#ice offers a solution that's more a kick in the ass at the end of the day

[pollyna]

ao3.

Silence is strange, unnerving and new. Pete, Maverick, spent every day of the last ten, fifteen, years swimming and fighting with sounds. In the middle of the sky, of the ocean and on the ground. His RIO's voice in his hears, Goose is his head, bunker mates, Bradley running around, Carole talking and singing along with the radio, the birds and that lonely sailor who used to play an old record player when he was on deck duty. The sound of his neighbour's cats in the middle of the night when he was back home, playin' just outside his window, and Tom snoring softly against his back, his chest and from the floor on nights were things used to go a little weird or Bradley had a nightmare and couldn't sleep in his own bed.

Silence, in Maverick experiences is even worse than death. While Goose was dying the sea was a constant background noise and with Carole it was the machines and doctors and the hospital, dying and living, in spit of her existence. But now, all there is silence. Tom sleeps on his side and even the oxygen machine is silently doing is work. Sometimes Mav wakes up in the middle of a nightmare to realize the nightmare isn't ending because his partner chest is barley moving at all. Tom used to talk and talk and talk for hours, filling spaces and rooms with words and gestures and his own body, moving with the wind and the precision he had behind a cockpit. Silent a lethal until his target was acquired, and then it was a cacophony of life. Now he talks with his hand and his expression, silent and lethal all the same, but Pete can only wait to hear a laugh that never comes. That won't come again. Tom recorded it all for him, words, songs, sounds and discussion, him and Slider playing poker and talking about nothing important, Bradley playing the piano and even them dancing in the middle of room, one of the many times. It's a library of sounds, one he can take with him wherever he wants without feeling guilty. Without feeling guilty because of his mourning and giving someone who is still alive and who's fighting every day to not change that.

Silence is new and unnerving, makes Maverick want to pack a bag and never look back. Tom said, a particular bad morning, that he'll always understand if going away would make him happier, he wouldn't blame him. Mav had broken a plate that morning, don't you dare to say that again. Fuck Ice, I'm not going anywhere. Tom had smile back, soft and sad, his eyes already miles away from their kitchen, probably thinking and adapting to a scenario is already real for him. It should hurt, he does, but Pete knows Tom likes to be ready for everything and hates not being able to fix what it's broken and hurting Maverick. He kisses Tom before leaving for work and when the other man smiles happily and, for a little while their faces are near each other, Pete can hear all the sounds that Tom still does: he's breathing, shifting and his pulse is strong under his finger.

Silence is unnerving, fastidious, brutal and makes Pete scream just to hear something other than nothing. Tom's voice used to be one of his favourite sounds but for now, and just for not much longer he hopes, is out of commission, but Tom is still alive and still moving around the house, in the garden, when he takes his hands and send him out to meet with Laura, Bob, Hondo and Penny, so then you can tell me all about it. Silence is unnerving, but silence is no more when Pete talks and narrates and lives and prospers making a mess out half of it but thriving anyway. Tom chuckles sometimes, a low and unsteady sound, and other he just looks fondly at him. And then all the sounds are back where they were supposed to be, where they were always, but Pete couldn't hear them.

But then, once the sounds are back and the silence is no more, Pete takes Tom back to them too and asks him out, with flowers and a stupid card. Tom's eyes are shiny when he sings chop chop, I have a date, help me to make myself beautiful before my husband comes around.

Pete laughs, Tom smiles at him and silence is no more.

[adelheidvonschicksal]

Gosh, the Hawks x intern! Reader sure made me tear up :(

Like imagine him regretting not being there for her and his baby girl from the start and trying to make up for it now 😭😭💖

I was going to imagine this, but I couldn't because I ended up writing 3000 words. 😭 I just love fictional babies so much and want them to be happy, okay? I left it open-ended, so I wouldn't betray the "kick his ass" gang. I'm a weak woman 🥺 I still don't know much about him other than what Wikipedia and memes tell me but here we go!

Part One | Part Two

Hawks doesn’t think you’ll ever let him in, not that he could blame you. Every time you see him, your expression hardens, pretty eyes narrow into a glare, nostrils flare, breathing heavy. His only bright light during your last exchange is that you wait three seconds before slamming the door in his face rather than the usual zero.

Oh, he’s definitely softening you up. Not.

It’s been a month now that he’s been at this, and he is starting to wonder if this entire thing is worth the headache. All he’s accomplished so far is bothering you with his requests to talk. Then, he remembers the little angel that you have with you and thinks it’s worth the headache.

At first, he had ignored your previous exchange that day at the park and the nagging feeling in the corner of his mind upon seeing the two of you. Until that same feeling started to weigh on his heart. He quickly realizes what those feelings were. Guilt and regret at not taking another path with the high schooler he so carelessly took advantage of and impregnated.

If he had, he could be annoying Endeavor about his cute little wife right about now.

Hawks feels a bit like Icarus flying too close to the sun and now sinking in a turbulent ocean of his own making. Instead of drowning, the world decides to throw him a lifeline as the receptionist patches a call through to him.

His heart jumps when he hears you on the other side, resistant but succumbed in your plea, “I need your help.”

The very next day you arrive at the agency, a small hand latched in your own as you stand in the middle of his office. You didn’t want to be here. The thought of being in the same place where your daughter was conceived with the same man who left you makes you antsy. You can’t believe you actually let Fumikage talk you into this.

You remember that phone conversation.

Your daughter’s quirk had been coming in full force, so fast you didn’t know how to handle it. You hoped that Tokoyami would have been able to help her control it since he trained with the very person she received her quirk from much longer than you had and that he was part avian himself.

“Please, Fumi. It’s getting worse,” you begged over the phone. “She accidentally hurt a few of the kids at school. No. No. They’re fine, some cuts and a little shook up, but fine. They won’t let her back in until she gets it under control though, so please.”

“I told you there’s not much else I can do. The best solution would be to go to the person with the same quirk.”

He’s right. He’s absolutely right, but you don’t want to rely on someone like that man especially now. What if he ended up hurting her?

“I don’t want to do that.”

“I know you don’t, but he’s been trying to contact you, right? So I'm sure he'd do it if you asked.”

“Yeah…” You growled. “I swear if he makes one smart-ass remark, I might kill him in front of her.”

“Remember it’s not for you. Although, I don’t think you could kill him even if you tried.”

“If we combined our strength…”

“No,” Tokoyami immediately shot down.

You sighed. “I’m only joking. Do you have the number to the agency still?”

Now you’re here, watching the very man who abandoned you kneel down to your daughter’s eye level. Hawks couldn’t believe he’s actually seeing her. It’s a bit exciting to see how much bigger she’s gotten in such a short time with big fat wings at her back holding way more feathers than she can probably deal with.

“So, this is the special girl,” he says. She shies away from him, hiding behind your leg for protection. “Come on out, Baby Bird, you don’t have to be scared of me.”

Slowly, she peeks from behind you, fingers still clutched in your pants leg, and Hawks smiles.

“There you are. Did your mommy tell you who I am?”

“You’re her and uncle Toko’s old teacher, and you’re going to help me control my quirk.”

“That’s right. You just turned five, right? That’s when a lot of quirks can get kind of hectic.”

“Yeah. I had a birthday party with Elsa last month.”

Hawks’ smile falters for a second as he thinks he doesn’t know exactly what day her birthday is. At least now he knows the month. Quickly, he’s back to normal to keep an air of happiness in the situation. “You know I know a lady that looks a bit like Elsa. She has ice powers like her too,” Hawks says, having grown a little closer to the number one hero's family as he tried to figure out what to do about his own family situation.

When her eyes widen, Hawks knows he has her hook, line, and sinker. She throws her initial shyness to the wind in exchange for excitement. “She does? Can I meet her?”

“I’m sure we could make that happen. If not, her son has an ice quirk, too. I’m sure he’d show you.”

The young girl smiles at him, but Hawks notices her vision drifting to something else. Cautiously, her tiny hand stretches out to him, making him nervous as to what she’s doing, before chubby fingers clutch around the edge of his wing, squeezing into his feathers. “They’re pretty,” she mumbles.

“Want one?” he asks, and she nods.

“This is my birthday present for you, don’t lose it,” he says, offering her a single long feather from the back of his wings. She clutches it to her chest tightly, a happy smile plastered on her face.

Then, you interrupt.

“Baby, mama has to run some errands, but she’ll come right back to pick you up when the clock says twelve. You remember how that looks like, right?”

“It’s a 1 and a 2,” she says, bringing up her hands to show you.

Hawks decides to walk you out as your daughter sits in his office chair, twirling around his feather in her hand. He isn’t sure what to say to you now that he has you near him. Should he thank you for bringing her? Or would that only serve to piss you off since it’s not like you wanted to do this by choice?

“Hawks,” you say, bringing him out his thoughts. “There’s one more thing before I go.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t tell her,” you order. “Don’t you dare tell her.”

His chest squeezes at that but he can understand why you wouldn’t want her to know that information when the two of you aren’t even on speaking terms outside this issue. He didn’t want to do anything to make the situation worse either, so he brings his fingers to his mouth and zips his pinched thumb and index finger across his lips. “I’ll make sure mine and anyone else’s lips are sealed if they want to keep their job,” he calmly reassures you, always calm and carefree so you wouldn’t think that your rejection is successfully deterring him.

From then on, you drop your daughter off at his office twice a week to get a better handle on her powers. You didn’t stay long aside from that, but Hawks likes the small moments when all three of you are in the same room together.

The hero can be thankful that at least one of his girls likes him. His Baby Bird quickly attached herself to him, always pattering after his footsteps like a shadow, and always asking if he’d hold her hand, a smile forming whenever he engulfed her smaller one. He even keeps his promise to let her see Rei, or Elsa as Baby Bird so passionately refers to her, now that the woman is out of the hospital.

He thinks that if that family can recover from what happened then his shouldn’t be much different as long as he keeps trying to put in the effort and not step on your toes too much.

It isn’t long before Baby Bird begins to get a hang of her powers. At least enough that she wouldn’t be hurting anyone at school. Hawks had hoped you would still allow him to train her past that point though, but you quickly told him that she wouldn’t be returning to the agency when she reached that point.

He was sad to hear it of course, but he didn’t want to cause what little progress he made to be broken even if he really wanted to see her fly at least a few inches before she left. She’s been getting into the habit of jumping instead of walking to practice like he used to do. Although, she resembles more of a bouncy frog than a bird, to be honest.

He watches, amused, as she bounces along next to him in the hallway.

“You’ve gotten good at that,” he compliments, drawing her attention upwards.

“I’ve been practicing lots at home, but I’m not that good yet. Will you teach me how to fly like you do tomorrow?” she asks.

“No, Baby Bird. Didn’t your mommy tell you that we’re done with training after today?”

She hangs her head down, her bouncing stopping as she drags her feet. “…Yes,” she answers, letting his arm go lax as she releases his hand. Hawks pauses, watching as she draws her hands to her waist and anxiously bunches and twists the bottom of her shirt, and Hawks throat goes dry as she asks with glossy eyes, “Daddy, why doesn’t mommy like you?”

He’s completely silent, wondering exactly when she figured it out or if someone in the office had told her, let alone told her the fact that you didn’t like him. Well, he guesses it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. “How do you know to call me that?"

“Yesterday, my teacher told us that we inhe-inhe-inherent our quirk from our parents. I remember you said Elsa and her son had the same quirk, and you have big wings like mine and can make your feathers move.”

Hawks smiles. She’s a sharp one to piece it together in a day. “Your teacher is right. I bet you’ve never seen anyone else that looks quite like us.”

“No,” she answers, sniffling. “I don’t want to go home. I want to stay and play with you. Mommy is so mean to you. I hate her!”

Hawks cups her chin in his hand, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Look at me. Don’t talk about your mommy like that. It’s my fault she always gets upset when I’m around. I was mean and bullied her a lot, so if you’re mad, be mad at me. I’m the reason we can’t play together more.”

She sniffs again but it isn’t enough to stop the globs of tears running down her cheeks. “When we saw you at the park, mommy started crying when we went home. I didn’t know why she did.”

Hawks knows why. The reason you’re always so angry at him is because of the hurt you still hold inside for what he did to you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have cried. The opposite of love is indifference as they say, and he knows it’s true because he had been indifferent to the pain he caused ever since the day you came to him with weepy eyes and shaking arms as you told him you were pregnant. You had been scared, and he told you to deal with it.

Hawks scowls. He’s starting to feel sick.

"If you make someone cry, you should say sorry."

Hawks smiles. “I know, baby. I'll apologize to your mama, and I’m going to try my best to make it up to her, and you, too. I’m not going to make either of you cry anymore. Then, when she forgives me, we’ll play together again.”

She looks to him, a small glimmer of hope. “You promise?”

Hawks chuckles and grins at her, the same charming expression that made you fall for him in the first place. He holds out his hand. “Even better. I pinky promise,” he says and confidently hooks her finger with his. “Repeat after me: birds of a feather stick together.”

“Birds of a feather stick together.”

“That’s my girl,” he praises before dropping her hand to pet her head. “I think we might have a little time for me to teach you something before your mommy gets here.”

At the end of the day, Hawks is already waiting for you at the front steps of the agency as your call pulls into parallel park at the sidewalk. You step out and walk towards the steps, but your daughter meets you halfway by hopping over them, her wings flapping to hover before she falls back down onto her feet.

You smile at her. You can’t believe she’s actually flying, at least a little that is, but your surprise is ruined when she cheers. “Mommy, look at what daddy taught me,” she says, bouncing to show you her new hovering skills. “Are you looking? Are you looking?”

“Yes, I’m looking. You’re so good at that. You need to show me more when we get home,” you say but to be honest it’s the last thing on your mind as you glance over to Hawks. “Baby, why don’t you go sit in the car, and I’ll be right there.”

Hawks watches as she obediently follows your instructions, turning her back and happily hopping towards the vehicle.

“(Name), I-” Hawks says, unsure what to expect when your angry glare turns back on him. It isn’t until his yellow visors are already clicking against the pavement that he realizes you hit him. He hisses at the sting on his cheek. “That actually kind of hurt. I guess I had it coming, but I’m not really sure what I did at least recently,” he tries to play off, but you aren’t having it.

“You told her, you told her,” you keep repeating, and he’s backing away in case you decide to strike him again. “Are you trying to get her on your side?”

“Not in the way you’re thinking, and I didn’t tell her,” Hawks explains. “She pieced it together on her own. She’s sharper than you think, she can see that we look alike when she looks in a mirror, and she knows how quirks work. That’s more than enough for her to tell.”

His explanation is enough for you to halt in your assault, and you angrily huff under your breath. You don’t shift to leave, and there’s no door for you to slam away. He finally has you available. “So, what do you want to do now?” he asks.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean she knows; and honestly, I’m glad she does,” he confesses. “I wouldn’t mind seeing her again if you’d let me.”

Hawks swallows his anxiety as he waits for you to answer. Your eyes shift from him back to where she sits in your car, fiddling with the toys obviously left to clutter in the back before you look back at him, thinking.

“She does seem to like you…for some reason,” you add distastefully, but you know full well how happy training makes her. How her little smile beamed when she fluttered over those steps. How the word daddy came from her so sweetly. “She always likes talking about you after she spends the day here. You make her happy. But that’ll just make it harder for her when you leave ag-“

“I won’t,” he cuts off.

“How do I know that?”

“You don’t but I promise not again. (Name), I’m sorry. I’m sorry for telling you to go away like a burden and for not being there. You must’ve been scared, but I won’t leave either of you alone from now on even if you don’t want me there. I’ll be there if you need me.”

“Drop it. I’m not a part of this,” you tell him.

He knows that you’re rejecting his apology, but his ears can pick up what others can’t. He can hear those soft inflections in your voice right before you harden it into aggression, the slight stutter that you so cleverly thought you hid from him as you nearly fumbled your words, a little glimpse of a teenage girl with a crush on her sensei. “Not yet but do know I plan on trying until I make you fall for me all over again. I miss your cute little face when I'd smile at you.”

You glare. “Say that again, and I will smack you in your "cute little" face.”

"You already did that, but if it makes you feel better go ahead, I can take it if it helps you forgive me.”

He just didn’t expect you to actually take him up on the offer. This time, it’s the other cheek that burns.

“You’re right. That did make me feel better,” you say, smirking as you shake the sting from your hand. Hawks grunts, rubbing his jaw as you begin to walk towards your car. He bends down to pick up his shades before following close behind. You open the driver’s door, and say, “I expect you to pick her up at 9 tomorrow. If you’re late, don’t bother showing up ever again.”

Hawks smirks. You certainly became aggressive these past few years, but he thinks he kind of likes it. As you get in your car, he notices Baby Bird smiling at him from the window, her hand up and clutched around that birthday feather he gifted to her as she waves him off.

He’ll definitely be there on time.

[doycngs]

lee donghyuck. | six feet apart. [i]

summary. two days. one car. some unresolved issues with your ex-boyfriend. what a recipe for disaster… right?

pairing. y/n x nct’s haechan. 

genre. exes!au, road trip!au, childhood friends!au. 

word count. 2k. 

[four part series]

part I   |   part II   |   part III   |   part IV

warnings. gender neutral!reader, very angsty ngl, hyuck is vv serious about social distancing adjsjadks jkjk this story is in a coronavirus-free world, erm swearing??? idk what to put here tbh this part is lowkey mild and boring… also don’t be too mad at y/n rn, there’s a very good reason as to this shenanigan ;) anyway! i hope it intrigues you to follow along… i promise hyuck will talk more in the next part, i’ve got big evil plans coming up *debby ryan smirk* 

(cross-posted on wattpad under ginxrna) 

|—————|

“I’M SORRY BUT, what?!?” 

No, no. No no no. There was no way in hell, you were going to agree to this solution. 

“Please don’t tell you’re being serious, Mom?!”

Your mother sighs, finally turning to look you in the eyes. She’d been trying to shove as many boxes into the backseat of the van for the past five minutes. 

“I’m being very serious honey. I know this is not the most ideal situation to be in but you have to do it. There’s no more space in the car and Donghyuck has a free seat in his—”

“Ideal situation? Mom! I can’t stay in a car with him!” 

You hate whining to your mom, especially since you’re literally a grown ass adult now. Who would be able to stop themselves from complaining about it though? No one, that’s who! Not when your own mother is kicking you out of the car and forcing you to spend a two-day car ride back home with your ex-boyfriend. 

Your mother puts down the lamp in her hands, grabbing your forearms to make you face her properly. 

“I’m sorry but you need to do it, okay? I have to drop these off at Dad’s and that’s the opposite way from home! You need to get back in time to finish packing for the fall semester and if you go with me, you’ll miss the first day of being a junior in college. Now, do you really want to do that?” 

Of course, your mother is giving you the No Funny Business look now, the fight in you melting away slowly. It wasn’t her fault that the moving company she hired failed to show up today. You weren’t really mad at her for something she couldn’t help. Maybe just deep down, a combination of things were upsetting you. 

Every summer, ever since you were born, your family has gone down to the beach house they own each year. The Lee family, your longtime neighbors, also tagged along any summer they could. With you being the only child and the Lee’s youngest daughter finally flying off to college, the tradition began to die off quick. It was sad to think about the place being put up for sale but it eventually happened this year. 

