#he is - in my opinions - one of if not the bravest bat

[just-an-enby-lemon]

I think DC should go to tumblr pick six or seven of my favorite weirdos and give them the change of making a rogues sticon-like weebtoon. It could be WFA for the Rogues.

[haikyuufanficwriting]

Chapter 4: Asahi

Prompt: (Character) saving Reader from a spider Character: Asahi ___________

Asahi wasn’t the bravest man. He knew this, his volleyball team knew this, and you, as his girlfriend, definitely experienced the brunt of his nervous nature. Despite being an absolute beast on the court, he was a complete wimp in all other situations.

Which is why most people were confused when they saw you and Asahi together. While Asahi could barely meet people’s eyes, you, not even reaching his shoulders, stood proudly. Chin help up high, no fear in sight. While he blushed when holding hands, you could out your desires so much without batting an eye.

You two were polar opposites, and while the saying said ‘opposites attract’ you two were extreme. With Asahi being a big teddy bear, and you a small loud sarcastic. As a result of this rare paring, most of the time you took charge of the relationship.

Not that both of you minded. Asahi was happy to let you take the lead, and so were you. Both of you were content in each other and wouldn’t change your personalities for the world. He admired your fearlessness, and you adored his quietness. You two were like peas in a pod. At least in your head. Asahi’s mind was a little different.

While Asahi did love you, he did always have a habit of overthinking. Sometimes his insecurities about his own personality were amplified by yours. While he did admire your fearlessness, he was also jealous of it. Yes, he could be strong when he needed to be, but it was always the small things. Ordering food, expressing his opinion, needing help in a store. While you could do all this with ease, he found trouble in it. And of course, being the sweet person you are, you always offered do these things for him. And though these small tasks flew over your head, it stuck with him.

It made him feel weak, almost, in comparison to you. He had never seen you shaken, always taking challenges head on, no hesitation. He almost wished to see you scared. Just once… Just to prove that you could fear something.

But so far, you feared nothing.

Which is why when you were over at his house for a movie night, and he heard you scream in terror from another room while he was peacefully microwaving popcorn, he was shocked.

Knowing you, the only way to make you scream that way was his worst nightmare times a million.

Was there a murderer in the house?

A fire?

Daichi?!

His mind was running a thousand thoughts a minute, grabbing the nearest weapon he could reach and dashing to the living room. He had his weapon at the ready, which was a duster, (In hindsight, he probably should’ve grabbed one of the knives) above his head, heart beating out of his chest, body and mind in a panic.

“What?! What is it?-” That’s when he paused. He sees you on top of his couch, crouch and shying away in total distress. There was tears at the corners of your eyes, daring to spill onto your cheeks. But he was confused. Where was the murderer? The fire? Daichi wasn’t anywhere to be found either…

“Kill it! Oh my God, kill it!” You shrieked, pointing to the coffee table. Asahi was beyond confused at this point. You wanted him to kill… The table?

“Asahi! What are you waiting for?!” You shouted still, terrified. He jumped at the sheer volume of your voice.

“What are you talking about?!” He yelled back, getting scared now.

“The fucking spider!” You pointed, getting up and moving back even further, but still refusing to touch the ground. Once you say it, he sees it immediately. It was the tiniest spider he’d ever seen. How you saw it, he’ll never know. But all the nervousness he once felt vanished in an instant. His tense shoulders relaxed in an instant.

“Asahi… Please…” His attention was at once turned back to you. The tears threatening to spill had crossed the threshold, now falling freely onto your cheeks. The looks in your eyes he’ll never forget.

You looked terrified.

The thought brings a soft smile to his face. Who would’ve thought…

Asahi gives you a look of amusement but goes to your defense. He puts the duster down, opting for his weapon of choice to be a tissue. He goes to the table and covers the tiny arachnid. Asahi even hears you whimper when he lifts the tissue, balling it up, effectively killing the insect. He goes to throw the ball in the trash, and you move to stand ten feet away from him, being that you were close to the trash can. Asahi has to hold back his laugh.

The room goes pretty quiet once he disposed of the critter, with you muttering a quick thank you before sitting back on the couch, looking away from him. Asahi doesn’t mind though. You had a lot of pride, and that moment must’ve been pretty embarrassing. He decides to give you some time to compose yourself, telling you he’s going to get the popcorn he abandoned in the other room.

After a few minutes, Asahi comes back with a big bowl of popcorn. Turns out a few minutes were all that you needed, seeing as the tears that were on your face had disappeared, and you look exactly as you did half an hour ago. You picked the movie you two had decided on beforehand and had it opened waiting for him.

Asahi sat down beside you as you two made no effort to talk. You took some popcorn out of the bowl in his lap, and pressed play.

Eventually as the movie goes on, it becomes normal again, with you making the first move to cuddle. Like usual.

You press your head to his chest as Asahi hesitantly and gently placed his hand on your hip. After a couple minutes, you spoke.

“Sorry about the yelling.” You didn’t turn to him, keeping your eyes glued to the screen. Asahi feels himself smile. “Not a problem. Don’t worry about it.” It falls quiet again.

“So, spiders?” He feels you tense and looks from the movie to see your face flush with embarrassment. You don’t say anything for a while, which is a first for you.

“Stupid I know. Just something I never got over I guess.” You bite your lip in unease. “Do you think… You could just keep this between us?” You say in a low voice, cheeks still heated. Your eyes pleading with his. Asahi laughs low, taking his hand and rubbing your head in a soothing motion.

“Your secret is safe with me. I promise.”

[jfbuckley]

I suspect that this is going to spark considerable controversy with my cricket correspondent, because I expect that he will have the completely opposite view to me.

The scenario is this: England have batted all day, and near the close of play have reached 393/8, with Joe Root unbeaten on a century. Conventional thinking would have England batting on, trying to ground out a few more runs, continuing until close of play, and into the following day.

Instead, a revolutionary decision was made. Ben Stokes thought England had scored plenty, and that it was worth a gamble in putting Australia into bat for a few pressurised overs. Yes, we might be sacrifing a few runs, but we already had plenty - and how good would it have been if we had got one or two early wickets?

The Test Match Special team were astounded when the declaration came. One of them was heard to say “I’ve never seen anything like it” - in the most disgruntled of tones.

I beg to differ. This is - in my opinion - the best, bravest and most intelligent decision made by an England captain since the days of Mike Brearley. In making this decision, Ben Stokes went against the collective, accumulated wisdom of the entire cricket establishment - but by God, if it had produced an Australian wicket he would have been lauded as a hero.

I now put my tin helmet on to withstand the brickbats and verbal assaults that will come from my cricket correspondent - but I will not be dissuaded - life is full of “ifs and buts”, but to win test matches there needs to be inventive and daring captaincy. All congratulations to Ben Stokes on a brilliant decision, and long may this attitude persist!!

[sourstiless]

The thing is Steve isn't even the kind of character that get redemption arcs in stories. Those are usually like full on villains/ gray characters. He made some questionable decisions in S1 but he was always a good person he immediately apologized to Nancy and helped erase the shit his friends wrote he fought with them and stopped being friends with them he went immediately to apologize to Jonathan and bought him a camera they asked him to run and he had a chance to but he picked up that bat and went back and risked his life IMMEDIATELY like... He's always been a good person and from season 2 on he's been one of the most selfless caring and bravest characters on the show, even this season he's always the first one in the line, the one who dove into the lake, the one who's like get behind me I'll take the risk I'll put myself in danger fuck I'm getting emotional he deserves happiness. Duffers istg if you do this I'll never forgive you.

so true. steve was never really a “bad” person. breaking the camera, in my opinion, was entirely justified considering jonathan was hiding out taking creepy pictures in steve’s backyard. i think he really hung out with the wrong crowd, but once he dropped them his personality improved so much. he is a character who loves and cares very deeply, and he deserves someone who loves and cares for him the same way.

duffers if you even lay a finger on him i will be under your bed and in your walls. if steve dies, i die and then i will haunt the duffers for the rest of eternity.

[dreamystrz]

Hey guys, sorry for the late post today!

But generally now I don't have much headcanons, I'll just share info about the series until I get another one lol.

I will answer all your questions, you can either dm or comment and I will answer! ONLY QUESTIONS ABOUT LION GUARD OR LION KING (only the first movie, I haven't watched the second one yet so now spoilers!)

For now, I'll just give my opinions on each of the members of the guard-

Kion, to be honest at first I thought he was just a mary sue, typical main character, but no- he has a lot more than just 'main character' energy. From the episode where he trusted Cheezi and Chungu in the pridelands, to accidentally almost killing his mother, to even trusting Jasiri, Kion is quite a good character. He's a fierce, kind, loyal, trusting, and smart character, and those are perfect leader qualities! He is not quite my favorite character, but I see why he might be some of your favorites.

Beshte, oh wow there's a lot for this guy. He's a really sweet and gentle hippo, that has the strength to break down a whole ass tree- his personality is quite the opposite to hippos in real life, but it's nice to see such a caring character in the series. Beshte practically risked his life several times, to save his friends and others he barely knew! He's so sweet and just one of my favorites (and we need to talk about the way he flaps his ears when he's happy 😭😭😭) Also, he has his own form of calling something cool or pog, so yea, definitely my favorite.

Fuli is just- quite a stubborn cheetah, but she does have a sweet and nice side to her when she's not fighting for the pridelands! She does overwork herself a little, but don't we all? She's a very pretty character in my opinion. Fuli also was just so rude to Kion in the first 2 episodes, but she eventually grew to be close friends with him, and we all love a bit of character development!

Ono, do I need to say anything? Honestly, just my favorite character. He's so jumpy, caring, and dedicated to his job, even as just a small bird. He's afraid of bats, but that's fine- In season 3 though, he becomes blind and still helps the guard as much as he can, which makes him my favorite. Literally he has everything I like in a main character, so he will always be my favorite!

Bunga, oh god- he's so chaotic, fun and energetic, I just love his energy and character! Despite him being a honey badger- I still love him. Even when faced with possible death, he's still the same! Gotta love a brave character, and it makes sense why he's the bravest of the guard.

Anyways, that's all I have to say, let me know if you want me to draw any character or give info on others!

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

I've heard of Snape/Hermione and Snape/Harry. What's your opinion about them? Why do people ship this? How did it even get in their heads? Not HATING, per se, just really really REALLY confused.

Personally, like I do with all things, I hate it.

But why I hate it and the reason other people like it are two entirely different things. Well, three entirely different things, maybe four.

So, with that, let’s begin.

Why Do People Ship Snape With Anybody?

So, what’s the deal with Snape? In the books he’s a petty man-child who spends his days tormenting children, acting as Dumbledore’s janitor, and lives a meaningless life with a nearly meaningless death. 

However, remember, this isn’t quite who he’s supposed to be.

JKR presents him as a tormented and complicated man. Yes, he’s an asshole unreasonably bitter against the existence of a child, who when turning traitor to Dumbledore made it very clear he hoped James and Harry would die and Lily alone would be spared. However, ultimately Harry not only forgives him, but decides that Snape was secretly the bravest man he knows.

This is ingredient one: Snape is a complicated and tragic man who lived a miserable life.

Ingredient two: Snape is played by Alan Rickman in the film franchise.

Sure, they gave Alan Rickman the worst hair in the world, it’s not young Alan Rickman, and he acts like Snape. But he’s still Alan Rickman and he oozes charisma. He can’t help it. And while the Snape of the books was this gangly, greasy, bat like figure the movie version is not. When he speaks, you can’t help but listen to that voice. What I mean is you take Snape seriously in every moment. Even when he’s... Snape.

Ingredient three: Snape is one of the smartest characters in the series.

Harry Potter is a series filled with idiots, each one dumber than the last. Ask me to list powerful characters, I can only come up with eight, and really only three (one that I made up). 

Snape, however, is a smart guy and is one of the only competent people in the country. This is why both Dumbledore and Voldemort rely on the same man exclusively who they know is a double agent. There is no one else.

It’s either him or you have to turn to Molly Weasley and Bellatrix.

Ingredient four: He was tragically dumped and angsts over this until he dies

Lily drops Snape like it’s hot. Personally, I agree with her, given what he said she absolutely had to cut ties. Many don’t and are very sympathetic to Snape. Or else they believe Snape has learned from his mistakes later (which.... probably not). 

Regardless, Lily Evans moving on to greener pastures makes Snape sad and miserable. He was dumped by the hot chick, IF I DATED THIS MAN I WOULD NEVER DUMP HIM AND MAKE HIM SAD! 

All of this combines into making Snape into the same tragic figure we see in Tyrion from “A Song of Ice and Fire”.

He’s very intelligent but utterly miserable, a true blue cynic, who (when fans put their mind to it) has a heart of gold underneath and all he needs is someone who can see how wonderful he is.

The difference being that fans make Snape sexy. No, seriously, I have read Hermione/Snape fics where she gushes about how amazing his hair is. I guess Hermione likes that grease (this is the sound of me shuddering).

Why Do People Ship Hermione and Snape?

This is a very common pairing archetype. It’s our strong, smart, female lead protagonist getting with the older, bitter, intellectual. They appreciate each other’s brilliance and have a Mature and Adult Relationship (TM) and remind the audience at every turn how they’re far more intellectual than the likes of Harry, Ron, and us readers.

They get together inventing some spell or some potion.

Snape discovers that Hermione actually is brilliant and not just a know-it-all brat. Hermione discovers that Snape has unfound depths because he was once dumped by Harry’s mother.

... I just explained why I hate it.

RIGHT.

People like it because it’s very.. Well, it’s Pride and Prejudice. This is very Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. She’s prejudiced, he’s proud, they circle around each other for a long time until they finally wind up together.

When it’s not that usually there’s some political mind games, the sort of thing you see in Dramione, The difference being usually this author thinks that Draco is what he actually is the books: a racist Richie Rich who goes around whining about his father. So, Snape becomes an older, more cynical, more complicated, and more sophisticated male lead instead.

The author usually makes some excuse about how it’s okay for Snape to have sex with his student. Either Hermione’s older now and it’s no longer an issue or... magic demands he marry a sixteen-year-old girl (seriously, I’ve seen this too). 

Why Do People Ship Harry and Snape?

Rather than the two intellectuals getting together this is instead the Goodness of Harry (TM). Harry makes up for his mother’s flaws, he forgives and dates Snape and surpasses his shallow parents. Snape is awed and amazed by this boy he had brushed off as his father’s son, realizes Harry is his own person, and is desperately in love with him.

It’s a... sweet story. It’s about love, the goodness of Harry, and Snape learning how not to be a miserable bastard.

Of course, given my opinions on Harry, you know where I stand. Harry in canon is more likely to have murdered Snape himself in any given year of Hogwarts and asked Hermione to help him hide the body. They probably feed the dismembered limbs to Fang.

As for Snape, he loathes Harry’s entire existence. Harry being a douchebag like his father certainly doesn’t help, but just for having survived in Lily Evans’ place Snape would have loathed him entirely.

That, and Snape/Harry fics usually get weird with the surreal fluff and mpreg. So much mpreg.

