#really he's like 23 with the blip

[tenebraevesper]

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 8)

Welcome to Part 8 of what started as Shadow's character analysis, but also turned into analysis of Sonic in relation to Shadow, as well as me just gushing over the Sonadow ship coz I find it cute.

This post covers the finale of Sonic Prime, Episode 23: From the Top, but this won't be my last post, because I decided to make one more, featuring something of a Final Conclusion to Shadow's story in Sonic Prime.

Well, either that, or I'll just write a bunch of headcanons in regards to what happens after the finale.

So, let's dive in!

Starting from the last episode, the only thing that remained of The Grim is Nine's citadel, with Sonic still fighting Nine, only to finally realize what Nine had truly wanted, understanding his desires. He tries to talk things out with Nine, when suddenly, the cavalry arrives.

''It's over Nine!''

I mean, they didn't really have anywhere else to go besides into the citadel even if they weren't here to beat up Nine for what he had done.

''Get back! Don't make me destroy you all!'' ''Is that what you want? More destruction? Look outside!'' *Nine looks at The Void outside the citadel, devastated*

'I'm sorry for everything Nine. I missed my home so much and was so focused on getting it back that I didn't listen to what you wanted or appreciate what you were trying to do. I never meant to hurt you.''

Just like Shadow, Sonic too has completed his own character growth, admitting and apologizing for hurting Nine. He has learned a lot about communication and how refusing to listening to other people can have devastating consequences.

''Stop! Everyone stop! This isn't the solution!''

Sonic goes so far to protect Nine from his own allies, showing a great deal of maturity. He knows when he has to stop the battle, being the voice of reason by pointing out how they have no time left and there will be nothing to fight over. All he wants is for this to stop.

Nine also understands how bad the situation was, apologizing for what he had done and noting how, without a great sacrifice, reality as they know it will be over. As everyone mourns their loss, we see this little exchange.

''Not yet!''

While I'm not certain whether Sonic saw Shadow's little nod, I know that he is aware that there is one more thing he can do. He has the remaining Prism energy, and he is willing to sacrifice his own life to stabilize the Paradox Prism and fix reality.

''You'd do that? After everything I-'' ''What are friends for?''

Sonic assures Nine that it's fine, and what I love about this moment is how he looks over to Shadow, once again seeking assurance. This will be dangerous for him, and he needs support. One could even interpret this as ''If I'm gone, take care of everything'', with Shadow affirming that he will.

Sonic then begs everyone to leave Nine alone, while also telling Nine not to cause trouble anymore. Rebel agrees with this, knowing they have no other choice. Now, they have to trust Nine. However, if he removes the energy, Sonic might fall apart.

''What about Shadow?'' ''Shadow wasn't there for the shatter event. He blipped into this reality. But I shattered the Prism.'' ''And without the Prism energy binding him...''

Gotta love how Rebel is willing to throw Shadow under the bus. Admittedly, she probably was wondering whether he too had the same Prism energy, at least until Sonic explains it that, no, he doesn't. He then admits to shattering the Prism, taking responsibility for his actions.

I'm certain that in this moment, Shadow was quite proud of Sonic.

Nine then starts the extraction, and it's obviously quite painful for Sonic. Once it's complete, he faints, seemingly dead.

Look at Shadow's expression here. This is the look of someone whose heart has just been shattered in a million pieces. He just watched Sonic sacrifice himself to fix reality, not even knowing whether he will survive, and he couldn't do anything. Shadow genuinely cares about Sonic, reaching out for him, but when there's seemingly no response, his ears droop and he looks crushed.

Shadow knows that Sonic has been in many rough situations, but now, he doesn't even know whether he is alive or dead. Hell, maybe he was also dealing with flashbacks of another loss he had suffered. Who knows? But, it is certain that at this point, he cares so much about Sonic and he doesn't want to lose him.

Fortunately, Sonic is still alive, but only barely. The only thing that kept him like this was the Paradox Prism energy, but now that he's gone, he became similar to his friends at Ghost Hill. To make things worse, he is also fading, meaning he doesn't have much time left.

Unfortunately for everyone, the Chaos Council, being Eggman's Shatterverse Variants, decide to betray everyone.

''Stand down, edgelord!''

Of course they had to throw in at least one edgelord insult for Shadow.

Fortunately for everyone involved, all of the Chaos Council members have egos the size of a skyscraper, so they quickly get into a fight with each other.

''Hold on, Shadow. Let's see how this plays out.''

Shadow wants to throw down hands with the Chaos Council, but is stopped by Rebel, who basically tells him to kick back, relax and get some popcorn while the Chaos Council members fight each other. And Shadow actually listens instead of going for the violent option.

With Nine opening the portal to The Void and the Mr. Dr. Eggman starting to blast everything, it is clear that they need to just end this pitiful situation.

''How about now?'' ''Knock yourself out.''

I just love how Shadow respects Rebel enough to ask her for permission to go beat up the Chaos Council. He was so itching for this fight and it had to be cathartic for him.

With the Chaos Council gone, Nine fixes the Shatterspaces, and the Paradox Prism vanishes.

Green Hill, Sonic and Shadow's home, is back, and now, they have to leave as fast as possible, because Sonic's time is running out. After saying their goodbyes...

....and hugging Nine for good measure, Sonic leaves with Thorn and Birdie, who want to bring him home.

We then get this moment.

''Oh! I suppose you need a ride too!''

They frigging forgot about Shadow! *laughs her ass off*

I just love how Shadow just responds with a ''hmph'', reverting back to his usual closed-off self. Sure, he can show emotions around Sonic, but everyone else doesn't get to see the softer side of him.

That, and he probably didn't want to ask for help to return home.

Admittedly, it is good that Black Rose and Rusty Rose got the ship to get Shadow to Sonic and Thorn, since Birdie got injured from the crystals.

At this point, Shadow knows that they have not much left, as Sonic is barely holding on and Black Rose's ship can't get any faster.

''Black Rose! You've brought us far enough. I'll take it from here!''

Shadow is the only one fast enough to bring Sonic to the safety of Green Hill, finally getting to do his part in saving Sonic's life.

''Goodbye, Roses...''

I'm not crying, somebody's cutting onions!

