#Like ‘First you steal Johnny’s attention and then you hit me because I bothered you? I’m literally going to rip your limbs off’

[zappedbyzabka]

Thinking about Bobby’s outbursts of anger when fighting.

He goes from “Maybe we should just chill” to “You’re dead. I’m going to kill you!”

[xgryffinwhore]

No strings attached

Summary: Johnny and her have been secretly hooking up, but what if he wants more?

Warnings: Mentions of smut, mainly fluff

Word Count: 2.7k

It was 1984, Johnny Lawrence leaned against the lockers, pretending to listen as his buddies talked about their plans for the weekend. Normally, he’d be right there with them, cracking jokes and planning their next party. But his mind was elsewhere—on her.

He spotted her down the hall, surrounded by her friends, laughing like everything was normal. But it wasn’t. Not for him. Not since the first time they’d hooked up, when it was supposed to be a one-time thing, a secret neither of them would talk about. Except it wasn’t just a one-time thing anymore.

Johnny’s jaw clenched as he felt a wave of frustration wash over him. Why did it have to be her? Why did she have to get under his skin like this? She was different from the girls he usually went for—maybe that’s why he liked her so much. But they both knew the deal. They couldn’t be seen together. His friends wouldn’t get it. They’d give him hell for going after someone who wasn’t part of their crowd.

But the truth was, Johnny was starting not to care. Every time they snuck around, it got harder to act like this was just some fling. He was starting to feel something real, something he hadn’t expected—and he hated how much he wanted more.

Tommy slapped him on the back, dragging his attention back to their conversation. "You alright, man? You’re zoning out.”

Johnny snapped out of his thoughts, feeling Tommy's hand on his back. He forced a smile, trying to hide how worked up he was.

"Yeah, I'm good," he said, clearing his throat. "Just… thinking about something," he replied, darting a quick glance down the hallway to where she still lingered with her friends.

Bobby, who stood beside them, also seemed to have noticed her. His eyes followed Johnny's and a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. He could sense their tension.

"Thinking about someone?" Jimmy teased, nudging Johnny's shoulder.

Johnny tensed, the joke hitting close to home.

He shot a glare at Jimmy, trying to play it off. "What? No, man. Relax, alright?" But they could see right through him. He was never this on edge unless it was because of her.

Bobby crossed his arms, a knowing look in his eyes.

"Come on, man. We can tell when you're moping about some girl. You've been different ever since you started hooking up with that chick," he teased.

Johnny clenched his fists, the annoyance growing inside him.

"It's not like that, man," he protested, his voice slightly strained. But even he knew he was kidding himself. The truth was, it was like that. He was so damn conflicted about her. She was his secret vice.

Bobby chuckled, enjoying getting under Johnny's skin. "Oh, yeah. Totally believable. You're just banging her for fun, right? It's not like you're starting to catch feelings or anything," he teased, trying to rile Johnny up even more.

Johnny bristled at Bobby's words, feeling his restraint slipping away.

"I don't have 'feelings,'" he snapped, his voice rising. "It's just... convenience, all right? Nothing more." But he knew he was lying, and so did they.

Jimmy chimed in, poking the bear further. "Just convenience. Right. You're always talking about how she's different from any other girl you've been with. And the way you get all hot and bothered when she's near. Sure looks more than just convenience."

Johnny's face flushed with irritation and a hint of embarrassment. They were right, and they both knew it. But he was damn stubborn and wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of being right.

"You don't know what you're talking about," he growled, his jaw clenching. "You don't know anything about me and her."

She looks over at him, stealing a glance before turning her attention back to her friends. She knows she shouldn't be so obvious, but it's difficult. 

She can't help but want more. He is the hottest guy at West Valley, so when they hooked up for the first time it was every girl's dream come true. She couldn't help but fall for him, each meetup getting a little more intimate. 

The bell rings as school begins, "come on, let's get to class" her friend marcy goes.

He watched her as she disappeared down the hallway, his eyes lingering on her for a little longer than necessary. She was playing with fire, looking at him like that. It took every ounce of his ironclad willpower to not follow after her.

Johnny clenched his jaw, annoyed with himself for even thinking that. He wasn't supposed to care. This was just a secret thing, a no-strings-attached kind of setup. But the way she looked at him, the way she made him feel... it wasn't supposed to affect him like this.

She couldn't get Johnny out of her head all day. She tried to take notes, listen to lectures, but her mind kept wandering back to him. She hated the hold he had over her, she knew he was a player, a bad boy, everything she should stay away from. But she can't help but feel like there is something beneath his hard outer shell. 

The locker room was deserted, the only sound was his footsteps on the hard linoleum floor. He pulled off his school shirt, revealing his muscular physique. 

He splashed cold water on his face, hoping to clear his head. But the image of her was still fresh in his mind. She had gotten under his skin, planted a seed that he couldn't shake.

He looked at himself in the mirror, a mixture of anger and desire coursing through him. Why did he let her affect him this way? He was the bad boy, the one they all feared and respected.

He was torn between the need to keep up his tough act and the growing attraction he had for her. 

As he toweled off, his mind kept replaying scenes from his last night with her. The taste of her mouth, the feel of her skin, the sound of her voice...

He was in danger of revealing a side of him that had no business coming close to the surface.

She sat at lunch with her friends, noticing he wasn't there. She felt sort of jealous, wondering where he was, who he was with. She shakes off the jealousy, she had to remember their no string attached deal.

 She played with the food on her lunch tray, losing her appetite as she got lost in thoughts of Johnny. "Are you okay?" Marcy asked, "You've been in a daze all day." She snaps out of her imagination "Oh yeah.. Just thinking about a test I have today" She lies.

Johnny stood under the showers in the boys' locker room, running cold water over his burning face. His thoughts were a maelstrom of confusion and desire. What the hell was he supposed to do?

For years, he'd been the bad boy, the tough guy with the cold stare and the sharp edge. A player. That's what everyone expected him to be. And so he had been. With her, it was different.

He wanted more. But to admit it, to make him vulnerable... It went against everything he'd built himself to be.

As lunch ends she heads to her next class, her mind still swimming with images of him. It was an all consuming obsession with the untouchable boy.

 As she took her test, her mind kept flickering back to images of the night prior; the breathless kisses, the giggles, her legs up in his backseat. It was distracting her fully from the task at hand. 'You're so beautiful’ she remembers, his sweet words echo in her mind. 

He made his way out of his last period, his mind in a whirlwind of desire and frustration. As he stepped into the hall, he spotted her standing with her friends, laughing at something one of them had said. She looked so damn beautiful, it made his chest ache.

He wanted to get her alone, somewhere they wouldn't be disturbed. Maybe the parking lot, or his car... Hell, they'd done it in less discreet places. His heart raced in anticipation.

Her and her friends are gossiping about whatever the newest drama was. But she couldn't help but see him look at her, it made her heart nearly stop.

 She hadn't seen him since this morning, and she didn't realize how much he made her blaze. She knew she couldn't do anything,  she had to use caution especially regarding their situation. She tried to get back into the conversation, though her mind was somewhere else.

As her and her friends wrapped up, she gave them a little wave and got into her car, starting the engine.

As she got into her car, Johnny couldn't resist any longer. 

He approached her, leaning against her driver's side door, blocking her escape.

"Going somewhere?" He asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Her eyes widened, he'd never had the nerve to approach her in public. "Johnny.. what are you doing?" she whispered. 

She couldn't believe the guy that made her promise not to tell a soul about their arraignment, was coming up to her in front of a decent part of the school. 

"Okay. Well, we can meet somewhere and talk" she said quietly. 

He didn't want to wait any longer to be alone with her. The thought of waiting even a few minutes was unbearable.

"My car. Now," he commanded, his voice firm. He knew he was being dominant, but the desire to have her close was overruling his usual control.

“But people will see..” she said, scanning around at the still packed parking lot full of seniors. 

He shrugged, unbothered by the potential audience. "Let 'em talk. I don't give a damn."

She looked at him bewildered "But what about our agreement" she hinted.

"To hell with our agreement," he retorted, his voice low and heated. "I can't take it anymore."  

"Just come. We'll be quick."

She turns the key out of her ignition, following him to his car as people begin to stare.

Johnny led her to his car, not sparing a glance at the people around them. They were starting to stir now, sensing the tension, whispering and pointing at them.

He opened the passenger door and gestured for her to step inside. 

She waits for him to get in, her face getting red as she sees people peering into his car, curious why Johnny and her are alone in his car. "So, what exactly did you need to talk about?"

Johnny looked over at her, his gaze intense and determined. 

"I need to ask you something," he said, his voice low. "But I need you to be completely honest with me."

"Okay.." She said quietly, her nerves building by the second. All of this was sudden, she didn't know what to expect. 

"Do you ever imagine what it'd be like...if we weren't just a secret hook up? If people could actually know us together?" He asked.

She thinks on it for a second, the first thought that pops into her mind is yes. Obviously, she has thought about that, she had never been into hookups. 

"Well.. I guess I have" She shrugs, unsure where this conversation is leading. 

He nodded, understanding her response. "Yeah, see, I have too," he said, his voice serious. "Not just a hookup, but actually being together. Everyone is seeing us out in public."

He looked at her, his eyes burning into hers. "What would you say if I said...I think I want that?"

"Johnny, what?" She says she could hardly believe her ears. "You told me you don't do the whole 'girlfriend' thing." 

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I know what I told you. I thought that's what I wanted. No strings attached, no messy emotions to deal with."

He looked at her, his gaze intense. "But the truth is...I want more. With you."

Her eyes lit up "You.. you do?" she questions, needing him to say it again so she knows she's not dreaming.

He reached for her, tugging her closer. "Yeah, I do," he said, his voice filled with conviction.

He cupped her face between his hands, his gaze locked with hers. "I want you, all of you. The good, the bad, everything. And I don't want to keep you a secret anymore."

She shakes her head, a little chuckle coming out "Johnny Lawrence, you're something else" she looks into his icy eyes. 

He couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corners of his lips at her response.

"You should see yourself," he murmured, his thumb tracing her cheek gently. "You're the one who's got me so damn confused." He leaned in closer, his lips hovering just an inch away from hers.

He couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corners of his lips at her response.

"You should see yourself," he murmured, his thumb tracing her cheek gently. "You're the one who's got me so damn confused." He leaned in closer, his lips hovering just an inch away from hers.

"What's so confusing?" She asked Johnny, a playful look in her eyes. She couldn't believe she had the hottest guy in the valley wrapped around her finger.

He chuckled at her playful tone. "You know damn well what's confusing," he shot back, but there was no heat behind his tone.

He pulled her even closer, closing the distance between them until his forehead was touching hers. "And don't think for a second that you don't have me exactly where you want me, 'cause you do."

She giggles, finally seeing his outer shell crumble. The real Johnny, the Johnny that craves romance beyond the steamy windows of a back seat. "So, what does all this mean? Do we go out on dates? Hold hands in the hall?" She teases Johnny, though she secretly wouldn't mind any of that. 

He rolls his eyes, feigning annoyance, but there's a hint of a smile on his lips. "Yeah, those things. What, am I too much of a badass to hold your hand in the hallway?" He asks, his voice laced with sarcasm. But his hand reaches out and takes hers, interlocking their fingers.

"No, I guess not" She flushed.

He gives her hand a gentle squeeze, relishing the feel of their fingers locked together. 

"And dates," he said, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "We go on proper dates, right? Not ones where we're sneaking around and getting into each other's cars in hidden parking lots."

She cocks an eyebrow at him "Johnny Lawrence being seen doing lovey dovey things? But what about your reputation?!" She feigns shock. 

"Screw my reputation," he retorts, his eyes locked with hers. "You think you're the only one who can shake things up a little? I can change if I want. And believe me, the world will know I'm with the hottest chick around."

She blushes deeper, she'd never been slick with taking compliments. "Well I guess having a stud on my arm at all times won't hurt.." She teased him. Images of them walking around together, his muscular arm wrapped around her waist for all to see, the idea was savory. 

He chuckled, a cocky grin spreading across his face. "You got that right, I'd look damn good walking around with the hottest girl in school on my arm," he replied, his voice dripping with confidence. 

He reached out, his hand wrapping around her waist. "Yeah, I think I like the sound of that. You know, people staring, whispering about us. Seeing us together."

She smiles wide, his cocky persona shining through his emotions. He drove her crazy, he always had. "Well you better have a spectacular first date planned, better not involve your back seat" She gestured back. 

He smirked, his eyes locking onto hers. "You doubting my abilities, sweetheart?" 

He leaned in a bit closer, his voice low and suggestive. "I'll have you know, I'm an expert at making unforgettable moments. In my back seat or otherwise."

" I guess you'll just have to prove it to me" She shrugs with a sly smirk on her face.

[holy-hyuck]

NCT 127 Reaction: They See You Wearing Their Clothes

Taeil:

You fell asleep in the boys’ dorm, Taeil carrying you to his room in the middle of the night. You must have been exhausted because you woke up only in the morning, the room quite cold. You only had a thin shirt on you, so you grabbed Taeil’s hoodie, once you recognised it as his, and slipped in on top of you, your jeans from the day before still intact and looking decent enough.

You walked downstairs, seeing Taeil and Taeyong in the kitchen, the latter turning on the stove to make breakfast. Looking at the clock, you realised it was a time they’d normally wake up, so you were glad you didn’t oversleep.

Taeil looked at you, his smile only widening once he saw the oversized clothing on you, a dazed expression on his face. Even Taeyong turned around and chuckled lightly, half at the way you looked, and half at Taeil’s reaction.

“What-what is that? Ah, you look so cute.”

But you could see it was making him flustered, so when you warmed up a bit, you took the hoodie off, leaving you in yesterday’s clothes.

Johnny:

"So..." Wendy started, popping a grape in her mouth, "Are you and Johnny, like, a thing?"

"What?" You scoffed. "Why would you think that?"

"Think about it; you're always together, he calls you 'babes', you have hearts next to his contact name, need I go on?"

"Yeah, and isn't that his shirt you're wearing?" Seulgi butted in, leaning her head on Wendy's shoulder.

You looked down at the black tee, indeed belonging to Johnny. "I forgot to bring spare clothes when I slept over at his." At this, the girls raised their eyebrows and looked at you with a knowing look. "No, it's not like that! Ugh, we're just friends."

Just then, you felt strong arms wrap around your frame, pulling you in a hug.

"Hi babes, hi girls. How's it going? You look nice in my shirt, by the way. Maybe I should let you borrow them more often," Johnny told you, grabbing a few grapes from the bowl for himself.

You looked over at Wendy and Seulgi, who both giggled and shook their heads.

Just friends, you mouthed to them. Unfortunately.

Taeyong:

"Isn't it Taeyong-hyung's?" You heard Mark's voice when you jumped down from the last step and skipped into the living room.

"Shh." You covered his mouth with your sweater paws, effectively shutting him up.

"Ah, I knew someone stole it." Taeyong came into the room, leaning against the doorway. You gave him a sheepish smile, rubbing your arms through the thick material of his sweatshirt.

"Sorry, I was cold. I can take it off if you want, borrow someone else's-"

"No, no, no need." He came up to you, holding you at an arms-length and checking you out in the muted blue of his top, heart fluttering. "I like how it looks on you."

Yuta:

Getting up from your seat, you cheered for Yuta, your voice drowning amongst all the others’ - and yet, the boy could hear it as clear as day, looking up to see you in the bleachers. He scored the winning goal, like you knew he would without a doubt, and perhaps that knowledge made you even more proud to be wearing his jersey, with his number on the back.

Once the two opposing teams congratulated each other, Yuta ran up the stairs to envelop you in a hug, spinning you around and grinning from ear to ear.

“You did it, you did it! I knew you would!” you exclaimed, gripping his shirt in your hands.

Yuta took this moment to plant a chaste kiss on your lips, although it turned more and more passionate by the second - to a point where you had to stop him before his coach witnessed your make-out session.

“Is that my jersey?” You nod your head enthusiastically. “Marry me.”

Your laugh pierced the voices of others leaving the stadium, and you threw your head back.

“Let me buy you dinner first.”

Doyoung:

Doyoung took off the glasses from his face, rubbing his eyes and groaning. This report wasn't going to finish itself, but his body begged him to let him sleep.

He felt the weight shift next to him and looked up to see you take his glasses into your hands. You proceeded to put them on, and looking at him, wiggled your eyebrows. He burst out laughing, at half-past-two at night, feeling you hit his shoulder to tell him not to laugh at you.

"You look ridiculous."

Not really. You looked perfect; your hair messy, old and stained shirt covering the upper half of your body, his sweatpants covering the lower, his glasses perched up on your nose. And at half-past-two at night, his sight blurry and mind hazy, he fell in love.

Jaehyun:

It was Jaehyun’s idea you wear his clothes. He always wanted to be “that couple” but was too shy to ask. So, after you got back from your date, completely soaked after the thunderstorm that started halfway through, you knew you wouldn’t be going back to your house anytime soon.

Seeing this perfect opportunity, Jaehyun took one of his jumpers and a pair of shorts and told you to change. Underwear thankfully dry, you put on his clothes, exiting the bathroom to see him making hot chocolate.

He turned around to greet you, his smile only growing bigger, his dimples showing. Screaming in excitement on the inside, he just walked up to you, embracing you in a hug, which you found strange but accepted nonetheless.

“Even better than I imagined.”

He muttered to himself, and when you gave him a questioning look, he just smiled, leaving you wondering what he meant for the rest of the day.

WinWin:

WinWin never thought it would get to him as much as it did. Most of the times the two of you spent were with the other boys, the perfect opportunity to offer you his clothes being a movie night but he didn’t want to get teased by them.

The two of you were walking back from shopping, the weather not quite as nice as it was before. The wind picked up and you still had over twenty minutes to walk back to your house, and even more to the dorms.

Shivering involuntarily, you wrapped your arms around yourself to keep the cold away, but needless to say, haven’t succeeded.

With the wind blocking out some sounds, you didn’t hear the commotion next to you. Plus, Taeyong was trying to be subtle about it - that, however, wasn’t a problem with Donghyuck.

“Yah, Sicheng, aren’t you going to give (y/n) your jacket or something? You know, like a sweet boyfriend would,” he said, a hint of teasing present, as per usual.

Blushing, your boyfriend took off his hoodie, revealing a jumper underneath (so you knew he wouldn’t be that cold himself), and passed it over to you, without looking at you. You thanked him, putting it on, instantly feeling warmer. Sicheng wouldn’t look at you (besides the subtle glances) or speak to you until you arrived at your house, you promptly giving him his clothing back, and seeing how he reacted, you made a mental note to yourself to always try bringing a spare jacket with you when you two went out.

Jungwoo:

Sitting on the hood of Jungwoo's car, you scrolled through the weather forecast as your date tried to repair the vehicle.

"It says there's an eighty-three percent chance of rain," you told him, looking back to see him sigh and lean back on the driver's seat. Cursing under his breath, he got out of the car and towards you.

"Just because it says there's a chance doesn't mean-" he cut himself off when he felt the first droplets of rain fall onto his skin, and suddenly it was pouring; and there you were, laughing, hair and clothes soaked. "Here."

He took off his leather jacket, leaving him in nothing more than than a thin white tee, and wrapped it around you. The material was heavy, and it was useless at this point but you didn't want to tell him that. He held the sides and smiled down at you.

Clearing your throat, you looked away from him. "I'll call a taxi," you told him, walking away to hide inside the car.

"Wait!" You turned around, and Jungwoo grabbed the sides of the jacket, pulling you towards him and capturing your lips in a kiss. Although surprised at first, you quickly regained your senses and placed a hand on his cheek, pulling him even closer. You've never kissed in the rain but it was perfect. Everything about Jungwoo was.

"And by the way," Jungwoo started when you finally pulled away, "you look great in my clothes."

Mark:

It was so cold, so unbelievably cold in Mark's apartment. You told him to fix the heating but he's been too busy binging Netflix to bother. Shivering in your thin tee, you rummaged through Mark's closet for something warm to wear. If he wasn't going to get the heating sorted, you were going to steal every last one of his hoodies until he had no other choice.

Throwing the black, oversized hoodie over your head, you made your way downstairs and plopped on the couch beside him, making him turn his attention away from the TV screen and towards you.

"Is that my- Is that my hoodie?"

"Yes, it is. Actually, it's now mine, at least until you get the heating fixed." You crossed your arms over your chest and raised an eyebrow at your boyfriend.

Laughing, he threw his arms around you and started mumbling into your neck.

"Gosh, you're so cute, you have no idea."

You let out a whine, surrendering. This was not how this was supposed to go.

Haechan:

You clipped your hair back with the lonely bobby pin in your pocket, pulling the jacket around you tighter to brace yourself for the ruthless winds outside. Exiting the shop with Donghyuck by your side, you picked up your pace to make it home before it became any colder or windier - which it did, a minute into your journey.

The wind made your eyes water and you shrunk yourself, head down, ignoring your boyfriend, who began failing to catch up to you.

Suddenly, you felt something warm wrap around your neck and turned around to find your boyfriend securing his scarf around it, unzipping your jacket to tuck it underneath, then zipping it back up. It left his neck exposed due to the low-cut t-shirt he wore under his leather jacket, and you frowned at the sight of it, opening your mouth to protest before he interrupted you.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. You look like you need it more than me."

Wrapping his arm around you, thus offering you even more of his body's warmth, he led you towards his apartment, where he made you hot cocoa and cuddled you until felt warm again.

You still didn't take off his scarf, and he never asked for it back.

[lothirielswandc]

I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM (Starring John Constantine's Impeccable Parenting skills)

*This is a one-shot special for 3k views; it can be read regardless of where you are in the story*

— TWO YEARS AGO —

— LONDON —

“This is so stupid.”

“Oi! I’m not enjoying myself, either. I could be doing a lot more interesting things on a Saturday afternoon.”

“Yeah, I’m sure liver failure is a big commitment.”

“Okay,” Zatanna scooted forward, leaning between Raven and Constantine from the back seat. Raven’s knuckles were white as she gripped the steering wheel. When she glanced in the rearview mirror, she saw Etrigan calmly lick his thumb and turn the page on his copy of People Magazine.

“You’re a bloody seventeen year-old. How do you not know how to drive?” Constantine complained, turning in shotgun to give Raven a judgemental look.

She gritted her teeth. She did not like being in such close confines with him. His comments were getting on her nerves. And he smelled. The sharp aroma of liquor mixed with stale vomit. “I’ve been busy.”

“Like you’re one to judge, John.” Zatanna quipped, shifting to keep her uncomfortable position. “You’re terrible behind the wheel. How did you even get a license?”

“When most sods my age were reenacting the end of Thelma and Louise, I was mastering the dark arts.”

“Mastering is generous. Oh, Katy Perry’s new album is venerous,” Etrigan flipped to another page.

“Alright—we’re off topic, I don't want to be parked here all day. Set the knob to drive and let’s shove off.” Constantine grumbled.

Raven did as she was told and pulled on the “knob.” When it was level with the drive setting, the car started to inch forward in the empty parking lot.

“You’re doing great, sweetie. Let’s go over some basic driving rules first—” Zatanna offered.

Constantine dismissed her with a hand. “Blah blah blah, just ignore her. Here’s what you need to know: green means go. Yellow means go faster. Red means go when the coppers aren't looking.”

“Yeah, most of what you said is illegal,” Raven rolled her eyes. In the process, her gaze was drawn to the dashboard, “Can we turn the music on?”

“Yes.”

“No!”

Zatanna and Constantine exchanged a glare.

“She needs to focus. She’s not used to this,” Zatanna remarked.

“Any situation is improved with Led Zeppelin, Zee,” Constantine gestured at the slowly-inching car, “and this one is in dire need of some improvement. Roth, go to the stop sign. It’s time to release you into the population—and there’s a gas pedal there for a reason. Step on it.”

Raven tapped the other pedal with her foot. The car lurched forward and the stop sign blurred past as they met oncoming traffic.

“WOAH—!” Zatanna leaned over and straightened the wheel. Constantine’s face was squished up against the window. Etrigan barely glanced up from his magazine.

“I never gave Chaz enough credit for raising a daughter,” Constantine yanked himself off the glass surface, rubbing his face. “Bloody hell.”

Raven hardly caught his words. She was too busy trying to figure out the maze of roads before her. Everything was backwards: Londoners drove on the left, opposing every American street she’d been exposed to for the past few years. She hunched down, squinting, trying to stay in between the lines. Raven’s foot cried out in protest of being set at such an odd angle for a long period of time.

“You’re not even on the road—you’re in the other lane, you have to level yourself!” Constantine gripped the dashboard in front of him.

“I’m trying—stop yelling at me!” Raven snapped at him.

“Should’ve let Boston join us. He’s dead; he can't die in a car accident. He’s immune,” Constantine covered his eyes.

Something red filled the rearview mirror. “Here’s Boston—oh, fuck.”

“Shit—shit!” The car swerved. Raven winced as horns blared around her. She sank down lower in her seat.

“Boston!” Zee swatted the air that depicted the ex-trapeze artist’s spectral form. “Bad timing! We’re busy!”

“What? Etrigan texted and said you were getting ice cream.” Boston Brand settled into the empty seat behind Constantine, floating in the unoccupied space.

“You can't even eat it.” Zatanna pointed out.

“Don't rub it in! I don’t go for the food: I love scaring the kids that work at Dairy Queen by turning the machines on and off.”

Raven shook her head, keeping her eyes on the road. “I should’ve never returned to society. I should’ve stayed in Themyscira—no, I should’ve sailed to an empty island and lived out the rest of my life with a coconut named Wilson.”

“Don't steal my plan B,” Warned Constantine.

Boston’s form went through Constantine’s chair, his face hovering before the infamous Hellblazer. “You don’t look so good, Johnny. ‘Ey, kiddo, maybe you should stop by a bathroom.”

“Don’t bother. I went on that last turn.”

“Ew.” Boston shuddered and melted into the backseat. Raven chewed on her bottom lip as a traffic light appeared ahead.

“We’re turning right,” Zee instructed her.

“If you run over pedestrians, you get bonus points!”

“Boston, I will banish you to hell, so help me...”

Raven turned on the blinker and the car started to slow. She heard someone uncap a marker and scribble across parchment.

Raven’s eyes slid towards Constantine’s seat. “Are you drawing a pentagram right now?”

“It’s a sign. ‘Says impaired driver. Boston, take this and tape it to the back of the car. Give the wankers some warning.”

“Uh, this says insane driver, not impaired—”

“Shh! Just do it!”

The car steadily approached the crosswalk. Raven looked up and down the street for anyone walking, hopefully not future victims.

“Is that...Nanaue?”

The massive shark was hurrying across the road with his laptop; he was attending MIT online in order to spend more time with John. Apparently, the half-man, half-shark hybrid was an excellent tech wiz.

“Do not hit my boyfriend,” Constantine ordered.

“I'm not—although, for the record, I do not enjoy listening to you hook up with a shark every night.” Raven involuntarily shuddered, shoving away flashbacks of certain thuds late at night that reverberated throughout the House of Mystery.

“Agreed,” Boston nodded along with her. “Thank god for the vinyl records—that Marina lady’s a saint. What is she, Welsh?”

“And Greek.”

“Wow. A literal Greek goddess. Can we listen to her right now?”

“NO!”

The stop light turned yellow.

“Speed up, Raven. This light takes forever,” Zatanna replied.

“Slow down,” Constantine countered. “Do not hit Nanaue. That tall pile of earth-defying genetics is my one source of happiness.”

“High talk from the guy who just said ‘yellow’ means speed up,” Zatanna rolled her eyes in the rearview mirror. “Raven, step on it. We have places to be.”

“Why the rush, Zee? Is there a specific reason you don't want to see him—? You will stop at that crosswalk, young lady!”

“John, don't be an ass. This has nothing to do with us, and everything to do with me wanting ice cream before Boston terrifies the villagers!”

Raven had enough. She shouted over the chaos, “WILL BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP? CALM DOWN RIGHT NOW OR I WILL TURN THIS CAR AROUND AND NO ONE’S GETTING ICE CREAM!”

Raven turned her attention back to the road. A tower of silver with a glimmering sheen rose before her. In a hoodie with khakis.

Raven slammed on the breaks. Constantine face-planted against the windshield. Zatanna yelped as her seatbelt tugged her back against the tan leather seats. Boston went flying forward, floating past the outside of the car.

When the car fully stopped, Raven shut her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. She opened them, and a massive shark (with all limbs attached) waved at them from the front of the car.

Constantine pulled his face away from the glass (again) and turned to her, “No casualties. A broken nose. An intact boyfriend. Not bad, Roth.”

Boston floated back to the car, scowling, “Uh, I’d like to revisit the ‘no casualties’ part!”

Etrigan finally looked up from his copy of People Magazine, “Are we there yet? Why is Constantine covered in sweat?”

“Because parenting bloody sucks, that's why!”

[tired0artist]

not enough (part two)

>part one<

paring: female!V x Johnny Silverhand

warnings: depression, amnesia, alcoholism, angst, fluff, happy ending (but you gotta wait for it), character (near) death

summary: continuation to the first part.

note: as before I will be describing my V. and yes, there will be a third part. I’m not gonna be a cunt and leave you guys with this lmao.

