#Kale did have a lot of potential though

[queeniehostapasta]

Had a vision and did a quick Kale redesign (gulp)…What do you peeps think😳😳😳

Okay wait actually hear me out

[synergysilhouette]

An alternate take on "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" (2003)

I'm back with another Dreamworks rewrite! To be honest, I LOATHE this movie because a lot of it feels like wasted potential, and I wanted to fix some things. Be warned: as you may have guessed, this is all subjective changes. Be sure to check out my rewrite of "El Dorado" as well!

Character overhaul for Sinbad. Similar to Flynn Rider, he's supposed to come off as charming and clever, but instead just comes off--to me, at least--as sleazy and goofy. Sinbad has good moments, but he's willing to let his own best friend die because he believes Proteus' father won't let him die. He's right about Dymas, but Sinbad underestimates Proteus' integrity, showing how little he knows his friend. In fact, he doesn't really change gears until Eris attempts to deceive him; the whole journey, he comes off as arrogant and pompous, not at all likeable except when he saves Proteus on impulse at the beginning. In my rewrite, he's much more smooth and intelligent, calm and logical, in contrast to Proteus' more emotional and compassionate personality. He's much more honorable--YES, he's still a pirate--and is much less bold, ie showing up to Syracuse in disguise in order not to rouse suspicion or get Proteus in trouble. He may or may not still be seducing and stealing while he's there, though. And even though it won't impact the plot much, I'd make him Middle Eastern as a nod to the original cycle of stories (IDK if it was confirmed if he was Greek or not).

2. Fleshing out the crew more. While Sinbad's crew is made up of unique characters, they don't feel like people to me. They mainly seem to exist for comedy and due to the fact that Sinbad can't man the ship alone. This critique is rather vague since I don't have specific things that I'd change, but having more conversations with them between themselves, as well as with others (such as Marina, Sinbad, and Proteus) would've made them feel like actual characters to me. Kale and Rat in particular feel like they could be even more interesting.

3. Marina is...different. Let me make something clear: I'm TIRED of battle of the sexes dynamics in movies that don't revolve around gender. And I hate how the writers decided to hurt Proteus by making Marina his fiance and then have her fall in love with Sinbad. Instead, Marina is a noble, but not the firstborn, and thus has a bit more flexibility under her belt for her life decisions--though when she decides to join Sinbad, it's still met with an uproar from the bureaucracy. Sinbad recognizes her intelligence and combat skills, as well as her desire to explore, so he accepts her as a crewmember, since he thinks he needs all the help he can get. Some crewmembers due try to charm and flirt with her, but as time goes on, this becomes more platonic rather than serious; I know the optics of a shipfull of thirsty men and one woman can be...uncomfortable, to say the least.

4. Proteus breaks. I'd like to think that Dymas succeeds in getting Proteus away from Syracuse--albeit against Proteus' will--and instead takes his place, knowing someone will have to answer for this. This would happen around the middle of the film, and Eris sees this as an interesting turn of events. She uses her powers to kidnap Proteus and bring him to Tartarus, allowing him to see everything that is occurring and has occurred during the journey--albeit with a bit of twists. Eris makes it look like Sinbad DID steal the book of peace, and that even though he ventures to Tartarus, it's all a ruse, as he has the book in his possession in exchange for riches that only a goddess can give. Proteus has a hard time believing this (especially when it comes from a goddess of chaos), but slowly he does begin to wonder if he had too much faith in Sinbad, and if their friendship was based on him desperate to escape the confines of his station. As such, Proteus makes his own deal with Eris to test Sinbad's character. Eris attempts to trick Sinbad by asking him which is mroe important: restoring peace or getting his friend back. Despite his friendship with Proteus, he recognizes how Eris stealing the book will create destruction must greater than he can comprehend. That said, he lies and says that Proteus is more important, but Eris sees through his lies and sends him away--albeit with Proteus, who bitterly wonders why Sinbad bothered to lie. They fight, but when Sinbad can't bring himself to harm his friend, they reconcile so that Sinbad can face the consequences of the stolen book and Proteus face his punishment for escaping.

5. MORE. FLASHBACKS. We had a lot of "tell, don't show" in the original films, and it made the events weigh less than if we had seen them ourselves.

6. The duality of Eris. In Hesiod's "Works and Days," Eris is the name of two deities, one who is beloved once you come to understand her, and another who is feared and despised--but still given her dues since she's a goddess. In the film, Eris is the antagonist, but is more troublesome than completely evil; she wreaks havoc and thrives in discord, but is unable to break a vow that she makes (as far as we know). It'd be fun if throughout the story, we see Eris doing things on a whim, both helping and hurting others rather than just enjoying destruction. However, this duality makes her VERY untrustworthy to mortals, since in my version, the two goddesses are one, so you never knew who you'll be dealing with. Her duality would essentially serve as a metaphor for trustworthiness and change; is Sinbad the thief completely selfish? Is Proteus the gentle prince incapable of corruption? And I'd make the Book of Peace a highly coveted commodity; Syracuse is a paradise since the book offers them riches and prosperity (still distributed unevenly among the masses, mind you), so once it's gone, the kingdom is thrown into disruption, and the threat of invasion and collapse is very real.

7. The journey is different. I do like the idea that Eris is a bit more present rather than being an observer, and throughout the journey, she tests Sinbad's mettle and attitude, wondering if he's willing to sacrifice his morals or his crew in order to get the book of peace. The sirens sing of knowledge beyond the mortal realm, but Sinbad is unwilling to risk his crew going mad for that knowledge. The following trials also test his intelligence and integrity, as well as furthering his bond with Marina.

These are just some ideas, but I do think I'd enjoy "Sinbad" if it had incorporated some of these concepts. Lemme know what you think of this alternate take!

[duhragonball]

In all honesty, while I do miss Super Saiyan "first times" being emotional beats, a lot of fans forget Goten did it by accident and Trunks did it because he felt like it. Like what, was Goten that angry at Chi Chi during their sparing match? Was Trunks' jealousy of Goten going super saiyan equal to Vegeta's self-loathing during the time skip before the Androids Saga? At least with Caulifla there's an in-universe explanation that honestly makes sense for her character. She's not the type to explode with rage and Cabba's not the type to antagonize her. Rather, she's adept enough at fighting to recognize that all she has to do is emulate the feeling of the transformation to attain it and skilled enough to do it by force. She basically skips the awakening part to get right to the "do it at will" stage which is perfect buildup for her as a rival of sorts for Goku.

I think what really bothered the Caulifla haters (besides their misogyny) was that she said the quiet part out loud.

The dirty little secret about the Super Saiyan form was that it was never this ancient and mystic power of destiny, but a quirk of Saiyan biology that almost anyone could replicate if they knew what steps to follow. The reason Vegeta, Trunks, and Gohan all pulled it off in such a short span of time was that they had a living Super Saiyan as a reference, and they had the motivation to work at it.

By the time Cabba showed up, it was considered a big twist that he couldn't turn Super Saiyan. That's how cliche the form had become. So when Cabba learns it very quickly, it's mostly because we need him to get "caught up" in a hurry. And Caulifla and Kale were even stronger than he was before he learned the form, so it only makes sense that they would get the hang of it quickly as well.

But their transformations weren't treated like this big dramatic moment that turns the tide of the story. That's because Super Saiyan was no longer a major milestone, but also because we'd already seen it done several times by several other characters. The gimmick with Caulifla and Kale was that they were prodigies, diamonds in the rough who were suddenly tapping into their hidden potential. Could they improve enough, quickly enough, to become a threat in the tournament?

The thing fans have to accept is that Super Saiyan isn't the be-all and end-all of this franchise. That's why we have Super Saiyan 2, 3, 4, God, and Blue, along with Ultra Intinct, Beast, and all of the other advanced forms that have cropped up along the way. And the bad guys have always been able to keep pace, so calling each new level "unearned" is pointless.

We could say that Caulifla deconstructed the whole concept, except Vegeta already did it when he first transformed in 1991.

One page. One page is all it takes to undermine whatever legend or superstition is still attached to the Super Saiyan form. This is the third character we've seen use the form, but Krillin still hung onto the idea that a Super Saiyan had to at least be a good guy. But Vegeta informs him that he simply trained and trained until he hit a wall and his frustration pushed his body over the threshold. But Vegeta still clings to the idea of a "Saiyan Messiah", even though he just demonstrated that there's nothing special about this. You don't need to be a mythical hero, or a man of destiny, or even a nice person. You just need talent and effort, and maybe some luck.

The U6 Saiyans just did a speedrun of Vegeta's process, and that may irritate fans, except that the U6 Saiyans were far, far more powerful than Vegeta was in the Androids Saga. Cabba and Vegeta fought evenly in their base forms, and that was the same "Saiyan Beyond God" level seen in Resurrection F. They were already capable of the transformation; they just needed someone to tell them it was a thing.

[stinklebug]

been thinking abt the different dynamics and general relationships between the gang. so here's those thoughts summarized, with my more in-depth ones under the cut

chai and peppermint they have a very fun dynamic, with their bickering and bantering. the evolution of their relationship is fascinating and sweet, and i will forever love how peppermint starts caring about chai fairly early on and lies horribly about it to his face because she doesn't want to admit to anyone—least of all herself—that she's getting attached

chai and macaron their dynamic is just nice and sweet. chai helps macaron grow more confident and tries to help him relax. macaron helps chai by rooting for him and complimenting him when others won't. it's also rlly cute how they're the only ones to refer to each other with nicknames/terms of endearment (mac and little guy respectively)

peppermint and macaron endlessly fascinating to me how they both love roxanne and what she built so much that, despite not meeting due to her keeping them at arms length, they're ultimately brought together

macaron and cnmn their dynamic is so fun! cnmn's bluntness contrasts well with macaron's cautious nature. love how macaron built cnmn because he didn't want to be alone...and was self-aware enough that he needed help to also make them a therapy bot

chai and cnmn such an interesting dynamic. the guy that supresses basically any and all negative feelings and hides his past and pains; the therapist robot that recognizes that, but is just tactful enough to not call him out on it...for the most part

cnmn and peppermint kind of a similar dynamic to cnmn and chai. she appreciates cnmn for his more analytical side than his goofiness

cnmn and korsica these two can be fun. korsica definitely appreciates how direct cnmn is. i think post-game, they probably bond a bit over how they both got pretty fucked up by kale physically.

chai and korsica their dynamic is just...truly fascinating to me. mostly bc of their parallels. i've made a post talking about that in the past, though, so i won't repeat myself. but i also really like their differences. the main one that i always think of is her drive to challenge herself and need to do more, which contrasts with his more lax nature

peppermint and korsica they're neat. they get along well because they're pretty similar. both assertive, tactical, and confident in their own skills; share a distaste for puns and a need to keep busy; total dorks. post-game i imagine they grow pretty close.

macaron and korsica these two have a lot of potential for a interesting dynamic. they both look up to and respect roxanne a lot, and knew that something was wrong with the company but did not act due to their own beliefs. her levelheadedness is a good counter for his anxiety.

chai and peppermint their relationship starts off the most strained out of all of them, with the exception of korsica for obvious reasons. something that i find interesting is how she starts to care about him fairly early on. despite being (understandably) mad at him for blowing her cover, she checks in on him and compliments him throughout the parry tutorial. later, when she shows up at macaron's lab, she runs in saying, "don't be dead!" and lies horribly about being worried about him when he asks.

the two of them both seek out loneliness and prefer to be on their own. but it's interesting how, despite being described as the "loner hacker girl," peppermint is actually far more inclined to seek help and companionship than chai. she clearly doesn't want to admit that, though, considering how, as i said earlier, she lies about being worried about him. she does sort of let it slip when she mentions how 808 provides companionship as well as being a spy drone, though

the two of them have a very fun dynamic. they bicker and banter. their interactions are often filled with a sort of confidence, if that makes sense. not really sure how to explain. all of the lines they say to each other when she gets called in are sort of assertive in some capacity; that same confidence. there's a growing trust there.

chai and macaron their relationship and dynamic is very nice. there isn't as much to say as the previous dynamic, but that's because they don't rlly have a whole lot of growth in terms of theirs. it stays basically the same the whole time. but that makes sense and works well, because macaron's growth is centered around him becoming more confident. which chai is great for, because he's probably the most confident member of the whole gang aside from peppermint and probably cnmn.

they're the only members of the gang to refer to each other with any sort of nicknames/terms of endearment (chai calls him mac; macaron calls him little guy), which is neat. also really cute.

also, to discuss the lines that they say when he's called in: they're actually fairly assertive and confident. they have no lines where they check-in on each other, but this time there are no exceptions. i honestly find this a little strange, i feel like out of all of them, macaron would want to check on chai the most.

peppermint and macaron something that i find so interesting about their relationship is how they both seemed to be very close to roxanne despite the ways she held them at arms length, yet they never met until recently-ish. it makes sense why. but it really does make me wonder if roxanne never even had pictures of her kids in her office or anything similar. i also find it fascinating how their love of roxanne, and what she built, is what eventually causes them to meet

we don't really get to see them interacting one-on-one much, but they seem to get along relatively well. they have a lot of similar interests and hobbies (stem stuff), which definitely helps with that. i can imagine them helping each other out with projects when one of them is struggling with a certain bit of code or figuring out a design or...other tech-y things

macaron and cnmn the bffs! i love them. it's really interesting to see sort of a reverse of peppermint and chai, who sought loneliness and preferred being on their own, with macaron, who was sort of forced in many ways to be on his own but chose to seek companionship by making cnmn. i also find it fascinating how he specifically chose to build them with the purpose of being a sort of therapist. it shows how self-aware he is. i also find it hilarious that he named him CRAP, most likely without meaning to

their dynamic is very fun! cnmn's bluntness has a nice contrast with macaron's more nervous nature. the way that macaron prefers peaceful options, whereas cnmn is totally down to fight, but simply can't due to macaron's preferences being reflected in their design. inaction vs action, but in a friendly and compassionate way

chai and cnmn such an interesting dynamic. the guy that supresses basically any and all negative feelings and hides his past and pains; the therapist robot that recognizes that, but is just tactful enough to not call him out on it...for the most part. i get the sense that chai is sort of wary of cnmn in some ways because of that. but he also respects them and enjoys their company. they have fun! they're both silly fellas! they enjoy puns!

i love how cnmn has his own sort of growth, and chai, while he doesn't fully know how to help them with it, does what he can: offer his support. it's very sweet. it's also interesting because it's the reverse of what you would expect. you'd think cnmn would be the one helping chai with his insecurities, but instead they're the one being offered comfort and support

cnmn and peppermint kind of a similar dynamic to cnmn and chai, but i don't think peppermint's really wary of cnmn. she enjoys his company more for his analytical side, rather than his goofy one. i think she appreciates his bluntness. she also appreciates that he knows when to and when to not share his thoughts and perceptions, for obvious reasons

i wish i had more to say about them, but similar to macaron and peppermint, we don't get to see the two of them interact one-on-one. and they don't have As much in common, aside from that cnmn knows how to hack. the two of them likely aren't particularly close, but that doesn't mean they don't care abt one another.

cnmn and korsica these two can be fun. korsica definitely appreciates how direct cnmn is. i think post-game, they probably bond a bit over how they both got pretty fucked up by kale physically. they would try to help her feel less self-conscious about her scars, and offer support on the whole in regards to some of her insecurities. in turn, she would teach them to fight and help them with their own insecurities in regards to how they feel like they don't do enough for the team

in terms of actual canon interactions, this is another one where we don't get to see very many, so i don't have much else to say. but i do think they'll become fairly close

chai and korsica these two are so interesting to me. they're the only ones with voice lines when she's called in where they ask one another if they're okay ("korsica, you got this?" "you alright, chai?"). she also actively compliments him, unlike the others ("good timing!" "very precise, chai!"). and, of course, she has her moment where she compliments him in the hideout after she joins the team. also special shoutout to him calling her "vandelay security's finest" (heard if you perform one of her jam combos)

their dynamic is just...truly fascinating to me. mostly because of their parallels. i've made a post talking abt that in the past, though, so i won't repeat myself. but i also really like their differences. the main one that i always think of is her drive to challenge herself and need to do more, which contrasts with his more lax nature

peppermint and korsica they're neat. they get along well because they're pretty similar. both assertive, tactical, and confident in their own skills; share a distaste for puns and a need to keep busy; total dorks. post-game i imagine they grow pretty close. peppermint helps korsica with her implants and things down in security; korsica helps peppermint with getting rid of some of kale's bullshittery that's still left

i'm viewing their dynamic here from a more platonic lens, but peppermint's crush is important to take into account. though i'm not sure how much it would really change up their dynamic, aside from peppermint's flustered-ness causing potential cute/silly moments

macaron and korsica these two have a lot of potential for an interesting dynamic. they both look up to and respect roxanne a lot, and knew that something was wrong with the company but did not act due to their own beliefs (macaron didn't want to fight; korsica pushed down her feelings because she had finally achieved her dream). they also both have arm implants, which i'm sure macaron helps her adjust to

her levelheadedness is a good counter for his anxiety. i imagine her presence, though perhaps intimidating at first, can actually be rather calming. especialy since she is known to offer reassurance to those that need it (her interactions with chai being the primary example). i see the two of them as pretty good friends

[thestudentfarmer]

Hello everyone,

A bit of a garden, chicken and otherwise update:)

First up! Garden stuff update :).

