#he can do a lot more than punch things really hard and shoot lightning

[wolfsbanesparks]

*politely raises hand* Ayo do you have any thoughts on if fear toxin is even anything to worry about in the face of the Courage of Achilles?

Like Billy Batson would obviously have a terrible time if he’s exposed to it but would Captain Marvel, setting aside the fact he doesn’t need to breathe, be fine?

I don’t have a penny to give but I request thy thoughts.

Hey there!

So my answer here is two fold:

Technically there have been canon comics where Captain Marvel is affected by fear toxin (Shazam #12 i believe), bringing his greatest fears as Billy to the surface despite him being powered up. There have also been other non fear toxin induced events to a similar effect.

But to be perfectly honest, the comic I'm thinking of largely included him being affected by fear toxin as an excuse for a more experienced Batman to save the day and highlight his own inexperienced fighting style.

So as with most things, Cap's immunity to toxins (including fear toxin) varies based on what the writers want to happen in their story.

Personally, I think that he should be immune to standard fear toxin or at the very least be able to power through the hallucinations because of the courage of Achilles. I mean what's the point of having supernatural courage as a power if you can't overcome a chemical to induce fear? Especially if perfectly ordinary human Batman can do it with sheer willpower?

Mostly I think a lot of people have the tendency to downplay Cap's abilities while at the same time hyping up Batman and his rogues. If Cap's powers are actually understood and respected by the writers there really shouldn't be much to worry about with fear toxin (unless there's a a team up with a magical villain enhancing it or Billy is caught in it before he can transform. Then we might have an interesting story).

So that's my two cents on the subject! I'd love to other people chime in!

[watermelonlipstick]

Parking Lot

This is a love letter to the Dean who told Cassie everything about his life after knowing her for 2 weeks and who didn’t see What Is And What Should Never Be as a horror show until he saw his bond with Sam was gone. I don’t think it would work for a later seasons Dean, who had pretty conclusively abandoned this idea for himself. I’d love any advice or critiques!!

Title: Parking Lot

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Word Count: 3801

Summary: A parking lot quickie leads to an illuminating argument between Dean and the reader.

Warnings: Swearing, smut, angst, ~*idiots in love*~, fluff

           In a couple ways it seemed like a lesson; you really shouldn’t have been fooling around in a parking lot no matter how late at night it was. Especially not a bar’s parking lot, potentially more likely to be busy at this hour, shadows be damned.

           But it wasn’t all your fault, not by a long shot. Dean knew exactly what he was doing, getting a Manhattan rather than his standard straight bourbon just for the cherry, rolling it around with his tongue and licking his fingers of the juice while you waited for the guys you were playing pool against to shoot.

           If Sam had been there you might’ve been able to keep it together for politeness’s sake, but you didn’t give a shit about these people and you weren’t doing research for a case, just blowing off steam post-job before heading out of town in the morning.

           Two could play at Dean’s game, though, you arching your back deep into the table to make a shot and practically purring “your turn” when he was up, hovering close enough to see the goosebumps spread over his neck when he smirked and obeyed. He finished the game lightning fast with a string of laser-focused shots and you silently downed the rest of his drink as the guys ponied up, tossing thick folds of cash onto the table and shaking Dean’s hand. You didn’t even feel guilty for hustling them, partly for their ignoring you but mostly for the distraction of Dean’s hands reracking the balls and grabbing your coat, sliding a palm to your lower back with his pinky just barely under your waistband. It was all you could do to wait until you get to the back of the parking lot to shove him up against the Impala and bite his bottom lip almost too hard before slipping your tongue into his mouth.

           You felt the smile and heard the groan at the same time, both pouring into your mouth as you ripped at Dean’s jacket, trying to yank his flannel off his shoulders with it. You abandoned the project to paw at Dean’s tee once you’d gotten the outer layers bunched down around his elbows, kissing him hungry and dark like he was yours to take.

           One of Dean’s bitten off groans trailed off into a barely-there whimper. For all his posturing he loved this, when he could give up being predator and let go for a few minutes to be your prey. He didn’t start fumbling for the door handle until you flicked open his belt, his other hand clutching at a handful of hair at the back of your neck and kissing down your jugular fast and hard. Imagining the way Sam was going to roll his eyes at the hickeys only added adrenaline while Dean finally got the backseat door open, sliding you in and unfurling on top of you. Still working on his jeans, you dragged him tight between your legs.

           “You are—so—mean,” you grinned between kisses. “Teasing me like—that.”

           Dean’s eyebrows kicked up on his forehead, playing dumb like you knew he would. “Me? Never.” His act dropped the moment you finally got his fly open, wrapping your hand around his cock through his boxers and punching all the air out of his lungs. His head rolled back on his neck almost violently, impossibly long eyelashes grazing his cheekbones and lips parted around a breathy “fuck.”

           His switch flipped, Dean scrambled to strip you as fast as possible. You tried to help him in large part to avoid tearing your clothes, ending up crushed into the leather of the bench seat somehow with one leg fully out of your jeans and underwear, the other knee tangled up in the fabric. He’d shoved up your shirt and bra and it would’ve been uncomfortable and tight if any of your senses had been turned to it instead of Dean wetting his middle finger to slip-slide along your clit, murmuring something about “I love it when you do that,” into the side of your neck as he swirled circles into you. After a few moments you were writhing in the seat and Dean pulled that finger back up, sucking you off of it before pushing it up inside you, then another.

           “Fuck me, Jesus Christ Dean,” you moaned against his tongue, yanking him forward until he guided himself into you. The stunted warm-up helped but that first push was always a shock, and whatever sound you made was loud enough that Dean covered your mouth with his hand, grinning conspiratorially down over fingers still steeped in you as he thumped you into the car door.

           “Quiet—someone’s going to hear you.”

           You bit his hand and Dean yelped with a chuckle, pulling it back before you roped around his neck and kissed him lasciviously. “Don’t tell me what to fucking do,” you smirked.

           He stabilized himself against the Impala’s door to pound into you harder, you wrapping your legs around his waist and whisper-moaning filthy nothings into his ear, biting his neck until suddenly you felt that finely honed awareness pique in the back of your mind, flaring hot enough to burn and you froze, thighs clamped tight around Dean.

           “Baby, I—”

           “Don’t fucking move—did you hear that?” you hissed.

           Dean tried to pull back and tensed hard, shuddering into you as you tried to lift your head to see as surreptitiously as possible before the delayed processing hit you. When you looked up at Dean he didn’t meet your eyes, wincing over one shoulder with his arms still planted.

           “Tell me you didn’t,” you whispered.

           He was silent for a half-second, still didn’t meet your eyes. “I tried t—you fucking death-gripped me with your legs, what was I supp—”

           “Oh my god, get off of me,” you yelped, trying your best to sit up and snatch at anything to clean yourself up before realizing it was useless. “FUCK! Fuck, Dean, fuck, what’re we going to—I can’t be—”

           He leaned back into the seat to get back into his jeans and fasten his belt. “One thing at a time, okay? They’ve got like pills and stuff right? We don’t even know if it’ll take.”

           You rolled your eyes angrily at him as you jammed your leg back into your jeans. “Our fucking luck it’s already triplets.” You ran a hand through your hair and took a deep, hard breath. “Okay, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

           “No, I get it.” He slumped into the seat next to you. A long beat passed, you and Dean both sitting stupid, half-dressed in jeans and untied boots, hair all over the place. He cleared his throat. “Wanna head out?” His voice was small and rough; you knew he was sorry and maybe a little embarrassed. If you were more highly evolved you might’ve been able to console him more in that moment, but your heart was bounding through your chest about what was going to happen next—if. You managed to squeeze his hand in solidarity if nothing else before grabbing your stuff and moving to the front seat.

           Minutes of silent road passed before Dean reached over and covered your knee with his hand. You capped it with one of yours and saw his lips twitch up at the corner in response.

           He glanced over at you tentatively. “Maybe it uh, wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, you know?”

           Your incredulity spun you around in your seat so you were fully squared to him. “What?”

           It was dark in the car but you thought maybe Dean’s cheeks started to look pink. “I don’t know, teaching a little squirt how to play catch or whatever, might be cute.”

           “You cannot be serious.”

           His eyes flicked back over to you and his lips pursed out, trying to look non-plussed. “Whatever. Just trying to make you feel better.”

           “No, you’re not. Because that exact possibility is scaring the shit out of me right now and two minutes ago you were trying to convince me we were going to pill this away. So it’s—is that something you want? Having a kid someday?”

           Dean took his hand back under the guise of using two hands to turn the steering wheel.  “No.”

           You waited, willed your own heartbeat to slow down. As you knew he would, Dean kept talking, keeping his eyes on the road more to avoid the vulnerability of looking in your eyes rather than out of necessity on the long, straight stretch of road. “I don’t know. It really seems that bad to you? Having something that’s really, like, ours? Just you and me?”

           “We’re not talking about a something, Dean, we’re talking about a fucking kid.”

           “Jesus, fine, forget it. Sorry I asked.”

           His knuckles went white on the steering wheel and underlined that Dean Was Done Talking. What an absolute waste of a fun little night out, leaving Sam to have a couple hours alone. Now instead of getting back looser to a well-rested Sam, you were going to barrel into this crappy motel terrified with a pissed off Dean, dropping it all at the younger Winchester’s feet to deal with (again).

           It took you until the motel parking lot to muster up the courage to touch Dean’s wrist. “Can we talk for a second?” Dean pretended to be annoyed but you could tell it was an act shielding a spot of tenderness. He flopped his hands in his lap and looked over at you expectantly. “Maybe it’s dumb to even talk about this; like you said, it might be nothing. But I just—I mean if—do you really want that? What would that even look like? Not even with me or whatever obviously but leaving hunting, leaving Sam—”

           “Leaving Sam? Who said anything about leaving Sam?”

           “You volunteering him as nanny?”

           Dean sort of half-rolled his eyes and shifted to face you. “You know as well as I do that Sam doesn’t want to be doing this, not forever. I’m not saying we should be fucking trying, obviously, I’m just—I’m going to stick around no matter what happens. I wouldn’t ditch you with my mistake.”

           You scoffed. “How noble.”

           “Not like that. But I’m not a complete moron, I know we’ve played with fire a couple times and I know what I’m doing.”

           “I guess I just figured that was heat of the moment stuff.”

           A flash of something passed over his face, gone almost too fast for you to decipher. Offense? Sadness? “Yeah, part of it. But you—you’ve never even thought about it?”

           “Thought about how I’d get a couple hundred dollars and find a clinic, yeah. I—we can’t be hunters with a baby. And I won’t be stashed in some safe house somewhere, see you and Sam for a day or two every couple months, be the loner single mom who can’t tell anyone anything about her life.”

           “Single mom? I’m not a fucking deadbeat. I just said I wouldn’t make you deal alone.”

           You shot him an exasperated look and took a deliberate breath to keep from rising to the bait. “So what, now you want to get married? Dean, I’m not even really your damn girlfriend.”

           He reached for the handle fast enough that you had to scramble across the seat after him, Dean pausing in the open door. “Look, if it’s not what you want, that’s fucking fine. But don’t patronize me. Not my fucking girlfriend? Fuck you.”

           You flew across the Impala and out of the passenger door, following Dean as he stormed across the asphalt. “Fuck me? How are you mad at me?”

           He spun on his heel in the parking lot. “I tell you I’m willing to leave all of this—all of everything I really know, fucked up as that is—for you, would make you my whole future and you, you—your response is that you’re not even my girlfriend? Yeah, fuck you.”

           “Dean, that’s not what I—” but he had already started storming back to the room. “DEAN!” you yelled, standing stock still in the middle of the lot. He paused with his back to you for what felt like a long second before turning back around. “I don’t want to bring this back to Sam. I’m sorry, okay? I’m just—I’m scared shitless about something that might not even happen and then you spring the idea of some shotgun wedding on me—”

           He rolled his eyes without even a hair of humor, the muscles in his jaw tensing hard enough to catch the cold overhead light. “See, how can you—” he started, before taking a deep, deliberate breath and starting over in a tone that was forced calm. “That’s everything I ha—that’s all I can give you, is loving you and fucking being there for you. So if it’s that fucking cheap or skanky to you then I’m sorry for wasting your fucking time.” When you didn’t respond his spine straightened a few degrees. “What? Say something. Tell me how stupid I am for suggesting that being tied together might not ruin your fucking life.”

           You felt that your mouth had fallen open but didn’t care. “You love me?”

           Dean’s face contorted like he was looking at a mirage of something bizarre, curious and disbelieving and frustrated. “I lo—of course I love you, what the fuck?”

           “Y—you’ve never said that to me.”

           “What? Yes I have.” His voice softened a shade, the certainty his anger had afforded him beginning to slip away like sand at high tide, but his eyebrows stayed indignant.

           You’d never been more certain of anything in your life, that Dean had never said that, because it was something you wanted constantly. Craved, even. Were kept awake at night by; the desire to have your feelings for Dean reciprocated too intense even to dream about. So you justified and bargained with yourself: if fooling around and this kind of casual commitment—girl who would cover him and Sam in a firefight and didn��t hound him for a label—was what he wanted, it was what you would give. Anything for more time with him or the chance to kiss those lips, to see the way he looked first thing in the morning, to get annoyed at his bullshit idiosyncrasies.            

           “No, you haven’t.” So many more words tried to burst forward from you that you had to bite your lip to be sure your mouth stayed closed.

           Dean held your eyes, willing you to say something until he lost his patience. “Who says that stupid shit all the time anyway? You know I love you; I’d do fucking anything for you.” His voice had started to rise again but the heat behind it was some sort of hungry desperation, not hurt rage. “I’m—you don’t think I love you?”

           You started to feel completely exposed by the industrial light, seared alive by green eyes. Shifting your weight from foot to foot didn’t help, and you fought angrily against the lump forming in your throat.

           He looked over his shoulder and the barked “FUCK!” startled you despite yourself. “Kid, I—FUCK, that’s what this is? I loved you since that first fucking hunt in Cleveland! You really think I’m just…? This isn’t some Beaver Cleaver ‘I put you in a family way’ bullshit, I—I don’t know, I just, with you it feels like for the first time maybe it’s not insane to think that I could—that we could—whatever, man, I’m not fucking talking about this.” A hand shot up to rub the back of his neck, a nervous tic you recognized immediately.

           You took two big steps toward him. “Dean, I just—I didn’t know. That’s—I mean I’m not going to say I’ve been thinking about it; but it—it’s more because I didn’t even think it was on the table, you know? I thought we were, I don’t know, really close friends that sleep together.”

           Dean’s eyebrows flew up his forehead and he blew an almost-laugh out of his nose. “I don’t even know what to say to that. Never heard of any friends that live together and fuck raw.” His tongue slid along his molars and he sucked his teeth looking down at the ground, flicker of a despondent, self-deprecating smile twitching his lips. “Uh, noted, I guess. Sorry I misunderstoo—” and his eyes on the blacktop prevented him from seeing you cross the few strides between you, catching him off guard when you kissed him hard enough to bruise, hard enough to feel everything you wanted to say, wanted to scream (at him, from the rooftops, ohmygodhelovesme) take a backseat for a moment. He grunted at the impact, stunned for a half-beat before surging forward into you, wrapping into your hair and pawing at your hips with desperate effort to get closer. Feeling the grin against your mouth, you wished you weren’t standing in the absolute middle of the parking lot, frenzy to have something to push each other against building to a fever pitch inside you when Dean tugged your hair back to look at your face.

           He looked downright pornographic; swollen, flushed pout and impossible lashes framing bedroom eyes Marilyn or Sophia would’ve envied. A washing of cockiness only amplified the effect, those pillowy lips pulling into a lazy smirk. “So is this a really-close-friends kiss or what? Trying to figure out how much tongue I’m supposed to slip you.”

           You giggled good-naturedly, letting the weight of your head press into his palm. “You are such an asshole.”

           “Yeah, you fuckin’ love it.” He sucked on that sweet pulse spot under your ear deeply, some accessory movement with his tongue enough to make you see stars and miss that it was you letting out that ungraceful whine-moan. When Dean spoke the air passing over your spit-slick neck exploded in goosebumps. “And I love you.”

           Dean kissed you in that searching, delicious, eat-you-alive way he sometimes did after a particularly victorious hunt when he either had all the time in the world or didn’t give a fuck about making it; soothing-probing with a little edge of danger that hypnotized you. It pulled at the sweater of your being and tugged, steady and cloying until you were something loose and ephemerous in Dean’s hands, something equally likely to float away or explode right there in that parking lot, clearing a hundred miles in every direction and leaving behind only the imprint of your craving for him. It’s a miracle your brain was able to function at all. In the best circumstances this flayed you open and coming on the heels of having the most beautiful gift you could imagine dropped at your feet—Dean loves you, he loves you and always has—it felt like it could stop your heart and you wouldn’t care.

           “I need about twenty minutes in a cold shower or I promise I’ll knock you up right the fuck here,” Dean growled, low with sin directly into your ear.

           You laughed breathily. “I thought you said that might be a good thing.”

           His chuckle was rough as he pressed his lips to the crown of your head. He rested there for a moment before murmuring into your hair. “You really thought we were just messing around?”

           “Dean, come on, I—don’t make me say it.”

           “Say what?”

           You swallowed shakily, tried to get a handle on your thoughts through the endorphins. “You—I—I’ve had it bad for you, thought if I really like, acknowledged it that it might fuck up what I did get to have of you or that some commitment would freak you out or whatever so I just—I don’t know, tried to be cool about it. Obviously we’ve always been kind of ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ when we were apart—”

           Dean cut off your rambling. “Uh, has there been something you’ve been ‘don’t tell’-ing? I wasn’t ‘don’t ask don’t tell’-ing.”

           “You haven’t?” you asked, surprised enough to be knocked off your nebulous trail of thought.

           “No, I mean—no. You would’ve been fine with that?” The disbelief was so clear on his face it was practically casting a glow around him.

           “Not fine with it—of course not—the thought of it kept me up nights, but I didn’t you to think I was some jealous freak.”

           A smile spread over his face slowly, butter on hot toast. “So you would’ve been jealous?”

           “I was jealous, I thought that’s what was happening.”

           Dean’s head lolled back on his neck a few degrees, smirk cementing itself in place. “That’s kinda hot.”

           It took the tension out of the moment and you chuckled under your breath, glancing down at your feet. “Yeah, you would say that right now, psycho.” It was breathy and shaky but Dean let you have it, throwing his elbow around your neck affectionately and tucking you into his side. With a kiss to the crown of your head, he started you both walking to the room lazily. At the door, you stilled him as he reached for the knob.

           “Would you really want to keep it? Like, no bullshit, if that’s the situation, that I’m actually—you know, you wouldn’t want me to…?”

           He licked his lips and bit the bottom one. They parted for a moment before he began to speak as his gaze flicked between your eyes. “Babe,” he finally breathed, and there was a note of croak there. “I’m in this for the long haul. If that’s where we’re going then we’ll deal with it. If you don’t—if you’re not there, I get it, but for me, I—yeah. If it’s going to be anyone for me, it’s you.”

           “Even now?”

           “I could think of worse things. Worse things have happened to me this week, probably.”

           There were so many follow up questions running through your mind, so many rock-solid certainties that Dean wouldn’t really be able to quit hunting, that even figuring out how to go to an OB-gyn on fake IDs was likely to be more complicated than either of you realized, but his lack of hesitation was so sweet, so earnest, and you were still riding that he loves me high. And you might’ve gotten lucky; it might be nothing, no parking lot baby to contend with, just a tense reminder to be more careful next time. It was easier than you might’ve thought to give yourself permission to relish it for the night, consequences be damned.  

-

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[serenawitchwriter]

BNHA fusion (Bakusquad/Deku)

BakuDeku

HE NUMBER ONE HERO

SCREAMS

DESTRUCTION!

is so insecure tho, don’t tell anyone

WILL ALSO TAKE ANY CHALLENGE

SCARY

YOU CAN’T HURT HIM??

SUPER UNSTABLE

ONLY GETS ALONG WITH KIRASHIMA

really wants to be friends with everyone though, please?

WOULD KILL YOU

NEVER SHUTS UP

BREAKS EVERYTHING INCLUDING HIMSELF, STILL COMES AFTER YOU

AND HE’S SMART!!??

HONEST

kinda hates himself, but in an apathetic way

NEVER GIVES UP

possibly Undyne from Undertale?

cries when frustrated

ADMIRABLE DESPITE ALL HIS FLAWS

UNSTOPPABLE WHEN HE PUTS HIS MIND TO SOMETHING

gets strangely flustered around people he admires, comes across as tsundere

KiriDeku

MANLY AS HELL

SO STRONG

FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE

WILL BENCH PRESS ALL HIS FRIENDS AT ONCE

A HERO FANBOY SQUARED

TOUGH AS NAILS

ALMOST ALWAYS SMILING

freckles and shark teeth

explosion of red fluffy hair, green roots

is very private with their insecurity. will go quiet and thoughtful when left alone

unshakably kind

MOTIVATES YOU

TRIES TO USE SLANG AND FAILS

has this weird habit of headbutting things and breaking them?

