#look at ice pick Joe and tell me there isn’t something powerful there

[forkflinger]

god dammit why am I the only person who ships Andrey and Ice Pick Joe

every time. every time.

[sorio99]

Deltarune Chapter 2: Live Thoughts

So, since the new chapter of Deltarune came out, I've played it all the way through, so, here are my thoughts as I had them. Basically a live-blog, but, not live anymore, I wrote these in my notes app before.

NOTE: Obviously there are going to be ALL THE SPOILERS for Deltarune Chapter 2 in this, as well as Chapter 1. Reader discretion is advised.

Wow, okay, so I was wrong about it being immediately explained.

Various descriptions have changed, and I’m not sure if it’s because of the change to a new game, or the one to a new chapter.

I feel like Berdly is definitely a m’lady guy.

Okay, so, we’re not skipping class this time.

I really wish we could call Toriel and tell her we’re gonna be late again, but I couldn’t see an option for that. Maybe Kris told her on the ride to school.

Okay, so, Noelle is definitely adorable, and a huge lesbian.

Susie seems lovestruck too, kinda.

SHE HAD CHALK, AND SHE DIDN’T TELL ALPHYS BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT SHE AND SUSIE COULD GO GET IT TOGETHER OH MY GOD

Okay, honestly wasn’t expecting the closet to work again.

Fricking LOVE the new transition.

Okay, so, Ralsei knows about, the real world? How, why, and what?

Oh, that, makes, a little sense? But also, if we hadn’t brought the toys over to the closet then, would they all be, dead?

AND WHAT IS RALSEI IN THIS CONTEXT?!?!

Okay, but I love the new town.

Holy shit, save points have storage, AND a spare list? Hell yeah.

So, we’re all level 2 now. I guess they moved from EXP based (or, execution point based?) to Milestone.

Love the basement for bad guys, with K. Round standing guard.

Bitch said “Child abusers live in Hamster Cage”.

Wait, he uses the hamster wheel?

I don’t know if I believe the king about his “bluff” or not. I think not, but, I don’t know.

I can see the “Susie moves to Ralsei’s castle to escape her abusive home” fic already.

RALSEI GAVE KRIS A TRASHCAN, AND SAID IT WAS FOR THE MANUAL IF HE GIVES US ANOTHER ONE OH MY GOD IM SO SORRY MY SWEET FLUFFY BOY

And of course, the moss call-back.

Oh god, Susie just said “My own room, huh.” and my heart is ready to shatter.

This girl has one actual food item in her fridge, and it’s just salsa

Oh, scratch that, there’s ice, crumbs, and jawbreakers in there too?

Oh, okay, Ralsei did give her actual food.

Entering Lancer’s room gives the cartoon Splat sound effect from Chapter 1, and his bedroom is identical to Chapter 1.

Perfect.

And the sound effect, plays in reverse when leaving? Okay.

So, explore until we’re ready to leave, huh? Seems, suspicious.

Oh my god, I just realized, the LightCandy is literally the chalk Noelle gave Susie. What the fuck.

So, for giving the Top back his cake, we get regenerating SpinCake that heals everyone for 140. Nice.

Battle challenges, huh? This should be interesting.

So, we can get a ClubsSandwich, $100, or…Jigsaw Joe’s entire life savings. Okay.

Aw, Clover has separate heads in their dialogue box!

Just realized this “dojo” also has their bed. Odd.

Alright, let’s take these challenges!

Oh, so if we act with Kris, than spare with Ralsei or Susie…got it!

He has a mercy meter. There’s a mercy meter now. I love this.

Oh, of course his life savings is exactly one dollar.

I can already tell the Graze challenges are gonna be the biggest bitches.

Okay, so, being able to rematch bosses, with different gimmicks and attacks, but based on the same logic? Always amazing.

I love the little cut-ins from the other characters with certain lines, like Susie and Lancer revealing “for a price” means zero dollars.

“Cookie and Wife”?

The Blacksmith runs a bakery where he can fuse items…okay.

Imma get a Silver Card.

What the fuck, Mr. Society?

Okay, so, we’re “leaving” through the way we came in, so “surely” we’re going back “home” to the “real world” and our “family”. Sure.

LANCER was added to your key items.

Oh was he now?

And so was Rouxls, “even though no one wanted that.”

Oh, we, actually went back to the light world. Huh. Actually wasn’t expecting that.

Jack of Spades, and the Rules Card. Makes sense.

Still LV 1 here, thankfully. No murder yet.

Okay, thankfully I can call Toriel now.

…Undyne, what the fuck?

Also? This, car horn music, I guess? Is, um…interesting.

Oh, the, computer lab. Where Toby was in Chapter 1. Okay. Makes sense.

“Guess this means we can’t start our project.” I’d say the biggest obstacle is more that we have no clue what the hell this project is supposed to be.

Hmm, we could use the computer at my house, or we could have a fun Toby Fox adventure…

My house!

I knew Susie wouldn’t allow it, also, you always wanna jump in big pits? That’s, worrying.

Computer lab time!

So, computer themed, maybe?

Rouxls jumped out, apparently. According to Lancer.

Okay, this build up is creepy, where’s the fluffy boy?!

Who is SHE?!

Was

Was that Noelle’s chatter sound?

Asking for help?

OH MY GOD

ITS THE REINDEER LESBIAN

SHES BEEN TAKEN

NOOOO

And, I suppose, this must be, our queen.

Q5U4EX7YY2E9N. Sure. I’ll stick with Queen, yeah.

Oh, she’s a computer! That…that’s probably not, great?

Oh, those plugs are bad, brainwashers. Okay.

Okay, they’re both tired…but Ralsei isn’t here. Fuck.

Aiming at moving targets is hard.

2 Werewires spared, only 4 to go, I guess!

RALSEI IS BACK, YAY!

Fun Gang, back together, working to save Susie’s soon-to-be-girlfriend!

Rhythm game to start a new bumping song. Nice.

Might live blog less from here, since, you know, the game is starting proper.

God, I love Deltarune’s look and sound, it’s so clean? And expressive, and AAAGH, I just love it!

I love angry Ralsei.

First lose control laughing moment: Kris and Susie squishing Ralsei like a toothpaste tube, to play an arcade game.

Did, did I just play Punch-Out inside an Undertale?

Curing computer viruses with Syringes…sure.

Sweet is the rhythm guy! Nice to meet you, Sweet! You and Toby are great at this music thing.

Hey, Susie can act now! Awesome!

Ralsei too, because of bullying! Yay!

Now the whole gang’s dancing!

(This is where I took my first real break, to process stuff and relax, and also to sleep)

In between thought: it’s kinda interesting that, in Chapter 1, Susie basically had to be forced to care about Kris, Ralsei, and Susie, but as soon as Noelle is in the slightest bit of danger, she’s immediately like, “We have to save her or die trying”, huh?

“Reverse diss-tracks, where the vocalist puts themselves down and praises Queen…or noise music.” That’s some, interesting taste in music.

“All our songs are only 4 seconds long!” Damn, so you’re, like, Vine musicians?

So, the Knight is opening alternate fountains, that create dark worlds out of, more mundane places? Interesting…

So, someone new is leading the rebels. This, can’t go well.

Smorgasbord 2.

Oooh, a TP raising Item! Nice!

Oh, the guy who was already working for Queen is a Werewire now. Okay.

66 up arrows. Hmmm, I wonder if I can retry at some point…

Oh boy. Here’s the queens…wait what?

Oh my god.

Go kart time.

Noelle, you traitor! How could you!

Oh, okay. Berdly I believe more.

Also, “beloved”.

I love how Queen apparently didn’t even ask him.

“Light Nerds” Good one, Queen.

That’s one weird Check for Berdly.

Berdly, for God’s sakes, Noelle is a lesbian, you idiot.

You know, given this villain rant, I think I hate Berdly more than I do King. And I’ve dealt with both bullies AND abusive dads.

Oh god, Roller Coaster Tycoon murder (also Berdly is dead)

Garbage! Saved by it again.

Oh, this place looks glitchy.

Also, Susie, you’re not the king of the trash pile. You’re QUEEN of the trash pile.

Oh god, please don’t tell me she’s dying.

Okay, good, she just needed fluffy boy hug.

Fork in the path, advantageous to split up, huh? But there’s three of us, and, two paths probably.

Okay, I can either go with the Fluffy boy who might secretly be evil, or the mean girl who might get lesbian scenes…hmmm…

I’m flipping a coin.

Okay, Ralsei it is!

Oh, Susie is upset at me getting to pick.

Oh, they’re going together.

Oh, this can’t be good.

If I had a nickel for every indie game with a cat themed metropolis on my pc, I’d have two nickels. You can finish the meme.

I swear I just saw Noelle on the right. Something big in the streets, hmmmm…

Okay, definitely saw Noelle that time. Shame the Poppups, popped up.

…I get it, Toby, but I’m still mad.

Blocked 10 ads…okay, I still love this game.

God, I’m already missing my party members.

Okay, so I still have Lancer, but, I’m really hoping Noelle listens to reason, because Lancer is, not.

Oh god no, don’t fight me now Queen. And please don’t join me.

Alright, nobody likes Berdly. Figured.

God they’re so dumb.

“G-got any room for another truce?” Noelle, I would do a No Mercy run for you, of course I’m going to help you.

I can’t believe “No Triple Trucies” is even an option.

Yay! Noelle in party!

“LV1 Snowcaster. Might be able to use some cool moves.” She’s got Heal Prayer, a more powerful (but more expensive) Pacify, and a damaging Ice move for only 16% TP.

I love her.

I don’t know what a sugarplum is myself, actually.

Noelle, you have a one track mind, and I like it.

Lancer, she’s not a cream, and we’re not making her a bad guy.

Oh, and she’s scared of mice, I love it!

Ah, she’s never been in battle before, let’s see how this goes.

See? That wasn’t so bad, Noelle.

Oh, she’s a natural!

“Needles aren’t scary…” Tell that to anyone under 20, Noelle.

Also, “subtle” pro-Vax message?

Oh my god, I just love her animations.

So, the virus and the syringe are fighting…hm…

Okay, so, first, Noelle’s defend animation, also perfect.

Second, so Ambyu-lance’s bullets block and destroy Virovirokun’s…hmm…

Have I mentioned how much I love Noelle? This funky little Christmas Lesbian can do no wrong.

Oh my god, she can’t even confidently say we’re friends, and hearing Kris say it makes her happy, I love her so much.

Okay, so, Queen drinks Battery Acid. Makes sense for a computer.

Kris is so done with this shit, I can tell.

I am both scared of and loving Queen.

Oh Jesus Christ Berdly what the fuck is that.

That is not greatness that is…I don’t know. I’m pretty sure even tumblr isn’t horny for you, Berdly.

Christ, he’s gonna break Queen by being an idiot and then he’ll be the Chapter boss.

Her eyes say lying. Of course.

“I Did Not Know You Had… Nipples” that’s, a good point.

…Berdly, you disturb me.

Second lost control laughing moment: Noelle’s cardboard robot face, and Queen just saying “Wow Cool Face”

Lancer, what is the “illusory nipple technique”?

Oh, of course the music bots built the statue. Berdly would never do manual labor.

Oh, and, they built the next “big” thing…hmmmm…

Why are we, flavors of tea???

Okay, that should be all the werewires for now.

The, clothing store, sold me, a useless mannequin, for $300. Of course.

I am going to touch the cheese.

Maus!

Cheese maze, purposely ruined to spare more Mices.

Hmm, Berdly talks about Noelle’s crush. $20 says he actually thinks it’s him, or maybe Kris at a stretch.

Noelle is now immune to mice! Yay!

Oh, CD Bagel, Seedy Bagel, just got that.

Okay, sacrifice pacifist run to kill Berdly…I’m tempted.

Uh, Berdly, Noelle just one shot both your allies. I’m not alone, you are.

Jokes on you, buddy, I’ve been dodging A+ for years!

“(He hit me in the face with a tornado…)” Yes, Noelle, and I have papercuts on my eyelids. He do be an asshole.

Oh good, they both made Battery Acid Pies. Now we’re in a car together. Perfect. This is exactly how I wanted things to go.

Potassium

Who is this trash man?

Spamton, huh. Oh boy.

Oh god, this song has lyrics.

Oh joy, a mini boss on my own. Just what I wanted.

Oh, new game over screen! Nice.

Anyways, I hate this guy.

Okay, just one more deal, I think. I wonder what’s next.

I’m not giving you my credit card info, dude.

Oh damnit, 1% more.

Okay, I’m very scared now.

Oh, I lost $51. That’s, fair.

Okay, back in the car.

Oh my god, Queen loves Noelle too. Perfect.

Lancer took the mixtape! Nice!

Oh, he ate it…nice!

DECEMB…

Oh god she’s a little kid.

December.

I’m so sorry, Noelle. I really hope you’re going to be okay. We’ll figure out what to do.

Queen, why does everything you have explode?

Now the prize is on my head.

Susie and Ralsei! You’re back!

She can slightly heal me now…cool!

And she taught him Sarcasm. I love them all so much.

Uh, Susie! You can have it!

Okay, so, now Susie is both gay for Noelle, and suspicious of her. Amazing.

And Noelle is turned on by the threat of being killed. Have I mentioned I love these dorks?

The gang’s all here!

Uh, just got past fireworks, and, where’s Noelle?

Oh, okay. She was just watching Fireworks.

Oooo, catching mice minigame!

Oooo, more elaborate but simpler to control mice minigame!

Oooo, bucket hole!

Also, nice gay Noelle moment noted.

Oh no, please don’t take the perfect girl away from us!

Okay, so, I don’t like Berdly, but, Acid river? Bit much…

Oh, okay. He was never in danger. I hate both of you. GIVE US BACK NOELLE

GOD DAMNIT NOT THE CAGE AGAIN.

Oh, great, now we’re captured too. Except possibly Ralsei.

She only plays mobile games. Burn her.

For once Berdly is correct.

Queen, you are dumb.

Is that the super Mario world fade?

I don’t, next question.

No looking at my Search history!

Oh, hey, we can chat in here.

LANCER TIME!

YES I MISSED YOU YOU DOPE

Lancer, never say Pants hole again, and never say you were inside it either.

Lancer, do you still not know our name?!

So this is how they lampshade the tutorial-Toriel thing, huh?

Oh no, Lancer, please don’t die in here.

Um, are there rooms for all the kids at school?

Asriel…

Puzzle time!

Plot twist: Susie is not Susan.

Berdly is dumb.

Admittedly, I did brute force that second one a bit…

Okay, now Susie has outsmarted both me AND Berdly. This is sad.

Oh god, he’s gonna cry now.

Oh, my god, that’s what December meant. That’s why Berdly cares about Noelle. That’s why…oh god.

Oh wow, Susie’s a gamer. This is incredible Lore.

Oh wow, first Lancer’s face returns, now Berdly is Anime. I love this game.

Oh my god, Ralsei in a tux. I love him.

Alright, so, Lancer needs to go back to Castle Town, and we need to get the heck to Noelle. I hope Berdly’s plan actually works…

Aw, I wanted him to stay tuxedo…

Color Cafe, huh?

Oh god, Rouxls came here. I am terrified.

I love this hype manor song!

Toby Fox, why is there so much 3D Shenanigans in this 2D Top Down RPG???

Note: from here, I end up going to the secret of this chapter. Do not read if you don’t want to be spoiled on that plotline. Skip to where I say Pancake Batter.

Okay, I’m going back, and I’m gonna find this third blue check mark.

Okay, found it, now to get back to the guy…

Yay, fireworks, again!

East treasure’s hallway leading to Basement on 1F…

Oh dear.

So there’s a secret here after all…where is…

Found it!

Okay, how to open this lock, now…hm.

Well, one thing was in the field, so, maybe in the city?

Oh Jesus it’s Spamton.

$28, not a penny more.

KeyGen, huh…

If this is as hard as Jevil, I’m gonna be pissed.

Oh, great, just Kris going in. Again. Fantastic.

Oh what the fuck.

Oh Jesus Christ I hate this build up.

Oh, and I died on the elevator. That’s fun.

Okay, so I hate this elevator. A lot.

Okay! Took like six tries, but I made it past the elevator! Now, let’s see what’s waiting for me…

EmptyDisk…hmmmmmmmm…

Maybe take that back to Scamton or whoever?

…Ralsei, Susie, what are you two doing?

Okay, trash man, you better like this.

Oh Jesus Christ.

Okay, this is not what I expected to follow Jevil’s lead. But, let’s see what happens when I turn this disk in.

Oh, nothing happened. Sure it did. Just gonna walk away then…

Oh, wouldn’t you know it, something happened!

Okay, so big puppet robot man. This is terrifying.

THANK YOU SUSIE!

Roller coaster boss! Again! Oh good!

YELLOW SOUL!

Can’t write notes, gotta kill.

Spamton, oh my god. And it’s Neo’s outfit. How the fuck did I not realize before?

Im terrified, let’s GOOOOOO!

Holy shit is that the Undertale Game Over message??????

Many tries later

Okay, I think it’s actually Ralsei and Susie talking…

Quitting the game so they can get their healing items out of storage and buy some good ones extra later

Okay, third turn, and I’ve only been hit once! Granted, it did almost 50 damage to Susie, but, still, doing better this time!

Even more death later

Did he just, attack himself?

Is he surrendering?

I…I did it! I did it in one sitting! Minus quitting so I could grab healing items that did more than 40 HP!

Oh, he killed him by freeing him…….okay.

Dealmaker, huh? Let’s see what this bad boy is…

+4 defense, +5 magic (even on Kris?), and $+30%…”and…?”

Okay, Ralsei, you get that, Susie get’s Jevilstail, and I get many questions.

Alright, now back to the actual plot!

Oh…Kris has goosebumps, and Susie’s asking if they’re okay…no. I’m saying no.

I love these two so much. Now let’s save the adorable lesbian.

Pancake Batter. Alright, we’re good.

Sorry, Noelle, got distracted.

Mouse wheel!

Tasque manager helped!

Man, this room is big and empty, with an odd exit door and screens on the north wall. Hmmmm…

Toby!

Thank you annoying dog!

Okay, I still love this music. Just wanted to say that. Anyways, PROGRESS!

We’re tea covered now. Except Susie. She’s tea filled.

Oh god, I don’t trust Berdly with Susie.

God, Knight teased.

Duck ride with Fluffy Boy.

Okay, so, puzzle time, methonk.

High Five!

More duck ride!

Ralsei, do you wanna do the kissy?

Oh boy.

Oh jeez.

Oh damn.

Rouxls.

Ralsei, you read my mind.

Oh Jesus it’s the tank from the first game.

Okay, so, we, take houses? Okay.

I can’t believe some people thought this dork was Gaster.

Wow, I beat him in like 3 and a half turns because I blocked him in.

Another God Dammit because SOMEONE didn’t pay attention to what happened to Lancer.

His head is still blue…

Hey, Camera! Peace signs and hugs!

Mostly hugs.

Yay, more Susie and Noelle time!

Oh my god, my heart is breaking.

Okay, I love these adorable girls.

Oh boy, this is, weird.

“Point and hearts come out” or “Eat moss”. The choice of a generation.

Fair point, Susie.

She likes scary things, huh.

Kinky

Have I mentioned how much I love these two? Because I do.

Susie and Noelle are best girls ever, no objections.

Oh good, Berdly, don’t ruin this completely, okay?

I fucking knew it.

Noelle, you’re going to kill him, and that’s okay with me.

Susie, stop squishing him like toothpaste!

Oh boy, I get big “final boss” energy right now…

Werewerewire?!

Okay, so I just stole from Noelle’s room.

Okay, boss time.

Shit, I should’ve healed up.

Okay, so, I died, but, I can fix that!

So, this boss is calling back to how the town’s internet has gone out, a fact I didn’t even learn until watching other content last night when I should have been sleeping, because I forgot to talk to Alphys during the brief chance I had.

Also, now both she and Ralsei have made reference to the real world outside…hmmmm…

So I guess the plot is about Google search being evil…yeah that checks out.

Bitch, did you just funny runny way?

Hmm, I’d say 50/50 odds of him being a drama Queen vs. him trying to trick Susie into caring about him.

Yep, he’s trying to score a kiss. Berdly…get a job.

Alright, let’s save Noelle, and possibly the whole town.

The “Roaring” Knight?

Oh god, the determination…who is this Knight, what is going on, and how involved are we?

Wait wait wait wait wait wait WAIT

When she described the Knight making more darkness, she said they took their blade, and showed an image of a knife. Was…was this…

HOLY SHIT IS KRIS’S NIGHT SELF THE KNIGHT?!?!

Oh. It was a giant robot. Not a statue.

Susie’s dancing!

Oh yeah, he can fly.

Resistance! Yay!

Okay, so, we sentai up in this bitch.

I wonder how the hell this story would go if we didn’t go pacifist then? Because in Chapter 1, all that really changed was how the boss was defeated in the cutscene, and like a couple details later. This is, a lot more than that.

Okay, so, three rounds of HP, punch out for her turns, just keep attacking. Got it.

Two rounds down, one to go!

Yes, eat your own Baseball, bitch!

Oh, suicide attack. Well it was just a robot.

Oh. She still has us.

Oh fuck the robot is Noelle’s mom. Fuck.

Okay, so, Queen is dead.

Oh fuck, don’t take over the world with darkness all of you, please.

The Roaring?

Oh fuck, new legend lore.

Titans, Fountains, enveloping the land in devastation. Oh jeez.

Lost eternally in an endless night…that’s not paradise. That’s hell.

QUEEN IS ALIVE?!?! AND DIDN’T KNOW ANY OF THAT?!?!

Thank you, Susie!

Okay, that’s a good ending for a second chapter, it’s dark fountain time!

Susie, please don’t turn evil.

…

And, we’re in the computer lab!

Wait, Ms. Boom? Does, does Gerson have a daughter, or wife?

Lost control laughing #3: this

I love this game so much. Time to explore town again.

Okay, Alphys does crush on Undyne still, at least.

Oops, I just let all the prisoner dogs out.

Awww, Undyne likes Alphys too!

Napstablook, I love you.

Oh shit, Asgore used to be a pig?

Oh god, this Rudy storyline is gonna be depressing all the way through, huh?

Susie, can we steal the tower of the gods?

Hey, we can actually go back to Ralsei’s dark world?!

Okay, this is gonna be interesting.

Oh thank god, we can save in the epilogue now, cool.

Oh cool, King and Queen together.

Oh my god he calls her Queenie Beanie. I love this.

So, a card and a computer fucked to make Lancer, who is a card. Okay.

Okay, so Lancer DOES know Kris’s name! Just not Ralsei’s!

New battle challenges! Yes!

Might save “Ch. 2 All-stars” for another time, though…

Perfection is the mannequin reaction.

