#him saying 'he's free and i'm not' reminds me of what rebecca said about him and gabriela

[unitchiefs-blackbirdphoenix]

CME 17x02 Spoilers/Thoughts

(there's a couple of theories I have regarding this ep that I will get to in a bit, but feel free to send in some if you have something now. Once again, I am late to posting this lol but I gotta do it before the next ep. Admittedly, part of it is a rewatch lol. And some revised stuff)

“Directed by A.J. Cook” let’s fucking goooooo!

Ok I'm also studying AJ's directing choices bc I love it so much and rewatching it is so much better now that I have some more thoughts

Okayyyy, I am still not enjoying this enucleation thing. I have a weird thing with eyes that I don't enjoy seeing

That is so fucking closeeeee ughhhh, damn AJ (love the suspense tho)

Ok JJ standing in the video like that is kinda funny ngl. She's just like 🧍‍♀️

"run his... big mouth" JJ you wanted to say "his fucking mouth" I just know you do

Marriage, kids.... I knew this would play out in some way, I've been saying this since s16!!

JJ and Luke team up!!

I love the continuous shot in the beginning (I'm no film major and I only have limited knowledge through like a few electives in film lol)

Tyler and Rebecca were kinda funny in this continuous shot haha

Yeah Garcia, I agree upon seeing those photos ugh

Babysitting Tyler ("not you Garcia", "I don't want to do it") 😂

Yessss JJ vs. Voit interrogation scene!!!

Luke and JJ pretending to be a couple pretty much reminds me of Derek and JJ pretending to be one in s9. I love their team up!

"Come on, it's so good" I'm sorry, I'm having thoughts with the way she said it 😳

She's got eyes in the back of her head, that's the mom thing I swear. Like that one ep in s8 with the girl in the house who killed her sister and faked trauma and she heard her coming.

"Not your wife, maybe." Yesss get him girl

JJ looks so good in this. I had to rewatch this bc I wasn't paying so much attention until halfway through lol

Now my evolution jemily fic is looking pretty good with what's happening so far...

"That hurts my feelings. That you think I care enough about you to betray my oath." That may be hinting something... and also get him girlll

Ulterior motive that he might try and find... and JJ just looks at him with a straight face

JJ smiling when he agrees to see the file

She looks taller than him (and I know it's her shoes but it's still funny)

Them walking away at the same time, love it! AJ's directing choices here! She knew what she was doing.

Jemily interaction (over the phone) love it!! Hey at least JJ's calling Emily by her first name and not Prentiss, so that's good 😂

"We'll get him on the record, Emily" "ok", they're so soft signing off, I'm sorry

Utahhhh (never been actually lol)

Emily being so confused hearing her name and going "ok" when Rossi hallucinated Elias 🤣

Emily is going to have some tunnel vision on the Gold Star case. She's dead set on it being connected to Gold Star.

Tyler and Tara are actually pretty funny in the car scenes ngl

Then we throw Rebecca in it. It's awkward haha

I know a lot of people have some thoughts on Tebecca and Tyler just as a character, but I honestly loved their car scenes together. It's pretty fucking hilarious and AJ having to direct them is so good.

Tyler did work in Afghanistan, so did JJ.... 👀 It wasn't mentioned when tho I don't think

"It's her deodorant" omg. Tyler feels so awkward hanging with both of them lol. Also wtf Tara 😂

"what do you see?" "Your obsolescence"

JJ's "I should've known" look, my girlllll

Voit is looking scared and quickly denies it.

JJ being a smartass back at him yessss

"Yes I do" "No you don't" with the scoff

Social contagion

JJ was so done with him

JJ was getting closer and he knew it.

Emily with a kid!!

Idk if this is intentional but the kid talking about his guilt and Emily talking to him and saying it's not his fault. Emily.... you (and like JJ and Rossi) need to listen to your own words

Behavioral modification program?

Ok I have mixed feelings about the whole scene with Rossi and Emily. Rossi shouldn't have done that in front of the officer yes, but also this whole time, Emily's been super biased and set on the fact that it could be Gold Star. Like yeah, it's embarrassing to have that happen publicly and I would've reacted the same as Emily tbh, but they still don't have the whole profile on Gold Star. How sure could she be? (just saying it here now: the case ended up not being connected to Gold Star)

Rebecca's phone going off and Tara calling her out on it lol

Poor Tyler (never thought I'd say that). He's so done with them

I know some people think it's childish of Tara and Rebecca fighting in the car but I'm like laughing over here ahahaha

Tyler leaving ahahahaha

I've seen people say it's a "Hotchniss" moment when she mentions him, but.... I don't see it. Not bc I don't ship them, but it's not really a good thing for Hotch or Emily. She basically said that Rossi would've never called Hotch out, like ever. Especially not in public. She knows that Rossi would've backed Hotch up no matter what and supported him, which I think is where people we're talking about in this scene. However.... Rossi is also right in what he says here. He shouldn't have embarrassed her like that earlier, but he calls her out on her biased thinking. That's way too many consequences to deal with emotionally, but also legally. (big spoilers on the case here: the unsub ends up dead).

The girls are fighting

Oh and the queer girls are also fighting lol

"Fibrous" Tara you just farted 😭

Tyler looking for more clues and there are passports involved and finances I think....

JJ's angry at herself

"Agent Jareau has proven herself untrustworthy."

Fucking kidding me? It's always a threat with the "BAU can't do shit"

Luke going in now!

JJ directing him on what to do yessss

"Let's get started" Voit just did what JJ said to him in the last ep. He's in control, like JJ was in the beginning.

JJ being proud of him tho aww. I enjoyed that little moment. It got them somewhere.

"Jennifer" fuck you

I can't tell if that's a lie or not, that the profile is all wrong. I'm still fucking confused.

Omg wait. The cuts between Voit talking to Luke and the unsub in Utah with his victims. I think it's supposed to show the audience that the team has to pretty much start their whole profile over. Especially with the Utah case going along with what he's saying. Everyone will believe the lie all they want, could get someone killed, the BAU's methods is profiling based on abusive childhoods affecting the unsub, and in this case, it got "someone killed before he could spread it" = the unsub. Because of this, the director will make the BAU not work with Voit any further bc they screwed up. Basically, the case is not connected and that drives the team farther away from Voit's answers and Gold Star as a whole.

