#look at this idiot ....... saying shes done and gonna make it a cartoon. and then pausing the cartoon. to go back. to work on the comic

[syrupyyyart]

I wish I wasn't such a flip flop!!! AAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

On an unrelated noted, I read back the few chapters of Motley I made initially and liked them more than I remember. Aaaaiarugh.

[palskippah]

Hi! I give you this Stobotnik fankid I made a while ago :'y

She's Sofia --or Ivania or some other name ending in 'ia'-- Robotnik (coolest last name)

It's a compilation and also there's some Stone for practice bc I have no idea how to draw him pipipi Eggman is easier bc it's just his Sonic Boom design (I love it)

Some stuff about this universe under the cut!

(Btw if there's incongruencies is bc I can't make up my mind about the facts whwhw)

-Robotnik and Stone are married, very much married. Cartoon villains in love, I love that for them.

-["MARTHA I'M COMING HOME SWEETIE-"] Mixing up the movie things and the whatever's going on in the Sonic Boom, so Robotnik was gone for eight months and when he's back she's already born.

>Also the drawing is a reference to Icarly's "Whatcha got there?" "A smoothie" but she was clearly asking about the ostrich Spencer brought with him.

>Alternatively, Eggman's there and they go through the journey together yippiee. Choosing names, making evil parenting plans and whatever, being their idiot selves.

(After celebrating because they're good news actually) "I want a boy or a girl-" (Eggman) "Yeah me too." (Stone) "-and we should name them a single, worth of remembering name! Like... Eggette for a girl and Eggson for a boy." "I'm not letting you name them any of that, doctor..." "Okay, then how about Beyonce for a girl and-"

>They wouldn't have kids (?? maybe? I don't really know, I only know sonic boom and the movie :'U)- but she was probably the 1% the birth control warns you about. Also, Stobotnik got a very active seggsual life, and I'm imagining she came to be from a quickie over the desk, why not.

>Helpful diagram of Eggman + Stone kissing and then = baby. They were in work hours.

-In the one where he comes back and the baby's already there, Eggman does a terrible job as a father the few first months, but then he gets the hang of it and it's not so bad.

>He gets projectile vomited on and he's immediately asking to get an abortion (the baby's already born) (he didn't give birth to her), Stone says no anyways.

>"Surprisingly, I'm a good father" he thinks one day and it's because he's still very much an orphan here with no frame of comparation or example aside from researching the matter.

-In the one where they wait for her together, he does all the research necessary in all those months, absolutely refusing in doing an average job in that matter, he's the great Ivo Robotnik c'mon. He excels at anything and he'll be a great father (jk he's terrified of fucking up).

-The Stobotnik family is an evil but loving family, like the bears in Puss in Boots whwh criminal family✨

-For the funny of it, Sonic and Eggman got a sort of relationship like in Sonic Boom, so sometime maybe our favorite boy, Tails and Knuckles had to look after their child.

-Also since Knuckles broke Stone's and Robotnik's hands with their handshake, let's have him handle the baby with the most careful grip ever, just to demonstrate that he didn't have to grab their hands that hard aksdjask

-She's a big fan of Sonic and friends (Sonic the Hedgehog, not Sonic Wachowski, the second guy hadn't done even half the things she admires him for, but no one has the heart to tell her when she's a kid). Has a bunch of merch and all the comics of Sonic the Hedgehog.

>When she's a teenager she proudly uses her Sonic backpack in the same way Deadpool uses his Hello Kitty backpack.

-BTW Sonic, Knuckles and Tails are all brothers and Maddie and Tom's kids bc that's the best idea ever made.

-ALSO I'm definitely gonna draw that scene where Knuckles was about to put the baby in the blender and Sonic shouts THE CHILI DOG NOT THE BABY. Some day, you'll see pipipi.

-SAGE was created for various reasons, to be her sister (since she wouldn't stop asking for one but neither Stone nor Robotnik were willing in raising another human kid, thanks very much), to protect her, and also to answer the tedious "why?" questions that neither father had the patience for (A+ parenting right there). Maybe she was used for the original purpose too idk (I don't know that sonic game where she debuts).

>The child's delighted about having a sister, then she grows up and SAGE doesn't, so she has a little sister.

>METAL SONIC TOO MAYBE? Perfect lil american family, the two happily married parents and their three kids (one human girl, an IA and a robot clone of their alien enemy).

-On her early months she was called Pebble, because she really was a mini Stone, Robotnik went along with it (bc he also looked at her and only saw his husband whw) until she was a little older and they started calling her by her name.

>Alternatively, since Eggman was gone, Stone waited for him to return in hopes of choosing together a name for their child, and Pebble worked as a placeholder since she was just a bebi.

>Alternatively alternatively, Eggman came up with the nickname. ROCK-ONNAISSANCE 🗣️ also yeah I know he was going crazy from the mushroom stuff, but he's not above making silly puns, he's a dad now and also he's naturally silly.

(NGL I really gotta make up my mind about how it all happened ajsdkad)

-She's a spoiled kid and also a little menace, unintentionally evil, she can't help it.

>Good-hearted too sometimes, she loves Sage and does her best to protect her back (it's not necessary but it's appreciated anyways).

-Robotnik calls himself 'daddy' way too much in the live-action movies to ignore it, so he's daddy and Stone's dad (dada when she was younger).

>"These are my daddies!" (points to what's clearly two villains -but also good fathers-)

-She has Robotnik's eyes but as big as Stone's. They're the lethal-est sad puppy eyes ever (they work wonders on both parents and other people) (both men got beautiful dark brown eyes with visible eyelashes fight me).

>Look at Eggman's silly eyelashes:

>Also, you know that picture of Lee Majdoub with the beautiful everything? I think he was wearing eyeliner so my Stone wears eyeliner too in contrast to Eggman's dark circles under his eyes JDJS😭

-She's the five-year-old that made Sonic fear them because 'they can be so cruel when they sense weakness' (she was brutally honest as any young kid is).

-Stone and Robotnik got Gomez and Morticia Addams kinda parenting. They see their child beating up someone and they're like:

"What did we do wrong?" (Stone while shaking his head in disappointment) "I know... she lacks resourcefulness." (Eggman) "Exactly, there's her baseball bat right there, why doesn't she use it?"

-Remember that Shadow said in a game that he wouldn't mind taking a candy from a baby? (fandub I think but still) This comes in handy when neither Tails, Sonic or Knuckles want to upset the kid (so Shadow does it instead).

-She plays sports too because she got too much energy. In each of them she loses her patience. She grabs the football and hauls it at the nearest team member, she throws her baseball bat to the ground and starts beating up whoever threw the ball that she missed, she stomps in frustration if she loses, she's great at dodgeball (sends her classmates to the infirmary).

-Throws tantrums and stuff and overall's an annoying kid if she's upset. Eggman's like UGH WHY'S SHE LIKE THIS?? and Stone's like Because of you, doctor (terrible temperament runs in the family and also Robotnik just spoiled her too much).

-I'm kinda dressing her up in the clothes that existed in my mind that supposedly Eggman wore (the weird dress-like jacket with the big zipper in the middle). Under her jacket there's a dress in the same pattern as the original Eggman's clothes, also she wears a baby onesie like that too.

-When she's older she's definitely proud of her fathers, but she doesn't appreciate the rumors that she's prone to go power-crazy like Robotnik did. Especially because it may be true, but what do they know.

-For the irony, she can't stand drinking coffee, but loves the smell of it because it reminds her of home (omg).

-THEY HAVE A PET CAT like I read in some fics and her name is Robot and she's a lil shit and also grumpy like Robotnik.

>Maybe she brings her alive mice to experiment on all sort of stuff (like Pávlov and his dogs and the guy Skinner with his mice and cats (??))

-She gets to hang out with Sonic and friends under the condition of annoying him as much as possible. So, she complies. (She loves Sonic the Hedgehog, but she loves making her fathers happy more).

-Very smart kid but not to the level of Tails or Robotnik at that age, she's just got very good memory and learning skills and knows a lot of stuff ever since she was a little kid. More like a Matilda-kinda intelligence.

-She's a scientist when she grows up too but the kind that makes evil potions and serums and stuff aksjdk probably (chemistry things? biochem idk). She can make silly little robots for the fun of it but it's not her passion, unlike Robotnik and Stone's. PROBABLY. I'm still deciding.

-BTW LOOK (it says 'carefully crafted ploy to distract space porcupines')

>While Eggman's there with the baby and Sonic in front of him going AWWW BABY BOO and making her laugh, Stone is sneaking up on him holding a chair above his head to knock him out.

THAT'S IT THANKS FOR READING ✨✨

[les-pompiers118]

Last call for sin

900 words | rated Teen | Buck angst

A 1x01 coda ficlet for @911hiatus's week one prompt, "hunger." Title from All These Things That I've Done by The Killers, which is a perfect song for pilot Buck (in my humble opinion).

He managed the drive home okay—hands tight around the steering wheel, radio on too loud to keep his thoughts at bay, but he made it. He just put his mind on autopilot and drove. But now that he’s safely on his own front porch, fiddling with the keys in his jacket pocket, Buck feels like he can’t breathe. As if there’s a snake wrapped around his ribcage, squeezing.

He inhales sharply through his nose, then exhales more slowly from his mouth, talking himself through it like he’s his own patient. In… and out. There you go. You’re okay. On the far end of the porch, someone left an empty beer can in the potted geranium that’s languishing between two folding chairs. Buck keeps his eyes fixed on it, both to ground himself while he breathes and to have something—anything—to think about besides what happened yesterday.

He almost lost everything.

In… Out… In… Out…

The front door opens, startling Buck into taking a step back.

“Hey, I thought I heard you pull in,” Kyle says through the screen door. He’s wearing flannel pajama bottoms printed with puffy, cartoon Christmas trees and no shirt. “You okay, man?”

“Yeah, fine. Just didn’t get much sleep.” Buck walks over to the geranium, plucks out the beer can, and hands it to Kyle. “You guys, uh, have someone over last night?”

“Not me. Stayed up late watching a couple movies. I don’t have to work until noon.”

Buck follows Kyle inside, careful not to let the screen door slam. “Sorry if I woke you up.”

“You didn’t. Fucking car alarm next door again. I’m gonna let the air out of their tires next time, I swear to fucking God.”

“I did not hear you say that,” Buck grins, then gestures at Kyle’s pajamas. “Look at a calendar, dude. It’s January.”

“Yeah, so? My mom gave me these. They’re comfortable. Yo, I was about to make some eggs. You want some?”

“Nah, I’m good, thanks. Not hungry yet.”

Kyle gives him a thumbs-up and returns to the kitchen, and Buck goes upstairs to his room. The house is quiet at this time of day, at least on weekdays. Weekends are a different matter. Buck usually comes home to find a few friends-of-friends still hanging around for breakfast. Buck doesn’t care, as long as the mess gets cleaned up and no one has crashed in his bed.

God, he’s so damn tired. It’s not that they had a lot of calls last night; he just couldn’t seem to get his brain to switch off. Four straight hours in his bunk without the bell going off, and he wasted them listening to Chimney snore. Buck drops his gym bag on the floor and kicks off his shoes without looking to see where they land. Clothes are peeled off, replaced with sweats. Curtains get pulled closed. Autopilot. On the way to the bed, he catches his reflection in the mirror hanging over the dresser.

And then he can’t breathe again.

This is not a family.

The next time you screw up, it’ll be your last.

You’re done, kid.

In the dim light, Buck sees all the previous versions of himself staring back at him from the mirror, all with the same birthmark and blue eyes, the same nose that’s just a little too long. Twenty-six goddamn years’ worth of them—and it seems he’s no closer to figuring out how not to screw up his own life.

“I fucked up,” Buck whispers. “I fucked up again, Maddie.”

His reflection pleads with him in the mirror, begging for sympathy, but the voice in his head is brisk, sensible. Maddie’s voice.

Okay? What are you going to do about it, Evan?

He hasn’t seen her in years. It’s painful to think of her, still patching up idiots like him in the ER and then going home to her dickhead husband. At least she has one less thing to worry about with her little brother out of her hair. Buck hopes she’s okay. Maybe even happy.

It’s hard to imagine her happy.

It’s been five years since he left Hershey, hungry for something he couldn’t even name. So hungry it hurt. But now he understands what he was seeking as he was crisscrossing the country in her old Jeep: Purpose. Something he could hold up with pride. And people who gave a shit about him. He knows this because yesterday he almost threw all those things away for a couple of meaningless fucks. Jesus.

So. What is he going to do about it? The first step is obvious. Buck sits down on the edge of his bed and begins deleting every dating app off his phone. He’s done. He has to be done.

He makes the mistake of opening the last app. Four messages. Buck scans the profile pictures, his breathing picking up. God, it was an actual nightmare of a shift. That little girl dragged out of her house, bullets—actual fucking bullets—pinging off the fire engine. In two days, Buck’s going to be right back there, facing all kinds of awful shit again, having people’s lives in his hands. And then there’ll be the consequences of his screw-up to face. Bobby’s probably gonna have him scrubbing floors for a month.

Buck lets his thumb hover unsteadily over GirlOnFire94’s picture. The name feels like fate. He clicks.

One last time. He needs this.

His hands don’t stop shaking for a long time.