When Sonic goes down, Shadow has no other choice but to carry him bridal-style, now speeding through The Void as fast as he can. He is determined to save him, and I'm certain that he feels that creeping sense of panic, his heart beating faster as he realizes that he only has seconds left.

''I never knew you were a hugger.'' ''Do you want me to save you or not?''

God, this scene would be so adorable if it weren't for the fact that Sonic is dying. Like seriously, I was in a state between ''Oh, no!'' and ''Just kiss already!''

It is just like Sonic to get one last quip in, even on death's door, and it's to basically banter/flirt with Shadow. Shadow responds, probably relieved to see that there is still a bit of life in Sonic left, and we can see Sonic smile for a brief moment at his response, before fainting, his arm falling down, now limp.

Shadow has a look of terror on his expression, realizing that he's losing Sonic and quickly speeds up.

''HANG ON, SONIC!''

Shadow creates at least four sonic booms with the speed he had managed to achieve, flying through The Void and towards Green Hill, tightening his grip around Sonic. He is not going to let him go, shouting for him to hang on.

Then, he enters the gateway to Green Hill, and we see only white.

Fortunately, they make it through, with Sonic finding himself just in the moment before he shattered the Paradox Prism, elated to see that everything had gone back to normal, and even hugging Dr. Eggman because, yes, he missed him too.

He also shows off what he had learned, sticking close to his friends as they fight Eggman, only to spot someone familiar at the entrance to the cave.

It's Shadow, and he's gotten back the Chaos Emerald he lost to The Void. I suppose this confirms that time has indeed been reset.

We also know that Sonic and Shadow have retained their memories of the Shatterverse, both communicating with just a look about their plan to protect the Paradox Prism.

''This world is mine!'' *Shadow Chaos Controls on top of the Paradox Prism* ''Huh? Shadow? What the heck are you doing here?!''

''I am the Ultimate Lifeform. I go wherever I want.'' ''Wh-huh?'' ''CHAOS CONTROL!''

And that's how Eggman's plan got foiled. Sonic mocks him, he curses the day and leaves, and Sonic's friends probably wonder what the hell had happened.

Gotta say, if Shadow and Sonic had communicated about this back in Episode 01, none of the Shatterverse Adventure would've happened... I guess.

Sonic decides to relax on the beach with his friends, only to deal with a new threat (probably Dr. Eggman coming back with a new scheme) and the adventure continues, while the viewers are left with many unanswered questions, like what did Shadow do with the Paradox Prism and moreover, does the Shatteverse still exist, because what happens here resembles a lot the events of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), where the time has been reset.

Also, I wish that Shadow had been in this group shot, because he really deserved to be added as a member of Sonic's team. Or at least we could've gotten one more moment between him and Sonic where they reflect on their adventure.

Rest assured, this adventure was great and watching Shadow and Sonic both grow as characters, and show a new level of appreciation, care, understanding and respect for each other was amazing.

Not to mention all the Sonadow moments sprinkled in-between that left the shipping community quite satisfied, giving us enough fuel until the inevitable when we finally get to Sonic Movie 3.

Tune in next time for my Final Conclusion!

#Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 7)

#Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Final Conclusion)

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

[whirlpool-blogs]

An Inside Look at Jack Hughes, the Top NHL Draft Prospect Flyers Fans Are Craving

Published January 28, 2019

Understandably, John Wroblewski had initial doubts.

Not necessarily about the player as much as the situation. Wroblewski was coaching the 2016-17 U.S. national U-18 team when the little brother of star defenseman Quinn Hughes tagged along for a skate.

That little brother was Jack Hughes and Wroblewski had yet to see him play.

"You sort of ask the questions, OK, well how often do you have a 15-year-old skating with a U-18 team and how good is the kid?" Wroblewski said.

The verdict?

"The answer is he's pretty good, he's pretty good," Wroblewski said with a laugh last Wednesday in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. "We've got to keep an eye on him. You get him out there and instantaneously he fits in and exceeds and then also enamors you - all three of these observationalist thought processes come to your senses in that hour and a half skate of this tiny, little kid who somehow comes out and impresses you so much within that short period of time.

"Not only with his skill level, but kind of how some of the great players out there, how they can make the game slow down or speed up at their will. It's tough to describe unless you've been around him."

Wroblewski has been around him a bunch, coaching Hughes for the second straight season in the U.S. national team development program. 

Unequivocally, he now knows all about the 17-year-old, a darting and dynamic center whose playmaking ability can cause motion sickness for opponents.

Before the start of 2018-19, Hughes was hardly a blip on the Flyers' radar. Not with the team signing James van Riemsdyk to bolster an experienced roster and take its biggest step since the 2011-12 season. The NHL draft was an afterthought.

Oh, how things have changed.

The Flyers entered the All-Star break at 19-23-6 and with more points (44) than only two other NHL teams - the Devils (43) and Senators (43). A startling shake-up within the front office and coaching staff became the messy byproduct of another slow start, this one the most impactful of them all.

Suddenly but inevitably, Hughes' name has permeated the fan base. He is widely considered the consensus No. 1 pick for the 2019 NHL draft.

And Flyers fans are astutely aware. 

The golden spot is in sight.

Similar to any NHL draft, the climb of the top overall pick will be debated. Many will line Hughes up against past No. 1 selections - from Patrick Kane (2007) to Connor McDavid (2015) and fellow USNTDP product Auston Matthews (2016).

While Hughes is only 5-foot-10, 168 pounds and turns 18 just a month before the draft, Wroblewski sees him developing into a player of his own mold.

My belief is that he'll be in the NHL next year and there's really not a comparable. You're starting to see more and more of the hybrid type of player - guys that play with speed and skill. One of Jack's unique traits is that even though there are questions out there in regards to his size, he's a true center iceman and he will play in the middle and he will figure out a way to make it work.  You throw him into the blender with wingers like Kane and [Johnny] Gaudreau, but then you have to put him in the middle of the ice, so he's got that speed like McDavid. He doesn't have McDavid's size, but he's got things that I think McDavid would be envious of, as well.  There's a component here that I think has yet to be realized. Like his brother Quinn, young kids are going to look at him and want to be him as a player, sort of revolutionize the position that a quote, unquote undersized centerman can persevere and make it to be a superstar in the National Hockey League - because there's not a ton of them that have done that.