Our first cucumber! This pic is a few days old, so it's just about ready to pick now and I've spotted 2 more coming in too :)

First patty pan squash :D with luck this years the year we are able to actually eat a few squash from the plants before the squash beatles arrive! :D

Sweet potato starts in the ground. I may need to put a bit of a shade cover and will be planting at least one more tuber to kick start the greens.

These very pretty wasps (who I believe is a yellow paper wasp if internet search has led me well.) Arrived. Very beautiful, but unfortunatly like the yellow bellied assassin's I will need to keep an eye out for them and potential nesting habits. For the safety and comfort of human neighbours and self, rather than protecting the rare native Bees we see. Thankfully It looks like this one was just hanging out for a few minutes.

Three more assassin's were spotted and swatted over the last few days. Morning has been the best time to look for them so far as I can see or tell.

My funny shade/seed/chicken bed. It looks a bit rough but the goal for this area is mostly to fill the empty space with something that is

1) edible to us or the chickens.

2) managing some sort of eco aspect of our space (shade, water retention, soil cover, beautification)

3) medicinal in some way ( soapmaking or makeup)

4) is fairly leave it alone/set it and forget it.

I'll need to reseed some new stuff soon though as the kale and chard are just about done I think.

Some of the tossed out sunflowers by the watermelon patch.

The melon patch I started (that the chcikens dug up entirely 😭 ) is being fully dug out right now to make a better grow space long term. Given that it's hot out (already 100*f regulalry) and daily life business, I've been working on it as the sun's been going down. It's taking a bit, but a bit at a time makes the work pass by. The dirt being dug out is being used to fill in chicken potholes for the yard and coop. When it's fully dug out I'll be making a similar growbed box like I did for the sweet potatos. Most likely also with a short shade cover.

And last, a chick pic update :) these ones have been much hardier than the last batch so far and a lot less skittish. They got their first hand feeding of crickets and mealworms, plus some peices of apple.

That's it for today

🌱🌻Happy Homesteading and Gardening 🌻🌱

[halleyscomet1]

Foods rich in Iron

Iron: a dietary analysis

This is a guide to the nutrient known as Iron, for all my fellow menstruaters, or people who are low in iron. I did this research while trying to remember iron rich foods, so hopefully it helps someone else.

Iron, as mentioned previously, is a nutrient. It comes from the diet and is necessary for many bodily functions, including the development of haemoglobin (the molecule that carries oxygen in your red blood cells). When an individual doesn’t get enough iron, it can make the individual tired, gives headaches and makes it difficult to concentrate and leads to anaemia.

So what foods contain Iron?

Within foods there are two types of iron, haem (which is absorbed) and non-haem (which is harder). Haem iron is mainly found in meat, poultry and seafood and non-haem iron is mainly found in plants. To meet dietary requirements someone with a plant based diet has to eat around 80% more iron. The dietary requirements for teenagers 14-18 is 11mg/day for males and 15mg/day for females, while adults from 19-50 should have 8mg/day for males or 18mg/day for females. Bellow is a list of foods rich in iron:

Beef

Lamb

Ham

Turkey

Chicken

Veal

Pork

Dried Beef

Liver

Liverwurst

Eggs

Shrimp

Clams

Scallops

Oysters

Tuna

Sardines

Haddock

Mackerel

Spinach

Sweet potato

Peas

Broccoli

String beans

Beet Greens

Dandelion Greens

Collards

Kale

Whole wheat bread

Enriched pasta

Wheat products

Bran cereals

Corn meal

Oat cereal

Cream of Wheat

Rye Bread

Enriched Rice

Strawberries

Watermelon

Raisins

Dates

Figs

Prunes

Dried apricots and peaches

Tofu

Beans (kidney, garbanzo, or white, canned)

Tomato products (e.g. paste)

Dried peas

Dried beans

Lentils

Corn syrup

Maple syrup

Molasses

It’s also important to note, however, that a healthy body only absorbs around 18% of iron in a diet with meat and 10% in a vegetarian diet, though the amount could potentially be lower. This might not be an issue, if your body is already storing a lot of iron, but it can also be influenced by other means. To boost iron absorption an individual can do the following:

Consume more vitamin C

Eat meat and vegetable sources of iron together

Cook plant based sources of iron (the body absorbs 6% of the iron from raw broccoli and 30% from cooked)

There are also things that can reduce iron absorption such as:

Soy proteins, specifically for plant sources

Tea, coffee and wine

Phytates and fibres found in whole grains like bran

Inadequate vitamin A

Calcium and Phosphorus for plant sources

Sources

https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/blood-donation-process/before-during-after/iron-blood-donation/iron-rich-foods.html

https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/foods-high-in-iron#need

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/iron#

[j2memories]

TV Insider Article (September 8th 2021)

Jared Padalecki Teases a ‘Supernatural’ Reunion & More in ‘Walker’ Season 2 (VIDEO)

Damian Holbrook

SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

Walker may have just ended its first season in August, but Jared Padalecki’s update on the classic Chuck Norris action series is already getting ready to ride into Season 2. And this time, Jarpad’s Texas Ranger Cordell Walker, having solved the murder of his wife (Genevieve Padalecki, the actor’s real-life spouse), will be facing a new mystery that’s just as close to home.

Days before production started back up again, TV Insider chatted with the actor from his home in Austin, Texas, where he offered up plenty of intel about the upcoming case, as well as an update on a potential Supernatural reunion with Jensen Ackles. Above is just a sampling of the convo, which was conducted for TV Guide Magazine’s current Returning Favorites issue, but since the #WalkerFamily is so damn fine, we’ve decided to share some more of that content with you here. Enjoy!

Where do we begin in Season 2?

Padalecki says that the story will “pick up a couple months after the finale, and Cordell’s been home, spending a lot of time with his brother, Liam (Keegan Allen), his son and daughter (Kale Culley and Violet Brinson) and his parents (Molly Hagan and Mitch Pileggi).” And even though Cordi will be back full-time on the job, he promises that “we’re going to see a lot more of the personal and family side of the Walkers this season.”

Now that Emily’s death is resolved, does that mean no more Gen?

Come on, you think he could fire his own wife?! “We will see her,” he reveals. “We’ll still have happy flashbacks, but I don’t think the ghost of what happened to Emily will haunt Cordell. She won’t be there as his conscience.”

Since Liam’s political rival Stan Morrison (Jeffrey Nordling) was gravely injured by a sniper after Walker busted him for Emily’s death, is Liam the new district attorney?

Apparently, it’s not that simple. “Technically, the election is null and void. Liam is in a situation where he’s not sure, after everything, if it’s even what he really wants. He’s questioning [whether] there’s a better way to positively affect the city of Austin and its inhabitants.”

It was hinted that maybe the Del Rio crime syndicate was actually after Walker instead of Stan. What does that mean for Walker’s partner, Micki (Lindsey Morgan)?

“That puts her in danger too,” he offers. “Yeah. Micki is committed to finding out who’s trying to kill her partner.” When the show returns, we’ll find out that she’s been working undercover within the organization.

Have they figured out how to get Jensen Ackles on the show yet?

This is the news that’s already got fans’ Twitter timelines in a tizzy! “Well, he’s set to direct this season,” Padalecki told us of his beloved fellow Winchester. “He’s still in Canada right now. So we’re working [on it]. It just depends on, A) when he’s back in the damn country, B) when he’s back in the state and the city, C) when he’s not working on something else, and D) really what kind of cool role it would be to have him. My wish… did you ever see the Maverick movie with Mel Gibson? He runs into Danny Glover in the bank, and they look at each other, kind of like, “Nah.” I want at least one of those moments.”

So. Do. WE!

Walker, Season 2 Premiere, Thursday, October 28, 8/7c, The CW

Link to the article

[mickgaydolenz]

HEY BESTIE i saw your ask and i am eatingggg this article up like it’s my last fucking meal.

i was gonna write out this whole thing breaking down the entire article, but then i realized that all i really need to say in a few words or less is that tl;dr its accurate when it's talking about the Capricorn sign...but a lot of these other things describing Mike are not really Capricious in nature and are more explainable through other placements in his natal chart that the Sun sign doesn't account for nor even influences -- if they're not in aspect to the Sun anyways.

for example, in relation to his Sun, there's this quote that says "he wants to devote much of himself to his career, and at the same time he wants to give much of himself to his family", which immediately screamed at me because i know exactly what placement this is and exactly what's going on: it's his 10th house, where both his Sun in Capricorn and asteroid Juno in Sagittarius reside, and although both under different signs they do technically conjunct, since his Sun is 8° from Juno. any conjunctions under different signs will cause the person inner conflict, restlessness, and discontent, and these signs semisextile, which means that these signs often have difficulty working together, however it's absolutely essential that they need to harmonize, or else. not sure if Mike ever got to accomplish that.

on the flip side, there's this other quote that says "he's wild about traveling both for pleasure and for learning" which is not really in Capricorns nature. this speaks more loudly to his Sagittarius Mars 9th house! it's also in conjunction with his POF in the same sign and house. none of them have aspect to his Sun...but they both are in aspect to his Ascendant, to which they square. that has way more of an affect on his outer personality. another quote from the article that ties it in: "he builds up outasite ideas and stirs them into action with confidence and enthusiasm. [...] rare knack of exciting enthusiasm in others." which is incredibly Sagittarian and not at all Capricious.

i'm not clear if the author totally hyper-fixated on his Sun sign or was able to look at his natal chart as a whole, but i'm gonna assume they were only referring to his Sun sign, which imposes a problem because a person's entire personality is not all embedded into the Sun sign. they say a lot of things here that can be spotted in other placements and aspects in his chart that the Sun sign itself does not account for. 

you’d be surprised to know that, way back when, astrologers used to read the Ascendant sign first before going for the Sun sign, because the Ascendant is what people will see and know of when they interact with a person the first time. i have no idea when or why people stopped reading from Ascendant first to Sun first cause i forgor 💀; all i can tell you is that in the mid-to-late 60s we were experiencing an occult and spiritual revival + evolution to the initial early 20th century occult and spiritual boom, and pushing away from organized religion all-together, so somewhere somehow that might've influenced the switch. don’t quote me on that though. it just a very possible reason as to how and why the article was written the way it was.

but yeah, interesting article! although i dont inherently trust 60s teen mags for real & raw info on them, i wonder if they did the same for the other 3, because it's potentially useful for me.

KALE BESTIE I KNEW YOU WOULD DELIVER ME GOLD WITH THIS!!!!!! if i track down anymore astrology related articles to the other guys i will 1000000000000% send them your way!!!! btw as always i am FLOORED by your knowledge, GIRL YOU ARE INSANE AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!!!

[msgrumpygills]

So I’m kind of new to the fandom. I’ve been casually watching the show for a couple years now but only recently got into the fandom side. And I have to say, never in my life have I seen so much drama and toxicity in one place. I’m ashamed to admit that I’m enjoying the drama though lol.

Before I start though, I personally believe you can make anyone sound problematic if you try hard enough, we’ve all done and said stupid things, but when you decide to become famous you should be ready to be held accountable for the smallest things, not saying it’s right. It’s just how things are unfortunately.

So far I’ve decided that I just don’t like Jared and Danneel,did you know she used the same bullying tactics that Jared has used? I saw a screenshot from her story where she called someone out for... being mean to her? I can only hope the poor girl is ok after her dms were most likely flooded with angry stans. And she just seems so tacky, it’s really obvious if you take a look at her tweets from a decade ago, this woman does not have the potential or capacity to be any kind of famous.And honestly I think one of your anons were right about J2 being trumpies, especially Jared, I was looking for dirt on him and the guy said in a tweet that cracker is a slur? So far everyone I’ve met who had those kind of ideologies turned out to be somewhat of a racist so idk. As for Jensen, he seems to be a bit smarter in the sense that he knows when to stay quiet, but I think he’s probably the same as Jared. I think I remember him making a joke right alongside Jared when he was making that chloroform rape joke. And I think he said the N-word in his last panel with Jared? I think it was a fan’s name. I’ve been told he got the name right the first time and then practically said the N-word the second time around. I do think J2 are closet republicans who are trying to seem progressive because that’s what sells these days.

And Gen, she just seems so... uninteresting? Like I have no desire to know anything about her, unlike the others. But your blog helped out a bit with that. I still think she’s boring and uninteresting lol. I honestly think she should’ve just tried to get a role without Jared’s help. It probably would’ve been real hard, but earning a role through nepotism will not help her career if she decides to ever have one again. But then again, I remember thinking her acting paled in comparison to Katie Cassidy’s, who also played the character Ruby the season before Gen came along. So good luck to her I guess lmao.

So far the only one I’m unsure about is Misha? I mean you’ve got the hardcore Jared stans and the hardcore Misha stans, from what I’ve seen, both sides are extremely biased, and frankly, they all look like idiots from the outside, and they both have completely different beliefs. But you seem to be a bit more level headed, so I thought I’d ask you,tell me all the dirt. What are some of the shitty things he’s done? And I’m sorry this got so long.

The Supernatural fandom is one of the worst fandoms to be in. One of the big reasons that I stopped watching the show was because of the fans, I’ll be honest. But yeah, it is kinda fun to watch the drama, as long as you’re at a distance and safe! 

I absolutely agree that anyone can be problematic. Hell, if I became famous and people found my old tweets or Facebook posts, even Tumblr posts, I’d probably be “cancelled” or called out. I’m not a terrible person, but we’ve all been young and dumb and we’ve all been embarrassing, that’s just part of life. 

Danneel has absolutely been a bitch, there’s really no nice way of saying it. Fans have had horrible experiences with her in real life too. I think if she was more active on social media again, she’s still be showing her true colors, but she’s not active really.  I do remember Jared’s “cracker” controversy and like....I try not to be political, but really dude? I’m white and I don’t consider cracker to be racist or a slur. It’s ridiculous to me? I’m no History major, but I don’t recall people using cracker to describe white people who were considered “lower than” others. 

Jensen is overall a lot smarter than Jared, but he has made mistakes still. The difference is that Jensen apologizes, he holds himself accountable, and he changes his behavior to make sure that he doesn’t make those mistakes again. No one is perfect, but at least Jensen can own up, take responsibility and change. Jared....well we know Jared.