[hospitalterrorizer]

diary397

10/23/24

wendesday

tomorrow, we go to a pumpkin patch with friends.

and believe it or not, i've just done a bit of writing. transcribing from the notes app but that's always like, rather involved because i go, what was i trying to get at, then i reverse engineer it, something better comes out usually. so i need to do that, i've got about 44 notes to go through, which is probably gonna be about 30 extra pages. whew! terrible maybe. but then i get to just start assembling more, i get to move past this middle in the hump as everything before is essentially laid out. a new list to get through... this makes it really manageable honestly, having the number down and now i'll just run run run thru it. it feels good to have this now. i guess i'm like dumb in some way for feeling like a list is going to make writing something easier but i suppose that's how these things might go. it's long as it is so anything to make it less abstract. being less abstract... wow! it can happen and if it can happen that means it could end up out there in the world.

i also ought to work with the tiny thing, what i really need to do is go into the section i wrote forever ago and change the tense, which will also be additional editing when i come across awkward syntax. but whatever... i need to bite the bullet. just doesn't feel like a lot of time for this.

between these two things, i also really need to force myself to sit down and read. i'm just so tired lately, i keep waking up too early for no reason. or. some reason, it's just bright when my gf turns lights on, and a little loud when she moves around. i don't blame her, it just sucks broadly. but whatever. i'm super tired now so i feel like i will sleep better at least.

i didn't start the drawing of daan, i doubt tomorrow will be the day but you never know, i did a little thing with music today also, but nothing for a main project, just having fun writing weird things. odd chords that move weird, it's almost incoherent, but i like it. maybe i can make it make more sense when i get to it another time. maybe the not really making sense is actually a positive. who knows.

oh, the other day, i used the word daub incorrectly, i feel idiotic for that. less so now that i admit the failure. i feel good about that.

errands were very fast today, since my gf's mom is clearly not supposed to be so mobile right now.

i snapped a little, for starving, i was very hungry today, i can be irritable, but i think it was just kind of funny how it happened, my gf made some offhanded joke, i was like, i'm hungry, fuck you, but she didn't care at all, i think because she's similar to that she just understood. it's not good to be that way but i guess everybody is like that sometimes, because they are hungry and had to do a bunch of things. it's interesting how being hungry can make you be something you normally are not. i feel bad that i can be like that at all, honestly, it makes me worry i'm really evil, and a bad presence in anybody's life, and i don't know how to tell if i am or am not. when i ask, everyone says, what do you mean you think you're evil, my gf says it makes her think of happy tree friends when i say things like that. like some kind of cartoon squirrel that's too cute or something to really do anything. which is reassuring to put in words here. it's not about how i look, it's that i guess, there's some line that i can't cross, because my line for being awful is being grouchy when i'm hungry or overstimulated. it really didn't mean anything to her, or her mother, or they were a little shocked since normally i don't ever talk back... i don't know, i feel bad, and it didn't mean anything to either of them, so ultimately, it doesn't matter. but i want to be a better person, or, not mean to people.

i should try and think of concrete ways to do that... maybe i talk about it too much.

i ought to sleep soon, but my friend who has traveled to brazil and will be there for many more months is messaging me, his journey is incredible, one of the coolest things i've seen, to make the effort to go be out there, with a girl i think he is together with, you know, like, i suppose to make solid the relationship in that way, to be with her for 6 months basically, that's really moving to me. making sure to make it strong i guess. and to go so far out of his comfort zone, he's a very cool person. it is nice to think about, from what he's been through, and how he hasn't let it get him to give up you know.

here's an all timer:

oooh woo ooh ooh ooh oohwooo

perfect song. nothing else to say really except it always blows me away, such a slinky and mysterious thing, a puddle on a grey day without any rain, staring at it, waiting, sad nothing comes, climbing a fence and running around a playground at a school, walking back home.

i will sleep now,

so,

byebye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[verm1c1de]

i did,,, this thing,,,, fur patricia,,,, beclaws i couldnt resist.

no, which is a little bit why shes a weirdo. all of her friends are older adult people and it took her a while to learn how to interact with kids her age. jeremy and mavis the 40 year old watchdogs are great confursational partners though

motherless behavior

p good, with both of them! i put in her artfight bio her more,, complex feelings. but it gets better as she gets older and chills out a little tbh. she was just a very anarchic child

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

older patty stores things in her hat, which isnt bottomless or purrticularly magical, just has cartoon physics. mostly witchy things like demon summoning ((and subsequent exorcism)) materials. and bugs. lots of bugs. especially centipedes

taking ofur the world

not much of a nightmare haver! purrobably worrying that no one will like her. worries less about it as an adult

yes. peepy taught her. purrobably training dummies! or watchdogs.

nope

she wears 3 pieces of clothing and none of them are shirts, pants, skirts, or dresses. not even a poncho

no idea! shes not scared of being alone and shes not scared of any dangerous sitches, not that she gets in too many of those. bravest baby

purrobably sleeping with her fatha on the banjo playing his tunes

nope

shes purretty bad at both, honestly. shell give mew a nickname but thats beclaws she doesnt remember who mew are. mewre "igor" now and mewre gonna help her collect these bloodworts

she likes hoarding things,,,, lots of those things are junk

happiness :))

necronomicon picture book ^_^

depends,,,,, she doesnt like people giving her unsolicited advice but she loves talking about the things she knows, and she also loves people being her minions,,,

inconsiderate and difficult to change. she wants to make furiends and people to like her but she gets so excited and caught up in the things she likes that she doesnt consider ofur people sometimes, and then hates being called out. she gets better at this with age,,,

look at that guy. what an idiot. im so much better

depends,,, younger patty would blame ofur people, but older patty does end up learning that sometimes shes the purroblem,,,,

people who are understanding and willing to listen

people who think they know the best/better than her

theyre eifur her immediate best furiend or she pushes them away. hardly any in-between

easy. and if one of her furiends is guilty, she knows, shes just defending them anyways. god furbid someone has a little fun

she hasnt interacted with children much, esp not when she was one. children eifur love her or are terrified of her. they appurreciate someone who takes them seriously, but also,,, scary bugs,,, scary lady,,,, she talks about death and stuff

badly.

easily!

wanted to take ofur the mewniverse. now shes happy in her witch hut sipping tea

not much! shes fine with getting down in the literal dirt

doing something shes interested in by herself

having to do something she doesnt wanna do with ofur people

defensive,,,, but shell be back later to apawlogize and do better

new method! unless its something shes done befur and she was sure she was good at,,,

very talkative. she doesnt talk fast when shes older, just a lot. sharing efurrything she knows and trying to rope them into playing/doing activities with her

when she was younger, bullying purrobably. older patty just gets them to go away,,,, or ignores them, on a good day

neifur

remove it!

lots and lots and lots of times. shes fine tho :]]

wander told her service workers are impurrtant people to be respected. patty doesnt care about hierarchies. patty treats efurryone the same. but,,, they give her no reason to be rude,,,,, most of the time,,,, hey! he asked fur no pickles!

she deserves it and she will earn it.

lots

not really

very easy! its also easy fur her to say she hates someone. less black-and-white when she gets older

ghosts.

[lazulitrueblue]

I’d like to quickly give my two cents on this. 1) Please take this from a grain of salt but do know that supposedly Planned Parenthood is quite abusive and shit. I am uncertain for sure if those rumours are true or not so I recommend if you wish to do similar as Alex that you donate to your local abortion funds and whatnot. That said, please do your own research and come to your own conclusion if that is right or not.

2) I wish not to contribute to a dying horse but I think this serves as an important lesson here. Spideygirl made an assumption, did not put in the time to prove that assumption (because yes, donating the same amount on the same site is gonna look very similar no matter how many times you do it and the tumblr crop of a twitter crop does not help), assumed the worst out of Alex, and then doubled down on that negative assessment. And the thing is, it’s okay to be skeptical even if the person seemingly is trying to be/do something nice.

What is not okay is to without any real substance to back it up just assume your guess is right and that label the person as a virtue-signalling attention-seeking smug bastard. We have all done it, so I am not gonna dunk hard on her. But it is worth saying that doubting Alex wasn’t the problem, it was what she had to say.

3) That said, it’s not worth being a dick. It’s not worth trying to ping spideygirl and being like “you got owned you stinky idiot!” or whatever. And it’s not worth painting a villain narrative on her for that. For example, she deactivated her blog in 2022, in part due to how her blog became so political in nature and both witnessing and engaging in the politics on the sight. That is a common thing, but many assumed it had to be because of getting “owned” by Alex. At that point you’re making a similar mistake to what she did. And that’s cringe ngl.

4) Alex is a good guy and I love Gravity Falls. Very epic children’s cartoon.

holy fuck.

[the-firebird69]

It's not too hard to figure out trump keeps calling himself the kid and says that his parents get killed in a robbery on the street somewhere and she loses pearls and he was trying to do it with them and it just never worked out. And figure out who people were wanted to kidnap them both together and kind of kidnap Dave and Carol on the Simpson property and he calls them his parents it's really it's a manifestation turned into a human and they're not really the parents the parents are the ones with the idea and he's trying to do that too and it's also the ones that made him human and those would be people who had to and it's not their fault they're doing the job correctly and Trump is a secretly just idiot. However

TRUMP IS SAYING THE MOM AND DAD ARE OUR SON AND DAUGHTER. AND ABOUT THE TWO. AND WE HATE HIM. AND HIT HIM HE WILL DIE.

a few others do it non stop. but mostly. in every movie and lots of plays and cartoons it is the idiot. wiht his voice likeness and or body adn him. playing the son. a moron ok. lately says sarah will do. and means it too. tries to get them together. and heard it no said it on the bus. and she is still rude. but ok. he is the one. a fag ok and we kill the twit john r dead.

But the story has a lot of meaning. Bane and it is the one from Dark Knight Rises and it's really this moron Trump climbing out of a well 'cause he was dumb enough to get caught in China. He hits Trump in the head and knocks him out he gets away but he hit him pretty good and broke the cowl and took it off to see who he was. And he knows about his plan and it's to trick him into shooting our son again and Sarah and to kidnap them both and implicate Tommy F to bring him down so he can take the ships. Now they're so worried I don't know anything well we've come out of your **** we're good did you say anything else here but eat a bug it was gonna hatch inside he's a loser he's gonna die I'm listening we just decided to do this people he's put on the breath he's **** with you make a lot of nasty things people think I can't control. i'm moron yeah you think it is a little kid it says that the Trump is a little **** and he's argued the same thing for two years that's ridiculous give it up stupid.

So being punches the mask in and takes the cow and he dawns it as Bain lest the ears and he makes a little photo negative image of a bat on the mask and he cuts it up a little bit opened it up as he's bigger and he looks maniacal with it on and he's supposed to and my son and daughter say this is the original one and it is and it's also metaphorical. More so one of them got killed and it was some jerk saying that they heard the father and mother and it wasn't long time ago and it was in Mexico and her son was wrong it's the original being mask and it was not our son who did it it was vital and got its wife no it was her aside lobo and that's him he is Bain and he Named our son Wolvesbain And our daughter too has the same name and it's Wolvesbain And really that's how it's spelled. Now this is a huge story because of what happened and why he didn't and who it was. And it's not trump he's young. Ages ago and the jerk wore a mask not really his face was cut off his body and it's a backed sign was put on there in white and it's sometimes done in Mexico and it means radar and the guy was saying I saw there glowing eyes and things like that and he knows who it was and why the ice were glowing and he said this to the man "I dont want to go on if i have to look at your face and i shall overcome that feeling" by Lobo And he said it pretty clearly and we heard it. And our son knows what it means it's his likeness and his character and I'll tell you it takes some stamina and he's a young guy and this idiot is a complete **** he's about to lose his entire army. And we're gonna make damn sure that happens.

Thor Freya

I suppose I should say something it's my character but this is kind of a painful memory it comes back all the time nowadays all of you have this idiot attitude it used to be somewhat rare they keep saying we've identified them get rid of them they don't seem to care and you're correct they don't seem to care that they have so many people we're going to start getting rid of them and test it and he very much appreciates it yes

yes

Lobo and I should say something too I guess we are going to make it happen tonight. And here Proxima Midnight

We do have ways of doing it and we're going to start now

We do have ways of doing it and we're going to start now

Olympus

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 297

ScoobyNatural

“ScoobyNatural”

I cannot tell you how happy I am that this ridiculous premise of an episode gets its own day

Plot Description: in this special animated episode, Sam, Dean, and Castiel are sucked into a Scooby-Doo cartoon and help the gang investigate a mysterious phenomenon

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: sure? The only thing that died was a giant dinosaur plushie

The fact that Dean even knows who Elsa (from Frozen) is…fantastic

He’s SO PROUD of his little Dean-cave. It does have just about everything he loves. I think just a stripper pole is missing, but he doesn’t really bring anyone back to the bunker for that purpose

(Megumi is loudly judging me for being excited for Dean’s excitement)

This is the stupidest concept they’ve done. I’m obsessed with it. It’s written (so far) exactly like a thirteen year old’s fanfic (affectionate), and I can say that because I did write fanfic at that age.

Dean’s so defensive of Scooby…and yet he’ll then say Cas is kind of like their talking dog. I hope you eat those words, Dean

Yikes on bikes. Did you have to go into how Scooby’s southern colonel benefactor died? I didn’t need to hear Fred Jones say that ANYONE died of cancer. That breaks the old cartoon illusion of Scooby Doo

You might as well act like you’re in a cartoon, Sam……because you are. Dean’s got the spirit, piling up a sandwich at least a foot and a half high and somehow being able to fit it in his mouth

Dean says he has a crush on Daphne, but he’s SO ANGRY about Fred’s whole existence

You say the Scooby gang is pure and good and then immediately try to sleep with Daphne…I get that this is like your one chance ever to do that but come on. Don’t worry though, you’ll be bunking with Fred instead

Daphne, don’t be silly. Velma’s gay, she’s not into Sam

(The family and friends named in this colonel’s will have to stay the night in the family mansion in order to split $1 million……….oh, and the mansion is haunted 😉)

Oh. People are gonna DIE die in the cartoon. That’s not good

I’m OBSESSED with how protective of Scooby Dean is. He literally doesn’t care if him or Sam die, Scooby could die! And that’s not gonna happen on his watch. He’d, and I quote, “take a bullet for that dog.”

Ok Sherlock Dinkley. I get it’s in the public domain but did you have to do the WHOLE “once you eliminate the impossible…” line?

Cas returning to the bunker and announcing what he’s been through without an audience and in such a normal cadence is so out of character. Barely feels like Cas at all

SO YOU ARE TELLING ME THAT CASTIEL GOT ZAPPED INTO THE CARTOON AT THE EXACT MOMENT THAT DEAN WAS RANTING ABOUT FRED’S PERFECT HAIR AND CAN DO ATTITUDE. I cannot.