"Jennifer" fuck you again

Garcia confirms Aiden Keller's not part of it.

Emily beating herself up again :(

Oh fuck off

Luke you're like... giving JJ another hearing trauma

Injure, Jean, Fear, dot, Z, Y, Q. (as everyone guessed, yes it is an anagram for JJ's name). So my initial thoughts was either a file or website link, and from an article, it's a website link!

(There may also be deepfakes involved according to AJ 👀)

I think this whole thing is still government or military related (JJ, Luke, or even Tyler would know)

I think JJ might be accused of committing a crime with the deepfake.

Also it looks like JJ might know something. The look on her face.

Onto the next ep!!

Ughhh this got me hooked now!!

Ok I just wanna say the directing choices especially in the cell scenes, AJ has said that the cell becomes its own character in a way. In this case, the cell (bars) could indicate who is really “in prison/behind bars”, Voit or JJ/Luke. It’s the most prominent with JJ and Voit tho bc there’s a lot going on. The closeups with the two of them, especially JJ, could be hinting at something. (And if you’ve followed the articles and interviews of the cast, JJ will be involved in some way). (Forgot about this in the middle of the post lol)

[fizzingwizard]

Watched the first ep of Lupin Zero! Unfortunately you have to register for a premium account to see ep 2, and there's a 30 day free trial, but they wouldn't accept my card, don't know why, will try again some other time I guess.

my thoughts below, a little bit spoilery

Episode one was fun and cute but I don't get it. Like, I understand the story, I just don't get why it was made. Why make it about kid Lupin? (answer: because it's Lupin and lots of people will watch it regardless of quality lol) It's such an interesting premise, but the episode is paced So. Damn. Fast. I was thinking this feels more like the summary of a cool episode than a cool episode well-executed - which is how I felt through most of part 6, even though the creative team is different. Kind of a bummer.

There were some really fun bits, like the chaotic scene in the night club, and Lupin and Jigen being little boys (I say that because they pillow fight and stuff, but c'mon, we all know they still do things like that). The scene with the cigarette at the end I loved of course, and the tea/coffee scene was funny (although, since Lupin already put in three sugar lumps, I'm not sure why he still found it bitter. Maybe he usually puts in six? lol) I liked the voice acting overall. They do a good job imitating Lupin and Jigen's speech styles, even though Jigen in particular does not sound like a child. Well, he was probably born with a full beard and smoking a cigarette.

I thought the animation was so-so. Sometimes I liked it and it reminded me of parts 4/5. Other times it was just really missing atmosphere. Like with Youko, her face is great, the expressions are just like Rebecca. But the animators were so concerned with making sure she had gigantic breasts that they forgot to give her proportionate legs... It's possible it just looks that way on my screen, but none of the other characters struck me as out of proportion. She looks freakishly top-heavy much of the time.

Story-wise... Well, you have a great concept: Lupin as the family heir, unsure of what path he wants to take, and he meets Jigen and they bond through a typical Lupin-style adventure. But there's no tension, no emotional build-up. The story happens exactly as it's laid out. They meet, they save Youko, the animators waste the budget on having her sing to them for some reason, they save her again, Lupin and Jigen unprompted decide to gush about their pasts and problems without issue despite having been close-lipped about it until then, they save the day. Aside from moments of friendly banter, there really isn't anything more going on. So the episode delivers what it promises... and only what it promises lol.

I just have no idea why they need to be kids. I don't know why Jigen stuck with Lupin. I don't know why Lupin decided to gush about his problems to Jigen out of the blue. I just don't know. XD

So I guess from here the question is what is the overarching theme of the series. If there is one. Possibly there's not and it's all just for shits and giggles. If so, the trailers shouldn't have made such a big deal about Lupin's struggle to determine his own path and escape being kept under his family's thumb. But I assume that's going to continue to play a role - it can't have been resolved in this first episode... can it? hahah. I have no faith in anything anymore.

oh also Jigen gets shot. I couldn't believe it. Episode one and he's already getting shot. And this ridiculous sad music starts to play as Lupin just stares at him clutching his bloody arm lmao. It's like the episode tried to make up for its lackluster parts by shooting Jigen. "If we shoot this guy the fans will forget that we didn't crank up the tension at all." lol

I wanna give this a chance, but yeah, the first episode is very forgettable. Not terrible, though. Like I said at first, it's cute and rather fun. Very middle of the road Lupin story is all. Too hyped for what it really is, in my opinion.

That being said. All may change with future episodes. Sometimes first episodes are treated as a summary of what the whole season overall will be like, and that's why they have a bit too much going on. Maybe the rest of the episodes will take better care with their pacing.

[talesofourworlds]

That... was true enough, Aegis supposed. Justifying his crime, or at least trying to, wouldn't have really done himself any favors back then. Still, Aegis couldn't help but feel as though he understood the reasoning a little better now. It didn't change the fact that Kanata had committed a crime. Certainly not. All of them had, even if Aegis's own crime was merely taking half measures and being halfhearted about how he approached the matter of Rebecca. He still regretted that much, truth be told. But... no. This wasn't about him, Aegis reminded himself.

"Even so..." The way Kanata described his father sounded very much like what Aegis could only picture as a narcissist. Or maybe he had been more than that. In any case, Kanata hadn't deserved to have someone like that as a father. Nor did Sonia.

"You are right," he admitted. "Even back then I probably wouldn't have budged in my belief. If someone had just broadcast your father's..." Would simply branding Cody as a transgressor have really solved anything? They knew now what happened to transgressors who were caught by the enforcers. It would have saved a lot of lives. Kanata would still be free of his own stain of guilt. It also would mean perpetuating the system they now were trying to undo. So, Aegis shook his head.

"Never mind," Aegis said. "It would have taken care of one thing, but then none of us would have met. We wouldn't know what we know now. Nor would we be on our quest to try and get rid of the vision orbs." He hated to think that things had happened for a reason, especially with Kanata's insistence that Aegis himself shouldn't have been branded. Kanata even had said as such, saying he didn't like to say that he was glad Aegis was part of the group. But fate had seen fit to make all of this possible. Hadn't it?

