#if yall could do me a solid and drop something cool in the comments and let me know how your life is going id love that

[ironmandeficiency]

falcon, falcon, goose!

pairing: sam wilson / reader

word count: 3547

summary: there were reports of geese leading people to their soulmates spanning centuries, and it seemed like a cool concept, but why did it have to coincide with you coming out of your writing slump?

warnings: cursing, geese, dumbassery, implied happy au where the avengers get along, iw and endgame who?

a/n: this is an older piece i wrote a couple years ago, decided to brush it up and repost it. and the reader works for snl bc why the hell not? keep in mind that the original was written before everything went to shit w iw & endgame. posted from mobile yet again yall what is wrong w me

it was a sunny day outside, and deciding that you had been cooped up for far too long, you brought your laptop to the park a couple blocks from your studio apartment.

being a writer for saturday night live wasn't always so peachy, what with the lack of a social life outside of your co-workers and constantly explaining your job to confused relatives. you had been in a slump for the past couple weeks, the fact most of your sketch ideas not making the cut for the next episode continuing to throw you off your rhythm.

this week, you were going to change that. Your headphones were playing your concentration playlist full volume and you were hyped to the max. with your laptop on the picnic table in front of you and a warm cup of tea beside it, you were ready to blow the producers away with your next idea.

"honk! honk!"

you felt something nudge your leg, but you were too engrossed into what you were typing to care. after getting through a few more lines, it happened again.

"honk! honk! honk!"

you couldn't hear the sound but the feeling on your leg got a little bit rougher, more demanding. you moved your headphones to the side for a minute and took a moment to look around you. there was no kid running to get their ball back or any squirrels nearby that dropped a nut.

strange.

but you put your headphones back on, trying to keep your groove alive while hoping the interruptions are finished.

"HONK! HONK! HONK!" the goose honked louder, pecking at your leg harder than it had earlier.

you were getting frustrated and a little pissed. the creativity was flowing through your veins for the first time in what felt like ages and this — whatever it was — decided that today was the best day to annoy you.

you kicked your legs out with a strange flail and when you came into contact with something large and solid you nearly screamed.

"ow! motherf- oh my god!"

standing on the ground beside your table was a goose. it honked yet again with impatience (geese could do that?) and nipped lightly at your thigh closest to it. looking to the pond nearby, it was nearly an entire gaggle of the damned things.

so here was this goose honking at you and nipping at you like you were supposed to know what the hell it wanted from you.

"i don't have any bread, dumbass. go find someone else to bother." thinking it would leave if you ignored it, you turned away and continued your work.

"HONK! HONK!" it continued to honk and decided to peck you before flapping its wings, landing itself on the table next to your computer.

"get outta here, ya damn goose!" while you were trying to shop it away, it expertly evaded you. "go! shoo! leave me alone!"

it just stayed over on the bench, expertly dodging your attempts to get it to leave.

a few people nearby had heard your altercation with the infernal bird. one of them was an older gentleman that laughed as he sat across from you, the mirth in his eyes glinting as you give him a sarcastic side eye while trying to deal with the current issue.

"that bird won't leave you alone, you know." At his voice, the goose calmed down and waddled a few feet away from your arm's reach.

that was the first time the thing had been seemingly calm since he showed up at your little table.

"what do you mean he won't leave me alone?"

he pauses, part of him enjoying the irritation in your tone. he remembers someone talking to him like he was to you many years ago, and it made his heart smile at the idea of repaying the favor. "have you ever read about soulmate geese?"

"hey we're gonna go for a run, wanna join?" steve’s offer was given with a smirk. ever since reuniting with bucky, the two supersoldiers found so much humor in doing laps around sam every time they went out jogging.

it annoyed the shit out of him, the "on your left" comments from steve and the newer "on your right" jabs from bucky, but it also pushed Sam to work harder during his runs. ultimately he knew his non-enhanced body didn't stand much of a chance beating them, but he enjoyed when he was able to close the gap between their times just a little bit.

"sure, just gimme a few to eat breakfast and I'll join you guys." the blond nodded and turned back to the elevator, having woken up far earlier than sam and therefore already ate.

he hummed otis redding as he laid the bacon flat into the pan, shoulders moving along with his created rhythm while changing the grounds in the coffee filter. this was how he spent most of his mornings, barring the occasional hangovers and missions where he couldn't afford the distraction.

he ate, got dressed, and told FRIDAY to let bucky and steve know he was ready to go. h had his water bottle in hand, giving his body a pep talk in preparation for the run. they met in the common room and soon, the trio was off.

"on your left!"

"on your right!"

"oh, come on!"

he knew it was gonna happen, but for some reason it felt like it happened sooner than normal. either they were trying really hard to mess with him today, or he was off his game. but regardless, he pushed his body harder than he probably should have because when there was something obstructing his path, he didn't pause. no, he charged it straight on through and fell hard.

steve and bucky had seen this from a distance and immediately rushed to get to their friend.

sam rolled onto his back, exhausted and now in terrible pain from the fall. he closed his eyes and just let it all sink in. when he opened his eyes at the sudden foul smell flooding his nostrils, he could feel the palpitations, thinking he was about to have a heart attack.

"holy shit!" sam sat up like a rocket despite the way his body was throbbing from the fall.

the goose stared at him curiously and turned its head toward the pounding footsteps from the approaching brooklynites.

"sam! What happened?" steve was concerned, inspecting sam while bucky noticed the bird. The brunet bent down to meet the goose eye-level and was somewhat surprised that it didn't run away at the close proximity.

"did you trip the dumbass? was it your fault sam landed on his face? Huh, little guy?"

"honk! honk!"

"i thought so. good job, man." bucky pats the animal on the head gently before turning to help steve get sam off the ground.