Gen is....well you said you’ve seen my blog, and there are other “antis” here who can shed even more light. She’s uninteresting but thinks she’s the bee’s knees. 

Don’t be sorry about the message getting long! I’m famous for being long-winded, so you’re among friends! 

Misha is......Misha. His fans are absolutely insane (I know there are some normal ones) so any sort of negative backlash against him is usually buried. I’ve made a few posts about him and why I stopped really being a fan of his, but I will try to summarize! 

I started getting kind of turned off to him around the 2016 election because he was bombarding social media with politics and I just wasn’t there for it. A lot of fans came after me for that but that’s their prerogative. I actually started seeing some anti posts on here and went down a rabbit hole of things that I’d looked past or didn’t know about that all mounted up. Some of those things are; (I don’t have links for everything because the one blog that had compiled everything together isn’t active anymore, but someone might have screenshots!) Also in no particular order!

Misha admitting to leering at kids at a playground while preparing for his role in Karla. 

Having his young female fanbase send him pictures of themselves only wearing cheese bikinis or kale swimsuits, etc. for GISHWHES. I know some people think “it’s just a goofy scavenger hunt” but if it wasn’t Misha Collins, would you want your barely legal sister sending pictures of her only wearing cheese to a 40 something year old man? 

His constant blatant disrespect for Jensen and his aversion to Destiel, his baiting of the fans and complete abandonment of Jensen when he gets the backlash. 

He baits the Destiel fans to the point of them making Jensen uncomfortable, then when Jensen puts his foot down, the fans attack him harshly. Where was Misha for that? Silent. Even though he was the one who eggs everyone on. 

Being rude, sexual, and otherwise inappropriate in front of children at conventions. I know fans will say “it’s not his responsibility to monitor kids!” but the fact that he continues to act like that while knowing there are kids in the audience is weird. I wouldn’t be making sexual jokes or being lewd in front of kids, that’s gross. 

His whole “charity” act that is really just him profiting from his “kindness” acts and his GISHWHES hunts. Pretty charitable of him. 

The fact that he uses Stands to push baiting merchandise onto fans with no regard to how Jensen feels, just to make a buck. (In addition to that, he doesn’t reign in the Stands staff who are horrible to fans and customers.)

I’m sure that there’s more, but that’s all I can think of at the moment! Hopefully that sheds some light! I try not to be too biased either way, but with some of the things it’s hard not to.

[diaryofabeautyfiend]

если бы я взял эту сигарету и потушил ее ... ты бы меня полюбил?

(If I took this cigarette and put it out on you...would you love me?)

Warnings: Major character death!! Non consensual sex, violence, torture

I recently read Marvel’s Witches and House of M which is going to be a decent lead in to WandaVision. I’m so happy Wanda is getting the recognition she deserves finally as the actual strongest Avenger. I haven’t decided if this will be a series or not. Please heed my warnings. (Gif is not my own)

It had been six months since you moved into the Avengers compound. You were being held in a Hydra base. As a somewhat inexperienced witch your powers were virtually untapped. Hydra knew your potential and tried (by force) to extract your power. To turn you into a human nuclear bomb.

They tortured you in ways that you couldn’t even describe. Pushing you to the brink of insanity every day. You were ready to give up when one day, the walls started to crumble around you. You scurried into a corner trying to disappear when you heard a voice in your ear. He spoke softly and coaxed you out of your hiding place. “Все нормально. Я здесь, чтобы спасти тебя.” You shook your head trying to stop him from speaking. “I don’t understand.” Your eyes were blurry stinging from tears and blood. Your left eye was swollen shut after your last beating. “It’s ok. I’m here to rescue you. Come with me. I’ve got you.” You wrapped your arms around his neck as he lifted you. “Hold on tight. We have to jump.”

“What? Jump?!” His grip tightened around your waist and he stepped to the ledge. Before you could protest you were free falling. You felt a familiar pull in your belly and, just before you hit the ground, you extended your hand and let the power flow through you to stop yourselves from hitting the ground.

“See, Bucky? I told you she was powerful. Let’s get her cleaned up.” The woman speaking stroked your hair. “It’s ok, Y/N. You are safe. We are going to help you.” she whispered. Bucky sat you in a seat, strapped you in and settled down next to you. He hasn’t left your side since.

At first he was more protective. You didn’t take long to heal but you still looked so fragile to him. He stayed in a chair by your bedside in the days leading up to your recovery. He wouldn’t leave unless Wanda or Agatha were there to watch over you. Only he understood what you endured. Heaven knows how long you were there. He knew why you cried in your sleep. He knew why you recoiled every time someone touched you. He knew how they broke you. Every bone...every ounce of your spirit. They broke you.

You didn’t say a whole lot. You only seemed to perk up when someone brought you food. He liked to watch you eat. It was the only time you smiled.

At night, when sleep would finally take him, he would leave a hand resting on your bed. Feeling your warmth radiating off of you comforted him. One night you had a particularly vivid nightmare. You woke up screaming. He was standing over you smoothing your hair away from your face. You latched onto him crying into his chest. “Please don’t leave me” you whimpered. “Never, doll” he said against your hair.

Every day you got stronger. Wanda and Agatha showed you how to use your powers. You were a quick study. They were impressed. Bucky stayed far away when you were practicing. It gave him the creeps. You always wanted to show him what you learned and, as supportive as he was, he would pass.

What you were learning was ancient. It was power that you couldn’t fully understand or even hope to harness completely. Agatha and Wanda were the most powerful witches...ever. With them as your teachers you felt unstoppable.

While they taught you how to use your powers they also taught you that, in the wrong hands, there was a terrible price to pay. In inexperience hands that price could be tragic. Agatha urged you to study and practice as much as you could and warned you not to stray from their lessons. Some days you didn’t come out of the library at all. Bucky would sit in a big arm chair next to yours. He would sometimes ask questions but mostly he just liked to watch you.

You devoured the texts like you were searching for something. Bucky wondered what it was but never asked. Your secrets were your own. He watched you chew your lip while you scribbled something down. He loved how pink and swollen your lips would get after you bit them. He wanted nothing but to take the dusty books out of your hand and claim that bottom lip for himself. It annoyed him that he couldn’t help you. Sure it was your journey but you seemed lost a lot. He wished he could see you through.

You looked up from your book, “What are you scowling at?”

His thoughts melted away as your voice washed over him. He gave you a sweet smile, “Nothing. Let’s go to bed.” He took your hands, “This will all be here in the morning.” His offer was much too tempting.

It was about dinner time and Bucky and Sam were going to cook. Or, at least, they threatened to cook so you would push them out of the kitchen and really cook. Bucky searched the compound for you and found you in the library.

“Babe, what did you want for dinner?”

“I’m not hungry. I made a pot roast in the crock pot. You and Sam help yourselves.”

His brow furrowed, “What do you mean you’re not hungry? I haven’t seen you all day. You must be hungry.” He rested his head on his hands looking up at you with those big sparkling eyes.

You patted him on the head and said, “Go eat with Sam. I have work to do.”

“What are you working on?” He moved to peak over your shoulder. Most of the book was in Latin but he recognized a few words. “‘To regain memories’? What are you trying to do?”

“Hydra wiped everything about my family. I don’t know anything about my life other than what I read in my file.”

“This seems tricky, doll. Take a break. Wait for Wanda and Agatha to get back.”

“Bucky, I can do this. I don’t need them to help me. It’s a simple spell.”

“I don’t like you messing with this stuff. Please come out of this room.”

He grabbed for the book. You pulled it out of reach, your eyes pleading. “I need to remember. What if I have a family searching for me? I have to know.” He turned to leave. You were reading the incantation that went with the spell memorizing the words. “exaudi verba mea... Audi clamorem meum. Et convertam reversionem memorias...” You repeated them over and over. You placed your hands on the side of the book and closed your eyes.

Your whispers sounded unfamiliar. Your voice was not your own. Bucky strained to hear what you were saying. The voice coming from you was low and sexless. He put his hand on your shoulder, “Y/N? Take your hands off the book.” You turned to him your eyes had gone completely white. You smiled at him so wide he thought your face was going to split. He tried to get away from you but you grabbed his hand with a strength he didn’t know you had. His heart was hammering in his chest. Then, he heard what you were saying.

“Longing...Toska...rusted...rzhavyy...seventeen...semnadtsat’”

“Stop it” he pleaded. You were unphased.

“Daybreak...rassvet...furnace...pech’”

“Sam! Sam! Get Wanda!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.

“Baby, please stop. Please.” He tried to block out your voice. He closed his eyes straining to get away from you. “Y/N fight this. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Don’t I, Soldat? Toska, rzhavyy, semnadtsat', rassvet, pech', devyat', dobrozhelatel'nyy, vozvrashcheniye domoy, odin, tovarnyy vagon.”

“YA gotov podchinit'sya.” he responded in monotone. You collapsed onto the floor just before Sam and Wanda ran in. The Winter Soldier stood stock still staring at your limp body awaiting orders.

“What happened?!” Wanda asked while she shook you. ���Bucky! What happened?” He didn’t answer. Sam put his hand on Bucky’s shoulder. His whole body stiffened and, somehow, Sam thought he looked taller. He wretched Sam’s hand back bringing him to his knees. “What are you doing?! Stop!” Sam was in horrible pain. Wanda stood up slowly holding out her hands. She spoke in a low authoritative voice, “Stand down, Soldat.” He regarded her but had no expression behind his eyes. He let Sam go and Wanda hurled him across the library slamming him into the wall. His body slid down to the floor out cold.

“What the hell was that?” Sam said rubbing his shoulder.

“I thought they fixed him in Wakanda.”

“They did, Wanda. What happened to Bucky?”

“That’s not Bucky anymore. We have to lock him up.”

“We don’t have a cell strong enough to hold a psychotic super soldier.”

“I can hold him with magic for now. Agatha and I can reinforce the cell we do have.” Agatha bounds into the library seeing the mess.

“What’s happened?”

“Winter Soldier is back and Y/N is passed out on the floor. That’s about what we know.” Sam replied.

“Help me get her up. Y/N look at me” she slapped your face hard. Your eyes flew open and you brought your hand to your cheek. “Hey! What was that for?”

Agatha pursed her lips, “What happened in here?”

“What do you mean?” you were so confused.

“Y/N, did Bucky hurt you?” Wanda asked. Her hands were still extended holding the soldier in place.

“No. I was reading from this book and then I passed out.” You looked over seeing Bucky who was just starting to come to. “What did you do to him?!”

“What book?” Agatha asked as you got up to make your way to Bucky. She grabbed your shoulders “Y/N what book?!” You picked it up flipping to the page you were reading. “This one! What did you do to Bucky?”

Agatha’s eyes widened as she ripped the book from your hands.

“What is that? Someone tell me what’s going on.” Sam said with increased trepidation. “If one of y’all doesn’t start talking so help me...”

“This is the Kale family Book of Shadows. Y/N, where did you find this?”

“On the shelf. I was looking for a memory spell and for some reason I was drawn to this one.” You pointed to the page. “It didn’t work though.”

“Yes it did. Just not on you. It worked on him.” Wanda gestured to Bucky who was struggling to break free from her bonds.

“Y/N, this book was in my vault.” Agatha whispered.

“No, it was on this shelf. Right here.” You pointed to the space where it was resting.

“Agatha, why was that book in your vault? How did that spooky ass thing get out of your vault?!” Sam was in a panic.

“This Book of Shadows was in my vault because a demon is trapped inside. My vault was locked and warded so I don’t know how it got out. Y/N look at me. What is the last thing you remember?”

“I was sitting at the table practicing the incantation and then I blacked out. Bucky wasn’t even in the room.”

“I’ll check the cameras” Sam said before he bolted out of the room. Bucky was still struggling grunting and straining. Wanda was too powerful for him.

Sam came back in with a horrified look on his face. “That thing was inside of her. What does it want with Bucky?”

Agatha laughed, “Why what any demon wants. Destruction. Bucky was weak. It seized the opportunity.”

“I did this. I can get him back.”

“No. Y/N you don’t know what he’s capable of. I’ll put a call in to Shuri. She fixed him once. She can do it again. If not we’ll put him back into the ice until we figure it out.” Sam was shaking you praying you’d listen.

“No! I’ll never do that to him. I have to save him.”

“Look at me. Even if you could...” you tried to get away from him, “Stop! Y/N! Stop. Look at me. Even if you could bring him back he will most assuredly hurt you in the process. You know he would never forgive himself. Is that what you want for him? And if he killed you? I may as well bury him with you.” You knew he was right. You didn’t care.

“Wanda can you ward the cell downstairs? It’ll hold him until Shuri gets back to us.” You spoke with authority.

“Sure. Agatha and I can keep him comfortable.”

“I’ll call Shuri. Three powerful witches should be able to undo this spell.” Sam left to go call Shuri. You paced the room while Wanda and Agatha brought Bucky down.

“You may as well get some sleep. You’ll need your strength.” Wanda said softly.

“How could I have been so stupid?” you asked.

“Oh come on. Who among us hasn’t cursed the man they love?” She smiled down at you.

You went back to your room but didn’t sleep. You watched Bucky on the camera. He was pacing like an animal. He would bang on the cell walls but they absorbed his blows. You couldn’t take watching him anymore so you snuck down and pressed your hand on the door. You whispered a spell that would help him drift off into a dreamless sleep. His mind fought against you but you were stronger.

The next morning you checked on Bucky. He was still asleep. You went down for breakfast and went over plans with the group. “Shuri says the technology they used can be recreated with magic. She talked me through it. It seems easy enough for you three.”

“Will it hurt him?”

“It shouldn’t” Agatha offered “But we aren’t really sure.”

“Sam, the last time they did this he was in the ice. What if the procedure hurt him then but he doesn’t remember because he was frozen?”

“I don’t like it either but we owe it to him to get this over with and bring him back.”

“No. He came out of it before without magic and technology. I can bring him back.” Three heads swiveled around to express their disapproval. “Just let me try. You’ll be right here. Give me a couple of hours. If I don’t make any progress you can save the day.”

“Absolutely not, Y/N. This is crazy. Wanda tell her she’s crazy.” Wanda nodded.

“Sam’s right. You are crazy. You have one hour and then we move in. Let’s write a reversal spell just in case.”

“Deal.”

Sam did not like this plan. He knew his friend. He fought the Winter Soldier. He knew this was a mission doomed to fail. He also knew that if Bucky hurt you in any way he would slip into a darkness from which he would never return.

You stood outside of the cell door whispering a prayer to yourself. The team went to pull up the cameras. You went in and looked around but Bucky was not on his cot. The door slammed behind you and, before you could react he slammed your head into the metal wall. Sam swung the door open and Bucky hit him with a piece of the bed. He knocked out Wanda and Agatha too. He slumped your limp body over his shoulder and made his way out of the compound. He hurried with you into the garage where he found a car capable of being hot wired. He plowed through the gate and headed down the road. The only place he knew to go was the old base in New Jersey.

Sam came to wincing as he touched his forehead. He assessed Wanda for head injuries. She was bleeding pretty badly. So was Agatha. He called down for medics and to assemble a team of agents to begin looking for the two of you. He knew this was a really bad idea.

You awoke to find your hands bound above your head. Bucky was standing in the corner enshrouded in a shadow. His footsteps heavy as his made his way to you. You tried to stand but you couldn’t bring your arms up any further.

“Struggling will only make this worse. Tell me who you are and why you were holding me captive.” You scanned your brain for anything that could help him remember.

“Bucky...I’m your girlfriend. You saved me from Hydra in Slovakia.”

“Who is Bucky?”

“You. You are Bucky.”

“Girlfriend huh? Why would I have saved you?”

