#in simulation it is often best to roll on the ground

[aiweirdness]

DeepMind posted a paper on training simulated robots to play soccer (& translating that to the real world).

The part I liked best: they had to penalize the robots for falling down, or they would "learn to roll on the ground towards the ball to knock it into the goal, rather than walking and kicking." https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13653

[infinitethree]

daz you confuse me

anywho! why must you call me an asshole? i haven't talked to you in A While! maybe i'm nicer now!

admittedly i was kinda rude to you in the past. maybe when Innit's got a separate body i'll apologize!

you do have to understand, though, that the level of civility you give to Innit, is the level you'll receive from me! at least from now on! which will probably actually matter as i plan to talk to you more-

ta ta then!

Daz glowers at the wall when he hears that.

It’s not like there’s a tangible form to glare at, so generally a wall, floor, or ceiling is the next best bet. Same thing with talking to San, just more annoying because of the nature of Observers.

He’s currently in his kitchen cooking a late lunch. Aster is watching him from where he's awkwardly perched on one of the stools at the counter.

“It hasn’t been anywhere long enough for me to believe that,” he scoffs. “But, hey, at least you recognize your faults! Maybe it can lead to some character growth.”

“Don’t taunt an Observer, Daz,” Aster sighs, brows furrowed in annoyance at him instead of at the divine messenger harassing him.

Daz knows what it looks like when Aster is annoyed with him versus with anyone else. The difference is subtle, but Daz sees it often enough to clock it.

Be nice to Asher, Innit hisses, making Daz roll his eyes. “They’ve made a habit of trying to get under my skin. You’re all insane if you think I won’t make jabs back, let alone play nice.”

Aster, evidently hunting for a different avenue of discussion, asks, “Hey, Innit– which one is this Observer? Like, uh– which of the critters.”

Innit audibly perks up. Raccoon! Asher is the best friend I’ve ever had.

There’s a pause, and then it adds, Not that I don’t appreciate the others. But Asher is– really special. 

Daz opens his mouth, but there’s a quiet murmur of, They’re like my Tubbo.

And…

He feels guilty.

It’s not like he wanted to lock Innit up. But he’d been left with no choice, and he knew that trying to backtrack would be suicidal.

Hell; the only reason he agreed to let it out now is because the Showrunner agreed to ensure that it couldn’t just do the whole sleep-deprivation-torture thing again.

Knowing Innit’s lack of agency in pretty much any matter used to make him angry. At him family for breaking him like that; at himself for being so easily broken.

But…

Well, it’s not like that’ll matter soon. Innit will get its own body– a project that never should have been needed and is years belated.

The issue with splitting them apart is that, well, Innit is functionally his admin traits personified. There’s not really a way to fully split them without it causing…issues.

The best direction that the assembled mods and admin have come up with is something close to a wireless link to an organic robot. Innit will still be grounded in his head, and as a safeguard it will be returned back if a respawn is triggered.

Its body will be fine, and is being developed as a sort of shell. It can remain in what’s functionally ‘stasis’ for weeks, maybe even months, without issues.

The body would need to be given nutrients and such in a hospital if it took more than a day or so to fix, granted, but it won’t die if Innit get yeeted back at a bad time.

That’s all assuming it works as intended, of course.

Something this complicated could very easily go wrong. They’ve been testing various functions on Lucid’s testing sub-server environment– a sort a blank slate space where simulations of code can be run.

Daz’s free time is mostly spent on this project. It’s a massive undertaking, even with two minds working in tandem and several helpers.

Because make no mistake; Daz and Innit are the leads on this.

Day and Lucid have experience with extreme codework, sure, but they’re not as personally invested in this as Daz and Innit are.

Lee, of course, is there more in the hopes that he’ll learn from them than anything else. There’s a slim chance his vibes will kick in and help, but nobody is really counting on that.

Heaving a sigh and resuming his meal prep, Daz says, “Asher is the raccoon.”

“If we’re right about the audience in the Showrunner’s domain representing the Observers– or are the Observers, not like we know how they work– then…they’re definitely one of the VIP ones,” Aster murmurs to himself.

Daz says, “My theory is the more they interact with us, the more obvious they are. So Asher was the most solid-looking one. Fuck knows who the other is– Break, maybe?”

Be nice to Break.

“Break is one of Innit’s buddies, seems like. What were the other two ones– a small dragon and a mouse?” He’s pretty sure he’s remembering that right, from when Aster explained it.

“Looked bigger than a mouse. Rat, I think,” Aster corrects.

If you really have to know, Break is the dragon. And, yes, the last one is a rat. I don’t know their name, so I’ve been calling them Mithra.

He frowns, going into the Welcome Wagon name database. It’s a handy resource for anyone looking for help in finding a new name, and thus is freely accessible to anyone.

His first try– Mythra– gets close enough to get the actual entry.

…Fuck, it’s an ancient god of light, justice, and friendship.

With a long, tired sigh, he sets his com on the counter and slides it over to Aster. “That’s what they call the rat one.”

Aster’s brow creases and a horribly pitying look creeps into his eyes. “You’ll…” He hesitates, and then continues, “You’ll both be happier when you can have some space. When Innit can have some control again.”

Daz’s com is slid back, and he adds, “You still need to pick a new name, by the way.”

It won’t feel real until I can touch grass and feel the sun. I don’t want to jinx it.

“There’s nothing to jinx,” Daz scoffs as he pockets his com and finishes meal prep and shoves it in the oven. Anxiety buzzes under his skin so he does what he does best and grabs the stuff to make a dessert.

Cooking is half art half science, but leans even more heavily into science when it comes to things like baking.

He decides on something simple enough that Aster won’t look at it weird and yet has a lot of intricate steps involved.

Continuing, he reminds it, “I can’t back out, remember? I made a deal with your– fuckin’ patron god.”

I have faith you could find a way around it, if you really wanted. If you thought I was unworthy enough.

That makes him flinch. He hates that they had such a comparatively brief time being as thick as thieves, and now…

Now any goodwill is shattered.

But Innit made the first strike. It attacked when he wouldn’t follow its will– how the fuck could he trust it any more after that?

There was no other option.

Instead of letting the silence linger more, he tells Aster, “I have tomorrow off. I’m going into the Swords and Shields before lunch, but I won’t stay for long.”

His evidently future husband blinks at him. “...Okay? I don’t know why you’re warning me.” “Do I need a reason to do anything?”

Aster gives him a withering look. “You’ve never done anything you can’t justify or isn’t because of your deeply fucked up and entirely unresolved trauma.” “I resolved plenty when I watched Dream bleed out on his stupid fuckin’ blackstone brick floors.” “You know damn well that wasn’t enough, Daz. How long have you woken up in a cold sweat from nightmares he caused? How much–”

Uhg, he catches the signs of Aster seeing something again. “Fucking Prime,” Aster mutters, scrubbing a hand down his face.

Resigned by now, Daz sighs, “What’d you see this–” “The cookies.”

He really doesn’t want to dwell on it, but the amount matters. “...How much.”

“I…I think it was a timelapse, sort of. So, uh, pretty much all of it.”

The look on his face makes Daz’s skin crawl. He wants to pick a fight, because it’s so much easier to accept Aster’s wrath than Aster’s pity.

He’s a good person, Innit repeats, almost like a warning. If you’re not gonna be good to him, maybe you should give up on him before you hurt him.

…What.

“The fuck does that mean,” he growls, bristling for reasons he can’t really put a name to. Hey, maybe if it’s just someone like you he’s into…I could give him a try.

Immediately, he snaps, “Don’t you fuckin’ dare you fuckin’ bastard! He’s–!”

He closes his mouth with an audible click before he says too much.

Fuck no, he can’t say that. It’s– it’s too weird, too untrue, too–

He’s what, Daz? Share with the class.

Through gritted teeth, furiously whisking the bowl he’s dumped things into on autopilot, he warns, “I’m not discussing this.”

Not like Innit has a chance anyway– Daz and Aster have been seeing the future, their future.

It’s…almost comforting, to have that sense of security. To know that no matter how miserable and painful it is right now, he’ll end up in a place where he’s happy.

But what if knowing is changing things? Maybe you’ve already started a new timeline, just by seeing it.

Maybe it’s not set in stone. Maybe the future is more malleable than you’re giving it credit for.

That’s…

No. No, he doesn’t want to– can’t believe that. Not when he sees something so precious and rare on the horizon– that ephemeral moonlight he can never hold onto–

Daz shakes his head, scowling. He’s not going to let these stupid mind games get to him.

He’s startled when he feels a hand on his arm, making him stop his mixing. He looks up and sees Aster looking at him with concern, having leaned across the counter.

“You okay?”

…Yeah, of course he’d be worried about this kind of thing. He’s weirdly purehearted like that– doesn’t like seeing others unhappy in front of him.

He sighs softly, forcing his body to relax. “...It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” “Daz–” “I’m not gonna talk about it with you. Push and I’ll make you go home without the damn food.”

Aster stares at him, but reluctantly pulls back.

“...Tell me if whatever it is gets to be too much. Please.” “Sure,” Daz lies, shrugging a shoulder.

He’s not going to discuss this with him any time soon, or ideally ever.

…Especially not the potential that things could be different from what they’re seeing.

Because a quiet fear has now nestled into his heart.

What would it take to push Aster too far and shatter that idyllic happiness they’ve been seeing? What would Daz be left with if the person who has seen him laid so bare decides he’s unworthy?

In his gut, he knows it would destroy him. He knows that getting confirmation that he’s truly too mangled and broken to love would kill him in all the ways that matter.

If he loses that future in his attempts to chase after it…what does he have left?

[stevenmangra]

Mastering Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: Key Drills for Technique and Conditioning

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art that emphasizes ground fighting and submission holds, involving a wide range of techniques and strategic maneuvers. To excel in BJJ, practitioners must continuously improve their skills through targeted drills that enhance technique and conditioning. This article explores essential drills that can help BJJ athletes refine their abilities and improve their overall performance.

Fundamental Drills for Skill Development

Every BJJ practitioner, from beginners to advanced, should focus on fundamental drills to build a strong foundation. These basic drills include practicing positions such as the guard, mount, and side control and transitioning smoothly between them. Repetitive drilling of these positions helps develop muscle memory and a deeper understanding of positioning and leverage, which are crucial for successful grappling.

Another key set of fundamental drills involves escape techniques. Being able to escape from disadvantageous positions is critical in BJJ. Practitioners should regularly practice escape drills from common holds and submissions like arm bars, chokes, and leg locks. These drills improve defensive capabilities and build confidence to handle adverse situations during sparring or competition.

Conditioning Drills to Boost Endurance and Strength

Conditioning is equally important as a technique in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) drills are excellent for BJJ athletes because they mimic the intense bursts of effort required during a match. Examples include:

Sprint intervals.

Circuit training involving bodyweight exercises.

Timed drills that combine various BJJ movements at a high pace.

Strength conditioning drills tailored to BJJ can also significantly enhance a practitioner's ability to control and dominate opponents. These include exercises that strengthen the core, hips, and grip—key areas used in almost every BJJ maneuver. Tools like kettlebells, medicine balls, and even gi material for grip strength exercises can provide varied and targeted strength training.

Technical Drills for Advanced Practitioners

Technical drills focusing on finesse and minute adjustments are vital for more advanced BJJ practitioners. These include drills that refine submission precision, improve guard retention, and enhance the ability to counter-attack. Practicing drills that require quick changes from defensive to offensive positions can greatly enhance a competitor's agility and responsiveness.

Drilling complex chains of movements where one technique flows into another is also crucial for high-level BJJ practitioners. These sequences, often specific to an athlete's fighting style, help create fluidity in their game. It's about developing a sense of timing and rhythm when applying techniques during live rolling sessions or competitions.

Scenario-Based Drills for Real-World Application

Scenario-based drilling is another effective training method in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. These drills involve setting up specific situations that might occur in a match and working through the best ways to handle them. This type of drilling is beneficial for applying learned techniques in a controlled but dynamic environment, which simulates real competition scenarios.

For example, one common drill is starting from a disadvantaged position, such as being under an opponent in full mount and practicing the best escape or reversal techniques. This helps understand what works best against different opponents and builds mental resilience and tactical thinking.

Integrating Drills into Regular Training Routines

Integrating these drills effectively into a regular training regimen is key to a BJJ practitioner's development. Balancing drilling with live sparring is important to test skills in a dynamic setting. Coaches and athletes should regularly assess progress and adjust drilling routines to focus on areas needing improvement or to develop strengths further.

Rest and recovery are crucial in any BJJ training schedule. Drills can be physically demanding, and adequate recovery is essential to prevent injuries and ensure continuous improvement. This holistic approach to training, combining technique, conditioning, and recovery, enables BJJ practitioners to excel at all levels of the sport.

By focusing on these essential drills, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners can significantly enhance their technique and conditioning, paving the way for success in training and competition. Whether you're a novice looking to solidify your basics or an advanced competitor aiming to polish your technique, incorporating a variety of drills into your routine is crucial to mastering the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

[fairlybeloved]

It was a landscape that many of them defaulted to training in, since it was the most common background for any of their travels. There were those occasions when they had to stray away from Midgar, and dive more into the Planets rolling hills that HE was personally more familiar with.

Fighting in a way that preserved as much of the environment as possible wasn't necessarily their MO. But it was also something they should strive to achieve. The civilians didn't much want their possessions destroyed because Soldier happened to get into a skirmish in their midst.

Zack slid his feet into position, the sword he'd taken to using more often than not introducing its comforting weight to his hands. Blue eyes were focused and ready to spar til his hearts conent.

He wasn't so disillusioned with himself that he thought he could even remotely hit Sephiroth, let alone hurt him - but he would give it his all regardless. Hell, he wasn't even sure if Angeal or Genesis could land a hit on Sephiroth those days. There was a reason he was the Golden child of Shinra.

Either way, Zack didn't half ass anything.

Did he fear challenges? Sure. He still felt all the things. He just didn't let it stop him.

His will was strong.

"Get ready!"

And he jumped into action. The cool thing about the simulator was that it could shift and change. It also responded exactly like the real world would. If they struck the side of a building, that building would crumble and it would leave obstacles in its midst.

It was the only training ground that could possibly keep up with them. Have a squad of super soldiers, they had to have something that would help them keep sharp!

He might not be touching Sephiroth with his mighty strikes, but he was doing his damn best to follow his erratic motions!

He shook his head as the younger male took it at a challenge. As if all the warning were going in one ear and out the other. Zack was still a boy, not in age but maturity. So innocent to the world and the horrors that happened behind closed doors in the Shinra labs. Labs that he had grown up in as far back as he could remember, not even his closest friends knew the extent of experiments he had gone through.

Sephiroth watched Zack hurry ahead and go into the chamber, the techs were not happy to see the first class who often overloaded the system with his power but did not stop him from entering with the recruit. Once inside the room changed to a industrial landscape that was one of the many battle fields to choose from. He held out his gloved hand and his long weapon manifested in his grip.

"Is that so Zack?" He asked in a teasing, mocking tone. "Then try to kill me. If you can hurt me then maybe you're ready for a promotion." Sephiroth said as he took his fighting stance, wanting Zack to really give his all if that was truly what he wanted.

[wellsayhelloaagin]

Where were we?

.Summary: When a quiet day at the Avengers compound is interrupted by Sam's boredom, some shenanigans are bound to occur. Featuring an oblivious Y/N, best friend Nat, and a flirty Wanda.

Pairing: Wanda x Reader

Warnings: Some sexually suggestive language, light cursing, and a whole lotta fluff.

Words: 5.7k

You weren’t entirely sure who’s idea it was, but crouching behind a wall with your gun clutched tightly in your hands wasn’t exactly how you saw your day going.

The day had started off fairly normally. Someone had suggested a movie marathon and by early afternoon most of the team was sprawled across one of the larger lounge rooms in the compound on a rare day when everyone was on planet with nowhere else to be. A movie was playing on the screen but only Rhodey seemed to still be giving it any attention, a bowl of popcorn sat half-eaten on the chair next to him. Tony and Bruce were sitting in the corner playing chess, the furrow in Tony’s brow indicating that he was not doing so well. Clint was snoring on one of the couches nearby, enjoying the chance to catch up on the sleep he often missed with three children running around at home. Nat was sitting next to him, a book perched in her lap as she absentmindedly stroked his hair. You had collapsed in a bean bag in the middle of the floor, passing the time by playing games on your phone and watching the rest of the team. People watching was your favourite pastime after all.

You looked across the room and your eyes found Wanda, as they so often did. She was sitting at the dining table in the next room with Carol and Peter, the three of them talking in low tones, a smile gracing her features. She was clutching a mug of tea in her hands as she laughed quietly at something Carol said, her eyes twinkling with mischief. You felt your breath catch in your throat at the sound and the butterflies that seemed such a constant fixture in your life since you had met Wanda erupted in your stomach. As if sensing your stare, Wanda looked up and met your eyes, her soft smile turning into a smirk as she noticed your eyes on her. You felt heat creep up your neck at the thought of being caught staring at her, again. Pathetic, you thought to yourself, might as well get “I like Wanda” tattooed on my forehead I’m that obvious.

Thankfully you were saved from making a bigger fool of yourself when Sam and Steve entered the room. Sam rubbed his hands together as he called out to get everyone’s attention. “All right you lot, time to get those bodies moving. We are in hour seven of the movie marathon and you’ve clearly all given up so we need to get out of this room.”

The team all looked up from what they were doing, Clint’s head jerking up as Natasha poked him in the shoulder, eyes blinking the sleep away. Sam shook his head at the disinterested looks he was getting from his teammates before continuing. “Look at you all,” he said, gesturing to the group with his hands, “You’re all in the prime of your life and wasting a perfectly good day by sitting around doing nothing.”

