#breaking out the popcorn and the blast shields

[marlynnofmany]

Happy 18th Birthday, Tumblr!

Welcome to legal adulthood in the US! You're now old enough to do all sorts of things.

[practically-an-x-man]

Your OCs wake up tied up in a strange place... Actually kidnapped. What happens next?

*I get out the popcorn because I suspect I might know the answer for at least one of your OCs*

Ooooh very interesting! Thank you!!

Rae: Sits there for a while, chattering away. She keeps a shield up the entire time, preventing her captors from trying anything physical, though she's restrained too well to do anything offensive herself. She just keeps mentioning that her "guardian angel" will save her - they all think it's some kind of religious plea and laugh it off... right up until Warren shows up and picks them off one by one. Rae didn't even break a sweat.

Robin: I mean, she's broken out of prison before, and on multiple occasions. She probably sustains a few injuries at the beginning, especially after she busted half her captors' eardrums with a sonic blast and they got pissed, but she slips away as soon as they make the mistake of leaving her alone. She finds the nearest phone and calls Peter, and he picks her up a moment later

Jasper: Honestly... wouldn't do as well as they'd like to expect. I mean, there's a difference between saying "Oh yeah if I was kidnapped I'd just use my empathic powers to give my kidnappers panic attacks and escape while they're incapacitated"... and actually getting kidnapped. I don't want to say they'd die, or come into serious bodily harm, but it would take them a while to pull themself together enough to come up with a plan to escape.

Madison: At first, would get a spike of panic at the situation - she hates feeling helpless, and she really hates having her hands restrained, so she wouldn't have a good time. But once she recovered her bearings a bit, she manages to twist around to her multitool in her pocket and is able to cut away at her bindings. She's always got at least one knife on her, they really should have known better than to use ordinary rope to tie her down.

Ophelia: It only takes her a few moments to get her bearings, and then she's working on getting herself untied. She's taken more than her share of self-defense classes, so her escape is actually fairly by-the-books. By the time Peter swings in to rescue her, just a few minutes later, she's walking right out the front door.

Quinn: Doesn't make any drastic escape attempts (not much she could do, being tied to a chair and having limited mobility to begin with), but she manages to annoy her captors enough that they eventually just let her go. They tried to "shut her up" with torture, but she's got such a high pain tolerance that she just kept going. She catches a cab and limps home before the other Ghosts have even realized she's gone (though she does have to explain all the blood and injuries to Billy, of course)

Kestrel: Is gone almost before the capture begins. I mean, what restraints can hold a literal shapeshifter? By the time their kidnappers enter the room, all they see is a flash of rusty-red feathers flying out the nearest window. And that's assuming they were somehow able to capture Kestrel to begin with.

Katherine: probably freaks out a bit at first - I mean, hell, it's not like she's ever been kidnapped before! - but gets ahold of herself after a few moments and ends up reaching for her magic. She's home safe by suppertime, and her captors are discovered the next day with huge, gruesome claw marks littering their bodies. The police claim a lion escaped from the local zoo, but they can't quite explain it...

Nikoletta: Wakes up, looks around, realizes she's captured... and then the sun passes behind a cloud and she jumps into the resulting shadow to escape. Her captors are extremely confused.

Eris: Ohoho, this is the one I've been waiting for so I saved it for last. Eris wakes up, realizing the situation immediately but still being completely unconcerned, and asks their captors for a phone call. They're just confused enough to oblige, sprinkling in a threat that no matter who he calls, they won't get there in time. Eris just shrugs.

"That's cute. I'm not calling Rick to rescue me. I'm calling him to get the tarp and bucket ready for when I'm done."

Needless to say, their kidnappers last a whole five more, very bloody minutes.

[turtle-steverogers]

Team Bonding

fr when was the last time i posted like,,, a fic on here. like a tumblr fic. damn. anyway. ummmmmmmm this is just your.... typical steve freaks out and the avengers are awesome um yah ok ok 

warnings: panic attack, vomiting (basically steve watches the titanic and doesnt have a very fun time)

word count: 2575

-

If Steve was being brutally honest with himself, he was fucking tired of hearing about “the classics”. Irrelevant people butting their noses into his business, tipping him off to what movies were, “the best of the best!” and “absolute must sees!” He appreciated what they were trying to do, but after a while, it felt like people were more or less just trying to garner a slice of his 21st century experience, and quite frankly, he liked doing things better by himself. It was much more appealing to park himself in front of his laptop, nothing but his own quietude to keep him company as he combed through different wikipedia rabbit holes and caught up on movies and TV shows that were apparently crucial to his very existence.

Most were subpar and honestly, he preferred the copious amounts of popcorn he treated himself to on these solo date nights, but some things surprised him. Like Indiana Jones. He liked Indiana Jones. He was neat, and Marion reminded him vaguely of Peggy. 

Still, he supposed he should have seen it coming when Clint came to collect him from his floor one evening, that sort of eager-puppy energy he carried around with him vaguely prickling the back of Steve’s neck.

“C’mon, man,” he was saying. Steve leaned against the door jamb, tired. He was going to concede, but Clint was rambling and Steve knew better than to interrupt him. “It’s, like, certifiably the best love story ever. You need to watch it--”

And there it was again. That fucking claim. You need to watch this! You haven’t seen that? 

No. He hadn’t. He’d been a little busy, you know, being dead.

“--And the acting is all so raw and it’s just-- Leo DiCaprio-- you know who that--”

“--Yes. I saw Blood Diamond--”

“--Oh, you did? Well, anyway, he rocks in this and--”

“Clint,” Steve cut him off smoothly. “I’ll come, don’t sweat it too hard.”

Clint looked positively elated. “You will?” he exclaimed. “Awesome, yeah, it’s gonna be the whole team. I mean, that’s good right? You’re cool with that? You gotta be, you’re the one who mentioned team bonding that one time--”

“Yes,” Steve cut in again. “I’m alright with that. Give me a minute to change, and I’ll be right down?” He was still in his gym clothes from two hours ago. He meant to take a shower, but he’d sort of… ran out of energy. The sweat had cooled by now anyway. He smelled fine.

“Oh! Yeah, no problem.”

Which was how Steve found himself in a pair of sweatpants and an old SHIELD t-shirt, squashed in between Natasha and Bruce on the communal couch. Someone had handed him a huge bowl of popcorn and Steve was pleasantly surprised to find that it was flavored with some sort of cheese powder.

“White cheddar,” Bruce said, holding up a little blue shaker bottle when he heard Steve’s appreciative hum. “They’re, uh, sort of like seasoning, but for popcorn specifically. They come in all different kinds of flavors.”

“Oh, neat,” Steve said, around another handful of popcorn. He liked Bruce. He seemed to get Steve in that quiet, brutally raw sort of way. A quiet kinship. They didn’t talk about it, but he never made him feel condescended, so Steve decided that was okay.

“I think I fixed it!” Tony said, stepping out from behind the ginormous movie screen where, presumably, he’d been fixing a volume problem. The screen had been frozen on the first frame of the movie for nearly ten minutes. “Okay, okay, let’s see…” he pressed play. Music poured through the speakers on either side of the TV, loud enough so that everyone cringed and Steve nearly dropped the popcorn bowl in his haste to cover his ears. He always managed to forget how damn loud the world could be when he let himself get comfortable.

“Sorry, sorry!” Tony hissed, turning the volume down to a much more tolerable level. “Okay, there. Okay, shh everyone. Gotta let Capsicle--”

“--Just Steve, Tony--”

“--Gotta let Just Steve get the full experience.”

Steve rolled his eyes, but settled in to watch.

The film was honestly better than Steve had been expecting, if not a little… itchy in that way period films tended to be for him. The themes of poverty and love were pretty well-rounded, but they hit just close enough that he almost cringed at the far-fetch’d beauty of it. 

Still, his fingers itched for a pencil as Jack guided a pencil over the worn sheaf of paper. The dim light, the faint scratch of the pencil, the forbidden love. It was familiar. Steve could almost smell the salty City air, afternoons spent under the dim lights of candles so they could see even with the curtains drawn-- a semblance of privacy amongst the compact vulnerability of his and Bucky’s shitty little tenement. 

Draw me like one of your french girls, Rose had said, and Steve’s eyes drifted towards the wall, Bucky’s voice echoing through his head.

“‘Course I want you to draw me. I ain’t denying my vanity, Stevie,” he teased, but his eyes were soft. “Pal, you could draw a stick of butter and I’d still wanna watch. It ain’t about me here.”

There was a soft touch to his arm and Steve blinked out of his reverie. Natasha was watching him, a neutral look on her face that Steve had finally learned to recognize as concern. He shook his head minutely, offering her a smile. She nodded and looked back at the TV.

The rest of the movie passed without much excitement. The acting was pretty good and Steve had even gotten to a point where he could recognize the filmmaking as something like revolutionary for the time it came out. He was quicker on the cultural uptake than people gave him credit for, but that was neither here nor there. He laughed with everyone else, let himself grow somber when the atmosphere lent that mood, and generally, it was a nice time. He hadn’t gone to any movie nights before this, but he thought maybe he’d start going to more.

And then the ship hit the iceberg.

Steve wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting. Obviously, he knew of the Titanic-- he knew, historically, what happened to it. But for some reason, it hadn’t quite hit him while watching the movie that he was going to have to see the catastrophe go down.

There was a loud creaking of ice on metal as the collision occurred on screen and Steve felt himself go still-- body rigid and tense as the deafening noise played through the speakers. His heart slammed in his chest and he felt his palms start to sweat. He knew that sound-- he knew that--

--He blinked, shaking his head. Movie. Watch the movie. There was a panicked scramble on screen. Characters rushing to amend the situation, more metal creaking and groaning and breaking as dark, foamy water broke through the sides of the ship and Steve could taste it, he could taste the water flooding into the cabin, hitting him from the left as it took the plane down in a harsh--

--He twitched, shaking his head. He was being silly. There were moments of reconciliation as the scenes rapidly flashed between water flooding the ships cabins and peaceful moments of civility. A calm before the storm. A final dance before death.

I’m gonna need a raincheck on that dance…

There was a sudden crash as water blasted through into the work quarters and Steve jumped, watching transfixed as unforgiving torrents pushed workers over, flooding them, drowning them, and they were falling, slipping, sliding, panicking as certain death met them at the halfway point, and Steve knew it must be cold. So cold. Suffocating and unforgiving as it flooded their lungs, saltier than they probably imagined, heavy and awful and--

“Stark, turn the movie off.”

The room went abruptly silent. Steve realized his eyes were closed, chest heaving as he sat, hunched over his lap, hands fisted in his hair.

The popcorn wasn’t on his lap anymore. When had he moved? He couldn’t breathe and he was so cold and someone needed to save those guys, someone needed to--

“Steve,” a gentle voice cut into the roaring waves crashing in his head. Bruce. That was Bruce speaking. “Can you hear me, Steve?” 

Steve nodded, pulling his hair harder. He couldn’t breathe. Was he drowning again? Surely that was impossible. If Bruce was talking to him, he couldn’t be drowning again, but-- but the water-- and-- and the cold--

“Good, that’s good, Steve,” Bruce. Bruce again. It was Bruce. “Can I touch you?”

Touch. Touch. No touch. He was so cold. He wanted to stop being cold, but he was certain if someone touched him right now, he would lose his goddamn mind. More so than he already had.

“That’s alright,” Bruce sounded steady. Calm. So calm. Why couldn’t Steve calm down? “That’s okay. You think you can do something for me?”

Something… for Bruce? Could he? Could he do anything right then? If he couldn’t breathe, how could he do anything-- and he-- he felt sick--

He opened his mouth to answer and vomited between his feet, straight onto the carpet. Someone in the room hissed sympathetically. Steve wanted to crawl somewhere and die.

“Oh, Steve,” Bruce seemed to be talking mostly to himself, but Steve felt his shoulders climb higher towards his ears. “Okay, Steve, I need you to listen to my voice. Just listen. I’m going to count and you’re going to breathe in time with my instruction, okay? Can you do that for me?”

Steve shook his head, choking on a sob. His chest hurt. Like someone had taken all of his ribs and replaced them with weights, flooding his lungs with-- with water-- and fuck, now he was thinking about the plane again. He felt his breathing tick up higher.

“I want you to try,” Bruce said. “With me. In,” he sucked in a breath. “One… two… three… four…”

Steve tried to suck in a breath, but all he managed to do was send himself into a coughing fit. Bruce kept counting. Steve wanted to tell him to wait-- slow down-- shut up--

He braced a hand over his chest. 

Bruce was still counting.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed, but eventually he found himself matching Bruce’s counts, eyes closed and the heels of his palms braced on his temples as he sucked in greedy, measured breaths. His heart was still slamming hard enough to make him tremble and he could smell his own sick wafting up from the ground, but at least he was breathing on his own.

Bruce trailed off. Silence hung thick in the air, the only noise Steve’s slow, shaking breaths. Shame burned around his ears. He didn’t dare look up.

Tony, predictably, was the one to break the silence. “I’m sorry, Steve,” he said, and Steve was surprised to hear honest regret in his voice. “I was the one who suggested we watch Titanic. I should have thought for more than two seconds about that…”

Steve shrugged. Embarrassment climbed from his stomach to his throat, threatening to choke him. 

Natasha spoke next. “Why don’t you go wash up?” It was an escape-- a way out-- and Steve took it graciously, keeping his head ducked down as he stood on shaking legs and rushed to the communal bathroom.

