#but in both movies i appreciate the kind of slow descent

[hudbannonarchive]

jacob's ladder 1990 and safe 1995 are both good because they treat someone going batshit insane like the most normal thing in the world

[the-slasher-files]

Slashers React - S/O being a witch or wiccan

INCLUDES JASON, MICHAEL, BO, BILLY & STU and LOST BOYS

btw I am a wiccan myself so I hope you enjoy the hcs :)

JASON VOORHEES

Holy fucking shit, you guys are a POWER COUPLE, never in my life have a thought of a better couple

He may not understand at first but once you explain it to him he adores it. Abiding by the laws of nature is something he already does, so the fact that you do too and share a lot of the same opinions of nature, melts his heart

Clearing a little area in the forest making sure it is hidden away for your alter is a dream job for him

Nature walks all the time but it has more meaning now, knowing you’re a wiccan or witch

Herb, flower, mushroom or plant picking is something he will always do for you, leaving them at your alter

LOOK he found a cool rock or a weird piece of drift wood or animal skull, perfect for you :) 

Finds it very sexy when you are doing witchcraft, especially if it’s in the forest 

You would slow dance to the rain and light candles everywhere

Gardening would quickly turn into one of his favorite hobbies with you

Teaching him about the holidays you celebrate gives him reasons to spoil you on those days, he would bake with you, make potions with you, bring in your moon water in the early morning for you

Your crystals are his favorites, all the pretty colors and unique patterns, he might steal one and carry it around with him, rubbing it when he misses you

Anything you do to appreciate his land and the cabin you share makes his undead heart flutter

The absolute best partner for a witch or wiccan 

The crystal that suits him is an Amethyst - It is a grounding stone, bringing peace and calmness but is one of the best protection stones

MICHAEL MYERS

Major head tilt, squints  

Once you explain it him he still doesn’t get it, and he doesn’t care

He will just examine your stuff, poking it and moving it around pissing you off

oh great, more holidays to celebrate

Secretly thinks it is kind of cool, but he will never tell you

Maybe thinks you’re a little crazy because he heard some other person in the mental hospital going on and on like you do 

If you tell him he is blessed and has gifts he will have a hard time accepting that, but he would think about it forever because there had to be an explanation for how he could never die

He will bring you home something from a cemetery probably because he still doesn’t get it 

He will just stare from the shadows of a candle lit room watching you do spell work 

When he's pissed beyond reason, never sage him, never place crystals on him, never get him to drink tea, you might die

He will find a crystal in his coverall pockets for protection and he will never give it back to you, it’s his now and he will cherish it 

The crystal that suits him is Black Obsidian - It is a pure black stone that has a mysterious aura, heavily used for protection, it is also a very powerful stone, good for healing and truth seeking

BO SINCLAIR  

Again, another bad partner for this lol

You’re a what?? He has heard of witches before but never wiccans. Coming from Louisiana it has a very heavy history on witches and voodoo, good and bad. He honestly might be shitting his pants inside but keeps it cool, just please tell him you’re a good witch. His momma always told him to never ever mess with witches.

Thinks you’re crazy for believing in that stuff

If you feel the presence of his mom and dad, never bring it up to him, the only way you could do it is say “You’ve got some angels looking over you Bo” and leave it at that

You will make him learn to appreciate nature and taking him for walks is the best thing to do, it calms him and you can teach or tell him stories about what you believe in

He would tell Lester to grab some antlers or skulls for your “ummm idk what she does, she just needs them”

If you’re in some lingerie while doing witchy work, he will ease into it more

Bo would be the guy who yells about the sage smoke stinking up the house, while he is smoking a cigarette, b a s t a r d 

Jokes about his bad energy filling your alter will happen a lot

He honestly thinks its cool though, after a while, seeing a beautiful powerful soul doing something you love warms his heart

He’s going to try to understand but he will laugh and make fun

If there are people in town he’s going to hunt that night, he will have to deal with you placing some sort of protection rune, stone or necklace either in his pocket or around his neck, Bo won’t like it at first but showing you care so much for him melts his heart and he will protect it with his life 

His crystal is Smokey Quartz - It is used for strength and fortifies nerves, protection, a stone that represents Pride, but also brings calmness which we all know he needs!! The smokiness of it just reminds me of the colour of alcohol or his cigarette smoke   

BILLY & STU       

Both genuinely curious and love it

They don’t really understand it but they are willing and ready to try

Taking you on nature walks probably wont be as relaxing as they promised; Stu will climb a weird tree and end up hurting himself, then you will find some neat looking mushrooms and they dare each other to eat it

Find it hot but are a little spooked 

Billy would hate the smell of sage but Stu doesn’t mind it all 

They find it sweet when you try to put protection stones in their pockets when they go to kill

Stu will bring you an average rock from the sidewalk and say hey this is neat, here you go 

They are defiantly into trying witchcraft with you

Stu will love your home made teas 

Billy will never make a big deal about what you do, he just thinks it is neat and willing to go get whatever you need for your work, and ngl he is more interested in dark magic 

They will defiantly interrupt you will you are meditating or doing spell work so always try to do it when they aren’t home

Will ask if you could do tarot readings on them and if you use a crystal ball 

The crystal for them is Jade - a good protection and supportive stone, seeks love, passion and nourishment. It is also good for dreams and astral projection    

THE LOST BOYS

They are no strangers to the supernatural of course but they don’t know what a witch is beyond what they’ve seen in movies

I feel it would be very 50/50 on caring or not, this stuff isn’t even on their radars 

Dwayne, I think would handle it the best. (correct me if I am wrong) He is of Native American descent, so he has heard lots of stories about shamans and he is the most spiritual out of all the boys   

Once they see you doing spell work or setting up an alter they are much more interested 

If you are already turned, you are arguably one of the most powerful, David will not admit it but he knows it

Marco will 100% bring you random things he likes, not at all related to witchcraft but he thinks it could be, man doesn’t get it

David finds you extremely sexy, him and Dwayne will probably be the only ones that actually get it, and David loves the power

They pretty much just leave you to it 

A lot of moon and shadow work will be your main witchcraft with them

If you are cleansing the cave with sage Paul and Marco will make drug jokes and ask to smoke some  

ngl I think Paul might be the most scared of you, but he will never show it, He doesn’t understand it and thinks you going to spray him with holy water or make him have nightmares 

Dwayne will be the one to take you to the surrounding forests and go on some nature walks with you, collecting what you need

David - black tourmaline: a very powerful protection stone, pure black, great for purification and helping with anger. Star - rose quartz: the stone of love and purity, heals the heart, and dissolves worry and fear turning those feelings into love. Marco - Emerald: a crystal just as blue as his eyes. A stone of hope, encouragement and joy, turns negative energy into strength, love and compassion. Dwayne - fire agate: This stone has a very deep connection the earth radiating calm, stability and strength, also very good for power and protection. Paul - rutilated quartz: a crystal that seeks truth and authenticity, giving strength to the truest souls and uplifts and brings joy.       

[breadoffoxy]

Presented for You

Summary: Your boyfriend’s been teasing you about a birthday surprise all day. Much to your pleasure, he presents himself to you, fulfilling a deep fantasy.

Pairing: Sub Jungkook x Dom F. Reader

Genre: Smut, NSFW

Warnings: NSFW, smut, dirty talk, language, Femdom, anal sex (m. recieving), oral (f. receiving), impact play, underwear kink, gagged, bondage, suspension, chains, sex toys, pegging, cum play, mistress, good boy, edging, orgasm denial, begging, overstimulation

Word Count: 2529

A/N: Happy Birthday @borathae!!! I hope you have a lovely day, and thank you so much for being such a kind friend. I appreciate our conversations so much. Thank you @tipsydipsydo for helping me figure out some wording and tips to destroy our mutual friend. Another thank you for @yoongsgguktae​ for helping me out as well and hyping me up. 

You’re very much tired on your way home from work. The day was long and aggravating, and on your birthday no less. The nerve of it all. It doesn’t help that your friends have been teasing you with messages about a surprise waiting for you at home all day. You just want to know what it is! Though another part of you is just wanting to get home so you can cuddle your soft boyfriend on the couch while watching movies and eating pizza.  

Howerver, your next big hurdle is the rush hour traffic jam. You just want to get home! As the traffic comes to a stop again, you quickly check your phone for messages, making sure to keep one eye on the road. With nothing new since the last time you checked, you play the voice message your boyfriend sent you. A sweet smile is on your face, gone the annoyances of the traffic, as Jungkook’s voice plays through the speakers, gently singing happy birthday.

God, you love that man.

When you get home you are exhausted, but the sight of your giggling friends greeting you at your door makes you suspicious.

“What did you do, you little shits?” your eyebrow raises in question.

They giggle again, very suspicious indeed.

“Your surprise is in the basement.” one says, grinning at you and giving you a playful wink.

The other one hugs you tightly, yelling, “have fun!” before they both scamper off.

You stare at where they were standing, eyebrows furrowed. Your basement was your playroom, and you had no idea what they would have waiting for you down there. Shaking your head, you go inside, placing your things down near the door.

“Jungkook?” You call, when you don’t see or hear him. You peek your head in the kitchen, then the living room, and call his name again when you can’t find him.

Before you can check the bedroom, a strained, deep voice yells, more like grunts, from the basement, “down here.”

Oh, you know that tone all too well. Someone’s being a needy boy. You smirk as you make your way down the stairs. The click of your heels announces your descent. When you reach the bottom floor, you stop, mouth salivating at the sight in front of you. Your pussy clenches hard in anticipation.

Jungkook whines, knowing you are there behind him, but not being able to see you due to being stuck facing the opposite way. In the middle of the playroom he stands, correction hangs, completely naked. His wrists are cuffed by giant chains from the ceiling and they are supporting all of his weight. His inked hands flex and his back muscles ripple as he tries to turn, fighting against his bonds to only barely graze the ground with his toes. His ass, which is framed by a lovely dark, lacy jockstrap, clenches at the strain, and the end of the glass plug stuffed inside of his ass catches the light, making it glimmer.  

Best. Birthday. Surprise. Ever.

A small sting of jealousy sits at the bottom of your stomach at the thought of your friends prepping Jungkook this way for you. You’re a selfish creature, wanting to have stripped Jungkook yourself, bent him over to stretch his tight hole with the plug, see him obediently get strung up like he is right now for you.

“M-mistress, please.”

But only you have the pleasure of hearing his delicious, needy whines.

The sounds of your heels clicking signals your continued approach. You trace a hand down his back, slowly and teasingly, with your nails scratching lightly at his skin, watching in appreciation as his back muscles twitch at your touch. Your hand moves all the way down to his ass to push down on the plug, allowing the weight to stretch out Jungkook even more, making a sweet moan fall from his lips. You wish you could see his face, how his velvet lips are parted to gasp and how his face scrunches up at each touch of pleasure.

“Now,” you purr, “how did this get in here?”

It’s hard for Jungkook to respond when you slowly move the toy out of his ass to only slip it back in and repeat. The stretch feels so good but so torturously slow. “I-I did-mmnggh I put- ahh- I put it there mistress.”

“Good boy.” Your lips are nice in sweet as you reward him with soft kisses along his back, trailing now up towards his neck. The pace of your hand pulling and pushing the toy increases, contrasting your saccharine lips.

“Ahhh yesss, mmmnngh thank you mistress.”

You let him enjoy the moment, looking around his massive frame to see his girthy, cock twitching and straining against the thin, lace underwear. It does little to hide his arousal, a dark, wet patch spreading from where the tip of his cock is shows you how ready he is to come.

The only warning Jungkook gets is a slight twitch of your lips, a smirk against his heated skin, before you pull the toy out completely. “Nooo no no no no, please, ahhhhhh.”

Jungkook’s body shakes as it seeks out his deprived orgasm. Your smirk grows as you watch his gaping hole convulse around nothing. The sound of his whines and the chains clanking as he pulls and writhes is music to your ears. Only when the rattling stops and his keens turn into ragged breaths do you make a move.

Slowly and deliberately, you walk around him, heels echoing once again. You don’t look at him as you pass, but you definitely feel his desperate gaze boring into you as you cock your hip, looking at a wall of toys. Knowing exactly which one you want to grab, you pretend to look just a couple seconds longer, just enough to drive the man behind you a little madder. You reach for the riding crop, hand tracing the handle gingerly for a moment before taking it off it’s hook. With a flick of your wrist, it snaps through the air with a swish and snap.  

A thrill goes down your spine when you turn and see your boyfriend panting and looking down at the riding crop with hooded eyes. Walking towards the hanging man, you lift the crop again to gently stroke the underside of Jungkook’s cock. He lets out an exalted sigh at the teasing touch, soaking in the attention he is getting. The end of the crop easily collects precum seeping through the thin lace underwear, and the dark leather is smeared with white.

“Look at you, such a messy boy.”

Another pitiful whine escapes Jungkook once you stop stroking him. The sound quickly turns into a yelp as you slap his balls with the riding crop. You then trail the switch down his thick, twitching thighs, and with a snap of your wrist, he’s moaning at the impact. Again and again and again you slap this thighs, turning them a delicious angry red, with the occasional attention to his balls. “AhhhAhhhAhhhooohhhnmmgh,” his moans are as sweet as honey, flavored with so much pleasure, and you are absolutely addicted to them.

You swipe at his cock again, now oozing with more precum. Lifting the crop up, you hold the end up to his lips, smearing his arousal over them. Your own arousal grows at the sight of him licking his lips, then the riding crop, hungrily cleaning up his mess. “You’re doing so good for me baby, so good.”

“Now tell me…” Gingerly, you bring the riding crop back down, using the switch to press down on his ruined panties. The flimsy fabric easily rolls down, freeing Jungkook’s hard cock. The red, weeping tip pokes at his stomach, and twitches. You continue to push the lace past his thighs, where they then fall to hang at his ankles. “What do you want me to do to you.”

This was how you got your pleasure, by giving to someone, and seeing how their body reacts to your actions. Jungkook’s mewls and trembling body hanging before you is an all-time high. Such an exquisite man, and he’s all yours to devour.

“I need you, ahhh mistress, please, I need you inside me so bad.” Your sub begs oh so prettily.

Stepping back from him, you place down the riding crop, and slowly strip in front of him. Jungkook watches, eating up each piece of revealed skin like a man starved. When your legs are revealed, he’s practically drooling at the sight of the arousal smeared on your thighs. Your underwear falls to the ground with a soft splat and you step out of them, completely naked except for your heels. Power radiates off of you as you place your hands on your hips, enjoying how your boyfriend is drinking up the sight of your body.

Once again you turn away from him to look at the arsenal of toys in front of you. This time you don’t hesitate and grab your strap on harness. You fit a nice, veiny, long purple dildo in it. It’s not your largest dildo, but it’s definitely far from being your smallest. Leisurely, you put it on, deft hands skillfully tightening the straps of the harness to a comfortable and secure fit.

The sound of Jungkook mewling has you looking over your shoulder with an arched eyebrow. His chest rises and falls rapidly from his excited breaths as he watches you finish up with the harness and reach for the anal lube. Jungkook’s eyes snap to the dildo as you turn, completely hypnotized in the movement of your hand languidly stroking it, smearing it with the thick lube. You can barely hear it, but the breathiest “fuck,” comes out of Jungkook’s pretty mouth.

“I heard that,” you shake your head with a ‘tsk’. “With your mouth so dirty,” you bend down, giving Jungkook a nice silhouette, and you pick up your discarded underwear from the floor, “you might as well hold onto this for me.”

Swaying your hips, you step back in front of Jungkook. “Open.”    

He does so immediately, and you wad the thin, wet fabric and shove it into his mouth.

“Mnghghuumph,” the sound Jungkook makes comes out a garbled mess behind his gag. He breathes in deeply through his nose as he starts to drool around the panties.

You tap his chin twice with a nefarious grin. “Don’t worry, baby. I’m going to fuck you so good, just like you want.”

With that, you disappear from his view and position yourself behind him. You reach your hands out to grab Jungkook’s firm ass and spread his cheeks apart, revealing his still gaping hole.

A muffled gasp leaves Jungkook once the tip of the dildo circles his rim. Slowly, you move the purple cock into him, allowing him to fully feel the friction of the toy’s veins and to ease him into the stretch. He’s writhing on the cock as much as he can, the chains rattling heavily once again as he struggles for more, but you wait patiently until he is still and the grinding of the chains stop.  

Your hands come to rest on Jungkook’s hips for leverage to keep him still. “Relax, I got you.” With a swivel of your hips, the toy stretches out Jungkook even more and he moans deeply. You start off slow, then quickly pick up a rhythm of thrusting and swiveling your hips into his. His balls smack into you as you drill into him, the sound of skin slapping against skin rings throughout the room in a delightfully sinful manner.

It doesn’t take long for Jungkook’s moans to get louder and louder. If he wasn’t gagged you are sure he would be screaming through his pleasure. You wrap a hand around his tiny waist to grab roughly at his hard cock and thrust your hips up faster and faster. With a frantic twitch, he explodes, shooting cum out of his cock and onto his chest. You keep going at your rapid pace and don’t stop until he’s nearly sobbing and the last drop of cum is milked out of his cock.

You run your lips across his back, kissing the heated skin lovingly. “You did so well for me Jungkook, so good.”

With gentle words and touches you help ease him down from his high. When you’re sure he’s back, you work on lowering him from his chains. The fucked-out man stumbles, weak from your ministrations, but you help steady him.

“How are you doing baby?” You peer down to try to look into his eyes. His sweaty hair curls down over his face.

Jungkook grunts, the underwear still in his mouth, and he gives you a shaky nod. You reach into his mouth to pull the soggy fabric out, letting it once again land on the floor with a splat.

“Thank you, mistress,” and before you can stop him, Jungkook is kneeling on the ground in front of you, looking up at you with wide eyes. “May I take care of you now?” He kisses your thigh, not once breaking eye contact. “Please.”

“Of course.” You run a hand through Jungkook’s hair, brushing it back and away from his face as he dutifully undoes your harness. Once it is off, you grab at the back of his head, pulling him closer to your core, and he eagerly follows.

Not looking away, he gives your clit a little lick before diving in, running his tongue along the length of your pussy. His tongue eagerly collects your arousal, not stopping until its completely replaced with his spit.

“Oooh, so good. Give me your fingers baby.”

Not one to disappoint, Jungkook’s fingers are instantly grazing your lower lips and two are easily slipping into your dripping cunt. You bite your lip, loving the way the artwork on his fingers dip in and out of you. His tongue is back at your clit, worshiping it, before taking it in his mouth and sucking. “Ooohh, Jungkook.”

A third finger slips in, stretching you even further. He feels so good, and “Mnnngh yes, yes!” curls his fingers just right into your g-spot.