Oh my god there’s a dedicated room for listening to music I love this

Alright, time to skedaddle back to the real world.

Okay, so Alvin is Gerson’s son, and he’s depressed. Fun.

Oh, MK and Snowy are by the creepy bunker. That’s…fun.

Okay, so, Susie scared them off after they insulted Kris, because Kris said something about the bunker…hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…

Hey, Nice Cream Guy is one of the Ice-E’s employees! Nice!

Ah, PizzaPants. Never change.

Oh hey, it’s the little guy, who’s clone is a Gaster follower. And the bird guy’s still in the library, and the donut guy is still in his car…

Hey, Catty and Bratty are becoming friends again! Cool!

Omg, Sans’s store is open. Do I…go in?

Hell yes I do!

Okay, so, Grillby’s music still, but, different interior. Interesting…

Sans, a day and 2 years in this game are not equivalent. It’s a day and 3 years.

The trousle grows further away.

Oh jeez Susie’s been drinking the milk. Oh god.

Cool, Susie’s seeing Onion too!

Oh, never mind.

A song is coming from deep under the water…either Shyren is involved, or this is gonna take a turn.

See you, Su-

Oh! Hey mom! Meet Susie!

Pie for all!

Oh my god, Susie, my heart is breaking.

Okay, so Alphys and Toriel know about the chalk. That, kinda makes Susie thinking she’d get expelled for it, really depressing.

Okay, so, Toriel and Susie are gonna make Pie together, that’s cool. Still, pretty worried about, Kris.

Uh, I just ran the sink, and, uh…

WHAT THE FUCK

OKAY SO MY SOUL IS UNDER THE SINK, KRIS WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHY IS IT BLACK OUT THE WINDOW WHERE ARE YOU GOING

WHAT THE FUCK

…so we get a cute scene with Susie and Toriel, then Susie asks where Kris is and…they do this sometimes?

I’m very concerned.

Okay, Toriel is concerned too, enough to say “hell”. Even Susie is shocked.

Okay, so, they’re coming back, uh, okay, this isn’t good, right?

Stopped the faucet, opened the drawer, and…we’re back?!

Kris what the fuck are you doing

And why couldn’t we find Asgore in the town?

Okay, so, we’re all sleeping in the living room. I, guess tomorrow’s the weekend, probably? I don’t know?

Susie, doesn’t have caring parents, I guess?

Oh god, Susie wants them to come to our world, but, Lancer is a playing card, he can’t…I don’t know. I’ll say it’s “far-fetched”.

There’s a festival, apparently. This seems…suspicious.

I’d take Ralsei, so you could take Noelle.

She’s asleep.

That, might not be good, in this context.

Okay, so, we’re asleep too, I think?

Oh god, Toriel’s tires are slashed, that can not be good, in any way.

Okay, night time, Toriel and Susie are asleep…now what are you doing, Kris?

That, knife…

Okay, so, yep, they’re the Knight, and they just opened Darkness in their living room. This is, not, good. And, the tv’s on, and the door’s unlocked…

What the fuck is happening?

Ending credits song sounds, techno? Is this more of Don’t Forget? Or a remix? I hear the lyrics at least.

“To be continued in Chapter 3” OH IT BETTER BE, TOBY

So, yeah, that's Deltarune Chapter 2. In conclusion: this explains nothing, raises 120% more questions, and overall is still an incredible, wonderful game. I also like how each Chapter so far has been almost as long as a full play through of Undertale, and yet we're still somehow only 2 sevenths of the way through. Oh yeah, did I not mention? After completing it, it brought me to a chapter select with SEVEN DIFFERENT CHAPTERS, only two of which were available. So, you know. THAT'S FUN!

In actual conclusion, please play this game, it's free, it's amazing, and also buy the soundtrack on Bandcamp so Toby can make some kinda living.

[everybodyscupoftea]

idk you yet: come hang out

reggie peters x oc

you’re working so damn hard, you forgot what you like

November

The problem with Reggie not telling the boys he had date plans was that, though they were on a brief touring break, Luke wanted them to stay busy. Every time he sat down to text William, Luke popped up with, “Hey, you ready to work on stuff for our next album.”

Normally he loved the work ethic. It was easy to get into Luke’s excitement and to write with him. Luke was incredibly creative and loved immediate feedback from his band members while also respecting their suggestions.

But when he just wanted a break to head back to San Jose to see William, it just didn’t seem like it would happen. The best possible outcome would be that he gets so much stuff done at the beginning of the month that Reggie would have more time for their tentatively scheduled date.

Wanna facetime?

Reggie smiled at the text and looked around their shared apartment. He knew Luke and Alex were home, in their room, and he was pretty sure Bobby was out, so it seemed unlikely that they’d actually want to work on anything without him.

Sure

Walking over to his room, Reggie collapsed onto his bed, smiling brightly as he answered the call. A tired looking William filled his screen and an ache in his chest that he didn’t realize was there was soothed.

“Hey, Reg.”

“Hey, Will, what’s up?”

William hummed, “Nothing much. About to nap before our game tonight, but I missed you.”

“Aw,” Reggie teased, “I’m more important than sleep.”

“Absolutely,” William told him earnestly.

It shocked Reggie into silence a few seconds before he managed to stutter out, “Well, I just hope it doesn’t throw your game off today.”

“You’re watching right?”

Squinting at his phone, Reggie slowly answered, “Yeah. I haven’t missed one yet.”

“I know, I just wanted to make sure. Hockey isn’t exactly your first choice to watch.”

His voice sounded a little timid, and Reggie bit his lip, “I mean I won’t watch any other teams, but I love watching you play.”

“That’s good to know,” William laughed, “can’t have the boy I like being a Kings fan.”

Reggie played dumb, “The Kings?”

“Oh hush, I know you know who they are.”

“I do, I was just trying to make you feel better.”

William laughed again, head tossed back, “Well you succeeded. My ego is sufficiently inflated.”

“Good. Hopefully you carry that on the ice tonight.”

“Always do.”

His eyes were starting to flutter a bit and Reggie smiled at the almost adorable sight. William flinched and shook himself awake with a loud yawn, so Reggie told him, “I’ll let you get some sleep. Talk to you tonight?”

“Yeah, definitely. Counting down the days until you get here.”

“I can’t wait either.”

William hung up a few seconds later, and Reggie got off his bed. Maybe, he thought to himself, he should start planning a date. Sure, William knew more about San Jose, but he didn’t want William to do all the heavy lifting. Reggie was terrified he’d eventually get tired of being the only one putting in effort.

So, he grabbed one of his many notebooks from his bookshelf and his laptop to start googling date spots in San Jose. Reggie scrolled and checked reviews, taking notes on his favorite places for future dates if not the first.

Truthfully, he had no clue if William wanted to do something simple for the first date or do something fun. They talked a lot and had gotten to know each other pretty well already, which was usually the first date activity, so they could probably afford to actually do something if they wanted to.

Biting his lip, he stared at the page. Maybe there were too many options, it looked a bit all over the place. Flipping the page, he started grouping the ideas into activities, formal, and casual. It made him feel a bit better, more organized and easier to pitch to William.

By the time he finished, it was almost game time, so Reggie put on the Sharks pride shirt he’d bought at William’s recommendation and wandered back out to the kitchen. Grabbing some leftovers to heat up, Reggie flipped on the TV and turned to the channel that normally played Sharks games. 

Pre-game commentary started, and he sat on the couch to wait for the microwave to finish up. They were talking about some players that Reggie slightly recognized from William’s stories, and he pulled up the roster on his phone just as his food finished reheating.

Moving back over to the couch, Reggie pulled his feet up underneath him and scrolled through the roster while he waited for dinner to cool. He started matching names to faces, smiling when he heard them talking about William and his three game scoring streak.

“The Sharks got a good one in Harris. I know people talked about his devaluation after coming out, how it could cause problems in the locker room, but we haven’t seen much of that on the ice.”

Reggie grimaced at his words. William hadn’t really gone into depth about how his teammates treated him off the ice, and he wasn’t exactly sure how to bring it up in case it was a sensitive topic. He sighed as they moved on to talk about Joe Thornton, another name he recognized because Wiliam said that the older player had taken him under his wing his first year in the league.

“He’s the best,” he remembered William gushing, “let me stay at his house whenever I needed and really taught me how to survive. Being on the West Coast makes travel during the season brutal. Especially when you get to like January and February.”

Reggie heard the unspoken too, the older player had never given him any grief for his sexuality. He couldn’t even imagine how hard it had been for William to come out. Easier than hiding he guessed since William had done it in the first place. Reggie wasn’t sure even he was brave enough to do something like that in that toxic environment.

While he was lost in thought the game started, and he was startled out of his head when Luke threw the door to his room open. He looked at Reggie suspiciously, “You’re watching hockey again?”

“Yep,” Reggie answered, popping the p.

“Can I watch?”

Reggie was a bit surprised. Only Bobby had shown an ounce of interest, occasionally joining Reggie in watching despite being a Kings fan himself. After a few beats, Reggie answered, “Sure.”

“Sweet! My dad used to take me to hockey games when he wanted me to be an athlete. I couldn’t skate for shit though.”

Reggie snorted, he’d seen Luke’s coordination, so he could believe it. He elbowed Luke who dropped down on the couch next to him, “If they didn’t give gays a weakness, we’d be too powerful.”

Luke laughed loudly, “You’re so right.”

The two boys lapsed into silence as the game picked back up, broken every so often by Reggie making noises in reaction to what was going on in the game. He could feel Luke looking at him in amusement every so often, and when first intermission started, he prepared himself, “What’s up Luke?”

“I need, like, so many explanations.”

Reggie sat up and turned to face him, “Okay, yeah, ask away. I don’t know everything but I know a good bit.”

Luke hummed, “Maybe I should start with the obvious, um, who’s playing?”

“It’s the San Jose Sharks and the Arizona Coyotes.” “Okay,” Luke nodded, holding up two fingers, “who is better?”

“Sharks by far,” Reggie answered confidently.

Luke asked more questions, mostly about penalties and positions, and Reggie, much to his surprise, had an answer to every question. By the end, Luke looked much more relaxed and he leaned back further into the couch, “You really know your shit,” he commended.

“It’s a new interest,” Reggie admitted.

Bobby walked out of his room just as the second period started and stared at the two boys on the couch incredulously. Before Reggie could ask how long he’d been home, Bobby spoke, “I’ve been trying to get you boys to watch sports with me for years. What the hell is going on?”

“We’re multifaceted,” Reggie spoke, chin tilted up, lips quirked up into a teasing smile. 

Bobby snorted and shook his head, “Sure you are.” Sitting down on the other side of Reggie on the couch, he stretched out, “Who are we going for?”

Reggie motioned toward his shirt and Bobby gagged, “But the Kings, bro.”

“Choke,” Reggie deadpanned, and then more teasingly continued, “but you’re straight, I don’t expect you to understand.”

Bobby laughed, throwing his head back against the couch, used to the teasing. He turned his head to look at Reggie, “Fair enough, I suppose I can’t prove you wrong.”

“Never wrong, not once.”

Luke snorted, “I’m sure.”

But instead of responding, Reggie focused back on the TV stubbornly. He didn’t want to miss in case William scored a goal. Reggie would say in case he did something impressive, but in Reggie’s humble opinion, everything William did on the ice was impressive.

“So who’s your favorite player?” Bobby asked, eyes still trained on the TV as the Sharks got a breakaway, three on one.

Reggie leaned forward, hands over his mouth in anticipation, and when William received the drop pass and took a shot, it flew past the goalie, straight in the back of the net. Jumping up, Reggie let out a loud yelp of excitement and immediately went for his phone to send William an excited text for his first goal of the season.

“Harris, huh?” Luke asked and Reggie startled, having temporarily forgotten he wasn’t alone in the room.

Reggie clicked his tongue, “Yep. He’s really good.”

“You know, his story is actually pretty cool,” Bobby leaned forward, elbows on his knees, “how he came out and stuff.”

Nodding eagerly, Reggie grabbed his shoulder and shook him a little, “Yes, that’s why I like him!” He paused and then added, “Well, one of the reasons.”

“Wait, what?” Luke asked, looking back and forth between the two of them, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Google it,” Bobby and Reggie said in unison, fist bumping at Luke’s wounded look.

Reggie took pity on him first, sitting back in between them before slinging an arm around Luke’s shoulder to pull him into his side, “Seriously though, look into it.”

The rest of the game was fairly relaxed. Luke got into it once he started figuring things out, halfway through the second period, and Bobby very reluctantly cheered for the Sharks with them. When Reggie smirked at him, he shrugged, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

“Damn right.”

-

William was laying in bed, Luna burrowed comfortably into his side, when his phone started ringing. Shutting his eyes, he sighed, exhausted, and picked it up after a few seconds. When he saw who it was, his mood immediately flipped, and he answered Reggie’s FaceTime request without hesitation.

“Nice goal,” Reggie told him in lieu of a proper greeting.

William beamed, rubbing his eyes a few times before sitting up all the way to answer, “Thanks, Reg.”

The other boy hummed before making a noise and pulling the phone away from his face, “Look, the shirt you recommended came in!”

Squinting, William looked at it, the black shirt with a rainbow Sharks logo, and for some reason, unbeknownst to him, his eyes started to burn. He cleared his throat a few times before speaking softly, “I love it.”

“Me too,” Reggie smiled, cheeks reddening a bit. William wanted nothing more than to pinch them, he liked when Reggie blushed because it made him look softer. 

Unable to stop himself, William blurted, “When are you coming?”

“Next week, remember?” Reggie gently reminded him, settling back against his pillow.

William pouted and Luna finally got curious enough to pop her head into view. Not acknowledging it, he told Reggie, “Can’t you come early?”

Reggie sighed, rubbing at his eyes, looking more tired than William had ever seen him, except for maybe the first time they met, “I’d love to, but Luke has been in a writing frenzy. We have daily writing sessions and I’m sure he wants to start rehearsing soon. We’re going to start recording some before we go back on tour.”

“When do you go back on tour?” William was pretty sure he’d never mentioned it, not that he remembered at least.

Reggie hummed, clicking away from FaceTime to check his calendar, and when he came back, answered, “Mid-January. We did a lot of the East Coast and West Coast and a good bit of the Midwest so we still have to hit the South and the middle of the country.”

“How far South?” William asked, curious as to what their reach actually was.

Shrugging, Reggie tapped at his bottom lip in thought, “I think probably New Orleans.”

“New Orleans sounds fun,” William offered.

“Mhmm,” Reggie hummed. He was staring at William, and William felt his head tip to the side and his eyes start to get heavier. Reggie laughed softly, “Tired?”

“Little bit,” William confirmed, yawning.

“Get some sleep.”

William nodded, “Good idea. You too.”

“I will,” Reggie promised, crossing his heart with a faux serious look on his face.

“Good,” William answered, grinning tiredly before they said their goodbyes and hung up for the night. Luna let out a huff and laid back down next to him, and William wrapped his arms around her, trying desperately to squash the sudden loneliness resting heavy on his chest.

“Soon,” he whispered.

-

Reggie left early on a Tuesday morning and caught a flight from LAX to the airport in San Jose. William texted him before he left, promising to pick him up after practice, and by the time Reggie landed, he was practically vibrating with both nerves and excitement. 

I’m outside in the pickup lane! 

Reggie sped up, a bounce in his step, and walked along the line of cars, looking for William. He was toward the back, looking down at his phone, and Reggie knocked on the window, shivering at the gust of wind that hit him.

William jumped at first, startled by his sudden appearance, before he unlocked the door for Reggie to climb in with his carry on. Reggie bit his lip, toning down the wide smile that was threatening to stretch ear to ear, “Hi.”

“Hi,” William responded, just as quietly. His cheeks were tinged red and his smile was more shy than Reggie’s, but he loved it just the same. 

Reggie’s fingers itched to reach up and brush the curl of hair hanging down in his eyes out of the way, but he held back, unsure if he was allowed to. He couldn’t be sure, but it looked like William’s fingers twitched too. 

“Ready?”

Taking a deep breath, Reggie nodded, “Absolutely.”

-

William knew he probably should’ve focused fully on the road, but he couldn’t stop himself from glancing over at Reggie frequently. Just seeing him, knowing that he was real and there was so comforting, and part of William was already dreading Reggie having to leave the next day.

Reggie was staring out the window, forehead leaning against it, and William wanted to touch. He wanted to hold his hand or touch his cheek or something, just to reassure himself that he was real.

“Are you hungry?” he asked instead.

Reggie hummed, “A little. I could start with a coffee.”

“Me too,” William admitted, changing lanes to head toward his favorite local shop a few miles from his apartment. When he parked, William looked over at Reggie, more uncertain than before, and asked, “I go to this shop pretty frequently, it’s really lowkey and no one will bother us.”

Reaching across the console, Reggie squeezed his shoulder, “I trust you.”

William was nervous, and he wasn’t exactly sure why, but as they walked down the sidewalk, hands occasionally brushing between them, he felt his heart pounding harder and harder with every touch. When they got to the door, William held it open, and Reggie stepped into the mostly empty shop.

A barista William recognized called out a greeting, and Reggie stepped aside to let him lead the way to the counter. The menu was relatively basic aside from a side list of specialty drinks which was what William usually picked from. 

“Their special drinks are really good, I’ve tried most of them,” William muttered, shifting closer to Reggie so he could hear better.

“I might try the s’mores one,” Reggie answered, voice equally muted, “the toasted marshmallow sounds fun.”

“It is,” William told him excitedly.

He ordered his drink and stepped aside to let Reggie order his. Something flickered into the barista’s eye, William wasn’t sure exactly if it was recognition, but she didn’t say anything either way. Reggie picked the table, a two-seater tucked away in the corner, and sat down facing the door.

“So,” he started when William sat across from him, “I did some research on date places in San Jose.”

A slightly hysterical laugh bubbled up in his throat, but William shoved it back down and croaked out, “What?”

“Yeah, I picked out a ton of restaurants that look really good and offer a lot of options for any dietary restrictions you might have. And then for activities I have them grouped into casual and formal and you can pick.”

William stared at him, slack jawed, stare only broken when the barista set their drinks down in between them with a soft, “Enjoy.”

A blush was rising on Reggie’s cheeks, “I would love some feedback.”

Shaking his head, William laughed, “Yeah, that’s all fantastic, but I’ve lived here for years and have never gotten to bring someone on a date, I’ve got so many ideas of my own.”

Reggie sighed, “I don’t want you to do all the heavy lifting, I want to make this equal.”

William furrowed his eyebrows, setting down the latte he’d just taken a sip of, “I invited you here, I didn’t really expect you to worry too much about this part.”

“Well,” Reggie laughed, “guess I did all this for nothing, huh?”

“Next time,” William spoke confidently, picking his drink back up.

Reggie’s eyebrows shot up, “Already assuming there’s going to be a second date before we even have the first one, huh? That’s very bold.”

He shrugged and told him honestly, “I think the first date is going to go great, and if it doesn’t, then we’ll just have to have a do-over. Second date either way.”

“Ah, an intellectual,” Reggie responded, “your reasoning skills are off the charts.”

“Well, I did go to college.”

Reggie held his hands up, “You’ve got me there.”

“My college education is short-lived, but it does exist,” William joked.

“Okay then, Mr. College Education, do you already have a plan?”

William held up his car keys and jingled them in his direction, “I sure do.”

Reggie stared at him for a few seconds and then shook his head, “Fine, I’ll let you have your little mysteries.”

“Thank you,” William said, reaching across the table to brush his fingers across the back of Reggie’s hand. He watched as Reggie’s pinky jumped, bumping his thumb, and he chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying not to show just how fond he was of this boy he’d just met.

-

They spent the entire day on the couch watching movies. Luna was ecstatic to have people around all day, running around and barking until William managed to calm her down. After an hour or so, she fell asleep on the floor at their feet. Mid-afternoon, William broke out some snacks and Reggie laughed because they were vaguely healthy in a way he assumed was required for athletes but definitely not for musicians.  

It was calm, relaxing even, something Reggie hadn’t experienced in so long, maybe ever. His parents did nothing but fight growing up, and then he moved in with three other boys his age. Neither environment was very conducive for peace and quiet. But in William’s apartment, he felt himself nodding off a few times, feeling warm and safe.

“Reg,” William whispered, shaking his shoulder a bit later, and he jumped, not realizing he’d actually fallen asleep.

He rubbed his eyes and croaked out, “What time’s it?”

“About an hour and a half until our reservation.”

“Kay,” he muttered, prying himself off of the absurdly comfortable couch to go to the guest bedroom where his bag was. William had offered to share his bed, but Reggie decided that staying the night was maybe too fast already, so he declined. Thankfully, William didn’t seem to mind.

William moved further down the hall and into his room, Luna padding after him, and Reggie was snapped out of his trance when he heard the click of his door shutting. Shaking himself, Reggie pulled some of his clothes options out of his bag. None of the boys knew exactly where he was going, but the day before he left, they all sat on his bed and gave their strong opinions on his choices.

Eventually, after a few minutes of staring, he decided to mix their picks. William told him it wasn’t fancy and that he needed to dress warm, so Reggie picked the jeans Alex liked, the sweater Luke chose, and Bobby’s shoe pick.

“Hair,” he muttered under his breath, moving toward the ensuite after he was dressed. Reggie had been alive for over 20 years and he’d been dressing himself for over half of them, but he couldn’t help but wish his bandmates were there to help. It was as if they heard his wish, Alex FaceTimed him, Luke hanging over his shoulder with a bright smile on his face.

“Reggie,” Luke cheered when it connected fully, “show us the fit.”

He snorted and flipped the camera so they could see. Alex nodded, seemingly happy with his work, “Looking hot, Reginald. Is this a date?”

Clearing his throat, Reggie’s ears went hot and he shrugged, “Maybe.”

“Well if it is, leave your hair ungelled. It always looks super soft, and you look hot with that strand of hair falling on your forehead.”

Luke nodded enthusiastically, “True!”

“Thanks boys,” Reggie responded distractedly and set the phone down so he could use both hands on his hair. It was silent in the bathroom beyond the noises his friends occasionally made when they moved around or gave him instructions.

“So,” Luke started when Reggie sat on the bed, completely dressed and ready, “where are you?”

“I’m in California,” Reggie tried to deflect.

Alex made a hurt noise in his throat, “Why won’t you tell us?”

Reggie sighed and admitted, “It’s so new. It’s not really a secret, but part of me wants to keep it close until it’s real.”

“I’d say it’s pretty fucking real if you’re flying somewhere for a date.”

Tilting his head back against the wall, Reggie laughed, “I suppose that’s true.”

“When did you meet?” Luke asked, leaning in close to the camera as if trying to get in Reggie’s personal space through the camera.

“Last month on tour.” “A fan?” Alex asked, shocked. All of the boys had discussed the pros and cons of dating fans, and Reggie was stuck at a hard no when they finished the conversation.