“Because you aren’t the Winter Soldier anymore. You are an Avenger. You fight for good.” He laughed and shook his head. This was going nowhere.

“And in this story you love me?”

“Yes! Yes. We love each other very much.”

“I don’t love.” He turned away from you. You strained to see him through the dim light. He was talking to himself and pacing. “Why were you holding me captive?”

“I wasn’t. Please, listen to me. I am Y/N. I live with you in the compound. Listen to my voice. When you saved me you stayed next to my hospital bed every night until I recovered. You took care of me. We fell in love. It’s my fault that this is happening but I can fix it. I can fix everything. Look at me.”

His movements stilled and he turned just so his face was partially lit. You saw something glinting one the light. A shard of glass? A piece of metal? You couldn’t tell at first. You saw his blood dripping fresh off the tip. It was digging into his flesh but he didn’t care. He knelt down so his face was inches from yours. He pressed a sharp end into your cheek. You yelped in pain. His breath kissed your ear. “You can’t fix me. No one can. Let’s have some fun, sweetheart. What do you say? Can you be a good girl for me?” You spat in his face. He back handed you with his metal hand. You were out cold.

After you don’t know how long, you awoke to freezing water being dumped over your head. “She’s awake. Let’s try this again. Tell me who you are and why you were holding me. I’ll try to go easy on you.”

“I said who I was. I wasn’t holding you captive. I am telling you the truth.”

“Wrong answer.” Without warning he kicked you in the ribs. You knew one was cracked because it became hard to breathe.

“Bucky I know you’re in there. I know you can hear me. I love you. Please. I love you.”

“Hmmm. Sorry, doll. No one here by that name.” He pulled your head back so that you were close enough to kiss. He blew cigarette smoke in your face. It made your eyes sting. When did he go for cigarettes?

“Tell me, if I took this cigarette and put it out on you, would you still love me?”

“Yes. I would still love you.” He smiled as he pinched the end between his thumb and index finger. He brought it down and stoked the burning end out on your forearm. You howled in response. “I still love you and I know you can come back to me.”

“Pathetic. Listen to yourself. Most are begging for death at this point. You love me? Show me how much.” He unhooks your hands and brings them down. He hauls you up and you groan at the ache in your side. You feel something sharp pressing on your belly. Fresh blooms of blood start forming on the fabric. “Walk.” He demands. He pushes you toward a table and bends you over. You fight against him but it is futile. “Oh come on. You said you love me. Show me.” He runs his hand up your spine. You shiver at the touch but lean in because his hand is so familiar. He pulls down your pants and panties. You try to land a kick but he moves. “Come on. Don’t be like that. You love me don’t you?”

“Yes, Bucky, I love you. I love you so much. But you would never hurt me. You love me too. Please believe me. Come back to me. Fight this, Bucky. It’s just a stupid spell.”

He got up close to your ear. You heard his pants unzip. Your body was now shaking violently. “Bucky’s gone. It’s just me and you now.” He shoved his cock into your dry channel. You screamed at the rawness of it all. You didn’t want to do it but you started chanting the spell you and Wanda had written. He pounded into you only slowing to hoist you back up when your knees buckled. You kept saying the words over and over hoping it would work. His mind blocked you out. He had walls up so thick that you alone could not break through. You needed Wanda and Agatha. Why couldn’t they find you? He wrapped his hand around your neck. He squeezed until you could no longer speak. Everything felt fuzzy. The room started to get darker. You tried to speak but no words came. You could no longer take deep breaths though you willed yourself to try. As he met his release his hand squeezed harder. The crunch of the tiny bones felt exquisite. Your voice was barely a whisper. The Winter Soldier couldn’t even hear you. Bucky could. “я люблю тебя. I love you.”

Bucky stumbled back grabbing his head. There was only blinding pain. He had clawed his way out of his mental prison. It was dark in the room. He sat up gingerly feeling around his pockets for his phone. He clicked on the flashlight looking around the space. The light landed on you. His heart dropped into his stomach. Your limp body was hanging over the table. He couldn’t tell if you were breathing. “Y/N? Honey?” He was paralyzed. Tears spilled out hot over his cheeks. Your panties were down. Your legs crumpled beneath you like a broken doll. He reached out too afraid to touch you. Your eyes were wide staring at nothing. Your lips were a shade of dusky blue. You were not breathing. He untied your hands and gently brought you down into his lap. He tried to feel for a pulse. Nothing. He could see the marks around your neck now starting to bruise. He put his hand there to prove to himself that only his fingers fit. He closed your eyes and started to rock back and forth. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry.”

He opened his phone and called Sam.

“Y/N?! We have a lock on your location. We’re less than two minutes out.”

“Sam” he whispered “you’re too late.”

“Bucky! What do you mean, man?”

“She’s gone. I’m so sorry.”

“Ok. Keep talking to me. We’re almost there. It wasn’t you, man. Bucky it wasn’t you.” Sam kept repeating himself over Bucky’s sobbing.

The doors burst open. Agatha and Sam rushed in. The screams they heard were their own. Wanda followed behind bringing her hand to her mouth. “Oh my...Sam. Sam, help me. Help me cut him down. Help me.” In the silence of the room Bucky’s body hit the floor with a deafening thud. Sam couldn’t stay to watch. The team came in and removed your bodies.

Back at the compound Sam went straight to his room. Fury was blowing up his phone but he turned off. Wanda and Agatha went back to the library to try to find a way to reverse all of this. “Magic started this so magic can fix it.” Agatha said. When they got into the room the books were everywhere. It looked like a bomb went off. Agatha ran for her vault. The Kale Book of Shadows was gone.

Fearing more tragedy, she called Jennifer. The book belonged to her family after all.

“The book is gone.” Jennifer didn’t answer right away.

“I heard about the new girl and her boyfriend. Shame.”

“Did you do this?”

“Of course not. But we can find out who did. Call Strange. I’ll call the girls. Let’s get your friends back. We’ll need her to stop Hellphyr.” They hung up. She dialed Stephen Strange. Without having to say anything he said, “I know. I’m on my way. Agatha, we’ll get them back.”

[another-writer]

Tactics

Summary: You and Bucky can’t take a hint.

What can I say? I’m a sucker for the simple, straightforward cheese.

Your foot tapped the floor of the lift impatiently as you rode up to your floor of the compound, arms stuffed in the pockets of your coat as you relished in the warmth of the building, ears and fingertips still red and stinging from the New York winter. 

The black dress and new heels you had been saving for this very occasion hadn’t been worth it and it was for that reason, you realised, you felt disappointed with how the night had gone. It wasn’t the restaurant, or the portion sizes of the food (though you had been hungry from about ten minutes after you had finished eating), or perhaps even your actual date. Just that the effort had resulted in a waste of time. 

You weren’t generally a completely confident person; you were content with how you looked, you just wished that  … you looked better. But tonight while you were getting ready, you readily admitted to yourself that this was a rare occasion where you looked really good. 

When you entered the common area, you weren’t surprised to hear that your fellow teammates were still awake. You heard Bucky and Tony in the kitchen. You almost drooled at the smell of Alfredo sauce wafting though the air.

‘So it sucked?’ 

You quirked your eyebrow at Tony’s remark. ‘How did you know?’

Tony shrugged half-heartedly as he took a sip from his mug. ‘He’s a dick, I could tell.’

You smirked, unable to argue. ‘If you knew, why did you let this happen?’ you half-cried, making Bucky snicker.

‘Would I actually have been able to stop you?’

You opened your mouth wordlessly for a moment. ‘I- p-probably,’ you managed lamely. 

Tony shook his head, waving sardonically as he left. ‘You’ll live,’ he hollered over his shoulder.

You sighed and shrugged your coat off and tossed it on the side of the nearest chair. Bucky smirked as he focused on the pot on the stove, sleeves of his henley pushed back to his elbows. 

‘So … good night then?’ Bucky tried.

‘It wasn’t good and it wasn’t terrible. I can barely remember it.’

‘Oh that’s so much worse.’ Bucky shook his head and lowered the stove. 

You hummed in agreement. ‘What are you making? I’m starving.’ 

‘Reheating Sam’s leftovers he really wanted but was too slow to call dibs on,’ Bucky replied nonchalantly. ‘You want some?’

‘Is there enough?’ you asked, smile taunting your lips. ‘I know your diet, I’m pretty sure you eat enough that equates to the body weight of the average manatee.’

Bucky choked on his breath, emitting a brilliant laugh. ‘What?’

You snickered at his response. ‘I’d love some.’

‘Where’d you guys go?’

‘Some sushi place upstate,’ you replied, tying your hair back in a loose bun at the nape of your neck and pouring water out for the both of you. ‘I don’t have anything against sushi but we didn’t eat a lot and he made it pretty clear from the start he was gonna foot the bill so I just let him take over.’

Bucky frowned as he divided out the pasta into two plates; you noticed that there was significantly more in the one he handed to you and you smiled gratefully. 

‘Sounds like a jackass,’ he managed around a mouthful of food. 

‘He …’ Your defence faltered as you unsuccessfully stifled a smirk. ‘He wasn’t terrible, just … dominant. I think he had a superiority complex.’

You flicked the floor lamp on evening out the light with that coming from the kitchen and sunk back into the sofa.

‘So … a jackass,’ Bucky repeated.

You chuckled and licked some stray sauce from your lip. ‘This is so good by the way, Sam’s gonna kill us.’

‘I mean he’ll try.’ 

You laughed. ‘Believe me, Barnes, you’re second on his hit list from the time you held Redwing hostage.’

‘Just second? I’m insulted.’

‘You lost out to the guy who took his wings for a joyride. It was a tough decision.’ 

Bucky snickered and the both of you relished in the comfortable quietness that settled until he felt a strange sense of guilt. 

‘For what it’s worth, ‘m sorry your date sucked.’

You shrugged and hummed appreciatively as you ate. ‘’s okay,’ you replied uneasily. ‘It’s not like I got attached to the guy …’

Bucky frowned. ‘But?’

You felt your cheeks heat up. ‘Nothing,’ you replied. 

‘But …’ 

‘Buck, I’m serious,’ you laughed almost nervously under his comically suspicious stare. You held his gaze for approximately five minutes before you felt your resolve start to crack. ‘’s embarrassing,’ you groaned eventually, digging the point of your heel into the ground and setting your half-full plate on the coffee table in front of you.

‘No more embarrassing than accidentally calling Steve dad.’

You and Bucky stared at each other for a moment, the anecdote hanging in the air. 

‘Scott?’

‘Scott.’

You smiled weakly; the story usually would have had you doubled over and laughing in the most unattractive way. You leaned back into the couch, sinking into the cushions and slumping with your legs stretched out, holding the base of your glass over your stomach. It felt so good especially after sitting up in an uptight high-end restaurant with an uptight high-end CEO. 

Bucky smiled warmly at your posture; it was almost comical seeing you dressed to the nines with your make up still intact, slouched back as if you were in the middle of a binge-watch. The dim glow from the kitchen highlighted half of your face, and the low light from the floor lamp shrouded the room in a warm layer of comfort. He had noticed fairly quickly that you hated bright lights at night.

You groaned self-deprecatingly. ‘I mean, I just want to settle down. I think I want to get married one day,’ you mumbled quietly, though the silence in the room made it so that your voice was clear and loud as day. 

Bucky didn’t seem thrown by your confession. ‘Why’s that embarrassing?’ 

You fixed him with a stare: Seriously? ‘Because it’s … I don’t know.’ 

‘’s very eloquent of you.’ 

‘Bucky,’ you groaned, slumping to the side and leaning against the armrest.

‘What’s so bad about that?’ he asked, a nervous laugh wavering his voice, trying to diminish any tension you felt.

You shrugged, even though you knew the answer to his question. ‘Just feels weird to want something like that, doing what we do.’

‘Take it from the hundred-year old guy who’s in his twenties,’ Bucky smirked, ‘you’re allowed to want normal things.’

The corners of your mouth twitched into a small smile, appreciating his humour. ‘Thanks. ‘m sorry if I made things all serious and stuff.’

‘[Y/N], it’s fine,’ Bucky chuckled at your posture (lack of posture?). ‘But … you weren’t pinning all of this on that guy, were you?’

You lifted your head, eyes widening and brows creasing at the ridiculousness of his question. ‘God, no,’ you declared, the dramatics of your voice making Bucky’s eyes soften fondly at your quirk. ‘It’s not like I got my hopes up for a first date with a guy I don’t know but … I want it to happen one day.’

Bucky nodded in understanding. ‘So if it’s not a dominant CEO with a superiority complex -’ you snorted ‘- then what are you looking for?’

You shrugged again, feeling as though you were under a spotlight; as if moving away from it, you gathered yours and Bucky’s plates and moved towards the kitchen, gesturing for him to keep sitting when he moved to help you.

‘I dunno, what does anyone look for? Just a guy with common sense.'

‘Allow yourself one luxury,’ Bucky called from the armchair.

‘If you don’t think common sense is a luxury, you clearly haven’t dated much.’

Bucky smirked. ‘I don’t know whether now’s a good time to brag or not.’

Perching on the arm of the sofa next to him, you ran your hands through your hair, feeling second-hand embarrassment at yourself, unable to stop thinking of the last few hours.

‘You have rights.’

‘True, I don’t think I ever dated anyone who lacked common sense -’

‘Shut up,’ you groaned. ‘In my defence, I didn’t pick him, this wasn’t my choice.’

‘Who set you up - Sam?’

‘Natasha. I didn’t think it would be this bad.’

Bucky’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, as though he was both confused and in thought.

‘Wouldn’t have thought so either, myself,’ he said.

You could practically see the gears turning in his head, and suddenly felt as though you were on the same wavelength.

‘Because Nat’s not bad at anything,’ you said, the realisation evident in your voice. ‘Which means she set a bad date on purpose.’

‘And not that it’s important, but I’d like to know how she knows a douchey CEO anyway,’ he added.

Why would she do that? you wondered. It wasn’t as if you were hurt per say, but the chances of Natasha screwing you over accidently in the dating department were incredibly slim. So what was the point?

‘Natasha’s  not spiteful,’ you said. ‘Like, there’s no agenda here or anything.’

‘Maybe there was,’ Bucky said nonchalantly, triggering your mind to worry. ‘Did you steal any of those kale smoothies she has?’

You snorted, wondering whether Bucky was trying to make you laugh or was being dead serious. ‘Those were hers?’

‘She’s suddenly really obsessed with them.’

‘I didn’t take any of her stuff, Barnes.’

‘See, now you broadened it to stuff, which makes me wonder what you have done.’

Natasha couldn’t help but roll her eyes as she retreated back to her room, having had enough of yours and Bucky’s conversation.

‘Maybe Sam dared her.’

‘Why are you so desperate to make Sam part of this?’

She listened to you analyse your date and her potential motives with the same in-depth, manic red string habit you would use for scoping out enemy bases and proximity targets. And she grew further frustrated when Bucky returned with the same energy, strategising with you. You were both enjoying yourselves, rebounding off each other, energising one another.

‘We stole his food, we need leverage.’ 

‘You stole his food.’

‘You were complicit.’

And she wondered how neither of you had realised how well you went together. Natasha knew that being so direct as to tell both of you this would injure your egoes. She knew that there were underlying feelings between you and Bucky. And listening to your banter with him, and your inability to pinpoint why she would set you up on such an awful date was almost hurtful.

And she wondered what she would try next to get you both to realise how dense you two were being.

[broadstreetmisfits]

Make it Last - Carter Hart

Requested?  Y  /  N  “Oh i hope im doing this right, but could you write 11 from your prompt list with carter hart?”

Prompt: “Stop hogging the blanket”

Warnings: Swearing

WC: 1,056

Summary: You met Carter at your job, and thought he’d just be a simple customer that you’d never see again. But when you two start to hit it off, will you two become something more?

