#like??? just build em stronger dudes

[eevee-eclair]

It’s me! Back with another fic for someone else’s AU! This time, it’s @doctorsiren’s Snapshot AU! I watched the whole thing yesterday and was obsessed with it, so!! This! (Like always, if she wants me to take it down, I will)

TWs: crying, implied violence, implied war(?) (tell me if I missed one)

THIS ONE HAS AN AO3 LINK!!!!

———

And, oh, where did he go?

“I’m scared.”

Zed jumped a bit at Ren’s sudden words. They weren’t harsh, they weren’t sad, just… empty. It was so uncharacteristic for the normally energetic man. He frowned and turned to him. He was just staring at his sword, at his reflection.

“We’ll do it,” he said, just as flat. “We’ll win this.”

Ren sighed and lowered it, staring at him, instead. “Not of the battle, dude.” He sounded tired. Exhausted. “Of…” He trailed off and waved a hand. “Y’know…”

Zed snorted blandly and crossed his arms. “No, I can’t say I do.”

He turned his attention to a wall, and Zed wished he could see behind those sunglasses. “I’m scared of them,” he mumbled. “I’m scared for them…”

Suddenly, Zed understood. His shoulders slumped and he looked down at the hard floor. “Oh.” It’s all he had to say. What else was there to add? He could make a witty joke, but he knew it would be inappropriate for the situation.

“Yeah…” Ren’s hand went to his chest, where he grabbed a fistful of his own shirt. Beneath the glasses, his eyes were wet and red with unshed tears. Again, not something he usually does; cry.

Zed fiddled with the buttons on his sweater, still not looking up. They both knew who they were worried for the most, but neither could actually say it. The words hung in the air like barbed wire. They ducked under it, but one wrong bend of the knee and they’d be tangled.

“I’m afraid for Doc.”

There it was. That was the bend they were avoiding. Zed nodded, finding a certain groove in the floor very interesting. He didn’t know what to say without seeming rude or inconsiderate. People weren’t redstone, you couldn’t just keep trying over and over again until you got it right. You got one shot–two if you’re lucky. But he couldn’t just ignore him, either.

“I’m afraid for Tango and Impulse,” he sighed after some time. “I know how you feel.”

Then, Ren did something Zed had never heard. He sobbed. He let out a small, broke hiccup and wrapped his other hand–the one not clenched around his shirt–and hugged himself. A tear rolled down, past his sunglasses.

He finally looked up, eyes wide with shock. “Ren-?”

The glasses were removed, and Zed got an eyeful of how much pain he was going through. Ren looked up and made eye contact. His heart ached for him and he took a step forward, his arms raising for a hug.

Two steps in, and he had an armful of a shaking, sniveling Ren. He did his best to console him, but he didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t know if they were okay, if they would be okay, or if they’d even get them back in the end. It was a mystery, and he was frustrated he couldn’t solve it.

He held Ren a bit tighter as his own tears started to build up in his eyes. “We’ll get them back,” he croaked. “We will. There’s no way we won’t.”

Ren nodded and pulled back, wiping at his eyes. They were red and puffy, full of sorrow and defeat. He looked up, dark blue eyes meeting sky blue. They stared at each other for a long while before Ren offered him a tight smile. It wasn’t a patented Ren Dog Grin, just a curve of his lips to indicate he was fine.

‘At least he’s still smiling though,’ Zed thought as he grinned back.

“Thanks, dude,” Ren rasped, his voice sticky. He lightheartedly punched his shoulder and sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. We will get ‘em back. Because we’re smarter than some dumb robot with a fancy glove!”

He offered a slightly more real smile and Zed felt a bit of hope blossom in his chest. He grinned stronger, too, and nodded. “Without a doubt!”

Because, no matter what, they were hermits. And hermits loved to wage war.

And win.

[seosensei]

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[hoopyfrood]

the futurama ep bend her is obviously transphobic with the incorrect idea of sex = gender and body = gender but like. it’s also laughable

ur telling me in this distant future where various species live throughout the universe, where there’s several mentions to many genders, genderless species and an alien who uses shkle/shkler pronouns that robots (more than humans!) adhere to an outdated western gender binary

like they’re metal beings, and people are out here assigning one of two genders to metal. the idea that there’s inherent genders for certain types of oil and metal is one of the most absurd things to come up with

it’s just so ridiculous that in the 30th century where everything is different, the creators still kept to the western ideas of a sex binary and binary genders. for robots from the future

[rphelperblog]

The Gifted RP Meme

feel free to edit or change pronouns for rp purposes- inspired by the ever lovely @tayasmultimuses​

“Sacrifice is such a pretty name for losing.”

“There’s nothing noble about struggle.”

You really wanna get me in the mood? Finish the dishes.”

“Nothing brings people together like hate.”

Running in and attacking people won’t stop them from hating us. It’ll only make things worse.”

if you want to get information from a guy at a bar, you don’t send a girl and another guy.”

We can’t just chuck our principles because it’s convenient.”

Turns out one of our best superpowers is bankrupting hospitals. We’re born with the ultimate preexisting condition.”

The only thing worse than doing something stupid and dangerous is doing it alone.”

That's interesting. Do you want to tell me what my prosecutor is doing in a cell?”

You guys don't understand. You're going to need to depend on each other just to survive! You wanna make it out there? You gotta work hard in here!”

Hey! I need to talk to you! Did you mess with my head?”

Our powers tell the truth, even when we don’t.”

People bend, they adapt, but they don’t change.”

“Even the best have off days.”

Running into a battle you know you’re gonna lose isn’t noble or brave; it’s selfish.”

A lot of people have been fighting this fight for a long time. And now it’s our turn.”

“It’s our family. I’ll do what I have to do.”

Sometimes you just got to take a risk and hope for the best.”

“There’s always some light in the darkness.”

There’s nothing more important to me than my family.”

You don’t turn your back on desperate people because one of them might be dangerous.”

We lost her...we lost our baby.”

We lost our little girl.”

Baby, you're freaking me out, what's going on?”

They didn't say we'd win.”

When you were away I heard from the prosecutor...I heard”

Dude, for a guy with the eyes of an eagle, you are stone-cold blind.”

If you’re poking around in my mind, I will portal you in front of a moving truck.”

I’ve had friends who were bipolar. Assassination plots are not one of the symptoms.”

I know. But right now she doesn't need a prosecutor. She needs a dad.”

Now let's get to work girls. This revolution isn't gonna start itself.”

Read your history books. That is the only way that you can build a nation.”

Some. But I think you might be a mutant, too, with some sort of snoring ability.”

Well, then I bet that you are pretty glad you met me in here.”

I’ve learned the hard way that hate feeds on fear. And if you run, hate wins.”

Sorry, there's nobody. So you can tell your boyfriend that this plan isn't going to work.”

Stop right there. Let me be clear -- Andy needs help and if he doesn't get it, I will sue this school into oblivion.”

God, you are so beautiful.”

the job will never be done.”

I don't wanna rest. I wanna hit 'em back.”

I just can't believe that you looked him in the eye, told him you wanted him to come home and he attacked you.”

I don't want just them! Shut down every safehouse, every sympathizer or anyone who has ever helped them. I want them all!”

you have powers. How long were you going to hide this?”

Some people think pregnant women are fragile. But there is nothing stronger than a woman with something to fight for.”

we are out there fighting every day, losing people, while you hide in here like a frickin' Lizard of Oz.”

Mom. I know because... How do you think we got out of that gym?”

I just have to ask. The night that we first met, did we go outside together or something?”

It gets better. At first, it's like a sneeze, something that just happens. You have to work at it.

I just can't believe there wasn't any warning.”

Mom, accept it. she is a mutant. That's how mutant abilities first appear - it's moments of stress or danger. Dad talks about this all the time.”

The X-Men? The Brotherhood? We don't even know if they exist anymore! We're alone and we are getting picked off one-by-one.”

No! I'm not leaving my daughter here to close...space holes!”

I have been a prosecutor for twenty years. I know my rights and my children's rights. It's not illegal to be a mutant.”

I know him more than you can imagine, and I'm telling you. He left us.”

The next time you drunk-dial your ex, just make sure you don’t include the entire Eastern Seaboard.”

Right, that's what I thought. You know, I'd remember if we went outside and came back in.”

That's exactly my point. Tell me this: if it wasn't your kids in that gym, would you be standing up for them? Would your husband?”

Did you get any sleep?”

I mean there are protections though. The Civil Rights Act.”

Is it always that bad for mutants?”

Uh yeah, mutant rights. They're a nice idea, but there's always an exception for public safety. All they have to do is call you dangerous and you know what happens to those so-called rights? Poof, they're gone.”

Oh believe me, you don't want to do that. You see, out there you got powers. But in here, I got powers.”

Well I bet you're pretty glad you met me in here.”

But some of his best friends are mutants?”

You and my husband had a deal to help our family.”

You ever burn anyone with that?”

I just wanted to say… thanks for, you know, saving me. Even though I threw a coffeepot at your head.”

You needed help. She needed something to connect with so...I gave her a memory. Of us.”

Yeah. She doesn't care. That's why she's my girlfriend.”

What about your girlfriend? You ever burned her?”

When things go sideways, blueprints are almost as useful as to-do lists.”

Little favor? Call me Polaris. You’re sending me to Hell, I think it’s the least you can do.”

Yeah, there's four of them and then more outside the kitchen door. We're surrounded. Look, I can get us through a wall, but if they start shooting while we run, there's gonna be a fight.”

You were a little hard on the trees and some furniture, but people survived.”

No, You can't be the shoe. Be the bottle cap.”

All this damage, was it me? Is everyone okay?”

This place needed a remodeling anyway.”

Something changed after I got sick. I woke up with this new beauty mark here.”

Didn't you hear them? There's an army out there.”

Run? Why should we have to run?”

Like what? We do some hot yoga and find my spirit animal?”

Umm.. no, thanks. I'm pretty sure your spirit animal would bite me.”

That's impossible, my head can't be ripped off.”

Literally I have the power to bail out of bad situations. So, being scared is just a big part of it.”

And you can shove that deal up your ass.”

Was I unclear? Your job was to stay in the van.”

[sesamestreep]

My friend I’ve also had to cancel my holiday plans due to c*vid etc so I am here to send u sympathetic AND empathetic prompts. Sam and Bucky with 36 (lifting the other up) (platonic, if that’s okay?)

“Okay, so, now comes the easy part,” Torres says as he configures the screen behind him to zoom in on the building schematic.

“No offense, Torres, but since you’re not going to be the one to actually do this mission, I’m taking your assessment of its difficulty with an enormous grain of salt,” Sam quips. Next to him, Bucky makes a noise that sounds like an honest-to-God harrumph, which he takes as some form of agreement and also files away as something to make fun of him for later.

“First of all, I’m your point man on this, so I’m as much a part of this mission as you and Barnes are,” Torres replies.

“Your job is to wait in the van, Torres,” Bucky says, belligerent as always in these meetings.

“Hey, if you’d like to try this without a getaway driver, be my guest.” When neither of them rises to the bait, he nods and continues. “But seriously, this next part is actually easy. The perimeter is protected by this ten foot fence. All you need to do is scale it and you’re in.”

“It would be even easier if you’d let me bring the wings,” Sam says, unable to keep the petulance out of his tone.

“You won’t need them for anything else and they’ll make things more difficult once you’re actually in the facility. The less you have to carry, the better off you’ll be.”

“I think I can handle it, Torres.”

“Still, I’d rather not have you in a position where you have to choose between bringing back the target or your wings, because I know what you’d choose.”

“Yeah, and I’ve used up the last of my favors from Ayo, so if you need a new pair, you’ll have to make ‘em for yourself out of scrap metal,” Bucky adds, helpfully.

“Lucky for me, we got plenty of that leftover from when we fixed up the boat,” Sam replies, with a sunny smile that just makes Bucky roll his eyes.

”Can we please focus?” Torres asks, looking pained. “We’re almost done, I swear.”

Sam leans forward to get a better look at the aerial image on the screen. “So, we scale a ten foot fence and then what?”

“Whichever one of you climbs the fence just has to open the gate for the other from the control panel at the guard post here,” Torres explains, indicating a spot on the schematic.

“Sam should do that,” Bucky says, without hesitation. “I can give him a boost and wait for the gate.”

“Wait, why do you get to wait around doing nothing?”

“I’m not going to be doing nothing. I’ll be helping you over the fence and then watching your back.”

“I could just as easily lift you up and cover you while you get the gate,” Sam fires back, on his dignity for some reason.

“I mean, I wouldn't go so far as to say you could do it easily, but…”

Sam scoffs. “Not this again.”

“Guys…” Torres says, warily.

“Sam, you don’t have to take this so personally every time,” Bucky says, so gently that Sam is certain he’s doing it on purpose to annoy him. “I am just objectively stronger than you are.”

“And Buck, please take it extremely personally when I tell you that you’re an idiot.”

“Seriously, guys, we are almost done here, if we could just—” “Tell Bucky he’s not stronger than I am!”

Torres looks pained at the request. “Sam, you’re the best,” he says, faintly, after a moment. “You’re great at what you do.”

Sam glares at him. “But?”

“Sergeant Barnes literally has a vibranium arm, dude!”

Bucky makes a you see gesture with one hand, like that’s going to win the argument for him.

“And I’m literally Captain America, dude,” Sam says, hotly.

“No serum, though,” Bucky replies flippantly.

“Okay, you know what? I can lift you and I will prove it! Let’s take this outside,” Sam shouts, pushing himself out of his chair.

“Fine by me,” Bucky says, rising to follow him.

“You guys!” Torres calls after them. “This is only, like, step three of the plan! We have more to talk about. You’re going to come back this time, right?”

When he gets no response, he sighs and sinks into his chair to wait. “Work with Captain America, they said,” he mutters to himself. “It will be fun, they said.”

[sunkensubtext]

OH MY GOD MIC BEING THE CLOSED OFF BITCH I LOVE IT maybe both of em could be closed off bitches? Like in the first year after his death aizawa focuses on nothing but training and eventually realizes its not healthy and wants to have a friendship with mic again but meanwhile mic took the hint and grew bitter and decided to follow in aizawas closed off footsteps, and when aizawa reaches out he just fuckin doubles down on being a closed off bitch ahkddbdjdlsbsjsm

OKAY RIGHT???? I love that what in the HELL. Aizawa realizing he made a grave mistake and Mic being so resentful and cold, so practiced at feigning a smile that he looks almost happy while he's spitting venom & rejection back at Shouta....

ORRRR, also: imagine that panel of Aizawa doing his thing and Mic sitting sadly on the sidelines...dude is there out of obligation ONLY. He's processing everything that happened,, Aizawa keeps inviting him to stay after school since that's the only opportunity he gets to actually speak with him. Outside of those training sessions, Hizashi has stopped answering texts, he's blown off every attempt to hang out with Aizawa, he's become more muted and his charisma has become more rehearsed than it is genuine.

Aizawa has become nothing more than a reminder, and it's painfully obvious. He's tried to grieve properly and to hold on to what he assumed he still had, but that fight took two friends from him, not one. He exists only as a ghost to those closest to him, and so his only way of protecting himself is to learn to be harder, to be stronger, to start building a wall from the ground up without much in the way of materials and no kind of blueprints available. He's lost, and he's got no one. He learns quickly that he can only rely on himself.

And it sucks.

His smile, his laugh, his stupid humor--it's all just so similar to Shirakumo's at times that he's become an echo, and most of their classmates were never faced with reality in a way that was even remotely similar to a classmate dying, so they avoid him too. Not that he was exactly a social butterfly before (most of his classmates got a friendly nod in passing if they got anything at all), but it's easier not to ineract with others when you're the one making the choice, you know?

So he crafts those walls. And over time, he gets better at keeping his emotional side under wraps. By the time he begins teaching, he's seen as a stone wall--as cold, uncaring, emotionless. And he's grateful to have been able to lock things away in a box so well, even though he still feels everything so vividly that it hurts. And every time he meets Mic's eyes in a staff meeting or in the hallways, it's another twist at the knife that's been neatly shoved between his ribs for all these years, and suddenly he can't breathe anymore, let alone keep those walls standing.

The students notice the change first. He's funneling the feelings he can't push back into his teaching, and then into his hero work, picking up extra patrols and taking extra care with distressed citizens. He gains a bit of notoriety for this, so he's forced to pull back, and it all comes to a head when he texts Hizashi about something besides work for the first time since his senior year.

You know what I mean??????

[smellycinnamonthundahfudge]

The Black Widow Essay

one of em anw, lol

i'm just gonna start with the very beginning of the film, cause start to finish, they put so much detail in and you can tell everyone really cared to make natasha's story as full & vibrant as they possibly could.

them showing how early on she liked dying her hair or was used to it, even as a child?

as well as such innocent sweet things as this scene

all possibly subtly hinting these girls’ physical capabilities and their dark upbringing or who they really are as spies???

just, how seemingly normal child like things could be subtle hints toward something darker??

but it was STILL something innocent and sweet nevertheless whether they were able to do that cause of their training??

LOVED THAT.

the fact that NAT HAD FRIENDS??? WHEN SHE WAS A KID???

so important to me...

(cause they didn't really need to add that,... but they did)

how the whole operatives pretending as fake families made perfect sense cause they do it all the time in spy movies…

and how yeah, if there were child spies, then they could be used for spy families,

but this was the first movie that DARED to talk about the complexity of it all…

of a fake family being the only family that you had.

I bring this up because I just fucking love it and it reminds me of what they did in wandavision

rushed holidays and birthdays and normal family occasions all in one, because that was all they could get…

the idea of fake empty families in both bw and wv and jac schaeffer being involved with both of em??? gods im in love hahahah

in other spy movies, it’s just so plot focused…

they’re disguised as this to get to this and blablabla

they don’t dare to talk that they were more than their mission

that they have interests hobbies hopes dreams AND LIVES, beyond their work

(say what you will about captain marvel, but I will repeat, it was the first to show women had lives interests hobbies dreams beyond the work that they had...)

i just... the spy families thing is always so plot-centric, but this one, the infiltration aspect had an emotional side to it since it meant that they could all get a reprieve from their normal horrific lives

that's what i ADORE from this film, when they do something, they always hit for the most emotional, most moving, compelling way it can be told or shown

because, all this time we’ve been told, she’s a child assassin, she’s a child spy, she started when she was young dadadaaa

in other movies, they probably could’ve explored this by showing the violence

what was done to her, to show the meaning of what they did to her…

but you know what I absofuckingtutely die for??

they showed the meaning of the violence through this

that BECAUSE of what was done to her…

she could do that

SHE COULD PROTECT SOMEONE ELSE FROM SUFFERING THE SAME FATE AS SHE DID

all, in the first FIFTEEN 15 FUCKING MINUTES…

I just love how the never endless mention of the child assassin thing

the heaviest meaning of that was so beautifully shown like this…

like, YEAH

THIS.