You spent every single moment at the beach house trying to soak in the reality as much as possible to prepare yourself. It obviously didn’t work because only now, taking out all the decorations from the rooms to load up, did it really hit you. This was the last summer break being spent here before the place got sold and it was over already. 

Although it wasn’t as pleasant as the past years, like when you spent every waking hour with Hyuck— no, Donghyuck— it still felt like a second home. Now all the campfires, sunbathing, tennis playing, and evening barbeques were over. 

The icing on the cake to your already somber mood had to be the ride back home with your ex though. 

Conveniently of course, your car was at home and your neighbor’s son was “driving home for school as well and he could just drop you off since we live next door to one another!” It would also be “very rude to not accept their offer, even if you two ended on bad terms.” 

Gosh, you would have loved the idea if the two of you were still together. It’s the kind of spontaneous summer road trip you dreamed about in high school; just you and your boyfriend together on the highway. But nope, it wasn’t going to be like that at all. You’re not with Hyuck, fuck— Donghyuck— anymore and the trip back was going to be awful with all the silence. 

You spent the whole time at the house this summer subtly avoiding him with some awkward, forced small talk. You agreed to go to the house because you didn’t think your neighbor’s son was going. As expected, your oblivious dad failed to mention that the Lee’s were coming at the last minute though.

You thought it was fine, given that you believed you were over him already. You and Donghyuck had broken up last year’s spring so it had been a year and a few months to get over it all. 

Turns out that was the fattest lie you could’ve told yourself because the millisecond you saw that sandy brown head of hair, that hollow feeling in your chest came back like a flash flood. He’d lost some weight, changed up his style a little, but still had his charming tan on. The biggest difference was his demeanor around you. 

The way he simply acted while you were around him… it was like he thought you were a predator. Like he was the wounded animal between the two of you after everything that had happened. 

When it finally registered in your head, all the damage he had done to you in the past and how it still haunted you to this day… let’s just say you’ve been a little colder to a certain Lee Donghyuck. It was noticeable by everyone at the beach house but no one had the guts to say anything. 

Your mother must have felt the fight drain out of your body as well, given that your shoulders gave up their defensive position. She manages to put on a smile for you pityingly, rubbing her hands up and down your forearms in comfort. 

“Maybe you guys can finally get some closure. It really suffocated the mood the whole time we were here.” Your mom complains, making an involuntary glare appear on your face. 

It’s strange to think shortly after that boy broke your heart, you were still willing to lie and prettily wrap up his betrayal to your parents. To never tell them the real truth. 

It hurt too much to say it out loud to yourself, much less your parents who adored and loved Donghyuck like their own son. 

Your mother interprets the glare as playful, a tinkling laugh shaking her voice. 

“You two will be fine. I’ll even pay for all the junk food and the nice hotel you two will stay at.” 

When you bite your lip in reluctant anticipation, she smiles knowingly. 

“You’ll really pay for two hotel rooms?” The hope in your voice gave yourself away. The momentary silence makes you believe she’s considering it until her face twists. 

“No, of course not! You two would be sharing one room with two separate beds.” 

Huffing, you cross your arms and go back to duct-taping all the boxes. Thankfully, all the big furniture like the beds and sofas were shipped off this morning, just in case something like this happened. All that was left could hopefully be shoved into five separate cars. 

“You don’t have to do that Mom. We both earn money and can pay for our own accommodations.” You mutter. Her head pops out from behind the seat, mouth open to protest but you interrupt her quickly. 

“It’s fine, I promise. It’s the moving company’s fault for all this happening. Our family has bad luck with these types of things.” You grumble. 

A chuckle is heard from inside the car as she recalls a moving incident two years ago. “We do huh? Remember when your dad packed too many heavy things into the elevator and it couldn’t go up?” 

You sigh at the memory. “Yes, sadly I do. Many of the other dorm residents had a grudge against me before I had ever even spoken to them.” 

A cough cuts through the sound of your mom’s loud laugh, making your head whip around to see where it came from. 

Just when he’s sitting in the back of your mind, Donghyuck appears walking over with a big cardboard box in his arms. He sets it far away from your reach, as expected. 

Ah yes, still so afraid to get too close to you. It’s like he thinks if he came too close, you may scream at him in front of everyone on the property. 

In his defense, you wouldn’t put it past yourself to do that if he tried to explain himself to you once again. 

Your head drops down to become laser-focused on picking at the duct tape roll, the sudden quietness making your mom get curious enough to step out. 

“Ugh, I can begin to feel the effects of my aging. My back is killing me.” She grunts while getting out of the van.

Donghyuck’s eyes widen, immediately walking forward to hold her steady. “Here, let me help out. I can put the stuff in the car instead.” 

“Oh no, it’s alright hon. Me and Y/N got this, go help your mom. I am making you all move everything.” Your mother tries to shoo away, clearly feeling bad for the extra muscles helping around. 

“Don’t worry about it. After all, me and my family practically lived here with you guys most summers. My mom’s also done with her load. I’m here because there’s no more space to fit in this last box. Think it can fit in there?” Donghyuck asks with his hands full, jerking his head at the said object he came with. 

You just finished taping the box he’s pointing at and when you back away from it, Donghyuck quickly bends back down to fit it into the car himself. 

The motherly smile settled on your mom’s lips sits unwell with you, especially as she squeezes Donghyuck’s ear in fondness and thanks. 

She still treats him like a future son-in-law and it makes the pit in your stomach widen even further as you watch. 

|—————|

Thirty minutes later, a miracle came from the heavens to ensure all the boxes fit in all five cars, including Donghyuck’s which barely had enough space for you in the shotgun. As desperate as the thought was, you were secretly hoping there would be no space for you anywhere. A called Uber would have saved you from enduring Donghyuck’s presence for 48 hours and no one would be able to think you were rude for it. 

In her likely fashion though, your mom made sure to shove the unnecessary boxes you placed in the shotgun to the back of Donghyuck’s car. The last thing to do was grab your suitcase and backpack from inside the house and off you’ll go forever. 

Walking into the bare living room, a feeling of bittersweet nostalgia overwhelmed you. 

The coffee table, beat up from all the kids’ roughhousing back in the day, is gone. It leaves a sad space in the middle and makes the room look so much bigger than in the past. The place looked less homey and more alien now that the furniture was all stripped away, especially the sofa. 

The comfy L-shaped couch was your haven whenever you needed some peace and quiet from the chaos, away from everyone and everything for a while. Hyuck always knew to find you here whenever you disappeared from the loud atmosphere, giving you the company you didn’t even know you craved. 

Everything felt like it passed by so quick and suddenly, you wished you could turn back time, even for just for a little. To relive every happy feeling you’ve ever felt in this big home… to feel your bare feet buried in the sand, listen to the sound of waves in the background, breathe in the comforting smell of the sea salt, that comforting sweaty hand wrapped in yours, his bare chest wetting your cheek, having just come back from swimming—

“You ready?” 

When you look behind you, Hyuck is stood by the front door, holding his bags. You feel yourself nodding but don’t really believe it in your bones. 

As you turn back towards the living room, he quietly puts the bags down and stands to your right. You hear the other four cars drive off, beeping in goodbye to one another, but can’t seem to move your feet, force yourself to step out the house, and drive away as well.  

“I’m going to miss this place too,” Hyuck says quietly. The sound of his soft voice makes you glance at him. The soft brown eyes that meet yours lifts your heart just a bit before it all comes crashing down. 

He’s standing six feet away from you. 

The small amount of distance isn’t much but it feels like miles emotionally. It’s the distance he set up that made that little bubble of fantasy pop and wash away with the waves. 

The both of you used to snuggle up on that couch in this very living room a little more than a year ago and hate to be so far away from one another. Looking down at the gap between you two now, your bittersweet recollection comes to an abrupt end. 

A humorless scoff passes your lips before you can help it. The need to leave this place behind itches you into action. 

Grabbing your things, your feet mechanically moves your body without another word, forcing your head not to look up to Donghyuck’s expression. 

You don’t know if he’d look hurt but you didn’t want to risk it. You didn’t care. 

You didn’t. 

You didn’t care. 

[purplecatghostposts]

@ardate

Oh ho ho :) Gordon Angst Request? I will gladly do that-

—

Gordon is fine. He’s used to handling a lot of stress, this is nothing.

It starts with a dinner party. Gordon invites all of the Science Team, including Tommy’s father and Sunkist, over to his apartment for a fancy dinner to celebrate a year out of Black Mesa. Which requires organizing, of course. He learns how to make a good lasagna from scratch, he plans to cook it hours in advance- it’s going okay.

Then his oven breaks the day of the party. No problem- Gordon gets Bubby’s help to cook it and of course he’s stressed over the possibility of Bubby burning it but he doesn’t have a choice.

Gordon has his suit sent to the dryers to get it pressed. It’s going to look amazing on him and Gordon can’t wait to show it off. He trips and rips it when he’s bringing it home.

This is fine. Gordon has a backup suit that doesn’t look quite as good or fit him as well but it... It works.

Gordon has just enough plates for everyone but last minute, Darnold and Forzen want to join. Gordon doesn’t have the heart to turn them away so he has to run to the store to buy some more- he doesn’t want to give them plastic plates when everyone else has fancy ones. It’s fine, Gordon has a solution, it’s fine.

Gordon’s been having nightmares lately. He thought he was getting over them but apparently not- which is fine. Nightmares bounce back all the time, it’s not unheard of. Even if they’re starting to shake him and Gordon wakes up in a cold sweat, it’s nothing he hasn’t gone through before.

Gordon gets into a fight with Benrey. A stupid, petty, small fight that ends with Benrey storming out. Gordon doesn’t even know why he’s mad but his arms shake and his eyes sting but Gordon sucks it up because he has a dinner party in eight hours and he has work to do.

All of that was fine- 100% fine. Gordon took all of it in like a champ and through all the stress, he found solutions. Benrey would come back and they could kiss and make up. Gordon could do this- he could do this.

Gordon starts setting up the table when he stubs his toe on one of the legs of the chairs. The plate in his hand drops and shatters on the floor.

Gordon stares down at the broken shards and something in him snaps.

Fat tears roll down his face as Gordon drops to his knees. An ugly sob overtakes him and all attempts to stop crying fail. It just gets worse, a choked noise leaving him and all Gordon feels is pathetic.

He can’t even handle one dinner party. He can’t even control his emotions. Everyone’s going to walk through that door and see what a miserable failure he is and they’ll leave. He can’t do this- he can’t do this- he can’t do this-

“Uh. Gordon?”

...Fuck, he forgot Bubby was here. God, can this get any worse?

“I’m fine.” Gordon chokes out. He pulls up his shirt enough to use it to wipe his tears away. It helps but they keep on coming. He can feel Bubby’s gaze burning into him, watching, judging, knowing-

“No you’re fucking not.” Bubby tells him flatly. “Jesus fucking Christ, you’re having a mental breakdown over a plate.”

The plate. Gordon’s body starts shaking against his will. “I- I don’t have a backup- oh god someone’s going to get a plastic plate and it’s going to look so out of place I- fuck.”

“Nobody cares about a plate, Gordon. Eat off the table for all I care.”

“It’s- it’s not just-!” Gordon fumbles for his words but his words get breathy. “It’s not just about a fucking plate, Bubby!” It’s more of a shout that he would like but Gordon’s getting lightheaded and he can’t stop shaking. “I can’t- I can’t do this- I can’t do anything!”

Gordon wheezes for a breath but he’s failing to get one. A shadow looms over him and when Bubby speaks again, it catches him off guard.

“Can you stand?” It’s soft. Careful. Gordon wouldn’t believe it was coming from Bubby if he hadn’t been hearing it himself.

Gordon shakes his head. He doesn’t think he can, not on his own.

“I can help you to the couch. Come on.” Bubby offers a hand. Gordon hesitates but he ends up taking it. Bubby guides him to the living room and as soon as he sits down, Bubby gets him a glass of water before settling beside him.

Gordon gulps it down greedily, gasping when he’s finished. It’s all there is to hear at first, Gordon’s breathing. But Bubby finally speaks up once Gordon feels a little more grounded.

“What’s actually going on?” Bubby raises an eyebrow at him. “Spill.”

“I don’t know.” Gordon says honestly. Bubby still gives a skeptical look but Gordon shakes his head. “I mean it, I- I don’t know what happened. I just had all this pressure in my chest and I just... Spilled it out all at once.”

“What kind of pressure?”

“I don’t- just, everything went wrong? And- and I was trying so hard to handle it but it just kept falling apart.” Gordon buries his face in his hands. “I just wanted to do something nice for everyone. And I keep- I keep dreaming of Black Mesa lately so I wanted to laugh at off and celebrate getting out of that hellhole. I got so riled up that I- I just snapped at Benrey for the stupidest thing and I don’t know what to do anymore. Am I just- just ruining everything I touch?”

“You kidding?” Bubby scoffs. He quickly drops it when Gordon averts his gaze and hesitantly puts an arm around him. It’s almost a hug. “Look, all of that sucks, but they’re all temporary. You’re not. You’re gonna pull through this.”

“But- but the plate.”

“Fuck the plate! Just ask everyone to bring their own- none of them are going to care. Stop focusing on one tiny bump and take a step back. All of this can be solved if you just opened your damn mouth and asked for help.” Bubby stifles a laugh. “I can’t believe I’m saying this of all people but it’s not nearly as hard as you think. You’re the only one holding yourself back.”

Gordon laughs. He doesn’t know why. “You uh- you must think I’m pathetic, huh?”

Bubby’s face twists. “Fuck no. Gordon, I had a mental breakdown over fucking ice cream flavors once, I can’t judge you. And I won’t judge you because I care about you, dumbass. You had some bad luck- big fuckin’ whoop. Power through it and have a good time when it’s over.”

Gordon knows he shouldn’t focus on the first part but he can’t help it. “Ice cream?”

Bubby grimaces. “Not my proudest moment. It was in public too- thank god it was the same week Tommy learned how to freeze time like his dad or it would’ve been a hell of a lot more embarrassing.”

Bubby shakes himself and continues. “Point is, your friends aren’t going to judge you. They’re here to have a good time, you think they care about decorations? They’ll comment on it if it’s good but otherwise, they don’t care. You’re Gordon Martinis Freeman and other than food, the main reason they’re coming is for you.”

Bubby stands up, once again offering a hand. He gives Gordon a grin. “Now, ready to kick this dinner party’s ass?”

Gordon swallows but takes his hand anyways. “Yeah, I think I am... Thanks, Bubby.”

“Eh, it was nothing. Couldn’t just leave you crying on the floor. Not fuckin’ heartless.”

“Still. I’m lucky to have you.”

For a moment, Bubby seemed surprised by the statement before he grinned wildly. Gordon smiled back.

—

I really want to write more Bubby and Gordon friendship so here you go!

Thank you for the idea!! I hope you enjoyyyy!

[shera-dnd]

Face Turn - Three Count

What’s up fuckers it’s time for another chapter of Face Turn

This time let’s watch as these two slowly bond over their fucked up childhoods

Also this chapter has a joke about Weiss’s name and I want to clarify that Veiss is not quite the correct pronunciation, but it’s like the closest most english speakers can get to it

anyway AO3 link and on with the show

Her match with Yang had been long, painful and bloody. They had to sell this as the nastiest fight they’ve had and by god did they fucking sell it. Of course, their wounds weren’t half as bad as they looked, but they were still in some serious pain, and Weiss loved it.

She missed this adrenaline, she missed the thrill that came with a really good match. Beating the living shit out of Yang had been the most fun she’d had in well over a year now and it showed.

“Well someone here is having a lot of fun.” Yang joked, from the seat to her right, “for a loser.”

In the end that was the solution they found for the story. Weiss had beat Yang and showed the world that she was the strongest fighter around, but she had gone too far and the judge was forced to disqualify her and give the victory to Yang. 

Yang kept her honor and her win streak intact and Weiss got to make her point that she could kick anyone’s ass in a real fight. Now they were both set to continue their rivalry properly.

She had to admit she was happy with that result. That didn’t mean she couldn’t sass Yang back though.

“And you’re talking a lot of shit for someone I just beat up.”

“Hey, if you want me to shut up, next time aim for the mouth,” she joked.

Weiss laughed, but Doctor Goodwitch was having none of that.

“You’ll do no such thing.” She interjected, “and you will both run your ideas by me before you go out there and beat each other black and blue. This is wrestling, not boxing.”

“Don’t I know it,” Weiss tried to bite back, but Goodwitch had a glare that would put even her sister to shame, so she toned the attitude way down, “sorry ma’am.”

They stayed in silence there for a while, patiently waiting for her to finish patching them up. It was awkward and painful, but the grin didn’t leave Weiss’s face the whole time.

“Hey, ice queen,” Yang called after Goodwitch had left, “wanna hit the bar tomorrow to celebrate our first match?”

It was good to hear that not even she was crazy enough to go drinking while on some serious pain meds.

“Only if you’re a gracious winner and pay for my drinks.”

The next day, after a nice night of drinking, Yang offered to do exactly that.

“Hey, I was joking about paying for the drinks,” she interjected.

“I know, but I am, in fact, a gracious winner,” Yang replied, looking her smugest.

“Yeah, not gonna happen,” Weiss slammed down her money and turned to leave.

“Jeez,” Yang complained as she followed, “it was just a few beers.”

“I don’t like owing people,” she replied, and before Yang could say anything she added, “and you saying I don’t owe anything won’t change that. I don’t buy that shit.”

“You have some serious trust issues, you know that?” That earned a laugh from Weiss.

“First lesson in the Jackass Schnee’s school of life,” she declared, “don’t trust anyone and don’t owe anyone shit.”

Yang looked at her like she didn’t know if she should laugh or give her a hug. Instead she settled for saying, “okay now I need to hear that story.”

“I’m not drunk enough for that one.”

But next week she very much was.

“Then I tried singing,” she rambled, “and of course that asshole tried to get his creepy little hands all over that. Then I joined the military, like my sister did, and there he was again trying to make sure I honored the Schnee name or whatever.”

“Shit, you used to sing?” Yang asked, focusing on the wrong thing.

“And I was fucking great at it,” she answered, with quite a lot of pride, “don’t ask me to try singing any of it now, I haven’t practiced outside of a shower in almost ten years.”

“Aww and here I thought I’d get a show all for myself,” she joked. There was something else in her tone, but it was lost amidst the alcohol and her absolute lack of experience with casual social interactions.

“Anyway that’s when I decided that I needed something that he would hate too much to get his hands on,” she continued, “something that he would refuse to tie the family name to.”

“So you’ve decided to spend the rest of your life punching people just to make your dad angry?”

“I mean, at first,” she hated how petty this made her sound, “but then I started liking it. It was something I could focus on and try to get better at, and I could do it for myself for once.”

Yang gave her a smile that was more soft and genuine than anything anyone had ever given her. Then she lifted her bottle and announced, “to spite and all the great things it helped us achieve.”

Weiss smiled back and raised her own bottle, “to defiance, and not letting anyone tell us how to live our lives.”

They both chugged their drinks and laughed loudly, like the two drunk idiots they were.