Going to college in Philadelphia definitely had its ups and downs. You got to get out of your small hometown and live in a completely different environment. 

But college was also extremely expensive; especially going to a school out of your home state. So, you found yourself waitressing for a small hole in the wall restaurant. 

It started out as a normal work shift; you had a few tables and were counting down the minutes until you’d be able to go home. 

An hour or so into your shift, you saw one of the hosts seat you with a four-person party, all guys, and the oldest looked around 22 or 23. Once you got in the kitchen to get them bread, you let out a groan, knowing this would probably lead to a lot of uncomfortable flirting and being hit on. The only plus side of this was that they were all pretty attractive from what you saw.

As you got to the table, you put on your best fake smile as you introduced yourself, “Hey guys, welcome. My name’s Y/N and I’ll be taking care of you. Can I get you all started off with something to drink?” 

To your surprise, all of the guys were incredibly polite throughout their entire time at the table. Of course, being a bunch of young men, they were a little rowdy once or twice, but they left the table clean when they left, and even though they all got separate checks, each one of them tipped extremely well. 

However, when you did pick up the checks after they left, in one of the booklets, an additional piece of paper was tucked in that had a little note on it. It read: “Text me - Carter” and had his number along with his Instagram and Snapchat handles.

You rolled your eyes and began to walk over to the trashcan. But when you got there, something stopped you from throwing the note away. You decided to hang on to it and throughout the night, you debated on whether or not you were going to contact him or not.

Later that night, you were back in your dorm and decided to at least find out which one “Carter” was. You searched up his Instagram, and when you found out which one he was, you were stunned, to say the least. First off, he was attractive, and second, you didn’t expect him to play for the Philadelphia Flyers.

After another half hour of deliberation, you decided to follow him. A few minutes later, you got a notification letting you know that he followed you back and sent you a DM. It was only one word, but it caught your attention:

“Hey”

You replied to his message, and the two of you began talking. As much as you loved texting him, the digital contact quickly turned into seeing him in person. He’d tell you about himself, from what it was like to play for the Flyers to his favorite food. You’d tell him about yourself as well, from what your major was to how you hated the sound of your dorm alarm. 

One day, a few weeks into knowing him, you were over at his apartment, both of you laying on the couch watching TV. His arm was wrapped around you, but his eyes were glued to the TV like it was nothing. You, on the other hand, could see the potential relationship in front of you. 

“Can you believe it?” You asked, causing Carter to look down at you with furrowed eyebrows

‘What?” He asked, a slight chuckle escaping his lips

“Can you believe that only a month ago I was waiting on you and your teammates and now were lying on your couch like we’ve known each other for years?” 

“Well when you put it like that, yeah I guess it is kinda hard to believe,” He said, “But you know what would be even more difficult for someone to wrap their head around?”

“What?” You asked 

“If we started dating” Carter answered, pulling you a little closer to him

“Are you asking what I think you’re asking?” 

“Y/N, will you be my girlfriend?” Carter asked

A stupid grin formed on your face as you answered “Yes”

The same smile soon appeared on your new boyfriend’s face. You quickly stretched your neck up to give him a quick peck on the cheek. 

A few days later, you and Carter went on your first official date. He took you down to the Navy Yard, which was one of your favorite places to get away from all of the hustle and bustle of the city. 

Carter had packed a picnic filled with both of your favorite foods. To be honest, you were thankful that Carter packed some junk food for you because you’d probably die if you ate a pure kale salad as a meal. 

As the two of you ate, you noticed that Carter would spread out more every few minutes, eventually leaving you to only have a small square of the blanket for yourself. When his leg almost ended up on top of your food, you knew you had to say something.

“Okay, can you stop hogging the blanket?” You asked, trying to push his leg away from you.

“Why would I do that?” He asked, a smirk playing on his lips

“Because It would be nice to not have your hairy leg in my food” You replied

“Fine” He sighed and moved his leg

Once you two finished your meal, Carter scooted over to you and put his arm around you like he had done that first time at his apartment. There was something about being right up next to him, being able to feel his every breath that relaxed you and almost made you feel at home. 

As the weeks went by, you began to leave things over at Carter’s place. The items started out small such as extra hair ties and Bobby pins, but before you knew it you began leaving an extra toothbrush, your makeup and even clothes in his apartment. And to be honest, his apartment started to feel more and more like yours every day.

And even though your relationship was only just blossoming, you think you found the best thing that’s ever been yours. 

[gainaxvel3o]

Episode of Broly and Kale: CLASH OF THE LEGENDARY SAIYANS!

It was morning on the planet Vampa.

Broly was standing close to the cave's entrance. It had been a month since he came back here with his… friends? Head had to admit that he still wasn't used to Cheelai and Lemo's presence in his life. He was grateful for them. Eager for them to stay. Still, it was a touch awkward to wake up with people with him. Even his father, Paragus, had kept his distance with the remote in hand.

To be with people who cared about him… it made him happy.

"Broly? Yoohoooo are you in there?"

The man blinked. He turned towards Cheelai, who was smiling at him.

"Cheelai?

"We're about to start breakfast soon!" She said. "You got something on your mind, Broly?"

Broly scratched the back of his head. "I was… thinking. Nothing wrong."

"Hm?" Cheelai said. "Well if you say so…"

"Cheelai," Lemo said holding his cup. "Why don't you help me out over here? That moron never showed us how these capsule whatevers work."

She rolled her eyes before joining Lemo inside. That meant Broly would be left to his own thoughts.

The moron they referred to, Goku… or Kakarot as he asked to be called… Broly had met him and another warrior Father hated during his trip to Earth. Over the past month Kakarot would suddenly appear and attempt to train him. In spite of his dogged insistence, Broly didn't hate Kakarot. He hadn't sensed any malicious intent from the man at all far from it.

But Kakarot wanted a fight. Broly didn't want one. It was a simple an objection as that.

Paragus had tried to instill fighting instincts into the boy since birth, but Broly never had the heart to follow through. Even when Paragus had separated him from his beloved pet Ba, Broly remained a passive boy. He didn't want to hurt anyone.

Especially not after the last time he had used his power…

"Hey Broly!"

The familiar voice startled Broly from his thoughts. Kakarot had returned. It seemed he had brought others with him.

"That's him? Damn, he's got muscles that's for sure. Could probably cut meat with those abs."

"…"

"I brought friends!" Kakarot said. "These are Saiyans from another universe! Isn't it exciting?"

Another what? The idea seemed bizarre to Broly. Then again, everything about Kakarot was bizarre. One moment Kakarot could be a gentle soul and the next someone who would fight to the death if need be. How does one switch like that?

The two other Saiyans stepped into the cave. One was a woman with hair that spiked upwards and violet pants and a piece of clothing around her chest. She had a similar air to Kakarot, someone who had experience and eager for a challenge.

The other girl… she had red clothes and her hair was wrapped in a ponytail. She kept her head low, as if afraid of her surroundings.

"One of these two is like you!" Kakarot said. "So I thought it'd be nice for you to meet. Maybe she can help you unlock your power!"

"Don't go around making choices for other people!" The woman with spiky hair said. She turned towards Broly. "You must be Broly. I'm Caulifla. This one here is Kale."

The girl, who Broly now knew was Kale, stepped up. Their eyes connected for the first time, and Broly knew today would be an important one.

_______________________________________________________________________

"Wait give me a second to understand this."

Cheelai was more than a touch confused by the newcomers. The Saiyans, as they tend to do, were chowing down at the food in exuberance, leaving no trace of food left (making Lampo whimper something about how long it would take to restock everything).

"So you guys are Saiyans from another universe?" Cheelai asked. "And you brought them here for a training session?"

"About right!" Goku put down his bowl. "I noticed that Broly's been holding back a lot of power during our training. I thought if he had someone more on his level to spar with he could tap into more of his potential."

"On HIS level?!" Caulifla punched the table, wiping the food on her lips with her other hand. "Kale isn't a prop for your guy. She'd totally clobber him in a heartbat! She didn't participate in the Tournament of Power to get taken out by a caveman."

A loud burp erupted in the room. Everyone turned towards at Broly, who blushed.

"S-sorry…"

That got everyone to chuckle for a bit. Cheelai was glad to see Broly was still himself… though she wasn't exactly thrilled at this idea.

"How do we know this won't end up… i dunno, blowing up the planet or something?"

"Oh don't worry about it," Goku grinned. "If they do blow up the planet by accident we'll just have Whis turn back time and stop it!"

… she wasn't going to even try to find out what that meant…

"Alright, if this helps him out." Cheelai said. "Just be careful."

Throughout this conversation, Broly and Kale stared at each other, sizing each other up.

To Broly, Kale was interesting. Apparently she was his counterpart from another universe. He saw the way Kale would look back at Caulifla, hanging on her every word, the way she retreated onto herself as she was praised for her power. Evidently, she and her mentor had a good relationship. Is this was he could have had with his father? He wasn't sure.

Yet, Broly could sense something within this Saiyan. She was hiding something. Broly was curious as to what it could be.

Kale had seen similar things with Broly. She somehow got it into her head that he wasn't all too happy about being in this place. If he could live out his days alone he would. But he was here. So was she. Still, what Goku said about him was curious. Broly was her counterpart from Universe 7. He was shy and retreated to himself, much like she had not too long ago.

She wondered if this was what power did to people. Isolating them from peers, unable to form connections because it could break others under it's sheer weight.

"Hey Kale!"

Kale blinked. "I'm sorry Caulifla, what was that?"

"We're about to start the match. You ready?"

She nodded. "Yes."

_______________________________________________________________________

"Remind me again why we're entertaining this match?"

Champa, Universe 6's God of Destruction, was tapping his foot impatiently. His brother Beerus, Universe 7's God of Destruction, scoffed.

"Well Champa I just thought it'd be interesting to see how our Saiyans stack up each other," Beers grinned. "What, you afraid our Saiyan could beat yours?"

"Not a chance!" Champa said indignant. "I would never allow any of MY Saiyans enter your universe if they couldn't beat yours, brother!"

To the side, their Angelic attendants Whis and Vados sighed. This wasn't the first time they argued, nor will it be the last. Each remembered how many times they had to prevent the brothers from fighting before they blew up the universe along with them.

"I'll admit to being excited about this as well." Vados said. "Perhaps Kale had improved enough to a candidate for a God of Destruction, Lord Champa."

Champa looked at her in horror. "N-no way! She may be a Saiyan but she will never be able to become a Destroyer God!"

"In any case," Whis pointed towards the ground below them, "The match is close to starting. Quite a shame that Vegeta took the other one for training. He might have been interested in this battle. I hope Goku knows what he's doing."

Beerus shrugged. "Does he ever? Really? That man will be the death of me one of these days."

Down the cliff, Broly and Kale got into position. Caulifla gave Kale a once over.

"Don't worry. We've fought tougher in the Tournament of Power," Caulifla winked. "You got this in the bag!"

"Right, sister." Kale bowed. "I will do my best."

On the other end, Cheelai was patted Broly on the back.

"It's okay Broly." Cheelai said. "Just a training exercise. No one's going to get hurt okay?"

He nodded. Cheelai wasn't sure if he really agreed or was doing to not worry her, but decided not to press.

"Okay," She walked off. "Good luck!"

Now, it was only Broly and Kale. Kale got into a fighting stance. Broly, however, just stood there casually. He felt like he didn't need it.

"Ready…" Goku said. "Begin!"

That was a mistake on Broly's part.

Kale vanished in front of him. Before Broly could even see, she landed a direct hit to his face, sending him flying.

"Wh… what?" Broly asked.

He regained his composure quickly. Just as Kale was about land another hit, Broly blocked it with his own hand. He threw a punch, but Kale dodged it. Broly punched away, but Kale was small and nimble. She dodged the attacks with ease.

"Way to go Kale!" Caulifla yelled. "You got him on the ropes!"

Kale had come a long way since the Tournament of Power. She would freeze up in combat during it, but thanks to the help of Caulifla (… okay, and Cabba she supposed) Kale was better at holding her ground.

Broly figured out that he wasn't going to get anywhere with punching. He tried to grab Kale, but she floated above his hands. Her own hands glowed with energy and they blasted Broly's face with it. The man held his hands over his eyes as he recovered.

Kale stepped on the ground. She panicked. "You like that?"

His eyes opened fast. "I don't."

Broly pointed his hands towards her, and launched a ki blast where she stood. Kale jumped up to avoid it, only to get struck in the stomach.

"Hmph," Broly snorted. "Give up?"

Kale only smirked.

Together, they flew upwards. Every time Broly tried to punch Kale, she was able to block them with her own fists. Their powers were equal. Each time they struck each other, their auras glowed brighter, their green energy growing with each second.

"Incredible," Cheelai said astonished at the sight. "He's tapping into the power he had on Earth!"

"Not yet," Goku said. "The fight is only getting started."

Indeed, Broly and Kale were only sizing each other up. Broly in particular wasn't sure what Kale was going to do… but he can feel it. The feeling his father had talked about during their own training sessions, what Saiyans are supposed to feel when fighting.

Excitement.

Kale was feeling it too. It had been a while since she fought anyone beside Caulifla… and Cabba… so this was exciting for her as well.

However, Broly decided to change tactics. He charged at Kale with incredible speed, catching her with his massive hand. He crashed into a mountain, aiming to pulverize her. Instead, Kale only spat out some dust.

"That isn't going to work."

She grabbed him with both arms, and suplexed him to the ground. He in turn grabbed her leg and threw her to the ground as well. Kale was only momentarily knocked down before jumping high into the air, preparing a huge energy blast in the process.

"Take this!" She shouted. "HAAAAAAAH~!"

Broly witnessed the blast coming at him. It hit him just as he crossed his arms in defense. The resulting collision caused a massive explosion. Smoke covered the area where Broly stood.

"Whoah, that blast was powerful!" Goku said. "How much stronger did she get?"

"Plenty. Kale's gotten practice." Caulifla proudly. "I made sure of that."

Cheelai looked concerned. "Broly…"

As the smoke settled, it can be seen that Broly was still standing. He was covered in dust and there was some damage… but he was fine. His eyes narrowed into focus. Then, he vanished.

He appeared right behind Kale, who didn't have the time to block him as he punched her from behind. He vanished again, then kneeling her in the stomach, and bringing both fists down upon her.

Kale was knocked around the air, but she wasn't giving up. As soon as Broly made another dash towards, she punched him in the face again. Another flurry of punches and kicks ensued between the two fighters.

"You're small… but strong…" Broly said. "You're amazing."

"Thank you…" Kale said. "I trained hard to get like this. You're pretty strong too."

Broly wasn't sure about that. Even he could feel the energy flowing from Kale, how quick it poured and how vast it seemed. Funnily, she noticed the same about him.

Neither dominated for a long while, keeping each other on an even keel. Their auras, sickly green in color, were growing at an alarming rate. Any minute their limits would be broken, and they would be pushed beyond them.

Kale had noticed a change in Broly's eyes. Instead of the gentle ones she had seen before, they were amber bright, and angrier. There was also a trim underneath his eyes. A naked savagery that had begun to surface during their fight.

"Grrrrr…" He started growling. "C-crush…"

She had recognized it before the moment she realized what it was. The look in his eyes… he was tapping into that power.

"What's wrong Broly?"

He screamed. Whether from pain or something else, his aura sent shockwaves that pushed Kale away from him. She reorientated herself to see Broly had been powering up. He had changed. Ready to attack.

"HRAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!"

"What was that?!" Cheelai yelled. "He's changed!"

"It's the same power he had on Earth." Goku said. "I can go stop him-"

"Don't!"

Goku and Cheelai looked over to Caulifla, who had her arms crossed.

