.” You blew out a surprised breath. He’d bought you flowers for your birthday? Your excitement died a bit and you swallowed a knot in your throat realizing he could have ordered them well before your fight.

The man clears his throat and you blink at him. It’s then you realize that he’s holding the flowers out for you to take them. You take them gracefully as possible, quickly scribbling your name down on the piece of paper and nudging the door closed with your foot.

 Setting the flowers down on the side in the kitchen, you go on a hunt for a big enough vase to fit the bunch. As you’re about to turn away, you see a note wedged between the petals from your peripheral vision.

Plucking the note between your fingers, your eyes scanning over the words printed on the back of it.

My love, I’m wishing you the happiest of birthdays. May the light guide your loneliness in your future adventures.

Yours, Bucky

What the absolute fuck did that mean? Your eyebrows furrow as you re-read it over and over and it still does not make any sense in your mind. Was he seriously hinting of a breakup with you? On your birthday of all days?!

Tossing the card on the kitchen counter, you take a step back and rub your temples. Tears were pooling in your eyes with the fear of what it meant.

“Y/N? What’s wrong?” Bucky asked from behind you. The first three words he has spoken since your fight and his voice sounds almost foreign to you now. “Did you not like my flowers?” His voice was deep and raspy, as though he just woken up from his nap. You sensed some guilt there too.

“They are nice.” You breathed, keeping your eyes closed as your heart raced. This was truly the shittiest of birthdays you’ve ever had.

“Y/N.” You could feel his body heat in front of you, his footsteps were silent thanks to his experience as an assassin. His large hands wrapped around your wrists and pulled them away from your face. Tears slid down your cheeks and you averted your gaze everywhere but on him.

“Are you breaking up with me?” The words rolled off your tongue before you could swallow them down. Might as well give the shitty day a high five and get it over with.

For a moment, Bucky looks stunned. It’s quickly replaced with confusion as his brows knit together. “Of course not! We’re adults here, I know we can and will fix it. It was just a stupid little fig-”

“Then why word the note the way you did? What the fuck does it even mean? You make it sound like I’m going into my future alone without you. And today of all days, Bucky! It’s my fucking birthday and I can’t believe you’d do this!” 

The crease between his eyebrows deepens and now he’s more confused by what you meant. “What note are you talking about, doll?”

You refrain from rolling your eyes, the leftover anger from your fight and frustration of the week of silent treatment coming to the surface. You stepped around his large frame and almost punched the card into his chest.

He read over the note and you took mental notes of his expressions. Confusion that was replaced by anger. His nostrils flared as he ripped the card up and threw the pieces on the floor.

“I didn’t write that. That’s not even close to what I told the girl to write.” He scoffed and ran his fingers through his hair.

“What do you mean?”

“The girl at the flower shop has this weird crush on me. I told her what I wanted the writing to say and that was not it and clearly she fucked it up deliberately.”

You looked at each other and soon it became a staring contest. A small smile fighting its way to your lips and you shift under his intense gaze.

“Y/N.” He whispered, stepping closer. “I promise baby, I’m not breaking up with you. I wouldn’t even dream of it. I know we haven’t talked this past week and believe me, it killed me. I had to keep fighting the urge to curl into you at night and wrap you in my arms. I’m so sorry for my moods and I promise I’ll get my shit together. And believe me, that girl who sabotaged that note will not get away with it.”

This time a smile did find its way to your lips. Instinctively, you wrapped your arms around his neck and buried your face into his chest. He planted a kiss on top of your head and held you close, as though he was afraid you’d turn to dust.

“I love you. So fucking much.” He sighed. His breath fanning against your hair as he spoke.

“I love you too.” You craned your neck upwards and smiled. He kissed the tip of your nose and darted his tongue out to lick his dry lips.

“I’ve missed you.” You whispered. Your chin resting against this broad chest. A goofy grin appears on his face and you already know the next words that will leave his lips.

“Not as much as I’ve missed you. I have a lot of making up to do. But since I didn’t give you your special birthday gift this morning, how about I give it to you now?” 

“You better make sure it’s extra special.”

“Extra special for my special girl, coming right up.” He scooped you up into his arms and carried you straight into the bedroom.