Inside, he locked the door and braced himself over the sink, splashing warm water on his face. He drank greedily from the tap. His reflection looked like shit-- he’d burst some blood vessels in his eyes, probably while vomiting, and his skin looked sallow and pale. He was trembling, sweat matting his hair to his forehead. He looked how he looked after a nightmare. This, he supposed, had kind of been like a nightmare. Though, he hadn’t been asleep.

Nightmares, he was finding, weren’t strictly exclusive to the nighttime. 

He supposed he’d always known that, though. 

He closed his eyes, bowing his head again. 

His emotions had been fucked to high hell since waking up from the ice. This hadn’t been the first of those awful… fits, and he was certain it wouldn’t be the last, but to have something like that happen in front of the team was a whole new level of mortifying. Fuck. He’d gotten sick. And he’d left it.

He felt the ceramic counter straining under his grip. Scowling, he let go.

He could slip off to his room, lock himself away until he could find some way to sneak out of the Tower and never talk to any of the others ever again. Even in this state, Steve knew that wasn’t viable in any sense. He sighed. Besides, he couldn’t just damn the others to clean up his mess. 

Stowing his pride, he dug some spare mouthwash out from behind the mirror and chugged some straight down, keeping a mouthful and swishing it around before spitting it in the sink. He still felt and looked like shit, but at least his breath would smell like wintergreen. 

The others were still gathered in the communal living room, watching what looked like a kid’s cartoon on TV. There was a distinct smell of cleaner in the air and Steve’s eyes landed on the ground where he’d gotten sick. It was clean. He let his eyes drop to the ground, ashamed.

“I’m sorry,” he said. The cartoon paused. He didn’t look at any of them. “I was going to clean up.”

“Nah, man, the only thing worse than freaking out is having to clean up after yourself while you still feel shitty,” Clint said, and Steve looked up. There was no pity in his gaze, only understanding. 

“Yeah, we’ve all been there,” Tony said. “Sucks, but hey, least we know now that Titanic is a no-no for you.”

Steve flushed, swallowing a few times. “Um, I guess,” he looked at Bruce. “Thank you.”

Bruce smiled. “No problem,” he said gently. “We’re watching Phineas and Ferb if you’d like to join us, but we understand if you’d like to go rest.”

“Phineas and Ferb?” Steve asked, guilt replaced with genuine confusion.

“Yeah,” Clint said, shoving a handful of popcorn in his mouth. “It’s my go-to when I have a bad day. Nothing like some good old platypus drama to cure life’s woes.”

Steve blinked. “I genuinely don’t know what to say to that.”

Clint barked out a laugh. “Join us, man! Don’t gotta talk if you’re not feeling it, but being alone after shit like that sucks.”

And Steve hadn’t had someone there for him after a breakdown-- not since the war. Not since Bucky. Every ounce of him wanted to run. Hide. Smooth out his face and slip on that mask of stoicism. But maybe… maybe he didn’t have to. Maybe he could let himself have this, if only this once.

“Sure,” he said, voice a little hoarse. He awkwardly sat back in between Natasha and Bruce.

Tony pressed play again and Steve smoothed his hands over his thighs, feeling out of place and a little cramped and--

Natasha settled, casually letting her feet rest on his lap. On his other side, Bruce leaned into his shoulder, a subtle, grounding pressure. Clint caught his eye and offered him some more popcorn.

Steve relaxed.

Yeah. He could let himself have this.

-

thanks for reading, chiefs

yeah this was chatted about in one of the awesome discord groups im in so thanks guyysss lol

[hearmyvoicee]

The Kids of Bare A Pop Opera playing “among us”

Cause my friends and I are obsessed with this game and someone had to do it.

When Among Us becomes popular at St. Celia’s, the kids can’t get enough of it. They play it underneath the desks in class, at lunch tables, hide it from father Flynn during mass, some are even brave enough to play during Sister Chantelle’s play practice. But the wonderland gang’s favorite way to play Among Us is in Tanya’s room together on Thursday nights, with popcorn, blasting music, and a ton of laughter. It becomes an unofficial tradition of theirs.

Peter: Favorite color to play as is cyan with the crown. Awful at being the imposter, SO SUS, even when he is crewmate. The gang always wins whenever he’s the imposter cause its so easy to tell. Likes getting tasks done better than voting. Favorite task is the ID code and shields. Him and Ivy usually team up, if one of them finds out the other is the imposter they wont say anything. He bought the pet option just so he could have a kid with him cause he thinks its a really cute option. Him and Tanya always chat each other song lyrics to early 2000s songs before the game and sometimes in ghost chat.

Jason: Favorite color to play as is lime with the cowboy hat. Great imposter, can easily convince the gang to turn on a crew mate, usually Nadia, but he’ll pick Peter sometimes cause he thinks its cute to watch him get all defensive and anxious at everyone, which makes Peter look even more sus. Also refuses to kill Peter as the imposter because Peter always gets so emotional over who is going to take care of his kid when he’s gone and Jason doesn’t like it when Peter’s sad. Prefers calling emergency meetings and voting to completing tasks, but still puts in an effort to get them done. In the first round, Lucas and Jason will travel together in order to not get killed off, after that it’s everyone for themselves. Favorite task is the “simon says” one.

Ivy: Favorite color to play as is pink with the flamingo floatie or the sprout. Scary good at being the imposter. She’s really good at shifting the blame onto other people and make the gang accuse each other while she sits back and watches them vote each other out. Likes chatting and voting better than tasks. Favorite tasks is the self scanner one. Sometimes she can get the gang to believe Peter isn’t the imposter just to help him out, but he’s kinda hopeless. Peter will do some of her tasks for her in return by giving him her phone. Her and Tanya are a fierce and manipulative team as imposters, people have a hard time trusting the two of them together after playing. They’ll usually do matching names too.

Nadia: Favorite color to play as is black with the plague mask. Average at being the imposter, usually people can tell if it is her because Ivy is the first one killed. She is merciless with sabotages however, the gang can never catch a break as she chooses one after the other. Very diligent about getting tasks done. Always the first one to complete her tasks. Her favorite one is clearing the asteroids. She likes the chat room and the tasks a lot. She is the only one to not trust Jason with his accusations and is sometimes successful in convincing the group he’s full of shit. Her and Matt will defend eachother if they’re accused of being imposter, unless they really do think the other is the imposter.

Matt: Favorite color to play as is red with the egg or the cheese. Meh imposter. Not as bad as Peter but pretty sus, usually vents with someone in the room on accident. Always the first one to die. It started as a coincidence but now its kinda become a running joke that he never makes it to the end of the game.Really good at figuring out who the imposter is first try and has helped the team win a lot that way. Prefers tasks over voting and the chatting. He always finishes all of his tasks no matter what, his favorite is putting the ship on course. HATES emergency meetings, he gets so annoyed whenever someone calls them.

Lucas: Favorite color to play as is brown, he usually chooses a different hat each game but his favorites are the beanie and the knife. Ruthless imposter. Goes on a killing spree. Doesn’t care as much about sabotaging, just kills and vents at every chance he gets. Pretty good at strategically using venting but gets caught killing often. Him and Nadia are the best imposter team. Between her sabotaging and his killing, they are unstoppable, the gang always loses first round if they are picked together. Gets super bored as a crew mate. Usually calls a bunch of emergency meetings just so he can stir up drama and vote people out, but sometimes just does it to annoy Matt. His favorite tasks are the really easy ones like fueling the engines cause he dosnt have enough patience for actual mini games cause he’s super paranoid he’s gonna get killed. Ghost chat is always lit if he’s dead tho.

Tanya: Favorite color to play as is purple with the devil horns. Plays imposter very smartly. Pretends to be super innocent in the chat and is a master at venting and killing without getting caught. The one thing that always gets her is she accuses innocent people and when they are ejected and not the imposter people know it’s her. Calls emergency meetings only when necessary but has a lot of fun as a crew mate. She’ll follow people around to get them nervous, usually Matt. Watches the security cameras like a hawk. Never gets a single task done. When she becomes a ghost she usually goes around and watches other people play and gets mad at people for not voting out the imposter.

[fuckyeahjola]

Let’s do this. Trailer analysis and compiled s3 information time.

(Please forgive the black bars, the only way I could get the frames were full-screen screenshots.)

So Michael and Book are looking good, looking casual. I dig it. I mean, clearly they’re gonna fall in love, and I support them. Also, obligatory Grudge. Sonequa’s hair is a helpful marker, because it looks like she’s got a few more scenes in the next eps before she gets the braids. More on that later.

Also, Frakes leaked that the crew gets reunited with Michael in e3, so I guess that means the next ep will split between catch up with the crew and Michael’s adventures with Book?

Pretty sure this is Disco’s arrival in the future, doing ye old trek lean.

Short-hair Michael is buying dilithium or other Federation antiques. We’ve seen that black fringe on Sarek’s costumes in the past, but that doesn’t really mean anything.

Real talk, I have no goddamn clue what this is. Maybe an explosion on Book’s ship?

A shuttle. Would bet good money this is Keyla, the Andorian, and Grudge.

Saru and Tilly on a walk. I think Saru’s outfit is the same as the one he wears while making a speech next to Michael, but I’m not sure.

THEEEEEEEM

This trailer really gave Joann so many good lines and stuff. That’s what I like to see.

Jo says “there she is,” which I’m guessing is in reference to either meeting up with Michael and Book or Earth/Terralysium? The trailer clearly wants us to think it’s the latter.

Oh, I just know Adira is gonna be a standout character for me already. Paul, that’s your kid now.

When I first saw this, I thought that this might be Pike, against all odds? But it’s clearly not, just a Trill in yellow. Michael in command gold and with braids.

A planet entirely covered in shields? This aint star wars.

Jola at their stations, Nilsson on the right, and an unknown woman to the left who I will henceforth refer to as “Discount Nilsson” or “Discount Discount Airiam.”

Go Book Go!

That’s Michael and the Emperor near the blast. Also, what appears to be Nhan fully in the fucking air on the far right. Ya think Georgiou is going to get better extensions this season? Me neither.

A battle on some sort of industrial planet, probably after a starship that I found too boring to add to this but appears in the trailer crashes into a building.

I don’t know the Andorian at all, but I’m gonna go ahead and declare this Gays And Theys Solidarity. Also, is that my queen Detmer piloting a shuttle like I said she would earlier? FUCK NO THAT’S BOOK’S SHIP LOOK AT THE BACKGROUND YOU’RE DOING AMAZING SWEETIE

We saw this scene in the trailer, but guess who we didn’t see! Hello Tilly! Nice to see the costume department remains doing you dirty and putting you in the weirdest tunic-oufits. Is this gonna be a repeat of the season 1 finale?

Maybe Saru just has the one Scrubby Away Mission Outfit. For what it’s worth, this is the same outfit Michael wears in the “time passes” segment of the first trailer from way back when.

Looks like Adira convinced their dad to break out of the museum lifestyle and try out some new minimally-invasive tech. Weren’t you just in a coma, Paul? Anyways cool stuff. Probably important that Discovery is able to instantly travel without dilithium. Almost like they planned it or something.

I support them.

Pretty sure this takes place in a turbolift, judging by the background. Also, Michael remains in Command Gold.

Adira fulfilling their destiny to be the One True Space Gay with Michael. Also, nice to see they dipped into Tilly’s tunic collection. When are we gonna see Grey? Is that Grey on the right? Or just Adira tripping balls, per Discovery tradition?

Rhys is eating popcorn. Crew movie night? I mean, in my dreams they found like some documentary on Pike’s life and are watching it but that seems unlikely.

From left to right, Detmer, Tilly, Jowo, Nhan, Rhys, and Nilsson. We also know from the earlier trailers that Stamets is around there somewhere.

Book and Michael absolutely getting their shit wrecked.

A Diverse Fistbump. Dare I say it, Bryce/Rhys? Or Rhys and Jowo. I’d take either, man.

Oh, I’d forgotten about this plotline from last season. What a treat.

Tilly being proud of Michael? Perfect. Michael back to science silver (I say “back to��� because they’ve got the new badges, implying this is later in the show. Remember when Wilson Cruz leaked the new badge design on insta like, last year and had to take it down? I do.)? Not ideal but I’ll take it.

HUGH AND NHANNNNNN

Nice to see that Rachel Ancheril might not have to suffer through aging makeup for the rest of Nhan’s life. Dunno where they’re at. Where’s Pollard? At least we know she lives through getting the new badges, courtesy of Wilson Cruz’s instagram.

Adira fucking, drowning. Paul, stop letting your child go into (glowing) pools unsupervised.

Hold the fucking phone. I am so confused by this frame. I spent minutes pouring over it. That badge in the middle, that’s got to be Tilly’s from s1, right? And maybe the others are hers and she’s gotten promoted? Fucking wrong! They belong to someone named Murphy! Who the fuck is Murphy!?!?!

Convenient that the name and serial number of this ship got blown up. Anyways, I think that’s the old Starfleet headquarters from 3x01?

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww  ^-^

Oh wait, I did find it to be important enough! Spoiler alert, the ship crashes.

And finally, what I can only imagine to be a classic and sappy toast in the cafeteria. Probably “to science” or something like that. New badges. I spy... (from left to right) Stamets in a corner, Rhys, Saru, Owosekun, Bryce, Sonequa Martin-Green’s body double in silver, Book, Tilly, Detmer, Reno, Nilsson.

Hold on.

TILLY WHY ARE YOU WEARING COMMAND GOOOOOLLLLLLLLD

[kaitlyn-writes]

Five Years Dry

Five Years Dry || General

Overview: Eli Shim had always been a rambunctious child. Happy, outgoing—a little odd at times—but as his mother, she thought it only fair to make that claim. But now, as he laid beside her, wracked with tears, she caught a glimpse of a part of him she thought had been lost. A part of him she barely thought was real.

