#it’s not in question that he wanted to go to laugh tale (with buggy). but he doesn’t want to *anymore*.

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

But didn’t shanks said they’re gonna go to laugh take together on “OUR own ship” when buggy was sick?

so, two things about this.

the first is a request for someone to please send me the raws to look at so i can make my own judgement on how literally to take this translation, because i read too many bad, official translations of manga in the early aughts to trust blindly. (eta: someone did!)

the second thing, assuming the translation is accurate: was buggy awake and aware enough to hear that? you can see a little gyaaaa sound effect that i assume is buggy screaming in the background, but idk what setting the anime provides for shanks in that scene. the manga panel has no background; shanks could be sitting next to buggy’s bed or he could be standing outside crocus’ office, for all i know. and even if he’s right next to buggy, with a high enough fever buggy might not retain any memories of events going on around him.

which is to say: just because shanks intended for the two of them to go to laugh tale together doesn’t mean buggy knew about it.

even during their roguetown conversation about laugh tale, when shanks says he changed his mind about going there he uses the phrase ima no tokoro (at present/for the time being). it sounds to me like a “not yet” sentiment (which seems very reasonable tbh, the two of them are fifteen, a two-man crew of teenagers is gonna have trouble getting to the new world, let alone laugh tale), but that is still enough of a shock to buggy that he rejects shanks for saying it.

okay, dialogue/translation nitpicking talk under the cut:

this is another situation where i really want to review the original japanese dialogue before i make a judgement!

because yes, the sj translation does have shanks saying that:

Chapter 967, Page 16

but then during the roguetown fight buggy says “that you’d take your own ship to laugh tale one day!!” (emphasis mine):

Chapter 1082, Page 8

so i am dying to know whether these two panels are using the same turn of phrase—or near enough to it, given buggy’s kinda rude, slangy way of speaking—because whether they are or not tells us a lot about how much buggy knew.

[writingoddess1125]

I Fell in love Alone

Was on my sad Spotify and thought of this. First sad fic!

Enjoy Depression!!

Sad Angst

No warnings just sadness

Buggy x GN reader

Part 2

Sitting up from bed, you covered yourself with the large patchwork blanket still nude from the evening before and alone like every morning after.

For 6 months it had been this way with your Captian- the infamous Captian Buggy, at first it had started off as a drunken fling but he kept calling you back.. every night he called for you, had you sit close to him, whisper sweet words over how you were his only. This had continued for these 6 months but every day that passed you couldn't help but feel... empty?

It was like his words had become no better then a script that he followed in order for you to stay the night in his bed, like his touches were to only satisfy his need and not to savor you.

Sitting there in his large bed you look around, like for the first time you'd seen it. Had he ever spent a morning with you? Ever bothered to wake you up from your slumber?... had he ever kissed you? A hollowness began to fill your soul as the realization flooded you.

Getting up you dress quickly, not wanting to stay in the room any longer as that hollowness seemed to fill you further. Rushing out quickly you head out to go to the messhall for a meal, walking in you heard the place filled to the brim. No one bothered to question were you had come from- everyone knew.

Getting your food you sat with a random group of performers.

"Oh person of the month I see" Some of them giggle at you, they always did this- while they were too fearful to outright call you our of your name they would do this instead.

"You do know I heard (Y/N) his flavor of the month right? Is pushing six months- Gotta say longest Captian has had so theyve gotta be doing something right"

The juggler girl said with a laugh, the others at the table also agreeing. Some of the people there talking about their time with the Captian as well, you sitting quietly pushing around your breakfast as you felt a hole in your heart developing with each tale of passionate nights and sweet nothings he had said to your fellow crewmates that he did bed drunk or sober alike.

Their words felt like blades against paper skin and they just cut so deep.

After exiting the messhall you went to your post- continuing to do the large labor of your job, the pull from your muscles and sweat from your back not even facing you as the labor felt better then his gaze which you knew was following you. He always did like to watch you, Normally you turn back and smile at him savoring his validation but.. not now.. not ever again.

You hadn't stopped, not until the call for dinner had brought you out of your working daze. The need for food beating the emotional exhaustion, so you headed back to the mess hall to gather some food.

Making a plate you try to hide, seeing Buggy was there laughing loudly and drinking. You knew the moment he saw you he'd-

"Ah there you are (Y/N)! Come over here" He said with a laugh and waved you over. Reluctantly you did, knowing were he wanted you- seated right to his side so he could show you off while speaking with his underlings. Like a child showing off his shiny toy.

He laughed loudly, his hand finding its way to your hip as he held you close.. your skin crawling st the feeling as you felt more like an object then anything romantic at this point.

"So as I was saying- I'm sure (Y/N) doesn't mind- besides I'm sure they would wear a (least favorite color) leotard for the next show!" He laughed, his hands still on you as he spoke like you weren't even there. It felt like he had just stabbed you in the chest, as a burn of embrassment surgery through you. Looking up to see a few of your peers from afar looking at you, like for the first time you had seen the pity in their eyes and the second hand embrassment at the sight of you.

"Buggy... what is my favorite color?" You ask calmly, He looked at you with a raised brow laughing off the question as he thought it was a joke at first. It wasn't until he caught your eye that he realized you were serious and his lips sealed shut at the lack of answer.

"....When is my birthday?" You ask a different question, a realization of what you were doing set in and he gave a laugh placing his hand back on your hip.

"I know we're your birthmark is" He says with a laugh as the other crewmates in earshot laughed as well. You gently peel his hand from your hip and stand up, Walking out of the mess hall as you hear Buggy call after you which you ignored.

Humiliation shot through your system as the feeling of hot tears warmed your eyes... you were a fool- The biggest fool in this entire circus that you were apart of. Walking out onto the deck you grab one of the spare blankets that seemed to always be left out, wasn't like anyone really kept the place organized anyway..

Standing by the railing of the ship you wrapped the blanket around yourself tighter, looking out at the endless sea. At night like this when the moon was full it looked like you were sailing on stars.

"Hey There you are! What the hell was that about? You made me look like a fool in there!-" Buggy started, you could hear he was buzzed just by the jovial tone in his voice.

"Ha... you the fool.. hilarious" You say softly the feeling of fresh tears staring to run down your face-

"Aw don't be that way baby! Come on its no big deal anyway, let's say I make it up to you back in my cabin and we forget this night even happened"

You look back at Buggy, The large tears running down your cold cheeks. He froze, his heart clenching at the sight of you like this and he.. didn't know what to do- What to say. Had you ever cried in the times you had know him.

"Whats wrong why are yo-" You cut him off quick. Closing your eyes tightly in hopes to stop the tears.

"What is my favorite color?.. a food I like.. anything?" You whispered out, Biting your lip to keep a sob back.

"I...I what do you want me to say (Y/N)?.. I mean is it uh Is it Gray? Blue? Red? I mean you like... Me?" He managed to breath out a forced laugh, swallowing a lump in his throat as he gestured randomly around himself like you could understand how ridiculous this was for him.

"You don't love me do you?.. I really am just am your flavor of the month right?"

Buggy's face falls at your words. You take a shaky breath at this and wait for his answer, but he just stands there opening and closing his mouth unable to form words- A mix of a gentle sob and laugh finally escape you at his lack of answer.

You sniffles and wrapped the blanket tighter around yourself as if it could cover the vulnerability you felt and fear in your heart. Turning away from Buggy as you slowly walked past him, wiping the few remaining tears away.

"You know....I never thought I'd fall in love alone. Goodnight Captian..."

You say softly before heading downstairs, leaving Buggy standing on the deck of his ship alone and a pain he had never felt before in his heart.

[aimbutmiss]

So, we know that Shanks didn't leave East Blue after the Loguetown incident. He heard of Yasopp's fame as a sniper and went to recruit him. Then we skip to Foosha, after he's formed a crew, where he meets Luffy. And we all know how the story goes from there. He stays there for a year, leaves for the Grand Line and is recognised as as a yonko six years later.

Now, here's the problem: That "skip" from Loguetown to Foosha is a whopping 12 years. What the fuck was this man doing all those years??? We have no idea. All we know is that he regularly dueled with Mihawk and had that infamous fight with Blackbeard that left him with his scar (exact time unknown). But other than that? Absolutely nothing.

Here is what we do know though: Benn Beckman is from the North Blue, and Lucky Roux is from the South Blue. So, Shanks was just possibly going around all four blues recruiting people before going into the Grand Line? Makes sense. Except 12 years seems like an awfully long amount of time for that... Especially considering in the main storyline of One Piece, not even a full year has passed, ignoring the timeskip.

Blackbeard was part of Whitebeard's crew back then too, so he must have been in the Grand Line, right? So either;

A) Shanks entered the Grand Line once before, had his fight with Blackbeard there, and came back to the East Blue for an unknown reason. Or,

B) Blackbeard left the Grand Line for whatever reason and they had their fight in one of the four blues.

I think option A is more plausible. But that begs the question, what was Shanks doing in the Grand Line if not building his reputation, and why did he come back to the East Blue? The most accepted theory (I think?) is about what Roger said to him after returning from Laugh Tale. Whatever information was passed between them (which made Shanks cry btw, so maybe he also told him he'd be dying soon?) it must have been somehow related to Joy Boy, even though we can't exactly know what it is. Roger has said that he was sad about missing Joy Boy's time, being a bit early. And he's also said that he wishes his son would be the one to find One Piece even though he didn't have a son back then. So, if Shanks was aware of Joy Boy and the devil fruit, he probably spent his time in the Grand Line looking for it, after forming a reliable crew for which he traveled tne whole world. When he eventually found it, he stole it, and brought it to the East Blue. Why? Who's in the East Blue? It's Ace. It's always been Ace. Shanks wanted to fulfill his captain's dream and pass on the title of new generation's hope onto his son. That's why he told Buggy he wouldn't look for the One Piece, which led to their falling out. Buggy always believed Shanks would become the next Pirate King, but Shanks knew he wasn't meant to be the one, it was Ace. But things didn't go according to plan when Luffy ate the fruit. We have two possibilities once again. Either;

A) Shanks saw Roger in Luffy before the boy ate the fruit, and arranged it so that he would find it and eat it.

Or,

B) Luffy found and ate the fruit before Shanks saw his potential by pure coincidence.

I honestly don't know which one it is, and I don't think it matters much. Either way, Shanks' plan didn't go like what he had in mind but fate made it so that things would work out anyway. Only after making sure the future was in safe hands could he go on to the Grand Line once again to make a name for himself. He did say that he bet his arm on the future after all.

So, what do you think?? I think this theory makes the most sense but I'd be interested in hearing other opinions, or add ons to this one.

Also, six years in the Grand Line before becoming an emperor is quite long too, I think. I wonder how Shanks rose to that status? Who was his predecessor and what happened to them?? Or was there no predecessor and only three emperors??? (I've seen people say Rocks pirates ruled the seas and the emperor system didn't exist yet but let me remind you all, Rocks pirates disbanded at God Valley when Shanks was only one year old. So emperors have existed for more than 30 years probably.) Shanks probably had a plan for his second (technically third) journey on the Grand Line too but what was his goal this time??? So many questions about this man and I didn't even bring up the case of how he was found by the Roger pirates exactly during the God Valley incident, which is a very important event that ties into so many plot points. And inside a treasure chest of all things??? This guy drives me insane STOP BEING MYSTERIOUS STUPID RED HAIRED MAN

[beanghostprincess]

how would you fix shuggy? or are they better off as exes in friendly terms? i feel like once buggy gets over his grudges and gets to laughtale he could forgive him pretty easily

OH-- This is actually a really fun question. See, the thing about Buggy and Shanks is that Buggy doesn't only hold grudges against him, but also feels inferior to him in a way that being next to him instantly makes him feel bad. Even if Shanks had chosen to go find the One Piece right away, I think the breakup would've happened anyway at some point. It is a personal journey Buggy has to face (similar to Usopp's because, well, they're very similar in a few things).

I think the only way they could fix it and go back together is by letting Buggy be confident about himself without actively caring about Shanks and seeing himself as an equal to him. And the first step for that is getting Cross Guild's respect and actually showing that he is capable of leadership and showing he is a real pirate. This is why I keep saying Crocodile and Mihawk should have this realization and make Buggy sort of know he doesn't have to live in Shanks' shadow anymore. Etc, etc, etc. Then they can go to Laugh Tale together and do whatever they want.

HOWEVER! We're talking in the context of a romantic relationship here and tbh Buggy has spent so many years being mad at Shanks I think he'd need a while to get used to being with him like old times? Or maybe they don't even have to. I think their relationship can be "fixed" without them dating again, tbh. That being said, I want them to get married and be happy so let's say what Buggy needs is just confidence and finding out why Shanks didn't wanna go for the One Piece right away and have a normal conversation with him instead of always falling into the miscommunication hole. Maybe what they need is to sit down and talk but they're,,, Stubborn. So good luck to them.

[ideas-4-stories]

Cross Guild Romance Prompt: It's a regular day on Karai Bari until the alarms are raised as bodies start to wash up on the shore. It's a devastating and horrific sight, especially when they see that there are women and children among the dead. Buggy sees some debris floating towards the island and is shocked to see a pair of tiny little bodies clinging to it. Mihawk wastes no time swimming out to the debris and rescuing the two young survivors clinging to it. The children are a brother and sister these adorable pale eyed twins who are just 5 or 6 years old. Mihawk, Buggy, and Crocodile rush the barely alive kids to hospital where they thankfully recover, and when they go to see the twins, it is love at first sight between them all. The siblings practically pounce of Mihawk the moment he comes near. Buggy and Crocodile are surprised when they see how gentle and good Mihawk is with them and they both kinda fall in love right then and there. Mihawk and Crocodile have the same thing happen to them when Buggy chop chops himself to get the kids to laugh, and then Mihawk and Buggy fall for Crocodile when he gently uses his sand powers to help clean the kids up some more. The kids share the harrowing and heartbreaking tale of what happened, how the captain of the ship they were on had just gone nuts and decided to intentionally wreck the ship, their poor parents lifting them onto the debris they were found on before the ship full on sank on them. It's gutwrenching, but Buggy, Mihawk, and Crocodile come together to take care of these new arrivals to Cross Guild. It's the crash-course is triple parenthood not only for Mihawk, Buggy, and Crocodile, but for their main crew as well, with these two little darlings causing all kinds of happy cute chaos and deciding that their three protectors/new foster dads need to get married so they can be a proper family.

Oh dear, those poor children. Man, why the hell did that captain just decided to go nuts. That’s a question I really want answered, but I might never know. Was the kids the only ones that survived? I mean if there are other people that survived it, they could tell why the captain decided to go fucking nuts and crash the boat.

I’m glad Buggy spotted those kids so Mihawk could get them to safety. The two must of saw Mihawk coming to help them if the twins go to Mihawk when the leaders can go and see them. The love started with them seeing each other being kind and caring to kids is great.

Buggy doing little shows just for the twins, whether it's puppet shows (like @wyvernslovecake’s puppet show with Buggy, Crocodile, and Mihawk having puppets styled after them, which is such a fun idea) or card tricks or like Richie lazily going to through hoops causing Buggy to be dramatically “annoyed” with it. Mihawk and Crocodile would be watching the shows when they can. Do they make time for it… maybe?

Mihawk is definitely taking them to his gardens and teaching them how to be a gardener because that's very useful to know those things. Also, he will teach swordsman training if the twins want to (I’m sure one of them would want to) Mihawk would be cooking their meals and Buggy might be helping at times if Mihawk lets him. Of course, Mihawk will embroider the kids’ clothes if they want it to happen or when they accidentally tear their clothes.

Crocodile would totally teach the kids how to bargain, so they would get the better out of a deal. Unfortunately for the trio, the twins started using it on them… Yeaahhh, neither Mihawk or Buggy are happy with Crocodile about that. I can see Buggy and Mihawk are making sure Crocodile doesn't teach the kids gambling. Moving on, Crocodile being the one with most of the money of Cross Guild, he will be spoiling the twins. He would, we all know he will.

The Cross Guld inner circle are totally babysitters when the trio can’t take care of the twins because of work or wanting personal time to relax and chill. Alvida is definitely the wine aunt, she is giving fashion tips (maybe one of the twins might get into fashion or not) Cabaji and Mohji are the excited uncles, so happy to spend time with their niece and nephew. Mohji and Richie are showing the kids all the show animals and the Wanis on the island while Cabaji is showing them acrobatics and unicycling. Galdino is the uncle in charge of the tea parties because he's great at them while Daz is teaching them self-defense and teaching them the best poker face for when they are convincing everyone they definitely weren't the ones stealing from the cookie jar. All of Buggy’s followers are keeping a eye out for the kids too.

I kinda of want the twins to be very chaotic in the sense of pranking people. Some people blame Buggy because he somewhat a pranker, he was hardcore when he was younger and the twins doing pranks makes Buggy want to get back into the groove of pranking people again.

So Buggy is loving the pranking and is in cahoots with the twins. They won't ever in a million-billion years say it, but Crocodile and Mihawk have laughed at many of the pranks the twins have come up with on their own or with Buggy helping the brainstorm process.

The twins are definitely going to get their foster parents to marry. Somehow the kids will find a way to have this happen. All I know that it might take months or a year to do it, but they will get it done and there’ll be a flashy wedding for them. The twins are going to be the ringbearer and flowerchild in that wedding, no doubt about. Richie is going to help the flowerchild and a Wani will be helping the ringbearer.

[cipher-zoo]

Have you considered what Buggys’s reaction would be if during a fight between cross guild and the red haired pirates, shanks offered for them to team up and head to LaughTale together?

Okay, I finally get around to answering this!