Wroblewski calls Hughes "manicured."

It's an excellent way to describe him. Hughes doesn't sound like a 17-year-old. He's well-spoken because he's well-groomed, unfazed by the hype of being the top-ranked 2019 draft prospect.

He credits much of his maturity and preparation to his "great support system," featuring his family and coaches.

His father Jim Hughes, mother Ellen Weinberg-Hughes and uncle Marty Hughes all played Division I hockey. His older brother Quinn was drafted seventh overall by the Canucks last summer and plays at Michigan, while his younger brother Luke is 15 years old and considered an up-and-coming talent.

"We've all kind of been through the ringer already," Hughes said last Tuesday in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. "I'm thankful to have them around me."

Wroblewski said the scouting presence this season for the Hughes-led U-18 team has been "overwhelming," but in a good sense.

"It's been nonstop, it's been relentless," Wroblewski said. "The scouting community - reporters doing articles or scouting prospects, [people] that do this for a living, and of course the NHL scouts - is all trying to decipher where do these guys fall in the pick of the litter. And I'll tell you, right behind Jack on this team, there's a slew of other players that are going to be right there with him in the National Hockey League."

For Hughes, the eyes on him are at an all-time high with the draft a little less than five months away.

Is he keen to the amplified attention?

"No, I've been dealing with that since I was 14, 15 years old," Hughes said. "A scout is pretty much another person in the building. All I have to do is play my game and have fun."

Like Wroblewski said, Hughes is manicured.

He gives you guys the clichés at times, but there's a little bit of twist to his cliché answers. There's insight there, it's not like he's just throwing out these random phrases. He's got practice at it, but he's not just going through the motions when he talks to the media, which gives me a lot of hope that he could be at that ultimate ambassador to the game. Not just a guy that goes through and plays excellent hockey and is a focal point, but somebody who is also attractive to the media.  At the same time, when the cameras are away and he's not on the spotlight, he's a kid. He's a high school kid who is goofy and funny in the back of the bus - he's got personality, he's got swagger, he has a lot of the intangibles.

There wasn't just one play or game that convinced Wroblewski.

"I don't think moments capture excellence," he said, "particularly with a kid that's going to go No. 1 overall in the draft."

The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in November 2017 was when Wroblewski really saw it. The U.S. had taken home gold by beating Canada, 6-4, in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.

Hughes led the field with 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in six games.

"He just completely dominated the event - and then as the octane and the temperature rose in the tournament, he continued to surpass expectations and continued to dominate and find another level," Wroblewski said. "In a hostile environment - he was a kid who grew up a bit in Toronto wearing the American sweater, and all of a sudden he's thrust into this environment; it was such a pro-Canadian environment, and he allows himself to block out all the X-factors and just concentrate on dominating the game at hand. 

"That to me was kind of the time where I was like, 'This kid is No. 1.' I always had that throughout the fall, but from there on, it was like, 'This is the kid that's going No. 1 next year.'"

Hughes strives to be the entire package.

That doesn't mean he's there yet. However, the multifaceted, no-holes-in-your-game mindset is what pushes him.

"As a hockey player, everything you do you want to improve," Hughes said. "You see the best players in the world working on their game, year in and year out. For me, I focus on everything, but some of the things I focus on the most are my faceoffs and my shot. Those are two things that need to be really good to be a good player."

What about his strengths?

I play a new brand of hockey - speed and skill, the way the game is now. I'm kind of an open book. There are a lot of great players out there and something that they all have in common is that they're Swiss Army knives. They can do everything really well. I feel like my game is what my game is, but I'm working on other parts of my game and trying to become the best at everything that I do. I'm going to show up to the rink to compete and have fun.

In 28 games this season as the captain of the U.S. national U-18 team, Hughes has 56 points on 13 goals and 43 assists. In 60 combined games last season between the U-17 and U-18 teams, Hughes had 116 points on 40 goals and 76 assists.

"He's a workhorse on and off the ice," Wroblewski said. "He'll do whatever it takes. When he finds a deficiency in his game, or if there's something not at - if you want to scale things out of five - if there's something that's not at a five, he'll start working right away at getting to that number. 

"Last year, it was his shot. He did not have a very good shot. It was still good, but it wasn't elite. He went at it hard this summer, his one-timer, his release, everything else has improved so much in that regard. And that's something that I think he'll continue to do."

The Twitter hashtag has grown in popularity for any struggling team near the NHL basement and in the ballpark of the 2019 draft's first overall slot. #LoseForHughes.

Hughes isn't oblivious to the slogan in which many Flyers fans have adopted.

"The first time I heard it was actually my OHL draft year (2016-17)," he said with a laugh. "It's not new to me, but every time I see it, it's pretty funny and I get a little chuckle out of it."

How hard the Flyers charge after the All-Star break will determine their chances for Hughes, while the NHL draft lottery results will have the final say.

Whichever team does land Hughes, its fans will be on board with his message.

"I'd tell them I hope to give them a lot of good years," Hughes said. "That's what every player wants - they want to go to a city that's hungry to win and a city that's a lot of fun. That's really what I'd be excited about - have fun with the city and playing hockey for the community and the city, for however long I'm there."

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

Love Song for a Vampire Pt 27

Pairing(s): Edward Cullen x Wolf!Reader

Warnings: a splash of jealousy from tanya but don’t worry, irina wants to rip the head off of any and all wolves

Words: 2155

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8  Part 9  Part 10  Part 11  Part 12  Part 13  Part 14  Part 15  Part 16  Part 17  Part 18  Part 19  Part 20  Part 21  Part 22  Part 23  Part 24  Part 25  Part 26  Part 28  Part 29  Part 30  Part 31  Part 32  Part 33  Part 34  Part 35  Part 36  Part 37  Part 38  Part 39  Part 40(series finale) 

You thought your mother would never relinquish you from her bear-like hug. This was the first time you were leaving your parents to go somewhere with people who were complete strangers to them.

They were putting a lot of trust in Sam’s words reassuring them that you would be able to handle anything.

Being the people that they were, they agreed knowing it would ultimately be for the best. Sam revealed everything to them except for you imprinting on Edward.