THIS IS WHAT BEING A FUCKING CHILD ASSASSIN MEANS.

SHE’LL STEAL YOUR GUN, SHOOT TO KILL

ALL TO PROTECT HER INNOCENT, YOUNGER, SISTER

oh wait, I also just love the action of the plane scene

it had so much stakes, I was genuinely panicked and fearing for all of them..

melina was shot, nat was flying the plane, yelena was a terrified baby, alexei was even hanging from the freaking wing…

it wasn’t just weightless action, random kicks and punches on screen…

it was a family fleeing for their lives.

I just wanted to commend the incredible stakes the creatives made sure to put into the film’s first action scene is all.

they could have phoned this in and just have hopper punch some dudes

but they WANTED you to root for this family

they WANTED you to feel scared for them, care about them.

THEY CARED.

the first action scene nat ever did, was to protect her sister…

they could have shown her take down some men following after them…

but they DECIDED for nat to show her full capabilities… when it would matter most.

THEY CARED.

AND… NO ONE, NOT NEARLY ENOUGH PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT IT.

you know what I love about the budapest reveal??

they could have just kept it at the clarifying what actually happened thing

and all of us in the audience can revel in the fact that

shooting it out with the hungarian guard and blowing up a building

was in nat’s eyes

just like a literal alien invasion of floating monsters descending from a portal in the sky

just… bask & appreciate the comedy of this guys…

nat’s so funny, I cant…

no okay, they could have just kept it at that…

but they decided to add WHAT HUMANITY THEY COULD IN THAT BACKSTORY.

and they had nat & clint play tic tac toe in the air vents they were hiding out on…

they didn’t have to do that, but they did…

and not enough people appreciate it enough.

people are already talking about how excellent and wonderful it was, the conversations and commentaries on choice are and I’m only here to say YES MORE OF THAT SHARE IT TO EVERYFREAKING ONE GODDAMN IT

in most marvel movies, the female character & the hero usually just either butt heads or the female just helps out the hero in whatever they need to do, they’re the infallible support structure that keeps the hero up

I think… this is why the dynamic between yelena and nat, hits so goddamn hard…

your pain makes you stronger

so much of this film talks about how their pain made them stronger, the best example of this I believe, is the scene in cuba

what I said about the child assassin repetition all concluding to that “I will kill you all, DON’T TOUCH HER” scene…

her pain was LITERALLY what enabled her to do that.

but I bring back the film’s crux line, cause it’s what I think truly separates and makes yelena and nat’s dynamic so much richer more complex and beautiful to me…

the pain of their past.

nat’s insistence of their time together in america not being real, and her dismissing everything in her past as a widow of the red room as horrible and just something she needed to get away from…

it reminds me of a scene from a show my family watches,

new amsterdam. in it, a woman, escapes a house of neglect and abuse. but she also left behind her younger sister in that household, and naturally, feels deeply guilty about it.

but, her therapist said to her, “you saved the only person that you could.”

and, … I can’t think of anything better to fit nat’s situation.

her dismissal of everything in her past as horrible was a fucking coping mechanism…

it made leaving everything behind, easier…

“it wasn’t real, so there isn’t anything to hold onto” nat herself says

she saved the only person she could… herself.

sigh…

most marvel movies usually just have its theme as “be who you were meant to be”

tony, thor, quill, & rocket learned selflessness

peter parker learned to appreciate what HE had, and not focus on what he was escaping from and to

steve figured out who he was in a new world

t’challa reckoned with the sins of the past

(scott’s just a dad)

carol learned to own her power and who she truly was

but nat??

yeah, sure, she could also fall under that theme.

but I just… I honestly believe the abuse, the pain she endured… makes her arc so much more meaningful and poignant…

because it wasn’t just the hero struggling, then the female side character reassuring them & giving them the strength they needed to be who they needed to be

it was her reckoning with what she did…

it was her shutting off yelena who cared about her, because she didn’t want to think about what she left behind

it was her, keeping her heart… when her mother could not.

how despite melina felt she was a rat in a cage

what SHE taught nat, was what kept nat alive…

the pain nat escaped, still found its way to her, in that because of that pain, she caused pain to the little happiness that she had in her past

she caused pain to yelena, because it was all she could associate to her past, which she NEEDED to escape

pain was inflicted on her, and she inflicted pain too

she also just casually stated her mother throwing her out like garbage

was I the only one who was utterly shaken by her statement??

to only then after say, she thought of her everyday even if she didn’t admit it to herself

(don’t even get me started on this search & importance of her past to her being fucking hinted in the place she died, vormir, where she learned her father’s name.

how even after she defeated dreykov… she still didn’t know it, til then…)

I just…

the creatives put so much effort into making nat’s story so full of heart, humanity, and meaning…

the humanity of tic tac toe over hiding out from an army

playing in the yard and colorful dyed hair hinting the dark upbringing

reckoning with what one did to survive…

black widow, is such a heartfelt humanely painful and beautiful film…

it isn’t just another spy movie

it isn’t just another marvel movie

they talked about abuse in it, guys…

they acknowledged it, unflinchingly

the good, the bad, all of it, the entire truth of it…

that alexei wasn’t allowed a chance to be forgiven for what he did

that he can wash himself clean, and that they give him their forgiveness, for HIS benefit…

that it was the very pain inflicted on them, that enabled them to take their abusers down

You think I can’t take a punch?

it was literally her pain threshold & strength that enabled her to break free from dreykov's control

her capability of severing the nerve borne from the training she endured

her pain was literally what made her stronger

they made sure to show that oksana and antonia wouldn’t be forgotten

they let the other widows do their part

and the ones the family saved, came back for them and saved them too

even antonia, as taskmaster, had someone who cared about her. the young widow who told her to smile, went to her when she was no longer controlled.

it was fighting for control, it was looking & focusing on what WAS there

just like how nat learned to accept that not all of her past was horrible,

I want to show you how this movie shows that not all of how nat was treated in the mcu was horrible

the thank you for your cooperation scene, yes

but, one parallel that I haven’t seen anyone bring up yet is this one…

nat did her job, and it’s how they took down hydra

nat did her job, and that’s how they took down the red room

because of nat’s intelligence, due diligence, they had the intel they needed to take down hydra

and to find and save the other widows…

because that’s precisely why I would die for this film…

they. care.

they remembered that small, for most people forgettable, thing that she did- BUT WAS ACTUALLY THE KEY TO THE WHOLE THING

AND MADE DAMN SURE TO SHOW & HIGHLIGHT ITS IMPORTANCE IN HER FILM.

(her copying the data needed to SAVE THE OTHER WIDOWS IN THE WHOLE WORLD WAS GIVEN THE FOCUS & ENERGY NEEDED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT SCENE'S SIGNIFICANCE CAUSE W/O THAT DATA, THOSE WOMEN WOULD BE LOST)

they KNEW that HER COPYING THAT INFO in the lemurian star in tws IN THE FIRST FUCKING PLACE is HOW NICK FIGURED OUT HYDRA’S PLAN

AND DECIDED TO FUCKING PARALLEL THAT TOO IN HER FILM CAUSE THEY KNEW THAT DESPITE HOW SMALL THAT SCENE WAS, IT WAS ACTUALLY THE KEY TO THE ENTIRE THING

they know the significance that nat’s story has, how it’s about abuse, and what it does to people

it makes them want to run away & dismiss everything that happened as purely horrible

sometimes, it makes them betray people (like melina & even to some extent, nat…)

they did all this in a marvel movie

the importance of choice, control, autonomy, of women’s lives, every aspect of it

the mundane, their intelligence, their pain, their relationships, their humor & happiness & love…

this was a marvel movie, starring women, produced by women, written (jac schaeffer, wv creator too), directed (cate shortland), and edited (leigh folsom) by women.

this was an excellent beautiful painfully heartfelt luminescent movie, from start to finish.

so much care compassion complexity & love, woven into the story

they cared about what nat DID manage to do in the mcu, not that she was forced into the sidelines

(though, honestly, I think that line about nat never letting herself be alone long enough to figure out what her story is was such an interesting & cool way of acknowledging it…)

nat never spoke much in the films, and they went with it, she’s not the inspiring speech type, she herself says

behind the scenes, they were making nat look as cool as possible with those poses

but in this film, they made it HER character trait

that SHEEEE, WANTS TO POSE LIKE THAT.

I just think that’s so funny… a cute character trait of her wanting to pose all the time and denying/not acknowledging it??

I think it’s a sweet & funnily humanizing trait of hers :’’’))

they made her funny like that, heh…

most mcu movies, they have arcs, they have great interesting moving stories…

I just think this film is chockfull of love over natasha romanoff, a hero, an avenger’s story…

they put so much in to give her as full of a life as they could… a complex, heartbreaking, painful, happy, tragic, loving, human life…

most mcu movies… they’re so plot focused. find this, follow that.

for me, this film wasn’t.

it was women getting their control back.

behind the screen, and on screen, it was women getting their control back…

after a decade and more of getting bits of meaningful crumbs here and there, the creatives of this film gathered all those up, and built a full complex life and story from it…

it dealt with something so real and tragic but also beautiful and full of love.

I don’t think most mcu movies did this.

and it’s why I wrote all of this.

give credit where it’s due.

black widow is the most heartbreakingly painful and beautiful film marvel’s ever made…

it was a full and concise and finished and complete story, start to finish, about the hero who’s earned it, the goddamned most.

acknowledge what they did with this film.

it’s what they, nat & the creatives, deserve.

acknowledge it.

they didn’t work this hard to give nat such a meaningful loving & complex life and family and story, only for it to be called lesser

than films who tackle their themes in much shorter times

and with themes that aren’t as rooted in reality

acknowledge what they did.

acknowledge it.

I’m not really that knowledgeable over what framing and lighting really means…

but I think those details mean something

how their life at ohio, playing in the yard was flickered with sunlight, and fireflies

how it turned to night when they were forced to flee and return to russia

how it was night when they first entered the red room

but then there’d be more and more light as nat had progressed with their plan, with beams of light, flashing through the window behind her

and then once the dust had settled, the sun was rising on them, the survivors.

but… the most poignant & meaningful of all these lighting shots that I found…

was nat’s endings,

when she said goodbye to her family…

it was almost like, she was saying goodbye to us too…

with daylight, shining all around behind her, as she walked away and whistled her goodbye

this happening with her goodbye to her family

and with her official final shot of her, heading into the horizon, to her destiny

saving the universe, and saving her family

they cared so much to give her these beautifully poetically luminescent images of her, guys…

my heart breaks as I don’t see anyone else acknowledging this…

so please… acknowledge it.

acknowledge, what they did.

acknowledge it.

[osakaso5]

La Danse Macabre

Episode 10

Chapter Index

10-1: The Ambush (1)

???: .......

???: ...Buh-bye.

[Thud]

[Clang]

???: Huh?

Cura: Damn, I guess my insomnia isn't all bad after all!

???: You shouldn't stay up so late. I hear it's bad for your skin..!

[Thump]

Cura: Ugh..! Wake up guys, we've got company!

- - - -

Libel: ......!

Fuga: You've gotta be kidding me! Where'd he come from!?

Arme: ...W-what's going on!?

???: Ah~, what a pain. I was gonna kill you all in your sleep.

Libel: Who are you?

Placer: Placer, from Kokujohyako. You're Rebellion, right?

Fuga: Ugh, not Kokujohyako. Speak of the devil, I guess...

Arme: Kokujohyako...

Placer: So, which one of you's the Celestial?

Arme: ...I-it's me.

Libel: Don't answer!

Placer: 'kay, so I'll kill everyone but you.

[Thud]

[Crash]

Fuga: Holy crap!

Cura: Libel! Fuga! Take the kid and run!

Cura: I'll hold him here..!

Fuga: No way, with all three of us here, we can totally beat one guy, even if he's Kokujohyako!

Cura: Not while protecting the boy, we can't! We'll be done for as soon as one of us gets hurt!

Libel: Fuga, just trust him! Let's go!

Fuga: Ugh... Let's get going, Celestial!

Arme: R-right! Cura, please stay safe!

Placer: Uh oh. They're getting away.

Cura: You don't sound too worried about that...

Placer: I've got plenty of obstacles they'll have to get through first. I'll kill you and then I'll catch up to them in a jiffy..!

[Thud]

[Crash]

Cura: Ugh..!

Placer: You're a pretty agile dude. Good, I haven't killed someone who could put up a fight in a while.

Cura: Heh... Must be tough, waving that big weapon of yours around.

Placer: Not really. I probably just need to kick things up a little...

[Thud]

Cura: Ugh... Huff..! Damn, that was fast!

[Thud]

Placer: Ahahahahaha!

[Thud]

Placer: You're getting slower and slower! Maybe you oughta excercise some more!

[Thud]

Cura: Urk!

[Crash]

Cura: Coff... coff...

Cura: I'm more of a paperwork kinda guy...

Placer: I feel bad for you, I really do. But this is why you don't just walk around in public with a treasure chest in your hands.

Placer: Because we'll never let easy money get away from us.

Cura: Heh... so you wanna sell the little Celestial off? You guys always did have a one-track mind... But our leader's got something else in mind.

Cura: He's trying to use the Celestial to save all of the Surface, like the idiot he is..!

Placer: ...Uh-huh.

Placer: I don't give a rat's ass, just so y'know.

Cura: ......!

Placer: In fact, I think it's stupid.

Placer: If you're trying to help other people, then that just means you guys have it too easy. 

- - - -

Arme: Ah..!?

Libel: We're surrounded... Did Kokujohyako always have this many fighters?

Fuga: Most of them are probably hired help. ...Since when do they have that kinda money?

Ruffian: Which one's the Celestial? Is it the tiny one?

Ruffian: In any case, don't let anyone get away. Surround 'em!

Fuga: What's the plan, Libel?

Libel: If this is all of them... Our best bet is to defeat them all as quickly as we can, so we can go back for Cura.

Fuga: Aye aye, sir! Celestial, stand back!

Arme: Wait, there's too many of them..!

Libel: Hah!

[Clang]

Ruffian: Urgh..!

Libel: Next!

Fuga: Take this!

[Ratatat]

Fuga: We don't have time for this! Come on!

Ruffian: T-they're pretty strong!

Fuga: You think you're the first buncha punks we've fought!? Huh!?

Arme: I-I had no idea Libel and Fuga were such great fighters..! 

10-2: The Ambush (2)

Cura: Huff... huff... Damn, you really are good...

Placer: Nice dodges. You probably set the record for how long someone's managed to stay alive against me.

Cura: I-isn't your leader even stronger than this..?

Placer: Oh, totally. Vida's the greatest. We're undefeatable, as long as we've got him around.

Cura: ...Undefeatable, eh... Well if he's so undefeatable, why doesn't he just attack the Ark?

Placer: Huh?

Cura: Wait, I know why. It's because he knows he can't take them all on at once.

Cura: They've got an army we couldn't even dream of having, and even the strongest fighter will lose if you throw enough opponents at them...

Placer: Shut up... Vida's stronger than anyone... He could totally take on the Ark.

Cura: Listen to me! If we use the Celestial as a bargaining chip with the Ark, we might not even have to fight! Doesn't that sound good to you?  

Cura: We're looking at the big picture here! Just think about it, and if that's too hard, go tell your buddies!

Cura: Think about the long-term effects this will have, instead of chasing after a quick buck!

Placer: ........

Cura: Now's not the time for us on the Surface to fight...

Placer: I don't wanna!

Cura: ...Huh?

Placer: I don't really get what you're saying, but it sounds like you're making fun of me, so I don't like it. I hate your guts. And Vida will win.

Cura: Are you for real..?

Placer: Plus I know you probably won't like if I say "no"...

Placer: We've always had to live in pain, so to make up for it...

Placer: I've decided to make things as hard for everyone else as I can.

Placer: Ahahahahahaha!

Cura: ...Heh. Looks like I hate your guts, too.

Placer: Enough chit-chat! Time to die!

[Thud]

Placer: ...For you, maybe!

[Boom]

Placer: Wha..!?

Placer: Wait, bombs!?

Cura: Hahahahaha! I have a tendency to worry, you see, so I always keep a few bombs where I sleep..!

[Boom]

Placer: Are you trying to die!? You're crazy!

Cura: What do you think..!?

Cura: Can a sane guy even survive on the Surface..!?

[Boom]

- - - -

Fuga: That's all of 'em, Libel!

Libel: Yeah, now let's go to Cura...

[Boom]

Arme: !?

Libel: Explosions..?

Fuga: Could it be, Cura!?

Arme: That building is on fire... D-do you think he's still alright!?

Fuga: D-did he blow himself up..? You've gotta be kidding me... Cura.. He can't be...

Libel: ...No, he's fine. Look.

Arme: Ah... There's someone standing in the flames...

Fuga: Cura!?

Cura: Ahahahaha! Now that hits the spot!

Fuga: You're a mess!

Arme: Still, I'm glad you're safe... Even amid all those explosions...

Cura: Oh, don't you worry. My gear is fireproof. That way, I can start blowing stuff up whenever.

Fuga: I had no idea...

Cura: Woohoo, bombs rule! Feels like all my stress just melted away.

Arme: ...I-is Cura actually the most dangerous one of you all..?

Libel: Of course not. Though people do say that he puts too much gunpowder in his bombs whenever he wants to let off steam.

Arme: T-that sounds very risky!

Fuga: Did you deal with the Kokujohyako guy?

Cura: Nope, I'm afraid he got away. Not before I put him in a world of hurt, though.

Cura: Those guys are no joke. Hahaha, maybe next time I'll get him where it counts!

Fuga: Dude, chill.

Libel: Oh, right...

Libel: Cura. About the thing we discussed earlier...

Cura: Huh? Uh, sure, why not? Do what you feel is best. You're the leader, anyhow.

Cura: Your right hand man's gonna take care of things! Hahahahaha!

Libel: ...Always make sure to ask Cura for something once his stress gauges are emptied out.

Fuga: Ugh... 

To be continued...

[lifewithlemons00]

The Stark Internship P2

PART 2 OF 3

PART1

MASTERLIST

Synopsis: You worked really hard for an internship you thought you were a shoe in for. Turns out, a certain boy from Queens takes the opportunity from you.

Words: 1704

Triggers: Swearing, mentions of bullying

_______________

“D-do you think I should call her? Or no, maybe I should wait? It’d be weird if I called now, right?” Peter scratches his head as he stares at the number in his phone with the name Y/N attached to it.

It was the day after the party, and Peter was already anticipating calling the girl he met. For some reason, he seemed drawn to her, like a moth to a flame. It was weird, considering he had only met her once, and well, the fact that she screamed at him in the middle of the party, that made it pretty weird too. Even then though, Peter couldn’t help but see her ferocious e/c shine and her shiny h/c sway with every movement her body made while she insulted him.

‘Is that normal?’ Peter thought.

Definitely not, he concluded in his mind.

