#Seriously still mad his upgrade got ignored

[fjtrickster-blog]

Raph Ninpo

Raph's ninpo is something I think that not only gets over looked but also his progress with it in the series.

I was rewatching season one and couldn't help but reflect that everyone makes a big deal about Mikey being the one with all the mystic mojo and stuff when the one who really does the heavy lifting and is shown to grow with his power is actually Raph.

I mean yes Mikey makes his mystic weapon activate first and he clearly has a knack for mystic stuff. However we don't see Mikey really do much with his powers over the course of the series. So I guess in terms of brothers you have Leo actively struggling with his. Donnie having none of it, and Mikey not having any real issues at all.

But here's a point I'd sit on. Mystics and Ninpo are not the same thing. They are similar but I was thinking on this. Ninpo is made out to be a big deal and is about connection and family and just the power of love. And the cool thing? This is hinted at through the whole of season 1.

BY RAPH.

I wish I could find screen shots to add to my points but while Mikey just makes his weapon work and then has zero issues for the rest of the show. Raph has active progression with his powers all tied to specific moments.

Raph catching Leo is the iconic one of this but there are a few littler ones throughout. Raph's giant form actually shows up as soon as the Paper Theif episode. All his brothers are caught by the giant oragami ninja and Raph charges in and actually for a brief moment goes huge. A more interesting point though that gets over looked Raph uses his ninpo once without his weapons prior to season two. During the late fee episode when they find a mutant silver fish Raph throws his basket ball. If you look during this scene the ball glows with his ninpo energy and that's why it goes through the silverfish and the rental machine. This is the only example of the turtles not using their weapons to use their powers prior to the season 2 finale. It's a fun detail I wish was talked about more because it has implications to the debate of "do the turtles need their weapons" to do things.

A small complaint though is how under appreciated Raph's ninpo can be. Donnie's abilities are free realistate, Leo's straight forward (though not really as abused as they could be c'mon folks I know you've played portal), and Mikey is a freaking wizard who can do what he wants.

Raph however gets "big form hulk smash" which is fair but I hate how his ninpo upgrade is like ignored 90% of the time. More than that there are neat ideas where this power does interesting things like when Raph throws himself with his own big form. More over he has freaking SHADOW CLONES! I want Raph to be Narutoing up the scene! Even if they're not solid (which maybe could make them solid we only have ONE SCENE TO WORK WITH!) it's still a fun thing that can make their total chaos fighting style even better.

SOMEONE APPRECIATE HOW COOL RAPH IS!

[madcatdaderpydrawer-blog]

Alright I thought of a situation.

Since Sun got infected, the employees started to take Moon less seriously in a way. Mostly because they realized that unlike before where he didn’t put up with anyone’s nonsense, he was just drained and could barely stand up for himself so bulldozing his opinions was far easier. They would talk about stuff that happened in the daycare, changes that were going to be made to it, all of that but completely ignore Moon the entire time. Most of the time it was, yet again, about complaints that had spiked once Sun got infected because one robot cannot watch thirty children at once without some accidents happening. He tried to tell them this, asking that they hire human help, but was completely ignored. They would just talk about him as if he wasn’t even there, about how annoying it was that the lights always had to be off now, that if the Sun animatronic couldn’t work anymore they should’ve just closed the daycare or got human staff instead of relying on his “needy brother”, which hurt. A lot. He couldn’t help that he was LITERALLY blind when the lights were on in the daycare! And when he brought this up and suggested that maybe he should be given a way to switch OFF the night vision so the lights can be on, they just brushed him off by saying that he was only going to be running playtime temporairly so it would be a waste of an upgrade. Which also hurt. And when Moon finally got sick of them talking over him and raised his voice, they got MAD at him and threatened to double the time and setting of his punishment in parts and services if he continued to be so “whiny”. He was already in trouble because he let a kid get hurt, and he was arguing because he was 1) desperate to avoid getting hurt and 2) adament that it wasn’t HIS fault, though it definitely backfired and got him in MORE trouble.

Infected Sun saw all this, and it made him pissed. He came down from the balcony and basically berated the staff, calling them idiots for not checking the cameras and blaming Moon because they were too lazy to hire actual staff to help him, snapping that “Maybe he wouldn’t of had to raise his voice if you didn’t treat him like A BRICK WALL!” and basically told them to fuck up out of there if they think a punishment is anywhere NEAR reasonable, and that requesting the ability to not be in unbearable pain whenever the light on isn’t stupid and should’ve been implemented BEFORE. This definitely startled Moon, because once again it contrasted all of his previous behavior. Sun insults him all the time, fuck he’s used WORSE insults then the workers did!  And it should reassure Sun that he has confirmation that he isn’t getting permenantly replaced, as they point blank said “you don’t need that ability because you aren’t going to be doing this for long anyways.” And Sun got him in trouble all the time anyways, he should find it hilarious that for once Moon got HIMSELF in trouble. But he didn’t, strangely it just bothered him to no end that nobody was listening to his side. That nobody gave him that respect at least. Because it was the exact same way they treated Sun, the scenario was almost identical to what he’d been through OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Due to Suns little tantrum, they left without bringing Moon down for a punishment at all due to the fact they didn’t know if Sun would get violent if they ignored him. So for once Sun was listened to, but it still really confused Moon that he would jepordize the chance to return to his job just to defend him.

Notice a pattern? The infected twin uses their broken programming to prevent the uninfected one from going through what they went through, even if it contradicts everything else they do. Infected Moon becomes protective of Sun over concern that he will be punished and hurt for his struggles running the daycare, when he himself hurts Sun CONSTANTLY as a way of “punishment”. Infected Sun defends Moon when he gets in trouble for raising his voice at the staff and chews them out for not listening to him and threatening to hurt him, when he gets Moon in trouble on purpose and basically verbally abuses him 24/7.

[pandaluc]

Love and Envy, all because of you.

When you like somebody else rather them

Characters included: Diluc, Kaeya, Childe, Jean

Warnings: not proof-read, very slight mentions of wine and fighting

g!n reader

Diluc

Diluc falling in love is something rarer than winning the lottery. So when this man falls in love, he falls really hard. Stutters, awkwardness, stares, and try-hardness. He does these all as long as you are in his sight.

However, he took such a long time to confess because fear had took over him. He feared to lose you as well, just as the way he lost his father. And well, to his surprise, he regretted not confessing earlier.

He decided to go work in Angel's Share and creek. The door swings open with Kaeya's arm around your waist, and you staring lovingly at Kaeya's eyes. Diluc's mood definitely got worse. And the fact that yoh are with his brother? He knows he has no right to get upset, but he can't ignore this burning flame in his heart the moment he saw the both of you.

He tries to maintain his composure, but deep in him was a mix of lots of emotions. He is annoyed, upset, sad, and disappointed all at the same time. And well it's not too good of a reason, but he might start treating Kaeya more harshly than before.

He is envious. In all people in Teyvat, why his brother? He can't help but stare at the both of you, thinking on the many decisions he went wrong. Thinking those opportunities he should've confessed but didn't. And the more he stares, the more his madness gets replace by sadness.

He lost again one of the few people he always treasured in his life. Though he knows that he should be happy because you are laughing joyfully in Kaeya's arms, but he can't help but imagine him being the source of your smiles.

Ever since, he will start to avoid you and will throw out his anger in paperwork and hilichurls. He distracts himself a lot, and makes sure he is very busy so that you will get off of his head and heart.

If he has to talk to you, he will make sure to have a stern face with a cold voice. He will do everything simply to push you away from him. And sometimes, he would say offensive words he didn't mean just to push you away. He does realize how much you'll get hurt when you and his friendship dies, but deep down in him he knows that this is for the good.

Kaeya

Ah yes, Kaeya, a very charming person and surely, lots in Mondstadt thinks so too. He is also a flirt and quite social, a reason why you both are friends for a very long time now.

And in his thinking, maybe it won't be such a bad idea to perhaps upgrade your relation to one another. It took him long enough to realize that he had grew feelings towards you.

He would worry a lot when you get hurt. He would make sure that nobody makes you feel uncomfortable. He started to be careful of his duties as the Cavalry Captain just so that he could see you once again. Heck, he even tried his very best to sound genuine instead of flirty when he compliments you. He was even prepared to quit drinking if that's what you find in a man. Sadly, all of his goodness, to you, was just friendliness.

After lots and lots of thinking if he actually have feelings for you, he finally decided to confess. Not until you came running up to him, continuously talking about this man you know that you fell so in love with. "May I know who is this man you fell in love with?". He took his chances but sadly, the name you said was not his. Disappointment filled Kaeya's heart, but at the same time, he found it funny. Funny, that he spent so much time making sure of his feelings that he didn't even get the chance to confess. Funny, how his confidence suddenly broke down when he knew that you had feelings for someone else.

He wanted to tell you that maybe he was the one for you. But, you looked so happy talking about this man you fell in love with. And kaeya is a smart man. He knew at that very moment that he didn't stand a chance. And that he will never be with you.

Even so, he agreed helping you to convey your feelings to the man you love. If it's only friendship you and he could have, then he will take it rather than being acquaintances. He'd remind you here and there to not get your hopes so high for this man, but everytime he does so, you force to him that you are sure of your decisions.

Because of you, he had gathered so much pain in his chest. Much pain that only wine could temporary wash off. During the evening, he'd tell you that he will be doing captain duties when in reality, he goes to his home drinking all the wine he could trying to forget about the pain you had caused him.

In times where you talk to him, he'd still seem normal and as if nothing is hurting him. But deep down, he just wishes to wrap his arms around you and be the man that will love you until the end of life.

Childe

You and Childe had been very close. He was comfortable with you. He wasn't afraid to show you his downsides, and the times where he cannot do anything but pour tears out. He did not want to hurt you as well. As much as he found fighting fun, he did not want to fight with you, ever.

That is when he realized that he had fallen in love with you. He denied it to himself a number of times but he just can't stop thinking of you. "Are they safe?" "Do they need anything?" "What if they feel alone?" "What if I lose them?". The moment he realized, he wanted to confess. He wanted to be yours. But he feared that him being part of the fatui will be a hindrance to your relationship and may affect your well-being. After all, he rarely gets time to stay and spend time with you.

But the moment he felt the feeling of envy, that is when he thought to himself that he will indeed confess and not give you up. While he was in Liyue's woods, he saw you walking with this man he does not know. He saw your hand holding someone else's. He saw your eyes full of love while staring at someone else's eyes. That exact moment, he decided to meet you as soon as possible and confess his feelings.

He was aware that it might make things awkward and that it might break the both of your friendship. But he wanted to at least do what he can, and take his chances. Some would say he was desperate, but to him, he was simply hopeful. He was hoping and wishing that you will be his.

And so he tried. But he couldn't. He felt scared. He knew he did not stand a chance. So instead, he tried to convey his feelings through actions, not through words. And he hoped to all of the archons and celestial gods that you will realize how much he yearns for your love.

Though in relationships, he doesn't get possessive and jealous easily.. Even if the both of you are just friends, he quite had become just a bit possessive and protective of you. How could you blame him after all? He really wanted you to be his, and for you to know it. He was willing to give anything and everything to you. He would even quit the fatui, despite his loyalty to the Tsaritsa, if that was the reason why you cannot love him back. Sometimes, he'd use his words to hint his feelings for you. "Is that man really all that? Don't you think that I may be better after all?" "Don't keep your hopes high though, he may leave you one day". However, you all took these phrases simply as a friendly way. Or even in a platonic way. After all, there was still a glimpse of a non-seriousness in his tone.

He had thoughts of using his fatui harbinger title to scare the man loving you off. But remembering your smile when you talk about this man, he'd rather set you free to make you happy than to see you all his with sadness in your face.

It cannot be avoided. You and his friendship was slowly but very slightly falling apart. He started to bottle up emotions and hide them from you. You started to spend more time to with your man, and less with him. And it saddened and angered him. But after much thinking, maybe it was good after all. Now that he spends less time with you, maybe his feelings will drift away. Just maybe.

Jean

The acting grandmaster of the Knights of Favonius. Always so busy with work, and sometimes pressured to help others that she would try to do more than what she could. It was a very stressful life for her, barely getting a chance to rest and take a breath. But you went to her life. She admired and appreciated you oh so much. You would remind her to always eat and sleep. You would do your very best to help her in her duties, even if she insists that it is alright not to do so. You cared for her so much that she cannot help but get feelings for you.

It was when you made her realize that she should live a life the way she actually wants to. It was when you convinced her that she is not alone when it comes to protecting Mondstadt. It was when you were always and always there for her, she realized how strong her feelings gotten. But Jean is quite the shy and quiet type. No matter how much she trusts you, she could never get herself to express her romantic love for you.

And alas, the day she never though would come happened. You had told her that you indeed have a relationship with someone else. And at that day, she felt very devastated. She knew beforehand that she never stood a chance. She knew how much opportunities of confessing she had missed. She thought she was prepared for the day to come where you are with someone else. But she thought wrong. She was listening carefully to your words. Your words of excitement and joy towards that someone you love. Of course, she pretended to be so happy for you. But if you listen closely, you could hear a hint of sadness in the tone of her voice.

The moment you left her and locked the door of her office, she looked back at her paper works and started to drown in her thoughts. So many "what ifs" and "whys" in her head that she cannot hold her tears back no matter how much she tried. She knew it was pathetic to cry over one person that has a relationship with somebody else. But for some reason, she felt the same pain she feels whenever someone in the knights die.

She wouldn't necessarily avoid you. But the moment she sees you, she suddenly gets tense out of nowhere and tends to avoid you without even her noticing. If you called her out for it and ask if anything is wrong, she will simply make her exhaustion as an excuse. You thought that it was because of paper work and duties, so you tried to help. But those nights where she slept very late was because of her uncontrollable thinking and crying caused by you and you only. She would also make herself busy and interact with other people more. She would basically do anything to keep you out of her mind.

But of course, she is still there for you whenever you need something. She is always willing to lend a hand, even if it is for a future date of you and your partner. If you feel negative emotions, she will be there to listen and try to help if you wish. She may be disappointed that you chose someone else than her, she knows how to make sure that her emotions will not cause any harm to you and to your significant other.

Author's Note

I've been receiving lots of support lately in my posts and in my ask box and for that, I am very thankful <33. I know I don't post so often so my apologies for that. But nevertheless, I want to tell y'all that I appreciate each one of you so much! You make my day brighter. Ily, and don't forget to take care of yourself! Eat, hydrate, sleep, stay safe!

[mcklunkers]

Welcome to day 4 of random Star Wars shitposty headcanons!

On today’s agenda:

-Rex keeps his helmet on all the time after a certain point every mission. They (Fives and Ahsoka) figured out it was always roughly 2 weeks in. Turns out on missions without hair dye, Rex’s natural hair grows back and he ends up with frosted tips. Fives managed to get a picture after catching Rex asleep without his bucket on one night, and it remains eternal blackmail for Ahsoka to use. It’s the real reason he’s bald in Rebels - no hair dye for space hermits.

-Obi-Wan doesn’t actually like tea. Tea was Qui-Gons thing, but Obi-Wan had to drink it all after the Naboo incident. He tried to drink it as fast as he could, but that meant that Anakin always saw him with tea in the mornings. So Anakin kept buying him tea on Master-Padawan day every year and Obi-Wan doesn’t have the heart to tell the kid he doesn’t actually like it.

-While crèche duty is technically a punishment, every Jedi lowkey loves gettin a full day to just play with the kids there after a hard mission. Anakin likes giving piggyback rides, Obi-Wan likes to tell stories. Ahsoka will play board games and the older masters tend to just sit and chat with the younglings for as long as they can. The younglings love it. But Papa Plo Koon loves it most.

-The Emperor’s cloak once got stuck on a door and he kept walking without realizing. Those present for the meeting collectively decided to ignore the fact that their emperor wears booty shorts under his robes.

-Grievous and Maul send eachother magazine cut outs of robotic limbs available. They also went to Ann summers together to look for...add ons and upgrades.

-The Jedi get very competitive and bet on sports all the time. The problem was they kept saying “gambling isn’t the Jedi way” when asked to pay up. The solution? Hondo. He’s the Jedi bookie and it’s surprisingly efficient.

-The clones play rugby or ice hockey depending on what planet they’re on. The Wolfpack are reigning champions in both sports cos those crazy basrards know no fear, nor do they know when to quit. They take it super seriously (all clones do, but Wolffes boys take it to a new level) and even though they’ll never admit it, the Jedi are mad at how smug Plo is about it.

-Kallus has an amazing skincare routine. He got it from Thrawn.

-Thrawn is surprisingly clumsy. He moves effortlessly around the ship, and when he fights its flawless. But in the privacy of his own quarters this dude will smack his face off the doorframe on the way to the bathroom and get in the shower fully dressed because he forgot he had clothes on.

-Thrawn likes art, but he sucks at it.

-Ezra has stolen no less than 12 Loth-Cats over the years, and they’re all hidden around the Ghost. After the Chimera incident, Sabine and Hera look after them so they’ll still be around when he comes home.

-Jacen Syndulla has so many traits shared with Kanan and Ezra that sometimes he speaks and Hera has to take a minute because it hurts, but she’s so proud of the boy her son is becoming.

-Chopper actually likes oil baths, he just can’t let anyone know because currently they’re given to him as a punishment and that means he gets them all the time.

-Clones like road trips (space trips?), but they always end the same way. Rex blasting dad music and driving like an old man, Cody backseat driving from the passenger side. Wolffe has headphones in and is looking out the window like he’s in a music video. Fives and Echo are fighting over a game boy advance. Kix is reading while Jesse naps. Bly is fawning over Aayla. Tup is in a booster seat. Hardcase is on a sugar rush kicking Wolffes chair. Ahsoka (honorary clone) is filming it because she knows wolffe will deck the kid on principle.

Not as cool as yesterday’s, but there’s a couple of gooduns in there. Enjoy lads!

[megafrost4]

Clone Wars Season 2

SEASON 2 EPISODE 1 Holocron Heist

A lesson learned is a lesson earned

DADDY PLO!: Warthog, protect the gunships! I will take out the fighters!

Warthog couldn’t shake these two, so daddy!Plo immediately turned around and saved him

They spray-painted their ships…aw…

Rex: Come on, grunts! We are leaving! OMG REX XD

Madame: Good morning, Master Fisto

Fisto: gives shit-eating grin 🤣

Cad Bane: [ominous music playing]

Palpatine: your price is of no concern [to Cad Bane to get a jedi holocron]

Yoda feels a disturbance in the force

WHERE IS ALL OF THAT MONEY COME FROM, PALPATINE??? HUH???

Bane: can it, Todo, you are who you say you are

Todo: I am a techno service droid!

Ahsoka: Madame Librarian, are you all right? Music Man, anyone? 🤣

Obi-Wan: if this Cad Bane is still on Coruscant, I’ll find him [yes, go off bae!]

Episode 2: Cargo of Doom

Overconfidence is the most dangerous form of carelessness

Rex: mmm…good call [to Anakin’s plan to use walkers to get onto the ship]

Anakin whistles to R2 like a dog…so cute!

REX GO BONK! : dow…switch to night vision

“Magnetic generators, you were trained for this!” oh, to have seen that! Lol seriously, can we see more of our clones????

Rex: General Skywalker, are you ok????

Ahsoka called Bane “sleemo” 🤣

Anakin: if by success, you mean I won, yes 🤣

Episode 3: Children of the Force

The first step to correcting a mistake is patience

Palpatine: among the Jedi, there are no innocents

Palpatine wants to know the Jedis status on Bane’s capture…cause he’s pissed his plans to get the children have been thwarted 🤣

3 Jedi going after Cad Bane’s mind…yikes 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

“Ah, Anakin, it’s good to see you…” looks to Ahsoka “excuse us, child…” 😒

Palpatine hologram hovering over child is CREEEEEEEEPY 😳😳

Obi-Wan: we’ll be fine Cody

Cody: yes sir, I’ll…keep the ship running DISAPPOINTED HUSBAND

Obi-Wan entering with it exploding: anytime, Cody! 😂

Anakin: where’s R2?