TBH. I have tried to answer before and that ended with me going on a 500 word tangent about a different subject because I got distracted ... and I really didn't want to subject you to that, so now I am trying to stay on the topic!

Firstly, thank you so much for the message! 💙 I am always happy to talk about Shanks and Buggy and especially this specific part of their dynamic.

I was surprised, when I realized that this is actually a hard question for me - on one hand, because I keep going off on tangents, while trying to answer and on the other hand, because I think Buggy's answer and reaction would be very dependent on where they, what exactly is going on and how Buggy is doing in general.

I can already tell this answer is going to end up being far longer than it needs to be, I am so sorry, please bear with me!

Before I say anything else, please note that this is simply my opinion and my interpretation of the character and if anyone sees this differently, you are very welcome to do so. Let me know how you would answer this question!

Now, let's talk about Buggy.

Buggy, in my eyes, is characterized by two very important - and at times seemingly contradictory - traits. His sense of survival and his pride. And I know what some people (those who are not nose (haha) deep in Buggy Characterization Hell) are thinking:

"Cipher, in what world does snivelling, growling "I'll lick your boots" Buggy have any pride? Don't you mean Shamelessness?"

And to that I say, no I mean pride, because Buggy is a lot of things but definitely not "shamless" in fact Buggy is riddled by shame - but I won't go into that right now.

What I want to talk about is his pride. It's not the same pride Sanji has in his cooking or Zoro in his swordsmanship. No, Buggy's Pride, like so many things in his life, is often a mask.

One he puts on, when he gets hurt.

For example: He is deeply ashamed of his nose, so as compensation he turns himself into a clown, a "genius Jester", puts on a whole show and takes (or fakes) pride in being not only a pirate but also an entertainer of sorts. Because nobody can hurt you, if you are proud of your flaws (now, this of course doesn't work out in the end, because his shame and his body dysmorphia is stronger than his pride, but - in my eyes - it is still an attempt.)

The same goes for the whole Shanks situation. I, personally, don't think that Buggy hates Shanks. He can say so, and he does, but his actions speak louder. Because when they met again, what did Buggy do? A favor for Shanks [And yes, of course Shanks offered him a treasure map in exchange, but come on. If you hate someone to the level Buggy claims to hate Shanks, would you agree to a deal like that? I personally wouldn't.] No, Buggy is deeply hurt by Shanks and that is something he doesn't want to be. Because being hurt by someone is out of your control, you take a passive position in that case. But hating someone, being angry at them, that is something you can "chose".

When Shanks told Buggy that he wouldn't be looking for the one piece straight away, but still offered to sail together, Buggy claimed his pride as reason why he wouldn't.

"I'm not going to work under you!" that is what Buggy tells Shanks. The reason why I won't keep sailing with him. And we know that is simply not true. Because barely a panel above Buggy is fine sailing under Shanks as long as they are looking for the One Piece. In fact, he tells Shanks, "You said it yourself, didn't you, Shanks. You said your crew would to reach Laugh Tale one day too"

There is no indication at that point that Buggy has a problem with being a part of that crew. In fact, I get the sense, that he needs to be a part. Because his dream rests on Shanks' shoulders. But then Shanks makes the (rightful) decision not to look for Rogers Treasure, Buggy sees his dream die and immediately switches from "hurt in his feelings" to "hurt in his pride."

But his pride isn't always a character flaw. No, I think the whole scene, where he tells Crocodile and Mihawk about his dream - or, to put it differently, the scene where he finally reclaims the dream he gave up as a kid - is a show of true pride. A moment of being on the floor, as low, as he could possibly sink, and still not giving up. And that is the first time Buggy's pride is stronger than the other character trait I mentioned before.

His sense of survival. Or better said: His deep longing to survive. Buggy is a character who desperately wants to be alive. He is prideful, in his own way, but that won't stop him from grovelling at Crocodiles feet, because what does his pride do him good, if he dies?

We have seen this throughout all of One Piece. In Impel Down and now at Cross Guild, especially so. Buggy wants to live, and he is smart enough to know what lengths he has to go to, to do so.

But in that moment, when his sense of survival takes a backseat, we finally saw a glimpse of his true pride. Not the one he puts on as a show.

NOW! Did I say all of that just to talk about Buggy? Yes, but it is also important for my answer, because I think, the question we would have to answer is: "What is Buggy dictated by at that moment." His fake pride? His sense of survival? Or his true pride?

Let's say it's his fake pride. Let's say the fight between Cross Guild and the Red Hair Pirates is not tipping in one direction and Buggy feels like he could actually win: I don't think he would accept the offer: There is a Star Trek quote that Jean-Luc Picard says to Miles O'Brian. It goes: "I think, when one has been angry for a very long time, one gets used to it. And it becomes comfortable, like old leather. And finally, it becomes so familiar, that we can't remember feeling any other way." [man, i love me some star trek quotes]

And I think Buggy is teetering dangerously close to that feeling. To not remember any other emotion he every felt towards Shanks, other than hurt and anger. And in that case, Buggy would say no to teaming up.

Now, let's say it's his sense of survival: If the Red Hair Pirates are clearly winning. If the threat of Crocodile and Mihawk is minimized? Yeah. I have no doubt that Buggy would say yes to a team up. We would complain about it and have his conditions and boast to his men that he managed to convince Shanks to a ceasefire (he is still Buggy after all) but yes, if Shanks actually met him on eye level [at this point I am keeping myself from going off on how, during their meeting at Marine Ford, Shanks kinda looks down on Buggy - even if he maybe (doing a kind reading here) doesn't do it consciously], then I think a team up could happen.

Last but not least, what if it is not that fake pride that makes Buggy angry or his sense of survival that makes him stick to the strongest player? What if it is his "true Pride" that we saw so little so far? Well, the boring answer is: I don't know.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about Buggy in different situations and context, but this Buggy is so new that I still need a little more time to decide how he would act.

I hope you aren't too disappointed by this answer, because I do feel like I am taking the easy way out, giving you an "Anything could happen" but yeah, the truth is what it is. I don't know.

But I would love to read everyone's opinions!

[starcrossedjedis]

4, 8, 14, and a number of your choice for shanks/mira in honor of your stalker anon❤️ -bibaybe (literally wtf is happening there???)

This has been sitting in my drafts since anon's last bout of stupidity, I found it fitting to drop it tonight to celebrate their return 😆

Thank you so much for this ask! ❤️ let's get into it - for anon ✨

4. Who initiates affection? Why does the other not initiate affection as much?

The very, very first time it's Shanks. After that it's only Mira for a while, because he is hesitant to give in to his feelings for her. Once they're together though they just naturally gravitate towards each other in a way that it's sometimes impossible to tell who moved first.

8. What do they love most about the other? Why?

That's a hard question to answer for both of them, because they have known each other literally all of their life and have loved each other (no matter wether it started of as platonic or not - who knows, not me^^) for just as long. Loving each other is pretty much part of their DNA at this point. But if they had to chose one thing they loved most about the other... Mira loves Shanks' light, the way he can see the positive in every situation, even when nobody else does or when others deem it inappropriate. And Shanks loves how fiery Mira is, no matter if it presents itself in passion or anger or even her damn stubborness.

14. Do they enjoy PDA, or are they more private with affection?

In the beginning of their relationship - when Mira was still the Captain's daughter and Shanks was his apprentice - they were very private about any and all affections (except around Buggy, who was the only one who knew from the get go - and who probably wished he could unknow it xD). Most of their affection would be exchanged in the privacy of her cabin or during a stolen moments below deck. But later, when it's his/hers/their own home and terms people around them probably wished they'd be a little less comfortable and sickly sweet about their PDA 😏

49. Do they keep secrets from each other?

Do they k-... 😭 One might think that Shanks not telling Mira everything her father has told him about the joyboy and the whole Laugh Tale thing is as bad as it gets (although he only keeps it from her, because he feels that making sure that he takes his Captain's journey to the end the man never lived to see is his burden to bear and that she has been through enough already), but boy is that nothing compared to all the secrets Mira takes with her when she disappears in the dead of night...

(under the cut, in case someone doesn’t want to get spoiled for the more juicier plot points... 🤫)

There is the part she had in her father's sickness and death.

And the reason why she left without an explanation or goodbye, leaving Shanks heartbroken (and maybe worse should I chose the "milder version of a mermaid's mating bond" / soulmate route - milder version, because even all the delicious Mystical Zoan shenanigans considered, Mira is still not an actual mermaid).

And last but definitely not least there is the fact that she never told Shanks he has a daughter.

[onepieceblathers]

My take on who the new Four Five Emperors of the Sea will be:

First off, Morgans already gave Luffy the 5th Emperor title, so I think that’s going to stick (it will go back to 4 when he becomes Pirate King). Maybe it will just be more “official” through the World Government or something. Luffy has been outed as Nika and that terrifies them. He’s going to get the bounty and title to reflect that, no question.

Luffy, Shanks, and Blackbeard make three Emperors, so who will the other two be?

We’ll start with Buggy the Clown. Yeah, you read that right. Does he have the raw power to be on top? No. In any realistic way should he be an Emperor? No. But that doesn’t matter.

It's completely on brand for Oda to make Buggy an Emperor because his entire thing is to be a mediocre pirate who constantly fails upward and hates it while simultaneously letting it boost his overinflated ego. There is nothing that would be too ridiculous for Oda to give him because he loves him, and like it or not, One Piece is a first and foremost a gag manga. If Buggy pulls Conqueror’s Haki out of his ass and shows up at Laugh Tale against his will with the Strawhats at the end, not only is it believable given precedent (his inexplicable Shichibukai title), but highly likely. I support this because I also am a sad Buggy simp.

This leaves us with one open spot, and I think Law should get it. This poor man has been a buttmonkey for the Strawhats for TEN YEARS REAL TIME so Oda owes him karmic debt.

For real though, he’s the brains behind the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance (yeah Kin'emon, we all saw you choke at the end there), and since he’s been (inadvertently) helping the Wano cast since Punk Hazard, and the Minks since Zou (his crew fought with them against Jack), and is Luffy’s first ally, he’s got powerful backing in anything he wants to do if he asks for it. Law is their friend (whether he likes it or not) and they will now die for him.

He also finally figured out how to PLAN AROUND THE GODDAMN STRAWHATS and make it WORK! When he’s not been given a handicap, the man is a fucking beast. He was a Shichibukai who told the WG to shove it. His devil fruit is supposedly the “ultimate” one. He could theoretically rip Im’s soul out and switch it with a mouse. He’s also got that damn D in his name. Let the government’s fear of this be shown directly and give him the Emperor title.

I will admit there is a real chance that he’ll be labeled as Luffy’s lackey for comedic effect, though. In that case, there will only be 4 emperors.

Who should defiantly NOT be given an Emperor title? Eustass Kidd. Look, I know the fandom loves Kidd, I don’t understand why, but they do, so he’s a top candidate because uwu 3 cAptAINs!1! or whatever... The problem is, he hasn’t done anything of note to deserve it.

Sure, he’s strong and murders civilians en-masse, but what has he accomplished since Sabody? Had his ass kicked by Shanks and lost an arm, got tricked by Apoo and Hawkins, got beat to shit by Kaido and tossed in prison, lost his crew, escaped prison because Luffy was there to give him a Strawhat-chaos-luck-boost, was immediately re-captured when he realized Killer was an indentured servant (who ate smile because of him and also almost died because he was dumb enough to try and fight a Strawhat), then tagged along with the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance that was running on Law’s plans and Luffy’s incidental revolution power, pretended to be relevant by facing Kaido but not really doing much, and then faced off with Big Mom next to Law. I’m sorry, but while tag-teaming Big Mom with Law does make him tough, it doesn’t make him a big player on the board, which is what I think an Emperor needs to be.

Kidd’s crew is in ruins, if either Luffy or Law asked the entire the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance would turn on him because he really isn’t part of it, and as evidenced by his reaction when being lumped in with them, he doesn’t want to be. He just doesn’t have the reputation or backing for the Emperor title. If Oda gives it to him it will only be because he’s ranked high in the popularity poles which just isn’t good enough, imo.

[arcadejohn127-9]

Could you do the Brothers and undatables reacting to MC being poisoned and finding out that Micheal was trying to kill them because he was jealous that MC was close with the brothers. Let me just say your work is great the way you describe the situation before going into the reactions is really interesting. Thank you so much!!!!

I already had this ask half way done but Tumblr decided to delete all my work due to buggy WiFi - I'm currently in pain 😭

I don't know much about poison so bare with me, I just looked at the basic symptoms and went "I'm smart" I've passed out after being ill or just in general quite a few times when younger so I had faith

This also has a bonus Michael part! I've decided to add his response to the boys reactions in its own format or else each one will just have a repeat of the same Michael Response

Warning: angst, implied vomitting, attempted murder, fainting, spoilers of lesson 37 and 16, gore on Michaels part, long

"from Michael...?" You questioned outloud, unsure on how to feel about the parcel you've found.

Your relationship with the angel wasn't a defined one. You didn't hate him but you didn't like him either; there was always something about his presence that made you fearful. You choked it up to be just internalised fear due to hearing the brothers experience of the celestial realm and angels.

You've never met him in person; the first conversation you had of him was when you stabbed yourself with the dagger instead of Lucifer. You saw the light and he spoke to you, surprised and shocked at the love you had for the demons. Even then you never really got to speak to him again, he was a mystery. You've sent a few letters and he's returned some and Simeon is a link between you two. But other than that? You didn't really have a relationship with him.

So why? Why would he send you a gift?

You looked inside to see a packet of apple pieces and herbs inside of a snack shaped teabag. You admired the unique shape and couldn't stop a small smile appearing. It was definitely cute! And you finally got to use the new kettle and cups barbatos got you.

You decided to text Simeon, telling him to thank Michael for your gift. He was surprised by this but agreed, happy you two were connecting.

Whilst your new tea brewed you were trying to figure out a way to repay his kindness. Sure it was simple small gift but he was reaching out - you were giddy! Hopeful this meant he was fully on board to the exchange program.

But you soon would regret drinking that tea. It was so sweet you couldn't stop drinking it; your lips only leaving the cup of a second of breath. It was addicting. The herb covered apples pieces gave it a nice slight bitterness. But it wasn't overbearing but didn't make it taste like sugar in your mouth.

As soon as the last gulp came down; something came up. You hunched over as your stomach churned, a disgusting taste forcing itself up your throat. Your vision growing blurry as you stumbled out of your seat, the light in your room feeling like knives to your eyes. You tried closing them but the effect didn't change. You were barely hunched over on your side releasing everything in your stomach. It stung your throat, your stomach feeling painfully empty.

There was this invisible feeling telling you to go to sleep. You wanted to obey but the light felt too painful. In your dazed state you shakily texted the groupchat a sloppy "help me ASAP, my room" before letting your body go limp, heaving as you just laid there, dragging a nearby jacket over your head and let your vision be consumed by the darkness.

Lucifer:

He's heart broken

How did this happen? You were fine and now you're not moving

Your breathing was faint against his neck as he held you

He saw the parcel and connected the dots, Eden's tea

It was a death sentence for any human, a treat for demons and a punishment for angels

He's started a war once, he can do it again

Whilst he knew he couldn't enter the celestial realm he demanded that Michael show himself

When his demands went unanswered, he was ready to break all rules

"He's gone too far, I don't care for his reasons! I WILL DESTORY THE CELESTIAL REALM IF I HAVE TO! HE WILL ANSWER ME!"

when you received a cure all his angers washed away with relief

Happy to have you awake again even if it was for a few moments

Mammon:

FLASHBACK ARE STRONG

All he can think about his how you looked like in the past; dying in his arms

He immediately went to blame belphie but almost tripped over the parcel

He's an idioit but he knew what this tea was

Becomes feral with rage and overly protective of your unconscious body

He's hunched over by your side at all times just growling at anyone who comes near you

He wanted to hurt Michael but he wanted to stay with you

He'd talk to you and tell you how he was going to get payback

"I should of known he'd do something-! I'll never forgive him- DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!!! I'M DOING THIS FOR THEM!"

As soon as you get the cure he's hugging you and telling you how much he missed you

Levithan:

When he found you, his heart dropped

It only got worse when he found the parcel and realized what Michael has done

he will remind the celestial realm why he is an admiral of hell's navy

He spends time by the sea communicating with any creature he can get; telling them if things go down he'll need them to flood the gates of heaven

When he isn't planning war he's with you, playing games, trying to ignore how dead you looked

He would remind you what buttons to push when your chatacter didn't move

"YOU THINK I'LL JUST LET THIS SLIDE??!! HE'S KILLED MY BEST FRIEND!"

He broke down sobbing when you woke up after getting a cure

He was convinced you were dead but here you were, alive and awake

Satan:

He's a detective nerd so of course he scoped out the scene

When he found the parcel and Michaels name - oh boy

Never met the man and pities him for letting their first meeting be the angels demise

It wasn't long before he had to be detained

Screaming and tearing up anything he could, yelling at his brother's for falling

He blamed his brothers, he blamed Michael and he blamed himself

Hated being locked away from you, would course more of a fuss when he couldn't see you

"I WILL KILL EVERY ONE OF YOU IF YOU DON'T LET ME GET TO THAT DAMN ANGEL!! I HATE YOU!"

He's only calmed down when you are given a cure and he's told you're alive

Is finally allowed to see you and he holds you tight

Asmodeus:

When he found you he was sobbing

It only grew worse when he found out what happened

In Denial

Not of Michael, he believed that but in denial you were dead or were dying

Kept insisting you were just tired and sleeping

Destroyed an entire room when one of them insisted you weren't sleeping

He'd help you get ready and pamper you, telling you it's okay and you can thank him when you feel better

Would be seen wiping your face often in hopes it'll get rid of that death like appearance you have

"They're fine but Michael won't be, when my precious darling wakes up I'll make sure they know I'll make everything better."