"nothing’s broken but there's probably a sprain, can't really be sure until we get to cho." sam and bucky lift their friend from the pavement and they have no problem supporting his weight.

they began the walk back to the tower in silence. well, almost silence. there was a faint pitter-patter of tiny, webbed feet behind them that sam and bucky weren't paying attention to.

steve noticed the goose slowly waddling behind the trio and looked at sam with a smile. sam responded to steve’s happy face with a glare, not enjoying any of the situation he found himself in.

"look behind us, guys."

both men took turns looking behind them and see the goose waddling behind them patiently. sam wasn't particularly happy about the culprit from moments before trailing behind him, but bucky thought it was hilarious.

"do you know what this means?"

sam rolled his eyes because he thought the blond was about to make some sort of poetic comment about one thing for another.

bucky had paused to think about the implications of a random goose for a moment before gasping. "dude," bucky nudged sam softly, being conscious of his friend's injuries. "you’re gonna meet your soulmate, man!"

"a soulmate goose. man come on, are you out of your mind?"

"steve got his goose back during the war, i think we know enough about it."

sam had only heard vague reports of soulmate geese throughout his life, but now that he thought about it, it did make sense. the goose showed up randomly in the middle of his routine, completely throwing him off, and was now refusing to leave him alone.

"well if this is my soulmate goose, then somebody’s gotta tell tony about our newest avenger." they laughed at the implication, viciously eager to witness tony’s reaction to the newest resident of avengers hq.

it has been three days of dealing with your goose, and you were now teased at work as “bird brain”, walking into your office to see several loaves of bread covering the desk. your goose, that you had named piper once you got home, was excited at the prospect of more food, but you planned on donating most of the bread to local shelters, only keeping a couple loaves for the house.

the guest host that week was mick jagger, and he had emerged into the room “i dream of jeanie” style, startling both you and piper, who honked at him in irritation.

it was time for you to work on the song for your little sketch with him, and you had only two more days before performance night (it was thursday) to finish writing it. after settling down and getting into the right mindset, the writing process had begun.

"alright let's see," mick murmured. "let’s all go to the picnic, let's all have a drink. what rhymes with 'drink'?"

you thought for a moment and said quietly, "think?"

you weren't prepared for the absurd response you received from the man, his accent making him round mean as he barked out a loud "NO!" with an unnecessary hand gesture.

piper just about lost it. she was honking and flapping around your office in a tizzy (but staying away from mick because the man was seen as a stranger she wasn't comfortable with).

you racked your brain for another solution, something else to rhyme with 'drink' and you eventually found it: "sink?"

mick thought about it for a moment before replying with a much lighter "yes!" also paired with unwarranted pointing.

‘motherfucker, is this how you write songs?!'

thursday and friday came and went, and soon it was time for your piece to be performed by mick. du to an accidental ankle twist someone else suffered, you were forced to perform a skit live for the first time in your career. it would have been great, but there was one teensy problem: piper blatantly refused to leave your side when it was time to perform, and she would honk and bite anyone that tried to keep her from you onstage.

even poor bobby, who she had grown fond of, was taking the brunt of it. she was not allowing you to be more than a couple feet away from her, and it was almost endearing if you weren't being broadcast on national television.

apparently, piper would also be making her debut appearance on saturday night live tonight as well.

saturday had arrived, and it was sam’s day of rest. he spent the day doing the bare minimum, eating junk food and watching almost everything on netflix he could find.

he didn't stray too far from tradition, not really. it was just that now he had a goose accompanying him the entire time, honking at this and that and eating occasional pieces of popcorn that sam didn't want to share.

he didn't mind his feathered companion, he was actually quite fond of his goose at this point. whitewing (not to be confused with redwing) was the most calm goose any of them had seen, no biting or nipping and especially no honking at ungodly hours of the night.

steve was perplexed. "Are you sure whitewing hasn't done anything bad? no waking you up at night or bites when you don't feed him soon enough?"

sam would chuckle and shake his head, proud to have such a calm goose. "why are you so keen to see him misbehave? aren’t all soulmate geese like this?"

"for lack of a better word, most geese are assholes. i don't know how whitewing is so well behaved," steve balked at the very idea of all geese being so mellow and decided it was story time.

steve’s goose from the century before was the most rambunctious animal anyone had ever seen. he recounted the first and several occasions following where his soulmate goose, jimmy, fended off the blond man's alleyway attackers.

sam was extremely grateful that whitewing had less feral and goose-like tendencies. whitewing was extremely well behaved and had an almost human way about him, the way he honked in reply to sam or the rest of the team when they talked to him.

it was late in the evening when clint decided to plop down onto the couch and flick the channel to nbc, where tonight's host was mick jagger.

"why are we watching this?" sam was enjoying his sitcoms before the other bird man had showed up.

"i haven't watched it in ages, plus mick jagger is on tonight."

"alright, whatever you want."

the intro played like usual, and whitewing was perfectly complacent. they laughed in the right places with the occasional honking from the bird, and everything was great.

"hey man, look!" clint interrupted, keeping sam from being able to hear the punchline. "i think that's a goose!"

"why is there a goose? The skit has nothing to with-"

sam and clint seemed to come to the same realization at the same time as whitewing, the goose beginning to honk incessantly. he was going absolutely berserk, flapping his wings and hopping off of sam’s lap and onto the coffee table, occasionally pecking at the tv where he saw the other goose.

he was going absolutely bonkers.

"whitewing! whitewing, no! calm down!" sam scrambled to calm down his goose, but he was having none of it. the whole entire skit, whitewing was honking and flapping and being a general nuisance.

he found his soulmate.

whitewing kept at it until the screen went to a commercial, his soulmate off of the screen.