Bakugou hates but tolerates them? he acts more like a wet cat than sparky sparky boom man

they are LITERALLY the only person who can get away with hugging him

(Bakugou secretly loves them)

SO

MANY

BRO

HUGS!!!

prone towards depression but makes himself feel better by helping people

LITERALLY EVERYONE LOVES THEM

gives off a strangely unattainable vibe

DekuMina

watermelon, freckled pink skin, green fluffy hair that is amazingly curly. horns

green eyes, with black sclara

cute beyond reason

really really excitable

#1 friend, always knows when something is wrong and how to cheer people up

socially conscious. can hang out with basically anyone and be liked

an ambivert

loves dancing and moving and fighting. incredibly flexible but also muscular. sorta Mirko physique only unmatured

has sick kicks and flips

hates bullies and will punch clocks out without hesitation

can be kinda obnoxious, especially because they don’t know how to shut up

will tease you accurately if you call them out. they’re not mean, but can pick out what’s actually wrong. getting called out when you’re trying to be mad is also obnoxious

extremely tactile and clingy. loves hugging and just touching their friends. Mido never felt like he had permission before, but combined with Mina they give out touches freely

slightly dark, self-depreciating humor but you can never tell if they’re serious

both intentionally and unintentionally funny

clumsy, a bit of a space case

makes fun of Bakugou the most

gets really creative in the type of acid they make and how they use it, particularly combined with the tentacle quirk

has no fashion sense. Mina might be able to claim her bright colors and patterns are an aesthetic. but DekuMina can make no such claim. they are an eyesore and they love it. ugly is their aesthetic and they will not apologize

unironically wears eye-searing Hawaiian shirts, bakugou hates this about them

unironically finger guns at every opportunity

KamiDeku

oh man, they are not okay

chronic pain

trying to cover up that anything is wrong with smiles and humor x2

yellow hair with more than once green lightning streak

electric green eyes that glow constantly

attacks with green lightning in general. it’s overpowered but they can control where it’s going now.

unafraid to go all out in a fight and suffers physically and mentally for it

really hard on themselves, low confidence

the kind of adhd where they have a million interest and skill-sets. they’ve learned so much, they genuinely are really smart. but they remember absolutely nothing

they get really frustrated and will often cry because of this. they know the information is there but they can never find it when they need it. they’re just reaching into their brain and finding nothing when they know something is supposed to be there. they hate it

pretty depressed

an incredibly loyal friend, always trying to help no matter how worn out they are

is genuinely really funny. they know how to do critical and aware humor, situational humor, improv. they could do standup if they tried.

probably eats really weird food. i see them combining bizarre food items together and really liking it. will put garbage into their body, shaggy style

easygoing when they don’t have any stressors

but extremely anxious when there are stressors (note: there are a lot of stressors)

stims with their hands a lot. their hands just can’t hold still. will flap twiddle, twitch, tap, anything

the friend that will try to put all the focus on you when it’s clear that they’re the one having a meltdown.

is baby

the friend groups come out in force for this one. they will not let them feel alone or bad. kamideku is getting the support they need

loves cuddles

JiroDeku

vibing

Jirou brings out Mido’s attitude, so honestly they are mean and sassy and sarcastic. they’d insult you and you’d thank them for it

straight green and purple hair in an gradient, keeps the earlobes.

trying and succeeding to be punk rock but is also adorable. like you know they can and will kick your ass, but they are also so short and they have chubby cheeks and freckles. they’re adorable

a short and compensating for it vibe except they are legitimately edgy

they might be nb, but they are also absolutely still a sword lesbian

sonic boom quirk. they will destroy building with their quirk, they will destroy eardrums

absolutely in a punk band and capable of rapping

probably does vocaloid/computer based music

could also see them using a gun

I could see them being into arson, too, hopefully only for good reasons 

is wild and chaotic. they are genuinely having a lot of fun.

their grin is absolutely feral and a threat, and honestly that’s very valid and sexy of them

pretty chill when they aren’t up to shit, 

constantly listening to music, always has a pair of good headphones around their neck

vibes  with Bakugou more than Jirou does alone.

big sister to most of the class

probably kicks doors open

serodeku

spiderman

weird, not in an artistic or intentional way. they just have an off vibe

unsettling smile, freckles, eyes that are a bit to big. curly black hair.

on the plain side

lanky and scarred

can shoots energy, tentacles, and tape from elbows.

great a parkour, has fantastic mobility

full of nervous energy, but still 100% down to fuck with people

secretly a sadist.

will call anyone out when they’re being stupid or reckless

pretty social

loves fruits and vegetables

loves tv, could probably tell you everything about the show he’s watching

pretty bashful

besties with Kaminari and Kirishima

a great hype man

insane, slightly scary pranks

it’s hard to tell what they’re thinking, especially in a fight

fantastic at creating traps and pushing people into them

tries to pretend he’s not as dangerous or confident as he really is. would prefer to be underestimated

tends to talk down his achievements as a result

but knows exactly how powerful they are

(masterlist)

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh Season Zero: The Yo-yo Crimes of Jounouchi Pt 2

OK, last we left off, we were in a different Youtube video. This one I grabbed off of 2 different videos (you’ll see their watermark in the corner change) and it makes me appreciate the quality that our other episodes have been, honestly. A little bit of compression going on in these, just to give you even more of that nostalgic feel of watching a bootleg anime from the 90′s your brother got from his weird high school friend’s Napster account.

Because this is done with subtitles on, it takes more caps to cover it. Part of why I rewrite the dialogue in these recaps is to help abridge stuff, and so consider yourself warned...there’s a lot of caps in this one. For most of you, that’s probably not much of a problem. But I’m just letting you know because...I sure wasn’t expecting it to be over 40 caps for half an episode, and I’ll probably just type less to make up for that. (Tumblr keeps Erasing All My Words anyway, so this is for the best, but that’s a tech issue I already went into in another post.)

(read more under the cut)

So, to start off, Yugioh and co. walk up to a bar like a really weird version of a bar joke and are like “do you know where we can find the yo-yo gang?” And, much like a video game npc, the bartender was like “I know EXACTLY what you’re talking about, and I heard every part of their intimate conversation. Let me give you all the details, children.”

Hey, PS, there’s an entire Wikipedia entry about the bar joke. And that is wild. Apparently the first bar joke was from Ancient Sumeria, and Wikipedia was like “Here is the Sumerian joke, but we Do Not Get it. Please don’t try to get it.”

The joke being: "A dog walked into a tavern and said, 'I can't see a thing. I'll open this one'."

Damn. I can’t believe the Sumerians were onto meme humor before we ever invented memes. They were in the Galaxy brain over there in the land before time, holy crap. Depositing their memes knowing that 7,000 years later mankind would look at the world’s first joke and be like “I don’t get it!” while all the millennials and zoomers with our MB of nonsense memes on our phones are like “No. I get it.” Good on you Sumerians, that is freakin the best joke ever made. 7000 years to get to the punch line of confusing the hell out of all us. Bless.

They promptly tell Miho that everything was resolved and that she should go to bed and she was like “Cool!” and exited stage left. Bye, I guess. Anzu also went home, but she didn’t have to be tricked into doing it, she just went the hell to bed.

(PS, I just realized that if I want to write less...I should probably not look up Wikipedia articles about the world’s first ever bar joke. But y’all, habits die so freakin hard, and I just feel like it’s very pertinent to this Yugioh recap, although I know it’s really not.)

Yuugi and Honda decide to visit the warehouse and harass Jounouchi. In the context of the show, they’re going out of their way to pull their best friend out of society’s systemic downward pull of a life of crime and most likely turning into exactly like his Father. But, the way that it’s storyboarded makes it look a lot like these kids just show up out of the corner and this gang was like “Damn it, again? OMG small children, please leave us alone!”

Honda hands over the symbolism sash, to which Jounouchi symbolically says “Nyeh.”

And Honda didn’t take it very well.

After tending to his kidneys for a little while, Honda decided to go back at it again at the Krispy Cream and do some sort of insane parkour over this completely ordinary fence.

Ah, the very first instance of real duel law where you duel over a relationship. In later seasons duel law is invoked for things like Mai’s marriage and the right to date Tea (and then just kind of forgetting you ever won the right to date Tea twice). But to think the very first time was Honda dueling for the right of Jounouchi to be part of nerd gang because Jounouchi had fallen to the dark side yo-yo gang across the street run by some 40 year old man with blue hair.

How many times is Honda gonna fight with a broom? Like are they just magnetized to his location? where are they even coming from?

Freakin janitor powers over here, put him in a Final Fantasy style RPG. I want to see what his limit break would be.

Not like it matters, because Hirotani very quickly explains why these yo-yo’s are at all a threat.

Which honestly shouldn’t be...so lethal? Seems like the weight is all you need, not really the spikes. But it’s at least stronger than Honda’s janitor stuff.

Unfortunate for Honda that he just destroyed an antique.

So with lightning reflexes, Yuugi does what he does most:

The death yo-yo ricochets back and does this little itty bitty scrape to this guy’s face and he’s real bothered by it. Although it’s like...well dude, you’re a 50 year old high schooler, I don’t think people will notice the scrape compared to everything else falling apart in your life.

And so then the Yugioh Season Zero team was like “oh shoot is it time to torture Yuugi???” and they got hella excited.

Like I thought it was just Yuugi’s class that were a bunch of disturbing criminal disasters, but I guess it’s the whole city. Like...was Yuugi’s class the good school?

I mean, it can’t be, there’s no way...

but like...is there a good school in this universe? How does anyone survive till graduation? If you so much as disgrace a yo-yo, you will get the torture treatment that I sure did expect in Yakuza games, but not so much in Yugioh, tbh.

Just a reminder: This is the third time we’ve beat up Yuugi this episode. Within the first meeting of Yuugi and Hirotani, he beat the tar out of Yuugi within eye shot of Jounouchi. So like...Jounouchi was reallllllllllllllllly lax on that deal, right? Like...he took his toot sweet time to realize “yeah this just ain’t ever gonna happen.”

And then the yo-yo wars begin.

Just like Solid Snake crawling through the radiation chamber.

Hirotani throws his Fyper-yoyo, Jounouchi intercepts with his Eireboy, and Hirotani’s completely terrible yo-yo just flies off the string again because Hirotani should have just sticked to using his fists. No wonder they wanted to recruit Jounouchi so badly, their yo-yo game is so off.

We never get a door to darkness in this episode, dipping our enemies into mind horrors. Instead, we get home-alone style traps. But, this makes sense. Not only do the show makers have to make Yuugi avoid solving problems with magic in front of Jounouchi, they also have to make it Jounouchi’s choice to leave Hirotani behind. If Yuugi did it for him in like...some sort of duel law situation...then that sort of leaves out Jounouchi’s choice in the equation.

Not like this ever really comes up in later seasons, since who even follows through with duel law and marries Mai? But like, it does feel like Season Zero calls out the later Seasons a bit in this regard. Honda got beat up because he tried to win Jounouchi back by force (or game, I guess.) That was just another form of coercion on the heels of Hirotani’s. What Jounouchi actually needed was to make his own decision to leave.

...most other anime I’d be like “I’m sure that’s just a translation error” but not this one.

So Yuugi runs to the roof where Jounouchi will never see this.

My audible sigh reading this line about fight club roof.

These stupid gang members went into Yuugi’s native territory, not just a fight club roof, but on a warehouse? They were dead before they arrived.

This was like maybe 3 frames of animation in just rapid succession, it was pretty silly and good.

Reminder that like 4 minutes ago, Yuugi was about to get like executed on a meat hook.

Speaking of getting executed on a meathook:

Hope you like the idea of glass in your eyes, because this anime’s got it.

They chase Yuugi around, in a sequence that was done mostly to conserve frames, so you rarely saw the ground until this shot:

Lots of falling down this episode, but unlike Tea, who fell from a warehouse ceiling once and just kind of rubbed her ass after and was like “ah damn it.” these guys won’t come out of it virtually unscathed.

Also, Honda is here now:

Jumping off of his symbolic sash trapeze, he decides to do in Hirotani for good.

Hey so like...walk the dog is a fairly gentle walk that a yo-yo does slowly on the ground right?

Just pointing out how sensitive Hirotani’s fingies are.

And he...didn’t appear to be dead, so I don’t have to add to the bodycount...but it’s gonna be a real long road for recovery.

And now, with the gang back together Jounouchi is back at school knee deep in make up assignments he’ll probably completely ignore since we know that in a years time, these fools are going to be trapped on Pegasus’ island, and at that point school will be just that place you talk about when you try to remember why you’re friends with Bakura.

---hey aren’t those chairs attached to the desks?

Because...holy crap, Anzu.

Honestly this is what you see before you die, but I guess Jounouchi died off screen after the episode ended, so I don’t have to add him to the deathcount (again). RIP.

Alright! That took like...8 tries to get Tumblr to save this one, but it managed! (well...I guess “managed” isn’t the word you’d use for a typing program that takes 8 tries to save)

Next time, we’ll be back to S5, for an arc I’ve heard is kind of boring. We’ll see. If it truly is, I can condense episodes into fewer posts. Or maybe it’s a secret gem? I guess we shall see.

And if you just got here this is a link to read all the Season Zero recaps from the start:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yuugi-muto/chrono

(there’s also a link to read all the Yugioh posts we wrote from the start in chrono order but straight up, this file won’t freakin save, and I just can’t even will myself to look up that link again. It’s on the home page of this blog on the right.)

[p5youllneverseeitcoming]

Weird ask, but how would Makoto, Ann, and Haru react to if each of them are trapped in a bubble they can’t pop, in the metaverse?

Haha, that sounds like a fun idea! And let's face it, we all wanted to blow a bubble big enough to fit us when we were children... Right?

Also! Sorry for my absence but I just recently got my results and I passed all my uni modules which was a BIG relief!... Also may or may not have become addicted to playing Hades.... >_<

Makoto Niijima, Ann Takamaki and Haru Okumura trapped in a bubble in the Metaverse

Makoto Niijima:

> She would try and come up with a logical explanation as to why this happened

> Which would naturally lead her to use said logic to try and solve this issue

> Let’s face it, her first solution would be to just try and pop it by touching it 

> But of course that didn’t work

> So the next logical step would be to punch it with her weapon

> The girl even shoots the bubble

> But for some reason, it is entirely indestructible 

> Of course, her doing all that cause the rest of the party to look at her with concern and fear

> “Um, Queen, you uh, doing alright there?” Skull asks as he cautiously takes a step forward

> “I don’t understand... I know the Metaverse is unpredictable but this is just ridiculous.” Queen mutters to herself as she continues to poke at the bubble

> “I think it’s pretty cool! Didn’t you ever dream of flying away in a bubble as a child?” Panther asks trying her best to hide a smile

> “I would much rather be on the ground...” Queen says before sighing, “Does anyone have any ideas on how to pop it?”

> “Maybe I can try?” Noir asks with a smile as she raises her axe

> “How about we try magic first?” Joker says as he places a hand on Noir’s shoulder

> After about 10 minutes of trying various spells (as well as chasing after the bubble due to Mona’s wind being very ineffective) the Thieves finally managed to pop the bubble

> With a rather ungraceful landing, she was finally free

> Did it pop because it received a certain amount of damage? Well, it doesn’t really matter at this point

> Queen made them promise to never speak of this or they would receive the Fists of Justice

Ann Takamaki:

> Honestly? She would probably find it quite fun

> Sure, she would much rather not be trapped in some weird magic bubble

> But she might at well see how it turns out right?

> She did try and hit it a few times with her whip but all that did was cause it to wobble like it was made out of rubber or something

> This in turn clearly peaked Fox’s interest as he began to poke at the bubble from various different places

> “How did you even manage to get stuck in this?!” Skull says as he stares at the bubble in confusion

> “I don’t know! It’s not like I can tell exactly what enemies will cast on me!” Panther shouts back as she puts her hands on her hips to exaggerate her point

> “Don’t worry Panther! We will get you out of here in no time!” Mona shouts as he jumps up

> However, that was easier said than done

> No matter how hard the others slashed and hit the bubble, it simply didn’t pop

> “It’s... Indestructible...?” Queen muttered to herself as she tilted her head in confusion

> “That can’t be true, hold on.” Joker says as he starts digging through his pockets

> Various things start falling out such as various soda cans, sweets, lightning rods... Until finally he pulls out what looks like a bottle of water

> “Huh?” Skull says as he stares at Joker

> “It’s Exorcism Water... It’s worth a try right?” Joker says as he unscrews the cap and turns to face Panther 

> Surprisingly, that somehow worked

> Needless to say, Panther was told to “take a break”

> Also, the party made sure to stock up on a lot of Exorcism Water

Haru Okumura:

> “Hm... Everyone, please step aside I might have an idea.” Crow says as he does a little bow before turning to Joker “Joker, I will need your help.”

> Joker only smiles in reply as he brings out his knife

> “It’s showtime.” He says before him and Crow slash at the bubble

> The rest of the Phantom Thieves can’t help but stare

> “S-Such intensity...” Navi says

> However, despite this intensity, the bubble was still fully in tact

> “That’s unfortunate.” Noir says, a hint of amusement in her voice

> “Noir, how did you even get into this situation?” Queen asks studying the bubble with curiosity

> “Oh! I am not too sure honestly! I heard a strange noise behind me and the next thing I knew, I was trapped!” Noir explains as she adjusts her hat

> “Well, uh, the Metaverse is full of things we don’t understand... I guess this is one of them.” Mona says as he tilts his head to the side

> For the next 20 minutes, the Thieves tried everything they could think of to pop the bubble

> All attempts were unsuccessful, but that doesn’t mean that they did not make Noir giggle 

> “My, I do apologise for causing so much trouble!” She says after what felt like the 100th attempt

> “You don’t really seem too upset by it...” Skull says which causes Noir to giggle again

> “I suppose not! It is quite fun to be floating.” Noir answers as she does a little twirl

> “Maybe we can use this situation to our advantage? I think that if Skull were to hit the bubble we could essentially knock out an entire group of Shadows in one go.” Fox suggests as he pokes the bubble once more

> To everyone’s surprise, this idea actually worked

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

Hmm, still thinking about character profiles… might try and do something with that after this arc, since I didn’t do it before the USJ arc. Or maybe I should wait until after the Sports Festival? I suppose I’ll have to wait and see if I have enough material…

Still, it does feel weird to try and do character profiles when there are other ones out there that are so much more detailed and really dig into things. I mean, it can’t necessarily hurt for me to do, but it’d also push back the chapters even further when I just want to get caught up, so… bleh.

Anyways, chapter.

[No. 16 - Know Your Enemies]

First off, Mineta, why. Just. Sigh. 

Our first panel has izuku and Tsuyu wading towards the edge of the water, Izuku cradling his broken finger while Tsuyu drags Mineta along. Long and short, Mineta says the villains will be stuck together all day. Izuku is muttering about how lucky they were, because that move was a real gamble, and if the villains had been smart, a few of them would have been hidden under the water. He can guess they weren’t thinking ahead, but they still need to be careful…

Tsuyu tells him to stop, since what he’s muttering about is scary. She then asks him what they should do now. Izuku determines that their top priority is calling for help, and that if possible, they should follow the shoreline and make for the exit, avoiding the plaza altogether. (Meanwhile, Tsuyu asks if Izuku’s okay, which he confirms even while wincing over his injury.) Izuku’s narration recounts that their first battle ended in a win, but that he’d made a deadly wrong assumption. 

Huh. Izuku is using his elbow pad as a temporary compress for his broken finger. Interesting.

Tsuyu accepts Izuku’s plan, and then notes that Aizawa is drawing a large number of villains to the plaza. Izuku is worried about their teacher, noting that there’s too many enemies. Of course, Eraserhead is holding his own out there, but it’s too much for him, and that he had to know that, but jumped in to protect the class anyways.

Mineta think Izuku is planning something stupid (which I mean, rude but fair) while Tsuyu gives a neutral ribbit. Izuku clarifies that he isn’t saying they should dive right into the fight - just that they watch for an opening and do what they can to lighten their teacher’s load. The narration from above finishes with an ominous statement - thinking that they stood a chance against those enemies was a grave miscalculation.

Then we get an overview of the USJ and where everyone was sent, serving as the ‘cover page’ for the chapter. 

Interestingly, neither Aoyama or Hagakure have a confirmed location, though I am aware that Hagakure later states she was in the same zone as Shouto. And Shouji… oh, poor Shouji…

Can’t believe my good hugs boy was slandered like this… damn you Viz…

Not to mention the disrespect to our goddess Yaomomo… when will it end...

Next up, we get to see Shouto being casually intimidating. He exhales a chilled breath as his shoulder starts to steam, musing about the villains’ divide and conquer strategy. He then notes with a half-hearted preemptive apology that it’s hard to see the villains who were in the landslide zone as any more than thugs with quirks they can’t even handle. 

Jesus christ where does his ice end.

Shouto approaches the closest villain - perhaps the leader of that squad - his boots crunching in the ice as his left side continues to steam. The squad leader(?) calls him a bastard and complains how he reacted the second he was warped there, as well as wonders if he’s really just a kid before complaining about the pain from the frostbite of the ice.

Shouto briefly flashes back to Shigaraki mentioning how they brought along so many playmates (which I guess confirms that Jirou and/or Shouji forwarded some of what the villains were saying down in the plaza because otherwise there’s no way they should have heard from that distance.) He thinks about how the villains want to kill All Might, and and first, they’d all seemed elite, so they could use their numbers to overwhelm him. But taking a closer look, the pawns are only there for the kids, nothing but a gang of low-level cannon fodder. As far as he can tell, there are only about four or five really dangerous individuals there.

He then sits down(!!!) as he gets the villains’ attention, noting that at the rate they’re going, their skin will rot away from frostbite. The villains are alarm, but Shouto continues on, explaining that he’s trying to become a hero, and that heroes don’t do such horrible things. As he thinks about what he needs to do next, he asks the villains what makes them think they can kill All Might, and to tell him their plan.

Shouto, my man, that is a power move and a half right there, I cannot believe he actually sits down and makes them talk to him like an unruly class of students or sommat. Just, fucking hell, I don’t even know if he realizes how effectively he just asserted his dominance.

Our next scene shift (and the last for this post) is over to Yaomomo, Jirou, and Kaminari in the mountain zone, surrounded by enemies. 

Pick your fighter. I’m Birb Dude. 

A lot of those enemies have weapons of zome kind and are overall fairly intimidating, though there’s also this one fucker-

I’m sorry I just cannot take this one seriously, what the FUCK is that. There’s certainly some other questionable villains in this mess, but that one just. What.

Anyways. Kaminari just dodges a heavy punch from the big villain with the weird helmet on. He yelps as he gets closer to the girls and gets into formation (back to back to back), complaining about his whole life flashing before his eyes and asking who the hell those guys are and what they’re doing there. Jirou tells him to worry about that later, with Yaomomo stating they need to figure out how to get away from that mob. 

Jirou asks Kaminari to confirm he’s a ‘lightning guy’, and then tells him to just fry them all to a crisp. While she’s holding a presumably metal sword. Yeah no, I can’t see anything wrong with that plan. Kaminari is offended because why wasn’t she paying attention when were partners during the battle training? 

He then goes on to explain that he can only cover himself in electricity (so he wants a weapon), then goes on to say that he can discharge it, but he can’t control it - he’d hit them as well! Kind of like Todoroki’s power. He also states that he’s still trying to call for help, but his special transceiver is being jammed. He then finishes with the statement that they can’t rely on him, so he’s relying on them, giving a thumbs up with a bit of zap coming off of it.

Jirou grumbles about how he blabs a lot for a guy, then turns and kicks him into the crowd of villains, telling him to be a human stun gun. Kaminari yelps in disbelief at the betrayal, smacking right into the huge villain who almost punched him before and giving the guy a real good zap. Jirou is unimpressed as Kaminari realizes that the adhoc plan actually worked, and that the two can in fact rely on him after all. Jirou notes that that was easy.

Two other villains move to go after Kaminari, who is STILL somehow zapping the guy (how is that villain not dead yet??), with the rock fisted guy aiming a massive bouldery fist at a scared Kaminari. However, right before it hits, it gets cracked open by some kind of soundsave, leaving the villain’s unprotected fist to land right in Kaminari’s face and get them brutally zapped as well.