That would be for you to tell on a day of your choosing.

Hastily you pack essentials into a backpack. You were initially surprised when Edward told you the drive wouldn’t take too long.

Now you understood.

His car must have been a blip on the road from how fast he was driving. Carmen and Eleazar didn’t reciprocate your shock, in fact they seemed to be used to it and were chatting casually with you.

Eleazar sat up front with Edward while you were in the back with Carmen, your arms wound securely around your backpack to keep yourself anchored against the velocity. Eleazar mentioned something as out being uncomfortable out in the daytime but that timing was imperative

They hardly encountered anyone on the road by some miracle which also helped to reduce travel time.

“You can really do that?” Astonishment lilting in your voice.

Eleazar chuckles and nods. “Yes, much like Alice and Edward, Kate and I have special abilities.”

“Which leads me to some important tips.” Carmen nods, her gold eyes flicking toward you. “Do not let Kate touch you. Her power can only harm you if she is able to get into contact. I don’t think she’ll try to hurt you, she’s the more level-headed sister. But on the off chance she does, just keep out of reach of her hands.”

“Don’t scare her before we even reach home.” Her mate teases.

She laughs and bumps her arm against your’s. “(Y/n)’s tough. This isn’t going to scare her off.”

“I have seen her decapitate many newborns during our fight with Victoria’s army.” Edward knowingly chimes in.

“Impressive.” Eleazar cocks an eyebrow and looks to the rear view mirror at you. He truly meant it for going up against newborns was no easy task to take on. Working in the Volturi, Eleazar had to tel with many unruly newborns. How he survived for so long in a hostile environment, you had no idea. The Eleazar you had met was kind and docile, speaking in a tender tone constantly. You couldn’t imagine him living in a dangerous coven like the Volturi. He found his way out though and decided to lead his life peacefully with no more violence. 

“Of course avoiding conflict never works.” He finishes off. “There will always be others who want to destroy tranquility.”

Carmen reaches her hand out to rub her husband’s shoulder. “We will fight when the time comes. Be assure of that. We love Edward and the Cullens. They are our extended family and we’ll protect that extended family even if Kate and Tanya side with Irina.”

You didn’t want there to be inner conflict in their coven. Didn’t want them to divide because of this. Allies were needed though and you’d have to take whoever was willing.

*

By the time you reach the border to Alaska, the sky was already pitch black with a multitude of stars. Having dozed off at some point, you check the time on your phone. It was a little past midnight. 

The dirt road that wound up the mountain was beautiful even in the dark. Large expanse of the land easily viewed from the window of the car.

“You and your pack would have a marvelous time running around here.” Carmen hums delightfully, happy to finally be home. 

The wolf in you shivers in agreement, your limbs suddenly getting an itch to run. To toss aside your human skin and jump into your furs. Only then would you truly be able to immerse yourself with the nature around you. Inhaling large gulps of burning cold air that would be even fresher than back home. Even less humans populated this part of the state as it was basically wilderness. In your fur you’d even be able to somewhat understand the songs that came twittering from birds. 

Sam’s pack would most likely never venture this far away from Forks. Their purpose was there, to protect and watch over everyone, not to frolic around. It was nice to think about though. The younger wolves would especially have a fun time in Alaska.

When the car reached the Denali house, there were already three figures waiting. Three blonde haired women, each more beautiful than the next. 

Piercing eyes follow your movement as you get out of the car; Edward heaves your bag onto his shoulder and carries it for you.

Carmen goes to hug each sister and give them kisses on the cheek. Their smiles are strained as they return her affection. Bodies rigid at your unwanted presence.

“Be nice girls, this is (y/n). She’s part of the Uley pack and has come here to personally get to know you and show her pack means no harm.” Carmen brings you closer by gently leading you by your shoulders. “(y/n), this is Tanya, Kate and Irina.”

You muster your best friendly smile. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much from Carmen and Edward. I hope. . . I hope I can help mend things between your coven and our pack.”

“Only because you need us.” The vampire Carmen had introduced as Irina points out haughtily. 

Not wanting to argue, you nod because you did in fact need them. “Yes. Yes we do. My pack my be large and strong but we still lack numbers necessary to fight off the Volturi.”

You notice Tanya flicking her eyes behind Carmen to Edward who stood silently watching the exchange. Whatever thoughts going through her head made Edward scowl slightly, his grip tightening around the strap of your backpack. 

Kate coaxes Irina back and offers you an apologetic gaze. “Welcome (y/n). We’re excited to get to know you. You must be tired. Our guestroom has been prepped and is ready for you. We’ve also prepared some food too if you’re hungry.”

You quizzically raise a brow. From your expression, Kate laughs. “Don’t worry, it’s human food. We may not need it for nourishment but that didn’t stop us from learning how to cook for human guests.”

Part of you wonders what happened to those human guests. From the looks of their eyes, the Denali coven appeared to be vegetarians like the Cullens. Varying shades of gold dusted the trio of blondes’ irises.

“I can show her to the guest room.” Edward makes his way forward, taking a protective stance next to you. His face challenges Tanya who almost opened her mouth to say something but it was Carmen who saved the day. 

“Of course. Go show your mate where she’ll be staying.”

A furious blush claims you at Carmen calling you Edward’s mate in front of everyone. You were pretty sure even Edward would have blushed if his cheeks were capable of it from the way he ducked his head with bashfulness.

“I wouldn’t say we’re mates.” You hastily go to correct her.

“But you have. . . What was the word you used Carmen? Imprinted? Yes, but you’ve imprinted on him which means you’ll ultimately become mates.” Tanya icily says.

Any previous excitement you might have felt was deflated. You still held onto a compliant smile. “Yes. . . That’s true. But we’ve barely started getting to really know each other.”

“How cute. They’re in the puppy love stage.” Says Irina dryly. It makes your spine tingle and you have a quick vision of your wolf snapping Irina in two.

You had great control over anger that triggers your transformations but by no means had you mastered them. You were still a young wolf yourself after all. And you felt that anger bleed into your veins, making your left hand tremble.

“Okay!” Edward cuffs your elbow and steers you to the front door. “I think I should show you to the guest room now.” He sears Tanya and Irina with a glare before turning his face forward. When it’s just you two trudging up the stairs Edward apologizes offer them. “Pay no mind to what they say. They’ve always had sharp tongues toward newcomers.”