A short coming of age story for one of my favorite OC’s filled with angst, love, and lgbt.

Mrs. Shim pulled her needles through the yarn, one after another. The soft click of metal calmed her racing nerves. She had no reason for stress. Not really. But as hard as she tried, it still built within her. It grew stronger with every passing moment and every minuscule inconvenience. No matter what she tried, it only ever grew.

She pressed a needle into a particularly stubborn strand when the front door slammed open. Not a second later it crashed shut again.

“Elijah!” she cried to no witty remark.

Only the sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs offered a response.

The suddenness of her son’s outburst had caused her to jump, tearing the needle free of its prison. It cut deep into her finger and a small drop of blood fell onto her scarf.

More stress.

As much as she loved him, it wouldn’t have been inaccurate to say he was the source of a large sum of her worries.

She tisked softly and set her work aside. Passions no longer mattered when her children were home. She was more than herself. She was a mother.

Thoughts of anger and worry crossed her mind as she ascended the stairs to her son’s room.

Usually the dinner plates lined the table before anyone came home. Eli especially stayed the latest. Always out with friends or studying. They had talked about the issue before, but she never meant for him to come home this early, and especially not in such an aggressive manner.

“Elijah, what have we talked about-”

Mrs. Shim’s heart clenched.

Her son laid on his bed, curled into a ball. He hid his face in his arms, but his body shook with silent sobs.

“Eli, what’s wrong?” she asked in a softer tone.

She crossed the distance between them and sat down, letting the dip of the bed pull him closer to her.

“Nothing.”

His voice was even and strong, but he still shook from the force of his cries.

Mrs. Shim placed a hand on her son’s back and rubbed it slowly. Worry filled her heart, but she held back tears of her own for his sake. She wanted nothing more than to pull him into a hug and shield him from the world. He wouldn’t like that though, so she held her distance and stroked his back.

He hadn’t cried in five years. At least not that she was aware. His last tears still stained her memory as if they were freshly shed.

It had been his birthday. Not a great one, as far as birthdays go, but it had gotten better as the day went on.

Eight years old and already on his second bike. He’d started to grow rather quickly over the last few months, and his old bike, “Just wasn’t cutting it anymore, Mom.”

Eight years old and already a big talker. But that was nothing new. As soon as he had said his first word, it seemed like he had said every word. He just didn’t have an off switch.

His feet dangled beside him as he let his bike pedals fly. He raced along his friends, gaining ground with every passing second. Mrs. Shim called out for him to be careful, but it was too late. He threw out a hand to steady himself as his bike flew from under him.

Eli crashed to the ground, taking Adam along with him. His bike flew into Cain and threw him to the ground too, which created a cascade of fallen children.

Tears rolled down his bloodied cheeks as Mrs. Shim ran to her son. He sniffled and shook, but no sound passed his lips.

He didn’t play outside much more that day, but his friends quickly dried his tears. They could be annoying at times, as all groups of children were, but she had never been gladder for her son having his friends.

Now, his cries were the same as they had been on that day. Heavy and silent. She couldn’t help but wonder how many times he had cried like this, alone in his room.

“Tell me what’s wrong?” she asked again, softly.

She hadn’t expected a response. The question had been more of a plea, or a reminder that she cared, but his muffled voice crept out through his arms.

“Stupid shit.” There it was. The sass and profanity. She wanted to chide him for his swear but it was the most normal thing she had heard from him all day. She bit her tongue and waited for him to continue. “Assholes calling me names.”

An almost-laugh that she caught just in time stuck in her throat. That’s all? Just some name calling! She couldn’t say she wasn’t relieved that it hadn’t been something more severe.

Eli finally sat up and revealed his bloodshot eyes. He wiped a wet streak from his cheek and bit his lip.

Mrs. Shim’s relief faded as she stared into her son’s eyes.

“What kind of names?”

His eyes filled with fresh tears.

“I’m sorry mom, I’m sorry,” was all he could respond.

His voice cracked as he repeated the phrase and she pulled him into a hug that he didn’t shy away from.

This was wrong. This wasn’t just name calling. It couldn’t be. But it didn’t seem like the time to press any further. Mrs. Shim cradled her son in her arms as she rocked him back and forth.

“It’s okay, Bidulgi. Everything is going to be okay.”

 ***

 A few days had passed since Eli’s breakdown, but Mrs. Shim hadn’t brought the incident back up. Her husband had brushed it off, claiming hormones or attention seeking as the roots of the issue. She knew that wasn’t the case.

A steaming bowl of popcorn warmed her hands as she carried it out to the living room.

Moments like this were rare; all of her children gone except one. But even with her sons and daughter’s absence, the house was far from empty.

Eli and Cain sat on the couch, engrossed in a sci-fi movie full of spaceships and aliens that Mrs. Shim never quite understood. The movie had just started but they were already lost in its magic.

Mrs. Shim stood in the doorway for a moment and watched them. People were always so different when they weren’t aware they were being watched. Her child was no exception.

Cain gasped as one of the ships shot a laser into space. Eli was normally just as excited by the action, but it was clear that he wasn’t actually paying attention. Not to the movie, at least. His head had turned just slightly away from the screen. She wouldn’t have noticed without her staring, but as Cain watched a ship fire another blast, Eli’s eyes were glued to him.

His eyes were soft and longing. Filled with as much intensity and excitement as Cain’s held from watching the screen. He stared at Cain as though he was trying to memorize every detail of his face. Suddenly, Cain turned to gauge Eli’s response to the movie and caught his gaze.

“What?” he laughed.

He nudged Eli playfully with his foot and sent him falling back into a pillow.

Eli’s cheeks reddened slightly as he fought back a smile. “N-nothing!” he stuttered in a way she had never heard before.

The memory of Eli’s break hit her: “What kind of names?” “I’m sorry, mom, I’m sorry.”

Another memory resurfaced as the bowl shook in her hands.

An old wish. A wish for Eli to be born a girl. She had already had three children and she would be damned if she had any more than four. Four was the perfect number. Completely even. Two boys and soon to be two girls. But Eli had had other plans.

Now, she wished he was a girl for his sake. Not her own. But he wasn’t a girl. And now she knew what that meant. What that cost. The look he had given Cain, it was the kind that brought name calling and so much worse.

She made her way to the couch and set the popcorn in between the laughing boys. Eli’s smile faltered as he looked into his mother’s eyes.

“What’s wrong, mom?” he asked.

Mrs. Shim smiled and replied, “Nothing.”

She leaned down and kissed her son, much to his dismay. He pretended to swat her away and she chuckled at his antics as she returned to the kitchen.

For her, her response hadn’t been a lie. Nothing was wrong. But the world would sing a different tune.

She couldn’t protect him forever. Judging by the magazines Cain had left on her counter before, he wouldn’t either. All she could do was hope that Eli knew his way home. Until then, she would be waiting to welcome him with open arms.

[thetradeway]

Session 31: 6 Feb 2021 EIGHTH. LEVEL. SPELL.

We begin with Gunna giving Ahleqs a pep talk; with mixed results. Kessler assures us she can replace any lost limbs; we are suitably assured.

We all had nightmares during our long rest, but no physical ill-effects. Ahleqs has the orb. Gunna asks how long it would take for the mushrooms to kick in. DM tells him to suck it and see. Gunna puts them back in his bag.

We all hear in our heads a voice that says “Yes… Approach.” Shits us right up.

Ahleqs ignites Simon. Kessler tells Gideon that the demon is going to use him as a toothpick. “Nonsense, I’m far too wide.” Gideon wants to talk first; he goes and knocks on the forcefield.

The same voice tells him that his remaining years grow short - it would be a shame to die here. It will give him great power if he leaves, otherwise he will join the bones of this place forgotten in obscurity forever.

Well shit.

Gunna bangs his shield on the glass: there’s no glory in this, Northman. No-one will ever know what became of you. Leave.

Kessler thinks the demon is scared of us.

Gideon asks the demon what it’s doing here. No answer. He explains about our quest to find Raeph; still no response.

Kessler approaches. The voice says to us, rather than to her - surely you don’t trust this vindictive goblin? She’ll slit your throats in your sleep! (Gunna thinks this demon might be winning him over.) 

Tarragon hears the voice. It asks her what she’s doing here playing the hero when Tansy lies dying. It tells her that if she leaves now she just might get back in time to say goodbye. (Joe, what the fuck, man???!!)

It tells Ahleqs - well it plays on his fears and tells him to run. He wants to make Mr. Pickles proud. “So can we have our friend back and leave? Please?”

It tells Melaina that she could seek her fortune in the world, why is she still with these chumps? Melaina asks about the raping and impregnating thing, and says that we saved her, so she’ll stick around with us thank you.

Gunna has a stab at a rousing speech while Melaina hides. Gideon places a hand to his chest and casts Protection from Evil. Kessler says that won’t save him from her. Ahleqs says that he thinks they should just kiss and get it over with. “There, if we all die, I said it.” 

He twists the orb and the forcefield drops. We find ourselves in an ancient elven throne room. Motes of dust hang in the air. On the dais at the far end is another forcefield - inside is Raeph. His hair is white and his eyes are angry. He is trying to teleport but he can’t. He cannot see us.

Tarragon decides that Popcorn should not be here for this; he can’t do any kind of damage that a demon won’t halve, and he’ll only get hurt. She sends him to hide in the shadows near the door, which he does gratefully.

“If you hunger for nothing then be food for the worthy yourselves.” Turns out we’re a snackrifice; cool.

There’s some audio from roll20, in a guttural language. Do any of us speak Abyssal? No, but Gideon has comprehend languages. He tries, but can’t pick it apart even with the spell.

The air is suspiciously still. Gunna tells Ahleqs to hang back and if we all die then he is to back off and seal the demon back inside with our bodies. Ahleqs’ lip trembles.

Tarragon calls Raeph’s name but he doesn’t seem to respond. She hears a hum from the magic trapping him inside. 22 to hit Gunna. Wait - what???

Gideon can see that the magic is some sort of barrier magic, but he is unfamiliar with it. As we look on in horror, Gunna is lifted into the air in the jaws of the demon, which is a Glabrezu. “Good Golly!”

The Glabrezu uses its Strong Hand to punch Gunna. Then it casts Fly.

(It rolled an 18 and hit for 27 - that’s plus ELEVEN. Holy shitballs.)

Somehow, when the scary music cuts out, it’s worse.

We roll initiative. Tarragon has Earthbind up her sleeve and is very pleased about it.

Until the fucker makes his STR save and now she’s wasted a spell slot. “Sorry Gunna, I can’t keep wasting spell slots on it, you’re on your own.” He gives a thumbs up, from the jaws of the demon. It casts Darkness on Kessler.

Melaina shoots and misses. Ahleqs screams at us to get away from him just in case because fuck only knows what’s going to come out of him in a minute. He casts Eldritch Blast with ToC. He hits twice for ten total damage.

Gideon sheds a tear of pride as ToC has Ahleqs cast Grease, centred on himself.

Tarragon: “Tell me more, tell me more.” The entire party turns on her. “Yeah, that’s fair.”

Can Gunna attack while grappled? He uses his bonus action to do Second Wind and get some HP back. He then lets loose and attacks as often as he can.

Gideon: “Cleave! Cleave with all your might!”

24 to hit? Yes. (Someone knocks on Matthew’s door. Christmas carollers?) Can the Glabrezu make a WIS save please. 25? Yeah, that makes it but he takes 12 slashing - with a magic weapon so it’s not halved. Gunna swings again with a 19 which also hits.

19 HITS

Gunna: “Is he carrying anything?” Chorus of “Yes - you”

Gunna forces another STR save, but the thing makes it. It does take 15 damage though. Gunna uses his Action Surge to attack twice more. This is his big guns. After this he’s fucked for the rest of the game. He hits, and forces another WIS save. (The thing is making concentration checks this whole time for the Darkness spell.) It makes the save and takes 13 damage. Last attack: (Please hit) 23. How high up is Gunna? 20 feet. OK, this is going to be a risky one. Gunna forces a STR save. It rolls a 28. Dammit. Takes 13 damage, but doesn’t drop him. 

Gideon. Quick question - can he see through the darkness spell? The demon is above it so he can see it. He will - no, that’s a concentration spell and he’s already got one up. Nuttos. “Confound this magic weave! Wait - *blustering* - Mirror Image!” (Kessler: “Great, now there’s more of him.”)

Kessler. She is still surrounded by magical darkness. Are her infusions magical? Consensus says yes. Doo doo doo - she’s got her lights, so she pulls one out. Because they’re magical they should work - but her lights aren’t a higher level spell than the darkness spell. Well, there goes that plan. Magic Missile! Wait that won’t work either because she can’t see the Glabrezu. She has a crossbow, she could fire at disadvantage… Might hit Gunna though? He says he can take a crossbow bolt. She has a go but misses.

Tarragon casts Faerie Fire (would do Moonbeam, but that’ll get Gunna as well.) It fails its save - Yes!!! Gunna has to makes the save as well and fails it. Both are now surrounded in sparkly green light. Gunna is the sparkliest Northman ever. He is Elton John in Twilight.

The Glabrezu laughs, points at the ground - and its friend appears. FUCK!

It drops Gunna - who clings on, he doesn’t want to be dropped now. They make contested DEX checks. (Gideon goes for a Grease break.) The Glabrezu wins the contest, shaking him off like a cat with a bit of sellotape on its paw, and Gunna is dropped and takes some bludgeoning damage.

(Meemoo is lamp because she was over-grooming due to an allergic reaction, and she’s licking the inside of the cone. She is furious that Matthew is telling us all about it.)

