#i already spent 30 hours drawing i might as well tag everyone

[sirwow]

Middlesea's got talent!

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch 13: On Your Left

Summary: Steve and Katie meet a new friend whilst out jogging, and Steve is sent on a mission to rescue a ship- the Lemurian Star…but it fast becomes apparent that not everyone on his team is pulling in the same direction.

Paring: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Language! Smut (NSFW, 18+)

A/N: We jump forward a couple of months here and slip straight into the Winter Soldier storyline. Credit to @angrybirdcr​ for another lovely edit, and this re-post contains additional materiel- I’ve written the mission out instead of merely skipping over it.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 12 Part 2

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

 End of March/Beginning of April 2014

“Turn it off,” Katie’s voice was muffled from the pillow she had buried her face into as the alarm rang around the dark bedroom. Steve moved slightly to turn it off, but he wasn’t fast enough for his Girlfriend’s liking. “Steve!”

With a huff he leaned over and slapped the offending item with his palm, hitting the snooze button.

“Why is it even set?” She grumbled “It’s not like you don’t normally wake up at the crack of dawn anyway…and who uses an alarm clock when they have a phone?”

“You know, no one makes you stay here.” Steve teased, with a chuckle moving so that his front was pressed to her back.

“You’ve been away for five days, I never sleep as well when you’re not here.” She mimicked his line from the night before in a baby voice.

“And that’s why the alarm is set, because I do sleep better with you.” His arms circled her waist and he grinned to himself as despite the fact she was grumpy and tired she melted into his arms as he nuzzled at her neck, revelling in her smell, her warmth.

“Jerk.” She grumbled. “I mean what time is it anyway?” There was a pause as he continued to simply breathe her in and she glanced at her phone giving a scoff as she saw the ridiculous time on the screen “5:30? In the morning. Five. Thirty…”

“You said you wanted to go running.” He murmured, his eyes still closed.

“No, you said you were going running and I said I might tag along because I’ve eaten nothing but shit whilst I’ve been in New York, which, by the way is your fault…”

“My fault?” Steve laughed, cracking an eye open “I wasn’t even there.”

“Exactly” she muttered “No one to stop me.” “I wouldn’t stop you anyway. You’re a big girl, you make your own decisions…” “Big girl? You calling me fat?” she teased as she rolled onto her back and turned her head to face his, just about making out his features in the dark room. He rolled his eyes, God she was a pain in the ass at times.

“Yeah, you’re huge.” he deadpanned, his hand travelling over her flat stomach and coming to rest on her hip. “Enormous.”

“Ok, well now that we’ve established I need to run, you know on account of me being a hippo, that still doesn’t answer the question why we have to go so damned early anyway. It’s not like we have to be anywhere…” “It’s less crowded.” he shrugged.

“Yeah, that’s because it’s a ridiculous time.”

“Stop being a fucking brat!” Steve laughed and she huffed out breath again.

“I’m not being a brat, it’s just a stupid time to be getting up.”

“I love how full of sunshine and happiness you are in the morning.” Steve muttered as he dropped his head so his lips could gently trail a few lazy kisses down her neck before landing at her collarbone and giving a quick nip, his hand tightening on her hip.

She sighed, her body already starting to respond to his touch, the way it always did, betraying her. 

Damned him and his fucking bastard sex appeal.

“Okay, if you want to actually get up now…” She muttered, as his mouth travelled back up and she rolled her head back to give him access to the spot on her neck that drove her wild every time he found it.  “I suggest you stop.” “I hit the snooze button.” he muttered, lips brushing her ear as he spoke. “We got about eight minutes left.”

“Eight minutes? You have a very high opinion of yourself.” Katie replied, tilting her head so she was looking at him, smirking.

Steve said nothing, just cocked a single, mischievous brow at her before his lips met hers, his hand running down from hip to thigh then across, parting her legs slightly. They were still naked from the night before, clothes strewn all over the apartment after he’d been so desperate to get his hands on her.

She moaned gently into his mouth as he slowly sank two fingers into her and her hips instantly bucked upwards, drawing a grin from his mouth. 

“Easy, Baby.” He whispered, his mouth returning to her neck.

Four minutes later she lay beneath him, a quivering wreck and he was right behind her, two shallow thrusts later as he tumbled over that edge with a low groan, eyes fluttering shut as he fell forward onto her. He smirked into her neck when she had finally regained her senses enough to quip that he’d beaten his best time by a full sixty seconds. And sixty seemed to be the flavour of the day as it was almost another sixty minutes before they got to his favoured running spot, the National Mal thanks to the fact it had taken Katie half an hour minutes to locate her running shoes which she’d eventually found in her car.  Steve had seized the opportunity, as always to lament her for the fact she was messy. 

“I’m not messy.” She scoffed indignantly as they walked the seven blocks. “I’m just not as OCD about everything being in its right place, all the time, like a neat-freak Soldier”

The good natured jibing had continued until they reached their destination and walked through the park to the reflecting pool

“How many laps did you do last time?” Katie asked, as Steve stretched his arms upwards, cracking his back.

“Six.” he said.

She looked at him, frowning. “That’s like what? Twenty miles?”

“Nearer twenty-two.” He grinned.  “You want me to keep your pace?”

She laughed “No way, you’ll just bitch at me for being slow.”

“I do not bitch…” “You bitch like a 14 year old girl.” Katie lamented, gently shoving him in his back. “Now go, go on!”

He smiled again, jogging backwards for a second before he set off at a rate of knots. Exercise always made him feel good. Running, boxing, sparring…fucking. Pushing away the dirty thoughts that had arisen to the forefront of his mind, he was quick to find a comfortable pace, his trainer clad feet slapping the concrete.

It didn’t take Katie long to find her rhythm either. Despite not being with SHIELD anymore she had kept her fitness training up, sparring three times a week with either Natasha or Steve in the local gym. She was technically still an Avenger after all, Tony having now fashioned her another Supernova suit which was basically a version of his latest Iron Man suit but in Silver and Blue, the Nova shaped star sported in the chest where the mini arc reactor powered it. She’d given it a trial run whilst she had been back in New York and was just as impressed with it now as she had been with the prototype he had blown up.

Her feet gently slapped the ground as she ran, the sun was rising on the last day of March and it was promising to be a sunny, bright spring morning.

"Hi.” A voice greeted her as another jogger she hadn’t seen before caught up with her and fell into step with her.

“Nice day for it!”  Katie smiled.

“You normally run this early?” He asked “Haven’t seen you around before.”

“That’s because I don’t normally run here!” She smiled “But I just spent 5 days in New York eating crap so…!”

He laughed and held out his hand. “Sam Wilson.”

She took it and gave it a shake. “Katie Stark.”

“Well I’ll be damned!” Sam grinned “I didn’t recognise you. Nice to meet you.”

“You too.”

As Steve was about to lap Katie for the first time he noticed she was running with another jogger, a black man wearing a grey sweater with short, cropped hair. At one time this would have sparked the green eyed monster in his chest, but not now. Not only did he know she wouldn’t stand for it, but he knew she was just sociable in general. She would talk to anyone given the chance and moreover, she was his girl, he knew that. As he approached them he breathed out an “On your left.” as a warning as he sped past into his second lap.

Sam frowned, looking round and Katie smirked, trying not to laugh at the look on his face as Steve’s frame whizzed off into the distance.

“I never tire of looking at these.” She commented a short while later as they rounded the monument.

Again the sound of heavy footsteps came. “On your left.”

“On your left.”

“Uh-huh. On my left. I got it.” Sam called after him as he entered his fifth lap.

Katie didn’t even try to stop herself this time and she laughed at the slight look of frustration on Sam’s face.

Not long after they were making a lap around the pool at the base of the memorial. Sam gritted his teeth at the wholly unwelcomed sound of footsteps behind him once again, he looked over his shoulder “Don’t say it. Don’t you say it!”

“On your left.”

“Come on!” Sam shouted and Steve allowed an amused smile to spread across his face.

Sam tried his hardest to pick up his speed to match that of Steve’s but failed miserably after only a few moments, now completely gassed out.

“Are you alright?” Katie asked laughing as she approached his hunched over figure, catching her own breath.

“Oh, here he comes…Superman himself…” Sam said gesturing to where Steve was now walking towards them, hands on his hips. He paused at his girl’s side and looked down at Sam.

“Need a medic?” he teased.

“I need a new set of lungs.” Sam chuckled breathlessly. “Dude, you just ran like thirteen miles in thirty minutes.”

“Guess I got a late start.” He shrugged, shooting Katie a pointed look. She responded with her best innocent stare, batting her eyelids at him. Rolling his eyes, he turned his attention back to the stranger who began to talk again.

“You should be ashamed of yourself. You should take another lap.” He scolded jokingly. “Did you just take it? I assume you just took it.”

Steve smiled, he couldn’t help but like this man. As he looked at him, he noticed the military symbol on his grey sweater.

“What unit were you with?” Steve asked changing the subject and motioning to the man’s shirt.

“Fifty-eighth, Para-rescue. But now I’m working down at the VA. Sam Wilson.” He said motioning for help up.

“Steve Rogers.” Steve held out his hand and pulled Sam to his feet.

“I kind of put that together.” Sam said as he tried to catch his balance. “Must have freaked you out, coming round after the whole defrosting thing.”

“It takes some getting used to. But I’ve had help.” He smiled, looking at Katie who grinned back. “Good to meet you Sam.”

“Yeah, bye Sam!” Katie smiled as Steve gently placed his hand on her lower back to steer her away.

"It’s your bed right?” Sam called out from behind him.

Steve paused and they both turned back around. “What’s that?”

“Your bed, it’s too soft.” Sam went on to explain. “When I was over there, I’d sleep on the ground and use rocks as pillows. Like cavemen. Now I’m back home, in my own bed, feels like-”

Steve cut him off. “Like lying on a marshmallow, feels like I’m gonna sink right to the floor.”

"How long?” He asked Sam

“Two tours.” Sam responded. “You must miss the good old days huh?”

“Well, things aren’t so bad.” He folded his arms, taking a quick glance at Katie who raised her eyebrow at him, teasingly. “Foods a lot better. We used to boil everything. No polio that’s good.” He paused before making a gesture with his hand. “Internet so helpful, I’ve been reading that a lot tryna’ catch up.”

Sam nodded and then moved his right hand from where it had been folder across his chest and held it, fingers extended. “Marvin Gaye, 1972, ‘Troubleman’ soundtrack.” He said, returning his arm to its resting position “Everything you’ve missed jammed into one album.”

“Ohhh man!” Katie groaned “I love that film.”

Steve nodded, smiling and pulled out the notebook she had bought him the previous year, “I’ll put it on the list.”

“We can download it later.” Katie offered. Steve smiled as he closed his book before he reached into his other pocket for his phone which was going off. It was Natasha.

'Mission Alert. Extraction imminent. Meet you at the curb :)’

He showed the message to Katie who read it whilst he looked over at Sam.

“Well Sam, duty calls. Thanks for the run. If that’s what you wanna call running.” He joked extending his hand.

“Oh that’s how it is?” Sam says amused shaking the offered hand.

“That’s how it is.” Steve responded, laughing slightly.

“Okay, anytime you two wanna stop by the VA. Make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Steve said as Natasha pulled up in her black chevvy sports car.

“Hey guys, anyone know where the Smithsonian is? I’m here to pick up a fossil.” She quipped.

“Hey Nat!” Katie waved at her and she nodded whilst Steve simply shook his head.

“That’s hilarious.” He commented dryly as he turned to Katie. “I’ll call you as soon as I can, okay?” She took a deep breath. “Be careful.” She instructed as she leaned up to give him a kiss. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Steve made his way to the car, opened the passenger side of the car and dropped into the seat.

“How you doing?” Sam called with a smile as he squat down to get a better view of both Natasha and the car.

“Hey.” She responded with a small smile.

“Can’t run everywhere.” Steve joked smugly, looking back at the man.

“No you can’t.” Sam chuckled and Steve shot one last look at Katie who waved as Natasha surged the car forward.

Katie watched them go before she turned to Sam.

“Military girlfriend huh?” He teased and she laughed.

“Something like that.” “Fancy a coffee?” Sam nodded to one of the stands parked over on the square and she smiled.

“Sure, why not?”

Sam insisted on paying, despite Katie’s protests and they took their coffees over to a bench, sitting down in the early morning sun. As they talked, Katie fast realised she really liked this man, and he was pretty damned interesting too. He told Katie about his time serving in Afghanistan and how he had chosen, post the loss of his partner, Riley, to leave active service and focus his attention on helping others through work at the VA.

Katie had never really dug into the VA much, but it seemed like it did some pretty good work, helping those Soldiers who needed help adjusting to life post discharges for medical or mental health reasons. Sam confided in her that the DC branch was under threat due to lack of funding, and she made a mental note to speak to Tony about it being something that maybe the Stark Relief fund could look into partnering.

When they both realised they had been sat on the bench chatting for almost an hour and a half the pair of them both, knowing they had other places to be, exchanged numbers and she promised to pass his onto Steve.

The rest of her day went pretty quick, in a flourish of telephone conferences and various other ad-hoc emails to deal with, talking to the editors and Business Development team about potential authors to target. By the time she logged off for the evening it was gone eight. She leaned back in her chair, glancing up at the photos that decorated her office, her eyes being drawn to the one on the shelf of herself and Steve which had been taken at the New Years Eve gala last year. 

Picking up her phone she debated texting him, but she knew better than to bother him. From personal experience, STRIKE missions were heavy going. Instead she decided she was going to break with their usual routine whereby he would come to hers if it wasn’t too late post mission, and she was going to wait for him at his.

******

 “The target is a mobile satellite launch platform: The Lemurian Star.” Rumlow spoke, moving images along a screen as they all stood watching as the jet flew over the Indian ocean. “They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them, ninety-three minutes ago.”

“Any demands?” Steve asked.

“A billion and a half.”

“Why so steep?” Steve asked, frowning. That wasn’t so much steep as fucking vertical.

“Because it SHIELD’s.” Rumlow replied and Steve took a deep breath.

“So it’s not off-course, its trespassing.” He said exasperatedly, turning to his left and looking at Natasha.

“I’m sure they have a good reason.” She met his eyes, her face not faltering for a second.

“You know, I’m getting a little tired of being Fury’s janitor.” Steve raised his eyebrows as she looked back at the screen.

“Relax.” She drawled. “It’s not that complicated”

“How many pirates?” Steve looked back at Rumlow.

“Twenty-five.” he replied, once more swiping at the screen. “Top mercs, led by this guy. Georges Batroc” he pulled up a photo of Batroc on the monitor. “Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He’s at the top of Interpol’s Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had thirty-six kill missions. This guy’s got a rep for maximum casualties.”

“Hostages?” Steve pressed.

“Uh…mostly techs. One officer, Jasper Sitwell.” Rumlow flashed up Sitwell’s photo and Steve shifted slightly “They’re in the galley.”

“What’s Sitwell doing on a launch ship?” He queried, an air of frustration in his tone as he pulled on his gloves before he took a breath and issued his instructions without waiting for an answer. “Alright, I’m gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat, you’ll kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep up after, find the hostages, get them to the life-pods, get ‘em out. Let’s move.”

“STRIKE, you heard the Cap. Gear up.” Rumlow nodded to his team and they all began to bustle around the jet.

Steve moved towards the back, checking his ear piece, raising his wrist communicator to his mouth. “Secure channel seven.”

“Seven secure.” Nat picked up a few more bits of equipment from the shelves, passing a coms device to Evans as Steve walked behind her to the ramp. “Did you do anything fun Saturday night?”

“Well, seeing as all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, I had to settle for a movie and pizza with my girl.” He shrugged as he fit his ear piece, a smile tugging at his face. “Yeah, it was fun.”

Natasha grinned and Evans gave a chuckle as the pilot spoke into his ear. “Coming up by the drop zone, Cap.”

Steve punched the button to lower the ramp before he grabbed his helmet.

“You know, I think it’s cute. You’re like a regular, normal couple.”  Evans said, and Steve turned to him as he fastened the straps on his helmet.