[giggles-and-freckles]

i don't know if any of you are familiar with the concept of 'enneagram types.' if you're not, you can check it out here. lots of fun stuff to click around and read about if you're interested in what this even is. but i've been thinking about it in reference to some of our fave sw pals and have decided to do some character study via enneagram. first up: anakin skywalker in all his angsty glory.

Anakin Skywalker

Eight--The Challenger

Basic fear: of being hurt or controlled by others

Basic desire: to protect themselves and their loved ones

Anakin is an eight. Everything for him comes down to power and control. I believe his childhood as a slave is what really impacts this. He lived his entire childhood under the control of another and wanting to get out. Then, he found that freedom and essentially came under the control of something else (this is not to say that the Jedi Order actually functions as a slaver...but I think Anakin perceives it as that on several occasions). After the fall of the Republic, he becomes a slave to Sidious and the Dark Side. I would argue that the only time Anakin is every truly free is in his death, when he makes the completely independent decision to kill the Emperor. That dialogue between Luke and Ani is really telling, in my opinion.

“I’ll not leave you here. I’ve got to save you.”

“You already have, Luke.”

Because that’s all Anakin ever wants, really. He wants to be saved. And he never quite understands that only he can save himself. This power complex is very aligned with an eight. He so desperately wants control...but so easily falls into bondage over and over again.

Eights commonly have a childhood trauma or Moment that “flips a switch” for them. It takes their innocence once and for all and replaces it with a hardness that wasn’t there before. I think a lot of arguments can be made for this. Perhaps it was some unseen moment offscreen prior to The Phantom Menace. Maybe he watched a fellow slave die. Maybe he watched his mother suffer in some tangible way. Maybe it happened between TPM and Attack of the Clones. But for the sake of this analysis, I’ll use the Tusken Raiders as the Moment. We see it affect him in all the ways one of these “loss of innocence” moments for an eight normally does. It’s a game-changer. In canon, it’s Anakin’s first touch of darkness. In the real world, it’s him dealing with insurmountable pain and suffering. Interestingly, we see that this “loss of innocence” directly counters the basic desire of an Eight, as well. Protecting self and loved ones. He fails to do that. He watches the one he loves the MOST die in his arms. Which--for an eight--is the ultimate form of pain. To lose a loved one feels like personal failure. You LET them die. You LET them suffer You could have SAVED them. But you failed. We see Anakin deal with this onslaught of emotions and then...we see him take action.

Eights are a part of the gut triad. This means before they think with their head or feel with their heart, they act with their gut. Their impulse. I don’t think anyone would dare to make the argument that Anakin leads with his head (sorry buddy...but you are Himbo Certified), but I can see arguments for Heart. My only real counter here is that the two greatly influence each other. And we see him ACT in tandem with his feelings. He doesn’t just sit in his emotions and mope. I’ll continue to use the Tusken incident. Immediately, without any hesitation, he acts on his anger. Anger is not a primary emotion, it’s secondary. I’m not in Anakin Skywalker’s head, but as an eight...I feel like I almost see where he’s coming from, even in his worst moments. Doesn’t mean I agree or that I would partake. But I understand (and it hurts me). I see so much fear for him. Fear that he’s not as strong as he wants to be, fear that he wouldn’t be able to protect other loved ones if something like this happened again, fear that he’s weak when it really matters. Like when the time comes to protecting loved ones. That’s why everything spirals so fast with Padmé. He immediately gets put into that fear mindset. That “weak” feeling of “I can’t do it, I can’t save her…..but I have to.” That conversation between the two of them on Mustafar is evident of this. “Love can’t save you, Padmé. Only my new powers can do that.” Because that’s what it comes down to for Anakin. His worth lies on his ability to save himself and the people he loves. That’s why his perception of love becomes very selfish. He begins to care about the act of salvation more than the person them self.

One of my favourite moments is the classic “this is where the fun begins.” It’s such a silly quick moment but it’s so revealing of Anakin’s character. Eights feel adrenaline like no other number. Their vitality is completely based in their ability to turn their raw energy into something GOOD. For example, doing dangerous dives and spinning (because it really is a good trick) for the sake of the Republic. It gives Anakin a sense of “YES! See how good I am? See how I’m using my aggression and strength for good?” Especially important for someone who has committed atrocities and inspired destruction. To turn around and use that energy and skill for good? That’s invaluable. I think that’s a reason Anakin fails to see the hypocrisy of the Republic.

“What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists, and the Republic has become the very evil we have been fighting to destroy?”

“I don’t believe that. And you’re sounding like a separatist.”

When Padmé merely questions the point of the war he so immediately snaps back and makes it a personal betrayal. He’s so quick to turn down the slight implication that he’s fighting for the wrong side. Eights are all about sides. All about choosing. Anakin can’t begin to consider that maybe his Side isn’t so altruistic. It would crumble at his very core. This is where the Challenger (the moniker of an eight) comes in. They love to challenge the world around them but absolutely cannot handle when someone else is challenging it in contrast to them. Well...an unhealthy eight anyway. Healthy eights see the importance of contrasting beliefs and the power of refining conversations.

Eights want to ‘leave their mark’ on the world.

“I’m not the Jedi I should be. I want more. And I know I shouldn’t.”

This plays into the ‘deadly sin’ of an eight. Lust. This isn’t explicitly sexual (though I guess it can be, at times). It’s more of a desire for MORE. A need for more. It’s all about that power and control. An eight never quite feels satiated...at least not in their unhealthy state. Which Anakin invariably is in. An eight is always seeking things to satisfy them. Through people and power.They’re not concerned with the actual accomplishment, in the societal standard. Before Anakin is granted a seat on the council, we never see him express a desire to even have it. It seems like that’s completely a Palpatine thing. I can’t help but put myself in Obi-Wan’s shoes there. Seeing Anakin’s overreaction and wondering where it’s coming from. Because Anakin has never seemed like he wants to be on the council. Quite the opposite in fact. His tantrum about being denied the rank of master is really evident of the stake Palpatine has already dug into Anakin’s mind. Ann eight’s desire is personal. They don’t care if they have the top title or the most power from the POV of the world. They worry about their own standards. Which is difficult because we never quite manage to meet our own standards and end up in a lot of disappointment. Anakin holds himself to a hard standard. Obi-Wan, Padmé, and Ahsoka all seem to recognise that in him.

“But be patient, Anakin. It won’t be long before the COuncil makes you a Jedi Master.”

“To be angry is to be human.”

“Maybe, but I have to sort this out on my own. Without the Council and without you.”

These encouragements are so unique because they ground Anakin in a very human way. They hit at his insecurities and remind him it’s okay. He doesn’t have to be all-powerful or perfect. Which they know he needs to hear because he can’t quite recognise these truths on his own. He needs the emotional coddling. Unfortunately, in these moments their words aren’t enough. Each of these conversations is characterised by impending sadness.

Eights are seen as the bravest people. I think this aligns well with what we know of Anakin. He has little to no hesitation when putting his life on the line. He volunteers for the most dangerous missions. Doesn’t bat an eye at horrific scenes. He’s willing to do the hardest and scariest things. He’s brave. He’s determined. When talking about Ahsoka, he says “no one has her kind of determination” to which Plo Koon immediately responds, “Except for you.” But this is such an interesting part of an eight to me because I believe eights are actually the most fearful of any number. Because what they fear is fear itself. They are so horrified at the prospect of being afraid it becomes almost dangerous. They will do whatever they can to mask that fear. Which is what puts a lot of eights into that anger reactionary position. A sort of ‘people can’t know I’m scared if I’m the one scaring others’ sort of mentality. The bravado, the courage–it’s all a facade to hide the fear that eights very uniquely do not feel qualified to experience on even the micro-level. It leads many eights to become dictatorial in the way they love others (which isn’t really love at all in the end). Pushes eights to commit atrocities in word or deed all for what they consider to be the ‘greater good.’ They push and prod at the lines a normal person knows not to cross. Not only do they cross them–they plow through them, hoping that it causes enough of a scene to distract from the fact that they’re just like everyone else. In fact, they’re even more vulnerable because no one has taught them how to exist in a state of need. No one has showed them how to ask for and accept help. Instead, they bottle it all up over long periods of times, releasing small bits in dramatic bursts of energy...until that line is crossed and all bets are off.

The goal of a healthy eight is to find a way to channel the aggression and drive into being the ultimate helper and advocate. Unfortunately, Anakin doesn’t get to this until the very end of his life. His fears guide him down a path of darkness. And we see him mask that fear with anger and hatred over and over again. That’s the way of the Dark Side so it’s no wonder it was so appealing to someone who had already been doing that without proper teachings. Anakin Skywalker had the potential to be one of the greatest forces for good in the galaxy. And for a split second at the end of his life, we see him do just that. It’s all the moments before, though; when he chose fear and anger and lust over and over again. Shoving strength and bravery into the vacancies of emotional competency. Until it all became too much.

[caswellprmanager]

the caswell wears prada

read it on ao3!

Summary: EJ's style is simple and functional but Ricky discovers he's capable of more than just letterman jackets and white sneakers. (Part 4 of my trans!ej and genderqueer!ricky AU.)

Author's Notes: I have this little headcanon that EJ used to model baby clothes when he was a baby. Then only went back to modelling once he transitioned to the point he was comfortable enough. Also not me giving Ashlyn's parents a purpose except for just leaving the house empty enough for Ashlyn to throw parties. Hope you guys enjoy!

Warning: Implied Sexual Content at the very end but since it's not explicit, I'll just let y'all use your imaginations.

Ricky has almost exclusively seen EJ in basic white boy clothes. It's usually just a nice fitting t-shirt, some branded jacket, jeans, and branded sneakers. It's not exactly avant-garde but Ricky can appreciate the fact that EJ has found a distinct style that's both understated yet elevates his already good looks.

But from what Ricky has learned in the few months that they've been dating EJ is that just because he dresses like that, it doesn't mean EJ does not have an eye for fashion.

Ricky learned this one day when the two of them were hanging out with Gina and Ashlyn at Ashlyn's house.

Ashlyn's mom was the Editor-In-Chief of an editorial fashion magazine that focuses on highlighting brands that promote sustainable fashion. She also runs a design company herself. Every other minute, she'd be going in and out of her design studio with a phone against her ear and a different meter of fabric in her hands. Her job is also the reason why Ashlyn's parents aren't usually home. Ashlyn's mom would be invited to different fashion events or she'd meet with a client about a new start-up. Ashlyn's dad accompanies her so that she wouldn't overwork herself.

None of that is new to Ricky. What is new, however, is EJ's involvement in her work.

"Ashlyn!" Mrs. Caswell rushes in, a hundred different scarves wrapped around her neck. Ricky wonders if she can breathe beneath all that cashmere and silk. "Darling, I need your help."

"What is it, mom?" Ashlyn asks, pausing the movie the four of them were watching.

Instead of responding, Mrs. Caswell just runs back to her home studio with a hurried click of her heels. Ashlyn looks at the rest of the group with a shrug, moving to stand up until her mom comes rushing back in – this time with a little purple hat perched on her strawberry blond locks.

"EJ, sweetheart! You come too. I need your opinion on a few things." Before any of them could say anything, she's disappeared back into her studio in a flurry of scarves and sequins.

EJ doesn't even bat an eye and moves to follow his cousin out of the living room. Ricky grabs his hand before he could leave, asking him what Ashlyn's mom wants his opinion on. EJ isn't exactly Paris Fashion Week, if Ricky was gonna be honest.

EJ just smiles, placing a chaste kiss on Ricky's lips before saying, "I'll tell you when we get back."

With that statement, Ricky and Gina are left alone, both feeling more confused than before.

"Does that happen often?" Ricky asks Gina, who is picking through the popcorn bowl.

"Ashlyn's mom being weird?" Gina tosses a popcorn kernel up into the air before catching it into her mouth flawlessly. "I've seen Ashlyn help her a few times. But I haven't seen her call EJ into that room before."

"Yeah..." Ricky picks at a loose thread on their jeans. "Didn't really peg EJ as the fashionable type."

Gina pauses in her pursuit of the perfect popcorn kernel and raises a questioning eyebrow towards Ricky. "Hold up... EJ never told you?"

"Told me... what?" Ricky started to panic a little bit. They never liked hearing ominous phrases like that from other people. It fuels their already present anxiety about dating someone who is way out of their league like EJ – someone who could leave Ricky at any time if they realize that Ricky will never be good enough for them.

Gina seems to realize this quickly enough and she tries to diffuse the situation before it gets worse. "Oh! No no no, Ricky, it isn't bad!"

"Then what is it?" Instead of answering, Gina just looks over shoulder at the direction of where the Caswell Cousins went to. After a few seconds of making sure the coast is clear, she tilts her head and motions for Ricky to follow her.

Gina leads Ricky to the spare guest room that EJ occupies sometimes when he doesn't want to sleep at home. In fact, sometimes this room is literally just called EJ's extra room because he's here so frequently. Ricky's napped here a couple of times so it isn't a new place. But he's usually too tired to explore it due to some recent emotional problem or another.

By the far wall is a dresser that Ricky hasn't ever thought to look through. Gina beckons him to come closer as she opens the bottom drawer.

"Ashlyn showed me this when I first moved in. We had to call EJ immediately after because I just had... so many questions." After a few seconds of rummaging, Gina brings out a small stack of magazines triumphantly.

Ricky recognizes the magazines immediately as the same ones Ashlyn's mom is the Editor-In-Chief for.

"Are those...?" Ricky asks and Gina nods excitedly, motioning for him to sit down next to her. The two of them peer through the old issues together, pointing at things they think would look nice on them.

Before they turn to the middle spread, Gina turns to them with a serious look in her eye. "Ricky, I need you to brace yourself."

Ricky tilts their head in confusion. "For what?"

"Just," And Gina can't even hide her giddy little smile. "Get ready."

Ricky can't even bring themself to respond before Gina is showing them the middle spread of the magazine. Their mind skids to a halt when they see a younger EJ staring back at them from the glossy pages, dressed head to toe in the finest three-piece dress suit Ricky's ever seen.

And it isn't just that, EJ's all over the spread – dressed in all kinds of outfits. From gorgeously crafted lace button downs to tastefully styled overcoats – EJ models the shit out of them. Ricky scans the pages in awe because they've never seen EJ wear stuff like this. Sure, they've seen EJ in a suit during homecoming but not one with embroidered roses across the vest or paired with diamond encrusted gold jewelry.

Gina turns the page and Ricky lets out a small gasp.

It's a two page Ashlyn and EJ spread – the cousins looking absolutely ethereal dressed in the most delicate fabric embroidered with flowers along the seams. Their skin is glowing beneath the sunset, the light catching at the highlights on their cheekbones. But what really got to Ricky is one very small but powerful detail:

The flowers along EJ's shirt and the makeup he's wearing are in the trans flag colors.

"Ricky, look." Gina points at the small interview portion at the corner of the page, smiling when Ricky reads it and realizes that it's about EJ.

E.J. Caswell – Teen Transgender Model

"I've been avoiding modeling since I started transitioning and coming back to it was really scary." Says teen model E.J. Caswell. "But when my aunt gave me the opportunity to finally speak my truth through fashion, I knew that I wouldn't regret this decision in the long run."