Pffffffffffffffffffft, after finding a different would be beneficiary dismembered, the gang is splitting up to search for clues, and Dean’s teamed up with Daphne and Fred. Don’t lie, THIS is your real dream

Castiel, Shaggy, and Scooby on a team is ideal, though. It’s objectively the funniest

The comphet is real for Velma

I love them playing into old cartoon tropes like “object that will be used is colored differently than the rest” and then making Dean look like an idiot for trying to point it out

WHY DOES THAT BOOK OPEN A TRAP DOOR WITH CHUTES UNDERNEATH???

I’m so glad Dean gets to do the “running in and out of different rooms in one hallway while the theme song plays.”

Omg I thought they were actually about to kill off Shaggy…but does Scooby jumping out the window to save him disqualify Scoob from his inheritance?

No, instead, the boys shattered the Scooby gang’s reality by telling them that ghosts and vampires and demons are all real

I can’t wait for them to hand Shaggy a shotgun full of salt rounds….aww, damn. They won’t. Sam did try to give one to Velma, as though she wouldn’t lose her glasses and misfire

I take it all back. This is actually the BEST episode of supernatural. I keep laughing so hard I end up coughing, waking up and annoying Megumi

Why would the very real ghost fall through the trap door??

Only Castiel could get that take away from hanging out with Shaggy and Scooby

I love that Dean’s so happy that all this happened.

DEAN. You do not need to start wearing an ascot because it’s something Daphne likes in a man. You’re not gonna see her again

I can’t believe that they solved a real estate mystery in the real world that also had a real ghost

Of COURSE they said the meddling kids line but I was not expecting Jensen’s Scooby impression after it

Omg Sam and Cas’s reaction to Dean doing that. Like they could have ended the episode after Dean did that but it’s SO MUCH BETTER to have Sam embarrassed-ly ask Dean why he did that, have Dean explain that that’s how Scooby Doo episodes end, and have Cas remind him “Dean, you are not a talking dog”

Now, if I could rearrange things so this is what i would have watched on Halloween, I would…but I’m not doing this next year

[amusedyan]

Safe in the Nest

This isn’t a good idea.

This isn’t a good idea.

No matter how many times he told himself what a terrible idea this was, how it was only gonna blow up in his face, Hawks couldn’t actually stop himself.

His handler had given him the address without hesitation, as if she was waiting for him to ask.

It’s a test, a trap, you’ll be punished.

Maybe.

But the address was real, a real apartment in a real complex in a nice neighborhood.

And as he rode the elevator up, Hawks wondered if it was better or worse that she had made the money last. The check must have been huge, he thought, watching the floors click by.

He hated dragging his feet, but he couldn’t make himself just land on her balcony.

The hallway was brightly lit, decorated modern- it smelled of lemon soap and floor wax.

The hallways in his childhood apartment complex reeked of mold, decay, garbage and burned grease.

Number 1207 was on the left- it faced west. The door was white and clean as a newly washed sheet. His knock was more sure than he was- a steady knock knock knock that stung his knuckles.

He waited, listening to footsteps on the other side. After a moment, he reached up to block the peephole.

Idiot, he snapped at himself. She won’t open the door now.

After all, what could he say?

“Hey Ma, let me in?”

This was a waste of time. Tomie wouldn’t open the door either way.

There was a shadow under the door, and he heard a soft grunt- then the clicks of the locks as they were undone, one by one.

Immediately Hawks stiffened. His mother would never open the door- not when she couldn’t see who was there. No matter how good things might be going for her, he was sure things couldn’t have changed that much.

A trap? 

And then the door cracked, and he froze.

--------

When the knocking had come, you hadn’t thought about it. Mama must have forgotten her keys again. So you’d climbed on your little stepstool and unlocked it- one, two, three!

But she hadn’t come in and scolded you for not looking, so you opened it for her, because maybe the bags were heavy? Except it wasn’t Mama at all, but a man with bright red wings and goggles.

“Hi!” You asked, “who are you?”

He stared at you, and swallowed. “Is this the Ukai residence?” He asked, and his voice sounded kind of funny.

You nodded, “yes,”. 

“Does Ukai Tomie live here?” He asked, and you nodded again, “that’s my mama!” You told him, and he was still staring at you. “It’s rude to stare, you know!” You told him firmly.

The man blinked and nodded too, and he was breathing kind of funny.

“It’s also rude to leave a guest standing on the mat.” His face did something weird, like he was trying not to frown. Or smile.

“...that makes sense.” You opened the door a little further and suddenly you were up in the air- the man was holding you up and it was so fast and you screamed. He flinched and put you down.

“I’m sorry, I just...” He swallowed again and he was staring again. “How long did Tomie say she was gonna be gone?”

“Um...” You looked at the clock and frowned. “I don’t know.” He frowned, and you wondered if you did something bad. “I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything kid. It’s about what I thought.” His smile was sad. “My name is Keigo. What’s yours?”

You told him, grinning, and even showed him how to write it. Keigo was very impressed that you knew how to spell.

Keigo turned out to be super cool- he wanted to know everything about you; what games you liked, your favorite shows, your toys. You showed him your room and he was super impressed with the potted plant that you had named Ukki. And he was so nice and so friendly that after he made you both snacks you told him about those weird tests they gave you awhile ago.

“They told Mama I was quirkless,” you admitted, and you thought that Mama might have been happy about it, but the men in the white coats weren’t, and Keigo got really quiet.

Then your cartoons came on, and you sat down to watch. Keigo sat awhile too, but then he went into your room for awhile.

Mama came home before dinner was done, though, and Keigo had packed up your clothes because he said that if Mama said it was okay, you were gonna have a sleepover at his house.

“What have I told you about using the stove?” Mama called from the hallway, and you heard the crinkle of bags. Keigo ruffled your hair and smiled at you, just as Mama rounded the corner, and her mouth fell open.

“Mama, this is Keigo, he’s a guest!” You shoveled dinner into your mouth.

Keigo smiled. “Sit down for dinner, Tomie. We need to talk.”

[passivedecept]

*was writing a reply and realised it was going to be too long.*

...

*sighs as i delete the reply and make a reblog*

Okay!! Lets go!

The idea that the whole of Amity Park (aside from fenton parents, GIW and vlad) is ctually very protective of danny and just wants him to please stop you are a child. Is great.

Then the batclan coming to visit? The drama!

Now. Because we are already doing some cartoon logic with danny missing the obvious, the fenton parents missing the obvious, and the giw missing the obvious. Lets ramp it up.

Amity park can keep the batclan away from Phantom. But not as easily from Danny. Especially as his parents are so excited to share all the know about ghosts and the menaces they are and- DANNY-O! JAZZ PRINCESS! COME JOIN!

So. The batclan knows danny. But only saw phantom from a distance.

They however do see danny growing annoyed when his parents talk about the ghosts having no feelings. See him grow panicked at mentions of new weapons.

(They probably see him sneak downstairs to the lab to sabotage the weapons)

So... the batclan arent idiots but assuming a living guy is a ghost is a bit of a leap.

Instead:

They figure that there is more to the ghosts as those are clearly sentient. They relaise phantom is the hero and the town are protecting him when they can because of the government laws (they are looking into those ecto acts)

And they conclude that logically danny helps phantom in the background by giving information about what his parents are upto and to sabotage weapons so phantom isnt hurt.

They are connecting the dots (they arent connecting shit)

So no one is communicating and everyone is missing some information.

(Add one of the batkids liking danny and you can add even more shenanigans. I say Cas because 1. I love her. 2. She is a beautiful girl that could kill him and that is danny's type.

Also.

Cas smiling at danny and signing 'hi' :)

Danny freaking out because holy shit she is beautiful and so much out of his league what is he gonna do? Oh god he hasnt turned his pants intangible in a while but he cam feel the nerves-

And so you also have paulina, who probably figured it out real quick because danny was no subtle, being all like "danny! There you are! You promised to help with the decorations?"

Danny: ... i what?

Paulina: lets go! *glaring at cas*

Meanwhile tucker and sam going after danny who is being bragged away by paulina because HELL NO THEY DONT TRUST HER!

(Paulina doesnt actually like phantom. It is just very easy way to make people believe they arent the same. Because paulina likes phantom and doesnt think danny is all that great. Obvious difference)

Okay that is it. Thoughts done

That's our baby hero

Protective Amity Park Au but maybe not like you would think?

Danny's identity wasn't as hidden as Sam, Tucker, Jazz and him thought. His identity was an open secret, in fact his whole town knew that Danny was their hero Phantom, well everyone but his oblivious parents but they were a case of their own. The thing was his entire town knew about his oh so big secret identity and that he was the one trying to save them from ghosts 90% of the time as well as from his own parents crazy inventions at times.

Dash shoving him into lockers like a bully? Danny didn't look good and Dash tried in crude ways to give him reasons to skip classes to rest. It also later was a good move to hide him from snoopy government agents also known as the Guys in White or GIW for short. Really his bullying played perfectly into him finding creative ways to get Danny to skip classes for rest.

Valerie hunting him and other ghosts? Well she was hunting him in the very beginning, but then it became an attempt to make him stop fighting the ghosts on their behalf but in the end it turned into her trying her best to be the support to him that Sam and Tucker couldn't be in a fight. Let alone taking 'night shifts' from him so Danny could get at least a good nights rest every now and then.

Sam's parents the Mansons? Sure they didn't like him that much from the start anyway but most of their anger later stemmed from the danger their daughter was willingly get into to help their reckless teenhero that shouldn't be a hero at his age anyway. Let alone shoulder the responsible for their entire town at the age of 14.

Tuckers parents? They were glad any time Danny stayed over with their son, even attempting to subtitle convince the boys to have more sleepovers at their home. Surely being a hero with ghost powers and living in a house of ghost hunting parents wasn't easy on Danny. They were glad that they could give him some peace at their home. They willingly ignored it when Danny showed up late night in Tuckers room, getting patched up by their son.

The entire town apparently hating him with all these negative newspapers and comments? All fake in a desperate attempt to get the 14 years old teenager with a bad sleeping schedule and powers to stop risking his damned life, half-life. Surely if they appeared not thankful the kid would get the hint and stop playing hero. Like seriously he was a kid! Who's bright idea was it to let a kid fight these dangerous appearing ghosts?! Oh right the poor kids parents were incompetent when it came to ghost hunting and it wasn't like they could just up and do it without destroying the kids confidence. Plus the GIW were no help either.

Vlad becoming Mayor was not exactly their plan but they thought maybe they could use that as some help to convince Danny more that he didn't need to play hero for them just because he got powers now. That didn't turn out like they hoped and THAT plan was dismissed quickly. Especially when the GIW showed up. They learned their lesson sort of quickly after that, at least when it came to people from out of Amity did not mean well.

Lancer, at first when Danny first showed up as Phantom, had attempted to get into contact with the Justice League several times, so that Danny would actually get the professional help he needed and get some sleep at night as well as the time he needed for his schooling so that heroing wouldn't be the only career path he would be forced into. The additional point of getting the kid training too for his powers was also very tempting, there are only so many chemical breakers they could allow the him to break before they HAD to sort of ban him from touching them again.

But when the GIW appeared in their town they stopped trying to reach the Justice League. Suspecting that that was the answer they sent in regards to their SOS calls. Amity Parks protectiveness over their teenheroes that sacrificed to much skyrocketed. They started to sabotage the Agents subtitle. Always working within the limits of the orders and finding the loop holes.

"Oh but we did comply, not our fault that you guys tripped and let Phantom escape."

"Wupp, sorry I got that from the Fentons for self defence, but it looks like I need to work on my aim."

"I am so sorry, my car is stuck! See my tire is popped I can't get out of your vans way."

The fact that Amity Parks weather report was more a report on the ghosts, the Fenton parents and the GIW was all a tactic for them all to keep each other informed so they could execute any step to ensure their -by now- towns sweethearts safety. Even if they still tried to turn the poor kid away from being a hero with all the unnecessary mean comments and articles.

So when one day a hero from the Justice League showed up it was predictable that they all were suspicious of it. Even more so when that hero came with a bunch of teenage heroes. Apparently they were here to investigate a bunch of ignored calls one of the teenheroes found in their call logs. Some of the adults eyed Lancer who in turn was glaring at the heroes fessed up, he hadn't attempted to call them ever since they decided to sent the GIW into their town. Which apparently was more of a cover as these heroes showed an interest in the Fentons research of Ectoplasm pretty quickly.

Well now Batman and his flock of bats and birds were confronted with a very unhappy town that was apparently very protective of their hero and 'accidentally' continued to manage to block them from making contact with said teenhero. And who where these Guys in white suits that tried to suck it up to Batman? Better question why was the entire town suddenly hostile towards them when they started to look into the Fenton Family that had a connection to Lazarus Water?

Meanwhile Danny is confused by his towns newfound favouritism towards Batman and his entourage and how whenever he went to find out what was that about everyone seems to deflect. Even Sam, Tucker and Jazz were confused by what was going on!

