#also wrote this super quick and only read it over once so hopefully its not full of errors

[dawn-moths]

word count: 2600+

content warning/disclaimer: size difference, predator/prey dynamics, non-consensual biting/blood drinking, reader is kidnapped, reader is called “good girl” and “little one”, Itto is rough with reader at first but softer towards the end.

Vampire!Itto who follows you through a maze of thunder sakura one night, bobbing and weaving through the lush lilac flora without making a sound as he trails after you, far enough that you don’t yet suspect you’re being followed but close enough that he never loses sight of you.

He lurks soundlessly, which, given the sheer size of him, should prove impossible. But he’s careful to avoid loose twigs littering the ground and skillfully evades the crunch of dry maple leaves as he closes in. It isn’t until you hear the deliberate bend and creak of a thick branch overhead that you’re made aware of the beast who’d caught your scent, the newfound fear that courses through your veins and rapidly pumping heart making his mouth water.

You were going to taste so good once he sank his teeth into you— so good he might not let you go afterwards like he normally did with some of his more attractive prey— and you could swear he was smiling back at you mean and cruel as you stood frozen and gaping up at him with terror swimming in your wide eyes from the ground below, silver moonlight bathing your form and giving the vampire a clear view of you.

He flashed you a quick glance of those razor sharp canines as they glinted under the moon, unable to keep himself from smirking with victory, the same illumination that set a spotlight on you only serving as a cloak for the hunter perched in the trees as it lit him from behind and cast a dark shadow over his face.

The only other feature you could make out from the darkness that engulfed him was the sinister glow of those bright vermillion eyes, gleaming like two twin beacons of danger through the amethyst canopy. The next time you dared to blink though, your body still standing frozen and petrified in place, the monster’s stare was directly before you, so close you could see your trembling reflection shining back at you from within those entrancing pools of scarlet.

“A little late to be out wanderin’ on your own…” the vampire taunted, his voice a low, raspy growl that turned your blood to ice in your veins and set the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end. “Isn’t it?” When you didn’t answer and he began to circle you, he continued with a dark chuckle and a mocking, “What? Cat got your tongue, little one?”

You traveled with a silver knife strapped to your belt underneath your haori just in case you ever ran into trouble out here, knowing packs of rogue nobushi and the dreaded kairagi wandered these hills, and while you’d never had to use it before, you were beginning to fear tonight would be the blade’s first time to draw blood.

Straightening his posture to stand at his full height, looming before you where his shadow stretched to engulf you in further darkness, the vampire continued, “Now, listen… Here’s what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna drink some of your blood, and if you don’t put up too much of a fight, we’ll call it a night and I’ll let you go on your way…”

All you had to do was slip your hand behind you and reach under the hem of your robe and grip the handle of the knife. You just had to play it off like you weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary, though, when faced with a vampire, you were far outmatched in speed and slyness.

“So wha’dya say? Why don’t you just be a good girl and bare that pretty little neck of yours and—” In a winking slash of silver, you swung the knife at him, actually managing to nick his forearm as he’d reflexively raised it to shield himself at the first sign of your movement.

But now what?

You’d drawn the blood of a vampire but everyone knew the only way to really be safe from one was to kill it, severing the head and watching it roll. You knew you didn’t have a chance at that, not with just a hunting knife and when he already had the upper hand.

But there was only one thing more dangerous than a vampire.

An angry vampire.

And the way Itto’s red eyes flashed at you then under a scowl and the scrunched nose that accompanied a growl of pain and bared teeth, you knew he was undeniably pissed.

“Wrong answer,” he spit from between clenched teeth, and a half a second later, you were on your back in the grass and gasping out a pained wheeze as all the air had been knocked from your lungs upon the sudden impact.

Itto had both your wrists clasped in one tight, massive, black-clawed fist above your head before you’d even had the chance to remember which way was up from down, a dull ache in your jaw from where your teeth had clacked hard together as your head had slammed into the ground. Your knife lay a few feet away in the grass, a thin slice of the vampire’s blood staining the very edge of the blade and turning in black in the night.

You thought you let out a scream when you felt his fangs first pierce your flesh, but the only sound that registered was a high-pitched squeak from the back of your throat as your chest was still mostly empty of its oxygen.

The sting of his harsh bite caused fat tears to well in your eyes, the way he squeezed your wrists together in his clenched palm— so hard you could swear he was grinding your bones together, no doubt leaving dark, blotchy bruises that ran deep under your tender skin with the power of his rough grip— and you struggled under his hold but to no avail.

You’d heard countless rumors about the inhuman strength that vampire’s possessed, but none of those warnings could’ve prepared you for facing the real thing. It was like being trapped under the rubble of a cave-in, body paralyzed under the boulder’s weight and unable to pry yourself even an inch free from the wreckage.

You still tried to fight though, forgetting that all that was going to do was drain your energy even faster as Itto swallowed gulp after gulp of your thick, sweet blood, every new mouthful he stole from you making your body go even more light-headed and limp. You figured he was really going to kill you after all, that talk about “letting you go” from before just meant to mess with you and give you false hope.

As your consciousness started to fade, the world growing smaller in your vision as you gazed up at the starry sky with fluttering eyes, pretty soon all you could feel was the heat of his mouth on your neck. He wasn’t biting anymore, more so just gently sucking at the excess that welled from the twin wounds at your throat, his long tongue teasing at the marks to coax out a few more residual rivulets of red.

You shuddered, making a strangled, whining sound as your esophagus constricted while you tried to swallow the lump that had formed there, suddenly feeling the heat begin to spread to other parts of your body, warming you from the inside out against the chilly night air.

Itto chuckled to himself, low and teasing, as he took a moment to lean back and take in the sight of you, admiring the way you appeared so helpless under his control. Some of your blood still lingered on his mouth, the stain of it shining before he swiped his tongue along his lips to gather one last taste of you.

“See? Things aren’t so bad if you just cooperate,” he said, leaning back in close and taking a sniff of your hair where some blood that had trickled from the bite was already beginning to dry.

Then, using his free hand to wipe away the fresh tears that were just about to streak down your cheeks, the vampire cooed at you and muttered, as if the sweet way he said the words gave them any reassurance, “Don’t worry though… You’ll have plenty of time to learn to like it,” and before you could try to protest or ask any questions or even scream out one last time for help that wouldn’t come, just as fast as he’d appeared, Itto had swept you up and darted through the cascade of lavender, delivering you to his secret little den hidden on the cliff’s edge, scaling the mountainside with you slung over his shoulder like it was no trouble at all.

It was a smart move on his part, securing a hideout that wasn’t easily accessible to humans— if accessible at all— and could only be seen by ships coming in from sea from too far off to judge it to actually be inhabited before the ledge turned the entrance into a blindspot. Most importantly though, it was a place completely untouched by the sun, Itto’s greatest weakness arching overhead but its rays never touching his home as the top of the cliff shielded it all year round.

Once he set you at the center of his den, knowing there was nowhere for you to run now, unless you wanted to drop straight into the waves that crashed against the rocks below, he paced a few strides and plopped right down into his nest of cushions and blankets without a care in the world.

“Please…” you begged, staring at him as more tears welled in your eyes, clumping your bottom lashes together in watery spikes before running down your cheeks in pairs. “Please let me go…” You were sitting on your knees, half slumped over and surprised you hadn’t passed out yet. You were in such a state of shock, you didn’t even have time to notice all the sparkling ore that was embedded in the cave’s bumpy, jagged walls, glittering brilliantly as the light of the full moon reflected off the sea and back into the mouth of the cave.

“‘Fraid I can’t do that…” Itto stated, seeming eerily lax now that he had you in the confines of his personal territory, black-nailed hands clasped behind his head of all that wild, white hair. At first, you’d thought the cherry-tinted tips on the ends of his tousled mane were the faded remains of another victim’s bloodshed soaking into the strands, but now that you were getting a better look at him, you were beginning to realize that it was naturally occurring. In fact, if he wasn’t a bloodthirsty monster who’d just stolen you from nearly reaching your home on the other side of the trees, you might’ve looked twice at him after passing on the street. 

He was huge. Massive. So tall you’d have to crane your neck to meet his gaze if he was standing at his full height over you. And he had the bulk to accompany his height, arms and chest and abs chiseled and built like he was carved from the strongest stone, all muscle and no fat.

Another rumor you’d heard about vampires that was turning out to be true— they were all physically stunning, so much so that even without the giveaway of the fangs and the glowing red eyes they were often too perfect to pass for human.

Snapping out of your unwarranted distraction, his previous words finally registered to you and you responded, sounding broken and desperate, “Why not…?”

“Because…” He leaned forward, arms resting over his knees as he bore that scarlet stare right into you— right through you— once more. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve searched for someone like you? Someone with blood like yours?”

You didn’t understand what he meant. Instead of responding that time you just tried to suppress a hiccup from hitching in your chest as you felt yourself about to begin sobbing harder, the mental snare of knowing you might be trapped here forever tightening like a noose around your neck.

Itto condescendingly cooed at you again, pushing up from his seat among the mish-mash of stolen plush objects that seemed to serve as his bed and approaching you, crouching down before you as you hid your view of him behind shaking hands and wept into your palms. You flinched when you felt his hand touch your shoulder, sucking in a startled gasp and expecting pain to follow, but that time his taloned fingers merely rested against your skin, flexing only slightly to test just how hard you’d let him settle his palm around your form before attempting to pull away.

And maybe that time he’d let you. He’d show you he could be merciful so long as you could be obedient.

“Don’t worry…” Itto smiled then, a real grin that was devoid of any of the prior darkness and cruelty he’d worn in the woods. “I’ll make sure you have everything you need. And I’ll only need to feed on you every couple of weeks.” He made those promises like they made him taking you any less of a prison sentence, kept under his will and watch for as long as he wished. “But I can’t let you go. You’re too valuable. Too rare…” He almost sounded apologetic, as if he were saying it was neither of your faults you’d ended up here, just nature and circumstance.

And so, for now, you were resigned to your fate, your new home becoming the cave hidden in the side of the cliff, your gemstone encrusted cage. But Itto had kept his promises, at least. Brought you everything you asked for, snuck into town just to obtain some of your more specific human needs. And when he drank from you, so long as you held still and didn’t squirm too much, it wasn’t actually that bad. Nowhere near as vicious as that first time, at least.

Seasons passed, marked by the changing color of the leaves and snow flurries and scattered sakura petals drifting past the mouth of the cave and falling into the ocean below. You found refuge in your nights, as that was when Itto most often left to engage in whatever vampiric activities you hadn’t been brave enough to ask about. You grew accustomed to sleeping during the day, same as he did, though he stayed buried in his layers of blankets until the final brushstrokes of sunset bled from the horizon and the sky gave way to the navy and silver shield of night while you preferred to stir in the early afternoons just to catch a glimpse of daylight from time to time.

But whenever you did spot a ship drifting far off on the waves of the sea, rocking and swaying as it either set anchor or steadily approached the shore, you never tried to call and wave, never tried to make it known you needed help or saving.

And every time a new one came in bearing a different flag of one of the seven nations, you asked yourself why…

Maybe because, over the past year, the vampire had shown you that he could be gentle and kind, sometimes even had a sense of humor too. You became more like a pet to him than a prisoner, and he was more like a ghost that haunted you than a warden. But you hadn’t given up on escaping this place, somehow, someway. 

But not yet.

Not until you thought of a way to make sure he couldn’t hunt you down and drag you right back before you even had a chance to lay your eyes on that grove of thunder sakura again, back where it all began.

[foreverindreamlandd]

Bucky wanted to read her fanfictions and she always declined. So he begged and begged and begged... until she finally gives up and let him read one. 'Cause who could really say no to Bucky making puppy eyes?!

Let me know what you think about it

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Plus Size!Reader

WC: 1.5k (I am apparently incapable of writing a drabble)

A/N: Thank you again for another awesome request! I was basically cackling the whole time I wrote it. Want to read about how Bucky and this reader got together? Check out their origin story in my To Be Wanted series! Only warning in this one is the usual swearin’ like a sailor.

----

“See, this is why I always order Thai food. I can never do it justice.” You frown over your wok, mixing the noodles around with a wooden spoon hoping it will somehow make your creation taste better.

“I’m sure it tastes great, doll.” Bucky walks up next to you and grabs a noodle, tilting his head back as he drops it into his mouth.

His eye twitches almost imperceptibly and you groan.

“It’s good,” he coughs out, trying with all of his strength to regain his composure. “I think you just went a little too hard on the chili paste. I can feel my sinuses clearing up though, which is good, right?”

You roll your eyes. “Can you check the recipe on Pinterest again? I swear I put in the right amount.”

Bucky walks over and picks up your iPad. Right as he’s scrolling to find out if you should have used 2 tablespoons or 2 teaspoons of chili paste, a notification banner pops up and he accidently taps it, opening up your Tumblr app.

Omg! This fic is amazing! The way Bucky is there to support the reader. My heart completely melted! Your Bucky stories are amazing, Y/n! <3

Above the comment is a photo of him. It’s a shot from the news where he’s helping a civilian stand up after one of the attacks made by The Red Hand.

“Uh….love? What’s this?” He holds the iPad up to you and you shift your gaze over to him.

You drop the wooden spoon into the wok as all of the blood drains from your face. You’re frozen in place for a millisecond before you pounce on Bucky to grab the device from him. He’s never seen you move so quickly and it catches him off guard.

“Bucky give me the iPad right now,” you fling your arms toward it and he pulls it away, both amused and a bit concerned by your reaction.

“Wait, what is this? Is it something I should be worried about?”

You see a flicker of panic flash in his eyes and you stop flailing. You close your eyes and let out a deep sigh.

“No, I mean, I should be concerned because if you read that I’m probably going to combust and you’re going to dump me and run for the hills.” He furrows his brows in confusion and you slowly lift up your hand. “Can I please have that back before I have a mild panic attack?”

He stares at you, trying to gauge your emotions. All he can see is panic and sadness and it breaks his heart so he instantly gives in and hands you the iPad.

“Don’t worry about it, love. I trust you.” He leans forward to give you a chaste kiss.

You let out a pained groan against his lips and Bucky is once again confused.

“Ughhhh I hate hiding things from you.” You lock your iPad so the screen goes dark. “Okay, fine, I guess this conversation is happening. Remember when we first started dating and I, uh, mentioned I used to read and write stories about….us being a couple?”

Bucky nods, trying not to reveal any emotion to you that might make you spiral into a panic, and you continue.

“Well, that was one of those stories I wrote. I stopped looking on Tumblr basically as soon as I met you because it got all weird and meta and I got super uncomfy by the idea of reading fanfics - that’s what they’re called - about my new friend/now boyfriend Bucky Barnes. And then we started dating and I was all happy and shit and I totally forgot that those fics were still out there. Obviously I haven’t written any since then because that would be weird for...many, many reasons. Someone must have found an old one and commented on it. I’ll delete it. I’ll delete all of them. I swear. I’m so sorry, Bucky. I should have been more on top of this.”

Bucky stares at you, lips pursed and you grimace, afraid of the next words that are about to come out of his mouth.

This is so weird, Y/n. How could you do this?

No wonder you didn’t date anyone before me.

Obsessed much? (Okay, he probably wouldn’t say it like that but STILL).

No, what Bucky said next was much, much worse than what you could have imagined.

“Can I read one?”

Your mouth drops. Closes. Drops again. You blink rapidly.

“I’m sorry, I just hallucinated. What?”

Bucky points to your iPad, a sly grin forming on his face. “I want to read one of your stories.”

You take a step back from him, horror stricken as you pull the iPad closer to you as if you were protecting your collector’s edition of ‘Throne of Glass.’

“Absolutely not.”

Bucky steps forward and you step back. He chuckles. “Come onnn, doll. I want to know what your fantasies were about me before we got together.” He laughs harder as the look of horror on your face grows more manic.

“Bucky, I know you’re a super soldier and could probably punch me into the sun with your metal arm, but I promise I will fight to the death before I let you read one of these fics.”

You and Bucky continue this dance of him stepping forward and you stepping back until you feel your legs make contact with your couch and you fall back into a sitting position on its arm. Bucky uses this opportunity to tower over you, his arms resting on the couch so that you’re pinned between them.

Then, he pulls out the big guns.

His gaze softens, blue eyes shining into yours. His bottom lip puffs out and he gives you the most adorable, sexiest pout you’ve seen in your whole life.

“Please, love?” He says it with a slightly higher pitch, almost like a whine and it still sounds like honey to your ears. He even nudges your nose with his like a freaking sociopath.

Damn.

You close your eyes, let out a breath, then open them back up to him. “I hate you.”

His pout turns into a boyish grin and he gives you a quick kiss. “You love me.”

You groan. “Hopefully you still love me after this, Buck. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

You stand and open up your iPad, scrolling through your masterlist and finding what used to be one of your favorite fluff pieces. You begrudgingly hand it to Bucky and he sits on the couch.

Unable to sit still during this agonizing experience, you proceed to pace around your apartment like a crazy person and resort to cleaning the inside of your microwave which you haven’t done in a few months so it’s a good thing that Bucky is reading your fic so that you could get that out of the way. You probably won’t have a boyfriend in a few minutes but at least your microwave will be spotless.

You only steal a few glances at Bucky as he reads, mortified each time as you see his eyebrows move in every possible direction. Up, down, knit together, were they criss-crossed at one point?

Finally, after what feels like the longest ten minutes of your life, Bucky lets out a soft grunt, placing the iPad down on his lap. He looks up to you and you give him a weak smile.

“Alright, let me have it, Buck. Give me your worst. Be honest. Also, I love you.”

Bucky glances down at the iPad and then back at you.

“Well, I have a few questions.”

Your right eye twitches. “Hm?”

“Now that you’ve met me, do you still think my eyes are an all-consuming storm of blue?” You groan. He grins. “Or do you think my jawline was cut from marble created by the gods?”

This time, you breathe out a laugh and you walk over to sit on his lap. You take hold of his chin.

“Bucky, I don’t think I could ever come up with the right words to describe you. The real thing is quite literally a million times better than anything I’ve ever written.”

His eyebrows raise. “That is...probably the best compliment I’ve ever gotten in my whole damn life.” He leans forward and kisses you, and you sigh into the feeling of his mouth on yours, relief flooding through you.

You pull away, eyes skeptical. “So, you’re not thinking about how you can escape and never see my crazy ass again?”

“On the contrary, love, I’m thinking about how I can convince you to buy this gorgeous green dress you apparently wore as my wedding date. The one that showed off your cleavage in a way that made Bucky’s brain melt.”

The two of you burst out laughing and you lightly shove his chest. “Sure thing, Bucko. How about I work on the dress situation and you work on ordering us Thai food so that we don’t lose our taste buds from whatever the hell I just made.”

-----

Thank you for reading! Feel free to check out my other stuff here. :)

Taglist: @ceo-of-daichi @biiskuitx @forgetthisbull @eclipses-and-moondust @abcdefxkyou @jackiehollanderr @billionsofbeans @abitgryffindorky @lovelylostminds @mija-just-breathe @semlohkratz @bratty-longbottom-replies @carrotfantasimp @cremedelabrulee @ant1r3al1ty @th-e-mg@laura-moehrchen @emma-the-duck17 @sunnyjane4 @rosaline-black @parodsal000 @vicmc624 @abrunettefangirlnerd @officiallykuute @edityourwishingwell @mymindslabyrinth

***This was the original tag list for the To Be Wanted series. If you would like to be removed from the taglist for any other stories related to this series, feel free to DM me! And let me know if you would like to be *added* to the taglist for any other future stories featuring these two knuckleheads. :)

[missing-marvel]

The Shape of You (Pt. 4)

Pairing: Vision/Reader

Part 3, Part 5

Words: 5698

A/N: *shows up several months late with coffee and a new chapter* What’s up y’all, who’s ready for more metal husband?

-

You awoke feeling sluggish and hazy, practically choking on dust and resisting the need to sneeze. The feeling quickly shifted to panic as you opened your eyes to even more darkness which only worsened when you tried to move, something blocking the space in front of you as well as tangling around your legs. It wasn’t until you rolled to the floor with a loud ‘thud’ that you remembered falling asleep on the sofa. You didn’t remember grabbing a blanket, however, which had gotten wrapped around your legs in your sleep.

You recognized Vision’s silhouette as he appeared hurriedly from the other room. You couldn’t see much in the dim light, but you could recognize him by his eyes alone. They glowed softly in the dark, that electric-blue bringing some familiarity to your surroundings.

The lights came on and you were momentarily blinded, shielding your eyes with your hand as they adjusted. “Sorry,” you said, blinking the last remnants of sleep away. “I just fell off the sofa. I’m okay.” You took a good look around the room for the first time since arriving, still not bothering to get up off the floor. It looked like a fairly basic living space. There was a patterned rug, a coffee table, some shelves with a few random knick-knacks, the usual. You did notice the lack of a TV, however. You supposed it wasn’t worth investing in one if no one would be living here ninety-nine percent of the time.

Still a bit groggy, you almost didn’t see Vision walk over to you and extend a hand to help you up. To be completely honest, you were perfectly comfortable on the floor but you weren’t going to turn him away. You uttered a quick ‘thanks’ as you got to your feet.

You had absolutely no idea what time it was but it was definitely dark out. Not a speck of light filtered in through the drawn curtains. Whether it was evening or early morning, however, you hadn’t a clue. “What time is it?”

Vision pointed to a digital clock sitting on a bookshelf close by. It read 6:30.

“I only slept for a few hours?” Well, more like several hours, by your estimate. It was broad daylight when you’d arrived. Still, that was surprising given that you’d basically passed out as soon as you got indoors and hadn’t slept in like two days.

Vision shook his head, however, cutting off your train of thought. He held up one finger on his right hand and put it down before holding up nine in total. It took you a second to understand what he meant, thinking he was saying ten before realizing.

“Are you saying I slept nineteen hours?” Vision just nodded and you let out a sigh. That explained why you felt so stiff. That much time on a sofa, even a surprisingly comfortable one, would take its toll. One other thing struck you, however. “Wait a minute, so it’s six in the morning, then? It’s awfully dark out.” You chanced a peek out the window to actually confirm that it was, in fact, dark outside.