“Sam,” Steve said indignantly, “that isn’t ‘gently persuading everyone to do something more fun’, we talked about this.”

Sam shrugged his shoulders at the Captain before grinning at the team. “So,” he said rubbing his hands together eagerly, “Anyone have any ideas on how to liven this party up? Because I’m not really feeling the Star Wars marathon anymore.”

“We could all go for a hike to get some fresh air,” Rhodey suggested from the couch.

“You do realise that it’s pouring rain outside?” Sam replied, his grin growing, “Have you actually looked up from the screen at all today?” He questioned before beginning to laugh at the confused look that crossed Rhodeys face as he looked out the window to see that it was indeed raining.

“We could go down to the simulation room for some group training?”

“Steve I told you before, I’m not spending my day off training.” Sam ground out, rolling his eyes.

“Board games could be fun,” Bruce suggested, before being cut off by Sam.

“Nope sounds lame Doc, give me a better suggestion.”

This continued for a few more minutes with the team suggesting various activities and Sam shooting them down. You watched Wanda out of the corner of your eye, her mouth quirking up into a half-smile of amusement at Sams antics.

“Let’s crack open the bar and see who can handle their liquor,” Natasha said, a wicked glint in her eye. Your heart sped up at the thought, your mind wandering back to the last time you had all been drinking together at Tony’s birthday party, although the memories were a little hazy.

The loud bass of the music vibrating through your entire body, the taste of the sweet cocktails Natasha had been supplying you with all-night filled your mouth, your hair clung to your forehead with sweat as you danced, your body so close to Wanda’s that her perfume was all you could smell. The way her hands would linger on your waist just a second too long, the way she stared into your eyes as your bodies moved together to the music. The way you found yourselves leaning even closer, her breath fanning across your lips, eyes locked. And the bitter disappointment you felt when a loud crash nearby broke the spell you two seemed to be under, Wanda’s eyes growing wide before she scurried out of the room.

You glanced over at Wanda and noticed she was already looking at you, her eyes had glazed over, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. You wondered if she was remembering the same night.

“Absolutely not Natasha,” you heard Steve cry out as your gaze continued to be captured by the intense green eyes of Wanda. “Are you forgetting that some of us are still underage?”

Steve and Natasha began to bicker and you still couldn’t tear your eyes away from hers, and surprisingly she was staring back at you just as intently. You could hear the blood pounding in your ears, your stomach twisting itself in knots and all you wanted to do was walk over to Wanda, grab her face in your hands, and…

“Bowling!”, you heard yourself shout, finally tearing your eyes away from Wandas. You cleared your throat, a blush creeping across your cheeks at your outburst, and continued, “How about we go to the bowling alley? We can play a few games and hit the arcade afterward. Everyone loves bowling and it’s suitable for all ages.” You finished, wincing internally at how awkward you managed to sound, your mind still preoccupied with Wanda.

When no one disagreed with your suggestion, you all left to go get ready, agreeing to meet back in the kitchen in half an hour.

“Hey Y/L/N, wait up!” You heard Natasha call after you as you walked to your room. You slowed your pace as she caught up with you, nudging your shoulder with her own as she fell into step beside you and spoke in a teasing tone, “So what’s up with you and Wanda? I swear I need a cold shower after watching the two of you.”

You rolled your eyes at the redhead, trying and failing to control the blush rising up your neck and heating your face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about Romanoff,” you replied, glad that your voice came out even and controlled, “Wanda and I are just friends.”

Natasha laughed out loud at your comment as if it were the greatest joke she had ever heard, “Yeah right,” she chuckled before noticing the look on your face. “You can’t be serious Y/N?,” she groaned, “You and I are just friends and I can assure you that I’ve never seen you look at me the way you look at her.”

“And how exactly do I look at her?” you asked, tone defensive.

Natasha smirked at you before replying, and you regretted your question. “Like you want to spend all your time licking every inch of her body.” She grinned at the way you could only splutter in response, enjoying making you so flustered.

After a few seconds, you regained your composure taking a deep breath before turning to face your friend. “Yeah well, it doesn’t matter anyway. She doesn’t feel the same so I’m just embarrassing myself.” You wrapped your arms around your stomach, trying to contain the painful feeling that overtook you every time you thought about how one-sided your attraction was.

Natasha chewed her lip thoughtfully, shaking her head at how oblivious you were. “I don’t know about that, you two seemed awfully cosy at Tony’s party last month. The two of you looked like you were in your own little world out on that dance floor. I think she definitely likes you too”

You slowed your steps as you had reached the door to your room, shaking your head at Natashas words. “Don’t be stupid Nat, she was drunk. If you noticed us dancing then you would have noticed her running off when she realised I was about to kiss her.” You opened your door and walked into your room, your back to Natasha to hide the hurt look on your face. “It’s for the best anyway, “ you continued with a shrug, “I’d rather have her in my life as a friend than risk losing her because of a dumb crush.”

“I think it’s more than a crush at this point,” Natasha said softly, leaning against the doorway, “for the both of you.” You opened your mouth to object, but she held up a hand cutting you off. “I’m just saying what I see, and it’s kind of my job to notice these things. Look I’m not saying you need to make a move right now, but don’t be so sure that she doesn’t like you back. You don’t notice the way she looks at you on the rare occasion when you’re not looking at her.” With that she turned and walked down the hall to her own room, leaving you staring after her, more confused than before.

_____________________

After you had finished getting dressed, you made your way back downstairs to wait for the rest of the team. As you reached the bottom of the stairs you noticed that the only other person waiting was Wanda. You took a deep breath and walked towards her, her head tipping up from the book she was reading as you came closer.

“Hey stranger,” she greeted you warmly, a small smile on her face.

“Hey yourself,” you returned, walking over to stand next to where she was sitting, “what are you reading?”

“The Wizard of Oz,” she answered, her nose scrunching up as she smiled at you adorably, your heart skipping a beat as you looked at her. “I know it’s cheesy, but I loved the movie so much when we watched it last week and I wanted to see if the book was as good.” Your mind went back to that night when Wanda had admitted to never seeing the Sound of Music, so you and Natasha took it upon yourselves to introduce her to all the classic musicals. You remembered the way she laughed when you and Natasha sang along to the movies, the two of you dancing around the room together. You remembered the strange expression on Wanda’s face, her eyes pinched together and her lips pursed, as Natasha dipped you dramatically, mimicking the actors on the screen. You remembered finishing the night with the Wizard of Oz, sandwiched between your two friends on the couch. You felt your eyelids becoming heavy and you leaned against Nat’s shoulder, falling asleep before Dorothy could reach the wonderful land of Oz. You smiled lightly at the memory and took a step back from Wanda.

“And what’s the verdict?” you asked, leaning on the wall beside you.

“I’m only a few pages in, so it’s a little early to have an opinion,” she replied, “But if it’s half as good as the movie I’m sure I’ll like it.”

Your quiet moment was suddenly interrupted by Sam and Steve entering the room, followed closely by Clint who looked much more awake now.

“Y/N, important question,” Sam began, sauntering over to you and slinging his arm around your shoulder. “Do you think it’s fair if Captain Muscles over here plays bowling against us lowly mortals? It’s not like he can turn off the super strength, so I already feel like I’m at a disadvantage playing against him.”

“Look, to be honest, Steve isn’t the one I’d worry about if I were you,” you countered, “Clint has impeccable aim, Wanda can move objects with her mind, and Nat and I are trained assassins who happen to be the most competitive people on the planet. If I were you, I’d just accept the fact that you’re going to lose. It’ll make things easier.”

“Well, maybe I don’t want to go anymore,” Sam grumbled as he took his arm off you and moped away.

Wanda laughed at his childlike behaviour, the sound starting those damn butterflies up in your stomach again.

“Oh quit your whining,” Natasha said as she walked into the room, “My girl and I are going to kick your ass at bowling, and you’re just going to have to deal with that.” She walked over and linked her arm with yours, shooting Sam a smile. “If you’re lucky, I’ll let you win me a giant stuffed toy at the arcade afterward.” She winked at Sam as he rolled his eyes at her.

“Whatever,” he muttered, but the smile on his face let everyone in on the fact that he wasn’t too bothered by it.

After a few more minutes everyone had arrived and Steve spoke loudly to gather everyone’s attention. “Alright, I did a quick google search. There are two bowling alleys nearby, but apparently, they’re quite busy. So if we want to stay on the down-low, I found one a little further away but with smaller crowds.”

“Ooooor,” Tony cut in, “We could go downstairs.” He shrugged like it was the most obvious answer, but was only met with everyone’s confused stares.

“Downstairs?” Carol questioned.

“Yea downstairs,” Tony said, “You know, where there’s a bowling alley, arcade, swimming pool, movie theatre, laser tag arena, and ice skating rink?” Tony looked back at the wide eyes of the team before rubbing his chin, “I could have sworn I told you all about that,” he finished quietly.

“Downstairs it is,” Natasha prompted, snapping everyone out of their stupor. She began to lead the team out of the room, your still linked arms meaning you were dragged along with her. You could have sworn you saw Wanda narrow her eyes at your intertwined arms as you passed her, but you chalked it off as being a trick of the light.

_____________________

Bowling proved to be an interesting affair, although you weren’t really surprised. Having a team full of superhuman abilities and competitive personalities was always going to be an interesting mix. Throw in the added inclusion of a trophy and it was all over. Tony had been the one to suggest it, assigning everyone into two teams across the lanes and declaring that the team with the highest score would be the champions. You found yourself on a team with Steve, Sam, Rhodey, and Wanda and you were in the lead, just. On the other lane were Tony, Nat, Clint, Bruce, and Carol. Peter had left some time ago, claiming he had homework to finish but you were sure he just wanted to avoid how competitive the game was about to become.

You were sitting down at the table watching Sam set up for his turn, brushing off Steve as he tried to give him pointers when you felt someone sit down next to you. Turning your head you saw Carol sitting there, a drink in her hand.

“Be careful there Danvers,” Natasha called out to her, “You’re consorting with the enemy there.”

You laughed lightly at Natashas teasing, poking your tongue out at her, an action she returned. You missed the way Wanda looked down at her shoes at the sight, her heart constricting in her chest.

You chatted with Carol for a few minutes before Tony declared a food break. You all crowded around the table as a delivery boy dropped off a mountain of pizzas for the group and everyone began to dig in, conversations overlapping, filled with teasing comments and trash-talking. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits and you were pleased that your idea was turning into a successful afternoon. Although, you had noticed Wanda acting a little more withdrawn than normal. You cast your eyes to her as she sat at the end of the table, listening politely to Bruce as he spoke to her, her hands anxiously tearing her pizza crust into small pieces on her plate. You would have to remember to check on her after you were finished eating to make sure she was ok.

Your attention was drawn to Natasha and Sam, who sat opposite you and were engaged in a lively conversation about dating whilst being a part of the Avengers.

“I’m just saying,” Sam said with a shrug of his shoulders, “I don’t hate all the female attention I’m getting, not at all, but I’m always a little wary. I mean do they like me because I’m amazing and hilarious, or because I’m the Falcon and one of the Avengers?”

“Well,” Natasha began and you could tell by the smile on her face that she was about to say something crass, “I don’t really care if they’re with me because they like me or because I’m an Avenger, as long as they make me forget my name I’m happy” She finished with a wink.

“Wait,” Steve interjected, having tuned into their conversation as well, “I thought you said you weren’t seeing anyone?”

“No, I believe the word I used was ‘single’” Natasha said with a small smile on her face, “and single does not equal celibate. A girl has needs” She smirked as she saw Steve shift uncomfortably in his seat, a blush rising to his cheeks.

“But I thought you were dating Y/N?” Wanda said from the end of the table and you realised that all other conversations had stopped to listen in as well.

You and Natasha looked at each other for a moment before you began to laugh so hard your whole body shook and tears started to form in your eyes.

“Me and Y/N?” Natasha choked out through her laughter, “Oh god no! I mean I love her to death but she’s like a sister, it would just feel so wrong.” Her laughter had finally stopped but she still wore a look of amusement.

“Yep, exactly!” You added, “Nat is great and all but the thought of being with her hasn’t ever crossed my mind. What on earth made you think that Wanda?”

Wanda looked at you and shrugged, “I don’t know, you guys are always attached at the hip so I just assumed. I mean you’re always touching each other, you have all these secret looks, you constantly go out to dinner together and call them dates, you sometimes sleep in the same room, you always call each other little pet names like “my girl” and “babe” and I mean when you two were waltzing around the living room last week it seemed very coupley. I just thought you didn’t like to kiss in front of people because you didn’t like PDA.”

You stared at Wanda as she finished, completely shocked that she had been paying so much attention to you that she even noticed all those things. You tried to catch her eye but she looked down at the table in embarrassment. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to insinuate anything,” she said quietly.

“Don’t sweat it,” Nat said. “I guess when you point out all that stuff I can see why it looks that way from the outside. I mean I didn’t even realise we called each other those names all the time, and as for sleeping in the same room, sometimes we just fall asleep while watching movies in bed, it’s all innocent stuff.” She finished speaking and shrugged at you.

“OK well now that’s all cleared up,” Clint chimed in, interrupting the awkward silence that had descended over the table, “I think it’s best that we get back to this bowling tournament because I believe it is my turn and I am about to claim victory for my team.”

His comment was met with encouraging cheers from his team and groans and protests from your team. Everyone began to clear the pizza boxes away and walked back over to the lanes. You noticed Wanda hanging back a little, so you did as well, remembering that you still wanted to see what was making her so closed off earlier.

She looked up and you and smiled softly when it was just the two of you left clearing the last of the scraps away. “I really am sorry,” she apologised, “I hope I didn’t offend you or anything.”

“Totally fine,” you replied, “honestly Steve thought the same thing when I first joined the team, he kept putting Nat and I on separate missions claiming that our feelings might compromise the team and put us in danger. It took a while to explain to him that we weren’t actually a couple, and I’m still not sure he believed us. But thankfully we were able to work together after that. That was about a year before you came along” You laughed lightly at the memory.

“Well now I don’t feel so bad,” Wanda said, a bright smile lighting up her face. “I guess we better get back to the game so we can kick their butts.”

She turned to leave but you grabbed her arm to stop her, the touch sending sparks through your fingertips. “Just one more thing,” you mumbled quickly, “you seemed upset earlier. I just want to make sure that you’re ok. You know you can tell me if anything is bothering you, right?”

Wanda shook her head slightly before responding, “It was nothing really, just something stupid. I’m over it now.” To illustrate her point she looked at you with a wide smile on her face and you were pleased to see it reached her eyes. “But thank you for caring enough to ask,” she added softly before leaning in and quickly pressing a kiss to your cheek.

It was brief, but enough to make your skin tingle. She pulled back just as suddenly and squeezed your shoulder gently before walking over to Sam who was calling out to her to take her turn. You stood there stunned for a few more seconds before you shook yourself out of your stupor and followed after her, unable to contain the grin that was threatening to overtake your face.

_____________________

After a few more games of bowling your team was declared the winners, which led to a lot of gloating (mostly by Sam, although you definitely joined in a little) and you all made your way over to the arcade area. Tony had filled the area with every game imaginable and you all spent the better part of an hour running around like little kids, attempting to outdo each other at each game.

You were having a lot of fun but Wanda was starting to drive you a little crazy. You would often end up at the same games and she would stand close behind you to watch during your turn, the proximity to her affecting your concentration. She would comment on your lack of skill, her teasing laugh stealing your focus even more. On top of that, she was touching you more than she ever had before. A hand resting on your shoulder as she stood behind you, fingertips brushing yours as you passed each other, leaning in to whisper in your ear as she made observations about your team, hugging you tightly when the two of you defeated Steve and Tony in air hockey. That wasn’t the worst of it though. You would occasionally find her looking at you, and she wouldn’t look away when you caught her. Your gazes locking she would smile sweetly, or make a face to get you to laugh, but it was when she bit her lip and looked at you from under her eyelashes that really pushed you over the edge. Without even realising it, she had completely taken over your every thought.

You found yourself dragging Nat by the arm towards the hallway just to get a break from the torture. She wore an amused smile as she allowed you to push her through the door, your frustrated face was the most entertaining thing she had seen all day.

“Ugh, I can’t do this!” You exclaimed, raising your arms above your head in defeat.

“Do what?” Natasha questioned, her voice sounding a little too innocent making you think she knew exactly what you were talking about.

“Be close to Wanda,” you huffed out, “She’s driving me crazy today and I can’t cope. Why can’t I just be normal around her? I mean she’s just being a good friend and all I can think about is pushing her against a wall and kissing her!”

“Gosh your an idiot,” Natasha said earning a glare from you, “She’s flirting with you. Now that she knows that we aren’t together she’s trying to show she’s interested in you, only you’re too freaking oblivious to see it!” She punctuated her statement by poking her finger into your shoulder.

“Nat, we’ve been through this,” you groaned, rubbing your hands over your face. “Wanda does not like me, so please stop bringing it up.” As you pleaded with her, she took pity on you and rubbed her hand soothingly along your back.

“Ok,” she agreed, “I don’t think you’re right, but I can divert her away from you to give you a break.” You looked up at her gratefully, mouthing your thanks to her.

As you walked back into the arcade the team was still spread out amongst the games. Your eyes immediately sought out Wandas and found her once again already looking at you, her brows furrowed in confusion as you trailed behind Natasha looking miserable.

“All right gang,” Natasha called out loudly, gaining the attention of most of the team. “This has been fun and all but now it’s time for me to really kick your butts. Time for some laser tag!”