Taglist: @jobean12-blog​ @marvelgirl7​ @godofplumsandthunder​ @hawksmagnolia​ @deanthedemon​ @eurynome827​ @emilylyoness​ @buckybarnesplumwhore​ @sarge-barnes-sir​ @crushedbyhyperbole​ @this-kitten-is-smitten​ @kitkatd7​​ @jamesbarnesappreciationclub​ @littleredstarfish​​ @buckys-henley​​ @tuiccim​​ @mystoragehatesme​​ @starspangledseb​​ @bambamwolf87​​ @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog

[vanessakimballs]

apparently the special guests were sarge, lopez, and santa in the family shitters finale, probably as a last ditch effort to regain viewership. i didn’t watch (haven’t seen any FS, as per their request since it’s “not made for” rvb fans), but yeah.

still not gonna give them my time or money, regardless of my love for those characters cause i know it’s just a cheap tactic to get views rather than a genuine interest to bring back the reds and blues in their own show.

[jaydexbg]

Hey, hi sorry, me again. The more I keep thinking about it the more I dislike restoration. This is veeery personal tasty- (spoilers below)

but I'm so angry Grimmons didn't happen, cmon Burnie, you had us in the first half "come with me" seriously. Then you shot me in the head while I was distracted by badass tex- actually keeping me up at night what was the thought behind this. I love you Burnie, I do, Morning Somewhere is great and part of my daily, but the ending murdered me. (I'll accept Sarge, hell even Doc, but I draw the line at no cannon Grimmons)

Silly 21 year queer bait joke goes here. But they are in love, Idk how anyone can say otherwise. It sort of felt like a slap in the face? Specially with Simmons "no I wont" line about visiting Earth (or similar to that) like... what. Ik I'm not alone in this but not getting it in RvBs Swansong, its final season, it's thank you to long time fans (Grimmons is by far the most popular RvB ship) feels wrong.

Maybe I'm overreacting but either way I needed to speak/vent this LOL. I like it as a non-cannon simulation but I might pause before the final scenes so the idiots stay together in Blood Gulch. Bc they are in love 🧡[maroon heart emoji]

[niqhtlord01]

Surprised to see me again fighting fans? So am I! I found a way to turn myself invisible for a while, but turning yourself visible again becomes that much harder when you can’t see your hands anymore. Now that I’m back though it’s time to get this fighting train of death and quips rolling again! This week we have a new contender stepping into the ring. Hailing from parts unknown and who lists their residency as “inside a stick”; let’s give a warm welcome to one of the sassiest men alive who could make you question yourself with but a blink of an eye, give it up for Ambrosius!

 Ambrosius: *Cloud of smoke appears and he twirls into existence* Roman: *Looks at cigar, then Ambrosius, then throws it down* Should’ve given these up earlier. Ambrosius: Don’t worry, you’re not hallucinating. Roman: *Raises cane, gun cap opens* Says the 7ft tall blue naked man floating before me, of course you’re real. ---------------------------------------------------------------

Ambrosius: *Cloud of smoke appears and he twirls into existence* Don: I wore blue before you, so you’ll need to change. Ambrosius: Ah ha, this is my skin if you haven’t notice. Don: *Draws sword* Then I guess I’ll just have to skin you. ----------------------------------------------------------------

Ambrosius: *Cloud of smoke appears and he twirls into existence* Tucker: Yo dude, bdsm night is Thursday you idiot. Ambrosius: You do know I am an ethereal being of almost unlimited power, right? Tucker: *draws energy sword* More like a thirsty bitch who can’t keep it in his pants. -----------------------------------------------------------------

Cammie: *Walks in and picks up nugget from the ground* Ambrosius: *Floats down to study nugget* My my my! What a fascinating contraption you have there. Cammie: Jesus fuck’n Christ; what the hell are you!? Ambrosius: *pouts and crosses arms* A being of ultimate power made by the hands of gods; so, you know, nothing special. ------------------------------------------------------------------