You were grateful Edward got you out when you did. Taking a deep breath, you collapse on the bed and put your head between your knees. Ears burned and you were all too aware of the hairs on your arms prickling.

He’s quiet as you calm down. Listening in on your breathing as an indicator.

“I’m sorry.” You finally say.

“Don’t apologize. You showed excellent self control. What they said was out of line.” Edward sits next to you on the bed. “Are you okay? Do you need me to get you anything?”

Your muscles were finally starting to relax and untighten. “No, thank you. I’ll be okay. This just happens sometimes. One of the cons is that wolves are highly emotional.”

“It’s better than feeling nothing at all.” He murmurs. “Many vampires forget their human lives over time. Not just that but they also forget human emotions too.”

That would be scary indeed to not even retain an ounce of your humanity. In your wolf you felt feral so you could understand on a basic level. While you saw it as an inconvenience, you’d make sure to appreciate your humanity more.

Setting your belongings down on the bed, Edward shyly glances at you. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

You offer him a smile. “Thank you. I’ll holler if I need you.”

He chuckles before leaving.

**

Closing the door to the guest room, Edward feels any gentleness on his face he saved for (y/n) turn to stone as he walked back down the stairs to find everyone else in the bar/lounge area fitted with sleek, black leather couches.

Tanya and Kate occupied the couch that faced the bar while Irina, Carmen and Eleazar were speaking in hushed voices at the counter.

Seeing him, Tanya pounced to her feet and stalked over to him. “Are you insane? It was bad enough when you wanted the human girl as your mate but now you’ve switched to a dog?”

“Don’t talk about her like that.” Edward snapped, his body bristling. 

She didn’t back down. Instead Edward’s own rage fueled her’s. “Are you just going out of your way to hurt me?”

“Tanya-” Carmen starts.

Darkening eyes pierce into Carmen who relented with a weary sigh. Tanya goes back to Edward .

“This isn’t about you.” Edward hissed. “You think I asked for any of this? Since Bella arrived in Forks I find myself being constantly blindsided. For someone who can read minds, I’m utterly clueless to the inner workings of fate and matters that are completely out of my control.”

Tanya advanced to Edward’s spot so they were now face to face. “You wouldn’t have had to go through any of this if you. . . If you had just accepted me.” Her anger was fizzling out to the true despair she was experiencing. Pain surfaced in her voice that made Edward calm down. 

The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Tanya. But he had told her so many times that he did not return her feelings. It would have been easier had he accepted her and taken Tanya as his mate. He wouldn’t be going through any of this mess. Early on, Carlisle attempted to push them together much like he tried to push him with Rosalie. 

Decades had been spent trying to win over Edward. Tanya hadn’t even managed to scrape the surface of his walls though. 

Her jealous thoughts bulldoze him in a vicious flood. Jealousy, resentment, regret. . . They all banged against his mind. 

“I’m sorry.” Edward simply told her. “Sometimes, even for creatures like us, life isn’t rational. I didn’t bring (y/n) here to cause you pain, Tanya. She isn’t here for any other reason except to mend the bridge between the wolves and the Denali coven. That is all.”

Pursed lips made Tanya’s face tighten. Kate comes up from behind her and gently coaxed her adoptive sister back to sitting down. Edward met Irina’s burning glare, reading her mind like an open book. Hate and fury were on the forefront of her thoughts. He saw her desire to rip off (y/n)’s head in the same fashion the wolves had done to Laurent.

He’d make sure to keep an eye on her. If Irina decided to go through with her desires, he knew (y/n) wouldn’t just let her harm here so easily. It would become a bloodbath and risk their mission of peace. 

——

TAGLIST: @saltedcoffeescotch , @dangerouslittlefairy , @burn-crash-rqmance , @casedoina , @avadakadabra93 , @daryldixonstorm , @blue-aconite , @xanniestired666 , @esposadomd, @godinho11 , @arin-swear-rose , @alexizodd , @melaninsugarbaby , @lyeatoalinatoheaven  , @ronwownsme , @itsmytimetoodream , @afro-hispwriter , @mutandis-extremis993 , @hxgemxscles , @nightly-polaris , @corrodedcoffins-slut , @ellesalazar , @itgetzweird08 , @crybabyatthediscooffandoms , @sassyandclassyx , @scarlet2007 , @theroyalbrownbarbie , @jennyamanda8 , @stevenandmarcslove , @biancaindaeyo , @loversjoy , @turningtoclown , @vixorell , @xxthackerybinxxx , @daredevilonmyheels , @dumbbitch-juice , @southern-bell-give-hell , @nat-the-gemini , @imdoingathingmom​ , @emmettcullenswife​

[vitani-carnis]

Hello it's time to share...

The Basics of Vitani!

Name: Vitani, just Vitani and V for short. They tend not to think of their last name.

Age: Currently in the game 25, she looks and tends to act childishly, so people think she's closer to 19-23

Date of birth: October 31st, 2052. Her mom was adamant about that and fate granted that wish. Though V isn't a huge fan of her birthday (Halloween in general is a different story, though she still doesn't do much)

Gender: ??? It's unclear. Vitani is just themself in their eyes. But they use she/they pronouns and dresses very femme, so gets mistaken as a woman by many a gonk. Don't call her one though, or a girl (unless you're a certain someone using select pet names, or like, in a really gay way, if that makes sense)

Looks: Well she's the profile pic, so that but kinda chubby, and 5'2. Though at the beginning of the game she had a blue fade into pink, but changed it after a bit of a break down. Really the following pic (obvi not my art btw, grabbed it off Pinterest), is about what her body type is.

Family: V doesn't do family, doesn't like them, in fact, hates families! If she had to choose though, her mom is Mama Welles, and Jackie was her brother. Oh, and obviously Nibbles is her daughter and her lizard son Stewart. (In actuality she had a mom, step-dad, and two brothers, but they sort of just left her.)

Friends: Laughable to ask really. Most of V's friends have died, and it's absolutely V's fault. She shouldn't have friends... (Also in actuality, she gets along with a surprising number of people, but feels very few connections to others. Her closest friends are obviously Johnny, Misty, and Viktor. In that order. At least as far as the alive ones go. If she's counting dead ones it's Jill-an oc made for V's story, Jackie, and Johnny, all of them are equal).

