#but i draw the line at making innocent old ladies cry
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double-o-donut · 5 months ago
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mirkwoodmunson · 2 years ago
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Moonie my beloved.
i’m not sure if your requests are open but. i need eddie munson // gremlins content like i need god. What are his thoughts watching the movie for the first time. is he haunted by the thought of stripe. does he need a gizmo in his life or is he already a gremlin after midnight. inquiring minds must know ,, thank you g bless
WWUUUHHH UHEUUU REY THIS GOT ME SO EXCITEDJKkghkfk
eddie and you love going to the movies, barreling out right after school or sneaking into midnight shows of the latest horror releases, spending full weekends in the theater to watch your favorites over and over again. of course you guys sneak in your own snacks and treats, but you're respectful about it, always making sure to clean up after yourselves. eddie'd worked a few shifts as an usher one summer and christ how he hated cleaning up after the slobs -- he vowed to never be that kind of customer.
oh, but, when you two first see the trailer for gremlins on tv? he's already staring at you and grinning when you whip your head around to him.
"um. we're seeing that," you state matter-of-factly.
eddie snorts, about to say something in agreement, and then gasps, full shock,
"...babe... BABE!"
"what??"
"that's the SAME DAY ghostbusters is out."
wayne just watches from his recliner with a smirk as you -- unsure of how to express your excitement -- begin dog-piling yourself on eddie while cheering, your boyfriend cackling all the while.
that friday, eddie and you aren't at school, oh no. in fact, you're one of the first ones in line at the theater, 'giddy' not even covering it as you both recite lines from the trailers, discussing theories and what you expected.
ghostbusters is the first flick of your double-feature -- to say you both enjoyed it is a heavy understatement -- and going into the second movie of the day you're beyond ready for whatever gremlins throws at you.
the set-up part of the film has you both hooked -- hell, just the trailer had you hooked, but when you finally see gizmo for the first time, whining over how cute he is, eddie is cheesing hard and squeezing you into him. he loves the movies as much as you, but watching you watch movies? sometimes that was even better. eddie was a sucker for your commentary.
he's scolding the screen as every mogwai rule is eventually broken, fully immersed, fully engrossed, fully ready to fight stripe with his bare hands. the moment the antagonist dares to spit upon sweet, innocent gizmo, eddie has a vendetta.
although, that's not to say he doesn't absolutely love every minute of the gremlins being gremlins. he's cackling and pointing, elbowing you excitedly through the whole chaos montage. and when it comes to mrs. deagle's turn for a visit, he's on the edge of his seat just waiting to see what will happen.
when the old lady goes soaring, you both along with the audience are clapping and cheering at the grisly yet much-deserved demise. barney could rest easy now, poor dog.
now, eddie would never openly admit it, but he was a sucker for those old disney movies -- ever since he was a kid. when the gremlins are all together in the theater, watching snow white and entranced by the dwarves' working song, he's singing along with them too, with a grin so wide his cheeks are hurting.
somewhat surprisingly to you, eddie is near hiding his face in your shoulder when stripe finally meets his end, whining sounds of distaste as the creature melts and perishes. you just coo and pat his cheek, while your eyes are glued to the screen in delight.
you could swear as well you hear him sniffle when gizmo bids billy goodbye as the movie draws to a close. you don't judge, though. you're definitely crying a little, too.
you'd gotten to the theater early in the afternoon, and after two flicks it still wasn't too late in the day, but the excitement had definitely wiped the pair of you out. eddie leans into you heavily, almost sad, pouting and squeezing his arm around your shoulders as yours does around his waist.
"...i want a gizmo..."
you snort softly and tilt your head to peck his cheek, "i know, sweetie, i know."
in bed that night, curled up together and yawning in-between reminiscing in the day you'd had, eddie is about to get up for a glass of water when he pauses.
"what's up, babe?" you question softly, rubbing his back. eddie shuffles a bit and turns his head to look at you, bemused and smirking.
"... what if there's gremlins out there..? ghouls..."
you can't help the laughter, giving him a playful shove out of bed to which he whines and makes a show of tiptoeing to the door, cracking it open and peaking out.
"well, then, you better go bust 'em! show 'em who's boss, baby, you got it."
and, of course, eddie most definitely is a gremlin, as he sheepishly re-enters the room with the glass of water and a plate full of food for you both to share. tired before, he's wired after the late-night feast, leaping around you sat in bed asking repeatedly as you're wracked with giggles, 'who you gonna call?? ED-BUSTERS!'
the next few days neither of you can go a full sentence without quoting the films at each other, and of course you go back over the weekend multiple times, at least once with wayne after convincing him to join you.
a few weeks after release and it continues when eddie is crouched in front of the tv, grumbling softly and smacking the sides, adjusting the antenna while the screen shifts between shades of fuzz. he huffs, calls to you while you're in the kitchen. "hey! theres GREMLINS in here. we got gremlins in the tv."
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arty-shadow-morningstar · 4 years ago
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My Maribat Betrothal AU: Take Two
Okay so people like that post that is more of a train wreck produced by my sleep-deprived brain. I expanded on it and added some changes. Fair warning: Most of my ML and DC knowledge came from Maribat fics, a few episodes and the DCU movies like son of Batman. I have Mari's pov and background stuff written and it needs some editing. Anyways, enjoy <3
It is not a continuation but: @alysrose-starchild, @buginetye, @lookatthestars1, @blackroserelina, @macncheesemonster, @mochinek0
[Masterlist]
(Part 2)
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PART 1
Damian groaned.
He was not having a good day.
First, Father decided to pair him with Todd, TODD of all people, for patrol.
Second, while doing a stake-out for the warehouse near the docks which might be used as storage for criminal activity and enduring Red Hood's annoying taunts, they both were knocked out by tranquilizers and his mother's face was the last thing he had remembered seeing.
"Don't worry, little one. You are just fulfilling your duties as heir to the Demon's Head. Then, all will be perfect." She had said, just before he fully lost consciousness.
Third, he woke up to being chained up with a major headache. Taking a bearing of his surroundings, the room he was imprisoned in had two exits, an iron door and a window that had the view of his childhood home. He was dressed in wedding ensembles of the League of Shadows. Red Hood was chained up next to him as well but unlike him, still had his suit and helmet on. Glancing to the other side, he saw a raven-haired girl, chained up and dressed in the black and gold robes of a bride. She had also retained consciousness and was staring at him.
Bluebell eyes met his piercing green.
His betrothal was petite with Asian features. She had freckles dotting her button nose and rosy cheeks.
She is fragile and will break easily, he thought. Why did his mother want him to marry such a weakling?
"Savez-vous où nous sommes? (Do you know where we are?)" Her voice was sweet and trembling with fear. Her eyes were wide and seemed filled with innocence yet carrying great sadness. She was an Angel, an ordinary girl, not fit for this harsh and unforgiving world she was forcefully going to get married to.
She opened her mouth to ask another question and suddenly, she went limp, appearing to be unconscious. Damian furrowed his brows in confusion. Why did she-
A moment later, he heard footsteps approaching and the iron door opened to reveal his mother.
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Jason woke up to the sight of the Bitch Talia and Demon Spawn, face to face, glaring at each other.
Talia broke the tense silence.
"Damian, I hope you know what you should do."
"To be forcefully married to that little girl. She is no one special. Why am I getting married to her?"
Married? The Demon Spawn is getting married?!
Jason saw through his helmeted vision, a girl about Damian's age, chained up like them but not yet awake. He raised his hand and saw the shackles around his wrists. The chains were connected to the wall. He experimentally yanked the chains, drawing Talia’s attention.
“Well, Jason, you are awake. You can be the best man for the wedding.”
“No. I don’t know what game you are playing but you better release us. B is gonna find us and you will pay. Let the girl go. She is innocent in all of this.” Jason said vehemently.
"Ladybug may not seem like it but she possesses great power that my father converted for centuries. Speaking of, she should be awake by now."
Talia stood up and grabbed Ladybug’s(?) hair and yanked so that her eyes met the girl's. The girl, who unfortunately was going to be the Demon Spawn's bride, lets out a cry and starts to tear up. Jason felt anger at how she was being treated, seeing the girl as a little sister already.
"Tch, See, she is more pathetic than I thought. She is not powerful." Demon Spawn growled out. The girl starts babbling in French. From the little French Jason knows, she was begging for mercy.
“Like I thought, weak. She is not deserving of the title of my wife.” Damian spat out.
"Appearance can be deceiving. Despite her demeanor, she is the current wielder of the Ladybug Miraculous and the Current Guardian. The old Guardian, the old fool had promised her in exchange for his protection." Talia countered, letting go of the girl.
Miraculous? Guardian? What the hell?
"That doesn't mean I want to marry her. She is not worthy of an Al Ghul or a Wayne. Look at her, crying at the slightest feeling of pain."
The mother and son begin to bicker. Damian refusing to marry and Talia trying to change his mind.
“Yes, both have to be willing to be married but the curse placed on both of you will ensure that you will agree.”
The dark haired girl had stopped crying and started whispering in a strange language when the fight started, fiddling with the silver ring she wore. Jason saw a terrifying smile crossed the face of the girl across him that chilled him to the bones. Later, a black blur came out of her robes and went through the door. He wondered if he imagined that before he was a determined glint in her eyes.
He blinked.
Talia was choking on the chains that were previously chained to the wall and were now around her neck. Fortunately for them, Talia had closed the door after her entrance and the guards most likely to be stationed outside didn’t storm into the cell. The girl whispered something in Talia's ear, making the woman's eyes widen with what could be fear.
The experienced assassin struggled to get free and gain an upper hand on the girl but was unsuccessful, passing out from the lack of oxygen and strangely strong grip of the small girl.
What happened next was surprising. She breathed hard on her shackles which instantly disintegrated into flakes of rust.
Holy Shit! Demon Spawn's girl is magic. Jason knows his mouth was hanging open under his helmet at that realization. Damian seems to be in the same state.
Talia didn't have the keys to the locks. Being crafty like that. Bitch
"Call me Lady." she said in lightly accented English as she summoned black orbs at the tip of her hands. “Stay still.”
She then proceeds to place her hands on Jason’s shackles, turning them into nothing more than specks.
"I am Red Hood." said Jason, rubbing his wrists.
"The little shit here," as he kicked Damian's leg, " is-"
"Damian Al Ghul" she said the last name with venom. She moved on to Damian's bonds. "Son of that bitch over there, grandson of Ra's, demon heir, blah blah blah. Hold still, mon mignon. I am sure you don't want to lose a hand."
Damian stopped moving at that, due to the pet name or fear Jason couldn’t tell but by the red at the tips of his ear, it could be the former. And she used her powers to free him.
Lady somehow managed to use what remained of the chains to hog tie Talia up.
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“How do we get out?” Damian asked, inspecting the blade that he flinched from his mother.
“Hey, kit.” A nasally voice called out. “I checked out the place we are in. Like you asked. The way to the Throne room is heavily guarded and they seem to think old Ra’s the target. The Pits are guarded too but they are nothing you can’t handle.”
“What is that?” Jason shrieked.
“Thanks, Plagg, you will get that camembert danish when we get back. This is a kwami, a god of sorts and his thing is destruction so I wouldn’t insult him if I were you. He likes to go by Plagg”, answered Lady, which doesn’t clear up Jason’s confusion.
“So, Pigtails, what’s the plan?�� The floating, black cat-shaped god(?) asked.
“I was thinking of destroying the Pits to give Al Ghul a middle finger and call Maman to use the Horse to get home.”
“We need Tikki to get rid of it..”
“I will just tell Maman to bring the earrings.”
Damian snorted, “That sounds like a foolish plan. You are insane and not strong enough to take on the League alone, despite having a ‘god’ of destruction at your side. This Tikki or magic earrings will destroy the Pits, many have tried. And sorry to disappoint but no horse can make it up the mountainside of Nanda Parbat.”
“Have to agree with Demon Spawn here and I rarely do that. Your plan sounds insane, Pixie. You are just one girl. Let us help, we know the League better than you. We can come up with a better one.” Jason was worried for the girl, she was crazy if she thought her plan would work.
Lady smirked, “It is a perfectly sound plan. I know what I am talking about. Despite the weak girl act, I am no Damsel in distress. After this is all over, we will split our ways and hopefully, never see each other again.”
“We can’t separate. My mother said there is a curse that will ‘make us fall in love.’” Damian said, using air quotes. “You need to come with us so we can get someone to break it.”
“Fine. But I need to do something before I am coming with you. Plagg, Claws out.”
Bright green light flashed around her and she was now dressed in a black bodysuit with green linings. It was armoured at the chest, knees and elbows. (Add whatever details you want, I can’t do it. Jacket, designs, use your imagination) Her gloves were claws-like, reminding them of Selina and there was a belt carrying some vials, pouches and throwing stars. Her hair was now longer and braided and seemed to move on its own. Cat ears were attached to her head. Her eyes were changed so the sclera were the same shade of blue as her iries and the pupils were slitted like a cat. A black domino mask framed her face. Two ten-inch daggers appeared out of thin air in her hands.
The transformed Lady did the inhuman feat of kicking the door open. The assassins stationed outside were immediately knocked out by Lady.
“Well, are you coming or not?” She called out, before running down the corridor. Jason patted his shocked brother’s shoulder, “You doing okay there, demon spawn?”
“Tch, Let’s go, Todd.” Damian replied, trying to get rid of that funny feeling in his chest.
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seijorhi · 4 years ago
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Nothing Fucks with My Baby
The (not so) long awaited Hitman AU 👀
Iwaizumi Hajime x Reader
TW Blood, minor violence, referenced/implied murder, stalking, implied kidnapping
Iwaizumi has one rule. No kids.
They could be the damn antichrist for all he cares, if they’re underage, they’re off limits. Anyone else is fair game - kind old ladies, rich corrupt businessmen, housewives, politicians. He doesn’t give a shit so long as he gets paid, and paid well.
You were fair game.
He never cares why. Iwa has better things to do than listen to meaningless justifications and vendettas. They make no difference either way - he’s being paid to kill, so he’ll kill, ruthlessly and without prejudice. All he wants is a name, a picture and whether or not they want brains splattered on pavement or something a little more refined. An address doesn’t go astray, but he’ll work with what he’s got, it’s the reason he can charge a fucking premium.
But you… you weren’t what he expected. He’s used to filth. Liars, cheaters, bottom of the barrel trash. Every once in a while some poor idiot gets caught up in something they don’t understand and ultimately pay the price for it, but good people don’t often end up in files splayed across Iwaizumi’s desk. He’s not used to innocence, and as far as he’s concerned, you’re as close as they come.
He supposes that things might have been different if they’d wanted you dead quickly. 
Publicly. 
But they didn’t want that. They wanted you to disappear without a fucking trace. It wasn’t a kindness - it just meant more work for him. It meant that instead of staring down the barrel of a sniper rifle perched in the window of an empty apartment across the street from yours, he’d have to get his hands dirty.
If you want somebody to blame, sweetheart, why don’t you start with them?
In hindsight, he probably didn’t need to go inside the little coffee joint you worked at. He could lie to himself and say that it was an excuse to get closer to you, to see if you had friends at your work who might try and get in the way, but the simple truth was that he’d been up since four in the fucking morning, and he might just have shot somebody out of sheer irritation if he didn’t get a hit of caffeine and soon. 
Might as well kill two birds with one stone, right?
And it wasn’t like you were going to recognise him. Three days in, and as far as Iwa can tell, you don’t have the slightest idea that you were being watched, much less that the pair of eyes watching belonged to a cold hearted killer. 
People tend to be a little more scared when they sense he’s coming - there’s a kind of innate fear that seeps from every pore as they scurry about trying to hide, trying to put off the inevitable - but you, you’re just blissfully oblivious, flitting around with those wide doe eyes like you haven’t got a damn care in the world. 
He honestly doesn’t know whether he wants to envy or pity you for that sweet naivety. 
Currently though, he’s more concerned with whether or not you can make a half decent cup of coffee. 
“I asked for an extra hot latte.”
Or he would be, if the asshole with slicked back hair and an expensive suit hadn’t cut him off just as he was about to step up to the counter to shove the coffee you’d just made him back in your face. He watches your eyes widen for a split second before you smile - apologetic and demure before you can even open your mouth.
“Oh, I’m sorry, is it not hot enough?” 
The moment the words leave your lips, you all but flinch. Both you and he know that despite the fact you mean them sincerely (which kind of surprises him, considering that if your situations were reversed he wouldn’t have been nearly so generous) they’re a mistake.
The asshole sneers down at you like you’re nothing more than scum on his shoes. “If it was fucking hot enough, I wouldn’t be wasting my time complaining, now would I?”
Even before he found himself dabbling in his current line of work, Iwaizumi never considered himself much of a knight in shining armour. The world’s a shitty place, it’s not his job to go around fixing things and softening blows. He’s not a cold, emotionless bastard, as most people assume, he just has better things to do than run around playing a damn bleeding heart and sticking his neck out for strangers. It’s not his problem and as far as he’s concerned, he doesn’t owe anybody shit.
Impassive olive eyes watch as you try and backtrack, apologising again, offering to make him a new drink, explaining that the reason the coffee wasn’t as hot as he wanted was because you were trying not to scorch the milk- for naught.
You in your naive little world don’t seem to realise that the asshole doesn’t actually give a shit about the coffee. He wants a power trip, and you’ve given him the perfect excuse. He wants to yell and scream and stamp his feet and take all of his repressed anger and feelings of inadequacy out on you so that he can feel like a big man. He wants to see you whimper and cry and bow down before him.
It’s pathetic, but Iwa’s content to watch it play out, drumming his fingers against the wallet in his hand, more irritated with the delay in getting his own coffee than the outburst itself-
Until the asshole reaches for his latte. 
Iwa’s good at reading people, predicting their movements before they’re even made. It’s a necessary skill in his profession, one that’s saved his skin more times than he can count. He sees the little vein in the asshole’s temple throb, his jaw tighten, and the moment his hand twitches towards the still steaming cup of coffee, Iwa knows that he fully intends on throwing it at you.
He moves quicker than a man of his size has any right to, an iron grip wrapping around the asshole’s wrist, squeezing. He glares, sneering down at the man who all of a sudden doesn’t seem quite so angry, much less imposing. 
“Get out,” he hisses.
It’s not a request.
But the asshole either has a death wish or he’s trying to salvage what’s left of his fragile ego, because his beady eyes narrow and he opens his mouth - no doubt to spew more vitriolic bullshit.
Iwa twists.
Not hard enough to break anything, but hard enough that it sends the man to his knees, whimpering like a kicked puppy, desperate to relieve the pressure on his wrist. 
“I said,” he begins, his voice colder than ice, “get out.”
Yet he doesn’t spare the asshole another glance, not even as he releases his grip and the man skitters away like he’s been burned. The cafe is deathly silent, and without even glancing around, Iwa knows that they’ve managed to draw the attention of most if not all of its patrons.
And for once, he doesn’t give a single fuck.
Iwa’s eyes, his attention, all of it is focused entirely on you - on the wide eyed, stunned look on your pretty face. It’s a violent outburst, not nearly close to what he’s truly capable of, but in the quiet little cafe on a dreary Tuesday morning, glaringly out of place.
Will you burst into tears, he wonders. Ignore it, brush it aside and pretend it never happened? Stutter out more apologies for causing a fuss, for making a simple mistake? He somehow doubts you’ll be the type to scold him for it. No, you’re far too meek for that.
You surprise him, smiling slowly instead, and it’s like the sun breaking through the clouds after a storm.
It’s a far cry from the contrite air you’d graced the asshole with earlier. It’s hesitant, nervous, but it’s very much real, and Iwa finds it difficult to stop the corners of his own lips from twitching upwards in response.
“Thank you,” you murmur.
He inclines his head a fraction. “Don’t worry about it.”
You don’t charge him for the coffee, even when he practically shoves the bills across the counter into your hands.