"There are still so many moments where I hate my body. It's gonna take a while until that goes away. And maybe it won't. Ever." E.J. tells us with a sad smile. "But this is a start – and I get to style some really cool clothes while I'm at it!"

When Ashlyn Caswell was asked about the significance of this project to her cousin and to future transgender models, she smiled softly, making it abundantly clear how much she adores her older cousin. "E.J. is one of the bravest people I know. He's always been an inspiration to me and I'm so proud of him for doing this on his own terms. Plus, I'm really happy he asked me to be a part of it with him. But don't tell him I said that! I'll never hear the end of it."

"She said that?" E.J. said with barely concealed glee. "Aww, Ashlyn!"

Ricky and Gina giggle at the mental image of EJ probably giving an exasperated Ashlyn a big bear hug after his interview. Ricky can't help but stare at the spread again, lightly trailing his finger over EJ's face with a soft smile. He really is so beautiful. Ricky sometimes can't believe that someone as gorgeous as EJ is real.

"Looks like Gina beat me to it."

The sound of EJ's voice by the doorway makes the two of them freeze and turn to see both Caswell cousins looking at them with knowing smiles. But Ashlyn and EJ weren't wearing what they were wearing before Ashlyn's mom called them for help.

Instead, Ashlyn was wearing a floor length pink chiffon dress with embroidered roses scattered along its sleeves and body. EJ was wearing a dress shirt of similar color and material, pairing it with white dress pants and a ruby encrusted rose broach.

"Well look at you two supermodels!" Gina squealed in glee, bounding over to gush over Ashlyn's outfit. Ricky stays rooted in their spot on the floor, their eyes never leaving EJ's. EJ approaches them slowly and takes a seat on the bed next to Ricky. He moves into an effortless pose, making Ricky blush more than necessary.

EJ smiles at them, eyes sparkling mischievously. "Hi."

"H-Hi." Ricky says, moving to face EJ with shaky legs. "You look nice."

"Just nice?" EJ leans down with a smirk, a lock of hair falling to his forehead like some goddamn romance movie. Ricky didn't even notice that even his hair was styled differently. Was EJ growing his hair out? Why didn't he warn me?

"I'd say something dirtier but I don't wanna traumatize the girls." EJ laughs at that and Ricky could only stare at the way EJ throws his head back with the most beautiful smile they've ever seen.

This isn't fair. EJ is sitting here looking like he was plucked straight out of a Vogue magazine while Ricky's sorry ass is on the floor in pajama pants and an old hoodie. Fuck. They should have texted Kourtney for help with their outfit today.

"You're so cute," EJ leans forward even closer, so close that EJ's able to lightly graze their noses together. "Maybe I should dress like this more often to make you blush like that."

Ricky contemplates on the statement for a bit, imagining what it would be like if EJ were to wear more designer clothes to school everyday. EJ right now certainly looks confident and cool. Plus, he gets the added bonus of Ricky looking extra flustered around him.

But at the end of the day, it's EJ's body and EJ gets to choose whatever makes him feel good.

Besides, Ricky fell for EJ without all the bells and whistles.

"You don't have to wear fancy clothes to make me think you're gorgeous." Ricky says before they can stop themself from saying it. But it's out now and there's no turning back. EJ's eyes widen but they eventually soften after processing what Ricky said.

"It doesn't matter what I think, though." Ricky says, reaching for EJ's hand. "What matters is that you're happy. Whether you're wearing a potato sack or Versace. As long as you feel comfortable and you're seeing your favorite self in the mirror, I'll tell you that you're the most handsome boy in the world."

Ricky scoots closer to place a soft kiss on EJ's nose before pressing their foreheads together. Ricky can't really tell who's smiling wider from this angle but they didn't care.

"My handsome boy." Ricky whispers, lightly tracing EJ's bottom lip with their thumb. EJ smiles even wider at the sound of that and it never fails to make Ricky happy seeing EJ so happy.

They're about to move in for another kiss when they hear Ashlyn cough from the doorway.

The two of them separate abruptly, both blushing profusely as the girls giggle behind their hands.

"We'll leave you two alone," Ashlyn says, grabbing Gina's hand to pull her back to the living room. "I'll tell mom you'll be late for dinner."

As soon as the door closes behind the girls, Ricky turns back to a still blushing EJ, a small but urgent thought manifesting to the front of their mind.

"I should take this off-" EJ doesn't even get the chance to finish his sentence before Ricky is pushing him down on the bed and straddling his hips. "R-Ricky?"

Ricky smirks, placing a single finger on EJ's lips as they lean forward to whisper in his ear,

"I'll help you take it off." EJ lets out the smallest whimper at that but Ricky shushes him, blowing against his earlobe. "But you have to be quiet, handsome."

As soon as EJ shakily nods his head yes, Ricky gets to work.

Unfortunately, they're more than a little late for dinner.

---

A/N: I've added some reference pics below if y'all want a better image of what EJ and Ashlyn were wearing hehe :>

[queen-of-my-goofball-army]

"Found family can replace one that sucks. They can take words of hurt and replace them with words of encouragement, love, and understanding. They make all the bad things that they've ever said to you slowly but surely blow in the wind. Found family can add onto one that's already amazing. But most of all, found family will love you like nobody else." (Me.)

If you have talked to me for exactly five minutes then you know that my most relatable comfort character is Tigger. Throughout my entire childhood one fictional entity was there for me no matter what and that was my favorite bouncer. He bounced his way right into my heart where he lived rent free and happy. The first Winnie The Pooh anything that I remember watching was The Tigger Movie and it remains my favorite to this very day. It's a movie that is such a combination of heart warming and heart wrenching with these characters that everybody loves but to me it's just beautiful.

I was always "different" growing up. There were was nobody else like me and I related super hard to "The Loneliest One" because most of the time I was alone. Even though I was happy, and bouncy a lot of the time I still felt like there was this indescribable loneliness that I felt. Through the years I made one best friend who understood what it was like to be a Tigger. All the enthusiasm, zaniness, but at the same time loneliness that I did. She would come to be my very best friend and she's been my best friend since I was 8 years old for the last 13 years almost 14.

When I first decided to have an online presence in group chats, I don't think I ever expected to find a Rabbit, a Pooh Bear, or a Piglet exactly in that order. Found family was something that seemed foreign to me no matter how desperately I wanted one just like the Hundred Acre Wood crew. I didn't think that I really needed one because I was happy being one of a kind finally after 21 years of being a solo entity. Boy, was I wrong. Found family has become something so important to me and I can't imagine my life without any of them now that I have them.

Rabbit has always been one of my favorite characters other than Tigger. He might be a little bit hot tempered but he has the softest heart out of anyone in the Wood. Hence why I compare him to my best friend @littlebatinthenight. Once he becomes a part of your life half the time his encouragement will sound like insults (or at least that's what happened to me.) I can't tell you how many times my kneecaps have been threatened if I didn't love myself more. But then I think about how openly Rabbit loves and cares about the people in his life. He cared enough to give his heavy coat to Piglet when he was freezing. He cared enough to brave the freezing cold even though he didn't want to just to go out with the others to find Tigger when he had ran away. To me all of this is things that Bats would do for anyone if any of his 'girls' were in trouble. He would move oceans if that's what he had to do and to me that's a very Rabbit attribute. He might seem hot tempered and a little bit intimidating when you first get to know him but at the heart of it all he's the kindest person that I have ever met who would do anything for any number of his friends.

Pooh Bear was always this character of infinite kindness. He oozes sweetness just like his favorite treat from every pore of his being. Even if he is a bear of very little brain he makes up for it with his humongous heart and endless kindness. To me the person that to me is Pooh personified is my "big sister" @alldisneytangledfanlover. Her kindness rivals that of her favorite silly old bear. She radiates sweetness from the way that she is always so welcoming to people that join her Disney themed group chat, to the way that she laughs. When I first interacted with her that was who I thought of her as and as the months have gone by that's only cemented my opinion that D-Angel is Pooh Bear personified. She's such a warm and caring person that she would abandon anything and everything to make sure that everybody in her life was happy and contented. When Pooh Bear abandoned helping Eeyore build his house in favor of helping Tigger find his family that's what to me is a complete D-Angel move. She would abandon anything that she's doing in favor of helping somebody else with their problems. I know because she does it with me every time that I'm having a bad day. She has to make sure that everybody in her life is happy, even if she isn't. Putting everyone above herself is also something that I think is a total Pooh Bear move. She would rather that we were happy and then she can be happy with us for a while.

Piglet is my mom's favorite. He's always been seen as the shyest but in my opinion he's also the bravest. He has so much courage in his little stutter that he doesn't even know that he has. While he is the smallest member of the Hundred Acre Wood he also the biggest heart. To me, my Piglet, is @i-want-a-donut. Nova is always somebody who has tried her hardest to be brave even when she is scared to do something. When I first met her, she was trying to make more friends online and trying to gain more confidence in her life. Her ambition to do something so brave in my opinion came from this place of amazing kindness and she's probably one of the warmest people that I've ever met. Piglet has always been the one that I just want to give the tightest hug to and tell him that everything will be okay if he just took things day by day. This is the advice that I would give to both Piglet and Nova. They're both more brave than I think either of them believe that they are. Both of them have this will to do what they know is right even if they're scared. Piglet went to go and find Tigger in a storm and he loves Tigger because he was always comforting when things were frightful for him. I want to be that comfort for Nova and for all of my friends. I want for them to rely on my for help and advice to keep that positivity going.

Ever since I could remember I've always related to Tigger. While I loved him, I was still lonely a lot. Until I found my Hundred Acre Wood crew I thought that I'd feel that way forever. But now that I have them, I'm no longer alone anymore. I feel better about myself and the way that I am because they were there when I needed them the most.

[itsybitsylemonsqueezy]

Hey, it’s me again! ^_^ I hope I don’t bother you too much with my requests, but your posts are so cool I just can’t help it. Upon completing Yakuza 4 I’ve had a lot of thoughts and feels about Daigo and how his character was handled across the series. To be honest, at first I didn’t like him much, because he seemed pretty bland (and his screen time leaves much to be desired), but soon enough he’s really grown on me. What is your opinion on him if you don’t mind me asking?

I definitely do not mind requests! Meta is my bread and butter c: I’ve just been busy for a few days, sorry ^^; And... my opinions on Daigo are not going to be as mindblowing or exciting as my opinions on Kiryu, I’ll be real ^^; And there’s a big advantage in Kiryu being the protag, All of the content is about him ^^; I do love Daigo, I think he’s a super interesting character, but his tragedy is just what you pointed out, he’s underutilized. And he isn’t set up very well to have the position he holds. 

But, so saying, let’s get into my essay on Daigo ^^; 

So, we meet Daigo properly in game 2. There’s little side stories with baby Daigo in Zero which helps build Daigo’s and Kiryu’s relationship and set up for what would later happen, but we don’t really know him until game 2. And game 2 is a LOT about Daigo and his arc and what he’s meant to be! There’s a tumblr text post meme somewhere with a pic of Daigo depressed in his little puffy white coat that says “And I’ll probably become the next chairman of the Tojo Clan. Things like that just happens to guys like me.” and that is totally accurate! Like, it’s a funny thing to complain about, but that’s obviously the struggle Daigo’s having, understanding from a young age that it was obviously his destiny to succeed Sohei, the only problem is uh... well... Kiryu. 

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Dojima Sohei never became chairman of the Tojo Clan. And that’s really wild thinking back to Zero and how powerful he was, he was all but a shoo in for chairman. But then, uh... Kiryu. Kiryu happened. Kiryu, and Majima I should say, are the reason Sera becomes chairman, not Sohei. Forever upsetting the wheels of fate. Given where we see Sohei next, I can’t imagine that he ever really recovered from that upset ^^; And I’m SURE it made him bitter towards Kiryu the rest of his life. And considering, again, where we see him next, I think the canon supports this ^^; 

So what becomes of Daigo’s destiny then? His father had victory snatched away, destiny denied, and everything he had slowly crumbles over time, leaving his son with less and less to inherit, but still with the ideology that he should take this over. That’s an awkward position to be in. 

And then Sera dies. Ooh, golly, I wonder who the next chairman’s gonna- it’s Kiryu. Of course it’s fucking Kiryu, how could it not be? It OBVIOUSLY should be Kiryu. He’s the strongest, the bravest, and who inspires the most loyalty. It doesn’t matter that Kiryu’s never been in leadership before, he TURNS people. Kiryu could get anyone on his side through sheer force of personality, which is hilarious to say about a guy with maybe 3 facial expressions. But tell me I’m wrong. I cannot count the number of part-time antagonists who turned on a dime because Kiryu beat their ass. And anyone who can do that can rule the world. Kiryu was absolutely the best pick for chairman and I will fight the world on this.

(Abbreviated for length, this is a LONG post)

But... then Kiryu makes the stupidest decision of his entire fucking life and renounces the chairmanship. And he has his reasons, feeling unworthy, traumatized from the events of Kiwami 1, unsure if he even wants to stay in the yakuza or if there’s maybe something else he wants to do with his life... he’s going through a lot of intense self-reflection and self-doubt and, I hate to harp on it, but fucking trauma. His brother blew himself up in front of him in a bid for redemption after all but telling Kiryu that all of his mistakes are Kiryu’s fault. Yeah, no, I’m sure Kiryu’s doing FINE with that. So, like, I can see why Kiryu said no, but it was still... fucking nuts. And it irrevocably changed the trajectory of everyone in this universe. Which Kiwami 2 goes out of its way to explore. Kiryu’s leaving? Majima fucking retires, Terada’s suspect, there aren’t any old, loyal hands left to lead the families, and we see how vulnerable the Tojo clan is on every side because Kiryu just up and fucked off. 

(I have A LOT of feelings about Kiryu being chairman and someday I will have the strength to write the AU we all deserve where Kiryu stays as chairman)

So... the wheel of fate turns and oh yeah remember Daigo? Dojima Sohei’s son Daigo? The kid who’s been raised his whole life to take over the clan only to be denied at every turn? How’s he doing? Not great! It turns out, not great! Kiryu, his father figure, killed his ACTUAL father, but didn’t really, took the blame for some other weird guy, leaving Daigo with one badass mother and very little direction in life. Daigo’s been brought up thinking he’ll take over a great kingdom but all that’s left now is a broken wreck about to be demolished and picked apart by scavengers. Great, yeah, just what any kid wants to inherit. And he wasn’t trained to fix this, it’s kinda shitty to saddle him with destiny and then not train him for the thing that actually has to be done and then do it anyway. It’s real shitty actually. And not many people help Daigo. 