You turned back when you heard the familiar scratch of pen on paper. It looked like Vision had found a new notepad somewhere. By the time you walked over, he had finished writing. “Clock is an hour ahead. Haven’t fixed it. Only got power back on a couple hours ago.”

“Oh, that makes more sense.” This time of year, it was perfectly normal to be dark at 5:30. However, it was also cold outside and you were beginning to notice that in here as well. You picked up the blanket off the floor and draped it over your shoulders, pulling it tight around yourself. “Is there heat at all?”

Vision wrote his response as quick as possible, handwriting still impeccable as always. “It’s on but not very strong. Building isn’t in best condition anymore. There’s fuses missing so I prioritized some things. A few lights aren’t going to work.” He stepped aside and gestured somewhere down the small hallway behind him. On the wall was an open panel.

“Wait this place still has a fuse box? The Avengers couldn’t afford someplace with circuit breakers?” You couldn’t help but crack a smile at your own joke, if you could really call it that. You were just happy your custodial knowledge was relevant for once.

“Old SHIELD building,” Vision quickly noted. If this place had been built by the Avengers, it would be far more modern, probably to an unnecessary extent. Tony Stark would only stand for the best, even if it was a safe house that would almost never get used.

“Shield? Are they still around?” You only sort of understood what SHIELD was. No more than any other member of the general public. They were a kind-of, sort-of government agency or something like that. They always kept their stuff super secret so most people never really knew what they did. Then there was the whole deal with Hydra which nobody understood. You decided a long time ago it wasn’t worth worrying about, much like most of the American populace. Perhaps you should have paid closer attention.

Vision simply tilted his hand side-to-side in a gesture that implied that the answer was complicated and really not worth getting into. He shifted the conversation to you instead. “How are you feeling?”

“I should be asking you that. You weren’t doing so well yesterday.” You tried not to let the worry in your voice show, though you weren’t sure what good it would do.

You thought you saw a hint of a smile cross his face as he turned back to his paper. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be alright.”

“Vision...” You recalled back to the other night, when you’d told him nearly the same thing after a couple solid days of no sleep. Before you could retort, however, he’d turned and headed toward the other room, gesturing for you to follow.

The small office space was an absolute mess. The only reason you called it an office was the papers and folders scattered around the room as well as the computer tucked away on a desk in the corner. Underneath a blanket of dust, it looked almost exactly like the first computer you’d ever owned. Actually, it might just be the first computer. You were pretty sure it should be in a museum.

Vision navigated the difficult terrain with ease as he made his way to the desk. You, on the other hand, felt like you were doing a balancing act as you tried to limit your steps to the few parts of the floor that were visible. You didn’t know what all these stacks of papers and folders were exactly, but you figured it was best not to mess with them.

“There’s no way that thing works,” you said once you’d cleared a spot to stand by the desk, your own little island of shag carpeting amongst the sea of paper.

Vision pried open a panel on the side of the computer, carefully removing a CPU board with all the expertise of a seasoned technician. The actual monitor was half buried in a pile of miscellaneous cords and plugs next to the desk. After a brief moment of inspection, wherein he must’ve decided all appeared fine, he went ahead and booted the thing up.

It chugged to life like a patient coming out of surgery, slowly and with great difficulty. It made sounds you were pretty sure should only be coming from a lawn mower but all the lights eventually blinked on in time. As it did so, you braved the sneeze-inducing dust pile for the monitor, the air turning cloudy as you shifted all the junk that had been untouched for years. “I’m guessing you’ll need this?” You hoisted the dinosaur of a monitor up onto the desk, Vision taking it gratefully and nodding a thanks your way.

For a minute after he plugged it in, it seemed the screen wasn’t going to work. Only after staring at it did you realize it was working, albeit extremely slowly. A symbol was appearing on the screen, the shape becoming more discernible the longer the machine whirred. As far you could tell, it looked like some kind of government emblem, like an eagle with a crest in the center. It wasn’t until it had spent a solid minute loading that you were able to read the text surrounding it. “Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement... Logistics Division? What on Earth does— wait, that’s what SHIELD stands for?”

Vision nodded in a way that suggested he wasn’t overly fond of the acronym either. You were beginning to think he wasn’t so difficult to read after all, not like you thought when you’d first met, at least. It just took time, much like reading the decades-old monitor had.

“I think someone just really wanted the initials to spell out shield.” You gave a breathy laugh, more air than sound. “What’re you going to do with this old thing? Can it even get internet?”

Vision shook his head and reached for his paper from the edge of the desk. “Not that kind of computer,” he wrote. You resisted butting in as he tore off a new sheet, still not used to the pauses in conversation that resulted from the rather roundabout method of communication. “It’s wired directly into an old SHIELD system and by extension, hopefully, the Avengers emergency system.”

“Really? I would’ve guessed this place predated the Avengers.” As you spoke, Vision got the keyboard hooked up which had been stuffed into one of the desk drawers. It was missing at least a quarter of its key caps, the really chunky, old kind that made a satisfying click-clack when pressed. Apparently they’d prioritized actual computer hardware over keyboards considering there were offices at your job that still had keyboards just like it. Correction: your old job. You’d almost forgotten.

“SHIELD software was integrated with Stark tech after the Battle of New York. In theory, we should be able to put out an emergency signal on a secure Avengers server from here.” You almost hadn’t noticed Vision writing again as you zoned out a bit.

You would’ve been more excited over good news, but you’d learned over the years what happened when you got your hopes up. “So when you say in theory, I’m guessing the odds aren’t exactly...” You trailed off, unable to continue without sounding horribly pessimistic.

“It will work,” was all he wrote, a noticeable firmness in his grip as he held the pen. You didn’t say anything else but moved closer to the desk, directly by his side now. There was what could only be described as a hint of doubt in his expression before he turned back to the monitor as green text cluttered the screen.

“We can only hope so.” You let your hand brush his shoulder as you navigated back towards the door, no longer particularly caring to avoid crumpling the paper on the floor.

You weren’t sure how long it would take Vision to finish what he was doing, especially with the tech he was stuck with. You found it more than a bit ironic that possibly the most advanced machine on the planet had to use a decades-old computer to call for help. It felt weird to think of him as a machine. After what you’d been through in the past 24 hours alone, you’d begun to think of him as just another person. Well, not just another person, that wasn’t what you meant. How to put it...? You just couldn’t explain it. There was no precedent in your mind for a situation like this. Vision was a living being. As alive as anyone, maybe more so. That much you could say confidently.

Trying not to get too lost in your thoughts, you busied yourself investigating the rest of the apartment, not that there was much to find. Living room, connected kitchen, hallway with the office and stairs that led up to a bedroom and bathroom. All pretty standard. All of it looked fresh out of the 80’s. Well, maybe not fresh.

Just as you completed your lap of the place, you were interrupted by a low grumble from none other than your own stomach. That was a problem. There was definitely not food here. You had no other choice really than to shove the feeling to the back of your mind for now. You got yourself a glass of water to make do. At least the plumbing worked.

By the time Vision came back, it had been less than twenty minutes. “That was quick. Any success?” You sipped your water, ignoring the slight metallic tang it had.

Vision wrote as he crossed the room to stand opposite you from the island counter. “The beacon is active. Now someone just needs to hear it.”

Despite his lack of vocals, you sensed a definite lack of confidence in his words. “How long do you think that’ll take?” You hoped not too long. You were concerned about your food situation.

He didn’t bother writing a response. The expression on his face made it clear; he had no idea. Maybe never, if no one was out there to hear it. You only hummed a response, neither confirming nor retorting. The sound of you sipping your water seemed immensely loud in the heavy silence of the room.

“Well, what do we do now?” You were becoming anxious again. You didn’t like being forced to sit and wait. At any minute, you felt like law enforcement would start breaking the door down.

“We wait. There’s nothing else we can do.” He seemed apologetic. He wished he could give you a more concrete answer, some sort of assurance that this would all work out, but he couldn’t. Not truthfully, anyway.

It looked like you had some time to kill. You weren’t sure what all there really was to do. Still, it wasn’t all bad. At least you had company. “I wonder if there’s a better way we can communicate,” you mused, turning your mind to less dire matters.

Vision seemed to brighten up a bit as he was struck by an idea. “You don’t happen to know any ASL, do you?”

You shook your head. “Unfortunately, no. I assume you do?”

He responded by holding up his right hand in a closed fist and sort of nodded it up and down.

“I’m guessing that means... yes?” It wasn’t a far stretch. You’d actually thought about learning ASL before but never gotten around to it. There were more uses for it than people realized. Too bad work left you too busy and tired to make the time for lessons. Well now you had nothing but time.

Vision just nodded his head in the more familiar interpretation of the word. He grabbed the pen and paper again off the counter. “I could teach you some. At least the important parts, if you want.” He hesitated a split second between sentences, just a bit nervous, though the pause was nowhere near long enough for you to notice. It was barely a stutter in his programming, a single digit skipped somewhere in his code. Nothing to be concerned with.

“Yeah,” you said, maybe just slightly too enthusiastic. “Yeah, that’d be great! I— I mean, it would be useful, you know? Way more efficient than pen and paper. Uhm...” You were struggling to ask how he wanted to start when your stomach growled, providing a convenient segue into another topic. “Heh, sorry. Didn’t realize how hungry I was.” You tried to pass it off as no big deal, although you really were starving. You hadn’t eaten anything since before setting Vision free. It had been well over a full day since then.

He looked surprised for a moment, which he was, before he began writing. For a genius super-computer, he could sometimes be very forgetful of the needs of his human cohorts. They were very fragile things, humans. The need for sleep and food was something Vision never had to worry about, something he realized he took for granted. Something akin to guilt began to gnaw at him when he too realized how long it had been since the escape. He should’ve brought up the matter earlier. “We need to get you food,” he wrote very matter-of-factly. It wasn’t something up for debate.

“I don’t exactly have a lot of cash on me, Vis.” You flinched at the nickname, quick to move on before he could call you out on it. It had been merely a slip of the tongue, just shortening his name for the sake of convenience. It could have been a gesture of friendship towards the android, though you weren’t sure you’d quite earned the right to call Vision a friend, even if you were fond of him. “I’ve got like 10 bucks, tops.” You pulled a few crumpled bills from your pockets to emphasize your point. You obviously couldn’t use your credit card, either. You’d seen enough movies to know that.

Vision thought a moment before coming up with an idea. “It’s not the most ethical thing to do, but I could get cash out of an ATM. It’s technically a matter of survival, after all.” He demonstrated exactly what he meant by phasing his hand through the paper as you read, something that could just as easily be done to a cash machine.

It wasn’t so much the legality of the idea that bothered you. After all, you’d stolen multiple cars. It was the matter of Vision’s safety. Not that he couldn’t protect himself but he would be spotted quite easily if he went outside. That was just a matter of fact. And if someone called the police on a strange magenta man or anything along the lines of ‘robot,’ you could pretty much guarantee trouble. “I don’t know... What if someone sees you? The last thing we want is to compromise the safe house. I can just wait awhile longer, I’ll be fine.”

Your stomach chose that moment to grumble again, completely undermining your point. Vision shot you a look that more than sufficed to communicate what he was thinking but he wrote it down anyway. “It would seem we don’t have much of a choice.”

You sighed, all but forced to agree. Although, it would be nice to get some actual food before your stomach started eating itself. “Fine,” you relented. “But we wait until it gets dark out. It’s safer that way.”

Vision wasn’t about to argue.

-

Memorization wasn’t really your strong suit, but you seemed to do surprisingly well with the start of your sign language lessons. It helped that your teacher was so patient.

Vision thought it would be best to start with a few simple phrases for the sake of saving paper. Common things such as ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you.’ You had the benefit of only really needing to recognize them as opposed to being able to do the signs yourself, since Vision could obviously hear you, but you took it upon yourself to mimic the gestures anyway.

It had been a few hours and your head was starting to ache but you insisted on continuing. You were certain you were doing well and you wanted Vision to be impressed. Not only could you remember how to spell your own name, you could spell his as well. The rest of the alphabet may not have stuck as much but oh well. For now, words and phrases were more important.

“That’s... someone?” You guessed as Vision held up his index finger and waved it in a sort of circle. He’d been quizzing you for a few minutes now, to which you’d done pretty well. He shook his head this time, however, and tried not to look amused by the almost comically offended look on your face. “What? Yes it is! I’m certain that means ‘someone!’” You were insistent on the fact. Vision hadn’t tried to trip you up yet but he must be this time. You tried to mimic the motion, repeating the word as if that would change anything.

He shook his head again, not bothering to hide his smile this time. He reached for your hand, raising it higher to show you that there was, in fact, a slight difference between what he was signing and what you were. For a moment, you looked almost startled, like a deer in headlights. He didn’t miss the hint of color that tinged your cheeks. His assumption was merely that you were embarrassed by your mistake, though it was an easy one to make. He switched back to paper in order to explain. “This,” he repeated his first gesture. “means ‘always’. What you signed was ‘someone.’ See the difference?”

You nodded in understanding although your attention was beginning to drift. You felt like you were cramming for an exam in a class you hadn’t been attending. You may or may not have actually had to do that before. The point was, you’d learned just about all you were going to for the day. And just in time, it seemed, as you glanced toward the curtains, no longer backlit by the afternoon sun. You’d managed to kill most of the day, between checking that the computer was still working and just generally talking with Vision. There wasn’t much else to do, not that you were complaining. You were quite enjoying the android’s company and not just because you were stuck with him. And to top it off, you’d managed to distract yourself from how hungry you were. Until now, that is.

“How about we call it a day on the lessons, hm? I’d say now’s about the best time to head outside. There’s just one thing we have to do first.” You turned and exited the room without explanation, only saying you’d be right back. You ran upstairs to the bedroom, hoping you could find what you needed. You hadn’t voiced your plan to Vision, although you saw no reason for him not to go along with it. It was a smart idea if you said so yourself. At least that’s what you told yourself as you began rifling through drawers.

Vision wasn’t sure what to think at first when you came bumbling down the stairs again with a messily folded bundle in your hands. But your intention became clear quite quickly once you’d returned, immediately holding out the clothes to him before bothering to explain.

“I hope this isn’t rude but you kind of… stand out. I just thought, maybe it’d be a good idea to disguise yourself. Just for safety. Is that okay?” You hoped there was no offense taken by the gesture. In truth, you were glad Vision was going with you and not just because of the money thing. You didn’t feel particularly safe walking the streets alone at night, especially when you didn’t know the area. But having Vision by your side made you feel nigh invincible. There was just the small issue of technically being wanted criminals.

He smiled, more to himself than anything. It was just strange, he thought, how concerned you were with his opinion. Of course he wasn’t offended. It was a smart idea. He chuckled a bit, although it was a strange action given his physical state. The motion of a laugh was there, his shoulders shuddering as any human’s would despite his lack of need to actually breathe, but there was no sound. It was one of those mannerisms that was ingrained in his programming, though he wasn’t sure quite where it came from. Not from Jarvis, certainly, since the AI had no physical form, and Ultron likely hadn’t been terribly focused on such gestures at the time of his creation. In reality, it was simply something he’d picked up on his own, even if he wasn’t aware of it.

You let out a breathy chuckle of your own as he took the clothes, glad to see he agreed with you wholeheartedly. He got dressed quickly, leaving only his face visible when he was done. Luckily, it was cold enough outside for him to get away with wearing gloves, a scarf and a hat. The clothes were a bit old-fashioned but in a professional way. The long wool coat and slacks in particular gave the impression of a scholarly type, perhaps even a professor. You couldn’t help but think it was a good look for him.

“Well don’t you look just dashing,” you teased. You’d found a coat for yourself as well, deciding your own jacket wasn’t going to be enough. You silently thanked whatever SHIELD employee set this place up for supplying a myriad of spare clothes. “Oh, one more thing.” You turned to the coat rack by the door, grabbing a scarf that had been left hanging there. “Just in case.”

You hesitated at the front door. Despite the fact that you were merely going to look for a convenience store or something similar, your anxiety spiked as though it were a dangerous mission. You could just imagine all the ways you could get caught. It was almost enough to make you stay here, slowly starving to death waiting for something to happen. Vision noticed your apprehension, however, and did the first thing that came to mind to soothe your worries. He gave you a warm smile, holding out a bent arm for you to take. He thought you might find the somewhat old-fashioned gesture funny and he was right. You laughed, taking his arm anyway. It was a nice reminder that the odds of anything bad happening were tremendously low, which you mentally repeated to yourself as you stepped outside.

-

Everything had gone off without a hitch. There was a small grocery store a few blocks down which you’d run into just before closing time so the store was nearly empty. Vision had waited outside near the ATM, which had provided the funds you needed. Other than the bored clerk at the store, you hadn’t seen so much as a single soul this whole trip. By the time you and Vision were walking back, burdened by just a few days worth of groceries (which would ideally be more than enough), your previous worries had all but melted away.

You only wished the weather matched the feeling. Nothing was melting in this cold. In fact, a few snowflakes had begun to fall. They were almost mesmerizing under the blueish haze of the streetlights, whipped into a frenzy by the faintest of gusts. The sight wasn’t enough of a distraction, however. You couldn’t help it when a shiver wracked your body, your coat not doing nearly enough to prevent it. Vision noticed this, however, and stopped you both in your tracks.

He was quick to reach for the paper and pen in his coat pocket, a look on his face of more concern than you thought necessary. It was only a little chill. “Are you cold?” The question wasn’t particularly necessary, the answer being obvious. Still, it was polite to ask.

You tried to shrug it off, noticeably tensing to suppress a second shiver. “I’m fine. Let’s just hurry back.” You turned to keep walking, knowing there was still a decent walk ahead but he stopped you, putting a hand on your arm for the briefest of seconds. He just looked at you a moment, seeming to forget about his paper. You caught the faintest hint of conflict in his expression, though you didn’t know why. “What is it, Vision?”

Realizing he’d made you worry, Vision seemed to snap back to his senses. He gave you a reassuring smile and reached for his scarf, undoing it quickly. You were facing him, standing close enough to see the circuitry in his eyes. He paused again, however, debating his next action. For a being that didn’t have nerves, he sure felt nervous and didn’t fully understand why. He moved at a pace far slower than he was used to, hesitantly wrapping the scarf around your neck for you. His touch was light as a feather as if he were afraid to touch you. You could do nothing but watch him, lost in the details of his eyes and face as your grip on the grocery bags began to loosen involuntarily.  There was a moment where neither of you moved, his hands still lingering on the loose fabric of the scarf.

Your heart skipped a beat at the gesture, mind racing to find a logical conclusion that didn’t concern such things as the vague and confusing emotions that spiked in your chest just then. It was cold, so Vision gave you his scarf. Your hands were full, so he put it on for you. But what you couldn’t answer was why he lingered the way that he did and more importantly, why your chest began to feel tight in a way that wasn’t as unpleasant as you’d think. The most sensible reason you could think of was that he was simply a gentleman, and perhaps a little unfamiliar with personal boundaries. That was the only possibility you had the strength to consider. Anything else would open doors you were afraid to even imagine.

Footsteps scraping heavily against the pavement cut the tender, if rather nerve-filled moment short. You turned toward the sound, though Vision remained facing slightly away, bowing his head somewhat in an attempt to conceal himself. You froze when a figure emerged from the alleyway; a heavy-set man whose posture listed to one side, most likely from some kind of injury. His clothes were noticeably old and ragged, most definitely not warm enough for this weather. You would’ve asked him if he needed help were it not for the knife he brandished at you.

“Look, I don’t want any trouble,” he said, his voice wavering. Funny, you were just about to say the same thing. Clearly, he wouldn’t be doing this unless he was desperate and in a bad situation. Unfortunately, you weren’t much better off. “I saw you, I know you have cash. Just hand it over and no one gets hurts.”

Under normal circumstances you would’ve complied but you’d used up pretty much all the cash you got and you couldn’t risk giving him your wallet. If your ID found its way into police hands there’d be government agents swarming this place before you ever got the chance to bail. “We don’t have any money left, I swear. Please, just walk away.” You moved slowly, setting the grocery bags on the ground and raising your hands in surrender without making any sudden movements that could set him off. You weren’t as afraid as you probably should’ve been, choosing to try and reason with the man rather than flee, which would probably be the smarter option.

The man stepped closer to you, his grip on the knife visibly tightening. He was nearly within arm’s reach now which wasn’t ideal but you held your ground. Vision caught the man’s movement out of the corner of his eye, his hand reflexively grabbing at your arm protectively. The man furrowed his brow, glancing between the two of you in confusion. At this distance, even without Vision facing him, he could almost definitely tell something was strange here. Having given you his scarf, the only things covering Vision’s face were a hat and upturned coat collar. You spoke up again, drawing the man’s attention before he could get too close of a look. “This doesn’t have to get messy. Please… ”

You weren’t sure exactly how long the three of you stood there, time frozen around you. The only things that moved were the snowflakes that had grown more frequent in the past couple minutes. The man finally shifted, albeit barely, one foot scraping harshly against the concrete as he braced himself. He glanced between you and Vision again, jaw clenched tightly. “I ain’t walking away empty-handed. I can’t. Just gimme your damn wallet.”

Vision tugged gently on your arm. You weren’t sure exactly what he was trying to say, either trying to pull you closer to him or signal that you should run. You didn’t think running was a good idea. You feared Vision’s injuries acting up again and you didn’t want to test your own speed either. You turned back to the man, desperately pleading at this point. “I can’t …”

“Then I’ll just have to take it from you.” He didn’t give you another chance to argue, immediately lunging at you haphazardly. He couldn’t even get close to hitting you, however, as Vision’s reflexes were far superior to the man’s. The android grabbed his arm, twisting it painfully to the side and forcing him to drop the knife. The man yelped and threw a punch at Vision, who dodged it easily. The man didn’t seem to understand just how drastically outmatched he was, not even now that he had a clear view of Vision’s face. Whatever was going through his head, he still seemed to think fighting was his best option. He took another swing at Vision who, up until this point, had no intention of fighting back. But he was left with few other options. He pushed back against his attacker, sending the man sprawling to the ground with a painful ‘smack’ as he hit the pavement. There was genuine fear in his eyes when he looked back up at the two of you.