With the way Jungkook starts snapping his wrist up into you, sucking on your clit, and looking up at you with the most loving expression has you coming undone. Your orgasm gushes out of you and down Jungkook’s tattooed arm. He keeps going, helping you ride out your orgasm until you pull on his hair once it becomes too much.

Jungkook’s face is covered in a light sheen, a mix of his spit and your cream. He licks at his swollen lips and hums happily at the taste. “Happy birthday Love.”

“I love you so much.” Leaning down, you press a kiss on his forehead. Your heart is completely smitten with this man. “So, so, so much.”

Helping him back up, you can’t help but steal a kiss on his plush lips. “Now let’s get you cleaned up, hmmm? Then order some pizza and watch a movie.”

“And cuddle on the couch?” He grins cutely and nuzzles your nose with his.

“Sounds perfect.”

[itsany62]

SteveTony - Getting Together

Here are some Getting Together fics that I adore. Don't forget to leave kudos and nice comments in every fic!

Lovesick, by royal_chandler, 3 k >, fluff.

The depth of the flu aisle in the pharmacy is substantial, overwhelmingly so, and Steve is half-convinced he needs to return to the front and trade his basket for a full-on cart.

There's a Party Going on Right Here, by Annie D (scaramouche), Post-Endgame.

After the Battle of Earth, Tony hosts a party.

Open Tab , by machi_kun , 5k> words, Post-Avengers 2012.

Tony has a lot of money. Really. More money he could possibly ever spend by himself. So what if he spends some of it buying gifts for his friends? People like gifts! And Steve is his friend. His best friend, actually, inside the Avengers, and he’s glad it turned out this way - so it’s also a way of saying 'thanks for putting up with me', he thinks. He just wants Steve to be happy. If Tony can make him happy, then why wouldn’t he? Tony buying Steve gifts is no big deal. Shut up, Rhodey.

(Pretty) Odd, by machi_kun, 5 k> words, Developing Relationship, Fluff.

In his file, Tony Stark had been described as eccentric. He had also been described as a narcissist, as a self-destructive liability, as not-recommended, and all sort of fancy words that are used to disguise the fact that they were calling him an all-around asshole; And that’s a very long list of bad adjectives, for a guy Steve saw carry a nuke behind his back to save the city, gave them a place to stay, and is slowly showing himself to be one of the most curious people Steve has ever met. Maybe Tony Stark is eccentric – and maybe he is a bit of an asshole. But maybe he’s also more than that.

Six Times DUM-E Made It Worse (and One Time He Fixed It) by FestiveFerret, 4 k > words, Outsider POV.

DUM-E has a lot of Very Important jobs to do, and he does his best to do them right. Sometimes, though, things don't work out very well.

All he wants is for his humans to be happy.

Sweet Child O' Mine by starspangledsprocket, 9 k > words, Age Regression/De-Aging, Fluff.

After just their second outing as the Avengers, everyone except for Steve and Tony are turned into toddlers. Madness ensues.

'Cause Everytime We Touch by Perlmutt, 5 k > words, Touch-Starved.

Steve noticed it the first time they were officially introduced at Fury’s office after the battle of New York.

He extended his hand for a handshake, a silent peace offer after their horrible first meeting at the helicarrier almost a week ago. Stark looked at it like it would bite him any second. Steve could see how his hands twitched where he’d buried them in his pockets. But instead of taking his hand, he stared into his eyes for a moment and nodded before turning back to Fury.

Only later would Steve learn that it wasn’t hatred or aversion.

how the thought of you does things to me by Finduilas, 6 k > words, Mutual Pining, Domestic Avengers.

Steve has a thing for Tony's butt. Tony has a thing for Steve's beard. They're both very obvious about it (just ask any of their friends!), but somehow they manage to also be completely oblivious.

Right here waiting by gottalovev, 19 k > words, Cat Dads.

Steve has been missing Tony like crazy since he left the compound. One day, Steve drops in unannounced at the tower, and when on a walk for coffee they rescue newborn kittens.

Or: A yearning Steve, an oblivious Tony, and co-parenting kittens. (= fuff!)

picture perfect (picture us) by starklystar, 18 k > words, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Photo Shoots.

Tony has a habit of being handsy during photoshoots.

Steve has a habit of being flustered whenever Tony touches him.

Misunderstandings happen.

Or, five times Steve and Tony went to a photoshoot

+ the one time they had better things to do.

++ the one time they take their photoshoot online.

take me out (to the ball game) by muItifandomjess, 1 k > words, Fluff.

“Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd,” Steve sings, his shoulder bumping into Tony’s as he sways back and forth. “Come on, Tony, sing!”

“I am a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist,” Tony protests around a mouthful of hot dog. “I do not sing.”

Or, Steve and Tony go to a ball game. It all kind of snowballs from there.

Drifting Further Everyday by GotTheSilver, 8 k > words, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Steve’s quiet a lot of the time, it’s almost like living with a ghost, and Tony kind of hates it; he lives with more than enough actual ghosts every day. The longer time goes on, the more Tony recognises what’s going on, sees the jumpiness, the haunted look on his face, and he gets it. Realises they’re both trying to bury things they don’t want to talk about. More often than not, Tony turns around in the workshop to see Steve sitting there, patiently working on something in his sketchbook or reading an actual book, usually something he missed during the years he was frozen.

Somehow Steve is filling all the gaps in his life Tony didn’t realise he needed filling.

Goop, Or Five Times Steve Rogers Was Covered In... Something, And One Time Tony Was by Bill_Longbow, 7 k > words, Mutual Pining.

There were a lot of things Steve had expected about the future; sleek buildings, sleeker electronics, and all the food you can eat. Being covered in alien goop wasn't one of them.

or

How Steve being covered in... stuff, brings Tony and Steve closer.

The art of longing by itsallAvengers, 63 k > words, Oblivious Tony, Not Actually Unrequited Love.

Steve's used to missing his shot. To being too late, too scared, and losing everything. But he really did think that this time, with Tony, something could work.

Then Tony meets Mark. He's cool and charming, he's a scientist and he's perfect for a man like Tony Stark.

And suddenly Steve...

Well. Steve just doesn't have a place anymore

earth laughs in flowers by starksnack, 3 k > words, Love Confessions, Secret Admirer.

A secret admirer has been sending Tony flowers and confessions of love.

Crash Into You by FestiveFerret, 15 K > words, Post-Avengers (2012), Stranded.

Tony was pretty used to crashing.

It seemed like these days more often than not his return to earth in the Iron Man suit was at least somewhat out of control. He couldn't count the number of times he'd used a helpfully situated building, a local landmark, or, hey, even a teammate to slow a wild descent. And he'd be damned if he'd admit it to Pepper, but on more than one occasion he hadn't even been conscious when he'd hit the ground.

So crashing wasn't really a new experience. He would get banged up a bit, maybe put a scratch in the suit somewhere, but bruised ribs healed and there was no better way to work off the post-battle high than smoothing dents out of his most prized possession.

He had a feeling crashing in the Quinjet, without his armour, was going to be a bit different..

I like me better (when I'm with you) by I_write_things_sometimes, 79 k > words, Domestic Avengers, Friends to Lovers.

If you ask either of them how they got together, they'd go back to an unremarkable night filled with expensive food, rich donors, and lots of schmoozing. And, of course, the anxiety attack that started it all.

"Not recognizing someone was strange enough, but the longer the two men spoke with — or, more accurately at — Tony, the more convinced Steve was that the conversation was unwanted, at least on Tony’s part.

The first clue was that Tony was actively leaning away from the men he was talking to. Steve had learned firsthand that Tony was an incredibly tactile person. When he wanted to talk to you, Tony engaged completely; he’d sling his arm around your shoulders, squeeze your arm, or drag you around as he talked, walked and usually did at least two other things. Even when he argued, Tony was often immediate and in his opponent's space; Steve knew that from experience.

Right now? Tony was scanning the outskirts of the room rather than making eye contact with the men near him. If Steve had to guess, Tony was looking for the nearest exit."

Or, the way Steve Rogers and Tony Stark became friends and then more.

Mission SteveTony by itsallAvengers, 7 k > words, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Steve Rogers.

If the entire team of Avengers could please stop trying to get it on with Tony when Steve is right there, he would really appreciate that, thank you

you'll wait a long time by nanasekei, 16 k > words, Pining, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie).

Steve and Tony share a moment during a wedding. Things escalate from there.

-

Alternatively: Four weddings, a funeral, and one very emotionally stunted idiot.

The Game by FestiveFerret, 5 k > words, Gay Chicken.

The game starts when Tony walks into the garage to find Steve sitting astride the R1200RS, staring down at his phone, and he maybe, just a little bit, walks into a car.

Talking Bodies by itsallAvengers, 13 k > words, Misunderstandings, Insecure Steve Rogers.

Coincidentally, the physical effects of romantic and sexual desire match up very closely with the physical effects of fear. But it's not a problem-- it's not like anyone is going to be able to hear the way your heart speeds up, or see the minute dilation of your pupils, are they? They'd have to be some sort of Superhuman to do that.

And what's worse than a Superhuman hearing that quick pulse and seeing those dilated eyes and concluding that you're in love with them?

A Superhuman hearing that quick pulse and seeing those dilated eyes and thinking you're terrified of them.

more than just a dream. by frostfall, 10 k > words, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Parent Tony Stark.

Tony: Fine.

Tony: I think I might.

Tony: Just might.

Tony: Have a teensy-weensy crush.

Peter: ;)

Peter: Is it who I think it is?

Tony: Unfortunately, yes.

Tony: You happy now?

(Peter thinks he's found the perfect partner for his dad. Tony thinks his son has officially lost his mind. Steve's just oblivious to the fact that he's out of Tony's league.)

don’t want you to get it on (with nobody else but me). by frostfall, 4 k > words, Jealous Steve Rogers, The Pocky Game.

There are a lot of things that Steve doesn’t get about the future. But it’s fine. He will, eventually. He has time.

But one thing he knows is that he’ll never, ever be able to wrap his head around is the fanfare surrounding Pocky.

(Or Steve’s jealous of biscuit sticks.)

check yes (if the feeling isn't new) by cvptains, 12 k > words, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Meddling.

After the battle with Thanos, both Tony and Steve struggle with reconnecting in certain aspects of their lives. Sam Wilson and Peter Parker are totally over it.

Where both Steve and Tony's respective friends make accounts for them on the renowned dating app, FlickLove, and the results come out a bit... surprising. Cue unadvisable meddling that really — honestly — comes from good intentions.

take my heart clean apart by mistymountainking, 13 k > words, Tony Stark Has Self-Esteem Issues.

He’s tired, so tired of waiting, tired of touches with no meaning, tired of holding his breath when Steve’s in the room, tired of keeping this love to himself.

“I can’t—I can’t, if you don’t mean it.”

***

Tony comes home exhausted after an SI event. Steve acts as welcoming committee. It's an old, careworn routine they've perfected over the years, but tonight ends up going in a very different direction.

[takaraphoenix]

Review: Injustice

This is actually the very first time I can review a comic book adaptation after having read the comics the adaptation is based on; though I have not played any of the games so I can’t speak of how true this is to the video game (or what things are different between comics and game). On top of that, I have a lot of love for the source material in this case; out of all the DC Comics I’ve read so far, and at this point that’s amounted to some, this remains my favorite run for just how well-written and fleshed out it is.

Needless to say, this adaptation was by far not as well-written or fleshed out, disappointingly enough.

I had very high hopes. I think there is a potential here in adapting Injustice in a five-split movie-model; one movie per year. I also honestly think that you could, time-wise, do that.

But this movie cut things out in strange, strange ways.

I don’t understand what the point was of having Martha be dead even before the movie started and then to actually kill off Jonathan; him surviving that attack and him and Martha trying to reach their son is a vital part to the Injustice story so to kill them both off this early significantly changes the way things would unfold, in my opinion.

I also don’t understand the severe changes they made to Superman’s team. Like, I don’t understand that at all.

Why was Mister Terrific even there. He wasn’t in the actual comics. He somehow became a weird fusion of Barry Allen and Lex Luthor, I guess? But why. Where was Barry even in this movie? He was in the beginning and then just kind of... gone. Despite being one of the most vital members of Superman’s team. His support of Superman’s cause and slow, growing doubt are such a big part of the story. Same goes for Hal Jordan, who just fucks off into space right away despite being on the team far longer in the comics. And then there is Billy who is just immediately like “no magic users don’t like this we’re out”, despite him too being a vital part of Superman’s team and his struggle with the moral complexity of the issue and his change of heart being a huge deal in the actual universe.

They didn’t even develop Mister Terrific at all, he took over Barry’s role in many instances but then he got thrown into jail for... I have no idea, I had to rewind the movie and rewatch parts to understand the implication that Clark locked him up for not adhering to Clark’s plan, while an important part in the comics was the fact that Barry and Clark had their little chess game and Clark accepted that Barry had his doubts and appreciated that they had a conversation about this, because Clark’s descent is a slow, gradual one. This movie rushed through that development far too quickly without fully developing it.

Barry, Hal, Lex, Billy, Hawkgirl, Black Adam were completely removed from the narrative. They really just... kept Diana and Victor at Clark’s side and that’s it, they swapped out the entire lineup of Superman’s team and severely reduced it at that too. And I’m just super pissed about that, because the moral complexity of this universe and the personal struggles of the characters involved are what makes Injustice good.

Not the fact that random good guys fight random good guys in a way you don’t usually see since they’re usually on the same side. But beyond the conflict of the trinity, that is absolutely what this movie has reduced Injustice to. Just punch-punch kick-kick.

And I can not believe they tried to pull a "The children! I draw the line at children!" moment with Diana. Diana, whose enabling and support and fierce loyalty to Clark made all of this as bad as it was. She wasn't a school gorl with a crush unaware of what they were doing, for crying out out, she was AS committed to the cause as Clark.

On the overall, as a comic-adaptation, I’m super disappointed because this movie was far too much leaning onto Batman’s narrative and missing the balance of showing both sides of the story and showing the slow moral corruption of Superman and the way his charisma kept other important heroes on his side who then struggle with the way things developed.

And that ending was just so devastatingly bad and badly written and stupid and I’m mad, I haven’t been this mad at a movie in years. They really brought in an alt Lois highly pregnant who lost her Clark because fridged women can be easily replaced with alternate selves and then Clark gives in and surrenders. That’s THE most OoC thing this Clark could have possibly done, but he sees Lois and goes “uwu I did wrong pls lock me up”. This is so bad and just spits in the face of the comics and the narrative and character arcs it built.

This is what you get for actually knowing the source material before watching an adaptation, huh? I hate this. This is why I only watch adaptations and then read the source material if I liked the adaptation. As a comic adaptation, this was just so incredibly bad and I’m mad about it because the comics are so good.

But hey, at least they kept the Ollie-Harley friendship going so I guess that’s worth something, since that was very personally important to me (but then the Harley-Dinah friendship didn’t make the cut since Dinah didn’t make the cut)...

[kelby-writes]

Could I get a oneshot where the reader is making cookies, and Brahms won't stop sneaking cookie dough/icing behind their back? Because we all know he would. Also, thank you. :) ❤️

This took way to long to get to writing, so I apologize! I hope you like what I managed to create from this! Thank you so much for this request!

I apologize to any Islamic/Jewish, Hindu, and Buddhist readers/tumblrs, as I took this request in a more Christmas-y theme! I hope you don’t mind! Also, I did research for Christmas Traditions in England/Britain, and also made the Reader’s ethnicity as vague as possible, so I try not to fully state if “you” are an American or of American descent! :) ENJOY!

Christmas Cookies

BRAHMS X READER

Christmas is a wonderful time of year for many families. Snowfall, Santa Clause, and Christmas foods such as cookies and cakes! Nearly everyone’s favorite holiday is Christmas, greedily for the presents in younger ages. Though, your absolute favorite time of the snowy year has got to be Christmas Cookie Creation. You would normally spend an entire day baking and decorating cookies with your family, all ranging in different recipes of the sweet treats. Most common being chocolate chip, sugar cookies, peanut butter kisses, and some uncommon being pineapple cookies, butterscotch, coconut, and more! And of course the wonderful traditions; The Christmas Tree, stockings, candles, Christmas movies, and more! You always got giddy on Christmas morning, not only because of the new gifts and possessions, but because of the entire day you would get to spend with your family—drinking, laughing, chatting, eating, and more! 

This was obviously different with Brahms, as well as in England. 

In England they did not put their stockings over a toasty fire, and instead put them at the end of their bed, hoping it would be filled by morning. There is a tradition involving crackers, in which they would get treats and little trinkets spilling out once the packaging is broken open. There are colorful tissue paper crowns that kids and adults alike wear proudly, there’s Yorkshire Pudding, hot mulled drinks called Wassail, a Royal Christmas Message from the Queen via TV, and Boxing Day (pretty much like a Christmas version of Black Friday, originating from a day after Christmas in which employers would give their servants gifts). Christmas has got to be Brahms’ favorite holiday, simply because of the small child-like instincts he still has. 

You were in the kitchen for around, maybe two hours now? You had lost count, too busy with making recipes and shoving trays of cookie dough into the oven in the Heelshire Mansion Kitchen. You were honestly having the time of your life—Radio/Stereo playing (blasting) some famous Christmas Music as you baked more and more cookies for you and Brahms. Of course, you planned on taking some containers and paying a visit to some friends you had made at work, as well as giving some away to Malcolm (in which Brahms strongly suggested you shouldn’t). 

You pulled out a tray from the heated oven that has been working for awhile now, staying hot and warm, and giving a sweet heat to the room, as well as the cookie aroma. It fought away the usual draftiness of the cold victorian styled mansion, which was greatly appreciated. You set the cookies on the heat pads laying on the marble counter, which was set next to the rack of previously baked cookies, all cooling. While you knew the cookies were referred to as ‘biscuits’ in the UK (though some called the bigger softer kind ‘cookies’), you were used to calling them as cookies, not biscuits. 

Anyways, in no time you got the twelve cookies out onto the cooling rack in minutes. You turned away, ready to start the next batch, when you heard a strange noise just outside the kitchen. You furrowed your brows, confused as you set down the wooden spoon that you had grabbed from a mixing bowl, both freshly washed to make a different recipe of cookies. “Brahms?” You called out softly, unsure. Was it just the music, or did you actually hear something or someone? You patted off your bright apron, dusting off any flour that might have fallen onto the cloth before heading out into the cold hallway, looking around. No Brahms, just the same old dark wallpaper, and the normal furniture that accompanied the hallway. 