"y’know," clint spoke around a slice of pizza. when did he get pizza? "if you hurry, you could go to the studio and meet your soulmate. the show is about halfway over."

before sam could think over the proposition, tony’s voice was heard from the corridor. "somebody shut that damned bird up before I pay ramsay to cook it!"

"i’m taking care of it!"

with that, sam heads to the armory with whitewing on his tail to get his wings. once he's equipped, sam heads to the window and jumps, immediately setting his course for studio 8h and his soulmate.

you’re released to go back to your office once you finish the skit alongside mick and piper, the show almost over. you’re gathering your things lazily, knowing that you have no other responsibilities for the night.

just as you lock your office and piper is waddling beside you without a care in the world, you see kyle running towards you with a look of fear in his eyes. that fear seems to only triple when his eyes land on piper beside you.

"kyle! what’s-"

"there’s another goose on the set! no one is safe!"

wait, was he bleeding?!

you were going to try and help your friend but one look at piper sent him off the rails, the lanky man nearly falling on his ass in an attempt to skid the corner. you hoped that someone would help calm your panicked friend, seeing as you were literally the worst person for the job at the moment.

without further incident, you are able to say goodbye to cecily and mikey before you're stopped in your tracks by michael, who gives piper a funny look.

"wait, so the goose that attacked kyle wasn't piper?" You shake your head in confusion. "dude, your soulmate must have come to the set!"

piper must have either understood what your co-worker had said or she could sense a change in the studio, but she began to honk erratically and run away from you. the last thing new york needed was two feral geese running around attacking people, so you did what anyone would do and ran after her.

"piper! piper, come back!" michael laughed as you chased after your goose. while you were running, you nearly died when you heard a honk that you knew wasn't from your piper. hers were carved into your brain, and you were positive that you could pick hers out of an entire gaggle of geese, so there was indeed a second goose in the studio.

to your dismay, piper did not stop and wait, she just kept on honking and flapping and scaring people in pursuit of the other goose, poor old you having to chase her.

there was another voice you assumed was yelling at his goose since you didn't know of anyone naming their kid whitewing. your eyes were not looking straight ahead when you suddenly bumped into someone, immediately stumbling a bit before regaining your balance.

piper had stopped her honking and that scared you. did someone hurt her? was she-

her and another goose were making muted honks to each other. they sounded like affectionate honks, which is one of the weirdest sentences you ever constructed in your head. but it was true! they were cuddling close to each other and making really quiet honking noises at each other, and if that wasn’t affectionate then you didn’t know what would be.

so if piper found her soulmate, that means yours was-

"i hope comin' to your job was okay. whitewing wasn't gonna give up until I left, so here we are." your eyes were dragged from the touching scene of piper and her special goose to a pair of dark brown irises that radiated warmth and a promise of happy days.

you were absolutely dumbstruck. your mouth was unable to form coherent words, so you decided to take in the appearance of your soulmate. he was wearing a soft grey tee and sweatpants, and socks without shoes. did he realize how unsanitary the streets of new york were?

but upon further investigation, you realize that he probably didn't walk to the studio. on his back was what you would normally call a jetpack, but when you recognize the face your mind completes the puzzle: your soulmate is sam wilson, otherwise known as the falcon. holy shit.

"uh yeah of course, i guess you flew here? no sane person in new york would walk around barefoot in the street." did you really just say that?!

sam nodded and then remembered that he was in his pajamas in front of his soulmate without any shoes. "yeah, he wasn't gonna stop attacking the tv once he saw uh…"

you realized he was asking for your goose’s name, and so you hastily gave it to him.

"yeah, once he saw piper, he went wild. caused more chaos in five minutes than he did in five days!"

you laugh, the nervousness falling away as you recount the story of you first meeting with piper.

people are staring at the pajama-clad avenger and his soulmate, their geese finally satisfied. after all, it wasn't every day so many people were able to watch soulmate geese (and their people) meet for the first time.

sam gently took your hand, his thumb smoothing the skin on the back of it, just listening to you talk. you asked him a question about whitewing and he was in the middle of telling you when he cut himself off. "i just realized i don't even know your name!"

in most scenarios you’d be slightly put off by this, but you didn't have an issue because of the specific circumstances. if he weren't an avenger you wouldn't have known his either, and plus, no one really pays attention to the little rat writers. you give him your name and smile when he introduces himself, his voice even helping show off the brightest smile you’ve ever seen.

with impeccable goose timing, piper and whitewing honk at you to hurry your introductions and leave the studio.

"do you want to fly back to your place , or can I drive you?" it was a risk to ask him such a question, but you were genuinely concerned. you hoped he wouldn't think you were trying to jump his bones only minutes after meeting him so you used (terrible) humor to show your intentions. "you shouldn't fly so late at night without headlights, no matter how high up you get."

sam’s laughter was infectious and soon you joined him, your geese about to get more irritated with their humans.

"yeah, I'd like that. lead the way, soulmate." piper and whitewing honk as the two of you head to the lobby hand in hand, the birds waddling behind you just as happy as soulmate geese could be.

[sloppy-butcher]

I will sacrifice my first born for a part 2 of dare you with joey

well anon, hand it over. give me the baby

edit// this thing is long like godDAMN i need to relax. hope yall enjoy it :)

Part 1: Dare You - Joey x Reader crackfic

Double-Dare You

The Legion (Joey) x Survivor!Reader

The pallet dropped against the concrete wall with a loud whack followed by a disgruntled shout. Joey reeled backward, his head aching from the collision with the wooden object. At the moment of successful contact, you spun around to the killer and passed him the biggest shit-eating grin you could conjure. Joey catches your elation and decides to ignore the pain to instead focus on you. 