“Vis, we gotta go.” It was you holding his arm now, pleading with him to leave. He nodded quickly, completely in agreement. The two of you paused only long enough to scoop up the dropped grocery bags before making your escape. The man didn’t dare follow you as you disappeared down a side street, desperate to avoid any more prying eyes. This was the exact sort of thing you’d been afraid of when you’d left the safe house. You could only hope the man kept his mouth shut about what he’d witnessed tonight but it seemed luck may not be on your side.

-

A/N:  I want to mention that I don’t personally know much ASL and had to rely on videos, etc. so if anything at all is wrong, I apologize. Feel free to call me out.

[embyrinitalics]

Calamiversary: Link’s POV I

So keep in mind when I wrote these scenes that Calamitous was still written in third, so flipping to first felt super edgy. 😂 I did read recently that using first with very flawed/troubled characters is more interesting, and I think that’s evident in these. Like, it’s way more interesting than listening to Zelda in the main fic lol.

Also, I wrote these before all the big revisions, so the scenes probably won’t line up in the dialogue the way they used to. STILL, these exercises helped me get to know Link better as a character, and hopefully you’ll get a kick out of them too (in all their unedited glory 🤦🏻‍♀️)!

There’s a lot of these scenes so I’m breaking it up into two posts. Below the cut is about 1.9k words worth. OK BAI.

  Awakening

I breathe deep of familiar air as I reform from the smoke and light pouring out of the fissure. It’s cold and sweet, carried down into the valley from distant plateaus. My blood pounds hotter at the recognition of it, and I steel myself to ignore the allure it holds. I know death will be my only release now.

My heightened senses register four incoming attacks with a thrill, and I regain my focus, choking out the desire to crush them with my bare hands. I rebuff their assaults one at a time, reining my power with some effort. Part of me revels in how easily I cast them aside, how breakable they are—the part of me that I must never feed, but that’s too dangerous to ignore entirely.

Then I see her: power ebbing off her in waves, her body emitting pulses of brilliant light. I want to bask in the splendor of her, so different and yet so familiar. I crush that longing, letting the monster in me react in case I’m not strong enough to do it alone. In an instant I’m facing her, holding her at bay with a power she was never meant to overcome. I can taste her fear as she registers my resistance, heady and intoxicating.

I reach for the source of her light and smother it.

  Applean Woods

I take her to Applean, knowing the others won’t be able to follow for some time, and wait for her to regain her strength. She’s spattered in firelight, her expression placid, and she looks so much like the Zelda I knew—too much like her. I know she isn’t the same woman, but I feel the same draw, the same devotion to her. I know I have to protect her no matter the cost to myself. It almost makes the thought of what’s coming bearable.

I stroke her cheek without thinking, and she surges to life, sending power and light flailing in all directions. The monster in me roars in response, so powerfully I nearly falter. I force myself to tame it first, afraid of what I might do to her if I don’t. She’s strong, but she’s also scared and disoriented. Overpowering her isn’t difficult.

“Don’t do that again,” I growl after I have her pinned to my chest. I can feel her pulse, rapid and bright, rushing beneath her skin, appealing to my two halves for two different reasons. I deny us both, dropping her to her hands and knees and moving to reignite the fire she put out.

“What do you want with me?” she demands, and she reminds me again of a woman who’s been dead for 10,000 years. “I won’t cooperate.”

Definitely too much like her.

“I’ll accomplish what I set out to do alone, if I must,” I insist, but I know the odds of plunging the Sword into my own chest and managing to contain and outlive the Calamity on my own are marginal at best. “Though it would be easier with a second set of hands.”

She’s confused, of course. She obviously has no idea what I am. In a way, that makes it easier; in a way, that makes it harder.

“I don’t—”

“Is the Sword in the Great Hyrule Forest?” I interrupt, suddenly in a hurry to get this over with.

“What?”

“The Sword,” I repeat, trying not to think of everything finding it will mean for me. “The Blade of Evil’s Bane. Does it still rest in the Lost Woods?”

“You wish to destroy it,” she accuses me quietly. Silly girl.

“I don’t know that such a thing is even possible,” I wonder aloud, intrigued by the idea. But that’s beside the point. It has to be in the Woods, because the hero’s spirit could hardly be reborn if it’s still alive in me. “It has no wielder.”

“No. You didn’t leave us a choice.”

I smirk in spite of myself. She’s right about that, more than she knows. “I suppose not.”

“You still haven’t answered me. I demand to know why you’ve brought me here.”

So, so much like her.

“You’re hardly in a position to be making demands, Your Highness,” I point out, and her cheeks flush a bit, betraying that streak of temper I know too well. I leave my seat by the fire and crouch near her, appealing to her love of her kingdom. It’s stronger in her than her love for anything else, as I am painfully aware. “If you do as I say, you will destroy me. With any luck, the pall of the Calamity will never fall over Hyrule again. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

She considers my proposal fleetingly, and even though I know the reply is coming, that it’s deserved, that it’s better this way, it still hurts to hear it out loud. “I can’t trust you.”

“I’m not asking for your trust,” I scoff. How could I ever ask for her trust, when I don’t trust myself? When a single lapse on her part or mine could cost us everything, including her own life? No. Trust is out of the question. “Only your obedience.”

That accursed stubbornness of hers rears its pretty little head, her lip turning down just a bit. “If I don’t trust you—”

I can’t allow her to even suggest that I can earn it, for either of our sakes. I reach out, brushing her soft lips, the smooth line of her jaw, the swell of her cheekbone, knowing what my touch, harboring the evil of the Calamity, must be doing to her. I’ve felt it myself once, countless lifetimes ago, as the Calamity entered my body. I know I feel like that now, because she feels so unnaturally warm on my sensitive fingertips, so full of life and light it nearly burns.

“Does this feel like the touch of someone you can trust?” I ask rhetorically, and I feel her tremble under my hands. “That icy, numbing sensation of evil, trapped in this skin, grating on your nerves and pulling the warmth from your body and putting knots in your stomach, that urge to recoil that you can’t quite obey—that is the warning from the gods.” I can taste her fear growing, tantalizing and seductive, as I sweep the pad of my thumb along her full bottom lip, and I know I’m doing the right thing. She needs to fear me, as I fear myself. “You cannot trust me.”

  The Lost Woods

I could feel the mist, uninhibited, stroking the skin at the nape of my neck, and I bristled. The hallucinations would be quick on its heels. She had already been feeling the effects; a small gasp or a sudden change in her pace betrayed the way the woods were starting to torment her. But it was going to get much worse, and there was nothing I could do to protect either of us.

I’d already seen her—a ghost of who she once was, untouchable, ethereal, drifting through the trees like a specter. She’d been alight in moonglow, wraithlike, hauntingly graceful. But not now. Now she was fleshly, a healthy flush of color in her cheeks, looking so real. So vulnerable. Her eyes met mine, and I saw the recognition in them. Then they widened with fear, and she was pulled away into a distant darkness before she could make a sound.

I closed my eyes, trying to still my galloping heart. I turned slowly to check on Zelda—the real Zelda, the one who was alive right now—but the mist had separated us, and I cursed under my breath.

I heard a scream, and I closed my eyes again reflexively, fear coiling in my throat. I swallowed, trying to wet it. I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to look, to be plagued by whatever vision the woods had in store for me. I wanted to pray, I wanted to ask the Goddesses to spare me this. But they wouldn’t listen to a prayer from the Calamity.

I couldn’t just stand there with my eyes closed and hope that Zelda would stumble across me. She would lose herself here without me to guide her. So I opened my eyes.

Another scream tore out of her, and I recoiled from the grisly scene, blood and adrenaline pounding through me. The worst part was the way the monster in me reacted—that submerged, suppressed part of me that was enticed by it, that wanted to look closer. That smiled.

It was me. I was crouched over her, animalistic, tearing at the gaping wound I’d opened across her torso with my teeth, too numerous and sharpened to a hundred razor-sharp points.

I was eating her alive.

She screamed again as I ripped into her, her body lurching as I wrenched at the cavity. And she just wouldn’t die. Her clothes were drenched in so much crimson and torn to shreds, and her face was contorted in anguish and terror. I tore into her again and again, her broken figure jerking and lifting as I pulled at her.

My conflicted nature came to the fore. Part of me was in agony. Part of me was laughing. Like a dam, distressed and buckling under the weight of rising floodwaters, something in me broke open.

With a snarl, I let my power pour out of me, giving it free rein in a way that I was too fearful to before. In that moment I didn’t care if the woods burst into flames, or if I drowned Hyrule with my hate. I just reacted.

I was just lost.

The mist barreled away from me in a great dome, letting the sunlight in. The vision was gone. I could breathe. In the clarity that followed I felt for Zelda’s presence and sent my power cascading towards her, opening a canyon through the fog. She spotted me as the sunlight washed over her, and she ran towards me, her expression full of relief. She’s so stupid. So am I.

She fisted her hands in my tunic, catching her breath as the mist encircled us again. I wanted to pull her into my arms. I wanted to hold her close and protect her from this place. I wanted to tell her everything I’ve seen and everything I am and beg her to take pity on me and put an end to this because I just couldn’t go on anymore—Goddesses, I couldn’t do this anymore.

But I was barely in control. My power was still flying through my veins, threatening to burst out of me at any moment and do incomprehensible damage. My heart was still pounding. I cautiously put my hands on her shoulders, hoping the contact would calm me a little. It did; her warmth under my hands grounded me, helping me shunt reality into the forefront of my mind and block the visions out.

“I don’t have as much courage as I thought,” she whispered.

She had no idea what she was saying. She was so, so brave, so young but so capable, standing on the brink of her power with all the potential in the world. She was beautiful and wonderful, and she was going to be an amazing queen someday. She embodied everything I loved about my Zelda.

I almost told her. I was almost that weak. But then I swallowed it and told her the truth instead.

“Neither do I.”

[transhoverfish]

What are everyone's "abilities" in Survivors? Ryley has good hearing and Milo glows but what do the others have?

!!! YOU HAVE ASKED ME ABOUT MY AU !!! THE FLOODGATES OF YELLING HAVE OPENED!!

OK SO. as u mentioned ryley has good hearing and milo glows. basically,

ryley = good hearing

milo = glowy boy

emily = electric detection (cooler than i describe rn my vocabulary is small)

danby = like emily's but reverse. controls electromagnetic things

roman = night vision

jochi = the most superpower like one, he got quick regeneration.

avery = telepathy!

bart = also kind of telepathy but more like future telepathy. he has future vision.

and i. never thought of one for ozzy actually and at this point i have no idea what to give them that wouldn't have been brought up prior so. u know genetics are weird! they just dont have anything ig. nobody look at me LABDKABDLABD

AND ALSO paul and marg have powers! paul got that peeper enzyme carrier thing, and marg got the very funny power of feeling others emotions. yes that includes the fish. yes this is one of the primary reasons she didnt kill paul over a decade of dealing w him. yes she hates it.

and the vesper haven't been sick long enough to develop anything! or at least thats what im going with bc i havent thought of anything for them yet 😔

AND NOW: LONGER EXPLANATIONS. IM GONNA GET CARRIED AWAY SO ITS UNDER A READ-MORE.

first off on the list: bart! so bart.. kinda has futuristic visions?? but the things he sees are not set in the stone,, as in if he dreams about smth (a lot like ryley can!) it is possible to change those events! most of these visions/telepathy type stuff were bc of the emperor and warpers, and also al-an! once the sea emp died and the warpers all calmed down his powers kind of go away a bit. i think i wrote al-an sort of mentioning it in one chap of awa?? but its only kind of implied. so he has rlly similar powers to avery except he can't tell what others are thinking and he can only kind of tell how his closest friends r feeling. so right now bart pretty much doesn't have powers! he can communicate w the warpers and sea emps much easier than the others tho (he's the only one that can talk to warpers! im not sure he'd get along w them after being hunted down by them for like 12 years though KABDLSBRLSHD)

avery has telepathy! this is because when he first shows up he jokes about having telepathy and i was like "haha. WAIT." and then he got telepathy! i realize its a bad idea to not come up with their powers until as im writing but uhhh well. i never said i was a fantastic writer who's smart. KANROSHROSBF.

he also kind of had marg's empathy ability but wayyy dialed back. he can only tell how other humans are feeling and he can only vaguely understand it as opposed to feeling the emotions himself like marg does. so he can kind of tell how others are feeling and he can tell what theyre thinking about! unless of course for plot convince he can't. strong emotions, especially strong negative emotions (ie. fear) can overwhelm him and makes his powers stop working. and if someone is convinced they're right then he wont b able to tell they're lying/hiding something! yay plot convenience!!

roman has night vision. i have no way of making this sound cool he just straight up can see really well in the dark. like a cat. most of the powers were based off where they originally landed and what would help them in that area! and roman landed in the sparse reef, which is so dark all the time i cry thinking about it. so he has night vision! his poor eyesight is probably all kinds of fucked up now tho.

jochi has regeneration abilities! now i know this might sound a bit much but he just heals from cuts and stuff faster and like. he bones heal fast. and he's more likely to survive smth that might usually kill someone, but its like a 10% higher chance of living nothing too much. he doesn't rlly get scars as much as the others, and its healed his old ones a bit more! this is by far the most unrealistic power of them all, but ya know its alien fish planet game who cares. basically bc his life support systems failed his spine got all fucked up and he got infected faster bc he was barely alive for the first few days and spent a lot of time w bart who was looking after him. power helped fix his back, but he still has a rlly bad limp and pretty much constant pain. big mood there khasar 😔✊

emily can detect electromagnetic waves! works best underwater. kind of like ryley's, but instead of hearing noises she can only hear anything electric, like vehicles or ampeels or heartbeats. gets all fucked up during thunderstorms though sadly. she's the only other one that can kind of hear warpers and can tell when ones about to warp around but she cant actually talk back to them. pretty sick if u ask me tho.

danby has p similar powers to her bc ampeels also spawn in the bulb zone. except he can sense them at a much smaller distance, cant hear warpers, and can control the waves around him! mostly just his own tho. so like, he can quiet his heartbeat or make it stop all together. scary power that he does not know how to control. uh oh. but he can also control other creatures a bit! he's very good at hiding bc of this, which is nice bc he loves to hide from scary things. very big mood once again.

milo is glowing powers! looks a lot like the transparency of a ghost levi or a crabsquid, although he isn't as see through as them. you can def make out like veins but not bones or organs. his powers are activated by touch, the more force behind will create more glow and more transparency! a poke = goes away within a few seconds, a slap = stays for a minute or so. instead of bruises, he just glows until the bruise would normally go away. he's basically a living glowstick. i have another joke for this but i cannot physically convince myself to type it bc its some shit emily would say to him and i cannot embarrass him like that LABDLABDKABAKD

andd ryley's super hearing! can hear basically everything within a mile radius at all times. im bad at math and i don't know the metric system but i think that's like around 1k meters. wait does the metric system use mile already. no. ONCE AGAIN NEVER SAID I WAS SMART.

OK ANYWAYS back on track! this means he can hear about half of the crater at all times. he's gotten p good at blocking out background noise and anything far away. typically only hears everything within like 300 meters of himself. so when he does get back to just hearing everything its like. u ever take out headphones in a busy place and everything kinda hurts for a few seconds bc its so much noise. yeah like that but 500x worse. he's able to concentrate on specific areas within this 1 mile field but if its far away it fucks him up good for a lil while. sorry ryley :(

and then the other two degasi! as mentioned before, paul can carry enzyme like the peepers, but he also can kind of make some himself! only small amounts and it works a bit less than the peeper enzyme does. he does not have to cough it up though thankfully it just like. idk how to describe this idea it can just kind of leave through his skin?? he has like no control over his power at all it just kind does its own thing and he deals w it. this is primarily how he and marg survive for so long w/o dying to kharra!

and finally marguerit! highly empathetic abilities that allow her to feel the emotions of anything around her! i thought it would be funny as hell to give MARGUERIT of all ppl Big Emotion Disease. this is a big reason why she has had yet to murder paul and why she's a lot less murderer like in the au. its hard to kill someone if you. you know. can feel exactly what they are. probably the reason she adopted Dog Bart/Legally Preston Emotionally Not. saw sad puppy and felt too bad to leave him. like paul, she has basically no control over it and is one of the reasons she does NOT want to go back to the survivors base and be around so many other ppl, she'd be feeling like, 13 ppl's emotions at one time. all these powers have fucked up drawbacks dont they??

once again sam, robin, jeff, maxim, and ozzy are (for now at least) not gonna have any powers! mutations are weird and ozzy just didn't get anything, and the vesper haven't been sick long enough for any yet!

OK THATS ALL. HOLY SHIT SORRY FOR YELLING FOR 15 MINUTES. GOT CARRIED AWAY. hopefully that explains everything tho OABEOABROANRJS OK BYE MY PHONE IS ALMOST DEAD

[toothlessturtle21]

Tomato Soup

So I wrote this little thing that totally isn’t me projecting my issues with food onto a fictional character no way, so hopefully it’s not terrible because it’s not super proofread. TW: mentions of unspecified ED, hypoglycemia, noncon “repairs” done to Zane. Enjoy, I guess.

------------

Zane loved to eat, until his father decided that the budget couldn't quite feed a family of two. ... Zane used to love to eat.

Zane's earliest memory of food being an issue to him was when he was barely even a year old. His father sat at the table, hunched over brass and copper coins, occasionally glancing at his son with a slightly worried expression. Zane was busy sorting their books, the task having kept him busy for the better part of the last two hours while his father said he had some "grown-up things" to worry about. Eventually, his father called out to him.

"Zane?" His father asked, voice strained. "What food do you have cataloged in our pantry?"

"Three cans of tomato soup, two sleeves of crackers, various spices, and one box of penne pasta. Speaking of which, I am getting rather peckish, I think I will go have some of the-"

Zane went to stand to go towards the cupboard to grab a sleeve crackers when his father stopped him.

"No!"

The android froze, recoiling a little in surprise as his father stood as well.

"Father, is everything alright?"

Julien smiled wearily, gently tugging on Zane's arm to move him back towards the workshop.

"Of course, Zane. Everything is just fine."

"Then why are we going back into the workshop? You only bring me back for repairs if something is wrong," Zane stated before a different train of thought hit him and he jerked away. "D- Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry if I was not efficient enough when I was organizing the books, I'll do better, I promise!"

"Stop fussing, you don't need to worry," His father consoled him, but Zane still dug his heels in enough to make his hesitation known. "You will be fine, I promise."

Zane was still stammering as he was pushed down onto the workbench and was powered off, world fading away as his mind still panicked.

...

Zane blinked, his eyes adjusting to the light. He shot up straight, the memories of what happened right before his repairs making him quickly check his vitals for information.

Energy: 78%

Hydraulic Fluid: 89%

Vision: 100%

Audio: 100%

Hunger: -

Zane blinked, and tried again to access his hunger. Nothing. He looked over at his father, who looked slightly guilty but overall relieved.

"Why can't I access my hunger level?" Zane tried to ask with a level voice, but it ended up coming out choked. Julien shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, Zane."

And so he didn't. If his father wasn't concerned, then why should he be?

He tried to eat a cracker afterwards just to test what he believed his father had done to him, and he held back tears as what used to be a salty treat felt like cardboard melting in his mouth. He closed the sleeve, and set it back on the counter, resuming his task of organizing the library, but this time the actions felt a little more hollow.

So he watched as his father ate his soup and crackers, and just had to sit there and pretend to smile as he remembered how he used to enjoy the flavors dancing upon his tongue.

-----------------------------

Zane was relaxing on his own bunk in the Monastery reading a rather good book when Cole gently knocked at the door, Jay poking his head out from behind the taller's back. Sensei Wu had set out to find something or other, leaving the three behind to their own devices while he was gone.

"Uh, Zane? You doing ok?" Cole started, eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, uh," Jay stuttered, and Zane merely blinked as his friend tried to figure out his words. "Cole and I were talking, and we both realized that we couldn't remember you actually ever eating in front of us. Or at all."

"We're not mad or anything!" Cole was quick to butt in before Zane could speak, hoping to prevent any misunderstandings. "We just want to make sure you're not starving yourself or anything, because that would be really bad."

Zane stared in confusion, wracking his brain for anything to respond with.

"Why would me not eating be bad?"

"You could die!" Jay sputtered, and Zane felt some sort of sick feeling start to brew in his gut. "Please, just tell us if something's wrong, you can trust us, right?"

"I do trust you," Zane answered, for that he knew for certain. Cole and Jay looked like they were about to cry, and Cole reached out to gently tug Zane off his bunk. He was sandwiched in a hug between the two, Jay clinging to his front while Cole mirrored him from the back.

"Please, just eat something," Jay pleaded quietly, and Zane was incredibly unsure of how to respond besides a simple nod and a gentle hand rubbing at his friend's back to soothe him. Cole buried his head in Zane's shoulder, which wasn't hard since he was slightly taller than the blonde.

"I would prefer not to..." Zane began, but trailed off as Cole squeezed him tighter.

"I don't know what's going through your head right now Zane, and I don't need to know, but we're here for you. You don't need to change for anyone, yeah? Besides, you need the energy to train anyway."

Zane nodded along despite not knowing that they were talking about, but he could infer that whatever it was was a very serious issue. So he held his friends as they dragged him to the kitchen for him to choke down a granola bar, which seemed to calm them down enough where they stopped clinging onto him, but not enough where they wanted to leave him alone.

-----------------------------

When Zane and his brothers sat pouring over their jar of coins to pay their rent, Zane felt a gross feeling return to his stomach. They had resorted to buying sandwiches from a shop a few blocks over because they never had enough money at one time to buy enough groceries to support them, so single servings seemed to be the most viable option.

Since discovering his android origins, Zane had discovered how to turn his taste back on, and had also figured out that eating did give him an energy boost, but never his hunger. So he ate mostly as an extra, something that was nice, but not necessary. So it was no surprise that when it came time to order dinner, Zane shook his head denied needing anything.

The ninja took his word for it, and weeks went by with Zane only eating by stealing scraps from the restaurant he worked at to keep his energy up as much as he could, but even he could feel his performance slipping as his body was forced to run on low amounts of power. More of his blood was staying in his core to run his heart, leaving him pale and shaky, and his eyelids felt perpetually heavy, like they were being held down by weights that kept increasing by the day.