Ambrosius: *Cloud of smoke appears and he twirls into existence* Salem: What plans I have for you. Ambrosius: If one of them is to find a skin care treatment darling I hate to say but even I have my limits. Salem: *Grim arms start sprouting from ground* A foolish tool made by foolish gods indeed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nomad: *Walks in, wind blowing poncho* Ambrosius: I can’t make anything unless tell me what it is you want. Nomad: *Shrugs and waves hands* Ambrosius: *nods* Alright we can play Pictionary afterwards then. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Caboose: *Walks in holding freckles* Ambrosius: What an interesting machine you have there. *Floats in for closer look* Freckles: Proximity warning triggered! Hostile action commencing! Caboose: No! Bad freckles! Stop it! No hospitable actions inside the house! Ambrosius: *backs off slowly* Maybe later then. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Valentina: *removes invisibility cloak* Ambrosius: I hear you like to experiment. Valentina: I was never one to be tied down by the limits of my body. Ambrosius: *smiles* If you have some ideas, I’d love to hear them afterwards. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neo: *Walks in twirling umbrella* Ambrosius: I don’t know what part of “explain what you want” is being misunderstood, but you people need to actually talk to me for me to make something. Neo: *Pouts* Ambrosius: *Sighs* Your people can make a hammer turn into a grenade launcher yet somehow sign language is lost on you; no wonder your species is doomed. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ambrosius: *Cloud of smoke appears and he twirls into existence* Sarge: I knew this day would come! *cocks shotgun* Ambrosius: So did I after looking at a calendar, but do go on. Sarge: I finally get to kill the god of all blues! HEEYA!!!!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ambrosius: *Cloud of smoke appears and he twirls into existence* Toth: The Don will have use of your powers. Ambrosius: You could as well, if you knew what you wanted. Toth: *Hesitates* I……I just want them to survive. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Julian: *Hologram appears* Ambrosius: I’ve not seen one like you before. Julian: That’s cause I’m one of a kind. Ambrosius: *smirks* Are you so sure? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ironwood: *Walks in loading gun* Ambrosius: Well if it isn’t floating city man; what is it this time?  Ironwood: I want you to make me a bomb. Ambrosius: *stops smirking* And so the cycle begins again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius: *Cloud of smoke appears and he twirls into existence* Dr. Grey: Can I take a sample of you? Ambrosius: That depends entirely on the reasons behind your need.  Dr. Grey: *Evil glint in helmet* Have you ever heard of a replicator? 

[therealslimshakespeare]

Hi Marina! I have a question for you. I’ve noticed you mention Sam Cooke in several of your stories, and I wondered if you are a fan of his music. I love soul music and consider him to be one of the most talented soul singers of all time. If you do listen to him, what are your favorite songs? Mine would probably be A Change Is Gonna Come, Touch the Hem of His Garment, and Bring It On Home To Me (especially the live version at the Harlem Square Club).

Also, if you haven’t seen The Two Killings of Sam Cooke on Netflix, I highly recommend it. Even for people who don’t know his music, it is an interesting look at the intertwining of the music industry and the civil rights movement.

Would love to hear your thoughts! ❤️😘

Sweet Shanny! A fellow Cooke lover! Oh this brings me joy.

Like Elvis and many of his era I grew up on Cooke’s music, or at least a top five selection -What a Wonderful World, Cupid etc- and always enjoyed him. Starting to study him out of curiosity as I got older impressed me with his good character and his vast vision. I did see that documentary a few years ago, loved it and it only confirmed my impression. What a remarkable human and an exceptional artist.

Rather like RFK’s murder and that of MLK, I get rather choked up about Cooke’s untimely end, filled with such a sense of loss and a wonder for what might’ve been, it was a terrible time to lose such bright influences.

Im glad you mentioned the live Harlem concert, they’ve become some of my absolute favorites of his and they showcase so much natural talent and incredible energy, it’s a damn crime RCA withheld them so long for the reasons they did. Glad we’re got them now, rather like the comeback special, I’ll put up with the audience noise for the sheer amount of verve that comes through. Some of my favorite versions of his songs are on that record.

Ok but lastly, favorite songs. Hmm.

Touch the Hem of his Garment, (I adore it,) as well as A Change Will Come, also Chain Gang, Everybody Loves to Cha Cha, Summertime, Twisting the Night Away (his growls!!!) and lastly my favorite hidden gem is Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day -it’s so catchy, the horns send me into a happy astral sphere and the sentiment is sweet. 🤣

I’m so gonna rope that particular song into the Sarge universe, watch me. 🌚 thanks for asking, such fun to chat with someone who shares an interest. Xoxo

PS -have you seen the movie One Night in Miami? It was rather fascinating and I loved L. Odom’s portrayal of Cooke.