R2: opens door 😏

Episode 4: Senate Spy

A true heart should never be doubted

Anakin and Padme have time off together…awwww

Padme is an excellent cook 🤗

How dare she get upset with him when last season she just got on him cause she was working on this bill and ignored him…ugh 😒

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow when Clovis was mentioned that he had a history with Padme…HE KNOWS 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Anakin: are you still mad about last night? 🥺

Padme: mad? Why would I be mad? 😒

Anakin: good [ANAKIN YOU DUMBASS] 🤣🤣🤣

Anakin lost its argument…no surprise 😒

Why does the creepy lizard senator that hates Amidala have creepy sex droids??? 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

R2 offered Anakin a ration stick…aaaaaw…🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Episode 5: Landing at Point Rain

Believe in yourself or no one else will

Anakin and Ahsoka always compete to see whose squad kills how many droids 🤣

Obi-Wan: *sees Cody walk in with Rex* Good, Cody 😘

Cody wasn’t there for the first battle of Geonosis 🥺

Obi-Wan: oh, you didn’t miss much. I was chained up being attacked by monsters 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Cody: that sounds…entertaining 😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏

Obi-Wan: it was…for the Geonosians 😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏

I love that they spray paint designs on their transports 🤗

Clone: good thing those bugs can’t aim

Ship: explodes

Spoke too soon, hon 😩

Clone: copy, that, Commander, have fun down there!

Cody: General Kenobi, don’t land! It’s hot down here!

Anakin: great, the one time I ask for Obi-Wan’s help…🤣

Boil and Waxer got their upgrade in their badass grey armor…nice! Checking for survivors

Why do we always get the FUN missions? 🤣

Cody: are you injured General?

Obi-Wan: nothing too serious

Woman moaning ominously in epic battle music ✊ one of my favorite movie tropes

Anakin: how many droids have you shot down so far?

Ahsoka: 25

Anakin: ah, you’re falling behind!🤣

Rex just walks into the shield of that droid from the back and shoots it like a boss GO OFF BAE 😘

Then Rex gets YEETED 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Rex: next time, just tell me to jump 😒

Anakin: now where the fun in that? 🤣

Rex: come on lads, lets go!

“Reinforcements! The Reinforcements have arrived!” a clone cheers

Obi-Wan sinks down in relief 😩

Woman moaning ominously in epic battle as Anakin runs with his troops and Ahsoka into battle

Again, I love that they spray painted grafitti on their carrier shuttles

Obi-Wan: I'll never understand how you turn these battles into a game 😒

Master Mundi: 65…what do I win? 👏👏👏👏👏

Episode 6: Weapons Factory

No gift is more precious than trust

Uh oh, here comes Luminara and Barris 😳

Anakin interrupting Ahsoka’s briefing…RUDE 😒

Bariss memorized all 200 junctions of the maze underground the factory? Damn, Luminara is rough 😳😳😳😳

Rex standing right up front next to Anakin, love it ❤️

Anakin: Rex, a little help here!

Rex: get up here trooper!

Trooper: uses a bazooka 👏

Episode 7: Legacy of Terror

Sometimes, accepting help is harder than offering it

Yay they finally won Geonosis!���😭😭😭😭😭😭

Ahsoka apologizes for leaving Rex 🥺

Rex: you two have done enough here, go get some rest 🥺 HE CARES SO MUCH

[ethereal growling] 😳

Cody: THAT is one ugly bug 😳

Zombie bugs…ew 😱

Ew…momma giving birth to baby bugs 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

Anakin: I’ve got a bad feeling about this 😳

Obi-wan: because I make observations when you think with your lightsaber 😎

Yes, well, I took a lesson from Anakin and decided to not follow orders 😎

Anakin: hey

Obi-Wan: no, wait, I want to see how it works 😳🤣

Come now, the nose or the ear, which do you think it will enter 🤣

Luminara: I don’t!😱

Obi-Wan: what are you doing? I was going to study that! 🤣

Anakin: study the bottom of my boot! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Episode 8: Brain Invaders

Attachment is not compassion

Aw, clone snoring 😘

Clone shoots the air to wake them up lol 🤣🤣🤣

Scythe…ugh, standing up like THRILLER 😳😳😳

[moist slithering] eeeeeeeewwwwwww 😳😳😳😳😳😳

Their bodies contort, then possessed, it seems like they crack every bone in their body 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

Ahsoka questioning keepers of the peace or warriors...JUST LIKE IN SEASON 7 BEFORE ALL HELL BREAKS LOSE 😭😭😭😭😭😭

Rex! Hey bae, finally without a helmet 😘 I know the animation is still meh, but still

Anakin: Ahsoak hasn’t checked in yet

Obi-Wan: like you?

Rex: gives smug look 😏

Ahsoka: I have a bad feeling about this, Master Fisto

“If it’s one thing we clones know, it’s how to stop a Jedi” 😳 [ORDER 66 LOOMING ON THE HORIZON]

Ah! Scary jumpscare horror movie with Baris just showing up behind Ahsoka 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

Anakin: Mind tricks? slaps Poggle then force chokes him 😳

Kit Fisto always has a big smile on his face I love it! 😂

Bariss: kill me, please 🥺🥺🥺🥺

Kit Fisto: gives shit-eating grin 😉

Episode 9: Grievous Intrigue

For everything you gain, you lose something else

Grievous jumps onto platform behind him like a spider monkey🤣

Grievous coughs [my favorite subtitle] 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Jedi: your reputation precedes you

Wolffe comes up to whisper to Daddy!Plo [HE HAS HIS SCAR😭] whispering something

Hi! Rex! Seated next to Anakin

Kenobi and Grievous going at each other 😱

Anakin: lands out of hyperspace in the middle of battle😱

Obi-Wan: calls Grievous Dooku’s errand boy😂😂😂😂

Grievous: I’m no errand boy 🤬

pulls out 4 lightsabers and does helicopter thing😱👏���

intense opera choir and music 🙌

Obi-Wan: surrender, General

Grievous: never! spider crawls away🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Cody: punches Grievous🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

intense opera choir music👏

Grievous: until we meet again, Kenobi! this reads like a corny good v evil plot...wait a minute...I STILL LOVE IT THOUGH❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤

Obi-Wan is pissed Grievous slipped away 🤬

Anakin: at lest we all live to fight another day😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Episode 10: The Deserter

It is the quest for honor that makes one honorable

Kenobi goes after Grievous to catch him before he escapes the planet, Taking Rex with him

Rex! Jesse Hardcase and Kix! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Cody: Rex is a smart man

Obi-Wan: indeed always thinking on his feet

Rex gets shot no!😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Jesse: protect the captain! ✊

Kix: Jesse, you better get back here 🤬

Cody without a helmet!

My poor Rex got shot in the chest, through his pauldron in the middle😭

Jesse: that’ll be fine ma’am, thank-you SUCH MANNERS, JESSE

SHIRTLESS REX 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

Rex’s back poor baby 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Kix: sir, as the team medic, when it comes to the health, I outrank everyone, including you 😎

Rex and the little girl have that weird stare 😂

Rex: Jesse, you’re in command

Jesse smiles 🤣

Rex, my poor bae, getting snogged by those calves lol🤣

Rex oh my goodness

Rex thinks a name is easier to distinguish them

Cut: I’ve seen how you’ve looked at my family 😳

Rex: what if I am choosing the life I want 🥺

Cut and Rex playing that gambling game

Cut ran after Geonosis when they were picking off his team one by one

Rex: you have wonderful children 🥺

Obi wan flips and does super hero landing sexy 🥵🥵🥵

Rex: I’ll take care of them…😎

Grievous: Jedi scum!🤣

Rex: I’m sorry, it’s my duty…but in my conidtion, I probably won’t remember any of it😉

Rex: my family is elsewhere

Episode 11: Lightsaber Lost

Easy isn’t always simple

Ahsoka: “Ok, Gramps, it would be nice to have company.” 🤣

Ahsoka: you little-🤣

Gramps: AHSOKA!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Ahsoka is so agile ✊✊✊✊✊

I KNOW THE PLOT IS HAPPENING, BUT LISTEN TO THIS: “The Jedi are doing their best…the accusations that the Jedi started the war to gain more power is ridiculous. I assure you” Palpatine is urging the people to allow him to pass laws to help the Jedi, fighting like kriff to get them help

“Pass on what you have learned” Master Sinube ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Episode 12: The Mandalore Plot

If you ignore the past, you jeopardize the future

Obi-wan: Far be it from me to keep the duchess waiting 🤣

Beautiful throne room ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Prime Minister…ew 😒

Kenobi: oh, I’m aware of the Duchess’ views 😏

“Well, Master Kenobi, my shining Jedi knight" 😘

Obi-wan: :After all these years, you are more beautiful as ever”😘

This man said something in Mando’an then dropped off the ledge😳

Obi-Wan: I didn’t kill him

Satine: I know, that’s why I’m still talking to you 🤣

Vizla…ugh hmmmm…

Obi-Wan: I am here on a diplomatic mission, under the protection of the Duchess Satine pulls out lightsaber and fights 🤣

Satine: you know the Jedi, they never do anything by halves 😉

Obi-Wan: this is not good about to be squished

Well, it certainly took you long enough 🤬

Satine, turn the machine off!🤬

Satine: I’m trying!🤬

Obi-Wan: we’ll have to stand and fight, or in your case, just stand🤣

Vizla: failure shoots Mandalorian😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

AH! OBI-WAN DID THE THING WITH HIS SABER😱

Those Mandaloirans respect the 1v1 ✊

Obi-Wan: Satiiiiiine? she jumps into his arms and they spin out❤️

Rex! Hi bae!

And there’s Cody!

Episode 13: Voyage of Temptation

Fear not for the future, weep not for the past

Anakin knows there’s a history between Obi-Wan and Satine oooooooo *sips tea*😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

These sex droids and slaves around Ryloth senator and Satine is weeeeeeird 😳😳😳😳

Obi-Wan and Satine bickering 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Anakin: raises brow 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

“Careful over there, it’s dark”

“You’re very funny, Mixer”

Satine and Obi-wan fight

Anakin: raises brow with martini in hand🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Anakin: all right, men, what’s the problem? I’m missing dinner.

R2 whines

I know I know, I’m here now ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

That nasty droid walked Redeye like a dead puppet creeeeeeepy 😳

Go R2! You’re doing great sweety❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Satine: just because I’m a pacifist doesn’t mean I don’t defend myself🤣

Obi-Wan: now you sound like a Jedi

Cody and Rex dynamic duo ❤️

Droid attacks Rex

R2 saves him

Rex: thanks little guy ❤️

Anakin: where’s the mother?

Rex: hasn’t seen it gets attacked by mother kills mother like a boss 🤣

Anakin: you go find your girlfirned

Obi-wan: all right NO ANAKIN SHE’S NOT MY 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Obi-Wan and Satine confess to each other aaaaaawwwwww🥺

Who will brand themselves a cold blooded killer? imperial march plays ominously as Anakin kills him 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

Satine: I’m still not sure about the beard….it hides too much of your handsome face😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘

Episode 14: Duchess of Mandalore

In war, truth is the first casualty

Obi-Wan: we’re friends, are we not?😒

Satine: yes…friends…and nothing more🤬

Satine: I’m fine I didn’t want to worry you🤬

Obi-Wan: on that count, you’ve failed spectacularly 😒

Lord Sidious meeting with Dooku😳😳😳

Satine to Obi-Wan on holomessage: I need your help [THE AMOUNT OF TIMES THIS HAPPENS]

Obi-Wan in a hood: sees Satine in a hood nice disguise 🤣

Episode 15: Senate Murders

Searching for the truth is easy, accepting the truth is hard

Ugh, another Padme senator episode 😒

I don’t care about the war waged at the senate

Padme wants military spending cut to stop making more clone troopers

Kamino minister says otherwise

Chancellor: murder, it’s inconceivable INCONCEIVABLE

Palpatine smiles evilly

DO YOU THINK NO ONE WILL SEE YOU????😂😂😂😂😂

He is so happy more clone troopers can continue to be made, huh Chancellor? 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

Episode 16: Cat and Mouse

A wise leader knows when to follow

AHHHHHHHHH THE ARACHNID Admiral Trench!!! 😳😳😳😳😳

Obi-Wan here to save Anakin’s ass, after he was told not to engage until he arrived 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Obi-Wan: two steps forward and you’d actually be kissing it

Anakin: that’s some trick 😉

Bail Organa holo: help us General Kenobi, you’re our only hope

Anakin hanging up on Obi-Wan lol 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

“you learn pretty quickly when you’re under General Skywalker, you live on the offense” clone 🤣

Anakin: hello, ugly🤣

Obi-Wan: might I remind you this was not your mission?😒

Anakin: Reminded hangs up on Obi-Wan🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

General, I really hope you know what you’re doing

So do I, Admiral

Damn, Anakin taking out General Trech with the torpedos chasing after him to crash into the ship 👏👏👏👏👏👏

Obi-Wan: I hate to admit it, but good job, Anakin😒

Episode 17: Bounty Hunters

Courage makes heroes, but trust builds friendship

Ahsoka: how come every time you fly you crash 🤣

Anakin: it’s not my fault, it’s the ships! 🤣

Ahsoka looking between Obi-Wan and Anakin with that smirk

Obi-Wan: well, we crashed the ship your way 🤣

HONDO!!! : Kenobi, Skywalker, I can’t believe you came all this way to see me 😘

Hondo: you know, I like you Kenobi 😉

Embo is a badass bounty hunter with his samurai hat 😳👏

Hondo: “well, well, well, you know what I always say: speak softly and drive a big tank” ✊

Hondo laughs manically🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Hondo: die, Jedi scum! 🤣

Hondo fights Anakin with that purple double bladed weapon 😳 WHAT ARE THOSE CALLED?

Hondo: THIS EFFORT IS NO LONGER…PROFITABLE! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Episode 18: The Zillo Beast

Choose what is right, not what is easy

REX! HELLO SWEETIE! : …that’s a lot of clankers [you’re not exaggerating, bae]

Rex: HOLD THE LINE! [love isn’t always on time!]😎

This one clone painted his helmet like a gator head…cool

This bomb destroyed everything, but Anakin’s robotic hand just hurt a little🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

[lightsaber whooshing] loving these subtitles

Windu: Trapper, Ponds, Hawkeye, follow me! [ha! Fury]🤣

Windu: I have a bad feeling about this

Wilhelm Scream!

Anakin riding on R2 is so cute 😭

Anakin swan dives and rides on R2 again 🤣

R2 WHHHOOOOOOOOOOAOAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Oh, so Palpatine is ok with it once they use its skin to study for an impenetrable force😒😒😒😒😒😒😒😒😒😒

Anakin: hey, it worked!

Windu: are you sure?

Anakin: yes, I’m sure. Now you go first 🤣

Palpatine wants it brought to Coruscant to get studied…oh boy 😳

Episode 19: The Zillo Beast Strikes Back

The most dangerous beast is the beast within

Palpatine wants it to create new armor for clone troopers

Palpatine does evil smirk [ARE YOU INVISIBLE?]

Palpatine: such size…such power [UNLIMITED POWER]

Palpatine: Mast Kenobi has taught you well

“If that creature is as powerful as they say, what good are these blasters gonna be?”

“Eh, shut up Cosmos”🤣

[Cosmos would be excellent at CinemaSins] DING

Rex: Better hurry sir, you’re missing all the fun 🤣

Zillo Beast stares Palpatine down through the window

Palpatine: I’ve got a bad feeling about this😳

Windu: how can it be a plan if it’s improvised?🤔

Obi-Wan: just catch them when they fall🤣

Rex: a lot of the General’s plans involve…falling🤣

R2 zipping to the rescue!

Chancellor wanats her to clone the beast?????😳😳😳😳😳

Episode 20: Death Trap

Who my father was matters less than my memory of him

War does NOT come with a guarantee – Clone Cadet trainer

Anakin: hey when I show off, it IS instructive and inspiring 🤣

Windu: for you, maybe

They only get one chance

Sergeant: a near miss is still a miss, kid 🥺

Boba, quit being bad 🤬

Windu: no rest for the weary

“What are you doing? We’re brothers. Don’t shoot!” 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

WILHELM SCREAM

Ah! Boba’s ship!

Episode 21: R2 Come Home

Adversity is a friendship’s truest test

Anakin: you’re not kidding, little buddy

Anakin: he’s got a lot of personality that’s all ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Windu: you encourage it too much 😒

[vehement beeping] oh R2

R2 screams🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Jango’s helmet set as a bomb…Mace figured it out 😳

R2 to the rescue!

[R2 chuckles]

[R2-D2 screams]

Oh hey Ahsoka havent’ seen you in a while and there’s Dad!Plo!❤️❤️

Anakin: you mean, the clone template?

“Comet, let’s go!”

Plo: Hurry, Commander Wolffe! 😱😱😱😱😱😱

Episode 22: Lethal Trackdown

Revenge is a confession of pain

Hey Plo! Hey Ahsoka ❤️❤️

Ponds! Boba couldn’t do it…so she did😳

Plo offers to take care of the hostage situation with Ahsoka

Plo: why head to the one place we know he is not? 🤔

Ahsoka of course little one we can’t be go to the last place they were

Plo is going to the Underworld????? 😳

HONDO! A passionate kiss with Aura Sing😳😳😳😳

Hondo: not MINE, I take it? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Hondo: hey hey someone scrape him off the floor!

Plo: you’ve adopted many of your master’s ways, including your lack of being…subtle 🤣

Plo:…not very subtle🤣

Plo: well done, little ‘Soka😭❤️

Hondo meeting Plo lol 🤣

Damn, Plo just kicked the table up like a badass 😳😳😳😳

Hondo:Tell the Jedi what they want to know, Boba… it is the honorable thing to do…it is what your father would’ve wanted.❤️

[sportyclown]

how sawamura, miyuki, yuki, and kuramochi text (friends + s/os)

will most likely do a part 2 with more boys at a later date! these got freakishly long because i am, at my core, a very mad. also might revisit as i get re-familiar with the characters, i just had this idea floating around in my head. also the way these got pro

sawamura eijun

no matter who he texts, it’s always extremely extra. not only does he always give more information than you asked for – ex. if you text him wya? he will give you a play by play of his entire route or something

 he also uses tons of emoticons. and yes I do mean emoticons, baby boy has a flip phone. ifhe does eventually get a smart phone, then this boy overuses tf out of emojis. he’s the sort of person that sees someone use a combination of emojis he likes and then tries to copy them, but uses it completely incorrectly, but its v cute.

if you send him a meme, he will respond with an unnecessary amount of hahas. 

when he’s texting his lil bae, they’re always on his mind so he ofc texts them every thought that comes to his mind! when he sees something that reminds him of you, he won’t hesitate to share it with you. 

if you have been together for a long time, then we will definitely text you words of affirmation and be very honest/blunt about how he feels about you. he’s also always sure to ask you about your day - and he seriously cares. but i still i feel like with a s/o he would prefer facetime to texting just because he likes to see you :)

overall, a very adorable texter and his enthusiasm is just as contagious when texting as it is in person. he’s kind of clueless so he doesn’t pick up on subtext. so be blunt, just like he will be with you~

kuromochi youichi

my bias might be showing here, but I feel like he is one of the most well-adjusted boys in terms of being ready for a serious relationship tbh (at least post-high school). i mean we all saw that he regularly corresponded with wakana wish that were me lmao

i think he would most often use proper capitalization, but not to the point where he uses a period after every text

would send his friends news articles about his favorite fighting games where u like gaming or not

a meme fiend in general. the sort of person who uses reaction images of people he knows. (if you’re dating, he would still have a stash of funny pics/screenshots of you on ft, but he’d ofc only use them with you <3). his convos with his friends are rarely serious

 i don’t think he’d be the type to text haha out loud, but he does use LOL on occasion. with close friends/his lil bae he might send a voice memo of him laughing hysterically if you send him something REALLY funny. ugh my annoying king <3

unlike eijun he’s the king of being perceptive / picking up subtext. 

similarly, i do think he’s pretty reliable, but for friends i feel like he might make a lil bit of a stink lmao. like lets say a friend wants him to pick something up for them, he might play like he won’t do it then miraculously shows up with the requested item. its giving tsundere vibes on the low.

with his partner: i feel like he would use emojis when he’s trying to be ~cute~. i think with a established partner he’d be pretty flirty still but he’s v much whipped for his partner so its way more mushy than it would be early in the relationship.

yes your name has hearts/stars in his phone. mans is a SAP for you

his love language is more quality time imo, so I think he values time spent with you over texting time. so a lot of your texts might be asking you to come over to hang out / get a meal or vice versa

like eijun he wants to hear about YOU, and is very supportive and good at advice when he wants to be. he can be goofy but this is how he shows you he cares/sees you as more than a friend

he’s a blushy/shy boy with his s/o esp early in the relationship, so he might be hesitant or nervous to say “i love you” or anything like that outright, but you know anyway, which just makes the times when he does outright say it that much sweeter.

miyuki kazuya

i mean it goes without saying that this man is snarky. he’s not a meme king himself but he enjoys when people send them to him and will usually play off the meme to make his own jokes.

