#if he was a real guy id shoot him in the back of the head execution style

[crunchsomebones]

Ohhhh manga knives you are so fucking slimy you need to be put down like a rabid dog immediately I love you so much please kill yourself

[daddychi-01]

Batman Headcanon

Give me a 9 or 10-year-old Dick Grayson who has been Robin for a little bit but is still figuring out his relationship with Bruce Wayne. They are more than a guardian and his ward but not quite yet father and son. They both want that but neither of them have gotten up the courage to say it.

Now give me a hostage situation, during some kind of gala or charity event for the school. One where a lot of rich people and their rich kids are present so it’s very important for Bruce and Dick to be selling the whole secret ID thing, so they have to looking just as pathetic and scared as the other people around them.

The bad guys immediately recognize Bruce Wayne and his brat, and they pull Dick away from Bruce. They threaten Dick’s life, saying that Bruce better cooperate or he’ll have to find a new orphan to to take care of, not like it would be a problem since Gotham has so many.

Dick thinks the fear in Bruce’s eyes is an act. That’s not just Bruce after all, it’s Batman. The Dark Knight. He’s literally not allowed to be afraid, so that look can’t be real.

But it is.

Bruce hasn’t been this terrified since the night he lost his parents. His heart is racing and he has to physically push down a panic attack because that isn’t going to save Dick right now. He doesn’t know what to do. He can’t fight these people, not when he is Bruce Wayne. Without the cape and cowl, he has to be a helpless playboy.

So he does the only thing he can think of: he begs.

Bruce Wayne drops to his knees and he pleads with the masked goons to spare Dick’s life. He’s just a boy. A boy who has already lived through enough trauma. Bruce understands if these people hate him and if they want to hurt him instead, that’s fine. But he begs them not to hurt Dick.

He promises to give them anything. They can have his fortune, his life, whatever they want. Just spare Dick. That’s all he asks.

And a masked woman steps forward, leaning down in front of Bruce with what he knows is a sick smirk. The air around them thins and Dick feels himself shiver fifteen feet away. He hadn’t been expecting Bruce to say any of those things. Sure they were close, they had to be as the Dynamic Duo. But he thought after his parents died, there wouldn’t be another adult who would speak about him like that.

That would care enough to swallow their pride and beg, just for him.

Dick’s ears perk up when he hears the woman speak.

“Anything?” She asks. She sounds delighted, almost like she had won some sort of bet at a bar and not that she was leading a hostage situation.

“Anything.” Bruce confirms.

“Okay.” She stands, pointing her gun in Dick’s general direction. “I want your Mommy’s pearls.”

Bruce’s body freezes in shock.

Dick closes his eyes now resigned. Bruce may have been willing to say he would give anything but those were just words. It was one thing to say it, it was entirely different to actually do it. And Martha Wayne’s pearls were too high a price.

Dick can’t blame Bruce either. He imagined being asked to give up his mother’s wedding ring and felt his stomach turn. No, he wouldn’t begrudge Bruce for changing his mind—

“Done.”

Dick’s head shoots up, eyes wide with surprise. He had to have misheard. Bruce didn’t. He wouldn’t…

“Give me a phone. I’ll call my Butler and he will bring them here.”

And Dick cries. Not because someone is holding him hostage, he doesn’t care about that, but because a wave of realization crashes down onto him with an unforgiving strength.

He isn’t an orphan anymore. He has a dad. Bruce loves him.

Bruce ends up calling Alfred and Alfred, being the badass that he is, gives the Gotham PD a heads up but drives there anyway just so he can sucker punch the woman who demanded his late mistress’s pearls just to psychologically torture his son while holding his grandson hostage.

He then takes the pair home. There’s a small tin of cookies in the back for them to share on the drive back.

[thiefof-trefl]

So I haven't seen anyone compare the (alleged) UHC Shooter to Rodion Rascolnikov, and maybe I'm delusional but that's all I can think about every time new info is released.

Ok so it started when I saw this post

And told my friend "wouldn't it be funny if he saw the og post and it was the last straw? Like when Rascolnikov went to that bar in the beginning of the book and heard other people complaining about that usurer?"

Then I started really thinking about it and maybe I'm doing too much and they're not that similar but this is Tumblr, hear me out:

1. They're hot. Seems silly but being attractive can really change how public views you. Characters in the book often acknowledge Rodion's good looks while being very open and revealing in conversations with him. And sure Tumblr would probably be thirsting after "the Adjuster" even if he weren't conventionally attractive, but the overall public perception of him was greatly positive and I believe it is also due to the halo effect.

2. Personal feelings covered by ideology. I'm not saying the shooting was purely selfish. It had a great impact on the industry and was something many thank him for. But from what we know Mr Luigi had a major back surgery and suffered from back pain. It is very possible his own experience with the healthcare and Insurance industry was what first pushed him to see it as a problem. Rascolnikov struggled financially and kept on borrowing from the usurer leaving every valuable thing in his possession as pledge. His resentment towards her and his own circumstances was converted into an ideology about people superior and people lesser, which validated his decision to murder her.

3. Masterplan and stupid decisions. It's easy to see how brilliant the execution of the assassination was. The place, the timing, the escape. He even managed to leave New York during the manhunt. But there were missteps along the way. Going to Starbucks, flirting with the hostess, reusing the fake id, wearing the same clothes. Dumb little things that could be written off to both stress and arrogance. Reminds me of silly mistakes Rascolnikov did after murder. Dropping a jewellery box on the way out, keeping the bloodied sock, coming back to the murder scene. But that's where I also see a big difference. While Rodion was overcome with paranoia and fear, I suspect (just an educated guess, I don't know him personally) that our Shooter might have felt too... Proud of himself? The assassination succeeded, he escaped the police, left the state and the public at large loves him! I know it would make me feel invincible.

4. Game of cat and mouse. This one's not as big, just a small similarity. They both mock the police. Rascolnikov during in person conversations and the Adjuster by leaving the backpack full of monopoly money. Hilarious in both cases.

And finally

5. Letting the police catch them. It's just a theory, not really backed up by anything other than conjectures, but I can see why it might be true. Rodion Rascolnikov tired of constant paranoia and guilt driving him crazy goes to the police and confesses to murder. The alleged UHC CEO Shooter Luigi Mangione was arrested after being recognised by a McDonald's customer. He was wearing the exact same get up as during the shooting. And though he used a fake id at first he then admitted his real name. One might think he gave up. It's disappointing but I can't blame him if that was his decision. Living on the run is exhausting. In just two days he had already left so many traces and clues. And he killed a rich guy at that, which we all know is not the same as killing a normal person. The family and police would spare no resources to find him and it would go on for a long time. Years of fear and hiding- that's no life. Right now we can only hope the evidence will be found insufficient and he won't get convinced.

So yeah, had to get it out of my head. Sorry for any mistakes and words used in a wrong way, translating long thoughts into English isn as easy as I thought.

Please, please, please let me know what you think, does it make sense or am I crazy?

[terrence-silver]

poly john and terry who acts like kids by triggering each other’s ptsd because of a argument then both seeking beloved’s comfort.

Something tells me Terry Silver and John Kreese don't believe in triggers.

What? These guys right here?

Yeah, no.

Part of me feels they don't even necessarily believe in PTSD in the classical sense either, even though they both clearly have it in abundance; that they (especially John) might very well think it's a bunch of weakling wimp snowflake New Age nonsense people made up to justify their own weaknesses, hang ups and inadequacies and that 'back in the day' people pulled themselves up by the bootstraps. That people pulling themselves up by the bootstraps is what provided the backbone of this great, big country. Bootstraps are what make a soldier a soldier. That a real warrior doesn't complain even if something hurts. That a real man doesn't, in fact. Does pain even exist? Not in this dojo, it doesn't! Make no mistake, Terry Silver believes in this to the very core of his being just as much as John Kreese does, seeing as how they're both people born somewhere in the midcentury and have a midcentury mentality embedded into the very fiber of their beings, so if they're here 'triggering each other's PTSD' from their own point of view, it could be just them hazing each other and shooting the breeze for old times sake. Boys will be boys. They see no fault in it. It's harmless from where they're standing. (Although, God help anyone from beyond of their sphere who tries doing the same to either of them; the vengeance will be swift and fierce. It could be done over something as miniscule as someone merely looking at either of them the wrong way even though they might have done much worse to each other. They can. Others cannot.) They see it as bonding. All of these things are bonding to them. They might be outright laughing and cackling like hyenas while they're doing it and anyone looking in from an outside perspective might just see two men ---- two old friends ---- hanging out, having an awfully good time. And they are. They truly are. They are very much like rumbunctious, happy, hyper kids.

That's the thing about trauma; often times, you don't even know you have it.

Often times, you might even get angry if someone suggests you do.

Hey, for all Terry's concerned, especially in the 80's, he returned from Vietnam trauma-free! He left that crap behind! That crap don't affect him! He only ever references war as hell when it's time to play pretense and deliberately garner sympathy from Mr. Miyagi and Daniel, almost like he's parodying the notion of war being hell and he's only the verge of bursting into laughter the whole time. Might as well be a joke to him, because it is a joke to him. He believes himself above it, in ways. He's untouchable! There's ego there. He's a businessman, a Billionaire, entrepreneurial, charming and perfectly well adjusted and I figure it's only until he actually went to therapy decades later that it was the first time in his life he's actually heard from someone else's mouth that he isn't doing okay and never was doing okay. It just never crossed his mind before that he was anything but an immaculate diamond.

For all John's concerned, on the other hand? Someone merely suggesting there's something the matter with him might downright earn you a death stare at best, because it harkens back to all the times someone referenced his mentally unwell mother as a negative and every time he's heard someone calling veterans unstable in the years since returning from Vietnam --- every time John scoffed at the notion as the stupidest and probably most offensively pathetic thing he's ever heard in his whole goddamn life. What did you just say to him? You implying he's sick in the head or something? That he's damaged? Him!? That he doesn't know his own mind inside out better than anyone else? If anything, he's tougher than most people out there! Stronger! Smarter. He's a survivor! You're an idiot and you don't know what you're taking about and you should go back to Pansyville at Cry me a river street where you belong.

You whiny primadonna, you.

Meaning that by the time they come to their shared beloved for comfort, they merely see it as them doing what all men are supposed to do; what all men do in general --- return to their loved one to be with them. They don't see it as them being weak and needing to be 'helped' in any sort of way, even though they do. They don't see themselves as triggered or unstable. In pain. Upset. Sad. That grip of fingers they have around beloved? Why, it's always been that firm and needy. They don't need a life raft. What makes you think that? They had a fantastic day and they laughed like crazy. In fact, they might be laughing still, eyes all shimmery and shiny with mirth, all while embracing beloved collectively, unsure why they'd think something as silly and as untrue as them being raw about something.

[stabbyfoxandrew]

#14's Past

I finally got over the cringe so here I am with OC stuff again! If you remember, we left off with Fay joining the mob. If you haven't read Introducing #14!, you should probably go do that and meet my little guy before you read this. :)

Solo:

After working for the Butlers (Marcus' family) for a while, Fay garners quite the reputation. He handles pressure well. He's smart and quick on his feet. Though he hasn’t got a driver’s license, he’s a hell of a wheel man. He also does just as he's told and knows how to keep things under his hat. After Big Marcus (Marcus’s dad) insists on teaching him to shoot, they learn he's a crack shot. With such great qualifications, he ends up becoming a gun for hire. A freelance assassin, if you will. 

So he bounces around the country working for a lot of horrible people and becoming one himself. He goes by Ghost on the job— because he’s nineteen and thinks it sounds cool. (Loser. /affectionate.) His occupation gets his name out on various and numerous hit lists. Of course it's never his real name. No. He holds Aaron Farris close to his chest. No one but his ex teammates and the Butlers know him by that name.

Speaking of names, he's got plenty of them. A dozen aliases, carefully crafted by Big Marcus, kept stashed away in a binder. Every page details a different persona. He's got IDs tucked inside as well as reminders of how they act, speak, dress, etc. And the contacts he has for each of them. He's a very organized motherfucker. And he keeps this well guarded. It's his entire life. Or, lives. 

Swapping into a different persona is easy. Sometimes too easy. But it pays well. He can slap on a new accent and change his clothes and it’s like he was never there in the first place.

Familia: 

After a while, Fay hangs up his Ghost persona and starts doing other mob work. In doing so, he ends up earning himself a spot under Tony DiAngelo, eventually becoming his right hand man. Tony grows to think of him as a son, calls him Luka. (“Ya know. That’s what I woulda named my son, if I had one.”) Fay stays in Los Angeles for over a year, working for one of the biggest players on the west coast. 