————<•>————

V was pointlessly walking through the city, staring at her feet. It wasn’t raining like in the old movies she and Johnny watched in the old cinema after Rouge left. No. It was loud, smelly, bright and full of people.

She ended up in the park where she first met Zen master and sat down on a bench. V stared at her still shaking hands and wished that suddenly she would feel a small pinch in her brain and Johnny would appear out of nowhere.

He would appear just to talk shit about people passing by, hoping to make her laugh or annoy her enough so that she would take her mind off of whatever was bothering her.

But he wasn’t there. Her Johnny was probably gone... what’s left is in her brain. While the other Johnny didn’t seem to even want to look at her... maybe he truly just didn’t like her. And she was trying to do the impossible.

Suddenly she got a call. Third time this night. From the same person.

She picked up and said “Hey, Kerry...”

Kerry’s tired and panicked face appeared and he seemed to be driving “V!! Oh thank what ever is watching over us! Fuck honey! I was so worried, where are you? Where did you go at night? Was it Johnny again? I swear I’ll kick his young ass for what he’s doing to you!”

V choked on a sobb. Somehow hearing Kerry’s voice and the worry for her of all people in his voice... cause her to break and just whimper.

“Kerry...”

He stopped talking and looked into his phone, asking gently “Honey, where are you? I’ll come get you”

After explaining where she was, Kerry had her keep the call going. He wanted to know if she was safe.

Not even ten minutes passed, as Kerry found her. He immediately hugged the young woman to his chest and caressed her black thick hair.

“Shhh... I’m here honey. Come on, let’s go home”

Kerry led V to his expensive car and soon he was driving the now silent woman to his mansion. He was growing worried as she entered the residence without a word, took her naked cat and went inside her room.

V took off her clothes, putting on an old SAMURAI shirt and a pair of sport shorts. She got under the covers with Nibbles, she kissed the cat’s head as he snuggled into her shirt, seeking warmth.

She must’ve fell asleep because what woke her up was yelling coming from somewhere in the villa. V got up and took her gun, intending to blast whoever was a threat. What she didn’t expect is to see Rogue on the couch across from Kerry who was smoking.

V didn’t make herself known yet as she listened to the pair.

“—told him to fuck off and look for a new place. I don’t care that he doesn’t have a place to stay at. He was fucking with V too much. I tried looking the other way, but I fucking can’t. He’s worse than ever” Rogue said putting her phone in her pocket.

“Back in our day... he was an asshole. Sure. But now? What he’s doing isn’t even like him...” Kerry said, with a heavy sigh.

“I’m not surprised that V finally had enough. Poor kid... we should’ve intervened”

“No” V said, walking out from behind a pillar “It’s between him and me. He didn’t do anything to you, if anything he is nice to you. He doesn’t deserve this from you...”

“Kid, did you hit your head? He’s a complete psycho—“ Rogue started.

“To me, not to you. I don’t want you to take it out on him. He needs you both” V stated, looking away “He doesn’t need me anymore but you two are important to him... I’ll be fine. I’ll leave him alone, if he’ll need anything he’ll come... like he did for the last month...”

Kerry stood up and wrapped his arm around V saying “No, no. No more helping him out from you. You tried to be there for him and he’s worse than ever. So from now on, leave him be. Deny any request and just let him figure it out. Just like he did inside your brain”

“He’s right. Fuck Johnny. Let him find his way to you” Rogue said, while crossing her arms.

V looked between them and finally nodded “Okay... maybe you’re right. He needs to process everything on his own”

“Yup. Of course we’ll be there for him, but your door is closed honey. If he’ll want in, then the fuck will have to find a window to enter through” Kerry said, trying to cheer up the younger woman.

She smiled a bit but soon looked away. One question on her mind, ever since she left Johnny.

And of course nothing goes unnoticed with the Queen of Afterlife in the room.

“What is it kid? There’s something more bothering you” she stated.

Kerry immediately sat V down next to him on the couch saying “Come on, V. You can tell us anything”

V stared at her hands and finally asked “Do you think that... if Johnny and I met normally and not through the chip... would he still... would he and I—“

“Well kid, he would be old like us. But knowing Johnny, he would have his eyes on you the first time you stepped inside Afterlife with that friend of yours” Rogue said with a small smile, thinking about the situation.

“And if he didn’t see you there, then probably after finding out that you were the one stealing from Arasaka? And rumoured that you were somehow involved with the death of Saburo? V, he would have wedding rings ordered” Kerry said with a laugh, as Rogue snorted.

“The man would be stumbling over his feet for you if things were normal, kid”

V laughed along with them, her heart somehow feeling lighter the longer she spent time with Rogue and Kerry. To her they were like a clan. Like a family.

As weeks went by, V returned to her work but was also in charge of the security at Afterlife. Which meant a lot of fucking paper work, dealing with idiots and sitting with Rogue. Keeping an eye out for anyone who would want to kill the woman.

Johnny tried calling V couple of times during the first few weeks. She didn’t answer any of his calls, although her heart was heavy with worry. Because what if he really needed help? What if someone stabbed him and he was bleeding out in some alleyway?

This paranoia caused V to call Rogue or wake up Kerry so that they could call the man and find out what’s going on.

Each time they either got a question.

“Where’s V?”

Or if he was drunk enough they got a statement.

“I need V”

But every time his friends would refuse him anything related to the young nomad.

Whenever V saw Johnny at Afterlife she simply left the room or just kept her distance. Giving him space.

Although it felt like he didn’t want space. Because whenever she stayed in the room, his dark eyes would be on her the whole time.

One time a guy came over to V and tried to seduce her, drunkenly. The guy was getting a bit too touchy and she was just about to get the fucker out of the Afterlife. But before she could even push him away, the guy got yanked back buy his shoulder so hard, that V was sure it was dislocated.

“Fucking dog. Out. Now”

She looked up in confusion just to see Johnny dragging the guy outside of the Afterlife. V wanted to go after him, but decided to stay and instead ordered Jackie’s disgusting drink and went to sit with Rogue.

The Queen of the Afterlife smiled at V as she sat down next to her. Around an hour later, Johnny came up to Rogue asking for some intel.

V tried to look away from him, but the seemingly fresh blood on his metal arm and on his neck, caught her attention. She stared at it in slight shock and looked up just to see Johnny staring at her. He didn’t say anything. But his eyes screamed. Without a word to V, he thanked Rogue and left.

Next morning they found a body in an alleyway near the Afterlife.

One evening V was at Afterlife for a different reason, than normally.

She was sitting at the bar talking to Claire when she heard someone call her name. With a smile she turned to see Judy and Panam walking inside.

“Hey, there V. Finally found the time for us huh?” Judy said as she sat down at the bar, the other girl following.

“Yeah I was waiting for a fucking call, you asshole. The fuck were you doing?” Panam said, already ordering a beer.

V’s heart felt lighter as she was around her girls and immediately she regretted not calling them sooner.

“Sorry, I was busy and things were complicated for a bit. But hey, I’m back on board” she said while raising her glass.

“Fine, you’re off the hook for tonight” Judy said, while Panam mumbled something under her breath. Unwilling agreeing.

“Thanks, really I want us to meet up more. I’m no longer dying so, how about we have fun?” V joked slightly.

“Sure, what’s on the menu? I’ve never been here for a drink before” Judy said.

Claire came up, hearing this and said “First time? Well people here, like V and her friend did, normally order Silverhand on their first visit”

Both Panam and Judy frowned at it, as V simply said “Fuck that, three Jackie Wells’s for us. Time to change the favourite drink”

Claire grinned and got to work.

“Is it any good?” Panam asked as soon as the three of them had the drinks in their hands.

V laughed and shook her head “It’s the worst drink Jackie ever made for me. Cheers”

While V downed her drink whole, Judy got couple of sips in before asking for something else. But Panam much like V, drank the whole thing. But she actually enjoyed it.

“You’re fucking weird Panam” V laughed as Panam once again ordered Jackie’s drink.

“A psychopath” Judy agreed with a smirk.

Panam flipped them off, saying “You don’t have raste, chooms. And V here is the true psychopath. She drinks it even though she doesn’t like it”

“Fuck off, Panam” V laughed and finished her drink, calling Claire over saying “Okay Claire, one Silverhand for me!”

“Coming right up!” the bartender called back.

“By the way how’s your parasite doing? Still neck deep in shit?” Judy asked, looking at V closely.

“Yeah, you kicked his ass right?” Panam added, already looking pissed.

V simply sighed and thanked Claire as she handed her the drink.

“It’s not that easy... let’s not talk about him tonight. I want to hang out with my chooms for a bit”

Both girls looked ready to push V but eventually nodded, changing the subject.

The rest of the night they spend drinking, dancing and laughing at some dumb shit. It made V, feel like she did with Jackie when she first came to the Nightcity.

It was getting bright by the time the girls left the Afterlife. They were giggling shits, as V was searching for a cig.

“I thought you weren’t smoking” Panam said as she watched V clumsyly lit up a cigarette and passing it to Judy.

“I’m not... Judy and I are sharing” V said with a laugh.

Panam snorted and leaned against a wall, Judy following as V stood in front of the girls.

V was looking around, while smoking as if looking for something.

“V you okay?” Panam asked in confusion.

“Huh? Yeah just looking for Johnny... he usually comes out when I smoke”

Judy passed her the cigarette with a frown saying “V, he’s not in your head anymore”

V flinched and stared at the smoking cigarette in her hand “Oh... yeah... I guess, I forgot...” slowly she brought the cig to her lips, as Panam scoffed.

“Fucking Silverhand... why didn’t you just kick his ass when he came back as a amnesiac asshole?”

“Yeah V... he was treating you like shit. Why did you go through with it?” Judy asked.

V started shaking as tears gathered in her violet eyes, she sniffed saying “B-Because I promised him... back in Mikoshi. He was afraid of going back to who he was and of being alone... I promised him that I— that I would be there for him. That I wouldn’t hate him”

“Okay, but still. V that wasn’t healthy, the fucker shouldn’t ask for the impossible from you” Panam said.

“Panam is right. Besides your not his babysitter, it’s better that you’d leave—” Judy added, only to get cut off by V nearly yelling.

“I love him”

The girls watched in stunned silence as the young nomad, fell apart in front of them.

“I love him so much it fucking hurts. I love him so much that, I let him treat me like that because I knew that it was his defence mechanism. He was fucking testing if I really wouldn’t leave him... but I failed because I couldn’t handle it anymore... and I can only hope that he’ll find his way... even without me”

V was sobbing and she threw the cigarette on the ground and left, calling a cab to get her.

Not realising that what stunned her girls wasn’t her breaking down. But the man who stood behind her, looking at her in shock as he heard her every word.

Next morning, or rather afternoon was harsh for V. She woke up feeling like shit, her body screaming at her every move.

“Fuck...” she mumbled, while getting out of bed. V made her way through the large villa to the living room, where Kerry was keeping his painkillers. He was already there, playing his guitar.

“Oh look who has returned to the living! I thought that you died there, honey” Kerry said, enjoying the rough state the young woman was in.

“Shut up, Kerry... or I swear I’ll shove that guitar up your ass” V mumbled taking the painkillers.

Kerry laughed and shook his head, taking out his phone he said “I’ll order us some dinner, while you go and make yourself a drink”

V nodded and left the room, trying not to think about the bad hangover she had when Johnny took over.

In the evening she was back at Afterlife. Claire laughed as she saw the rough state the merc was in.

“Rough night?”

V glared slightly saying “Don’t you know it, you demon in disguise... why did you let me drink so much?”

“Well it’s my job, hun. But you really went overboard. When Rogue saw your bill? I throught that she would have a heart attack”

“Fuck... did she ask to see it? Anyway how much to I owe you?”

Claire laughed saying “Rogue payed for it all, so nothing. Also you need to go see her, she’s waiting”

V paled as she glanced at Rogue’s booth, the older woman was already watching her.

“Shit. Okay Claire, I need one shot of tequila before I talk to her”

Claire nodded while laughing, saying “Damn you’re acting like a kid who got caught stealing candy”

V drank the shot and said “I always feel like that with Rogue, so wish me luck”

“I hope you don’t get grounded and still come over to play” Claire joked as V flipped her off.

As V walked over to the Queen of Afterlife, she smiled sheepishly saying “Uhh... hey Rouge?”

The woman’s eyes were cutting as she said “Saw your tab, kid. You’re trying to off yourself? I’m surprised you even got up this morning”

“Oh come on, it was a girls night out. You know that I don’t party that often”

“That’s true, just go more slowly next time. Your body is still regenerating after the relic. Now, I’ve got a job for you” Rogue said.

Hours later V was bleeding out in Pacifica, behind a fucking crate inside some dirty warehouse. She killed everyone, including the target but what was it worth if she couldn’t move.

“Fuck...” she hissed, while calling Rogue.

The woman’s face appeared as she asked “V? Job done?”

V coughed up some blood “Yeah, but I’m kinda bleeding out... in the warehouse...”

Rogue looked scared but something else caught her gaze as she yelled out “Johnny! Fuck! V hang on, I think he’s coming for you. I need to give him a call and exact location, stay awake kid”

With that the call ended and V was left all alone. She focused on the pain, trying to stay awake. Tears were running down her cheeks as she was scared shitless. She died once and it wasn’t pretty. She didn’t want to go again.

As she held her hands on her bleeding stomach, she couldn’t help but think about Jackie.

Is this how he felt in his last moments? This is the pain he felt? Well fuck.

V was at the verge of falling asleep as a Porsche burst through the doors of the warehouse. The bang woke her up a bit, as her heart speed up a bit.

She heard the cardoor open, following by a yell.

“V?! It’s Johnny! Where are you?!”

She tried to scream but ended up coughing up some more blood. Thankfully it was enough for Johnny to hear her as he came running.

He fell on his knees in front of her and touched her hands, taking them away from her wound.

“H-How—“

“Shh.. don’t talk. You’ll be fine, you hear me? You’ll be okay, sweetheart” he said while patching her up a bit. His military training helping at times like this.

V was shaking, her eyes trying to roll back into her skull.

“Johnny... cold...”

“Fuck... hang on V. Eyes on me, okay? You’ll be fine” he said, his own hands trembling a bit as he desperately patched her up.

V could see black spots as the coldness was starting to surround her, she didn’t even feel Johnny’s hands working on her.

She barely raised her hand and touched his face, taking off his glasses clumsily. V smiled at his dark eyes, whispering.

“Th-Thank you...” with the last grip on consciousness she smirked “Lo-Love you... Robert”

Johnny’s face turned white and shocked, and V felt glad that for the last time she managed to make this asshole speechless and have the last word.

•there will be part three as I said above so follow me or just check the tag “Johnny Silverhand x V”

•also English isn’t my first language so sorry for any errors.

•thank you all for reading this and the first part. I’m not good at writing angst and catching people’s feelings but with V and Johnny angst is a must hahah

Tag list (if you wanna be tagged leave a comment): @dartheldur @signwriting @missweatherwax @commanding-officer @lovinghunty

[littlespoonevan]

I feel like we always see Mickey jealous of Ian and never the other way around! Fic idea maybe? Ian finally jealous of someone hitting on Mickey lol

mickey gets a promotion in this fic bc it’s what he Deserves so he’s no longer mickey, the scary old army security guard with the tattoos, but mickey, the hot mall security guard with the tattoos lmao enjoy!!!

*

Mickey’s gotta admit, making the step up from OldArmy security guard to overall mall security guard comes with some perks. Forone thing he doesn’t have to wear that ugly ass uniform with the lilac poloshirt anymore. The pay’s better and whenever he doesn’t feel like interactingwith people he can always spend a few hours in the back office watching thesecurity cameras. Not to mention the vague sense of smug amusement he gets atthe way his new uniform almost makes him look like a cop.

There is one downside though.

He’s acquired some…fans.

He gets it, sort of. The rest of his colleagues arebalding middle-aged men with beer bellies – well, all of them except Sharonwhose tattoos are even more questionable than his and who doesn’t exactly talkto shoppers so much as barks orders at them if they’re in her way – so he getsthat he’s probably the closest thing that qualifies as eye-candy for all theteenage girls with weird security guard fetishes that hang around the mall.

Doesn’t mean they don’t get fuckin’ irritating thoughwhenever they interrupt his lunches with Ian.

Ian, the piece of shit, finds the entire thingfucking hilarious and makes sure to tell Mickey as much every time he catcheshim trying to dodge one of them while he’s trying to take his break.

Honestly, Mickey would retire to the back officeindefinitely if it weren’t for the fact that he’s the only one besides Sharonwho can outrun the little shits that try to steal stuff. So that means heusually gets stuck on patrolling duty, stalking up and down the mall untilsomeone radios him about an issue.

The mall’s been relatively quiet so far today, prettystandard for mid-morning on a weekday. Mickey’s just considering taking adetour past the pretzel cart when Johnny radios him from back office.

“Mick, can you swing by Game Zone? The cashierpressed the panic button, looks like some kids are hassling him.”

Mickey holds in a sigh and unclips his walkie-talkie.“On it,” he says, turning on his heel to go back the way he came.

He’s so not in the mood to deal with teenage assholesthat should be in school trying to disrupt his morning patrol because they feellike stealing a fucking video game. When he arrives at the store he sees threekids, all about fifteen if he had to guess, cornering the cashier while afourth is shoving games into his backpack.

Rolling his eyes, Mickey squares his shoulders andcalls out a sharp, “Hey!”

The three over by the counter all snap their heads inhis direction and the one with the games freezes mid-thievery. Mickey marchesover to him first, grabbing him by the scruff of his t-shirt and snatching thebackpack from him. “I’ll take that,” he sneers, sounding menacing enough thatthe kid relinquishes the bag without a word. Mickey gives him a warning lookbefore glaring at his friends. “I’m gonna give you little shits five seconds toget lost before I’m bringing out the taser. Your choice.”

They don’t need to be told twice, hightailing it thefuck out there. Mickey pulls the kid he’s still got a hold of close and pitcheshis voice low. “I ever find out you or your friends step foot back in thismall, it’ll be the last thing you do. Hear me?”

The kid’s eyes widen in fear and he nods frantically,stumbling a step when Mickey releases him before running for his life.

Mickey watches him go with a faint smirk beforeturning back to the cashier. “You okay, man?”

The cashier stares at him, dumbfounded, before heseems to find his words. “Y-yeah! Yeah, I’m good, thanks! They just caught meoff guard.”

Mickey nods, suppressing a snort. The guy’s skinny asa beanpole, Mickey’s not sure how much good he’d be if he was on guard or not.He makes his way over to the counter then, upending the backpack full of games.“Have fun restocking the shelves, I guess.”

“Thank again, um…Mickey?” the cashier says, squintingat his nametag and holding out a hand. “I’m Robbie.”

Mickey nods and gives the guy a once over. He can’tbe older than twenty-one, probably some college kid just trying to make a fewbucks so he can get wasted at the weekend. Taking pity on him, Mickey shakeshis hand. “Those kids shouldn’t be coming back to bother you.”

“Thanks,” Robbie breathes, opening his mouth like hewants to say more but Mickey’s radio starts going off again.

“I gotta deal with this,” Mickey says, silentlygrateful he doesn’t have to stick around and socialise. “See you around.”

*

Mickey doesn’t think much of it when he starts seeingRobbie around the place after that. He just figures it’s one of thosesituations where now that he knows who the guy is he’s able to distinguish himfrom the faceless shoppers Mickey encounters every day.

And Robbie’s an okay guy. Mickey doesn’t mindengaging in a couple of minutes of small talk with him when he passes thestore. He gets that Robbie probably gets bored during his weekday shifts – old peopleand soccer moms aren’t exactly the target demographic for a video game store.

Honestly, he doesn’t think anything of it at all untilIan does.

Mickey is on his way to the food court to meet Ianfor lunch when he hears someone calling his name. He turns around to findRobbie jogging towards him.

“Hey,” he says with a slight frown. “Everything okayat the store?” He was just about to take his fucking break; he doesn’t needthis right now. Ian’s only got half an hour before he needs to get back to theambulance.

“Yeah,” Robbie assures him with a wave of a hand oncehe reaches him. “I just thought you might be on your way to the food court? Younormally take a break around now, right?”

Mickey raises his eyebrows. He hadn’t realised theywere at the point of learning each other’s schedules. “Uh yeah?”

“Cool,” Robbie says, falling into step beside him.“I’m on break now too.”

Mickey doesn’t recall ever seeing Robbie in the foodcourt at this time but then again, Mickey doesn’t tend to pay much attention toanything besides his lunch and Ian when he’s on his break. The walk is short andslightly awkward and Mickey breathes a sigh of relief when he spots Ian waitingfor him at their usual table, both their trays of food already laid out infront of him.

“I’ll catch you later, man,” he says, absently givingRobbie a wave before making a beeline for Ian and dropping into his seat.“Hey,” he greets, bumping his foot against Ian’s under the table. “Thanks forgetting the food.”

“Who was that?” Ian asks, an odd pitch to his voice.

Mickey looks up from his food with a frown. “Who waswho?”

“The guy you came in with,” Ian says, looking weirdlyintense at some spot over Mickey’s shoulder.

“Who? Robbie?” Mickey answers around a mouthful offood. “College kid who works at the video game store downstairs.”

Ian nods, mouth a tight line. “He seems…friendly,” hesays, voice all clipped and seriously, what the fuck is wrong with him?

“I guess?” Mickey shrugs, can’t say he’s ever thoughttoo much about Robbie’s personality before.

Ian nods again and Mickey fixes him with ascrutinising look. It takes him a second but he manages to place the pinched upexpression on Ian’s face. The last time he saw that was around Byron and…

“Holy shit, are you jealous?”

“Wh- no!” Ian sputters, face twisting into a scowlwhen Mickey laughs. “I’m not fucking jealous,” he insists, slumping back in hisseat and crossing his arms. “I just don’t like how he was lookin’ at you.”

“Uh huh,” Mickey says amusedly.

“Shut the fuck up,” Ian grouses, avoiding Mickey’seyes and suddenly appearing very preoccupied with his lunch.

“You realise we’re literally married, right?” Mickeypoints out, trying and failing to keep the amusement out of his voice. “Sometwenty-year-old hipster that can’t even defend himself against a couple ofteenagers isn’t gonna steal me away.”

“I know,”Ian huffs, rolling his eyes before meeting Mickey’s gaze with a pleading look.“Forget it, I was being an idiot.”

“Yeah, you were,” Mickey agrees, reaching across thetable to take Ian’s hand. “In case you missed the memo, I’m in love with you,dumbass.”

And finally, a reluctant smile spreads across Ian’sface as he squeezes Mickey’s hand. “I love you too,” he says and Mickey willnever get tired of hearing that. “Can we enjoy our lunch now?”

Mickey nods and releases Ian’s hand to pick up hisfork. By the time he has to get back to work, he’s all but forgotten the Robbieconversation.

*

A couple of days later Mickey’s shift is just aboutto end when he gets waylaid by Robbie.

“Hey Mickey,” he says, managing to corner Mickey justbefore he can get to the back offices to grab his shit. “You finishing up forthe day?”

“Yep,” Mickey says, impatient enough that he hopesRobbie will get the memo that he’s in a rush. Ian actually has the day offtoday and Mickey’s 90% sure they have the whole house to themselves and dammit,he wants a few hours alone with his husband.

“You got any plans?” Robbie asks hopefully,barrelling on before Mickey can answer him. “Because, you know, I still haven’tthanked you for helping me out that one time and I was thinking we could maybegrab a beer or-“

Robbie abruptly cuts off at the exact same momentMickey feels an arm settle around his shoulders.

“Hey, Mick,” Ian greets far too enthusiastically. (Mickeyisn’t gonna complain about the cheek kiss though.)

“Hey,” Mickey says, giving Ian an I-know-what-you’re-doinglook. “Get tired of waiting for me?”

“You realise how rare a free house is, right?” Ianasks, raising his eyebrows meaningfully. “We need to take advantage of everysecond we can.”

Mickey lets a slow smirk spread across his face andis just about to let Ian lean in for the kiss when he hears a noise that soundsvaguely like a squeak and remembers Robbie is still standing there.

He looks away from Ian and finds Robbie staringbetween them with wide, bewildered eyes. He’d almost feel bad for the guy ifseeing Ian get needlessly jealous wasn’t so funny.

“Oh I’m so sorry,” Ian announces, all faux-politenessas he turns to Robbie. “I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Ian,” he says,sticking out his hand. “Mickey’s husband.”

“Husband!” Robbie sputters, voice high-pitched andcracking, and Mickey makes a valiant effort to keep a straight face.

“Yeah, how lucky am I, right?” Ian grins, squeezingMickey’s shoulder where he’s still got his arm around him. And Mickey knowsIan’s only saying this shit for Robbie’s benefit but it still makes him preen alittle.

Robbie seems at a loss for words and Mickey finallytakes a pity on him, deciding to end the one-sided pissing contest.

“We better get going,” he says to Ian, touching hishand to the small of Ian’s back. He has to bite the inside of his cheek when hemeets Ian’s gaze so he doesn’t start laughing. “See you later, Robbie!” hecalls, hearing Robbie’s faint, “See you,” as Ian starts steering them away.

“You enjoyed that way too much,” he mutters to Ian assoon as they’re out of earshot and Ian scoffs.

“Says the guy who used to stand over me like a guarddog when I worked at the club.”

“Those guys were literally trying to shove theirhands down your pants!” Mickey argues, elbowing Ian in the side before lettinghis arm wind round his back again.

“Fine, so we’ve established neither of us likes toshare.”

“No shit,” Mickey snorts.

Ian hums, pulling him to a stop just before theyreach the door to the back offices. “I meant it though,” he murmurs, drawingMickey in close until there’s only a few inches of space between them. “I amlucky.”

Mickey watches him for a minute, feeling his cheeksheat up and attempting to cover it up with a casual. “Fuck yeah, you are.”

Ian only smiles, looking too fond and tooaffectionate and Mickey so isn’t prepared for those eyes right now.

Patting Ian’s arms, he looks up at him with asuggestive raise of his eyebrows. “Now how about you let me get my jacket so wecan go home and I can show you how lucky you are?”  

Ian’s smile transforms into something more and hesqueezes Mickey’s hips before releasing him.

Mickey hardly gets two steps away, however, beforeIan’s dragging him back into a kiss. He figures he’s pretty damn lucky too.

*

[fromthewifecage]

Never Trust  A Cowboy With A Computer (AKA: Erron Black/Female reader smut)

I’ve had a lot of issues with this, I’ve had to edit the hell out of it, changing a bunch in the 1st chapter, so please reread Chapter 1 before jumping into the smut that is Chapter 2. It’s over 5k words, and it’ll be posted over on my AO3  https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeltAutomaton in a bit if you want to be extra kind and go give me kudos there :D Thank you again to @tomoka0013 @gojihime99 and @malicedragoness for your encouragement and all your help *blows kisses* Hope you like :D NSFW!

CHAPTER 1:

For once, the absolutely only time in recent history, your hair is behaving, thank the Gods! Actually, is there a God of Hair? Hmmm, maybe Kano would know? His stories of meeting Gods are always fascinating, even though he always exaggerates his role and prowess in encounters with said Gods. There is simply no way on Earthrealm that Kano could have stolen the Thunder God’s hat without being zapped into the Netherrealm. Plus, Kano has never produced this hat, so whenever he has one too many beers and starts on another night of tall tales, you nod along and feign complete belief in his words.

Maybe one day you’ll get to meet a God? Not likely whilst you’re stuck behind a computer for hours and hours every single day. Especially working alongside Erron-sodding-Black. He’s gone through at least 5 computers this year, 2 in the past three weeks! You swear he was doing it on purpose. In your steamiest daydreams he’s deliberately breaking his computers so you’ll have to travel to the ‘Black Dragon Boyz office’ (and yes, they spell it with a ‘z’) to spend precious time un-fucking his computer. Every time it happens, you swear you’re just going to tell him to go bother someone else, or get his arse down to PC World and find some spotty 17 year old work experience boy to bother rather than yourself. After all, you’re doing just as an important job for the Black Dragon as he is, well, almost. He might be a super amazing dead-shot sniper capable of assassinating even the most heavily guarded target, but you aren’t just IT support, you are a Black Dragon member too.