Slowly, Aegis allowed a small smile.

"I do appreciate that, Kanata. And I'm glad we aren't enemies anymore, too. I just... wish I'd done things differently sometimes, I suppose," he said. How else would he have handled the situation with Rebecca, though? Lie as she laid dying? Tell her what she had wanted to hear? Would that not have been equally halfhearted? He sighed.

"I know it does little good now, but I hope the king faces some kind of justice for what happened," he said. How would that happen? The king had the people wrapped around his finger. There could easily be another woman he treated just as he treated Rebecca. Someone else could take the fall just the same as Aegis had.

"I suppose it's just wishful thinking," he admitted. "A man like him won't be toppled so easily. But I suppose that should give me more of a reason to work toward our goal. So that maybe someday... the truth of what happened can be revealed. I doubt that it would erase my stain, or anything like that, but... if more than us knew the truth, that would be enough."

It was almost as if Kanata were in a trance. When Aegis placed a hand on his shoulder, the younger of the two seemed to jolt out of his own thoughts as he whipped his head back to look at Aegis. Right… Right, he shouldn’t linger on such thoughts. Thoughts like that would lead to regret. And he couldn’t regret his sin. He couldn’t take it back.

To this day, he was unsure of what happened to the other orphans from back home. After Misella burned the orphanage down, those children were likely left homeless. He wasn’t sure if he trusted the other villagers to make sure they received good homes. He wasn’t sure how many were in league with his father, only that a few men that he had guarding the area had locked him up, fully aware of what was being done.

He could only assume that Master Cress was able to help move the rest of the kids to a safer orphanage and that anyone else involved wasn’t involved with the ones who had been working with his father. He wasn’t sure how he could handle it if he found out that the children were still suffering, despite what he had done.

“Thank you, Aegis… and please! You don’t have to apologize for something like that.” Kanata fully turned to Aegis, a quiet smile on his face. “Anything I would have said would have just been me trying to justify my crime. You… You were just trying to do your duty. That’s all you ever did! You shouldn’t have been condemned for it. But as for me… No amount of explanation can change the fact that I killed my own father.”

He hated that he had left his own sister without a parent. He hated that he couldn’t stay with her when she needed someone most. He wished he could explain it to her. Explain everything. Explain and just… stay. Be with the only blood family he had left. But thus was the life of a Transgressor.

“My father was a horrible man who used charm and good deeds to hide what he was underneath. I’m sure he genuinely cared for me and my sister–” Kanata hoped he did. He hoped that wasn’t a lie either. “--but he was just… messed up. So I made the decision. You can’t be blamed for trying to punish a murderer.”

Still, he sighs in relief, despite it all, and brings back the wide grin that everyone around him was used to. “I don’t like saying that I’m glad you’re with us, Aegis, because… you shouldn’t have been wrongly accused like that. But I really am glad we’re not enemies anymore. I’m glad we became friends, even if the situation behind it isn’t the best.”

[hopefulobjectmiracle]

The wilds and NHIE for the show asks

the wilds:

favorite male character:

i thought it was gonna be seth, but then they pulled /that/ twist on us...so i'm going to say kirin bc he really grew on me after that storyline. i'm excited to see him interact with my girls in s3!!

favorite female character:

fatin!! she started off fairly unlikable in the first couple eps, but she completely won me over in her episode and just got better and better throughout season 2. i love how she went from not wanting to be friends w/ any of the girls to becoming the de facto mom friend of the gang <3

also honorable mentions to dot and rachel!! i think rachel is the show’s most compelling character and dot is just a gem (as well as the only sane member of the group). 

least favorite character:

i would say seth, but he’s not actually a bad character...he’s just a horrible person who unfortunately has an extremely well-written and acted story. i guess my least favorite is scotty? by default because he was probably the only one of the boys that never really won me over. 

also i’m sorry even though she was so much better in s2 i still don’t love leah please don’t kill me

prettiest character:

fatin or shelby - they're both drop dead gorgeous!! oh, and marcus is pretty sexy too 😌

funniest character:

what if i unironically said gretchen hehe...she’s just so insane that it’s enjoyable and her antics made me laugh more than anyone else in s2. the scene where henry sings to her lives in my mind rent free at this point. 

favorite season:

i liked s2 more than most people did but s1 still owns my heart bc of all the focus on the girls and all of the development that they got, both separately and with each other. 

favorite episode:

1x05 (fatin’s episode). this ep had so much going for it - aside from giving us fatin’s backstory, we also got so many great moments with the girls at the pond, as well as the scene in which they save rachel from the mud. 

favorite romantic ship:

i’m not super invested in any of the romantic ships on the show, but i do enjoy shoni and i hope they get back together soon :) 

favorite family ship:

i’m going to cheat and say that i love the found family of the unsinkable eight seven 🥰 those girls have my heart!! 

favorite friend ship:

dot x fatin!! shoutout to @randomcanbian for reminding me how much i enjoy them together :))

worst ship:

i’ve seen seth x josh and i think that is absolutely horrible 🥴

-

never have i ever:

favorite male character:

ben gross, asshole know-it-all my beloved <3

favorite female character:

devi vishwakumar, my flawed messy grieving queen!! she might even be a top 5 character of all time - i just love her so much. 

least favorite character:

trent or eleanor. they both have their moments but overall trent annoys me and none of eleanor’s storylines interest me at all. 

prettiest character:

i think fabiola is seriously underrated in terms of how gorgeous she is. her season 2 looks in particular were 10/10!!

funniest character:

there are a lot of contenders for this one, but i have to give it to rebecca hall-yoshida. her brutally calling out paxton is hilarious and is everything to me. 

favorite season: 

i really enjoyed both seasons, but there’s something special about s1. what’s funny about my favorite s2 eps is that they all have a s1-like quality to them, whether they’re about the same set of characters or deal with similar subjects. there are a lot of great things about s2, but overall i think s1 was better written and had a tighter narrative, as well as more likable characters. 

favorite episode:

weirdly enough, it is also 1x05 for this show 😂 fabiola’s storyline is great and the ben and devi scenes are easily the highest quality interactions between them in the whole show. 