Until the feds catch up to Tony and raid his building. He and Fay are in his office, in the penthouse when one of his sentinels comes to warn him. Tony tells Fay to take the fire escape and run. Fay doesn’t want to, but Tony tells him he’s ‘too goddamn young’ to get caught up in this. Tony pushes his wallet into Fay’s hands and tells him to get the fuck out or Tony will shoot his ass. (“You wouldn’t.”/ “I’d rather kill you than drag you to prison with me.”) So Fay flees down the fire escape, feeling like a traitor.

With his life ripped out from under him yet again, Fay sees no other alternative. He goes back to what he thinks he’s best at. Being quick and quiet, unknown. He becomes Ghost again and writes letters to his imprisoned father figure. He never gives details, just lets him know he’s alive. Signs them all 'Luka DiAngelo', a boy who never existed.

Settling Down:

By 22, Fay is tired.

He’s killed more people in the past year than he's spoken to. He's got no real friends left, only contacts. No family, only employers. He's been living out of seedy motels and storage units. He's got no stability, no one to depend on. And... He's starting to imagine things, hearing and seeing things that aren’t there. Haha. The pressure must be getting to him... 😅😬

One night after a job goes wrong in North Carolina, turns out killing a senator is pretty tricky, he hauls ass out of there and heads South. He gets as far as Columbia, SC, before running out of gas. That's when he coasts into a hotel parking lot and gets himself a room. He's scared to death and shaking, afraid he's been followed. That they're going to find him. That the man who hired him is going to kill him for failing. After sitting and watching the window all night, he decides he has to get out of this business. He has to. Before he cracks up completely.

After a few days of trying to decide what to do, he hears that Kevin Day is officially playing striker for the Foxes. If he could get a new start after his world fell apart, maybe Fay could do the same. After all, the university is so close. And he’s got money saved up. And it would be fun to watch Kevin play… So he makes a call to Big Marcus, asks him for a favor. Once he receives his new identification papers in the mail, he applies and gets accepted.

Okay! That's all for his past, unless anyone wants to know anything specific. Next post we'll be seeing Fay at PSU, perhaps meeting the Foxes... Also if you have any questions about this loser from my mind, please send me an ask. I will be so happy to talk about him!

fay's friends: @joanofexys @ordei @themundanemudperson @felixvanhuss (if you'd like to be tagged next time, let me know! and if you don't wanna be tagged anymore, let me know.)

[dc-polls]

"That Really Happened?!" DC Comics Tournament Entry #5

Superman's Sentient Excised Tumor with Daddy Issues

[ID: A comic image of Kancer, a giant inhuman monster looking creature with a long head like the alien queen, wrapping his tail around Superman's torso. He has many green spikes that resemble kryptonite crystals coming out of his back and tail, and he has a lot of green dots on his body that are either eyes or glowing orbs. Superman shoots him with laser vision. /END ID]

What Happened?

A villain (Pokolistan Zod) enacted a complicated scheme to give superman a tumor. He had a tumor, and was almost dying until Superfam excised it from him. However, Zod took the tumor and used science to turn it into a sentient creature called Kancer, who then started mass murdering people to get Superman's attention. He calls Superman "Father" all the time and feels close to him because he came from him literally (aside: We also see the villain literally looking at Kancer's growth tank and saying "congratulations, Superman, we're fathers..." Everyone says that Kon El with his retconned story is Lex and Superman's canonical baby but they ignore Superman and Pokolistan Zod's first canonical baby???) Anyway. Kancer offers to become Superman's pet (?) and stop killing people if Superman kills Krypto, his dog, to give him a space (and prove he's important). Kancer at some point reveals he knows Superman is Clark Kent, due to having been literally growing inside him, and is debating telling Zod his secret identity and will if he is rejected. Clark angsts about this, and Kancer goes to Pokolistan where aside: Guy Gardner has been repeatedly killed and mutated until he's lord of hell due to crossover events from OWAW. Guy tells superman he has to take his place in Hell or something bad will happen. Superman doesn't want anyone to die or go to hell but agrees because reasons. Krypto tries to kill Kancer and Superman stops him (Krypto) which inadvertently convinces Kancer Superman loves him for real and he takes GUy's place in Hell to save Superman. Guy is non-plussed about this and says he was going to hell anyway because he killed so many people but also he was a literal baby how was he supposed to know murder was wrong? Anyway, I don't think anyone had "Superman's sentient tumor with daddy issues becomes a serial killer and sacrifices himself in Hell" on their DC bingo card. Also this was all main canon and not an AU, with Clark Kent Superman.

--

Tournament polls will be posted after all entries are up. As always you can find all posts related to the tournament using #dc-polls-trh

[writtenx]

Finding You - azngami

(part 1)

Hey guys!!! This is my first fanfic on Ryan, it will be in parts. I'm a somewhat new, but like re-new star if that makes sense. I knew of NSB (Ryan first) in 2022 and then there was like this random fallout, but we backkk and better than ever!

The idea for this fic just randomly came to me. I kind of imagine this as like black haired long hair Ryan, so an example would be like, how he looked in the "Opening ALL OF YOUR GIFTS From Tour" video, like the most recent one he did from that series. (There's the picture by the title of what I imagine the hair to look for this, but you can imagine him however you like to)

Just some warnings before we begin:

1. I don't write smut at all. I'm not comfortable writing it so this fanfic but also all my works will not have smut in it, you're never gonna find it here!

2. I don't cuss. But I know the guys do a lot lol, and so for this, there are words there, but i put this sign: (') in replacement for some letters, but it's enough for you all to still get what I'm trying to say. An example would be "No b'tches"- you see?? It's not that bad

3. This fanfic is in "You" pov. No y/n or anything like that, just you. But it is a split Pov between you and Ryan, but for Ryan's it will be in 3rd person. So this fic is 2nd and 3rd person.

I hope you enjoy this ahhhh I'm so excited and we'll keep updating parts as we go along!!

Happy reading!!! <3333

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

It was a super foggy day out, your favorite type of weather. You were currently getting out of your car, glancing at your handwritten grocery list. This may have been an unpopular opinion, but you loved errand day. Of course, not at the expense of overly priced items that you sometimes complained about in your head but bought anyway, but more so the taking off part. You liked to think about when you were a kid and going with your parents, eyeing everything a shop could offer while your mom would constantly look back from the aisles to the list in her hand. Now at 23, you were the one becoming an adult, doing all the things necessary but being responsible.

Your younger sister Diana who was two years younger than you, knew your love for the going to get groceries, so she left that for you to do, while she would wait for you to come back and make dinner. You appreciated that, because you didn't cook much. Even if there were days you wanted to help your sister out, she would kick you out of the kitchen (quite literally, if you were honest).

Speaking of your sister...

Your phone started ringing just as you were walking to the local Whole Foods not far from your house when you looked at the caller ID and then pressed talk, putting your phone to your ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, while you're out there can you get onions real quick? We don't have any left."

You did a quick scan down your paper as you walked, looking for what you thought you had written. You were right, it turned out. You did remember the onions.

"Yeah, I have it on my list."

"And-"

"Garlic's on there too, don't worry." You interrupted. You knew your sister by now.

Diana paused abruptly, the silence on the other end of the phone concluding your assumption that she was about to say garlic.

"Well shoot, that's about it. Thanks."

You chuckled and then said your goodbyes before hanging up. Then you walked in to the store.

The cold of the store ran a shiver through your back and you folded your arms over your shoulder walking in. You grabbed a small cart because you weren't getting a lot of items, and then you started your shopping.

Everything was great. You were finding everything that you needed from the list, and tossed a treat-yourself snack in the cart. You did have a habit of treating yourself even when there was no great reason or it.

After a good ten minutes of covering the list, it was by the time you were wrapping up that you realized you needed to go to the produce section once more to get some basil. As you walked back to the fresh green area, you spotted just one guy at the produce section.

He wore all black, the hood of his hoodie over his head, but there were black strands by the sides of his face. He also had silver headphones on his hood (however that worked). He wore glasses and a dog tag necklace over his black shirt. He stood, hands in his pocket, and was completely unbothered eyeing the Bok Choy. Of course, you weren't trying to stare at the lone guy, but he did stop you in a somewhat trance. He looked like he could model, and had pretty features, and seeing him almost reminded you of a guy you used to like in high school named Ryan.

Ryan was a smart and attentive guy, but very too himself and quiet (which was exactly your type). The two of you would talk if you had a project together or to compare test answers, and you'd see him some weekends at the recreational center he'd volunteer for as coaching the basketball team that your little cousin was a part of. (Which was the CUTEST thing ever). You often wondered how Ryan was now, since last you heard he left for LA. You didn't have any social media and you both weren't the closest people in high school so the years had passed and the only thing you could do was wish him well wherever he was.

You couldn't help but look back at the guy in the store. He reminded you so much of Ryan. As you went back to your own grocery shopping, there were thrown looks back and forth between the greens and the guy. At one point as he walked over to get a plastic bag which was near where you were, he looked over at you and your eyes locked.

You couldn't look away, now that you were both looking at each other. You should've probably looked away, but for some strange reason you couldn't.

The corner of his lip lifted in a small and awkward half smile before he continued his shopping, passing you by. You smiled back, shyly and then grabbed the basil you needed before bolting out the store. In your errands routine, the chances of running into someone cute never happened, so you weren't going to forget this.

Especially if he looked like that guy you really liked back in high school.

...

By the time you got home, you were greeted by the sound of Diana's loud singing. She did that usually over music, but this time it was in the air. She was a silly person, never took too much seriously and you admired her for it.

"Hello!" You called, placing the grocery bags on the floor.

"When it comes to you, there's no criiiiiime!"

You made a face. "Hello? Diana?"

"Let's take both of our souls and intertwiiiine!" Before you could say anything else, your younger sister Diana emerged from the kitchen, holding up a wooden spoon like it was a microphone.

"When it comes to you," She pointed over at you, making her way towards where you were. You laughed and shook your head as Diana danced to the grocery bags, picking them up while still managing to sing a Justin Bieber throwback.

"Don't be blind, let me speak from my heart when it..." Diana looked up at you and gave a look, holding the silverware microphone to you face.

You rolled your eyes. This happened every day.

"C'mon, you gotta sing it, all of MSG is waiting!" Diana joked, gesturing to the audience members.

You laughed. "Oh, is that where we are now?"

Diana laughed with you and the two of you headed to the kitchen, the song dispelling its echoes into thin air.

"Thanks for getting the groceries. I think it's spaghetti today." Diana said. You followed her to the counter, unpacking.

"No worries. You know errands stops are my favorite."

"And I'll never understand why. Seriously, you're quieter than me. What part of going out to shop makes you happy to indulge in?" Diana asked.

You shrugged, trying to think of the question. "I don't know. It's my own time even if it's surrounded by people. If that makes sense. I don't know, you'd think you'd like it, you're all outgoing and everything." You said.

Diana scoffed. "Yeah, that's the problem. I can't even go to Whole Foods without being recognized. Some days I don't want to be social. Plus, it can be a chore." She said.

You nodded, understanding where she was coming from. It did make sense. You could see where Diana and even your parents were coming from, and even though they didn't understand your joy, they left you with that responsibility.

You clapped your hands as you remembered your time just spent looking into a beautiful stranger's eyes.

"Oh! Speaking of Whole Foods, I have to tell you something." You said.

Your sister was eyeing the basil, tilting her head to the side. You at first were scared, hoping that it was the right thing, but then was relieved to see her place it on the counter and turn to the other items to examine.

"What's up?"

"I saw this really cute guy at the store," You started.

Diana flashed a proud smile as she checked the ingredients. "Okay, okayyyy"

You started to feel yourself blushing.

"Chill, nothing happened." You needed to clarify. That was your sister. She always hyped up the littlest things making them seem bigger than what they actually were.

"But while we were in the produce section, I was grabbing basil and he was getting I think some Bok Choy, and as we were passing by, he smiled at me and it was so cute." You said, allowing the girlhood of yourself to bask in delusion that it was a big deal. Only for a second though.

"Okayyy!! Cute!!" Diana exclaimed as she was put everything from the bags away. She was very good and indulging in conversation at the same time be in the zone when it came to cooking.

"But the thing is..." You started, thinking back to the black haired beauty in the produce aisle.

"He reminds me so much of- do you remember Ryan, that guy I liked all of high school?" You asked, turning to look at your sister.

She set her tomato paste can down and looked up at the ceiling in thought. Then she nodded.

"He was like, what, really smart, kinda cute but in like a nerdy way? Glasses? Quiet guy Ryan?"

You nodded. That sounded like your lover alright. (Well, unrequited lover anyway).

"Yeah, I remember you were obsessed with that dude." Diana said.

That caused you to smile shyly. "Yeah, then after graduation he moved to LA and that was the last time I saw him. And, with no social media, it's not like I can find him either." You muttered the last sentence to yourself.

Diana chuckled. "You made that decision."

"I know. And it's a good one, I don't regret that." You said as you walked over to the small table-for-two by the corner. You sat in one of the chairs, fully aware that you would be ranting to your sister in the middle of a cooking session.

