#op try to not father challenge

[swervesfirstblaster]

CUTE BUMBLEBEE AND OPTIMUS INTERACTION ALERT ⚠️⚠️ thats father and son your honor

[afictionaladventure16]

Safe & Sound (Tim Bradford x Adopted!Teen!Reader)

The Rookie Masterlist

Summary: While Tim and Lucy are on their first date, Y/N and Tamara face some challenges that ends with the realization that Y/N's past has come back to her new life.

Author's Note: I know Tamara technically doesn't find out that Tim and Lucy are dating until later on but uhhh this is fiction so yee. All requests are open!

Warnings: Mentions of fights and stabbing

Word Count: 4,630

You watched from the distance as your dad tried on different dress shirts in his bedroom. You had seen your father go on many first dates… maybe ‘many’ is an exaggeration, but that was beside the point, the point was that you had never seen him this nervous. He looked like a girl trying to find the right dress for the school dance, you couldn’t help but smile. He was in love. 

You pulled out your phone, sending a quick text to Tamara

 He’s a mess, you sent. 

A few seconds later your phone buzzed in your hands, 

So is she lol. 

You couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle, “What’s so funny?” Your dad asked as he gave you a quick glance. 

You shook your head, “you guys have no idea how nervous you both are.” 

He sighed, “Should I call her?” You gave him a nod. Tim gave you a smile, “First, what do you think?” he raised up a dark grey shirt next to a light gray one. 

You rolled your eyes, “Does it even matter?” 

“What if it clashes with her outfit?” He asked. After the two years you had lived with the man, this was the first time you had heard him say that phrase. 

“I think all that matters is that you both are enjoying the date,” you suggested. 

Tim looked at you with a smile on his face. After Isobel, he felt so lost within himself and somehow he found himself becoming a foster father to a young ten-year-old. It was only a year later that he began the adoption process. It was a long one, especially with the history with Isobel, he had waited a year and a half until the adoption was finalized. It was the best day of his life and he knows that there will be other days in his future that will try to complete, but he will always hold that day close to his heart. It was the day he learned how to be himself again, the day he learned that family didn’t always have to be by blood. 

Now you were fourteen, looking forward to your fifteenth birthday coming up soon. A day that Angela was so busy preparing for because she knew as a Latina that you had to have a quinceanera, and Tim always tried his best to help you grow within your culture. It was one of the main reasons why he learned Spanish. 

He let out a sigh as he reached for his phone, “do you-” 

“If you don’t call her right now, I will call her myself, but I will video call her so she can see-” 

“Alright, alright!” Tim chuckled as he dialed Lucy’s number. 

You walked out of the room, sending Tamara another text. 

I’m assuming you’re coming over with pizza? You sent. 

You know me too well. 

Ever since you met Tamara, she has been like an older sister. Maybe it was because the two of you were in the system and bonded over the traumatic shit both went through. Or because you both lived with cops that took you in and, although Chen is technically just her roommate, they were now your family. 

Tim walked out of his room minutes later, “Alright, I am just a phone call away. Don’t forget to let Kojo out and please tell Tamara I said hi. Um- Am I forgetting anything?” He asked as he began patting his pants pockets. 

“Keys and they’re in the key bowl by the door,” you stated as you scrolled through Netflix, Tim walked over to the key bowl, rolling his eyes as he grabbed his keys, “Bold of you to assume Tamara is coming over.” 

“Is she not?” He asked. 

“No, she is,” you smiled. 

“That’s what I thought,” he sighed, “Don’t open the door for anyone but Tamara. You know the drill, make sure it’s her before you even op-” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Can you go already so we can get this whole Lucy and Tim being continuously nervous over with?” 

Tim took in a small breath, he couldn’t help but catch that you had called him by his first name. It had been two years already and you were still calling him Tim. Of course, he didn’t know how to tell you that calling him dad was okay with him and he didn’t want you to feel pressured to do so; but just hearing it would mean everything to him. 

He gave you a small nod, “Call me if anything, alright? And make sure to turn on the alarm when I leave.” 

“Yes, sir,” you watched as he walked out of the house, you waited for the sound of the lock before turning back around to continue your scrolling. 

Twenty minutes later, you heard the doorbell ring, which was then followed by a phone call. 

You quickly answered, “I assume you’re outside,” you said as you got up from the couch. 

“Your assumptions are correct,” Tamara said. You opened the door to let Tamara in. She had been carrying a bag, of what you assumed is junk food, along with a box of pizza. “Alright, so I found this new candy that you just have to try!” 

You locked the door behind Tamara, “Alright, but first I need a slice of pizza because I am starving!” You followed Tamara as she walked into the kitchen to put down the box of pizza. You instantly opened it and grabbed a slice, “I can’t believe I watched Tim go through every single nice shirt in his closet like he didn’t even do that on his first date with Asley!” 

“Oh, you think that’s bad? Lucy’s whole closet is now on her bed,” Tamara commented as she unpacked the bag of junk food. “Do you guys have sodas?” 

“Yeah, in the fridge,” you gestured towards the fridge. Tamara helped herself, as she always does when she comes over, and she came over quite a bit. “Why do you call your dad by your first name?” Tamara blurted out. 

You shrugged, “I dunno, I guess… I guess I just feel like I am not allowed to call him dad.” 

“But he adopted you” 

“Yeah, but… I don’t know. I’ve wanted to, I just feel like I lost the moment to do so since it’s been two years since the adoption.” Tamara opened the box for a slice of pizza, “Has he talked to you about it? Or Lucy?” 

Tamara looked down, “I know Lucy’s mentioned it. Something about he feels like he’s doing something wrong.” 

You sighed, “What do you think?” 

“I’m the last person you want to ask that.” You gave her a pleading look, and she let out a sigh, “Look, if it were me, the timing wouldn’t matter. He gave you a family, a home, he made you feel loved after everything you had been through in life… in a way, he gave you a second chance that not a lot of us get.” 

She was right and you knew that. It had meant a lot coming from Tamara since she never got the opportunity to get this chance. She would argue that she did when Lucy took her in, but in a way it was different. 

“Should I just do it randomly? Like just ‘Good morning, dad,’ just nonchalant about it?” You asked. 

“Something like that,” Tamara smiled, “You’ll know how to do it when you feel ready and I think you know that you are.” 

The two of you ate pizza and watched Game of Thrones for the next hour. At some point, you had gotten up and let Kojo out to the backyard, he had been whining by the door for a while.  Tamara had taken that opportunity to get up to grab some snacks when all the lights went out, you looked over at Tamara. 

“Whoa,” She exclaimed.

“This is fine,” you stated as you got up from the couch. “Tim usually keeps a flashlight in a drawer in the kitchen,” you walked over to the kitchen, rummaging through the drawers. It didn’t take you long to find the flashlight. You shined it at Tamara who had her phone flashlight on.

Tamara sighed as she walked over to the window, “That’s weird.” 

“What?” you walked over to her. You were quick to notice that the houses across the street still had power. 

“Looks like the neighbors next door also have power,” Tamara pointed out. You looked over at the neighbors to your left, she was right, “Did Tim forget to pay something?” 

You scoffed, “No, he’s pretty good at paying the bills on time.” 

The sound of the floorboard creaking caused the two of you to quickly turn your heads, “I didn’t move,” Tamara whispered. 

“Neither did I,” you whispered back. You felt your heart leap into your throat, “Maybe I should call Tim,” you whispered as you took your phone out of your pocket. As soon as you had unlocked it you noticed the no bar signal on the top right corner. “Fuck,” you whispered. Kojo was scratching at the door, whining to get back in. 

“What?” 

You showed her your phone, “I have no signal.” 

“W-what? How?” 

You looked around for something to use as a weapon, “I’ve heard Tim mentioned this before. Some people use jammers in order to block a phone’s signal.” 

“You think someone is-” You held up your finger, Tamara stopped talking. The two of you fell silent, listening to the floorboards creaking increasingly. 

“We need to get out of here,” you whispered. You glanced over at the door, “I’m gonna grab kojo-” 

“No, if Tim were here he’d want you out, Kojo can fend for himself,” Tamara stated. Tamara quietly walked over to the kitchen grabbing a pan that was on the stove. You slowly walked through the living room, you knew Tim had a bat lying around somewhere for emergencies. 

What happened next was a blur. One second you were looking over at Tamara as she inched closer to the front door and the next you were on the ground and you heard yelling. You fought back as the person who was attacking you pulled out a knife. You were trying your best to use the techniques Tim had shown you, but this man was tougher than you had ever imagined. You knew that it wasn’t an excuse, that even if he was tougher and bigger than you, you had to find a way to defend yourself. 

“I got the other one,” you heard another voice yell out. You hadn’t realized there were two of them. 

You looked over at where Tamara was, “Tamara, run!” You yelled out. You could see the hesitation in her, “Go!” 

Tamara felt like running would be the biggest mistake, but she knew there was no way of getting help by staying here. The second man inched closer to her, she swung the pan that she had in her hands, hitting the man in the head, it was enough to stun him so she could get a running start. She ran out of the house and into the neighbor's front yard, running up to the door; she began banging on it, “Help!” 

You, on the other hand, were trying to get out of the man's grip. You sucked in a breath knowing that you had to do something you never wanted to do. You opened your mouth and bit the man's arm as hard as you could, he let out a loud yell and let go of you. 

“You bitch!” he yelled out as he lunged towards you with his knife. 

You lunged away from him, trying to dodge the knife, but he was bigger than you and still quicker than you. You felt a sharp pain in your side, “What the fuck did you do, Rick?!” The other guy asked as he came back inside. “Do you have any idea what he’ll do to us if we bring her in like this?” You reached down to where you felt the pain coming from, feeling something sticky. The more you touched it, the more pain you felt. Your knees buckled and you fell to the ground. 

“Fuck,” the man named Rick, looked at the knife and then at you. “I-I can fix this.” 

“No! Forget it! It’s been compromised! We have to go, the other girl ratted us out!” The man began to make his way to the back door. “Let’s go!” he yelled out again. You lay on the ground, watching as the blurry image of them ran out of the house. 

~~

Tim couldn’t help but look towards the door every other second. Was part of him worried someone from the station would see him? Yes. But also, he had a habit of looking at the door every time someone walked in, especially when he was nervous. 

“Are you worried someone from the station is gonna walk in?” Lucy asked. 

“What?” 

“You are,” Lucy said in disbelief. 

“No, I-” 

“Wow.” 

“What are the odds?” 

Lucy rolled her eyes, “It’s likely.” She cleared her throat, she didn’t want to have this discussion right now. “So, Y/N’s quince is coming up, how is that coming?” 

“Good, good. I um probably going to be in debt for the next year so you can expect a nice Christmas card from us rather than nothing but emptiness inside.” 

Lucy chuckled, “Angela is running you dry with this quince.” 

“That she is. Anything Y/N wants, she gets. I swear she spoils her like she's her own kid.” 

Lucy smiled, “I’ve noticed.” Lucy’s phone began to ring, she took it out, letting out a small chuckle at the sight of the name. “It’s Tamara, the girls are probably trying to check in on us,” she rolled her eyes. “Should I let it go to voicemail?” 

Tim wanted to say yes let it go to voicemail, but there was a voice in the back of his head telling him not to. “Answer it,” he smiled, “Two can play this game,” he teased. 

Lucy placed the phone on speaker, “Before you even ask, yes we are still at the restaurant and no I am not bringing you leftovers, I know you guys had pizza,” Lucy said with a hint of laughter behind her voice. 

“Lucy,” Tamara cried out. 

Lucy and Tim’s facial expressions changed, “Tamara, what’s wrong?” Tim spoke up. 

“It all happened so quickly,” Tamara began. 

“Just take a deep breath, Tamara,” Lucy began, “What happened?” 

Tamara let out a soft sob, “Someone broke in the house. They cut the power and we had no way to call anyone. I-I ran to the neighbors for help, but Y/N was still inside, I-I’m sorry, I couldn’t get to her.” 

Tim felt his chest tightened, suddenly this world no longer felt safe. In all his years working as an officer, he never imagined this to happen. Yes, he was prepared for it, or so he thought he was, but now, this world was more of a menacing place than he had realized. 

Tim wanted to tell Tamara that it was okay, but he couldn’t, because to him, nothing was okay at the moment. He had failed the one promise he had kept to himself the day he took you in and that was to keep you safe. Now the one day he decided to be vulnerable and comfortable, it all came crashing down. 

Tim got up from his seat, “Where are you?” Lucy asked. 

“St. Vincents,” He heard Tamara say as he left a few bills on the table and began walking away. Lucy told Tamara that they’d be there in a few before catching up with Tim. 

“Tim,” Lucy began, you could hear the pain within her voice. “Tim,” Lucy pleaded. Tim quickly turned around as they got outside. “I’m driving,” Lucy stated as the exited the restaurant. 

“No-” 

“No,” Lucy exclaimed as she got in front of Tim, “you’re not in the right mindset to be driving right now.” Tim opened his mouth to argue with her, “I’m driving.” 

Tim closed his mouth and gave her a nod. They got into Lucy’s car and drove off to the hospital. Lucy broke a few laws that day, but Tim probably would’ve broken a hundred just to get there sooner. Tim didn’t wait for the car to be fully parked to hop out, he was already inside the emergency room making his way to the receptionist when Lucy made her way into the hospital. 

“My daughter was just brought in, her name is-” 

“Tim,” Lucy choked out, her eyes had landed on a horrific sight in front of her. 

“Lucy!” Tamara called out, Tim turned around just in time to see Tamara running over to Lucy. He looked around for you, hoping to see you running up to him, but his heart sank deeper every second that passed. He walked over to the girls, his eyes landed on what Lucy was focusing on. 

“Oh God,” he let out a shaky breath, as he watched nurses surrounding work on your wounds. He ran up to you, one hand grabbing yours and the other brushing the hair out of your face. “Y/N, sweetie, it’s me,” Tim began, “I'm here, okay?” he brought your hand up to his lips and placed a small kiss on them. He felt the tears begin to stream down his cheeks. “Is she going to be okay?” 

One of the nurses let out a deep sigh, “The stab wound barely missed one of her aorta’s by an inch, it did knick her one of her lungs causing her to loose a significant amount of blood.” one of the other nurses began to lift the handles on the side. 

“We’ll be needing to take her up to surgery now, to repair the damages,” another nurse said. 

Tim couldn’t find the strength to let go, but he knew he had to. “Tim,” Lucy began, “they need to take her.” She placed a loving hand on his shoulder. 

Tim felt tears begin to well up in his eyes, he placed a small kiss on your forehead, “We’ll get through this okay? You can’t leave me.” 

Lucy felt like the villain as she pulled Tim away from you, but she knew he wouldn’t have been able to do it on his own. 

Tim looked over at Tamara, “What happened?” 

Tamara let out a small sob, “I-I don’t know. One second we were watching Game of Thrones and the next the power goes off.” She took in a deep breath, “We decided it was safer to be outside of the house once we realized we had no signal, she wanted to get Kojo but I told her to just leave him outside and that’s when they attacked her. I should’ve stayed with her,” she looked at Tim with remorseful eyes, “I’m so sorry, she told me to run, but I should’ve stayed.” 

Tim shook his head, “No, you got help, if it weren’t for you, you both would’ve probably been worse off.” 

