#it's not like I'm actually a double agent who's still on the heroes' side or anything!!

[bestworstcase]

I have a question about some of your Salem thoughts

If Salem is 110% certain that she can take down the Gods (assuming that's her goal since we don't actually know), why wouldn't she communicate her plan to Oz? Especially if she truly doesn't want anyone to die like you say. Oz would jump at the bit if Salem said "Hey I want to stop fighting" since that would mean their shadow war would stop. I really don't think Oz likes the Gods either, and even if he's afraid of them, if *Salem* is that confident she can stop them (she's far from an idiot), I'm sure he'd at least hear her out (which would tell Salem a LOT).

If she's that confident and truly doesn't want to fight, why wouldn't she tell Oz her new plan? And why would she kickstart her plan by attacking the kingdoms/Academies? Surely she could find a way to steal the Relics without flat out attacking them (like sending in double agents to take the Maiden powers)? Like... she would've known she'd get people killed, including children and innocent people. Even if she did damage control (which I think is just strategic, why bother going after people if she's focusing on the Relics? She's not gonna waste precious time and resources), she surely knew people would get caught in the crossfire.

Don't get me wrong, I like what you bring to the table!! Your posts are thought provoking and unique. But I can't see Salem being somehow secretly good. I don't think the show is setting her up that way, and I think she's a fantastic villain, so from my own perspective, doing that kind of twist would be a disservice to her character. I don't think she's inhuman or a complete and total monster who should go, but she's definitely not a good person especially if she can't communicate that she supposedly doesn't want people dead. She seems to be an "the ends justify the means" kind of person, and the show I think has stated that that isn't a good mindset i.e. Ironwood.

Sorry, I rambled and completely strayed from my point 😅 I don't mean to be mean if I come across that way. I hope my ask is interesting or thought provoking though :P

my position is that salem is right, not that she’s secretly good—that is an important distinction. i think she sees the gods clearly for what they are, thinks the divine ultimatum repulsive and unjust, wants remnant to be free, and believes that humanity is transcendent over their creators; she also, quite plainly, does not have any compunction about doing whatever it takes to achieve her ends and while i do think she is still fully capable of and driven by love, she is so TERRIFIED of being hurt again and so CERTAIN that no one could ever care for her that when she does care for someone else it comes out in very, very twisted and often cruel ways. she’s not good, she’s not nice, she’s just right.

equally the heroes are good but not right, because they have yet to really grapple with the premise of the divine mandate (that humanity as it exists right now does not deserve to exist) or their own role in upholding it (their immediate goal is survival, but when they envision the ending of this war they imagine salem driven back and the relics squirreled away again in hope of at best everlasting stalemate). the point of structuring the narrative this way is that neither side can get to the proverbial good ending alone; they need to work together, salem’s ends with the heroes’ means.

like. she’s evil. lol. that’s not in question and i think it goes without saying that she is doing evil things so i don’t feel the need to make a “but she’s still evil though” disclaimer every time i try to tease out what’s going on in her head. notice how my reaction to salem razing vale was OH GLINDA LAYS SIEGE TO THE EMERALD CITY, WE’RE REALLY IN IT NOW and not, like, shock or dismay that salem would do such a terrible thing. brgdfjs

(i DO think she has mostly been trying to avoid ozma and not reciprocating the shadow crusade against her prior to about fourteen years ago and that she isn’t about wanton destruction or killing for the sake of it; and in that sense i think she’s not as bad as the general fanon reading. but that comes with the territory of thinking she has actual reasons for doing what she does as opposed to being, like, a genocidal lunatic.)

anyway. to your questions. the short answer is she’s just as scared of oz as he is of her.

“but he’s the good one!”—think about this from her perspective for a minute. set aside your opinion of her and oz, presuppose for the moment that i’m correct on her motivations, and consider what everything ozma’s done in the last few thousand years looks like to her.

she knows that the gods were monsters. she witnessed them slaughtering the whole world and she saw how little it mattered to them after. she was alone for millions of years, and then hated and feared for thousands of years because she didn’t look human. all that suffering because the gods are punishing her for praying to them. yes?

then ozma returns to her, somehow. he doesn’t explain how or why—maybe he tells her he just doesn’t know—but that’s alright. what matters is that he’s here. he asks what happened to her, and she tells him the truth: the gods ended the world. cursed her. killed everyone. she was alone for so long. (maybe not the whole truth: there are things she’s afraid to say, because the gods did it all to punish her, and it’s her fault, and she’s so scared that he’d despise her if he knew everything. the only reason for her to fear ozma would reject her is if she blamed herself. you don’t hide things out of shame if you don’t feel ashamed of them.)

they learn each other again. fall in love all over again. things are finally okay. they fix up her house. they’re happy together. one day ozma tells her that he’s worried about how divided people are. she wants so badly to make him happy; she would move mountains for him. salem herself has no interest in ruling over people as a god—if she did, she wouldn’t have been living alone in a rotting shack in the middle of nowhere—all that enthusiasm is for him. to support what he wants.

they build a following, found a prosperous kingdom, start a family. four children! how long do you think they were married—ten years? twenty? and the whole time, the whole time, ozma was keeping these secrets from her. that the god of light, who’d condemned her to eternal suffering for praying to his brother, who’d shown utter indifference to the deaths of millions, had sent him back to redeem humanity FROM HER SINS, from what SALEM did. that the point of all this is cleansing humankind of her defiance and inviting THAT MONSTER to remnant to judge whether this world deserved to be subjugated under the brothers’ tyranny again or else be put to death.

imagine how she must have felt when ozma finally told her the truth, knowing that the first thing she told him was that the gods ended the last one. imagine the sickening realization that their whole marriage is built on a lie, because she would never, ever, ever have agreed to help him unite the world if she had known what he sought to unite them for, and ozma knew she never would. that he deceived her! manipulated her into serving the will of a god she knows to be a monster!

and even then—even to the very end—she loved him enough to try. she was willing to forgive all of that and figure out a way to move past it together, and the only thing she asked was that he walk away from his task of submitting this world to the judgment of THAT MONSTER. and he wouldn’t do it.

there’s a gap we don’t get to see, in between ozma backing away from her and salem catching him leaving with the girls, but we can infer that ozma walked out of that room and salem didn’t. imagine how she felt. ten years, twenty years, however long it was, and he was lying to her through it all, and he left her with hardly a moment’s hesitation when she refused to help him enact THAT MONSTER’S retribution against herself. because that is, ultimately, what this is all about; humanity is found guilty by association with her.

imagine how she felt. used. worthless. duped. like a fool for ever trusting him. did he ever love her at all, or was that a lie, too?

when she caught him in the hallway later that night, they both attack each other in the same instant. ozma remembers her attacking him first, but their volleys meet in perfect symmetry and right before salem throws her first bolt of magic, her eyes flicker down in surprise as she tracks the motion of his staff (which we see in the previous shot)—salem remembers him attacking her first.

because they were both so tense and scared and angry at each other that they snapped in exactly the same moment.

their battle is so intense they blow up the castle, and when the smoke clears, salem is a pile of ash. ash! he incinerated her! imagine how enraged you have to be to burn someone to ash. that level of fury, of absolute hatred of her, is literally burnt into her memory as the last thing he did to her before she managed to kill him, inextricably twisted around the guilt and unbearable grief she feels for her children.

he’s dedicated all but a handful of his lives since then to getting rid of her. finding a way to destroy her. (how far is he willing to go? what would happen if salem tried to move on, find community and solace somewhere far away from him? would he come after her? would he follow his god’s example and go after the people she cared about to punish her? is she willing to risk that he might?)

do you think salem understands why ozma did any of this? she doesn’t. she doesn’t get the luxury we do of jinn narrating his side of the story and showing us the anguish he felt, wanting so desperately to be with salem but eaten alive by terror of dooming the world for his happiness. she doesn’t know.

all she knows is how he treated her: the secrets, the deception, the manipulation, the immediate and absolute rejection when she told him no, the explosively violent anger at the end, then centuries upon centuries systematically erasing her from history and enforcing her exile whilst searching for the relics he needs to summon his god for the final judgment. which she knows will inevitably end in the annihilation of the whole world and yet more torture for her with no hope of reprieve, because if all of this was not enough to satisfy the god of light’s grudge against her for, again, just praying to his brother, nothing ever will.

salem feels about ozma now the way blake felt about adam. why did he lie to her, why did he use her, why does he keep coming back, why won’t he just LEAVE HER ALONE, hasn’t she suffered enough, hasn’t she been punished enough, when will it be enough—and intertwined with that, she is being EATEN ALIVE by the conviction that no one could ever truly care about her or feel for her or want to help her or think that she deserves help or even just see her as a person, because if ozma—ozma, the one who saved her from her father’s tower, who knew her and loved her before all of this happened—if ozma thought her so worthless that he would rather serve a god who ended the last world and promises to condemn this one too than suffer her to exist at all in this world, why the fuck would anyone else be any different?

thousands of years later, she still flies off the handle when anyone lies to her. (except cinder. but cinder is always the exception, to every rule.) there’s a reason she recruits the kind of people she does—desperate, broken, angry people starving for something she can promise to give them if they make themselves useful to her—and it’s because she does not believe that she can get anything better than strictly transactional relationships with people who have literally nothing and nowhere else to turn. and when she actually cares about someone? she fights herself tooth and claw over it because she desperately doesn’t want to open herself up to more heartbreak. look at how erratic and cruel she is with cinder.

it’s not rational. salem is smart and very, very tactically shrewd but she is making all of her plans and all of her choices from the assumption that she is and will always be alone in this, because she is unlovable, because she is worthless, because she is the reason this world is damned. and she’s terrified of ozma because to her everything he does suggests that his conviction and dedication to the god of light has never wavered. she cannot see his doubt. she cannot see his misery. she cannot see how much he misses her and desperately wants to make amends. all she can see is that he’s zealously guarding the relics and spreading his god’s word and training children to fight and die in the name of keeping her exiled.

why doesn’t ozma just go to her and tell her he wants to make amends? because he’s terrified she’ll never forgive him and terrified that he’ll damn the world to annihilation if he follows his heart. they’re the same. they’re exactly the same.

but this is also what makes it so possible—even easy—for salem to undergo a villain-to-hero arc, because the only thing that needs to happen is a spark of real hope. that someone, anyone, could really care about her. like. the things she says in her soliloquies about the transformative power of hope? “even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change,” and “it’s true that a simple spark can ignite hope, breathe fire into the hearts of the weary…”—that’s her. one small reason to hope. that is all she needs to change.

she doesn’t want to be razing kingdoms to the ground or cutting a bloody path through children to get those relics. she is willing to do it because she truly, genuinely, from the depths of her soul believes that it’s the only way to free herself from the torture she’s been subjected to for millions of years. she’s driven to this by desperation. she won’t keep doing it if she’s given a reason to feel less desperate.

but she does need to be given a reason, first. she’s hemorrhaging. this is why the winnowing of her inner circle and the split between everyone else in vacuo versus salem + cinder + summer in vale is important; Those Two are the ones she cares about—technically we don’t know for sure regarding summer yet, but the level of trust she has for the lieutenant holding beacon is suggestive—and that being reciprocated is what ignites her hope.

[askhezureviews]

Who are your favorite characters from Helluva Boss, Steven Universe and TADC and why :]?

Helluva Boss: Season 1 Stolas because he's a powerful eldritch demon prince with a taste for dangerous thrill in his life- he fantasizes about being weak and needing a hero when its not true at all; he's a manipulative, conniving bastard who absolutely has a heart under all those feathers- he just fucks up and gets himself into trouble because he gets greedy or takes things too far- meaning he's gotta put in the work; get a major character arc if he wants things to turn around and go his way. Maybe learn some lessons, be less ignorant, actually learn how to maintain relationships, etc. He has so much potential to his character, the small amount of scenes we got with him to begin with already set up so much and tell us so much about him, it was great storytelling. Season 1 Striker is awesome. He's also a fantastic foil to Blitz. Introduced as a hired farm hand, only to turn out to be an agent gun for hire. He's dangerous, cunning, competent, competitive. He offers Blitz a place at his side- to actually overcome their status as half-imps, when HYPOCRITICALLY- HE'S SERVING A HIGH CLASS DEMON HIMSELF!!! That was a CRAZY reveal- it was aMAZING!!! especially when it shows that Stella isn't just a side character now, she's in the pool of villains- That was such a fantastic episode.

Steven Universe: Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond is my absolute favorite!! She's so complex. I love how she reverse parallels Steven. She's a bratty, needy, abused child who never felt like people could listen to her. She felt like people couldn't change, she made the decision to not fix people for her own sanity and safety and I respect that of her, but its also a double edged sword when it gives her major major communication issues. When she hurts her pearl, she shuts down and realizes she needs to change- and when she sees Earth- she becomes inspired and gains a heart of gold- but her trauma runs deep and her actions to protect others have only ended up hurting them more- yet her intentions are still often pure in nature. I wish we had more episodes of her, she was my absolute favorite.

Peridot was my second fav. She is like a sweeter, more complex Invader Zim. Her character arc was the most detailed, the one with the most care put into it. I preferred her when she was a bit more robotic and subdued with her limb enhancers, but she was my original favorite before Rose/Pink.

The Amazing Digital Circus: Cane because I'm biased I loved his VA as Spamton; but he's extremely cookey and unpredictable. He's trying to entertain people to keep them sane, but he's also at the same time ironically heartless to them too? The mystery surrounding his ai, how much control he really has over the game, him losing track of NPCs vs. actual humans- its all so mysterious and ambiguous and his design is just so fantastic- aaahh!!! I love every second he is on screen <3

Gummygoo because everyone loves him, he's the first NPC who has a relatable breakdown when he gets an existential crisis, seeing everyone and everything he knows has been written by design, that its not real. But he's fun and cute anD BRING HIM BACKKKKKKKKKKKK BRING MY EXPLODED BOY BACKKK!!!! Also shout out to Ragatha, probs my 3rd favorite. I like her optimism in the face of doom- keeping herself together through a shaky will but also holding on to her kindness. It's very sweet, as well as EXTREMELY funny to me that she keeps charming all these NPC women- it's so great, Ragatha gets all the btchs!!!!!!