“That’s because we are normal.” He replied, a little louder as the noise of the air blowing through the ramp surrounded them. Steve grabbed his shield and swung it onto his back, the irony of his statement making him smile even more as he walked towards the end of the ramp.

“Yeah, because most people do this type of stuff for a living.” Natasha shot after him and he turned to face her, smirking.

“Well, at least it doesn’t get boring.” He grinned, before he threw himself off the jet.

“Was he wearing a parachute?” Rollins turned to Rumlow who gave a huff of a smile.

“No. No, he wasn’t.”

Steve held his arms and hands out to the side of himself as he was free falling through the air, before he shifted, straightening his legs out below him and crossing his arms over his chest. He speared straight into the ice cold water below and, after a moment to adjust, he started swimming toward the ship, using the anchor chain to climb up onto the deck. He dropped silently over the railings and grabbed the guard who had walked past seconds before in a choke hold, rendering him unconscious as noiselessly as he could. Then he set off at a sprint and it wasn’t long before he encountered two more of the pirates. Using his shield he hit the first one and took him down then sent the vibranium weapon flying once more where it ricocheted off the hull of the boat and took down the second. He caught it and continued running around the side of the deck where he encountered another three. The first one he dispatched with a harsh kick, taking the others down with a quick leg swipe and a harsh punch to the face. The next one he saw wasn’t looking so Steve sped up and used his momentum to shoulder barge him over the side of the ship, before he launched at the next one, taking him down with a swinging choke hold. The one after had a knife, which was slightly more inconvenient, but Steve managed to disarm him and used the dagger he now had possession of to pin one of the other guards hands to the wall as he was reaching up to hit the alarm button, before knocking him out with a kick to the head.

That was how it went for the most of it. Steve ran the entire deck, taking everyone down using his shield, arms, legs, body, any means he had before anyone could raise the alarm. And he was almost home and dry, until he dispatched of what he thought was the final merc, until as he caught his shield, he heard the click of a gun right behind his head.

“Bouge pas!” The man spoke and Steve tilted his head slightly to glance at the man in his peripheral, understanding the words to mean don’t move. So he didn’t, especially not as he had just spotted Rumlow drifting down towards the deck. The STRIKE leader shot at the pirate, taking him down and landed a few feet away.

“Thanks.” Steve nodded to him.

“Yeah. You seemed pretty helpless without me.” Rumlow joked and Steve turned to see Natasha and Evans parachute down onto the deck to join them.

“So you know you said before about things not getting boring?” Natasha asked as they strode across the deck, Steve slinging his shield onto his back. “If you ever need any tips on how to keep it from getting boring in the bedroom, just ask.”

Steve shook his head and let out a groan.

“When you gonna ask her to move in with you?” Nat continued.

“Secure the engine room, then we can talk about my sex life and living arrangements.” Steve deadpanned back

“I’m multitasking” Nat sing-songed as she effortlessly hopped over a set of railings, disappearing onto the lower part of the deck.

Steve set off at a run, vaulting up a few steps, using railings to swing himself onto the higher level of the ship before he stopped just below the bridge, shooting one of Lawson’s listening devices at the windows. He listened in as Batroc instructed his men to fire the engines and then Steve retreated to a spot where he could see Batroc clearly through the window of the control bridge. Crouching down he continued to listen into their conversation, easily able to understand the French they were speaking, one of his many skills picked up in the war. It had come easy post the serum, as with everything it had enhanced his ability to memorise and grasp things like that.

Batroc was being informed by one of his officers about the radio silence from SHIELD and Steve watched carefully before Evans’ voice cut across the jabbers of French.

“Targets acquired”

“STRIKE in position” Rumlow replied.

“Natasha, what’s your status?” Steve whispered into his wrist coms, but there was no reply. “Status, Natasha?”

“Hang on!” She said loudly, and Steve waited as he heard a bit of a struggle before she spoke again twenty or so seconds later. “Engine room secure.”

That was it, they were clear to engage.

“On my mark” Steve whispered “Three. Two. One.”

With that he set off running towards the bridge, leaping up a small set off steps before he flung his shield through the window. He jumped in after it and Batroc caught him with a kick to the chest before sprinting off and kicking his way out of the door. Steve jumped up, wrenched his shield from where it had been wedged in the metal panels at the back of the control room and ran after him.

“Hostages on route to extraction.” Rumlow informed as Steve emerged onto the end of a set of steps. “Romanoff missed the rendezvous point, Cap.” The STRIKE leader continued as Steve jumped down onto the main area of the deck. “Hostiles are still in play.”

Steve looked around before he turned on his heels and started walking “Natasha, Batroc’s on the move.” He instructed quietly into his coms. “Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages.”

There was no reply, and Steve was starting to get pissed off at her radio silence.

“Natasha!”

But then, out of nowhere Batroc flew at him with another harsh kick which sent Steve flying, and no sooner had he righted himself, there came another. The two engaged, toe to toe, fists flying, legs kicking, arms blocking and Steve had to hand it to Batroc, even after he knocked him down with his shield, the man was quickly back on his feet. Steve aimed a knee to his gut and flipped him backwards only to see Batroc effortlessly fling himself into several back flips before landing on his feet a short distance away, smirking as he eyed Steve up.

“Je croyais que tu étais plus qu'un bouclier.” He chuckled slightly and Steve cocked his head to one side, chewing over the man’s words… I thought that you were more than just a shield.

The arrogance in Steve won out and he straightened up out of his attack stance. You wanna go, fucker? Fine. Let’s dance.

He took a breath, stashing his shield on the harness round his back, and undid his chin strap, pulling his helmet off. “On va voir.” He said simply, tossing it to the floor, his eyes not once leaving Batroc’s who gave a huge grin.

They dodged for a second or two before they began to fight once more, trading punches, kicks and a few more knees to the gut before Steve threw himself up into the air, twirling his body round into a huge over-head kick, connecting his boot straight with Batroc’s head. Batroc fell to the floor and soon staggered back to his feet, but Steve didn’t give him chance to recover properly. He ran at him, spearing them both through a door, and sitting up slighting, Steve knocked Batroc out with a huge punch to the head.

He took a moment to draw his breath when a voice rang out across the room.

“Well, this is awkward.”

He looked up to see Natasha smirking at him from where she was bent over a computer.

“What are you doing?” Steve demanded as he rose to his feet.

“Backing up the hard drive. It’s a good habit to get into.”  She retorted.

Steve glanced over his shoulder, happy Batroc was still out cold, before he strode purposefully towards her.

“Rumlow needed your help. What the hell are you doing here?” He drew up behind her and glanced at the screens. As it registered what she was doing he shook his head in exasperation. “You’re saving SHIELD Intel.”

“Whatever I can get my hands on.” She drawled, still tapping at the computer as she looked at him, before turning back to the screen.

“Our mission is to rescue hostages.” Steve glared at her.

“No. That’s your mission.” Natasha corrected as she finished what she was doing and pulled the pen drive out of the slot. She turned towards him and smiled causing Steve’s anger to bubble even more. “And you’ve done it beautifully.” Her tone was almost patronising as she smirked, moving to pass him.

At that, Steve felt his temper snap and he grabbed her arm stopping her in her tracks. “You just jeopardized this whole operation.”

“I think that’s overstating things.” Natasha stated calmly but before Steve had time to reply a movement caught his attention. Batroc stood up and threw a grenade at the two of them as he ran off. Steve deflected the bomb with his shield before he grabbed Natasha round the waist and hopped up onto the desks. Jumping to another one, Natasha shot out one of the glass windows into an internal office and they dived in just as the bomb exploded.

Smoke, ash and debris rained down on them and Steve gave it a second before he looked over his shoulder and out before sitting back down to take a moment. He was beyond pissed off. Pissed at Natasha and pissed at Fury for not bothering to tell him the full story.

“Okay. That one’s on me.” Natasha breathed out.

“You’re damn right.” Steve grit his teeth and pushed himself up, storming out in anger. Of course, Batroc was nowhere to be found.

**** Steve was that angry about the cluster-fuck of a mission that he didn’t speak a word to Natasha all the way home and yes, he knew it was childish, but he was getting seriously pissed off at the secrets and lies that seemed to be part and parcel of any goddamned mission Fury sent him on. Once back at base he stormed off the jet, ignoring pretty much everyone and simply barking out that they would debrief in the morning.

It was just before midnight when he got home, and as he pulled his bike up into the designated space allotted for his apartment, he noticed Katie’s car was in one of the guest spaces that lined the street. He frowned slightly, she never normally waited at his for him. Not for any particular reason other than he normally spent the hours or so after a mission debriefing before heading home to decompress for a few hours and then if it wasn’t too late he would head to hers. But the more he thought about it now he realised that he had no idea why he did it that way. It wasn’t like she didn’t understand what it was like being a SHIELD operative, or that he didn’t want her at his. 

Knowing that she was there made him smile for the first time since he’d left the Lemurian Star and, despite his various aches and bruises, he found himself taking the steps to his apartment three at a time, his eagerness to see her wiping all other thoughts from his mind.

She was on the couch, bare denim-short clad legs tucked underneath her, and she looked up from the TV as he walked into the living area and leaned in the doorway, smiling softly at the sight of her, hair tousled slightly from where she had been leaning her head against the arm of the couch.

“What are you doing here?” He asked gently as she sat up.

“Decided I’d wait for you.” She shrugged “You complaining?” “Not at all.” He smiled, turning away as he unzipped his jacket and hung it over the back of one of the stools by the breakfast bar before he crossed the room.

“You had a good day?” He asked.

“Yeah.” She replied as he walked back into the lounge. “Vanity Fair have written the article already, if I’m happy with it tomorrow then it’s going to be published this month.”

Steve couldn’t help but smile at her tone. She was proud, and she had every right to be. So was he. Stark Independent Publishing LTD had taken off like a rocket and the glossy magazines were queuing up to interview the youngest Stark prodigee. She had declined all of them until the board had suggested she do one interview for Vanity Fair, along with a photoshoot in her office. She’d reluctantly agreed, but had confided in Steve she’d actually kind of enjoyed it.

“That’s fast.” he said, heading back into the room.

“Yeah they’re really pushing for it.” She smiled as he dropped besides her with a groan, lifting her legs up so they crossed his lap. As he did so he jostled the bruised ribs and muscles he’d obtained on the Lemurian Star and let out a hiss, rubbing slightly at his torso. Katie spotted this, as always, and frowned, moving her legs so she was sat up, scooting over to where he was and gently tugged at his t-shirt. He didn’t stop her as she examined the large bruise over the side of his ribs and gently ran her fingers over it.

“Ouch.” She mumbled softly, looking up at him and then tilting his face round. He knew there was a small cut on his temple but other than that and the bruise to his side he was uninjured. “Is this it?”

He nodded.

“So how did you do it this time?”

“I got blown through a window.” Because that was a perfectly normal thing for Captain America to do, Katie merely rolled her eyes and dropped a kiss to his cheek as she stood up “I’ll get the arnica and fix you something to eat”

He loved this, the way she just wanted to take care of him, but he was aware of what time it was too, and he didn’t want her to feel like she had to play the dutiful housewife.

“Kitten, you should go to bed, its late.” He grabbed her hand. “Once I’ve patched you up and fed you I will.” She shrugged stubbornly, tugging gently on his hand and he allowed himself to be pulled up “Go take a shower, I’ll sort your dinner.”

This time he didn’t protest, simply smiled, dropped a kiss to her head and headed to the bathroom.

He stepped under the hot water cascading from the shower and let out a groan as it hit his body, allowing it temporarily to soothe his mind and his aches. He still couldn’t shake his annoyance at how the mission was gone. Suddenly, he was distracted by his stomach grumbling and he realised he was actually really hungry. He quickly washed off before cutting the water and stepping out, grabbing a towel. He could hear Katie in the kitchen as he walked down the hall towards his bedroom where he dried himself off and dressed in a pair of loose sweats and a grey T-shirt.

The smell of food hit his nostrils as he walked into the kitchen, making his mouth water. Her food was always good, he had no idea what he was in for tonight but he didn’t care. As he approached where she was stood, both his hands dropped to her hips and he placed a soft kiss on her neck, an easy sign of affection before he let out a heavy sigh and reached into the refrigerator.

“So, you wanna tell me what happened?” She asked, turning to look at him as he downed pretty much an entire bottle of water before he slumped down at the breakfast bar and explained everything to her. She listened, asked questions, shook her head, and when he reached the bit about the ransom she whistled slightly through her teeth, coming to the same conclusion he had when he heard the demand.

“That’s steep.” she frowned and Steve snorted.

“That’s what I said. Turns out its SHIELDS.“

The microwave finished and Katie moved to open the door, stirring whatever was in there before removing it and placing it down in front of him, along with a plate of his favourite bread. He was silent for a moment as he stirred the hot stew, Ghoulash, before taking a small mouthful to test the heat. Damned she could cook. He nodded appreciatively.

“It’s good.” “You sound surprised.”

“Behave.” He admonished, giving her a look. “You know what I think about your cooking.”

He continued to eat as she stood up and fished about in the cupboard he stored the bottle of Arnica gel she insisted he keep to hand. As he ate, she settled next to him and hitched his shirt up, gently and carefully applying the ointment to his side. The bruise extended from the middle of his rib cage to an inch or so beneath the band of his sweats.

It was relaxing, and he relished her touch and her gentle tone as she continued to talk.

“So did you get the hostages?”

“Yeah.” He nodded in between mouthfuls. “That bit was pretty easy all things considered.”

“So what’s wrong, love?”

She could tell there was more to his mood than what he had told her, and her instincts were proven right when he let out a soft sigh as she continued to rub at his side softly.

“I’m just annoyed Sweetheart.” He sighed eventually “At Fury, at Romanoff.”

“At Nat? Why?”

“She was running a separate mission, which meant the task I gave her to back Rumlow up with the hostages wasn’t done.”

“Fury?”

He nodded.

“More secrets” Katie sighed, feeling a flash of anger. “You know this is exactly why I got out…legacy or no legacy.”

“Tell me about it.” He dropped the spoon into the empty bowl. “We were lucky no one was hurt, or worse. I mean, Rumlow was great, got everyone out but, Doll, how can I lead a team when half of them are lying to me?”

“Nat was just doing as she was told.” Katie spoke softly, trying to deal with each issue one at a time.

“Since when is retrieving Intel more important than people’s lives?”

“I’m not saying it is. I’m just saying don’t be so hard on her.” She reasoned, her fingers still tracing shapes on his skin. “She has a job to do, same as you. Its Fury you should be talking to about it.”

“Oh I intend to.” Steve snorted. “I’m going to go see him tomorrow morning after de-brief…”

“Well, at least you’ll get an explanation. I mean it might not be what you wanna hear but…”

She was right, of course. Pushing it from his mind, Steve concentrated on her touch as she was still gently rubbing his side. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of contentment, and was disappointed when she finally finished and let his t-shirt fall down before she stood up to put the ointment away.

“You want any more to eat?” She asked, once she’d washed the arnica off her hands.

“Is there any?” He looked at her hopefully.

She smiled, nodding, and then gave a small yawn which she tried to stifle, but Steve noticed it.

“Okay, I’ll warm some more up and you’re gonna go to bed.” He said, standing up “And that’s an order.”

“Bossy bastard” She retorted. He replied simply with a raised an eyebrow and stern glare as he crossed towards her. She held her hands up, “Okay, I’m going…” She leaned up to kiss to his cheek.

“Won’t be long.” He smiled.

Steve had another bowl of food before he slipped the dishes into the dishwasher and headed to the bathroom to clean his teeth. He turned off the lights, crossed into the dark bedroom and pulled off his T-shirt, sliding into bed behind Katie. His arm curled over her waist, surprise surprise she was in one of his shirts, which did nothing to ebb his growing desire and the twitching in his groin. Hoping she wasn’t asleep, his nose gently nuzzled at her neck, and he was pleased when she responded.

He needed this. Wanted this. Wanted her.

“When you told me to go to bed…” Katie sighed, as his lips gently started their assault on that spot, “I thought you meant to sleep.” “Want me to stop?” Steve practically purred into her neck.