******** More after the cut! ***********

You spend much of your time hacking into Special Forces super secret files, reading General Sonya Blade’s horribly dry mission reports, or transferring money from one Swiss bank account to another before you could be traced. Well, that was why Kano had hired you. Yet these past few months you’ve been dragged to broken computer after broken computer by the obscenely handsome aforementioned Erron Black at least once a week. You hadn’t minded the first few times, after all, any time spent in Erron’s company makes you all giddy and wibbly-wobbly inside your knickers. His voice honestly does things to you, actually makes parts that shouldn't tingle at work, tingle. He has warm eyes that seem to sparkle whenever he speaks to you, or catch you staring at him, not that you stare at him. Much. OK, maybe a little. He has a smile that is likely illegal in half the known world. Long, strong fingers that you so often think about, especially when you watch him dance a coin across his knuckles when he’s thinking, his trick to keep his fingers supple. No, no no. No thinking about him. He obviously isn't interested in you. He’s a simple man when it comes to that. You’ve seen him make moves on people who catch his eye; he’ll watch them for a while, then walk up to them, give them a smile, tell them plainly what he wanted. Then you’ll watch them walk off together whilst your heart dissolves into self pity. A few months ago, you made a real effort to try to stop flirting with him. No more lingering looks while spending more time than needed helping him with his computer. The man was multi-talented with most things, just not computers. It probably didn't help that he didn’t grow up around modern technology. You gently tease him about being old and doddery around computers and he takes the jokes well, and really, you miss joking around with him, but it was for the best. Kabal jostles with you for mirror space, smoothing down his hair and giving the mirror a big grin. Why is it so easy for men like him? He probably rolls out of bed after 2 hours sleep with his face in a half-eaten curry and he’ll still wake up ridiculously handsome (the git). Whereas it takes a lot of fussing to even get your hair to behave, let alone look nice and shiny like Kabal’s does. Maybe you could make a small shrine in the corner of your bedroom to the Hair God? You nod to yourself, thinking Kabal must have done that. “Come on, you look beautiful. Now get your coat and scarf, and we’re outta here. If we don’t leave soon, we’ll miss it!” Kabal fusses with his coat buttons. Always unable to keep still, the man practically radiates excess energy. “I WILL BE SAD IF WE MISS THE FILM.” Tremor stands up from his own desk, the building shaking ever so slightly with the enormous man’s movements. “Not as sad as Kabal. He’ll start bawlin’ if he misses his boyfriend’s new film.” Erron spins round in his brand new swivel chair, his eyes glinting with mischief. “Johnny Cage is NOT my boyfriend and I don’t even care about missing the film.” Kabal bristles with indignation. He did care about missing it. He cares a lot. “I don’t even like his films, or him. I’m just watching it ironically.” Erron laughs. You feel that laughter, deep inside and it demands attention. Bastard. “Suuuure. Enjoy your boyfriend.” “He is NOT my boyfriend!” This was going to end up in another fight. Last week Kabal had called Erron ‘Old Man Withers’. Erron had retaliated by drawing on Kabal’s Johnny Cage calendar. (The moustache and glasses actually suited the ridiculously handsome movie star.) So Kabal put a mouse in Erron’s desk drawer and recorded Erron’s screams, playing them every so often whilst laughing. The feud had gone on until Kano forced them to apologise to one another, in front of everyone. This sort of idiocy happened probably twice a month. It had escalated to where people now made bets on how long each feud will last. The longest feud had lasted 23 long days before Kano had flipped. “I DO NOT WANT TO BE LATE.” Tremor tugs open the office door and the handle will need replacing. Again. You follow after the huge man, Kabal behind you is muttering about revenge. “Hey, Sweetheart, you goin’ too?” It takes a second before you realise that sultry Texan drawl is aimed at you. “Oh, yes. There was a spare ticket since Kira’s still stuck on a job.” Oh shit, you should have offered it to Erron instead. You’d been so excited to be included in the cinema plans that you’d been selfish and not asked if Erron had wanted to go. “But……” Erron’s face scrunches a little and he turns to his computer and hits a few keys in quick succession. “It ain’t workin’ again. Sorry, darlin’.” He gestures helplessly to his computer. “But… I only fixed it this morning! What have you done this time?!” You drop your bag to the floor, and peel off your coat with a frustrated groan. You are going to get fired, there was no way Kano would believe this. You are completely and utterly incompetent. No other reason. Your fault. “It’s those darn computer gremlins again.” He gives you an apologetic smile and shrugs with frustration at the computer gremlins. You sigh and wave goodbye to Kabal and Tremor, both eager to watch Ninja Mime’s latest adventure. This one was in SPACE and it was going to be amazing, and you were going to miss it. Nooooooo! You stomp over to Erron’s computer, your mouth twists into a grumpy pout. “That is it. No more computers for you! you want to do some work; then you can bloody well do it on a typewriter.” Erron replies with a “Heyyyyyyy” and a laugh. The throb between your legs from the laugh can just sod off. No more. Not when you were going to be unemployed and unemployable after this. Who was going to hire you? What could you put on your CV? ‘Failed IT support worker’? ‘Only capable of turning a computer on and even then it’ll probably turn itself off again when you’re not looking?’ ‘Can steal FBI or Special Forces secrets but can’t keep an old man’s computer running for more than 3 minutes before it’s broken again’? ‘Want to play Solitaire? Well don’t ask me, best try the sudoku in the newspaper instead’. You’re so engrossed in sulking you don’t notice Erron get up from his comfy chair to stand behind you as you perch on the crappy stool with no back (it had no back because Tremor had tried to sit on it). It was only when strong hands find your hunched shoulders and begin kneading at the tightly knotted and sore muscles, that you look away from the ‘blue screen of death’. “I’m sorry, but I’ll make it up to you, Sweetheart.” By the Gods his fingers are truly magic. His thumbs are rubbing magic circles into your shoulders and it feels soooo good. “Mmmhhhhh?” Maybe he is a God, the God of massage.? You close your eyes, your head rolls back and you enjoy the moment. Heat radiates from where his fingers touch you, heat that only gets stronger when it reaches your face and between your legs. He finds one particularly knotted muscle and you can’t help but groan your pleasure as his thumb circles the spot. His chuckled reply tugs you back to your senses and you quickly shrug his hands off you. Thank the Gods you have your back to him so he can’t see your positively flushed face. You quickly get back to tapping away at the keyboard, but your hands are shaking so badly from the intimacy, you struggle to hit the correct keys. “You sure you got that, Sweetheart?” The computer indignantly beeps at your clumsy fingers. “Says the man who has trashed enough computers to practically bankrupt Kano.” Your hands continue to shake and your thwarted desire swerves into anger. “I’ve made you mad.” “I haven’t been out in FOREVER, and just as I’m about to go out, YOU go break your computer. AGAIN!” “Ain’t my fault your boyfriend doesn’t take you out.” Why did he sound almost happy about that? Hang on… You spin around to face him. “What boyfriend?” “You know, the dwarf.” “The.. what?” “Your boyfriend, the hairy dwarf.” He folds his arms, and shifts his weight to one hip. He doesn’t seem too happy talking about this mystery boyfriend, whoever they are. “Is this some sort of joke?” You honestly have no idea what he means. Maybe he’s drunk or Kabal has told him this for a laugh? “I don’t think so?” One of his eyebrows rises in puzzlement. “I don’t have a boyfriend. I don’t have a hairy dwarf boyf.. why do you think I have a hairy dwarf boyfriend?” Maybe you have a secret boyfriend so secret you don’t actually know you are in fact dating him? Piotr, who runs a very seedy strip club in the seedier part of the city, is a dwarf, (and you only know him because Kano is friendly with him, he’s a bit scary), but he’s balding. Who does Erron think you are dating? “You said you did. You know, you were talking about him being all small and his hair got everyw…. He’s a cat ain’t he.” Erron has the good grace to look embarrassed at his idiocy. “Obviously.” Is Kabal recording this? This is ridiculous. “Shit.” “Yup.” “Then.. uh.. you should go catch up with Kabal and Tremor.” “I still have your computer to fix.” This was going to be such an awkward few hours. Sitting in the office in silence because the pair of you are idiots. “I can do that.” He throws out a warm smile. “Really. The man who can’t even use a mouse without breaking it, can fix this mess?” You can’t help but roll your eyes. If he even so much as looks at the computer it will probably catch fire. “I maybe exaggerated my lack of skills.” His smile wavers, and slides from warm to worried. You are going to kill him if this was going where you suspect it is going. “I maybe might’ve deliberately caused the error.” He holds up his hands in surrender. Yup, you’re definitely going to have to kill him. “I maybe did some classes a few years back when I was at a loose end.” “…… I’m going to kill you!” “How ‘bout I make it up to you? I take you out for dinner, there’s this patisserie we can go afterwards for the best pastries in Moscow. Hell, you wanna watch that film, let’s go.” His eyes plead with you not to hate him, but right now, you really do. “I have a hairy dwarf who’ll be better company, thank you.” That he was possibly asking you out and that he wanted to actually go out on a date wasn’t registering. All you can think of is the waste of time and how humiliated you feel. Everyone probably knows and has laughed at how utterly clueless you are. Kano is going to fire you for being shit at your job - after he finishes laughing. “Heyyy, Sweetheart. I’m sorry. I just wanted to spend time with you.” He really does sound sorry. His eyes go all soft and warm and apologetic and Gods, he is beautiful and you really do want to believe him. “You really thought it was accidental?” He tries to hide a smile and can’t stop one eyebrow from raising quizzically at the thought that you’ve been so utterly clueless. “Well… you’re… there weren’t computers around when you were young…younger, I’m just an idiot aren’t I?” The-all-too brief warmth and fuzziness from thinking maybe there might actually be something there between you dissolves back into embarrassment from being tricked so easily. You grab your coat and bag and leave the office whilst Erron stares after you.

Chapter 2

The flat is dark and cold when you finally get home. The bus had been late, and Russia in autumn is hardly the most fun time of year to be kept waiting at a bus stop. Fur-lined boots and a thick fuzzy coat are nice enough, but do little to keep your body from freezing outside in the colder months. Still, the flat has semi-decent heating, and a thick blanket and a fuzzy cat happily purring on your knee whilst you drink coffee soon has you feeling a bit warmer.

Thinking back to earlier you have to admit you’d have liked a boyfriend, and no matter how humiliating what had happened earlier was, you still wish that this boyfriend was Erron. Your cat, Bob, was great company, and he would never play mean tricks on you, but great company as Bob was, he didn’t keep you quite as warm and quite as tingly as Erron possibly could. Sensing your traitorous thoughts, Bob nudges at your hand with his fluffy head to demand attention, purring happily when you indulge him and tickle under his chin. You give him a kiss on his fuzzy little head as way of an apology for being so utterly traitorous. Soon your thoughts switch to worries that you’ll be fired once Kano finds out about Erron’s trickery. Actually, Kano doesn’t fire people; he has them eaten by pigs or whatever it is that scary gangster criminal people do. Who will look after Bob? Your bottom lip quivers as you think about Bob, all alone in the dark, unable to open his tins of cat food without opposable thumbs, meowing sadly for someone to change his kitty litter. A moment later you force a smile. No more feeling sorry for yourself! You aren’t some pathetic pushover, this means war! You won’t just put a mouse in Erron’s drawer, you’ll put three rats in there and upload his screams to Youtube. He’ll find 30 chickens in his flat and you’ll steal his lunch every single day. You’ll swap all of his guns for water pistols and laugh when he cries about it. A loud buzzing from the doorbell pulls you from your thoughts of revenge. It’s probably Kano and some hungry pigs, so you take three deep breaths to prepare yourself. Scooping up Bob and tiptoeing to the door, you peep through the spyhole to instead see Erron waving at the spyhole. Muttering various threats, you open the door and give him your best pout. “Cute kitty.” He holds out a pink box with gold cyrillic lettering across the top. “I’ve come to apologise.” You keep up your pout and take the box with your free hand, then try to nudge the door closed with your hip. Erron laughs and strides into the flat, giving Bob a quick tickle on the head. 3 minutes later and Erron has taken over the kitchen. He has his own coffee, has eaten two of the amazing pastries he’d brought and Bob is his new best friend. The cat winds around Erron’s feet, meowing for attention, steadfastly refusing to stop even when you refill his food bowl. Traitorous beast! This must be payback for earlier. “You don’t like pastries, Sweetheart? I can go get somethin’ different?” The bastard throws you a smile that would normally have your knickers falling down, but you’re still feeling sorry for yourself, and Erron-Bloody-Black is not going to get off this easily. You have to keep up the pout so he won’t suspect your revenge plans. You shake your head and turn to tidy the counter-top behind you, thinking hard about a plan of attack. How about stealing his hats and replacing them with hats identical in every way except the hats were all just slightly too big? Your plan of attack is quickly ruined when strong hands find your hips and give them a gentle squeeze. Your spine tightens, and you hope your gasp of pleasure wasn’t audible. Lips brush your ear, and when he speaks, his warm breath sends a huge shiver right through you. “Please, Sweetheart, I’m sorry, don’t hate me. I promise, I’ll make it up to you. You want me on mah knees?” The thought of Erron on his knees is enough to make you shiver again. A hard pulse hits you right between the legs. Oh fuck, that was unfair. “It’ll take more than that.” “More cake?” He presses a very soft kiss just below your ear. Another pulse hits. Your legs quiver but you just about manage to keep yourself upright. Your knickers are going to evaporate. “You didn’t give me a chance to eat them.” Your voice is surprisingly steady but you chew on your lip to stop any pathetic noises escaping, just in case. “Dinner, every night for a week. We’ll get dressed up all fancy and go to the ballet, then spend the weekend in bed.” His voice is lower now, rougher. Another kiss sends more shivers through you, nerve endings sparking. Your fingers grab onto the countertop to stop you slithering to the floor. “That’s pretty presumptuous of you.” “You don’t wanna spend the weekend in bed with me?” Your stunned silence is answered by low laughter and him pressing a kiss to your neck. The tip of his tongue teases your tingling skin, and this time you can’t stifle your reaction. Erron takes your whimper as an invitation to slide his hands to your thighs and tug up your dress so his fingers can find bare skin. You lean back against him, his warmth quickly bleeding into you. More prickles of heat fizz through your nerves and aim straight for your core. Strong fingers dig into your thighs as he tugs your dress higher, inch by inch. Warm lips pepper kisses down your neck to your shoulders, lightly dancing his tongue over your increasingly sensitive skin, chuckling to himself with your every moan and whimper. You grip the edge of the counter harder and let your head roll to the side to give him more of you. Each touch from his mouth sends sparks down your spine and you can feel a slickness between your legs. Oh fuck... “This ok, Sweetheart?” Your reply is a mere mumble but he still gives you a moment to decline his touches, his mouth and fingers still upon you. You quickly force a “Yes, please”, and are rewarded by fingers sliding to your underwear, skimming so gently over the silken fabric to tease you. You whine at being denied his fingers and receive a gentle bite to your shoulder in reply. Then he’s gone. Your dress slithers back down to cover your thighs with you almost doing the same and slithering to the floor. You turn and watch him stride through the open door into your bedroom. Luckily he can’t see how your face scrunches into a desperate pout from being denied. “You comin’, Darlin’?” Your reply of “Well I would have been” is mumbled through gritted teeth as you trot after him, wishing you have even an ounce of self-control. He sits himself on the edge of your bed, reaching out to a hand, tugging you to sit on his lap, your legs straddling his as you face him. His large strong hands cup your face, and with a smile he presses the softest of kisses to your mouth. He waits for you to respond, then kisses you again once you kiss him back, a little harder and a little longer this time. His thumbs brush your face, then his hands are holding you close to him, close enough to feel both his warmth and his heart pounding as hard as your own. He is intoxicating, his heat, his mouth, his hands, and you want him more than anything. Your fingers find his face, stroking over his stubble prickled cheeks to learn how he feels, your touch light, nervous at finally being able to indulge yourself. He smiles at your touches and pulls you harder against him so you can feel his burgeoning hardness through his jeans, his smile widening when you wriggle to feel him, delighting in feeling his arousal because of you and enjoying your own arousal demanding attention. Your skin prickles with building desire and impulsively your hands leave his face to tug your dress up and off. He kisses you again, unbuttoning his shirt between every press of his lips to yours. His hands are then all over you, your back, your ass, stroking your skin, teasing you with the gentlest of touches then squeezing you hard enough to make you gasp between your contented sighs. His mouth moves from your lips to your neck, his teeth and tongue teasing louder gasps of delight from your kiss reddened lips. Your fingers stroke through his hair then roam over his chest and back, then moving over his thickly muscled arms, learning just how he feels. Erron murmurs happily into your ear and against your neck, and his fingers dig tighter into your ass, moving you against his groin, becoming more and more desperate to feel you. He tugs at your bra and when no objection is made, it joins the pile of clothing on the floor. He growls into your neck in approval at your breasts being free, and using the lightest of touches, traces the back of his fingers around the swell of your breasts and over your hard, sensitive nipples. Erron chuckles breathily at your whimpers and how you shiver from his touches, your need building as you grind down against his hardening dick encased in his jeans. Every touch of his mouth and fingers goes straight to your cunt and fuck, if he doesn’t fuck you soon, you’ll explode from the building pressure. Your fingers go for his waistband and fumble at the buttons with sweaty and shaking fingers. Erron drags his attention from your chest to watch you struggle with the stubborn fastenings. “You’re an eager one, Sweetheart.” “It’s your fault.” “Yeah, I guess it is.” He cocks an eyebrow, lifts you off his lap and lays you on the bed. Said eyebrow raises even higher when you wriggle out of your knickers and toss them aside, but it’s in jest, and he takes a long moment to gaze appreciatively at you, his smile genuine, warm and tinged deeply with desire. He tugs off his jeans and underwear with ease and tosses them to join the clothes pile, and then he’s on you. His tongue and lips find your breasts, his teasing your nipples harder ever so gently with his teeth has you tugging at his hair. You feel the graze of fingers trail down your body to your thighs that then grip you tightly enough to leave marks you’ll feel for the next few days. His long, strong fingers slide between your legs, moving them apart to finally reach your cunt. Again his touch is so light and gentle, a finger brushes over your folds before dipping between them. His thumb searches for your clit, circling around the sensitive bud as his fingers find your opening. He kisses you again, murmuring between the kisses, he whispers how beautiful you are to him, how he’s wanted you for all this time, how you feel, how hard you’ve made him and when he increases the pressure he pulls back to watch your eyes flutter closed and your teeth sink into your lower lip to stifle your pleasure. He continues to tease your clit, using your slickness to keep his touch feather light. He watches you writhe beneath him with tightly closed eyes, your back arching and one hand tangling in your own hair as he changes the pressure of his thumb on your clit, sometimes soft, sometimes rough, sometimes so feather light you beg for him to be rougher. Your feet kick against the bedclothes, rucking them up around you both as Erron pulls more and more pleasure from you. His thumb leaves your clit and he laughs at your indigent whines, instead he slides a long finger inside you. You’re so wet and needy that your cunt accepts him easily, and you soon beg for more. With a smile he adds another finger inside you, then a third, scissoring you wider, his fingers moving easily with your arousal. You whimper up at him, voicing just how good he’s making you feel, and how you want to touch him. He kisses you when you reach out to grasp his long, thick cock, stroking him harder, feeling the velvet softness of the skin over iron hardness. Your kisses quicken and deepen, tongues entwining, teeth biting at the others lips, desire building so quickly that every touch is almost desperate. When you whisper how you want him inside you he eagerly slides his fingers from you, pushing your thighs wider apart, staring into your eyes as he first strokes his cock harder, your arousal on his fingers coating his length along with the pearls of precum that weep from the crown, then rubs himself against your folds. He pauses, taking the moment to breathe, then tormentingly slowly, he pushes himself inside your hot, wet heat. His thickness feels so good, stretching you so wide you can’t help but voice your pleasure. He groans a reply and almost tauntingly slowly, he pushes deeper, his thick cock stretching you more than his fingers could. He pauses, allowing you both to catch your breath and adjust to just how perfect the other feels. He gazes down at you with heavy-lidded eyes that shine with more than just desire, his damp hair messy, strands sticking to his forehead. Agonizingly slowly, he pushes forward, his cock stretching your cunt wider and wider as you cling to him, until he’s filled you completely. Again you kick at the bed, the sensations overwhelming you, your head light and fuzzy, your skin buzzing as sweat beads along your scalp and chest, dampening the backs of your limbs, and between where you and Erron lie against one another. Erron groans with pleasure and kisses you open mouthed, eager and lust-filled, just so happy to be with you. He tears his kiss-swollen lips from yours to take deep breaths and you stare up at him, every nerve tingles with sensation, your cunt so tight around his cock. You stroke a hand through his damp hair and whimper uncontrollably as he snaps his hips first backwards, then forwards. You nerves delight in the friction and beg for more and you’re unable to stop from begging him to fuck you, fuck you hard and fast and to fuck you now! The pace starts out so slow, his fingers digging into your hips, his mouth on yours then moving to your neck, hot breath on sweat slicked skin. Your legs wrap around him, pulling your hips upwards, angling you so he’s even deeper with each thrust, his cock making your nerves sing from the friction and the need for more. Your fingers are in his hair, tugging and stroking and you whisper and moan your delight at feeling him inside you. When neither of you can take it anymore he speeds up his thrusts, still achingly deep, are brusingly hard, your cunt so tight around him that the sensation is almost too much. Sweat rolls down the back of your legs, prickles in your hairline and down spine. Your hands are everywhere, gripping at him, holding your writhing bodies together, and slipping on his hot wet skin. The tightness in your cunt starts to radiate to your thighs and spine. Your thighs grip him tighter and you whimper your pleasure and beg for more, desperate for a release. His replies are muffled, his mouth is in the crook of your neck and when his thrusts start to quicken yet further he lifts his head to gaze down in your eyes, watching as you come undone beneath him. He whispers encouragement, delighting as your pleasure builds into a fire that overwhelms and burns, every nerve aflame and so bright. You cry out and let everything wash over you, your body writhing as Erron keeps moving inside you to prolong the feeling and let you ride out your bliss. His hands paw at your hips as he comes mere moments after you, hips thrusts jerking and stuttering, spilling deep inside you, grunting loudly with his own overwhelming pleasure. He’s heavy as he lies panting on top of you, the pair of you struggling to breath again and calm your pounding hearts. Erron chuckles breathlessly, kisses you between deep breaths, rolls first onto his back, then onto his side to face you and props himself up on one elbow. “Think I’m broken.” You snuggle up against him, reveling in the afterglow, in how your hot sweat slicked skin feels in the cool air of your apartment. “Guess I have a talent for breaking things.” He smiles. He can’t keep his eyes off you. “I hate you.” “I know.”

[lovely-nctzen]

kiss me kiss me • eleven

↬ As YG debuts another girl group, one member catches the leader of NCT’s attention. Being in two different labels, it’s hard to keep everything a secret from the whole world.

Pairing: idol! taeyong x idol! reader

“Answer me Y/N, where have you been? You’ve been missing all morning,” your manager said in a stern manner.

Shifting your eyes to look at Hana, she gave you an apologetic look. She didn’t know what to do either, so you had to think of something quick or else you’ll be dead.

“Well? I’m waiting. We don’t have all day, our flight leaves very soon.”

“I’m sorry that I worried you, but I had a bad dream and I woke up wanting to get some fresh air. I didn’t want to wake anyone, so I left quietly without telling anyone. When I saw that reporters were outside the area, I came back as fast as I could without getting caught.”

“I see, thank you for telling me, but there is one thing that has been bothering me. Where did you get that dress? It wasn’t on the racks or in any of the luggage the stylists packed.”

Before you could explain yourself, Hana interrupted the conversation.

“Manager, shouldn’t we be packing and getting ready for our flight soon?”

“Ah, yes, you’re right. I’ll leave you two alone to pack. Be ready in 30 minutes. No more, no less. Understood?”

“Yes sir,” as the both of you nodded your heads.

Closing the door behind him, he went next door to remind the other girls as well.

Sighing in relief, you fell to the ground. “I thought I saw my life flash before my eyes.”

However, you were suddenly hit with a pillow. “What were you thinking? You never came back last night and we thought you died or something! Maybe even kidnapped!”

“Would you keep your voice down! I didn’t answer last night because I accidentally fell asleep in Taeyong and Johnny’ s room. We were talking and next thing you know I was out like a light on one of the beds. Now can you please help me out of this dress I don’t own before I get in trouble for stealing someone’s dress.”

“You stole a dress? What happened to the one you were wearing last night?” Hana asked you as she pulled down the zipper to the dress.

“I stashed it somewhere so I could get it back later. But first things first, I need to change and bring this dress back or place it where someone can find it.”

“Better change quick, we only have 30 minutes before our manager comes to get us.”

Y/N quickly got changed and placed the missing dress in a cover before sprinting out the door. Quickly running downstairs, she grabbed her dress from yesterday and made her way to the lobby where there were many racks near the front desk. Blending herself with the environment, she quietly slipped the dress back onto the rack. Turning around to go back to her room, she prayed no one saw her.

Y/N was lucky this time. But her luck is going to start running out soon if she’s not careful.

On the plane back, Y/N felt nervous and guilty. She didn’t know why, but she kept bouncing her leg up and down and messing with her hair.

Noticing the youngest’s anxiety, Hyojin nudged her lightly and gave her a look asking if she was okay.

She shook her head and whispered to her making sure no one else heard her.

“I don’t know why I’m feeling this way, but it might have to do with me almost getting caught again. I feel like it’s risky to see him, to be near him, or even like him knowing that it could cause a scandal.”

“Hey, it’s okay to feel nervous, but I feel like it’s best not to see each other too often. Remember, the company is also going through scandals too,”

“You’re right, I can’t tell the company yet that we’re seeing each other right now.”

Pulling out her phone, she prepared a message to text Taeyong.

“As much as I love you, we can’t see each other for the time being. I care about you and your career so much, so please focus on that instead of us. I’m sorry, please forgive me. As soon as the scandals from my company is resolved, we can continue to see each other. Just know that none of this is your fault. I enjoyed the times we spent together and it made me realize how happy I am with you. This is for the best.”

The time Taeyong spent with you last night was one of the greatest thing to happen to him. You two talked about your dreams, family, and anything anyone could ever think of to get to know each other more. It wasn’t the best date, but it was a date you two cherished the most. 

That’s what he loved about you. 

You cherish the little things, you’re kind and caring and most of all, you loved him for him. Not what his looks, what he does, his money or anything. Just him.

You loved him.

[introvertguide]

Network (1976); AFI #64

The current movie under review is one long procession of relatable diatribes, the newsroom drama Network (1976). This was an acting driven film and the award circuit is evidence of that. The movie had 6 actors in the 4 Academy Awards acting categories and took home awards for 3 of them. The winner of the Best Supporting Actress and the nominee for Best Supporting Actor were only on film 5 minutes and 6 minutes respectively. Every single role was just dripping with dramatic tension. An especially notable performance was from Peter Finch for which he won Best Actor from the Academy, at the BAFTAs, and at the Golden Globes. Unfortunately, he did not get to enjoy the adulation since he died very early in 1977 of a heart attack before any awards came out. Another note for the movie was a top 10 ranking of cinematic screenplays of all time by the Writer’s Guild of America. Awards for Best Screenplay went to Paddy Chayefsky from the Academy and the Golden Globes are proof of the honor. There are many interesting things about this film beyond the acting and writing, but I want to go ahead and spoil the story a little before I go further so here is the warning...

SPOILER ALERT!!! THIS IS ONE OF THE ALL TIME GREATEST CINEMATIC SCRIPTS AND IT HAS TWISTS TO SPOIL! WATCH THE FILM BEFORE YOU READ ANY FURTHER! DON’T RUIN THE EXPERIENCE FOR YOURSELF!

The film starts with the narrator whose voice comes in throughout the movie and sounds like a gameshow emcee. It is explained that Howard Beale (Peter Finch) is a news anchor who has recently become a widower and will soon be fired from his job due to poor ratings. He goes out and gets drunk with his division president Max Schumacher (William Holden) and mentions killing himself on the air, but they are both drunk and Max thinks this is a joke. The following night, Beale announces on live television that he is tired of all the “bulls**t” and will commit suicide on air in a week. The news anchor is obviously fired immediately, but Schumacher convinces the network to allow Beale to go on the air one last time and apologize for the outburst. Beale once again goes into an angry diatribe and this causes a rating spike. The head of programming for the Network is Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway), and she tries to convince Max to keep Beale on the air despite his obvious mental instability. Max refuses because Howard Beale is his old friend and there is concern for Howard’s health. Diana switches approaches and begins to have an affair with the much older married man.

Christensen talks about the network being the laughing stock of all the channels and she is seeking just one hit show to get back on top. She cuts a deal with a band of terrorists called the Ecumenical Liberation Army for a new docudrama series called The Mao Tse-Tung Hour for the upcoming fall season. Max decides to end these diatribes with Howard because it is seriously affecting his health, but Christensen convinces her boss, Frank Hackett (Robert Duvall), to slot the evening news show under the entertainment programming division so she can develop it. Hackett agrees, and convinces the network executives to fire Schumacher. Hackett fires Schumacher in one of many confrontational diatribes delivered throughout the film. Not to be outdone, Beale shows up to work in his pajamas and, in his own on-air diatribe, convinces the nation to shout out of their windows "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Beale is a ratings hit and he is soon hosting a new program called The Howard Beale Show, top-billed as "the mad prophet of the airwaves". Ultimately, the show becomes the most highly-rated program on television, and Beale finds new celebrity preaching his angry message in front of a live studio audience that, on cue, chants Beale's signature catchphrase. At first, Max and Diana's romance withers as the show flourishes, but in the flush of high ratings, the two ultimately find their way back together and Schumacher leaves his wife of over 25 years for Christensen. The wife is played by Beatrice Straight, and she won a Best Supporting Actress award for her miniscule 5 minutes of screen time. She really lays into Max for disrespecting her for some young infatuation and it hurts. Fantastic performance. 