Her plan was met with cheers of agreement from the team and you all made your way over to the laser tag arena. It was decided that it would be an every man (and woman) for themselves type game. You all donned your vests while Tony talked you through how the guns worked and their features. Some time was spent looking at the map of the arena and then you were all walking into the dimly lit corridor, while Tony set the game to start.

“Time until game commences: 30 seconds,” F.R.I.D.A.Ys voice sounded throughout the area and everyone began to scatter in different directions. You turned toward your right and began to jog quickly, looking for an ideal place to hide before the game started.

You found a quiet corner and assessed your surroundings, noting that you had a good view of the landing above you, while still remaining hidden. You heard F.R.I.D.A.Y countdown from five and then your gun beeped lightly, letting you know the game had started.

You could hear the shouts and cries of the team echoing around you as they shot at each other, collecting points or losing power in their gun temporarily after being shot. After a few minutes, you left your safe space to venture out. You snuck around walls, shooting your teammates (mostly in the back after sneaking up on them) and ducking out of the way when they took aim at you. You were pretty pleased with the fact that no one had managed to shoot you yet, and a quick glance at the leaderboard showed that you were sitting on top.

You rounded a corner and were surprised to come face to face with Wanda, her gun raised in front of her. You raised yours quickly, but she had already squeezed the trigger. You heard the telltale sign of a vest being hit, but it hadn’t come from your own. Confused, you looked behind you to see Bruce looking down at his now dark vest, a frown on his face.

Wanda quickly raised a finger to her lips, indicating you to be quiet, as she grabbed your hand and dragged you away from Bruce before his vest lit up again, indicating that his gun was operational again. She tugged you behind a wall and you both crouched down, guns still clutched tightly in your hands, panting slightly from the adrenaline.

“Thanks,” you whispered quietly to her, your heart pounding in your chest.

“Don’t mention it,” she said, smirking at you before standing and quietly slipping around another corner. You stayed where you were for a few more seconds before taking off in the opposite direction.

And that’s how the game continued for the next half hour. You aimlessly wandering around the arena, shooting your friends, and occasionally running into Wanda. Each time you did, your heart would skip a beat. You had yet to shoot at each other, more often than not one of you would end up saving the other from another teammate.

Being so close to her in the dark room was not helping your situation at all. Every time you ran into her, her eyes would find yours, a smirk overtaking over her face like she knew the exact effect she had on you. Your stomach was in knots the whole time.

After a while, you heard Tony’s voice over the speaker system. “As fun as this has been, I think it’s time we all head back up for dinner. So I’ll change the game mode, that way we can have a clear winner. Once you get shot, that’s it, you’re out. So if that happens head back out the doors and I’ll meet you all upstairs.” After a few seconds of silence, you heard F.R.I.D.A.Y start her countdown again, and you quickly returned to the hiding spot you had found at the start, not wanting to risk being out in the open.

As the countdown reached fifteen, you heard a noise and looked up to see Wanda coming around the dividing wall. You were backed into a corner and there was no way to get away from her. You both had your guns aimed at each other, and you were preparing yourself to shoot once the countdown finished, hoping that your reaction time was quicker than hers, when she lowered her gun.

She took a step towards you, and you lowered your gun to, confused by the determined look on her face.

“Game will commence in 3, 2…”

Before the countdown reached one, Wanda took a deep breath before she grabbed your face in her hands. You barely had time to register what was happening before her lips met yours.

Soft. That was all you could think about, how soft her lips were against yours. Your whole body tingled from the feeling and you were too scared to move, fearing that this was all some elaborate dream your mind had cooked up. Wanda was kissing you. She was actually kissing you.

When you didn’t respond, she started to pull away. A look of horror on her face and the beginning of an apology on her lips. “Y/N, I’m so sorr…”

But you didn’t let her finish. You surged forward, connecting your lips once more. She hummed contentedly against your lips, the vibrations sending a shiver through your whole body. She allowed her weight to fall against you, pushing your back against the wall. Every nerve in your body was acutely aware of how she was pressed tightly against you, her hands still cupping her face as yours had found their way to her hips.

You felt her tongue swipe along your bottom lip, and you parted them, giving her the access you both desired. Your tongues met and danced together, and your senses were in overload. The way she felt, the way she smelt, the way she tasted, even the little whimpers you could hear her making, were all driving you wild. The kiss was desperate as you both tried to sink into each other. You poured all the longing you had felt into the kiss, hoping that she could feel how much you wanted her.

You felt one of her hands leave your face and travel south, reaching between your bodies. You felt your body tense in anticipation as she reached below the vests you were wearing, your kiss still unbroken.

The sound of a vest being shot broke you out of your spell. You pulled away from the kiss and looked at Wanda in disbelief as she lowered her gun again. The gun she had just shot you with, while you were kissing her

Her pupils were dilated, her chest heaving as she caught her breath, and her lips were red and swollen from the kiss, curling into an unbelievingly sexy smirk. You said nothing as you fought to catch your breath as well, your mind racing. Did she just kiss you to distract you? Did she not mean it?

“Sorry,” she said after a few seconds, “I just really wanted to beat you in something.” You continued to stare at her, unable to form words from the jumble your brain had become.

“Now,” she said softly, her hand sliding up your arm before resting behind your neck, “where were we?” and she tugged your head forward to reconnect your lips.

[pumpkin-spice-whump]

Panic Attack

CWs: bbu, facility whump, shock collar, panic attack, anxiety, environmental whump (? i guess. he's cold), withholding food

Masterlist

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

“W-wait Handler Wiley, wait--” 847481 yelped in pain and arched his back as shocks rolled through him again. When they stopped he went limp, pressing his forehead to the cold floor and gasping around his heavy tears.

“You have another minute to compose yourself,” Handler Wiley said calmly. “Unless, of course, you don’t want to eat today.”

“No, I do, I do, please I -- I want to eat.”

“Hmm. 48 seconds.”

Training had been going well that morning. ‘481 knew all his positions and got through every test Handler Wiley tried to throw at him. He passed the virtual CPR tests where he had to prove he could stay calm, even if a child entrusted to his care was severely injured and bleeding. His hands shook a little when the virtual three year old lost consciousness due to blood loss, but he still managed to go through the motions until the simulation ended.

Handler Wiley had taken him back to his room to take a nap before meal time, as a reward for doing so well the past few days. ‘481 hoped that he’d have the shock collar taken off soon.

He’d done everything right. He was even a little proud of himself for keeping calm. He’d felt totally fine.

And then he didn’t.

His heart rate had picked up all of a sudden, pounding so hard it hurt his chest. He’d tried the breathing exercises Handler Wiley taught him but the more he concentrated, the faster and shallower his breathing got. Awful, grating panic started to eat him alive and he couldn’t remember how to make it stop. Tears stung his eyes and spilled over, animalistic whining starting in the back of his throat. He’d squeezed his eyes shut and bit his fist, trying his hardest to make it all stop but he just couldn’t. His mind was all jumbled up, every thought a terrified buzzing echoing in his ears.

That was when Handler Wiley had started to shock him.

He didn’t like the 'tantrums’ ‘481 had every so often. He was too old for them and needed to learn how to get a hold of himself. It was pathetic.

847481 smacked his head into the ground, losing control of his body as another shock hit him. A strangled cry ripped from his throat, the hot feeling consuming his chest getting even worse. Sweat ran down his skin despite the constant shivering.

“Meal time starts in about eight minutes, ‘481. Can you stop your crying within eight minutes, or are you going to wait until tomorrow to eat?”

‘481 sobbed, pushing himself up to rest against the wall. He looked up at his handler with tear filled eyes, trying his best to show how desperate he was. “P-p-please Han-handler. Please huh-help me.” The hot feeling grew heavier on his chest, pushing all the air from his lungs. Is this what it feels like to die? ‘481 wondered. Am I going to die in here? A new wave of panic overcame him and he cut off a wail that had forced its way from his throat. “Please help me!” he cried.

Handler Wiley didn’t move a muscle. “No. You need to learn to control yourself. If you do this with your prospectives, you’ll be sent right back here to be refurbished. Do you really want that ‘481?”

‘481 frantically shook his head. He’d heard of what refurbs went through, and he did not want that to be him. He didn’t want to go on the Drip again and have the serums used on him and have everything re-hammered into his brain and meet the director--

Another shock ran through his body. ‘481 squeezed his hands into fists, skin breaking beneath his fingernails as it passed. His lungs froze up for a moment, and he took a deep breath in when they unfroze.

He had to get himself under control. What did Handler Wiley always tell himself to do? He had to think of something to stop it, but what was it? What was it what was it what was it what was the thing to make it all go away?? Handler Wiley lazily pointed the remote at him again, ready to send another shock to the dreaded collar.

‘481 sucked in the deepest breath he could and held it. His lungs immediately burned, mind screaming at him to get more oxygen. He stared at Handler Wiley with his eyebrows darn together, corners of his mouth turned down. His chest jerked instinctually for air, but he kept his jaw locked tight.

Handler Wiley lowered the remote. “What are you doing?” He knelt next to the trainee, taking his chin in his hands. “Knock it off, ‘481. Breathe.”

Somehow, he felt his heartbeat begin to slow. His chest hurt even more, his body wanting him to breathe more than ever, but he refused, continuing to stare down his handler.

Handler Wiley shook his shoulders. “Breathe. Now 847481!” He slapped him. “Stop it!”

‘481 suffered through Handler Wiley’s manhandling of him right up until black spots danced in front of his vision, and then let it all out, gasping for air. He fell back against the wall and closed his eyes, slowing his breathing. His eyes flew open at the harsh slap that snapped his neck to the side.

"You do not disobey me trainee!” he yelled, hitting him again.

He uselessly held his hands up in defense, head ducked. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I can be good!”

His handler stood again, toying with the remote and watching him. He checked his watch. “You'll have to prove it to me. For now though, no nap and no food. You don't get to disobey me like that.”

Tears pricked ‘481's eyes. "Handler--" he cut himself off and ducked his head as Handler Wiley held up the remote threateningly. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Handler Wiley took out his phone and swiped lazily at the screen before placing it back in his pocket and glaring at '481. "If you were really sorry then you would change how you act." He opened the door. "Have a good rest of your night, trainee."

'481 didn't even get one sob out before the vents turned on, blasting freezing air on him from every direction. His already aching body tensed up, curling into a ball like that would stop the attack. It wasn't long before he couldn't even move his fingers, his ears throbbing in pain from the cold. He was shocked his tears weren't freezing on his cheeks.

It would have to stop eventually right? They wouldn't actually let him die there... right?

Right. The vents eventually closed, letting '481 relax slightly, thinking the punishment was over.

And then the alarms started to blare.

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

Taglist: @mylifeisonthebookshelf @boxboysandotherwhump @hold-him-down @winedark-whump

[abluescarfonwaston]

Thinking about Kotetsu frantically applying to hero work everywhere he can after he graduates high school. Getting rejected over and over again. The rare times he Does get an interview he bombs all of them. Talking face in the cement. He is shit at lying about how he cares about the company’s sponsors. About how he Totally wants to be famous and do all the other shit heroes do. (No I just- I just want to save people. But whatever I’ll do the rest of it. Please just-)

“You should know who sponsors them and demonstrate you’ll be a good advocate for their products.” So reads Tomoe from the ‘how to ace your hero interviews’ books and magazines they’ve bought. He manages fine until the interviewer’s tone goes less formal and she asks him what he likes to drink. He laughs and says he actually likes [rival company] better but [their company] is fine. Although he worked at a place and the machines always filled with crickets- is that normal? [He KNOWS ABOUT THE CRICKETS GET HIM OUT OF HERE] And that’s the Best interview he has with marketing. Usually he forgets the sponsors name or ends up spitting the food or drink out. Coughing from the cologne. Explaining ‘oh yeah we got a bookshelf from there. I broke it trying to put it together. Real shit wood.’

‘You should demonstrate a love for the camera. Making sure to place yourself and your logos in clear view. The applicants who score the most during simulations often make it to the next round.” The simulation starts. Camera’s rolling. Everyone is jockeying for the limelight and best way to stand out. Kotetsu heard someone yell ‘help’ and raced in before the camera could even check his number. He scores a decent amount of points but...

“And never forget! No matter how many points you score or sponsors you enamor you won’t land a job if they think you’ll cost more than you bring in. Don’t destroy Anything you don’t have to during the simulation!”

Kotetsu falls to the floor. He’s not crying. He’s Not okay? Not at the ‘too destructive’ evaluation result printed in bright red. Tomoe’s shoulders fall as she stares at him. Pool of tears growing before she pulls him up and into her shoulder. “It’ll work out Kotetsu. You are a hero. My hero. One of these days someone will see that.” Crushes him in her arms. “So we just have to keep trying! Start writing those cover letters!”

He’s almost twenty five. Dragging himself to one more interview burning up his vacation time with an extended lunch at work (shouldn’t you be spending it with Tomoe or something? Not chasing dreams.) and already writing the rejection letter in his head. ‘Mr Kotetsu we regret to inform you that at this time-” So he’s not exactly in the best headspace going in.

Stumbles over the company’s sponsors. Shoulders slump as legal frowns at his results. (High points. damage totals exceed-) Marketing smiles at his head and body shots but frown at his work uniform and the exhausted bags under his eyes. (Didn’t even have the sense to change before the interview. unprofessional)

The interviewer -Ben? Was that his name?- stares at him. He pinches his leg and forces himself to sit up straight. He’s so tired. Covering Miranda’s shift was probably a mistake but... “Sorry... Could you repeat that?” She needed the time off. She’d been so worried about her dad the last few weeks.

“I asked about your work history. Seems pretty interesting to me.” Tracks up and down his uniform. "Did you come here straight from work?”

“Yeah. I uh... did.” He thinks he got most of the blood off. Not that he had much time to check. “I worked in avalanche search and rescue during the winters while i was at university and the volunteer fire department the rest of the year.”

“And now you work for the paramedics.” He nodded. If they were going to turn him down, couldn’t they do it already? He was supposed to be back. “So why hero work then? You’re already helping people.”

His hands dug into his knees. “Because...” Ground his teeth. “I have these powers for a reason. To help people. To save them.” Not that anyone would let him. “That’s what Mr. Legend told me. I’ve wanted to be a hero ever sense. It’s all I want to do.”

Let me prove my powers are not a curse. They are made for more than destruction and violence. They are for saving people. That I was made to save people.

“Please.” Bows his head. Heroes must be brave. Fearless. Strong. They don’t cry in a prospective bosses office because that hope and confidence that once burned like an inferno flickers in his chest like a candle’s dying flame. “Let me be a hero.”

The man is quiet for a time. Exhaustion sinks back into his bones. Time to go Kotetsu. You got another 9 hours left on your shift.

“What song do you do chest compressions to?” The man asks just as he grabs his coat to leave. He pauses, one arm in the sleeve that does not match his paramedic uniform even slightly. Answers. “That’s a good one Mr. Kaburagi. We should have news for you soon.”

He nods. Waves a thanks and leaves. Auto form email already in his head, if not his inbox.

Almost deletes it on auto pilot when they email him a few days later. But... there’s an attachment. That’s never happened before. Stares at it. Calls Tomoe down to read it for him because that can’t be right.

“Attached is your offer letter and Oh my god! Kotetsu! It’s happening!” Hugs him around the neck as he sits in stunned silence before picking her up and spinning her round.

“It’s happening. I’m going to be Wild Tiger. I’m gonna be a hero. I’m gonna be a hero.”

[jxsatlas]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍 ⇢ keith kogane, ch. 1

keith kogane x gn! reader – next

DISCLAIMER! this story does not originally belong to me, the author is @MaddieWolf37 on Wattpad. i have simply received permission to rewrite and continue her story. go and check out her profile for the original version!

SYNOPSIS! a story in which you are thrown into the middle of an intergalactic space war and have the undesirable weight of being a symbol of peace dropped on your shoulders. but maybe if you look past the constant danger and endless fighting, there's some good to being a paladin of voltron.

MATURE CONTENT! swearing, violence, gore, war, graphic descriptions, mentions of self-harm

"Galaxy Garrison flight log 5-11-14," Lance announces, "Begin descent to Kerberos for a rescue mission."

He shoves the yoke forward and the aircraft takes a steep dive. You plant your feet to help fight against the inertia. You give him a sharp glare as the aircraft steadies out.

"Ugh, Lance, can you keep this thing straight?" Hunk whines from the back.

You look over your shoulder and recognise the nauseated expression on his face all too well. Last semester, there was a girl on your team that didn't do too well with excessive motion and often got sick.

Lance brushes him off. "Relax Hunk, I'm just getting a feel for the stick," he says with a lazy grin, which quickly turns mischievous. "It's not like I did this, or this!" Lance jerks the aircraft side to side, making Hunk feel worse.

"Knock it off, Lance," you warn from your chair next to him. You reach up above you and press a few buttons in hopes of stabilising the aircraft out after Lance's little joke.

"Yeah, listen to [y/n] unless you wanna wipe beef stroganoff out of all the little nooks and crannies of this thing," Hunk groans angrily.

"We've picked up a distress signal!" Pidge says from his seat in the back.

"Alright, time to quit our bickering and get serious," you say, doing your own little thing to accommodate for the lower altitude while Lance flies the aircraft.

"Pidge, track the coordinates," Lance says with a roll of his eyes at your comment.

Pidge does so, typing away on the computer. The aircraft gives a large rumble and Hunk groans again.

"Knock it off, Lance! Please!" he whines, his face all scrunched up in discomfort.

"Oh, that's on you buddy," Lance says sharply. "We got a hydraulic stabiliser out."