[surpriserose]

okay heres the #analysis of the shitty movie i just watched because i love over reading into things no matter how #deep they are and this is how i cope with my mom making me watch shitty movies

okay so day shift is an action comedy buddy (cop) movie about vampire hunters but really its just one guy (jamie foxx) whos name is...literally bud? anyways the basic plot is somehow this guy isnt divorced he just lives like it and he hunts vampires and he needs to hunt a lot super fast for money otherwise his wife and kid will...move i guess. like this is such an i have to win my wife back plot but theyre not even divorced??? so heres the bullet list of shit in this movie

-> so one we have to get it out of the way that this is a vampire movie and vampires have a long history of being representative of more than just monsters no matter how many movies make them just monsters like this one. and this shit has gone on forever like dracula with its antisemitism and xenophobia released in the 1800s and netflix literally JUST canceled their latest antisemitic vampire show so. thankfully these arent antisemitic vampires they're just well...lets get into the politics of this comedy movie

-> the villain in this movie is... audrey san fernando? i literally had to look that up i had no idea what any of these characters were named. and well shes like the head honcho vampire and a rich real estate mogul or something. shes also mexican. this movie takes place in la and well theres um... mentions of her bringing lots of...vampires...to la and buying up land for them and also she mentions starting a vampire-human war at some point. and this isnt a big jump at all like the movie straight up tells you shes mexican she crossed the border and had to leave her daughter behind and bring her over later they brought up ideas of immigration and also??? connected vampires to human sacrifice and the aztecs? like the fucking climax takes place at an aztec pyramid thats just...under la??? so we also have ideas of who really owns the land who was here first (i mean audrey is literally like probably close to 150-200 years old so like out of the cast its literally her and the rest of the vampires who like ive said are mexican and native coded)

-> i should also mention theres a conversation our buddy cops have after killing a bunch of white high school vampires. where seth (ill get to him in a bit because oh my god) is like man... vampires used to be human dont you feel bad for killing them? and jamie foxx is like nah theyre all (sure literally but still) inhuman murders and liars which well sure fine but again vampires are often used as a metaphor like...theyre inhuman blood sucking monsters because x group are inhuman blood sucking monsters not the other way around

-> except for bud's two allies who are both white but are like good vampires like dont worry about them theyre fine? all that stuff about vampires all being inherently bad? oh its whatever now for no reason at all dont think about it its just a coincidence theyre both white and now the vampires can be good im sure theres nothing there

-> okay lets talk about seth now. so buddy cop movies need a huge contrast between the two leads, ones strong and cool and damn the rules he's gonna get the job done and the other is weak and ineffectual and tied up in regulations. which is what we have with bud and seth, which is only slightly better because thank god theyre not cops too. and here i have to go on a tangent. if you look at conservative media and often especially political cartoons, you'll quickly sort out that theres a lot of qualities that make someone a liberal aside from their actual politics. like thats why you'll see conservatives often just say pronouns in bio but theyre really saying look at this idiot liberal + a bunch of transphobia. and seth has a lot of those. hes not vegan/vegetarian but he is a pescatarian and pretty much any diet without steak makes you a liberal. same with gluten free which seth also is (or at least just buys gluten free muffins). seth "doesnt believe" in guns. hes a white collar office worker. he uses a satchel which they call a manpurse, and hes often effeminate in other ways -he's fine being called cupcake as an insult by a manly man, his boss...hits on him? he likes cats and fashion and hates violence like it just goes on- and the masculinity he does have in his impractical suits isnt good enough compared to the real men/vampire hunters hes around. and these are all the jokes in the movie btw plus all the ones about seth pissing himself like youre supposed to laugh at these things and think theyre stupid. especially when compared to how cool and masculine bud is. oh my god this is so long and i still have shit to talk about im sorry

-> okay so i bring all these things up about seth because hes also literally a union representative. as in hes the uh...vampire hunters union rep sent to keep an eye on bud. which...why is it specifically called a union? surely it has nothing to do with the wave of growing unionization and labor rights movements in america in the wake of covid. surely we're just making jokes about how unions will steal your money and tie you up in useless regulations to keep a hard working american man from his family for no reason right? because why would you make your buddy cop vampire hunter action comedy a vehicle for anti union messaging? because holy shit why is this random movie exactly that why is this specifically a vampire hunter *union*

i want to say there was another thing but honestly this is such a 5/10 movie my brains already forgotten it and yeah *maybe* im reading too much into it but like come on....come on just look at that list ive hardly said anything the movie hasnt said itself. and it being a comedy is no excuse like i hope by now we've realized how much of a reactionary force comedy can be. also its way better to read too much into things than too little honestly like have you look at the posts on this site

so yeah like anyways just remember no movie is ever just a movie everything is political youre not immune to propaganda you know the drill

[jacscorner]

JAC Rambles about cartoons again.

So, we got an...INTERESTING bit of news from the Cartoon Cove on the Tiny Toons Revival that's coming.

And make no mistake; "Lentendo's" name has some weight behind it, because...

So perhaps not straight from the horse's mouth, but second hand from the pony isn't too bad.

Now, after seeing so many bad reboots (PPGs 2016, Teen Titans GO, Thundercats ROAR), this is...honestly, kind of small potatoes. So to say I'm numb is an understatement.

And, hey, there's been some GOOD Reboots, so this might not be THAT big of a deal. I mean, I was willing to go with Elmyra Duff getting the axe since Warner Bros. PROBABLY doesn't wanna repeat Pinky, Elmyra, and The Brain again. (Companies never know when enough is enough or how much is too much, the fucking idiots, but I digress.) Though if you look closely, she IS in the background of that new poster, so...

Moving back to the topic at hand; whoever came up with this decision didn't watch the actual show.

I know I tend to say that...a lot, but, like, seriously. Not only is it a running gag for Buster & Babs to introduce themselves with an added 'no relation', to the point you could argue its their catchphrase, but these two have flirted, kissed, gone to prom, expected romance-if this wasn't a kids show, these two would be living up to the rabbit stereotype.

I can ONLY imagine this is done cause they have the same 'surname' (Bunny), and thought it'd be confusing for kids. But, like, having the same surname doesn't immediately mean a familial relationship. If my surname was 'Cook', I wouldn't expect you all to believe me if I tried to tell you my uncle is 'Justin Cook', an anime dubbing VA with some solid proof. Cause 'Cook' is a common name here in the US.

But, like...

Just change one of their surnames. Buster Hare or Babs Lopears or something, if that's the big issue.

It was to almost everyone's understanding this was a continuation of the original series and NOT a different continuity. This change, while it doesn't completely ruin their dynamic, gives them some VERY horrifying new context. Imagine being a kid and you watch the reboot, and hungry for more, you go watch the original show. The prom episode ALONE will leave you feeling squeamish...

My conspiracy theory brain says the reason for doing this is for the sake of opening up all combinations for shipping. Cause, hell, look at all the Fifi X Buster art out there, and the recent(?) wave of Fifi X Babs. Not to mention the other possibilities.

It's a DUMB theory, but it's the only thing I can think of for such a small change that really messes with the fans of the old show. And don't try to sell that swill that there won't be ANY shipping bait, these Tiny Toons are going to college now. There's gonna be at least ONE episode on the topic.

I just hope that if they ARE gonna be brother and sister now, that we don't get an episode where they take a field trip to Alabama...

[eartht137]

FOR THE BETTER pt II

Hey curvies, glad you liked the first part of my story yay. I now bestow upon you part 2. I went a bit out of the way with this chapter, but I hope you like it. The singing part is something I did in class once on a whim, it didn't work as good as I described in the story, I still had to submit my work LOL. Enjoy my little curvies MMMMWWWahHHH!

Dark Clark Kent x (Black)!Plus Size Reader SUMMARY: Mr. Kent said friends til the end of the week right? Think again. Y/n, still getting used to having Mr. Kent as a friend, is trying to be a bit more bold. She's trying to adjust to change and even though sometimes he may seem a bit pushy, she doesn't mind, its all friendship right? He'll back off after awhile right?

You walked in class, no paper in hand and you refused to meet Clarks disappointed gaze. You weren't the only one without a paper but you were really nervous about the presentation you had up your sleeve. You just hoped it made sense. "Alright, looks like we're getting speeches today. Who wants to go first? Hmm?" He said with his hands on his hips. No one volunteered. "Am I going to have to voluntell somebody?" he gave you "the look" over his glasses. Your heart pounded in your chest, but you shakily stood as first volunteer. "Alright Miss Y/l/n, lets hear it." You could hear disappointment dripping in his voice, but you wanted to do this. You took a deep breath, and started to sing. 'Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again, because a vision softly creeping left its seed while I was sleeping, and the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains. Within the sound!!!!!!!!! Of silence.' you ended making everyone freeze and stare. "My voice is pretty much the best thing I like about me. I-I didn't think a paper could put in words what my voice could. Th-that's my speech." You said awkwardly sitting down. You'd never sang in front of anyone like that before, you hadn't even joined the choir, so singing in front of everyone was a huge step for you. Just as you'd finished processing what you'd done, the classroom erupted in cheers and applause. You were shaking at how many people liked what you'd done. You really began to shake when you saw Clark clapping for you too. "That's my wife!" One of your classmates yelled across the room smiling at you. "Alright, alright. Miss Y/l/n," Clark started. "That's Mrs. Bankston to you." the same classmate yelled out making everyone laugh. Your face heated up a bit. "Miss Y/l/n thank you for the speech. It'll suffice this time, next time I want a paper. Okay, Bankston, you're up next." "Aw Mr. Kent for reals? Like how am I supposed to follow up an act like that? Besides we're duo. Like ebony and ivory..." He serenaded holding his hand out toward you, making you giggle. "Mr. Bankston Miss Y/l/n has fantastic gpa in comparison, so seeing as your such a duo I would've expected a lot better." Clark shaded calmly, "So unless you want it to suffer any further, I suggest you cut the crap and give your speech." Clark said a bit irritated. The rest of class was filled with boring speeches from classmates who weren't even prepared to do their work. When class was dismissed, you tried easing out of the room without being noticed. "Uh, Miss Y/l/n, my office please?" He said looking over his glasses at you. You inwardly groaned and went back to his office. "So, what excuse do you have for not doing your paper?" "I honestly couldn't come up with the words to describe how it felt to use my voice. I tried I really did, but honestly, I really just couldn't find the words to describe what I like about me when-I just couldn't find the words." "Y/n, you do not give yourself enough credit. You're a very good writer and obviously an incredible singer. You can be whatever-" "Clark, do I look like a singer to you? No I don't, that's why I write, I know my words have more impact behind the scenes." You said with strength. You didn't have to be seen to be heard. "You can be whatever you want to be and you'll have my support every step of the way. That's what friends, real friends do." "Clark we are not still friends, we said til the end of the week." you shook your head at him with a smile. He smiled and stuffed his hands in his pocket. "Sorry, I'm not going away." "Figures." You laughed a bit. "What are you doing tonight? We could have a movie night." "Will Lois be there?" You asked excited. "I can ask her if you want me to." "I guess it'd be cool, but for like 30 minutes though." "Y/n no movie lasts 30 minutes. Nice try though." he laughed. "We'll be over at 8." "'Kay bye!" You said rushing out of his office off to your next class. That night at 8 on dot a knock came to your door, you answered expecting to see the couple standing there but was a bit shocked to

just see Clark. "Hey, Lois coming by later?" You asked, the last you wanted was to cause drama. "No she's following a lead on a story for the front page. She says she's sorry and she'll catch up next time." He said walking past with bags of groceries. "Oh, well let me help you." You said motioning at the bags in his hands. "I've got it, its pretty heavy." "I swear I honestly thought you'd be bringing a pizza." you chuckled. "Where's your table?" "Table?" You asked head tilted to the side. "Where you eat, the dining table?" he asked sitting the groceries on your counter. "Haha, you have a table for guests. I never have anyone over, so I just sit in front of the tv." you said pointing at your couch. He rolled his eyes at you and huffed. "Oh come on don't look at me crazy, I warned you that I was anti." "That's no excuse." he mumbled as he opened your refrigerator. "Y/n, you don't have any food in here." He fussed. "I do, its in the freezer and the pantry." you defended. "Two chimichangas, a pint of ice cream, Nutella, animal crackers, soda, and ramen. That's not food." He fussed even harder. "Okay dude chill, I'm a working grown college student. I don't eat here much anyway I eat at work, and Nutella is sustainable to my everyday existence." You said yanking the hazelnut spread away before he threw it away. He shook his head as he put the food away. "How long has it been since you've had a hot home cooked meal?" "Last week at your mom's." you shrugged. "I'm glad I brought real food to cook." he fussed on. "Clark, we could've just ordered pizza." you said starting to feel a bit bad for not adulting enough. "We could've, but I wanted to cook for you." He turned and looked at you pleading. "Please tell me you have pots and pans." "God Clark I'm hopeless not an idiot." You joked laughing obnoxiously making him roll his eyes at you. You showed him where everything was and he started cooking. You offered to help, be wanted to cook for you. You sat up the snacks an pulled up Netflix so you could choose a movie. He made his way over to you with a glass of wine. You took a sip and dramatically fell to the ground, pretending to die by poisoned wine. He got down on the floor with you and you looked at the height difference of his head by your feet and your head at the middle of his thighs and started laughing making him laugh like you'd never heard. After you both calmed down you laid there staring at the ceiling like there were stars hovering. "You really do have an amazing voice." Clark said cutting the peaceful silence. You couldn't help but smile. "Thanks....friend." You said nudging him in his thigh with your elbow. You both stayed silent until you gasped making him almost jump out of his skin. "What?" he said worried. "Can I sing at you and Lois' wedding?" You asked catching him off guard. "Oh come on, you love her, I can see it, " You said sitting up and smiling down at him. "and you both look so beautiful together." You stood tall and put your hands on your hips in "Superman" fashion. "Since I'm your friend I give her the golden stamp of, put a ring on it!" You said holding out your thumb. "Okay, I'm picking gonna pick the movie." You said marching to the couch. "That's not fair, I'm cooking I should get to pick the movie." He standing to check on his food. "We could've ordered pizza." You rebutted. "I'm your guest." he shot back with a shit eating grin. "Shit! Fine, you get to pick the movie." "Well I'll pick it after we eat." "Aww what? The tv's right there." You pointed. He looked over his glasses at you. "I don't even have a table." you argued. "You've got an argument for everything don't you?" He said chuckling. "You've got a coffee table, we'll make it work. Do you have a candle?" He said looking around before looking at you. You were there with your hands on your hips, looking at him like-'you know damn well.' He shook his head at your for the millionth time making you giggle a bit. He set the table and poured you another glass of wine. "You know this stuff gets better the more you