favorite romantic ship:

is this even a question? ofc it’s ben x devi!! their arc (especially in s1) hit all the right notes of what i want to see in the show, from their chemistry to their banter to their slowly developing friendship to the epic finale kiss. their s2 arc was also fascinating and i’m really excited to see what comes next for them. 

favorite family ship:

by far devi & nalini. such an incredible and complex mother-daughter duo with such great development. i also think they're pretty great comedy-wise. 

favorite friend ship:

despite not being a huge fan of eleanor, i do like the chaotic energy of eleanor, fabiola, and devi’s trio (especially in eps like 2x02 where they’re scheming). 

also, shoutout to ben and devi’s friendship!! even when they’re not dating, their dynamic is still so strong and so enjoyable. 

worst ship:

hmmmm....this isn’t the worst ship objectively (that would probably be something like ben and shira) but the ship i personally dislike most is devi and paxton. seeing them together just makes me so uncomfortable bc of maitreyi and darren’s age difference and i don’t particularly like their storyline either. here’s to a breakup in season 3!!

send me a show in my ask box!!

[imaginationintowords]

Folklore [song series]

seven

Modern Day AU! Bucky Barnes x OC!Reader

Plot: Inspired by Taylor Swift’s new album Folklore. The story follows the timeline of Bucky and Elizabeth’s relationship throughout the years.

Word count: 3399

Warnings: some swearing

Series Masterlist

Age: 7

Year: 2001

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Little Elizabeth Sanchez sat on the front porch of her house, watching her parents and the movers move things into her new house. They just moved back to Brooklyn from Connecticut because her father got a new job and to be closer to her grandmother.

"Betty, you'll have to move sweetheart, you're in the way," her mother calls out as they begin to unload the heavier things.

Betty. Her nickname since she was born, given to her by her grandmother.

No one outside of her family calls her Betty. It was reserved only for the most special of people.

She went running off to the fenced off yard, going on a search for dandelions.

"Elizabeth, come over and say hi," she heard her mother's voice.

She looked up to see her parents, Caterina and Brandon Sanchez, standing with a family of four. Elizabeth made her way over, a little shy.

"Elizabeth, this is the Barnes family, they live across the street," her father says.

"Hi," she timidly says.

"Hello Elizabeth," the mother said introducing her family, "My name is Winnie, and this is George, and these two are James and Rebecca."

Elizabeth shook hands with the adults, and looked at the two kids standing with them. Rebecca was clearly a little younger than she was, possibly four or five years old. James looked to be about her age.

"You and James are actually going to be in the same class when you start school on Monday," her mother tells her.

"Hi," James lifted his hand in an awkward wave.

"Hi," she waved back.

"Why don't you two go play?" Winnie tells her son.

"Um okay," James says walking away following Elizabeth back to the yard.

"What were you doing?" James asks Elizabeth.

"Looking for dandelions to make wishes," she tells him.

"Oh, okay," he says looking down at the grass in the search for dandelions.

"What are you trying to wish for?" he asks her.

"Can't tell ya," she looks over at him, "If I did it won't come true."

"I don't think that's true," he says.

"Yes, it's just like how you're not supposed to tell anyone what you wish for on your birthday."

"I always tell Steve what I wish for, and my wishes come true," he tells her.

"Really?" she asks surprised.

"Yeah, like for my birthday this year I had wished for a brand new bike, and I told Steve and I got the bike," he shrugs his shoulders.

"Oh. Who's Steve?"

"My best friend. He lives two blocks over. You'll probably meet him Monday. He's in our class as well," he tells her, "We ride our bikes to school everyday. You can join us if you want."

"Oh, thank-you," she hesitantly says looking at her fingers, "but I don't know how to ride a bike."

"You don't know how to ride a bike?" he stops looking for dandelions, shocked at Elizabeth's sudden revelation.

"No," she shakes her head, her brunette curls hitting her face a little, "my dad is busy with work and my mom doesn't know how to ride one either."

"No, no," James shakes his head, "we cannot have that. I will teach you. You can use my old bike to learn."

"You don't have to do that James," she says nervously.

Truth be told Elizabeth's dad has tried to help her ride a bike but after that first fall, she had sworn to never to do it again. Her parents kept trying to persuade her but after a year of failed attempts they donated her bike.

"Please call me Bucky," he says, "only my parents call me James. My friends call me Bucky."

"Friends?"

"Yeah, we're friends now," he says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, "and as your friend I will teach you how to ride a bike. Okay?"

Bucky had a big grin on his face and Elizabeth couldn't help but to smile as well.

"Okay," she agreed.

For the next two weeks Bucky had spent every free moment teaching Elizabeth how to ride a bike. Some days Steve would help as well. Elizabeth did end up meeting Steve Rogers that following Monday at school. He was just as nice as Bucky was, maybe even nicer. Both boys had welcomed her with open arms into their little duo.

The sight was a funny thing to those walking by and to their parents. A seven year-old teaching another seven year-old how to ride a bike. Bucky holding onto the back seat as Elizabeth tried to balance and peddle. Sometimes their parents would offer the help but Bucky would wave them off, telling them that he told Elizabeth that he would be the one teaching her, and he was very adamant not to let any grown ups help.

"I can't do it Bucky," Elizabeth grumbled getting back up after falling down for the tenth time that hour.

"Yes you can. You just need to not be afraid," he tells her, "You're too scared, so of course you're going to fall. Just don't think about it."

"How can I not think about it," she whines.

"Just try not to," he says, "Just focus on peddling and balancing. Nothing else."

Elizabeth looked at him like he had three heads. Not understanding what he was saying at all. She really just wanted to be done with the whole bike thing but Bucky wouldn't let her. He was determined to get her riding a bike before Halloween. Which was only three days away.

Bucky's and Steve's parents had agreed to let the boys go riding on their bikes around the neighborhood alone for trick-o-treating this year. And Bucky really wanted Elizabeth to join them as well, he felt bad if she was stuck behind trying to keep up with them on her legs.

"It's impossible James," she says, letting the bike hit the floor and stomping over to her front porch steps.