You sighed. "I guess for these past five years, crushes would come and go, whatever, but...he would always be in the back of my mind. I just wondered what it would be like if I was to see him again." You spoke your mind.

Diana nodded and hummed. Her back was to you as she started her work, but she was listening.

"But...the guy that I saw at Whole Foods today, he reminded me so much of Ryan. But he looks different, they're not the same guy, he just...just looking at him to me back to a place that made me extremely happy and nostalgic." You said.

"Aww. Maybe it's Ryan's twin brother?" Diana suggested.

You shook your head. "Hello? Obsessive, remember? If Ryan had a pet dog I would've found out the name, origin, favorites snacks and everything else. I think I would know if he had a twin brother."

"Sooooo maybe it was Ryan is what I'm hearing?"

You groaned. "Ugh. Imagine."

You shook your head and gave a small smile. "I'm gonna go upstairs and change. Be right back."

"Okay! See yaaaa!" Diana waved to you and you waved back before going up the stairs.

When you got to your room you made a beeline straight for your dresser. You searched until you found your senior yeearbook, flipping through the pages where everyone signed. And then looking at Ryan's message you smiled, the feeling of how it was receiving his short but sweet well wishes coming back to you just like it was for the first time.

i'm gonna miss science and math class with you, thank you for all the memories :)

wishing you all the best in university and beyond!

- ryan

Then you went through the yearbook, taking a walk down memory lane of your life five years ago. Occasionally in the sports section, you saw pictures of Ryan, and when you got to the graduation photos, he was there too. It was just like you remembered. He was cute and pretty, but for some strange reason, his eyes reminded you of that guy in Whole Foods.

Your mind went back and forth. It wasn't like it absolutely couldn't happen at all. Sure, Ryan moved to LA and that was the last you heard of him, but maybe he was back in town for family or something else.

But when were you so lucky in life, that you got a chance to see your really serious crush five years later? Did that really happen in life?

Even then, it didn't really matter, considering the fact that you didn't speak to him. So, it probably wasn't him to begin with.

You looked back down at the Ryan's graduation photo in your yearbook. He kind of shared the same features. You didn't have time to make out all of his face, but there was something similar. You just didn't know.

Was that or was that not Ryan Nguyen from high school?

....

~ Ryan ~

It never bothered Ryan to walk into a house filled with cameras.

It became second nature. He had been in this house for 3 years now, and where bills needed to be paid, content needed to be made. There was only one problem with that.

To walk into a house with cameras meant that there was always the risk of being in them. Ryan was usually caught off guard and gave this low hating-everyone vibe that the stars were accustomed to and grown to love. There were people who made videos like "Ryan being done with NSB for 6 minutes" on YouTube, or little moments that could be used for a short or tiktok. They were used to his nonchalant tone. He read a comment last week where some stars crowned him their "Side-Eyed King".

Normally, he wouldn't have minded. Ryan would be more concerned if he didn't walk into a noisy house filled with laughs or arguments across the room. He just wished that there would be a slight freedom in this moment as he stepped inside, where he could just slip into his room and stay there for the rest of the day without interruptions.

But that freedom wasn't for today.

It was Sebastian that greeted him first, and Ryan looked right into the lens, trying hard not to look obvious that something was actually wrong. Recording meant vlogging (or pranking, whichever one in this house), and either or meant editing, and then editing meant posting. For the eyes of the public.

"Well, look who it is. If it isn't, the real Azngami! How you doing, sexy sir?" Seb stated, coming right at him.

Ryan averted his eyes to the ground. Even if it was a normal day, there would still be the expectation of the weird look. Which Ryan gave.

"What do you want, man?" Ryan finally asked, his voice dropping low.

"Nothing, just..." Seb laughed as he pointed the camera to Ryan's grocery bags.

"It was Ryan's turn to get the groceries." He told the internet. "I'm actually surprised you did it." Seb said.

Ryan narrowed his eyes as Seb laughed, bringing the camera back to Ryan's face.

"What, like I've never bought my own groceries before? Get lost, dude." Ryan started to walk away from the camera. "I ain't never seen your broke 'ss buy a f'ckin vegetable bro, I know you not talkin'".

"C'mon, why you gotta be mean? Look, I'll take the groceries for you." Seb reached over while holding up the camera.

"See guys?" Seb talked to the frame. "I'm a very nice, very demure person." He said.

Ryan closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. "What is this, yo? Try not to cringe for 24 hours?" He asked.

Seb stuck his bottom lip out to the camera and pouted as he placed his free hand on his heart. "You wound me, Ryan. You wound me. And here I thought you actually had a heart." He said.

Ryan stood with his hands in his pockets for a second, just looking at Seb. When Seb noticed Ryan wasn't giving a big reaction, he turned back and looked over at Ryan, laughing.

"Dude, what's wrong?" He asked.

"What do you want from me? Go bother Darren, dude." Ryan requested.

"Dude I already did!"

"Okay, so go down the list. There's 6 other people in this group so...I'm going to my room. And take the groceries out of the bag please instead of just leaving them on the counter!" Ryan called, turning his back on Seb and walked towards his room.

He didn't really care if Seb caught that all on camera, or would even post it. For some strange reason, everyone found Ryan's moods to be funny and relatable.

But when Oliver heard the commotion from the living room, he waited until Ryan was in his room before walking over.

..

Ryan's door was closed, of course. If he had it his way, he'd have his door locked. But there were no locks in the house and Ryan had to suffer for it. At least right now, he could suffer in peace. Though it wasn't really suffering. Today wasn't the worst day in the world.

No, today just happened to be the day where he saw a girl he thought he would never see again.

You.

You burned in his mind like something hot, and even though it had been years, the feeling was the same. How you grew, with your beautiful eyes and shy smile. Ryan wondered if you knew that it was him, but probably not. You both haven't spoken in a long time. Last Ryan checked, you didn't even have any socials.

Ryan scratched his head and then grabbed his phone as he sat on the edge of his bed. He knew this was quite childish, but there he was entering your name on the search bar. He tried your first and last name, then Minnesota, but that brought him to other people. Why did so many people share your name, anyway?

There was a knock on the door and Ryan sighed.

"What?"

"Ryan, it's me Oli, can I come in?"

Ryan paused. At least it wasn't Darren.

Ryan ran fingers through his hair and then leaned back in his seat, staring at the wall in front of him.

"Yeah."

The door opened slowly and Ryan saw in the corner of his eye that Oli emerged. He stayed by the door, but closed it behind him.

"Hey, I couldn't help but notice you and Seb. Was wondering if everything's alright." Oli spoke.

"I meaaannn..." Ryan's voice trailed in thought as he looked at Oli. Then he shrugged.

"It's cool. Just some stuff happening at Whole Foods, bro." Ryan answered, his gaze now zeroed in on his PC set.

"What kinda stuff? Do you wanna talk about it?" Oliver asked.

To be fair, Ryan didn't want to talk about it. Not fully. But, there was a small part of him deep down that knew that if anyone genuinely cared enough, it was Oliver. He didn't want to add onto stress, so Ryan figured he would just say it bluntly.

"It's nothing big man, I just bumped into someone who I may have had feelings for in high school. I don't think she recognized me though. I was going to say hi, but then...I don't know, I just backed off."

Oliver nodded. "Do you regret not talking to her?"

Ryan shrugged. "I mean, it's not bothering me so much, but I mean...maybe. I haven't seen her in like, five years. I would have liked to maybe catch up with each other but that's not happening." He said.

Oliver stood for a few seconds to himself. Then after a few seconds he looked back at Ryan.

"Have you tried looking for her? Like on IG, Tiktok, anything?"

"Nah, she doesn't have social media. I've been trying to just Google her, but that's not getting me anywhere." Ryan said.

Oli pulled out his phone. "What's her name?" He asked.

"What's whose name?" The door suddenly opened and the rest of the guys came in. All except for Seb who was hopefully getting the groceries unpacked, and Reggie, who was probably sleeping.

Ryan closed his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing. Never in any way would he be telling all of them what was happening.

"You've gotta be freakin kidding me." Ryan said under his breath. When he looked up, seeing Darren, Justin, and Kane in view made him want to punch something. But Ryan didn't. He just remained as calm as he could try.

"Ain't y'all got your own rooms and sh't, the f'ck you gotta be in mine for?" Ryan said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, watch who you're speaking to." Justin said with a laugh.

"Ryan, take deep breaths." Kane suggested, recreating some type of yoga pose.

"See? This is exactly what I'm talking about bro, you're so ungrateful. We literally all came together to check up on you, and this is how you treat us." Darren said, moving over to try and sling his arm on Ryan, but Ryan stood up immediately and walked to the corner of the room.

"Don't touch me."

"We decided to come here, y'know, be here for you, and look at you. You're acting up." Darren said.

"So ungrateful, Ryan." Justin retorted.

Ryan could feel annoyance coming on. Actually, he's been annoyed on his drive to the house.

"Okay, so then leave, hello? No one asked you to come over". He sassed.

"No, see, I'm not like you Ryan. Despite the need to hate on my fellow brother, I would never leave them in a time of need. You need us." Darren said (or more like gaslight- Justin's been influencing him).

Oh. My. Gosh. I can never win in this household, Ryan thought.

"Ryan, we're not trying to bother you, Seb just said that you were crankier than usual. If you need your alone time, we can go, we just wanted to let you know that we're here for you no matter what it is. Okay?" Kane finally broke the ice.

Ryan didn't say anything for a few seconds. He was acting like this was a huge deal even though it wasn't worth anything hating the boys for. He would never let a girl come between the brotherhood he formed with these crazy bunch these last three years.

The thing was, Ryan didn't owe them the story, but he didn't want to place this as such a high thing. He wasn't meant to talk to you, he guessed. That was all.

So Ryan ended up talking to the boys about the situation and how frustrated he got because of it. He listened to their opinions and advice, which all sort of tallied towards trying to find anything of you and reaching out, or just letting it go entirely. And that's what Ryan said he would do.

It was later in the night when Ryan sat next to Justin and Darren who, yes, had overstayed their welcome in his room, but luckily they were both kind of doing their own thing and wasn't bothering Ryan as much.

Ryan laid down at the side of the bed going on instagram, when a thought just entered his mind. He remember that you had a sister named Diana and quickly searched her up on instagram. The first two people were not her at all, he could tell, but the third profile made Ryan sit up in his seat. As he clicked on her page, he felt like thanking God that it was public. And he was even more thankful when he saw one of her recent posts being a birthday post about you.

Ryan smiled as he carefully clicked on the picture, not wanting to like it or do anything that would notify on your sister's phone. And this picture was a few months ago.

You were in a park, right under a tree, smiling at the camera. There was collection photos of you with different poses, and then the last photo being a selfie with Diana and you. You were so pretty in Ryan's eyes. Definitely grown into a woman. He wondered how the last five years have been for you and what you were doing now.

"Yo, did you see the video I sent you?" Darren broke the silence in the room, Ryan almost forgot they were still there.

Because Darren and Justin were sitting closed to each other, Ryan just assumed Darren was talking to Justin.

"Me or Ryan?" Justin asked slowly.

Ryan didn't say anything as he scrolled through Diana's page, finding you every so often. That was until he felt a kick in his back. Ryan's head shot up quickly.

"What are you doing?" He interrogated Darren.

"Dude, I sent you a video, look at it!"

Ryan looked back on his phone. "I'll watch, just give me a second."

"No, watch it now!" Darren said with a smile. When Ryan gave a death glare at him, Darren rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, baby. Is there something more important than me?" He asked.

Ryan wished for the day when Darren talked to him without referring to him as his baby for once. It made Ryan feel weird but mostly annoyed.

"Yes, there are a lot of things more important than what you send me." Ryan said.

At that, Justin's head shot up from where he rested by the pillows. "Like what? You're all blushing and sh't, what are you looking at?"

Darren started to go over to where Ryan was sitting, trying to reach for his phone. "Is it that Whole Foods high school crush? Did you find her?"

Ryan smacked Darren's hand away and moved his phone out of reach before Darren could see anything.

"Dude, don't f'king touch my sh't, yo."

Justin laughed. "Oh, it's definitely her. He found her." Justin sat up. Ryan backed away and stood up before the two of them could have a chance.

"Can you guys just get out of my room? Like, Oli and Kane left a long time ago, why don't you leave?"

"Relax, peanut." Darren said.

"I don't know bruh, I kinda like this bed." Justin said, fully lying back down again.

"Okay," Ryan set his phone down on the counter. "Enough of this sh't-"

Before Darren and Justin could blink, they were both dragged and kicked out of the room. To Ryan's surprise, they didn't come back to bother him for the rest of the night.

Ryan stayed looking at more pictures, the feeling of memories coming in to warm him. He didn't stay long however, as the content of his find allowed him to crash into a deep sleep.

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

Thank you for reading this chapterrr<333

....