When you bad your cure he started crying and laughing, telling everyone he was right

Clinged to you and let you sleep

Beezlebub:

He found the parcel almost immediately

And went into a rage - we all know how his hunger tantrums are

Would've destroyed the whole house if he wasn't restrained

Guilt

So much guilt, his shoulders are always sagging

Sits by your unconscious body so he feels like he's protecting you

Has tried kissing you awake

Hoping you'll wake up like a fairy tale Character and everything will be fine

"I'm going to kill Michael and I won't let any of you stop me....protect (Y/N) For me."

Was so happy and relieved when you got the cure, sticking to your side at all times even when you were awake

Belphegor:

He was quick to help you into bed and on your side

When he found the parcel he was ready to murder

His rage towards Michael massively outweighed his hatred for humanity - even Lucifer!

Beel couldn't keep control of him mostnofnthe time unless he got forceful, belphegor stuck in a headlock screeching bloody murder

Stress sleeping

Like many of the brothers he develops two modes: calm or PLANNING MASS MURDER

Whenever he gets overwhelmed he just forces body to shut down and sleep besides you

"Michael will face me again, I won't let him kill anyone else that I love! He got Lilith killed and he can't do the same for (Y/N)!"

As soon as the cure was found he was by your side

Letting you rest and watched over you

UNDATEABLES↓

Diavolo:

Found out through the brothers

Sees this as an act of war against the peace he's working for

He was normally sweet and forgiving but it seemed Michael wanted to rip to his last nerve

Demanded for every reliable demon to search for a cure

Even had Solomon try to make one

"Barbatos, what is the possibility of Michael coming down to the devildom or the human realm? I want 'discuss' with him what his actions have caused."

As soon he he found out you were alive and safe

He didn't stop his plans but let himself have time with you

Barbatos:

So much guilt

Like holy shit

Is just constantly questioning how he didn't prevent this

Asked permission from the lord to just change the timelines so this didn't happen but the brothers were against it

They demanded they didn't avoid this situation and let Michael face punishment

That he couldn't refuse, he was angered by the angel's actions

More than he would ever show

"humans are so fragile and their time is so limited - that's why I'm never going to let anyone cut theirs short again."

Was part of the cure search party, he led the group

Once you were cured he stayed with you

Acting as your butler and made to check each of your foods and drinks

Solomon:

It wasn't a wise decision to piss off a wizard with stupid amount of pacts

To think an angel would do such a thing

But whilst Everyone lost their temper and searched for a cure

He was wondering - why did it happen

He was ordered asked to make you a cure

He was able to do it but the real cure was also found - giving you extra cure wasn't going to harm you

But he did plan to harm Michael

"you'd think he was smarter than this, he didn't even hide he was the one who did it but all it does is make my job easier."

nursed you until you woke up

Making sure you had mini cures to completely magic it out of your system

Simeon:

When he found out he was stunned

Betrayal - that's all he felt

How could Michael do such a thing?

But he knew Michael was a cruel angel, many having to drink Eden's tea as punishment

It burned their insides and had any poor soul sobbing for mercy after a gulp

"Michael you fool, you can get away with things in your league but you've involved the three realms into this....I pray you do not make your demise harder for yourself."

Was apart of the cure search party

Soothed you when you finally woke up, telling you it'll be okay

Let you rest as much as you wanted

Luke:

They tried to hide it from him but he kept demanding to see you

He wanted to know why everyone was acting strange

When he finally found out he was broken

His mentor

His idol

His everything

The person who always went for permission and knowledge

He thought so highly of him but he's hurt you

He's done more than that! He's tried to kill you!

He's been sobbing for days and locked himself away, he couldn't bare to see you after his once visit

He believed you were dead and they were just keeping your body

"Michael....why....why would you do this.... I thought you loved your brother's....I thought you were kind..!"

When he found out there was a cure he begged to help but they wouldn't let him

He only got to see you when you woke up and he was hugging you, crying

+ bonus Character↓

Michael:

The angel knew they'd be upset

But 9 demons wanting his blood? One wizard ready to cause mayhem and even his own kind wanting his downfall?

That he didn't expect

In his blind jealousy he didn't expect they'd all care for you this much

Thinking apart of them would be relieved you weren't there

But no

"You were my brother's before you were their partner, I'm simply doing what is right! It was their time to meet him and finally stop controlling all of you! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO LOVE ME! I'M YOUR FAMILY! WHY ARE THEY MORE IMPORTANT?!"

He got his answer

His wings torn to shreds, chunks of flesh bitten off him and slashes all over his body

He was left in human world bleeding and barely recognisable

They didn't hold back

He dread to think what the rest of them would do when they find him

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Forever

One Shot: Snack

Summary: Katie’s hungry…and there’s only one snack she’s pining for.

Warnings: Language!! Smut (NSFW)

Pairings: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Rogers (nee Stark)

A/N:  If you are currently reading Stark Spangled Banner for the first time as it is being reposted then this contains MAJOR SPOILERS and I recommend you wait until you’ve finished so you don’t spoil anything!

This was more self gratification after seeing the photo below...

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

Stark Spangled Forever Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Steve grabbed his thermos mug full of coffee before he headed out to the hallway, meeting Katie at the bottom of the stairs with a fully dressed and clean Jamie in front of her, freshly changed Aurora on her hip.

“You ready son?” he looked at Jamie.

“Just need my jacket.” he nodded.

“It’s on the peg by the door.” Katie said, giving Steve a peck on the lips.

“Love you.” he smiled at her, before he kissed Rori’s head and she grinned at him.

“You too, have a good day.” Katie smiled, as she waved them both out of the door.

The Rogers’ household routine in the mornings always seemed to go the same. Family breakfast, change the kids, wave Steve and Jamie off…but no matter what time they got up in the morning it always seemed to be a rush. And she knew it was going to get even worse when she went back to work in a couple of months. But, as she walked into the kitchen and placed Rori in her bouncer seat with a teething ring, she looked around and realised she wouldn’t have it any other way.

As she tidied and set another pot of coffee going she spotted Steve’s wallet on the side she rolled her eyes and fired him a quick message telling him he had forgotten it.  His response was almost instantaneous and she smiled, arranging to drop it in to him at lunchtime.

Once she was done she settled at the table and logged into her emails, smiling as she had one from Emmy asking her to read over one of her essays before submission. She had an agreement with the teenager, that she would proof read and highlight areas where there were errors or parts which could be improved but would point blank refuse to provide either corrections or detailed suggestions as she was keen that the work was Emmy’s own.  Not that she needed much help, their eldest was a brainbox and currently flying high in her first Semester at Harvard.

And, according to her email, was coming home this weekend for the first time in 4 weeks.

Which in Katie’s opinion called for a family dinner. So she set about organising it, except the group chat kind of went a bit haywire when Emmy flipped out, sending a copy of a photo she’d seen of Steve that had been taken that morning which was trending on twitter.

Katie snorted at Emmy’s disgust but then her attention diverted fully to the photo of Steve. It must have been taken by one of his students earlier that day, and was apparently posted on twitter accompanied with the tag line of “My tutor is a snack”

Katie had to laugh because as much as she wasn’t sure that it was appropriate for students to be taking photos if their tutors on such a way, she couldn’t deny that her husband was a snack. In fact, he was more like a 4 course fucking meal in the photo in question. He was sat in a chair, reading a paper. It was ridiculously innocuous, but there was something about it that set every nerve in Katie’s body on edge. His jaw line, his hands, his wrists…holy hell he was channelling some big Daddy Vibes.

She was squirming all morning after seeing that photo. By the time she met Steve for lunch she was ready to jump his bones but there wasn’t really much opportunity to do that in the public arena of the coffee shop.

“Hey baby doll.” Steve smiled as he spotted Katie pushing Rori’s buggy through the door, standing up to greet her, hand on the glass pane to keep the door open slightly.

“Hi handsome.” she smiled, accepting the kiss he dropped to her cheek before he turned his attention to Rori, picking her up out of the pram. She giggled and waved her arms and legs, grabbing at his beard. He sat back down on the leather sofa, Katie dropping his wallet onto the low table in front of them.

“Thanks.” he said “Luckily I had a twenty in my pocket or I’d have been severely caffeine deprived this morning.”

He looked up as the waiter came over and they placed their orders for a couple of paninis and coffees before Katie sat back, nestling into the space under his arm which was resting across the back of the sofa.

Katie smirked “Had a good morning Daddy?” “Stop it.” he said in a low voice, shooting her a look as he bounced Rori on his knee. She flashed him an innocent one of her own back and he rolled his eyes before she laughed.

“I’m sorry but…it really is a damned good photo…” she fished out her phone “And Emmy was right. Steve Rogers Snack is trending.” Steve groaned. “I know, I’ve been getting screenshots off Sam all morning, well I was until I blocked him as well.”

“As well?” she frowned “You mean you actually did block Bucky?”

“He sent me a clown picture.” Steve shuddered “So yeah. I did. I’ll unblock em later. Maybe” he said, waving his hand.

Katie shook her head, watching him for a moment as he concentrated on Rori who was now chewing at her hand. Reaching into the changing bag, Katie handed over a teething ring which he took and passed over with a smile, Rori making some form of babble back as she shoved it in her mouth eagerly.

“She’s looking more like you each day.” he said, smiling and looking back at Katie.

“You think?” Katie asked, looking at her daughter.

Steve nodded. And he meant it. Whereas Jamie was a carbon copy of him, he felt that Aurora was in turn going to be the double of her mother. Her eyes were almost completely green now, and her hair was dark too. She had her mother’s nose and face shape although Katie insisted the cheekbones were definitely from the Rogers’ side, not that Steve could see it. “She’s beautiful.”

“Charmer.” Katie smiled

“Only for you.” he shot back, winking.

****

Seeing Steve at Lunchtime had done nothing to stop or help with Katie’s spiking libido. It really was ridiculous how much of effect a fucking photograph taken on the sly was having on her, so much so she was ready to jump his bones the moment he walked through the door, but with the two kids being around there wasn’t much chance of that.

“Momma!”

Rori let out a shriek at the sound of her brother’s voice and grinned as he ran into the room.

“Hey baby, did you have a good day?” she asked, looking up from where she was sat on the rug playing with their youngest, and he nodded.

“Yeah but tomorrow is gonna be even better as it’s soccer day!” he grinned. Katie smiled, Jamie hadn’t been at school for very long but he already loved soccer and baseball practice. She ruffled his hair and glanced up at Steve who was leaning in the doorway, still in that fucking jacket…

Steve spotted the look on his wife’s face straight away. He knew it well enough. A thirst, a lust, desire…

“Jamie, why don’t you take your bag upstairs and get changed?” Steve tore his eyes off Katie’s to look at his son.

“Can I play on my computer?” he asked hopefully.

“Just until dinner.” Katie said, looking at him.

He gave a triumphant yell and stood up, bounding out of the room.

“Speaking of dinner I better start it.” Katie said, standing up. “You ok to watch her?”

“Course I am.” Steve chuckled “She’s my daughter.”

“Just checking.” she said, brushing past him in the doorway. She stopped and glanced at him, her hands running up the lapels of his jacket and he gave a smirk.

“You really like this jacket huh?”

“Almost as much as I liked the stealth suit.” she agreed before she looked him up and down, making no attempt to disguise the fact she was as she bit her lip and headed off up the hallway.

Steve waited until she had gone and let out a soft groan. Since her dirty little Daddy comment before he’d had a semi-hard on all fucking day. And now, after that little display he was turned on even more.  Taking a deep breath he knelt down on the floor and tickled Rori’s tummy where she was grabbing at the baby gym she was underneath. He could hear Katie gently humming and after another minute or two he picked Rori up and carried her through to the kitchen, placing her down in the playpen in the corner of the room.

Without a word he crossed over to where Katie was stood reaching into the cupboard for something. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back towards him, his lips gently skating up her neck.

“This what you want?” he asked softly and she gave a grin, tilting her head to look at him.

“What gave you that idea?” she asked.

“Just a hunch…” he muttered, his lips meeting hers in a soft kiss, before his mouth moved to her jawline, one hand straying to the button on her jeans. He popped it easily and worked his hand into the front of her underwear and she gave a soft gasp as his fingers began to play with her sensitive flesh.

“You know…” he continued to speak as her sighs slipped from her mouth “I’ve wanted this all day doll, you’ve had me pining for you…”

“Yeah, well, the feeling’s been mutual…” she said softly, arching her back and taking a sudden breath as two of his fingers slipped insider her. She pushed back slightly, the curve of her ass pressing into his groin and he gave a hiss.

“Fuck baby…” he said through gritted teeth, and he gave a disgruntled wimper as his hand stopped what it had been doing.

“Steve…”

“Such an impatient brat…”he chastised, his mouth on her neck and as she closed her eyes she could hear the tell-tale sound of his belt buckle being undone and the zip on his flies being pulled down. His hands retuned to the front of her jeans undoing them the rest of the way and sliding them down wither panties to her ankles. As he stood up, his hands gently traced the curves of her calves to the outside of her thighs and he grabbed her hips pulling her back towards him before he bent her gently forward, nudging her legs as wide apart as the clothing round her ankle would permit.

He didn’t say another word as he pushed into her in one glide, burying himself to the hilt. Katie let out a groan, her hands slipping forward on the kitchen counter slightly as he bottomed out, before he gently pulled back and did the same again and again, hands gripping at her hips as he continued.  He leaned over to nip at her neck, causing her to whimper, one hand moving from her hip to clasp her jaw, tipping her head round to meet him. His lips crashed onto hers in a hungry, domineering kiss, swallowing her dirty little moan as he picked up the pace, his hips rutting forward faster.

She gave a loud, low purr of delight as he slid his mouth to the pulse point on her neck, before he let out a growl of his own and glanced down at the point where their bodies were joined, the sight of him slamming into her worked him up even more.

His rhythm became faster, and Katie felt her hips banging against the side of the marble surface tops. She knew there would likely be some bruises there tomorrow but at that point in time she really didn’t care. Her hands tightened around the edge of the kitchen counter, her hips bucking back into his, desperate to feel him as much as she could, the feel of him brushing against her spot was finally scratching that itch, satisfying that hunger she’d been feeling all day.

“Fuck you feel so good doll…” he praised, lips warm on the shell of her ear as she arched her back slightly, letting out another keen of desire and she felt the animal in her belly beginning to stir. Steve could read the signs well enough by now to know she was close, and he moved one hand to stroke between her legs whilst he continued his relentless rhythm.

“Stevie…” she stuttered his name, before her voice became nothing but a strangled, hoarse cry and she tightened around him, her legs buckling slightly. He tightened his arm around her belly as he felt the familiar white hot ribbons surge through his body as he let himself go, his rhythm faltering as he emptied himself inside her with a groan.

Katie laughed softly as he moved back, his hands gently gliding up her arms as he kissed the back of her neck softly before he stepped back to allow herself to pull up her clothes as he tucked himself away and fastened his buckle.

“Now I gotta stand here, in damp panties and cook…” she turned and looked at him, sliding her arms round his neck.

“Well, that serves you right for snacking before dinner.” he grinned, as she let out a bark of a laugh before he dropped his head slightly, running his nose up against hers “Let’s hope you haven’t ruined your appetite completely for desert….”

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

“somehow shanks became aware that buggy's goals had changed” alright that is so FASCINATING! Most of theorists I saw had believe that Shanks was completely unaware of Buggy’s intention. That he just wanted him around (out of whatever feels) so asked about sailing together. I even saw Interpretations of them being co-captains.

I don’t think I ever saw anyone using the panel of “we should go separate ways”!

You truly made me more excited about where this relationship is going. How much Shanks knew about his friend inner thoughts??

You think Oda has some plans on writing sth about this relationships or in your opinion he would rather made them go “separate ways”? God, you good.

yeah, idk, maybe i’m reading into things too much?? i just don’t get the impression that shanks is the kind of person to ask a question he knows is gonna get an answer of “no way in hell!!” so i have to believe that either he forgot that buggy wanted to go his own way, or he thought buggy had changed his mind.

(and either of these scenarios also involves a shanks who has changed his mind. why. why do you want buggy on your ship, shanks? did he change, or your opinion of him?)

like i said in my tags on that post, i would really love to hear an explanation from shanks himself. i don’t think i’ll be fully satisfied by their arc without getting his perspective. i hope it’s coming! i’m not confident but i’m hopeful!

that said, i do 100% believe they’re going to run into each other during the hunt for the one piece. i just have no idea when. early on vs at laugh tale vs literally right in front of the treasure… my ideal conversation/confrontation would go totally differently in each context. (and this doesn’t even take into consideration whether luffy, bb, or other pirates are also present!)

as for your last question… god, i don’t know. what’s the purpose of the shanks & buggy relationship in this story? if it’s to serve as an example of how close relationships can go sour, then i think there are two endings that can serve that purpose.

they never become close again, to show the consequences for being too stubborn/too easygoing in a relationship

their relationship gets repaired right at the end of the story, to show it’s never too late to become friends again

so i really couldn’t say!

personally, i would love to see shanks and buggy wander off into the sunset, going on half-retired pirate adventures, but i feel like a lot would have to change for that to happen. i can’t really see buggy aboard the red force, or shanks at cross guild hq. maybe they go their separate ways, but stay in contact? (letters, snailphone calls, etc.) arranging to meet up for short trips a couple times a year… a compromise between permanently going their separate ways and always traveling together.