Hunk nods and goes to fix it, but when the aircraft shakes again he gags. "Oh no."

"Oh no, fix now, puke later," Lance growls.

So much bickering... you think to yourself with a sigh.

"I lost contact!" Pidge says. "The shaking is interfering with our sensors."

Lance looks over his shoulder at Hunk. "Come on, dude!"

"Sorry, it's not responding," Hunk says and unfastens his safety belt. He carefully gets up and makes his way over to the gearbox to see what's up.

"Coordinates are back," you say, seeing the blue dot on the dash.

"Nevermind Hunk," Lance says.

"No, he still needs to fix it," you say. "We can't properly fly this thing if a hydraulic stabiliser is out."

"Whatever," Lance rolls his eyes, "Preparing for approach on visual."

"I don't think that's advisable, given our current mechanical..." Pidge warns, trailing off when he hears Hunk gag again. "...and gastrointestinal issues..."

"Agreed!" Hunk says, not before quickly emptying his stomach into the gearbox with the unsavoury sounds of food chunks and liquid hitting the metal. You cringe, not liking the sound, and hope he's okay.

"Stop worrying," Lance says dismissively.

"No, they're right," you say firmly as you place your attention on Lance now. "We should wait before we do anything."

"Nah, this baby can take it! Can't ya champ?" Lance coos and pats the dash. The aircraft rumbles again and he retracts his hand with a sheepish look. "See? She was nodding!"

"That wasn't nodding Lance," you deadpan. "Now listen to us and wait."

"I'm the one flying this thing, aren't I?" Lance asks. "So I'm in charge, and that means what I say goes!"

"Excuse you, we're both flying this thing," you argue.

Ignoring you, Lance turns to Pidge. "Pidge, hail down on them and let them know their ride is here," he says.

Knowing that you're now doomed, you keep your mouth shut and wait for the inevitable failure of the simulation. You can already see it, the big, bold, red letters appearing on the dash.

And when Lance flies towards an overhang, tilting the plane as much as he can in a sad attempt to thread through the little hole rather than going over or around, you know this is where you fail.

Lance doesn't make it. The wing gets torn off, the alarms blare, and the aircraft pummels to the ground. The dash goes black and those red letters you were anticipating appear without hesitation.

Simulation Failed.

The first failure on your school record.

You toss your head back and sharply exhale, frustration building up in you. "Nice going," you grumble and look at Lance through the corner of your eye.

He catches your gaze and glares at you. "Oh, shut up," he growls.

The four of you sit in silence for a second, you and Lance glaring at each other, before an instructor opens the door and beckons you to come out.

Reluctantly, you all unfasten your safety belts and crawl out of the aircraft. You then mentally prepare yourselves for the lecture about how you are all failures to come.

You, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge line up before the Commander, avoiding his scowling gaze.

"Let's see if we can't use this complete failure as a lesson for the rest of you," Commander Iverson's voice booms angrily. He's not at all impressed with your behaviour. "Can anyone point out the mistakes these so-called cadets made during the simulator?"

"The engineer puked in the main gearbox!" a boy from the back of the group of students shouts out. Iverson nods and turns to Hunk.

"Yes. Everyone knows vomit is not an approved lubricant for engine systems," Iverson sharply criticises Hunk. He turns back to the students. "What else?"

"The comms-spec removed his safety harness," a girl points out.

"The pilot crashed!" another shouts.

Iverson nods, approving of all the answers given. "And worst of all, the whole jump they're arguing with each other," he growls and turns to the four of you once more.

You keep your gaze on the ground shamefully.

"The Galaxy Garrison exists to turn young cadets like you into the next generation of elite astro-explorers," Iverson lectures. His hands are on his hips as he looks down at you. "But these kinds of mental mistakes are exactly what caused the lives of the men on the Kerberos Mission."

In your peripherals, you notice Pidge clench his fists at his sides and scrunch his nose up in anger. You fully turn your head to him when he takes a bold step towards the Commander.

"That's not true, sir!" he barks.

Iverson looks at him and glares. "What was that, young man?" he growls.

Lance quickly slaps a hand over Pidge's mouth and pulls him back in line. "Sorry, sir! He must've hit his head when he fell!" he says, smiling sheepishly in a sad attempt to cover up his fear. His hand gets tighter over Pidge's mouth, almost as if he's asking the ginger what the hell is wrong with him.

With Lance speaking up, Iverson's attention is now pinpointed on him. He takes a few steps closer to Lance, his intimidating figure making your brother cower back a bit.

"I hope I don't need to remind you that the only reason you're here," he growls, his tone of voice menacing and powerful, "is because the best pilot in your class had a disciplinary issue and flunked out."

Lance drops his gaze down to the floor, a look of dejection taking over his face.

"Don't follow in his footsteps," Iverson warns. He stares Lance down a bit before abruptly turning to you. "And you!" he barks.

Your entire body freezes up and your eyes wearily follow him as he stops in front of you now. Your heart sinks down to your gut.

"I expected better of you."

﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋

You returned to your dorm at the end of the day with a cloud over your head.

You grumble about the day's events as you aggressively tug your shirt over your head. You really wish you could pinpoint the source of your frustration. Are you mad at my brother? Your team? Or yourself?

You toss your clothes on the floor and pull out some track shorts and a hoodie from your dresser. Getting dressed in your pajamas for the rest of the night, you try to sort out your emotions.

"Stop mumbling to yourself," your roommate says from her bed.

You turn to her. "Ah, sorry," you say. "I didn't realise I was talking out loud..."

"If you're that mad at your brother why don't you just punch him?" she asks. You blink, surprised she actually heard you.

"I'm not violent like you," you say with a sigh. "Besides, I don't even know if I'm mad at him specifically."

"Eh, I would punch him either way," your roommate shrugs. "It's a good way to alleviate your stress."

You roll your eyes. "I alleviate my stress by sleeping."

Your roommate laughs. "Ain't that the truth?" she jests. "How many times have you taken a nap between classes this week?"

You stare at her with a blank expression for a moment before picking your clothes up and off of the ground. "I'm not answering that," you say and toss them into the hamper.

You and your roommate pause when there's a knock on the door. You look at her and she looks at you.

She raises her hands up. "And I'm not answering that," she says.

You roll your eyes and grab one of the dirty articles of clothing you tossed into the hamper and throw at her without any remorse. She yelps in fear and disgust as you walk to the door with a smirk on your face.

"Don't throw your nasty underwear at me!" she barks and she pinches the panties between her thumb and index finger, tossing them as far away from her as possible.

You cackle and open the door. Your laughter cuts short when you're suddenly face to face with your brother. Hunk stands behind him.

"What are you doing in the girls' dorm?" you ask, but then take the opportunity you just created for yourself to tease your dear elder brother. You think of it as a bit of revenge for crashing the simulator. "Visiting someone?"

Lance rolls his eyes. "Heh, I wish," he sighs. "But no. We're thinking about hitting the town tonight! You know, for some team bonding?"

"Who is it?" your roommate calls to you.

"Lance and Hunk," you say over your shoulder at her.

"Punch him!" she shouts back.

"No!" you hiss and turn back to your brother.

"I don't like your roommate," Lance comments under his breath.

"Neither do I," you joke.

"I heard that!" your roommate barks.

"No you didn't!" you ready. But getting the feeling that she's going to keep interrupting, you push Lance out of your way and step into the hall with him and Hunk. You then close the door and give the boys your full attention.

"So, you're gonna come with us?" Lance asks.

"I don't know," you say with uncertainty in your tone. You cross your arms. "It's past curfew and I don't really think you have off-campus privileges..."

"That doesn't matter," Lance waves his hand dismissively. "Iverson wants us to bond as a team, so why don't we listen to him for once?"

"I'm not feeling that adventurous," you say.

"What? Why not? It'll be fun!" Lance cajoles.

"Lance, your idea of fun always ends up with you and me in the principal's office," Hunk reminds. "Don't drag your little sibling into it."

"Hunk has a point," you say. "I don't want to get in trouble again. I had my filling for today."

"Since when were you a goodie-two-shoes?" Lance asks in a somewhat offended tone.

"Since I got a scholarship here?" you quirk an eyebrow at him.

"Who are you and what have you done with my sibling?" Lance says as he gives you a look of utter betrayal, as if you were some alien.

You roll your eyes. "I'm not too keen on losing something like that because I went along with your dumb shenanigans," you sigh.

"Please, the max punishment for something like this is just a weekend detention with old man Brechin," Lance says and a mischievous grin spreads on his face. "That is, if you get caught."

You bite your lip, looking away in thought. Team bonding sounds very appealing after what happened today, but are you willing to risk your scholarship? You don't know if you can lose it because of a simple detention. The Galaxy Garrison is a government program, which means they are pretty strict.

"Do you really need to think about it?" Lance asks with raised eyebrows. "Don't tell me you're scared!"

His words irk you immensely.

You snap your gaze up to him. Is he serious? You aren't scared. Why would you be scared of sneaking out?

You silently walk back into your dorm and quickly throw a bra on, some socks, and your shoes.

"Where are you going?" your roommate asks as she watches you scramble about the room with a sense of purpose all of a sudden.

"Team bonding," you say, now tying the laces of your shoes.

"This late? Are you sure?" she asks.

"All common sense in me left the moment Lance basically called me a scaredy-cat," you say bluntly.

"Well, have fun," your roommate says.

You give her a small salute as you walk out of the dorm. "I'll be back by morning."

"Alright, see ya!"

You close the door and turn to Lance and Hunk expectantly. "Well?"

Lance gives you a cocky grin, proud of his persuasion skills. You suddenly consider your roommate's suggestion for a second.

"We need to go grab Pidge," Lance says. "It won't be team bonding if someone's missing. You gotta have everybody."

You shrug, doubting Pidge will join.

Lance takes the liberty of leading the way to the boys' dorm, you and Hunk following closely behind. You expertly dodge the officers patrolling the halls making sure students are in their dorms like ninjas on a stealth mission.

As Lance rounds a corner, he suddenly stops and back peddles quickly. He peeks around the corner and watches whatever is on the other side. Curious, you and Hunk sneak up close to Lance and peek as well.

Pidge steps out of his room, a backpack swung over his shoulders. He checks his surroundings before closing the door and running off.

You, Lance, and Hunk share a look. You all then telepathically agree to follow the small boy. Once again, Lance takes the lead.

[griffintail]

Aye aye aye, how are you!

I wanted to send a request in because i really like your work!

I would love to see you write some p!purpled, where maybe he gets hurt in a game of bedwars and worries the reader, so he has to comfort them while they are patching him up. Maybe the reader was like on the verge of tears so purpled picked at them for it(light heartedly).

I would love to see were you go with this story! thanks again!

btw can i be 🧃anon?

For context, Bed Wars is basically a simulation of sorts in the story but you retain injuries from the game. Thus, seriously injuring an opponent is banned. Light maiming at best. Lol. 

Hope you enjoy and welcome 🧃anon

Bed Wars

Pairings: Platonic! Purpled x GN! Reader

Warnings: Mentions of non-descriptive injuries, Mentions of scars

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

        It was a high adrenaline simulation, Bed Wars.

        Purpled loved the rush he would get when he played a game against others and as the best, he never worried about losing. The worst that could happen was he’d get injured, if people actually died outside the simulation, there wouldn’t be repeat players.

        So, needless to say, he often had many scars but he didn’t mind. It showed off his victories.

        Though, his best friend was less than thrilled when he got hurt. Even if the injuries were very minor, (Y/N) tended to stress over him.

        “Aw come on (Y/N), I’m alright. I promise.” Purpled grinned as he wrapped his cut on his arm. “It will look pretty cool in a few days.”

        “I don’t get why you want to play so much. It’s so dangerous!”

        “I’ll be ok, no one actually dies and the injuries aren’t really that bad. It’s the rules.” He ruffled their hair as he stood up. “Now, I promised you some lunch if I won.”

        “You always win.” (Y/N) rolled their eyes as they stood up as well. “You just want food.”

        “Never, I wanted to do something nice for you.” He chuckled.

        “Uh-huh.” (Y/N) smiled now.

        (Y/N) always worried for him and he did appreciate it. (Y/N) and he had known each other for a long time and shared a lot. He understood his friend's worries as there were those that didn’t listen to the rules, but it was a rare occurrence. However, to ease his friend's worries, he would take a break for a few days before going back into the game.

        Despite and because of their worry, (Y/N) always watched with the other spectators. They still cheered Purpled on no matter how worried they were and it made Purpled fight even harder knowing that his best friend was expecting him to win too.

        The new game started like any others. (Y/N) was sitting, watching Purpled gather supplies when they saw the other player behind him with a sword. (Y/N) shot out of their chair when the player struck a hard blow, that was most certainly against the rules, to his shoulder. Purpled swore as he had fallen to the ground before quickly pulling his own sword and parrying the next sword attack then disarming the other player.

        He breathed heavily before taking the supplies and running away back to the safety of his base. Despite his injury, he won the game and came out of the simulation unharmed after that. There was hawking from the game masters to reprimand the rule-breaker as (Y/N) sprinted for Purpled.

        As he was looking the wound over, thinking it wasn’t too bad, (Y/N) burst in. He actually jumped as they came over to him.

        “Hey.” He grinned. “You see me win?”

        “Oh god, it’s still bleeding.” (Y/N) rushed to the supplies beside him and started to clean his wound.

        He winced but still smiled. “It’s not that bad.”

        “Not that bad?!” They exclaimed, looking at him in shock.

        “I’m ok,” Purpled said calmly now, seeing how worried they were. “I swear. I would have asked to be removed if it was that bad.”

        (Y/N) ran their hands through their hair as they took deep breaths. Purpled could see the small bits of tears gathering in their eyes, so he hugged them with his uninjured arm.

        “I swear, I’m ok (Y/N). It will heal. I know that because I know my best friend won’t let me do anything with this arm till it is.”

        (Y/N)’s mouth twitched and he smiled lightly. “Shut up. Just let me patch you up.”

        They moved out of his hold and continued cleaning and wrapping his injury.

        “Yeah, my best friend will basically be a hawk the next few days.” Purpled teased. “Won’t let me out of their sight.”

        “You’re such an ass.” They chuckled quietly.

        “Thank you.” He grinned and (Y/N) groaned.

        “Why am I friends with you again? All you do is stress me out.” They rolled their eyes but Purpled saw their smile, knowing they were joking.

        “I think it’s because of my amazing Bed War skills. I’m just so great that you have to worry about me.” He joked. “Hey, maybe you should try to play with me, keep me safe.”

        “I’m starting to debate it now.” They finished off their bandage.

        Even if they were joking, the thought excited Purpled. Maybe one day he could get his friend to join him. Hopefully, it won’t be because he gets hurt though.

[emmyisafanandacon]

𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐲 (𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐭!𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐛𝐬 𝐱 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫!𝐆𝐍!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

[FLUFF] Word Count: 2083 words It’s a very hot day out in the field, which is unfortunate since ground operations are currently ongoing today. You were hoping to delay the operations further down another term, but unfortunately, the backlog operations from the pandemic were ridiculous, so you decided to take your missed simulations all in one day. What a shame that you had to choose the hottest day of the year, it seems. So now here you are, sitting on a chair in the giant hangar as you wait for your head instructor to come back with your assigned instructor for your ground operations. The shade from the hangar may be some comfort, but it truly felt like the heat was bouncing off the asphalt. You quietly pray that it would not affect the aircraft you need to taxi, and hope that it would be a little cooler in the aircraft.