“Didn’t say that.” She replied, rolling her head to catch his lips as his hand crept down her inner thigh. She let out a contented sigh and he smiled against the side of her neck as he traced his fingers over her hip, hand flattening as it crept down and round to the top of her panties, his fingers slipping inside, where he found her hot, wet, ready for him. It was enough to harden him completely as he started to gently tease her, causing her to groan at the pleasure, her back arching whilst his lips continued to kiss and caress her neck.

“Steve.” She moaned softly, her tone pleading. “I want you…”

Fuck, he would never get tired of hearing that. Ever. 

“Yeah?” he whispered.

“Yeah. Please Stevie.” He didn’t think he’d ever be able to say no to her. His hand moved up and he gripped at her hip, gently rolling her so she was lay on her back, using his leg to part hers. He guided his shirt over her head, pulled down her panties, before he stripped off his boxers, fingers lacing in between hers, as he crawled over her, pinning both hands above her head as he worked his way into her. They both groaned as he stretched her, and she looked up at him, those eyes locking onto his as he leant down to kiss her, starting up a slow, gentle pace. He moved slowly, again and again, lips caressing hers, then her jaw, then her neck, all the time his hands wrapped around hers, causing her to surrender to him completely.

He kept up that soft, gentle pace, loving her completely. He could tell she was close, he knew the signs well enough now and as she groaned in delight, tightening around him he coaxed her, “That’s it baby girl…” lips soft on her ear.

And then she came, shuddering underneath him, her head tipping back, as she let out a gentle, low, broken moan of his name. It sent shivers down his spine and he continued to thrust through her orgasm, the tale heat spreading across his belly and then he tipped too, jerking and groaning slightly before he fell forward, burying his face in to her neck.

“Love you.” She whispered softly into his ear as her hand ran up his neck, into his hair and he gave a hum of contentment as he regained control of his senses.

“Love you too, so damned much, Sweetheart.” He rubbed his nose up against hers and she chuckled slightly as he rolled off of her. She scooted closer so she could lay her head on his chest and his arm curled round her, large hand tracing shapes on her skin at the bottom of her back as she tossed her leg over his.

“What time are you in tomorrow?” She asked gently, hand rubbing absentmindedly over his chest.

“Half nine.” He gave a sated yawn.

“We can have breakfast together, I made cinnamon rolls.” She muttered through a yawn of her own.

“That so?” “mmmhmmm”

“You know, you’d make a good little housewife.” He grinned, thinking back to his thought before. He knew her response before she had uttered it. “Fuck you.” He chuckled, dropping a kiss to her head and they both fell silent. And his last thought as he drifted off to sleep was just how her being here had made him almost forget his worries.

Katie lay still, listening to the sound of his breathing which grew even as he fell asleep, clearly exhausted. He always needed food and rest after missions, his metabolism drained him. She stole a glance up at him, long eyelashes lay against his cheek as his head lolled to the side slightly, facing her.

“Night soldier.” She whispered softly, placing a peck on his lips before settling down and succumbing to her own tiredness. ********* Katie woke the next morning, tangled in Steve’s arms, his face pressed into her neck as he’d done his usual koala impression. As gently as she could, she moved to check her phone for the time, and found it to be twenty-five past seven, five minutes before her alarm was due to go off. Cancelling it, she glanced back over at Steve who shifted onto his back, the arm that had been thrown around her gently resting on his chest. Smiling, she climbed out of bed deciding to leave him to sleep as long as she could.

Considering what a light sleeper he normally was, Steve didn’t stir when Katie returned following her shower and was still out of it when she finished dressing so she unset the alarm on his bedside clock and headed to the kitchen. She put on a fresh pot of coffee, threw the fresh rolls she had made the previous day into the oven and settled down on his couch, flipping on the TV whilst she quickly scanned through her phone, looking at her schedule for the day. She only had one meeting in the afternoon, and it wasn’t important so she fired an email through to her PA asking her to reschedule.

At about eight-fifteen, there was still no sign of Steve so Katie headed through to the bedroom to wake him up. Any longer and he would be late for his debrief. He was lay side on, facing her side of the bed so she dropped next to him…

Something was tickling his nose, right on the bridge. He gently sniffed, and then soft lips met his. Again, again…Steve made a completely involuntary noise that was halfway between a groan and a sigh as he realised his girl was kissing him awake, before her lips met his and this time he gently responded.

“Hey.” That soft voice greeted him and he smiled, gently cracking an eye open and meeting that emerald green.

“Morning” He said groggily and she smiled.

“It’s almost eight-fifteen.”

He frowned, that was late. “My alarm didn’t wake me?” “I turned it off, sorry-not-sorry” She said with a tone so blasé it made him chuckle “You needed the rest.” She gave him a soft kiss again “There’s coffee in the kitchen and breakfast is ready.” “You know I could get used to this” He rolled over so he was on his back as she rose from the bed. “Coming home to a ready-made dinner, waking up to ready-made breakfast before I go to work. And you.” “Nice to see which one of those is your priority.” She teased over her shoulder as she left him to it.

“Always you, Doll.” he murmured with a smile. But as he lay still for another few minutes, he thought about it more and more. Over the past four months, other than when they were away either on missions or business trips they had spent every night together, either at his or hers but last night, something had felt different to him, more intimate. She’d taken care of his mission injuries, cooked for him, made love to him, and now here she was making him breakfast before she would wave him off to work later on. It was almost normal, what people with mundane nine to five jobs did. And he realised he wanted that all the time, he wanted to come home, find her there, wake up with her, every single day.

“When you gonna ask her to move in?” Natasha’s voice popped back into his head.

If he was honest, he hadn’t given it a lot of thought, it wasn’t something people did back in his time before marriage. But times were different, hell he was different, and as he lay there contemplating it, he realised, it wasn’t such a bad idea.

When he headed through, Katie was sat at the kitchen table, laptop fired up, mobile glued to her ear.

“I know!” Her tone was one of utter excitement. “I mean I didn’t think they would turn out so good…or they’d be done so fast but they’re pushing for this month’s edition…”

He dropped a kiss to her neck and glanced at the screen, pausing when he saw the image. It must have been one of the photos done whilst she was in New York and as he looked at it, he felt his mouth drop open. His girl was stood against a wall in her office in the tower, one leg bent, high heeled foot raised back against the flat surface behind her, palms splayed either side of her thighs as she looked to the right. Her hair was pulled back in a slick, high pony tail, her make-up was heavier than normal and utterly flawless, and she was dressed in a grey charcoal pinstripe suit which cinched in at her waist, with a low cut white blouse underneath.

“Yeah, I know Tony.” She continued speaking into the phone as she glanced up and saw the expression on his face. She pressed a button on the keyboard and it flipped to another picture, this one of her sat in her chair, legs apart, elbows resting on her knees, as she looked beyond the camera, laughing at something. She looked absolutely fucking stunning. His eyes roved the image on the digital copy of the article and he began to read the writing that was next to it.

There are a lot of things you might absolutely hate about Katie Stark. Aged just twenty-nine she has more money than anyone could possibly wish to spend in a life-time, looks and a figure that you would kill for, and a Super Soldier Boyfriend with a jawline that seems to be carved from marble. However, after thirty seconds in her company despite wanting to hate her for all of the above, it was simply impossible not to like her.

Unassuming, accommodating, and with a smile that you simply can’t help but return, she welcomed us into her office and was remarkably humble about the entire thing, admitting that she still wasn’t quite so sure why we were so interested in her. We took the time to grill her on how the first three months of Stark Independent Publishing LTD has gone and what we can look forward to in the future.

Katie stood up and gestured for him to sit down and carry on reading the article. She headed off into the living room, continuing her call, so he read as he ate a hot cinnamon bun. The article ploughed through a load of questions about the book that had launched the business when they published, the fact the company had already registered over fifty-percent first quarter turnover, where she thought the business was going, future pipeline projects, her favourite authors, genre, books, previous role in Stark Industries before she had spent a few years working for a Government Agency following the Battle of New York (no mention of Supernova or SHIELD) and then the final paragraph took a personal turn.

When asked if she would indulge us with a personal question she sighed slightly before grinning and telling us to ask and see if she answered. So we did…

“We know that you’re a notoriously private person, in comparison to your brother anyway, but most of our readers are dying to know…what’s it like dating Captain America?”

“No idea, I’m dating Steve Rogers.” She replied immediately, a faint flush hitting her cheeks as she spoke, all the time fiddling with a delicate yet gorgeous antique looking emerald ring which sits on her right hand, a gift we suspect from the man in question. When asked to elaborate slightly, she bit her lip and simply smiled before explaining; “Steve isn’t just Captain America. There’s more to him than a shield. He’s the kindest, gentlest, most caring man I’ve ever met and he makes me unbelievably happy.” The blush spread from her cheeks to her ears “And that’s not down to the Serum or outfit, it’s just who he is. The fact he’s 6ft2, drop dead gorgeous with a smile I’d happily die for is a bonus.”

Steve felt himself grin as he read the words and glanced at the small photo they had framed the paragraph round. It was the shot of them together that had been taken at the Stark Industry’s New Year’s Gala as they danced. His eyes continued to the final part of the article, this one complete with a picture of Katie and Tony. Katie sat at her desk as Tony leaned over, looking at something on the computer screen. 

When asked about the other man in her life, her brother Tony, she smiled again, another genuine smile, the love she has for her elder sibling evident on her face and in her voice.

“I owe everything I have to Tony. He brought me up from the age of seven, gave me absolute, unconditional love and opportunities I know I was extremely fortunate to have. People have a pre-conceived image of what he is like, and sometimes he can play into that, but to me he’s been nothing but loving and supportive, my father and brother rolled into one and I can’t thank him enough for everything he has done and given me. He backed my decision to open SIP from the off and believed in me and has always pushed me to be the best I can be.”

We couldn’t resist another personal question, so we asked her a little cheekily how Tony had reacted to news that she was dating one of his fellow Avengers, who had served alongside their Father Howard in WW2. Hesitating slightly, she flushed before smirking and answering, a grin on her face.

“How he found out wasn’t ideal, but once he realised we were serious, he was fine about it. I think deep down after my last car crash of a relationship, he’s just happy I’m with someone who puts me first.”

“Do they get on?” At that she laughed. “They have a love-hate relationship. In that they hate the fact they love one another. Tony has these ridiculous nicknames for Steve and he can be an absolute nightmare at times, but to be fair Steve’s quite sarcastic himself too but I know full well that they have each other’s six and, even though they would probably deny it, they are quite close and would miss one another if they weren’t around.”

Steve, grudgingly, had to admit she was right. Tony could be a pain in the ass at times, but he would miss the billionaire if he wasn’t there. Underneath all his bravado he knew that he thought the world of his sister and, despite their initial meeting whereby Steve frankly thought the guy was a dick, he’d fast learnt during the Chitauri Battle that underneath that persona he had a heart of gold and was more like his father than he would care to admit. A fact that Steve was even more convinced of having gotten to know him much better on a personal level over the last two years or so.

Whilst the siblings certainly share a lot of attributes, both good looking, tough, hard-working, Katie has a certain softness to her edges and we challenge anyone who spends time in her company not to warm to the youngest Stark. Stark Independent Publishing has, in our opinion, a very bright future ahead of it whilst it is spearheaded by such an astute and shrewd business woman and we wish her all the best.

“What do you think?” Katie watched as Steve read the article, leaning against the wall, nibbling at her thumb, nervous to see his reaction.

Steve jerked his head round and smiled at her. “I think it’s fantastic. The photos are stunning, the article is well written. Are you happy with it?” “Yeah.” she nodded as she walked over to his chair, standing behind it and slipping her arms round his shoulders from behind “They wouldn’t drop the whole So you’re dating Captain America angle though, so our PR department told me to answer a few personal questions to shut them up. Are you ok with it?” Steve smiled and turned side on in his seat, pulling her into his lap. “Seeing as I’m the kindest, gentlest, most caring man you’ve ever met how could I not be?” “I meant every word of that.” She smiled, rubbing her nose against his.

“I know baby.” He gave her a peck on the lips. “Now I need to go or I’m gonna be late.”

Sighing she stood up as he did the same, grabbing a final cinnamon bun from the plate.

“I’ll be back at mine” She informed him as she walked to the door with him, “I have a few calls to do this morning.” “I’ll come over when I’m done.” He smiled. “And maybe we can do something this afternoon?”

“Sounds perfect”

***** Chapter 14

**Original Posting**

[alternateafterthought]

Arcane - Part 2

ARCANE

Ø  Meaning: Secret, Mysterious, Understood only by few. MAGIC

Ø  Pairing: Panther Hybrid Min Yoongi x Reader

Ø  Summary: Some secrets are kept for the good of people. Some secrets are kept for abuse or power. Yoongi had been a victim of abuse and power, and he wasn’t going to let anyone else use secrets for that purpose. So, when Y/N comes into his life with secrets, he doesn’t want to fall into that rabbit hole again. He doesn’t want to give all his trust to someone who will abuse their power over him. But maybe Y/N’s secrets are a good thing.

Ø  Genre: Hybrid!au, fluff, angst, eventual smut

Ø  Warnings: None

Ø  Word Count: 2176

Ø  A/N: Hey guys… here is the next part of my Min Yoongi fic!! Thank you to everyone who has showed interest in the first part! I hope you really enjoy the  next part of this fic!! I would really love your feedback!! So, I really hope you guys love and support this fic like you did with GOLDEN TIME!! If you want to be added to a tag list, message me or leave a comment or ask!! Thank you so much!!

PREV / NEXT

J-Hope had started with the oldest. Introductions to the fox hybrid, who called himself Seokjin, was quiet and welcomed by Y/N.

He had sat down across from Y/N and they simple spoke. Y/N had asked how long he had been in the shelter.

“8 months.” Jin had nodded, with a small sad smile on his face. “My previous owner was an elderly couple who treated me like their grandson. They have passed since then.”

Y/N had held his hand and they spoke for a few more minutes before J-Hope came back. After Seokjin was the German Shepard hybrid who was much taller than Y/N and wearing a pair of thick glasses. He seemed so put together as he introduced himself, offering his large hand, but ultimately his foot caught on the chair leg, causing the large man to trip a little.

Somehow, Y/N caught him, helping him to steady his feet as he started to blush. Y/N helped him to stand, fixing the shirt he wore to be a little straighter, flattening the hair that stood up.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay. Everyone trips sometimes.”

The hybrid smiled a wide dimpled smile and introduced himself as Namjoon, a hybrid who until recently was a police hybrid. He didn’t exactly what to share why he was no longer on the force, but Y/N knew when never to push a subject.

Namjoon was there for a few more minutes before J-Hope came for him, leaving a very bright, highly active Golden Retriever hybrid. His boxy smile and bright eyes caused Y/N to return his wide smile, offering her hand but instead being wrapped in the hybrid’s arms.

His deep voice introduced him as “Taehyung”, his enthusiasm for life was refreshing. He was so warm and lively; his stories were so active that Y/N couldn’t help but to be completely interested in what he talked about. He left no room for awkwardness and it was honestly something Y/N loved.

“I’ve only been here for 2 months but they let me paint and draw and take photos like my old owners used to.” Taehyung’s energetic response only made Y/N that much happier to be around him.

J-Hope came to collect Taehyung a few minutes later, Taehyung saying bye with a hug again. This time Y/N was left with J-Hope only, no other hybrid, at least not yet it would seem. J-Hope sat Y/N down, obviously needing to have some type of serious talk with Y/N about something.

“So, I just wanted to check in with you, make sure you’re okay?” J-Hope sat on the edge of his seat.

“I’m doing well. They are some amazing men aren’t they.” Y/N smiled widely, not as wide as J-Hope though.

“They are amazing men.” J-Hope emphasised the word “Men”, like it wasn’t something normally heard about them. “I would like to give you a bit of a warning for the next one though.”