The boar-masked villain with knives tries to leap in, but a net shot from seemingly nowhere catches him mid-air and sends him falling to the ground caught up in it. We see right after that it was shot from Yaomomo’s right forearm / elbow, all while she’s blocking another strike from a different villain with her staff. She tells Jirou and Kaminari to get serious, with Jirou apologizing as she lifts her short sword again. 

Jirou unplugs her ear jack from the speaker in her right boot, the jack retracting to normal length as she notes that she had a good plan, but Kaminari… (something? IDK. I guess he’s in the way? Or she wasn’t expecting his quirk limitations?)

We get her full name - Jirou Kyoka - and a description of her quirk, Earphone Jack.

We also get to see her use her quirk without the speakers, directing one of those amplified heartbeats as a direct attack at some of the villains, who hold their hears as they shout from the pain. Jirou blocks another up-close sword attack with her own short sword, nothing that in her costume request, she asked for a way to focus her sound in one direction.

A question about her costume, like. Why are the speakers in her boots? I mean, I know her costume needed speakers to direct her quirk, but why not go for something like Present Mic’s costume where she could have the speakers on her shoulders and so a lot closer to her quirk???

Yeah, I need to try and keep remembering that these are first draft costumes made by fifteen year olds and not meant to be used in the field / against villains yet. Sometimes I am a dumb. Thank you discord for knocking my head straight.

Moving on, we get Yaomomo kicking another villain back as she states that ‘it’s ready’, which confuses Jirou and I guess the villains as well. The villain she kicked stumbles back as Yaomomo crouches over, her back starting to bulge as she notes that it took some time, what with it being a larger object. The back of her costume tears open in a fairly gruesome-seeming image, only for the next panel to reveal it’s some kind of huge sheet that shoot out over her and Jirou’s heads before coming down to completely cover them both.

The villains are confused about the sheet, asking if the kids are trying to shield themselves. Meanwhile, Kaminari seems done shocking the other villains, stumbling as others start to run at him with their weapons or hands poised to strike. Momo clarifies that the sheet is a 100 mm thick insulation sheet, then tells Kaminari ‘now.’ Kaminari, nose bloody, realizes her plan and let her know that. He lifts his arms, telling the villains that he’s actually super strong before bringing them down and fully unleashing his quirk, zapping all of them at once.

Pikachu, use Thunder!

As the quirk wears off, we see all the villains are in no condition to keep fighting. Smoke rises from the insulated sheet as Yaomomo lifts the edge, noting that now that that is handled, she’s worried about the others, so they need to hurry up and regroup. Jirou is flustered as she points out Yaomomo’s wardrobe malfunction (which I will not be sharing here), while Yaomomo calmly replies she can make more clothes. We also get a blurb on Yaomomo’s quirk:

As well as probably one of the most important things that Bones cut out for some stupid reason: belly rolls!

Yes, Yaomomo actually has a healthy weight in the manga. I mean, all the girls do, but still. Why do animes just ruin this stuff. 

Anyways, our last two panels of the page and this half of the chapter show Kaminari totally brain dead as he cheers, with another blurb about his quirk:

Behind all three of them, we see a fist smashing up out of the ground, showing that someone managed to dodge that super-attack after all…

Anyways, that’s a wrap for now. Next time is all Aizawa and Shigaraki, and that’s gonna be… messy. See y’all then!

[iliumheightnights]

We Have A Jedi [15] | Peter Parker x Male Reader

Fandom: Star Wars, Marvel

Pairing: Peter Parker x Son Reader, Peter Parker x Male Reader

Summary: A distress call brings (M/N) back to earth, possibly for the last time.

Read from the beginning

A/N: HAHAHAHA We’re getting closer to the fun things. 

...

The Republic Cruiser Lightbringer.

(M/N) and Sheyo had joined their masters in the defense of the systems around Alderaan. As expected, the empire took the glassing of Alderaan as an opportunity to strike hard and fast against the surrounding systems. After a week of nonstop combat it seemed that things were finally stabilizing as the Empire was being pushed back from the Alderaan system.

Luckily, Alderaan, while being heavily devastated, was not as destroyed as they thought. Large portions of the planet were still habitable and there were still survivors. Still even with the planet remaining intact and with survivors, the casualty count was in the millions. The base that (M/N) and Sheyo had been in was completely obliterated, along with house Organa’s palace. Now that the fighting over the planet had finished, the rebuilding process was able to begin.

(M/N) was standing at the window in his room looking over the ravage planet. The devastation was large, but the sight of so many ships in orbit ready to help filled him with hope. No matter what this war would bring, hope would survive as long as everyone worked together. As he observed his comms went off, checking he saw it was coming from his father. This wasn’t a normal call though, it was a distress call.

(M/N) couldn’t answer the call since it was only putting out a beacon. He quickly called his mom who came in no time. “(M/N) what is it?” He didn’t waste any time in showing her the beacon. “It’s from my old communicator. It’s from dad. He’s in trouble. We have to help.” Janai sighed and rubbed her face. “I’m sorry (M/N). I know you want to help your dad but we can’t. If the council finds out we left they’d come after us, I’ll protect you know matter what. I’m sorry but we’re not going.” She didn’t say anything else as she left the room. “Well I am.” He muttered under his breath. 

Grabbing his things he went to find Sheyo. “Looking for me?” He turned to find his friend coming up to him. “Your mom said for me to keep an eye on you. Where are we off to?” He smiled at her before pulling her along. The two made it to the hangar and found the shuttle they had arrived on. “Alright. We’re going to have to be quick to get out of here. We're going to get in a lot of trouble...you sure you want to come?” Sheyo nodded. “Yep. If someone’s in trouble, we’re supposed to help. Plus you’re my best friend, we’re gonna get in trouble together.” 

They both checked around and when the coast was clear they both booked it for the shuttle. What they hadn’t expected when they boarded was to see Janai and Master Dia there. “So, what part of we’re not going did you not understand?” Janai said. “Sheyo. You know better than this.” Dia said, causing Sheyo to close up a bit. “You’re not going to let this go are you?” Janai asked (M/N), who nodded. “I can’t just leave them. Ignoring the fact he’s my father, we can’t just let people who need our help down!” Janai sighed. “What do you say Dia? Up for a side trip back to Earth?” Dia smirked and went to the ship's controls. “Wouldn’t be the first time I disobeyed the council for you.”

That's how the small group found themselves on their way to earth. “So your father didn’t say anything?” Sheyo asked him. “No. It’s just a beacon. But I have a feeling something really bad has happened.” If only he was wrong. Arriving at Earth they followed the location of the beacon and stumbled on something they weren’t expecting. “Is that...is that city flying?” In front of them a large chunk of the ground was being lifted up by repulsors with a city on it. “We got tons of heat signatures. There’s still people up there...and a lot of electric kinetic energy. Like...a LOT.” Janai stood up and walked to the door of the ship. “Dia. Keep this shuttle airborne. (M/N), Sheyo, with me. We’ll help out with whatever’s going on.” 

The door of the shuttle opened and the three jedi jumped to the city below. The city had been ravaged, people ran around them afraid. It reminded (M/N) of the battle of New York years ago. “There!” Sheyo pointed out and he turned to see droids landing on the ground, seeming to be targeting anyone really. “Take them out! Defend the civilians!” The three ignited their lightsabers and pushed the attack.

(M/N) deflected the bolts of energy back onto the droids, destroying them. Sheyo joined by his side and helped cut through the oncoming waves of enemies. “So, is it just me or do these things look like a messed up version of your dad’s ironman suit?” It was only then that (M/N) actually took a closer look at the droids. Sheyo was right, the droids had a similar face plate to his fathers but had a bit of a difference. “Oh dad, what did you do?”

“Incoming!” His mother shouted and he saw a large wave of droids rushing their way. “There’s too many of them for us to handle!” Sheyo said. (M/N) quickly surveyed the surrounding area to find anything that might help them. That help came in the form of a wrecked bus. Perfect. He reached out both hands and focused on the bus. It took everything from him to lift the wreck and launch it at the wave of incoming hostels. The good news was that it took out a large chunk of the droids, allowing the three to cut the rest down.

Dia’s voice cut through the comms. “These things are trying to take me out but I’m handling it. A new ship arrived...a big one! But they seem to be friendlies they’re helping evacuate civilians. They could use some more help though.” The three didn’t need to be told again and made their way to the location. Upon their arrival (M/N)’s eyes widened as he saw the helicarrier. He thought they had been destroyed when Steve told him about the whole Hydra ordeal. Speaking of Steve, he saw the supersoldier and Nat helping protect the people from the droids.

A swarm of droids descended on the civilians and (M/N) rushed to protect. He watched as Steve became surrounded and he quickly sprung into action. Jumping over a wrecked car he ignited his blades and sliced through the droids. He blocked some blaster fire and started speaking. “I leave for a couple days and this is what happens? Aren’t you supposed to be earth’s mightiest?” He smirked and Steve let out a laugh grabbing his shield before throwing it at the droids. “Hey, blame your dad for this one.” (M/N) jumped over Steve and cut the head off another droid. “Oh I am! Now where’d this carrier come from? I thought you said they were all destroyed!” He blocked more bolts and Steve smashed his shield into the chest of another droid. “Fury.” He simply said and (M/N) nodded his head. “Sounds about right.”

The sound of familiar repulsors came to his ears and he looked up to watch his father fly past firing at some droids that were flying. He also noticed how Rhodey had joined the fight. “When did he join the avengers?” He also watched as a man with what looked like wings flew by. “And who’s that?” Steve smiled and patted (M/N)’s shoulder. “Sam. Come on, we have to protect the core!” Janai followed (M/N) but Sheyo stayed with the civilians. “Go! I’ll protect the people here. Go protect whatever the core is!” 

Steve and Nat lead them to where the core was. They were met with the others and his father quickly hugged him. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d be out there.” (M/N) stopped and pulled back looking at Tony confused. “What do you mean? I came because of the distress beacon you sent out.” Tony seemed confused, even through the armor. “I didn’t send out any beacon.” A robotic voice called out. “I did.” He turned to see another droid but looked much more put together than the others. “Welcome home (M/N) Stark. Let’s see if the jedi are actually up to par.”  (M/N) ignited his lightsabers, Janai joining him. “Is this the best you can do!?” Thor shouted at the droid. In that moment a large swarm of droids came rushing. “You just HAD to ask. Didn’t you?” (M/N) glared at Thor who smiled sheepishly.

The main robot continued his speech. “This is what I wanted. All of you against me. How could you possibly hope to stop me?” Tony powered up his suit again and stood firm next to his son. “Well,like the old man said. Together.” And in an instant (M/N) was once again fighting side by side with the avengers. During the fight, (M/N) noticed three new members he hadn’t met yet. One was a man who was incredibly fast, another was a woman who seemed to have a strange red glow around her, the other a man who could fly...and was that the mind stone?!

During the fight he also found out what the head droid’s name was. Ultron. The flying man with the mind stone shot out a beam knocking Ultron away from the rest of the attack, Thor and Tony followed after shooting their own beams at the droid. Not wanting it to get away (M/N) focused on the force and thought of a technique he had never tried before. He had only seen it be used by Master Plo once before. It was the Jedi's version of force lightning. Force Judgement. He shot out his hands and orange bolts of lightning began zapping Ultron. He could have sworn he saw Thor smirk at him. (M/N) even smirked as he watched the lightning hit Ultron, he was able to actually do it. He used force judgement! They all stopped firing on Ultron. “You know, with the benefit of hindsight…” He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Hulk came in and punched him, sending him flying. “Hey Hulk!” The colossal green man turned to (M/N) who lifted up a thumb. “Nice work bud!” Hulk smiled and grinned at him before running off. Ultron’s bots began retreating. “We can’t let them leave the city!” His dad said. “We have another problem, the airs getting thin. We need to hurry up.” Janai said approaching them.

The civilians still needed to be evacuated and (M/N) found himself following Steve, Nat and Clint. “So...you come from space?” (M/N) looked at the man beside him, the new one. “Yep. And you run fast.” The man faked an insulted look. “You insult me. I’m the fastest man alive.” (M/N) shook his head and rolled his eyes but let a chuckle escape him. At least if he died here he died in good company. Steve was sweeping for stragglers while the rest had met up with Sheyo and helped evacuate the remaining people. The evacuation had been going alright and (M/N) was making sure that no bots got close enough to anyone. Then he felt like something was off. He turned and watched as Clint grabbed a boy and Pietro, the new man, seemed to rush for him. He noticed an ultron bot begin firing at Clint and the boy, but Pietro would be the one to take them. No, he wasn’t going to lose anyone today. Without even thinking (M/N) let out a scream releasing all of his anger and the bot and it’s bullets froze in time. Clint and Pietro looked at the frozen bot and (M/N). With his anger, (M/N) brought his hands together and the bullets and bot came crushing in on itself. Clint, the boy and Pietro were alright. They were alive. (M/N) became light headed and leaned on the side of a building. He had just tapped in and used the darkside. What the scariest part was, was how natural it came to him. Soon he found himself being lifted up and quickly moved. Pietro had moved him to one of the boats. “You stay here. You’ve done enough protecting people!” Then Pietro was gone, going to find his sister. The last thing (M/N) noticed was Hulk jumping after a jet before falling into darkness.

…

He woke up in a nice bed. Around him were monitors and wires, so he was in a med room. Unlike other med rooms and units he had been in, this one actually seemed more relaxed and comfortable. There was a window and he noticed how he was on the ground, not in the air. He wondered what happened? What remained of that city? Did all the people escape? Then he thought of what happened before he passed out. He used the dark side. The one thing he was never supposed to do and he did it. He stopped thinking of it, if he continued to think over it, it would consume him.

Sitting up, he stepped out of the bed. The machines began to beep but (M/N) simply turned them off. He was still dressed like how he had when they arrived. He moved to the door and opened it up to an empty hallway. He looked around him but didn’t recognize where he was. “You’re awake!” He recognized that voice. With a rush of air, Pietro was standing in front of him smiling at him. “Welcome back my friend! I gotta say you scared us there with how quickly you passed out.” Another voice joined them. “Oh leave him alone.” The woman that was there too walked up to them leaning on Pietro. “I’m Wanda. We haven’t gotten to meet yet. My brother told me about what you did. Thank you for saving his life.” (M/N) rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. “No problem. Didn’t want to lose anyone, especially the ONE person with an actual sense of humor.” They all laughed, but Wanda began walking. “Come on. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you’re awake.”

The twins took him to another room where Tony and Steve were talking with Janai, Dia and Sheyo. “(M/N)! You’re awake!” Sheyo shouted when she spotted him. His mother smiled at him but Tony charged at him pulling him into a hug. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.” (M/N) patted Tony’s back. “Love you too dad.” Steve came up and patted (M/N)’s shoulder. “Pietro and Clint told us what happened. Good work kid.” (M/N)’s smile faltered a bit but only a bit. “I’m sorry to interrupt this touching moment, but I hate to say we must be leaving. We’ve been gone for too long already.” Janai said and (M/N) felt how his father deflated a bit. “Oh, yeah of course. Better get going.” He could see how Tony was down again and (M/N) was going to say something when the man with the mind stone came floating through the wall! “Excuse me sir. There’s a ship approaching the base.” Everyone was confused. “Ship? What do you mean Vision?” 

Exiting the base, they watched as a ship came flying towards the base. “Oh no.” Janai said, then turning to Tony. “Don’t say anything. You know us as friends from when I was here years ago.” Tony and the others seemed confused. “That’s a Jedi ship. This isn’t about to be good.” The ship landed and the ramp opened. (M/N)’s breath hitched as he watched five temple guards walk down the ramp. (M/N) and Janai walked forward. “Janai Udera. You have been summoned by the Jedi Council.” The head guard said. Janai bowed. “Off course. My padawan and I shall leave immediately.” The guard held up a hand. “He will go, but not as your padawan.” The man turned to (M/N). “(M/N) Stark, for breaking the rules of the Jedi order you are placed under arrest. You will be stripped of your weapons and taken before the Jedi Council to be judged.” The other guards surrounded him, taking his lightsabers and igniting their own creating a block between him and the avengers. “Master Dia. You and your padawan shall return to your original assignment of protecting the Alderaan system. Do not make us return for you.” Master Dia bowed at the man. “Of course.” The head guard turned and walked back up the ramp. (M/N) gave one last look at the avengers and saw how his dad looked so confused, sad and angry. Then he was being pushed forward by the guards.

The door of the ship closed and (M/N) wondered. What was going to happen now?

[ichikaakiyama]

FIC: Untimely Distractions (Hawks x Female Reader; smut)

DISCLAIMERS: Usual ownership disclaimers apply. Characters that are underaged/minors in canon are automatically aged-up to young adult/adult in my work by default unless otherwise stated.

TITLE: Untimely Distractions

PAIRING: Hawks/Female Reader

RATING: Hard R/Mature

WARNINGS: Smut

- - - - -

Hawks is an incorrigible, distracting flirt. This isn’t an opinion - it’s just the truth.

The bad thing about it is that he knows it. The worst thing about it is when the charismatic bastard turns all that charm and beguiling energy on and aims it right at you for everyone in the Hero Public Safety Commission office to see. Like now, for example.

“Come on, it’s just drinks,” he says, hovering over the side of your desk with his hands planted on the tabletop, holding his weight, “I don't even drink that much, but i could take you to this ONE place, holy crap, they make this INSANE tropical sunrise cocktail. Also there's a cute bartender there who seems into some things.” The intentionally comical waggle of his bushy eyebrows elicits a tiny giggle from you that you’re unable to reign in in time.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on patrol tonight?” you shoot back, continuing to work to try and convince him of disinterest on your part, “Or on some secret spying mission that no one else in this building is supposed to know about?”

“Well, I mean…” Hawks replies with a tiny shrug, “I’m sure I can find some time to--Wait, what do you know about my assignments?”

You can’t help but snort at his near carelessness. “Absolutely nothing, I’m sure,” you answer, feeding fresh sheets into your printer, “In any case, I’m busy tonight, as will you be. Besides,” you drop your voice a little, as if there isn’t a soul alive within hearing range who already knows that Hawks seems to like you a lot, “we’re supposed to be professionals.”

“When have you ever known me to be 100% professional at any given time?” he half-jokes, leaning in just as you sit back down. He laughs as you push him away. “Okay, fine. If not drinks, then lunch. Just a quick one. There’s an excellent yakitori place about five minutes from here, we can have a little spot all to ourselves, no extras and no distractions…”

You bat away a feather he had sent to tickle your cheek. “You’re a distraction, Hawks.”

“Yeah, but you like it,” he retorts, and you can hear the smirk in his tone.

“You think so, do you?” you gently scoff as he leans in over the table and closer to you.

“You like me,” Hawks points out, his voice and tone hitting just the right lower octave to get you to finally look right at him, blushing indignantly.

You can feel how fiercely your cheeks are coloring. “I-” you stammer, “That’s not...I mean, I don’t--”

Hawks straightens up again, an almost insufferable grin of victory brightening his face. “I’ll pick you up at 11:50am,” he tells you, “Don’t work too hard now, baby bird.” The pet name and the wink he leaves with has you coughing on a slight choke of embarrassment. 

The rest of your day is spent ducking your head, keeping busy and trying to pretend that no one else around you had heard your conversation with Hawks. You become so entranced in your own efforts to hide yourself from sneaky side-eyes and barely quieted giggles from your co-workers that you don’t realize what time it is until a gentle tapping on your cubicle wall lets you know it’s time for your lunch date.

You look up to see him leaning against one edge of the wall, arms crossed in front of him, a signature smirk plastered all over his smug face. “Hawks, I am busy,” you say with an audible tsk to drive home your point.

“Psh, no one’s ever too busy for yakitori,” Hawks points out.

“I mean, true,” you concede with a little sigh, “But-”

“Come oooon,” he whines, “What’s an hour? If you get crunched because I took you out on a lunch date, I promise to help you out so you don’t have to do overtime, then I’ll take you home myself so you get there faster. Deal?”

You raise an eyebrow at him. “How the hell do you even know where I live?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Hawks mutters with a small shrug, “Come ooooooon, kid. Yakitoriiiiiiiii.”

And he's just so annoyingly effing cute, doing stupid things with his bushy eyebrows and little wiggles of his hips, and he looks RIDICULOUS. You know he’s not going to take no for an answer.

“Fine,” you finally agree, “but just one hour. Then you come back and help me sort all of this out.”

“I promise,” Hawks replies, crossing his heart with a finger while holding his right hand up for emphasis.

To Hawks’ credit, the yakitori place is just as close as he had said, and the food is ridiculously good. Time flies nearly as fast as he does as you enjoy an almost uncharacteristically casual conversation about each other’s nothings - how work is, how your family is doing, when was the last time you made pastries and why didn’t you save him some. The food is gone before you even really realize it, and he doesn’t even let you pull your wallet out to pay. With a grin and a wink, for you and the waitress, he pays for everything, then offers you a hand to take to help you out of your seat and walk you back to the office. You blush a little, but you take it, and his smirk is noticeably softer when you do.

You don’t get too far, however, when he pulls you in close, winks and gives you a quick warning of “hang on, kid,” before his wings suddenly flare out and flap. Suddenly you're in the air, and he's got you safe and secure in the few seconds it takes him to fly you up to the roof of a nearby apartment building.

It doesn’t take you much longer to remember that the cheeky bastard lives here, of course he lives near the HSPC, and he, most likely, has had this planned the entire time.

“Jerk,” you snort, although you’re not exactly fighting the arm he has around your waist, keeping you flush against him.

“What?” he laughs, “I still have twenty minutes, don’t I?”

And he kisses you hard as he drags you into his room from the balcony, fingers working hurriedly to divest you of your bottoms.

“Fifteen,” you correct him, a little out of breath already from the kiss alone, "I'm not going back to the office looking like i just got rammed by a truck.”

"Well, better make it count then," he chuckles, and then you're on your back on his bed, and he's pulling you by the legs to the edge so he can pull your bottoms off and push your top up.

He wastes no time, diving right in, mouth eager and hungry, like a dying man savoring the first full meal he's had in years. Your legs are over his shoulders, one hand sliding up your body to squeeze at your breast while the other snakes around your thigh to rub at your clit like he's trying to start a fire with his thumb. He's a ravenous son of a bitch, moaning loud enough for you to feel, stopping every now and then just long enough to tell you how good you taste. He tells you to watch him devour you, but it's hard when his tongue feels that good and his fingers are experts of your body by now.

"You gonna come, babe?" he teases, rising from his knees to bend over you, and you're about to whine at the loss of contact when he cuts you off with a couple of fingers deep inside you, twisting and curling and stroking and spreading. 