Romance: Not much of one, briefly had a boyfriend, but he was like a blip on the radar in V's life. It was also an online thing started on some forum. They never met up due to home life stuff. As for in game romances? Also none, everyone is great, but really just as a friend... Except for a certain someone stuck in their brain, though it's unrealized until the ✨best day ever and beach scene✨. Because obviously they have a "best day ever and beach scene" thing.

Fears: Everything to a certain degree, but that's the insurmountable anxiety she has. Most of their fears are rational, such as sexual assault (never happened to them, but makes sense from backstory things), people leaving (nullified if V leaves first), and idk their current capitalistic nightmare hellscape.

Hobbies: V likes trying just about anything and everything. A maker at heart. But she loves music, cooking, playing video games, collecting low-tech gadgets, history, and politics. Is politics even a hobby? V doesn't know and doesn't care. It is now.

What's important right now?: Saving both Johnny and herself, specifically by getting him a body (yay! Johnny gets a body AU!). It's a thing they've been dead set on once she thought about it. Mostly because to choose herself over him? Impossible, especially towards the end of their time together... As for the game canon, it's technically the same goal, but unsuccessful.

Fighting style: Talk first, then sneak, then carnage. That's the general rule of thumb with how Vitani deals with things. Not always in that order, and not all at once. Relies on subterfuge and knocking people out, but will become borderline frenzied if spotted or if things go wrong. Typically uses a katana (specifically Evelyn's), but switches to the Malorian once she gets it (it's her safety gun).

And if I'm being honest I don't know what else would be basic questions you ask about a character, so we're done!

[knifebaby3000]

Your OC Tian looks like he could he my OCs brother and I'm so obsessed with him. The beauty marks and the oblivious glazed over look really fucking do it for me

can u share more about him :0c

Omg thank you so much!!!!! I designed Tian to be so extremely husband-coded To Me so I'm happy some of the boxes he checks 4 me ✅ are checked 4 u also ✅🙏🏼

Tian (and Zhu) is the protagonist of two of my projects, the original and its overgrown AU. The OG is........ A xianxia romcom bildungsroman like....... Swan-maiden myth meets FFIX meets Disney Hercules.......... And the AU is what I usually draw/upload, which is a neo noir like...... FFVIII meets........ Drive (2011)....... Meets........... Disco Elysium which is a connection I'm only making right here, right now, as I type?????? Anyway OG-style Baby T is "tiger", "spring", vs Big T who is "dragon", "winter". Both are True Neutral tho I think Baby T leans Chaotic...

Some quick blips: Cap sun, Aries moon, Taurus rising, bday is 31 Dec; 6'2 188cm, ~190lbs 86kg, benches above his bodyweight; vegetarian, doesn't drink, healthiest guy you know (chainsmoking is healthy); blue MCR-coded tobacco depression wifeguy to Zhu’s red LDR-coded cocaine mania guywife

Charm points: natural curls, beauty marks, underbite

Talents: carpentry, wushu, gymnastics, fixing whatever

Likes: Zhu, tofu, his motorcycle

Dislikes: texting, cardio, doing laundry

Songs: MCR – Drowning Lessons + Fashion Statement + Desert Song (it's bad!!!!!!), The National – Walk Off, Hyukoh – 似是故人來 Like An Old Friend Arrives

Motifs: chrysanthemums, smoke, temples, the moon

Not really a talker, he's all abt acts of service and can be hard to understand if you're looking specifically for words. I like to think of him as the lead in a Western film except the horse is a black motorbike – silhouetted against the horizon, never says more than he has to, does what needs doing. His catchphrase is basically "🆗", "Sure." Also he doesn't use guns but anything else goes 🔨

Some flavor:

More under the cut if this hateful app will let me add one 🤪

I think he's best understood thru the way other ppl talk abt him – so here are a couple names/epithets!

His maternal grandmother is a distinguished mobster known as The Old Empress, which is why most ppl call Tian "Crown Prince", "the Prince", etc. Their family is more/less popularly-elected local deities (see "city god" on Wikipedia) and he's the last of the bloodline But has been refusing to officially inherit for over a decade, though he performs all the duties anyway. Old, old agreements put them above virtually all modern law, generally thru loopholes that allow them to, for example, literally start a gang war at 23 bc you got a little too annoyed Or take an eye for an eye/publicly execute someone as ritual vengeance. Pls note that Zhu is a criminal defense attorney. Smile

They also sometimes call him "Bodhisattva" bc he, due to Circumstances, grew up in a Buddhist monastery from age 8, along with Jin, his baby brother. He became an ordained monk at 20 but disrobed at 22 so he could help Jin thru university. During that time, he worked three primary jobs: seasonal construction worker/contractor, auto mechanic, and plumber. "why not model" No Vanities Lifestyle. He Is Just Some Guy. He Wishes He Were Still Bald. Fuck Fast Fashion Btw.

With his name specifically, Tian Tian, family name 田 “field” + given name 天 “heaven/day/sky” is his entire character – simple, no frills, unassuming on paper, but also strong, steady, salt of the earth. It's a name that once you see him both does and doesn't do him justice, like surely there's something fancier and yet between those two characters you already have the world. The name is also 9 strokes altogether! Fav number and an auspicious one – 9 heavens + if you've ever seen an imperial dragon robe, it's 9 dragons with scales in multiples of 9, eg 81.

A few bonus reasons I chose 天:

I associate him with swans (symbol of beauty but also violent, aggressive birds), 大天鹅 Big Heaven Goose

Single-character names are so elegant/Tough to me

Canonically seen as a "Fifth Great Beauty", literally a man named Heaven, the H is for Husband TO ME

FACT I decided on the monk thing after I named him and I think it's funny. His Dharma name is 釋恒心 Shi Hengxin btw which means "monk", literally, and "resolution"

Final bonus, literally my man:

[booksapphic]

14, 18 and 23

thank you anon!!!!