You turned back into the Kitchen, walking past the cookie rack before something caught your eyes. Wasn’t there more cookies there…? You quickly did a recount; 10 cookies from the most recent batch. How the hell were two cookies missing-

“Brahms, where are you?” You called out into seemingly empty air, propping your hand on your now-cocked out hip, playfully narrowing your eyes at ever crack and little spot you saw in the wallpaper of the kitchen walls, knowing Brahms was either in there somewhere, or hiding somewhere else outside of the walls. “Brahms!~” You called out, almost musically, shaking your head as you let your hand slip from your hip, grabbing the wooden spoon again. You turned back to your work, trying to focus on the recipe before you heard another noise from the hall, just outside the kitchen. You couldn’t help the grin that tugged on your lips, setting down the spoon. You knew what he was doing—trying to trick you to get more cookies for the road. So, in the spirit of Christmas, you decided to play by his little game.You moved away from the counter, wiping your hands against the apron and making a move for the hallway, already knowing Brahms was moving out from whatever hiding place he was in to grab the cookies. So, at the last second you turned around.

Brahms stood in the Kitchen, slightly hunched, mask-less, and with some blue striped pajama pants and his green-tinged grey cardigan, grabbing two cookies off of the tray, going for some sugar cookies you had just made and recently decorated not even thirty (30) or forty-five (45) minutes ago. The curly haired man looked up, and his eyes widened, seeing you standing there, hands on hips, playfully glaring at the 6′5″ wall-dweller with a beautiful (sexy) grin on your soft lips. “So…” You started, walking over to Brahms as he backed himself up against the counter, keeping a firm one-handed grip on the two cookies he was trying to snatch. “Stealing, huh?” You asked, smiling as you saw him visibly shrink a bit, offering a nervous smile on his half-scarred lips. His beard was trimmed, thanks to you, and his curly hair thick and bouncy with his now frequent washing. You laughed as he set the cookies down and wrapping his lanky arms around your neck, pulling you into a close hug—Brahms’ favorite—as if trying to make up for his stealing, or to distract you with his affections. 

“Don’t think this means you’re off the hook, Brahms.” You said softly into his chest as he rested his cheek against the top of your head. “You’ll have to help me bake now—” “(Name)-” Brahms started to whine, protesting the idea of helping in the kitchen, until he pulled away and got a look of your face—lips jutted out in the cutest little pout, eyes big and doe-like, batting your eyelashes in an overly comedic way. “Mmm…” Brahms let out the soft protest noise again, trying to avoid your contact until he couldn’t help but look straight into your beautiful (e/c) eyes, wide and filled with joy, both for the love of baking, and for the love of Brahms. 

And he couldn’t help himself—Brahms leaned closer into your facial area, nose bumping against your own as his lips found yours in a slow, rhythmic way, moving softly and in sync with yours until you were playfully nipping at his bottom lip, knowing that he liked the small actions. You finally pulled away, a shit-eating grin on your face—

“You’re still helping me bake—BRAHMS GET BACK HERE-”

~ Kelby

[crossovereddie]

So I’m rewatching season 4 of 911 and one of my favorite things from this season is the slow descent into chaos. I like how the writers captured the way everyone went a little bit crazy during quarantine and how when you were able to hang out with someone, you both did things that probably were kind of out of the norm (The Bobby/David/Michael storyline, the firefighters telling jump, Buck telling anyone who would listen about his relationship issues, etc)

I never even thought about this before but you’re right. Like Dr. David was really out there digging through trash after work bc Bobby told him to lmaoooo

S4 isn’t their best season but I really do think they tried their best. The 118 would’ve still had to work but they still weren’t socializing with anyone else and even though we didn’t see that part of their experience we get the feeling of the aftermath of that. I really appreciate it because I don’t think anyone was really excited about watching what we were living through. I know I use shows/movies/books to escape for a while but it was still an escape from the real world bc it was so lighthearted at times.

Anon I just might have to rewatch s2-4 all over again now 😩

[akp-1327]

the parallel

Pairing: Beckett Harrington x f!MC (Meghan Scott)

Word Count: 2.6k (it’s a longer fic but definitely worth the read :)

Synopsis: The Pend Pals have just finished their exhausting sophomore year at Penderghast and are in desperate need of a break.

Enjoy! :) <3

Meghan placed her hands on her hips and let out a sigh of relief. It was the chaotic night before the last day of school and she’d been packing her belongings all day, preparing to go off on the internship adventure with Professor Harrington, AKA Katrina, as she insisted on being called. Beckett begged her to let him come along with her, though Katrina said no; she wanted some one-on-one time with Meghan to get to know her as more than a student and more of a friend. Exasperation wasn’t even a strong enough word at Beckett’s reaction. Regardless of whether her boyfriend was going or not, Meghan was ecstatic to get off campus and explore the wide and unknown magickal world with her powers; her magick was practically bursting from her fingertips at the thought of exploration.

Meghan’s crystal blue eyes wandered around her lifeless room, once decked out with books, movie posters, and various knick-knacks that were now boxed and ready for the quick trip back home in the morning. It was just a mattress and a sad afghan blanket that she was borrowing from Aster. Sophomore year, as amazing and eventful as it may have been, was definitely allowed to end in Meghan’s opinion. It was enough of an adrenaline rush as it was a headache. With Kane, Alma, Gemma, her mom, her strengthening powers, Beckett...it was all just a lot. She was in desperate need of a proper break.

She was about to turn in for the night and change into her pajamas before she heard a loud knock at her door. The sound sent Ivy, her arylu, on a wild goose chase around the room to find its source. Meghan giggled before she walked over to the door (trying to tame her messy blonde waves first, of course) and cracked it open, seeing the Pend Pals on the other side.

“Hey, Megs? You need to get out of this tiny space. You’ve been cooped up in here all day.” Shreya commanded, though there was no form of malice in her tone. Meghan smiled and looked back at her room, opening the door wider so everyone could see the bare walls and the boxes piled up everywhere.

“Sorry. Cleaning tape off the wall and packing a million things isn’t exactly a quick job, especially when you do it all alone.” Meghan sighed, glaring at her twin. Atlas only smirked. “What’re you all up to?” Everyone glanced at each other, then back at Meghan.

“It’s a--” Zeph started, though Meghan interrupted him with a groan. She already knew what word, what god awful word he was about to utter.

“Surprise,” Meghan said, leaning against the door frame and crossing her arms, “why can’t you guys just tell me? I’m always the victim to these kinds of things and I don’t appreciate it as much as you think I do.” Griffin let out a loud laugh and Beckett’s face was dusted in a rose tint.

“It was Beckett’s idea, actually!” Aster cheered, her leaves rustling with happiness, “He was the one who wanted to surprise us! No one else actually knows what’s happening.”

Meghan’s eyes flitted over to her boyfriend who was now fidgeting under her gaze. “Oh, is that so?” 

Beckett instantly stammered and bashfully smiled. “I thought we deserved something after this year, and so it’s more of a surprise for everyone,” Beckett explained, collecting himself a bit, “so I planned everything myself in hopes of relaxing for a little while before we all go our separate ways for the summer.” Shreya hummed and looked back at Beckett.

“You know, Beckett, I have a suspicion that this little extravaganza is being held at the library for some reason. Please tell me this isn’t just my intuition speaking.” Shreya teased, arching her eyebrow. Beckett scoffed.

“As if I’d spoil my plans after keeping them a secret for so long,” Beckett said, looking back at Meghan halfway through his response, “are you going to stand there all night or are you coming with?”

Meghan lovingly rolled her eyes at him. “Let me get my sandals.”

**

The evening air was warm as the Pend Pals followed Beckett through campus. They passed the library and dorm buildings as the sun sank further beneath the horizon. Meghan fell back into step with her sister who trailed behind everyone; Atlas wore a small frown and had her arms tightly wrapped around her chest, seemingly trying to protect herself.

“What’s up, sis?” Meghan asked, giving her a small nudge with her shoulder. Atlas sighed and gave her sister a half-hearted shrug.

“I hate surprises,” Atlas said, “we’ve had too many bad ones this year. Too many for a lifetime.” She looked down at her scuffed boots and started to kick a pebble along with her as she walked.

“You do know that Beckett would never put us in danger, right?” Meghan asked, looking back at Atlas. Her platinum white hair had been tied up in a ponytail, making it easier to spot the tension fade from her features.

“It’s a habit of mine to think the worst of surprises, Megs. You know that.” Atlas said, unfurling her arms from around her chest. “And you can’t say that. Remember last year when he almost killed the entire school with the ward incident?”

Meghan was the one to shrug. “He’s changed a lot, Atlas. Besides, Raife and Kane are long gone. We’re alright and in no sort of danger.”

Atlas nodded with a small relieved smile, bumping Meghan’s side with her elbow. “Old habits die hard.”

“And new ones create happy memories! Now, loosen up and enjoy tonight for me. Can you do that?”

Atlas rolled her eyes. “Ugh, fine. But I won’t do it for your pleasure.” 

Meghan laughed, watching everyone ahead of them slow down and eventually stop next to an empty field.

“Uh, Beckett, sorry to burst your bubble,” Griffin started, gesturing to the openness around them, “but there’s nothing here.” 

Zeph and Shreya laughed.

“Maybe it was at the library after all!” Zeph joked. Beckett smirked, crossing his arms.

“No, no. We still have a bit to go,” Beckett started, looking at Meghan, “but I was hoping a certain Sun-Att would care to help me?” Meghan smiled warmly and walked over to him. He gently grasped her hands and threaded their fingers together.

“You two are adorable and I love you both, but I’m on the edge of my seat over here. Save the cutesy stuff for when we get there, please!” Shreya laughed. Everyone nodded in agreement as Beckett sighed, shaking his head with a smile. He gazed into Meghan’s eyes with pure adoration and love that Meghan had started to lose herself in the moment, only before he blinked and snapped her out of her reverie.

“I need you to light the way for me, okay?” Beckett said, squeezing Meghan’s hands. She nodded and, a moment later, was emitting a soft and golden glow that lit up the area around them. “That’s perfect. Now, stay close to me.”

Meghan tightened her hold on one of his hands and let the other one go, now standing at his side. “How about I hold your hand?” Beckett beamed and hummed, pulling her close before he started to walk again. The path ahead was a little more narrow and wooded. Aster giggled as she looked around.

“These woods were the ones I used to play in when I was growing up,” Aster said, brushing her hand along the dark brush, “I’d love to branch here. There’s so much character and uniqueness about the area, so much to learn about.” Everyone continued to walk in the soft light, trying not to trip or get whacked in the head by branches.

“Big B, was this treacherous path really, ow, necessary?” Zeph complained, a branch hitting his forehead. Atlas, Shreya, and Griffin laughed quietly to themselves. 

Beckett was about to respond before strikingly bright blue sparks burst on the ground in front of them, slowly forming into a circle. Instead of dirt, the inside had been a blur of purples, pinks, yellows, and greens. Beckett laughed and turned back to his friends.

“To answer your question, Zephyr, this path was the only one that we could take to find this magnificent portal.” Beckett said wondrously, pointing at the portal on the ground behind him. “Because of the rock formations beneath--”

“Oh, shut up already!” Zeph rushed forward and cannon balled into the portal. “Waahoo!”

Griffin and Shreya laughed, running in after him.

“Incoming!” Griffin exclaimed.

“Aaah!” Shreya howled.

Aster and Atlas looked at each other for a second before they jumped in as well, a bit more hesitant. 

In mere seconds, it had only been Beckett and Meghan, their hands tightly intertwined as she continued to glow.

“This is what we were looking for? Coooool!” Meghan laughed teasingly, moving closer to see his face of shock. “Beck?” He blinked rapidly.

“What...did...did that just happen?” Beckett asked, a smile starting to encase his features. Meghan giggled and kissed his cheek.

“It did,” Meghan said, wrapping him in a hug, “and I think we should join them!” She pushed off the ground and made them both stagger on their feet. Before he could react, Beckett was tumbling into the portal and free falling into the depths of it, Meghan wearing an expression of amazement in his arms.

“Whoa!” Meghan shouted, clinging to Beckett as wind whipped through her hair. Beckett’s body started to relax from the shock, now starting to laugh and holding Meghan closer.

“Wooo!” Beckett shouted. The colors whizzed together and created a mural of bold and interesting patterns around them. It was as if they were inside an abstract painting! Though, before they could comprehend the moment once more, their descent slowed and they landed on their feet in a world parallel to theirs. Everything seemed the same, everyone looked the exact same as they did before, but the colors of the terrain...the colors…

The land, the trees, the leaves, the bushes, the ground...it was all glowing!

The world of bright light came to life around them. The rest of the Pend Pals eagerly crowded around Beckett and Meghan, still catching their breaths.

“Where are we?” Shreya huffed, putting her hands on her knees. Beckett looked around, gaping.

“This is the Parallel. It’s the universe that’s ours, but,” Beckett started, gesturing to the area around them slowly, “the colors are all fluorescent and the Earth’s gravitational pull is less strong.”

Griffin gasped. “I didn't think the Parallel actually existed!”

Beckett shook his head, still looking around with bewildered eyes. “Neither did I.”

“Wait, so if the gravitational pull is less strong…” Meghan pulled away from Beckett and jumped, her body starting to float before slowly coming back down. “No way! This is amazing!” She jumped with more vigor this time, launching herself higher into the air. The laughs of her friends rang out behind her as they experimented with their weightlessness as well. Zeph and Shreya did flips, Atlas and Griffin did corkscrews, and Aster spun. Beckett, still quite uneasy, tried to do a somersault but to no avail. Meghan laughed and made her way over to him.

“Hey, need some help?” Meghan giggled, taking one of Beckett’s hands. He gingerly smiled before she launched them both high into the air, their bodies spinning through the vivid world around them.

“Jeez, a little warning would be nice!” Beckett exclaimed, though his tone lacked any sort of malice. He had an excited smile on his face as Meghan led him through a flip, then another, and then another. They laughed as they landed, the ground finally halting them of their seemingly endless cycle of flips.

“That looked like so much fun!” Aster cheered, launching herself to do the same exact thing. Eventually everyone had been laughing and tumbling through the air.

“Griffin! I bet I can jump higher than you!” Atlas challenged. Griffin narrowed his eyes and the two were high in the air, flipping and laughing, pushing each other away when they came close.

“Shreya--” Zeph warned, though Shreya still crept up on him until she grabbed his hand and threw him across the forest in slow motion, sending him sprawling. “Aaaaah! Meghan, get revenge!”

Meghan narrowed her eyes towards Shreya and then looked to Aster and Beckett for reinforcements. With a huge grin, they all leapt at Shreya and sent her the other way, also tumbling through the neon landscape. “No!”

“Yes! Justice for Zeph!” Meghan giggled, doing a victorious flip and high fiving Beckett and Aster. 

**

Everyone continued to play around before they started to wind down and tucker themselves out. They were now laying on the ground and looking up at the starless sky. 

Beckett swiped Meghan’s hand into his and placed a kiss on the back, inviting her into his arms.

“Did you have fun?” Beckett whispered into her ear. She sighed and cuddled into his embrace, her gaze wandering to her friends pointing up at the sky a little ways away from them. She smiled and leaned up to look at Beckett.

“I had an amazing time, Beckett,” Meghan started, leaning closer to him, “but something’s missing.”

Beckett arched an eyebrow. “What is it?”

Meghan leaned even further, her lips now hovering over his. “I’m missing a kiss, silly!”

Beckett grinned and brought his hand up to cup her cheek, “Say no more, then,” and pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss. Meghan closed her eyes and smiled against his lips as they kissed, pulling away breathlessly only a moment later to rest her forehead against his.

“Now everything’s beyond perfect,” Meghan whispered, though even more quietly added, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Sweetums.” Beckett responded, pressing a kiss to her nose. Someone’s cough, presumably Atlas’s, scared the two apart.

“A-hem. Lovebirds.” Atlas teased, causing both Beckett and Meghan to roll their eyes. “It’s almost one in the morning.” 

The group synchronized a yawn, Meghan’s head resting on Beckett’s chest once more as she settled back down next to him. Despite the implication of needing to leave, no one moved nor spoke. They all just basked in the peace and quiet of the different world for a few minutes, everyone’s breathing slow and calm. Suddenly, Meghan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, sitting up.

“Atlas and I have to leave in a few hours,” Meghan said sadly, “we should probably get our butts back to campus. Beckett, how do we get out of here?”

Beckett sighed and stood. “Back the way we came. Follow me.”

**

The Pend Pals trudged exhaustively back through the woods and towards campus on the long path. Everyone was leaning on each other for support, everyone’s eyes drooping, and everyone’s smiles never fading. Once they were standing in the middle of campus, they all gave each other hugs and goodbyes.

“We need to go back there next year.” Griffin said, running his hands down his face. Atlas pushed his arm teasingly.

“You just want a rematch at that race. What a sore loser you are, Langley.” Atlas said. Everyone laughed as a comfortable silence fell over the group. Meghan giggled and spoke up.

“Well, I’m going to bed. See you all at breakfast tomorrow?” Meghan asked, looking around at everyone’s nods and attempts to hold back yawns.

“Good night, everyone!” Aster said, walking away. Griffin waved with a warm smile and Zeph saluted. Shreya gave them a dazzling grin and walked off towards her dorm. Beckett took Meghan’s hands in his, staring into her eyes.

“See you in the morning,” Beckett said, pressing a kiss to Meghan’s forehead, “sleep well.” Before she could respond, Meghan watched Beckett walk away towards his dorm. Atlas sidled up next to her and wrapped her arm around Meghan’s shoulders.

“C’mon, Megs. We need get some sleep before we work our butts off tomorrow.” Atlas said, leading her towards their dorm. Meghan wrapped her arm around Atlas in return.

“Happily, sis.” Was all Meghan could say before they returned to the bare room and turned in for the night.

[shadowsof-thenight]

Flashlight: Chapter nineteen

Story summary: This is an AU Two years ago, the love of your life walked out the door, breaking your heart into a million pieces. He had been unable to deal with his ptsd and you hadn’t been able to help him.Now that your best friend is marrying his friend, he’s coming back to town and you try to brace yourself for the reunion. Will you finally get closure?

Ship: Bucky Barnes X Reader

Warnings: None, I think

Words: 3839

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A/N: I found a new beta!!! A huge thank you to @gnomewithalaptop​ for helping me! Other than that, writing is going slow, but there are plenty of ideas —so things will come!

Feedback is greatly appreciated! And if you want to get tagged, let me know.

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Masterlist                                              Story Masterlist

***

“Yo!” Natasha’s elated voice sounded from the speaker of your phone. It echoed through the kitchen as you started getting your breakfast ready.

“Yo?” You replied, a little confused by her attitude at this early hour.

She chuckled, followed by a crunch, and you knew she was munching down on her favourite cereal. Natasha prided herself on changing her morning routine frequently; she was convinced it was beneficial for her health. You weren’t certain if that was true, but you knew she always returned to the same type of cereal after a little while.