[themaiden05]

Fate ( part 2)

pairing : kartik aaran x fem reader

part1 ; https://www.tumblr.com/themaiden05/714953202326437888/fate-part-1?source=share

kartik couldn't stop thinking about her. Y/n , Y/n , Y/n it was all he could think about. how could he love someone he doesnt even know so madly? he didnt have an answer for that . she was making him feel all kinds of emotions and not just love, she was making him anxious at time , what if she believes all the kriti x kartik shipping going around the internet? what if she ships them too? what if she has a boyfriend? what if she has a fiancee? no no that cant be ,she's can only be y/n aaryan tiwari ! he wouldnt let any duffer's surname even get close to her. what if she's already married ? what if she is out of his reach already? His thoughts were getting ahold of him. He even called his sister Y/n once , good thing she didnt pay attention . he searched her up on instagram , facebook , twitter but there were a million women with the name Y/n, Not knowing her surname made it worse. a lot of public profiles , and profiles with a Dp was out of the way , kartik knew what his y/n looked like, he didnt even need to look at the screenshot he took, her face was imprinted onto his heart . but then there were a lot of profiles with no profile pictures or random profile pictures . he wasnt even sure if her name was her account name so social media was a fail

"any lead?" kriti asked . she was as dedicated in finding kartik's dream girl as he was

"nope, nothing yet"

" what if we just ask the principal of the college for some info?"

"and what are we gonna say? hello sir! I am in love with one of your students , so can I get her instagram id and biodata. he would kick us both out"

"yeah! youre right. did you get anything else from the college website?"

"NO , what we found before was the only thing about her in the entire website"

" you know what Im hungary, lets go eat something . Ive heard there's a new chinese restaurant in town" kriti said standing up from her chair

"no yaar , Im not hungry!"

" I heard its near lourde college"

kartik jumped up from his seat

"what are we waiting for? lets go , Im so hungry!"

kriti laughed at his newfound excitement

"ya lets go"

kartik and kriti had done their best to disguise themselves. they dont want the pap to spread yet another rumour of them being heads over heel in love with each other. the huge glasses , beanie ,mask and hoodie were certainly doing there job . no one has recognised them yet. they find a table and sit facing each other.

"oh my god kartik"

"what is it kriti?" kartik asks .

"its-

kriti didnt even have to finish . kartik could sense the familiar scent . he could hear someone sitting on the chair behind them. he turned around. she was right there. His y/n . In a satin green dress, her hair opened and flying slightly in the wind. Her eyes are searching for someone. kartik's heart drops once he sees the guy walking towards her , smiling . he sees her smiling back . The smle he always imagined shed give him when he says how beautiful she is to him , The smile she'd give him when he gets her flowers and give her a pecks on her cheek before leaving for shooting. But he isnt the one getting that smile from her right now and it breaks his heart . He isnt some kabir singh to go out there to force her away from him. she looks happy and thats what he'd want the most , for her to be happy

"sorry , I'm late "

"its ok adi"

kartik hears them talk. kriti is ranting about something but kartik can focus only on what you are saying.

"ehh, youre wearing this green dress again?

"its my favourite dress adi "

"it looks shitty"

what kind of a man is he ? who talks to their girlfriend like that? if he doesnt like the dress why doesnt he just tell it to her nicely? why is she letting him talk to her like that? a million question runs over his head

'' Im gonna use the restroom real quick"

"ya ok but dont take ages. I have to go soon after this , i cant be stuck with you for too long"

stuck with her? where did she even find this douchebag from ? who can't even spend some time with her? Is she hurt from what he said ? has she gone to the restroom to cry?

"im gonna go check on her kriti"

"what!? kartik but-" kriti doesnt even finish before kartik jumps over the chair and walks over to the restroom.

as kartik walks in he sees y/n standing in front of the mirror. she doesnt look like she cried but what if she's really good at hiding emotions

"y/n" kartik calls out.

"who are you?" she looks terrified . thats when kartik remembered his glasses mask and beanie , he looks like a goddamn serial killer. he takes off his glasses and mask

"kartik aaryan?"

"you dont have to call my entire name like that! just call me kartik or koki"kartik ranted out . he could hear his heart beat out of his chest. he could see her blushing

"what are you doing here?"

"oh my friend wanted to try out this restaurant!"

"The restaurant or its women's restroom?"

"oh shit ! this is the women's restroom? great here we go again . I swear im not a pervert , fate just brings me into women's restrooms sometimes"

"fate?" y/n starts laughing . she looks so pretty to him doing so

"this is yours i assume?" kartik takes out her badge from his pocket. good thing he takes it everywhere with him to remind him of her

"oh yeah ! i had lost it the day i met you at another women's restroom"

they both chuckle and walks out kartik puts his glasses and mask back on . he wants to say and ask a lot more but the fact that she has a boyfriend waiting for her stops him. he still muster up the courage to ask her full name but before he could finish they are interrupted by someone. its adi he is still looking down at his phone as he speaks

"i have to go now "

"but we didnt even order yet"

''oh come on man, we'll do this some other time and besides i promised riya from office a movie together"

kartik is on the verge of losing his shit . how can he talk to his girlfriend like that and choose another women over her? why isnt she saying anything?

adi takes his eyes of his phone and looks at the man in front of him

"who's this duffer?"

kartik loses his shit completely and punches him on his nose. adi stumbles back in pain

"thats what you get for treating youre girlfriend like that "

"bhaiyya!!!" y/n runs from kartik's behind to adi

"bhaiyya?oh fuck" kriti always told kartik he's dumb and now it was as if he has realised it

"what the fuck man? who's girlfriend? what girlfriend?" adi asks while covering his nose with his hand

kartik runs over to him

"im so sorry bhaiyya! there was a huuuge misunderstanding"

"whaaaat!? who the hell are you man and why the hell are you calling me bhaiyya"

"you are her bhaiyya , youre my bhaiyya why does it matter bhaiyya?"

y/n chuckles at kartik's remark and their eyes meet . kartik is so relieved that this man he just punched is no one other than his future brother in law but it really was kind of a bad first impression but he'll make up for it

"y/n ask this guy to leave" adi grunts in pain

"koki ! leave"

"koki? so no more kartik aaryan"

y/n blushed and looked down

"ill get going now bhaiyya do put some ice on it itll be alright"

"get outta here dickhead before i punch you back"

"ok ok" before he left he leaned closer to y/n

"you know where to find me" and he walked away from his y/n who was now a blushing mess and her brother a bloody mess.......

(bhaiyya: brother)

to be continued......

[rathockey]

Would absolutely kill for more santa clarita diet buddie. I love all those snippets and I rioted (internally) for days after it was canceled.

i will NEVER get over them cancelling it i mean come ONNNNN that ENDING???? (though to be honest. can i be real for one second. if it HAD to get cancelled prematurely. its a pretty good ending. i could write an essay about that but i'll spare you. though if you want to hear it shoot me another ask and i'll go off)

also this fic is completely written by snippets and is entirely out of order so let me give you that ending scene buddie version :)

“You were right.” Eddie said, reaching for Buck’s hands. Buck looked at him, questioningly. “When you were captured, when I thought I was going to die. All I could think about was that I didn’t want to do this without you. Life.” Buck squeezed his hand. “No matter what happens, I want to be with you, live with you, die with you.” Buck grabbed him, pulling him into tight hug. “What about all the stuff that freaks you out about being undead?” Buck whispered. “The eating people, the unleashing your id?” He pulled back as Mr. Ball Legs leapt up on his shoulder. “This guy?” Eddie grimaced at the spindly legged creature. “Yeah, it’s still weird and freaky. But not as weird and freaky as not being with you for as long as possible. I love you, and that’s all that matters. Bring on the weird.” Eddie cupped Buck’s cheek in his hand. “Will you take this man to be your husband, for the next thousand years or so?” “Only a thousand years?” Buck grinned at Eddie, leaning into his hand. Mr. Ball Legs took the opportunity to leap from Buck’s shoulder to Eddie’s. Eddie recoiled, side-eyeing Mr. Ball Legs. “Ah, still not a spider guy.” Eddie leaned his head away. Suddenly he couldn’t see Mr. Ball Legs anymore, and he felt a crawling up his neck and into his ear, a small squelching before… nothing. Blackness. The blackness stayed for a few seconds, then he opened his eyes to find he was on the floor, Buck leaning over him, a trickle of blood on his mouth, and a slight pain on his neck. “Eddie?” Buck was frantic and pleading. Eddie smiled up at him. "Hello."

[undertale-anomaly20]

Mortal Kombat 11 x reader: Chapter 6 War on the homefront

The scene cuts to the command center. Cassie is with Sonya, using one of the holographic interfaces at a desk. 　

"Here's how you access incoming reports. Swipe here to crosscheck them with past reports. The software can suss out the deltas" Cassie explained as she showed Sonya how it works "Now that's progress" Sonya said impressed. Cassie smiles and leaves her to it. Sonya pulls the chair she's seated in closer and starts looking over the data. Across the command centre, both of the Johnny Cages look over at her with adoration, with past Johnny flashing a cheesy smile. Sonya briefly looks over at them, trying her hardest to smile back as non-flirtatiously as possible. past Johnny leans over to his older counterpart. 　

"So... I marry Lieutenant Princess over there?" past Johnny asks as present Johnny looks in her direction, also cracking a smile "I always have had a thing for blondes. Ever since Suzie-- " past Johnny say as the present Johnny catches the thought and speaks at the same time as his younger self "--Donardo Junior year" "Take it from me, heh, you didn't miss much" present Johnny says then points over to Sonya "That woman over there? She's the real deal" past Johnny tilts down his sunglasses "Oh, I got eyes, brother. As Younger You, I solemnly swear to tap that at the earliest opportunity" 　

His words instantly cause present Johnny's smile to drop from his face. Around them, the other soldiers in the command centre gasp and look at past Johnny in disapproval. Sonya looks particularly upset, while Cassie shoots a look of disgust in his direction. As present Johnny hangs his head in disbelief, past Johnny turns to him "What? It's our destiny!" present Johnny stands up from his chair and grabs his younger self by the ear, dragging him up amidst protests of pain "Out" He says as he forcibly drags past Johnny out of the command centre. 　

"How the hell do I ever sleep with that guy?" She looks to Cassie, who walks over to her. "Who's... your father. I can't believe I just said that" "Look, my dad isn't the Johnny you know. He... grew up. I like to think you rubbed off on him. As a kid, I looked up to both of you" Casssie said as Sonya smiled "My dad - your grandfather - was my hero. Called me Private Pun'kin" "Huh. That's what you called me" There's a moment of awkward silence between them "We should get back to work"Cassie said as Sonya nods and Cassie takes her leave. Sonya looks back to the interface "Biometric verification required" The interface says then scans her eyes "ID verified - General Sonya Blade" Sonya is impressed "General Blade? Dad would be proud" The screen brings up a picture of Sonya saluting in her combat gear, alongside her biography which lists her as deceased. Sonya looks around for a moment, seeing that Cassie is currently in discussions with a couple of her subordinates. She turns back to the screen and begins to type in some commands. 　

The scene cuts to the Special Forces' hangar. past Johnny is walking away from his older self "Untwist your panties, Older Me. I'm a star" he says not caring. Present Johnny grabs his past self by the shoulder and pulls him back, getting in front of him at the same time and staring him down "This is a military operation, not a movie set!" he sternly said but having no effect on his pastself "I'm only the best fighter here. But YOUR--" He prods his older self "--daughter's got me sitting at the kids table" fed up with his attitude present Johnny slaps past Johnny on the side of his head, causing his sunglasses to dislodge. After a moment of shock, he hastens to put them back on properly "OUR daughter is C.O. A little humility MIGHT earn her respect!" he says raising his voice. 　

 Past Johnny looked straight at his furuteself annoyed at how he is in the future "Dad always said "Hungry people eat lunch, humble people serve it." present Johnny prods past Johnny in the chest "Dad was an asshole! Hollywood made us--" He removes his younger self's glasses and drops them on the ground "--an even bigger one!" He then stomps them into bits. Undeterred, past Johnny pulls out another pair of sunglasses from the side of his pants and puts them on his face. He smirks, and then jumps into a comically over dramatic fighting stance "Heee-yaaaaah!" he exclaims. Present Johnny shakes his head in disgust and assumes his own stance. 　

They fight. One would assume that the past Johnny would have every advantage fighting an aged version of himself. But for all of his speed, strength and skill, the present Johnny knows his every move before he himself even pulls them off. present Johnny is careful not to even injure his younger self, but even with this handicap he has no trouble taking him down. Within moments, past Johnny is kissing the tarmac "An old man just kicked your ass" past Johnny struggles back to his feet and dusts himself off. As he begins to walk away, it's clear the beating has disconcerted him, but he tries to maintain a false bravado nonetheless "...You got lucky" 　

Past Johnny stopped for a second before looking down "why is (name) here?" he asked dead serious making present Johnny flinch and averst his gaze "she's here because she's our friend and allie-" "CUT THE SHIT!" past Johnny snapped whirling around sneering at his futureself, who looks shocked "you know what I mean! everyone here has been dancing around this the whole time we've been here! Why is she here and not back home where she's supposed to be?" he pokes his futureselfs chest "why isn't she safe at home? why is she still here? why is she fighting with us?" Present Johnny's patients was wearing thin at his pastselfs questions "she's fighting with us to stop Kronika" "you know that's not what I mean damn it! Don't avoid the question and answer me! what happened to her to make her stay here and be younger than us by so many years!" "SHE DIED!" 　