14. a fic you didn’t expect to write

the fratt blip fic, a.k.a. the first fic i published for the Daredevil fandom haha. i fully intended to just write jen/matt when i got into this fandom, and then i uh. started reading fratt fics. and now we're here

18. current number of wips

so i will specify that i'm not a "bits and pieces writer" -- i choose a story and i work on it until it's done or i've decided to put it aside for a significant amount of time. So for WIPs, i'm going ideas/planned fics which is uhhhh. 10? 15? yeah. we'll see how many i get to actually write.

23. fics you wanted to write but didn’t

so like... never say never bc it's not done until this hyperfixation is, but i have some very specific fics that are better suited to daydreams bc no one would want to read them, and some fics that i don't feel i have the skills or knowledge to write. The first category includes a higher education au. (putting this under the cut bc it got long.)

i work in a university study abroad office. this au has matt as the director of disability services, foggy as an academic advisor, karen as an adjunct instructor of journalism, and frank as the newly-hired director of a single-person veterans affairs office. also, maybe, Jen as the university attorney and Elektra in study abroad. The plot is, ostensibly, the university facing budget cuts and them looking to take money either from veterans services or disability services and so there's obvs tension between Matt and Frank over this. There's several other aspects to this -- Matt being a very young director, but having both a JD and most of the way through a PhD, being kind of looked down by administration for being very loud about the support students with disabilities deserve. Frank retired from the military at 35 or whatever, got a divorce, went back to school, and now he's here with a fresh bachelor's degree, taking a job at this smaller university, with none of the education as like literally everyone else. You see where this is going. I will say that this is "ostensibly" the plot because i should note that if Elektra and Jen are in this fic then the only scenes I have (mentally) written are the ones where Matt is like... kind of like... gossiped about and being someone to sleep around and Frank accidentally sees them making out in Elektra's office when he goes to drop something off after hours. Rinse and repeat with Jen lmao. Frank becomes friends with Karen, which is how he learns about that this is a Thing and tells himself that he won't be any nicer to Matt just because he's hot. Matt has to be weaponizing his hotness. If his voice gets all low and velvet when they're alone sometimes, well. he's just trying to manipulate Frank into getting flustered and not putting together as good of a proposal as to why he should keep his funding. ANYWHO.

Another fic in this first category is a Jen/Frank/Matt fic which i'm not going to outline bc i think it might end up cannibalized into just a fratt fic but basically -- Amy tries to parent-trap fratt into getting back together so they can walk her down the aisle as her dads at her wedding. She just needs to get Jen out of the way. But actually she really likes Jen... and she thinks Jen would really like Frank. If only Amy can get Matt and Frank to talk through things, and get Jen to give Frank a chance.

For the second category, there are some kind of social-media-type fics that i would love to write, but they'd be kind of on the comedic side, which I'm not good at, and they also require a different kind of writing which I am, again, not good at. I have this one, super ridiculous kind of crack fic which is like. Frank being forced to do like. a pineapple on pizza taste test on a TikTok/Instagram Live as payback bc he made fun of Foggy for liking pineapple on pizza too many times. It takes place in the nm&p offices. Frank methodically tries a bite of a single piece of Hawaiian pizza from like 12 different boxes spread in front of him. "hello. i'm here bc i was too mean to my partner's friend for liking pineapple on pizza and now i'm forced to try pineapple on pizza from a bunch of places and tell you which one i hate the least." Matt, Foggy, and Karen are ofc on the other side of the camera, reading out comments. "People want to know who your partner is!" - Karen. Frank: "none of your goddamn business." For the first like, three slices, he takes a single bite, looks directly at the camera, and says "bad." in a flat tone before moving on. Eventually, tho, he actually starts sharing opinions ("shit that one's actually somehow worse -- wait, how--" taking a bite of the first one "actually, i think this first one isn't as bad, the sauce is sweeter, compliments pineapple a bit") until this turns into like. an actual ranking. At one point, he gives an opinion and Matt's like, "really? you like that one? i never order from there." and then he's grabbing an extra black mask and sitting down in front of the camera to give his opinions, and the comments are like, "YOU'RE DATING DAREDEVIL????" to which Karen reads out and Frank again, looks directly at the camera and says, "that's none of your goddamn business. i'm here to eat pizza and i'm almost done." ANYWAY by the end Frank actually admits pineapple on pizza really isn't that bad. "fuck you, red, for making me do this." and Matt's grinning his stupid little devil grin, and Karen turns off the Live, but not before Matt pulls Frank in for a kiss hehe. ANYWAY.

The other type of fics in this category are porn :/ I can write porn, just not porn that isn't ooc so :/ yeah :/ anyway, sex pollen matt/sub!frank/elektra fic you will always be my favorite even if i never write you

anyway THANK YOU ANON FOR LETTING ME RAMBLE ABOUT MY FICS. I love them so much and i never let them loose from my brain so this was fun!!!

ask me fic questions!!

[lovestuckyhatemarvel]

Fun fact: I flipped between both my blogs multiple times because for some reason I thought I started this post and then abandoned it halfway through or something but no, I hadn’t started this episode at all. So on that promising note, here’s season 4 episode 3.

1.) Ruth, Nevada actually makes sense as a location thing to pop up. Like I know there’s a lot of jokes about PARIS, FRANCE popping up but I’ve literally never heard of Ruth, Nevada before. But also, I don’t particularly care about Sam Owens.

2.) Oh, Sam Owens got fucking fired? Damn. Also, the military blaming scientists for this shit is a little hilarious. Like yes, scientists did it, but they did it FOR the government and military FOR military operations. So to now be like, “DAMN, I CAN’T BELIEVE Y’ALL DID THAT SHIT” is hilarious.

3.) “He’ll lead us right to the girl.” Did y’all fucking check the yellow pages? Because I don’t think Joyce has hidden that she moved to California. Like how are y’all not able to find her going to public school in California? Unless you mean a different girl. Regardless, that line is fucking stupid.

4.) Man, Angela’s really milking this injury.

5.) Jonathan and Argyle are so fucking high and are not helping. They are right that ‘blip’ is a funny word though. Actually never mind, it’s not funny anymore. They ruined it.

6.) Oh, Murray’s cooking, that explains the opera music. Also, Joyce and Murray are being so weird. Lmao Joyce is a terrible liar.

7.) I’m not actually sure the Duffers have ever been high.