Thinking back, he snorted, “Not really. He didn’t know who I was at first, but now he’s a fan.”

“Well,” Luke broke in, “Reg, you show that boy a good time. Don’t forget, you’re a catch and he’s lucky to have you tonight!”

“What Luke said,” Alex added, “and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Reggie rolled his eyes, responding sarcastically, “Thanks, Mom and Dad.” And just as he hung up there was a light knock at the door. He took a shaky breath and walked over, smoothing his sweater down, and when he opened the door, William’s fist was hovering in the air like he was about to knock again.

His mouth went dry looking at William, “Wow, um, you look great,” Reggie managed.

William’s face lit up and he glanced down at himself, “You think? Not as good as you, that’s for sure!”

Reggie struggled for a response, and William put him out of his misery, bumping Reggie’s hand with his and tilting his head toward the front door. Following William out of the building and into the parking garage, Reggie wanted to ask what he had planned, but he hadn’t managed to get it out of him all afternoon, so he stayed quiet.

“You want to pick the music?” William asked, holding out the aux cord and Reggie nodded, taking it eagerly. William nodded, “I want to hear what a music expert listens to.”

“Expert,” Reggie tested the word out on his tongue, “I guess technically out of the two of us, but I don’t know if I’d consider myself an expert.”

“I bet you have some fantastic playlists,” William countered, glancing over as he pulled to a stop at the first red light.

“Well,” Reggie paused because he did actually take a lot of pride in his playlists, “yeah, I think so at least.”

“There you go, own your awesomeness, Reg.”

When William said ‘reservations’ earlier, Reggie assumed it was at a restaurant for dinner, and he was incredibly confused when they pulled into an empty parking lot and William parked right near the door.

“What are we doing?”

“Tonight, since we’re in my city, I figured we could do something specific to me. Since we’re kind of still getting to know each other, you know?”

“Okay,” Reggie answered, unsure where he was going, “I like that idea.”

William sounded relieved, “Good. This is the rink my team usually practices in and I have the keys.”

“Skating?” Reggie asked, immediately nervous.

“Yep,” William chirped, pulling the door open for Reggie before reaching over to flip the lights on. It was cold inside and the lights came on slowly, one at a time across the rink. William grabbed his elbow gently, startling him, and tugged him off to the side.

“I don’t have skates,” Reggie finally spoke, realizing that one huge flaw in the plan may get him out of absolutely humiliating himself.

William waved his words away, “They do public skating nights here sometimes so they have spare pairs for rentals. Eventually we’ll have to get you your own pair.”

That sounded promising, on one hand, William was planning on keeping him around, on the other hand, he’d have to not accidentally crack his head open on the ice to fulfill his plans. But instead of protesting, Reggie was a good sport and told him his shoe size because William seemed really excited, and he didn’t want to spoil it.

“Be right back,” William told him, “I’m going to grab you a pair and get mine and put some music on. We can lace the skates up on the bench.”

“I’ll be right here,” Reggie responded weakly, stomach churning with nerves.

William wasn’t gone long before he was linking his arm with Reggie’s, pulling him again toward the closest bench. Reggie sat down, in a daze, moving slowly as William quickly tied his skates. Turning to Reggie, he saw that he had skates on but they were untied and he laughed, “Never done this before?”

“Hard no.”

“I got you,” William promised, dropping down to one knee in front of him. Reggie’s leg tingled when William brushed against it while he tied the laces. After the left one, he looked up at Reggie, “All good? Not too tight or too loose, right?”

“All good,” Reggie told him, reaching down instinctively just to check.

Before he knew it, the second one was finished too and William was standing in front of him, holding a hand out to help him up. He stepped onto the ice first, Reggie following close behind him, hovering just at the edge.

“I’m assuming you’ve never skated before.”

“You’d assume correctly.”

“Well,” William started, skating backwards a bit to give him space, “the good news is, you have the best teacher on the West Coast at your service.”

“He thinks highly of himself,” Reggie joked, taking a step out onto the ice, wobbling a bit. William kept his distance, close enough that he could get to Reggie fast, but far enough that he had room to get comfortable.

“Not to brag, but I am a professional.”

Reggie snorted and took another step, and then another and another. On his fifth step, he got too confident and almost landed right on his ass, but William swept in, catching him by the armpits, a few inches from the ice.

“Holy shit,” Reggie breathed, eyes wide.

William’s voice sounded like he was holding back laughter, “You good?”

Clearing his throat, Reggie collected himself and stepped away, “I’m good.”

William hovered around him closer after that, always within reach and coached Reggie every so often in a soft tone. It felt like years had passed, but Reggie eventually got comfortable enough to not be wobbling every few steps, and William moved up next to him for the next slow lap.

“Having fun?” he asked.

And Reggie found he actually was, he recognized the playlist and with William’s steady warmth next to him, keeping him safe, he didn’t hate it. After a few seconds with no answer, William bumped Reggie’s hand with the back of his to prompt a response. Reggie snapped out of it, “Yeah, this isn’t as hard as I thought it’d be.”

William’s lips twitched, “Sure, Reg. Whatever you say.”

They finished the lap, William still teasing him, and Reggie elbowed him in the side. William flinched like he’d actually landed a solid hit and pouted. Rolling his eyes, Reggie motioned toward him, “You’re being dramatic.”

“Never,” William responded, reaching up to grab Reggie’s hand, and when he linked their fingers together, any comeback Reggie had flew out of his brain. William didn’t say anything else either, content to skate laps with him, hands swinging between them.

Every so often one of them had a question or something to say, but for the most part it was just the music and the sound of skate blades on ice making noise. Reggie kind of understood why William liked it, it was almost hypnotizing, and he was startled when William tugged on his hand, pulling him back toward the bench.

Reggie gave him a questioning look and William smiled softly, pleased, “Playlist ended. I figure we could go get food now too.”

While Reggie was relieved to be back on solid ground again, he missed the comfortable weight of William’s hand in his. His hand felt cold, and he was trying really hard not to pout. Reggie managed to get the skates off by himself and handed them over to William to put away. 

“Be back in a sec,” William told him breathlessly, cheeks bright red whether from cold or something else, Reggie wasn’t sure, and before he could respond, William was gone.

-

William put the skates back and paused a second to breathe. He was in really good shape, but it felt like he hadn’t been able to catch his breath all night. Shutting his eyes, he smiled thinking back at Reggie’s nervous but determined face as he stepped out of William’s arms after almost falling to skate a few steps on his own.

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath, “please relax,” he whispered, unsure if he was talking to his brain or his pounding heart. Reggie was looking down at his phone when William met him back out, and he gave William an assessing look. Not entirely sure what he was looking for, William slowly offered his hand back to the other boy, and a smile grew on his face as he took the offered hand.

“What’s for dinner?” Reggie asked, finger stroking over William’s knuckles subconsciously.

William waited to answer until they were both in the car, and he cranked it up, flipping the heat up to high for them. Reggie bumped his knee, and he answered, “I was thinking we could go to a taco truck I like. They have some tables outside, but we can take them home if it’s too cold.”

“Taco truck,” Reggie mused.

Cutting off the rest of his sentence, William rushed out, “We can go to a restaurant too though, I just thought since we’re both sort of public figures we might have less of a spotlight at a food truck.”

When William finished rambling his explanation, he met Reggie’s eyes nervously, and Reggie just smiled, “Sounds like a great pick.”

“Oh,” he said, not expecting it to be that easy.

“Oh,” Reggie echoed.

William blushed and muttered, “Shut up,” before pulling out of the parking lot. 

There were a few people ordering from the truck when they got there, but there was empty seating and someone had plugged in portable heaters for people who wanted to eat there. William waited for Reggie to order before he put his in and led him over to one of the empty tables to sit. 

Reggie looked around curiously and yawned, clapping a hand over his mouth and flushing with embarrassment when he caught himself. Laughing, William teased, “Am I boring you?”

“Actually, yes,” Reggie teased back.

“Oh, that’s a shame, I actually thought this was going pretty well.”

Reggie’s face softened and he reached across the table to poke William’s hand, “It is.”

One of the workers called his name with the food before William could respond, so he just shut his mouth and stood up to go get them. When he got back, the moment was gone, and they both focused on eating. The tacos were good as always, and within 30 minutes they were back in the car, heading back to William’s apartment.

“Movie?” he asked Reggie when they got back inside.

“Yeah, sounds good.”

William frowned, “Wait, I have to walk Luna first, you good to stay?”

“I should probably take a shower,” Reggie smiled wryly referencing the sweat he broke while struggling to skate.

“Okay,” William nodded, “I’ll be back soon. Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks, Will.”

Before he could think twice, William grabbed Reggie’s sleeve and pulled him back, pressing a light kiss to his forehead.

-

Reggie barely remembered getting to bed after the movie, but he definitely hated the next morning when his alarm started going off early. He hit snooze and was almost back asleep when William was knocking on the door gently, “You awake?”

“Yeah,” Reggie croaked, voice cracking from disuse.

“Okay,” William answered, “I’ll make some coffee while you get ready and I can drop you off before practice.”

Reggie was touched. He knew how tired William was all the time, and selfishly, he was glad William offered because he wanted to spend as much time as possible with him since he had no clue when he’d be able to see William in person again.

He got dressed and packed and remade the guest bed before he joined William in the kitchen. There were two mugs on the counter, one made up and one black for Reggie to fix how he liked. William watched through squinted eyes, chin resting on his palm, and told Reggie, “Gonna try and remember so next time I can have it ready.”

Reggie’s eyes burned and he took a sip of his fixed drink. Glancing over at William’s mug, he asked, “What about you?”

“Splash of almond milk and a lot of sugar.”

Tapping his temple, Reggie promised, “I’ll remember that.”

They finished their coffee like that, crowded together in the kitchen, William’s forehead resting on Reggie’s shoulder between sips. Halfway through his cup, Reggie linked his fingers through William’s again, both of their hands warm from holding the mugs. He was going to miss that more than he thought. Fuck, leaving was going to hurt. In fact, he wasn’t sure anything could hurt worse.

But he was wrong. When William pulled him into a tight hug outside the airport, he brushed his lips ever so slightly across Reggie’s forehead again, just like the night before. Walking away from that, fighting to not turn around lest he be tempted to skip his flight and never leave, that hurt more.

[justletmeplayminecraft]

Did you see that Badtime popped onto the server to intimidate Etho during Joe Hills livestream? Because that really reminded me of your Wels and Scar fic and that was 👀

i did indeed and ngl, i thought of it too! this is the conversation in question. also i need to practice etho’s voice more so there’s totally not a fic under the read more that i wrote inspired by it. seriously though, same kinda warnings as the last fic in the reckoning verse. and my etho voice still needs work.

"Etho." Etho turns at the sound of Scar's voice, his thumbs resting in his pockets. He tilts his head in greeting, a smile hidden behind his mask.

"Hey Scar." Scar is leaning against the diamond throne. It sparkles around him, reflecting onto his purple suit. It's only a stage above Etho's own base decoration, really. He's never been quite as attached to the shiny rocks as the other hermits. "Fancy finding you here. In the town hall."

"Fancy that indeed." Scar folds his arms, regarding Etho without an expression. Etho's heard the guy's been a bit off lately. He's not spent much time around the hermit to really tell. What, with attempting to evade taxes and all. Fair game is fair game, in his opinion. He's doing nothing illegal. "Are you here to finally pay up?"

"Hey-" Etho shrugs, "-I've paid my taxes." He's just finished paying for his grounded stores, at least. He holds a hand out to the boards before tucking it back away. Scar's stare is scrutinising. Etho meets it square on.

"Etho, come here." Scar's voice drops. Etho steps back.

"Hey, if there's any taxes you think I should've paid, why don't you get your enforcer to deal with that? My blocks are all in those frames." He's heard about Wels taking that role. Most of the hermits have paid anyway, the pushovers. But he's heard of some... Interesting things. Even so, he thinks he'd prefer whatever Wels is doing to the coldness coming from Scar right now.

"I think I'd rather deal with you personally." Scar steps around the side to the ladder, wiggling Etho to the front of the throne with a finger. "Come here, Etho."

Etho's not sure what shifts around him. The air turns more frigid than inside his ice shop, weighing on his body and squeezing tight. What makes his heart skip a beat is how he moves, walking in front of the throne just as Scar plops down on it. Etho looks up, trying to understand why his body has completely disconnected from his control. Scar's expression is that of an accomplished smile.

"Scar, what-"

"You've been a thorn in my side for quite some time now, you know?" Scar leans forward. He looks at home on the throne. The way he sits on the diamonds is like they were made for him.

"If you had a problem you could've just talked to me." Etho keeps his voice calm but there's an edge even he can't get rid of. "I’m just goofing around, dude. I don't want to upset you." Scar shrugs and it's then that Etho notices the glow to his eyes, the same glistening blue as the throne.

"I'm talking right now, am I not?" Etho can't even get a twitch out of his fingers. His body feels numb. It’s as if he doesn’t quite fit into it.

"This is a pretty extreme way of talking." Etho's no fool, and the deep chuckle Scar lets out screams 'run'.

"Oh, Etho." Scar shakes his head, the laugh dying down. "Believe me, you're getting off lightly." Scar has a funny idea of lightly. Etho's sweating. Something in his memory helpfully supplies 'the jungle' and Etho thinks of Bdubs and- does he know about this? "For all the trouble you've caused me, your fraudulent ways, touching my throne-" His voice drops dangerously low, "-I should be doing a lot worse than this."

"Oh man, so what is this then?" Each word feels forced as he struggles through the sentence. He's gotta keep his cool. This shouldn't scare him.

"A warning," Scar answers, short and sweet. He rests against the back of the throne, perching his elbow on the arm. "The shopping district is mine to control and I'm not letting you get in the way of that. Your tricks are undermining my authority as the mayor. I refuse to let that happen any longer."

"Scar, you're going way too far, dude." Etho gets the feeling this stopped being for fun long ago. How has Xisuma not picked up on it?

"You know, it's funny-" Scar smiles, "-Wels said the same thing." If Etho could move, he’d be gone.

"What did you do to him?" Scar waves his hand dismissively.

"He's merely been subdued. I gave him a fancy new job, in fact! I'm not an unkind mayor, after all." Scar shrugs one shoulder. "And if I tell him he has to go after you, well. That would be between us, wouldn't it?"

"This is-" he drops off, not sure how to end the sentence. Insane, terrifying, way too far? He's got options!

"Great, I know!" Scar smiles at his own answer. Even that looks sinister, blue eyes outshining any joy. "I can finally bring things under my power, just how they should be."

"So you're controlling Wels, have strange magic abilities, and you're trying to take over the shopping district." Etho lists off, trying to catch himself up. "Anything else I'm missing?"

Scar hums, then shakes his head, "No, I think that's all you need to know." His head tilts. "I mean, not that you'll be remembering any of this, anyway." Etho's heart stops for a second time, lodging itself in his throat.

"What?"

"You think I’d just monologue my plans and then let you go?" Scar laughs, shaking his head like it's a bad joke. "Please, you're intelligent one second and completely contradict it the next." Etho isn't going to take that personally from the power-hungry guy sat on a throne of diamond. There are better people to be insulted by.

"Nice, so you have an ego too?"

The pain in Etho's chest is like nothing he's ever felt before. Against the unfeeling cold of his body, it burns, feels like a sword stabbed through his ribs. He doesn’t know how else to describe it. He chokes on his breath, coughing as he forces air back into his aching lungs.

"Maybe you should consider your own ego, first." There's not a hint of inflection in Scar's voice. Etho looks up at him with tears in his eyes. "I think I've said my piece."

"Woohoo." Etho bites down his pained cry. He was ready for that one.

"Go home and sleep, Etho. When you wake up, this will all have been a bad dream." Etho opens his mouth to protest, but the air presses down on him.

His vision falls into a blinding blue.

-

He sits up in bed with a start. He glances around his base, realising how hot the air feels against his skin. He's freezing, despite the sun shining through the room. Outside he can hear birds sing and the rustling of tall trees in the wind. He stands carefully, his legs barely feeling like they're there at all.

What was he doing last? Looking at his bed, he doesn’t remember coming back last night. He presses his eyes shut, pulling his mask down to breathe easier. He thinks he dreamed about the shopping district. He can't place what exactly. Only the fear that grips his heart at the thought, and a blue so bright it hurts his eyes. He has one hell of a headache forming. Maybe taking it easy is best for today. Until he's shaken off whatever this is.

He thinks he'll avoid the shopping district for a while.

[animalsatwildlilac]

Power Outage with Bearded Dragon

This beardie has a job. His name is Stripy, and he is a working lizard. His life is full of adventure at Wild Lilac preschool. But he does get weekends off, vacations, and even mental health days, just like me. I think he is lonely when we are not together.

On Thursday, when WL announced an early release because of the winter storm warning, I got the whole day off because I only teach in the afternoons. But I still needed to go in, briefly -- to tend to the animals before the roads got messy.

On the way there, I stopped for supplies at my local pet store, Tropical Hut. I bought 100 crickets and a package of frozen bloodworms.

When I parked in front of the school, rain was falling and the temperature was dropping. Masked parents were picking up their unmasked kids. I left 50 of the crickets in my car with plans to take them home for Stripy, my bearded dragon, and then I went to the animal room.

I fed and tucked our critters in –

Two cubes of bloodworms for the Axolotl;

Cucumber and carrots for the just-hatched baby snails;

Fresh pinecones and toilet paper rolls for the gerbils;

Hay for the new-found guinea pigs (see previous post);

Crickets in with the animals that eat crickets: the tarantula, the geckos, and the cane toad;

And food for the crickets themselves (some apple, some dog food);

The Madagascan Hissing cockroaches still had food;

The walking sticks are all out of bramble – I’m sorry, but they will be okay for a few days without food.

I headed home.

As I brought the deli container of crickets into my house (they had been in my car for about 45 minutes) I realized something was tragically wrong -- all 50 of them were on their backs, heels to heaven. My first though was carbon monoxide.  How could they all have DIED in such a short time? Then I realized maybe they weren’t dead – they were cold! Or did they freeze to death? It just hadn’t been that long. Such drama! I set them on a table and watched them, and as they warmed, they started to move. First a leg twitched, then another, then one flipped over. I was thinking how cool is this! Definitely something to explore with the kids – the freezing and warming of crickets.

And then, as I was deep in contemplation watching the flipping crickets, it’s 3 in the afternoon and -- the power goes out! There was no accumulation of ice or snow. The storm had hardly started. PGE said the power would be back on at 5pm. But at 5, they said 6, and at 6, it was 8.

When the temperature in Stripy’s tank dropped to 65 degrees, I had lifted him out and put him on my chest, zipped up a fleece vest over him, and put a fuzzy blanket around my shoulders.

My husband ventured out into the cold night to find a restaurant with power. He arrived home with salted peppered cod and garlic broccoli and kung pao shrimp from Powell Seafood, and the news that there were now 100,000 people without power in the greater Portland area.

At 8:03 our lights came on! Stripy was glad to get into his warm tank and eat some crickets. The humans were glad to catch up on what we had missed electronically in the past five hours.

Stripy poops biweekly, and does so in a predictable way – pretty much every time I put him in the bathtub; warm water brings it on for him like coffee does for me.

His poop in interesting. Part of it is white and rubbery, part of it loose and greenish brown.

At 2 in the morning my partner woke me. The power is off again, he says. PGE says the cause is under investigation and there is no estimated time for the power to return. In my Ambien induced slumber, I mumbled, “Please … bring me Stripy…”.

Stripy settled on my chest and closed his eyes. He clung to my nightie like a bur on a wool sweater, both of us covered with the duvet. Our dogs are not happy about Stripy joining us in the bed, and they move as close to my head as they can.

My partner kept checking on Stripy, to make sure he was staying on me, not straying into the sheets. But he needn’t worried. Why would this lizard leave the best heat source in the house -- a woman going through a menopausal transition?

Flanked by dogs, a lizard, and my partner who at this point in the pandemic has not just a beard, but a full wizard’s beard, we sleep. But not well. Our thermostat now says 54 degrees. I am worried about the crickets -- they are no longer chirping. but I am not going to snuggle them.

It is windy. My neighbor's roof is covered with snow and smoke is coming out of her chimney. Branches come down from the weight of ice. A car explodes and burns when a power line falls on it. All over Portland, people are lighting candles and caressing their reptiles, trying to keep them warm.

Stripy has two tanks – one at school, and one at home. His at-school tank is what I think of as his studio apartment; it’s furnished with a doll’s bed covered with a patchwork quilt, a hammock, a tiny ceramic toilet, and a small, hard copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. At home, he has a “desert” tank where I’ve built him tunnels and hillocks out of excavator sand.

In the summer, at the end of the day, he likes to join my family on the patio. We have cheese and crackers and glasses of chardonnay, and Stripy gets his own glass platter of mealworms. Yes, I know the mealworms are fatty and are supposed to be a treat, not a regular staple, which is why I’ve been trying to transition him to crickets. I want Stripy to chase crickets like how the beardie in the YouTube video chases blueberries, but he doesn’t.

I believe he doesn’t chase his food because he doesn’t have to.

He waits until a cricket crawls up on his hillock and then -- a quick snap nom nom nom -- he chomps on them. A drop of cricket juice spatters from his mouth.

But I know he still has his instincts, because I have watched him shoot across the patio to catch and eat a bee.

At school, the kids touch Stripy with one finger, and they know not to pet his head. Heads are personal spaces, and plus, that third eye! The first time I saw his third eye, I thought a child had drawn on him with marker.

When not roaming about the animal room, or sunning himself under a UV light, Stripy is carried in a woven sea grass basket filled with silks. He has castles built for him out of Magnatiles. The children pick fresh arugula for him from the garden and hand feed it to him. They sketch pictures of him that are pinned to the wall. The kids love him. They tell him this on a daily basis. They don’t imbue him with meaning, they just recognize him as sentient being.

The kids marvel at how his spikes look so sharp but are actually soft. They touch him and talk about his textures and colors, the orange rings encircling his eyes, his soft belly, his pointy tail. We watch his torso expand as he sighs, relaxing into his body.

What are those holes in the sides of his head?

What do you think they are?

Can he hear me? Why aren’t his ears on the outside like mine?

Will he lick me?

He might.

Why did he lick me!

He is tasting you. He’s finding out who you are.

This bearded dragon, does he know how to fly?

Not yet.

Well, his mommy needs to teach him!

I ask him questions in front of the kids … Stripy, do you want some dandelion greens? Oh, you do!  Oh, Stripy, I can see you don’t want to be held right now. You want to move across the floor on your own!

I regularly give animacy to inanimate objects, too.

What is he saying now, Teacher Nikki?

What do you think he is saying?

Caring for animals helps us to build compassion. I want the kids to know that the animals are communicating with us, we just have to listen.