“Y’know, I’m still waiting for an answer,” Joey said, his tone casual as if this were a conversation taking place between equals in a normal situation. You rolled your eyes amazed by how stubborn and oblivious the man appeared to be - he would not drop the topic for anything, not even as he chased you with a hunter’s knife poised. “When are you going to take me on that date you promised?” This earned a chuckle from you, fully swinging round to face the masked man with your arms crossed over your chest.

“You’re joking, right?” He tilted his head feigning ignorance. Your smile stretches to an impossible brightness, how exactly this killer always made you feel so giddy and playful was beyond your simple understanding. Perhaps it was because you had never experienced a killer who was so talkative and lively, this being such a unique situation that against your better judgment you decided to humor it and actively encouraged his behavior. It was fun. “And where,” You shake your hands in the air, “would I take you on this hypothetical date?” Joey hummed, standing straight with his knife tapping under his chin in a contemplative manner.

“That should be for you to decide really. Though we could always go check out some cool places. These realms,” he gestures to the weepy forest around you both, “are ten times cooler when they are empty.” You raise a curious eyebrow, demanding an explanation without uttering a word. He sighs and lifts his foot to kick the pallet. “I mean, that cowboy saloon place is pretty awesome on its own. All old-western and shit. But it would be even cooler if it was just us two.” At the sound of the wood splintering, your instinctive reaction was to flee to another pallet leaving the man's comment to fall of deaf ears. Joey followed but stayed far enough behind to not have his skull caved in with another hit. You bring the new pallet down between you two and once again spin around to the killer.

“Tell me again why exactly I have to take you on a date? I don’t remember doing anything wrong.” You spit at him, venom dripping from every syllable of your inherently rhetorical question. Joey smirked under his mask - oh you were a feisty one alright. Cocky and proud even when kneeling at the feet of a predator. Rather than kicking the pallet, Joey let it sit between you two, making it an honorary truce-table. You would not run if he did not chase. And he only wanted to talk. 

“Because you harassed me. Remember?” You shake your head in a mischievous ‘no’ earning another grin from the enthralled boy. God, you were good. Doing absolutely nothing at all but dragging him in all the same. “You smacked my ass,” Joey deadpans, “And you never made up for it.” 

You smile at the reminder of your triumph from a few trials previous. Though you were scared pant-less at the time, looking back now only filled you with the taste of sweet victory. You would not let anyone convince you to do anything like that again, not even Meg with all her stupid, little games even if it did somehow end up with the outcome of befriending a killer. 

“I don’t see why I have to pay anything for that little smack,” You toss your head and throw him a coy eye. You practically see the man shake from restrained laughter and knew that you had him wrapped around your little finger. You could easily manipulate him just as he could easily kill you. You shudder at the glimmer of the knife in his hand but decide to focus on the conversation rather than his purpose being there. “It was a harmless little thing.” You pull your hand up to your mouth to nonchalantly hide your growing grin.

“It was twice.” Joey retorts matter-of-factly. He watches as you release your tense posture, throwing a hand on your hip and rolling your eyes. 

“Oh please, that is nothing really. Besides,” Your gaze falls down to his knife again and you feverishly swallow your mounting fear. “You have done far worse things to me.” At your words and pointed implication, Joey’s confidence plummets to the ocean floor. Of course, you would never trust him willingly, not after all he has done. And though he knew full well that he could just take you if he truly wanted to, Joey denied his animalistic urge in favor of keeping the peace. He wanted to keep your fire - preserve that genuine playfulness that he oh so enjoyed lest he shatters it by forcibly caging you. 

“I know you have no reason to trust me,” Joey’s voice has lost all semblance of the peppy court-fool it was just moments before, catching you off-guard in its sudden change. He lowers his hand that holds his weapon, moving it behind his back so that it was out of your view.  His head drops, the ebony eyes peeking out from underneath his mask glistening with unmistakable remorse. “But, when I say that I don’t want to hurt you. Please know that I mean it.” You wanted to scoff, to call his bluff and his terrible acting skills but something about his tone made you hold back your comments. There was a pure genuineness in his voice that flickered a light of hesitation in your head. Maybe it was your nativity or that stupid part of your brain that always wanted to see the good in people, but you believed him. You believed that he did not want to hurt you. At least not now. 

“What about my friends?” You ask through your dawning affinity, guarding your words with the last ounces of your resistance to him. He was pulling you into him, dragging you down into those deep-as-night eyes. 

“I will let them all go. But only today. Next time I…” Joey turns his head away from you, embarrassed and partly ashamed that he could not even offer you a solid answer. “There are things you don't know. I can only spare you sometimes before It gets angry.” He sighs and his shoulders deflate, making him look pitiful and small. You frown and feel yourself unconsciously step towards him, reaching out to try to comfort the killer. “Please believe me.” 

“I do. I do believe you.” You spoke without thinking, stepping closer to the pallet, and to him. He instantly raises his head at your words and approach, surprised by your forwardness but nonetheless delighted. “For some reason, I do believe you. But I can’t…” You pause, shaking your head free from the intrusive thoughts daring to bubble over, “I can’t be alone with you. Not yet.” Joey understood that completely and a little too eagerly, nodded his head in agreement. 

It wasn’t much but it was a start. And he was beyond happy to be given this opportunity.

“For now, I suppose.” You cringe inwardly as the idea formed in your head and moved into words. “I suppose you can smack my butt if it will even the odds.” Joey nearly fell over at your suggestion. He bit back a laugh and had to spin around so that he could compose himself. You watch as he doubles-over, clutching his stomach while emitting sounds of stifled giggling. After a few minutes, he straightens and faces you again, his expression and tone stone-like. 