Daigo couldn’t have taken the chairmanship directly from Sera, he was still just a teenager then. But it probably would have been nice if Kiryu checked in with him even fucking once since getting out of jail. But no, we never explain on screen to Daigo what happened as far as I can remember. Which, I feel, is a pretty fucking big oversight. How the fuck is Daigo supposed to trust you Kiryu? Or we’re supposed to believe he just figured it out off screen and holds no grudges? Like, I’m sure knowing Kiryu didn’t kill Sohei helps, but he couldn’t fucking tell you that himself? He couldn’t trust you with that information or that conversation? Fuck this. Very understandably, Daigo has his own crisis of faith about the yakuza, very much in parallel to Kiryu’s. Why the fuck SHOULD he go to bat for a crumbling organization that has only proven itself to be a dog chasing its own tail, willing to devour itself at the slightest provocation? It took his father, both his fathers, and he didn’t really get either of them back. Why the fuck should he try to fix that? 

And to its credit, Kiwami 2 does a decent job of articulating Daigo’s motivations there. I could have done with even more, but I think they do him credit in showing him as disenfranchised and lost. And I think it’s refreshing to see someone have to confront the consequences of what’s happened since Kiryu left. Because the games don’t do a good job of showing that this is Kiryu’s direct fault. They never like to make Kiryu’s decisions have consequence, which is poor use of a protag. Rightly or wrongly, their decisions ALWAYS have consequence, or they’re not the protag. You can’t have it both ways. If this person is going to matter then, guess what, their consequences matter. Kiryu turned away. Rightly or wrongly, he did that. Daigo will never get that opportunity. Child of destiny. Not only was he bred and raised for this, he doesn’t know how to do anything else either. He doesn’t have other options the way Kiryu does. And we’re in a terrible vacuum of power. Terada’s namely in charge, but no one’s loyal to him. Even if he wasn’t deliberately fostering this, the Tojo Clan can’t survive without faith in their leader. Daigo, by fact of being his fathers’ son, can bind what’s left. And he has to because Kiryu won’t. Which is... really shitty. So either Daigo does this, or we all hang. And we never quite articulate that this is on Kiryu’s say so. Kiryu could still take over now and fix it he just... won’t.

And on top of this already comfortably stressful situation... we set Daigo up to come into a stable situation of power, where his transition would be smooth. We didn’t give him the tools to know how to salvage. He’s not practiced negotiating with hostile entities or even just people who will resent him because he’s young. And he’s lost a lot of faith, without even charisma and willpower on his side, this is a massively uphill battle. If he doesn’t believe, who else will believe him? Daigo knows this. And we watch that struggle go on, all while Kiryu just cheerleads. He hasn’t decided yet if he’s gonna stay in the yakuza either and he’s lowkey depressed after Kiwami 1. Lowkey he’s just suffering depression and can’t do as much as he normally would. Not an excuse, but I think an important way to read how tired and reluctant he is. Some therapy would really fucking help. 

Anyway, we manage to get through Kiwami 2 and install Daigo as chairman, at which point Kiryu fucks off for good. Now, he kinda/sorta leaves some supports for Daigo, in Majima specifically, but also in Kashiwagi and I wanna believe in Daigo’s mom too. She was so cool and then we just... never talked about her again ^^; Laaaame *sigh* So, I guess, Kiryu did try to fulfill his remaining responsibilities as Daigo’s living father, but mostly it was just an excuse for him to leave and not feel guilty. Mostly it was him foisting off his duties onto someone else. He didn’t stay to teach Daigo everything he knew about the people Daigo would have to control. He didn’t teach Daigo and Majima how to talk to each other, a thing which REPEATEDLY comes back to bite us in the ass. He’s not there for Daigo to ask advice and help. Kiryu is full of confidence for Daigo, he’s not TRYING to make him fail, but Kiryu’s so caught up in his own need to leave, he neglects to people who need him. 

And Daigo, to his everlasting credit, does his best to get by without Kiryu’s help. As much as possible, he never calls to ask Kiryu for help. And he does grow into a quite competent chairman! He does successfully rehabilitate the Tojo Clan, he makes them profitable again, he insists on respect and people don’t run amok under him. He does it, he salvages a dying organization. And he may not even really believe in it, but he has such a sense of responsibility, he does it anyway. He knows there’s no one else. He knows if he goes to Kiryu and says I don’t want this, Kiryu won’t help him. Kiryu didn’t mean for it to happen this way, he didn’t mean to be selfish and put others in a bad position. But he wasn’t there to listen. And I think Kiryu eventually comes to rue that. 

The very unfortunate thing about Kiryu is... he is a dragon. Even though he is kind and generous and not greedy in a conventional sense, he is greedy. As much as Kiryu is a powerhouse because come hell or high water, he does what he thinks is right... this also makes him extremely selfish. He can be blind to other people’s needs and refused to be tied down. Again, for the best of reasons, because he’s trying to raise a family, because this environment is triggering for him, but he just hauls off and does things instead of talking to anyone which... makes him impossible to have a working relationship with. He has to learn to talk and to listen and that he can’t make all of the decisions by himself. The great irony being, Kiryu never wants to, but he doesn’t know how to ask for help. He’s so used to have everything put on him, he doesn’t realize it doesn’t have to be that way... but anyway, I’m getting caught up ^^; The point is, he thinks because he ditched the Tojo Clan they no longer care about him. Which is... naive at best. Of course people still care about you dumbass. Which makes Kiryu a massive vulnerability to the Tojo. In 3 and 4, Daigo makes stupid calls trying to protect Kiryu and trying to protect his interests. And because Kiryu hasn’t left open an avenue for them to talk, Daigo has to make these decisions on his own with bad information and he does his fucking best. But... he doesn’t know how to make the best of what he has, not like Kiryu would, and he fucks up sometimes. 

I really, really love game 4 for that reason. Daigo’s fuck up is SO understandable, SO reasonable. It sounded like a good idea, it sounded like peace and harmony. And he was left without a leg to stand on before he knew it. In many ways, it wasn’t his fault. Kiryu himself says as much. And I may never forgive the end of 4 for letting Kiryu REALIZE he defaulted on his responsibilities but then, instead of changing his behavior in any way, he fucks off back to Okinawa. God... *siiiigh* ANYWAY. 

And this struggle, this lack of communication, but unstated loyalty, comes full circle in game 5. When Daigo is literally drowning, literally knows he’s going to fail this time and there’s nothing he can do, and even when he’s with Kiryu, he can’t bring himself to ask for help. He knows Kiryu won’t or can’t. Instead he asks for absolution. He tries to tell his dad he’s just been doing his best and... he’s sorry for the terrible things that are about to happen. How gutting that Daigo can only see himself as a failure because... he’s not Kiryu. No one’s Kiryu. Even Kiryu refuses to be Kiryu. But Daigo knows if he was just Kiryu, things would be better. He’s not a legend. He’s not a god. He’s not all-powerful or crazy or impossible. He’s just a guy, doing his best because he had to. Because there was no one else. And some days Daigo does great, but a lot of days, he doesn’t measure up. And that eats at Daigo like mold. Kiryu would NEVER look at Daigo this way. Heck, most people at that point would never compare them. It’s in Daigo’s head, but it still hurts. He’s still, even now, looking up to Kiryu and he’ll just... never quite get there. 

This is the only good thing I will ever say about game 6, and it was still 2 or 3 games too late, but Kiryu finally acknowledging Daigo as his son was good. Kiryu saying he was proud and saying he was grateful was good. Again, several games late, but... it still mattered. It still mattered that, in the end, Kiryu recognized his legacy in Daigo. That he understood so much of what Daigo did and does and is and was is for him. That mattered. 

Daigo is a great chairman who takes care of his clan. But he was robbed of his relationship with his father. The games never work on the relationships that exist, strong relationships, for reasons I will never understand. Games 3, 4, and 5 would have been SO much more interesting if we had just like Kiryu talk to his fucking friends. Two would have been SO much easier if Kiryu had just been fucking chairman like he was fucking supposed to be and the transition of power to Daigo came later and smoother, with Kiryu helping to make it. Daigo tries his hardest every day and he’s an incredible negotiator and savior after all the shit he’s had to pull the Tojo Clan through, kicking and screaming and fighting to tear itself apart every damn day. The generation above him is all legends, Majima and Saejima and Kiryu. Daigo isn’t one of them. But he’s better because he was here and because he tries and because he succeeds. We need Daigo. We deserve him. 

[kalimagik]

Hi! 3 and 13 for the asks?

Thanks for the ask!

3. Owl, cat, or toad?

So, funny thing. I actually have a phobia of birds, but would want an owl sooooo badly! 😂 id be lowkey terrified of it, but the owl is a necessity! And maybe it’ll like me and I won’t be scared of it???

13. Who was the bravest character in Harry Potter and why?

Oooo this is a gooooood one and I’m really trying to think of all the characters and give you a good explanation at the same time. This may be a cop out, but I truly think Harry. He was terrified ALL the time, but did what needed to be done anyways, even if what he had to do would kill him most likely (he was one lucky dude). He honestly ran into dangerous situations without batting an eye when it really came down to it in my opinion.

Ask me Harry Potter questions!

[toxic-gorgon]

Village Treasures: Kuronue x Reader

Another Ao3 only that I’m sharing with ya’ll. Kuronue (in my opinion) doesn’t get enough love and he only appears for three minutes in the movie, but dammit as far as I’m concerned, he’s a prominent character. 

You’ve heard stories of demons coming to human villages in the night, robbing them of their belongings and innocence, only to feast upon their flesh until none was left. Stories are generally sprinkled with bits of fact, or in this case, news from a neighboring village. Every man, woman, and child in your village barricades any possible entry with whatever they had. Your village was next. What the demons wanted, you hadn’t the foggiest, but once thing for certain, if your village was next, well, buck up or die.

 Somberly, you helped your family put up wards from the local monks. It plagues your thoughts, what the outcome would be if the neighboring village had them too. Or, what if they had? Humans are helpless against demons; perhaps someday a barrier will keep the two worlds apart, or maybe demons will live in harmony with humans. Until then, humans will have to survive, and if they can survive, they can thrive. That’s all you could do.

 So, after the whole village scrambled about to get ready for the incoming invasion, your village’s elder emerges, and as always, ready to calm the masses. “My people, demon activity has increased, but we will not give in! Those vile creatures will not drain our recourses, or our existance! We we will emerge victorious!” While most of the villagers cheered, you on the other hand remain somber about the idea.

 You see, rumor had it that these were no ordinary demons. The ordinary demons, usually attack humans to feed upon their flesh or for sadistic reasons. These ones however, seem to be looking for something, some sort of treasure. Remaining positive is one thing, being blind to the real issue is another. Was the elder prepared to sacrifice your people, just to keep some stupid object in his possession? Apparently so.

 As night begins to approach, your village hushed down for the evening like usual, with five of your bravest and strongest men were awake and walked through the streets on patrol. A heavy fog of unspeakable tension enveloped your home, as everyone would have to wait out the nights, as long as it took for this to end. You walked into your hut, to see your mother doubling over in pain, as she attempted to get back onto her feet. Quickly, you rushed to her side and hoisted her up.

 “Mother, are you ok? What happened?” you sit her up, allowing her to put her weight onto your shoulder. She coughs into her palm, shaking her head.

 “I-I’m fine. I was getting some water.” Your eyes soften, but once you looked into her bloodstained palm from where she just coughed, you give her hard look.

 “You are not fine! You should’ve waited until I got back, or sent someone for me.” Your mother forces a smile, as she reaches to cup your cheek with her non-bloodied palm.

 “Please, don’t chastise me for what little independence I have. Besides, I’m not that helpless.” she says weakly. As if your heart couldn’t shatter anymore than it had. Fighting back tears, you help your mother back into bed, and tucked her back in. You hated it, you absolutely whole heartedly hated it with every fiber in your being. Out of everyone in the village, your mother was the one who contracted a deadly disease. The town monk gave her less than a year, and with medicines to ease her pain became harder and harder to find, she had even less.

 Sitting at her bed side, you looked over and shook your head, as all the water in your home has been spilled onto the floor. Getting up, you used a dirty cloth to wipe it up, then tossing it back to the corner. “I’ll get you some water mother, please stay put.” You mother sits up.

 “But it’s late, there are demons lurking around this region. You need to stay-“she abruptly coughs again, more blood splattering into her palm. Pushing your tears back, you hoped up and made your way out of your hut.

 “I’ll be fine! You just need to be focused on getting better, ok?” you call back, before leaving your hut with a bucket next to the door.

 Walking through the forest’s thicket at night was a death wish for humans, as only the brave and stupid would think this was a good idea. Your determination was stronger than the fear that made your knees buckle with every step. Luckily, the stream was just on the outskirts of the village and only thirty minutes away by foot. Over on the other side of a steep hill and past four giant boulders that made a makeshift shrine to the local spirits, and there it was, glistening in the full moon’s glow.

 The chirping crickets and howls from wolves miles away filled the night, creating one of nature’s most peaceful songs. You crouch over, scooping some water in your wooden bucket, as chills ran down your spine from the cool wind. Your eyes dart up, as if you were expecting a monster to be looming over you, ready to devour your body and soul. You see nothing, but the ominous wind refuses to yield. With a soft hum, you stand up, careful not to drop the heavy bucket.

 When you turn around, a sickle of someone’s kusarigama zips past you, causing you to drop the water, and breaking the bucket. Cursing, you look over to see the blade stuck in a tree, while the chain leads into the forest’s thicket. Shit! Bandits! Backing away silently, your legs struggle to take off, the chain blocking your path. A tall figure emerges, his leathery wings stretch and retract back once he’s fully out of the woods.

 A demon! You stayed put when he approaches closer, as it would be foolish to run.. His indigo hues catching yours, rendering it impossible to look away. A creature so beautiful, that it’s unbearable. Alarm bells rang in your ears, you knew better than this, as you heard stories of demons changing their appearance, pleasing he human gaze just to lull them into false security. But, this demon has already caught you, and you were at his mercy regardless.

 “Isn’t it late for a human to be walking through a forest so carelessly?” his smooth but deep voice made the hairs of your neck stand up. In the pit of your stomach, you could feel your impending death hurling towards you fast. As the bat demon approaches, he walks past you and yanks his blade out of the tree. He smirks at your trembling form, too scared to move. “Well? Don’t you at least have a name?”

 With a heavy and visible gulp, you stutter. “I-It’s ____.” Your voice soft, drenched in fear, enough to awaken any demon’s apatite. However, this demon chuckles, putting away his weapon, then steps forward until he towers over you. His silky long black hair sways gently in the night’s breeze, as his soft yet masculine features radiated in the moon. He was even more stunning up close.

 “Relax, I won’t harm you. Not unless you give me a reason to.” His voice soothing to your senses, as you nod in understanding. If you run or fight, he’ll most likely to kill you. It’s best to humor him, then think of a way out when the time is right. As if the demon could read your mind, he grabs onto your wrist, forcing you to wince, as he applies enough pressure for it to ache as a warning. If you were to move, surely he could snap it with little trouble at all. “Tell me, where’s your village?”

 Your shaky free hand points to south, you didn’t bother looking that away. You couldn’t look away. The demon nods, seeming pleased with your compliance. But, you couldn’t disregard the aching feeling of betrayal in your gut, as it was obvious your village was a possible target. You scrambled to remember the various weapons and defense mechanisms, lining your village. The demon let’s go of your wrist and turns away. You shout after him.