“Hey, wanna hear what’s worse?” Weiss offered, trying really hard not to laugh.

“You mean it gets worse?”

Weiss nodded and then leaned forward as if she was about to tell her some sordid Schnee family secret.

“Jacques doesn’t know how to say my name right,” she whispered, “but everyone thinks he does, so they all just say it wrong too.”

“No fucking way!”

“Yes fucking way!” She insisted, “my mom gave me a german name and it should be pronounced like Veiss Schnee, but that dumb shit has been butchering it since the day I was born.”

At that Yang started cackling. 

“Shit, Weiss,” she called, trying and failing to say it properly, “your family makes even mine sound functional.”

“Okay now it’s your turn to share your tragic backstory,” Weiss asked, maybe a little drunker than she was planning on getting tonight.

“Maybe next time, Ice Queen.”

Thankfully Weiss didn’t have to wait long. Even though they barely saw each other at work that week, they knew they’d both be at the White Fang again. It was a strange new routine that she wasn’t sure when she had fallen into.

“So after Summer died dad got hit pretty bad. Couldn’t fight anymore, couldn’t even help around the house,” Yang told her over some drinks. Weiss had noticed she’d been drinking a lot less that night, “so that’s when I took up wrestling. Indie stuff at first, just trying to get some bills paid and help raise my sister.”

Weiss didn’t know how to respond. She’d never been in a position like that before. Should she console her friend? How would she even do that? Shit, were they even friends or just very close coworkers?

“I try not to blame Tai for it,” Yang continued, “he’s a great dad and I know he was going through a lot back then, but it’s hard not to get bitter over that stuff.”

She looked down at her drink, having vastly underestimated how hard this would hit her. It was strange seeing Yang’s face doing anything other than beaming or laughing. She was such a joyful person that it hurt to see her like that.

Damn it, she had to fix that.

“Hey, jackass,” fucking great start there, Weiss, “stop torturing yourself over feeling shit. Just because you know it wasn’t his fault doesn’t mean you don’t get to let yourself be bitter about it.”

Yang chuckled weakly, “wasn’t expecting an actual lesson in emotional health from you of all people.”

Weiss should be offended, but Yang did have a point.

“Hey, letting me feel things was the first thing I taught myself after I told Jackass to fuck off.” 

“Was the second thing swear words?” Yang joked and it was as if that shadow from before had never been there.

“You can bet your ass it was fucking swear words!” She declared, slamming her hand on the table.

At that they both laughed loudly and happily. When had Weiss ever felt so at ease with someone else? The answer was never, but she didn’t want to focus on the sadness that came with that realization. She wanted to focus on the idiot laughing in front of her.

“Weiss Schnee,” Yang called. Her pronunciation getting just a little better, “you’re the fucking worst!”

To that she smiled.

She liked how her name sounded in Yang’s voice.

[slaapkat]

PROMPT: CRUSHER TELLS JORDAN U KNOW HWAT ISNT NORMAL. :)

(mostly combining these 2 prompts! hope it’s okay!)

shortly following this

The newly-minted ISA is… struggling, to say the least. One would think that being composed of only three people, one of whom being psychic, that teamwork would come easy. 

One would think.

The bank robbery is a veritable disaster, even more so than their sorry attempt at a jewelry store heist weeks earlier. Larry ignored Jordan’s suggestion to proceed carefully, instead choosing to kick in the doors with a rebel yell and bat swinging to cave in the face of the first security guard he saw. Evidently no longer seeing any sense in following any semblance of a plan, Henry followed suit almost immediately after despite Jordan’s furiously hissed protests, having dropped everyone to their knees with his powers by the time Jordan finally saw fit to swallow his pride and trail after them, ice spreading and cracking across his skin.

Now, it might have been successful even then-- Henry had the forethought to paralyze all the tellers before they could press the panic buttons, and incapacitate the rest of the security guards before they could draw their weapons --until Henry then managed to get distracted by a singular man’s supposedly unforgivingly wicked thoughts, lowering his concentration just enough to allow for a single guard to…

Needless to say, the fact that they barely managed to escape without getting arrested was a miracle in itself. Pure luck, even, that escaped with anything at all-- a measly couple hundred dollars that Larry had wrenched from a single till, unable to make it as far as the vault.

It’s why Jordan now finds himself holed back up in his tiny room that Henry had allowed him in their already tiny apartment. He’s nursing a headache, though whether it’s from the stress of the situation or Henry’s personal revenge for getting shot at is hard to tell. He just-- wants this to work, he wants the ISA to be everything he dreamed of, but it’s hard to organize anything when one member is a literal know-it-all and the other is a hot-headed adrenaline junkie.

Jordan groans and sets about the arduous effort of disrobing out of his costume-- his uniform --and into moderately more comfortable clothes so that he can wallow in his self-pity in peace.

“Hiya, bud!” Larry’s extraordinarily chipper voice jars Jordan from his reverie. He startles just slightly, not expecting Larry to have still been around; he’d been extremely vocal about Henry claiming the lion’s share of their meager loot in recompense for the bullet holes in his Brainwave uniform, just short of storming out of the ISA entirely. Larry smiles disarmingly, all teeth. Jordan smiles very weakly back, awkward with his coat halfway down his back but arms still caught in the sleeves. Against his better judgment, he tries to wave, only to stop and blush when the action fails due to the previously mentioned sleeves. 

“La-- Crusher,” Jordan greets, only somewhat wary. Larry’s still grinning back at him. Jordan decides to distract himself by going on with his undressing. “Um. What can I do for you?”

Larry doesn’t respond right away, seemingly content to watch Jordan struggle with the complexities of coat sleeves with mild amusement until he chuckles. “Boy, we sure blew it today, huh?”

Jordan grimaces, finally freeing himself from his jacket and throwing it on his bed. “I wouldn’t say that…”

“Nah, nah, we did,” Larry blusters on, waving Jordan off. “We gotta work on our teamwork! I know you’re worried about Brainy being a team player--” and here he ignores Jordan’s panicked I’m not! “--but listen! I have the perfect solution. Great idea for a bonding activity. See, the Romans--”

And it’s here Jordan rolls his eyes, ignoring the rest of Larry’s rambling so that he can finish undressing and pack it away until next time. Larry had a tendency to go off on tangents, excitability getting the best of him. Jordan only half-listens, turning away to give himself the illusion of privacy while he takes off his shirt.

“--and then they strengthen those bonds by fucking each other--”

Jordan jumps with a yelp, whipping around just in time to see Larry casually making a crude gesture with his fingers, the pointer finger of one hand being moved in and out of a circle formed by the thumb and pointer finger of the other hand. Jordan feels himself blush and his cheeks just as quickly frost over as he blurts out a scandalized, “Larry!”

“Look, I’m just saying-- hah?” Larry says, looking up and trailing off, eyes latching onto Jordan’s shirtless torso in an instant and widening. Jordan abruptly feels exposed and fights the urge to cover himself despite still wearing pants. It’s a feeling not at all helped when Larry suddenly laughs, eyebrows shooting up. “Wow, bud, that’s not normal.”

It’s enough to give Jordan pause, looking down at himself and back at Larry in quick succession, frowning and confused. “I-- I don’t--” Jordan’s frown deepens, defensive. “What’s not normal?”

“That!” Larry leaps forward with another laugh closing the distance between them so rapidly that Jordan has barely any time to react before he finds Larry tracing the almost perfectly straight line of hair trailing up from his navel to his chest. Frost and ice gather rapidly at Jordan’s cheeks as his blush intensifies. 

“Chest hair?” Jordan offers weakly, almost literally frozen in place as a result of being so intently at the end of Larry’s single-minded attention. “It’s just-- Crusher, I don’t understand, it’s just chest hair--”

“Who’s happy trail just does that?” Larry interrupts, grinning wide. “It’s like a straight line all the way up and down!”

“Okay, I know--” Jordan tries, chagrined. “Look, it is normal, for me--”

Larry spreads his palm flat, whistling as he apparently continues to admire Jordan’s so-called freak-of-nature chest hair. That finally ends up being too much for Jordan’s runaway embarrassment, freezing all over in an instant and cementing Larry’s hand against him. Larry doesn’t even blink, unperturbed, and only whistles appreciatively again before just as casually wrenching his hand free. 

“Wow!” Larry says again, evidently oblivious to Jordan’s awkwardness as he casually shakes the cold and ice off his hand. “So, anyways.” He flashes another smile. Jordan feels his heart flutter a little. “About my bonding idea? Could really do the ISA some good, I think.” Larry winks. “Might finally even get that stick out of Brainy’s ass, too.”

“I’ll--” Jordan clears his throat, voice just a little rough as he hurriedly pulls on a fresh shirt before Larry could be tempted to reach out again. The ice refuses to melt away. “I’ll, um, think about it?”

“Hell yeah!” Larry barks enthusiastically, pumping a fist in the air as he finally turns to leave. “Alright then, bud, alright! Hey, I’ll see you around!”

Jordan sighs, deflating just a little at the puff of cold air that escapes with it. 

The ISA was going to take more work than he thought.

EDIT: NEIL JACKSONS FREAK OF NATURE CHEST HAIR FOR PROOF

[saventhhaven]

Unexpected - Part 2

Pairing: none

Tags: violence, blood, helpless!reader

Word Count: 2,055

A/N: it took me a lot longer to get the second part to this written, but here it is!

Unexpected - Part 1

(Gif not mine)

Admiring your handiwork triumphantly, you slid the newly-installed chain to your front door shut. It wasn't a burglar alarm, that was for sure, but it did make you feel a bit more at ease, which was really all you could hope for. The ideal solution would have been to install a security system, but you just didn't have that kind of money. It had been just under a week since the break-in, and unfortunately, your anxious mindset hadn't improved much. If anything, it kept getting worse every time you relived your conversation with Sam and Dean. Monsters. Demons. There was no way. If those two men really thought all that crap was real, there was something seriously wrong with them. Sighing, you plopped down on your living room couch. Why couldn't you get these boys out of your head? You would give anything to forget the whole ordeal. Still... the sincerity of their explanation left you wondering if what they said was true. You shook your head vigorously, scolding yourself. All of your life, you had never been the type to believe in that sort of thing. Why on earth would you start now? Just because two maniacs started spouting it off to scare you? No way.

When your front door's doorknob began to turn, you practically leaped off the couch. Oh God, it was them. Sam and Dean. You knew too much, and now they were back to finish the job. Your heart rate skyrocketed as your door opened, but it was caught by the chain, and someone rammed straight into it.

"Ow! What the hell? Y/N?" You recognized the voice right away and scrambled over to peek through the small crack.

"Jamie?" Sure enough, standing on your front porch in the darkness was your best friend. The two of you had known each other for as long as you could remember, and you were about as close as friends could get. Shutting the door, you unlatched the chain to let him in. "I didn't know you were coming over tonight." Jamie held up his phone to show you his outgoing call log.

"Well, maybe if you had answered my calls..." He let the open-ended statement hang in the air, watching as you locked and chained the door behind him. He sighed and gestured to the new hardware. "You put that up today?" You nodded.

"Literally just finished, actually." Jamie gave you a sympathetic pat on the shoulder with a smile. He had been the first person you called after you kicked crazies one and two out of your home, and he knew how much it had rattled you. He flopped onto your couch with levels of drama that only he could achieve.

"Remind me again: why didn't you just call the cops?" You rolled your eyes as you opened your mouth to speak, but realized you didn't have a good answer. "Those wackjobs could be in a cell right now instead of running free. I swear, Y/N, you're too nice for your own good." You really should've called the cops. Hell, maybe it still wasn't a bad idea to file a report.

"I don't know," you answered lamely. What good would it do now? If those two lunatics had any brains at all, they would have skipped town already. Shaking your head, you padded into your kitchen. "I was just about to put a frozen pizza in the oven or something. You staying?"

"Yeah, I think so," you heard him call from the living room. Jamie's visits usually stretched late into the night, and you were more than happy to have the company. Although you had done your best to secure your home, being here alone made you nervous. Door chains weren't 100% intruder-proof, and you knew that, but you were trying not to think about it.

"Hey, I'm gonna grab a beer, do you-" When you reemerged from the fridge with two beers in hand, you noticed how close Jamie was standing, and the odd expression on his face as he stared at you. "Jesus!" you exclaimed. "You scared the hell out of me. I thought you were on the couch."

"I think I will take that beer." He took the glass bottle from your hand with a smile that, for some reason, made your skin crawl. It didn't quite meet his eyes, and you couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. You opened the freezer door to get a pizza, feeling a bit more on edge than usual, which was saying something, considering all you had been through in the past week.

"How was work?" you tossed the question over your shoulder even though you were pretty sure you already knew the answer. Jamie worked a corporate desk job, which meant that every day was usually the same for him. 

As you leaned in to see what your freezer had to offer something whizzed by your ear, shattering on the cabinets behind you into a million pieces. Glass shards tinkled to the ground, and the smell of beer filled the air. Whirling around in alarm, you realized that Jamie was no longer holding his beer bottle, but that he had thrown it at you. Had you not put your head in the freezer when you did... you really didn't want to think about what could have happened. 

"What the hell, Jamie?" you snapped. "What is wrong with you? You could have killed me!" For the first time in your life, you were afraid of him. Your gut was right - something was horribly wrong. It was almost like... When the word entered your mind, you felt a panic bubble up in his throat. Possessed. Instantly, the faces of the two crazy men from the break-in came into your thoughts, and you swallowed hard. "Jamie?" His name left your mouth cautiously as you peered up at him, trying to make any sense of this. Jamie blinked, and his eyes turned to pure black as a malicious smile spread across his face.

"Sorry," he replied. "No." Holy fuck. When Jamie - or whatever the hell this thing was - lunged at you, you screamed. Loudly. Hopefully, one of the neighbors heard you; otherwise, you were toast. And not the good kind. Somehow, you managed to duck under his arm and make a break for the door. Had you not been overcome by terror, you would have appreciated the irony of it all. The very chain you had just installed to keep intruders out now kept you inside, where your life very well may depend on you getting out.

Just before you could reach the door, you were pushed down from behind, knocking the wind out of you as your attacker pulled you back by your ankles. You were screaming bloody murder when he turned you onto your back, slamming you down hard enough to rattle the floorboards.

"Jamie can't come to the phone right now." Hearing Jamie's voice say these things was maybe the most jarring thing about the whole situation. Scratch that, the most jarring thing was definitely the fact that you might die. You were totally trapped. The weight of Jamie's body pinned you down, and your hands were restrained on either side of your head. The chances that someone was coming to help you were very slim, and you could feel that you were running out of time.

"You're a demon," you guessed, hoping you could stall until something about your dire situation changed. Jamie's features lifted a bit in surprise.

"My, my. Not as clueless as we look, are we?"

"I sure as hell knew better than to think you were Jamie, you son of a bitch." The demon growled angrily, and you knew right away that you had made a mistake. Grabbing you roughly by the shoulders, he pulled you up before slamming you back down again. This time, your head made contact, and you saw stars. The demon's eyes glinted maliciously.

"See, that's where you're wrong," he hissed. "You thought I was your Jamie when I first came in." Before you could respond, the demon struck you across the face hard, causing you to let out a cry. "He has so many fond memories of you in here," he informed you, tapping his temple. "I wonder how difficult it would be to break him. Surely, killing you would be a good start, don't you think?" When his fist came at your face, you barely had time to recover before he came at you again, striking blow after blow. By the time he was finished, blood and tears mingled on your swollen face, and your mind lingered somewhere in the purgatory between consciousness and unconsciousness.

"Hm. I expected you to put up quite the fight. What a pity." As the demon raised Jamie's fist to hit you again, your front door flew open with a bang, and the chunk of the wall where you had screwed in the door chain's anchor went flying. So much for increased security.

"Get off of her!" The gruff voice sounded familiar, but you couldn't quite place it in this state. Heavy footsteps pounded on the floor toward you, and suddenly the weight holding you down was gone as you lost consciousness.

"You're okay, I got you." Someone lifted you into a sitting position, helping you come back to your senses. Head pounding, you blinked a few times, still feeling a bit woozy. "You really got the worst of that," the familiar voice continued. That was for damn certain. You felt like you had been run over by a truck. "You with me?" The familiar face in front of you finally registered, and you smiled weakly.

"You were definitely right about demons." Relief eased Sam's serious expression, and he rocked back onto his heels, crouched in front of you. You never thought you would be thinking this, but damn, it was good to see him. Now that you knew he wasn't, in fact, a home invader, it was good to know that you were in the hands of someone who knew what the hell was going on. If demons were actually real, that meant everything else was, too. "This is insane," you breathed.

"Insane is kinda what we do," Sam admitted. Another round of head pounding hit you, and you groaned in pain.

"Yeah, you're gonna want to put some ice on that," Dean said wryly. As you stood, you took a look around your living room, which was still surprisingly intact. "Not every day you get your ass kicked like that." You shook your head.

"Jamie didn't-"As soon as you said his name, your eyes went wide, and your heart dropped into your stomach. "Jamie! Is he all right? Where is he?" Sam gestured to the couch, and you scrambled to your feet, rushing to Jamie's unconscious form. His eyes moved behind closed lids as you brushed the hair from his face, and took his hand.

"He should be fine now," Sam reassured. "He probably won't remember much, and he'll be confused when he wakes up." Fear lingered in the pit of your stomach as you were reminded of how the pair of pitch-black eyes gleamed back at you. You swallowed hard.

"And is the demon still..?" Dean shook his head at your open-ended question.

"No, we exorcised it. But that doesn't mean it's gone. It could have gone after anyone in this town that was unprotected." You weren't entirely sure what that meant, but you had a sneaking suspicion that neither you nor Jamie was safe. "Does that mean you're sticking around for a while?" you asked hopefully. Dean gave a nonchalant shrug in response.

"Probably." Jamie groaned from the couch as he began to stir, and you turned your attention back to him.

"We should probably get out of here," Sam recommended to his brother. "Before he wakes up."

"Yeah," Dean agreed. "See you around, Y/N." As the two tall men headed for the front door, you looked up at them.

"Thank you. Seriously." And then they were gone as quickly as they came.

"Y/N?" Jamie stared up at you, blearily from the couch. "What the hell happened?" With a heavy sigh, you gave his arm a reassuring pat.

"Jamie, I have one hell of a story for you."

Thanks for reading!