Probably not. It’s a single-engine aircraft. The metal might exacerbate the heat for you. You sigh out your discomfort and looked around. Around you were a bunch of different aircraft, some of the models you recognize from your classes. You hold back a small grimace, as you remember the last time you did your aircraft taxiing, your instructor pilot was a bit strict on your taxi control, requiring you to stay perfectly in the middle of the runway for the taxi. It was a miracle you passed that term. God, it feels like it has been 10 minutes since you last saw your head instructor. But he seemed to have disappeared out of nowhere. You just hope that the pilot assigned to you was a decent one. “Excuse me?” You turn around to find yourself staring at one of the newer pilots you saw hanging around the faculty. A tall young man gives you a sheepish grin, his grey eyes twinkling with jittery energy. He’s dressed in a typical pilot’s uniform, with a brown leather briefcase hanging from his shoulder. You’ve heard about him several times from some of your schoolmates, the new cute pilot with fluffy brown hair and a charming smile. He’s caught the attention of so many people, so it’s pretty interesting to finally meet the actual person. “Hi. I am so sorry that I took too long, that was very unprofessional of me.” he scratches the back of his head, clearly embarrassed. “No, it’s fine. I wasn’t waiting too long.” you lied. “The head instructor told me to wait here, I’m guessing it’s my turn on the aircraft?” He shakes his head, rubbing the back of his neck, “Unfortunately, there have been some setbacks on the scheduling. We might have to wait a bit longer before the run-up operation.” “It’s okay. I guess I’ll wait a little longer.” “I'm truly sorry about that,” he begins to look around the hangar. “They asked you to wait here?” “…Yes?” He looks up at the bright blue sky peering out of the hangar’s roof, blinking at the sun’s bright glare from the concrete ground. “Maybe it’s best if we stayed in the pilot’s lounge, that way you wouldn't have to stay in this heat.” He glances back to you with a nervous smile, his eyes almost iridescent. “If that’s okay with you! I was just thinking that the hangar might not be the best place to stay in. It’s a bit hot today that’s all.” You smile at the skittish instructor. “It’s alright Captain. I’m fine with waiting in the pilot’s lounge.” His cheeks began to turn red, as he gives a flustered giggle. “I- Please don’t call me that, it makes me feel a bit older than I should. I think we’re quite close in age after all.” “Okay,” you smile cheekily at him, saving the fact that he gets embarrassed quickly in mind for future references. “What should I call you then?” “Ah, sorry! I forgot to introduce myself,” he extends a hand out to you, “My name is Capt. Karl Jacobs. I’m one of the new flight instructors. Though you can call me Karl instead, I’d rather not follow protocol.” “[Y/N], Aerospace Engineering, Year 3.” He raises a brow, “Aerospace Engineering? Very interesting, what’s it like to have that course?” “If you can handle eons of mathematics, it’s not a bad course to have,” you laugh. He shakes his head. “I don’t think I can handle that much math, I’d rather leave that to better people like you. Shall we head to the lounge?” You nod, as you sit up and you start to gather your belongings to head to the pilot’s lounge. But Karl stops you and grabs your bag for you, giving you a wink as he starts to walk inside. You weren’t expecting that, but it’s not uncommon for flying students to try to be chivalrous towards their company. You follow him in, though you find your thoughts catching up to you. It’s absurd, you think, calling a pilot by their first name. Normally calling the pilots by their name was strange, but Karl clearly isn’t like the other pilots or the flying students you constantly rub elbows with. “Karl…” You try, slightly cringing at the lack of Captain or Sir. “Isn’t it a bit rebellious to not follow protocol? What would the other captains

say?” you jest at him as he leads you through the empty hallways. He gives you a little smile. “It’s fine for me. Don’t you call the AMT technicians and the AE engineers by their names?” You roll your eyes at him. “Well, that’s because we see them more often, and we’re more familiar with each other, so it’s fine to call them by their names. Though aren’t you guys stricter with the flying students?” He laughs at that, “We are, but you’re not a flying student. Unless… Do you plan on switching?” You shake your head, “Nope, you’re talking to an engineer through and through.” As you uttered those words, you both found yourselves in front of the pilot lounge’s entrance. He opens the door and holds the door for you expectantly, the cold air from the lounge blasting around you. You give a small smile of gratitude and enter, noticing that the lounge is also empty. “Why aren’t there many people around? Aren’t there students taking their required hours too?” You ask Karl as you seat yourself in one of the many chairs around the lounge, dropping your things down a table. “From what I understood, contact has to be limited still, and that there aren’t many students who have scheduled their ground operation schedule yet. So not many people should be on the grounds right now.” He explains as he brings out a folder from his bag taking the seat next to you. “Do you have your ground operations info sheet? I’ll help you fill out the details of the aircraft we should be using today.” You look at him in surprise, “Usually the technicians are the ones who help us fill this out, aren’t you the one who’s supposed to grade me instead?” He gives a cheery smile in response. “It’s fine, we don’t have much to do anyway as we wait. We might as well fill out the form, besides,” he lifts the grading rubric he has in his hand. “I’ll still grade you fairly based on your taxiing performance. Nothing to worry about.” You give him an impassive look, to which he laughs in response. “I won’t have too high expectations, I swear! I’m only strict towards flying students.” he raises his hands in defense. You sigh, but you allow him to take a look at your information sheet, filling up the details of the aircraft with his help. He stays close to you the whole time, and you can almost feel his fluffy curls touch your hair lightly, his warmth cascading over you lightly as you try to focus on your sheet. His hands meeting yours from time to time as he points at different parts of the info sheet, directing you on what to write. After the sheet was completed, you hand your sheet for Karl to keep and you fell into simple conversation, discussing technical things, like how it’s like to be an instructor or a pilot. Karl answered with an excitable passion for all questions, almost like a cute puppy receiving a treat. (“But wasn't the exam difficult? I heard so many people failed it.” “It took me one month to study for it.” “…Wow.”) Soon, the questions delved into personal territory, from why you chose to be an engineer and eventually fell into Karl’s many adventures as a flying student. (“How are you still a pilot?” “I have no clue either that was incredibly dumb of me too.” “Have you at least fixed your Monster addiction problem?” “…..Hey so, what do you guys do in that laboratory of yours?” “DON’T CHANGE THE SUBJECT KARL.”) You both learned so much about each other, learning that you two were only two years from each other. (“How did I not meet you sooner when you were still a student?” “I was always in the library.” “Like a nerd?” “No, I- Hey! Take that back!”) An hour passed, and soon the head instructor entered the lounge, notifying the both of you that it is your turn for the ground operation training, apologizing for the long delay. And yet, you don’t feel frustration for the long wait. You follow Karl and your head instructor out into the runway where the aircraft was dropped off by another duo taking the taxiing procedure. You both rush into the plane, climbing in as the propellers burst large gusts of air. The previous pilot

quickly switched places with Karl, as you greet your fellow student as you try to climb in. Once you got in the aircraft, you felt both excited and nervous as Karl looks through your paper. “Ready to taxi?” He asks with a cheery grin. You give him a small nod, as you watch him turn on the engine to a slow speed for the aircraft to start moving. “Remember to stay in the middle of the runway, and you can adjust the speed of the engine if you want the aircraft to go faster.” Pushing the pedals on your feet to center the aircraft onto the runway, you try to follow the white middle line on the concrete as best as you can. You find yourself slightly gripping the yolk, as you try to point the nose of the aircraft straight at the middle. Karl encourages you the whole time as you go for a turn towards the left. You notice another aircraft taxiing nearby and try to maintain a distance away from them, slowing to give them space. Karl smiles in acknowledgment as you still try to keep the pace and distance steady the best you can. He starts pointing out parts of the aircraft to you, introducing the flight instruments as you continue to steer the aircraft around the runway. Eventually, he directs you to park the aircraft to a specific area. As soon as the aircraft falls to a full stop, he gives your info sheet with a smile. “Congratulations, full marks. Maybe you could be a pilot instead, and fly with me?” He teases. You smile back at him, “I won’t be flying the plane anytime soon, but maybe I’ll work with you sometime in the future?” He giggles at the idea, “Let’s see. See you someday engineer, hope I’m your instructor again soon.” “See you someday, Captain Karl Jacobs.” You grin as you clamber out of the plane with the help of some technicians outside and head back to the hangar to check your info sheet. Exactly as he said, he graded your procedure with perfect marks, giving excellent praise and comments on your driving. Before you thought of passing the paper to your head instructor, you noticed a white sticky note attached at the back of the paper with a small message written on it. ‘It was fun talking to you, maybe you’d be up for more of that another time? Just shooting my shot. XXXX-XXX-XXXX -Karl <3’ You smile at the sticky note, keeping it in your pocket as you hand over your info sheet to your head instructor as he dismissed you off. As you head out towards the exit, you send a text out to the number. ‘Sure, coffee date sometime? Good luck on instructing everyone else. <3 -Future Engineer’

𝘪 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢 𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 20 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘢 𝘢 𝘢

𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘺𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘪 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘪 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯

𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳! 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵!

[darylwillfightnatureforcarol]

Just finished watching the rest of the episodes. Obviously, there will be spoilers for all of the bonus episodes, including Here's Negan. Here's my thoughts. WARNING for some negativity:

Home Sweet Home:

Kind of a blah episode. Half of it seemed to be a 'walking in the woods simulator'. Don't have any eagerness for another rival group. I'm sick of the people vs people storylines. We should go back to basics for a while, just fighting the dead. This is just recycling the same storylines.

Enjoyed Maggie and Daryl's chat in the container (though I just know it ignited crack shippers). Was it just me or was Lauren Cohan's accent weird? Like, is it because she's been away from the show that she can't remember how to do it the way she used to? It just sounded off the whole time to me, like she was trying to sound more country than Maggie has in the past.

Liked Daryl seeing Hershel, though I wish the scene had been longer. It looks like we're continuing the trend of having 'legacy' kids around without giving them a personality like they do with RJ.

Liked Daryl and Kelly's interactions in this episode. It did annoy me how they wrote Kelly running off on her own in the woods. Like, you guys literally wrote her getting lost and losing her hearing not even a handful of episodes ago. Why would she risk doing that, knowing there was a chance it could happen again? Sure she wants to find her sister, but I don't think anyone in the group--Daryl especially--would have opposed to going with her. Annoying writing again.

By the way, I can't not point out that the spoilers for this were so anti-Carol. The way it sounded through spoilers made it sound as if Maggie was pissed at Carol for letting Negan out when it was clear that she understood Carol's decision (she was just irritated that Negan was out at all).

Find Me:

I won't go into a full rant about this episode. You can find that on my page. I'll just discuss a few things.

First of all, I really liked the banter between Caryl at the start. It was the kind of content we've been wanting for a while.

We probably all saw it this way but Leah was a Carol replacement. No doubt about it. Carol was 'happy' so Daryl tried to move on with the next best thing (well, according to him at least).

Shipping aside, the relationship and build up to it between Daryl and Leah was so bland and generic. The woman literally seemed to have no personality apart from 'I live in the woods and I lost my son'. I actually rolled my eyes when she started explaining about not having a good family growing up. It was like watching Mary Sue fanfic play out on screen.

I don't want to rant too much but I have to say again, you can't just have a relationship blossom that generically with a character who has clearly struggled with intimacy for a good chunk of his life. It was literally inserting Daryl into the plot of any other cheesy boy meets girl romance. If you are going to do something like this, you need to do it realistically. There should have been more of a struggle there for Daryl. For pete's sake, Daryl's love life (or lack thereof) has been a point of discussion for so many years. You can't just rewrite that lore with some half assed meet-cute storyline.

Oh and I can't forget to say another big fuck you to the end of this episode. Seriously, fuck the shit Daryl spouted at Carol. That shit would have worked for S2 Daryl but not this one.

Okay I'll stop myself there or I'll just keep going. Seriously, I don't think I'll run out of things to bitch about for this episode.

One more:

This episode was okay. I'm not a fan of Gabriel, so I didn't really enjoy the focus being on him. I do like Aaron though, so that was a saving point.

No offense if you're a Gabriel fan but I found this episode kind of pointless. The message was relevant of course but the whole thing seemed a bit hoky to me. Especially the whole 'talking at the bad guy until they have a change of heart'. I can see that this was an important turning point for Gabriel but honestly, I just don't care enough about his character to appreciate it. Felt bad for Aaron though. You can tell he's trying so hard to hold onto humanity.

Splinter:

Probably gonna upset people with this but I'm not really a Princess fan (though Paola Lazaro is great). The episode had an interesting concept and I know it was to try to set up for the Commonwealth or the CRM etc. I just found the way they went about it to be too dragged out without much substance. Even the twist with finding out that the others were figments of her imagination didn't save it for me. I like the concept of seeing things through Princess' mindset and it could have worked well but we just didn't really get any storyline there. I think the only thing I enjoyed was when she talked about her family (she should chat to Daryl. There would certainly be some common ground). Gotta admit though, Ezekiel and his Walker posse was kind of hilarious.

Diverged:

Loved it for the most part. Who knew we needed Carol vs a rat? I certainly didn't but I'm glad I got it. Also Carol smashing that wall to pieces was so badass and kind of hot. Anyone else feel like that? No? Okay...

I enjoyed the comedic moments in this episode. Loved Carol hanging out with Dog and Dog being a menace. Appreciated seeing more of Daryl's room (Why did he have a pirate book though? There had to be a point, right? WAIT, I just realised as I was typing this what it is. It's a reference to when Carol invited him to go out on the boat with her and they would be 'pirates' 😢)

Daryl certainly got a collection of multitools, didn't he? Seriously though, that scene where he was just walking away from the walkers was hilarious. It's literally what people have been saying for years--that the walkers are too slow.

Okay, now let's get to the bad parts I didn't like. Hated the start. They were so stilted and awkward and the fact that Daryl didn't apologize pissed me off. I don't care what Carol said, she didn't deserve any of that shit he said in Find Me. He knows better than anyone why she has done what she has done.

This storyline they seem to be running with for Carol is starting to piss me off. It's obvious they're trying to go for a redemption arc for her when she shouldn't need to be redeemed. She didn't do anything wrong. Yes, she made mistakes but think about how you would be if you had lost so much.

Maggie is being lorded as a hero but remember, she behaved pretty much the same as Carol did in S7,8,9. But no one labelled her as a villain or a nuisance. No, Maggie was strong and a leader for stepping up and making a stand.

I'm really dreading the last season. It's obvious they're planning for Daryl and Carol's rift in their relationship to be a main arc. We probably won't see them reconcile until the end of the season where Daryl'll be like 'Alright, I don't hate you anymore, let's go to New Mexico.' That will annoy the shit out of me.

Here's Negan:

Mixed feelings about this one. I enjoyed seeing Negans backstory. Also props to the makeup team. They did a great job making JDM look younger. The thing I didn't like was the flashbacks within flashbacks. It made it hard to follow at times. Still, JDM and Hilary Burton Morgan had great onscreen chemistry (which they should, of course). I was surprised to see Laura pop up. I never thought she would have been one of the first Saviours.

Can't not mention how good Carol's hair looked in this episode. Please let us have this wig more often. It's so cute compared to the other frizzy one.

Also, I really don't give a shit about the drama between Maggie and Negan. There can't be a peaceful solution to it. There's no way Maggie will ever be okay with Negan being alive. Carol's right. If he stays, Maggie will (try) to kill him. If they have them come to an understanding next season, it will be super out of character. Same as when they kept pushing the Daryl/Negan team up. No way, no how, can either Maggie or Daryl look past what happened to Glenn.

Well, there are my thoughts on the episodes. I seriously battled against my anxiety to even sit and watch these. I was dreading watching Find Me especially for obvious reasons. It was awful but not as bad as I expected. I still wanted to throw my laptop out the window though.

[calligraphist-artemisia]

Scattered Blue (Part 1)

Written for the Kidge Spring Event!

Prompt 3: Forget-me-nots | True Love, Memories, Remembrance 

Summary: Alternate Universe. From the moment the first blue petal passed her lips, Pidge knew what was happening to her.

Also posted on AO3 under the username Kishirokitsune

❀ - ❀ - ❀ - ❀ - ❀

Part One: Pidge

The small blue petal haunted her from the time she woke up to the time she laid her head down to go back to sleep. There was a part of her that desperately wanted to ignore it and what it meant, hoping it would go away if she just wished hard enough for it.

But as with all things in life, wishing did nothing without her also taking action.

Pidge covered her mouth as she coughed hard, feeling something slide up through her throat until it splattered out into her hand. She caught a glimpse of blue as she shoved that hand into her pocket to hide the evidence.

“Is everything okay?” Hunk asked in concern. He and Lance sat across from her at the cafe table they'd snagged for their weekly lunch.

“Everything's great!” she lied with a smile. “How was your flight, Lance? You transported some heavy cargo to the east coast base, right?”

Lance shrugged. “It was just a normal, boring flight. No issues.”

“Which is a good thing,” Hunk said, his tone long-suffering.

Lance agreed with a grumble that spoke strongly of his true feelings. He'd always dreamed of being more than a “simple” cargo pilot, no matter how often Pidge and Hunk tried to remind him that he was the backbone of the Garrison and served a pivotal role in keeping everything running smoothly.

“What about you?” Hunk asked Pidge. “You and Keith have been testing the new jets. That must be fun.”

Pidge's heart fluttered at the mention of Keith's name and she swallowed to try and stop the cough that threatened to overtake her. “Um, y-yeah. Yeah, it's been a ton of fun.”

Hunk and Lance exchanged alarmed looks at her unusually lackluster response and Pidge wanted to swear, but instead, she reached for her water and took several swallows until her throat was clear.

“Keith giving you problems? I could kick his butt for you,” Lance volunteered.

“We're fine, so please don't get yourself suspended trying to fight him,” Pidge said with a roll of her eyes. She set down her drink. “Our test flight went great! We're just waiting for the technical report to come back before we can go up again and there were a few minor tweaks the ground crew wanted to make to improve how responsive the controls are. Shiro's been coaching us through new drills while we wait.”

“Ugh, you're so lucky. You get Shiro as a mentor and you get to test fly the new jets. Can we trade lives for one day?” Lance asked.

“That means you'd have to work with Keith,” Pidge reminded him.

“Good point. I'd much rather trade with Keith and have you as my partner,” Lance said, sitting back in his chair as the waitress arrived with their meals.

Pidge rolled her eyes as he went about his usual routine of flirting with their waitress. She briefly considered apologizing on his behalf but figured it would only encourage him to keep going. At least he wasn't making a complete fool of himself and thus, by extension, of her and Hunk as well.

They didn't do much talking as they enjoyed their food and it was only as they got down to the last few bites and were contemplating dessert that Pidge asked Hunk how he was doing in the engineering department. His eyes lit up as he began describing their experiments with a new lightspeed engine that they hoped would be capable of drastically reducing the amount of time it took to get to the farthest planets in their solar system.

“Pretty soon you and Keith will be preparing to fly one of these! Well, uh, if everything goes the way we hope,” Hunk said, rapidly backpedaling in an attempt to curb his own enthusiasm.

“That sounds incredible, Hunk! You'll have to keep me updated,” Pidge said.

Hunk grinned back at her. “I will.”

In the end, they decided against ordering dessert at the cafe and instead walked a few blocks down to Lance's favorite gelato place where they each got a scoop in a little paper cup so they could walk and eat at the same time.

Every now and then, Pidge had to turn away and cough, though thankfully she didn't end up with any fresh petals. For the rest of the night, she didn't find a single speck of blue when she pulled her hand away and she went to bed with a smile on her face and no worry lingering in her mind.

She danced around her room with a spring in her step when morning came, taking a little extra time on her hair and putting a little bit of color on her eyelids, which she normally saved for special occasions. By some miracle, she didn't drip any of her breakfast onto her uniform and was able to leave the house soon after by catching a ride with her brother, who was also on his way to the Galaxy Garrison.