“You just met her dude, there’s no way you should call her already. She’s probably in class right now anyways.” Ned reminds as Peter puts his phone back inside his back pocket.

“Yeah… you’re probably right. I should talk with Mr. Stark first anyways.” Ned raises his eyebrow at Peter.

“I thought you didn’t have his number.”

“Well.. I don’t technically have his number, but I have Happy’s number, and Happy, well, he’s pretty close to Mr. Stark.”

“So in other words, you can’t get her an internship.”

“Of course I can! Well… Maybe. Everything I tell Happy goes directly to Mr. Stark, so if I ask Happy to ask him, then... Probably?” Ned rolls his eyes at the brunette sitting beside him.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Peter.” The curly haired brunette sighs at this as he leans his head on the palm of his hand.

“Honestly? So do I.”

——————————

You were already on edge with anticipation. Peter had messaged you after school to let you know his number, and to let you know that he would talk to Tony Stark tonight about the internship. You were finally getting what you wanted, but the weird thing about it? It was the last thing on your mind. You couldn’t stop thinking about Peter Parker. It confused you, considering you had just met him last night, you were never one to think about boys before your future, but there was something about his kind gesture that made your mind reel of only thoughts about him.

“Y/n? Are you even listening to me?” Your friend Delilah nudges you slightly as she looks at you with confusion.

“Sorry. I just got a text from Peter. He’s going to ask Tony Stark about getting me an internship today.” You smile slightly at her.

“For someone who’s only talked about this internship for months, I would have thought you would be more excited for this, what’s up?” She slings her arm around your shoulder as you continue walking towards your apartment building.

“I don’t know… I just can’t stop thinking about him, is that weird?”

“Is it weird that you’re finally starting to think like a teenage girl? Absolutely.” You roll your eyes at her sarcasm as you let out a chuckle.

“I’m serious.”

“Honestly? I thought you were kidding. You like this guy, huh?” Your face scrunches at her question.

“I don’t think so? I mean, I really appreciate what he’s doing for me. But… it’s a bit too soon to say I have feelings for him, I don’t even know him.”

“Sometimes a kind gesture is all it takes.”

“You think? I’m not so sure.”

“Oh yeah. I’m sure by the end of the night you’ll be texting him your confession of love.” You raise your eyebrow at her statement, a playful look on your face.

“Oh yeah, and then I’ll ask him to marry me, i’ll live happily ever after with some random guy.” She chuckles at you.

“You never know. Love works in mysterious ways.”

——————

It was the next day, and you were constantly checking your phone for messages from Peter. You sigh as you see no notifications on the home screen, resulting in you regretfully tucking the electronic into the blazer you had to wear for school uniforms.

“Will you stop checking that thing? I’m sure he’ll call you after school or something.” Delilah chuckles are your frazzled state of mind.

“You’d think he would have messaged me last night. Maybe it didn’t go well.” You look down at your shoes as you take steps toward your next class.

“I’ve never seen you this nervous. It’s humorous, honestly.” You give her a playful glare for her comment.

“You’d be nervous too if you hadn’t heard from the guy who told you he was talking to Tony Stark about you.”

“Look, all I’m saying is that it’ll do you no good to keep staring at that thing.” She quickly sticks her hand in your pocket and grabs white handheld device.

“What are you doing?” You reach to take it back as she stuffs it in the inner pocket of her blazer.

“Nope. You get this back after class. Now focus on school, you can’t slack off just because of this. You don’t even know if you’ll get the internship.”

“Fine. But if he calls and I’m not there to answer, it’s on you.” She rolls her eyes at your statement.

“Oh no. Whatever will he do? It’s not as though you can just call him back or anything.”

You both walk into class and take your seats before the bell rings. All throughout class, you couldn’t help but think of your phone being held hostage by your best friend. It hardly even clicked when the teacher asked you to answer some questions. You had to admit, she was right about one thing. You shouldn’t rely on Peter getting you that internship. Hell, he was an intern himself, so how in the world would Tony take his advice and hire you for the job? The more you thought about it, the more worried you got.

As the bell rings, signaling the day was over, you rush toward Delilah, as she hands you your phone. You quickly take the device, and notice you have 3 missed calls from Peter.

“Shit, he called me three times.” Delilahs face scrunches up in confusion.

“Obsessive much? Why’d he call you so many times?”

“Do you think something’s wrong?” Your question makes the redhead shrug.

“Call him back and find out.”

You quickly press the call button and put the phone to your ear. It hardly has time to ring before you hear his voice on the other end.

“Y/n? Finally, where are you right now?”

“Um, just leaving class? Why?” You look over to Delilah and you exchange confused looks.

“Uh, I’m outside your school, could you maybe meet me outside?” Your eyes widen in surprise.

“Yeah, sure. Is everything okay?” You could picture him nodding his head quickly at your question.

“Yeah, totally, just something I need to uh, talk to you… about.”

“Okay? I’ll be out in a minute then.” You hang up the phone and start piling books into your locker.

“What’d he say?”

“He’s outside the school right now waiting for me. He wants to talk to me about something? He sounded weird.” She chuckles at this.

“Maybe he’s asking you out.” Your cheeks turn a tinge pink at her comment.

“I’m sure that’s what he’s doing, Delilah.” You roll your eyes at her, as she chuckles at your rosy face.

“I’ll message you later.” You give her a tight lipped smile as you shrug your bag over your shoulder.

“Go get em, tiger.” She smirks at you one last time before walking in the opposite direction of you. You finally make it outside, and see an awkward looking Peter Parker standing by the gates of your school.

A small smile makes its way to your face unconsciously at the sight. You make your way over to the boy quickly.

“Peter.” You tap him on the shoulder which makes him jump a bit.

“Oh! Hey, you’re here.” A nervous smile makes its way to his face.

“You alright? You look… Pale.”

“Uh, you know when you said you would do me a favor in return for asking Mr. Stark about your internship?” Your head tilts at this.

“Yeah? And?”

“Uh… well, I kinda… need that favor now.”

“By the look on your face, it doesn’t sound like a good favor.”

“Well. I kinda… told my bully you were by date for homecoming.” The last part comes out quickly, you almost didn’t catch it.

“Your… what?”

“I know it’s weird, I totally freezed because whenever he-“

“You have a bully? What’s his name?” This makes Peter’s eyes grow confused.

He wasn’t sure why you weren’t freaking out like him, and why you only focused on that part of his confession.

“Uh… Flash, why?”

You couldn’t understand it, being you just technically bullied him at the party, but the thought of someone bullying him to the point of lying so he could save some embarrassment made your blood boil. You couldn’t stand bullies who just teased others for fun. Frankly, it made you sick to your stomach.

“I’ll be your homecoming date, Peter. It’s no big deal. But I also want you to introduce me to Flash.”

“So wait, you’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad at you? If anything, I’m mad at Flash. He teases you often doesn’t he? I mean, he wouldn’t be ‘your bully’ if he didn’t, no?” Peter looks away, feeling a bit embarrassed you now knew about him being the biggest dork in his school.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“Peter, look at me.” His chestnut brown eyes meet your e/c ones.

“Don’t be ashamed of that, you don’t have anything to be embarrassed about. Own that shit, it makes you stronger in the end because you’ll be able to deal with a hell of a lot more than him in the future. Honestly, I think it’s more embarrassing that Flash gets pleasure from making you feel small.” He gives you a grateful smile, as you pull him into an embrace.

“Let’s show that dick who he’s messing with, yeah?”his arms wrap around your waist hesitantly.

“Oh! before I forget.” you look up at him, an inquisitive look on your face.

“I talked to Mr. Stark about your internship.”

“I don't’ wanna worry about that for now, lets just focus on homecoming, yeah?”  your arms loosen around his neck as look him in the eyes.

“Yeah, alright.”

TAGLIST

@marvel-is-a-mood

[rattyships]

A prison life for me

Alternate title - Inspiration is stored in the Yancy. Wanted to whip up a ficlet to get some ideas out my head. This is about readers first day in the prison where Yancy slowly falls in love. Also wanted to give some personality to the other inmates (they all like teasing him but they do it out of love).

relationship: Yancy x reader 1526 words

——-

   “They got you pretty good huh Yance!”

    “Ah shut up Bam Bam” Spat Yancy at his cellmate. He was right though. Yancy pawed at the plasters on his face and winced at the stinging of the oncoming bruises. He doesn’t understand how y/n was able to beat him up so easily. They were a small little thing but were able to land some really good hits on him, and he’s a seasoned brawler. “Must’ve gotten lucky”.

    “Don’t kid yourself dude, you got roughed up.” Bam Bam approached his buff friend and gave him a bro-like slap on the back, “Don’t work yourself up over this loss pal. Besides, they said they wanted to join us! That’s a catch, right?”

    Yancy thought back to the moment. The way your face lit up as you shook his hand in solidarity, sporting a huge grin despite having some injuries from your fight. It made him feel… odd and fuzzy in a weird way. The way you smiled, it made him wanna protect it. Make sure you kept smiling. You were so… cute… and it made him pout like a toddler. “Eahh whatevers.” He announced, brushing the thought away. “Let’s get grub before lunchtime is up”

    You were sat on a small round table in the echo-y cafeteria, finding yourself nearly overwhelmed with how many people decided to sit with you. You weren’t complaining though, you’d quickly learnt so much about the family’s life in this prison.

    “I’ve never seen Yancy change his mind about deciding to help someone so quickly” chuckled tiny. Her voice was low and smooth, but not aggressive, almost like the tone of an older sister. “Do you think he likes ‘em?”

    Sparkles McGee let out a cackle, which made you jump considering he was sitting directly to your right hand side. “Maybe!” He turned to you, “He’s been practicing that musical number for a while just so you know. He’s probably overjoyed that someone was so enamoured by it” he said in his nasally voice.

    You giggled, thinking back to how star-struck you must’ve looked when Yancy was performing for you. “You gotta admit that one doesn’t expect a serenade when they first get to prison”.

    Sparkles responded, “yeah but that’s why we love 'im! He’s a big old musical-loving softie behind his tough act.” He leaned in, getting way too close to your face, “What do you think of him y/n? Because I think he’s quite fond of you~”

    You blushed at the thought, “a-ah cmon guys! I mean…” You thought back to your introduction. You hadn’t been expecting to see anyone like him here at all, but you were kind of grateful considering you had lost Mark here pretty quickly. The way Yancy lead you round the building during his performance was pretty magical. Plus, you’d be lying if you said he wasn’t handsome as hell. “He’s really sweet. I see why you’re so fond of him”. Your response made some of the others wiggle their eyebrows at each other. What was this, the goddamn school ground?

    “Speak of the devil.” Boomed the voice of Jimmy the pickle. This caused everyone to turn their head to the entrance, as Yancy and Bam Bam made their way into the Cafeteria.

    “Hey there y'all!” Said Bam, pulling up another small round table and two chairs for him and Yancy, because there was really no other room. “How goes?”

    Yancy paused before he sat down, looking round at his family all smiling next to y/n. This reeks of potential embarrassment. “Youse wasn’t gossiping about me now was youse?” He asked with a gentle smirk.

    “What do YOU think, Yancy-Pants?” Teased tiny, flashing him a smile laced with evil. She lifted her legs so she was sitting cross legged on the small wooden prison chair. “We just learning more about y/n. We think you made a good decision about letting them hang with us.”

    Yancy turned to you with a satisfied smile on his face, “I’m glad youse think so! Youse guys know I trust youses judgement more than anyone else”. He plopped down in his chair as the other members of the family started talking amongst themselves, creating a bit of white noise for you to talk through. “What about youse y/n? Hope you don’t feel too overwhelmed here”.

    You gave him a soft smile that seemed to wipe the visible worry in his face. “Don’t worry about it Yancy, I’m having a great time”. You studied his features again now that he’s sitting close to you. He has a strong jaw with a neat amount of stubble, and his hair has this wet slicked back quality to it. He was so pretty it was unfair. You also noticed the cuts and plasters. “I hope you’re doing okay - didn’t mean to rough you up that badly”.

    Yancys pout from earlier came back, “Youse didn’t! This is a par for the course when youse is in prison! I bet I’m still stronger than youse”.

    Tiny overheard that last part, and scoffed. “Yeah? Then prove it baby face”. She leant over and whispered something to you, and you smiled at her suggestion. You plopped your arm up on the table as if offering an arm wrestle, and the others let out a big cheer. Yancy chuckled, “Youse serious?”. There was no way he was losing this. “Youse sure about this sweetcheeks?”. You felt yourself falter at the nickname, but gave him a firm nod. You knew you were unlikely to win considering Yancys arm strength. You were only able to win your earlier fight because of your quick reaction times and dodges, you didn’t have much brute strength. But now you knew the family were on your side and were trying to cheer Yancy up, so God be damned if you weren’t gonna give it your best shot. Besides, you think you have a trick up your sleeve that will help…

    Yancy placed his own arm on the table, spurred by the cheers of everyone around. A jolt of electricity went through you as he gripped your hand tightly - his hand was so much bigger than yours. Returned the gesture and squeezed his hand back. Did his gaze just falter slightly? Your analysis was interrupted by Sparkles McGee leaping up from his seat. “On ya marks! Get set! GO!!” and with that the family erupted with cheer as you felt strong pressure quickly flood through your arm. You pushed back as hard as you could, but Yancy didn’t falter. Your opposite hand grasped the edge of the table to keep you as steady as you could. You began to grit your teeth the more you pushed, and you heard a grunt leave Yancy. The cheers were still going, often intermingled with encouragements like 'get em y/n!’, 'Push harder!!’. You were really starting to feel it, and your arm was ever so slightly tilting in Yancys favour, and you could tell he wasn’t holding much back. You were gonna have to play dirty if you had any chance of winning.

    “H-Hey Yance!” You managed to wheeze out, and his reddening face met yours. In a big brain moment, you decided to wink and blow him a small cheeky kiss. His eyes immediately widened. He tried to form some words but he could only feel his lips wobbling pathetically (”AH BUh b-bghu wha-!”) as heat rose to his cheeks- that had completely thrown him off! This was your chance! You used his shock to your advantage and pushed him arm all the way down with a THUD. The family erupted in a roar of cheers and Yancy immediately pushed his head down on the table to hide his embarrassment - with both the loss and his mind trying to process what just happened. 

   Bam Bam grabbed your arm and lifted it in triumph, the others still cheering and laughing - “Nicely done y/n!” You were laughing along with them - you can’t believe that actually worked. You feel kind of bad now! Yancy slowly lifted his head up to be met with your triumphant grin once again. ‘Curse this angel’ he thought to himself. He opened his mouth to utter an accusation but the whole scene was halted when the warden came in. He started bashing his baton against the metal bars by the nearby window creating an ear-piercingly loud crash and shouted, “QUIET DOWN YOU LOT! This is too much ruckus and you need to break it up or else! Besides, lunch time is over and you need to make it back to your cells A.S.A.P!”

   The giggles of the family started to quiet down, and people started getting up off their chairs and making their way out the cafeteria. You outstretched your hand towards Yancy and he reluctantly took it as he pulled him up. You gave him one last grin and mouthed a little ‘sorry about that!’. He shook his head disapprovingly, but couldn’t help smiling back at you.  This wasn’t over, and he’s gonna change his act now that he knows you play dirty (if his heart could take any more teasing, that is).

[theokotrain]

Vestige - Chapter 3: Someone Else Will See It For Yourself

Wattpad Version

In the middle of the vortex, the wind picked up

Shook up the soot, from the chimney pot

Into spiral patterns, of you, my love

---

Who said that?

It sounded distant, but I could almost tell it was meant for me. I shut the door as fast as I can manage, locking it behind me. Turning around, I glance further into the cabin.

"Shaela? You here?" I lightly shouted, hoping she would just be in her room or something. No response.

I moved to the backdoor, looking out the window to see if she was waiting in the backyard. The trees and bushes are noticeably rustling from the wind. The door to the generator seemed to be open, but I had absolutely zero interest in checking that out, let alone going outside. I reach for my pocket, aiming to grab my phone so I can call her, only to find out it isn't there.

Shit, right, I left it with Liam.

I open the backdoor a crack, sticking my body half out the door, "Shaela! Where the fuck did you go?"

The eerie silence of the wind is all that returned, leaving me spooked, to say the least. I close the back door, choosing to head back out front. As much as I wanted to hide inside the cabin for the rest of this bullshit, I couldn't just leave Shae and Liam out there. I step outside, closing the front door behind me as softly as I can manage. As the door shuts, I feel an unnerving amount of pressure building up in my ears and softening the sounds around me. I step down the creaky wooden steps, heading back down the driveway.

"I swear to god Shae if this is you just trying to scare me..." I huff, looking through the nearby trees, "...It's fucking working. Now cut the shit!" I know that situation is unlikely, but it's definitely the preferred outcome out of all the scenarios my anxiety-ridden brain is currently playing out.

Maybe she called Liam again and met him at the lake because I was taking too long? I definitely would've heard her on my way up to the cabin if that were true, though. Any reasoning at this point is useless anyway, it's easiest for me to just head back to Liam, then I could at least have my phone and call Shae to see where the hell she went.

The fog seems to be a bit clearer near the highway, which instills at least a minor amount of confidence in me. I cross the asphalt road as fast as I can, trying to hear for any cars that might come barrelling down the limited-visibility highway. I start walking down the trail towards the lake, each step filled with the determination to get the fuck out of this forest, and at least back with Liam. My ears twitch at every minor sound that fills the nearby area, the whistling of the wind, the rustling of the flora, the skittering of the local wildlife. I can't help but feel watched, despite the minimal evidence I have backing up that fear. Well, with the exception of whoever the fuck was talking to me a few minutes ago.

Did I really just skip over that major detail? Someone was talking to me, but I didn't see anybody around. Am I going insane? It could have just been the wind, the voice lacked the substance of someone actually talking. The problem with that, though, is that the wind doesn't typically sound out actual fucking words. Whatever, any of these ideas are just my anxious thought-process trying to make sense of the information it's been taking in.

When I reach the clearing by the lake, I can barely see out into the water. It was typical for it to get foggy by the lake during the spring or fall, because the warming temperatures didn't collide well with the cold air and freezing lake, although rarely to this extent. That doesn't matter now though, the important detail that hadn't registered in my mind yet is that Liam is nowhere to be found. The blanket, along with the rest of the stuff I brought is still lying exactly where I left it. I look around the clearing..

"Liam?" I shouted, hoping he was close by.

Someone has to be fucking with me at this point. Did he go up to the cabin? Maybe he saw the fog and decided to head back? Obviously not, cause I would've at least heard him! I try not to expect the worst, but it feels almost impossible not to at this point.

The jarring sound of my ringtone brings me back to reality. The vibrations of the phone are quieted by the blanket it lays upon. I pick it up, looking to see the Caller ID.

Tyler?

I answer the call, still trying to figure out what's going on, "What is it?" I said, a noticeable irritation in my voice from the situation.