[freezeriafan]

sarge fan is a bit... quirky. orders only onion sauce and onions in papas cheeseria. he knows what he likes and i respect that. his style h for onionfest is funny to me hes the onion king and hes about to execute me for not liking onions - amii

He's a lucky bastard becos his special interest also falls in line with his tastebuds. What if he didnt like onions? What the hell would he do then.... just some sarge fan who doesnt even like onions.... there should be an arch where he discovers he doesnt like chives and hes like "what kind of a sarge fan doesnt even like all types of onions...."

And YES I LOVE his onionfest outfit. He feels like some character trope.......idk what to call it But just when hes wearing his Onionfest gown it's like hes pompous and better than you but he still wants to help you to prove that hes smart. Like hes voiced by Samson from Camp Lazlo and acts like Melvin from Captain Underpants

[danetobelieve]

Big Brother’s Always Watching || Marley and Winston

Exhausted, mentally and emotionally if not physically, Winston sighed as they stepped out of the police station and headed over to the car that was more duct tape then automobile at this point. Dropping most of their work stuff in their car, they looked around them to make sure that no one was watching and grabbed a different rucksack that was full of research materials. Some of the cameras that they had set up at the side of the lake with Kaden had gone offline and Winston wanted to see what was going on. The lake wasn’t all that far from the station and they didn’t exactly want their car seen around that part of town right now. The sky turned black for a moment as the giant eyelid slid across the sun and blinked, but as soon as it had happened it stopped. Winston’s heart had also stopped in that moment, but they were actually starting to get used to the sun-eye blinking and it wasn’t making them panic as much as normal. There were so many things that they hated about that sentence. Heading towards the lake, they glanced over their shoulder once more, satisfied that they weren’t being followed. 

As Marley left the station that evening, she hadn’t been expecting to follow someone. The sun was still out, though dipping low beyond the horizon-- but its light meant that she couldn’t slip into her unseen form. Which was a bane, considering she just watched Winston grab a pack and head off into the forest by themself. It would be easier to follow them if she were invisible, but that didn’t mean she still didn’t have the skills to do it. And with the conversation they’d just had, she wasn’t eager to let them wander off alone. So, she’d followed them. Into the forest and through the trees to grandmother’s...lake? Why were they heading for the lake? Hadn’t the Sarge just issued the warning about the hooded cultists around? What a stupid kid, this was exactly what she’d been talking about. They were gonna get themself killed or hurt and it would be up to Marley, now, to make sure that didn’t happen. This was why she hated kids.

Double checking that they had everything, Winston’s hand brushed against their wallet, inhaler and phone. Convinced that everything was in place they pressed onwards, reaching the lake in less then half an hour, though not with some effort. Winston was pretty tired but headed to the first camera that they were having problems with. Fortunately this was the one that was furthest away from everything. Sometimes the problem was something as simple as a wire coming lose and as Winston approached the camera they were pleased to see that was the case here. Continuing on their journey, they moved closer to the lake, approaching the camera’s location to where the next camera should’ve been. Approaching it’s location, Winston found the lense covered in the thick ink like substance that seemed to have invaded White Crest’s water supply, which was … weird.

As they crept along, Marley kept a fair distance. The sun would dip low enough soon that she could slip into the shadows unseen, but for now, she stayed back. It seemed like they were headed somewhere specific, and she was proven right when they approached what looked like...a camera? Confused, Marley pressed a little closer, and when they left, she approached it, examining the evidence. It was attached to a tree and pointed towards the lake. Some sort of surveillance? She took her own phone out and snapped a quick photo of the location before heading back to continue following, this time slipping into something a little more invisible, allowing her to get a tad closer. At the next camera, she, too, saw the ink. Her eyes narrowed. Something was wrong here.