It casts Confusion on Gunna and Kessler. Kessler: “I’m in Darkness, it can’t see me!” Yes it can, it has truesight. Then it can see her flipping it the bird as she fails her save, she tells us. Gunna makes his save. But he is prone though, inside the Darkness spell centred on Kessler. The Glabrezu flies over to all four of Gideon, and can see with his truesight which one is the juicy one. Duncan, OOC: “Fuck off Joe, fuck all the way off!” Joe: *evil laughter*

Gideon protests but is grabbed with the pincers. Oooh wait - he has Protection from Evil! Is that anything? The Glabrezu must be a fiend, right? Yeah, demons count as fiends. In that case! Disadv on that grapple attack! It rolls again with a 12. And Gideon’s AC is:

Eleven.

Cue all of us groaning.

It hasn’t flown with him yet so he’s not far off the ground.

Melaina takes aim at the Faerie Fire’d demon. (Gideon wonders if he can slip out if he casts Grease; Melaina tells him off for not pre-Greasing himself.) She does 21 damage with Sharpshooter and hides again with a nat 20 for a total of 30. Critical Stealth!

Ahleqs makes a DEX save versus his own Grease spell. Wait Gideon needs to make a Concentration check. He needs to roll ten or half the damage he took, which he does with a 13. He still has the other Gideons all around him, all fluffing and fretting. Daddy! No!

Ahleqs uses ToC and Eldritch Blast for ten damage. Everyone within 30 feet all are now vulnerable to Piercing damage. (Would we as characters know this? We players do, but…? DM rules that casters would know.) Ahleqs uses his movement to get further away.

Johnny-come-lately demon makes a grab at Tarragon. Nat 20s for 27 damage. Tarragon rage! She is currently vulnerable to piercing damage but the grab was bludgeoning; phew. It has hold of her and moves with her. It goes over to Ahleqs, having decided it doesn’t like the look of him. It casts Power Word Stun. Can’t save until the end of his turn. Shit. That’s an eighth level spell.

EIGHTH.

LEVEL.

SPELL.

We’re level FIVE!!! *crying*

It punches Tarragon. Fuck!

Gunna, still blinded, picks a random direction. No - he makes a Perception check. He hears Gideon screaming to the southwest, and also hears Tarragon getting socked in the guts to the south east. He goes south east and emerges from the Darkness in front of the demon. “Hey, buddy!”

Tarragon belatedly makes a Concentration check for her Faerie Fire because she got punched, and makes it with a natty 20. Yeah! Gunna attacks, for 15 damage. Nice. Bonus Action Kidney Punch. No, Bonus Action Slam A Potion.

Grease Wizard is up. What can one do when one is grappled by a huge beast? He’ll probably lose a STR check. Does he have Shocking Grasp? Yes! Gideon bites him, sending electrical energy through his teeth. “Bite! For Victory!” 21 hits. 8 damage. Yeah. The thing is resistant to lightning damage, noooo. Bonus Action Scream and Spit Out Bits of Demon.

Kessler rolls a 9; she can act and move normally. She aims at the loudest screaming and hopes to hit the demon. No, the dwarf. No, the demon! She makes a Perception check, if she rolls good then the darkness and the faerie fire will cancel each other out and she can make a straight roll. She is listening to podcasts in her suit and rolls an 8. Well…

Oh shit I’m up. Tarragon casts Thunderwave and it fails its save but its too big to be pushed, so the force of the spell sends her flying out of its grip and across the room. Fucking Excellent. Best shit that’s happened to her all day.

21 to pinch the Grease Wizard. “WHATTTT?” 16 damage, and Gideon doesn’t like that. Make it stop! Oh shit we might lose our wizard. He goes limp in its hands. It throws his little corpse to the ground. Well not corpse. Yet. No throwing would do damage, it bowls him. Like in curling. We get out brooms.

Melaina gets a nat 20 and rolls on our fancy new crit tables - and does TRIPLE DAMAGE. she kills it - yay! - and the other one winks out of existence. How de do dis!

The thing has no pockets - well, it’s got one, Gunna points out - so nowhere to hide an orb. However: with her nat 20, Tarragon knows if she removes the horns she can probably get some money for them from the herbalists. Woo! She sets about sawing them off.

Naysa arrives and whines at the forcefield around Raeph, but he still doesn’t seem to see any of us. Gunna tries to force his arm into the forcefield. (Ed has just been offered another band, woohoo!) It doesn’t work, but he does break his arm. (This is almost exactly how Halbrecht lost his arm, interestingly.) That’s his short sword arm!

Melaina checks the chest. No traps, but it’s locked so she fixes that and rolls on the loot chest macro. “Bazinga! Did it work?” She’s got some stuff, but no ball of funny light. Ahleqs tries twisting the same orb we had before, but turning it the other way. Nothing happens. Tarragon Cure Wounds’s Gunna and fixes his arm.

Ahleqs Investigates the forcefield surrounding Raeph at advantage; rolls *two separate 8s*. what the entire shit. Melaina has a go at the orb. The glow looks the same as the forcefield; with her trap expertise she can see that it was only linked to the door. We need to - wait, the terrible handsome guy not-Molly is back!

Gunna and Kessler move to flank him, and Gunna attacks first asks questions never. The sword passes right through him - he’s an illusion. He says he *was* going to help us but we can now go fuck ourselves.

“No!”

He walks straight through Gunna and out the other side. He addresses Melaina - if he gives us the key will we leave and never tell anyone about this place? “Yes! Deal deal deal gimme gimme!”

He gives her a smaller orb and says once we’ve freed Raeph, we are to leave. Melaina asks is he going to keep doing murders and rapes? That wasn’t his bag, he was just here to help.

We say thank you mister man. “Why are you helping us?” Melaina asks. She only rolls a 6 on Persuasion, but he looks sheepish; what they tried to do to Melaina wasn’t right, he says. 

We twist the orb. (Another demon appears. No.) The magic fades and Raeph slumps to the floor. Tarragon heals him and we get the fruit out of there. Fade to black! Gunna picks up Raeph, who the DM tells us is not as slight as some elves. Gunna makes a STR check to see if he lifts Raeph over his shoulder like a heroic fireman or drops and drags him. Fireman!

Gunna’s new character arc is finding Flat Top to exact his revenge.

We leave the ruins, taking Raeph with us. “Is he conscious?” He will be, DM tells us. We make camp in the woods and set watches; Kessler and Ahleqs go first.

Raeph wakes up at the end of the first watch - when he sees Tarragon, just getting up for second watch, his hair changes back to normal. She fails a Nature check so she has no idea why that happened. She asks how he ended up in all of that; he says he doesn’t really know. Some sort of fey’ri trap. He asks why we are here; she says we came to rescue him. He is touched and impressed. He notices Popcorn; Tarragon says she would love to give him back but he seems to have imprinted. Gunna grunts and turns over in his sleep, muttering “Ask him to dinner…”Tarragon ignores him. 

Raeph offers us to go with him to Eihshara as he is still on his way there; the elves will probably give us a reward for killing a Fey’ri, and they can port us back to Waterdeep as well. Yeah!

In the morning Raeph addresses us and asks the group about Eihshara. Ahleqs thinks porting sounds dangerous. (Gunna asked Raeph during his own watch if he is a vegetarian, and apologises for feeding his dog meat. He is not a vegetarian and enjoys hunting, it turns out. Gunna says they should hang out sometime; apparently he’s jumping in before Tarragon.) 

Usually elves build little villages but this is more of a city. It’s where Melaina’s from. Are her parents there? *Teenage sighing* “… Yeah…”

Naysa spends her time trotting alongside Gunna hoping for more jerky. He feeds her two lots of rations. By the end she visibly can’t Blink as far.

Kessler is throwing things she doesn’t need out of her pack and over her shoulder; included in the discarded items is a scroll of Grease. Gunna picks it up with the intention of selling it to Gideon before realising he can already cast it. Oh! Gunna Casts Grease!

We approach Eihshara. It’s the largest wood elf settlement we’ve ever seen. It looks grown rather than carved, absolutely beautiful. We’ve heard of some elves who can encourage the growth of trees into whatever shapes they want. Gideon: “Unnatural, that’s what it is.”

Gunna sniffs the air; he can’t smell a single bar in this place. Kessler goes in search of an inn and maybe some comfy beds. Gideon makes a Religion check as a man of the Cloth (he often finds himself touching cloth). He sees mini shrines in the walls to Mielikki and Sylvanus and the Leaf Lord, a member of the elven pantheon. There is also a temple to the elven god of archery, if anyone needs healing. Tarragon goes inside.

The elves have a lot in common with Melaina; they’re less slight, and taller. They wear lots of leather armour, beautifully made, and simple clothes with lots of embroidery. No wonder Melaina likes shiny things. In the middle of the temple is a statue of an elven man with a bow. Tarragon goes to say a little prayer for her sister, having been thinking about her since the demon used Tansy to try and intimidate her. (DM: “awww!”)

Gunna wanted a blacksmith, and he also wants a tavern, but he’s easy on the order that they happen in. We’ll get a discount because we’re with Melaina so it’ll be a 2sp for a meal and a room. Gunna has heard of a drink he wants to try; made of the music of a satyr and the tear of a dryad. Ahleqs has had a *day* so goes over to prop up the bar. Melaina joins him.

Gunna also wants a new set of clothes, as he had to abandon his only other set in the woods after the mushroom incident.

Gunna wants a shield just like his one, but more resistant. It’s mostly wood so he’s hoping an elven blacksmith (?) might be able to help him. They have fine quality elven shields. Mates rates would be about 112gp (for a shield of +1). He barters them down to 100. Tarragon inquires about a quarterstaff of +1 - it would be about 350gp. “Never mind then, thank you!” Melaina buys some arrows.

The barman is probably a half-elf; he says he knows about Gunna’s fancy drink. It’ll cost him a gold piece. Gunna’s in, but he wants to see it first. The barman can show him the bottle; it has kind of a shimmer to it. There is no writing on the label. Gunna hands over his money. (Those of us who rolled high on our insight are fairly sure Gunna is being taken for a ride here.)

Raeph disappears and comes back with an elf woman and an elf man; they introduce themselves as Adrytheth and Nolme - members of the Circle of Elders of Eihshara. Nolme is a druid. They ask about our encounter with the Fey’ri. Gunna pulls out the severed head, explains with his mouth full, and gets back to the business of eating and drinking as fast as possible.

These wood elves are much less squeamish than we would have thought; they smile and look impressed when Gunna shows them the head. We killed this ourselves? “Yeah, you see this missing ear? Well, it was a team effort.”

Impressive. Fey’ri are a plague. What do we want for a reward? Tarragon wants a quarterstaff of plus one please! The others want gold. Gunna wants to know if they can help him find a specific half elf? (He’s looking for Flat Top.)

Why? they ask.

He supported the fey’ri! it’s because of them! Severed heads! They kidnapped our friend! The druid says he’s loath to bring violence on a kinsman. They don’t usually cause harm…? Gunna makes a performance check to describe Flat Top aka. Schlid, and rolls a 15. Sounds like Gaernan, a member of the half elf renegades. They’re just kids with the wrong idea. They have their heads full of nonsense ideas about elven civilisations of old. Fairy stories. They’re misguided, but mostly harmless.

We’re heading back to Waterdeep, yes? Here’s some gold. (Gunna says they can keep the head.) They will transport us home, and give Melaina the rune code for a return trip if we want to. As a mark of their pride and a coming of age gift, Melaina can have either a new suit of armour or a new bow. She goes for the bow. They will have their master craftsman work on one. We can rest here and go to the circle of elders tomorrow and they will transport us back.

We wait until they leave to scrabble through the bag to see how much gold they’ve given us. Gideon checks for dwarves.

They gave us a thousand gold pieces! That’s… wait…

Drinks are free for the rest of the night since we killed a fey’ri. Yeah! What’s a thousand divided by six? Tarragon figures out she can afford that quarterstaff and immediately goes running off to buy it. (She has no chill at all and Ahleqs is here for it.) Melaina follows to make sure she gets the discount. The staff in the shop are talking about us, impressed. How impressed, exactly? Tarragon is already waving 350 gold pieces but Melaina gently lowers her arm for her and offers 275. She makes a Persuasion check with Guidance - it is accepted! (Notes are squirrelly for a bit as I add a quarterstaff of +1 to my inventory on roll20.)

We catch Raeph up on everything. He offers to travel with and help us if we ever need it.

Kessler is looking for druids for some reason? She finds some near some water, and asks about dealing with curses. What manner of curse? She doesn’t want any of us to hear this; where are we?

Still in the tavern, Gunna is letting Tarragon hit him with her new quarterstaff to see how much better it is, which she is doing, gleefully. Over and over. His head looks like a meatball. She’ll cast cure wounds on him, right?

“Nope!” she cries joyfully, hitting him again.

(Kessler is asking about her cursed bloodline; she isn’t actually a goblin. Where does she live? Waterdeep. The druid says they will do some investigating and send her an animal messenger if they find anything.)

Gunna gives her a drink when she returns; she immediately pours it on Gideon and goes to bed. He Greases the stairs as she goes up them. She fails her DEX save, loses her balance and her armour goes straight through the floor. Fortunately the inn is pretty busy so the owners don’t notice.

We go to the elders the next day and Melaina is presented with a longbow of +1. They open a teleportation circle. Raeph has some business to finish here, so he will follow us later. Do we go through?

Kessler tries to throw Gideon through the circle; it ends up looking like an awkward half-embrace almost kiss and its funny as shit. Gideon Shocking Grasps her. She punches him with her thunder gauntlets. All the elves are watching this, aghast.