"why did you wake me?" He replied. His voice sounded almost hollow, like a memory.

"Wake you? Dude, you called me? Just tell me what you want cause I'm kindaaa busy right now!" I said hurriedly, trying not to come off as rude.

"i wanted so much to be at rest."

"Wha- then go to back to bed?!? I don't see why you had to call for this, dude. Besides, it's like one in the afternoon? Shouldn't you be working right now?" I remarked, eager for him to get to the point.

There's a long pause between us, I didn't count the time, but it was long enough to be noticeable, and for me to quickly get impatient.

"it's different now, i think"

...

"What is? Just- can you stop speaking like you're reading poetry and say something actually coherent?"

There's an even longer moment of silence, he doesn't seem interested in answering my questions.

I sigh deeply, sitting down on the blanket that was left behind, my face in my palm. "What's different now?" I said bluntly.

"somewhere i lost whatever else i had"

"What, are you writing music now? Testing your lyrics out on me? Very poetic. But this is not the ti-"

"i wasn't over you"

That does a pretty good job of shutting me up. I bury my face further into my palm, trying to escape whatever bullshit I've gotten myself into as the wind picks up around me.

"...Yeah. I know." I admit. I could tell whatever explanations he came up with last night were pretty clearly a façade, but for him to admit it like this? None of it seemed real. "Is that why you called? ...I'm sorry, Tyler. You're a great guy, better than you care to admit. B- but I'm happy now. I hope you can get to that point soon, too."

"there's so much travel yet, jake."

I take a moment to process his words, when I hear the sound of leaves crunching distantly behind me. I jerk my head towards the sound of the noise, hoping to see Shae and Liam coming to find me, to no avail. It feels like there's thousands of eyes on me all at once as I try to ignore my surroundings.

"I- I know." I say, not really wanting to continue my thought process. "You know, some part of me wishes it went differently... back then." I can feel the wind getting stronger as I continue.

"who would you be now?"

"...someone better, probably. At least I'd have things figured out," I sighed. "Everything's been so uncertain lately, I don't know what my life's gonna look like in a few months, let alone when I'm older."

"don't worry, someone else will see it for yourself."

"Wh- what do you mean?"

The wind quickly dies down, and the only sound remaining is the tone coming from the phone, signalling the connection was lost.

What the fuck just happened?

I go back to my phone, dialling Ty's number once again. The phone rings a few times before he finally answers.

"Hey! Whaddya need? You kinda caught me at a bad time, it's pretty busy right now at work." He replied sincerely, his voice noticeably different from moments ago.

"Oh, uh, sorry! Did you just call me?"

"Call you? Uhh, I don't think so? Unless I butt-dialed you or something?"

"Ah, robocaller must've spoofed your number or something." I didn't have any way to rationally explain the previous events without sounding crazy, so I opted to stay casual, repressing the thoughts back to where they came from. "So, you're able to come tonight, right?" I said, trying to shift the topic.

"Yeah I should be able to if they don't make me stay late again! You need me to bring anything over?" He inquired.

"Uhh, I'll get back to you about that in a bit. I am currently at the lake near the cabin and have no clue where Shae and Liam are." I exclaimed in a sarcastically perky voice.

"...What?"

"I- It's probably fine, they're adults, they're probably fine. I'm just paranoid." I said, lightly laughing to lighten the mood.

"Oh, well, let me know if you find 'em! I'll try to keep my phone on me." He assured.

"Yeah, will do!" My eyes widen, and I let out a sigh, "God, I'm just bothering you at this point. I give you permission to go back to work now!" I joked.

"Nah, you're good! I like talking to you." He said, I could almost hear the smile in his voice.

I laughed a tired laugh, "Yeah. You too." A moment passed as neither of us spoke up, "Well, I should probably at least try calling them."

"You haven't tried calling them yet??? Remind me to never let you lead the search party if I go missing," He joked.

"Yeah, like I'd even be considered for leading any search party," I remarked sarcastically. The both of us laughed. "I'll let you know if we need anything, I should get going." "Sounds good!"

We said our goodbyes and I hung up, my mind returning to focus on the lake. I gathered the blanket and anything else Liam left behind and started walking back up the trail. The wind had reduced to subtlety at this point, but the fog was still in full force. I said to Ty that I would call them, but I needed a few more minutes of uncertainty. Any of the fears that occupied my mind earlier were long dissipated as I thought over some problematic dilemmas.

If Ty didn't call me, then who was I talking to?

It sounded just like him, minus the usual substance of his low-toned voice. And unless he was lying to me when he said he didn't call me the first time, then maybe I'm just losing whatever remnants of sanity that I had before today.

Honestly, what's even the point of me rationalizing this? What would I even tell people? That I heard a voice talking to me, but no one was there? That Liam and Shae essentially vanished off the face of the Earth? That I got a phone call by the water from my ex, speaking incoherent poetry, admitting that he wasn't over me?

I cross the highway.

Yeah, there's no combination of words in any language that I could piece together to explain that without losing the respect of everyone around me. I'm sure I could at least get an explanation from Liam and Shae about wherever they ran off to.

I step up the stairs onto the front patio of the cabin.

Whatever, this is just some anomalous twenty minutes of my life that I'll probably forget in a week or two. The simplest solution is to just move on, there's a lot of time left on this trip for me to not have to deal with shit.

I try the door knob, finding it unlocked. The door creaks as I open it, peering inside.

"Fucking hell, where were you?!?"

[calpalirwin]

Choices

Summary: Ashton Irwin thought he had everything he needed in life in the form of his daughter. Funny the difference a choice can make.

A/N: New series!

Content: Nothing too crazy/out of the norm.

Word Count: Just shy of 3K

And away, and away we go!

Chapter 1

“Is this seat taken?” a woman’s voice drawled, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Huh? Oh, no, go ahead,” I said, motioning to the empty seat next to me at the bar. I held my hand up in a half wave to get the bartender’s attention, “Cal,” I called out to him, “little help?”

“Thanks,” she smiled softly, getting comfortable on the seat and rummaging through her purse for her wallet.

“Not a problem,” I half-smiled back, before turning my attention back to my own drink. I took a sip, still not sure what I was doing here, or if I was in the mood for something stronger.

“Can I buy you a drink?” another guy slurred at the woman. “I mean if he doesn’t have the balls to ask, I will,” he further explained, motioning at me. I rolled my eyes and bit my tongue.

“I’m okay, thank you,” she smiled pleasantly at the man before turning to Calum, the bartender. “Jack and coke, please,” she ordered, handing over some money and her ID. From what I could see, it was an out-of-state ID, but I couldn’t see which state. Based on her accent, I assumed some Southern state.

“Wow,” the man whistled, looking at me, “If you’re not gonna hit on her, I am.”

“Or, you could leave her alone,” I suggested firmly. This is why I don’t go out, I told myself.

“Why don’t we let the lady decide?” he slurred again. “What’s your name, darlin’?”

She looked at the man and smiled another polite smile. Then, “I wouldn’t waste your efforts, I’m not interested, but thank you.” She took the drink from Calum and took a long drink, sighing in content.

I scoffed into my drink. Good for you, I thought to myself.

The man scoffed too, “Not interested, you say? Then why are you by yourself at a bar on a Friday night?”

“Trying to enjoy my night,” she said, her pleasantness fading away to a clipped tone. Another long drink from the glass.

“You’d enjoy it a lot more if you accepted some friendly flirting,” he told her.

“I’d appreciate it if you left me alone, now,” she said, trying to keep her voice both firm but polite.

“You know what I’d apprec-”

“Okay!” I said abruptly, turning to face the guy. “The lady said she wasn’t interested. I strongly suggest you listen to her.”

“Or what, tough guy?” he asked, standing up.

I stood up myself, towering over the guy. “Or you’ll have to deal with me.”

He looked me up and down thinking over his choices. He shook his head, grabbed his jacket, and walked out of the bar.

I sighed and sat back down. “Sorry, we’re not all like that, I promise,” I told her.

The anger she had towards the guy turned full force on me, “I didn’t ask, nor did I want your help. I had that handled just fine, thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

She let out a small scream of frustration. “Ugh! You’re impossible!”

“You don’t know the first thing about me,” I told her.

“Oh, so you don’t have a savior complex? I’m not some damsel in distress. I can hold my own.”

“Just trying to help.” It wasn’t worth getting mad that she was mad. I didn’t know her or her story. But you want to, my brain told me. I shook my head to get rid of the thought. I turned my attention to the baseball game on the TV, the only reason I had agreed to go out in the first place.

“Well, next time, don’t,” she retorted, pursing her lips.

“And sit idly by while some douche says derogatory comments towards you? Can’t do that.”

“And why not?”

“Why don’t you ask my savior complex?” I teased.

This got a laugh out of her, “Alright, maybe I overreacted. I’m just trying to prove that I can take care of myself.”

“You moved this far to prove a point?” I asked.

“What?”

“The accent. Southern?”

“Good ear,” she smiled.

I shrugged. It was an easy enough accent to detect. “And what possessed you to move from the warmth of the South to the bitter cold of Seattle?”

“Grad school,” she confessed.

I nodded, slowly, “That’s cool.” She had drive, and while I’d never be able to wrap my head around someone willingly subjecting themselves to grad school, I could appreciate the ambition.

She shrugged, “Just prolonging life.” Her tone was almost bitter, like she wasn’t sure whether or not she believed it.

“I get the feeling someone fed you that bullshit line.”

Another laugh, “Bingo!” Then, “So, what do you do?”

“Oh, I’m a cop.”

Her eyes went wide. “Wow, that’s… incredibly impressive.”

I shrugged, “It’s not as glamorous as you’d think.”

“Rough week, huh?” she asked, nodding at my glass.

I laughed, “It’s just club soda. I try not to drink too often.”

She raised her eyebrows, “Girlfriend doesn’t like you drinking?”

“Oh, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Oh?”

“Not a lot of time,” was as much as I was willing to fess up to a perfect stranger, no matter how pretty I found her.

She nodded slowly, pursing her lips. “Nice tattoos,” she said, changing the subject.

“Thanks,” I said, my left arm self-consciously covering the tattoo on my right forearm. So, where you from?”

“Atlanta.”

“And you moved here for college?”

She nodded, “Yep.”

“Why? I mean, why Seattle?”

“Change of pace. Trying to broaden my horizons and whatnot.”

“And the boyfriend wasn’t a fan?”

She scoffed, “No he was not. Which is why he got bumped to ex-boyfriend.”

“Ah, so now you come to bars to verbally abuse the good guys, huh?” I teased.

“Keeps ‘em on their toes,” she smiled, her eyes dancing.

“Most would say being defensive is a front,” I told her.

“Most would say being secretive is also a front,” she shot back.

I leaned back. She was quick-witted; I liked that. “How am I secretive?”

“Quiet guy at a bar by himself, defender of innocent girls from the regular creeps? You’re right, open book.”

“Not secretive, just uninteresting.”

“Bullshit. You’re a cop. By definition that makes you interesting.”

“My job is interesting. But me? Not so much. Pretty basic stuff.”

“Oh really?”

“Really,” I assured. I finished my drink and drummed my hands against the bar, contemplating my next move. I wanted to get back home, but a huge part of me wanted to stay right where I was. “Um… you got a safe way to get home?”

She laughed a small, short laugh. “Is that your attempt at asking to see me home?”

I shrugged, “In my own incredibly lame way, I guess so.”

She took the last swallow from her glass. “Every instinct is screaming at me, but I got a gut feeling that says you’re one of the good guys. Even if I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Ash,” I told her, offering my hand.

“Ash,” she repeated, taking my hand and smiling. “I’m Nic.”

“Okay, Nic,” I said, liking the way her name sounded on my lips. “Can I walk you home?”

“Really?”

“Call it an apology for my reckless savior-complex.”

She eyed me carefully. “This isn’t a ploy so you can murder me, is it?”

“Oh yeah, I’m the Barkeep Killer. I get rid of douchebag creeps for innocent girls so they think I’m the good guy. Under the ‘good guy’ guise I offer to walk them home, so I can murder them because the one thing I can’t protect them from is my own bloodlust that can only be tamed by killing.” I couldn’t keep a straight face, and we both started cracking up with laughter. We laughed until our eyes teared up and it hurt to breathe.

“So, you really want to walk me home?” she finally asked after we caught our breath.

I shrugged. “Yeah. Not that it’s not safe, or you’re not capable of taking yourself home. It’s just… I dunno… I’m overstepping. Sorry…” I couldn’t think of a good enough reason to walk her home that didn’t sound completely insane. And she was right, I could be a murderer or some other sort of psycho. I wasn’t, but she didn’t know that.

“No, it’s just we’d literally have to walk. I didn’t bring my car. I only live a few blocks away.”

“Oh, that’s fine. I walked, too. I mean, I have a car, I just left it at home.” I reached for my jacket and stood up, “Shall we?” I asked.

She stood up and slung her purse over her shoulder. She smiled at me, “Yeah, let’s go.”

“Lead the way.”

“Fair warning,” she said as we made our way to the street. “Try anything and I will scream.”

I held up my hands defensively. “You can trust me. As stupid and as crazy as that seems, you can, okay? Like, yeah I can be a jackass sometimes, but I’m a pretty good dude.”

“Are you now?”

“Yeah. Okay, so I have a little sister. A brother to, but that’s slightly irrelevant to this particular story. Anyway growing up the one thing that was reinforced just as much as protecting her, was ‘treat girls the way you want guys to treat your sister. If you don’t want someone to treat your sister that way, don’t treat other girls that way.’ So, I try to look out for the female population as best I can. Cuz all the other girls are someone else’s sister or daughter. And I like to think that there are other guys out there who’d look out for my sister if I couldn’t myself.” I left out the daughter bit of the equation. I learned more times than I could count that dropping the “I have a daughter” bomb didn’t bode well for romance.

“Wow… that’s actually really sweet of you.”

“Golden rule right? Treat people the way you want to be treated. Or in this case, treat girls the way I want guys to treat my sister. Either way, it’s really not a big deal. I’m happy to do it.”

“So, do you walk a lot?” she asked after a small lull.

I shrugged, “I like the exercise.”

She took a step back to eye me up and down. “You must like to exercise a lot…”

I laughed. Admittedly, I was a well-built guy. It was the kind of body a guy built after joining the police force and chasing criminals, and keeping up with a five year old. “I just keep busy,” I half-lied.

“Oh, this is all from being a cop? Bullshit.”

I laughed again, “And walking.” She laughed with me, our laughs echoing off the buildings. “So, tell me something about yourself no one else knows,” I said, trying to make conversation as we walked to her place.

“Hmm…” she thought for a minute. “Alright. Despite the fear instilled in me by double-standards and plain old sexism, I love this time of night. When half the world is settling in for the night and the other half is getting ready for a night out, I feel so… alive. Like I’m part of something bigger than myself, y’know?”

I nodded. “It’s part of why I walk. The world seems almost peaceful.”

“And incredibly cold,” she laughed, breathing into her hands and rubbing them together.

Without thinking, I took my jacket and draped it around her shoulders. “Not used to the weather yet?”

“Yeah, I’ve only been here for a few weeks.” She put her arms through the sleeves before zipping up the jacket.

“And how are you liking it so far?” I asked, draping my arm around her shoulders.

She leaned into me as we continued to walk. “It’s nice. A little colder than I’m used to, but it’s still nice. So, what about you, Mr. Cop?”

“What do you mean?”

“I dunno. Tell me about yourself.”

I shrugged. “I’m a 25 year old cop who likes to walk. What’s to tell?”

“You forgot the part about saving girls from creeps in bars.”

“Only the pretty verbally abusive ones.”

“Pretty?” she asked, stopping to look at me.

“Not… like you’re pretty verbally abusive. Not pretty pretty. Well, you are… but…” I sputtered. Why did this girl make me feel like such a dupe? I took my hat off to run my hand through my hair before putting the hat back on. “Yeah, you’re pretty.”

“You're not so bad lookin’ yourself,” she responded before walking a few more steps, stopping again in front of a large apartment complex. “Well, this is me.”

I let out a laugh as my eyes fell on the address.

“What?” she asked.

“I think we’re neighbors.” I laughed again as I recalled a group of girls in sorority shirts hauling up boxes between fits of giggles a few weeks ago.

Her eyes looked at me, searching my face for an ounce of familiarity. “You’re ‘ladies’ guy!” she exclaimed when it finally clicked.

I laughed for a third time. Anytime I had passed one of them I’d always said a small “Ladies,” as I made my way out to work or came home. “That’s me.”

“I didn’t recognize you without the cop uniform,” she laughed at the sheer coincidence of it all.

“I didn’t recognize you either, so I guess we’re even.”

“Who’s the girl you’re always with?” she asked.

I gulped, wondering which girl she was referring to.

“You know, the tall, pretty one,” she pressed, sensing my hesitation.

I sighed in relief, “That’s my sister. She’s over a lot.”

She reached in her purse to pull out her keys and undid the lock. Her roommates were hanging out in the living room and immediately all their eyes went to me. Then, “Who’s this? Who cares, he’s cute!” came rushing out in a whirlwind.

“Girls, this is Ash. Ash, this is Kayla, Sasha, and Natalie.”

“Nice to meet you, ladies,” I nodded.

The same sense of familiarity flicked across their faces once the word “ladies” left my lips. “Oh! You’re him!”

“Yes. Ash is our neighbor,” Nic explained. “He was just walking me home.”

I nodded again, rocking on my heels. “Yeah, well, I guess my job here’s done. Night ladies. Nic.” I nodded again and turned towards my own door.

“Wait,” Nic called out, closing the small distance between us. “Thank you, Ash,” she smiled before reaching up to kiss my cheek.

“Anytime,” I said, ducking my head to hide my face turning red. I quickly unlocked my door and let myself in.

My sister looked up from the couch, “Wow, I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”

I shrugged. “Wasn’t feeling it.”

Lauren shook her head, “You’re never ‘feeling it’, Ash. That’s the problem.”

“How’s that a problem?”

“Because you deserve to have a life, Ash.”

“I have a life, Lauren.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. Where’s your jacket?”

“Must’ve left it at the bar,” I lied.

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“I met a girl. I walked her home. She got cold. I gave her my jacket.”

“You met a girl?! What?!”

I shrugged. “It’s nothing. Turns out she’s my new neighbor. I’ll get my jacket back eventually.”

“You can’t just casually mention that you met a girl, Ash.”

“Yes, I can. It doesn’t mean anything. I got other things more important than some girl.”

“But what if she’s the girl?”

“Then she’s right down the hall. She still up?” I asked, changing the topic.

“She was dozing off when I last checked.”

I nodded. “You staying? You can have my bed. I’ll take the couch.”

She shook her head, “It’s early and a Friday night. I’ll probably see if Adam wants to do anything.”

I raised my eyebrows. I wasn’t sure I liked the thought of my sister being out with a guy by herself, no matter how much I liked the guy.