i feel like he also likes deep-fried memes or the very abstract, post-modern memes. miyuki is good at making other people laugh, but he has a generally very-off brand humor and the things that make him cackle hardest are either at someone else’s expense (very similar to kuramochi, so they bond a lot over that) or just indiscernible without access to a huge layer of context/background

saves the reaction photos kuramochi sends him, but doesn’t usually use them. but seeing an ugly pic of eijun yelling never fails to make him grin LMAO

i think he also texts A LOT about baseball, even more so than these other baseball dummies. texts his teammates a lot of articles he reads or clips from games/cool plays. this is mostly about texts, but in terms of social media I think miyuki uses twitter/instagram the most especially for baseball related reasons, while kuramochi uses snapchat the most. 

he probably texts a lot about baseball as well, both seriously and playfully

i can see him using hahas and LOLs in equal measure, but he would also utilize the haha reaction if he had an iphone. this boy does value his wit so he would definitely have commentary about any memes or jokes he’s sent

you won’t win a joke war against him, he will definitely one-up whatever you send him with either a one-liner or another joke. how tf does he do it?

definitely ignores people/conversations if he really wants to - but ofc he never does that to his BAE

if miyuki give you a dry one-line response...he’s not interested at all or he’s feeling frustrated about something else. but when he’s really happy? he will text his friends all the time and spam them! i see him as someone who enjoys texting when he has the attention span/state of mind for it. and when he’s texting his s/o his texting gets even more ~flavorful~

wit his lil bae: i don’t think miyuki would switch it up much w his s/o. is probably even more teasing with you over text than he is with his friends, which is saying something.

like talking with you just by nature of you being his partner. prob prefers texts to facetime because text kinda allows for maximum snark

he LIVES for you guys’ witty back and forth 

if he’s traveling for work or something, will definitely relish in you guys binge texting a tv show or something but just making funny commentary (or he’ll just send you funny commentary to get a reaction)

 he can dish it and he’s also not a super sensitive guy so he can take it tenfold from you as well. nothing y’all wouldn’t be used to when talking in person!

sometimes when texting him you’ll want to beat his a*s because he can be so cheeky but its endearing in a way. he definitely adds emojis to the end of his more annoying messages to give it that loveable vibe (and it works ofc, we love u miyuki)

he’s kinda clingy on the low so i think he’d prefer a partner that’s more open with their affection via text than he is. he would live for your random ilys or whatver throughout the day. also would not mind at all if you updated him on your actions throughout the day or sent him snaps - might not be able to respond to everything, but will react and appreciate it. very likely to make jokes about whatever you’re doing.

would also apologize over text. he’s not always used to apologizing can be awkward about it, so text makes it easier for him.

he would use emojis w you in a joking/ironic way. would absolute use those dumb but genius emoji combinations

yuki tetsuya

i’m literally cracking up thinking about texting him. he is one of my ultimate baes but im sorry i just know he texts dry asf. but its part of his charm!

has a flip phone. either never upgrades or gets the chunkiest most basic android if he is forced to

the thing is this man thinks that he is infusing all his texts with, like, tajin level seasoning, when in reality its pepper

uses punctuation. always. exclamation marks are used sparingly to express excitement.

but i can’t get the image out of my head of an upset tetsuya texting you a simple angry emoji (or the angry emoticon >:( LOL) if he’s reeeeeeally mad. but its v cute i can’t take him seriously. i just want to give him a hug <3

 but you know what he is so PASSIONATE about whatever he’s talking about that his passion bleeds into his text through sheer quantity of words and depth of thought. ultimately, all his conversations end up being extremely flavorful in terms of content. he is surprisingly good at having deep conversations over text.

he’s better at holding conversations with more extroverted personalities, truthfully.

he’s another one who sends random things to people when he thinks about them. miyuki of course gets so many texts/thoughts about shogi. if you get a random haiku, poem, or quote from testu, that means you’re blessed enough to be in his inner circle! he definitely thought of you when he read it and and wants you to respond!

with bae: he doesn’t really change up his texting style tbh, but he has a stronger outward reaction to what YOU text in response.

definitely the type to smile almost imperceptibly at his phone as he texts you, even if you send him something like “hey i’m at the store, want anything?”

he’s not great as verbal affection early in the relationship, so you’ll have to discern his love/affection. however baby boy is NOT afraid to just straight up say he loves you, he does it all the time and early.

he’s KNOWN for being reliable and responsible, so he will be at your beck and call when he’s able to for anything you need, but his heart is also warmed by the thought of you reciprocating that care. if your texts show him you’re thinking of him just like he does too. he’s very gentle and sweet, and checks up on you when he’s able to see if you need anything at all.

he might be reliable, but that doesn’t mean that he’s the quickest guy to respond to texts. he’s a busy guy, and he doesn’t think about his phone all the time, but he will always get back to you (bae does not play when it comes to completing things).

if they came up with a shogi game for gamepidgeon and tetsu had an iphone, your phone probably would be spammed with requests for games lol.

this is my first time doing headcanons like this so please let me know what you think or give me tips on how to improve! I really enjoying thinking about it so I hope to do more in the future <3

[hela-avenger]

To the Stars Who Listen- Part 9b

Author: hela-avenger

Word Count: 1618

Summary: When Loki desires to never fall in love, he casts a spell to prevent such a thing from happening. Except, well, in the matters of love and magic, you never know the result it may have in the end. Loki x Reader

A/N: I have been waiting so long for this part. Things will no longer be the same after this night. Thanks for the love everyone! (Also, if you’re able to, pls go vote today!)

Tags are open! (Send me an ask/message/response.)

TTSWL Masterlist

You’re relieved to find the halls towards the lab empty. Natasha had forced you into your costume before even considering letting you leave her room. You didn’t have the energy to argue with her and let her slip the dress on. You still had no idea what you were supposed to be and Natasha still refused to tell you. 

In the end, it doesn’t matter. 

It was Halloween and you had a mask to blend in with the other costumes that would surely be roaming around the party. 

“Tony, I hope you’re done,” you call out as you enter the lab. “I’ve given you more than 20 minutes…” 

You trail off as you notice the display that lays front in center. You tentatively make your way towards it and are in awe at the glimmer of the gold chains that would wrap around your fingers and wrist. 

“Beautiful, right?” Tony asks as he finally appears. He’s already dressed. No costume as always as he wore his usual tux. “Might be my best work.” 

“You definitely have a Midas touch,” you praise him. “Could definitely create another billionaire franchise if you make a couple more of these.” 

“Not going to happen but it’s nice to know that I have a fall back,” Tony grins as he picks up the modified gauntlets and turns them around for you to see. “Now this is my favorite part.”

The stones that the gauntlet stored are now placed in a unique set of molds. 

“The sun and the moon.” 

Tony’s smile grows. 

“Three things cannot be hidden,” he states as he pulls the ring-bracelet out to place it on you. “The sun, the moon, and the truth.” 

They mold perfectly into your hands allowing the stones to settle in the center of your palms. 

“Thought it would be fitting for you,” Tony adds. “Especially since you’re playing Lady Justice for the night.” 

You look down at the white and grey gown that resembles the graceful flow of Grecian togas.

“Is that who I am? Seriously?” you groan. “I thought I was some Game of Thrones character or something.” 

“Nope, you’re Lady Justice. Nat thought it would be funny with the whole truth telling thing you’ve got going,” Tony shrugs with a chuckle. “The silver mask is meant to emphasize the whole ‘justice is blind’ thing.” 

You let out another groan. 

“I never had the urge to strangle someone so much.” 

Tony continues to laugh as you set the mask aside. He uses this lull in the conversation to place the other modified gauntlet on your hand. 

“Refrain from turning my party into a bloodbath,” Tony responds. “Just try your new and improved gadgets and let's call it a day.” 

You heed his advice and turn away from him. With ease, you shoot two straight beams of energy into the wall scorching it once more. 

“That’s great,” Tony mutters at the holes that decorated his wall. “Let’s just add more repairs I’ll have to do.” 

Loki had to give it to his brother. He did indeed have a brain and he knew how to use it seeing as Thor was ready with a casket of Asgardian mead for both of them to enjoy at the party. Loki more than gladly accepted the offered glass and did not hesitate to drink it all down in one swallow before asking for a refill. 

“Brother, I’m glad you got into the holiday mood and dressed up,” Thor states as he slapped Loki on the back. 

Thor took in Loki’s appearance and smiled at the all black suit he was wearing. 

“What on earth are you talking about?” Loki scowls.

“You’re dressed in a costume!” 

“Costume? I’m not-” Loki’s scowl deepens. “I’m not in costume, you idiot.” 

“Oh, really?” Thor asks, confused. “Then why are you dressed like a witch?” 

Loki refrains from responding as he inhales his second glass of mead. If he were to survive the rest of the night, Loki would need a couple of more drinks in him. 

“Isn’t this great?” Thor exclaims as he motions towards the party that was at full swing. “Almost rivals our own parties, doesn’t it?” 

Loki rolls his eyes and continues to drink. 

“There’s Wanda and Vision dressed as a… well, I don’t know, but they look quite nice! And there’s Steve too! I don’t understand his attire either. Oh and will you look at that…” 

Loki turns towards the direction that Thor is pointing to and everything seems to stop. 

You’re walking down the staircase adorned in a gown that closely resembled the ones found in Asgard. Your hair was in an intricate braid decorated with jeweled pins that caught the light making it seem as you were crowned with the night sky.

He’s not the only entranced by your presence. Loki can easily see the amount of attention you’re receiving at the simple moment. You don’t pay it any mind seeing as your focus remained on him.

You smile. 

It catches Loki off guard even more so as you ignore some of your new admirers in preference of his company. 

It skips his mind that he was avoiding you for a reason and when he realizes it, he’s too late. You have already made your way towards him. 

“Thor, Loki,” you greet with a nod before turning to him. “You both came and you dressed up...”  

“I’m a prince and Loki’s a witch!” Thor gleefully provides.

“I’m not a witch,” Loki snaps. 

“Then what are you?” you ask him. 

“I’m dressed as a Midgardian,” Loki answers curtly. 

“Right,” you whisper, noting his disinterest in the conversation. “Loki, can we…” 

“And what are you dressed as for this occasion?” Thor asks, unknowingly interrupting you. “I could mistake you as a high lady of the Asgardian court. Don’t you agree, Loki?” 

Loki chokes on his drink and desires so strongly that he had stabbed his brother like all of his instincts were telling him to. He didn’t wish to respond to his question knowing it would reveal too much of him. 

“Yes, she does.” 

Your eyes narrow at him. 

“You’re lying.” 

“I’m what?” 

“You lied,” you repeat, stepping closer to him. “Why?” 

Loki doesn’t know what drives him to respond or where the words even come from. 

“I think you precede some high lady,” he states. “You are regaled like a queen tonight.” 

“Oh.” 

You look away from him then and try to fight off the smile on your lips. 

“Well, this has been entertaining,” Thor chuckles before setting his glass aside. “My Lady, will you do me the honor of giving me your first dance?” 

You look at Thor’s extended hand and smile. 

“That’s really nice of you, Thor, but I can’t,” you answer as you turn to Loki. “I was hoping to give that spot up to your brother.” 

Loki ignores the grin on Thor’s face as he looks at you. There is no malice or mischief at the request. You were genuinely asking him for the first dance. 

“He accepts.” 

Loki has no choice as Thor shoves him forward to you. You are quick to grab his hand then and pull him towards the dance floor. It is music that he is not accustomed to but you manage to lead him through it. 

“I’m sorry to resort to low tactics to get you alone,” you tell him. “I just really need to talk to you.���

Loki attempts to pull away but your hold on him is surprisingly strong. 

“I had no intention of making you feel uncomfortable,” you continue. “I’m sorry I crossed a line. You didn’t deserve it. No one does and yet I did it, but please know I did it unknowingly. I had no intention of digging up secrets you were not prepared in sharing. It won’t happen again.” 

Loki detects no lies in your apology and yet he hesitates to trust you. 

“What you saw…” 

“I saw nothing,” you answer and though it is a lie, you hope he understands that your lips are sealed in the matter. 

It seems the message was received as Loki nods in response. 

“Very well,” he mutters.

It wasn’t the forgiveness you were hoping for but one you would accept anyway. 

“Oh, and while I’m apologizing for my drastic actions,” you add with a smile. “I hope you don’t mind this one.” 

You pull away from his hold to reveal your hands that are no longer sporting the gauntlets he had given you. Instead, gold chains wrapped around your fingers and wrist like an ornate bracelet. You slowly turn them over and Loki loses the little sanity he had for the night. 

“Loki?” 

He reels away from you unsure of how to make sense of what he’s seeing at the moment. Cradled on the palm of your hands rested sigils he never expected to see in his lifetime. 

“You’re carrying the sun and the moon.” 

“I guess... I am, yeah,” you laugh lightly as you look down at them. “They’re definitely an upgrade from the heavy gauntlets and they still work.” 

Your words aren’t being registered at the moment as Loki attempts to make sense of the sudden shift that only he is aware of. 

“I have to go,” he interrupts you. 

“Wait, what?” you ask him. “But the party…” 

“I’m sorry,” he whispers as he retreats. 

A path opens for him easily at the dark look that encompasses his face. He didn’t get to enjoy the fear he inflicted on the general population like he usually does. Loki was just desperate to get out of there and by sheer luck, you don’t follow him.

In the end, Loki finds himself wishing that you had.

TTSWL Tag: @catsladen @is-it-madness @manyfandoms-marvel @mejusttryintogetby @illogicalfangirl @ariel-snow-tmnt @islinglivesinshire @musicconversedance @missmadwoman @smaranshakthi @adaydreamingdragon @poetic-fiasco @like-a-wildfire @jasminecalia @ha-tep @charbokbok @setsuna-meiou31 @ms-blvck @country-cowgirl-101 @bepo-is-sorry @hufflautia @waitforthehurricanrose @fictionalhoomanofnowhere @sanniegirl1214 @telenari @anonymouscastiel12 @ddaeing​

Loki Tag: @unicorniorosacomefrutillas @thesilentbluesparrow @oddly-drawn-muse @josiehosiedaninja @hp-hogwartsexpress @sadwaywardkid @wolf-lover74 @sizzlingbarbarianglitter @sigyn-nightshade @aoirohi @horsesandwolvesaremyanimals @just-a-donut-who-reads @day-dreaming-fox @heykathchuu​

All Works Tag: @jmb959 @astudyoftimeywimeystuff @hellocookiecutter @steve-rogers-personal-hell @buckybarnesyard @not-zari-tak @strangersstranger @thefridgeismybestie @ariel-snow-tmnt @badhollandfluff @what-a-flammable-heart

[obsessive-ego]

Green vibe

Musical Beetlejuice xfemreader

After you caught beetlejuice with your vibrator, you were mad at him, he trys to win you over with a replacement.

WARNING nsft content, voyeurism, possessed vibrator, yeah with a clueless reader

Part one

You couldnt help but laugh at the contents of the gift, a few days ago you caught your pal beetlejuice with your vibrator in his mouth, you were so upset at this breach of privacy, you decided to just ignore him, there was no point in being upset or angry with him, he never took anything seriously anyway, let alone your feelings. The rest of that day was so weird, it was like he wasnt even there, he avoided you, and you him, when Lydia summoned him back, there were no 'good byes' or warnings, just a cloud of smoke and silence, you thought nothing of this, eventually you'll forgive him, and things will be fine, but right now, you wanted to be upset.

But this, an apology gift? You honestly never would have guessed beetlejuice was capable of apologizing, let alone with a gift. You couldnt help but laugh through your nose when you saw the contents, a bright green vibrator, a little bottle of lube, and a note. As embarrassing as it is to have the ghoul pick out a sex toy for you, his heart was in the right place at least, maybe the Maitlands suggested this, the apology gift part at least, probably not the whole sex toy part.

The note though, his hand writing was a mess, but you've had professors with worse.

"Sorry I put your vibrator in my mouth, here is a brand new, NEVER BEEN OPENED one, and some lube to get the party started, PS this one is a tad bigger ;)"

'Never been opened' you inspect the package, factory seal still intact, you sigh, glancing back at the note, you blush rereading the part saying 'this one is a tad bigger' the idea of the demon remembering your old toy's size and deciding you needed a bigger one made a shiver run up your spine.

As awful and chaotic as he could be, there was a part of him that honestly ment well, despite all of his glaring flaws you honestly really liked him, he was so much fun to have around, he was funny, creative, attractive, and charming in his own gross way.

You bite your bottom lip, today was a shitty day at work, maybe you could try it out, let off some steam, but first, is the demon is question around? How did this box even get here? I mean he's magic, so, either way you do a sweep of your apartment just in case.

With the coast being clear you decide its safe. You take the toy out of its box, Beej wasnt kidding it was bigger, you sigh and take it to the bathroom to clean it.

As you busied yourself, you shiver, shrugged it off as nerves, unknown to you Beetlejuice was standing right beside you, giddy as can be, of course he made himself invisible to you. Earlier that day he begged Lydia to take him to your apartment so he could apologize to you, the teen couldnt take his whining, and caved. A few months back you gave the kid a key to your place so she could feed your cat when you were out of town for a weekend, and never really asked for it back. You didnt live too far from the Deetz, give or take a 10 minute bus ride, or a 20 minute walk, so having the goth drop by wasnt uncommon or have her drop by summon beetlejuice and leave wasnt uncommon either.

"Gonna give me a show sweetheart? You're gonna love this thing doll, I promise~" beetlejuice was buzzing with excitement, he honestly didnt think youd try it out right away, he WAS gonna jump out and surprise you and see if you accept his apology, but kinda got caught up in watching you he forgot to become visible again.

Beetlejuice watches you dry off the vibrator, he couldnt help but drool, he loved watching you work with your hands, would love to have them work on him.

Walking back into your room, you close the door behind you, you live alone, but old habits die hard. You slip out of your pantyhose and skirt, oblivious to the wolf whistles and lecherous eyes.

Sliding off your panties, you slingshot them at the laundry pile and miss, Beej couldnt help but laugh "nice try babes, you ever need a hand with aiming, I dont mind being a target~" pointing to his face.

You plop down on the bed, propping up some pillows to get more comfortable, you were kinda nervous, this thing WAS bigger then the old one, and you've been meaning to get an upgrade, but still, taking a deep breath you reach for the little bottle of lube that was included to the apology gift.

Beetlejuice was sitting on the edge of you bed watching like a hawk, he nearly screamed when he saw you pick up the tiny bottle, the vibrator was untouched, but the bottle, he couldnt help himself, he spat in the lube before boxing it up, call it a more personal touch, or an indirect kiss.

Taking another deep breath you squirt a bit of the lube onto you hand, gently apply it to your vagina, you gasp at the cold contact. The demon was drooling at this, hair an electric pink, you were using his spit, sorta, to get yourself ready for a toy HE got you, he had no idea what he did to get such a stroke of luck but he wasnt complaining.

As you lube up the toy, beetlejuice began palming himself through his pants "come on sugar, you're gonna love this, there is no way you wont forgive me after this" he purred, not that you could hear him.

You mumble a soft 'okay' as you carefully slide the toy in, you've done this multiple times before, but the fact that this was a new toy, a new size, made you a tad nervous, being stretched a little further then usual, did feel good.

"That's it Sugar, that's it, you're doing so well, you like that? Nice and thick, just like yours truly~"

you sigh, toy fully inside.

"Take your time sweets, make sure you're well adjust" the demon coos, freeing his cock from its prison.

You turn the toy on, buzzing to life, you jump and curse, even on the lowest setting it had power. After you regain your composure, you begin pumping the vibe in and out, already panting, and moaning, beetlejuice begins matching you pace for bit before picking it up.

"Alright sweetheart, its showtime"

With a snap of his fingers the vibrator begins pumping itself, matching the ghouls pace, buzzing harder then orginally set.

"What the fuck?!" You shriek, gasping and squirming, you let go of the vibe, watching it move on it's own, a weird mix of horror and arousal, what the fuck what going on?! Maybe you should have read the box, or instructions, your train of thought was interrupted by the vibrator picking up its pace, you roll your head back shouting curses and praise on how good it feels.

"You like that sugar?" The demon purrs leaning over you, as hot as it would be to fuck you proper, possessing a toy to fuck you was still incredibly sexy, and the fact that you were openly enjoying it was the icing on the cake.

"PLEASE Beetlejuice, thank you!" You scream, hips bucking hard.

The ghoul flinches, yes it was hot to hear you scream his name, but you didnt put two and two together did ya? You can be clueless at times, but...

"FUCK" you shout cumming hard.

"Already? Sweets? I'm still working on my own" he demon sighs, "I know you're a one and done type sweetheart, but today, how bout we change that?~" his voice drops to that low seductive tone that would make a shiver run up your spine, not that you could hear him.