[the-bar-sinister]

Sandstorms and Starfall (32036 words) by VickytheSnake, thesavagesabretooth Chapters: 8/15

Summary: When Vivi makes a midnight escape from the palace of Alabasta and flees the country in an attempt to get stronger and rejoin the Straw Hat pirates as a full crew member she finds herself unsure of her path forward. That is until a chance meeting brings her face to face with her former enemy, and former hero, Sir Crocodile who agrees to help her on her quest to find a devil fruit for herself.

It's surprisingly easy to make peace with the former warlord, if not to forgive or trust him. But the longer she spends around him, and the former Baroque Works agents helping her find her way through the Grand Line, the more she finds that the troubles in her heart are not the simple ones that she expected to be facing.

catch up here

-

"Croco, baby!" Bon Clay cooed, throwing his arms around him as they entered the room. "And is that the Princess of Alabasta? Did you kidnap her, or did she kidnap you?"

The 'VIP' dressing room they'd entered had just as smokey and boozy an atmosphere as the main club itself had. There was a lighted mirror, and pieces of costuming strewn everywhere, and a couple of empty bottles sitting among the piles of makeup.

Vivi flushed, sputtering as she stared at the flamboyant and unforgettable Bon Clay embrace Crocodile. 'Did she kidnap him' indeed! She rubbed her arm with a deepening flush. 

"It's…it's just Vivi actually. I– I'm a pirate, not the princess anymore. And I kidnapped him, as a matter of fact." 

Bon stood on tip-toes to kiss Crocodile several times on the face, leaving lipstick marks there, before he threw himself on Vivi in turn.

"Pirate Vivi! Oh that has a ring to it, dear. Congratulations!"

Crocodile chuckled, shaking his head. "Glad to see you too, Bon."

Vivi squeaked, nearly toppling but catching herself and Bon with a hug in return as she grinned up at him. "Oh! Ah, thank you! I think so too, Bon! I'm over the moon that you're okay, you know! I was hoping you got out alright!"

He had so much energy, just like that time on the ship, just like every time they'd ever seen him. It was almost impossible not to be a little charmed by him. 

"And I was still in the 'find out if Bon's still alive' part of the rescue plan," Crocodile said, wiping off kiss marks with a handkerchief from his pocket. "How the hell'd you get out?"

"Well, you know me, Croccy, I honestly just walked right out," he said, playing with Vivi's hair for a moment before he released her. "That's after the sweethearts all convinced me that I should. I felt guilty, you know, being able to get myself out and not anybody else."

Vivi tilted her head to the side, flustered but smiling as she came to stand again under her own power. "Sweethearts?" she asked curiously "I heard you helped my captain get out but…who are your prison sweethearts?" 

"Oh now this is a story," Bon laughed. He grabbed a pack of cigarettes off the table. "Is this a private audience, or should we go back to your table, Croc?"

"If you're in the mood for telling stories, let's take it back to the table," Crocodile grinned. "We've got our own to tell you about. But no getting into any fights, eh?"

"I'll behave," he purred, striking a match and lighting his cigarette. "I know you'll spank me if I'm too naughty."

Vivi watched Crocodile, 8 feet tall and cool as his namesake, turn red and take his cigar out of his mouth to cough.

"C'mon," he huffed, waving his hooked arm. "Back to the table. You're a menace in a backroom."

Vivi had gone just as red as he was, sputtering again as she pressed her hand to her face.

"Wow. Uh…I was really missing out on a lot during those Baroque Works meetings, I guess…" she murmured as she pushed her hair out of her face.

Bon Clay just laughed and sucked on his cigarette, leading them out of the VIP room.

-

If it had been a party atmosphere before, it was more than double once Bon Clay joined them at the table. The drinks and smokes flowed freely, and everyone was laughing and sitting close to one another. Sitting himself directly in Zala's lap, arm wrapped around his shoulders, Bon Clay regaled them with the story of his time in Impel Down, starting with Luffy's escape.

Zala had slung her arm around him, just under his leaning back just enough to smoke her pipe between laughter and wide, teasing smiles. She was impressed, Vivi could tell that much, and kept ribbing Bon Clay about leaving a 'perfectly good group of fashionable maniacs' to frolic with mermaids instead of coming back to 'another perfectly good group of fashionable maniacs'.

At some point, Marianne had broken out of her near-silent fascination with his story to murmur her apologies for not being able to save him in the first place even as she excitedly talked up drawing a sketch of his 'big victory in Impel Down over that stupid moron the Warden'.

Vivi couldn't say she wasn't just as enraptured. It was an absolutely crazy story, from the interesting and charming sounding newkama, the Revolutionary Army's own Iva, heroic sacrifices and the bonds of friendship. She found herself leaning forward, with wide eyes and a broad smile as she clapped upon his escape. 

After that, it was their turn to tell the story, specifically he grinned at Vivi.

"So, you're going to tell me the story of how you kidnapped Sir Crocodile and his merry band, aren't you?"

Vivi flushed as Marianne turned her stare to her. "You kidnapped us?"

"W-well," Vivi laughed as she put her hand on her chest. "you know that I'm a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, don't you Bon?" 

Bon laid a finger by the side of his nose conspiratorially. "Not exactly playing that too close to the vest, were you, Vivi?"

Vivi flushed a little, shaking her head with an embarrassed grin. 

"I'm proud of it. No need to, except to people who're gonna drag me back." She rubbed her neck before she continued. "I'd regretted not leaving with them for a long time now, you know? So when I heard about Marineford, about what happened to my captain, I knew I had to find them and join back up instead of sitting at home to be wedded and useless…"

She glanced at Crocodile with a flustered smile. "I needed a devil fruit to be stronger, so I wound up by chance walking into an information broker that was serving as a front for Crocodile's little Baroque Work's Reunion."

"Walked in like a deer in the headlights, poor thing." Zala purred as she took a drag off her pipe. 

"Oho! That ugly little place on Espree? What a dreary place for such a chance meeting." He leaned on his hand, listening as closely as she'd listened to his story. "I have to say, I'm surprised to hear that you even left the Straw Hat. You all seemed thick as thieves, so to speak."

Marianne spoke up. "Pal-ish as pirates, maybe."

Vivi snorted softly, before she broke into a little laugh. Composing herself, her expression sobered as she sighed. "We were, Bon. It's just complicated. Everything in Alabasta, nearly dying— my father. The people's expectations and the personal tragedies I had to wade through, and the fact that I was weak, honestly."

She grit her teeth. "I was too weak. I was already useless to them since I'd come on board. So I convinced myself my country needed me more than they did and I stayed out of obligation." 

Bon sucked in a long drag of his cigarette and shook his head. "Easy to see why you regretted it, then, honey. Followed your head instead of your heart."

"Must be something in the air in Alabasta," Crocodile grumbled, so quiet that no one besides Vivi might have heard him.

They were more alike in that regret than anyone knew, it seemed, she could think of a dozen regrets circling in his head that it could have been.

She nodded, looking up at Bon with a shaky smile. "Yeah. I should have followed my heart from the start, but…there was a lot of pressure. So I let them go and now I have to fix it."

Zala hummed quietly. "Which led you to us, didn't it?"

"By accident. I thought Crocodile was going to kill me for Miss Wednesday daring to show up to the revival of Baroque Works, but he saved me from some marines and heard me out enough for him to agree to help me find a devil fruit in the new world." She smiled wryly. "So I guess in a fashion I've kidnapped the whole of Neo Baroque Works." 

"As good a kidnapping as I've ever seen," Bon teased. He lit another cigarette off the butt of the first one. "Seems like the whole gang's here, except— Where's Mr.3?"

Crocodile rolled his eyes and topped up his drink from the bottle of whiskey he'd had their waitress bring. "Ran off with Buggy the Clown at Marineford. I think he might still think I'm gonna try to kill him again."

"Croccy, your temper!" Bon Clay shook his head. "Or maybe Mr. 3 just has a thing for boys in makeup after all."

Daz snorted and slapped the table. He'd been quiet, but it got quite the laugh out of him.

"Not just boys in makeup," Marianne murmured with a snicker that still sounded somehow serious, "but absolutely boys in makeup."

Vivi reached for the bottle with a little chuckle. 

"Geeze, well, maybe we'll run into him anyway. I don't think anyone expected to run into you here, Bon…" She trailed off for a moment. "A bunch of the under-agents aren't here, my partner sure isn't. But I assume, or at least hope, he's living his best life if Mr. 5 didn't really kill him at least."

"No, he's fine. Got out of crime." Marianne answered as she munched a cracker. 

"The red-head, right?" Bon cooed. "Good for him, he was adorable. I hope he's doing well for himself."

"So you're coming with us, right, Bon?" Crocodile said, pouring him another drink too.

"Croccy, babe, you couldn't keep me away with a stick! Especially since it sounds like you're going to see dear Luffy, right, Vivi? I made a very serious promise that I'd see him again."

Vivi's eyes widened. 

"Well yes, of course! I mean…once I have my devil fruit the plan's to find where the Straw Hats are and drop me off." She flashed him a broad grin. "Funny enough, I promised the same. We can both fulfill our promises at the same time!" 

Bon raised his drink. "Cheers! I'll let them know to cancel my shows. Oh this is going to be fun."

All around the table, Crocodile and the former Baroque Works agents raised their glasses too. In the center of the table, their glasses clinked together, Vivi's among them as she excitedly cheered.

"It really is one hell of a reunion," she was tipsy, happy— overjoyed even enough to say. "I'm so glad to be here with you guys." 

Daz smiled at her, and clinked his glass against hers a second time. "We're glad to have you here too."

She felt Crocodile's hand on her shoulder again. "Damn right. Things are looking up."

Vivi raised the glass to her lips, drinking it down to chase the flush from her face.

Things were looking up, unlike Sabaody, with its fear and trepidation— this, THIS, felt like the start to a great journey. 

-

That night they stayed in rooms in the same hotel that Bon Clay had apparently been staying in, and Vivi had had the choice to bunk up with someone or get her first night of solo sleep since they'd left Espree island.

She'd contemplated grabbing a solo night's sleep, if for no other reason than she imagined Zala and Marianne would bunk together or Zala would head off with Daz. However she was taken off guard when the tipsy 'poison spider' looped her arm over her shoulder and sashayed in that dancer's way of hers down the hall.

A short conversation later, and Vivi found herself agreeing to share a bunk with Zala for the night as they left Marianne contemplating if she should ask Daz or 'take the opportunity to catch some sleep without Zala's snoring'.

Zala was a shockingly affectionate drunk for someone Vivi suspected was high pretty much most of the time from how often she smoked that pipe of hers. Maybe it was the party mood, or the sheer relief of hitting fishman island and a missing friend, but she'd wrapped her arms around Vivi and tugged her down into the bed to nestle her face in the pale blue strands of her hair.

It reminded Vivi strangely of the Straw Hat crew— of Nami when she let her miserly facade fall enough to cuddle with her under the starlight or sleep together to the rocking of the sea. It was comforting, and Zala was comforting in her own way too.

Even a human pincushion was softer on the inside than that one terrible day made it seem. So Vivi had cuddled up with her, feeling the springy locks of her hair against her hand as she settled into bed. 

-

They had a late morning that morning, and there was lots of coffee being drunk at the table in the restaurant where they ate. Crocodile had come in with his arm around Bon Clay that morning and sat closely with him, drooping over his coffee, and puffing at his cigar.

By now, Vivi had seen that he really wasn't a morning person.

Still he had an announcement for the table. "Gonna stay a couple extra days and take on some crew. Bon says he knows a few guys. Might get a bigger ship once we complete the crossing."

Daz chuckled, certainly the most alert man at the table. "I wouldn't say no to a bigger ship, captain, so long as we have hands to crew it."

Vivi was still exhausted and hung over herself, Zala sipping her coffee right beside her as Vivi helped her stay upright with the presence of her shoulder. She downed more of her coffee to muster up the proper enthusiasm for the announcement

"That's really exciting! More crew members means a smoother trip, right? And a bigger ship should have more room to operate, and hold up against storms and stuff, yeah?"

"Yay," Zala murmured into her morning coffee.

Marianne gave Bon Clay a subtle thumbs up and a nod. 

"Better in storms, less likely to be seen as easy picking by some idiot looking for a haul," Crocodile grumbled. "And it wouldn't be a bad idea to have some crewmen who aren't devil fruit users, as long as they're worth the risk."

"You know me, Croccy, I won't bring on anyone I wouldn't trust with my life and yours," Bon cooed, lighting his second cigarette of the morning. "They'll all be properly afraid of your reputation, I promise."

Crocodile harumphed, but let the teasing pass.

"That's a good point," Vivi mused. "I mean, strong swimmers are going to be important just in case. We kind of only have me and Karoo and I'm planning on selling that particular meager talent to swim as soon as I can."

Marianne giggled quietly into her hand. "if the new crew don't fear you sir, you can bite them." 

"They'll get a personal interview with my hook," Crocodile drawled, turning said instrument so that it flashed in a beam of light. "But I know the kind of people you're in with Bon— I won't say I trust 'em, but I'm willing to run the odds on it."

"Ever the gambler, captain," he chuckled. "It shouldn't take too long."

"Where are we going to be looking for a new ship, sir?" Daz asked over his coffee.

"Mystoria," Crocodile responded. He nodded his head to Vivi as he said, "Just short of paradise we used to call it. A bit of a pirate trading hub. Not a lot of choices for where beyond that unless we want to push it until we hit Dressrosa and I do not."

"Dressrosa…" Vivi murmured quietly. "I've heard of Dressrosa. It's a bit too far out, isn't it?"

Zala tilted her coffee back. "I'd take my chances with Mystoria before I took 'em with Dressrosa, honestly. That's Donquixote territory, ain't it?"

Marianne bobbed her head. "If we get a new ship, can I paint it?" 

"Sure you can, Marianne," Crocodile grumbled. Vivi watched him pinch the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, Dressrosa's Donquixote territory. If we can't get any information on a devil fruit before we get there, that's where we're gonna have to go. I ain't looking forward to it."

"The Donquixotes basically control the devil fruit black market," Daz explained, leaning toward Vivi, and offering her more coffee from the carafe at the table.