“I’ll be fine, Ash. I’ll see ya later.” She grabbed her coat and purse before heading for the door.

“Thanks, Lauren. See ya,” I told her as she pulled the door shut behind her. I made my way down the hallway, poking my head in the bedroom on the right. A night light glowed brightly, casting the bed in a soft glow. I slowly made my way across the dolls and various other toys towards the bed. “Night, Cass,” I whispered, pulling the covers over the little body and kissing her forehead.

“Daddy?” Cassidy’s voice asked, heavy with sleep.

“What’s up, love?” I asked, my voice low.

“You missed bedtime.”

“I know. We’ll go to the park tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Alright, get some sleep. I love you.”

“Love you, too.” She rolled over and fell back asleep.

I made my way out of the room and into my own. I sighed as I put my wallet and keys on my dresser and got changed for bed. This is why I don’t go out, I told myself for the second time that night. But Nic’s nice, and you wouldn’t have met her if you stayed home tonight, another part of my brain pointed out. Yeah, but how would she feel when she finds out I have sole custody of my five year old? I asked myself. I crawled into bed, my mind arguing with itself and my cheek still tingling from Nic’s lips.

~~~

Tag List (ask to join, it’s that simple!)

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[ultraclops]

Semi-Live Blogging: Finale Time!

With reaction images this time!

Adoradad

TRAINING EXERCIIISE

Adorabat's practicing her screaming! Bet that's gonna come in handy later.

"Fneh!" Wow what an introduction Eugene

His design is like? Really cool?? He looks practically nothing like Adorabat tho. And why does he have a spade on his stomach instead of a heart??

Badgerclops drew him with a giant ass mustache lol.

Adorabat takes banjo lessons? More importantly, Eugene thought she was at a banjo lesson FOR 8 MONTHS?!

"She scares me" lol

Adorabat ran away from home? Why?

"I thought you were a ward of the state!" Remember when everyone thought Adorabat was an orphan? Yea.

"I thought you were my conscience!" Badgerclops...you've lived with Adorabat for a year...went to her school...AND YOU THOUGHT SHE WAS A PIECE OF YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS?!

...why did Badgerclops use Adorabat as monster bait...

I expected to hate Eugene but he's actually really cute and interesting?? Aside from the fact he thinks Mao Mao & Badgerclops are criminals. Love to see him again sometime!

Wow her dad has a whole badass mansion!! Why doesn't she just stay there...

Oh...her mom died...that's why he's so protective of her and was so upset when she left. Also her mom looks amazing & I wanna see a flashback episode with her. For some reason I can imagine her sounding like a deeper version of Scoops?

Aww Adorabat's room is super cool! Also Eugene cracking the door for her asfgjkl

"Do you think that monsters attacking the city are gonna - wait, does that have peanut butter in it? " (Cuts to MM & BC eating ice cream while crying) That's a perfectly rational reaction to losing your adoptive daughter

"I can keep it together!" (Cut to Mao Mao trying and failing to shovel ice cream in his mouth with his helmet on) NSADGEDHAMADH

Wait a second. Mao's eating mint chocolate chip ice cream. ISN'T CHOCOLATE TOXIC TO CATS?!

"But you said I was part of the team!!" "Then you're...off the team."

Adorabat crying while showing Eugene the picture OUCH MY HEART...

"I used to go exploring in those caves with Mom all the time..." I'm guessing those are the caves from the promo?

"She wasn't afraid of anything!" " Well Adorabat definitely takes after her mother...

"And then one day, Sonara didn't come back with you." Ooh her name's Sonara!! Pretty!! I can't tell if they chose it cuz it sounds like Sonar or because it means "pleasant sounding"

Glad to see Adorabat's still a die-hard metal fan, even with Eugene

Oof Mao isn't taking this well at ALL if he's pretending Adorabat's molt is her...

OOH SHIT ADORABAT RAN OFF TO THE CAVES - wait a minute no she didn't. OH NO EUGENE WENT TO THE CAVES

Ooh there's Sonara's looking glass, bet that's gonna be important

Yay Adorabat saved her dad!

Damn Adorabat must be super traumatized after basically watching her mother die. No wonder she tried to murder Boba-Chan!

Oh the only way to stop the monster is by screaming!

(Mao Mao hears Adorabat scream) "ADORABAT?!" ADOPTIVE DAD POWERS ACTIVATE

Ooh her mother's figure appears over her when she says she's not afraid of anyone...maybe her spirit's inside of her or something?

REVENGE TIME BAYBEY

HOLY SHIT ADORABAT FUCKING MURDERED THAT THING

Eugene & Adorabat both apologized to each other I...

"You can't just leave without the most fearless member of the group!" YAAY ADORABAT'S BACK (Also how are we gonna explain to Eugene Adorabat's scared of the dark?)

"I'll mess 'em up real good! So good, their mommies and daddies won't be able to recognize them when I'm done..." Daaammmnnn...

"She scares me :)"

I wonder...is Sonara really dead? Or are they gonna pull a Kipo & have her still be alive but in a different form?

Badge-A-Fire explosion

Uhh...where is Badgerclops? And why is Mao Mao on the top bunk?!

Of course Badgerclops is petty enough to install a fake monster alarm on his laptop to wake Mao Mao and Adorabat up.

"This is a super-serious work meeting, as you can see by the fact that I haven't provided any snacks!" No snacks?! This must be a serious issue!! /s

"As you know, I am a creative genius. Sometimes there's so much natural creative genius that my brain overloads, and I enter a heightened state that I call 'Ultra Focus'..." Oh so basically like hyperfixation?

"...where I break into a creative sprint, inventing super-advanced technology at supernatural speeds, unparalleled by anyone in the entire field of science." Okay maybe only a LITTLE bit like hyperfixation...wait a second, IS THAT WHY BADGERCLOPS IS SO TIRED ALL THE TIME?!

Uhh did he get his arm stuck in the front door? HE TOOK THE AEROCYCLE?!

"...I forget everything the next morning." Remember my headcanon that Badgerclops represses his memories? Yea...

"Which is why it's not my fault and I don't think I should be criticized :D" TBH I screamed with laughter at this scene solely because of the expression he made

...HE GAVE THE SKY PIRATES THE GEM CELL?! I mean he clearly wasn't thinking right when he did it BUT STILL?!

"Oh hey, I told you I'd use that weird elevator thing!" Dude you LITERALLY used it in Ultraclops. What are you talking about.

"If the Sky Pirates had the Gem Cell, they would've used it already!" That is a fair point ngl.

Umm...did Badgerclops give Adorabat a BOMB?!

Tbh if my friend woke me up in the middle of the night with weird-looking eyes and handed me a timer while saying something about an explosion I would DEFINITELY not go back to sleep afterwards...

I'm sorry, IS THE WHOLE VALLEY GONNA BLOW UP?! WHAT THE HELL DID HE MAKE?!

Mao wiping Badgerclops' tears I'm

A paper towel dispenser? Well that's not that bad - IS THAT A GIANT PAIR OF PANTS?!

Ooh it's not a shock collar it's a translator!! That makes a bit more sense... "I HAVE NO REMORSE OR CONCEPT OF EMPATHY!" ...if the monster doesn't have remorse or empathy how does it know what those words mean...

Badgerclops keeps telling Mao Mao & Adorabat not to criticize him...hmm...I wonder who criticized his inventions that made him that way...*cough* HIS MOM *cough*

"Are all your inventions this weird?!" "YOU'RE WEIRD!!"

IM SORRY DID BADGERCLOPS BUILD A DANCING MACHINE INTO MAO MAO'S BONES?! HIS BONES?! AND HE MADE ADORABAT A SECOND MEGAPEG?!

What in the absolute hell is going on dgaadhdagdadga

Okay but when Badgerclops clutched his head and started shaking when Mao Mao asked why he made those things...I FELT THAT IN MY HEART I FELT THAT IN MY SOUL

Ngl this scene really hit home for me cuz that's how I act when I have a breakdown...

The timer went off but nothing blew up - WAIT, IS THAT A REPLICA OF MECHA HOSSORAFFASNAKEARANG?!

"Initializing Totally Humane Knockout Procedure." (Proceeds to slam the Sheriff's Dept. into the ground) ajdajdgdad

Ooh...ohh they're on some sort of water park...ride...thing??

"And if I didn't want us to get out, then I made sure we couldn't...with super-strong shoe things." But there isn't any on Adorabat, can't she just squeeze herself out?

Ooh I'm getting Pirates of the Caribbean vibes

There's the Gem Cell, it must be powering the ride! Also the robotic arm slaps Mao's hand the same way Mao slaps Badgerclops' hand in Flyaway skkkk

"My amazing creativity is finally gonna destroy us all..." "Hey, at least we'll be destroyed together!" Fair point, fair point

The shoosh returneth

"I always loved inventing." So he was an inventor ever since he was little? Daww.

YOUNG BC IS SO ADORABLE!! He has a lil medical patch instead of an eyepatch which is def more accurate to real life...but what's the vest for? Protection in case he falls? A pressure stim?

That figure's def his mom since they rejected his ideas & he mentions she was mean to him. Also the theory that his mom's a villain seems a bit stronger since they straight-up hand him a tool kid + a set of blueprints with no regard to his safety...

"Also there was a bunch of other kids at school and some other people throughout my life who mocked me relentlessly." THEN WHY'D YOU TELL ADORABAT YOU COULDN'T RELATE TO HER WHEN SHE SAID NO ONE WANTED TO BE HER FRIEND?! (Also I noticed literally all the kids are other badgers, so I'm assuming Badgerclops grew up sheltered like Mao Mao did.)

So the Ultra Focus is basically a really weird coping mechanism to deal with all the abuse and bullying he went through? Holy fuckkk

"They only made fun of you because they were jealous. Happened to me my whole life!" Umm...

"Even the dance chip I surgically implanted in your brain?" Excuse me the dance chip that you WHAT

"I love you-" HE SAID IT 💗💓💗💓

"I'm finally around people who love and understand me..."

Wait did the cannon misfire? DID IT BLOW A HOLE IN THE GROUND?!

OH HE ACTUALLY DID CREATE AN ANIMATRONIC BAND?! I THOUGHT IT WAS A JOKE!!

"Take it away, Boss Hosstritch!" (Distorted garbling)

Oof Mao caught all the water

"We hope you all enjoyed being Badgerclops' friend." 💞💕💞💕

Not that anyone cares but I noticed there's a picture of some of the Sweetypies on the monitors, meaning 1. Badgerclops tested it out using them first, or 2. Badgerclops just likes those Sweetypies for whatever reason. Tho that makes me wonder why he'd choose Pinky of all people...

THE SKY PIRATES WERE INSIDE THE ANIMATRONICS THE WHOLE TIME?! THE MAN BEHIND THE SLAUGHTE

Zing Your Heart Out

Why are they giving out rotten sushi??

"HOW DARE YOU LAUGH AT ME EATING SOMETHING GROSSLY?!"

Ooh god Chester's gonna be super freaking annoying in this episode, I can feel it.

"What's blue and smells like red paint? Blue paint!" BAYBEY

Jesus what a prick. GET HIM MAO MAO

Ngl that background's really pretty...

Oooh no the Ruby Pure Heart's being weird again. Ooh no.

FUCK YEA ROAST HIM BABY - Did Adorabat's eyes turn purple because the Ruby Pure Heart gave her powers?

Oh so the siren in Badgerclops' robo-arm is a backup monster alarm?

More Sky Pirates - and the Pure Heart's being weird again...

"I'd tell you but despite your height it'd go right over your HEAD!" Asdfgghjjk

"For someone with two brains, you're not very BRIGHT!" EVEN BETTER

Kevin said he was raising money for a school trip, then for a trip to the hospital...which one is he raising money for?!

"SILENCE PANCAKE, LEST YE BE BUTTERED"

OOH NO SHE ATTACKED MAO AND BC

"IT FEELS LIKE THE WEIGHT OF ONE THOUSAND PLANETS!!"

"One second, I'm getting mad, and the next thing you know-" Is she freaking possessed??

Wait, is the Pure Heart TALKING to Adorabat?! How?!

Cluckins you don't ask people what's wrong with their eyeballs...even if there is something wrong with their eyeballs

"I CAN'T FEEL MY SELF-RESPECT!!"

The pure 'oh shit' on Marion's face when Adorabat turns to her

Half of the people she insulted showed up to her party! Didn't that mean she loved them?!

Oh god not this bitch again - nvm, thanks Adorabat

"Taking over the castle and ruling Pure Heart Valley forever does sound nice..." This is starting to remind me of that one AU where Adorabat turns evil, becomes the ruler of the Sky Pirates, then convinces them to kill Snugglemagne and becomes the queen of Pure Heart...she isn't gonna kill Snugglemagne, is she?

What did Adorabat tell Snugglemagne?! I WANNA KNO

Why is Pinky stealing teeth...reminds me of this

NO BC DON'T EAT THE TEETH

"I...hate myself! Therefore, I'm invincible!" So the trick to not getting your ego destroyed...is to not have an ego. Sounds reasonable.

"Your bug platter, my king?" Genderfluid Adorabat rights

"Mao Mao, your head looks like a CROW!" (Mao Mao caws) IT WAS A LIE HE ISN'T A CAT HE WAS A CROW THIS WHOLE TIME-

"It looks like a half-melted ice cream cone!!" That is...a strange way to describe your own neck...

"Well, I'm...bad (◡‿◡)" Kinda weird that the canonically depressed character can't even cleverly insult himself

...why does Adorabat's skin smell like old cantaloupe

OH SHE IS POSSESSED!!

HOLY SHIT MAO WAS GONNA FUCKING MURDER ADORABAT TO SAVE THE KINGDOM?! THANK GOD HE SAW HER JOKE BOOK, HOLY SHIT

Positivity outweighs negativity!

"WHERE DOES A 800 POUND GORILLA SIT?!" "Where ever it wants!◝(⁰▿⁰)◜" Curse you for making me laugh...

OOH NO THE JOKEBOOK! - Wait nvm Mao remembers Adorabat's jokes!

I think the reason they used that joke is because it represents Mao Mao and Adorabat - Adorabat is blue, and she wants to be like Mao Mao, who wears red. What is BLUE, and smells like (is similar to) RED paint?

YAAAY HE BROKE HER FREE FROM MIND CONTROL!! And did BC get Thanos snapped in the background?

"Thank goodness you're alright! We almost..." Fucking murdered you? Yea

"Might we have our crown and kingdom back, yes?"

"Sorry for being such a monster today." "You're a monster everyday." Is that a joke because she was today's villain, a reference to Sleeper Sofa or foreshadowing?

I hope Mao Mao and Badgerclops decide to investigate what's up with the Heart in Season Two, cause I highly doubt they'll let Adorabat getting fucking possessed go under the radar.

The visual gag of Mao trying to stomp out his ice cream cone like a cigarette is perfect. This is peak comedy everyone else go home

WHOOP CHESTER'S ASS GUYS

Strange Bedfellows

"So, your name is Boss Hosstrich, but you're not actually the boss?" How long did it take him to realize that

JFC Mao & Orangusnake are REALLY hellbent on killing each other huh...at least the deputies and the other Sky Pirates have common sense.

Hahaha nice Dragon Ball Z reference - and they both got crushed by the monster! Lovely.

...did Mao seriously think he died and went to heaven?

So does Orangusnake breathe through Tanner or do they both breathe independently & Coby can feel when Tanner can't?

Dang those skeletons remind me of the Steven Universe Future episode Growing Pains. And why is Lucky inside of Orangusnake? "THAT WAS MY LUNCH, JERK!" Ooh that's why.

"They're full of these tiny, little cracks or, as they're known in the medical field, 'whoopsie-boo-boos'." AGSADGASGADGDASG

Damn their skeletons are just gonna freaking evaporate huh...

"The doctor said I was very brave :D"

Ooh shit the Deputies and the other Sky Pirates met at the same elevator, are they gonna fight - nevermind, they're still calling time.

JESUS CHRIST ARE MAO & ORANGUSNAKE EVER GONNA STOP?!

"You don't have the guts!" "I have a million guts." That is...mildly concerning

"Yeah, I wanted to be a baker, before I realized I liked hurting people so much." Then why doesn't she just like, help Muffins or something?

Tbh I thought Ratarang was holding a gun and I'm glad it was just a weirdly wrapped banana

CONE OF SHAME. CONE OF SHAME. CONE OF SHAME.

"Aww, y'all shouldn't have - this is empty." "Just like my heart when you injure yourself!!" He loves him sm...💓💓

"Why didn't you bring me weapons?!" "Because this is a hospital, and I'm a good boy (◡‿◡ )"

"I really feel like this could be a turning point in their relationship." (Mao and Orangusnake proceed to try and kill each other again) *sigh*

Ngl Mao & Orangusnake constantly repeating themselves is getting super annoying.

That hospital bed beeping is giving me flashbacks to all the times I went to the hospital for seizures...

"You know y'all could live like this, like, all the time if you didn't go around hurting people, right?" "Pssh! Tsk-tsk, boy. You know I gots to hurt people." Uhh you guys should really listen to Badgerclops he knows what tf he's talking about

UUhh, whose egg is that? "MAMA" ASGagddahDh

Of course they had to land in freaking CEMENT to realize that maybe they shouldn't kill each other

Did Mao just deflate like a ballo- oh nvm there he go.

Boneless Mao. Boneless Mao.

And Mao saved Orangusnake!! By...breaking every bone in his body somehow.

"I'm the kind of hero who wants to save you so I can fight you later...at the right time and place." Just gonna file this along with the credit score scene from Perfect Couple in the 'Orangumao' folder.

Is Badgerclops duct taping Mao to the stretcher? I mean, at least he won't move & hurt himself again but geez

Tbh Zing would’ve made a better finale than this ep. At least it had a sequel hook

[therainroguefanfiction]

🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ Chapter 047 [Teamwork]

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Backward

Word Count: 3,352

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

〈“Don’t be scared to say what’s on your mind. Show them all your colors, show your pride. And no matter what they say, know you’re a star.” Mackenzie Ziegler, “Teamwork”〉

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

I stepped inside the classroom, eyes locking with heterochromatic ones. I suppressed a shiver as I approached my desk. To think that I could have been flame fuck’s kid… I could have been Shouto’s sister. Now I feel bad about all those dirty thoughts I had when I first met him. Ugh, what was that dipshit mom of mine thinking? Was he married to Shouto’s mom back then? He had to be… right? That means he cheated on his wife – that doesn’t really surprise me, he seems the type. Did mom know he was married? Did he pay her like he paid off his wife’s family? I groaned, letting my forehead hit my desk.

A hand rested on my shoulder followed by a soft, familiar voice. “How are your injuries?”

“Todoro -” My eye twitched as flame fuck popped into my head. “I’m fine, Shouto. How are you doing?”

His eyes widened a bit at the use of his first name, cheeks dusting a light pink. “I wasn’t injured that badly.”

“Good.”

Shit, it feels awkward as fuck now. Silence settled over us and I briefly wondered if he’s feeling as awkward as I am. Students started to file into the room, swapping stories of their adventures during their internship.

Obnoxious laughter filled the room as Kirishima and Sero loudly chorused, “Holy crap! What the heck, Bakugo?!”

Huh? Katsuki? I can’t see anything but those two idiot’s backs. I stood up, slowly approaching the three boys.

“Stop laughing…” Kat’s voice was strained. “My hair’s gotten used to this and I can’t get it back the right way…”

“Woah,” My eyes widened as I stepped up beside Kiri. Katsuki’s body was shaking and his hair… it’s flatter than Kyouka’s tits! “Uh… new fashion choice, Kat? Actually, it don’t look that bad. You look like… a prep.”

“Did you not hear me?! I’ll kill all of you!”

“I’d like to see you try, pretty boy!” Sero laughed loudly.

“What did you call me?!” With an explosive pop, his flat blonde hair expanded outward, returning to its natural spiky state.

“There it goes!!” The two chorused, clutching their stomachs.

Before he could actually kill them, I threw my arm around his neck and dragged him over to his desk. He elbowed me hard in the gut, which was still fucking sore, before falling onto his chair. I wheezed in pain, “The fuck was that for?”

His vermillion eyes narrowed as they met mine. “You ignored all my damn messages! And then fucking Iida called me telling me you’re alive! What the fuck, tiger?!”

“My phone kinda… broke,” I deadpanned, sitting backward at the desk in front of him. “Well, as it turns out, our bad feelings were right. I put our instincts to the test, you’re welcome.”

He scowled, leaning forward on his desk. “What the fuck happened?”

I rested my arms on the top of the chair and sighed. “The hero and all of her sidekicks were all dead when I arrived at the agency.”

He sucked in a breath, his eyes widening.

“It was the League of Villains. I was actually about to call you and tell you what I found when they appeared. Tried to get away, but that damn warp gate is a pain in my fucking ass.”