drink it." You said gulping the glass down and holding it out for more. "Mm-hmm." He agreed taking a sip of his own while pouring you more. You took a bite of you food, you immediately stood and clapped. "You were right, this is way better than pizza, although pizza is still good, this is amazing. "So what genre do you like most?" He asked. "Horror, I don't know why I watch it though, I always spook myself afterwards." "Okay so no horror." "No, wait please? I won't get scared tonight I promise. I mean unless you want to watch cartoons?" "We'll watch something scary." "Yaaaaay!!!!" you cheered and went to reach for the remote to your tv. "Ah, after we finish dinner and clean up." "Deal!" You said a bit excited. Once dinner was done and you'd both cleaned, even though you told him you'd do all the cleaning, he still helped. Afterwards you both sat and watched a scary movie that had you stress eating and jumping every two seconds. After that movie ended, Clark suggested another movie to help you not feel so spooked. You'd lost count of how many glasses of wine you'd had and you were feeling tipsy and tired. "Hey friend?" You hummed. "Hm?" "I fuckin hate to admit this, but I'm drunk. I'm glad we're friends. You better be glad too." you fussed at him. "I am glad," he laughed, "I really am." He said staring at you. "Good, cause you're the only person I can tolerate. Oh, and Lois....oh and that your mom, I really like your mom....oh and that cute guy from class." you giggled making Clark roll his eyes in disgust. "Y/n please." "What? He's cute, he's an idiot, that doesn't change that he's cute." You said looking at your phone. Your eyes grew big as you saw the time. "Dude its past midnight. Don't you need get home and rest for lecture?" He stared at you for a moment and you could tell he didn't want to go home, but you both knew he had to. "Yeah I'm sure I could use some rest." He said getting up to leave. You tried to get him to take the rest of the food he'd bought with him, but he refused. "Well thanks for dinner's meals and be safe. Do you need me to walk you out?" "Absolutely not, how about I see you off to bed?" "I look five to you? Don't even answer that." You sassed. He laughed and gave you a long hug, telling you how proud of you he was for using your voice and for letting him be your friend. You squirmed out of his arms pretending it was burning you. He ruffled your fro' and you gave him a playful nudge out the door. That night as you laid in bed trying to fall asleep, you kept thinking about Clark and no matter how hard you tried to shake it you couldn't help but fawn over him and how close you both had gotten so fast. 'Girl puh-lease, he's got Lois, she's beautiful and thin. He's happy with her and there's no way he'd even bat an eye at you like that. Don't even get it twisted.' you scolded yourself internally. You couldn't allow yourself to catch feelings for him that way because you knew you'd only end up with hurt feelings. You also didn't want to break up a happy relationship. 'How'd he know I needed groceries though?' you thought to yourself, 'Maybe just a hunch.' you dismissed. Soon with your mind going in 50 different directions, you were tired enough to fall asleep. "Goodnight little bird." Clark said as he watched you finally drift off to sleep. He wondered what thoughts plagued your brain that kept you awake. He hoped you'd thought of him. After making sure every inch of you apartment was safe inside and out he felt satisfied enough to go home and get a bit of rest. 'No harm in making sure she's safe' he thought as he finally took off. 'I'll always make sure she's safe.'

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

The One Who Got Away

Summary: While out with friends one night, the reader bumps into her old high school best friend, Jensen. They always had a will they, won’t they relationship but the reader finds things with Jensen don’t seem to be going as well she thinks they are...

Pairing: Jensen x reader

Word Count: 7,700ish

Warnings: language, angst, family drama

A/N: For the purposes of this fic, Jensen’s wife and kids are fictitious...

____

“Oh my God,” said Carla. She nudged you and nodded over towards the other end of the bar. “Look at the guy going up to do the karaoke.”

“He’s hot,” said Nora, sipping on her beer. You spun around in your seat, catching the back of the man, his friends he was with obviously egging him on. You tilted your head, wide eyed when the guy spun around up there.

“Holy shit,” you said as he started to sing.

“I know. Plus he can sing,” said Carla.

“No. I mean...I know him,” you said.

“Yeah, he does look familiar. Is he an actor or something?” asked Carla.

“Yeah! Wasn’t he on that superman show? Oh that other guy was hot too,” said Nora.

“No. I mean, well yes, he was. He had his...own show for a while,” you said. 

“You like a fan?” asked Carla.

“Go get his autograph when he’s done!” said Nora. “I’ll go with you if you’re nervous.”

“Guys-”

“I want his autograph,” said Carla.

“You’re married to Nolan,” she said. “I know he’s revolting but still.”

“Oh, Nolan is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I can still look,” said Carla. “Speaking of which, Miss I’m engaged.”

“I’d have to fight Dan off over that guy,” said Nora. “And I’m trying to be a supportive friend over here before Y/N fangirls too hard.”

“Guys-”

“I triple dog dare you to ask him as your date to Nora’s wedding,” said Carla.

“That’s evil,” said Nora. “I want in though. I’ll pay for your drinks tonight if you do it.”

“He was my best friend in high school,” you said, both of them going quiet. 

“Oh,” said Carla after a moment. “Sorry. We’ll shut up.”

“Yeah. Sorry, Y/N. We were only teasing,” said Nora. “My brother totally wants to go with you anyways.”

“I...I’m gonna go say hey,” you said, standing up when he finished singing. He got a few slaps on the back from his friends and took a seat, doing a shot as you slowly walked over. You froze for a moment. 

You hadn’t seen him since you were eighteen. It was more than likely he wouldn’t recognize you in the dim bar anyways. You shook your head and went to turn away.

“Kid?” you heard, gaze going back to his table. His friends were all staring at you but you only saw Jensen looking at you with a big smile. “Y/N?”

“Hey, Jens,” you said. He shot up out of his seat and immediately gave you a hug, pulling back with a goofy grin. “Been awhile.”

“Yeah it has,” he said, looking you up and down. “You look great.”

“You too. You finally grew into your body,” you said with a laugh.

“Took me long enough. You never had that problem,” he said, biting his bottom lip.

“Who’s your friend, Ackles?” asked one of his friends, a smirk on his face.

“Oh. Guys this is Y/N. She was my best friend in school,” he said.

“You mean the Y/N you had a super huge crush on?” said someone else. Jensen looked like a deer in the headlights, his other buddies wearing shit-eating grins.

“Remind me to kill you later,” mumbled Jensen.

“It’s cool, Jay, really. It was a long time ago. I just wanted to say hi,” you said. “I’ll uh...see ya.”

You immediately left, heading back to your table with a sigh.

“Y/N,” said Carla, shoving her credit card back in her wallet.

“Mhm?” you hummed, tugging your jacket on.

“You got a visitor,” said Nora. You turned on your stool, Jensen giving you a smile as he walked up. “Hi.”

“Hi,” said Carla.

“Hi,” said Jensen to them both before landing his gaze back on you. “Sorry about them. Guys are...shit heads.”

“It’s fine, Jensen, really. Like I said, it was a long time ago,” you said.

“It was,” he said. “Do you ladies mind if I steal Y/N for a minute?”

“Oh, steal her for all the minutes,” said Nora.

“You and Dan are my ride home,” you said.

“Maybe you get a ride home somewhere else?” she said with a shrug.

“Oh my…” you sighed, hopping off your seat and following Jensen outside and into the cool night air. “Sorry. My friends would get along great with yours.”

“You were never much of one with being friends with other girls,” he said with a smirk.

“Cause I was a tomboy,” you said. “I wasn’t exactly girly in school, Jensen.”

“So?” he asked, nodding down to your band tee. “I always liked your style.”

“I do wear skirts and dresses now, Jay,” you teased.

“I’m just saying, you be you. I always liked that version of you,” he said.

“What’d you want to talk to me about?” you asked.

“I have kids,” he said. “And I just went through a very quiet divorce about a year ago.”

“I’m sorry,” you said.

“Remember how you always said I’d marry the first girl I wasn’t shy with? Well, you were right,” he said. “I never loved her the way I knew it was supposed to be. She was safe and I was scared.”

“Jensen. Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I’m sorry for being a horrible teenage boy when I was eighteen and ruining our friendship. I had a crush on you from the first day of kindergarten and I never said a word. Tonight...I feel like a five year old all over again,” he said.

“You said-”

“I know what I said. I remember,” he said.

“I said some pretty awful things too,” you said, kicking the ground. “I told you that you’d fail if you went out to LA, that you weren’t any good.”

“I deserved it. I’m pretty sure I called you a bitch,” he said.

“You were pretty angry,” you said. “All because I went to prom with Dylan Anderson.”

“Dylan Anderson was a scumbag who bragged about who he had sex with in the locker room. He had this list of girls he wanted to try and get with just so he could be their first and you were on it. He was always asking me how to get in your pants,” he said.

“I never had sex with Dylan Anderson. You would have known that if you hadn’t stopped talking to me but oh wait, Jackie Morlan didn’t like you talking to me,” you said.

“Like I said, I fucked up. The one time I picked popularity over you and...I ruined thirteen years of friendship and the end of our senior year and none of our friends talked to you anymore. I know I fucked it up,” he said.

“What is your point?”

“My point is, I should have asked you to homecoming and prom and I should have had the guts to ask you out. We both wanted it. I was too shy and I treated you like one of the boys too much. I took you for granted,” he said.

“You can’t change that, Jensen,” you said.

“No, I can’t. I have two amazing kids and I wouldn’t change a thing when it comes to having them in my life. But if I could have done it with you, I would have,” he said.

“Jensen. I had the world’s biggest crush on you back then. I kept waiting and waiting for you and maybe I regret not saying something first but you know how little confidence I had back then. I’m a big girl now, Jens. I don’t just say yes to the pretty boy because he asked,” you said.

“I just wanted to apologize,” he said with a nod. “You grew up very beautiful, Y/N.”

He turned and headed down the sidewalk, your own eyes shutting.

“Wait,” you said, Jensen’s footsteps stilling. “What did you say to Dylan Anderson? I know you said something because he didn’t even try to make a move on me at prom.”

“I told him if he hurt you, I’d hurt him,” said Jensen. “He could have easily kicked my ass but I sounded pretty scary when I said it.”

“So we stopped talking and you still had my back?”

“That’s what best friends do,” he said with a shrug, turning to face you.

“Why’d you really get a divorce?” you asked.

“She stopped loving me in that way,” he said with a sad smile.

“Jensen.”

“She cheated on me and I pretended it wasn’t going on because I thought I deserved it for not being around so much,” he said.

“You’re an idiot,” you said. “You don’t deserve that, Jay.”

“I know,” he said. “Listen, I’m sorry for bothering you tonight. I should have just kept my mouth shut.”

“Hey. Red light green light,” you said, Jensen tilting his head.

“That was...that was your thing,” he said.

“It was our thing and just because we never did it with you doesn’t mean we shouldn’t start,” you said.

“That’s not-”

“I said red light green light. You remember the rules,” you said. “You came up with them.”

“Green light,” he said.

“You’re lying,” you said. He sighed and shook his head as he crossed his arms.

“Fine. Red light,” he said. “What’s the point?”

“Red light means let’s go find someplace that still has ice cream this time of night and we talk until you feel better,” you said.

“We aren’t teenagers anymore,” he said.

“No. We’re not. But red light green light really helped me on some bad nights and I think it’ll help you too,” you said.

“I gotta head home. The kids are getting dropped off in like twenty minutes,” he said.

“Jensen.”

“Go tell your friend you’re riding with me then. And hurry. I don’t want to be late.”

“The one time she’s early,” grumbled Jensen as he pulled into his driveway. You slid out of the car and saw the driver’s side on the the other one open. “Hallie.”

“Jensen,” she said, glancing at you. “Moving on finally?”

“She’s my friend,” he said, opening her backdoor. “Where are the kids?”

“In the house watching cartoons,” she said.

“You left them in the house alone? They’re four and three,” he said.

“They’ve been in there fifteen minutes, they’re fine,” she said. “I’ll be out of town with Wes the next three weeks so you’ll have them 24/7.”

“Starting…”

“Tonight,” she said. “I have to head home and finish packing if you don’t mind.”

Jensen waved her to leave, rolling his eyes after she backed out.

“That’s your ex-wife?” you asked.

“Yup.”

“No offense but she kind of seems like a bitch.”

“She is,” he sighed. “She suckered me. Jokes on her though. Glad I listened to my parents and got a pre-nup.”

“Way to go Ackles,” you said, Jensen smiling. 

“She only has the kids one day a week anyways. It’s very hard explaining to a small child why their mom doesn’t want to see them,” he said.

“She purposefully doesn’t have the kids more?” you asked, following him in through the front door.

“She was never overly affectionate with them. She’s been slowing leaving their lives for the past year. I wouldn’t be surprised if she asked I have full custody within a few months,” he said.

“How on earth did you wind up with someone like that?” you asked.

“Because she acted like someone I wanted. But like I said, pre-nup. She’s got a pretty stupid rich out his ass boyfriend now so she’s happy,” he said, kicking off his shoes as you followed him inside. You looked over and spotted a little girl and boy sitting on the couch watching cartoons. “Hey guys. It is so past your bedtime.”

“Mommy said we could watch,” said the girl, a little bit bigger and taller than the boy nearly passed out next to her.

“Well it’s past your bedtimes,” he said, flipping the screen off and picking up the girl. “How was mommy’s today, Harper?”

“We watched cartoons,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Is that all you did?” he asked.

“Yeah. Wes came over. I don’t think he likes me and Taylor,” she said. Jensen seemed to ignore the comment but he pursed his lips, looking at the boy half-asleep.

“You want me to get him?” you asked. He smiled and you picked Taylor up, the boy tilting his head at you with green eyes. “Wow. You look so much like your daddy.”

“You smell pretty,” he said, wrapping his arms around your neck.

“He’s so cute,” you said.

“Wait until it’s five am and he’s peeling open your eyelids,” said Jensen with a smirk. “Alright. Let’s get you two squared away.”

Ten minutes later you headed back downstairs with Jensen, Jensen sighing as he went to the freezer and pulled out two pints of ice cream.

“I forgot how much easier that is when two people do it,” he said.

“Your kids are adorable,” you said.

“They’re worth dealing with she who shall not be named,” he said, giving you a smile and handing you a spoon.

“Your house is beautiful too,” you said, taking a seat at his kitchen counter. He hopped on top of it, starting to dig into his ice cream. “So what’s got you feeling red light?”

“Do we have to do this?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah. That’s the rule. If you feel like shit, we eat ice cream and talk until you don’t feel like shit,” you said.

“This used to be easier when it was you feeling crappy, no offense.”

“We don’t have to fix it all tonight, just talk,” you said.

“I’m an asshole and you still want to make me feel better,” he said.

“Best friends have each other’s back from what I hear,” you said. He chuckled, nodding his head. “So what’s up?”

“Nothing. Same crap I’ve been dealing with for awhile,” he said.

“You seemed okay until we were outside the bar.”

“Because sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if we hadn’t had that stupid fight,” he said. 