From the look of J-Hope’s eyes scanning over to where the files sat on the opposite side of the table to them. The final hybrid that hadn’t been in to see her yet sat on top; the feline hybrid was always a concern for J-Hope. Not in a bad way, but more in a way that if anyone was to be adopted today, J-Hope would hope that it was him.

With a raised eyebrow, J-Hope continued to speak; “There is nothing wrong with him, he’s great just like the others. But I do have to legally tell you that if you do not adopt him today, he will be sent away to a breeding facility.”

“But he isn’t the oldest. You said Seokjin was the oldest right? So why is he not being sent to a breeding facility?” Y/N asked honestly.

“Seokjin is the oldest but he has not been here long, and with his past he is someone easily adopted by the elderly.” J-Hope looked Y/N in the eye. “Yoongi has been in and out of here his entire life. He has spent more time in this shelter then he has in a home.”

“Is there something wrong with him?” Y/N had to ask. “I only ask so I can make a proper decision today.”

“He’s quiet and a panther hybrid. So, people usually think he’s mean or scary and really…” J-Hope shook his head as he thought about the next hybrid. “He’s the sweetest guy.” He smiled. “I’ll bring him in.”

Y/N waited all of 30 seconds for J-Hope to return to the room with a feline hybrid behind him. Said hybrid trailed behind, before J-Hope smiled and bowed his head slightly before leaving the room, his ears stood tall, his tail, the same opal black as his ears and hair swayed behind him.

It seemed this shelter was a lot freer when it came to what they were dressed in, Y/N had noticed that all three previous hybrids had all been in something different. She liked that even though they were all in black, white, and grey, they all seemed to have a different personality, even with clothing. Like Yoongi, who now stepped into the room, black jeans, black sweater, and black shoes. Everything matched, his ears, his tails, his clothing, everything except his eyes.

His eyes practically glowed, even in the well-lit room, his eyes seemed to completely glow. Y/N noticed his eyes were gold, almost like honey from where he stood next to the window by the door. He honestly looked bored, his eyes heavy lidded, like he had trouble keeping them open, his mouth sat in a straight line, though his lips were slightly parted. Most of his bangs seemed to cover his eyes and still they were the most striking feature of his face.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Y/N offered her hand, just like she had with the others. “I’m Y/N.”

“I’m going to stop you right there.” Yoongi raised his hands, palms up as the door was closed. “I don’t want to know your name. I don’t want you to adopt me. I will be honest with you; I am here against my will.” He saw Y/N’s raised eyebrow as her hand dropped back to her side before he kept talking. “I talked to J-Hope, I told him I didn’t want to be adopted again and would be find to just live here the rest of my life.”

“You really think they’ll let you stay here?” Y/N had to ask, thinking of the note on his file, the one letting her know he wouldn’t be able to stay here.

“I’ve been here long enough. J-Hope will let me stay.” Yoongi was determined to stay it would seem. “I’m not some pet you can just adopt for fun.” Yoongi seemed to look Y/N up and down. “You seem young and… adventurous,” He made eye contact with her again. “Why would you want a hybrid anyway? For sex?”

For a moment Y/N just stared at him, before bursting out laughing. Yoongi was shocked to see the women in front of him full body laugh, her hand holding onto the table as her legs gave way. She laughed hard and loud, curling in on her knees as Yoongi just stood there watching her.

When she finally composed herself, she wiped away a few stray tears as she stood, giggling a little still. She hauled herself off the floor, fixing her dress before facing Yoongi again, still slightly giggling.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh that much.” Y/N held her hand out for him again. “Trust me I don’t want a pet and I don’t want a hybrid for sex. The least you can do when you meet someone new is shake their hand.”

Yoongi was hesitant at first but his large hand eventually enveloped Y/N’s smaller one; “So why do you want a hybrid? An older hybrid at that.”

“Freedom.” Y/N pulled her hand away from Yoongi’s, offering him to sit with her. “My parents are kinda overbearing, and I need a way out. A hybrid would give me that freedom to just… live.”

“Why can’t you live by yourself?” Yoongi boldly asked.

“Why do you want to stay here?” Y/N countered.

Both of them seemed to just stare at each other, waiting for one of them to say something. Both of them could see that neither of them were going to be the first one to talk so Y/N picked up his file before sitting it in front of him. Yoongi looked down at it before away, only to take a double look at the note next to his picture.

“So, what, your showing me this to make me beg you to adopt me?” Yoongi pushed his file back towards Y/N, who was quick to catch it.

“I’m give you a way out.” Y/N spoke honestly. “We can help each other. You get out of this…” Y/N tapped the file. “And I get out of overbearing parents.”

Y/N would never have admitted, but as amazing as the first three hybrids were, she had chosen Yoongi already. He was in a similar situation to her, he needed a way out, to live on his own terms. So, they could help each other, they could be the reason both of them could survive in this world. She hoped he would take the opportunity to help himself as much as her.

“And what? I live with you as your pet? As some sex hybrid for you?”

“Seriously, what is with you and sex?” Y/N asked. “Are you in heat?”

Yoongi gave Y/N a look that made her want to start giggling again, but she kept it in as her fingers tapped on the table. She sighed, covering up any giggle that might have escaped her before opening his file to the adoption forms. J-Hope had told her the forms were in the files for her for sign for whoever she wanted straight away.

Taking the forms out she slid them across to Yoongi; “If you’re willing, I’ll sign them now and we can be back at my hotel in the next hour before my parents find out I’m missing.”

“They don’t know you’re here? Adopting me?” Yoongi’s eyes widened.

“I’m supposed to be in my hotel room in bed. Surprisingly, I’m not as fragile as they believe.”

“But your parents have to give permission for you to adopt right?” Yoongi couldn’t help to ask.

“I’m 24. I don’t need written permission to do anything.” Y/N spoke confidently.

“So why are your parents… ya know?” Yoongi had to ask.

“That is a story for another day.” Y/N looked at the large clock on the wall, she had spent 10 minutes with the first 3 hybrids each, now it was rounding out to be half an hour all together, she was just glad half the adoption was already underway, she just needed the hybrid now. “So, would you like to get out of here?”

“Will we be living with your parents?” Y/N could tell Yoongi had already decided to leave with her, he was simply scared it would seem.

“My grandparents left me their cottage in their will. We will be living on the opposite side of town to my parents.” Y/N nodded, thinking of the cottage she had moved into when she turned 21, even with her parents against it. “I will tell you now that the town I live in is kinda small, but it’s surrounded by forests and rivers and honestly… it’s peaceful.”

Yoongi seemed to think about something, considering all of his options. Even he could see he didn’t have many of them, none in which gave him the freedom to just live. If he ended up at a breeding facility he would regress and had the possibility of going savage. If he ran away, he could be captured or die on the streets or turned in by the HPA or even be killed by hybrid hate groups. But if he went with Y/N, maybe she’d let him be free too.

“You’re not some weird woman who sells her hybrids for sex or something right?” Yoongi smirked.

“Seriously, what is it with you and sex?” Y/N raised her arms in question with a small smile on her face.

“I just wanted to make sure you aren’t some crazy person,” Yoongi pushed the forms back across the table, sitting a pen on top of it. “I need to know who it is I’m going to be living with.”

Y/N signed the forms, quickly scribbling her signature on the bottom of the page before handing it to Yoongi to sign too. With both signatures on the form’s Y/N moved to the door, sticking her head out to see J-Hope sitting outside the door. He stood up quickly, fixing the purple shirt he wore with a hopeful smile on his face as Y/N handed the 4 files back to him.

“Oh… were none of them for you?” J-Hope looked almost sad.

“Just the one.” Y/N showed him her other hand with the adoption forms, signed.

PREV / NEXT

Tag List

@ariana-winchester95 | @haven-raven012591 | @gracehiii | @larenelizabeth | @legazix​ | @jiminot7​ | @narcissism-iskey​ | @aileanagreene | @marvelstuck​ | @sana-b​ | 

[maverick-werewolf]

Wulfgard: The Hunt Never Ends Preview - Story 6, “Troubled Waters”

Interior illustration from The Hunt Never Ends story, “Troubled Waters”

We’re almost there - the book releases one week from today!

I am a very special kind of stressed, lemme tell you.

This preview is of the final story in the story collection and my personal favorite: “Troubled Waters.” If you didn’t know, this is a preview for my upcoming story collection, Wulfgard: The Hunt Never Ends. It’s a book, but it’s something in-between a novel and a short story collection.

Each story in the book is individual and stands on its own, but they also go in order and build upon each other. So I’m not sure if one should really call it a novel, but it’s also different than just unrelated short stories. It bridges the gap between the two mediums.

Anyway, here’s another preview - enjoy!

For more info on the book itself, you can also check out this post. Also be sure to check out the Hunt Never Ends tag for a whole lot more book previews!

And remember - Wulfgard: The Hunt Never Ends is available for preorder (digital only; physical available on release date) on Amazon.com!

Pre-Order Link

Please note that, while the ebook is now available for preorder, Wulfgard: The Hunt Never Ends will also be available in paperback on October 30 from the same Amazon listing! Paperbacks cannot be preordered using Amazon’s system, however.

Be sure to check back October 30 for the physical (paperback) edition!

If you’re interested in purchasing the book digitally, you can now pre-order it right here and have it immediately on October 30!

(Paperback edition will be available on Amazon on October 30)

------------

There were a lot of things Caiden knew how to do. Clean a sword. Maintain a bow or a crossbow, even customize the latter almost beyond recognition. Make his own arrows or bolts. Investigate a crime scene. Bandage a wound, make a tourniquet, brew a potion, hunt, forage, track, forge his own tools or weapons, carve wood, build houses or fortifications, command an army, cook meals…

But one thing he didn’t know how to do was read. And it pissed him off.

The beds in Castle Greywatch weren’t much. Some straw, changed daily, for a mattress, and some sackcloth to cover it. Any Venatori better off liked to buy their own beds, but Caiden wasn’t exactly drowning in coin. Following the dullahan encounter on Samhain, Kiya had given him a feather pillow as thanks – he didn’t want to think it had belonged to Relgar, but it probably had – and that was the nicest part of his sleeping arrangement in the castle.

He shifted his back against that pillow, currently squashed between him and the shoddy headboard and struggling to retain any fluffiness as a result. He tried to focus. Focus, he tended to be good at, but staring at the book in his hand almost made him wonder. It was a much smaller bestiary than the one Gwen had been given by Illikon, with a likewise smaller amount of illustrations.

If he had any sense, he would have just asked Gwen for help with reading. But his dignity – or maybe his stubbornness, or both – had long since thrown that idea out. He had all day to struggle with this, unless something came up. So, he reached to the nightstand beside him for the bottle of whiskey there. If there was something Castle Greywatch did have, it was decent booze.

Not that it seemed to be helping right now. It made things a little fuzzier, maybe. Slightly dulled that deep, gnawing, empty pain inside him, but not enough.

After they left Illikon, that feeling had grown louder, rowdier – tried to make itself more known. Whatever it was found claws to dig into his spine, using them to reach his skull. There, it chewed into him, left seeds of growing frustration – restless anger he couldn’t seem to muzzle. Any unwanted feelings of loneliness, of being lost, only got worse. A pulling, a need, telling him to do something.

After a few nights spent at Greywatch, it had grown to take a shape he almost recognized: hunger. Impossibly deep hunger that absolutely nothing satisfied.

That was why he couldn’t think. Not the drink. Not the page in front of him, covered in small symbols supposedly forming words, all of which made no sense. It was the smoldering flame in him turning into an empty inferno, and he had no idea how to put it out – or how to give it more fuel to burn.

Caiden’s eyes lost focus on the bestiary, staring at something inside rather than out. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand, his grip on the book loosening, letting it droop.

Some tentative excitement came creeping up the stairs just outside the room. Caiden snapped the book shut and shoved it under his pillow, folding his arms and feeling an awful lot like a five-year-old trying to hide something embarrassing.

Except the bottle of whiskey. Couldn’t really hide that. Not like it mattered, anyway; she already knew it.

Gwen rounded the corner, peering into the room past the partially ajar door. She gave a few tentative knocks, eyes on him.

Caiden grunted. Yeah. Come in. You already have.

When she stepped into the room, Caiden instantly noted she was fully suited up, wearing her leather jerkin, belt of potions, weapons… Which for her, unlike him, was unusual to see when they were around the castle. Something was up.

Gwen paused, looked at him, followed his gaze to the far wall obviously in search of something interesting there, then at him again.

He met her stare evenly. “What?”

She shot the whiskey bottle a glance. “It’s a little early to be drinking, isn’t it?”

Caiden shrugged. Did that actually matter right now?

“Sure… Okay.” Cool worry filled the room, emanating from her, lapping jittery and mildly annoying waves against him. Gwen fumbled with a letter she’d been holding halfway behind her back. “Well, everyone in the great hall was talking missions, and a new one just came in. I snatched it up – thought it might be interesting. It’s not really like anything we’ve done before…”

An unnatural urge to snap at her, tell her to get on with it, rose in his throat and forced him to swallow it. Barely. It settled in his stomach, uncomfortable and heavy, and he tried to tell himself not to be a half-drunk asshole.

“What is it?” he prompted, voice coming out too flat as he struggled to find his usual patience.

That made Gwen screw up her brow at him more than a little, but she said, “There’s a village in the mountains not far from here – secluded little place called Norhaven. It doesn’t seem very noteworthy, except it has its own freshwater spring coming out of a mountain. But now a monster’s attacking them over the water, or that’s what they’re claiming. They say it’s been burning people, of all things, and it only attacks in the dark.”

For half a second, Caiden’s mind stuttered and ground to a halt. The first time he met something that only attacked in the dark, it had been his first monster hunt. It wasn’t something he liked recalling.

But he nodded.

“They… want us there as soon as possible,” Gwen added, almost tentatively. No, not almost. Definitely. Her nerves were frayed. She was worried about something, and it only seemed to get worse the longer she looked at him.

Caiden didn’t much like people worrying about him. He never had.

So he huffed, trying to figure out how to give what she might consider a ‘normal’ response. He stood and popped his neck in a short shock of painful relief. Even if it didn’t help the pinching headache he’d gotten from being bent over a book and trying to read for so long, it felt slightly better.

“Maybe we should wait until tomorrow morning,” said Gwen, still eying him like he was sick.

He eyed her right back. “I’m fine.”

“Caiden, you’ve drunk way more than usual lately – and that’s already saying something – and way earlier in the day. You know how terrible that is for you, right? And besides that, you’re talking even less.”

Gwen frowned. Some kind of hurt came off her then, enough to make his insides almost start to shrivel.

“You can trust me,” she said at length. “If something’s wrong, talk to me about it. Wouldn’t you be the first one to tell me that you need to know if I have something going on, so it doesn’t jeopardize our mission?”

Caiden’s jaw tightened, hard, before he gave it permission. You know she’s right. Yeah, she was right, and he couldn’t tell her. Every word, every phrase that came to mind sounded dismissive. Uncaring, or at least untrusting.

But Gwen gave up fairly quickly, still wearing a frown. She nodded and said, “Okay. Want to leave in an hour or two? It isn’t far to ride. We’ll get there before sundown and we can find a place to sleep.”

Caiden nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll meet you by the stables.”

With that, Gwen turned and left – though not without throwing a quick, and decidedly worried, look back at him over her shoulder.

(More preview under the cut!)

------------

“These attacks,” said Gwen, “do they usually happen around the spring, under the trees?”

Asger nodded. “Mostly.”

“And has anyone been in that cave since it started?”

“Where the source is? Gods, no. Gotta have a deathwish to walk into the dark after this thing.”

“Yeah,” Caiden said, already walking around the trees and toward the cave. Behind him, Asger sputtered, while Gwen’s quiet footfalls and building, anxious excitement followed in his wake.

“Go on back to town and get some rest, Asger,” Gwen called back to him.

Caiden stopped before the mouth of the cave and squinted into it, reaching for a potion on his belt: one to enhance his senses. Beside him now, Gwen shifted, tension radiating from her like constant lightning.

“If you drink that and that thing burns you, it’ll really hurt,” she said. “I heard some Venatori pass out from pain if something catches them with one of those.”