“Don’t worry about it,” you shyly parrot back at him, and he almost fucking snorts when there’s a warmed chocolate chip muffin waiting with his coffee when it’s ready.
He’s being paid forty grand to make sure you’re dead by the end of the week, and you’re here giving him free muffins. Oikawa would see the humour in that. Of course, Oikawa would have absolutely no qualms in charming the absolute hell out of you seconds before he pulled the trigger. Realistically, he shouldn’t either. It’s his job, nothing personal.
To say he enjoys killing is probably a stretch, but he takes pride in it. Iwa’s good at what he does. It’s simple. Easy - so long as he follows his own rules.
This shouldn’t be any different. You’re cute, he supposes, in an odd sort of way. Innocent.
Endearing.
It shouldn’t have an effect on him. 
It doesn’t, but-
He could have killed you two days ago. He’d be willing to bet good money that he could’ve walked right to your apartment, knocked on your door, made up some bullshit excuse on the spot and you would have smiled and invited him right inside. 
And it’s not like you’d stand a chance of being able to fight him off.
Over the past few days there have been at least twelve different moments that Iwaizumi could have stepped in and snuffed that pretty little life of yours out without making a fuss and it would have been easy.
But he hadn’t.
There’s a difference between surveillance and stalking - it’s a fine line, a blurred one maybe, but it’s there all the same. After yet another night spent camped out watching you move about your apartment - cooking dinner for yourself, zoning out on the couch and fiddling with your phone while the tv plays in the background before finally curling up in bed in the early hours of the morning - Iwa comes to the realisation that he’s crossed it. 
He wonders why it doesn’t bother him like it should.
The next day, he goes back to your little coffee shop. There’s no muffin this time, but your face brightens when he walks through the door and when he goes to pick up his coffee there’s a tiny, bite sized cookie sitting atop the lid.
“Don’t tell my boss,” you whisper, darting a glance back over your shoulder even as another pretty little smile graces your features.
Something unexpectedly warm and pleasant sings through his blood, and this time Iwa allows his own lips to twitch into the faintest hint of a grin in response.
You really are a truly awful judge of character.
Maybe that’s your downfall, that beautiful, naive innocence you just bleed. It’s a wonder that nobody’s come along to take advantage of you, especially when you are so very ripe for the taking. 
Well, nobody until him, he supposes. 
Iwa doesn’t know for certain why the men who want you dead do, he doesn’t particularly care either, but he does know that whatever their reasons are, it’s not enough.
Neither is forty thousand dollars.
It takes time, more than he’d like, to find the root of it all. It’s messy and he has to call in a few favours from old friends, but Iwa is nothing if not thorough.
He’s never particularly enjoyed killing, but there’s a certain satisfaction he gets from watching the light leave their desperate, pleading eyes knowing that he’s finally done his job. When he comes home, his shirt flecked with blood, his hands still dripping with it and coaxes your stricken, tear stained face up into a lingering kiss, Iwa feels content.
They wanted you to disappear entirely, he made sure that you did. 
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holykillercake · 4 years ago
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Love Ordeal
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SANJI X f!READER
word count: 2k
summary: The Strawhts decide to play Secret Davy Treasure and Sanji doens´t stop asking whom you got. 
highlight:  ¨Sanji,¨ you sighed ¨I love you, but if you don´t stop, I will be forced to throw your cigarettes in the ocean and straighten your eyebrows.¨
warning: F.L.U.F.F.
notes: Guys! This a part 2/3 of a request for a fluff where they have a s/o that made them a thing with crochet and how they would react. Also, Secret Davy Treasure is like Secret Santa, but you know. ALSO, there is a surprise at the end! 
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𝕷𝖊𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖘, 𝖗𝖊𝖖𝖚𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖘, 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊!
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¨Just pick one, Luffy!¨
¨But which one?¨
¨It doesn´t matter!¨
¨Hmm, can I pick two?¨
¨NO!¨
Earlier that day, an old lady told Nami that whichever path Luffy chose would always lead to another Winter Island. So with the end of the year approaching and the cold weather, you decided to play Secret Davy Treasure, a great South Blue tradition.
It consisted of the participants writing their names on a piece of paper, mixing them in a bowl - or Luffy's hat - and drawing them.  Whoever’s name you picked is who you will buy or make a Secret Davy Treasure.
You should have guessed that even something that sounded so simple would be complicated in the Thousand Sunny. The crew didn´t seem to understand nor follow the rules of physics, reality, and the game. 
At first, Zoro folded his paper with his name on the outside; then Brook picked himself and didn´t tell anyone. Now you were struggling with Luffy, who couldn´t pick one because A) he wanted to know what was written inside, and B) he wanted to pick more than one. 
While Franky, Usopp, and Chopper yelled at him, trying to make him understand, Brook laughed at the whole situation, and the rest of you wished to die and get reborn as clams. 
Sanji adjusted the blanket around your bodies and hugged you tighter, chatting until the commotion was over.  
¨Will you tell me?¨ he blew some smoke, and you tilted your head to look at him. 
¨Tell what?¨
¨Who you got.¨
¨What? Of course no!¨ you laughed ¨This is not how you play it!¨
¨But we are a couple, Y/N-chan!¨
¨.., and?¨ you sang the word.
¨We shouldn't keep secrets from each other!¨
A cloud of white smoke came out of your mouth when you giggled before snuggling deeper in his arms. 
¨Okaay,¨ Usopp crawled closer to you, defeated and holding Luffy´s hat ¨he will be the last one.¨
Despite your captain yelling that he should be the first to pick, you were all getting tired and opted to ignore him. 
¨Thanks!¨ you used the blanket to cover yourself as you unfolded it.
A chuckle left your mouth when you saw the name written, and the blonde behind you tried to peek over your shoulder. But you were faster to put the piece of paper with the name of your boyfriend inside your bra.
You turned and gave him a peck on the cheek while he pouted. 
You would have one week to come up with a Davy Treasure for Sanji, and you knew exactly what to do, but some butterflies still flew in your belly, wondering if he would like it. 
As a matter of fact, he loved everything you did, from sweet love to extremely salty culinary disasters. He would find perfection in every little thing done by you.
Enjoying your last days on the island of Snow Globe Pole - yeah, almost as bad as ¨Long Ring Long Land¨ - you decided to tour the city, looking for what you needed to make your gift. Or rather, to crochet your gift.
That was the easy part, for you were on a winter island, yarn and wool were pretty abundant. Every style possible of every possible color, anything that crossed your mind was available in the store. It would have been distracting if you didn´t have the colors already chosen. 
But again, so much for an innocent game. So much for a bit of fun. So naive to believe that Sanji would stop asking you whom you picked. 
In his defense, he had gotten calmer during the first night. But after seeing the bag you brought from the store, he became even more annoying. 
Charming, loving, but still annoying. 
¨It´s not Franky, right? His hands wouldn´t fit in it.¨
¨His regular-sized-robotic-mannequin hands would.¨ you looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. 
You could almost see the gasp stuck in his throat and his heart skipping a beat. 
After that, he kept bringing you desserts, offering massages, and doing everything in his power to bribe you. Skypiea Sanji was not the real Love Ordeal. Secret Davy Treasure Sanji was the real Love Ordeal. 
¨Sanji,¨ you sighed ¨I love you, but if you don´t stop, I will be forced to throw your cigarettes in the ocean and straighten your eyebrows.¨
He grumbled ¨I love you¨ back among some other things and marched to the kitchen with flames on the top of his head. You chuckled and went back to your colorful wools. 
Before you chose his gift, you thought about Sanji and the things that he liked or needed. From cooking to smoking and women. 
Cooking for him would be outrageous. You wanted to give him something amazing, and you couldn't compare to him in the kitchen. At all.
Women. You were the only woman he wanted and needed, and honestly, you were the woman for the job. 
Now, smoking. You would not buy or make him cigarettes, obviously. But he had this adorable and clumsy thing of always burning the tips of his mittens whenever he lit a cigarette. 
Because of that, you decided to crochet him one of those fingerless gloves that come with a mitten flap so he could cover his fingers once he was done. Like that, he would be warm and natural disaster-free. 
¨There is orange, Y/N-chan! You got Nami, right?!¨ you jumped and almost stabbed yourself with the hook when he yelled in your ear.
¨Oh, my sweet Davy Jones, give me strength...¨ you whispered ¨There is also purple, Sanji-kun. It could be Brook or Robin.¨ 
He pondered over it a little, frowned, and made his way to the door.
¨Hey!¨ he turned with sad puppy eyes ¨Is this really important to you? To know who I got?¨ he nodded. 
You gestured with your head, telling him to come closer. A big and bright smile appeared on his face, and your heart beat stronger. That smile, you would punch the Red Line broken to create another All Blue for that smile. 
Oh, how you love this cook. 
¨Ok! Just because I am asking I´ll tell you first, ok?¨ he spoke with a lower voice but still sparkly. You smiled and nodded. ¨I got Chopper! And I bought him a new backpack with a lot of compartments for his medical stuff.¨
The way he paid attention to the tiny details made you melt. He was always taking care of others, complimenting the crew - except Zoro - and celebrating even the smallest of the successes. 
He showed you the blue backpack, very similar to Chopper´s current one, but a lot stronger, prettier, and more practical. He would love it, no doubts. 
¨Well,¨ you began ¨I got... Usopp.¨ 
You felt terrible about telling him a lie, but you couldn´t spoil your surprise.
 ¨Since we´re going to winter islands, I don´t want his finger to get tangled when, Uhm... he´s picking his Ketchup Stars, Green Stars, or Let´s-scare-creepy-girls-to-death Stars. I really hope he likes it.¨
If you were not paying enough attention, you would have missed Sanji´s disappointed look, which he quickly hid with a kind smile. 
¨You always think about everything, Y/N-chan. He will love it.¨ he kissed your forehead and went back to the kitchen. 
You waited until he closed the door to cringe ¨You are going to hell, Y/N.¨ 
Finally, the Secret Davy Treasure day arrived. You would exchange gifts and then have a nice dinner if Luffy didn´t make a party out of it. He definitely would. 
But you were also grateful that today was the day. Since you told Sanji that you had picked Usopp, he has been acting a little upset. The other guys didn´t notice, but you did. 
You would always notice. And you had an idea why. 
The gift exchanging rules were pretty simple.  The Secret Davy had to offer information about the person receiving the treasure, and the others had to guess. 
It started with Usopp, whose Secret Davy was Franky. He gave him a bunch of super tools and some colored light bulbs for the ¨Party Nipple¨ idea.
Franky´s Secret Davy was Robin. He gave her a journal with waterproof pages he created. 
Robin´s Secret Davy was you, and she presented you with a beautiful copy of a fictional adventure book since you were always reading them on the ship.
Then it was your turn. You held the gift wrapped in a shiny blue paper and began to describe your Secret Davy. 
¨My Secret Davy is... slightly annoying sometimes.¨
¨It´s the stupid-eyebrow.¨ Zoro said.
¨Shut up, marimo head!¨
You continued after Nami punched them. ¨My Secret Davy always takes care of us.¨ 
¨It´s Chopper!¨ you shook your head.
¨Hmm... my Secret Davy is an exceptional fighter! Really strong!¨ 
¨It´s me!¨ 
¨No, Zoro! It´s me! I will become the Pirate King!¨ 
¨Shut up, you two!¨
¨My Secret Davy is...¨ you looked at Sanji and smiled ¨... loving and caring.¨ 
He looked back at you, confused.  Why would you say those about Usopp? Not that he wasn´t loving and caring, but... still. 
¨My Secret Davy is... the man of my dreams, the prince of my fairy tale, and the love of my life.¨
A minute or two passed while everyone waited for Sanji to say something, but he remained frozen with a perplexed expression. 
¨Sanji-san, I think the treasure is yours.¨ Brook said calmy. 
The cook made his way to you slowly, taking the gift from your hands and opening it gently, without tearing the wrapping.  
Did he get upset because of your lie? 
¨Sanji...¨ you called him, but he kept staring at the gloves. 
You saw his eyes fill with water before he excused himself and exited the deck, leaving everyone staring at you. 
¨I don´t... I´m gonna...¨ you pointed and left too. 
When you entered your room, he was standing, back turned to you. Was he really crying, or you saw things?
¨Sanji-kun?¨
¨You remembered...¨ he turned around, still holding the mittens ¨These colors...¨ 
¨Yeah, they don´t really match, but...¨
¨I wanted it so much, Y/N. When I saw it, I wanted it so much.¨
He rushed in your direction and hugged you tight. He hugged you and you felt all his emotions, you felt the weight he carried in his heart. Not a bad weight, just the weight of missing someone you love. 
You knew that that was the reason he was pestering you so much, the colors. You had chosen the colors that Zeff, Sanji´s mentor, wore. 
The fingers were orange and purple, like his striped shirt. You added yellow details of his hair; the blue of his ascot, and the white of his apron. 
As you said, they didn´t match, but apparently, Sanji didn´t care.
He would always share stories about their lives and cook recipes that Zeff taught him. Despite him always calling him old man or damn geezer, the Red Leg was his father.
¨Thank you, Y/N-chan. I loved it.¨
The sound of him sniffing made you hold him stronger. 
¨I miss that damn geezer.¨ 
¨I´m sure he misses you too, Little Eggplant.¨ 
¨Oi!¨
You squeaked and laughed when he threw on the bed.
¨I´ll show you Little Eggplant!¨
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Hey, Guys! SURPRISE! Here´s my first decent art? hahaha THE MITTENS!
I don´t know if the quality dropped. I´m using krita and still don´t know how to adjust the settings stuff when I´m saving a jpeg. Anyway, I hope you liked it!
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systlinsideblog · 3 years ago
Text
Part 2
The Lady walked, unseen and unheard, through the grass. 
She looked out from the eyes of animals, felt through the grass, through the soil. She was, after all, a goddess of soil and fertility and life, and all life was her domain. 
She followed her child, as Systlin walked. 
It was cruel, sometimes, the uses to which she must put her chosen champion. The Lady regretted it, on occasion. But it was necessary, and her champion had the fortitude and skill to accept such hard tasks, to stand her ground though the whole world be against her. Her champion had the power to change worlds.
There was much on this world that needed changing. The cries of pain had reached the Lady, though she was not the native goddess of these people. 
But the gods here were silent. The Lady was, among other things, a goddess of mercy, and she’d not been able to bear it.
Justice was what was needed, but there was none of it to be found in this place. Justice was not one of the Lady’s domains. But there was one for whom it was, even if that one still railed against what she’d become when she’d taken the soul of a slain mad god into herself.
She watched, as her champion killed, and though it was not her domain she could taste the justice of it. She’d brought justice and protection to a world with none, and granted mercy to the millions who cried for it. It was honey in her mouth.
A breaker, to break a whole world. The Lady thought, and smiled.
 The leader of these...people...would not been pleased with her. She knew this, because she would not be pleased with anyone who came before her in her court and challenged her as she planned to challenge him. She would probably have had them seized, had they tried such a thing, and likely killed. 
But then, Systlin was fully ready to burn this entire camp down, and quite honestly the only reason she hadn't yet was because there were helpless innocents in among the monsters who called themselves men. 
Every step she took led her past women collared like dogs. Some wore nothing but bells, and Systlin was no fool; she guessed the purpose of such things. Some were chained to wagons. The ones allowed clothing wore little of it. To a one, the women gave way to men. On some of them, Systlin could see whip wheals and healed scars from beatings. 
Her power curled within her, and oh but the lure of it was a powerful thing, as her blood ran hot and the red rage misted her vision. 
But that was a dangerous path, and for now she kept her power under tight rein. 
The women she passed looked at her with something like wonder; they had never seen, she supposed, a woman armed like she. 
One woman, a chained girl wearing little but scraps of leather, had in fascination reached out to touch the hilt of Ice. Systlin paused to let her, and smiled. 
"Warrior caste?" The girl's voice was wondering. "But..."
"Women," Systlin said, her voice gentle. "Make excellent fighters. It was a woman who trained me." 
The girl smiled, and then all at once a man angrily grabbed for the back of the collar around the girl's neck, and moved to cuff her. The girl yelped and cowered, apologizing, begging forgiveness, and it was enough. 
Ice was in her hand without conscious thought as she moved, and then she was standing over the cowering woman, legs planted, the point of her sword at the man's throat. The Power-bound blade, sharp as a razor, drew a drop of blood where it dug into skin. 
"If you touch her." Systlin's voice was a snarl. "I will kill you." 
She let, at last, the tiniest curl of her curse rise. It came cold and eager, and she reached out, feeling, feeling the million tiny flaws  in everything around her, in her bones, in the bones of those around her, in the girl's collar...
"How dare you!" The man was furious. "She is mine! I will do with her as I like, I am her master!" 
Systlin pushed, a thin little thread of Power, delicate as a needle. 
The girl's collar cracked with a sound of over-stressed metal, and fell from her neck in two halves. 
"She," Systlin hissed, "Is a woman, and a person, and not to be owned. What the bloody fuck is wrong with you people?"
"She is a woman!" The man hissed right back at her, heedless of the sword at his throat. "Her place is as a sla..."
It was the last thing he said. Systlin ran Ice through his throat, out the back of his neck. The sudden gurgle as his windpipe was severed was as sweet as music. 
There was a roar of outrage, and she felt rather than saw the lance shoved for her back. She bent away, and it went past. She whipped her sword around, getting her back to the wagon, and looked down the length of ice-blue steel at the snarling faces of hundreds of furious warriors.
“Eighteen.” She said, coldly. “Whoever wants to be nineteen, step forward first.”
“Give me one reason, woman.” Kamchak was deadly serious. “Why I should not order you slain where you stand.”
“Because you said that you would take me to this Kutaituchik.” Systlin shrugged one shoulder. “And go on and do it. I would be delighted to kill some more of you.”
“You’re mad.”
“I fear that I am the only sane one present.”
“I should kill you.”
Systlin’s patience snapped. She called again on her curse, and with a terrible cracking of wood fifty lances snapped in a moment, dissolving into splinters in their owner’s hands. There was a cry of astonishment and…ah, yes, there it was…fear.
Several warriors…didn’t quite step back, but leaned back a bit, and looked uneasy.
“Try.” She said, very softly. “Please try. I’ll make a soup bowl of your skull.”
Kamchak regarded her for a long moment. “So you are a sorceress.”
“The next thing I break will be you, and the twenty men closest to you, unless you take me to this man as you promised.”
There was a long, tense moment, and finally Kamchak turned and jerked his chin at her to follow. Systlin did, warily. She did not tamp her power down and lock it away; she kept it to hand, a constant itch under her skin, a temptation to crack the femur of the man ahead of her just to hear him scream.
She did not. She’d long ago mastered her power, as perhaps no other Breaker had. She ruled it, not the other way around. She felt the temptation, but discarded it, and kept the terrible boon of her power close at hand.
She would need it. She knew it in her bones already. The sun was dipping towards evening. She’d been a warrior for decades. She was a warrior, a conqueror, a queen who’d fought two wars against people and one against a god. She’d won all three.
She knew, in her bones, that tonight she’d be spilling blood. A lot of it.
The girl rushed to stay near her, trembling. Systlin let her; the poor thing was terrified, traumatized, and clinging to perhaps the one thing that had ever offered her a helping hand. She had never been particularly good at comfort, but she tried; she patted the woman on the shoulder, somewhat awkwardly. The girl flinched, but then looked at her with wide frightened eyes.
“It’s all right.” Systlin tried to keep her voice gentle, for all murder was singing under her skin and gleefully anticipating a slaughter. “It’s all right. To touch you again, they’d have to go over my dead body.”
This seemed small comfort to the woman. “They’ll like that.” She said, in a very small voice.
“They won’t. I can and will kill every man in this camp if I must.”
A wide-eyed look. “No one can do that. No one but a god.”
“And I killed a god once.” Systlin shrugged. “Men die easier.”
The look she got was skeptical, but the girl clearly remembered the shattered lances. The trembling faded perhaps a little.