The issue reached its apex, however, during a quick training session he had managed to sneak in with Lloyd between shifts. They were sparring, the android of course not using all of his skills on the child, but he could tell something was off. Zane was stumbling, his footing unsure and his blocks were sloppy. Before he knew it, he was on the floor, and Lloyd was shaking his shoulders out of fear before running out of the room to call Jay, the android's vision fading around the edges.

He tried to sit up, but doing so made his head spin and his gut curdle with nausea, so he curled up into a ball to ease the ache, eyes squeezed shut before he blacked out in the middle of the training room floor.

...

When he opened his eyes once more, Jay was worriedly peering down at him.

"You awake?"

Zane nodded slowly, and he felt something being nudged at the corner of his lips.

"Eat this."

Zane tried to look over the best he could, and to his morbid amusement, it was another one of the granola bars that Jay loved to force upon him.

"You just passed out from the robot equivalent of low blood sugar, you gotta eat something buddy. I'll grab you some fruit juice or something in a bit. It helps humans, so it's worth a shot on you."

Zane slowly sat up and backed against the wall for support, and methodically chewed the snack with measured bites, Jay texting something to someone quickly before putting his phone away to sit across from the Ice Ninja.

Once Zane was done eating, Jay decided to strike up the conversation that the two knew was coming.

"Zane, you gotta eat. I know the first time Cole and I thought something was up it was just because you didn't need to eat, but your body isn't used to this. You're hurting yourself."

"Just let me adjust to it, and I'll be fine."

"No, I'm not letting you do that. You're eating with the rest of us and that's final. Kai's dropping off a carton of apple juice in a bit, and we're getting food tonight. You're going to rest, because I'm not letting you pass out while training again. What if you had done that on a mission?"

Zane had no answer, and nodded his head meekly as a sign that he understood. Jay stood, and held out his hand, Zane accepting the invitation to stand, also very grateful that Jay didn't mention how he stumbled upon landing on his feet.

"Y'need to trust your body more, you're getting too caught up in your own head," Jay said softly as he sat Zane down on the couch, sitting down next to him with a slight bounce. "You're not a burden by needing to eat, buddy."

The android sighed, and rested his head on Jay's shoulder, his eyes still burning and his mind quickly following suit.

"Alright, you can use me as a pillow," The Lightning Ninja smirked, and wrapped an arm around Zane's waist. "I'm waking you up when Kai gets here, but then you can go back to bed, ok?"

Zane nodded sleepily before fully relaxing into his friend, exhaustion taking ahold of him with an iron grip as he fell asleep, Jay keeping him warm all the while.

[hyunnie-bunches]

Rain

Genre: fluff

Pairing: Park Jinyoung x reader

Word Count: 1006

A/N: It rained where I am recently so I was hit with the feels that led to this mess. I wrote this drabble super quickly and haven’t edited it in the least so hopefully it makes sense and isn’t too riddled with errors.

Jinyoung was sitting on the couch, completely immersed in his novel, when the front door banged open. You walked in with a flurry of motion, dropping your keys on the kitchen counter and taking off your handbag with unprecedented speed.

“It’s raining.” You announced.

“I noticed,” Jinyoung replied, referring to your dripping hair and soaked clothes that had left a wet trail from the front door to the kitchen.

You didn’t respond. Having succeeded in dumping all extraneous items, you turned your back to him and hurried back out the door.

“Y/N? Y/N!” Jinyoung hastily threw his book down and rushed out after you. He was only a few steps behind, but by the time he laid his eyes on you again, you were already in the middle of the street again. Your arms were outstretched and a look of pure euphoria shown on your features as you circled under the downpour.

From the safety of the overhang of the roof, Jinyoung tried to get your attention once again. But he quickly realized the pointlessness of his actions and decided to go to you himself. Clutching your hips to stop you from twirling, he asked, “What are you doing, my love?”

Your lips were still stretched a wide smile as you laid your hands on his shoulders. “It hasn’t rained in forever. I’m just appreciating it.” Your body still swiveled in his grip, as though you had lost the ability to stop its movements. “Dance with me.” You said, eyes sparkling.

Jinyoung couldn’t help the indulgent smile that lifted the corners of his own lips at your antics. “We’re in the middle of the street.”

“I don’t see any cars.”

“We’re going to catch a cold.”

“You know that’s just a myth.”

“There’s no music.”

Instantly, you started humming an off-key tune that brought a chuckle to Jinyoung’s lips. Smiling back at him, you repeated, “Dance with me, Jinyoung.”

And so you did. You stood there under the rain, the symphony of the raindrops hitting the earth melting with your humming to provide the perfect background for your graceless movements. You continued for an undetermined amount of time, losing yourself to the emotions, under a car finally did drive down the street, its honks leaving you giggling and running off to the overhang.

It was only once you were out of the downpour that you realized how cold you actually were. Jinyoung noticed your clattering teeth and wrapped his arms around your body, letting out a bemused laugh at how your smile was still intact despite your obvious discomfort.

“Satisfied?” He asked. You nodded your head enthusiastically, grinning even more broadly.

“Does that mean we can change into something drier now?” Another nod had him shuffling you both into your house. You both made quick work of redressing, too desperate for warmth to bother with slowness.

You grabbed two towels from a closet and went to the kitchen where Jinyoung had escaped to as soon as he was done changing. The smell of fresh coffee hit your senses, and you let out a satisfied hum as you handed him the towel to dry his hair. He placed a steaming cup into your now empty hand and lifted the towel to his head. Leaning against the counter, you took a sip and turned to your boyfriend in surprised delight.

“Just like your mom’s, huh?”

“How did you-“

“She sent some of her special beans last month. I’ve been meaning to surprise you, but I just didn’t have the time.”

“It’s perfect.” You said, taking another sip. “Do you remember when we were kids and you would come over every time it rained so you could have some of Mom’s coffee?” 

Jinyoung smiled as he set the towel down and picked up his own mug. “And we would sit and read in your room for hours? You had that window nook-“

“-that was too small for the both of us,” you interrupted, “but you insisted on sitting on anyway.”

“Please. You loved being that close to me.”

“Me?” You raised an eyebrow. “I seem to recall it being you who asked me out.”

“Hey! That’s not fair. You are the one who gave me that copy of Wuthering Heights with the note at the end.”

You groaned and hid your head under your palm, though you were still smiling. “Ugh. Don’t remind me.”

“Here, Jinyoung.” He mocked. “I think you’ll really like this one. Just make sure to pay attention to the details.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I was sixteen. How much class did you expect me to have? Besides, you loved the cheesiness, don’t even try to deny it.”

“Hmm. Maybe I did. But I also love you so my judgment is clearly not the best.”

You smacked his arm, and he chuckled in response. For a few minutes, you stood in silence, gazing out your french windows to the city being covered in drops of water. Then, Jinyoung said, “After you left home, your mom would still invite me over for coffee every time it rained. I would sit in the nook and re-read Wuthering Heights. It made me miss you so much more, but it also made me feel closer to you.”

“Why didn’t you just call?” You asked softly.

He shook his head. “It wouldn’t have been the same. I wouldn’t have been able to feel your legs tangled up with mine. I wouldn’t have been able to see you get distracted watching the rain instead of reading. I wouldn’t have been able to see your face be lit up with lighting. And most importantly,” He leaned down and brushed his lips against yours. “I wouldn’t be able to kiss you to the sound of raindrops hitting fresh earth.”

You kissed him once more before responding. “I’m here now. How about we refill our coffee mugs, find a couple of good books to read and head to the balcony?”

Jinyoung dipped his head to yours again. “Just like old times?”

“Exactly like old times.”

[spiderman-homecomeme]

Congrats on 700 followers!! You deserve it! 4 and 35 from the prompt list?

Thank you so much!! wowowow

I was super excited to share this one!! It’s a little longer than the others, but hey i kept it under 1k!! haha I wrote it as kind of a College AU, so that was fun! Also for some reason, it took me so long to come up with MJ’s drink of choice lmao

also: highly recommend listening to “Closing Time” while reading it’s a bop

Here is about 980 words of tipsy fluff!!

Situation(s): 4 - At a bar

20 - Both are drunk and happy

Sentence: 35 - “You wanna bet?”

.

.

“I’ll have uh… a beer, please.” 

“Okay.” The bartender stares back at Peter expectantly, a single eyebrow raised. “What kind of beer?”

“Uh…” Peter frantically glances at the taps in front of him. He never knows what he wants. Hell, he’s still not sure he knows the difference between an IPA and a pale ale. Or if they’re even different at all. 

All that googling of how to order drinks like a grownup for nothing.

You’d figure after being twenty-one for almost a year that he’d be better at this whole “bar” thing. 

He’s not.

He knows he can always just order his go-to, tried and true Blue Moon, but he wants to branch out, be brave and adventurous, and prove once and for all that Peter Parker isn’t afraid to try new things. 

“I’lljusthaveabluemoon.” He spits out when the silence drags on for a little too long. 

Okay, maybe not yet.

MJ, best friend and girl who makes his brain and heart simultaneously short-circuit by just existing, snorts from beside him. He can’t help that dumb dopey grin that spreads from ear to ear as he watches her confidently order an amaretto sour.

She gives him this side-eye glance that causes his insides to go all mushy, and he suddenly feels like he’s in high school again, hopelessly pining over his monster sized crush on the cool girl. 

The thing is, they have some weird, unspoken thing between them. They’d started as mere lab partners in Advanced Chemistry, that partnership slowly morphing into full blown friendship, then again through the power of awkward flirting and lingering glances, into this crazy limbo between friends and, well, more than friends. 

Now it was just a matter of who would cave first. 

Which was why Peter was gonna ask her out. Tonight. Somehow. Some way.

She’d never expect it.

This was supposed to be a group thing, a bar crawl to celebrate Zach’s 21st, but as per the usual when the two almost lovebirds were involved, Peter and MJ seemed to be in their own little world.

“How’s your mom beer?” MJ asks, her tone tinted in humor. 

Peter lets out a light chuckle, shaking his head. “Hey, shut up. It’s not a ‘mom beer!’ It’s good! Plus,” He plucks the citrus garnish from the rim. “I like the orange.”

She doesn’t offer any verbal response, the silent quirk of her brow as she sips at her drink speaking volumes on its own. 

Peter playfully narrows his eyes at her. “What?”

Her eyes widen in faux-innocence. “Nothing! Just thought you were gonna be adventurous tonight. Unpredictable.”

He gawks at her. “What? I can… I can still be unpredictable!”

She blinks before tipping her glass to him. “Sure, Jan.”

And it’s then that Peter has an idea.

“You wanna bet?” A slow smirk tugs at the corner of his lip as he leans forward on the table, his gaze challenging. 

“Nah.” She deadpans, taking another sip of her drink. 

Crap. 

His face falls for only a split-second before he catches the teasing glint in her eye. “C’mon,” He pushes, taking a moment to bravely consider whether or not he should nudge her foot with his under the table.

He decides against it.

She sighs, relenting. “Okay, Parker, what d’you got?” 

“Next round of drinks says I go, right now, and ask out the hottest person in the room.”

He’s a little too proud at how smooth he thinks that is, and he fights the cocky smile that threatens to show through. 

MJ barely misses a beat. “Dude, I’m not paying for you to get drunk just so you can ask yourself out.” 

AHHHHH.

Peter himself almost short-circuits right there on that bar stool; he’s become the human embodiment of a keyboard smash at the idea that MJ just inadvertently called him the hottest person in the room. He can feel his body turn that embarrassing shade of tomato red, his face practically burning; definitely not from the beer. 

He lets out a too-loud laugh, and she smirks. “No, I swear. I won’t ask myself out.”

She considers him for a moment, watching from behind her now nearly empty drink, eyes never leaving his. “Ok. Fine. Let’s see it.” 

Here we go.

This is it.

“Wanna go out with me?”

“Yeah, sure. Let’s go. Right now.”

“Okay, cool,” He breathes out.

Peter can barely hide his giddy excitement, and neither can MJ, as they both smile stupidly at each other.

–

The night goes on, filled with laughter and butterflies, their once fun group outing having morphed into an official first date. Neither of them can tell if this warm, fuzzy feeling is from the alcohol or not as they drink and people watch together. They play a quick, highly competitive game of shuffleboard that ends with Peter buying the next few rounds of drinks, and with MJ finally convincing him to order something crazy.

Well, something that isn’t a Blue Moon.

She’s unable to control her amusement as Peter belts out– or tries to– the Toto classic Africa as it plays on the jukebox; he’s not quite able to hit those high notes of the chorus, but he’s got spirit. She’ll give him that. 

He nearly doubles over when she stumbles over the rap section of Fergalicious.

They even dance a little, or as much as they can with MJ laughing at Peter’s silly moves. 

As the end approaches, he can feel MJ lean on him for support, the warmth of her body against his, her smile against his neck. 

He smiles at that.

And that grin never leaves his face the rest of the night, ever present as the bartender finally kicks everyone out at closing time. 

He can’t believe his luck. It’s only the first date, hopefully of many, but it’s enough to fill him with this almost delirious happiness as he and MJ take the short walk back to campus, their intertwined hands swinging lazily between them.

[leonkennedystuff]

breathe p.2 (leon kennedy x reader)

[REmake!Leon]

Summary: Hours into the Raccoon City outbreak and trying to survive it, Leon tries to get reader to recover from the chaos

Warnings: talks about death, cursing

Part 2/2

hey guys! here’s part 2 of breathe :-) i was really so shocked when i logged back into this account yesterday and saw how much love my works were receiving :-( thank you all so, so much! It means a lot to me. With that, please do feel free to send me requests! I’d love to write for you guys. Anyway, just a lil side note for this chapter ! There was this work I read on here although I forgot what it was called and the user who wrote it (sorry huhu) but I took some inspiration from it to write this! So shoutout to that tumblr user and their work, it was super great!

You were way too invested with the amount of supplies hiding around the room. Your spirit, little-by-little, was rising again as you pick things up and put them in your filthy black backpack. 

So far, you’ve found a baseball bat, a first-aid kit, water bottles, and an unopened pack of protein bars. To think you weren’t even done searching the place! The feeling of astonishment lingers - you were still incredulous with this stroke of luck and it was all thanks to Leon. 

You pause from scanning a book talking about healing herbs and focus your attention on the cop; you could hear his feet shuffling about as he moved around the bathroom, searching for items as well.

You hear a faint creak, drips and splatters, and then Leon in awe. “Whoa,” you hear him verbalize, peaking your interest almost immediately. “(Y/N), come take a look at this,” He calls to you, excitement palpable in his tone. 

You rise up rather quick from your crouched position before dropping the book and a map of Raccoon City in your bag. You walk into the dim-lit blue bathroom with stride, curious eyes searching. Leon’s back faces you but you see clearly what he was looking at. 

A shower, an actual shower. 

Albeit the water running was a bit weak, it’d get the job done. Your excitement matches his; it’s been just a few hours, maybe around 6 or 7, but it felt like years since you’ve last bathe and your whole body ached to be under the stream falling in front of you. 

You were covered in grime, mud, blood, guts, and sewer content among many other things - you were caked in it and it was only now that you let yourself pay attention to how filthy you are. You grimaced inwardly, not wanting to dwell on the stench; this was the dirtiest you’ve ever been in your life.

You look over at Leon; his once dry-cleaned navy uniform appeared brown and red from all that you’ve gone through tonight and his soft, gentle face was also streaked with sweat, blood and grime. 

He was as filthy, if not more, than you are.

“Wash up, I’ll wait for you in the bedroom.” He says without a moment’s hesitation. He cocks his head towards the small stall with a kind smile, already turning to give you some privacy. 

With that, you felt your guilt prod you in the back - it felt wrong to clean and refresh yourself while he doesn’t just for the sake of being decent. The way he was towards you since he found you running  in an alleyway was nothing short of selfless; he was so generous and caring and it didn’t sit quite right with you that he kept choosing to be in the losing end of situations just for your benefit.

Biting your lip more from anxiousness than hesitation, you halt him by meekly placing a hand on his arm. Your cheeks blush at the suggestion forming in your mouth. “Leon... I- uh,” you stutter right off the bat. 

You remove your touch from his skin and rub the corner of your right eye despite the absence of an itch, discontinuing your sentence.

Leon is caught off-guard seeing you like this - all flustered and at a loss for words. It was so unlike your usually composed character; it was kind of refreshing to see, he thought to himself - it humanized you more. The sight makes him smile in a confused but genuine way. “Yeah?”

You purse your lips tightly, frustrated with yourself that you couldn’t get your words out. It didn’t help that your nerves were helter-skelter and your body felt like it was under an electric current. 

You were old enough to be mature about situations like this, especially with the one you currently are in. Besides, the last thing that should be boggling your mind are taboos.

“The water’s not going to be around for long,” You start, wishing he could take a hint at where you were trying to get at. With his response, he obviously didn’t.

“Yeah, go ahead,” He reconfirms, chuckling a bit at the redundancy of the conversation. You wanted to huff in annoyance but you don’t, it wasn’t his fault anyway.

“No, I mean-“ You scratch your head, “You can clean up - also. We can... both... shower.” You manage to finally say amidst your pauses. Your face - at this point- felt like it was on fire. 

As you expected, Leon looks at you with great bewilderment before his cheeks dust with a rosy color, your words registering in his brain and rendering him slightly embarrassed. He didn’t know how to reply to that and he definitely did not know if he was supposed to accept your offer – as tempting as it is.

“I just-“ a sigh, “-who knows when the next opportunity will come? I really don’t mind,” You try to explain yourself with nonchalance, although quite poorly. You don’t honestly know, though, if you really wouldn’t mind him with you, all bare and vulnerable for him to see. 

He hesitates too, weighing your words. 

You were right still, he thought- your lives from now on will probably be so unpredictable that mundane things can be rare; you should both count your blessings and grasp opportunities whenever they come up. 

As if you read his mind, you shoot him a compromised look, “Count your blessings, right?” You shrug, like you were presenting to him a consolation prize.

His slightly coarse, plump bottom lip trap unconsciously between his white teeth in final consideration before he nods his head diffidently. He turns around, “I’ll – uh, let you get undressed,” He clears his throat, his voice growing softer as his heartbeat jumps.

You nod even though he can’t see you; you absolutely hate how jittery you felt, like you weren’t in control of yourself. You concentrate on breathing and thought for a naïve second that it was helping but you started untying your shoes and your whole body went into chaos again.

You curse under your breath, sheepishly peeling off your clothing until you were left in just your undergarments. 

The cool air of the late evening breezes in through a small window you didn’t notice and raises goosebumps along your arms and legs. You bite the insides of your cheeks, attempting to cover your half-naked, dirty, and bruise-littered body.

You steal a quick glance at Leon to see his shirtless back still working on stripping his outfit before averting your gaze away.

“You can go ahead if you’re –“ He pauses and you can imagine the bashful expression on him, “-if you’re ready.” He finishes. You make an acknowledging sound, your stomach somersaulting as you quickly remove the last of your apparel, leaving you completely bare.

Wanting to hopefully save yourself from being seen where you were most conscious, you hop onto the shower and face the wall; regret floods you immediately though when ice-cold droplets attack your skin. 

You may have yelped a little bit because Leon, as if on instinct, twists to check on you. His worry is replaced by his face burning up at the sight of your body. He quickly turns away, face and ears beet-red.

“Are you okay?” He tries to keep his voice unchanged. 

You chuckle, shy, sorry for startling him. You feel silly as you look down at the  grey tiles. “Yeah, sorry – I just didn’t expect the water to be so cold.” You explain. You hear his warm laughter and it makes the corners of your lips grow some more.

With the unconventionality of the situation slowly fading, the tightness in the air between you and Leon begins to disappear as well. Focusing your attention back on your bath, you shut your eyes and steal one long breath before taking one step south and fully submerging yourself under the cold water. 

You gasp quietly at the feeling of it again but worked your way into getting used to it. Despite the temperature, you felt a whole lot better to feel the filth covering you slowly make its way to the drainage.

You watch with a mixture of disgust and fascination the discolored water coming off your body; you wipe down your skin to quicken the process. You were so caught-up with cleaning yourself that you don’t notice Leon had finally joined you.

“Do you want some soap?”

You nearly scream bloody murder; after all the events this night had unfolded, the last thing your poor heart could handle was anything sudden. You whip around, your heart hammering painfully in your chest, fear invading your every sense. 

When your (E/C) eyes meet with Leon’s concerned blues, your panic rises even more. You raise your arms quickly to cross them over your chest.

The perturbed look etched on his gentle face deepens, his hands – even with one holding a small, white bottle of body soap - slightly outstretched with caution to hold you if ever need be. His gaze unintentionally wanders to where your arms were as he was just following where you were moving.

Your soft but wounded body in his sight, he found it hard to look away suddenly.

Scratches of varying lengths scattered on your arms, bruises of different purple hues decorating your stomach and your sides, a small gash on the cavity of your neck where your throat rested, and a red mark on your collarbone that almost took you away. 

Leon goes rigid at the memory, remembering the horror coursing through his veins when he saw a corpse tackling you over. Although he killed the creature right away, he never felt so helpless as he watched it almost sink its teeth in you.

Lieutenant Marvin, Sheriff Daniels, Officer Edward and all those undead bastards wearing the faces of the people he could have worked with suddenly haunts him. He could feel himself grow physically nauseated remembering that he couldn’t save any of them; what was keeping him from actually breaking was the sight of you – eyebrows knit with trouble and right in front of his eyes, breathing and human.

You shift uneasily under his scrutiny. He looked so distraught, you thought, and you wondered idly what he was thinking about.

“What’s in your head?” You find your voice, your question almost a whisper. His sapphire eyes untangle themselves from the stains on your body and up at you, blinking. 

Maybe it was the nature of the situation or the way he looked at you so tenderly that made your heart flutter.

“Hm?” He hums, clearly not paying attention. With a small simper, you repeat yourself. “What’s got you looking all sentimental?”

“Just this crazy night,” He answers, trying to crack a halfhearted smile. The corners of his pink lips fall once more though when his gaze stops again at your collarbone. 