The movie actually gets very funny for a short period of time as Max and Diana go on a date that ends physically and the entire time she will not shut up about ratings. Even during sex, she just keeps spouting out numbers because apparently it turns her on. Also, she now has to go into contract negotiations with the Liberation Army, and watching an almost completely silent arms dealer talk about contract language while shooting in the air to stop arguments is great. It is the hardest I have laughed in a long time. 

Much to the displeasure of the network, Beale discovers that Communications Corporation of America (CCA), the conglomerate that owns the network, will be bought out by an even larger Saudi Arabian conglomerate. He launches an on-screen tirade against the deal and urges viewers to pressure the White House to stop it. This panics the top network brass because the network debt load has made the merger essential for its survival. Hackett takes Beale to meet with CCA chairman Arthur Jensen (Ned Beatty), who explains the world beyond countries and people and how it is ruled by corporations. Christensen's fanatical devotion to her job and emotional emptiness ultimately drive away Schumacher, who warns his former lover that she will self-destruct at the pace she is running with her career. "You are television incarnate, Diana," he tells her, "indifferent to suffering, insensitive to joy. All of life is reduced to the common rubble of banality." Jensen seems to have successfully persuade Beale to abandon his populist message and preach a new corporation message. This new approach is not popular with audiences as they find his new sermons on the dehumanization of society depressing, yet Jensen will not allow the network to fire Beale. Seeing its two-for-the-price-of-one value—solving the Beale problem plus sparking a boost in season-opener ratings—Christensen, Hackett, and the other executives decide to hire the ELA to assassinate Beale on the air. The assassination succeeds, putting an end to The Howard Beale Show and kicking off a second season of The Mao Tse-Tung Hour. The film ends with an overhead of a bleeding Howard Beale as commercials play and the voice over narration ends "the story of Howard Beale, the first known instance of a man who was killed because he had lousy ratings." 

Network was written as a “what if” by Paddy Chayefsky after hearing about a Floridian news anchor who shot herself on air. Her name was Christine Chubbuck and she had long term issues with depression. She was continually suffering and had attempted suicide before, but she wanted to make a statement. Follow up investigation showed that she was suffering from clinical depression, and this was exacerbated by the constant stress that came from working in a newsroom. Research into the “story behind the story” showed that the obsession with ratings and appearance and in-office politics makes for quite the pressure cooker. Chayefsky wanted to write this story and how damaging it could be to a person’s psyche. People like Beale are chewed up and spit out by the system while people like Christensen can become successful by being cut-throat obsessive with everything about the business. It is a story of all the different kinds of people who peddle BS for a living and, no matter how good their intentions, everybody touched by the business comes out smelling like crap.

Peter Finch was the first of only two actors to win the Oscar for Best Actor posthumously (Heath Ledger being the other) and it was rather ironic since his character dies at the end of the movie. Sadly, or maybe not, this was Finch’s biggest success in a long time and he really identified with the character of Beale. He had a prolific career that was starting to wind down when he had a sudden spike of popularity from this film. He died of a heart attack in a Beverly Hills hotel right after an interview with Johnny Carson. I guess it is nice that he got to go out on top. RIP Mr. Finch. 

When I think back on the 100 movies on the AFI list, this one stands out as having the most dramatic speeches, even more than Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf or Citizen Cane. Every single character with more than five minutes of screen time seems to have a dramatic speech (if not many) in this film. Normally, this would not be something that I liked, but I see that all of these people are getting out their emotional garbage. These characters do not seem to be yelling to hurt others, but to try and release the hurt they have in an attempt to heal. Being loud to steal attention bothers me, but being loud because you genuinely need help and have painful energy that needs release does not. 

So does this film deserve to be on the AFI? Yes and it should probably be higher. It is one of the best stories put to film of all time and it was acted beautifully. It would have won many more awards but it came out the same year as Taxi Driver, All the President’s Men, and Rocky. Amongst all of those films, it still took home most of the acting awards and Best Original Screenplay. It is the story of an individual who gets fed up with all the bureaucracy and that feeling still permeates through society today. Fantastic movie. And would I recommend it? Yes. I insist upon it. I was originally worried about how mental illness is portrayed as entertainment, but I love how one of the characters advocates for his friend throughout and that trying to take advantage of a fed up man who has become delusional goes nowhere but wrong. This to me is a two hour tutorial of how a dramatic speech should be given. I have only taken a couple of film classes, but I am sad that I didn’t see this film until my early 30s and happily put forth a recommendation for this movie. 

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior February 21, 2020 – CALL OF THE WILD, BRAHMS: THE BOY II, THE IMPRACTICAL JOKERS MOVIE, EMMA and more!

After overestimating Birds of Prey… I mean, Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey… it looks like I underestimated Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog… I mean Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik… with Sonic. It truly spanked my lowball prediction in the mid-$40 millions, but I wasn’t alone there at least. Hey, it’s a fun movie and my positive review wasn’t off-base with the critical world at large, so there’s that, too.  (Apparently, I liked both Downhill and Fantasy Island more than most people, including CinemaScore voters who gave the movies a “D” and “C-“ respectively… ouch!)

This is likely to be another down week as neither of the two new movies are particularly strong, which gives me a chance to focus instead on this week’s FEATURED MOVIES! And we have four of ‘em this week, no less!

That’s right. I think it’s time I go back to my previous desire to use this column to focus on smaller movies that you may have missed since very few of the bigger outlets bother to cover them, and there’s a few worth pointing out this week. I’m gonna start with the two foreign films, because hopefully, you’ve listened to Bong Joon-ho and his translator and are not as fearful of subtitles…

First up, opening on Wednesday at New York’s Film Forumis Jan Komasa’s CORPUS CHRISTI (Film Movement), Poland’s selection for the Oscar International Feature category, which was actually nominated for an Oscar in the category in which everyone already knew Parasite was always gonna win! It’s a shame, cause this is a really amazing film with Bartosz Bielenia playing Daniel, a troubled youth just out of juvenile hall who steals the trappings and identity of the youth prison’s pastor and is therefore mistaken as an actual priest when he arrives at a small community village that has suffered a tragic loss. It’s an amazing film about faith and forgiveness and redemption, and how the script came to Komasa from screenwriter Mateusz Pacewic is an equally amazing story. Seriously, if you get a chance, definitely check this powerful drama out, since it’s another fantastic film from a country that has continually been delivering the goods in terms of original storytelling.

I was just going to do three featured movies this week, but a really good German thriller is finally hitting the States, opening at the Quad in New York Friday then in L.A. on March 13 before a nationwide rollout. Michael Bully Herbig’s incredibly suspenseful German thriller BALLOON (Distrib Films USA) is about two families from the GDR (aka East Germany) who try to cross over into West Germany in 1979 using a hot air balloon, over a decade before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Based on the actual events, their story previously was adapted into the Disney movie Night Crossing (which oddly, isn’t on Disney+ yet-- I checked­, but it’s on Amazon Prime if you wanna compare the two movies). The movie doesn’t spend nearly as much time in the balloon as something like The Aeronauts, as the family’s first attempt fails miserably, so much of the film involves them working towards a second attempt, while trying not to be caught.

Balloon is a pretty heavy film (irony?), sometimes a little overwrought with drama but it keeps you on the edge of your seat as it cuts between the families trying to figure out their escape plan and the authorities trying to put together the clues to find these defectors. There’s a particularly amusing man in charge of the investigation, played by the always-amazing Thomas Kretschmann (The Pianist), who is constantly berating his men, something that helps lighten the otherwise heavy tone that permeates the film. This is another fairly low-key foreign film that’s worth seeking out.

Another movie people should make an effort to seek out is Rashaad Ernesto Green’s PREMATURE (IFC Films), an amazing film that follows the relationship between two young people in Harlem over the course of a summer. We first meet Zora Howard’s Ayanna as she’s hanging with her friends kibitzing about boys, as they begin their last summer before Ayanna heads to college. Shortly after, she meets Josh Boone’s Isaiah, and the two hit it off. The rest of the film follows the ups and downs of their relationship including incredibly intimate moments that lead up to Ayanna getting pregnant.

I won’t go through the plot play-by-play style, because it’s interesting to discover the twist and turns in their relationship in a similar way as we do our own relationships. Needless to say Green has a pretty amazing partner and lead in Howard, who co-wrote the screenplay, which is probably why it feels so authentic and real. Sure, there are a few scenes between Howard and Boone, both fantastic actors, that feel a bit too showy dramatically but otherwise, it’s a fantastic second feature from Green who has mainly been directing TV since his earlier film Gun Hill Road. I’ll definitely be very curious to see what Green and Howard get up to next either alone or working together.

Opening in New York and L.A. this Friday but in theaters nationwide on March 6 is the latest incarnation of Jane Austen’s novel EMMA. (Focus Features), this time starring the wonderful Anya Taylor-Joy (from The VVitchand Split/Glass) as the title character, Emma Woodhouse, a 28-year-old matchmaker who prides herself on the relationships she’s put together even while unable to find her own mate.  The film follows as the latter starts coming in the way of the former as she infiltrates herself into things as an “expert on love” who can’t find it herself.

Maybe it’s not surprising that I haven’t read much of Austen’s work and have missed this one altogether, never having seen any of the other iterations, but it’s a fairly wild and witty ride. Much of that is due to the amazing and wonderful cast around the young actor, the most surprising behind Mia Goth, who is in fact three years older than Taylor-Joy, but plays the younger wide-eyed Harriet who looks up to Emma and elicits her advice. Emma basically steers Harriet from the farmer she likes to Josh O’Connor’s Mr. Elton, the wealthy local vicar who is more than a little bit of a dark. This leads to a bit of a revolving door of who is interested in whom, etc especially when Emma’s nemesis Jane Fairfax (Amber Anderson) returns to Hartfield.

Some of the other men in the mix are Johnny Flynn’s dashing George Knightley – the brother-in-law to Emma’s sister – and Callum Turner’s wealthy Frank Churchill, whose attentions lead to more misunderstandings. Both were great but I was more impressed with O’Connor who transforms into a completely other person when Emma spurns his affections and seems like a different person from the way first-time features director (and photographer) Autumn de Wilde shoots him. Of course, Bill Nighy is as great as always as Emma’s father, always feeling a slight draft, but even more impressive is the wonderfully hilarious Miranda Hart (from Spy) as Miss Bates, a woman who gabs at length about how wonderful Jane Fairfax is, much to Emma’s annoyance. As much as Emma. is Anya Taylor-Joy’s show, it’s the ensemble cast around her that makes the movie so infinitely enjoyable, getting better as it goes along.

This is a very good first feature from de Wilde, who has directed quite a number of music videos for Beck, and Emma. seems very different from the movies we normally get from video directors, much of that to do with Austen’s source material and the cast. Either way, how things develop over the course of the film makes it more enjoyable as it goes along. (Although I have never read the book, the film seems fairly faithful to the book’s Wikipedia page, so Austen fans should enjoy it, too.)

I guess we can now get to the wide and semi-wide releases and the rest of the movies – merging my two columns into one means you get more 5,000-word columns, you lucky ducks!

The higher-profile of the two new wide releases is probably CALL OF THE WILD (20thCentury Studios), a PG adaptation of Jack London’s classic novel starring Harrison Ford and the most adorable CG dog (i.e. not real, so back off PETA!) you’ve ever met named Buck! Sure, dog lovers might say, “Why would we want to watch a movie with a CG dog when clearly, a movie with actors in green suits turned into dogs using CG would suffice?” But no, it’s actually a very heavily CG movie directed by Chris Sanders, who directed Lilo & Sitch, the first How to Train Your Dragon and The Croods before giving a go at live action. (Sanders also provided quite a few voices in earlier animated films like Disney’s Mulan and Tarzan.)

A film that already was well into production when Disney bought Fox (now 20thCentury Studios), Call of the Wild also stars Omar Sy (returning for next year’s “Jurassic World” finale), Karen Gillan, Dan Stevens, Bradley Whitford but the real star of the movie is the dog Buck, which is performed by the immensely talented Terry Notary, who you’ll know for his work on the “Apes” movies with Andy Serkis, Kong: Skull Island and some of the characters in the last couple “Avengers” movies.

Of course, opening the weekend after Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog, which has turned out to be a bigger hit than anyone imagined, certainly won’t help The Call of the Wild.

In many ways, this reminds me of the 2002 Disney movie Snow Dogs, which opened with $17.8 million over the 4-day MLK weekend. The combination of Ford (who appears in very few movies) and the adorable dog antics might be enough for the movie to make $15 to 17 million this weekend, maybe a little more, although it only has two weeks to do business before Disney’s next Pixar movie, Onward, takes over, not giving it much time to make bank.

Mini-Review: It’s pretty evident that this exceedingly faithful take on Jack London’s book will not be for everyone. While I personally was mixed, I expect this to be one of the rare positive reviews just ‘cause. Surprisingly, it’s also the most “Disneyfied” movie that could possibly come from the newly-renamed 21stCentury Studios as it’s a movie clearly made for kids and animal lovers even if never the ‘twain shall meet, in some cases.

The story follows a large St. Bernard named Buck (portrayed by Terry Notary – but we’ll get back to that), who begins his life as the spoiled and pampered pet of a wealthy judge in California but is sold to a man who trains Buck with his club sending the dog on a wild journey across the Yukon as part of a dog sled for a pair of Canadian postal workers (played by Omar Sy and Cara Gee from “The Expanse”). Eventually, he’s paired with an alcoholic frontiersman (Harrison Ford) and he finds true love, as the two of them go off looking (and finding) gold.

Some might be surprised that director Chris Sanders (who has an extensive animation background) decided to go for straight-up CG when depicting the animals and some of the environments in Call of the Wild. In fact, it feels almost necessary to make Buck as expressive as he needs to be to carry this film, and that’s where Terry Notary (Andy Serkis’ partner-in-performance-capture from the “Apes” movies) and the CG team comes in handy. Buck is already lovable but being able to make him so expressive doesn’t hurt, and the scenes where he’s interacting with other animals are pretty amazing.

We do have to discuss the negatives, and one of them is the episodic nature of Buck’s story that means that Harrison Ford, other than the narration and a brief appearance, doesn’t play a large part in Buck’s story until about the 45-minute mark. I didn’t think much of the performances by Sy and Gee or Dan Steven and Karen Gillan as the spoiled rich people who buy Buck to drive their dog sled off to find gold. Buck’s experiences as part of the first dog sled is far more positive even though it’s rigorous and it puts him at odd with the dog pack leader. The problem is that most of the human actors don’t come close to delivering what Notary does as Buck, the exception being Ford, but it’s still one of those odd CG-live action amalgations that doesn’t always work.

If you’re fond of Jack London’s Arctic adventures (as I generally am), Call of the Wild offers as much good as it does bad, but it’s worthwhile more for the amazing vistas and terrific use of CG (and Terry Notary’s performance as Buck) than anything else.

Rating: 6.5/10

I won’t have a chance to see the horror sequel BRAHMS: THE BOY II (STXfilms), but I never got around to seeing the first movie either, although this one, starring Katie Holmes, does look kind of fun. 2020 has not been a great year for horror so far with almost a new horror every weekend and few doing particularly well – The Grudge tops the heap with just $21 million and that opened almost two months ago!

I really don’t have a lot to say about this other than the fact that the original The Boy(not to be confused with The Boy, The Boy or The Boy, which are also movies about a different “Boy”), also directed by William Brent Bell, opened in January 2016 to $10.8 million on its way to $35.8 million domestic but it also opened at a time when there were no strong horror films in theaters. Some could argue that there are still no strong horror films in theaters, especially since so many of them quickly lost theaters after bombing. Still, there have been a lot this year already and the most recent one, Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island underperformed this past weekend, so why would anyone want more?

STXfilms’ marketing has been solid even as this moved from its December release to now, but I still think it will be tough for this to make more than $10 million this weekend and probably will end up closer to $8 million or less.

Opening in limited release but also sure to be exciting to the fans of the TruTV hidden camera prank show is IMPRACTICAL JOKERS: THE MOVIE, which brings the hilarious Tenderloins comedy troop – Q, Murr, Sal and Joe -- to the big screen as they go off on a cross-country adventure to attend a party in Florida, playing their usual prank-filled games to see which three get to attend. At this writing, I have no idea how many theaters it’s opening – I’m assuming 150 to 200 maybe? – so no idea how it might do although there are already some sold out showings in my general area (NYC) where the guys are from.

Mini-Review: It feels like there need to be two reviews for this movie – one for those who already know and love the show and find the Tenderloins hysterical (this includes me) —and then one for everyone else.  The former can probably skip the next paragraph.

The Tenderloins are a group of four Staten Island friends (names above) whose antics led to a successful TruTV hidden camera show where they pull pranks and challenge each other to say and do whatever they’re told. The show has run eight seasons, and it’s made the Tenderloins such big stars they regularly sell out enormous venues (like Radio City Music Hall) to perform live for their fans. Considering the success Johnny Knoxville’s “Jackass” show has had in movie theaters where it can take advantage of an R-rating, there’s little reason why the “Impractical Jokers” shouldn’t be able to do the same. (For some context, I watched this movie with a theater full of the group’s friends, crew as well as Q’s firehouse buddies, in other words, 75% of Staten Island.)

The movie, directed by Chris Henchy, long time McKay and Ferrell collaborator – the film is presented by their “Funny or Die” brand –opens with one of a number of scripted/staged scenes to frame the road trip the Tenderloins to attend a party in Miami being held by Paula Abdul. Since they only have three passes, they need to compete in their usual challenges to determine who misses out.

If you are a fan of the show, I’m not going to spoil any of the challenges or pranks they plan on each other, but they generally get better and funnier as the movie goes along, to the point that when it returns to the “story” and the scripted stuff, the movie does falter a little. Although the Tenderloins aren’t the greatest actors, they are great improvisers and you can tell when they’re coming up with lines by the seat of their pants.

The majority of the movie is basically what we see on the show without all of the commercial breaks cutting in just as things start to get outrageous, and as someone who watches more of the show than I probably should admit, I find it hard to believe no one watching the movie will at least get one good snicker out of the movie. There are a few recurring gags throughout the movie as well as a follow-up to a memorable punishment from an earlier season. (Like with the show, you’re likely to feel bad for Murr and Sal, the nicer half of the group who always get the most abuse because of it.)

If you’re already a fan of the Impractical Jokers, you’ll probably like the movie, but if not, you might not get it and there’s just no real use trying. In other words, not a great intro to the “Impractical Jokers” but a fine bit of fun for the already-converted.

Rating: 6.5/10

This week’s Top 10 should look something like this…

1. Sonic the Hedgehog  (Paramount) - $29 million -50% (up $1.5 million)**

2. Call of the Wild (20th Century) - $17 million N/A (up .3 million)** 3. Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey  (Warner Bros) - $9 million -48%

4. Brahms: The Boy II (STXfilms) - $7 million N/A (down .6 million)**

5. Bad Boys for Life (Sony) - $6 million -48% (down .1 million)**

6. The Photograph (Universal) – $5.5 million -55% (down .6 million)**

7. Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island (Sony) - $5.3 million -57%

8. 1917 (Universal) - $5 million -38%

9. Parasite (NEON) - $3.6 million -35%

10. Jumanji: The Next Level  (Sony) - $3.3 million -42%

-- The Impractical Jokers Movie (TruTV) - $1.8 million*

-- Las Pildoras de mi Novio (Pantelion/Lionsgate) - $1.3 million*

* These last two projections are made without much info on either movie, including theater counts for the former.

**A few minor tweaks as we go into weekends with actual theater counts, although this weekend will still mostly be about Sonic the Hedgehog. I still don’t have any theater counts for Impractical Jokers on Thursday night so I guess we’ll just have to see if the theaters playing it report to Rentrak and it gets some sort of placement, presumably outside the top 10, on Sunday. 

LIMITED RELEASES

There are lots of other new limited releases this weekend beyond the ones I mentioned above.

On Wednesday night, Fathom Events is releasing Masaaki Yuasa’s new movie RIDE YOUR WAVE (GKIDS) across the nation for one night only in some places, although it will get a limited release on Friday at New York’s Village East and maybe other places, as well. If you’ve seen any of Yuasa’s other films like 2017’s The Night is Short, Walk on Girl or Lu Over the Wall or Mind Game, then you can probably expect this to be another wild ride, except this time it’s on a surfboard. It follows the story of a surfer and a firefighter who fall in love. You can learn more about how to get tickets here.

Like Portrait of a Lady on Fire last week, Una director Benedict Andrews’ SEBERG (Amazon) received a one-week release in 2019 but it’s getting a legit limited release this Friday. It stars Kristen Stewart as French New Wave icon Jean Seberg who came to the States in the late ‘60s and began a relationship with civil rights leader Hakim Jamal (Anthony Mackie), putting her in the sights of the FBI who were hoping to use her to bust the Black Panthers. The film also stars Jack O’Connell, Margaret Qualley, Vince Vaughn, and Stephen Root, and it’s a pretty solid historical drama, although I haven’t seen it so long I’m not sure I can say much more about that.

I was never a huge fan of Bob Dylan or the Band but I found Daniel Roher’s doc ONCE WERE BROTHERS: ROBBIE ROBERTSON AND THE BAND (Magnolia) (about the latter) to be quite compelling as the story is told by various people who were there, including the film’s exec. producer Martin Scorsese who directed the band’s legendary concert film The Last Waltz. This is also produced by Ron Howard and Brian SGrazer of Imagine, so you know it’s gonna be a quality music doc, and it certainly is, although I’m not sure it will be of that much interest to people who aren’t already fans of The Band.

Opening in roughly 350 theaters this weekend is LAS PILDORAS DE MI NOVIO (Pantelion), translated as “My Boyfriend’s Meds,” a comedy about a woman (Sandra Echeverria) who falls for a mattress store owner who suffers from multiple personality disorder and when they go on vacation… he forgets to bring along his meds! Humor abounds. As usual, this won’t screen in advance for critics.

Tye Sheridan stars with Knives Out’s Ana De Armas in Michael Cristofer’s thriller The Night Clerk (Saban Films), Sheridan plays a hotel clerk with Asperger’s Syndrome who witnesses a murder in one of the rooms but ends up as the main suspect by the lead detective, played by John Leguizamo. The film also stars Helen Hunt and it will be released in select theaters (including New York’s Cinema Village), on demand and digitally this Friday. Just couldn’t into this one, having at least one good friend with Asperger’s, due to the way Sheridan played this often-debilitating disease. (Think Rain Man without the talent of Dustin Hoffman.)

Opening exclusively at theMetrographFriday with an expansion on March 3 is Portugese filmmaker Bruno de Almeida’s Cabaret Maxime (Giant Pictures), starring Michael Imperioli as Bennie Gaza, the owner and manager of the title nightclub specializing in a mix of burlesque, striptease, music and comedy. Bennie is fairly old-fashioned so when a modern day (translation: trashy and demeaning to women) strip club opens across the way, Bennie finds himself pressure to make changes to stay in line as he starts getting pressure from his mobster financer to change. I was kinda mixed on this movie, which delivers another typically great performance from Imperioli but the way it cuts between various acts and disparate scenes that do very little to move the story forward (including the far-more-interesting subplot about Bennie’s wife Stella, a performer suffering from depression, as played by the amazing Ana Padrão). I think one of the reasons I just couldn’t get into the movie is cause a friend of mine attempted a similar film based out of a nightclub and the film never got much traction. De Almeida should have paid more attention developing the storytelling than showing off his talented musical singing/dancing friends.

A second Portugese filmmaker, Pedro Costa, also releases a new film this week.  Vitalina Varela (Grasshopper Film) will open at New York’s Film at Lincoln Center on Friday. The title of the film is also the name of the non-actor who returns from Costa’s Horse Moneyto play a woman from Cape Verdean who comes to Fontainhas for her estranged husband’s funeral and sets up a new life there.

Also opening at the Quad Friday is the latest from the Dardenne Brothers, Young Ahmed (Kino Lorber) about a 13-year-old (Idir ben Addi) who has come under the grips of radical jihadism in his Belgian town, putting him at odds with various factions. When he carries out an act of violence, he ends up in a juvenile detention facility. The Dardennes won the Best Director award at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, where their films have been honored with the Palme d’Or twice. I’ve never been much of a fan but what do I know?

Opening at the IFC Center Wednesday is Nicolas Champeaux, Gilles Porte’s documentary The State Against Mandela and the Others, which is built around recently recovered audio recordings of the 1963-4 Rivona trial in which Nelson Mandela and eight others faced death sentences for challenging Apartheid. The film mixes animation showing the trails with contemporary interviews with the survivors including Winnie Mandela, about their fight against the country’s corrupt system.

Another doc I know little about is Andrew Goldberg’s Viral: Antisemitism in Four Mutations, which will open at the Village East Friday but it includes the likes of Julianna Margulies, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton as anti-semitism rears its ugly head over 70 years after the end of World War II and the Holocaust.

Also opening at Cinema Village is Matt Ratner’s Standing Up, Falling Down (Shout! Studios) starring Billy Crystal and Ben Schwartz (the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog!), the latter playing a stand-up comic whose L.A. dreams have crashed and burned leaving him with little money, forcing him to return to Long Island. Once there, he pines over his ex (Eloise Mumford) and becomes friends with an eccentric dermatologist (Crystal) as they help each other deal with their respective failures.

Playing at the Roxy for a one-week run starting Friday is Sam De Jong’s Goldie (Film Movement), starring actress/model Slick Woods as the title character, a teenager in a family shelter pursuing her dreams of being a dancer while trying to keep her sisters together. This premiered at the Tribeca Film Festivallast year.

Oscilloscope (the distributor that brought you the cat doc Kedi) is doing something called “Cat Video Fest 2020,” which will take place at the Alamo in Brooklyn (although the Saturday screening is sold out there) and the Village East Cinema. This screening of pre-selected cat videos is also taking place at other cities throughout the country, and you can find out where right here.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

This Friday, the Metrograph will debut its newest series “Climate Crisis Parabels,” a series of varied future shock films, this weekend with Robert Bresson’s The Devil, Probably (1977), Steven Spielberg’s 2001 film A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke (1999) (hosted by Naomi Klein Sunday afternoon, but also playing as part of the Playtime Family Matinees”) and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner: The Final Cu ton Sunday night. “To Hong Kong with Love” also continues with screenings of Stanley Kwan’s Rouge (1987) and the 2016 film Raise the Umbrellas. The ongoing Welcome To Metrograph: Redux also continues with HarunFarocki’sdocumentary Before Your Eyes: Vietnam (1981).  This week’s Late Nites at Metrograph is another Japanese thriller, Hiroshi Teshigahara’s 1966 thriller The Face of Another, and the Metrograph’s Japanese love continues as Playtime: Family Matinees will also show Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke from 1999.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

Tonight’s “Weird Wednesday” is Ken Russell’s 1987 film Gothic, and this week’s “Kids Camp” offering is the 2006 animated Curious George with a special “pick your own price.” In preparation for the release of Emma. On Friday, the Alamo is doing a “Champagne Cinema” screening of the 2005 Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley, which unfortunately, is sold out already. (Waugh Waugh) Monday’s “Out of Tune” is the Prince film Under the Cherry Moon from 1986, which is also sold out. (Hey, Jeremy Wein, why don’t you tell me these things are going on sale so I can go!?!) Next week’s “Terror Tuesday” is the horror classic Candyman (1992), which is ALSO almost sold out and then we’re back to “Weird Wednesday” with next week’s offering, 1985’s soft-core actioneer Gwendoline.

If you’re one of those poor souls living in L.A., you can also go to see Don Coscarelli’s 2002 film Bubba Ho-Tep, starring Bruce Campbell, on Wednesday night or the 1986 Little Shop of Horrors on Thursday at the grand, new(ish) Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Downtown Los Angeles. Saturday afternoon is a matinee of Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight (1998), starring George Clooney and J-Lo and Saturday night, you can see Cassavetes’ Minnie and Moskowitz (1971), starring Seymour Cassel and Gena Rowlands. Monday night is Juliet Bashore’s 1986 Kamikaze Hearts, which looked into the X-rated SF underground of the ‘80s. The West Coast “Terror Tuesday” is Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula, starring Keanu Reeves, Gary Oldman and Winona Rider!