She was led to an open area before a wagon of exceptional size and make. Jewels and gold glinted and glittered everywhere. Systlin waited as men ducked into the wagon and hurried conversation were had. She waited as rugs and cushions were brought out, and finally with ceremony an old gray robe was spread over them. She waited as an older man was escorted with great deference from the wagon. He assumed the seat, still chewing a string of some substance. Systlin noted the somewhat sleepy detatchment in his eyes.
The lines of his face were familiar. She looked from him to Kamchak, and back. Kamchak was just turning, and took up a position very close to the older man.
Ahhh. She remembered the deference shown Kamchak by the other warriors, and noted how they looked to him even now. Ahhh. I see.
The old man… Kutaituchik …looked her up and down. She looked back, with all the self-assurance she had, which was enough to break an army against.
“I am told,” The old man said at last. “That you killed eighteen of my warriors.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because they offered me insult and implied that they would put me in chains and enslave me.”
“You are a woman, are you not?” The old man said mildly.
The rage boiled again, and Systlin forced it from red hot into ice. “Slavery is abomination.” She said sharply. “It is among the greatest crimes, to hold another person in bondage. Those who would break another person to their will are monsters, and killing them cleanly is too good for them. Enslaving another for the purpose of sex is beyond abomination, for rape is another of the greatest of crimes. To even suggest such a thing is vile, and I sincerely wonder what in the name of all the gods and spirits is wrong with the men of this camp.”
A short laugh. “Ahhh. Another sent by the Priest-Kings then, new to Gor?”
Gor. The name of this world, then? And Priest-Kings; gods of some sort? “I am not from this place, no, and thank the Lady’s mercy for that.”
“You’ll find,” said Kutaituchik, “That the ways of Gor are different. You may as well get used to them, woman; you’ll find that the Tuchuk are quite fair masters, all in all. As you are new, I shall not have you killed. The male kin of those you have slain will draw lots, and the winner may put his collar on you and claim your sword as recompense. If he is charitable, he will loan you to the other men seeking recompense.”
There was a general murmur of approval from the surrounding men. Systlin felt the itch under her skin grow more insistent. The girl clinging to her side sobbed. “I told you,” she said. “I told you!”
“I have a counter offer.” Systlin said. She was drawing up power now, and readying it, because she knew with absolute certainty that she was nearing the point where it would turn to blood. She looked Kutaituchik dead in the eyes. “You acknowledge me as your new chieftain and acknowledge my word as the new law. You remove the collars from every slave in this camp. You renounce your crimes, and abase yourself for forgiveness before those you have wronged. You pay recompense and escort every newly freed woman wherever she wishes to be taken, and leave her there with funds and supplies enough to piece a life back together.”
She smiled horribly, a smile that held no mirth. “Since you are new to this new law, I will not kill you for your crimes.”
There was utter silence. And then a great roar of laughter all about.
“Kamchak.” Kutaituchik said. “Kill her.”
Kamchak nodded, and the men who’d been creeping up behind her moved. Systlin had been tracking them for some time; she’d felt the disturbances in the air and the patches of too-silent space behind her. They intended, she guessed, to strike her without warning. It was wise. It was what she would have done to kill a sorceress, were she without power.
Systlin reached into that yawning pit of coldly eager power within her, and she broke the men trying to kill her. Bones shattered into splinters. It was utterly soundless, save for the sudden screams of agony as men collapsed into piles of bloody meat.
It was easy. It was terribly easy. Her blood sang with the last agonized gurgling screams.
“Good effort.” She said, and she could not keep the smile from her face. “You should have taken my offer. Now I extend you my second; you submit to me, here and now, and I make your death painless.”
“Kill her!” The words were roared in utter furious rage. “Tuchuks! KILL HER!” A thousand voices roared, and a forest of lances rose.
Systlin drew her sword, and her dagger, and smiled, and in that smile was ruin. And as the first warriors rushed forward, she began to kill.
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internalsealpanic · 4 years ago
Text
Camp Crystal What?
summary: Camp Crystal Lake is a fine and dandy place to spend your summer, said no one ever. You are inclined to agree with that and so are Damian and Jon. 
a/n: I am back from retirement with a REEEEEEAAAAALLLLY long crack fic. (This is long as shit by my standards. Leave me alone.) This  was co written and edited by my wife @littleredwing89. She was also the biggest enabler for this. I tried to give reader some executive dysfuction but I don’t think it worked out well. We’ll see. This is my first super sons fic please feel free to roast it. 
warnings: This really self indulgent and really long. You would think I would have more gore in a slasher film based fic. No. Apparently not. 
masterlist
Jon cackles, his chin lifting only slightly from its perch on your shoulder just enough for you to fully hear the petty sound. You tilt your switch, sticking out your tongue in a vain attempt to avoid Damian’s blue shell. You cry out, throwing your arms up in exasperation as the shell hits you just as you were about to cross the finish line. Your outstretched prosthetic arm nearly hitting Jon in the process, not that you felt too bad about that considering…
 “Yeah! Got ‘em, Dami!” Jon says, high fiving a smug-looking Damian beside you.  You glare at Jon, who was still leaning against you like you weren’t about to bite his head off. “Whose side are you on?”
 “Justice!” This draws a snort out of both Tim and Jason who were both sitting in the back. 
 “No, you’re not!”
 “Yes, I am!”
 “He is, (l/n). You needed to be cut down to size," Damian declares, subtly brandishing his screen showing Rozalina doing a little victory lap in her kart as her little star guy floated around her. You pout at him, puffing your cheeks like an unruly chipmunk as you cross your arms over your chest. This only serves to make Damian all the smugger and Jon all the more gleeful at your loss. 
 You turn the full force of your ire on Jon who was smiling innocently at you, big blue eyes sparkling reminding you of your husky, Yoohoo. You’re about to say something scathing but stop instead deciding to stew in your loss and sulk as you hand Jon your Switch. You’d think he would be more prepared since he was the one who insisted on coming with you to this camp. Now that you think about it, why were they here? All you remember is telling Jon that you couldn’t go visit him over the summer because your parents were sticking you in a summer camp while they go abroad for something and the next thing you know is that you’re in an SUV with Jon, Damian, Damian’s older brother’s, and their friend(?). Whatever she was to them Damiam never adequately explained like everything else. Though you suspect she was Dick’s wife judging from how little they cared whether the other invaded their space. The lack of a wedding ring made you unsure. 
 You let out a little huff, melting into your oversized Gotham U hoodie, letting Jon lean on you despite your sour mood and touch aversion. You lean against him in return and watch as Yoshi zips past Rosalina in mild petty satisfaction. 
You all file out of the car, drowsy and irritable. You muss Jon’s bed head into an even more tangled mess. Neither of you tells Damian about the streak of drool on his face. Tim shuffles the three of you towards the convenience store while Jason politely explains to the mechanic that he’s wrong, Dick orders lunch at the diner and makes a call back to Gotham presumably to make sure Wayne industries isn’t burning down. 
Over your shoulder, you can see Jason’s form working hard not to look threatening. It’s not working or maybe the mechanic was shaking because Faust isn’t even trying to hide the irritation wicking off of her. 
 “He wha-” Tim pinches the bridge of his nose muttering something about Mr.Wayne. He looks pained. Tim hands you a wad of one-dollar bills as his voice takes Timothy Wayne's public speaker pitch. All of the Wayne’s seem to have three voices. Their Wayne voice, their vigilante voice, and their normal voice. Mr. Wayne has the most distinct voice. Dick’s was honestly really hard to distinguish.  
 You count the wad of cash in your hand as Jon grabs a basket from the pile. You note, with amusement, that at least five of the bills had variations of ‘don’t buy cereal’ written on them in distinct handwriting. 
 “Kent, are you planning to put the entire store in the basket?”
 “Nah, just the good stuff.”
 You marvel at the amount of food Jon managed stockpile in your basket while you were distracted. 
 “Uh, Jon, we don’t need that much.” Plus, I don’t think we can eat all of that. 
 “They’re right,” Damian chides, making Jon pout. 
 After a healthy amount of debate, two almost food fights, a near fistfight, and your attempt at puppy dog eyes, you finally narrow the snacks down and even have enough money left for slushies. You shrug at her, adding more blue than necessary. There weren’t rules against this. Plus, it was tastier this way. 
 “Dami,  what flavor do you want?” Jon shouts from the slushie machine.  Beside him, you swirl a mix of red, green, pink, and blue slushies. The lady at the counter was wrinkling her nose at you the way Dami is wrinkling his nose at Jon.
 Jon’s big cup of neon blue smoothie dropped to the floor in a loud clatter. 
 “You’re all doomed! He’s coming. He’s coming! That place is cursed!” The scraggly man screams as he shakes Jon. Damian’s lip tries not to curl in amusement as you both watch the scene unfold. Out of context, this was horrifying. In context, it was hilarious especially considering how badly Jon is acting. The clerk at the counter looks appropriately horrified. You look at Jon, feeling a twinge of worry. He’s not in danger. You know that but you can’t help it.
 Your concoction flies into the man’s face in no time flat and Jon scrambles to your side as soon as the man drops him. You step in front of him bracing for further confrontation but the man simply walks off muttering about something you couldn’t hear over the beating of your heart. 
“Exactly, why am I in the back?” Jason whines, unfolding and refolding himself, not quite sure where to place what limb in the cramped back row of the SUV. You let out a giggle which earns you a rather harsh glare from an already irate Jason. Damian glares back at him for you, in an oddly protective gesture, and you can’t help but feel strangely smug about it. 
 They glower at each other for a few minutes. Jason, probably knowing this was a stalemate, turns his attention towards the front of the vehicle, sharp green eyes narrowing at the rearview mirror. “Shouldn’t Faust’s short ass be in the back with Timbo and the Three Tiny Terrors?” 
 You hear an amused huff from the front along with the loud crinkling and shuffling of the map. Faust glances over her shoulder, the bright mischief in her eyes contrasting with the rich brown of her skin. You wonder if everyone in Damian and Jon’s lives were all this pretty. An almost smile quirks on the edges of her lips as she says “You didn’t call shotgun~”
 Jason hisses something colorful behind you. Tim, beside him, is chuckling either from Jason’s misery or, based on the defeated cry coming from Jon, having just nailed Yoshi with lightning. Could be both. It was likely. 
 Jason, looking positively annoyed, unfolds himself and violently settles his feet on Tim’s lap. Tim yelps then says something close to a swear word. Jason grins lazily looking more like a cat as he leans back. This time Jon cries out in joy, the victory music blaring from your switch. Again, Tim hisses something edging towards a curse word. Jon wriggles out of his seat and fist bumps Jason who returns the gesture enthusiastically. In the reflection on the windshield, you can clearly see the amusement in Dick’s smile. Even to your right, Damian seems amused if not outright gleeful at seeing Tim’s misery.  You couldn’t quite tell. You weren’t a master of reading Waynes yet. You would turn to Jon but he wasn't fluent either. Faust told you that it would take a while which just meant that you would never master it. Reading people was hard enough as it was. There was always something difficult about interpreting social signals. It was so easy to get them wrong and when you add in the complication of being a vigilante you just found yourself frustrated. You slump into the seat feeling the frustration writhing under your skin. Jon noticing your frustration eases up and gives you a little more space. 
 "So, what's with the map?" Tim asks, throwing Jason's feet back at him and handing you his switch. Faust wrinkles her nose at the offending piece of paper. "Well, Dicktopus here insisted on the authentic road trip atmosphere complete with bad cell signal, a map, and oh right, getting lost." Dick gives her a look which Faust just shrugs it off. 
 "Like what? The Goofy movie?" Tim asks incredulously, his brows wrinkling in the rearview mirror as he gives Dick a withering look. 
 Faust snorts in confirmation. Jon’s face crumples in confusion. You make a small hiccupping noise mimicking the noise that passes for Goofy's laugh and you see as the bleary memory clicks into place. "You mean the old movie we watched last night?"
 "It's old but gold," Dick defends fervently, earning him an indulgent smile from Faust and a withering look from Damian. Damian shrinks into his seat unwilling to expend too much effort defending his mentor's taste in movies despite him enjoying the movie. You did too but you wanted to see how this would play out. Behind you, Jason shifts, a shark-like grin plastered across his face. " Just because that's the movie you modeled your life after, Big Bird, doesn't mean it's good."
 Dick makes this affronted noise that makes him sound a little like he's squawking. "It's a good movie and you know it!" Dick says earnestly, scowling at a still cocky Jason through the reflection in the windshield. You see Damian, Jason, Faust, and Tim's eyes meet in the rearview mirror, all shining conspiratorially. You and Jon give each other a look, each looking like you're bracing for disaster. 
 "Dunno, Dick, I think the second one was soooo much better," Tim pipes up finally. It sounds like the spark lighting a trail of gunpowder towards a powder keg. 
 "I have to agree with Drake," Damian says honestly sounding pained. 
 Faust rewards him with a conspiratorial smile which makes Damian ease a little. The gesture from what you understood roughly translated to 'it was for the greater good.' "So much for your taste in movies, Dickens," Faust teases, poking a finger at Dick’s shoulder. 
 "You're one to talk!" Dick says, rolling his eyes childishly. 
 Faust twists her body to look at all 5 of you, winking at you and Jon as if she was about to perform a magic trick, which wasn't off the table since she could actually pull weapons from her tattooed skin. "You guys loved Lake Placid, right?" 
 Playing along, you each gave varying sounds of agreement til Dick finally threw his hands up in exasperation. "HEATHENS!" Faust looks pleased as punch at this reaction. You giggle as Dick groans into the steering wheel as you slow to a stop in front of a cross-section. 
 "Traitors all of you," Dick says, resting his arm on the back of his seat and giving all of you a halfhearted scowl. He kind of looked like Yoohoo when you refused to give him treats. 
 You all bask in Dick’s misery. You even catch Jon giggling at Dick’s frown despite himself. The rest were completely unrepentant. They don't even bother to hide the self-satisfied smiles on their faces, least of all Damian who vehemently protested to being subjected to such drivel. This is, of course, ignoring the fact that he had watched the movie with the same rapt attention as you and Jon. You all enjoyed the movie just as much as Dick did but it was much funnier to gang up on him. 
 Dick continues to argue his point as all of you offer, frankly, bogus arguments that you say with as much conviction as Dick levels against you. The banter continues in a rather jaunty rhythm until a fallen tree forces the car into a rather abrupt stop. 
 "Shit!" Jason hisses at full volume as his knees hit the back of Damian’s seat which draws out a soft 'oof' from Damian which quickly reshapes into a snarl. Tim and Damian give Jason a look of mock sympathy. Jason raises his middle finger in a vaguely familiar gesture. 
 "Jason!" Dick says, cutting off your train of thought much to your frustration. You contemplate hissing some colorful words yourself. 
 Jason grunts, probably rubbing his shins. "They've heard, said, and done worse." You hear Jon protest beside you but it's quickly cut off by a 'not you' from somewhere. 
 Then it hits you. "Oh yeah! Dami did that hand thingy when he drop-kicked someone during lunch," you admit conversationally. 
 "Dami!" 
 Damian gives you an absolutely betrayed look. You shrug at him not entirely sure what was wrong. You shrink a little and Damian pulls back a little but still glares. 
 "Didn't you hear him say the F-word?" Jon adds. You blink at him, running through your memory like a film reel and turning up nothing. "Some of us don't have super hearing," you supply with no real anger behind it. 
 "Ope, sorry, (y/n)." You shrug at him congenially as he smiles sheepishly at you. No harm no foul. 
 "Kent!"
 "Oh- Uh, sorry, Dami." 
 Damian doesn't look appeased at all by this. 
 “Ok, so we’re just gonna skip over the fact that he drop-kicked someone?” Tim asks, raising a brow and you find yourself thinking, “Well, yeah. He’s Robin. That’s kinda his thing.”
 Jason snorts beside him, seemingly less irritable now that Dick’s attention was directed elsewhere. “He didn’t get caught soooo..”
 “Jason!”
 “Jason, we’re not supposed to be obvious about being terrible influences.” Faust jokes, now redirecting Dick’s ire to her. You can’t tell if that was intentional or not but either way she seems to be enjoying how Dick’s expression makes him look like a carp gasping for air.
 “Why did you tell them?” Damian hisses, albeit softer than he normally does. You frown at him confused. You thought it was spectacular and you really don’t know what was wrong. You really wish they’d explain it. Maybe you should speak up but would that be rude? You stare at Damian trying your hardest to convey your confusion but you’re having trouble shaping your face into the correct one. You try to keep in mind the face Jon makes when Damian tried to explain quantum physics to both of you. 
 Turning away from her argument with Dick, Faust looks at you pityingly before speaking and putting her hand up to Dick’s face lightly pushing him back. “Relax, Baby Vamp, I would’ve gotten it out of them sooner or later,” Faust says, looking at you with the same stern look Mr. Pennyworth gives you when you try to steal cookies. It kind of reminds you of the Penance Stare from Ghost Riders but with less flaming skulls and more implied disappointment. 
 “Tim was the one who ate the last few pieces of the brownies Mr. Pennyworth made for Jason.” The words flow out of you like water from a cataract. Faust waves her hand theatrically as if she had just demonstrated a magic trick. Again, you’re pretty sure this was one. You wince fully expecting Tim to have the same caustic reaction as Damian. But when you turn to look at him to apologize, Tim already had his hands up in front of him defensively. On the other side, not far enough away for Tim’s liking, Jason looks livid, steam coming out of his ears. 
 “Those were mine, asshole!”
 “You eat them every time you’re at the Manor!”
 “When I’m at the Manor! Which is what? Once every three months?”
 “Two,” Tim deadpans, holding up two fingers. 
 That was the wrong thing to say, you realize. From the way they’re staring at each other, you’re a little afraid they’d come to blows as Jason surges forward. 
 “Tim, Jay, I will turn this car around if you two don’t stop.”
 “Please, continue.” Dick shoots Damian a ‘you are not helping’ glare but Damian simply answers with a warning one. They all look ready for a brawl and all you want to do is curl up into your oversized hoodie. You play with the frayed edges of your hoodie hoping you’re radiating your discomfort.
 And like an angel of mercy, Faust clears her throat. “(Y/n), Jon, help me clear the road.” The statement leaves no room for argument and you and Jon breathe a collective sigh of relief. 
Jon lifts the tree with ease. It was an oddly healthy tree, freshly cut. Something about it made your stomach turn. “Jon could have done it alone. Why bring me?” You ask, distracting yourself from the strange feeling by fiddling with the joints of your metal hand which only made you more conscious of how pointless it was to bring you along. Faust glances towards the car. The boys are still bickering. She then glances down at you with a wry smile. “Waynes bickering is really funny from a distance.” Your eyes glance at the light scar on her running down her clavicle, disappearing into the line of her shirt.  You doubt it’s from any of them. You really doubt it. The Wayne kids were chaotic, especially the girls, but they’re never- Well, they can be hurtful but not that way. Not that you’ve seen anyway.   You shake your head and glance at the car and watch them argue. Their gestures are animated and loud enough that you could almost hear the bickering going on. This liveliness settles your stomach. 
 You spend a few minutes out there waiting for them to settle down. It was long enough for you and Jon to start debating the existence of Gummy Bear shaped aliens and for Faust to weigh in with her humble opinion. Dick honks at the three of you to tell you it was, relatively, safe to come back. Tim, Damian, and Jason were all sulking in their respective corners while Dick gives you and Jon an apologetic look. Jon simply shrugs as if to say it was normal for brothers to argue but you found it hard to picture Conner ever being that mean to Jon or vice versa for that matter. Faust rolls her eyes at the sulking birds, a fond smile quirking on her lips.  Dick gives her a look that was usually followed by the words ‘I miss not being the adult’ which she graciously answers with a smile that plainly says ‘me too.’