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[shellheadtm-a]

while i’m sitting here nervously chuckling to see if we go into curfew mode/shelter in place...

amanda’s guide to 616 tony’s relationships with characters you know from the mcu.  otherwise known as how things are very different.

pepper:  tony’s not married to pepper.  he’s never been in a relationship with pepper.  they pined after each other for a while, pepper got married to happy, happy died, she and tony banged, and then tony deleted his brain and that was pretty much that.  by the time tony got around to asking pepper out, she was seeing someone, the weight of happy’s death was there (she asked tony to cut happy’s life support with extremis), and they’d both moved on.  they definitely do not have a kid - 616 tony is childless.  they’ve been good, good friends over the years, but now have mostly grown apart, and pepper’s doing her own thing as rescue.

rhodey:  not much changes here besides the fact that rhodey is a former employee of tony/former ceo of stark/former iron man.  while tony was pulling his life together while in recovery, rhodey was iron man.  then he became war machine, and is also a liason to the us military for stark.  he and tony are still pretty much bffs, despite the fact that they’ve had their spats over the years.  tony loves rhodey a lot and tells him that frequently.  they use ridiculous code names for things like mama hen and papa bear.  when rhodey died tony rebooted him out of death.  it’s like that.

happy:  happy was pretty much the same.  former boxer, tony hired him as a chauffeur.  tony saw pepper and happy making eyes at each other and did his best to push them together.  happy was in and out of tony’s employ for literal years, sometimes doing his own thing, for a while running literally all the pr and charity stuff (and doing a damn bang up job of it too, during the stark solutions days), and eventually was beaten into brain death during civil war.  tony caused the blip in his life support at the request of pepper because happy didn’t want to spend his days like that.  tony misses him a lot.

peter:  616 peter is a good deal older than mcu peter, and tony wasn’t really a mentor.  instead, you can argue he kind of adopted peter as a little brother (which was a much better take on that friendship, no i do not take criticism).  but civil war happened, tony convinced peter to reveal his identity for the sake of regristration/keeping peace, aunt may got shot, everything went to hell, and there’s been a long, slow healing process between the two of them.  they can work together nicely enough...usually.  but during the parker industries days there was some serious animosity going on - slapfights via the stock market.  now, though, they’re starting to move on, and be able to act like grown adults and talk.

steve:  oh boy.  tony has some major fucking heart eyes for steve rogers.  the avengers found steve in the ice, and he’s been tony’s literal attached at the hip bestie ever since, even though they break up more than a junior high school couple.  instead of bickering, these two are all unnecessary touching and waxing poetic about each other and acting as each other’s biggest fans.  tony has a captain america memorabilia collection.  steve’s temporary death utterly destroyed tony completely.  look for one, and the other probably isn’t that far behind.  the avengers always function better when these two are in sync.

bruce:   complicated.  super complicated.  bruce was a founding member, tony will tell you he is absolutely bruce’s friend, and he really is!  but their relationship is...tumultuous.  tony saved bruce’s life, but inadvertently caused the hulk as a literal manifestation via gamma bomb.  he does love bruce, he does.  but he’s also done shit like shot bruce into space because he’s something of a danger in the eyes of...well.  just about everyone.  (to be fair, that was the illuminati, and boy do i have opinions on the illuminati.)

thor:  616 tony and thor have been through the shit, both together and against each other, and have come out the other side still friends.  the big three (tony, steve, thor) is called that for a reason.  they’ve got a super tight relationship.  but they’ve all three fought hard against each other, as well, and there was a point in time (after the thor clone particularly) where it looked like tony and thor were quitsies.  not so much, apparently, thor’s a big tony supporter when tony and steve are feuding.  tony (and also steve) have pretty much told odin to get fucked over their boy.

nat:  nat and tony met while she was still a russian spy.  that’s right.  nat started off as an iron man villain.  but once she switched sides and joined the avengers...listen.  nat and tony have in the past had this...on again off again thing. how serious it’s ever been is up to you to decide, but they’ve been a thing.  nat drags tony into things and he goes along willingly because he trusts her completely.  he always believes nat has a good reason for doing what she’s doing.  it’s been pointed out before but like...the level to which he did not care she had all this info on him (and clint, and bucky, and logan) could not have been more in the negative numbers.  tony loves nat.  tony trusts nat.  enough that he doesn’t spaz the fuck out when she breaks into his bedroom and sits there waiting for him to wake up.

clint:  clint was part of cap’s kooky quartet, when the og avengers left for some personal time.  even so, tony and clint did spend a good amount of time out west with each other, during tony’s recovery and when he finally picked up the iron man mantle again.  tony made clint’s hearing aids.  it was tony and steve who were there when clint was going blind.  they bicker and pick on each other like...a lot, but if clint calls, even for something as stupid as detangling his fucking cable box, tony’s there to help.  they’re friends, is what i’m getting at.  clint was the first person tony offered the shield to after steve’s death, to be the next captain america.

carol:  instead of barely existing in the same space, tony is friends with carol.  he loves carol like...a whole lot.  they might argue, and they might disagree (and i think it’s because in reality carol and steve are a lot alike and tony is a good foil to the both of them), but ultimately tony loves and respects carol like...so much.  he’s her aa sponsor.  he’ll be there to help at the drop of a hat.  hell, even after she’s broken his windpipe and finally explains herself to him and thor he’s more than willing to do what needs to be done.  she’s the one he trusted with the whole...mmm...hinky shit that was going on behind the scenes after civil war bc he had to have someone and who better than carol danvers?

wanda:  sorry but the mcu screwed the pooch completely with wanda all the way around.  wanda was another one that was part of cap’s kooky quartet (along with pietro) and like...she was one of them for so long, you know, like...she and tony have actually led teams together, he brought her into force works.  i honestly don’t think he holds any animosity for shit that happened before civil war, enough that he can make jokes about it now.  it’s not this weird...you’re grounded bc i said so bullshit with them.  tony will call wanda sweetheart at the drop of a hat.

vision:  tony didn’t create ultron, that was hank pym.  the vision is a bit of a weird case in 616 but he’s tony’s???  friend???  enough so that during age of ultron (616′s aou) tony was as blinded as everyone else that ultron had been using the vision to fuck with them from the future.  he’s the one who worked to get vision’s self-repair to function after avengers disassembled and it eventually kicked in.  he’s the one who helped vision with viv.  and he fixed viv’s dog???  like???  he’s not the creator of either of the things that came out of ultron initially but he is vision’s friend, thank you and goodnight.

sam:  yeah sam and tony aren’t like.  best buds.  they view life and being a hero too differently, i think.  but they’ve been on teams together and worked fine together.  they were able to get their shit together after steve’s assassination.  i’d argue tony initially gave sam a chance because he was steve’s friend, and then gave his respect on his own once he saw who sam is as a person.  especially when he was filling in as cap.  not best buds, can work together just fine.

scott:  hey so uh.  tony’s friends with scott!!!!  i hate!!! what the mcu did!!!!  tony’s the one who took a chance on scott when he got out of prison.  he hired him.  he’s supported scott as ant man, scott’s been an avenger, tony’s uncle tony to scott’s daughter cassie!!!  tony’s the one who begged cassie to please, please stay out of superheroing bc he’d lost scott, and he didn’t wanna lose her too.  when cassie was little she used to be at stark industries parties!!!  like...there’s none of his mean-spirited bullshit there, tony has no problem going to scott and being like hey.  i need your help.  they’re friends!!!!

t’challa:  they’re friends, karen.  like t’challa’s been on and off avengers teams for years, and these two have enough in common it’s probably no surprise they can??  get along just fine??  they were part of the illuminati together there toward the end of the incursions (along with steve until they, you know, wiped steve’s mind).  they went after the avengers when that toxin was let loose at mount rushmore, because tony, the idiot, broke them out of jail.  they have an information sharing agreement between tony’s company and wakanda.  they’re friends.  and tony’s always been kinda in love with him, lbr here.

bucky:  how about a complete one eighty from the mcu?  actual friends.  didn’t start off that way, no, bucky tried to kill tony the first time they met.  because bucky’s...well.  he’s bucky.  instead he ended up being the new captain america, bc tony took one look at this idiot and said “oh no he’s dumb i have to protecc.”  tony knows where bucky lives in indiana - you can bet your ass not everyone does.  tony can and will drop everything if bucky calls him in the middle of the night and says “hey, i need you.”  he does the work on bucky’s arm that bucky can’t.  alpine likes him.  he’s willing to support bucky’s solo gig.  keep the oatmeal angst, this is the tony and bucky content i’m here for, with bonus small town fireworks.

guardians of the galaxy:  they come as a group in this because.................................tony used to be one!!!  he likes them just fine!!!!  he used their ship as a space crashpad for a while and got into so much trouble with them!!  jfc, tony and peter set up the quill network!!!  he and gamora had sex like once in which she was not impressed!!  he and rocket bickered and dickered back and forth!!  angela!!!  they all met angela together!!!  i hate!!! the mcu take!!!!

edit: stephen:  i forgot stephen.  because i’m dumb.  anyway!!  yeah so...stephen and tony don’t bicker that way.  they’re friends.  stephen never answers his damn phone, but they’re friends.  stephen was long time illuminati just like tony was, and they all got up to hinky shit together.  it was stephen that wiped steve’s mind at tony’s go ahead.  they weren’t on the same side during civil war, but since they mostly get along just fine, and aren’t like...Like That with each other at all.

and as for people like...harley, ig.  sorry, pal, they don’t exist in 616 so there is no comparison.  tony wouldn’t know who the hell they are.  but there you have it.  it’s done.  i did it.

[lookbluesoup]

Nate and Piper’s Fallout

@ronqueesha @viewfromthevault OKAY SINCE YOU LOVELIES AND AN ANON ASKED about the big meltdown between Nate and Piper I will now proceed to overshare thanks! If I didn’t have a gazillion billion other WIPs I’d probably have turned this into a novel by now! Lol I’m not sure if it will ever get polished enough to post online. REGARDLESS it’s important to me and I hope at least a little interesting for you all to hear about xD

THAT BEING SAID I know I have some followers who don’t like spoilers, and if I ever do finish that fic, this wordvomit is gonna be basically the entire outline. SO everything is under the cut! In contrast to most of his story, Nate’s also a bit of an ass here! Keep reading at your own peril! 😱

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

Nate realizes he’s in love with Piper the day he breaks into the Institute. Up until that point, finding Shaun took precedence over everything else. Nate had helped the Commonwealth a lot, but he couldn’t really start building a new life for himself while still chasing the old one.

Getting into the Institute was… disorienting, to say the least. Too clean, too organized, too friendly towards him after all the carnage he’s seen on the surface. When Father encourages Nate to stay and help make a better world, and Nate is presented with the idea of possibly having to choose between the Institute or the Commonwealth, it really tips him sideways. He starts to realize that he’s already been laying the foundation for a new beginning. On the surface. With Piper. And Preston. And Curie and Deacon and Nick and the Minutemen and the Railroad.

Father gives Nate the run of the Institute so of course Nate noses into every single nook and cranny. When a particularly friendly scientist greets Nate and conveys their hope that “the Institute can feel like home,” Nate remembers what the Institute has done to the homes of others. They talk to him about how there’s “nothing out there” on the surface. Nate thinks of Piper. Those living under Father dismiss the Commonwealth as just a dying remnant and Nate is surprised by the anger that sentiment inspires in him. The people on the surface are fighting hard to survive. He’s bled and sacrificed beside them. He sees it as arrogance for the Institute to claim having “humanity’s best interest at heart” and yet be so out of touch with humanity.

It’s Piper’s door Nate comes crashing through when he returns to the surface. It’s her advice he seeks out to come to terms with the revelation that Shaun is the Director of the Institute, and that once again, Nate’s sense of reality has been turned on its head.

He goes back and forth for a while. Father tolerates it with the expectation that once Nate gets a feel for the Institute he will make the right choice and join them. Nate has to be very careful to avoid the Watchers, who now have a vested interest in following him around. Desdemona urges Nate to maintain the charade for as long as it takes to liberate the synths. He agrees, and it’s at some point during this back and forth he and Piper come to terms with their feelings for one another.

That’s where it starts. And he and the Railroad are on the same page, 100% - except for Shaun.

Because Shaun is still Nate’s baby. And there is nothing more important to Nate than family. Even when that family is misguided.

He desperately wants to avoid escalating the conflict. After the shock wears off, he gets the idea that it might be possible to work not as a double-agent, but an ambassador between the surface and underground. If given enough time with the Institute, by earning their trust, Nate hopes to bridge the gap and bring about a cease-fire between the factions.

Piper’s initially supportive of the effort. If he can find one, a solution that doesn’t end in bloodshed and dead friends is preferable. They have a brief honeymoon of stolen moments that are carefully concealed from the Institute, for the sake of his cover. They still travel together openly as ‘friends’ and she even accompanies him to the Libertalia (where X6 manages to reclaim Gabriel) and Bunker Hill (where Nate helps the runaway synths escape and claims he was ambushed to protect his cover). So for a while, they’re still working together. And then Nate starts disappearing for longer and longer stretches of time.

Father is increasingly demanding. The ability to relay makes travelling across the Commonwealth with X6 much faster and safer than trekking across no-man’s land from Diamond City or the Castle or anywhere else. Suddenly Piper doesn’t know where he is every day, or what he’s doing, or why. She has faith in him, but the distance hurts.

And the thing is, it’s almost impossible to work and fight and live alongside a group of people without becoming sympathetic towards them in some way, especially for someone as naturally empathetic and cooperative as Nate, and especially in a situation like his where he feels compelled to be loyal at least to his son.

So Nate’s a little too optimistic. Starts making excuses, forgets that just because he might have managed to solve a conflict without violence doesn’t mean the Institute wouldn’t have preferred to choose violence themselves. (i.e. they were going to kidnap Wallace and kill the Minutemen who’d come to defend him, but that’s not an issue because Nate managed to convince Wallace to join the Institute peacefully, first.)

Nate sees a chance for real peace when Father offers him the role of Director. Piper doesn’t. It can’t be that easy when Nate’s still insisting they keep their relationship a secret for fear it might compromise his station and put them in danger. She reserves judgement at Nate’s request. But a whitewashed box underground could never be home to her; there could never be a future for them as a pair. And what else will Nate have to compromise to secure the loyalty of a group of people with such vastly different morals? Will they still take him as Director when the know how he really feels about the synths and the world above ground? If they know he intends to shut down the Retention Bureau and share technology with the Commonwealth? She just can’t see it happening.

He and Piper start arguing. Nate stops telling her about his missions. Stops telling her much of anything.

Rumours start finding their way back to her about the Institute’s meddling. Sometimes they’re violent. Sometimes informants talk about a man who sounds a bit like Nate, but Piper can’t bring herself to believe it. The stories must be exaggerated, or misinformed, because her Blue would never do those things. Not even to protect his cover. When she finally does get the chance to confront him, Nate’s evasive, leading her to believe at least some part of the stories must be true.

This straight up SUCKS for Piper because he’s doing what the others in Diamond City did. Suddenly he doesn’t want to talk, he treats her like she’s nosy. She isn’t his confidant anymore, and even worse she doesn’t know if she can trust him. All of this right after she opened her heart to him. It scares her, and when he only gives her more reasons to suspect he’s siding with the Institute - it makes her angry.

The night he breaks into Travis’s trailer to hack Diamond City radio and pick up reports from McDonough, Nate doesn’t even stop by Publick to tell Piper he’s in town. She crosses paths with him by sheer luck. He tries to wave it away with the excuse of “not wanting to upset her" and when the conversation gets heated, relays away. She’s pissed and pretty damn hurt. She takes all her collected intel and writes up an entire article condemning the “General” for his dereliction of duty, but doesn’t publish it.

After the Institute’s broadcast airs, Nate comes back to apologize. But he continues to insist the secrecy was necessary. And Piper pulls out all the stops. It’s gone too far. She doesn’t know what side he’s on. People are getting hurt, and he hardly seems to care anymore. Nate fails to realize what thin ice he’s on at first. (there IS an old draft of that fight here on my ao3!)

It gets heated, Nate tries to use protecting Piper as an excuse, which she will have absolutely none of, and then Nate takes a shot at her paper and tries to end the fight by insisting she just isn’t able to understand. Which he realizes, immediately, is a step too far. But the damage is already done. Piper compares Nate to Kellogg, and honestly stabbing him probably would have hurt less, kicks him out of her house, and it looks like it’s over between them.

Nate returns to the Institute wounded and angry. Father takes note of how distracted Nate seems, which prompts Nate to expose his frustration at Piper and her lack of understanding. Father remembers meeting her after the botched Battle of Bunker Hill and dismisses her small mind. Her troublemaking attitude has no place in the new future.

Nate spends the next few days going through the motions. It would be easier to just agree with Shaun and dismiss Piper’s challenge as nothing but ignorance. But that doesn’t sit quite right. Losing her is a harsh blow and her accusations weigh on Nate.

Karma’s pretty swift. Father comes to Nate with an ultimatum. The Railroad has to be put down. Shaun reveals he’s known all along about Nate’s history of involvement with them, and that it’s the last thing standing in the way of proving his loyalty. Nate tries to negotiate, and then outright refuses to kill his friends. Father stops playing nice. He orders Nate to destroy the Railroad. Realizing it’s the end of the line, Nate reverts to the old military, “Yes, sir.” but there’s a chasm in his heart. He has to choose. He can’t wait it out any longer. And Piper was right.

On the way back to his room, his synth informant warns him that the Brotherhood has also tracked the Railroad down, and are on their way to destroy the church. Choosing Shaun would be as easy as doing nothing at all. But Nate relays to Hanover Street and hits the ground running, knowing full well he’ll never set foot inside the Institute as an ally again.

Piper, meanwhile, had come to the conclusion that she couldn’t keep Nate’s waffling loyalty a secret from the Railroad any longer. She had traveled to HQ to inform Des her Agent might be compromised. And it’s about that time Nate comes crashing through the door wild-eyed with his desperate warning.

They’ve definitely had better reunions.

[illkickyourbass]

henlo. have an expanded Shining Quest AU.

to release some steam from my kettle of stress, have some noodling about a Shining Quest AU that’s less April Fool’s, more high-stakes high-fantasy, but still every bit as tropey, stuffed with otome trappings, and Yay Music as we’ve come to expect from Utapri 

As with the last venture into this AU: not explicitly romantic, non-gendered MC, SFW, and mild CW for arranged marriages. I don’t know HEAVENS (plus they didn’t get canon classes for Shining Quest), so we’ll just be covering STARISH and Quartet Night! 

It’s a fairly typical setup -- there’s a fantasy kingdom, there’s a useless king, there’s a princess (Haruka) known for her talent for music composition, there’s a court of nobles and royals, all that usual hey. Magic is cast by mastery of the arts, whether that be visual, performing, musical, written, you name it. 

There’s a looming threat of some sort of demon king or similar fantasy anime bullshit that the royals and nobles of the kingdom are tasked with keeping at bay. We’re also gonna shamelessly borrow a detail from the pinnacle of wasted potential, the movie Rock and Rule -- there’s a plot point about how a demon can only be forced back with “the magic of one voice, one heart, one song....but there is no one.” Here in this ‘verse, that’s a longstanding prophecy the status quo has taken to mean there’s no-one who’ll ever be able to defeat the demon king. 

The solution that’s been in place for as long as anyone can remember is a royal or noble family offers one of their heirs as a sacrifice to be married off and sate the demon king for that generation-- the “devil’s bride” or “devil’s groom” or “devil’s betrothed.” This goes pretty badly for the heirs, of course, but it offers great prestige to the house that does it. 

You, the player, would get to pick what RPG class you fill (which would affect some dialogue trees and the expertise you demonstrate) and what art you use to cast magic. You are a member of the royal guard tasked with Haruka’s protection, but you’ve stumbled into the knowledge before it goes public: she’s the next devil’s bride! You go to Tomochika, a hired hand to the royals who’s been dating Haru in secret, and you begin to hatch a plan to bust Haruka out of the arrangement. 