Muttering a quick curse, Winston quickly removed and cleaned the lense before replacing it and making sure that everything was working how it should. They had to admit the ink thing was weird. They would have to be more careful in the future. Checking on these things seemed more important then ever and Winston wished that they had made more of an effort to hide these better or enchant them or something more. But they didn’t have time for regrets and as they hurried closer to the lake they were sure that they could hear creepy chanting like from the other night. Of course that would make sense because there was a hundred and one cultists in the area and they really liked to chant. What made less sense was the fact that the bush which had been home to the third camera was now empty, there was literally no evidence that it had even once been here, Winston was sure they hadn’t made a mistake, but they couldn’t really corroborate it because just as they were checking a small herd cultists entered the clearing and Winston was forced to cower behind the small bush they had been checking. They knew it couldn’t give them all that much cover, their heart was pounding and their blood roared in their ears as they tried to keep calm. “Oh fuck fuck fuck.” 

Oh, this wasn’t turning out good. Marley could hear the chanting through the trees, casting her glance towards the darkened-- well, not for her-- treeline that led to the lake. There they were, heading their way. “Fuck,” she muttered in response, getting ready to bolt, but-- Winston. She paused for a minute. She could just leave them. It would be their own damn fault for coming out here. But, no. She couldn’t. She just couldn’t. Whatever forced dragged her back, she was racing towards them silently before reappearing right next to him. “Don’t scream,” she said, snagging his arm, “we’re leaving, follow me.” Hoping the cultists hadn’t seen them, but already pulling her gun out with her other hand and flicking the safety off. She wasn’t going to take any chances, and without eyes to look into, it was her only line of defense, a fact which she really didn’t like.

Winston basically choked as they did everything within their power to not scream. Swallowing the sound back Winston glanced around at Marley and whispered frustratedly at them. “Marley if you’re just going to appear out of mid air — which by the way was REALLY fucking cool — then maybe start with saying something other then don’t scream.” They shook their arm free of her grip and shook their head. “I can’t go yet, I have one more camera that I need to check, I need the footage off of that one specifically.” They crouched lower and slowly crept backwards with Marley from the cultists. “I know you said not to do something stupid and I know you’re going to be like I told you so, but I really need that footage so if you want to go…” Winston hated what they were about to say as they swallowed back anxiety and nerves, “I get it.” Was their voice higher then normal in that moment? Absolutely not … they were just whispering or something.

“Well it worked, right? You didn’t scream.” And Marley didn’t often make a habit of appearing out of the blue to people, but this was a special case. She furrowed her brow. “When the hell did you even set those up? Just...tell me where your stupid camera is and I’ll go check it,” she grumbled, pulling them behind more solid cover than a little bush. “I’m not leaving now. Cause then if you die, I’ll be responsible.” Get her voice low, the gun lower, and her gaze sharp, examining the tree lines. “So just…” waved her free hand, letting them go enough to gesture towards the treeline and the cultists. “I’m better at this than you.”

“Not because I didn’t want to, I don’t know if you noticed or not but I almost had an aneurysm trying not to.” Winston shook their head gently. “Like a month ago maybe, I caused a distraction and came in and set them up, they have solar generators and big batteries so they’re usually pretty good but I think the cultists have been fucking with them…” they scratched their head and shook it, “I have it set up so it’ll wipe itself if someone tries to tamper with it and unless you can break the codes I’ve got set up on there you won’t be able to access them…” they looked at Marley and shrugged. “Maybe you are, but I didn’t ask you for your help here, besides, I’m a fucking adult dude, I can do this if I want to.” Winston headed away from the cultists who had paused and started chanting once more. “You don’t have to come.”

Marley would have groaned loudly if they weren’t hiding. She stood to give chase as Winston headed off in the opposite direction. At least they were smart enough to do that much. “Well, I’m not leaving now,” she muttered, “I’m curious.” Yes, that was all. She was a detective after all, she loved a good mystery. “And you don’t have a gun.” She wasn’t sure why she needed to explain herself to them, but it made her feel better knowing they knew that was all she was there for. Even from behind her glasses she could see the darkened forest clearly, falling in step next to them, before pausing, putting out a hand. “Wait…” a rustling of leaves. Out here, it could be any number of monsters, but she had a feeling it wasn’t just any monster. “Hide.”