"An overgrown whiny baby ain't enough to take down Kale." She said. "I won't allow anyone to interfere in this fight."

Up in the air, Kale was proving her declaration correct. She blocked Broly's punches with ease. Even with his increase in power, his anger was the problem. He was trying to demolish her, with no thought or strategy. He was relying on pure instinct. That might be not be a problem when fighting people weaker than himself. However, Kale was more than a match for him.

Unknown to her, a trim appeared under her own eyes. Her black eyes had turn amber, as Broly's had. The same power flowed through her. She caught both of Broly's fists in her hands, and they stared each other down. Broly growled in visible anger yet Kale kept herself in check.

"Give up. Now."

With her might, Kale flew Broly to the ground. The crash created a rather large crater. Rather than devastating both fighters, however, only Broly was up. He held Kale by her hair, her body hanging seemingly limply in his grasp.

"GrrrrRRRRRRRRR…"

He started punching her. Repeatedly. He was savagely beating her just for the sheer pleasure of it. This enemy, the one who dared to challenge him? She needed to be gone.

Yet she lives. In pain, she lives.

"RAARRGGGHHH… NO… no…"

Wait. This wasn't right.

"GRAAAAAAAGGGHHHHH!"

Broly collapsed to his knees. He let go of Kale, clutching his head with both hands. He screamed. These thoughts were unnatural, antithetical to his very being. It was these thoughts that led to-

He had to get away from there. From this woman, from everyone.

Kale watched Broly go. She could see he had returned to his proper senses, having shone remorse for his deed.

Caulifla and Goku landed next to her.

"Hey what happened?" Goku asked. "Want me to go after him?"

"Where'd he go?" Caulifla punched her fist. "That no good show off, running away when he had a fight. Let me at him!"

Kale held a hand towards them both. Caulifla looked at her confused, especially when her protege looked back in the same amber eyes before she wrecked everyone at the Tournament.

"Stay out of this. This is between me and him. I will solve this."

With that, she flew off in search of the giant. Her master and friend, Caulifla, looked at her amazed. She had grown so much…

"Kale… good luck."

_______________________________________________________________________

Kale had found her opponent distraught.

He was sitting in a fetal position next to some rocks. Kale landed next to him. She remembered being in a similar position once a time ago. Maybe…

"You were scared before…" She said. "Is there something wrong?"

Broly did not respond immediately. He let sobs escapes his lips, keeping his eyes locked downwards.

"…I lost control…"

Kale tilted her head. "This had happened before?"

"…"

"…"

"It's okay if you don't want to talk."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"… my father…"

"Yes?"

"My father… he was…" Broly let out a sigh. "I lost control. On the blue planet. There was white everywhere…"

"White?" Kale asked. "Ah, you mean the ice? My Earth had places like that too when we visited it."

"Yes. I don't remember a lot of it, but… I was fighting. Kakarot. And that other man. During the fight I was getting angrier and angrier, stronger… and then my father was-"

He choked, putting both hands to his face. Kale narrowed her eyes.

"Your father was… what?"

"Dead. Something had killed him. An energy blast from my fight. He was dead and it was all my fault. Because I lost control." He weeped. "Me and Dad grew up on this planet. He spent his whole life trying to teach me control. He put a shock collar on me so I could control it. But I failed and he's dead. I gained so many friends here. Cheelai, Lampo… even Kakarot. I don't want to hurt anyone. I don't want to lose anyone. Not again."

His tears came harder. "Not ever… again…"

There was no more talk for a good long while. Kale allowed Broly to grieve. The memory of his father was still lodged within his mind. He deserved that much respect.

"… I lost my parents when I was young."

Broly looked up at her.

"Growing up, I had always been an orphan. Wandering from place to place, scrounging up whatever I could… I truly thought I was worthless after a long time. Then I met Caulifla. She took me in when no one could, helped me when no one did, she… she taught me how to be strong. She saved me all those years ago. I'll always love her for that."

Kale looked up at the sky serenely. The trims underneath her eyes had returned.

"I was too enamored at first. I had this image of Caulifla in my head that she was invincible. So I tried aid her covertly in fights. To keep this image of strength alive. But Caulifla was smart. She found me out right away. Threatened to pound me if I tried it again. I was scared for a long time that I would lose her if I displeased her in some way. If she found someone else. I even became jealous and hurt when Cabba arrived to recruit her for the Tournament of Power. But I was wrong. She stayed to help me."

Her aura grew bigger. Soon the ground started shaking at her feet, which disturbed Broly. Her hair had turned blond, with green eyes. He knew what it was already. The unmistakable power of a Super Saiyan.

"Recently I had been in a Tournament. I had to fight alongside Caulifla… and Cabba I suppose… we had to work as a team if we wanted a chance to win. Caulifla had been fighting Goku while I stood on the side lines. I had wanted to get stronger then. So I did. I learned to tap into my anger and focus it into something productive. To access a power… beyond what I have now!"

Her hands clenched into fists, sparks radiating around her.

"HRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHH!"

Suddenly, the aura rose into the heavens, thunder and lighting cracking under the sheer enormous power radiating from Kale. Broly looked at her, both scared and amazed at the sight before him, what he was sensing.

The girl grew in stature. Her muscles morphed and expanded, Kale still screaming as her hair flew upwards, turning from black, to gold to the sickly green color that her aura possessed. her pupils turned into a translucent white, indicating a crazed manic.

Yet… her pupils could still be seen. Bright green now, in contrast to the black ones she had before.

Kale had stopped herself. The clouds began to dissipate around them, her power contained by sheer discipline.

There she stood. The Legendary Super Saiyan.

"If what Goku told me was true, you have this power too." Kale said. "It can be addicting at first. I lost control the first time, same as you did. But you can control it. I managed it, not by shrinking away from it, but by embracing it. I think of the friends I had made and how I can help them."

Broly was stunned at what he was seeing. The embodiment of his worst nightmares, the monster had been on Earth, the one that slaughtered his father… and yet, there she stood. In control. Could he…?

"Try it. I'll stop you if you go too far."

Silently, he nodded. Kale showed him a possibility he hadn't considered. Maybe this was a path he could take.

Broly focused on his mind. He remembered the pain and isolation he had felt for years on this planet. The shock collar that his father gave him to contain his power. His point proven correct when he had perished on Earth.

But he also thought of Cheelai.

Her, Lemo, Goku, these new friends that he had made. The bonds he shared with them, the bonds he wanted to make with Kale and Caulifla…

Before he even knew it, Broly felt his power rising fast. One shot was all he had. He trusted Kale and Kakarot to stop him so he let it in.

'FATHER! WHY DID YOU LEAVE?! WHY DID YOU KEEP ME LOCKED AWAY ON THIS PLANET ONLY TO DIE?! I HATE YOU!'

The anger came first. His hate and bitterness, the things he kept away had to come to the surface first. The primal roar of the Great Ape swelled up inside of Broly.

'Cheelai… I have to stay strong… for my friends!'

Then came serenity.

When Broly opened his eyes, they shone bright green. He had not lost control. He was still here, with Kale right across him.

"I… I did it!"

The tears were not of sadness anymore. Instead they were of joy. The power was his now. With enough practice, he could control it again.

Another Legendary Saiyan had emerged. Strong and more importantly, proud.

"Thank you, Kale."

Kale smiled. This was the first time she helped someone without Caulifla. She had done it as well.

"That's great Broly." She said, energy blast forming in her hand. "Now… shall we resume?"

Broly smiled back. He no longer feared the power inside of him. He was ready.

"Yes."

_______________________________________________________________________

Hours after the battle, Goku and Caulifla had flown to the crater. Cheelai had been hitching a ride on Goku's back.

The trio had to scratch their heads upon seeing their friends lying on the ground, heavily injured, scratches all over their bodies… still breathing, with these massive smiles on their faces.

"Kale!" Caulifla yelled, rushing over to Kale. "You're not too badly injured are you?"

She coughed some dust, but raised her hand in a thumbs up.

"Broly!" Cheelai jumped off from Goku, also running toward her Saiyan. "Are you okay?"

For the first time she had seen, Broly had been smiling brightly. Excitedly even.

"I had fun."

Cheelai smiled. "That's grand."

Whis and Vados had also floated next to them, looking slightly bemused.

"Ah, you Saiyans just keep beating each other up to the brink of death." Whis said. "Let me fix that."

With a wave of his staff, Kale and Broly had instantly recovered from their injuries. Caulifla hugged Kale close to her, while Cheelai grabbed Broly's arm and brought him up.

"I believe it is time we returned to our universe, Caulifla, Kale." Vados said. "Our time span is up."

"Ohh really?" Caulifla whined. "I wanted to have a shot at big dumb muscle over here! The power was intense!"

As she proceeded to get into an argument with Vados, Kale just chuckled at the sight. That was Caulifla, always itching for a fight. She wondered if Caulifla would pick on Cabba again when they got back. Kale hoped it would happen. She was looking for target practice.

"Kale."

She turned around, seeing Broly smiling at her. Cheelai looked at Broly confused.

"I'm glad you came. I hope we can fight again."

Kale smiled back. Caulifla narrowed her eyes in something resembling jealousy as her protégé raised her hand in a thumbs up.

"I hope so too…" Kale said. "Broly."

Author's Notes:

I hope you enjoyed this fic! First Dragon Ball story. I wanted to write it because I thought it would be cool to see how Broly and Kale would meet. Maybe we might get that in Super Season 2 or whatever they're gonna call it? It'd be nice.

With Kale, I decided to go with a mix of her manga and anime backstories to add more to her characterization. Also retconned a bit of how she worked to bring her more in line with the Broly's movie depiction of the Legendary Super Saiyan transformation.

Have fun!

[butterflydreaming-writes-fic]

“And the One Time They Did”

“And the One Time They Did“ by Looks-Clear (that’s me, yo!)

Word Count: about 3,400     Rating: Gen

@sweetness47​, here is my gift to you for the Profound Bond Discord gift exchange! I hope you actually find it amusing. This is a “five times plus one time” fic, and since that’s such a well-used trope, I thought it would be funny to title each of the sections with an AO3 tag.

-o-

1. “that trope where it's a relationship told from an outsider's point of view”

The money is good, but the competition for gigs means that you take that delivery order even though it’s to a house way outside of town. Houses are good, though. Around here, that means honeymoon tourists and vacation renters, which might mean a better tip. “J. Page” is waiting for his order from Great Greens, so you pick up the bags from Yolanda’s new salad cafe and head out in your Jeep onto the river road.

The house is secluded on the less popular side of the river, off the narrow road that splits from the main. You don’t even see the black Chevy Impala parked along the side of the house until you’ve driven to the end of the tree-lined driveway. The two-story house is the kind of place you would love to live in if you wanted a lot of privacy. It’s well cared for to attract the short-term renters your town gets all summer. The house has a good roof, freshly painted siding, and healthy potted plants around the door you’re knocking on.

An upstairs window slides open with a thunk. Taking a step away from the door, you look up. 

“Oh, hey.” The man leaning out the window has a smile that immediately puts you at ease. The frame catches at his flannel shirt, exposing a flash of skin above his faded jeans. He’s tall, with long hair, and the breadth of his shoulders make you glad you took the delivery job. “Would you mind… there’s a kitchen door at the back of the house. I’ll be down in a sec.” He pulls back in before you can respond.

You hesitate, thinking about the seclusion of the house and potential danger, but your gut tells you it’s OK. Nothing about the house or the classic car gives you that red flag feeling. The sun isn’t down yet. Plus, your holding an order of salads and cheesy rolls, Yolanda knows you’re delivering them and to where, and you can’t imagine it’s the dinner order of a creeper.

Things are a little unexpected when you get to the back door, though. The tall man — and he really is tall, six-four you guess — is pulling the curtain away from the window beside the kitchen door, but the door remains closed. “I have your Great Greens,” you say, lifting your two hands. You glance at the receipt and tell him the total. The food was paid with a credit card. You’re starting to despair about your tip, the line left blank to fill in.

“Great! Thanks. We really appreciate it,” he says, from the other side of the window glass.

There’s a dog door in the house door. The man disappears from the window and the door flap lift up. An envelope flips out. The man appears at the window again.

“If you could, um, put the order through the flap?” he asks.

“You don’t want to open the door?” Gingerly, you poke the dog door inward and push the bags through one at a time. The envelope turns out to have a few bills in it, a nice cash tip. You straighten up again and dust your hands off on your jeans after folding the envelope and tucking it into your pocket.

He laughs. It’s a breathy laugh, embarrassed. He ducks his head. “Can’t,” he says. “We’re, uh, sort of under quarantine.”

A surprised “Oh!” comes out of you before you can stop yourself. You wonder who else is with him in the house.

He’s quick to reassure you. “It’s not contagious. We just can’t leave the house yet.” He gives you one of those quick smiles again. The effective is magnified from being eye level and within three feet of him. You're a little glad there’s a window between you for protection.

“Thanks again,” he says.

“No problem,” you answer. With a small wave, you start back around to the front of the house, and your Jeep, only glancing back for a moment. The tall man is turning toward others entering the kitchen.

Before the curtain closes, you glimpse two other adults. You can hear them plainly through the window. A deep voice is at first excited about the meals. But then, suddenly:

“Sonoffabitch! SAM! What is this? Salad? Where’s the real food!?”

Back at your Jeep, just as a precaution, you rub your hands with the lavender scented hand sanitizer you keep in the glove box.

2. “(in my head the reader is a female but i didnt specify ir anywhere so ye)”

It’s Friday and a busy night, but when you see the delivery request come up for that same address, you take it. This time it’s for burgers from Jen’s Magnificent, which is locally famous for the MegaBurger, a four-patty monster with the works. You’re not surprised when the bags are heavy with three megas, fries and onion rings. What else would anyone order from Jen’s? The name on the credit card slip is “S. Denny.” You are wondering if the hot tall guy knows he’s not getting any veggies that aren’t deep fried.

Of course, you can guess what happened, and when it’s a different man at the front picture window asking you to go around to the back of the house, your guess is confirmed. The one with the deep voice is tall too, not as tall and not as lean, but still with nice muscle structure and also in a flannel shirt. Brothers, probably. You can see some familial resemblance.

As with the first delivery, you meet him at the back window. It’s earlier than last time and still full light out. He’s pretty anxious for the food, bouncing a little on his feet as he waits for you to slide the burger bags through the dog door.

You can’t help yourself. “Where’s the other guy?"

"Which?"

You pass the food through, straighten up and assess him. The cute one. Your brother?”

The man is already into one of the burgers. He shoves it in his face — you can’t take a bite out of a mega, you pretty much have to smash it into your mouth — and the moan he produces is, frankly, pornographic. This is a man who loves juicy meat.

You kind of want to leave him alone to it.

“The cute one," he repeats with a snort. He wipes a napkin across his mouth. "Researching,” he answers you, chewing on a mouthful. “This burger is awesome. Have you had these?”

“Actually, yeah. She makes good shakes, too.”

“This is going on my list of best burger towns,” he states. The burger disappears and when his hands are free, he wipes them on a fresh napkin. “You a local?”

You nod. He asks you a few odd questions about the town, a little bit about the history, and some information about how often tourists come through. You end up talking about your Jeep Renegade and auto maintenance, which helpfully gives you some points to go over with Roxy at the garage.

You’re back an hour later with another delivery from Great Greens, a single kale salad. You’re not surprised. The cute one is happy to see you. That's nice.

3. “Spells in general. Just spells and spells and spells”

You’ve come to think of yourself as their personal delivery person, to be honest, and it’s not only because J. Page aka Sam is a bright spot any time day or night. Feeling bold one evening, you scribble your phone number on the receipt and tell Sam, “If you guys need anything like from the grocery store or whatever, just call me. Anytime is fine.”