[spiderman-homecomeme]

day three - the social activist and the arachnid

FAIRY-TALE RETELLING

A/N: DAY THREE IS HERE!!  This fic is based on the popular fairy tale “the Frog Prince”/”the Princess and the Frog.” I have been so excited for this one guys. UNBELIEVABLY EXCITED!!! 

So excited, that my note here is incredibly short!!

Thanks @spideychelleweek​ for organizing this!!

Enjoy 5.4k of dumbassery, mischief, depictions of spiders, superscript font, and Peter Parker sad-eyes

Read here or on AO3

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The hero sits perched atop a light post, his wide mechanical eyes scanning the peaceful park below him. It’s been hours of waiting and watching (and of stomach-grumbles, a punishment for skipping the lunch his wonderful girlfriend had made for the both of them) and still—nothing. 

No sign yet.

Spider-Man replays the video footage Mr. Stark sent him; a tall figure, dressed in a fine black suit, an emerald green scarf, and a grey coat, smiling mysteriously as he bends to pet a small terrier, skipping rocks on the nearby pond, reading quietly on a bench under the canopy of a large, looming tree. Spidey keeps thinking that there’s some detail that he’s missed, some clue he’s clumsily overlooked. Cursing mentally, he swings to another post, hoping to get a better view of the park… when he sees it.

The flash of dark green wool.

Finally.

He acts quickly, nearly missing the clear shot to the next light pole in his excitement as he flies over. Getting closer, he sees the figure—the figure in question being the elusive God of Mischief himself, Loki—standing there, tossing out food to the ducks gathering around him; apparently just minding his own business, so much so that it gives Peter pause when he goes to confront the god.

Or, maybe, Peter wonders, eyes narrowing, that’s just what Loki wants it to look like. 

Peter jumps down behind him.

“You know you shouldn’t feed them bread,” Spider-Man says, leaning casually against a light post. “It’s basically junk food for them.”

“Oh, this isn’t bread,” Loki answers smoothly. He doesn’t even look up from the overly excited ducks. “It’s Asgardian barley.” Ha informs before tossing another handful of said barley at his feet. The ducks scramble over to him, quarrelling loudly over every grain. Two small, fat drakes begin to fight aggressively, quacking and pecking at the other until the darker colored fowl body slams the other into a tree. 

The tree promptly falls over from the force. Loki turns. “And you are?”

“Sp-Spider-Man. Obviously.”

Loki tilts his head as if he doesn’t recognize the name, as if the very thought of it confuses him.

“And you’re Loki.” 

“Indeed I am.”

A beat passes.

“So…” Peter motions behind him before standing up straighter, arms folding across his chest. “I’m taking you in.”

Loki glances up. His full attention now seems focused on the hero. A light, yet warning laugh escapes him. “Are you now?”

Peter clicks his web shooters. “C’mon, man, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.” 

Loki takes a step, turning to face him fully. “I prefer it hard.”

Peter can’t help but think of how proud MJ would be of him for not giggling at that, though there’s nothing he can do to fight the way his mouth cracks into a grin underneath his mask. He just won’t tell her about that part. 

Immediately, Peter tries to web Loki, but the god’s quicker. Loki phases away, the ducks disappearing with him, his entire presence revealed to be an illusion the entire time. Peter curses, mentally kicking himself for falling for one of that guy’s oldest tricks.

Swinging himself to another high point, Peter once again scans the entire park. 

Where did that jerk run off to?

Thankfully, it doesn’t take long before he finds Loki again—hopefully the real one this time—buying two ice cream cones at a lone stand. It’s strange for two reasons. One, being that it’s mid-October, so ice cream isn’t really a hot commodity right now; and two,  it almost seems as though Loki’s not even trying to hide from him.

Or, again, perhaps that’s what he wants Spider-Man to think?

Peter shakes his head in an attempt to wipe his etch-a-sketch of a brain. He has a job here, he couldn’t get himself psyched-out. He needs to focus. Without giving himself any more time to actually think about what’s happening, he drops down on the ground, hands placed firmly on his hips.  “How  did you get ice cream?”

Loki doesn’t answer, instead holding the second cone out as he takes a bite of the first one. “One for you. Raisin Rum—or is it Rum Raisin?” He shrugs. “Mmm… my favorite. Most seem to hate it or ignore it but I find it's strange complexities…” He smiles wistfully at the cone.  “Familiar—”

Peter webs the ice cream right out of the god’s hands. 

At first, Loki barely reacts, expression blank as he stares at his cone now covered in dirt and pebbles. The god sighs, shoulders tensing as his mouth twists into a frustrated scowl. 

But then... he starts to laugh, shaking his head, covering his face. 

Peter lets out an uncomfortable, awkward chuckle in an attempt to find the humor in all of this. 

Suddenly, Loki looks up, laughter continuing as he shoots a stinging green spark from up his sleeve. 

Peter’s tingle kicks in, and he’s able to dodge the first shot, and the second, and the third, trying to web the trickster with each graceful dive out of the way. The god’s use of magic is relentless, and it keeps Peter webbing whatever Loki throws at him instead of Loki himself. 

After web-throwing the second park bench in a row, Peter turns, dodging yet another spark. “What are you even—WHOA!” He shouts above the fighting while jumping over a large boulder being hurdled right at him. “What are you even doing here anyway?”

“I enjoy a good park,” Loki says while throwing a newspaper stand. “It helps me relax. It’s been a terribly long day—Then again…” His voice slows, trailing off. “It could have been a week, or maybe a year. What  is  the date, do you know?” He pauses a moment and stares hollowly. 

Peter uses this pause to blast another web at him. 

But Loki seems to slide out of the way, shaking off the melancholy with another mysterious smirk.  “This has been a pleasure, but,” Loki side-steps another web. “I’d like to get back to feeding the ducks, if you don’t mind.”

“I do mind!” Peter shouts back, swinging up to the top of the ice cream stand. “Besides... Where did you even get Asgardian barley? Didn’t you and Thor destroy it? And—” He stops, head tilting, eyes narrowing in thought, and he can see by the way Loki tenses that he’s hit a nerve. He keeps going. “Wait you aren’t even from there, right? Aren’t you like… an—an... ice? giant, or something? ”

Loki stops moving instantly, smile morphing into a sinister snarl.

Before Peter can even think up a Frozen joke (he knows there’s something about Elsa and cold and snowmen in there), Loki casts a large blob of green energy right at him.

He leaps into the air in an attempt to dodge the strange mass, but it follows, trailing after him no matter how much he turns and twists. “What even  is  this?” Peter shouts as he makes an arching swing up and away from the now fuming god. He takes a chance and glances over at the trickster; and that’s when he’s struck by two things. 

The first; that Loki no longer seems to be genuinely enjoying their battle.

And the second?

Well…

The second is the green blob.

Wait! Got it!

“Hey, Elsa, just Let it Go —”

Before he can even be the slightest bit disappointed in himself for that low-hanging-fruit of a joke, he feels a stinging warmth, the world around him going a blinding shade of white. The feeling lasts only a second, followed by a loud  pop . Suddenly, he’s plummeting to the ground below. He tries to click at his webshooters, but he finds that he can’t move his arms. He tries to jump, but he can no longer feel his legs. He braces himself, ready for a crash, when he lands gently on the soft dirt below. 

Something feels… off. 

He tries to get up, standing on shaky legs, though he finds that he’s still incredibly close to the ground. But… Instead of the normal two legs he usually has, he feels eight. He can see everything around him without turning his head, as if there’s eyes all over. Panic starts to set in, and he scrambles to a puddle to look at his reflection. 

Eight buggy eyes stare back at him. His once baby-faced—well… face  —is no longer human, now covered in tiny, pointy red and blue hairs. At the sight of himself, he lets out the tiniest, quietest scream—one that immediately reminds him of that part in  The Emperor's New Groove where Yzma turns into a cat—octaves and leaps above his normal speaking tone as he jumps away. 

“There!” Loki brushes his hands together, clearly satisfied with himself.

“ᵂᴴᴬᵀ ᴰᴵᴰ ʸᴼᵁ ᴰᴼ ᵀᴼ ᴹᴱˀˀ” Tiny, spider-Peter demands. He coughs, clearing his throat, an almost whiny noise. “ᴵˢ ᵀᴴᴬᵀ ᴹʸ ⱽᴼᴵᶜᴱˀˀ”

“I think your name is much more fitting now. Wouldn’t you agree?” Loki asks as a smirk returns to his face. 

“ᶜᴴᴬᴺᴳᴱ—ᶜᴴᴬᴺᴳᴱ ᴹᴱ ᴮᴬᶜᴷᵎᵎ” Little Peter growls in his new chipmunk voice.

“Oh, I’m afraid it isn’t that easy, my little spider friend,” Loki says with a faux-disappointed shake of his head. 

“ᵂᴴᴬᵀ ᵀᴴᴱ ᴴᴱᴸᴸ ᴵˢ ᵀᴴᴬᵀ ˢᵁᴾᴾᴼˢᴱᴰ ᵀᴼ ᴹᴱᴬᴺˀˀ”

But Loki doesn’t say anything else. He vanishes with a sneaky grin, leaving Peter in a cloud of dramatic green smoke. 

“ʸᴼᵁ’ᴸᴸ ᴮᴱ ˢᴼᴿᴿʸ ʸᴼᵁ ᵀᵂᴼ⁻ᶠᴬᶜᴱᴰ ˢᴼᴺ ᴼᶠ ᴬ—” Peter’s vow of vengeance is cut short as he starts to have a crisis, of course. Anyone would if they were suddenly turned into an actual, honest-to-god spider. He has absolutely no idea what he’s going to do, or how long this is supposed to last. 

He stays in the park for God knows how much longer. 

He feels lost and utterly alone. 

What did Loki mean? How is Peter supposed to change back? What is it going to take? An epic journey? Is it on some kind of timer? Does he need to get some ingredients together for a magic potion and then drink it?

His head swims, nearly drowning at every little possibility. 

It’s overwhelming, truly. Everything around him is a million times bigger than it normally is. What if someone steps on him? What if someone captures him? What if a little kid finds him and picks him up and takes him home? Is he doomed to be someone’s house pet the rest of his sad life? Could he even survive life as a spider? He wasn’t about to start eating bugs, not today!

Truly, he has no absolutely no clue where to ever start. He stands in the park for what feels like a whole eternity. If he had teeth, they’d probably be chattering right about now. 

But then, there’s a glimmer of hope. It starts in the back of his mind, and he’s surprised he didn’t just think of it sooner. He thinks of the one place, the one person that might be able to help him. 

And happens to be the one place that’s close to this park.

His wonderful, patient, hilarious-in-kind-of-a-dark-way genius girlfriend. If anyone would know what to do, or at least have a vague inclination of an idea, it’d be MJ. 

So, he starts his journey, which proves to be significantly harder when he can’t just swing there. Sure, he’s got eight legs now instead of two, but he’s a lot  smaller than he normally is. It takes time to cover the amount of ground it takes to get to MJ’s apartment. 

Just walking across the park has already taken over half-an-hour.

But dammit, he’s going to try. That’s not going to stop him.

It ends up taking him the entire afternoon and early evening to get there. An entire afternoon of dodging much larger humans, dogs and cats, and not to mention other spiders. His tiny heart fillsfilled with tiny relief when he comes upon the large brick building. It takes him even longer to climb up to her sixth-floor window, and then to just find his way in without opposable thumbs. 

Luckily, MJ’s cracked her window, and though that’d normally be strange for the time of year, Peter doesn’t question it. In fact, it’s perfectly normal for her. He crawls in, his excitement getting the best of him as he notices MJ in her bed, snuggled under a blanket as she reads a book. 

Perfect.

He has to get to her somehow, to let her know what’s going on. She’ll know what to do. 

All he has to do is figure out how to get her attention.

He makes his way to the ceiling above the window, watching her from above and across the room. He tries to call out to her, but his voice is too high and too quiet for her to hear him from so far away. 

It’s the slightest bit discouraging; he’s going to have to find another way. Then, inspiration strikes him, and he eagerly starts climbing the wall. He’s done this before, as normal, human-sized Spider-Man. 

Just drop down, say hi, she helps him figure shit out. It’s perfect!

What could possibly go wrong?

But perhaps he’s too eager as he races across the ceiling as fast as his eight little legs can carry him.

Maybe if he had waited, he would’ve been able to see that this wasn’t the best way to go about getting her attention. To him, there just isn’t time for something like rational thought and common sense. Instead, he just goes for it, not stopping to think if this was a good idea before lowering himself down on a single, fine thread. 

MJ likes spiders—and not just the  Peter variety —he reasons. He’s seen her oo and aw over the little guys and gals that find themselves in her path. If she sees one in her room, she always scoops it out with a cup, humanely putting it back outside into its natural habitat.  

She loves spiders!

Sure, why would she be the kind of person that freaks out when one just shows up right in front of her face?

Finally, he manages to lower himself to her level, making his eyes as big and as round as possible, before clearing his throat. 

She still doesn’t seem to hear. 

He swings forward a bit, hoping that he can just… brush her nose with his front two feet. 

His two front feet touch the very tip of her nose for a split-second and—in an instant—she looks up, eyes going wide as she jumps with a start. Letting out a high-pitched, squeamish yelp, she smacks him with her book. 

She doesn’t hear his tiny, baby-ish scream as he’s hurled across the room.

He scrambles away, hiding behind her bookcase as she leaps from her bed, yanking the covers off of her. She shudders, shaking her head as she takes a moment to look around the room, running her hands roughly over her hair and face, checking for more creepy crawlies. 

His heart—now in his gut—pumps erratically as he waits for her next move. A moment passes before she leaves, her book in hand, inadvertently slamming the door behind her as she rushes out. He waits another moment before moving again, going to the top corner of her room, diagonally across from her bed, so he can be  just  visible.

Well, that didn’t go well at all. 

He starts pacing along the ceiling, and he wonders if he should even try anything else at this point or just wait it out. 

Or… spend the rest of his life as a spider.

Find that kid in the street who’s always had a weird love for bugs. Go home with them. Live the life of a pet arachnid.

He’s almost accepted that fate when… another golden idea strikes him. 

He starts the long process of making a web, something that surprisingly comes natural to him in this form. This is something he’s done miiiiillions of times before, but like, a thousand percent bigger. It’s just… tiny now. 

And the webs come out of his butt instead of one of the webshooters on his wrists. 

But it’s essentially the same thing, right?

He jumps from between the two walls and ceiling, hastily putting together something he can rest on. When he’s done, he makes a large M, followed by an even larger, a little bit more janky, J. 

It worked for Charlotte, so why wouldn’t it work for him?

It seems like a solid form of communication between spider and human.

What seems to be hours after the sun has set, he finally finishes. Crawling to the middle of the ceiling to get a good view of his handy work, he sighs, thinking how Charlotte made it so easy—and she was writing more than two letters—before really taking it in. With frustration, he realizes that even  he  can’t read it. The silk is much too thin—nothing like his synthetic webbing—and he can only see the  beginnings  of the makings of letters—and that’s only if he can get in the right light. 

There was no way MJ—the human here—would be able to see it.

Nerves set in once again when he realizes that he’ll just have to try talking to her again.

It’s the only way. 

And so he waits; waits on her bedside table, behind the framed picture of them from a school dance last year. 

He’s there. Watching. Waiting to strike, his little legs curled up in anticipation.

It feels like it’s almost been another hour before he hears the gentle click of her bedroom door again. She sneaks in, a blanket preemptively wrapped around her shoulders, and glances warily around the room, as anyone would do after seeing a spider so suddenly. 

With another shudder, she scurries over to her window, shutting it, before plopping down onto her bed, sitting back against the pillows as she pulls her book out from under her blanket-cape. 

He waits a few minutes, giving her a chance to relax again, before he strikes. 

“ᴹᴶ.” He whispers, voice high and whiny, jumping out from behind the picture before retreating back in. 

Once again, she doesn’t hear him.

He’ll have to do better than that.

“ᴹᴶᵎ” He says a little louder, hiding behind his front two legs. 

Knowing he has to get just the tiniest bit closer, he crawls up onto her pillow, just behind her head, and tries again. “ᴹᴶᵎ!” he shouts as best he can.

This time she perks up, brows scrunched together as she lowers the book into her lap. She pauses, listening, before sitting back against her pillow, Peter almost falling off of it at the movement.

He takes a deep breath in, steeling himself as he lets out the loudest one yet, right in her ear. “ᴹᴶᵎᵎᵎᵎᵎ” 

She glances behind her to the source of the sound, jumping and shrieking again when she sees him. But this time, she’s more prepared. She grabs a plastic cup from her dresser, ready to catch him. 

He’s fast, but not fast enough as he scrambles up her desk, and she catches him without much struggle. 

“HA!” MJ shouts. “Gotcha!” 

“ᴹᴶᵎ ᴹᴶᵎ ᴹᴶᵎ ᴵᵀ'ˢ ᴹᴱᵎᵎ” He screams as she lowers herself to his level. “ᴵᵀ'ˢ ᴾᴱᵀᴱᴿᵎᵎ”

She freezes, eyes widening as she looks at her catch. “...Peter?”

“ʸᴱˢᵎᵎ ᴵᵀ'ˢ ᴹᴱᵎ ᴵ'ᴹ ᴾᴱᵀᴱᴿᵎ ʸᴼᵁᴿ ᴮᴼʸᶠᴿᴵᴱᴺᴰᵎᵎ ᵀᴴᴱ ᴸᴼⱽᴱ ᴼᶠ ʸᴼᵁᴿ ᴸᴵᶠᴱ ᴾᴸᴱᴬˢᴱᴰᴼᴺ'ᵀᴴᵁᴿᵀᴹᴱᵎᵎ ”

And for a beat, she can only stare at him, mouth hanging open in confusion. She rubs at her eyes, perhaps wondering if she’s dreaming. “What—what happened to you?” She asks incredulously, though she keeps her hand on top of the cup.