The elf lady offers Melaina a place with them if she wants to leave these idiots; she thanks her and rolls the catfight into the teleportation circle.

Our table at the Dagger is occupied. Gasp! A young male cleric (or a paladin?) and a hooded figure are sitting at *our* table nursing drinks. Um, excuse you.

We go up to level 6! Yeah!!!!!

[star-trekkin-across-theuniverse]

Congrats on 1600 followers!!!! Can I please request a drabble of watching Pride and Prejudice (the bbc version) with Bucky? Thank you much!!!

“Fitzwilliam Darcy,” you announced over dinner with the Avengers. Okay, the entire sentence was surreal when you thought about it. You’d been hired as a contractor because of your expertise in lightweight impact resistant fabrics, and once Tony Stark had you on his payroll as a contractor, he started the process of seducing you onto the team as a regular employee. It hadn’t taken long after he made his first salary offer for you to jump at the idea. Benefits, vacation, a 401k to die for. And access to the famed Stark Industries labs. 

Tony swore you’d already paid for yourself after you invented a new ultra-lightweight fabric that not only was bulletproof but was crush resistant, meaning the wearer couldn’t be squished like a bug under a falling building, which seemed an alarmingly common risk for the heroes you worked for.

Dinner was a celebration of that achievement. The whole team was together to celebrate the fabric, which had passed every test you’d been able to throw at it with ease. Clint’s regular arrows had bounced off it, his exploding arrows had stained it black in places, but the responsive dummy in the suit had no noted injuries. Natasha couldn’t stab it, Steve couldn’t damage it with the shield, Tony was unable to blast it into space with his repulsors. The hammer freaking bounced off it with a funny clanging noise, Wanda tried to use her brain to crush it with no success, and Vision used that freaky beam that came out of his forehead to try to fry it. It made a cool sizzling noise, but otherwise hadn’t been affected. Finally, Steve persuaded Bucky to accept the challenge of attacking the fabric. Even his powerful metal hand had been unable to rend, tear or otherwise damage it. It was impervious to everything.

And so, dinner and celebrating. The conversation turned to movies, as it always seemed to. There were just so many great films that both Steve and Bucky had missed, that there was always something new to suggest. You’d never had much to add to the conversation. You preferred books to movies, and every time you thought of a movie to suggest, the guys had already seen it. Steve had embarrassed you by sitting you down to watch Star Wars when you admitted you’d never seen it as a kid. 

Tonight, however, the conversation had turned from movies to great movie heroes, and you felt you actually could contribute to that conversation. Which lead back to you announcing the name of your favourite male lead of all time.

“Fitzwilliam Darcy?” Clint asked, looking confused.

“You don’t mean that insufferable ass from Pride and -” Tony started.

“Rich, clever, single, women constantly chasing after him?” You interrupted with a quirked eyebrow. “I sure do. You guys have a lot in common, Tony, you might learn something from the imperious Mr. Darcy.”

“Imperious? And yet he’s your favourite?” Steve asked.

“He develops a lot through the book,” you excused quickly.

“We are talking about movies, Y/N!” Clint protested.

“Oh, but there’s a number of Pride and Prejudice movies,” Natasha interjected. “I think I like the BBC miniseries the best. Y/N?”

“Absolutely,” you agreed. “The lake scene?”

“Right?” Natasha winked. Bucky perked up where he was sitting.

“Do you have the DVDs?” He asked, looking at you.

“Sure do,” you nodded.

“So when are we watching it?” He countered.

“Name the date, Bucky,” you smiled.

“Tomorrow?” He suggested.

“Sure,” you nodded.

“Great. It’s a date,” he concluded, picking up his plate and clearing it away. As he often did, once he’d cleaned up after himself, he disappeared back into his suite. Steve met your eyes across the table.

“Be gentle, Y/N. I think this might be the first date he’s had in well over seventy years,” he winked. You crumpled up your napkin and threw it at him.

XXX

You settled onto the couch and handed the bowl of popcorn to Bucky as you turned the movie on.

“You’re sure this is good?” He asked.

“It’s brilliant. Shush and watch,” you replied. “This is long, by the way. If you need a break or want to order a pizza, we can take an intermission.”

It was hilarious watching a movie with Bucky, you quickly learned. He was a movie grumbler, taking in the story and making scathing comments about the characters. 

“Is this before or after they started making vibrating machines for women with hysteria? Because that woman needs a few hysterical paroxysms to make her relax,” he muttered when Mrs. Bennet got wildly excited about Mr. Bingley.

“That Lydia is what we used to call a good-time girl,” he commented when he saw her assessing the soldiers. “They weren’t the kind of girl you took home to your ma though, you know?”

“You really like this Darcy guy, doll? He’s a bit of an insufferable ass.” 

“That fucking Wickham is a slimy bastard. I hope Lizzie figured that out before he gets his hands all up in her knickers!”

When you paused the movie to order in a pizza, you thought Bucky would want to stop watching completely, but he was keen to finish up. You brought a couple beers in with the pizza and plopped back down on the couch before turning the movie back on. You could feel Bucky getting more tense beside you as the movie progressed, and the next time Darcy appeared on the screen, he nearly came off the couch. 

“Inferiority of her birth? That dame is ten times the person that asshole is! Why she oughta -”

“Bucky, shh, watch!” You laughed. He settled back into the cushions and crossed his arms. 

When Lydia ran off with Wickham, he snorted, “Told you the two of them were no good. Now they’re no good together. And I bet this ruins everyone else’s prospects, right?”

“Jesus, what’s that Darcy ass doing in the middle of all this family drama?” He looked genuinely perplexed when Mr. Darcy helped settle Lydia and Wickham, looking at you, then back at the screen in confusion.

“Just watch,” you sighed with a smile. You loved seeing how into the movie he’d gotten. It was almost more fun watching him than the movie. It was the most animated you’d ever seen him, and the longest time you’d spent with him. 

The movie finally ended, and you dashed away a few stray tears, much to Bucky’s amusement. 

“That? That guy is your romantic ideal?” He asked, incredulous. “Doll, that guy is all talk and no action. He’s all blah blah my principles, blah blah your reproof, dearest darling Elizabeth, let me not touch you, not even hold your hand, but instead give you smouldering looks and then later tonight I’ll head home and shag the maid because you’re a lady.”

“Mr. Darcy does not shag the maid, Bucky,” you protested.

“Really? Who then? He certainly wasn’t swimming in that pond just for Lizzie to see. He didn’t know she was there. So who was he trying to impress with his wet poofy shirt? Oh, maybe the butler, you’re right,” Bucky scoffed, his Brooklyn accent coming across a little thicker in his annoyance. You bit your lip in amusement and waited for him to finish his rant.

“Tell me how you really feel, Buck,” you laughed as he wound down. 

“How I really feel? Y/N, if you think that bozo is romance personified, you need a little Brooklyn in your life,” he smirked. You raised an eyebrow in question.

“Oh?”

“Sweetheart, you’re beautiful, and you’re smart. I might not have ten thousand a year, whatever that means, but I’d also never treat you like dirt. And any man that would just because he had more money than you isn’t worth your time,” he explained, leaning a little closer. He reached up and cupped your cheek in his hand, running his thumb across your lower lip before tipping his head and pressing his mouth against yours. “Dearest, darling Y/N.”

You couldn’t help it. You swooned.

11/16

[filmfanatic82]

Anything... (Chapter 10)

AO3 Link (HERE)

Chapter 10

“Billy, do you see her?”

“No… Wait. Yes. I think so. She’s under here.”

Trini starts to slowly drift back into consciousness at the sound of Billy’s voice.

“Billy?” Trini manages to weakly croak out.

“Hold on, Trini. We’re going to get you out.”

Trini attempts to move, but finds that it’s of little use. She’s pinned down at multiple points of her body. Plus…

Trini feels weak. Beyond weak. Like everyday, average teenaged girl type of weak.

A tidal wave of panic laced with fear instantly washes over Trini.

Why does she feel so weak? What’s wrong with her powers? Where’s her--

“Fuck,” Trini screams out as a sudden burst of pain radiates down her body followed by a release of pressure. The main piece of concrete that up until this point has be pinning her down, slowly lifts upwards, allowing her to finally take a good look around.

Complete and utter destruction.

There are just no other words to describe it.

Trini can’t seem to recognize anything except for the random traces of semi-charred movie posters and popcorn containers. It’s just an endless sea of smoke, concrete rubble, and debris.

Did Tommy do this? It had to have been him, right?

But there’s no giant monster. No Putties. No sign of even Tommy himself. Then why--

“Sorry, Trini. Just one more piece. Promise,” Billy reassures her with a nervous smile.

Trini’s eyes rapidly blink as she adjusts to the harsh, almost blinding light. She fixates in on the sight of Billy before her as he struggles to lift the last piece of concrete off of her legs.

He shouldn’t be struggling.

Sure, it’s heavy. Hell, most people wouldn’t be able to even get that slab to budge an inch, let alone lift it off of the ground...

But, still, something isn’t right. He’s struggling too much.  

Trini’s seen Billy fling thousand ton Putties in the air before one-handed.

No, something is wrong.

Trini’s hands wildly grope down towards her front, left pocket of her jeans, only to discover a massive, gaping hole where the pocket should be.

Shit… Shit… Shit…

Her power coin is gone.

“Billy, my coin--” Trini squeaks out with a partial cough, attempting to recover her voice.

“I know. Mine is gone too. So is Jason’s, Zack’s, and Kimberly’s.”

With one final grunt of effort, Billy pries the final piece of concrete off of Trini and then offers her a hand, helping her to her feet.

Trini does a quick once over of her body, testing out each and every one of her limbs for any injuries.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Just a shit ton of cuts and bruises. You?”

Billy gives a nod in confirmation. “As far as I can tell, I only have a few lacerations. Luckily, we weren’t too close to the blast when it detonated.”

“Where’s everyone--”

“Right here, Crazy Girl.” Zack zig-zags his way through the mounds of debris, looking a bit haggard but, more or less, in one piece. “Just had to free Jase’s ass from the concessions stand. Or what’s left of it.”

“For the record, I wasn’t trapped in the concessions stand.” Jason emerges, following close behind Zack and sporting a noticeable limp. His left leg is caked with a thick layer of blood that appears to be oozing out of a mid thigh to knee sized gash. “You okay, T?”

“I think so. But where’s…” Trini trails off as Kimberly comes into view.  

Kimberly staggers her way towards them, sporting a particularly nasty cut that run from her left eyebrow all the way up into the recesses of her hair. It’s clear that she’s taken a bad blow, but like the rest, is at least up and moving.

“Kim,” Trini exhales with a mixture of relief and concern as she scrambles to make up the distance between the two of them.

“Hey baby,” Kimberly responds weakly with a slight level of unsteadiness to her voice.

Trini securely wraps her arms around Kimberly, momentarily forgetting about her own injuries, and plants a tender kiss on her cheek. “You okay, Princess?”

Kimberly ever so slightly nods, letting her whole body relax into Trini’s. “I think so… Think I might’ve gotten a concussion from the blast, but otherwise I'm okay. Everything’s just a bit fuzzy.”

Trini guides Kimberly’s head down to rest in the crux between her head and shoulder and gently strokes her hair.

“I’ve got you,” Trini responds in nothing more than a whisper as she wraps her arms a bit tighter around Kimberly. Even though there’s thick layer of dirt and blood, she still can smell the distinct aroma of strawberries and wildflowers that she has come to associate with Kimberly and it’s nothing short of comforting.

“So what’s the plan? Cause we can’t do jack shit without our you-know-whats.” Zack makes a circle his thumbs and index fingers, pantomiming the shape of a coin while his eyes cautiously scan their surroundings for anyone who might be within earshot of their conversation. Although the nearest person is a good 100 or so feet away from them, it’s still far from safe to talk freely.

“We need to get to the ship and talk to Big Z. We’re vulnerable without our you-know-whats,” Jason responds, eyeing the nearby pockets crowd as well for anything out of the ordinary.

“Who’s Big… Oh! I’ve got it.” Billy’s eyes grow wide as he catches on to what Jason is trying to say.

“But we can’t enter the ship without our coins, right?” Trini asks Billy.

“Not exactly. No. But I’ve been working on this device with Alpha 5. It’s sorta like a teleporter. We haven’t fully tested it out yet, but in theory, it should allow us to bypass the protection shields and beam ourselves directly to the morphing grid. Or at least whoever’s wearing it.”

Zack excitedly reaches over and plants a sloppy kiss on Billy’s forehead. “Genius! Billy for the save.”

Billy recoils a bit, wiping the saliva off of his head. “Again. It hasn’t been tested. Well, that’s not 100% true. We tested it once with one of the lab rats that I borrowed from Dr. Green and it sorta worked.”

“Sorta?” Trini questions with a doubtful look.

“The rat made it… But he was missing his tail.”

A sobering silence circles the group as this information sinks in, then--

“Well, we’ve got no other choice.” Jason rubs the back of his neck and then straightens himself up a bit, putting more of his weight on his injured leg. “Where’s the device?”

“At my house.”

“Okay. Then we divide and conquer. Zack, Billy, and I will go to Billy’s house to retrieve the device while Trini--”

“On it.” Trini cuts Jason off, reading his mind. She secures her grip on Kimberly in confirmation.

“What? No, I’m okay. We shouldn’t split up.” Kimberly tenses up in Trini’s arms as the sudden realization of what Jason is suggesting hits her.

“Kim, you took a massive blow to the head.”

“And your leg is split wide open,” Kimberly fires back at Jason, motioning towards his gaping wound. “I’m okay.”