Sometimes, on my way home from work when I stop at Trader Joes, Stripy tells me that he doesn’t want to be left alone in the car, so I set him on my shoulder and he lies very still (but is supremely alert and watches everything) as I walk around the frozen foods and the wine aisles. Kids always notice him and want to connect. The crew usually notice him, too, and greet him with a wink. My sister, who likes animals but doesn’t have any, when I tell her about my experiences in Trader Joes with Stripy, says “Oh, Nik-Nac, you’ve become one of those people.”

And yes, I guess I have, it’s true. I have become that lady with the bearded dragon.

No, we are not supposed to have a lizard in a preschool -- because of the salmonella risk. However, I believe that risk is an inherent and natural consequence of childhood. Our preschoolers take turns on a broken seesaw that was homemade to begin with. They build with crates and cardboard boxes we scavenge from the furniture store on the corner. There is sometimes a sprinkling of nails in our sandbox. We have earthquakes here, and floods, and ice-storms.  Our children breathe harmful air from wildfires. We have lockdown drills to prepare us for potential active shooters in our schools – a little salmonella isn’t going to shut things down for us!

In my more than 30 years of teaching with animals, I have probably exposed thousands of children to salmonella. It will be okay. For those of you who are still worried, let me tell you a little story.

I hosted a special COVID sleepover for some school-age kids recently (the kids were all from the same pod) and when it was discovered that one child had forgotten to bring a tooth brush, I said, “that’s okay, just borrow someone’s toothpaste and brush with your finger.” I mimed a demonstration and all the kids made faces of disgust. “I would never brush my teeth with my finger,” I heard. “I put my fingers in my butt too much!”

We do wash our hands as often as possible.

[littlemeangreen]

Since you like my alt-Marauders (WHICH IM SO HAPPY FOR) how about challenge for headcanons of them interacting with the Smashers, as allies or foes or just a chance encounter? No need to, I just thought it might be something you'd have fun with!

@thecorteztwins k I'm suddenly in a big writing mood so!! FINALLY getting around to this I'm so sorry sksksk

For anyone who doesn't know: Thecorteztwins has an amazing au where she's collected Haven (thicc angel lady who was possessed by a demon disguised as a baby), Claudine (Miss Sinister),Madelyne (clone of Jean Grey), Pyro, Sebastian Shaw, Shinobi Shaw and sometimes Alice (a clone being tested by Claudine)!

I feel like the first few days are really testy. Everyone's got some bone to pick, the usual. But the biggest thing? The name. A brief encounter with paparazzi ends with their name and the reactions go from Pyro and Claudine scoffing at how silly it sounds and what a rip off it is (Pyro being a writer?? U KNOW he wouldn't stand for Alt Marauders) to Shaw sighing about the fact that he's been stuck on a team with a cliche super nickname.

Then there's personal names because once again, Pryo and Shinobi both agree that everyone needs a name to reapply make them unique! Hardly anyone goes for it, ranging from Haven's soft "no thank you" to Shaw punting Pyro into a wall. Madelyne is slightly soft for Pyro's RPG themed alias ideas for her and less than impressed for Shinobi's idea of "Mad Milf".

Alice....I'm definitely thinking she gets nicknamed "White Rabbit" or "Wonderland" because; 1) no one can leave her out of getting a name. 2) Pyro 100% would give a cheesy media related name and 3) I like the very small connections of white rabbit to the white and red queens in Alice in Wonderland (and 4) rabbits always get experimented on :).

Gamma Gals having amazing duos with the ladies of the Marauders? Absolutely!!

Jen and Haven, being an amazing duo and I feel like they'd be the two who would have that issue where they're the only ones who can save the day and end up learning a lot from each other? Haven is probably thanking her stars that she finally gets to meet a hero who believes in her kindness just as much as she does (S H A W).

Just....Haven being able to meet an even bigger woman and trading stories and being GalPals(TM). Its a really interesting concept to me that Haven is someone who was deliberately used to destroy and Jen is someone who's entire identity is formed around smashing and destruction. It's probably rather cathartic to be working with someone who purely doesn't want to resort to violence immediately and who has been used (Haven by her demon and Jen by different people).

But also learning something from each other? Haven being able to see that sometimes you do need to fight for what you love and Haven proves to Jen that even after all this time, it isn't the muscle or power that can save everything, it's her and her drive and will alone. Catch Red and Shaw scoffing about it.

Speaking of, those two could either REALLY clash or really get along, no imbetweens. Have we found another old man for Shaw to wrestle with, Roman style??? (Ngl that would be hot in a sick way)

Skaar and Shinobi? Both long haired, beautiful, sons of big figures, grew up in abusive environments,,,,its a duo. Just put Shinobi into a mini team with Skaar and Daken and we have the "Black haired brood squad"

Rick and Pyro working together to have a joint production??? FIrebomb productions baby!! My podcast ideas? Absolutely would happen when you combine these two and its hell. Aka; Rick and Pyro gossip on their podcast and give advice to starting heroes as immortals and smack talk. But also outside of that I imagine they can get along a lot in the "had a hard time accepting stuff" and "we were heroes who often did a lot for others and got disregarded and hurt for it".

Pyro: Hey if I set you on fire can you become a flaming bowling ball

Rick: well let's fine out!!

Red and Shaw....there's a lot there. Both are old men who have been pressed on in their lives and affected by masculine presences in their lives...both are regarded as awful shitbags but they're both MUCH more complex and driven by a need for power and stability...lots of thoughts here.

Shaw and Red are one team you do NOT wanna mess with because two old men who are perfectly willing to do what's needed? Red can respect a man willing to get his hands dirty with clear means and Shaw can probably like a guy who has the drive to do what he believes is the better good. Also big hulk man who can give you endless power.

But also differences in them because Shaw abused and continues to abuse Shinobi while Red neglected and most likely emotionally abused Betty but it seemingly trying to make a difference in it now that she's come back? I feel like these two probably have a SUPER in depth conversation when forced to or alone and then never speak about it again.

Spending of Betty! Her and Madelyne?? What a DUO they're litreally a great mix because Maddie is a clone of Jean, Betty was assumed to be a clone at first and often has to suffer being the "domintrix" she hulk. Both have serious issues with their mental health and identities as well as dealing with their lives being ruled or devoted to men who ruin them. Both want freedom and have such passion! I just....so much to say about these two and the similarities. They're both red.

But yeah Phoenix and Harpy?? Skksks Maddie voice: I'm FIRE HARPY nOW

Am I still yelling for her hero name to be Griffin because of how mystical they are and being a bird and lion??? Yeah.

Also sad thoughts but,,,gals talking about their lost kids (Maddie with Nate and Betty suffered a miscarriage induced from stress), the stress of their lovers and who they've lost to (Jean, Emma, Caiera, Jarella,,,) and being manipulated by men for their power (Maddie by Sinister into Goblyn queen and Betty by Leader into Red She-hulk, Harpy, both died).

Anyway point is I can fully see them two just CLICKING or fighting a lot at first until someone points out just how similar they are. Then? Maddie and Betty out here being the brand new Thelma and Louise. Red and Black styles, willing to use force but protect the innocent, both take Alice and this cute kid that Betty absolutely mother henned in her run and,,,two moms and their talented daughters pls step out the way sir.

Tbh I don't think I have much for Samuel apart form him having a small crush on Claudine (and like,,,,not in That Sense, but Samuel does have a big history of falling for smart women or just...OP women). And then a series of gags where Haven wants to know him because he's like Shaw but also incredibly different in thinking and everytime she walks into the room,,,,Samuel is doing some horrific experiment and she just NOPES OUT. Shaw wants to make use of this but it goes horribly wrong oh God why did he try.

Lyra! I just....feel like there could be a lot for her and Claudine and Alice. Lyra was genetically engineered to be used in a war and was bullied relentlessly for being "half man" which...is rather transphobic and sexist but that's her storyline and it's too deeply embedded for me to headcanon over it so...sighs.

But yeah!!! Lyra taking Alice and giving her a night of being able to just....be whoever that night, not being pressured to have an identity of the sorts from anyone and just being able to fight people with a giant green woman. Probably has a lot of deep talks later that night with Lyra, sitting over a building and eating ice cream because it was one of the first things Bruce shared with her and a first realisation that Lyra could be more than someone's daughter.

100% would picture this with Carmilla (Lyra's sister and...also messy kinda clone) or Laura Kinney hopping along and!! Clone weapon woman team!! I could GET INTO this!!! Just...pls marvel give me a team of women overcoming abuse and forming identities among each other and cool women,,,,

But also Lyra admittedly would respect Claudine for her skills and her...tenacity? Yeah, that. She has strength and guts and Lyra probably actually tells her that she'd rather get experimented on by Miss Sinister than some pig of a man and Claudine just "thhhanks?"

Hulk,,,,funny enough I don't think I have many ideas for him yet? Probably gets into a fair few fights with Shaw and Haven over different stuff, Maddie has a bome to pick for Betty,,,I am,,,blank.

I feel like a lot of things for him would be Haven trying to break through into him, maybe each of the Marauders dealing with different parts of the system? I can imagine Shinobi and Pyro don't have a high opinion of the oversized dad until Bruce turns super ashen pale and immediately Joe starts yelling for some whisky and GIRLS....and a fella or two for matchstick and ghost baby here.

Maddie thinking that he's another Scott and then finding out that Hulk's thing is more complicated than Scott simply looking for Jean again. Also Maddie demands that she will forcefully adopt Hulk's kids and these two bonding over abusive dads???

But uh,,,that's about it!! Hope you liked it!!! I probably could easily delve into more thoughts if there's anything specific for me to set my mind on.

[zayray030]

Misunderstandings are Disastrous.

Summary: Oliver is a good person. He really is. So he doesn't understand why he's comforting a drunk Iris who thinks her husband's cheating on her. He's gonna kill Barry. OR Barry and the others have been acting really wierd for a month and Iris rightfully jumps to conclusions.

How did Oliver ever get put into these situations. He was a good man. Sure me might have killed a few people and cheated on a couple of people, but at the end of the day he tried his hardest to be a good person.

Do that's why he was extremely confused on why he was consulting an extremely drunk Iris about her place in Barry's life.

“I'm sure he loves you Iris. Why would you think otherwise?” Oliver asked, trying to get to the source of the problem. He's sure by the time Iris has finished he would be able to dig up at least 50 different times where Barry gushed about Iris, at least.

“Well it started a month ago…”

~A month ago~

“Hey babe!” Iris greeted happily when she saw Baeey in the kitchen. She had just come back from C.C Citizen and she really wanted to see her husband again.

“Oh, hey Iris. What are you doing here?” asked Barry distractedly, not looking up from his phone. Iris frowned slightly at his tone before smiling again and soldering on.

“Well I just got back from jitters after writing a really long article on the newest crime sprees that the Flash had stopped and I really wanted to come cuddle with my husband!” she said excitedly but Barry still hadn't looked up from his screen. “Barry?”

“Oh, um yeah, that's nice. Listen Iris, I have to go somewhere. I'll see you tonight.” said Barry before getting up and walking out. He hadn't even given her a kiss goodbye.

Iris just shook her head, thinking it was nothing and maybe he was recovering from another meta attack. Oh well, they'll cuddle tonight.

~A week after that incident~

“Hello, this is Barry. Please leave a message.” came Barry's voice from the phone. Iris sighed again and let her phone drop on the counter of Jitters. Iris had been acting weird all week and he had been ignoring all her calls and Iris was starting to get worried. Was he being mind controlled?

Suddenly, Iris heard the sound of the door opening and when she turned around she saw a very beautiful woman walking in and she couldn't believe who was behind her. Barry.

Iris felt something stir up in her chest but she pushed it down. Now was not the time to tune in with her emotions. She quickly looked around the room and saw a hidden spot where they wouldn't be able to see her but she would be able to and sat there.

Iris felt her heart crack the more she sat there and watched Barry talk to the beautiful woman and laugh with her. Insecurity shot up in her and so did jealousy but she squashed them down. Barry would never cheat on her. He was too loving for that. But Iris couldn't help but think of those times where Barry seemed almost bored with her and she felt her eyes stinging with unshed tears. She rubbed at her eyes quickly. No! She would not jump to conclusions about her loyal husband!

But Iris couldn't help but feel her heart crack even more when she saw Barry give the woman a hug longer than strictly necessary and saw the woman kiss his cheek. Iris held back a sob until Barry walked out with a woman and only then did she bring her hands to her face and sob.

~A week after that~

“Sorry Iris, but today is meta day.” said Cisco sadly as he and everyone else got ready to go out in town.

“Find a really cute girl that Barry told us about,” said Ralph. Frost slapped him over the head. Or maybe it was Caitlin. Who knows?

“Oh?” Iris said quietly, taking a step back from everyone hurt and betrayal rippling through her.

“What this dumbass means is that we're just going to pick some clothes that we can wear without our powers getting in the way and Barry met this really nice woman who can make clothes like nobody's business.” said Frost, with her usual cold tone but it was surprisingly gentle when directed at Iris.

“Yeah, what the ice lady said. Plus, I really want to buy some more jackets.” added Allegra.

“Okay, that's cool. Um, have a nice day.” said Iris awkwardly as everyone walked out to the elevator. While Iris was walking away she heard something that caught her ears so she stayed back slightly.

“Christ that was close.” muttered Cisco.

“Next time don't be so obvious. Barry doesn't want Iris to know and I agree. She deserves it.” snapped Frost.

“Yeah! Don't ruin it. He doesn't want her to know until the last minute possible and we're going to respect that.” agreed Allegra and Iris could imagine the small glare she must have on.

“I'm sorry but I feel weird when I lie to Iris.it doesn't feel natural.” argued Ralph.

“Well Joe, Wally, Cecile, Jackie and Kamilla are willing to do it so pull one for the team, Ralph!” said Cisco as the elevator doors closed.

Iris felt her heart crack again at knowing the fact that her own family and friends were willing to sit back and watch her husband go behind her back. Iris knew she shouldn't be jumping to conclusions but it was getting harder and harder to be able to deny the fact that her husband might be cheating on her.

After all, the evidence and the strange interactions have been proof enough that maybe, just maybe, that Barry is cheating on her and the others are supporting this. Iris quickly ran to the canteen and flopped down on one of the couches and sobbed her heart out at this new revelation.

~Currently~

“... and other odd things have been happening across star labs and whenever I hang out with the others they're just so secretive and they keep sending me these looks and - and-” and Iris could no longer keep her tears in and sobbed out.

Oliver quickly put an arm around and tried to soothe her like he would soothe Thea when she got scared, nervous or upset and let her cry on his shoulder.

“It's going to be okay, Iris.” he said softly while also vowing to kill Barry for his stupidity. “I'm going to need you to take this drink for me. It'll make you sober but won't give you a hangover.” he said gently as he took out a small vial full of red liquid.

Iris nodded slightly, still sniffling slightly and drowned the drink in one go. Oliver looked into her eyes and saw her pupils go back to their normal color and huffed out a breath of relief.

“Hey, you better now?” he asked gently.

“No.” she answered and Oliver could understand that. He just wished that Barry could think twice before he did something dumb like this again. It's as if anything Oliver taught him went through one ear and out the other.

“Understandable. Come on let's go.”he said gently before calling over a waiter to pay the check. Iris didn't protest like she usually would and just stood up and shivered slightly, her shirt dress and heels doing nothing to keep her warm. Oliver shrugged off his jacket and placed it around her shoulder.

“Can we go to star labs first? I left my laptop there by accident.” she said. Oliver nodded secretly elated that he was finally going to where he wanted Iris to be in the first place.

After Oliver had paid for all of Iris's drinks they quickly got into his limo and drove off. For the most part of it Iris was quite apart from the occasional hiccup and Oliver just kept bouncing his legs, nervous. With how bad the others had been he was sure it was going to be a complete disaster.

When they got to star labs Iris briskly walked in, wanting to get out of there as quick as possible and went straight to the Canteen

It was completely dark when they walked in and Oliver held his breath as Iris switched the light on.

“SURPRISE!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY IRIS!!!!” Everyone screamed the moment the light was turned on. Iris jumped back, fear in her eyes, but it quickly disappeared as she saw the scene.

There was a huge banner that said ‘Happy birthday to Iris Ann West Allen’ in big, bright, bold colours and there were steamers all around along with cakes and candy all on plates. The normally pristine area was filled with so much decoration and there was a mounting of presents on a table at the corner of the room. Drinks were placed everywhere and all her friends where crowded around the front.

“Do you know how long I've waited?” asked Cisco as he sighed a sigh of relief. Oliver just shook his head thinking over and over that this was a bad idea.

“Iris?” Barry asked when he noticed his wife had gone silent. Everyone had turned to the small woman and they could see tears collecting in her eyes.

“So you aren't cheating on me?” she asked quietly. Everyone paused in their laughter and turned to stare at her. Why did she think that?

“What? Of course not, Iris! Why would you think that?” asked Barry speeding over to his wife and tilting her chin upwards. Oliver shook his head again and groaned quietly in his hands.

“You kept on ignoring me and when you did talk to me you sounded so cold and dismissive and you guys kept avoiding me and I saw you hang out with a pretty women and ignore my calls and I saw her kiss your cheeks and i-” Iris lost the battle with her tears and started sobbing in her husbands chest.

Over Barry's shoulder, Oliver could see everyone's guilty and ashamed faces.

“Iris, baby, I so desperately wanted to tell you about this but they wouldn't let me talk to you. They even had to lock me over on Cynthia's earth just to keep me quiet. I so desperately wanted to call you and give you all the attention you deserve but they took my phone away and knocked me out.” said Barry to his wife, soothing her doubts away. Well, most of her doubts anyway. It'll take more than a few words.

“Oh.” she said quietly, but tears were still streaming down her face.

“We're so sorry Iris. But if Barry was cheating on you, which he isn't, I would never stand by him. I would tell you straight away and post every ugly picture I have of him in the Citizen.” said Kamilla, coming to her sister figure and giving her a hug.

“And plus, I would burn his face off.” added Allegra, joining into the hug.

Slowly everyone began giving Iris apologies and telling her one hundred percent that if Barry tried anything with her they would without a doubt, one hundred percent, end his existence.

By the end of it the only person not in the hug was Oliver but Iris fixed that soon enough by pulling out a blind arm and waving it around signalling him to come over and dragging him over.

“Now come on, birthday day girl! It's time for you to party and dance the night away!” cheered Sara pulling Iris to the dance floor and Iris let out a small giggle and soon mostly everyone was on the dance floor.

“How the fuck do I make this up to her?” Barry quietly asked Oliver, Kara and Kata

“It's going to take time. A few words can't change what she's thought about for a month. Therapy is a good idea and reminding her you love her every time you talk to her. And also, when throwing her a surprise party, don't you dare ignore her.” said Oliver. He had recently begun to see Iris as a sister and he wasn't going to stand around and see her upset.

“I mean I got her tickets to go to the best spa in America so I think it's best to think that maybe she needs a good day to relax with friends.” said Kate, as if she was challenging Oliver. Oliver just scoffed and smirked.

“Well I got her a free day to whatever thing she what's from the Queen beauty spa.” countered Oliver and before those two could get into a fight Kara stepped in between them.

“Oh, no, no, no. This day is Iris's special day and none of us is going to ruin it. We already ruined her month by making her think that Barry was going to cheat on her. So Barry, a way Iris could forgive you is if you put your speed to use.” said Kara not realising the double meaning to it until Oliver and Kate cracked up. “Oh, shut it.” she snapped.

“Anyway, what Kara said. You're practically a human vibrator. Put that to use for her birthday gift and make sure she stays happy. After that we're all going to grovel at her feet like dogs for ruining her mental state.” Kara finally got out after she'd finished laughing.

“Couples dance!” yelled Cisco dragging Kamilla to the dance floor. Barry sped over to his wife and danced with her. Everyone's eyes were kept on the couple and they felt their eyes glisten. Those two have gone through so much, they deserved this little money between them.

The night was spent partying and dancing with Iris opening up presents and everyone apologising. The ones who couldn't get drunk kept an eye out for everyone. By the time the night was over Iris had happy tears in her eyes and most of her worries had subsided. Her feet ached and all she wanted was a night with her husband.

“Come on, let's go. Let me give you your present.” he whispered into her ear and she could see Kara blush bright red from where she was talking to Oliver and Kate.

“Yay.” she said quietly and he quickly picked her up bridal style and ran out with her. Iris faintly heard everyone calling them goodbye and she relaxed into her husband's chest.

He opened up their dorr and gently ran then to their bedroom and gently placed her on the bed.

“Let me show you just how much I love you, baby.” he whispered into her ear and Iris just nodded before gasping softly.

Maybe an entire month of worrying whether your husband was going to cheat on you wasn't good but Iris couldn't deny the after effect was very nice.

At least that's what she told herself when she woke up to her naked body sore all over and her husband's smug smirk.

[turning-dreams-into-chaos]

Here’s to the Bad Guys

*Not my Gif*

Request: Hi, could you please write a Savitar x Reader where after Killer Frost's speech in 3x20 reader would figure out who Savitar is and when he shows up he would offer her a choice to take his side because he loves her and reader loves Barry who is focusing only on Iris? Reader could have powers and protect KF and Savitar from Cisco and Barry. Hope I explained it well and thank you in advance

Requested By: @kurtbastianlover

Paring: Savitar x Reader

Post Date: 6-27-19

Word Count: 3K (like exactly, what are the odds lol)

A/N: Hi! Sorry this took so long to write... I hope you like it as I have no idea if it's any good or not. Or if its what you wanted at all... Enjoy? 😂 I feel as if this wasn't one of my best pieces, but like, let me know what you all think! I may have done a lot of time skips...

- Ria

~Prompt List~

~Master List~

~Open Requests~

Requests open until July 1st

Unrequited love sucks. To sit there and pine for someone you know could never love you back. Someone who is in love with another. Barry Allen.

The same Barry Allen you've been in love with since you moved to Central City a few years after his mom's death. He was the first person you bonded with and soon you, Barry, and Iris became inseparable. But as Barry and you got closer you realized you were falling for the boy, only to see him falling for Iris. You never said anything, pining from a distance as Barry pined for Iris, hurting every time you saw them together.

But you being unloved will have to wait as right now, getting Cecile back from Killer Frost and protecting Tracy Brand was the goal. You stood behind Barry, as he tries to reason with Killer Frost.

"We're family." Barry says, only for Killer Frost to say the exact same time. Barry turned to you, both sporting an equally confused look before focusing on the girl again. "We protect each other until the end."

Again, Killer Frost joins his words.

"What the hell?" you mumble and take a step forward to be next to Barry. "How are you doing that?" Killer Frost looks at you and Barry, a smug smile on her face and you knew soon you'd be fighting.