“I need you to keep next Saturday free,” she said after a few moments and a very audible swallow. She was teasing you— she knew how the sounds of someone chewing and swallowing loudly could raise the hairs on the back of your neck. You tried to ignore it, not willing to give her the satisfaction. Though, if she kept it up, you both knew that there’d be a groan or a snippy remark leaving your mouth soon enough.

“Mhhm okay,” you finally said after quietly counting to ten.“May I know why?”

“It’s a surprise.” You could practically hear the smirk in your friend’s voice. Her surprises were always a little out there. Which could go one of two ways, really well or really bad. Her intentions were always good— the execution not exactly. “A fun one?” You asked, hoping against hope that she would give you a hint.

“Absolutely,” Natasha said confidently. She was giddy and that worried you a little.

What did she have planned for you? She wouldn’t make you do something you didn’t want, right? Your mind instantly went back to the time she decided on the colour that you were supposed to dye your hair in an attempt to annoy your parents. It was supposed to be a wash-out brand, but Nat had decided on bright blue, and apparently that colour was tough to get out. You ended up actually having to get your hair dyed to get the colour out, which really annoyed your parents at the time, though they laugh about it now.

Then there was the time where she had convinced you that the rollercoaster you were getting on wasn’t that wild or scary. A terrible decision that left her holding back your hair as you threw up in a bin around the back of the ride.

Natasha knew you better than anyone, and she worked hard to get you out of your comfort zone, to be a little more daring. You smiled at the memories, because even if it did not always pan out, your life would have been a lot more boring without her. You would most likely have never taken a single chance in life. You would have never been brave enough to kiss Bucky during a school dance, which was what prompted him to ask you out on a date. How different your life would’ve been without your demanding, daring, caring, and confident best friend.

With that being said, when Saturday rolled around, you were extremely nervous. After spending the better part of the week trying to get some information from Natasha, you were none the wiser. She was good at keeping secrets. A great quality in a friendship, except when she was keeping something from you, of course.

Natasha had come over the night before, eager to make it a sleepover, since the men had decided on having a boys-night out. Your alarm would ring at seven in the morning and she knew better than to expect Clint to be quiet as he rolled into their bed at five. Which was the usual hour after these nights. So the two of you had dinner, watched a movie and then went to bed rather early at Natasha’s request.

Natasha woke up first and was already fully dressed by the time she shook you awake in a not-so-gentle way. Groaning, you turned away from her and complained loudly when she did not relent. Chuckling, she pulled you up and ushered you into the bathroom. It wasn’t until you were in the shower that you realised that your alarm hadn’t even gone off yet. Annoyed, you leaned into the warm water and vowed to go through your routine at a more leisurely pace than usual. As if that was her punishment and not actually for your own delight. It wasn’t until Natasha knocked on the door, urging you to hurry, that you realised that you had been massaging shampoo into your hair for the better part of five minutes. Rushing through the rest of your routine, you were dressed and at the breakfast table by 7:30.

There you were greeted with an elaborate breakfast provided by Natasha. To make up for the early morning, she had made your favourite breakfast dish— blueberry pancakes. And while you appreciated the gesture, it also made you wonder just what she had in store for you today.

By eight o’clock you were in the car, moving towards the highway out of town. Natasha had told you that your appointment was at ten, so the ride would be long, but you never needed much to have fun together. You adjusted the seat to your preference and stared out of the window as Natasha turned on the radio. At some point you must have dozed off, until a catchy song on the radio woke you up. Natasha smiled as you sat up straighter, and she turned the volume up with a wink in your direction. Not long after that, you were both singing along to the lyrics at the top of your voice.

With twenty minutes to spare, Natasha pulled into the parking lot of a small airport, and your heart began to race. What was she planning to do here? Natasha beamed at you and got out of the car, waiting patiently for you to follow her. Which took you a moment as you breathed deeply in and slowly out, wiping your suddenly sweaty palms on your jeans. Somehow you did not believe that she had brought you here for a simple flight. If you had known just how right you were, you would have locked yourself inside the car right then and there. Instead you just stepped out and let her lead you towards a small building where a tall middle-aged man greeted the two of you with a bright smile and a few kind words.

Before you could truly register what was happening, you had been through some instructions and ended up strapped into a harness and hooked to an instructor as he moved you through the small plane and towards the opened door. Wind whipped at your hair, pulling fly-aways out of your braid. It tugged at the jumpsuit you’d put on earlier, and despite the padding, you were chilled to the bone. Though that might have been from fear and not actual cold. Your stomach churned and you wondered if you were really going to do this.

By now your feet were dangling over the edge, and you were certain that your bladder was about to give out— even though it was surely empty. You were mere seconds from pulling out when the instructor began his countdown, preparing you for the jump. Glancing to the side, Natasha gave you two thumbs up as she smiled brightly, excitedly. She was truly enjoying this. You, however, were not.

The worst part of it was, this had been your idea. Sort of. You had been so stupid to mention this during the brainstorm session with Natasha and Wanda, though you had been joking. Apparently, the joke was on you now. Which was exactly how you felt, a joke. Worse, the punchline to a bad joke. You were such an idiot. You could have bowed out on the ground, but you hadn’t. A part of you had thought it would be fun. Scary, but fun. So you had stepped onto the plane. How you regretted that now.

“One!” Called the instructor tied to your back, and he pushed off. Both of you dropped from the plane and plummeted to the ground.

The wind pulled at your skin, taking your breath away, as well as any ability to scream. It took some effort to close your mouth as you watched the ground come closer and closer, realising just how high you had been. You were still scared, so incredibly scared, and yet, for a single moment, as you fell, it was also exhilarating. There was a weightlessness to it, a freedom fuelled by adrenaline. Suddenly all your worries were gone, pushed from your mind; nothing else seemed to matter— nothing but this weightless freedom. Nothing but the parachute and the desperate hope that it would work, that your instructor would manage to land you both safely on the ground. Which should be an easy feat for the experienced man behind you.

In the plane you had gotten a full explanation on how the landing would go and as the ground neared, the instructor yelled out a few reminders. You nodded, unable to speak with those winds still whipping at your face. He gave you his signal and while he pulled the toggles to slow the speed of your descent, you pulled your legs up against your chest. It felt very counterintuitive to curl up as the ground came closer, but you told yourself that this was necessary for a safe landing. Otherwise you’d risk getting your feet tangled with those of the man behind you, and that would definitely cause problems. The landing was over in seconds, and you found yourself seated on the dry grass with a huge smile on your face.  

Natasha landed mere moments after you, and as soon as she was free of the bindings that had tied her to her own instructor and their parachute, you wrapped her in your arms while laughing loudly. Exhilaration overpowered every other emotion now, and the adrenaline was still coursing through you. You jumped around together in a small circle, happy that you had dared to take this plunge.

“Can we go again?” Natasha asked the men as they began folding the parachute, a pick-up visible in the distance— their ride back to the airport.

“Quite the kicker, isn’t it,” one of them replied with a chuckle, and you could only agree with him, wholeheartedly.

Though you still vowed to never do it again. This was one of those things that you only wanted to experience once. You were glad that you had done it, but that was it. There was no need to repeat it. Natasha on the other hand seemed fully prepared to do it several times over. She always had been the more daring of you two. The most daring of the entire group really. Balls of steel, that woman.

***

When you’d gotten yourself out of the jumper you’d been made to wear, Natasha took you to lunch at a quaint little diner about fifteen minutes away from the airport. There, you both spoke excitedly about the whole experience and the first item of your bucket list that you could check off.

You were just swallowing your last bite when your phone began to buzz. Slightly surprised that the world was still out there, you picked it from your pocket and glanced at the screen. An unknown number. Confused, you answered, and you nearly dropped your fork upon hearing who it was and why.

An apologetic Steve was begging for both your discretion and your time. Not a regular request, but he sounded rather urgent, and you were willing to help him in any way you could. So you asked for an explanation, while Natasha quickly went to the register to pay for your food. Steve was quick to explain that the four of them had gotten into some trouble and were currently being detained at the police station a mere ten minutes from your place. You groaned, not even bothering to ask what had brought them there. Instead you told him you were quite some ways away from home, but that you were on it. Arrangements would be made to get them out as quickly as possible.

Natasha came back from the counter and quickly collected her things, a smile tugging at her lips as she sighed.

“They got in trouble, didn’t they?” She said with a scoff, and you could only shrug. This wasn’t the first time and it wouldn’t be the last, you imagined. Especially not now that they were complete again. Those men were trouble personified when they got together.

“I just wonder why they called me,” you wondered out loud as you made your way to the car.

“Steve called?” You nodded and she chuckled.

“Well he wouldn’t call Sharon—he’s still easing her into our group of degenerates. Sam would’ve been adamant not to call Maria, because she’d chew his head off. And I’d just laugh at them. It was either you or Wanda. And Wanda’s working today.”

“I feel so special now,” you laughed and searched your purse for your phone, only to realise it was already in your lap. Natasha started the car and checked the mirrors before exiting the parking spot. You had offered to drive but Natasha had just smirked, saying that they had called you, so it was now your job to inform Maria. You’d groaned loudly, not looking forward to that conversation at all. Even though it was a call she was probably already expecting. After all, she would have noticed that her man hadn’t come home that night. And she would have put two and two together.

These boys’ nights were infamous amongst your group—and to anyone that knew you long enough. There was no way to predict what they would get up to, but it was often trouble. Naturally, the so-called innocent Steve was often the instigator. He was reckless, strong-willed and he never backed down. That stubbornness had gotten him into trouble so many times as a kid, but it had never changed. Bucky had taken to jumping in, trying to salvage whatever he could, which rarely worked. Clint, on the other hand, knew just how to egg everyone on—he liked a little chaos every now and again. After Sam had joined your little group, there’d been a short moment in time where you hoped he would have been more sensible. He wasn’t. He was just as bad as the rest of them and he loved every second of it.

It often resulted in four severely hungover men with crazy stories, like the time they were attacked by a swan because they had thought the animal needed help building her nest. The bruises had been real. As had your laughter. You had tried to explain that good intentions didn’t mean much if the execution was bad, but it had done nothing to enlighten them—though they had checked the next morning to see if the animal was alright.

You had loved teasing them those mornings, speaking a little too loudly or laughing a little too much as they battled the effects of the alcohol. You never quite enjoyed mornings as much as you did during those moments. It was like they all turned into idiots that couldn’t recognise their limits at all when they got together like that.

You remembered the first time something had occurred; it had been near the end of high school and had ended with Bucky serenading you underneath your bedroom window. Steve and Clint had been hiding in the bushes, but by the time they’d woken the whole neighbourhood up, those two had skedaddled—hanging Bucky out to dry. Your father had been so angry, but you hadn't been able to stop laughing. It had taken some time after that for Bucky to win your father over again.  

And you would never forget the Halloween that they teepeed the house of some bully—which they had gotten away with, since they’d managed to hide in Natasha’s shed afterwards. Her parents had known, though they played dumb. Everyone knew of the reputation of the bully, and that his parents would just sweep it all under the rug if anyone ever caught him.

Their—perhaps misguided—crusade for justice had only increased once Sam joined their nights. They had spent many a night creating places to sleep for the homeless, not caring that they were vandalising government property. You imagined just how glad the local politicians must have been when the men joined the army. Of course nobody could have predicted that they would only come home with one more trouble maker amongst them. And now on their first night out with the four of them in years, things had obviously gotten out of hand.

And now it was up to you to inform Maria of this. Not because you were telling on Sam— you were certain that Maria already knew what happened, but she knew the law better than any one of you. She was a paralegal and would be able to get them out of trouble most of the time. Which was also why she would be angry with Sam. She’d tell him that he should’ve known better. Which he did, until those other boneheads joined in.

***

By the time you reached the precinct nearly two hours had passed, and you were well-informed of the stupid antics that they’d gotten up to the night before. Though you couldn’t even be really mad at them.

In a drunken stupor, they had gotten into a fight with another group. Bullies, according to Maria. Which would normally not get them arrested, except they were trained combatants and therefore outmatched the other group easily. They were held to a higher standard. They had also been rowdy, the police informed you. To calm matters down, they’d arrested the lot of them. Nobody had been severely injured—just some minor abrasions, bruised eyes, and bruised egos—leaving the boys with a mere misdemeanour charge. Your hope was that Maria could get those dropped if she explained the situation.

Which she then proceeded to do, though only because the officer in charge had gotten the full scoop on the story and he had never intended to give them much trouble. Naturally, not one of you had any intention of letting these men know. They better show some gratitude to their saving angel, Maria.

“Hello there, boys!” You exclaimed as you walked up to the bars that caged them in. It was late in the afternoon, but with their sleepless night, you were certain that their hangover would be particularly bad this time. It was all the incentive you needed to be as chipper as you could possibly be.

“Shush,” Clint said. “No need to scream.”

You smirked as you looked at him, tilting your head to the side and winking. He groaned and slumped on the hard bench he was sitting on. Sam and Bucky had already covered their ears as soon as you opened your mouth, keeping a careful eye on you—scared that you’d start speaking again as soon as they uncovered them. This was not unthinkable.

Only Steve seemed genuinely happy to see you, unfazed by your loud voice. He always did recover easiest from a night of drinking. Which was unfair, since he was usually the one to persuade others to match him beer for beer. Only Maria ever managed.

“Drunk and disorderly, huh?” You asked, perhaps still a little too loud, and Clint muttered some angry words under his breath. You chuckled, before turning back to Steve.

“We really weren’t that bad, I promise,” Steve offered and you laughed, one of those full-out belly laughs, loud and boisterous, because you knew them. Even if you had not been aware of exactly what they had done, you would never expect them to be angels. They were more like warriors. For justice, as they liked to claim. They simply lacked the finesse that would keep them from being arrested. You cocked an eyebrow and shot him a pointed look, which was enough to make Steve groan. He knew the jig was up; they were busted.

“Did you bail us out?” Sam asked after a short moment, hopeful eyes looking your way.

“Oh hell no, I don’t have that kind of cash,” you chuckled, not bothering to inform them that no bail had been set. They had not been arraigned. His hangover must have been worse than you thought.

“Did you just come to gloat?” Clint groaned as he stood up and walked towards you. You smirked again and winked.

“Gloating is part of it, yes, but I also arranged for Maria to come, and she’s currently trying to get the charges dropped,” you finally told them, taking mercy on them.

“You called Maria?” Sam seemed genuinely worried, and you laughed. He made it seem like she would smack him around for this. She’d be angry, naturally, chew him out, but he’d apologise and things would work out just fine in a day or two. Clint sat down beside him and patted him on the back.

“Yep,” you said, popping the P, “Sorry, buddy, but you knew you couldn’t hide this from her.”

Sam just nodded. You were right. Of course. Besides, you would have never been able to get much done for them, whereas Maria was a force to be reckoned with in situations like this.

“Wait, you don’t gloat. That’s not your style,” Clint said, sitting up. “How did the surprise go over?” A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes, and you knew there was no hiding your own misfortune.

“Well, let’s just put it like this; I’m glad I did it, but if I ever get any ideas again—just shoot me.”

Clint barked out a laugh, earning him a punch from both Sam and Bucky, before Sam realised that he had no idea why the man laughed. Sam wasn’t the kind of person that was often left out of a joke—he needed to know the gist of it.

“Wait what did you do?” He stood from the bench and joined Steve by the bars, cocking his head to the side as he took you in. It surprised you just how quickly he had forgotten about his hangover.

“Nat took her for a parachute jump,” Clint said, and laughter erupted from the others, to which you just shook your head because you couldn’t even blame them. They all remembered the puking after the rollercoaster from hell. Ever since, you had not been in search of adrenaline quite as much.

“And this was your idea?” Bucky asked incredulously, finally opening his mouth.

“Unfortunately.” You shrugged and cocked your head to one side again, making no effort to suppress the smile that broke out on your face. Bucky just shook his head with another chuckle.

***

Chapter twenty

[satyr-syd]

Number Three Hero Miruko’s three U.A. interns stand at attention in the middle of her office. Miruko’s office is unlike any other hero office Tsuyu’s seen, in that it’s less of an office and more of a garden, with grassy floors, a high-vaulted ceiling painted robin’s egg blue, an obstacle course, and a dozen raised carrot beds. Tsuyu finds it a pleasant space, although she thinks it would be even better with the addition of a pond. Bodies of water are calming, and right now Tsuyu would appreciate anything that would slow her racing heart.

Miruko paces in front of them, large feet padding through the grass. She stops and points to Tsuyu’s left, at Kodai Yui from class 2-B. Kodai’s shoulders tense.

“Rule!” Miruko shouts. “You have been doing an excellent job.”

Kodai lets out a sigh of relief.

“But!”

Her shoulders tense up again.

“You keep coming into work tired,” Miruko continues, ears swiveled out. “You’re overextending your quirk use. Be smarter about saving your energy for when you need it most.”

Kodai bows. “Yes sensei!”

Miruko continues pacing.

“Bakugou!” She points to Tsuyu’s left, at Bakugou Katsuki, who looks unphased.

“You’re strong on the battlefield. But off the battlefield - ” she grabs his shoulders and looks him in the eye, “ - you’re weak.” Bakugou’s lip twitches. “Be more compassionate.”

Miruko releases her grip on him and continues pacing. Tsuyu doesn’t know why. It’s obvious she’s next. “Froppy!”

Miruko takes a step towards her and bends down, so their eyes meet. “You need to learn to be more flexible.”

Tsuyu puts a finger to her chin and waits for her to elaborate, but she doesn't.

“That’s all!” Miruko says. “Week one’s performance review is over.” She breaks out into a big smile. It’s truly a wonderful smile, Tsuyu thinks. A hero’s smile - the kind of smile that you can't help but smile at in response. “I didn’t have much to say because you guys have done so well.”

The three of them bow deeply and say, “Thank you Miruko-sensei!”

Miruko pats them each and on the head and laughs. “Alrighty then, head on home, kids.”

The three of them head down a few floors to the locker rooms to change out of their hero outfits and grab their belongings. Kodai loops the straps of her nice leather satchel over her shoulders, while Bakugou stuffs his hero costume into his. While she waits for him, Tsuyu pulls out her phone. She has two texts - from Miruko.

 Miruko-sensei ／(=⌒×⌒=)＼: Come back up. There’s something I want to talk to you about.

 Miruko-sensei ／(=⌒×⌒=)＼: Don’t tell the others.

Strange.

“Bakugou, Kodai,” she says, slipping her phone into her pocket. “I have a few questions for Miruko-sensei. You can head back without me.”

“Tch.” Bakugou slams his locker closed. “I wasn’t gonna wait for you.”

Kodai grins. “Thanks for letting us know. We’ll see you back at the dorms!”