THE NEW BEVERLY  (L.A.):

Wednesday’s afternoon matinee is the classical musical The Sound of Music (1965) and then Weds and Thurs night’s double feature is Robert Redford’sThe Hot Rock (1972) and Cops and Robber (1973). Friday’s matinee is the late Tony Scott’s The Hunger (1983) and then the Tarantino-pennedTrue Romance (1993, also directed by Scott), will play Friday midnight and Saturday’s midnight movie is the 1967 film Carmen, Baby. This weekend’s Kiddee Mattine is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). Monday’s matinee is Terrence Malick’s Badlands (1973) and the Monday night double feature is A Man for All Seasons(1966) and The Mission  (1986). Tuesday’s Grindhouse double feature is 1980’s Super Fuzz and 1977’s Death Promise, both in 35mm, of course.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Weds’ “Black Voices” movie is William Greaves’ 1968 film Symbiopsychotaxiplasm, and then on Friday night in the Spielberg Theater, you can see the 1913 film Traffic in Souls with live music as well as a couple shorts. The Japanese horror film Kwaidan(1965) will play in the normal theater. On Saturday, the Egyptian is presenting “Leigh Whannell’s Thrill-A-thon” a series of four films that helped to inspire Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man, which comes out next week with some great options worth seeing, including 1987’s Fatal Attraction, David Fincher’s 2014 film Gone Girl, Rob Reiner’s Stephen King adaptation Misery(1990) and the classic Aussie thriller Dead Calm(1989) starring Nicole Kidman … all for just 15 bucks!

AERO  (LA):

The AERO’s “Black Voices” film for Weds. is the great Stir Crazy, starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, and then on Thursday afternoon, you can see Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 classicDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb for $8 (free to Cinemateque members!) New restoration of the Russian film Come and See (also opening at the Film Forum in New York) will play on Saturday evening as part of the “Antiwar Cinema” series. Sunday’s double feature in that series is Kubrick’s Paths of Glory (1957) and the Russian film The Ascent (1977). Tuesday’s “Black Voices” matinee is Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust  (1991) and then Greg Proops will screen the 1996 film Ridicule as part of his Film Club podcast which precedes the film.

MOMA  (NYC):

Modern Matinees: Jack Lemmon continues through the end of the month with Mister Roberts (1955) on Weds., Billly Wilder’s Avanti (1972) and the classic (and one of my all-time faves) Some Like it Hot (1959) on Friday. This weekend also sees movies in the continuing “Theater of Operations” series, which will include Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker (2009) on Saturday afternoon and a bunch of docs including Werner Herzog’s 1992 film Lessons of Darkness on Sunday. Weds also kicks off “Television Movies: Big Pictures on the Small Screen” – pretty self-explanatory, I think – with 1953’s The Trip to Bountiful and 1955’s Tosca on Weds. and Sunday, 1967’s Present Laughter Thursday and Tuesday and more. (Click on the link for full schedule!) Following Film Forum’s focus on black actresses (for February, Black History Month, get it?) MOMA begins a  “It’s All in Me: Black Heroines” series with All By Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story and Julie Dash’s Illusions, both from 1982, on Thursday and many more running through March 5.

ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES (NYC):

The Anthology still has a few more films in its “Devil Probably: A Century of Satanic Panic” including Eric Weston’s Evilspeak (1981) tonight in 35mm, but also David Van Taylor will be at tonight’s screening of his 1991 film Dream Deceivers. I’ve never seen either of these, by the way. Robert Eggers’ The VVitch and Alan Parker’s Angel Heart screen one more time on Thursday night, as well. This weekend also begins a new series, “Dream Dance: The Films of Ed Emshwiller” but since I have no idea who that is, I have nothing further to add. (Sorry!)

NITEHAWK CINEMA  (NYC):

Williamsburgis showing David Lynch’s 1990 film Wild at Heart as part of its “Uncaged” series on Friday just after midnight and John Singleton’s Poetic Justice on Saturday morning as part of “California Love.” They’re also showing Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride on Saturday morning for an “All-Ages Brunch Movie.”

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Elem Klimov’s 1985 Russian drama Come and See (Janus) will have a DCP restoration premiere at the Forum and Sunday afternoon will be a screening of the 1953 Mexican film El Corazon y La Espada in 3D. This weekend’s “Film Forum Jr.” is the 1953 pseudo-doc Little Fugitive.  Monday night is a screening of David Rich’s Madame X  (1966) introduced by actor/playwright Charles Busch.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

This weekend’s Weekend Classics: Luis Buñuel is the Mexican film The Exterminating Angel (1962), while Waverly Midnights: Hindsight is 2020s will screen Keanu Reeves’ Johnny Mnemonic and Late Night Favorites: Winter 2020is taking a surprising weekend off.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

Still waiting to see if Pandora and the Flying Dutchman continues through the weekend, as at this time (Monday), there is nothing repertory listed.

BAM CINEMATEK(NYC):

Horace Jenkins’ Cane River continues through Friday. Saturday night’s “Beyond the Canon” is a double feature of Ida Lupino’s The Hitch-Hiker(1953) and Malick’s Badlands (1973).

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

This weekend’s “See It Big! Outer Space” offerings include1974’s Space is the Placeon Friday and 1924’s Aelita, Queen of Mars and the 1980 Flash Gordonscreening on Saturday and Sunday. As usual, 2001: A Space Odysseywill screen on Saturday afternoon as part of the ongoing exhibition.

ROXY CINEMA(NYC)

Weds’ Nicolas Cage movie is Martin Scorsese’s Bringing Out the Dead (1999) and then Thursday is a 35mm screening of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)!

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

Friday’s midnight movie is Who Killed Roger Rabbit (1988).

STREAMING AND CABLE

Let’s see what’s going on in the world of streaming this week, shall we?

Netflix is debuting Dee (Mudbound) Rees’ new movie THE LAST THING HE WANTED on the streaming service Friday, even though apparently, it opened in select cities last week, including New York’s Paris Theater, although it got such terrible reviewsout of Sundance, maybe Netflix didn’t want any more bad reviews before it begins streaming. Regardless, it stars Anne Hathaway, Willem Dafoe, Ben Affleck and Rosie Perez, and it’s based on Joan Didion’s novel about a D.C. journalist named Elena (Hathaway) who abandons her work on the 1984 campaign trail to run an errand for her father (Dafoe). I guess I’ll watch it when it’s on Netflix just like everyone else but my expectations have been suitably lowered.

The Jordan Peele-produced series “Hunters,” starring Al Pacino, which is about a group of Nazi hunters will hit Amazon Prime this Friday as well, and a new season of the popular series“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” will debut on Friday on Disney+, adding to the amazing amount of content already available on that network.

Next week, Saw and Insidious co-creator Leigh Whannell revamps The Invisible Man for Universal with Elisabeth Moss, and there’s also (supposedly) a movie call The Ride, which I know nothing about. You can guess which movie I’ll be focusing on.

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or send me a note on Twitter. I love hearing from readers!

[multiverseofmiracleshq]

Following the various misteps of the Avengers, it was highly suggested that they hold an accountability meeting to go over what preventative measures should be taken if one of their own were to go AWOL and what resources they should have in place for support. Instead, things became tense when the once Captain America Sam Wilson and the Winter Soldier got into a fight about the shield... and it’s new owner dropped in to say hello.

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL CHAT LOG COVERAGE OF THE IC

SAM: He hadn’t really wanted it to come to this. In retrospect, it had to be expected at least a little, but Sam wasn’t thinking about the government. For the first time in two years he turned his mind away what the public would think about him ( hint: it was most likely unfavorable ) and about his own wants and needs. Maybe that made him a bad Captain America, but that was a title. Sam was a person and after Westview he was a person who needed a moment to catch his breath and step away from a legacy he had inherited without hesitation because it was more than just an honor -- it was a duty. Of course Sam had considered the racism, the backlash. He had been Black in America long enough to know how he would be seen. It would be worth it. It would be... Exhausting. Sam was exhausted. Westview had worn him down in a way that he hadn’t experienced in years. He had put in the work when he was discharged. He had led the PTSD support groups because he wanted to practice what he preached. Sam picked up the shield and did his best but he was tired. Weary to the bone exhausted. He didn’t want to talk about his problems but he didn’t want to keep dragging them around so he took a page from Steve’s book and set the shield down. Falcon once more, Sam hung at the back of the room with his arms crossed. His former title being picked up by Walker was listed as a talking point and he’d rather shy away from that. “We waiting on a shrink to start this off or are we supposed to entertain ourselves?”

NATASHA: Reclined in her chair with her ankles crossed, Natasha sent a cursory glance at Sam. She and Steve had discussed the situation at length but she had yet to talk with the man in the center of it all. Nat was, unsurprisingly, not a fan of the American government. She had once actively sought to counteractive it before later toppling one of its pillars. They had never been on stellar terms even if they now called her a hero for doing what was needed. “Heard an agent in the hall say to lock the door until we all start braiding each others hair.” The two legs of her chair that had been briefly suspended connected with the ground as Natasha leaned forward. “They asked if we have resources. We don’t. We haven’t since the Blip. I checked out for a year and came back to a congratulations and call to active duty. We don’t help our people. Not since Berlin.”

BUCKY: "Berlin." James echoed from his place just adjacent to the exit, the door caught in his periphery as he eyed Sam across the table. "We have court mandated therapy with awful shrinks, but I think they reserve that just for mass murderers." He was bitter, and it was obvious in his tone, but they were detached from his words. James obviously directed the feeling at someone in particular, and it wasn't even entirely his fault. "Do you want me to say it, Sam?" he challenged.

STEVE: While there was never any moment of peace that was ever allowed to stretch too far, it felt like each catastrophe was bigger than the last and came up quicker too. And while they all fought, survived, and moved on to the next disaster like it was nothing — the truth of it was, they just never stopped taking hits. Steve didn’t know how to sit still these days, and he especially didn’t know how to enjoy a peaceful moment without worrying when the next thing is going to fall out of the sky and set it up in flames. Anxiety wasn’t so passable for unnecessary worry when it was backed up with evidence and a history of becoming a reality. When he started serving mental health was never on the table for discussion—for the first time he was rather hopeful one of these meetings might actually have the potential to do some good for once. That was, until Bucky and Sam seemed to already begin bickering. He eyed the two of them, arms crossed over his chest comfortably as he leaned back in his chair beside natasha. “I don’t think anyone invited a shrink.”

DAISY: Daisy was admittedly a little uncomfortable with the awkward tension in the room as she sat in her seat and slowly swiveled back and forth, lost in her own thoughts. There was so much to talk about, and they were all pretty touchy topics. Westview, the Accords, whoever the hell John Walker was.. Her mind was racing on what to say. Thankfully, she didn't have to be the first person to speak up as Sam kicked things off. She was pretty angry for him about the new Captain America situation, since it was pretty obvious what the decision boiled down to and it wasn't right. It was kind of ironic the job Daisy now had, considering how anti-government she'd been back before she even joined S.H.I.E.L.D. And stuff like this only ignited that anger in her about how things tended to be handled by the United States. "Agreed. I think we can all agree that the Anomaly wouldn't have happened if Wanda had those kinds of resources."

WANDA: Attendance was mandatory. It was extra mandatory for Wanda, seeing as she was part of the agenda. Her head was held high even though she sat alone with the two chairs on either side of her vacant. Unsure of the dress code, she had arrived in the most nondescript outfit she could think of -- plain hoodie and baseball cap once again making an appearance. “Or, maybe, the government should have been stopped from stealing a body in the first place. Resources are good, yes, but me attending therapy would not have stopped them from desecrating the Vision.”

SAM: So it was gonna be like that then. His gaze locked with Bucky’s across the room, unflinching and refusing to blink. He was already going through the ringer and the last thing he needed was Barnes coming at him as well. The public, the government, his friends. It never really ended. “I don’t know, Buck,” his voice was measured. “What’s there to say?”

DAISY: Daisy completely agreed, but there wasn't much she could say in response to that. She hadn't exactly been in S.W.O.R.D. during that entire ordeal. And even if she was, she wasn't sure if she'd have had any say in what happened there. She rubbed the bridge of her nose for a moment to gather her thoughts before lifting her head up. "That wasn't right, no. And I think any level-headed person would agree with that."

PETER: Being present at these sorts of meetings would never feel normal to Peter, no matter how long he’d donned the Spider-Man mantle. In fact, since his identity had been exposed, the impostor syndrome was at an all time high when it came to his status among the Avengers and the rest of ‘Earth’s mightiest’. He didn’t belong here - he caused more harm than good most of the time - and while most of the others believed he did, that tended to mean his necessary attendance. At the very least, he could be there for Wanda, he thought, the chair he currently sat in tucked against the furthest corner of the room.

BUCKY: The news of John Walker hadn't been quiet - in fact, it had rang through America with fanfare and cheers. They'd celebrated Sam stepping down to be replaced, but James didn't care about the logistics of now. He'd been trying to unstick eggs from a too old, too worn pan when the news filtered in from the living room. He'd turned his tv down just enough for it to be background noise, but the naming of Captain America had been enough to grab his attention. Even worse was the revelation of John Walker, not Sam Wilson, as the man behind the shield, and Sam hadn't even bothered to send him a text. "If you didn't want to carry the shield anymore, I'm sure there are plenty of people more capable than Johnny fucking Appleseed to take it. You should've told someone Sam. That shield wasn't yours to just give away."

MONICA: “What went down with Tyler Hayward never should have happened.” Monica sighed. “And I know we’re trying to be better, but in some ways our hands are tied. The government messes up. A lot. We try and clap back and they punish us. How do you break that cycle?”

STEVE: Steve was just as upset about John Walker as anyone else — giving up the shield to sam had been easy, it had been what Steve wanted. It was going into good hands that belonged to a man he knew was bound by his own need to do what was right. With Sam, there was never any concern, Steve never thought twice about it—but he didn’t know John, and to be perfectly honest his record of being a good soldier wasn’t enough to convince him that he’d be a good cap. Good soldiers followed orders without question—most days you needed that. Hesitation got people killed. But war wasn’t black and white and orders weren’t always coming from an honorable tongue. Whoever held that shielded needed to be able to walk that line—West Point graduate or not, he didn’t think John had what it took to do that. When it came down to it, Steve felt like he was too eager to prove he could be Captain America that he’d never step out on a limb when it came down to it. He’d bow his head and fall in line. “Buck…” Steve started. “He didn’t give it away.” Steve would never know first hand what Sam was going through, and he’d never pretend to, but he did understand what the weight of that shield could feel like when the world didn’t trust it in your hands. It was easier to let it go than to try and be what everyone else wanted—he may hate that it went to John but he didn’t blame Sam for that. “They took it.”

SAM: There it was. Wasn’t his to give away. Only, it was. “I think you’re confused.” Sam shook his head, arms falling to his side. “Like he said, Steve gave me the shield and I gave it to the Smithsonian.” Because he needed one goddamn second to breath and process without the weight of everyones expectations. Steve didn’t get it. Bucky didn’t get it. That shield meant one thing to them but it came with a lot more strings for Sam. He wasn’t just Captain America. He was Captain America and he was Black and more than a few people didn’t know how to correlate the two. He turned to Rogers then, holding a hand out in his direction. “You aren’t my dad, Bucky. Steve’s not my mom. I can speak for myself here. I did what was best for me and I didn’t owe you an explanation.” Nor Carol, for that matter. He had called the museum’s Director when they first opened, the shield smuggled in with the morning light. “You think it doesn’t hurt to see them roll out Walker with applause I never got? You think I like seeing his smug ass up there? Nah.” His hands clenched into fists and released. “Steve gave me the shield, not you. I’m sorry I didn’t do what you wanted with it.”

SCOTT: Between many of the comments being thrown about, there were pockets of awkward silence. Scott knew it was because everyone was thinking, choosing their words carefully, but he couldn’t help but let his mind wander as he took in all the faces in the room. Before he’d met Hank, before all this, he would’ve been another idiot causing trouble for the individuals in this room to stop, but now here he was - sitting shoulder to shoulder with the best and brightest, some of the strongest individuals on the planet - and if that didn’t make someone feel a small sense of self-importance as well as an overwhelming need to make sure he didn’t fuck anything up, Scott didn’t know what would.

BUCKY: James's gaze flickered to Steve, his eyes briefly narrowing before he forced himself to relax. It didn't help much, began the tension was still corded in the muscles of his shoulders, bunching there. It was hard not to be angry; hard not to watch the legacy that had pulled him out of HYDRA's grip be tainted by a boy scout that didn't deserve it. The Winter Soldier could never be Captain America; James would never be able to take that shield and be the beacon of hope for America. His history was too well known; his stain on history never washing out. Sam had been the guy to step into those shoes, keep the legacy safe, and become someone James had even begun to confide in. To consider a friend. "You could've given it to literally anyone else." He could hear the petulance in his tone, but he didn't relent. He didn't know how. "But you gave to a museum. What, is Steve dead to you? Were you trying to memorialize him or something?"

DAISY: Clearly the government had a bit of a corruption problem, whether that was HYDRA infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D., or a corrupt member just taking things into their own hands. Daisy glanced over at Monica in the seat next to her and took a deep breath before glancing back at Wanda. “What Hayward did isn’t a representation of what organizations like S.W.O.R.D or even S.H.I.E.L.D. stand for. But you make a good point, they shouldn’t have taken Vision’s body. It was out of our control, though. Monica was... gone. And I was up in space. Other agents should have stepped in, sure, but we’re not your enemies.”

SAM: If there was a place to have this verbal confrontation, in front of  all the Avengers during an “accountability” meeting that actually seemed to be nothing productive wasn’t it. They should have taken a clue from the Sokovian Accords meeting where Ross and his projections of their destruction had helped break them apart. Maybe he and Bucky should have taken it outside, but Sam was sick of trying to find the balance between biting his tongue publicly and speaking his mind to assert his own independence. “Who? Who else was I going to give it to? Not you. Nat doesn’t want it. Tony already took it but he’s gone now.” It wasn’t like Sam hadn’t considered his options. He just kept drawing up blanks. “I’m going to explain something to you, Bucky. Steve isn’t the shield. I’m not the shield. It’s a symbol and I put it back with all the other Captain America stuff in the exhibit. The Smithsonian called me. Two years ago. Real nice speech about how good of care it’d get. They didn’t say they were going to sell it out.”

BUCKY: "Some decisions you shouldn't make on your own." that bitterness seeped into his tone again - especially as James considered the fact that his life was actively policed and monitored. He couldn't so much as breathe without someone looking in on him; he couldn't imagine even trying to make moves like Sam without bringing it up with someone. "You didn't know either, based on the scowl on your face." he inclined his head towards Carol, who was being uncharacteristically quiet.

CAROL: She simply met James's gaze, her gaze level, before she spoke. "Has anyone bothered to look in to John Walker?"

STEVE: Steve had remained quiet, not wanting to speak over sam or get in between a conversation that clearly needed to be had — but it was odd to listen to a conversation about you and something that took up most of your adult life and not weigh in on it. But he accepted the control he had relinquished when he handed the shield over to begin with. Besides — Sam had pretty much covered it. The shield was in fact his to do what he wanted with—give it away if he had wanted to. The point was that no one asked Sam, they crafted a sneaky way to take it and hand the mantle over to someone else. And you could try to pretend it was for a dozen other reasons other than the fact that Sam was Black—but it’d be bullshit. Still, he wasn’t willing to throw his two cents where it didn’t need to be. He could only support Sam the best he could and while he understood Bucky’s anger, he did feel it was misdirected. At the opportunity to direct the frustration at Walker, Steve took it. “Yeah, as best we could. His records come up clean.” Steve said, though his tone was dry. Implying that it was expected to be that way. The government was going to either do its research to find the cleanest file they could, or craft one that sparkled. “Not that that ever meant anything.”

NOVA: Sam knew he didn’t agree with any one individual in the room, and he wasn’t entirely sure his opinion really mattered. But he needed to be present, to listen, and to understand where exactly things were going from here. The mention of this ‘new’ Captain America caught his attention, and he sat up just a little bit straighter when Steve and the others continued to speak.

CAROL: Carol regarded Steve as she took in his tone. She'd read Walker's file and he'd seemed like the ideal, perfect candidate. It was unsettling. "Little too squeaky clean, don't you think?" She didn't wan to listen to Barnes and and Sam argue about the shield. That was neither here nor there, and maybe Sam could've handed it to someone instead of the museum, but he'd made that decision much in the way he did everything now. Alone. She didn't let that sour her words. "You think someone who has never made a mistake knows how to recognize one?"

STEVE: “Way too clean.” Steve agreed. “And, no, I don’t. I also don’t think he’s willing to ask the right questions or stand up to the right people. After the Accords — with the government taking it from Sam, that shield  may as well be a a signature on enlistment paperwork. First time he steps out of line they’ll find the next army strong West Point cadet to swap him out with. Even if there isn’t an agenda on his end, he’s bound to contracts and the military.” There was also the glaring fact that the shield wasn’t his. It was Sam’s, and until he handed it to someone else, it should have stayed that way.

SAM: “Your opinion doesn’t matter here. My life, my shield. I’m Captain America, holding the shield that symbolizes freedom but I can’t even make my own decisions or decide what I want to do independently? Screw that. Screw you too, Buck. I did this alone so I would’t have to sit here and look at your smug, righteous face as you tell me what I should do.” As Carol began speaking and the conversation switched to John, Sam shook his head and moved towards the back of the room.

BUCKY: He wanted to let it go, he wanted to watch Sam walk away and join in on the evolving discussion, but he couldn't. His resolve just snapped. "You know something, Sam? Your 'I am an island' act is a bunch of bullshit. You think you made the right decision? Whoop dee doo. But you alienated everyone who gives a damn about you and you didn't talk to anyone about it. You wanna tell me again why that's okay? You wanna tell me again why you deserve people to put their lives on the line for you when you won't even have a conversation with them?"

NATASHA: Head inclining to the side as she watched the drama unfold, Natasha waited n silence for a moment. “If there’s one thing I’m good at,” she mused. “It’s finding ledgers. I’ll look into Walker. Most boy scouts aren’t that blue.” Her lips twitched as she glanced at Steve. “But in the meanwhile, having a pissing match isn’t going to help.”

PIETRO: Pietro was hardly a fan of the meetings, they were long and dull, and he spent far too long partially attentive to unimportant people who thought they were, all blabbering their opinions. These meetings were by all accounts — the bane of his existence. Alas, he showed up. he half listened. and occasionally, got a word in edgewise. With Luna cradled in his arm, wrapped in a baby-yellow blanket, he and Crystalia entered the meeting—which (much to his dismay) seemed to have barely begun. He didn’t appear to outwardly acknowledge Wanda—but then again, he didn’t need to. as they walked by, his greeting drifted through his mind as clearly for her as if he’d spoken it. Sora. He caught her gaze.

CRYSTALIA: After two weeks in Westview, Crystalia would have been more than content to stay in New Attilan far away from her ‘neighbors’ and tormentor. But Pietro had insisted and Crystal, despite her better judgement, had deferred to her fiance. She refused to look at Wanda as they entered, instead fussing for a moment with the baby’s blanket where it was tucked against Pietro. “Daisy,” she tilted her head in acknowledgement. “I see we came all this way for virtually nothing.”

DAISY: Daisy talking with Wanda quietly faded into the background of the conversations as Sam and Bucky's fighting got louder and louder, until the two feuding men encompassed the entire focus of the room. She raised her eyebrows at their exchanges and stayed quiet, not feeling like she had any sort of place to speak with them. She had conventionally good relationships with the both of them, so it was hard to really pick sides. She understood Sam's choice, and knew none of this was his intention. He had a right to give that shield up, whether anyone liked it or not. But she also sympathized with Bucky too. It was rough to jump back and gain people's trust after being controlled the way he was by HYDRA. She would know, after turning on her entire team to work with Hive. It was violating and traumatic, and then having to be monitored so closely just made everything ten times worse on your mental health. And while she knew realistically he couldn't have taken the shield himself, it had to be frustrating to see something like this happen. And Sam unfortunately was an easy target to pin the blame on. Her attention was directed over to Pietro and Crystal as they entered the room with their baby in hand, and her eyes widened as she stared down at some papers on the table in front of her and tried to avert her gaze. She hadn’t seen Pietro since their whole incident back at the Avengers Compound, which ended in an entire city street being ripped into chunks of pavement. “Oh God.” She mumbled quietly, sure that Monica probably heard her. And then Crystal was approaching her and she lifted her head and raised an eyebrow. “What is that supposed to mean?” Maybe playing dumb wasn’t the best strategy, but she was honestly kind of hoping that Pietro hadn’t told her. But she knew it wasn’t gonna be that easy.

SAM: Breathe in. Breathe out. Sam took a second to flatten his hands against his jeans and wipe his palms. When he turned back around, he stuck them in his the pockets of his bomber to hide the fists. “You must have got some massive balls to be coming at me like you got your shit together. From what I remember, you wrote the book on I’m an island.  You got any friends other than me and Steve? Where’s Yelena? She willing to look you in the eye yet or does she still hate your guts?” His jaw was grinding together so hard he felt the tension in his head. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, Barnes, by not calling you up for some girl talk. I didn’t want -- I didn’t want to do this anymore, and you’re not gonna get my reasoning. I respect you just like I respect Carol and Steve but none of you know what it’s like to be Black and have to factor that into your decisions. I talked to Rhodey, that good enough? Because he gets it. He gets it and I’m tired, man, of having to try and explain myself.” Sam shook his head. “I’m not asking anyone to put their life on the line for me right now. I’m asking for a break from this bullshit.” He gestured around the room of heroes. “I just need to catch my breath, and I can’t seem to do that even without the shield around you.”

BUCKY: The chair James was seated in was already creaking beneath his weight and though he tried to steel himself, the anger was only mounting. He rose quickly, the chair being pushed out from under him as a result. The plates shifted against one another as he balled his hand into a fist, the glean of gold flittering in the light a juxtaposition to the man donning it. The words were hot on his tongue; his retort ready, but James instead withdrew, extinguishing that flame as quickly as it had been ignited. He didn't say anything more. He simply exited the room, the door cluttering loudly behind him as he slammed it shut.

VISION: He had spent quite a while debating whether or not to attend the meeting, not sure whether his presence would be a benefit to his wife or a hindrance—especially with other much more pressing matters to tend to. Yet he’d also concluded the world should know The Vision was—alive. Back online. Perhaps he should have better read the room before he phased through the wall, but by the time he’d come to regret that, he was already emerging and re-solidifying just as Mr. Barnes stalked out. “It appears I’ve interrupted something, my apologies.”

RIRI: She didn’t do well with people. Never had, and yet, Riri always showed up when she needed to. Being Ironheart meant something to her. A kid in a garage from the wrong side of town wasn’t often excepted to amount to much but they had always called her exceptional. Being exceptional hadn’t saved her dad or Natalie. But, with some effort, it could save people in the future. So Riri sat there as the former Cap and former Winter Soldier went for each others throats. A part of her knew what Sam meant. She understood the sharp cut of racism, but it wasn’t her place to speak up. Instead, she looked to Peter. “Pretty sure this has done the opposite of what it was supposed to.”

CINDY: Cindy knew that she was going to feel uncomfortable and out of place coming to this meeting, but she felt a little more comfortable knowing some of the other younger heroes were there too. It definitely helped her with the anxiety she got at the sight of Barnes' chair being thrown back from under him. Things were definitely tense, and she barely knew what to say. Thankfully, Riri spoke up and Cindy nodded her head slowly and spoke quietly. "It's like 12 Angry Men. That movie about the jury all trying to come to one verdict. Just like that."

PETER: Peter had remained quiet throughout the entire ordeal, flinching visibly when the door slammed shut behind James as he stormed out. Vision entered not a moment later and Peter’s brain exploded a bit, “What - the fu—“ Riri and Cindy’s words shook him out of his minor stupor, but the teen still couldn’t shake that deer in the headlights look, “I— I don’t even - what is going on - “

CINDY: Cindy's eyes widened too at the sight of the Vision just phasing into the room. Honestly, it took everything in her not to jump at it. She was still getting used to having conversations with people outside of her bunker, so all of this was definitely a lot. Never in a million years did she imagine she'd ever be sitting in a room with all of these people. Her life had changed so drastically in the past seven years and she wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to all of this hero stuff. She didn't know how Peter did it. Then again, looking at him it looked like it was practically having a stroke. "Wish I could tell you I did, but I'm right there with you, Parker."

WANDA: It was a headache. Wanda felt the tension in the room, but as a telepath it was more than palpable. She knew both men but had a closer relationship with Sam. She had hurt both men, actually, even if their anger wasn’t directed at her. Wanda felt Pietro moments before he entered the room and she nodded at him with a small smile. Frate. Knowing that Crystalia - who he seemed to love for some reason in a way she had never seen her twin love before - didn’t like her, Wanda refrained from greeting the couple or her niece. Instead, she blinked in surprise as her husband phased in through a departing Bucky. “Vision.” Wanda jumped to her feet. “You came.” A surprise, considering she was on a heavy version of probation and forbidden from doing anything with reality. The fact that she hadn’t technically brought Vision back was likely to be ignored. But that didn’t matter. She held out a hand. “Darling. I’m glad you’re here.”

RIRI: “Stop looking like you’re about to wet your pants.” Riri nudged Peter with one shoulder. She didn’t really know Cindy so it was with a quiet hesitation that she glanced at her. “What’s happening is that people - like always -are fighting instead of getting stuff done. And we just sit here while they ignore us.”