“Wait…” Katsuki.exe is processing this information. “The league had you all fucking week?!”

Ojirou, currently the closest person to us, glanced over at us at the sudden exclamation and I sent him a sheepish smile before scowling at Kat. “No one fucking knows, so shut your fatass mouth!”

“You’re a fucking dumbass, you know that?” He growled, smacking his hand on the desk. “I told you not to go!”

I hummed. “I also met my dad.”

“You what?”

“Apparently, he’s a top hero over in Ireland.” I held up a finger and grinned. “But wait, there’s more! I learned some juicy shit about my mom. You won’t fucking believe -” My words paused in my throat when I felt an aura spike across the room. Holy cow, Ochaco’s aura is hella stronger than it was before!

“I’d say that it was very enlightening,” she punched the air a few times. To be honest, I feel relieved that her spirit has changed, gotten stronger. That means she’ll be safer.

“I think she found her fighting spirit,” Tsu commented.

“Yeah, that battle hero must’ve been something else,” Kyouka agreed.

“After one week, she’s like a totally different person.” Kaminari mused.

“‘Different’? Don’t be fooled, Kaminari.” Mineta got a terrified look on his face, his skin pale and eyes wide. “All women are demons at heart. They just hide their true personalities behind pretty faces…” His voice shook and I smirked. Good, that bitch put him in his place. Now let’s hope he fucking stays there.

“What the heck did Mt. Lady do to you? Everyone at my internship loved me, it was actually kinda great! Now, if you wanna talk about the ones who really changed, it was those three,” Kaminari nodded toward Shouto’s desk where he, Zuku, and Iida were gathered.

“Oh yeah! The hero killer!” Sero exclaimed.

“Glad you guys made it back alive,” Kirishima gave them a soft smile. “Seriously!”

Momo nodded. “I worried about you, too.”

“You’re lucky Endeavor showed up and saved you guys,” Sumo’s voice sounds so goddamn condescending, the little fuck.

“So cool~” Toru swooned. “Just what I’d expect from the number two hero!”

I scoffed, narrowing my eyes at the desk beside me. “Bastard didn’t do shit.”

Katsuki’s eye twitched in annoyance. “Don’t fucking tell me… you were there, too?!”

“Huh?” Kaminari’s golden eyes met mine. “You were there, too, Winchester?”

“What?” Sero added. “No way!”

Shouto spoke up, his voice and face blank. “Yeah, that’s right. He saved us.”

“Did you guys hear the news about the hero killer?” Ojirou questioned. “Everyone’s been saying that he’s somehow connected to the League of Villains. Can you imagine how frightening it would’ve been if that creep had been there when they attacked the USJ?”

“They’re not connected,” I responded blankly. “Don’t believe everything you hear.”

Kirishima tilted his head. “How do you know?”

“Uhh… woman’s intuition?”

Katsuki rolled his eyes, “What a dumbass excuse.”

“He’s scary, yeah, but did you see ’em in that weird video?” Kaminari asked. “It’s all over the internet.”

“I didn’t even know there was a video of him,” Ojirou responded in surprise.

“Yeah,” he continued. “Stain’s a pretty evil villain, but like, super tenacious! He’s almost kinda cool, don’t you guys think?”

“Kaminari!” Zuku cried out in disbelief.

“Huh?” the blonde’s gaze slipped to Iida and his expression turned guilty, his hand shooting up to cover his mouth. “Oh, uh… dude…!”

“No, it’s okay. You’re fine.” Iida replied calmly, holding his hand up. I can see the bandages peeking out from the sleeves of his jacket. “It is true that he’s quite a tenacious villain. I understand why people might think he was cool, but instead of helping the world, his beliefs led him to cold-blooded murder. No matter his motives, killing cannot be condoned.”

Kaminari lowered his head, shoulders slumping. I stood up and rested my hand on his head, ruffling his blonde hair.

Iida continued, “To keep anyone else from suffering like me… well,” he held his arm out straight, glasses glinting under the bright lights. “I promise… I will strive to be the perfect hero!”

“Yeah, let’s do it!” Zuku cheered.

I clicked my tongue, moving my arm to rest on Kaminari’s shoulder. “I hate to be that bitch -” Which is a total lie. “I get what you’re tryin’ to say, right, but~ to quote a very creepy but quite brilliant mad scientist: ‘There is no such thing as perfect in this world. That may sound cliche, but it’s the truth. The average person admires perfection and seeks to obtain it, but what’s the point of achieving perfection? There is none. Nothing. Not a single thing. I spit on perfection! If something is perfect, then there is nothing left. There is no room for imagination. No place left for that person to gain additional knowledge or abilities.’”

Sero whistled. “That’s pretty deep.”

Katsuki scoffed. “You can remember that long ass fucking quote you can’t even remember simple math equations. Dumbass.”

“In conclusion!” I met Iida’s eyes and offered him a grin. “Don’t strive to be perfect, strive to be the best hero you can be, Mr. Class Rep~”

He returned the smile, nodding his head. “You’re right. I never thought of it that way.”

Zuku looked between us with worry before sighing in relief when he realized we weren’t gonna butt heads again.

“It’s time for class to begin! Everyone, please take your seats!” Iida ordered loudly.

“He’s back…” Fumi sighed.

“This is your fault for talking about weird stuff,” Kyouka sweatdropped, glaring at Kaminari whose face fell in response.

“Sorry… I’ll keep my mouth shut…”

“Class 1-A will ensure there is peace!”

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

Class 1-A was led to a secluded area away from the school building. It was basically a mini-city, but instead of buildings, there were a bunch of warehouses and a shit-ton of pipes and empty tanks.

“I am here!” Toshi fell from the sky, as he usually does, landing in front of the class. “Hope you’re ready to return to our lessons! Today, it’s hero basic training! Feels like I haven’t seen you in a while. Welcome back! Now then, listen carefully for what’s in store. We’re going to be conducting a little race. Take everything you’ve learned from your internships and apply it to this rescue training.”

“If it’s rescue training,” Iida’s bandaged arm shot up into the air. “Then shouldn’t we be at the USJ instead?”

“Ah! That facility specializes in disasters. As I said earlier, this is a race. So prepare!” Toshi grinned. “You’re about to step into field Gamma! Inside is an area full of factories that form an intricate labyrinth, so good luck finding your way around. You’ll be competing in groups of five. Each person starts from a different location on the outskirts of the model city. I’ll send a distress signal and you do what you must to rescue me! Whoever finds me first, wins! But try to keep the property damage to a bare minimum, please.” He sent a sharp look at Bakugo while pointing his finger directly at him.

Chief didn’t even try to be discreet with that shade.

Katsuki growled, glancing away. “Why are you pointing at me?”

“Alright! First group, to your places!”

Group one consisted of Zuku, Ojirou, Iida, Sero, and Ashido. The rest of us gathered around the large screen to watch the race. Kaminari frowned at the screen, his voice filled with worry. “Iida hasn’t completely recovered yet, right? He should sit this out!”

“Yeah,” Kirishima nodded. “And everyone in this group has really good mobility.”

“I’d say Midoriya’s at a heavy disadvantage against those four,” Momo commented.

“That’s what I think,” Kyouka agreed. “Moving around quickly isn’t exactly one of his strong suits, that’s for sure.”

Momo added, “And whenever he uses his powers, he always gets badly injured.”

I held back my smirk as my eyes met Shouto’s. That’s right, no one knows about how much my lil cinnabon has improved or how he can now use One for All with less drawbacks aside from Iida and Shouto. Man, their surprised faces are gonna be fucking priceless! I glanced at Katsuki’s back. I bet he’s not gonna be too happy, though.

“Who’s your pick?” Kirishima asked, glancing at Kaminari. “I’m betting on Sero!”

“Oh yeah~? Hmm, I’ve got odds on Ojirou.”

“I choose Ashido!” Mineta interjected. “‘Cause she’s got a super athletic body!”

Kat humphed. “I know Deku will be last.”

“Even if he’s still recovering, I think Iida’s got this one,” Ochaco commented, to which Tsu nodded in agreement.

Fumi glanced at me over his shoulder when I moved to stand behind him. “Who do you believe will win, Jen-san?”

“Zuku,” I responded without much thought, only to immediately regret it when Katsuki glared at me.

“Is everyone ready?” Toshi raised his hand, pressing the trigger button. “Begin!”

The five of them took off, using their quirks to propel themselves over obstacles and across pipes. Currently, Sero is in the lead.

“Look at him go!” Kirishima cheered. “In a maze like this, it makes sense to be above everything else!”

“So that means Sero’s at an advantage because he can take to the sky,” Shouji mused, using one of his fake mouths to talk. I wonder if he has a real mouth. That might explain why he always wears that face mask. Hmm~

A flash of green flashed across the screen, instantly grabbing my attention. I grinned proudly, throwing my arms around Fumi’s neck. With him standing at only five-foot-two, I was able to easily rest my chin against the top of his soft, feathery head. Come on, Zuku, show everyone how much you’ve grown!

“Woah! Midoriya?!” Kirishima, Kaminari, and Mineta chorused in disbelief.

“When could he do that?!” Kaminari exclaimed.

“Crazy… those jumps… he looks just like…”

A strong, angry aura rose around Katsuki as he stared at the screen, his hands shaking. I knew he wasn’t gonna take this well… I sighed deeply, turning my gaze back to the screen. Why’s he always gotta get all pissy every time Zuku makes the smallest bit of improvement? Zuku was jumping from pipe to pipe with ease, a strong green aura around his body. He’s doing so… well…

I sweatdropped when his foot slipped off the pipe, sending him flying to the ground. “Zuku, you fucking idiot…”

Fumi chuckled, patting my arm. “He almost took first place. His improvement is impressive.”

“And~ it’s over!” Toshi grinned as the group made it to him one after another. He handed over a sash to the winner, Sero, that said ‘Thanks for saving me’. Is this the fucking Miss USA pageant? “Thanks, hero, and congratulations!”

“Alright!” Sero put the sash on, a proud grin on his face while Ashido stomped her feet in annoyance.

Zuku was lying flat on his face, clearly distraught by his mistake while Iida kneeled beside him, “Uh, Midoriya, you’re okay, right?”

“Young Sero may have come in first, but compared to the start of the year, you all showed me some incredible improvements! Keep working and preparing for your upcoming final exams!”

My body stiffened. F-Final exams?! What? When the fuck are those? What’s on them? Is it a written exam? A fight? Oh Satan, I’m totally gonna fucking fail if it’s a written exam. I mean, I did pretty well on the entrance exam written test, but that’s only because Toshi gave me a crash course before the test! Now that I’ve been here for a while and been in class, there’s no way in hell he’ll help me again.

“Are you nervous?” Fumi questioned.

“What makes you think I’m nervous?” I muttered.

“You’re shaking me like a leaf in an Autumn breeze, Jen-san.”

“Oh, shit. Sorry, Fumi.” I released my grip, sending him a sheepish smile, which he returned with a warm one.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do well. Even if you don’t win the race, there’s no need to fret.”

“The race… right…” Fuck the race, I’m worried about the mother fucking exams!

“Group one, leave the field. You’re up, group two!” Toshi ordered.

Group two consisted of Kaminari, Fumi, Aoyama, Kyouka, and Shouto. Though it was a close one between Shouto and Fumi, Dark Shadow is just too damn powerful and adorable and Fumi ended up winning by half a second.

Group three consisted of Mineta, Katsuki, Sumo, Ochaco, and Shouji. It should be pretty fucking obvious that Kat won. He’s also still pissed off at me, if that glare is anything to go on.

Group four consisted of Kirishima, Toru, Mountain, Momo, and Tsu. Toshi decided to assign me to this group.

As we headed into the city, I threw my arm around Kirishima’s shoulder, earning a curious look. “You wanna try somethin’ with me, Kiri?”

He tilted his head. “What is it?”

“Let’s tie!” I grinned, holding up a finger. “I’ll carry you on my back while I race. Not only will we both win, but it’ll help me work on my strength.”

“I don’t know, Winchester.” He frowned, rubbing his arm. “There’s no way All Might would allow that.”

I clicked my tongue. “He never said it wasn’t allowed, did he? Besides, heroes are meant to work together to save people, right?”

He hummed, cupping his chin. “Yeah, that makes sense. Okay, let’s do it!”

“Cool. Go to your spot. As soon as the race begins, I’ll come nab ya, so be ready.”

“Got it!”

Kiri was sent to the top of an empty, circular tank while I started off on the ground. We ended up being on opposite ends with the rest of our group between us. Damn, I was hoping we’d be closer to each other. I’m gonna have to channel my inner Sanic for this one! I breathed out, squatting down as my blood began to boil within me.

“Are you ready~?” Toshi called. “Begin!”

I quickly turned my body to the left, launching myself into the air and propelling forward with flames beneath my boots. I could just faintly hear the murmurs of surprise from the class, but their words were just an illegible jumble from here. “Kiri!” I landed in front of him and he wasted no time jumping on my back. I pushed off the ground, running along the thick pipe connected to the tank.

“Yaoyorozu is in first place with Tsu close behind,” Kiri informed me, allowing me to focus on my footing.

I grinned, pushing my legs harder. “Not for long!” I jumped from the roof, using fire to propel my body forward. Come on, move faster! Kiri deserves to win! “Hey, Momo!” I yelled when I got close, startling her.

She was using a colorful parasail to fly through the air easily. Her head whipped around in surprise, eyes wide. “Jen, what -”

“Sorry!” My grin widened as I turned my body in mid-air so that my feet were slightly higher than my head. “Kiri, use harden!” I felt his weight increase on my back and I focused my power on my feet, large flames shooting from the bottom of my boots and propelling us forward like a mother fucking rocket. We shot past Momo, barreling straight toward a surprised Toshi.

Oh, wait… how the fuck do I land? My flames died and I reached out for the metal railing surrounding the roof, just barely managing to curl my fingers around it. Kiri lost his grip on me, shooting off my body and rolling across the rooftop. My body jerked backward as I flipped over the railing, my body hitting the roof and my fingers twisting painfully around the metal.

Okay… that could have gone a bit smoother…

Toshi was staring down at me in shock. No no, that’s fine. Don’t check on your students or anything to make sure they ain’t internally bleeding. I know I’m cool, Toshi, but get yo shit together, fam.

Momo landed between us, quickly unstrapping the parasail from her body, face covered with worry. “Are you two okay?”

Kirishima was on the other end of the roof on his stomach. He lifted his head with a grin, “That was… awesome!”

I was on my back, staring up at the azure sky as I lifted my hand to give her a thumbs up. “Totally tubular, yo.”

Momo smiled softly, shaking her head. “I can’t believe the two of you worked together like that.”

I forced myself into a sitting position, uncurling my fingers from the metal. They were throbbing but I don’t think they’re broken. I sent Toshi a grin, “Teamwork makes the dream work.”

Toshi finally snapped out of his shock, clearing his throat. “Congratulations young Jen, young Kirishima!”

Kirishima laughed happily, launching himself at me and wrapping his arms around my neck. I smiled warmly, ruffling his hair.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

▸ Forward

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[stusbunker]

Featuring: MoC!Dean x Demon!reader, Original Female Character, Castiel, Charlie, Crowley, Rowena

Summary: Our reader’s back and there’s gonna be trouble! Charlie brings back the Book of the Damned and CC asks Castiel for something he doesn’t want to give.

Warnings: This is super long, possession, show level violence, rough sex, face fucking, oral sex (male and female), hair pulling, dirty talk, dub!con smut.

Series Masterlist

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March 30, 2015

Munich, Germany

           The city was old, streets wrapping around buildings at harsh angles and in varying stone. But that was what you needed, age, wisdom, answers. At your sendoff, Crowley had given you a name, occupation, and a proverbial pat on the head. You didn’t know why you complied so easily; until you heard the first peal of laughter from a stranger on the sidewalk. Humanity. To be surrounded by life was worth the mission. Language and social niceties came back quickly, adjusting from vessel to vessel as you navigated the foreign byways.

           It was easy to forget your time with Dean here; to imagine yourself something newly minted in this different world. The power you found during your initial escape in that lonesome field painted with bull’s blood, was nothing compared to the possibility of redemption. It taunted and teased you with that naïve hope only Crowley’s goading could coax from your battered mind. He hadn’t mentioned your previous time running his errands, nor the Winchesters, but he didn’t have to. He had your number, and once you started stacking the clues together; you had his.

           The shop was warded to the nines, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t watch from the café across the street. You handed the server a fifty Euro banknote and asked to be left alone, freeing your table for the lunch hour and beyond. Hell, the teacher of eternal patience had left you with nothing to do but absorb and endure. So, you did what you knew; you waited. Eventually, the shopkeepers eased from the side door, their business hours long faded into the setting sun.

           They each cast a hasty glamour once they spotted you. Too late; you had their scent now. Carefully you rounded the building the opposite way they had headed, the alleys were dark and narrow so much more inconvenient for the humans you tailed. Their hurried footfalls remained unmasked, up and over the next embankment. You didn’t flinch as they separated, trying to confuse you further. They only managed to spread their magic too thin and soon you had gained on the rasping breaths of the one that had decided to go north.

“I’m not after you, you know. I’m looking for someone else,” you said in blunt German.

“I know who you work for,” the rough voice answered in accented English.

“Then you know it is easier to give me the information than wait for the consequences.”

His middle-aged face appeared as he dropped his last barrier from your shining black eyes. He pushed off the brick wall and squared his stance, hands dangling and fingers working in distracting movements. You pulled the handgun from your waistband and met his bluff. No one expects a cowboy duel in the Fatherland, but nothing about your afterlife made sense.

“You want to draw a little more attention to yourself there? Bullets don’t scare me, demon,” he spat out the last word as if he was some holy man, some saint worthy of a judgement.

“Witch killing bullets might slow you down a tick though, yeah? Witch.” You said it how it felt best on your tongue. You spoke over your shoulder to the one who had rounded back, failing to trap you, “thanks for joining us. All I need is for one of you to talk and then we can all go home. Easy peasy.”

“What does it want?” The one still hidden from sight demanded from the one staring down the barrel of your gun.

“Information,” you answered evenly.

“On who?”

The man shook his head at his partner; the name in your head reaped more fear in the witch than Crowley. The silent conversation dragged between them and you decided incentive was necessary at this point. If Crowley’s reputation wasn’t enough, enforcement needed to make up for it. You pulled the hammer back and aimed.

“Alright, alright, what do you need to know?”

“Give me everything you have on Rowena MacLeod.”

*^*^*^*^

April 1, 2015

Inside Man

           If Dean was avoiding CC, then he was. If CC was avoiding him, he had no idea. It was almost too easy to be with her in the quiet library or even the cavernous garage, now. Maybe it was the non-human thing, but Dean didn’t really notice her anymore. A chameleon in any room, there, only when she wanted to make her presence known, otherwise she had become as peripheral as furniture. So, it was with the same regard as to a bookcase that Dean called Rudy, begging to be his back up on a case. Sam had his mime movie thing and Dean had his cabin fever. Bupkis it was.