“If you're gonna come you better do it soon,” he teases with a laugh, “You don't want the office to know you got eaten out for lunch, do you?” And his hand is merciless with quick, deep thrusts that aim right where they need to, and you're crying out, launching a fist weakly into his shoulder, which just makes him chuckle.

He urges you to come, telling you he wants to feel you come with his fingers deep inside you, promising to lick you clean afterwards if you'll be good for him and come right fucking now.

Your back arches halfway up off the bed when you do, clutching at your own breast with one hand and digging nails into his shoulder and neck with the other, and he peppers you with little kisses, the softness of each a sharp contract to to how roughly he pushes his fingers into you as he tries to draw your orgasm out a little longer.

“You're so good for me,” he coos, kissing your lips gently as you come down from your high, “So fucking pretty, baby bird.” And you can't help but grab at his jacket and pull him in close and kiss him for real. You hate him, but you love him, but you hate him, but you love him, and he knows.

“Fuck you,” you say when you come up for air, and he just laughs a full laugh, the smug bastard, kissing you again before pulling you to your feet. 

“You liked it.” 

“Shut up.” 

“You like me.”

“I love you.” 

“...But?” 

“But you're a smug dick and sometimes i don't know whether to punch you with my mouth or my fist.” 

“You're so cute when you're ticked off.”

He helps you back into your clothes, making sure to give you tiny kisses where he can, and he's always like this, always so showy with his flirting but secretive with his real affection. You kind of understand it, but not really. You've never questioned it, just accepted it as part of who he is. But you can't help but wonder about it sometimes. Not that you’d ever bring it up; you’re more likely to get hit by lightning than ever get a straight answer for that out of him.

He flies you both back to the office just in the nick of time, and you just barely managed to put yourself back together while he, of course, didn't have to do much more than straighten his clothes a bit and give his hair a little shake. You can feel eyes on you as he walks you back to your office, and although you're a little self-conscious about it, it’s times like these that you kind of can't help but be a bit smug at the fact that everyone just knows that Hawks is into you without anyone ever having to say it out loud.

Before he lets you go, he pulls you into an abandoned, unvisited corner and kisses you again, and it's a real boyfriend kiss, with small sighs and gentle touches and warmth. You can't help but love that you get to see this side of him, knowing that very few people have or will.

“Dinner?” he asks, and the only thing softer than his tone is the hand he has on your cheek.

“You're not working late?” you ask, unconscious of the way you snuggle into the warmth of his palm. 

“Not if you say yes to dinner,” he replies, the tiniest of smirks ghosting in the corner of his mouth.

“You think you're soooo cute, don't you?”

“Yes. Yes I do.” 

“...Fine. Dinner.”

 - - - - -

~ END. ~

[anothertimdrakestan]

Set In Stone - Choose Your Own Love Story Prologue (Tim Drake or Bart Allen x Reader)

Words: 2k

~ AH!!! Welcome to my newest multi chapter fic! Except there’s a twist! It’s up to you dear reader. I’ll be writing two different stories about each path, like a choose your own adventure, except you choose how your love story progresses to the eventual end! There will be a private masterlist specifically for this series where you can choose the way your personal love story unfolds. Just know that the future is never cemented, meaning you can always go back and try again! Think of this as the prologue to the actual event, but your first decision drops tomorrow, meet Bart or dig deeper into Tim? Hope you enjoy! ~

Seeing teenage heroes was really something else. They were your age, and they weren’t grumpy and old like the Justice League. “Okay well this is fun and all but I wanna hang with people my age!” you groaned following J'onn down the never ending corridors of the Watchtower. “You know your powers are not fit for the type of missions the Young Justice team attempt, you are arguably weaker than the regular human” he reminded you. That was rude. “Am not! I’m an asset! I can’t get hit cuz I know where they’re gonna swing so who cares if I have a mental breakdown every once and while!” J'onn knew you weren’t wrong, you taking a hit was a rare occurrence, but the Justice League refused to risk you even taking one hit, you’d protected thousands by scanning the infinite number of different possible futures. 

“Everything you need is here” you replied “I knew you were gonna say that, like I literally knew it” you also knew you had to prod J'onn just for about two more minutes until you met Nightwing. “Oh my god Nightwing fancy seeing you here!” you grinned at J'onn who now understood your goal. “Hello, I didn’t know the YJ team had a new member?” Dick glanced at J'onn who shrugged. “Do not blame me Nightwing, Flash found her and the team agreed she stays with us” you rolled your eyes before starting with Dick Grayson, but he didn’t know you knew that yet. 

“Hi! Y/N, no last name. Flash found me when he ran into the future and I was totally feeling the mode because I got these powers [ you tapped your head as Dick smirked ] and I can like see different parts of future when I’m super focussed, so like short time is kinda easy but far away and hard and I don’t remember anything from my past. I’m like a future only kinda girl.” you sighed, hoping you’d made sense. Dick’s eyes lit up. “So you don’t have a family, and they’re just keeping you here?” you nodded, crossing your arms to try to look more emotionally secure. 

“Dibs” and something sparked in your head, this was a new future. It hurt. You sunk to the ground clutching your head as a new future bounced around your consciousness. Trying to shake out of it you realized you’d been carried to a med bay, Dick and J'onn stood above you looking concerned. Pushing them off you as you got up you explained “sometimes people make big decisions that change the future, I’m guessing you calling ‘dibs’ on me changed something, but I’m a little too tired to check if that’s okay, also what does dibs even mean?” and Dick smiled, “you’ll have to come find out!” and against J'onn’s protests he pulled you towards the Zeta Tubes. 

Flash zipped in front of you and Dick. “No.” and Dick waved him off. “I’m taking her to the manor, get her to meet the family maybe I’ll get a sister if Bruce is in a mood” he waggled an eyebrow at Flash who was focussed now on you knowing he couldn’t get in Dick’s way. “I know you don’t know him yet but if Jason Todd asks you to do anything that seems dangerous say no. And watch out for Damian’s swords. I guess just look for Tim Drake, he’s a good one” and he patted you on the shoulder. “Go feel the mode kid”  and you face palmed. “Flash you mean crash the mode oh god don’t even try to be cool” you groaned. “You totally have to meet Bart” Dick mumbled before he cleared you for zeta tube access. 

You appeared in what can only be described as a man cave. There was a giant computer where a tiny boy sat covered in leather typing. There was a teenager looking about your age punching dummies while another boy was shooting literally guns at the dummies. “Welcome to the batcave!” Dick announced loud enough for the three boys heads to turn. The smallest boy stopped typing and stalked over to you. “A little young for you Grayson, stolen her from the baby justice team?” you knew this was Damian Wayne, and you couldn’t contain yourself.

“OH MY GOD BATMAN HI!” you screeched pulling him into your chest. “You’re totally crash like so cool but you’re so little right now! Last time I saw you, you were like super tall but you totally got moded or something - oh I wasn’t supposed to say that don’t worry!” Dick nudged you “this is Robin, Batman, Bruce Wayne, is in his office” and you slapped a hand over your mouth. “Right, no spoilers” and Damian stood still, processing his own future. “Moving on, Tim and Jason!” the two older boys had come down to get a closer look.

“Hood, Drake, this is totally cool!” you exclaimed, shaking their hands. “Why is he Red Hood and I’m Drake? Not Red Robin?” Tim looked puzzled. Best not ruin his life like that, this was one of the few things you planned on changing. “Because I know you’re Tim Drake! So does the world, Drake is a good LAST NAME right? Red Robin is totally crash for a hero name!” and Tim looked a little confused, but brushed it off. “What the demon said, she new?” and you shook your head, explaining your story again.

“20 bucks says adoption papers” “50 says she gets a room” “75 on a new animal persona” the boys started screaming bets as soon as they heard the “family trauma emotional instability” part. “Why can’t she be in Young Justice? Or the Outsiders? She’s still a teenager” Tim looked confused. “I dunno man, she’s been with the JL for a while because she’s apparently delicate which is bullshit” Dick explained and you strongly agreed. “None of you could even land a hit on me” you puffed out your chest. “Care to defend that claim?” Damian unsheathed a sword. “No! J'onn sai-” you cut Dick off. “Absolutely ”.

Now you were dodging and ducking Damian’s advances. You’d swung a couple punches but it means undoing some focus which allows Damian to get his own shots in, so you mostly stayed on defense, letting him get frustrated and tired. “I think you’ll get better with practice baby Batman” you teased him. Next was Jason, bullets were hard to avoid because you didn’t have lightning fast reflexes, although that would be nice. But Jason wasn’t as calculated as Damian so you could play a little dirtier. Knocking his guns out of his hands you let up, “this is boring I’m done” you raised from the ground where you and Jason had tumbled down on. 

“So you really have powers. Your moves are all the most probable choice mathematically, you can’t be running the numbers in your head that quick!” Tim was toying with a tablet, shocked at your prediction abilities. “That’s right Boy Wonder, that was fun but I’m feeling kinda diz-” and then you realized you’d overworked yourself a little bit, and it all faded to black. 

You woke up to fully aged Batman. “Oh god no I’m back. How am I back! Damian you were just a kid like ten minutes ago! How long have I been out?” you began to throw blankets off yourself, blankets? You were in a bed in someone’s room. “Calm down, Y/N, Y/N! It’s okay!” and the Older-Damian just enveloped you in a hug. You couldn’t remember the last hug you’d had. Literally couldn’t remember. And it was a welcomed comfort. Pulling away you got a closer look, and it wasn’t Damian Wayne, but Bruce. 

“Bruce right? Current Batman?” you whispered, trying to wrap your mind around what had just happened. “That’s me, I see you’ve met my son, at multiple ages too” his eyes were smiling but his mouth wasn’t, it showed concern. “Yes, I did, I’m sorry for being a nuisance, it’s a pleasure to meet you but clearly I’m a bit moded so I should head back to the tower” you explain beginning to get up. “Actually that’s something I wanted to talk to you about, if you feel alright? [ you nodded, your powers were still a little too weak to peek ahead at what he was going to say ] Well, as you can see, I’ve got a couple of children, and you haven’t even met all of them. And I take them under my protection and I train them, and it seems to me you want training. Now you’re not ready for field work but you can start with me and my team, and maybe do a couple visits with the Young Justice team when Tim heads over. I think I can help you, and give you a family, would that be something you want?” 

A family, you had one of those. And you knew the word brought you warmth, that had to be a good thing. “I think I’d like that a lot, but I’m kinda already with the Justice League ya know? Their personal magic 8 ball.” and Bruce shook his head. “They won’t be a problem for me, you’ll fit right in with my family” and you felt a smile spread over your face. “Then it’s a deal!” and you stuck out a hand, Bruce clasped it, pulling you in for another hug. 

“We’ll talk later about what this means logistically, but there’s someone really excited you’re here.” and Tim Drake came bursting through the door, holding cookies. “Welcome to the team Y/N! You don’t know Alfred yet but he made these! I’m so glad you’re here!” he was beaming with excitement. And blushing? “Hi Tim, I’m glad to be here!” you chirped. Bruce mumbled something about paperwork and left the room as Tim continued. “This is totally cool, if you want I can call Bart I think he’d totally want to meet you! Or, you and I could hangout just the two of us!” there was that blush again. “Yeah! Can I just sit and think for a minute before I catch up with you?” this was a decision you wanted to read into, it felt important. 

Tim left, and you sat back into the plush bed, diving into the future. And it was something you hadn’t seen you. There were two futures, still fuzzy from the infinite decisions to be made securing the future, but it was clear enough to see that it was your wedding day. Down one path you saw a beautiful wedding with someone you haven’t met yet, and you looked beyond happy. You heard yourself whisper “if only Tim were here to see this” wiping a tear away in the arms of your lover. Recoiling back you knew this future wouldn’t do, not at Tim’s expense. So you went towards the other. Same set up, but this time it was Tim that you were marrying, but the same tear slid down your cheek “if only Bart could be here” you recognized the name. Bart, the guy you’re supposed to be meeting. 

And you were stuck in the middle no matter what. Like yin and yang you couldn’t find a future where you didn’t end up in the arms of one at the other’s grave. Or worse, in the futures where you tried to pick them over yourself both lost their lives saving you. So how you do pick? Who gets to be your future and who has to perish to secure it?

“Y/N you ready yet?” Tim called from down stairs. It was years out, but you knew every decision you made from now on was one step closer to the loss of a hero. And there was nothing you could do about it. 

First Decision:

Get To Know Tim Drake First

Meet Bart Allen

 ~ I really hope you’re excited to make your own fic! The masterlist with the choices goes up with the actual start tomorrow! I can’t wait!!! ~

[real-jaune-isms]

RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 12 Review/Remix: Creation

For only having a couple major set pieces, this was one of the most plot dense chapters we’ve ever seen from this show. Some of those were a lot time coming and satisfying as hell, and some came right out of nowhere to massive speculation and theorizing to follow. But goddamn if I didn’t love every minute of it, so let’s mosey on through to see just why that is.

We open, as many of these chapters have been want to do, with shots of the Grimm causing chaos and destruction, in this case Teryx attacking airships. JNR fly by in a ship of their own, and looking rather concerned as they approach Atlas Academy. Why the shot was framed quite like this I’m not totally sure, because it looks like they’re approaching the city itself from quite far away when really they should have been approaching from the outskirts and flying over the city itself, considering where the Schnee estate is located. Ironwood is waiting for Penny at the landing site at the entrance to the Academy, just as he and Ruby had agreed on, and he’s got a new toy. Both pistols of Due Process have been slotted into the back sides of a larger firearm, a veritable hand cannon that needs both grips just to keep steadily aimed. I think it’s safe to call this the Gun-gun we had been joking would be coming eventually since the early Volumes. The Ace Ops are backing him up, and we see a few Atlesian Knight robots loading the bomb onto an airship so he can nuke Mantle at a moment’s notice just as he warned. The citizens of Mantle are out of the mines and looking very apprehensive about the whole thing, and we are right there with them. Just as the bots have finished loading the bomb and are about to leave they start getting shot down. Ironwood warns the Ace Ops to be ready for any altered state Penny might be in and any trouble her friends might try to cause. Harriet is all to ready to follow through on the general’s terms and put down any brat who tries to interfere, and this whole thing seems to finally give Vine pause. He’s not stopping now, how can he, but he’s reflecting on the path to get here and only now has some amount of remorse about it. Elm winces at the mention of that too, while my MCU fan mind had to stop and chuckle at a pale bald man with energy powers musing on philosophy and ethics so close after the end of WandaVision. Not intentional, obviously, but a great coincidence. Ironwood gets a ping that there are intruders in the hangar, and they all surmise that’s Robyn and Qrow trying to interfere with the bombing. Harriet is ready as hell for a chance to beat them bloody after all this time STILL believing they’re Clover’s killers, but Elm makes a good point that they can’t just leave to do that because Ironwood will need backup here. Lucky for all of them, Winter is here to provide the general just that, so the other three are free to deal with their fugitive problem. With a quiet moment between them, Winter tries to see if Ironwood can be talked down one last time. He doesn’t want to hear it, and she admits she knows it would be impossible to try.

Penny soars in and lands in front of them, surrendering herself to a pair of cuffs and surprising Ironwood a bit in actually coming alone. She says she’s obeying his order because above all she wants to stop further death and she must open the Vault. The virus coming back a little to compel her to this end, or just frequently repeated phrase for the sake of simplicity? Unclear. Ironwood finally lowers the gun-gun he was pointing at her and puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder to tell her she’s done the right thing. In a cadence very much not her own, she agrees she has, and all illusions are dropped. It Was Emerald All Along!~ And JNR as well as Oscar are standing a few yards behind her along with the airship she must have been masking the approach of with the sound of “Penny” flying in. As shocked realization dawns on his face, James is kicked in the chin by a backflipping Emerald. His gun flies out of his grasp and she catches it with a grin before disappearing. Damn she really has been getting good with her Semblance! Down in the hangar, the Ace Ops arrive to see the jailbirds slicing and blasting a ton of robot soldiers. Just as they’re about to join the fray Marrow is heard giving a command and his former teammates are left frozen under the power of a Semblance they never seemed to give its due diligence. The assembled Huntsmen and Huntresses start attacking Ironwood and he counters the first few attacks rather well. I’m sure he must be pretty damn shocked to see Oscar still alive after shooting him into a pit, and for that matter probably Jaune and Ren too with what Harriet told him about their mission into Monstra. That and how little sleep he’s probably gotten recently make it very likely willpower and his Semblance are the only things keeping him going at this point, so who are we to be shocked if he starts losing to their superior numbers? And start losing he does, because Winter is on their side and helps Nora bash him upside the head. Winter and Oscar charge at James on the back of a summoned Manticore, but he grabs it by the horns and stops it dead in its tracks. So they leap off and Winter hits him in the back with some ice while he’s busy destroying the summon. With another glyph she springboards Oscar back at James and he gives him the old rapidfire cane jab. It knocks his Aura pretty low by the looks of the flickers, but he still recovers and stops Oscar on the next swing. Before he can punch the poor boy any more than Hazel already has in the last 12 hours, Winter does the most anime move these series has yet to offer us and darts past her old boss to slice him at lightning fast speed. It’s a badass sight that I cannot describe with enough words so please just watch for yourself. With that, Ironwood’s Aura is broken and he passes out then and there. Qrow and Robyn apologize for freezing the Ace Ops like this, but these times call for hard choices. Emerald reappears to get uncuffed and Winter tells the five of them to move on to Phase 2.

We flash back to the end of the last episode where Ruby decides taking Penny to the Vault might be a risk worth taking, and we see Jaune and Ozcar immediately pick up on what she’s thinking. Why not try and use the Staff of Creation and hope it can work a twofold miracle of saving Penny and all the people of these two cities? Just then Weiss gets a text from Winter, and the gears start turning in our minds how this whole plan came together. We see Winter shoving Marrow into an elevator and looking very grumpy about the whole experience. He correctly guesses she’s not arresting him, but damn if he doesn’t get why she had to punch him to get him outta here. She rightfully tells him it was to make it look believable and she just saved his life thank you very much. He notices she’s texting someone and asks whom, and she says getting in touch with Weiss for some help is something she should have done a long time ago. Just then the elevator doors open and we get the payoff to who Robyn and Qrow were so surprised to see last episode: These two. Winter quickly sees this as a chance for even more help, and I think it is the happiest she’s ever been to see Qrow. Shifting back to Schnee manor, Weiss is going over the risks of this plan of theirs to the other 10 teens. Oscar pipes up with another danger, Atlas falling as soon as the Staff is used for anything new. The cover story about Gravity Dust keeping the kingdom afloat was only half wrong, there really is a large amount at the base of the landmass that will slow the descent a bit, but it will still be a cataclysmic landing. Jaune suggests using the Staff to get everyone in the danger areas to somewhere safe, possibly even another Kingdom, but Oscar says it doesn’t just work that easily. Especially not with HIM involved. The Staff has a sentient presence you have to deal with to make anything happen, but he’s a real card this one. He gives you what you ask for and only what you ask for, so you have to be specific and provide details or even blueprints for how to make what you’re asking for. Lucky for them Whitley has access to the layouts of Atlas and Mantle due to preparing for their earlier evacuation plan, so they’re off to a very good start. Oz still worries about Ironwood and the bomb at this point, but Weiss assures him they have a good plan for that. And we just saw what that was and how well it worked.

So now we get to see what Team RWBY is doing while ORNJ is handling Ironwood and whatever else Winter is having them do, flying an airship up to the hole Oscar left in the bottom of the Vault and having Ruby use her new Semblance skill to carry the rest of her team and Penny up through that and into the Vault itself. Klein and the other Schnees are also aboard the airship cuz someone needed to fly it and they weren’t gonna stick around in the mansion after the Kingdom starts falling. Ruby can basically fly now, no big deal it’s totally fine this doesn’t make her OP as hell, WHAT???? Okay I’m done. They get to the Vault door and with a shoulder to lean on and a few supportive words Penny opens it no problem. In the split second before Penny starts self-terminating now that this objective is completed, RWBY zooms into the grassy meadow inside this cold winter Kingdom’s vault on another Rose Express and Ruby grabs the Staff. Time stops as we see Winter escorting James to a cell in the brig right next to her other manipulative father figure Jacques, OJNRE are in front of some sort of computer monitor, and various other shots of what people are up to at this second are shown. In a cloud of blue mist emerges a man every bit as big blue and naked as Jinn was, but while she was thicc he is jacked. I don’t know how to describe his light blue hair but it’s got a ponytail so that’s fun. He seems charismatic af with a voice many assumed was Matt Mercer but is not, and seems he’s still a little steamed over how boring a request making Atlas float was. Ruby gets his attention and we learn his name is Ambrosius. When faced with a request to stop Penny from dying, Ambros informs them a limitation of his powers is resurrecting the dead. So everyone theorizing the Staff could bring back Pyrrha, or Clover, or any other beloved character were disappointed to be proven wrong. But bringing back the dead isn’t what Ruby is after, and once Ambrosius sees for himself just how atypical of a girl Penny is he understands their intention clearly. He lets them know of his rules, he is essentially a monkey’s paw and what you get may be exactly what you asked for but not what you hoped to get. They knew about this technicality problem too, so they brought Penny’s blueprints and ask him word for word to “Make a new version of her using her exact same robotic parts”. The robot parts are what have the virus, and once they use the Staff to make something new that infected robot Penny will cease to exist. But if he only removes the robot parts that will leave behind the life and soul that truly makes her Penny. It’s also not within his power to directly destroy, apparently, but it wouldn’t be killing her because it’s leaving her existing with just her soul. Yang flexes her prosthetic arm to illustrate their point that the mechanical parts are just extra. Ambrosius is enthusiastic to give this a try, but he has no idea what the finished product would be, so Ruby encourages him to get a little creative with it. He’s eager to give it a try but does warn them he can’t guarantee what the results will be, but they insist they have no other options and he does a sort of dance in the air like a full body orchestra conduction. Penny starts floating in swirls of blue mist, and in a flash of white light one becomes two. With his job done, Ambros fades away with a wink.

All of Atlas starts shaking, and ORNJE take that as their cue to start their next task: broadcasting to all of Atlas and Mantle a warning that Atlas is falling. Jaune is the one to deliver the message after some troubles figuring out how to get it working, but before he can offer any reassurance that a plan is in motion to save the masses... the broadcast is cut short along with all communications in the Kingdom. My money is on Watts being responsible, but maybe it was Atlas command on a hunch of what Ironwood would want them to do. James himself didn’t tell them to cut it off, cuz he’s still unconscious in a jail cell. Speaking of those cells, Jacques demands answers on what the hell is going on from his eldest daughter. She asserts that they will be getting everyone to safety and leaving the falling rubble to Salem for all the good it’ll do her, but Jacques is still worried he won’t be among those saved. Winter hesitates but tells him that yes he will be evacuated too. He thanks her profusely but she refuses to accept that credit. If he wants to be grateful he has to thank Weiss for deciding to free him, and that news shuts him up right quick. Weiss has been his least favorite child, yet she’s still the one to show him mercy and kindness because that’s the sort of woman she’s always been and he tried to stamp that humanity out of her. What an ass he must feel like.