 “Wait!” He stops and looks behind you, a smirk playing on his lips. He faces you again, arching a brow. “Y-You don’t want to go there!” you plea. The demon chuckles at your sudden outburst.

 “Why not? Out with it human.” his gruff voice sent shivers down your spine and chilled you to your bones.

 “W-We have weapons….a lot of them! If you’re looking for something to steal, you won’t get far.” The demon frowns, his indigo hues giving you a steely glare.

 “Do you take me for a fool, human? As if humans are able to match a demon’s strength.” he chuckles. “How amusing.” You glare in response, growling.

 “Look, whatever it is you’re seeking, I can get it. Only if you spare my village though.” What the hell am I doing? With your people on the line, you willingly threw yourself at the danger, mostly to protect your sick and vulnerable mother. They gave her at least another year, two at the most. You didn’t want to lose her so soon.

 The demon’s puzzled features falter slightly, before he picks it back up into a cocky smirk. “Oh? You’ll willingly bring me your village treasure? How thoughtful.” You kept a stone-cold glare to the demon, his beauty can’t shatter your resolve, not now.

 “It’s not being thoughtful, it’s having common sense. If our village treasure is what you want, then I’ll hand it to you. In exchange, not only will you keep out of my village, but you will bring me medicine from a certain plant. A bulk of it.” The demon, now towering over you again, bends down to whisper in your ear.

 “What if I refuse? You’re not fooling anyone human, what makes you think I’ll go along with your request?” You stand tall, with your back straight. Human or not, he’s not going to push you around.

 “Because, you don’t know what kind of weapons my village has and I won’t tell you. If you kill me here or let me go, you won’t know until you make the mistake of robbing my village. That is, if you want to risk your death, or you can let me deliver the treasure to you first hand and guarantee your safety. The choice is yours, demon.” Your mother being on the line gave you that extra dose of badassary this eve, and the demon seemed to catch on too. Placing his hands on his hips, he grins.

 “I see. Suppose you have your reasons for the medicine, which is why you’re putting on such a ridiculous display. Fine, I’ll humor you and wait your village’s prized possession tomorrow night. If you run, I’ll find you and end you. If you don’t present it, the same will happen. Do you understand?” You nod swiftly.

 “Y-Yes, we’re clear. T-Thank you.” you said, your spurt of confidence running out. The demon smirks, he saw right through you. You weren’t sure if he was honestly that concerned for his own life, or if he wanted to see where this went. The fact is you got what you wanted, so you supposed it was good enough.

 Before the demon runs back into the darkness from where he came, he turns and looks over his shoulder. “Kuronue, that is my name.” You forced a wearily smile.

 “Alright…Kuronue. I won’t run, as long as you bring my demands.” The demon known as Kuronue, playfully scoffs. In a blink of an eye, he was gone, and you fall to your knees, letting out a silent sob. Your life was in that demon’s hands, leaving a sickly feeling in your gut.

    As promised, you managed to break away from your village without anyone noticing you. The guards patrolling the empty streets weren’t the wiser, but then again, you grew not to expect much from them. Your bluff has worked against Kuronue, but deep down you knew if he really wanted to, he can go back on his word. The weapons you went on about, were only makeshift barricades and sutras blessed by the town monk. If the demon found out, he would easily wipe your village clean from this realm. No, you couldn’t think like this. You’re giving him what he wants, but demons aren’t exactly known for their honor were they. Of course not.

 Getting the necklace was tricky. It was protected by one of the most experienced guards in your village. This necklace was said to once belong to one of the royal families, as it was blessed to bring those who possess it power and luck. That was a bunch of hocus pocus, as it was nothing more than an expensive necklace. Nothing special and nothing more than a fine statement for one’s neck. But, if the demon wanted it for historical value, far be it for you to stand in his way.

 So, you formulated a crafty plan, which you were quite pleased with. It wasn’t anything complicated, just quick wit on your part. You distracted the guard by…throwing a large pebble as far from the hut, which the necklace hid in as you could. Hey, a plan doesn’t have to be fancy, just effective, and this plan was effective. You took your chance, slipping into the hut and grabbed the necklace; right after the guard has left his post. None were the wiser and best of all, no one got hurt.

 Cautiously, you made your way back to the same river as the previous night, forcing through the forest thicket. The necklace was safely tucked away in your sleeve, as you jump on the other side and to the clearing with the stream. As expected, the bat demon was waiting for you, arms crossed, and smirking arrogantly. Brushing off leaves and twigs from your yukata, you approach the man, digging the necklace out of your sleeve, and showing it off. The gold glistens in the moonlight, with the red stone catching the demon’s eye.

 “Good, now hand it over it.” Kuronue says, beckoning you closer. You get closer to, but you don’t hand it over just yet. The demon frowns, an irritated look cascading his features, but you don’t give in.

 “Not yet. Hand me the medicine first, then this will be yours.” Kuronue tosses a tightly closed back to your feet.

 “It’s there, at least a years worth of dosage. Enough to slow down whatever disease ails your companion. You’re fortunate a friend of mine is able to grow this over night.” he chuckles, holding out his claws. “Now, the treasure.” You nod, handing him the necklace. He snatches it from you, and you bend down to pick up the satchel, but a tight hold on your wrist holds you. You look up, confused, tugging your wrist away from him.

 “What is-“ you were cut off by the demon’s growl.

 “Is this a joke to you, girl? There’s nothing emulating from this necklace. It’s ordinary.” You stand up, tilting your head.

 “It’s the village most prized treasure. It’s an ordinary necklace, yes, but the historical value is great. It’s said once belong to the royal-“ you were cut off again, the demon tightening his grip on you and squeezing the necklace in his palm.

 “I didn’t come all this way for historical value.” You shake your head, successfully pulling your wrist away.

 “What did you expect? We’re a poor but humble village. I’m sorry, but if you wanted something special, but it doesn’t exist there.” you explained, but that didn’t seem to ease Kuronue. You stood your ground and it became visible that Kuronue was processing this new information. With a huff, he puts the necklace on and glares down at you. When the puzzle pieces of his thoughts finally come together, he grins, reaching out for your wrist again and pulling you flush against his broad chest.

 “I’ve decided I won’t kill you, but instead take a compensation prize from you. You’re going to indulge me, then I’ll let you go.” he whispers gruffly in your ear. Feeling the heat rise to your face, you place your hands on his chest, trying to push him away. Kuronue just tightens his hold on you and laughs. “How disappointing that little spark of fight has left you.” Your face grew redder, as you closed your eyes to compose yourself.

 “Trust me, i-it didn’t leave. I have to indulge you, I’ll do so. For the sake of my village.” you said, with false conviction. Kuronue stands up and looks down into your hesitant eyes. The confident bat takes the lead, like he had during most of his encounters, and leans down to capture your lips in his own. Sighing, you were pleasantly surprised at how soft and warm they were, but you also never kissed a demon before. Your heart races when his tongue slithers against yours, as you instinctively deepen the kiss.

 His grip looses, but drifts down to the knot holding your thin yukata together, and expertly unties it, slipping the material past your shoulders. Shivering in the night air, you hold yourself closer to him for heat, nipping at his bottom lip. Kuronue smirks against your lips, his long claws trailing lightly down your soft and sensitive curves, resting on your hips. Breaking the kiss with a thin line of saliva connecting between you both, you gain some confidence and brush your fingertips against his tattered vest.

 Biting your bottom lip, your gaze softens towards his, asking for permission to thoroughly appreciate his impressive physique. As if reading your mind, Kuronue leans away from you, allowing your nimble fingers to untie his vest, revealing his smooth and perfect chest. Wasting no time, your fingers dance along his bare skin. How long as it been since you’ve felt a man? Too damn long, you cringe at the thought.

 You held the bat’s interest, because how long has it been since he had a human? Judging by his stance, he’s had his share of humans before. What he did after mating with a human, you just hope he keeps his word. At least for now, you can relish in it, being close and touched by such a lovely creature as before you, normally a human isn’t so lucky, especially one who offers a useless trinket to a well known demon thief.

 Pretending to have confidence, your soft lips explored the demon’s chest slowly, but precisely. No, you didn’t know exactly what would please him, but this pleased you. Being slow and intimate with a beautiful man, what better demise than this? Kuronue gave a chortled laugh in his throat; oh he noticed your actions. His claws brush against your bare ass, his palms roughly gripping and kneading the plump and tender flesh.

 You let out a sharp gasp, your hips pressing closer to his, and you shudder feeling his hardening girth twitch. Did he notice how out of practice you were? The demon licks his lips, just like a predator to let their pray have fun. But, he indulged his pray long enough, and it was time to pay up. Yanking the yukata off, it falls helplessly onto the ground, and you were quickly positioned to join it. Face down, hips up, with your legs spread wide.

 Kuronue sits on his knees behind you, his clawed index finger swipes between your soaked folds and teases your core. Your nails dig into the dirt, your eyes closed, and your hips shaking for more contact. He growls under his breath and removes his digit, and slips down his bottoms, allowing his hardened cock to spring out. The demon looms over you, as his warm breath caresses your ear, his length rubbing between your folds.

 “What a needy human you are. If I didn’t know any better, I would think you enjoy being taken advantage of by a demon. What would your village say, if they saw you like this?” He couldn’t hide his husky words that were dripping with deadly lust. Your core pulsates from his words alone, but with his cock lubricating itself against your core; all you could do was whimper a shaky yes. Fuck, you knew this was wrong, allowing a demon to defile your humanity in this way. But, it was down right too depraved to enjoy it.

 Yes somehow, you managed to enjoy being roughly handled by the attractive demon. You especially enjoyed it when the blunt head of his cock stretched you, even slightly painfully, when he pushes himself in. Your nails dig into the soft earth below you, as you hiked your ass up higher. Kuronue wasn’t even halfway in, and you were already weeping like a horny bitch in heat. He chuckles under his breath, as his hips bump against your ass. He was finally sheathed fully.

 The demon picks up speed almost immediately, your tight cunt accepting his cock and surprisingly, accommodates it. Fuck, it’s been too long! You forgot what this felt like, as hot passion spreads to your every nerve. His blunt head brushes against that spot, which made you see stars, and drool dripping from your open mouth. Your head slumps forward, as your shoulders settle against the cold ground, as you mumble nonsense into the night’s breeze.

 “What’s wrong human? Ah…you’re practically…speechless.” Kuronue pants softly, his pace increasingly brutal. With each thrust, the skin on skin wet sound provided a background tempo to your lustful symphony, your moans being the main chorus. You chant a string of swears under your breath, as you use your palms to push into the dirt and back against the demon’s sturdy stance. Your pussy clenches, practically screaming for it’s release. You wanted it, you needed it, you craved it.

 Kuronue shifts your position, as he grabs hold of your wrists roughly, and pulls you up, with his hips angled under yours. You, having zero control over what he did to you, rendering you utterly but tantalizingly helpless. He was using your body for his pleasure, gyrating your body to meet his, his cock curving just so fucking right into your depths deeper, making you feel full. His tip knocks against your cervix, sending electricity through your core.

 Your throat was soar from moaning, your thoughts blank of nothing but this bat demon’s cock. With his hips sputtering and his raspy grunts turning more animalistic in nature, he was nearing his end. Kuronue growls in your ear and leans down to take a big bite into your shoulder, small droplets of blood running down your otherwise perfect flesh. His throbbing cock beats against your cervix with an erotic rhythm, and his left hand slips down between your thighs to expertly grinding against your clit.

 White passion shoves you over the edge, as you tilt your head back onto the male’s shoulder. Gasping and making animalistic sighs and sobs of your own, you ride out your high, with Kuronue not far behind. His own internal coil snaps, as he pumps your womb full of thick cum. Riding out his high, he pushes into you a few times, before jerking himself out of your pussy’s tight hold, his cum gushing out. Kuronue exhales, releasing you, but instead of letting you drop, he sets you down on the ground gently.

 Pulling up his pants and situates his leathery vest; his bat wings stretch and retract lazily. “Not bad, for a human.” He stands up and looks at your cheap trinket again. Suppose it’s not too gaudy. He slips it around his neck and bends down in front of you. “You’ll bare my scent for a while, so no weak demons will attack. However, I wouldn’t loiter around much longer, unless you wish to take that chance.”

 You could barely pick up your head, let alone your upper torso to stare at the beautiful creature, before he gives you one last dashing smirk and left you alone in your once meeting spot. You never did see him again after that.

[ravenclaw-headcanons]

So kicking off harry potter confessions with one of my own: 

When I was 14 I decided to do the ‘harry potter 30 day challenge’ which basically involved me spamming my facebook friends with my harry potter related opinions for an entire month

Obviously it was a long time ago so my opinions have changed over time, but if you weren’t in the fandom in 2011 you may not realise that it was a very different place. I’m pretty sure most of the stuff I was spouting was popular opinion at the time but damn it’s cringy to look back on

Here’s some highlights:

“Day 4- least favourite female character and why. Ginny. Why? Because she is so annoying. She goes out with everybody even though she still likes Harry, she can't seem to do anything by herself (apart from the bat bogey hex), she nearly gets Harry killed- a lot- and in the films bonnie whatsherface is a really bad actress.”

“Day 5- your favourite male character. Snape because his story is so sad and he is definately the bravest character in the book. He was rejected his whole life, he worked so hard to keep harry alive and his love for Lilly was so sweet <3″

“Day 9- least favourite male character. James Potter because he was arrogant, really quite annoying and a bully. He acted as though he was really cool when really all he did was bully Snape for being different which is completely unfair. Nobody should have to endure bullying, especially not Snape as he was so brave yet for his whole life he was an outcast and it was all the fault of James Potter.”

It’s funny how the content hasn’t changed in these last 7 years but my opinions have done a complete 180 

[leonstamatis]

opinions on nic winkler OR opinions on earth mcbride

nic winkler is so goddamn brave. nic winkler is one of the bravest players in blaseball, and undoubtedly on the boston flowers.

i know i’ve said this before but the lore for almost all of the flowers that came after an incineration is that the garden provides. the garden is angry and so the bees band together to play, to show the players they are not alone. the garden grows flowers from the ashes of players, and those flowers go on to play as well. the garden, the garden, the garden. but not nic winkler. the first ever incineration on the flowers, when that was still a new concept, when people thought it would be a rarity and still had a chance to think, maybe it won’t happen to me, to my team, to us. and nic saw someone get incinerated, as a fan in the stands, and he said. they need someone to step up. and he walked up to the plate and picked up a bat. and he’s kept going and he’s kept batting and he gets almost no recognition because he’s no beck whitney and he’s no jacob haynes and he’s not the best they have, not even close, but it is his duty and his responsibility to continue to play and to go out on the field every day. and whether you ascribe to the lore on his wiki page or not (i do not; i tend to lean toward hearing aids, as i know you do as well), there’s an element of. the weather fucks with him more than anyone else. and even despite that, despite constantly being at a disadvantage, he gets out there and goes to bat anyway.

i just love!!! nic!!!! he’s a good egg.

as for earth. my dumb son. i made him as a JOKE he was supposed to be a RICH ASSHOLE but then he found out some unexpected news about his family and he rolled with it, and his best friend was arrested and he not only rolled with it but started campaigning and putting himself out there to get him out, and he is learning to be independent and to have his own voice and to find a family, because the one he was raised by isn’t all that great, actually. and yeah, maybe his powers are dumb, but he can do other things - he can organize, and he can communicate, and he can make art. and all of that is important too. and he’s just... so good. he is so silly and dumb and so good.