Caiden huffed. “I didn’t last time. I won’t this time either.”

Just as he drained the potion bottle, Asger’s panting caught up with them again as he stopped by their side, drawing his bodkin dagger and holding it up in a shaking hand. Gwen blinked at him, and Caiden furrowed his brow.

Asger’s face slowly drained of color as he stared at Caiden’s eyes – a side-effect of the potion was his eyes glowing. Not much, just softly, but it tended to scare the hell out of the average person.

“You probably shouldn’t come with us,” Gwen offered slowly, like she was trying to calm Asger down from some fit of panic. “Especially since… your weapon there looks like something my partner might pick his teeth with.”

“This’s a finely-made dagger, I’ll have you know,” Asger blurted. “And I’m the watchman here, this is part of my job. Let’s go on then—”

He stepped forward, but Caiden snapped one hand out and got a firm grip on Asger’s arm, stopping him in his tracks.

“I’m on point,” he said. “You shouldn’t come, but if you’re following us, then stay behind me. Gwen…”

“On it. I’ll cover your rear— I mean, the rear.” A blush quickly rose in her cheeks. “Tom ruined me,” Caiden faintly heard her mutter under her breath.

Caiden grunted. Then he turned and led the way.

Didn’t take long for his eyes to adjust, then to adapt, thanks to that potion. Faint moonlight spilling in let him see limestone walls slick with condensation and a violently gushing spring, churning the water on the far end of the cavern at the base of the wall. Spitting it out straight into the reservoir, the flow of it turning gentle by the time it left the cave.

Heavy mist hung in the air here, maybe kicked up by the water. But something didn’t seem right.

Then he realized why.

Fear washed down upon them like frigid rain – so much fear that, for half a second, it froze every muscle in Caiden’s body. His nerves pulled taut, ready to break and snap down on him like a whip, hard enough to leave a few more scars on his back. Hand shooting to his sword hilt in a white-knuckle grip, he drew in a sharp breath and fought the chill that ran fast up his spine and forced him to be afraid.

This wasn’t natural. Gwen, from the way she was suddenly fumbling with her gear, seemed to know it.

Asger, on the other hand, didn’t. He bellowed out a hoarse shout, nearly fell spinning around to face the exit, and ran for the cave mouth.

All around them, a shrill voice echoed, “Leave this place!”

It spoke the words very clearly – not the gibberish he’d been told about.

Everything happened at once. A rush of air ripped by him, trailing cold in its wake, like off the surface of the spring itself. Asger screamed, his heavy boots scuffing the stone as something made him stumble and fall. Caiden charged forward at a surging shadow, blade ready to swing.

And an arrow lodged itself in his upper arm with a hard lance of pain and a meaty thunk.

Caiden coughed out a grunt and staggered from the impact, the arrow locking up his sword arm and stopping him mid-strike. Whatever had come past him and attacked Asger seemed already gone, moving faster than he could even understand.

Gwen appeared beside him in an instant, hand on his uninjured left arm and sputtering apologies. “Caiden!? I – gods— I shouldn’t have tried to shoot it, it moved so fast—”

The cave around him was far from silent. Asger swore as he scrambled to his feet, Gwen kept on apologizing as she tried in vain to tug Caiden out of the cave until he, halfway in a stupor, finally staggered along after her.

Boots against stone. Grass under their feet, bright moonlight overhead. Plenty of pain in his right arm that twitched useless and limp at his side.

These sensations stayed, but something was missing.

He’d heard once that silence was golden. He had never understood what ‘silence’ entirely meant. This was the closest he’d ever come.

The whispers had stopped – the fleeting memories. All of it. The fear from the monster was gone – his, Asger’s, Gwen’s – he felt no terror from anyone, though they still looked afraid. Sounded afraid. Moved like it. But he couldn’t sense it. It didn’t invade his mind, twist into him, and try to make itself at home.

And he suddenly felt blind. Deaf. Neither of those things, yet both at once – because it was gone. A sense he had known for his entire life, something that was always there. Gone, no trace left. He felt dumb.

Caiden blinked. Furrowed his brow. His shoulders tensed, pulled against the arrow still biting deep into his arm, and made him wince.

What the hell was going on?

In the corner of his vision, he saw Gwen fumble for something in a pouch on her belt, only to draw out the shattered neck of a bottle. She swore and threw it aside, turning her attention to him instead as he stared straight ahead at nothing in particular.

“Caiden – Caiden, hey, look at me!” Gwen grabbed the harness around his shoulders and tugged on it hard enough for his eyes to snap to her and stare. Her face was pale. “That arrow was poisoned. Okay? You’re probably woozy right now; it’s very fast-acting…”

“Gwen—”

She sucked in a hard breath and blurted, “Caiden if you say ‘I’m fine’ I swear to Athena I will punch you in the stomach.”

He paused and cocked his head at her, his mouth ever so slightly ajar.

“Listen,” she said, voice quivering and straining to sound strong, “the bottle for the antidote I had on me broke – I have more of it, but it’s in my saddlebag. We have to get you to the inn so we can get that arrow out and I can give you the antidote. Okay?”

“Just pull it out,” Caiden mumbled, his words coming out slurred.

“I’m not doing that, you don’t just suddenly pull an arrow out – there are procedures for this!”

One sharp tug on his uninjured arm later, and he was following her back down the mountain path, both of them led by a stumbling Asger. The watchman looked at a deep welt on his forearm, his flesh twisted and reddened – what was left of it. Most of it had burned off entirely. Asger swore more colorfully than the average sailor, wearing a deep grimace.

He separated from them with a few hurried words to Gwen – words Caiden should’ve heeded, but paid no attention to – and disappeared into a nearby home. Gwen kept leading the way, up the stairs and into the inn, still tugging on Caiden’s uninjured arm.

“By Jove!” the innkeeper shouted, starting up in an instant from where he’d been sitting in his quiet tavern.

He quickly started throwing questions, which Gwen just as quickly deflected. She mostly did that by dumping a handful of coins on the counter and asking for two rooms. All the while, Caiden leaned his uninjured arm on the nearest table and pulled in one deep breath after another.

Pain quickly found its way across his body, tightening every muscle and settling heavily in his chest, like having molten lead poured into his lungs. It didn’t leave him any room to breathe, and that didn’t leave him much room to think.

[queen-of-the-avengers]

Call Me James

Characters: Bucky Barnes x Tattoo Artist!Reader, Clint Barton, minor characters

Word Count: 2,093

Warnings: none

Summary: You have a very special talent, and the tattoos on your body are able to tell your story for you. When Nick Fury gets word of you, he thinks you could be a very valuable asset to the team.

Squared Filled: Tattoo Artist AU // Tattoos // Free Space

Author’s Note: I know you guys have requests and I promise to get to them. I have two bingos I need to finish before the deadline in Aug/Sept and by the rate I am going, I will be done before that so please bear with me. This is for @star-spangled-bingo and @clintbartonbingo and @buckybarnesbingo respectively and if you have any requests, please send them in! This is unbeta’d and any and all mistakes are all on me.

Feedback the glue that holds my writing together

Tags at the bottom

“How are you holding up, boss?” you asked your client that has been in your chair for the past six hours. Rubbing his skin to remove the excess ink, you cleared your view before going back in. The man who came in wanted a big ass tattoo on the back of his calf, and when you expressed you could easily do it, he brought up the money faster than you could say “damn”. He was doing considerably well for the area. He’s only flinched a few times, but that was to be expected in the area he wanted the tattoo.

“Good. Are you almost done?” he asked as he squinted his eyes shut.

“Yes. I have to do some more shading around this area,” you marked with your finger, “and then you’re all done.”

“Did yours hurt this bad?” he asked as he pointed to the tattoo of a deadly tiger that you had on the side of your right calf. Looking down at the tattoo, you remembered the time and energy you spent doing that on yourself. Most of your tattoos were done by yourself with only a few in the hard to reach spots being done by artists you trust. There was something special about your tattoos that no one else could replicate. If people knew the true power you possessed, then they would be too scared to come into your store.

“I have a really high pain intolerance,” you chuckled as you continued with your work. Before you could finish with the tattoo, you heard the bell on the front door meaning you had a customer. Looking at the clock, you realized you had enough time to fit one more person in depending on what they wanted. “Do you mind if I get that real quick?”

“No, go ahead,” he said. Taking off your black gloves once you set the tools down, you threw them away as you walked to the front of your store.

“Hi, can I help you?” you asked once you made eye contact with the middle-aged man. He looked oddly familiar. There might have been a time where you’ve seen this man on TV, but you couldn’t be sure.

“I have some questions I need to ask you if you have the time right now.”

“Regarding what?”

“Tattoos.”

“Are you looking to get one? I have some time after my client.”

“No, I’m not. I just had a few questions. I’ll wait until you’re done if that works better,” he said politely. There was something in the way he spoke that was really familiar.

“Like I said, I’m with a client. Have a seat and I’ll be with you as soon as I can,” you said with a tight smile before returning to your client in the back. When he saw you returning, he put down his phone as you put on fresh black gloves.

“Everything okay?” he asked one he saw the distress on your face.

“Yeah, I’m good,” you said as you took a seat. Quickly resuming your work, you finished within the next 30 minutes. A tattoo always needed to be cleaned, so when you did it, you grabbed the second skin that he requested to be put on after when he was done. “Okay, let this sit for about 24 hours, come in, I’ll replace it with a new skin, and then come back in a week to get it removed. Your tattoo should be healed by then.”

“This is awesome. You’re truly talented,” he praised as he looked at it in the mirror.

“Thank you, that means a lot,” you chuckled as you took a few pictures of it to add to your portfolio. Guiding him to the front desk, the transaction didn’t take long to process, and the man left your store in another five minutes. Looking at the stranger who waited patiently, you put the cash away in the register before speaking.

“I’m sorry for the wait, but if you could give me five more minutes to clean up, I’ll be right out.”

“Take your time,” he smiled. Quickly nodding, you escaped to your studio as you cleaned the station thoroughly. As you cleaned, you absentmindedly racked your brain as to why this man was here and what he wanted. Did he really want a tattoo? Did he want to rob you? Did he want to know for a friend? This whole situation was making you nervous that you bypassed the most important detail about this man. When he came in, you noticed he had a folder in his hand, but you didn’t pay any attention to it until you suddenly remembered the two words on that folder.

Avengers Initiative.

Shit, this man was either from SHIELD or he worked with Tony Stark which meant only one thing. They knew who you were and what you were truly capable of. The reasons why your tattoos were so special because you had the ability to make them come alive. Yes, that’s right. Whatever you tattooed on your body, you were able to manifest into a physical object and turn it back into a tattoo once you were finished with it. No, you don’t know exactly how you got these powers because you were born with it.

The first time you noticed something was off when you drew on yourself for the first time. Drawing was your passion ever since you were little, and when you used your skin as a canvas, you realized you had powers that none other possessed. For example, when you were about seven years old, you had drawn a detailed dragon on your thigh because you had been bored and there wasn’t any paper around.

“There,” you muttered to yourself as you put down the pen. The dragon you drew was colorful and big, expanding across the entire length of your upper right thigh. As you set the pen down, you could have sworn the dragon moved. Your suspicions were confirmed when the whole dragon shivered its body, flaring the feathers you drew so delicately. Then, out of nowhere, the dragon manifested itself off your skin and into a real-life dragon. There was a real-life fucking dragon in your room. The same colors, same design, only that it was fleshy and alive.

After that, you figured out that whatever you drew on your body would have the ability to come to life. Even inanimate objects would be able to manifest itself at a single thought. No one knew of your abilities because you would become the next science experiment for the government to toy with.

Instead, you used your tattoos for good and whenever you could without getting caught. However, with every good thing, there are bound to be bad things to follow. Yes, you could manifest your tattoos into real life, but there were consequences.

“Okay, Mr. Dragon, this is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me. How did this even happen?” you started freaking out. The dragon roared, and you were glad you were home alone this time. Since your room was small even for you, it had a hard time maneuvering around. His tail was always bumping into things until it actually knocked over your first-grade trophy for the spelling bee that you were meaning to put away in storage. The trophy came crashing down on the dragon’s foot, and pain erupted from your own foot as if the two of you were linked. The dragon roared in pain before transforming back into your drawing on your leg.

“Son of a bitch!” you cursed as you caressed your throbbing foot.

If your tattoos felt pain, so did you. If they bled, so did you. When they felt enough pain, they turned back into drawings/tattoos so that you could focus on the injury on your own body. However, this isn’t like this for everyone. Tattoos given to you by other people don’t have any effect on you, it has to be by your hand, and your hand only. Any tattoo that you give others has no effect on them, it has to be your body. It was a weird power to possess, but you’ve learned to deal with it. That was the only thing you could think of as to why this man was waiting for you with a folder that said “Avengers Initiative” on it.

Nonetheless, when you were done cleaning, you walked into the lobby before sitting down on the couch.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“First, my name is Clint Barton. I was sent by Nick Fury to talk to you about something you might find interesting,” he said as he opened the file. That is where you knew him from. He was all over the news along with the other five Avengers. He was the one with a bow and arrow.

“Okay, and?” you asked as you played the dumb card.

“Is this you?” he asked as he handed you pictures of you with a grown tiger by your side. This was the time you saved a hunter from shooting a lion. The tiger was able to scare off the hunters bad enough to stop them from going out there ever again.

“Is that a crime to be near a tiger?” you asked calmly.

“Fine. Is this you?” he asked as he held up the phone that Tony provided him with. A holographic video began playing of you showing your tattoos manifesting itself and fighting before going back on your skin.

“Whatever you want, it won’t work on you,” you sighed.

“I already told you. I’m not here for a tattoo. Nick Fury thinks you’d be essential to the team.”

“The team? You want me to be an Avenger?” you scoffed.

“Something wrong with that?”

“If he wants me to be one, why didn’t he come down here and tell me this his damn self?”

“He’s preoccupied. I think you could be beneficial to the team and we could benefit you as well.”

“Can I at least think about it?”

“Of course. Here’s his number,” Clint said as he handed you Nick’s card. He got up and left the file for you to review as a sort of convincing factor to your decision. “Think long and hard about it.”

“Okay,” you sighed as he left your shop. What would you do in this situation?

“Everyone, this is Y/N. She will be joining us on further missions indefinitely,” Nick introduced you to the whole team. Everyone seemed to be staring at the many tattoos on your body, or at least, the ones they could see.

“Did you do all of those yourself?” Natasha asked.

“Most of them yes. I couldn’t do any on the hard to reach places, but I did what I could with what I had,” you chuckled.

“Those are amazing,” Bucky spoke up. He seemed too mesmerized by your tattoos. He has always loved them on other people, not himself. He especially loved it when a woman sported a lot because it made her look badass.

“Thank you, James,” you grinned. The whole team grew silent after you said his name. “What, did I miss something?”

“His name is Bucky. Well, James is his real name, but he goes by Bucky.”

“Oh, my apologies,” you chuckled.

“Can you show us what you can do?” Steve asked, curious as hell to see this. Smiling, you began the demonstration of your powers.

“I think what you did earlier was just amazing,” Bucky said when he found you in the common area all alone. Looking up from your file, you made room for him on the two-person sofa.

“Thank you. I love all my tattoos. Do you have any?”

“No, I don’t like them on me. On you, they look badass,” he grinned.

“You’re actually the first person to say that to me,” you said shyly.

“Really?”

“Yeah, people usually see my tattoos and immediately get disgusted. They think I’m a bad person doing bad shit, always getting into trouble. It makes me sad to hear those things because I’m far from that. I hate hurting anything, even flies. I try to trap them in cups and let them go back outside. It’s like no one wants to get to know me. They see the tattoos and they get turned off,” you confessed.

“Well, I don’t know you that well, but if you’ll let me, I’d like to,” he said with a smile.

“Thank you, Bucky. I’d like that.”

“Call me James.”

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[let-me-love-you-loki]

Waking Up in Vegas--Ch. 14

Chapter 14: Send Out an S.O.S.