They split up after he parked in the Garrison's garage, with Matt heading over to the labs where they were analyzing new plugs taken from Saturn's moon, Enceladus, while Pidge went to the gym to meet up with her flight partner and get started on their training for the day.

Keith was already there warming up when she arrived. His black hair was tied back out of his face and he had swapped out of the heavy uniform in favor of a pair of gray shorts and a black tank top.

Pidge caught his attention with a wave before gesturing towards the locker room, silently indicating that she was going to get changed and would be out soon. Once she was dressed in her own gray shorts and Garrison-provided orange shirt she jogged out to Keith, dodging around the others who were taking advantage of the open gym.

“Hey, did you get the itinerary Shiro sent?” Keith asked the moment she was close enough to be heard.

Pidge had to take a moment to think about it. She's woken up to two messages from Shiro that morning – one was a note regarding a slight change in their schedule and the other was a list of what they'd be covering that week. She assumed he was talking about the week-long one. “I glanced it over. It looks like it's mostly what we do every week.”

“Yeah, except for Friday. Do you think I can convince Shiro to give me a pass to skip out on the annual health screening after what they pulled last year?” Keith asked.

“Doubt it, though I bet he'd go with you if you're really worried about it,” Pidge said as dread began to creep in her chest.

At their last screening, the nurse helping Keith found something “odd” in his blood and ordered him into quarantine for two weeks while they tried to puzzle it out. The Garrison medical team ran test after test, asking Keith all kinds of invasive questions, until Shiro, with the help of Commander Iverson, put an end to it all. Keith was let go, but he then had to suffer through several months of resurgent rumors about his parentage and whether or not his abilities were because he wasn't fully human.

Keith was anti-social and a little awkward, which when coupled with his innate sense of how to pilot and the fact that he out-flew even seasoned pilots on the simulator on his first try, led to a number of rumors that one of his parents weren't human or even that Keith himself was born somewhere far beyond their solar system. It was all nonsense, of course.

Pidge had her own reasons for being worried about the screening. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that they would find out about her affliction.

Hanahaki.

Just putting a name to it made it feel all the more real and terrifying.

“Hey,” Keith said, nudging her gently. “It'll be alright. I'm really not worried about anything happening again this year. They wouldn't dare.”

Pidge did her best to smile and try to reassure him that she'd also be there to stop them if they tried anything, but the weight of what was happening to her dragged her down, threatening to drown her if she didn't wrestle back control of her emotions. Her breath stuttered in her chest, a cough building even as she cleared her throat to try and chase it off. Her eyes watered.

“Pidge?” Keith's tone turned concerned and he placed one hand on her back to keep her steady.

She couldn't hold it back any longer.

Once her coughing started, it was nearly impossible to stop as something thick and slightly scratched traveled up through her throat, threatening to block her breathing, until it finally began to slide out. Pidge gagged and coughed even harder, forcing a long stem and the accompanying blooms out of her mouth and into her hands.

All she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat. Dark spots danced across her vision and she swayed, nominally aware of Keith holding her up. Pidge closed her eyes.

❀ - ❀ - ❀ - ❀ - ❀

She woke in the medical wing.

Or at least, she thought that was where she was at first glance, but closer inspection of the wall next to her and the lack of orange décor told her that she was most likely at the Plaht City Memorial Hospital. Pidge stared at the wall for a moment and then slowly, stiffly turned her head to look around the room, which was when she realized Keith was sitting at her bedside and staring at her with a worried expression on his face.

“Wh... what happened?” Pidge groggily asked.

“You passed out,” Keith told her. “Pidge, why didn't you say anything sooner?”

She looked away from him. “Didn't want to. S'fine, Keith. I can handle it.”

“You can handle it? Pidge, this isn't going to go away on its own!” Keith's voice raised to a near shout. He blanched and ran a hand through his hair, clearly struggling to calm down. “You... Will you at least tell me who it is? I could go get them and... and then everything would be fine, right? Unless... you've already told them?”

Pidge swallowed thickly and glanced to the bedside table, hoping to see a glass of water there, but there was nothing. “It doesn't matter.”

“Of course it matters!”

“They don't feel the same way,” Pidge said, refusing to meet his eyes. “I don't need to ask them in order to know that.”

Keith growled in frustration and stood up. “I don't buy that for a second! Who wouldn't like you?”

“Keith...”

“Just tell me who it is and I'll go talk to them,” he said fiercely. “Or I'll bring them here, whichever works best for you. Please, Pidge, I just want to help. You're my best friend.”

Her chest clenched painfully at those words and Pidge wondered for a moment if she were about to be launched into another coughing fit, but after a moment or two, the pain subsided to mere discomfort, which allowed her to speak again.

Not that she really wanted to speak, since that meant revealing the truth: she was in love with him.

That was the cause of the Hanahaki Disease. Flowers would take root in the lungs, growing until there was no place left for them to go. The body naturally tried to rid itself of the invasion by coughing them up but there was only so long that could keep the disease at bay before it became too much for the body to handle. Sometimes, the person afflicted could “cure” themselves by falling out of love before the disease progressed too far. Otherwise, there were three ways it could end: in the death of the infected, by surgical removal, or by having their love reciprocated.

The last of those was the best-case scenario – the one that was often used in the plots of movies or cheesy romance novels. Having one's love returned would effectively shrink the flowers until they were gone completely.

Surgery was a more recent option, though one that some still chose to reject even if it meant their death. Choosing to surgically remove the flowers meant also removing any feelings they had for that person and often resulted in the complete loss of memory of them as well. No one could pinpoint why it was like that and all attempts to improve on the surgery fell flat.

Those were the options sitting before Pidge.

She didn't want to die. That much was for certain. There was still so much she wanted to see and do in the world, and though it broke her heart to think of needing to do it all without Keith, her partner, steadfast by her side, she wasn't going to give it all up. Besides, there was still the chance that she wouldn't forget about him. She was too stubborn for that. And if she could remember, maybe they could rebuild their friendship as well.

But what if she didn't remember?

Pidge slowly met his eyes.

He was her best friend too; the first person her own age that she'd ever truly gotten along with and felt comfortable around. Life without him wouldn't be nearly as vibrant. She couldn't lose him.

“Don't leave me,” she begged, her chest constricting as she forced the words out. She tried to sit up, her arms trembling from the effort, but gave up as Keith moved to help her. She shook her head and blinked back tears as she caught a whiff of his cologne, which usually inspired warm and fuzzy feelings, but instead dredged up an intense need to cough.

She swallowed, trying to force it away. She needed to talk first.

“Of course I'm not going to leave,” Keith tried to reassure her.

Pidge shook her head. “If... If I forget you, please don't leave me.”

Keith made a confused sound. “Why would you forget...?”

She could hear the exact moment he put the pieces together. The way his voice cracked was a dead giveaway just before his expression crumbled in distress. She reached out and grasped his hand. “It's okay, Keith. I know.”

He sucked in a shuddering breath. “It's not okay! Pidge, I-”

“You're not allowed to blame yourself,” she cut in. “This isn't your fault. You can't help who you like. Or who you don't like.”

While it wasn't something they'd exclusively talked about, she'd gotten the gist from past conversations that he wasn't someone interested in any kind of romance. He preferred focusing on his career and studies, which was something they'd always had in common right up until she went and fell for him.

She had to look away from him for a moment. “It's just... you're my best friend too and I don't want to forget that, but if I do then I need you to be there and make sure we stick together. I know that's a lot to ask.”

“No, it isn't,” Keith heatedly denied. “Of course I'll stay with you.”

Though Pidge mostly felt relieved by his agreeing to stay with her, there was still that sliver of worry that things could go wrong for them. But what choice did they really have?

She was saved from needing to talk about it more by the arrival of Shiro and her family, who crowded around her bed to ask if she was alright and if there was anything they could do to help. Matt seemed particularly stricken that he hadn't noticed anything wrong when he spent the most time with her, though her mom was a close second.

Once he was sure Pidge would be okay, her dad took charge of the situation and arranged for her surgery to take place that evening by calling on a few favors and using his influence as a Commander at the Galaxy Garrison. It took a little more convincing on Pidge's part, as well as some hefty backup from Shiro, to make an allowance for Keith to stay with her outside of surgery. It all happened so fast that she didn't have time to think about everything else she wanted to say to Keith, just in case she wouldn't get the chance later.

Her family stayed until the last few minutes until Shiro was able to direct them out into the waiting room so she and Keith could have one last moment alone.

And it was in those last few minutes that genuine fear struck Pidge.

She didn't want to forget him.

She didn't want to lose his friendship.

Heavy tears flooded her eyes, dripping down her cheeks without her fully realizing it. She choked back a sob as she looked at Keith. “I-I-...”

She couldn't get the words out.

Keith didn't need her to say anything. He got up so he could sit on the edge of her bed instead, cradling her against him and offering physical comfort. He refused to budge as the anesthesiologist entered and began prepping her arm for the IV which would administer the anesthetic directly into her bloodstream.

“Count backward from one-hundred, dear.”

Pidge tried, but she was still too choked up to speak and had to settle for mouthing it instead. Rather quickly, Keith's soft reassurances faded and she dropped off to sleep.

❀ - ❀ - ❀ - ❀ - ❀

There was an annoying beeping sound that cut through her dreams, dragging Pidge back into the realm of consciousness. It was a strange, rhythmic sound – wholly different from the obnoxious screeching of her alarm clock. She groaned as she opened her eyes and had to squint against the sudden, harsh light that reflected off of crisp white sheets and plain white walls. The only spot of color near her was a single stem of purplish flowers that was placed in a water glass on the bedside table.

“Pidge?” an unfamiliar voice called her name, relief present in their tone.

Her head felt heavy as she turned it to face whoever was speaking to her. She figured it was a nurse or something – she had to be in a hospital of some kind – but instead, she found a young man with dark hair sitting in a chair at her bedside.

“You're awake!” he said, a smile blossoming across his face. “How do you feel?”

“M'okay,” she said thickly. She stared at him for a moment and watched as his smile faded. “Sorry, but who are you?”

He reeled back as though he'd been slapped, his expression dropping into something close to pure anguish. “I...” He paused and took a deep breath. “I'm Keith.”

[ee-furoido]

So... Jade x Raven DUO magic when?

Ah! I’ve been waiting to write this for a while, and since @raven-at-the-writing-desk mentioned getting a similar ask, I decided to continue her story.

Raven’s Part 1 is here. My story is Part 2!

...But Only One to Let Go

The courtyard was packed with loitering students; some studying, others lounging on the grass. It was a place of solace for most students, to not have to think about the worries of their classes and tests. But not for much longer.

Jade was sitting on a bench in the center of the courtyard, a notebook and pencil in hand. He was sketching the flora of the courtyard, although his eyes were not on the page. While his hand moved effortlessly across the paper, his gaze lingered on the students. Every once in a while, he would scribble a note to the side of the latest thing he had drawn.

Perhaps another interesting note to tuck away for future use. No wonder there was a wide berth around his bench.

“J-Jade Leech!”

An almost eerie silence fell over the courtyard as the loud chirp rang out. A petite girl with long, black pigtails stomped up to the Octavinelle vice dorm leader. Jade’s gaze shifted to her, placing his pencil between the pages of his book and closing it shut. His narrowed eyes took in her flustered cheeks and clenched fists. A piece of black paper seemed to be crumpled up in her hand.

“Oya, oya, Miss Raven.” He said, pulling his features into a polite smile. The same conciliatory mask he was so used to slipping effortlessly over his more piercing and inquisitorial stares. 

Even within the courtyard's silence, the other students felt a rush of relief. His attention had turned to her. But even then, they watched with bated breath.

“How may I be of assistance today? I was not expecting you to come to me of your own accord like this.”

Jade shifted to one side of the bench and patted the seat next to him. An otherwise kind gesture, but that would entail getting even closer to him. Raven shook her head. She was fine where she was, shouting at him from 10 feet away.

“I assume you received the grade from our midterm exam as well.” Raven huffed, waving the scrunched up paper in her hands before crossing her arms. “I can’t say I’m pleased, and I’m quite certain you’re not either.”

Jade’s smile slipped for only a moment before he gathered it back up. He cocked his head to the side, his thin-lipped smile curling up even further. “Who knows?” 

“Wha- what does that mean?!” Raven sputtered. “You’re saying you’re fine with the C that Professor Crewel gave us!? I for one will not stand for it.”

She pointed at him with a steady finger. “We’re going to retake this test and if that means I have to force you to….. I- I will!”

With a light chuckle, Jade stood up, brushing eraser debris from his uniform as he did so. In only two steps, he was looming over the young Crowley, a wide grin showing off his dagger-like teeth. “Fufu, perhaps you should calm down, Miss Raven. If you continue on your little rampage, you may bite your tongue.”

“Calm d-”

Although she was already flustered, Raven’s face turned a brighter shade of red, one mixed with both anger and embarrassment. She clenched her teeth, trying to stop herself from striking his chest with her fists. ‘Can’t let him win.’

Jade let out another chuckle, amused by Raven’s resistance.

“Since you require a partner for this portion of the exam,” he said, curling his knuckles under his chin, “I suppose I cannot say no. Ah, I sincerely cannot leave a helpless creature in need.”

Much like the start of their most recent partnership, Jade extended a hand towards the bird, a literal offering of his help. “I’m sure you’ll be able to return the favor someday. Shall we adjourn to the training field?”

In a moment of deja vu, Raven’s eyes focused on his black gloves. How snugly it fit around his fingers, how cool it was to the touch when she had grasped it last. She wanted to forget her frustrations and take it once more.

With a deep intake of breath, Raven gave a pout, crossing her arms once more. She would hold her ground, not get lulled in by this siren. “... Yes, we shall. But as equals.” She spat his own words from the examination back at him. “There won’t be any favors or pay for this.”

Jade chuckled as Raven turned on her heel and promptly headed towards the gymnasium.

“As you wish.” He breathed to himself as he followed her.

The courtyard quickly filled with the buzzing of muted conversation after they left. The witnesses left behind whispered to each other about the scene that had played out. It wasn’t often that Jade Leech himself was at the center of potential gossip, after all. 

Raven found herself waiting at the training field alone.

“I’ll only be a moment late.” Jade had said. “There is something I must retrieve first.”

A moment had turned into 20 minutes, then almost an hour. Raven did her best to hold back tears of frustration. She felt foolish, thinking he would be there without question, to care for his grade just as much as she did.

Of course he wiggled out of this when he could, the slippery little eel. ‘I did not shake on it, so he didn’t deem it necessary to actually show up.’ Raven’s thoughts steamed as she kicked her sportswear sneakers. ‘That uncultured, underhanded, untruthful…. slimy-’

“My apologies for the tardiness,” Jade’s voice rang out. While she had been simmering in her own thoughts, he had arrived. And he seemed to carry a large silver orb about the size of a basketball. He had also taken the time to change into his athletic uniform, his usually buttoned up attire replaced by a long sleeve shirt and a half-way zipped up tracksuit.

Raven tore her eyes away from his exposed collarbone to the thing in his hands.

“Where have you been and… wh-what’s that?”

The mer-eel chuckled, tapping a few buttons on the orb before responding. The silver surface started to flicker blue and Raven could hear a light whirr as it powered up.

“A new artifact from the students of Ignihyde.” He explained. “Ever since their successful projection mapping during Halloween, there's been talks on other possible uses of the technology.”

“It came to my attention about a month ago that a few of them were working on what they called a Battle Application Droid. I had no need of it then, so I merely put that piece of information to the side at the time.”

“It took a bit of convincing to retrieve this from the Ignihyde students who have been completing the prototype, but in the end they knew what was good for them, fufu.” Jade’s chuckle was remorseless, only filled with amusement.

Raven almost thought to ask who the poor mob was that had found himself under Jade’s thumb, but thought better of it. Jade would most likely not give a straight answer, anyway.

“... So how does it work, then?”

“Essentially, we should be able to engage in a mock battle with holographic enemies.” He turns his attention back to the ball and inputs more on the keypad. “Ignihyde has access to the cameras of the school since they help maintain security. They also manage the servers where we upload all the videos from Dorm Leader battles and exams. Based on their algorithms, it should give us a randomized battle.”

Satisfied with the scenario he set into the orb, Jade hit the largest button on the side and rolled it out into the field.

“W-wait! Why’d you just-”

“We may need to stand back, Miss Raven.”

Jade threw an arm out in front of the bird and pulled her back a few feet. His hand clutched at his magical pen in his dominant hand. Seeing him prepare, Raven grasped her magical quill as tight as she could.

There was nothing else she could do at this point. No time to prepare, no time to back out.

The ball beeped a countdown in the middle of the field before erupting in a wave of blue light, sending a bright blue shock wave through the partners.

“Kh-” Raven flinched with grit teeth, using Jade's arm to shield her eyes from the light. She gripped onto his sleeve until it dimmed, and only then did she chance a look at their surroundings.

Her beak dropped open. They were in the coliseum. 

'Well, no, of course we aren't.' There was a light blue haze over what should be the stone slabs of the arena, as well as moments of static. But otherwise, it was an almost flawless holographic replica of the coliseum.

Ignihyde’s projection mapping had grown, no longer needing physical objects to display images. 3D holographic projection had arrived.

“Be prepared.”

Jade’s voice seemed so far away to Raven in that moment, but it snapped her back to reality. Facing them from across the field were two faceless students, magical pens raised.

“... Th-they cannot actually hit us, right?” Raven’s voice twittered from behind Jade’s arm. 