"Come on Elizabeth, just one more try," he begs, "you almost got it. I promise. If you can't do it this last time, then we can give up."

"Really?"

"Yes, I pinky promise," he says sticking out his right pinky.

"Okay," she said getting up linking her pinky with his.

"Alright," he says, "remember just breathe and focus on peddling and balancing."

Elizabeth got back on the bike and took a deep breath, while Bucky held the bike from behind.

"Ready?"

"Ready," she nods her head, getting a sudden urge of confidence.

Bucky began pushing the bike, while Elizabeth began pumping her feet. After a few feet, Bucky let go. Elizabeth began feeling the bike wobble.

"Focus," Bucky yelled running behind the bike.

Elizabeth began to focus on the task at hand.

"Focus," she began to mutter to herself like a mantra.

"You're doing it," Bucky exclaims raising his little fists high in the sky.

Elizabeth looked down to notice that she is doing it, she's riding her bike.

"I'm doing it!" She yells out loud.

Their giggles filling the air as she made a small turn back towards Bucky. She began squeezing the brake handle, to slow down. She came to a stop in front of Bucky's house.

"I did it!"

"You did it!" Bucky ran back over his smile just as big as her's.

"Thank you Bucky," she happily says throwing her arms around him.

He hugged her back, "Now you can go trick-o-treating with Steve and I Friday night."

That Friday Elizabeth was buzzing. She was excited not just because it was Halloween but because now she knew how to ride a bike and can go trick-o-treating with Bucky and Steve. They all agreed to dress up as pirates for Halloween and decorating their bikes like it was their pirate ships. Elizabeth was still borrowing Bucky's old one, her parents were planning on getting her her own one this weekend so she can start riding with the boys to school.

Elizabeth has had friends before, but nothing like this. At her old school she would only see her friends at school, and sometimes at birthday parties but she never felt like she belonged, even at seven years-old. She was different then a lot of little girls, yes she loved to play with dolls and dress-up but she also loved to read.

Her mom used to be a librarian before deciding to be a stay-at-home mom to raise Elizabeth. So books were always at the ready, she wanted to make sure her daughter understood how important reading was to the world. How important stories were. A little escape inside a little book. The girls at her old school didn't understand her fascination with books, but here, Steve and Bucky loved to read as well. And they even gave her a couple of comic books that they had so she can read and know what they were sometimes talking about. She really liked these friends.

Her mom was finishing the touches to Elizabeth's hair, as she stood their fidgeting standing on a stool in front of the mirror in her bathroom.

"Excited?" her mother smiled at her daughter in the mirror.

"Yeah! I can't wait," she smiled brightly showing off her teeth, the two in the front missing having fallen out the night before.

"Remember to stay with Steve and James," her mother reminds her.

"I know mommy."

"And only stay within the neighborhood, you're still new at riding a bike, so be careful."

"I know mommy," Elizabeth sighs.

"And no talking to strangers," she says, putting the pirate hat on top of Elizabeth's contained curls.

"I know mommy."

Caterina helped Elizabeth down the step stool and bent down at her daughter's level.

"I know you know sweetheart, but mommy just needs to hear it again, okay," she softly says.

"Okay, mommy," she nods her head, "I'm going to stay with Steve and Bucky, and we are only trick-o-treating in our neighborhood. And no talking to strangers."

"Perfect," her mother smiled kissing her nose, causing Elizabeth to crinkle her nose and smile.

The doorbell rang.

"Betty, Pirate Steve and Pirate James are here," her father calls from downstairs.

Elizabeth runs down grabbing her candy bag on the way.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on," her mother calls out running down the stairs with a camera in hand.

"One quick picture," she says pointing the camera on the kids.

Bucky and Steve stood on either side of Elizabeth, their arms draped around her shoulders smiling brightly, some with missing teeth.

"Perfect," her mother smiles, "be careful."

"We will Mrs. Sanchez," Steve nods.

"Have fun," her father calls out as the three kids run towards their bikes.

"Betty?" Bucky asked Elizabeth as they put on their helmets.

"Uh yeah, it's my nickname my family calls me," she tells him, hoping onto her bike.

"I like it," Bucky smiled, getting on his bike.

The three kids spent their night riding around their neighborhood going door to door asking for candy.

Bucky and Elizabeth said bye to Steve as they approached his house on the way back to their own.

After quickly dumping their bikes, and Elizabeth letting her parents know she's going across the street to go over to Bucky's, they were sprawled on Bucky's bedroom floor going through their candy. Trading with each other.

Bucky's mom was still out with Rebecca trick-o-treating while his dad was working late.

"Okay I'll trade you two hershey's for two packs of sour patch kids," Bucky bargained.

"Okay, deal," Elizabeth said handing over her candy.

A sound of a car door slamming followed by loud swearing alarmed Bucky. He quickly ran over to his window to see his father stumbling through the front yard. His eyes were alarmed.

"Hurry, clean up the candy," Bucky quickly rushed over to Elizabeth, putting the candy back into their bags.

"Why?" Elizabeth asked.

Bucky didn't respond, just quickly putting the candy away when the slam of he front door made both of them jump. He quickly turned off his bedroom light.

"James Buchanan Barnes!" his father yelled.

"Quickly, go into the closet," Bucky grabbed both bags of candy before quickly rushing Elizabeth and himself into his closet, closing the doors behind them.

"Bucky?" Elizabeth whispered.

"Shh, please," he whispered to her, eyes widened with fear.

"James Buchanan Barnes where the fuck are you?" his father slurred, reaching outside his door.

"Your fucking bike James, you are in so much trouble," his father angrily said, opening his son's bedroom door to find it empty and dark.

"Fucking kid," his dad slurs before knocking one of Bucky's figurines off of the shelf by his door.

He closed the door behind him before retreating to his own bedroom.

Elizabeth stood there in fear. She has never seen an adult that mad before. Not even when she accidentally broke one of her dad's ships in a bottle.

She looked over to Bucky who had his eyes closed and tears streaming down his face.

"Bucky," she whispered, "are you okay?"

"You need to go home," he whispered, quietly opening his closet door.

"Okay," she agreed, grabbing her candy bag and handing Bucky his.