“Kim, please… Let’s just swing by my house? We can at least get a change of clothes. My jeans are one good rip away from begining cut-offs and your shirt isn’t much better. We’ll meet back up with them in 30 tops. Promise”

Kimberly lets out a heavy sigh. “Alright.”

“Good.” Trini gives Kimberly a reassuring smile before turning back towards Billy, Zack, and Jason. “30 mins at the cliffs.”

“Aye, Aye, Crazy Girl,” Zack responds as he grabs hold of Jason’s arm and hoists it over his shoulder.

“Zack, I’ve--”

“Quit fightin’ it. You need help, dude.” Zack motions to Billy to do the same on the other side of Jason, allowing for Jason to relieve some of the stress on his injured leg.

Zack and Billy adjust their grips on Jason and then start to help him navigate back through the maze of debris.

They progress a few feet before Jason pauses for a moment and looks back over his shoulder at Trini and Kimberly. “Trini--”

“I know. Be safe.” Trini finishes Jason’s thought with a strong nod in confirmation.

Trini and Kimberly wait a moment or two in silence, simply watching as Billy, Jason, and Zack disappear from view, then--

“C’mon, Princess. Let’s get out of here.”

Kimberly simply gives Trini’s hand an extra hard squeeze in response, unable to find her words.

As Trini leads Kimberly through the wreckage of debris, a singular thought starts to run rampant throughout her head…

She needs to tell Kimberly everything… before it’s too late.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Stay awake on me, Princess,” Trini huffs out with a heavy breath of air while giving Kimberly a firm shake in the process. “Just a few more steps.”

Trini hadn’t accounted for just how long -- or even more importantly how hard -- it would be to travel the few blocks from the Angel Grove theater back to her own house.

Sure, there was the expected barrage of police and rescue workers to actively avoid. Which naturally meant the occasional ducking into side alleyways or attempting to blend into the ever growing crowd of onlookers.

But it was the general lack of super strength that had really thrown Trini for a real loop. Up until now, she hadn’t realized just how much she had grown accustom to it… and even in some ways, taken it for granted.

If she had had her power coin, then getting home would have been a breeze. Trini would have simply scooped Kimberly up into her arms and raced home at the speed of light without even breaking a sweat.

But no coin meant no powers… or at least, diminishing powers.

As Zordon had once explained to them, when Zack had up and accidentally left his coin on top of a city bus, the farther they were from their coins, the weaker -- and more human -- they would become.

Their powers weren’t finite. No, they could and ebb and flow depending on the their overall proximity to their individual coins themselves.

Like a rechargeable battery, as Billy had put it.

Trini’s powers weren’t 100% gone, which meant their coins were still nearby… which also meant--

No, she’s not going there. Not right now.

First, she needs to get Kimberly situated within the somewhat safe confines of her room and then she would go about telling her… Telling her everything…

“I can’t…” Kimberly trails off as she grows limper in Trini’s arms. “I’m just so tired.”

“I know, beautiful. But we’re almost there. Promise.”

Trini manages to nudge her bedroom door open with her leg and then carefully guides Kimberly towards her bed. “Here.”

Kimberly takes a seat down on the bed and immediately attempts to lay down.

“Whoa… No way,” Trini grabs hold of Kimberly’s arms and gently pulls Kimberly back on up into a sitting position. “You need to stay awake, okay?”

“But baby, I’m just so tired…” Kimberly pouts, barely managing to keep her eyes open.

“And that’s why your ass needs to stay awake.” Trini unbuttons her jeans, shimmies her legs free, and then unceremoniously kicks them across the room. “Dormir con una lesión en la cabeza no es bueno.”

“God, I love it when you speak Spanish.”

“I know.” Trini replies with a slightly smirk. She reaches for the bottom of Kimberly’s shirt and starts to carefully peel it from her body. “Anything to keep you up, Princess.”

“Trini, we can’t do it right now. We’ve gotta go meet the boys,” Kimberly whines as she raises her arms, allowing Trini to maneuver her shirt up over her head.

Trini can’t help but let a light chuckle slip out at this comment. “Cute, but that’s not why I’m undressing you. We need clean clothes.”

Trini turns back towards her closet and quickly begins to rummage through her clothes. “I think I’ve got an oversized hoodie that might fit...”

Trini trails off as she happens to glance back over her shoulder at Kimberly, who’s taken the opportunity to lay down once again.

Fuck.

Trini wants Kimberly awake and alert. No. Scratch that. She NEEDS it.

She needs Kimberly fully present because what’s she’s about to say is going to be hard enough as is.

Trini moves back towards the bed and once again drags Kimberly upright.

“Just five minutes, baby,” Kimberly mumbles as she attempts to free herself from Trini’s grip.

But Trini isn’t letting go. She squats down in front of Kimberly, locking eyes with her in the process. “Kim, I need to tell you something. Something super important.”

“Let me guess… You love me?” Kimberly replies with a playful smirk.

“No… Well, yes. But that’s not it. I… I…” Trini trails off as she gets lost within the chocolate brown abysses that are Kimberly’s eyes.

God, those eyes…

Those eyes that in a matter of seconds are going to forever look at her differently…

Panic.

It creeps in, invading every inch of her body. Constricting… Overwhelming…

Trini can’t breathe.

Yes, her lungs are working. Somewhere deep within the confines of her mind, she knows it to be true, and yet…

She can’t breathe.

Kimberly suddenly picks up on Trini’s panic induced state and in a blink of an eye, pulls herself together. She wraps her hands around Trini’s as her eyes search Trini’s face for some sort of explanation. “Baby? What is it?”

“I… I… Oh god, I’ve fucked up… Kim, I’ve like really fucked up…” Trini spurted out the words, in between gasps of air.

“Breathe, baby. Breathe.”

But Trini can’t breathe.

She just can’t…

The panic is not only all encompassing but is a mere seconds away from swallowing her whole.

Suddenly, Trini feels Kimberly’s hand upon her chest, right above her heart.

“Just concentrate on my voice. Okay, baby? Nothing else,” Kimberly states with a calm, steady authority as if her concussion is non-existent. “Now tell me something you can feel.”

“Your hand.”

“Good, baby. Tell me more.”

“It’s… It’s over my heart and moving in sync with my chest,” Trini replies with a deep exhale as the overwhelming sense of panic starts to ebb.

“Exactly.” Kimberly reaches out and ever so gently cups Trini’s chin with her other free hand. “There you go. You know you can tell me any--”

“I know who’s possessed by Rita.” Trini blurts out, ripping the the verbal bandaid right on off. “It’s Tommy. Tommy Oliver. He’s the one who took our coins. And the one who beat me up the other night. Not Amanda. And I think the one behind the protection shields acting all crazy too.”

Trini tenses up and shuts her eyes, bracing for Kimberly’s reaction, but…

It doesn’t come.

There’s only silence. Skin-crawling silence…

“Please say something,” Trini whispers, unable to bring herself to open her eyes.

But still… Only silence.

Time seems to stand still as Trini waits for something… anything.

Then, just when she can’t seem to take another single, solitary moment of the nothingness, finally--

“How long?”

Trini’s eye pop back open, takes her first good look at Kimberly and--

Her heart shatters.

There staring back at Trini is nothing more than confusion laced with utter betrayal.

“Kim, I…”

“How long, Trini?” Kimberly questions with a sudden level of coldness to her voice.

“At least a month.”

And with this confession, Trini feels Kimberly���s hands harshly recoil from hers.

“Trini, how could you not say anything? You let us… You let me believe that--”

“TRINITY MARIA GOMEZ!”

Fuuuck.

Double fuuuck… No. Scratch that. Fuuuck to the power of infinity.

Suddenly, the sobering reality of how Trini and Kimberly must look, comes crashing down upon Trini.

Trini is there, on her knees right before a topless Kimberly, in nothing but a t-shirt and her boyshort underwear.

And there’s no explanation for it… at least none that her mother would ever believe.

No. This is bad… So fuuucking bad.

“I… I… should go,” Kimberly stumbles upon her words as she hastily hops off of the bed and scrambles to make her way out of the room, all the while actively avoiding eye contact with Mrs. Gomez.

“Kim, wait--” Trini goes to chase after Kimberly, when suddenly--

CRACK.

Mrs. Gomez slaps Trini right across the face.

Trini freezes in her tracks as her hand wanders upwards towards her cheek in utter disbelief.

“Mamí, I…” Trini voice quivers as she fiercely fights back the tidal wave of tears that are seconds away from spilling forth from her eyes.

“Get out.”

“What?”

“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE,” June growls with a level of hatred and disgust that is simply incomprehensible to Trini.

Sure, her mom has been upset with her before. Hell, lately, it seems to be the status quo with the two of them…

But this feels distinctly different. This moment feels as if Trini has hit the point of no return.

That in this one singular moment, the entirety of her relationship with her mother has been forever erased from existence.  

That Trini is, in fact, suddenly nothing more than absolute stranger to her mother…

There’s no coming back from this.

“Mamí, please,” Trini begs in nothing more than a strangled whisper. The tears now freely from her eyes, cutting two defined streaks down her dirt smudged face.

“Now!”

And with that singular word, all familial ties are seemingly served.

Trini is absolutely on her own.

Trini swallows hard, quickly wiping her tears away with the backs of her hands, and in less than a blink of an eye, pulls herself together.

She snatches up a pair of nearby jeans, her favorite gray beanie, and a yellow hoodie and without another moment’s hesitation, heads out of her bedroom.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini bolts out of her front door and doesn’t stop running. She needs to put distance between herself and what she used to consider her home.

It isn’t until Trini is three blocks away, does she finally even pause for a moment to catch her breath.

BUZZ.

BUZZ.

BUZZ.

Trini reaches into her back pocket and pulls out her cell phone. A picture of Jason with his arms goofily draped around Billy’s shoulder appears on the screen.

Trini clicks the answer button and then holds the phone up to her ear. “Hey.”

“We just got to the cliffs. Where are you guys? You close? How Kim?” Jason’s voices echoes out through the phone.

The mere mention of Kim’s name hits Trini like a sucker punch to the gut.

Oh god… Kimberly.

“Something sorta happened. My mom walked in on Kim and I… and she freaked out. Kim took off.”

“Kim’s not with you?” The underlying level of concern to Jason’s voice is nothing short of unsettling.

“No.”

“Where is she?”

“I dunno…”

“Okay. Why don’t you come meet us here and then we can--”

“I’ll find her.”

“Trini--”

“I said I’ll find her.” Trini doesn’t wait for a response. She swipes the screen and then shoves her phone back into her pocket.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini isn’t even halfway up Kimberly’s driveway before she’s hit with the sickening sensation that something is wrong… very, very wrong.

The front door has been ripped clean off of its hinges and haphazardly tossed aside onto the nearby porch swing.

Shit… Shit… Shit…

Trini sprints the rest of the way towards the house and then takes the front steps two at a time, willing her body to move faster. She attempts to mentally brace herself for what’s she’s about to walk in on, but it doesn’t matter.

Right as Trini’s about to take her first step inside, she notices--

THICK STREAKS OF BLOOD that cover almost every inch of the surrounding door frame and floor below. The streaks are painted about in erratic patterns as if someone -- someone who happened to be badly bleeding at the time -- was dragged out of of there against their own will.

“Kim!” Trini frantically screams out into the darkness of the house before her.

But there’s no reply.

Trini attempts to will her body to start moving again and that’s when she sees it.

Like a cherry, on some sadistic sundae, someone has scrawled out a message within the blood.

I told you not to say anything, Yellow...

Trini stumbles backwards in complete and utter shock as true the meaning of the words before her fully sink in.

Tommy has Kimberly… and it’s all her fault.

[wtf-taeyong]

Ghost / Seven / Jungkook

Word count - 4.8k+

Thank you (:

One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven _______________________

It had been several months since you woke up, and Jungkook found that these months were possibly the best in his life. BTS were only gaining more and more popularity, winning countless awards teenage-Jungkook would have salivated over the mere sight of. The bonds between all the members were stronger than ever, and Jungkook’s friendship with you was only flourishing.

Since he had spent such a long time without you, he wasn’t going to waste any other time he could spend with you. He was not going to take you for granted anymore, and he’d be damned if he let anything get in the way of you two.

A loud burst of laughter woke Jungkook up, uncomfortably early on a Wednesday morning. His eyes peeled apart and he lolled his head over to one side to see Namjoon’s bed vacated; it was generally unusual for the leader to be up before Jungkook, so Jungkook wasted no time before clambering out of bed and pulling on whatever T-shirt he could find that didn’t stink of sweat. Unsure of whether or not the T-shirt even belonged to him, Jungkook padded out of the bedroom-

Only to be met with a spray of water to the face.

Coughing and spluttering, Jungkook wiped his eyes quickly and blinked around to see you, Hoseok and even Yoongi hunched over, cackling at the maknae’s befuddled expression. Jungkook couldn’t even move, too overwhelmed with shock from the sight of the two elder hyungs condoning your childish behaviour, and his jaw could have dislocated from the rest of his skull at the sight of the water gun held loosely in Yoongi’s hand.

He wasn’t able to gather his thoughts before he received another blast of water, courtesy of your water gun that was held in your dominant hand, and you burst into laughter again, turning and sprinting away down the hall from Jungkook’s grabby hands.

“Y/N!” he exclaimed, half in annoyance and half in amusement at the volume of the borderline ugly laughter you were releasing. Hoseok was hot on your heels, the two of you thundering down the hall and out the front door that Jungkook saw was already propped open with one of the dining chairs. Cocking his head, Jungkook wasn’t far behind the two of you, aiming to disarm you of your plastic weapon and exact his revenge on you.