Zala held out her cup for it with a tired smile. "Weren't you both Warlords, Croc? Can't you just radio the guy and ask for a favor?"

Vivi was getting the impression that things were a little too complicated to just 'call in a favor' if Crocodile was already trying this hard to avoid the guy's territory and he was already a devil fruit broker.

"I get the sense that won't be the best idea, right Crocodile?" Vivi mused. "Instead, let's really hope we can get a lead on something in Mystoria."

"If we're lucky we'll find one there," Marianne smiled thinly. "Before we have to start venturing into Emperor territory." 

"Warned you it wouldn't be easy to find a good one," Crocodile grumbled as he nodded to Vivi. "Zala, one major problem– one of several– is that Doff– Doflamingo is still a damned warlord. A government dog. And I'm once more a wanted criminal. So that's an issue right there."

"Ah, so he's one of those government dogs. Loyal to the end, is he?" Zala muses with a shake of her head. "Good to know. Well. I'll hold off on my desire to see Dressrosan fashion with my own eyes for a while yet then."

Vivi twisted her hair around her fingertip with a thoughtful hum. "You know, if we're lucky maybe Mystoria has one of his secondary brokers with access to his network? We could use his services without him ever knowing, right?" 

Crocodile grinned. "Smart girl. That's exactly what I've been hoping. That we can scoop his contacts and get the goods before he finds out we're looking. Plus, I have some other contacts in Mystoria I'm hoping to pick up for general business. Shake the dust off everything."

VIvi grinned under the praise, Zala lightly slapping her arm with a mutter of 'good job, Viv'.

"All to get the gang back up and running, right? Is there anything I can do to help with that? I mean…as an outsider of course." 

Crocodile's grin widened. He was already looking more awake after his coffee and cigar. "As an outsider? I'll think on it. And I won't hesitate to ask, doll."

Vivi raised her coffee before polishing it off. As an outsider. Not a member of Baroque Works anymore— not quite a 'client' either. It was a strange and amorphous place to be. But no matter what label you could slap on it, she was intent to pull her weight.

Things had gone bad between them before…now it was the time for them to make it up to one another.

"Good man, Captain Crocodile." 

-

Later that day Vivi found herself returning to the ship with Daz, who had a load of supplies to bring on board. Including a special treat for Karoo, who had so far been left 'to watch the ship', as had often been the case with the Straw Hats.

"Sardines," Daz grinned, showing her the tin. "Most of 'em are for us of course, but I figured Karoo would appreciate a couple."

Vivi grinned widely, leaning forward to look at the tin with a whistle. 

"Yeah, Karoo's gonna go crazy the moment you open those, Daz. There's only one thing he loves more than fresh water and it's fish!" She laughed, shaking her head. "You two have really hit it off, huh?" 

"Guess we have," he swaggered along pushing the cart full of supplies toward the ship. "Can't say the same about him and the captain, though."

Vivi shook her head as she helped carry another few bags. "Sadly Karoo holds a longer grudge than I do. He still remembers that whole— whole mess really vividly. And Crocodile dropping me off the palace and everything." 

"Well, you know how it is," Daz said, shaking his head. "Sometimes it's easier to be mad on behalf of someone you care about than it is to be mad on your own behalf, right?"

It sounded perhaps like he was speaking from experience.

"That makes sense, because you care about them and you can't work through the problem in your own head with all the stuff you know about it you can hold onto the anger easier. Right?" Vivi tilted her head. "Have you been mad at someone like that before?" 

He waved his free hand. "Oh all the time. I'm the type who gets mad for other people easy. Part of why I kill people for a living, eh?"

He flashed his bright grin at her. It was such a contrast to think about, the quiet, easy going man was also a famous, deadly assassin.

"Do– do you look into them to find things to be mad about first? Or only accept targets of like, guys who've gone on record saying mean things about Crocodile or someone else you care about?" 

Daz shook his head. "That would make me very picky. Especially before I started working for Crocodile. No, but you're half right. I don't take a contract if I can't see my employer's side of the argument."

"Huh," Vivi adjusted the bag on her shoulder, smiling over at him. "That's honestly really admirable, Daz. Honorable even…"

He waved her off, shaking his head again and looking embarrassed. "I'll admit I'm not unhappy to hear you say that. I turned down Crocodile's offer to join his crew the first time because, well, I didn't want people to see me as a villain."

Vivi blinked at that, curiosity bubbling inside her as she walked alongside him. By and large, everyone in the world saw pirates as villains of one sort or another, even those deemed 'heroes' like Crocodile once was.

But Daz didn't want to be seen that way. "Really?" 

Again he looked embarrassed. "Yeah, silly, I know, especially wanting to be an assassin. But I figured I'd only take jobs killing bad people, right? I was pretty naive back then, but, well. I was a kid."

"I mean, I can kind of see the logic, especially if you were young. If you only took jobs killing bad people then you'd be kind of like a hero in a way yeah?" She winked at him. "I mean…things are a bit more complex but I think you're pretty heroic in your way, Daz. Even Karoo probably thinks so, but that might just be because you feed him." 

"Probably just because I feed him. But I'm glad he likes me anyway." He left her for a moment with the cart while he climbed the side of the ship and lay down the gangplank. He dropped from the rim of the ship down to the ground beside her and shook his head. "I still don't want to be a villain— but I've learned that the world's a lot less black and white than I thought it was when I was a kid."

Vivi nodded up at him with a tentative smile. 

"Yeah, I can relate to that. Things aren't as easy as we thought when we were kids. Heck…they're not as black and white as I thought they might be during that whole mess back in Alabasta. But…well." She offered him the bag. "I think you've done a pretty great job of not becoming a villain. And I'm doing a pretty great job of not thinking like my father." 

He took the bag from her and slung it over his shoulder, grabbing the cart and pushing it up the gangplank as she followed. "Not becoming your father? Color me curious."

Vivi rubbed her neck as she hopped up the gangplank after him. 

"I love my dad," she started with a smile, "but he's got a very specific way of thinking. He knows what's good and just, and he knows what a king and a princess should do. And he knows the traditions, and he knows how to rule in a very particular way. But Crocodile wasn't exactly wrong when he said he wasn't bright— though I'll be kinder and say he's not very good at thinking outside that particular box."

She shrugged her shoulders. "He sees the world in black and white. He let Baroque Works steamroller over him because he thought he could stand up to them with purely peaceful means, while I ran off to at least figure out who you were. To him, my fighting in the streets was just a phase to grow out of, my love of adventure was a phase. Obviously I was in love with Koza, which was the furthest that worldview would bend for him to try and allow that by law…even though he wasn't even right about the assumption! I didn't love Koza, I liked him as my co-leader in our GANG. But Dad couldn't see that." 

Daz paused at the top of the gangplank, offering her his hand up over the last step. "He has a vision of how the world should be, and won't see how it actually is. Am I right?"

Vivi had felt the frustration bubbling inside her since she started her rant, burning ever hotter with every misunderstanding and misconception that came back to her already active memory. That conversation with Crocodile, the news that he'd told everyone she'd been sent off to be pure and untouched by war to her cousin's, and his assumption of her 'deep love' for Koza had rekindled the frustrations that had simmered down with distance and time.

She sucked in a sharp breath as she nodded, taking his hand with a gritting of her teeth. "...yeah honestly you're completely right. That's exactly it." 

He put a large, warm hand on her shoulder and gave her a soft smile. "If you see it that way, it's no wonder you and Crocodile have been getting along so well. Despite Karoo's misgivings."

Vivi felt her face flushing again as she nodded up at him. "...despite Karoo's misgivings, yeah. I suppose we have been getting along better than I expected, huh?" 

Daz chuckled. "He had his arm around you all last night."

That memory, even clouded by drink, leapt right to the forefront as Vivi tripped over the lip of the ship and stumbled onto the deck with a squeak.

"S-so he did. I'm still rather surprised about that." 

Daz caught her as she tripped head long into his lean, solid body.

"Easy there. Didn't mean to spook ya," he chuckled. "I'm not all that surprised by it, though. More surprised you allowed it as long as you did."

Vivi huffed against him, working to get her feet oriented back under her as the warmth bloomed hotter inside her. "W-what do you mean by that, Daz?" 

Daz shrugged. Once Vivi was on her feet, he grabbed some boxes off the cart, starting to unload them on the deck. 

"The captain, for all he doesn't let people in close, is pretty free with physical affection. If he likes you, he'll get in personal. Tends to put off people who are more particular about their personal space."

Vivi brushed her pale blue hair over her ear, before hurrying to help him unload the boxes. It was utterly mundane, even in a wonderland as strange as Fishman Island. Surrounded by fish high above, mermaids and coral, they unloaded boxes.

"I've noticed…so that means he likes me now, huh?" She asked cautiously. 

"Feels comfortable around you," Daz nodded, looking at her from where he leaned on one of the boxes. "Kind of like a cat in that way."

"He's catlike…" Vivi thought about that for a long moment before she whispered. "Huuuh…he kinda is, isn't he?" 

So he'd gotten comfortable around her, the deeply wounded and slow to trust Crocodile had warmed up to her that fast, feeling comfortable around her enough to sling his arm all over her?

She felt another rush of flushed heat when she remembered the times he called her 'doll' or 'Viv'.

"Well , I'm…I'm a bit comfortable with him, I suppose." 

"I noticed," Daz said with a grin. "C'mon, let's go find where Karoo's hiding and give him his fish, eh?"

The look he gave her was mischievous, as if he was holding back some sly, additional comment.

Vivi stuck her tongue out at him. "We'd best, or he's going to come trotting up here to cause trouble! He's smart, he probably already knows you've got a treat waiting!" 

"Probably," Daz chuckled. He waved her along. "C'mon then."

Vivi hurried along after him. Somehow the thing that stuck in her mind was that Crocodile felt comfortable around her, and she around him.

It wasn't like the last 5 years hadn't happened. It wasn't like Baroque Works and the pain Crocodile caused simply vanished, but time moved on. She found herself falling into the same comfortable banter and proximity her old crush so often longed for, smiling and laughing all too easily in his presence…

Daz had noticed it. Zala had, and Marianne too. Everyone could see it.

But that's all it was. Comfort. Friendliness. Understanding and thanks for the help.

As she headed down into the ship with Daz she resolved firmly to push her childish crush into the depths of her mind. This wasn't love, it wasn't even a crush.

She was just happy to be close to them again. For a new chance.

It had to be. 

[bambooshootssoup]

It's not my first time writing an imagines or Headcanon but-

Shoot.... I'm Nervous and hope there's no mistakes in my English, since it's not my first language....

But....

- What if you're the Pro Hero instead and Hawks is your Sidekick?

( Fem! Reader X Sidekick! Hawks)

TW! : kinda major Spoiler, Mild Language, Fluff

.

.

.

Summary :

The Commission took you in not so long after Lady Nagant 'disappeared' for some reason, they taught you to be the best hero with your quirk, and it didn't take a long time until the public recognized you as one of their talented and charismatic Hero

And even so, the Commission always prepares for the worse, they took in a potential person that might become your successor one day, and they eventually become your Sidekick as forms of their Training

- You're Probably older than him since they took you in before him (in my Headcannon), because it took years for training, you're at least 18/19

- He Respect you so much, and always look you up

- Call you with a Formal nicknames (like Miss, Ma'am, or Y/N -san, or Y/N- senpai)

- Always following you around like a little chicken

- a Praise and Headpat is his favorite! If he's doing a great job when assisting you please tell him he's doing great and his performance will goes 📈📈📈

- Always make a joke and tell you about everything even it's useless things when you're patrolling together

- Brags you in front of his fellow Hero friends or even Endeavour ( "Can you see it Endeavour?? I have the best senior ever!! Bet you can't find one just like her")

- Number one Fanboy and probably gonna cry if you're chosen to become one of the top ten

- Supportive junior, always ready to patch you up when you got injured and always watch your back

- When the Commission appointed you to become double agent, he's kinda disagree and insists that he should be the one who become the double agent instead

- But he knows that his strength are nothing compared to yours, and sadly, he eventually gives in and always tell you to be very careful and worried sick almost every day since you left the agency for a while

- He found out that you're fatally injured by Dabi when the Raid happens, and he try his hardest to save you ( he's not powerful as the original timeline)

- "You told me that there's nothing to worry about, but then I found you dying in front of me, what a bullshit, Ma'am, really..."

- He felt very guilty because he thinks he's not fast enough to save you

- Since the Raid, he always stand by your side, refuse to leave you alone, scared that you might faces the worse when he's not there

- He'll actually happy if you choose to retire, it's the best thing that he could ask for, and might convinced you for it

- but still respect your decision if you won't, he still there, do his best to keep you safe, and support you as always

- "why? Because the best Hero got the best Sidekick"

In conclusion : Please don't die

[nitewrighter]

still wondering how will the rest of characters join the new overwatch. Hanzo was kindoff invited by Genji, Cassidy recuited Baptiste, DVa, Zarya and Pharah, Bastion will most likely join thanks to Tolbjorn and they recruit Lucio in Rio as we seen in the PvE gameplay... but what about Symmetra, Kiriko, Hammond and Orisa? Judging by interactions Junkrat and Roadhog might self proclaim as members. I dont think Ashe, JQ or Talon agents will join (except for Sombra maybe as a double agent?)

Well if I remember the end of Hero of Numbani correctly, I'm pretty sure Lúcio mentioned to Orisa that he had some friends who wanted to make the world a better place like she did and that he would be in touch--I also wouldn't be surprised if Orisa would volunteer to join if they ever saw Sojourn on the newsfeeds, since Sojourn is Efi's favorite hero and a major inspiration for Orisa.

Hammond, I don't think will join, because he has a grudge against Winston and is more or less aligned with the Junker Queen. Junkrat and Roadhog I think will also stay as free agents--I think Junkrat basically sidling up to different Overwatch members and acting as if they've been on a team together forever (usually much to the Overwatch agents' chagrin/discomfort) is more of a joke than really Junkrat or Roadhog declaring for a respective side. Like it's also worth noting that even though Roadhog is friendly with Ana, Ana seems to be kind of maintaining her distance from Overwatch itself--which is why she prompted Cassidy to go on that recruitment quest in the first place.