 In the corner of your eye, you see something- a shadow- move in the woods as you drive off, Dick’s story about space aliens falling away into the background. You turn to Jon who looks at you confused and a little concerned. It was clear he didn’t see it, whatever it was. You turn to Damian but see he’s still stewing. You blin and the shadow is gone. A sticky feeling of dread settles in your stomach. 
 There's pressure in the car. 
The camp is, well, loud. 
 Louder than you were expecting and full of rowdier children than promised. You wince slightly, ears ringing. You and Damian sigh already knowing that you were both going to be absolutely exhausted by the end of this. You turn to Jon, shoulder slumping, only to find him beaming as he watched the other kids run around. There were alot of days you envied Jon and this was one of them. Damian looks at Jon with utter disbelief. You shrug at him as he wrinkles his nose at both Jon and the hooligans running around. Your lip quirks into a scraggly smile fully understanding.
 “This is going to be repulsive,” Damian hisses.  
 “Lighten up, Dami.”
 “Nah, he’s gotta practice being dark and brooding, so when he gets to be the big bad bat he can do the whole brooding thing all-natural,” you joke, using your finger to mimic the ears of Batman’s cowl. 
 “Please, say that louder. I don’t think the supervillains heard you,” says Damian sarcastically, nose upturned.  
 Jon grins at you in a challenge. You raise a brow, crossing your arms. Your brain cell takes a vacation. 
 “HE’S GOTTA-” Damian clamps a hand on your mouth. You glare at him. His eye flicks to Jon who is sucking in a breath. Damian is throwing his other hand over Jon’s mouth when one of the counselors waves you over. All three of you blanch at the color of the shirt. 
 You all stand in an odd misshapen circle. Damian looks incredulously at the tacky camp T-shirt he’s been forced into while Jon does not contain his laughter. You joke about how a bowtie would definitely class it up which earns you a rude gesture that just makes you laugh harder. 
 “Alright kiddos, it’s time to introduce ourselves!”
 Damian froze under the weight of their collective gazes, the hint of a smile on his face fading. Sometimes being around you and Jon made him forget. Well, not really forget. It was just easier not to think about it when you two were around. Damian feels himself shifting, realigning himself to 5’ 2” of cold arrogance.
 It should have scared you just how easily the warm fondness on his face smoothed out giving way to this cold calculating face. It did on some level; on some level, the efficiency of Damian’s face muscles scared you. Sometimes you had to wonder if it was just him or if his brothers had the same knee-jerk reaction. 
 You roll your eyes as if nothing worrying had happened and bump your shoulder against his. A smile twitches on his lip and the ramrod shape of his spine curves a bit.  Jon snickers, not trying too hard to hide it, which earns him the full force of Damian’s ire but you and Jon know all too well that Damian’s just being prickly.  You step forward, shoulders broadening, nudging a glaring Damian behind you redirecting everyone’s stares towards you. It’s uncomfortable but you don’t mind. Damian huff behind you but doesn’t protest any more than that. You smile amicably or as amicably as you can. You need to remember the correct shape.  
Introductions go off without a hitch. 
 Jon, like always, has no trouble stirring the crowd. 
  You make an impression when your introduction careens into a tangent about angelfish.
 Behind you, Damian scoffs and  crosses his arms over his chest. Contrary to popular belief, Damian did have a tendency to be nervous, especially around new people. This is compounded by the fact that Damian wasn’t really versed in dealing with people his own age which just put him on edge. 
 Thankfully, all three of you get sorted into the same cabin. The cabin is chaotic in a familiar, childish sort of way with pillows flying everywhere and kids jumping up and down their bed. Jon immediately jumps into the fray. Damian follows soon after Jon hits him with a pillow square in the face. 
 “Woman up and face me, Kent!”
 You look up to the sky and smile in amusement.  This is going to be an interesting summer.
The room is solid. 
 Your eyes incandescent in the darkness. The air crackles in anticipation of the storm.  
 A silver streak of lightning tears down through the heavens and crashes down into the lake. 
 A strange dislocation in the universe has emerged.
 Your eyes shut. 
 Your ears pop. 
 You do not hear as something mangled rises from the water. 
You wanted to say this was a horrible idea. Though, you’re not sure how to phrase that without implying they’re idiots. You’ve been hanging out with Damian too much. He’s starting to rub off on you and you’re mildly concerned. 
 You’d told them that the whole fight was your fault. Ok, not entirely. You simply told the kid off when he was making fun of Jon and you were not gonna stand for that. The kid shoved you, Damian 'accidentally' broke his nose, and the next thing you know is that you’ve been shoved into a random group of campers.It’s been a week but you still weren’t familiar with a lot of the people in the camp. The man with kind eyes said this would be good for you.  You really would have preferred staying at the campgrounds, cleaning and doing whatever with the people in your cabin. 
 “Alright, kiddos, you guys can go swim while me and Jos go check something out in the woods.”
 “Don’t do anything we wouldn’t!”
 You sniff and bite your tongue, playing with the hem of your shirt. 
 "You sure they're gonna be ok?"
 "What you think they're gonna disappear like Cat?"
 Your ears perk up at this. 
 "Well, I mean-"
 "She probably just ran off with one of the town boys." 
 This was probably the best time to bring up child endangerment protocols or the fact that you’re not even dressed for swimming. By the time you string the correct combination of words,  they’re gone. You sigh and huddle yourself into a tree. It’s not like you’re dressed to swim anyway even if you wanted to. 
 You hug your knees as you flatten yourself against the tree, making sure your prosthetic limb is tucked beneath your normal one. You watch the others as they horse around looking like they’re really enjoying themselves. They probably didn’t realize you were there or did they even notice you join the group. Doesn’t matter really. Right now you would prefer to sit under the tree than risking your arm. Mr. Fox had explained that since it was still a prototype it was delicate. 
 “HEY!”
 You jump. Your skin feeling very confined. You turn to the voice. Jesse, you think. 
 “Sorry. Could you- can you say that again?”
 She rolls her eyes at you and you suddenly doubt the politeness of your speech but no you were pretty sure that was the correct way to say it. 
 “I said ‘can your arm go in the water?’.”
 Oh.
 “No?” You were half sure it couldn’t. You haven’t really tested it since it was easier to bathe without it. She gives you a skeptical look and yanks your arm towards her. You yelp. “Hey! What are you-” Your throat tightens when you find yourself at the dock. It’s shaky. The slightest shifting made it move. 
 You turn your heel mumbling an apology but your arm is yanked back. The grip is stronger now. You look back and see two people holding on to it. “Let go!” you say, trying to wrench yourself free. “It’s- it’s not a toy,” you add but they don’t budge.
 “You’re being a baby!”
 “C’mon (y/n)!”
 “Let’s see how well robots can swim!”
 You scream as they throw you into the water. 
 You thrash your limbs around, grasping for something, anything but all you can feel is the viscous emptiness deforming and reforming with every splash. 
 You cry out. 
 The water muffles your screams along with the distant sound of laughter and heckling. 
 Your mouth is filling with water.
 Your lungs. Your lungs are burning. 
 Your chest aches. 
 You can’t breathe. 
 Help!
 Help!
 Please!
 Someone!
 It hurts. 
 Your vision is pulsing. The edges are going dark. 
 Your limbs are going numb and falling to pieces. 
 The world is sinking. 
It’s so dark. 
 It’s too cold. 
 Why are you alone?
 Where are they?
 You don’t want to die like this. 
 .
.
.
.
.
.
You feel a large hand fish you out by the scruff of your shirt. It tosses you onto the shore; the force as you hit the ground knocks the air (water?) out of your lungs. You heave, gasping like a fish. A large silhouette hangs over you, cold dread licks up your spine but you note a lack of panic. Maybe it was the lack of oxygen. 
 Your vision comes back in pieces and by the time the world puzzles back together, you’re alone. You’re alone and shivering like a wet rat. You look around, brushing wet hair out of your eyes and you realize you’re not entirely sure of the way back. You curl in on yourself. It does nothing to warm you but you were desperate to feel whole and safe and ok. 
 You aren’t entirely sure how long it is before Jon and Damian find you or just how they managed it but you’re thankful when someone drapes a heavy towel over your head, muffling the scattered sounds around you. Shakily, you pull the towel over your face. It hides the tears well enough. Your loose hanging limbs tighten around you. You want to shrink, small enough to smooth over the trembling in your body. You know they’ve saved people from drowning before. They’ve saved people from far worse. Heck, they’ve been through far worse. You desperately don’t want them to think of you as weak, as less but here you were trembling. You’re unable to steady your own breathing. Frustration rises in the back of your throat. It is a welcome change from the nonstop medley of panic that’s been shoved on you. 
 A hand settles itself on your head, the movement stiff, light, and controlled. The pressure increases a touch when you don’t protest. Damian radiates awkwardness as he attempts to ruffle your still-damp hair. You smile up at him through damp hair. Damian simply grunts as he continues to avoid eye contact by staring out at the empty lake. 
 Jon plops down next to you kicking his feet out in front of him. He gives your space but he’s just close enough for you to lean against if you wanted to. On his shoulder was your ratty oversized hoodie. You tug at his sleeve to ask for it. He hands it to you. You slip it on, not caring that you were still soggy. The familiar, loose weight of fabric against your skin made you feel whole and safe and marginally ok. 
 Jon presses a hand onto your back mimicking the experimental way Damian had patted your damp hair. He listens to the steadying rhythm of your heart, his own easing back into a calmer rhythm. Damian raises a brow at him and he gives him a thumbs up. Damian’s shoulders loosen and Jon can’t help the snort that comes out of him. You look at him startled and Damian gives him the ol’ Damian glare which makes him laugh out loud. Your eyes flicker to Damian and then roll your eyes, crow's feet wrinkling in the corners of your eyes. You twist your mouth into a weird squiggly line in an attempt to smother a laugh in fear of incurring Damian’s wrath. Jon highly doubts you’d be able to. Damian was, in fact, a big old softie. Sure, he acts grumpy all the time but spending so much time with both Dick and Faust has made him pretty mushy by bat standards but Jon wouldn’t dare say that out loud, at least, not when Damian looked this close to throwing him into the water. 
 You spend a long time soaking up the quiet before heading back. Jon slings an arm around you but pulls it back when he hears your heart stutter. You pinch and tug at his sleeve and mumble an apology.  You see Damian shoot Jon his version of the Pennyworth look. 
 “Sorry, (y/n).”
 “‘S ok,” you rasp quietly. 
 You three walk along the shore towards the cap. You feel too tired to even blanch at the odd feeling of wet socks as you pad along the path. You walk in silence which is interrupted by a bird call here and there with either you or Jon occasionally asking Damian to translate. He does but for some reason some odd reason, they keep calling you idiot or imbeciles. You watch Damian’s eyes flick here and there. You know he feels it too. The odd feeling of being watched. The rustle of leaves echoes eerily in the stillness. 
 The counselors, mercifully, let you skip out on the rest of the afternoon’s activities. You curl up in your cabin, warm and very comfortable in the pool of fabric created by one of Mr. Kent’s hoodies which Jon ‘accidentally’ packed. You rolled your eyes at him but accepted it gratefully. You make a mental note to thank him with the mill house cookies you ‘accidentally’ bought at one of the rest stops. 
 You flip through the yellowing pages of the book in your hand. You aren’t quite sure how to describe how inappropriate it is to give a drowning victim a book on the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft. Then again, it was better than reading Moby Dick. Plus, you’re enjoying yourself trying to find a man who is about as stealthy as a Green Lantern. You’ll have to ask Damian or Jon. Damian’s more likely to have met a Green Lantern but he’s also more likely to give you a boring and entirely inaccurate answer. 
 You go back to the fish people. Do Atlanteans walk like that? Maybe.  It feels odd somehow moving around without your prosthetic limb. Lighter but infinitely more unstable.  
 “Do you think they’ll find Cat?”
 Your ears perk up. Your eyes flick to the window and you see two counselors leaning against another cabin. You shuffle awkwardly somehow moving the mass of cloth quietly. You squish against the wall making sure they can’t see you. 
 “Cat just ran off. You know how she is.”
 “That’s what Raz said.”
 “Yeah, where is he?”
 “Who knows he’s probably just fucking around in the woods. Doing Bear Grylls shit or something.”
 “Hope he comes back soon.”
 “Do you really wanna deal with that horny jackass?”
 “No but he’s the only decent cook. Do you really wanna taste what awful concoction Ratty has for us?”
 Your stomach curdles remembering Ratty’s terrible improvisation of Doro Wat. Ratty said it was their grandmother’s recipe but you doubted it. Unlike the one Jason made for you one time, it was bland. It wasn’t even close to spicy. The vegetables were overcooked while the chicken was somehow undercooked. In short, you had nearly died twice since you got here. 
 “Nope. I’d rather starve. Isn’t their cooking like a human rights violation?”
 Starvation would be a kinder death. 
 “Yeah. Anyway, I tried asking Jos. Apparently, Raz and a bunch of the other Lil shits have been fucking around in town.”
 “Is that where Jackie disappeared to?”
 “Probably.”
 Ok, so the counselors have been dropping like flies and you have yet to notice. You should probably tell Damian and Jon. Something about this seems wrong. 
“Are you ever gonna stop glaring at them?” you ask, plopping on to the log letting your empty sleeve hang loosely off to your side. 
 “Depends, have they apologized?”
 “Ye-”
 “Sincerely?”
 “Well-”
 “Then no.”
 “Ok, but does Jon have to pout at them?”
 “I’m not pouting!”
 “Wait… That’s your glare?”
 “Yeah?” Jons says furrowing his brow. 
 “Batcow’s given me better glares!”
 “Again, (l/n) is right.”
 “Thank you!”
 “Dami, who’s side are you on?”
 Damian’s lips curl into a cat-like smile, the kind you saw on Selina. “Justice.”
 Jon throws his hands up defeated. You give Damian a low five as he settles beside you. Jon takes the seat on your other side still pouting. 
 "Do you kids know the rules to surviving a horror movie?" 
 The chattering dies down and you all fall silent, turning your full attention to the counselor. Your counselor lets out an absolutely delighted squeal, clapping their hands. You don’t miss the absolute dread on your other counselor’s face. 
 “Ok so, rule 1: Be a virgin-”
 “Ratty!” Dawes, the counselor with dread on her face, squeaks elbowing Ratty, Ratchet. “Couldn’t you have worded it differently or you know, not at all?!” Ratty, the horror enthusiast counselor, rubs their arm and sticks their tongue out at Dawes who looks like she’s going to age ten years during this conversation. 
 If you thought Dawes was pale before, she nearly turns transparent with the next few words that leave your mouth. “What’s a virgin?” you blurt out. You desperately want to curl in on yourself. It wasn’t that you didn’t know. It was just your mouth runs faster than your mind.  The kids around you snicker and one of the boys behind you claps you on the shoulder, laughing loudly. You lean on Damian, hiding behind him slightly. Damian shifts so he’s shielding you more.
 Dawes sputters out her answer.  It’s hard to understand. You watch the others searching for clues for an appropriate reaction. 
 “It’s a person who’s never had intercourse,” Damian deadpans and you nod quietly. 
 Dawes’ face lights up like a Christmas tree while Ratty’s twists into pure joy. Damian rolls his eyes as the other kids laugh even louder. It takes a moment but your cheeks heat up realizing the gap in your reaction must have given them the wrong idea. You pinch the bridge of your nose and you sigh. You see Jon snort at you and you stick your tongue out at him. 
 “See, Dawes, they know.”
 “What about keeping them innocent?!” 
  “I’m not getting paid to do that,” Dawes drags her hand over her face as Ratty shrugs,” ’sides, this is life skills.” Dawes slaps Ratty on the shoulder again making them whine at the impact.  “Ok. Ok. Fine. Fine. Jeez, you hit like a son of a- Oh wait, have any of you heard about Camp Blood?”
 This gets you all to quiet down. 
 “Camp Blood? Isn’t that like a video game?”  
 “It’s like a local ghost story isn’t it?”
 “Wasn’t that the one with the fish-”
 “It’s not the fish people.”
 “Let me tell the story!”
 “Ratty, you never tell the story well. You keep making weird voices and you can’t even keep a straight face.”
 “SLANDER,” Ratty shouts, throwing up their hands. 
 “Pffft, you also gonna tell us you can cook a 5-star meal?”
 “Ok. Ok. Fine. I’ll just tell it to them straight.”
 “What? As straight as Dawes?”
 “Pffft, we’d go in circles.”
 “Hey!”
 “It’s true!”
 “You don’t have to say it.”
 “What’s the thing about Camp Blood?” Jon pipes, putting a hand over Damian’s mouth probably sensing the sharp remark he’s about to say. Damian licks his hand and Jon pulls away waving his hand like he’s been burned.  You snort then blanch when Jon rubs the spit on to your hoodie. 
 “Gather round children-”
 “Ratty, they’re in a circle get on with it.”
 “I AM TRYING TO SET THE MOOD.”
 “Jesus, ok. So, a looong time ago there was this kid named Jason Voorhes. When two counselors were fu- OW! Jeez, Dawes- Ow! Ok, fine. While two counselors were distracted, he drowned-”
 “Sounds familiar,” snipes Damian. An apologetic look crosses Dawes’ face, a confused one on Ratty’s, and sheepish one on Jos’. You squeeze his and Jon’s shoulders. 
 Ratty shakes their head. “Anyway, they never find the body so his mom comes back and hacks the new counselors into pieces as some soft of demented justice for her kid.”
 “That’s a bit of an overreaction,” Jos laughs awkwardly. The glares on them do not waver. You elbow Damian and kick Jon’s foot. Damian ignores you while Jon gives you a look of mock hurt.  You roll your eyes at him and attempt to elbow Damian a second time. Again, nothing.
 “The thing is one of the counselors actually manages to decapitate Mrs. Voorhees. She disappeared two months after though. Legend has it that Jason still roams the grounds of Camp Blood seeking revenge for his mother.”
 The air is humming, thick with the roll of thunder and  the premonition of a storm. 
 There is a dislocation in the universe. 
 Your ears pop. 
 You look at Jon who looks vaguely like his mother when she’s sniffed out a story. You look at Damian who is already sussing out every detail of the story. Your eyes meet and you all nod. 
“It has to be someone using the urban legend as some sort of cover. Or! Or maybe they’re using the urban legend to mythologize their killings,” you say, through a mouth full of contraband chocolate chip cookies. 
 Damian snatches the package from you taking a piece.“(l/n), that’s ridiculous-”
 “Yeah, we don’t even know if they’re dead yet,” Jon protests, snatching the bag from a scowling Damian. 
 “What are the odds they’re still alive?” 
 You all fall silent. “We assume they’re still alive until we see proof of the contrary,” Damian says firmly. You and Jon nod. The movement feels heavy.  
 “But what if the Jason ghost is a real thing?”
 “Possible.”
 “(l/n), don’t indulge him.”
 “Jon is literally part alien,” you protest
 “Jason has come back from the dead and Faust literally has moving tattoos,” Jon adds.
 “YOUR DAD IS LITERALLY BEST FRIENDS WITH A 5000-YEAR-OLD AMAZONIAN AND A DUDE WHO CAN LIFT BUILDINGS.”
 “Ok, fine but we should eliminate the more mundane explanations first,” Damian concedes accepting another cookie. 
 “I think we have. It’s too rapid and obvious to be a human trafficking operation.”
 “We should find the counselors first.”
 “Yeah, that’s a start.”
 “Where should we start?”
 “Abandoned cabins would be a good start,” you suggest trying not to perk up. 
 Damian glares at you and you wither. “(l/n), you’re not coming with us.”
 “You say this like (y/n)’s gonna listen,” Jon laughs. 
 “ET has a point,” you say, grinning and opening another packet. You offer Jon the first cookie as thanks. 
 “Can’t I at least be a cool alien?”
 “Nope.”
 “Will you two focus?”
 “Yeah. No.”
 Damian pinches his nose. You completely understand why people think Damian makes a convincing fifty year old. “(l/n)...”
 “Ok, fiiiine. I’ll stay out of it.”