MILES: Miles had been quiet for the entirety of the conversation, carefully listening to everything Sam was saying. It sucked, because he got it. Being Spider-Man was the one time the world didn’t see him as a Black kid first. So, seeing the way everyone treated Sam, who’d only ever been a good hero and a good man, just made him hope and pray that no one ever unmasked him. He never wanted that part of his daily life to bleed into Spider-Man’s. Sam had a shield but nothing protected him from racism. It all left him conflicted—he admired Sam for standing up for himself but part of him felt guilty for not doing the same. It made him begin to see how wearing his mask held a deeper meaning for him than it would for someone like Peter. “We all thought that guy was dead, right?” Miles asked, finally bringing himself back into the conversation between Peter, Cindy, and Riri.

STEVE: Steve was pretty used to the unexpected, but honestly the sight of Vision just had him more than a little taken by surprise. His eyes immediately shot to Wanda, who had resurrected two separate Avengers now and then he looked back to Nat. “Did...we know that was happening?”

CINDY: Cindy glanced to Miles and then back towards Riri, nodding her head as she tilted it to the side. "I'm pretty sure that's what people said, right? That all of Westview is gone, including the Vision that was inside of there?" She remembered that pretty vividly, actually. Mostly because her heart ached for Wanda to have to loose all of that. Family was such a foundation, and losing all of it at once had to be heartbreaking. Cindy had gone through losing her parents, and that was painful enough. And even then, she still had some hope that they were still out there. Actually losing your children and husband had to hurt ten times worse.

PETER: Peter leaned forward, burying his face in his hands, “You’re right,” he glanced to Riri for a brief moment before hiding his face again, “This is pointless. Accountability meeting my ass.” He hoped that last part wasn’t too loud, but just loud enough that his fellow young heroes would hear it. Before he could think of anything else to say, or before any other frustratedly snide remarks came spilling out, he acknowledged Miles’ comment, “Yeah. He was.”

RIRI: If anyone there got it, it was Miles. Riri couldn’t openly say that considering the fact that his identity was more under wraps, but she still glanced over at him with pursed lips before turning back to the group. “--uh, yeah, like three times over. Guess she just keeps bringing him back. I feel like someone should comment on that?”

PIETRO: Pietro narrowed his eyes at Daisy as he passed her, but otherwise said nothing. Had he told anyone about the incident? No. Was that to save Daisy’s ass from Wanda? Also, no. He was merely salvaging his own pride. No one needed to know anything, and as long as she didn’t out herself, all would be fine. “It means, as per usual, we could have stayed home.” he replied bitterly.

NADIA: Positioned to the side of Riri, Nadia had her head resting in her hand. She had been tapping the table lightly with her free hand as she mentally recited the periodic table. It was all to stay awake. They had been up late in the labs and she was exhausted. “Did you bring the snacks?” She turned to Sam ( Alexander ) as she sat up straight.

CRYSTALIA: Light eyes moving from Daisy to Pietro, Crystal waited a beat before nodding slowly. She was more of a representative than her sister, but Medusalith was Queen and that meant she was often too busy to indulge meetings such as these. “I take it there’s precautions this time to stop people from... overstepping?” That was directed at Wanda.

NOVA: Sam’s eyes were carefully trained on whoever was speaking at the time, but he heard Nadia’s request clear as day. Retrieving a small pouch of M&M’s from one of the very few pockets in his suit, he nonchalantly passed it to Nadia beneath the table before revealing a small granola bar for himself, “Of course I did — “ Tearing into the plastic as gently as he could, Sam took a tentative bite, hoping to god no one would call on him to speak in that moment.

DAISY: Daisy could feel Pietro's eyes glaring a hole through her, and she narrowed hers right back as she sat up in her chair and nodded her head firmly. "Yeah, you probably should have stayed at home." He was lucky she had let him leave without forcibly taking him in the other day. She was trying to do him a favor, sympathizing with the whole situation of him running Wanda away after what happened at Westview.

NADIA: “Sucrose. My favorite. Thank you.” Nadia whispered, popping three in her mouth before offering Sam one. She never felt like she had much to contribute to these -- funny, considering how much she usually had to say .”Sam, should we be participating more?”

PIETRO: At Crystal’s concern, Pietro pressed a quick but soft kiss to her temple. “She won’t come over here, I promise.” He assured her. Wanda understood how Crystal felt and even though it tore him in half —Crys needed time. He wouldn’t force that, even as badly as he wanted Wanda to meet his daughter. At Daisy’s comment, Pietro adjusted the baby in his arms and tilted his head in a manner that made him look uncanny to his twin. “Is that meant to be a threat?” He challenged.

DAISY: Daisy glared at Pietro, her one hand firmly gripping the metal table in front of her and the other clenched into a fist as she resisted the urge to just throw a sonic wave in his direction. But she wasn't a vigilante anymore, she was a government agent again. And she couldn't just use violence to solve her conflicts, as much as that was her first instinct sometimes. "I just kind of figured you would have got the message last time, that's all." She settled on, her eyes glancing down at the infant in his arms before shooting him one more hardened look.

MILES: Miles’ gaze met Riri’s and though they didn’t actually speak there was a mutual understanding to be had. He appreciated Cindy and Peter and Gwen, but there were just certain things that it was nice to have someone around that you didn’t have to explain them to. “Should we?” he asked, tilting his head. “I feel like if we just let her have this one, she might chill out.”

CRYSTALIA: Eyes rolling, Crystal muttered under her breath. “She doesn’t need to be near us to do something.” Wanda’s power was vast in a way that scared the Inhuman because there was no one she had grown up with who could do anything close on that scale. Her gaze hardened now as she became half tempted to take the baby to get Luna out of the middle. “I’m a Princess, but I don’t have to use my title and command you, Daisy, an Inhuman subject to tell me what business you have with my fiance, do I?”

PIETRO: He’d taken a breath, words loaded up on his tongue and ready to fly just before Crystal cut him off. At the new piece of information, his mouth closed and he regarded Daisy with surprise and a touch of amusement. Inhuman. And here he thought she’d been mutant. Regardless of his pride, Crystalia wouldn’t be fond of Daisy’s answer should she get one out of her.

DAISY: Daisy's eyebrows shot up pretty quickly at that as she let out a huff of a laugh and tilted her head over at the redheaded Princess. "I'm sorry, did you just call me a subject? " She was smiling, but it definitely was coming from a place of disbelief as she shook her head and chuckled again. "You don't get to decide that I'm suddenly Inhuman enough for you to command when it's convenient for you. I'm a Nuhuman, remember?" Maybe she had suppressed her slight annoyance at being called that when Crystal had tried to welcome her over, but it was coming out in full force now. All her life she felt out of place and isolated from everyone else, and now when she was finally secure in her identity with being an Inhuman, suddenly she's supposed to come to terms with the fact that because of the way it happened to her, she wasn't pure enough? No, that was bullshit. And when she realized that Crystal was asking her what happened, she turned to Pietro, totally amused. "You didn't tell her?"

RIRI: It was still uneven. The amount of white heroes to Black - or POC - was severely tilted. Sam was still there but had taken a seat by Steve and Natasha. Riri didn’t know what to say to him so she opted to sit by her friends instead. They didn’t have answers but that was okay. “Or she’s just gonna keep doing it. Idk. Someone could tell her therapist.” They didn’t need any more crazy white ladies running around.

NOVA: Absolutely nothing was getting done at this meeting after James had stormed out, save for the rehashing of drama and other unrelated topics. Sam could practically feel the tension in the room building, but he graciously accepted an M&M from Nadia whom he was continuously grateful was also present at this, “Honestly, I don’t know if I want to make things worse... although I’m not entirely sure that’s possible at this point.”

CRYSTALIA: “My family governs all Inhumans, and Nuhumans are an accidental offshoot. Our Mists, are responsibility.” Medusa had made a statement when the Mists had spread that they would provide aid for the Nuhumans if need be. Her patience was running thin though, and Crystal faced Pietro. “Tell me what?”

PIETRO: “Should I have gone home and told my fiancee the deranged lady at the avengers compound tried to drag the father of her child into S.W.O.R.D.?” There had been a number of reasons not to tell her — he avoided several arguments and an explanation. At Crystal’s immediate anger, anyone with half a brain would know why he didn’t say anything. “She tore up the road in front of the compound trying to take me in after I took Wanda from the Hex site. Might have worked if she’d been a little faster.” He taunted and as he spoke, Luna gently pulled at the pale strands of his hair and patted the stubble along the side of his jaw.

CRYSTALIA: With no Luna to hold, there was nothing to stop Crystal from crossing her arms over her chest. “Let me get this straight. After being tortured for two weeks by your sister, you left me and our child to visit her but ended up playing hopscotch with her?” She jutted her chin towards Daisy. “And for what reason did you see it fit to try and apprehend him? Wanda willingly went to your custody.” A wind stirred up between them, blowing towards Daisy until Crystal covered her face for a moment. “After what we’ve been put through, you should tell your fiancee the truth.”

PIETRO: Pietro huffed. “No. I stopped by the facility to pick up things from our old room for Luna and you because you wanted to move back to Attilan, on my way in—I ran into her.” he jutted his chin at daisy and glowered. “The whole ordeal took no more than five minutes.” he shrugged.

NATASHA: Through all the fighting, Natasha noticed the buzz of her phone. She had been the one hooked to the front gate of the Facilities from her time living there during the Snap and the permissions had never been removed. As soon as the face ID unlocked her phone, she frowned slightly and quickly excused herself. Nat recognized the faces on the screen but they were the last ones she had expected. After typing in the gate code and opening the fence, she waited with her hands on her hips in the entryway. “I’m surprised you have time from your busy schedule to stop by.” Natasha’s voice was polite as she led the surprise visitor towards the conference room. Opening the door, she came in first with a concerned expression on her face. “Look alive. We have a guest.”’

DAISY: "Still, doesn't mean you govern me. And because I have a job," Daisy stated simply, not seeing what more reason she needed. "Just so we're clear, Wanda broke several laws. And Pietro kidnapped her after she was ready to willingly go into S.W.O.R.D. custody. That's also illegal." She shrugged as she shook her head and rolled her eyes. "And I wasn't trying to take you into custody. I was trying to talk to you, actually. And stated that several times. And then you tried to run again." Daisy wasn't fully sure what Crystal's powers were, but judging by the wind she could only assume it'd put up a fight if need be. Not that Daisy wanted to fight, but she wouldn't hesitate to defend herself. "Trust me, if I had wanted to take you into custody, I would have." She could have thrown boulders at him, or broken one of his legs. But she was doing him a courtesy by not doing any of that.

JOHN: John had been notified of the meeting a few days prior, but that did nothing to quell the small pit of unease that felt like a lead weight in his stomach. His overall reception from the public had been fairly positive, but joining a group of bonafide superheroes, let alone those that had worked the closest with Steve before he decided to give up the shield - there was no telling how this would go. He and Lemar were greeted at the gates to the compound by Romanoff, and John reciprocated her seemingly polite greeting with a soft smile - one that might have felt a little too forced if you looked close enough, “Anything for Earth’s mightiest.” Natasha lead the duo down the hall and John could hear her address the group after entering the room. Straightening up a bit, he followed suit, coming to a stop beside Natasha, instinctively falling into the at ease stance. “Everyone,” he nodded a curt but firm greeting, “John Walker. Captain America. Pleasure to meet you all.”

STEVE: Their phones went off at the same time, but she was up first. He stayed in his chair, observing the notification from the front gate, perhaps longer than necessary. He opened it to pull up the small video display of John Walker standing outside. Steve clicked the phone off and braced himself in time for Nat to walk in with him in tow behind her. Steve didn’t move from leaned position he held with his chin against his knuckles and a blank look on his face as he observed John in a uniform that looked wrong on him.

SAM: This motherfucker. Sam cursed under his breath as Walker entered the room, looking smug in his shiningly patriotic uniform. He felt underdressed in his jeans and sneakers as he stood before the guy who had taken ( been given ) his job and was apparently better at it in the publics opinion. “Walker.” His voice was tight. “Didn’t think this was your scene. Run out of fans to high five?” Despite how the words could have been taken, Sam forced a chuckle into his throat to keep the words light.

NATASHA: With one tight smile, Natasha left Walker’s side to return to her seat by Steve. She leaned over as red hair brushed his shoulder. “Unannounced. Unless you invited him?” No, Steve wouldn’t do that with Sam present. “Not like we can kick him out.”

JOHN: John could tell there was malice behind Sam’s words - why wouldn’t there be? He’d been graciously given the job Sam passed up on, and wanted nothing more than to befriend the man, to fight alongside him - only Sam didn’t seem to feel the same. Far from it. Natasha’s comment didn’t seem to help either, but John’s jaw clenched and he gave Sam that familiar megawatt smile all the TV cameras couldn’t seem to get enough of. “Thought we’d offer our services,” he gestured to himself and Lemar and the other man nodded in acknowledgement, “Wherever needed.”

STEVE: Steve silently shook his head at Nat,  observing John with an empty expression. His chin rested in his hand, gaze wavering between Sam and the kid. “Roster’s kinda full.” Steve said, eyes trained on the uniform that just seemed wrong on him.

SAM: “Tough break, buddy. We’re having group therapy right now.” He left Wanda out, unsure how John/the government felt about her. “I may not be Cap anymore, but I’m sure I can speak for everyone here when I say we’re glad to see you off the screen and in person.” He and Sam had already met, but from what Sam knew Walker hadn’t been around.

CINDY: Cindy raised her eyebrows and slowly glanced over to Peter and all of the other younger heroes sitting next to her. "I kinda wish I had brought some popcorn right about now." She whispered, hoping that she was quiet enough so that the rest of the room didn't hear that.

JOHN: John refused to meet Steve’s eyes for more than a brief second, but standing there, in front of the entire group, he could practically feel the retired Captain’s gaze burning a hole in his head. Chin up, he reminded himself,  This isn’t your fault - they chose you, before turning to address Sam again. “Oh, I’m no stranger to group therapy,” it was clear Sam was mostly joking, but John kept up, firing back, “ - nothing better than getting your feelings right out in the open, eh Sam? Builds good rapport.”

SAM: It was almost impossible for Sam to resist the urge to pull a Bucky and storm out of the room. Walker’s presence felt deliberate. Disrespectful, even, but he didn’t want to start tossing that word around yet. John Walker hadn’t done anything except take a shield that was handed to him -- but that didn’t mean it sat right with Sam. There were quite a few feelings he wouldn’t have minded being out in the opinion, but Sam bit back a retort. “Looks like you picked the wrong night then. This visit spontaneous, or did you know we all had to meet?”

DAISY: Daisy kept her fists clenched under the table as she turned in automatic response to the new entrance in the room. The sight of John Walker walking in was enough to get Daisy’s mind off of wanting to say anything more to Crystal and Pietro. Her hotheadedness was distracted by the interaction between Sam and John, thankfully.

JOHN: Sam’s response was more than expected, but that didn’t make it sting any less. They clearly didn’t want him here. But the government did - and John didn’t work for the Avengers. “Aw, well that’s a shame,” he shrugged, feigning disappointment, “You won’t mind if I hang around for a bit anyway then, will ya?” A grin that would scare the scales off a crocodile followed his quip before blonde brows raised and his expression neutralized, “And it was spontaneous - like I said, just thought I’d drop in. Say hello.”

NATASHA: A brow arched, Nat’s arms crossing over her chest as she shifted in her chair. They had a few things to go over but it would be stupid to dive too deep with John there. You couldn’t exactly talk about how one should go about defying the government if the government was standing there grinning like they were old friends. “Of course not.” Natasha inclined her head towards two empty seats, face blank. “I just realized no one asked. You weren’t planning on applying for membership, were you?” That wasn’t an invite. It was super spy for *if you were planning on asking, don’t.*

JOHN: As the duo moved to occupy the two empty seats, John addressed Natasha with a strained laugh, “I think I’ll leave that gig to you all. Lot less structure in what you do,” they both took, their movements calculated and deliberate, “Us military guys thrive on structure.” John noticed many of the room’s occupants were staring at him, and he’d be lying if it didn’t make him mildly uneasy. But he waved it off, mentally and physically, moving a hand dismissively in Sam and Nat’s general direction, “Go ahead, don’t let me keep you.”

NATASHA: Sending Steve one brief look, Natasha rose from her chair to the front of the room. She braced both her arms on the podium that had been left after some conference with a half smile. “Okay, everyone. You heard the man.” Her smile was manufactured. “Let’s continue.” It’d be fake. It’d be small talk. It’d be, unfortunately, the best that they could do. The game was always changing and the new “Cap” in the room was just one sign of it. They’d have the ext day to recap and strategize. The rest of the night was officially about playing nice.

[meenasmoon]

Waiting for a Star to Fall Ch 3: Too Late to Turn Back Now

Hey y’all!! I know I’m late to sing week but I’ve been crafting this baby for awhile and she’s finally here. I have the week off so I hope to make some serious headway with my updates. Stay tuned for more.

Meena felt like her heart jumped into her throat the moment her baby blue eyes locked with the warm brown eyes of her favorite late night diner customer, but quickly sunk back into her stomach as soon as his eyes slid south and widened when they came to her stomach. Reflexively Meena’s hand slid down to cup her rounded belly and they stared at each other silently for what felt like forever.

  Behind her Ash was glaring frantically at him, her eyes wide with horror as she watched her handsome British neighbor flounder like a fish out of water. From the look in his eyes he had somehow missed the very apparent fact that Meena was pregnant. She had not counted on him being so thick that he wouldn’t notice that. She gestured frantically for him to say something because she could practically see Meena pulling away from him. 

Say something you idiot. She practically screamed with her expression until Johnny finally got the message and blurted out the first thing that popped into his head. 

“P-Pregnant.” He stumbled over the word and Ash’s head hit the table in despair. He winced when Meena’s previously open expression hardened and her arms tightened over her stomach as if trying to shield it from him. 

Mayday! Mayday! Alarm bells were roaring in Johnny’s head as his brain frantically scrambled for something to say, anything to save this moment with the most beautiful woman that he had ever laid eyes on. 

“Wait! I-I mean. That’s not wot I meant. I just didn’t notice tha’ the other night.” He was scrambling. He knew it, Ash knew it, hell even his own daughter was giving him a thoroughly unimpressed look. 

“You didn’t notice… that I’m…pregnant?” Meena raised her eyebrows in disbelief and beads of sweat started to gather on the back of his neck. Johnny glanced at Ash for assistance but the fiery woman was looking stubbornly down at her plate, acting like she didn’t even know him. 

“Well y-ya were behind the counter a-and ya were so beautiful I just… well I was lookin’ at yer eyes instead.” He tried to smile but it just turned into a painful attempt at a grin. Meena just stared at him for a second before her cheeks blossomed into a bright pink and her smile softened. 

“Really?” She whispered and the breath practically rushed out of Johnny’s chest, his relief was practically palpable. 

“I mean yeah.” He gulped loudly and nervously sat on the bench next to her so that he was facing her, “Ya look real nice today.” 

“Thank you.” 

This time she was smiling and blushing, her arms relaxed instead of guarding. Ash exchanged relieved looks with Cora and then resumed munching on her chips, watching their conversation like it was her favorite movie. 

Meena fiddled with her dress nervously and Johnny found himself desperately hoping that he wasn’t going to fuck it up any more than he almost had. To his surprise, Meena was the first one to break the silence that had settled between the two of them. 

“If I had known you were going to be here I would have brought pie instead of cheesecake.” She giggled and suddenly Johnny was relaxed again, his nerves had cooled down enough that he could return to his normal suave self. He snatched up her fork with a snarky smile and leaned over to steal a bite of the cheesecake off her plate, her amused laughter making his heart stutter in his chest. He winked at her as he shoved the fork in mouth but his playfulness disappeared as soon as the confection hit his tastebuds. 

“Oh my god.” He whispered and looked down at his fork like in utter bewilderment before turning his attention back to her where she sat, eagerly waiting for his opinion, “Meena this is the best cheesecake tha’ I ‘ave ever ‘ad.”

  Meena turned bright red at his compliment and nervously fiddled with her ringlets. His smile softened and he opened his mouth to either shower her with more compliments or beg for more cheesecake, he hadn’t decided, but suddenly she gasped out loud and grabbed her stomach. 

Every fatherly instinct that he had honed since the day that Cora was born flared to life and he and Ash both hovered over her semi-frantically. 

“Meena?! Are ya okay?” He asked as Ash practically leapt over the picnic table to come to her rescue. Before Meena could get a word in edgewise Ash had joined Johnny in fussing over her and her timid voice couldn’t make it over theirs. 

“Something’s wrong.” Ash declared and turned her attention over to Johnny as the two began to frantically debate about what was wrong and what they could do. 

“Why does there ‘ave to be summit wrong? Maybe it’s just some normal cramps or summit.” Johnny nervously ran his fingers through his hair, effectively messing it up. 

“Oye pendejo, she’s having twins. There is no normal here.” Ash hissed out and Johnny’s tan face paled and his brown eyes popped open so wide that it looked like they might fly out of his skull. 

“TWINS?! Why doesn’t anyone tell me these things!” His voice went a little high with his anxiety and he quickly turned to his daughter who was watching the whole scene unfold while she shoved Cheetos into her mouth. 

“Cora, love. Go get a glass a’ water fer Meena eh?” She nodded and dashed away into the house to retrieve the water, despite Meena’s weak protests. Meena watched the sweet girls dash away and then turned back to where Johnny was pacing and Ash was trailing after him, throwing out worst case scenarios and steadily driving the poor man into a frenzy. Meena let out a frustrated sigh and waited until Johnny came by her again before she grabbed his hand in a gentle but firm grip, effectively stopping them both in their tracks. 

Slowly she placed his hand on her stomach and waited for a second until a familiar fluttering pressed up against his palm. Johnny melted into a British puddle immediately, kneeling so that he was eye level with her belly. His hands shook slightly as another little kick fluttered against his fingers. 

“Ash! Ash look the baby kicked.” He whispered as if anything louder than a whisper would somehow ruin the moment. Ash took up residence next to him and grinned at Meena’s belly when her friend guided her hand next to where Johnny’s was practically glued to her bump. 

“Awwww!” Ash gushed as soon as the little flutters started up again, “Hola queridos.” 

Meena rolled her eyes at them and let out a heavy sigh, “Now that I have your attention, it was just a kick to the kidney. The imps are getting restless.” She raised her eyebrows meaningfully at their sheepish looks but she couldn’t hide the smile that was blooming across her face. The perfect cure for frantic parents turned out to be kicking babies. Who would have thought? 

“What’s going on over here? Everything okay?” Meena looked up to see that their little display had caught the attention of all of the adults, who were now jogging over to check up on them. Buster was the first to arrive, his kind face screwed up with concern, but Meena just met his look with a contented smile and gestured to her stomach. 

“Oh nothing big. Just a little kick.” She shrugged, a little embarrassed now that all of the attention was on her. Buster smiled in relief and in seconds Meena was surrounded by eager parents asking to feel the kicks. After everyone, even Mike, had a turn placing their hand on her stomach and cooing over how strong the little babies were going to be, Meena was starting to feel even more restless than before. Thankfully a distraction in the form of Cora bursting through the wall of adoring parents with a glass of water. 

Meena thanked her and quickly took the glass, gulping down the refreshing liquid eagerly until the glass was empty and she was feeling much better. Using her newfound energy she pushed herself up onto her feet, swaying precariously for a second before strong arms steadied her. She looked to her side to find Johnny smiling worriedly at her as he continued to support her. 

“Thanks Johnny.” She sighed and let him lead her away from the now chattering crowd. Meena vaguely deciphered their conversations and surmised that she had inspired a trip down memory lane for everyone and they were now immersed in stories of their beloved children. Meena winced again as one of the twins delivered a particularly grumpy kick straight to her bladder. She gripped Johnny’s arm tightly and let out another little gasp that had him descending back into a panicked headspace. 

“Relax. Relax. They’re just a little restless today. I’m fine.” Johnny nodded but he didn’t seem overly convinced as he lead her over to a comfortable looking patio chair that invited her to sit down and enjoy. Meena indulged the suddenly overprotective Johnny and let him lower her into the chair. The relief from aches that she had forgotten were bothering her brought a content sigh from her lips and she relaxed back into the cushions. Johnny settled himself next to her on a lawn chair and when he didn’t give any impression that he was going to leave, Meena engaged him in conversation. 

Ash was halfway through a story about Hendrix’s first word when she realized that Meena and Johnny had all but disappeared. She scanned the yard, making note of the fact that her rambunctious son had escaped timeout and was engaged in a furious water battle with the other children. It didn’t take her long to find Johnny and Meena in their new perch on the patio furniture and for a second she considered going over to join them, if only to satisfy to her own curiosity, but when she saw the positively enamored look on Johnny’s face as he listened to Meena talk, she decided that it was probably better to leave the love birds alone. She would never admit it but she had begun to worry about the solitary lifestyle of her British friend, but then Meena had come stumbling upon their little family and filled in a space that she didn’t even know was empty. Already she was attached to the curvy mother-to-be, but then again so was everyone else that she met. Meena just had a way of making people fall in love with her with just a shy smile and some kind words. 

Meena felt her eyes grow heavy as she listened to Johnny talk about the family garage that he owned and operated and despite her valiant attempts to keep herself awake her body finally succumbed to sleep and she drifted off into an impromptu nap with Johnny’s smooth voice as a lullaby. 

When Johnny saw that his companion had fallen asleep he just chuckled and grabbed a blanket off of a nearby chair so that he could cover her. Delicately he spread the blanket over her form and he felt his heart burst in his chest when she cuddled into the blanket’s warmth and murmured unintelligibly. He sat in his chair for a second, watching her as she slept peacefully, somehow ignoring the sounds of shrieking children. Her warm mocha skin reminded him of milk chocolate, which was perfect for her because of the innate sweetness associated with the candy. Her dark hair fell down from her head in large curls that he desperately wanted to feel, just to see if they were nearly as silky as they looked. His fingers twitched at the thought but thankfully he was able to control himself and instead of focusing on the beauty before him he decided to sort through the mess of emotions that she brought out in him. 

He was wrenched from his deep thoughts when a small, calloused hand clapped down on his shoulder and pulled gently. Johnny looked up to find Ash giving him a knowing smirk as he stood and allowed her to lead him away from her sleeping friend and back over to their neighbors. “You know you’re a real creeper for watching her sleep right?” She joked and shoved him playfully, earning an amused chuckle from Johnny. 

“I can’t ‘elp it if I worry bout ‘er ‘ealth. She’s bloody pregnant for ‘eaven’s sake.” He tried to casually brush off her probing and Ash fixed him with a look that clearly stated that she knew he was trying to feed her some bullshit but she was willing to let it go for now. Johnny was thankful that she didn’t bring the topic up for the rest of the day as he chatted with Buster about the church and gushed over video games with Eddie. He had always been a little boy at heart and it wasn’t often that he got to indulge his love for video games, having two jobs and a little girl to take care of would do that to a man. 

  Despite how much he enjoyed talking with his neighbors/surrogate family, he couldn’t help himself as he periodically glanced over to where Meena was still curled up in her chair, sleeping peacefully. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that a woman he met in a diner would capture his attention so entirely. A familiar tingling in his chest reminded him that he was falling into dangerous territory with Meena, not to mention the fact that she was pregnant with someone else’s children and he had a daughter of his own to raise. Hell, he didn’t even know if she was single, although the way that Ash was not so subtly encouraging him to woo her was a pretty solid sign that she was. Johnny let out a frustrated groan and ran his hands through his hair for the millionth time that day, driving it to another level of messy, and resolved to stop thinking about the mess that was his love life for the rest of the afternoon. 

His resolve lasted until the sky darkened and the kids started pestering their parents to break out the fireworks and sparklers as per tradition. Johnny laughed when his Cora leapt onto his back and attached herself to him until he relented and accompanied Buster and Norman to retrieve the pyrotechnics. Just as he slipped into the house and made his way to the garage, the woman that had occupied his thoughts chose that moment to finally awaken.

  Meena blinked rapidly as she slowly drifted back into the land of consciousness, feeling pleasantly rested and comfortable in her spot. For a moment she considered surrendering to the land of sleep once more, but that idea quickly fled when her brain decided to remind her that she was at a neighborhood barbecue, not in her own home. Embarrassed with herself for falling asleep so easily, Meena quickly sat up and went about trying to extricate herself from the tempting cushion of the chair. She was struggling to get up when help arrived in the form of two pairs of strong arms gripping her arms and helping lift her onto her own two feet. Meena sighed in relief when she finally steadied herself, cursing her fluctuating balance for leaving her slightly helpless. She grinned to her saviors and found Rosita and Ash smiling back at her affectionately. 

“Enjoy your siesta chica?” Ash teased and Meena went bright red as embarrassment flooded through her once more. Before she could apologize Rosita gently smacked Ash’s arm and playfully scolded her. 

“You know as well as any other woman that being pregnant is exhausting. Don’t you tease this sweet girl about getting some much needed rest.” Ash held her arms up in surrender and Meena dissolved into a fit of giggled as she watched the comical display of mothering that reminded her of her own overprotective mother. 