“Tim,” Lucy called as she spotted Sgt. Grey walks towards them. 

“Sir,” Tim began. 

 “I came as fast as I could, How is she?” he asked. 

Tim sighed, shaking his head, “She’s in surgery, the stab wound hit one of her lungs.” 

Sgt. Grey shook his head, before turning to Tamara, “We’re going to need your statement if you’re up to it, if not we can always wait for tomorrow.” 

“I think after all they’ve been through, I think it’s best if we wait for tomorrow,” Lucy chimed in. 

Tamara gave him a nod, “Tomorrow it is.” Sgt. Grey stated. He looked over at Tim, he noticed he hadn’t said much. His eyes were focused on the double doors where they had just wheeled you through. He walked closer to Tim as Lucy and Tamara walked over to some nearby chairs to sit down. “How are you holding up?” Sgt. Grey asked. 

Tim shook his head, “I wasn’t there.” 

“And you won’t always be there,” Sgt. Grey confirmed. “You can’t always be there, it’s one of the things we have to get used to when being a parent. We have to hope we raise them with enough knowledge so they know what to do in situations like this.” He let out a sigh, “trust me, it isn’t easy.” 

Tim nodded, “I’ve noticed.” 

“You let me know if you need anything,” Sgt. Grey gave Tim a soft smile before walking over to the nurse's station. Tim walked over to Lucy, sitting down beside her. No words were exchanged and somehow he preferred it this way. Lucy held his hand, squeezing it every once in a while as if she were checking in on him and he would squeeze back. 

Tim felt like he had been waiting for days when in reality it had only been an hour. His eyes never left the double doors that were ahead of them, his body would jump every time someone would walk through them. 

Eventually, a man in scrubs walked through them, his eyes scanning the lobby of people waiting to be seen or waiting for a patient. “Family of Y/N Bradford?” He called out. 

Tim quickly got up from his seat, “I’m her father,” he quickly stated as he walked up to the man. “How is she?” 

“Hello, I’m Dr. Avery, I was the lead surgeon. I am happy to say that the surgery was a success,” Tim let out a relieved sigh. “We’ll need to keep her for a few days for observation of course, but she’ll be good to go home after.” 

Tim smiled at the man, “Thank you, when can I see her?” 

“She’s in recovery right now, I can only allow one visitor,” The doctor stated. 

Tim looked at Lucy, “Go, we’ll come back in the morning,” Lucy said. 

“Do you mind stopping by my place and picking up Kojo? I think Y/N would kill me if she knew he stayed the night outside.” 

Lucy let out a small chuckle, “Yeah, we’ll pick him up.” 

“I’ll have you follow me,” the doctor gestured for Tim to follow him. 

Tim followed Dr. Avery to the recovery room, he knew this hospital too well to know where he was going, but he never thought he would have to be here for a reason like this and he never wanted to be in this hospital again unless it was for work. Once he got to the room, the doctor left to finish up some paperwork. 

Tim sat beside the bed, he gently held your hand. You looked so fragile to him as if you were a newborn, he was scared that one wrong move would hurt you. He waited by your bedside throughout the night. The morning sunlight began to peak through the windows, causing him to wake up. He gave you a small glance, sighing once he realized you were still asleep.  

He leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes once again, hoping to get some extra sleep. 

You began to stir, you could feel the pain in your abdomen and you heard beeping. Slowly opening your eyes, beginning to realize that you were now in the hospital, the last thing you remember was watching the two men run out of the house. “Dad?” you called out with panic in your voice. 

Tim’s eyes darted open, “Hey,” he said as he sat up in his chair. He grabbed your hand, he was overjoyed that you were awake, but also overjoyed of the fact that you had just called him dad for the first time. Although he was trying to hide his excitement because he didn’t know how to react to it, he had been waiting for this moment for so long and now it was here but the situation was overshadowing it. 

“How are you feeling?” He asked. 

“Like shit,” you stated. 

You winced as you tried to sit up, “Let’s try not to do that for now, alright? I know you’re uncomfortable, but I can get the nurses in-” 

You waved your hand to stop him, “No, I’m fine.” 

“You want to talk about what happened?” He asked. 

You shrugged, “It all happened so quickly. The lights went out and Tamara noticed that the neighbors had electricity and that’s when we tried to call you, but our phones had no signal.” 

“Looks like they used a jammer,” Tim speculated. 

“That’s what I thought, we decided to leave but I wanted to get Kojo-” 

“Kojo can take care of himself,” he stated. 

“Tamara said you would say that, but someone attacked me as I got into the living room. Tamra was already at the door and she hit the other guy with a pan before running to the neighbors. I used all the techniques you taught me,” you felt tears well up in your eyes, “I tried-” 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. You fought back and you’re alive. That’s what matters right now,” Tim placed a kiss on the top of your head. 

“I remember one more thing,” you began. “When the guy that attacked me stabbed me, the other guy got mad. He said ‘Do you have any idea what he’ll do to us if we bring her in like this?’ in those exact words.” 

Tim felt the panic rush through his body, if his gut was right, he knew what these men were talking about. “Do you think they were planning on taking me?” You asked. 

Tim didn’t want you panicking, he didn’t want you to feel like you couldn’t be safe because someone was looking for you. “I don’t think so,” he began, “But Angela is on the case, you’ll tell her what you told me and we’ll get this straightened out.” You nodded, “Now, how about we talk about the elephant in the room.” 

You looked at him with a confused expression “What elephant?” 

“You called me dad,” he smiled. 

You rolled your eyes, “I can go back to calling you Tim.” 

He chuckled, “No, no, it’s about time you called me dad. I was starting to worry you weren’t going to.” 

“I felt like I lost my chance to do so,” you confessed. 

“Honestly, if you had waited twenty years to call me dad, I would probably be sad that you waited twenty years but, overjoyed that you did,” he smiled.

“Be honest with me,” You began. “There isn’t anyone from my past that’s looking for me right?” You hadn’t spoken about your past in a few years, it was something you wanted to leave behind. “The last thing I need is these fantasmas (ghosts) coming back,” you added. 

Tim sighed, “I don’t know, but you have me there and I can promise that from here on out–” 

You shook your head, “You can promise to keep me safe but let’s face it, you’re not there with me when I’m at school or when you’re at work.” 

“You’re right, I’m not. But I’m a cop. I have my ways and I know you too well.” 

You smiled, “Yeah, I think you do.” 

“Plus, if anyone does kidnap you, they’ll return you in two minutes.” 

Your face turned into shock, “Wh-what?” 

“Trust me, I don’t think they’ll be able to stand the twenty questions they’ll be getting from you or even the karaoke. I give them two minutes before they return you,” you let out a small laugh before you winced in pain. Tim sighed, he knew no matter what that he was going to protect you, and if he failed to do so, he was going to do everything he possibly could do, to get you back. 

[takingchences]

𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐩𝐭. 𝟐

A descendant of a legendary quirk longs to separate herself from her family name, but first she'll have to confront villains, ghosts from the past, and her growing attraction for Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight.

Pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x OP!fem!oc

Warnings: swearing

series masterlist + my masterlist

"What? A Quirk assessment test?" Most of the class exclaimed in unison.

"But orientation!" Uraraka whined. "We're gonna miss it!" Who cares? Sana sighed, just wanting to jump into the action already. She was dying to know the quirks of her new classmates and get a feel for her competition.

Their home room teacher obviously couldn't have cared less about missing something as trivial as orientation. "If you really wanna make the big leagues, you can't waste time on pointless ceremonies." Uraraka and others gasped at the haggard man's brutal honesty. Sana nodded her head solemnly in agreement. "Here at UA, we're not tethered to traditions. That means that I get to run my class however I see fit." A few uneasy looks were spotted in the crowd. The unidentified pro held up a small tablet. "You've been taking standardized tests most of your lives, but you never got to use your Quirks in physical exams before. The country's still trying to pretend we're all created equal by not letting those with the most power excel. It's not rational. One day, the Ministry of Education will learn."

Not if my father has anything to say about it, she argued.

Mr. Aizawa turned towards the angry ash blonde standing not two feet away from her. "Bakugou, you managed to get the most points on the entrance exam. What was your farthest distance throw with a softball when you were in Junior High?"

"Sixty‐seven meters, I think."

So Blondie's name is Bakugou.

"Right. Try doing it with your Quirk. Anything goes, just stay in the circle." Bakugou stepped inside the designated area. Sana watched his every breath and each shift of his muscular frame in anticipation. That confidence of his is killer. His quirk must be incredibly strong.

"Go on. You're wasting our time." An impatient Aizawa stood off to the side with his hands in his pockets.

Bakugou stretched his throwing arm in preparation. "Alright, man. You asked for it." He replied nonchalantly. Then, with a crazed look in his eyes, he suddenly wound his arm back and-

"DIE!" He screeched inhumanly as he released an explosion from his hand, sending the ball rocketing through the sky. Sana's eyes narrowed at the display of power. Just as she'd expected, Blondie had a strong and flashy quirk... but did he really have to be so loud all of the time?

"All of you need to know your maximum capabilities," Aizawa narrated as the class silently followed the trajectory of Bakugou's pitch. The ball eventually came to a stop, making the device in Aizawa's hand beep. "It's the most rational way of figuring out your potential as a pro hero." He flipped the device around to show them Bakugou's results.

705.2 meters. An impressive score, Sana could admit, but not an unbeatable one.

"Whoa, 705 meters, are you kidding me?" Kaminari was shocked by the results of the test, pun very much intended.

Bakugou returned to his original spot with a cocky smirk, flashing his teeth at Sana in hopes of provoking a fight. He obviously wasn't one to shy away from a challenge. Luckily, neither was she. Just you wait, pretty boy. I'll blow you straight out of the water.

After a few students made the mistake of commenting on how fun it looked, their teacher smiled sadistically before adding a punishment: whoever ranked last at the end of the eight tests would be expelled.

"You can't send one of us home! I mean, we just got here! Even if it wasn't the first day, that isn't fair!" Uraraka once again confronted their teacher.

"Oh, and you think natural disasters are?" Aizawa countered. "Or power‐hungry villains, hmm? Or catastrophic accidents that wipe out whole cities? No, the world is full of unfairness. It's a hero's job to try to combat that unfairness. If you wanna be a pro, you're gonna have to push yourself to the brink. For the next three years, UA will throw one terrible hardship after another at you. So, go beyond. Plus Ultra‐style." He bent his finger in a come here motion. "Show me it's no mistake that you're here."

Sana's fists clenched at her sides, her nails digging into the soft flesh of her palms. Her eyes cut to the dual-haired boy standing in the back of the group. So close, yet so far away. I have to prove that I'm strong enough to make it on my own.

"Now then. We're just wasting time by talking. Let the games begin."

The first part of the apprehension test was the 50-meter dash. So far, the most impressive score had come from Iida, but what else would you expect from a guy with engines in his legs? Soon, it was Sana's turn to run. She was paired up against a blonde guy with a tail.

This is my time to shine. As she'd passed by Bakugou to stand at the starting point, she'd made sure to brush his shoulder with her's. Immediately, a warmth had flowed through her body from where they'd made contact. Sana crouched low to the ground and released a deep breath.

Thank you, Bakugou...

Her glowing eyes locked with the said male's just as the starting pistol was about to go off. Her lips curved into a devious grin, making his red eyes widen slightly.

...for being my stepping stone.

There was a burst of blinding light where the girl had once been standing, causing many of the observers to turn away and shield their eyes. Before the class had time to process what had just happened, the measuring device beeped.

"0.11 seconds!" The automated voice cheered.

Standing at the finish line was Sana, lightly panting as she bent to rest her hands on her knees. Running at the speed of light, her pastel hair cast her eyes in shadow, but did nothing to hide the proud smirk on her face. Try and top that.

"HUUUUUH?" The class exclaimed.

Mina, Kaminari, Kirishima, and a boy named Hanta Sero immediately circled the peach-haired girl once she rejoined the rest of the class. "What the heck was that?!" Mina grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "It was crazy cool, babes!"

"What a manly score!" Kirishima held out a fist, making Sana laugh as she bumped their knuckles together. Thankfully, his quirk wasn't activated, otherwise her hand would've crumbled like wet paper beneath his.

Kaminari slung an arm over her shoulder. "So that's your special move, huh? How about I show you mine tonight-"

"Oi, Flashlight!"

The lightning-haired teen was cut off by a gruff voice. The small group turned to face Bakugou, his red eyes seemingly trying to peer into her soul and learn all of her secrets. "It's Sana," she reminded him with a sigh. "Did you need something?"

"What's your quirk?"

"Does it matter?"

The ash blonde's lip curled in annoyance. "Ya think I didn't notice? You did something." He squeezed his shoulder with a frown. He quickly snapped out of his trance and thrust a finger in her face. "So tell me what the hell your quirk is!"

"I didn't do anything to you." Sana held her hands up defensively. "I just wanted to power up."

"Huh?" He yelled, just as visibly confused as the rest of her new friends.

(Present Mic announcing) "Sana Sakano, her Quirk: Light Manipulation! By absorbing heat and light into her body, she can create blasts of radiation. The more energy she takes in, the stronger her attacks are!"

"Obviously, the Sun is my main source of energy, but any kind of heat will do." Sana tried her best to explain the inner workings of her quirk. "Your quirk has to do with fire, so naturally, your body's core temperature is higher than normal." She placed a hand on Sero's and Kirishima's toned arms and felt a sliver of warmth soak into her palms. "It works with anyone, though I prefer people like you." She shrugged.

"Does your shitty quirk weaken the other person?" Bakugou pressed, his anger unwavering.

"No," Sana answered sourly. "So don't blame me when you lose."

The explosive blonde scoffed. "Whatever. I don't need other people to help me win." Her spirits fell as he turned and stalked away in his strange, grumpy-old-man way, hands shoved into his pockets. Her new friends noticed the sadness in her eyes and immediately tried to cheer her up.

"Hey, don't mind him." Sero reassured her.

"Yeah!" Mina jumped in. "We believe in you, so go out there and kick his ass!" Sana's eyes glimmered, her mouth slightly open in surprise as she stared at each of the four teens in front of her.

They're so... warm.

She didn't mean physically, but a different type of warmth altogether. They offered their attention and affection, two things that Sana had craved her entire life. She had always known coldness: a distant father who brushed her thoughts, feelings and existence aside, a broken, empty home where she spent most nights alone, eating her meals in deafening silence. A family that wasn't a family at all, but business partners. To them, Sana was nothing but an investment, her stock only rising as her power grew and developed. The second that changed, she'd be deemed worthless and discarded.

Just like her mother.

It was why she and Shoto had gotten along so well. They'd lived such similar lives, experienced a lot of the same pain. They could relate to each other in a way most people would never understand. And that was fine, because they knew that they would always have each other.

But somewhere along the way, she'd lost him too.

He'd left, grown cold like his right side, become unapproachable like her father. The home she'd once found in him had become just as dark and deserted as the one she would return to day after day, and once again, she found herself out in the cold. But here, with these people...

U.A really is the best.

The class was tested on their grip strength, followed by the standing long jump. Bakugou had cleared the sandbox by setting off explosions to keep him airborne, which gave Sana an idea for her turn.