Yoongi wasn’t long behind Jungkook, and the youngests confusion only heightened as all four of your ran out into the lobby of the building and out the front door. You yelled, screaming at the temperature of the water that hit your back as Hoseok shot at you, and your legs sped up as you sprinted down the four steps, turning the corner and aiming down the street.

Jungkook was reluctant to follow, concerned with anybody seeing, but Hoseok and Yoongi were uncaring and merely followed you, shooting at each other. Jungkook shrugged and sprinted after the three of you, following the sounds of your laughter and screams. Eventually, you all rounded the corner and Jungkook could have dropped dead at the sight of Namjoon pinning Jimin down to the floor whilst Jin sprayed a never ending flow of water into his face.

Tae was gigging at the trio, half-heartedly trying to rescue his best friend from his hyungs grip.

“Hyung!” his voice was high pitched and whiny, and he yelled in fright when you launched yourself at his back, causing him to lose his balance and sent the two of you sailing to the ground. Tae received a face full of water from your gun and he spluttered before bringing up his own and shooting your straight into your open mouth as you peeled your lips apart to yell a war cry.

As you coughed the water back up, Jimin was able to free himself from his hostage situation and scampered over to Jungkook’s side, hiding himself behind Jungkook and using the younger as a human shield. Immediately, Jungkook was drenched in the water from three different water guns and he froze as the cool temperature soaked through his clothes and settled into his bones.

Without missing a beat, he yanked the gun from Jimin’s hands and aimed it at Namjoon and Jin who were close enough together that he was able to shoot them both at the same time. They yelled, and Jungkook switched his target to Yoongi who was trying his best to remain inconspicuous towards the back of the car park. Enraged at his sudden wet-cat state, Yoongi released a cry and started sprinting towards Jungkook, who yelled in return and took off in the other direction. Hoseok sprinted after you, and Seokjin and Namjoon were both trying to hold off Taehyung and Jimin.

The entire car park, despite it being a relatively frigid day in the middle of October, was drenched in water and filled with the childish screams of the adults who were scarcely dressed and running around after each other.

Even though it was a rather disruptive way to start the day, Jungkook couldn’t help but feel a warmth settle into his heart as they all traipsed back into the dorm, shivering and moving quickly to find dry clothes and defrost their chilly toes. Your hand was wrapped firmly in his, and he had a huge goofy grin on his face.

His stress levels were alleviated, and he knew that his hyungs stress was pushed back down too.

“Was this your idea?” he murmured to you, chucking one of his clean T-shirts at your face and a pair of shorts.

“Might have been. What of it?”

Jungkook merely hummed in response, not sure how he should word his gratitude. It was clear that all of them needed some time to relax and act like children, to put a break in their working, and he knew that you knew that. His heart was swelling in further adoration for you and all you did for their happiness.

You were too good for him.

-

It was later that evening and all members including you, were gathered in the living room around the TV, bickering about what film to watch.

Jungkook watched as Hoseok and Jimin were squatted on the floor, shoving each other playfully as they called for a vote on what film they should watch, having narrowed it down to their two options. Hoseok crowed in victory as his film was selected and he childishly stuck his tongue out at Jimin who was pouting on the floor.

Namjoon chuckled, ruffling Jimin’s hair as he moved past him, placing the huge bowl of popcorn on the table in the centre of the room.

“Oh God, not this one again.” you moaned, flopping backwards onto Yoongi’s shoulder dramatically.

“No complaining, majority rules!” Hobi yelled, leaping and cramming himself on the sofa between you and Jungkook. He wiggled in further to make himself comfortable and whilst Jungkook laughed at the elders excitement, he couldn’t help but acknowledge the twinge of annoyance in his chest.

He was quick to quash it down, however, at the sound of your laughter as you watched Jimin shove Jin, who was crouched down to place the DVD in the DVD player. The younger was quick to scuttle away as Jin was sprawled on the floor in a heap, placing his butt on the floor at Yoongi’s feet so he could lean against the elders legs. Jin could only mutter incomprehensible gibberish in anger, before he laughed at the innocent look on Jimin’s face and shook his head, rubbing a hand down his face in exasperation.

Namjoon laughed, coming to cram himself on the sofa too, on the other side of Jungkook. It was a tight fit, almost uncomfortably so, and Jungkook couldn’t help but stick his tongue inside his cheek and bite his lip lightly as he watched Yoongi reach up to tuck some of your hair behind your ear.

Almost immediately, you pulled the hair back into your face and laughed at the pouty expression on Yoongi’s face, but Jungkook felt both pleased and concerned. He knew that the scar that stretched part-way down your forehead was still a source of self consciousness, but he loved it. He loved that it told a story of how much both you and he had been through. It was something special to him, even with the sadness and grief that was behind it.

“Hurry up, hyung!” Taehyung moaned, head lolling backwards as Jin took his sweet time to start the film. The elder straightened out and turned to see no seats available, cursing loudly again as he was resigned to sit on the floor.

“You kids are going to be the death of me!”

“Good-” Yoongi started to joke before he was cut off by you.

“You know we love you, Seokjin! Do you want to sit in my seat?”

Immediately, Jin protested but he ultimately lost when you stood up and shoved him down into your previously owned seat. Jungkook watched your form snake down to the floor and curl up slightly, and his heart swelled at the sight of your endless kindness.

He didn’t even have to think about it before he too slid off the sofa and onto the floor next to you, and he couldn’t bare to think about it as you smiled widely at him, tugging his arm so it was wrapped over your shoulders and you were cuddled into his side.

He could barely breathe through the beginning of the film in the fear of disrupting your enraptured state, but eventually his muscles relaxed and he even pulled you further into him. You snuggled your face into his chest slightly, resting your arm across his stomach, and Jungkook swore that his heart exploded, shattered, ruptured all at once.

Perhaps his infatuation with your was beginning to become unhealthy. Maybe he had a heart condition? That would be the only logical explanation as to why he felt like he was about to die.

You stayed right there, glued to his side, for the entirety of the rest of the film, even all the way past when your legs went numb from the hard floor. You didn’t really feel like moving, enjoying the warmth that he gave out. You weren’t entirely hating the way that his heartbeat would thrum erratically whenever you shifted even a few centimetres.

Yet another month passed in a similar fashion. Often, you would spring random surprises on all of the boys which would force them to let loose and relax slightly. He admired it, really, the way you exploited their competitive nature in order to have fun, but it wasn’t fun for him when he lost and had to do the dishes every day for the next week. Nevertheless, he couldn’t stay mad at you for long when you insisted on helping him do the dishes, and apologised in the form of lamb skewers and as many spicy noodles as your arms could carry to the dorm every single time.

Or he was in love with you and couldn’t stay angry because he found you utterly precious. It’s all relative.

However, Jungkook’s bliss was frustratingly short-lived, again. It was a Thursday evening and you came bounding into the dorm, eyes bright and hair wild around your face. Your cheeks were flushed from the warmth outside, showing that you had been running to the dorm, and Jungkook could have sang in joy at the sight of you.

He was quick to sober up at the news that poured from your lips.

“I have a date tonight!”

He couldn’t believe it. Well, he could - you were absolutely flawless in his eyes - but there was a small, selfish part of him that was hoping you would wait for him. There was an even bigger part of him that wanted you to return his feelings, and confess to him first because he sure as hell did not have to balls to confess to you.

“I met him at work, and he’s so nice, really, he is! He made dinner reservations at eight and I have no idea what to wear, oh my God-”

Jungkook wanted you to stop talking. He wanted to shut you up somehow, preferably with his mouth, but he didn’t want to hear you gush about a guy that wasn’t him anymore. He wanted to turn his ears off completely, he wanted to be temporarily deaf, he wanted to kiss you, he wanted-

“That sounds great, Y/N, it really does,” Yoongi said, a mysterious tilt in his voice that Jungkook couldn’t even identify.. “And I don’t wanna ruin your moment, but I have to call Jungkook into the studio now and we’re gonna be a while, so…”

The request for you to leave was so subtle that there was no way you could have been able to tell that it was slightly acidic, slightly malicious. Thus, you left the dorms in the excited whirlwind of energy that you were when you had bounded through the door.

Jungkook was already drained of all the energy he may have had, and he turned in the direction of his room to sleep the rest of the day away, completely forgetting what Yoongi had said about the studio.

“Kid,” Yoongi called, and Jungkook froze where he was, expecting a scolding. “Are you okay?”

Jungkook shrugged, not trusting his voice at that moment.

“It’s okay if you’re not.”

It was those words that sent tears cascading down Jungkook’s face, shoulders already trembling. A hand lay on his back, and Jungkook was brought into a hug so firm and warm that his sobs erupted from his mouth before he could even try to quash them down.

Sometimes, being an idol sucked.

-

Exactly four days later, at around midday, Jungkook was headed down to his favourite café to pick up orders for himself, Namjoon and Yoongi. The three of them had spent hours in the studio, not necessarily working but being together. Of course lyrics had been scribbled down and Yoongi had even had to rush to draw some notes that he thought would make a nice melody when pulled together, the job of an idol never really stopping, but it was nice and relaxing.

Now, Jungkook was on his way to the café a little further away from the BigHit building than others he could have gone to, but this other café was one he had been visiting with you for as long as the two of you had been living in Seoul. It was lovely and cosy, and the mismatched mugs really added a lot of character to the place.

He pushed the door open, heart warming already at the familiar tinkling noise of the old fashioned bell and the smell of coffee beans that hit his nose. The café itself never seemed to have a busy patronage, and even whilst he deemed the place worthy of more success than the Starbucks chain, the very quiet chatting only interrupted by the coffee machine soothed his heart and his soul. He made his way over to the counter in an unhurried fashion, wanting to prolong his time there. Even if he wasn’t with you in your special café, he still enjoyed himself.

Until, of course, he saw you. He saw you sitting there, cosied up with that fucking coworker. He saw you in the café that he thought was special to the two of you, and you had brought him there. He saw you sitting in the chairs that you and Jungkook shared for years, dubbing it ‘Our Table.��� He saw you there, and the very sight of you was enough for Jungkook’s heart to break all over again.

Of course this happened. How natural. As if the hands of Fate herself had twisted his reality into her playtime, to do with him whatever She wanted. Jungkook gritted his teeth and almost couldn’t choke out the three orders to the patiently waiting barista, and his fingers shook as he handed over his card. Even though he knew you hadn’t noticed his presence, the back of his neck burnt as if you were staring at him.

He was itching to turn, desperate for you to make eye contact with him so you could see how bothered he was. How betrayed he felt. He didn’t though, and he collected his coffees swiftly, turning and beginning to make his way to the exit.

He couldn’t, of course. Fate tugged at another of his puppet strings and ensured his day was even worse.

“Jungkook!” you called out to him from across the room, and his hackles raised slightly at the increased risk of being recognised out in the open. His head snapped to yours, a fire burning in his eyes at the compilation of anger, betrayal and fear, and he glared at you so fiercely from where he was that he was even angrier at himself for making you shrink back, dropping your hand from where you had raised it to wave at him. He didn’t hang around to chat, turning away and leaving behind only his coat tails, whipped behind the shutting door.

The frigid Seoul air was a little colder on his walk home.

-

Jungkook was exhausted. He couldn’t stop thinking about the way you had smiled at the man that wasn’t him, laughing at something that Jungkook hadn’t said. His hands were gripping his pen far too tightly, but he didn’t loosen his grip at the way that you had even looked like you were wearing more makeup and that certainly wasn’t a dress he had ever seen.

Did you think you had to put more effort in for him? Did he not accept you for the perfect way you already were? Why did you feel the need to change?

Jungkook’s head was swimming with questions that he would never get the answer to, and eventually Seokjin had to pry the pen out of the sleeping boy’s hand and slide a pillow under his head.

Sighing from his position on the sofa, Yoongi wondered what the kid could have possibly done in a past life to deserve this emotional turmoil.

The next morning, Jungkook awoke with a stiff neck, no texts or calls from you, but with a fresh sense of objective; he would force himself to get over you, no matter how he did it, and that involved distancing himself.

You’d be fine with it, you had your new beau to keep you occupied in his absence (Jungkook wanted to choke at the thought.)

He changed your contact name to simply ‘Y/N’ and he deleted the messages from the previous day. He changed his lock screen from a picture of the two of you on one of your many fake Valentine’s Day dates to a particularly unflattering shot of Jimin, and he even clomped around his room, picking up any of the crap you had left there and putting it away.

He was serious about his new mission, and whilst he knew that it would take time and a lot of hurt, it was probably for the best. For the both of you.

For both of your benefits, he would become a ghost in your life just like you had in his.

It was on the fifth day that Jimin asked when you were coming round again, and the sixth day was when you called him for the first time. He didn’t answer, fearing that hearing your voice would make him long to see you even more, but you were relentless and called another few times after that. The sixteenth and seventeenth days were defined, just like all of the days before, by your endless amount of phone calls and pleading texts, voicemails that he never opened and promptly deleted.

Was he being too harsh…?

He shrugged, turning over in his bed to turn his phone off and place it back on his bedside table.

You would get the message, despite whether or not he sent you one.

-

Tears were streaming down your face and your knees were tucked up tightly to your chin. You could barely read the words on your phone screen, the pain in your chest almost becoming too much to bear with.

Not only had you just broken up with your colleague, but the other half of your soul wasn’t reaching out to help you.

Crying out again, you threw your phone onto your bed and screamed into your knees. Why was Jungkook being so stubborn?! What had you even done wrong? Why did you miss him like you’d miss oxygen after not breathing for three minutes? Why did everything feel so… Shit?