Symmetra, in canon, I think will only get as close to Overwatch as Zenyatta--Zenyatta wasn't with Genji in Zero Hour, and from the looks of the PvE previews, there's some kind of mission to rescue him from Talon, I think?

I also honestly don't know if Hanzo will actually join or if he and Kiriko will end up having their own Redemption Arc/Coming of Age sideplot in Kanezaka---remember, they basically mentioned Hanzo and Hammond in the same breath when they said not all heroes will be strongly featured in the PvE, and Kiriko seems pretty contained to Kanezaka if her cinematic and short story are anything to go by.

[stuckybarton]

Sucker For Pain i

SUMMARY: You were new to the team, but what everyone didn't know was you weren't so new to the God of Mischief. CHARACTERS: Loki Laufeyson x Ex!Reader [Ex to Lovers again?] WARNINGS: Profanities. Suggestive Themes. Slight Angst and horrible self-image. Grammar Mistakes. English not being my first language. [Not Beta’d tho] WORDS: 2,956 CHAPTERS: [1/3] A/N; Life happened and yeah, didn’t have much time to write. Not my best work for this mini-series, but I’m fighting through for this. Hope you guys enjoy~

PART TWO | PART THREE

MASTERLIST || Join the Taglist

"Agent Y/N Y/L/N." You introduced yourself the first moment you were escorted into the compound by Director Nick Fury. Multiple sets of faces both new and old had come to greet you. For a moment you wouldn't even believe that this is was the new life you would find yourself to be a part of from now on.

Years in the job for SHIELD before disappearing off the grid to get as much information about HYDRA, everyone had thought you had betrayed them and you had accepted that they would think so lowly of you after all the near-deaths you had to endure on the job. Even with the mission becoming more of a death wish, you had accepted the role Nick had given you all those years ago and now you were rewarded, immensely. A spot on the Avengers as part of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

The familiar face of Nat was the first to greet you with a hug. A fiercely tight one, it had been so long since you've seen a friend. Then your eyes fell towards the rest of the team; Bucky Barnes, who you had a few close encounters with during your time with HYDRA. You had witness everything they had done to him and stood on trail to clean his name. Steve Rogers, who, with Sharon Carter, had assisted in guarding Steve while SHIELD was still under HYDRA's control. But among the familiar faces, one stood out the most.

Loki Laufeyson.

To many, the man was a snake, a God that had once brought death and destruction in New York. But to you, he was different, this was the man that you had spent your lonely nights with while under the guise of a traitor. It had once just been a physically thing between the two of you, neither wanting to know about each other's lives. You knew he was a God, a man that had wronged the world, but he had never known about you, the woman that had painted yourself as a traitor for the better of the world. The one that had been called every name on the book for the sake of making sure you did your part right.

Then it got serious between the two of you. Admission of love was told between both of your lips. But it was dangerous for you two to be together especially when you were already told by Fury that you can come back to the surface. You didn't know what side he was on, and you did not have the heart to make him choose if the time would come.

So you two parted. A month ago. The pain still throbbing you like an unattended bullet hole right through your heart. It was still so painful to look at him and not remember him crumbling on his knees begging you to stay. The first sob that escaped his lips and forever haunted your dreams. A never-ending loop in the back of your head as your demons screamed at you for breaking an already broken man.

"I for one am happy you're finally here. Another woman to add to an already Man's Man world in the compound." Nat teased glancing towards the other individuals that had come to know the new face. "With introductions out of the way, you've got a lot of explaining to do for the past few years."

You could only smile at your friend. You did have so much to explain to her, things had been murky between you and Clint, but after everything, Nat had refused to believe you would betray them, betray her, and it was finally a relief to be able to return back home, seeing the people that mean the most to you.

"Tell me about it." You muttered allowing Nat to quickly pull your away from the crowd, but it missed your eyes how he was still looking. Ice blue eyes a contract to the burning gaze he had towards you.

Forget about him. Forget about him. You were here for a new opportunity. No him. Never him.

For the next few weeks, everyone had grown to accept you in your new role as part of the Avengers. You kept up with Steve, Bucky, and Sam during their runs. Sam more than happy to finally have someone that had the same pace as him, but only for you to laugh and out run him just to get a reaction out of the high flier. Tony and Bruce had also found a kinship in you, having provided them enough information about HYDRA's experiments and location made most of their missions easier. Then there was Nat and Clint, your confidant in this new life. Every single moment that was not dedicated to a mission was spent with them; may it be movie night or a simple get together outside the compound, often times bringing Wanda and Vision along just to mess with you and call you a 5th wheel of the group.

But among number of members on the team, everyone had noticed you constantly avoided one Thor Odinson and one Loki Laufeyson. The only real time you would even dare talk to either of the brothers would be during training--other than that, you tried your best to avoid them, Loki most especially. Every single moment that would force the two of you to be in the same room, Loki had a glare while you tried your best to avoid his gaze.

Everyone noticed, everyone didn't seem to worry too much. It comes with having a former-villain part of the team. They thought you would eventually get used to the God's presence just as much as they did.

"You ever gonna tell me what's going on between you and Loki?" Nat inquired avoiding your punch.

What you hated the most about sparring with Nat was her capability of multitasking. Talking and snooping about someone else's business while also kicking their ass in the process--this was the predicament you were in right in this very moment.

"Nothing is going on." You muttered landing back first on the mat after being thrown like a rag doll by Nat. Eyes looking at the ceiling, you wondered if it was a good idea to actually come clean to her about her past with the God of Mischief. "I know what he's done to New York and I think you can't blame me for taking precaution when it comes to him."

Nat now comes hovering on top of you, the narrowed eyes and gentle smirk was all you needed to know--she knew it was bullshit. But when she had stopped pushing you for more information, it was enough for you to just change the subject.

"They found Dominic?" You inquired. One of the first big missions that everyone was focusing on was one of the leading Scientist for HYDRA. With the exposure of HYDRA to the world, some of them had moved away and found themselves in much shadier company, much to everyone's radar now spiking.

Dominic Wagner was, in part, partially responsible for the Winter Soldier program in the modern era. One of the pioneers in moving the project into a much younger sets of test subjects. You lost contact with the man as soon as your got back into the surface, but it had also meant a target was on your back when they found out you were a double agent.

"He's in Russia. Wasting away all the funding for the program with parties" Nat points out. "Still a better way to spend the money that abducting kids everywhere."

You nodded, memories of files upon files for the prospects still haunted you to this day.

"When are you taking him out?" You inquired. In your time with the SHIELD, the red in both of your ledger had made you two a hot commodity if the situation present itself as shoot to kill. Neither of you would hesitate. You knew you would now, after everything, but if it means one less bad people in this earth, you would swallow your new morals.

"Fury wants him alive." She pointed out finally standing back up to her own two feet, leaving you on your back, staring at the ceiling in deep thought. "I know as much as you do, we want him dead for everything he has done, but we need him alive so we can get the others."

You nodded, this was one of the few things you had to get used to as part of the team. Death was best solution in SHIELD--at least in your team, not here. As long as you were part of Steve's team, you would need to choose whether or not killing would be the best option. Hope that you weren't so blessed to be given in your time under.

"I get a first shot when we don''t have any use of him anymore." You muttered finally standing back up with Nat's help. Steps faltering at the sight of the God of Mischief, training with the likes of Peter Parker, Sam Wilson, and Bucky Barnes. A weird mix up, but wasn't hard to understand why.

"Why don't you shoot your shots with him for now." Nat teased, finally making you break from staring at the plain black shirt and green sweatshort-clad Loki Laufeyson. "If we try to ignore the death count during his attack, he is sort-of your type in men." Nat wiggled her brows. quick to avoid you as you attempted to swat her in the ass, eyes now turned away from God and his training partners.

"By type, you mean psychotic with possible Daddy-issue? Then you might just be right." You snort.

"I'm offended you think of me as such, Darling"

Jerking your head to the owner of the voice, how the hell did he sneak up behind you without you noticing. You glanced at Nat in panic and like the traitor that she was, made a terrible excuse of being needed in Bruce's lab. Now being left in the man's presence, you could all but remember the last time you had been this close to the man.

Heartbreaks.

Words that you didn't mean.

Words that he didn't mean.

It still hurt you, and you were sure it hurts him just as much, if not more now, finally realizing why there had been a need for a breakup between the two of them all those weeks ago.

"Here I thought I would have someone to trust. You mortals continue to disappoint me." He hissed.

Your eyes glanced at the other training trio, noticing all three of them were in their own little world to even noticed what was going on between the two of them.

"Tell me, Darling..." He whispered, head leaning towards the shell of your ears. The familiar shiver run through your skin as just his voice. Memories of the very things his silver tongue had whispered had you flustered and breathless, more than from your earlier training with Nat. "Was it satisfying to play with a God?"

Before you could even mutter a word, his constantly gentle hand now covered your jaw, emitting a squeak from your lips and stopping you from saying a word. He was never this forceful, nor did he do anything that would hurt you. Was this the true nature of the man you had finally thought you have been the best part of you. To have loved a man that everyone was right to stay away from?

"Or is it shame finally coming to you, to be ever involved with someone like me?"

You tried to pry his hand away from you, but he was too strong--stronger than you could ever think of being.

"Or is this you taking your opportunity to move from one bed to another? Who will it be this time, Y/N? My oaf of a brother or will it be Soldier out of time? Who will you whore this time?"

And you finally snapped. With a resounding slap, all three individuals had heard your attack on the man and Loki finally releasing his hold on your jaws. A chuckle escaped his lips and only brought the first line of tears to fall from your eyes. You never wanted to believe him to be a monster, but here he was, proving her wrong.

"I am in doubt of the foundation of our relationship for the past years, Y/N. I am the God of Mischief and Lies and the only mortal I had ever truly opened to had done this to me. Lied to me for such a long time, lied about the entirety of our relationship."

"You will never understand."

"Oh no," he chuckled darkly, eyes glaring straight into your own. "I understand well enough to know, you would never love someone like me and I deserve every lie and heartache I am enduring because of everything I have ever done in my past."

Before you could defend yourself and the genuinity of your relationship with the God, he had made his excuse. Leaving you to ponder of the true damage of your breakup with Loki, and the aftermath it had now held for the both of you. He was right, you had lied, and either way, their relationship will fall apart because of those lies.

He was the God of Mischief and Lies.

Yet, he did not expect for this biggest lie to break him the most. The separation had been painful, he had always hoped for a better life with you. Then a month passed since your breakup, he sees you, it hits him like a sharp knife to the chest all over again. He experience the pain of a stab to the chest, but it would never compare to the pain of seeing you in this very compound with the truth of your life that you refused to ever open to him.

This was karma coming to haunt him it seems.

It had been well over a week now since the first time he had actually confronted you about everything. It wasn't how he planned for things to go through. He never wanted to hurt you, but he was a monster after all. A monster that his own father had told his people to avoid. A bedtime story to scare mischievous kids into submission.

He had always thought after everything he had to endure, had to do, had to escape, he could finally live a peaceful life. A life to finally start anew. A life where he could finally change for the best. A mortal woman had made him make those ideas come into reality, you had always became the reason why he would never have his redemption in life.

A bitter idea with no possible resolution.

How could he have ever believed that anyone would ever love someone like him? After everything he had ever done, he was never allowed to be loved. You had proved that somehow.

'Mr. Laufeyson, you are needed for a meeting with the team'

Breaking from his little bubble. He sighed finally returning back to reality, into the little comforts the library could give him. The week had been gruelling for him, three individual witnessed the altercation between himself and you. It had spread like wildfire, but thanking the Gods that no one was able to listen to the conversation.

He had to endure most of the questioning. In everyone's eyes, he was, after all, still under everyone's constant scrutiny. A man that no one could trust. But he refused to say a single word knowing you did the same thing. It was better to keep your mouth shut instead of letting people know exactly what had happened. Somehow that brought a smile on his face. He might not share a future with you, but might as well make the most out of making your life a living hell, as much you did it to him.

Shutting the book he was barely even reading, he placed the book back into the shelf before walking his way towards the meeting room.

He could easily teleport, but he preferred to enjoy his moments of peace without his oaf of a brother breathing down his neck or Stark constantly testing his patience with his quips. It also gave him a moment to school his features, he knew well enough about the mission to know you would also be in attendance. Be more invested in this mission than anyone else.

It was a few things he was relearning about you now that you were out in the open as everyone claims you to be. You were a free spirited being that could meld with anyone you were in the area with. He had watched you throw relentless jabs at Tony during your first few days that had the man surprisingly raise a white flag. But the most dangerous thing he had to learn was the familial relationship you had with one Natasha Romanoff and Clint Burton, two people that he kept his distance with the most.

"Professor Snape has finally graced us with his presence."

Loki has learned since joining the team to choose his battle when it comes to Tony. This was one of those moment. Finding a vacant chair besides his brother, he had taken his seat. A big mistake on his part as he finds from across the table, you sat. In between a glaring Romanoff and Barton.

Wearing a smirk, just to get on the two super spies' nerve, he turned his attention right back into the meeting. He begins formulating a few little schemes to not only get on the two's nerved, but most especially yours.

[msmarvelwrites]

The Winter Ghost - Part 4

Info: A Devastating car crash causes you to lose your memory and start over. The only thing left in the wreckage was the horrific nightmares which plagued your mind. If you knew what today would entail you would have just stayed in bed. But you didn't and because of that, everything you knew was about to change.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Y/n

Warning: language maybe?

W/c: 3.5K (sorry not sorry)

A/n: Shuri is probably one of my favourite characters in the MCU so please enjoy her sass ❤️ Thank you again to @cutie1365 for editing and making this readable 💕

You sat in the cold steel lab, next to a pile of machines that whirled in the silent room. Small wires attached to your temples and hooked into the computers. You didn't know how you imagined Shuri, but a small 16 year old girl was definitely not it. This was who was going to be prying and prodding through your brain? I guess this is how S.H.I.E.L.D felt the first day you showed up. The thought made you stifle a laugh under your breath and wish you could only remember.

Every 10 minutes after scanning the hologram which hovered just above the desk she would stop, and ask if you were okay to continue. You would nod, unable to actually create coherent words. The process of regaining your memories was excruciating, to say the least. Shuri made it better though. She was bubbly and kind. Her voice was bright and reminded you of the wind chimes your mother used to hang on the porch.