[bazypitchandsimonsnow]

Crossover Day

Rating: T

Genre: Fluff

Word count: 2612

Summary: Baz gets attacked by a raven and meets a strange man.

Read on AO3

Baz

I think I’m reconsidering DC as Snow and my vacation spot. Which is a bit late, since I’m currently standing in the middle of Lincoln Park. We could have gone to Paris or something. But we somehow settled on the American capital, a relatively chilly city with a lot of museums. Not very different from London, where we already live. Yeah, we’ll go to Paris next time.

I’m waiting for Simon now. He’s run off to find some after-lunch before-dinner snack. I’ve decided to wander around this gorgeous park. It’s lovely place, decent sized with trees and a honking huge statue. The sunlight speckles the ground through the leaves. People mill around, laughing and playing. It’s all sort of nice, sort of peaceful.

Then a bird flies straight for my face.

I yell profanities and stumble back, trying to bat the giant raven away from me. It screeches and pecks at my skin.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Chainsaw!” Some American yells. “Get back here, you little shit!”

The bird yells in my face one more time and flies off. It lands on the arm of a very odd man. He looks about my age, but much...rougher. What with the shaved head, muscle tank, and combat boots. His fashion sense reminds me of Aunt Fiona's. His face is all sharp, hardened lines. Stranger still, there’s a hint of a tattoo crawling up his neck. It hooks viciously on his pale skin.

“Why the fuck did you fly away like that?” He growls at the bird, as if it’ll answer him.

Kerah! It caws, then turns to me, making the rough American turn too. He takes a few steps forward.

“Sorry about that,” he says. “She’s been antsy ever since we got here. We’re from out of town.”

“You brought a bird on a trip to DC?” I blurt out. I’m in too much shock to be polite, sue me.

He scowls, blue eyes burning with angry fire. “Yeah. Great observation, dickhead.”

I scoff and roll my eyes. “Well, what I’m really asking is why?”

The man pets the raven’s head almost instinctively. “Because she freaks out even more without me. No different than a dog or something.”

My resolve softens slightly. I kind of understand. Especially considering the way he looks at this bird. I sigh. “Alright. Apology accepted.” I offer my hand like the gentleman I am. “Basilton Pitch. Most people call me Baz. Pleased to meet you.”

He looks at my hand a little apprehensively, almost disgusted. I push it forward a bit more.

“C’mon,” I say. “I don’t bite. Not most of the time, anyways. Depends if you piss me off again.”

The man chuckles. A smile spreads across his face, but there’s nothing kind about it. It’s a smile made for war. He takes my hand. His grip is strong and calloused. And the oddest little jolt goes through my veins. It’s not an emotional response, certainly a physical one. It reminds me of the feeling of magic, but it’s foreign. There’s something strange about it.

“Ronan Lynch,” he says. “And I usually bite right off the bat.”

I laugh myself and give his hand a firm shake. “Pleasure to meet you. Mr. Lynch”

We let go, and Ronan immediately falls on the bench. He spreads his arms and legs out like he owns it. Crowley, he looks like he could take over the world with a single sneer. The infernal raven rests on his shoulder. I sit politely next to him, ankles crossed and hands in my lap.

“What’s a Brit like you doing in DC?” He says gruffly.

“Vacation,” I reply. “Had a hard year at school and decided I needed a break.”

He scoffs. “That’s what school does. Melts your brain and calls it learning. It’s all shit.”

“What an eloquent opinion.” I earn a glare for my deadpan response.

“Not everyone needs school.”

“You’re not in uni?”

“Nope,” he says with another evil smile. “Don’t need it.”

“What do you do then?”

“I’m a farmer.”

I let a loud laugh, head falling back against the bench. I expect Ronan to laugh at his joke along with me but he says nothing. When I look back, he’s looking at me blankly, completely unamused.

“Wait, you’re serious?”

“Yeah. I don’t lie, man.”

“Pfft.” I look out towards the park, crossing my arms. “Everyone lies.”

“Not me.”

He doesn’t elaborate and we fall into silence. Birds chirp, people walk past, the wind whistles in the leaves. Ronan doesn’t say anything. He seems to be comfortable without words. Sort of reminds of Simon’s preference not to speak.

“So what are you doing here?” I ask. “Some sort of American bird convention here in DC?”

Ronan scoffs. “I fucking wish. My best friend is back in town and he wanted to come here. He’s a fucking nerd, likes all the museums and shit. I don’t.”

“Hence why you’re sitting in a park.”

“Yes, ‘hence’, you pretentious shit.”

I chuckle. “Sorry my advanced vocabulary is annoying.”

“Bullshit. You’re not sorry.”

I flick my eyes over to him, and see he’s looking back with a sort of cool resignation. A corner of my lip tugs up.

“You’re right. I’m not.”

He scoffs, but he’s smirk slightly too. “Knew it. You’re just like Gansey.”

“Gansey?”

“Nerd friend. He’s a stuck up ass just like you. You’d like him a lot.”

“Hm. Not so sure about that. Us pretentious arses tend to repel each other. We’re like territorial dogs. My boyfriend’s best friend is one and we bicker endlessly.”

His head turns suddenly, sharp face all scrunched up. “Boyfriend?”

Crap. Well, it’s good to know leather jacket wearing punks with ravens can be homophobic too. I raise a singular eyebrow, keeping my composure. “Yes, boyfriend. Got a problem with that, farmer?”

Surprisingly, he grins, but it’s more amused than evil. “No. It’d be weird if I did though. Considering I’ve got one too.”

Both my brows shoot up to my hairline. Ronan laughs maniacally, enough to make his shoulders shake and Chainsaw flap and caw in protest. “Man, your face, dude,” he gets out between sputtering giggles. "Fucking priceless."

“Oh fuck off,” I mutter. “You were shocked first.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t look like a goddamn deer in the headlights.”

Bit by bit, Ronan controls his breathing. He flicks a laughing tear from his eye, then tilts his head back to look at the sky.

“So what’s your’s like huh?” He says.

I smile, sorting through the best words to summarise Simon Snow. “Reckless, destructive, idiotic, impulsive. Also one of the bravest, most kind, most compassionate people on the planet. So sometimes I don’t understand why in Merl- God’s name he’s with me.”

Ronan chuckles. “Sounds like a real catch.” With that statement, you’d expect sarcasm. But he actually he seems to mean it. I chuckle as well.

“Yeah, he is. How about your’s?”

Lynch sighs, smiling at the sky. There’s an almost dreamy look in his eyes. I’d point it out, if I didn’t fear he’d kill me in some horrific manner for it.

“Mine, well,” he chuckles. “He’s not reckless but he’s also an idiot. He just thinks it through then does dumb shit, usually for a good reason. Stubborn and prideful as fuck too. But he’s actually really smart, also brave, and a lot nicer than he thinks he is. Gotta keep reminding the dipshit of that.”

I tilt my head back like he has, smiling like him too.“Your’s sounds like a catch too.”

“Hell yeah he fucking is.”

We fall back into silence, both staring the clouds above. They swirl and twist across the bright blue sky. It’s sort of nice. Just easy. I think this Ronan Lynch likes it too.

“I don’t usually talk to strangers,” he mutters. “Don’t really like new people.”

“Me neither,” I reply.

“But you’re okay I guess. Got nothing better to do.”

“You’re alright too.”

“Well if that isn’t the most amazing fucking compliment.”

“Hey, it’s the best you’re going to get, Old Macdonald.”

He lifts his head up, throwing me a narrow eyed glare. “Seriously? Old Macdonald?”

I shrug (I’ve picked up the habit from Snow.) “You told me you were a farmer. The jokes write themselves.”

“Well if you aren’t a-”

“Ronan Niall Lynch! Where have you been?!”

Both our heads snap to the left. A weirdly beautiful man in a Harvard sweatshirt and faded jeans is marching towards us. His eyes are pale blue, deep set in his face above impossibly high cheekbones. He’s got unevenly cropped dusty hair and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose. And he looks ready to kill Mr. Lynch right where he sits.

“Afternoon, Parrish,” Ronan says with a very large shit eating grin. “What’s up?”

“‘What’s up?’ I’ve been looking for you everywhere. All you texted was ‘in lincoln park’. That’s quite a large area. You couldn’t have been more specific? And this all could’ve been avoided if you bothered to pick up your goddamn phone, and Gan-” He suddenly notices me, blinking confused a few times. “Who are you? Is Ronan bothering you? He does that.”

“Good afternoon,” I start. “I’m-”

“A British dickhead,” Ronan mutters with a smile. I glare viciously.

“It’s actually Baz.” I stand and offer my hand to Mr. Parrish. “Baz Pitch. Mr. Lynch’s raven attacked me and we started chatting from there.”

Parrish’s eyes go wider than humanly possibly. She shakes my hand mechanically, and the same spark as before runs through me again. So there’s something strange about both of these Americans.

“You chatted?” Parrish says to Ronan. “Who are you and what have you done with Ronan Lynch?”

Ronan shrugs. “Dude’s a gay asshole like me. We bonded.”

I smile at him, and he smiles back. Parrish turns back to me, shaking my hand more firmly. “Well then, nice to meet you. I’m Adam Parrish. You must be some sort of miracle worker.”

I chuckle. “No no, nothing like that. Like he said, we’re both gay arseholes. Easy to bond.”

“We were talking about you, actually.” Ronan tugs on Adam’s arm, sending the freckled boy tumbling into his lap with a yelp. He wraps his large arms around his waist, keeping him from standing up. “Comparing boyfriends and all.”

Ronan’s eyes acquire the same dreamy look as before. The raven caws, nuzzling against Parrish's head. It obviously shares the same affection as Lynch. Adam’s face goes bright red. Ronan’s grin gets even more shit eating. I just laugh.

“So this is him?” I say. “The stubborn, smart idiot?”

Adam’s embarrassment goes away, trading it for an annoyed look at Ronan. “You been talkin’ shit about me, Lynch?” There’s the faintest hint of a southern accent in his voice, the ‘g’ slipping off and vowels extending.

“I don’t lie, Parrish, you know that.”

Parrish rolls his eyes and hits Ronan’s chest, but he’s smiling. “Yeah yeah, I know. Now let me up.”

“Fine, if you insist.” Ronan loosens his grip, but plants a kiss on Adam’s still slightly red cheek before letting him stand. That only makes his blush worse.

“We’re done with the Glendower exhibit,” Adam says firmly. “Gansey says it inaccurate, unsurprisingly. Blue and Henry won't stop telling him 'I told you so.' They’re all at an ice cream place now.”

“Did you get Opal ice cream?”

“Of course.”

He groans. “It’s the afternoon. She’s going to be up all fucking night now.”

“Hey, you try to tell her ‘no ice cream’ at an ice cream parlour.”

“Fine,” he grumbles. He turns to me, looking exasperated. “Word of advice, Pitch: don’t have kids. They’re amazing but also the worst.”

I blink stupidly. Ronan can't be that much younger than me. And he has a kid? I feel like this leads to a longer conversation we don’t have time for. “Al...right. I’ll remember that.”

“Good.” Ronan jumps to his feet, one hand shoved into his leather jacket pockets, the other around Adam’s middle. “Now it’s been nice talking but we’ve got to-”

“There you are Baz!”

Adam and Ronan peer over my shoulder. I turn around, and a grin spreads on my face. There’s my idiot boyfriend, in his favourite orange coat and blue jeans, walking towards us with a paper bag in hand, no doubt carrying a cherry related pastry within. Simon puts his arm around me and kisses my jaw before realising there are two other people with us. He looks shocked and quite embarrassed.

“Oh,” he says. “Uh, hi. I-I don’t know you.”

I chuckle, putting my arm around him too. “They’re new...acquaintances, love.” I indicate Ronan. “Meet Ronan Lynch,” then Adam, “and Adam Parrish. Lynch, Parrish, this is the aforementioned boyfriend, Simon Snow.”

“Oh! Hi!” Snow enthusiastically shoves his hand out. “Nice to meet you!”

Ronan chuckles, but he still shakes his hand. “You forgot to mention he was so fucking hyper, Pitch.”

Snow’s brow furrows, turning to look at me curiously. “What did you tell him about me?”

“Only good things, love. I promise.”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

“Well, only true things.” Ronan flashes me a proud grin.

Simon takes Adam’s hand too. “Hi. Sorry if my boyfriend was an arse to you. He does that. Though I have a feeling you’re used to it.” He tilts his head towards Ronan.

Adam nods. “Oh yeah. I definitely am.”

“We have more in common than appearance than.”

Both Ronan and I go wide eyed. Now that he mentions it, yeah, they do look alike. Tanned skin, lots of freckles, blue eyes, light brown hair, and currently matching amused smiles. Lynch and I look at each other simultaneously.

“I think we may share a type, Lynch,” I say flatly.

“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock.”

Adam and Snow laugh loudly. I flick Snow’s ear, and he sticks his tongue out at me. Lynch pinches his boyfriend’s side, making him convulse. It takes a bit for both of them to calm down.

“We should get back to the others, Lynch,” Adam says when he's fully calm. “Gansey will worry.”

Ronan rolls his eyes. “Dick is always worrying.”

“Yeah, because you give him a reason to. So let’s get going.” He looks at Simon and I with a kind smile. “Nice meeting you two. Thanks for babysitting my boyfriend, Mr. Pitch.”

“My pleasure. And it’s Baz, please. If you two ever end up in London, feel free to look at us up. Without the bird, preferably.”

“No promises,” Ronan says, flashing another war smile. Though I should be annoyed, I just smirk back. There's something endearing about his annoying stubbornness.

“We should be off too,” Simon interjects. “Enjoy the ice cream!”

Adam nods. “Will do. Have a nice day.”

“You too.”

We all simultaneously turn and walk in opposite directions. Simon sighs and leans his head on my shoulder. I pull him closer like always.

“Hey, Baz?” he asks, voice low.

“Yes, darling?”

“Did you feel something...weird, when each of them shook your hand? Like magic, but not quite?”

“Actually, yes. You did too?”

He nods vigorously. “Definitely. There’s something, odd about them. I mean, I like them, but there’s something else going on.”

“Agreed.” I turn my head slightly, catching a glimpse of the other two boys walking with their arms around each other. They do look utterly normal at a glance (minus the raven), but I swear there’s something strange. “Maybe we’ll find out, if we see them again.”

“Maybe. Mystery for now, I guess.”

“Yeah,” I say. “They’re definitely more than a bit strange. Nice, but strange.”

Turns out DC was a good vacation pick.