When her name was called, she felt her eyes light up as her quirk powered on. Leveling her palms with the ground, she pushed off with her feet and activated her quirk. Like a rocket, blasts of energy burst from her palms and sent her shooting through the air, easily clearing the sandbox. Her landing, on the other hand, could use some improvement. She rolled across the grass a few times before finally coming to a stop. Hearing the concern in her friends' voices, she flashed them a lazy smile and a thumbs up.

Idiot. Bakugou thought to himself as he watched the girl climb to her feet, dirt now smudged along her cheek and PE uniform.

A few pieces of pastel hair, which she'd tied back with a ribbon at the beginning of the assessment, had been freed during the tumble. They floated and danced around her face as she bounced up to the group of morons she called friends. Her smile hadn't wavered, not since he'd confronted her about her quirk. It was seriously starting to piss him off. How could she be so happy with the way things were going? The only standout score she'd managed to get so far was the 50-meter dash, and that was because she'd used him to do it!

One of the final tests was the ball toss, where Bakugou had set a high standard. I just have to beat 705.2 meters, Sana repeated like a mantra in her head.

She'd turned away, as it was Shoto's turn to throw. She hadn't been able to look at him for too long. The distance—both physical and metaphorical—between them too great and far too painful to acknowledge. So Sana ignored it, shoving every thought of him out of her mind. Of how much stronger he'd become over the last few months, how his hair was longer, how he seemed taller than the last time she'd seen him, his muscular frame more developed-

No, bad Sana. She scolded herself for letting her mind slip. She doubted Shoto had thought such things when he'd seen her this morning, learned that they'd been placed in the same class-

Dammit! I'm doing it again!

Thankfully, Shoto was now done, Uraraka having taken his place inside the white circle. She didn't even have to throw the ball. With her gravity quirk, one touch was all it took for her to reach infinity. Midoriya was up next, then Sana.

"If Midoriya doesn't shape up soon, he's the one going home." Iida put to words what they were all thinking, worry clear in his voice.

"Huh? Of course he is. He's a Quirkless loser." The explosive blonde glared at the greenette from across the field.

"Really?" Sana exclaimed in awe.

The rest of 1-A was surprised by her genuine excitement. Ever since U.A had amended the rule about quirkless students entering the Hero Course, she'd been anticipating the day that someone without a quirk would step up and prove themselves. It wasn't power that made a hero. Endeavor was living proof of that.

"He has a Quirk." Iida insisted, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Did you not hear about what he did in the entrance exam?"

Damn, she cursed. I forgot about that.

In the circle, Midoriya readied his arm, a look of pure concentration on his face. His arm seemed to glow for a moment before he released the ball. The baseball fell to the ground seconds later, barely 40 meters away.

"Wow. That was, uh..." Sana's eyes shifted between the boy and the ball. ... extremely underwhelming, she sweat dropped. What could he have possibly done during the entrance exam to impress so many people?!

Midoriya exchanged a few words with their teacher before coming to a realization. "Ah! Those goggles. I know you! You can look at someone and cancel out their powers. The Erasure Hero. Eraser Head!"

"Eraser?" Sero scratched his head. "Who's that?"

A frog-like girl came to the rescue. "I've heard of him. I think he works on the down‐low."

Teacher and pupil spoke a little longer, none of them being able to hear exactly what the two were saying. Once Midoriya returned to his spot to try again, the class whispered amongst themselves about what they possibly might've discussed.

"I wonder if our teacher gave him some advice."

"Probably told him to start packing." The satisfaction oozing from Bakugou was troubling to say the least. It was unlikely that he enjoyed much of anything due to his prickly personality, but did he really dislike the green-haired boy so badly that he was actually rooting for him to fail?

"SMASH!" Midoriya shouted as he released the ball a second time. The ball was launched into the air from the pressure, the speed and velocity of the ball on par with Bakugou's, though the explosive teen was too shocked by the fact that surprise—Midoriya is, in fact, not quirkless—to do anything other than gawk.

The end result? 705.3 meters.

Alright, Midoriya, Sana nodded her head in acknowledgment.

Bakugou, shaking himself out of whatever stupor he'd been in, immediately launched himself at the greenette, Aizawa being forced to restrain him with his fashionable scarf—sorry, capture weapon.

"How the hell am I supposed to follow that?" Sana muttered to herself.

"You're wasting my time now." Aizawa grumbled as the students crowded around the boy with the broken finger. "Whoever's next can step up."

That would be me, Sana sighed, stepping forward. Aizawa handed her the ball, which she reluctantly accepted. Taking her place inside the circle, Sana couldn't help but frown down at the white paint, grateful that the class—namely Bakugou—was unable see her unease. Her quirk didn't enhance any of her physical abilities besides her speed and that stunt had burned through most of her stored energy. Thankfully, it was a bright, sunny day out, so whatever reserves she'd lost had quickly been replenished. But throwing a ball (ideally) over 705.2 meters would be a difficult task.

I don't know what to do.

She couldn't help but picture a white-and-red-haired boy in her place. Shoto would've already thrown it. Only the weak hesitate, a voice berated. But it didn't sound like her own. The voice was deeper, more masculine, like her father's telling her nothing she does will ever be good enough. Or like Enji Todoroki's, always reminding her of his son's superiority.

You're not weak, Sana grit her teeth, banishing all thoughts of her former friend. She spotted ash blonde spikes out of the corner of her eye, thought of the harsh words he'd spoken. You don't need others to help you.

"Any day now." That was her teacher's voice. Shit. How much time had she wasted already?

Sana took a deep breath in, felt the rush of her quirk flooding through her. Releasing her breath slowly, she began to run along the inner edges of the white circle, her figure a blur of peach and navy blue. Gripping the softball tightly, she drew her arm back before flinging it into the air. It may not be much now, but...

Her glowing eyes followed the ball's course intently. It whistled through the air before crashing into the soft earth. The device in her teacher's hand displayed her score: 607 meters.

I'm just getting started.

[ereardon]

That Summer Part Nine [Bradley Bradshaw x Reader]

A Bradley Bradshaw AU

Synopsis: One night during the summer you turned eighteen, you woke up to a surprise. Your father, a retired Navy Admiral, had posted bail for the son of a former colleague who was now orphaned and had gotten himself mixed up with the law. Instead of letting him get lost in the judicial system, your father signed himself up as Bradley Bradshaw’s guardian to prevent him from going to juvie. You were explicitly told to stay away from the boy in the attic room. But as the summer went on, you and Bradley struck up an unlikely friendship that turned into a forbidden relationship. Bradley tipped your world upside down, challenging everything you had once thought you knew. How could the two of you think it would end any differently than it did when your father called the cops the night he found the two of you in bed together?

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Reader 

Warnings: Cursing, angst, violence, alcohol

Chapter summary: Bradley escorts Y/N to the debutante ball. All is going well until an old classmate, still hung up on Y/N, gets drunk and starts trouble.

Wordcount: 3.8K

Series masterlist here; Part Eight here

Bradley stood at the bottom of the stairs, his palms slick with sweat, nerves racing. Next to him, your father stood with his arms crossed over his chest. Bradley fought the urge to fiddle with his bowtie, to tug at his too-tight starched cuffs, to shuffle in his shiny new shoes. 

He felt like a fool. He was going to walk in and they’d know within a half second that he was a fraud. An imposter. They’d know he didn’t have a dollar to his name and that his skin was tan from working outdoors not lounging and that he didn’t know which fork to use for a fish course. 

And then you rounded the corner, one hand on the wooden bannister, and every worry Bradley had flew out the window. 

All he knew was that you were the most perfect thing he had ever laid eyes on. That nothing, not a single thing, not a glorious wave or a tender raspberry or his mother’s laugh or a cool sip of water on a hot day had ever for one second been as perfect or as right as you were in that moment. 

You grinned, eyes locked on his, descending the stairs in a swath of satin and pearls, hair pulled back softly into a bun, lips cherry red, fingertips encased in silky gloves, curves perfectly visible while also still hidden beneath the smooth lines of the dress. 

Your father cleared his throat as you stepped onto the last step and Bradley tore his gaze away, trying desperately to calm his heartbeat. 

“Pumpkin,” your father said, stepping forward, pressing his lips to your cheek. “You look great.” 

You smiled and held his hand tightly. “Thanks daddy.” You turned to Bradley and he felt every cell in his body light up. “You look nice, Bradley.” 

Words. He had to say words. But he was starstruck. Finally, he unglued his tongue from the roof of his mouth. “Thank you. You look perfect.” 

Your father narrowed his eyes as you beamed, his large, aged hands still holding yours. “Sure you kids don’t need a ride?” 

You shook your head. “No thanks, Daddy. We’ll meet you there.” 

He nodded curtly and you tipped your head toward the door, Bradley following on your heels. You handed him the car keys and he opened the passenger door, helping you into the seat before making his way around, revving the truck to start. 

Bradley pulled the truck out of the driveway, turning out onto the street before holding out his hand over the middle console. You took it and he lifted your hand to his lips, kissing the back of your glove. 

“You look beautiful,” he whispered softly. 

You blushed. “Thank you.” “I mean it, Birdy. You’re perfect.” 

You leaned back against the chair, gripping Bradley’s hand tight as the two of you sped down the road. 

Past the valet, you sucked in a breath. Bradley’s hand was tight in yours and you dropped it, looking at him. 

“We can’t look too close,” you murmured as two men in uniform opened the double wooden doors, ushering you inside. 

He nodded. You held onto his arm, entering the lobby. 

The club was beautiful. Historical, with giant ceilings and wide wooden panels. The main hallway spread out as far as the eye could see, and it was lined with portraits and stupidly small silk couches that somehow never got stained or even touched. 

A waiter passed by with a tray of drinks and you grabbed a flute of champagne, downing it in a few sips before discarding it on a lacquered side table. Bradley winced. “Birdy,” he murmured. 

“I’m fine,” you said but you were only pretending. If Bradley could only hear the thoughts in your head. Feel the way the blood buzzed in your veins. 

If only he knew how absolutely terrified you were. Because you knew that there was the potential for everything to come crashing down. 

“I have to go upstairs,” you whispered. “Escorts gather by the stage there. We walk down, do the dip, then I grab your arm and you walk me over to our table.” 

“What the fuck is the dip?” he asked. Someone turned their head nearby and glared and you yanked his arm, pulling him down the hall a little faster. 

“Shh,” you whispered. “They’ll hear you.” 

Bradley flushed. He was fucking up already. “Sorry.” 

You looked up at him. “It’s OK,” you said softly. “I just, we have to be good. This has to go well.” You paused. “My parents are going to be here.” 

Of course he knew that. It was part of why he felt like jumping out of his skin. He couldn’t screw this up. The whole summer he had been under the microscope but tonight felt like the final test. 

The two of you were at the end of the hallway. Beyond, it spilled out into a large ballroom with a staircase along the far wall and a dance floor that has been cleared. Bradley swallowed, hard. Each table was round with a large, tall arrangement of white flowers and greenery. Everywhere he turned, fancy men and women were milling around holding stemware. 

You rubbed his arms, turning to him. 

“I love you,” you whispered, so quietly only he could hear. “Remember that.” 

How could he forget? You were the one thing holding Bradley Bradshaw together. You were the only reason he would ever consider being at something like this. You were the only possible reason that he would have to stand in front of hundreds of dressed up society folks wearing an uncomfortable tux and dancing to a slightly offbeat band. 

Bradley nodded and you grinned, skittering up the stairs and around the corner, out of sight. He let out a sigh and looked around. Everywhere he looked, there was another stranger. And even though he was dressed the part, he was convinced that they would be able to see right through him. 

“Hey.” 

Bradley turned. The pinched voice came from a blond guy a few feet away who had his sparkling blue eyes trained on Bradley. Bradley raised his eyebrows. “What’s up?” 

“Are you here with Y/N?” he asked. 

Bradley nodded. “I am.” 

Blue Eyes studied him for a moment. Then recognition flashed over his features. “Oh! You must be the Sullivan’s friend. Here for the summer.” He put an emphasis on friend that Bradley didn’t like. It was clear what he meant: charity case. “I’m Pierce. Pierce Lasseter.” 

Bradley resisted the urge to throat punch this kid. Instead, he held out one tanned hand. “Bradley Bradshaw.” 

Pierce held Bradley’s hand for a moment too long before slipping his smaller hand away. “So, how do you know the Sullivans?” 

“My father used to fly with the Admiral.” 

“And what does he do now?” 

“He’s dead.” 

Pierce stuttered. “Shit, I mean, sorry to hear that.” The silence was deafening. He looked up at the wooden staircase that had been carefully wrapped with tulle. “So you and Y/N?” 

Bradley shook his head. “Like I said, family friends. I’m just staying here for the summer.” 

“Where are you going to school in the fall?” 

Pierce said it like he wanted to bait Bradley while also brag about his plans. Bradley knew that he had to play along. “UVA. You?” 

“Yale.” He said it with a deep-rooted annoyingness that with one word unsettled Bradley’s stomach. 

“Nice. Listen, man, I should go find my table.” 

Pierce narrowed his eyes but nodded. “Nice meeting you, Bradshaw.” 

Bradley nodded, dipping his head low and making his way out toward the rest of the room. He spotted your parents almost immediately. Your father wore a tux, similar to Bradley’s, and your mother had on a pale pink ensemble that he thought would have fit someone just a little bit younger. 

A bartender passed by and took notice of him. “Can I get you something to drink?” he asked. 

Bradley looked up. “Yes, God, please.” 

The bartender nodded sympathetically. “I get it.” He sized up Bradley silently. “First time?” 

“Is it that obvious?” 

“I’ve just been doing this a while,” he said. “Gets easier to read people.” 

“Yeah.” Bradley tapped his foot, anxiously waiting for the night to end. “Does it ever get better?” he asked. 

“No,” the bartender replied. “Those girls turn into those women,” he added. “It’s just a vicious cycle. Never stops. Unless you leave Texas.” And then he was gone, heading for the bar to make Bradley a drink. 

Bradley looked up at the empty stairs wrapped in tulle. You were leaving Texas in just a few weeks. Maybe he really could go with you. Maybe there was a chance it could all work out. 

Maybe, just maybe, his mother had been right. Maybe you were the one thing that would change what Bradley had already thought was written into his history. Perhaps you were the one thing that would change it all. 

***

The other girls were nervous. You could tell as you stood in a line at the top of the stairs. There was anxiety ricocheting off them and bouncing around the light blue wallpapered walls and white wainscoting. 

You rocked back and forth in your heels, smoothing the silk of your dress beneath your gloved fingers. 

“I love your dress.” The girl behind you smiled. “I’m Leah.” 

“Y/N.” You smiled back. “Thank you.” 

“It’s so chic,” Leah added. “My mother chose mine.” She toyed with the bulky skirt and sighed. 

“Well I like it,” you said and Leah lit up. “It’s giving Princess Diaries.” 

“Thank you.” Leah paused. “Who’s your date?” 

“Oh, um, he’s a family friend. He’s not from around here. What about you?” 

“Pierce Lasseter.” 

You stifled a groan. This poor girl. 

But she seemed to sense your shift in attitude because she added, “I know. But he’s a family friend, too. And I waited too long, all the good ones were snapped up.” 

“I get that.” 

“Your date. What’s he like?” 