Odd,  Tsuyu thinks.  Is she really going right back to school this time? In the last week since the start of their work study internship, Kodai hasn’t once accompanied them back to U.A. at the end of the day. Tsuyu is sure to invite her every time, but Kodai always has an excuse, whether it’s to go shopping, or visit her aunt, or babysit her cousin, or catch a movie with friends from middle school. Tsuyu is convinced she's making it up. She wonders what secret Kodai’s really hiding. Maybe it’s a secret lover, from a rival school? Kodai seems like the type to keep her love life to herself. How romantic!

Tsuyu hops back up to Miruko’s office, where the hero is sitting on the edge of one of the planters, munching on a carrot, deep in thought. Tsuyu sits down beside her.

Crunch.  Miruko shoves the rest off the carrot into her mouth, stem and all.

“Froppy. I need you to do me a favor.”

“What kind of favor?”

“It’s about Rule,” she says. “She’s hiding something from me. I want to know what.”

Tsuyu raises her brows. “You want me to spy on her?”

“We both know she’s not going where she says she’s going after work.” Tsuyu’s surprised: she didn’t realize Miruko was paying so much attention. That’s the Number Three Hero, though. Always ahead of the game. “I’m worried about her. I don’t want any of my interns getting into trouble.”

Tsuyu definitely has qualms with spying on a classmate, a coworker. A friend, maybe? Tsuyu doesn't think they're friends quite yet. If she spies on her, though, they might never become friends.

But Miruko’s asking her to do this. And Tsuyu would be lying if she said she doesn’t want to know what Kodai is up to.

“Hey.” Miruko stands up and faces Tsuyu. “I know it might be uncomfortable. And it would be extra work. But I trust you with this.”

Tsuyu taps her fingers together. She wonders if this is a test, if Miruko’s asking her to prove herself.  Be flexible.  Does this have something to do with Miruko’s feedback from earlier? “Alright.”

“You can start by following her after patrol, tomorrow,” Miruko says. She smiles and ruffles Tsuyu’s hair. “Thank you, Tsuyu.”

Tsuyu matches her grin. “Of course.”

Tsuyu spends the train ride home regretting not asking Miruko what she meant by “be flexible.” Tsuyu likes Miruko a lot. She was excited when Miruko scouted her out; not only is Miruko the Number Three hero, but Tsuyu has never had a mentor with an animal-mutant type quirk like hers before. Learning from her has been incredible; she’s building up strength, especially in her legs, that she never knew she had before.

But sometimes her mentor is hard to read. Like Bakugou, she speaks better with her actions than her words.

Tsuyu doesn’t think she means physically flexible. As a frog, she’s pretty limber, isn’t she? So it must be metaphorical - but Tsuyu isn’t good with metaphors. Flexible about what? Her battle strategies? Her teamwork, or communication skills? The direction of her patrol routes?

Whatever it is, Tsuyu hopes she can figure it out by the end of their internship and make Miruko proud.

Next evening’s patrol starts out a quiet one. No major villain attacks, or minor villain attacks, no purse snatchers or jaywalkers. Not even an old lady to help across the street.

And it would have been quiet - if Bakugou would stop complaining.

“....doesn’t think I’m compassionate...what the fuck, I’m compassionate as hell!”

Tsuyu knows Bakugou can be crude and sometimes a little airheaded when it comes to matters of social civility, but this level of obliviousness is a lot, even coming from him. “No you’re not,” she says.

Bakugou raises his fist and glares at her. “Say that again and I’ll kill you.”

A gentle laugh comes from behind them. “Case and point,” Kodai says.

Bakugou whips around to direct his fury at her. “Hah?”

Kodai jogs ahead of them, nuts and bolts clinking around in her shoulder pouch, and hits the button for the walkway. The sun is just beginning its descent, casting long shadows of tall buildings across the roads. Everyone’s just gotten home from work, so aside from a few stragglers, the streets are mostly empty.

On the other side of the street is a little girl walking with an older couple, probably her grandparents, crying. Her grandparents are trying to cheer her up, but big Ghibli tears continue to flow from the girl’s buglike, compound eyes. Kodai plucks a small dandelion growing through a crack in the concrete and uses her quirk, Size, to grow it to the size of a baseball.

The walk sign turns green. “Instead of listening to what Tsuyu had to say, you dismissed her and threatened to kill her,” Kodai says. As they pass by the family, she hands the giant dandelion to the little girl, who gasps in delight.

Once they’ve reached the other side of the street, she mutters, “Usually that would be called a ‘criminal threat.’”

From across the street, they hear the little girl shout, “Thank you hero Onee-san!”

Kodai looks over her shoulder and calls, “Stay safe out there!”

A block goes by. Tsuyu is just setting into the nice silence when Bakugou asks, “What the fuck was that?”

“That was called being compassionate,” Tsuyu says. “Making an effort to care for others who are in need.”

“Compassion isn’t confined to the battlefield,” Kodai says. “In fact,” her voice drops an octave, “when the battle is over...that’s when it’s needed the most.”

For the rest of the patrol, Bakugou doesn’t say a word. It's a nice change of pace.

Patrol ends without anything else interesting happening. After giving Kodai the obligatory offer to head back to campus together - to which she says she actually promised to help her cousin with her algebra homework, and runs on ahead of them - Tsuyu begins to head out with Bakugou.

Tsuyu stops right at the doors to the hero agency and tells Bakugou she forgot she had some shopping to do, so he can go on without her.

“ ’s the second day in a row you’re ditching me.”

Tsuyu tilts her head. She’s not sure what he means by that. Is he mad? “Oh, I’m sorry - ”

“I don’t fucking care!” Bakugou interjects. He throws his backpack over his shoulder and treks on ahead. “See you to-fucking-morrow.”

“Bye.”

She watches Bakugou round the corner before hurrying back inside and changing into her hero costume. She rummages through her bag to pull out the tracker she had Momo make for her yesterday. The other part of it, creating the homing signal, should be at the bottom of Kodai’s bag, where Tsuyu had hidden it before their patrol.

Sure enough, the dot indicating Kodai’s position is on the move, crossing from the downtown area to the poor district of the city. Tsuyu tucks the device into a pocket of her utility belt and hops out the window.

She jumps gracefully from building to building, putting as much power into her legs as possible, like Miruko has taught her. Kodai winds through numerous side streets and alleyways, all the way to the heart of the slums. She seriously doubts that this is where Kodai’s cousin lives - if Tsuyu had to guess from her neatly ironed uniform and expensive bookbag, Kodai’s family is somewhat wealthy. Maybe their families don’t get along well? Then why would Kodai be helping her cousin in the first place?

By the time Tsuyu catches up to Kodai, the sky is a deep, dark blue. To the west, the horizon etched in white from the last light of the day. It provides just enough light to see where Kodai's finally stopped. The neighborhood isn’t so much a neighborhood as it is a dozen crimped metal sheets smushed together to form a few buildings. Telephone wires stretch like spiders above squat buildings mottled with water stains, rusted awnings, and blue tarpaulins. Old bikes litter the dry, cracked asphalt. White shirts with yellow armpit stains and plaid dresses with holes in them hang from balconies barely large enough to stand on.

Kodai stands in the shadow of the buildings, on the only patch of green grass visible from this high up.

She’s not going into any buildings. There’s no algebra in sight. Most tellingly, Kodai is wearing her hero costume. The tip of the metal crest on her helmet glints in the fading light.

It seems that Miruko was right - she’s up to something.

Half a dozen dogs start barking. A few run up to Kodai and start licking her. Slowly, people stream out of their apartments and tents and crowd around Kodai.

“Rule is here!”

“Rule!”

“She’s back!”

Kodai smiles at all the people that come to see her. Just like Miruko, her smile is infectious. The people around her smile, too. The streetlights - at least the ones that still work - turn on, illuminating Kodai in a fluorescent glow.  She looks like a hero, Tsuyu thinks.

Someone hands her a plastic bag. Tsuyu can’t see what it is, but Kodai rips open the bag, digs her hand in and scoops out a handful of something brown. She places it on the ground and touches her fingers together. Immediately, the small handful grows into a giant pile of round, brown rocks. The dogs rush over, tails wagging. A few of the adults hammer at the rocks with big books and odd tools, and flakes of brown start to chip away. The dogs slurp up the bits in a happy, drooling mess.  Oh, it’s dog food.  

Each person begins to hand Kodai something - an older woman hands her a container of pills, a young mother hands her a loaf of bread, a man hands her a near-empty tube of toothpaste, a child hands her a tiny action figure. Kodai makes everything bigger, and the people come away smiling.

Someone tries to hand her coins. Kodai laughs and turns them away. Tsuyu wonders if they were offering her payment or if they wanted her to make the money bigger, which doesn’t sound very helpful. Big coins didn’t mean they were worth more. In fact, they might not be worth anything then, considering -

  Pfftt pop pop

Tsuyu twists around, hands up, ready to defend herself. The popping sound came from behind her. She doesn’t see anyone on the roof with her: only a few vents - one on the left, the other on the right - and a door rising up from the middle. A few dirty buckets and cardboard boxes are strewn along the edges of the building, but it’s hard to make out anything in the darkness.

A slight scraping sound comes from behind the left vent.

That’s when the smell hits her skin. Smoke. Smoke from an explosion. A type of explosion Tsuyu is very familiar with.

“...Bakugou?”

Another bang, followed by a bucket rolling out from behind the vent.

Tsuyu walks over to the vent. There is Bakugou, crouched behind it, in his full hero costume, scowl on his lips.

Tsuyu cocks her head and puts a finger to her chin. “Why are you here?”

“You’re not supposed to know I’m here,” he says.

“That’s what I surmised. From your attempt at sneaking.”

Bakugou jumps up. “Attempt?!”

“I found you quite easily. You’re not very stealthy.”

Bakugou growls.

“So why are you here?”

Bakugou glares at her for a moment. She finds it a little funny that Bakugou still tries to scare her with his glares; she’s never found them that intimidating. She just blinks at him and waits.

“That rabbit asked me to follow you,” he relents. “She said you were looking after Kodai.”

Tsuyu can’t help but deflate a little. Even with her mixed feelings about Miruko’s request, she had taken pride in the fact that Miruko had asked  her, no one else. Evidently that was not the case.  I trust you with this. Was that really true? Then why had she sent Bakugou to spy on her? She can’t help but think that Miruko doesn’t trust her after all.

Bakugou walks over to the edge of the roof and peers down at the scene below. “So what’s up with Nuts and Bolts?”

Tsuyu shakes her head. She still has a job to do; she can worry about personal matters later. She joins Bakugou, watching Kodai enlarge a blanket for a family with six kids. “I think she’s using her quirk illegally.”

“Huh.”

They watch her for a few minutes. A half dozen rice cakes, a jar of soap, a clothing line. She shrinks parts of an adult’s bike strategically and hands it off to one of the children. After than one, she sits down and rubs her head. She must be exhausted by now, still using her quirk after a full day of training and patrol.

The unregulated use of quirks is illegal. The unregulated use of quirks in interference with trade and economics is  highly illegal - she knows that from what Momo’s told her. But that’s exactly what Kodai is doing: using her quirk to giantize disadvantaged peoples’ belongings, so they would last longer, and wouldn’t have to buy new things so quickly.

“ ’s charity work,” Bakugou summarizes.

Tsuyu nods. “Illegal charity work.”

Tsuyu and Bakugou walk back to the hero agency in relative silence. They’re both deep in thought. Tsuyu’s at a loss for what to do. On one hand, what Kodai is doing is clearly illegal. If the police found out what she was doing, they would arrest her. And anyone who sees illegal activity is obligated to report it. Not reporting it is the same as hiding it, which is the same as being an accomplice…

But on the other hand, Kodai is doing a good thing. She’s helping the poor, in a way heroes rarely help them. Using her quirk in a way Tsuyu, or Bakugou, or most heroes could never hope to. She can’t help but recall what Kodai said earlier that day: Compassion isn’t confined to the battlefield. In fact, when the battle is over...that’s when it’s needed the most.

Tsuyu’s also thinking about what Bakugou’s thinking. Will he turn her in? Tell Miruko the truth about what Kodai's doing? Bakugou’s a total rule follower - but only when it suits him. Is this one of those times? Or will Bakugou stay true to the laws of this world?

They stop outside the agency doors and look up at the tall, pristine windows leading to the top floor, where the lights are still on. Miruko must be waiting for them. “What do we tell her?”

Bakugou thinks for a moment. “Nothing,” he says. “For now. We should...we need to collect more information.”

Tsuyu lets out the breath she was holding. “Right.” Bakugou’s decision takes some weight off her shoulders. The'll wait - that gives them more time to think and figure out what the heroic thing to do is.

 Miruko’s bunnies ⌒( •ㅅ• )⌒:

Kodai-chan: could we meet before we head to miruko’s?

Me: sure :(¦)

Bakugou-chan: What the fuck for?

Kodai-chan: i’ll tell you when we meet

Nine o’clock is when they need to be at Miruko’s agency to start suiting up. It’s eight right now. The morning air is still crisp with last night’s dew. Tsuyu rolls up her sleeves; she loves the sensation of misty air on her skin. It makes her feel at home.

Kodai stands with her head high, stance firm, but she won’t look directly at them. Tsuyu can sense she’s nervous.

“Spit it out, Bolts,” Bakugou says. “We’ll miss the train if you take too long to open your fucking mouth.”

She takes a deep breath, then lets it out.

“I know you guys saw me yesterday.”

Tsuyu’s eyebrows raise. “You saw us?”  She grimaces; apparently Bakugou isn’t the only one who needs to work on their stealthiness.

“It’s hard to miss a frog and a guy with that ridiculous mask stomping around a rooftop.”

“It’s not ridiculous,” Bakugou retorts. “It’s cool as hell.”

“It also makes you easy to spot.”

“Tch.”

Kodai reaches into her bag. “Plus, I found this.” She holds up the circular tracking device.

Tsuyu melts. “Oh…” Just seeing it makes her feel ten times more guilty. Tailing her was bad enough, but the invasive equipment...that feels extra dirty.

Kodai tosses it to the ground and crushes it with her foot. “I’ll get straight to the point. Why were you guys following me?”

Tsuyu glances at Bakugou. He looks back at her. They both seem to have the same question in mind: should they tell her the truth? That Miruko was the one who them to spy on her?

“Who’s not opening their mouth now?” Kodai says. “Spit it out.”

“We wanted to know where you were going all the time,” Tsuyu says. Technically, it’s not a lie. “Your excuses weren’t very convincing.”

Kodai’s face flushes pink. “Oh.”

“You really think we were gonna buy you ditching us every fucking day?” Bakugou adds. “Hell no. We knew you were up to something fishy. Just wanted to know what it was.”

“Okay.��� Kodai tucks her hair behind her ears, flushed red from the morning chill. “So now that you know, will you drop it?”

Tsuyu looks to her feet. Bakugou throws his head to the side and looks at the sky. Kodai must know they can’t just drop it. They’re heroes in training; they have more of a duty than anyone to uphold the laws.

“Look.” Kodai grabs them both by the tie and pulls them in close, until they’re all nearly nose to nose. “I know you think it’s wrong. But those people...if they can eat, if they can get their medicine, then they don’t have to steal. And if they don’t have to steal, then they don’t have to become villains.”

Kodai releases their ties and pushes them back. She hoists her bag over her shoulder and heads for the front gates.

“That’s less work for us, right?” she calls.

Bakugou’s face is as red as Kirishima’s hair and his snarl matches that of a wild dog. Tsuyu thinks his head might explode instead of his hands. He wrenches his tie back into place and mutters to himself. “Goddamn bitch how dare she fucking touch me…gonna explode her fucking face off if she tries that shit again...”

“Let’s get going!” Kodai shouts. “We don’t want to miss our train, right?”

Tsuyu would argue that technically, she never told Kodai they would drop it. So it’s not dishonest to follow her again.

Guilt churns in her gut anyways.

This time, since they don’t have a tracker, she and Bakugou tail her from the moment she leaves the agency that evening. Discretion, they agree, is key. Instead of their costumes, they don their school uniforms. (And a few parts of their costumes: Tsuyu takes her goggles and utility belt. Bakugou takes his string of mini grenades. They have different priorities.) They have a general idea of where she’s heading, so even though they’re not positive she’s going to the exact same neighborhood as last time, they can afford to hang back a bit.

Without his costume, Bakugou is leagues less noticeable and intimidating. Even without them, his general angry demeanor alone would usually make him stand out, but right now he doesn’t look that angry. His brows aren’t furrowed, and his jaw isn’t clenched tight. He’s exchanged his laser-like glare for a thousand yard stare. If Tsuyu had to name it, she’d call this look..contemplative.

“Are you thinking about what Kodai told us this morning?” she asks.

Bakugou grunts in acknowledgement, but doesn’t actually deign to answer.

They’re getting closer to the slums, so they switch from main streets to side streets. Kodai is several blocks ahead, still heading in the same direction as yesterday.

Instead of pressing Bakugou on the issue of Kodai, she asks another question that’s been on her mind since internships started.

“Why did you choose Miruko for work study?”

“Simple,” Bakugou says. “Endeavor ain’t taking interns this session. The rabbit was the next highest ranked hero to give me an offer.”

“Oh,” Tsuyu says. That answer is very straightforward - very Bakugou. “Why do you think Miruko asked for you?”

Bakugou shrugs. “I’m the best.”

Another very Bakugou-like answer. “I think it’s because you are both very alike.”

Bakugou raises a brow.

“You’re both physically strong, that’s true. But you also both have strong personalities. A loud conviction that you’ll win shines through you. You’re very charismatic, Bakugou, when you try to be. Miruko knows how to use her attitude in a heroic way - and I think she wants to teach that to you.”

Bakugou doesn’t have an answer for that. He just gazes ahead. Contemplating.

This time, they pick a different rooftop. Ideally, they would get closer, to hear what kind of conversations Kodai’s having with these citizens. Tsuyu wishes Jirou or Tooru were here, but they have their own internships to worry about. Plus she wouldn’t want to drag them into this mess. Spying on a classmate isn’t fun.

Kodai carries out the same ritual as last time. She stands in the one green patch, the dogs start barking, and people file out of their homes. Tonight, there’s even more people; they come pouring in from other neighborhoods. They seem to have established a rule among themselves: everyone gets to bring Kodai one item a night to giantize or shrink.

“What’s that?” Bakugou points to someone in line, carrying something big and white. Tsuyu turns her goggles on them, thankful that Hatsume upgraded them to have nightvision.

“It’s a cake.”

“A cake?”

“Yes.”

“Huh.”