“I could have said something too, Jensen.”

“No you couldn’t have,” he said with a sad smile. “I knew your weak spots and I hit them. Jackie was stuck up and I never should have started hanging out with her.”

“She was the prettiest girl in school,” you said.

“No she wasn’t.”

“Jens-”

“No she wasn’t. She had to put on a mountain of makeup and a push up bra and wear tight little shirts. There was someone else far prettier around,” he said. “And I was scared of ruining us so I kept it down and then when Jackie started pulling me away, I called you a prude and told you to act more like a girl and you totally should have kicked my ass for that.”

“I spent my first year of college being a girly girl you know,” you said. “Make up every morning, hair, preppy clothes. Frat parties, joined a sorority, hooked up with a guy on a bet. I spent my first two years of college like that.”

“Why?”

“Because boys started paying attention to me. People started to talk to me,” you said with a shrug. “My dad thought something was wrong, like I was having some kind of reverse breakdown or something.”

“What about the second two years?”

“A frat boy tried to spike my drink,” you said.

“Really.”

“Yup. I knocked out three of his teeth,” you said with a smile.

“That’s my girl. You thought it was silly when I taught you how to throw a punch too,” he said.

“Well after that whole incident, I quit my sorority and started fresh. I met Carla and Nora in a study group. Those were real friends. We sat around and ate pizza and cookies and looked like shit and we had a blast. We would dress up and go out sometimes but it was different. It felt like I found a balance. It was nice having girl friends for once,” you said. “They’re the ones that reminded me that acting like a girl means not taking anyone’s shit.”

“I like your friends,” he said. 

“So we had a fight in high school. You obviously regret it and I regret it and...maybe something would have happened, who knows. But like you said earlier, you got two great kids upstairs and I’d never take that away from you,” you said.

“Can we start over?” he asked. “From before our fight?”

“In that case, you owe me a dollar for lunch money,” you said, Jensen breaking out into a laugh. “I’m serious. With inflation that’s like five bucks.”

“I can take you to lunch tomorrow to make up for it,” he said. 

“I thought we were starting over,” you said. Jensen nodded and hopped off the counter, walking around to you.

“Oh, we are,” he said. You stared at him as he leaned down and kissed you, cupping your cheek gently.

Oh shit he was better than any teenage dream you’d had could have been. He was soft and sweet and he tasted like bourbon and vanilla. There was a spark in your stomach that raced through your veins, quietly vanishing as he pulled back. You breathed and looked up at him, Jensen licking his lips.

“I already told you. I fucked it up the first time. I’m not doing it this time around,” he said. “What do you say?”

“You’re blushing,” you said, touching his cheek, feeling the heat in it. You reached your hand around to the back of his neck, Jensen letting you pull him into another kiss.

“Can I take that as a yes?” he asked.

“Yeah,” you said. “It’s a yes.”

“For my own edification, back then, if I wasn’t so scared…”

“It would have been a yes,” you said.

“That’s what I was scared of,” he said with a swallow.

“Jens. Stop being scared,” you said. “Please?”

“Alright,” he said with a nod.

“Red light green light?”

“Green light,” he said. “I feel better now. Promise.”

“Good. Now what fancy rich neighborhood do you live in cause I need to get an uber home.”

“Hey, Y/N?” asked Jensen when you answered your phone as you were heading out for your lunch date the next day. “I got a slight problem.”

“Yes…”

“My last minute babysitter had to cancel last minute,” he said.

“Bring the kids with,” you said. “I don’t mind.”

“Really?” he said, his voice light and happy like he was a kid himself.

“Yeah. Let me get to know the whole family,” you said. “If you’re okay with that.”

“Yeah, totally. We’ll meet you there.”

“Hello Ackles,” you said, spotting them in a booth at the restaurant. 

“Hi!” said Taylor from the other side of the table, tucked between the wall and his father.

“Hi Taylor,” you said, sliding into the empty spot next to Harper. “Hi Harper.”

“Hi,” she said, a bit more quiet than she was the night before.

“Guys, this is Y/N. She was my best friend in school,” said Jensen. “She’s hopefully going to be hanging out with us more lately.”

“Do you play pretend too?” asked Harper.

“No. Your daddy was very good in all of our school plays though. He even got me to do it one year,” you said.

“You hated that,” he said.

“Yes, I did,” you laughed. “I’m a sound engineer.”

“Really? I thought you were going to be a marine biologist,” said Jensen.

“Well, one required way less schooling,” you said. “So you know how singer’s record in a studio? Well I’m one of those people that helps turn what people sing into an album.”

“Do you know Taylor Swift?” asked Harper.

“No, no. Sometimes I work on commercials too. I do a lot of different stuff. It’s really fun,” you said.

“Can you sing like daddy?” asked Taylor.

“Nope,” you said. “What about you guys? You good singers?”

“I’m amazing,” said Taylor.

“Mhm,” laughed Jensen. “So, Y/N-”

“Harper’s having a pool party tomorrow for her birthday. Are you gonna come?” asked Taylor. You stared at Jensen, Harper scowling at her little brother. 

“I didn’t know there was a party,” you said.

“I don’t want a party anymore,” said Harper. “Mommy won’t be there.”

“Sweetie, all your friends from pre-school will be there. Don’t you want your birthday party?” asked Jensen. Harper shook her head, Jensen staring blankly for a moment. “We’re having your party, Harper.”

“I don’t want it,” she said.

“How old are you turning, Harper?” you asked.

“Five,” she grumbled.

“My mom wasn’t at my fifth birthday either,” you said. Jensen gave you a smile, Harper looking up at you. “Can I come to your party, Harper?”

“Okay,” she said. “Can I go to the bathroom?”

“I can take her,” you said.

“Thank you,” said Jensen as you slid out, following Harper back to the bathroom. You waited inside with her, helping her get up to the sink and dry off her hands. By the time you were back out, a plate of french fries was in the middle of the table. “All good?”

“Yeah. Can I have a hotdog?” she asked.

“Sure. You wanted mac and cheese, buddy?” asked Jensen, Taylor nodding. “Y/N, order whatever you want. It’s on me.”

“I’ll just get a cheeseburger,” you said. “Harper, I like your braid. It’s very pretty.”

“Daddy did it,” she said. “He’s really good at playing dress up.”

“I bet he is,” you teased. He rolled his eyes and ordered when the waiter came over, making small talk for the most part with you and the kids.

“Hey guys,” said Jensen as he put down some money to pay. “You want to hang out at Uncle Jared’s tonight for a few hours?”

They both nodded excitedly as Jensen looked at you.

“Dinner?” he asked. You smiled and he looked relieved. It wasn’t until you were outside and he packed up the kids in the car that he brought it up again. “Sorry. This has been a total disaster of a first date.”

“No it wasn’t,” you said. “They sort of come with the package.”

“Thanks for earlier with Harper. She really wanted me to cancel her birthday party this morning,” he said.

“Speaking of which, what does she like? I got to run to the store and grab her a present,” you said.

“She’s got toys out her ass,” he said. “Some money in a card is fine. I’ll put it in her savings.”

“Would she like a blanket?” you asked, a silly smirk crossing his face. “Blankets always made you feel better when you felt crappy.”

“She likes pink,” he said.

“Alright. I’ll find her something,” you said. “Where do you want to meet tonight?”

“I can pick you up at your place at seven?” he asked.

“Alright, that sounds good,” you said.

“Hey, Y/N.”

“Yes?”

“I know it doesn’t seem like it but you just gave those two more attention in an hour than their own mother’s given them in six months,” he said. “I appreciate it.”

“Don’t thank me for talking to your kids, Jensen. You don’t have to thank me for that,” you said.

“I’ll text you later,” he said. “And thank you.”

“Alright. I’ll see you later, Jens.”

“Hi,” said Jensen when you slid into his car that night, Jensen looking you up and down. “You look gorgeous.”

“You look very pretty too,” you teased. “Where are we going?”

“BBQ?”

“That’s my boy,” you said. He was quiet as he drove, asking you more about your work as you parked and ordered your food. It wasn’t until he was halfway through a pulled pork sandwich that he started to blush. “What is it Jensen?”

“I’m doing it aren’t I. I won’t shut up,” he said.

“We’re catching up is all,” you said. “I don’t recall you ever being a singer in high school.”

“Well, it’s not exactly something you brag about,” he said. “I’m not any good anyways.”

“You sounded pretty good at karaoke,” you said. “You could make an album for fun. Plenty of people do. Those are actually my favorite projects to work on.”

“Maybe. I’m busy enough with the kids and brewery. I got a movie I’m supposed to film in a few months. Only like four weeks but I’m gonna fucking hate being away from the kids that long. My parents are going to have to watch them,” he said. “Signed on before we got a divorce and everything.”

“Can’t she take the kids?” you asked.

“Honestly, I don’t trust her. About two years ago, Taylor was still a baby, she really started to show her true colors. The nanny was the one raising the kids. I mean, I’m not claiming to be world’s best dad or anything but at least I change a diaper and give ‘em a bath when I’m home. Now they’re getting older and they’re starting to think mommy doesn’t like them. Unfortunately, I think that’s true,” he said.

“You weren’t joking earlier about thinking she wants to ditch them, were you.”

“No. In the long run, it’ll be the best thing for them. But it’s gonna suck. I hope they’re small enough to not let it get to them,” he said.

“I barely remember my mom,” you said. “Shit, your mom was the one that got me through my first period.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I was over your house and went to the bathroom and it happened and she was so nice about explaining everything to me. I think my dad was a bit relieved we didn’t have to have that talk,” you said. 

“My parents ask about you every once in a while,” he said. “Ask if we ever made up.”

“I assume they’ll be at the party tomorrow?” you asked, Jensen nodding. “Well, you can tell them we have now.”

“Harper’s not gonna have a mom pretty soon,” said Jensen.

“Do I have to tell you how a period works?” you asked, Jensen chuckling.

“No. No. It’s just hard to be dad and mom sometimes. I know it’s going to happen too,” he said.

“Well, when it does, I want you to remember that your kids are better off with just you,” you said.

“I’ll try,” he said. “How’s the brisket?”

“Crap, crap, crap,” you heard a guy say as you got out of your car at Jensen’s the next day. You rushed over and helped him catch a bag that was falling. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” you said, giving him a smile.

“I haven’t seen you around before. I’m Jared,” he said.

“Y/N,” you said, Jared raising an eyebrow.

“Wow. Like the Y/N Jensen was puppy dog in love with?” he asked.

“My reputation precedes me with Jensen’s friends apparently,” you said. “We met up a few days ago again. Talked through some stuff. We’re...trying it out.”

“I don’t even know you and I already like you better than the bitch,” said Jared. “Sorry. That’d be-”

“I know who you’re talking about,” you said, glancing at the bag. “Looks like Harper’s making out pretty good.”

“I’m the godfather. I’ve got to spoil her rotten,” he said. “I used to work with Jensen.”

“Yeah, you looked familiar. Your hair’s much shorter now, right?” you said.

“Yeah. Jensen was so excited,” Jared laughed. “I’ve been thinking of growing it out again. Well, I’m glad you made it.”

“Glad Harper invited me,” you said, following him down the driveway and around to the backyard, spotting a few kids and adults around.

“Hey, loser,” said Jensen with smile.

“You’re the loser,” you said, looking to Jared when you heard him echo the sentiment back. 

“Well now I really like her,” said Jared, setting his bag down near the pile of presents. “Speaking of which, where’s the birthday girl?”

“Last I saw, Gen and my sister were keeping an eye on them in the shallow end,” said Jensen. 

“Well I better go say hey,” he said, taking off as Jensen gave you a smile. 

“Thanks for coming,” he said as you sat down a small bag on the table. “So what’d you get her?”

“Eh, it’s nothing,” you said with a shrug. He hummed and crossed his arms. “I got her Harry Potter and a soccer ball.”

“That’s actually kind of perfect. She starts soccer in the fall and she’s ahead of her age group reading wise. She’s actually really ahead,” he said.

“You were always a good reader. Plus kids love Harry Potter,” you said. 

“I’m sure she’ll love it,” he said, your lips turning up when you caught sight of his older brother coming over. “Hey, Josh. You remember-”

“Little shrimp. Hard to forget Y/N Y/L/N,” he said with a laugh. “Did you let him sucker you into being his friend again?”

“We’re kind of dating,” said Jensen quietly.

“No shit. You do have a pair on you after all,” he said, slapping Jensen’s back. “Hey Mac!”

“What!” she shouted from across the yard.

“It took them more than ten years to get together! You lost!” he shouted.

“Mow your own lawn loser!” she shouted back. 

“No way! A bet’s a bet!” said Josh as he headed off, not without turning around. “I always told Jenny-”

“Joshua. Leave before I drown you at my daughter’s pool party,” said Jensen, closing his eyes.

“Fine, fine,” he said, waving Jensen off. “You know I’m pretty sure you gave him his first boner and-”

“Josh!” said Jensen, his brother cracking up as he left. “That’s not true…”

“We’re not at that stage yet so let’s just go with the old standard,” you said.

“Josh is a dick?”

“Josh is a dick,” you laughed.

“I can agree to that,” said Jensen. “So bathroom is right through there. If you want to change out of your swimsuit, just find a place in the house that’s free. We got presents and cake in like an hour but other than that, it should be pretty laid back.”

“Cool. I’m gonna go say hey to the birthday girl myself and I’ll swing back around later.”

“Thanks for helping pick up,” said Jensen, tossing a streamer in the garbage bag that evening.

“It’s no problem,” you said, looking around the yard. “I think that’s the last of it.”

“Yeah. Hey you want to hang out? We were gonna do a little backyard bonfire. If you want to,” he said.

“Sure. I do want to change out of these wet clothes first though,” you said. He hummed and you walked back out to your car, grabbing your bag as Jensen showed you down to the guest room. 

“Shit,” he said, the door already closed. “Forgot, my brother’s family is crashing in there tonight...and my parents are in the other guest room and my sister’s family is taking over the family room.”

“Don’t you have a bedroom?” you joked.

“True. I don’t want you getting the wrong idea though. I mean...you know what I mean,” he said.