How could you distill Bradley in a few words? A sentence? A speech? How could you take someone who had managed, in a manner of months, to mean everything and reduce him down to a series of nouns and adjectives? 

He was everything you thought would never come along. He was nothing you ever expected. He was quiet and shy and introspective and hurt. He was sparkling and intelligent and emotional and caring. 

And above all, he loved you. 

You were lost in thought. Leah smirked. “That good, huh?” 

Your lips quirked up in a smile. “He’s the best person I know.” 

“You’re lucky,” she murmured. “Pierce smells like gas station food.” 

You stifled a laugh as the woman at the front of the group started to bark instructions. Below, you could hear the music beginning to swell, filling the room. 

Your heart was racing in your chest but you weren’t sure why. 

Downstairs, in the main ballroom, Bradley sank into his seat as the lights dimmed and a spotlight appeared on the stairs. 

“Bradley.” Your mother’s whisper was tense. 

He whipped around. 

“You have to gather there,” she practically spat, pointing one jewel-laden finger toward a gaggle of other guys in tuxes, including Pierce. “And escort Y/N after she makes her debut down the stairs and does the dip.” 

“What’s the dip?” he asked again. 

She shook her head. “Go!” 

Bradley scurried around the edge of the darkened room, toward the hoard of other escorts. “Debutante?” A woman with a pinched face and a beak-like nose eyed him suspiciously. 

“Y/N Sullivan,” he said. 

She nodded, grabbing his arm and dragging him to second to last place in line. “Stand here. She’s ninth.” 

Bradley wasn’t sure why but his heart was in his throat. The room dimmed even darker than it had and the music softened. “Ladies and gentlemen, I am very excited to be with you tonight at the centennial anniversary of our beloved Artillery Ball. This year’s debs are an esteemed group of young women. So without further ado, let’s welcome our debs!” 

The lights swung to the top of the stairs and the first girl appeared at the top, all big blonde hair, wide eyes, a puffy dress that looked ready to swallow her whole. She floated down the stairs, fingertips tight on the bannister. Bradley had a fleeting moment where he was afraid this girl would tumble down the stairs in her literal cupcake of a dress but she made it all the way to the base platform. 

He thought that was it. But then she curved around the base of the stairs, stepping gently off the platform and out onto the main dance floor. Bradley watched with rapt attention as the girl began to stretch her hands out long on either side of her body, hinging at the waist, sinking so low she came almost into a crouching position only a few inches off of the floor, her head bowing down toward the shiny ground. It seemed an improbability that she hadn’t toppled over. 

She righted herself gently and smiled, and the crowd erupted in clapping as her escort stepped into the spotlight, collecting her in the light and walking her over to an edge of the dance floor. 

“And that,” the guy behind him whispered, “is the fucking dip.” 

The other guys nodded in agreement. Bradley watched with fascination as the other girls followed in the same footsteps, floating down the stairs, curving around to the middle of the stage to do the dip before being met by their escort. 

Finally, the guy in front of Bradley stepped forward into the spotlight. Bradley inched forward, his eyes trained at the top of the stairs, heart threatening to burst out of his chest. 

And then you appeared next to the wooden banister. Even though there was music, Bradley couldn’t hear a thing. It was simply a dull buzzing in his ears as he watched you step forward, one slender hand on the banister, white glove trailing over the wood as you reached out your first foot, making your way onto the staircase. 

You gazed out into the audience before turning and finding Bradley on the sidelines. Your smile grew and your eyes were locked on his as you made our way down the stairs. The other girls had floated. Or so he thought. But you were light as air. 

It was just the two of you. It didn’t matter how crowded the room was or how hot the lights were or the fact that Bradley truly believed his bow tie was on a murder mission for his jugular. The only thing that mattered in that moment were your eyes on Bradley’s, the soft smile dancing over his lips, the way that even from ten feet away you could read his mind. 

Finally, your feet hit the hard platform at the bottom of the stairs and you tore your eyes from Bradley. In the crowd, you spotted your parents. The lights circling the stage were bright, almost blinding, and you made your way out into the middle and sucked in a deep breath. 

Carefully, under the silky a-line of your dress, you crossed one leg over the other, thrusting your arms out to the side for balance, sinking down low until one knee hit the floor, the other stacking over it softly as you bowed your head. When you pulled your face up, you caught your father’s eye. He grinned, hands clapping furiously. You smiled, pulling yourself upright. Bradley was right there to take your arm, helping you to stand, and you turned to him with a grin. He led you silently to the edge of the stage, his eyes never leaving yours, your fingertips warm on his arm. 

As soon as the two of you were shrouded once again in darkness, the final deb making her way down the stairs, Bradley whispered into your ear. “That was insane.” 

You giggled. “I know.” 

A few couples down, Pierce glared at the two of you as Leah watched the final couple with rapt attention. 

“Here we go,” you murmured as the couples filed back onto the stage, hand in hand. 

You and Bradley glided around the dance floor. Apparently two weeks of practice in the tower room had been sufficient because before you knew it, the song was over. 

Bradley’s eyes never left yours. Not as you swayed in his arms, not when you drifted apart, only to quickly come back together like magnets clawing their way back no matter what. He only had eyes for you. 

Pierce watched with heated annoyance. 

He watched as you and Bradley laughed together, heading back to your table. He watched as the two of you spent the evening in close conversation, leaning close. He couldn’t see your hand on Bradley’s thigh beneath the table, but he had an idea. 

He watched you, and he drank. He went straight for the bar, ordering rum and cokes and gin and tonics and in the end straight glasses of bourbon until his eyes blurred. Leah swatted his arm as he nearly tipped over in his seat. “Pierce! Jesus. Are you drunk?” 

“Shut up and eat your cake,” he slurred, digging a spoon into the vanilla sheet cake that had just been served. 

Later, once the plates had been cleared and coffee had been served, couples and groups filed back onto the dance floor. You held out a hand and Bradley accepted it with a grimace, a small smile peeking out as you led him toward the dance floor. His hand on your waist was warm and it grounded you. You stepped closer, snaking one hand up onto his neck. “Thanks for coming,” you whispered. 

Bradley softened. “I’d do anything for you.”

Pierce spun Leah in circles, never taking his eyes off of you and Bradley. “Ow!” she complained as he whipped her once again, his eyes settling on the two of you. “Pierce, what’s going on?” 

“Excuse me for a moment,” he said, dropping her waist and walking away. Leah crossed her arms over her chest and watched as Pierce moved steadily toward you, putting one hand on Bradley’s shoulder until the two of you turned in confusion. “Can I step in?” he slurred. 

Bradley’s eyes darkened. You took in Pierce’s intoxicated state. You knew him well enough – he was volatile, in the worst kinds of ways. You nodded, eyes trained on Bradley. “Of course.” 

He reluctantly dropped your waist and Pierce stepped in, clammy hands clumsily finding your waist, his breath hot on your ear as he tugged you in close. “So are you fucking him?” 

You leaned back, aghast, face pale. “What? No, of course not.” 

“I see the way you two look at each other,” he hissed but it came out louder than expected. A few couples around you turned. You looked over at Bradley who had started dancing with Leah, but whose eyes remained narrowed in your direction. “His fucking hands all over you.” 

“Your hands are all over me,” you spat back quietly, “and we’re not fucking.” 

“Yeah, why is that, Y/N?” he asked. “Because you’re too busy falling in love with the fucking help?” 

“He’s not the help,” you hissed. “You’re drunk. Let’s get you some water.” 

Pierce’s hands tightened on your waist. “Never heard you deny it, Y/N,” he whispered and his voice was sour, menacing. You looked up in fear. 

“You need to stop,” you whispered. “Go back to dancing with Leah. She’s nice.” 

“She’s not you. No one is you.” His fingers were digging through the silk of your dress into your waist. You thought you might bruise. His eyes were locked on yours, mouth ajar, practically foaming. “You’re such a tease, Y/N,” he muttered. “You want me, too. You can admit it. You’re just using him to make me jealous, right?” 

“Let me go,” you begged, trying to step backward but Pierce’s grip tightened and you rocked side to side in your heels, trying to find your balance as he pulled you nearer. 

“Fuck, do you know how long I’ve wanted you?” he whispered into your ear. You closed your eyes, willing it all to end. You couldn’t make a scene. Even though all you wanted to do was shove him away. 

“Pierce, please.” 

“Let go of her.” 

Your eyes snapped open. Bradley had split from Leah and stood only a foot away, his presence hulking compared to Pierce. 

“I said, let go.” 

People were starting to stare. Pierce looked up and laughed. “Fuck off, Bradshaw. It’s one dance. Besides.” He looked between the two of you. “You’re just friends, right? Not like I’m dancing with your girlfriend.” 

Bradley’s hands balled into fists at his side. You begged him with your eyes. Please. 

And then Pierce laughed. His hand dipped low, grazing the top of your ass. “Missing out, though,” he whispered. “Bet she’s tight.” 

Bradley took a step forward, his face only inches from Pierce. You watched terror seize the smaller man for a second. “Hands off of her,” Bradley whispered menacingly. 

Pierce grinned but it was manic. Wild. “Make me.” 

The air felt frozen. You hadn’t even realized how much of a fuss it was all making, when your entire intention was to keep things low key, not to draw attention. Your mother was going to be furious. She was going to bite your head off. 

You tried to push yourself out of Pierce’s grip but he was strong. Panic started to rise in your throat. 

“Pierce,” Leah pleaded. “Let her go. She obviously doesn’t want to be with you.” 

You felt hot. Like you were upside down on a jungle gym and all the blood had rushed to your head. 

“Pierce,” you whispered, “please. Let’s go outside and talk.” 

“I’ve wanted you for two years,” he said, “and now this guy comes along and you don’t care about anyone else. What does he have that I don’t have? Not money, obviously.” 

“You’re confused,” you whispered. “Please, let’s get a drink and talk.” 

He shook his head. “Not until you tell me why you’d want some fucking kid from the streets over me.” 

You looked at Bradley. Pleading. He stepped closer and put one hand on Pierce’s shoulder. “Let her go, man.” 

Pierce whipped around so quickly you almost didn’t see. His hand shot out to brush Bradley off of him and in the process he clipped your cheek, sending you flying to the left. You grunted, stumbling to the ground, a chorus of gasps filling the dance floor. 

As Pierce stood in horror above you, Leah falling to your side instantly, Bradley grabbed him by his lapels. “You’re going to pay for that.” 

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[pocketramblr]

If the ask game is still open, AU where Bakugo gets dismissed as not being all that powerful by Todoroki and Yaoyorozu (because they're really far more OP than he is), causing him to stop bullying Izuku and challenge the recommendation students instead.

1- so Momo and Shoto place at the top of the quirk assessment ranking but Shoto only considers Momo a threat and Momo doesn't seem to consider anyone a threat, she isn't particularly scared by any of her classmates and she even thought Aizawa was bluffing, so she's not worried. Bakugo hears her tell Mina this when the girl asks Momo if Todoroki was serious about challenging her for the top spot at the end of class, or if he was flirting. (Momo figures its neither. It was indeed the former.) Bakugo inserts himself into the conversation and asks if she's worried about facing him. Momo is like ".... um, not really? We're all hero classmates." Todoroki adds: "And we all saw the ranking" so Bakugo has firmly forgotten Izuku.

2- Uraraka: That guy just totally blew you off? Should we say something?

Izuku: Absolutely not, this is better. Though, i hope Yaoyorozu and Todoroki are ok...

Uraraka: yeah i think they'll be fine. and if they're not, Aizawa will stop him again

3- With Bakugo so distracted by his two new oblivious rivals, he doesn't even question izuku having a quirk anymore, and never learns about ofa

4- Momo, on realizing at the SF that Bakugo is still serious about challenging her, begins to wonder what's up with that. But she does decide she's got to face bakugo head on, not just on a team with Todoroki, and is determined to make it to the match with him, beating out Tokoyami beforehand (she made a light grenade, and she was more confident because she was seen as a legitimate threat and also maybe thought about bombs because bakugo was yelling at her the whole time to win so he could beat her. she spends the time between their rounds trying to find and memorize a formula for a good extinguishing chemical.)

5- in contrast to Momo taking Bakugo seriously finally at the SF.... Todoroki does not. this infuriates Bakugo more, and he does actually reveal himself once hearing Todoroki ask Izuku if he was All Might's secret lovechild. Demands to know if thats the one reason Todoroki is taking Deku more seriously than him, because Bakugo sure as hell knows he's not All Might's bastard, having grown up with the kid. Todoroki is curious but when Bakugo makes it clear he will not be providing 'helpful' information to his 'enemy', Todoroki says he doesn't take Bakugo seriously because he reminds him of his father, and then grabs Izuku and leaves. Bakugo never quite hears the reason why that's such a bad thing, but he kinda figures there's baggage there, and also that if Todoroki is so dumb as to think Deku is somehow related to All Might, Bakugo really should focus on the real threat that is Momo, both for high ranking power but also intelligence and being class representative.

[alicefromwhichplanet]

Reply to my reader’s comments on “Demons”:

(The fic’s link 🔗 is at the bottom)

Thank you, reader, for reading through and liking my story. This work is one of my very first transformers fanfics, also kind of experimental. I wanted to write a psychological thriller, so I used first person pov. Later I learned that this pov is not so popular on this site, so I’m really grateful for your patience.

About Scourge— it’s true I wrote him as a villain that did not get redemption in the end, but may arouse sympathy from readers as well. I did this kind of like a challenge to the screenwriters of Rise of the Beasts: I will keep their idea of worldbuilding and the characters’ personalities, but I will enrich the background stories and motivations of the characters, so let’s see how this story can be improved by me. I think the biggest problem with ROTB is that the playwright’s understanding of characters is very shallow: they wrote them based on tagging adjectives: Optimus is a serious leader, Scourge is a crazy villain, Mirage is a joyful character that develops bromance with Noah. They didn’t even bother to think why these characters are like this in the first place. For me, this is inadequate writing. So I’m here to do what they failed to.

And talking about Scourge again. My impression of him came from fanarts that made him the son of Megs and OP, and while watching the movie, I felt his appearance quite similar to the two in a way. So I decided to write him as a “fallen child”. Scourge is the average son of two super brilliant people. He is also a vulnerable kid that needs to be raised in a lot of love and encouragements. Sadly, (in this story) neither of his parents is careful enough to give him these. He is torn between a strong urge to prove himself to his parents and his inner insecurities. His defection from the autobots is more of a cowardly act than a brave one. It came from his secret urge of self-destruction. He is like the desperate child that tries hurting himself to make his parents “regret”.

This version of Scourge is an archetype of tortured children in many Chinese/East Asian families. In the culture I grew up in, parents have almost unshakable authority over the children. Many kids spend their whole lives trying to please their parents, while the parents keep dismissing their efforts as “not good enough”. I can resonate with Scourge in a way as well. Scourge’s problem is that he is more vulnerable and sensitive than most kids. However, he not only faces a father that has high expectations for him (and secretly admires toxic masculinity), but also a traumatized one. It’s true that Optimus loves both Megatron and his son deeply, but when harm comes in his way, he tends to suppress his feelings and put on a nonchalant expression. But his gloominess, his hidden sorrow and self-blame are nowhere to hide from Scourge, his spark-bond son, and that has aroused in Scourge a second trauma of guilt and self-blame.