Your route’s then determined by which of the boys you seek out as your other co-conspirator. 

Otoya is a fellow member the Royal Guard on Haruka protection detail. He’s equally resented and well-liked for his dauntless optimism and natural talent with swordsmanship, but it’s no secret that he’s not someone you’ll be trusting for expert strategy. He’s had the chance to become friendly with Haruka, and he’s ready to fight tooth and nail for her freedom! He’s classed as a warrior, who casts light-element attacks and healing spells with his music. 

Masato was raised from birth to become an ideal Devil’s Groom, since the Hijirikawa nobles are falling out of favor in the courts (spurred in part from their takedown of the Kurosakis backfiring on them). But Masato has rejected that he (or Mai) will ever go along with that plan, instead intently training in swordsmanship and fusing music and fiber arts to make enchanted fabrics that work like armor. Quietly, he has kept a very ambitious goal in mind: outright defeat the demon king and end the legacy of the devil’s betrothed. 

Natsuki is a natural genius at using both his voice and viola to communicate with creatures and summoning the cutest ones to absolutely wreck house. Though a humble farmboy who’s kind of out-of-touch with the political goings-on of his land, his talent was too great to go unnoticed forever, and he was invited to live among the high court as an entertainer and summoner. He got to make so many new friends (like the princess and you!) and better provide for his family, so he’s thankful every day for the change, even if he misses his animal friends at home! 

Tokiya came from a humble family that wanted to lead a quiet life, but Tokiya himself had ambitions that far outpace that. Though not a natural talent, he put unimaginable sweat into a field that creates potent spells and tools by the power of song. Eventually becoming estranged from his whole family, Tokiya finds it all worthwhile after struggling his way into being hired by the royals. Much of the court thinks of him as a weird mad scientist who sings to his books, but he’s found fast friends he’d go to the ends of the earth for, like Masato, the princess, and you! 

Ren is the inverse of Masato in his circumstance. Like the Hijirikawa noble family, the Jinguujis helped orchestrate the fall of the Kurosaki nobles, but the blowback had them falling out of favor instead of rising in power. Ren was planned to be offered as a Devil’s Groom to restore some clout, but instead of being intently groomed, he was left to do whatever he wanted since he’s got such a foregone future. So Ren becomes a carefree playboy, eventually taking his talent for alchemy and becoming a for-hire adventurer to sate his boredom. He tells everyone his saxophone is his secret to brewing his one-of-a-kind love potions, but he’s actually devised some uniquely remarkable revival and buffing potions.

Syo comes from the same backwoods as Natsuki, but took less interest in working for the courts and instead trying to find a career emulating his childhood hero that kept his body’s limits in mind. But his twin left to pursue medical schooling, and eventually, between loneliness, worry, and the promise that the musical magic and medicine in the courts could help him safely push his limits, he follows Natsuki into the belly of the royals and nobles. His small stature and commitment to the movement arts made him a natural rogue, and he’s technically part of the Royal Guard’s special ops. But Syo’s brashness and burning spirit tends to best serve motivating the people around him -- what few spells he prefers to cast with his violin-playing are all buffs that lift the spirit and energize the body.  

Cecil came to this land on essentially a study abroad program and came to love the friends he made so much he stuck around! A wildly talented sorcerer able to cast even without playing his flute, Cecil is held in high esteem by the whole kingdom for the knowledge and skill he has to offer. Prone to disappearing, however, since a curse has him transforming into a cat as an occasional side effect of casting magic. He’s found this useful, though -- something injust he won’t stand for is afoot in this kingdom, and nobody suspects a little black cat of eavesdropping! 

Reiji is a court jester who loves, loves, loves nothing more than to make you smile! Much of the court takes his good cheer for granted, and even more underestimate his prowess in tough/delicate situations, but the most powerful folks know he’s just as sharp as he is goofy. When he’s not doing his job making people smile, he’s often helping or promoting his family’s pub or bugging his friends from outside the royal court. His flashy performances and maraca-shaking have been shaped into a great conduit for spells of transmutation, though he tends to use them to put on a great show more than beat ass.

Ranmaru is the eldest son of the disgraced Kurosaki nobles (whose power and legacy were ruined by the Jinguujis and Hijirikawas as per usual) but he decided to bear the brunt of the damage in wake of his father’s passing to spare the rest of his family. Shouldering massive debt, Ranmaru disappeared and re-emerged as the gambler prince of the underground, now incredibly powerful in his own right. Not-so-secretly a big softie, he’ll swindle and ruin the lives of those who take advantage of the helpless, even operating out of a pub owned by an old couple that needed some protecting from loan sharks. Ranmaru wears special runed gloves that store mana when he plays his bass, letting him cast a set number of fire evocation spells before his next recharge. 

Ai lives in woods on the outskirts of the city. Most regard him as a hermit, but a couple know that Ai is actually a homunculus that has been refining his understanding and performance of humanity and needs frequent breaks to “recharge.” Nominally a ranger, Ai’s skills lie in his powerful patience and observation moreso than his bow and arrow, though he and Reiji have an arrangement where he helps hunt and forage ingredients for the Kotobuki pub. Ai is beginning to grasp his own unique sense of humanity and is ready to take grander action to realize it. He fights with arrows of a special alloy that react to an instrument at home; they are tempered by the sound and blessed by the wind to never miss their target should the wielder be skilled enough. 

Camus is an assassin that lives in shadow. Nobody’s quite sure of his intentions or allegiances, but the few times someone does see him in the open, he’s as haughty and demanding as ever. Rumor has it that he lives in the royal castle -- certainly, their enormously increased sweets output would imply such, and it’s well-known in the castle that unexplained cello music is usually his doing -- but he’s such an evanescent and terrifying presence nobody’s quite sure (and is too scared to ask). His assassinations are almost impossible to track, as his blades of ice melt, disappear, and leave no trail to follow. 

Typical route stuff goes as you’d expect -- you progress the plot, you get closer to your chosen boy, some political intrigue things probably happen, some heart-racing events etc. etc., and before you know it the two of you are very close and realize that your arts cast wildly powerful magic when put together. Slowly, you gather more friends (a selection of the other boys + Haru and Tomo) and find that together, your work amplifies in power to unprecedented degrees. It’ll vary from route to route how you get there, but eventually, you all come to the same conclusion: it’s time to kick some demon king ass. And you do! 

The ends vary from angsty (like the player or the chosen boy is mortally wounded or dies) or fairytale fluffy (go off and spend a happy life together) or something more power fantasy-feeling (like you and chosen boy revolutionize the whole kingdom for the better in wake of the demon king’s defeat), etc. -- but no matter what you know that your art + your boy + the power of friendship kicked more ass than anything Shining Kingdom has ever seen! 

[puckinghell]

Stars and Supernovae | July

Summary: As soon as you meet Tyler Seguin, you know you’re destined to be best friends. Sometimes you wonder if you’re destined to be more, but life keeps getting in the way. Perhaps it’s just not written in the stars? Note: This is part 7. Part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6  Note 2: Almost at the end, guys!

You’d always been jealous at Tyler when he went to spend time at his lake side cottage, but when you were finally there, you realized your jealousy hadn’t been nearly intense enough. This, you decided, was what heaven would be like.

You were sitting in the grass, wearing shorts and a shirt, the sunlight warm on your face. You’d thrown a ball for the dogs, but Gerry had been the only one who actually gone running after it; Cash and Marshall were lying at your side, clearly unbothered.

“You’re getting old, bud,” you told Marshall lovingly, then scratched Cash behind his ear. “And you’re just getting fat.”

“Stop fat shaming my dog,” Tyler told you off. He was kicking a ball back and forth with Miro, one of the rookies. It was somewhat of a team outing, this trip to Tyler’s cabin; everyone who wasn’t already home was here, including Jamie and Katie, who, to your excitement, were officially back together. 

At first, you’d declined Tyler’s invite, figuring you weren’t really part of the team nor of the WAGs, but you could cut the tension in your apartment with a knife - had been able to, ever since Sabrina and Tyler broke up - and you were so sick of being stressed in your own home, so you’d taken up his offer eventually. You wouldn’t stay here, when the rest of the team left, but Tyler would, meaning you’d probably hold up in his house and give Sabrina the apartment for the summer.

It wasn’t the best solution, but you hadn’t been able to find another apartment yet, nor another roommate, so it was the only option.

Suddenly, the ball was shot in your direction and you yelped as it missed you by very little.

“Tyler!” you scolded him, and Tyler pointed to Miro.

“His fault!”

“He’s not even looking my way! You are!”

Tyler simply grinned, then very dramatically fanned himself. “It’s hot, don’t you think?” He pulled his shirt off in one swift motion and you rolled your eyes. He’d been trying to rile you up more than normal, during this trip. You might’ve gotten a tad bit red the first time you’d seen him get out of the water, his tattoos on full show and water droplets dripping down his perfectly sculpted abs, his swim shorts clinging to his ass in the most perfect way; unfortunately, Tyler had noticed that, and now he thought it was absolutely hilarious to get as naked as possible in front of you.

“Show off!” you yelled at him, then stood up and walked towards the deck, where Katie was sipping an iced tea.

“You want some?” she offered. “You look a bit thirsty.”

“Shut up,” you growled, but you took the drink from her anyway, falling down in the deck chair next to her. “He’s doing my head in.”

“As if you mind,” she scoffed. “You’re basically drooling all over yourself whenever he walks into the room, babe. You’re not fooling anyone. Not even Tyler himself, and he’s a bit daft.”

“I’m not drooling!” Your voice came out more squeaky than you would’ve liked, not helping your statement. “Besides, I’ve got Max.”

“Why are you even dating that guy? We both know it’s not going to last.”

You sighed. It was true, you knew the shelf life on your 'relationship' - it wasn’t even officially that much - with Max was pretty short. But it offered you a distraction, and you still had some hope that it would help you get over Tyler, even though you understood the chances where relatively small. After all, you’d been dating him for four months, and you still felt butterflies for your best friend.

Maybe it wasn’t fair to Max, but it was so easy; he was nice, and it was comfortable, and at least you weren’t alone.

"What does Tyler think about Max, anyway?" Katie asked. You shrugged.

“He’s polite enough. Not really nice, but not rude either. Sometimes he makes fun of him, but never when Max is there, only when it’s just us. And I think it’s just to get a rise out of me. That seems to be his main aim in life, nowadays.”

"Maybe he’s just begging for attention,” Katie offered. “You know, like when a boy on the playground used to pull your pig tails and you thought it meant he hated you but really he just had a crush on you.”

“That only ever happens to girls who look like you, Kate,” you snapped. “Nobody ever pulled my pig tails, and Tyler is just being a nuisance because that’s who he is.”

Katie held her hands up in defense. “No need to shoot the messenger.” She sipped her iced tea and you watched your best friend kick the soccer ball past Miro, Gerry running to get it, and sighed.

How much you wished she was right.

At 2 am, everyone was already asleep, and you should be too, but you simply hadn’t been able to sleep. Laying in your bed, tossing and turning, had just driven you crazy, so you put on a hoodie and made your way to the docks. You sat there for what felt like hours, staring at the stars. They were so much brighter over here, felt so much closer.

You were torn from your thoughts when you heard the tapping of feet against the wooden dock, and when you turned around, Tyler was walking up to you, his eyes still heavy with sleep. His hair was an unruly mess of curls and he looked so warm and cuddly like that… you quickly returned your gaze to the rippling water in front of you.

“Hey, what are you doing up?” Tyler’s voice was soft, gruff from just waking up, and he let out a sigh as he moved to sit next to you. He swung his feet off the edge of the dock, his bare feet hanging just above the water.

“Couldn’t sleep. What about you?”

He chuckled. “You moving through the house woke up the dogs and they woke me up.”

“Oh.” You tried to hide your blush. “Sorry about that. You can just go back to sleep, if you want.”

“Okay.” Tyler yawned and before you realized what was happening, his arms wrapped around your middle and he pulled you back with him, your head coming to rest on his shoulder as he laid down on the cold wood of the dock. “Night,” he mumbled, pushing his face into your hair, and you giggled.

“I meant in your bed.”

“Well, you’re going to have to be a lot more clear with your instructions next time.” He paused. “What are you overthinking, that’s keeping you from falling asleep?” You sighed. Sometimes it was annoying how well Tyler knew you. “Thinking about the fact that your boyfriend isn’t here?” Sometimes it was excruciatingly annoying how well Tyler knew you.

“He’s not really my boyfriend,” you told your best friend. “We haven’t… had that conversation yet.”

“What an idiot,” Tyler huffed. “Any self respecting dude would try to lock you down as soon as he saw an opening.”

You couldn’t stop the giggle from escaping your lips. It was funny, after all, how blind Tyler was. He was the only guy that ever really had had an opening to lock you down; you knew you would do whatever he asked you to, whenever he asked you to do it. After being best friends for over 1,5 years, while he knew you better than anyone, he still had no idea. It was a testament, really, to how great your acting skills were. You should become an actress.

“You better not be laughing at me.” You felt Tyler smile against your hair.

“I would never,” you hummed. You had been.

“If he asked, would you say yes?” There was something in Tyler’s voice that you hadn’t heard before, some kind of vulnerability that shocked you. His voice was soft and unsteady and there was so much emotion packed behind it that you couldn’t quite grasp, as if your answer meant so much more than just a simple yes or no.

And maybe it did.

“No,” you whispered.

“Because you’re not in love with him.” His tone had changed, there was something relieved about it now, maybe even smug. He wasn’t asking, either; it was a statement, a fact he already knew to be true.

“No.”

It was silent for a while. You felt Tyler’s breath soft against your skin, his chest rising and falling beneath you, and you stared up at the stars.

“Do you ever wonder,” he finally broke the silence, “why the stars never aligned for us?”

You sat up, his arms falling away from your waist. “What do you mean?”

Tyler’s eyes were still on the sky. “Sometimes I go back over our friendship and I wonder if there was ever a time where it could’ve been more, if only I found the balls to make a move. I wonder if I missed something, or if the stars just never aligned for us.”

The words rang in your ears like an echo, and you struggled to find your breath. How were you supposed to answer that? What was he even trying to say? Was there a chance, even a sliver of possibility, that he felt it, too? That he felt like you belonged together, the way you did?

“Look,” Tyler hummed, pointing to the sky. “That one star is so much brighter than all the others.” You looked up, expecting him to be pointing to a plane or something stupid, but as you saw what he saw, a smile spread across your face.

“That’s a supernova,” you told him softly. “Supernovae are pretty rare, but when they happen, it’s really beautiful.”

“Yes,” Tyler said softly, “it is.” He sat up too, and his hand lightly touched your lower back. You knew, as your skin burned under his touch, that it was inevitable. There was no way it wasn’t going there, not with the way he was currently looking at you, brown eyes dark in the night, a field of electricity seemingly surrounding you. He leaned in, just a little bit, and your breath hitched in your throat. 

“I really want to kiss you right now,” he mumbled, “and I’m trying to figure out if I’m going to get punched in the face if I try.”

“Probably not.” You were surprised the words even left your lips, as your throat seemed to be completely closed up.

An even bigger surprise was Tyler throwing his head back and laughing, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he looked back at you. “Probably, huh?” he grinned. “Well, I guess I’ll take my chances.” 

And then he was right there and suddenly his lips were on yours and you didn’t think you were ever going to get closer to a supernova then that moment, right there. With one of his hands firm on your lower back, the other moved to your thigh, angling you a little bit more towards him as Tyler deepened the kiss, and your hands moved to the back of his neck and your fingers curled into his hair and it was like time was stopped around you, everything in your surroundings forgotten.

This, this was a kiss unlike any other. Never had you felt so many feelings at the same time; you were happy and scared and warm and cold and mostly, mostly you just wanted this to last, just one more second, just a little longer…

And then Tyler pulled away and everything around you shattered.

You just kissed your best friend. You just kissed your best friend while you were currently dating a boy that wanted to be your boyfriend but was never going to be, because you were in love with your best friend who had just kissed you.

“Oh my God,” you whispered, and Tyler frowned.

“What’s happening in your head right now?” he said softly, and he reached out to touch you, but you scrambled away from him, pushing yourself up off the dock.

This was cheating. You were cheating on a guy who’d never done anything wrong except believe that one day you could get over Tyler and fully be with him.

“I’m sorry,” you stammered, “I’m sorry, but I can’t… We can’t do this.”

“Why not?” Tyler was standing now, too, a lost look on his face. “I thought this was what you wanted too, I thought we…”

“I’m sorry,” you interjected, and then you were running, away from the guy you knew was always meant for you. The guy that had created your own supernova in your heart; explosions all around you.

[ladyshandioftheendless]

~Crüe AU writings~

A new series of writings revolving around the Crüe? Oh you betcha! I hope you enjoy! WARNING: THIS STORY MAY CONTAIN POSSIBLE TRIGGERS! PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN READING!

~Shandi

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~VAMPIRE AU~

Featured Pairing: Non-romantic friendship between Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx

Summary: Frank Feranna, Jr. hates his name and his life. His unusual friend Mick offers an even more unusual solution. (told from Nikki’s POV)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I can’t stand those cunts. Who’m I talkin’ about? 

“I TOLD YOU TO GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE, FRANKIE!!”

Yeah. There’s one of ‘em now. I don’t wanna fuckin’ budge. But if I don’t the dickhead will come up and kick my ass. Again. Not that it won’t happen anyway. How fuckin’ sad is it that I’m used to it? I get up and go downstairs. To the surprise of absolutely nobody my drunken bitch of a mother is passed out on the couch. My charming new ‘stepdad’, the third one in two weeks might I add, is sittin’ at the kitchen table glarin’ at me and chugging down his latest beer. He crushes the can when he’s done, lets out a loud, disgusting belch and tosses it on the floor. “Why don’t you make yourself useful, you little shit? Clean all this up. I gotta take your mom upstairs. This better be spotless by the time I come down again.” I return his glare. “Why do I hafta clean up after you? It’s your fuckin’ mess. Why don’t you make yourself useful around here besides makin’ my ‘mom’ your new cum dumpster?” In two seconds he’s out of his chair and he punches me right in my face. I hit the floor hard. Pretty sure he even loosened a few of my teeth. Yep. I can taste the blood. I barely have time to assess that damage when he kicks me in the stomach. “You’re a pathetic little bastard!!” I hear him scream as I curl up on the floor. Shit that fuckin’ hurt, but I expect it. That’s his favorite place to hit me. He stomps off into the living room and picks ‘mom’ up from the couch, stepping over me as he carries her upstairs. “L-listen...listen to your father, Frankie..!” she tells me in her trashy slurred voice. Like a broken fuckin’ record. I lay on the floor for a while until the pain subsides enough for me to move. Then I go up to my room, throw some of my stuff into a bag and get the fuck out. I know Mick will let me stay at his place if I need to. 

“C’mon in, kid.” 