The buzzing has stopped, the movement has stop, you lay there basking in the aftermath slowly regaining your breath, sighing, it hasnt been that good in a long while, you reach for the box the toy came in to see what was up with that setting, before you could reach the box the buzzing started again, you flinched still being sensitive from your first orgasm. Your old toy used to do that, turn on and off for no reason, so you didnt find it odd, you go to turn off and pull out the vibe, when the intensity ramps up and the pumping starts up again.

"Round 2 sugar" the ghoul coos "nice and sensitive, and soaking wet for me~" beetlejuice begins pumping his cock again, starting off slow, then gradually picking up speed, the vibrator matched his pace, Beej drooled at the sight of you, an absolute mess, because of him, hair a mess, legs shaking, flushed, on the brink of tears, he loved it, he wanted you so bad, to pound you into the mattress for real, but you were so clueless to his advances.

You were so nice to him all the time, you laugh at his jokes, let him scare whoever is dumb enough to knock on your door, yeah you two fought, but you always came around, but this time he thought he owed you a proper apology.

"Come on sugar, you look so good for me, you like that? Yeah you do, come for me sweetheart, give me all that you got" the ghoul whispers in your ear, bucking hard into his hand, the shout as the vibrator mimicked his actions, beetlejuice couldnt help but chuckle at the beautiful sounds he was getting from you.

Beetlejuice begins a punishing pace stocking his cock, he was close, could you blame him? The sight of his breather an absolute hot mess plus the noises you were making? He's surprised he lasted this long. But he needed you to come first since he was possessing the toy.

With the pace beetlejuice has set, had you shaking, "Fuck, I can't, I'm gonna-please, Beej!" You babbled

Beetlejuice has spied on you during your private time more then once, it was always music to his ears when he herd you say his name during that special time.

"BEETLEJUICE!" And with that you came for the second time, bucking your hips hard, beetlejuice came shortly after, helping you ride out the orgasm with the vibe, he slowly turned down the buzzing till it stopped completely. Once you came back down, you were quick to remove the toy, and good as it was, you were too exhausted for anymore, and feeling a tad dizzy.

"Have fun sweets?" Do you forgive me?~" Bj coos, not that you could hear, he straightens himself up, wiping his cum covered hand on his pants.

Once you're back together you finally pick up the box the vibrator came in, you sigh when you see the word 'Netherworld', that explains alot, he got this from the netherworld.

"A vibrator for the dead, dead or not, that was amazing" you sigh

Beetlejuice couldnt help but mimic your sigh, not that he needed to breath, thank god slash satan for oblivious nature.

"I guess I can forgive that dumbass" you mumble as you redress yourself, the demon still sitting on the edge of your bed does a little fist pump, mission accomplished, he'll probably reveal himself to you in an hour or so.

Staring at the freshly used vibrator while he waited for you to leave the room, hoping he'd get the chance to 'clean it for you' this time, but of course you were the tidy type, and snatched it right from under him.

Well at least you forgive him now.

Bonus

Later on that evening, You were in the kitchen making fried rice, simple but yummy, as you stirred around the contents of the pan you start to zone out.

"what's cooking good looking?" a familiar gravely voice whispers in your ear.

You nearly jump out of your skin

"BEETLEJUICE!" You shout, the demon couldnt help but laugh.

"Love that loud voice of yours sweetheart, bet it sounds great in the bedroom~" he laughs

You sigh, trying to collect any dignity you had left "when did you get here?"

"Lyd's and I were messing with your neighbors and she ditched me here, kid's today" he shrugs.

That wasnt the first time that has happened so you believe him.

"SO, did you get my gift? Did you like it? Did you take It for a spin?~" he purrs that last part wiggling his eyebrows.

Blushing hard at what he was implying, you look at your feet and mumble a quick yes.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Do you forgive me?~" beetlejuice's face was inches from yours, eager for the awnser he already knew. You nodded, and the demon pulls you into a tight hug and spins you around like a rag doll.

"PERFECT! So did you enjoy it?~ on a scale from 1 to me, how hot was the ride?~" he cooed finally coming to a halt.

"BEETLEJUICE!"

He laughed at your embarrased expression, he was thrilled to have his breather on his side again.

[mcheang]

Bad blood

I was listening to the song and somehow I ended up with this draft.

Chloe had finally crossed the line. Bullying classmates was one thing, but siding with a known terrorist is another.

Chloe willingly stung and mind controlled the Parisians to serve her as the selfish queen.

Sure Ladybug and Chat Noir has won; but at a hefty cost. Their beloved mentor was gone.

It was no longer just about duty. This was personal.

You know it used to be mad love

Chloe had been one of Ladybug’s biggest fans, if you can ignore her akuma victims. Now because she felt entitled to the Bee Miraculous and gone fame/power-crazy, she betrayed her formal idol.

It’s so sad to think about the good times

Queen Bee had been a good hero, except for her need for attention and selfishness.

Seriously, all Chloe had to do was retire gracefully and Queen Bee’s reputation as a hero would have remained more or less intact.

Now Ladybug intended to tear that reputation down to the ground.

Band aids don’t fix bullet holes

Sure the mayor tried to cover for his Daughter, claiming she was a pawn. But security footage shows otherwise.

Let’s just say the president was all too willing to step in. He may not know Ladybug personally, but his niece is an avid supporter (I remember reading a fic where the president of France was Mari’s Uncle. Whether this Niece is Marinette or not, I leave up to you.)

Anyway, Chloe has been exposed as a willing ally of Hawkmoth.

You say sorry just for show

Chloe apologizes on TV but her pride and disdain ruins her performance.

Anyway, the president isn’t showing mercy. Chloe may be a minor, but she is still exiled from Paris. She clearly can’t be trusted in the city.

(Remember Malediktator? Karma!)

It kind of helps that Ladybug brings in all sorts of celebrities who agree to fight against Chloe’s case. She didn’t really even have to ask. No one likes being mind controlled.

Jagged Stone, Clara, Prince Ali, Nadja Chamack, etc.

Even the exposed heroes of Paris have made a final appearance to announce their retirement and joint agreement that Chloe needs to leave. Thanks to her, they and their families are in greater danger.

At least when new heroes come around, Hawkmoth will see there is no point stalking them in hopes of snatching a miraculous.

Chloe protests her sentence as utterly ridiculous.

Her parents send her to military school. While the mayor had tried to support his Daughter, Audrey had not appreciated being targeted by her own blood. Honestly, she should have left for New York earlier. Claudette was a lost cause.

Oh sure Hawkmoth made an appearance. But Antibug didn’t reappear. It was Maledictator.

And we also introduce the new Bee heroine at the same time.

Chloe is horrified at seeing her new replacement. She throws a huge tantrum but her Father sends her away.

While Paris celebrates the departure of Chloe, Ladybug and Chat Noir mourn the loss of their mentor, old team, and a former hero.

At school, even the former heroes are subdued in their celebrations. Ladybug had warned them to be careful as Hawkmoth would certainly try to target them. At least they got to leave behind a clean reputation.

Oh and btw, Lila totally tried to claim she was Rena Rouge and gain sympathy. Alya argues back that she so isn’t because while Volpina was more powerful than Rena Rouge, Hawkmoth would surely have given her a better upgrade than multiple illusions! At least Queen Wasp could sting people multiple times with indefinite paralysis.

Besides, Rena Rouge appeared when Lila was supposed to be in Achu. And Pegasus didn’t appear until much later.

Lila argues back. But the former heroes also know each other’s identities (Ladybug allowed it since they had to talk to someone for support) and they band together against Lila.

Lila finally backs down and admits she had really been at Achu. But now the class starts researching and realize she is nothing more than a liar.

Sadly Ms Bustier doesn’t want to cause another scene so soon. But at the class’ insistence, she promises to contact Mrs Rossi during work.

Lila got to her Mother first and claimed that the whole school had been akumatized once more and not to pick up her phone. She herself would head home.

What Lila forgot to recall was that the last time she told her Mother this lie, she claimed that the authorities were already made aware. Now Mrs Rossi warned her colleagues and the police were called.

Yeah; Long story short, Lila was in huge trouble for raising a false alarm. She was outed as a liar and expelled and fined.

[doubleshotofsomething]

Come Into My Life

Part 4/5

Song Prompt: "Entra en mi Vida" by Sin Bandera

Warnings: angst?? anGST??

Summary: When it rains, it pours.

–––

"I feel something so deep, there's no explanation for it."

---

Part Four: No hay razón ni lógica en mi corazón

"I am diseased." You announce after marching into Hope's home office. "I am. I am diseased and I need you to shrink, go into my body, and kill this viral bacteria."

Hope blinks at you, looks around you, then frowns. "Did you sneak away from Thor again?"

You visibly cringe. "Don't say that heathen's name. He's the cause of all this."

The Stark Industries tech for your security upgrade had arrived. Sam arrived along with it and, after months of doing everything with Thor, you finally managed to sneak out long enough for him not to follow you.

It was easy at first. Losing him had been like losing your hair ribbons. So effortless.

But then it started taking him less time to find you. A whole day turned into hours, then minutes. Then he was opening the car door open for you, by the time you reached out – waiting patiently with a "where to?" smile as he slipped in next to you.

You went from trying to win Bucky back with flowers and chocolates, because gals like that sort of thing, so he could swap with Thor. Then you went to living in synchronised harmony with the walking-talking-live-in dietician.

Not only does he make you take the stairs, he's also the reason you make your own smoothies now. And you didn't even know you had a blender!

Ghost waltz in, some weird equipment in her hand as she eyes you. "Shithead. Did you slip sleeping pills into his smoothie again?"

"That was an accident!" You feign a gasp. "And it was one time."

"Four times." Hope corrects.

"That is not the point!" You argue, rubbing your forehead as you lean against the door.

You sigh, shutting your eyes and pinching your nose. Because, for the first time ever, you don't have energy to argue with your best friends. You barely had the energy to sneak out of your place and that doesn't sit right with you.

Rumlow would be so ashamed.

You lock the door and walk further into the room. You kick off your flip flops –because you were that desperate to get away that you wore your home flip flops – and lay down on the floor.

"I am diseased." You proclaim.

Hope hums. "You mentioned."

Ghost frowns. "Doesn't your programming make that...sort of impossible?"

You and Hope turn to glare at her. "Does no one ever listen to a word I say?" You whine. "I wasn't programmed. My sweetheart was. It's different."

"Can you get up from the floor? You're freaking me up." Hope pokes you with her shoe.

You choose to ignore her. "I think it's native to Asgard, whatever it is I'm infected with. I think it only affects certain people, too. 'Cause the receptionist didn't catch it, and she's more attached to Thor than gum is to shoe."

A part of you expected him to appear. He seemed to do that, appear out of thin air whenever you said his name. Like the Bifrost appearing whenever he was ready to leave a place. Like a demon being summoned or a dark entity appearing in a horror movie after you announce your presence of say its name.

So, instinctively, you moved your head around to make sure he wasn't in the room.

And then, you hated yourself even more for making sure of that.

Hope decides to indulge you, because that's the only way she'll get you out of this childish state faster, and lies down next to you.

Ghost, ever the sentimental one, tosses the equipment carelessly aside and drops down on the other side of you.

"Finally," she murmurs, "a break."

The concern for your well being, from her, is so heartwarming...

"So–" you don't wait for either of them to get comfortable. "–Valkyrie was over for lunch the other day, right? She just came in, pop by, apparently she was in town–"

"Who's Valkyrie?" Shadow cuts in.

"Thor's heir–" you explain. "–anyway, it was fun. They talked about whatever it was. I wasn't listening. And I managed to get my work done–"

"And now you're diseased?"

"–I must be! I must have gotten it from her. I read somewhere that people exposed to unfamiliar particles can contract bacterial viruses from them and get really sick and almost die, unless a doctor figures out what it is that's killing them."

Hope deadpans. "You mean you watched it, on a series."

"I'm dying. I am dying from a disease, that I got from Asgard, and instead of helping me find a cure before it's too late–" you narrow your eyes at her. "–you choose to judge me. The love of my life is still mad at me, and you're judging me."

"Bucky is still mad about the ice cream and the arm thing?" Ghost chortles.

Sighing, you shake your head. "I wanted to arm wrestle Thor into giving me Saturdays off, so I can at least breathe something other than rain–"

"No–"

"It wasn't even my idea!"

"Y/N–"

"No, seriously! Clint came up with it–"

Ghost laughs. "Did you at least win?"

You pout. "I never got the arm. Bucky hides it now."

"Wait a minute–" Hope cuts in, more focused on your apparent disease than the trouble you let Clint get you into. "–what do you mean by 'breathe something other than rain'?"

The sound of Thunder crackles in the background, you hear the violent slap of it before it even echoes. The rain doesn't take long to follow it, a gentle drizzle turning into a full blown shower within seconds.

You know it isn't possible, you know it. But you swear you can feel his anxiousness through the charges in the air. It's his worry that's causing this. Not his anger.

And you damn near cry at the fact that you can differentiate the two.

When the third round of thunder booms, you know he's aware that you left your phone behind. And your wallet. And your coat. And, until he can figure out that Hope currently lives a walking distance from you, you're sure it's going to start hailing soon.

You can feel Hope's eyes drilling a hole into the side of your face as you stare at the ceiling.

Your chest feels heavy, your eyes sting, and there's something stuck in your throat that hasn't been stuck there since you were a child. The last time breathing felt this hard was when Pierce had gut-punched you on your first day of training. It hurt back then, it hurts right now.

"He smells like rain," you whisper the answer to Hope's question. The first hail stone smashes against the window and you shut your eyes, hating the feel of the tear that escapes. "I used to hate the smell of rain..."

---

Tags: @nekoannie-chan , @thorfanficwriter

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Yeah so I jinxed it and it auto restarted. Joy.

[lady-griffin]

Things Got Crazy at a Slumber Party...

I would just like to say the title of this episode is so misleading…nothing crazy happened. False Advertising!

Eat the Rich

Seeing Anne’s room made me want to talk to her and urge her to revolt against the rich and distribute their wealth.

Spare Katarina, but rise up and revolt.

When I first saw her room, I legit thought Katarina was going to be surprised by Anne’s room and maybe (somehow by the end of the episode) was going to redecorate it and upgrade it for Anne…but nope. That idea quickly faded the second it went into my head.

Revolt against the aristocrats, Anne. 

Spare Katarina, but rise up and fight.

Eat the rich!

No, but in all seriousness, sometimes I have problems with anime (stories in general) where the affluent and opulent wealth of characters is just the background and it’s never going to be address in all seriousness. Particularly when they show that not everyone is as wealthy…

Why show Anne’s room to be like, if you’re never going to actually talk about it nor resolve the wealth gap. Why show her room to be depressing looking? Why not just give her a nice room? It doesn’t have to be Katarina’s room’s level of finery, but something.

That aside, let’s continue onward to the rest of the episode.

Katarina running off to tell everyone (and to thank them) for her making it to the second year, was adorable. Katarina throughout this episode was so goddamn precious.

LOOK AT HER!

LOOK AT HER!

JUST LOOK AT HER!

I just…Katarina must be protected at all costs. She is the best girl that ever existed.

I love this beautiful, bisexual-mess of an idiot. She’s perfection.

I’m still mad at Anne for denying Katarina’s original PJ choices. How dare you Anne! How dare you deprive me of that. How dare you!

I’m going to discuss the episode in more detail further down, so we’re going to get into some spoiler territory (I guess?). So, you’ve been warned.

Potential Spoilers Below

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Anne’s view on each of the character’s feelings for Katarina was fantastic.

Geordo’s Feelings 

While we didn’t actually get to see it, which was disappointing, Anne being scared of Geordo for initially telling Katarina that her scar was gone was hilarious. I am disappointed we haven’t seen Geordo at his true level of horrifying, but still…

Just his eyes narrowing may have cut a few years off of Anne’s life alone.

Keith’s Feelings

Poor Keith. Again, I don’t ship them, but still you still gotta feel bad for him.

What is the purpose of others thinking you’re good-looking, if the one person you want doesn’t?

I love Keith and his mother. They’re hilarious.

Alan’s Feelings

OMG Alan, how have you not figured it out, yet. You’re playing the violin for vegetation at the request of Katarina…I just.

Alan sweetheart, you are in love with this woman.

I do like how he actually did it for Katarina. That’s so fucking funny.

But also, just look at this face, how could he not.

It’s a good thing Katarina doesn’t want any actual political power or anything like that, she would be unstoppable.

Mary’s Feelings

Mary is several levels above everyone else. No comparison. 

She is subtly convincing Katarina that Katarina won’t do well as a Princess-Consort and has already figured out a way for them to leave and probably already has a manor set up by the sea, with a field already to go for the two of them (and Anne).

Mary is a bit scary in all honesty.

Nicol’s Feelings

Nicol’s cute smile was just adorable. Nicol x Katarina aren’t really one of my main ships, but I do love the contrast between these two.

Katarina this bright and bubbly ball of energy and sunshine and Nicol, a stoic statue who has trouble expressing himself, but can’t help but smile when he’s in Katarina���s presence.

Sophia’s Feelings

Sophia wanting Katarina to get with Nicol, even though she also loves Katarina is everything. Her listing off her brother’s good qualities (at random times) is hilarious to me. Always has been.

Sophia is just so damn cute.

Maria’s Feelings

Maria is giving Katarina all the treats. Smart Lady! She may have come late into the race for Katarina’s heart, but she’s playing to win.

In general, I like how we got quick snippets of everyone’s feelings for Katarina. I also love how the anime, legit just says the girls are in love with Katarina. I’ll always appreciate that.

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Anne and Katarina

Anne’s POV in this episode was just everything. I’m so glad the anime adapted it from the Light Novel, seeing as the Manga just ignored it. I’m so very happy.

When she lifted up her sleeve to reveal the burn marks, I gasped.

I wasn’t sure if the Anime was going to actually include that part (the Manga did skip over it), so I’m very happy the anime chose to include Anne’s full backstory. 

It makes me sad, but it’s good angst.

It’s not the same as the Light Novel, but Anne’s backstory and her relationship with Katarina was everything. That little montage of Anne and Katarina… my heart can’t handle such cuteness.

Also, I genuinely really love how when Katarina asked Anne’s father to not take Anne away, she had a bit of a bratty vibe to her. Very similar to Katarina before she regained her memories.

Even though she has her memories, Katarina is still a kid. And I just love that.

Anne refusing her father’s order. Mwah!

I really appreciate how the anime changed that scene from the Light Novel to Anne standing up for herself and actually speaking up.

Well Done! Good Choice!

Also, Luigi Claes stepping in to talk to the Baron himself was just nice to see. 

It was great seeing him being intimidating and such. While Katarina sees him as her dopey, doting father, there is more to him.

In the LN, it’s made clear that he learned about the man Anne’s father wanted to marry her off to and was not happy with that and came to Anne’s defense. 

But I also just like how a part of it, is probably because Katarina wanted Anne to stay with her (and Anne wanted the same thing) and Luigi can’t deny his daughter anything.

Luigi Claes doing the right thing (because it’s the right thing) but also, because he’s the kind of father, who will give his daughter anything. There’s a reason why OG Katarina was so spoiled. 

The fact that Katarina knew Anne would come into her room in the middle of the night to put her covers back on her, was just so sweet. 

Because Anne probably thought Katarina never knew she even did that, but of course Katarina knew.

Katarina giving gifts to Anne and being the first person to ever give her a birthday present…I swear I’m not crying, you’re crying.

I LOVE THESE TWO!

I guess while it’s never stated, I presume all the other stuff in the box were gifts from Katarina or objects related to a fond memory Anne has of Katarina.

Which gives me a headcanon.

Headcanon – Everyone has kept all the gifts they’ve ever received from Katarina as well as certain items they associate with a specific time or event they shared with Katarina.

We know from the Light Novels, that Keith has kept all the birthday presents he’s ever received from Katarina. And I thought it was said he kept the remnants of the door Katarina broke down, but I couldn’t confirm that. But now that’s a headcanon of mine as well.

More specifically, I now have the headcanon that either Geordo or Alan kept the snake toy that Katarina first threw at Geordo all those years ago. 

Probably Alan, as that memory is 100% positive one for him. While for Geordo, that memory probably mixed at best.

There is something cute about Geordo being scared of that toy, telling on Katarina and getting her in trouble, but nonetheless keeping that dreaded fake snake.

Anne and Katarina and their whole relationship was just everything. They were truly and absolutely the highlight of this episode. My heart was ready to burst.

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Sleepover

Overall, it was very cute. It was nice seeing the girl’s hang out and be in their pajamas. 

Katarina saving Anne from the girls’ question about marriage, was just very nice and does show Katarina is not as dense as we may think. She’s aware.