You lift one hand to touch the sore area and you feel you understood now what was going through his mind.

“Leon-“ You start, (E/C) eyes softening when his troubled expression still didn’t ease up. “You saved my life. I’m here right now under this snowstorm of a shower because of you,” You try to joke, gesturing at the spurting shower head in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. You smile when you see him grin a bit.

Exhaling through your nose, you gently lower your arms, baring yourself completely. It was the feeling of being vulnerable to him – physically and, little-by-little, emotionally- that scared you. 

Although you were never the type, Leon was the opposite. He wore his heart on his sleeve and you admired what you saw - a heart made of pure gold. It made you want to confide in him. Even if the world was falling to pieces, it was his valor and morality that made you feel hopeful.

Leon’s breath quietly hitches. 

He tears his gaze away from your skin, of course not wanting to invade, but you assure him by gently reaching out and touching his strong chest. “It’s okay,” You affirm, this time sure of it. 

You gingerly take the bottle of soap from his hold and twist the cap off. The sterile smell of it made you frown – you really don’t know how much something’s worth until the world’s ending.

Leon hasn’t gone under the water yet so he was a step or two away from you. You beckon him forward with your hand and he obliges, closing his eyes and going under the stream. He huffs, probably due to the cold, and you chuckle tenderly. He smiles.

Grabbing your chance, you study the man. He was very attractive – hands down, you noticed that from the get-go – but it was only now that you’re not being chased or hunted that you let yourself see why. 

He was tall and well-built; as far as you’d let yourself wander, even though his body was a canvas of bruises and wounds too, he was defined, probably from all that training back in police academy. 

Trailing your gaze north, you rest at his relaxed expression. Despite having a baby face, he had very strong features – high cheekbones, strong jawline and all. He had long, dark eyelashes that fluttered whenever he blinked or hid his striking blue eyes. 

Indolently, you wonder if you’ve ever seen blue that intense and deep before. It reminds you of the ocean, your favorite place, and just like the ocean, you feel that you could drown in Leon’s gaze when he looks at you.

Watching as the dirt and grime continues to melt from his skin, you notice with great sentiment the light dots of freckles littering the center of his nose and cheeks. You purse your lips to keep from beaming.

When his ocean eyes finally open, he brushes his damp blonde hair out of his face. He catches you with a small grin before you try to play it cool. He smiles with amusement. 

You turn your head from him and fidget with the bottle in your hands, ignoring the warmth creeping its way into your skin in a form of a blush.

Lathering up the soap, you spread it all over yourself, trying to push down the urge to hide from his sight and face the wall again. You hand him the bottle and he takes it from you, doing the same.

“Thanks,” He acknowledges with a kind nod and you return the appreciation. A comfortable kind of silence clouds you both, nothing but the sound of the running water filling the space.

You were just about done and ready to leave the shower when Leon’s voice pulls you back. “(Y/N), wait,” He stops you. Pausing mid-step, you crane your body. A weird expression is on your face to see him looking so nervous all of a sudden. The smile tugging at your lips was unmistakable though.

“Yeah?” You respond, curious and slightly amused. 

He takes a breath before gesturing for you to come back. You oblige without second thought, your heart starting to pick up pace for some odd reason.

“Leon-?” You stop short of your sentence when you feel him move towards you, enveloping you in his broad arms as his lips lightly connect with yours. 

You gasp, your heart spiking in your chest, caught-off guard with his sudden affection. He kisses you ardently, gentle yet urgent, like he’s been craved. He pulls away after a moment – flushed and his eyes bubbling with a mixture of both pride and apology. 

You just blink at him, dazed and unable to muster anything to say. Leon’s small confidence is overshadowed fully by his growing feeling of guilt.

He shouldn’t have done that – he shouldn’t have kissed you. He just met you for God’s sake, no one does that, but he was drawn to you - that much was clear and true to him. 

He wished he met you sooner – he wished he could have met you at a bookstore or a café, at the fucking groceries or at a rock concert, not at this hellhole where the dead came back to life and ate people, where a grey giant with a hauntingly stoic face lurked at every corner to kill, and blind, skinned creatures with tongues that can cut you in half exists. 

Leon would’ve really liked you, he thought, if your lives intertwined before the pandemonium. You were strong, beautiful, and intelligent. 

It’s stupid now that he thinks about it, but he kissed you because at least if he wasn’t going to make it out of here alive, he’d have done what he’s wanted to do for a while now. 

Seeing you almost taken away, it was scorned in his heart. He cared about you a lot.

“(Y/N), I’m so sorr-“ He begins, to ramble about how he should have thought better, but he was silenced by you closing the distance of your bare and wet bodies together. 

You wrap your arms around his neck and stand on your toes, sealing your mouths with a fervent kiss. It was Leon’s turn to be pleasantly surprised – he quickly eases into it though, melting into your warm embrace. 

You tug softly at the hair on the lower part of his head and he groans at the sensation. He places his hands on your naked waist, the heat of his palms a welcome change from the temperature of the water. 

Tucking your (H/C) hair over your damp shoulder, Leon buries his head in your neck, his fringes tickling your skin as he peppers it with small nips and kisses, trailing downward. 

You bite your lip, closing your eyes at the pleasure rippling in your body. You cup his cheeks, rubbing the pad of your thumb over his light freckles before bringing your lips together once more, moving in perfect sync like you’ve both been doing this for years. 

Breaking away slightly, you lean your head on the bottom of his chin. You take a breath to process all that’s just happened; you were thankful for his hands steadying you because you felt drunk. Your heart was thumping so loud you wonder if he could hear it.

Leon tilts your face up and places a tender kiss on your forehead. You close your eyes, resting your mouth on his collarbone. “Let’s get through this – both of us,” You murmur against his wet skin, your heart renewed with purpose.

He nods sincerely, wanting nothing more than what you just said. He tightens his arms around you. “I’ll make sure.”

[babybluebanshee]

Feedback - A MHA Fic

Hizashi Yamada may be loud, obnoxious, childish, goofy, and frankly have the stupidest hair on the planet...but he's still a teacher.

Aaaaaand Ashido makes five. Sorry, kid, but “tooken” is not a word.

Hizashi made a harsh red line through the incorrectly conjugated verb, then moved his pen over to a legal pad. In large capital letters, he wrote “VERB REVIEW B4 WEDS.”

After he finished writing, he tapped his pen against the paper once. Twice. Then, he underlined his note. Three times.

He moved back to Ashido’s paper, and tallied her score in the corner - a 64%. Not bad, by Ashido’s standards, but it could stand to be improved. He’d have felt slightly better about it if he hadn’t written even lower percentages on Mineta, Kaminari, and Hagakure’s papers.

He sighed and polished off his soda. As was his way, he tried to look at this from a positive angle. He’d known the unit on irregular verb conjugation was going to be rough going in, especially in a language as absolutely insane as English. He taught the damn course and he sometimes had trouble with it. At least now he had an idea of where the students needed the most work before the test on Wednesday. The extra review would be good for all of them. And hey, maybe he could do some browsing online and try to find some review games. Those seemed to help when the kids were struggling with sentence structure.

Hizashi smiled as he tossed the empty soda can in the wastebasket by his desk. Everything would be fine. Class 1-A was one of the most promising groups of kids that UA had seen in years, and what they didn’t learn right away, they always managed to get eventually. He scribbled a little happy face on Ashido’s page (to complement the one she had doodled after her name), and set the sheet amongst the other graded assignments.

He casually looked over the next, slightly crumpled sheet in the stack. After a moment, he closed his eyes and exhaled heavily. Goddammit, Bakugo...

For the past three weeks, Bakugo had been turning in assignments that were only partially done. At first, it had just been a question or two left blank. Then five or six questions. Then entire sections.

This time, aside from his lazily scrawled name in the corner of the paper, Bakugo had left this entire paper blank.

Hizashi shoved his hand up under his glasses, trying in vain to rub away the headache this would doubtlessly bring on. He was so glad he’d taken out his hearing aids while he graded. Right now, the noise would not have helped. At all.

He marked a giant zero in the corner of the page, pressing so hard he was momentarily afraid he’d rip a hole in the paper. As he set Bakugo’s paper off to the side, his stomach clenched in hunger. This was as good a stopping point as any, he supposed. Time to find something to constitute dinner.

He padded down the hall and into the kitchen. Just as he was trying to decide if he felt motivated enough to go through the trouble of cooking vegetables and meat for some ramen, or just blasting it in the microwave and eating like a poor college kid, he spotted the pink bag on the counter, the words “Shrimp Chips” emblazoned on it in cheerful bubble letters. He lunged, quietly blessing Shouta and his pathological need to have a constant supply of garbage food in the apartment at all times as he tore into the foil bag with his teeth. He pulled out a handful and stuffed them into his mouth.

Something soft and fluffy snaked its way between his legs. Looking down, he saw Mame’s two giant green eyes staring up at him from the black void of her face, gazing longingly at the chip bag. Her fluffy tail swished back and forth lazily. She opened her mouth in what Hizashi assumed was a pleading mew. He smiled down at her and shook his head, moving his legs to sidestep her. Mame bounded away from him and jumped onto the nearby table, splaying herself out quite contentedly on the table in a pile of papers, discarded mail, and Hazashi’s school bag. She immediately rolled onto her back and stretched out a paw longingly. She then brought her paw back to her mouth, once, twice, three times.

She was signing “food”. And Shouta said you couldn’t teach a cat to sign.

Hizashi chuckled, swallowed, and then signed back, “First of all, child, you’re not even supposed to be up on the table.”

Mame blinked in response.

“Second, these are my chips. None for you. Shouta doesn’t want you eating anything but cat food anyway. He already feels bad when he has to explain to the vet why you’re so fat.”

Mame rolled back over, letting out a squeak of indignation, before stretching and jumping off the table. Unfortunately, her shifting weight jostled Hizashi’s bag, and before Hizashi could set the chips aside and catch it, everything inside had spilled out onto the floor. He tried to glare angrily at Mame, but she had suddenly become very interested in thoroughly cleaning her front paw. He supposed it didn’t matter. He could never stay mad at her anyway.

He brushed the chip dust off his hands and began to sort through the mess on the floor. Honestly, he’d needed to clean out this bag for a while. Its contents were a mess of lunch receipts and old notes he’d written to himself and playlist ideas for the radio show that had never fully come to fruition. As he crumpled up the trash in his hands, he uncovered his gradebook. He groaned slightly as he began to realize that meant he hadn’t recorded any of the worksheet scores yet, and he was already more than halfway through the pile. He’d have to go back and do them all again.

At least he’d caught himself. And he also had shrimp chips. That sort of softened the blow.

He gathered up the rest of the mess from his bag and put it on the table. He’d sort through it all before bed. Then he gathered up his gradebook, tucked the chips under his arm, grabbed another soda from the fridge, and walked back towards the bedroom.

He flipped open his gradebook with one hand, so he’d at least have it open to the right date by the time he sat down. It fell open to a page near the beginning of the semester. He was just about to shake the book to turn the pages (very nearly losing his underarm grip on his chips), when something caught his eye.

“Bakugo, Katsuki: 88%”

Huh.

His eyes drifted downward, to the next assignment he’d catalogued. An 87%.

He approached his desk, and he began arranging his things to his liking, but he never once took his eyes off the grade book. He scanned the next assignment. Bakugo had scored an 84%.

Hizashi sat down slowly, his chips and the rest of the papers forgotten. He turned the page in his gradebook. Bakugo’s next grade was an 89%.

The next was an 88%. Then a 90%, followed by an 85%. Another 87% and another 89%.

This didn’t make any sense. How could Bakugo start out with such high scores and then suddenly start turning in blank assignments?

He turned the page and got his answer. A 73% was the next grade he saw. It wasn’t exactly failing, but it was a dip in quality, jarring compared to the previous pages.

Maybe the blank assignments weren’t so sudden.

He continued to scan the page. The percentages hovered around the low seventies for a while. On the next page, they dipped into the sixties. Checking the dates, Hizashi saw that these grades began three weeks ago, right around the time Bakugo had started turning in the half-finished assignments.

The decline was steady, until Hizashi finally got to the last assignment he’d recorded. A 58%. A far cry from where they’d started.

His phone was in the corner, next to his hearing aids. He snatched it up and opened up his text thread with Shouta. His husband would be out patrolling right now, but it was still early, and Hizashi hadn’t gotten any breaking news updates on his phone. Hopefully, he wouldn’t catch Shouta at a bad time.

Quickly, he typed, Yo, have you heard anything from Cementoss or Ecto about Bakugo’s grades?

Shouta’s response was quick, taking a little more than a minute. Hizashi was the only person who could brag that Shouta had never left him on read in the entire time they’d known each other.

No. Why? Short and sweet. That was Sho for you.

I’m grading 1-A’s last assignment. Noticed something super weird.

Yeah?

So I’ve complained at you about the kid turning in unfinished work, right?

Many times. They’re enjoyable rants.

Before Hizashi could reply, Shouta sent another message. Do I need to talk to him again about getting his work in? Because I’m sensing the last talk didn’t stick.

Hizashi smiled and replied, Not sure yet. I looked at his grades from the beginning of the semester and they’re good. Not perfect, but good.

Hmm…

Then I started noticing him slipping. He was still handing in complete assignments, but he was getting more stuff wrong. Then he starts handing in this half-assed stuff and his grade just drops more. It’s weird.

What do you think is going on?

Dunno yet. That’s why I was asking if anyone else has said anything. If they had, I was thinking maybe we could have him talk to Hound Dog or something?

Like I said, haven’t heard anything from either of them. They’re not shy about telling me when someone is struggling.

It was true. Hizashi had never known either of his fellow teachers to turn away students who came to them for extra tutoring. And if the students wouldn’t come to them, they had no problem approaching them privately and gently insisting they should. There weren’t many students who would say no to a guy who looked like a walking corpse and someone who could make the parking lot swallow you up.

It just made everything more confusing. He couldn’t think of why Bakugo was doing so much worse in his class than any of the others. It couldn’t be because Bakugo particularly didn’t like him. Not that the kid was particularly fond of any of his teachers, but Hizashi had seen the way Bakugo behaved around people he genuinely hated, like poor Midoriya. That explosive resentment was a far cry from the casual annoyance Hizashi usually saw on Bakugo’s face when they were having a long lecture about diagramming sentences.

Then the word caught him. Explosive.

He thought of Bakugo during training, igniting the nitroglycerin-like sweat that poured off him, and making thundering explosions, loud enough to rattle windows and be heard for miles.

Hizashi’s gaze flicked up to his hearing aids, still at the corner of his desk. English had been a challenge for him because of them. Obviously, learning another language entailed being able to listen to it and pick up the various patterns, words, and grammar rules.

He picked up his pen and tapped it against the desk. Yes, English had been difficult for him, because he’d been deaf since birth. He knew that was the reason.

He could only imagine what it must be like for someone who doesn’t even realize something is wrong yet.

He tapped out a response to Shouta’s last text. I think I know what to do. I’ll explain when you get home. Love you xoxoxo.

Hizashi picked up Bakugo’s blank worksheet. Next to the zero, he wrote, much more lightly, “See me after class.” Then he underlined it. Three times.

------------

Hizashi kept his eyes trained on Bakugo as the rest of the class filed out of the room. He thought it pretty telling when the normally cocky little twerp was trying his damnedest to look everywhere but at him.

Finally, Bakugo stood up from his desk and approached the front of the room, hands deep in his pockets. As he did, Hizashu covertly touched the screen of his phone. The video he had queued up began, and a high-pitched whine filled the room. Even though his headphones cancelled out most of the feedback, it still made him wince as his hearing aids worked overtime to process the frequency. It was irritating, but he’d survive. He needed some proof.

“What do you want?” Bakugo muttered tersely.

Hizashi flicked his gaze down at his student’s pocket, where he’d stuffed the blank homework assignment Hizashi had handed back to him. As if sensing that Hizashi was looking, Bakugo crumpled the paper in his fist and shoved it further down.

“Look, I’ll do the stupid thing again if that’s what you want,” Bakugo said, a bit louder. Hizashi knew the kid was trying to intimidate him. He tried it with literally everyone who even looked at him funny.

Hizashi just sighed quietly and replied, “This isn’t about one assignment, Bakugo. It’s about the last several assignments.”

Very few of his students had ever heard Hizashi use his “authority” voice, as Shouta called it. Hizashi honestly didn’t like using it. Most of the teachers in UA were some form of intimidating, and he didn’t want to be that way. He wanted his students to feel like he was a friend, rather than an authority figure. But that didn’t mean he didn’t know when it was time to straighten up and start putting on a teacher voice.

At least the tone had gotten Bakugo to stop looking at the floor and move his eyes somewhere in Hizashi’s general direction.

“It’s not my fault your class is a waste of my time,” the kid muttered.

“Then you should have no trouble explaining to me why your average score on my homework was an 87% until recently.”

Bakugo didn’t answer at first, but Hizashi could practically see the wheels turning in the kid’s head, trying to offer up some angry response that would hopefully scare this prying teacher off.

The high-frequency playing on Hizashi’s phone droned away. It was starting to make his skin crawl. Bakugo didn’t show any signs that he even noticed it.

“Guess your teaching bored me so much it made me drop a few IQ points,” Bakugo offered up weakly. Once again, his gaze was firmly fixed on the floor.

Hizashi took a deep breath, and said, “Bakugo, how long have you been having problems with your hearing?”

That really got Bakugo’s attention. His red eyes contracted to pinpricks, and he straighten his whole body to look Hizashi square in the face. “What the hell are you talking about?” he shouted. His words echoed through the empty classroom. “I can hear just fine!”

“Uh huh,” Hizashi said, picking up his phone and showing it to Bakugo. “Then why couldn’t you hear this high frequency that’s been going for the past few minutes?”

For a split second, Bakugo looked at Hizashi like he’d slapped him. Then the familiar rage contorted his features again, and he shouted, “You’re a liar! You didn’t have anything playing on that piece of shit!”

Hizashi held the phone out to him. “Check if you don’t believe me. But blow it up, and I’ll have you expelled faster than you can blame Midoriya.”

Bakugo swiped the phone from Hizashi’s hand and looked down at the screen, studied the video of the high frequency. He tapped play on the screen, and instantly, the dreadful noise filled the room again. Hizashi actually flinched a bit at the renewed onslaught.

He watched his student stare in silent confusion at the video for a whole thirty seconds before Bakugo spoke up again. “I...it...this stupid video doesn’t even have any sound,” he grumbled, thrusting the phone back towards Hizashi.

Hizashi took the phone, mercifully muted the video, and stuffed it back into his jacket pocket. “Now, back to my original question: how long have you been having problems with your hearing?”

“I already told you, I don’t have any stupid problems!”

“Then you’re definitely gonna need a better excuse to explain away these half-assed assignments,” Hizashi retorted firmly. A brief flicker of confusion crossed Bakugo’s face, and Hizashi guessed this was the first time a teacher had actually sworn in front of him. Hizashi took advantage of the confusion to add, “I talked with Aizawa and the other teachers. My class is the only one where you pull this stunt. Incidentally, math and literature are classes that don’t revolve around being able to hear what your teacher is talking about very well. Unlike, say, English.”

Bakugo merely growled.

“Maybe you’ve noticed ringing in your ears? Or that sound is fading in and-”

“How many times do I have to tell you?!” Bakugo’s sudden shout filled the room. Those red pinpricks were back on Hizashi, full of fight and fire. He had no doubt that Bakugo’s palms were roughly two seconds from starting to pop. “If you can’t get it past your stupid, gel-encrusted hair and through your thick skull, then maybe you’re to one having problems with your hearing!”

Hizashi couldn’t help it - he started to laugh. He’d been prepared for Bakugo to insult and demean him (the crack about his hair was almost a given), but this was just too good. And the look on the poor kid’s face - torn between unbridled confusion and an animalistic urge to jump the desk separating them and claw Hizashi’s eyes out - only made him laugh harder.

Finally, Bakugo barked, “The hell is so funny?!”

Hizashi simply reached up and slid his headphones off, being sure to turn his head slightly so Bakugo could see the thin wires running from the insert to the black processor behind his ear.

“I kinda hope I’ve got a problem with my hearing,” he said. “Otherwise I paid through the nose for the world’s ugliest jewelry.”

Bakugo didn’t reply. He just kept staring - gaping really - at Hizashi’s ears.

Hizashi set his headphones down on his desk, and said, “I’ve been deaf since I was born, but I’ve only had hearing aids since I was about six. I wasn’t kidding when I said they were expensive.”

No reply.

“The doctor who fitted me with my first pair as a kid told my parents that’s probably why I cried so loud. I literally couldn’t hear myself and stop.”

Still no reply.

“The headphones serve a double purpose. They protect my hearing aids against damage, and have a backup power source for them if the batteries ever die while I’m fighting villains or helping in a rescue.”

Silence.

“Bakugo?”

“...you mean to tell me those stupid headphones you wear actually have a purpose?”

Hizashi laughed out loud. “Excuse you, but those things are the height of fashion and function. At least that’s what Hage pays me to say.”

Was that a flicker of a smile Hizashi saw on Bakugo’s face? He decided not to press his luck by asking. Instead he said, “Now, will you answer my question or not?”

Bakugo chewed his lower lip a bit. Another beat of silence passed, and then he finally grumbled, “A while.”

“I’d ask you why you didn’t say anything sooner, but I already know why.”

“Screw you.”

“So you’ve noticed some symptoms?”

“...yeah. It mostly started as ringing.”

“Started?”

“Yeah, it’s worse now. Now sometimes people will just...cut out when they’re talking to me. If I’m not looking directly at them, I miss what they say.”

“And I’m not gonna ask you to learn lip-reading just to get by in English class. It’s a pain, trust me.”

“You can read lips?”

“Yep. I sign too. Since I went through a chunk of my life not being able to hear anything, it can be a little overwhelming. I sometimes take them out when I’m at home. Or in a boring staff meeting.”

That one actually got Bakugo to laugh. Or snort, really. But at least it was something other than confusion or fury.