"Savitar told me everything you'd say. You two are more alike than you realize." Her smirk somehow turned icy as you glared at her, preparing to try and fight one of your Best Friends. Your eyes turned into its purple color as you felt energy grace your fingertips. The fight didn't last long, starting when Killer Frost knocked Cisco out of the rafters with a bomb. He fell into a bunch of crates and barrels and got knocked out. You wanted to check on him, making sure he's ok, but when Killer Frost shot ice towards Joe's gun right next to you, you knew you didn't have the luxury to. You shot an energy blast at her, her dodging out of the way as it collided with the wall behind you. When she aimed her blasts toward you and Joe you got worried, only for Barry to jump in front, taking her blasts on him. Within a second, he was frozen to the ground and you were the last Meta standing, or so you thought. You aimed your blasts one last time, groaning when it missed and she struck you. But then Cisco hit her, causing her to fall. You got on your feet as Joe got Cecile out and Cisco and Killer Frost started their duel. You immediately joined Cisco, using all your energy to push her back as she flew into the wall, knocking her out. Cisco checked her pulse as he injected her with the serum and you checked on Barry.

"Are you all right?" you asked worriedly, wiping the ice off of him as he chuckles at you. He stops your hands as he smiles down at you. You couldn't help the butterflies in your stomach as his smile widened.

"I'm alright. I'm alright. Are you?" You nodded your head and he patted your arms before heading over to Cisco. You didn't watch as he left, just trying to ignore everything in you and try to check on your friend. But luck wasn't on your side as you barely took a step before Savitar sped into the room.

"My ascension is nearly at hand, Flash. As I rise, you will fall." He spoke, voice low from the tech in his suit. You just watched as his head turned to you and he crouched down to pick up Killer Frost.

One minute you were standing in front of Savitar as he stared at you, too scared to move but trying not to show it, and the next minute you were in the middle of what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Damn these villains who love their warehouses. Your breath was shaky as you turned around, taking in the sight of Killer Frost lying on the ground as your eyes widened. Caitlin. She was still in there and you knew it. You kneel next to her, feeling for a pulse and once you find one you relax a little before tensing as you feel a presence behind you. Cursing under your breath you spin around, looking up at a towering Savitar.

"Y/N..." he whispered as he pulled you up. You pushed against his hold, hoping to find a way out. He quickly notices your movements and one hand stays holding your arm as the other cups your cheek. The touch and the feeling was so... familiar, but you couldn't place it, you didn't know why you know it but it caused you to falter. "Stay with us. Join us."

You scoff as you lean away from his touch, putting as much distance between you and him as possible. "Why the hell should I join you? You're the bad guys." You heard Killer Frost let out a cackle behind you as you face her, completely unsure if you could handle yourself now she was up.

"Are you going to tell her? Or am I?" she joked as you felt Savitar pull your chin to look at him again. Your stomach started to turn as he backed away, stepping out of his suit as you stared wide eyed and mouth opened.

Barry?

Your eyes found the scars across his face as he cowered under your gaze. You never thought you'd see Savitar like this. This scared. He took a few steps closer, not looking you in the eye as your breathing quickened.

"Because you love me. And I love you. And I can't hurt you anymore." he put his hand back on your cheek and you realized why you know the touch. It was his. But it was different. Your Barry, he only gave you these touches on certain occasions, when you needed it. And yet you'd watch from afar as he looked at Iris the way Savitar is looking at you. You felt like you couldn't breath as your eyes met, and you instantly remembered he wasn't the Barry you had loved. Right?

"She doubts you." Killer Frost had sung behind you as amusement laced her voice. Savitar did the last thing you'd ever imagine as he pulled your face up, moving his lips down to yours. Your brain went fuzzy as you closed your eyes, kissing back within seconds. It didn't matter that he wasn't your Barry, It was still Barry. As you pulled apart, you kept your eyes closed, deciding what to do next. Savitar stared down at you as you finally opened your eyes, taking a step back to look up at him.

"Okay. I'm on your side." You whispered as Savitar smiled down at you.

You heard Killer Frost behind you let out a surprised chuckle. You didn't turn around this time, choosing to look at Savitar, or Barry. "Well then. Here's to the bad guys."

That's when you realized something. "You're going to kill Iris. Wait... I don't- I don't want her to die. She's my friend." You insisted, eyes falling between the two. His face dropped as he looked at you.

"You could be a god Y/N. We could be gods, together." His voice was soft as he stepped close to you, grabbing your hand with his.

You squeezed his head but shook your head. "It isn't right. She doesn't deserve to die."

"She has to die, so I can live. Live with you." You could feel Savitar tense before smiling. "I'll be back soon. Someone wants to talk." he kisses your head as you close your eyes, pressing against his touch as he pulled away, getting into his suit before leaving you and Killer Frost alone. She walks in front of you, stopping only to cross her arms. She looks you up and down before smirking. You shy under her gaze before looking in her eyes.

"Caitlin?" you whispered, hoping your friend would come back. Killer Frost just laughed before walking closer.

Her voice chilled you right down to your bones, "Sorry, Not Caitlin. Killer Frost." You didn't look away though, denying that your friend was gone.

"But she's still in there. Somewhere. That's why haven't killed yet. You can still feel her, everything that was good about her. She's still you." You knew you were right when her eyes started to turn blue before she stormed off. You let out a breath before collapsing on the floor, thinking about what you'd just gotten yourself into.

Savitar ran to Barry, finding him screaming for him in the middle of the street. "I know who you are." Barry yells before Savitar tells him it's about time. Barry walks closer, mask off as he shares what he knows. "Everything with you is about time isn't it? The past, the present, the future, you know all of it. And you know everything about me! About Joe! About Wally! Iris and Y/N!" Savitar scoffs at the mention of you, causing Barry to stop talking and watch him.

"I know more about Y/N than you do, flash." He begins as Barry furrows his brows, taking a step back as he thinks about you.

"What did you do to her? Where is she!" he screams, sweat dripping down his face as he runs his hand through his hair. Savitar stays in power, unmoving as Barry stares at him.

"I offered her a future, one you wouldn't, by my side. You couldn't see the love she held for you and you held for her until it was too late. But I see it. She's happy with me." Barry looked crushed at his words, hearing you left the team hurt him. But hearing you loved him and he didn't know hurt more. Ignoring the heartache in his chest he stood his ground, continuing his argue with the 'God' in spite of the conflict inside him. But the conflict deepened as Savitar stepped out of the suit, showing Barry that he lost you, not just to his current enemy, but to himself.

Being with the 'Bad Guys' took its toll on you. Savitar came back and told you that Barry knew, and he knew you betrayed them and you knew you couldn't go back to them. Not now. Savitar kept you close to him, never letting you out of his sight unless Killer Frost was there as well. You hadn't minded the closeness to Barry, but you refused to look at her, only being reminded of Caitlin. She was still in there, she had to be.

You sat on a stool, watching as Savitar fixed his suit. You didn't say anything as Killer Frost approached you both. You ignored them, focusing on the suit in front of you as Savitar tinkers with the metal.

"...Barry and Caitlin at it again." Caitlin says as you start paying attention. Caitlin. She said Caitlin. Your head shot up as you tried to subtly play it off, but Savitar saw through it. He glared at you before focusing on Caitlin.

"You're not Caitlin. And I'm not Barry." He points his tool at Killer Frost and you see the realization hit her face. She slipped and it just proved to you even more your friend was in there. They continued to talk, but once again you stopped listening; only hearing small tidbits as they talked about Iris' death. "What I remember is being created as a disposable life. Something to be thrown away when Barry Allen was done with me. He didn't care about me. Why should I care about his love?"

You couldn't take listening to anything anymore. You stood up and walked around, away from their conversation. Savitar and Killer Frost both watched you before carrying on, but Savitar's eyes never left you.

Days went on and soon you found yourself standing next to Killer Frost in the woods, facing Cisco as a look of betrayal crossed his face. Savitar didn't take you with him. He couldn't let you see Iris die. He knew it would hurt you too much, but you knew the truth, H.R. and Iris switched. You watched them escape when he came to save her, nodding to tell them to go. And when Iris came back you thought you failed, only for her to tell you it wasn't her. They still trusted you, even if you had joined the 'Bad Guys'. You looked between Killer Frost and Cisco, two best friends separated by good and bad and you thought back on yours. She was still Iris, he was still Barry, but were you the same Y/N?

"In order to join him as a god, I have to cure myself of Caitlin. This has to happen." Caitlin begins to take a step forward, Ice forming as you prepare yourself to fight another one of your friends, but this time its the one you had sided with last time.

"I don't want to fight you. Either of you. Y/N, how could you side with them?" Cisco's eyes find yours as you close them, letting your energy flow through you, from the purple mist flowing around your hands up to the purple hue in your eyes.

"I'm sorry Cisco. Its complicated." you apologized, trying to figure a way out of this so no one gets hurt, but it didn't look good.

"I don't want to fight you either." Killer Frost interrupts your thoughts as your purple lit eyes widened. Cisco looked shocked as well before she continued. "I wanna kill you." She immediately shots a dagger of ice at him as he dodges. You stood there, not knowing how to help but not wanting to hurt anyone. When she finally lands a blow on him sending him to the ground she turns to you, smirking as her eyes glowed. "You planning on helping at any point or are you just gonna stand there and look pretty."

You nod your head but don't speak as you had no words. You made a mistake joining them but you couldn't back out now, only making sure no one gets hurt. You hesitated before stepping towards Cisco, his eyes widen as you lock with his. Only for Savitar to arrive behind you.

"Keep him alive." he said as you try to keep from smiling, hoping no one caught on. "I need him to build something for me." You bit your lip when you realize he was done with his battle. Meaning someone died, meaning H.R. died. He didn't know yet, but once he started clutching his head, doubling over as the memories flooded back, you figured out he knew.

"She's not dead."

Yep, he knew.

" H.R. took her place." You heard Cisco let out a gasp as you faced him, giving him an apologetic look as your eyes turned back to its normal E/C color.

"That means the futures changing." Cisco points out. Savitar glares at him before marching over in front of him.

"So is yours."

You found yourself divided from your team once again, time going by faster than you thought possible. Cisco built the gun and Gypsy rescued him, Savitar tried to kill everyone in STAR labs and you felt lost. Siding with Savitar, the man you love, a version but just the same, and you just wanted to be happy, to be with him, but you couldn't. You fought alongside Killer Frost against Gypsy and Cisco, the four of you using your powers to try and hit each other, you tried to stay close, choosing not to aim for your friends. It was going fine until Killer Frost shot her ice to Cisco, not catching Gypsy aiming for her. Without thinking, you jumped in front, getting caught in the cross fire as you flew backwards. You heard Cisco shout your name as you hit the ground, groaning as you met Killer Frost's eyes, she stared at you in shock and you swore, you could see Caitlin. The moment lasted only a few seconds as Gypsy took another hit at her, causing her to fall a few feet away from you. You both sat up, facing them as they made their way over.

Cisco pointed his hands at Killer Frost as she taunts him. "Go ahead Cisco. Go bad."

"Cisco." you whisper, earning his attention before he looks back at Caitlin. "She's still Caitlin. Trust me." he listens to your words, throwing a vial down at her as Savitar comes barreling into him. You feel your heart quicken as you watch Savitar pick up Cisco before Killer Frost shoots him into a tree.

"Barry!" you yell as he gets up. He locks eyes with you as he hits a running Barry. Leaving him on the ground as he towers over him. You hear his threats as you get closer, trying to find a way to get out of this. But soon when Savitar's back was turned, Barry runs straight into his suit, thrusting him out as he hit the ground and Barry now stands over Savitar, suit and all. You knew what you needed to do.

"Stop! You don't have to do this, you don't have to kill him, and you don't have to kill anyone. Don't let darkness dictate your lives. No one wins. No one. We will find a way to get through this. I'm not gonna let you leave me. You're stuck with me." Your hand found Savitar's face, copying the actions he'd done to you. You caught his smile as yours came; finally feeling like this could work. You'd find a way.

Barry destroyed the suit, placing a hand on your shoulder, letting you know that the team would help. You gave him a hug before turning back to Savitar. You didn't have to be a bad guy or a good guy; you could just be with him. Savitar or rather your Barry Allen.

FEEDBACK IS WELCOMED!!

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[maryqueenofmurder]

Chapter Two.  And the Angst Gets Angstier.  Alliterations!!

@ihavenoconsistentname and @kool-aidd part 2!  Hope I actually write part 3!

Tw for hypothermia, frostbite, temporary muteness [only kind of.]

Ex was cold.   Freezing cold.  He started shivering immediately.  He looked around the Void.  Millions, billions of stars twinkled around him. They glowed brightly, all at once, then faded out.  And it was dark.  He took a shaky breath, and let it out.  He couldn’t even see the fog.  Ex was in the void.  Where he went when Xisuma banned him.  Except it was never this cold.  ‘Oh, he must have perma-banned me.  It’s the only way I would have ended up like this.’ Ex thought dimly.  It hurt more than he thought it would.  And why wouldn’t it?  He’d never thought Xisuma would do this.  Do this to him.  His brother.  He felt something hard and cold on his cheek.  He lifted one trembling hand to his cheek and felt ice.  He was crying, and his tears had frozen to his cheeks.  He stopped shaking.  He felt limp, numb.  Hypothermia must have been setting in.  Then the frostbite started.  He started to feel like he was B U R N I N G.  He screamed , but there was no-one to hear.  He screamed, but this was space.  This was the Void.  He couldn’t make a single sound.  Ex didn’t know how long he was screaming, but eventually the pain vanished.  He idly wondered if he was dead.  After a few moments a voice spoke-

                                       H̵̱͊̓̀̈́̓̿ė̵̱͚̯̖̣̟̟̲̭͙͖̌̉̏͌̑̏̾̈́̕ĺ̷̮͎̬̬͉̌̏͜ļ̴̮̝̖̤̖̰̩̳̄̋͐̎͂͂͒̏̾̀͜ö̷̳͈͚́̀̈́̐̾̊̾̂̈́̊ ̵̥̭̳̘̪͈̖͐̃͗̈͆̂̀̐̀͒͘͜v̸̨̛̩̱͎̦́̽͑̈̋̈́͂͋̕̕͝͝ͅǫ̶̢̘͎̹͍͕̰͒̎̑͆̌i̵͍̠̫͔͕͒͂̈́͂d̷̛͎͖̻̬̮̮͉͉̬̜̻͉͒͒̄̽͗͘͝͝-̴̝̩͍̗̟̰̪͓̰̀c̴̛̥̱͇͍̼̲̟͚͈̬̳̻͙̆͜ͅh̴̥̟͍͎̲͎͖͌̇̂͐̀̕̕͜͝i̸̝͔̜͚̩̪̮̘̥̜͂̌̅͆̍̉͗́̿͝͠ͅl̸̡̢̝̞͈͖̫͎̠͔̖̤̄̾̌d̶̥͕͉̪̀̃̾́͛̋͝

-it e c h o e d and reverberated in his head.  He clawed at his ears but the voice had come from inside of his head.  He tried to tell the voice to stop, but he couldn’t speak this deep in the Void.  Though it could probably hear him anyway.  Then the pain vanished.  Ex took in deep breaths of the cold void air.

I apologize.  I am not used to speaking with people.  I am here to help you.  But we must talk quickly.  This is the Void’s sphere of influence.  I am riding on its power to sneak in undetected, as I have the same kind of power.  It will not last forever so I must free you soon.  No, I am not the Void.  When Xisuma fell into the void and created you, the Void split as well.  It was not an equal split, and I am left with less power than the Void.  I am like you.  I want to get rid of the Void.  It forced me away, deep down here, though I eventually escaped.  I heard that you had the same experience with your counterpart.  The fact alone that you are here proves that.  Regardless of whether or not you choose to help me get revenge, I will free you, but you are like me.  And I would want revenge.

Ex took a second processed this.  When he was created so was an alter void who was imprisoned by the Void, and Xisuma banned Ex, and the not-void wants to help Ex.  It all sunk in.  Then anger flared in his chest.  His lips twisted into a snarl as he considered the not-Void’s offer.  ‘Xisuma abandoned me!  He left me here!  And the Void did the same thing to not-Void!  They NEED to pay.’  “Yes, I want revenge as well.  But not on the whole server, only on Xisuma and the Void.”  Excellent.  The not-Void said.

And then Ex appeared back in the Nether, right where he left.  The anger in his chest died, replaced with sadness and despair.  Now, besides the not-Void, who would probably leave him as soon as it got revenge, Ex was truly alone.  Tears rolled down his face, evaporating as soon as they hit the ground.  Ex picked up his helmet, secured to his head.  He walked back to his base, curled up on a random spot on the floor, and went to sleep.

——————————————————————————————

Xisuma stared at the message on screen, and wondered why this was happening.  Obviously, It was because he died in the void as the admin of the world.  He didn’t regret it however.  If he had never fallen in the void then Ex would never have existed.  Neither would the false Void, though Xisuma didn’t know the false Void.  Things might be easier if he had never fallen into the void, but Xisuma would never regret bringing Ex into world, accident or not.

Still.  He had banned Ex.  That was basically taking him out of the world.  He could bring him back though.  Xisuma was second guessing himself.  No surprise there.  If the false Void was anything like the real one, then maybe it would find a loophole.  The Void might be extremely powerful, but power isn’t everything.  Intelligence and trickery could help the false Void get to Ex.

What if it got angry and hurt Ex…?  Maybe they didn’t talk that often, but Xisuma didn’t want Ex to get hurt.  Ex was his brother, for goodness sake!  Even if Ex kept trying to destroy the server, Xisuma still loved him.  Maybe he should talk to somebody about this.  Or maybe it would be over soon, and there’s absolutely no reason to get worked up!  Other than the fact that he, Xisuma, Perma-banned his own brother!  And he knew that being Perma-banned had to be unpleasant.  It wouldn’t be effective otherwise.  But there was no time to figure anything else out.

Alright.  Xisuma was just going to go to bed, and maybe when he woke up the problem would have solved itself.  These problems are the worst, because you can’t do anything about them in the moment.  You’re just powerless.

Hopefully the Void would stop the false Void and Xisuma could un-ban Ex or do something about it.  Then Xisuma would ask or beg Ex for forgiveness.  Even though it was the best solution they could find on such short notice, that didn’t mean Xisuma or Ex were going to like it.

Then Xisuma remembered it was like two in the afternoon.  Alright then, he turned back around and headed off to Tek to the Skies.  After that he would have a nap.  Things would be better when he woke up.  Or worse.  What if things got worse and he couldn’t do anything about it?!  See, this is why he needed a nap.  It’s hard to be positive when you’re tired and stressed out.

Xisuma got rockets in a daze, and headed to a place he wouldn’t be disturbed.  He really needed this nap.  Joe Hills ran to Tek to the Skies, panting and out of breath.  Once Joe  got there he looked around for Xisuma, but he had just missed him.  Joe nervously checked his special communicator.  It was displaying the admin chat.  The message was still there, glaring and bright.

Xisumavoid banned Evil Xisuma.

‘Just what, exactly, made Xisuma ban Ex?  Did he try to destroy the server again?  Is Xisuma okay?  It must be hard to ban your own brother.  If I could find Xisuma maybe he could tell me what is going on.’   With renewed resolve Joe took off, heading to Xisuma’s base.  Joe didn’t find Xisuma in his base.  Joe didn’t find Xisuma anywhere.

[amandajoyce118]

Avengers: Endgame Easter Eggs And References

Okay, Avengers: Endgame has been out for over a week now, so I’m actually getting my Easter eggs up on time this time around instead of waiting nearly a month. That being said, if you haven’t seen the movie, there are spoilers here. So. Many. Spoilers. Do not read this if you haven’t seen the movie.

Got it? Good.

I did not include general pop culture references or, “hey, we last saw this character in this movie,” moments. Easter eggs, comic book references, and things you might have missed are what you’ll find below.

Again, SPOILERS!

The Opening Credits

When MCU movies roll their opening Marvel logo, they’ve slowly been adding the characters they’ve added to the franchise. You see images of Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and Captain Marvel in the last few flips, for example. This one devotes most of the images to the core six of the Infinity Saga. Most of the images you see belong to Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hulk, Iron Man Captain America, and Thor.

Tony And Nebula

A lot of people like the opening dynamic between Tony and Nebula because it’s something different for us to watch, but there are a couple of callbacks there. While Nebula getting to win a game of “football” is cute, it’s also important because, growing up, Thanos always pit Nebula and Gamora against one another. He made them compete for everything, and despite all of her “enhancements,” Nebula always lost. In fact, those “enhancements” are a result of each time she lost at a competition, prompting Thanos to find a way to “improve” her. Also, the last of the food they have? Tony tries to share it with Nebula, but she lets him have it. Tony sharing his food is a THING in the MCU. In the first Avengers movie, Robert Downey Jr. would actually tuck bags of candy, chips, nuts, etc. into drawers on set so that he could eat between takes. Eventually, Tony just started eating snacks on camera as well. This scene is a callback to him offering food to Chris Evans on camera and it staying in the movie as Tony offering Steve a snack.

The Garden

The planet where Thanos decides to retire is called 0259-S, but Nebula calls it The Garden. That alpha numeric sequence doesn’t appear as a designation in the comics, but The Garden does exist. In the comics, a Celestial known only as The Gardener lives in the blue area of the moon where he literally tends The Garden. That’s what he’s chosen to do with his life. The power of the Time Gem is what keeps his garden thriving while he’s meant to care for it. Thanos, of course, is the one to take it from him in the Infinity Gauntlet storyline. The name for the movie is likely a nod to that aspect of the comic book story, while him “retiring” to a farm is also right out of the comics. So is the scarecrow made from his armor.

“I went for the head.”

Thor says this as a nod to Thanos telling him what he should have done when he didn’t defeat him in Infinity War. There’s also another callback to their fight later in the movie. During the huge battle sequence at the end of the movie, Thanos presses Stormbreaker into Thor’s chest just as Thor did to him in Infinity War.

Creator Cameos

During the sequence for Cap leading the support group (a nod to a piece of advice Falcon gave him in Captain America: The Winter Soldier), there are a couple of cameos. Joe Russo, one of the writers and directors, appears as the member of the group talking about his date. The man who asks him about it? That’s comic book heavyweight Jim Starlin. Starlin also gets a special thank you in the credits at the end of the film. He’s the man who created Thanos. (Sidenote: Joe Russo’s kids all have roles in the film as well. His daughter Ava even plays Hawkeye’s daughter Lila.)

5 Years Later

Not an Easter egg, but some timeline clarification here. With the five year time jump, the big confrontation takes place in 2023 as the start of the movie is very close to the events of Avengers: Infinity War, which started in 2018.