Another blast of electricity surged through your brain, causing you to double over and yelp.

"Okay, okay, that's enough for today." She announced, crossing the room and placing a hand on your shoulder. You flinched her away desperately trying to focus away the pain.

"No. Keep going." You gasped, steadying your breath.

"Y/n, we have to take this in steps. If we dig too deep we can risk serious brain damage, or worse." She explained. You looked up at her concerned face, tears welled in your eyes but you quickly wiped them away.

"Dr. Shuri, please-”

"It's Shuri. Just Shuri. And no, I’m serious. I think we've retrieved some core memories, but there's no way to be sure." She spoke over you, turning her computer off and carefully removing the wires from your head. You winced as she pulled them out, but you were finally able to breathe right again. “We’ll just have to keep tabs on ya’.”

"How will we know what I remember?" You asked, watching her pack her equipment away.

"You won't," She stated, placing a small alcohol wipe in your hand. You blotted the small incisions the wires left behind. Gross.

"But, we'll keep doing bi-weekly checkups and monitor your behavior. There could be trigger words that Hydra has hidden in your brain. The last thing we need is you going all ‘Winter Soldier’ on our asses." Shuri giggled to herself and patted you on the back. You tried to hide the scream of pain that erupted from her contact. You suppressed a cry and smiled as best you could.

"Thank you Dr- um, Shuri. Seriously, I can't tell you what this means to me." You corrected, getting up and following him out of the room.

"Anytime. This is my new specialty I guess. I think I should consider updating my resume to super soldier fixer-upper."

You walked through the compound slowly, still unsure where everything was. Steve had assigned you a bedroom on the top level, close to Agent Romanoff, or Nat as she had asked you to call her. She and a few other former Avengers occasionally stayed in Wakanda after everything went south in Nigeria.

You hadn't really been asked if you wanted to stay here, but Nat explained that Hydra was keeping close tabs on you. It would be safer for you here while you remembered what it is they needed.

As you continued through the hallways you happened upon a large floor to ceiling mirror. You tried to not look, but your curiosity got the better of you.

Your hair was a knotted mess yesterday morning, so you decided to braid it back. Now, long strands fell from it, curling around your face and neck adding to your dishevelment. Dark circles bloomed under your y/e/c and reminded you of the sleep you so desperately needed. The faded Stark Industries tee-shirt hung loosely on your frame over the black elastic biker shorts Nat had given you to borrow. She promised she'd take you back to your Brooklyn apartment at some point to collect your own clothes. You huffed, trying and failing to tuck the few strands that fell from your loose braid back, only having two more shake loose.

As you rounded the corner you noticed two large metal doors. Loud thuds and grunts were protruding out from behind them. The closer you got, the better you could see through the small window.

Nat was sending a graceful roundhouse kick to Bucky's neck. He stumbled taking a few steps back but ultimately gained his balance again. You swallowed a gasp. Bucky was close to twice Nats size. You watched in amazement as she ducked between his legs, sending a swift elbow to the crook of his knee. He immediately dropped.

Quietly you slipped through the gym door, careful not to disturb the two while they circled each other slowly.

You watched in awe as Bucky threw a punch with his metal arm at Nat, who skillfully dodged it, grabbing his wrist and twisting. With the added momentum she swung onto his shoulders, still grasping his arm and yanked him backwards onto the mat with a loud thud.

"Holy shit!" You gasped, and quickly regretted it as the two super heros looked up. You knew they were on your side, but damn. You didn't know how anyone picked a fight with either of them. They both looked so venomous. Nats face softened when she registered your wide eyed gaze.

"She lives!" The Black Widow announced, laughing as she grabbed a towel, patting her sweat slicked face. Bucky stood then slowly, watching you intently like he was waiting for something.

You grin sheepishly and nodded. "That she does. Damn, Mr. Rogers wasn't kidding around. I still feel like I'm vibrating." You chuckled.

"Remember anything?" Bucky spoke suddenly, watching you carefully. You shook your head.

"No, not really. Shuri said it'll take time. That she recovered something, but-" you huffed, a little frustrated and body still sore. "I got this wicked headache instead." You finished. Bucky chuckled and ran his metal hand through his dark hair.

"So," You began, approaching the sparring mat, "do you think you could show me how to do that?" You ask Nat, referring to her insane fighting skills. Her eyes sparkled and she laughed softly.

"I don't know Y/n," she motioned for you to step onto the mat, "think you got what it takes?"

Her dazzling grin dropped almost as fast as her fist flew through the air. You could tell instantly that the blow would miss you entirely, but in that moment something snapped. You closed your eyes and you felt your whole body burst into flames. Images flashed through your mind and when you opened your eyes, everything moved in slow motion.

You looked to your left, watching the assassin's fist fly closer and closer. You tried to take a step back, but your body seemed to switch into auto pilot. In one smooth motion you blocked her wrist, and almost as fast jabbed her side with a harsh blow.

Natasha stumbled back, stunned. You looked down at your hands, like it was the first time you were actually seeing them. Holy shit.

“Oh God, Nat. I didn't mean to!"

Another fist flew at you, to which you ducked, dropping into a squat position you kicked your right leg out. In the same motion you twisted your body, sweeping your foot across the mat and taking Nat down as she gasped. You looked up at her, eyes wide and panting. What the-

"Fuck." Bucky finished your thought. Natasha rubbed her hip in discomfort as she reached for Bucky's hand, pulling her up.

"What the hell was that?" She challenged. You stood, stumbling back a few paces and raising your hands in surrender. What the hell had just happened?

"I- I don't know..." You stuttered, "Nat, I'm so, so sorry I-'' she waved her hand stopping you.

"I'm fine, don’t ever apologise for kicking someone's ass... Maybe you remembered something after all?" She spoke, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow sarcastically.

"My turn." Bucky rumbled. You would have frozen at the darkness in his voice, but your instincts kicked in. The soldier leaned back on his right foot, sending his left rocketing through the air and towards your face. Fire erupted through your body again, startling you awake.

Gracefully you wrapped your arm around Bucky's impending kick, absorbing the blow. His sheer strength made you stumble back a little, but you quickly slid back into the routine.

"Попался” Gotcha’, you smirked. Bucky looked at you, mouth slightly agape.

“What did you just-” He didn't have a chance to finish as you twisted your body, bringing your elbow up delivering it down onto his shoulder with a loud crack. You finished him off with a swift kick through his legs, tackling him to the floor.

"Ow," he mumbled through jagged breaths. You gawked at him in disbelief, holding his hands above his head, straddling the super soldier's waist. Bucky shifted slightly, realising the compromising position you both were in.

"Gotta hand it to ya, punk. That one actually tickled." He chuckled, as you removed your hands from his wrists. He noticed your body was still unmoving, eyes almost glassy. Carefully he tapped your thigh, knocking you back into reality. You physically shook your head, trying to center yourself.

"What happened?" You asked, still straddling Bucky. He looked at you quizzically, trying to read your face for any answers, but came up short.

"Y/n, I think we need to talk to Shuri again." He offered, picking you up by the waist and helping you off the mat.

"Yeah, I think that's probably a good idea." You said, staring wide eyed at the two former assassins.

When you entered the lab, you noticed Shuri was still there. She paced around the room, picking up sheets of paper, scanning them quickly before she looked at the hologram.

"Not possible." She breathed, still unaware of your presence. Bucky cleared his throat, alerting the engineer to the three of you.

"Holy crap!" She jolted. "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to sneak up on a girl with an endless arsonal of deadly weapons before?" Shuri clutched her heart, steadying her breath.

"No, actually." You voiced. Buck coughed trying to cover his laugh.

"Listen, babe. It's important," Nat started, entering the lab further and hoisting her petite figure onto an examining table. "Y/n just handed Bucky his tight ass without breaking a sweat, so we were just wondering... What the fuck?" She emphasized that last word with a raised brow and wide eyes. Bucky scoffed and rolled his eyes as if to say 'she hit you too.' You thought it was probably the cutest thing in the world, watching the former assassin stuff his hands into his pockets and glare at her like he was a kid.

"Y/n, how do you feel?" Shuri spoke, ignoring Natasha, which didn't bother her as she swung her legs daintily off the table.

"Um, fine I think. I'm a little tired but besides that-"

"What's happening here?" Captain America suddenly boomed, storming into the lab. You flinched, startled by his loud voice. Both Nat and Bucky look totally unfazed while Shuri only rolled her eyes. I guess Captains mood swings were a normalcy around here.

Natasha explained the situation to him while he passed the room, arms crossed and a scowl permanently glued to his face.

"How could you let this happen?" Steve finally barked, pointing an accusatory finger at Shuri. You thought if he had spoken to you like that you would melt away, but the small teen only scoffed and brushed him off.

"Hold up, Boomer. I didn't let anything happen. You brought her to me." She started, looking at you almost apologetically. "You told me to find Y/n's memories. That's what I'm doing. Unless you think you could do a better job with your zero years of education and that dinner plate you call a 'shield?'" She scoffed and went back to looking at her computer.

“You made my shield” Steve huffed under his breath.

“Uh, no. How dare you? I would never, the thing is incredibly impractical. I did make it better though.” Shuri mocked the Captain. Jeesh, the girl truly had balls, that's for sure.

"How do you feel?" Steve questioned. It took you a solid five seconds to realise he was looking at you.

"Oh, I'm fine. Yeah, I'm fine. Just really confused." You mumbled, terrified you were going to set the Super Soldier off again.

“Well I can shed some light, would that be okay with you, old man?” Shuri spoke sarcastically to Steve. He only rolled his eyes and waved his hand motioning her to carry on.

“I ran your blood through a few tests. I don't know how I didn’t see this before. I mean it's right in front of us. You failed the drug test. By like, a lot. Which I thought was weird but to each their own ya know? Anyways, I looked into it and your body is literally emanating radiation, which got me thinking. The only people I know who literally sweat steroids are-”

“She’s a Super Soldier.” Steve interrupted. You stared at him wide eyes and back to Shuri. This wasn't possible. You didn't feel super. Actually you felt pretty crappy, to say the least.

“Not exactly. At least, Y/n doesn't have the same chemical compound as you. Whatever serum she's drugged up on, it's not one I've ever seen before.” Shuri finished, holding a test tube of your blood up and analysing it. You felt like you were going to throw up. You didn't know if it was the chaos of the situation or the fun new information that past life Y/n was a steroid junky but it was enough to make you lightheaded. You stumbled back a few paces, uneasy on your feet. A strong arm wrapped itself around your waist, steading you before you could fall. You looked up at Bucky's warm smile suddenly feeling a little more at ease. Gotcha. He mouthed, and you took a deep breath. I am calm, I am okay… Just, breathe.

Ten minutes later and a bunch of arguing the room finally stilled. Shuri explained how she suspected Hydra had a weapon similar to the super-soldier serum, only more complex. The whole thing made very little sense to you.

"Why would Hydra inject me with the serum?" You argued, skeptically.

"Because, they physically couldn't make another drop. Y/n destroyed the lab with all their research. The one they gave to her was the first of its kind. It's flawed and unpredictable. Without her cooperating, recreating a serum was impossible. However, if they injected it into our friend here, they could monitor how it developed in a controlled environment." Shuri explained.

"So, you think the serum they gave me is their super secret weapon?" You asked, stunned. Shuri only nodded.

“You're the blueprint…” Bucky mumbled under his breath. You didn't know if he had meant for you to hear as no one else in the room seemed to notice he had even spoken.

"And you're sure it's in Y/n's system?" Nat asked, her eyes scanning over you.

"I mean, I guess there's only one way to know for sure. I have this…theory. I could be wrong, but I highly doubt it… Y/n, I think it's time you meet our resident teenage witch."

You followed the team into what looked they're common room. Plasma TVs hung on the walls and large floor length windows lined the room.

There sitting on the long couch was a girl. She looked to be about your age, maybe a little younger. You watched as red ribbons of electricity shot out of her hands and through the air like dangerous waves. The small tv remote hovered mid air as her red tendrils held it.

"Maximoff, front and center!" Steve announced loudly, startling the girl causing her to rocket the remote through the air. It flew past you, an inch from your face as it crumbled into the wall behind you.

"Holy shit!" You screamed, ducking as a delayed reaction and holding your hands over your head.

"Language..." Steve lectured under his breath. You mouthed a 'sorry' and stood up again.

"Didn't mean to startle you, I just have someone I'd like you to meet. He gestured towards you as her eyes followed.

"Hi." You spoke quietly. She smiled kindly and spoke apologetically, "Hi. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to throw electronics at you." She shrugged.

"Occupational hazard when you're around me. It's kinda' my thing." You chuckled at that.

"Perfect. Now that you've met... Wanda, will you please fight Y/n." Shuri spoke dryly. The girl, Wanda, looked from Shuri to you.

"Um, no?" You blurted looking at Shuri absolutely terrified. There was no way you were fighting this chick. She just fired a remote at your head with the ease and strength of a shotgun. Hell no.

"Please, you won't hurt her. It's for science." Shuri shrugged, but you weren't sold.

"Yeah, that's not happening. There's gotta be another way we can test your theory." You shook your head frantically. Wanda looked slightly intrigued, crawling across the couch and perching on the arm rest.

"What exactly would you have me do, Shuri?" She questioned, looking wickedly dangerous. The small engineer grinned, crossing her arms over each other.

"Do what we practiced." She cooed, dryly.

The team behind you took a few steps back. You hadn't realised they had deserted you until it was too late. Wanda created a small red blast of electricity in her palm. You watched as she shaped it like a snowball, carefully dropping it between her hands. You watched in awe as it sizzled and sparked between her fingers.

“I really, really don't like this idea.” You voiced, looking back at Steve and Shuri, who only watched in anticipation.

You turned back to face her as the energy surged towards your body. Before it could explode you crossed your arm over your face protecting yourself from its inevitable blow. But it never came.

Carefully you opened one eye, and then the other. More people now gathered in the common room. You looked around at their faces, landing on Bucky who, unlike his teammates looked horrified. You looked down at your hands then, and what you saw made you choke out a gasp.