Secretly — maybe not so secretly — Winston was relieved that they weren’t having to do this on their own. With everything going on right now it seemed like a good idea to have back up. “To be fair, the camera rig and set up are all custom work, specifically made for this, so they’re really cool basically, I’ll show you how they work if you want.” If the camera was still intact. “I … I don’t have a gun because I don’t need one,” Winston wasn’t exactly a fan of being armed if they could help it and they weren’t a cop so they wouldn’t get one if they could help it. Winston however was somewhat concerned by her sudden command. They liked Marley and they respected her, so when she gave the order they didn’t hesitate, dashing behind a tree and wishing they’d learned how to make glamours or had developed a magic camouflage mesh or something. They quickly typed a reminder so that they would remember to look into that later. Making eye contact with Marley, or trying their best to, Winston mouthed over to her. “What now?”

Marley followed suit and hid behind the tree with Winston. It would be easier to go invisible, but that would leave Winston alone and possibly expose her abilities a little too much, even if they had probably already figured out a little bit. All this camera info flew by the wayside when a hooded figure emerged from the bushes where they’d just been and Marley pressed them both back against the tree as they walked forward, right past their hiding spot. Didn’t let out her breath of relief until they were gone through another bush. But, of course, it was too soon. She should’ve learned better by now. A knife sunk into her shoulder, thrown from afar. But with the protection of night, it did little but sting. Yanking it out, she turned to Winston. “Run,” she said, a little less urgently than the situation probably called for, “you should probably run.”

Holding their breath, Winston pressed themself against the tree and prayed that they weren’t about to be found by the hooded figure. They felt a moment of relief but then unease once more. A second later and a knife was being pulled from Marley’s shoulder with almost no reaction and Winston couldn’t help but wonder what the fuck was going on. She seemed almost unconcerned by this. Winston on the other hand wasn’t sure they agreed. They were about to do exactly what she had said, but mainly in an attempt to get them both out of there rather then leaving Marley on her own. But as they were beating a tactical retreat they found their path blocked by more cultists. Backing up, Winston swallowed and looked at Marley. “I don’t think that’s option, I guess I won’t tell if you won’t?” Winston really hoped that some of the tricks they’d brought with them worked. Fishing a glass vial from their bag, Winston hurled it at the first cultist they could see, they weren’t the best shot but building cannons or launchers for these things was a bit beyond their capabilities. The good news was that although they missed, the vial exploded against a nearby tree and the metallic substance that it had held soaked one of the cultists, they looked at Winston confused and in response Winston muttered a quick phrase and the liquid immediately began to change into thin ropes that began to bind themselves around the cultist who fell to the ground in shock, a knife in hand desperately cutting themselves free. Which was not great because those were meant to be unbreakable ropes. Winston needed to fiddle with the formula more clearly. 

Magic. Of course it was magic. Marley was sure why she hadn’t thought of that before, it was always witches, after all, jumping to try and give a solution to problems. She just supposed, of anyone, WInston had seemed like the least likely to do magic. Must’ve been the stereotype about tech nerds or something, but she’d have to examine that line of thought later. “Fine,” she said, deciding to cut the crap. She held up the gun and fired. The bullet sailed straight through one of their heads and the body dropped heavy to the ground. She pulled her glasses off-- who knew? Maybe it would work-- and pocketed them. As she aimed, another came up behind her and tried to stab her again, but she ducked, jabbing the knife she’d still been holding into their gut before putting the gun to its head and pulling the trigger. In the next moment, two more were on her, knocking her gun-- and the knife-- away. Then a third, and a fourth. “Fuck you!” she grunted, turning her body intangible and watching them all flop to the forest floor. “Hey!” she snarled, turning to face the one that had cut straight through WInston’s ropes. “They said stay.” Grabbed them by the collar while they still struggled against the restraints, glaring directly at them. She smothered their mouth with her free hand, fingers digging in, before she pulled her hand back, sucking in a deep breath. The hooded figure sagged and dropped dead to the ground. She turned to look at Winston. “Now you should run.”