An Underwater Earthquake

When Natasha has her conference call with Rocket, Rhoadey, Carol, and Okoye, they briefly discuss an underwater earthquake near Wakanda. Okoye brushes it off, but there is an underwater nation that doesn’t particularly get along with Wakanda in the comics. Atlantis. Their leader, Namor, is not T’Challa’s biggest fan. I like to think this is a hint that he’s coming. (When Steve visits following this scene, you can also spot Natasha’s ballet slippers on a chair. Looks like she was feeling nostalgic in more ways than one.)

New Hair

Steve and Tony go back to their trimmed looks for this movie, but someone else gets a new haircut. After the five year time jump, Carol’s haircut is closer to her modern comic book look than what we’ve seen in the movies before.

616

The storage unit where all of Scott Lang’s belongings are, including the van and the rat that helps him escape the Quantum Realm, is marked as unit 616. That’s a nod to the 616 universe in the comics, the one that features the main continuity.

“...Only to make conversation.”

So, when Scott asks Steve and Natasha is they known anything about physics, Natasha gives this response, which on first blush, might sound like her being a smartass. It’s not. As a spy, she literally learned enough about subjects to sound like she understood them when meeting a target. The first target she took on in the comics? Iron Man, whom she needed a working knowledge of physics to banter with.

“...regular size man.”

Rhoadey calls Scott this as a reference to the last time they saw each other in Captain America: Civil War. Rhoadey was the one to proclaim, “tiny man is giant now.” It’s a nice call back

The Necklace

If you look closely at Natasha’s neck when they start recruiting Avengers for the time travel idea, you’ll notice she’s wearing a familiar necklace. It’s the same arrow she wore in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as a nod to Hawkeye.

Howard Stark

Tony gets to see his father in the flesh during the time travel segment of the movie, but we get a teaser for him earlier in the movie. When Tony picks up the photo of himself and Peter in his kitchen? There’s a photo of his father on the shelf as well. (Side note: when Tony asks how far along Howard’s wife is in the 70s? It’s because he’s born in May and they arrive in April.)

Morgan

Looks like Tony went ahead and named his kid Morgan just like the dream he had in Infinity War. Morgan was also Tony’s cousin in the comics. (Also, how great is Morgan playing with what becomes Pepper’s helmet? Pepper’s armor, though it isn’t named, is a recreation of her Rescue look from the comics.)

Ronin

Though the name isn’t used in the movies, the name Hawkeye goes by in the comics when he decides to start cutting down all the bad guys in his path, is Ronin. The name comes from the word to describe a samurai without a master. It literally means “wandering man,” and is portrayed in artwork by the bones of a warrior inside their samurai gear. That depiction is exactly what you’ll find in Hawkeye’s tattoo sleeve, and it’s why Black Widow finally tracks him down in Japan. It’s also fitting that his sword doesn’t look like a traditional samurai sword to me. It looks more like a bow fashioned into a sword.

Akihiko

The guy that Clint fights in Japan is based on a comic book character of the same name. In the comics, he worked for a SHIELD rival that was also a branch of the Yakuza.

Recruiting Thor

Thor only comes out once a month for supplies? Sounds like Aquaman only coming in on the King Tide to provide for the people, but I’m hoping that’s just a coincidence and not them poking fun at one of DC’s good on screen characters. The whole thing with Thor yelling at the mean kid Korg is gaming with though? Did that feel like them shouting at the guy’s living in their mom’s basement who claim to be comic book purists to anyone else? Just me?

Also, I appreciate that New Asgard is supposed to be in a Scandinavian country. I do. Tonsberg is supposedly where Odin led his people to war against the Frost Giants thousands of years ago. And it’s where the Red Skull found the Tesseract. However, this is clearly the part of the movie filmed in Scotland. Why? There’s a half empty bottle of Irn Bru (Scotland’s national soft drink, and my personal favorite) sitting on a table behind Thor through most of that sequence. I’m glad someone on set has good taste in soda.

New Asgard also existed in the comics, but as a merging of New York and Asgard when realities collided, and also as Asgard floating above Oklahoma when it fell from the sky.

Ben And Jerry’s

Does anyone remember Dr. Strange and Wong discussing the Avengers ice cream flavors in Infinity War? Looks like Bruce finally got to try some as he’s eating a Hulk-sized container of Ben and Jerry’s during the brainstorming sessions.

Budapest

Just what was the mission in Budapest? Will we ever know? It clearly made an impression on Natasha and Clint since it’s been referenced by them twice before. We also know Fury spent time there thanks to his listing of the B countries in Captain Marvel.

“That’s America’s ass.”

Someone on set knows the internet has an appreciation for Chris Evans’ ass. Who? Who knows? But someone has clearly seen the gif sets.

The Elevator

When we see Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, and Ant-Man return to 2012, not only do we get to see another point of view for The Avengers, but we get some nice callbacks. Cap in the elevator with a bunch of menacing SHIELD agents (hey, Sitwell and Rumlow who are off to give the scepter to Liszt, the same guy that got Wanda her powers!) who are actually Hydra evoked that amazing fight scene in Captain America: Winter Soldier. This time, he doesn’t knock them all out though. Instead, he gives a “hail hydra” to avoid the fight. That in itself also evokes the recent comic book storyline that featured a rewritten reality where Captain America was hydra all along.

“Lunch, then Asgard.”

Back in 2012, Thor tells Secretary Pierce they’re going to lunch before he goes home.That lunch is the Avengers shawarma post credit scene.

“I can do this all day.”

As the most iconic Captain America line at this point, I don’t have to tell you how often he’s said it. I’m sure there’s a gif set on tumblr for it.

Stan Lee

Stan gets a posthumous cameo driving a muscle car with a license plate that includes the numbers 420 while he spouts on about making love, not war. He’s clearly a hippie, and it’s not a subtle cameo. You’d only miss it if you left the theater to run to the bathroom here. You might have missed his “Nuff said” bumper sticker, which was a phrase he often used in his responses to letters to the editor.

Community Cameos

The Russo brothers like to feature actors from their other projects. In the MCU, they’ve included at least one actor from Community in all of the movies they’ve been involved in. This time, there’s two. Ken Jeong plays a security guard at the storage facility while Yvette Nicole Brown plays a SHIELD agent in the 70s.

The Terminal Beach

When Ken Jeong’s security guard pops up early in the movie, he’s reading a book instead of watching the cameras. The book he’s reading is The Terminal Beach. It’s a collection of short stories. One of those in the book had a familiar title. It’s called “End-Game.” It’s not about superheroes, but instead about a man waiting his execution.

The 70s Eggs

Speaking of the 70s, let’s get a few of the Easter eggs and references in this sequence out of the way. The military base is the same one where Steve initially trained and was chosen for the super soldier program. The name on Steve’s uniform? That’s Roscoe for Roscoe Simons, a man who took over for him in the comics, and then was promptly defeated by the Red Skull. When Steve calls Hank about a package? We see the original Ant-Man helmet on his table. It’s pretty impossible to miss. The photo of Steve on Peggy’s desk is one of the images used for the first Captain America movie, and I believe one from the file she had in Agent Carter, if I’m not mistaken. When Tony encounters his father, he’s looking for Arnim Zola, the man who programs his mind into the computers at that same military base and appears in Captain America: The Winter Soldier there. When Howard leaves, that’s James D’Arcy still playing Jarvis and acting as his driver. Jarvis appearing in the movie is the first time a character originated on an MCU TV show to cross over to the movies. It’s a small step, but one in the right direction that might mean characters from Agents of SHIELD, Runaways, or Cloak And Dagger could eventually do the same.

“Get the rabbit.”

The Asgardian guards share Thor’s belief that Rocket is a rabbit because they say this while following him when he gets the aether.

“Daughter of Ivan, son of Edith”

Edith was in fact Hawkeye’s mother in the comics. She died when he was young, leaving Clint and his brother as orphans. Ivan, on the other hand, was not exactly Natasha’s father in the comics. Instead, one story sees Ivan Petrovich as a benevolent stranger who raises Natasha as his own when a woman gives him baby Natalia Romanova from a burning building. Retconning sees that as a fabrication as Ivan was actually a soldier and agent of the Red Room who got Natasha into the program. Still another sees him as her “uncle Ivan” whom she cared for so much that she gave up her freedom, joined the Red Room, and got them both the super soldier serum to save his life. Just how that will play into the MCU remains to be seen in the upcoming Black Widow movie.

The Big Three

When Thanos lets his weapons loose on the Avengers compound, the three that go out to meet him while everyone else is scrambling are Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. These are the three tentpole franchises of the MCU. While Hulk had a solo movie, it was distributed though Universal and starred another actor. It’s a nice full circle moment for the MCU.

Captain America Is Worthy

When it seems like Thor is headed for certain doom, his hammer finds a new target - and a new person to wield it. Cap is one of the many heroes who wielded it in the comics, but the moment he catches Mjolnir is a callback to Avengers: Age of Ultron. In the movie, the Avengers take turns trying to lift the hammer, but only Cap seems to shift it, though he’s still unable to pick it up. The implication, of course, is that by the time this movie rolled around, the things he’d been through made him worthy.

Also? That shot of him all alone, ready to take on everyone? That’s an homage to the Avengers taking on Thanos in the comics. At one point, everyone else was down and out, and Cap was the only one left standing.

Captain America’s Shield

As Thanos shatters Cap’s shield during the fight, it echoes Tony’s talk of his vision earlier in the movie. There’s talk about how Tony wanted to build a suit of armor around the world, and that wish was a result of the vision Scarlet Witch put in his head in Age of Ultron. That same vision showed Cap’s shield broken in the same way it ends up broken here.

“On your left.”

We all know that this is one of the first things Sam said to Steve in The Winter Soldier, right? It’s a cute callback.

“Is that everyone?” “You wanted more?”

Dr. Strange and Wong have this exchange as the wizards stop opening portals all over the battlefield. Not only is this a nod to the sheer number of characters in the battle sequence, but likely a nod to their being more heroes out there that aren’t in the scene. After all, none of the TV heroes are visibly present.

“Avengers, assemble!”

Is this the first time Steve actually gets to say this on the big screen? He’s been cut off while saying it in the past, so I think it is, even if he gets to say it all the time in comic books.

Pegasus

Where exactly did Valkyrie get her flying horse? We saw it in the story of her past in Thor: Ragnarok, but we’ve not seen one used in the MCU lately, so while it’s a nice callback to her past, it’s an odd one.

“We’re on it, Cap.”

Wasp gets this line when Steve needs a new quantum tunnel up and running. After, she and Ant-Man share a look because he once told her only Steve’s friends call him Cap.

Instant Kill Mode

When Peter learned his suit had this in Spider-Man: Homecoming, it freaked him out, but here? Not so much. He uses it when he gets desperate.

The Ladies Of Marvel

There is a moment during the fight with Thanos where all of the female heroes on the ground manage to congregate around Peter Parker and Captain Marvel. Their aim? Protect Carol from Thanos’ army. Some cynics have called it pandering, but it makes sense. The woman, half of whom have the power to fly, have been following the glove around the field, trying to keep it out of Thanos’ hands. While the guys are still fighting, they form a team. It looks an awful lot like an A-Force team up in the comics, but it also echoes a moment in Infinity War. When Wanda is told she’s going to die alone in battle, Natasha and Okoye step up to protect her, with Natasha saying, “but she’s not alone.” At this point in the movie, Natasha is gone, but Wanda is still following her lead, protecting the other women on their team.

“If I tell you what happens, it won’t happen.”

The first time I saw the movie, I saw this as the opposite of a self fulfilling prophecy. But seeing it again, I actually think Dr. Strange was unsure if Tony would do what needed to be done if he told him the truth about their one shot. He knew to end the Thanos problem, Tony would have to snap his fingers. It makes me think Dr. Strange underestimated Tony’s commitment to saving the planet.

“I am Iron Man.”

This is Tony’s big response to Thanos, but it’s also the most iconic movie from the first Iron Man film. Why? It wasn’t even scripted. The original script had Tony keeping his Iron Man identity under wraps. During filming, Robert Downey Jr. ad libbed the admission that he was Iron Man and it stayed, changing the route of the films.

Also, Tony wielding the gauntlet he made is a nice homage to the comics, where he was actually the first human to successfully create and use one.

Captain America’s Suits

So, we see Steve wear his first Avengers suit. But, at the beginning of the movie, he’s also wearing his Winter Soldier suit. Later, he gets a brand new suit, probably courtesy of Tony. That one combines the look of his Civil War and Winter Soldier suits. But, it also adds the chain mail look that’s prevalent in the comics. So, he gets the chance to be pretty much every version of Cap we’ve seen on screen in this movie.

Harley Keener

The Avengers, their family, and Tony’s family are all present at his memorial, but so is someone else who wasn’t in the movie. The tall teenager at the back? That’s Harley from Iron Man 3, and he’s still played by Ty Simpkins. The kid had a real growth spurt that fits the timeline.

Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart

We all remember this was a gift set on display for the Iron Man movies, yes?

Morgan Wants A Cheeseburger

Like father, like daughter. When Tony got away from the Ten Rings, he had Happy stop at Burger King on the way to his press conference because he wanted “American cheeseburgers.”

Asgardians Of The Galaxy

I know this is just Thor being Thor, but… there is a comic book team called the Asgardians of the Galaxy. Like the guardians, they travel around in a spaceship and do good deeds, but they’re all from Asgard.

“You’re taking all the stupid with you.”

In the first Captain America movie, Bucky Barnes went to war without his best friend. He told Steve not to do anything stupid until he got back. The above line was Steve’s response. Their roles (and lines) are reversed when Steve travels through time to return some Infinity Stones and Mjolnir to their rightful points in history.

Captain Sam

When the elder Steve Rogers returns to his departure point in the timeline, he does it with a new shield, and passes it on to Sam Wilson. In the comics, an older Captain America who had the super soldier serum removed from his blood did the same thing. Sam even had his own Captain America comic series for a while. (Other heroes who have been Captain America in the comics include Bucky Barnes, Sharon Carter, and Peggy Carter, in case you’re wondering.)

“It’s been a long, long time.”

Could the song title be more fitting for Steve and Peggy? And yes, this is a branched timeline. And yes, the song has been used in the MCU before, in The Winter Soldier.

The Clang

Post credit scenes are an MCU tradition, but this movie doesn’t have one. Instead, it has a clang. That noise is the sound of hammer hitting metal. Specifically, the sound of Tony’s hammer hitting metal when he created his very first Iron Man suit in the 2008 film, signalling the end of an era here instead of the beginning of one.

That’s it. That’s all I’ve got! Tell me if I managed to miss anything.

[imagineclaireandjamie]

I know you might be uncomfortable about this but I’m going thro something. Could you write a fanfic about how Jamie would react if Claire were anorexic

The Meeting - Part 2

The moon was bright in the sky as they walked,their hands swaying against one another, Jamie slightly ahead of Claire as heled them forwards. Ice glistened on the path, the sparkle of the frozen waterilluminating the path as the crunch of it echoed beneath their feet. There wasa sort of delicate beauty floating around them, the winter mist encasing thepassers by, causing them to disappear before her eyes as she glanced downwards.

 Her flesh was almost blue in the evening light-as was his- the glow of it giving them an also translucent quality that caughther eye and held her hostage for a while.

 “Can I say something wi’out freaking ye out,Claire?” Jamie asked after a while when all other passers by had seeminglyvanished, the urban clearing and making way for the rural.

 “Yes, sure.” She replied, not really knowingwhether she was being honest or not.

 “When my da met my mam he kent her in aninstant. She was engaged to someone else and within the month had broken it offand eloped with my father. They were marrit not long after, had bought a houseand had my eldest brother on the way. It was madness, really, but he alwaystold me Fraser’s had strong bonds when it came to love. I didna believe him,especially no’ wi’ what happened and then dealing with the aftermath. But whenye walked into that hall tonight, Claire, it was as if the sun came out -- andI understood it then.”

 He took a breath, a long cathartic gasp of airthat filled his lungs with fresh oxygen and gave Claire a moment to digest whathe’d said.

 “Do ye think I’m mad?” He sighed, the gust ofair catching on the breeze, the cold air swirling it around his head as heturned to look over at her in the blackness.

 “No.” She returned, her voice barely a whisper.“No, I don’t. I believe you. I don’t...understand it right now, but I felt ittoo. Maybe we’re both mad?” Laughing she let her little finger graze his andbasked in the tingle that emanated across her flesh at the contact.

 “I lost control of my life the moment Frank leftme. I had a plan, everything was as it should be and then he took that andsquashed it. I didn’t even realise what I was doing with food until Joe foundme unconscious in the break room at work. It was all just a blur. But it wascontrol. I needed to feel as if everything was on course again so I amended mydiet to such an extreme that I felt powerful. Stupid, really, when I say it outloud.”

 “Nay, not at all…” Jamie interjected, goosebumpsrising along the expanse of his neck, “I get ye. For me it was exercise. ForJohn too, that’s how we met. He saw in me what he’d finally been made to see inhimself and he helped me break the cycle.”

 “PTSD then, the same as him - from your tour?”The words were barely audible on the night air but he heard her loud and clear.

 “Ach, no.”

 For a moment she thought he wasn’t going toelaborate. The tightness was there again - his shoulders just rigid enough thatshe thought he might just gloss over it as he had done in the bar and changethe course of their conversation. Not that she minded, when and if he decidedto tell her, it would be in his own time and not just because she’d asked him.But then he swallowed and she knew he was trying to form the words in order toanswer her unspoken question.

 “Even my sister doesn’t know.” He said finally,his nose pinked from the frigid air. “And she kens everything about me.”

 “Does she know--”

 “About my anorexia?” Interrupting her, hechuckled humorlessly beneath his breath before he continued. “Oh aye, everyonekens about that but they all think what ye thought --because at the time Ididna have the strength to tell them the real reason. Only the doctors whotreated me and John know the full extent of the trauma.” He spoke, barelypausing for breath, as he shook his head to clear the myriad of dark imagesthat were suddenly snaking around him.

 “Whatever it is, Jamie, you do have strength. Ican see it. I can sense the force of it flowing beneath your skin. The secondyou sat opposite me in that bar I felt it and it calmed me.”

 “Do ye ever feel like yer about to blurt somethingout? Something that perhaps needs to be said when two people have kent oneanother for longer than a few minutes?”

 Letting the wind settle around them, Jamieshowed Claire to a bench. They’d walked the length of the city and ended up ona hill with Kelvingrove in front of them and the university behind. The citywas awash with colour, glittering lights flickering in the distance as the citybegan to sleep around them.

 “It wasn’t just Frank leaving me.” Claire began,allowing the call of midnight to wash away the filth of the previous day. “Wefought a lot in later days. He wanted kids and it wasn’t happening for us. Oneday it got heated. I thought something was amiss but when I accused him ofcheating on me with work something changed in him. I watched as something cameover him, a veil of sorts, his eyes just glazed over...and then he hit me. Butit wasn’t one of those ‘in the heat of passion’ slaps you see in the tele - notthat it’s alright to hit at all.”

 Pausing for breath, she wiped the tears from hereyes, her belly aching with the memory of the moment his fist had come intocontact with her. “He sucker punched me in the stomach. Hard. I replay thatmoment over and over in my nightmares, I watch myself as I crumple to theground gasping for breath and failing miserably.”

 Sensing she wasn’t finished, Jamie sat quietly,his arm resting gently against hers.

 “It’s a cataclysmic event, isn’t it? Thetrigger. It isn’t the event or moment itself, but thefestering...thing...that’s been boiling and bubbling, waiting for something topush you over the edge and when it finds the right trauma to sink its teethinto - that’s it. You’re done for.”

 Shrugging her shoulders, she inhaled through hernose and exhaled through her mouth, watching the condensation evaporate infront of her. “I’ve never told anyone that.”

 “That he hit ye?”

 “Yes. I was ashamed. I’m a surgeon, a good one.Him leaving me was enough of a social stigma without adding that into the mixso I said nothing and buried myself in work.”

 In an instant Claire had removed the pressurefrom the situation. With her confession, she’d made herself vulnerable - shehad given him something of herself that she’d not given to anyone else.Stripping herself bare, she’d relieved the strain and suddenly Jamie didn’tfeel so exposed.

 “I was raped, Claire.” He said plainly.

 It felt cathartic. The words leaving his mouthwithout further provocation, washing away some of the residual feelings ofpowerlessness and disgust. In an instant he felt a little less contaminated,his muscles less sore from the continued pressure of carrying around the weightof his ordeal

 “Like ye I felt ashamed. Weak. I was numb forthe longest time. I’m good at hiding, Claire, so I managed. I worked. I spentall of my free hours in the gym, lifting weights and running until I couldnastand wi’out assistance. I’d moved to Glasgow before the attack so I juststayed here. I didna dare go home for fear my parents would see the truthwritten all over my face. My mam just kens me too well.”

 Claire let him talk, letting him offload-anything he needed- her knee knocking softly against his as their fingersunconsciously linked. Her heart was beating double its normal speed and herstomach twisted, it’s usual knot becoming tighter as Jamie began to jiggle hisleg, the heel of his shoe tapping against the concrete.

 Licking her dry lips, she waited for him torelax a little before slowly untangling her hand from his and wrapping her armaround his waist.

 “Have you ever read the poem ‘Courage’ byAnne Sexton?” She whispered.

 Jamie shook his head, having no capacity to formthe words any longer he simply leaned his head to the right until he restedneatly against Claire.

 “You should. One day, when you’re alone, and youfeel so utterly lost that you feel you might finally be consumed by thedarkness - just read it. I promise you it’ll resonate.”

 “Can ye remember any of it?”

 “Yes,” she replied, “some. Why?”

 “Tell me, recite to me what you remember.”

 “Erm,” she began, shifting so that he couldmimic her actions and place his own arm around her waist, “let me see…you didnot fondle the weakness inside of you, although -or just though, I don’t quiterecall- it was there. Your courage was a small coal that you kept swallowing.”

 “There’s more?” He asked, lulled by her softvoice. There was something magical about her, somehow she seemed to steal thefestering putrescence that ran through his veins.

 “Yes, the bit directly after that I don’t reallyremember, but I think it continues like this; later, if you have endured greatdespair, then you did it alone, getting transfusion from the fire, picking thescabs off our heart, then wringing it out like a sock... I think.” Though sheknew it did, she’d read it over and over, sometimes aloud, so the words mightstick to her skin and mend the cracks that’d begun to appear over every inch ofher frail flesh.

 “I feel as if I’ve kent ye for longer than thisevening, Claire.” Jamie whispered, turning his head so that he could bury hisnose in her tames curls. “Like we’ve lived a hundred lives together and this isjust another manifestation of us. Beaten, broken and scarred - but stillsomehow alive.”

 “And yet we haven’t even had a first date.” Shejested, though she felt the truth of his words, her heart reaching out to his.