Silence hangs in the air around them. Past Johnny is stunned "what..." he whispered stumbling slightly as present Johnny takes a deep breath before facing his pastself "she died the day Shao Kahn was defeated. she fought him with help from the elder gods by using her body as a vessel when they left her they took everything from her. her strength, her energy...her life" Present Johnny ran a hand through his hair while his past self is trying to take this in "wait why didn't Raiden step in a save her?...why did he let a girl die for a world that wasn't hers? hell why didn't anyone save her!" "we couldn't do anything. it was too late...Raiden explained that the Elder gods brought her to our world to be our warrior" "warrior...she was 18 fucking years old! she wasn't like us she was just a kid!" 　

Past Johnny realizes he's using past tense when the (name) he knows is still back in his time. A memory of her 18 year old self smiling at the wushi academy flashes through his mind. He takes a deep shakey breath "just...just tell me how she came back...god this is twisted" present Johnny nods "from what she told us the Elder gods brought her back when she was 20. for her it was only 2 years for us it was 14 but she stayed hidden for about a year in outworld and five of those with master Hasashi for training then to us granted we didn't find out it was her till the whole Shinnok thing was over" past Johnny was quiet as he processesd everything. 　

The scene cuts back to the Special Forces command room. Sonya is still seated at her desk, checking through the computer interface for more information about her future self. She presses a link on the screen, and an audio snippet from the earlier mission in the Netherrealm begins to play. The screen displays a new text box in bright red: "BODY NOT RECOVERED" "What?! I'm---" the audio clip is distorted, cutting out part of Cassie's earlier statement "--leaving you behind! --C'mon, move it!" Sonya instantly recoils in confusion and surprise at seemingly hearing that her future daughter left her for dead. The growls of the Netherrealm demons can be heard in the distorted background. "Let's go, let's go, move it!" "What...?" Sonya whispers. 　

She gets up from her seat and storms over to Cassie "You left me behind?" she growled confusing Cassie "Excuse me?!" "My final mission!" "How did you-- She looks over to the screen Sonya was looking at, seeing the red message for herself "Shit" Cassie begins to lose her composure "No, I'm not doing this, not now, not with you!" She tries to turn away, but Sonya grabs her by the shoulder and pulls her back. "Dammit, Cassie! You abandoned me?" "To save the company! That was my order!" "Who the hell gave you that order?!" "YOU did" At these words, Sonya looks away, doubt etched across her face "Read the full report, Lieutenant" 　

Before she can say anything else, all the screens in the command centre turn red and an alarm begins to ring. An "ALERT" message appears on several of the screens. CASSIE: Go to Condition Red! In the hangar, Special Forces soldiers begin running into position, fully armed. Both Johnny Cages are also equipped with assault rifles, running back into the base. Cassie's voice echoes across the tannoy system. CASSIE: We're under attack! Repeat, we're under attack! past Johnny hoists his rifle into the air one-armed like an action hero, while present Johnny keeps his pointed downwards like a professional soldier. "Yippee-ki-yay, right?" past Johnny says as he strides forward, but present Johnny catches him by the shoulder "Follow my lead" he says. 　

He brings his rifle to bear and steps forward, with his younger self trying to imitate his motions as best he can. Before either of them can get very far, a huge explosion rips through the side door of the hanger. No one is killed in the blast, but both Johnnys are thrown from their feet. As they look up, they see Black Dragon mercenaries entering through the blown open hole... and leading them is the younger Erron Black. 　

The scene cuts to another part of the Special Forces base. Three lines of Cyber Lin Kuei cyborgs are standing in formation. Both the younger and elder Kano stride through them, shoving any cyborg in their path back into formation. They reach a large door - the door to the command centre - and smirk in an identical fashion. 　

Behind them strides Sektor, his cybernetic body now infused with the same white and golden painted metal that his cyborg army wears as well - the design of Kronika. The only reason Sektor is recognisable is that parts of him still have the red paint job. He also approaches the door and lifts his fist in its direction. A red laser shoots out from an enclosed gun-turret embedded in his forearm. 　

Back in the command centre, the Special Forces soldiers are hastily constructing barricades with whatever boxes they have lying around. Cassie briefly trades a tense look with Sonya, neither woman saying anything. The soldiers around them bring their rifles to bear as Sektor's laser continues to cut through the steel door like a hot knife through butter. 　

Sonya narrows her eyes and Cassie nods her head. She brings her dual pistols to a firing position and Sonya brings up her rifle at the same time. 　

The scene cuts back to the hanger. Johnny and Johnny are in cover behind a large tank, with present Johnny ducked down behind the treads and past Johnny standing upright and making himself a bigger target. They are trading fire with the Black Dragon mercenaries. The Johnny's quickly find themselves outgunned due to the superior numbers against them and they retreat, ducking behind the tank and running across the hanger to find more cover. 　 As they run, time slows down and a bullet clips past Johnny's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood and knocking his glasses off his head. As the Johnny's duck into cover behind a large jeep, present Johnny brings his hand to his cheek and looks at his younger self. present Johnny now bears the same wound that his younger self has, though his is a faded scar. 　

"Oh, that's freaky like Friday" Present Johnny said pointing at his cheek "They shot our face, Johnny" past Johnny says as he looks like he's about to start crying "They shot our FACE!" He pulls out a personal mirror to examine the wound... which is instantly blown to pieces by a stray bullet. This serves to anger him, and he picks up a nearby riot shield and storms out into the open fray. past Johnny roars in fury and fires his rifle one-handed at the mercenaries... completely missing them due to firing a two-handed weapon with one hand. 　

"Ugh, he's gonna get us killed" present Johnny groans then steps out of cover just as Erron Black and the mercenaries begin to concentrate their fire on past Johnny. Erron's marksman rifle is blasted out of his hands by a shot from present Johnny, allowing his younger self to stride forward with the shield in front, while present Johnny steps in just behind him. past Johnny proves to be as utterly incapable of shooting straight as the mercenaries are at shooting at anything but the shield he is holding up. But it soon becomes a moot point as past Johnny charges the mercenaries with the shield, ploughing into them and forcing them back. As he tackles them to the side, present Johnny faces off against Erron Black, having run out of ammunition for his rifle. 　

"Ooh! Funny way of saying howdy, partner" present Johnny mocked "I was saying goodbye" Past Erron replied "Now why's a nice Texas boy like Erron Black in bed with the Black Dragon? Older You works for Kotal Kahn. He's one of the good guys, kinda" "When I pick sides, I pick a winner. Every time" 　 They fight. Even without a gun by his side, Johnny Cage is still far from defenceless, and his energy powers and martial arts wizardry are more than a match for the gunslinging Erron Black. After a fierce scuffle, the outlaw is left down on the ground by Johnny "You chose... poorly" 　 Johnny runs off. The scene cuts to the Special Forces command centre. The steel door that served as the entrance has been sheared off at the top by Sektor's laser, and the bloodied bodies of both the Special Forces and the Cyber Lin Kuei are strewn around the interior. present Johnny runs into the centre, with Jax and Jacqui behind him. 　

"Cassie! Sonya!" He spots his daughter lying on her back and rushes to check on her. Miraculously, Cassie is only unconscious and quickly wakes up when her father helps her to a seated position "Breathe, kiddo" he says as Cassie takes a few breaths in, gathering her bearings "They took Mom-- Sonya" she said trying to stay awake "I'll get her" Cassie tries to say more, but her eyes roll backward and she almost passes out. She manages to stay conscious only by an immense show of willpower. With Cassie in no condition to issue orders, Johnny looks back to Jacqui "Can we find out where they've gone?" he asks. Jacqui moves over to one of the interface screens, quickly logging in. Within moments she has what she needs "Tarmac B" she replies "On it. Keep her" 　

He gently lets Cassie down onto her back, then stands back up and departs the command centre. The scene cuts to Johnny sprinting down a corridor, having acquired another rifle from somewhere. He dashes past a steel door, but then backpedals to it and takes a look through its window "Ohhh..." Chuckling to himself, Johnny pushes the door open and enters the hangar that it leads to. The scene cuts to the desert landscape outside of the base. Sonya struggles as two Cyber Lin Kuei grip her arms on either side, but is unable to break free. Sektor approaches her "Take her" he commands. 　

As the cyborgs drag Sonya backward, a large explosion rips through the base behind them. What is left of the cyborg army turns to the gigantic hole that has been blasted through part of the wall. As the smoke gradually clears... a gigantic tank, piloted by Johnny, emerges from the base, crushing two cyborgs under its mass. A third is caught under the treads and squished into a bloody paste. As two more cyborgs are flattened under the tank, Sektor shoots out two of his chest missiles. They hit the tank just under its main gun, but barely cause any damage. Inside the tank, Johnny laughs at the ineffective barrage and rides toward Sektor, who teleports out of the way just before he is crushed. Noting the teleport, Johnny brings the tank around and spots Sektor making a run for it. He smiles as he notices Sektor running toward the edge of a cliff. 　 With nowhere else to run to, Sektor turns around... just as a black jet fighter suddenly appears from the canyon behind him. At this, Johnny's eyes widen and he brings the tank to a stop. Sektor activates the boosts on his feet and jumps up to the side of the jet's cockpit. As he does so, the fighter unleashes two of its missiles straight at Johnny's tank. Gasping in fear, Johnny desperately tries to put the tank into reverse, but he only succeeds in turning it slightly as the missiles rain home. They target the leftmost treads of the tank, blowing the tank upward into the air briefly and letting it slam down hard. While the tank remains upright, the targeted treads have snapped in two from the impact. 　

The jet fighter arcs off into the air and swings around for a finishing barrage. Johnny emerges from the tank with a satchel charge, just in time to spot the jet coming for him. His face narrows in determination. The jet fighter lets loose with a barrage from its gatling gun. While it strikes the ground a fair distance from the tank, it is clear that this is a strafing attack and the jet moves ever closer to the tank, the gunfire never letting up. Johnny chucks the satchel charge back into the tank's interior and jumps off, narrowly avoiding some bullets. He sprints off and brings a detonator to bear as the jet fighter closes in. 　

"Two can play that game!" Johnny said as the jet flies over the tank, Johnny presses down on the detonator. The satchel charge explodes, and with it the tank as well. More importantly, the jet fighter is also caught in the blast and catches fire in several places. Sektor jumps from the smoking wreck and lands back down near the base as the jet crashes offscreen somewhere in the mountain and explodes. Sonya was not able to escape the cyborgs during all of that anarchy and she is still being restrained by two of them. Sektor relays instructions to the cyborgs while never taking his optics off the approaching Johnny "Send another extraction vehicle" Sektor orders. Johnny finishes his long walk over to Sektor, Sonya and the cyborgs "You won't be online long enough for your friends to make it, tinhead" Johnny says as Sonya again struggles against the cyborgs, managing to wrench one arm free, but she is quickly restrained once again. The cyborgs drag her to one side as Sektor faces down Johnny "Johnny Cage. Cyrax defeated you when you were younger and stronger. As I am his superior, I am yours" "You're forgetting the time I beat Shinnok, mano-a-mano. Oh, wait! You were dead when that happened" 　

They fight. For all of the advantages Sektor has as a cyborg - his weapons, augmentations and gadgets - Johnny Cage matches and surpasses them with his fighting skill and powers. The struggle is brief, and Sektor is soon lying deactivated out on the ground. "Go back to the nineties" Behind him, Sonya cries out as she tries to break free of the cyborgs restraining her. Johnny turns around to face them "Who's next?" he asks. The cyborgs remain where they are. A new voice cuts in from behind Johnny "I'm next, Hollywood" 　 The past Kano points an assault rifle directly at Johnny. Undeterred, Cage runs straight at him and time slows down as he does so. Kano shoots the gun, but Johnny slides into his signature splits and the bullet flies overhead, mere centimetres from his face. In slow motion, Johnny clenches his fist and brings it back for a swing. Kano looks down with an expression of mounting horror as Johnny finishes the splits and slams his fist straight into Kano's nuts. The effect is immediate - Kano drops the gun and doubles over in pain. 　