Hizashi smiled and said, “But you’ve been able to hear your entire life, and if it’s caught early, you might not need as elaborate a set-up as mine.” He took a business card from his back pocket and held it out to Bakugo. “This is for a woman named Nanama Sakakibara. She’s one of the best audiologists in Japan. I want you to think about seeing her. Also, I’m no doctor, but I’m pretty sure that your explosions are what’s damaging your hearing, so maybe think about hitting up Power Loader for some ear protection in that costume of yours.”

Bakugo gave him a stiff nod, but eyed the card like it might bite him. He flicked his glance back up to Hizashi’s. “Do I have to take it?”

Hizashi’s smile morphed into a cat-like grin, and he said, “No, of course you don’t have to. I can always keep it to give to your mom when I set up an emergency parent-teacher conference to discuss your near-failing English grade.”

Bakugo narrowed his eyes at him, then silently snatched the card from Hizashi’s hand. “You’re a dick,” he grumbled.

Hizashi merely smiled wider and picked up his headphones, sliding them back into place over his ears. He slipped back into his announcer voice and said, “I’m a dick because I care, sparky.” He gave Bakugo a double finger-gun, and added, “Now amscray before Eraser gets suspicious about why you aren’t at training yet.”

Bakugo began to move toward the door. Hizashi found it pretty promising when he didn’t immediately shove the card into his pocket, with his incomplete assignment.

When Bakugo reached the door, he stopped, one hand on the door frame, his shoulders tense and his head ducked down.

A beat of silence.

Then: “Thanks or whatever.”

And suddenly Bakugo was gone.

Hizashi shook his head. The gratitude was more than he’d expected. At least it was better than holes blown in the walls.

[danganronpasenariosuwu]

Some Danganronpa babes confessing to their long-time crushes

Holy shit, I've been very inactive! I'm super-duper sorry! I've been very, very busy, and now that summer is finally here I'll be more active, yay! So, as an apology, I'm going to post my second scenario, and I hope that at least one person actually reads through it! Hopefully, the Danganronpa community isn't dead yet!

Makoto Naegi-

♣Although he had planned for this for weeks, he was still anxiety-filled.

♣This could go two ways, assuming his luck didn't play into it as well. A simple yes or no, it wouldn't hurt him too much, right?

♣Wrong. He wasn't sure what he'd do if you said no, nor if you said yes.

♣He wanted to do it the classic way- confessing to you after school behind a cherry-tree. It had worked for all of those anime characters, why not him?

♣He was observing the tree when you arrived, so his back was to you. He turned around-

♣He tripped, abort mission

♣After a bit of laughing, you helped him back up, and asked him why he wanted to talk, although you thought you knew already.

♣After a bit of stuttering, he managed to get it out.

♣”Y/N, you've been one of my best friends for a long time. No matter what my luck manages to do, you're always there with me to help me up, quite literally! I've liked you for such a long time, and I was wondering if you'd like to go out?” He said, in a very fast pace. You could barely understand him.

♣Whether or not you said yes was up to you, but he hoped that his luck would finally work it's magic.

Byakuya Togami-

♕Honestly, he wasn't too concerned. He figured that his money could help buy you over, since his wealth was clearly one of his best attributes.

♕But, he was too aloof to just ask you in person. And, since he clearly couldn't write his feelings for himself, he asked for help.

♕Specifically, he asked Naegi for help, which in retrospect wasn't the best choice for him.

♕After successfully obtaining the note from Naegi, he sealed it up and signed his name on it.

♕The next day at school, just before class started, he slipped it into your locker, which was convieniently close to his.

♕During class, he was a bit quieter than usual, not bothering to shoo Touko, as his mind was completely focused on you, and how you'd respond.

♕Of course, he hoped you would accept, but he did also realize that he could easily replace you if you said no, though it would pain him a bit.

♕After class was over, you went to your locker to grab your books. A letter fell out.

♕You opened it, and read it through.

♕It read- ‘Dear Y/N. My heart has found its way to you with all my love. I want you and no one else because you mean everything to me. I think we should try and make this work. I hope you know you're the one and only one that I want. You're the perfect friend, and I hope we can and will grow to be more. I could never ask for better than what we already have. I hope you're feeling the same way because my heart is set on you and only you.’

♕You already knew it wasn't in his own words, but you were touched nonetheless. It took you awhile to think about it, but you soon had your answer.

Kyouko Kirigiri-

♢You two had been close for a while, and you had managed to be one of the few lucky people to get to know her.

♢She adored everything about you for quite a while, though it never showed. ♢Since she had recently found out that you both enjoyed the same book series, she figured she could confess through that. ♢You were on the second book, almost done and ready to go onto the third. ♢She had checked it out before you, though, and paid the librarian for the damages she would cause, although small.

♢She flipped through the pages until she found the last one, in which the main character confessed to the love-interest. She underlined the words the character had said, and opened to an empty page which was right after the end. She grabbed a purple ballpoint pen. ♢’Y/N, I’d greatly enjoy it if the two of us could be as close as protagonists in this book. I'm hoping you already know who I am, so you can come and speak with me.’ ♢She closed the book and went back to return it. ♢A few days later, you went to go check out that exact book, and in a week you managed to finish it.

♢However, what caught your attention was the bold underline on the confession. You flipped to the last page and read the note, which was addressed to you, surprisingly.

♢Knowing fully well who it was, you decided to go confront it about her, your answer completely clear to you now.

Hajime Hinata-

☞He was a bit afraid to tell you how he felt. What if you didn't like him back because he was too plain? What if he messed up? ☞So, he asked Chiaki to help him, and she delivered, like any good friend would. ☞After a while of her rambling about a hard dating sim she had heard about, she tried giving him advice. ☞”Well, in dating sims they usually ask them out on a date to their favorite place. Do you know Y/N’s favorite place?”

☞”Their house?” He asked. As if that was a good place to go on a first date. ☞”No, like a restaurant or something.” Chiaki sighed, already getting too tired to deal with this love-retarded boy. ☞”I mean, they like to go to that one park with all the cherry blossom trees..” He thought. ☞After talking to Chiaki for a while, he agreed on asking you out to said park. ☞So, after school one day, he pulled you aside. You looked confused. Your best friend, Mahiru, was waiting for you, since you always walked home together. ☞”Hey, Y/N, I like you a lot, and I was wondering if you'd like to go to the park with me tomorrow?” He silently prayed you said yes. ☞Though it was short, your heart warmed a bit after hearing the confession. You had to give him your decision quick, or Mahiru would get angry, so you thought for a second and spoke.

Nagito Komaeda-

♧He knew you'd say no, it's just that some kids from his class had been pressuring him into telling you. ♧He liked you a lot, and hoped you could be more, but he knew it wouldn't happen because who would love trash like him? ♧Nekomaru had given him a pep talk before he went to tell you, hilariously enough. It mainly consisted of him making Komaeda yell his (and your) name. It embarrassed him even further, his face already tinted red. ♧So, after class one day, he tapped your shoulder in an attempt to get your attention. ♧However, his luck had decided to strike, and once you turned around someone pushed you into his chest, officially making the both of you red faced.

♧He pulled back quickly, and apologized profusely. ♧”Bro, it's okay, it wasn't your fault anyways.” You giggled.

♧”Anyways, there's something I'd like to tell you.” he began, nervously fiddling with his thumbs.

♧”Y/N, I've found myself liking you with a passion that friends shouldn’t have. I know you'll say no, since it's impossible for someone to like trash, but I'd like to ask if you want to go out?” ♧You didn't hesitate to respond, since you've already been thinking about how you'd respond to something like this, and because your second class was about to start. Hopefully you don't put this boy into despair.

Chiaki Nanami-

(Some clarification in this- You're the ultimate game designer in Chiaki’s scenarios) 🎮Sure, Chiaki was good at video games. But there's one genre that's hard for her.

🎮Dating sims. And, because of this, she wasn't too sure about how well she’d be able to confess.

🎮Taking it upon herself to study a bit more, she downloaded a dating sim labeled as ‘Mildly easy’.

🎮After a day or two of attempting to beat it, she stumbled upon a character that eerily resembled you. It's name was (Your name but with some letters swapped). She decided that she had to go that route, since she figured it would help her confess.

🎮It took her about fourteen hours to finish, but the confession at the end made it all worthwhile..

🎮It read, ‘(Your name but with some letters swapped), Ever since I met you I've been endeared to you. From your looks to your personality, I like it all. You're all that I want, and I hope you feel that way too?’ 🎮And, from the way the character responded, Chiaki supposed that the exact same confession should work for you.

🎮So, Chiaki decided to tell you immediately at school tomorrow.

🎮You were walking through the halls until Chiaki walked up to you, looking determined as ever. 🎮She recited the confession, using your name instead of the character’s, and your response was a short, simple giggle. 🎮”Nanami, did you find my dating sim? I knew you'd play it someday!” You smiled, although the girl in front of you was very, very confused. 🎮After having a short laugh, you gave Chiaki your answer, either letting her down immensely or making her day even better.

Shuichi Saihara-

🔎He may or may not have cried while thinking about how you'd respond.

🔎He was obviously too shy to tell you in person, even after Kaede’s inspiring pep-talk. 🔎So, he wrote a letter that conveyed all of his emotions, though it might be a bit long.

🔎It read, ‘Dear Y/N. Every word you confide in me, every wonderful and terrible moment you share with me, melts me inside.

You let yourself be vulnerable with me and trust me beyond my comprehension. I never imagined I would truly find another who I would want to spend so much time with, who could truly touch my life the way you have, even without trying. I look forward to many more special moments together. When I see you, I see my future. This is not just talk. It truly comes from the heart. I am consumed by the desire to be with you, to talk to you and to feel you near me. I want to hold you, talk to you, laugh with you, cry with you. I want to play, walk, dance and just be one with you. I think you could become my everything. I know I want to be everything to you. I love you, Y/N L/N.’ And he signed it at the bottom. 🔎But, last second, he chickened out, leading to Kokichi stealing the letter, reading it and laughing. And Shuichi’s ego deflated even more, if possible. 🔎Kokichi ran up to your locker and put it in for the other boy. 🔎Y’see, Kokichi was a hardcore shipper of you two, and wanted to help- 🔎And so, after class you opened your locker and read it. It made your heartbeat pick up its pace, and your face turn red. 🔎You confronted Shuichi immediately. 🔎If you say yes, he’ll probably cry. If you say no, he’ll probably cry AND become depressed. Good luck. Kokichi Ouma- ♖He isn’t nervous at all. He was SURE you'd like him back. ♖But that's a lie, of course. He was scared. There's a small chance of you liking an asshole like him, so he only had a small amount of certainty. ♖He's not necessarily shy, so he decided to do it in person, since that's the most head-on way to do it. ♖So, like most of the others, he chose to tell you after class. ♖You were walking out of class when you were caught off-guard by him jumping on you. ♖And you fell over, as a result, and you ended up in a weird position in which he was straddling you, and his hands were on your stomach. ♖At this point, there's absolutely NO going back. So, in a state of rushed panic, he suddenly yells out- ♖”Y/N, I LIKE YOU A LOT” ♖And now you're both blushing a deep red. ♖Before you could answer, he gets up and runs away, which surprised you immensely. ♖Now you need to go find a flustered boy and tell him if you like him or not. Good luck with that, and don't die. Kaede Akamatsu- ♬She was DETERMINED. ♬Nothing could stop her now. She was literally on her way to your house right now to go and confess to you. ♬At 2 AM. ♬On a Sunday. ♬But she didn't even care. True love was worth it, right? ♬So, when she burst through your window, effectively breaking the glass and ripping the curtains, you were surprised, to say the least. ♬”Kaede what the FUCK are you doing in my house at 2 AM?” ♬”Y/N I’M HERE TO PROCLAIM MY LOVE FOR YOU” ♬On comes a long, and passion-filled confession. It was so early that you weren't thinking when you responded. You either made a decision that would literally keep you bound to her for life, or make her day horrible and make her gross sob to Shuichi. It all depends on how your dreary form at 2 AM responded.

[ukulelecal]

Biggest Fan pt. 4

In which you’re a famous singer and Calum is a fan of your music.

Warnings: maybe like one swear, but other than that not really

Pairing: Calum Hood x Reader

Requested By: Anonymous originally

“hi can you do a blurb on calum where you’re also famous and u find out he’s interested in you and low key loves your music? shebjdjsj idk jus make it fluffy and ill love u forever”

A/N: another obnoxiously long wait, another part!!!! finally!! we got some cute calum all up in this bitch YEESS im in love with him. sorry its short (well like not super short but shorter than part 3), i wasn’t sure what else could happen without making it extensive for just one part. but give me some feedback, tell me what you thought!! also, do you guys want more parts? i could probably end it here if yall are done with this, but i also have some ideas for some more things that could happen!!! aka i could kill yall with some cuteness!! or make you cry with some angst!! what do you guys think???

Requests are OPEN!

*Gif not mine*

Series Masterlist

Your head was pounding. Your stomach was churning. All the telltale signs of a hangover.

A groan fell from your lips, bringing your hand up to rub your eyes. After they adjusted to the light coming in from the windows, you glanced at the bed next to yours; Cara and Sam were still sleeping soundly. Your eyes then fell on the clock, squinting to see clearly. 12:34 PM. You hadn’t even realized you slept that late.

The occurrences of the previous night were one massive blur. You remembered getting ready to leave and meeting up with Calum and Mali, having a couple shots, but after that? Not much came back to you.

It wasn’t until you picked up your phone, seeing a text from Calum, that perhaps the most significant event of the night finally popped into your head.

You admitted your feelings to Calum. You kissed him.

You weren’t sure if you wanted to smile or punch yourself in the face.

Sure, you had been wanting something like that to happen. But, in a club and being totally wasted wasn’t exactly how you imagined it happening. You couldn’t really complain, though. He liked you back.

He liked you back.

Yeah, you had to smile.

You glanced down at your phone again, actually reading the text that Calum sent you.

Calum: I have to get back on the road later today. I really need to see you again before I go.

You bit your lip softly, typing out a reply.

Y/N: Definitely. Where should we meet up?

You set your phone back down on the nightstand to wait for a reply, and kicked the blankets off of you. Might as well start getting ready if you were going to meet up with Calum. You quietly padded to the bathroom, trying not to wake up Cara and Sam, and glanced in the mirror. Oh, yikes. You had managed to change out of your clothes before crashing in bed, apparently, but neglected to remove your makeup. Your eye makeup was smudged everywhere, and your lipstick was smeared a bit.

Well, that probably wasn’t entirely from sleeping.

You grabbed a makeup wipe and cleaned everything off, then thoroughly washed your face. From outside the bathroom, you heard your phone vibrate, and you quickly scurried out to check. There was another text from Calum.

Calum: You can come to my hotel, if that’s okay. I’ll take you back to yours on my way to the airport after.

Y/N: Sounds good, Cal

He proceeded to send you the name of the hotel and his room number, and you scurried over to your suitcase to get some clothes. You decided on something cute but casual, just for a meet up. A pair of mom jeans, and a simple white t-shirt tucked in.

As you went about your morning routine, you pondered exactly what you and Calum were going to talk about. The night before was inevitably going to come up, but that conversation could go in many different directions. You weren’t sure exactly how it would turn out.

Still, you meant every word you had said. You liked him a lot. Although your time together in person was limited, you texted and Skyped him a lot and got to know him very well. You fell for him from miles away.

After you finished getting ready, making yourself look as presentable as possible being quite hungover, you shook Cara and Sam awake, earning tired groans in response.

“You can go back to sleep if you want,” you chuckled. “Just wanted to let you know I’m going to go see Calum for a bit. I shouldn’t be too long.”

Cara grumbled something incoherent and buried her head deeper into the pillows. Rolling your eyes, you reached for the pad of paper and pen that hotels provided, and wrote out a quick note. Chances were, neither of them were going to remember a thing you said, if they even heard you at all.

You slipped on some shoes, grabbed your phone and room key, and headed out the door.

On the way down to the lobby, you put the address to Calum’s hotel into your phone to see how far it was. Turns out, it wasn’t far at all, only a couple blocks away. You decided against calling an Uber; you could walk.

You turned left out of your hotel and started your walk. It went by quickly and uneventfully, and you soon found yourself in the lobby of the hotel Calum was staying at. You headed towards the elevators and went up to the sixth floor, where he had said his room was. You then followed the signs to room 659.

Taking a deep breath, you gently rapped on the door. It opened a couple moments later to reveal Calum dressed in black joggers and a green hoodie with the word “empathy” printed across the front.

“Hey,” he said, a sleepy grin resting on his face. You could tell by the dark circles under his eyes and the disastrous state of his hair, that he was feeling the effects of a hangover as well.

“Hi,” you replied, and he stepped to the side to let you in. Letting the door fall shut behind you, he gestured to the bed, sheets wrinkled and messy from a night of sleep, for you to sit. You gingerly plopped yourself down on the edge, and Calum did the same next to you.

“So, um, have you seen the pictures?” Calum asked, scratching the back of his head as he turned to look at you, face slightly scrunched up. You furrowed your eyebrows at the question.

“What pictures?” You asked, confused. The only thing you had done on your phone was text Calum, not check social media. He sighed and grabbed his phone that was resting on his pile of pillows, and unlocked it; you didn’t want to be nosy, but you couldn’t help but notice that his lockscreen was a photo of his dog, Duke. He had shown you pictures of him when you were in Paris. You smiled a little. Hopefully you’d get to meet the little guy.

Then the familiar blue of Twitter appeared on his screen, and Calum used his thumb to scroll until he found what he was looking for. He clicked on a picture and handed you his phone to see.

Your heart dropped in your stomach a bit as you swiped through the many.

The pictures were all of you and Calum at the club. You were used to having your picture taken when you were just trying to do normal things or have fun, but these weren’t exactly the same. There were a couple of you and him dancing, but the majority were of you and him kissing.

It was those that made you slightly uncomfortable. Calum had you pinned against the wall, hands gripping your hips and your arms thrown around his neck, having a sloppy makeout session. That wasn’t the type of picture you wanted of yourself getting spread around the Internet.

“Oh,” you breathed out softly. Wordlessly, you handed Calum his phone back, gently taking your bottom lip between your teeth.

“I know,” he sighed, tossing the electronic back on the pillows. “I wish they would just leave us alone, you know?”

“Yeah.” It was normal for you to be scrolling through Twitter and suddenly find a picture of yourself walking down the street, getting into your car, having lunch with a friend. It definitely did get pretty annoying. “What are people saying about them?”

Calum sighed again, fiddling with the rings on his fingers.

“Similar things to what they said about the Paris pictures,” he began. “There were more of them that weren’t so nice, I guess.”

“Of course,” you grumbled under your breath, more to yourself rather than Calum. Another thing you were, unfortunately, used to was hate on the Internet. You had seen it all; jabs at your music, your appearance, your clothes, your personality. Most of the time, you tried not to even read it, ignore it the best you could, but curiosity got the best of you every once in a while. Nonetheless, you tried not to let it bother you. “What are we going to do, then?”

Calum hesitated before answering.

“I’m not sure what there is to do. Just don’t acknowledge it, I guess.”

You weren’t sure why you felt a wave of disappointment wash over you.

“And, about last night…” Calum continued, voice trailing off. Your eyes widened a bit.

This had been what you really wanted to talk about. You knew what you were hoping for him to say, but there was always the possibility that he could take it back. Tell you he was drunk and it didn’t mean anything. That you should just keep being friends.

“Did you mean what you said?” He asked, voice soft, and you could hear the slightest shake in his voice. A small smile graced your features.

“Of course I meant it,” you replied, just above a whisper. “I really do like you, a lot.”

Calum smiled, and your smile grew to match his.

“Did you?” You questioned, letting your head fall daintily to the side. Calum chuckled.

“Every word.”

He suddenly stood up, reaching his hand out. You gingerly grabbed it, letting him pull you to your feet and close to him. Looking up to meet his gaze, you found his brown eyes boring into you, and you felt your heart flutter.

Those damn eyes got you every time.

“I don’t think we had a very proper kiss last night,” he mused, running his thumb over your hands that were held between the two of you. “C-Can I kiss you again?”

Calum was mentally cursing himself for stuttering, but you were nodding and smiling fondly up at him, already starting to slowly lean in. He moved his hands to cup your cheeks, closing the distance between you.

This was more like the romantic first kiss you had imagined.

Your hands found his shoulders, letting them rest there.

Your heart was pounding. You were weak in the knees. You were wrapped around his finger.

He felt the same. Ever since he met you in Chicago, he knew you were special. It was a leap of faith for him to tweet you that day, so long ago, and he about died when you replied. He couldn’t be more glad.

The kiss eventually broke, and you stayed with your foreheads resting against each other, dazed smiles on both of your faces. Before either of you had the chance to say anything, Calum’s phone rang from where it sat on the bed. Of course, something had to ruin the moment.

He sighed heavily, mumbling out an apology before reaching for it.

After he hit decline to whoever was calling him, he tossed it down and reached for your hands again.

“I have to leave for my flight,” he sighed, almost sounding upset that he had to go. As much as you wanted to have more time with him, more than just these few minutes, you knew he had a tour to get back to.

“Okay,” you replied, giving his hands a light squeeze. “I can walk back to my hotel.”

“Are you sure? I can ask my driver to drop you off on the way.” You shook your head. “No, don’t worry about it. I’m only a couple blocks away.”

He nodded, pulling you in for a hug. You breathed out deeply as you wrapped your arms around his torso, taking in his scent. You knew it would be a while before you saw each other again, maybe not even until after he finished the North American leg of his tour, which was the last one.

You just didn’t want to leave him.

“Text me later, okay?” You mumbled into his chest, eyes unintentionally falling shut.

“Definitely.”

You pulled away from the hug, looking up at him with a grin.

“Bye, Calum.”

“Bye, Y/N.”

Hesitantly, you removed yourselves from each other grasps, and Calum walked you to the door.

Just as you stepped foot into the hallway, Calum grabbed your wrist and spun you around.

“One more,” he breathed out, pulling you in for another kiss. You melted into it. How was a simple kiss so heavenly?

“Now I’m good,” he chuckled when he pulled away, and you couldn’t help but laugh a little as well. You bid your final goodbyes, and before you knew it, you were on your way back to your hotel.

…

After you returned and relayed every single detail of what happened onto the finally awake Cara and Sam, you decided to spend the day relaxing by the pool.