[jacquirebriggs]

My concept of a WarioWare version of “Everything You Know Is Wrong”

Got this idea after watching the latest episode of WarioWare Tooned which uses the chorus as the intro.

*music starting 13-Amp syncs up the DJ at the organ sounds. Following with 9-Volt, 18-Volt and 5-Volt when guitar music plays "I was driving on the freeway in the fast lane With a rabid wolverine in my underwear" Dribble showing his mad driving skills while Spitz keeps him in check while the "wolverine" is actually similar to Ralphie just hops in the backseat. "When suddenly a guy behind me in the backseat Popped right up and cupped his hands across my eyes" A customer they don't remember picking up mugs Spitz, hurts the "wolverine" and ties Spitz up and returns him to the assistant seat, leaving him helpless on his service and then cups Dribble's eyes. "I guessed is it Uncle Frank? or Cousin Louie? Is it Bob or Joe or Walter? Could it be Bill or Jim? or Ed Or Bernie or Steve? I probably would have kept on guessing But about that time we crashed into a truck" Dribble panics as he tries to stay concentrated on his driving, while swerving like what happens if you lose a microgame in Cruise Controls. However, he eventually crashes into an incoming truck, flinging him and Spitz out the road. "And as I'm laying bleeding there on the asphalt Finally I recognize the face of my Hibachi dealer Who takes off his prosthetic lips and tells me" As Dribble lays down with his right arm and left leg broken, bleeding with Spitz laying down next to him, dead. He gets a glimpse of who causes this disaster happens to be Mitzi the Alien. First chorus Along with scenes with the Nintendo Powers (what I nicknamed their garage band), It also features Mona speeding up to be right on time, when suddenly two Pizza Dinosaur employees set her motorcycle engine on fire with a well-aimed match, causing her motorcycle to explode and flinging her to the side-grass sideways of the highway. As she tries to limp around with one of her leg broken, a wolfish Ruffington starts chewing away her femur which happens to be chewy, because everything you know is wrong. (Don't worry, Mona isn't that affected.) "I was walking to the kitchen for some Golden Grahams When I accidentally stepped into an alternate dimension And soon I was abducted by some aliens from space who kinda looked like Jamie Farr" Features Dr. Crygor taking a midnight snack when suddenly he accidentally steps into one of his inventions and got transported to an alternate dimension and then got abducted by Shroob-like aliens while Orbulon cameos. "The sucked out my internal organs And they took some Polaroids And said I was a darn good sport " The aliens took pictures of Crygor while they dissect him. (He's still alive because this song's everything you know is wrong) and then they treated Crygor like a good sport. "And as a way of saying thank you They offered to transport me Back to any point in history that I would care to go And so I had them send me back to last Thursday night So I could pay my phone bill on time But then the floating disembodied head of Colonel Sanders started yelling " Crygor was transported back to his lab, but the impact somewhat made him unconscious. Then Penny and Mike heard the loud thud and then overreacted because they think Crygor drink something extremely poisonous that he passed out. Second chorus More scenes with the Nintendo Powers, plus Kat, Ana, Cricket, and Mantis star this segment. It was a normal moment of them battling each other until a pesky Splunk shove a boulder to a red button that drops the platform they are on and drops them into a abyss of weirdness. During their freefall, Mantis was captured by a Blargg. After Cricket, Kat, and Ana landed on the white land, they sped through the tunnel of weirdness in worry and fear until they found a little, innocent, orange turtle. However as Ana tries to pet it, the turtle transformed into a large dinosaur similar to Bowser and King Koopa from the Super Mario cartoon and it eats her which led Cricket and Kat sent scrambling away in fear from this monster as it chases after them. Music break Along with more Nintendo Powers scenes. The scene cuts to Ashley and Red pacing into the night looking for missing ingredients when a door appeared out of nowhere. Hoping it's a pathway to the missing ingredients, they both go inside. They did not foresaw this entrance being a alternate world of weirdness that they cannot even predict. *tuba sounds While they trot in the prehistoric-like area, they saw Cricket and Kat being chased by the dinosaur which they attempt to stop it only for the dinosaur to pull out a extendable hand to pull Ashley and Red inside its mouth scaring Cricket and Kat even more. Inside the dinosaur is not flesh and guts, but rather another twisted dimension. *guitar riffles After a twisted portal, they landed in an unfortunate area where people see witches and demons regardless of personality, evil is nearby. Thus, they tied up Ashley and Red to a wooden stake and set the fire to the sticks below and they both cries as they slowly burn away- or had no effect because, broken laws. *guitar strikes (5-Volt, 18-Volt) "I was just about to mail a letter to my evil twin When I got a nasty papercut" Jimmy T. planning to deliver a letter to his "evil twin" (Jimmy P.) But suddenly he got a papercut within the envelope. "And, well, to make a long story short It got infected and I died" Jimmy T. dies by the severely bleeding paper cut. "So now I'm up in heaven with St. Peter By the pearly gates And it's obvious he doesn't like The Nehru jacket that I'm wearing He tells me that they've got a dress code" Jimmy T. heads to join heaven, except "St. Peter" (recasted by the Sewer Guru) didn't accept Jimmy's red jacket due to a dress code. Jimmy looks at him with confusion. "Well, he lets me into heaven anyway But I get the room next to the noisy ice machine For all eternity And every day he runs by screaming" Jimmy was let into heaven, but he's forced to take the room next to the noisy ice machine which he's completely hurt in the ears by it due to not being his preferred dancing music while the Sewer Guru runs around hyperly in circles. Final chorus More Nintendo Powers scenes. Orbulon was floating in the sky when suddenly lightning strikes his Oinker, knocking him out from it. Atfter landing on his stomach, he was cariied by a stream of "WAAAAAs" yelled by a disembodied Wario head with lights of other WarioWare employees flickering as he streams ending with a messed-up Cricket, who got mauled by the faux dinosaur, kicking him to the stars. *another Nintendo Powers break. Orbulon went banging on bells and flippers like if he's in a pinball machine with the space between the flipper being the exits. The parody ends with the band yelling, "Everything You is Know Wrong" within the chorus, finishing the song with Orbulon falling from the ceiling right in front of them.

[the-firebird69]

We had zero incidents last night in Miami no flooding no it flooded but not severely it went up about four or five feet I didn't feel way up as they wanted it to and it was a weird feel because he keeps saying you should flood the s*** out of them why are you not flooding us. Then we heard this here we don't want to be flooded. A whole bunch of people got up in arms about getting flooded they were ready to march in if they were or somewhere else was and we said what's it to you and start saying we don't want to flood and looking at force it not to happen so he pulled them all out and we found out this some of this sincere I think they can do that and it'll work that way others just wanted to capture him believe it or not still others wanted to force it to flood and we felt this sorry for him because they're all stupid enough to do it and we're just going to sit here and cut them down so you mind about falling along said you know what we do to people who do that to him they said no and killed them all machine guns and they died just like they should for what they're trying to do and that's what we're doing to you idiot pigs and wake him up early and don't let him sleep we shoot you for real I'm going to pull you out and shoot your fat ass slob and any who support that kind of thing because that's what we're doing to you that's why simple huh so go through a list of people right now they're going to pull you out cuz you woke come up and you're messing around with him and it's going to continue the rest of the words of the screen you get rid of you. He says that's what he was taught by Mac why shouldn't apply to you and it does now. We are going to have a great time getting rid of people who are doing the stupid s*** because we're going to do it and enjoying it now. If any of you have right the word twice here because you're Satanist we're going to kill you and we're doing it now it's none of you are holding your position as a head people you decide to hand power out so we can do it.

But it says is it's close to that and you pretty much can do it and tons of the head dials are gone for a variety of reasons mainly that the next guy wants to take over and it keeps happening and that guy gets iced and it goes to the pyramid and over and over by the way now so low level we do mt bring them to the pyramid. At this time we're probably for a massive attack for you getting ready to disarm you this ships ahead above and huge chips in the ocean have had it we don't want them hovering anymore and ruining us day and night constantly it's too hot here for this crap too hot for you flying over it's too much for a worry your pieces of s*** you can't drive a car near him either I'm not going to allow that. You're so sick of you say bad things about them is having them to recover it's ridiculous so I'm going to go after you make sure you shut up and put it on something pretty clear if you're sitting here doing and saying that kind of thing you're stupid you need to leave.

We are opening chasms all over the world and we're not waiting for him to do it because he said not to cuz he doesn't have time or energy to do it all and we're doing it now we've assign people to do it I'm opening a lot of them and he had me in the same people and it's much easier I don't have to worry about it so I look at I can see it's open I like what you did say and we are going to destroy your miniature satellites over and over by the way starting today.

There's a space war going on with your rebels and it's real slow and never really goes anywhere even though they're fighting pretty hard they're trying to get into the West never seem to like even make it there so I decided to help him out this time and see what was going on sorry blasting empire ships the whole time that's not how they do it it says so hit him and hitting him and hitting him and we laughed and said they did they had the fire find out they're really not that tough so they kept doing it and they're going after the starkiller and they're pretty close to getting there and they're going to destroy it as they should so they can have access again and this really isn't doing it millions of ships. The'll be there by noon and we'll take out the facility and after that I proceed to devastate the West Coast and hit all the max your stupid faces will be gone.

The Midwest empties and leaving it says we're going to pick five cities and then raise them tonight that are left out there doing it now it will prepping them to go. I also pictures of towns and those towns will be raised tonight you with them if you stay.

It's an extremely hostile your kidding how does that happen.

We haven't there's an evacuation of the midwestern going north tons of them almost every city and it's huge too it's really only 5 to 10 major cities left so they're all evacuated and do the same number we did in DC in New York City it works very well and just simply raise the city recorded off for basically I'll try to text they're gone in half a day that's why they're leaving and we're getting news and we shouldn't do it from here so they're coming to straighten them out because they're identifying themselves

Also going after your money and your gold and your diamonds and anything like that cuz you don't want you having a light computer at all I don't want you trying to make one at all so it didn't take these things from you and your stashes in your caches here and until you drop dead.

I seen so many things in my life it's not even funny but I've never seen you pick on someone like you ever and he doesn't drive that much you're a bunch of wankers making stuff up it's like you're a bunch of little retarded kids and we tested and most if you are not retarded you're just sick and stupid. And you're obscene I'm going to make you pay for it cuz it's repulsive what you're doing is so inane and maladroid and wrong that we're going to make you pay for it says if you're stupid and can't hear what people are saying you've been screaming at you for like 3 years solid don't treat him like that we're going to kill you becoming and kill you people see it and they keep doing it they kill you in Mass tons of you die here we kill you all over the east coast to shut you the f up get you off of one person. Nope he refused so now we're using force and we're going to kill everybody who is bothering him because what you're doing is obscenely stupid and because we have plans here to do so but what you're doing is so dumb and ridiculous that we have to make you pay because he's simply resisting moving so where you want him to or where he thinks you want them to because you've done it before it is trying to do all he can one day he said they're just simply not going to let me sit here no matter what I do and I don't have money to relocate and I have no place to go so we started to F you up big time after you said that he still has no place to go and no money to go anywhere with you're sitting there making like you're demanding him to move so we're going to kill all of you cuz you're so unreasonable he doesn't sitting there gritting his teeth saying I'm going to f****** kill you I got to jump over this thing I got to f****** kill your ass you dumb f****** white scowling b**** you're so stupid and you don't think anything weak piece of s*** you're in the gym you can't even tell us you cuz you're so teeny he's lifting 10 times the way that you can it's not even pushing it but he's pushing it you can see him try I need some Max everything else try I can still lift more I guess weekly making fun of him cuz you're a f****** idiot so I'm going to hit you until you get out of there piece of s*** Preston and Joe and others Sean should not be there he's out loud in for me there I'm putting an order out for him to remove and it's going to be a standing order and people get stuff for follow the order.

Now I want to see progress here today from our people I want teamwork to occur he's in here working like mad and people are scaling when they come in and say why you do that to them so what would you want me to do give them a house give them a place to stay without people don't have one give them food when they're taking money and stuff from us we hardly have enough for food when they have so much money they can buy all the food on Earth and stick it in the pile who are you to say this to me so they come back to me and say boys he fell and I said what did you say said what are you doing that to him for then they told me what you said and I said go back in there and say you're sorry and start killing these idiots you f**** and I said it just said f**** and the guy goes and it was Nuada so I'm talking to you stop with the f****** faces and all the sudden s*** we have to get this done.

Thor Freya

So start listening to him and found out something but he's saying is important if you get rid of nothing you can get rid of them all here if you don't pass this break even point you end up sitting here just something to orders and doing all this stuff are you doing out there anyways and it takes forever so I started to figure out what he's doing it's smart needs to be done in mass and he needs a lot more troops and he's been waling on with everything he can grab. Believe it or not it creates a lot less work and run around stuff which is what these people don't want but these people have expired they need to die for what they're doing and this is why so is flabbergasted when I figured the truth out and upset I apologize of course I said that's great just do the job but we have to prove the math if we don't we're sitting here we're putting up with our own acting like him in this instance forever instead of getting it done so he came by and said this is how you do it and some people listen to that message and it worked pretty good and then I did it differently and some people listen so I'm showing the people how to do it and his horrible screaming here from these idiots they're yelling out loud this morning you will not show them that and they're saying it before we said it it's hard to show them what they're talking and saying well you know what we're talking about what are you talking about I said you're screaming don't show them that he's trying to say well you're telling them to do this and that I said I'm going to use he was reinforcement so I can't do anything this morning and they won't shut up so kept telling them jeez your teaching a ton of people cuz they have to figure it out themselves but they're curious because you keep screaming it says we don't have any time for this is ordering stuff and start moving after I said we don't have any time for you I'm starting started hitting and I heard this from them we don't want you doing that so came in and I said you know what we do and what amount of words said I don't want you doing that either but I guess you can walk right up to me I said I can walk right up to you twice and you're a fool cuz I'm going to knock you out right. He gets up motions as if he's walking towards you so Fried him he fell over is laying there incapacitated. It needs to be cuz he keeps threatening me this idiots always threatening me and they need to be hit everyday all the time and that's why Joe is hiding in the room in there. But I think Joe is hiding from bja was trying to attack him and others and it's true cuz he's kind of working for us almost every single thing that he does is helping us except for him threatening me which I do hit him for I want to say is just too many idiots here for them to be doing and saying what they are so you need to pull some out so we need somevote on which one cuz it does shake it up and it does help me

Zues Hera

We use this now as a template because what's happening here is very important we're going around grabbing tons of all at once and then a few of them start squawking then if you start ordering stuff it's much easier

Nuada Arrianna

[eldritchsurveys]

1036.

5k Survey LXXVI

3901. What is the most annoying tv ad? >> Implying that they aren’t all annoying? 3902. If you died, how would you hope others would remember you? >> I’m not concerned about that right now. I’m still on “are people even going to care?”, so. 3903. Name 2 questions that you will most likely never say 'no' to: >> This reminds me of how Sparrow and I have “body snatcher” questions -- like, questions you’d ask if you’re suspicious that the other person has been possessed or replaced by a lookalike impostor or whatever. And one of hers for me is “do you want Red Robin?” because I never say no to Red Robin, lmao. 3904. What is the softest part of your body? >> I don’t know, man. My organs??? 3905. What family do you want to see in place of the Osbournes when they finally stop doing their show? >> ---

3906. If you could pick 3 bands to go on tour together who would they be? >> I don’t care. We can’t go to concerts right now anyway. 3907. What is a main differance between western and eastern philospohy? >> Location. 3908. Would you be fooled by Joe/Josephine Millionaire? >> Who? 3909. Do you believe Michael Jackson does innoprpriate things at his Neverland Ranch? Like what? >> I don’t care. I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care. When he died the first thing I thought was, “oh, good, then I won’t have to hear about this shit anymore”. That’s how much I do not care. 3910. What do you think of gov. Ryan who cleared out Illinois' death row? >> This means nothing to me. 3911. Would you want a $500 gift certificate to: Kmart or Target? Target. Kmart doesn’t even exist in this area anymore. Macy's or Hot Topic? Macy’s. As much as I nostalgically love Hot Topic, let’s be real -- the clothing quality is shit, not to mention that they really don’t sell the same shit I used to love about them anymore. Border's Books or Spencer Gifts? oh, I miss Borders! :’( Victoria's Secret or Frederick's of Hollywood? I don’t wear lingerie, so I guess you’ll be giving that Frederick’s gift certificate to Sparrow. 3912. What do you think of this website: www.blackpeopleloveus.com/ >> Oh, that’s hilarious. I’m glad I actually went to see what it was, considering I’m usually lazy about that on surveys, lol. 3913. Man vs Elephant. A zookeeper was treating a constipated elephant. He gave her too much laxitive. Suddenly everything exploded out onto the zookeeper. He was knocked to the ground where he hit his head on a rock and got knocked out. There he suffocated under a pile of elephant dung. True story. Is it a funy story? If yes, what is funny about it? Why is it so taboo to laugh at death? >> I can see the humour in it -- I love ridiculous death stories -- but the concept is too gross for me to think about. And it’s taboo to laugh at death because people often feel like if you laugh at something you can’t also take it seriously when need be -- which isn’t true at all, in my experience. I laugh at death jokes and funny death stories without fail, but if someone told me someone they loved just died in [insert ridiculous way here] I’m not going to fucking laugh in their face about it. (People are welcome to laugh if I die in a ridiculous way, though. I’d probably do it on purpose just to add some levity to the situation.) 3914. What are your favorite five things from this list: alternate realities, animals, astronomy, birds, camus, cats, cheap trick, cocaine, cooking, costumes, dancing, elvis, gambling, greta garbo, james dean, jeff buckley, joy division, marilyn monroe, mixed drinks, moody blues, morrissey, mozart, my bloody valentine, orbital, pizza, playing flute, prince, radiohead, rummy 500, scrabble, table tennis, talk talk, van morrison, writing >> Alternate realities, astronomy, dancing, James Dean, Joy Division. Also mixed drinks. Preferably while listening to Joy Division and looking at the stars. 3915. Do you have to read lots to be able to write well? >> I think it helps. 3916. Vanilla ice. Everyone loved him, suddenly everyone hated him. What was the deal?? >> I’m sure there was a story, but I certainly don’t care enough to know it. 3917. If you could kick one person out of the grammies who would it be (Avril, Eminem, etc)? >> --- 3918. Studies have revealed that when sending out a resume a person has a 50% higher chance of getting a responce if their name is white sounding than if it is black sounding. What do you think about this? Why do companies respond this way? >> I don’t know what these “studies” are, whether they actually existed, or whether they were even reputable (or repeatable...), but in the case that that does happen, it wouldn’t surprise me. Like, racism is a real thing that has real repercussions, lmao. We been knew. 3919. Should Big Fat Greek Wedding really be a Big Fat Greek sitcom? >> I don’t know??? 3920. What are you addicted to? >> Nothing. 3921. What fascinates you? >> A lot of things. 3922. What is fascinating about you? >> I’m not sure. 3923. Personality wise, is anything the same for all human beings and if so, what? >> I don’t know, and I wouldn’t dare to speculate. 3924. What kind of a contest woud you have a shot at winning? >> I’m not sure. 3925. You see a dirty punk kid who had a giant cowboy hat on who is rolling his own cigarettes. Your impression? >> “hah, check out Mini Odin over here”, probably. 3926. What would you never want to have more than 2 of? >> Ears??? I don’t know, dude. 3927. Is there a movie you just could not finish watching? What and why? >> Yeah, there’s quite a few movies like that. Beyond the Black Rainbow was one. It was just too fucking esoteric for me. 3928. Is there anyone that you love and want to be around for no explainable reason? >> Well, I mean, there’s a reason... it’s because Can Calah is wonderful and makes me feel good to be around. 3929. Would you go to times square for new years? >> Fuck no. I used to live like a 15-minute walk from Times Square and I still wouldn’t go on NYE. That is literal pure hell and I really don’t know why people do that to themselves. Watching it on TV at home with people you like (or even just by yourself/with your dog) and some snacks and a bottle of champagne is the true ideal. 3930. Do you think that there are to many signs blocking up the scenery? >> Like... street signs??? Is this a reference to something 3931. Did video really kill the radio star? >> *shrug* 3932. What was your favorite atari game? >> I’ve never played Atari. 3933. what is your favorite neon color? >> Neon green. 3934. Do you get depressed eveytime it rains? If yes, why? >> No, although a rainy day may exacerbate an already gloomy mood (I am absolutely solar-powered). 3935. 'The more you admit that all your actions are robotic, the less robotic you are.' What does Tim leary mean by this? Do you agree or disagree and why? How much of your actions do you admit are robotic? >> I personally don’t know what the fuck he’s on about, but all those “LSD gurus” said some weird shit like that on a regular basis. It was part of their charm, I guess (and definitely fit in with all the counterculture stuff going on in that era). 3936. Are we not men? >> Well, I’m not. I’m a spider. 3937. Is it easy to be you? Would being someone else make it any easier? >> It is very much not easy to be me. Being me is often so exhausting and energy-consuming that I can’t do anything else some days. I don’t know what it is like to be anyone else, though, so I can’t comment on that. I’m doing my best with what I’ve got. 3938. Why are sex religion and politics such taboo subjects? >> Because people usually have very strong, deep-set beliefs and opinions about those things, which can lead to strife if everyone in the room is not in agreement. 3939. Is there really a differance between republicans and democrats? >> Yes. Otherwise the divide wouldn’t exist in the first place. I would allow that the differences are changeable (as the foundational policies of both parties have shifted over time), but they still exist either way. 3940. Imagine someone has a great personality, sense or humor, family and job. they also really really like you a lot. Would you consider dating them if they: were fat? limped? were a midget? had hiv? were paralized in one arm? had a glass eye? had only 6 months to live?

3941. What makes you experiance nostalgia? >> I mean, a lot of things. 3942. What do you remember about these historical figures: Woodrow Wilson? Hellen Keller? Christopher Columbus? 3943. Out of the above three figures, one is a huge racist, one is a socialist and one is a slave trader. Can you guess which is which? Racist: socialist: slave trader: 3944. Betcha they didn't tell you that in american history. Wilson, Keller and Columbus are painted as heros, impossibly good, ideal people. Why are so many things ommitted from and lied about in american history text books? >> *sigh* 3945. Do you drink super caffinated energy drinks? >> I don’t drink energy drinks, and I avoid caffeine levels higher than that which is in a cup of black tea. 3946. eminem or moby? >> Eminem. 3947. spongebob or the animanicas? >> I’ve never seen the Animaniacs, but I don’t much care for Spongebob, so I guess I’d watch Animaniacs if I had to choose. 3948. Why do people rush to grow up only to wish they were a child again? >> Social pressure, and then disillusionment. *shrug* My best guess. That’s not the experience I had/am having, so I can’t speak from experience. 3949. Why do people sacrifice their health to obtain money and then use the money to restore their health? >> Because capitalism is hell. 3950. Jetsons or Flintstones? >> I don’t have a preference. They kind of strike me as the same show just set in wildly opposite time periods, lol.