I will say, though, it was a bit lacking in comparison to the bonus Manga chapter in Vol. 5 (LN).

Particularly in regards to Mary. I mean just look at Mary in the Light Novel for comparison. It almost feels like a different scene. 

Also, while I did realize this last week. 

Sophia’s wish in romance and how over-the-top, pure fantasy, based on romance novels her ideas actually are, really makes her fantasy in last week’s episode (I became Engulfed by Desire) feel way more off. 

And just not accurate to Sophia’s character.

You’re telling me that Nicol in his amplified fantasy is basically Tuxedo Mask jumping around Venice with Katarina, but Sophia’s amplified fantasy is just her being in her family’s library with Katarina.

I call bullshit.

Sophia’s desire book fantasy, should’ve been the most crazy and over top thing ever. 100%. And this episode confirms that.

Both Maria and Katarina wanting to cook for their partner is very lovely and shows their compatibility.

I am a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to see the boys’ sleepover, but Nicol’s eyes sparkling when he heard that the sleepover would include boy’s talk was just too precious.

His thoughts are definitely much more innocent in comparison to what Sophia was thinking when she heard about Boy’s Talk…I love Sophia.

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Geordo and Katarina

I was really looking forward to seeing Ch.17.5 be adapted to the anime, but unfortunately, I was thoroughly disappointed by it.

It was much less sweet, cute and funny then it was in the Manga. Seeing the scene in the anime just made me want to read the Manga chapter again. 

Seriously, you don’t have to read the whole Manga (you should though), but do yourself a favor and read Ch. 17.5. It’s amazing!

Just look at this dork

This was a golden opportunity for the anime, to really show Geordo’s feelings and relationship with Katarina from his perspective. And just endear the audience to him. 

They completely dropped the ball.

I feel like the anime doesn’t understand or even like Geordo’s character. He seems less dynamic, engaging and interesting in the anime. And the aspects that make very endearing and heartfelt, are basically taken out.

He hardly comes across as the leading male…which is disappointing for me, since I really love Geordo and Geordo x Katarina.

I am very disappointed with the treatment of Geordo. The anime is doing a disservice to him, in my opinion. Especially in comparison to Alan who the anime has added extra moments for.

I do appreciate those extra Alan moments, but I would appreciate them a lot more if it didn’t feel like Geordo was being left out. 

Nonetheless, Geordo’s face when he saw everyone else and when saw that they all got Katarina gardening shears as well was fantastic!

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Katarina Speaks Two Languages Headcanon

I mean this episode basically confirmed that. With Katarina writing the letter to Geordo, but writing everyone’s name in Kanji (?) on their gardening uniforms.

While we do have Keith’s and Duchess Claes’ signs not being written in the country’s language, that’s more for comedy sake as those signs don’t exist in reality.

But did anyone in the Harem wonder, why Katarina wrote their names in an entirely different language? I just love the idea of everyone being shocked to learn that Katarina can speak and write fluently in two languages.

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Conclusion

I overall enjoyed this episode. 

Some scenes I found a bit lacking (or more than a bit) in comparison to what they were based off of from the Manga or Light Novel. I will say I liked how this episode did take its material from the Light Novels and the bonus chapter in the Manga, as well as adding their own bits and pieces.

It was well done.

I’m definitely salty over how wrong they got Ch. 17.5. I just…at times it feels like the anime gets the core of certain scenes and characters (without doing the exact same thing from the LN or Manga or adding their own scenes) just right, but for Geordo they just seem to miss the mark.

Also, the material from Ch. 17.5 just felt like it was added onto the end, it didn’t really go with the rest of the episode…

And in relation to that, Mary being subdued in the sleepover scene was disappointing as well.

I understand there are budgets and restrictions, so I’m hoping they’re saving it for the last three episodes.

Anne and Katarina were the clear highlight of this episode. Without them being the focus of the episode, I would’ve found it less enjoyable, even with all the cute and precious moments we got to see.

But overall, a lovely episode with so many precious moments and it gave me so many feels in regards to Anne and her relationship with Katarina. So many!

[the-awkward-outlaw]

Hello! I'm nervous bc i never ask smth like this, but I love your fics, it kept me sane the last weeks! I love whumpy/angsty arthur fics (sorry) and I have so many ideas, but no courage to write. Here is something i literally dreamed: "Arthur getting shot in a shootout and falls in the water, Dutch doesn't know what to do, but (fem)reader dives in right away to save him. She takes care of him, because shot +getting sick from the water" Hopefully it's something. greetings from germany :)

Holy crap, this is my 100th request!!!! I truly don’t know how to feel about this!!!! I’ve thought about maybe doing something to celebrate, but can’t come up with anything. Any thoughts from y’all? I’m hoping I can open my inbox soon.

Anyways, hello Anon! Writing these fics has kept me sane as well these past few months. I don’t like thinkin’ what I woulda done without it, so I guess they’ve been helpful to both of us. I bet you have more courage to write than you think you do! Hello from Utah! 

Masterlist

Read on AO3

“It’ll be fine, darlin’,” Arthur says, grabbing the boat and pushing it closer to the water. 

“I don’t know, Arthur,” you reply, watching him. “I’ve got a bad feeling.” 

“Your girl worries too much, Mr. Morgan,” Dutch chuckles. He bends down to help Arthur and they manage to get the boat into the water. “Y/N, we’re just going off to fish. I know a great place.” 

“I’m sure it is a great place but…” you say. Arthur walks up to you and puts his hands on your shoulders. 

“Sweetheart, I promise nothin’ will happen. What danger can we get from just fishin’? ‘Sides, thought you loved doin’ this.” He gives you a smirk. 

“I do… and I want to. But, like I said, I’m just nervous. Feels like somethin’ bad’s gonna happen.” 

“Well then stay in camp,” Dutch growls, checking the oars. “Arthur and I will go, have ourselves a good time.” 

You let out a small groan, knowing your hands are tied. It was your idea to go on a fishing trip, but you thought Arthur might agree to just staying on shore, maybe even near Clemens Point. Dutch overheard and said he knew a great place where the fish would likely be plentiful and fat. Arthur heartily agreed, saying he needed to get out of camp for a while. You need to as well, but you just can’t shake this strange sense of foreboding. 

“Okay, fine,” you finally say and you clamber into the boat after Dutch, taking the front seat at the front. Arthur gives it one final shove and then hops in, taking the oars as he sits down. He begins rowing and Dutch points him on where to go. 

“It’s a long ways off, but I bet the amount we catch will be worth it.”

“Where exactly is this spot?” you ask. 

“Just near Bard’s Crossing,” Dutch replies, pointing to the massive bridge connecting New Hanover to West Elizabeth, stretching high above the Cumberland River. 

“Seriously, Dutch?” Arthur growls, still rowing. “We couldn’ta ridden there and grabbed a boat? That’s a long ways off!” 

“Oh now Arthur, you’re not telling me you’re adverse to a little hard labor, are ya?” 

You hate when Dutch does this because he knows Arthur will respond in just the way he wants. It’s always bothered you since you saw from the beginning it was a manipulation tactic for Dutch. However, you say nothing, but maybe you’ll talk about it with Arthur later tonight.

Arthur grumbles a bit and keeps on rowing. As time passes, Dutch suggests a song, which you and Arthur heartily agree to. Afternoon sets in and the boat finally arrives at the mouth of the Cumberland River where it flows into Flat Iron Lake, heavy and fast. 

“This is the spot, drop anchor,” Dutch says, rubbing his hands together. You pick up the heavy weight and toss it into the water, watching it sink and dragging the rope behind it. “This place should be great.” 

You silently agree with Dutch, looking out at where the river meets the lake. With the river flowing so fast, it’s surely bringing a lot of food down for fish and they will be congregating down here to meet it. There’s also bound to be plenty of deep channels here for them to hide. The fish that are here will be hungry and looking to feed. 

The three of you stand up and bring out your poles, assembling them and attaching lures. Dutch swings out first, then Arthur, and then you. Slowly, you begin reeling in your line, waiting for something to grab at it. 

You smile as you think on how it was Arthur who taught you how to fish all those years ago. He taught you many things. That was how the two of you fell in love. You’ve never loved anyone as much as him, and you’d been hoping he might ask you to spend the rest of your lives together. But then Blackwater happened and everything fell apart. Surely he will ask when things calm down? 

Dutch interrupts your thoughts. “You know, my mother’s buried in Blackwater,” he says, looking over to the shore where the town sits. He tells about how she and him didn’t always get along but they still loved each other in their own ways. As he talks, the boat drifts, revolving around the spot the anchor lies. Its rear where Arthur stands points towards the nearest shore. 

You’re still feeling nervous, but you’re beginning to doubt yourself. Maybe you’ve just been expecting something bad to happen for a while now. After all, plenty already has. First the Blackwater heist, then being threatened by the Pinkertons. Cornwall arriving in Valentine and driving the gang out. You’re not the only one wondering what will fall on the camp next. 

“Y/N, I ever tell ya about my dog Copper?” Arthur asks, leaning his head forward to smile at you. You shake your head. 

“You never had control of him,” Dutch says, almost darkly. 

“Ah he was a good dog, though. Never lost the puppy in him. But one day we all came back from this fishin’ trip. I turned my back for one second and Copper hopped up, ate all the fish in one go. I never seen Hosea so mad in my life.” 

You laugh heartily, easily able to imagine it. “Would you ever consider getting another dog?” 

“Maybe. Not now though. Things are too hectic,” he says. 

“Well, we got Cain,” Dutch says. “Though I suppose he’s more Jack’s dog than anyone else’s. I haven’t seen a boy love a dog so much since, well, since you were a boy, Arthur. Y/N, Arthur ever tell ya about his adventures as a boy? Oh I got some good ones to tell!” 

“Don’t do this, Dutch,” Arthur pleads, casting out again. 

“You gotta tell me now, Dutch!” 

He chuckles. “Well there was one day he came back from town with these big beautiful bass. He was maybe twenty, and we congratulated him all night. Made toasts to him. Well, next day we go into town and-” 

Dutch is suddenly cut off by a spot in the lake directly in front of him exploding, water shooting up into the air, a sound like thunder ripping through the air. All three of you know the sound too well: someone is shooting at you. 

“What the…” Arthur says, dropping his pole and whipping his gun out.

“O’Driscolls!” Dutch hollers, shooting at the shoreline. Down the upgrade in the land leading to the bridge, men are running down. Some are on horseback, but there’s no denying it. They’re from Dutch’s rival gang run by Colm O’Driscoll.

You drop your pole with a clatter and yank out your pistol, returning fire to the men. You try to ignore how seriously outnumbered and outgunned you are, trying to reassure yourself with the thought that Dutch and Arthur are some of the best gunmen you’ve ever known. Your aim isn’t bad either as you take down three O’Driscolls on the shore. 

One of the men shrieks something and walks into the lake, going all the way up to his knees. “You’re dead!” he screams and fires. You and he shoots at the same time, but as he falls, you hear Arthur give a pained grunt. He drops his pistol, clutches his ribs and hunkers down. The redistribution of his weight is too much and the boat tips, making him topple out. 

“Arthur” you scream. “Dutch, Arthur!” 

“Just shoot, Y/N! We’ll worry about Arthur as soon as these bastards are dealt with.” 

Typical Dutch. Ignoring Arthur when he needs his help the most. You look at the black water of the lake where Arthur fell in, expecting his head to be bobbing out of the water. But it isn’t. There’s only a small cluster of bubbles. 

“Goddamn it, Dutch!” you hiss and you put your pistol back. Dutch says your name but you ignore him, diving into the water. 

It’s freezing in the lake. Not surprising since the water where you are is from the river, which is mostly runoff from the frozen mountains. It doesn’t help that the sun was just setting beyond the horizon when the O’Driscolls attacked. You try to scan the deep water, but your vision is heavily blurred. Then you see a flicker of blue in the area where he went down. It must be Arthur. 

Quickly you weave your arms and kick your legs, swimming over to him. You’re not the strongest swimmer nor do you have the greatest capacity to hold your breath, but none of that matters. All you care about is getting Arthur. 

As you get closer to the blue flicker, the rest of his body forms. Swirling with the column of bubbles is a trail of blood. Finally you’re close enough to wrap your arms around his bulky chest and you start trying to swim back to the surface. It’s harder than you expected now that you’ve lost use of your arms. Your legs kick as hard as they can, but your lungs are beginning to burn. You wish you could beg Arthur to help you save him. 

As though he can hear your thoughts, his arms suddenly begin flapping through the water, slow but strong. He kicks with his own legs and since they’re much longer and more powerful, you move much quicker. 

It seemed like it took minutes to get from the surface to him, but now you make the return trip in seconds. Both your heads break through the water and you gasp for breath, coughing a bit. Gunshots still echo overhead but the boat isn’t too far away. With all your strength, you begin kicking, heaving Arthur over to it. 

“Dutch,” you gasp. “Dutch, help me get him into the boat.” 

“Can’t you see we’re still being fired on, Y/N?” he roars as he shoots again. He’s got both pistols out now. 

“Goddamn it, Dutch! Arthur, hang onto the boat.” 

He doesn’t say anything, but his hands latch onto the boat. You keep one arm on him, anchoring yourself to his body, and then reach into your holster, pulling out your gun. You fire and nothing happens. Shit. The gun powder’s too wet. You holster it and look back at Dutch as a shot splashes not too far from you.

“Dutch, give me one of your guns!” you shout, but he either can’t hear you or he’s ignoring you. “DUTCH!” He finally looks at you and you repeat your request. 

“I can handle them just fine, Y/N.” 

“Obviously you can’t, otherwise they’d all be dead. Just give me your damn gun!” 

Grumbling, Dutch tosses you one of his pistols and you turn your arm, returning fire on the remaining O’Driscolls. There’s only three of them left, all standing on the shores. One of them has a rifle, but the other two have pistols. You shoot at them, taking one down, but then you run out of ammo. 

“Dutch!” you holler, feeling truly desperate. There’s a decently sized pool of blood around Arthur now that’s beginning to worry you. Dutch growls incoherently and shoots in quick successions, finally taking down the last two O’Driscolls. He holsters his gun and turns towards you, bending down to grab Arthur by the arms. 

“Come on, big boy,” he grunts, heaving as you push him from the water. You’re not much use though as you’ve nothing to anchor yourself on, your legs still kicking through open water. Arthur’s not so badly wounded he can’t help himself though, he helps to hoist himself up with the arm on his uninjured left side. 

Finally, you somehow get him into the boat. He falls onto his back, coughing and spluttering. Dutch bends down and grabs your arm, lifting you up, which is much easier. Ignoring the exhaustion from the fight and your swim, you bend down and inspect Arthur, fumbling with his soaked shirt to get it unbuttoned. You manage it at last and expose his wound. It’s not good, but you don’t think it’ll be fatal as long as it’s treated quickly. 

“Quick, Dutch, take us back.” 

You half expect him to argue, to say something that will uphold his pride, but luckily he sits in Arthur’s previous spot and begins rowing, leaving the shore littered with bodies behind. Just before he sets off, you reach down into the lake and grab Arthur’s hat. 

As Dutch rows, you try stemming the flow of blood from Arthur’s wound, but there’s not much point as that bullet needs to be taken out. You look up, towards your destination, which looks miles away. Hope begins to fade away, quickly being replaced by fear. 

Arthur’s hand suddenly wraps around yours. “Stay with me, darlin’,” he pants. 

You look down and squeeze his hand. “I ain’t goin’ nowhere. Just focus on me.” You run your free hand through his damp hair and he smiles a bit, looking into your eyes. 

After what seems to have taken a lifetime, Dutch pulls the boat ashore at Clemens Point. He immediately calls for aid and several of the others come running over. You grab Arthur’s arms and heave him up, but your exhaustion has properly set in and Arthur weighs more than you do. You can only manage a few steps, which are made extremely awkward by the curve of the boat’s bottom before the others reach you. Charles and John grab him, taking on the burden, and they help heave him from the boat. 

“What the hell happened?” Hosea demands, walking over and being closely followed by Grimshaw, who barks at Charles and John to get Arthur to bed. 

“Dutch is an idiot, that’s what happened,” you snap, bending over to try and catch your breath. 

“You’re out of line, Y/N,” Dutch says sharply. “I had no idea those bastards would catch us there.” 

“I told you I had a bad feeling about it! But did you listen to me? No. You never listen to me!” Rage courses through you. You can’t shake the image of Dutch just standing there on the boat, watching as Arthur fell in, and then him not responding. “You’re always sayin’ how Arthur’s like your son, Dutch, but when you’re required to act like a father to your metaphorical son, you are the worst-”

“ENOUGH!” he shouts, glaring at you. You’ve crossed a line. “That is enough, Y/N. Those bastards would have killed us all, and I knew Arthur would be fine. Because you were there. I knew you would save him.” 

“Typical,” you hiss, your teeth shivering from both the rage and the cold caused by your soaked clothing. “You let everyone else do your dirty work all because you didn’t want to get your hat wet.” 

Without waiting for him to respond, you stomp off towards yours and Arthur’s tent. You know you were out of line with Dutch, but you’re so angry and scared you don’t care. In the tent, Arthur’s surrounded by the other girls who are busy working away. He’s grunting and writhing in pain, his legs being pinned down by John and Karen while Tilly holds a thick stick in his mouth. Grimshaw and Mary-Beth are busy trying to get the bullet out of his torso. 

“Let me,” you say to Tilly, taking her place at his head. She nods and stands up, letting you kneel down at the head of the bed. Your fingers brush through his hair and you try not to look at what Grimshaw and Mary-Beth are doing. You’ve seen an innumerable amount of gruesome things happen to people, but you can’t stand watching it happen to the man you love. 

Arthur seems to calm down a bit when he feels your fingers in his hair, but he’s still in a lot of pain. You grip his shoulder and one of his hands comes up and grabs yours, crushing it. You let him though. 

“There,” Grimshaw finally says, holding up the long pair of thin tongs, a bloodied bullet clamped in them. “It’s over, Mr. Morgan.” 

He lets out a long breath, his face, neck and chest coated in sweat. Grimshaw turns away and Mary-Beth and Tilly immediately begin stitching and bandaging him up tightly. After a few minutes, they state there’s nothing more that can be done. 

“Those bandages will need to be changed after a few hours,” Strauss declares, inspecting the girls’ work. “The bleeding should stop soon though.” 

You pat Arthur’s shoulder, your other hand still clamped in his firm grip. You bend down and kiss his forehead, noting his closed eyes. Poor man is beyond exhausted. “Get some rest,” you whisper. 

“Stay with me,” he mutters. 

You promise him you won’t leave his side, but you get up and close the tent flaps, wanting some privacy. Then, gently as you can, you remove his soaked clothes. He shivers lightly when he’s fully naked, but you drape him in the blanket. When you’re changed from your own wet clothes and into a light, dry nightdress, you climb under the blanket and huddle close to him, trying to keep him warm. Despite his obvious discomfort, he holds you close. After a short period, you hear him grunt in his sleep. Feeling that the worst is behind, you close your eyes and drift off as well. 

*****************************************

A few days pass. Arthur gets a bit feverish, but you manage to keep it down to a fair minimum. Reverend comforts him a bit when he voices his fears that he might not survive by telling him you won’t let him die, not even if he wanted to. 

Dutch has been very respectful of the space around your tent. It’s almost as though he’s afraid you might start screaming at him again, which you’ve half a mind to. He even lets you butt in front of him at the line for dinners to get Arthur food, which he’s never done for anyone. 

Hosea cam and spoke to both you and Arthur the day after the ambush. He said you were right to get after Dutch, that he’s often let Arthur take the worst hits, but he also warns you not to go ribbing Dutch about this. 

“I’ve talked with him, he feels terrible. He knows he should’ve been the one to save Arthur, not you. He’s very sorry.”

“Well, I hope he doesn’t expect me to forgive him until he tells Arthur to his face how bad he feels about the whole thing,” you say proudly. Arthur chuckles from the bed. Hosea does too, but then he leaves. 

After only a week, Arthur’s greatly improved, much quicker than anyone could have predicted. Hosea teases that it’s your stunning work that has done the trick and that under your care, Arthur will live beyond a hundred. You doubt this, though you appreciate it all the same. Arthur’s always been a fast healer, and you take into account the fact that the bullet didn’t hit any of his bones nor puncture any vital organs. 

Arthur’s already been moving around camp, though he still moves quite gingerly. He tries to do regular work, but you quickly stop him from doing the straining stuff like chopping wood. “You’ll rip out your stitches,” you scold him lightly and make him sit down to help you with knitting. He complains but doesn’t refuse the work. 