Although I think in most universes, Optimus is capable of being a wonderful parent, but from what I saw in ROTB, he is a grumpy old man who clearly has mental issues but the playwrights failed to give any plausible reasons. So I decided to explore this unexplained plot, and finally connected the dots with a family tragedy. This is how I made the whole story.

And: This story is also largely based on the song “Demons”. All the lyrics can be found in my plots (for example,

“When the days are cold,

And the cards all fold,

And the saints we see,

Are all made of gold”

corresponds to the part of Scourge remembering Optimus taking the young Scourge to see the statues of the Primes.

These are the ideas behind the creation I wanna share with you. Hope you like them as well. If you want a more lighthearted version of Scourge’s story, please read “Old World, New World”. It’s unfinished, but Scourge(Skystrophe) is the same person with the same personality, only nutrued in a much better environment with enough love.

[theerurishipper]

Hi anon, I'm just taking a screenshot of your ask like this because I don't want to include the link. I have no desire to start a fight.

First of all, no hate to the OP of the post, this just my opinion. But there are some things I do disagree with.

First, the point about the Blue Spirit. I don't think the Blue Spirit is some vigilante for justice, but it does represent that Zuko will do anything to appease his father, including breaking into a Fire Nation stronghold and essentially "betraying" his country. Which is in action a good thing, but Zuko's intent doesn't support that narrative. The Blue Spirit is not a good thing, and its logical extension is Zuko using it to steal from people later and trying to steal Appa as the Blue Spirit. Which is he has to take it off to have that frank conversation with Iroh, he has it off when he frees Appa, and he throws it away at the end of the episode. Zuko's struggle is about identity, and the Blue Spirit is a mask that is made of Zuko's desire to please his father, which means doing actions that are against who he is as a person. Which is why he throws it away when he begins his initial change.

As for the point about Zuko holding onto his birthright despite being an outlaw and the show not exploring what it means for him to be cut off... it does tho. We see Zuko struggling with finding who he is without the influences of his father and the Fire Nation. We see him learn about new perspectives because he's lost his ties to the Fire Nation. Zuko being cut off from the Fire Nation is shown in him being forced to travel through the other nations and understand them, while also learning some truths about his own nation that he would not have if he had remained on his ship. He still continues to hold onto his role as the crown price though, because it's all he has. He's clinging onto it desperately because he still thinks that he has the chance to go back to his father, and he still doesn't want to accept the truth about him. It's an interesting dichotomy. We can see that Zuko is trying to embrace his own identity here (Ursa's words) but his image of who he is is still skewed and influenced by his father. He's starting slowly, but he still has a long way to go.

This is long so I'm putting the rest under a cut.

As for Zuko not being driven by a desire to help the Fire Nation, I would have to disagree with that as well. I actually do agree with OP that they could have shown Zuko interacting with the Fire Nation people more, but it's not just in The Boiling Rock that he says he wants to help. He expresses that sentiment as early as The Day of Black Sun, Part 2 in his speech to Ozai, where he reflects on how the Fire Nation is feared and hated and it has to change. So it's not out of the blue for Zuko to care for his nation, but I agree that they could have shown that way better. Honestly on rewatch, Season 3 made some... interesting choices.

Now for the part about Song. I don't know why it's so surprising that Zuko did what he did. This is, after all, him in the very very beginnings of his arc, and he has just been confronted with a very shocking truth. He's not in a good headspace here at all. He's been stripped of everything he's ever known, he's being hunted down by own sister under the orders of his father, and Song unintentionally poured salt on an old wound despite her good intentions. All this does not make Zuko receptive to the knowledge that challenges his entire worldview like this, that the Fire Nation hurts innocent people. And now he is feeling compassion and sympathy for this Earth Kingdom girl and horror against his own nation whom he has been told is doing the right thing. And on a personal level, it is the first inkling of a realization that his father may have been wrong to hurt him as well. So, he lashes out. He's not in a place where he can accept everything he's learning, and so he tries to reassert himself by stealing her ostrich-horse. It's a genuinely shitty thing to do, but it's understandable. I think Zuko being apologetic would be the OOC choice.

And the points about Zuko's stealing are... well, OP's criticisms are kind of the point. I agree with their assessment that the Blue Spirit is not a good thing as I have written above. Which is why those scenes make sense. Zuko at that point steals as the Blue Spirit, an extension of the "desires" of his father. Which means making choices like his father, making bad choices that are not like himself. He does very shitty things and steals from innocent people using the mask. Then we come to Zuko Alone. At this point, Zuko has been on his own for a while. This episode is all about understanding who Zuko is, the choices he'd make free of the influences of others. There is no Blue Spirit mask in this episode, and that represents him slowly being removed from the negative influences that made him put on that mask in the first place. You'd think that after his previous robberies, that he would continue that line of action, but he doesn't.

There is no Blue Spirit mask here, just Zuko in all his messed-up glory. And the kind of choices Zuko starts to make without those influences includes not stealing from the pregnant woman, covering for Lee when the soldiers want to know who threw the egg, and then going back to save him. Of course, the end of the episode also shows us that Zuko as a person has not yet embraced and understood who he truly is outside of his father, but it's significant that the mask isn't in this episode and the ones following it, because Zuko Alone is the episode to help us understand who Zuko really is deep down, and the following ones are devoted to him learning who he is outside of his father. And he only puts it back on in the episode Lake Laogai, when he is slipping back into old habits and trying to steal Appa for his father again. And at the end of the episode, he throws it away.

As for Zuko's arc not involving making amends, I guess Season 3 was already on some tight pacing and there was no need to revisit one-off characters who didn't even have names just so Zuko could apologize to them? We know that Zuko is regretful of his actions and has learned better, and it is 100% believable to me that he tracked them down to apologize and make things right. I honestly think this is a weak criticism. We don't have to be shown everything, there are some things we can imagine and conclude ourselves. It would have been nice to see, but there were other things that were more important, and the narrative had to prioritize.

About Zuko's arc revolving around Iroh and him only doing what Iroh wants... using the Season 2 finale's line of Zuko worrying about betraying his uncle isn't the finest way to prove that point. Zuko worried about that because it was the immediate and most personal action he took when choosing to side with Azula. Iroh is literally in chains at this point, and Zuko isn't in a place where he is still ready to accept that his nation and his father have done bad things and hurt people. He still doesn't think he did anything wrong by siding with Azula, other than hurting Iroh. It is through his time in the Fire Nation that he is able to make these realizations. Zuko was won over by Azula because she offered him the one thing he had been desperately craving for years, which was the love of his father and the chance to go home.

The entire point of book three is that Zuko makes his own choices without the influence of Iroh, because ultimately, the decision to change and be better has to come from Zuko himself. Iroh can guide him, but Zuko has to be the one to make the decision and put in the work. Iroh is very purposefully not a huge part of Zuko's Season 3 arc aside from Zuko thinking about him and Iroh giving him that crown, because Zuko needed to make the choice to change himself. It's even literally spelled out in the show in The Old Masters:

Iroh: [Releases him.] But you found it again. [Frontal view.] And you did it by yourself. [Frontal view of Zuko over Iroh's shoulder.] And I am so happy you found your way here. [Side-view. Hugs him again.]

As for Zuko always agreeing with Iroh and Iroh always being right... this is a common thing for shows like this to have mentor characters who are the moral guides for the characters in the show. Iroh is supposed to represent the "right way." ATLA actually does this very right. Zuko is supposed to embrace Iroh's worldview, but not because he decided to blindly follow Iroh, he agrees because he's learned what is right and wrong by himself and is now in a place where he can agree with Iroh. And Iroh himself is done so well because he's not a moral arbiter whose always right and can never do anything wrong. He is someone who is so wise because he's made several mistakes and has had to learn what the right thing to do is the hard way. I think ATLA actually managed to avoid the pitfall of making Zuko look like he can't think for himself and can only follow Iroh blindly very well.

And I don't understand what Iroh said that was so questionable? Aang has to fight the Fire Lord because Aang is the Avatar. It's literally his job and something that has been building up for the whole show, and Iroh is wrong for saying that Aang should do his job? It's unfortunate that Aang has to endure this responsibility at such a young age, but Iroh is right when he says that only the Avatar can defeat Ozai. And Iroh sending Zuko to fight Azula isn't the same thing at all. Maybe OP thinks Azula shouldn't be fought at all because Zuko should be nicer to his sister, in which case I will reiterate that she is a genocidal imperialist and needs to be stopped, but the situation is different because Azula isn't Firelord yet, and Zuko is going to fight her to get the throne, not usurp something that already belongs to her. And Iroh also explains why Zuko has to be the one to take the throne, because he is someone new, someone who doesn't have the bad history that Iroh does (because Zuko has done shitty things, but he didn't wage a long war on Ba Sing Se). And Zuko agrees, and in fact, Zuko and Katara together make the decision that she will go with him to stop Azula. So it's not like Zuko doesn't contribute anything or that he blindly follows Iroh.

Saying that Zuko only makes decisions to please Iroh is so completely wrong. Does any of this look like Zuko doesn't have his own opinions? Does any of this look like he can't tell right from wrong? Does any of this look like his only motivation is to beg forgiveness from Iroh?

This is all Zuko. He says he has to apologize to Iroh, yes, but everything else? It's all the things Zuko has learnt, everything he has personally seen and experienced. Iroh didn't tell him all that, he's understood it for himself. Hell, if his only motivation was to beg forgiveness, he would have tried to find Iroh first instead of trying to join the Gaang. I don't know how many times he has to say that he wants to stop the war and help bring back peace before people stop saying that he only did it for Iroh. I'm feeling a little annoyed by this point, so I'll actually go through the speech and highlight everything Zuko says that comes from him alone and not Iroh.

Zuko: For so long, all I wanted was for you to love me, to accept me. I thought it was my honor I wanted, but really, I was just trying to please you. You, my father, who banished me just for talking out of turn. [Points a broadsword at his father.] My father, who challenged me, a thirteen-year-old boy, to an Agni Kai. [Cuts to shot of Ozai, looking angered.] How could you possibly justify a duel with a child? Ozai: [Scornful.] It was to teach you respect! Zuko: It was cruel! And it was wrong. Ozai: [Angrily.] Then you have learned nothing! Zuko: No, I've learned everything! And I've had to learn it on my own! Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow, the War was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They hate us! And we deserve it! [Camera view shows top profile of Zuko and Ozai through an overhead grate.] We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself [Cuts to shot of Zuko.], we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness. Ozai: [Laughs.] Your uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he? Zuko: Yes. [Smiles proudly.] He has.

All of this? This is all Zuko. This is everything he's realized on his own. Iroh never told Zuko that the world hated the Fire Nation. He never told Zuko that what Ozai did was wrong. He never told Zuko that they needed to create an era of peace in the world. He simply guided Zuko along the path to realizing these things for himself. And thanks to that guidance, Zuko was able to understand the truth on his own. Again, Iroh is not present when Zuko makes these realizations. Zuko comes to these conclusions himself, and stands up for them so passionately because they are things he genuinely believes. And Ozai says Iroh has gotten to him because Iroh has done a lot of work in helping Zuko find the right path, and that influence should be acknowledged. But that doesn't mean the final decision to make a change, the struggle to find himself and realize his mistakes and work to fix them didn't come from Zuko himself. Just because Iroh is a positive influence on Zuko doesn't mean that Zuko is blindly following him. Zuko clearly says he is speaking his mind and that he learned these lessons on his own. Just because he accepts that Iroh helped him doesn't mean he is saying that he is blindly following Iroh.

And then about Zuko "mocking" Aang. He says that because Aang is going on about gluebending and what not. Aang himself is making a joke out of things, and why shouldn't Zuko be angry that Aang is seemingly not taking things seriously? To everyone else, it seems like Aang is chickening out of doing his job. Aang's motivations are understandable and I do agree with him, but I also agree with Zuko here. Zuko isn't the only one to think this way, the rest of the Gaang are also thinking along the same lines. Sokka is even more blatant about it during the training scene. This is not Zuko putting Aang in danger because "the mission comes first," this is Zuko trying to tell Aang to do his duty to save the world. You know, that very important thing that cannot be compared in scope to Zuko's personal desire to go home, which is also why this situation can't be compared with Zuko telling his men to go into a storm because "the mission comes first." One is the selfish and petulant wishes of a child who is trying not to care, and the other is a child who can't see any other way to defeat someone who has made millions suffer, including himself, and who is angry that the only one who can do it is refusing to.

And in the same scene, Zuko also tells Katara to let Aang take time to sort out his feelings, which doesn't really give me the impression that he is forcing Aang to kill Ozai or that he doesn't care about Aang's well-being. But they are on a time-crunch, and no one thinks there is any other way, and even Aang does not offer any alternative other than just killing Ozai. Aang was able to find another way, but Zuko isn't wrong for not being able to magically know that a lion turtle would approach Aang and give him energybending.

As for the thing about Katara... well, The Southern Raiders is the most misunderstood episode in the show, especially when it comes to Zuko and Katara.

Zuko isn't doing "whatever will make Katara like him." He's doing this because he understands what she's feeling and wants to make it right. If he just wanted to make Katara like him, if his intentions were truly selfish and only self-serving, the episode wouldn't have ended with Katara forgiving him and embracing him as a friend. Is Katara that naive? Does she have that little agency? I don't think so. This is Zuko earnestly trying to make it up to Katara, and the "I do care what she thinks of me," is not an indictment of his character. Wanting to repair his relationship with her and wanting her good opinion is not some inherently sinister or evil act. It's how he goes about it that matters. And he does this by trying to help her find her mother's killer, because he knows she needs this. He does it by genuinely and sincerely trying to help her and make up for what he did, because he understands her and wants to help her and make up for his mistakes. Immediately after he asks her why she still hates him, she explains and he says, "what can I do to make it up to you?" Not blaming her, not fixating on himself, just asking what he can do for her. And throughout their trip, he never once talks about himself of tries to prop himself up as someone who she should forgive or like, he never makes it about himself or why she should forgive him, he doesn't try to take credit for anything. He just earnestly tries to help her and take care of her.

And this earnest expression is why Katara is able to finally accept Zuko's reformation and is why she is finally able to forgive him. She is able to see that he's changed. Zuko's actions in this episode are all about Katara. She's literally likening him to Yon Rha in the beginning of the episode, her opinion of him couldn't be lower. She wouldn't be able to forgive him by the end of it so warmly and openly if she hadn't understood the goodness in him, something that she would not have seen if he had only been doing it because he wanted her to like him and didn't actually care about her or what she needed. His desire to have her like him isn't about him satisfying his ego or whatever, it's about Katara and how highly he thinks of her, and how he wants to make things right between them. His wish for her to like him and his way of fixing what he's done is entirely on Katara's terms, and it works only because he's not just doing it for the sake of it, but because he genuinely understands and wants to help.

And like, if you're going to take him caring about what she thinks of him and wanting to set things right and fix their relationship as a selfish sign, then every friendship should be over after one fight. Then you should be calling Katara selfish for wanting to repair her friendship with Toph in The Runaway. Selfishness has a negative connotation which does not describe Zuko in this episode. Zuko may have personally wanted Katara to forgive and accept him, like he mentioned, but he never once influenced her or tried to put in a good word for himself. Whatever he wanted, his actions were focused on Katara's well-being and not on himself at all. He earnestly supported her and cared for her, and recognizing his sincerity was why Katara forgave him in the end. If he had been secretly self-serving and had only done all this so that Katara would like him and not because he wanted to help Katara, she wouldn't have forgiven him. I think saying Zuko only cared about himself is insulting to Katara herself and her choice to forgive him as well, because it implies that she is so easily taken in by him and essentially tricked into forgiving him when that is not the case.