[kevzdg]

My Oscars 2018 Predictions

2017 was, for me, a year where we see the transition from producing movies that are formulaic in nature to producing films that are diverse and dense in nature. That is tantamount to saying that the Oscar nominee line-up this year poses a list of films that are usually away from everyone’s ballot, or at least from the esteemed Academy veterans. Such is because of the influx of new Academy members, showing that indeed new lenses were introduced to the committees who hand out the prestigious golden statue.  Nevertheless, placing predictions from this year’s competing nominees have been difficult because each film has meritorious nods on its own that deserve recognition. Here are my predictions for the Oscars 2018:

Best Visual Effects

The race is brutal in this category as previous visual effects nominees’ sequels came rushing into the line-up, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, as well as the critically-acclaimed Blade Runner 2049. What stands out for me is the latest addition to Matt Reeves series, War of the Planet of the Apes not only because it used the new motion capture tool by Weta Digital, but because it is made by multi-Oscar-award-for-best-Visual-effects Joe Letteri (who is notable for his work in Avatar and the Lord of the Rings trilogy). My best bet goes to the veteran on this one.

Will win: War of the Planet of the Apes

Could Win: Blade Runner 2049

Best Sound Mixing

If sounds could tell a whole story, they’re better told in Dunkirk and Baby Driver than the rest of the nominees in this category. Many overlook the essence of what it really means to perfectly sync sound to scene, and I think both films made sure to make them stick.

Will win: Dunkirk

Could Win: Baby Driver

Best Sound Editing

The sounds made for the film itself is best achieved by Dunkirk among the nominees. The difficulty in predicting the winner for this category lies in that the previous winners for the category (e.g. American Sniper, Mad Max: Fury Road) each have different reasoning on why they won in that it’s almost a blur choosing between mixing and editing.

Will win: Dunkirk

Could Win: The Shape of Water

Best Original Song

Typically, the Best Original Song is awarded to a well-rounded song that is essentially used in a film scene; and this year’s nominees have two of those in competition: This is Me from The Greatest Showman and Remember Me from Coco. In the end, it all boils down to taste, and I would have to follow my own.

Will win: Remember Me from Coco

Could win: This is Me from The Greatest Showman

Best Original Score

I rarely get enticed so much by a musical score but The Shape of Water soundtrack made by the Oscar-winning scorer Alexandre Desplat (who once competed with himself for the same category in the year of The Grand Budapest Hotel and Interstellar) has transported me to the magical world that is the setting of the film, and that’s not something I believe the other nominees besides Dunkirk could possibly overcome.

Will win: The Shape of Water by Alexandre Desplat

Could win (although a long shot, at best): Dunkirk

Best Production Design

A truly magnanimous design, often from period films, are the Oscar snatchers of this category, and this year is no different, as the frontrunners, at least from my book, are The Shape of Water (set in the 60s)  and Darkest Hour (set during Winston Churchill’s seat of power). But what quickly changed the game this year is Blade Runner 2049 which took my breath away with its set design! This is a hard pick to make.

Will win: The Shape of Water

Could win: Blade Runner 2049

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Yet another year of unprecedented nominees, this category continues to surprise me since all the nominees are focused on natural-looking prosthetics, instead of the typical nominees that are superhero movies or science fiction ones. I would have to go with the fluid prosthetics made by Kazuhiro Tsuji, Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski and Lucy Sibbick, to make Gary Oldman look like Winston Churchill.

Will win: Darkest Hour

Could win: Victoria & Abdul

Best Costume Design

Phantom Thread won me over in this category since, after all, the movie is literally about costume designing.

Will win: Phantom Thread

Best Foreign Language Film

I would say Ruben Östlund was surprised when his 2015 Force Majeure was snubbed unorthodoxly by the jury as it was thought to be a true frontrunner but ended up not even being nominated. Nonetheless, this year he comes back from his being robbed to being the 2018 true frontrunner with The Square, the Palm D’Or winner which stunned the Cannes audience with its unconventional satire. Alongside this film in the front row of the Foreign Language films is A Fantastic Woman which chronicles an LGBTQIA+ drama starring a transwoman. Both seem to win the best prize but I would go with the choice of going with the Art House film which I genuinely enjoy, and The Square gave me that and more.

Will win: The Square

Could win: A Fantastic Woman

Best Animated Feature

I’d like to think that Pixar won’t have it this year, or in the next years to come, but their winning streak surely isn’t stopping this year, as Coco climbs into an essentially good front row seat, where the other films sit comfortably way back in the back,, with The Breadwinner just a few seats in the middle of the whole thing.

I changed my mind, The Breadwinner surely has a more complexity and depth than the other nominees this year, and it’s high time to let Pixar with their entry Coco to stand a few steps down from the limelight, at least from my perspective. The Breadwinner is socially relenting, and it’s hard to go against its narrative depth. The other nominees still sit comfortably in the back row. I hope that the Academy derives the winner of this category not based on who produced it but on what is produced as the final product.

Will win: Coco  The Breadwinner

Could win: The Breadwinner Coco

Best Editing

When Baby Driver stole that BAFTA from Dunkirk, I immediately had my eyes open the whole time: a true surprise, since BAFTA predicts this category most of the time. War films dominate this category like a lion amongst men, but I insisted on myself that I push through with considering Baby Driver. On the one hand, I Tonya sure hits those marks with the careful weaving of the ice skating stunts, and the dramatic intercutting of the mockumentary clips inspired by the true interviews.

Will win: Dunkirk

Could win: Baby Driver

In a perfect world (or rather a more personal choice): I Tonya

Best Cinematography

There are only a few spots to consider for best cinematography and this year’s Oscar lineup couldn’t have a more exciting battle: Mudbound’s Rachel Morrison, the first female director of phtography to ever join the ranks, Dunkirk’s Dutch Hoyte Van Hoytema, notable in his BAFTA nomination from working in Interstellar), and Blade Runner 2049’s Roger Deakins, who has received 13 Oscar nominations for this category. I think I would have to go with Blade Runner 2049 because that award is long overdue for Roger Deakins. Second comes Dunkirk, because of its amazing 65mm framing and smooth visuals.

Will win: Blade Runner 2049

Could win: Dunkirk

Best Original Screenplay

Probably the most expectation defying moment of this awards season is giving the WGA trophy to Get Out over the other nominees. I would say that that awarding is by far the most shocking of everything I have seen this year because the nature of the narrative is not one typically awarded by WGA as having the top prize. Nonetheless, I believe that the screenplay is something I would probably give to Ladybird or Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, if only I were not met with that surprise WGA choice.

Will win: Get Out

Could win: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

Best Adapted Screenplay

Logan was a surprise, but I have to give this to the adaptation of Andre Aciman’s novel Call Me by Your Name. My choice was based on a meritorious dialogue, well-constructed story, and one that flows through like the melodramatic summer coming-of-age that it is.

Will win: Call Me by Your Name

Could win: Molly’s Game

Best Supporting Actor

Sam Rockwell aced all the awards in this category and it’s highly impossible not to see him grab that golden statue. His portrayal of a troubled policeman really exudes a grounded character.

Will win: Sam Rockwell from Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

Best Supporting Actress

This one is a no-brainer, Allison Janey outplays all the other in this category since hers is a character driven by utmost love-hate emancipatory emotion, something hard to pull off from a critical perspective.

Will win: Allison Janey from I, Tonya

Best Actor

Biographically written characters like Winston Churchill have that distinct power, and Gary Oldman could not be a more fitting actor to play him. That marks him as my winner: he’s so dissolved in the character that Churchill is truly embodied in him. In another light, Timothee Chalamet’s performance is also not to be snubbed.

Will win: Gary Oldman from Darkest Hour

Could win: Timothee Chalamet from Call Me by Your Name

Best Actress

The cream of the awards, and the true noteworthy celebration of what it is to be a woman acting for film, this award is given to the best of the best. Merryl Streep is once again nominated for this prestigious award, yet the newcomers are those who are the frontrunners, particularly Frances McDormand and, my personal choice, Margot Robbie. The fight is truly not character dependent but rather performance dependent, and I think whoever wins deserves it no matter what. Sally Hawkins also pulses throughout The Shape of Water (to think she did not even have any dialogue!) and with each of her gestures, the emotions can be felt.

Will win: Frances McDormand from Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

Could win: Sally Hawkins from The Shape of Water

In a perfect world where my personal favorites are the winner: Margot Robbie from I, Tonya

Best Director

From a critical angle, I believe this to be a control-based award, given to a director whose direction rings throughout: one that is potent in every which way. As delicate as this award is, most of the nominees over the years have been notable, well-known directors. This year, I pick Guillermo Del Toro because of his almost-auteur and spellbinding magic in handling the 1960s adult fairytale that is The Shape of Water. Christopher Nolan and Jordan Peele comes into mind as the potential spoilers because of their vision-oriented storytelling and manipulation of the film elements.

Will win: Guillermo Del Toro from The Shape of Water

Could win: Jordan Peele from Get Out OR Christopher Nolan from Dunkirk

Best Picture

What I cannot accept, until this day, is how my favorite film of last year, I Tonya was snubbed in this most acclaimed award. All of my sentiments aside, what stands out among all the rest, are Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri because of its unconventional-yet-conventional take on the familial relationships with hints and dashes of comedic and violent shades, and The Shape of Water, truly a visual spectacle that has a well-formed narrative that takes storytelling to a whole new level, painting a fairytale that can only be perfectly told by Del Toro himself.

Will win: The Shape of Water

Could win: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

The 90th Academy Awards is happening on March 4, 2018, at 5PM GMT -8:

[builder051]

Hello! for a prompt: bucky massively overestimating his alcohol tolerance?

Ha!  Nice one!  Here you go.

This is Powers/No Powers.  And it’s Halloween!

________________________

Halloween is boys’ night in.

Steve’d called Clint.  “You know Buck’s not really good with the doorbell, so we’re looking for somewhere quiet to spend Halloween.”

“No one hikes up to our house,” Clint’d assured him.  “Laura’s taking the kids into town, so you’re welcome to come crash with me.”

So they’d made plans for drinks and sloppy joes and Svengoolie

Steve pulls up in the driveway as Laura’s loading the two miniature pirates into the car.

“Arrrgh!”  Leila growls at them, brandishing her plastic hook.

Bucky looks at Steve for a second and whispers, “Am I supposed to act scared?”

“Um.  Yeah,” Steve replies, raising his hands and pulling a girlishly frightened face.

“Ooh.  Scary,” Bucky says flatly, missing the nail on the acting part.

“You boys let yourselves in,” Laura says, dusting off her jack-o-lantern sweatshirt before settling behind the wheel.  "Clint’s…a little excited.”

Laura’s right.  The kitchen is cluttered, and Clint’s bouncing back and forth between the large collection of condiments on the counter and what looks like a full bar on the breakfast table.

“Hey, what can I start you off with?” Clint asks, setting down his down-to-ice-cubes glass and grabbing a couple clean glasses from the cupboard.

“I don’t know…” Steve says unsurely.  Drinks has always meant a couple beers on the back porch, or at least it has since Bucky came back.  Not hard liquor.  Alcohol doesn’t do much for Steve these days, and he’s not sure it’s wise for Bucky to imbibe anything stronger than a Miller Lite.

But it’s not like they don’t have a history.  Steve remembers the days when he was barely legal and three sheets to the wind on scotch and soda, watching Bucky try to pick up everyone in the vicinity.  Maybe Bucky remembers too.  Maybe it’ll be ok.

“What do you recommend?” Bucky asks, looking at the intimidating number of bottles.

“This one’s always been one of my favorites.”  Clint selects Canadian Club from the array and turns to fridge for ice.

“He doesn’t want ice,” Steve says quietly, trying to give a gentle reminder that Bucky’s trigger situation is still…what exactly?  Delicate?

“Maybe I do.”  Bucky’s standing close to Steve, looking at him with an expression Steve doesn’t quite recognize.

“Well, I mean…”

“I know you’re helping me out.  Just.  Maybe I do.”

“Yeah, ok,” Steve concedes.  He’s always know it would come to this someday.  And it’s really a good thing if Bucky starts to see him at too protective.  It means he’s getting better.  More independent.  It’s just hard to see things change when he’s not sure of the outcome.

“Do you want ice?” Clint asks, looking over his shoulder and flicking his gaze from Steve to Bucky.

“No,” Bucky replies, nullifying the argument.

Clint splashes whiskey into the glasses, then tops off his ice cubes as well.  Steve takes his serving and inhales the slightly sweet, almost woodsy aroma before taking a small sip.  Bucky’s already tipping his head back and chugging down a gulp.

“Someone’s a little eager,” Clint comments, raising his brows.

“I think I remember this,” Bucky murmurs after holding the liquor in his mouth for a moment and swallowing it down.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you drank everything you could get your hands on back then,” Steve replies, a smile pressing out of the corners of his worried expression.  “I think scotch and soda was your usual, though.”

“Do you have that?” Bucky asks Clint, draining his glass of Canadian.

“You underestimate my skills as a bartender,” Clint says, rinsing Bucky’s empty glass and setting to work mixing.

“You should probably pace yourself,” Steve warns.  “You haven’t had this stuff in a while.  Don’t know how it’s gonna make you feel.”

“I’ll be fine,” Bucky says.  “Don’t go getting sore about me out drinking you.”  He gives Steve a playful nudge.

“Yeah, well.  A lot’s changed since then.  I wouldn’t go thinking everything’s all the same as it was before the war.”

“Well.  Gotta try before we find out.”  Bucky accepts his refreshed beverage from Clint and takes a generous sip.  He considers for a moment, then slowly nods.  “Yeah.  I did like this.  I think I still like this.”

“Thank you, thank you.”  Clint mock-bows and takes the words as praise for himself.  “I’m a pretty good cook, too, if you’re ready to eat.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty hungry,” Steve agrees.

Bucky looks up from another sizeable sip of his drink and nods.  “Sure.”

The crock pot is plugged in on the counter, and when Clint lifts the lid, the savory scent of meat and tomato sauce and spices fills the air.  “Mm.  Smells great.  You are a multitalented man,” Steve says.

Clint throws buns onto plates, then starts ladling out the filling.  The name sloppy joes ends up being quite accurate as Clint isn’t precise with his plating.

“You know…” Bucky says, an edge of uneasiness in his voice.  He holds his glass against his mouth and clinks it against his teeth.  “I’m…I don’t know if I’m real hungry.”

Steve follows Bucky’s gaze to the red-brown sauce dripping from the edge of one plate onto the counter. And practically in the blink of an eye, things are back to being delicate.

“I’m sure we could get you something else,” Steve says.  “I bet Mr. Master Chef’s a whiz at grilled cheese too.”

“Uh.  Yeah,” Clint agrees, clearly not sure what he’s missing.

“I’m good.  I’m just not hungry yet,” Bucky says.  He drains his glass again.  He’s paled slightly, and his eyes are wide and a tad glazed.

“Do you need a minute?” Steve asks, offering the out that Bucky clearly requires.

“No, I’m.  Um.”  Bucky turns away and sets his glass down on the bottle-laden table.  “How do I mix this?”

“I’ll get you set up,” Clint promises.  Then, a bit unsurely, “You ok to eat in the living room?  You’ll have to promise not to tell Laura.”

“Yeah, here, I’ll take the plates,” Steve says, jumping into action.  He transfers one of the sandwiches to his own plate so nothing will be left out or wasted.  When he’s back in the kitchen, Bucky’s sipping another scotch and trying hard to hide the tremors in his hand.

By the time they’re through the first Svengoolie-commentated film that Clint’s bootlegged from somewhere, Steve and Clint are fed and Bucky’s on his ninth or tenth cocktail.  Steve has to practically bully him into eating a plain hamburger bun, and Bucky keeps insisting he’s fine even though there’s clear evidence to the contrary.

“Think maybe you should slow down a little, Buck?” Steve says, softly patting Bucky’s shoulder.

“I’m good,” Bucky says.  “This is fun.  We should do this more often.”

“You’re going hard, though.  Might be better to take a little break.  Drink some water.”

“We always do what you want,” Bucky grumbles, smacking his glass against his knee so the tablespoon or so of liquid in it slops onto his jeans.  “I wanna…pick what I do.”  He puts his glass on the coffee table and dabs the spill with his fingers.

“I’m just trying to keep you safe.  You know that,” Steve reminds him.

“Yeah, but…I just…That’s not what I want to do.”

“Buck—”

“Just shut up a minute, Stevie.”

Clint comes back from the kitchen where he’s been washing dishes.  “Do you need me to leave so you can have a fight?”

“We’re good,” Steve says.

“Top me off,” Bucky demands nodding at his empty drink.

“Sure.”  Clint picks up all their glasses and heads off to refill.  Steve launches up to follow him.

“You need to cut him off,” Steve says.  “He’s drunk, he’s barely eating, he’s in a bad mood…”

“How many has he had?” Clint asks.

“I don’t know.  You keep refilling him!”

“What?  Oh, fuck, I thought that was your glass, that’s why I kept refilling it.  Shit.  I don’t know either,” Clint admits.  “What was he talking about, making his own choices?”

Steve sighs.  “He thinks I’m smothering him.”  He runs his hand agitatedly through his hair.  “I mean, I knew this would come on eventually as he gets more independent, but… turns out he has to be drunk off his ass and making really immature decisions in order to talk to me about it.”

“Maybe you should let him.”

“Huh?”

“Let him do something stupid and drink himself sick.  He’s in a safe place here.  He’ll learn and get over it and move on,” Clint suggests.  “You can tell him ‘I told you so’ while you’re carrying him to bed.”

“Is that, like, a parenting thing?”  He cringes at the idea of being a father figure to Bucky.

“Eh.  Sorta.  More like a college roommate thing.  Sometimes people have to figure out shit for themselves,” Clint says.

“Yeah,” Steve exhales.  “I still think you should cut him off, though.  Give him a glass of water.  Or at least something else, something maybe he won’t like so much.”

Clint chuckles.  “You got it.”

“What’s that?” Bucky asks when Clint hands him a taller glass of yellow liquid instead of the scotch he’d been expecting.

“Pinnacle Whip and pineapple juice,” Clint replies.  “It’s kind of more Laura’s thing, but like I said, I’m a good bar tender.”

Bucky gamely takes a taste.  He shrugs and sips it again.  “Kind of sweet.”

“You don’t like sweet so much, huh?” Steve poses.

“It’s ok.  Way better than that pumpkin coffee whatever thing you had that one time…”

“Wait, you drink pumpkin spice lattes?” Clint asks, bursting out laughing.

“What?  They’re good!” Steve says in his own defense.

Clint starts another episode of Svengoolie, but they only watch a few minutes before all three of them are laughing raucously at something and Bucky shouts that they should probably play cards.

“That’s what we do, right?” He asks Steve, a little slur tainting his pronunciation.  “Play cards?”

“Um.  We did.  I think.  Before the war?  When we’d go drinking?”  Steve strains to remember.

“No, when I can’t sleep.”

“Oh.  Yeah, we play cards sometimes.  Uno and stuff.”  He tries to lock on Bucky’s blurry gaze.  “You getting tired?”

“Maybe.  I don’t know.  It feels late.”

“It’s 8:30,” Clint says with his own version of buzzed sarcasm.  “So late.”

They dig up a pack of cards.  It takes a while to come up with a game they all know how to play, and finally they just start up with 3-way war, even though Steve thinks it’s a bad idea from the name alone.

Bucky drains his glass for what seems like the hundredth time tonight, then knocks it over as he sweeps a pile of cards toward himself.  The glass doesn’t break, but Bucky jumps when it hits the table and whispers, “Shit.”

“You’re ok,” Steve says, righting the cup and clapping Bucky on the stump shoulder.  Maybe a little harder than he meant to.

“No, I’m not,” Bucky murmurs unexpectedly.  “I was…I’m…I don’t…”  He hiccups.  Then spills all his cards into his lap.  “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Clint says.  “It’s really easy to clean cards out of the carpet.”

Bucky belches wetly in response, swallows hard, and brings his fist up to his mouth.

“Barf, though…”  Clint cocks his head.  “Not so much.”

“Ok.  Come on.”  Steve heaves Bucky up from the couch and steers him toward the bathroom.  Bucky gags into his hand before they’re over the threshold, then leaves a brownish spitty handprint on the toilet seat when Steve guides him down to his knees.

Bucky retches hard.  “I don’t feel good, Stevie,” he chokes.

“Yeah,” Steve whispers.  “Looks like maybe your tolerance isn’t so high after all.”

A huge slew of liquid splashes into the toilet, and Bucky coughs and groans as his system rejects everything he drank.

The wave of vomit finally lets up, and Bucky turns his head to the side to rest his cheek on the toilet seat. His eyes are red, and spit’s stuck to the stubble on his upper lip.  He looks 18 and naïve.

It brings Steve back to being young and invincible, though more often than not he was the one with his head in the toilet back then.  Even though he’s so much older now, things aren’t that much different.  Not really.

“Sorry,” Bucky breathes.

“It’s ok, Buck,” Steve says.  He pats him on the back, then tries to relieve some of the tension in Bucky’s quivering shoulders.  “You’re really doing ok.  I mean, of all the things that could’ve brought you down tonight, it’s the liquor.”  Steve laughs in spite of himself.

“’S not that funny,” Bucky grumbles, repositioning himself over the toilet to prepare for the next wave of sickness.  He throws up for a while more, then just stays there, bent over the porcelain bowl as Steve rubs his back.

There’s a scuffling of doors opening and closing, then footsteps dashing through the house, which can only mean that Laura and the kids are home.  Steve’s barely thought through what to do next when knuckles softly rap on the door frame.

“You doing ok?”  Laura’s standing there in her festive sweatshirt, looking concerned at the scene playing out in her bathroom.

“Yeah, I’m sure Clint told you,” Steve says quietly.  “Just.  Had a little too much.”

“I’ll put some sheets on the guest bed for you,” Laura offers.  “There are some spare toothbrushes under the sink.”

“No, we’ll get out of here,” Steve says.  Bucky starts retching again.  “Just, give us a few more minutes.”

“You’re staying here,” Laura says with gentle matriarchal authority.  “I don’t know how much you’ve had to drink.  And he really needs somewhere to sleep it off.”

Steve sighs.  She has a point.  “I’m just…really sorry to be…you know.  Those kind of guests.”

“You guys are never bad guests,” Laura smiles.  “Is there something he’ll want to eat in the morning?  Just so I can have it on hand.  I’m sure the kids are going to insist on candy for breakfast…”

“Anything but that,” Bucky mutters into the toilet bowl.

Steve laughs, relieved that of all the possibilities, this is how he gets to spend Halloween.