Your whole body was glowing with the same red electricity Wanda has thrown at you. Your eyes darted up to her and she just stared at you in shock.

"What the hell is happening right now?" You yelled, terrified and feeling like your whole body was vibrating.

"Exactly what I thought would happen. You've absorbed Wanda's powers." Shuri spoke matter of fact, like this kind of thing happened every day. I guess with these people it did.

"Y/n, are you okay?" Bucky demanded. He felt powerless as he watched the Witch’s energy circled around you. You nodded, reassuringly. Though you didn't know if you believed it.

"Okay, what do I do. I don't want this-" you reached your arms out and with a bright flash of red, the electricity exploded from your hands, throwing Wanda off her seat and hurling her backwards. Quickly she caught herself mid air before she crashed through the window, hovering above the floor.

"Holy crap" She screamed, checking she was all in one piece "I sincerely apologise to anyone I've done that to. That really stings." She winced as she landed back on the ground.

"Shit, I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry!" You crossed the room, making sure she was okay.

Wanda laughed, "You sure do make a great first impression." She spoke sarcastically. You half smiled, not knowing how you could help.

"I guess that's kinda' my thing." You spoke, causing a dazzling smile to dance across Wanda's pink lips.

"This is so exciting! I’m going to run back to the lab and run a few more tests. Obviously you aren't able to control how you absorb your opponents powers. You're going to have to practice before we can try that again." Shuri spoke, tearing you away from your exchange with Wanda.

"I am not doing that again." You argued, horrified that you almost chucked Wanda out a plate glass window.

"Sure you are. Come now, science experiment, let's see what else you can do." You huffed and followed Shuri’s voice.

..…………

A/n: as always, feedback it welcomed!! Let me know what you think 💕💕💕

@projectcampbell

[ooh-ouch-me-bones]

Can you explain a bit about AFO Deku? Is he working for AFO? Does he look up to All Might and want to become a hero? Or is he like a double agent? (I'm curious lol) (nuravity)

((Ooooh this one's fun! Now, most of this is canon to a specific thread I have with @futurexheroes regarding AFO Deku, so it can vary a little (especially with Inko's eventual fate). Now, as a disclaimer: I love Inko a whole lot and think she's a great mother! But I also have fun writing her as... not a great mother, sometimes, for plot reasons. This is one of those times.

So, to start with, this is absolutely a Dad for One based AU. AFO is Izuku's dad, and Izuku was born with AFO's quirk - only a little different. The same way that Inko can pull small objects towards herself, Izuku can pull quirks in from medium distances. He does need to be physically touching someone to give them back, though.

After finding out who her husband really was, Inko made sure to try to keep Izuku and AFO as separate as possible. She forbid AFO from returning to her home, and forbid Izuku from talking to his father. And as soon as Izuku's quirk came in, she drilled it into him that it was a villain's quirk, and faked quite a lot of paperwork saying that he was quirkless.

For the majority of his life, Izuku really did act quirkless, never using his quirk. However, he wasn't entirely obeying the rules. He's been talking to his dad since he was very young. He and his dad actually have a good, almost healthy relationship, too, even if they disagree on lots of things.

Izuku very much wants to be a hero, and AFO actually encourages it. He wants Izuku to see for himself how bad the system is, since his 'smart boy' will surely realize it and come to his side after only a few years, right? Of course.

Now, to the things specific to the one thread: Izuku kept his quirk hidden for years, until the final year of middle school, when he snapped and took Katsuki's quirk. He only held it for less than a day, to teach Katsuki a lesson. After that they made up, kind of, and Izuku explained his situation, and Katsuki said that he would teach Izuku quirk control. That was a comfort, since Izuku is scared of how hungry his own quirk is for other quirks. It's hard to ignore, and got even more so after he gave in for the first time in years and took a quirk. He feels empty without them. While deciding to work together, Izuku introduced Katsuki to AFO, and AFO approved of Katsuki as Izuku's protector.

Unfortunately, Inko found out he was using his quirk, and gave him a heavy dose of quirk suppressants (almost killing him via OD). Katsuki noticed and got her out, messaging AFO about what happened.

Within days, Inko disappeared. Izuku has the house to himself, while his mother is 'away on business in America'. He still works to get into UA, and wants to be a hero desperately.))

[that-bajan-kid]

Boku No Hero Academia Chapter 258 SPOILERS

(I'M SO FUCKING TERRIFIED)

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I have a really bad feeling about this.

We get a flashback to Hawks one week after the hospital tip. Twice is still going to Hawks for help with the whole liberation ideology thing.

Someone, idk who, is narrating about how it took Hawks a month to figure out the different ranks of PLF.

I don't like the fact that some of these guys are stronger than the heroes. Twice is the only one without a partner. THEY HAVE OTHER HEROES AMONG THEIR RANKS. How's that convo gonna go down when the to sides meet?

Hawks is giving some pointers on what Twice should say to the OG LA members while thinking about how royally fuck everyone is if the PLF makes the first move.

Apparently there's some tension going on cause some of the lower ranked members don't like the new ranking system very much. Hawks can use that to his advantage. Just subtly start some beef with in the ranks and watch the chaos unfold from the side lines.

Well isn't that just lovely.

The more I see All Might in these chapters, the more I feel like he's gonna die and that it's gonna be as horrible as Nighteye predicted it would be. And that scares me.

FuN. When Hawks says "he will take over" does he mean Shigaraki are Re-deastro? Cause if he's talking about Re-destro I think Shiggy would have something to say to that.

Oh.

Hawks was here thinking "Damn I need to watch out for Twice since he got over his mental issues and is super OP now." but after spending time with him he realised Twice is actually a pretty chill dude.

Does this mean Twice might get a shot at redemption? Probably not but a girl can hope.

So apparently during one of their tutoring sessions Twice let it slip that Shiggy was undergoing surgery to become super OP cause Hawks is such a nice and trustworthy guy and totally not a double agent or anything.

Anyway, Hawks somehow managed to relay that info to the heroes without getting caught or raising suspicion and now I'm thinking Hawks is probably gonna die. When the heroes show up at there front door they're gonna know it was Hawks who tipped them off.

He's gonna die. All Might is gonna die. There's no denying it now. Honestly with all these red flags I'd be surprised if he didn't die.

Also that kid holding an Endeavour doll but choosing to draw inspiration and confidence from All Might's statue is hilarious.

I swear to All Might if Aizawa or Mic die I'm going to fucking loose my shit.

Wait if Aizawa, Mic and the other U.A. hero course teachers are here then who's teaching the kids?

Never mind.

WHY ARE THEY BRINGING THE CHILDREN INTO THIS?!?!?!

They're evacuating the residents. Shit's about to go down.

DID THEY BRING THE WHOLE HEROICS COURSE INTO THIS?!?!? Cause I'm seeing faces I don't recognise. I see Nejire-chan but I don't see Suneater. Is he hanging back with Mirio and Eri? God this is gonna be an absolute train wreck, isn't it?

So, war is upon us. I have two theories on how this might go down.

While all the heroes/ heroes-in-training are in this city, some of the villains are gonna go after All Might at U.A and kill him while he's trying to defend some students, who end up dying anyway cause angst. The school won't have that many pros around since it looks like most of them are gonna be fighting the war, and Horikoshi has been pushing the "All Might is gonna die soon" narrative pretty fucking hard these last few chapters. Some students are gonna end up dying and Shinsou is gonna have a hero moment that, hopefully, won't end in him dying too.

The heroes evacuated the wrong city and the villains attack a different one. A shit ton of people die before the heroes turn up. Some of the kids end up dying and society completely loses faith in the heroes ability to protect them. Also Shigaraki kills All Might and Midoriya looses an arm.

But those are just theories! Manga theories!

Until next time

[ilonga]

Got some Avatar Au Questions! So I'm assuming mustafar deviates significantly from canon, but how do obi-wan and anakin sort things out? How do obi-wan and Ahsoka escape palpatine's purge? When Anakin joins up with the rebellion, what is the reunion like for obi-wan, anakin, & Ahsoka? (The last one might be spoilery, so I completely understand if you do not want to elaborate on it)

oooh these are questions I’m super excited to answer!!

ok, to start with answering these questions, let’s first explain how Order 66 goes down in this au. 

As I already mentioned, Palpatine has some sort of team up/deal with Vaatu that allows him quite a bit of control over the spirits, and he’s been using this power to orchestrate the spirit attacks starting with Maul so long ago. As the years passed, Palpatine increased the spirit attacks and the destruction and death they caused, and used this to gain more power himself and, eventually, create an army to fight them. At the end of the AOTC-adjacent era, he, despite Padme’s fighting against it (”We have had peace with the spirits, respected them, for centuries--we must find out why they are attacking, not escalate the conflict!”), creates the Grand Army of the Four Nations to fight back against the spirits in the first Spirit War in centuries. He then conscripts nonbenders into the army and places members of Raava’s Order, benders, at the head of various battalions. 

When it comes time for Order 66, Palpatine orders the spirits to posses various nonbenders and has them attack their Generals/Commanders with intent to kill, taking most of them by surprise. Similar to canon, most of the benders are slaughtered while some manage to escape. A lot of the nonbenders are then killed/disposed of, so Palpatine doesn’t have many people who know the truth in the way (and also, he can claim that the benders killed them in their quest for power and turn the public against them even more). In addition, for benders not in battles/in the temple, Palpatine sends the Inquisitors, firebenders that he’s kidnapped and trained in secret over the years. 

Ahsoka in this au (an airbender) is a bit like Jinora from Legend of Korra; she has a strong spiritual connection and connection to the spirit world. Because of this, she’s able to save herself and Obi-wan, and save some of the nonbenders from the spirits’ possession, such as Rex and some others. In the chaos, they get separated and don’t really have time to figure out what just happened, but they both know, to an extent, that Palpatine is behind this, and that most of Raava’s Order has just been slaughtered.

Then, Obi-wan learns that Anakin killed the avatar (Shaak Ti).  

He’s betrayed, and confused, and furious, and in complete shock. He’s also mentally not in a great place; he’s just seen his friends and comrades slaughtered in cold blood. He thinks that Anakin was in on the plan to wipe them out completely (Anakin, meanwhile, doesn’t know about Order 66 and doesn’t learn about it until he wakes up after the Mustafar-adjacent battle), and had been working with Palpatine (because why else would Anakin kill Shaak Ti? How could Anakin kill Shaak Ti?). 

So he goes to confront Anakin, and in a bit of a reverse of canon, Obi-wan’s the one who’s angry and on the offensive here, and initiates the fight. It’s worth noting that Anakin’s also not in a great place mentally; aside from having just killed the Avatar, he thinks his wife and unborn children were murdered because of the Order and that the Order he’s spent years fighting for has just been trying to gain power and suppress nonbenders all along (Pong Krell, anyone?). When Obi-wan attacks him, the conclusion he draws is “Oh no, he was in on the conspiracy too. He was in on the thing with Padme too.” because why else would Obi-wan be attacking him so viciously out of nowhere? So now they’re both sure they’ve been betrayed by the other, and they’re fighting. Usually, in a fight between benders, there’s some tradition, some honor. The swords, a big part of duels according to the traditions of the Order, are used. In this fight, none of that is used. Obi-wan forgoes them entirely; it’s a very much “how could you”, emotional, blunt force, unrefined kind of fight. Obi-wan blasts water, shards of ice, waves at Anakin, Anakin dodges, responds in turn with spurts and jets of fire. Both know each other’s techniques inside and out, obviously; it’s a very even fight. At one point Obi-wan yells something adjacent to his “you were my brother” line in canon, a “how could you betray me, us, like this?”, or a “how could you?”, smthing like that, and Anakin has a split second of distraction because what is Obi-wan talking about? What happened to the Order? 

Obi-wan takes advantage of this distraction and his next hit knocks Anakin unconscious; he then freezes Anakin in a massive block of ice. He flees, then, it all being too overwhelming. He can’t bring himself to strike any kind of killing blow. He doesn’t know, then or later, if he left Anakin there hoping he would die or hoping he would survive. Years pass and Obi-wan seriously regrets the fight, especially regrets that he never found out why Anakin sided with Palpatine, or killed Shaak Ti. He realizes that there must have been something he didn’t know, and wishes he hadn’t attacked him so rashly and had at least gotten answers.

As for Anakin, Palpatine’s lackeys find him hours or maybe even days after the fight, and get him out of the ice. The time spent in the ice leaves him with frostbite and he ends up having to get three limbs amputated (his right arm and both legs). It also leaves him with permanent tremors. He gets prosthetics, which he can power with a low level-lightning type technique, and armor and a helmet, which Palpatine forces him to wear. He’s forced to wear the armor for a couple reasons; to hide his identity as a former member of Raava’s Order and a beloved hero, to hide the tremors, which Palpatine views as a sign of visible weakness, and because Palpatine enjoys the feeling of owning Anakin and the armor is a way to mark that.

Anakin physically joining the Rebellion happens right after he tries to sacrifice himself in Palpatine’s throne room so that Luke can escape, and though he manages to take out all of the guards/inquisitors and hold off Palpatine for some time, he gets blasted with a hell of a lot of lightning and fully expects to die right there. Luke goes into the Avatar state and gets them both out, and is able to do enough healing so that Anakin survives the encounter. He gets them to the Rebellion and basically? Begs Obi-wan to heal Anakin. 

“I know he’s Vader, I know what he’s done to you, to the Order, but he sacrificed himself to rescue me and he’s dying, you have to help him--”

Obi-wan, of course, does, and has been living with his regrets and missing his little brother for so long that he probably would have done it without the begging anyways, at the very least so he can finally get answers from Anakin.

So Anakin is being slowly but surely healed by Obi-wan (it probably takes him months to recover tbh), and there’s plenty of angst because Obi-wan sees the extent of the injuries he caused and guilt, and because the first time Anakin wakes up--

Well, Anakin fully expected to die, right? And now he’s not dead which makes no sense, he was ready to die (and he wakes up and he thinks, even if I’m not dead now, I’ll be dead soon enough--either the lightning will do me in or Obi-wan will, if he had any sense he’d kill me--obviously he’s not mentally in a great place but being tortured and manipulated and slowly fighting back against the Firelord for years will do that to you), but it’s also good because he’s been Blue Spirit, a double agent, for years ever since Luke revealed himself to Anakin, and this means he has a chance to give the vital information he has on the Empire’s attack plans, ship schematics, etc. 