“ᴸᴼᴷᴵ ᴴᴬᴾᴾᴱᴺᴱᴰᵎ” Peter whines, warbling voice echoing in his plastic prison. “��ᴱ ᵀᵁᴿᴺᴱᴰ ᴹᴱ ᴵᴺᵀᴼ ᴬ ˢᴾᴵᴰᴱᴿᵎ”

“I can see that.” She replies, eyes wide as she cautiously lifts the cup from around him, putting it aside as she kneels to his height. Her brow pinches together as she stares at him, the corner of her lip pulled back in what he’s pretty sure is a form of mild disgust. 

“ᴾˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ʰᵉˡᵖ.” Peter begs, all eight eyes wide and sad and—if they could be—full of tears.

MJ jerks her head back, still maintaining some form of distance. “Well… What do you want me to do?”

“ʸᴼᵁ'ᴿᴱ ˢᴹᴬᴿᵀᵎ” Peter reasons, legs tapping sporadically as he moves closer to the edge of the desk, following her. “ᴵ'ᴹ ᴬ ᴰᵁᴹᴮᴬˢˢ. ᶜᴼᴹᴱ ᴼᴺ, ʸᴼᵁ ᴷᴺᴼᵂ ᵀᴴᴱ ᴰᴿᴵᴸᴸ.” 

MJ stares blankly at him, thoroughly unimpressed. “You’ve gotta have some idea, man.”

“ᴹᵃʸᵇᵉ…” Peter wonders aloud. “ᴴᴹᴹ... ᴺᴼ... ᵀᴴᴬᵀ ᵂᴼᵁᴸᴰ ᴺᴱⱽᴱᴿ ᵂᴼᴿᴷ... ᴰᴬᴹᴺ ᴵᵀ, ᴸᴼᴷᴵᵎᵎ”

It’s then he notices the upward quirk of MJ’s lips, the way she presses them together, the slight tremor as if holding back a loud laugh.

“ᵂᴴᴬᵀˀ” He demands, his little spider eyes narrowing up at her.

“Nothing!” She swears. “Nothing at all.” And for a moment, she seems to hold herself together, but another second passes, and she can’t hold it in any more. She snorts, letting out a single guffaw when he taps his foot impatiently. “Just… your voice…”

He rolls his eyes. 

“It’s just… It’s ridiculous.”

“ᴹᴶ, ᴾᴸᴱᴬˢᴱ. ᵀᴴᴵˢ ᴵˢ ˢᴱᴿᴵᴼᵁˢ.”

She nods, biting back the grin with all of her might. “Oh, definitely. Yeah. Very serious. My bad.”

Peter huffs, once again starting to pace around the desk. Another bout of silence falls between them as they sit there, both of them deep in thought. 

And for the third time that day, Peter is hit by another golden, shining, A+, fool-proof idea.

“ᵂᴴᴬᵀ ᴵᶠ ʸᴼᵁ ᴷᴵˢˢ ᴹᴱˀ”

At that, she blurts out in disgusted laughter, taking a solid thirty seconds to bring herself back down. “Absolutely not. No way,” she says, though it’s distorted under another bubbling laugh.

“ᵂᴴᴬᵀˀ” Peter balks, seemingly very offended that his girlfriend wouldn’t kiss him while in real-spider form. “ᵂᴴʸˀˀ”

MJ glances from side to side, as if the answer’s stupidly obvious (it is). “Um, well, for one, you’re an actual spider right now.”

If Peter could, he would absolutely be pouting. “ᴮᵁᵀ ᵂᴴᴬᵀ ᴵᶠ ᵀᴴᴬᵀ'ˢ ᵀᴴᴱ ᴼᴺᴸʸ ᵀᴴᴵᴺᴳ ᵀᴴᴬᵀ ᶜᴬᴺ ᶜᴴᴬᴺᴳᴱ ᴹᴱ ᴮᴬᶜᴷˀˀ”

“Where did you even come up with that?”

“ᵁᴴ ᴴᴱᴸᴸᴼˀ ᴱⱽᴱᴿ ˢᴱᴱᴺ ᴾᴿᴵᴺᶜᴱˢˢ ᴬᴺᴰ ᵀᴴᴱ ᶠᴿᴼᴳˀ ᵀᴴᴱ ᶠᴿᴼᴳ ᴾᴿᴵᴺᶜᴱˀ ᵀᴴᴱ ᴾᴿᴵᴺᶜᴱ ᵀᵁᴿᴺˢ ᴮᴬᶜᴷ ᵀᴼ ᴺᴼᴿᴹᴬᴸ ᶠᴿᴼᴹ ᴬ ᵀᴿᵁᴱ ᴸᴼⱽᴱ'ˢ ᴷᴵˢˢᵎ ᴵᵀ'ˢ ˢᴵᴹᴾᴸᴱᵎ”

“Peter, that’s just a dumb story.”

"ʸᴼᵁ ᴺᴱⱽᴱᴿ ᴷᴺᴼᵂᵎ"

“Or, I could just throw you against the wall like the princess does in the Grimm version.”

"ᴹᴶ, ᴾᴸᴱᴬˢᴱ ᴶᵁˢᵀ—"

“That’s so gross. And stupid.” MJ sits there, her tone incredulous as she has to explain to her boyfriend why she won’t kiss a spider. “I’m sure there’s another, more realistic way. Like… I don’t know… finding Loki again and having him reverse it?”

"ᴴᴱ ˢᴬᴵᴰ ᴵᵀ ᵂᴬˢᴺ'ᵀ ᵀᴴᴬᵀ ˢᴵᴹᴾᴸᴱᵎ" Peter whines. “ᴬᴺᴰ... ᴬᴺᴰ ᵀᴴᴵᴺᴷ ᴬᴮᴼᵁᵀ ᴵᵀᵎ ᴬ ᵀᴿᵁᴱ ᴸᴼⱽᴱ'ˢ ᴷᴵˢˢˀˀ ᵀᴴᴬᵀ'ˢ ˢᴼ ᴰᴿᴬᴹᴬᵀᴵᶜᵎ ᴵᵀ'ˢ ᴿᴵᴳᴴᵀ ᵁᴾ ᴸᴼᴷᴵ'ˢ ᴬᴸᴸᴱʸᵎᵎ"

She purses her lips, eyes narrowing. He has a point.

“ᴾᴸᴱᴬˢᴱ, ᴹᴶˀ ᴴᴱᴸᴾ ᴹᴱᴱᴱᴱᴱᴱ.” Peter looks up at her with pleading, big, round, eight unblinking eyes. “ᴬᵀ ᴸᴱᴬˢᵀ ᵀᴿʸᵎ ᴶᵁˢᵀ ᴵᴹᴬᴳᴵᴺᴱ ᴵ'ᴹ ˢᵀᴵᴸᴸ ʸᴼᵁᴿ ᴴᵁᴺᴷʸ, ᵂᴵᶜᴷᴱᴰᴸʸ ᴴᴬᴺᴰˢᴼᴹᴱ ᴮᴼʸᶠᴿᴵᴱᴺᴰ ᵀᴴᴬᵀ ʸᴼᵁ ᴸᴼⱽᴱ ˢᴼ ᴹᵁᶜᴴ.”

MJ groans before conceding, bracing herself. “God, you are  so lucky  I love your stupid ass.”

“ʸᴬʸᵎᵎᵎᵎᵎ” Little spider-Peter spins around happily, throwing two of his legs up in the air in celebration. 

“If this doesn’t work, I’m flushing you down the toilet.”

A beat passes. MJ stares down at him, lips pursed as she tries to think the best way to go about this. It’s almost best to just get it done, she decides. Like a band-aid. Quick, although not necessarily painless. Letting out a shaky, nauseated breath she sinks to his level, the whole time muttering words of encouragement to herself. 

Peter scrambles to the edge of the desk, closer to her, attempting to smooth out his stick-straight hair with his fourth leg. 

MJ gags. 

“ʸᵒᵘ ᶜᵃⁿ ᵈᵒ ᶦᵗ, ᵇᵃᵇᵉᵎ” Peter cheers.

“God, shut up.” 

She leans down, lips puckered, but she makes the mistake of cracking one of her eyes open before she sticks the landing. With a shudder, she shrinks away. 

“ᴵ ᴮᴱᴸᴵᴱⱽᴱ ᴵᴺ ʸᴼᵁᵎ”

Again, MJ shivers in disgust. “Just one kiss, right?”

“ᴶᵁˢᵀ ᴼᴺᴱ.” Peter promises, though his tone turns alarmingly flirty. “ᵁᴺᴸᴱˢˢ ʸᴼᵁ ᴮᴱᴳ ᶠᴼᴿ ᴹᴼᴿᴱ.” He follows that comment with what she can only assume is the spider version of a playful wink. 

And once again, she gags.

Peter sheepishly steps back. “ˢᴼᴿᴿʸ...”

She doesn’t even give a response as she squeezes her eyes shut, covering them with a hand just to be safe, and she lowers herself once again. Both of them hold their breath, bracing for impact. It’s almost too quick for him to notice, the pressing of her lips to his tiny, hairy, wriggly body. Jumping back the second she plants the tight-lipped kiss, she doesn’t linger at all, trying her best to hold back her dramatic retching.

Another beat passes between them. 

And unsurprisingly…

It’s an empty one.

Nothing happens. 

At all. 

Peter is still very much a spider. 

“ᴰᴬᴹᴺ, ᴵ ᴿᴱᴬᴸᴸʸ ᵀᴴᴼᵁᴳᴴᵀ ᵀᴴᴬᵀ ᵂᴼᵁᴸᴰ ᵂᴼᴿᴷ...” He curses. 

“Excuse  me?” MJ seethes, furiously wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “What  part  of that did you possibly think was gonna work?”

“ᴼᴴ, ᶜᴼᴹᴱ ᴼᴺ, ᴹᴶ,” Peter reasons, shying away from her. “ᴵᵀ ᵂᴬˢᴺ'ᵀ ᵀᴴᴬᵀ ᴮᴬᴰᵎ”

“Maybe for you!” She argues, another shudder rippling through her. “You weren’t the one that had to kiss a fucking spider!!”

“ᴼᴴ ˢᴼ ᴵ'ᴹ ᴶᵁˢᵀ ᴬ ˢᴾᴵᴰᴱᴿ ᴺᴼᵂˀᵎ”

“Yes!!” MJ shouts before bringing both hands to grab at her own hair, feeling as if she might be going crazy. “You are  literally  a spider right now!!”

“ʸᴼᵁ'ᴿᴱ ᴺᴼᵀ ᵀᴴᴱ ᴼᴺᴱ ᵂᴴᴼ ᴳᴼᵀ ᵀᵁᴿᴺᴱᴰ ᴵᴺᵀᴼ ᴬ ˢᴾᴵᴰᴱᴿᵎ ᴬᴺᴰ ʸᴼᵁ'ᴿᴱ ᴺᴼᵀ ᴴᴱᴸᴾᴵᴺᴳ ᵂᴵᵀᴴ ʸᴼᵁᴿ ᴬᴺᵀᴵ⁻ᴬᴿᴬᶜᴴᴺᴵᴰ ᴾᴿᴱᴶᵁᴰᴵᶜᴱˢᵎᵎ” 

“Are you for real right now?” MJ deadpans at him, absolutely fuming underneath the blank expression. 

Peter falters under her gaze. "...ᵁᴴ, ʸᴱᴬᴴ...ˀ" He mumbles as he looks down, sheepishly using one of his feet to draw invisible circles into the top of her desk. "ᴹᴬʸᴮᴱ... ᴹᴬʸᴮᴱ ᴵᵀ ᴰᴵᴰᴺ'ᵀ ᵂᴼᴿᴷ... ᴮᴱᶜᴬᵁˢᴱ... ᴮᴱᶜᴬᵁˢᴱ ʸᴼᵁ'ᴿᴱ ᴺᴼᵀ ᴿᴱᴬᴸᴸʸ ᴵᴺ ᴸᴼⱽᴱ ᵂᴵᵀᴴ ᴹᴱᵎᵎᵎ" He accuses.

And again, MJ only stares at him. “You’re serious?”

"ᴵ ᴰᴼᴺ'ᵀ ᴷᴺᴼᵂ, ᴹᴶ... ʸᴼᵁ ᵀᴱᴸᴸ ᴹᴱᵎ"

“That doesn’t even make any sense!!” MJ groans in exasperation, her hands covering her eyes. “God, you’re such an idiot.”

Peter gives a sassy, “ᴴᵁᴹᴾᴴᵎ” before turning around. 

“Do you honestly think I don’t love you after that? Peter,” MJ reaches out, gently nudging him with her finger, turning him to face her. She holds her hand open, inviting him to crawl onto her palm. “I just  kissed  you. As a spider.”

Peter’s quiet for a moment, again looking down. "ʸᴼᵁ'ᴿᴱ ᴿᴵᴳᴴᵀ... ʸᴼᵁ'ᴿᴱ ᴿᴵᴳᴴᵀ..." 

“I love you, you dork. Even as a creepy, gross spider.” 

"ᴵ ᴸᴼⱽᴱ ʸᴼᵁ, ᵀᴼᴼ, ᴹᴶ." And if Peter could blush, he absolutely would. 

“Now,” MJ starts, standing up from her place, grabbing the cup that had captured him just moments earlier. “Let’s go find Loki.”

They leave her apartment, ordering an Uber on the way out. The first place they check is the very park Loki and Peter fought in earlier, but there’s no luck there. The whole place is empty, save for the random passerby walking their dog. 

The next is the Sanctum Sanctorum, hoping that maybe Dr. Strange might have a lead. 

Which he doesn’t. 

Though he does offer that Loki’s still in this universe, which… proves to be both helpful and not helpful. 

Peter almost begins to lose hope, wondering if there’s a way he can just summon the god of Mischief, when MJ suggests they just go to the Avengers compound. If anyone can find Loki, or at least have a better lead on him, she reasons, it’s one of those guys. 

MJ’s sitting in the back of the same, ever so patient Uber, Peter underneath a cup and on top of a piece of paper in her lap. She looks down at him, her gaze calculating as she examines the tiny spider. Tilting her head, her face briefly twists into a thoughtful expression. “You know,” she starts, unable to look away from his big buggy eyes and his little, fuzzy legs. “You’re kinda cute like this.”

Peter stares blankly up at her, one of his middle legs coming forward to wipe across his eyes. 

“Nevermind.”

--

When they get to the Avengers compound, and after MJ leaves a lofty tip and an apologetic look, they go inside. 

Everyone’s of course confused when MJ just walks in holding a spider in a cup, but they’re given enough time for Peter to explain the whole situation. It takes a solid minute-and-a-half for Tony to stop laughing before he calls out to FRIDAY. 

“FRIDAY, can you have someone bring our friend Mr. Loki out?”

The mechanical voice promptly replies. “Yes, Mr. Stark.”

"ᵂᵃᶦᵗ ᵂᴴᴬᵀˀˀ" Peter’s shout is just barely heard, but it still gets a not-well-disguised snicker out of Tony. "ʸᴼᵁ'ᴿᴱ ᵀᴱᴸᴸᴵᴺᴳ ᴹᴱ ᴴᴱ'ˢ ᴮᴱᴱᴺ ᴴᴱᴿᴱ  ᵀᴴᴱ ᵂᴴᴼᴸᴱ ᵀᴵᴹᴱˀˀ"

“Oh, yeah,” Tony says with an air of nonchalance. “Kamala brought him in. Apparently, after your little slap fight in the park, she found him in some art gallery looking sad—the usual, I guess—she convinced him to turn himself in, yada yada yada. It was all pretty simple.”

"ᴬᴺᴰ ᴺᴼ ᴼᴺᴱ ᵀᴴᴼᵁᴳᴴᵀ ᵀᴼ ᵀᴱᴸᴸ ᴹᴱˀᵎ" Peter stomps around angrily in his cup.

“Well, you’re a spider now,” Sam cuts in, shrugging. “Couldn’t use the phone.”

Peter turns around, facing his back to everyone with a scoff. 

The doors whoosh open and the devil himself walks through, not even trying to hide his mischievous smirk. “Ah, Spider-Man,” He says smoothly. “Nice to see you again. Have you been having fun?”

"ʸᴼᵁ'ᴿᴱ ᴸᵁᶜᴷʸ ᴵ'ᴹ ᴵᴺ ᵀᴴᴵˢ ᶜᵁᴾ ᴿᴵᴳᴴᵀ ᴺᴼᵂᵎᵎ" Peter snaps. "ᴵ ˢᵂᴱᴬᴿ, ᵂᴴᴱᴺ ᴵ ᴳᴱᵀ ᴼᵁᵀᵀᴬ ᴴᴱᴿᴱ—"

“Please, Loki,” MJ pleads sarcastically, effectively cutting Peter’s empty threats off. “Change him back? Pete says I have some anti-arachnid prejudices, and he may be right, because I don’t really want to keep dating an actual spider.”

Tony starts laughing again, and he keeps laughing even when tiny spider-Peter shoots him a heated glare. 

Loki sighs and shakes his head. “I am truly, incredibly sorry,” His expression is wrought with the deepest sympathy as he starts walking past them to look out the window. He faces away from them, eyes empty and sad as he gazes out into the inky black night. “The only thing that can reverse this spell is…” He pauses, looking back at them, brows pinched together. “Is a true love’s kiss.”