 “Don’t even think about sneaking out.”
 You frown and nod. 
 You tiptoe through the brush, one metallic arm wrapped around you, the other hanging limply to your side flashlight clasped tight in your metallic hand.  Camp Blood isn’t too far. You silently survey a few cabins finding nothing particularly interesting aside from cobwebs and potentially dead animals. The air is musty and decayed. You sniff and rub your nose as you walk through the camp guided only by strips of moonlight. If you were to run into a murderer now, you would only have your flashlight to defend you. You didn’t like those odds. 
 You’re a deer in headlights. 
 Dry mouth. 
 Skin going cold. 
 A scream burbling in the back of your throat. 
 The lumbering figure is coming closer. 
 You know he can see you. 
 Your feet are fused to the ground. 
 The light of the machete winking at you from a distance. 
 The world turns into a blur when your back hits the rotting wood of the abandoned cabin. 
 “What did I say about sneaking out?” Damian hisses, arm pressed on your neck. You blink. A flood of relief crowds your chest. 
 You sling your arms around him and he stiffens. You explain away the surprised little yelp as something animal and not something from your friend. “I didn’t sneak out. I went to the bathroom then I wandered off,” you mumble. 
 “How exactly is that different?” 
 “Less tiptoeing.” 
 "Funny."
 "It is."
 "Have you seen Kent?"
 "Sadly no."
 "Shit- Don't tell Grayson."
 "The fact that you swore or the fact that you somehow lost Superman's kid" 
 He glares at you and you can't help but shrug. 
 "Both." 
 "Fair," you say, pausing for half a breath.”Did you find the hostages?”
 Damian’s face falls then hardens then you know better than to ask him.  
 “We should find Jon,” Damian says finally. You flick your eyes and shake your head pushing down the urge to make fun of his slip. You’ll tell Jon later. 
 You two walk together, shoes in hand. It was easier. Maybe after this, you’ll ask Tim to teach you how to sneak around. 
 The sound of crashing wood fills the still night air. You and Damian freeze. 
 “JON.” Damian is the first to launch himself towards a cabin. You shamble behind him, plodding through the muddy earth as fat droplets of rain splashing down.   You would have blanched at the squishing but all you could think about was Jon.  
“Jon!”
 “Dami! (y/n)!”
 “Are you ok?”
 “I’m in a hole. What do you think?”
 You look him over as best you can in the dark. Damian seems to be having a better time. “You’re not in pain, so yeah.”
 Jon huffs, shifting around in the pile of clothes. His nose wrinkles.“This jumper smells like something died in it," he says holding up a particularly old looking sweater. It's blotchy with various stains around the neck. 
 “Check for a pulse!” you shout, earning a sharp jab to the rib from Damian. You glare and rub your chest.
“Guys, I don’t wanna alarm you but I’m pretty sure there’s a decapitated head down here”
 “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” Damian asks incredulously. Your skin drains of all color and warmth. 
 “Do you want the good news or bad news?”
 “That’s not-”
 “Where in that pile of bloody clothes did you get good news?”
 “Good news is he’s not here,” Jon says, eyes sweeping around.”Bad news, he’s actually real.”
 “Stop messing around and get out of there, Kent!”
 “Jon, come on! Fly or something!”
 “My powers are going-” Jon jumps. But only manage to just fall back down. “I can’t fly.”
 Damian groans. He pinches his nose and goes off to look for something to pull Jon up with.
 “Why do you think your powers aren’t working?”
 Jon shrugs. “Magic?” This place is cursed. 
 “We are dealing with a ghost,” you shrug back. You all freeze. The sound of distant footsteps making your heart race.
 “Dami!” you hiss, over your shoulder. 
 “I can’t find anything!”   
 “Wait,” you say, unfastening your arm and reaching down to Jon. Damian grabs hold of it with both hands and you two start pulling Jon up. 
 The footsteps are getting louder, closer. 
 "Hurry!" you hiss quietly. 
 Your hearts are racing. 
 You pull, Jon getting closer. 
 He’s almost in arm’s reach. 
 The man is getting closer. 
 You can hear his breathing. 
 You pull Jon up, feet kicking. You wrestle him into a hug with one arm, making a little happy squeal into his hair low enough that only they can hear. Damian nudges you with your arm. 
 “Well that was scary,” Jon whispers into your shoulder. Damian smacks him upside the head. You laugh but cut yourself off when you see Damian stiffen. “RUN!”
 You all scramble up and begin to dash away. You look back over your shoulder, machete winking at you, hockey mask visible in the dim light. 
 You stumble, feet getting tangled in roots. You yelp,  bracing for impact and possibly dying.  You feel arms scoop you up. You squeak. “No one gets left behind, soldier,” Jon says grinning. 
 “How are you still a goof when we’re about to die?” you laugh incredulously. 
 “He clearly gets it from his father.”
 “ Pfffft, probably or maybe it's an alien thing.”
 “Are you really gonna make fun of me, right now?” Jon protests, shouting over the rain. 
 “You two! This way!” Damian points to a small hole in the hillside.
 “I’m too tall for that!” Damian glares.
 You snort. “Just duck.” Jon scowls at you then sighed. 
 You all slide into a small crevice and hunched together. 
 “What’s the plan?”
 “Jon, are your powers working?”
 “Kind of?”
 “Ok, that’s one thing we have going for us,” Damian hands you a phone. "You call while we distract him." 
 "Why do you have to distract him?" 
 "Ask him yourself, (l/n)."
 Your eyes sweep up to the tall figure. Your mouth goes completely dry. 
 "Fuck." 
 Jason brings his machete down in a swift arc light. You grab Damian by the scruff of his shirt. The machete embeds itself into the wall, getting caught in the process. Your moment of relief doesn’t last long when Jason lunges for you.  You scream as he catches your arm. With a soft click it detaches and you scramble away and out the hole into the pouring rain. He’s hot on your heels. You hear a loud thud. You look over your shoulder. Jon’s resting against the wall, head slumped. You see him throw Damian to the ground. You call 9-11 as you hurl your shoe at him. The dial tone is ringing. When you look up again, Jason is heading towards you. You stumble barefoot trying to get away. Predictably, you fall, foot catching on another tangle of roots.  
  “Hello? Hello? Is anyone out there?”
 “Please help,” you whisper as Jason raises your arm to the sky. Your life flashes through like a film reel. Your breath is caught. Lightning flashes. 
 You watch the lightning cut through the heavens. The silver streak of light connecting might your arm and by extension Jason.  The arm explodes. Shrapnel flies everywhere. Jason bursts into flames. The smell of burning flesh cutting through the air. You watch in open-mouthed horror as another bolt of lightning hits. He falls body fried to a crisp. You wretch the smell still strong. 
 "Kid! Kid! Are you ok?" 
 "No…" you gasp, bile lining the back of your throat, "please,hurry. We're at Camp Blood." 
You’re cold and wet and forced to huddle into one blanket since the officer who responded only had one on hand.  Damian is talking on the phone. It’s hard to make out amidst the pouring rain, so you settle in letting Jon rest his head on your shoulder as he drifts to sleep. The officer said the rest of the force is coming to collect the bodies. The camp is most likely gonna be shut down for the summer. You weren’t keen on spending the entire summer with your cousins. 
 “I’ve informed father that you’re staying with us for the rest of the summer.”
 “Informed?” you laugh, relieved, ”good luck telling Jon that.”
 You both eye him. Jon snores into your ear and you can’t help but smile. “He’ll be fine.”
   Bonus
 The map in Jon’s hands crinkles loudly as he shuffles through it trying to find the correct route. You know the route. You memorized it before you even set off. You did it instead of studying for finals. It was certainly more entertaining than studying for a US history final when you already knew it was just gonna be about the American Revolution, World War II, and probably the Vietnam war. You hold back the snicker threatening to spill from your lips when, with each crinkle of the Dollar Store map, Damian’s brow twitched. Yes, this was the purpose of the map. It was most certainly doing its job well. 
 “You think they’ll still have the same dumb camp activities?”
 “You say this like you weren’t squealing to try all of them.”
 “Was not!”
 “Dunno,  Jon,  Dami has a pretty good memory.”
 Your car rolls to a stop in front of a cross-section. You drum your fingers against the steering wheel before you let curiosity override your self-preservation. 
 “How did you convince Dami to come along?”
 Jon tilts his head at you in question. “I didn’t,” he says slowly, “I thought you did.”
 Your passenger goes deadly silent. You both twist your bodies to look at him. Jon gives him a knowing smile while you give him a reassuring one that says ‘it’s ok you can tell us’. Damian avoids all eye contact like the plague, glaring at the window like there’s a particularly interesting speck of dust on it.  
 His eyes narrow. And you have the odd urge to follow his gaze. 
 The trees shift. 
 The pressure in the car builds. 
 Jon’s laughter stalls. 
 A shape flickers in the distance. 
 Your ears pop. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a/n: THANKS FOR READING! Yes, reader has a prosthetic limb because I was reading 3 birds. Also, this can be treated as pre-slash. Epilogue is up for interpretation. Probably. Also fun fact, Faust is the basis for merc reader. I could not resist putting her in. 
Tag list:  @batarella, @anothertimdrakestan, @lucy-roo, @multifandomgirl-us, @idkmanicantenglish,@birdy-bat-writes,  @boosyboo9206, @americasmarauders , @l-inkage, @arestorationofbalance , @cloudie-skay, @wunderstell @hyp-oh-critical
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abarbaricyalp · 4 years ago
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Idk if you are still taking prompts, but you know the vine two dudes chilling in a hot tub 5 feet apart cause they're not gay, and a girl quoting it in a park about two girls in the distance and one of them hearing and going "Actually I am gay" Like that scenario, only involving them fixing the boat? Maybe Sarah quoting it to give Sam shit when she thinks Bucky cant hear and Bucky goes "Wait, no I'm gay" or something, or just the general gist of that. Sorry if this us too specific, I've never sent anyone a prompt before :P
Hello Friend! Thank you so much for sending anything in at all! I know the vine you're talking about, but I couldn't find it on Youtube. (I did find a two day rabbit hole of old compilations though) This was also my first foray into writing Sarah as a fully fleshed character! I was excited to get the practice 'cause I had an idea bouncing around in my head about her and Bucky talking after he wakes up in the Wilson house. I kept her a little more like she had been in my other fics pre-show here. I so wish we got a little more of her!
Feel free, anyone, to send me Sambucky prompts!
The North American Superhero in a Domestic Situation
Sarah Wilson loved her brother deeply. The kind of soul crushing love that could only be formed through family, loss, and approximately four thousand brawls around the living room throughout their life. She looked up to her brother more than she could ever imagine looking up to anyone. Even when they were fighting or picking on each other, she couldn’t help but feel a swell in her chest when he came into her line of sight.
That didn’t mean she understood him. In fact, from the age of eight, watching her brother interact with the world had become her go-to pastime. Why did he have to roll every pea around the plate individually before eating them? Why did he and his friends spend seven years socking each other in the arm to prove friendship? Why did he talk to himself in the mirror, even when he knew Sarah or someone else was standing in the doorway?
Sam Wilson was just deeply weird. She had no idea how he had tricked the Avengers, a plethora of bad guys, and half of the media world into thinking he was remotely cool. She saw a news story once that had King T’Challa standing on a platform with Sam and the newscasters talked about how impressive Sam’s suit was. It was unnatural, the effect he had on people.
And in all her years, she never thought she’d see anyone weirder than Sam. But then James Barnes had showed up. It was like a complete reversal of Sam. Sarah was taken in for approximately three hours by his charm and face before she realized he too was deeply, deeply weird.
She justified sitting on the edge of the Paul and Darlene, watching her brother and James Barnes spar off about some dumb trivia fact, by deciding it was an anthropological expedition. The North American Superhero in a Domestic Situation. She watched Sam watch Barnes take a long pull off his beer. She watched Barnes kick his feet up near Sam’s legs and then draw them back quickly when a current jolted the boat. She watched Barnes’ fingers tap-tap-tap against the edge of the boat, inching closer to Sam’s shoulder before he chickened out and brought his hand back to his own lap. She watched Sam suggest Bucky take his jacket off, ‘unless you plan on sun blinding me with the robocop arm.’ She watched Sam look away when Barnes did shrug his jacket off.
When she was seventeen and Sam was fifteen, she had found Sam crying in his room, pillow pressed to his face to muffle the noise. They were at the age where going into each other’s rooms uninvited started international conflicts, but Sarah, who watched her brother intently, felt like she knew what was going on. So she let herself in through their Jack-and-Jill bathroom and shut the door behind her.
Sam didn’t stop crying, not even to yell at her to get out, so she sat on the end of his bed and rolled a baseball under her foot for a while. Finally, she’d said, “You don’t have to tell Mom and Dad, y’know.”
Sam had just about wailed and bit the corner of his pillow to stop himself.
“That’s gross, stop it,” Sarah ordered and pushed Sam’s shoulder back enough to yank his pillow free and then reached over to wipe the tears from his cheeks. “I should make you do the laundry this week so I know I’m not touching your snot germs,” she teased softly.
“How did you know?” Sam hiccuped out. Tears were still brimming at his eyes, but they didn’t fall.
“I’m your older sister. I made you. Like a doll. You think there’s something about you that I don’t know?” she joked. And when the tears did spill over his long lashes, she sighed and pulled him closer to her side. “I just know the way you interact with that boy from the basketball team ain’t just friendly.”
“Jesus, do you think he can tell?” Sam asked and she could hear the mortification in his voice.
“Sam, he’s a freshman in high school. The only thing he knows is that he’s scared of everything too. No one’s paying that much attention to you.”
“Screw you,” Sam muttered.
“What’re all these tears for you if you didn’t make a move and get shot down?”
“God, Sarah, can you not say things like that?”
“Watch your mouth,” Sarah warned with no heat in her voice. “Come on, tell me what’s wrong. I’m not leaving until you do.”
“I just…” Sam sat up and worked his jaw for a while. His chin dimpled and his eyes watered but he managed to control himself. “I’m scared, Sarah. I’m scared of never being in love. Of having to leave if I am. I’m scared to say something and I’m scared not to say something. I’m so scared of...losing any of it.”
“Sam,” Sarah sighed and pulled Sam into another hug. “You’re fifteen. You’re not supposed to be in love yet. You don’t have to think about any of that. You just have to focus on passing Geometry, alright? Mom’ll whoop your ass more for failing than anything else.”
“I have a B+, that’s not failing!” Sam snapped. He kept his face against her shoulder for a second long before he sat up and wiped his tears away. “Please don’t tell anyone.”
“Who am I gonna tell? I told you, my friends don’t like you as much as you think they do.”
“Your friends like me more than they like you,” Sam shot back and he almost sounded normal.
Sarah smiled softly and patted Sam’s cheek. “I won’t tell Mom or Dad. Of course not. That’s for you to do. But--”
“I’m always going to tell them when you sneak out the window.”
“No! Sam! You can’t! You owe me now!”
“Going to field parties is not the same thing!” Sam said in a shriek as Sarah leaned over to pinch his sides. They grappled for a second before Sam managed to push Sarah off the bed.
“You owe me,” she reminded him as she walked back to the bathroom.
Sam wiped his eyes again and nodded. “Sure, Sarah. I do.”
Sam almost had the same look on his face now. Like there was something he wanted to reach for that he thought was too impossible to hold. The Older Sister Instinct to Antagonize into a Solution kicked in.
“Two bros, chilling on a boat, five feet apart ‘cause they’re not gay,” she sing-songed. Sam looked mortified again but masked his face into something more irritated with a roll of his eyes when Barnes looked over at him.
“Ignore her. It’s this old video--” Sam started.
But Bucky interrupted to say, “Actually I am gay,” as he looked back over at Sarah. “Sorry if I got your hopes up,” he added with a grin that really did get the hopes up.
“What?” Sam asked and Sarah, ever watchful, could see the beer bottle shaking in his hand.
“What?” Bucky repeated innocently.
“He said he’s gay,” Sarah clarified.
“Thank you, Sarah,” Sam ground out. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
Bucky snorted. “When would I have said anything? ‘Sorry for ripping your wings off and kicking you off of a hellicarrier, by the way I’m gay.’?”
“You did what?” Sarah asked.
“‘Sorry for claiming I didn’t bomb the UN only to be reverted back to the assassin who would have done that and then fighting you again. By the way I’m gay.’ ‘Thanks for saving my life. Sorry about the giant undersea prison. By the way I’m gay.’ ‘There’s an imminent battle with weird ass space dogs that want to eat our faces. By the way I’m gay.’ ‘Sorry about Tony Stark, whose life I kind of ruined. Lovely funeral. By the way I’m gay.’ ‘I’m in the middle of being pissed at you about the Shield. By the way I’m gay.’ ‘Maybe don’t take me rolling through a field of flowers. It does things to me ‘cause I’m gay.’ ‘John Walker’s fucking insane. I’m gay, but definitely not for this bullshit.’ I mean, come on, Sam.”
“Flowers?” Sarah asked.
“Besides, why would you care? I don’t make it a habit of telling straight guys I’m into guys.”
“You don’t seem to make a habit of telling many people that,” Sarah pointed out. “I googled you. Nothing suggesting that came up.”
Bucky shrugged. “I’m a guy from the 30s. It was trained out of me.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Sarah said quickly. “Back up away from that because we’re not gonna try to Oppression Olympics our way through our histories. Did you just say Sam was straight?”
“Sarah!” Sam hissed.
“Sure. I mean, I saw him with Romanov. Hill. He has Tinder on his phone.”
“Samuel Thomas, you better not,” Sarah warned lightly. “You’re better than that.”
“He’s a lady-killer.”
Sarah snorted and had to bring her hand up to her face. “He definitely is not. There has been no lady-killing on his end for a long time.”
“Sarah!” Sam tried again.
“You explain it to him then. Mr. 30s is gonna need the long way round explanation.”
Sam sighed and dragged his hand over his face. “Dammit. Fine. I’m not straight either, alright? I’m...bi, or something. It’s been a while since I’ve had to think about it.”
“What?” Bucky asked, not unlike Sam had.
“He said he’s bisexual. Interested in both parties. Swings either way. Hit a homerun and then hasn’t really swung since.”
“Sarah, Jesus Christ,” Sam groaned.
“What?” Bucky asked again.
“I was engaged. To a man,” Sam said.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Bucky asked, clearly missing the irony.
“Oh, it was inconvenient for you but I had plenty of opportunities, huh?” Sam asked. “Ms. Tell-It-All over there wasn’t joking. I haven’t swung any direction in a while. Not since before I met Steve. My fiance died. And then it never came up.”
Bucky blinked at Sam. He kept bringing the bottle halfway up his body and then setting it back on his leg without ever taking a drink. “Fuck, Sam, I’m sorry,” Bucky said, which was not what Sarah was expecting and it clearly wasn’t what Sam was expecting because Sam finally moved closer to Bucky on the bench.
“What for? You didn’t do anything. This time.”
“Yeah, but if I’d known you were into me too, I woulda kissed you in Germany.”
“Oh, I am so not into you,” Sam denied. “And I wouldn’t have our first kiss ruined by immediately running into the government’s roving show monkey.”
“That’s the worst,” Bucky agreed and also finally moved over on the bench until they were pressed thigh to thigh. “Tell me how much you don’t like me again,” he challenged.
“I can’t stand you,” Sam answered and brought his hand up to Bucky’s jaw.
Sarah couldn’t fight down the grin that came to her face and turned to prop her feet on the pier, back to Sam and Bucky. Just this once, she didn’t need to watch her brother to understand him.
Read on AO3 here!
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rpmemesbyarat · 4 years ago
Conversation
RP Meme Lines from "AHS: Coven" Episode 10: "The Magical Delights of Stevie Nicks"
Drink this, it'll calm your nerves.
I'll cast a little spell for you.
I'm ashamed to show you my weakness.
I might have shed a tear or two myself if I'd lost everyone I had.
I'm over 300 years old.