And as for the part about them wanting to kill Yon Rha, I do agree that murder is wrong. But these are still two kids, and Zuko is seeing himself in Katara and understands that she needs to face him. He doesn't encourage her to murder Yon Rha. But he knows from personal experience that she needs to face him, and he was right. He wasn't taking her to Yon Rha because he wanted Katara to murder him, he was taking her to him because Zuko knew she wanted to face him and was willing to support her in whatever choice she made once she got there. And Katara ended up making the decision to not kill him. Zuko never manipulated or influenced Katara. He shared the information he had and the desire to kill him came from her because of her pain and trauma. And the decision to not kill him also came from her.

If Katara truly thought that Zuko was manipulating her, or was influencing her, the episode would not have ended the way it did. As it is, we know that Zuko also is not one to murder someone, because he would have killed his father if he was. He's not a trigger-happy, murderous person. He's a kid who understands what Katara is going through and wants to help her. This episode is a follow-up to their previous conversation in The Crossroads of Destiny, where they were able to understand each other because of their experiences with their mothers' deaths. And because of his knowledge of their similarities in this situation, he's also having a lot of personal wounds reopened here about his own mother and his father, which is why he feels so deeply for Katara and is willing to support her in anything, because he knows exactly what that's like. But he understands in the end that violence wasn't what Katara needed, and we also know that he would not have made that choice either, because he had the chance to and didn't.

And I have already talked about the scene where Azula is falling, but I'll say it again. Maybe it didn't come off to OP that way, which is understandable, but I did feel that Zuko was shocked and regretful that Azula might die. The way that "She's... not gonna make it," was delivered sure gave me that impression. And as for him being annoyed that she survived, it's less annoyance at the fact that she lived and more at the fact that she is gloating about it again. Go look up her smile in that scene. A mocking smile, the kind she's used on him her whole life. Of course he's resentful. I explained it better here, so you could go check that out if you feel so inclined.

Idk, this whole this feels like it's taking things way out of context and missing things that are clearly explained and stated in the show. I agree with some things, like the idea that Zuko should have interacted with the people of the Fire Nation more, but there's a lot more I disagree with completely. But I hope this answered your question, anon.

Thank you for your ask!

[annebrontesrequiem]

Dickens Dashboard Simulator

mrpesquire Follow

Hat fell into the street and I gotta get it back, hope the carriage drivers don't mind :)

mrpesquire Follow

hopital

22 notes

artfulurchin-deactivated18390105

Everyone's always like 'Oh child gangs are bad' and 'Crime is rampant in London.' No one ever asks 'How was the business today? The business seemed like a lot of fun.'

bookstands-r-us Follow

I hope everyone who reblogged this stupid post gets shipped off to Australia just like OP

#oh it's just a bit of fun! it's just a joke!! #get back to me when people are filching the handkerchiefs from YOUR patrons #you're all losers

128,347 notes

insearchoflostlove Follow

To commemorate my dear father and I...

numberonemadelinestan Follow

I hauve consumption

604 notes

mulberry-bush Follow

alordbyanyothername-deactivated18391130

We all know you got your ass handed to you by that child lmaoooo

mulberry-bush Follow

Say that to my face so I can slap it with a glove

alordbyanyothername-deactivated18391130

We all know you'd fire right into the sky

pikefish Follow

Guys, I think op killed him

80,563 notes

mrmalthus Follow

Christmas celebrators die challenge

15,455 notes

manofbusiness Follow

AITA for using my niece (young? I forgot her birth date) to try and reel in some rich business associates of mine? Yeah they're a little creepy, but like, money is money. But at the end of the night she left my house crying - just like my brother's child to do that - and I almost felt, bad??

numberonemadelinestan Follow

I'll track you down to the ends of the Earth to rectify the evil you have visited upon my sister and our family. You took in your only nieces and nephews in order to destroy and ruin them to benefit yourself. I hope you never sleep again at night. I curse your name and turn from you. If you were begging in the street I should be revolted by you and not give a single crust, I, in my infinite mercy should walk past you as you vanish into the shadows of obscurity.

urchinno1 Follow

Anyone in this thread smoke opium?

2,435 notes

whereislove Follow

Finally arrived in London! Anyone want to meet up?

artfulurchin-deactivated18390105

Sure! Address is:

Bill Sykes Lair Whitechapel Road, Whitechapel London, England

Me and my friend would love to show you around!

whereislove Follow

Yay!

4 notes

[sokkastyles]

Galaxy bra1n on Tumblr What do you think about this post? I just happened upon it honestly, and it just... made me squirm tbh. I just don't like it. But I'm not sure how to put it into words, so I'd really like to know your thoughts on it if it's not too much of a bother ofc. I don't mean any offense to the OP too, it's just that this take rubs me the wrong way. Really love your blog!

Yeah lol this take is weird for a few reasons. First of all if you don't mind the ship idk why you care about what is a "good" reason to ship them. Characters can and have been shipped together because they looked at each other once and for no reason at all, and that's perfectly fine because like, who cares?

Second, I am so tired of people blaming Zuko for Azula shooting lightning at Katara. Zuko wasn't goading Azula out of stupidity or pride, he was trying to end the fight quickly without involving anyone else using a move he knew Azula had no defense against that he had used once before against his father, to quickly end a fight without violence. He did not think Azula would go for Katara because that is against the rules - that Azula set, because she challenged Zuko - of an agni kai. You could MAYBE say that Zuko should have anticipated that Azula would cheat, but that's always been their dynamic. Zuko is always too honorable and Azula is always lying and cheating. What has changed is that she's no longer able to manipulate Zuko and is revealed to be the lying cheater that she always was, but that still doesn't mean he could have anticipated her aiming at Katara, who had to be exactly in the right place at the right time.

As far as him "doing the bare minimum"...I mean, I do think he would have done it regardless of who it was who was in danger and his relationship to them, but that's not a reason to diminish what he did, either. It takes incredible fortitude to put yourself in harm's way for another person, and fast reflexes to get there in time. Katara herself is frozen to the spot, which is a natural reaction to danger, but if Zuko had done that or not reacted fast enough or even been slightly off, she or he would have died instantly. So let's not belittle what Zuko did in sacrificing his own life to save someone else in an incredible act of selflessness, compassion, and heroism just because we don't like a ship.

Third, these takes always miss WHY it's seen as a shippy moment. It's not only the culmination of a specific narrative arc between the three of them, the thematic motif of Zuko being positioned between what Azula and Katara represent to him, respectively, the choice between selfishness and selflessness, hate and love, cruelty and forgiveness - which alone are pretty damn good reasons to ship them. But not only that, it's the strong emotions that are created from that act. I don't think Zuko jumped in front of the lightning because he loved her. But you can't help but love someone after that, after giving your whole being to another person in that moment. And Katara does the same thing for Zuko. Sure, you could argue that she would have done it anyway, her morals wouldn't allow her to let him die, but the act itself still remains, with all its meaning, and the emotion behind it.

And the narrative goes out of its way to tell us that this is impossible! That a failure to redirect lightning correctly will result in perma-death. That Katara's powers of healing alone weren't enough to bring someone back from that precipice without spirit water. But they do it anyway. They save each other, through sheer force of will, and they can't not be tied to each other after that.

If that's not a good enough reason to ship, I don't know what is. Which doesn't mean you have to, of course. You are free to not vibe with a ship, regardless of the reasoning behind it. But don't tell me it's not a damned good reason.

[pokemon-ash-aus]

I've been so curious on championpikachu!ash and feral!ash

Was CP!ash made before the end of journeys? Whats the context for feral ash?? Was he raised by pokemon 🤔

Care to share anything regarding these 2 AUs?

*Slams hands down*

Okay so- ChampionPikachu!Ash was created before the end of Journeys. In fact, this Ash was supposed to be a Champion in Kanto. And was well known for his Pikachu championship team.

100% was meant to be silly and goofy and a kid winning with only a team of overpowered Pikachu's. His starter- being the Final OP Pikachu.

He still travels with a different team and tries to win the championship that way, and usually leans onto his Pikachu team when people challenge him seriously.

Feral!Ash on the other hand was supposed to dwelve into lonely kid lonely life. Feral kids in the pokemon context are children that were raised by pokemon, when found they NEED to take them in to rehabilitate them to society.

For context, N was a Feral child that was then forcefully rehabilitated to the N we know in canon.

Ash on the other hand was a normal child turned feral. Aka, because of how Lonely he was the Pokemon helped him adapt to their waysm delia being a single mother in this sin e father went missing. In turn, she couldnt focus on Ash as much because she was busy working to try and give em both stability in Pallet, and to make sure he was well cared for.

When she realizes the feral tendencies that Ash is portraying, she has 2 options. Completely hand over her child to the local hospitals to fix him, or let him be.

She chooses neither.

Instead, Delia nurtures that feral part of him and helps him balance being human and feral. Letting him mask in soceity easily without loosing such an integral part of him.

So that whole Pikachu thing at the start? Oh that ends as soon as Ash and Pikachu are in the forest. Cause Ash *does* roughhouse with Pikachu to prove he's a worthy leader. And that ends the sassback.

Hell the Spearow incident never happens because Ash and Pikachu tag team the group of Spearow attacking them and outright prove they can and will be better. Ash even snags a spearow for his team!

Hope this helps :D

[count-alucard-tepes]

Tragedy strikes! OP Hottie is separated from their pregnant S/O and has been searching for them for five years!

After so much time, dead ends, and nearly giving up, OP Hottie is finally reunited with their S/O and meets their smol child for the first time.

Kizaru ✨: he would be nervous to try and connect with the child as he never really got along with kids but he tries his best.

Akainu🌋: he immediately wants to know everything about his child. He missed out on too much already.

Ryokugyu 🌱: for him, it’s a lot to deal with since he didn’t even know that he’s a father so it’s taking him a long time to process that first.

Fujitora 🐅: he finds it challenging at first to connect but immediately he feels like it comes natural with him to be a dad.

Sir Crocodile 🐊: it’s a lot for him to deal with but he’s just happy they’re safe and now he can try to be the best dad he can be. He wants to learn more about the kid so he often spends a lot of time just chatting and bonding.

Doflamingo Donquixote 🦩: he definitely takes on his daddy role and takes his child wherever he goes as he doesn’t want to miss another moment…even to warlord meetings so the baby can meet daddy’s special ‘friends’.

Benn Beckman 🔫: he always felt like it was in his fate to be a dad so it comes natural to him and him and the child bond immediately.

Katakuri Charlotte 🍡: he has always been a father figure to his siblings so when it comes to caring for his child, he’s ready though he is nervous that they would get scared of him.

Killer🔪: he is so excited to be a dad as he always wanted that in his future and now that it’s happening, he wants to be the best he can by spending quality time with the kid.

Kaido🐉: he immediately sobers up because he doesn’t want to be like that around his kid and wants to shower them with love.

King 👑: he’s taken back by it all but quickly understands that he needs to get to know his kid and even teach them how to fly.

Queen👑: he is not overly thrilled but he tries his best by singing them a song and trying to get them to sing with him.

Izou🔫🔫: he loves children and knows how to bond easily with them so he talks to his child gently and cooks for them before spending quality time.

Dragon D Monkey 🐉🐒: he doesn’t know what to do, he knows he looks intimidating and that his kid is gonna hide for a while but he tries his best to talk with them so they get comfortable.

Oven Charlotte 🍞: he bakes all the chocolate smothered goodies he can think of and then bonds over them with his child.

Buggy🤡: he is nervous because he hasn’t been around children and he doesn’t know what would be the best way so he just cracks some awkward jokes.

Marco the Phoenix 🦅: he immediately wants to hug and love on the kid but he knows it takes time for the child to warm up so he tries to bond with them on walks or even takes them to the skies.

Eustass Kidd🤘🎸: he tries to figure the child out first by not coming too strong or scary, he wants them to like him.

Rosinantè Donquixote aka Cora-San💕: he is over the moon to be a dad and becomes smothering at times but he has good intentions.

Who’s Who ❤️‍🔥👹: it takes him sometime to register that he’s a dad and that he needs to step up and be there for his kid. He wants to have no regrets.

Gecko Moria🦇: he accepts his child with open arms and jumps onto his dad-mode.

Iceburg💜: he wants to treat his child like an animal he just found…like making a new friend. He doesn’t know how to properly be a dad, but he’s gonna try.

Gild Tesoro⚜️🏅: he feels odd to all of a sudden to be a dad but he isn’t going to be a dead beat, he wants his heir to have everything they need and loves on the child endlessly.

Rob Lucci🐆: he is taken back that he is a father now but he knows he needs to take responsibility so he dives head first to be involved in the child’s life and care for them.

[siderealcity]

This is 100% about the lrt, but putting this in a separate post to avoid potentially spoiling the op.

I think something that gets kind of forgotten about all of the Scions, but particularly about the Archons, nearly all of whom seem to have been students of Louisoix's to some degree, is that Louisoix was Sharlayan's foremost expert on prophesy.

He wasn't just a very wise man. He was a man who knew what was destined to happen. And he decided to take action to thwart destiny.

That is the beginning of like, a dozen classical Greek tragedies, by the way. The Circle of Knowing, and Minfilia, and his son and his grandchildren all watched the greatest man they knew challenge Fate... and lose.

The Calamity came anyway. And he died.

And this truth, that destiny is inescapable, colors every interaction we have with the Scions.

This is what's behind Urianger's torment over his dealings both with the Warriors of Darkness and with the Crystal Exarch. He has already seen that fate is inevitable. Ardbert is doing his best to fulfill that destiny, because he's run out of other options, so what's the point of trying to stop him? The Exarch is trying to change a fate that's already befallen him. Is that even possible? Urianger, to some extent, does not believe that what he's doing can possibly succeed, but trying to save someone, anyone from these disasters is exactly what Louisoix would have done. Even if it was futile. Even if it was just one adventurer teleported to safety.

This is one of the many, many reasons that Thancred has no idea what to tell Minfilia about the choice that lies ahead of her. Because there is no right answer, and also, whatever is going to happen, he cannot save her from it. He couldn't save Louisoix, or Warburton, or Minfilia the Elder, or Papalymo, or even himself from Lahabrea.

That's what lies behind Forchenault's asshattery. He knows what's coming, just as his father did, and he knows that trying to stop it didn't work before. Forchenault's not even an Archon. He clearly does not think he even can follow in his father's footsteps, let alone is ever truly going to be his father's equal. If the great Louisoix couldn't avert fate, who can?

And it's most obvious in Alisaie's righteous anger about sacrifice. Because her beloved grandfather gave everything, and it still wasn't enough. Bahamut didn't die. The Ascians still remain to bring about more calamities. All that happened was that he left her behind.

And she looks at all the people around her, most especially G'raha and WoL, and sees them repeating it.

Because all of them have internalized that fate is unavoidable, and the only thing certain is death. So they run towards it.