Everyone stares at him with wide eyes. The room is deathly quiet. 

Peter and MJ exchange horrified glances.

But then Loki breaks, and through his intense laughter he concedes, “I’m kidding. I’m kidding. Oh, you should have seen your faces!”

Everyone seems to laugh at that as well, though some aren’t sure whether or not it was actually funny. 

And then, casting a green spark at Peter, Loki turns him back into a human. 

Peter’s struck by that same blinding light and tingling feeling, and with a  pop, he’s back to normal, his arms wrapped around MJ’s neck as she holds him bridal style. The cup that was once containing him sits on his head for a second before tumbling to the ground. He steps down from her arms, his own hands patting his chest, his legs, his arms, his face, making sure it’s all there. 

He finally smiles, surprised expression turning to one of pure excitement and relief. He turns to his wonderful, smart, genius girlfriend. “MJ! It’s me!”

She rolls her eyes. “Oh my God. I know, you loser.” 

He pulls her into a strong embrace, picking her up and spinning her around. “It’s been so long,” he murmurs. 

“You were a spider for ten hours.”

They both pull back, and he stares deeply into her eyes. “Ten hours too long.”

“Shut up,” she teases, shutting him up with a sound, real kiss. 

When they part, there’s a thoughtful expression on her face; her brow furrowed, head titling slightly. 

“What?” Peter asks.

MJ shakes her head, and her smile returns, though her eyes remain calculating. “Nothing,” she replies. “Just…” She looks at him for a little longer, affectionately running her hand over the side of his face, along his jaw, finally stopping to cup his chin. 

She smiles. 

“I think you had more facial hair as a spider.”

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Honey Haloed Weakness

Bucky Barnes One Shot

Summary: Bucky Barnes has a Honey Haloed Weakness- there’s nothing more to add! Warnings: Bad language, fluff, feels…nothing specific Characters: Bucky Barnes, OFC Honey, Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson

A/N: This was written for @jbbuckybarnes Birthday Challenge. I know she’s on a hiatus after some sucky drama (I’ll keep my opinions to myself but will say that it’s ridiculous the amount of drama this site has at times an I’m really glad I’m not popular enough to be roped into any of it!) Anyway, as I’ve written it, I’m posting it. Congratulations on 900 followers and happy birthday!! My prompt was dialogue: “Did you just shoot two guys  with one bullet?” “Did it look cool?“ Prompt is in bold in the story.

I’m really nervous about this one, as it’s completely different to anything I normally write but I hope you enjoy.

****** One bullet. One pull of the trigger. That was all it took. As Bucky watched the shot flew clean through the shoulder of one hostile, ricocheted off Sam’s shield and then hit a second straight in the hand causing him to drop the knife he was slashing at Sam with. The three of them stooped, Falcon, The Winter Soldier and Silver Shadow. Shield, guns and sparking hands lowered as they glanced around. “Man did you just shoot two guys with one bullet?” Sam turned to Bucky, his tone laced with shock and awe. “Did it look cool?” Bucky quipped back, an air of nonchalance in his voice, despite the level of surprise he himself felt.  James Barnes knew he was a good shot. But that…that was something else. And something that had been down to chance more than anything. Even if he had tried to make that shot, there’s no way of predicting the trajectory of the bullet once it emerged from the guys shoulder or controlling the angle it exited at… 

Unless… He turned to look at Shadow. Her soft honey- coloured halo of wavy hair, splattered with blood and gore from the battle, hung like curtains of scarlet coloured silk round her face from which warm amber eyes glanced back at him. Her pretty features remained passive, adorned with the same expression she had worn when he had first seen her in his rundown apartment in Bucharest when Steve had come looking for him post the Vienna bombings. 

Sam turned away muttering something about retrieving the Intel they had come for off the hard drives in the main office and once his back was turned she caught Bucky’s eyes with her own. They were gold, haloed, just like her hair, and as he allowed himself just a second to indulge in the warmth they exuded over him, one slipped onto a sly wink. And then he knew for certain. She’d done it. She had controlled the shot.  Directed it where it needed to go. And Bucky wasn’t sure whether he felt turned on or slightly emasculated.

His Honey haloed weakness. “Don’t worry…” she said gently as they made their way back to the jet. “I won’t tell him, on one condition?” “Yeah? What’s that?” Bucky asked, turning to look at her. “You ask me out for that drink Steve’s been telling me you want to take me for.” And with that she left him standing there, slack jawed as he watched her head up the ramp. **** “So…in a word old man, you’re still a punk.”  Bucky finished recapping the tale later the next morning, leaning back in the comfy chair by the bed Steve lay in. The old man laughed and shook his head. “She’s a minx, I’ll give her that. And she always was good at playing the cards she was dealt…” A fond smile spread across Steve’s face at the thought of his other best friend, his sister, the girl he had pulled from that shitty HYDRA base in 2014 when they had been chasing the Sceptre. No one had any idea who she was, what she could do, where she had come from…and that included her. She hadn’t spoken for 3 days other than to thank him or Natasha for the food and clothes she was given, and Tony for his kindness. And then on the 4th day Steve had found her in the kitchen at the Tower and had won her over with an expertly made grilled cheese. “What’s your name?” He asked softly as she sat chewing.

“I…I don’t know.” She shrugged, her eyes wide as she looked down. Steve gently reached out, his hand taking hers softly as she looked at him.

 "Honey, you’re safe now, you know that right?

“Honey…” she said wistfully  "I like that…“ 

And so it had stuck. And suited her.  Where her ability to manipulate metal came from, no one knew. A mutation? Maybe. Human enhancement experiment? Possibly. But it didn’t matter. What mattered was the fact she embraced the responsibility that came with that power. She wanted to help people. She agreed to stay with the Avengers and they were better for it. 

Steve was better for it. She had been like the little sister he never had. Allowing himself another few moments of nostalgia, Steve eventually shook himself free of his memories and, with a sly look turned his head to face Bucky. “In my eyes its normally correct to buy a dame a drink before you roll around on an African Plain…yeah, I know exactly what went down between you two that night in Wakanda…” Bucky blinked before he snorted, shaking his head. “Of course she told you…” When the dust settled after the show down in Leipzig, Bucky hadn’t seen Honey for almost a year until she came to Wakanda with Steve to be there when they brought him out of Stasis. She had been different then, but so had Steve. A year on the run in the shadows had hardened them both. Those amber eyes carried a darkness that hadn’t been there before. But they still exuded all the power and warmth of the sun. And he was on fire. 

His Honey haloed weakness.  “Cant sleep either?” He asked as he emerged from the comfortable farmers hut he had been given to live in. She shrugged “ my mind gets a bit busy sometimes…I find the stars help.” He sat down besides her, stretching his legs out in front of him. “Ever wonder what it’s like just to be normal?” she sighed and he snorted. “What’s normal?” She laughed softly and looked at him, her eyes flashing in the moonlight, deep amber speckled with brown, the soft honey tones in her hair glowing in the lunar rays, a soft ring around her crown

His Honey haloed weakness. 

Under the moonlight sultry cries and gentle whimpers were shared. Skin slid on skin, hands wandered and explored…together they reclaimed their grasp on humanity. What it was to feel something other than fear and death and anger. And then she had to leave and it was another 12 months since he saw her again. On a battle field in Wakanda…with those creatures. This time she was fierce, those amber eyes glowing as she tore metal armour limb from limb, wrenched weapons from hands, made sure shots hit their targets, her daggers flying and returning to her hands. But there was no beating Thanos. 

“I can’t control his gauntlet.” Her voice was desperate, broken as she has realised her powers were of no use.

And then he had been dusted. “Those 5 years were long.” Steve shook Bucky from his reminiscing “For all of us. Trying to forgive ourselves for our failure. And it was that inability to do so that saw us figure it out, a way to bring everyone back…” Bucky looked down. He knew all about that. Seeking redemption, wiping your leger clean. “Don’t keep her waiting another 5 years” Steve locked his eyes onto Bucky’s. A plea, a beg.

So he didn’t he asked her for that drink. He dated her, bought her flowers, made love to her some nights, fucked her into the mattress on others. They ran missions side by side with Sam, walked and danced in the rain. A diamond ring was bought, a yes was said

And one bright April day a year later, his honey haloed weakness became his wife.

***** “Where are my keys?” Bucky asked, frowning as he gently closed the drawer to the sideboard that they normally kept all the sets of keys in. “I wish you’d stop moving my stuff…” He felt a vibration in his pocket and a moment later he heard the keys in question jangling and turned with a soft sigh to see them hovering about a foot away from him in the air. Honey stood at the other side of the room, hand raised lightly as she wriggled her fingers causing them to move higher. “Oh look, they were in your pocket…” she arched an eyebrow “You owe me an apology.” “So what’s new?” He chuckled and she smiled as she shrugged on her jacket and walked towards him as he checked they had everything they needed. Even for a simple trip down the road it seemed like they were prepping for a mission, but then again, maybe they were… They made their way out of the Brownstone into the glorious September sun and Bucky took the lead, as always, his wife gently walking alongside him, hand curled round his arm. He had a knack did Bucky, for steering and making sure everyone moved out if the way, which was why she was happy to let him. They reached their destination and made their way down the familiar little gravel path towards what they were looking for. Their pace slowed a little here, it was always harder on gravel, you sank a little and it took more effort to push through. They stopped in front of a beautiful headstone. White marble with gold writing, and a simple inscription Steven Grant Rogers Much loved husband, father and friend. Below the wording Steve’s symbol, his shield, the star surrounded by rings was etched, along with a simple phrase to remind everyone exactly who he had been. “Captain America is hope, he’s freedom, he’s just a kid from Brooklyn” Bucky’s hand gently ran across the top of the headstone and Honey smiled softly at him, before a noise drew their attention back to why they had come here today specifically. Smiling at one another, Bucky turned and gently lifted his 4 day old baby boy from the buggy as his wife watched, reaching up to smooth a finger down the baby’s soft, rosy cheek. Steve had been so excited when Bucky and Honey had told him that they were pregnant. But they had all known deep down that Steve’s time was coming to an end. The serum wasn’t repairing what was happening to him anymore, and hadn’t been for a while. Steve had noticed its effects had been dwindling for almost 30 years by that point and he was ready to go, to be with Peggy who had left him some 20 years previously. All of them had hoped he would live long enough to see Baby Barnes but things never do work out the way you want them to, and Steve had passed quietly surrounded by his friends, family some 6 weeks before their baby boy bad been born. Bucky had made a vow, a promise to himself that his son would understand exactly who his Uncle Stevie was. Not Captain America, but that little kid from Brooklyn who was always too dumb to run away from a fight. “Had to bring him to meet you one way or another.” Bucky said gently, looking from his son’s face to the stone with a soft smile before he crouched down in front of it. He took a moment, the words he was trying to form sticking in his throat as pure emotion washed over him. He felt grief, he felt loss…but also joy at the fact he was a new father and serenity that he had found his salvation, his second chance. And it was draining to feel it all at once. His wife softly squeezed his shoulder before she crouched by his side, gently wiping her own face as Bucky finally found his voice again. “Yeah, it was a him…so I got to pick the name.” Besides him he heard his wife chuckled as she spoke “I can still see your face Stevie, when we told you about that deal. Girl I picked, boy he picked…” Bucky smiled, he could too. Watery blue eyes that still had that sparkle had widened as Steve had looked at them both, horror on his face as he shook his head on disbelief. “What? You can’t do that…I mean it needs to be a joint decision, no matter what the gender…surely?” In the end Steve had been right. Whilst Bucky had suggested the first name for their little boy, he had struggled with a middle one…and it had been his wife who had quietly suggested it as he stood in the hospital room, gently rocking his new-born baby in his arms. Both had agreed there and then that it was perfect, both filling up with tears at the simplicity and the poignancy and both in love with the fact their son would help keep the memory of their friend, their brother, their Captain, alive. “Punk…” Bucky gently shifted the baby in his arms so he was facing the stone. “Say hello to Steven Roger Barnes” His son. His beautiful son. A life created because two people fell in love.   Because James Buchanan Barnes had a Honey haloed weakness.

Tagging a few of my regulars

@icanfeelastormbrewing @jtargaryen18 @official-and-unstable-satan​ @momobaby227 @jennmurawski13 @marvelfansworld​ @pagesoflauren​ @sweater-daddiesdumbdork​ @ayamenimthiriel​ @disneylovingal​ @djeniiscorner​

[shewolfofficial]

Prince!Levi x Thief!Reader ~ Pt.4

Suddenly Hanji makes a small monkey appear out of nowhere, it has some musical instruments on it as it wanders around aimlessly, I send her a questioning look, she waves me off. ‘’You don’t need to worry about him- he’s fine’’ Hanji reassures as the small monkey begins to bang the drums on its back.

‘‘Well, Ali Baba had them, forty thieves, Sheherezade had a thousand tales’‘ 

She began to sing as the monkey blew into its kazoo, I stepped back a little in confusion and watched them both.

‘’But, master, you in luck 'cause up your sleeves You got a brand of magic never fails’‘

The monkey once again used the kazoo as Hanji continued with her little song before stopping and clasping her hands together. ‘’Woah! That was fun, why don’t I do the rest hm? Still don’t ring a bell?’’ She then asked as I shyly shook my head, suddenly the monkey appeared by a set of drums as music began out of nowhere- as concerned as I was I didn’t really mind the fact that Hanji made a monkey appear out of nowhere.

I spun around seeing carpet shaking about some other instruments as blue mist flew about everywhere, blinking and laughing a little before Hanji started over again with more life this time. She was once again as the size of a giant in front of me, resting in front of me with her chin on her hands.

‘’Well, Ali Baba had them, forty thieves, Sheherezade had a thousand tales                                                                   But, master, you in luck 'cause up your sleeves                                                You got a brand of magic never fails ’’

A crowd of men with curved swords came out of nowhere and surrounded me, putting their swords at every angle at my neck as I nervously glanced to Hanji in slight worry.

’’You got some power in your corner now Some heavy ammunition in your camp                                                              You got some punch, pizazz, yahoo and how All you gotta do is rub that lamp’’

Hanji went back to normal human size and began to fight a few people knocking a few out as I ran to the lamp, just as I picked it up she came spewing out of it again, scratching her head with a grin as she looked down to me.

‘’Miss F/N, miss,                                                                                                  what will your pleasure be?                                                                                  Let me take your order Jot it down You ain't never had a friend like me!’’ 

Hanji took out a tray of supposed food and lowered it down to me but before I knew it I was in some fancy restaurant except I was the only one in it, there were many Hanji’s as waiters going around pretending to serve people but I can see those were only more Hanji’s looking at the menus as she sang.

‘‘Yes miss, we pride ourselves on service! You're the boss, the queen, the shah! Say what you wish, it's yours! True dish, how about a little more baklava?’’ 

I crawled out of the supposed restaurant and was immediately greeted with a bunch of more Hanji’s, the original one swirled around me before she brought over two enormous racks of clothing, I spontaneously dove for both to fetch some new clothes.

‘’Have some of column A Try all of column B, I'm in the mood to help you though You ain't never had a friend like me!’‘

I didn’t know why or how but Hanji managed to take control of my body, basically forcing me into some dance as if I were some performer on stage for a crowd- the music picked up again as I pulled off some moves I never knew I could. Quite cool if you ask me. Hanji thankfully stopped my dancing and began to make me look all around me at different versions of her making strange dance moves and some things normal people definitely couldn’t do.

‘‘So don't ya sit there slack-jawed, buggy-eyed I'm here to answer all your midday prayers’‘

Hanji sat me down on a couch and she took a spot next to me resting an arm at the back as some other versions of her appeared like a choir behind us singing with their hands together.

‘‘You got me bona fide and certified You got a genie for your charge d'affaires I got a powerful urge to help you out So whatcha wish? I really wanna know You got a list that's three miles long, no doubt Well, all you gotta do is rub like so oh oh’‘

Has she been practising this for a thousand years? As much as I won’t forget this day I definitely won’t forget this performance, Hanji got rid of all of her other versions and slung an arm over my shoulder- fixing up the goggles on her head before fixing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

‘’Miss F/N, ms, have a wish or two or three I'm on the job, you big nabob You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend’’

Shrugging I decided not to question her anymore as we began to dance, I didn’t know why I was dancing with a genie in a cave underground but I didn’t question it. I decided to forget about all the shit that happened just for a few minutes and enjoy this with me assumingly new friend according to the song.

‘’You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend You ain't never (never) had (had) a friend like me!’’

Hanji spun me around making me laugh as she grinned and finished up her song.

‘’You ain't never had a friend like me!’‘

She finished and ran a hand through her hair before drifting in front of me, giggling a little as she excitedly clapped. ‘’Now you get it? You only got three wishes! But you can’t wish for more wishes, nor can you wish for anyone to love anybody or to wish for someone to come back from the dead! Got it? Now let’s go F/N! ‘Cause I really needa get outa here!’’ Hanji quickly said before batting her lashes at me. ‘’Okay Hanji.. I wish for you to get us outa here?’’ I say rubbing the lamp. Soon we were in the middle of nowhere, the sun beaming down on us as I stumbled about, a nauseous feeling in my stomach from the abrupt movement.