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the man with the cake presents it to Kodai. He gestures to an older man standing off to the side. The older man is pushed by the crowd up to where Kodai and the cake man are. Kodai shakes his hand and takes the cake. She places it on the ground a few feet away from them, then gestures for people to move out of the way. She taps her fingers together. The cake grows and grows until it’s almost as tall as her and several meters wide. The pastry is truly giant, taking up nearly half of the courtyard. From up here, it looks like a blinding patch of snow in the middle of a nighttime desert.

The whole neighbor cheers and begins to sing happy birthday.

This is a kind of joy Tsuyu doesn’t often see as a hero. So far she’s been content just knowing that she’s helped save lives - and if that’s all she ever did, she would still be content - but seeing this, she remembers why she wants to save lives. She wants to be as important to a community as Kodai is to this one. She wants to bring people joy.

There’s no such thing as bad joy, is there? Joy that doesn’t harm anyone?

What’s the point of quirks if they can’t be used to help people?

“Oi, froggy.”

“I told you you can call me Tsuyu.”

“Just look.”

Two figures are rounding the corner one street over. They’re dressed in flashy colors and have a sort of swagger to the way they walk. It appears to be a hero patrol. And they’re pointing at Kodai’s neighborhood.

“I think they see the cake,” Tsuyu says. She looks to Bakugou. “That’s not good.”

Bakugou looks at the patrol, and then at Kodai, then back at the patrol.

He strips off his U.A. blazer and shirt and throws it on the ground, clad in just his tank top. Then he grabs Tsuyu’s goggles off of her head. “I’m borrowing this. Get them to clear out. I’ll buy you time.”

“Bakugou - wait - ”

“Are you gonna do it or not?” Bakugou asks, pulling the goggles over his head.

Is hiding Kodai’s misdeeds a heroic action? Evidently Bakugou thinks so.

And honestly? So does Tsuyu.

She nods. “Of course I am.”

Bakugou grins wide. He grins at her in a way that says,  I’ll get us through this. Just watch me . And Tsuyu smiles back - because Bakugou’s smile is a little infectious, too. Maybe he really is learning from Miruko.

And with that, he hurdles himself off the edge of the roof.

Tsuyu runs after him. She watches him land gracefully on the ground, cushioned by a few small explosions.

“Hey idiots!” he yells at the hero patrol. Immediately he has their attention. “Stain’s memory lives on! You guys are all fakes!”

The moment the heroes begin heading toward him, Tsuyu leaps to the other side of the rooftop and begins scaling down the side. She pushes her way through the crowd surrounding Kodai until she locks eyes with her classmate.

The people’s hero looks at her in shock. “Froppy - what’re you doing here?”

“You all need to clear out!” she yells as quietly as she can, turning in a circle to address as many people as she can. “There’s a hero patrol right around the corner. If they find you all here - ” she points at Kodai, “ - they’ll take her away.”

Kodai’s eyes widen in understanding. “Listen to Froppy!” she calls. “Everyone, go back to your homes! Take all your belongings!”

Immediately, the crowd disperses. It’s clear these people trust Kodai, and want her to stay safe. Watching them hurry to follow Kodai’s orders makes Tsuyu’s heart ache, but in a good way.

“We need to get rid of this cake,” Tsuyu says.

Kodai nods. She touches the cake again and touches her fingers together. It shrinks until it’s only the size of a mushroom. Kodai picks it up and hands it to the elderly man who’s birthday it is, who’s still standing there in shock. “Please go inside, sir. I promise when this is over I’ll buy you a new cake.”

He nods and waddles away, guided by one of the other residents. “Thank you, Rule…”

Tsuyu grabs Kodai’s arm. “Let’s get out of here.”

Before Kodai can respond, Tsuyu hears the pounding of footsteps against concrete coming from up ahead. Tsuyu leaps up and onto the side of the nearest apartment building, thrusts her tongue out, wraps it around Kodai’s waist, and flings her up to the top of the roof.

It’s not a moment too soon. The hero patrol duo rushes into the middle of the courtyard. Tsuyu camouflages herself against the building.

They look around. “Where the hell did that brat go?”

“God, we lost him!” the other shouts. “If I ever see that kid again I’m gonna - I’m gonna - give him a harsh talking to!”

“You tell’em, buddy…”

They sniff around a bit - one of them, who has an extremely long nose, really does sniff - and ask a few of the residents if they’ve seen anything unusual, to which they all say they haven’t. Eventually, the patrol moves on.

Tsuyu swears she feels the neighborhood let out a collective breath.

She climbs up the side of the building and onto the roof, where Kodai sits with her legs crossed. She looks up when Tsuyu joins her.

“Sorry about throwing you up here,” Tsuyu says. “Are you hurt at all?”

Kodai shakes her head.

Tsuyu cocks her head and crouches next to Kodai. “Are you all right?”

Kodai smiles at her, but Tsuyu doesn’t think it’s a real smile. “You guys were following me again.”

Her stomach drops. A guilty pulse thrums through her.

“Yeah, we were,” comes a voice from behind her.

Tsuyu looks around - Bakugou, still in just a tank top, carrying his blazer and her goggles. He trudges over to them and drops Tsuyu’s goggles into her lap. “Good think we were, too.”

Kodai looks down at her feet. “Yeah. Thank you.”

She picks herself up and dusts off her knees, which are covered in dirt and dust from the unkempt rooftop. She runs her hands along her shoulder straps and bites her lip. “Are you going to tell?” Kodai says. It's hard to see in the poor lighting, but Tsuyu swears her eyes look misty.

Bakugou scoffs. “What, after all of that?”

She lets out a little laugh. “I don’t know...maybe you just wanted to be the ones to turn me in.”

“Turn you in for what?” Bakugou barks. “I didn’t see you doing anything wrong.”

Tsuyu nods. “You were doing your hero duty and saving people.”

Kodai looks at her, as if asking if that’s really true. Tsuyu lets their eye contact speak for her.

This time when Kodai smiles, it’s genuine. And all of Tsuyu's discomfort evaporates. “I know,” Kodai says. “I know...”

“So. What do you have to tell me?”

Tsuyu stands next to Bakugou in the middle of Miruko’s office, feeling the fear that prey feel when they’re in the middle of an open field. Miruko stands before them, ears raised to attention.

Bakugou speaks first. “She’s going where she says she’s fucking going.”

“Kodai has a thriving social life,” Tsuyu puts in.

Miruko looks at them for a long moment. Tsuyu can’t read her. She counts the seconds that go by as Miruko looks between them, waiting for one to crack.

Then she smiles. “Very good. Thank you both. You’re dismissed.”

For the rest of their time as Miruko’s interns, Kodai continues going to the neighborhood, and surrounding neighborhoods, every day. Tsuyu and Bakugou may or may not accompany her to keep watch for hero patrols and cops. They may or may not gain some fans. Tsuyu may or may not point out one of the little boys wearing two oranges sashes over his shirt to form an X. She may or may not get a glimpse of Bakugou’s furious blush before he hides his face behind his mask.

The rest of her time with Miruko is uneventful. Well, anything is uneventful compared to last year’s shenanigans. She does learn a lot from the Rabbit Hero, though. On her last day, she’s sure to thank her profusely.

“You did good kid,” Miruko tells her, patting her on the head. “Now, I know you wanna ask me something.”

How does she know? Maybe this is the intuition of a hero. Tsuyu fiddles her fingers for a moment before working up the courage to ask, “For that assignment...why did you send Bakugou, too?”

Miruko nods, as if this is what she expected Tsuyu to ask. “Just extra insurance, kiddo,” Miruko says. “Plus, thought you could learn something from each other.”

Tsuyu cocks her head, and connects the dots. “Is Bakugou...flexible?”

“HAH!” Miruko laughs. “That kid’s about as pliable as a steel beam.” Miruko looks over where Bakugou furiously watering carrots. “But even steel beams have their melting points.”

Tsuyu nods. That sounds wise. She isn’t quite sure what Miruko means, but Tsuyu thinks she can draw her own conclusions.

The teachers catch on, eventually. Or the cops, or a hero patrol. The point is someone noticed, and disciplinary action was taken.

Kodai hadn’t told Tsuyu or Bakugou, but Tsuyu learns, after everything comes out, that she continued to sneak off campus to feed the neighborhood even after their internship was over.

This was always going to be the outcome, wasn’t it? Even though Bakugou and Tsuyu kept quiet. It was only a matter of time.

Kodai is confined to campus. If Miruko hadn’t fought on her behalf, she might have been expelled, or even arrested. Her punishment is simply that she isn’t allowed to leave U.A. without adult supervision, and if she’s caught using her quirk for ‘non-heroic deeds’ again, she could face prison time.

Everyone knows that her deeds were  always heroic. The truth is that bad people aren’t the only type of villains in this world. Those people were also battling a villain - just not one heroes could beat in a fight.

The more she thinks about it, the stronger and deeper Tsuyu’s suspicion grows: that Miruko had wanted Tsuyu and Bakugou to follow Kodai so they could keep her out of trouble.  

Tsuyu’s hovering by one of the couches in the common room, not quite paying attention as Ashido and Tooru debate over who the most attractive person in class 2-B is (“It’s obviously Kuroiro,” Ashido says. “What do you mean  obviously ?” Tooru retorts. “Have you seen Kendo’s adorable face?”), thinking about Kodai, and about what it means to use your quirk to help people. Would this world be better if most people were allowed to use their quirks for good? Where could the line be drawn? Would it then be moral to force someone with a beneficial quirk like Momo’s to provide public goods? It gets even more complicated the more quirks you consider, like water generating quirks, or -

“What’re you standing around for?”

Tsuyu’s drawn out of her thoughts by the sharp voice. Bakugou is holding a tray with a bowl full of something steaming. From the scrumptious smell steeping through her skin she guesses it’s oden. “Are you gonna come with me to 2-B’s dorms or what?”

Tsuyu smiles. She’s almost mad she didn’t think to visit Kodai sooner. Although she doubts she could have made her food as delicious as what Bakugou's holding. “That’s a great idea.”

“Good.” She hears him mutter: “...Don’t want to be a fucking creep going to a girl’s room by myself...”

As they walk to class 2-B’s dorm, they pass by their old 1-A dorm. A wave of nostalgia washes over her. So much happened last year to change them as a class and to change each one of them as an individual. Kodai has certainly grown in confidence; she was so shy last year, Tsuyu didn’t even know who she was.  Tsuyu doesn’t think her first year self would even recognize the Bakugou that’s walking alongside her now, bringing warm food to a friend going through a rough patch. And Tsuyu’s changed as well.

She’s become more flexible.

The urge to say something that she’s held with her a long time bubbles up and out of her mouth.

“I’m sorry."

Bakugou stops and looks at her funny. “The hell are you apologizing for?”

“That time, last year,” she says. “I didn’t...I didn’t try to save you.”

Bakugou goes quiet. Ambient night sounds - crickets chirping, wind through the tree - feel louder than ever. “I didn’t need you to save me."

“I know. But...I should have. I wasn’t being flexible in my compassion.”

Bakugou’s eyes widen. He looks to the side, thumbs rubbing against the side of the tray. “Don’t - you don’t have to...whatever. Just - just forget about it.”

“I’m not going to. It’ll remind me, the next time I’m faced with that situation, what a hero should do. ”

What is a hero? Someone who shows compassion to people, no matter what that law says.

Bakugou grunts in what she thinks is agreement. “Yeah. Now let’s deliver Nuts and Bolts some fucking soup.”

“I know you know her name is Kodai.”

“Fuck off.”

_________________________

ao3 | based on this hc | more like this

_________________________

[blackcatsims]

Get To Know Me Tag <3

I was tagged by @tabbyrhsims4simblr and @racingllama in a couple of different get to know me tag type games, so I decided to respond with this hybrid by racing llama <3 which includes all the questions I was asked! Thanks for the tags guys, they made my day!!

Name / Nickname : Alexandria/Alex

Height : It’s technically 170cm but I’m immature as fuck so I’m gonna go on record and say that it’s actally 169 eyyyyyyyy

Zodiac sign : *adore delano voice* I’m a fucking Libra

Hobbies : Singing, gaming, patting my dog, yelling about feminist theory and treading my slow descent into madness

Favourite colours : Burgundy, plum and brown.

Favourite books : Harry Potter by some terrible white lady, The Slightly True Story of Cedar B. Hartley by Martine Murray, A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving, Animorphs by K.A. Applegate (FIGHT ME), The Ancient Future by Traci Harding, the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, anything by Jacqueline Wilson but especially The Dare Game and The Illustrated Mum, Chasing After The Wind by Dale Harcombe and Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta.

Last song listened to : Monday, Monday by the Mamas & the Papas

Inspiration for muse : In the context of this blog, I think my #1 muse would have to be Nola from my Blood Legacy. She’s inspired, as many of you know, by my grandmother - also named Nola.

Dream job : I’d love to be successful enough as a musician to be able to support my family financially, but not successful enough that I became famous. I can hear my therapist’s heart palpitations from here. I’ve actually had a few different dreams in my life so I can keep going! I used to dream of being the owner of a sex shop called “The Love Shack”. I would also love to own a witch shop. Reading tarot cards, drinking tea and being surrounded by candles and incense all day sounds pretty much like heaven to me. I could plug my band in the shop too! It’s all coming together! Haha.

Meaning behind your URL : I’ve answered this one quite a few times before but I never get tired of it! My Mum and I started this blog together back in 20...10??? At the time, my username on the Sims website was BlackWeb6 (that username dates back to when I was an emo kid in high school circa 2005!) and my mum’s username was AliCats. So, naturally, when we decided to start a tumblr blog together for our simming adventures, we named it BlackCatSims!

Cats or dogs? Dog person 100%, but I can appreciate cats. They cute.

YouTube celebrities or normal celebrities? I kind of object to celebrity culture on principle but I must be a hypocrite because there’s heaps of famous musicians I borderline worship like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse and Mama Cass. So I guess my answer is....normal celebrities? Mostly dead ones? With the exception of Hozier. He’s still alive last I checked. HE’S STILL ALIVE RIGHT?!?!?!

If you could live anywhere where would that be? Rarotonga.

Disney or DreamWorks? I guess I technically have to say Dreamworks since I’ve dedicated my heart and soul to She-Ra and the Princesses of Power??? I’ll have to take my anti-corporation rant elsewhere lest my hypocrisy continue to shine through.

Favorite childhood TV show? ALL ABOARD THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS!!!

The movie you’re looking forward to most in 2020? What’s a movie?

Favorite book you read in 2019? Haha. Uhhh.....does reading Enya lyrics inside a CD insert count?

Marvel or DC? Which one do I hate more? Impossible to answer.

If you choose Marvel favorite member of the X-Men? If you choose DC favorite Justice League member? My fav Spice Girl was Feminism Ginger Spice

Night or Day? Day. I’m solar powered.

Favorite Pokémon? PONYTA FOREVER

Top bands: SO MANY AHHH I LOVE THIS QUESTION!!!! LET’S GO!!!!! *takes a deep breath* Crowded House, R.E.M., Stevie Nicks, Hozier, The Beatles, Nick Cave, Nick Drake, The Cranberries, Tracy Chapman, Eric Clapton, Janis Joplin, The Mamas & The Papas, The Seekers, Leonard Cohen (except his weird “put the pussy on a pedestal” shit like calm down suzanne), Simon & Garfunkel, David Bowie, Paul Kelly, Amy Winehouse, Evanescence (just slipping this one in here inconspicuously), Peter Paul & Mary, Ella Fitzgerald, Blondie (angry horny babe), Enya, Rasputina, Gin Wigmore, Snake River Conspiracy, Within Temptation, Nightwish (Tarja <3), Amy LaVere, t.A.T.u. (never forget the bitches who helped you realize your sexuality) and you know what they’re not real but I’m gonna end this list with one of my favourite bands of all time: JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS!!!!

Top movies: ^^^ Jerkin’! Tretorns are the new Adidas!

America or Europe? Well I’ve never been to America but I’ve seen pictures of that orange cheeto shit-stain ra(c/p)ist who has a lot of money and power for some reason so I’d like to stay as far away from that as possible because it makes me so scared to be alive that i have just decided I am definitely not going to talk about this here next question.

Tumblr or Twitter? Tumblr

Pro-choice or Pro-life? Pro-Choice because I’m not a misogynist or a large smelly poo.

Favorite YouTuber: definitely that band arty-rex they’re great

Favorite author? I dunno man. I haven’t read a book in a while. I like all the ones I listed earlier! I just haven’t read them in ... a while ....,,,,,

Tea or coffee? Both!!! Coffee when I really need to get moving and tea for every other occasion on the planet. Stubbed your toe? Cuppa tea! Found a penny on the street? Cuppa tea! Cuppa tea? Cuppa tea!

OTP? *takes long drag of cigarette* I haven’t heard that acronym in years....

22. Do you play an instrument/sing? Yep :) You can check out me and my Dad’s band on instagram or find us on youtube!

I hereby tag anybody who wants to do this, and @teekalu, @sulanisunrise, @kscriba, @kimmmygibbbler, @stretchskeleton, @ratboysims, @helloduckie, @pxelbeans aaaaaaand @onceuponasimblr <3 <3 <3

[deathonyourtongue]

I’m gonna wax poetic for a bit...

I can count on one hand the number of times a piece of media--specifically movies or television--has left me with the feeling that time itself has stopped. Lone Survivor, Hunger, and the end of Melancholia all come to mind immediately. Usually, these moments are culminations of performance, writing, cinematography, and score. Rare is the piece where the feeling comes solely from an actor’s performance. Tonight changed that for me.

I’m still not sure I have the adequate vocabulary to express everything that I’m feeling after watching Treasure of the Sun, especially when it comes to the story as a whole, but as I sniffle away the last of my tears, I’m going to try and tackle it from an aspect that’s a bit more tangible at the moment; performance. 

We were privy to a master class tonight. 

My awe of the man that we have seen morph time and time again has only grown by leaps and bounds after seeing what he shared with us tonight. He left everything out on the field tonight, put every ounce of his skill and knowledge on the table and laid it bare for trained and untrained eye alike to be dazzled and blinded by. 

Time stood still for a few moments after his last line, the credits feeling intrusive and jarring. Breathing needed a reminder to continue as normal and I’m sure if my gaze was measured, it would have reached the end of my building. All thought ran simultaneously a mile-a-minute and not at all. In short, I was left floored. 

My tears first came not at the pivotal moment, but much closer to the beginning of the episode when he unexpectedly brought a portrayal of ‘madness’ that I’m sure none of us were expecting, nor ready for. My heart skipped several beats as I watched the confusion, the anguish, the manic elation all happened in a matter of seconds; an image of a broken man that hit very close to home. The despair I felt for him in the moment when he was reunited with his family was palpable and if I could have, I would have reached through the screen to comfort him. Portraying mental illness of any kind--whether it’s PTSD, depression, or schizophrenia--convincingly and without making it seem like some grandiose mockery is extremely difficult and not once did it feel as though it was a farce in this episode. Unlike most portrayals, I didn’t feel like a bystander to some tropic arc that would have one of two endings. I felt helpless, as though Sweeney’s unraveling was happening to someone I knew and cared about. It gave me that gut-wrenching feeling, a pit in my throat; equal parts horrifying and astounding to watch.  