So the first time he wakes up, when he can finally get his eyes to focus, he gets Obi-wan’s attention and basically starts babbling about attack plans, schematics, weaknesses, etc etc. And Obi-wan’s like “no, wait, you’re still weak, you need to recover, go back to sleep--” and Anakin’s like “no time, you need this information before I die--” and a stressful time is had by all. The next time he wakes up, he’s a bit less all over the place and it slowly starts to sink in that he is going to survive after all, so the urgency dies down a bit. Obi-wan gets the full story of how Palpatine manipulated him, what happened that night, etc, and Anakin gets the full story of what exactly happened during Order 66, what actually happened to Padme, what happened to his kid (kids, he has two--major shock is had). Ahsoka is the one to tell him that Palpatine was controlling the spirits all along. 

He’s surprised, of course, but also somewhat resigned. The grandfatherly veneer of Palpatine has fallen further and further away as the years have passed and his true nature has been clearer and clearer; Anakin has known for a long time that Palpatine is not the good guy (hence his personal rebellion).

Ahsoka, like in canon, manages most of the intelligence networks of the Rebellion in this au. So she’s been getting and processing Blue Spirit’s messages for years, and when she realizes it’s Anakin--well, lots of emotions all around.

Obi-wan and Anakin do mend their relationship, as do Anakin and Ahsoka. Some of the kids Anakin saved over the years are at the Rebellion and recognize him--this also helps things along. And his information as Blue Spirit has saved many lives. 

Obi-wan has been Luke’s waterbending teacher for a while, and Ahsoka has been his airbending/spirit world teacher, so eventually Anakin does take his place as Luke’s (and Leia’s!) firebending teacher.

Thanks for these asks and sorry for making the response so long!! Honestly I think I’ve been hoping for these questions, I’ve been wanting to talk about how this goes down forever :) 

shorter summary: Obi-wan encounters Anakin just after Order 66 occurred and Anakin’s killed Shaak Ti. Believing Anakin to have been in on Palpatine’s plan all along and having betrayed them all, he attacks and initiates the fight in something of a reverse of canon. Anakin, seeing Obi-wan attacking him, comes to the conclusion that Obi-wan must have been part of the Order’s conspiracy (that Palpatine has convinced him of), which he would have never believed of him but why else would Obi-wan be attacking him like this? Neither of them are in a particularly good state of mind or particularly mentally sound during the fight. Obi-wan knocks him out and freezes him in ice, then flees. Palpatine finds Anakin a sizable amount of time later, and Anakin is left with three amputated limbs (which he gets prosthetics for) and permanent tremors (which the Vader armor hides). 

Obi-wan and Ahsoa escape the purge because Ahsoka has a spiritual connection akin to Jinora’s in LOK, and is able to purge the spirits from some of the army such as Rex. In the chaos, the two are separated.

Obi-wan and Anakin reunite first, when Luke brings Anakin back to the Rebellion severely injured from the confrontation with Palpatine. He begs Obi-wan to heal him and Obi-wan agrees. It takes some time for Anakin to move past the fact that he’s not dead, but eventually, he and Obi-wan communicate, they both get the full story of what happened twenty years ago, and their relationship starts to mend. It’s faster once Obi-wan and the Rebellion realize that Darth Vader and Blue Spirit (the Imperial double agent whose information had saved so many) are one and the same. Same with Ahsoka, although it’s a quicker fix for her and Anakin’s relationship since she only found out about his actions secondhand, from Obi-wan, and it makes so much more sense once he gets his side of the story, and because she’s the one who’s been processing his info as Blue Spirit. 

hope you liked!!

[zutaralesbian]

I'm greedy... all the questions for the ask meme

I’m sorry that this took so freaking long. Between thinking about my answers, work, school, and my laptop getting pased around, it’s been hard to get it done lol. But thanks so much! 

I answered 6, 11, 25 here: http://lukesandwalker.tumblr.com/post/173277826118/6-11-25

And 30 here: http://lukesandwalker.tumblr.com/post/173275820343/i-would-like-30-please-because-i-live-to-see

But here’s the rest of them:

1: Top 3 heroes/protagonists

To narrow it down a little, i’m going to consider this as meaning MAIN protagonists.

Luke Skywalker (Star Wars) (Surprise surprise) I’ve already gushed so much about why I love Luke so i’ll keep it short this time. But I love that he’s a male lead in a science fiction movie series heavily geared towards dudebros that defies so many of the toxic tropes that usually come with male leads in that genre. Luke’s journey is about refusing to succumb to the darkness even while people from both sides of the conflict are urging him to do so. And he ultimately wins via compassion and his belief of inherent goodness. He’s a male lead that’s ultimately led by his heart, which is so refreshing. I remember being so surprised by how much I loved him the first time I finally sat down and watched Star Wars.

Buffy Summers (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer) Buffy was one of the first female protagonists of a TV like BTVS that I was ever fully invested in and she was a good place to start. Buffy doesn’t fall into the typical trope of being emotion-free or hateful towards other women like so many people believe a “badass” female character like her needs to be. Buffy loves and cares about her friends and family and even craves romance, and none of that detracts from the fact that she’s also the slayer and kicks ass. She’ll always be one of my role models.

James Flint (Black Sails) I’ll admit that calling Flint a hero is a stretch since…he’s done some bad things, but I couldn’t not include him in this. He’s such a rarity…I don’t know of any other lead protagonists that are like him. The writers could have easily made him the typical straight douchebag that are usually in shows like this (a la Jax Teller). But instead, he’s a gay man with a lot of righteous anger towards the world for the unfairness of homophobic society. And he’s NOT ashamed of being gay! One of his most iconic speeches is about refusing to apologize to England because in his mind, he did nothing wrong. And he has multiple profound relationships with women that do not boil down to him wanting to fuck them and are actually filled with respect. I just….James Flint man. I could talk about him all day.

Honorable mention to Harry James Potter, who I love a lot as well.

2: Top 3 villains/antagonists

Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender) One of the most complex and well written female villains ever. She’s never redeemed, but she was still given enough genuine qualities and backstory to feel sympathy for her. But at the same time….she’s also just really twisted and awful at times. “Don’t flatter yourself. You were never even a player.” How iconic??? (Also, the reason Zuko is not on this list is because I don’t really consider him a villain. At least not in the classic sense).

Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars) He scares the shit out of me and actually has enough of a story and background to be interesting. Kylo Ren who?

Cersei Lannister (ASOIAF/GOT) Such an evil bitch….but once in a while, I find myself rooting for her lol. She’s the only typical villain that I really love in ASOIAF though.

3: Top 3 supporting characters

(Oh god….in no particular order. And i’m not even 100% sure of these answers lol. And for this, i’m assuming they just mean not the #1 main character.)

Bonnie Bennett (The Vampire Diaries)  I don’t talk about her much anymore because i’m pretty much over TVD but she was the first character I ever stanned in a typical fandom way and therefor will always have a special place in my heart. I’ll be forever angry about how that demon show treated her.

Sansa Stark (ASOIAF/GOT) I’m not sure who would be considered the main character of ASOIAF. (I think Ned might have been the main character in the first book but after that….idk) but i’m going to go on a limb and assume that Sansa would be considered a supporting character lol. I love my survivor wolf daughter who is underestimated but manages to outsmart everyone.

Max (Black Sails) I pretty much love all of the female characters in Black Sails but Max would have to be #1 for me. (Although Eleanor is a veeeeeery close second. And sometimes they’re tied). I love how much of an enigma of a character she is. She’s manipulative but also one of the most genuinely compassionate characters on the show. And she has one of the most profound overall arcs on the show imo. Also….a lesbian icon.

Honorable mentions: Eleanor Guthrie (Black Sails), Tara Knowles (SOA), Arya Stark (GOT/ASOIAF), Michonne (TWD), Faith Lehane (BTVS), Leia Organa (Star Wars)

4: Top 3 background characters or side characters (Skipping this one because I honestly have no clue what to put lol)

5: Top 3 romantic relationships between characters

(So….i’m only going to include relationships that are already explicitly romantic in canon. So that excludes ships like Zutara, Bamon, and Fuffy).

Max & Anne (Black Sails) My tender pirate lesbians. I love them so much

Chloe & Max (Life is Strange) The childhood best friends to lovers trope. They’ll literally go to the ends of the earth for each other.

Ian & Mickey (Shameless) Siiiiiiigggggghhhhs. I hate Shameless.

7: Top 3 fictional families

The Starks (ASOIAF/GOT) It’s a hard life being a Stark stan but…I really do love my tragic wolf family so much. And I only hope that the surviving members of it can one day find some semblance of peace.

The Skywalkers Obviously not a traditional family, but I love my trashy dramatic space family. And i’ll forever hate Disney for killing them. No Star Wars without Skywalkers imo.

The Weasleys (Harry Potter) Weasley stan forever and always. They took Harry under their wing as much as they were allowed to and probably would have adopted him if Dumbledore had let them. And they did all that even though they weren’t well off themselves.

8: Top 3 fictional parents

Ned & Catelyn Stark (ASOIAF/GOT)  (Although if i’m being honest, mainly just Catelyn lol.)

Stef & Lena Adams-Foster (The Fosters) My beautiful lesbian moms

Jack & Emily Spier (Love, Simon) Going by the movie and not the book. But they were lovely

9: Top 3 fictional siblings

Luke & Leia (Star Wars) My beautiful space twins who absolutely adore each other

The Starklings (ASOIAF/GOT) And this includes several different combinations. Arya/Jon, Sansa/Arya, Sansa/Jon, Robb/Jon, Robb/Bran, ect.

The Gallagher siblings (Shameless): They’re trashy and downright awful to each other sometimes but…I still get the feels. My favorite pairs are Fiona/Lip, Ian/Lip, and Fiona/Carl.

Honorable mention to Damon/Stefan from TVD (Trash, trash, trash but still….feelings). And once upon a time Bellamy/Octavia would be on this list if I hadn’t stopped caring about The 100 lol.

10: Top 3 child characters

(I’m going to define this as meaning really little kids, not teenagers)

Lilo (Lilo & Stitch)

Rickon Stark (ASOIAF)

Boo (Monster’s Inc)

(I feel like I cheated my having 2/3 of them being Disney characters but…I don’t have a lot of child faves)

12: Top 3 fictional animals/pets

Appa & Momo (Avatar: The Last Airbender) (They’re both pretty prominent and sort of go together so i’m counting them as one.)

Hedwig (Harry Potter) (RIP :( )

Ghost (ASOIAF/GOT) (Along with all of the direwolves tbh. Where is Ghost @GoT?????)

13: Top 3 fictional locations

Hogwarts (There are sooo many HP answers in this, I know. Even though I don’t like J.K R*wling anymore, I can’t erase the years i’ve spent loving this series).

Ba Sing Se (Avatar: The Last Airbender) (Not so much because of the location itself but because some of the best and most intense episodes of ATLA took place in that location).

Winterfell (ASOIAF/GOT) (The origins of my wolf family :( Although….my love for it probably stems more from the books now.)

14: Top 3 fictional gadgets/devices

The Skywalker Lightsaber (Star Wars) (RIP…..I hate Disney/Lucasfilm)

The Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) (Not really a device or gadget since it’s a space ship but….i’m going to go ahead and count it anyway.)

The Marauder’s Map (Harry Potter)

15: Top 3 character backstories

James Flint (Black Sails): I will never get over the fact that not only did they make their lead character on a violent TV show like this gay, but that they also made a lot of his motivations revolve around his sexuality and the loss of a man that he was in love with. Sometimes I wish I went into this show completely blind because the “Flint and Thomas reveal were in love” reveal would have hurt and shocked me in the best way. It’s one of the biggest reasons why Black Sails is one of my favorite shows despite the issues I do have with it.

Zuko (ATLA): His backstory is really sad but his character wouldn’t have been the same without it. The two prominent episodes that showed his backstory (The Storm and Zuko Alone) are both in my top 5 ATLA episodes. It also makes his eventual happy ending seem even more rewarding.

Severus Snape (Harry Potter): I’m not a Snape apologist but i’d be lying if I said that the reveal that he was a double agent against Voldemort the entire series didn’t fuck me up for months after I finished reading Deathly Hallows lol. I did not see it coming, I was so shocked.

16: Top 3 characters who die

Eleanor Guthrie (Black Sails) Sometimes I legit have to pretend that she didn’t die in order to fully enjoy my Black Sails experience tbh. My biconic queen deserved so much better :( I’ll die mad about it.

Poussey Washington (OITNB): Her death was the final nail in the coffin of me caring about that show. They killed her off when she was finally getting some semblance of happiness :(

Tara Knowles (Sons of Anarchy): All she wanted to do was protect her sons and she was rewarded for it by being brutally murdered by Gemma and being taken for granted by Jax for seasons. FOREVER BITTER

17: Top 3 non-human characters

Ahsoka Tano (Star Wars: The Clone Wars/Rebels)

Katherine Pierce (TVD)

Rebekah Mikaelson (TVD/TO)

(Lol I feel sort of wrong for including any TVD characters that aren’t Bonnie Bennett since….I really don’t care about the majority of it anymore. But once upon a time I did love Katherine and Rebekah.

18: Top 3 fictional worlds/universes

The Avatar Universe/Four nations (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

The Wizarding World (Harry Potter)

The Star Wars universe (IDK what else it’d be called lol)

19: Top 3 animated series

Avatar: The Last Airbender: I’ve loved this show since I was a kid and still love it immensely. Such a good show with a great plot and amazingly developed characters. The only thing that sucks about it is the majority of the canon romances lol)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars: I’m not a prequel hater but….this show had soooo much better writing in terms of developing Anakin’s character. Also….Ahsoka Tano! And the tragic friendship between the two of them will forever make me emo.

And I think the third would just be comprised of some of the cartoons I liked as a kid. Hey Arnold!, Rugrats, Kim Possible, American Dragon, Spongebob, The Wild Thornberries, and ect.