The Following Monday Night

Mera, Evening, 7:45 PM

           The trainer’s room was where it always was, and my things were spread out exactly as I preferred them. All my necessary tools were within arm’s reach, easy to access should any of the superstars need my help. I was never part of the scripted trainer visits—they kept me in reserve for those who were really injured. For the most part, even the fans knew that when I came to the ring, something was really wrong.

           I spent a lot of time alone in that room most nights. Sure, there were the times when someone got a little overzealous and either hurt themselves or someone else. But for the most part, I was just there to deal with general sports injuries and required stretching from their physical therapists. Right before matches, there was a steady trickle of superstars. Sometimes right after if someone just needed help with a locked-up muscle.

           Otherwise… it was just me and four walls. I kept books with me, so sometimes I would read. Sometimes I had notes or medical records to update for some of the superstars who I saw on a regular basis. Most of the time, thought, it was just my thoughts and me.

           With a major pay-per-view coming up, the higher ups were being more careful about the health of their superstars who were set to be big draws. Seth was on the books as going after the Universal Championship at Wrestlemania, so everyone was being particularly careful about his knee and his back.

           Which meant he was required to see me before and after his matches from now until Wrestlemania was over. Great, I thought, looking at the note in his medical chart. Just great.

           I thought back to the Seth I knew as a kid—back when everyone called him Colby or Brandon’s little brother. He had been so sweet and kind. In high school, he was charming and smart. He’d loved wrestling, putting on shows in his front yard with his friends, covering his basement bedroom in a thousand different names and slogans. But there had been a time—when he was Tyler Black in the ring and Colby everywhere else—when we’d been inseparable. When he’d wanted nothing more than to have me at his side, chasing that dream with him.

           We graduated high school. I went to college, fast-tracking through an athletic training program—doing homework by flashlight driving from town to town on the weekends to watch him compete. Forty-thousand dollars of debt to get a degree and a certification to do a job that guaranteed I could be with him wherever he went. Independent wrestling companies didn’t always have fantastic care for their athletes, and I was an added bonus that came along when someone signed Tyler Black. And those hadn’t been bad days.

           Crappy apartments, cheap hotels, food that was never that good and half the time cold, long drives and late nights. That had been my life from 18 to 29—eleven years of following him across the world with one company after the other. WWE had made it a little easier with better pay, a nicer apartment, more stability. But it had also created Seth Rollins. He was cocky, self-assured, and selfish. Even though he wore the same face as my childhood Colby, it had been Seth who had ripped my heart into pieces.

           Someone knocked on the door. I glanced at my watch, realized that it must have been him. His match started in forty-five minutes. Plenty of time for me to give him a decent once over to ensure that nothing was of concern before he got in the ring. And, hopefully, it could be quick enough that we didn’t have to talk much.

           I crossed the room, opened the door. Seth stood there with that annoyingly cocky look on his face, already dressed out in his gear. I fought down the pounding of my heart, the nausea that burned in my throat. “You know the drill,” I said, emotionless as he passed close by.

           He hopped up on the table, flopping on to his stomach. I sighed and rubbed my hands together to warm them. It was best to just get this over with as fast as possible.

           “Any pain today?” The words came out flat. For just about everyone else, I had a pretty good bedside manner. For Seth, it was all about getting him in and out without too many insults and tears.

           “Tight on the left. You know how it gets sometimes,” he said with a knowing something in his voice. He turned his head toward me, pillowing his cheek on his crossed forearms. “Too much strain, you know.”

           I forced my thoughts away from memories of the things throughout the years had triggered his aching back. “Tell me when it hurts.”

 Dean, Evening, 7:55 PM

           I cracked my knuckles, swung my arms to warm up my shoulders. I wasn’t scheduled until the second hour of the show, and I wanted to sit with Mera for a while. It was amazing to me that she had become so perfectly integrated into my life that her presence made me feel calm in a way that nothing did.

           As I came down the hallway, I could hear her voice from the trainer’s room. Her tone was even, yet something seemed off. She sounded carefully controlled, clipped. I knew the rules—don’t go into the trainer’s room when someone else was already there—privacy and all that. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t wait outside just in case.

           “Use the heat before and after on the back. Rest it twenty-four hours between every exertion. That means matches or workouts. You need to spread it out so that you can even make it to Wrestlemania.”

           It took a moment for the response to come. When it did, my blood ran cold. The beast in my chest roared, desperate to get into the room, to keep her safe, to protect her heart.

           “What was that treatment you used to do?” The words themselves were innocent, but I knew there was something more to his intent. “It used to work so well.”

           “Call a masseuse,” she snapped back. “That’s not part of my job.”

           Breathe, I told that primal thing inside me. It writhed in anger and sheer protective instinct. It was like it could sense her discomfort. I watched the door, wishing I could see through it. She was capable, intelligent, and stronger than any woman I’d ever met, and yet all I could think to do was to do everything I could to protect her from even the simplest pain.

           The room went quiet. I paced, the worst possible scenarios playing through my mind.

           “They never know how to do it. It’s either too much or not enough pressure. You’ve always been able to fix it,” Seth said in a tone that sounded both pouting and deceiving. “This is my big shot, Mera. Help me out here.”

           Her visage floated into my mind. I could see the way her liquid gold eyes blurred with guilt, how she might look at him with her lips pressed into a line, her face a mask of discomfort and unhappiness. I’d watched her long enough to know how her emotions played over her features, how her sadness, pain, and shame could bend her into someone that gave away her best self to cater to another.

           I knew there were tears in her eyes when she spoke. Just as I knew the answer before she even gave it. “Okay.”  

           The primal thing in my chest surprised me with the ferocity of its jealousy. It dug in, tried to drive me to bust through the door, to drag her away and remind her that she was mine and I was hers.

           It took nearly every ounce of my will to keep myself in control. My feet picked up their pacing, taking me further away from the trainer’s room. It was as much for my peace of mind as it was for her privacy. Mera was my wife, regardless of how long it had been. There was nothing within me that could distrust her.

           Seth Rollins was another story. In the last week, I’d seen my tag partner and brother in a new light—as a man who was self-centered, self-absorbed, and selfish. While I didn’t know the details of their relationship, I had pieced together enough to know that Seth had broken her heart completely. The fact that he seemed to be using their history to get what he wanted made my blood run cold.

 Mera, Evening, 8:14 PM

           I washed my hands in the sink, making sure to scrub the Icy-Hot from my fingers. The tremble that ran through them made me feel sick, stomach turning over as I tried to get myself under control. I hated the way that old feelings came rushing back with the memories of caring for Seth back when he had been Colby and Tyler. Some part of me—a traitorous corner of my heart that reveled in masochism it seemed—still thought there was some good in him, a piece of the old version of the man that I’d known.

           My back was turned to Seth as he pulled his shirt back on. The rustle of cloth and the creaking of the padded table let me know that he was up and moving. I grabbed a handful of paper towels and dried my hands aggressively, hoping to hide their shaking. As I tossed them in the trash can, I stepped over to the WWE-issued laptop with the superstar’s medical records on it.

           “Knee looks good. Heat on the back twice a day, 20 minutes each time. Strenuous activity only every other day, Monday through Saturday. Full rest on every off day until the match,” I said over my shoulder, already pulling up his medical chart. Once those directions were in his record, booking would have no choice but to go easy on him—perhaps easier than they already were.

           Footsteps scuffed across the floor. Flesh met metal, then a heavy sigh. “You know Vegas weddings aren’t binding after 30 days, don’t you? Didn’t Dean tell you?”

           The door whined on its hinges. The sound of it thudding back against the frame echoed the weight that slammed against my heart. Every fiber of my being suddenly yearned for Dean, to confess everything that I felt—the confusion and fear. I tried desperately to push away the seed that Seth had tried to plant. After all, Dean and I had already talked about having a real ceremony of some fashion.

           I felt my throat close with tears as I realized there was a ticking clock on our marriage.

 Dean, Evening, 8:20 PM

           I watched from down the hall as Seth walked away from the trainer’s room. There was a smirk on his face that made me wonder what I’d missed while I’d let my feet carry me around the backstage area. That beast inside me roared, sent adrenaline flooding my veins, screaming commands to find and protect what was mine.

           Reaching for the door, I heard her sobs. The door banged against the wall as I swept her into my arms. My fingers tangled in her hair. Silently, I swore. I’m going to slaughter him.

Tag List

@bethany99stuff-blog @houndsofjxstice @lunatictoosweet @xbutterflius-effectusx @mother-forker

[birb-the-nerd]

Ending With A Blast

STOP WHATEVER YOU’RE DOING. PLEASE GIVE ME A MOMENT OF YOUR TIME. I’m sure this has been done already in some shape/form, but I just felt compelled to do it.

*claps* 

Sooo, 2018 has come to an end. It has certainly been a wild year! Recently, I was scrolling through social media and as expected, there was a lot of talk about 2018. And what I saw struck a chord with me. I saw a lot of posts like “2018 was THE WORST YEAR EVER,” “There more bad than good this year!” “God, this year went on forever,” “honestly there was nothing good about 2018...” you get the idea. Just all over the place, people were complaining and talking about how bad 2018. Granted, MOST were News sources (not surprising) but even then it was just overwhelming. Of course, people are going to think negatively if that’s what they’re surrounded by constantly. Look, what I’m trying to get at is this: STOP. Just STOP. Stop with all this negativity! 2018 was not a horrible year! Did it have its downsides? Of course! Every year does! But people often overlook the great things that happen every year. 

You might say: “Well okay, maaaaybe this year wasn’t so bad, but we can agree that other years were way worse right?” OR “2018 maybe was not to YOU or for the majority of people, but it sure was bad for ME!” *Inhales* First off, people can argue every year was the worst year. Secondly, I’m sure there were moments in your life that sucked, but I can think of a few positive things that you might’ve had: you woke up today, you’re alive, the sun is still shining, you’re breathing, you ate today, you drank water, you said hi to someone, you spent time with friends/family, and so on. 

Even the smallest light is a light nonetheless, pushing away some of the darkness.

I could go on for hours & hours about this but to make this short, I liked to do something, as a community, as a bunch of people. You’ve all heard of the phrase, “Starting the year off with a bang?” Well, I wanna END this year off with a bang too! I want people to reblog and write a list or AT LEAST ten highlights of 2018 (no matter how tiny or pointless you may think it is). It doesn’t have to be just ten, make it 20, 30, Hell, do 100! The more, the better! :D Here’s my example below: 

BEST OF 2018 (for me): 

JSE How Did We Get Here Show (Detroit, MI one!) 

My Mom Got Her Associates!!!

Going to my first concert

My first music festival

Turning 19! 

My school’s Christmas Choir Concert

Getting more out of my comfort Zone

Making new Friends (and somehow a best friend???)

Doing Inktober/getting better at drawing 

Getting a 4.0 in my Psychology 101 college class

My sister celebrated her one-year w/ her boyfriend

Sold some of my fluid art paintings

Donating to Charity with my own money

My brother performed his first comedy skit at just 14

One of my inktober drawings being used as a cover for my church bulletins

My iron levels (specifically my ferritin) have increased!

Successfully babysitting for the first time (that wasn’t my family)

Sharing my interests with my family without feeling embarrassed

Getting accepted into the college I wanted 

Finally, accepting my body for what it is and not being ashamed of it

As you can see, there is no limit. There’s probably more I could’ve put but I can’t think of them at the moment. This isn’t meant to brag or make people feel horrible. I just want people to take the time and reflect on their year as a whole, spread a little PMA! 

Before I end this long post, I wanted to add a little bit of a message for 2019. If you still think 2018 was a horrible year, that’s fine! You’re allowed to feel that way. This year, Seán promoted PMA (Positive Mental Attitude). I think he’d agree with me and say this isn’t the end of PMA, definitely not. We need to keep that PMA and making it 1000% better next year! I want people to struggle to find anything negative to talk about during 2019, that’s how much positivity there needs to be. Spread the joy, even if it’s just to yourself, that’s fine! You matter just as much as anyone else. Live every day to the fullest (I know this is cliche but it works!) Even if you do absolutely nothing, you still are alive and breathing and that’s just wonderful. I love this community and I am so proud to see all the PMA we have. I can’t wait to see how much more we can do in 2019.

LET’S MAKE 2019 OUR YEAR

Tagging: @therealjacksepticeye , @turquoisemagpie (the two most positive peeples I know/seen. Hope you don’t mind me tagging you ^^’) 

Feel free to spread this to anyone, not just in the JSE community! Let’s fill Tumblr with joy! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! 

[rosalind-of-arden]

The Timeline Project

This is an attempt to sort out the timeline of these books. It is very long.

1992: Eskander locks himself away. Wolfe is born same year or year after. (Smoke and Iron, Annis says Eskander has been locked up for 40 years, Eskander says he locked himself up because he used too much power in an escape attempt “before the child was born.”)

2024: Jess’s brother Liam dies. (Ink and Bone says Jess was 9 when this happened, Liam 17)

2025: 10 year old Jess encounters the ink-licker

Summer 2029: Wolfe invents printing press and is arrested. (Paper and Fire, Wolfe states this happened 3 years ago)

Summer 2030: Wolfe released from prison. (Ink and Bone, Santi says Wolfe was in prison for a year)

Let’s say August (could be anywhere from May-September, considering weather) 2031: Jess takes Library entrance test. Weather is warm and sunny.

Next day train leaves for Alexandria.

Gets to Spain 1 day later.

Remaining duration of train ride unspecified: another day or two?

First lesson morning after arriving in Alexandria.

After one week of classes, Dario steals Jess’s clothes, Khalila asks about Iron Tower.

Next day, Dario loses Codex.

September 2031 (Morgan says she left Oxford a month ago, so if class started in August, she would be arriving in September)

Unspecified time later, Jess gets letter from parents, steals book.

Next day, some students start getting extra classes, Jess uses translation tags.

Next day, still no extra classes for Jess, postulants bicker and play chess.

Next day, Morgan arrives, confiscation training, restraint test.

Next day, whole class lottery, students who didn’t draw tiles dismissed.

3 days later, Thomas first mentions press, class disarms Burner traps.

December 2031 (editing to shift this here, on rereading, Morgan’s arrival doesn’t seem quite as late as I had it before, Jess observes fall weather in France, and we need to make the start of Paper and Fire close to one year after the start of Ink and Bone): 

Some time later? Unspecified. Jess catches Morgan doing Obscurist things, tells her about his family.

Next morning, class sent to Oxford.

In Oxford for one day? Winter weather (freezing rain) in Oxford.

Jess spends one day unconscious after being stabbed.

Two more days in Welsh camp.

Next day they drive to London, get on train.

Train crashes that night.

Next morning, Thomas shows them chess automaton (that got there fast - translation?)

Six days in France. Morgan arrested on sixth night.

January 2032

Travel back to Alexandria takes a week or two (according to Google maps, could be longer).

That night, Thomas arrested.

Next morning class graduates.

Total time for Ink and Bone: around 1 week to get to Alexandria, approximately two weeks actually accounted for in Alexandria, 1 day in Oxford, around two-three weeks to get back to Alexandria. Unspecified time gap makes things difficult. Probably reasonable to assume it’s a full semester. Based on weather descriptions in England (edited to add: and France) and time spans given, I’m going to say the main events of the book take place from summer/early fall of 2031 to winter of 2031.

July 2032: Paper and Fire begins 6 months after Ink and Bone. Jess has just spent weeks looking for a book with proof that Thomas is alive. In terms of weather, scorching heat is mentioned, so possibly summer. Let’s be generous with time estimates and say Ink and Bone ended early January this is mid-July. Not quite 7 months, but a bit more than exactly 6.

Next day, training exercise and confrontation with Wolfe and Santi.

Next day, Jess visits Dario and Khalila at Lighthouse, plots with Glain.

August 2032: To make this work with Ash and Quill, let’s say late enough in August that it will be September by the time they get to Philadelphia.

Unspecified number of days pass. Research and scheming happen, Dario and Jess go to tomb of Alexander the Great, fights sphinx.

Middle of next night, Jess and Glain summoned to High Commander, Jess goes to find Brendan.

3 days later, Dario asks Scholar Prakesh to help.