Okay let's pretend this takes place in a universe where Ronan would not just walk away from Baz almost immediately after meeting him. But still, I think Ronan and Baz would get along. They have a lot in common, including their taste in guys :D Also Gansey, Penny, and Baz would get along because they're all nerds and would compare nerd notes.

Fun fact: I actually started the Raven Cycle because I clicked on fan art of Adam thinking it was Simon. Then I found out it wasn't, looked up where it was from, and said, "huh, I should read this series, it sounds cool." Soon I fell down the damaged-boys-and-girl-looking-for-a-Welsh-king rabbit hole :)

Anywho, hope you liked this TRC crossover. Sadly, I don't have time to do WLW, but I probably will publish one on my own later. So stay tuned, Theo will return on December 12th with "stuck together"!

[octoberwren]

Prompt: Steve x Darcy: Is it too late? (My Dear)

So I have lowkey shipped this couple for years, not because I was ashamed or anything, but because there were so much amazing fanfiction out there for them already, and I was slightly (a lot) intimidated by it. So I didn’t think I’d be able to get their voices right or do it justice. But I decided recently to broaden my horizons as some you who follow me might know already. And the wonderful human who runs @shieldshockfanfic​ gave me some prompts to run with and I decided on this one, it just hit all the right angsty notes with me. So I just wanted to say THANK YOU to @shieldshockfanfic for the heartwarming encouragement to help me be brave. Much Love to you!

Hope you enjoy the read.

You can also read it on Ao3 for your convenience.

Summary:  First there's a kidnapping. Then a bullet. And all Darcy really knows is that she despises portals.

 As far as kidnappings went Darcy's one was pretty creative, she'd have to admit, albeit grudgingly and Tony would have to finally give up the good alcohol, for her to ever reveal that little truth nugget.

 Portals weren't an unusual thing in the science labs, no matter how many times she had threatened the genius/deranged people she called her friends, that portals were a bad time waiting to happen.

 She was right. Darcy was always right, which was why it was super annoying that no one ever, ya' know, listened to her.

 But the portal that had Darcy immediately glaring at, with all of her only-one-cup-of-coffee-today fury didn't actually come from Jane or more shockingly, Tony. It came from some brightly dressed assholes in yellow hazmat suits.

 Joy.

 Of course, she threw her cup at one of the idiots head and of course when they started making grabby hands, she shoved Jane into one of the rooms made for a very specific reason; keeping The Hulk from squishing people. She slammed her hand on the red button that everyone said not to touch, and locked the furious and cussing scientist/future Queen of Asgard inside.

 She never claimed to have superb self-preservation skills, but she's sure someone would be totally proud of how she took a swing at another henchman, knocking him on his ass.

 It's her, she's the one proud of knocking him on his ass. She didn't even have the training for that move! And they said movies can't teach you things.

She's was still grinning manically, even when the blood dripped from her mouth from their retaliation on her.

 The alarms were still going mad and Jane was still cussing a blue streak when they shoved her none too gently inside the portal. Real creative, who knew A.I.M had the balls to even try that.

 And now she's currently tied to a chair in an empty room, which was more clichéd, so they're not exactly batting a thousand in her humble opinion.

 An opinion she voiced much to the displeasure of Squirrely Eyes whose scowl would make small children cry, luckily for Darcy she's witnessed Steve's Disappointed In You patented face, she's been through way worse.

 Just thinking of the man, that she has an adolescence crush from hell for, gives her the backbone to not give up. Because despite her bravado, she is absolutely fucking terrified, the hands behind her back are shaking and she can feel the tremor in her legs.

 But Steve, amazing man that he is, wouldn't back down, he'd fight, even if the whole world was telling him to back off, to move on, he wouldn't. He didn't. He stood up and he fought back with everything he had and then some.

 He helped Tony and Bucky in the best way he could, he made them a team again, it took a lot of time and so much shouting, she had to rush to her room, before she did something stupid, like cry in front of them.

 Or worse, punch them in the face.

 With Steve's pure stubbornness, they mended their relationship, the team started to fight the good fight again. The movie nights returned, and Darcy tried to help in any way she could.

 She made food for when they returned home bloody, she spoke to Bucky when late at night he'd wander the halls. She helped Tony get off his ass and talk to Pepper.

 She mostly avoided Steve, not that she didn't desperately want to talk to him, hug him, feed him hot cocoa. (Watching him beat the crap out of his punching bag was her favorite past time) But when they had first come back before she had even a chance to speak to him, Darcy had overheard Sam tease him about a kiss and then the name Sharon Carter had come up and she got her ass out of dodge.

 Afterward, she tried and spectacularly failed to notice his frown every time she sat on the opposite side of the lounge at movie night or made up some excuse when he entered the room. She was a big girl and Darcy knew that the only way this could possibly hurt this much, was a fact she wanted to bury, that she didn't have a crush on him, it was something, much, much worse.

 She didn't even hate Sharon, the woman was badass, of course Steve had gone for her, he deserved that after all he'd been through, something truly amazing.

 Darcy wasn't a hero, she wasn't a beautiful agent with scary skills.

 She was just Darcy, a woman who swore when she breathed, had sarcasm running through her veins and a scary addiction to caffeine. She was a college dropout turned lab assistant to her best friend, she'd never be good enough for a man like Steve, a war hero, a bonafide superhero and the bravest man she had ever known.

 But right now she was regretting every single step away from him, she was probably going to die by these bumblebees and he'd never know how much she-

 The crack against her cheek snapped her back into painful reality and Darcy groaned then glared when she tasted the metallic taste of blood. "What the actual fuck dude?!"

 Another slap and Darcy was getting real tired of this shit, "You weren't paying attention." He condescendingly told her, with a skeevy smile.

 "To what, your evil monologue?" Darcy took every reserve of anger she had left, which was a lot actually, and spat blood on his shiny black shoes.

 She smiled brightly at his disgust, "In case you haven't noticed, you took the wrong girl, I thought A.I.M was supposed to be the smart villains. I might be brunette, but I'm no Jane Foster."

 She gave him a ‘so there' look which he promptly ignored, the bastard.

 Squirrely Eyes leaned into her personal space and Darcy barely held in the gag at his overwhelming cologne, "And what makes you think you're not the girl we were after Darcy Lewis?"

 "First off, it's woman, thank you very much, I grew these boobs at thirteen and went through enough jackasses teasing me to deserve the title. Also, whaaaat?" she regretted mentioning the word boobs as soon as she said it, because now the only thing the creep was staring at was the girls, which, gross.

 Still talking to her boobs, The Pervert said, "There's someone very important who loves you, oh so much. A moron would be able to see it. And I'd bet he'd be willing to do anything to get you back. Like giving up a sample of his blood."

 Despite the situation, despite everything telling her, lies, lies, lies, her stupid heart was thumping with erratic speed, not in fear, but with something that felt suspiciously like hope. The traitor.

 "Thor?" She squeezed out because come on! He couldn't mean-

 Pervy Mcpervasin laughed in her face and Darcy scrunched up her nose because, hello no personal space, thy name is asshole.

 "I would have thought The Captain would have chosen a smarter woman, someone like Sharon Carter."

 She would have winced at his words, if she hadn't been too busy breaking his nose with her forehead. 

 Wow… where did that hot white anger come from? It's like she blacked out in a rage and woke up to his piggish squealing.

 He was holding his bloody nose with one hand, while she just blinked at him, "That'll teach you to respect personal space, numbnuts."

 "Ooo bish." How he slurred the words was still funny, even as he swung his hand for another strike to her face, only to be interrupted by an explosion that had the building rocking from the force.

 Her captor swung around to stare at the still closed door, Darcy let out a chuckle at his surprised action, "Oooh you're in trouble." She sing songed at his back.

 He turned to glare at her, "Ut up"

 "Seriously," Darcy continued, heedless of his garbled warning, "What kind of dumbass pokes that bear? Don't get me wrong, your plan was super-duper good, if not totally clichéd," She wasn't letting that go, it started off so well, "But… and this is a big, huge, don't-fuck-with-Captain-America kind of mistake. Your plan worked. He's here. So ya' know. Have fun with that, dead man walking."

 He was purple by the time she finished and with all that anger being directed at her, he reached out and grabbed her hair so hard her scalp burned, "I will ki-"

 The door burst in and a seething Steve, in all his Captain America glory, stepped into the room, "Let. Her. Go. Now." He clipped out of clenched teeth, the menace and screaming danger pouring off of him in waves. It would have been terrifying, if it didn't turn her on so much.

 Which was super awkward given the situation.

 "Told you so." Darcy snarked to the idiot still holding onto her head, Steve's gaze connected with her own and her breath snagged against her lungs at the intensity of his eyes.

 Maybe he did care about her? In a non platonic kind of way.

 But when he trailed those eyes over her face, (by the pain she was in, Darcy knew she looked like a bloody mess,) his blue eyes went savage in fury.

 "You have one second to take your filthy tainted hands off of her, before I tell the guy with a gun to put a bullet in you." Steve growled out taking a threatening step forward to reveal Bucky at his back and 0.1 milliseconds later, the -for once smart- man, practically tripped away with his arms up.

 "Smart move." He said before swinging his shield into an arch and knocking the portal hopping jackass unconscious and crumbling to the floor.

 Steve was at her side in a second flipping open a knife to cut the zip ties locking her in place, when her hands were free, she rubbed at the raw skin. That would take a couple days to feel not so crappy.

 She barely had a chance to get up on her own power before Steve was hauling her up and checking her face over, "Are you okay? Of course, you're not okay, stupid question. Tell me where else it hurts, does anything else hurt, Sweetheart?" He was so frantic, that thankfully he missed the blush staining her cheeks and the popping of her eyeballs.

 Sweetheart?

 Darcy looked at Bucky who was still hovering in the doorway, to check if she was as slack-jawed as she felt.

 He only made it worse my smirking and winking at her, the asshole.

 "Doll? Are you hurt anywhere else, we need to get you to medical anyway, but I want to know." She snapped her attention to Steve's stupidly handsome face and those baby blues that screamed concerned and Darcy could feel her broken heart melting.

 "What, this?" She choked out, but when he looked more anxious and on the verge of carrying her out, by just her voice, Darcy made sure her next words were light and teasing, anything to get that look off his face.

 "It was just a love tap. Dude could take some lessons from me, I knocked his buddy out with one hit." She was still proud of that damnit, and it seemed so was Steve as the first smile she had seen from him yet graced his soft lips.

 "I know," He whispered, while stroking her cheekbone with his thumb, "I saw, you have one hell of a right hook, Sweetheart."

 Her breath hitched for the second time in a matter of minutes, not just because of the pet name (seriously? Did the man forget she had a name?) but by the tender (almost adoring?) way he was looking at her.

 She opened her mouth to say, something, she had no idea, but a cough from Bucky had Steve snatching his hands away from her face. Darcy ducked her head down, her hair falling like a curtain to cut off her hurt from him.

 What did she expect really?

 "We should head back." The former assassin said, she caught Steve's terse nod as she looked up, he motioned for her to go in front of him, presumably so she'd be safe between the both of them.

 Darcy, for life of her, would never know what exactly made her turn before the super soldiers, it might have been a shift in the air, an out of place noise, a feeling maybe. The obvious point is, she did turn before them so she was the first to notice, the not so unconscious man lift a gun to Steve's back.

 Probably the second more obvious soul wrecking point, was the split second she tried to push Steve out of the way, he noticed as well and turned back to shove her behind him, so Darcy got a wall of muscle for protection and Steve...

 God Steve, no, not him, not him.  

 The first bullet ripped through his chest, the second came from Bucky as he put one square between that fuckers eyes. But Darcy didn't care about that, all she cared about was that the love of her life was falling to his knees, with blood spreading over his beloved uniform.

 "Nonononononono," Darcy hit the ground hard as she crawled over to him, but she didn't care about her pain, "Steve, come on, open those baby blues I adore. Open them, Steve. Please?"

 But he wasn't opening them, and with a trembling hand she felt his pulse and gasped out an agonized sob.

 Bucky was white noise behind her, something about Tony and medic, but Darcy was ripping off her top, scrunching it up and and and,

 Her hands were red. Blood red. Steve's blood, oh fuck this wasn't happening.

 "I tried to move on just to see you happy, you can't be happy if you're dead Steve. You're not dead. You're not. Open your fucking eyes, Steve. I need you to be happy," She was rambling, she thinks this is what people like Jane would call hysteria or was it going into shock?

 His face was pale, snow like, he was…she wouldn't be able to survive this, she knew her limits, her capabilities and this was not one of them.

 Darcy could already feel the black void of nothingness stretching open her heart and it was frightening and cold and so very lonely without him.

 His chest wasn't moving, even as she tried to pump air into lungs with her hands and breathe life into his red stained lips. This was not the kiss she always dreamt of and gave up on, this tasted like death and desolation.

 "Steve, Steve, I love you, okay, I love you. So, S-so come on, don't l-leave me, I need you, I need your smile, and your old timey speak and your optimism to brighten my day. A-and I-I don't care if you don't love me b-back. I just need you to be alive. Please, please, Steve. Please be alive." Her head was over his heart, and she heard nothing, nothing.

 Nothing but her hyperventilation. There was no air, none. Oh, God.

 "I'll stop avoiding you."She whispered into his chest and clutched the material of both their clothing, "Please come back to me."

 "Kid!" It was a disjointed voice, like something you'd hear from the bottom of deep water, she ignored it.

 Because if she stayed right here, if she kept talking, if she kept her head right here, over the heart she always wanted to keep safe, he'd wake up.

 He'd wake up.

 He had too.

 Steve was invincible, larger than life, the man with a plan.

 He had a plan right? Did anyone? Did she?

 "Please."

 "Kid you have to let go, we have to-"

 "Get the fuck off me! No, don't leave him! He has a plan! Let go!"

 "Sorry, Darcy."Such soft words and a small needle.

 "Don't leave me, Steve." a whimper, then Darcy went limp like a rag doll, "It should have been me."

   Darcy gasped in oxygen and shot upright from a deep sleep. 

 Waking up was never a joyous occasion for her, she'd beg and plead to the Gods above to shut off her alarm and bargain with her soul just to have a few more minutes.

 But this was different.

 Darcy blinked trying to figure out just what was-

 Oh.

 She really had been hysterical if Bucky had to inject something to make her go to dreamland.

 Steve.

 Steve was dead, wasn't he? It wasn't an awful nightmare if the blood under her fingernails were any kind of morbid proof enough.

 Before she knew it her hands were under the tap and her skin was raw from scrubbing, ripping off her pants, where was her other shirt? Right, she basically gave Bucky a free showing when she tore it off her body.

 An amused chuckle left her, that slowly turned into a full blown belly laugh until tears streamed down her face, just picturing his face as she basically straddled Steve in only her bra, had her in hysterical giggles.

 Or maybe it was just hysteria, because she wasn't laughing anymore, the tears were streaming down her face when she opened the shower door and put the water to just the point of boiling, over her clammy skin.

 Maybe she should go find The Winter Soldier and ask for the really good stuff, because she had a feeling she wouldn't be sleeping or stopping the bone crushing sobs anytime soon.