‘‘Ugh what the hell.. Never do that agai-’‘

Suddenly we were both in some tent laying on bed, grapes and fruit lay in a basket by my side as we looked off into the distance, I sat up and shook off the strange unwell feeling that was over me for a few minor seconds before looking back to Hanji who threw a grape in her mouth and winked. ‘’Hey can you warn me before you do that?’’ I asked as she laughed throwing her head back, carpet was playing in the distance and that monkey was still here. ‘’Oh you’ll get used to it soon don’t worry’’ Hanji then waved me off and took a drink of god-knows-what. ‘’So I gotta use up all my wishes here, and if I bring you back to the Ackerman kingdom you won’t look norma-’’ ‘’Oh nononononono! I can look totally normal!’’ Hanji interrupted me, clicking her fingers two big bushy eyebrows suddenly appeared on her causing me to cackle. ‘’Uh... How about no blue?’’ I suggested as she clapped her hands, her waist that was once blue mist is gone and now replaced with a pair of legs along with her blue skin gone. Hanji was actually wearing a normal outfit as well minus the bushy eyebrows from before.

‘‘So what do you want?’‘ she asked laying back own, I hummed in thought and shrugged. ‘‘I don’t know what I want, what do you want?’‘ I reply as she goes silent for a second or two before sighing in a low tone ‘‘you know.. Nobody ever asked me that before, but it’s simple.. I want to be free, I want to live like a human! Have a family! A boy and a girl.. But I can’t..’‘ she muttered as I sat at the edge of my little temporary bed. ‘‘Well why can’t you set yourself free?’‘ I ask as she bursts into laughter, knocking on two metal things wrapped around her wrists. ‘‘Not happening, mainly because the master has to use up a wish to set me free and that never happened before- never ever ever ever ever ever ever happened’‘ she dragged along the ‘ever’ part as I tilted my head and slowly nodded, pity filling my stomach for her.

‘‘Well I promise I’ll use my last wish on you, don’t worry Hanji..’‘ I smile softly at her as she lets out a breath and sends one back. ‘‘Thanks F/N.’‘ she murmurs before sitting up looking towards carpet who was still playing in the distance. ‘‘The more wishes you have... The more you want.. It’s just like that’‘ the woman says as I huff stubbornly ‘‘well that’s not me’‘ I retort as she chuckles ‘‘we’ll see F/N’‘ she left us in silence before I decided to break it.

‘‘But there is something...’‘

Hanji’s face lit up before a devious snicker left her lips. ‘’Ooh! I’ve seen that face before!’’ she says before appearing in front of me on her stomach grinning up to me resting her hands on her cheeks with her legs swinging back and forth facing up towards the ceiling of the tent. ‘’Who is he!? Who’s the boy!?’’ she coo’s as I awkwardly shift in my spot as Hanji keeps grinning. ‘’Well he’s a prince..’’ I start as Hanji awe’s ‘’Aren’t they all? Your man should treat you like a queen and he should be your king- that’s what I always say.’’ she comments doing little hand gestures before returning to her original position grinning up to me. ‘’Well uhm.. No he’s an actual prince’’ I state in a shy manner as Hanji’s grin falters ‘’well I already told you I can’t make anyone love anyone-’’ ‘’No, no, we-we were together for a few months before he.. disappeared, he only came back yesterday with some other princess- I think he’s falling for her even though he was with me- he needs to marry a princess..Wait! Can you make me a princess!?’’ I suddenly ask as Hanji appears back laying in her bed.

‘‘Hun, you need to be specific with your words or else I could make you into any ol’ princess, but if you two were already together- why not give the boot to the new girl and take back your man?’‘ Hanji suggests as I subconsciously pout and look downwards. ‘‘Well I already told you he has to marry a princess plus he said himself he wouldn’t tell his parents that he’s seeing a thief like me’‘ I tell Hanji once again as she rolls her auburn hues. ‘’Girl if he isn’t willing to be with you just because of your title- he ain't worth it, even if y’all are madly in love when I see him I’m shoving my foot up his ass for hurting my baby bean- are you sure you want to be a princess though?’‘ she hums standing up. I nod in confirmation and stand as well. ‘‘You sure?’‘ ‘‘Yes’‘ 

‘‘Grab the lamp then, don’t forget about that now F/N’‘ she ushers as I hurriedly go and grab the lamp, I began to rub slow circles into the side. ‘‘Hanji.. For my second wish.. I want you to make me a princess.’‘ I say shutting my eyes waiting for us to be flung to yet another random place again. ‘‘I got you girl! You’re going to make every man fall to your feet from how bootiful you are and will become!’‘ Hanji mischievously cackles cracking her knuckles before sending us flying once again. This time we landed a few miles away from the Ackerman kingdom, I could see the castle and the small dot of Levi’s balcony in the bright sunlight far away.

‘‘Alright! Alright so! This current ‘outfit’ isn’t going to suit pure royalty so I gotta fix that real quick..’‘ Hanji murmurs in concentration before hurriedly switching my original outfit from today off and putting on a disturbingly ugly puffy dress instead making me cringe. ‘‘Uh- no, no offence but nobody likes puffy dresses nowadays’‘ I comment as Hanji laughs and slaps her knee. ‘‘I know right! Lemme switch it up for you!’‘ she says before switching the dress again, this time it looked too revealing making us both cringe this time as Hanji rested a finger on her chin in thought. ‘‘Nuh-Uh, that makes you look like your only after his babies unless you are of course~’‘ she sings in a teasing voice before changing the dress again leaving me in an F/C (Favourite Design and Length) dress with a small tiara, light makeup and my hair done into a neat bun. I smiled at the end result and nodded. Hanji widely smiles and throws her hands in the air. 

‘‘The crowd goes wild once again for the one and only Hanji! Go Hanji! Go Hanji! Go Hanji!’‘ she sang doing a little celebratory dance. ‘’I love it, thanks Hanji’‘ I say looking it over with a smile as she nods and smiles at me ‘‘won’t people recognize me though?’‘ I ask as she shakes her head no, whistling softly she appeared by my side ‘‘nope, nobody will- that’s how genie magic works! People see what they’re told to see! Now time to get you suited for a ride to get your man!’‘ she cried out excitedly, instantly turning to the monkey who shook his head and backed up a little. Giggling, Hanji cast some blue mist towards the small animal ‘‘we need something that will catch his eye.. A lion! Nah... A giraffe! Nope.. A pack of wolves!.. Not happening.. An elephant! Yes! Big and loud enough to get attention from everywhere!’‘ Hanji yells once again and somehow manages to turn the poor monkey into a large elephant, dressed in some colourful paints and a cute hat. 

‘‘And now F/N, we go and get your man!’‘

[lfthinkerwrites]

Riddle of the Minotaur 2: Daniel Mockridge Sucks

Title: Tales from Gotham Academy

Previous chapters: 1/2

Summary: A week before the trip, the kids compare notes, and plots begin to form. Oh boy.

"Attention, students of Gotham Academy. This is Principal Hugo Strange. As a reminder to our Freshman class, all signed permission slips for the Field Trip next Friday must be turned in to either Ms. Kringle or to your homeroom teacher by the end of the day today. The slips will be carefully checked for forgeries, and any and all forgers will be severely punished. This very much includes you, Mr. Todd. That is all."

At his friend's and sibling's usual lunch table, Jason looked at the nearest loudspeaker and flipped it off with both fingers. "Fuck you too, Strange."

"You know he can't hear you," Tim pointed out, not looking up from his phone.

"It's the principal of the matter, Timbo," Jason drawled, turning his attention back to his ham sandwich, and to his best friend Roy, who was sitting beside him. "I can't believe we're stuck with Coach Numbnuts all day next Friday."

"It's not just us, Jay," Roy said. "Machin's gonna be with us in detention too. He got caught giving out free copies of The Communist Manifesto to some freshman and their folks complained."

Jason groaned. "God damn it. That's just what we need. A day with Bolton and Lonnie. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll kill each other."

Across the table, Barbara rolled her eyes. "You know how lucky you two are that you're just in detention the rest of the school year. You were this close to getting expelled for that stunt you pulled with al Ghul's car."

Jason just laughed. "Good times. Good times." He finished off the last of his sandwich. "Still, I'd almost rather be on the trip. You looking forward to it, Timbo?"

Tim looked up from his phone and shrugged. "Not really, but at least Kerr's not around to make it even worse."

Dick piped up from Tim's left. "He wasn't on the trip mine and Barbara's freshman year, and that still sucked."

"That was a camping trip, wasn't it?" Stephanie asked from Tim's right. "And you got to be gone all weekend?"

Barbara sighed. "We were supposed to be, then on the first night, Professor Crane thought it would be a good idea to tell us a scary story about the Wendigo. Then someone started a rumor that he actually was a Wendigo, and a couple of kids chased him across the campgrounds and up a tree." She shook her head. "We were on the buses back home the next morning, and all trips lasting longer than ten hours were banned."

Duke shook his head. “Man and I thought seeing Kerr in a thong last year was bad.” The kids at the table shuddered, with the exceptions of Cassandra, who wasn’t easily bothered, and Ellen and Duela, who were distracted by Ellen’s furious sketching.

Jason finally looked down the table at the pair. “You two have been quiet. What are you working on? Another issue of Beautiful Captain Zodiac Sparkles?”

“No,” Ellen said venomously. She put her pen down and passed her sketch to Duela, who passed it to Cassandra, who passed it to Roy, who passed it to Jason. He put the paper down and inspected it. It was a drawing of a guy in a business suit, with slicked back black hair and a thin mustache that screamed: “I’m a corporate douchebag, please punch me in the face!” He was complimented with devil horns and a bolt of lightning about to strike  

Jason cocked his head. "Who's this guy?"

"Daniel Mockridge," Ellen said. Jason was almost taken aback at how angry the little freshman looked. "He used to be my Dad's boss until he fired him, the fucking asshole!"

"Whoa, Ellie, language," Dick chided.

Tim suddenly looked up from his phone, his eyes wide. "Wait. Daniel Mockridge? The CEO of Competitron? That Daniel Mockridge? Your Dad used to work for him?"

"Yeah," Ellen answered, her anger replaced with confusion. "Dad used to be a game developer for them."

Tim's jaw dropped. "No way. Did he work on the original 'Riddle of the Minotaur'?"

"Yeah, he created it, but he didn't get any credit or money for it, 'cause Daniel Mockridge is a piece of shit!" Duela put her hand on Ellen's shoulder to comfort her friend.

Tim, on the other hand, looked like he'd had his mind blown. "Wow. Ellen, you realize that your Dad is a hero to the puzzle gaming community, right?"

"That may be the dorkiest thing I've ever heard you say, Timbo," Jason laughed.

Ellen groaned. "Oh, I knew I shouldn't have told you. Please, don't ask my Dad about it. He doesn't like to talk about working there after what Mockridge did to him."

Tim reluctantly nodded. "I won't say a word, I promise." His own face darkened a bit. "I'd love to hear what he thinks about Riddle of the Minotaur 2, though."

Dick and Jason let out a groan, and even Cassandra shuddered a bit. "Not again, Tim," she said. "I don't think I can listen to another three-hour rant about how bad Riddle of the Minotaur 2 is."

Tim however, would not be denied his rant. "$60 to pre-order the game, and then when it's released, it's so buggy it's unplayable!" He pulled up his internet browser on his phone. "Look, this guy uploaded a video after launch just to document how many bugs he found!"

Duke looked over Tim's shoulder to look at the phone. "Dude, that video's over four hours long!"

"Yeah! And this was just after launch! He released an update video last week and it's over six hours long! And then's there are all the microtransactions! You have to pay $80 to get the skin of the player character from the first game or grind for over 500 hours in a game where you get attacked by invisible enemies or the server randomly crashes! Why do you even have to play online!? It's a single player game!"

Stephanie turned wide-eyed to Cassandra, Dick, Barbara, and Jason. "Does he always get this worked up over video games?"

"Just that one," Cassandra said. "It got so bad Alfred had to ban him from the internet for three weeks last year."

Duela raised an eyebrow. "Alfred banned him? Not Bruce? Isn't Bruce your Dad?"

"Yeah, but Alfred's the boss," Jason said. He reached across the table to tap Tim on the nose. "Settle down, sport. You're scaring the children."

Tim swat at Jason's hand. "Jason, don't touch my face!" He took a deep breath, then put his phone back down. "But fine, I'll stop. Still. Daniel Mockridge must be the worst CEO of a gaming company alive."

"Of course he is," Ellen huffed. "He fired my Dad! And even when Dad still worked there, Mockridge treated him like shit! One time when I was in second grade, my Mom took me over to Dad's office to visit him. Mockridge was there, insulting my Dad's outfit! And then he hit on Mom right in front of him! I mean, they weren't together anymore, but still! Who does that?"

"I think we can all agree that this Mockridge guy is a jerk," Barbara said. "What I'm curious about is why he's coming up now."

Ellen crossed her arms. "Competitron owns the theme park we're going to next week. I heard Dad talking with Penny and Uncle Jon about it the other night. He thinks Mockridge is gonna be at the park." Her eyes narrowed. "If that jerk tries anything with my Dad, I'll beat his ass!"

"Ellen, in the first place, you don't know that Mockridge is going to be there. In the second, there is no way you're going to get away with beating up the CEO of a major corporation, even if he is a jerk," Barbara said.

"Barbara's right," Duela said. "If we want to get back at Mockridge, we're going to have to be a little more creative."

Now Barbara narrowed her eyes. "Not even remotely what I meant, Duela."

Dick raised his hands. "Hey, whatever you get up to, leave us out of it. Barbara and I are going to the beach next Friday."

"And Roy and I will be stuck with Coach Numbnuts," Jason moped.

"It's alright, Jay," Roy said. "I've already got some ideas on how to make our time with him and Lonnie very special." He and Jason then began to cackle.

Barbara rolled her eyes. Stephanie gave a worried look at Duke and Cassandra. "You two think you'll be able to manage being on campus with these two next week?"

Cassandra merely shrugged, while Duke gulped. "That's a loaded question Steph. You think you'll be OK on the trip?" He gestured to Ellen and Duela, who were whispering something to each other.

Stephanie bit her lip. "I'll manage."

Barbara sniffed. "I am so glad I'm graduating in three weeks."

[ladyloveandjustice]

Ace Attorney fic: Split-Lip Smile

Split-lip Smile

Athena wiggled her tooth with her tongue. It was hanging in there barely. She wished it would just give up and fall already. That felt like a dumb metaphor for…something. She liked wiggling it though, it distracted her from the pain, thoughts about how her hair was all gross and caked in blood, and much, much darker thoughts…

Everyone in here was miserable and their emotions screamed so loudly she thought her eardrums would burst open. Her only solace was the couple in the corner. They were arguing endlessly but they were also stupidly, horribly in love. The vibe of it was strong that if she focused and basked in it, she could block everyone else out, even her own pain. Even if she wasn’t a freak of nature she’d be able to tell how into each other they were. Just their body language and the way they talked made it clear they had known each other for years, probably pined for years, sailed the stormy seas of hardship together. It was red string of fate stuff. Athena had a secret weakness for that bullshit deep down, so it was nice hearing it. If Junie the hopeless romantic was here. she’d be melting right now.

No. Don’t think about Junie. She would hate to see you like this. Athena clenched her first, making a cuff chafe her wrist. The cool metal was kinda soothing, despite everything.

Anyway. The couple. They were such a comically mismatched pair, it was funny just looking at them. So funny she couldn’t stop making her mouth hurt. Like, on one hand, you had a slouched, unshaven guy in a ratty sweatshirt and, ugh, sandals as well. Topping it all off was one of the gaudiest caps she’d ever seen…it said “papa” on it, so he had a kid, and Athena felt deeply sorry for whoever it was. Because the other guy was just as bad, in the opposite direction. He was ramrod straight, wearing a super garish purple-red-magenta-she-really-couldn’t-decide-the-color suit, and what even was the thing around his neck? Was it a cravat? She’d never seen a cravat that weird, had he layered three of them of something? It looked like unfolding tissue paper.

The tissue paper man was like a million emotions at one right now, tired, angry, sad, disappointed, amused…you wouldn’t know it from just looking at him though, he had pinched expression like he was so above trivial things like feelings. The other dude only had one emotion besides love going on and it was a deep, dark sadness. She recognized the flavor of sadness just because it was so like her own- he’d lost a part of himself and given up on getting it back. He was another one who wasn’t reflecting how he felt in how he acted though, he had an easy smile and laugh that was annoying in how constant it was. Tissue man was SO annoyed at him it was hilarious. And his voice was carrying to the point she didn’t even need superhearing to pick it up.

“YOU may not care what happens to you, but you have RESPONSIBILITIES and to do such immature and reckless things at your age..”

“Edgeworth, I’m not going to outgrow being reckless.”

Edgeworth. That did not sound like a first name. They were together and they called each other by last names? Weirder every second.

“You COULD if you wanted to. Look, Gumshoe and I and even Franziska let you get away with a lot, but you do NOT know the authorities here.”

“You asked me to help.”

“I specifically said to be careful.”

“Yeah, I know you don’t want me to embarrass you.” Sandal man shrugged.

“That was not what I meant and you know it.”

Another shrug. “But I did embarrass you.”

“I don’t get embarrassed.”

That definitely a lie (a lie that was so amusing to Sandals that it broke his sadness for a moment) but it was true he wasn’t feeling embarrassment right now. He was just worried. She kind of wished she could communicate that to Sandals. Not that he’d believe her.

“Well, I don’t want to humiliate you further, so let’s go back to your place.” Sandals began to shuffle across the room. Edgeworth sighed and followed him. She couldn’t help but sigh herself. She didn’t want them to leave, she needed something to focus on.

As if he’d read her mind, Sandals stopped dead in his tracks. Was he looking at her?

“Hey, are you okay?”

THAT’S A STUPID QUESTION.

Athena swore and grabbed at Widget. How the hell was it talking? She’d stopped charging it ages ago, it was supposed to be dead as a doornail. It hadn’t spoken in YEARS.