Next day, Scholar Prakesh is killed. Jess goes first looking for Brendan, then to Wolfe, mesmer gets Wolfe’s memories back, Morgan escapes and meets Jess.

Next morning, Jess and Glain assigned to Santi’s company, sent to Rome, fight Burners, meet Dario and Khalila.

That night, kids and Santi meet in atrium, Jess scouts tunnels.

Next morning, they rescue Thomas, Dario captured, rest translate to the Iron Tower

Next day, they find the Black Archives, Artifex shows up with Dario, Black Archives burned, Obscurist Magnus killed after translating the group to London, group meets Brightwell family, go to Serapeum, double crossing and backstabbing occur, group is sent to Philadelphia.

Total time for Paper and Fire: Approximately two weeks. Might be able to stretch that to a month if we interpret that unspecified number of days in Chapter 5 very generously. It’s literally “days passed”, so hard to call it too much more than a week or two. Edit: We are going to have to interpret that unspecified time gap VERY generously. At least this makes Dario’s impatience a bit more logical. There is no other way for this to work with the next book starting in the fall and no time in between. I really, really wish that 6 months wasn’t so clearly and repeatedly stated.

September 2032: Group translates into Philadelphia, put in prison. Season is specifically named as fall in Chapter 2.

Next day, Thomas and Jess meet with Beck, bombardment happens, Santi severely burned, Jess and Thomas visit workshop.

Next day, Santi moved to doctor’s house, Jess and Dario go shopping and scouting.

Unspecified time gap working on press. Chapter 3 ends with shopping, 4 picks up with press 1/3 done. Doesn’t seem to be very long, possibly same day. Students scheme, visit Wolfe and Santi at the doctor’s house and scheme more.

Next day, Jess and Thomas work on press, Morgan and Glain figure out how to make a Codex.

Next day, Glain shows Jess evidence Burners attacked jail, more work on press, Wolfe and Santi visit workshop.

Late that night/early next morning, Morgan makes Codex, Jess contacts Brendan, plans are made, Jess and Thomas demonstrate press, violence happens, group escapes with doctor and a few refugees, Library destroys Philadelphia.

Unspecified time gap while Jess is unconscious. Jess wakes up, talks to lots of people, plans are made, Jess visits Morgan, gets drugged by doctor.

Jess wakes up halfway through next day, party splits from doctor and refugees, encounters Khalila’s cousin, attacked by automaton lions, reprogram lions, board Anit’s ship.

Unspecified time gap on ship. (8-15 days if we’re being historically accurate for a steamship, thanks @thegreatlibraryfangirl)

October 2032

Arrive at the Brightwell castle, awkward family interactions occur, Dario tells Jess about Feast of Greater Burning in 30 days, awkward dinner, Brendan tips Jess off about father’s scheming. Jess sees Morgan’s messed up power. Season is late fall, almost winter.

Next day, suspicious Glain is suspicious, Jess and Thomas work on press, Wolfe joins them, Jess almost robs his mother.

Unspecified time gap. Ray of Apollo is done, press is done. Press will be shown to Callum next day. That night, Jess, Brendan, Anit scheme, Jess tells Morgan.

Two days later, press is demonstrated, strategic betrayal occurs: Jess, Morgan, Wolfe translated to Alexandria, everyone else put on a ship.

Total time for Ash and Quill: Around 1 week in Philadelphia. A couple days in the High Garda camp and traveling. Two weeks approximately on ship. A week or so at the castle in England? Total time: 1 month? Maybe another week or two, at most. Time until Feast of Greater Burning: 20-26 days depending on time at castle.

October 2032

Jess: Chapter 1 begins with Jess in jail 5 days after arriving in Alexandria. It is the anniversary of Liam’s death. Jess “was now older than Liam had ever lived to be”. If Jess turned 17 near the beginning of Ink and Bone, he’s 18 here, and this line works well. If he’s still 17, he’s talking about being older by as little as a few hours. Weather was rainy in England when Liam dies, warm and sunny in Alexandria.

Jess negotiates with Archivist, moved to monitored apartment.

Next day, Spanish ambassador visits Jess, Jess gets message from Morgan in Blank.

Chapter 12 picks up after “a few long days”. Jess’s apartment is searched, Jess is taken to Archivist for questioning, hypnotized by Elsinore Quest on the way to think he really is Brendan, gets sent to raid smuggler’s house. Goes home, takes a 2-hour nap, wakes up and remembers he’s Jess.

Early the next morning, Jess goes to the Colosseum, sees automaton workshop, including dragon being built, saves Archivist from assassination attempt.

Unspecified time gap. Must be same day as Chapter 21. Chapter 25 begins with Jess sending messages to smugglers. He discovers Burners have press, tells Spanish messenger he thinks executions will be moved up, raids Burner house with High Garda and finds press, sees dragon, taken to Archivist to meet up with Brendan and Wolfe, rescued by Santi’s soldiers, party reunites, Jess runs off with Brendan, goes to Red Ibrahim,  Anit kills Red Ibrahim.

Chapter 34 begins right after Chapter 28. Anit brings Jess and Brendan to smugglers, plans to attack Feast of Greater Burning.

Khalila: Chapter 3 begins with Khalila, Glain, Thomas, Dario, and Santi on the ship heading for Alexandria. Bit of googling says the trip from England to Alexandria would be 1-2 weeks depending on speed, weather. The weather is stormy, so probably more like two weeks. They’re probably about halfway there when the chapter begins since they’re near Spain. Very cold weather. Khalila mentions “we’ve already been delayed”.  Let’s say we’re starting 1 week after Ash and Quill here.

Khalila gets details of plan from Dario, plots with Santi.

Probably same day, possible time gap here just because it isn’t specified that it’s the same day, Khalila talks to Anit. That night, sailors try and fail to kill Glain.

Late that night/early next morning, Khalila wakes up, finds everyone in Santi’s room. They’re off the coast of Portugal near the Strait of Gibraltar, less than a day before they’re past Cadiz. Thomas, Glain and Khalila make weapons, group takes Anit hostage and seizes ship.

Unspecified time gap. Chapter 16 begins with Khalila in Cadiz writing letters to dead sailors’ families. Dario complains about how long they’ve been waiting, could be hours or days since he says it takes the king hours to get there from Madrid. King comes to take them to Madrid, they detour to Cadiz Serapeum. Rainy weather, warmer than it was on the ship but still cold. Khalila gets into the Serapeum, negotiates with Scholar Murasaki.

Unspecified time gap. Chapter 29 picks up shortly after Jess and Brendan run off in Chapter 28, still same day as 21 and 25. Khalila, Dario, and Glain go to the Lighthouse with letters from Wolfe to recruit Scholars. Dario is captured.

Wolfe: Chapter 7 begins the day Wolfe is put back in jail. He’s pretty much out of his mind at first, so we may be able to play with the timeline (was he messed up enough to miss that he was there longer than a day before pulling himself together? Says he “had gone a little mad”, but it’s his POV, and he’d downplay it).

Second day, Wolfe discovers Khalila’s brother is in the cell next to his, starts mapping prison, encounters Troll, who Zara has sent as a spy.

Unknown time gap. Wolfe wakes up at night to find the Artifex outside his cell. Artifex threatens to torture Santi if Wolfe doesn’t kill himself in 3 days. Is Artifex expecting Anit’s ship in 3 days? That would place Chapter 8 somewhere after Chapter 6.

Unspecified time gap. In chapter 20, Wolfe has his fellow prisoners organized, but mental health is getting worse. Mysterious Qualls appearance happens.

Next morning, Khalila’s father about to be taken for questioning, Wolfe volunteers to go instead, plans to “lie” that Brendan is Jess. 

Chapter 31 picks up right after Khalila, Glain, and Dario leave. Wolfe, Santi and Zara talk tactics, Wolfe and Santi talk about prison and make suicide pact, Khalila and Glain come back without Dario.

Morgan: Chapter 9 picks up right after Morgan gets to Alexandria. She is taken to the Iron Tower. In her first 4 days there, she tries and fails to escape her room, sends a message to Jess (does he receive this first one? Probably not?).

After 5 days, she meets with Gregory, is drugged.

Next day, Morgan wakes up, meets Annis, messes with wards to turn off listening scripts, goes to work copying scripts and sneaks message to Jess, Gregory kills an Obscurist to threaten her.

Chapter 22 picks up weeks after Chapter 11. Morgan figures out she’s being drugged, Annis uses mesmer skills to get cooks to stop drugging Morgan. They get crystals, Morgan links the crystals, needs to kill part of the garden for power.

Probably same day, but unspecified, so possible time gap. Morgan and Annis go to air-circulation hub, throw crystal to Eskander, talk him into meeting them. He gets their collars off.

Unspecified time gap. Probably not long, might be same day as Chapter 24. Chapter 32 begins with Morgan and Annis looking for information. Morgan uses Scribes to find what Eskander needs, Eskander fixes Morgan’s power problems.

Next morning,  Gregory drugs Morgan to bring her to Feast of Greater Burning.

November 2032 (has to go into November here somewhere, no idea exactly where): 

Feast of Greater Burning: All happens in one day. Thomas makes Rays of Apollo, Thomas, Glain, Khalila and Wolfe kill dragon, everyone runs into the trap in the Colosseum, Morgan and Dario thrown in after them, Obscurists show up with Eskander, Morgan kills Gregory, Zara kills Brendan, Archivist and Curia run away, elections happen.

Total time for Smoke and Iron: 3-4 weeks. Jess’s chapters have about a week actually accounted for, plus some unspecified gaps. Khalila’s only got a couple days accounted for, lots of gaps. Wolfe’s the same. Morgan gives us the most reliable time estimates with her time gap specified as weeks. As of the end of Ash and Quill we had around 3-4 weeks until the Feast of Greater Burning, so this fits with that timeline. Chronological order would be Wolfe’s first two chapters, then Morgan’s, then Jess, then Khalila, probably Jess again, then Khalila again, then everything else happens over the course of a couple days leading up to the Feast of Greater Burning.

Total series time: Somewhere around September 2031-November 2032. All months and seasons are guesstimates based on weather descriptions. A little over a year. Could be as little as under a year or as much as a year and a half depending on where you want to say Ink and Bone begins. 

Character ages: Jess is 16 at the beginning and could be as old as 18 in Smoke and Iron if he turns 17 during Ink and Bone, before the presumably long time gap there. Let’s say he has a late September/early October birthday. Morgan is 16 in Ink and Bone, between 17 and 18 in Smoke and Iron depending on when her birthday is. Wolfe, again, depending on exact birth date, is around 38-39 in Ink and Bone, 40 in Smoke and Iron. If the estimate of his age in “Stormcrow” is accurate, and depending on exact birth date, Santi is 38-40 in Ink and Bone, 40-41 in Smoke and Iron. No other characters’ ages are specifically stated.

[mandelene]

Tag Game

Answer 15 questions and tag 15 mutuals

Thank you to @feyna-v for tagging me!

1. Are you named after someone? No, my mom picked my name just because she liked it and it was American/English and not Polish (she didn’t want to give me a Polish name).  My dad agreed to it. (My name is not Mandelene, btw). 

2. When was the last time you cried? While reading the ending of Small Country by Gael Faye a few days ago. 

3. Do you have kids? Nope, not yet, haha, but I hope to have kids someday if I can. Two or three but no more than three :) Idk how to explain it, but at some point within the past two years, I started feeling more...maternal toward kids, if that’s the right word for it. I just see kids on the bus and think, huh, yeah, I could have one of those, I think I might like that, God knows why. 

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Oh, boy. Yes. It’s not as obvious when I’m online, but ask my mother or my close friends and they will confirm that 90% of my daily life is spent being sarcastic. My life is just one big sarcastic meme. 

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people? How they present themselves -- whether they’re smiling or frowning, standing up straight or slouching, etc. For men, I immediately notice how tall they are because I’m a tall woman so tall men are absolutely heavenly to look at. Any man that’s like 6′2 ft or taller and in their mid to late twenties makes my heart flutter instinctively. (This is how I know I’m definitely straight, bahahaha).

6. What’s your eye color?

Hazel. I joke that I must be adopted because my parents and sister have green eyes, but my great-grandmother had hazel eyes so I guess my parents are my parents. 

7. Scary movie or happy ending? Happy ending for sure. Scary movies rarely have a storyline that I find interesting tbh.

8. Any special talents? I’ve been told I bake a fantastic coffee cake. I can recite the alphabet backwards, and I know some first-aid, but those are skills and not really talents. 

9. Where were you born? I’m a Brooklyn baby. :D Brooklyn, NY. 

10. What are your hobbies? Writing, reading, occasional video-making, playing with my cat, indoor cycler, casual gamer, novice yoga pupil. 

11. Have you any pets? Of course. Most of you know my baby already: 

Macchiato! 

12. What sports do you play/have you played?

Oh, here we go. Brace yourselves for a tangent.

I was the sickly asthmatic kid who was too busy coughing up a lung to play sports, and I’m only half-joking. I played soccer a lot as a kid with my friends, but I was never on a team because my asthma was too severe and out of control for that. I’ve talked about this many times before, but I spent a good chunk of my childhood in the doctor’s office. I missed a lot of school. I got poked and prodded. I cried often about how much I hated being sick. I would be out playing with my friends and have an asthma attack in front of them and feel embarrassed. I would start wheezing and ignore it because I didn’t want everyone to make a big deal out of it. Don’t ever ignore your asthma, please. That never ends well. Sports were something I feared for years.

Midway through high school, my relationship with sports changed completely. I started seeing them as a method to improve my asthma rather than worsen it. My pulmonologist got my asthma under better control by coming up with a treatment regiment that he made sure I stuck to by lecturing my teenaged self at great length and wrote notes to my gym teachers at the start of every marking period. I slowly started regaining my confidence. My doctor made it clear that he was not excusing me from gym completely -- I had to exercise to the best of my ability without making myself sick, and if I kept getting attacks, it was back to the drawing board. If I couldn’t manage to exercise normally, then, in his view, my asthma was impeding my life too much and my medicine wasn’t working for me, which was totally true.  

One of my high school gym teachers, Mr. B, was notorious for being the hardest P.E. teacher in the school. I was terrified of him. Whenever he made us run laps, I would pause when I started feeling unwell, rest for a minute, and then continue. He never said a word to me about it even though he was known for scolding students for stopping. Oddly enough, it took me a while to realize this, but he was always subtlely looking out for me. He always asked me if I had my inhaler with me at the start of class. Although I was often dead last in everything he made us do, he pretended not to notice and never commented on it. I never cheated him. If he said to do 30 laps, I would do 30 laps, even if I had to pause three times in between. Everyone else would have already moved on to other exercises while I was still doing my laps, lol, but I don’t think I ever had to reach for my inhaler. At the end of the term, he pulled me aside and told me, “I know you always tried your best, and I admire that.” He gave me an A. He was the only gym teacher I had who didn’t accuse me of making excuses or being lazy. Many previous teachers had convinced me I wasn’t trying hard enough, so I would push myself, and then I promptly proceeded to have attacks, be frustrated with myself, and end up in tears in the locker room. I needed Mr. B in my life to restore my faith in gym. 

Nowadays I indoor cycle 3-4 times a week for 45 minutes to an hour to strengthen my lungs. Once a week, I have my “long tour” which is when I cycle for an hour and thirty minutes. After cycling, I lift weights for another 15-20 minutes. If I have a cold or any other upper respiratory infection, I stop all exercise until I’m well, and I hold myself to this. I have a better idea of my limits and what sports are best for me. I love swimming, but unfortunately, I don’t have a good indoor swimming pool around me, so it’s not something I can do regularly. Running/Track is still something I really struggle with, but brisk walking or hiking is fine. Last year, I was really into dance classes with my friend. Cycling is super kind to my lungs but leaves me exhausted in a good way, so that’s why it’s my favorite form of exercise. I’m sure if I did it outside though, I’d have asthma attacks. I’m generally okay with all sports/exercise as long as it doesn’t involve long stretches of running with few breaks in between, and I don’t do it outside when it’s cold. I won’t die from a light jog unless it’s the middle of January and there’s a meter of snow on the ground. You can invite me to play volleyball/basketball/tennis/whatever, and I promise I’ll be fine, haha. 