“Yes. I think that would suffice.” He narrows his eyes cunningly, “For now.” With your mouth agape in shock, you scoff and throw your arms up.

“Dude! I was joking! I didn’t think you’d actually agree to it?!” You feel your face begin to heat up. The man tilts his head ever-so-slightly and you could physically see his enjoyment growing at the expense of your humility. From the way he was standing so assured in his next decisions, you had the dawning realization that there was no way to talk him out of it now. Sucking back your pride you bite your lip and glare daggers at the man.

“Fine. Just,” You twist your body around, presenting your ass to him. How embarrassing. How humiliating! Every inch of you burned from excruciating pain, birthed from the pure absurdity of the situation as it finally rested upon your shoulders. “Just make it quick!” You practically shout over your shoulder, your face now a burning furnace you were sure was bright enough to light up the night. Joey was overwhelmed by your willingness to oblige and for a second, contemplated if this was even real. Just minutes before he was chasing you, begging you to so much as to stop and talk to him, give him just one single chance to try to reach out. And now, in the most brilliant and wonderful course of events, you had offered yourself to him! His fingers itched, his heart pumped louder than gunshots. 

“Close your eyes.” Joey reactively says without planning or action. He only realizes his command when he notices your confused expression. “Please, trust me.” Your face flickers, shifting between utter bewilderment and denial. Then something clicks and you agree, closing your eyes and squeezing them shut. Joey goes to break the pallet, its job as instigator between debating parties no longer necessary. You flinch at the sound and fight the inherent urge to run from it and the monster behind the noise. Suddenly you feel him closer, the brushing of fabric against your bare arm lets you know that he was standing right beside you.

Ordinarily, killers breathed obnoxiously, panting loud and hard like hungry wild boars with their teeth bared and frothing saliva dripping from their bleeding lips. But as the man neared you, coming closer than you had previously ever allowed him to, he was quiet and gentle as a bee. Buzzing around slow and tentative, asking for you, a sweet flower, to open up and let him rest. He held back that part of him that had scarred you so many times before, confining the violent boar in favor of being human - if only for a moment.

Joey’s heart threatened to pump straight out of his chest, the hammering so boisterous in his ears that all he heard was thumping and all he saw was you. Your lip twitches, your eyes furrowed shut tense as his shadow covers your face. He slowly lifts up the bottom of his fabric mask, careful about his movements so as not to alert you. You were so much like a rabbit, frightened and easily spooked - he could not risk losing you now that he was so close. So close - close enough to…

In the blind obliviousness, you grow impatient, wondering why he had not already taken his chance you return his ass smack tenfold. But as you went to open your mouth to curse his slowness, a pair of lips land ever-so precariously on yours. Light as the cool breeze of a winter’s morning, so soft that you doubted they were even there. It was only when you pushed up into them did you realize their fullness. The man was kissing you - if you could call this weak excuse of a peck a kiss. He was scared to force himself on you, scared to chase you away if he let loose his full eagerness to consume you, and in doing so barely even allowed himself to touch you. You appreciated his controlled reluctance and as your boldness grew, so did your pressure into the embrace. You deepen the kiss and you feel the man shudder.

After a few seconds, the man pulls away gasping, his hot breath cascading across your flushed cheek. You stand there a moment longer with your eyes closed, unsure of what to do after this peculiar sequence of events. You feel the man move his lips once more to your tender face and place one last kiss on the corner of your mouth. 

“The name’s Joey by the way.” He whispers into your skin, his voice a creamy, dark mess. The power you had over him, even in something as simple as a shy kiss, was immeasurable. Joey knew he couldn’t be around you for much longer lest he does something regrettable so begrudgingly he lowered his mask and stepped back. He looked you over one last time before sprinting off into the foggy abscess in that unnatural speed of his. You watch the whiteness consume his form and scream after him, 

“That was not part of the deal!” But Joey was long gone before the first word had even left your mouth. Suddenly you couldn’t wait for that date.

[venus-says]

Kamen Rider OOO Episodes 17-32

I'm really holding myself to not make a joke with a Katy Perry song.

Yes, I'm late. Yesterday was my mom's birthday and I was taking care of that for the past three days so I didn't finish writing this post on time, I'M SORRY. But here I am now so let's get to the juice.

You know, looking from the point we left in the last post I expected things to go downhill and I was prepared to have another W's mid-season experience. Aaaaand I was wrong! And thank god for it.

The complaints I had from the first part are still present here, but they picked on the good points already present and expanded so much on them that when you put things on paper the positives more than compensate for the bad ones. As I mentioned before, arcs introducing a new "ranger" in the middle of the season are for the most part very hard to me, I usually don't like those, and the way they introduce Birth sure was rough in some edges. But despite the elements I dislike still being there, I've grown to like Akira/Birth and I think their inclusion to the cast played a big role in making this second part as solid as it was.

The come and go of the medals is still confusing and hard to keep up with, the antagonists are still kind of a mess, some of the MOTW plots are weak, but each one of these negatives come with a positive. Yes, is hard to keep track of the medals, but the new combo forms Os got in these episodes were amazing both in visuals and in powers. Yes, there are still many "factions" acting as antagonists, but each one of them had something added to them so they don't look just like a bunch of pawns trying to act like a king and just looking like a bunch of ants who broke formation coming back to their colony. While some MOTW didn't have a very engaging story, each one of them had at least one quirk that made them interesting.

If there are things I'd consider fatal flaws in this particular block of episodes I'd say they are: how they didn't know how to manage the GREED, Gotou's storyline, and those horrible episodes celebrating the 1000th episode.