Watching Marley work was quite something, not that Winston had the time to admire it or anything. To be honest, the fact that they were even admiring someone killing other things was pretty jarring for Winston. But now was really not the time to examine just how comfortable with these things that they found themselves becoming. Now was the time for action. Winston was probably never going to be as good at this as Marley was, but they knew that they could help in other ways. As the cultists worked their way out of their bindings, Winston set about incapacitating one cultist with the spiderbot that they’d used on their mime. The thing scuttled along, latched onto their back and tazed the cultist hard. Winston watch as they crumpled to the floor. Turning down the power had been a good idea. They were admiring their own handy work when a cultist tried to tackle them from behind, Winston honestly panicked a little and released a blast of kinetic force from themselves that sent the thug crunching into a tree. “Camera, got it,” Winston hadn’t been far from the spot. They sprinted over to the camera and were dismayed to see more cultists crowding around it. Reaching into their bag, Winston pulled out a second object. Hurling it into the trees behind the cultists, Winston waited for it to explode in a burst of sirens and other cop noises. It would distract them long enough to get the camera, at least that was the plan as Winston sprinted towards the camera as the cultists ran in the direction of the noise. 

WInston was just full of surprises. Marley didn’t really care for theatrics, but the kid had a certain flare that made her grin. At least, until a cultist tried to punch her in the face. His fist went straight through, of course, as she made her body untouchable. Once he was done recoiling his fist, she came back into the physical world and made sure he knew how to punch properly through demonstration. Winston was heading off towards his camera now and Marley took chase, picking up her gun and one of the knives, as she headed over. “Hurry and get what you need, I get the distinct feeling there’s more of these guys than I have bullets and you have magic grenades,” she said, holding the gun out, waiting for them to realize the loud sirens were just a distraction. Took aim and shot one right through the heart. That was 3 bullets she’d have to report now. She held up the knife, then, bracing herself. “I’ll cover you.”

Scrambling up the tree where they’d set up the camera, Winston popped it out of it’s mount and slid it into their back pack. There was point leaving it here now if they knew where they were hiding these things and Winston would rather get it back then have someone trace the signals back to them. “I’m down to my last one,” Winston was hoping that this would be enough, but they weren’t completely sure, either way they needed to get out fast, “I’ve got to say, the whole ghost thing and then not being a ghost, what’s it called … intan-intangibility? That’s really cool.” Winston wished that they could learn something like that. You couldn’t die if everything just went through you. At least that was their theory anyway. Quickly packing everything away, Winston grabbed the small solar panels they’d set up and was back on the ground. “Let’s go,” they said as they fished out their final ‘grenade’ a aerosol cannister with a pin in the top, “smoke grenade, you’re definitely a better shot then me.” 

“It comes in handy, yeah,” Marley said, glancing back once to watch them climb up the tree and fish out the camera. She was still annoyed they’d thought doing this alone was a good idea, but she wasn’t about to comment on that. “Better hurry,” she said over her shoulder, “looks like they figured out your trick.” The remaining few had all turned to face them again, withdrawing their knives. If fear wasn’t something she actively fed from, she might have felt it now. Their sewn mouths and eyes were almost as creepy as the lids in their palms, and the fact that they could still somehow see without having proper eyes. And that they couldn’t be taken care of using her preferred method. Her fear paralysis was of no use here. When they descended the tree, Marley took the offered grenade. “Get ready to run,” she said, then beamed one of them in the head with the grenade. For a moment, nothing happened-- then a burst of billowing white smoke exploded from the center and encased the entire area. Marley grabbed Winston, and ran.

Winston did not need to be told twice. Although the scar or eyelid, whatever you wanted to call it on the back of their hand itched like crazy but Winston didn’t focus on that. They had to get out of here. They turned behind them and glanced to see a cultist emerging from the smoke, however at that point Winston and Marley were sprinting away, camera in hand. Winston really hoped that there was some good information here, because if not then Marley might be a little pissed off. Probably a good thing she’d been there too. Winston would’ve been seriously hurt if not. “That, was,” Winston paused trying to catch their breath, puffing quickly on their inhaler, “fucking insane.”

“That,” Marley huffed, though not entirely winded still a bit short of breath, “is exactly why I told you not to to try and help.” Whatever they were thinking by placing those cameras, or coming out here by themself, Marley knew better. Everyone wanted to be the hero, everyone wanted to be the one to solve it. And that was how people got killed. Once she’d caught her breath, she moved forward, out of the woods. “I know you think you can help, but you’re just going to get yourself killed, and then we’ll have to find another new intern, and I’m not eager to be the one Jane bothers about all her computer problems.”