Bucky quietly opened his bedroom door and peaked out to make sure the coast was clear. He and Elizabeth quietly made their way down the stairs. Once they were safely out of the house Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief.

Bucky walked her over the where the bikes were left on the grass by the driveway.

"Please don't tell anyone what happened," he says finally breaking the silence, "Not even Steve."

"Okay," she nodded her head.

"Pinky promise," he said holding out his pinky.

Elizabeth hesitated at first, but reluctantly hooked her pinky to his.

"Hi kids," they heard the friendly voice of Bucky's mom walking through the front gate.

"Hi," both kids forcefully smiled.

"Did you guys have a good time trick-o-treating?" she smiled, holding the hand of Rebecca who was dressed like Blue from Blue's Clues.

"Yes we did Mrs. Barnes, we got a lot of candy," Elizabeth spoke up.

"Good. You heading home?"

"Yeah I am," she waved goodbye grabbing the bike to walk it across the street to her own house.

"Have a goodnight sweetie," Bucky's mom smiled.

"Bye Ewizabeth," called out Rebecca.

"Bye," she waved to the little girl.

Winnie turned to her son who had been quiet the entire time.

"You okay honey?" she asked, furrowing her brows in concern.

"Yes, dad's home," he told her, as if she already knew what that meant.

"Oh okay," she nervously swallowed, "Can you please help Becca get ready for bed?"

He nodded his head, and turned to where Elizabeth was heading inside her house.

Elizabeth walked inside her house finding her mom and dad sitting on the couch in the living room watching tv.

"Hi sweetie, how was it?" her dad asked, turning down the volume on the tv.

Elizabeth scurried over to her parents and sat right in between them.

"It was fun," she smiled, keeping her promise to Bucky.

The next day Elizabeth wandered over to the Barnes' house. Normally Bucky would come get her early Saturday afternoons to play. But now it was nearly three o'clock and she hasn't seen or heard from him since she said goodbye last night.

She pressed the doorbell and waited for someone to answer the door.

Mrs. Barnes opened the door slightly, just enough for her to peek her head out at the small child standing on her porch.

"Oh hi Elizabeth," she hesitantly greeted, holding the door as to not expose the inside to the outside world.

"Hi Mrs. Barnes can Bucky come out and play?"

"I'm sorry sweetie, not today," she said, then a loud crash was heard from the inside.

Mrs. Barnes quickly turned her head in to see what happened.

"Who's at the door Winifred?" Elizabeth hears Mr. Barnes yell.

"No one," she called out before turning back to Elizabeth, "Go home okay sweetie. I'll let Bucky know you stopped by."

The older woman quickly rushed back in closing the door behind her.

Elizabeth stood there for a couple of seconds before retreating back home.

Later that night Elizabeth was up in her room playing with her dolls when her parents walked in carefully sitting on her bed.

"Betty?" her mother calls.

"Yes mommy?" she looked up from the floor to see her parents who both had worried expressions on their faces.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Come here," her father patted the spot in between him and his wife.

Elizabeth got up and sat down.

"Bucky and Rebecca will be staying over tonight, along with their mom," her father tells her.

"Like a sleepover?"

"Yes, kind of." her mother said brushing her daughters curls with her hand.

"Why? Is it because his daddy's been mean?" she asked looking between her parents.

"What? Why do you say that?" her mother stops what she was doing, taken by surprise by her daughter's response.

"I promised I wouldn't tell Bucky," Elizabeth glanced at her feet biting her bottom lip, and kicking her feet softly.

"Tell what?"

"His daddy came home very mad yesterday, yelling bad words. Bucky had us hide in the closet and pretend we weren't there," she tells her parents.

"Oh sweetie, you should've told us," her mother said, wrapping her arm around Elizabeth to bring her closer.

"I promised Bucky I wouldn't. I didn't want him to get in trouble."

"Oh honey, he wouldn't have gotten in trouble, you would've been helping him," her father says.

"I pinky promised. You're not supposed to break pinky promises," she looks at her father, eyes so serious.

"Sometimes promises can be broke, even pinky promises, if someone is in trouble. Okay?" her father leans his head closer to her's looking her in the eyes.

"Okay. I'm sorry," she apologized.

"You don't have to apologize. You thought you were doing the right thing and protecting your friend," he tells his daughter placing a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Let's get you ready for bed okay," her mom says.

"I'll go get the other bedding for the extra bed in here," her father said pointing his head at the other bed in Elizabeth's room.

An hour later Bucky and Elizabeth are sat on opposite sides of the room in their own beds, both in their pajamas reading.

"I'm sorry Bucky," Elizabeth quietly says.

"It's okay, it's not your fault," he responds looking up from his comic book, "My dad has been that way since before you even moved here."

"Does he scare you?"

"Yes, but Ma always tells me to take Becca and hide in my room, and sometimes when Dad gets too loud or mean we hide in my closet with the lights off. He can't get us if the lights are off," he tells her.

"You can always live here," Elizabeth perks up at the idea, "You, Becca, and your mommy. You guys can live here."

"He'll still find us," Bucky sadly says.

"Then you and I will move. Far far far away. Just us two," she says getting off of her bed and sitting on his.

"We can pack up our sweaters and toys and move somewhere far, where no one can find us," she says eyes wide at the thought, "Maybe we can even become pirates. Pirates live on the sea where no one but mermaids can find them. You'll be safe. Your dad won't be able to hurt you because no one wants to mess with pirates. I will protect you."

"Thanks Betty, but I can't leave behind my mom and Becca," he says, "They'll miss me too much, and I'll miss them. Plus I haven't even learned how to tie my shoes yet."

"Yeah, and I'll miss my mommy and daddy too," she realizes. She gets off of his bed and tucks herself back into her own getting ready to turn out the lights as Bucky does the same thing.

"How about when we are older?" Bucky says in darkness.

"Okay," she agrees smiling in the dark, "When we are older you and I will go away and become pirates."

"Deal?"

"Deal."

Both kids fall asleep with a smile on their faces, dreaming of the their life as pirates. Far away from their little homes in Brooklyn, New York.

Oh the possibilities.

[bleedingcoffee42]

"I'm sorry I yelled at you" royai?