Back down in the Vault, two Penny’s stand before RWBY. One looks like we’ve always known her, but starts moving and jerking around robotically with red eyes and sparks flying out of it as it collapses to the ground. The other has bare human legs, no gloves, no power sign on her neck ribbon, a natural fabric bow in her hair, and aside from that is every bit the sweet and good girl we’ve come to know. Some people say this was a mistake or a bad move to take away what made her such a unique character but... they really didn’t. She was able to grow outside of the limitations of the body she came into existence with and now lives purely as who she has always felt herself being inside. And that’s pretty cool. She’s naturally very disturbed to see another version of herself collapsing and dying right in front of her, but feels a lot better getting to hug Ruby. Penny never knew a hug could make you feel this warm inside, and gives hugs to the rest of Team RWBY. It’s very very cute and we’re all glad to see she’s doing so well now. 

With this taken care of it’s time to summon Ambrosius for the evacuation creation. He seems to have no concept of time because he doesn’t realize how little time has passed and is surprised to see they’re the ones who summoned him again. And considering how thorough they were with the last request he’s probably bummed he won’t get to pull a fast one on with a request this time either. They try and ask him to make doorways all over Atlas and Mantle that will all become a single doorway in Vacuo, but he requires too much complex metaphysics and space time bending to make that happen so they alter course. Make a central location all the doorways in Atlas and Mantle will open into, and then have a single door in that big new place that will open in Vacuo. He wants to know just what kind of central location they would have in mind, and Yang says he should make one that exists outside of Remnant’s reality just like the Vaults seem to. He commends them for being so smart about it, but acknowledges that could end up being foolishness instead. As a point of reference for the doorway system, or perhaps just for where in Atlas and Mantle they should be opening, Weiss shows him a series of blueprints for the layout of the Snowshoe shipping hub and how it connects to Atlas. Using that basis he makes dozens if not a hundred or two doorways all over the two cities. They’re big gold ovals with pale blue centers, and on the other side is a big empty black void with a series of narrow walkways without and sort of railings connecting all the portals to a single large one at the end of all the converging paths. Very dangerous if anyone ends up tripping or knocking anyone else over. People are very confused to see these things suddenly pop up, but we see Joanna hesitantly step through one and see just what the deal is. Realizing it’s their way out she seems to go back and tell the others. I gotta admit, the look of this large doorway in the midst of a barren rocky place like this gave me serious ending of Kingdom Hearts 1 vibes, and I half expected Mickey Mouse to be on the other side talking about the Door to Darkness. But that’s just me. Satisfied that the job is done, they thank Ambros who tells them they were indeed disappointingly thorough and they can go now. As they head out the broken robo Penny fades away to blue dust and real Penny is rather shaken to bear witness to that. Before he disappears into the Staff for who knows how long now, Ambrosius delivers one last warning about the world of doors and paths they just created. Do Not Fall. With that ominous warning ringing in their minds the five young women head into the doorway before them with the intent to go to Vacuo with everyone else and the hope in their hearts that they’re not forgetting anything important. We see Cinder wearing a hooded cloak in the midst of a crowd about to head into one of these portals, and it becomes very clear what important thing they may not have taken into account.

Time to wait 7 days to see what could possibly go wrong now!

[lovehugsandcandy]

One-on-One: Rematch (Part 3)

A/N: Now might be a good time to share that I don’t know much about basketball. I played when I was little though and constantly fouled of games out because I am gawky and awkward and would accidentally bump people all the time. Once I fouled out in a massive collision where I got a bloody nose so bad they had to stop the game to mop the floor and that was when I realized sport was not my thing. (Part 1, Part 2)

Pairing: Colt x MC, ROD

Length: ~4,500 words

Rating: N*FW (Sex. Swearing.)

Summary: When Langston made it to Nationals, Ellie planned on spending the entire time studying in her room. It didn’t end up quite as planned.

Lips trailed up her neck, breaking through her consciousness; she tilted her head, and they went higher, nerves firing sparks of pleasure in their wake.

“I gotta go,” Colt’s voice was low in her ear and Ellie craned her neck further, wanting more of that delicious pressure. 

“Mmmmh,” she whined, reaching her hand back. “Stay.”

“God, I wish I fucking could. Team meeting- need to shoot around, talk about the game tonight, all that bullshit.”

“Nooo…” She opened her eyes, shocked to see the sun positively alight through the blinds. “What time is it?”

“Noon.” His smile was positively indecent given the simple question. “You stayed up late last night.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You did too, you know.”

“But I have a game tonight.”

“Just… God, just come here.” He let her pull her closer, down onto the bed, so she could wrap a bare leg around where he was unfortunately far too clothed. “Stay,” she eked out between kisses.

“I want to, God, I fucking want…” He pulled away, clearing his throat. “Figured you would be hungry, so I ordered room service.”

“Ha ha. When will you be back?”

“Soon.” And with that, he was out the door.

Soon apparently did not mean the same thing to him, however, as it did to her. She polished off breakfast and flicked through the tv channels, stopping to watch a bit of analysis of the game tonight; she had to flick it off when the announcers started discussing Colt Kaneko’s explosive temper. She tried to study but the words and formulas swirled, flowing into indecipherable designs in front of her mind, until she pushed the books off the bed in a fit of rage, pages crinkling against the carpet. She wandered the hotel lobby for a while and, not knowing where else to go, her feet led her right to the arena doors. It was quiet, only staff cleaning to prepare for the crowds that would stream through the doors, AV techs setting up wires and mics, two announcers in the booth getting ready for filming.

And one solitary player knocking back free throws on the parquet. 

He was so engrossed in the methodical rhythm of the bounce and swish of the ball sailing through net that he didn’t even notice her creep down the stairs until her sneakers squeaked piercingly on the court.

“Hey.” His brow furrowed in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

“I was bored.” She shrugged. “You were gone for hours.”

“I was?” He pulled out his phone, face falling. “Damn.”

“You were in the zone, I get it. It happens to me when I study.”

“Ok, smarty pants.”

“You’re good,” she nodded to the hoop.

He sank another free throw. “Huh?”

“At the whole... shooting the ball… thing.”

“The… the shooting the ball thing? Seriously?”

“Shut up.”

His lips curled into a slow grin. “Come here.”

“What?”

“Come here.” His free hand kept up a steady dribble as he gestured to her. “You said you wanted to take me on. Here’s your chance.”

Her steps were hesitant as she stepped underneath the bright lights illuminating the court. “I’ve never even played basketball; I’m not sure this would go well.”

“Well, you can be plenty distracting.”

She smirked. “I’m not sure if that would help at Nationals. I’ve never even shot the ball.”

“Really? Go for it.” He flipped it to her, and she barely caught it, fingers locked in a tight grip around the rubber.

“I’m not sure…”

“Take a free throw. C’mon, show me what you got.”

“Umm…” She stepped over, putting the toes of her sneakers against the line. “Like this?” She lifted the ball. The hoop looked so far away from here, much further than it seemed from the sidelines, and it appeared to have shrunk, circle diminishing as soon as she stepped to the line. How in the hell-?

“Wait, you-”

She didn’t let him finish speaking before she shot, chucking the ball as hard as possible, eyes tracking its path as it sailed over the backboard, bouncing against the wall before rolling uselessly behind the bleachers.

Colt started laughing, hanging his head.

“What?” she huffed. “I told you….”

He jogged over to grab the ball, passing it to her again. “Ok, first of all, what the hell were you aiming at? See the front of the rim?”

“Yeah…”

“Focus there. You’re a righty?”

“Yeah?”

“Aim, bend your knees, and then push the ball off your fingertips, following the motion with your right hand.”

She shook her head. “That seems like a lot.”

“I’ve seen you pull a back flip 20 feet in the air and you’re telling me you can’t shoot?”

“... Fine.”

She stood at the line again, staring at the rim. “Bend your knees,” he called. 

“Ok, ok.” Rolling her eyes, she complied and then moved, pushing the ball from her hands; this time, it was closer, slamming into the glass of the backboard before ricocheting back towards them. Colt grabbed it with an outstretched palm.

“Jesus, ease up. You need to be gentle.”

“What?”

“Gentle, like you’re throwing an egg.” He handed her the ball. “Try again.”

“Gentle? You? That’s ridiculous.”

He narrowed his eyes before stepping behind her; she couldn’t stop the gasp at the line of heat at her back. Her breath stuttered, fingers tightening into the rubber between her hands, and she was acutely aware of every point of contact, his bare legs brushing hers, his chest against her back, the fingers that were sliding over her elbows to trace up, over wrists and fingers and bones and skin, cheek brushing against hers as he whispered, “I can be gentle.” His breath shot lightning down her spine, and she was melting, overheating, turning into liquid in the spotlight of the free throw line. “Here, let me help.” He moved her, fingers impossibly soft, raising her arms, so the ball was over her head and his phone rang somewhere in his pocket but he only tangled their fingers together and, hell, she didn’t need to know how to shoot, anyway. The ball fell from her suddenly weak fingertips, echoing as it bounced into some far corner, and she spun in his arms to grab the back of his head, pulling him down to her, desperately frantically overwhelmingly needing his lips on hers before she collapsed, when-

“There you are!”

They broke apart, leaping away from each other as the side door slammed shut behind one of his teammates. She started when she realized that they had met before, at the party after the quarterfinals. Crap. He knew that she cheered for another team.

Colt looked almost guilty, eyes wide and darting to hers, and she was sure her face mirrored his. “What do you want, Logan?”

“Coach sent me to see if you still have time to look over the tape he pulled but…” Logan’s eyes lingered on Ellie; she flushed, praying he didn’t recognize her. “It looks like you’re busy.”

“We were…” she coughed. “I was just leaving.”

“No way. I was wondering where Kaneko’s been spending all his time. Now I know. I remember talking to you at an after party, but I don’t think if we officially met. I’m Logan.” He held out his hand, shaking hers with a sturdy grip.

Crap. “I’m Ellie.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“Ok, asshole, you can tell coach that-”

Colt tried to interject, but Logan kept his eyes trained on her. “So you coming to the game tonight?”

Her eyes flitted to Colt. “Uh… I mean… I wasn’t…”

Colt blinked, rocking back on his heels. “Uhh….” She had seen him fight opposing players towering over him and deal with the pressure of thousands of spectators screaming his name; she had never seen him fidget like this. “You can… If you want...”

“I don’t have a ticket.”

Logan scoffed, “Come on, we have a box. It’s for friends and family... and rival cheerleaders apparently.”

Double crap. “You’re not gonna…”

“I’m not gonna tell anyone.” Logan rolled his eyes. “Usually, Kaneko’s punched at least a few of us by this point at the playoffs; I think we all want to keep you around. For safety.”

“All right, asshole, you can leave. Unless you wanna break that streak right now.”

“Ok, going, going.” Logan held up supplicating hands as he edged away. “It was nice to meet you, Ellie.”

“You too.” She watched him leave and turned to Colt with a frown. He pulled his phone from his pocket, pointedly avoiding her gaze.

“Do you need a ticket to get in the box?”

“I have a ticket. In the box. You could go if you wanted.” He was still staring at his phone.

“You don’t…” She squinted at him, but he didn’t look up, engrossed in anything but her. “You don’t need it for someone else?”

“I mean, I would have given it to my mom but...”

“Oh…”

“And my dad’s never-well, he’s sure as hell ain’t coming.” He shrugged, putting his phone in his pocket, and turned away from her; even in profile, the furrow of his brow was harsh, closed-off and dark. “It’s ok, you don’t have to-”

“No, I wanna go.” His head jerked around; she barely caught the blinding grin before he tempered his expression.

“You do?” He was still fighting the smile, but the corners of his mouth twitched. “I mean, you already know the outcome, right? You know we’re gonna play you in the finals.”

“Idiot. I wanna go.”

“Oh.” He nodded. “Ok.” He nodded again, grin almost bashful as it spread across his face. “Cool.”

~~~~~~

It was a completely unfamiliar experience, watching the game unfold from above. She was so used to being courtside that it was disconcerting, watching the game like a bird. The players were smaller, nondescript, and she had to focus on tracking Colt as he weaved around the court. She frowned as he got caught in a pick-and-roll but battled back to block the ensuing shot, ball careening into the stands.

However, one benefit was definitely the food and drink. Apparently stationed to satisfy all the random administration officials wandering around, the free buffet was worlds above the cafeteria at school. Ellie was making her way up for seconds when a pointed drawl made her freeze.

“Who’s chick are you?”

Ellie froze, plate dangling awkwardly in the air, as she turned to face the girl standing beside her. She was already worried about someone recognizing her, and the suspicious tone did nothing to ease her concern. “Excuse me?”

“I’ve never seen you before. Who are you sleeping with to get a ticket?”

“Excuse me?!?”

“What?” The girl raised a manicured eyebrow. She was downright gorgeous, thick glossy hair framing cynical eyes and trailing down to the deep black ink that wound its way around her arms. “Am I wrong?”

“Mona!” A shout made Ellie turn her head to see a woman striding over, towering over the crowd. “Are you harassing strangers again?”

“It’s not harassment. I’m just making conversation, meeting new people.”

“I’m sorry, sweetie.” The unknown girl turned and, like a flash, Ellie realized why she looked so familiar; she and Colt were locked in a heated conversation at the party after the quarterfinals. “Please ignore her. She’s been in a nasty mood since she got suspended from the team and has been taking it out on everyone.”

“You know I didn’t want to join the team, anyway,” Mona huffed. “It was just so I didn’t get expelled the last time I threatened some frat bros.”

“And I’m amazed that they still let you stay at Nationals after this time you threatened some frat bros.” She turned to Ellie. “I’m Ximena.”

“Ellie.” She put her hand up in an awkward wave but the girl only shook her head, stepping forward to squish her between two massively muscled arms. The squeak that emerged from her lips was mortifying but, once the pressure on her lungs vanished and she could breathe again, she was too relieved to care.

“Sorry, I do hugs. Wanna sit with us?”

“Sure…” Ellie carefully carried her food over, sitting down carefully at a folding chair right at the glass. The third quarter had barely started, and she had to take a minute to find Colt jawing angrily on the sideline.

“-Ellie?”

“I’m sorry.” She turned to see Ximena looking at her expectantly. “What did you say?”

“Do you watch all the games?”

“Umm... some?”

Mona scoffed. “Come on, we haven’t seen you here before. Who on the team are you dating?”

“No one!” At least, she could be honest about that, though it didn’t seem to dissuade Mona any, her eyes positively gleaming.

“Ok then... who you fucking?”

“Mona!” Ximena leaned over, her hand covering the entire lower half of the other girl’s face. “I am so sorry. I would say she’s not normally like this, but she is.”

Ellie’s lips stretched into a tight grin; she tried to soften her features into an actual smile, but she didn’t manage it. “How about you guys? Are you on the women’s team?”

“Yup!” Ximena proudly beamed. “Our final is tomorrow night.”

“At least you’re excited.”

“Aw, Mona, don’t be so bitter. I’m sure you’ll play next year.”

“Can’t wait,” Mona mumbled numbly, eyes narrowing as she scanned the box. “Hey, look…” Her elbow jabbed Ximena in the ribs. “He’s here again?”

“Who?” Ximena turned her head to follow Mona’s gaze. “Oh my God, again?”

Ellie peered across the box, seeing only suits talking in whispers as they scribbled on tablets and narrowed their eyes at the game. “Uh... who?”

Ximena leaned closer to speak in a raspy whisper. “Your six. Blue suit.” Ellie turned, taking in the object of their study. He was tall, with beefy hands scribbling notes on a small notebook, beady eyes looking through the glass intently. “He’s a scout for the Jazz.”

“The who?”

“Utah NBA team. He’s been blowing up Kaneko’s phone.”

“Logan’s, too.” Mona flicked her hair over a shoulder. “Supposedly, he’s not so good at taking no for an answer.”

“Utah?” Ellie asked weakly. He hadn’t even-

Mona scoffed, digging her teeth into a chicken wing, ripping the skin from the bone. “I can’t believe they want those losers. Logan spent half the quarterfinal game consoling Toby over a missed free throw while Kaneko had to be held back from assaulting a ref. They couldn’t keep it together at McDonald’s, let alone the NBA.”

Ellie shot a glance at the scout, still rapidly jotting notes, before she peered down at the court below. Logan was at the free throw line, waiting patiently while the refs sorted out some scuffling at the edge of the box. To no surprise, Colt was in the middle of the fray, mouthing off to opposing players but, amazingly, the exchange hadn’t devolved into physical blows.

“I thought they weren’t even supposed to do that,” Ximena wondered. “Don’t they need to declare draft eligibility before they can get scouted?”

“It would be different if they had agents.” Mona rolled her eyes, but Ellie couldn’t even keep up; she didn’t understand the draft rules at all, but the intricacies faded as the reality started crashing in. “They don’t have agents, yet, so the rules are different.”

They continued discussing the convoluted ins-and-outs of the NCAA draft eligibility requirements, but Ellie tuned them out. She knew their paths would diverge after Nationals; she had always known this. Why did it matter if he would go pro and move across the country? For Christ’s sake, they weren’t dating. This had always had an expiration date. She blinked, surprised to find a trail of moisture on her face when she wiped a shaking hand over her cheek. It didn’t matter.

~~~~~

Colt was in fantastically high spirits as they got back to his room; she eyed him suspiciously. “Don’t you want to go out? Celebrate?”

“What do you mean, go to one of those lame-ass penthouse parties?” He rolled his eyes. “I hate that shit. I want to celebrate here.”

“Ha. Let me guess how you want to celebrate.”

“You wound me.” He pulled the jersey over his head, abs rippling with the motion, and she swallowed. “Fine. Guess.”

She stalked closer. “You, me, and this bed?”

“Close.” His eyes dropped to her lips. “You, me, and the bath.”

“What?” she choked out.

“My muscles are sore. Come on.” She blinked as he walked into the bathroom, standing stock still while her brain struggled to keep up. He wanted... what? “Are you coming or not?” he called, voice loud over the roaring faucet, and she shuffled in, no idea what to expect.

He was pulling his shorts off, tossing them in the corner by his shoes, as she walked through the door. “Are you serious?” she huffed.

“Yeah? Obviously.” He settled down, water swirling around him as he settled into place. “Water’s nice.”

She was still confused but, well, it did look comfortable. She pulled her shirt over her head, fully cognizant of the way his attentive stare followed the movement, and tugged the rest of her clothes off as well before balancing her hands on the tub’s edge. “How are we gonna-?”

“Jesus, just come here.” Wet hands found her waist, and he pulled, lifting her over the ceramic side to settle her on top of his chest with a pleased sigh.

The water was nice, warmth easing into her own muscles. Once they were mostly covered, water edging towards her shoulders, she reached a hand back to turn the knob. “No bubbles?” 

“No, dork.” He didn’t even open his eyes to snark at her, just curving an arm around her shoulders to pull her flush against him. “No bubbles.”

Every inch of her was stretched out, her head on his chest, hips meeting his exactly where his cock was twitching, but still he just held her close, damp hands threading through her hair. 

It felt nice. Weird. Domestic.

She lifted her head; Colt had opened his eyes, was looking down at her with a soft expression. It made her heart skip. She had seen him angry, playful, turned on, in situation after situation, but she had never seen him look so... tender? At ease?

She couldn’t bear the reverential gaze, just days before she had to return to Langston, back to her books and formulas and theorem-filled reality and her actual boring life. Water splashed over the side of the tub as she lifted her hand to his chin, pulling him in for a kiss. As his tongue swiped across her lower lip, she screwed her eyes shut, but the thoughtful look on his face still lingered behind her eyelids. Desperately, she deepened the kiss, and he dropped his legs from the blindingly white ceramic to tangle with hers. The only sound was her quiet sighs and the swirling water as his hands ducked under the surface to skate down her curves.

“Ellie?”

“Yeah?” She was out of breath and her hips wouldn’t stop rocking into his.

“I’m ready to celebrate a different way.” He sat up, dragging her with him, to slide out of the water, pulling her with him as his tongue traced the rivulets running down the hollow of her collarbone. Her nails found the damp hair at the back of his head, pulling slightly to feel the groan from his throat. “Come on…” He found her hand and pulled, dragging her out of the bathroom and maneuvering her so, when her back hit the bed, he followed, skin quickly drying with the heat between them.

He couldn’t stop kissing her, moving from her shoulders to her breasts back up her neck in a dizzying array. Her head fell back on the bed as his thumb found her clit; in their week-long Nationals fuck fest, he had become very skilled in finding exactly how to touch her, the pressure, the speed. The indistinct shapes were maddening, her hands grappling to pull him closer, please, closer, when he stopped with a smirk.

“What?” She opened her eyes. “Colt, I was…”

“I know.” He ran a finger down her temple, brushing away a stray hair before it traced further down, barely a tickle as it rounded her breast, lower. “You said I couldn’t be gentle. I can be gentle.”

“What?!? Goddammit, just fuck me.”

He shook his head, water droplets raining down over her chest. The smirk hadn’t left his face. “Nope. I told you. I can be gentle.” His lips followed the path of his hands, feather-light touches, miles from the abrasive player on the court.

“Colt, what?” She gasped as he lined up and slid in, slowly, filling her at his own pace, ignoring the way she pulled at his arms. “Oh my God, please. Please!”

“Nope.”

She would have hit him, forced him to move faster, but it felt so good. Their time together had been filled with, well, fucking. But this was different. This wasn’t fucking. This wasn’t just sex.

This was something she didn’t want to give up, even though the end date was barreling ever closer.

Fuck.

His lips connected to her neck, lips and teeth slowly working yet another mark onto her skin. She curved a hand into his hair, and she felt his lips stretch into a smile. His hips moved, her head fell back, and he smiled wider.

Damn, he could do gentle, apparently. He could do gentle very well, cock inching inside her, almost delicate, almost patient. Every thrust ended in a slow grind that made her body sing. This wasn’t…

It was lighting up nerve endings she never even knew about, each one pinging one-by-one, sending spark after spark through her limbs, her brain, flares of sensation that made her grip tighter to his forearms.

“Colt…” It was too much. They were supposed to be fuckbuddies, just hooking up, goddammit, but this wasn’t fucking. She wrapped her legs around his waist, trying to pull him closer, move him faster. “Come on, please.”