Night falls, and you’re both sitting on the log near the campfire. Your head’s lying on his shoulder, your hand clasped in his. It’s late. Much later than you usually stay up, but you’re not ready to go to bed yet. 

John, who’s been sitting on the other side of the fire for a while, stands up and stretches, yawning. “Think I’m gonna turn in,” he says before leaving. Now you’re alone with Arthur. 

After a few moments, your hand leaves Arthur and you wind it up his body, hovering lightly over his wound. 

“What you doin’?” he asks softly. 

“Just makin’ sure. Don’t want you bleeding.” 

“I ain’t bled there in days, darlin’.” He kisses your head and then winds an arm behind you, allowing you to cuddle into him better. A few more minutes pass and it feels like he’s got something heavy on his mind. 

“Y’know, I have to apologize to ya, darlin’.”

“What for, Arthur?” 

“I ain’t… I ain’t appreciated you properly. Ain’t done for you what ya deserve. These past few days have shown me that.” 

“What are you talking about?” you ask, looking up at him. Arthur’s the best companion you’ve ever had. He’s always been protective yet gentle, thoughtful and passionate. You’ve never wanted to devote your life to a person so much ever before. 

“I mean… you deserve so much more than I given you. I shoulda done this months ago, but… well, I always blamed Blackwater on it, but truth is, I was scared. Then I told myself I wanted to wait until I could do it properly, make it special.” 

“Arthur, what are you going on about?” 

He hesitates for a second. “Darlin’, I wanna marry ya.” 

Your heart stops for a second and his words echo through your mind. “M-marry me?” 

“Yes. Listen, I… if you decide it’s dumb or that you don’t wanna, I understand.” 

You wipe your eyes and sniff. “Shut up, Arthur. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you to ask?” 

He smiles a bit, his eyes shining with tears. “Too long, I’m guessing.” 

“Your damn right,” you say and you stretch up, kissing him hard. His arms wind tightly around you, holding you firmly against him. As you sit in his arms, pressing your lips to his and truly appreciating the form of his body against your own, your mind wanders to how wonderful it will be to spend the rest of your life with him. You’ve never wanted anything more. 

[hmsjiara]

glitter's sparklin on your heart now, darling (jj + kie)

request by @rcsales: prompts for Jiara!!: 74. “Why don’t you just sit there and look pretty?”, 80. “How do you get your skin to be so soft?” and 92. “Are you sure we should be doing this?”

i figured i should write something fluffy after my last one shot lol, and i aso wanted to write something for pride so here you go :) hope you like it, thank you for the request!

read it here on ao3.

                                      •••

“Are you sure we should be doing this?”

Now, that was a first. JJ, who just last week had done a wheelie with his motorcycle off of the dock at the Chateau, telling Kiara she was being reckless.

“JJ, you endanger your life on a day-to-day basis,” Kiara says, rolling her eyes. “Going to a pride rally is the safest activity you’ve done all week.”

“No, it’s just— I mean won’t your parents be pissed?” He asks, frowning at her from the passenger seat. “I heard your mom— she didn’t sound happy.”

When Kiara had come out as pansexual, her parents had been... supportive. They’d smiled and nodded and said that’s nice, sweetheart. But apparently, her attending a pride rally was taking it a step too far. It had escalated into a screaming match the night before, the gist being it’s fine to like girls, but talking about it publicly is crossing a line. She’d ignored it, because her parents reputations weren’t her concern, but JJ always got weird around shit like this. She’d explained it to him already: parents got mad at their kids, that was normal, they weren’t going to disown her over it.

“It’ll be fine,” she tells him, looking over her shoulder as she backs her car up. It was well past midnight— she had decided it would be best to leave while her parents were asleep. The parade started at eleven in the morning, so she’d booked them a room at a nearby hotel. This way, she could avoid an awkward confrontation with her mother, and they’d be able to get an earlier start the next day. JJ had texted her when he was in her driveway, and she’d crept downstairs with her pre-packed bag and grabbed her keys. She’d parked her car around the corner from her house as a precaution.

Kiara had worked herself up so much trying to figure out how to tell the Pogues that she was pan that their reaction to her whiskey-triggered, blurted confession while they were chilling on the hammocks at the Chateau had been somewhat anticlimactic.

John B had smiled, told her it was cool and passed her a joint, and that was that. Pope blinked once, as if downloading the information into his brain, and then nodded like it made perfect sense. JJ, however, had frowned and said, “Pansexual? What? Did you have like a giant crush on Peter Pan as a child?”

“No, JJ,” she’d said, trying to sound annoyed even as she gave him a fond roll of her eyes. “It means that I’m attracted to people based on who they are, not what’s between their legs.”

“Oh, well we knew that,” he said, shrugging, his eyes glazed and hazy from the alcohol and weed as he stared at her. “So, what I’m gathering is... this means that  even though you were macking on that Kook chic last week at the Boneyard, I still have a chance?”

Pope had shoved him out of the hammock, and JJ had fallen to the ground with a grunt. John B threw a towel at his head, but Kiara just laughed, rolled her eyes.

It was the usual JJ pigheadedness she was used to, but she had felt strangely comforted by it in that moment. She’d been so afraid they’d treat her differently, but the Pogues had acted like her announcing her sexuality was barely news at all.

It was a nice change from her parents, and even though JJ’s initial reaction had been utterly idiotic, since then he’d been nothing but supportive.

So, when Kiara mentioned that she was going to her first Pride alone, he’d volunteered to come and keep her company.

It was sweet, the kind of gesture JJ was prone to masking with cocky remarks and his usual deflections surrounding anything to do with emotions.

Either way, JJ certainly makes the trip more entertaining. It’s late, and the drive would normally be boring and lonely, but he hooks up her phone to the aux and blasts her Pride playlist. He keeps flipping through the songs, unable to choose one, but he finally settles on Born This Way by Lady Gaga.

JJ’s carpool karaoke is actually impressive— he can sing, which she knew, but there’s something about him screaming Gaga lyrics that makes Kiara’s heart jump. Then, Vogue by Madonna comes on, and he rolls down the window and starts screaming the words at passing cars. She has to tell him to stop, uses driver veto power to roll up the window, because he’s distracting, and she doesn’t want to start the weekend off by getting in a car crash.

The drive is already three hours long, but JJ insists that they stop for Taco Bell even though he’s already had dinner, claiming that it’s the least she can do, which Kiara finds ironic since he was the one who offered to come with her.

Their arrival at the hotel is just as chaotic as she expected. Kiara checks them in, her duffel bag on JJ’s shoulder as he whispers comments in her ear about the lobby’s patrons. She has to swat his hand away from the candy bowl, gives the receptionist a slightly manic, apologetic smile.

The woman’s own smile seems genuine, and as she hands them their keys she shakes her head and says, “I hope it’s not too forward, but you two make an adorable couple.”

Kiara opens her mouth to correct her, but JJ throws an arm around her shoulders and steers her away from the desk before she can protest.

“You hear that, Kie?” He asks as they wait for the elevator to arrive, his arm still on her shoulders, his breath warm against her ear. “She thinks we make a cute couple.”

She shoves him away from her, threatens to lock him out of the hotel room as a punishment. He pulls the key card from his pocket, somehow having swiped it from her, and she regrets it instantly when he presses every elevator button in retaliation. She tries to stop him, but he blocks her with an arm, and Kiara refuses to jump to reach the card he’s now holding above his head.

Instead, she moves to the other side of the elevator and pretends to be pissed, giving him the silent treatment.

JJ starts apologizing by the seventh floor, and is looking throughly ashamed by the tenth. She considers it a job well done, but his embarrassment only lasts for the duration of the elevator ride, and he’s racing her to the room when the door opens.

She swears traveling with JJ is like traveling with a five-year-old. Actually, the five year old would likely be better behaved. And she can’t put JJ in time-out if he annoys her.

Kiara had purchased the hotel room before she’d known JJ was coming, upgraded it to two beds when he’d told her. She’d convinced him it was too much of a hassle to split the bill, reminded him he was technically doing her a favor by coming and she should get the chance to repay it. The truth was, she had more than enough money, and she wasn’t going to let him spend his limited amount of cash on an expensive hotel room. It wasn’t like she required this kind of shit, she would have been just as content staying in a trashy motel, this was just safer and closer to the parade.

Still, when they enter the room, with it’s two queen beds and an en suite bathroom, the floor to ceiling windows showing a view of the city below, the PNC Plaza towering above the other buildings, and JJ goes quiet, she understands it’s because he’s never been in a place like this before.

He seems almost unsure of himself and some people might consider it embarrassing, but to be honest Kiara finds it endearing. He asks her which bed was his, and when she tells him he can pick, he beams at her like a child who’s just been given a free lollipop. He flops down on the bed by the window, his boots hitting the white sheets, and Kiara knows that her mother would faint if she saw it.

She had assumed that they would both be tired from the drive, but JJ is as restless as ever, unable to sit still as he examines every part of the room. She takes a shower while he explores, has to forbid him from going to the hotel pool at four am when he asks through the door, reminds him that they have to be up by nine.

JJ had rolled his eyes when she told him, said it was unnecessary to leave two hours before the parade started, but when she came out he was still lying on his bed, scrolling through Instagram on his phone.

She’s brushing her hair when he says, “Do we have signs?”

“What?” She asks, frowning at him.

JJ looks at her, eyebrows raised. “Did you seriously forget to bring signs? Isn’t that like the one thing you bring to a parade?”

Kiara stays silent, and he seems to understand that it‘s an admission of guilt. Okay, so she was bound to forget something, this just happened to be it.

“I’ll be right back,” he says, sighing as he grabs her keys off of the the table and starts typing something into his phone.

“Where are you—“

“Don’t worry about it.”

Kiara wants to tell him that she has to worry, because it involves him, but he‘s gone before she can say anything.

She shakes her head, resigned to the fact that JJ is almost an adult and that she can’t really control him. Even if the idea of her reckless friend driving her car to an unknown location in the middle of the night makes her nervous.

She decides to try and relax, changing into one of the hotels fluffy bathrobes and applying a sparkly face mask while JJ isn’t there to tease her about it.

When she hears the lock click, she’s lying in bed, making a list for the morning on her phone.

JJ bursts through the door, and it takes her a second to comprehend the sight of him with an armful of colored paper, glitter, and markers.

“What did you do?”

“Posters,” he says with a shrug, as if that explains it. “I went to a drug store to get supplies, since you were unprepared. ‘Cmon, Kie, get your ass over here.”

It was the same quiet, subtle consideration that had made him come with her, and Kiara had always admired that about JJ— his life was hell, but he hadn’t let that damage his character, his natural instinct to help the people he cared about.

So, she pats the spot beside her on the bed, let’s JJ lay out his supplies, and spends the next two hours telling him to put caps on markers and fighting over tubes of rainbow glitter.

She ends up making her sign the colors of the pan flag, writes the words Pan and Proud on it. JJ is strangely secretive about his, and she starts to get nervous when he is hiding it from her, but she smiles when he turns and she sees the words Hearts Not Parts written out in different shades of glitter.

He grins at her reaction, starts searching for a marker to sign his name, and she has a moment where she is studying him: lounging beside her in nothing but a pair of grey sweatpants, blonde curls mussed from running his fingers through his hair, his lips between his teeth as he focuses on writing his name, and she thinks about how easy it would be to lean over and press her lips to his.

But she ignores that urge, excuses herself to the bathroom and splashes cold water on her face, and when she returns JJ is in his own bed, finally ready to go to sleep.

The bed seems colder without him, but she resists the desire to ask him to join her again. Because they were just friends, and she wasn’t going to ruin the weekend by being selfish.

The problem, ironically, she thinks as she stares at his sign, is that JJ’s heart is exactly what’s made her like him so damn much.

                                     •••

The next morning is more hectic than she wanted it to be, but with JJ, she should have expected it.

Kiara had built an extra hour into their schedule just for this purpose, but she sleeps through her alarm and wakes up thirty minutes before the parade starts.

She trips on JJ’s discarded boots when she stumbles out of bed, swears as she almost face-plants on the hotel floor, shakes JJ a little harder than necessary to wake him up.

They end up sharing the bathroom as they’re getting ready, and Kiara complains about the steam from his shower ruining her hair, yells at him for getting in her way. JJ is still ready twenty minutes before her, and he lays on the bed while she’s panicking, infuriatingly calm.

Kiara’s so flustered that she forgets her car keys, but JJ grabs them, pushes the elevator button with a pointed look at her wedged heels.

Okay, so they’re not the most parade appropriate attire, but at least they’re cute. Kiara’s shirt, which reads easily distracted by all genders, is tucked into her jean skirt, and her hair is braided with rainbow beads,  her eyeshadow a blended version of the colors in the pan flag.

She spent a good deal of time selecting her outfit, but when she gets to the car, she realizes that she’s overlooked one crucial thing: JJ.

Besides the sign, there’s nothing to distinguish him as a member of Pride, so she insists on pulling out her glitter when they’ve arrived at the parade and parked on the side of the street.

She thought he would refuse, but JJ just says he’ll do it if he can do hers as well. She agrees, and then they’re brushing rainbow glitter on each other’s cheeks, leaning over the console so that their faces are inches apart. JJ keeps moving, tapping his fingers against the seat, bouncing his legs, reaching up to itch his nose so that Kiara has to swat his hand away.

She just tries not to think about his fingers on her face, how the blue glitter on his cheeks makes his eyes pop.

JJ is adorably focused, eyes narrowed as he applies the glitter, and then he says, “How do you get your skin to be so soft?”

Kiara shivers as he brushes a finger over her cheekbone, as if he can’t help himself. “It’s called moisturizer, JJ,” she explains, smirking at him as she starts to list all of the skincare products she uses. JJ loses interest soon enough, applying a little more blue and pink glitter and then declaring that his work is finished.

To her surprise, they make it to the parade with time to spare. It was as if a rainbow had exploded on the streets of the city, everyone was carrying signs and laughing and dancing and getting brightly-colored drinks from the stands lining the sides of the road. The sun is shining above, and Kiara starts looking at the UV index on her phone, tries to make JJ put on sunscreen. He refuses, says it will mess with the glitter, let’s out a cry of outrage when she presses dollops of it onto his cheeks anyway.

She thought he would be uncomfortable surrounded by all of it, but JJ seems perfectly at ease, studying their surroundings with genuine interest and curiosity. They buy drinks from the vendors who barely glance at Kiara’s fake ID, which makes sense since the alcohol is basically water compared to what the Pogues ingest on a daily basis.

A few people compliment their signs, and music is blasting from the speakers, and Kiara finds that she’s actually able to relax, laughing as JJ spins her around with an arm.

They get food from the trucks, JJ buying anything with the word meat in it while she opts for fish tacos. He chugs from the water bottle she brought them, the one he insisted they didn’t need, makes Kiara do a Jell-O shot.

It escalates from there, until they end up at a bar, exhausted and sun-soaked, and Kiara takes off her heels and rests her sore legs on JJ’s lap under the bar while he orders them drinks. He claims the beer will help with the ache in her feet, and it does, because thirty minutes later Kiara has pulled him away from the bar and onto the dance floor. They’re both a few drinks in at this point, and although Kiara hates it, her weight means she gets drunk faster than he does, so she’s reasonably tipsy.

It’s a blur of laughter and bright colors and rainbow face paint, all writhing limbs and bodies bumping hers. Someone calls for shots, and Kiara screams at the top of her lungs, slips her hand into JJ’s and raises their arms into the air.

Eventually, a girl with a warm smile and tan skin, her blonde curls dyed pink, grabs Kiara’s hand and starts dancing with her, hips rolling and tongue out between purple-lipstick painted lips. JJ just watches them without commenting, sips from his drink, raises his eyebrows when Kiara starts grinding on her.

The girl tugs her towards the bar, and Kiara follows, tells JJ where she’s going over her shoulder.

“Kie,” he whines, pouting at her. “What am I supposed to do? Just stand here while you go hook up with her in the bathroom?”

“Why don’t you just sit there and look pretty?”

He glares at her as she shoots a pointed look at the glitter on his face, but Kiara just laughs, leaves him standing in the middle of the dance floor.

She returns a few minutes later, a purple lipstick print on her cheek, and JJ pretends to be pissed at her, gives her the cold shoulder as the girl lays her arms on Kiara’s shoulders and starts swaying her hips.

But then a boy with black shorts and no shirt appears, a rainbow painted on his chest, screaming as he runs his hands through his brown curls and knocks back a shot of tequila. He’s obviously hammered, but it doesn’t make it any less hilarious when he wraps an arm around JJ and hugs him, presses a kiss to his cheek. “You’re adorable,” he whispers in his ear, nuzzling into JJ’s neck. “Wanna fuck?”

“Uh, no, er, I’m good thanks—“

Both Kiara and the girl she’s dancing with start cackling as the boy stumbles away, giggling at JJ’s dumbstruck expression.

Kiara throws herself at him, wraps her arms around his neck, the buzz from the tequila allowing her to whisper the words wanna fuck? in his ear.

He doesn’t push her away like she thought he would, instead he tugs her closer and let’s her take a sip of his drink, press a kiss to his cheek.

In fact, after that, they don’t stop touching.

JJ stands behind her at the bar to keep people from bumping into her, and Kiara sits on his lap when they return to their seats, clings to his hand when they eventually stumble from the bar and into an Uber. They’ll pick up her car tomorrow, she thinks faintly, when the world stops spinning.

Kiara has rainbow glitter in her hair and her feet feel like they’re about to fall off her body, but her chest is filled with this strange, warm feeling that only grows when she rests her head on JJ’s shoulder and says, “Thank you.”

“For what?” He asks, glancing at her, his blue eyes heavy with exhaustion and alcohol, his voice softer than usual.

“For this,” she tells him, gesturing to herself, the signs at their feet. “For today. For always accepting me for who I am.”

It’s cheesy, and they don’t do cheesy, but she’s drunk and JJ doesn’t seem to mind as he presses a kiss to her forehead. “Always, Kie. You don’t have to worry about that.”

[mattzerella-sticks]

Half-Priced Chocolate

The day after Valentine's Day is great for many things. Basking in the glow of a night well spent, sharing the joy of love with your family, and eating chocolate priced considerably lower than it was the day before.

Except Sam can't enjoy any of that, because Dean won't let him. Because Dean woke up in a sour mood and has picked up the banners of war against romantic love.

Albeit, the three aforementioned things might make his conflict the shortest in history.

           Sam sits with his granola and his pressed juice for exactly seven seconds when Dean walks in. Storms in, trailed by a dark cloud that thunders and readies to soak through anyone unlucky enough to cross its path. Grey dead man’s robe already looking dark and wet, clinging to his body. He passes Sam and the healthy breakfast he prepared as they marched towards the fridge with murder and hunger burdened on his tense shoulders.

           Mornings like these warn Sam of a day spent tiptoeing around his brother lest he accidentally set off a bomb. Ignore muttered grumblings if he wanted to be spared listening to Dean spend hours talking about everything annoying him except the real problem. Bury his head in a book or website so Dean would find his own outlet and wear himself into an approachable mood.

           Only he’s riding a strong high, drunk on Eileen and careless enough to stomp around with his happiness.

           “Morning Dean,” Sam says, chewing around the spoonful of granola, “How’d you sleep?” Dean grunts, backtracked by sizzling bacon being slapped onto the pan. Undeterred, Sam continues cheerily. “Me? I had an okay sleep, I mean when I actually went to sleep… I had a pretty late night.” Sam sips at his juice, letting Dean’s silence balloon for a moment until he pops it again. “Eileen and I stayed up chatting for a long time… didn’t really want it to end.” He then describes the date he planned, setting up the tablet in the library. Watching his reflection while the screen loaded, fixing his tie and mussing his hair until Eileen’s face popped up over his. Her hair perfectly cascading over one shoulder, hiding one of the straps of the purple dress she wore. In front of her was a mirror to Sam’s set up, a plate of food, a candle, and a little rose. Eileen waved at him in greeting, and in return Sam signed his. “I mean, it was kind of difficult,” Sam confessed, “I promised Eileen that I would only sign the entire night – even though she told me it would be okay. But, oh man… you should have seen her eyes light up when I recited The White Rose by John Boyle O’Reilly. Was scared I got something wrong but she said my fingers were fine… those hours spent hunched over the laptop watching YouTube were really worth it to see her smile…”

           “Big deal,” Dean scoffs, back still turned, “you got your fingers to make some neat shapes. I can do that, too…” Then, he extends his arm to show his middle finger to Sam. Even if he wouldn’t face him, Sam knows his pursed lips and heavy stare burn holes in Dean’s head.

           “Wow, Dean,” Sam says, “I take it there were no presents under the tree with your name on it for Unattached Drifter Christmas?”