“Thank you Rosita.” She let the petite woman wrap an arm around her waist with a smile and for a moment Rosita’s smile looked a little sad as she gazed up at Meena, her eyes glistening with some unspoken apology. Meena just gave her a nod and the moment flitted away like a butterfly. Meena looked around and her eyes widened when she realized that the sky had darkened and the evening air had gotten cooler. 

“How long was I asleep for?” She asked incredulously but all she received in reply was a bark of laughter from Ash as she wrapped her other arm around Meena and the two women led her over to where Eddie, Gunter and Mike were awkwardly standing around the children. Mike looked vaguely uncomfortable as the two exuberant men tried to drag him into their discussion. Mike was quite obviously out of place with them and when she and her escorts walked up Meena thought she saw relief in his expression before it was replaced by his familiar aloof look. Nonetheless Meena gave him a smile of the same caliber that she gave Eddie and Gunter. The small man may be a little rough around the edges but Meena suspected that there was more to him than a suit and a surly attitude. Her musings were interrupted as the children roared various shrieks of excitement and began swarming Johnny, Buster and Norman as they arrived with boxers of sparklers and a few small fireworks. 

Meena laughed as she watched the three men wade through the excited kids over to the concrete patio where everything had been cleared in preparation for the fireworks. Meena felt her heart give a little thump of excitement when Johnny caught sight of her and his expression brightened substantially. She barely had time to smile back at him before he was being forced to hand out handfuls of sparklers to the kids. Rosita saw the potential arguments surfacing in her children and quickly released Meena to go wrangle her hoard of blonde beasts. Meena admired the way that she made sure each kid had the same amount of sparklers before letting Norman light them with his lighter. 

The yard was filled with laughter and yells of delight as the kids danced around with the sparklers, lighting up the rapidly darkening sky with sparks of light and joy. Meena wrapped her arm around Ash’s shoulders and squeezed gently as her heart burst with happiness just from the sight of such childish freedom. With the kids sufficiently distracted Buster and Mike began setting up the bigger fireworks, bickering lightheartedly as hey went about it and Johnny came over to Ash and Meena with three spare sparklers that he had spared from the kids. Meena gratefully accepted hers, the narrow stick reminding her of her own childhood in a way that made her heart swell impossibly bigger in her chest. Ash whipped out a lighter and released Meena so that she could light her sparkler and join the screeching children as they raced around the yard, chasing each other and drawing patterns in the dark night air. Meena turned to Johnny and let him place the tip of his sparkler against her so that his lighter could light them up at the same time. 

The sparklers burst to life so suddenly that Meena jumped a little in surprise and tore her eyes away from Johnny so that she could watched the jumping heat consume her sparkler. A little laigh burst from her unbidden and she looked up at Johnny with such joy in her blue eyes that Johnny was stuck dumb staring at her. She swirled the sparkler around and the light danced over her features in a way that made her seem even more mysterious and beautiful than she already was. Johnny felt his breath catch in his chest as he watched her looking all around her at the pleasant chaos. 

Meena’s sparkler died down to a soft light as she rested her free hand on her stomach and looked down at her growing children with such reverence that it was practically palpable. If she hadn’t already known from her experience with Ash and her brand new home, that moment would have been the deciding factor. She had truly found the perfect place for her little family to grow and flourish. She felt tears pricks at the edges of her vision as she looked up at Johnny, earning a soft smile that made her inside quiver pleasantly, and she was struck by the thought that maybe she was meant to come here and join this culdesac family not only for her children’s sake but also her heart’s.

  And then as if the universe was confirming her musings, the backyard light up with a myriad of colors and fireworks burst into the sky like flares. Johnny’s expression softened as the colors washed over both of them, and almost unconsciously he stepped closer to her, taking a moment to breath her in as she watched the fireworks with open awe. He found himself unable to deny the feelings that she evoked in him and the realization that he had already fallen so deep hit him like a truck as her soft hand wormed its way into his and secured him in a strong grip. He looked down at their joined hands and then back up at her face, which was now looking at him with a smile so soft and full of hope that it was all he could do to take in another breath.

  Yeah he was definitely in love.

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[2nd-rate-film-school]

Why Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Is Actually a Masterpiece of Modern Blockbuster Cinema

This is a review written by my friend and fellow filmmaker, @kubrickking. It’s a bit long, since she is a huge fan (and good film critic, imo), but it is definitely worth the read.

Since my sisters and I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003, we have all shared a sense of undying loyalty to the franchise. As BIG Disneyland people, the ride was a staple in our short lives long before we even understood how the concept could become a movie. Thus, we’ve enjoyed going to the midnight premieres, viewing the ride updates, and gathering pirate merchandise through the years. At this point, however, I think it’s fair to say that while we will see whatever film they release, we consider ourselves more fans of the original trilogy than what has followed with Dead Men Tell No Tales and - what was that fourth one called again?

To that point, this review is going to be biased as shit. I was an impressionable kid when I first saw these films and I will always remember them fondly. That being said, I just rewatched them at the age of twenty and feel my reaction is very similar. I was only fourteen when I saw the fourth film and was able to admit that it was terrible. In addition, know that this is not a reflection on Johnny Depp or any of the recent publicity he has faced. I am, and would hope you are as well, able to separate his work as an actor in this series from the recent revelations about his personal life.

As a side note, I am operating this review under the information given in the films, not the historical accuracy of pirates during this time. I don’t know if pirates regularly helped transport slaves and I acknowledge that the themes related to pirates having duality as both savage criminals and good men shows undeniable moral ambiguity regarding the historical truth. Jack, along with Will, is a romanticized version of a “good” pirate for the sake of a family-friendly protagonist in a story about pirates. And this analysis operates under a full awareness of that fact.

Regardless, one of the things that has always bothered me is the dismissal of the third film subtitled At World’s End. Common criticism of the film labels it as too long, too odd, and too exaggerated with little at stake and even littler sense to it. I do agree that any viewers expecting a simple, enjoyable action flick will be undoubtedly disappointed with the third Pirates offering. However, if you’re the part of the audience that is at all invested in Jack’s dive into the Kraken at the end of Dead Man’s Chest and is smart enough to realize the film is only truly 15 minutes longer than the other two, At World’s End delivers more than you could ever ask for as a conclusive chapter.

While the first film is obviously the most efficient and coherent on both a plot and tonal level, the third film acts as a bridge for cohesiveness between the entire trilogy without shying away from taking risks. And I firmly believe these risks pay off. Unfortunately, a majority of viewers feel it is more madness than brilliance. And to them I say, “It’s remarkable how often those two traits coincide.”

The film begins on such a dark note that it’s easy to see how people get the initial impression that it will not be a “fun ride.” A montage of hangings with a somber pirates hymn that ends with the murder of a child who can’t even reach the noose without a barrel to stand on is quite a way to open a film. And those are the kinds of risks you will see taken throughout the entirety of the movie’s 169 minutes. And I intend to prove to you that they are worth it.

From that first moment onward, you are given a direct association for the villain which up to this film is still underdeveloped and has done the majority of his evil actions off screen. The actions of Lord Cutler Beckett - or the pathetic cousin from another Keira Knightley film: Pride and Prejudice - now have tangibility. He’s no longer just the plot device for the evil Davy Jones, but a bastard in his own right. While Jones did senselessly murder sailors with the Kraken, his actions were motivated by a personal and justified search for Jack. But he never murdered children during a crackdown on pirate conspirators. Beckett’s actions serve as a power play, but also as revenge for Jack's refusal to transport slaves for the East India Trading Company; okay I’ll admit, Beckett’s motivations are still a little glossed over. But the film is juggling so many of the series' villains, anti-heroes, and “bloody pirates” with selfish motivations that a further explanation just isn’t necessary. Let me clarify that. Beckett’s specific personal motivations beyond greed for fucking everything up would simply distract from what we all really care about: Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and Elizabeth Fucking Swann.

The film proceeds to build characters and set up future plot efficiently as the setting moves to Singapore, which is not a “random” or “meaningless” choice as some would have you believe. Dialogue from Jack in the first film and during the search for him in the second have previously established Singapore as a hub for a significant band of pirates. Their journey there serves a two-fold purpose of procuring mythological navigational charts that will provide a course to Davy Jones’ Locker as well as a ship and crew to get them there. They do all the pirate-y things like misdirect attention to allow an alternate plan of stealing the charts including a crew below the floorboards ready to provide weaponry and the secondary motivation of enlisting Sao Feng in the meeting of the Bretheren Court. It also gives just a glimpse of the assertion and decisiveness that Elizabeth has carried over from her choice to sacrifice Jack to the Kraken at the end of Dead Man’s Chest.

The number one thing I love about the romance at the center of Pirates is that Elizabeth and Will still have their individual character arcs, motivations, and plot. Even after the revelation that Elizabeth indeed left Jack, they do not immediately fall back into the simple conflicts related to their affections. A confrontation below deck parallels the scene from the first film as secrets and feelings are once again revealed. But instead of making this the focus, they both decide to carry on their journeys making their own choices. In fact, the root of their individual character arcs can be traced back to the first twenty minutes of the first film, Elizabeth’s being a more internal struggle and Will’s a more external one. Elizabeth continuously evaluates her own evolving moral beliefs and desires for her life; does she condone, participate in, and forgive the actions of pirates or does she condemn them. Meanwhile, Will must focus on the familial promise and connection with his pirate father Bootstrap Bill Turner that has been a source of conflict for him since the opening sequence of the series.

Just as it has always been, their love story at the heart of it is pulled apart and put back together by the choices they make and, thus, the people they choose to become. Neither needs the other for fulfillment per say - this is why Will always waits until the last moment to profess his love or insist they marry - but they work better together than they do apart. And that is why their ending is both ironic and essential. Their marriage being officiated by Barbosa in between sword fights with cursed pirates is the only appropriate setting for the unification of the two and one of the best damn scenes.

Call me dumb or sappy, but this romance still feels honest and emotional to me in its restraint. Even though I know it was cooked up in some board room meeting of Hollywood execs, I still genuinely feel invested in it. I think it comes down to the fact that they don’t hit you over the head with it. They allow the female character room to breathe and grow independent from the romance; which is perhaps why you can interpret her ending as either the greatest or worst conclusion to a character arc. Elizabeth’s speech to the crew of the Black Pearl before they enter into battle with the Flying Dutchman gives me chills every time. Because of her heart, dedication, and true duality, she is able to understand and act on the conflict with a decisiveness and purpose that none of the other pirates can. She has allegiance to her beliefs unlike the fickle criminals around her. She fights with and for values and a purpose, enjoying the adventure and adrenaline along the way.

In a similar way, Jack Sparrow’s character is fairly consistent through this film. There is justified criticism about Depp’s performance becoming a parody of the original idea as the series has progressed, and I would agree that it has never been as pure as it was in the first film. However, I don’t feel that Sparrow becomes a full caricature until the fourth film onward and I will tell you why.

Sparrow has always been defined by equal parts wit and luck. The details of his plans or the existence of them at all has always been left up to the interpretation of the audience, with rather blatant characterization from British soldiers about if he “plans it all out or just makes it up as he goes along.” While we can assume he gets lucky a lot and doesn’t always win - i.e. the mutiny that is ingrained in his character’s history - there is obvious intelligence lurking underneath all his actions. He’s persuasive and charming in the way a dirty, murderous pirate shouldn’t and doesn’t need to be. For example, Jack spends most of the second film convincing others that the only way to get what they want is to help him first. He weighs their desires and presents ultimatums, using whatever he has as leverage against them. Jack’s long-winded dialogue scenes where he talks someone around his finger function in the same way that deduction scenes do for Sherlock Holmes.

What makes this most impressive, or the laziest writing ever, is that the people around him are often not unintelligent people. Elizabeth, Barbosa, and Will have all outsmarted Jack on screen by the beginning of the third movie, Elizabeth’s trickery even proving fatal for him. Because of this, Jack’s character is only half what’s written for him.  He is also half Depp’s performance, which does not feel strained in the original three films. Some classic Jack Sparrow moments you may have forgotten actually take place in this film include the canon firing springboard onto the pearl with Beckett’s toy figure in the mouth of the barrel, the discovery and following flipping of the ship to return home, and the manipulation of the Bretheren court to approve a vote for pirate king and subsequent battle with Beckett.

Also, if your argument is that Jack became the main character when he should only be a strong supporting character, HE DOESN’T EVEN APPEAR ON SCREEN UNTIL THIRTY-TWO MINUTES INTO THE FILM. He is a supporting character in this movie. That is tremendous restraint considering the major draw for most viewers, which was heavily capitalized upon by Disney, was Depp’s performance as Captain Jack. And when they finally do show him, it is a lengthy eight minute sequence of him arguing with himself, eating peanuts, licking rocks, and rocks becoming crabs that roll the Pearl over sand into an ocean. Not necessarily the audience-catering character re-introduction you’d see in a Marvel film. Jack is in a mythological purgatory or hell that represents the silly and truly odd essence of pirate lore, and the filmmakers honor that. From the moment Jack is back with the crew on the Pearl, his comedic moments hit every time - with the exception of the angel and devil shoulder Jacks. His interactions with everyone from Barbosa to Will to Davy Jones to Beckett are spot on. Jack is witty, wily, and wondrous as ever while twisting the desires of those around him to spare his life time and time again.

But it’s not just the comedic moments this film gets right, it also nails the emotional and dramatic ones. Particularly Will’s final moments after being stabbed by Davy Jones and Jack’s confrontation with the now dead and beached Kraken hit perfectly. Still, my favorite scene of the whole film has to be Elizabeth’s speech which leads the Pearl into battle with the Dutchman. Dialogue from three male characters plays out in the background as the camera circles Elizabeth, in solemn reflection over the release of Calypso and the impending fight. “Then what shall we die for?” she questions Barbosa. Then she continues with the fiercest fifty second monologue, throwing Barbosa’s words back at him and using them in a way he never could to inspire the pirates aboard the Pearl to rise to the occasion and “hoist the colours” - effectively answering the plea of the chain gang in the beginning of the film.

As with many blockbusters, there is a dramatic scene where the audience typically laughs out of turn. So let me be clear: if you even laugh a little bit during Elizabeth’s desperate attempts to bring her ghostly father aboard, you have no heart whatsoever. It is quite obvious to the audience, who has already been told the people in the boats are dead, that Governor Swann is beyond help. However, to the eye of someone who has seen the mythical Kraken devour the living person beside them, it may not seem so impossible that her father can also be saved. As a matter of fact, why couldn’t they save him?? I am still crying during this scene ten years later. Not because I loved his character, but because I can easily imagine my own parent afloat in one of those boats and my own hysterical attempts to reach them. Take a moment, please, and imagine your parent in this position. Not so stupid now, is she??

And this brings me to my favorite thing about the film: the visual language. Working with supernatural fables and period piece restrictions, At World’s End utilizes an array of solid and effective visuals that stimulate on levels of both the studium and the punctum. An Asian pirate ship floats on still water like glass that reflects the starry night into a mirror image, as they travel into a dimension of suspended time and space at the world’s end to retrieve a dead soul from eternal purgatory. Jack Sparrow gazes into his own reflection in the dead eye of the rotting beast that killed him and contemplates the true nature of freedom in relation to immortality. “The world used to be a bigger place,” says Barbosa and Jack responds, “The world’s still the same. There’s just less in it.” The wrath of a scorned lover materializes into a swirling maelstrom that becomes the setting for the separation of another pair of lovers. Jack holds the heart of a monster in his hand, blade at the ready, and hesitates in completing the task for fear that he faces his own future cruelty. These images as well as others in the film elevate interesting and elaborate themes into dynamic expressions of consciousness. Don’t even get me started on the coloring. And you get all those layers with an amazing dose of action and thrills.

Also, the effects in this movie still look great because they are 90% practical. Wait, you mean the series with skeleton and fish pirates has practical effects? Yes, you asshat, CGI was only used to supplement the majority of the special effects you see. While certain settings and the crew of the Dutchman are obviously computer generated, all the scenes involving ship effects were either done with the built-to-scale, fully functioning set pieces or models before receiving any post-production visual effects aid. The scenes underwater were actually shot underwater with all the lead cast and the final twenty-minute storm battle was shot on the ship decks with manufactured torrential rain for 10 weeks straight. Not cool enough yet? They also actually blew up Beckett’s ship and layered the shots of him and the other soldiers on it. That Singapore set they blew up was indoors with at least four feet of water and an entire series of buildings on stilts. And honestly that’s almost nothing compared to the shit they actually did in the second film.

Okay. I think I have to wrap this up now because if I even get started on Hans Zimmer’s score, this could double in word count. If you can’t tell already, I really enjoy this super under-appreciated film and I absolutely adore this series as a whole. It has flaws, it can be stupid at times, and sometimes moments fall flat. But the code for a “good” film is "more what you’d call guidelines than actual rules." I still feel my love for this series has been well-founded and well-intentioned for 14 years strong (nearly 70% of my life). Now if you remember "Pirates 3” as being a dud, I encourage you to rewatch and rediscover the magic within. If you were waiting for the "opportune moment," this is it!

[carey-pricemas]

Updated Queue!

Ok I know I fell so far behind earlier this week, but I’m trying to stay on track I promise! My smuts might take longer to get out because I’m struggling with them so if you requested a smut... bear with me please! That being said... here’s the updated queue!

Today- (maybe) Freddie Andersen- smut

           Sebastian Aho- team finds out about you through Instagram

Thursday 6/15- Brady Skjei- makes her sing for him

             Morgan Rielly- smut

              Martin Jones- free rein

Friday6/16- Alex Wennberg- nervous about telling him youre pregnant

             Brendan Gallagher- wearing a Chucky jersey

              Connor McDavid- Family is Sabres fans

Saturday 6/17- Tom Wilson- The first time again part 2

              Kasperi Kapanen- celebration smut

             Matt Martin- jealous

Sunday 6/18-Auston Matthews- jealous of basketball team

              Kasperi Kapanen- smut someone overhears you

              Jakob Chychrun- boys and girls club

Monday 6/19- Martin Jones/Sidney Crosby- Skin by Rihanna

           Brendan Gallagher- calm down (wink wink) during playoffs XD

             Derick Brassard- pregnant during playoffs

Tuesday 6/20- Any Rangers player- John Green quote

                 Andre Burakovsky- friends with Patrick Kane

                Andre Burakovsky- protective from man in bar (no one knows)

Wednesday 6/21- Morgan Rielly- large age gap

                   AJ Greer- Beach volleyball for team Canada

                Colton Parayko- doesn’t know you speak English

Thursday 6/22- Mitch Marner- Sees self harm scars

               Auston Matthews- both busy but make it to sons game

                Auston Matthews- smut doesn’t like Dylan

Friday 6/23- Carter Hart- A million reasons by Lady Gaga

              Alex Galchenyuk- smut same circles but never met

             Mikkeal Boedker- run into each other at grocery store

Saturday 6/24- Jeff Skinner/Justin Faulk- harassed/assaulted and they save you

              Austin Matthews- jealousy birthday smut

                Connor McDavid/Mitch Marner- Late Late show about song

Sunday 6/25- Any Caps player- political law firm but then player gets traded

              Brady Skjei- celebration smut

              Zach Hyman- proposes through book

Monday 6/26- Matthew Tkachuk- Secret Love song by Little Mix

              William Nylander- car smut

                Mitch Marner- messes up Valentines day

Tuesday 6/27- Any player- your teenage son is gay and introducing you to first boyfriend

              Andre Burakovsky- broke up and reunited at Casino night smut

             Jacob Trouba- Part 2 of Walk in the Park

Wednesday 6/28- Auston Matthews- African dancer and he gets jealous

              Morgan Rielly- smutty

               Kasperi Kapanen- tutoring him in college

Thursday 6/29- Morgan Rielly- one of the guys Morgan’s overprotective and jealous

                Auston Matthews- teammate finds sex toys (ropes)

              Morgan Rielly- escape Leafs event and find each other

Friday 6/30- Dmytro Timashov- watch scary movies

              Artemi Panarin- tired of being called cute smut

              Alex Galchenyuk- Chasing Ghosts by Against the Current

Saturday 7/1- Sidney Crosby- damsel in distress

               Artemi Panarin- love the sounds you make smut

              Morgan Rielly- fluffy

Sunday 7/2 Taylor Hall- transition from Edmonton to NJ

               William Nylander- first time smut

              Rasmus Ristolainen- fluff

Monday 7/3- Auston Matthews- yeast infection and dr visit

              Leon Draisaitl- getting ejected during A PLAYOFF GAME

              Oliver Ekman-Larsson- love at first sight

Tuesday 7/4- Alec Martinez- Cinco de Mayo festivities

              Auston Matthews- tired and clingy

              Jordie Benn- wants to be a family with you and daughter

Wednesday 7/5- Auston Matthews- jealous of Laine

               Auston Matthews- bad day brings food

              William Nylander- snaps boredom Willy takes to fair

Thursday 7/6- Johnny Gaudreau- cheer him up after getting swept

            Jo Drouin- sitting front row at a game

              Brandon Montour- get into a fight

Friday 7/7- Filip Forsberg- free reign

              Auston Matthews/Sidney Crosby- autoimmune disease

              Steven Stamkos- free reign

Saturday 7/8- Brenden Dillon/Timo Meier- free reign

            Jakob Silfverberg- for noranihilia

              Aaron Ekblad- free reign

Sunday 7/9- Filip Forsberg- free reign

             Brent Burns- free reign

              Roman Josi- free reign

Monday 7/10- Martin Jones- free reign

              Chris Tierney- free reign

              Nikita Kucherov- free reign

Tuesday 7/11- Mikael Granlund- cute/fluffy

             Jonathan Marchessault- free reign

              Nino Niederreiter- free reign

Wednesday 7/12- Morgan Rielly- avoid feelings talk and he thinks you don’t like him

              Brendan Gallagher- angry/hate each other smut

              Charlie Coyle- Lipstick part two

Thursday 7/13- Auston Matthews- you do his makeup and Mitch puts it on Instagram

              William Nylander- wearing something that turns him on unknowingly

               Pekka Rine- celebrate sweeping Hawks

Friday 7/14- Auston Matthews- you’re sick and he and Mitch take care of you and your kid

               William Nylander- free reign about butt and thighs

              Auston Matthews- meeting friend who doesn’t like the Leafs

Saturday 7/15- Sidney Crosby- wakes up and mutters I love you a lot

             Artemi Panarin- free reign

              Morgan Rielly- part of the group but he likes you but just friends

Sunday 7/16- Colton Parayko- bffs and in car accident and he tells you feelings

              Ben Hutton- fluffy smut

                 William Nylander- same height insecurities

Monday 7/17- Mitch Marner- gf has chronic migraines

                 Alex Nylander- faking hickies prank

              Tyler Seguin- Company by Justin Bieber

Tuesday 7/18- Auston Matthews- Gaston song with his name and he loves it (in secret)

                 Sean Monahan- after wrist surgery

              Morgan Rielly- fluffy/funny butt touching

Wednesday 7/19- Mats Zuccarello- free reign

             Auston Matthews- Toronto Furies, play Aus to see who better player is

              Jakub Vrana- part two of Doughnuts

Thursday 7/20- Mitch Marner- making fun of passion over el clasico

              Alex Galchenyuk- smut

                  Charlie McAvoy- free reign

Friday 7/21- Sam Reinhart- season ticket holder, sees you at the game

              William Nylander- happy with himself after seeing scratches

             Morgan Rielly- after getting knocked out of the playoffs

Saturday 7/22- Mikael Granlund- gives goal pucks to his son

             Morgan Rielly- They Don’t Know about Us by One Direction

              William Nylander- sees bruises after sex (non-smut) and he feels guilty

Sunday 7/23- Jamie Oleksiak- taking son to meet the team

              Leon Draisaitl- dominant hot smut

               Andre Burakovsky- meets at a charity event, sees again later when he has a gf (probably also a multiparter

Monday 7/24- William Karlsson- ILYSB by LANY

              Leon Draisaitl- smut after finishing exams/graduation

               Nazem Kadri- hit on Ovi

Tuesday 7/25- Auston Matthews- trying to turn him on in an elevator with teammates smut

              Michael Latta- Smut hot when he fights

              Auston Matthews- getting knocked out of playoffs and shutting you out so he doesn’t take anger/sadness/frustration out on you

Wednesday 7/26- Jonathan Toews- sequel to I’ll say yes for toews19

               Andre Burakovsky- sleeping and he steals the sheets

              Auston Matthews- argues about dishes

Thursday 7/27- Andre Burakovsky- surprising you at graduation

              Michael Latta- smut angry after game and takes it out on you

            William Nylander- sleeping and someone posts a picture

Friday 7/28- Tom Wilson- club and Tom gets jealous, heated

              Zach Fucale- smut after not seeing each other for awhile and she wears his jersey for first time

               Adam McQuaid- overprotective of gay son

Saturday 7/29- Milan Lucic- visiting with Bruins over the summer

              Auston Matthews- riding his thighs dirty

               Auston/Willy/Mo/Freddie/Kappy choice- insecure about height/speaking Spanish/ Take on the World by You Me at Six, or Speakers by Sam Hunt

Sunday 7/30- Auston Matthews- thinks shes cheating and comes after her after fight

               Adrian Kempe- Somebody Else part two

              Claude Giroux/any Flyers player- partying with team and blurts feelings while tipsy

Monday 7/31- William Nylander- reader talks Swedish and Willy loves it (heated)

              Tyler Seguin- nsfw smut

              Auston Matthews- friend but he wants more but you’re unsure of his reputation

Tuesday 8/1- Dylan Strome- Dive by Ed Sheeran

                  Sebastian Aho- free reign

              Tyler Seguin- based off his IG “love me” trying to get your attention

Wednesday 8/2- Mikael Granlund- he thinks you’re dating him for his money

              Alex Nylander- smut

                 Tyler Seguin- part 2 of Orders

Thursday 8/3- Tyler Seguin- friends dancing and he flirty teases you

                 Jakob Chychrun- teaching kids to skate

              Auston Matthews- smut based off of Fire and Desire by Drake

Friday 8/4- Connor McDavid- AHL ex who won’t stop bothering you

              Brendan Gallagher- meeting family for the first time

              Dylan McIlrath- free reign fluff/steam

Saturday 8/5- Auston Matthews- muscular and self conscious about it

              Auston Matthews- field hockey player stages of relationship

              Dylan Strome- congratulate him after winning Western Conference

Sunday 8/6- Sam Reinhart- You’re Here part two

                  Auston Matthews- act like they hate each other, but really in love

              Auston Matthews/Morgan Rielly (probably Mo)- scavenger hunt fluff/steam

Monday 8/7- Morgan Rielly- trying to get him to unwind after game by being a distraction

                 Colton Parayko- smut comforting

              William Nylander- long lost buddies and run into each other while out with team

Tuesday 8/8- Auston Matthews- convinces him to go to country music festival

               Mitch Marner- dark; abuse, cutting, mental health problems

              David Pastrnak- cute and fluffy

Wednesday 8/9- Alex Nylander- cute/fluffy about hair/haircut

              Auston Matthews- taking care of sick girlfriend

              Charlie McAvoy- cute/fluffy

Thursday 8/10- Jeff Skinner- comforting about self harm scars

            Mitch Marner/Willy Nylander- fight and admit they like each other cute or smut

              Morgan Rielly- Leafs event with Mo and meet team for the first time

Friday 8/11- Sidney Crosby- have twins

              Alex Nylander- morning smut

              Alex Nylander- about being a bad cook

Saturday 8/12- Auston Matthews- in his POV; reader stressed and cuddles

              Charlie McAvoy- smut

               Noah Hanifin- Just a Friend part two

Sunday 8/13- Auston Matthews- stressing over testing

              Charlie McAvoy- smut

               Mitch Marner- reader speaks German

Monday 8/14- Morgan Rielly/JVR/Gabe Landeskog- Say you won’t let go by James Arthur

              Ben Hutton- smut

            Casey Cizikas- making fun of each other over concussions

Tuesday 8/15- David Pastrnak- Disneyland tickets/fluff

              Auston Matthews- smut after surgery he worries he’s going to hurt her

              Sebastian Aho- Teaches the reader Finnish

Wednesday 8/16- Michael Latta- babysitting his niece and calls you to come help/Latts insta with the baby