20: Top 3 live-action series

Black Sails

Buffy: The Vampire Slayer

How I Met Your Mother (even though that god awful finale ruined it for me for a long time)

21: Top 3 animated movies

(Ooooooh boy. The only one i’m 100% sure of it the first one. And yes, I know i’m cliche for it lol)

The Lion King (Disney)

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (Dreamworks) This movie is sooooo underrated

Anastasia (Idk the studio that made it…but I know it’s a Don Bluth movie)

22. Top 3 live-action movies

(Again, not completely sure of my answers here….there are a lot of movies that I love)

Love, Simon God this movie was so gpoy

The Parent Trap (1998)

Juno

23: Top 3 books

The Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling: Siiiiiiiggghhs

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie Evvvvvveeerrryone should read this book! It has such a good f/f slow-burn romance.

Honorable mentions: The Storyteller by Jodi Piccoult, The Darkest Powers series by Kelly Armstrong, The Outsiders by S.E Hinton, A Song of Ice and Fire series by G.R.R Martin

24: Top 3 comics/webcomics

Top 3 obscure series/movies/books I recommend

Idk I don’t think I have any answers for this one either? Most of the stuff i’m really into is at least kind of known.

27: Top 3 musicals or plays

The only musical i’ve seen in person so far has been The Lion King. But it was fantastic. I also watched all of the A Very Potter Musical plays on YouTube if that counts.

28: Top 3 songs from musicals

I’m going to go by musical movies for some of these.

Breaking Free (High School Musical) (Lol)

Summer Nights (Grease)

Defying Gravity (Wicked) (This one is actually from a musical. I listened to it on YouTube and loved it).

29: Top 3 funny moments in fiction

1.That scene in Prisoner of Azkaban when Ron used a phone for the first time to call Harry over the summer and ended up screaming into the phone when Vernon answered it lol. (Harry Potter)

2. Katara: You’ve been hallucinating on cactus juice all day, and now you lick something you find stuck to a wall of a cave?!

Sokka: I have a natural curiosity (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

3. All of the Catherine and Henry scenes in that one episode of Regin when Henry accidentally killed that noble lady and they were trying to cover it up. (Reign)

31: Top 3 heartwarming moments in fiction

1. Sansa and Jon’s reunion (Game of Thrones)

The only good Stark reunion on the show so far (Sansa and Arya were cute until they ruined it with that bullshit storyline). It has everything. The slow approach after they first see each other, the initial shock slowly melting away as they leap into a hug, all while the Stark theme plays in the background. I have hopes that all the Starks will get better reunions in the books but until then….I truly do love this scene.

2. Zuko and Iroh’s reunion (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

This scene makes me emotional….pretty much every time I watch it. Zuko approaches Iroh cautiously out of a shame for his betrayal of him and because he’s positive that Iroh is going to be furious with him and reluctant to forgive. But then he doesn’t even have to fully finish his apology before Iroh is pulling him into a hug. It’s the unconditional love that he never got from his biological father.

3. Flint and Thomas’ reunion (Black Sails)

The fact that the very last shot of James Flint was him reuniting with the man he loved after ten years of believing him to be dead is something that I will never forget. 

(I realize that all of these moments are reunions but….ohhhh well.)

32: Top 3 scary moments in fiction

I can’t really think of too many scary moments because I don’t watch a lot of horror stuff. I’m sure if I thought deeply about it I could come up with stuff from shows like The Walking Dead or Hemlock Grove but since it’s been so long since i’ve watched either of those shows, my mind is coming up blank.

But I will say…that scene where Matilda and Miss Honey were trying to escape Trunchbull’s house always used to scare me as a kid lol.

33: Top 3 awesome moments in fiction

(Another one where i’m very unsure of my answers because there are a lot of awesome moments in fiction that I love. But i’m just going to list the ones that come to mind first.)

1. Zuko leaves the Fire Nation and tells off Ozai (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

For so long, all I wanted was for you to love me, to accept me. I thought it was my honor I wanted, but really, I was just trying to please you. You, my father, who banished me just for talking out of turn. My father, who challenged me, a thirteen-year-old boy, to an Agni Kai. How could you possibly justify a duel with a child?

The scene goes on longer than that but i’m not going to post the full transcript for the sake of not making it insanely long. But I loved it because it was a full display of how far Zuko had come in his character development. And he finally, after almost the full duration of the series, came to fully understand that his abuse wasn’t his fault. And got to fully confront his abuser. I just…this scene is so important. 

2. Max’s speech to Anne in 4x08 (Black Sails) 

I remember when I first met Eleanor, how stunned I was. A woman who spoke the way she did, who had no fear of the world or the men who reigned over it.mWhen I became her lover, I watched the decisions she made and resolved to learn from them. When I became her rival, I watched the mistakes she made and resolved never to repeat them. But at the end, when I felt I had surpassed her in every way, it seemed as though there was something she was still trying to say to me. Surrendering everything she had sacrificed so dearly for, because it would have come at the expense of the one she loved. She was trying to tell me, I just could not hear her, about what is truly important. I said no to Marion Guthrie’s plan, despite having no alternative and at the risk of losing the entire endeavor, because I refuse to situate a man in a position where he might interfere one day with my ability to repair things with you.  You are the bravest person I have ever known. The truest person I have ever known. And I betrayed you and it sickens me. I’m so sorry for trying so hard to protect the wrong things. For failing to see that there is nothing important that does not include you.

I’ll always be upset that Eleanor died and that this was the last Maxanne scenes of the series (side-eyes the finale) but I will forever love this scene because it represents so much about what I love about the Maxanne and Maxanor relationships. The fact that Max, a lesbian character, had her arc and development throughout the show so beautifully shaped by her relationships with two women (both of whom were her lovers at some point) will forever make me emotional. 

3. Luke refuses to fall to the dark side (Star Wars)

Never. I’ll never turn to the Dark Side. You have failed, Your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.

I’ve already talked at length about why I love this scene so I won’t go into it too much. But it represents everything I love about Luke’s character. The ending of his journey is not the typical violent fest that most male protagonists in this genre end with it, it’s refusing to fall into the same trap that Palpatine had lured Anakin into years before. I just…freaking love Luke Skywalker. 

[agentofagony]

I know this is a joke online that I should ignore but agent of asgard loki hurts my heart so much because I relate to his struggles way too much so Imma rant a little I hate the limitations for the comment so I'm reblogging it instead

This would've been a lot funnier if it were prodigy instead of zelma because in that arc loki was a power hungry manipulative liar who were going to steal wiccan's powers for himself and put everyone's life in danger but felt bad about it later then had the nerve to ask prodigy to make out with him then took it back once he got rejected.Or the older comics Loki with sigyn since he did force her to marry him.

This arc with Zelma how ever he was generally actually trying to help but you have to read the whole comics appearance with him to get that he's trying to be a hero and help in his own way.there was a war[aka war of the realms  ] about to happen and he feared earth sorceress won't stand a chance against malekith's army once the war make it to earth with the whole dragon line .But since he's really not trusted he had to steal the sorcerer supreme to find said spell again you already seen how strange overreacted anyway which was very understandable.Because again he couldn't just go to strange and tell him hey dude can you find this spell and we need to work together to get it then let me take it and use it to fix the magic ? Also mephisto is planning to bring hell on earth so be prepared for that .Loki is still a reincarnation of the evil old loki for all he knows this might be a plan to get him to find the spell then backstab him and take the magic for himself. 

I think he was also planning to deal mephisto too since he can outsmart  him pretty easily and he already won on him once then give the sorcerer supreme back and warn strange so he can be off to do the whole final host joker ripoff over the top evil persona Act to get the avengers back together for the war of realms.or maybe he did get a little too attached to the job and wanted to keep it who knows?why wouldn't he get attached to a job where he gets to help and has a friend on his side anyways.It's everything he ever wanted that's his whole character thing.

In the whole WOTR lead up and end arc Loki was busy trying to help since he really wanna be a good guy but since he's a dumbass who has no idea how to be good and nobody around wanted anything to do with him to teach him how. he did it as a double agent of asgard since being a villain is the only way he knew how to help.Also attempt to make his mother proud which is very weird since she was going to throw him under the bus for a perfect future but then again this is Loki he tried to get affection from laufey of all people so maybe he just want some affection doesn't matter who gives it or whether they're abusive or not.

I know you don't have to care about his motivation because he did get many people in harm's way with his stupidity and also stole a strange's life nor I'm saying you should forgive him. I'm just explaining the character's motives because you seem to lack understanding about his motive which is the part that makes me wanna rant.Sorry if you already know and still wanted to make that joke tho.

While I'm rooting for Loki to get a male love mostly to assert his bisexuality/pansexuality on the other hand he and zelma can make a cute couple .Maybe she can be his common sense since he doesn't have one and needs someone to think of things his dumbass overlooks.The issue here is Loki is very secretive due to fear of rejection and zelma seems to hate people keeping secrets.He's also very clingy,child like,need to be babysat most of the times and Zelma has work to do.And whist yes he's trying to be good he still somewhat of a shitty person and kinda of an asshole at times.Also who knows if he's gonna keep trying to help and protect those who he cares about or get very done from everyone and say "you know what? fuck you people I'm going back to my bullshit and I'm gonna be 10 Times worst this time " like the obsolete man child he is.

That's why I personally don't want them together.loki might turn evil at any moment if people kept making trying to help hell, made him feel so small and attempt to murder/harm him at any given moment without giving him the benefit of the doubt.

If he's gonna be in a relationship I'd rather he date someone who's unhealthy like him so they both can be shitty together . Zelma is way too sweet for him.Like idk amora?

🤦🏾‍♂️embarrassing

[bambooshootssoup]

Assorted soft HCS

(Headcanon for the 87787262727 times)

Another series of Sidekick! Hawks X ProHero! Reader

TW : slight angst

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I don't know, I just like the idea of him being Reader- san Sidekick

What it's like to have a relationship with your own trusted partner a.k.a Sidekick?

I'm not quite sure but he prefers that no one knows about your relationship, he doesn't think he's ready to accept all of those teasing from the others that would make him blushing mess ( I really made him shy in this one aren't I?)

But at the same time, he wants to brag about it, because he adores you and respects you at the same time, it would be a honor for him if the feelings are mutual

He will never forget the day when you show your best performance in front of everyone, the moment when you fought the villains badass -ly and still manages to save everyone unscathed

He always offers himself to accompany you everywhere, he just likes being by your side so much, he wants to see you in action as much as possible, he even offers to fly you everywhere you want

But he loves competitions too, he always makes a little bet with you, like who's got to save civilians more, or whose the fastest one who got to the crime scene first, etc..

He never let anyone underestimate him, especially you, he would never let you down and thinks that he would stay as your forever sidekick, and maybe one day, he could actually surpass you

He wants to be a hero that stands by himself, not behind someone's name, and you cannot help but support him right??

On days off, he'd like to spend his time with you, privately preferably.... He cannot let anyone see him in such a lovey dovey state, it would affect your reputation and he cannot risk that for sure

And he needs time where he could hold you close in his arms, and kiss you all over your face without having to worry about the media or your fans

When he's about to hug you or initiate a PDA (there's actually times that he couldn't help but want to hug you out of the blue, but-) he always and... Very always ask for your permission like "may I hold your hand, miss? " Or "can I hug you right now? "

And sometimes, both of you will have matching things, like merchandise for each other (like simple keychains or bookmarks) you know, like a youngster who falls in love, and of course an attack combination of you two even if your quirks are not even a synergy for each other

And that's the happy part-

As for the slightly angst part (you may skip it if you want to)

Did you remember when the Hero Public Safety Commission appointed you to become the double agent and you got badly injured?

(In this timeline, you're the one who's stronger)

Well, the only person (kind of outsider even though he's not one) that knows about the operation is him, one and only.... Besides you and your superiors

It's actually because you're acting strange lately, and you get called by the Commission more often than usual, there's one time that he slips one of his red Feathers inside your pocket (or an equipment pouch if you have any on your costume) and 'accidentally' overheard everything that happens on the meeting

His eyes are widened when he hears about your mission details, infiltrate their base? Gain their trust and information gathering? Form prevention strategies? All by yourself?

And of course you accept it without any hesitation, no matter what the risk is, you're ready to sacrifice anything, your life included.

At that moment, he really wanted to barge in and drag you out of there, of course he cannot let you do such a thing, especially when you have to act individually

And he's actually trying to stop you from going, and even tells you that he's the one who should have become a spy instead of you, saying that your life is more precious than himself....

You assure him that there's nothing to worry about, everything will be fine if you stick to the plan and instructions from the commission, and rush yourself in a hurry, not wanting him to see your redden eyes.... Leaving him alone with guilt that struck your heart like a lightning

"It'll be fine..... I promise I'll be back soon, oh... And take care of yourself, I'll leave the agency on your hand, bye!! "

And of course, being a perceptive person he is, he knew right away that you made an empty promise that you don't even know whether you are able to fulfill it or not, but you're already left before he could say anything....

And the moment you leave, it leads to the battle against Dabi the villain, four months later....

His Blue flame could burn everything to ash, and it almost burned your life too, sadly, at the time he was about to take your life with the final blow, Hawks dashing in to save you with his utmost speed

He doesn't even think about fighting back, your safety is his priority, and the best he could do now is save you and retreat, then aid endeavor, that's the best decision for sure

(If you are wondering why he could arrive at endeavor's place, it is probably because he's not that badly injured, and his wings are fine and well and not burned down like the canon one)

'Don't you dare to die on me, miss'

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He manages to survive somehow, and you're alive too, in his cases, he's mildly injured but still able to continue his hero's activities, and his wings are growing back after 3 days, like usual...

As for you, it's bad, like... Really bad, the doctor says that you might never fully recover from the injuries, and they even recommend you to retire and focus on your rehabilitation instead of pushing yourself to go further...

He became more protective after the raid , he rarely left your side, afraid that something might happen if he let you go again

He often traces your scar gently with his bare hand, always saying that he regrets the fact that he's not fast enough to save you back then, and he shed a tear sometimes

There's a time when he would hop on the patient's bed or- technically your bed and hug you tightly ( of course he would be very careful and avoid the medical device) and cover you up with his Fiery red Wings

He swore that he'll never let you go, just like back then, he'll protect you no matter what, and he will always be by your side till he closes his eyes forever

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Thank you for reading