You were laying out on your chair, catching some California sun, when the thought came to you; you and Calum for sure liked each other, but nothing ever became official. What were you?

You wanted to wait, didn’t want to seem desperate, but it was nagging you. Did shared feelings and a few kisses mean you were together? Official? Unofficial?

Letting out a deep breath, you reached for your phone, typing a simple, straightforward text out to Calum.

Y/N: Cal? What are we?

You weren’t expecting a reply right away, assuming he was probably on the plane, but much to your surprise, you got one just a few minutes later.

Calum: I mean, I kind of wanted to ask you this in person, but that depends on how you answer this question

The typing bubbles appeared, signalling he was still typing. You bit your lip as your heart pounded in your chest. The next text couldn’t come soon enough.

Calum: Would you like to be my girlfriend, Y/N?

And everything suddenly seemed like it fell into place.

Y/N: I would love to be your girlfriend, Calum. And I would love for you to be my boyfriend

Calum: You’re fucking adorable. I wish I was there to kiss you right now

You giggled a little, covering your mouth with your hand.

Y/N: Can’t wait until I see you again so we can do boyfriend-girlfriend things like kissing xo

Calum: Soon, just a few weeks left. I’m boarding now, I’ll call you later, ok?

Y/N: Ok. Have a safe flight!

His response was a few heart emojis, and you locked your phone. There was no way in hell you could wipe the smile off your face.

It was official. Boyfriend-girlfriend official.

“What’s got you smiling like that?” Cara asked, returning with Sam from the bar where they had been getting drinks. You giggled, covering your face with your hands.

“He asked me out,” you mumbled from behind your hands, earning excited squeals from your friends.

“Now we can like, go on double dates and stuff!”

You laughed at the comment from Sam, finally removing your hands from your face.

It was surreal, but it was happening. After he tweeted you never thought you’d end up dating. After Chicago, it was a thought in your mind. After Paris, you wanted it. Now, here you were.

[doseofheroes]

Stalling

Summary: When Bucky is injured in the woods, he comes across a small cabin.

Words: 4072 (wtf)

Pair: bucky x reader

Warnings: violence, swearing

A/n: it is literally my first time writing anything besides a paper for school so sorry for how terrible it is but I had the idea and wanted to try! Also learnt the hard way about formatting so hopefully its somewhat coherent. Also also I wrote it in a night on my phone... Idk if literally anyone will read this but im kinda happy with how it turned out so enjoy!

When you moved out to the middle of nowhere a couple of months ago you knew you were just stalling. After graduating university four quick years later you were no more sure of what you wanted to do now then when you started. So yes, time off to be alone and think for yourself was a stall tactic, but doesn’t mean it was the wrong move right?

The first couple of weeks were peaceful. You were in a small cabin you rented off airbnb located somewhere on the outer edge of the ** forest. Snow fell as slowly creating a fresh layer as you sat inside cozied up with a blanket and some tea reading by the fire. A clichè but still nice.

You made yourself some pasta for dinner and listened to some old Amy Whinehouse tunes. Cleaning up the dishes you decided to call it an early night and went to bed. Little did you know what or rather who would show up at your door that night.

==============================

Bucky and Natasha had set out on mission to the depths of the ** forest where a known hydra base was located. Their job was to only collect intel for now so they could make a proper plan and bring back the group for execution. The base had turned out to be much larger than they had anticipated counting over 250 hydra agents working on the base so far.

“How the hell are we just getting wind of this now?” Bucky stared at the base in confusion.

“Somethings not right. We should’ve heard about this one when we took out the others.” Nat said sharing a concerned look with Bucky.

“We shouldn’t go any further until we get the others” Nat said as she started to pack up.

“We need to figure out what the deal is here” Bucky started “we can’t leave yet.”

“Bucky, there are 250 of them and 2 of us. I know we’re a little above average but thats a bit overkill. No pun intended.”

Bucky smirked at her attempt at humour but there was no way he was leaving just yet. He felt something was off and he wanted to know what. “I’ll do a quick look around. In and out. No contact”

“Bucky, no. Dont be stupid. I get it, but lets not do something we’ll regret. I’m calling this in, i’ll let them know were heading back.”

Bucky sits silently for a second and notices she’s looking for his agreement. He nods.

As Nat trails back to get a signal Bucky turns back to look at the base. “What are you up to...” he says to himself as he looks around. Thats when he sees it. The ever so familiar blue liquid. Fuck he thinks to himself. Theyre trying again...more super soldiers...more....me. His mind flashes back to his hydra days and all the stuff they made him do. This can’t happen.

Against all better judgement he looks back at Nat who is still facing away and starts to descend down the rocks towards the base. He just needs to get the suitcase filled with the serum and get out.

Reaching the outer gates he looks around to make his plan. Thats when all hell brakes loose. A guard patrolling the fence line spots him and starts to yell. Bucky runs over to take him out before anyone notices but it’s too late. Next thing he knows hes taking on an army of hydra agents, shots flying. Nat hears the commotion and turns around. “I don’t believe this.” She says into her comms. She’s about to start the descent when she realizes its too late. Bucky’s down. They’ve got him. This just became a rescue mission.

==============================

Bucky slowly comes to and tries to rub his face but soon realizes he is restrained. Taking in his surroundings he tries not to let panic set in as he looks around the room of the hydra base. Everyone is silently staring at him now that he’s awake. One of the men mutters something to a nurse and she leaves the room. The door bursts open a minute later and in comes a tall thin man with a lab coat. “Hello Mr Barnes. This is a pleasant surprise.” Bucky says nothing but gives the man a blank stare. “I see, the strong but silent type. Well your timing is opportune for us Mr Barnes. you see, we are finally creating our own little army of, well, you to be blunt, and I think you can give me the answers to the questions that remain.” Bucky stays silent not letting his panic show. The doctor doesn’t say much more telling the nurses to start the work up. They start collecting blood samples.

Bucky knows he doesn’t have long before this gets real bad so he starts to form his escape plan in his head. The restraints do not feel like they will be too difficult to break out of, its the building he is unsure of, having been unconscious when they brought him in. I guess we’re gonna wing it he thinks to himself.

Once the nurses clear and all the guards leave except the two at the door, Bucky knows its time. He breaks out of the restraints easily, as he suspected. He knocks on the door and the two guards turn around, eyes widening with realization. They start yelling as he bursts through the door knocking them both out.

As he makes his way through the building things are getting worse and worse. Thats when he sees the doctor, face not of fear, but perhaps interest? Bucky keeps making his way out when he sees a guy blocking the door. He takes a good look at him and he realizes. Shit. This is no regular soldier.

He starts swinging and while he is holding his own, he is still taking quite the beating. I just have to get out he thinks. The soldier now has a rifle. great. Using his arm to deflect the shots he runs full force to take him down but takes a hit in his side. Bucky grunts as the shot stings but the soldier pulls out a knife and Bucky rolls in a near miss.

Ducking and dodging Bucky reminds himself he’s not here to fight, he just needs to get out. He turns and makes a run for it, and is almost home free when he feels a sharp pain in his shoulder and is knocked down. He turns his head to see the knife sticking out of his back. Pulling it out slowly Bucky cringes at the pain but the soldier is already walking back to him.

A knife fight ensues as Bucky desperately tries to stave him off. A realization comes to Bucky. I gotta take the hit to leave. Bucky slows his movements and he feels the knife go straight into his chest. Screaming in pain bucky pulls out the knife almost regretting that, but now, with both knives in his hand he is able to make a run for it throwing the final two knives hitting the soldier twice as he makes his escape.

==============================

Bucky is out of breath and losing feeling as his body tries to recover from the two stab wounds and the shot. He needs to find a safe place to get the bullet out.

After wandering for a few miles Bucky smells smoke. That’s when he sees it. A house...out here? He checks the perimeter for any signs of hyrda or that someone is living there. There is a car in the driveway but no signs point to hydra. He takes the risk and starts to bang on the door.

What the fuck? You think to yourself as you slowly wake up to a loud noise. Fear sets in when you realize someone is banging on your door. You sit in bed waiting for a few minutes hoping they will go away. When the knocking doesn’t subside you decide to go down and check out who it is. God this is stupid, you’ve seen horror movies y/n!!

You look through the doors peephole and thats when you see him. Its dark out so you can’t make out much but you can tell he is handsome. Really y/n? A stranger is knocking on your door in the middle of nowhere at 2 am and you think ‘ooh he’s handsome’?! You mentally scold yourself. Thats when you notice he is clutching his chest.

“Please. I know you’re there. I can hear you. I just need some help and I will leave. I mean you no harm” please for the love of god let me in Bucky thinks to himself.

You are terrified but he looks really hurt. This is a bad idea...you think to yourself but unlock the door anyway.

Bucky perks up at the noise and the door opens slowly. Buckys eyes look up to you and he stares for a second. “Can I come in, please?” He says softly.

“Oh yes sorry!” You say as you let him in, adrenaline rushing. He walks inside slowly looking around before heading to the kitchen. You go to turn on the lights and flick them on before he has time to yell “Dont!” But its too late. You gasp as you take in his injuries and blood soaked clothes.

You look up to his face. “Please, turn them off” he says firmly but quietly. You do as he says. He has the most beautiful blue eyes you think before being kicked back to reality.

“Are you- are you o-okay?” You ask voice shaky. He stays silent. “Well you’re obviously not okay...but do you need...how can I help you? Should I call the police? You should really-“

“Im fine, no need to call anyone” he says cutting you off. “Do you have a towel or something?” You sit there frozen for a few seconds before you spring into action. You disappear upstairs for a few minutes. Bucky takes a deep breath after you leave trying to reorganize his thoughts. The moment he saw your face he forgot, even just for a moment, why he was there in the first place. You had such a calming presence even though you were clearly panicked. You came back arms full with anything you thought could be remotely useful. First aid kit, towels, and a sewing kit you didn’t know you had until now among other things. As you head back to the kitchen you almost drop everything as the man stands shirtless in front of you. You regain composure placing everything on the counter pretending not to see the man smirk.

“I’m going to need you to take the bullet out.” He deadpans. “What?!” You choke out almost laughing at the thought. “I can’t reach it with my other injuries....” he trails off seeing the panicked look on your face “you know what don’t worry about it I think I can manage” A wave of relief floods over you at his words but as he goes to sit you see him wince and you know he was lying for your benefit. Be strong y/n you can do this, you are a strong independent woman “ I can do it. I can take it out. You’re clearly not okay.” Bucky is about to protest but stops when he feels another wave of pain. He nods at you and sterilizes the tweezers before handing them to you. You grab them reluctantly but give him a small smile. He doesn’t know why but that small action gives him enough comfort he thinks he might just be ok. “Okay here goes nothing” you say as he exhale deeply and stick the tweezers in. Bucky grips the counter top and groans. “Im so sorry!” You quickly retreat from your real life game of operation. “No I’m fine keep going” he says and gives you a reassuring smile. “So..” you try to think of some conversation to keep his mind elsewhere. “Do you like cats?” Oh my god bitch are you for real, you are gonna die alone. You clear your throat awkwardly, too late to back out of this conversation. He cracks a smile at your clear embarrassment but answers your question. “Um Ive never had one but I dont mind them I guess. More of a dog person I think” she nods. “Are you...a cat person?” Yikes this is awkward Bucky thinks to himself. But he kind of likes awkward with you. “ Im in animal person in general. Love them all.” You say half focused on the conversation half focused on his side. You try not to let your eyes wander to his abs...and that chest.. ugh is this a man or a god and thats when you realized you had stopped moving and he was staring at you....staring at him. Your eyes quickly dart away and your face heats up at being so blatantly caught enjoying the view. He chuckles and you quickly change the subject. “So care to explain any of this or are you just going to bleed all over my kitchen?” You say almost defensively trying to hide your embarrassment. Bucky stiffens a little. “Are you going to find the bullet or just stare at me all night?” He says half joking, avoiding the question. “I think” you say before grabbing onto the bullet finally and pulling it out quickly. Bucky winces. “that you are avoiding the question” you finish. “You know me so well already!” He states pouring some alcohol over the wound, wincing again. “Here. Stay still.” You say ready to stitch it up. “You’ve really accepted the nurse role” he says smirking “I appreciate it.” He finished more seriously. You smile back. God he loved that smile. Get yourself together barnes, it’s just a pretty girl. “Wait you’re not actually a nurse are you?” He asks suspiciously.You laugh at the accusation. “No. I’m nothing.” Wow way to spill all you life problems in one depressing sentence y/n!! Ughhh why can’t I talk to men. Well when they look this good...”What do you mean?” He asks ignoring the pain of your amateur stitches. Definitely not a nurse...“I just meant I haven’t decided what I am going to do, or be yet...thats all” you give him a weak smile and he nods in understanding. “You want me to do the others?” You point to his stab wounds. casual. “Uh sure, if you dont mind. Thanks” You nod again and begin working. You sit in silence for a bit before something occurs to Bucky. He didn’t kill that solider...they’ll be looking for him...and he may have led them right here to you. You feel Bucky tense and he begins to look around. “Whats wrong?” You ask suddenly nervous again. Wait when did you stop being nervous? “Nothing” he said quickly. “Well sit still im almost done” you say and he nods. You finish the last stitch and sit up.

“There all done! I cannot believe I just did that” You begin to smile but it quickly fades as Bucky immediately stands up and puts his shirt back on. A confused look grows on your face which quickly turns to fear as Bucky starts pulling out your kitchen knives and shoving them in his belt. He grabs your hand and starts to drag you upstairs “come with me”. You follow.

Once upstairs he looks around before opening the closet door. “Uhhh what are you doing” you say ignoring the feeling you get when he grabs your hips and moves you into the closet. “They must have followed me. Stay in here and don’t make a noise. Dont leave until I come get you.” You stare at him waiting for your brain to catch up. “Do you understand? Not a word.” You nod slowly. “You will be okay. I won’t let anyone hurt you I promise.” He turns to leave then pauses. “Im Bucky by the way.” “Y/n” you reply weakly. With that he smiles then closes the door and you hear his footsteps walk back downstairs. You sit in silence the only noise being your heavy breaths for a few minutes before you hear glass smash. Bucky takes in his surroundings, five agents, all heavily armed but no super solider. That can’t be good. He takes them down one by one with ease mentally apologizing for everything he’s breaking in your home. Once the last agent is down he steps outside and listens for more. He can hear them every so slightly which means they can’t be more than a mile away. He needs to get you out of there, you’re sitting ducks.

He runs back inside and grabs your car keys before heading upstairs to retrieve you. He swings open the closet door and you let out a scream and start kicking. “Hey hey its me!” You look up and realize your safe. “Sorry...wh-what happened?” “We need to leave. I got your keys, leave everything here, stay behind me” You get up slowly and nod sticking closely behind him. He walks slowly and quietly down the stairs then pauses. Oh fu- Buckys thoughts get cut off as he ducks to avoid the super soldiers hand swinging at his head. Ho. Ly. Shit. You think watching Bucky expertly fight what looks like a man but appears to have the strength of an elephant. You hide behind a wall peering around to watch when it hits you. Super strong men...bullets...bucky...im in an airbnb with the winter soldier. The realization hits you like a truck and you turn around stunned. You catch your breath and begin to watch again. Fear settles in all over when you see the soldier choking the life out of Bucky. Without thinking you grab a knife from the floor run over and stab him in the back. The soldier loosens his grip just enough for Bucky to break free and snaps the guys neck before he has a chance to grab you. “Thanks...” he huffs out holding his neck “we have to move” He grabs your arm and takes you out to the car. You both get inside and Bucky just starts driving.

==============================

The drive is mostly silence as you try and process what is happening and Bucky tries to figure out what to say. “You don’t have a phone on you do you?” He asks. “No..uh you told me not to grab anything” “Right” More silence. I have to say something Bucky decides. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this. I wasn’t thinking straight and I-“ “You’re the winter soldier aren’t you?” You cut him off. Oh god. Bucky thought this couldn’t get worse, she called me the winter soldier, shes afraid. “I am- or was” He doesn’t know how else to say it without going off. You sit there for a minute in silence. “Ok” is all you say. Bucky looks at you in surprise. “Ok?” “Yeah, ok” you repeat. With that you shift in your seat and nod off. Ok...Bucky repeats this over and over in his head as he drives back to the compound.

==============================

“So..they’re going to be angry with me...just as a heads up.” Bucky says to you as you arrive at the compound. “What? Aren’t you the one who is injured and missing?” “Well, yes, but it’s my fault. I was reckless and I put everyone in danger. Including you. Im sorry.” Bucky suddenly felt even more guilty in remembering that you were now dragged into this too. “It’s okay, honestly, I’m just glad your okay” you said with a smile. It was true. Yes, you were scared shitless at the time but you’re not going to pretend you weren’t psyched to have met Bucky and soon the avengers! Plus..you were going stir crazy in that cabin... oh the cabin...there goes my deposit. Bucky smiled back and got out of the car. You followed him all the way through the front doors to the elevator and down the hall admiring the building around you. This is a Stark building all right...

Bucky slowed and you could hear the avengers in on the other side of the door discussing. He steps inside and stops. “Hey guys” they all whip their heads around to stare at Bucky. Smooth. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU IDIOT!” You hear a female voice. They all proceed to start yelling at him over one another. “Guys....guys...GUYS” Bucky yells finally prompting them to stop. He steps aside and you figure thats your cue so you enter the room. “Hello” you say awkwardly waving to everyone. They all stare at you then back at him. “Who is this?” Tony friggen stark asks Bucky. “When I escaped i was injured and I came across her house. She stitched me up but they followed me so we took her car and well... here we are!” “Buck, we went in to get you and you weren’t there. What happened?” Oh my goddddd captain america!!!! Neutral face y/n, neutral face, be cool. “I broke out about 30 minutes after I was...taken in... but they had a super soldier of their own. Barely got out of there with a bullet hole and two stab wounds.” Bucky says nonchalantly. Your eyes widen at the implications of his story. For some reason your brain forgot something happened before he showed up at your door. Dude was shot and stabbed twice! What the fuck! “And you coincidentally live up in a cabin in the woods alone near a hydra base?” Tony says to you receiving a glare from Bucky. “Wha- hydra base?- no, I rented that cabin, its an airbnb, I was just staying there for a few months” you say, looking around for confirmation that they believe you. They look at each other skeptically. “She stabbed the super soldier to save me- do I really have to say this?” Bucky tries to defend you. “Hey, look, I should just go home, I don’t mean to cause any trouble” you say suddenly feeling how tired you were. “I’m sorry, but they might have seen you, I can’t let you go home until this is cleared up.” Bucky says sympathetically. Your eyes widen at this statement. You look around at the other faces and your fears are confirmed. “He’s right. We need to figure out what their plan is...and no offence..but who you are.” Steve says earning another glare from bucky. You think about this for a moment. I guess I would be skeptical too... plus staying here wouldn’t be so bad...“Alright. Fair enough.” You say shrugging. Buckys face looks surprised but then relieved. In fact they all look relieved.“Well all right sergeant, show the lady to her room” Tony says grinning at Bucky. With that you follow Bucky through the building.

==============================

When you and Bucky finally reach your new room you can tell he wants to say something. “Im so so-“ “thanks f-“ You both speak at the same time. “You first” you say, giggling.Buckys heart clenches at the sound. ”Look, im just really sorry about all of this, I don’t know how to make it up to you.” You can see the guilt on his face. You want to wipe it away with your hands..mouth... god y/n, you sad little daydreamer. “Really truly, its okay. If it were to be anyone I’m glad its me, I was literally in the middle of doing nothing” you say laughing. “But I know how you can make it up to me” you say smiling. “How, anything” he says, face lighting up, not letting his mind go to the places her statement suggested. My first choice would be to for you to push me up against this door and make out with me buuuut... “give me a tour of this place tomorrow?” You say, the confidence of your subconscious not quite reaching your mouth. “Deal” he says nodding. His eyes linger over you for too long before he notices you stifling a yawn. “Sorry, youve had a long night, I’ll let you sleep. See you tomorrow.” “Tomorrow” you say smiling as he leaves the room. Left alone in this strange place, your thoughts swirl on only one thing, or should you say only one man.

=================================

To be continued?

Comments appreciated :)

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 142: HHAH!! *GRUNT* *PUNCHING NOISES*

Previously on BnHA: Tamaki faced off against three villains on his own. At first he managed to keep them at bay by generating a bunch of giant kraken arms, which was badass. But then it turned out one of the villains had an eating quirk and just kept eating the damn arms like fucking Gluttony or Monkey D. Luffy or something. The other two villains worked together to beat Tamaki up, but then Tamaki neutralized one of their quirks and fucking absorbed the other one’s quirk and used it against him. Needless to say, he beat them, and it was pretty cool, although I’m not quite sure it was cool enough to warrant an entire chapter being devoted to it, but what are you gonna do. We’re moving on now anyway, so that’s that.

Today on BnHA: Tamaki passes out after winning his fight. We cut back to the rest of the heroes as they make their way down the neverending corridor. Mimic starts messing with the walls again and tries to crush Aizawa, but Fat Gum knocks him out of the way and takes the hit for him. At this point things become very jumbled, but basically FG and Kirishima end up separated from the rest of the group, and find themselves in a pit somewhere with two new villains. One of the villains is a big guy who likes punching shit, and the other is a Buddhist monk who likes to stand around and do absolutely nothing at all. The punching guy punches FG and Kiri a bunch, and Kiri has trouble withstanding it even with his quirk. FG yells at him to not give up and to maintain his will to fight no matter what. He and Kiri face the bad guys in determination and are all “we’re gonna punch ‘em some more, goddammit.”