I’ve also tried getting into yoga recently by following some YouTube instructors, but cycling is what I do most regularly and have stuck to. I take frequent exercise very seriously now, and I make it a priority. 

13. How tall are you?

5′10 ft, so 177.8 cm. Super tall, I know. You should see my legs in yoga pants ;) 

14. Favorite subject in school? In elementary school, I enjoyed English classes the most. In high school, AP comparative government in my senior year was my favorite because I love international politics. Then, there came a point in my life when I stopped liking English classes and started despising them (around my second year of university). College English consists of reading novels (which is a good start) and then writing unnecessarily long papers analyzing the novel, but if the professor doesn’t like your interpretation or analysis, they’ll deduct points. They’re not the classes you want to take if you want to actually learn how to be a better writer. They just teach you how to pander to the professor and not how to think for yourself. It’s annoying. Journalism classes get right down to the technical parts of writing and tear your sentences apart. I feel like I gain more from those classes than ones in which I have to write a ten-page essay on the symbolism of a key. 

15. Dream job? A few years ago, I would have said “reporter for the New York Times,” and while that would be incredible, I have multiple dream jobs now. 

I would still love to work at a media outlet. I’d want to either work at the international desk as a writer/reporter or work on digital content like podcasts or short documentaries. However, I can also picture myself working at an NGO or at a think tank. I might also be interested in doing something in government someday--anything that has a direct impact on getting involved in a community. Global politics and writing are my two biggest passions, so if I end up doing work in either of those areas, I’ll be happy. 

Ideally, I can continue writing fiction on the side and publish it someday, but that’s still a dream I have to work my way up to. 

I don’t want to leave anybody out, so if you’re reading this and you want to answer it, consider yourself tagged by me! :) 

[thatonebeatlesblog]

I was tagged by @blind-lemon to do this questionnaire. 

Fair warning: It is quite long. The questionnaire is too.

The last

1. Drink: Coke

2. Phone Call: Me mam

3. Text Message:my friend/adoptive auntie Jill

4. Song You Listened To: Peg-Steely Dan

5. Time You Cried: uh...like an hour ago

Have You

1. Ever Dated Someone Twice: Yes

2. Kissed Someone And Regretted It: No.

3. Been Cheated On: Probably

4. Lost Someone Special: Yes.

5. Been Depressed: Yes.

6. Gotten Drunk And Thrown Up: No

List 3 Favorite Colors:

-Yellow

-Green

-Blue

In The Last Year Have you

1. Made New Friends: YES!!!!

2.Fallen Out Of Love: Yes.

3. Laughed Until You Cried: No.

4. Found Out Someone Was Talking About You: No.

5. Met Someone Who Changed You: HELL YES

6. Found Out Who Your Friends Are: Y E S.

General

1. How Many Of Your Facebook Friends Do You Know In Real Life: like 50 probably out of 200-something

2. Do You Have Any Pets?: YES!!!! I have a 2 y/o pitbull-border collie named Max and a little albino parakeet named Odette. 

3. Do You Want To Change Your Name: Yes. Since my birth name is still in effect.

4. What Did You Do For Your Last Birthday: I spent the night with my mom and went to dinner w/my dad and stepmom, and was gifted a copy of The White Album

5. When Did You Wake Up Today: 6:30, I think??

6. What Were You Doing Last Night At Midnight: burning my throat out on a bong in-between texting @blind-lemon and another friend 

7. Name Something You Can’t Wait For: travel.

8. When Was The Last Time You Saw Your Mum: Yesterday.

9. What Is Something You Wish You Could Change In Your Life: Nothing. Because it brought me here today. 

10. What Are You Listening To Right Now: Well, I had a record going, Aja by Steely Dan. But it played out and now I’m overhearing my auntie and uncle watching Wheel Of Fortune on the television in the living room bc they have it up so loud (they’re hard of hearing--well,, my uncle is anyway)

11. Have You Ever Talked To A Person Called Tom: Yeah, but I was too young to remember.

12. Something That Is Getting On Your Nerves: I made the mistake of watching the news earlier with my aunt and i ended up getting upset about the mass destruction happening worldwide feeling helpless to do anything about it. But I know that when I travel and sing/help others any small fluctuation will eventually make large ripples. 

13. Most Visited Website: This Place.

Random Info

1. Mole(s): 5 or 6

2. Marks: FRECKLES,, FRECKLES EVERYWHERE IT’S DAY 5,000 AND I FEAR ONE DAY I WILL LOOK TO NO LONGER SEE SKIN

3. Childhood Dream: To be a geologist, which evolved into a veterinarian which then evolved into an ocean biologist which then evolved into ornithology which then evolved into acting/musical theatre which then evolved into MUSIC--Today!

4. Hair Color: Light brown

5. Long Hair or short hair: short, but it’s growing out. I need a haircut 

6. Do you have a crush on somebody: I’m here becos the beatles ruined my life 

7. What do you like about yourself: my compassion and understanding, i’ve come to realize that not everyone i encounter views things the same way and it can be draining

8. Piercings: YES. I have a silver ring on my right nostril. I want to get my lip done too but idk yet

9. Blood type: I have no clue,, but some of the mosquitoes outside my auntie’s house might be able to tell you. 

10. Nickname: Log

11. Relationship status: single and happy

12. Zodiac: Cancer sun, Libra rising, Leo moon

13. Pronouns: He/They

14. Favourite TV shows: Friends, How I Met Your Mother, The Joy Of Painting w/ Bobbie Ross, Andy Griffith, Gravity Falls, Spongebob

15. Tattoos: No! Unfortunately!! I want to get one very soon!

16. Right or left hand: right

17. Surgery: no, thank god

18. Hair dyed in different colors: yes, i went blonde in middle school (dont ask highlights were in) and i went red soon after but washed it out after two days after ‘feeling weird’ idk i was a moody little shite

19. Sport: I loved kicking ass in street hockey, but nothin beats kickin shit at each other whether it’s a ball or a can whatever 

20. Vacation: I’ve been jonsing to go down to La Jolla lately and back to LA even though my last experience there was horrid--it’s calling me back. With it’s East-Coast-style buildings and pigeons everywhere. It’s like a little slice of Manhattan.

21. Pair of trainers: I brought one pair of white high-top Chuck Taylor’s that have my scribbly writing and drawings all over em

22. Eating: whatever that’s food. But i’ve been scared off of eating meat by like every media source since i’ve been in high school so i’m an aspiring vegetarian. Whether or not i’ll follow through is another thing...

23. Drinking: Nothing,, I should probably go and hydrate myself

24. I’m about to: go watch Lawrence Welk with my aunt and uncle

25. Waiting for: The Magical Mystery Tour to take me away already,,jesus 

26. Want: food

27. Get Married: Idk man I don’t see myself being that settled

28. Career: Spiritual counselor/healer, Singer, English Literature Teacher

29. Hugs or kisses: hugs

30. Lips or eyes: eyes

31. Shorter or taller: i like taller, but i honestly don’t care

32. Older or younger: older 

33. Nice arms or nice stomach: arms

34. Sensitive or loud: sensitive

35. Hook-up or relationship: relationship

36. Troublemaker or hesitant: depends on what kind of troublemaker 

Have you ever

1. Kissed a stranger: no

2. Drank hard liquor: yes

3. Lost glasses/contact lenses: i’m always losing my glasses. 95% of the time they’re on my gd head

4. Turned someone down: yes 

5. Sex on the first date: no

6. Broken someone’s heart: yes

7. Had your heart broken: yes

8. Been arrested: no

9. Cried when someone died:Yes.

10. Fallen for a friend: yes

Do you believe in

1.Yourself: Yes,but I doubt far too much

2. Miracles: Yes

3. Love at first sight: yes

4.Santa Clause: Okay, I may be a sap but no. But I don’t doubt there is, in fact, a fat hairy man living in the arctic 

5. Kiss on the first date: it depends

6. Angels: Yes.

7. Current best friend name: Levonia

8. Eye color: hazel

9. Favorite movie: Yellow Submarine or Fantastic Mr. Fox

I tag: @prettymacca , @mclennunf , @greerio , @thefeetlesfan , @dribblebeatles 

[recentanimenews]

Mob Psycho 100 II is Over, Long Live #RedrawReigen!

  In 2016, we were gifted with the precious treasure that was Mob Psycho 100. Viewers soon found an amazing mixture of animation styles, psychic battles, comedy, and touching, heartfelt emotional messages about kindness, being honest with oneself, and friendship. While Mob might be the star of the show, the questionable morals (at least, in business) and charisma of his mentor Reigen caught many other fans by surprise, making him a key player in the series and the fan works surrounding the show.

Fans' love for Reigen soon gave birth to #RedrawReigen, where one takes a picture—generally a meme or otherwise well known picture—and redraw it featuring everyone’s favorite psychic of the 21st century! We've already seen some of the amazing works of arts fans have posted up, but since the second season of Mob Psycho 100 is now over... why not have one last hurrah and check out more of the great works posted up on the RedrawReigen hashtag? Let's honor the masterpiece of a show that is Mob Psycho 100 by taking a look at more of fans' own #RedrawReigen masterpieces!

  hey there#redrawreigen #reigenarataka #mp100 #mobpsycho100 pic.twitter.com/Fh0ehYMRLA

— snoozzze (@snoozzzes) January 3, 2019

  shou dad: human bonds are meaningless. yall are just weak everyone ever, except shou dad:#redrawreigen pic.twitter.com/U8VxsWphdT

— fornt half batman (@_ket2) March 28, 2019

  #redrawreigen #RedrawReigen dumb dumb！！！！！！???? pic.twitter.com/KmtnQD7oBN

— ぽん子 (@pon___koo) March 25, 2019

  Since i don't know what i should post on twitter i will just,,, drop some #redrawreigen and leave, i guess??? pic.twitter.com/JDOOAS8iaB

— Saya???? (@Alessandra_saia) March 21, 2019

  Is redraw Reigen still a thing? Because I did a thing.#RedrawReigen #mp100 #mobpsycho100 #reigenarataka #animation pic.twitter.com/a4Fka7aex8

— C7colours\MTCC A101 (@C7colours) March 29, 2019

  Am I too late for this? #RedrawReigen #mobpsycho100 pic.twitter.com/5sd6IrjdI0

— Carlie Hughes (@CHughesArtworks) March 30, 2019

  Once I got this idea it had to be done #RedrawReigen #mp100 pic.twitter.com/HMiXHR3hMf

— C ????????KIE FLUKIES (@C00KIEPEARL) March 30, 2019

  #redrawreigen i put effort into this guys pic.twitter.com/9O1tMulr7R

— ✨Trashy✨ @ kofi sketches & zines (@callmechikki) February 20, 2019

  すみません#RedrawReigen pic.twitter.com/9NmoaS86qq

— ｱｼｶﾞｧ...ｱｼｶﾞｳｺﾞｶﾅｲﾉｫ...,ｱﾞｱﾞｱﾞｱﾞｱﾞ(ビーバー) (@nyatoufu) March 26, 2019

  #redrawreigen pic.twitter.com/FOCfcwd6WQ

— reigen enthusiast (@finersun) March 23, 2019

  My contribution to the fandom. #RedrawReigen #reigenarataka #mp100 #mobpsycho100 #art #drawing #meme pic.twitter.com/BMGZoNs1zl

— HE/CE (@headlesscentaur) March 23, 2019

  joy#RedrawReigen #mp100 pic.twitter.com/Y2bZBme8cw

— mørk prince (@graveaulait) March 22, 2019

  Absolute unit #redrawreigen #mp100 pic.twitter.com/riyi7FkxeY

— Medd (@Amezero1p) March 27, 2019

  i just had to do this #RedrawReigen pic.twitter.com/H0Gc5pXl4E

— Jessi ???? Comissions OPEN (@donutevenknowJM) March 21, 2019

  commissioned @gloomypunks to do #RedrawReigen of this beast pic.twitter.com/2Cfghllcdu

— ⌲ (@lilacbomb) March 21, 2019

  #RedrawReigen Shimazaki ????: "Concentrate. Everyone here is an esper. Cut everything else out." Reigen: pic.twitter.com/fogLRXKFcW

— ????‍♂️ ６＇９＂ ⁽ʷᶦᵗʰ ʰᵒʳⁿˢ⁾ ???? @ ＰＩＮＮＥＤ (@Sir5000) March 20, 2019

  Local man fills out insurance papers after horrible accident destroys office, coverage for (less than) half the costs. #RedrawReigen #mobpsycho100 #MP100シチュエーションスロット pic.twitter.com/vHonIu9KUg

— ????Bug ???? (@ItsHayleyBug2) March 20, 2019

  #redrawreigen This is not the greatest exorcism in the world, no! This is just a tribute. pic.twitter.com/uLf306nEN5

— Frytka (@akijpg) March 6, 2019

  Babysitting Espers is not easy#RedrawReigen #mobpsycho100 #mp100 #klumescribble pic.twitter.com/ItN4LQDs1g

— Klume ????Goodbye Yosh (@KlumeScribbles) March 13, 2019

  I spent 8 hours animating this #RedrawReigen end me pic.twitter.com/eR7shCxBYe

— thotgami (@Lolnoodle5) March 13, 2019

  the #RedrawReigen pic.twitter.com/UjLLV0nZDk

— ♦️SLITHER♦️ (@RoboPun) March 12, 2019

  sexiest man alive #redrawreigen #MobPsycho100 pic.twitter.com/jY634UMiUg

— -Andy- Jobless (@xknothing) March 12, 2019

  damn sorry for this everyone. it was my gf's idea i swear #RedrawReigen pic.twitter.com/eJM6aY6RnK

— ???? emi (@CUTlEHONEY) March 12, 2019

  I finally had time to do #RedrawReigen with bdg so here it is pic.twitter.com/4o0VSGZuZt

— morgan™ @Yonan???? (@sugimototeru) March 16, 2019

  #RedrawReigen !!! раз уж я здесь ради мемов pic.twitter.com/wd3D5KfQxt

— deekej (@dee_kej) March 16, 2019

  Mob monday.. #RedrawReigen #mp100 pic.twitter.com/Z3KY0B0UKQ

— Syrup (@syrupmancer) March 4, 2019

  reigen's theme makes me think about prince of persia every time i hear it #RedrawReigen pic.twitter.com/kqzGcQqGt4

— APEX PREDATOR (@nekokat42) March 3, 2019

  We'll Be Right Back#RedrawReigen pic.twitter.com/g3lNVaUhpQ

— doppiolovemail @ ????DOUJIMA???? (@DiOPPIO) March 2, 2019

  #RedrawReigen I don't know why did I put effort in this but mp100 deserves it pic.twitter.com/c9HyjnUHEZ

— Kyo (@Mashima_Kyo) February 27, 2019

  How we're all feeling now that season 2 of Mob Psycho 100 is over:

  My contribution to #RedrawReigen #mp100 #reigenarataka pic.twitter.com/osEb7uLmVW

— Ronnie???? (@crovolly) March 4, 2019

  We love seeing amazing fanart and works, and honestly, the #RedrawReigen tag is the exact type of thing we live for: fun, lively, and varied pieces of art showing shared love for a series or character, with each artist leaving their personal style and touch with each contribution. Even though season 2 has reached its conclusion, it doesn't mean that #RedrawReigen is over. Keep those beautiful pieces of art coming, keep on talking about your favorite scenes, episodes, characters and more! Keep that love for Mob Psycho 100 going, because frankly, the series is so dang good that it deserves all the love it gets!

  What are your fave #RedrawReigen pics that you've seen so far? Got one in mind to draw? Tell us in the comments!

  Haven't seen Mob Psycho 100 yet? What are you waiting for?!

> Watch Mob Psycho 100 today! <

----

Nicole is a features and a social video script writer for Crunchyroll. Known for punching dudes in Yakuza games on her Twitch channel while professing her love for Majima. She also has a blog, Figuratively Speaking. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com