           He slipped into the driver’s seat and headed to nowhere in particular, the purples and greens of twilight kept at bay with Baby’s headlights. Dean needed something normal, something expected, something as easy as his hands on the wheel and his cassettes in the deck. This was where he belonged, where he was himself and how he could make sense of things. Now with what the Mark and the world had done to him, he needed it more than ever. Without Sam’s constant vigilance and CC’s over accommodating methods; Dean needed to feel like Dean again, even if it was just for the forty-mile drive to a douche filled sports’ bar.

           He switched to the radio about twenty minutes down the road, letting a familiar snare walk and bass line fill the car. He started singing along, drumming his fingers on the downbeats. Dean let himself sink into the music, the carefree joy of belting out crescendo after crescendo. His voice cracked on a lyric and he stopped to swallow as it all hit him. He missed her. He fucking missed the demon. He finished the song, words hitting him harder on the other side. He ignored the tightness in his chest and the shake to his hands. Thinking it made it real and the reality of longing for something, someone like that made his stomach pitch. But it wasn’t disgust, it was grief.

           Dean yanked his thoughts out of the depths and brought them back to surface survival as he pulled into the parking lot. The faux neon signs reflected on the Impala’s freshly waxed hood. The meager groups were congregated around the pool tables and Dean decided to try his luck.

           A few beers and a pool hustle later; Dean realized he should have stayed in for the night. Rowena had set a pack of rabid frat boys on him and he had to reign in every ounce of his control to stop from gutting them all.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Dean had the tiny woman pinned to the bar after her spell failed to even give him a nosebleed.

“Saving my son!”

Dean’s confusion was dwarfed only by his surprise. “Your son?”

“Crowley,” she challenged him, adding another shock to the moment.

“Crowley Crowley?!”

“My son is a king! A god, or he would be if you didn’t—You snap your fingers and he comes running like a wee lapdog.”

Dean started to back away, missing whatever blame he held in this scenario. “Lady I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re a good influence on him. That’s why you need to die!”

“Well, sorry your little light show didn’t work,” Dean held her fast, he wasn’t going to underestimate her now.

“Oh, I’ll try again,” she whispered the promise that sent a chill down his spine.

“What, you think I’m just gonna let you walk outta here?” Dean matched her menacing smirk.

“I think, you’re a hero. You could have killed those men, but you didn’t. Because they’re innocent.” She winks at him then, taunting him even with the knife to her very pale throat. “Cuz, you’re the good guy and you want them to live. But the spell I cast will DEVOUR them from the inside out, just like it did that girl.” She knew exactly how to use her powers and wiles against him. “I’m the only that can save them. What’s it going to be, HERO?”

Dean recoiled, releasing Rowena as he stepped back to allow her the chance to reverse the damage she had caused. “Fix ‘em up and go.”

“So civil, aren’t you?”

“Lady, I think I’m being the, bigger person here? You did just try and kill me.”

“Well, bigger isn’t always stronger, is it? Brains are a muscle you might want to, strengthen?”

Dean rolled his eyes behind her back. Lithely, Rowena whispered into each of the dude bro’s ears, pulling hexbags from their pockets.

Another bar, another drink with another MacLeod

           “Who’s the liar now?” Crowley looked at Dean a little too knowingly. Dean scoffed and took a drink. “She says I’ve gone soft.”

           Dean chuckled, because damn if the red head isn’t right, “you have. What? Yeah, maybe it’s all the human blood that Sammy pumped into you, you know? Maybe it’s, uh, I don’t know. I don’t know. But the old Crowley, he would have come in here with hell hounds and demons and he would have blown the roof off the joint. Now? You didn’t want to fight. You wanted to talk. And maybe I’ve changed too. Here I am playing Dr. Phil to the King of Hell. Never saw that coming.”

           “Maybe we’re getting old,” Crowley waxed mortally.

           “Never saw that coming either,” Dean agreed.

           Dean let go with Crowley, explaining the backbone of who he is and how he had made it this far. Family. Then he shoved the piss poor example of a mother Crowley was clinging to, back into the demon’s face. “Does that sound like your mother?”

           Crowley knew better, but he was feeling generous. Dean had become his Achilles’ heel after all. “You know I may have seen it coming. Might have had someone digging up all her years of indiscretions since I’d last seen her.”

           “Well, good, can’t be too careful,” Dean takes the last pull from his glass, smacking his lips together.

           “She’s kind of a wildcard, but I think she’ll get the job done. Who knows, maybe it’s just me getting soft. But I do love an underdog,” Crowley’s eye sparkled back at Dean as the suspicion creeped through the man’s features.

           “What’s that supposed to mean?”

           “Dunno,” Crowley stood. “Just, uh, let me know if you want her number? Might be worth the dime.” With little segue, he vanished. Dean groaned and slid Crowley’s drink over, holding back the fruit and ice before taking the leftovers as payment for not offing the guy’s mom.

April 16, 2015

Book of the Damned

The Bunker after the Cabin

           “Whoa,” CC muttered just as she felt Castiel arrive. She looked across the War Room table to Sam who just walked in from whatever he had stashed in his room. “We’ve got company.”

           “Hello, Sam, CC.” Castiel joined them, filling in the details of their plan to get information out of Metatron on the Mark behind Dean’s back. Castiel explained in guilt-laden detail how his original grace had been restored. CC felt an ease in the Angel’s eyes that she hadn’t noticed before. Sam did his best to placate Cas, while CC started guessing how a being like Metatron on the loose was going to come back to bite them all in the ass. A stone started to worry in her gut over the words of a never forgotten dream.

           “You did the right thing. That book needed to be destroyed,” Castiel’s reassurance brought CC back to the present. “We will find another way, Sam.”

           The creaking of the entry door turned everyone’s head skyward.

“We’re back bitches!” Charlie’s spunky return continued to brighten the mood as the evening moved forward with genuine ease in the air. CC never saw Dean smile as much as he did when the red head was around. Something about her tenacity and unabashed nerdiness brought out the teddy bear in him, which CC liked to see, even from a distance. The hacker had become part of the family in a way she never had, despite living with them for this long. Thoughts of a lonely childhood and her looming solitary eternity caused CC to call an early night, leaving only a weary Sam to notice her exit.

April 18, 2015

Manhattan, KS

A summons.

Though the hope had betrayingly crossed your mind, more than once, you never thought he would actually do it. Now that you stood before Dean Winchester once more, you weren’t sure if it was to kill you properly or to fuck you senseless. His glare was that gloriously intense. You welcomed either outcome, if it was at his hand.

“You rang?” You smirked in greeting, hoping the vessel was moderately appealing. The timing of the spell didn’t really give you many options, she was a petite Latina in her early forties, though her genetics hid her age well. You weren’t in the Bunker, but what appeared to be the storage area of an old basement. Mildew and old masonry evident as you gathered any detail that held potential of his intentions. Secrecy abound; you were very much alone.

“Y/N?” Dean didn’t break eye contact, his voice cracking as your eyes misted at his acknowledgement. You only nodded, the emotion of seeing him again began to break through.

“I wasn’t sure you remembered,” a whispered confession.

Dean looked down, shame falling over his usually steadfast features, “Yeah, well I had to do some digging.”

“So, you still don’t know who I am?” Realization knocking you down a peg once more. Geez, drag a girl across the world and you still can’t put the pieces together, some great love he was. And yet he was, damnit.

“I don’t think I know anyone the way I know you.” Dean chided himself, biting at his lip and tsking his tongue. He stepped closer, eyes searching yours. You unconsciously mirrored his movements, taking you to the rim of the red spray paint on the cellar floor.

“I suppose that is the best I could ask for.” Your arms longed to be around him, to feel the weight of him against you, to feel his heart beat. You didn’t know what he wanted from you, but you knew it was your last chance at honesty. You answered his call and raised him with your shared history.

A heavy breath escaped your chest and you let your eyes go black. “I first met you, centuries ago. Before I was a Demon and before you were the infamous Dean Winchester. When you were just some kid who sold his soul for his much more promising brother. Before you knew of your destinies and long before you gave Heaven and Hell the finger.”

Dean’s shoulders straightened, one hand in his pocket as his head cocked with mild amusement.

“I remember the first day Alastair strapped you to his table, the way you screamed and challenged him. I still heard it some nights back home: your voice in agony and me powerless to stop him just outside the door to his favorite torture room.” You began to pace inside the trap, working through the memories both cherished and painful.

“How long did he leave you there?” Dean asked, arms crossed over his chest now, brow furrowed.

“I was left outside your sessions until the day you took the deal,” you stepped forward as he shook his head in disbelief. “I heard him, every day, ask you and I heard you every day, even after hours of anguish, refuse. I begged him for the same opportunity, but I wasn’t special. I wasn’t you. And then I finally saw you face-to-face.”

“The First Seal.” Dean closed his eyes as it all came crashing back and into focus.

“I never blamed you,” your voice fell, hand raised trying to comfort him. He stood just beyond the barrier of his own devising. “Of course, I would have done the same, had I been given the chance. But it wasn’t until your Castiel rescued you, did I feel Alastair’s final torment.”

“Just stop, okay?!” Dean pleaded suddenly; he thumbed the Mark of Cain which seemed to be throbbing over all of the blood he had shed in Hell. The hunger that threatened his humanity once more. You flinched at his words, your stories had brought you back to that vulnerable human soul who had witnessed her schoolgirl crush and torturer ripped from her plane of existence. “You’ve only ever seen the worst of me. Why didn’t you just kill me?”

He kept his eyes down, but you saw how perplexed he felt; you were not a predictable demon and bless him for trying to understand. Your face softened, the endearment you felt catching him off guard. “I was just getting to that part, dumbass. Love. Alastair’s final torment for me was an unwavering and unrequited love, for you.”

“We had very different experiences with Alastair.” Dean’s face broke into a smile, the slight blush on his features. He was such a dork, it hurt to watch him like this.

“Yeah, well, according to Crowley, it wasn’t Alastair at all. He wasn’t ‘that sophisticated with the emotional aspects of the job’.” You shrugged.

“He has a point,” Dean relaxed, walking a bit as you continued to speak.

“Where’s Chloe?” You asked nervously, “And Sam?”

“Chloe? She’s still kicking ‘round the Bunker, but, well, too much water under the bridge.”

“That’s our girl.” You knew she would move beyond this ordeal better than most, yet somehow you still worried for her wellbeing, even after she extradited you. Fucking symbiotic relationships.

“And Sam’s fine. Ornery and trying too hard to make me listen to reason–”

“A lost cause if there ever was one.” You teased, Dean smirked, toeing the line that separated you.

“I’m done fighting the Mark, Y/N.” Dean let out a heavy sigh. “I’m not strong enough, either I go hermit-style like Cain for as long as I can, and people die. Or I just give in.”

“That seems a very narrow list of solutions to a very new problem.”

Dean’s whole torso twitched at your candor, “Well, the Book of the Damned was our last lead and that’s toast. Anything you’d like to share with the class?”

You stepped closer; tips of your pointed shoes frozen against the magical wall of the Devil’s Trap. “I’m what you would call an ‘entry-level demon’. I got out on sheer dumb luck the first time, Dean. They don’t share the great mysteries with the cesspool. Honestly, I think Crowley has been honest with you about the Mark since you became his trusty Knight in Shining Plaid.”

“Yeah, well, worth a shot.” Dean tried and fell just below gracious. He was truly desperate. It carved at you to see him so defeated.

“Is that the only thing you wanted from me?” The pain you couldn’t hide from your words, returned to you in his aching glance.

“It’s not like that.” Dean swallowed. “You know it’s—”

“It’s better left unsaid.” You nodded, trying for the stiff upper lip, sniffling against his stubbornness. “But tell me something else?”

Dean head shot up, waiting for your next question.

“If you’re done, if you’re giving in to the Mark. Why the trap? Afraid I’d get out or just afraid I’d touch you? And you’d really turn? If there’s really nothing to lose, why don’t you—”

Then he was kissing you, Dean Winchester had stepped inside your cage and welcomed your darkness as if it was his only salvation. Though you couldn’t save him; you needed to show him everything words were unable to convey. How you wished he could see how perfect in his imperfection he was, how his self-sacrifice never ceased to take your breath away, how with just the sound of his voice you could withstand a hundred years in the Pit. How much he was loved and needed and how he deserved so much more than a worthless hell-spawned wretch could offer him.

The height difference sent you spinning, he was everywhere, broad shoulders and strong hands, clutching at your now smaller body. The danger Dean accepted by stepping into the circle gave you a rush, your core tightening as he deepened the kiss. Suddenly, you were weightless, he lifted you up, your legs quickly opening to lock around his waist and before you knew it you had tugged open half the buttons of his shirt. When you pulled the tee shirt up from where your thighs had pinned it to his sides, Dean broke the kiss, with heavy breaths he rested his forehead against yours. It had been years since you had tasted him and never with this tongue, but somehow, he still knew how to kiss you.

*^*

Dean could have stayed in that moment forever; the oasis of Y/N’s arms was something he hadn’t known he had missed until he found his way back home. Her hands were now delicate and soft, her legs shorter and waist impossibly narrow, but she still moved the same, with Y/N it felt right. His cock twitched against both his jeans and her impossibly sheer leggings. She rolled her hips against the movement, causing him to groan before leaving a fierce trail of nibbles down her jaw, her skin spiced and smooth beneath his chapped lips.

*^*

The heat growing in your belly intensified as Dean’s mouth wandered lower, his teeth tearing at the lowcut top, you pulled down the shirt and lace covered bra, freeing your aching nipples for his hungered mouth. Balancing one hand tightly on your back, Dean’s free hand kneaded your left breast before teasing the puckered flesh with the warmth of his tongue. You clamped down against the emptiness inside, overwhelmed with each affection Dean gave you.

You grinded harder against him, whimpering, letting your hands snake through his hair, your fake nails digging in as he switched to the opposite tit, pulling that nipple between his straight teeth. He watched you grow needier beneath his every touch, the desire in his eyes making you more desperate. You pulled yourself up, flush against him as you worked off his shirt. The anti-possession tattoo utterly elementary compared to the ancient curse on his arm.

You took over, your kiss demanding his submission as he backed you against the invisible concave wall. The barrier, though intangible was strong, and you used it to rest against as you slid down Dean’s body to remove the clothing restricting you from taking him fully. You wiggled the trim hips from the thin material, tossing the drenched lace to the side among the bunched pant legs. Dean had kicked off his boots, thumbing his shorts and jeans off with a swift dip. He was simply gorgeous, solid and bowlegged, but stunning all the same. Lust battled the emotional appreciation of his nudity and all too soon you were sinking to your knees. Tiny fingers raked up his calves and over his sturdy quads, heavy lashes fluttering over your cheeks as you waited for his impatience to get the best of him. Your face so close you could smell the tang of his heavy balls, eyes lingering on the drop of want leaking from his menacing tip.

Every inch of him seemed larger than before, perspective was in the eye of the beholder and for this vessel Dean’s cock was downright intimidating. The trim legs held you up, the abundant chest brushed against his leg as you silently dared him to make the next move. His hand came down hard on the crown of your head, thick fingers lacing in the dense black locks, he slid through until yanking at the nape of your neck. As he snapped your head up your mouth opened automatically from the jarring tug. In his other hand Dean fisted himself, “You don’t get to tease me, or I’ll send you back. You understand?”

You nodded, tears forming from the intensity of his grip on the base of your neck.

“Sorry?” Dean tilted his head, dramatically inviting you to speak up.

“Yes. Yes, Dean, I understand.”

He sucked air through his teeth, green eyes darkening as he released his hold on your hair, his rough thumb dragged down your jaw to circle lazily around your pouting lips. Instinctively, you licked them before he paused. “No teeth, Y/N. I know that was you and I mean it.”

“Whatever, you liked it,” you hissed before taking him into your smart mouth. Dean’s hand fell away from the base of his shaft as you worked him deeper and deeper with each test of this mouth. The lips were fuller, plush against the veiny length of him. He repeatedly tucked your hair back, keeping your face on full display as you sucked and mewled over him. As your tongue lapped from underneath, your core clenched, once again, over nothing. The gagging girth of him quickly made you lightheaded.

“You want it so bad you’re gonna choke on it, aren’t cha?” Dean crooned down at you as you looked back up at him, his fat bottom lip clenched between his perfectly white teeth. You slid back to lock eyes with him completely, delicate fingers massaged his balls as he called out into the night. “That’s it, that’s my dirty little demon slut. Hmmm,” Dean huffed and suddenly the Mark took over. His massive hands planted themselves on either side of your fragile skull and suddenly he was thrusting back into you. His dick deepened to puncturing your throat, your stomach rolled, saliva building as he growled with the fierce snap of his hips.

The pressure on your temples increased alongside his speed, delicious and terrifying. Then you began to cough, Dean finally slowed, which allowed you to swallow against the thick mucus that had gathered in your esophagus, tender and stretched wide. You dragged her nails back down his legs before letting him go with an audible pop. Then Dean did the hottest thing you had ever seen, he crouched with those damned bowlegs, lowering his pulsing cock to the generous cleavage in front of you. In a frantic whimper, you tugged your breasts apart for him, tips of your fingers teasing the dark areolas before holding the fleshy globes tight against his spit-slicked cock. Once again, his strong digits weaved into your hair as he fucked your tits. His every muscle worked to dominate you, the Mark of Cain ragged against his pale forearm, his abdomen tense behind the soft layer his other vices supplied, all overloading your senses with his power, his lust for you and just how far you would push each other.