“Cool robot thing.” Sandals said like it was a completely normal accessory. “And it’s right, that was stupid. What I meant is…what happened?”

IT’S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.

“That’s never stopped me before,” Sandals said cheerfully.

“Wright, don’t meddle,” Edgeworth scolded, but she could hear equal concern from him as he stood there, examining her so methodically it was unnerving. His gaze traveled over her gross hair, her right eye that was swelling shut, the huge bruise on her jaw, her split lip, her dirty ripped clothes…when his eyes landed on her cuffed hands and skinned knuckles, his eyes narrowed, and Athena braced for him to tell Wright that they couldn’t consort with criminals or some other stuffy-elitist-rich-guy thing, but instead his concern swelled slightly. “Is your wrist sprained? Or possibly broken?”

Athena tried for a disaffected shrug but it jostled her right arm too much and she hissed in pain. Wright actually winced along with her.

“So, what’s the deal?” he said. “Who did this to you and why are you here? Was it for defending yourself against the jerk who did this to you?”

“Why do you care?”

“If it was self defense I can he-“ he stopped dead. “I know people who can help.” He corrected himself. There was pain buried deep in his voice. She could see a similar pain in Edgeworth’s expression.

“It wasn’t.”

. “Then…are you taking the fall for whoever did this to you?” The concern had intensified and there was a bit of pity mixed in now. She couldn’t stand it

“I don’t know why you’re assuming I’m some victim and not just a delinquent,” Athena snapped. “I got in a fight with a cop, okay? I started it, too.”

Athena expected them to scold her and walk away at this. Indeed, she didn’t need powers to tell disapproval was now emanating from Edgeworth, but she could hear from his tutting that it didn’t greatly override the concern. And Wright’s emotions didn’t change a bit. He leaned in curiously. “Why’d you do a thing like that?”

“Again, why do you care? I just told you I was in the wrong!”

“Well,  not necessarily-“ Wright said. “There’s some really bad cops out there. It depends on what started the fight.”

“Though violence should always be a last resort,” Edgeworth sniffed. “However, let’s hear the tale.”

Athena stared at both of them. They seemed to genuinely want to listen. She didn’t why they’d zeroed in on her, why they cared, but..

“I saw a guy being arrested and the cops were smacking him around, calling him a murderer, and he was so scared and I knew he didn’t do it, so I started arguing with them and they didn’t believe me and were taking him and I had to do something; I couldn’t be useless again, so I tried to fight them so he could escape but it didn’t work, of course it didn’t work”. It all poured out of her in one breath, she couldn’t control it. Her eyes burned and her bruises ached. She hunched over a little, letting her bangs fall over her face.

“Huh.” Wright was…impressed for some reason. “So, what was your relationship to this guy? Was he important to you?”

She flushed. How could she explain this part? “…N-no. It was the first time I’d met him…I just happened to be there. I’m not even positive what his name was. Cartwright, I think.”

Edgeworth put a hand over his eyes and groaned.

“How did you know he was innocent then?” Wright was…excited? Why?

Athena looked down. Okay, they had finally gotten there. The part that would make him  leave. “You won’t believe me,” she mumbled.

“I wouldn’t sure about that. You’d be surprised at some of the shit I’ve seen,” Wright said, prompting a scold from Edgeworth about behavior in front of children that he ignored. “Try me.”

Might as well rip the band-aid off. “Okay then. I’ve got…sensitive hearing. I can hear what emotions they’re feeling, if they’re lying….usually.”

Edgeworth was dragging his hand over his face now. “If you’re trying to say you’re magic-“

“No!” Athena interrupted angrily. “It’s science, okay! There’s been an entire research paper published on the phenomenon by-” she gulped “a-a very good psychologist if you’d care to look it up!”

“Oh.” Edgeworth said, a lot of his skepticism suddenly gone. Wright rolled his eyes. Then he pointed at her necklace. “Is that little guy related to your power at all?”

“He’s supposed to help me tap into it, but he’s buggy. He actually stopped working for a long time, I don’t know why he suddenly-“ she stopped and narrowed her eyed at Wright. “Wait, you really believe me about my powers?”

Wright shrugged. “Why not? I’ve seen weirder.”

Athena wanted to ask “how?” all sarcastically, but she couldn’t quite find her voice. She was overwhelmed by the…acceptance she heard from him. The trust. It was something she hadn’t had directed at her in quite a while.

“May I take a look?” Wright said, gesturing again at Widget. She nodded mutely. He leaned closer, examining him. “God, Ema would love this.”

Athena had no idea who Ema was and she didn’t get the chance to ask, because Wright suddenly said, “What’s your name?”

“…Athena Cykes.”

“Well, Ms. Cykes, my name is Phoenix Wright. I’m just a humble pianist, but I used to work in law and have a couple of connections. And my partner here is a big deal, fancy-pants prosecutor. So we might be able to do something about this false arrest if you tell us what you know.”

Edgeworth threw his head back as if to appeal to the heavens. “How did I know we’d end up here? And just drag me into it too. You’re impossible, Wright. I remind you I just got us out of a scrape-”. He carried on scolding for a while but Athena could barely hear him over the swell of intense fondness that washed over every word he said. She couldn’t detect a scrap of actual irritation. Phoenix seemed to understand this and listened calmly until he had finished.

“…all right then, you talk to her if you so desperately want do it. I’m going to go demand some medical attention for her wrist. I’m sure you’ll convey everything to me later.”

“Thanks, Edgeworth.”

As Edgeworth left, Phoenix took the seat beside her. “Now, Ms. Cykes, tell me everything you know from the beginning. Don’t leave anything out.” When she hesitated, he grinned and said, “Don’t worry, you can trust me.”

She bit her lip. There was no way this man was going to actually help her. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t be able to. But…she thought of the sheer bone-chilling despair she’d felt from the man, the discord in his voice like nails down a chalkboard when he’d given in and said he did it…it was a sound she’d heard a long time ago, that she still heard echoing in her head every night. She didn’t want the man’s voice to join the chorus. She had to try something. What did she have to lose? What did he?

Besides, she had noticed something. The deep dark sadness in Phoenix had lessened a little during their conversation- somehow a ray of happiness had broken through in his voice, the tiniest bit of sunshine. For whatever reason, he was doing with her had made something happen inside him, had filled in a little of whatever it was he’d lost. She liked that feeling. She wanted to keep hearing it from him.

So she told him every single detail she could remember. She told him all the events of the night leading up to it, every speck of conversation, every tiny thing she’d seen or overhead, every blow of the fight, every shift in emotion….and basked for as long as she could in in the weak ray of warmth, enjoying how it strengthened with each word she said. Edgeworth came in with a harried officer who examined her wrist and started to wrap it, only for Edgeworth to insist they weren’t doing it right and intervene himself. He was surprisingly gentle.

He caught Athena narrowing her eyes at Phoenix, who was trying to calm down the irate officer.

“I’m sorry if my partner’s meddling has angered you at all. I know he can be…overwhelming”.

“No…uh, well I guess, yeah, a little..” Athena mumbled. “I just…don’t get why he believed me so easily.”

Edgeworth shook his head. “That’s just what he does. Believe in people. Whether they want him to or not.” The affection in his tone was so intense Athena almost felt like she should cover her ears.

After they were done and Phoenix had finally calmed the irate officer down, he shook her good hand and said, “we’ll call the number you gave us when we have something for you. Your parents will be coming to get you soon, right?”

“Yeah,” Athena lied. Her great-aunt and uncle were pretty done with her at this point. They hadn’t answered when the cops called. She was probably going to spend the night here. But that was none of Phoenix’s business. She was curious about something, though.

“Um…before you leave, I just want to know…why were you so interested in hearing my story? I mean, really? Why did you insist like you did?”

“Well, for one thing, because I have my own kid and when I see a beat- up teenager I generally want to know what’s going on.” Phoenix put his hands in his pockets. “And second, I saw you watching us out of the corner of my eye. And I saw you were smiling, like you thought we were cute or something.”

Edgeworth made a vaguely affronted noise. Athena looked down at her lap, flushing slightly. She hadn’t realized at all that he’d noticed her.

“It’s okay. I’m a romantic too. Anyway, it was a very warm smile. I figured if you could smile through a busted lip like that over something as doofy as the two of us, you had to be a good person. And pretty observant!” He grinned at her. “I wanted to hear your story.”

There it was again. Acceptance. And a genuine fondness, even though he’d just met her. It was all so weird and overwhelming. All she could manage was an “I…I see.”

Phoenix nodded at her. “We’ll come through for you Athena. Just hang in there ‘till then.”

“And take this to clean yourself up some more.” Edgeworth handed her a handerchief.

As they walked out, she heard him start in on Phoenix. “So, should I draw up adoption papers for this one? Will she be added to your collection?”

“Well, hey, Trucy did always want a big sister…”

Their bickering faded and the cozy affection wafted away and Athena was alone again.

She looked down at the handkerchief. Who the hell even carried these around anymore? It was soft too. She rubbed it against her face, scraping dried blood away bit by bit. She almost felt bad messing something so nice up. But she couldn’t let go of it, it was only proof she had that the men had been real, not just some hallucination bought on by head trauma.

As she predicted, no one came to get her. She was eventually ushered to a holding cell. She sat down on the flimsy cot, handkerchief still wadded in her hand. The stale air made every wound ache more. She leaned against the wall, letting the cold stone sooth her bruises. She wondered if this was the same kind of stone they used for cemeteries. Was Simon in a place just like this right now? No, he had to be somewhere even worse.

She could suddenly see Simon standing across from her. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

If there was any justice in the world, you’d be stay in here with me, he rumbled.  The room seemed to be getting smaller by the second.

Cartwright was standing next to him. It’s what you deserve for being so weak. They were closing in on her. So was the flat gray wall behind them. It was shuddering ominously. She wanted to scream at them to get away, but she had no voice. It all collapsed, burying them in rubble. This place really was a grave after all.

Her eyes flew open. She’d fallen asleep somehow, huddled in this cold little corner. Just a dream.

The handkerchief had fallen to the floor and was all covered in dirt. She picked it up numbly. The men who had given this to her felt like a dream now too. They were so distant, and so was the hope anything could change. She was never going to see them again. Even if they really had believed her, they’d think better of it. They’d realize she was just some crazy little girl. They’d forget about her.

It had been nice though. To be listened to, even if just for a little while. But it that never lasted. She just wasn’t meant to be heard. Her nightmares always made sure to remind her of that.

She didn’t know how long she sat there, but eventually the sound of keys clanking jostled her out of her stupor. She dragged herself up and followed the guard out. She braced herself to get an earful from her great-aunt about how much money she’d cost her. But that wasn’t who she found waiting for her in the lobby. She found Phoenix Wright and Prosecutor Edgeworth, looking a little tired, but both smiling.

“We called you, but nobody picked up, so we thought we’d check here. You should have told us you needed someone.”

“Why are you here?”

“To give you some good news!” Phoenix threw his arms wide. “We proved Mr. Cartwright innocent. He won’t even have to go to court. They’re releasing him now and the real killer’s been taken in.”

She stared at him. She hadn’t heard a hint of spite or insincerity in his voice- he was brimming with a very pure happiness. But still, what he said couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t.

“…but…there’s no way…it’s been one night…you couldn’t’ve…”

“We’re used to working fast. And you’re a way more honest and observant witness than I usually get. The stuff you told me basically led us right to the truth.” Phoenix clapped her on the shoulder. “Edgeworth smoothed stuff over for you, so let’s head out to celebrate. You must be starving.”

She was too shocked to protest. She was shuffled into a red sports car and before she knew it she was listening blankly to the two of them argue about where to go. They eventually compromised on a breakfast café.

Athena only spoke to order a large portion of eggs and bacon. After placing the handkerchief carefully in her lap, she dived into the meal with all she had. As she filled up, her head cleared and it dawned on her that all this was actually real. She took a huge swig of milk to force down her last mouthful and slammed down her glass. “Okay. I want you to tell me everything”.

Question after question poured out of her and they answered them patiently. After they’d gone over every detail of how they’d solved the case, Athena leaned back in her seat and let out a breath. It felt like she’d been holding it for years.

“I didn’t think…things like this could happen.”

“Things like what?”

“I thought, if they decided someone was guilty, you couldn’t ever change their minds. I thought there was nothing anyone could do so I just…” she twisted the handkerchief in her hands. “I just gave up.”

“I don’t think that’s really true,” Phoenix said quietly. “if you had, you wouldn’t have fought for that man.”

She shook her head. “I was just angry. I knew it was hopeless. That I was helpless. But you…you saved him. You actually saved someone.”

Phoenix leaned forward, looking her directly in the eye. “You saved someone, Athena. We couldn’t have done any of this without you. You were brave enough to stand up for him. You were brave enough to tell your story- his story. Don’t forget that.”

“But I almost didn’t tell you. I didn’t believe lawyers could do anything.”

“Yeah well, sometimes we can’t,” Phoenix sighed. Edgeworth made a “hmmph” noise and looked away. In that short syllable Athena heard anger and billion other emotions she couldn’t untangle. “But we can do a lot if we have a client like you.”

Athena’s grip relaxed on the cloth. She felt like she was teetering on the edge of something and once she fell, there would be no going back. “Lawyers…can really save people.”

“Yep. Thank you for reminding me of that.” Phoenix stroked his chin. “You remind me of a lot of things, actually. You’re passionate, perceptive, inquisitive….”

“Reckless,” Edgeworth said under his breath.

“…and most importantly, you have a strong desire to help people with no one on their side.” He continued like Edgeworth hadn’t spoken. He slid a card across the table. “Let’s keep in touch, Athena. A kid like you is gonna go places, and I want to hear about it. Heck, if I ever get back into law, I might give you a call.”

Edgeworth raised an eyebrow at this. “Oh? Getting back into law, are we?”

“I said IF.” Phoenix grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Of course,” Edgeworth said with the utmost calm, face impassive. But he couldn’t hide his real feelings from Athena. They buzzed pleasantly in her ears.

Athena looked down at the card. “Wright Anything Agency”. She wrinkled her nose. “Why’s there a purple stain on this?”

“Uh, sorry, just ignore that,” Phoenix said as Edgeworth sighed deeply.

Athena was most silent as they drove her home. She has a lot to mull over. When they let her out at her apartment, Edgeworth made a point of asking her why her parents hadn’t come for her, and she explained that she didn’t have parents and that she lived with relatives that were fine, but they were too busy to deal with her much. “I see,” he said with a pain and understanding that took her by surprise.

It wasn’t until they pulled away that she realized she’d forgotten something. She ran after the car, yelling her thanks and waving the handkerchief like she was at a train station in an old movie. Phoenix waved back at her, but they didn’t turn around to retrieve Edgeworth’s item. Eventually, the car disappeared over the horizon.

No one was home, so she used the key under the mat to enter. She went upstairs to her room and looked in the mirror. She looked like a living wreck, a total nightmare. But still, a smile was threatening despite her split lip.

Phoenix Wright, the former lawyer who dressed like a bum. And that prosecutor…Simon hadn’t been nearly that stuffy. But he had been nearly as awkward. And worn weird fancy clothes. Maybe that was just a requirement for the profession.

She wondered if Simon was still awkward. She wondered if he still liked samurai movies and got nervous around kids. She wondered if prison had hardened him into someone unrecognizable. Probably. He had probably changed a lot.

But she was changing too.

She sat down on her bed. A lawyer can save someone. She couldn’t believe she’d never considered it before. If she became a lawyer…she might be able to overturn his sentence. If she could get the case re-opened.

They won’t listen to you. No one will ever listen to you.

That’s what she’d thought. But now she knew there were people who would. And she could work with them. She would absorb everything he knew…

DON’T FORGET ABOUT ME!

She jumped at Widget’s voice, the looked down. Just a little while earlier, she’d wanted to rip this embarrassing thing off her neck. But now she welcomed it. Two voices were louder than one. She wanted to make them hear what was inside her heart. She would shout it from the rooftops. And if she could use her mother’s analytical psychology and her stupid power to do some good for once, if she could prove it was a real asset to the law and rub that in the faces of everyone who had denied her and doubted her…that was all the better.

“Yeah,” Athena reached up, cupping her hand around her necklace. Her mouth stretched into a smile. She could still see that tooth hanging in there. She punched it with her tongue and it finally fell, clattering to the floor. Her grin stretched wider and wider, so wide that her lip reopened and blood dribbled down her chin. It really was a nice smile. “Yeah. Let’s do this.”

A/N:  I finally finished this- ended up being longer than I expected. I wanted to write something about how Athena and Phoenix met ever since finishing replaying Dual Destinies. Very few details were mentioned in the game about how it happened, we know it was in Europe while he was visiting Edgeworth, we know he saw potential in her and she once mentions he “helped her out a jam”- that’s about it, iirc. It’s very mysterious. So I springboarded off these vague details. There might be something in canon that contradicts some of this, idk, but I did my best. 

A while back, I wrote a couple ace attorney one-shots dealing with various types of grief and angst with a couple different characters. Then someone in my family actually died and I stopped writing fanfic for a while. But I always wanted to do something from Athena’s POV to round it all out so I could make it a series on Ao3. I finally did this one after feeling a strange compulsion to write about someone who was injured and arrested.  But it's longer and more positive and doesn't quite fit in with the others? Oh well. I kept the details of what Athena saw with the murder case and other stuff vague because this got long enough as it is- the police procedure for Athena being taken in here probably doesn’t make sense but it’s the Ace Attorney universe so the rules are probably different and more nonsensical anyway. Hope you enjoyed!