           “Bite me Sammy.”

           “I already have someone I can bite, thank you very much –“

           “Not like she’s here, though, is she?” Dean asks, finally turning. He crosses his leg at the knee, mockingly rubbing his chin. “Wouldn’t an in-person date be more romantic than sitting alone with your computer all night? That’s just an average day for you.”

           His balloon springs a small leak, and he floats towards the ground. “Okay, you’re seriously bringing down my mood,” Sam glowers, pushing his bowl away. “Can you take whatever bullshit you brought in and wade through it somewhere else?”

           Dean scoffs, “What mood? Pent up sexual frustration? Or did you take care of that, too, with your magic fingers.” He mimes around his crotch, sticking his tongue out with a disgusting wink. Snickers when Sam’s lips curl.

           His grip on his juice tightens, and he drowns the furious remark burning his tongue with the drink. Instead of playing into Dean’s game, Sam stirs his granola with an almost forgotten spoon. Ignores another jab meant to shake up his Jenga tower of patience. Dean lucky that each piece he pulls doesn’t damage the structural integrity.

           Except the tower wobbles. “Probably gonna have to get used to it, though,” he continues, leaning against the counter, “with how long the sabbatical Eileen’s taking, you’re gonna need it.”

           He jumps onto the line like a fish to bait. “What is your problem –“

           “Dean? Sam? What’s going on?”

           Across the room, Dean stiffens and whirls to the entrance. Face pale, Sam watches his brother hands tremble before hiding behind his open robe. “Cas,” he says, “what’re you doing back?”

           Castiel’s hands are also out of sight. He glances between the two men with trademark confusion. “I only stepped out for a moment –“

           “A moment?” Dean hisses. He peeks at Sam from the corner of his eye – red and puffy, now that he pays closer attention to those kinds of details. “A moment,” he says again, stepping closer, “Cas you’ve been gone for –“

           “Almost an hour, I’ll admit,” Castiel sighs, meeting Dean halfway, “I didn’t intend to be away that long, but the line at the store was tremendous… and the register system was glitching –“

           “The store? What were you doing at a store though?”

           A smile blossoms from his pursed lips, Castiel finally revealing his hands and the heart-shaped box in them. “I got this… for you.”

           Dean falters, stunned. Stares at the present with trepidation and awe. He reaches for it, caressing the edges and following the trail until his fingers skim Castiel’s hands. Flinching away like he touched the forgotten pan of overly crispy bacon. “For me? Why?”

           “Well,” Castiel starts, “I was lying up thinking about how we sort of celebrated the holiday backwards yesterday and… I wanted to make up for it.” Sam sees the flower of Castiel’s lips wilt. “Do you… not like it? I’ll admit, it was marked considerably low…”

           He can’t see from how Dean angled himself. But the shaky shoulders and how a palm drifts up to rub his face, Sam feels glad for his obstructed seating. “That’s because it’s the day after, you idiot…”

           “Dean?”

           “Shit, Cas,” he huffs, “no note, couldn’t have texted me or something –“

           “I… I wanted this to be a surprise,” Castiel tells him, “besides, after last night I figured you would need the rest. Three times at your age is exhausting –“

           Dean cuts him off, Sam blushing fiercely while his mind shades in the crude drawing the angel began. Aided by his brother’s finishing remark. “Well maybe if you didn’t renovate my insides my spleen wouldn’t have been squeezing my bladder.”

           “Guys,” Sam chokes, the granola catching in his throat, “guys what are you –“

           “Dean,” Castiel speaks over him, “what is this about?”

           “What is this about?” Dean mocks, chuckling darkly. He inches closer, eclipsing the heart from Sam’s view. “I thought you… I thought you left…”

           A serene wave of understanding washes over Castiel’s features, smoothing the lines marring his face. Sam wishes for a similar stroke of clarity. “Next time,” Castiel says, “I will leave a note. And text. And wake you… although you can’t be mad if I do, okay?”

           The next laugh is much lighter, Dean sniffling between rounds. “Yeah… I promise.” He turns again, Sam tactlessly falling into his seat from the whiplash of his brother’s emotional rollercoaster. Gapes as Dean flicks the stove off and leaves the ruined bacon in the pan. “Come on,” he says, rattling the box of chocolates Sam failed to notice where in his possession, “let’s see what fifty percent off tastes like.”

           They’re so close to escaping, except Sam finds his words. Buried deep under shock and confusion, they’re there for him to dust off and shout. “What the hell was that?”

           Dean stops, a hand over Castiel’s on his waist to slow the other. He finally remembers Sam’s presence, a light shade of pink dusting his cheeks. “Hey,” his face twitches, “you see all that?”

           “…Yes!”

           “Well,” he drawls, leaning into Castiel while he thinks, “it was a… a fight.”

           Sam feels his eyebrows recede into his hairline. “A fight?”

           “Yeah, look,” he huffs, pointing at Sam with the heart box, “I know you and Eileen are still new but sometimes couples who’ve been together for a long time get into them every now and then. But then you make up and move past them.”

           “Oh,” Sam scoffs, “so you two are a couple now?”

           “Of course.”

           “A couple for a long time…?”

           “We only made it official last night,” Castiel says, tone easy despite the pitched voices of the Winchester brothers, “while you and Eileen were on your date, Dean and I sat and drank and shared a few words… among other things.”

           “But,” Dean carries on, “we’ve practically been together for over a decade. This is just an – an upgrade from our previous situation.”

           “An upgrade?” Sam asks.

           “Yeah,” he nods, “now I can do stuff like this.” Quickly, in a blink, Dean presses his lips to Castiel’s cheek. Rocking on his heels from the momentum of pulling back, face aflame like a bad sunburn. Almost laughable if Castiel didn’t gaze at Dean with heavenly wonder. “Whenever I want…” Dean adds, trailing off.

           The desire to tease Dean bubbles forth, but whether exhausted or blinded by the natural glow on Castiel’s face, it pops and dies in his chest. He grabs his spoon and stirs his granola. “Okay.”

           “Okay?”

           “Yeah, okay,” Sam smirks, “that’s it. Happy Valentine’s or whatever…”

           “Happy Valentine’s Day to you, too, Sammy,” Dean says, being led out of the room by Castiel, “later, you’ve got to tell me how your date went. I’m sure it was great – Eileen’s a really lucky girl!”

           “Bye!” he waves, waiting until the two men fully disappear behind the corner. Leaving him in relative peace for a moment. But then Jack walks in, focused on the hallway. Sam thinks he can accurately guess what captured the younger boy’s attention, only hopes that his brother has enough wits about him to maintain restraint. “Hey,” he says, startling Jack, “you want breakfast?”

           Jack strides forward, sliding in across from Sam. “Why was Castiel holding Dean’s hand?”

           Sam rolls his eyes, “Because they’re dating.”

           “They are?”

           “Apparently,” he chuckles, “it’s their day-iversary.”

           Jack cranes his neck and glances behind him once more before leaning forward, near conspiratorially. “Is this a good thing?”

           “Uh… yeah?” Sam tells him, chewing around the granola and words carefully, “Dean’s happy, and Cas is happy, too… don’t you want them happy?”

           “I do, I do, I just…” Jack frowns, staring at his fists, “I wasn’t sure the Empty would agree to nullifying Cas’s deal. But since they’re together and he’s still here...”

           Sam chokes again, spoon clattering against the bowl when he drops it. “Excuse me?” he asks, coughing fitfully, “Cas made a deal with the what?”

[exasperatedmoron]

5+1 times Barry says he has a boyfriend and the 1 time they realized he wasn’t kidding

*1*

Cisco walked into the lounge with his arms full of chocolate, movies and those sappy scented candles. It was Valentine’s Day and him, Barry and Caitlin had a tradition of spending it together since they all had very, very miserable love lives.

“Who’s ready to cry over a dying dog!”

Caitlin was already sitting on one of the beanbags Barry placed in front of the mini-movie screen. She raised her glass of wine towards Cisco, already dressed in her sweats without makeup on. Barry, however, was dressed up in a maroon button down and hair gelled up. He was setting the stereotypical ‘ILY’ teddy bears on Cisco and Cait’s beanbags.

“Why do you look like you’re going on a date, Sonic?”

“Erm. Cause I am?”

“With who?” Cisco tried to think back to anyone Barry has interacted with recently, assuming it was someone new. The only new friends he’s made so far were Ralph and Julian. “Oh no. It’s not Ralph, is it? You always seemed to be in each other personal spaces”

Barry looked affronted, even holding up his hand to his chest. “Cisco, no! I- What- Cisco!” Barry’s face contorted as he tried to come up with words. “It’s not him! It’s... someone you guys know. But that’s all I’m saying!”

Barry stood his ground and seemed very insistent on keeping quiet, but Cait and Cisco were invested now. Barry’s last crush was on Iris and that ended years ago before she and Eddie got married. In those years, Barry has only gone on two dates - with Patty and Linda - and both didn’t work out so well. But even in those cases, Cisco and Caitlin were updated (like best friends were supposed to be).

Huh. “Why didn’t you tell us about this date?” “It was very last minute. I didn’t even know he was in town today. Turns out he was so... yea.”

“So, he travels out of town?” “Yeah, he does.”

“Huh. What’s his job?” “Oh, you know. A little bit of this and that. He deals with... uhm... artefacts? and... problem... solving?”

Wow. Pinocchio would be disappointed.

“Okay. Have fun on your date.

Barry nearly stumbled on his own two feet getting out of there, yelling a ‘Bye Cait! Cisco!”. Cisco picked up a beer from the chiller and sat beside Cait as she pressed ‘play’ on the remove.

“He doesn’t really have a date, doesn’t he?”

“Nope.”

*2*

Iris barged into Barry’s apartment, hands full of take-out and ice cream. Normally, she’d pick the lock to get in, but for some reason, Barry upgraded his lock. It was the same as before, so she could still use her key but it couldn’t be picked so easily anymore. Barry must have listened to her, for once.

“Barry! Eddie and I are fighting so I need to have a Disney marathon! Get your lazy ass out of bed!”

Iris heard him squeak, followed by a ‘thud’ as he fell out of his bed. She smiled to herself and placed the take out on the table, knowing that the speedster would be less grumpy once he saw the food. She made her way to the kitchen to put the ice cream in the freezer for later when he saw that his freezer wasn’t empty. Her eyebrows scrunched up as she opened the fridge and saw that it filled too.

Barry never had a filled fridge. Not even a half-filled fridge. Even before he was a speedster, he survived of ramen and pizza. The most his fridge would contain was leftovers from his junk or from whatever meal Iris brought over. It was even worse when he became a speedster, almost causing his fridge to be obsolete.

“Iris? Why are you staring at my fridge?”

Iris snapped out of her thoughts and turned around to stare at her foster brother with bed hair. “Since when did you have food?”

Barry looked confused for a second, eyes going from her to the fridge. As soon as his eyes saw the contents of it, a small smile grew on his face. “Oh. My boyfriend must have left some last night.”

Iris’s thoughts on food and Eddie were completely pushed back. “Boyfriend? Bartholomew Henry Allen, are you having secret rendezvous with a man and not telling me?��� “Geez Iris, you’re almost as dramatic as he is. And no, I told you about him, remember?” 

Now it was Iris’ turn to be confused. “When?” “On Valentine’s Day? I asked you to fill my place with Cait and Cisco since Eddie had work and I had a date?”

Ohhhh. “Barry. You don’t need to use your imaginary boyfriend as an excuse to have your fridge stocked. You could just say it as it is. You finally decided to act like an adult instead of a bachelor.”

“What? What do you mean bachelor? Wait - What do you mean imaginary?”

“Cisco and Caitlin told me you made up a fake boyfriend so that it’d hurt less when you stood them up. It’s fine though, they took pity on you so they aren’t mad.”

“Fake?! I-Wha-They-”

“Barry relax. Come on, heat up your ‘boyfriend’s’ leftovers. I wanna taste it while telling you about how much of an overprotective husband Eddie is being again.”

Hours later, the two were stretched over the couch with cartons of ice cream balancing on their torsos while watching Singin’ in the Rain.

“I really do have a boyfriend, you know?”

“Sure you do.”

*3*

Barry was late for work (again) and Joe had to cover for him (again). He needed the results for a case so he sat on Barry’s chair and waited for the CSI to arrive. Soon enough, said CSI ran into the lab, clutching onto his messenger bag and a mini-cooler.

Julian took one look at him and snorted, “You sure that’s enough food, Allen? I can call a caterer if you’d like.” “Shut it, Jullian.”

“Joe! Hey I -” “You woke up sick, so I sent you to a doctor to get you checked up. I’m assuming you’re feeling better and ‘bout to give me the results for the Williams case I needed two hours ago?”

Barry nodded and tossed his bag to his chair as he frantically sifted through his desk, ignoring Julian’s comment about tidiness. He plucked out a file from the bottom of the clutter and passed it to Joe. “Thanks Barr. Now, why were you really late? Mugging? Little ol’ lady bein’ robbed?”

Barry started to scratch the back of his neck, face turning a light shade of pink as he avoided eye contact with Joe. “Ah. Actually, I overslept. I stayed over at my boyfriend’s place last night so... yeah.”

Joe’s eyes went wide, almost popping out of his head, “Boyfriend?”.

“Dear Lord, not this again,” Jullian mumbled from behind Joe as he continued writing his report. Joe turned around to look at Julian with an incredulous look. “You knew Barry had a boyfriend?”

“I knew Barry had an imaginary boyfriend. Cait told me about the Valentine’s Day Ditch.”

“Imaginary - What?! And seriously? You guys are putting a name to it?!” Barry nearly dropped the things he was holding on the floor.

“Ah. Iris told me about him too.”

“Joe, I really - “

“Barry, if you overslept, that’s fine. You didn’t need to lie. We know you’re workin’ hard on Flash duties anyway.”

“No, Joe. Really I-”

Barry was interrupted by Captain Singh’s appearance at the door, spurring the three back to work. Before Joe left though, he patted Barry on the back.

“You gotta work on your lying skills. Caitlin, Cisco and Iris saw right through you.”

Barry sighed.

*4*

Felicity and Barry were watching a movie marathon in the Arrow cave while Oliver was busy doing mayor stuff. The team needed Barry’s help with a meta who moved to Star City, so Barry ran over and even after the threat was cleared, he stayed for a while to catch up with his best friend.

Barry was finally starting to relax until Felicity just had to bring up a certain topic. “So what’s this I hear about you making up a fake boyfriend to get out of situations?”

Barry groaned into the popcorn.

“He’s not fake,” Barry asserted. “They just think he is because I won’t give out any details.”

“And why not?”

“Because he... well... it’ll be a disaster.”

“Okay,” Felicity sighed, setting down her popcorn, “I’ll play along. Why would it be a disaster?”

“They... Well, he doesn’t have the best reputation?” “Uh huh. And what kind of ‘reputation’ does he have?” Felicity leaned forward, eyes staring into Barry, trying to get him to slip.

“Well. You know, it depends. A bad but good one. But to some people, it’s a good one with a little bit of bad. He’s in the middle of good and bad? Or kinda like a see-saw, what side he’s on depends on the day.”

“Barry, this is why people don’t believe you.” "Not again.”

“You either need to work on your lying skills, or give out details that aren’t so vague.”

Barry groaned. He was so done. He picked up his popcorn and tossed one piece to Felicity’s head.

“Just eat your popcorn.”

*5*

Captain Singh was reading a report when Barry knocked on his door. “Come in, Allen.”

Barry walked into the office and placed a file on David’s desk. Just as he was about to leave, he stopped and turned to David. “Captain?” he asked.

“Yes, Allen?” “Can I request for a day off on the 18th?” David checked the calendar on the desk and saw that most of the other CSIs will be in.

“Okay, submit a proper request and I’ll approve it. If I may ask, why do you need to take it? Albert seems to be less of a pain as he was before.”

Barry chuckled as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “Actually it’s my boyfriend and I’s one and a half year anniversary. Our one year didn’t end well, so I wanted to make it up to him.”

David sighed and removed his glasses, turning to face Barry properly. “Barry, I’ve known you for over 10 years now. I think by now, you would know that excuses like that wouldn’t work on me.’’

Barry looked confused and a little bit upset at his words. “Sir? I...’’

“If it didn’t work on Joe, Iris, or your other friends, it won’t work for me too. I know you’re the Flash, Barry. You didn’t need to come up with an elaborate fib like that.” Barry looked like he was about to protest or deny any allegations, but his shoulders just slumped. Barry looked like he wanted to roll his eyes at the world. He nodded and turned again to walk out when David mentioned something.

“Also, if you ever used that excuse again, one year anniversary sounds more believable than one and a half.”

“Of course. Sure thing, Captain.”

+1

Since Joe found out Captain Singh knew about Barry being the Flash, he decided to let his old friend around the labs, re-introducing him to Cisco and other members of the team. David was slightly surprised at how many people he knew were in the team (”Albert and Dibny? You guys are involved in this?”). He was surprised at their involvement, but at the same time, he wasn’t. Barry had the type of personality that just drew people in.

Just as he was talking to Caitlin in the med bay, a series of beeps emitted from the computers in the cortex. “What’s that? Is that some kind of Flash alert?” he asked as him and Caitlin walked into the cortex where the rest were in, excluding Barry, who was patrolling the city.

“Nah, that just means the waverider landed on the roof. The Legends will probably stop by here to say hi before visiting their families.” Cisco answered as he had another lollipop in his mouth. Caitlin scowled at him and he removed the sweet from his mouth, not wanting her to go into another tirade about dental health.

Minutes later, a group of nine walked into the cortex, exchanging pleasantries with team Flash.

“Didn’t know the Captain of the CCPD is now on team Flash.”

David turned away from his conversation with Ray Palmer and saw Leonard Snart leaning against a wall, smirking. Beside him was his partner Mick Rory, who was being fussed over by Caitlin (”You keep letting your burns heal like that and I’ll cover it in ice until it reaches your bones.”) “Leonard Snart. Didn't know you played on the hero’s side now.”

“Well, I tend to swing both ways.” He turned and sauntered off to Cisco, but not before giving David one last smug look, causing him to think that there was a double meaning behind what Snart said.

“Hey, where’s Barry?” Sara asked Joe, who was catching up with Stein. “He’s on patrol. I can call him back.” Joe went over to the computers and patched in through Barry’s comms.

“Hey Barr, the Legends are here. Come over and say hi.” “The Legends?” Barry sounded excited, but team Flash thought it was because he got to catch up with his friends. The Legends, on the other hand, gave Len a quick look before returning to their conversations.

Five seconds later, a figure appeared in the middle of the cortex, followed by a lightning trail. “Barry!” Sara exclaimed as she threw her arms around the speedster, still in his Flash regalia. “Hey Sara, how was the 1800s?” “Sexist. But I kicked some bigots into a river, so I’d say it went well.” Barry and Sara exchanged a few words before someone in the corner coughed.

“Lenny!” Barry exclaimed and sped over to the reformed criminal. He kissed the thief in front of both their teams, unaware of the heart attack he gave to the members of his own team.

“Bartholomew Henry Allen!” Iris shrieked, causing everyone in the room to wince at the octave she reached, “Since when were you dating Captain Cold?!”. Barry opened his mouth to respond when Nate beat him to it.

“What the hell, man? You didn’t tell your team about it? It’s been years!” Barry sighed and put his head on his hands. Len’s arms were still around his waist, his back leaning on Len’s front. “No. I did. Multiple times. No one believed I had a boyfriend.”

The Legends half of the group burst into hysterical laughter while team Flash was still frozen in disbelief. “Wait a second. Your ‘fake’ boyfriend is Leonard Snart?!” Joe pointed from Barry to Len, taking a moment to process it. He wasn’t as mad as he thought he’d be, but definitely surprised.

“To be fair, they aren’t dating anymore.”

That caused the team to snap out of their stupor. “What do you mean they aren’t dating anymore?” Cisco questioned, trying to comprehend how this all happened. “Did you guys break up?” Caitlin asked from her position beside Mick, who was laughing so hard that he held onto her shoulder for support.

Barry blinked at all his friends and family, asking himself how massive of a situation this led to. He shook his head and removed his gloves, taking Len’s hand and doing the same.

“Guys. I've been wearing a ring for the last 2 months. I haven't been hiding."

"We thought it was part of your... psuedo boyfriend scheme..."

Captain Singh was the first to get over the shock of everything and put all the information together. "So. For the last 2 years, you actually do have a boyfriend. Who's Leonard Snart. And not only did you tell us you were dating someone, you also flaunted your ring around, showing us you're engaged, and we didn't even believe it."

"Most people think the superspeed is what's unbelievable about me..."