 She was numb and in agonizing pain all at once, Darcy had never ever felt this lost and broken before, she felt fragile, like porcelain as she slid down the tiles and hugged her knees to her chest, the water beating against her skin.

  She tried to focus on one spot and not think of him, or how he always made her coffee when she was feeling down, or once ran in the rain to save her from a bad date, how he managed to make her a little less cynical by just being him.

 She tried to forget how stupidly in love with him she was, how she knew that she'd always be in love with him.

 Even now that he was gone.

 He was gone.

 Her head fell against her kneecaps, and long after the water had gone cold, she still couldn't stop thinking about him.

 How Steve died because of her, because of her stupidity. How could she let herself get captured? He always wanted her to get some training, but Darcy blew it off, no one was coming to get her after all.

 "Oh, Darcy." the soft whimsical voice of her best friend floated to her from inside the shower.

 She was wrapped up in Jane's arms before she could blink, her whispers of, "It's okay, it's okay." the only noise besides the streaming water.

 "It's not Jane, Steve's-" She couldn't even say it, saying it made it real and Darcy was far from ready to face her new reality.

 "Hey, it's alright," Jane, sweet Jane, swept away her wet hair and tucked it behind Darcy's ear, "He's alive."

 Her words were spoken in English, but Jane might as well been talking a language from another planet, for all the good it did Darcy’s sluggish mind.

 "...What?"

 "He's alive."

 Darcy shoved up to standing and turned off the shower, while Jane stepped outside and grabbed a towel to hand to her, Darcy robotically took it with numb hands and wrapped it around her shivering body.

 She shook her head slowly, not comprehending, "No, Jane. I saw him, he didn't have a pulse."

 She would have felt that? Wouldn't she have?

 Jane shrugged, "Apparently it's a super soldier thing, his heart rate slowed, just like when he was frozen for years, it allowed Helen Cho to work her magic. She explained it to me but I'm not that kind of doctor. He's only now regained consciousness. I was checking up on him for you, seeing as you were so…out of it when you got here."

 Darcy sucked in a breath, the relief hitting her in full force that her knees almost buckled under her,  Jane quickly led her back to her bed, where she collapsed against the mattress.

 "He's alive." she breathed, testing the words in her mouth, trying to make it tangible.

 "He is, I thought maybe you'd want to go get dressed and see him?" Jane had always known about her feelings towards Steve and she had always wanted Darcy to tell him outright, she thought Steve felt the same.

 But nothing had really changed had it? He was still dating Sharon, and now Darcy had almost killed him.

 Aside from her love confession to him while he was bleeding out, everything was back to normal, except now Bucky knew, which was disturbing to think about actually.

 "Darcy?"

 "No, not today, I can't today Jane." She was liable to do something stupid, like spill her guts again.

 Her friend opened her mouth, probably to go on a rant but the look in her eyes made Jane snap it shut, and nod tightly. "Fine, you get today but tomorrow you're seeing him."

 Yep, tomorrow she’ll say thanks for saving my life man, and sorry I almost ended yours. But that could wait.

 She just needed today.

Okay, so it had already been two days, fine three. But who was counting?

 Apparently, Bucky was, because every time she ran from Steve, his best pal was waiting in the shadows, lifting up a digit on his finger to show the exact amount of days, she had been sneaking around the tower.

 Fine, avoidance was her name and avoiding was her game, it didn't help that Tony, Natasha, and Clint kept giving her the damn side eye as well. Apparently, Bucky wasn't the only one to witness her breakdown.

 And now because the team was all honesty, all the time, she was forced to deal with all of the disappointment in their faces.

 Not Coolio dudes.

 Even Tony. Tony. Mr-conceal-don't-feel himself, gave a shake of his head.

 Well fuck that noise, by the time the fourth day came around and one more soft (but not that soft Bucky!) whispered ‘idiot' and she locked herself in her room with wine and ice cream.

 The perfect break up combo. Except she hadn't broken up with him. She scoffed in derision at herself, yep, she needed this.

 The knock on her door had her slamming down her- just poured- glass of wine, and stomping to the door in agitation. She swung open the door to give Tom, Dick or Harry a verbal beat down.

 Only it was Steve, and he was mighty pissed by the dark frown plastered to his face.

 Her knee jerk reaction was to slam the door in his face, only Steve was one step ahead of her, as he gripped the side of the door so hard his knuckles turned white and she feared for the metals safety.

 "Don't." He gritted out, while pushing himself through the door and effectively making her take a couple of steps back.

 The slam of the closing door made her jump and Darcy cursed at herself, she wasn't afraid of Steve, she would never be afraid of him.

 But nervous? Yeah, she could be that, especially since that too tight t-shirt and jeans made her want to climb him like a tree.

 And he smelled so delicious that she wanted to lick and bite at the skin that tease of a shirt gave away…wait when did he get so close?

 "You said you wouldn't avoid me anymore" Steve moved closer, his lips pulled into a thin line, "You're a lot of things Darce, but I never took you for a liar."

 "Huh?" She was beyond confused, not because he knew she was avoiding him, Steve was intelligent, Darcy figured he would put two and two together, sooner or later. She just thought she would have screwed up her courage by then.

 No, she was confused because he said she told him that, which was impossible because she never said anything about…oh, shity, shit, shit.

 It was like the proverbial light switch clicked on; He heard her.

 Which also meant he heard… "Oh, fuck." She breathed out, her anxiousness racked up to about a thousand and she was backing away so fast and looking for the damn exit sign.

 "So what is it Doll?" Her heart skipped at that, and at the intense way he was tracking her with his blue eyes "You have the courage to tell me while I'm bleeding under your hands, but not when I'm standing right here in front of you?"

 "Uhm…" Darcy's back hit the wall and Steve was suddenly right in front of her, so very, very close.

 Between a rock and hard place, she had the insane urge to giggle but stopped at the blaze in his eyes.

 "You love me." There might have been a fire in his eyes, but his words were so gentle, whispered like an intimacy they only shared.

 Those three quietly spoken words were about as subtle as a bomb going off in her silent apartment, loud, deafening and the inevitable wreckage would be irreparable.

 "You're dating Sharon." Darcy gasped out as his hand landed on her shoulder, his calloused palm making her shiver.

 "I'm not." He said but when Darcy arched an-are you shitting me-eyebrow, Steve shook his head. "I'm not, it was never like that between her and I."

 "But Sam said you kissed her." Why did she sound like a whiny teenager?

 "Was that why you refused to even look me in the eye, when I came back?" When Darcy said nothing, he let out a deep sigh of frustration, "It didn't mean anything, I tried to make it mean something at first, but I knew as soon as it happened that it was a mistake. I was going through a lot and well, I'm not proud of it, but I-"

 "Wanted to have something, just in case?" Darcy asked because she honestly got it, with Peggy and then Bucky, and to top it all off, the catastrophe that ended with Tony.

 Fighting against his teammates, it was a shitty time for him and he thought he might not make it back, she couldn't blame him, she never did.

 He didn't owe her anything, they weren't together, they were friends who occasionally binge-watched shows and sat talking for hours together.

 Even though she tried to hide it, he must have seen the pain flicker on her face because he was cupping her face in his large hands, "It was something like that, but I did come home, and when everything settled, I couldn't stop thinking of a mouthy brunette."

 "Tony?" She said just to sass him, he huffed out a laugh, staring at her with something that looked a lot like adoration.

 "No, babydoll, I couldn't stop thinking about you." Darcy couldn't look away now, even if she wanted to, " and when I realized that, I spoke to Sharon and she agreed that we were better off as friends. It was better that way. So that’s when I came to the tower hoping to talk to you, but you were doing everything in your power to be in the exact opposite place that I was."

 "Steve…"

 "So I thought, ‘She must not feel the same way I do' and it tore at me Darcy, but If you wanted space, I'd give it to you. I'd give you anything you wanted or needed." Steve pushed the hair out of her eyes, and tilted her chin so she was staring right into his deep and tender gaze. 

 He gave a sad sort of smile to her, "Even if that meant what you wanted wasn't me."

 Darcy knew she had to put it all on the line now and yes, she was scared shitless but, if this brave man could trust her with all of his feelings, then she could grow some balls and tell him some home truths as well.

 "I know I'm awesome. I know that." She had to be clear on that, because she knew she was kickass but, "You just always seemed so far out of my league, another dimension really."

 Steve got that look of anger again, the one she saw just as she opened the door, "What the hell are you talking about Babydoll?"

 "Look, just listen alright?" The nicknames weren't helping either, they were very distracting, in the best kind of way.

 Steve nodded once, tightly, so she rushed to continue before he could rant, which looked like he was on the verge of doing.

 "I'm not talking about the Superhero thing, although that's some of it, I'll never be an agent or a hero. I don't think I'll ever be able to really know about The Captain's world, because I don't go out and fight like you guys do. And that's fine, I can live with that, I help in the ways that I can. I accepted that a long time ago, what I really struggle with is this," Darcy reached over to lay her hand over his beating heart.

 The very thing she thought had died days ago, and just feeling it thump against her palm was memorizing.

 "This is Steve Rogers, the man that makes Captain America who he is. This heart has always been so pure and so good, that I don't think mine will ever measure up. I swear more than I breathe, I don't like a lot of people and I get pissy when the coffee machine breaks. I'm just Darcy and because of me this wonderful heart almost stopped beating."

 The absolute quiet when she stopped talking was tense and suffocating so much so, that she wished Jane would walk in to drag her to work, just so she would be saved from herself.

 Steve's arms slammed against the wall beside her head caging her in and she let out a gasp at the several emotions mixing in his tortured eyes, "Just Darcy,? You say that like that hasn't always been perfection to me. Just Darcy, always made me feel like I wasn't alone in this world when everything else had been taken from me. Just Darcy, spoke to Bucky like a human being instead of the monster he thought he was. Just Darcy, drank with a broken Tony when he needed it at sent him after Pepper when he thought he didn't deserve it."

 "She threw Jane out of danger, made sure her best friend was safe before slugging an asshole who should never have put his hands on her, then faced a dozen armed men with a grin on her face." Steve wiped the tears that were falling from her eyes and then leant down to rest his forehead against her own,

 "You scared the living hell out of me when I found out that they had taken you, all I could think was that I was too late, I'd never see you again and that I wouldn't be able to tell you...then when I got there, you were taunting that son of a bitch, and I didn't know whether I wanted to strangle you or kiss you until you were too dazed to do anything else."

 For once in her life, Darcy was speechless, she had no witty reply or inappropriate response, she was stunned that Steve, gorgeous, wonderful Steve felt that strongly for her, she wanted to do a dance, she wanted to cry, she really wanted that kiss he brought up because it sounded…it actually sounded like…

 "Also, don't for one second blame yourself for that bullet," And there went her happy glow, her stomach plummeted and she felt nauseous just remembering that mess of a day.

 "Hey," Steve whispered trying to get her to look at him, when that didn't work he cupped her face again, which was becoming a habit of his, not that she was complaining. "I would do it again in a second. That might not be what you want to hear, but you'll always come first to me Darcy. You'll always be my top priority, so maybe it's a good thing you don't fight with us because I wouldn't be able to do my job otherwise. And yes it was touch and go there for a bit, but do you know what brought me back?"

 She had a feeling but you know what they say about assuming, so she shook her head, and prayed that the hope that was spreading through her body like liquid sun, bright and dazzling, wouldn't be crushed with his next words.

 "It was you, I heard your voice Darce, I heard you say ‘I love you' and I knew I had to fight my way back so I could tell you something as well," He leant down to kiss her jaw then her cheek, and finally her forehead.

 Only to lean back again to stare into her eyes, his lips breaking into a dazzling smile that set her heart on fire, "I love you, Just Darcy, I have for a very long time now and I'm hoping you'll say you love me too, because I'm wide awake now and I desperately want you to be my girl."

 When she stared wide eyed at him, because yes, this is exactly what she wanted but she didn't actually think it would happen, Steve for the first time that night, got a nervous look in his eyes as he searched her face.

 "Unless you're afraid of something else or?"

 She looked up at him and now that he mentioned it, "You're way too tall, and I'm super short Steve, things like that could be deal breakers." Her shit eating grin was instantly wiped off her face and she let out an embarrassed squeaking sound, when he very suddenly dropped his hands to her thighs and hauled her up against his firm body.

 Darcy wrapped her legs around his hips on reflex, her hands curling around his neck wasn't that, but it was on her bucket list, so.

 "There are ways around it." Steve growled out in his deep voice and holy shit if he didn't kiss her like right the fuck no-

 Oh that was much better.. His lips were smooth against her own, but his tongue was scorching hot as he licked his way into her mouth, and Darcy was surprised she hadn't spontaneously combusted yet, it was a kiss made for the silver screen. Or a porno. Especially when he moved his hips and she got hit with some mind blowing friction, enough to let out a wanton moan at the contact.

 Steve nipped at her lip in response to that moan and tangled his hand through Darcy’s hair, sending the best shiver racing up her spine, "Say it." He groaned against her mouth, his other hand grabbing a handful of her ass and squeezing it possessively, pushing her closer to him, like he wanted absolutely no space between them.  

 "God, you're beautiful Darcy. Made for me, Doll." Steve moved to her neck, licking a spot that made her legs tighten and instinctively thrust up against him, which made him groan and push her harder up against the wall.

 "Darcy," His voice was wrecked, a breathless growl, "say it."

 "Uhnmmg." That honestly was the best she could come up with, as his very talented mouth continued its assault on her neck and turned her brain into mush.

 But when he leant back, her whine of displeasure followed him. She blinked up at him, opening her eyes to his, only to wish she kept them closed because she was sure she was going to melt into a puddle just staring at him.

 Steve's hair was disheveled, his chest was heaving in breaths, but it was his eyes that had her almost undone. They looked almost feral, his pupils were blown wide in lust, Darcy's hand clenched his hair in response to that look, if this was only from a kiss, then how the hell would they survive the sex?

 "Darcy, I need you to say it, I need to hear it. Please." The hoarse way he asked made her finally pay attention to the question.

 Oh. Whoops. Well he couldn't blame her, she had been thinking about this moment for years,

 "Steve," She made sure she looked straight into his eyes, she carded her her hands through his hair and whispered, "I'm in love with you, I loved you when it almost killed us both, and I'll love you forever if you let me."

 "Always." He said instantaneously, kissing her nose, "So, does this mean you'll be my girl?"

 "Well, I don't know," She knew the way she said it was dripping in tease and trouble, he knew it too by the arch of his eyebrow, "You know how they say to always test drive the car before making a lifetime commitment?"

 Darcy couldn't help waggling her eyebrows, even when he snorted in amusement at her, "I wanted to take you on date first, Babydoll."

 Him nipping at her ear kind of ruined the absolute sweetness of his words, "Screw the date Steve, I want to start living our lives together, now."

 "Yeah," He said already walking to the bedroom with her in his arms, "Now sounds good Darce, real good."

 And it was good, amazing, perfect; their lives together. The sex was pretty fan-fucking-tastic as well.

That’s it my Darlings, thank you so much for reading! You have no idea how much I appreciate that ; ) Much Love.