Mick always knows it’s me before I even knock. It’s so weird but kinda nice. At least here I don’t have to worry about bein’ welcomed by a punch to the gut. “Thanks, Mick.” I throw my bag on one of his chairs and park myself on his couch while he goes into the kitchen. He comes back with a bottle of beer and gives it to me. “That’s one hell of a bruise. Need some ice?” I nod. I could feel my face swelling all the way over here. No fuckin’ way I’m goin’ to school like this. Good thing I packed stuff for the next few days. He hands me an ice pack and I hold it up to my face. It fuckin’ stings but the cold will numb it soon. He opens my bottle for me. We sit quietly and watch tv for the next few hours. At around 5 am he gets up and ruffles my hair. “Hittin’ the bed, kid. You remember where everything is.” 

“Sure do. G’night, Mick. Or g’morning. Whatever.”

Ever the night owl, that guy. Me, I don’t sleep at all. 

Eventually I get hungry so I go into the kitchen to look for food. I look in the fridge. There’s nothin’ in there but bottles of beer. I look in the cabinets. Empty. What the fuck does Mick live on? I can’t ask him for anything. He must take some kind of drugs cause he sleeps like the dead. I go through my bag for my wallet. I don’t have much money but hopefully it’s enough to buy something. I fuckin’ hate this empty feeling in my stomach. I gotta eat. I grab the spare key Mick always leaves for me hangin’ by the door and head out. Fortunately there’s a convenience store not too far away from Mick’s place. I grab as much stuff as I can carry. While I’m paying Mr. Shitstain barges in and he spots me. “What the fuck’re you doing here, Frankie? Why aren’t you at school?” I roll my eyes. Since when does he care? “Yeah. I’m gonna go strollin’ into class with a fucked up face and have my teachers ask a bunch of questions. Think again.” 

“I’m takin’ you home then. Your mom’s worried sick.” I scoff. “Yeah. Sick cause she drowned herself in booze last night. When has she got time to worry about me when she’s suckin’ your dick every night?” Before I can pick up my bag he grabs my arm and drags me out. Guess I’m goin’ hungry then. He throws me in the back of his car and drives back to the hellhole. As soon as I’m shoved through the door I get a hard slap to the face. “Where the hell’ve you been?! What’ve I told you about running away?!” As usual ‘mom’s’ got a drink in her hand. The day’s barely started and she’s already trashed. “I don’t give a shit what you say!! I’d rather be sleepin’ under a bridge than be trapped here with you!!” Shitstain grabs me again and takes me upstairs to my room. “Fuckin’ kids..y’got no respect. I think you need some more discipline.” He doesn’t stop knocking me around until I’m unconscious. 

When I finally wake up it’s dark outside. I wonder if Mick has woken up yet and noticed I’m not there. I’m hurting all over. I can barely move. Hunger claws at my stomach. I’m weak. I have nothing left. I’m too dehydrated to cry. I pull my knife out from under my pillow, using all the strength I have left in my body to pull out the blade. Yeah..it’s better this way. Fuck my mom. Fuck her asshole boyfriend. Fuck this life.. I cut both of my wrists open and wait for the end. 

It’s better this way..

To be Continued!!

[officialthiamlibrary]

~~2018 THIAM BIG BANG CREATIONS: OG~~

November 12, 2018 - November 21, 2018

Your one-stop collection to all the Big Bangs added here on Tumblr, updated each day of the event. Title/Artwork links will direct you to the creators’ tumblr posting. Four months of passionate and diligent preparation; please like, reblog, and comment to show the spectacular creators love!! <3

~ Monday: 11/12/18 ~

Faking It (+ Artwork) 

Author: xtarmanderx | Artist: manonisamelon

Theo and Liam have been best friends forever and they’ve gone unnoticed throughout school, much to Liam’s displeasure. One day at lunch, everything changes when a girl overhears them and is convinced they are dating. Liam, realizing this could be their shot at popularity by being the first same sex couple in schools, convinces Theo to fake date him. Between pretending and trying not to get caught, Theo will also have to avoid breaking his one rule: to not fall in love with his best friend.

[19k Words | Rated M | No Warnings]

Behind His Smile (+ Artwork | + Plus Here)

Author: flyde | Artist: marauders-mess

In this High School AU, the beginning of the relationship with everybody’s darling Liam couldn’t come anymore out of the blue to introvert Theo. He’s been in love with the boy’s incredible smile forever, but when things go great and move fast between the two of them, he can’t help but think it’s all a little too good to be true. Although he’s half expecting for everything to turn out to be just a really amazing dream, he’s still deeply shocked when he hears that Liam set the treehouse he’s been building in his backyard on fire, almost burning the Geyers’ house down as well. Liam shuts himself off completely, nothing makes sense to Theo until he learns about Liam’s diagnosis with bipolar disorder. ‘Behind His Smile’ is the title of a comic book Theo creates for Liam, telling the story of a man who was robbed of his magical smile, a hero who has to fight evil and himself to get it back.

[34.9k Words | Rated M | Rape/Non-Con]

~ Tuesday: 11/13/18 ~

I have friends in both places (+ Artwork) 

Author: sarcxstic-stilinski | artist: manonisamelon

Liam Dunbar was a guardian angel, but when a grave mistake gets him kicked out of heaven, Theo Raeken, king of hell, is right there to help.

“I don’t like to commit myself about heaven and hell - you see, I have friends in both places.” – Mark Twain

[32.7k Words | Rated T | Graphic Violence]

Deal With the Devil (+ Artwork )

 Author: sharkycannotwrite | Artist: wolfenboyb

Theo Raeken’s family was murdered when he was 10, and the wolves that did it took him in. He did everything possible to survive until he was stronger, faster, and deadlier than any of them. He finally gets the chance he has been waiting 9 years for and escapes. He ends up severely wounded however, only to be found by IED plagued runaway Liam Dunbar. The 17-year-old becomes both the bane of Theo’s existence, and his best friend. The two crisscross the country, killing with no discernible pattern and doing anything they must to survive. (Or: The Thiam serial killer au no one asked for, based off the song Wires by The Neighborhood)

[33.8k Words | Rated T | Graphic Violence]

~ Wednesday: 11/14/18 ~

Helping Hand (+ Artwork)

Author: Extrasteps | Artist: imjustafangirl-nobodylovesme

Post 6B. Liam is exhausted. The whole town knows about werewolves, but now with the influence of the Anuk-ite vanquished, everyone instead wants his help. Working to the bone, it takes one chance encounter to realise that someone a little closer to home needs his assistance. Enter Theo, homeless, hungry, and his mask finally crumbling to dust. Liam offers him his friendship, his home, and maybe something more.

[18.2k Words | Rated M | No Warnings]

Soulless (+Blockrose’s Artwork | + irwintrashx’s Artwork)

Author: slayerwithredhair | Artists: blockrose | irwintrashx

In an AU where Theo was never dragged to hell and never earned his redemption, the chimera plays a dangerous game with an angry young beta struggling to hold his life together. Prowling the shadows and craving connection, Theo tempts Liam farther and farther down a dark road that test’s the beta’s control in ways neither of them are prepared for. But as the secrets mount up and things get broken, it’s ultimately Theo who realises he might not be able to handle the path his has set them on, especially when his past doesn’t want to let him go.

[26.7k Words | Rated Explicit | Graphic Violence]

~Thursday: 11/15/18~

the insuffeably cruel life of Theo Raeken: an anti-love story (+Artwork)

Author: marauders-mess | Artist: wolfenboyb

Theo isn’t dumb. He’s read enough books, watched enough shows, seen enough movies and spiralled into fanfiction enough times to see where this is heading. He completely refuses to fill whatever Person A’s role is stored for him in life. No sir, that’s not his thing.

Person B can pretty much suck his ass.

[27.5k Words | Rated Mature | No Warnings]

i can’t not love you (+Artwork)

Author: eliestarr | Artist: 18-sweet-posioned-heart

Liam’s a little lost in life. His latest relationship has fizzled out, his best friends are about to be married, and he’s rapidly realizing he doesn’t want to be the best man without a date. So, inspired by their tale of rekindled romance, he decides to track down all his exes and figure out which one was right for him all along. The problem is that several have been out of contact for years, and he has no idea where they are. The solution? His promiscuous, struggling musician neighbor Theo, who happens to have dabbled in the police academy long enough to be good at digging up dirt and finding people. But time is running out, the wedding countdown clock ticking ever closer, and if Theo can stop flirting with him for maybe five seconds and find his former flames, he might have a shot at this. || What’s Your Number AU.

[ 48k Words | Rated Teen | Occasional swearing/mild sexual references]

~Friday: Nov 16, 2018~

Truth or Consequence (+Artwork)

Author: tabbytabbytabby | Artist: elistarr

When Theo is 8 years old, life as he knows it changes. He loses his family in an accident, and winds up with his sister’s heart. He spends the next few years living with Liam and his family, and trying to figure out what his life is supposed to be like now. Along the way, he falls for Liam and the two start dating. Until one night, the Dread Doctors come for him. Theo’s memories are taken from him and replaced with false ones, leading him to believe he’s been with the Dread Doctors since the accident. When he comes back to Beacon Hills, he’s there with a purpose. To get power and pack. He’s ready to do whatever it takes to get what he wants. What he’s not counting on is Liam, and the strange pull he feels towards him.

[86k Words | Rated Teen | Occasional swearing and mild references]

~Saturday: Nov 17, 2018~

Remember Me (+Artwork)

Author: francissnackhole | Artist: marauders-mess

Isn’t it absurd how one moment can change your whole life? One thing leads to another and suddenly your world turns upside down. The dominoes fall in perfect order and still you’re left without the one title that has kept your life in order. Theo finds himself in one of those situations...One second he’s happy and in love with Liam and the other he’s doubting that he will ever get his boyfriend back. Though, there is still hope that the dominoes will play well for him. Liam will remember him, right? 

[31K Words | Rated Gen | No Warnings]

A Love You Can’t Fight (+Artwork)

Author: lightfiretomypaperwings | Artist: Li0nh34rt

Liam is the newest history teacher at Beacon Hills High after being forced to quit his old job due to a relationship gone wrong with a fellow teacher. He promised himself that, no matter what, he’d never date a colleague again. Enter Theo Raeken, who is everything Liam ever wanted in a guy. The only problem? Theo is the biology teacher at his new job. Liam has to make a choice: to be willing to let go of his past fears of his past or to walk away and try to forget that Theo ever existed. Things get complicated after a night out with their friends. Enter students getting involved and trying to play matchmaker and Liam is in for one hell of a time.

[52k Words | Rated Explicit | Rape/Non-Con]

~Sunday: Nov 18, 2018~

Don’t Forget To Breathe (+Artwork)

Author: Snaeken | Artist: eliestarr

Formerly a professional ice hockey player in the NHL, Theo suffered a career-ending injury on the ice which resulted in the loss of everything he held dear to him. No longer able to cope with his teammates pity, and the speculation from the media and the general public on how bad his injury really is, Theo runs away. He goes back to the hometown he left behind when he turned pro, hoping to find solace in a place which has previously caused him so much pain. After a chance encounter in a graveyard of all places, Beacon Hills local Liam Dunbar slots himself into Theo’s life, wanting to aid him in both his physical and mental recovery. Theo quickly discovers he’s not the only one who has demons, and when feelings become involved… well that’s just inevitable, isn’t it?

[23.9k | Rated Explicit | No Warnings Apply]

~Monday: Nov 19, 2018~

The Boyfriend Experience (+Artwork)

Author: Extrasteps | Artist: AJP_37

Theo is a self-made alpha werewolf. By day he builds up his business, Raeken Industries and by night he runs the hottest club in LA, Sinema. Alongside his pack, Tracy, Josh, Corey and Hayden, he helps to protect LA. Escorting is so commonplace in this town that Theo doesn’t even blink twice when Derek Hale, another alpha, introduces him to Liam Wolf at Sinema one night. What does surprise him, however, is his immediate and intense attraction to the other man and the realisation that Liam is his mate.

Liam's only been a werewolf for four years, having been taken in by Scott and the rest of his pack, but he's been fitting in just fine. Working as an escort under Scott is certainly no hardship, and with his blue eyes and cheeky smile, he's never had to try all that hard to pull new clients. Liam is out with Derek when he introduces him to Theo. He's definitely attracted to the young alpha; Theo's hot and rich, what's not to like?

But the name Theo Raeken always seems to be followed by whispers of some unspeakable event, of a past marred in ambiguity. What happened five years ago and why does it still have such a profound effect on the LA packs?

[52.9k Words | Explicit | No Warnings]

Willful Entrapment (+Artwork)

Author: RedCoral | Artist: Theraeken

Theo looked at him from head to toe in the dingy bar they were at, his expression thoughtful and deadly serious as he said, "So tell me Liam. Are you sure you're not a parking ticket? Because you've got fine written all over you."

Liam laughed so hard, he almost fell from the barstool. "Oh my God. Is that what you're going with?"

"Did you know people are more likely to laugh at the jokes of people they're attracted to?"

"And you think I'm attracted to you."

"I think I've got a chance. Don't you?"

He did. And he blew it. He left the next morning to save Liam from the whirlpool that was Theo's life. But Liam had to go and put himself in harm's way again, didn't he? So, Theo entered the Mayor's race against Liam. And now everything was upside down with no way to fix it and survive. But his own survival had never been part of his quest, had it? It's always been Liam's, no matter what Liam thinks.

[41.9k | Teen | No Warnings Apply]

~Tuesday: Nov 20, 2019~

Mining for a Chance (+Artwork)

Author: Maniacalmidnight | Author: rux-ian

Beacon Hills is hit with a string of sudden disappearances - a master serial thief at work. This wouldn’t really be a problem, except Corey’s lost his camera - the key to passing his photography course. Mason the harried boyfriend is harried, and Liam can’t take the constant fretting; there’s only so much a boy can take! Obviously, this calls for drastic action - but no worries, Liam’s on the case!

…Now, if only stupid, jerk-face Theo would stop running through his mind all the damn time.

[25.5k Words | Teen | No Warnings]

It was only a bet (+Artwork)

Author: VolsungartheMighty | Artist: lightfiretomypaperwings

When Theo Raeken, captain of the college football team, loses a bet to one of his team mates, he is forced to start a fake relationship with Liam Dunbar, all around nerd and Theo’s neighbour, who constantly complains about the noise. Theo isn’t expecting his feelings to become involved, yet they do, but before he can act on them, the worst happens – Liam finds out about the bet.

[37.3k Words | Mature | No Warnings]

~ Wednesday: Nov 21, 2019 ~

Let Me Be Your Front Line (+Artwork, + And Here)

Author: iwritefanfictionsometimes | Artist: lovelylittlegrim

Theo and Liam are thrown together when Theo’s father, the fey king, finally decides to let Theo be a musician. The only catch is that he needs a bodyguard. Liam wants nothing to do with the fey, but apparently, he has no choice. So now he’s going to be living with a pretentious, arrogant prince with stupid pointy ears and too fancy clothes for an unidentifiable amount of time. His magic is entirely too happy about it. They say they don’t get along, but months of movies, shared food, and built trust say otherwise. All Theo wanted was to put out an album. Liam wasn’t supposed to laugh at his jokes or stare at him like that. It’s very hard to stay focused when Liam sits there winding blue and gold magic around his fingers that Theo can feel from across the room. Or Theo is the fey prince who wants to sing instead, Liam is the several thousand year old year old witch that’s tired with life. They both find something that wakes them up, and it’s not necessarily what they expected.

[22.3k Words | Mature | No Warnings]

Making A Believer Out Of Me (+Artwork)

Author: xtarmanderx | Artist: tabbytabbytabby

A series of events have led Liam to believe that love doesn't exist, the first one being his parents' messy divorce. Liam, who hasn't been close with his dad in years, is suddenly faced with the opportunity to see him when he's asked to attend his dad's upcoming wedding. His mom convinces him to go and try and reconnect with his dad. There he meets Theo, the gorgeous son of his dad's business partner that is currently spending his summer living in the Dunbar's pool house. When Theo, a hopeless romantic, learns Liam's feelings about love, he makes it his mission to change his mind.

[63k Words | Mature | No Warnings]

Check out our event round for the 2018 Thiam Big Bang here. Happy reading!

[crowned-ladybug]

Cover of Darkness

God titles are still not a Good Thing huh but turns out actually talking English all day is doing Wonders for my failing language skills. It kills my good ideas bc I’m tired as Shit from all the sightseeing, but writing? Going good!

I’m so happy

_______________

OC blog is @menagerie-of-morons

Setting: Rivals AU

Characters: Jackie, Marvin

Ship: Marvin/Jackie

Word count: 2.3k

Warnings: none!

_______________

“Why the Fuck is it so cold?!” Jackie curses to no one but himself, voice hushed as he resorts to talking out loud in his hopelessness, like the walls could hear his frustration and offer him an extra blanket. Which they obivously won’t do, he’s not sure if even Marvin’s magic could make them do that, in all honesty.

Why is it so cold, really? Did the heating break? Does this weird patchwork of a magic house just absorb and distribute heat weirdly and unfairly? Did an ice monster sneak into his room when he wasn’t looking?

The answer is, of course, that with some storms and a cold front rolling in, the temperature has dropped significantly, but he’s still been sleeping in the same clothes and under the same blanket as during a heatwave. He was even foolish enough to leave his window open for a while before going to sleep.

But right now, Jackie doesn’t care about boring things like logic. The only thing he cares about is that he’s Cold and he doesn’t enjoy it one bit.

He runs through his options in his head. He has no idea where the thicker blankets are put away for the summer and he definitely doesn’t feel like going on an expedition at 2 o’clock in the morning. If they’re in the attic, it’s even worse, he doesn’t want to know what the attic is like at night. A warm drink is out of the picture too, it feels like way too much effort right now and it’d only keep him warm for a bit anyway. He last saw the heating pad, which is pretty small anyway, in Anraí’s room, so that’s a no too.

The idea he lands on in the end is a pretty shitty one too, but it’ll have to do – use someone as a space heater. It’s shitty because he doesn’t like waking people up from their comfortable sleep, but…Marvin does owe him one for saving his ass last time they were out on a mission together. He can pay that debt with cuddles.

He wraps his blanket around his shoulders like a cloak and bunches it against his chest from both sides to keep it from dragging on the ground too much. For a moment he considers bringing his pillow too, but decides Marvin’s own giant one and the fact that his head might not wind up on a pillow anyway should suffice. And so, he sets out on his quest for not freezing his toes off while he sleeps.

He hisses through his teeth when his bare feet touch the cold tiles of the corridor outside his room. He tiptoes not because it’d make him any more quiet, but to keep as much of his skin off the tiles as possible. He’d fly, but with how clumsy he is, he’d probably bonk into twenty things on the way and eventually wake the whole house.

He shivers.

He feels like it’s a little excessive, but he can’t really tell his body to just stop doing it. He stills for a moment to let a big one run through him, then moves on.

Marvin’s door is shut but not locked, and this time he gets lucky and the handle doesn’t make any noise. Sometimes it clatters like a menace, and that’d be pretty detrimental to his stealth mission for cuddles right now.

As expected, the room is dark (and the window is closed, sensibly), and Marvin is nothing but a dark lump on the bed. Jackie wouldn’t be able to tell where his head is if it weren’t for his hair splayed out around him, covering most of his pillow and catching the moonlight streaming in from the window.

He wants to run his hands through it.