Everyone I done ever met done followed after the Grim Reaper.
I taught myself long ago not to waste tears for the dead.
It's your kindness that has touched my soul.
I feel like I've been alone for so long, it's a relief to have found an equal. Even if that person come in the guise of an enemy.
We have so much to talk about. But not tonight.
Tomorrow we'll draw the battle lines.
Wake up. Your master calls.
Tonight's the night you pay me my due.
Not now. Please.
It's been a hard day.
Hard days deserve a harder night.
You drink my torment like wine.
Why you here in the house of your enemy?
I've come to seek a lasting truce.
I want what's coming to me.
It's the bargain you made so long ago.
You'll have to come back during visiting hours.
Mama's had a hard day.
Put the baby down on the ground and step away from it.
Don't mess with me.
I need this baby.
Put the goddamn baby down. Now!
I warned you.
I'll give you something to cry about.
He was determined to be a hero.
I should've seen it.
It's on me.
Ooh, he hated your ass.
You were my sworn enemy.
You hired him to kill me?
You're not just blind, you are willfully blind.
We don't have to waste our time with worker bees, what we have to do is to find the hive.
What a lovely shawl.
You keep your distance.
I know your game, lady.
Don't bother.
I've surrounded myself with the white spirit light to protect me.
I've already made plans on how to bring myself back.
Well, now why would I want to hurt you?
You can keep your powers.
I don't think you fully appreciate the power of the throne.
You are going to know the world, and what's more they are all going to want to know you.
You owe me five bucks.
Well, that was a morbid field trip.
You're not his type.
I know everything about you.
Did I get the shawl twirl right?
I want to get it right.
Perfect. It was perfect.
My powers are growing.
I can do mind control.
Put out that cigarette.
Now stick it in your vagina.
It was clearly my destiny to die and be reborn, just like our Lord and Savior.
Important men get their pictures taken.
We have to be smart about this.
They pray to one god-- a green, merciless god.
You're tainted.
You let them get inside your head.
We can fight about this for the next ten years, but right now I want to help you.
Don't you understand anything?
You can't help me.
You can't help anyone.
You're worthless, hopeless.
Get out of my sight.
Bring them to me in a weakened state.
She's selfish and she's a whore.
I didn't realize this before, but we can't survive on our own.
You don't have a mean bone in your body.
Maybe you're the kind of leader we need.
I want to say good-bye.
What is that hideous smell?
Clear all the bad spirits out of here.
It's not evil intentions that's making me sick.
We still got work to do.
What has she done to you?
I found love for the first time, and it's given me the passion to keep fighting.
You know the secret.
I don't think you're ready for that.
Tell me your secret.
I thought I was the shit back then.
I had just come into my prime, and my magic was strong.
I was pregnant, and I did not accept the idea of death.
I was invincible.
I come to you once a year, and you give me what I want.
I thought he meant some kind of sexual favors.
I wished for it; it came true.
Unknowingly, I made a deal forged in Hell.
You'd make a beautiful mother.
Children ain't in the cards for you.
Not my baby.
Take it back.
Take the spell back.
I can be mortal again.
Give the child to me.
I want my innocent soul.
What does he want?
Try and get some sleep now.
Just close your eyes and forget about that for now.
This kabob's some kind of tasty.
Thanks for treating.
Pretty soon, you'll be drowning in merch.
Merchandise. Swag. The cookies. You know.
You are cynical.
Everything's transactional.
Guy buys you dinner, he expects a blow job. Welcome to earth.
Players only love you when they're playing.
No, I know what you're trying to do. Mess me up, make me doubt myself.
You think I'm stupid because of where I came from.
Well, I'm not so easily bought, and I ain't that easily fooled.
You're right. I do think you're stupid.
You want to change my opinion?
Enchant these guys, would you?
You're powerful.
I'm powerful.
I don't need you.
I just want to be your friend.
Now lose that ugly shawl.
Stupid bitch.
Where's his body?
I think it's time for us to go.
She has to pay!
You have to be cleansed.
Could you please stop playing for a minute?
I need to focus.
Listen to the celestial tones.
What is that thing? It's hideous and weird.
Don't be a hater, dear.
I cannot tell you how playing this instrument soothes my soul in tempestuous times.
Nothing could soothe my soul.
You buck up, is what you do!
Face reality headlong and carry on.
I have no one, and my powers are gone.
Your salad dressing is absolutely magical.
Maybe you could bottle it.
You've got a lovely personality, and you're always well-groomed.
Are you trying to push me over the edge?
Between us chickens, no matter how hard I worked at it, I never felt special, either.
Look at me, I'm fabulous!
One never knows what the universe has in store for us!
I am an absolute failure.
I don't belong here anymore. I don't belong anywhere!
Vultures are waiting to strip the flesh from our bones.
You get our people on the phone.
Nobody is coming near us.
There's nothing natural about this.
It's time we finally deal with those witches.
You broke out the good stuff.
I don't want to die.
I am not the same as everyone.
I don't give a wet donkey's shit about your title.
I want terms defined.
The deal is off.
You have no soul.
Bum luck, baby.
I'll get my immortality.
I have no soul.
I'll just kill 'em all.
You always hear something.
You stole this baby to kill it.
You don't know what you talking about.
Eat my shit.
Now we'll have more cops on our trail.
Whose baby is that?
You have blood on your hands.
I barely remember my baby's face.
Stop making such a fuss.
I was very clear. No substitutions.
Be a sport.
Do I have to wear this outfit for all eternity?
Anywhere is better than here.
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phoebe-lou · 4 years ago
Text
A Forgotten Birthday
Fandom: The Umbrella Academy
Pairing: Number Five x reader
Summary: After saving the world from the apocalypse, Five struggles with living a simple life causing a strain on his relationship.
Word Count: 2009
__________________________________
5...4...3...2..1! Happy Birthday to me.
Sunlight shone throughout my room, and a gentle breeze drifted through the open windows. Looking over at the clock which now read 6.00am, I allowed a smile to grace over my lips. I had been restless all night and had been sat up worrying about Five like usual. I hoped today would be different, giving both of us one day to take a break from his obsessive apocalyptic nature.
Rolling over on my side, I was shocked to find the other side of the bed empty and Five's early morning 'signature' coffee missing. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I peeled back the duvet and groggily trudged over to the bathroom. After gently splashing some cold water over my face and brushing my teeth, I tossed my crazy-ass hair into a messy bun like a boss, and began the trek to the kitchen.
Expecting to be greeted with breakfast and a fresh cup of coffee, I found non other than a half-naked Klaus passed out on the table, and Five no where in sight. For fucks sake. I rolled my eyes and began making Klaus some breakfast as he'll need some hangover food to soak up all the alcohol. I decided to just throw in some toast and pour a glass of orange juice, as Klaus began waking up and mumbling something about his ass and chocolate pudding?
"Morning sunshine." I said with an amused smile on my face, whilst Klaus began to groan and pulled himself up into a sitting position.
"What rude bitch opened the blinds this morning?" He said after accepting a glass of orange juice I handed him.
"That would have been you, and your amazing Picasso skills last night I'm guessing."
Klaus looked up at the blinds to see that someone had cut them up to make some clothes, since there was underwear shaped holes missing.
"I was wondering what I was wearing, it's definitely not yours or Allison's."
"I think the yellow 'blind' underwear, really complements your eyes." I laughed winking at him, as I took the toast out and began buttering it.
"Danke."
"So what year is it again?" Klaus mumbled as he began munching on the toast I put in front of him.
"You mean the date Klaus?."
"Yeah that."
"It's __________ (insert birthday🥳)."
"Holy shit!" Klaus shot up, knocking his chair over and throwing the toast to the ground. Then sassily marched over to me, where he pulled me into a giant bone crushing hug. Jesus how does he wake up so fast?
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU SEXY MIDGET."
"I'M ONLY 4"10, FIGHT ME BITCH."
"ALSO BEN SAYS HAPPY BIRTHDAY."
"TELL HIM I LOVE HIM."
*Meanwhile Ben just rolls his eyes*
"There is way too much Klaus and Y/N in here, this early in the morning." Diego huffed as he began filling up the kettle, not even bothering to comment on Klaus's attire.
"Good morning to you too Antonio Banderas." Klaus laughed and high-fived me.
"Besides it's only 7.00am." I smiled.
"Whatever."
"Oooo whose got your panties in a twist?."
"Anyway, Happy Birthday Y/N." Diego huffed.
"Awww you remembered, I knew you loved me really." I said forcing Diego into a hug which he eventually gave into. Suddenly another pair of arms wrapped around us. Diego became alarmed and shouted "What is wrong with you?!"
Klaus innocently smiled "I just wanted to be part of the moment."
"What's wrong with who?" Trust monkey boy to enter at this moment.
"I'll take this as my leave." Diego shrugged Klaus's arms off him, then subtly tilted his head at me, towards a card he placed by the microwave. Before marching off, after I gave him a beaming smile and a wave.
"Happy Birthday kid."
"Thanks Luther but you know I'm 28 years older than you."
"And your even more immature than Klaus, and trust me that's saying something."
"Rude. Hey don't agree with him Ben, you're supposed to be on my side." Klaus began to have a one-sided argument with 'Ben.' While I took this as a chance to slip out the kitchen and get ready.
*2 hours later*
Yes I'm high maintenance, and looking this gorgeous takes a while.
I finally finished my outfit my adding my new moon necklace, which was a birthday present from Luther (that was probably picked by Allison).
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I sprayed some perfume and let my h/c  hair fall down. Mission was ago. Find Five. Get drunk. Party. Have an awesome birthday. Go back a few steps and whoop Five's ass for no breakfast in bed. Perfect.
I looked through the entire house, where there was no trace of him so decided to head over to Griddy's Doughnuts. As I opened the front door, I walked into Allison and Vanya who immediately wished me a Happy Birthday and began planning a girls night out. Just what I need after putting up with all this shit, Five keeps throwing at me.
*Flashback* - Warning Mild Smut ⚠️
I was lounging across Five's bed pretending to read this boring romance novel, whilst Five was consistently writing long, complicated equations all over his wall. I wasn't expecting this is what he meant when he invited me over to spend sometime together. My patience was wearing thin, as I tried to tell myself that he was just not used to having a life outside of the apocalypse. But I went through it with him, so if I can learn to adapt, he should to.
Sneakily looking over at him, I came up with a plan to draw his attention away. Gently placing the book on the bed, I slowly walked towards him and placed my arms around his neck. It was no shocker that he immediately tensed up and his brows began to frown deeper.
"What do you want Y/N?"
"Not much." I whispered in his ear, as I ghosted my lips over his neck. "Just a little bit of attention."
Five sighed and tried to focus on the equation he was working on, which had now proven difficult as I began to pepper kisses along his jaw.
"Come on, enough."
I ignored him and began to drag my soft kisses down his neck, sucking a little harder until I found his sweet spot. Got you.
"Y/N...." He drifted off, as the pen dropped from his hands.
"Hmm?" I smirked and began grasping at his dark hair.
He finally turned around and smashed our lips together sloppily, as our tongues began fighting for dominance. He obviously won. His hands began to gently slide up the bottom of my top, just resting above my hips as he began to draw circles on my skin. Suddenly blue sparks surrounded us as I found ourselves teleported onto his desk.
He shoved all of his work out the way and began making out with me again. I gradually lifted my arms up, as he began to pull my top off...
"Y/N?"
"Y/N?"
"Y/N?!!"
My eyes fluttered dreamily as I looked over at Five who was frowning at me.
"For gods sake, did you fall asleep?! I wanted some help with these equations as you're the only non-idiotic person I know. Ugh forget it, of course it doesn't matter if there's another apocalypse." He whined sarcastically, and turned back around, continuing his work.
Five's writing came to a stop and as I launched my book at the walk near his head.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" He shouted, finally exploding with frustration.
"You're an ass." I mumbled. He rolled his eyes and teleported away, probably before he did or said something he'd regret.
I preferred dream Five.
*Flashback over*
Arriving at Griddy's, I locked the car and walked over to the entrance and went inside. Surprise, surprise my 'affectionate' boyfriend was sat with a mug of coffee writing equations on napkins.
"Well, well, well good afternoon handsome." Five looked up irritated and forced a smile.
"What is it?" Was he joking?
"I thought we were going to spend the day together, you said you had something planned last week."
"We'll have to reschedule or something."
"Hahaha very funny grumpy-ass." He didn't look very amused, as he sighed and took a long sip of coffee.
"Can we talk later, I'm kind of in the middle of something?"
Alarms were going off. He had forgotten. Maybe he needed a little more convincing and a few hints.
"Well today is kind of a special day." He looked blankly at me before he gave me a genuine smile.
"Is it national coffee day? Thanks for reminding me gorgeous." He smirked and winked. Was he for fucking real?
"Maybe you should get some cake with that coffee."
"The sweetness ruins the bitter taste I like." You bitter old bugger.
"Isn't there something you're forgetting Five? Some sort of special day, for a special girl."
"Shit. You're right. Meet me at the house in 20 mins." With that he teleported away. Well my work here is done. I'm expecting a decent last minute party though.
After wasting 30 mins shopping, I decided to head back and see what Five had done. As I entered the house it was really quiet, until I reached the living room....
Where Five sat lounging on a sofa drinking margaritas with Dolores.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!!"
"Well when you say about a special day for a special lady, I remembered-d that it's been some years years since we found the lovely-y Dolores." He smirked cheekily at me and offered me a glass.
"Are you drunk?"
"No...."
"......."
"Maybe..."
"......"
"Yes..."
Just at the wrong time everyone came rushing in with party poppers, and balloons shouting 'SURPRISE.' I looked down to the floor with angry tears burning down my cheeks, I couldn't believe him. Everyone could sense the tension in the room, except for Five who still looked completely clueless.
"What's goin-n on? He slurred.
"Check the calendar..." I whispered.
I couldn't stand everyone looking at me with such pity so I went straight to our room, crying myself to sleep early.
*A few hours later*
I woke up to knocking at the door.
"Go away."
Hearing the familiar sound of Five's special jump I buried my face into my pillow.
"Can we talk...?"
"...."
"Please... Y/N."
"...."
"Can we just..."
"WHAT?!" I hissed, ripping the duvet off me to glare at him.
He straight away noticed my red, blotchy face, and long tear lines causing my mascara to run down my face.
"I'm sorry..." With that Five burst into tears. I'd only ever seem him cry twice so I wasn't sure what to do.
"I'm sorry-y... I've j-just been trying-g to be ready f-for something bad to happen-n again, as I know the c-commission wants order-r. We've both been-n to hell and b-back, and I can't imagine-e loosing you. I j-just wanted to keep-p you safe, but I've b-been so wrapped up in d-doing all these possible equations-s, that I've p-pushed you away.... Then I've been-n so preoccupied that I forgot-t your b-birthday..."
"Oh Five." I wrapped my arms around him as he began to sob into my chest. I whispered soothing words as I gently rubbed his back.
"You'll never loose me, and I'm not upset about my birthday that much. I honestly just miss spending time with you, and can't believe you prioritised coffee and a manikin over me you ass!" At this Five chuckled and began to calm down.
"You know I don't say it enough... but I love you Y/N."
"I love you too Five."
"Did you want to have that amazing party you've been telling me about?"
"Actually can we just spend the rest of today cuddling and watch a move?"
"Anything you want love."
"You were totally jealous of Dolores."
"Shut up Five."
_________________________________________
Hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think 💖☂️
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neptune-stars · 4 years ago
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hey darlings it’s samhain today so here’s a little fic i wasn’t sure what to do w for the occasion!! mwah sorry for the angst
———————————————————————
when sirius was eleven, he walked up to the hat and requested gryffindor.
“your ambition will be the end of you,” said the hat, but put him into gryffindor anyways.
sirius, while in school, could not figure out what that meant, because he wasn’t particularly ambitious. he supposed he liked pranks well enough, but they weren’t his entire life, and he liked pissing off his parents, but he wasn’t going to make a career out of that either.
it came to him suddenly, and when it did, the world stayed the same.
james potter met sirius black when they were barely eleven and defended him against some snotty greasy boy on the train. james potter didn’t care that sirius was a black, didn’t care that sirius’ family was dark - he didn’t mind that sirius wasn’t all that light either.
see, sirius would lay down his life for just about anyone really. but there were only two people that he would kill for. that he would love until the end of time.
and one of those people were james potter.
when james died, all the bright and happy and good things in the world died with him. sirius was the one to find him first, his james lying spread eagle across the stairs, wand still in the living room. but james looked peaceful there, like he was ready and happy it was finally over, and sirius wanted nothing more than to go to the afterworld and yank that peacefulness away.
lily is upstairs. her usual bright green eyes are cold in death, red hair surrounding her head like a halo. her collarbone is bleeding something awful, and when he pulls down her shirt a little to see - to stop the bleeding, to stop the blood from sinking into her shirt because it was lily’s favorite sleep shirt, one of marlene’s old ones - he finds a rune, a cross between algiz and six he’s never seen before carved into her skin. her blood is sprinkled around the edges of the room and there is a matching rune on harry’s crib.
harry is alive. he is bleeding sluggishly from the forehead, and he is wailing something awful, but he is alive. sirius picks him up, closes lily’s eyes and closes his own when he walks past james. puts harry carefully into his sidecar, and then hagrid is there and sirius trusts him and and and
he is filled with a vengeance so deep there is nothing that could possibly stop him. he think he would kill dumbledore, voldemort, Lady Magick herself if they got in the way, and he goes after peter with reckless abandon-
he is tricked.
it is such a slytherin move, such a slytherin move for little, mousy peter pettigrew that when the aurors find him he is laughing and laughing and laughing and then he is crying.
alastor is there, staring at him with nothing less than absolute disgust. his mentor, his and james’ mentor, thinks sirius killed james, and that just makes him laugh harder.
he is thrown in azkaban without a trial. it’s cold there, and they only give you one meal a day, and the vengeance still burns but not as bright as his grief.
bellatrix, his big cousin bella, takes him under her wing. she’s a little bit mad, and she tortured his friends to insanity, but she knows he didn’t betray the potters and she know he didn’t kill all those muggles and she still loves him. she protects him, with their cells right next to each other, by telling him story after story until her throat goes dry and she can’t speak another word, like they are children again and walburga and druella are screaming and banging on the other side of the door while they hide from their mother’s rage.
“why did you do it, bella?” he asks her one day, when his brain is particularly loud. “why did you kill all those people? those innocents?”
“i didn’t mean too,” she says, and she sounds terribly small. “the dark - it’s seducing, sirius. it pulls you in until you can’t get out.”
the death eaters all come from broken homes, homes where there parents were still together in loveless marriages and their mothers liked to scream and slap and fathers like stone cold silence and quiet crucio’s. the dark arts is a savior, a winning, something to help them get away from suffocating under the stress of it all.
it doesn’t help, sirius thinks, that muggle studies is so behind. sirius thinks a lot in azkaban and he thinks that muggle studies class should be mandatory, because most of the death eaters are convinced muggles are still burning witches and wizards at the stake.
“will you kill him?” asks bella another day. “the man who betrayed you, and cousin james?”
sirius thinks of all the people he killed during the war. he thinks about the small part of him that thought it had been fun, literally ripping out spines and burning them from the inside out and back again. he had insisted it was for justice, justice for marlene and dorcas and mary and gideon and fabian and benjy, but now he isn’t so sure.
“yes,” he says. “i will.”
when the ten year mark hits, bella screams in her cell, screams and screams and slowly the rest of prison fills with it too. the next day, in the courtyard, she shows him her arm, the tattoo that was almost faded and now is turning black again.
“he’s coming,” she says, but she does not sound happy. she sounds tired.
“promise me something,” she says later that night. “promise me, when we get out of here, because you know we all will - promise me you’ll aim to kill. i can’t keep going on mad, killing people just for their blood.”
he stares at her, his cousin bella. he remembers when they were just kids, reading in the library and skating on ice in bella’s back yard in the winter, and then later, in hogwarts, when he would find her cursing muggle-borns and half bloods and blood traitors alike. he didn’t recognize her then but he recognizes her now, as his scared, tired big cousin, more like his mum than his mum ever was.