[onewhoturns]

A-Z Challenge GAME 5

Starting D today, so here we have: E games!

This one is... hm. To be honest, with the first-person games I'm a *little* concerned that I might feel nauseous if I try to muscle through a couple of these in a short time frame >< The only one I'm sure won't make me sick is Erica, but I've played a demo of Eternal Threads and it was mostly okay, not sure what to expect from Escape Academy, but just might not be a one- or two-session knockout, if it makes me feel ill -.-'

I also would need to find people able to play a session with me for that game, cause some of those achievements are multiplayer, but not many

As always, more info on the games under the cut.

Do me a solid this round cause y'all have ignored all the other fmv games and all the horror/thriller stuff from last round and I want to play one

1. Erica (2021)

"Prepare to immerse yourself in an interactive live-action thriller, merging the world of film and game like never before. Erica is a young lady plagued with nightmares of her father's murder. With the traumatic events of her childhood dragged back into the light via grisly new clues, it's up to you to unearth the shocking truth. Explore the enigma of Delphi House where every choice you make influences how the game develops, with multiple endings awaiting you at the finale of the gripping branching narrative." Steam tags: choose your own adventure, fmv, interactive fiction, female protagonist, point & click, choices matter, puzzle, story rich, action

2. Escape Academy (2022)

"Welcome to Escape Academy. Train to become the ultimate Escapist. Solve Puzzles. Hack Servers. Meet the Faculty. Brew the perfect cup of tea. Escape Rooms in single player or co-op with a friend - local or online!" Steam tags: escape room, puzzle, multiplayer, online co-op, visual novel, adventure, casual, mystery, story rich

3. Eternal Threads (2022)

"Eternal Threads is a single-player, first-person story-driven puzzle game of time manipulation, choice and consequence. As an operative tasked with fixing corruption in the timestream, you have been sent to the North of England in May 2015, where six people died in a house fire. Prohibited from simply stopping the fire, you must instead manipulate the choices made by the housemates in the week leading up to it so that they all survive the event." Steam tags: choices matter, story rich, multiple endings, time manipulation, investigation, emotional, adventure, atmospheric

[sarahsmi13s]

Lieutenant Rogers - pt 4

Earn It

pairings: romantic!neil ‘omaha’ vikander x rogers!reader, platonic!dagger squad x rogers!reader, plantonic!sam wilson x rogers!reader, platonic!bucky barnes x rogers!reader

characters: y/n rogers, neil vikander, the entire dagger squad (admirals and captain included), sam wilson, bucky barnes, john walker, lemar hoskins, misc. characters from both universes

series warnings: language, blood, fighting, sexual inuendoes, john walker, cannon dangers, cannon deaths, suggestive themes, the flag smashers, super soldiers, if i miss any please let me know

word count: ~4.1k

a/n: if you couldn’t already tell, i’m OBSESSED with crossovers. reader is the daughter of steve rogers, and has the super soldier serum as well

sources: Top Gun: Maverick (2022) , The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)  

series summary: 13 pilots were called back to Top Gun in 2023. at the same time, Lieutenant Rogers learns that her father’s shield was passed down to John Walker.

chaper summary: sam and bucky finally meet john in person. so does star. neither interactions were in john’s favor.

pt 1  pt 2  pt 3  pt 5  pt 6

************

“We need to tell Y/N,” Bucky said as he walked alongside Sam. “Hell no,” Sam said immediately. “Why not? She needs to know!” “No, she does not. She is training, and this is not her problem.” “She’s a super soldier, just like them.” “Well, technically she’s a super pilot, not a soldier.” Bucky rolled his eyes.

“Sorry about Redwing,” Bucky said after a few minutes of silence. “No you’re not,” Sam said. He looked over at Bucky, “What’s going on in the big cyborg brain of yours?” 

“It’s computing,” Buck replied flatly, making Sam chuckled. “You know what? I can actually see it. I can see the gears turning. Ope, they’re malfunctioning, shuttin’ down. Yep, they’re on fire.” 

Bucky ignored his teasing, “We gotta figure out where the serum’s coming from.” “Yeah. And how in the hell after 80 years are there 8 super soldiers runnin’ loose?”

A truck pulled up beside them, honking.

“So that didn’t go as planned, huh?” John said from the back. 

Sam and Bucky barely glanced as they kept walking. 

“Okay. Let’s keep going.” The car rolled forward, staying in front of the two.

“Look, at least we know what we’re up against now, huh? And we’re pretty sure it’s one of the big three, so..” John continued. “Aliens, androids, or wizards?” “Pretty sure.” 

Bucky shook his head and scoffed, “There’s no such thing as wizards.” John nodded, “Alright, then it’s aliens, or androids.” Sam finally turned his head, “Or super soldiers.” 

“Shit, super soldiers. For real?” The other guy in the truck said. “Yeah.” “Wow. Alright. Then we work together.” “That’s not happening,” Bucky said bluntly.

John sighed, “I think we stand a much better chance if we all just-” Bucky cut him off, “Just 'cause you carry that shield, it doesn't mean you're Captain America.” He was fuming on the inside, but just mildly annoyed on the outside. “Look, I've done the work, okay?” John was becoming impatient. “You ever jump on top of a grenade?” Bucky challenged.

Walker didn’t miss the chance to brag, “Yeah. Actually, I have. Four times. It's a thing I do with my helmet. It's a reinforced helmet. It's a long story, but, any… Look, it's 20 miles to the airport. You guys need a ride. Guys. Gary, stop. Get in.” 

Okay, you gotta give the man credit for trying to be friendly but he was doing it for the wrong reasons.

Bucky and Sam shared a look before begrudgingly climbing into the truck.

And the talking started immediately. “Okay, so we've got eight Super Soldiers on a bulk supply run. Why?” Sam sighed, knowing there was no way around trying to work with him, “They say their mission is to get things back to the way it was during The Blip. Maybe they're just trying to help.” “They had a funny way of showing it,” Bucky voiced.

“That serum doesn't exactly have a great track record. No offense.” John was already approaching their last nerve, that stepped right on it. But they continued to be cordial.

Well, Sam did, Bucky was just staring.

“We need to figure out where they're going. How'd you track 'em here? The Flag Smashers?” Sam asked, looking between the two. “Uh, no, we didn't track them, we tracked you, uh, through Redwing,” the guy next to John said, scratching his neck. 

“You hacked my tech?”

John chuckled, seemingly amused by Sam’s frustration, “Sorry. It's not exactly hacking. It's government property. Kind of the government.” Bucky just stared at him, pondering how someone had that much audacity dare carry the shield. 

“Does he always just stare like that?” Sam glanced at Bucky before looking back at Walker, “You get used to it.”

“Okay, look,” John cleared his throat, “you know, things have gotten kind of, uh…” “Chaotic.” “Yeah. The GRC, they're doing the best they can to get things up and running smoothly, post Blip.” “Reactivating citizenship, social security, healthcare. Basically just managing resources for the refugees who were displaced by the return.” Sam nodded, “The Global Repatriation Council does all that. I get that. So why exactly are you two here?”

The man next to John continued to explain, “Well, they provide the resources and we keep things stable.” John chimed in, “Yeah, violent revolutionaries aren't usually good for anyone's cause.” “Usually said by the people with the resources.” John nodded, “We got a lot of resources. If you guys, if you joined up with us, we could-”

“No,” Bucky bluntly cut Walker off, firm in his decision. 

“I got mad respect for both of y'all. But you were getting your asses kicked till we showed up.” Bucky looked at him, “Who are you?” “Lemar Hoskins.” Sam scoffed, “Look, I see a guy hanging out of a helicopter in tactical gear, I need a lot more than Lemar Hoskins.” “I’m ‘Battlestar’. John’s partner.” Bucky really couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “‘Battlestar’?” Bucky nodded, turning to the front, “Stop the car!”

The driver, Gary, stopped at a rest point. 

“Look, I-I get it, okay? I get the attitude, I do. You didn't think that the shield was gonna end up here. I get it, Bucky,” John called out, but Bucky ignored him. He sighed and turned to Sam, “And I'm-I'm not trying to be Steve. I'm not trying to replace Steve. I'm just trying to be the best Captain America I can be. That's it.” 

He hoped to get Sam on board, “It'd be a whole lot easier if I had Cap's wingmen on my side.”

Scoffing, Sam moved to get out, “It’s always that last line.” 

He shut the door, not thinking about the next words that came out of his mouth, “If you really want support, you need it from more than just Cap’s ‘wingmen’.” Sam shook his head and followed after Bucky.

*********

“Good morning. The uranium enrichment plant that is your target will be operational earlier than expected. Raw uranium will be delivered to the plant in ten days’ time. As a result, your mission has been moved up one week-” Everyone tensed in their seats. “-in order to avoid contaminating the target valley with radiation.”

“Sir,” Coyote spoke up from behind where you were seated beside Hangman. “No one here has successfully flown a low-level course.” You nodded a little as you moved your eyes from Coyote to Warlock. “Nevertheless, you have been ordered to move on. Captain.”

Maverick walked up, “We have one week left to focus on phase two. It’s the most difficult stage of the mission. It’s a pop-strike with a steep dive, requiring nothing less than two consecutive miracles.” You shifted in your seat and flexed your hand. “Two pairs of F-18’s will fly in a welded wing formation. Teamwork. Precise coordination of these aircrafts is essential to both the mission’s success and your survival.”

You glanced up at Hangman to find him clicking his pen as he listened. 

“As you know, the plant rests between two mountains. On final approach, you’ll invert directly into a steep dive. This allows you to maintain the lowest possible altitude, and the only possible attack angle. Your target is an impact point less than 3 meters wide. The two seat aircraft will paint the target with a laser bull’s-eye. The first pair will breach the reactor by dropping a laser guided bomb on an exposed ventilation hatch. They will create an opening for the second pair. That’s miracle number one.”

You glanced over and shared a look with Bob, exhaling your nerves as you turned back to Mav. “The second team will deliver the kill shot and destroy the target. That’s miracle number two. If either team misses the target the mission is a failure.” You sucked in a breath as you popped your knuckles. “Egress is a steep high-G climb out to avoid hitting this mountain.”

Jake spoke up next to you, having seemingly done the math in his head, “A steep climb out at that speed, you’re pulling at least eight G’s.” You shook your head, sitting up, “You’re pulling nine, maybe even ten G’s.” Maverick nodded. 

“The stress limit of the F-18’s airframes is 7.5.” Mav nodded again, looking at Rooster, “That’s the accepted limit. To survive this mission, you’ll pull beyond that, even if it means bending your airframe.”

He took a breath, turning back to the screen, “You’ll be pulling so hard, you’ll weigh close to 2,000 pounds, your skull crushing your spine, your lungs imploding like an elephant’s sitting on your chest, fighting with everything you can just to keep from blacking out. And this is where you’ll be the most vulnerable. This is Coffin Corner.”

Fanboy spoke up, “The only person that could maybe withstand that much force is Star.” Both you and Mav shook your heads. “It may not affect me as much as it would anyone else, but I’m not invincible. The serum boosts my metabolism, it doesn't create miracles.” Mav swallowed, nodding at you before continuing.

“Assuming you avoid crashing into this mountain, you’ll climb straight up into enemy radar while losing all of your airspeed. Within seconds you’ll be fired upon by enemy SAMs. You’ve all faced sustained G’s before, but this-this is gonna take you and your aircraft to your breaking point.” 

Phoenix spoke up, shaking her head slightly, “Sir, is this even achievable?” “The answer to that question will come down to the pilot in the box.”

*******

You just exited the locker room, sore, showered, and ready for some drinks after a long day of failing.

“Lieutenant Rogers,” Admiral Simpson poked his head out of his office. “I need a word, please.” You turned immediately and walked in, “Sir, did I-” “This has nothing to do with the mission, Star,” Warlock assured you.

“I don’t know if you were aware but Captain Walker stopped by wanting to have a word with you,” Cyclone said, crossing his arms and he leaned against his desk. You shook your head, “No, sir, I was not aware the Captain would be stopping by.” Cyclone nodded, “Understood. I sent him away as soon as I could.”

His scoff resembled an unamused chuckle, “He tried to use the ‘I’m Captain America’ card. I had to remind him that this was in fact the Navy and that it didn’t work here.” “Also, we’re Admirals, we out rank him anyway.” 

“We aren’t sure of how he found you. But we wanted you to be aware.” You nodded curtly, “Thank you, sirs. Am I dismissed?” They nodded and you went to the door.

“Star?” You turned, humming in acknowledgement. “We stand with you. We don’t appreciate how your wishes were disrespected, if there’s anything we can do. Let us know.” You smiled a little, nodding, “Thank you.”

Once you closed the door, you were fast walking out of the building going to your bike.

********

You laughed as you stood up straight, “Ha! Told you it’d go in!” “That’s what she said,” Fanboy mumbled behind his glass. You dropped your jaw, “Jar, Garcia, I heard that.” He groaned, “Damn your super hearing.” He placed a dollar in the jar.

As you leaned over to take your next shot, the bar became silent and the pilots around you stood stock still. 

You glanced up to see the anger on their faces. “Okay? What made you guys so sour all of a sudden?”

“Y/N Rogers?”

You froze. You’d recognize that voice anywhere. “You gotta be shittin’ me,” you grumbled to yourself.

Hangman, Omaha, and Harvard looked at you, silently asking if they needed to handle this. You shook your head and stood.

Being extra cautious of how you gripped the pool cue, you turned to face John Walker.

“That would be me.” The blond had a proud smile on his face and looked at Lemar who was next to him, “Told you she’d be here.” 

He cleared his throat and adjusted his suit. “John Walker. Captain America,” he stuck his hand out for you to shake.

The quiet scoffs from behind you went unnoticed by the man in blue. “I know who you are, John.” You jerked your head toward Lemar, “Who’s your friend?” “Lemar Hoskins, or ‘Battlestar’,” he said, nodding politely to you. “Nice to meet you, Lemar.”

John clears his throat, obviously not liking that you seemed to just overlook him. You look at him, giving him a once over, not missing the gun on his belt. “How can I help you boys?” You smirked a little at the way John’s jaw clenched.

“We’re trying to work with Sam and Bucky on a mission, they just don’t seem to respect or support us-“ “And you’re here to ask me to talk to them?” “Would you?” 

A laugh escaped your lips before you could catch it.

Walker furrowed his brow, “What’s so funny?” You took a deep breath to calm yourself, “It’s just, you think that I have any influence over two grown men. Like what I say to them might make them want to work with you. John, you might want to rethink your methods.” “Look, Y/N, all I’m asking for is just a little respect and support. It’d mean a lot if I could get it from you.” You nodded, passing your cue to Hangman before stepping forward.

As you opened your mouth, he spoke, “I understand that this isn’t what you expected, or even wanted. But I’m trying to do the best I can, and having you by my side would really help. What do you say?” 

He gave you a smile, one that he definitely thought could get him what he wanted.

“No,” you said, holding your head high, reveling in the way his smile dropped. “No?”

You crossed your arms, looking down at your boots before looking up at John. “Respect is not simply given, John. You have to earn it.” “I’m Captain America, everyone respects me.” 

Rooster laughed from behind you, causing you to smirk when Walker nearly gave himself whiplash to look at him. 