                  Nico Hischier- smut

                 Lawson Crouse- fluffy free reign

Thursday 8/17- Jesse Puljujarvi- cute/fluffy free reign

              Mikael Granlund- teasing him with team smut

              Elias Lindholm- childhood friends meet each other when older

Friday 8/18- Nico Hischier- meet at draft and show him around the city

              Roope Hint- FWB smut

              Andre Burakovsky- She’s Not Me by Zara Larsson

Saturday 8/19- Connor McDavid- Slow Hands by Niall Horan

              Sebastian Aho- sweet first time smut

                Leon Draisaitl- tries to give you a perfect birthday, but messes it up

Sunday 8/20- Matt Martin- come home wanting quiet and he’s playing COD with boys

               Auston Matthews- friends since childhood start dating

              Nico Hischier- depression, but he comforts her

Monday 8/21- Carter Hart- concussion and taking pain killers, makes him loopy

             Tyler Seguin- calls mom to ask for ring, but mom thinks its another prank

              Morgan Rielly- surprising you at your graduation

Tuesday 8/22- David Pastrnak- reader gets wisdom teeth out and recovery

              Tom Wilson- Trainer for Caps smut

              Auston Matthews- Fire and Desire by Drake

Wednesday 8/23- Alex Nylander- baby and baby names

              Sidney Crosby- smut

              Auston Matthews- reader is ace

Thursday 8/24- Alex Nylander- introduced to parents but mom doesn’t like her

              Artemi Panarin- fight and makeup smut

              Auston Matthews- coming home giggly drunk

Friday 8/25- Mitch Marner- parents are getting married and siblings

              Beau Bennett- drunk hook up, bond next morning

              Nico Hischier- high school AU

Saturday 8/26- Sidney Crosby- son from other relationship and first Mother’s Day

              Morgan Rielly- clubbing and see him after breaking up

              Timo Meier- free reign

Sunday 8/27- Tyler Seguin- Ben Bishop’s best friend meet through him

              Willy/Alex Nylander- problems with self harming

              Dmytro Timashov- cooking/cleaning when stressed Dmytro doesn’t know why

Monday 8/28- Colton Parayko- honored for military service at game

              Sebastian Aho- friends teasing about you and Aho in bed

              Auston Matthews- they surprise you for Mother’s day

Tuesday 8/29- Morgan Rielly- wear black and boys tease about being too badass for Mo

              Jesse Puljujarvi- soft smut

              Alexander Wennberg- Slow Hands by Niall Horan

Wednesday 8/30- Leon Draisaitl- can’t sleep, helps you fall asleep

             Andre Burakovsky- shower smut

            Dylan Strome- has crush on you but you aren’t interested

Thursday 8/31- Andre Burakovsky- Finnish rap music and chirping

              Kasperi Kapanen- girlfriend is a soccer player

              Alex Nylander- first sleepover and seeing her dressed down and no makeup

Friday 9/1- Colton Parayko- work for the Blues and Hutton catches you kissing

              Sidney Crosby- Small Bump by Ed Sheeran

              Alex Nylander- comes to your dance competition

Saturday 9/2- Geno Malkin- go on a cruise and he takes care of you after you get sun poisoning

              Connor McDavid- takes care of you while you’re drunk/hungover

              Tom Wilson- someone insults her and he defends you

Sunday 9/3- William Nylander- makes banana pancakes

              Mitch Marner- Canada playing home country and Canada wins and y/n is mad

              Carter Hart- snuggling and listening to the rain

Monday 9/4- Auston Matthews- bring child to family skate/practice

             Jake Virtanen- vacation in a cabin first time smut

              Zach Werenski- takes puck to face and bummed but he gets to spend more time with you

Tuesday 9/5- William Nylander- cute ringtone for gf and boys tease and possible proposal

              TJ Oshie- takes you home from club smut

              Auston Matthews- you have a bf and he seduces you to cheat

Wednesday 9/6- Mitch Marner- chipped tooth vs Finland

                   Leon Draisaitl- smut

                   Brayden Schenn- free reign

Thursday 9/7- Willy Nylander- active about Bell Let’s Talk cause you struggle with mental illness

              Auston Matthews- before game smut

              Willy/Auston/Freddie/Mitch- short and nerdy

Friday 9/8- Brady Skjei- BFFs and secretly in love with one another and you confess

              Auston Matthews smut- friend of WAG and  hookup after game then he asks you out

              Auston Matthews- buy a puppy together

Saturday 9/9- Jordie Benn- dating but kept quiet cause shes shy, but he lets it out

              Brayden Point- dirty smut

              Carey Price- Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift

Sunday 9/10- Auston Matthews- bff and comforts you after a guy wants to use you as rebound

                Sidney Crosby- smut

              Morgan Rielly- son’s draft day

Monday 9/11- Jesse Puljujarvi- Eyes Closed- Halsey

              Cliff Pu- meet on vacation and lose touch but moves to Canada for school

              Teuvo Teravainen- Supersankari by Laura Närhi

Tuesday 9/12- Sebastian Aho- nopsajalka by lupaan olla

              Tom Kuhnhackl- takes her to Germany to meet family

              Marco Scandella- getting divorced, but Marco convinces her to give him second chance

Wednesday 9/13- William Nylander- celebrating making semi-finals

              Auston Matthews- listening to music and dancing surprise smut

              William Karlsson- fluffy free reign

Thursday 9/14- Anders Lee- free reign

              Auston Matthews- mom doesn’t like you and speaks to him in Spanish, but you are fluent in it

              William Nylander- So Wrong part two

Friday 9/15- Sebastian Aho- proposing

              Nick Schmaltz- smut

               William Nylander- high school AU king and queen at dance

Saturday 9/16- Sidney Crosby- wedding day fluff

              Connor Brown- smut

              Alex Nylander- watching Willy play in the Worlds and spending time with his fam

Sunday 9/17- Auston Matthews- Worried his teammates don’t take you serious because you’re younger than him and in college

              Trevor van Riemsdyk- gets jealous over teammate talking to you at club smut

              Leon Draisaitl- with kids or pregnant gf/wife

Monday 9/18- Phil Kessel- pregnancy or children fluff

              Auston Matthews- Because You’re Mine by Kitty Kallen

              William Nylander- y/n leaf interviewer and Willy flirts with you

Tuesday 9/19- Mitch Marner- gf plays hockey and gets in a fight and he’s worried/thinks its badass

              Pekka Rinne- work with charity but first time meeting team as his GF at a game

[mbtizone]

Marissa Cooper (The O.C.): ISFP

Dominant Introverted Feeling [Fi]: Marissa is an emotional typhoon. Her feelings are deep and intense. She needs to deal with her emotions on her own before she can open up about them. Usually, she just acts out instead of talking about what’s going on. When Julie asks her what’s bothering her, instead of opening up and having an honest discussion, Marissa begins to scream at the top of her lungs while throwing lawn furniture into the pool. The thought of talking to a counselor about her feelings is hell for her. Instead, she spends a lot of her time sorting through her feelings at the lifeguard tower. Marissa enjoys making one-on-one connections with people and likes to feel like she’s making a difference in someone’s life. However, because Marissa is so unhealthy and usually caught up in her own emotional turmoil, she isn’t great at picking up on other people’s true feelings. When she meets Oliver, she knows that he is troubled, but fails to see through his lies and doesn’t realize that he has become obsessed with her (even though Ryan, Luke, and Summer can all tell that he has a thing for her). Marissa is unable to see the truth and gets angry with Ryan when he tries to warn her, leading the two to break up. Later, she also fails to recognize the signs that Johnny is in love with her. When he gets hit by a car, she’s very attentive and constantly goes out of her way to help him. Due to her emotional instability, Marissa experiences high highs and low lows. She is extremely rebellious and enjoys getting a rise out of her mother, who she views as shallow and materialistic. Though Marissa is an emotionally turbulent person, she’s very caring and considerate. Even though she’s still in love with Ryan, she’s very kind and generous to Theresa when he starts seeing her again, even lending her a dress for a party. When Ryan’s older brother, Trey, is released from prison after attempting to steal a car, Marissa tries to help him reintegrate into society. At a party, Marissa watches as two guys lead an extremely intoxicated Heather (a girl who has been nothing but cruel to Marissa) outside. She immediately becomes concerned about their intentions, follows the group outside, and sees that two of the guys are standing outside of a van, with Heather nowhere in sight. Thinking quickly, Marissa claims she left her jacket in the van, but when the guys try to keep Marissa away, she charges past them and opens the door to find a third guy on top of the unconscious girl, her pants removed. Horrified by what she’s seeing, Marissa quickly rescues her before they have a chance to rape her (Fi-Se). When Marissa tries to write her college essay about a past trauma, she struggles to put her feelings into words and becomes deeply frustrated.

Auxiliary Extroverted Sensing [Se]: One of Marissa’s biggest issues is her tendency to make reckless, short-sighted decisions. She deals with her problems by acting. Marissa lives in the present and her reckless behavior can often get her into trouble. She parties and drinks excessively, shoplifts, jumps into relationships, overdoses in Mexico, and makes all sorts of poor, self-destructive decisions. Though she’s still in love with Ryan, Marissa engages in relationships with D.J. (“the yard guy”), which she knows will drive her mother insane, as well as a lesbian relationship with Alex. When she finds out about her mother’s affair with Luke, her first boyfriend and the guy she lost her virginity to, she acts out once again by running away to Chino When Ryan goes back to Chino to help Theresa with the baby, she internalizes her grief and resorts to heavy drinking (Fi-Se). Marissa is good at seeing opportunities and using them to her advantage. After she finds out about her mom and Luke, she uses this information as leverage, blackmailing her to get out of therapy and out of Julie’s house. When Trey attempts to rape Marissa, she fights him off, and, noticing a nearby log, hits him over the head with it, which gives her the time she needs to run away. After Ryan finds out what he tried to do, he goes to Trey’s apartment and the two get into a violent fist fight. Marissa shows up to try to stop it, but Trey gets the upper hand and, before he has a chance to beat Ryan to death, Marissa picks up a gun and shoots him. When Johnny dies, Marissa finds herself in a state of grief once again, and as a result, enters into a volatile relationship with Kevin Volchok, a hard partying, bad-tempered delinquent, which leads Marissa to make a lot of bad choices, such as abusing alcohol and trying cocaine. Though Marissa can be private and unhappy with the society she lives in, she knows how to engage with it when she wants to. She’s very outgoing and has a lot of friends (though, she doesn’t connect deeply with the majority of them). During high school, she even holds the position of social chair. Though Marissa is critical of her mom’s materialism and concern with social status, Marissa is always impeccably dressed and, when her father moves into an apartment following his financial woes, tries to downplay the severity of the situation because a part of her does care about appearances.

Tertiary Introverted Intuition [Ni]: Marissa isn’t goal-oriented and doesn’t really think too far ahead. She sometimes struggles to commit to things or make long-term decisions. Even though she is accepted to Berkeley, she comes to the conclusion that she’s not ready for college and instead chooses to take some time off to work with her father on a boat. Sometimes, Marissa can be insightful and is able to tell what’s really going on beneath the surface, but she has trouble following her intuition and comes up with alternative explanations when there seemingly obvious warning signs right in front of her. She’s not great at sensing manipulation or deception, as evidenced by the Oliver situation. Marissa’s tertiary function is quite underdeveloped, which is probably due to a combination of emotional instability and her desire to be helpful to people she establishes connections with. Many of Marissa’s goals are rooted in her Fi. She has a bit of a savior complex, believing she can help others in their time of need, even at her own personal expense. She can become so focused on trying to mend the parade of damaged people that enter her life that she often neglects her preexisting relationships (Fi-Ni).

Inferior Extroverted Thinking [Te]: As Harbor’s social chair, Marissa is charged with planning and executing many parties, fundraisers, dances, and events. When she wants to, she can be good at organizing and getting the job done. Marissa can be very harsh when she’s lashing out at someone. However, as Marissa’s personal issues deepen, she tries to avoid being in charge of events. She isn’t great at controlling her external world, and prefers to just go with the flow. She is very critical of her external world and rebels the shallow phoniness of Newport. She doesn’t want to be a part of the system she was born into and refuses to assimilate the way her peers do. She loathes the idea of abiding by Newport society’s rules and standards.

Enneagram: 4w3 Sx/So

Quotes:

Marissa: Oliver, I have to go sometime! Oliver: What? To him? To him, right? What about me? Marissa: You and I are friends, we will always be friends! Oliver: Friends?! Friends, Marissa? I’m in love with you! How could you not know that? I’ve always been!

Marissa: Ryan: [to Marissa] You listen to punk, huh? Marissa: I’m angry.

Luke: We need to talk, Marissa. Marissa: Believe me, you do not want to hear what I have to say. Luke: Yes I do. Marissa: No. All you want is for me to tell you that everything’s okay now. But I can’t. It’s not. Luke: I know— I know. And I’m so sorry. Marissa: I don’t care! I don’t care how you feel or what you’re going through. Because you sure as hell didn’t care about me. Luke: That’s not true. Marissa: I slept with you. And then you went and slept with one of my best friends. I waited for you and you lied to me. You humiliated me.

Alex: Screw it. I’m a huge fan of spontaneous first dates. Marissa: I am too.

Marissa: Look, Luke and I got in a fight last night, okay? Julie: So you got into a fight. You’ve had fights before. You guys have been together forever. Marissa: Maybe that’s the problem. I mean, what if there’s someone else out there? Julie: Like who, that boy from Chino? Marissa, do you want to end up like your Aunt Cindy, with four kids in a trailer park? She broke my mother’s heart. I will not let you break mine. Marissa: Oh, so now this is about you?

Seth: No wait, listen to me. This wouldn’t be just an ordinary bar mitzvah, you know what this would be? Wait for it… wait… A Chrismuckkah Bar mitzvahkkah. Spell that dude! Ryan: That’s crazy. Seth: Yeah? So crazy that it just might work. Marissa: So we throw a big party… Summer: And Ryan gets the money from the bar mitzvah? Marissa: And then we can spend the money for Johnny’s surgery. Ryan: How’s this going to work? Am I just gonna stand in front of Newport and sing in Hebrew? Seth: You chant, and hell yes.

Marissa: Well, if it isn’t the wicked witch of the west coast. Julie: Are you drunk? [to D.J] Julie: Let me guess: tequila? D.J.: She was like this when I picked her up. Marissa: You don’t have to defend youself to her. Julie: No, but you do young lady! Marissa: Come on, let’s go D.J. before she tries to sleep with you next. Julie: What did you say? Marissa: You heard me you whore! You know let’s do it. Let’s tell everyone right here! [to Jimmy] Marissa: You know, let’s tell everyone why you’re leaving Dad. Why don’t you tell everyone why you’re leaving? Julie: Marissa… Marissa: Get off me! Julie:[to Jimmy] You see what you’re leaving me with? You see how screwed up she is? Marissa: Of course I’m screwed up! I’m the daughter of a thief and a slut! I just hate you both so much!

Marissa: Mom wants to take me with her to cardio. She thinks it’s another way we can “bond”. I almost want to go, so I can work out and get strong enough to kick her ass. Summer: Marissa, do you really think you should be going to cardio? Do you really need it? Marissa: What’s that supposed to mean? Summer: No offense, and I really mean this in as a good thing, but you have gotten very thin recently. Marissa: I eat. [Summer takes a sip on her drink and almost chokes] Summer: Uh, and you apparently drink too! What’s in this? Lighter fluid? Marissa: [takes a sip without blinking an eye] It’s my own drink. I call it a Newport iced tea. Summer: It’s ten o’clock in the morning. It’s a little too early to be drinking. Marissa: For who?

Summer: Did you spike your latte? Marissa: It’s been a weird day. Summer: Marissa, we’re at school. Marissa: Yeah. Exactly.

Marissa: Come on, I can’t wait for you to see the rest of the house. And my mom’s face when she sees you in it.

Julie: So listen, Riviera Magazine wants to do a big photospread on us. Now I think it’s a great opportunity for us to demonstrate the resilience and strength of this family. It’s wonderful exposure. Marissa: Any chance to expose yourself, huh? Julie: Promise you’ll be here, you’ll wear something Marc Jacobs and you won’t be off with your boyfriend.

Dean Hess: You almost killed another kid. I don’t even hear a hint of remorse in your voice. Marissa: Because I don’t have any. I’m proud of what I did and I’d do it again.

Marissa: Dad, look, I don’t know what kind of trouble you’re in, but if you have to go, then go. But if you leave, then I don’t want you to come back. It’s too hard to keep saying goodbye like this.

Marissa: Thanks. I really don’t know why she’s got it in for me. Casey: My guess is the bag. And the shoes. And the Chanel necklace probably isn’t helping either, but it’s just a guess. Anyways, welcome to Newport Union. I’m Casey. Marissa: Marissa. Cooper. You’re the first nice person I’ve actually met. Casey: And I’m not even that nice.

Marissa: I’m sorry for all the craziness. Ryan: I wouldn’t have done it any differently. Except maybe Oliver.

Marissa: Believe me, if there was something I could do, I would. Seth: Yeah, well, I think you’ve done enough, so… Marissa: What does that mean? Seth: I just don’t think even Ryan would be back with Theresa if it weren’t for you and Oliver in the first place. Summer: Cohen! Seth: Really. All you ever did was drag that kid into your messed-up life.

Summer: So Ryan just like punched him for no reason? Marissa: Well that’s what Ryan does. He punches people. He doesn’t talk to them. And he doesn’t listen. Summer: Okay, well he had to have a reason though. I mean Ryan’s violent but he’s not stupid. Marissa: I don’t know. He thinks Oliver’s in love with me or something. Summer: Well isn’t he?

Marissa: Are you okay? You know he was just playing. Ryan: I’m fine. Luke: That guy was not playing.

Marissa: You don’t have a problem with Oliver, do you? Ryan: Nah. I mean, guy shows up out of nowhere and suddenly he’s hanging around all the time. Marissa: Yeah. A guy shows up out of the blue. Knows no one, abandoned by his family. Sound familiar? Ryan: A little bit. Marissa: Look. You did something nice for him and now he wants to repay you.

Marissa Cooper (The O.C.): ISFP was originally published on MBTI Zone

[fromthewifecage]

Never Trust a Cowboy with a Computer (aka Erron Black X F!Reader)

I actually wrote this several months ago, and kept stalling and being an idiot. About 1 month ago I asked the wonderful @tomoka0013 & @gojihime99 if they could help edit it. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! SO many kisses to you both :D Basic premise is Erron Black X F!Reader. Reader handles the Black Dragon IT  and they have a rather huge crush on Erron (because who wouldn’t?) Reader is about to go out to the cinema with Kabal & Tremor buuuuut… dun dun dun….. shenanigans ensue, This is Chapter 1 of 2. Chapter 2 is written but needs me to have a shout at it. If people like this then I’ll try to get it out within a week (Chapter 2 contains the smut). If you do like, then please like and reblog as Tumblr is hiding my tags and no-one will see this otherwise. Your support means more than you’ll ever know x

Never Trust a Cowboy with a Computer

Chapter 1 For once, the absolutely only time in recent history, your hair was behaving. Thank the Gods! Actually, was there a God of Hair? Hmmm, maybe Kano would know? His stories of meeting Gods were always fascinating, even though he would always exaggerate his role and prowess in encounters with said Gods. There was simply no way on Earthrealm that Kano would have stolen the Thunder God’s hat without being zapped into the Netherrealm. Plus, Kano had never produced the hat, so whenever he would have one too many beers and start on another night of tall tales, you’d nod along and feign complete belief in his words. Maybe one day you’d get to meet a God? Not likely whilst you were stuck behind a computer for hours every day. Especially working along side Erron-sodding-Black. He’d gone through at least 5 computers this year, 2 in the past three weeks! You’d swear he was doing it on purpose. In your steamiest daydreams he was deliberately breaking his computer so you’d have to travel to the ‘Black Dragon Boyz office’ (and yes, they did spell it with a z) to spend precious time un-fucking his computer. Every time it happened, you swore you were just going to tell him to go bother someone else, or get his arse down to PC World and find some spotty 17 year old work experience boy to bother rather than yourself. After all, you were doing just as an important job for the Black Dragon as he, well, almost. He might be a super amazing dead-shot sniper capable of assassinating even the most heavily guarded target, but you weren’t just IT support, you were a Black Dragon member too. You spent much of your time hacking into Special Forces super secret files, reading General Sonya Blade’s horribly dry mission reports, or transferring money from one Swiss bank account to another before you could be traced. Well, that was why Kano had hired you. Yet these past few months you’d been dragged to broken computer after broken computer by the obscenely handsome aforementioned Erron Black at least once a week. You hadn’t minded the first few times, after all, any time spent in Erron’s company made you all giddy and wibbly-wobbly inside your knickers. His voice honestly did things to you, actually made parts that shouldn’t tingle at work, tingle. He had warm eyes that seemed to sparkle whenever he spoke to you, or caught you staring at him, not that you stared at him. Much. OK, maybe a little. ******  Keep reading after the cut!!! *********

He had a smile that was likely illegal in half the known world. Long, strong fingers that you so often thought about, especially when you’d watch him dance a coin across his knuckles when he was thinking, his trick to keep his fingers supple. No, no no. No thinking about him. He obviously wasn’t interested in you. He was a simple man when it came to that. You’d seen him make moves on people who caught his eye, he’d watch them for a while, then walk up to them, give them a smile, tell them plainly what he wanted, and then watch them walk off together whilst your heart dissolved into self pity. A few months ago, you’d made a real effort to try to stop flirting with him. No more lingering looks while spending more time than needed helping him with his computer. The man was multi-talented with most things, just not computers. Probably didn’t help he didn’t grow up around modern technology. You’d gently teased him about being old and doddery around computers and he’d taken the jokes well, and really, you missed joking around with him, but it was for the best. Kabal jostled with you for mirror space, smoothing down his hair and giving the mirror a big grin. Why was it so easy for men like him? He could probably roll out of bed after 2 hours sleep with his face in a half-eaten curry and he’d still wake up handsome (the git). Whereas it took a lot of fussing to even get your hair to behave, let alone look nice and shiny like Kabal’s did. Maybe you could make a small shrine in the corner of your bedroom to the Hair God? You nodded to yourself, thinking Kabal must have done that. “Come on, you look beautiful. Now get your coat and scarf, and we’re outta here. If we don’t leave soon, we’ll miss it!” Kabal fussed with his coat buttons. Always unable to keep still, the man practically radiated excess energy. “I will be sad if we miss the film.” Tremor stood up from his own desk, the building shaking ever so slightly with the enormous man’s movements. “Not as sad as Kabal. He’ll start bawlin’ if he misses his boyfriend’s new film.” Erron spun round in his brand new swivel chair, his eyes glinting with mischief. “Johnny Cage is NOT my boyfriend and I don’t even care about missing the film.” Kabal bristled with indignation. He did care about missing it. He cared a lot. “I don’t even like his films, or him. I’m just watching it ironically.” Erron laughed. You felt that laughter, deep inside and it demanded attention. Bastard. “Suuuure. Enjoy your boyfriend.” “He is NOT my boyfriend!” This was going to end up in another fight. Last week Kabal had called Erron ‘Old Man Withers’. Erron had retaliated by drawing on Kabal’s Johnny Cage calendar. The moustache and glasses actually suited Johnny Cage. So Kabal put a mouse in Erron’s desk drawer and recorded Erron’s scream, playing it every so often while  laughing, and it had gone on until Kano had forced them to apologise to one another, in front of everyone. This happened probably twice a month. It got to where people made bets on how long each feud would last. The longest feud had lasted 23 long days before Kano had flipped. “I do not want to be late.” Tremor tugged open the office door, the handle would need replacing. Again. You followed after the huge man, Kabal behind you muttering about revenge. “Hey, Sweetheart, you goin’ too?” It took a second before you realised that sultry Texan drawl was aimed at you. “Oh, yes. There was a spare ticket since Kira’s still stuck on a job.” Oh shit, you should have offered it to Erron instead. You’d been so excited to be included in the cinema plans that you’d been selfish and not asked if Erron had wanted to go. “But……” Erron’s face scrunched a little and he turned to his computer and hit a few keys in quick succession. “It ain’t workin’ again. Sorry, darlin’.” He gestured to his computer. “But… I only fixed it this morning! What have you done this time?!” You dropped your bag to the floor, and peeled off your coat with a frustrated groan. You were going to get fired as there was no way Kano would believe this. You were completely and utterly incompetent. No other reason. Your fault. “It’s those darn computer gremlins again.” He gave you an apologetic smile and shrugged. You sighed and waved goodbye to Kabal and Tremor, both eager to watch Ninja Mime’s latest adventure, and this one was in SPACE, so it was going to be amazing, and you were missing it. You stomped over to Erron’s computer, your mouth twisted into a grumpy pout. “That is it. No more computers for you! you want to do some work; then you can bloody well do it on a typewriter.” Erron replied with a “Heyyyyyyy” and another laugh. The throb between your legs from the laugh can just sod off. No more. Not when you were going to be unemployed and unemployable after this. Who was going to hire you? What could you put on your CV? ‘Failed IT support worker’? ‘Only capable of turning a computer on and even then it’ll probably turn itself off again when you’re not looking?’ ‘Can steal FBI or Special Forces secrets but can’t keep an old man’s computer running for more than 3 minutes before it’s broken again’? ‘Want to play Solitaire? Well don’t ask me, best try the sudoku in the newspaper instead’. You were so engrossed in sulking you didn’t notice Erron get up from his comfy chair to stand behind you as you perched on the crappy stool with no back (it had no back because Tremor had tried to sit on it). It was only when strong hands found your hunched shoulders and began kneading at the tightly knotted and sore muscles that you looked away from the ‘blue screen of death’. “I’m sorry, but I’ll make it up to you, Sweetheart.” By the Gods his fingers were truly magic. His thumbs were rubbing magic circles into your shoulders and it felt soooo good. “Mmmhhhhh?” Maybe he was a God, the God of massage. Your eyes closed and your head rolled back. Heat radiated from where his fingers touched you, heat that only got stronger when it reached your face and between your legs. He found one particularly knotted muscle and you couldn’t help but groan your pleasure as his thumb circled the spot. His chuckled reply tugged you back to your senses and you quickly shrugged his hands off you. Thank the Gods you had your back to him so he couldn’t see your positively flushed face. You quickly got back to tapping away at the keyboard but your hands were shaking so badly from the intimacy you struggled to hit the correct keys. “You sure you got that, Sweetheart?” The computer made indignant beeps at your clumsy fingers. “Says the man who has trashed enough computers to practically bankrupt Kano.” Your hands continued to shake and your thwarted desire swerved into anger. “I’ve made you mad.” “I haven’t been out in FOREVER, and just as I’m about to go out, YOU go break your computer. AGAIN!” “Ain’t my fault your boyfriend doesn’t take you out.” Why did he sound almost happy about that? Hang on… You span around to face him. “What boyfriend?” “You know, the dwarf.” “The.. what?” “Your boyfriend, the hairy dwarf.” His arms folded, his weight shifted to one hip. He didn’t seem too happy talking about this mystery boyfriend. “Is this some sort of joke?” You honestly had no idea what he meant. Maybe he was drunk or Kabal had told him this for a laugh. “I don’t think so?” One of his eyebrows rose in puzzlement. “I don’t have a boyfriend. I don’t have a hairy dwarf boyf.. why do you think I have a hairy dwarf boyfriend?” Maybe you had a secret boyfriend so secret you didn’t know you were in fact dating him? Piotr, who ran a very seedy strip club in the seedier part of the city, was a dwarf, (and you only knew him because Kano was friendly with him), but he was balding. Who did Erron think you were dating? “You said you did. You know, you were talking about him being all small and his hair got everyw…. He’s a cat ain’t he.” Erron had the good grace to look embarrassed at his idiocy. “Obviously.” Was Kabal recording this? This was ridiculous. “Shit.” “Yup.” “Then.. uh.. you should go catch up with Kabal and Tremor.” “I still have your computer to fix.” This was going to be such an awkward few hours. Sitting in the office whilst neither of you spoke since you both felt like idiots. “I can do that.” He threw out a warm smile. “Really. The man who can’t even use a mouse without breaking it, can fix this mess?” You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. If he even so much as looked at the computer it would probably catch fire. “I maybe exaggerated my lack of skills.” His smile turned, and slid from warm to worried. You were going to kill him if this was going were you suspected it was going. “I maybe might’ve deliberately caused the error.” He held up his hands in surrender. Yup, definitely going to have to kill him. “I maybe did some classes a few years back when I was at a loose end.” “…… I’m going to kill you.” “How ‘bout I make it up to you? I take you out for dinner, there’s this patisserie we can go afterwards for the best pastries in Moscow. Hell, you wanna watch that film, let’s go.” His eyes pleaded with you not to hate him, but right now you really did. “I have a hairy dwarf who’ll be better company, thank you.” That he was possibly asking you out and that he wanted to actually go out on a date wasn’t registering. All you could think of was the waste of time and how humiliated you felt. Everyone probably knew and had laughed at how utterly clueless you were. Kano was going to fire you for being shit at your job - after he’d finished laughing. “Heyyy, Sweetheart. I’m sorry. I just wanted to spend time with you.” He really did sound sorry. His eyes went all soft and warm and apologetic and Gods he was beautiful and you really did want to believe him. “You really thought it was accidental?” He tried to hide a smile and couldn’t stop one eyebrow from raising quizzically at the thought that you had been utterly clueless. “Well… you’re… there weren’t computers around when you were young…younger, I’m just an idiot aren’t I?” The-all-too brief warmth and fuzziness from thinking maybe there might actually be something there between you dissolved back into embarrassment from being tricked so easily. You grabbed your coat and bag and left the office whilst Erron stared after you.