“Just point me towards a shower and I’m good, Jens,” you said. He showed you towards his room and told you to take your time. Your jaw practically dropped when you were alone. His house was gorgeous but the bathroom was anyone’s dream come true. “Shit Jens. Somebody did well for themselves.”

You set your bag down on the empty vanity and pulled out your new clothes before hopping in the shower. You were pretty sure you would marry it if you could have but you didn’t want to waste all the water on Jensen and quickly were out and changing into some sweats and a tee shirt.

“I’m all set,” you said, giving Jensen a smile as he padded around in his bedroom.

“You got a hoodie?” he asked. You shook your head, Jensen walking into his closet and out a few seconds later, tossing one at you. “Take it.”

“Thanks,” you said. You gave him his privacy, catching his parents watching the kids in the family room. “Hi.”

“You owe me five bucks,” said his dad to his mom. “Told you those two would wind up together.”

“I was the one that said that!” she said, rolling her eyes.

“She’s delusional as always,” he said, standing up and giving you a hug. “How you doing kiddo? You got all grown up.”

“Yeah, been a few years,” you said, rubbing the back of your neck.

“Jensen said he ran into you a few nights ago. I’m so glad you two made up,” said his mom. “He could really use a good friend right now.”

“Grandpa, Daddy says he used to be best friends with Y/N,” said Harper, already face first into her Harry Potter book. 

“We’ve known Y/N since she was your age, Harper. She practically lived at our house,” he said. 

“She lived at your house?” she asked.

“It’s just an expression. I went over your daddy’s house a lot to play,” you said with a smile. “So, Jensen said fire in the backyard? Am I to assume the famous Ackles smores will be served?”

“You help pack up the kids for outside and we’ll get this thing going.”

“Hey, shrimp,” asked Josh a few hours later, the kids all up in bed in the house aside from Harper who was passed out on Jensen’s chest.

“Yes, Joshua,” you said, sipping on your beer. 

“How’re Drake and Devin doing?” he asked. “We sort of fell out of touch when they moved up to New York.”

“Those guys are good. Off being lawyers. Shockingly enough they didn’t get in the NBA like they planned,” you said with a laugh.

“Wasn’t that the boys plan?” teased Mac. “Your older brothers were like super hot though.”

“Your older brothers were super hot,” you said. 

“Josh was not hot,” said Jensen.

“When I was 14 and you got an older brother, he was pretty hot at the time, Jensen,” you laughed.

“I always knew shrimpy had a crush on me,” he said.

“Uh, no. That was reserved for someone else,” you said.

“I wonder who that could be,” said Jensen, pulling a yawn and stretch, putting his arm over your shoulders.

“How’s your dad doing, Y/N?” asked their dad. “He retired yet?”

“No. No. He’s still got a few years left he says. My brothers and I keep trying to get him to quit but we think he doesn’t want to sit in an empty house by himself,” you said.

“He never found anyone, did he,” said Jensen.

“No. After my mom got sick, he focused on us and on work. I think that’s part of the reason me and my brothers were always over your guy’s house so often. Dad was always working two shifts. You guys fed us dinner most nights of the week,” you said, pursing your lips, catching the look on his parents faces. “You knew that, didn’t you.”

“It was always obvious that you and Jensen had a special friendship,” said his dad. “You two were attached at the hip from day one. When you started coming over to play, we started noticing a few things. We had a conversation with your dad one night before he picked you up. We offered to help. He was reluctant but we found out what happened with your mom and he let us help eventually. That was around the time your brothers and Josh started playing together too.”

“I know,” you said, staring at the fire, feeling Jensen rub your shoulder. “The Ackles were always nice to the Y/L/N’s.”

“I’m gonna put Harper up to bed,” said Jensen, nodding for you to follow. “We’ll be back in a minute.”

He picked her up easily and brought her into the house, returning down to the kitchen with a smile after a moment. 

“My sister in law is conked out but I think they’re fine,” he said, heading back for the back door. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Just remembering...when we fought, I sort of lost your family too,” you said.

“I know they’ve only tried to embarrass me about fifty times today but my family did always love you too, Y/N.”

“You love me?” you asked.

“I did. A friend love for sure. We still have to figure out the rest of this. I’m not ready to say it. I may never be,” he said.

“I enjoy just hanging out again,” you said. “Even if your family apparently made a lot of bets on us getting together.”

“You haven’t even heard half of them,” he chuckled. “Come on. I bet there’s still some smores left out there.”

Two Days Later

“Hi guys,” you said, spotting Harper and Taylor playing with some chalk in the driveway. “Where’s your dad?”

“He got a big letter in the mail. He went under the front porch,” said Harper, pointing down towards the front door, Jensen sitting at an outdoor table with his back to you.

“Alright. Well, your dad invited me over for dinner so I’m gonna go say hey and then I’ll be right back,” you said. You made sure they were okay on their own before you wandered down and poked Jensen on the shoulder, Jensen nearly jumping out of his seat. “Sorry.”

“Y/N, no, it’s fine. You’re early,” he said, looking at his watch. “Or not. Shit. Shit, I was supposed to have the food in the oven and those two need to get out of the sun.”

“Alright. You take a minute to yourself and I’ll get them inside and washed up, okay?” you said. Jensen nodded and you rubbed his arm as you walked past. You gathered up the kids, letting them show you where they kept their chalk in the garage, leading you inside and showing you around a little before you got them both washed up at the kitchen sink.

Jensen made his way inside by the time you were in the family room playing with them. He forced a smile on his face as he worked in the kitchen a moment, closing his eyes once he had the oven door shut.

You left the kids and wandered over, Jensen sighing as he shoved some papers back in a manila envelope.

“Jay...what happened?”

“She’s giving up custody. She filed the paperwork. All I have to do is sign apparently,” he said, running his hand over his face. “How the hell did I end up with a person like that?”

“Are they better off with or without her?” you asked.

“Without for sure,” he said.

“Then remember that. You love ‘em and that’s all they need right now,” you said. He nodded, letting a half-smile cross his face. “I’ll watch dinner and the kids. Go get your head on straight.”

“No, Y/N. I’m really okay,” he said.

“You’re really not. Go before I force your wimpy ass,” you said.

“Alright,” he said, gathering up the papers and taking a step out of the kitchen. “Y/N, I don’t know how you came back into my life at this exact moment but I’m glad you’re here.”

“Go on, Jens. I got everything covered.”

“Thanks for tonight,” said Jensen, the kids passed out in bed as you sat on his back porch. 

“Just because you knew it was coming doesn’t make it easier,” you said.

“You knew your mom was sick when you were little, didn’t you,” he said.

“Yeah. My parents told us. I didn’t understand really, not until after she was gone,” you said. “You’ll be okay, Jay.”

“I know. I don’t know how to tell them,” he said. 

“Tell them their mom isn’t able to be a mom anymore and leave it at that,” you said. 

“Harper’s the one that’s old enough to ask questions,” he said.

“Don’t say anything until it’s final. Maybe when she’s back from her vacation, she’ll say something to them, alright? Try not to stress too much and just enjoy the few weeks without her.”

Two Months Later

“Ackles,” you said, ruffling Taylor’s hair as you walked into Jensen’s house after work. “Where’s daddy?”

“Harper’s room,” he said with a frown.

“Something happen?” you asked.

“She thinks daddy’s getting rid of us too,” he said. 

“Oh, Taylor,” you said, picking him up. “Your daddy’s never getting rid of you. He loves you so much.”

“Mommy did,” he said.

“Come on, let’s go find those two,” you said, carrying him on your hip up to Harper’s room, Jensen scowling at her closed closet door. “I see it’s going well.”

“Harper. Y/N’s here,” said Jensen. The door flung open and she ran over to you, grabbing onto your leg.

“Make daddy stay,” she said.

“Stay where, sweetie?” you asked.

“Harper, I have to travel for work. It’s just a little while and I will be home every weekend,” he said.

���I hate you,” she said, letting go of you and storming down the hall. 

“I got her,” you said, setting Taylor down and going down the stairs after her. She moved pretty fast for a five year old and you barely caught up to her before she could rush outside. “Hey, you know you’re not supposed to be outside without a grown up, Harper.”

“Can we live with you? Daddy’s going away too,” she said.

“Harper,” you said, picking her up and carrying out to the backyard, settling her in your lap on the oversized swing back there. “Daddy isn’t going anywhere. He has to travel for work. He won’t be gone too long and he’s going to call you every single day. I promise. He’s not going anywhere.”

“Are you?”

“No. No, I’m not going anywhere either,” you said.

“Are you still gonna come over every day?” she asked.

“Of course. You and me are gonna bake cookies and go swimming and ride bikes. We’re going to do all the stuff we do now. Your grandparents will be here during the day is all,” you said.

“Promise?” she asked.

“I promise, sweetie.”

One Week Later

“Alright,” you said, Jensen tossing his backpack on his shoulders. “You got everything you need?”

“Well, I can’t bring the other things I want,” he said with a smirk. “There’s a couple of short people around here I’d like to accompany me but otherwise, I’m good.”

“Text me when you land,” you said.

“Will do, sweetheart,” he said, pecking a kiss on your lips. “Y/N. You really don’t have to come over every day just to hang out with the kids.”

“I know I don’t have to, Jensen,” you said with a smile. “We’ll try not to destroy the house too badly.”

“Thanks,” he laughed. “I’ll talk to you in a few hours then.”

“Talk to you soon, babe.”

_____

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Echoes of the Past" from The Owl House

Salutations, random people on the internet who most certainly won’t read this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

What probably gets debated the most in the fandom is the legitimacy behind King being the King of Demons. Some believe that there's truth to his statement, while others, like me, like to think that he was just some stray Eda picked up off the streets. Either option seemed likely, especially since Season One never gave an answer that leaned one way or the other.

Then here comes the writers finally answering the question of who King is in episode THREE of Season Two! Because, again, they don't waste time on giving fans exactly what they want.

Fans wanted answers behind King, we got 'em, and analyzing what those answers mean requires going deep into spoilers. So if you haven't checked the episode out yet, I highly recommend that you do. Trust me, it's worth seeing.

Now let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Luz Experimenting with Spells: Hey, look! More proof that Luz isn't an idiot like some people flanderize her to be!

But, seriously though, this is a perfect little thread to introduce into the story. Luz collecting knowledge from Lilith's old books and past work she and Eda made adds to Luz's intelligence while also providing a believable explanation for how she gets new spells. It's also nice to see that she has this little notebook (or spellbook) to help see what works and what doesn't. It's a level of experimentation that proves her dedication to becoming a witch while also exemplifying how she isn't stupid. Occasionally reckless, sure, but you can't say that the person who figured out an invisibility spell through showing her work is also an idiot.

Francios with a Knife: How did Francois get a knife? I don't know. But the fact that a random knife plopped out behind him with little to no explanation is funny, and I will not hear otherwise.

I don't make the rules. I just abide by them.

Luz’s Invisibility Spell: I breezed past this, but I honestly love this invisibility spell. More specifically, I love that there's a limiter. It can turn you, objects, and people you're in contact with invisible, but only as long as you can hold your breath. It helps make the spell something the characters can't always rely on, which is appreciated. Because if it works as long as they concentrate, what's stopping them from sneaking into Belos' castle and assassinating him in his sleep? It's a smart way of explaining why they can't always rely on something, despite how insanely useful it is.

Luz: Let's gush about Luz some more, shall we!

"Echoes of the Past" is another episode that has Luz on top form. She is constantly supportive of King, even if Lilith has a point in the dangers of indulging his fantasy as a powerful tyrant. Doing so would cause more harm than good, especially when King finds out Luz doesn't believe him, but her going along with it was all done with the best of intentions. Luz doesn't want to hurt her friend, and even if she did in the long run, she still makes up for it by helping King learn more about his past.

And, as another reminder, Luz isn't stupid. She's the first to say they should leave when it's clear how dangerous the castle is and is quick to figure out there should be more at the top. Luz is a loyal and caring friend who's also guarded and intuitive when the situation calls for it. This episode understood that, so here's hoping other fans will too.

Lilith: Yeah, she's still growing on me.

I feel like this episode shows a better idea of Lilith's place in the group more than the past two. She's a person who's obsessed with knowledge and learning but considers herself above the jovial nature of King, Luz, and definitely Eda. Therefore, she acts as the perfect catalyst for what jumpstarts this week's adventure. It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that she almost instantly dismisses King's claims due to considering herself more knowledgeable than everyone else. Still, I like how she's willing to believe King once she finally sees evidence that seemingly proves he really was the King of Demons, to the point of referring to him as "her lord." Hooty does the same thing, but it comes across as him fearing for his own life and choosing to be friends with someone who could maybe kill him in an instant. For Lilith, her newfound respect comes from the desire to learn more, and it's that desire that makes Lilith an enjoyable character to me. It's adorable to see, and it has some comedic flavor in moments like when she dismisses everyone else and their emotional revelations to take pictures of the carvings around her. I'm sure she'll cause some controversy like other characters with rushed reformations, but for me, I'm more than ok with her addition to the main cast.

More of Lilith’s and Hooty’s Friendship: HOW DOES THIS WORK!?

ON PAPER, IT SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE A BAD IDEA, BUT IT F**KING WORKS!

HOW?!

WHAT BLACK MAGIC DID THESE WRITERS USE TO MAKE A RELATIONSHIP SO UNEXPECTED COME ACROSS AS SO ENDEARING AND ADORABLE?!

And where can I get some for my stories...just asking.

But seriously: HOW?!

Hooty Making Himself Portable: Ah, yes. The classic bit where a character does something horrifically grotesque off-screen, and we have nothing but character reactions and sound effects to imagine what happened between shot A and shot B. It's an oldie, but given how hard I was laughing (mostly because of Luz's gagging), it's still a goodie.

Eda’s Portable Bathtub Boat Thing: I mean...I was expecting Eda would use something to catch up with the others, but...that thing...well...I mean, I'm still laughing just by thinking about it. That should tell you how well executed this joke was.