This is inspired by the HItchcock movie Notorious .

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Riza Hawkeye stood in front of themall, proud as ever.   She held her head high, looked confident andstrong, and gave no indication whatsoever that she had just come fromher Father’s trial.   She held a wine glass in her hand as the songon the radio came to and end and the evening news began.

“Good Evening Amestris, you’relistening to National Radio…”

She walked over and turned the dialback to something more upbeat.   Her guests were already halfwaythorough the wine and she doubted any of them had caught on to hersubtle change of stations.  She sat down, opposite her grandfatherwho had most definitely see the crack in the surface.   She chose todrink the remaining contents of the glass with one, unladylike, swig.  

“You know Riza, maybe it’s time totake a vacation.   I hear Aerugo is nice this time of year.” Grumman said as she placed the glass back down on the table and herfriend Rebecca damned near stumbled over into them before recoveringand refilling the glass.   He was amazed she got every drop of winein the glass and then watched her dance away using the bottle as amicrophone.  

“You know I can’t leave.”  She saidand gave him an admonishing look for even speaking that aloud.   “Youknow taking me there would be treason.”

“You weren’t found guilty, Riza, yourfather was.”  Grumman replied and she shook her head.

“Really?  Is that why they are stillwatching my house?”  Riza asked and tried to not look him in theeye.   She wanted to seem strong.   “I’m guilty by association. Surely I had to be involved in my father selling his research secretsto the enemy.   Don’t you know, I’m clearly a spy too?”

“Then leave. Let this blow over.” Grumman said.  “Don’t let the press hound you and turn your lifeinto hell.   Come back when the Hawkeye name is old news.”

“I’ll weather the storm.”  Sheassured him and poured another glass.   “If I leave, it will onlysay I am as guilty as he was and I won’t do that.   Thank youthough.”

“I’m leaving on the early train, findme if you change your mind.”  He said and stood and looked aroundas the party started to die out.  Her friends were slowing downthanks to the amount of alcohol they had consumed and were beginningto drop like flies on any surface they found comfortable.   He wishedhe could save her, but he wouldn’t push too hard.   It was what drovehis daughter away and he wouldn’t make that mistake with hisgranddaughter.    

Riza watched him leave and thencontinued to drink and mingle until the noise of the radio was allshe could hear.   Then she turned it off and realized there was oneguest who seemed to be unaffected by alcohol or boredom.  She,unfortunately, was well aware she was well past intoxicated.   Theroom swirled around her as she made her way over to the chair besidethe handsome stranger.

The question was, was he here theentire time?   Who was he?  Did she know him and just have norecollection because she was drunk?   Surely he wouldn’t be here ifshe didn’t invite him, it was a very closed circle of friends sheallowed in her home, ergo he had to have her approval.   Unwilling tooffend, more unwilling to admit defeat, she struck up a conversationto see if context clues could help with his identity.   “Did I notbuy the right wine?”

“I’m not a big fan of wine, myself.” He replied.  “Your guests indicate that you did a fine job on thechoice, however.”

She looked around and realized, again,that all her friends were passed out.   Nobody to save her. “Wellit looks like it’s just you and me, Mister, so do you want me to getyou a drink?”

“It’s Mustang.”  He replied.   Hecould see her scanning the room for assistance, locating none.   Hewas slightly concerned she might prefer that assistance in the formof a Colt 1911 that was in a display box over the mantle if she feltat too much of a disadvantage while drunk.

“We have a car but it’s not aMustang.”  She said and stood up.   That was a poor move.   Theroom spun and she closed her eyes.   Too much wine, stupid copingmechanism.  She knew better.   “I could use some fresh air.”

“Do you want to go for a drive?” Mustang asked and she opened her eyes and they were glossy but alsoexcited at the suggestion.  

“I’m driving.”  She said and turnedaround to grab her keys.    She looked around and located them, onthe table next to her purse.

“You’re drunk.”  Mustang remindedher and she waved him off.   He followed her quietly and watched hergrab the keys and then stagger towards the door.   “Do you want acoat?”

“No.”  She said and opened thedoor.   He followed her without another word.   She was a gooddriver, a damned good driver, and men always wanted to drive anyway. She got in the car and he joined her, she felt the cool breeze ofearly evening air and sobered up a little.   It was just before dusk,the sun was setting and the last thing she needed was to have itblinding her while she drove, so she took off towards the east.   Itmade sense.  

Mustang sat in the passenger’s seat andwaved to the car across the street the one that had her undersurveillance.   Then they took off, speeding, down the back roads ofEast City.  She was good until they reached the rural roads withoutlines to guide her, then she was all over the road.  

“Am I making you nervous?”  Rizaasked.

“No, you drive like my mother.”  Hereplied and reached over to grab the wheel as she veered towards aditch.   At the last second she zipped back into the lane she shouldhave been in had there been lines.

“What if I speed up?” She asked.  

Mustang heard sirens as a cop came offa side road and got behind them.  “The cop might be upset aboutthat.”

“What cop?”

“The one behind you.”  Roy said asthe man tried to pull up beside them on his motorcycle to flag themover.

“I don’t like cops.  I don’t likeanyone in authority right now.  All they want to do is tell you howguilty you are instead of hear how you’re not.”   Riza said andlooked over at the cop and then shook her head.   “So I go toprison like my father, just what they wanted anyway.”

The car slowed and came to a stop inthe middle of the road.   Mustang watched the cop come up, not evensure how to start writing this ticket.   “Hello, Miss.”

“I’m drunk and this isn’t my car.” Riza declared.  “Just arrest me.”

Mustang pulled out his ID as the copdigested that information.   It was never this easy to get people toadmit their wrong doings.  

“Well, I’ll need you to get out ofthe car.” The policeman said and looked at the guy who should havebeen driving and shook his head, “Sir…I don’t need to see you’rea paying FOP cardholder.”

Roy passed him his ID anyway.    Thecop’s eyes grew wide and he almost dropped the wallet as he jumped tosalute him.   Then he handed the ID back.

“I see you have this under control. Pardon the intrusion.”

Riza waited and didn’t move.  The copleft.  The man beside her calmly put his ID away and all she couldhear was hum of the engine idling.  “What….did you give him?”