“Nope. You wanted gentle.” He moved forward, an inch, another, right there, thumb tracing another delicious circle, God. She keened. “Is this gentle enough?” She had no idea how his hands were able to move with such restraint. She had seen him fight, fists hammering until they were bruised and bloody; but now those hands moved carefully down her arm, over her clit, every touch making her hair stand on end.

“P-please,” she stuttered. They weren’t even dating. She had expected him to ravish her against the door or bend her over the desk. She wasn’t prepared for reverence, adoration. Her eyes were watering and her brain wasn’t working fast enough to tease out why.

His laugh was low against her neck and then his lips were trailing lower. His hips moved faster and her breath raced, body heating degree by degree until she was aflame. “Please, more.”

His lips traced back to her ear. “You don’t need to beg,” he crooned. She bit her lip as his hips moved faster; she wrapped her legs tighter, muscles tensing.

This wasn’t the plan.

He curved a hand around her jaw, tipping her face up to stare at her. She had always been used to their intensity, the fire that shone through his every move, but this look was almost tender, almost worshipping. It was too much. The sound that left her mouth when she came was half-sob, half-cry, emotion laid bare as her body quaked and mind, finally, went blissfully blank. 

When she could process again, she was wrapped around his chest, his fingers tracing slow circles around her shoulder blades. She felt utterly boneless, mentally wrecked, brain fuzzy and sex-dumb, but her nerves were alight. Their expiration date was in two days and- 

His voice cut through her internal panic. “You know what this means?” His fingertips moved to her ribs, honey slow and sweet, one by one, and Ellie had to take a deep breath to settle her mind.

“What?”

“We’re playing you in the finals.”

“Hmm…” She needed to think, barely managing to shoot back, “You’re going down.”

“We’ll see about that.” He sized her up, lips quirking. “Who are you cheering for?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“You need to cheer for me.”

“What?”

“Just once. Come on, Ellie. One single tiny cheer for me.” The smile played on his lips. “Only one.”

“I can’t!”

“Come. On! I can’t have the girl I’m dating cheer for the opposition!”

She froze. “The what?” Goosebumps broke out over her arms as she shivered. Did the air conditioning turn on?

“I can’t have you-”

“Colt, we’re not dating.” 

“What.” He opened his mouth and then closed it again. “What exactly are we doing, then, because you’ve basically been living here for-”

“We’re not dating!” She broke in, pushing off his chest, desperate to make him stop talking. “We hooked up like two times. That’s it.”

“Umm…” He raised an eyebrow. “We hooked up two times today. That’s not counting yesterday, or the day before, or right before the quarterfinals…”

She raked her fingers through her hair and tugged, pinpricks of pain in her scalp filtering through her swirling thoughts. “That doesn’t mean…” She was going back to Langston in two days, she had to go back, but there was nothing she wanted less.

Colt sat up as well; she had to look away from the shifting biceps to pull her racing thoughts into a concrete sentence.

“That doesn’t…” she faltered again. “That doesn’t mean… you’re a basketball player…”

“Ok?”

“.... your school is like two hours away.”

“What, you’re allergic to your phone now?”

“But…”

“It’s not like I’m across the country.” He pulled a hand through his hair.

“I’m not supposed to fraternize with players.”

“Come on, like that stops Ingrid. Or anyone else, for that matter.”

“I…” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I just… I’m busy. With school and cheer and my major is hard…”

“Oh, and I have so much free time?”

“I… this isn’t the plan.”

“What plan?!?”

She opened her mouth and closed it again.

“Fine. Forget I said anything.” His frown made her heart hurt but, before she could interject, his eyes flared, glaring through her as the flame was replaced with ice. “You know what, you’re so busy, you should just go.”

She pulled back, stung. “What?”

“Go back to your room, go study for your difficult major, it’s fine.”

“Colt, I…”

“Go,” he implored, hands shooing her away. “Goodbye.”

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her chest hurt and her eyes were stinging, telltale precursor to tears that she desperately wanted to keep inside. She raced to the bathroom, grabbing her clothes and throwing them on in a panic. She had to get out of this room before-

“Bye, Ellie.”

His voice was cold behind her but she didn’t care because she was fiddling with the doorknob but it was difficult because everything was blurry and then she was out, rushing down the hall and down the stairs and then she couldn’t see anything, clinging to the railing as water filled her eyes and blurred her vision.

It took her 15 minutes to stumble down the two flights of stairs, death grip on the railing the entire way.

And when she walked into her room, Ingrid’s ‘told you so’ died on her lips. She sprang up from her bed to envelope Ellie in a warm hug as the tears finally poured out.

.

Tags

Perma @desireepow-1986 @leelee10898 @emichelle @client-327 @choicesgremlin @brightpinkpeppercorn @thequeenofcronuts @lilyofchoices @choicesarehard

ROD @omgjasminesimone @mskaneko @lovemychoices @burnsoslow

Colt

@deimosensblog @alegria1580   @thefarrari @moonlit-girl-wonder @going-down-downtown@soniadotalves@jolietmaraud @flowerpowell@poeticscolt @zaira-oh-zaira @akrenich @sibella-plays-choices  @maxwellsquidsuit  @liamzigmichael4ever @octobereighth @i-only-signed-up-for-fanfiction

[darling-chris]

This Is Me Trying Bobby and Alex

This one opts to destroy those stupid webisodes they thought were a good idea ... enjoy! Everything in this story that sounds like Taylor Swift lyrics are Taylor swift lyrics and do not belong to me. Everything else came out of my messed-up shipper head!

I’ve been having a hard time adjusting. I had the shiniest wheels, now they’re rusting.

“Bobby..“ Alex was quite shaken seeing her former partner standing outside her apartment. It was 11 pm and she had actually just changed into her pyjamas to go to bed, when the doorbell rang. Since Bobby had decided to go to Maine to write a book and she herself transferred to the Counter Terrorist Squad she hadn’t seen him. She’d been mad he’d left just like that. She’d actually thought he was getting better with going to therapy and getting along really good with Dr. Gyson. Alex and Bobby had a good time working together again after the short hiatus they’d had, but it apparently wasn’t enough for him. He had handed in his notice rather suddenly and taken off, throwing Alex into cold water once again. It had been almost six month and she hadn’t heard from him once except from that Christmas card he’d sent her. She’d tried forgetting him throwing herself into a relationship with Adam, a firefighter she met one night in a bar. She’d probably known it from the start but only lately she had admitted to herself that he wasn’t the right person, and they wouldn’t have a future together.

I didn’t know if you care if I came back. I have a lot of regrets about that.

“You’re back.“ She heard herself saying as in trance. She’d lost herself in Bobby’s all too familiar, brown eyes as soon as she’d opened her door. So often she’d tried not to think about him, to enjoy the time with her new lover, to just get Robert Goren out of her system, but she couldn’t. Every time Adam kissed her neck or squeezed her hand she’d just wished he was someone else. She did not want to believe it but it became crystal clear the moment Bobby appeared before her eyes.

Pulled the car off the road to the lookout. Could have followed my fears all the way down. And maybe I don’t quite know what to say, But I’m here in your doorway.

“I am…“ Bobby replied, nervously fidgeting a stack of papers in his hands. “I finished the book, I wanted you to be the first to read it.“ He reached the manuscript to her. “Are you insane?“ Alex breathed angrily. She bit her lip as not to either punch him in the face or start crying. Bobby looked at her frowning. He took a step back, away from her. He knew he’d screwed up.

I just wanted you to know, that this is me trying. I just wanted you to know, that this is me trying.

“Look, I know you’re upset but can I just come in for a second? Hear me out and then you can throw me out?“ Bobby begged her, piercing her eyes with his. Alex stepped away from the door although she promised herself not to. He followed her rather halfhearted invitation, and was left standing lost in the midst of Alex’ apartment. She shut the door then walked towards the other end of the room not saying a word.

They told me all of my cages were mental. So I got wasted like all my potential. And my words shoot to kill when I’m mad. I have a lot of regrets about that.

“I’m sorry I never called.“ He kew it was a weak thing to say but he didn’t know how else to start. He’d been going through situations like this with Dr. Gyson a million times and he knew he should just tell Alex how he felt about her but the words wouldn’t form. It was like desperately trying to draw something from memory but all that comes out is a messy doodle. “It’s fine I figured you must have lost my phone number and my address but then there was that Christmas card, how thoughtful.“ Alexes words were the ones shooting to kill now, but Bobby knew he deserved it. All she wanted to see those past six months had been the eyes she was staring into right now. Now, she just wished they wouldn’t be so wonderfully, corruptingly intimate.

I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a square. Fell behind all my classmates and I ended up here. Pouring out my heart to a stranger, But I didn’t pour the whiskey.

“I … I had to do it my way. I had to do it like this or not at all. This book is the only reason I am able to stand here right now and it was the hardest thing I ever had to do.“ Bobby clenched the paper stack fast in his hands. “We’ve been there Bobby, we’ve been there before and honestly, I don’t wanna go there again so why are you here? You want me to read your book? Leave it at my coffee table and I’ll get back to you in the next … say, six months.“ Alex turned herself away from her former partner feeling the tears creeping up on her. She wiped them away as quickly as they poured out of her eyes. She had given him a million chances and she had always told herself one day it would work, but she’d always been left bloody, broken and bruised lying on the floor like one of their many murder victims. She was not gonna let that happen again, giving in and pretending like everything was fine.

I just wanted you to know, that this is me trying. I just wanted you to know, that this is me trying. At least I’m trying.

Bobby could feel her tears burning in his mind and he sat the manuscript down on the little desk next to the door and walked out. Alex flinched as she heard the door shut. She turned around hoping despite everything she’d just said Bobby was still standing there, his brown eyes screaming at her from afar like they’d always done. They weren’t. He wasn’t. There was nothing but silence. She walked towards the door clutching the knob. She pulled all her strength together not to open it again. Instead she leaned herself towards it breaking down sobbing. She wiped her wet face, her chest was jumping up and down as her heart raced like a rocket. She picked up the manuscript Bobby’d left fo her. She let herself fall down to the floor right there and then and bended back the first page.

And it’s hard to be at a party when I feel like an open wound. It’s hard to be anywhere when all I want is you. You’re a flashback in a film reel on the one screen in my town. And I just wanted you to know that this is me trying. (And maybe I don’t quite know what to say)
 I just wanted you to know, that this is me trying. At least I’m trying.

The time had stood still as soon as she’d lain her eyes on the first paragraph of Bobby’s book. The first words she consumed were 'For my partner’, and it was as if someone had pushed a knife through her stomach. She devoured paragraph after paragraph like she was born to do so. She had never thought Bobby was even capable of producing words like this. To the world it might have been a manifesto, the story of a scared little boy who’d grown up to be an even more scared man, but to her it was a confession. Every line and between was what she never knew Bobby could feel. Suddenly, she felt embarrassed for having sent him away. It felt like she knew everything now, everything she’d always wanted to know, everything she’d ever wanted him to say. Hour’s had passed in minutes and her eyes were burning like fire. All the water coming out of them couldn’t extinguish it. She dropped the manuscript upon the last words she’d read and realised she hadn’t moved an inch. She was still occupying the same spot she had placed herself in after Bobby’d left. Without even thinking she grabbed her car keys. She manoeuvred her car as if pulled by invisible strings. She didn’t even know Bobby still had his old apartment but she knew she had to try. She walked up to his door and rang twice - three times as if the building was on fire. Her heart was pounding in her throat and although she couldn’t be sure someone would open she felt he would. The seconds she waited felt like hours in the dim-lit hallway of Bobby’s apartment building. The adrenalin rushed through her veins like lightning as Bobby finally pulled the door open. His eyes hung heavily in his face and the angles of his mouth were bend downwards. Alex could now see how sad, exhausted and tired he looked. His eyes, however, lit up as soon as he realised it was Alex standing in front of him. She wouldn’t wait a single second longer. As if he was the opposite pole of a magnet she shot towards him, pressing her lips on his. He embraced her, a bolt of lightning shooting through every last corner of his body. He was convinced he would never let go of her ever again. Their faces parted for just a moment, but their eyes locked even harder. Bobby wiped a strain of hair out of Alex’ face and pulled her head closer to his again. She felt Bobby’s beard on her skin and tasted his breath. She decided then and there she never wanted to not feel his warm hands pressed against her back, his body close to hers, his breath on her face. Bobby pulled her inside his apartment not letting go of her lips on his. He slammed the door shut. She knew it now, she knew he was trying, that he’d been trying all those years. She knew now, that he, in his clumsy and pathetic, self-loathing way had always loved her. Giving her the book to read was the greatest love confession anyone could have ever made. She saw it now and she couldn’t really understand how she didn’t before. Tonight she had decided to make the first step and she had not been wrong. She found herself in Bobby’s bed entangled with him, her body pressed against his and it was the most enchanting and miraculous she had ever felt. His hand was gliding through her hair, hers was clutching his shoulder blade like holding on to an angel’s wings taking her to heaven. They were united in blissful euphoria, closer than they had ever been, so wonderfully together and beautifully in love. Nothing mattered at that moment to either of them, but the other. No job, no fire-fighters no past wounds. All the scars she had from being left broken by him were mended with every time she felt his sweaty body clutching tightly against hers. All the trauma, all the doubts he had ever had felt so silly now that he felt like nothing could ever pull them apart. He wanted to feel every inch of Alex’ body forever one with his own. He felt like a child on a ferris wheel ride, so beautiful, so perfect yet so innocent. Feeling the endorphins racing through his body like fireworks, until the wheel finally stops and you are on top of the world only the stars above you. His very own ferris wheel ride ended with Alex finally laying her head down on Bobby’s chest. None of them lost a word, Bobby kissed her hair holding her closely. After a while he could feel her head getting heavier and her breathing more even and peaceful. She had fallen asleep but there was no way he could. He stared up on the ceiling feeling blissfully complete having Alex’ body so close to his. A thousand thoughts ran through his head but they were all overruled by the remarkable memory of their first night together.

[mimiplaysgames]

A Powerful Enough Dream (Ch. 9)

Pairing: Terra/Aqua (eventually) Rating: T Word Count: 4,554

Summary: It is time to rescue Ven. Aqua steps into Castle Oblivion, not knowing what’s waiting inside.

Read on AO3

A/N: I wasn’t planning on publishing this one too soon - it just happened lolol. I do want to say that I’m sorry this chapter is so canon-divergent. I planned it before KH3 came out and I don’t have the time to rewrite everything. I hope you enjoy it anyway!

~*~*~*~*~

Oblivion, pt. 1

Stars shoot past Aqua in a melted blur. The faster she goes, the less she notices. Keyblade wielders should be humble. They should take their time to acknowledge and admire life, promised as students that their Light sturdies under such discipline. But screw it - she’s too excited to bother with the view.

All she has to do is listen. Once her heart connects to that place, her glider leads the rest of the way.

Sora and the others lag behind. Their gummi ship is impressive but it’s basically a tourist’s vessel, locked to the celestial highways that have to be traveled in full, unable to perform any of the warps her glider is capable of. At some point, she disappears from their radar, and she hovers in the middle of space to wait for them.

It shouldn’t take this long to get to Ven. They hold her back.

Aqua breathes heavily into her helmet, watching for signs of Sora’s bright red beast of a ship. The confines of her armor, absurdly enough, take some getting used to. She made it with her own hands, once a proud moment from her road to mastery. Yet it feels like she’s outgrown it. It’s heavy and tight, constricting the rise of her arms and the strides of her legs. It could be that she has gotten used to living without it. It could be that it doesn’t recognize her anymore.

That’s a terrifying thought. Aqua shakes it out of her head. It’s just because it’s been a long time since she’s worn it. That’s all.

Lightning snaps and cracks, and Sora’s gummi ship breaks through a barrier that tears a hole through space. Behind it is a mess of passageways marked by colored stars and dust. By normal standards, a passageway to the Land of Departure means he’d need to discover and unlock his way, but instead Sora has to blast through to catch up to her. There has to be some kind of transgression for it, but they’ve wasted enough time to think about collateral damage right now.

Her engine revs up and she soars, Sora trailing closely. She can’t feel the air through her armor as it darkens, but pressure mounts on her shoulders. Negative space squeezes her waist, her arms, her chest, threatening to collapse. It’s thickening. She’s getting close.

By the time she lands, there aren’t any more stars left to see.

Shedding her armor, Aqua breathes in humid air. Storm clouds smother the sky, but it doesn’t rain. Did it ever in the years she’s been gone? The dirt doesn’t thirst for anything, and the cliffs buckle with every step.

The castle (not home, something else) is ugly. Painted the color of stale excrement, it contorts in ways that can’t have been built by human hands. Towers stick out sideways and upside down, criss-crossed and layered where no staircases could practically fit inside. The castle suspends itself in the air by nothing except someone’s imagination.

There’s supposed to be grass underneath her shoes - or maybe stone tile leading to the terrace. Either of the two. Looking over the cliffside, she’s supposed to see rivers miles below, too far to hear their work. Now it’s just blackness. Morbid curiosity questions how long it would take for her to find new ground if she jumps off.

A couple of yards away was where Ven caught a grasshopper and claimed it as his own pet. He never expected he’d crush it by accident. He never expected he’d bury it in that same spot.

If Aqua remembers correctly, there’s supposed to be a tiny dirt path, right here, that would’ve led her to a clearing in the forest, down a lower altitude by several notches, where she and Terra kept a chest of old toys they couldn’t let go of, and letters they wanted to keep but forgot about. Where they kissed for the first time because she was curious, and Terra shrugged it off like it wasn’t a big deal, and she did the same.

Where there should be that forest is nothing but air now.

But home is home, always a fortress, always there to shelter, just like it does for Ven if only by a new expression.

The thunder of Sora’s engines roar before they quiet, exhaling one last time when he lands. He brings everyone with him - Lea is the first to come out, mouth wide open in a stupefied gasp, his glare demanding an explanation.

“Castle Oblivion?” He gesticulates, letting his hands slap his hips. “Sure, it’s not the easiest place to get to. But you could have done us all the humanly decent thing, and said so.”

“Castle Oblivion?” Aqua repeats. The words sound foul.

“You mean your lot didn’t name it?” He crosses his arms as he steps by her side. He’s too smug, like he finds that fact giddy.

“No, of course not, this…” This is the first time it’s ever happened in our history.

“If it wasn’t you, then it had to have come from our favorite, friendly Nobody.” Still smug. Stars, she’d punch him. “Xemnas.”

Despite the warning in her eyes at the mention of that name, Lea sneers. “It’s quite the comfortable home, if you’re interested in psychopathy.”

“You’ve been inside?” she hushes, tying up an apology behind her lips. What if he doesn’t know?

“Don’t worry.” He waves a hand at her. “I was a Nobody at the time. Not like I was that attached.”

So he knows. “You’re lucky you ever got out,” Aqua mutters.

“That attached to what?” Sora skips over, an innocent smile plastered so hard on his face that the horrible truth still wouldn’t peel it off of him.

“Memories,” Riku answers.

If Riku knows, then surely he’s lost some. Aqua nearly blurts out her concern for him, but he flashes her a gentle smirk and rolls a shoulder like it barely matters.

“Is that supposed to mean something?” Sora asks as Kairi tags along, who is unzipping and zipping Donald’s cap.

“The Organization used it to research memories,” Lea says. “We even went so far as to manipulate them - you know, plant a little bit of this, tweak a little bit of that.”

“And this is important, why?”

“The castle has a defense mechanism,” Aqua says, glancing at Riku, “to protect the delicate balance of this world so we could give all Keyblade trainees a safe refuge. The rooms aren’t truly real anymore. Threats who wander in are… forced to relive certain events in their life.”  

But Riku doesn’t have much of a reaction.

“Anyway,” she continues, “the memories replayed aren’t always exact. They reflect the heart of the person the castle is reading. So yes, it would be the perfect place to experiment with them.”

“I’ve been in this star-forsaken place more than I wished for,” Lea says, giving the castle a lookover. “My most important mission was to find one particular room. I never did.”

Hearing that was comforting. “Because the rooms inside move around,” Aqua says. “The point is to make the intruder confused. Make them obsessed with remembering correctly that they continue to wander. Until they forget why they’re there.”

Sora gapes, his eyes bulging. “You were the one who designed it like that? You’re savage.”

“Gawrsh,” Goofy says, holding a chin to his hand. His vowels ripple. “Ya think it’d be a nifty place to keep Xehanort locked up in.”

Donald frowns and fists his hips. “And you left Ventus in there?”

“Yes, and I’m the only one who can get him out,” she says sternly, choosing not to elaborate on the how. She sucks in a breath. “The castle won’t exactly recognize me, either. But I have the key.”

“How do we stop ourselves from losing memories?” Kairi asks. For a first mission, this one is entirely inappropriate.

“We don’t. I’m going in alone.” Aqua has long accepted the responsibility, thinking about this moment since the day she closed those doors. She chooses to ignore the disappointed look on Kairi’s face - once full of curiosity and hope at finally being allowed to show her worth.

“But you shouldn’t have to do this alone,” Sora says, stepping forward.

Aqua purses her lips. She’s done good not telling him everything.

“I do.”

“What is it with you and Terra and your obsessions with marching a one-man parade?” Sora grins, rubbing his nose. Riku snorts. “You’re going to have to learn to take ‘Nah’ for an answer. I think Ventus would agree with me.”

“Ditto,” Lea says.

“It was your bright idea to leave him and now we have to fix it,” Donald grumbles.

You were the ones who followed me. Aqua bites her lip.

It’s Aqua against six others who disagree with her, who came all the way here like she’s the one needing a chaperone. Ven would have wanted to come too, given the chance. He’s just better at submitting to her demands, even if he hated them, even if he didn’t want to understand they were for his safety.

“But your memories-”

“It really isn’t fair that Sora forgets what it’s like to be in there anyway,” Riku says, arms crossed and flexed.

Sora furrows his brows. “What would we forget?”

“Whatever you’re giving the castle,” Aqua says, starting quiet then raising her voice. “It will snatch something you’re passionate about… Your best defense is to simply look away. Believe in your own integrity, instead of what you see.”

“That…” Kairi picks at her cuticles. “Doesn’t sound too bad.”

That’s only because they’ve never spent years weighing the consequences.

“Consider this: how long would it take you to get to Ventus?” Lea asks.

“Not long at all. I can summon him to the first room,” Aqua says.

“Then we skidaddle in and run the stars out.” He mimics walking movement with his fingers. “You’re too paranoid. We didn’t travel all this way to admire the decorator’s taste. Award-winning, I tell you.”

Aqua takes a moment to study each of them, hoping her eyes spoke of horrors she can’t find the words for. But they smile back with encouragement. She considers tying them up with her chains to see if they enjoy feeling trapped under pressure.

She sighs. “The less amount of time we take, the better.”