Sweeney’s descent unfolds in a series of micro-expressions that all build towards a crescendo, both in the episode’s present and in the telling of his past. Blinks, jerks, and grimaces were all seamlessly incorporated to breathe full life into a character and make him true. It will take more than one viewing to truly appreciate what he managed to do with facial expression, but watch closely and you’ll be blown away. It goes beyond acting and speaks to a true understanding of the craft in a way that’s a rare find these days. The ability to make the audience not only feel for a character, but to feel with him is one that was absolutely necessary for this story to be told, and no amount of prose would convey the weight of those feelings in the same way his expressiveness did.

It’s easy, especially in Fantasy, to be pulled out of the reality of the world. With novels, immersion is simple in that you create the world, visually, in your head. With film and television, the world is created for you, whether you like it or not, and if something doesn’t match with what you had in mind? There goes your suspension of disbelief. When he was on screen, there wasn’t a second where I felt immersion was broken. You were with Sweeney 100%, because he was with Sweeney 100%. Under his skin and in his mind, living and breathing through him. It’s a mark of a true great when there’s no sign of discomfort or self-consciousness when playing a role as layered and robust as Sweeney’s. It makes falling into the world that role resides in the smoothest of transitions for the audience and keeps disbelief at bay far, far longer.

This performance will haunt me for quite some time, and like the titles mentioned above, I have no doubt that I’ll think back on it here and there, feel that same slowing of time, and know that it would still invoke the same emotions it did during my first watching. No one else could have played this part, no one could have done it justice. We’re all incredibly lucky to have witnessed something so beautiful and poignant on the screen, and I, for one, am unbelievably proud of Pablo and all that he accomplished in this episode. 

[blessed-but-distressed]

Cross My Heart (1/31)

All Sheriff Emma Swan wanted was a bit of the quiet life. Why else would she take a job in Storybrooke, Maine, where deer outnumber people? But when a local woman turns up murdered, Emma quickly realizes she may be out of her depth. Enter Killian Jones, 17th century buccaneer turned vampire, who might just have the kind of unique perspective on the crime she is looking for. It’s a shaky alliance, but when Emma’s past comes back to bite her, she might just discover how handy having a vampire around can be.

A Captain Swan Supernatural Summer AU, posted every Saturday until it isn’t.

also on ff.net and ao3

Rated M for Mature Readers. Trigger warnings for blood, gore, violence, sexual references, blood sharing, mental manipulation and major character deaths.This here is a murder mystery with vampires in it, and it plays out accordingly. You get what you pay for.

This is my contribution to the Captain Swan Supernatural Summer event. Many thanks to the irrepressible @distant-rose who held my hand while I overthought every single thing, and contributed some wonderful banners (more of which you’ll probably be seeing down the line). A big thank you also to @kmomof4 for putting the @cssns together, and for asking me to take part.

Chapter One

“Boss, we have a body over here.”

That was how Emma knew it was over. Body. A single word, nearly lost between the static of her piece of shit walkie.

She stopped dead where she stood, ankle deep in snow, her breath still ragged from cresting that last hill. Her hand hesitated by the walkie clipped to her belt.

Body.

It was such a clean word. Emotionless. Sexless. Nameless. A good filler word for when the word you’re looking for is too horrifying to communicate via radio.

Something leaden was building up inside Emma’s throat, threatening to escape. She screwed her eyes tight shut, and concentrated on her breathing. She tried to remember what the counselor had said. Breathing in for four seconds. Holding for seven. Breathing out for eight. Or was it seven? Shit. She couldn’t remember.

Her radio crackled again, dragging her back out into the cold. Back to reality.

“You read me, Emma? Over.”

She opened her eyes again, squinting against the glare of that pale winter sun as it peeked through the trees. In the fall these woods were like something out of a fairytale, the foliage turning beautiful rich reds and yellows. It had the out of state tourists out in droves, clogging up the roads and campgrounds, practically tripping over themselves to capture the perfect snapshot.

These woods didn’t so much resemble those idyllic Instagram posts anymore. Those famous leaves were long gone now, decayed and buried under half a foot of snow, and now the trees that had held them stood bare and still. Not so much as a whisper of wind through the branches, or a bird call to startle the silence. No, this wasn’t a place fit for a fairytale. Not anymore.

Body meant Emma was too late.

When Emma had first been contemplating a career in law enforcement, they’d touted the generous benefits, the camaraderie, and the opportunities for advancement. Small-town policing, they said, had the best of both worlds. All of the job satisfaction, but none of the crushing quotas and internal politics that beleaguered big city police forces.

And maybe there was some truth to that. Storybrooke, Maine was best known these days for lobster fishing and its quaint Main Street, lined with antique stores. It wasn’t exactly a hive of scum and villainy. Most people didn’t even remember to lock their doors. Or at least, they hadn’t.

Not until Kathryn.

Five days ago, Kathryn Nolan had left the house she shared with her husband, David, climbed into her Volvo and headed east on Walnut Lane. She had an appointment with a new client at her law practice at 3pm, but she never showed. Likewise, she never made her evening yoga class at the rec center. The next morning, her husband David called in at the Sheriff’s Station to report her missing.

By his own admission, there had been some turbulence on the home front. An extra-marital affair. Not hers. Separation was simply a matter of when, not if. So when she hadn’t returned home, he’d dismissed his initial concerns, and assumed she was staying with friends. Maybe with her sister down in Portland, to give them both some breathing space.

That is, until he noticed her toothbrush still by the sink. Her phone still plugged into the charger by the night stand. Her suitcase still packed away in the closet, under a pile of sweaters. If she’d left town, she’d done it in a hell of a hurry.

The cellphone was the most concerning omission. Like most plugged in, twenty first century women, Kathryn had come to consider her iPhone almost as an extension of herself, and a glance at her social media accounts supported this assertion. She was a prolific Instagrammer, a champion of the gym selfie with an appreciation for a good hashtag. That she would leave her phone behind for an extended period of time seemed wildly out of character.

Even so, Emma had her hopes set on a simple explanation. A second cellphone her husband didn’t know about. An impromptu drive down the coast to cool off from the latest fight, interrupted by some bad weather. Maybe some car trouble. An unplanned night in a motel somewhere off the interstate. Due to return at any time.

Her hopes had been dashed two days ago, when a particularly intrepid hiker discovered a grey Volvo abandoned up on one of the trailheads by the reservoir.

The riverbank was steep as it curved down to the freezing water, and Emma’s boots slid across the ground cover slippery with freshly trampled snow.

An arm reached out to slow her descent, and she slid to a halt, her hands still grasping onto the sleeve of Graham’s jacket for dear life.

He was solid under her hands, a steadying presence. But that was Graham all over, really. Her Deputy was one of the good ones.

“Thanks,” she said with an awkward cough, stepping back to compose herself. It didn’t take long to forget her embarrassment. Not when she looked past him and saw the body lying on the riverbank.

She felt Graham’s attention wander deliberately  towards the trees, giving her a minute to come to grips with what she was seeing and get it together.

All in all, it was not a picture Emma ever wanted to remember, though she knew she would.

It’s amazing how many backflips the human mind will do in order to turn whatever it is seeing into something palatable. It’s not real, her brain whispered. It’s just special effects, it reasoned. Movie magic.

And maybe she could’ve let herself believe that, if it weren’t for the snarl of blonde hair lapping against the rocks, the same shade as her own.

Her stomach roiled, and she clenched her fists to her sides until the initial nausea passed. No one would’ve blamed her. By the looks of things, the body had been in the water for a couple of days already.

Swallowing back the bile, Emma took a precarious step closer to the body lying prone on the sandbank. “You found her like this?” Emma called over her shoulder, scanning what mottled flesh she could see for any immediately obvious wounds.

“Ruby found her first,” Graham admitted, sidling up next to her. “That nose of hers.”

Ruby Lucas was the department’s newest recruit. Young, enthusiastic, and with a genetic predisposition towards lycanthropy, she made for a hell of a tracker. It made sense she’d be the one to sniff her out.

It also explained why Emma could hear someone retching into a nearby clump of bushes, contaminating her crime scene with the contents of their stomach.

Emma might’ve thought someone who dined out on live game every full moon would have a stronger stomach, but what did she know?

This wasn’t Emma’s first dead body. That privilege belonged to another girl, in another town. But you never forget your first.

“She was half in the water when we found her,” Graham continued. “Had to drag her out to stop the current taking her. Haven’t touched her otherwise. I know we’re supposed to check vitals, but under the circumstances…”

Under the circumstances, Emma understood. Dead was dead, there was no mistaking it. She knelt down by the body all the same, pulling a pair of latex gloves from her pocket.

“You’re sure it’s her?” Emma asked, sliding the gloves on with a little less finesse than she would’ve liked.

“Don’t know many other missing blonde women in designer threads, do you?”

She didn’t. But there was only one way to be sure.

“On the count of three, we’re going to roll her over, okay?”

Graham looked dubious. “Should we be moving her?”

Somehow Emma got the impression he was more concerned with having to touch the body again than with proper forensic protocol.

Emma shrugged, having already weighed her options. The nights had been cold lately, but the river hadn’t frozen over yet, the current too strong. There was no telling how far upstream she’d gone into the water, but this hadn’t been the place. This was just where she happened to wash up. Between her time in the river, and Ruby and Graham’s hauling her out of the water, Emma doubted there’d be much trace evidence left anyway.

She thought of the fifty or so townspeople they still had trawling the woods in freezing conditions, all out looking for Kathryn Nolan.

“I need to make sure it’s her before I call off the search,” she reasoned. And then a little softer, “Are you okay to do this?”

Graham’s answering smile was tight, but he didn’t respond one way or another, just crouched down next to her, and waited on Emma’s signal.

Alright then.

“One,” Emma began, taking a deep breath. On “Two” they moved, Graham’s hands coming up to cup the shoulder, and Emma’s to grasp her arm. The body was still clad in a thin sweater, stuck fast to the skin, but it was hard to say what color the fabric had been originally, under the layers of black river mud.

“Three.”

They both heaved, the dead weight lifting, and then finally succumbing to gravity, flipping her onto her back.

Both of them were on their feet in seconds, backing away in a hurry.

“Did they…?” Graham began, his words halting as his hand came up to cover his mouth, like he might throw up.

Emma thought she might join him in that.

“Looks like it.”

It was Kathryn Nolan. Of that, Emma was certain. She’d get David Nolan to do a formal identification in time, but she was sure. Even with the bloating and the discoloration, the face was still one she recognized from polite run ins at the grocery store, or waiting in line for the treadmill at the gym.

Kathryn was still clothed, for the most part. One foot was bare, the other still booted. Jeans still intact, though she couldn’t tell if the tears at the knees were recent or part of the design. Her sweater had become twisted and heavy with mud, but it was only where it had been ripped open at the chest that she was truly exposed.

At first glance she’d mistaken it for mud. River debris. Staining through her shirt and clinging fast to her skin. But it wasn’t, and it only took Emma’s brain half a second to catch up with what her eyes were seeing.

It was a wound. An angry gash, deep inside Kathryn’s chest. Right where her heart should’ve been.

Emma turned her attention back to her partner, who stood hunched over, his hands on his knees, a fresh line of sweat bursting from his forehead in spite of the cold.

“You want to sit?” Emma asked gently, reaching out for one of his hands to lead him away. But he snatched his arm back, shaking his head.

“I just need…” he paused, as if he wasn’t even sure what it was he needed. “Someone has to call off the search,” he said finally, having found a suitable excuse.

“Sure.” She tried to keep her tone steady, no judgement. “The radio in the cruiser works best.”

His relief was palpable, her words a lifeline he grasped with both hands.

He took a few steps back up the bank, and then paused, turning around with visible effort.

“You think a person could’ve done that?” he asked, gesturing back to the figure on the bank.

“A person, as opposed to what?” Emma asked, confused.

“A leech?” he suggested. “Or a rogue were?”

Emma almost winced at the slur, but she recovered herself. This wasn’t the time to reiterate workplace sensitivity training.

“The full moon was two weeks ago,” Emma pointed out, putting the kibosh on his werewolf theory. Everybody knew they couldn’t turn during the month. And as for the leech suggestion…

“I don’t know. Doesn’t really seem like a vampire’s style, does it?”

They’d handled a vampire attack together once before. A young woman nearly drained to death by her suitor, a baby vampire who still hadn’t learned the depths of his appetites, until he’d been confronted with more temptation than he could handle.

Older vampires knew better. They were careful, and they were controlled. But the young ones were, by and large, impulsive. A slave to their bloodlust. Frenzied.

Not a good fit for what happened to Kathryn.

Graham shrugged, still looking morbidly unhappy.

“All I know is, a person didn’t do that. A monster did.”

[incessantwritersblock]

Never Walk Alone (Part 3)

Pairing: Billy Russo x Reader

Warnings: suggestive content, cursing

Word Count: 1,874

Summary: The “If I Loved You” part

A/N: This was the original idea/inspiration for this whole fic. It ended up as something way different than what I’d intended, but it works. Also, If I Loved You was on the radio just a second ago & I was like “IT’S A SIGN!” so I had to post this now instead of after voice.

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

You’d been Anvil’s vice president for two months now, and life was better than ever. When you first started, you feared that everyone would hate you. People might think the job was handed to you too easily, but it was the exact opposite. When Billy claimed your work for West wasn’t a secret, he wasn’t lying. Everyone in the company was happy to have you there, and it made your adjustments a bit easier. With a new job, a new apartment, and a new friend gradually finding homes in your life, the tables finally turned for you.

The work was challenging and exhausting, but it tired you out like a long day at Disneyland. Today was no different. You slowly shut down your computer, grabbed your jacket and purse, slipped into your heels again, and stood up from your desk. You took one last look around, still pinching yourself about this opportunity. Then, you made your way to your office door, where you flicked the light switch off and left.

You smiled when you neared the elevator, finding Billy with is nose buried in his phone screen. “Hey, Bill,” you nudged his shoulder with yours, “Still wanna grab a drink tonight?”

“Of course,” your friend chuckled just as the elevator dinged, “I was gonna wait for you down in the lobby, but I’m glad I ran into ya up here. So, how was your day?” The second you stepped into the elevator and you began to tell Billy about your day, he muttered under his breath, “Shit.”

The look across his face said he’d forgotten something, and his arm shot out to stop the closing elevator doors. “Missing something?”

“Uh, yeah. Sorry. I’ll be right back.”

You smiled kindly at Billy before you told him, “Don’t be sorry. Take your time, Bill. I’ll go get us a table.”

“Thanks.” You didn’t know if he was grateful or disappointed that you weren’t waiting for him, but it was too late. The elevator doors closed again, and you began your descent to the lobby.

There was a bar down the street that Billy and you frequented, so your feet carried you there until you opened the glass door with the name printed across it. You stepped inside and made your way towards the bar, plopping down at one of the four vacant high tables. After taking off your jacket and getting yourself situated, you pulled out your phone to text Billy where you’d found a spot.

However, someone else had other ideas. The chair across from your screeched out, but the man who sat down in it was not Billy. The man with light brown hair that fell casually into his blue eyes wasn’t familiar at all. When he opened his mouth, you put two and two together.

“So, what’s a lovely lady like yourself doin’ here all alone?”

You rolled your eyes at the man before grumbling, “Waiting for someone.”

“Who?”

“Why do you care?”

The man took a minute to formulate his response before he directed the conversation somewhere else. “I don’t. I just thought you might let me buy you a drink while you’re stuck here waiting for whoever left you waiting.”

“Her boyfriend,” Billy’s voice almost spat at the man from behind him. You smirked playfully at your friend while the man across from you turned to find Billy staring him down challengingly.

To you, Billy was hardly intimidating, but when he stood towering over that man with his tall lean frame in a powerful stance, his jaw clenched protectively, and fire burning in his eyes, anyone knew that man could tear a person to shreds while hardly breaking a sweat. Somehow, you knew he was a skilled marine, plotting his opponent’s demise. You tried to lie to yourself, claiming it wasn’t extremely attractive on a primitive level deep within your subconscious.

“Oh, uh. Sorry, man. I just, uh–”

“You were just leaving,” Billy instructed the man, who hastily stood up and retreated to the bar from which he came. Turning towards you with a smug smile, Billy raised a brow. “You’re welcome.”

“I can handle myself, Billy. Thank you, though. I do appreciate the help. Besides, it was kind of fun to see that guy shit a brick when he saw you with death in your eyes.”

Billy couldn’t help laughing at you jokingly in the most hilariously ridiculous voice, “and now you get just a taste of what life would be like if I was actually your boyfriend. Now, you can go home and write it in your diary.”

You couldn’t help boisterously giggling with Billy at his silly joke before you replied, “and you can go write in yours that you got to tell someone you were my boyfriend.”

“Please,” Billy shot right back at you, “If I had a thing for you, we both know I wouldn’t just stand around waiting for something to happen.”

“Really?”

“Well, of course. If I was interested, I’d ask you out. I’d get you flowers, take you wherever you wanted to go. I’d learn your coffee or tea order and put it on your desk every day since I’m already going to get my own coffee. I’d give you a key to my place after a while and clean out a drawer for you. Maybe I’d take you out to the ballet or the opera or something.

“You seem to have it all planned out? You think about that a lot or something? Or is that just what you do for every girl you’re interested in?”

“Oh, like you could do better?”

“Well, if I fell for you, I’d bring you lunch from your favorite place when you’re too caught up in your work to even realize it’s lunchtime, and I’d buy you your favorite sweets. I’d probably blush like an idiot anytime you so much as looked in my direction. I’d play with your hair and let you pick what we watched on Netflix. Well, unless your taste in tv and movies is shit. Then I’d give you options to choose from.” Billy snickered at that. “I’d buy your favorite foods to keep in the fridge and the pantry for whenever you came over, even if I didn’t like them. I’d ask about your day every day, and I’d hold you tight if you have bad nightmares. It makes me wish you were nice enough to date.”

“Well, it’s a pity it’s not just me who’d be a nightmare to date. You’d be a lovesick idiot.”

You gaped playfully defending yourself, “It’s not my fault I trust so easily. It’s like it’s hardwired into my brain, and I always assume everyone is the same way.”

Billy stopped laughing, but a slight smile remained on his face. His voice was soft. “You trust me?”

“Of course… Should I not?”

“No, no. I just… Nobody’s ever trusted me right off the bat like that… and I’ve never trusted anyone like that either.”