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 175 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

all right kids. it’s been two weeks since I last read a chapter. I just did a quick refresher of the past dozen chapters or so, partly to remind myself of everything that was going on, and partly to remind myself of all the cool things that have happened in this arc. it kinda helped. somewhat

Tamaki’s fight didn’t really drag on that much. it was just two chapters. it felt like an eternity -- despite the fact that I actually like Tamaki a lot -- but it really wasn’t that long

and yeah, it’s been like four chapters since they started this raid, and all they’ve basically done so far is run down a few hallways. but I feel like things have to pick up soon, so we’re going to press on

BnHA got the Jump cover again! hopefully that means things are about to get exciting

ooh and there’s a color page too

basically, now that he’s finished beating these three assholes, he’s dosed them with a bit of poison to keep them in check, and now he is passing out. shit

also, “that was far more trouble than it should have been” is one of the more accurate summaries I’ve read in some time

so now we’re finally getting back to our badass 1-A boys! yesssss. I missed you lunkheads

I kinda just want the rest of the arc to be them busting through wall after wall of the labyrinth until they finally catch up to where Mirio is. then Aizawa neutralizes Overhaul’s quirk and they knock him out and rescue Eri and everything is happy and good again. and Nighteye announces that All Might is not going to die after all, and it turns out this whole time he was just misremembering an old cliffhanger episode of the canon All Might anime. and they all live happily ever after etc. etc.

(ETA: you know that anon ask about what I’d change about this arc? scratch everything I wrote in response to that. pencil this in. done and done)

but SOMETHING TELLS ME this is not going to happen

all right, so we’re back in the ol’ villain labyrinth

I’m having so much trouble spelling the word ‘labyrinth.’ I keep mixing up where the y and the i are supposed to go. stupid English language

what the fuck is this title

lol wtf

(ETA: now that I know the meaning of this title, I simultaneously have new respect for the title itself, and new exasperation towards Horikoshi for somehow still failing to see the problem with this extremely dull matchup. listen dude. no one fucking cares if “defense wins championships.” I’m just a poor soul trying to stay awake during panel after panel of blurry punching action. please never do this to us again)

Kirishima’s all “is senpai gonna be okay”, and no one fucking knows, Kiri

but no. he’s not. why on earth did you all leave him. whatever

FG is annoyed that they’re doubting Tamaki

um, no, this is the kind of stupid policy that this series has so far done its best to avoid. in fact, FG, I’ll see your point and raise you one “a true hero offers help even when it’s not asked for”, which is almost the exact opposite of what you’re saying. so WHAT IS THE TRUTH

oh my god Kirishima is immediately doing a 180 from being worried about Tamaki to being all “HE’LL BE FINE”

so am I to understand that you can get Kirishima to say or do anything just by implying that it is or isn’t manly

...actually, yeah, that checks out

so Kiri is fiercely saying that he’s still worried, but he has no choice but to believe in him

meanwhile Rock Lock, whose name was actually mentioned back in like chapter 138 but I missed it but I picked up on it when I went back to refresh my memory, is being annoyed by their enthusiasm. yet again

I feel like Rock Lock actually loves these kids now. right? they’re so fucking lovable. how can you not

(ETA: everyone gives in to class A’s charms eventually)

so now they’ve found some stairs and they’re all “let’s take these stairs”

but then they’re like “maybe we shouldn’t take these stairs”

this kind of indecisive bullshit is exactly why this arc has taken 500 chapters so far you guys. come the fuck on already

Aizawa is suspicious because wth happened to that guy who was manipulating the corridors before

well wasn’t he high af though? so maybe the quirk enhancing drug just wore off and he passed out?

Aizawa is speculating that his range might be limited and he can’t sense them all the way over here. or maybe he’s distracted by the other guys who were still fighting him earlier

I’m tired of trying to sum this all up so I’m just gonna post it

this is the room where Tamaki just finished kicking these guys’ asses. oh shit

now Irinaka’s eye is peeking out, and he’s all mad that the three of them lost to just one guy

and now for some reason we’re cutting back to where Bubble Girl and Captain Cockroach (I forget his name. but it was basically something like that) are restraining the villains who they previously stayed behind to battle

they’re questioning why the villains who were in hiding came out of the woodworks to attack them when they could have potentially gotten away if they’d just stayed put

but one of the villains says that if they’d done that, “Overhaul would have our heads”

this is why I don’t really understand villains like that last bunch who are so fucking loyal to a guy who clearly could not give less of a shit about them

and it seems like most of the current Eights are more loyal to the previous boss than to Overhaul

clearly the previous boss should have picked a 13-year-old peace-loving suburban Japanese kid to be his next heir rather than Chisaki. this is what happens when you don’t have Reborn around

anyway, even though these guys are all complaining about Overhaul, they’re all certain that the heroes aren’t going to succeed in capturing him

-- WHAT IN THE

DID A GIANT BATTERING RAM THING JUST EXPLODE OUT OF THE WALL AND SLAM INTO AIZAWA BECAUSE HOLY SHIT?!

AND NOW IT’S MAKING A HOLE IN THE WALL AND SHOVING AIZAWA INTO IT SHIIIIIT

LEAVE AIZAWA ALONE FOR ONCE, HE NEVER GETS TO DO ANYTHING IN THESE ARCS. LET HIM KICK SOME ASS

Fat Gum is tackling the giant wall hand and knocking Aizawa away from it!

so now Fat Gum has been punted through the hole in the wall instead

I’m relieved Aizawa is still with the kids, but we’re staying with FG, and I s2g if we have to spend another two chapters away from the protagonist watching characters who -- as lovable as they are -- we’d never even met before the start of this arc, I’m not gonna be super happy

-- OH MY GOD

KIRI YOU BLOCKHEAD WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE

motherfucker, he jumped in to take the hit for Aizawa too and then Fat Gum obliviously jumped in behind him and Kiri got sucked in and FG didn’t even realize

well this is just fucking great

so now some guy is emerging from the shadows ready to have fisticuffs!

and Kiri is going into Unbreakable mode again!

should you really be using your trump card right away like that. the trump card which you can only hold for a very short amount of time

um what in the

I’m not really enjoying how blurry and indistinct and difficult-to-follow these action panels have been getting as of late. it’s starting to feel like this series is finally entering a sophomore slump. get it together BnHA, c’mon

anyway, this guy looks to be punching Fat Gum really hard and possibly repeatedly. kind of like when All Might fought the Noumu at USJ

hmm

honestly it sounds like this guy was born to fight Kirishima in an epic showdown

“people oughta kill each other using just the power they got in their bodies” oh, you wacky Honorable Villains. you guys are always all over the place

FG’s turning to Kirishima, but OH SHIT

relax, I’m sure he’s fine though

ah, yes, good

this is probably gonna look really cool in the anime which will make up for this panel being something of a blurry mess right now

(ETA: just to clarify, when I originally read this chapter, I wound up with FA’s original scanlation which was significantly lower in quality. I’ve since found their version 2.0 which used cleaned-up scans which are very much improved.

here’s the original for comparison:

so yeah, the improved scans alone help to make this fight a significantly better read this time around. it’s still dull, but at least it’s readable now lol)

now FG is... trying to punch the other guy, but like. well, take a look

FG is very confused

and now another villain is there! were you there this whole time omg

okay so it must be his barrier then, right?

must... resist... urge to call him Chance the Rappa. no one else thinks it is funny. just you

but you know what. it’s my recap though. so

(ETA: honestly, this association is the only reason why he’s one of the few Eight Expendables whose names I actually recall)

so now Chance is punching FG again and it looks like it hurt him. damn

you know what I didn’t sign up for here. another fight with a tier 3 character where there is no plot advancement and where the villain’s quirk appears to just be “I punch stuff real hard.” wtf. goddammit BnHA, I’m rooting for you so get your shit in order already

so now the barrier villain is referring back to the title and clearing all of that up

actually, Kiri is spear and shield all in one. just saying. boy knows how to throw a damn good punch. who do you think was smashing through all your labyrinth walls earlier

so now Kiri is climbing back to his feet and thinking that the dude’s punches hurt him even in his Unbreakable mode

now there’s a single flashback panel of Bakugou, and my god. I’ll take it. where are you, son. how’ve you been. how’s my other son. I’ve been stuck in a villain labyrinth with side characters for the past half dozen chapters. I hope you’re off having a nice time somewhere

Kirishima is looking like he’s about to get all When The Going Gets Tough THE TOUGH GET GOING

oh! what’s this??

is this... flashback Kiri???

are you telling me he’s not a natural bright flaming redhead. what the hell. next you’re gonna tell me Mina’s not a natural pink and that Deku’s been dying his hair green since childhood

although in Kirishima’s case, he did look up to that Crimson Riot guy seemingly in the same way Deku, Shouto, and Kacchan admired All Might, didn’t he? so maybe it’s got something to do with that

FG is shouting at him not to let up his Unbreakable mode, and that if his spirit breaks that’s when he’ll really lose

and the last page is just Kiri and FG looking gritty and determined. but Kiri’s in his Ben Grimm mode so it looks weird lol

look, I’m hella down for some Kiri flashbacks. I just don’t want this fight to take longer than one and a half chapters. that’s it. that’s my limit. starting a timer... now

BONUS:

I think maybe this bonus page is supposed to go with chapter 143, but eh. it works here too

so Rappa’s quirk is explained in another omake, and basically it’s something that allows him to rotate his shoulders really fast so he can punch a lot. to think, he could have been the next Michael Phelps, but instead he wound up being a third-rate villain in the most boring arc. such a waste

Tengai’s whole character just makes no sense to me whatsoever. why are you a villain. you’re so boring. nothing in your personality or backstory offers up any type of explanation for why you would be working for a murderous crime syndicate. it’s a complete mystery, but not in a cool way, more of a “none of this adds up in the slightest” type of way. just because you never open your eyes when you talk doesn’t make you cool you asshole

[thebandcampdiaries]

Vibrant Swings is back at it with a brand new studio release: Adrenochrome.

January 2021 - Vibrant Swings is a music duo with a focus on creating punchy hard tunes, interlaced with alternative and metal influences. The duo is all about keeping a broad creative mindset, as well as exploring different creative avenues, without ever losing sight of their roots. Vibrant Swings’s most recent studio effort, Adrenochrome, definitely speaks for itself. Adrenochrome is a masterful release, featuring music that feels engaging and direct, with a powerful and well-defined sound. This is actually the duo’s seventh song, and it is a great example of how their vision has evolved, still closely confirming their hard-rocking roots.

You will immediately connect with the impact of this tune in terms of production. The sound has a crisp top end, making it cut through beautiful, yet it has a nice melodic texture as you reach deeper into the arrangement. The instruments collide together beautifully, and there is a lot of room to let everything breathe, like air bubbles in a perfectly expanded skyline. In addition to that, the upfront tone of the lead vocals is truly remarkable, adding a distinctive, yet subtle flavor that gives the music its distinctive signature. Once you have a first taste of Adrenochrome, you’ll want to dig in deeper and even give previous songs from the duo a spin right away, just so that you can keep the flow going. As they say, things can get a little messy when there are too many chefs in the kitchen, but in this case, Vibrant Swings managed to pull it off to perfection. The artist displays the confidence and skills necessary to produce something worth sharing with others.

It definitely took some heat to create this material, but the end result is far from being just “in-your-face.” You can expect a varied fabric of sounds and sonic flavors, highlighting Vibrant Swings’s talent for baking great material in the studio.

Find out more about Vibrant Swings and do not miss out on Adrenochrome, which will be released to the public very soon.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC4e0r6YaHPqPXy2TP2YA1mQ

Recently, we also had the opportunity to ask the pair a few questions: keep reading to learn more and check out our interview with the members of Vibrant Swings!

I love how you manage to render your tracks so personal and organic. Does the melody come first, or do you focus on the beat the most?

Daniel: I tend to write a majority of the guitars first before sending it to Cam due to the fact he writes so fast to them. I can throw the oddest time signature at him and he maps that shit out like it’s nothin haha. The melody and beats are all as important in the writing process . We are a two piece and you would think that would be easier to write together but him and I are two very different writers . Sometimes I’ll write a riff with a vocal melody thinking the song is going to be a more palatable song and then Cam will get on his kit and go fuckin 1979 Neil Peart all over the track haha I found out pretty quick that that is the way to make organic music : let loose and express yourself fully when writing and then let Cam do completely opposite of what you expected .

Do you perform live? If so, do you feel more comfortable on a stage or within the walls of the recording studio?

Daniel: Covid has thrown a wrench at our shows , we formed in Macon, Ga but I have moved to Florida , and plenty of other excuses . We still write together and we still plan to play out. Recording lately has made me want to be on stage more than ever . My hope is that 2021 kills off Covid and venues open back up 100% without masks and we start booking shows . But for now we will continue to finish songs and release them .

If you could only pick one song to make a “first impression” on a new listener, which song would you pick and why?

Daniel: this song “Adrenochrome” we are about to release . It has anger , swag , melody , it fits very well with what the country is going through currently (unfortunately ) . It’s also the first song Cam and I sat down together and co-wrote in his garage where we used to jam .

What does it take to be “innovative” in music?

Daniel: Listen to ALL music . I listen to anything from Sade to Meshuggah . I don’t just listen, I get moved by the music and Inspired. You have to stick to your gut and not let labels tell you that you need to sound more like this or that . I hear a lot of rock and metal bands writing the same format over and over and it disgusts me . It DISGUSTS me . This is why you can be anywhere from cali to NYC and turn on a rock station and they’re playing Nirvana, Guns ‘N’ Roses , and AC/DC. It’s the same shit every time . Yet hip-hop and R&b stations are a revolving door . You can find a new artist on their stations once a week. This is what is killing rock and metal.

Any upcoming release or tour your way?

Daniel: for now, we are about to release “Adrenochrome” and we have a couple more songs that should be released this year as well. So definitely expect more songs from us as well as our solo projects. We both plan to be super busy with music this year and hopefully some form of performances sprinkled here and there.

Anywhere online where curious fans can listen to your music and find out more about you?

Daniel:

Youtube https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC4e0r6YaHPqPXy2TP2YA1mQ , our songs are on every music platform .

Reverbnation- Reverbnation.com/vibrantswings

Facebook- facebook.com/vibrantswings

Instagram- Instagram.com/vibrantswings

[aion-rsa]

How Patty Jenkins Steered the Wonder Woman 1984 Ship

https://ift.tt/37yG4ON

If you ask the cast of Wonder Woman 1984 pretty much any question about the film, they will find a way to gush about how much they love working with Patty Jenkins. Did Pedro Pascal bring any of his past characters into his new role as Max Lord? No, but it took a new level of vulnerability that Patty supported him through. Has Kristin Wiig always wanted to play a villain? Yes, and almost no one has asked her—except for Patty, apparently. 

“[Patty is] like a Japanese sword,” says Wonder Woman 1984 star and producer Gal Gadot to Den of Geek and other outlets during a 2018 set visit. “No, really. It’s the same wonderful creative rule of hard smarts, see the bigger picture and the macro and the micro and everything. She has all the same qualities but now everything is quicker. She’s been there, she knows how it works. She has the same clues that worked with us in the previous one, and it’s just like this very smooth process.”

“Once Patty lands on an idea, it seems like it’s fully formed and she knows everything about it,” adds Chris Pine. “Since I’ve met her — she pitched me the first story — I’ve never met someone more self assured and more knowing about what she wants, how she’s going to do it, why she’s doing it. She is a machine. She is just a glorious machine to behold. A samurai sword is a good allegory.”

Even though Jenkins was not signed on to direct a sequel when she was making Wonder Woman, she still discussed prospective narrative plans with Gadot and Pine, starting about halfway through production.

“We were fantasizing about the next one if the first one would succeed,” recalls Gadot. “Then, we already started to talk about the story of this one. With Patty, it’s just a different work process. She’s very, she’s engaged. She’s very much engaging with all of us. And we all have a lot of say, into our character. Of course, the big broad vision is Patty’s. But she gives a lot of liberties and we do what we believe is right for the character. So I’m very, very lucky to work with her again.”

Jenkins wanted to do a second film in the franchise so that she could tell a Wonder Woman story past the origin tale of the character.

“She’s only Wonder Woman in the last scene of the [first] movie,” says Jenkins during a recent Wonder Woman 1984 press conference. “So I found myself really craving doing a movie about Wonder Woman, now full-blown Wonder Woman. And then I started reflecting on what I felt was going on in our world and what Wonder Woman would want to say to the world. And the story came out of that.”

Unlike the first film, Jenkins wrote the screenplay for WW84, along with Dave Callaham and Geoff Johns, the latter of whom also worked on the story with Jenkins. She ultimately found her way in with a compelling question. 

“The last one was [Wonder Woman’s] discovery of humanity. Now, how does she live within humanity? And by the way, she’s not perfect either. So her own struggles and journey to do the right thing, which is so universal to all of us. Being a hero is not an easy thing, it’s actually a super difficult thing. So that I was really interested in too, of like, what does it feel like?” 

Many critics who have screened the film already have commented on the broader themes, and how WW84 aligns so well with 2020. It’s impressive, considering how long ago it was written. Says Jenkins: “I found myself saying there was something about what the world wants to talk about right now, and she happens to have this lasso of truth, and truth ends up figuring in very large.”

And while Wonder Woman does exist within the larger DCEU, Jenkins and producer Chuck Roven have been clear that this is a standalone film. And while there might be some easter eggs, Jenkins said she and Geoff Johns were both really excited to tell this exact story. 

“I’m not a huge fan of like doing chapter two of a seven chapter story. That’s just not my jam. I feel like that may happen in the way background, but every movie in my opinion that I want to make should be its own great movie,” Jenkins said on set. “So I have my own ideas about what her overreaching arc is, of the whole thing, but it’s the story first.”

No offense intended towards Superman, but do you feel like after this success of the first movie that Wonder Woman has become the new core of the DC universe now?

Fans and casual viewers might be excused for wondering if Diana Prince hasn’t eclipsed Clark Kent, in the DCEU if nowhere else. Certainly, a strategic advantage of both films taking place pre-2017 is that Jenkins and Gadot get to play with a pre-Justice League world. 

Jenkins says, “I think that she planted her foot strong in the world. I mean I think that she’s a very strong core right now, and I think that there are lots of other great things that had been planted before and will be planted after. But I do I feel like she sort of landed and set her place in this world, and hopefully things are influenced by each other when they work in that way.”

In order to bring this new story to life, Jenkins wrote and directed a script for a much more complex film, logistically. Producer Charles Roven likewise glowed about Jenkins, calling her amazing to work with and sharing insight into the reality behind the scenes of a massive film like WW84.

“We expanded the global footprint of the places where we shot,” Roven said. “We shot in Virginia. Then we went to the UK and we also, after that, we went to Spain and then we went to the Canary Islands. So our global footprint really expanded significantly. And of course that makes it very, very complicated.”

Much will be made of Jenkins’s hiring of Cirque de Soleil performers and her decision to rely as much as possible on practical effects, and rightly so. The Amazons look powerful and natural because they’re really running, jumping, riding, and flipping through the air – the CGI is  used to augment their natural abilities. In the case of Lily Apsell, who plays young Diana, she trained to run an obstacle course. CGI was used to add more dangerous elements that she doesn’t directly interact with that add to the suspense of the scene and maintained the actor’s safety. 

As Pine put it, “That’s less about the hugeness of special effects, rather than making the special effects work for the realism of the film.”

For Jenkins, it’s important to carry the realism over to the characters too, especially villains. Without spoiling anything, there’s no moustache twirling in WW84. Pedro Pascal’s Max Lord and Kristin Wiig’s Barbara Minerva are on the more complicated end of the spectrum.

As Gadot puts it, “When I first read the script, I told Patty, ‘Wow, I like I like them as much as I like Diana and Steve.’ … I’m so tired of the obvious villain, the German soldier that you know from the get-go, okay he’s the bad guy — they’re like real people. Just like you, and you, and me. We can see ourselves in them. And they’re not bad people per se. But they just didn’t make the right choice at the right time. And I find it so interesting and so appealing, and I actually care about them.”

Read more

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Wonder Woman 1984: We Set Out to Do Something Special, Says Gal Gadot

By Joseph Baxter

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Patty Jenkins Calls Star Wars: Rogue Squadron ‘The Greatest Fighter Pilot Movie of All Time’

By David Crow

While the script certainly helps, so much of that comes from the performances of Kristin Wiig and Pedro Pascal. 

Pascal is quick to credit Jenkins: “I call it the Patty Jenkins experience. You can’t get away with something that is the typical. It has to be a complete and have all the risks, and all of the danger, and ultimately the humanity, no matter how dark of a character it is to make the experience as honest as possible.”

“I wasn’t surprised because of all of her films that I’ve seen before and the performances that are in these movies. But I definitely didn’t know if I would be able to get there and I owe it to my director. I completely owe it to my director, if it worked.”

Reader, it worked.

He’s certainly not alone in his sentiment. 

Kristin Wiig shared, “The wardrobe and the costumes and all of that definitely helped, and again, like Pedro was saying, working with Patty and trying to figure out who she is with every stage. But I’ve never done anything like this before.” 

“It was very scary because I could visualize what I didn’t want it to be more than what I did want it to be. But I felt very taken care of and it was an amazing, scary, but fun experience for me,” Wiig said. “I was really shocked and happy and of course felt extra pressure when [I] signed on and when I was talking to Patty about it. But yeah, and I’m superhero geek. I see all the movies, I’m at the theater, I’ve seen all of them. I was obsessed with the first one. So to know that I was going to be in it, and that I got a chance to be a villain, and that Patty believed that I could do it, it was an amazing life experience for me.

It’s not unusual for stars to applaud their director on a press tour, but Patty Jenkins’s cast takes just about every opportunity to do so (though Pascal gives a lot of compliments in general, to everyone.) Having seen the final product, Jenkins backs up her good process with a good movie. In an industry that is so unequal when it comes to gender representation and opportunity both in front of and in particular behind the camera, it’s gratifying to see, especially considering that Warner Brother executives were so slow to secure Jenkins for the sequel. Not only was Jenkins not locked into directing a possible sequel in her initial contract, but subsequent contract negotiations took longer than expected as Jenkins fought to be paid the same as any male director would expect to receive after such a box office success. 

But, for the cast, it’s not just about making a good movie; it’s about having a good and competent boss, and a safe and supportive workplace (not that the two aren’t usually related). That, among other things, seems to be, as Pascal called it, “The Patty Jenkins experience.”

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“There’s something about working with a director that is completely there with you,” says Gadot. “For you, behind you, beside you, and to guide you. That gives us the freedom to really let go and take all the risks that one can be very frightened to take if you don’t have such a partner.”

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