You sighed, hiccuping slightly, and pushed your hair out of your slightly sweaty face. The stupid boy; how were you supposed to tell him how you felt if he was ignoring you so absolutely?

Even the rest of Bangtan had opted to ignore your calls and texts, and you had never felt so isolated from your best friends. Had Jungkook told them to ignore you, to cut you out of their lives, or had they done this of their own volition?

Either way, you desperately needed to see your best friend, the man you finally realised you were so deep in love with that you felt like you were drowning. You needed to see him.

You had to see him.

Scrambling up, you grabbed your phone and house keys, forcing your feet into some shoes that you hadn’t bothered to undo the laces of earlier, and sprinted out of the door into the night like your very life depended on it. Perhaps it did.

One foot in front of the other. Left, right, left, right… The sound of shoes slapping against the concrete of the pavement echoed around you and you were almost winded, still sprinting as fast as you could towards the BigHit building. It felt like deja vu, but this time the need was tinted with more of a desperate longing.

Hurtling through reception, you barely registered the sight of the bleary eyed receptionist on a late shift, slamming your thumb onto the button to call an elevator. Tapping your foot impatiently, running from elevator shaft to elevator shaft to check which one was getting to you the fastest, your eyes strayed to the nearby door that led to the stairs. Goosebumps erupted across your flesh and you decided that waiting for the elevator would be the best option. You didn’t want to revisit that stairwell any time soon.

Finally, after what felt like centuries, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. All but leaping inside, you slammed your thumb yet again against the correct floor button, hopping around like a madman, adrenaline surging through you.

This whole plan could go one of two ways, and you prayed to every single deity that smiled upon you to let it go right.  

You threw yourself down the hallway, nearly punching through the door in your eagerness to knock on it as loudly as you could. You hollered his name at the top of your lungs, trying your best to convey the urgency of the matter and begging him to come out. Aware that you were creating an incredible fuss, (having only a matter of time before an angry burly staff member physically removed you from the building) you could have cried in relief at the sight of your favourite boy, dressed in his usual crinkled pajama top and sweatpants, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and hair half standing vertical.

Jungkook’s eyes widened in shock at the sight of you, tears streaming down your face and bringing your makeup with it. Your eyes were red and puffy, showing that you had been crying for some time, and Jungkook immediately ignored his promise to get over you and brought you into his arms and pressed your head into his chest, moving backwards into the dorm and gently shutting the door with his foot.

“What’s wrong?” he asked softly, kissing the top of your head and stroking your hair. Your sobs quietened slightly at his soothing actions, and tears fell silently down your cheeks, absorbed promptly by Jungkook’s shirt.

How could you have been so blind? Jungkook had been the only person by your side for years, all this time, even when you were in a coma. Why did it take you this long to realise that he was the only one you’d ever want by your side for the rest of your life? Why did it have to take a love confession from another and breaking their heart to realise that? Was this the kind of person you were?

“Jungkook,” you muttered, bringing your face away from his shirt and looking up at him. He smoothed your hair down, brushing some from your face, and smiled gently.

“Yeah?”

“Is it okay if I say something absolutely ridiculous?”

“You never asked permission to say something ridiculous before,” he mused. “How absurd are we talking?”

“Completely. Utterly.”

“Oh,” he blinked gently, then nodded, eyes softening as he stared at the way that your tears clung to each of your eyelashes. “Go ahead.”

“I think I’m in love with you.”

The effect was instantaneous.

Jungkook wasn’t that smart. He wasn’t clever in the way that some of his hyungs were, and he could own up to that. He was, for lack of a better word, shit at science in school and if he ever paid attention he’d be baffled the entire time. However, he knew what a supernova was. He was well rehearsed in what it was like to explode in a sudden mass of light and energy, but he did not, for one millisecond, think that his insides would explode much like one. Pure energy and light was radiating out of him, a smile lighting up his face like never before.

He didn’t think he could ever be as happy as he was the day you woke up, but not only had you proved him wrong, you had triumphed any kind of emotion that anybody in the world had ever experienced.

He was still staring straight into your eyes as this internal explosion was happening, but Jungkook didn’t care how weird that might be.

Did he even have a heart anymore? Had it fallen out of his ass or was it beating too fast to feel it properly?

“Jungkook?” you prodded, nudging him slightly. You were beginning to get concerned with the dazed look on his face and the twinkle in his eyes, a wide grin stretched across his face. It had been several minutes and he had yet to say a word in response to your impromptu confession. As embarrassed as you were at the lack of any reply, you were beginning to feel worried. “Are you… In there?”

“Hm?” He hummed, his eyes still completely glassy. “Did you say something?”

“I told you I’m in love with you and you said nothing.” A blush was creeping up the side of your face now, and his eyes cleared slightly as he continued to stare down at you, the grin still stretched across his face.

“You said that, yes,” he said, voice a little breathless.

“Okay so… What do you think?”

He didn’t reply again and you were growing restless. He was usually so talkative, what was wrong with him today? Had he hit his head or something?

Wincing slightly at the expression, you hit him gently on the shoulder.

“Excuse me, I asked you a ques-”

His head ducked down and he planted his lips so firmly onto yours that there was no way you were dreaming.

Immediately he pressed you against the front door, one hand bracing against the door by the side of your head and the other resting on the back of your neck, holding your head to his. His lips were moving so gently against yours, coaxing your own into moving with his and eventually the two of you fell into a rhythm that made your heart beat twice as fast as usual. All you could feel was him, him, him, and it felt so right that your eyes filled with tears again. It felt like nothing you could even describe, all of your emotions hitting you at once.

All of the late night phone calls whilst he was on tour, all of the sleepovers, all of the fake dates on Valentine’s Day just so the two of you weren’t alone on the most romantic day of the year. All of the times he had called you in tears because things weren’t going right, all of the times he had comforted you when you had a bad day. All of the times you ditched everything and ran to him. All of the times he had cried for you when you couldn’t be there with him physically. All of the times that he had begged, prayed, called out for you to wake up. All of the happy moments, all of the sad moments, all of the tender moments; wrapped up into one kiss that neither of you ever wanted to end.

He pulled away, resting his forehead against yours and letting your heavy breathing intermingle.

“Good,” he whispered. “Because I think I’m in love with you too.”

___________________________

One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven

[agl03]

AOS 4x19: AKA For the love of all things can someone kidnap Fitz from the clutches of evil already!

I don’t think a show has had me to this point of sheer tear inducing frustration, ever.   But holy cats did we get a whole pile of theories confirmed here.

Diving right in under the thing!

Coulson:   PHIL COULSON AGENT OF SHIELD IS BACK!   Have to say that was a pretty awesome speech there at the end with the Fury quote.  I loved it.  We watched him slipping back into his role as leader and as predicted he’s going to come out of this with a renewed will to fight for Shield.  Coulson has a huge target on his back right now as we know he’s in serious danger in the final fight AND that the Superior can’t wait to go after him once he’s free from his programming (oh boy more on that later!)

May:  May is coming back too!  She doesn’t have her memories…at all.  So aside for Coulson it looks like they could get out of the Framework without getting their actual memories back. But her will to fight for the right side is back.  AIDA said she was breaking her programming (again more on that later because I was screaming into my pillow).  Super nice to see May kicking butt and taking names.  Look for more of that from her as we make our final push to get the heck out of Dodge.  

Mack:  Mack is coming back too and getting pulled deeper into the cause.  Though I don’t know how he’s going to take leaving Hope, or if he’s even on that final mission in the promo.  I fully expect him to be one that isn’t ready or willing to leave.  Mack is also one I’m starting to struggle with here because it seems the writers didn’t really know what to do with him aside from give him Hope and totally kill us with feels in the process.  

Trip:  Oh it’s so nice to have you back.  Even better when Jemma lists off all sorts of crazy stuff and he’s all sure, lets steal the Quin Jet…fake world, robots, totally sounds legit.  All I ask writers is I don’t have to watch him die again.  Don’t get attached guys, he’s not coming back PLG or no.

Ward:  I’ve got mixed feelings here.  Because this version of Ward is interesting.  But that is this version of Ward that was programmed by the book of doom and shaped by a world that the evil robot built to achieve her own evil plans.  We have to remember HOW MUCH manipulation by AIDA is in play here.  They also left it open as to if he’s died or not. Burrows is on the Release for 20 and since Burrows was with Ward at the TV Station there is a good chance that he makes it through too.  Otherwise I think they would have showed him dying.  I’m still expecting a twist with him and will just have to go down with the ship on that one if I’m wrong.  Just be leery…we’re very much getting “The Fantasy” aka a redemption kind of arc…and the last time they gave us “The Fantasy” fans wanted was with Philinda….and she was an LMD at the time…there is always a price…always a twist.  

Daisy:  Has her powers back!  The collective fandom likely cheered when she blasted Madame Hydra out the elevator there.  She got the exit point, Jemma has the real world location, now it’s a matter of getting out with everyone they can alive.  Daisy didn’t get as much of a leader arc as I thought she would with Couslon stepping up more.  Though loved her fight scenes and am looking forward to the Trip/Daisy reunion next week.

Jemma:  Jemma has realized why AIDA needs Fitz and what project looking glass is and that was her huge win this week.  Not to mention mine when we got the confirmation the dang thing was being built in the real world.  Next week look for Woman on Fire as the push to get to Fitz begins in earnest.  I’m here with popcorn to see her get a shot in on Papa Fitz.

Fitz:  Literally pulling my hair out in frustration here.   I want SO BAD for him to be rescued and no one is even trying right now.  But that is part of the point.  Its beyond clear that AIDA’s manipulations run DEEP with Fitz.  She didn’t just ‘fix’ a regret.  She adjusted people around him, especially his father, to get him in this position.  She took away his heart, openness, and kindness.  Twisted his love for Jemma to herself.  That he was her target and now one of her prizes in all of this.  She isolated him, took away those he really loves, and handed him over to a mad man.  He has done what she manipulated him to do now, got Project Looking Glass working.  And I have a whole pile of asks in already about The Doctor making it to the real world, I need to mull on them overnight so expect a proper meta later.  At the very least, that is now a massive ticking clock and the fight to save Fitz has really begun.   What will really kick it up a notch is if he’s going to get scanned by that thing and get a new body, or if AIDA will plug him into Fitz’s existing body and Jemma needs to get him disconnected before that happens.  

For those who are upset that Fitz hasn’t stared to ‘come around’ yet remember he has been isolated. Seeing Jemma helped but he’s been trapped by Madame Hydra and his Father who constantly re enforce the programming to keep him on track.  Imagine if May had gotten her wake up call but then was stuck in a room and had that programming re enforced.  The person he needs to really break free is Jemma and that is the reason they’ve been kept apart for so long.

Radcliffe:  Well I like him again as he scored points in the great Dad off of 2K17…so that means his days are numbered here and/or he’s going to betray us again.  Good job standing up to Papa Fitz there, we were cheering for you here.  He does seem to take The Doctor up on his deal in the promo. I can still see Radcliffe falling to save Fitz and now perhaps to stop AIDA.  Playing along in order to get to where he can be in a position to stop it.  

Papa Fitz:  I think I speak for the fandom here when I saw you just need to go to Hades!  But we also got a HUGE confirmation that AIDA is indeed the puppet master and went beyond fixing a regret.  Because Radcliffe confirmed that she CHANGED Papa Fitz from his real world counter part. And again there are hundreds of ways she could have done that and kept him in Fitz life.  If she could change him she could have made him as kind and caring as Fitz was…but instead she made him horrible, evil, abusive, a** so that he would ‘program’ Fitz how she needed him for her plans.  

Misc Items:

There was a lot of screaming as more than one theory hit here tonight.

First up we have that AIDA is indeed still bound by her programming.  She (and Robo Superior) can’t kill the hostages.  Even more she still has to protect them.  The exception being Daisy and Jemma since they are threats to the Framework.

AIDA did more than fix a regret, she PROGRAMMED them into roles for her world.  Like I’ve been saying she needed things a certain way and manipulated things around the hostages to make that happen.   Yes, she fixed a regret but she also forced them down specific paths, especially Fitz.  

Project Looking Glass will indeed bring Madame Hydra to the real world (But I’m not letting go that something worse is still lurking or going to use it to come through.  That dang book has showed multiple people how to make the same thing and that is not good).  In doing so this will give AIDA the free will and choice she wants, allow her to be free if the limitations of her programming.  In many ways that is part of what keeps throwing her off with the hostages, because they are human they can overcome their programming, especially when they start to really fight it as Coulson and May have.

And since that is the case that does open up the can of worms of others from the Framework coming to the Real World.  Fitz clearly gives Radcliffe the option in the promo…but what about Trip, Ward, and Hope.   Trip isn’t going to happen, BJ is on another show.  Ward…I’m on the fence about….and could see it happening if the circumstances are right. Hope…okay yes lets bring Hope over please so I don’t have to die when Mack says goodbye.  

Choice is also key here. What does AIDA do when she has choice. When she is no longer bound by the parameters of Radcliffe’s programming.  She knows it’s not possible to recreate the world she did in the Framework. But she could try, she knows what it took to get that world there and could try to recreate the same things in the real world so she could seize control once more.  Or she just wants to go live the simple life.  

Next week as everything comes to a head and we just have to hang on for dear life though the episode. Fitzsimmons will FINALLY come face to face as the race to save the team will begin, with more than one life hanging in the balance.  We heard in the promo that Coulson was going to die so we know his life is on the line. With the other being Fitz.  The Doctor wants to come through…so the big question is does AIDA plug the Doctor into Fitz’s body…or does he get a new one like her and then they dispose of the original.  Either way it’s a race for Jemma to get to him in time or she’ll lose him forever.  

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