You teased the ruddy head of his cock with the tip of your tongue, his salty juices seeping out to aid in the rough friction. Your nipples ached as your pussy sopped with emptiness.

“On you back, Y/N. I need to eat some of that before I am done with you.” Dean growled, tugging as his cock as he tried to step back from the brink. “Fucking smell you from here, you know that?” ­­

You didn’t reply, just slowly sat back on your bare ass, the cold floor sent shockwaves through your overheated thighs and straight to your folds. Your nipples puckered impossibly smaller. Dean spread out his large shirt behind you, before leaving a tantalizing kiss on your shoulder. Then his lips took over, he sucked and nibbled and decimated the teak colored skin. When his hot breath hovered over your nipples you thought you were going to cum on the spot. Each sensation barreled into the next, your legs were shaking by the time Dean spread your knees wide.

“Now this view, Y/N? I have got to hand it to you, hmmmm, nice choice,” Dean’s eyes glinted as his thick tongue found your swollen bud. It gave a dizzying jostle before licking broad strokes up and down your lips. Spreading you wide, Dean gathered your juices with his skilled fingers. You half laughed and half moaned when, at long last, your trembling cunt earned its fill. Dean’s fingers worked into you as he sucked gently on your bursting clit.

“Is it sweet enough,” you teased back, watching him lavish you, drunk on your sex. His scruff shown with your arousal, his whiskers adding roughness along your tender apex, further blurring the lines of pain and pleasure.

“You know what’s the most messed up part?” Dean whispered, sliding back to watch his fingers disappear inside you. “I don’t know this chick and I don’t care. I am just fucking you. Not Chloe, not anyone else. Right now, it’s only us. And I should care and I’m sure I am going to hate myself tomorrow. But that feeling of not caring?”

“I’d call it freedom. Best kind of bittersweet.” You sighed, reaching up to stroke his temple. His closed his eyes and you finally saw how bone-tired he was.

“I hate being this scared, Y/N. It’s not who I am.” His fingers never stopped; his mouth ghosted over every sensitive crease as if the act alone was penance for his confession.

“Dean?” Your voice hitched.

“Yeah?” Dean placed tiny pecks along the inside of your thigh, his voice impressively soft.

“I really need to cum. You make me feel so good, but I can’t—” you broke off into a gasp as he added a third finger inside you, his tongue pressed wide and forceful against you. You didn’t know if it was his admission or the added effort once you begged for it, but less than two minutes later and your climax overcame you. Waves of heat flooded your system as everything contracted. Then the break and you fell: unwinding with the stuttering pulses. Dean pulled you through it, his fingers’ pace slowed in calculated increments. Just as he slipped from your clutches, he made sure to nuzzle your mound before easing up to his knees.

With a tempered swat at your knee, you caught his drift, rolling completely over you rocked back to give him another angle to admire. You arched your back and shimmied your shoulders to stretch out the tension that had settled as you braced for your orgasm. You couldn’t see him, but you knew Dean was centering himself behind you, his damp fingers coating his length as it returned to its full glory. You squared yourself, knees below hips and shoulders over splayed palms, ready for whatever he would give you.

Dean nudged your knees farther apart, causing your upper half to lower onto your elbows, the cold stone floor stiff beneath your thin joints. Ass bared and ready. “I want you to tell me, who I am.”

“Deeeeeeeeannnnnnn.” You keened as he stretched you open, even his fingers couldn’t prepare you for the heavy steel of his cock.

“And?” he slowly rolled his hips, barely hitting that secret spot, as if by accident. He was fucking vindictive.

“Dean fucking Winchester.”

“That’s more like it, Y/N.” Dean built up his rhythm.

“Hunter.” You mewed.

“What else?”

“Mark Bearer?”

“And?” His teeth were clenched now, the words strained and menacing.

“Knight of Hell!” You screamed as he smacked your ass, pounding into you with constant shallow thrusts.

“Who am I?”

“The Righteous Man!”

Dean growled at the old title, the darkness of the Mark at war with his true nature: protector of the innocent. As his other hand connected with the opposite cheek you tensed, unsure of what else he wanted to hear.

“Michael’s Sword!” your voice was high and whiny as everything that was holding you upright began to weaken. He took both of your hips in his palms now, dragging out of you slowly before popping his pelvis back in, forcing you to press back into him or crash to the floor. He hummed in appreciation as he spread you wider from behind, his thumb pressed against your puckered hole, adding to the building pressure throughout your core.

“That’s mine, just like this pussy is mine. You hear that, Y/N? You’re mine.”

“Always have been,” you replied plainly without even registering what it all meant. “My Seal Breaker.”

Dean liked that one, because he raised one knee up and began to work you over again. You tossed your head back to watch him over your shoulder, bending nearly in half. He was breath-taking, his mouth open and panting, skin dewy and tense, uncountable scars and freckles randomly yet perfectly placed to outline this impossible man.

“Come on, baby, let me see you,” Dean coaxed, your eyes burst open, the inkwell pools staring back at him as he thrust harder into your luscious depths. “Hmmm, Y/N, you know how good you feel? So. Fucking. Sweet.”

“Better than her?” You half-whispered, half-begged.

“Every ti–.” Dean broke off on a moan, your body pulling him as deep as it could, and suddenly you crested again, muscles spasming as a howl escaped your mouth. Dean gave you only two beats before slamming back into you with wild abandon, reveling in the tightness and the added slick. The slap of his balls against your clit and his strong hips against your firm ass an erotic symphony.

“Fuck! I’m gonna cum so hard in that borrowed pussy, you want that?”

“God, yes, Dean. Fill this tiny little thing up,” You whined, tugging at your nipple as Dean began to add an extra roll of his hips between his thrusts. Damn, he knew just how to move, your channel quaked against him, another orgasm looming just out of reach. Dean slid one hand from your waist to palm the small bubble of one ass cheek, fingertips digging so deeply they’d leave marks in the morning. He brushed your g-spot over and over again, everything was vibrating, but it grew too loud. As soon as you felt the next wave approaching Dean froze, spilling inside your wanton cunt. Hot, thick and delicious Dean’s cum slipped from your lower lips as he eased his spent cock from your shaking walls.

He wouldn’t stop touching you, his hand on your hip as you slid down to curl on your side. He let his breathing regulate as he perched back on his heels, his well-built body on full display, the base of his multicolored pleasure trail glistened with both of your juices. His mouth a perfect pink “O” as he blew out a chilling stream against your lolling breasts. You groaned and rolled back up to all fours, biting his delicious thigh as you snaked up his body to steal another kiss. His arms encased you, pulling you in a painfully tight squeeze, the Mark of Cain, hotter than the rest of him, pressed against the lower curve of your ribcage.

He nestled his nose against yours with a satisfied hum, “Now, THAT, was not something I never thought I would do.” Gesturing to the sigils beneath your bodies.

You laughed, “Come on, not even when you were the demon?”

“Okay, maybe once, but Sam was in the room, no way he was getting a free show.” Dean winked down at you, which you eye-rolled away, letting the black slip away for effect. This was it: you felt the inevitable end approaching like a derailed train. You couldn’t look away or sidestep the onslaught, you just had to let it happen. If Dean would let go of the brakes, it would all be over soon.

“Do you know what you’re going to do?” You asked softly, letting your hand rest just below his tattoo, head against his collar bone.

He shook his head, “Not a clue, but I had to see you again, in whatever way I could.”

“Well, you could have come to me,” you teased, “I’m pretty sure Knights get all access passes.”

“I’d much rather come in or on you, sweetheart.” He grinned, what an ass. You shoved him away playfully, setting these carefree moments to memory. Even if you were both shit at coping, but professional at bullshit, at slapping on a mask for everyone else’s benefit. Well, Dean the later at least. You didn’t care much for anyone other than yourself, him and CC, if you were being honest. Which you weren’t.

“I don’t think I could handle if you went back, you deserve better than Crowley’s crap-dom.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I can’t die then.” He kissed you gently. “And won’t be going on another karaoke tour anytime soon.” There were so many things you wanted to say and none of them sounded like what he needed to hear. So, you sat there in silence, naked and blissed out upon the grimy floor of a forgotten warehouse in Dean’s arms.

***

He had fallen asleep, with his flannel as a pillow and his jeans thrown back on, unzipped and rumpled, he snored lazily at your side. It was some surrealist painting unraveled, he was raw and clammy with every spare patch of skin reaching across fictitious distance between you. He grumbled senselessly as you watched him, the vessel’s pleas growing with each passing minute. You kept your exploits from her, but she still knew she wasn’t safe there. The wrongness of losing perspective fostered the alarm churning inside your shared head. You savored every second you spent watching Dean dream, which was all the more precious because it was brief. Fleeting as a heartbeat, gone as quick as a wink. Nothing gold can stay.

Once the awe of it all wore down into undeserved contentment, she pushed harder and your willingness to ignore her thinned. You had work to do, a King to please and a vessel to free. You may have been a demon, but you weren’t cruel. CC had taught you how to be honest, even when it cost you everything. You wouldn’t look him in the eye and offer a true goodbye. You didn’t want to hurt him, and you couldn’t bear it if he wasn’t as pained as you.

Which is why you left like a thief in the night. The trap meticulously scratched through with the switchblade Dean always kept on him. Hastily, you left a note, prying a strip of vellum from the spell book he had used. Sam would have a bitchfit about it later, that you were certain. You couldn’t just disappear after experiencing an ecstasy of his choosing. Dean deserved more than you could offer, but you muddled through. With an air of melancholy that would make a Victorian widow proud, you staggered away on feet too swollen to be shoved back into her tiny boots.

*^*^*

When Dean woke up, everything hurt: his pride especially.

He hadn’t planned beyond summoning and facing her, but once he was inside her vessel with her; Dean had found what had been missing all those months. Dean saw his mirrored half: damned and deceitful, surely, but beautiful and blossoming all the same. He started to laugh when he fully came to, a deep belly laugh that brought tears to his eyes. Here he was, left half naked in a devil’s trap and somehow felt like he was the one doing the walk of shame. Either way, they both were. Figured.

He started gathering his spell materials as his phone went off.

           “Dude, where are you?!”

           “I had an errand, Sam. I’ll be home before noon.” Dean plucked a folded piece of paper from the middle of the old grimoire he had stolen from the Bunker’s collection.

           “Everything alright?”

           “I haven’t killed anybody, if that’s what you mean.” Dean read the note carefully before tucking it into his breast pocket, phone pinched between his shoulder and ear.

           “That’s not what I— You know what, forget it. I’ll see you when you get back.”

           “Not if I see you first,” Dean replied ad nauseum.

           Sam barked a forced laugh. “Nice.”

           “Yeah, well, you too.” The brothers both hung up, allowing Dean to finish clearing the basement of everything but the mangled sigils ringed in red. Before Dean started the Impala’s engine, he pulled out the thin scrap and reread the words she had left him.

           Dean-

                       I’m sorry to do this like this, but this one needs to get back to her life. I’m still on a job in Europe for the time being, but thanks for the one-night vacation. You were, as always, incredible. I hope you know you can call me; whichever way works best, anytime. Just, don’t do anything stupid. O.k.?

           Always yours,

                       Me

May 1, 2015

After Angel Heart

If Castiel had known Chloe Collins her entire life, perhaps he wouldn’t have been surprised by her request. Maybe, if he had known her without a demon’s influencing their entire history; she would have built up to this massive deceit with more finesse. Though angels were known best for being direct, unless one considered Lucifer and Gabriel, of course. Every way he regretted their tumultuous past; it still didn’t make answering her any easier.

“No.” Castiel glared at CC like she had suggested he trade the trench coat for Bermuda shorts.

“Castiel, please? This is really important and now that you’re fully you, you can show me how.” CC hated asking for favors, especially of the Angel, but this had gone too far.

“I don’t understand why you think I would do such a thing.”

“Because it is for their safety, Castiel. Sam and Dean are in danger with this hanging over us. We ALL are in danger from the truth getting out.” CC moved further from the backdoor of the Impala, drawing Cas out of earshot.

“Why?”

“Because, ‘Heaven’s eyes will never be far from you now and the minions of Hell will seek you out as a fortress against the light.’” She huffed in exasperation, eyes locking onto his impossible blues as the warning resonated between them.

“Whose words are those?”

“Mine, or my granddad’s, I don’t know. I had to make a choice to comeback from being comatose, Cas. I chose to live with the knowledge of my birth, of what and who I am. So now; I am a target. Dean doesn’t need another cross to bear, his plate is full. And Sam? Sam’s already walking on thin ice.” She stopped before she could expose every dirty secret she had learned from her months of hiding.

“Why are you only telling me this now?”

“Claire. You did the right thing, even if it hurt like a sonofabitch.” CC gave him an impressed eyebrow as he took what she said as the compliment she intended.

“You trust me?” Cas looked at his hands then back to CC, who’s own were tucked into her back pockets.

“Us Heaven rejects need to stick together, right?” Her smile pulled one out of him.

“If I agree to this, when would we even be able to do it?”

“As soon as possible. I need to get back at it, especially with the Steins still out there.”

“And you’re sure this is the only way to ensure Sam and Dean’s safety?”

“Fuck no. This is the only way to ensure Sam and Dean’s blood isn’t on my hands. Those assholes don’t do safe, you know that.”

Castiel nodded into a shrug, still playing at considering her offer.

She stepped forward, dropping a heavy hand onto his shoulder. “I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t care about them, Cas.”

He noted her repeated use of his nickname from Dean and the physical contact that they had never shared before. “Alright, I’ll do it. I’ll erase the knowledge of your lineage from Sam and Dean’s memories.”

“And Charlie’s,” CC added.

“And Charlie’s, of course.”

“I can’t thank you enough.” CC reached her opposite hand out and shook Castiel’s hand, solidifying their agreement. Cas took her hand and her anxiety in his, sensing she needed the peace of mind as much as she needed the escape.

*^*^*^*

Next Chapter: Finale: Just One of the Many

[bigbangsmasher]

“If I do fifteen push-ups, can I be done for the day?”

Makoto laughs for a moment, but immediately feels bad about it. “Fifteen? Woof, you’ve got a long way to go, dude. But I guess that’s why you’re training, right? Keep at it, and in a while fifteen’ll feel like nothing.”

“Right now, it feels like far too much,” Clive grunts in response.

They don’t really know each other; Makoto’s not sure why, out of everyone in the gym, Clive approached her. Maybe she seemed to be the friendliest or the most harmless, or maybe he wanted to flirt a little. Whatever the case, when he asked for advice she gave it freely, because more people should use the gym, in her opinion.

“Maybe I could do something else?” says Clive, now struggling to remain in a plank position. “Something with one of those machines, perhaps.”

“Sure, I can help you with those, too. But you asked about stuff you can do at home, right? Push-ups are really the best thing; a full body workout, and all you need is a floor.” She lowers herself down next to him, watching as the young man lowers and rises with a tremendous effort. “That’s nine. You’re doing pretty well.”

“And people do this kind of thing for fun,” he laughs. “I can’t imagine it.”

“Well, everyone wants to feel good about themselves, right? You work out a little, you feel good about it. It’s hard, but it’s rewarding. Like most good things in life, right?”

Clive gives her a doubtful look as he lowers himself once more. 

“You’re only like that because you’re new to this,” she smiles. “Ten. Almost there!”

“Doesn’t feel like it,” he grunts. “You’re strong, aren’t you, Makoto? How many of these can you do?”

“Jeez, I don’t really try to find my limit,” she says, shrugging. “I can usually do sets of fifty without too much trouble, but it’s not really a fair comparison. Us beastkin are just stronger than normal humans.”

“That must... really be something,” says Clive. His voice sounds distant for a moment, even as he continues his push-ups. “To simply be born a certain way and have an innate advantage over others. Well, perhaps it’s not too far-fetched...”

“Wasn’t all sunshine, you know. Yeah, beastkin are more fit, but we’re not always...” She trails off, fighting a sigh as she wards off bitter memories. Recounting them wouldn’t do anyone any good. “Well, let’s just say there’s plenty of people who aren’t fans of us.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be insensitive.”

She gives him a practiced smile, one that always tends to come out when these topics arise. “Ah, don’t sweat it, Clive. Sweat about your push-ups instead. Eleven!”

Everyone’s dealing with their own troubles, she thinks, and everyone deals with it in different ways. Coming to the gym is one of those ways, sometimes.

Some people work out because they want to feel more confident, some want to look good, and others simply want to be more fit. That’s basic stuff. Then there are people who want to become strong. It’s not always a bad thing to pursue strength, but unlike a sword or a gun, muscles aren’t just a directionless tool. You can use them to fight, sure, but you can also use them to lift heavy things, carry people over your shoulder, run and jump long distances... It all depends on the person building them. Exercise, especially this kind, is a means to an end.

What could Clive be after, she wonders? He hadn’t approached Makoto simply asking for advice, because she remembered what he said to her. “Can you help me become stronger?’

“F-fourteen!”

“Huh?”

“That’s fourteen!” he says. “You stopped saying it out loud, but I’m still counting!”

“Oh, sorry! Got kinda lost for a second there! Go, go, you can do it!”

With Makoto’s cheering, Clive finally manages to push himself up off the floor one last time. Letting his breath out in one go, he rolls over on his side, laying on the floor for a moment. “Finally, I’m... I’m done,” he pants.

Makoto chuckles, shaking her head. “Oh, you poor fool,” she says, clicking her tongue. “You literally just started. You thought I’d agree to your terms? Fifteen and done? Not a chance!”

Still smiling, Makoto leans over and plucks Clive up off the ground. “Up and at ‘em!” she says, placing him on his feet. “We’re gonna do some cardio now! And after that, we’re gonna see if you can do any pull-ups!”

For a moment, Clive looks as though he’s considering high-tailing it out of the gym altogether. But with a sigh and a smile, he nods. “I suppose you’d know best,” he says. “Especially if you can do fifty push-ups.”

“Didn’t happen in a day,” she says, waving him over to the treadmills. “Now c’mon, if you’re not sweatin’, then you’re not really workin’ out! You keep this up, and soon you’ll be able to do twenty push-ups!”