[ironfidus]

Quid Pro Quo - Part III

Summary: Peter survives the Snap, and now it's up to him to bring the Vanished back to life.

Main Pairings: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker/Shuri

Read here on AO3 (@a_matter_of_loyalty)

:::

Chapter 3: Assembling the Team

Chapter Summary: Peter and Shuri meet up with the rest of the Avengers, time travel device in hand. They work a few details out.

Peter tries (and fails) not to freak out.

:::

Earth-199999: October 10, 2023

New Avengers Facility, New York

The next day, armed with a fully-functional Time Travel GPS and a newly improved shield for the good captain himself, Peter and Shuri boarded a quinjet and flew to the Avengers’ compound.

As soon as they landed, Peter hopped off the quinjet and headed towards Steve, standing alone outside the compound. “Well, don’t you look awfully cheerful,” he quipped sarcastically as he neared the soldier. “Feeling stuck yet?”

Steve turned to him with a wry smile. “Please tell me you came as reinforcement.”

“Let me guess,”—Peter rolled his eyes—“someone turned into a baby.”

Steve nodded helplessly.

Peter snorted. “Luckily for you, I have just what you need.” He tossed Steve the working GPS, waited for Shuri to come to a stop beside him and hand him the shield, and then promptly held it out for Steve’s inspection. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

Steve stared.

“He means, we’re here to save your collective asses,” Shuri added with a smirk. “Speaking of ‘collective’, we should start rounding up the others. We’ve got Clint Barton’s coordinates loaded up on the quinjet’s navigation system. Where’s everyone else?”

:::

It turned out that Steve had already gathered Bruce, Rhodey, Nebula and Rocket together along with Natasha and Scott Lang.

With Natasha flying off to recruit Clint, that only left Thor and Carol in the wind. Bruce gulped, stepped forward, and volunteered to call in Thor with Rocket while everyone else started brainstorming ideas.

“Good luck.” Shuri waved at them. “We’re going to need everyone on deck for this.”

“Yeah,” Bruce agreed distractedly as he boarded Rocket’s spaceship, ignoring Rocket’s holler of hey, watch your step, man! I just got this upgraded, okay? “We’ll bring Thor back.”

Shuri nodded, staying outside to watch them depart. When she walked back into the compound, Peter flashed her a grim, determined smile. 

“I left a message for Danvers,” he informed her. “I’m not sure when she’ll receive it, or if we’ll even need her, but it never hurts to be prepared—and, well, if we want to be prepared then the strongest superhero alive is definitely a useful person to have at our back.”

“Good call,” Shuri agreed. “Where are we at now?”

“We’ve pinpointed the general locations of the time, mind and space stones so far. We’re waiting for everyone else to arrive,” Steve reported. “We’re hoping Thor will be able to shed some light on the whereabouts of the reality stone.”

“As for the other two...” Natasha started.

“Rocket has more information on the power stone than I do, but I might be able to help with the soul stone,” Nebula spoke up.

Peter and Shuri exchanged a glance before Shuri nodded. “Tell us everything you know.”

:::

Eventually, the elusive Clint Barton and Thor Odinson were returned to the compound with Natasha, Bruce and Rocket at the lead. Peter and Shuri called them over, having set up the device for a test-run.

One test-run later, Clint was heaving on the floor, a baseball glove clutched desperately to his chest. He looked up at them, tears and awe in his eyes, and nodded.

Natasha was instantly at his side, kneeling and rubbing his back comfortingly. “You’re okay,” she soothed. “We’re here.”

“I could hear her voice,” he said to Natasha, breathless. “I heard Lila.”

Natasha’s breath hitched.

Clint didn’t have to elaborate for the rest of them. They knew, at once, what that meant.

The Time Travel GPS worked. 

Hopes reaffirmed, Peter choked out a hysterical laugh and pulled Shuri into a one-armed hug. Aunt May, he thought, Mr. Stark. We’re going to bring you back.

Just you wait.

:::

Test-run over and done with, they all regrouped in the common room.

Putting their heads together, they managed to locate the remaining stones and work out a timeline. Once they were done pinpointing the most opportune location of each infinity stone, they assigned tasks:

Thor, accompanied by Rocket (much to the latter’s apparent chagrin), would be responsible for procuring the reality stone from his home planet. Thor frowned, deep and conflicted, but did not complain. 

(“He lost everything, you know,” Bruce had told Peter, long ago. The explanation had come shortly after Peter returned to Earth, on the brink of death, having drifted aimlessly through space for weeks on end with depleting resources. He remembered spotting Thor, sitting quietly off to himself, head bowed under the weight of their failure. When he'd quietly asked Bruce if Thor was okay—barely managing to contain his boundless excitement, because that was Dr. Bruce Banner, legendary scientist, he was talking to—Bruce had looked unfathomably sad. “He'd just lost his planet—his home—too, to a different enemy, mere moments before we encountered Thanos. As if that wasn't enough, Thanos took... everything from him. Thor had to watch his brother die, strangled to death at the Mad Titan's hand. His last living family member.”

At Bruce's solemn pronouncement, Peter's excitement at finally meeting his greatest heroes had quickly died down. They were all in mourning, after all. And losing the last of your family? That, Peter could relate to.)

(But Loki didn't die in the Snap. He won't be able to come back, Peter realized now, his heart sinking to his feet. No matter how this plays out, Thor won't get his brother back. He glanced back at Thor, who was still frowning, and fought the urge to stalk over and engulf Thor in a crushing hug. Thor deserved better. 

But we rarely get what we deserve in life, and there won't be any gleeful family reunions in Thor's future, Peter thought with second-hand despair. If Thor stumbles across Loki in the past... it won't be with the hope that he'll get to have Loki in his life again. It'll be as a final goodbye.)

Nebula and Rhodey formed another pair; they would head to Morag to do a little thieving and steal the power stone from the older Peter—Nebula was, evidently, thrilled by this; she grinned and said, barely audible, “I can’t wait to give Quill a taste of his own medicine. He was an outlaw once, you know.” 

Meanwhile, Natasha and Clint were entrusted with the safe retrieval of the soul stone. Destination: Vormir. Of everyone, they were perhaps the most excited about the process of the time heist itself, practically bouncing with anticipation. Well, Clint was bouncing, at least. Natasha would never be caught dead bouncing giddily. Still, if one looked closely enough—and Peter did—they would be able to see the faintest hint of a smile curling Natasha’s lips. As dangerous as Vormir was according to Nebula’s warnings, Clint and Natasha were almost eager to go; to them, this was just another mission, and as long as they were partnered together, they were satisfied. 

(Natasha would never admit it aloud, of course, but Clint was her best friend. They were thick as thieves, in every sense of the saying. They had each other’s backs.)

In fact, when they heard their task, the two immediately shared a conspiratorial smirk and a fist-bump. “What do you think, Nat?” Clint nudged her, and Peter saw his world-weary look soften slightly for the first time since he’d arrived, hair half-shaved and eyes haunted. “Like old times?”

Peter clearly wasn’t the only one to notice Clint’s lightened demeanor, because Natasha smiled softly back at him, relief swarming in her eyes. “Just like old times,” she agreed, voice a mixture of fond and indulgent in the way she only ever was with Clint. 

Peter thought back to Natasha’s intermittent voicemails over the last five years, interspersed over a few months at a time and ranging in topics from what if I’m too late, what if he gave up, what if he’s already dead to there was another incident on the news: twelve dead, all with bounties on their head for the murder of a sixteen year old girl. I saw her obituary—she looked like Lila Barton would today, if Lila had been given the chance to grow up. It… it has to be him.

Peter shook his head and looked away. Natasha had finally found her best friend after five years of missing him, of looking for him in every nook and cranny of New York and then the rest of the states. He was happy for her, he was, but at the same time… it was hard not to envy her for it.

(He’d get to see Ned again. He would. And the second he did, he’d wrap Ned up in a hug and never let go.)

(He’d see all of them again.)

“That just leaves the space, time and mind stones for the rest of us, then,” Steve concluded, and Peter shoved the memory of Ned’s ear-splitting grin into a locked vault. This wasn’t the time. “There’s five of us remaining—Peter, Bruce, Shuri and Scott, you guys are coming with me to New York. Right after Loki invades in 2012.”

“What’s the plan, Cap?” Peter asked seriously. 

Steve gave them all an appraising look. “Bruce,” he decided, “you’re the calmest and most rational of all of us. You’ll speak with the wizard and try to persuade him into giving up the time stone willingly—hopefully, you’ll be able to get it without resorting to violence.”

Bruce looked strained. You’re the calmest and most rational of all of us, Steve had said—and he’d been right. But it was only true because Bruce had forced himself to learn how to be calm, at all times; he’d needed to be calm, lest he wanted to turn into a giant rage monster and obliterate everyone around him. He’d since fixed that issue, of course, melding his two personalities into one comfortable compromise, but he hadn’t forgotten how much he’d struggled with self-control. He hadn’t forgotten the conflict that had plagued him for a large part of his life.

“Actually,” Peter interjected, catching the unease in Bruce’s expression, “they don’t answer to ‘wizards’ anymore. Apparently, the comparison to fake magicians of legends and fairy tales is a major insult. Who would’ve guessed, right? Anyway, they prefer to go by Masters of the Mystic Arts, or so Wong tells me.”

Bruce smiled gratefully at Peter for the distraction, his discomfort fading by the second. Peter only winked at him. Having regained his composure during Peter’s nonsense blabbering—which nearly everyone had learned to tune out by now, save perhaps Lang going by the confusion on his face—he turned to Steve and cleared his throat, agreeing, “I’ll reason with him.”

(Peter snorted. “Not to be a killjoy, but the guy I met was way beyond reasoning when it came to that stone,” he muttered under his breath. Everyone else ignored him.)

“At the same time,” Steve continued, expertly side-stepping and sweeping a rug over Peter’s commentary, “Peter, Shuri, Scott and I will secure the space and mind stones. We’ll have to extract both before the Avengers from 2012 can hand them over to SHIELD—that would be disastrous for obvious reasons.”

Scott nodded enthusiastically, eager to prove himself. “I won’t let you down, Cap,” he swore, lacking the bitterness and cynicism of the other heroes. He might not have had to live five years without Hope—not like the rest of them had lived five years without the people they loved—but he could imagine their pain, and right now, it was enough. 

“I’m sure you won’t,” Steve said with a smile. Scott beamed back at him, and Steve turned to Peter and Shuri. “What about you two? You guys got it?”

Shuri hesitated. She understood what had to be done, but… “Is this really the only plan you could come up with?” she bit out protectively, chancing a glance at her boyfriend. Peter was staring at Steve shell-shocked, face pale and drawn with fear. “Shoving Peter directly into the path of Tony Stark? Have you already forgotten that Peter had to watch him die?”

Peter stumbled backwards as if struck, and Shuri shot him an apologetic look. He didn’t even notice, too caught up in the echo of Peter had to watch him die. 

I’ve had to watch him die a thousand times in the last five years, Peter thought, numbly. I’ve watched him die again and again and again. And each time, there’s nothing I can do. Each time, I can’t save him. 

What good was it, being Spider-Man, when he couldn’t even save the people he cared about? The people he loved? What good was it, if he just froze up uselessly when he was needed?

What good was he?

(Don’t do this to yourself, kid, he heard Mr. Stark’s voice in the back of his head, an illusion of the man he’d tried to save. Don’t do this. 

Peter gritted his teeth. I deserve this, he thought. Because he did. No matter what anyone else said, no matter what anyone else tried to convince him of, he did deserve it. He deserved it because Mr. Stark had trusted him, had counted on him, had stared at him with hope burning brightly in his eyes and said you’re an Avenger now, kid with all the solemnity in the world, as if he was knighting Peter. Mr. Stark had put his faith in Peter, and Peter had failed him so utterly and completely.

Peter had failed, and it was Mr. Stark that paid the price for it. It was Mr. Stark that died because of it.

I deserve this, he told himself again.

No, you don’t, that voice inside his head that sounded suspiciously like Tony Stark on three hours of sleep, like Aunt May when she caught him blaming himself for Uncle Ben’s death, like Shuri when she found him huddled into a ball in one corner of the lab, argued. It sounded like solace. Don’t you dare blame yourself for this, kid.

Yes, I do. He deserved to be punished. Maybe Spider-Man believed in second chances, maybe Spider-Man gave out second chances, but Peter Parker didn’t deserve a second chance. 

Except. Except, except, except.

He’d been given one anyway. He had a second chance in his grasp, and he’d never forgive himself if he let the universe down a second time because he was too much of a coward to face the hero he’d already let down once before.

He had to do it.)

Steve grimaced, his face settling into a horrified expression. Admittedly, he hadn’t thought of that, too blinded by the thought of getting his friends back to realize how this would affect Peter. It brought him immeasurable shame, now, to realize what he’d done. He was supposed to be Captain America—he was supposed to embody morality and righteousness. Where was his virtue now? “Shuri—”

“Peter still hasn’t gotten over his death, Cap,” Shuri snapped, and her voice was indignant yet sad at the same time. Regretful, Steve realized. “Surely, there has to be something else Peter can do. A job that doesn’t put him face-to-face with the mentor he lost. Because I know I sure as hell wouldn’t be able to handle seeing my brother in the past, not when—” she faltered, stumbling to an abrupt halt as she realized what she’d been about to say: not when our success isn’t certain yet. She swallowed down the doubts—saying it would make it real—and finished, instead, “Not when he hasn’t become the brother I remember yet.”

Steve nodded, chastised. “You’re right,” he sighed. “Peter, what do you want to—”

“I’ll do it,” Peter interrupted, stopping Steve in his tracks. Behind his back, out of sight from everyone else, his hands were clenched into fists, fingernails digging so deep into his skin that his palm bled. “It’s fine. I can take it. I can face Mr. Stark. I can.” I have to. 

He was Spider-Man, after all. He was an Avenger, now. A hero. He couldn’t freeze up again.

Steve frowned. “But you don’t have to,” he insisted. “I shouldn’t have assigned you to the Battle of New York, I—”

“I can do it,” Peter repeated, pleaded. 

“Peter…” Shuri whispered.

Peter bit his lip and gave her a small, firm nod. “It’s okay, Shuri,” he reassured, but the quiver in his voice belied his words. He spoke of conviction, but none of that selfsame conviction was reflected in his appearance. “I’ll be okay. It’s been five years.”

Yeah, Shuri thought. Five years, and I haven’t gotten over my brother’s death. ‘Five years’ doesn’t mean you’re obligated to be fine about it. None of us have moved on. But…

“Are you sure?” she asked, in lieu of protesting further. Peter, after all, was the strongest person she knew. If anyone could handle facing their long-lost mentor with elegance, it was Peter Parker. And if he can’t, I’ll be there to hold him up above the water. I won’t let him fall. 

“I’m sure,” he insisted firmly. He focused on Steve Rogers—on Captain America, who he’d once looked up to as an idol before he’d finally met him and realized he was just as flawed and human as the rest of them. After that, Peter had stopped idolizing him and started seeing him as a teammate, a friend. “Let me do it, Cap,” he implored.

Peter wasn’t surprised when Steve gave in. As much as he was sure Steve was worried about him, he was even more sure that Steve wanted his friends back most of all. Steve had been forced to live without Bucky Barnes once before, after all. It was clear to anyone that he wasn’t willing to go through that again, for any longer.

They all had their priorities. Bucky was Steve’s.

“Fine,” Steve allowed. “But you need to stick to the plan, got it? No surprises.”

“Surprises? Me?” Peter smiled cheekily, jumping at the opportunity to bring them all back to more lighthearted topics. “Never.”

Steve just snorted disbelievingly and pointed an accusing finger at him. “I know you, Queens,” he simply said, which was code for: you’re a rebellious little shit. Which, okay, fair.

Peter rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, fine. I get it. No surprises. I swear.” When Steve looked unconvinced, Peter held up three fingers and reaffirmed, “Relax, I won’t cause you any problems. Scout’s honor.”

“Nice try. I know you were never a boy scout,” Steve pointed out, deadpan.

“Anyhoo!” Peter swiftly changed subject, ignoring Steve’s indignant spluttering as he moved on. “We all have our assignments. We all know what we have to do, and we all know the stakes,” Peter carried on, rubbing his hands together, and Steve let it go as the team dutifully gathered into a loose huddle. “We have one chance to make this work. One. Let’s make it count.”

“We will,” Steve said, confidently. It was all he said—all he had to say—but Peter heard the unspoken words nonetheless: We have to.

Peter caught Steve’s eye amidst the rest of the team and nodded, once, in acknowledgement. They had too much on the line to fail now. The universe was counting on them.

:::

“Peter,”—Natasha’s quiet voice drew his attention away from Shuri and Bruce as they prepped the time travel device, and he glanced back to find her approaching him with swift, purposeful steps—“I just wanted to say…” she started, her voice sinfully rich. (Like the blood she’d worked so hard to scrub off her ledger over all these years, Peter couldn’t help but think.) “Thank you. For taking a chance. For doing all of this.” 

There was something heart-stopping, Peter mused, about being thanked by a former master assassin. He’d never once doubted, of course, that the Snap took from everyone—that the Snap stopped everyone’s world. But it was different, witnessing Natasha’s gratitude. She was Natasha Romanoff, after all; the infamous Black Widow, peerless and unparalleled in her line of work. 

Untouchable.

He’d never heard her say “thank you” before.

(He didn’t want to hear it now, not for this.)

“Don’t mention it,” he brushed off with a small but genuine smile. He hesitated, considered her carefully, and then smiled wider. “You were right. We have to make a stand.”

Quietly, beautifully, Natasha Romanoff smiled at him. Her smile was breathtaking and heartbreaking all at once—her smile, Peter thought, marked her expression like a jagged scar, hopeful but cautious, wary.

Peter swallowed a flare of pity (he knew Natasha Romanoff would balk at the thought of anyone pitying her) and adamantly did not ask which wound left it behind.

:::

Peter jumped in surprise, and Natasha silently slunk off, when Bruce announced that they were ready. He calmed himself down – breathe in, breathe out, you’ve got this, this is going to work – and rejoined the rest of his teammates.

He was numb as he listened to Steve take center-stage and deliver one of his infamous pep-talks with an ease Peter could only dream of possessing. Shuri came up beside him, eyes hard and determined, and Peter felt the nerves stirring in his gut settle slightly.

“You ready?” Shuri whispered out of the corner of her mouth, even as her eyes never left Steve.

Peter managed a faint smile for her. Not in the slightest, he thought privately to himself. And then, because he knew Shuri would get it—get him—he shook his head and repeated the same thing aloud.

Shuri only nodded in understanding, demeanor void of any judgement. “Me, too,” she whispered, and when Peter looked at her closer—really looked at her—he could see a hint of trepidation beneath the layer of confidence. Before he could say anything, Shuri slipped her hand into his and squeezed tightly. “But it’ll be fine, right? We’re in this together.”

The truth was, Peter had no idea if it would be fine. Who could tell if this would all work out for the better? But he thought of Mr. Stark’s eyes locked on his as he faded away into nothing, and of Shuri’s desperation and guilt, and he pushed away the unsettling uncertainty. Shuri needed him to be strong—they all did.

“Of course,” he said, squeezing back. And despite his residual fear, he found that he meant it. “Together. I’ve got your back.” There was no one else he’d rather traverse the space-time continuum with.

“Likewise,” she murmured, and the promise in her voice rang loud and clear in Peter’s ears, beyond even Steve’s reassurances a few feet away. 

Eventually, Steve’s voice died down as his motivational speech came to its conclusion. Peter and Shuri stepped forward, closing the gap in the circle of heroes, and Bruce began his countdown.

“Three…”

Peter looked down at Shuri’s fingers interlocked with his, as if they were each other’s lifelines, and closed his eyes. Please don’t let me lose anything else, he begged, a whispered prayer. Whether he was praying to some deity in the heavens, or to his own strength and will, he wasn’t sure. Please let me have what it takes to keep her safe.

“Two…”

He opened his eyes when he felt her gaze on him. She stared at him intently, as if aware of his train of thought, and mouthed one more time: Together.

Together, their commitment echoed in his mind. Always together.

They’d get through this together. They’d protect each other.

Together, they’d get the stones and reverse the worst moment of both their lives. They’d restore the universe to its rightful balance—they’d restore their universe. They’d come out on the other side of this victorious, with Mr. Stark, with Aunt May, with T’Challa—with everyone—back.

They’d win. (Together.)

“One.”

(We’re in this together.)

Peter gulped in a sharp breath as his world burst into color, his vision tunneling as he felt the floor drop out from beneath his feet. The real world melted away around him, and Peter felt himself fly. 

(And all the while, Peter held on tight to Shuri.)

:::

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3