The front door protests when she opens it, heavy and dragging across the pale floor. The inside is sterile, so white that the reflected light blinds. Every surface she can see is scrubbed clean of any and all personality. Like a hospital. Like a morgue.

At first glance, it’s just a simple room. A door innocently waits on the other side, the same monocolor as everything else. Their footsteps clank hard on the tile floor.

“Can’t believe I get to see the magic this time,” Lea says, the volume of his voice normal, but too strong for this room.

“You bums are pretty late for the show,” a gravelly voice replies. Aqua catches him leaning casually at the corner of the room, his black helmet a stark stain against the wall. She swears he wasn’t there before. She swears she got rid of him. She wonders if it’s still Ven’s face underneath.

“You again,” Sora barks.

“Took you long enough to get here,” Vanitas says, straightening up. “A really long time. Venty-Wenty needs his mommy to wake him up, but it’s like…” He snorts. “It’s like you forgot you had a kid waiting for you. Some mother you make.”

Donald slaps his webbed foot on the floor, his voice grating. “We’re too busy to deal with you. Now scram!”

“I have more right to be here than you,” he says, a sudden leap downhill trickling through his voice. His posture, however short he is, stays tall and proud. “I got here first. I outperformed the parent.” He jabs a finger in the air. “Don’t believe my sincerity, but I’ve got all the family business to pick with my own brother. It’s inhumane to keep us apart.” Vanitas summons his Keyblade, electrical sparks warping the air before its monstrosity takes form. “It’s been almost thirteen years, Aqua. What do you say? We can make this reunion worth the wait.”

Aqua scoffs through her nose. So he wants to think he’s still that much of a threat, after everything she’s seen. She keeps her nose high. “I don’t think about the gnat I’m stepping on.”

He pauses before he laughs. “You almost bruised me there, Master Aqua. What kind of selfish person would say something like that.” Darkness sputters from his body, ribbons crawling out of the leathery web of his skin. Monsters, Unversed. Red-eyed and twitchy, with more spunk and intelligent thought than the feral mind-numbing of a Heartless. “It suits you.”

This time, Aqua doesn’t hesitate. Her Master’s Defender takes form, and she charges. The sound of Keyblade summons bounce off the walls like bells as the mob of Unversed swarms. She takes out a swath of them in one icy hit, a sudden euphoria taking over her body - it’s good exercise to have. Beating him up should release some of the tension in her shoulders.

Still, she has to be careful about one thing: she can’t let Vanitas follow her.

“Get rid of them!” she yells.

By superficial glance, Vanitas is outnumbered, but the Unversed keep coming. Wave after wave of aggressive emotion. As though humans will never go numb.

Sora takes the enthusiastic lead. Lea stays behind and relies on his pot-shots. Riku hovers near Kairi, who does her best juggling creatures she’s never fought before. Donald sounds like he’s cursing when he really isn’t as he casts thunderous spells, and Goofy builds a strong defense on the front line, right by Sora’s side.

Aqua focuses on Vanitas, who has his arms wide open like a goal post.

But Sora juts in, and Aqua staggers to avoid hitting him.

“He’s nothing but a creep. Leave him,” he says, blocking one of Vanitas’ explosive attacks on her behalf.

“I have to end this,” she spits.

“Then stop talking and end it,” Vanitas growls, his Keyblade brimming with heat as he slams it against Sora’s.

“What about the time we’re spending in the castle? It’s ticking,” Sora asks her, his brows furrowed upside down.

“You’re boring me,” Vanitas says. He ghosts through the space between them, throwing an electrified force like he’s batting a swing. Aqua dodges, using the Defender as a lightning rod, and redirects the intensity until it crumbles into a wall away from everyone else.

“We’re not alone!” Lea calls out, the smoke of his fire spells clouding the room.

Something slithers, weaving through the air with a high-pitched wiggle. The thing is white, bending like it can compute Aqua’s strike before she has the chance to think of it. Its skin is thick yet fluid, reverberating her magic like it’s jelly. All of its movements are calculated - the way it walks is unnatural, as if someone is inputting commands into its mind.

“Nobodies!”

“Finally, some proper entertainment.” Vanitas catches Kairi off-guard, throwing her backward. “You got children in your team. Proud of yourself?”

If Aqua goes ahead and hurries to Ven, none of them would have to sacrifice their memories.

If she leaves them alone, would she betray their need for help?

“Just go,” Sora says. “It’s not a big deal. Look at him.” He waves to Vanitas, who is messing with Lea now. “He’s like an angry chicken.”

That’s the last word she’d use to describe Vanitas, but they’ve wasted so much time already.

“You promise?”

“Promise to trust my word?”

Aqua sighs and grips his shoulder, her fingers digging into his sleeve. His eyes go wide, getting the message. “Don’t underestimate him. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

The door handle churns when she grabs it. Pops, whirs, and shouts rally behind her in a thunderous roar, and she stops herself from turning the knob.

“I didn’t say you could see him!” Vanitas yells, coming toward her like she’s the only one whose existence has any value. Riku blocks his way, scruffed up from vanquishing enemies in one intricate attack a moment before.

The lock turns. She wants to see Ven but she doesn’t, not with enemies so close.

Vanitas dodges strings of attacks from all sides, from her friends, from Goofy throwing his body across the room, from Donald screaming incoherent gibberish. “Not without me!”

It almost sounds… painful. If he’s this bothered, then she can only imagine how much hatred and disgust fuel his words.

Poor Ven for having to deal with him.

She shuts the door behind her, suffocating the noise, cutting off Vanitas’ verbal assault, like an eraser swallowing an exclamation mark.

Aqua stands at the entrance hall of what used to be the old castle, gold pillars holding up ivory walls, coated in stained glass light. Down the hall are staircases leading up to the throne room where she had her Mark of Mastery, right where they’re supposed to be.

She should’ve been more careful than let the castle into her mind. Damn it.

“Nothing is real,” she declares. Someone could be upstairs. The Master. With his bushy mustache and ridiculous hairstyle that she’s offered to cut for years. What would he say to her?

Maybe she could apologize. She really wants to.

No. The castle will conjure him only because she’s thinking of him. “I won’t look. I won’t.”

Some part of her jumped at the thought that it could be Terra… She could hear Terra’s voice. It’d be exact, his smile something she’s needed. It could be wonderful. It could be sad.

“I won’t look,” she whispers, taking a peek up at the balcony over the foyer to see if she could at least spot a head of hair. She sees the stained glass mural in the same beautiful shapes she’s mimicked with crayons, hovering right above the thrones. The colors do their best work in the late morning, just like how they glistened prims on Terra’s shoulders when she dueled him.

Aqua inhales sharply. She runs past the stairs and down another hallway to the left, to a door that normally would lead to the kitchen.  

Is she remembering that right? The kitchen?

“It doesn’t matter.” It does. But Ven. She grips a new door handle, so much like the ones back home (the same golden color).

She hisses. “Ven,” she calls, willing the word onto the door.

Aqua enters another empty white room with yet another door at the opposite side, like she smothered white paint all over a filled canvas. Who knows how far she’s moved away from the others by now, or how many rooms have sifted in between.

But the whiteness is exactly what she wants - to get to Ven, she’ll need some peace and quiet, and a bit of time to grieve.

Something is wrong, though. Aqua doesn’t take another step. The rooms should read her, not watch her.

“Who’s there?”

Footsteps lightly tread, weighty but feathery. A man in a black robe gracefully makes his appearance from behind a stone pillar, his face a secret under the hood. A giant of a man, barrel-chest with a thick waist, at least two heads taller than her.

“I had missed the chance to see you before,” he says, his voice deep and smooth, but forceful like the bottom of an ocean. Aqua’s heart hammers at the familiarity. “Now I’ve been granted a tabula rasa...”

Aqua scoffs, Defender at the ready.

“My friend,” Xemnas says.

“You’re not my friend.”

“Even I am not that cruel to be so cold. How can you say that to someone who has longed to see you?”

“Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?”

Xehanort’s Nobody hums, halfway between a chuckle and solemn breath. “I don’t need the pity.”

“Then I have nothing else for you.”

Aqua is the first to move, casting a barrier around herself for protection, expecting him to conjure up spells of his own. Instead, out of his palms burst two red sabers that throb when she gets close.

He strikes her with both, clutching Defender’s jab and throwing her off balance. He’s too fast for his size - he has to be utilizing the darkness to bend the laws of physics. Showing off his acrobatics and reappearing in places she doesn’t expect, he toys with the space between them, coming close to taunt her into hitting him. Then he goes away in a flash. Aqua scrambles to keep up.

“Enough of this,” she mutters.

Summoning her Master’s chains takes more from her than any other spell, but they’re her rock and wind - as though Eraqus is with her every step of the way, approving her decisions. They are Light incarnate into metal, threads that peel chunks away from her heart to take form. To justify conjuring them, she needs to land a certain blow.

This is Xehanort’s Nobody, after all. Watching him wince will be a welcome sight.

They wrap around his body, locking his sabers against his thighs. He shudders from the pain, his knees losing their strength. Yes, that’s exactly what she wants.

Like finding new resolve, Xemnas stands straight on trembling feet just as she was sure he’d collapse. She must be exhausted from conjuring them, she has to be. They shouldn’t be this weak. Dark energy crackles and whips against the links. His arms manage to flex outward, pushing against the hold.

Maybe that’s the point. To survive this, he can’t be anything close to human. He’s technically Nothing.

Or maybe it isn’t. Maybe she isn’t sure she wants this.

“An old trick,” Xemnas says, loosening one arm.

This is her only chance. Aqua pinches the gap between them in an instant, her Master’s Defender high in the air to knock him out.

Xemnas grabs her by the wrist, the Defender suspended in air. His hand is so large that his fingers lock together, twisting and squeezing her that she’s worried he’ll break it.

Aqua tries to jerk free but the pain cuts into her circulation.

He watches her squirm. “Like a trapped mouse with not the mind to know there’s nowhere to go. No need to skirmish so much.”

“Let go of me.”

“Why do you hate me so?” He squeezes harder and lifts her, her feet dangling off the floor. She yelps. “You fight me though you know me as faceless. Such harsh disregard for my existence.”

“Spare me,” she breathes, her wrist throbbing, “your stupid pleas.”

“But I do plea.” Xemnas gently lifts the hood off his head. It’s not the shoulder-length silver hair that surprises her, but his face. Yellow eyes, but the same face.

She gasps. “Terra.”

Wrong. Everything about him is wrong - the smile, the malicious glint in his eye, the tightened half-smirk. A callous Terra looking down on her like the gnat under a shoe, needing to be scraped off.

“You’re hurting me,” she whimpers to (Terra’s face), hoping to catch the tiniest reaction in his eyes that he’d feel bad for doing so - just like Terra would. But he doesn’t.

This is supposed to be Xehanort’s body without a heart. But she’s been misleading herself, hasn’t she?

(Terra’s body) wanting to be her friend, wanting to stay close, wanting to reconnect. And she wanted the same. Aqua swallows bile.

This bastard stole from her.

She throws a kick into his face with enough force that he lets her go. Xemnas stumbles backward, holding his chin where her shoe made contact. He winces. Good.

“You’re nothing like him!” Aqua says, flexing her sore, thick grip on the Defender. It twitches and singes.

Xemnas stays where he is, carefully massaging his chin like she isn’t in the room anymore. If he heard her, he doesn’t give notice, staring blankly at the floor. She wonders - for the slightest moment - if what she said actually stung him.

“You can try,” he says.

“Excuse me?”

“Try it.” He conjures his blades. “Obliterate me. Let’s see if you make peace with doing so after seeing my face.”

Shut up. Aqua lunges at him, ignoring the ache on her wrist. But instead of using his blades against her, a wall of light erects from the floor. She collides into it. It electrocutes her, throwing her back.

An offensive barrier? Terra’s used this. Protecting her in the Realm of Darkness right after finding her. This really is Terra’s body.

A cry echoes against the tile. It came out of her own mouth. She can’t lose it here.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re his body,” she whispers to herself, standing up. She stumbles as Xemnas casually approaches, his footsteps as soft as the adrenaline dissipating from her body. Numbness is quickly replaced by the stinging in her wrist. It’s harder to take calming breaths.

It matters. It matters too much.

Aqua huffs, telling herself to stop thinking about who’s in the room and start thinking about the people depending on her. “You’re wasting my time,” she declares.

She turns on her heel and heads for the door.

A blast explodes near the exit. Over her shoulder, Aqua sees Xemnas holding out his palm, smoke fizzing out of the leather of his glove.

“After all this time?” he asks.

Aqua gives herself a conscious reminder that Nobodies can’t truly feel. Lea is sure to disagree, but there’s little in Xemnas’ voice to tell her there’s anything left of Terra in that mind.

She yells. Such a primitive thing to do, but it tricks her body for a few precious moments into feeling she has the strength to pull off something big and reckless. Chains of light emanate from her body.

The chains pummel in different directions, and Xemnas erects several barriers to counter each one. Neither of them actually target him. It’s not that she’s getting worse at her aim. Or getting brittle. She knows this. It’s everything to do with (him), and she’s ashamed of it.

At least they’re distracting him.

Aqua yanks the door handle with her good hand, a pressure bursting from the other side and swallowing her as she closes it behind her.

Warmth beats on her shoulders. Tall stone towers conquer the space around her, blocking off the horizon. Aqua only sees gently setting sunlight. She’s somewhere on a terrace of a castle, tucked away from the main streets.

Her heart drops when she realizes it’s Radiant Garden.

“No, no, no, no,” she murmurs, palming the brick walls behind her for a door. For the feeling of a doorknob. She can’t have this now. She can’t stand to witness one of her worst memories.

A few feet ahead. There, a gray door that would take her out to an alley - out of this room. It’s just a room.

But the castle knows.

It only takes a second. A tall figure catches her peripheral attention.

Terra, with a scowl on his face. He’s impeccable: thick, effortlessly tousled hair just right, the pensive deepness of his eyes far away and hurt, unsure of her presence there. Something about him is tense, like he’s about to turn over his shoulder and walk away from her all over again.

Aqua has only one wish to ask what she used to call home. Smile. Please, smile.

[joannie95]

Legacy- Part 37

Pairing: Carter!reader x ?????

Summary:  Everyone knows Peggy Carter is a force to be reckoned with, who could have guessed her granddaughter would hold the same ferocity, if not more.This story follows y/n Carter’s life as she faces the obstacles life pitches her.

Warnings: Swearing, mentioned death and violence 

A/N: Thank you to @mo320​ and @hermionie-is-my-queen​ for proofreading and helping with the ideas for this chapter, thank you to @writeyourmindaway​ for making these awesome text dividers im so excited to use them all

You feel numb, you hear voices around you but you don't care enough to listen. Phil was gone, he was always there for you and now you'd never get to see him again. He promised it would be okay and now he's gone, how could he do this? He knew how broken you already were and he just lied to you, you shouldn't be angry but you were. It felt like losing a parent all over again. How dare he do this to you, how dare he make you feel this way, how dare he think you were strong enough to make it through this.

You’re suddenly snapped out of your thoughts at the sight of a set of bloodstained trading cards. How dare he, how dare he, how dare he. You feel yourself snap, you stand up and pull your chair off its hinges and throw it against the wall in a fit of rage. You walk out of the room leaving Steve, Tony and Nick behind you.

You sat on the floor across the bloodstained wall. It's hard to believe you'd never see him again. You quickly wiped the tears falling down your cheeks when you heard two people walk in.

"Was he married?" Steve was walking towards you with Tony following behind.

"No. There was a uh- cellist, it was nothing serious though." You wiped your hands on your pant legs.

Steve held his hand out to help you stand. "I’m sorry. He seemed like a good man."

You took his hand and thanked him. "He was."

"He was an idiot."

You scoffed at Tony's comment.

"Why? For believing?"

"For taking on Loki alone."

"He was doing his job."

"He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have-

"He was doing what he thought was best." You couldn't take it anymore, they were talking as if they knew the kind of person Phil was. "He was always willing to do whatever it took to save the people he cared about most."

"Sometimes there isn’t a way out, Tony."

"Right. How did that work for him?"

You clenched your fist as he spoke, you couldn't stand the way he was talking about someone you cared about.

"Is this the first time you’ve lost a soldier?"

"We are not soldiers! I’m not marching to Fury’s fife."

"Neither are we. I may have known Nick for a long time but that doesn't mean I trust his intentions." 

"He’s got the same blood on his hands that Loki does, but right now we gotta put that behind us and get this done. Now, Loki needs a power source, if we can put together a list-"

Tony looks down at the place Coulson fell, there is a dent in the wall. "He made it personal."

"That’s not the point."

"That is the point. That’s Loki’s point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?"

"To tear us apart."

"Yeah, divide and conquer is great but- he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That’s what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience."

"Right. We caught his act in Stuttgart."

"Yeah. That’s just previews, this is- this is opening night. And Loki, he’s a full-tail diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered....Son of-a-bitch"

You follow Steve into the med bay.

"Time to go."

"Go where?" Natasha gives Steve a confused look.

"I’ll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?"

Clint walks out from the restroom, drying his hands. "I can."

"Then suit up."

You walk past Steve as he leaves the room and pull Clint into a tight hug. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He pulls away and puts a hand on your cheek. "I'm sorry about Phil."

You close your eyes for a second and will yourself not to cry. You feel Natasha wrap her arms around you.

"It's going to be okay." 

"I know." You take a deep breath and give them both a small smile. "Come on, we gotta go." 

The four of you make your way to a quinjet, when you enter you see Darcy waiting in the copilot seat.

"Quinjet is fueled up and ready to go when you are." 

Steve gives her a hesitant look. "Maybe you should stay behind."

"No." You walk up next to her and turn to face Steve. "She is coming and that's final. We need all the help we can get and there's no one I trust more with my life than her." 

He gives you a half smile. "Alright then. Let's go."

Darcy and Clint take their seats and prepare to take off.

The quinjet comes around to Stark Tower, Clint and Darcy start blasting the army who are firing at them. One of the wings is grazed by Chitauri gunfire. One of the jet's rotors is hit and the quinjet begins to fall. Clint and Darcy hold on for dear life while you, Natasha and Steve grab a hold of the roof as the jet grazes buildings and crashes to the street.

The jet harshly lands on the street and the five of you make your way outside 

"We gotta get back up there."

You all run onto the overpass, looking up at Stark Tower. You freeze as they see a giant armored Leviathan -- a warship of the Chitauri, flies through the portal with more warriors.

"We need to help these people. "You start to look at the destruction around you and the people running for their lives.

Natasha and Darcy start to shoot at the Chitauri coming towards them. "We got this, you two go."

You and Steve leave the three of them fighting and jump off an overpass, rolling onto a bus and into the street. You run through the street and jump off cars towards a group of police shooting at Chitauri, once you reach them you two jump down on the car in front of them.

Steve starts to gesture towards the buildings around him. "You need men in these buildings. There are people inside and they can be running right into the line of fire. You take them to the basement or through the subway, you keep them off the streets. I need a perimeter as far back as 39th."

"Why the hell should I take orders from you?"

Two Chitauri warriors land next to the two of you. You each fight them off easily, Steve with his shield and you with your sword. You both turn back to the two men. 

The two cops stand in shock. The police sergeant reacts and walks back to his men. "I need men in those buildings, lead the people down and away from the streets." He talks into his radio. "We need to set up a perimeter all the way down to 39th street."

You and Steve run back to Clint, Natasha and Darcy. You each knock out a few Chitauri as the rest are killed when Thor drops down from the tower with a bolt of lightning.

"What’s the story upstairs?" Steve walks up to Thor and questions him.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable."

"How do we do this?"

"As a team."

"I have unfinished business with Loki."

You and Clint look at each other then towards Thor and speak in unison. "Get in line."

"Save it. Loki’s gonna keep this fight focused on us and that’s what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he’s gonna need us to-" Steve stops once he sees Bruce arriving on a motorbike.

Tony suddenly flies around a corner and towards the group, followed closely by the Leviathan.

Bruce climbs off the motorbike, turns and begins to walk away, towards the Leviathan.

"Doctor Banner, now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

Bruce looks back as he continues to walk. "That’s my secret, Cap. I’m always angry." He then transforms into the Hulk and punches the Leviathan, smashing it into the ground.

Tony blasts a missile at the creature and it explodes. You quickly grab Darcy and pull behind an abandoned car to cover her from the explosion. 

"Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, we’re gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash."

Tony grabs Clint and flies him up to the top of a building, then flies off.

"Thor! You gotta try and bottleneck that portal, slow ’em down. You got the lightning, light the bastards up."

Thor swings Mjolnir, flying off.

"The four of us, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here. And Hulk!"

Hulk turns around facing Steve, who points at him. "Smash!"

Hulk grins, then leaps off.

You quickly fight off the remaining Chitauri around you, sword in hand prepared for more to arrive.

"Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don’t close that portal."

"Our biggest guns couldn’t touch it."

"Well, maybe it’s not about guns." Natasha looks up towards Stark Tower.

"You wanna get up there, you’re gonna need a ride."

You look towards Darcy knowing exactly what she was thinking. "There's only one way to get up there." You sheath your sword and take a few steps back.

She has a smile on her face as she makes her way over to the other side of the overpass. "The Dugan way."

She runs towards you, jumps on and off the hood of a car and with your hands you give her a boost. She grabs on to a passing Chitauri vehicle and flies off into the distance. 

Natasha looks towards you. "I think I like the Dugan way. You mind giving me a boost too?"

You chuckle and she runs towards you, the same way as Darcy you give her a boost and she grabs a hold of another vehicle flying by.

You look to your right and there are more warriors coming, you unsheathe your sword and look to Steve. "You ready?"

He grips on to his shield. "Ready as I'll ever be." 

Back to back you fight off each Chitauri. He throws his shield at them and cuts them in half as you stab them through their chests and slice off their heads.

You hear Clint over your earpiece. "Guys, the bank on 42nd, past Madison. They’ve cornered a lot of civilians in there."

"We're on it."

You both jump through a window of the bank and begin to fight. He snaps the neck of one and throws him into the pit while you shoot another. He is grabbed by a warrior and you quickly pull him off and toss him to the side. A grenade-like device goes off, Steve grabs a hold of you as it blasts you both out a window and onto a car. You stand silently while police lead the civilians from the building.

Soon all civilians are evacuated from the area. Thor arrives and the three of you fight off Chitauri warriors. Steve is shot in the ribs and drops to the ground, Thor sends a car rolling towards some of them and then throws Mjolnir in the other way. He helps Steve to his feet.

"You two ready for another bout?"

"What, you gettin’ sleepy?"

You look around you genuinely worried about how much more you can all take. You suddenly hear Natasha over your earpiece and get hopeful.

"I can close it. Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down!"

Steve hears and reacts. "Do it!"