Now, you knew you were treading dangerous territory. Billy was opening up. Most people didn’t consider this opening up, but you knew Billy had built walls nobody had been able to break down. This was progress for him, so you lightened up the conversation casually. “So you wouldn’t trust me, even if you cared?”

Billy smirked fondly at your playfulness. “If I cared,” he continued, “I’d learn to trust you. It would be a slow process, but I’d hope you’d understand.”

“I would,” you shrugged.

“If you saw me like that?”

“Yup.”

“But you don’t.”

“Nope.”

“But you don’t either, so it’s not a big deal.”

Billy shook his head. “No, I don’t.”

A waiter approached your tiny table just in time, taking your orders and shifting the conversation back to normal. Billy began telling you about how he’d stopped by to see Curtis at lunch, and you told him about a new recipe you’d tried recently that you believed he’d enjoy.

Time flew by until you’d finished your drink, and the waiter only brought one check. Billy was quick to pick it up, so you grabbed your purse to dig for your wallet. Billy stopped you with a wave of his hand while he placed his card down. “I’ve got this, Y/N.”

“Bill–”

“I’m paying.” He pointed a finger at you with a sly smirk on his lips. “Deal with it.”

With a defeated sigh, you crossed your arms. “Fine.”

Once Billy paid, the two of you exited the bar, and you turned to Billy to say goodnight. He had other things in mind, though.

“You know,” Billy beat you to speaking, “If we were dating, I’d walk you home.”

You couldn’t help laughing at him. “You don’t have to be dating me to walk me home, asshole.”

“Is that an invitation?” Billy chuckled, dazzling smile about to make your knees buckle.

You simply began strolling in the direction of your apartment entrance, remarking, “Do whatever you want. I’m going home.”

With a smile at your sass, Billy strode quickly to catch up with you. “Alright, I’ll walk you home as friends, but if I was dating you, I’d put my arm around your waist.”

“Nah,” you argued, “I’d be too quick to hold your hand. I’d swoop in like this, see.”

You gently brushed the backs of your fingers against his and fluidly entwined your fingers.

“Very nice,” Billy remarked just as you slowed your pace to a stop.

The two of you were now in front of your building’s door, and you simply mumbled, “and now we’re at my place, so if we were dating, I’d kiss you goodnight.”

“But we aren’t dating,” Billy reminded you.

You agreed, “No, we aren’t.”

“And you don’t see me like that.”

“And you don’t have feelings for me,” you reminded him this time.

“No… so if I leaned in like this, it wouldn’t mean anything.” While Billy spoke, he slowly tilted his head towards yours, almost as though he was about to kiss you despite the conversation. He was now mere inches away from your face, breathing mingling, and lips hovering over each other.

“Not a thing,” you finally managed to whisper. Despite your breathless reply, your heart was racing.

Billy simply stretched his neck out to press his lips against yours, and your eyes fluttered shut at the feeling of his warm lips pressed against yours. The kiss was sweet, appreciative almost, but there was also a developing passion beneath the surface. Your arms gently wrapped around his broad shoulders, fingers tangling with the dark locks of hair at the back of his head. The sensation of his hands resting on your hips traveled to your back, pulling your body closer to his while he kissed you harder.

Your lungs burned for air when you finally parted reluctantly, Billy’s hands still holding your body flush against his. His almost black eyes gazed into yours while you both beamed at each other happily, and he gave you one more peck before he leaned his forehead against yours.

“Why don’t you walk me up to my door,” you suggested, out of breath. Billy nodded at you, agreeing to your invitation before you unlocked the main door and lead him upstairs.

Tagging: @movokepwc @assassinofmasyaf @imagines-reblogged @thesandbeneathmytoes 

[escaping-thoughts-reviews]

Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott, 2019

Not much is known of the mysterious leader of the Independent Systems. Former Jedi Master, Count of Serenno, philanthropist, political genius and secretly Lord of the Sith. 

This is his story. From birth to Jedi-hood and sub sequential fall to the Darkside. It follows Dooku’s growth, the friends he made, his journey as a Master of two controversial Padawans and his fascination with ancient Sith relics and Jedi prophecies.

-

First audiobook I ever listened to, and while a paper version was later published, I think the book works better in his original audio format (I’ll explain later).

The book starts just before the events of the Clone Wars. Ventress is starting her apprenticeship with Dooku and is given the task to find a woman that has close ties to the former Jedi Master.

The narration jumps from present to past through audiologs of Dooku’s childhood as Initiate, Padawan and into adulthood as a Knight and Master. 

I found this narrating choice to be very effective and while other books can fall into the trap of blurring the lines between past and present events, confusing the reader, here the author manages to keep the two distict.

One of the most interesting parts of this novel is Dooku’s family and their history. We discover how he came to be in the Jedi Order and his father’s resentment of him. It’s revealed he has two siblings, a sister named Jenza and a brother, Ramil. During the novel we see their relationship grow. And while Jenza cares for Dooku and stays in contact with him through the years, Ramil takes from their father and resents Dooku and wants nothing to do with him.

Serenno as a world is further explored. From their repulsion for Force sensitive beings to an ancient mural depicting a creature capable of destroying the world: the Tirra’Taka.

We also explore Dooku’s relationship with Sifo-Dyas, a fellow Initiate and Padawan, and his slow descent into madness that will lead him to create the Clone Army.

Sadly Yoda is written as a crappy master and it feels really out of character. He chooses Dooku, but almost immediately leaves him with another Master and barely teaches him anything. I feel like this was a lost opportunity to explore their bond and the reasons Dooku resents Yoda so much in the future (I guess for that we have the EU).

The reason why this story works better in audio format can be summarised in a scene when Dooku hears voices in a vision when only a Padawan learner (some among them are Ventress, Savage, Sidious, Qui-Gon, Yoda, etc...). I loved this moment, although it begs the question if Dooku always had this ability. Sure it could be tallied to this being a Disney book and therefore “there are no rules”, but some consistency would be appreciated.

As the story switches to Ventress’s PoV, we learn more abou Ky Narec through her recalling of events, and his voice acts as a conscience to the Sith assassin. A conscience she tries to bury.

I would also like to share some of my favourite moments from this book (no spoilers):

D: “There’s no harm in feeling pride. I’m proud of you after all.” “If I never do anything of note ever again, I will watch you rise through the Order, changing it forever”

Q: “For the better?”

D: *soft, warm laugh*

This is probably one of my favourite moments. We see Dooku’s clear affection towards Qui-Gon and knowing the faith of the latter, it makes it even more heartbreaking (Euan Morton does an amazing job, that laugh kills me). It also allows us to understand more clearly why Dooku fell to the Dark Side, making the reader empathize with him.

D: “You are wise beyond your years, Qui-Gon Jinn. With a connection to the Living Force that may even rival Yoda.”

Q: “I doubt that”

[Oh, Qui, you don’t even know the half of it.]

D: “I have faith in you and faith in the Force”

[How do you go from this to the bitter man of CW?]

As events unfold, Dooku and Qui-Gon are sent by the Coucil to attend a Swooper race, where they encounter Ramil, who’s there as a pilot.

The action picks up as his swooper is sabotaged and the two Jedi chase the culprits through the underground levels of Coruscant, and we discover where Qui-Gon gets his maverik streak, or better, from who he gets it.

The chase leads them to confront a criminal boss. The confrontation enrages Dooku to the point he has to fight the lightning that threatens to escape, keeping it inside, controling it. Which is interesting, but also contradicts what we know about Force lightning, aka only those who are subjected to it in prolonged periods of time can use it. So it begs the question of how can Dooku use this ability if he was never exposed to it. But, again, this is a Disney novel, so lore consistency is not really expected. Here instead it’s treated as a force from within and the only way to control it is to accept it.

Another interesting side-plot it’s when a member of the Council is revealed to be allied with the underground boss, but only to protect a fellow Jedi, later revealed to be her son. The Master in question is Yula Braylon, a fromer seeker (a Jedi who finds Force sensitive children and brings them to the Temple). Her son instead is revealed to be Dooku’s training rival, Arath.

This opens a whole conversation about what’s wrong with the Order, because how sad is it that when threatened, a Jedi feels it’s safer to comply with the requests of a criminal, that to ask the Council for help. In the end, both Breylon and Arath are arrested.

The story then shifts to Dooku’s homeworld of Serenno, that is under invasion, the Republic doesn’t care (so neither does the Order) because they see it as an “internal fewd”, although they are under attack from a foreign world. Jenza sends a official help request, but the Order decides to ignore it. Dooku defies the Council and along with Sifo-Dyas and his Master, Kostana, travel to Serenno.

Ramil is revealed to be behind the invasion, the Houses of Serenno are in shambles and the population is forced out into the plains as refugees. The situation is dire.

Everything escaletes when Dooku and Kostana fall into a crevice and find the mythical Tirra’Taka.

To save his people Dooku mind melds with him and has accesses its memories, discovering that the Tirra’Taka was enslaved by the Sith and abandoned on Serenno after their defeat at the hands of House Serenno. He also discoveres that the beast hates force-sensitives and that he reawakened when Dooku returned all those years ago.  Finally explaining the fear and aberration Dooku’s father, Count Gora, felt towards him and how he saw his son’s Force-sensitivity as a threat to Serenno and wanted him as far away as possible. 

Along with these revelations Sifo-Dyas is rapidly losing his mind, having nonstop visions, caused by the growing distress of the creature. I’ll be honest, Syfo’s abilities don’t make much sense and seem to be there just to hype the drama.

Before Ramil can kill Jenza and the rest of the people, Dooku summons the Tirra’Taka and uses it to destroy the invading army. This causes Sifo-Dyas to lose his mind completely. The fight ends with Dooku killing his brother.

Sadly the beast goes insane and Dooku is reluctantly forced to kill it to save Kostana, Sifo and Jenza.

D: “I never ment to hurt you. Not like the others. Never ment to bend you to my will. I’m sorry. So, so sorry.”

Here the author has me perplexed. He describes Dooku striking down the beast with his “golden blade”. Since when does Dooku have a golden kyber? It makes no sense, but again, it’s Disney...

After the battle, they discover this new, rare and, therefore, expensive ore called Zaccanium and now the Repubblic is interested in helping. This makes Dooku livid, keeping in line with his character and his contempt for the corruption of the Republic.

Yoda: “More than a name, the Jedi are. More than a title”.

Because of this Dooku decides to remain on Serenno as the new Count. Sealing his fate, as Sifo says “All the futures have become one. One path”.

D: “Please tell Rael and Qui-Gon... tell them the Force will be with them, always.”

This concludes the flashback section of the book and we return to the present, where Ventress finds the woman she was tasked to hunt down. 

She’s revealed to be Jenza, who wanted to go ask the Jedi to help her brother, for she fears he’s walking down a dark path, but was instead kindnapped by Republic agents and tortured for informations about the Separatists.  Dooku arrives she begs him to get help form the Council and to stop listening to the “hooded man”.

Meanwhile, Narec’s voice is still trying to convince Ventress to run away and gives her a vision of what awaits the former Jedi Master. As she’s trown back to reality, Dooku gives her an order, to which Narec tries again to convince Ventress to run away, in the last desperate attempt to keep her in the Light, but she doesn’t.  She obeys the Sith and Narec finally disapears. She made her choice.

-

Lore wise: it’s interesting. Through the course of the movies and animated series, we never really see or learn about Dooku as a character (his motivations, aspirations, bonds if he ever had any). the most we get is a hint of his affection for Qui-Gon in Episode II or, his almost panicked reaction at Sidious’s order to kill Ventress (you could also count the ROTS novelization by M. Stover, where he tries to convince Sidious not to kill Obi-Wan, because he sees him as a grandson).

I liked the concept that Dooku gained the Force lightning before becoming a Sith, because it kind of shows that although it’s associated with the Dark Side, it’s still part of the Force.

The biggest change this book makes (also “Master and Apprentice”) is probably to the timeline In the EU, Dooku and Qui-Gon were 10 years apart, making Qui-Gon in Episode I 60 yrs old and Dooku 70 (80 in Ep II). While now, in the Disney canon, Qui-Gon is 47 and Dooku is still 70. Not a big deal I guess, but it does raise the question: how does Qui-Gon have the rank of Master in TPM, if Obi-Wan is his only Padawan? Qui-Gon was 22 when Obi-Wan was born, so that leaves approximately a 13 years gap, in which they could squeeze in another Padawan.

At least it’s implied that Dooku still joined Sidious after Qui-Gon’s death, I was afraid they’d retcon that. I always liked that it was that loss that pushed him to the edge.

Voice acting: Orlagh Cassidy as Ventress is good, she sounds very similar to Nika Futterman. Morton’s Dooku grows on you after a while, although the not so pronounced british accent is quite distracting, but what can I say, there’s only one Chistopher Lee. Qui-Gon is... interesting. Like, I know he should be 13/14 when he’s first introduced, but he sounds way older (sometimes older that Dooku), but to his credit the slight irish accent is delightful. Also Jonathan Davis delivery and speech patterns mimic those of Liam Neeson pretty well. On the other hand I was not expecting Rael’s voice to sound like that! Nice.

So, in conclusion:

Jenza deserved better

Ventress deserved better

Dooku is a dick, like his father and brother before him

But in all seriousness, this is a very well acted audiobook, with an amazing soundtrack and an interesting story that sheds light on one of the most unexplored characters of the Prequel Trilogy.

———————

Rating: It’s a buy!

[exile-wrath]

Dude do you have any kingsman fic recs because I’m Desperate and don’t know where to start

HELLO DID YOU SAY KINGSMAN RECS BECAUSE I AM HERE. THESE ARE MY ABSOLUTE TOP SIX

1)Lagavulin and Guinness by Snarfle || Rated E, 163.5k

Plenty of people had looked down on Eggsy throughout his life. He had gotten fairly used to it. Didn't mean it was fair, but he knew how these things worked. What really sucked was that the new Arthur was worse than the old one.

“Eggsy grimaced. He didn’t know how to explain to Harry – who seemed like he hadn’t been discriminated against a day in his life – that the new Arthur kept giving him what amounted to suicide missions, and that he was currently bleeding out in a warehouse because of the deliberately bad intel she had given him.”

Also featuring: Dean is harder to get rid of than Eggsy thought, his mum is going off the deep end, there are way too many nefarious plots in play, and Eggsy is really beginning to wish that Harry would stop holding his hand and kiss him instead.

*takes a deep breath*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I LOVE THIS ONE SO MUCH THE PLOT BUILDUP AND EVERYONE’S CHARACTERIZATIONS AND A REALLY NEAT LOOK AT HOW KINGSMAN RUNS. My heart freaking broke for Eggsy a couple times, and most fics that are past V-day show that all is well, kind of, but this one doesn’t go that route. Eggsy struggles, the author gives us wonderful development and fight scenes, the writing is fuckin aces, and Harry’s characterization really gets me here. Merlin and Roxy are wonderful, but Eggsy is naturally the star of the show and honestly I did find myself crying at some points because of how goddamn hard he has to fight. 

I love it. read it. if you can only read 1 kingsman fic in your life MAKE IT THIS ONE

2)Care and Custody by esama || Rated T, 50.4k 

Eggsy takes out the medal in slightly worse circumstances, asking for a miracle.

I love, like, almost everything esama writes tbh

Anyway this one is great because everyone’s characterizations are on POINT, I really like how they executed a fix-it to the events in the movie while making it super natural and not contrived. Everyone goes a little different route than they do in the movie, and the result is just glorious. Also I’m pretty sure I said that the characterizations are on point but guuuh they’re just so lovely we get a lot of Eggsy and Daisy interaction in this it’s so sweet and thtis is super heartwarming and I’ve read it like five times I’m pretty sure. It’s just all-around feel-good but it never gets to the point of being disgustingly fluffy.

It’s the #1 kudosed fic in the kingsman ao3 tag for a reason

also 100000% suggest looking at all of esama’s other kingsman works.

3)all the tables turn by DivineProjectZero || Rated E, 23.7k

Harry Hart has terrible taste in men.

So it comes as a bit of a surprise when Eggsy smiles at him and the predator inside Harry cocks its head in consideration.

Honestly dude everything by DivineProjectZero is also a go. 

This fic in particular is a really nice look at what goes on in Harry’s head, especially re: things like his love life. Something I find really fascinating is the muli\tiple takes on his character that the fandom has, and I especially adore this one. I’ve read it at least three times, and I enjoy Harry’s slow slow descent into realizing what he and Eggsy has every damn time. 

4) We mustn't touch what isn't ours by inusagi

Harry Hart is a sociopath, yes, but he's a sociopath who loves Eggsy.

or

5 times Harry showed his true colours and 1 time Eggsy really sees it.

I take an inappropriate amount of glee in this fic series because it’s both hilarious and somewhat fits Harry’s character. It’s also fucked up at points, but the relationship between Harry and Eggsy is never not lovely and honestly I was mad cackling at some parts. 

*looks at the parachute* :3c you’ll know what I mean, if our tastes run similar

5) who got the keys to my bimmer by hartwinning 

"What's the difference between a BMW and a porcupine?"

Harry gives him a slightly bewildered look and furrows his brow.

"A porcupine has the pricks on the outside," Eggsy finishes.

~

AU: Eggsy is a mechanic working in a garage owned by Dean.

Harry Hart is Galahad, Dean is forever an asshole, and Lee Unwin and his death have no connection to Kingsman. In terms of setting, the Lancelot trials are over (Roxy won the spot) but the Valentine investigation is ongoing.

I!!!! REALLY REALLY LIKE THIS!!! I know fucking nothing about cars but the fic doesn’t alienate you from reading if you don’t. Harry’s character in this leans slightly more towards comedic; in general this fic is a really nice comedy with the background of plotty kingsman things. Eggsy is a mechanic that isn’t part of Kingsman but somehow ends up running into it anyway, John Wick appears, Harry is lovestruck and it’s hilarious and this is just A++++++

6) a long succession of small mutations by brilligspoons || Rated T, 3.4k

As it stands, they've become each other's support systems, which in their case ultimately means they have no secrets from each other, and also they spend an inordinate amount of time getting drunk together when they're in London and off-duty. Possibly it means other things as well, but Roxy likes to spread out her world-shattering personal revelations over a longer period of time, thank you very much.

And yet—well.

"You, Eggsy Unwin," she hears herself saying in a pub one night, her voice gin-soaked and coming out lopsided, "are my best friend."

I really love this because Roxy and Eggsy’s relationship is something I highly appreciate  in the movie they’re not shown in a romantic light even ONCE and that’s really important to me. They’re the best of best mates and this fic goes into that. It’s short, but it’s an absolutely wonderful read. 

If you want more, I have 99 kingsman bookmarks and they’re all here, ENJOY