“Are you kidding?” Winston asked trying their best not to grin from the adrenaline. It wasn’t that they enjoyed doing this. But there was a mad rush to survivideath situations more or less. “I would have worked something out in the end, like, one hundred percent thank you for saving my life multiple times, I am immensely appreciative, but I’m not completely helpless I promise.” Winston paused for a second. Looking at Marley and trying to think of how they were meant to explain this. “People need help, no one is doing enough to resolve this cult problem, not me, not the police, but it isn’t just going to go away on it’s own. So yeah, maybe I’m pretty much completely out of my depth, but I haven’t died yet and I’m not going to stop trying to help. I know you think I can’t help. But you’re wrong.” 

“I never said I didn’t think you could help!” Marley snapped, whirling on her heel to face them again. “I said you’re going to get yourself killed if you do try to help! And, oh, look-- you almost died! Multiple times!” Threw up her hands, groaning. “I get it, you wanna help. All you little goody-two shoes all always just wanna help-- but sometimes helping means staying behind. Sometimes, there’s just nothing you can do. And you just have to accept that,” she said, her voice sharp. And yeah, maybe she was projecting, but sometimes people needed to hear it just as it was. No sugar coating, no sweet talking. She rubbed a hand across her face before turning to head back towards the precinct again. “But, you know what? Fine. Do whatever you want. See if I care.” It was no skin off her back if they died. She didn’t have to care. She didn’t have to help if they didn’t want her advice.

“Almost, I’ve been almost dying since the beginning of this year and since I worked all the supernatural shit out and had a magical ability thrust in my lap. There comes a point, where if you’re already almost dying all the time, you might as well continue almost dying and make a difference.” Winston wouldn’t normally argue like this with a co-worker. But frankly this had been a bullshit week, in a bullshit month, in a bullshit year. “Except right now there is something that I can do to help,” Winston pulled off the bandage that they’d kept over their hand, “I’ve got this thing, I did a ritual before this shit happened trying to research more and I found out that there is more to this then just the eye and the sun and the cult, and if we don’t fix this then we might all just get fucked. So forgive me if I care enough to try and stop it. I tried to get you to let me help and you said no, that’s fine. I also really appreciate everything you did for me just now, that was amazing -- super bad ass by the way -- but I didn’t ask you to intervene.”

Dammit. Damn this kid. Damn this place. Marley stopped, one more time, and turned slowly to look back at Winston. She didn’t have to keep doing this, it wasn’t like she ever cared. That wasn’t the kind of person Marley was. Because Marley wasn’t a person. “Stop it,” she said, eyes sharp behind her glasses, “stop saying it was badass. Almost dying isn’t badass. And I already said fine, do what you want, kid. I don’t care. Not my problem if you die anymore. I did my part.” Her hands were clean. She’d tried, that was more than she could normally say. She didn’t want to be interested in the fucking eyelid on their hand, but she was. Couldn’t help it. “You did a ritual? Jesus, do you have a death wish?” She shook her head. “No, don’t answer that. And that--” she pointed at their hand, “--tell it to someone who cares. Whatever big, scary, townwide curse has befallen us, I can’t help. That’s not what I do.”

Shaking their head, Winston sighed. “Being a bad ass isn’t the point and I don’t know what you are, but just because you’re not human or you are a type of human I’ve yet to meet, or whatever doesn’t mean you’re a monster. It just means you’re a part of this world and you can make your own value. Also, I know werewolves who are total badasses and they qualify for the monster thing much more then you.” Winston shrugged. “Fine, you don’t want to care, that’s fine, sorry for trying to save the town that we both live in.” Winston held their hands up in defeat. 

Marley threw her hands up in defeat again. “I never said-- I’m not--” but they were right. Marley did think she was a monster. No, she was a monster. And they had no idea what she was capable of. Because as big and scary and cruel as werewolves could be, even they felt fear. Even they needed breath. Even they would tremble before a mara. “Just don’t cry when I get to say I told you so,” she muttered, before finally walking off, disappearing into the shadows, leaving Winston alone again.