Johnny gets back to his feet as time resumes its normal length. Kano remains doubled over, clutching his crotch and wincing in agony "Shit. As if Throwback Me wasn't bad enough" Johnny says as Kano finally recovers enough to stand upright "Oh, it gets bloody worse. Sonya and your little girl... they're gonna die. Right in front of your face" 　

They fight. Kano remains a dirty and dangerous fighter as ever, with his cybernetic upgrades and numerous knives. But Johnny has beaten him before and knows his tricks, and helped by the anger he feels at Kano's words, he has no trouble overpowering and defeating the Australian thug once again "No one threatens my family. He walks over to Kano and stomps on his head, pinning him down. Behind him, more cyborgs have emerged from the base, but Johnny ignores them for now, focusing on putting an end to Kano. But before he can finish him off, a bullet suddenly punches through the kneecap of his right leg, knocking him to the ground "Oh! Motherf..." Johnny groans. 　

His curse peters out as he spots the older Kano approaching him with a captured hostage - his younger self. present Johnny clutches at his knee while present Kano keeps a pistol pointed at past Johnny "Well, well. Got ourselves a full on generation swap here" Present Kano smirked. present Johnny looks over as Cassie, Jacqui and Young Jax walk out of the base, Cassie and Jacqui both carrying assault rifles. As they approach, present Kano forces past Johnny onto his knees and aims the pistol at the back of his head, forcing them to stop. "Don't think so. Between Ninja Mime and Lady Liberty, we've got all the leverage. We're leaving" he says The two Johnnys say nothing, but both look at present Kano with joint contempt. Three transport planes fly overhead, landing on the ground nearby. present Kano pulls past Johnny to his feet and guides him toward the aircraft. The two cyborgs restraining Sonya also walk her in the same direction. 　

From out of the aircraft, two more ninjas emerge with a man not seen before in this timeline. Wearing a biker jacket and desert coloured trousers, he does not like the burn victim he will become in later years. present Kano addresses him directly "Kabal. Go get my lesser half" present Kanos said "And the base?" Kabal asks. present Kano pulls out a detonator "Taken care of. He presses the trigger" present Kano smirks. 　

Behind them, Sektor - who has since recovered - suddenly stands rigid and begins beeping. Cassie, Jax and Jacqui watch in silence as the Cyber Lin Kuei walk toward the aircraft, along with present Kano, past Johnny and Sonya, still vainly struggling against her captors. Once present Kano is out of sight, Cassie and Jax immediately run over to present Johnny to help him up, while Kabal pulls past Kano to his feet and walks him toward the aircraft alongside the last of the cyborgs. Once Kabal and past Kano are on board as well, the jets begin to take off. Once she is sure they are not facing her, Cassie sprints toward them. Jacqui runs after her, while Jax is left holding Johnny up "Cassie! Don't!" she yells. 　

Ignoring her friend, Cassie runs full pelt at the departing aircraft, but soon finds that she is about to run off the cliff edge. She grinds to a halt just before she would have fallen off, then raises her pistol and fires at the last aircraft. Rather than a bullet, she fires out a tracking device that attaches to the jet. As Jacqui, Jax and Johnny make their way over to her, Cassie holsters her pistol and pulls out her tablet. The screen shows an icon of an airplane, along with the word "TRACKING" and the probable destination of the plane - Russia. She looks into the distance with determination "Let's go get them" she said. 　

 In the silence following the departure of the planes, a beeping noise now echoes through the air. "Anyone else hear that beeping?" Johnny asks then they look behind them. Sektor is still standing rigid, with electricity sparking off him. It quickly becomes apparent to all of them that he is about to explode. Thankfully, Raiden teleports into the clearing with a flash of lightning. 　

 "Have I arrived too late?" Raiden asks "You're back in the nick of time!" Johnny says as he motions toward Sektor, who is now screaming in agony as his cybernetic body is wracked with electric sparks. Raiden immediately spreads his arms outward and generates a shield of electricity around himself, Johnny, Jax, Cassie and Jacqui, teleporting them away just moments before Sektor finally detonates, the explosion completely wiping out the Special Forces base behind them. 　

The scene cuts to a luscious garden in the mountains of Japan, adorned with white trees with blood red leaves. Raiden's teleporting shield brings them all into the centre of the garden. Inside one of the huts, Hanzo Hasashi is deep in meditation with Calithea sleeping next to him. He opens his eyes as the flash of lightning finishes. He walks out of the hut to find Raiden, Cassie, Jax, Johnny and Jacqui before him "Now that's what I call a miracle" Jax comments "Yeah, Raiden. Thanks" says Cassie. 　

As Hanzo approaches, Raiden faces him and puts his hands together in a respectful salute. "Grandmaster Hasashi, I humbly request the Shirai Ryu's hospitality. My Sky Temple has been compromised. There is no safer place for us to gather" Hanzo inclines his head in a bowing motion "Lord Raiden. Welcome to the Fire Garden" "daddy?" a small voice came from behind Hanzo making them look to see Calithea walking to them. She notices Raiden and smile running up to him "lord Raiden! have you heard of anything from mommy?" she asked Raiden frowned "I'm sorry, Calithea, but no I haven't" her smile dropped, Hanzos expression turned to concern, Cassie kneeled down in front of her "don't worry pun'kin. you're moms gonna be ok" she said smiling. 　

The scene cuts to a later time in the day. Raiden stands on a bridge overlooking a small pond, with Cassie, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Jax, Jacqui, Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Johnny now standing with the help of a crutch facing him "The Elder Gods are gone? Shinnok is Kronika's son? No wonder she sent the Black Dragon after me and Dad. We both kicked his ass" Cassie said "It is not vengeance that drives Kronika. She restarts history to balance light and dark among the realms" Raiden states "What can we do, Lord Raiden?" Liu Kang asks "Gather Earthrealm's forces. But that effort will be for naught if Kotal Kahn's armies cannot join us. Cetrion informed me that Shao Kahn has captured Kotal Kahn. We must spare no effort to free him" Raided hesitats before continuing "she has also informed me that Lady (name) has also been captured" everyone is stunned Hanzo glared at Raiden "and you said nothing before?" "I did not wish to cause young Calithea any distress" Liu Kang stepped forward "Kung Lao and I will go. We will rendezvous with Princess Kitana" "Thank you both. May the Elder Gods prote--" He stops himself, remembering that the Elder Gods are now no more "...May you return victorious"

[wuornosblog]

5-23-92 pt.1

Dear Dawn, . . . We did have alot of fun together. I remember taking you to the race track. or you coaxed me. But anyway. Remember how I teached you to panhandle. We made out pretty good too. Didnt we. Remember our bell bottom pants. Wheew whew and when studs came out. Lord we started to stud everything. I remember your black hip hugger bell bottoms you loved to wear. And you studded them up the leg. Then Ducky fell in love with em. And put them on. They were real tight. and a bit short on him. But he still wanted to wear them. And if I remember right. You’d both always fight over clothes. I remember the last time I saw Keith. Even though he had cancer. Was at your house in the basement. He went to a party and broke his leg coming down a step. His marrow was getting weak. I didnt witness this. I remember him telling me about it . . . The next time Id see him from this, was when I hitchhiked out to San Francisco, to see him at lettermans Army & medical center. I got Lucky. A construction worker gave me 100 bucks to help out on my trip to see him . . . so, I went shopping for some things to get him . . . I bought a wooden flute that was real gypsy lookin, and the book chariot of the Gods. and a Bible. I didnt know his cancer note was the size of half of a football on his neck. So I was sad at getting him the flute afterward. Anyway! when I finally arrived at the hospital. I asked where keith wuornos was. So a nurse said. Ones in room such and such over there. I said Thanks. Then proceeded in. There was 2 guys lying in separate hospital beds. One guy had a sheet and blanket up to his eyes. So I said. Is Keith wuornos here. I’m looking for my brother. So the guy. In the sheet up to the eyes said. He went downstairs to shoot some pool. OK! Thanks I said and started out, Thinking in mind suddenly. heck! if hes shootin pool, he must be feeling O.K. Great! Then the guy said Aili. come er. Questionably I turned and said Keith? He said don’t freak out when I pull the sheet down. And as he did. He imitated Bugs Bunny—and you know he can do him well —and he said Ā whats up doc! My eyes immediately filled with tears, as they widened to 50 cent pieces. The tumor was so huge on his neck. I kept telling him I’m sorry Im balling my eyes out Keith, but man. This is really scarring me. He said it was the size of maybe a pencil head. But since he volunteered to be a guinee pig for them. They didnt cut it out. and its grown some now. I flew off the handle and said. Whose your Doctor. So he told me. He said they keep telling him he has a 50/50 chance to live. But he didnt feel so. So I said. Ill be right back. I want to ask him myself. He protested a little. But soon I was out the door. Asking the nurse. She said oh there he is now. Right down the hall. I hurridly walked up to him. And said. --

[maddieautobot273]

Silk & Cologne (18)

A Miguel O’Hara x OC Series - Link to AO3 (X)

Chapter 18 - Forest - link to previous chapter (X)

Pairing: Miguel O’Hara x Female OC

Words: 2.9K+ words

Warnings: PG for action sequences

Summary: Lisa helps Miguel and the Spider-Team take down a Venom Variant. 

///////

I gave Miguel a reassuring and confident smile before slipping my mask on over my head. The two of us ran through the portal and we found ourselves in a dark forest. There were skid marks and broken barks and trees all around us. 

There was a loud eardrum shattering cry, triggering my spider-sense as I searched frantically for the source of the noise. That was until a giant black paw came swinging towards us within a matter of seconds. 

“Miguel, watch out!” I ran and shoved us out of the way of the incoming paw. We crashed to the ground and I felt Miguel reach and grab me, yanking me closer to him as the paw racked across the dirt towards us. 

“Guys!!” Penni Parker swooped in, wearing her giant Spider-MEKA suit as she scooped up Miguel and I to safety from getting crushed. “Perfect timing! This thing won’t go down,”

"Penni, you are a life-safer,” Miguel sighed deeply in relief. 

I too shared the same reaction before I looked down from where I hugged Penni’s Spider-MEKA. What I saw was bone chilling. A giant wolf-like variant of Venom was tearing apart the forest, slowly inching its way closer towards a village and a beautiful castle. 

“Petra’s home?” I asked, glancing over at Miguel. 

“Yes,” Miguel nodded as he glanced over at Penni. “Is she here?”

“She was, but we told her to help the guards with the evacuation of her village,” Penni stated as she peered at us through the cockpit of her MEKA.

“That’s good,” Miguel nodded in agreement. “We can’t let this monster get any closer to the village. If he destroys it, he’ll disturb the canon event,” 

“It’s a big guy. We’ll need to put it down first before trying to capture it,” I realized as I took in its massive size.

“Any ideas, boss?” Penni asked Miguel.

Miguel paused for a moment, briefly glancing over at me. “If we can get enough webs around him, Lisa is confident she can enchant it,”

Penni gasped, looking over at me. “You think that will work?”

“Venom doesn’t like sound, right? Then he’s going to love that I got planned for him,” I grinned. “I’ll make sure he takes a nice, long nap,”

“Roger!” She smirked, “Team, you caught that?”

“Got it!” They yelled through the comlink. I recognized Hobie’s voice and when I glanced down again, I found his signature silhouette swinging through the trees, leading Venom in a wild goose chase away from the direction of the village.

“Let’s do it!” Penni powered up her jet pack as she flew the three of us up in the air before tossing Miguel and I forward, giving us some air time to shoot our webs and swing around the variant. 

Hobie kept Venom distracted while Penni, and who I quickly realized was a Spider-Pig, or Spider-Ham according to his ID tag on the communication link, hovered at his side, latching on to him with their webbing as Miguel and I trailed closely behind him. 

“RAAHHH! NEVER CATCH ME!” The Venom variant barked as it snapped its teeth at the group. 

Miguel fired a web, making the variant trip on its paw and tumble to the ground. “Maldita sea, I hate fighting these Venom variants. They always make things harder than they need to be,” - Damn it

The team worked together to web the Venom wolf down. They webbed his paws and then covered his back with web fluid to press him down. Hobie grabbed on to a large tree branch, surveying the trap before he waved over at me. 

“Okay, Spider-Muse, you’re up!” He yelled. 

“Spider-Muse?” I repeated. 

Is he referring to me? 

“We can’t use your real name while out on a mission, can we? Spider-Muse? Siren-Spider? Spider-Siren?”

I temporarily shook off the name change before I carefully swung and used my webs to create a little platform that connected everyone’s webs attached to the large variant as the wolf struggled to break free. “We’ll discuss that later, Hobie– Here it goes,”

I pressed play on my music player before placing my palms on the platform and began to sing, as all the webs began to glow a golden hue. “Ah, ah, aaaah! Ah, aaah, aaaah, aaaaaah~” 

I wasn’t sure what else to try and do, so my mind immediately went to Ariel’s melody from The Little Mermaid. Nothing too flashy, just get it done and over with. I continued to sing it, and after every finishing note I went up an octave and repeated the enchantment.