(He also wonders how Marvin can sleep with the moon shining right on his pillow, no doubt on its way to his face, but that thought is a little less romantic.)

He’d be a fool to hope for a sneaky entrace beyond what he’s managed so far – there’s no way he could worm his way under the blanket and snuggle up without waking Marvin in the process. Maybe if he just wanted to lie down near him he wouldn’t notice the dip in the mattress, but that’d do fuck all for Jackie’s current need for warmth. It however would make for an interesting experiment though to find out how Marvin would react to him having teleported into his bed during the night.

The door slips shut behind him without a sound.

Him sitting on the bed doesn’t wake Marvin. He decides to do this the merciful and polite way anyway, and instead of letting him wake up whenever he accidentally kicks him in the shin trying to get comfortable, he reaches out to shake his shoulder gently.

Then again.

Finally, Marvin stirs, groaning quietly and some of his hair draping over his face as he looks around. His tired, barely open eyes finally find Jackie, and something flashes in them after his brain catches up. He tenses ever so slightly, so subtle Jackie is sure he wouldn’t be able to tell if he didn’t know Marvin like the back of his hand by now. He feels it more than sees it.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” he smiles, small and reassuring, he hopes. He also hopes the moonlight is bright enough to make his features actually readable. “I was just cold.”

Marvin groans again, this time longer and more dramatic, and rolls back into the position he had been sleeping in. He’s very clearly unhappy with being woken up, now that he knows it wasn’t for an emergency. “And waking me up was your brilliant solution to that, huh?”

Jackie tries to defend himself, though he knows a sleepy Marvin isn’t the best partner for discussions. “Look, I’m tired, I’m not exactly a genius right now!”

“A bastard is what you are,” Marvin mumbles into his pillow.

Jackie scrunches up his nose, pretending to be hurt by that comment. It’s a shame Marvin doesn’t get to see his grimace, truly. “Shut up! I came here to cuddle, not to be insulted.”

“Sure then, go ahead,” Marvin says, voice still slightly slurred from his cheek being pressed into his pillow, but the only movement he makes is a shrug. Jackie’s pretty sure even his eyes are shut at this point.

He bunches up his blanket more on his lap, then starts untangling it and trying to figure out which ends are the shorter ones. He gives Marvin a displeased look as he finally shakes the whole bundle loose and tries to line it up right. “Wow, how cooperative.”

Again, Marvin doesn’t move an inch. “Listen, you got the consent. Doesn’t mean I’m gonna move.”

Jackie just sighs and rolls his eyes. Sometimes Marvin will be complaining and very near begging up a storm, tugging on Jackie until he surrenders himself as a teddy bear to get cuddled and kissed and squished to both their hearts’ content. Other times he’s just a tired, uncooperative lump.

Tonight is, obviously, the latter.

Jackie lies down on the wall side of the bed, kicking Marvin’s blanket out of the way as he goes, not wanting to lie on it and get it stuck and uncomfortable. He needs to get close to get warm anyway. Eventually he manages to worm his way not only under both blankets, but into Marvin’s arms as well.

At least that makes Marvin move finally, curling closer with lazy movements like he’s not even thinking about it, his arm around Jackie settling into a more comfortable position. Jackie stares up at him for a moment, though he doesn’t see much with the moonlight bright behind Marvin’s head, just the messy strands of his hair lit up like a makeshift halo around him. Still, it’s pretty, and maybe even more importantly, familiar.

He stares for a long moment, and he can just about make out Marvin’s closed eyes, lashes dark against his cheeks. Not being seen makes staring a hell of a lot easier.

He feels warmth slowly, lazily creeping under his skin. Not just from the closeness and being under two blankets, no, this is magic, familiar and comforting and belonging to Marvin. An act of concern and protectiveness, stemming from trauma but grown into a comfortable and comforting habit for the both of them.

Jackie inches closer, halting for a moment before he presses his face against Marvin’s neck. It’s warm, it’s sweet and affectionate and just a normal thing that happens during cuddling. He honestly means no malice by it.

So it really surprises him when Marvin tenses and squeaks, jerking away.

“How dare you!” Marvin hisses from a little farther away now, wide eyes gleaming in the moonlight before they narrow accusingly. He’s already worried he woke up the house with his squeaking, so he keeps his voice low, just in case he hasn’t. Jackie doesn’t react, and his tired brain searches hopelessly for whatever he’s done wrong. “Is your face made of ice cubes or something?!”

Oh.

Jackie snorts. “Fuck. I forgot that, I’m sorry.”

“Oh, sure you are. Gremlin,” he sinks back into his pillow where he is, which Jackie is honestly quite unhappy about. What happened to the agreed-upon cuddles? “Horrible gremlin, waking me up at fuck off hours in the morning, sneaking into my bed, freezing my neck…”

“I said I’m sorry!” Jackie laughs, trying his best to be quiet. He’d normally consider cutting off the stream of complaints by shoving his cold hands (he’s very much aware of those) under Marvin’s shirt, but now he’s just tired and cold and wants his cuddles as soon as possible.

“Prove it,” Marvin snaps back without hesitation, because challenge and rivalry are just as much in his blood as being a grumpy bitch in the middle of the night is.

Jackie pushes himself up to one elbow, leaning a little closer, and he sighs. “That is the dumbest fucking response you could’ve come up with for this.”

And before Marvin could try to argue, he closes the remaining distance between them (which is really not that much anyway) and kisses him. Well, at first it’s less of a kiss and more of just him smooshing his face against Marvin’s trying to find his lips, but the effort and the intent are there. It doesn’t take him long to get it right anyway, at least not with Marvin recognising that he’s not just being affectionately headbutted and instead cooperating.

And when one of Jackie’s hands finds the back of his head and combs through his hair, he just about melts.

One of the big pros of a sleepy Marvin: it’s pretty easy to un-grump him, if you know how. And Jackie definitely does.

“Fine,” Marvin breathes once they’re done kissing, which doesn’t take that long anyway. He’s definitely too tired to actually be a good kisser right now, and he can’t just let Jackie do all the work. He keeps his eyes shut, because he wouldn’t be able to see fuck all if he opened them anyway, and nudges his head forward until his forehead presses against Jackie’s. “I’ll forgive you.”

Jackie huffs a laugh, and their noses bump together. “Would you cuddle me then already? ‘Cause I’m still cold.”

“Sure. You can be very convincing when you try.”

Jackie laughs, but doesn’t say anything. He pushes himself up to sit with a parting kiss to Marvin’s forehead, which is awfully nice of him, actually. He makes quick work of arranging the blankets over the two of them again, as Marvin watches him work through tired, squinted eyes.

When he sinks back down, he immediately finds his place in Marvin’s arms. And the familiar warmth is there again.

“I won’t do that again tonight, with your neck, I promise,” he hums, smiling in a way that is very obvious in his voice. “Though I gotta say, you probably warmed up my face pretty well.”

Marvin yawns into his pillow. Jackie can feel the way his whole body tenses and relaxes with it.

“I doubt it,” he mumbles, clearly slipping closer to sleep with every word. “Wasn’t my best work, definitely. Gotta try again tomorrow and see.”

“Wow,” Jackie laughs. Marvin has never been as smooth with words as he seems to think (he’s much better at everything else that goes into flirting, really), but his sleepy stumbling is definitely just a whole new level of dorky. Endearing too though, he’s gotta admit.

He settles comfortably for the night, careful to keep his face away from any skin this time.

“Goodnight.”

The arm around his waist flexes for a moment, tugging him a little closer, as if there’s much closer he can be. Marvin sighs, sleepy. “Goodnight, love.”

Love. That’s not a pet name Jackie hears often. Marvin has more to his words than he likes to admit, and one example of that is how he addresses Jackie. Some terms of endearment are common and casual and not always reserved to romantic relations either with him. Others – sweetheart, love, treasure…they mean a lot more. They’re heavier, full of love and honesty. Vulnerable too, in a way, and that’s something Marvin very rarely allows himself to show.

Jackie’s learned to recognise them long ago.

He smiles, knowing not to mention the word but cherish it anyway. He sinks into a comfortable sleep after not long at all, and he doesn’t feel cold for the rest of the night.

[queenattheopera]

Opening Number Part 3

Masterlist, Part 2

Prompt: This is the story of the band that skyrocketed beside Queen and how their singer was fated to be with one of them.

Warning: Some light cursing

October 17, 1970

How Much Do They Love Flying (This is an original song , sorry if it sucks)

“They get on with life as a lover, They're the innocent type. They like singing on Sundays, They like dancing in the week. But when they start to daydream, Their mind turns straight to flying.”

There’s something about performing that feels so natural. It can be difficult to explain. When I think back on any past performance, I can't remember exact details but I can always remember the feeling.

“Sometimes I look at them and I look into their eyes, I notice the way they think about soaring with a smile, Curved lips they just can't disguise. But they think it's heights making their life worthwhile. Why is it so hard for them to decide which they love more?”

I move around the stage and as I look into the crowd I immediately see John. He raises his glass towards me and I couldn’t help but smile. This was for him. This song was for all of them, but truth be told, I was thinking about Deacy right now.

When I turn to the side I see Roger glaring out towards the crowd. Brian and Freddie look a little upset too, but once Brian makes eye contact with me, he smiles and gives me thumbs up.

“They like to use words like 'love,’ They like to use words like 'darling.' They like to use words with meaning. But when they stop their talking, Their mind turns straight to flying.”

Queen wasn’t performing today due to their lack of a proper bassist but I was planning on changing that. John was the perfect solution.

Flashback

“John! Hey, I don’t know if you remember me but we met last weekend.” He looks genuinely surprised to see me there and quickly walks over to me. “H-hello, y/n.. What brings you here?” He nervously looks back at his schoolmates and then at me.

“Well I was hoping I could talk to you about something, but maybe we should head somewhere else. There’s a cafe down the street, we can grab lunch and talk there. Is that okay?” His cheeks start to go red and he fidgets slightly.

“That’s fine.” He awkwardly stands there as he waits for me to lead the way. It was rather strange how he went from flirty so shy from one day to the next, but I knew he was a little uncomfortable so I was hoping that taking him to this quite cafe would put him at ease. I lead John towards the place and he walks beside me.

“You’re dressed quite differently from this Saturday.” I keep my eyes forward and laugh. I was dressed for the weather, a simple pair of jeans and a hoodie. My makeup was also quite simple. “That’s more of stage look, I’ll occasionally dress up, but I usually just dress comfortably.” He hums in response. Once we reach the cafe I order a coffee and make myself at home.

I’m quite nervous about asking him, I didn’t want him to be upset. I barely even know him and now I’m asking him to make a commitment to group that he doesn’t know. “So, remember Queen, the band playing when we met,” he nods, “Well they’re looking for a bassist and I think you could work really well with them. I could introduce you to them on Saturday. They want you to audition and they’re really nice and-.” “Darling, slow down, I could hardly keep up.”

I didn’t notice how quick I was speaking until he told me to slow down. “I think you make a compelling argument but I don’t think joining a band would be the best option right now. I have my studies to focus on.”

“John, I think you should really give it a chance. I can help you prepare, we can work together on a song, if it becomes too stressful to do with your schedule then I’ll forget about it. If it’s manageable, then you should audition.”

He looked unconvinced, “I know we just met and I don’t know much about you, but what I think this could be great. You'll enjoy it and I think this could be really good for you. Please just give it a chance.” I grab his hand.

He sighs.

“Sometimes I look at them and I look into their eyes, I notice the way they think about soaring with a smile, Curved lips they just can't disguise. But they think it's heights making their life worthwhile. Why is it so hard for them to decide which they love more?”

The more I spoke to him the more I felt he would work well with the boys. He was a very timid compared to them but he was talented nonetheless.

“They like to hang out with Emily, They like to kick back with Noah and Charlie. But when left alone, Their mind turns straight to flying.”

We continued to meet throughout the week after class. He didn’t know this song was kinda about him but he seemed to really enjoy working on it. Whether he denies it or not, he has a passion for music. You can see it every time he writes. He’ll go silent for sometime and he puts pure emotion behind each lyric.

“Sometimes I look at them and I look into their eyes, I notice the way they think about soaring with a smile, Curved lips they just can't disguise. But they think it's heights making their life worthwhile. Why is it so hard for them to decide which they love more?”

It’s time for the guitar solo, I take a deep breath and try my best to absorb every detail. I had my best friends cheering for me. I perform for them, their support makes these nights special.

“They're not too fond of darkness, They really hate loneliness, But they just think back to flying, And they're happy once again.”

After packing everything up and loading it onto the van, we were back inside. The band was sitting off to the side, while I went to find John. After reaching the bar I see him in the exact same spot as before. “John, I’m glad you could make it.” I hugged him and smiled. “I wouldn’t miss it. So where’s that infamous band you’ve convinced me to audition for.” He raises his eyebrows and motions for me to lead the way.

I grab his hand and take him to the side. “Queen, I would like you all to meet John Deacon. John, this is Freddie, Brian, and Roger.” He shakes each of their hands. Roger was glaring at him, but he didn’t say anything. After breaking the ice, the four men seem to be getting along well. Rog was still being a little rude. When he excused himself to the bathroom, I followed him.

I went inside with him, “What the hell Roger? Get your head out of your ass and at least get to know him before you start hating him.” He look annoyed, “Look y/n, you barely even know this guy and you’re already all over him. Your just being nice to him cause you have a crush on him, tell me how much do you really know about him?” This angered me even more.

“No, you don’t get to make that excuse for your behavior. You sleep with random girls and most the time you don’t even know their names! And every time you bring one of them along, the rest of us always act civilly. You’re just being immature!”

“That’s completely different y/n! This-” Both Roger and I continued to get louder. “No, explain to me how is this any different?!” He scoffs, “This involves the band! We can’t just let anyone join cause you think they’re hot!”

“Shut up!! If you really think I would do that, then you don’t know me at all! I would never intentionally hurt the band like that! Now stop acting like a child!” I go back to the two booths and I let them know I’m walking home. “The nights still young, are you sure you want to leave darling?” I nod, “Yeah, Fred. I’m sorry. We can all get brunch tomorrow if you’d like?” I look at everyone and they seem to agree. “Only if you’re cooking, you’re one of the few people who know how to make a good vegetarian breakfast.”

“Sure. So I’ll see you all at brunch tomorrow, you can come by my flat around 11.”

I get confirmations from everyone and I wave goodbye. I’m only a few steps away when Brian stops me. “Are you sure you’re okay walking home alone? I could go with you.” I smile and hug him.

“Thanks for the offer, but I don’t live to far. I’ll be fine, I promise.” He looks a little uneasy, but he kisses my forehead and sends me on my way.

As I’m walking home, I get the odd feeling that someone is following me. I start to speed up and that’s when I notice that a shadowy figure was getting closer. My building is at the end of the street so I decide to make a run for it. They’re able to keep up and they reach the building at the same time as me. I turn around and prepare to defend myself, without thinking I quickly swing my arm and hit them in the face. “What the fuck y/n?!”

“Roger!! What were you doing following me?! You scared the shit out of me!!” His nose was beginning to bleed, “That doesn’t mean you had to break my nose!” I sigh and I could feel my heart rate slowing down. “Look just let me help you clean up.”

I take him up to my flat, “You know for being kinda short you run pretty fast.” I roll my eyes and lead him the bathroom. He leans on the counter as I pull out towels and a first aid kit. I haven’t said anything since we entered the flat. As I begin to look at Rogers nose get really close. I blush a little but I try to focus on cleaning him up. “I’m sorry.”

He looks a little surprised. I don’t think he was expecting me to apologize. “Its okay, I’m sorry for scaring you. I just wanted to make sure you got home safely.” I look into his eyes and start to blush a little harder. “Well, your nose isn’t broken, but you do have blood all over your shirt.” He looks down and laughs a little.

“You wouldn’t mind washing this for me would you?”

“Yeah, I mean it’s the least I can do for making this mess.” He takes off his shirt and I stare a lot longer than I should have. I know I must look as red as a tomato right now so I avoid all eye contact and reach out to grab his shirt. As I step to grab it he pulls it out of my reach and I end up too close to him. When I look at him he slowly begins to lean in. It wasn’t long before we were heavily making out. My hands were in his hair and as I pulled on it he grabbed my ass. “We shouldn’t be doing this,” I pulled away and make my way towards living room.

“Y/n, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but I thought we were in the same page.” It’s not that didn’t want to, I just felt like I was betraying everyone else. I looked at him and I sat down on the couch. I didn’t have answer as to why not, but he understood. We ended up just sitting on my couch talking late into the night. Around two or three I fell asleep leaning onto his shoulder. Being with him felt right.

Part 4

Tag List

@smile-nine @phantom-fangirl-stuff @fantasticchaoticwho @cosmicsskies

[eerythingisshaka]

I made this post on Monday, and just now got around to edit and post

I’m basically going through the whole plot of Endgame and how I felt, I just had to hammer it out.   If you haven’t seen it yet, please come back when you have! First things first, I did not cry!  I feel like I’m in the minority, and I swear I am a devoted MCU fan and love Tony and Cap and them, but I did not cry and I’m so disappointed with myself!  I got more emotional thinking about it in the days leading to the premiere than I did while viewing.  I think it was too entertaining for me to find it sad?  Not like movies I cry at aren’t entertaining but the action and substance was making my nerd heart pitter patter so much, I was over the moon and couldn’t come down.  I will say though, ever since watching Endgame, every past Marvel movie makes me somewhat emotional.  This whole thing is like a high school graduation, like I’m never gonna see my friends together again like this, an era is over!  All I have are memories, aaaaggghhhh!

That being said. the movie grips me from the beginning with the song Dear Mr. Fantasy by Traffic.  Marvel has some pretty good picks for songs to set the tone for their movies, to this day this song kinda pulls at my heart strings because of its message 

 Dear Mr. Fantasy play us a tune

Something to make us all happy

Do anything, take us out of this gloom

So of course, we all felt this way with the ending of Infinity War, having so many of our faves being sacrificed to dust for Thanos’ plan of rectifying what he saw as the decrepit state of the universe.  Walking away from part one with the villain winning was a fresh slap to my face and a year of agony to find out how the heroes pull this off in the end.  Take us out of our gloom Marvel! 

And the characters must feel the same, as the film opens with Clint and his daughter doing some archery in their yard as a very American lunch of mayo and mustard hot dogs are being served.  As his daughter Lilah is putting things away, Clint calls out to her only to see dust and turns again to his family with the same result.  So much for freedom from our gloom, right?  In case you somehow forgot, this little scene gives us a friendly reminder of what we were left with in 2018.  If that’s not enough, Nebula and Tony playing the little hand goal, paper flick game that is just darling to witness.  Nebula plays like a rehabilitated puppy still unsure about being around humans as Tony instructs her like a child on every development of the game.  Her little perk up when he announces her win is so cute as they shake hands, finally sealing her character development from ruthless, blood-thirsty appeaser of a sadistic father, to a more stoic, regretful soft spoken but hoarse matured version of herself.  All the while, Tony is beginning to starve from being malnourished and depleting oxygen.  Nebula sets him in a piloting chair as he drifts off, losing consciousness until the homie we have all assumed would be coming appears as a glow in his irises, Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel.  