Regarding the GREED, this is a problem I had in the first part as well, they're completely underused. First, they quickly ditched two generals (the ones with most personality) at once, so I thought we would see Uva and Kazari as two different forces going against each other, but no Uva was pushed to the side for the most of it and we only saw Kazari doing his things. Then there's the matter of Ankh's body who's sitting on a very thin line and sometimes it's pending more to the interesting side and in other times is just sitting in the "really, queen?" side of things. Now not everything is bad, adding a new GREED that wasn't one of the original 5 and having this GREED be merging with both Eiji and Dr, Maki is very interesting and I'm quite curious to see how it'll develop, I feel like they're building up for Maki be the final boss and I'm kinda thorned about it since I really like Kougami and I wish he was the final antagonist, but episodes 29 and 30 shed a new light on Dr. Maki and I started liking him a little more so I think I'm okay if that's the path they'll take.

Gotou is a mixed bag of feelings for me. I really started disliking him around episode 12, and I disliked him more when they started to hint him as being the next Rider to join, and I still think he's a very weak character and he's definitely not in my favorites' list. But I started to get more sympathetic towards him and a huge part of that is because of his interactions with Akira, I'm still not interested on seeing him becoming Birth but thanks to this period he spent with Akira I think when the change happens I'll be more open-minded for it. I also can't deny that he had a great part in on of my favorite stories of the season (Episodes 21 and 22) that made me soften my heart for him, seeing his internal conflict about his own sense of justice was very cool, the conclusion he came to wasn't what I wanted but it was still great nonetheless.

The 1000th episode arc was... just boring and embarrassing, I'm sorry. I know I don't have the knowledge of this franchise to catch all the easter eggs and such, but with easter eggs or no is a very weak plot and I wasn't interested in anything. Again, I'm sorry.

But now let's talk about the good stuff. First of all, I wanna take a moment to talk about the power-ups, Os got two new combos in these episodes and they're both great. Seeing that I'm a sucker for water powers I thought ShaUTa would be my favorite, and while it looks pretty good and the fight underwater we got as cool as heck my favorite form is TaJaDor, I love the design of the suit, I love the design of the wings, I love that attack with the peacock feathers, I love when he goes to the sky and start looking like a phoenix, that power-up is *chef's kiss* perfecto! I don't know if PuToTyranno is considered a power-up, but the form is also pretty darn good, I think the ptera wings are a bit weird and attacking with a tail is a bit too much for me (especially with that CGI), but I love the ax/gun weapon he got, and I can't wait to see more. (also PuToTyranno is a very fun name to me because "puto" is not a family-friendly word in Portuguese and I just can't help but crack every time I think of it XD)

Talking about characters, Eiji is as great as ever, his smartness continues being on point, he has great comedy moments, and the delivery on the emotional moments is very well done. What I liked the most about him in these episodes was seeing how he could gave some very strong speeches about justice and helping other people and said speeches didn't sound generic or fake like in the many other shows with a young male target audience. They were a bit idealistic while staying very grounded in reality which I loved. We also got to see the full scope of his backstory too, I don't necessarily love the part about he coming from a wealthy family, but I can see that this also adds a lot on his shoulders so I'm okay with it, is still a very strong character point. I thought it would take long to another Rider to dethrone Shotaro as my favorite, but Eiji is coming very close to it, let's see how the show will handle his character in this final third.

Ankh... is still Ankh. I thought they were building a narrative of him betraying Eiji, and I thought that could be a very nice point to make him grow as a character but that didn't come true so, I'm still kinda meh about him. Hina is still boring, but this time I'll blame all on the actress/direction they gave to her because there are good moments for her here but the delivery is very lackluster. Chiyoko is still a very nice side character, I really liked her participation in episodes 29 and 30 with her interactions with Maki, I hope we can see more of this in the future.

The things in Kougami foundation are still a high point for me, Kougami himself seems to be becoming more crazy and obsessive as time passes and I just love it. Erika is by far the best support character, and I love that badass action scene they gave her in episode 20! I wish the booty shots didn't have camera angles that weren't so IN YOUR FACE, but I guess is a fair trade considering the many closeups on Eiji while he's on his underwear so...

I already talked a bit about Akira but I feel like I need to highlight him again. I wasn't expecting to like him this much, especially seeing how he crashed this party without previous notice, but I really enjoy him. He's so upbeat and straightforward, yet he's not just an easygoing character, we can see his dept and whenever he goes serious it doesn't seem like a very drastic change. It's kinda impossible to dislike this guy. I'm a bit afraid for him, because the signs that he's going to die are all here, and I don't wanna see him go because I like him so much, I hope that if they do it it'll be on a nice way and it'll make him justice, BUT I'LL TRY TO STAY POSITIVE TILL THE LAST MINUTE AND I'LL BELIEVE THAT HE'S NOT GONNA DIE (pls OOO, don't crush my heart).

I believe this is all I had to say, I can't believe I'm already so close to the end of this wonderful series, I really hope they won't drop the ball in this final stretch. How yall feel about the middle portion of OOO, anything you agree or disagree with? Let me know in the comments. See you, folks. o/

[smartcookie727]

Starfarers: Chapter 2

Happy gajevy day yall! I am so excited for all the love for my dear gajevy. This is where I finished off the original prompt for my Eden’s Zero crossover fic but we have now turned into a multichap. Levy dives into the deep end this time, and we finally meet Gajeel and a few of the crew members of the Iron Dragon. I hope yall enjoy. Leave me a comment, reblog, tag, anything so I know what yall like. Be sure to check out my writing blog @luminescent-words for all fics, WIPs, and everything literary!

Pairing: Gajevy

Length: 2.2k

Levy McGarden has a thriving business and a comfortable life on Blue Garden. But that life was turned upside down the night she crashed into the Captain of the Iron Dragon. Space pirate: Gajeel Redfox. She saved his life that night, and they’ve only grown closer since. Now, he’s got a proposition: come with him and he’ll take her to find what she’s been searching for her entire life.