“Perhaps, perhaps not.” Jade said. “If you would like to stay standing there and test that, Miss Raven, then be my guest. However, I would prefer to come out of this unscathed and am unwilling to experiment, fufufu.”

“Wha- You-”

A light chortle before Jade quickly pushed Raven away to the side as he jumped in the opposite direction. Right where they had been standing only a second prior, a pillar of blue fire erupted. The flames crackled as it burned up the sweet digital oxygen. 

Despite the close call, neither felt the heat. The simulation really was only an artificial emulation, after all.

“Seems like this should be quite easy to defeat.” Jade’s eyes glinted, the Ignihyde blue of the digital landscape dancing off of his olive and gold irises. “Especially knowing it cannot harm us.”

“We need to think like it can harm us, Jade…!” Raven squawked out from where she had tumbled onto the ground. “Otherwise, what is the purpose of this training?”

“I do believe it is for you to get a better grade, is it not?”

“YOU-”

Raven caught herself. There she went, falling into his rhythm, ready to bite back at the merest provocation. Professor Crewel’s words rang in her ear again.

“Your coordination could use much improvement. You were yapping at one another for almost the entirety of the battle.”

He wasn’t wrong then, and even now she could see them falling into the same pattern. Her fingers gripped her quill even tighter. What was it about him that caused her to act this way?

…

“Miss Raven!”

She had pulled her attention away from the scenario for only a second, but that was all it took for the simulated opponents to take advantage. A large ball of water was hurtling towards her—

—and was intercepted by a column of real leaves and wind, slamming down to the ground like a wall, just in time for the digital water to hit it and disintegrate.

“Fascinating.” Jade muttered, racing over to where Raven was pushing herself off of the ground. “For our physical magic to be able to intercept the holograms… Fufufu, this is much more technologically advanced than I expected.”

He glanced down at the smaller student, flashing a mocking grin. “Eyes open, my dear. I won’t always be there to save you.”

He turned his attention back towards the virtual opponents.

“Now is the time for our counter-attack.”

It didn’t take long for the two of them to find a rhythm, to defeat wave after wave of artificial enemies. Although smart and biting quips were still thrown out from time to time, their wordless communication was their impenetrable defense—whenever one was targeted by an enemy, the other was on hand to assist. While one prepared their stronger physical attacks, the other parried incoming attacks.

Seamless unity.

The sun had started to set on Night Raven College, and the two were almost out of breath. Six waves of faceless blue students they had fought, and it was taking a toll on both of them. Their uniforms were a mess with dirt and grass stains, the crystals of their pens were both getting cloudy.

This was the last round dictated by the orb.

This last enemy was relentless, its speed faster than the others. Almost before either could react, it would send fireball after fireball downrange, keeping both Raven and Jade on their toes.

“Tch!” Jade growled, jumping out of the way of yet another blue ball of flame. “Relentless…”

He paused to catch his breath, gripping his pen. “Miss Raven, we need to settle this quickly, we should—”

“Watch out!” Raven shouted, pulling Jade towards her and onto the ground. A blue swirl of leaves from the other AI barely grazed the top of their heads.

A moment as they realize the position they were in. Jade had fallen, propped up on his hands, hovering over her. Half a heartbeat passed—

Jade rolled onto his back, panting and holding back a chuckle. Raven shook her head, trying to will away her fluster. Now was not the time to be thinking of how close that was.

“Eyes open, I won’t always be there to save you.” She shot at him, the same words he had mocked her with before.

Jade sat up and eyed the two opponents on the other side of the field, warily. From the looks of it, the two mobs were preparing a powerful spell, a duo…

He pushed himself off of the ground and reached his left hand out for Raven. With another light and exhausted laugh, he spoke.

“I’m pleased to know that you have my back when I require it, Miss Raven.”

A warm sensation emanated from Jade’s hand, one that Raven could not describe offhand. But it compelled her to take his offered hand this time, a static of magic crackling as the two of them touch. Another wave of blush scrawled across her cheeks. She gripped the quill in her other hand.

“Sh-shut up, Jade, I’m only doing this because I have to.” Her temperamental defense mechanism rising once more. 

Jade would have let another laugh escape him, but as the two of them connected by both touch and words, he could feel a second wind surge through him. In almost an instant, his exhaustion melted away. 

His heartbeat grew louder every second, and he could sense the magic radiating from his core to his pen.

His gaze fell on the artificial students.

‘Give no quarter.’

An immense pillar of water crashed down where the opponents had stood. Despite their distance, the water from the attack splashed all the way back to the two weary students. Jade gritted his teeth with determination.

The second strike materialized three large pillars of water dropping the AI to the ground, their magic concentration lost.

Jade’s eyes glittered with malicious glee as he swung his magical pen a third time, covering the other half of the field in a destructive wave of water. The digital enemies flickered under the pressure and disappeared—

—Quickly followed by the rest of the projection. The simulation was over.

“Well,” Jade said, wiping the sweat and dirt on his brow with his equally dirty sleeve. “I suppose this is a day well practiced.”

Raven nodded, letting out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding during his ultimate attack. “Yes…”

…

“Jade…?”

“Yes, Miss Raven?”

“... Y-you can let go of my hand now.”

“Fufufu, of course, as you wish.”

Jade untangled his fingers from hers and gave a light, polite bow. He made his way to the center of the field to pick up the prototype B.A.D., wiping off the battle residue with his shirt. 

Raven stared off after him, proud of the difference their day of practice made. 

They would be ready for the makeup exam. No doubt about it.

[storiesforallfandoms]

love and drugs ~ klaus hargreeves;the umbrella academy

word count: 1805

request?: no

description: in which klaus and his best friend discuss the serious topic of love while high

pairing: teen!klaus hargreeves x female!reader

warnings: swearing, drug usage

masterlist

“Whoa, I just stumbled into a real life porno,” Klaus commented upon seeing Allison and Luther nearly kissing. You snickered at the comment as Klaus’ siblings glared at him.

“Fuck off Klaus,” Allison hissed before closing her bedroom door in his face.

“Fuck off Klaus,” Klaus mocked in a high pitch voice before continuing down the hall. “As if I did something wrong by walking in on my siblings making out.”

“To play devil’s advocate, they weren’t making out yet,” you pointed out.

“Yet is the keyword,” Klaus said.

He pushed his bedroom door open and went straight for his window. You followed, the two of you effortlessly pulling yourselves onto the roof of the Hargreeves manor.

You often forgot just how big Klaus’ house was, but you wouldn’t dare to comment on it to him. To Klaus, this house was a prison, a place of torture at the hands of his supposed father. It made for a great view when you sat on the roof, especially to get high while looking at.

Klaus rolled a joint and lit it, taking the first puff before passing it to you. “Fuck, that shit is good.”

You took a puff and laid back on the roof next to him. You both looked at the sky, a dark blue, almost black, as the sun began to set.

“It’s not that weird if you consider the fact that none of you guys are actually related,” you pointed out as you passed the joint back to Klaus.

He knew what you meant without having to ask. “We still grew up together, we were raised as siblings, we called the same dude dad and the same robot mom for years. We share the same birthday, we may as well be actual siblings.”

“Plenty of people share birthdays, doesn’t mean they’re related.”

“Stop defending Sweet Home Alabama. It’s weird, it weirds us all out.”

You laughed at Klaus’ joke as you tried to take a puff from the joint, causing you to start choking on the smoke. Klaus laughed at you as he took the joint back.

“I suppose I understand it in some way,” Klaus continued. “We’re locked in this house, unable to see any other actual person. They’re both the favourite kids cause they’re the ass kissers, so it makes sense that they’re attracted to one another.”

You put your hands behind your head and stared up at the sky. “Have you ever thought about falling in love?”

It was Klaus’ turn to choke on the puff he was taking form the joint. He began to cough, puffs of weed smoke coming from his mouth every time he did. He coughed so hard, he accidentally dropped the joint and watched it roll off the roof and onto the ground.

“Sad,” he commented, but laid back next to you again. “That’s a pretty loaded question there, (Y/N).”

“I don’t think so,” you responded. “I feel like everyone has thought about love at some point in their lives.”

“Thinking about love, yes. I’ve thought about how disgusting it is that my brother and sister are in love with one another, I’ve thought about how dad doesn’t know what the meaning of love is, I’ve thought about how much I fucking love weed. But falling in love is a much heavier topic.”

On any normal occasion, you wouldn’t have pushed the subject. In fact, you and Klaus rarely had any serious conversations, especially when he dismissed the topic. Most of your time was spent smoking weed and making fun of his family. But you were starting to feel a head rush and the lack of caring about anything leaving your body, signifying that the joint was working its magic and you were pleasantly high.

“I guess it is,” you agreed, “but I still think it’s something everyone has thought about at least once in their lives. Like when you were a kid, didn’t you ever think about growing up and having a wife or something?”

Klaus gave you a funny look. “Did I, the boy that was raised in a mansion with six other kids by an emotionally distant father who built his own robot wife, think about finding a human wife and living happily ever after? No, can’t say I have.”

You began to laugh, as if what Klaus had said was the funniest thing you had ever heard. Luckily, Klaus was just as high as you and didn’t take your laughing to heart. Instead, he smiled as well and began to laugh. You tried to stop but it was nearly impossible. It was like someone had flipped a switch in your body and now you were going to laugh forever, the thought of which caused you to keep laughing.

When you both finally managed to calm down, Klaus asked, “Have you ever thought about falling in love?”

“Of course I have,” you responded. “I’ve been in so many relationships, I think I fall in love once a week.”

“That’s not love,” Klaus told you. “I may not know anything about that feeling, but I know a new flavour of the week every week is not love. That’s you trying to simulate love, or trying to stimulate your vagina.”

You bit your lip to keep from laughing again. “Well, I’m failing at that second one, because none of the guys I’ve dated are good at sex. They all either have small penises or don’t know how to use the average sized ones they have.”

“See, that’s not love,” Klaus said, pointing a finger at you almost accusingly. “You’re not looking for a life partner, you’re looking for a guy to please you sexually. Love is looking for someone whose gonna make you happy and who you think will make you happy for life, the sexual pleasure thing is just a side feeling.”

You turned your head to smile lazily at your best friend. “For someone who supposedly doesn’t know anything about love, you sure do know how to explain it.”

“Allison watches too many soap operas and teen romance shows. You pick up stuff from time to time.”

You were both silent then for some time, starring at the sky as both your heads spun from your highs. Between you, Klaus’ hand was lazily outstretched, his palm facing upwards. You dared to look at it for just a moment, letting your eyes dart from his hand, to his face, then back up to the sky to act as though you hadn’t just looked at him.

Trying to test the waters, you slowly lowered one of your hands so that it was inches from his. As if knowing what you were trying to do, Klaus reached out and took your hand in his, intertwining your fingers together.

You felt your heart begin to race and you almost wanted to pull your hand away before it started to get gross and sweaty, but you were also at a point in your high where it felt like you had no control over your own body. You just wanted to lay there, holding Klaus’ hand and looking at the sky.

“I’ve thought about falling in love,” Klaus admitted then, his thumb beginning to trace your knuckles idly. “I’ve thought about meeting the right person and leaving this place for good. Moving as far away from the Academy as humanly possible, starting my own family, actually loving and raising my children, not just having them and being in the same house as them and calling that parenting.”

“I have, too,” you admitted as well, your mouth working before your mind did. “I mean, going out and having fun with guys is great and all, but I’d like to meet a guy that I feel like I can settle down with. That I’ll be with for a long time, even if it’s not for the rest of my life. Just someone for me to be with longer than a week.”

“You don’t think you’ve met him yet?”

You turned your head to see Klaus already looking at you, a hurt look in his eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that,” you said. “I’m sure I have met him, I just haven’t realized he’s the right one yet.”

“How will you know? Or how do you think you’ll know if he is the right one?”

“I don’t know, I think the universe will give me a sign.”

There was a pause before suddenly Klaus rolled so that he was almost hovering over you, and lowered his lips onto yours. You were taken back by the action and almost didn’t know what to do. Do you push him away? Do you kiss him back? Well, you certainly couldn’t just lay there motionless while he kissed you, he’d definitely regret doing it then.

You decided to go with option B and started kissing Klaus back. The hand that had been holding yours slipped under your head, cradling it as his tongue began to poke at your lips. You opened your mouth, allowing Klaus to slip his tongue in and allowing you to do the same.

Despite the chill in the night air, you were starting to feel warm. So warm you were debating on taking your clothes off, and Klaus’, but you knew it was a bad idea to do that on the roof of his house. Instead, you pulled away, biting at Klaus’ lip as you did so, causing him to chuckle.

“Was that a good enough sign?” he asked as he rested his forehead against yours.

“All these times that we’ve hung out, alone, and have gotten high, and you waited till now to do that?” you asked, teasingly.

“How am I supposed to initiate a kiss when usually we’re so baked we don’t even know how to control our own bodies?” he asked. “I thought this was the perfect time, considering we were talking about love and all.”

“So you have thought about being in love?”

“I have, with my best friend. We’re a walking teen romance cliché, Allison would lose her shit.”

You giggled and lifted your head enough to capture Klaus’ lips again. You could get used to kissing him.

“I know this is probably moving too fast,” he told you, breaking from the kiss once more, “but do you wanna go back inside and make sure I pass the sexual pleasure test before we go any further?”

You smirked at him and responded, “Duh, what kind of stupid question is that?”

Klaus stood so quickly he almost toppled off the roof, you had to take hold of his hand to make sure he stayed up right. He pulled you to him again, kissing you once more, before the both of you climbed back into his room and closed both the window and the curtains.

[mollymauk-teafleak]

The Bianca Nureyev Detective Agency

This was an anniversary present for my wonderful girlfriend @spiky-lesbian who is just the most wonderful girlfriend ever and I love her a lot!

Juno tries to entertain his and Nureyev’s daughter on a slow day in space...

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

Being a space pirate did sound good on paper. It sounded like a life full of narrowly dodged laser bullets, sprawling on beds of golden creds, witty one liners delivered to fallen foes in the smoking ruins of their empires that you’d just toppled and large, audacious hats.

And it was like that, about twenty percent of the time. But what they didn’t tell you was that the other eighty percent was a hell of a lot of waiting. It was a lot of snail crawling through deep space, killing days upon days worth of time in cramped metal hallways, eating stasis food and absorbing simulated sunlight. Planning your next big twenty percent could only take up so much time.

And it only got harder when you also had a three year old space pirate to entertain.

“Mamaaaaaaa,” Bee Bee poked her head up over the edge of the sofa, looking like some burrowing animal resurfacing, “I’m bored.”

Juno lowered the case file he’d been reviewing, eyeing his daughter with the tired amusement only a parent could muster, “Oh?”

Bee Bee scrambled up onto the family room’s busted old soda, sinking down beside her mama. She peered at him for a moment, taking note of the way he was sat, one ankle folded over the other and tried to copy him as best she could with her chubby little legs.

“Space is boring,” she declared, “There’s nothing to do.”

Juno set the files aside, silently accepting that he wouldn’t be getting back to them anytime soon, “Nothing? Nothing at all?”

“Nope,” his daughter gave a forlorn sigh, “Nothing at all.”

“Well then,” Juno shrugged, sinking down into the sofa so they were level even if it would be murder on his back later, “We’ll just have to think of something to do, won’t we, kiddo?”

Bee Bee giggled, “Yes. What was mama doing?”

“Oh,” Juno looked to the files he’d piled on the arm of the sofa, “Nothing interesting. Just looking into cases where other people have tried to do the same job we’re going to do.”

“And what happened to them?”

Juno winced. It wasn’t as if their daughter was unaware of the dangers they faced in their line of work. Pirates weren’t exactly famous for operating within the confines of the law, even in her storystreams. And since she’d been born, she’d seen her daddy at work, often getting a birds eye view of it all from a wrap slung across his chest.

“Well. Jail mostly,” he admitted, knowing he didn’t have to hide the truth from her even if it didn’t feel good to.

“Huh,” Bee Bee hardly blinked, swinging her legs, “Well, Auntie Buddy’s way way smarter than all of them. And Auntie Vespa is faster and Auntie Rita is better and Uncle Jet is cooler and my daddy is the best at stealing ever ever in the whole galaxy. And my mama’s the best detective. So we’ll do just fine.”

Juno grinned, reaching over and stroking back her curls, “Yeah. We’ll do just fine.”

“So can I help Mama? With being a detective?” her eyes sparked excitedly.

He knew that look, once her mind was fixed on something she’d follow it to the far side of the universe. She was like her daddy in that. But she wouldn’t exactly find much interest in going through old case files that somehow managed to make jewel heists sound boring. Though the tactics these failed thieves had used didn’t have an awful lot of pizzaz to them. Probably why they’d flopped, or at least that’s what Buddy would say.

“You know what?” Juno snapped his fingers like he’d just had a fantastic idea, “You’re just the kid I need for this very important case!”

“I am!” Bianca beamed, not a question. She had perfect confidence in her own abilities.

“It’s a classic head scratcher, kiddo,” Juno announced grandly, mostly to stall for time while he decided just what this case was going to be, “I’ve been at it for years and I’ve never been able to crack it but with your pluckiness and my brains we might just solve the case of...uh...the case of daddy’s missing glasses!”

Bee Bee gasped appreciatively, “Daddy’s always losing his glasses!”

“He is,” Juno snorted, “And we’ve got to go help him, right?”

“Right!” she jumped onto her feet, bouncing up onto the couch cushions and promptly tumbling, Juno just about managing to catch her. It didn’t seem to diminish her enthusiasm, as her legs windmilled wildly, “Let’s go!”