“i promise,” he says. “now promise me the same.”
“you have a godson,” she says. “you must protect him.”
“promise me,” he insists.
she does.
the day before he escapes, he hugs her tight in the courtyard. she hugs him back, hands shaking, and when he sneaks out in dog form she gives him a shaky nod.
the ambition to protect james failed, so now he will do so with harry. the last potter.
harry flies like his dad, maybe even more, with completely recklessness and only the smallest amount of control. harry throws witty comments at draco malfoy and winks at cho chang in the air and all sirius can see is james.
“he’s a werewolf!” hermione granger explodes, pointing to remus, and sirius thinks he is the only one who sees harry’s look of yeah, obviously.
(later, harry will confide in sirius that he figured it out the moment he saw remus’ boggart.)
“i don’t think my dad would’ve wanted his best mates to become murderers, thanks,” says harry, still sarcastic and still so james even as he protects the man who made him an orphan.
sirius does not have the heart to tell him he already is one, and apparently neither does remus, but they back down anyways.
sirius thinks the next two years pass in a blue he barely remembers. he went to the caribbean for a little while, ate good until he was almost healthy and glowed with a light tan. he went back to dreary Scotland because harry was being hunted, again, and he remembers, distantly, living in a cave, watching harry in dog form as he slammed into the ground, a dead boy held tight in his hands.
dumbledore sends him right back to the dursley’s, and sirius wants to kill him. harry does not get grief counseling, or therapy, or to be surrounded by people he loves, because he is harry potter and it is not easy, being him.
sirius moves back into his old, childhood home, and stares at the spot on the living room floor where he had been tortured before he ran away. he throws up in the bathroom where he and bella used to hide.
he cleans the drawing room, where he and andi used to stare at the inter crossing lines, andi promising “i won’t be on there one day, just you wait.” he cleans the kitchen, where he and cissa used to flurry around with kreacher, throwing flour and sugar at each other while they attempted to make cookies.
he walks through the halls, where he and regulus used to chase eachother, to the stairs, where he used to slide down the curling banister, to the cell, where he used to get locked up.
harry comes to grimmauld and he yells at his friends - rightfully so - and then yells some more at dinner, and then he cries. he cries in the living room, in his bedroom, in the kitchen, in the drawing room, on the staircase. he cries when sirius hugs him and he cries when remus pats his shoulder and he cries and he cries and he cries and sirius just has to sit there and listen, because he can do nothing else.
it is quiet when harry leaves for school. sirius drinks a lot of firewhiskey and smokes a lot of hidden cigarettes and it is lonely even after harry comes back for yule time because then he leaves again.
hermione writes him a letter and says harry doesn’t cry anymore. now he’s angry all the time, at dumbledore for ignoring him and cedric for dying and his friends for not understanding and his parents for killing themselves so he could live, at himself for living-
on june eighteenth, sirius wakes up for the last time. he brushes his teeth and uses whiskey as mouth wash for the last time, eats blueberry pancakes for the last time, pets buckbeak and kisses remus for the last time and-
he hugs harry for the last time. there is a voice whispering in his head that he knows it is today, today he will finally rest, so he hugs his godson extra tight.
bella is there. she looks insane, with her hair spiked up and eyes bright, but when she looks at him her smile softens a little bit.
“you promised,” she mouths.
“so did you,” he says back, and they duel.
she doesn’t want to kill him. she hits him with a stupefy, but the veil is just behind him, and he falls through it.
harry is screaming bloody murder, heartbroken and pleading, and wrestles with remus who is trying to hold him back. it’s like the whole world stopped, and bella is looking at him, meets his eyes one last time, and says loudly, clearly, “i promise.”
he says thank you, i forgive you, i love you, with his eyes, and then he falls faster and lands hard on the ground.
“blimey, mate,” says a voice. “you really are clumsy, even when you’re dead.”
james potter grabs his hand and pulls him up, regulus holding his shoulder, and sirius begins to cry.
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tchaikovskym · 4 years ago
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TV series recs because I'm bored:
Avatar: The Last Airbender. It is a children's cartoon in a fantasy setting but I don't care how old are you it is still an amazing story with great characters. The character development in this is just amazing. And the villains! Were so well developed! One of a very few pieces of media that recognizes that the "enemy" side is not just all evil people but a lot of innocent people just fallen victim to the ruling regime. It is a very light show that makes you feel like you just went through a philosophy class for 5 year olds.
The Good Place. A comedy series (safe for people like me who cannot handle series like the office). It explores concepts of afterlife and ethics while keeping it very light and funny. Once again great character development and this time it feels like you finished an ethics course but your prof was a stand up comedian. It just. Makes you feel good.
Hospital Playlist. A medical kdrama. It just makes you feel warm and calm and good about your life. There is no grand plot it is just you falling in love with a group of friend doctors and just feeling. As kdramas can be I found some of the romance moments a bit cringe but overall it is still amazing and I love it. Warnings for things that typically happen in hospital dramas (patient death etc).
Big Little Lies. I am recommending only the 1st season of this show 🙈. It starts that there has been a murder and at first I thought oh no it is going to about rich moms going crazy for trivial reasons and killing someone. But I was wrong. It was anything but that. Bonus for great soundtrack. Warnings for abuse, violence and rape (it sounds really bad but remember that the warnings are not the whole series)
The Umbrella Academy. The siblings dynamics in this is amazing. While I am usually not into "the apocalypse is coming we have to stop it" and time travel plot it was done good and worth to watch. But the siblings. Mmm the siblings. Warnings for violence.
Grey's Anatomy. Mm the medical drama whith very strong relationship drama. While it has a lot of seasons it still makes you feel things. Interesting to watch and it will draw you in. You will cry. There is no choice. Warnings for things that typically happen in medical dramas and major character death.
Money Heist. Recommending only the 1st 2 seasons (or the 1st? I guess it depends where you watch it. Anyway just the 1st story line, you'll know it when it ends). What it says on the label. People robbing royal mint. While detailed plans are usually not my thing the show did great by showing the plan being executed and after that explaining it why they did what they did. Overall very exciting and kept me wanting to see what's going to happen next. Maybe not my favorite characters, but still good. Warnings for violence.
The Handmaid's Tale. Time for some dystopia folks and it is bad really bad. It will make you want to rebel against something while also everything you see will look aesthetically pleasing. I would say it is more slow-paced than most shows but I like it. Warnings for violence, rape, torture and well it is dystopia.
Stranger things. It is just a fun horror series that will make you nostalgic for something (supposed to make you nostalgic for 80s but I never lived then but I got that feeling so yeah). Warning for violence.
Adventure Time. A kids cartoon that is mostly fart jokes hiding a grand elaborate plot that will make you feel things. It has a lot of episodes and some of them really have no other meaning than being a joke however once you have gotten into what is going on (the post-apocalypse is what is going on) then it is hard to not want to see more. Warnings for violence (but the kind you can show kids?)
The Untamed. Fantasy historical cdrama. Oh god I love it so much. However if I had not read the book I would not have known what is going on for most of the time (don't know how people figured out it started with a reincarnation). Characters having multiple names does not help at all. Also the special effects are so horrible they look funny. However the scenery is amazing, so is the clothing. And the story is also amazing. And the feelings you get. You will cry. And most importantly: it is gay (as much it can be despite the censorship). Warnings for violence.
Orange Is the New Black. Ladies in prison. It also has a lot of seasons and somewhere in the middle it was not as good as it could be (I don't care about gang wars in prison I just don't). While I found the main character pretty annoying it was the stories about other inmates that pulled me in. You will feel things and you will cry. Warnings for violence, rape, abuse, substance abuse.
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gagmebucky · 5 years ago
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[biker!bucky. spanking. princess.]
He twists his hand in your hair and reels it back so his breath fans your profile; in your peripheral, you see his smug smile and scintillating orbs. “You walked around like you weren’t mine. But you are, aren’t you?” Before you can answer, he cracks down again. Another SLAP! delivered harder than before, extracting a higher sound from your throat. “Say that louder, princess; I don’t think the boys heard you.” 
in which biker!bucky spanks you. (includes biker!bucky x bartender!reader, implied voyeurism, dirty talk, spanking.) 
do not repost. 
He’s been watching you all night. 
As you flash simpering smiles, retorting half-hearted insults with a coquettish gleam in your eyes, and pass out drinks to the myriad of men lining your bar counter, he’s glowering between them and you. Seated in a corner booth, his jaw is ticking intermittently and his knee is bouncing.
A part of you rationalizes you’re only friends with benefits so you can be friendly, borderline flirty, with your patrons—it’s an important facet of your job, anyway, therefore he can’t be upset. Yet, every now and then, when your gazes connect, something otherwise tightens in your belly. 
It isn’t long before his buddies notice the thunder electrified in his blue eyes, feeling the glare burning into their backs as you laugh at one of their subpar jokes. Although most of them are, admittedly, not incongruous, they quickly deduce the correlation between their leader's mood and your interactions. 
His best friend, on the smarter side, decides to test this theory. With a lovable grin and a devious wholesomeness to his expression, Steve casts a side glance, then leans forward to speak in your ear. “You and Bucky, huh?” he whispers while you bite your lip, silence as an answer. “Not surprised, but you’re asking for trouble with all this, you know.” 
There’s no use in denying it, anymore. You laugh softly as your eyes clash against raging pools of the sea from across the room. Averting your gaze when Steve recoils, you nod with that mischievous, vaguely suggestive curve of your lips. 
“I knew I liked you, and it wasn’t just ‘cause you serve the drinks,” he says and winks. 
When you giggle, that’s his breaking point. He abruptly stands up to his broad, leather clad stature of six-foot, rakish features fixed in dark outrage, and slams his big hands on the counter. Pupils dilated, he narrows in on you and jerks his head in the direction of the back room—the same place where your first encounter unfolded. His voice is a growl when he demands, “Go, now.” 
“Barnes, you can't just talk to a lady like that!” a guy you recognize to be a newer member chastises before you can say anything. He turns to you and shakes his head, reaching out to grasp your wrist. “Sorry about him, sweetheart. Older guys don’t have the same politeness as us younger ones do.” 
In an instant, his hand is off your skin, and Bucky’s is wrapped around the back of his neck. “Touch her again, and I’ll break every bone in your fucking arm,” he hisses, seriousness concreted into his tone, and the guy’s eyes are widening with fear. 
Before he can make good on that violent promise, you’re darting around the counter and grabbing his shoulder. “James, it’s fine. Just c’mon—come on—” At your behest, he lets him go but in that same motion, his arms are cord around your waist and toss you over his shoulder. 
Other than a yelp as your abdomen drapes over his shoulder, secured in place by his arm across the back of your knees, you make no objections; neither does anyone, either intimidated or simply amused at the caveman-like display, but both reactions have your face flaming. 
Thankfully, you don’t have to see it for long because he’s hauling you into the back; doubling as the stock and break room, he brings you in and sets you on top of a circular table unceremoniously, looming over you with a deadly expression. 
You fight the quirk of your lips and blink dazedly up at him. “And what was that about?” you breathe like you’re oblivious to the game you were playing—of course, he knows better, and he isn’t laughing. 
His angular jaw locks and his eye twitches. “You think that was funny, princess?” He gestures to the bar with a perfunctory nod. 
It was but you still play the fool. “I don’t know what you mean,” you innocently answer, glancing past him at the partially door. “But I should go back out there. You know, you’re not supposed to bother me while I’m working. Especially when I’m the only one on duty!” Your hands curl around the table edge and prepare to hop off. “Speaking of which, I have to finish serving—”
You jump on your feet but before you can side-step him, he’s manhandling you. His hands spin you around by your hips, then one palms the small of your back and the other tangled into your hair; using the simultaneous holds, he bends you over the flat surface. 
You gasp as he tactfully positions his legs inside of yours, prising them wide, and presses his dark wash denim against your ass. His body above you cranes down until you can feel the outline of his defined muscles. He reigns over your senses in a flurry of old spice and clean leather. 
“What‘d you just say?” he growls rhetorically, arching your head up to speak in your ear, “you don’t know what I’m talking about?” He moves from your lower back to his jeans, buckle jiggling and clinking as he adroitly undoes it. “Then let me remind you, princess.” 
There’s a faint whipping sound when he pulls the belt free, and he wrenches both your arms back to encircle your wrists with the cool leather. Bound, his fist tightens in your soft locks while the other snakes underneath your skirt and harshly yanks it down so it pools around your ankles. 
“James!” you mean to admonish but how can you when he’s got your panties exposed and your face smushed against cold wood. Arousal pounds through your veins and liquefies in your center. “J - James—” Your attempt to speak stronger, a failed one at that, is abruptly cut off with a resounding cotton-on-flesh, SLAP! 
A muffled burning explodes through your left cheek as you cry out. It throbs and echoes in your clit, making you jolt against the fixture you’re flushed against. Your heart is already a kick drum but it somehow thumps faster, hitching your breath. 
He twists his hand in your hair and reels it back so his breath fans your profile; in your peripheral, you see his smug smile and scintillating orbs. “You walked around like you weren’t mine. But you are, aren’t you?” Before you can answer, he cracks down again. Another SLAP! delivered harder than before, extracting a higher sound from your throat. “Say that louder, princess; I don’t think the boys heard you.” 
That detail had evaded you until that moment, that the door is slightly ajar and you can be heard, and your eyes widen. Embarrassment coils in your gut, deepening the dampness in your panties despite yourself—which he takes the initiative to tear off.  “You are depraved—” SLAP! The skin-on-skin contract reverberates off the walls, intumescenting across your behind then radiating lower. “Fucking Christ, James!” 
“That’s right, princess. That’s exactly who owns you. Glad to see you’re remembering that. Seems you forgot it before.” His calloused palm caresses your asscheeks, soothing the glowing flesh with his fingers kneading into you. “I’ll make sure next time you won’t ‘cause you’ll remember this little lesson. Won’t you?”
You try to nod. “Y - yes,” you whimper, bucking into his touch to calm the sting beginning to drip down your thighs. “Will you please just. . .!” The words get stuck in your throat but he knows you, and he knows what you want.
The grip on your hair loosens to slide down your nape. “I’m depraved but you’re the one making a puddle on the ground, princess.” He traces down the cleft of your ass, a snail pace followed to your sticky slit. “You do know your place, don’t you? Y’just wanted me to mark up your pretty ass and get it that perfect shade of red, glowing with my handprint on your skin. You get off on it. Makes ya little pussy all wet and throbbing.”
His husky timbre is like a fireball scorching your nerves, and a shiver slithers down your spine as you gasp, “Y - yes!” Any attempt to careen into him is thwarted as his hand draws back with the wiggle of your ass. Another whimper works free from your throat. “Please touch me.” 
“If you deserve it. Tell everyone who you belong to.” 
“You,” you immediately breathe, and his caress returns, albeit lightly. The rough feel of his hand wedging between your thighs prompts you to elaborate with a, “Bucky Barnes!” His middle finger rasps over your folds, pad directed over your hooded clit from behind; another noise lulls out. “Please - please just stop teasing.”
You can feel him preen in pride as the tension thickens and shifts in sync with the blunt circles suddenly rubbing around your swollen bud. “Well, when you beg like that, how can I resist?”
[masterlist / feedback]
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dancemachinetrait · 4 years ago
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Little Windenburg, July 1904
After tea, Lady Elaine took Clem upstairs. ‘I’ll show you the library, you’ll like that. It’s got most of the family miscellanies. Pater’s got a First Folio, although he hardly ever lets anyone see it. I’m sure he sleeps on it like a dragon.’
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The library was full of things Clem could have spent a lifetime looking at. Lady Elaine led her around, pointing things out. 
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‘That rather sinister looking pig was brought back from Peking by the third Earl of Ilvar. I was terribly frightened of him when I was small. I was always afraid I’d wake up and find him grinning in my face.’ She gestured at three beautifully carved wooden boxes stacked on top of each other. ‘And those are from Punjab; they belonged to my great-grandmother.’ The wonders kept coming; an apothecary’s scale and vials, an eagle’s skull and a stuffed tarantula in a jar that Lady Elaine swore could kill and swallow a bird in a minute flat.
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‘It’s like a treasure cave’, Clem breathed. ‘You are lucky to live here. I’d stay here forever if I could.’
‘Yes, it’s a nice old heap’, Lady Elaine said carelessly. ‘You must come and use the library whenever you wish. I’m not enough of a scholar to do it justice.’
Clem barely suppressed a shriek. ‘Oh! Can I really? I promise not to touch a thing, and I’ll always wear gloves-‘ She broke off, remembering her mother’s warnings about Knowing Her Place. ‘I mean, I wouldn’t want to impose on you.’
‘Nonsense. There’s no need to be so stiff, you know. You’ve looked as though you swallowed a poker since you got here.’
Clem felt her face grow warm. ‘It’s these beastly petticoats. Mother put so much starch in them, I was afraid they’d snap when I sat down.’ She covered her mouth, appalled that she’d mentioned her underthings in front of a lady. Her eyes wandered to Lady Elaine’s dress, the demure lace at her throat and wrists. Lady Elaine followed her gaze and winked. 
‘Bit of a change from when we met, eh? Mater draws the line at letting me scandalise the servants.’
‘I... I like the dress, too’, Clem managed, embarrassed. 
Lady Elaine chuckled. ‘Oh, I’ve no objection to a pretty frock. But between you and me, the breeches are an awful lot more comfortable. Skirts can be a darned nuisance, don’t you find?’ 
Clem nodded, a little awe-struck. ‘Darned’ was practically swearing, not language she would ever have imagined a lady using. ‘I hate them’, she mumbled. ‘They make me feel...all wrong, somehow.’
Lady Elaine was giving her that look again, the one that made Clem feel she knew things about her that she didn’t know about herself. It made her want to squirm and burst into tears all at once. 
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‘Look here, old thing, I’ve got a spare pair of breeches I’ve grown out of. I’d be awfully obliged if you could take them off my hands.’
Now Clem felt as though she really might cry. ‘Oh, I... I couldn’t. My mother would never let me-‘ 
‘Not to worry. We’ll parcel it up with something innocent- let’s say, a bolt of pongee. What could be more virtuous?’
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lifeinahole27 · 4 years ago
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CS ff: “Walking the Tightrope” (Epilogue) (au)
Summary: Killian’s daily routines are a matter of habit. When he wakes up late one morning, his routines all change for the better. Emma doesn’t care about routines, but she does care about Killian, no matter how reluctant she is to admit it to herself.
Rating: E (the content warnings matter this time!)
Content Warnings: There’s uhhh... poetry smut.
A Special Thank You: My continued gratitude to my lovely friends, @captainstudmuffin and @phiralovesloki. And a heap of love to @captainswanbigbang for putting this together and helping me accomplish this.
A/N: Holy crap! Here we are! It’s the end of the story!! Now, for those of you who read the original story, there’s not a whole lot that’s changed. I edited everything to fit the rest of the story and writing style, since the original version was a little rough, but other than little bits, it’s what you remember. If you didn’t read this, then welcome to the end! 
My eternal gratitude to those who helped me finish this, those who helped find my errors (my two lovely ladies are listed above), to those who read this! Who reblogged it! Who left comments and sweet tags and sent messages and made this all worth it. I constantly say that I cannot express how thankful I am and it’s true. With only words, I can only say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. <3<3
This epilogue is meant to tie bows around a couple major things and send these off the best way I know how. I still have a stack of headcanons and info that wouldn’t fit in here. I would love to share these things if anyone is curious. If you are, or have questions, or want to talk about specific parts, please send me messages. I would love to chat about this world that has lived in my brain and morphed over the last FIVE YEARS. 
(Poetry included is not mine: All rights reserved to Pablo Neruda "My love, understand me" and "Night on the Island" and to Leonard Cohen "The Mists of Pornography")
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 |
Find it on Ao3 & FFN!