Chapter 2: Captain

Levy whirled around.

Gajeel.

“Of course I got the note.” Her words tried to come out harsh, but the warmth spreading through her heart dulled their bite.

He was everything she remembered and more. Clad in a simple black shirt and leather jacket, he exuded confidence. Wild raven hair cascaded down his back, tempered by a thick gray bandana that matched the studded embellishments on his clothes and face. His red eyes pierced straight through to her heart. Tall and muscular and tanned from hours outside, he looked like he’d stepped straight out of one of her romance novels—only better.

The curve of his lips sent a shiver down her spine as he inspected her over too. Six weeks was such a long time, and there were so many details that had faded from the picture of him in her mind. The tiny scars on his hands, the sparkle of metal against his skin when his piercings caught the light. Holoscreens and wanted posters could not hope to do him justice.

Then there was his arm. Entirely mechanical, it stretched from the top of his left shoulder all the way down to his fingers. Dots of color and symbols speckled the entirety of the prosthetic, hiding the many gadgets—and weapons—his disposal. Dangerous, alluring, exciting. Real and right in front of her.  

Gajeel flashed a wicked smile. “I knew you’d come. You were never afraid, not even that first night.” He took a long drag of her coffee. The cocky grin plastered across his face vanished in a twist of lips. “That’s no good. Needs whiskey.”

Lifting onto her tiptoes, Levy swiped the cup back. “I’d thank you to not take my things.”

“Ah,” he sighed, “but that’s what pirates do, little Levy.”

She glared up at him. He knew how to push her buttons far too well.

Gajeel laughed and tucked a loose wisp of hair behind her ear. “So, you ready to fly away with Captain Black Steel Gajeel?”

The challenge sparkled in his eyes. Nodding, Levy tossed back the rest of her coffee and raised her leg in a playful kick.

“Will these shoes work?”

He caught her ankle at the top of its arc, tugging just enough to examine the sneaker and her flexibility. Levy hopped to stay upright but managed not to break eye contact.

“Perfect.”

In one swift movement, he released her foot and slid his arm around her waist. Electric whirring filled the air. Then, they were gone.

Levy’s heart raced as her feet touched the floor. Travel by rift always made her nervous, but right now, that wasn’t why her pulse was pounding in her ears. Pressed into his side in a protective hug, Levy could feel the strong, smooth muscle hidden just beneath the fabric of his shirt.

“Wow,” she breathed.

Gajeel glanced down and cracked a devilish smile. Her hands still clutched him for dear life, and she could feel the burn of blush across her cheeks. Levy released him with a huff.  

“I, uh, didn’t know you had a micro-rift. They’re really rare, ya know? And I didn’t even see you had it with you; I feel like I would have noticed—”

Gajeel lifted his mechanical arm.

“Built right in.” Tentatively, she took his outstretched hand. “Pirates like shiny toys, and this one has gotten me out of plenty of pinches since I got it installed.”

Levy’s fingers drifted over the cool metal, tracing the complex command sigils that covered his prosthetic in awe.

“Then why did we have to run?” she asked softly, almost to herself.

Gajeel chuckled, lifting her chin to look her in the eyes. “Smart as a whip, miss McGarden.”

There was something hidden in the depths of his ruby gaze she couldn’t quite place. Something that felt awfully like the burning desire of more. Breath stalled in her chest for a single heart-stopping second as she waited. But nothing came, and the moment dissipated around them like stardust.

Exhaling hard, Gajeel leaned against a nearby panel, tipping his head back and crossing his arms over his chest.

“I gotta modulate the frequency on it every once in a while or the alliance force will lock onto the signal. If that happens it would be too easy for them to find me and my crew.” His eyes grew dark and solemn, lost in a far away memory. “This ship’s my home.”

His ship.

“And I can’t have anyone finding us.” Standing to his full height, he shrugged off the feeling of gloom that had gathered around him. “I was going to Lily’s for a tune up. He’s a wizard when it comes to anything I need to keep the ol’ arm working. But no, he wanted to be a baker.”

They were on his ship.

“And until I can figure a way to build him a confectionery with a delivery vessel off the side of the old girl here, he refuses to close up the shop he’s got on solid ground.” Smiling, he rubbed the back of his neck. “But I’m working on it. Never had a better first mate, though.”

She was on a pirate ship.

“Ahem,” came an icy voice laced with annoyance.

Levy jumped in her shoes. She hadn’t noticed anyone come in.

“Not that you’re not a great first mate, Juvia,” Gajeel groaned, turning to face the newcomer, “but Lily was the better sparring partner.”

The woman strode toward them briskly from across the bridge of the ship, long blue curls bouncing with every step. She acknowledged Levy with a smile that reached all the way to her aqua eyes, before directing a glare at Gajeel.

“Juvia does not take you up on requests to fight anymore because she could incapacitate you in the first few moves.”

“Only cause you’d short circuit my arm.”

Juvia raised a hand to the ceiling. Faint blue sigils flared against her skin and storm clouds gathered above her head.

“Don’t test my patience, Captain. You’re being rude. We have a guest. You haven’t even told her where she is or made a proper introduction.”

“And how the hell would you know what I have or haven’t—”

Gajeel’s eyes ticked back to Levy, who had tucked herself against a nearby corner. “Shit, Lev, this is my ship, and this Juvia. You remember me telling you about her?”

Levy’s heart skipped a beat as all attention focused on her. “Um, hello,” she said with a nervous wave. “Gajeel’s told me about everyone. It’s nice to put a face to the name.”