You’re snuggled on your couch watching Netflix when you actually get a late night call from Sam. He sounds apologetic and, weirdly, a little drunk. “Hi… Hi!” he greets a little breathlessly. “This might be a lot to ask but if you meant it about the help, I… we need someone on the outside to get these things. They’re going to sound strange, but I can’t explain what they’re for. Is that OK?”

“Does it,” you ask, “have to be right now?”

“Please, yes,” he says, words breathed out like an exasperated sigh. “I don’t know if I can take close quarters with these two past another moon cycle.” He clears his throat. “Sorry, uh. It has to be tonight because of the first quarter.” He names off some flowers, and then tells you the last one has to be picked after midnight and before dawn.

You actually have some of the list in your kitchen, dried, though it's not fresh. “The rest I can get, but I don’t know where to find that,” you tell him.

“Come to the house. It’s in the garden.”

And that’s how you end up picking lemon verbena by flashlight, in a hoodie and pajama pants, while Sam watches you from the kitchen window and points out the plants he needs. He’s glossy-eyed in the way of someone who’s had more booze than a few drinks at dinner, and pushing himself to act sober like someone who was drinking for a reason.

When you hand over the jasmine and vervain, he’s sitting on the floor at the other side of the door. You catch the dog flap on the backswing and hold it open. “Is that enough? I can get the other stuff fresh from Dara’s tea store tomorrow.”

He leans down to see you better through the opening and keeps going until he’s lying sideways on the floor. He seems vaguely surprised that the world has gone horizontal. “This is what I need to get started,” he pronounces carefully. He seems to consider getting upright. Instead, he rolls over onto his back. His hair, long and silky, flops beside his head, except for an errant lock that lays across his forehead. His beard is growing in, and the mountain man thing really works for him. He looks like he might nod off right there, lying on the floor.

“So… what are you doing, casting a love spell or something?” 

He groans. “Those idiots activated one. I’m trying to…” he lifts a hand and makes a serpentine gesture in the air with his finger, “wiggle open a loophole. So we can leave. And Dean can stop punching holes in the walls looking for hex bags.” He wakes up more fully and sits up suddenly. Running a hand through his hair, he laughs. There’s a tint of panic to it.

You can see that he’s about to dissemble about what he said, so you cut him off with a change of topic. “I knew the lady that used to live here. When I was a kid, we called it the witch’s house. She had, uh, twenty cats.”

“This is a dog door,” he points out.

“I know, right?” You smirk. “Do you like dogs?”

“I do,” he says without elaboration. “Can you tell me anything else about this house? Past owners?”

He’s sobering up. You answer with a shrug. “I mean. It’s a rental now. As you know, obviously.”

“A lot of strangers come through town? Have you noticed anyone that stands out? People you know, acting out of character? Has anyone been sick with an unexplainable illness?”

“We get summer tourists, mostly.”

“Anyone weird?”

“We are the weirdos, mister.” You ease the door flap closed. “I’ll bring the rest of your list when you guys order dinner tomorrow,” you say. It’s late, and you need to go home.

4. “Destiel are lowkey pining in the background”

Mylene adds in a cellophane bag of shortbread with the pie order. The scents in the bakery make you wish you were taking pie home for yourself, but no, this French Apple, ordered by “John Paul Jones,” is heading to the house you’ve been delivering to all week. On the nights when you don’t have an order, they order pizza delivery, it turns out. Pia, who owns Ristorante Raduno, mentioned it when you were fulfilling your craving for her incredible lasagna. Piggybacking on the pie order is a double side of bacon that you pick up from Dee's diner.

You honk when you pull up to the house, knock at the front door, then walk to the back yard per the usual. The Impala has enough dust on it to dull the black finish, and that strikes you as evidence that they really aren’t leaving the house. It was clear when you where conversing with him that burger guy loves his “Baby”. He wouldn’t let that car languish, getting covered in tree leaves and windblown dirt.

“You must be Mr. Jones,” you say to the new face at the kitchen window. “Are there any more of you in there or is three your crowd?”

“You’ve met the other two,” he says. He doesn’t exactly smile, but his eyes are kind, deep blue and full of unspoken thoughts. He has a voice like someone after a night of loud singing and drinking. It doesn’t match his appearance. Not with the suit ensemble including the trench coat he is inexplicably wearing indoors.

“I guess pie and bacon is your thing?” you ask, covering a laugh, and pop the bakery box through the dog door. He takes the box once it has passed the threshold. "Whatever makes you happy." You hear his “thank you” before the dog door swings closed. 

“The pie is for —” he catches himself. “Sandy.” He was about to say a name that started with D, you’re sure of it. Dean, you recall, from Sam’s slip up. “He likes pie. And bacon.” He stares at the pie as if it is about to impart hidden wisdom. "It makes him happy."

Your tip was included when the bakery was paid, so you don’t have a reason to linger, but you do anyway, curious. “This lockdown is hitting him hard, isn’t it? Not being able to take his car out for a drive?”

He gives a helpless little micro-shrug, but concern shows on his face. You think you see some guilt there, too. What had Sam said about it, that “those idiots” had activated the spell? 

“Look, I know it’s none of my business, but…” you hesitate, just for a minute. “Pie is good and all, and that pie is really good, but words are good, too?” His piercing attention actually makes you take a step back. You break eye contact, kicking the brick paving at your feet with the toe of your shoe. “Saying your feelings instead of, um, eating them?” You’ve probably blown it, so you scram without a backward look.

5. “Pray for Sam”

You glare at your phone until you wake up enough to recognize the text as Sam’s. Then you stare at it, trying to make sense of what it says. Meet him? The coffee hut he’s talking about is at the edge of town. It’s the one thing open at this time of day, since Tena is one of those disgusting morning people.

When you get there, you see that Sam is one of those disgusting morning people, too. His hair may have been tied back during his run, but now it’s loose. The sweaty and wild thing works for him even better than the mountain man look. He’s shaved the beard. You hop out of the Jeep and stroll up to where he is doing some stretches. He straightens up and shakes the hair out of his face.

“You’re out of quarantine,” you say. 

He answers your smile with his own. His eyebrows go up when he smiles. “You helped. With those herbs you picked, and everything else. I wanted to say thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” you formally reply. “I notice you got out of that house as early as possible this morning.”

When he rolls his eyes, you have your confirmation. “Ha ha, yeah,” he answers. “Gotta, you know, have some space. From the lovebirds,” he adds with a sound that is part relief and part exasperation.

“Are you getting coffee?”

“I’m picking some up to take back,” he says. “No rush on that.”

“Tena makes a mean superfood smoothie.” You gesture at the espresso hut. “Would you like to get smoothies, go sit by the river, and watch the ducks? Until you’re ready to head back to the house?”

6. “If you think this has a happy ending... you're right well done you”

You figure, that’s it, good-bye, they’re gone, the three that were trapped by the spell on the house. Either Sam figured out how to loosen the spell long enough for them to exit, or burger guy and pie guy hooked up and completed the spell’s requirement. You couldn’t exactly talk about it with Sam, while you sat by the water and drank your breakfast smoothies. You’re pretty sure that he knows you were giving them hints, really vague hints but still hints, but it’s not like you could ask if he knows, even now that the spell is broken. 

They’re not gone yet, as you find out when Kitty from the General Store asks you to run a delivery out to the house. You stop by the General Store to pick up the bag. It’s heavy with an assortment of stuff indicating wall repair: sandpaper, drywall patch kits, a paint tray and paint roller. They’ve paid with a credit card again, a tip included.

You text Sam to let him know you’re the one bringing their supplies, and ask if they need anything else, which is how you end picking up another pie and a trio of sandwiches. When you get to the house, you see that all the windows and doors are open. Sam is sitting in the Impala with his long legs sprawling out of the open car door. He puts down a book when he sees you get out of your Jeep. 

“Let me get that. Must be heavy, sorry,” he says.

“Could be worse. Megaburgers, or cans of paint.”

His hair slides over his ears as he shakes his head. “My brother found paint in the attic, at least.”

“I’m glad this is ending with some DIY, instead of you burning the place down or something,” you say without thinking. “It’s usually newlyweds that stay here. We’re a quiet community.”

He gives you an assessing look.

You hand him the bag from the hardware store. You hand him the food, too, before he steps into the house. You hate to see him go, but watching him walk away? That’s worth the price of admission.

He yells up the stairs that food has arrived. In a minute, the other two guys come down, both suspiciously dusty on their backsides and elbows, both looking stupidly happy. Dean puts his arm around his sweetheart’s waist. Pie guy leans in and blesses Dean with a soft kiss. Pie guy must be Castiel, the angel.

The infamous Winchesters. As hunters go, they don’t seem all that bad.

Like every other kid that grew up in your town, you know how the house spell works. The couples that honeymoon here don’t even notice when they get locked in, and they usually break the spell within minutes with their easy “I love you”s. Castiel and Dean were in love but must not have said the words to each other, yet, when they entered the house, and Sam was caught as a bystander.

You slip away before they catch you watching, get in your Renegade, and head out to the main road. At first, it had seemed like everyone’s bad luck, that some travel blogger had written about the weird little house in an idyllic riverside tourist town, and that particular trio had come to check it out. Your town has been a quiet haven for witches since before you were born.

In the end, it turned out OK. Better than OK. Who doesn’t like a happily ever after?

-o-

[chicagocityofclans]

James “Jim” Montgomery → Matthew Goode → Rat

→ Basic Information

Age: 359

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Straight

Born or Made: Made

Birthday: August 31

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Religion: Deism

→ His Personality Jim often comes off as cold and analytical upon first meeting, which he is. He cares about knowledge and the facts and doesn’t tolerate nonsense that might endanger himself or any other member of his pack. He is cut throat and ruthless, with a strong desire to see their enemies completely destroyed by his dying breath. However, the driving force behind his unending passion is a love and care for his pack. He was one of the founders of it and sees many of its members as his responsibility to protect.

He can be very objective, the most out of the older rats at times, knowing what must be done for the good of the group and who it should be assigned to. Jim walks his talk and enjoys going out into the field to do whatever needs to be done. He is known to be very secretive, being one of the few who live away from the pack in an apartment only Max, Nick, Ray, Jo, Shelton and Jalissa know the whereabouts of. He keeps himself guarded from the rest of the pack, as to not let personal relationships get in the way of tough decisions, and is selective of who he connects with closely. This can often lead to accusations of favoritism but Jim blocks those out as well. He is incredibly brilliant and single handedly set up SKIN and built a database of known human shifters. He runs the most high tech group of all teams and had a hand in developing the software needed to organize every report of a human shifter from SKIN and occasionally BOND members.

→ His Personal Facts

Occupation: Head of SKIN

Scars: Old scars that haven’t fully healed due to extensive damage.

Tattoos: None

Two Likes: 20 Somethings and Quiet

Two Dislikes: Desk Duty and Incompetence

Two Fears: Human shifters changing into someone he loves and using him and Someone invading his home

Two Hobbies: Watching human shifters and Watching Spy movies

Three Positive Traits: Brilliant, Objective, Protective

Three Negative Traits: Secretive, Selective, Impersonable

→ His Connections

Parent Names:

Name Forgotten (Mother) : Jim no longer remembers his mother, due to the torture by Hester.

Name Forgotten (Father): Jim no longer remembers his father, due to the torture by Hester.

Sibling Names:

Unknown

Children Names:

Mary Lang (Possible Daughter): Jim is bad at handling anything but anger when it comes to emotions. Doria and her daughter appearing out of the blue with the possibility of Mary being his child terrified him and he shut down. It was only his shared grief over Ben that allowed him to open up to her. He is incredibly proud of what she has become and believes she has the potential for greatness.

Romantic Connections:

Maxine Vanes (Something): Max and Jim have always been close, especially when she was dealing with so much strife in her 20s. He’s appreciated her mind, and always thought it was strange that Nick didn’t see her true value. She was maybe the only person outside of their main group of five that Jim would have considered a true friend. It was only recently that Jim began to see her in a romantic way. He was devastated at Ben’s loss and found himself shaken to the core that their merry band of thieves was not as indestructible as he once thought they were. Max became a major support to him during this time and helped keep him from spiraling. He found himself fantasizing about her romantically, and knew that something had changed. Jim watched to see if she seemed to reciprocate the feelings, but found it no longer mattering one night as the two got into an argument over Max’s continued association with the Human Shifters. He kissed her and it quickly spiraled into sex. Then he gave her space, intending to let her decide where they should go, which she did 3 days later by asking what it meant to him. They’ve continued to take it very slow; neither one knowing how people would react and a more significant part of Jim worrying that Sirius or Church may use her as a piece in their ongoing battle. She has recently begun staying at his home during the weekends, although they are still very careful when going out with one another.

Doria Lang (Ex-Fling): Jim and Doria were very casual and only happened because she was upset over Ben breaking her heart. They’d only had sex a few times before Doria disappeared into the night.

Tyra McClinton (Ex-Girlfriend): Tyra and Jim broke up in 2015 after she fell in love with another member of GOLD. There were no real emotions involved on his end, but Tyra now avoids him like the plague.

Ruthie James (Ex-Girlfriend): Ruthie was the only other woman who Jim considered settling down with. They’d met in 1921 when she came to Chicago. She was stomped on by a presumed human shifter in 1930 and succumbed to her injuries. Jim didn’t date for a long time after her.

Platonic Connections:

Nick Hamelin (Best Friend): Nick and Jim are very much cut from the same ruthless cloth. He understands Nick and his decisions on a different level than most others and would stand beside him until his last breath.

Ray Hamelin (Best Friend): Though they have different outward approaches in life, Jim knows there is no person out there, save for Nick or Ben, he’d rather have at his side in battle. He and Ray are both known to fall into deep fits of anger, some of which only the other can talk them out of. Jim worries about Ray since Ben has died, and hopes to see genuine happiness comes from the other man again.

Ben Ehrlich (Best Friend): Ben was like a brother to Jim. They knew everything about one another and it was Ben that carried Jim home when he, Nick and Ray discovered him. His death changed the way Jim looks at life and he believes is a major reason he is trying to open himself up to Max completely.

Shelton Mills (Good Friend): Jim always considered Shelton the truest hearted of their group. He has a pure heart and sees things in a similarly black and white way to Jim. He knows that Shelton will be there to offer a different insight to his own.

Jalissa Toll (Good Friend): He thinks Jalissa is one of the bravest people he has ever met. She is strong and incredibly capable of handling anything that comes at her. Though they often disagree, Jim feels she’s a worthy opponent.

Jo Floyd (Friend): When Nick began pursuing Jo, Jim wondered if this was the day the sky would fall and end the world. A man who had never shown much interest in relationships picked someone as much of a fighter as he was. Jim has come to deeply respect Jo, not only as Nick’s wife and mate, but as her own person.

Jaxson Idris (Trainee): Jaxson is one of the few rats born in the last two centuries that Jim knows, who has the same warrior spirit as the “Old Crew”. He sees a massive amount of potential in Jax, similar to Ray, but he needs to learn patience in order to serve or run his own pack one day.

Conrad Kale (Training): Conrad reminds Jim of a younger Nick. A born leader with a desire to protect the ones he loves. However he worries Conrad has too little of confidence and needs reassurance from his elders.

Samantha Whitney (Training): He hasn’t seen Samantha since she went over to London, but he is aware that Ray used to train her to eventually take lead as the head liaison. She is incredibly driven, but has no real connection to the pack. He’s unsure how well people will trust a person they don’t know at all, but thinks she has good potential, especially if she sets her sights on something local.

Helo Adama (Training): Helo is somewhat of a wild card for Jim. He has a lot of potential, but unlike the other three, he has a very strong social life. He’s very much a member of this new guard, but his future roles are uncertain.