“Okay,” Juno grinned, “Well, first thing is to examine the scene of the crime and…”

“No, mama!” Bee Bee frowned, looking at him like he was profoundly stupid, “First thing is to dress up.”

“Of course. My mistake.”

Apparently no detective work could be done until Bianca was wearing her mama’s old coat, the one he’d hung onto for sentimental reasons even after he’’d been unable to really call himself a detective. And long after the leather had worn on the elbows and there were none of the original buttons left on it.

It needed to be rolled up quite a few times to even get the tips of her fingers poking out of the sleeves and the bottom of it looked like a mad kind of wedding train but Bee Bee grinned in delight and it was pretty good to see the old thing getting some use again.

“Now we go to the scene of the crime,” she declared, waving her arms, “Daddy and mama’s room!”

“Come on then, co-detective,” Juno laughed, “Lead the way.”

If Nureyev was surprised to see them burst through the door, it didn’t show on his face. He didn’t scare easily. He only smiled and tilted his head, quickly shoving the book on pregnancy he’d been reading far under Juno’s pillow. They weren’t quite ready to broach that subject with Bianca yet.

“Hello, my loves,” he hummed, “What adventures are we on today?”

“We’re playing detective!” Bee Bee toddled up, clambering on the bed to give him a quick hug before anything else, “Going to find your glasses.”

“Oh could you!” Nureyev smiles pleasantly, “It does seem I’ve misplaced them again, reading is something of a chore without them.”

Juno arched an eyebrow at his husband, “You wouldn’t possibly be deliberately reading that book without your glasses so you could claim you have while not retaining any information or looking at any of the diagrams?”

“An outlandish notion,” Nureyev flicked his fingers at him airily, turning his attention to Bianca who was now crawling around the bed, bent over so she could scrutinise every inch of the sheets like a bloodhound with a scent, “Please, dear little detective, will you take my case?”

“We on the case, daddy!” Bee Bee assured him, hurrying over to give him a hug, now just because she wanted to, “We’ll find the glasses.”

“You gotta question the witness,” Juno advised, “Build a timeline.”

Bee Bee nodded, looking up at Nureyev with a sudden fierce seriousness, “What is your timeline, daddy?”

He couldn’t help but smile down at her as he pretended to think, “Let’s see...well, I went to the kitchen for breakfast...then I had to collect some floorplans from Buddy’s office, I read them over in the family room with my wife...then I had an appointment with the physician. Then I came here to have a nap and do my assigned reading.”

Juno rolled his eyes at that last one.

“We’ll track 'em down!” Bee Bee declared, barrelling off the bed onto the ground. Again, her mama only just managed to catch her, “Come on, Detective Mama! Before the trail goes cold!”

Juno chuckled, pausing briefly to lean down and kiss Nureyev, before he followed his daughter, not needing to hurry too much, one of his strides matching about five of hers.

Their trail through the ship took them most of the rest of the afternoon, clattering through the winding corridors, the two of them making up wild twists and turns whenever suited them, inventing new characters, dastardly schemes that had happened off screen, speculating wildly on new threats. Buddy of course joined in enthusiastically, she was a regular and beloved playmate of Bianca’s. Just searching her room turned into a frantic search to disarm a bomb left by this mysterious glasses thief, a bomb that turned out to be in Buddy’s chest which could only be fixed by a hug from a plucky little detective.

Vespa was less willing, they caught her in the middle of disinfecting all of her scalpels. But even she wasn’t immune to Bee Bee’s charms, eventually playing her role with grudging grace. And Juno was able to get a quick whispered update on Nureyev’s check up, feeling a little better that it wasn’t just him and his husband who knew, that he had someone to offload all his anxiety on, the same anxiety he was trying to shield said husband from.

Even better, they ran into Rita in the kitchen and the game then swerved happily into the wildest corners of two vast imaginations, going off on a tangent that somehow involved werewolves, a falling moon and a galaxy wide ring of prolific glasses thieves (it turned out Rita had lost her pair too, though they did turn out to be perched on top of her head).

It was when Bee Bee was rolling happily around on the floor that she suddenly froze and squealed in triumph. She bounded up to the side table next to the old, sagging sofa, less than an inch from where Juno had been sitting earlier.

“Here! Here’s the glasses!”

Sure enough, there was a pair of cat eye spectacles on a silver chain resting there. Even Juno couldn’t raise much of a grump when he realised they’d been inches from their goal at the very start of the job. Some cases just worked out that way.

“We’ll have to take them back to your daddy, huh?” he panted, collapsing next to his daughter on the sofa. Somewhere along the way he’d picked up glitter on his black turtleneck, a rubber glove from the infirmary stretched over his head like a mad hat and one of Buddy’s scarves wound around his neck.

“Yes! And then get paid,” Bee Bee nodded, making Juno slightly nervous about what sort of payment she was going to demand. She’d asked to be paid in ice cream last time they’d played this game.

She plopped down next to her mama, leaning against his arm, adding more glitter to his favourite jumper, “Mama? I don’t think daddy is very happy right now. I think something’s up.”

Juno froze, “Uh...what makes you say that, kiddo?”

“Well…” Bee Bee wrinkled her nose, “He just seems...floppy. Always flopping on you and he looks pale and he doesn’t sleep good, mama. I think he’s sick.”

Juno tried to keep his face carefully neutral, “Your daddy’s fine, honey, I promise.”

“Hmm,” she replied, in that way she had that let him know she didn’t believe him in the slightest, “But it’s okay. Because we found his glasses and that’s gonna make him happy. And then we’ll help him more and we’ll do detective and find his happy.”

Juno relaxed, wrapping his arm around her, “Oh yeah?”

Bee Bee beamed and nodded, “Cos I’m the best detective ever! And mama helps!”

Juno sat back, laughing mostly to himself.

“You know what, kiddo? I thought I was pretty good but I think you really might be the best ever.”

[eastertag]

Phoenix

@janetm74 gift for @katblu42

the prompts: 1) Lee Taylor, 2) rising like a phoenix and 3) a bird with a broken wing, preferably a Thunderbird.

‘Uncle Lee, Uncle Lee!’ the twins shouted, rushing up to him and throwing themselves around his legs. He bent and scooped them up as their parents followed them at a more sedate pace, bemused smiles on their faces.

‘Tina, Vincent,’ Lee said, inclining his head to them as they all made their way back into the house, and the grins broadened. Some things would never change. As Lee sat down, one child on each knee, Kayo disappeared to get supper ready while Virgil entertained their guest. 

Or rather, while their guest entertained them.

Lucy Ruth and Grant Jefferson Tracy loved their Uncle Lee. Even if he couldn’t get their names, or their parents’ names right, he told the best stories. They didn’t get to see him as often as they would like, but every time he visited the island he made sure to spend some time with them.

Virgil came over and held his arms out for one of his children. ‘Come on, bed time,’ he said, taking Grant as Lee stood up with Lucy. This was often the highlight of his visit, and Lee wouldn’t swap this opportunity for anything.

Putting the youngsters to bed, Virgil and Lee exchanged glances, waiting for the inevitable request, and Grant didn’t fail to deliver. ‘Story, Uncle Lee! Story!’ he clamoured, his sister joining in. Lee grinned. ‘Which one do you want to hear?’ The children shared a glance, then squealed together: ‘The phoenix! Tell us about the phoenix!’

Lee chuckled. He’d lost count of how often they requested this one and he sat in the chair between the two beds while Virgil disappeared to assist his wife in the kitchen, safe in the knowledge that his two would be well looked after.

‘Well, Lana and Gerry, have you ever seen a phoenix?’ he started, and as usual both children nodded and pointed at him. He rolled his right sleeve up to reveal the faded tattoo. The phoenix, rising from the flames and ashes, screaming defiance to the sky. ‘That’s right. I got this after a particularly difficult rescue…

‘Damn it, Lee, that was too close!’ Jeff yelled, pulling Thunderbird Two up and away sharply.  The corresponding swearing told him that Lee was alright, if a bit shaken. The voice of his eldest came over the comms: ‘careful, Uncle Lee. We don’t want those roughneckers thinking you’re one of them rather than one of us rescuers!’ Jeff chuckled as Lee retorted rather sharply, ‘careful yourself, Spencer, we wouldn’t want you to…’ whatever he was saying was cut off by another explosion on the rig. 

Ribbing would have to wait, and both Lee and Virgil got the rescue platform ready for its’ last run, while Jeff used Two and Scott used One to stabilise the platform enough to get the last lot of workers off. John confirmed from Five that all emergency protocols had been initiated, and that capping the well now only required the special missile Brains had put together.

Scott fired the missile once the rescue platform was safely away in Two, and both ’birds headed back to the mainland. Two dropped off the workers at the hospital and they headed back home, Virgil flying and his dad co-piloting him. 

Not long after the four men could be found relaxing by the pool. International Rescue was still very new, that rescue had counted as their last single digit. Nine rescues in eight weeks. Sure they had started slowly, but as news spread about the organisation rescues were picking up. With all three of his eldest on board since the start, having had some background training in their respective fields beforehand, Virgil was now starting to go out and put his engineering skills to use. Jeff had made it very clear to his son that Two was his, but he needed some more training on the rescuing side before his dad would hand over control completely.

That was why Lee was here. Jeff and Scott may be pilots, but Lee was the engineer, as was Virgil, and Jeff had thought that his old friend and fellow astronaut would be ideal to help Virgil learn how to assess and react on the fly, as it were. Scott was an excellent commander, and could make snap decisions that were 99.9% right, but he wasn’t an engineer, and some of the decisions involving structural integrity and stability Virgil already knew how to call. It was what would make Scott and Virgil such a brilliant team – their respective skills complemented each other perfectly, they just needed honing.

Lee spent the next couple of days going over simulations with both boys, drills being run again and again until the two worked as one and they ‘won’ every time. They were fast studies, and Lee was more than happy at the way ‘Vincent’ picked up making decisions quickly, and his confidence at telling ‘Spencer’ when he was wrong or needed to take account of a variable.

He was preparing to return to Alpha Moon Base in two days. They spent his penultimate night with a barbeque, retelling how their dad and Lee had made the Mars landing, how Lee had needed to engineer a solution within seconds while Jeff was fighting to pilot the craft, how they barely made it. Sure, with every telling Lee embellished some part or other, but the overall story was not lost on Scott and Virgil. Always be aware of what you can use around you, think on your feet, Never Give Up.

The next morning all four were torn from their sleep by the emergency klaxon. 2:30 am was not a time any of them were used to getting up, but the ability to jump out of bed, dress and present oneself to the lounge for briefing Virgil was gradually getting used to. Scott never had a problem with this, his military training more than enough to prepare for this. John also didn’t have an issue with his NASA background. 

It was, so far, their third early morning call. Getting into the lounge last was not unusual, but at least he was awake. Scott passed him a coffee that he seemed to magic from nowhere, and he gratefully sipped the scalding drink while John filled them all in. 

A mine collapse in England with several workers trapped. However, the good news was that they had had notice, so the majority of workers had been able to get away. Scott was dispatched immediately, while Brains, Lee and Virgil poured over the plans of the mine and surrounding areas, checking geology and if there was going to be any surprises.  The only thing they worried about was that there were several ventilation shafts dug out over the larger area, which was a forest, and the possibility of an explosion of the gases that naturally built up was quite high. With that knowledge in mind, Two set off with the Mole, Jeff piloting and Virgil co-piloting.

It took Scott no time at all to reach the mine, and his report confirmed everything that they had already known and prepared for. As he set about organising what he could on the ground, Virgil and Lee went over the geology again, mulling over potential issues and discussing contingency measures. Jeff listened in, his confidence and pride in how quickly his son had assimilated to his role growing.

Lee and Virgil took the mole down, and it was a textbook rescue. Five miners, minor injuries only, it took around an hour to get them all loaded on the mole. The injured were loaded onto the waiting ambulances and International Rescue were thanked profusely. As they cleared away the equipment and loaded everything, Jeff looked at Lee and he nodded. It was time. As the four returned to the ’birds, Virgil was surprised when his dad walked past Two and carried on to One with Scott. Scott glanced back at his brother, grinning madly, and gave him a thumbs-up. 

‘Dad?’ called Virgil after them, uncertain despite his brother’s obvious glee. Jeff turned around and came over to his middle son, placing his hands on his son’s shoulders. ‘Virgil, you performed really well on this rescue, both Lee and Brains said you made the recommendations yourself, you decided where to drill, you looked out the potential danger sites. You’ve more than earnt the right to fly your ’bird home without your old man standing over your shoulder.’ He thumbed over his shoulder to a waiting Scott, ‘that’s your brother’s privilege today.’ Scott mock-scowled, but he really couldn’t keep the grin off his face, and neither could anyone else.

One shot off into the distance. Virgil knew his brother would be waiting for him, but for the moment One was out of sight, and Lee huffed something about ‘show-off flyboys’ and ‘like father like son.’ Virgil just grinned. They were all flyboys really, well, except possibly Gordon but even he could fly competently (not that their eldest brother would ever admit that), only Scott seemed to have inherited their father’s love of speed so far. Alan may have, but he was too young to earn his wings yet.

Two rose more slowly – majestically was the phrase Virgil preferred, thank you very much – but she had her own turn of speed. The take-off may not be as impressive as her sister but compared to other aircraft his girl was fantastic. Using her VTOL’s to gain enough lift to engage her main engine, both Virgil and Lee kept an eye on the forest around them so they didn’t set fire to any trees. Trying to ensure he didn’t, Virgil nudged Two forward as she rose.

They hadn’t got far into the air when Lee suddenly shouted. But whatever he was shouting about was lost in the roar of an explosion that rocked Two violently, catching her back and left side, causing her to spin out of control.

Lee came too with several voices yelling for him and Vincent, er…Virgil. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but at the moment his concentration was all on shutting the voices up to stop his head from hurting. Oh, yeah. He needed to open his eyes to do that, and boy was that a mistake. Bright light assaulted him, followed closely by the smell of burning…he knew that smell, it was familiar to him. The smell of burning electrics!

It was the jolt he needed to get himself moving. Unbuckling his belt, he quickly checked himself over, nope, no injuries other than the cracked head and possible whiplash. He wiped the blood off his forehead while he stood up.

Second big mistake. He immediately doubled over and vomited. Ok, make that cracked head, possible whiplash and a concussion. But there was something more important he needed to do. The shouting was still shrill in his head and ear, but he ignored it, hauling himself over to check on Vinc…Virgil. The young man was out cold, a similar gash to his head.

It was the fire all around them that worried him. There was an extinguisher – Brains ever the overcautious, but this was extensive and he knew he needed to get them both out of there quicker than treating the flames would allow for. But as he tried the upper exit the resultant failure to open was no surprise. They would need to get out of the cockpit and the side door.

One of the advantages of being ‘space-trained’, as Lee often termed it, was that it taught you to think on the fly and to use whatever was to hand. And what was on hand, just outside the cockpit, was a prototype suit Brains was in the middle of designing for Virgil, to assist with heavy lifting. At the moment the bare bones were there, and it would be the best thing to use. Even if opening the door was easy, they would be surrounded by debris.

Good job he was strong, Lee reflected, hoisting Jeff’s middle boy into a fireman’s carry. This boy was heavy! He staggered out of the cockpit and into the service way, stopping before the entrance to the pod. The exosuit was housed here, a small area set aside for her, and Lee was thankful that he and Vincent were the same height as he carefully laid the lad down and got into the suit.

As with everything Brains created, the suit adjusted to fit him, and Lee marvelled at the engineering behind it. With a whirl of gears and pistons lee was moving, Vinny over his shoulder, over to the doorway. Thankfully this one slid open easily, Cahelium being so very tough, but outside the ’bird the forest was ablaze.

No sooner had Two got caught up in the fireball, Five had notified One, and a horrified pair of rescuers turned around and raced back in time to see her crash. Training taking over familial responsibilities, they set about using One’s cannon to blast the rapidly spreading fire. Jeff knew that One didn’t carry enough to douse this and directed John to call the local fire services. Scott set One down some distance away, both men inwardly seething at the distance needed because of the fire.

Their priority was to get Lee and Virgil out, so donning their fireproof suits Jeff grabbed two spare oxygen tanks while Scott grabbed extra fire extinguishing tanks, and the two set off while John constantly called to the downed men.

As Jeff and Scott burst through the forest they were met by an astonishing sight. Lee Taylor, resplendent in the exosuit prototype, Virgil over his shoulder, both bathed in the flames around them. The exosuit, still unpainted in this testing phase, shone reds and yellows. They appeared almost in slow motion.

Later, later Scott would mention how like the phoenix Lee looked appearing so suddenly. But right now, all their attention was focused on rescuing Lee and Virgil and putting out the fire.

…and once your Uncle Scott mentioned the Phoenix, that was it. Of course, that was the seed sown, but I didn’t get the tattoo straight away. Returning to Alphie was next on the cards, and it wasn’t until several years later, when your Grandpa Jeff was missing. When your Uncles Spencer and Alvin came to rescue me and Alphie was destroyed I felt that my life as an astronaut was over. Then Spencer gave me another chance when we went to Mars.

When Tina, your mom, came and found me I felt that I was given a second chance at life at my age, and I remembered Spencer remarking about the phoenix and I thought “that’s me, that’s my life.” Your uncles gave me my life back, a second life just like the phoenix. Then they went and rescued your Grandpa, and my third life began, teaching the next generation of Mars settlers.’

By the time Lee had finished both children were asleep, and Virgil and Kayo were wrapped around each other in the doorway. Hearing how their weird Uncle Lee saved their dad’s life never failed to fascinate the pair, and they loved the tattoo. Virgil had been honoured when he’d been asked to design it.

The three adults retired to the living room to reminisce.