Tony speaks up over his earpiece. "No, wait."

"Stark, these things are still coming!"

"I got a nuke coming in, it’s gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it."

You see him fly past you with the missile on his back. After he makes it through the portal you look around you and see the Chitauri warriors collapse, and the Leviathans fall from the sky. 

You wait a few more seconds before you hear Steve speak up. "Close it."

You look up to the sky. "Come on Tony." You smile when you see him fall through the portal back to earth. You quickly start to panic when you see him plummeting to the ground. "He's not slowing down, someone needs to catch him." 

Thor prepares to fly at him and catch him when the Hulk grabs him out of the air, slides down the side of a building and crashes to the ground in front of you. He throws Tony off him and you all run over to him. Thor pulls off his face plate.

You fall to your knees next to him, you place a hand on his cheek and you feel a tear fall down yours. "Uncle Tony," You listened for a heartbeat, then see the arc reactor is not glowing. After all these years of feeling nothing but hate towards him, you start to sense a new feeling. You're hurt, this isn't how it should end, after losing Phil, you can't lose your Uncle Tony too.

Suddenly the Hulk roars and beats his chest. Tony, shocked, gasps and opens his eyes, looking around. "What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me."

You smile and wipe away your tears. "We won."

"Alright, Hey. Alright. Good job, guys. Let’s just not come in tomorrow. Let’s just take a day. You ever tried shawarma? There’s a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don’t know what it is, but I wanna try it."

"We’re not finished yet."

"And then shawarma after?"

Loki crawls over to a stair and turns to see you all surrounding him. Clint has an arrow aimed at his face. Natasha is holding his scepter. Hulk growls. "If it’s all the same to you, I’ll have that drink now."

You're all standing in central park ready to go your separate ways. Thor and Loki vanish into the sky with the tesseract in hand.

You say goodbye to Clint and Nat and you let them know you'll see them soon. You walk towards Tony, you smile at each other and pull him into a hug. "Don't be a stranger, Grandma and I would really like to have you around in our lives again." 

He pulls back and kisses the top of your head. "Of course, I'd really like that." 

You say your goodbyes and walk towards Darcy. You tell her to wait in the car so you can quickly talk to Steve. "Captain Rogers."

"Please, call me Steve." He smiles at you.

"Alright. Steve, if you'd ever like to visit my grandma just let me know. I'm sure she'd be very happy to see you again." You hand him a card with your number on it. 

He takes it and puts it in his pocket. "Thank you, I really appreciate that."

You walk back to your car, you call back to him just before getting in. "And Steve. If you need any help adjusting to this new world, feel free to call me." You gave him a smile and got in your car before he could respond.

"Did you just give Captain America your number?"

You look towards Darcy and laugh. "Shut up." You drive off and think to yourself. A lot of things will be changing soon. Some for the worse, but hopefully many for the better.

Legacy Tags:

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[cynthiaandsamus]

Custom Toonami Block Week 72 Rundown

Code Geass: Lelouch continues his plan to kidnap a little Chinese girl and Todoh gets to show off his new Zangetsu so the Black Knights enjoy having two Knightmares worth a damn for once, though as if on cue Kallen gets caught in the most bullshit way possible bringing them back down to one Ace. Xingke has home field advantage and a new Knightmare with spinny dealies and turns Zero’s bullshit tactics of fighting in the one place that basically wipes out the enemy for him against him. However the gods of the Code Geass world themselves said “You know Xingke’s way too OP, better Kimimaro him and make it so he’s terminally ill so he can’t do too much” so now the Black Knights are literally backed into a cave and instead of letting Xingke just finish the job the Chinese government swoops in with Britannian reinforcements to try and claim victory and seize power all at once. Also Lelouch is somehow back at school despite being in China and I don’t remember this part at all but I guess it answers my question from last time. I think it has something to do with Sayoko and  realistic Lupin III style mask or something.

Inuyasha: The Panther Demon filler continues as Inuyasha’s Group, Koga and his two goons and Sesshomaru/Jaken make their way into Panther Demon territory after Inuyasha breaks their barrier. Koga meets up with Royokhan and gets the low down on the Panther Demon backstory with Taiga killing their leader hundreds of years ago and then Sesshomaru beating them 50 years ago but losing a lot of men in the process. It’s kind of a neat turn seeing Jaken go try to get Inuyasha and Sesshomaru’s like “fine I guess we’ll let him help” and then getting mad when he finds out he can’t even come because he’s nailed to a tree. Like it’s a weird bit of complexity for Sesshomaru to feel betrayed by not getting help he never really wanted and now being determined to fight off the Panthers alone. Anyway all the groups square off against the Panther mini-bosses, Lightning Panther beats Miroku and Sango and gets them captured with Kagome, Wind Panther fights Koga to a draw, Ice Panther continues her beef with Sesshomaru and Fire Panther keeps teasing Inuyasha. It’s kinda nice that they give every group someone to fight and something to do but I kinda wish these fights lasted longer and Fire/Ice panther were scaled up a bit to match Inuyasha and Sesshomaru’s power because they’re firing huge sword beams at this point and it just doesn’t seem like they’d have this much trouble with them. Also Jaken and Inuyasha meet and both of them are like ‘hey you seen my group?’ which I just thought was funny.

Yu Yu Hakusho: A new arc begins and honestly this is the Yu Yu Hakusho arc I remember the least because I think I missed an episode or two in the middle of it since YYH came on right around when I got home from school back in the day. But yeah, Kuwabara suddenly decides he doesn’t wanna do demon shit anymore and Yusuke’s like “fine it wasn’t your job anyway you made me let you come last time” and then Kuwabara immediately backpedals on it because there’s a hot girl he wants to save. Also they still need to give Keiko a lame backstory about Yusuke interning with a detective that doesn’t explain all the zombies after her but Kuwabara’s sister being like “Damn who’s the spirit baby, here’s $50 for the bus” is fine apparently. Anyway we get the Toguro brothers’ introduction and it’s neat to see them effortlessly make Yukina cry to make jewels and then have Younger Toguro give her some advice about making herself cry on cue so she doesn’t have to suffer every time which is some weird tough love take it or leave it advice that says a lot about his character right away. Also Yusuke and Kuwabara fight a giant plant demon who’s all like “Yeah I’m a demon but I got bills to pay bitch” and like what bills does a demon have and why can’t they just steal from the rich human but it doesn’t matter because Yusuke and Kuwabara just blow him away.

Fate Zero: So the church is like ‘yo free Command Seal to whoever fucks up Caster’ which is strange because yeah Caster’s killing children and shit but UBW Caster killed a bunch of peeps too and no one blinked an eye and Kiritsugu blew up a fucking building and no one cares so I have no idea where the line is here. Also Iskandar gets a shirt from amazon and it’s hilarious but he forgot to order pants and Waver tells him he’s not allowed to wear pants until he murders a historical figure and Iskander’s like “you know what that’s fair” so he’s just gonna be freeballing it for a while I guess. Strategy meeting with Kiritsugu, Iris and Saber happens and Saber seems more than a little pissy that Kiritsugu doesn’t address her directly and is basically treating her like a Pokemon. They talk about the four spots the grail can appear at and since we’ve already seen UBW we know it’s gonna be in the huge residential place so it can murder everyone and also Shirou. Also Caster shows up for Tentacle Hentai time with Saber along with more child murder but Lancer’s like “Hey I am the Vegeta of this story and no one kills Saberot but me” while Kiritsugu does his Homura Akemi thing to fight off Kayneth’s T-1000 Black Clover Nozel Silva Mercury Magic which is just amazingly amusing to me that Kiritsugu’s fighting style is to just shoot all these demi-god mages in the face and end his battles in the most anticlimactic way possible.

Konosuba: So Kazuma’s dead again. Shoulda really occurred to him sooner that dying again would get him reincarned again but nah, Samurai Santa has to come off him so he can meet Eris but he actually seems to miss his friends a bit. Like he doesn’t ask to go back specifically we’re not being that cheesy here but considering Kazuma’s two purposes in this story are to complain and explain the joke it is nice that he has some lingering feelings for his party. Then Aqua’s all “Hey fucker get back here, you’re not getting rid of me that easily” and despite Eris saying they can’t just revive him because he doesn’t belong there Aqua just does it anyway, really gives the vibe of an older coworker being like “you’re not supposed to do it this way but this is the way I do it” kind of deal. But yeah Kazuma has a crush on Eris now and despite these guys saying how much they hate being in a group together they sure seem to turn down every out they have to get away from each other, idk I get the joke and jadedness but a little more sincerity would be nice.

Sailor Moon Crystal: Usagi wakes up at Mamoru’s place and he gives her his backstory about how he became Amnesiac Batman in Evening Wear. Luna knows Sailor V but for some reason is really cagey about divulging that to the rest of the group even though literally everyone has been assembled now. There’s a dated plot about Blockbuster taking over people’s minds that Usagi literally handwaves away when Zoisite comes out and punches her and defeats the whole team with one dark energy wave. Tuxedo Mask comes in and punches him in the face and then remembers he doesn’t have any powers and gets owned. The two have a sweet but ultimately cringy reunion before Sailor V saves their worthless asses.

Durarara!!:  With Mikado’s status as Founder of the Dollars revealed, Seiji goes on a stabbing rampage again and luckily keeps stabbing the only people that don’t actually get hurt by it, this time being Celty. Celty’s about to go grim reaper on Seiji’s worthless ass before Mika Harima runs in and tells everyone she isn’t really Celty’s head, weirdly enough Mikado recognizes this right before she says anything somehow, like makes sense Celty realizes it’s not her head but Mikado has no frame of reference aside from knowing she was wearing Mika’s clothes which in her cover story would be explained by Celty’s head leeching off Mika’s dead body. But yeah despite Seiji spending 18 hours a day staring at Mika he apparently couldn’t tell either which really throws a wrench in his “power of love justifies indiscriminate murder” philosophy which amuses both Izaya and me. Mikado breaks down the craziness that’s just transpired what with the stalking, murder, incest, identity theft, actual theft, and stabbing and tries to put a positive spin on it in that Seiji and Mika are both fucking crazy and deserve each other but it’s a hard sell my dude. Izaya tells Mikado that he’s going to be an excitement junkie like him soon if he keeps ramping up life in this crazy city and Celty just kinda forgives Shinra for knowing where her head is without telling her and also plastic surgerizing a yandere girl to look like her and give her her name which seems a little weird for them to just punch each other and call it a wash when Shinra was arguably as yandere as Mika here and they still get unofficially married. Seiji tells Mika he doesn’t love her but because of all the shit she went through to literally mold herself into the object of his obsession he guess she can hang around until he gets the headless sex toy of his dreams so… happy ending I guess. Everyone in this town is fucking crazy and they forgive each other way too easily but for a show that swings back and forth between how fucked up people are and saying humanity is fundamentally pretty decent I guess that’s kind of the point.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

From Chin To Yon Rah (Part 4)

It is only after they part ways that Azula realizes she hadn’t gotten his name. And she thinks about that for a long time afterwards. It is a stupid thing to have nagging her in the back of her mind. A trivial matter. He was a friendly face and a good companion but she didn’t know him all too well.

They’d spent a good week or so together. He helped her craft some tools like a good fishing spear and a bow and some arrows for hunting. She has an abundance of blankets so she traded one for a pan to cook her fish and game over.

They had talked a good deal, nothing of where she is headed or where she had come from. She didn’t have to drop a false name because he didn’t ask for one at all. There had been an unspoken courtesy, a knowing that she didn’t want to be known. So he settled for talking of his wife and of folklore that he’d heard during his travels.

She warned him of a rather troublesome group of bandits just to the south of where she had been before she’d entered the plains.

Azula steers her mongoose-lizard towards the skyline. She can see the outlines of buildings through a thin veil of mist. She hopes to be there before the clouds open up and soak her to the bone.

The man had told her a tale about how he and his wife had been in a thick forest huddling in a cave as they waited out a storm. He claimed that they met a spirit there; one that looked like a rabaroo but spoke like a child. They followed it out into the storm and it led them to a babe. They had taken the babe in and that, that was why he was on this journey. To trade furs and other goods for coin. He promised his wife that he’d have them plenty of food by the time he got back and toys too.

The village is in unobscured view now. And so her nervousness unveils itself too. There is always a pinch of nervousness when entering a new town; the smaller it is, the greater her sense of foreboding. She is more elusive in the bigger towns. In the smaller villages they want to get to know her.

She is almost certain that there is another larger town some miles away but she is just as certain that she won’t beat the storm. As though to diminish any figment of doubt, she spies the first fork of lightning stab into the cloud diagonal from it. She urges her mongoose-lizard to move faster. She reaches the village as the first drop of rain spatters on her cheek. The streets are desolate save for a vendor who had been late to pack in. The woman’s hair whips into her face. A face screwed up in distress and concentration. The wind is certainly picking up, it blows a few more fat droplets into Azula’s face. She hears the woman cry out as she fumbles with the protective tarp and it flies from her hand.

The sky opens up with a fury and Azula chides herself for pausing to gawk. The woman takes notice of her and she inwardly berates herself a second time. And then a third as she steers her mongoose-lizard towards the woman. She slides down from her mount and grabs the other end of the tarp. The woman grunts at the effort of securing it.

“Why did you wait so long to close your stall?” Azula questions over the storm.

“Why didn’t you plan your travels better?” She shoots back.

“I noticed the storm miles back. I can only get my mongoose-lizard to run so fast.” She swats at the wet strands of hair that plaster to her forehead and finds herself relieved that she had chosen to chop it short. The other woman doesn’t have such luck, her hair is flapping into her eyes and sticking to her bare shoulders.

“Thank you for helping me.”

“I was hoping that you could give me a place to wait out the storm.”

The woman rolls her eyes. “So you’re that sort.”

“That sort?” Azula asks. She wishes that the woman would have this discussion with her inside.

“You do things for things.”

“Well yes, that’s how it works.”

“Have you ever done anything helpful just to be generous?”

She thinks for a moment. A moment that turns into a minute and then a span of time long enough for the woman to say, “I didn’t think so.”

Azula frowns. “Fine.” She climbs back to her saddle, there is a decent puddle in it. It doesn’t matter she is drenched down to her last layer of clothing and then some.

“Wait. I didn’t mean anything by that.” The woman calls up to her. “You can stay with me if you want.”

But she is agitated already, perhaps wrongly so, and can’t imagine spending another moment with the woman. She gives the mongoose-lizard’s reins a flick and ventures into the storm. And really, what does it matter? Her sense of urgency has been washed away by having already failed to keep herself dry.

Thunder shakes the cobblestone, she hears a tree branch split. She thanks the spirits that she can bend lightning and has watched Zuko redirect it enough to have a sense of how it’s done. She finds herself an alley to steal away in.

The storm lets up as suddenly as it had come, tapering off with a few final patters. It had raged for a respectable ten minutes, but such a powerful burst can never seem to sustain itself. The village inhabitants are slower to emerge. She wonders if she is due for a second onslaught; she finds that storms like these usually come in pairs or several short sets.

She emerges from the alley dripping and shivering. Her mongoose-lizard looks just as miserable.

The streets don’t fill until the sun has been in the sky for at least an hour. And even an hour later, she is still sopping wet and dripping as though she herself is a raincloud. Her mood goes darker still.

Now, with a crowd, her nerves are flaring again. As wet as she is, she is twice as likely to draw attention. She will draw it thrice over being an outsider who is unmistakably Fire Nation.

She clenches the reigns much tighter than she needs to and guides her mount through the crowd. She watches three children, two boys and a girl kicking up puddles and giggling. An older child floats a paper boat down the stream of the sidewalk gutter. The children pay her passing by no mind. That is one constant from town to town; the children are always oblivious. At least until the adults make a fuss, then they get curious. She doesn’t like children, when they do take an interest in her they ask far too many questions and with all the social grace of a village drunk.

She scans the buildings for an inn. She will stay here for some time, earn herself some more coin, and be on her way. She resigns herself to the possibility that she might have to bypass the inn and sleep in the village green if she wishes to keep her earnings. She might have to do so regardless, this village is so small that it may not have an inn at all.

As she ganders at street signs and buildings, she feels eyes on her. Most are drawn out passing glances, some linger long enough to send a vibration up and down her spine. A very particular set of eyes refuse to leave her.

“Missus, you’re all wet!”

“So I am aware.” She answers dryly.

“I have hair too.” He beams up at her, one of his front teeth is missing. “See!” He points at his hair.

“That isn’t what I said.” She grumbles.

“I also have teeth, missus. But not all of them! Do you have all of your teeth?”

Azula blinks. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because sometimes, for some reason your tooth gets all wiggly and then it falls out. My dad says not to yank it out. Or if you’re like my friend’s brother’s dad...” He stops for a breath and starts over. “If you’re like my friend’s father’s dad you got into a fight and got punched in the face!”

“Yes, well my teeth are fine.”

“Atsu!”

The child jerks. His smile seems to dim. “That’s my dad.”

The man, he can’t be much younger than she, approaches and with a sigh and a nervous chuckle asks, “he’s not bothering you, is he?”

“Yes, he is.”

The man flushes.

“I’m sorry, he just likes talking to people. I’ve tried to tell him that it isn’t polite.”

She shrugs. “Have you tried other means of discipline?” Really it is only a question that borders on being a suggestion, but the man seems to grow more uncomfortable. “Some children only respond to strict lessons and…” She falls short watching his expression flicker into something of concern. Sometimes she forgets that the Earth Kingdom isn’t so rigid with their children. “Nevermind.” She grumbles, her own face growing red.

“Did I do something bad, dad?”

He shakes his head. “No. Fire Nationals tend to be...stern and blunt.” He puts a hand on the boy’s back.

Azula swallows, something in her belly flutters with unease and regret. She shouldn’t care. She has no reason to care. But something in her itches to make a better impression. She opens her mouth to call for him to wait but she doesn’t utter a word. She can’t come up with anything to say afterwards. By the time she thinks up something, the man and his boy have slipped into the crowd. Apparently children aren’t the only ones that have the tact of a town drunk. And so she is left to navigate the town alone. She supposes that she should simply buy some new shoes and make her way to the city over. She has enough food to last until then.

That day she learns that children will probably be her second great downfall. Or maybe it is something about not being so rigid? She learns that she still isn’t a good person. That she’s unlovable at worst and hard to be around at best.

.oOo.

Navigating the palace for the first time in years is not unlike getting used to a new town. It is hardly recognizable, easy to get lost in, and she doesn’t know many of the inhabitants. A lot of them openly and unrelentingly eyeball her as she passes. The stares aren’t particularly malicious. In fact, she doesn’t think that they are ill-meaning at all. Mostly they stare at her as though she is a phantasmal spirit.

“So there are some new portraits up.” He gestures to the gallery. “As in some I mean, one.”

She catches the faintest of jolts as he seems to recall that the feud for the throne is still a delicate topic. She eyes the image of Zuko standing tall and proud, flame in one hand, olive branch in the other. She doesn’t find herself simmering and seething. It is more or less a solemn acceptance. There is a residual tickle of envy that seeps through the cracks. She thinks that it has less to do with the crown and more to do with the respect it represents. The honor she has lost and the purpose she has yet to find. The content and peace he has found that she can’t seem to grasp even when it is securely in her hands.

“He picked a fine artist.” She remarks. And that is all. They are onto the next hallway.

“It doesn’t bother you?” He asks.

“The only thing that bothers me is that you’re starting the questions thing again.”

“How am I supposed to get to know you if I don’t ask questions?”

She shrugs. “Watch. Observe.” She accidently meets the stare of one of the passing servants. “Like everyone else.” She fidgets with the excess folds of her robe. There is a part of her that wonders if she should open up, to tell him everything from start to finish. Perhaps to slip her journal into his bag before he leaves. She backtracks, not knowing what she was thinking.

“Zuko also had a new room added to the palace.”

“A new room?”

“Yeah it’s full of trinkets from the other nations. He thought that it would be a nice way to show that we’re trying to move away from the war.”

Azula nods. “It seems like most nations are. I hadn’t expected people to be so...inviting in the Earth Kingdom.”

“Because you’re Fire Nation?”

“That’s correct.”

“They didn’t recognize you, did they?”

“I have a feeling that they wouldn’t have taken as kindly to me if they did.” She confesses. She wonders if any of the people she had met along the way would still care for her if they found her in the palace with a prettily and painstakingly styled hair and a full face of makeup. Granted, she hasn’t gotten around to that yet.

“Oh! And we can go out to the garden!” Sokka exclaims. She readily allows the subject change. “That’s different to. Your mom and uncle planted this tea garden and Zuko had some flowers imported. There are more turtle-ducks too!”

“That sounds nice, I suppose. Hajime would have enjoyed it.”

“Hajime?”

Azula stiffins and scolds herself for letting that slip. “I’d like to see the spa, it has been too long.”

Mercifully, Sokka gets the hint. “The palace spa is different too.”

She frowns. “Not the spa. I liked the spa.” She folds her arms. “It was perfectly fine the way it was.”

“I think that you’ll like the change. Come on.”

At some point Azula had come to lead the way. Like muscle memory, she finds that she can still find her way about the palace. Mostly anyhow. There are things that throw her off, decor that hadn’t been there before, a new portrait, or something that has been moved from one place to another. The spa though, upon arrival, is both the same and different. It still has the frameworks of what it once was but it is grander now, more elegant. The fountain and its adjoining chair are exactly as they had been and a small tree in a large pot still sits on either side of the staircase leading to it. The carpeting is also much the same and sunlight spills in through a large window on the ceiling.

But there are new dragons that join the ones already accenting the back wall. And these ones jut forward with mouths spilling flames of gold. She notices that they too are fountains that lead to miniature fountains, presumably for hand washing. There are also several small crystals dangling from the ceiling, casting prisms all about the room. And when the sunlight strikes them right, they bounce off of the jets of water. There are also small turtle-duck statues resting near the potted trees.

It is so familiar yet so changed. She admits that she does like the change.

“Do you like it?”

“It’s nice, Zuzu.”

“I was about to have my hair combed, but you can go first if you want.”

She would very much like that. It will take less time for them to wash her hair anyways. Where hers has been mournfully hacked, his locks have lengthened so gracefully. She thinks it somewhat cruel how he is now the one with all of the splendor both visually and in status. She feels ruefully unremarkable.  “Yes, that would be wonderful.”

The serving girls file into the room. “You hired them back?”

“They weren’t supposed to have been banished in the first place.”

She isn’t sure that he had meant it as anything more than a statement of fact, but it still stings. She reclines in the spa chair, feeling terribly uncomfortable and out of place. The longer that she stays the more she feels as though she shouldn’t have come back. It is one thing to be plain in an ordinary world and another to be lackluster when surrounded by splendor.