John Luke: ...I'm gonna go ahead and add him to the list because HOLY S**T was this guy disturbing! From his design to his movements to even the sounds he makes when moving, everything about John Luke screams as something that will stay in kids' nightmares for a while. Now, this might seem like a complaint, but to be honest, I'm more than alright with how creepy John Luke is. I highly doubt adult viewers will consider John Luke scary, but I guarantee he'll terrify some of the youngins that this series is aimed for. And that's fine. It's good to creep kids out a little bit with something somewhat scary, as it might introduce them to more good horror stories later in life.

Plus, the reveal that John Luke was only a guard for King is pretty solid narratively speaking. You can see how John never really meant to hurt King aside from one accident when Eda escaped with him. If you want to read into it, I guess it might be questionable to tell kids that something that looks dangerous is secretly nice, but that's really nitpicky, in my opinion. John Luke was a fantastic threat that is designed and animated well, with a solidly executed twist. Some might hate what he presents, most will fear him, but we can all agree on one thing: His theme is awesome (can I get the track for that, please)!

King’s Backstory: Finally, at long last, we know who King is, thus putting an end to a year-long debate. And I fully mean it when I say that the writers gave the best possible answer. Because in a way, everyone was right. Yes, King was just an animal that Eda decided to adopt, like the nature-loving hippie she is inside (She's got the hair for it). However, while he may not be the King of Demons himself, he is still the son of someone who deserves that title. So while he isn't the King, there's a chance he might be the Prince. Once again, there's no direct answer, but given how the writers came up with something that pleases everyone while still providing more questions for debate, it acts as a brilliant move, in my opinion. So whatever answer we get next, I'm sure it will be just as perfect.

Baby King:

My heart was not prepared for that level of cuteness!

King’s Breakdown: NOR WAS IT READY FOR THIS LEVEL OF SADNESS!

But in all seriousness, a HUGE round of applause to Alex Hirsch for his performance in this episode. He expertly captured the raw emotions of shock, anger, betrayal, and sadness that King must have felt when finding out that everything he believed he was is a lie. It's one of those moments where I don't hear a person voicing lines in a booth (or wherever the hell VAs are voicing characters nowadays), but instead hear a living person being emotionally torn apart. It was heartbreaking seeing King so vulnerable as he's so guarded with his emotions. Seeing him like this adds so much more layers to a character that many would mistake him as a cute, comedic animal sidekick. But just like with Luz, there's more to him than people will tell you.

“I don’t even know what’s real or fake anymore!”: I'm just pointing out this line because I believe it's what convinces Luz to help King learn more about who he is. Hell, not knowing what's real or fake is the main reason why Luz got sent away in the first place, so I feel like she can relate to King when he's in a similar predicament.

Hooty and Lilith vs John Luke: This was just a cool scene with some epic moments of dodging John Luke's attacks and some funny ones, like how Hooty said the word "pain." It's a ten out of ten that I would rewind to watch again.

King’s Other Horn: I'd question the logistics of how a horn that got broken off when he was a baby still manages to fit perfectly in the present...but it is neat symbolism of King accepting his past and letting it be a part of him, so who cares?

(The fact that the colors of the broken-off piece don't match the rest of the horn is nice attention to detail as well.)

WHAT I DISLIKED

It's a Little Too Predictable: I pretty much figured almost every little twist the episode offers. But, I'm willing to say that's because I'm in my twenties, and I've seen enough stories similar to this one, so I'm more likely to know what will happen. The little monsters watching this will see it for the first time, so they'll most likely get more surprised than me...And that was my only complaint about the episode...which is more of a personal problem than an actual issue...I guess that means it's perfect.

IN CONCLUSION

"Echoes of the Past" is an easy A+ in my book. It gives lore and backstory that furtherly develops the characters that episodes like this should. It also tells a tragic story about King that still sprinkles in a few good jokes every now and again to lighten up the mood. Sure, there are some nitpicks I could mention (how did King remember his own birth?). But when the good stuff is done so well, what's the point of dwelling on small, insignificant issues? This is still a phenomenal episode that flew past all expectations I had for it, and it continues the winning steak this season is having so far.

(But that's still three home runs in a row. Meaning that a stinker is coming. Ooiee, is it coming!)

[imhereforbvcky]

Watch Me Run - Part 17

Masterlist  -  Series Masterpage  -  Part 18

Summary: You inherit a family relic that gives you the gift of foresight but there are others who are interested for more nefarious reasons. You turn to the Avengers for help. (Bucky x reader)

Chapter: You finally make contact with the Avengers again but everything is not as it seems. Or rather everyone.

Word Count: 1928

A/N: the next 2 chapters are more “Move the damn plot, Mee!” than “yes, brain! Deliver some flowing, symbolic prose!” I’m not thrilled about it either, but here we are.

The village was small. Hearty in the way towns are that have crawled out of the wilderness, just barely keeping the wild at bay. It was rugged and worn, and if you’d been there by yourself, you’d have passed right through without marking it.

Bucky pulled the creaking truck beside one of the larger single-story buildings. You’d have guessed the shutters hadn’t been painted since they were installed sometime in the late 1960s. The windows were probably last cleaned around the same time. The concrete wouldn’t need painting. No, eventually it would crumble into the dust whence it came.

For now, the entire side of the building had taken on a soft brown patina; decades of road dust streaked grey with the steady drip of melting snow and ice. Most couldn’t have picked it out of a line-up from the other buildings. Nothing distinguished this one as a government building except the sign in the filthy window of the door advertising its hours of operation. You doubted very much if their adherence was strictly enforced.

“Only library with wifi for the next hundred miles,” Bucky had told you as he gassed up the truck for the drive. You’d yawned and handed him a coffee in a white styrofoam cup. The liquid was black and cloudy as the sky overhead. Even the 3 creams you’d dumped into yours had done little to brighten the stale, hefty brew.

The library door groaned when Bucky drew it open for you. Not the gentle squeak of a place welcoming a new guest. No, this was the deep angry howl of a door stubborn and calloused in its disuse. The woman scowling at you from behind the counter stood as the physical embodiment of the very sound. Grey wisps of hair tumbled out of a hastily tied knot, a worn and grease-stained flannel hung on heavy shoulders over top of a fading wool knit. The collar had begun to fray long ago, as had this woman’s patience.

“Hi.” You offered as pleasant a smile as you could find, a customer service smile, though you were the customer.

The frown didn’t budge one millimeter. Her eyes though, turned to Bucky when he stomped heavy boots on the rug at the door. Muddy slush from the day-old snow dropped off his boots in clumps.

“Please wipe your boots outside,” she scolded.

“The snow’s right up to the door—“

Her head snapped and her eyes burned with the sort of anger only a stern teacher could conjure.

“Yes ma’am,” Bucky nodded before cracking the door just enough to knock his boots on the brick wall.

“Do you need somethin’?” she asked you. Not, ‘Can I help you?’ Not, ‘Are you looking for something in particular?’ Not even a, ‘Are you lost?’ This was a terse, ‘Honey, I know you’re lost and I know trouble. I want nothin’ to do with either.’

“Yes,” you jumped forward, matching her eagerness to rush you out. “I’m um… I’m not from here and—“

“Well I can see that.”

Bucky stepped in then, a scowl as deep as her own. He turned it down on you though. If you could kick yourself, you would. One of his rules of being on the run – don’t give away unnecessary information. Not who you are, where you’re going, who’s coming for you, not even what you need. Be nondescript. This was a difficult rule to follow when you were a nervous talker, when your sympathy scale was off the charts and the best way you knew to communicate was to connect in a personal way.

“We need to use your computer,” Bucky said simply. “You have internet here?”

She pointed to a back corner of the building. “Yeah. We even have indoor plumbing,” she grumbled.

“Well, she hates us,” you fidgeted, leaning close to whisper at Bucky’s shoulder as he led the way toward the computers. “You remember people you hate. She’s going to report us or something.”

Bucky chuckled as he looked back at you. “To who?”

“I don’t know… a Mountie? Loki could be anywhere right? Anyone?”

“Loki is from another planet. He’s not Interpol. There’s no hotline running for us. Far as she knows we’re a couple on a fishing trip.”

“Really? You don’t think she’ll remember us?”

He shrugged, pulling a chair over beside the one he took in front of the computer. “She wouldn’t have remembered some idiot who forgot to wipe his boots. Probably gonna remember ‘I’m not from here, please like me,’” he teased, donning a high squeak of a voice.

You smacked his arm with the back of your hand. “That’s not what I sound like.” A glance over your shoulder at the woman unfurling a cough drop at the desk. “She just looks so unhappy. How many  people smile at her in a day, you think?”

“Not enough,” Bucky agreed. Grim places made for grim people. Harsh living and meager needs made even the softest people harden at the edges. Necessity, he called it. Survival.

“See. I might be the weirdo that cowered at the library door, but she’ll have a story to tell her partner when she gets home. Bet she’ll laugh about it.”

Bucky chuckled, sparing a glance over to you as he booted up the software. The computer was ancient and it made a dissatisfied grinding noise at the request.

“You laughed at least,” she nudged his shoulder with her own.

“That wasn’t a laugh,” he argued, failing to stifle a grin. “That was a… a snort at best.”

“Oh come on. There was at least a chortle.”

“A what?”

“A chortle! Look it up, we’re in a library. Ma’am!” you hollered, turning over your shoulder and waving.

“Knock it off!” Bucky laughed, reaching for your arm and pinning it to your side.

“Ma’am, could you point my friend here toward the dictionaries, he needs to look up a word—Umpfh!”

He’d clapped a hand over your mouth, the other still firmly wrapped around your arm, enveloping you thoroughly.

“No, we’re fine with the computer. Internet, so helpful,” he hollered, over your muffled chuckle.

The soft tickle of breath on his hand, the gentle shake of your laughing shoulders set off that warm, brightness in his chest. He was smiling down at you as he let go.

“Well I definitely got a smile, at least,” you nudged when he did lift his hand away. “You don’t smile enough either.”

“I smile.” His brow crinkled, like he wanted to scowl, but then… he would be proving your point. So he kept a half a smirk on his lips.

“Well, yeah, everybody smiles sometimes. But you rarely,  and you never laugh—“

“I do too. I laughed yesterday when you fell on the stairs.”

“That was rude. You didn’t warn me they ice up like that.”

“It was funny,” he shrugged. “You looked like a cartoon. You should’ve seen your face.”

“You should see your face, Sir Scowls-A-Lot.”

“Scowl?” His eyes went wide and the smile threatened to erupt into an astonished laugh.

“Yes. You have the worst case of RBF I’ve ever seen.”

“What the hell is RBF…?” he wondered. But by now you were talking over each other, arguing and laughing all at once.

“People say, ‘If looks could kill…’ but, really. When you’re grumpy it’s like… if looks could kill, gimme Captain America’s shield because, nothing could stop those silver bullets.”

“It’s not that bad,” he rolled his eyes, typing away on the keyboard.

“It is. I mean, it’s fine, it’s a good looking face, so it works. But it’s a definite scowl.”

“A good looking face?” His entire visage lit into a grin now. His grey eyes were sharp and glittering like the cat that got the canary.

You were suddenly, glaringly aware that you’d been carrying on about all the little looks you’d noticed about your indefinite bodyguard all while you were still pressed tight against him from shoulder to hip. Heat flooded your cheeks and nose and throat at a record pace as you scrambled for a proverbial ripcord.

“Oh, you know you’re handsome.” When had denial ever worked for anyone? Misdirection, was clearly the way out. “Don’t act like I’m the first person to tell you that.”

He was still as marble for a long moment while you picked at your nails. The grin had dimmed a little, no longer a beaming mischievous thing, it had settled to a gentle warmth. He was Bucky again, the one who carefully assuaged your fears, who listened, who made eggs when hot pockets wouldn’t do.

“No,” he agreed finally and you looked up at the sweet softness of his tone. “First time in a long time it’s mattered to me, though. For some damn reason… I care what you think.”

“Hello?? Is this thing even working??” Tony’s voice thrummed angrily through the computer’s speakers. “Barnes, can you hear me?”

Bucky took a sharp breath, deep into his lungs, breathing in the last of the stillness between you and taking it with him when he turned to the monitor. “Yeah,” he said and then he was talking to Tony. Something about a Doctor and the big bang and some powerful stones. But you couldn’t take your eyes off of Bucky.

Tony was irritable. Fuming, actually. The “doot-doot blub-blub-ting doot-doot” of the videocall ringtone repeated again, fueling the inferno. Waiting on technology was not something he was accustomed to. Waiting for inelegant, vulnerable technology that was too old to exist to project an image of the inside of his offices out into the world, well that would have been an a resolute No before today. But his teammates are nothing if not stubborn. Barnes most of all.

“Finally!” he sighed, leaning forward and peering at the image. “Why is it so grainy. I can’t… That’s a terrible picture.”

“It’s good enough,” Dr. Strange deadpanned beside him.

“No that can’t be it. Connection’s bad or something. They can’t even hear us talking!” He began waving haphazardly at the screen, hoping to catch the eye of the soldier or the stone-keeper.

That’s when he noticed what was actually on the screen. Bucky’s arm around you, tightly. A laugh. The goddamn Winter Soldier, your guardian for this mission, looking down at you as though he…

“Holy shit,” Tony mumbled, leaning closer. “Are you seeing this?”

“Yeah, you have to allow the app to access your microphone,” Strange rolled his eyes, entirely missing the point.

“Hey, Rogers?” Tony called just as Steve strode into the room, slightly out of breath. “I think your bestie has compromised the mission.”

His eyes were glued to the screen as Steve leaned his shoulder with a hand on the desk to get a closer look.

“Indeed,” he hummed through a grin as he watched the screen.

“What?” Tony frowned up at him.

Steve shook his head minutely. “Bucky’s fine. He’s only ever failed one mission. And I’m not this mission.”

Tony’s frown never lifted as his eyes darted over Steve. Doubt clouded them for but a moment. He hammered a quick line of code into the digital projection of a keyboard and swiped the screen away.

“Hello?? Is this thing even working??” Tony asked after patching the room’s audio systems through to the rudimentary video conferencing software. “Barnes, can you hear me?”

Not a second later, Steve – or rather Loki projecting himself as Steve – noticed a slight shift in the cameras in the room. One after another, they made slow sweeping turns until he stood squarely within each and every frame.

Part 18 >>