Miguel let out a small exclamation as he watched all of the webs start to glow. It felt like something out of a fantasy book he read as a kid. He watched with an almost bewildered expression as Venom roared, trying to fight and squirm his way free from the sound of my voice.

For a brief moment, his eyes flickered the same golden hue. The eye patches of his mask flared up as Miguel listened to my voice, briefly looking back up at me and a swell of pride coursed through him along with a flutter of his heart. This was a different feeling from before. Different from how he felt after their sparring match. 

Am I attracted to this? Miguel thought to himself. 

"I think we're making great progress! Keep it up!” he shouted, shaking off the aroused senses as he focused on the mission.  

I focused on Miguel’s words of encouragement as I continued to sing my melody, putting more power into putting this monster to sleep, but this variant wasn’t going down without a fight. I could see it growing tired, but his body still thrashed about as the area around me began to rumble, tree branches breaking apart as the webs  began to shake violently.

“No, no, no!” I hissed.

I continued to try and sing as the wolf became more drowsy and it reached a paw forward. However in the direction it was leaning, some of the webs broke off and his paw broke free. My platform began to falter, the webs falling apart. “Ah, ah, aaaah— AH!”

I tried to jump and swing out of the way, but the platform faltered way too quickly and I found myself falling through the webs. 

“No, no, get out of there!” Miguel yelled as he ran over towards me as fast as he could. He shoots a red laser web sling from his wrist and soars towards me, reaching his hand out. “Grab on to me!”

I look over in that split second to see Miguel jump for me. I knew he was quick, but I think this is the fastest I’ve seen him react. With a yelp, “Agh!” I reach for him and grab his arm.

As soon as my hand made contact with his arm, he yanked me into him, wrapping his arms around me as he fired one more web to swing us to safety and slow down our descent to the ground as our bodies tumbled in the dirt. He used his body to shield me as best as he could, his back smashing the bark of a tree before we both came to a complete stop. 

We collided in what looked like a mixture of mud and moss, but that was the least of our concerns. I heard a crunch at my side. Something fragile breaking. 

Miguel then let out a soft, worried gasp as he pulled back, looking me over, “Are you alright?”

“That’s gonna bruise for sure, but I’m okay,” I grumbled as I slowly sat up. I patted my sides, making sure nothing was broken before my hands felt something crushed in my holster and I froze, my eyes widened. “Oh no!”

“What is it?” He asked with a ping of concern. 

I pulled out my now smashed music player, tears welling in my eyes. “No, no, without my music my voice and webs won’t be powerful enough to put Venom to sleep. He’s still too big and powerful,”

Miguel sulked a little seeing the pained look on my face, but it quickly bubbled into frustration when Venom roared again, steering their attention towards him as the wolf continued to fight against its webbing shackles. 

"We might have to just knock him out the old fashioned way," Miguel spoke in a more stern and serious tone. 

I watched as he began to stand. He brandished his claws, the eyes of his mask narrowing at the variant. A ping of fear pierced through me as I reached for him, “Miguel, wait!” I caught his wrist, my voice almost pleading. “It’s too dangerous, even with your claws and your strength, it won’t be enough by yourself,”

Miguel caught my gaze through his mask and he swore he felt his heart pulse with pain and guilt at the sight of me. Hobie swung past us, trying to patch up the escaped paw with more webs, but another one broke free and smacked him. 

“Bollocks!” He yelled as he tumbled to the ground, dropping his guitar.

As his guitar tumbled, some of the chords struck an off key note. Just faintly, out of the corner of my eye, I could see my dangling webs briefly flicker their golden hue again. My eyes widened at the sight as I gasped faintly.  

Desperately trying to search for the words as I snapped my fingers over at Hobie. “Wait a minute, Hobie, your guitar!”

"His guitar?" Miguel asked with a bit of a confused expression as he then looked at me before exchanging a glance at Hobie. "How can his guitar help us?"

“Wait a minute! Wait a goddamn minute, Musey, you’re on to something!” Hobie’s eyes widened under his mask as he clambered up to his feet, grabbing the guitar from the ground. “What sound do you want?”

“Something pop-rock, and loud enough to keep him distracted!” I called out to him as I pulled myself up to my feet.

I could feel Miguel’s gaze on me as he watched me closely, his hands hovering near my body in the event I asked for assistance. “Lisa, what are you doing?”

“You got it, girlie!” Hobie grinned as he began playing his guitar. 

The cords echoed through the forest, ringing in my ears. Venom snarled, his crying revealing his distaste for the sound as he tried to crawl back, but the webs on his back held firm. 

“I’ll help too!” Penni cheered as she set up some speakers on her MEKA, as they played along a beat from a drum pedal.

“Wait, I’m confused, what is happening?” Miguel stuttered as he looked around the battlefield, completely dumbfounded as to what he was witnessing and hearing. 

“Miguel,” I took his hand again, being mindful of his talons, I regained his attention. “I’m asking you to trust me,” 

We both shared a long glance through our masks, and then slowly, I could feel Miguel’s hand squeeze mine tightly as he sheathed his claws. “I trust you,”

“Keep Venom distracted, reinforce the webs! I have to try the enchantment again, but with something else this time,” I nodded firmly. 

“You got it,” Miguel nodded in agreement before he swung off to join the others. 

I closed my eyes, focusing on the beat that Penni provided. I tapped my foot to sync up with the beat, psyching myself up with some dance moves to Hobie’s cords before the drums kicked in. As the melody went full throttle, I channeled the web fluid in my wrists and slammed my hands onto the ground. 

A wave of web fluid coursed across the ground and splattered onto the variant. The Venom wolf howled in retaliation, trying to fight off the webbing. Miguel and the others soared in, firing their own webs to hold him down. 

"Now sing again, we have to knock it out cold for this to work" Miguel yells over the music, yanking the web over his shoulder. 

The music continued to play as I danced along to the beat, my feet gliding along the webs fluid as if I were skating as I created another webbed platform. I shot Miguel a wink as the song began to play. “Once the chorus kicks up, everyone attacks on my signal!”

“Lisa, use this!” Spider-Ham used his cartoon physics ability to whip out a microphone as he tossed it in my direction.

“Thanks Ham,” I smiled as I caught it. I held the microphone to my mouth as I began to enchant the variant. 

[Lyrics are rough english translation of Backlight by Ado]

“My memories so good and awful, it seems they gave me a grudge.

But I have left bitterness and resentment behind me,

And it is all thanks to him~”

I focused on my movements, putting all of my hard and practice these last few days into overdrive. I locked eyes with Venom, keeping my state solely on him as I put in as much power into my voice as I could, the golden hue of my webs slowly returning. I could feel Miguel’s stare again as he watched in pure astonishment as I danced along to the beat. 

“Look, it’s the clowns who think they know,

How crushing loneliness can be,

You know nothing ‘till you come with me~”

I snapped my fingers, “NOW!” And then slammed my foot onto the ground, sending another wave of web fluid for the wolf.

“C’mon everyone, ¡Vamos!” Miguel yelled in a very motivated and enthusiastic tone of confidence while he and the others fought off the Venom variant that was trying to break free from its webbing. - Let’s go!! 

“And run wild~”

I watched as everyone worked together to web up the variant as much as they could, offering them all a proud smile. The more I sang, the more webs connected with one another as the golden hue glow stretched farther and farther up Venom’s body.

“Release your rage,

Let the winds of wrath blow them away,

Not gonna live with compliance-iance-iance,

I’m not playing the victim, no more~”

I watched as the wolf variant struggled, the sticky webs tightening around its body as his eyes began to droop, tiredly, its voice howling from the pain that coursed through its body from the music. 

"Now that's the good stuff, keep it going!" Miguel yells once more, a hint of a smirk curling on his lips.

“Time to rage!

Let’s punish them all,

For their love, I’m done trying to trust,

Not gonna live with compliance-iance-iance,

Gonna play with fire, backlit—”

I leaned backwards as I channeled what power I had left remaining in the high note as the glow of the webs intensified.

“By the flaaaames!~”

The Venom wolf’s eyes flickered between its pale ghost while glow and my enchanted gold until the yellow hue took over it completely. The rest of the team pulled on the webs, holding Venom down with all of their strength as Miguel looked up at me.

“Now’s your chance!”

“Ah, ah, aaaah, ah, ah, aaaah, aaaaaahhhh!~” 

I sang one more melody before the webs pulsed and a loud groan erupted from the wolf before it fell unconscious completely, toppling to the ground as the earth shook briefly.

“You did it!” Penni cheered as the rest of the team celebrated their victory. 

Miguel clenched his fists together, cheering silently as he looked over towards me. “That plan actually worked. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but–” 

His sentence was stopped short when I blanked out from my enchantment. I breathed heavily as the song came to an end on Hobie’s guitar and once I realized it was over, I collapsed onto my webbed platform, the enchantment taking its toll.

“Lisa!” 

Miguel called out to me with a tinge of worry in his voice. He fired a web sling, the red laser webs vaulting him up to my platform. He knelt beside me, his mask dematerializing as Miguel then scooped me up into his arms. 

“What happened, are you okay?” he asked. 

“I’m okay,” I took large, deep breaths to gather myself. I felt a bit light headed as I looked over his worried gaze. I chuckled faintly, smiling. “That’s definitely the biggest enchantment— I’ve ever done so far,” I panted softly.

“So far?” He raised a brow at me. 

“Who knows? There could be other Venom variants you’ll need me for,” I panted a faint giggle from my mouth, my throat feeling dry. 

Miguel breathed a heavy sigh of relief before chuckling softly. “I really am proud of you. You've come such a long way in your power, Lisa,"

“Thank you, Miguel,” I smiled up at him. “That means a lot, coming from. . . you. . .”

“Lisa?” Miguel spoke my name softly, looking puzzled. 

I lifted my hand briefly, looking over to see the mosh that had stained my suit, feeling a very irritating and itchy sensation coming from that spot. I glanced down at myself, realizing that there was more of it along my sides and legs. And when I looked back up at Miguel, I realized some of the mosh was on his suit too. 

“Miguel–!” 

But I couldn’t get the words out. 

Miguel’s expression turned pale as he called out my name, though from my end it was muffled with a distant ringing in my ears. He watched as my eyes rolled in the back of my head and as he called my name again, I passed out from exhaustion.

/////

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[rebelbyrdie]

2024 Ficlet Day

Ficlet 6 (Part 1)

A Criminal Minds/OUAT AU Crossover that Nobody Ever Asked For. This isn't really a ficlet. It is an infinished story. No editing either. It is based off of Criminal Minds Episode 6x17 Valhalla.

This Isn't a Fairy Tale (Part 1)

Episode 1: Meet Cute

""Inside each of us is a monster; inside each of us is a saint. The real question is which one we nurture the most, which one will smite the other"

Jodi Picoult

Storybrooke wasn’t a bustling burg.  It was barely a village.  They were too far out-of-the-way for tourists.  They were too small to attract big chain stores or industry.  There were only three stop lights and if you blinked, you’d miss them. Most of the people worked on the fishing boats, the cannery, or on the area’s many farms.  They were salt-of-the-earth Mainers used to working hard and making due  Everyone knew everyone and helped when they can.  The chamber of commerce said that Storybrooke was a fairytale gem hidden in the forests of Maine.

There had never been explosions, shoot outs, kidnappings, and murder in fairy tales.  At least not the ones Disney made into movies.

David, a farmer’s kid turned cop, was in way over his head and he knew it. He was the town Sheriff, but only because no one else wanted to be.  It was a tedious and thankless job.  The hours were long, the pay was low, and the mayor was a pain in his ass.  

There was no mafia, gangs, or evil doers in Storybrooke.  There were drunk drivers, graffitti, petty theft, and people who thought they would get away with growing pot in their backyard.  

Usually, he would ask his deputy for help.  Emma had been a bounty hunter and had worked in cities like Boston and New York.  She’d dealt with criminals with a capital C all the time.  He wasn’t sure why she’d decided to come to Storybrooke, but was grateful for her.  She was his co-worker, best friend, and practically the sister he’d never had.  She was missing.  She’d been taken in a hail of gunshots, flash grenades and molotov cocktails.  

Emma was gone, and he wouldn’t rest until he got her back.

“Tell me where she is.”

David leaned his hands on the table.  He was exhausted, exasperated, and terrified.  

“I won’t ask you again.”

This guy, who said he was an agent but wouldn’t show ID, had rolled into town right before everything had literally exploded.  Emma had been tight lipped about her relationship with him.  He was David’s one and only lead.  He was the key to saving Emma.

“You don’t know what you’re asking, Sheriff.”

The man, dressed in a suit that was worth more than David’s truck, stared at him with a gleam in his eye. His smarmy, condescending tone set David’s teeth on edge.

“Look. Emma is in danger and no one is telling me jack.  I don’t know what she did before, and I don’t care.”