“Dude, if you didn’t notice, which I’m sure you did, nobody batted an eye when you walked in.”

Hangman looked around, “Yeah, and everyone is just kinda ignoring you. It’s a little embarrassing.” John's fingers twitched, but he made no move, knowing he was severely out matched and out numbered.

“Look, Walker, just because you carry that shield doesn’t mean you get respect from everyone at the drop of a hat. My father earned the respect he got. I’ll admit that you’ve done some good things, but that doesn’t make you a good person. It doesn’t mean you deserve the shield.” John nodded, “Oh, I see. I think I know what this is about.”

You opened your arms, inviting him to continue, “Please, do enlighten me.” 

“You wanted the shield and you’re mad they didn’t choose you.” You scoffed, “Oh, really? That’s why I’m upset? Listen, if I wanted the shield, I would have it. This is all about your attitude, and the fact you think you’re above everyone. My dad never thought that way. He was a nobody that was given a chance. He had a heart of pure fucking gold that was too big for his own good. He stood up to bullies, that’s why he was Captain America. You were chosen because of your achievements, not your heart.”

John opened his mouth to say something, but you cut him off. “You want my respect, go out there and fucking earn it. You want Sam and Bucky’s respect, you earn it. Have the day you deserve, John.” The look in your eyes had Walker biting his tongue and walking out, Lemar looking at you.

You shifted your gaze to him, “I understand he’s your friend, but he needed to be taken down a peg or two. Take care, Lemar.” “You too, Lieutenant.” You gave him a small smile as he walked out, wondering if was only here because John was his friend.

Turning back to your fellow aviators, you exhaled, shaking your head. 

“What a dick,” Halo piped up. You all chuckled, nodding in agreement. You held your hand out, Hangman placing the cue in your hand. “That was pretty badass, Star.”

“You’re lucky you had that handled, Penny was about to make him buy a round for the whole bar for that comment,” Phoenix informed you. “Yeah, her hands were itching to ring that bell,” Payback said, nodding towards the bar. “My hands were itching to knock his damn teeth in,” Coyote said, sipping his beer.

You smiled at the group, watching them move back to their previous activities. You were grateful to have them at your back just now.

Bob came up to you and rubbed your arm, Omaha coming up with him to place a hand on the small of your back. “Are you okay?” You nodded, “Yeah.” 

Your hands gripped the cue a little tighter as you twisted your hands around it. “I think I just need a drink, you can take over for me,” you passed the cue to Bob. They nodded and watched you make your way to the bar, turning back around when you made it there safely.

You stood at the bar, rubbing your temples. Penny noticed your presence and made a note to go over to you when she finished cashing out this patron’s tab.

Glancing over, you made sure none of the squad was paying attention and snuck out the back.

Except someone saw you. 

Maverick watched you push off the bar and make a bee-line to the beach. He watched Penny come back and notice that you had left. “Where’d she go?” Mav gestured to the door, “Outside. Put a drink for her on my tab, I’ll go talk to her.” Penny nodded and got the drink.

****

You sat in the sand, cross-legged and staring at the water. “I’m sorry, Dad…” You mumbled, moving your gaze to look at your hands, Steve’s dog tags tangled in your fingers.

Someone sat down beside you, not saying anything as they held out the bottle. “Thanks.” “No problem.” It was silent for a moment while you both took sips of your respective drinks.

“Hangman would have been a better fit,” you tried to make light of the situation and Mav chuckled. “Don’t let him hear you say that.” You huffed a laugh and took a gulp of your drink.

“You wanna talk about it?” Mav asked, not taking his eyes off the water. You chuckled dryly, “I think I voiced my opinion fairly well.” “Star…” You sighed, “I just- I want- I don’t know…”

You sniffled and rubbed your nose, “I wish I could let it go…” “But you can’t.” You shook your head, “No, I can’t.” “That’s okay. Some things you just can’t let go of,” Mav said, flexing his hand and moving his eyes away from the ocean. You knew he was referring to Goose and Rooster.

You brought your knees up, settling your bottle in the sand. “I feel like I let him down, you know,” you confessed, running your fingers over the raised metal of the tags. “That I should have fought Sam harder. Somehow proven to him that he was ready for it. That he was the Captain America this country needs, not the one it wants. Tell him that he had the ability to really make a difference.” 

Mav hesitantly rubbed your back, “I’m sure Sam had his reasons.” You nodded, “He did. And I respected his decision, I’m in no place to tell him how he should feel or what he should do.”

It was silent for a moment and you didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

You gestured back to the Hard Deck, “I appreciate you checkin’ on me, Mav. But go enjoy the rest of your night. We got a long day tomorrow.” He nodded, “It’s not a problem. If you need anything, don’t hesitate.” You gave him a small smile and watched him retreat to the bar.

As you turned back to the water you sighed and ran a hand down your face, bringing the bottle to your lips to finish it.

As you sat there, your phone rang. “Sam, hey.” “Hey, are you busy?” You shook your head, standing up and dusting the sand off, “Not at the moment, no. Heard you got to meet Walker. Would’ve been nice to have a heads up though.” “Heads up?” “Yeah, he showed up at the Hard Deck. If I don’t see him for another 70 years it’ll be too soon.” 

Sam covers his mouth on the other end, “Shit, he went to North Island?” “Actually he tried to talk to me at work. But the Admirals shooed him away. Then I gave him a piece of my mind about 20 minutes ago.” “I’m sorry, Y/N. I had no idea.” You sighed, “It’s fine. But I know you didn’t call about that, what’s going on?”

“Bucky got arrested.” “What?! Why?!” “He missed his court mandated therapy,” Sam explained. You pinched the bridge of your nose, “Why? He knows how important that is.” “He was with me in Germany. We were there on a lead. He wasn’t even supposed to be there.” You groaned and rubbed your face. “Is there anything I can do?” “No, I think his therapist is on her way.” 

You nodded, hand on your hip now, “Okay. Look, our mission got moved up a week, so I’m gonna be training a lot. So just keep an eye on him.” “Of course. I’ll keep you updated.” “Thanks. And Sam?” He hummed. “Be safe. Watch your six.” “You got it. Give ‘em hell, Star.” You both hung up and you went back to the bar.

********

Sam and Bucky walked outside of the police station. “Well, I feel better.” “I feel awful.”

A siren whooping and lights flashing caught their attention. They looked over to see John and Lamar leaning on a squad car. “Gentlemen.”

They glanced at each other before walking over.

“Good to see you again,” John greeted. He was awfully chipper for someone you just got his ass chewed out by his predecessor's daughter.

Neither spoke and just looked at him. “Look, if we divide ourselves, we don’t stand a chance, you guys know that.” John tried to reason, and he honestly thought getting Bucky out of jail would at least garner a little respect.

Sam spoke, crossing his arms, “So, what you got?” “Well, the leader’s name is Karli Morgenthau. We’ve been targeting civilians who’ve been helping Karli move from place to place,” John started. “They geotagged a location, then scrambled the signal. But our satellites have found their symbol popping up in various displacement communities all across Central and Eastern Europe,” Lamar continued.

“Mhm. We think she’s taking the medicine she just stole to one of these camps.” “Well, there are hundreds of those all over the planet since The Blip. So I guess you’ll have to look real hard,” Bucky smarted off. “Good thing I have 20/20 vision, huh?”

Bucky wasn’t having it, “Where is she now, Walker? Do you know?” “No, we don’t know, Bucky,” John said, frustration making his volume rise. “But, it’s only a matter of time before we find out.” “Things are really intense for you, aren’t they, Walker? Doesn’t help that you didn’t get your special approval from Y/N,” Bucky continued to antagonize.

Sam decided to step in, “Take it easy. Look, Walker’s right. It is imperative that we find them and stop them.” John stood up straight, thinking he finally got them on his side. Sam turned to him, “But you guys have rules of engagement and all kind of authorizations you have to get. Us, we’re free agents. We’re more flexible. So it wouldn’t make sense for us to work with you.” Sam and Bucky walked away.

“A word of advice, then,” John said, fed up with it all. They both turned back to him expectantly. “Stay the hell out of my way.” It was John and Lamar’s turn to walk away.

Bucky and Sam walked down the alley, “You really had to rub that in didn’t you?” Bucky just shrugged, “Well, he wasn’t really following her advice anyway.”

****************

okay... okay i know what you guys were thinking- why not just punch the bastard?

to be honest, i want to i REALLY wanted to - but i think a blow to a man’s ego is much more lethal than getting punched

plus, we don’t need to get in trouble for fighting ‘captain america’ and lose our chance at flying this mission

but regardless i hope you enjoyed!

tags <3: @milesdickpic @luckyladycreator2 @hotch-meeeeeuppppp​

comment if you would like to be tagged <3 

[wall-legion]

Can I ask for a rundown for Iuno's character arc? She's been on my mind a lot lately. (@commanderhorncleaver)

HI SORRY I apparently decided to forget about Tumblr let me at least get through the personal story part asdlgihaosd So Iuno's story begins just before she goes into fahrar, when she is Aeneas and still at the time identifying as a male- though a very confused little male. He goes to his parents (Liath, belonging to @ratasum and an "ex" Flame Legion soldier Vesuvius Scorchshot) to reveal that he wants to be a girl. Vesuvius doesn't support this idea, Liath sends him packing back to Flame with more scars than stripes on his pelt for it, and she promptly takes her cub to the proper authorities in the Black Citadel to have her name and gender changed- and to glare at anyone who might try and give them any resistance. Iuno did solidly in the fahrar, helping to form the Talon warband, but once she was out in the field it was quickly clear that her talents were in teaching others more than it was in combat. She was honorably reassigned to fahrar duty, and though she chafed at the idea at first she grew to love it and her pupils. She was on a break one day, her pupils away at their afternoon meal, when she was attacked and taken by the Inquest. She's still not entirely sure why they even chose her. All she knows is that she woke up a day later in one of their awful holding tanks, and that's how she met Prikk and Rhenn for the first time. It was months before she was allowed out of the holding tank, and even then it was only with Prikk's specially built dampening cuffs on her wrists: "as a safety precaution," he'd always tell her, smugly. It's part of an Inquest uniform she has to wear, along with a mask that makes it hard to identify her face or voice. By the time she was "assigned" to Rhenn as a bodyguard, the cuffs are on most of the time. She almost forgets what it's like to not wear them sometimes, to be able to freely use her mesmer magic. When she catches herself realizing that, those are the nights she cries. She's still not built to be in combat. She panics, she overcorrects, she tries to do too much. But they went from "just go show up" to "you're actually fighting a whole ass DRAGON" in the blink of an eye - who wouldn't? She slowly gets better with time, but she's still anxious every time they have to fight. After they help to retake Claw Island, Rhenn asks her to lose the mask. After they help kill Zhaitan, he removes the cuffs and tells her she's no longer his bodyguard and he's releasing her from their agreement: she can go. That should be it, right? Except now she cares about the little idiot, who didn't ask for his father's grand plans to force the Inquest into the spotlight and who's ill prepared to face anything more challenging than a photo op. He can't even do his own hair! (Rhenn will never admit to it, but Iuno did do his hair for him for the first several months they journeyed together.) So instead of finally going home, she turns around to find him and make sure he hasn't gotten himself killed or beaten up by that one Pact medic he keeps oogling.

[gumdefense]

please get into your aa2 rant i beg

Oh thank god someone (idk if it’s rude to tag ? Or to not tag ?) reblogged that post from me saying some great stuff and also saying to go into my aa2 rant and I didn’t know how to reply, like do I reblog from them again, but then that might annoy the op, or do I make a post and tag them but then that might be weird— I don’t understand tumblr etiquette. Even though I’ve been here for years. But yeah whether you are that person in which case hi !! Or another person in which case also hi !! Thanks you solved my problem

How do I start. Basically, I don’t agree with a lot of the fanon surrounding Edgeworth’s "death", mostly in the way that it’s basically all about Phoenix. When the fandom talks about how evil and terrible Edgeworth was for that, I mostly just see Phoenix being brought up, when to me it’s a lost worse for Franziska. To her, her brother disappeared because of what her father did and after learning he used similar tactics as him (the tactics they must have been taught), deciding to kill the prosecutor in him (a major part of their identity and their relationship), abandoning her again, something that is a huge issue for her (aai2 spoilers under the cut)

Her world is in prosecution, their family is in prosecution, and as far as I remember she has issues over Edgeworth leaving her behind to pursue his career at 20, though I can’t remember when that’s discussed, I hope it’s not fanon blending into canon in my memory. What I’m trying to say is, Edgeworth’s fake death had a huge and deep impact on her, and is a very important step in her character

Anyway in short, I find it disappointing ig that most discussion of the repercussions of Edgeworth’s absence is about how Phoenix is so sad his boyfriend is gone and rarely ever about her. General issue across all fandoms to obsess over a male character and leave a female character behind. I go more into the Phoenix stuff under the cut bc I also have a rant about that and I’ve started and I can’t shut up now lol. Tldr Phoenix is deeply flawed and I love him for it and I wish we talked more about his flaws

I mean this is how she reacts when Edgeworth gives up his badge

I sound very negative of Phoenix’s part in this lol— I’m not, how it affects Phoenix is SO important, which is something I’m very passionate about and is… another thing I mostly disagree common fanon with sorry. Phoenix feels very much like the fandom golden boy in a way ? He’s our perfect little guy who has never done anything wrong. And yeah he is my perfect little guy who has never done anything wrong, but actually no he’s my really imperfect little guy who has definitely done wrong

Aa2 is the game that made me fall in love with him, because of how it goes into his flaws. He can be a dick who lashes out, he can be really bitter and angry, and his idea of justice is/was incredibly black and white. I find Phoenix’s character writing in aa2 just brilliant and it saddens me that it gets reduced to "he was really sad about edgeworth". I mean he was and it’s a massive part of his character writing but I don’t see much discussion on the character part beyond the saviour complex thing. Which is great but Justice for All is about, you know. Justice for all. It’s not perfect, I wish the concept of guilty clients was explored more afterwards beyond evilest man alive Matt engarde, the closest we get is aa4 with clients that are guilty of other crimes but still deserve proper defense instead of being dismissed, but I’m getting off topic. Phoenix’s black and white thinking being challenged and him learning he was wrong is so important, but I feel like we’re allergic to discussing the negative parts of Phoenix or something ? Like I said he’s the fandom golden boy. And I get why but the parts of him that suck are the parts that made me adore him and ig I’m disappointed it’s rarely acknowledged or analysed so he can remain our perfect little boy who’s just obsessed with his school crush. Sorry to be such a negative Nancy lol but yeah. Phoenix is such a well rounded deeply flawed character, aa2 has such great writing and so worth analysing, but like all fandoms we have "shipping first and foremost" on the brain

ALSO. Phoenix and Franziska’s arcs are so intertwined the Parallels how they’re both representative of different types of idealism and what loss can do to you and yet are also so similar. They’re soooo aahnnbgbgngcjkn. I’ll just put these here again. Thank you Acro for understanding them

For the record I’m not saying analysis through ship is bad, or that shipping is bad, if you’ve seen my blog at all you’ve seen lots of ship stuff— I just have a general tiredness of ships being the main focus of everything ig lol. I’m stopping now it’s 2am and I can tell this has gone into completely incoherent rambling, I hope this made sense and was fun to read !