Before she could step forward to shake the Juvia’s hand, Levy found herself lifted into a hug. Apparently none of his crew had any qualms about separating her from the floor.

“Welcome to the Iron Dragon, Levy. You’re officially sailing with pirates. I’m so glad you’re finally here. Gajeel hasn’t been able to stop talking about his friend for weeks now.” She giggled as she set Levy down. “Any longer and I was coming to find you myself. I’m Juvia. Please come to me if you need anything.” Stepping back, she lightly punched Gajeel’s arm. “Lugnuts might get to call himself Captain, but I take care of most things around here.”

“Hey!” Gajeel barked, “I do Captain stuff all the time.”

Mist gathered above his head, and a large drop of rain landed squarely on his face. Gajeel grumbled something about rust and swatted the cloud away.

“Juvia is first mate around here. She uses weather ether gear. Don’t get on her bad side or she’ll send a shower to follow you around for days.”

“Thank you,” Levy squeaked, “I’ll be sure to take you up on that once I know more about this place.”

The remark seemed to satisfy Juvia, and she turned her attention to a monitor off to the right.

Levy exhaled long and slow, turning in a circle to examine everything. She was on a pirate ship, with Gajeel, the promise of adventure right in front her if she was just willing to reach out and grab it.  

“Wow,” she said under her breath, eyes lighting up like stars.  “So, this is what you wanted to show me?”

Juvia tried and failed to stifle a laugh.  “Smooth, Captain.”

Gajeel shot her a glare that could vaporize anyone else on the spot.

Unfazed, Juvia continued her work at the console. “You pick up everything we need or just that special item you wanted so bad?”

He nodded silently, daring Juvia to try her luck.

With a giggle, she shut off the screen and skipped out of the room. “Well, I’ll go tell Metalicana we’re ready then,” she called over her shoulder before turning down a passage out of sight.

Gajeel pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, turning to face Levy.

“Don’t mind Juvia. She’s quirky, but she’s as smart and loyal as they come. Her favorite pastime is making jokes at my expense, though.”

“We’ll be fast friends then.”  

That earned her a deep chuckle, and the air in the room seemed to relax.

“I did have something I wanted to show ya, Shrimp.” Gajeel took her hand and lead her over to a command panel in front of what could only be the captain’s chair. “You’ve been searching for some real specific scrolls, right? The ones you were so upset about that night. Well,” he pulled up a small section of space on the screen. “I happened to catch word that there’s some ancient scrolls on a planet, right here.” He gestured to a blue sphere on the screen. “Litulla. It’s on the outskirts of the cosmos. Some adventurers with a talking blue cat traded me this as proof.” Bending down, he removed a weathered roll of linen held together with an intricate wax symbol from the large iron chest beside his chair.

Levy’s eyes widened and the familiar words escaped in a hushed breath. “The midnight dove flying across a crescent moon.”

No. This couldn’t be real. They were all supposed to have burned, and yet here it was in the palm of her hand. Gently, she ran her fingers over the symbol.

“I can’t believe you found one.” Levy could feel the pull of ink and stitches in the back of her mind, itching for her to let them in. “They were used by the old council to mark documents of great importance. No one’s seen one in centuries.” Unbidden, a tear fell down her cheek. “This is amazing.”

“So, you ready for a real adventure? Let’s go to the edge of the universe together. Let me take you, Levy.” Gajeel squeezed her shoulder, and she shivered at the sudden coolness of metal against her skin. “Special delivery.”

Levy placed the scroll down and whirled around to grab him in a ferocious hug. She buried her face in his chest.

“Yes.”

His arms settled around her waist, and they stood there for a long moment, just holding each other. Levy bit back a sob. This was more than she’d ever expected. He’d remembered. He’d cared. A small part of her had given up hope on the search a long time ago, just like everyone else. But Gajeel believed. He was going to help her find the answers she’d resigned to live without, and there was nothing she could could do to show him how grateful she was—except go with him.

“Anchors away,” she said with a sniffle.

Bursting into laughter, Gajeel clutched his stomach and fell back into his chair.

“This is a spaceship, Shrimp, not some seafaring boat.”

“Starfarers, then.”

“Yeah”, he chuckled, “I guess so.” Taking a moment, Gajeel gathered his composure and called up a video labeled “Mechanics”. A tall, scarred man with wild salt and pepper hair appeared on the screen.

“Get her roaring, Metalicana!”

The man stared at Levy through the monitor then responded with a raspy grunt. “So this was the sweet you so desperately wanted to come back to this planet for?” He tossed his head back, laughing. “An’ here I thought you were talking ‘bout something Lily was makin’ us.”

Levy gaped as Gajeel turned red as his crimson eyes.

“Just do it, old man,” he barked.

“Nice ta meet ya, kid,” Metalicana said, addressing Levy with a bow. “Don’t let this one push ya around. He’s just a big softie under all that metal.”

Suddenly, the video cut out. “Pops,” Gajeel grumbled.

The floor hummed beneath their feet; Levy felt the prickle of excitement race to the tips of her fingers. Every risk she’d taken on Gajeel had steered her into something wonderful. Now, she was more ready than ever to dive headfirst into the unknown.

A smirk curled the edges of her lips, and Levy gestured with her thumb for Gajeel to get out of the seat. She was always the one who flew and he knew it.

Slowly, Gajeel stood. “My dragon’s a lot harder to handle than that little planet hopper of yours, short stack. Sure you wanna give it a go?”

Levy sat down with all the powerful grace of an oncoming storm. Command screens flickered to life around her, and she set their course without missing a beat.

“You’re not the only one with a few surprises up your sleeve, Captain.” Closing her eyes, Levy breathed in deeply. Her fingers curled around the controls as her smile deepened. “Yo, ho.”