He’d called the numbers she’d listed on her resume and they were all disconnected.  Some of the addresses she’d given didn’t even exist. Seen more than a simple bail bonds enforcer.  He really didn’t care.  Didn’t care about her past, or her lies.  She was still Emma.  

“She has a life here and now.  A job, friends, and family.  How do you even know her?  Why did you bring all this insanity to my town?!”

The other man sighed and shook his head.  His long hair fell over his face to shadow his eyes.  There was something ominous about him, something wrong.  David didn’t trust him.

“You are charming, Sheriff Nolan, but a little slow.”  

Robert Gold, if that was his real name and David doubted it, folded his hands on the head of his cane.  The man had a little limp, but David wasn’t sure if it was real or not.  He wasn’t sure anything was real right now.

“Emma worked for me.  She was plucked out of Boston’s reprehensible social services system at seventeen.  She was brash, bold, arrogant, and she wanted to do good.”

A ghost of a smile flickered across the man’s face.  

“The Agency, all agencies really, likes to find them young, hungry, and malleable.  Emma is smart, resourceful and she has instincts that border on magical.”

Gold shook his head again, like he was amused.  “She called it her superpower.”

David knew about Emma’s super power.  She could always tell when someone was lying, every time.  Big lies, small lies, white lies.  She always knew.  He also knew about her childhood.  She’d  bounced around between group homes and orphanages all over Massachusets.  She didn’t like to talk about it a lot.

“What she doesn’t mention is that she is also the best damn liar I’ve ever seen.  She could con a man in the desert out of his last drop of water and he’d thank her for it.”

Gold’s Scottish accent (at least David thought it was) made his words, as unnerving as they were sound almost pleasant.  

David wasn’t some Ivy Leaguer or even a fancy agent, but he wasn’t an idiot. The pieces started to fall into place.  Emma’s story was a cover.  She’d been an agent or operative or spy.  Now whatever shady things she’d done in the past were back to haunt her.  Back to kill her.

“We were a small team collected from everywhere.  MI6, Mossad, DGSE, BND, NIS, CIA.  You get the picture.”

David didn’t even recognize some of the alphabet agencies Gold named off, but got the gist of it.  Emma had been rubbing shoulders with James Bond and Co.

“We profiled, infiltrated and took down criminal networks.  Organized Crime, Terrorist Cells, Financial Schemes.  They called it Operation Fairy Tale.”  

Gold sighed.  “Stupid name really. None of us got happily ever after. Even during our best days and our best cases we were all on borrowed time.”

[loopy777]

Id say Dark knight returns has a lot of advantages that Watchmen does not.

As you note, because it has already established characters, we dont need to be sold on Batman. We just need to know he was gone, and that is in large part why gotham has become even more shitty.

It also manages to keep itself centered around one, single, cronological story about the Dark Knight coming back as opposed to watchmen that jumped all over the place and across time.

Not to say i dont have my problems with DKR.

The damn talking heads isnt a bad concept, and did help set the moor, but their screentime should have been cut in half at some point at the very least, or better yet cut all together. They served their purpose, and yet remained way past their time.

Also the whole Two Face plot is in my opinion a rather nice one, but it has no freaking ending. Like what happened? Did bruce give up on him once and for all? Did he go to jail? Back to arkham? I would really have liked to know. Its a big and iconic part of the story, and yet we have no ending for it.

And then there is the whole nuke plot. Its... Weird. I actually kinda like the idea of america being at the mercy of the USSR's nuclear capabilities for a good long while, and yet the russians dont pull the trigger, because even when they could exterminate the western world(or america at least) they are at the day human beings. But we dont get to see them actually make the decision not to do that. Instead we are told, and the story just sorta moves on.

Also superman absorbing solar powers from flowers is freaking wild man.

And then there is batman shooting that guy to save the kid.

Its a scene im torn on for a whole number of reasons.

On one hand... I can kinda see the idea for this moment. Its basically the whole idea that morrison tried to do with batman shooting darkseid. Putting the man who hates guns more than anything in a position where he has to use a gun, or a child, his charge and protectorate will die.

Its a lot less over melodramatic than magical bullets and batman giving a melodramatic "once in a lifetime exception" speech beforehand, which makes it feel a lot more real.

But on the other hand, the scene doesnt manage to sell it. Neither in selling and making it clear the fact that the punk actually survived(which takes away the biggest issue with this a lot of people have with the scene), nor in having bruce have a moment where he actually takes in what just happened.

Batman beyond episode 1 had this exact scene, and though it handled it by going in the exact opposite direction, it managed to convey the post gun moment in a way DKR should have done something similar as(honestly i wonder if the BB moment wasn't made with this moment in mind as a contrast).

Overall though, i would say DKR is a good batman story. A very good one... But i would not put it amongst the top ones by any means. It has amazing moments, but it's not aged like wine, though as a batman adventure, its aged way better than Watchmen has as a solo tale.

Also i have to agree conpletely with your take on Alan Moore.

Its kinda funny, both Alan and Miller went off the complete deep end, both in the exact opposite direction in large part due to personal politics, with miller going far right authoritarianism post 9/11, while Moore going complete anarchist far left as the years went on. It's just that while Millar's problem is that he's mostly just an asshole, Moore has the problem he's also kinda an asshole(If a lesser one compared to Miller), but whereas Miller went off the deep end methapohorically, Moore went off the deep end very literarily.

The man is genuinely insane, honestly thinks he's a wizard with magical powers and the ability to curse people, and probably should get treatment in a psychiatric ward for his own sake.

That's the difference between the drugs (Moore) and the drink (Miller).

Agreed on the Batman-with-gun moment. It goes by too quickly, isn't clear, and just kind of fades into everything else.

For the Two-Face plot, I don't think we need to see what happens to him afterward, as I believe the point is that his mind is now fully poisoned, so it's inevitable he's going back to Arkham. Batman, similarly, has fully devoted himself to his super-persona, so he can no longer reach out to Two-Face. The whole story could definitely use more room, but I think it works well enough.

[azlovesem]

Im just blocking that bitch right put. And im honna anihilate that post maline guy. I hog too good fuckn jokes on him about hos head his music his name ehet a goof. Ever sonce i first saw that goic inwanted to kull him. I dont kniw exactly but i want hom dead now.

Firget it i csnt be mad at you ill just live you alone in my own way. Ill just leacvevyou slone i cant go throug. With sttacking you. But the election is over we re going with trump. Because nobody attempted to maje amends. I heed a job too Emma we all gotta eat. Imsorry kid but im gonna torpedo the Harris campaign. Where you are and here, listen my bridtish buddy tod ne they want all thd i dians gone from your nstion. All if thrm slk immigrants pretty much. Gobd i dont know where. I killed 5 here as sn example yo modi. Tgey csnt be trustes their asy of life. I need to remove their leader and naybe most of rm leriod if things keep up. Im gonna support Trump. Then we cut a deal with the Rusdians then you dont even want yo fuckn know after that. We re gonna dplit the planet. Begire china gets too tough. Aftica midcleceast all if it. Even israel if they act up. Its a horribke plan but earth cantvdudtain us sll sweetoe. Its ok i cant fight you. You dont care who wins some election anyway whats that got to do wuth you. Id be open to other suggestionx only dtom you. Yeah im trying to force you whattya dumb? But i cant jolm you or kwt my oeolke do it. Post Msline i shoot yhat fuckn loser goof rapoer bitch 100000 times. Hes a goof stop it and ur froend if you can still call hed thaf is a supreme bitch skmetimes. She aint dhit we ll snipe her db nlonde ass if we want. Come in now we got sllllll the guns. You git a gun i hsve sbout 8000 of them. Shipped toms up hwre and sold em. Used yo. But ill likely end up back in a life of crime eventulky. Fixing and rigging elections weapimd sales coacaine. Moni dont like it but omce imlartying again ill be fobe in a cpl years anyway. Younwre actuslly imthought my only chance at salvation. I fidnt fo snything erong uiu fud. Now make amends. Everyone says its the right thing to do. Everyonecwsnts to see us makeup. Thry probably aanna astch us majeput yoo yhe losrrs. This is a lisers workf im the big winner. I wont kill malnd if you cone if not that guys dead. 1000 peecent dead. Ur a bitch malone such s lil nothing. Fuck uoj and ur fanx i just bscjed fien 10 people i. Pardsle who look like you. Makone bitch pussy i murdered over 28 people dtom shitty hoof hates by sll parkdake. Thats not a hood its bitch ville. We stab people who look l ill e you all the time there: its just a goof area mosg other hoids msje fun if it. If ur ftom parkdsle and you go to jsol you gef beat ip unless ur me. I wax on the worst range in th e don jsol 3 weeks i did fine. You would hace been dea. Maline or robbed. Theres a difference between real and a dumb ass butch rspoer. Homie theys sll if uou rspoers today im talkn to sll of you. The plsn is to extwrmonate yiu. Like rats.

Good morning

[aestheticvoyage2023]

Day 128: Monday May 8, 2023 - “After Action”

I spent the day feeling very accomplished and proud of myself as I debriefed with Audrie, regaling her with stories from our three day excursion through Phoenix and St Louis and back.   It was my first solo trip flying with William, who at 22 months is still breast feeding and working on potty training.  This was a big bite.  A very big bite for this Dad who is working hard to figure it all out and be a rock.  This was huge - not something that I had to do, but something I wanted to do; something I needed to do, to level up. It felt exactly the same as the first time I threw my heavy back pack on for my first ever overnight in the Wild and how proud and confident and bad ass that felt. Exactly the same feelings.  And with the literal non-stop task-loading I did from Friday at 3:30pm until Sunday at 7:00pm, I was pretty mentally drained when I hit my pillow; but today on the day-after, I could sit back in awe with some real pride of how it all came together.

Looking back over the 3 day run, I noted the things Id do different (like maybe make sure to pack shoes!), and shared the things that I thought really went well (I definitely aced bringing the big mama-water).  I laughed at my “Jesus Take The Wheel” presentation to TSA and how now I think I could go back and ace that like an old pro after my two trips through. Ben sent me a picture he’d snapped at Lambert Airport before hugging goodbye - with me carrying my intentional planning (literally) - the bones of the whole operation on display.  Car Seat, Suitcase to check with both of our clothes and bathroom bags, messenger bag of books, snacks, and toys, stroller, diaper bag, and the old “throw it in there” bag which will absolutely be a staple of every trip I take with him from now on.  The intentional planning of every piece - checked the car seat and the suitcase, kept my shoulder bag and everything else went under the stroller, which was gate checked, with the ease of a bullride. I played it all through in my head several times the week before to make sure I had it all visualized and knew how it would go before it went, taking my weekend Dad-show on the road.  And it went, just as I had visualized.  My operation is aced.

I couldn’t have done any of this on intentional planning alone.  As is usually the case with the standby game, getting there with confidence was easy, with load updates right up until boarding.   Its the getting home that is always the crap-shoot. I thanked my lucky stars for the run of good standby luck, made possible by my skillful planning to give myself the best options by starting the trip Friday out of Phoenix AND the blind luck of an intoxicated guy getting booted to ensure my one spot home. But I felt confident that either way that would’ve gone yesterday, travelling back, I was ready for it.  5 hour energy, snacks to the gills, books including the long Choo Choo book - I was ready to play the long game if I had to; I worked hard to manage my expectations.  My mind was steady through it all - “slow is fast. slow is fast” | “take it as it comes”   I literally coached my way through the weekend with my “Dadconscious.” And just like weekends at home, I checked the waypoints until the only thing left to do was get home on this 3.5 hour middleseat flight. We were the last two rushed on in a standby stroke of luck, helped by a Flight Attendant that carried William for me, and sat us down where I was too cramped to even get my headphones or snacks. I buckled in and knew it was on me to bring this whole trip home strong by relaxing William to sleep, keeping him comfortable and steady and off the people on either side. Id skillfully worked Sunday to try to line up this flight with a long hard earned nap and it worked as planned.  But now, with no entertainment and nothing to do but to just sit there still as I can be letting him sleep, I passed the slow time, mentally preparing for the witching hour coming my way once he woke up, and how I’d manage the close quarters here on the descent with a rested excited stir crazy toddler and no back up aside from my own resilient mindful will; the one thing that no amount of intentional planning could help with. I would now be leaning full on to my mindfulness as I rode this last wave. With about an hour to go, he started to wiggle himself awake, until finally his eyes opened, and mindfully I worked with him to land the plane with no tears and no real struggle.  With our wheels back down in Arizona, the only left now was to get our luggage, and get to the car, and drive home.   Mission accomplished.

And it was nice today, to be able to sit in my success and be proud of it, and share what I had learned as if I had just climbed some mountain or aced some trail - some real adventure.   And I suppose thats what its always about, out here living a great story.  That no matter what it is that you’re trying to do, that you go for it and stretch your boundaries, and level up.  I definitely did that this past weekend, and today I felt like a whole new Dad.

Song: Brian Wright - You Got It All

Quote: “Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.” ― J.K. Rowling