Lila Toll (Playmate): Jim doesn’t naturally like children, but there is something about the middle Toll child that Jim enjoys. She’s got a lot of young Jalissa in her and it reminds him of the glory days.

Hostile Connections:

Churchill Darling (Distrusts): One sticking point of Jim and Max’s relationship is her insistence at finding a new way to communicate with them. She believes adamantly that the hostility could end, or at least be lessened if they stop treating them like criminals. Jim disagrees. He knows what they can do, and specifically what Churchill is capable of. This is incredibly maddening because he is her main contact.

Sirius Cobic (Despises): He believes Sirius stepped on Ruthie and has held a personal vendetta against him. His hatred has only grown over the last hundred years with what he has found in the local human shifters’ past.

Vincent Kane (Dislikes): Vincent very much attempts to play the white knight. He was the one to push for cleaning up the Human Shifters’ bribes, but Jim doesn’t trust him.

D.W. Colt (Unsure):  D.W. is a newer main concern for Jim. Her only known face has disappeared and there are no new significant faces coming in and out of the police station. Jim doubts she’s died since no one has heard anything of it. It is a new priority for more of the clan to get a new face on her.

Evangeline Kuhl (Former Lover/Torturer): He fell in love with a sweet faced girl when he was newly changed. She turned out to be a monster who shaped the rest of his life.

Hester Voorst (Torturer): Hester took great pleasure in crushing different parts of his body. She was one of his favorites to kill.

Heinrich Euler (Torturer): Heinrich took to flaying pieces of Jim off. Jim and Nick took turns doing the same to his wife and children in front of him when Jim was healed.

Pets:

None

→ History Jim was born in the mid 1600s in England. He spent much of his youth reading and studying, not just books but the people around him. He studied their behavior and the strange things that people did. It was these skills that eventually lead him to discovering the Hamelin brothers. They’d been staying in his town, but he noticed how different the way they moved was. It seemed like months of watching them occured, before Jim caught a glimpse of what they truly were. He saw them appear from nothing and walk into their house. He briefly thought they might be witches, before deciding to get a better look. Ray and Nick cornered him, but he stared defiantly at them and the three found a mutual respect between themselves. Eventually Nick offered to change him and join his pack. They picked up Ben about a decade later and the four of them continued on through most of the UK and Europe. The pack settled in what is now Germany, in the house the Hamelin’s grew up in.

It was here that Jim discovered his weakness for beautiful women and met Evangeline Kuhl. She had the sweetest face and Jim thought he could settle with her. The rest of his pack moved along while Nick gave him a timeline of three months to woo and change Evangeline. Only after he was alone, did Jim realize the horror he got himself into. When visiting Evangeline’s home to ask for her hand in marriage, Jim found himself cornered by who he thought were Frau and Herr Kuhl. Their faces shifted in a blink of an eye and he was staring at two strangers. They strapped him down and began experimenting on him; cutting skin here, burning there, sharp jabs and stabs all over. He attempted to shift when they were gone, only to be repeatedly stomped on by the woman whose name he learned was Hester. Every bone in Jim’s body was broken and he knew his extended life had been cut short. They psychologically and physically tortured him for months, trying to discover where his pack was. He refused to give in, but his memory became worn. He lost most thoughts of his childhood and parents, and many of the things surrounding his pre-rat life. He’d assumed he’d been called to heaven when he heard the familiar voices of Ben, Ray and Nick. His body was gently cradled by Ben as they went outside. It took years for his body to heal. He was aided by some potions and tinctures, but they could not cure him both accurately and quickly. In this time he aged 10 years physically before he was fully capable of walking long distances again. And even after this he was never quite right, so he’d rebreak whatever fracture hadn’t healed properly, one at a time, until his body worked like it should. Within that process he aged another 10 years.

After his body was fully healed, the pack moved to the United States. They found different ways to make a living on the East Coast, but found their stride in Chicago. Here they added Jalissa to their little pack and went about making Chicago a power in the US. They made expansive networks of spies and created a diagram for many leaders across the country to follow. In the 1960s they took over massive swaths of California and Nevada to stop an invading pack, while slowly growing their international reach. Nick and Jalissa found mates, Jim found conquests and Ray found ways to escape. By the 2010s, they seemed unstoppable as a pack. They had a strong group of youth in the pack and 13 capable team leaders when they were brutally attacked by the vampires. 203 rats, including Ben, were killed in the tunnels and over 5,000 were sick for months from it. Conrad was pulled up to both Third and to lead RED. Jim was destroyed by the news. He knows he nearly went down and torched the Underground himself. He watched as it destroyed and ate away at him, Nick, and Ray. At a point Jim thought they were gods, able to control and discover anything they wanted and his death was a hard fall to Earth. Jim changed and developed a new protocol with SKIN, they had to focus on safety over getting the information. The biggest change in his life revolved around Max. She was always a friend, but his reliance on her during the first few months after the attack changed everything. He fell for her and genuinely wanted to make something work, past a few casual nights.

→ The Present Jim wants to have the next generation of rats ready and trained in case something else happens to one of the old guard. Conrad was forced into a position he shouldn’t have been and was unprepared to step up and take the lead. He has managed to figure it out with the aid of Nick, Jim, Ray, and Shelton, but their pack can not be allowed to fall into that position again. He has mentally chosen Jax, Conrad, Helo and Samantha to start putting in extra time with. Once there seems to be some adequate growth he’ll tell Nick what he’s been doing.

He is also trying to live in the memory of Ben and be more open to his emotions. Ben had a way of balancing that none of the rest of them did. He would put duty first, but found ways to be even keeled. Jim has found himself investing more into his and Max’s relationship. Neither of them are pushing for fast or quick steps, but he could see things becoming permanent with her. He hopes they have a while to figure it out, but the thought that Ben believed he had time too haunts him. Jim is celebrating his 360th birthday next year and is questioning what he has to show for those nearly 400 years.

[eph-em-era]

HOSPITAL! DRAMA!!

written for @brokenwoodfanpage‘s fic week - prompt was ‘hospital’

this is absolute crack. also available on the ao3

--

9.30am at Brokenwood Regional Hospital. It’s not the biggest of places, but it’s got a reputation for the cleverest puns, the steamiest situations, and a whole host of miracle cures.

People come from miles around to be cured of their ailments, and for the most part, Diagnostician Mike Shepherd and his team solve their case in a matter of days. It’s truly newsworthy.

Etc. 

But you’re not here to listen to the sciencey stuff. You’re here for the drama. The excitement! The perfectly M-rated raunchiness that can only be shown on TV at 8pm. That kind of thing. 

 Like I said, it’s 9.30am, and shiz is already going down.

 Immunologist Jared Morehu strolls out of one of the cleaning cupboards, clothes only slightly dishevelled, with another doctor in tow. He winks at the camera. It’s pretty obvious what’s been going on.

The other doctor - who probably should have a name or something, so we’ll call him Doctor Smith - backs him into a wall, staring him down intensely. The music swells, and we pull into a close up on their faces. 

Doctor Smith, with much drama, “Will I ever see you again?”

“I don’t know, e te tau.” Jared says, with a very dramatic sigh, because he might be played by a Maori actor, but he certainly talks like he was written by an all-Pakeha writing team with no cultural consultant. “Taku kuru pounamu. I’ll see you.” 

“Ohhh.” Doctor Smith sighs, and glides off dramatically down the hallway away from him, doctor’s coat swept up behind him as he goes. “I’ll never forget you, Jared.”

“Thank you!” Jared calls, but he’s secretly forgotten the other doctor’s name already.

 (It’s Doctor Smith). 

10am brings our intrepid team together for the first time of the day. There’s a new case. Neurosurgeon Kristen Sims has a mug of coffee she brewed at the office’s kitchenette. The pot is also on the table, but no-one else wants one (because she’s truly terrible at brewing it. Truly.)

Infectious Disease Specialist Sam Breen has his own cup of coffee, which he purchased at the coffee cart down the road, because he might be generally afraid of germs and what tiny little infections can be found floating invisibly through the air, but he’s more afraid of Kristen’s coffee. 

Mike’s there, also. He’s got his head stuck in a report, because he might be the lead character on a hospital soap, but he’s also the only one who actually does work.

They’re all just waiting for Jared. But, they all know Jared, and this is a sexy, sexy hospital that occasionally solves medical mysteries. He’ll turn up. 

 10.05am. Breen and Kristen aren’t even pretending to work now. Mike is still reading his report. Jared is nowhere to be seen.

Breen clears his throat. “Mike-”

 At that very moment, Jared runs in, his clothes, once again, heavily dishevelled. (To no-one’s surprise.)

“Sorry.” Jared gasps, out of breath. “Weather- y’know, bro?” 

 Everyone knows that’s a lie. But, they don’t mention it. It’s commonplace in this workplace. Hardly an issue.

 “Of course.” Mike says, and puts down his report. He holds the tension, just a little. “...Did you know we’ve got a case of smallpox in this hospital?”

“Smallpox?” Breen echoes.

Kristen gets it. This is a worry for him. Not just because of the pandemic risk, but also because overtime this week means he’ll probably have to miss his anniversary dinner for the third year in a row.

At this rate, no-one will actually think he has a girlfriend. 

 Kristen honestly isn’t so sure. 

 “Yes.” Mike replies, and passes copies of the case file out to them all. “Presenting with a rash, fever, vomiting, vertigo and sores in the mouth. The Ministry of Health is on-route.” 

“Shouldn’t it be left to them, then?” Kristen asks. “Stave off a pandemic, and all.”

“Yes…” Mike says, slowly. “But I don’t think it’s smallpox.” 

 Cue a rip-off of the Shortland St Theme!

12pm puts Kristen and Sam in the lunchroom. A grey-haired man with a cane sits at a table opposite, deep in conversation with a brunet. It's American. Sarcastic. Oddly reminiscent of something else...

Anyway. Kristen has a salad. It looks delightful. Sprouts, feta, kale, sunflower seeds - healthy stuff for healthy people. 

Breen has a milkshake. It is… less so. Think of a McDonalds milkshake, then add a whole lot more angst and ice cream. It’s very unhealthy.

 “Smallpox?” Kristen asks, eating her salad. It’s all very healthy and beautiful and stuff, and shines with a beautiful healthy glow.

(This writer has solely eaten bread today and is pining for vegetables. Don't judge.) 

Breen nods, pensively. “Smallpox.” He sips at his milkshake in a way that is very, very annoying. 

 The two Americans get up from the other table, with the grey-haired one shooting Breen an irritated look. There's no argument though, and the Americans leave. It's probably for the best.

 "Well, you definitely drove them away." Kristen says.

"I did not." Breen stops drinking his milkshake. "It's not like this place needs to be silent, though. Do you know them?"

"Not really." Kristen muses, fork halfway through a kale leaf. "The brunette works in oncology. I think the man with the cane is trying to get Mike's job."

"Well, he won't give that up easily."

 Before the pair can say anything resembling anything remotely intelligent, an alarm goes off. The normal bright white lunchroom lights switch to red. Steel shutters slam down over the exit doors and across the window locks.

It is all very dramatic, and certainly far too ridiculous for a middle of the road hospital in rural New Zealand. However, that’s what happens.

 “Quarantine?” Breen asks, putting his milkshake down.

“Quarantine.” Kristen affirms, and looks over to him.

 A look passes between them. As to what that look is, no-one knows! It’ll be revealed in about three hundred words’ time. 

Good.

 Down in the morgue, Gina blinks at the shutters for a moment, then turns back to the corpse she’s examining. Things like this don’t phase her, it’s not like she’s under Russian quarantine. 

 Now we’ve gotten that scene out of the way, we jump to Mike and Jared, who are also trapped together. However, they’re actually doing science, and not just eating their lunch, because they’re actually good doctors, though potentially very foolish ones.

The patient is in front of them. Outside in the corridor, MoH people wearing significant PPE are milling about, generally quite pissed at them. However, they can’t do anything about it, because Mike and Jared have willingly exposed themselves to the virus by locking themselves in the room.

 “I really hope you’re sure about this, bro.” Jared says, looking over at his boss a little nervously. “‘Cause if you’re not, you’re putting a lot of faith into our immune systems.”

“If we were going to catch it, we’ve caught it already.” Mike says, and fiddles with a piece of medical equipment. “Now, look at this.”

 Great! That wasn’t a pointless scene at all. Now, back to Kristen and Sam.

They’re arm wrestling. Kristen, unsurprisingly, is winning. She pushes Breen’s arm right down towards the table, and yeah, it’s real tense. 

Then, with one final push, she slams his arm right down against the tabletop. “I win!” She declares, though there’s really nothing to win.

Sam winces and shakes the pain out of his arm. “Not fair. I’m not left handed.”

“Neither am I.” Kristen replies, and grins over at him, only a smidge toothily. 

With an odd look in his eyes, he smirks, reaches out and-

Jared is examining something under a microscope. “What do you think, Mike?”

Mike leans in, takes his place. “You’ve got it-”

Back to Kristen and Sam. 

 “I can’t believe- You have a girlfriend!”

“Had. Had a girlfriend. And that doesn’t mean anything anyway these days. Just let me-”

Kristen exhales heavily, and trembles a little. “Sam. Please.”

Jared and Mike appear to have hit on something. 

“If you look at the historical journals of where the patient was diving - there’s an inconsistency.” Mike says, pointing at a specific paragraph of said journal. 

“You’re not kidding, bro.” Jared says, squinting out towards the MoH officials. “Do you think any of them speak Spanish?”

Kristen wanders away from the table, clothes a smidge dishevelled, and looks out the window. They’ve been in lockdown together for a full three hours and honestly, she’s sick of it. 

Breen is eating her salad, looking sweaty. Through a mouthful of leaves, he says, “Do you think they’ve forgotten about us?”

She shoots him a withering look. “Doubtful.” 

“Mhmm.” He stands up, wanders over to the window as well. He squints out into the sunlight. “Do you see Helen out there? She’s the best cat. 68 years old in cat years or something like that. Very not racist. Last time she let me pat her I almost felt honored.” 

“Mhmm.” Kristen replies. Then, after a moment, it hits her. “Breen. The journals. The cat in those journals.” 

“The cat?” He blinks, takes a second. His eyes widen. “Rickettsialpox.”

Kristen’s already got her phone out of her pocket, and she’s dialing Mike. 

“I can’t believe we were stuck in here for three hours for nothing.” Breen sniffs, looking out at Helen. “She’s a lucky cat, y’know.”

 In the end, it’s all wrapped up very simply. It’s not smallpox, but rickettsialpox, something that can easily be treated with antibiotics and a good night’s sleep. The MoH disappear as soon as they came, and Kristen and Sam are let out of the lunchroom.

Another day well spent, the team all sits down around the office table with fish and chips. 

 “What were you two doing while we were working?” Mike asks, curious despite himself. 

“Arm wrestling.” Kristen says.

Breen shrugs. “I was mostly looking at cats.”

“Breen has a boyfriend.” Kristen exclaims. “Never even said. All this time I thought he was with Roxy.”

Breen shrugs, again. “People change.” 

“Bro.” Jared says, looking interested, “You’re a hit with the tāne too?”

Breen shrugs, for a third time. “What can I say - who wouldn’t want this?”

Kristen snorts. Prolongedly. “Sorry, I just-”

 “What, so you two never-” Jared glances between them, and the implication is obvious.

Mike, obviously not in the mood for gossip, rolls his eyes, takes his fish and chips, and leaves the table. 

 “What?” Sam yelps.

“Never.” Kristen says, looking horrified. “No. Never.”

“Never in a million trillion years.” Sam finishes, looking over at Kristen. “Never. Ew.” 

 “Defensive.” Jared raises his hands in mock surrender. “I wasn’t implying anything.”

But the thing is, he’ll never actually know the truth, and neither will you.