Carol flies the ship back to Tony’s compound where Cap, Rhodey, Natasha, and Pepper wait for him to descend.  We get a moment with him and Cap that is sweet as Cap walks him down, Tony tells him he lost Peter Parker, an obviously huge loss for this to be the first thing he mentions.  The warmth is lost quickly though as the next step of Tony’s grief comes afoot: anger and finger pointing.  Tony, on an IV and all, is relentless as he festers in bitterness while lashing out at Cap and company that the fight was lost and even encouraged by Cap because they were together.  This optimism is obviously not enough for Tony, who grows weary of Cap’s positivity, opting that he finish the work alone or that Danvers takes on the task herself before collapsing from exhaustion.

Carol, Thor and the gang have a slight dick measuring contest on kicking Thanos’ ass once and for all before Nebula offers to take them straight to him.  And where is he?  Why on a farm on a planet in the galaxy, nursing his wounds from the snap.   His entire right side is burned to a crisp due to the snap, and at the same time has obliterated the stones much to their dismay.  Thor wastes no time in chopping off Thanos’ head, a little too late but satisfying none the less.  However, in the end, the stones are nowhere to be found, the last person to have them is dead, and no one from the snaps is back yet.  Cue music!

So, the gloom we are supposed to be rescued from, when does that start right?  Not for another five years according to a time lapse card.  Our heroes have no means of figuring out the solution to the snap; Cap forms a support group for survivor’s, Natasha has grown out her blonde hair and is constantly checking in on happenings around the world, and universe since the snap, jumping at even the mention of an earthquake.  Rhodey briefs her on a terrible killing spree of gang members that appear to have a style that is well known to them as Clint Barton’s aka Hawkeye.  Despite Rhodey’s hesitance Natasha insists he keeps an eye on him, inferring that she may track him down eventually.  (Quick side note here, something to be seen as a possible plot flaw:  Hawkeye’s bloodlust and disregard for lives after losing his whole family in the snap isn’t dug into very deeply after this.  Rhodey said it’s so bad he didn’t even wanna find him!  But there wasn’t any in fighting or push back after that between them.  He has one instance of almost interacting with his family on a test run for time travel which is against the rules, but other than that he isn’t killing people recklessly or even triggered to tears or drinking incessantly over his loss.  But more on Thor in a minute). 

If it hadn’t been for that rat running across the panel in Scott Lang’s van to activate his return from the Quantum realm who knows how long, if ever, would they figure out the means of traveling back to get the stones.  I was so glad I watched Antman and Wasp right before seeing Endgame, so I knew the van, Cassie, and a little bit about the Quantum Realm.  I’m actually upset that I didn’t realize the realm could be used for their benefit because I was always betting on the Time Stone being the corrector in all this, but anyway.  Scott returns highly confused as he realizes the state of the world since his entrapment in the realm.  Seeing his baby girl become a young lady was a powerful scene to witness, and had my heart dent a little bit, but I held it together.  Soon after that, Scott makes his way to find Cap and Natasha, explaining how 5 years was really five hours for him, so time is different in the realm which could possibly mean something for them getting the dusted back.  At one point in the movie, I’m blanking on which comes first but for now I’ll dive into this bit, we are reintroduced to Bruce Banner as Hulk…as one person.  I completely forgot that we didn’t see Bruce in trailers, which is for this reason.  Comic book followers would know, but there is a iteration of Bruce Banner becoming Professor Hulk, so he functions as his normal scientist self, while also being a big green being.  Oddly enough, it does not take long for me to grow accustomed to The Bruce Hulk hybrid, he is hilarious and sweet and more confident even then he was as a regular man despite his appearance.  He has fans, people love him and this is a far cry from when we are introduced to him in the original Avengers as Nat tracks him down somewhere in Southeast Asia, a nervous wreck loner who is quick to anger.  I could see this Hulk being fanfic fodder, not my cup of tea, but he was just that damn appealing, I could see it.

But even with Bruce’s brain, time travel isn’t exactly hammered down as an absolute possibility so they reach out to another source on the matter.  Which brings me to my love/hate relationship with Tony.  I ADORE that he finally had a baby with Pepper, Morgan “Cussin Queen” Stark.  Tony is living his best life in the natural air in his log cabin, as off grid as he possibly can be before Black Widow, Cap, and Lang pull up to question the possibilities ahead of them.  The strength of his cold shoulder gave me an insatiable chill down my spine.  Tony is the King of Petty, but rarely passive so I was surprised by that moment of mean girl attitude from him.  But luckily he served up something to drink (I’m thinking it’s iced coffee or chocolate milk.  I’m still confused by what that held.)  Tony basically tells them they are crazy and hoping for nothing, because he’s good where he is.  He has his girls and no stress which is honestly what the Avengers always seem to guarantee for him since joining the group with SHIELD under Nick Fury’s insistence years ago.  I do wish I could remember the theories and scientific laws he said would be fucked up with their plan, just to see if they are real ones but also I love when Tony just spouts his knowledge like it’s IKEA instructions.  He makes it seem so simple until you have to break it down, and up until this point Scott seemed like the smartest one on the team but really Tony could’ve been figured this out if he wasn’t so granola now, which is great and happy for him, but he really did give up very quickly.  Once again, probably good reason, self-care.  But still.

Gotta say, I love a selfish Tony though.  Quick shoutout to Robert Downey Jr. in showing his chops by bringing the emotional fortitude to this Disney movie.  The man has been THROUGH IT and has had enough.  Tony only has so much optimism in him that the cheerleading squad can provide before his is completely done and baby was DONE.

But without Tony’s help they test run moving through the quantum realm only to discover what Tony says later, that time kept moving though Scott instead of him moving through time, making him a baby, and old man, a kid again, and back to an adult.  But with a fancy time GPS Tony doctor’s up on the fly after discovering that the group isn’t crazy about the time travel being an option, they are good to go like it’s day one!  (Another side note to Paul Rudd aka Scott Lang giving us much needed comic relief.  I have never laughed so hard at my precious baby trying to eat a taco in my life. Also, Cap’s yeehaw attire in this scene?  The checkered white shirt with his dark jeans pulled up?  Truly save the horse and ride the cowboy instead man.)  

Now at this point we have to check in on Thor, our sweet pirate angel.  How has he fared?  Him, Valkyrie, and the surviving Asgardians establish their own town  on Earth.  Thor and Rocket go to find him, with a preview from Valkyrie of what Thor’s mental state is by the piles of beer kegs outside.  So, when they enter his home, giving a wave to Korg and Miek playing video games on the couch, Thor tumbles out behind Thor and Rocket reaching for another cold on, camera to his back.  By now we can see his hair is overgrown and greasy, and his midsection has a new pair of love handles we aren’t used to seeing on our svelte, brutish god of thunder.  So when he turns around, audience erupts in the theaters, as do I, to see him now looking like a melted ice cream cone with a beer belly that somehow still has some toned abs on top if you look closely, paired with some man titties to complete all billowing over his pajama pants to complete his depression ensemble.  This was more shocking to me than the Hulk/Banner hybrid reveal.  We hadn’t seen an image of Thor outside of him giving Carol Danvers the Stormbreaker scare test in the previews, so thanks for another surprise.  Despite his crumbling emotional stability at even the mention of Thanos’ name (tip of the hat to Chris Hemsworth for making my heartache with every crack in his voice), I have to get on my soapbox and say Thor’s body is beautiful!  He is a supreme King, deliciously made who can still smash any pair of cheeks to ash and dust with the power Mjolnir in each thrust quicker than any counterfeit gauntlet.  Just watch him later on, you’ll see!  I’d have that belly slapping on top of me in a quantum realm millisecond after he takes a shower and attends therapy.  A lil pudge ain’t killed no part of his power, whew.  Don’t make me shout.

Back to plot, with the promise of beer, Thor the Dude tags along to start the plan of going back to retrieve infinity stones.  After a synopsis of each one and where they were located, the crew drums up the plan to retrieve each stone from the past, bring them back to the future to put into a new gauntlet  and snap the other half of life’s creatures back.  This part of the movie is so stellar because if you have watched past Marvel movies (the first Avengers, Gaurdians of the Galaxy, Captain America First Avenger, and Thor Dark World) you will recognize the scenes that are featured with their past selves going through their past-current scenes.  Natasha and Clint go to Vormir for the Soul stone, which I am surprised Nebula did not warn them that someone would have to die to retrieve it.  What if two characters that didn’t love each other went for the Soul stone, is it over and done?  But luckily, or unluckily, Clint and Natasha are able to get the stone with a sacrifice of Natasha’s life (who honestly sacrificed herself but it counted.  And I need so much more clarity on the specs of the soul stone, it ain’t even funny.  Will we ever see what the realm Gamora and Black Widow are in is like?)  These two characters have been last on my list always so the scene was crazy watching them battle back and forth for a chance at ending their lives but the end result didn’t hit my heart but still great.  I kinda would’ve wished little Gamora was there again to talk to us.  

Then Hulk has to go see Ancient One to retrieve the time stone, which she will not relinquish until Hulk says that Strange gave it up willingly.  On his word alone, she gives it to him, sensing the imminent danger that could come that is worse than the alternate reality she faces for not having the time stone with her.  Then Rhodey and Nebula go to Morag for the Power Stone.  So this is the first sign of overall trouble in their plan because apparently having two Nebula’s mix memory frequencies that reveal the whole entire plan to Thanos.  I thought for sure at some point that Nebula’s eye was gonna have to be dug out to ensure the completion of the mission but it winds up that Nebula and Gamora take her hostage before past Nebula takes current Nebula’s place with the crew going back with their stones, none the wiser.  Not even Rhodey gives her a check in like “why did you not come back with me when I jetted back to the future?  what happened?”  Nothing!  The death of Natasha kind of takes precedent over anything else and leave Nebula to finish off bringing Thanos back with her to wreak havoc.  

Lastly, Cap, Tony, and Scott are in New York circa Avengers number 1, fighting the space aliens and keeping Loki from the tesseract.  And I am not exaggerating when I say this part of movie is possibly the greatest cinematic feature I have ever seen, or will ever see my natural life.  You have Tony, creeping in the shadows to get Antman ready to help retrieve the tesseract, all the while admiring Cap’s ass!  He does it, critiquing that his outfit does nothing for his ass, when we all know nothing holds back them cheeks from making an appearance.  Scott, ever the voice of standom, downplays Tony’s critique and coins his rear end as “America’s Ass”.  I EXPLODED.  Ever since Captain America: the First Avenger, I have pined, no, thirsted, nay, LUSTED for that man in Marvel cinema.  He has the BAWDY to be Cap, and never slacks.  I have also always been a big fan of Tony and Cap having a torrid love affair that Marvel refused to implement but teases anytime they stare deeply into each other’s eyes or argue feistily until they are nose to nose, just get a room you two!  Ten points to Gryffindor for feeding the fans what they want!

So, New York is the only place that doesn’t go smoothly, as Cap retrieves the scepter containing the Mind Stone after a quick “Hail Hydra” to throw off the double agent SHIELD opponents from Winter Soldier.  All this time, Tony and Scott lose the tesseract in a freak incident that causes the case to fall into Loki’s vicinity, who picks up the cube and disappears to God knows where.  And it is never figured out where past Loki goes, or what timeline he creates for himself now that he has the tesseract at his disposal with no one to oppose him.  That is another thing I would love to know, all these alternate realities that have been constructed due to them tinkering with time, what happens?  What damage is done to the Ancient One without time?  What does Loki do with space?  How is Jane and Asgard without the reality stone ravaging her?  (Rocket got it btw as Thor got caught up talking to his mother, which was a very sweet scene and really amplified her character for me to love her more than I already had).  But at least Cap got the scepter until he is met with his past Cap, leading to my most favorite fight scene in the MCU.  Something about those two classic suits running at each other with the cacophony of the shields, and current Cap saying some choice expletives now and getting tired of the bullshit while past Cap still has all that giddy up and pure heart and “I can do this all day” attitude is an exceptional treat to be had.  I love Cap’s development, as much as he has stayed the same, he has changed, grown more into his age even, getting weary with the world but never losing his positive outlook, just shifting his focus gradually.  But to correct the tesseract blunder, Tony and Cap go back to 1970 to get the original tesseract from SHIELD in its infancy.  Both Tony and Cap have a soft moment.  Tony see’s his father who talks to him about his expecting wife (aka baby Tony) and Cap sees Peggy again in her youthful glory, panging our heartstrings.  But in the end, the supplies are collected and they move on.

So after they get the stones, they construct the gauntlet out of Tony’s suit Iron man material and it is decided that Hulk must do the snap since gamma radiation is part of the stones and so is he. It is not a simple easy thing as he writhes in pain and burns under the pressure of power but does the snap anyway and successfully brings back half the world.  This win is shortlived once Thanos bombards the compound and sends Nebula off to retrieve the stones.  This is the start of the longest game of flag football/hot potato/rugby adjacent.  Hawkeye has the gauntlet at first as everyone tries to pull themselves from the rubble (side note:  seeing Rocket so distressed shook me.  He is usually so cool and wily, getting out of so much bullshit that his helplessness when he couldn’t breathe almost sent me over).

So since they retrieved the stones, it’s not like they change their past, just create alternate realities.  Once they return them, things go back to normal again.  So Hulk uses the gauntlet to bring back the rest of the population again, we just don’t see them yet until later.  Past Nebula gets killed by current Nebula after Gamora helps current Nebula out to stop Thanos because as we know from Infinity War, Gamora never wanted Thanos to find them all.  Thor, Cap, and Tony all team up to spar with Thanos who was waiting patiently for the gauntlet to be brought to him.  Much to my dismay, the fight is very even, no side truly overpowers the other.  Thor really wants to put in work, but can’t quite get through until Cap does what I have been waiting for since Ultron: HE PICKS UP MJOLNIR!  (which Thor took back from Asgard in his time travel).  Wheew, I coulda passed out when I saw Cap wielding that thing like it’s his the star spangled banner itself, sending lightning down on Thanos, busting him upside his head and all!  I was spent and feeling aftershocks until Thanos gets the upperhand again and bombards his shield with that weak ass helicopter blade sword thing.  It breaks the shield up!  Which is made of vibranium!  THE STRONGEST METAL IN THE UNIVERSE!  This how I know Russo’s were just grasping at straws; the only thing I can say is since Tony made him that one after the snap, he probably used bootleg vibranium because obviously nobody called Wakanda for input on a damn thing to make this mission happen which is a rant I can say on a completely separate post.  Sure, take T’Challa and Shuri in the snap, it’s not like the whole country isn’t composed of melanated geniuses that could give y’all a lesson on quantum physics that would make your central nervous system dry out.  No, don’t call Wakanda to make vibranium anything for y’all to help in the fight, it’s cool cuz y’all didn’t try and clean up anything after shit hit the fan!  I wanted a 10 minute Wakanda clean up scene: I got DUST.  The underutilization of such a great people while at the same time using them frivilously is a *blink blink* mindfuck.  But I digress again!

Once Cap seems to be against the wall, he tightens his shield band around his arm and says slap me bitch.  But before it continues,  Sam gives him a quick “on your left” signaling the return of everyone, with first none other than our Wakandan royalty: T’Challa, Okoye, and Shuri.  Dr. Strange’s portals open up as populations come to join the fight from Gaurdians and Asgard, Wakanda and other Marvel movies.  The fight scene that begins I can’t wait to own at home becuase I know I have to pause and slow motion to capture everything.  Someone said Howard the Duck is in the fight which I HAVE to see. Can you imagine getting your ass impaled by a cartoon space duck? 

The game of keep the gauntlet from Thanos continues as Spiderman, T’Challa, and others all have a go at running the guantlet away from Thanos.  This is a part that I kind of have to think to remember.  I know that Antman and Wasp had to spark up the quantum realm van and I think the plan was to send the gauntlet into it, but I’m not sure.  Eventually Tony is alerted by Strange that the one in 14 million chance at winning is upon them and Tony goes ham to get the gauntlet from Thanos, who nearly succeeds but Tony yeets them off the glove and onto his suit, proclaiming himself as Iron Man one last time before snapping the bad half of the population into obliteration.  All the bad aliens and Thanos dust away, leaving the original population the watch them float away.  However Tony’s sacrifice is his life as he dies after goodbyes from Peter, Pepper and Rhodey.  

The funeral occurs with everyone there, even the kid from Iron Man 3.  This is a really emotional scene, especially seeing Tony left a last message in case of his demise, ending it with telling Morgan “I Said What I Said” Stark that he loves her 3000.  Once again, I almost got choked up there, but it just wouldn’t happen. One thing that took me out were Wakanda’s outfits at the funeral.  All black everything, but the fit and the make of Okoye and Shuri’s dresses?  With the gold accessories????  I can’t mourn when all that beauty is in my face!

And in the end, Cap goes back in time to send the stones back to where they belong but stays in the past to reunite with Peggy, finally bust her open and returns as an old man to give his shield to Falcon and that is it!

I almost got choked up just now thinking about that last scene but I still didn’t cry.  A tear came down when the end credits showed the actors pictures and their signatures of the original Avengers though.  There will never be a better Cap or Iron Man bruh, taking that to my grave.

 I’ve been in this MCU life for just about the whole length of it; watching these amazing superhero action flicks for the fun of it before recognizing the structure of each film forming towards an ending so grand. “You see where you’re going? Now let’s focus on how you get there.” This is a statement that is about to be my mantra for life! This is a huge project for a studio to put together properly, having all of our superheroes in one place, sewn together with the journey of the infinity stones to take out the big purple meanie Thanos who is hellbent on controlling the universe the easy way (50% of all living creatures annihilated) or the hard way (100% gone, starting from scratch).

But Marvel has given me so much great entertainment to look forward to.  Ever since I graduated high school, it’s been the May or November of each year, what’s Marvel putting out next? And it’s gonna be tough not expecting an Avengers film anymore, but I’ll be here for the new build up of superheroes, supporting Black Panther still of course as well.  I will miss the Cap thirst, wardrobe really did their part in this one with the Black sweater, the grey Henley, the yeehaw outfit previously mentioned and EVERY CAP UNIFORM HE HAS WORN!  I love this fucking fandom.  

And now I just wonder where past Gamora went, because she came to the present and “present” Gamora died at Vormir so we have a Gamora alive now but she went MIA, or did she get snapped back when Tony snapped all the henchmen back?  Thor at the end joins the GOTG  or Asgardians of the Galaxy, so I can’t wait to see how they fair in I assume GOTG 3.  How will Falcon do as the new Cap?  What does Bucky do now??  He was the original ride or die for Cap until he became Winter Soldier, but Cap was very forgiving of him in all that.  Yet, his closure seems open for anything, he got no special stuff in the end so maybe more for him?  How is Spiderman and the whole teenage snap population going back to school when it is five years in the future but they are the same age?  Where did Valkyrie keep her Pegasus this entire time?  When Cap went back to Vormir, what was his reunion with Red Skull like?  And what did Thanos do with the stones before they were destroyed?  They said he used them again and that’s how they found him at the beginning but on what? Answer these questions for me please!  

If you made it this far, I love ya 3000 and I owe you cheeseburgers (oh God TONY!!!)