-x-
Epilogue: The Art of Poetry
-x- April 
The day that Killian forgets the coffee mugs on his counter is the day he locks himself out of his apartment for the first time. He and Emma huddle on the front stoop together in the early morning chill waiting for his landlord to come unlock the door. He opens his jacket and pulls her closer, jumping when her cold nose touches his collarbone and she chuckles as she repeats the action until her nose is warm and he’s even warmer. They thank Marco profusely when he arrives with the spare set of keys.
They’re also both late for work that day.
The next day, when Emma comes back from getting coffee, there’s an envelope propped in front of her computer at work. When she opens it, a weight settles in the envelope and she pulls out the folded note. Killian’s neat handwriting stretches across the paper.
“My love,
understand me,
I love all of you,
from eyes to feet, to toenails,
inside
all the brightness, which you kept.
It is I, my love,
who knocks at your door.”
So next time I lock myself out, you can unlock it for me.
She peers into the envelope to see the key resting in the bottom and thinks he may be onto something with poetry if it always sounds like that.
Emma makes sure to beat Killian to the door when they walk back to his place after work so she can try out her new key, and she only smiles wider when the lock slides open. She makes a big show of swinging open the door, gesturing him inside with a sweep of her arm. 
When she gets home that night, Snow and David have once again broken into her loft, but she doesn’t much care for two reasons. Firstly, she knew they were going to do this after they texted her twenty minutes ago and asked whether or not she was spending the night at Killian’s. Secondly, it takes her five whole seconds to read the message on Snow’s shirt that proudly states that she’s “Pregnant AF” (the shirt’s words, not hers) and there’s a whole bunch of happy crying and flailing that follows. 
-x- Late August
Emma arrives home a little late one night to Killian already making dinner. The routines they do still live with all include household chores and the way they divvy them up, and she’s perfectly fine with the structure he’s brought to her previously chaotic lifestyle. He glances over his shoulder when she walks in and smiles.
“Get stuck late again?”
“Not quite,” she says as she comes to stand behind him. “That smells amazing, by the way.”
“It’ll be done in just a bit.”
“Want me to set the table?”
“I’d like to know why you’re avoiding a simple inquiry into why you were so late in such an obvious manner.”
Emma sighs heavily. “I kind of walked all the way back to the loft before I realized I didn’t live there anymore.”
“Kind of? I don’t think that’s something you can kind of do, love,” he says, still managing to stir whatever it is he’s making even when she goes to swat his arm. 
“Okay, so I did. You said it yourself, though. Old habits, right?” She hops up on the counter to watch him cook. 
“Indeed, love. So, I’ve been meaning to ask you. How do you feel our adventures have measured up to the expectations?”
“Well, you didn’t turn into a frog.”
“Aye, I’m sure there’s still time for that. We’re only in the middle of this tale. We’ll just have to see where the pages take us from here.”
“You are such a fucking romance novelist,” she says, laughing brightly when Killian removes his sauce from the stove and turns it off before he moves in to attack. And even though she’s squirming to get away from his nimble fingers as they target her ticklish spots, she sends up a quick thank you to Killian’s faulty alarm clock and his old habit of routines. 
-x- September
“You could just leave those until later,” Killian says, coming up behind Emma as she washes their dishes from dinner. He has his hand and hook on her hips and his lips on her hair, his voice full of implication. 
He’s learned not to try to talk her out of cleaning up, and instead he just enjoys distracting her in the best ways possible. 
She’s wearing a skirt - something she only does when she’s out of leggings - and the soft gray jersey fabric clings to her hips before flaring and draping down. It hides much of her legs, but her backside looks fantastic in it. On top, she has a light yellow shirt that’s tickling at his memories, the lines of a poem he once memorized during his university years making their way back to mind. 
Steady movements continue as she washes and rinses each dish, stacking them in the drying rack before starting to scrub out the sink. He’s struggling to remember the lines, yellow sweater, and with a smirk he glides his hand down to palm the back of her thigh.
“These are anything but boyish haunches,” he says out loud. Emma gasps as the shift from peaceful innocence to dirty.
“What?”
He hums, nosing some of her hair aside so he can find her neck with his lips. “From a poem. Your shirt brought it back to me. ‘The Mists of Pornography’ was the title,” he responds, moving his hand to the front of her thigh and sliding it up to rest on a spot right below her hipbones.
“Why am I not surprised that you know something with ‘pornography’ in the title?”
“Ah, but Swan, it’s about much more than that. Close your eyes. Listen,” he says, and uses his hook to brush the hair off her neck and lean closer to her ear. He sways just a little bit closer as he starts to speak. 
When you rose out of the mist / of pornography - He runs a single finger along her spine until it rests between her shoulders - with your talk of marriage / and orgies / I was a mere boy / of fifty-seven / trying to make a fast buck / in the slow lane / It was ten years too late / but I finally got / the most beautiful girl / on the religious left / to go with her lips / to the sunless place - and here he makes sure to push his hips against her to emphasize as she snorts. He continues reciting, crowding her against the counter, making sure the edge is pressing right where he wants it to.
This was my life / in Los Angeles / when you slowly / removed your yellow sweater - As he speaks, he slowly draws her shirt over her head and she lifts her arms - and I slobbered over / your boyish haunches - He runs his hand over the path that started this all and pushes the skirt off her hips to rub over the back of a now-bare thigh - and I tried to be / a husband / to your dark and motherly / intentions.
I thank you / for the ponderous songs / I brought to completion / instead of fucking you / more often - He punctuates by rolling his hips against her and she gasps as she clutches the sink for stability, and he keeps going.
Your panic cannot hurry me here / and my panic and falling / shoulders / our shameless lives / are the grains / scattered for an offering / before the staggering heights / of our love - His hand glides over her stomach and up to cup a breast through her bra. He’s sure she can feel where his cock is pressing against her ass, hard and wanting. Her hips are pinned against the sink and with each line, he thrusts against her, slowly lighting the fuse of what promises to be a spectacular orgasm if he doesn’t stop.
And the other side of your anxiety / is a hammock of sweat / and moaning - It’s getting harder to pay attention to the poem, especially when he pulls down the straps and cups of her bra, palm meeting her already hardened nipples as he alternates between them. Her body shudders with pleasure and he struggles to continue - and time comes down / like the smallest pet of God / to lick our fingers - he licks her shoulder instead - as we sleep / in the tangle / of straps and bracelets. 
With a great deal of effort, he keeps going, trying to make the lines appear in his head so he can read them off with ease and still give her the attention she deserves - and Oh the sweetness of first nights / and twenty-third nights / and nights / after death and bitterness - She reaches one arm back to wrap around his neck and firmly grasps his hair - and the impeccable order / of the objects on the table - He’s rocking her into the counter at just the right speed and he can tell how close she is with each new word - the weightless irrelevance / of all our old intentions / as we undo / as we undo / every difference.
With the last word of the poem out of his mouth, she tugs hard at his hair and she climaxes, coming undone and leaning back against his chest and tries to catch her breath. 
“Oh god, Killian,” she moans. He’s still rocking them against the counter as she rides out her orgasm. “By far, this is the most interesting way you’ve ever made me orgasm.
“Have I made you a fan of poetry yet, Swan?” He moves his hand back down to her hips, his fingers sliding just under the waist of her panties. She feels loose and light as she turns in his arms and pulls him against her.
“A couple more poems like that and I can definitely be convinced,” she says. “But for now I think I’m more interested in spending time with this one. What was that about lips and sunless places?”
His mind reels because she drops to her knees between him and the cabinets. He grips the counter for stability when she drags her teeth over the zipper of his slacks.
“Think you can recite another one?” She unfastens his trousers, sliding the material down and taking his boxer briefs with it. She wraps one hand around the base of his cock, lightly gripping his hip with the other.
“Hmm?” He’s concentrating really hard on not rocking his hips forward into her skilled hands, incredibly aware of the counter just behind her head. The absolute last thing he wants to do is accidentally give his girlfriend a concussion.
“Another poem, Killian. You have another one up in that head of yours?” She leans in and licks the tip of his erection, grinning up at him.
His mind scrambles for any other poems he memorized.
“You’re making it incredibly difficult to concentrate, love, but I did always love a challenge” he admits, another moan pulling from him as she wraps her lips around the head and sucks lightly. She pulls back again and looks up at him, her smile shining in her eyes.
“You once promised to read me dirty poetry. You’ve given me one. Surely you have another up there,” she says before leaning forward to kiss a spot below his hip bone. 
“There once was a man from Nantucket,” he starts, but she cuts him off with her laughter.
“No, no. Make it a good one.”
The poem that finally makes its way to his mind is not dirty, but he knows she’ll appreciate it. He clears his throat, closing his eyes and trying to concentrate on the words in his head instead of the love at his feet.
All night I have slept with you / next to the sea, on the island. He begins, and she runs her hands along his thighs. Wild and sweet you were between pleasure and sleep, / between fire and water. She grips his cock again and begins stroking it gently, placing kisses along his hip again as he continues.
Perhaps very late / our dreams joined / at the top or at the bottom, / up above like—
“Fuck, Emma,” he moans, her mouth going from the innocence of kisses to wrapping her lips around him once more and swirling her tongue around the tip.
“Keep going,” she pants out when she breaks away, dipping her head right back in when he starts reciting once more.
Perhaps your dream / drifted from mine / and through the dark sea / was seeking me / as before, / when you did not yet exist, / when without sighting you / I sailed by your side, / and your eyes sought / what now—/ bread, wine, love, and anger—/ I heap upon you / because you are the cup / that was waiting for the gifts of my life.
The hand that isn’t gripping the base of his cock trails up his thigh once more, pausing on his hip for a moment before brushing under the shirt that he’s still wearing and she runs her nails down his chest.
I have slept with you / all night long while / the dark earth spins / with the living and the dead, / and on waking suddenly / in the midst of the shadow / my arm encircled your waist. / Neither night nor sleep / could separate us.
She begins bobbing her head while her hand strokes the rest of his length, and it’s a struggle to remember the last stanza for a moment. He drops his head, opens his eyes again to watch her move and it’s too much. His movements against her during the first poem had already aroused him, and her attentions on him now are pushing him closer to the edge.
Emma moans around his length and his knuckles go white where he’s still gripping the counter. He can feel his release coming and she feels it too, speeds up and doesn’t prolong the torture. When it hits him, he has to brace his feet a little more so he doesn’t collapse. He’s breathing hard when she gracefully stands back up into the cage of his arms. She’s grinning, the cat that got the cream, as she winds her arms around his neck.
“Is that the end?” she asks, fingers threading through his hair. He shakes his head and swallows, wraps his arms around her and pulls her close.
I have slept with you / and on waking, your mouth, / come from your dream, / gave me the taste of earth, / of sea water, of seaweed, / of the depths of your life, / and I received your kiss / moistened by dawn / as if it came to me / from the sea that surrounds us.
He kisses her after saying the last verse, tasting his release still lingering on her tongue, and she hums into the kiss.
“Not bad,” she says when she breaks the kiss. “You may have just swayed my opinion. I’m now pro-poetry.” She’s smiling when she meets his eyes, and he chuckles. He places one more kiss on her forehead before bending to hastily pull his underwear back up, stepping out of his discarded trousers and leaving them on the floor.
“I’ll try a lofty and pretentious one next time,” he promises, remembering their previous discussions about poetry now that she’s brought them up.
“Only if you’re fucking me into the mattress when you do it,” she says off-handedly. He huffs out a laugh and rests his forehead against hers.
“You’ll be the death of me, love.” He hugs her tight to him as he says it and he can feel the laugh vibrate through her.
“But you love me anyways,” she responds, dancing her fingers across his shoulders.
“Aye, until the end of time.” He kisses her again, and she whispers her love for him across his lips.
And when they wind up in bed a short time later, he recites whatever he can think of—limericks, haiku, even a poem by Shel Silverstein—as he fulfills her request. 
When the Save-the-Dates go out a few months later, there is, indeed, an asterisk at the bottom that says “David was right.”
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roc-thoughtblog · 4 years ago
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Sense and Sensibility Readthrough Part 9
Chapter 12, Pages 49-54
Previously, Sir Middleton has started the Party Timez and Marianne is flirting it up with mysterious Mr. Charming. Meanwhile, Elinor has a sweet moment with Colonel Brandon where he alludes to a past love-related something, because they are both two lonely people watching a party.
I enjoyed this chapter, because Margaret finally opened her mouth and only gold came out. :D You little scamp, you have vindicated my small obsession with seeing you relevant in any form!
Readthrough below.
Chapter 12
AS ELINOR and Marianne were were walking together the next morning the latter communicated a piece of news to her sister which in spite of all that she knew before of Marianne's imprudence and want of thought, surprised her
Oh? OH? Marianne going to have many thoughts, head full of prudence?
by its extravagant testimony to both.
NOPE! Also, Austenism on first sentence of chapter, nice opening. I most creatively coined that for personal use and now I finally get to use it! Setup into unceremonious, and yet very extra, subversion that turns potential positives upside down. Anyway, Willoughby has given Marianne a horse, which she has accepted with zero thought into the Dashwoods' ability to keep it.
Elinor, has, of course, thought of all the things the family is lacking with regards to horse-keeping, including most prominently, a complete lack of a stable in which to house it. Was boutta ask, good Elinor answered my enquiry most quickly.
I have a friend who is a self-professed horse-girl, and many mutual friends who attest to not desiring to ride with her on account of it being quite dangerous. This isn't directly related to anything, Marianne just invited Elinor to ride her horse and I was suddenly struck by a memory of warring opinions on the risks of horseriding. Horse-girl's testimony to its relative safety was not aided by her own anecdote of having fallen off a horse onto her back once, and not being able to feel her neck for a while, or something similar to that effect (don't worry, she is fine). I imagine Elinor would be horrified.
Marianne brushes off all of Elinor's concerns in... most short-sighted fashion. No Marianne, do not keep a horse in any old shed. This reminds me of when my aunt kept her kittens in the bathroom. Bad. Awful. Don't consider keeping animals if you can't be bothered to house them properly. :(
Of course, Marianne draws the line when Elinor claims she doesn't know Willoughby well enough to receive a horse from the man;
"You are mistaken, Elinor," said she warmly, "in supposing I know very little of Willoughby. I have not known him long indeed, but I am much better acquainted with him, than I am with any other creature in the world, except yourself and mamma. [...] I should hold myself guilty of greater impropriety in accepting a horse from my brother, than from Willoughby. Of John I know very little, though we have lived together for years; but of Willoughby my judgement has long been formed."
Marianne has a great talent for speaking warmly. :'D
Ouch girl you have been hit hard. The infatuation, it speaks through you with a megaphone.
It's really fascinating how big an effect love and infatuation seems to have on apparent closeness. Like at some point it really does cross over the line to being genuinely close, but I feel like I observe a lot of the time, before that point, that people tend to... trick themselves into thinking they are close? Infatuation has a remarkable ability to warp the sense of emotional proximity between people, maybe even just through the firing of emotions on all cylinders.
One memorable conversation I will always return to was when a friend of mine referred to their boyfriend of a few months as their "best friend" in the most casual, natural way. A few months didn't seem like a long enough time, and when I asked them, they did suddenly realise they weren't quite there yet... I find it very interesting how love can so easily dominate social lives.
Anyway, Marianne has jumped to Big Conclusion about how well she knows Willoughby. It's a good thing he's probably a nice guy really, but this is also likely one of the ways predatory relationships can take root so uh, look after your friends I guess. Sometimes when this kinda emotion takes hold they need a second opinion to keep them grounded.
Elinor thought it wisest to touch that point no more. She knew her sister's temper. Opposition on so tender a subject would only attach her the more to her own opinion.
Yeah, Elinor has the right idea. Backfire effect is real, and it's not something you want to mess with when you really need to convince somebody of something. You definitely need to go around with a different approach... which Elinor does, nice! By appealing to Marianne's concern of potentially greatly burdening her mother, who would of course consent enthusiastically to a horse, but also be the most inconvenienced by its maintenance.
Marianne relents most sadly. :(
She tells Willoughby next she sees him that she can't take the horse, because of reasons. Willoughby is disappointed, but tells her that the horse is still hers, once the time arrives that she can keep- he named the horse Queen Mab? Horses. Always with funky names. Is that a historical figure? FAIRY FROM ROMEO AND JULIET! Please Mr. Willoughby! You are every bit the drama queen as Marianne. You are not so star crossed!
O-oh. Elinor overhears everything, and also realises now that they are in fact a couple? By the way Willoughby pronounces Marianne's first name, and the fact that he uses it at all. Oh, that she is now absolutely certain of it, and in no way surprised. Yeah that makes sense.
GASP! MARGARET SPEAKS!
Alright this whole sequence is gold, I dunno how to relate it here but it's a quick and fun read. Reading being generally fun, but quick doesn't usually come naturally to me. Also means I don't take notes.
Margaret thinks the two lovebirds will be married soon and Elinor is hilariously shutting her down for crying wolf about pictures that turned out to be of great-uncles. But this time Margaret has witnessed Willoughby beg for, and acquire, a lock of Marianne's hair, for romantically sentimental reasons I personally do not understand but have witnessed enough to accept without question. Because, y'know, children don't count as witnesses to secret emotional dalliances you don't the adults to see. And the account is specific and detailed enough that it doesn't seem like something a kid would just make up.
And then we go on a hilarious tangent about how Margaret accidentally spilled all the beans on Elinor's love life to Mrs. Jennings for not knowing any better how to respond to questions. :'D The poor girl asks Elinor for permission to say, so now Mrs. Jennings knows somebody exists. And then Marianne drags herself into it to defend Elinor's feelings, but Margaret innocently reminds her that all the speculation was her’s to begin with.
"Margaret," said Marianne with great warmth,
GREAT WARMTH! This is greatest warmth of Marianne yet, I have never seen her so upset, I'm rolling. Poor Margaret is a little out of her depth with all the adults bugging her for gossip, and the more the sisters try to contain her the more slips out. You can't expect so much from a kid. :'D
Thankfully Lady Middleton saves all the Dashwood sisters by abruptly and deliberately changing the topic to the weather, followed by sensitive Colonel Brandon. Nice save, guys! Willoughby, good man, invites Marianne to start playing piano too. Elinor is saved, but still thoroughly shook haha. Poor girl is not of a heart that can deal with this assault.
Chapter concludes with a quick two paragraphs which I guess will set up the next chapter; they organise a party to go party at an estate belonging to Colonel Brandon's brother-in-law, because, Sir Middleton has partied in that place all too much and yet never enough. Party. Sir Middleton: Party man, does whatever a party can. What exactly do landed lords actually do again?
All this arranged with open carriages and sailing, and I assume cold provisions to imply a picnic; "rather a bold undertaking, considering the time of year, and that it had rained every day for the last fortnight -" HA. Well, despite his extensive partying experience, we are given to understand that Sir M. is still a slow learner. Oh well.
... I just realised I found Margaret to be so entertaining I didn't realise the story had like... used her as a connecting factor to completely transition the theme, setting and topic of the chapter halfway through. I feel like this is important to note, as for the most part chapters in this story seem to stick to exploring one specific topic or person. This particular chapter was somewhat all-over-the-place topic-wise (Marillouby confirmed, Elinor's beau’s existence revealed) and the only unifying factor was Margaret shenanigans, which I love, but she isn't relevant to the central plot in the same way the two other pieces are. On top of that, the chapter ends on an otherwise random note that they're going to another party at a place related to Brandon; this isn't something that necessarily needed to cap off this chapter as far as I can tell.
I guess what I'm wondering is, this slightly frankenstinian chapter; is it the result of combining two smaller segments too short to be chapters in their own right, or is it more like... a deliberately transitional chapter? That the chapter lacks a unifyingly plot relevant topic to explore, because it's only concern is for setting up pieces for coming chapters at the new estate party? I guess I'll find out soon.
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