“A ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card.”Mustang replied and she looked over at him with the most intensityshe could muster.   She had sobered up a bit more.   “Only have oneso move over, I’m driving.”

“No.”  She said and smacked him ashe moved to slide her across the bench seat and into his.  

“You said it wasn’t your car, so youdon’t have the right to drive it either.” He replied and got anhand in the face.

“You’re a cop?  You’re….more thanthat.  He saluted you.  You outrank him.”  She hissed and staredinto his eyes.  Such…focused and dark eyes.   “You bastard,you’re some kind of agent.  You came into my house!”

“It’s Mustang.”  He sighed andpushed her hand away from his eye before she pried his eyes out.  “Roy Mustang.   I work for the government of the country yourfather betrayed.   So, understandably, we have our concerns aboutyou.”

She slapped him.  “You betrayed me. My privacy!”

“You had no idea I walked into yourhouse while you were getting drunk and sat down to wait on you tonotice me.  Then I came with you so you didn’t kill yourself.  Youknew you didn’t know me, but just  went with it.   You’ve beentesting me this entire time.   So, Miss Hawkeye, I have to say Iappreciate your skills.  Just not your driving skills.  If anything Iam trying to protect you from yourself.”

She squeaked as he surprised her andshoved her aside and took the driver’s seat.   Then he shifted itinto gear and whipped the car around to go back to town.   She gotreadjusted and it took a few minutes to figure out his driving wasgenuinely bad and not just her imagination. She finally screamed, “HOW are you protecting me when you drive worse than I do drunk!”

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Riza moaned as she rolled over andtried o avoid waking up.   Her head was pounding and she just wantedto go back to the bliss that was sleep instead of figuring out howshe could lay that would not make her feel ill.   She fought with thepillow a little and it felt weird, like it wasn’t her own.    Thatwas enough to make her eyes open in a panic.   The hangover, thememories of going out driving with that guy from last night and thefeeling of an unknown bed….

“There is a concoction on yournightstand that will help with your hangover.   My mother’s recipe.”

She looked over and saw him, that guyfrom last night.   His suit was still on.   She felt around andrealized she was still in the clothes that she wore earlier, justunder some blankets and without her shoes.   She reached for theglass and slipped from it, it tasted awful.  So awful it had to workor kill her.   There were some pills beside the glass, something tohelp with her headache if she could keep them down.   The bottle wasthere for her to see and she gave in and took them.   To get rid ofthis guy, she would have to be a lot more intimidating and mobile. “Listen, Mister..”

“It’s Mustang.  Roy Mustang.”

“I’m sorry I yelled at you.”  Shesaid and sat up and then laid back down as the room swirled and madeher want to puke.  He walked over to her and she looked up at him. “But your driving is more dangerous than any weapon my fathercreated and sold to the enemy.”

Roy smirked.  He bent down beside thebed in order to get to eye level with her.    “Miss Hawkeye, you’reevery bit the intelligent, fast thinking…protective young lady yourfile makes you out to be.   Even with compromised reaction time, yourdriving was still quite under control.   You drew me away from yourdrunk friends when you couldn’t place me face.   Got behind the wheeldrunk, but chose the route that would get you away from people andalso the direction that would be more forgivable as it was away fromthe setting sun.  You got pulled over for speeding, hoping the copwould interrupt whatever evil I was planning.  I have to commend you.  You’d make a hell of a government agent.”

She snorted and shoved him again, likeshe did last night.  Hand in his face, opening herself up to anattack from him if he was inclined to grab her wrist.   He let hershove him backwards and then he stood and towered over her again. Returning to his superior position of authority, returning to lookingdown on her.  “I’m hardly interested in helping my country rightnow.”

“You love this country.   Yourcountry”  Roy said and put his hands in his pockets.   “We’vebeen bugging your house for three months.   In that time, I’ve heardyou declare your love for Amestris and your attempts to stop yourfather from doing something rash with his research.   I heard thepassion in your voice, the tears fall as you realized he was alreadyconsumed by whatever evil possessed him to sell that research toCreta.”

“Where were you when I walked out ofthat courtroom and was swamped with reporters?  Where were you thenwith this testimony when they branded me a traitor?”  She asked andsat up.    

“I can’t control the press, but I cantake advantage of them.”  He said and walked over to grab themorning’s news and handed it to her.   “They weren’t allowed in thecourtroom, so they only photos they have are of you.   Frontpage news.”

She threw the paper down at his feet.  She was the loyal one, the one who had no part in this, but it washer face that the country saw when they read the name Hawkeye. It was only her.  “Get out.”

“Some of your father’s contacts,during the war and shorter thereafter, they fled to Aerugo as refugesand war criminals fleeing prosecution.   They are working with ourenemy.”  He said and she glared at him, he was being genuine whenhe told her he had listened to her and believed her.   It hurt toturn her into a weapon, but it was their only choice.  “Ibelieve they would be very receptive to giving you refuge as wellconsidering the most recent turn of events.   We need someone closeto them,  someone who can find out what they have, who is with them,and what they are planning.”

“Why would I do that, Mustang?”

“Because you love this country.” He said and looked down at the newspaper.   She looked like a Queen  walking out of that courtroom, even with the weight of so much onher.  “We’re trying to prevent another war.   We’re trying toprevent what happened in Ishval from happening to the entire SouthernRegion of Amestris when Aerugo uses our technology against us.”

“My father sold his research to Cretaso nobody could have it.”  She said.   “Their technology isdecades if not a century away from being able to utilize it.”

“That was Amestris’s property.” Roysaid dryly.   He wasn’t here to debate the ethics of using weapons.

“And they used it in Ishval.”  Shesaid.  “So they didn’t deserve it either.”

“Well all those scientists who leftduring the war, they headed South.   They have been working on theirresearch all this time and we need to know what they plan to do withit.”   Roy said and stepped on the newspaper, the crinkle of thenewsprint got her attention and she lifted her chin as she saw thesymbolism in his move.   He didn’t care about what the newspapersthought of her.    “They are far from harmless.  They do not havegood intentions.   They are our enemy.   Will you, Riza Hawkeye, help me stop them?”