8.) Oh, my god, I just realized they gave Angela that stupid cut on her fucking face just so it could mirror Brenner’s injury even though that’s still not fucking how a goddamn skate would injure a person if it’s being smacked against your face.

9.) I’m sure Vecna is terrifying if you’re 14 or really terrified of even the slightest horror thing, but these glimpses of him in the upside down are just funny to me.

10.) Does the basketball team just like, live in an abandoned building?

11.) I hate Jason Carver’s goddamn face.

12.) Steve’s gay little wave at Eddie was so cute.

13.) This team of kids is definitely not reassuring Eddie.

14.) Fred’s body looks slightly less funny than Chrissy’s did but like, still cartoonish.

15.) El really is going through really normal puberty angst. But also Mike is so stupid. Just say love, dude. You do love her. Even if it’s probably not romantic, you do love her.

16.) Oh, I’m betting 5 bucks those cops aren’t real and they’re arresting her for nefarious reasons. Also, Mike, how the fuck are you gonna fix this?

17.) I love that Murray’s like, “Listen, it’s fine that we lied to them. At least two of those kids are gonna spend this time getting high and fucking. And by two of them, I mean Jonathan and whoever the fuck his friend is. I don’t know who he is, but I think they’re narsty.”

18.) But also fuck you, Joyce, don’t talk about that plane crashing.

19.) Manual labor in the snow. Also, since when does Hopper speak Russian? Oh, he’s learning from Enzo? Oh, his name is Antonov. I think I’ve only ever seen fans refer to him as Enzo which is hilarious.

20.) “They were at the game and the trailer park.” Steve, being aware for once: HEY, WE’RE AT THE TRAILER PARK. ARE WE GONNA FUCKING DIE?

21.) I really really think Steve was just being the Protective Friend of the group when he asked to go with Nancy. But also Nancy and Robin are cuuuuuuuute.

22.) That gate was Delayed. Like chop chop, ugly. Next time eat a cop or two.

23.) Vecna has Guilt-O-Vision. And it found Patrick. One of the two black guys the basketball douches will actually hang out with.

24.) Damn, Lucas, Jason just went full on batshit against guys who literally do not know where Eddie is. Lucas, you’re being a real traitor. But also, narratively, having the only black member of the kids be part of his little hunting party feels…bad. And Gross.

25.) HEY, EL. SAY IT WITH ME: WE DON’T FUCKING TALK TO COPS. ASK FOR A GODDAMN LAWYER. THEY’RE LITERALLY NOT SUPPOSED TO BE TALKING TO YOU WITHOUT AN ADULT. JUST SAY LAWYER. JUST SAY LAWYER. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

26.) “She wasn’t even trying to help.” No shit, Jonathan. She’s a cop. Cops don’t help.

27.) Goddamn, Hopper. Honestly, Hopper getting his leg fucked 6 ways to Sunday is so far the most horrifying thing this season and it’s not even shown really.

28.) Robin is autistic. Source: Me. I’m autistic.

29.) Dustin is and idiot sometimes. Steve literally doesn’t have a thing for Nancy anymore. Also, Steve’s not blushing.

30.) Max would rather be anywhere other than in a room talking about her feelings about her dead douchebag stepbrother. I also love that Ms. Kelley keeps her keys very well labeled.

31.) Lucas, I swear to God, if you tell them where Eddie is, I’m gonna crawl into the screen reverse Samara style and kick your ass.

32.) with her hair like this, Millie Bobby Brown looks so much like Winona Ryder.

33.) Oh, nvm, cops were being cops earlier. Now she’s being taken by the feds.

34.) Hi, Sam. You fuckin’ dweeb.

35.) Can we talk about how Alaska DOES have spring. Like, the Duffers know that, right? Right?????????? Actually hold on, gonna confirm with my roommate who grew up in Alaska.

36.) Okay apparently actually the weather question is very complicated and if they flew into Juno or Anchorage then no, they wouldn’t be having very heavy snow, but further north it’s still late for a ton of snow but not impossible. And as for Russia’s weather, IDK.

37.) I googled Nome, Alaska. That’s a coastal city and according to my roommate wouldn’t be getting this kind of snow in March.

38.) Okay I have gotten my silent question of ‘why not just get him to hit the chains’ answered by the guards checking his chains. JESUS HIS FOOT LOOKS BAD. But for real that looks way worse than the fucking corpses do. Oh my god. I’d rather rewatch that goofy ass Vecna murder compilation than to ever see that foot wound again. But also FUCKING NARROW DOWN WHAT KIND OF SHOW YOU ARE. OH MY GOD.

39.) Platonic with a capital P.

40.) A DEMON!!!!! Nancy and Robin are both geniuses.

41.) how did it take the kids 2 fucking hours to talk to Ms. Kelley and then break into the school

42.) Hey how is Hopper doing pushups on that fucking foot?

43.) “What if I told you there was a way, a way to bring them back?” I’d say prove it, asshole.

44.) “My friends, in Hawkins, are you in danger.” Oh no, cutting to Max as she figures out she’s a target.

45.) He could have at least let her take those waffles to go. I’m not saying it’d be a good idea to eat those in a moving car, but if the fate of the world rests on a child’s shoulders, she can eat messy waffles in the back of a car as a treat.

46.) TICK TOCK. THE PLOT IS COMING. And it’s coming for MY GODDAMN DAUGHTER!!!!!!!!!!! I hate that fucking Vecna douchebag so much.

[ironspiidey]

Superhero’s get Bullies Too

Chapter 1

Chapter 9:  Pepper Potts & Protecting Peter Parker

Read on A03

Tony gets Pepper's help with getting more details on Flash. 

“So now what?” Harley asked curiously, wondering if his uncle really would go the mile and involve Pepper.

“Now I convince Pep that we need those files.”

“You’re really going to ask her?”

“When will you learn there is nothing I am above doing when it comes to the ones I care about Harley?”

Harley shrugged as he stood up, “Alright well I gotta take a leak and grab a snack.”

“Don’t eat too much, you’ll ruin your supper and since Pete is coming home, we’re going to eat as a family.”

“Two meals in one day?”

Tony rolled his eyes “Contrary to popular belief, I can be a bit of a family man when I’m around certain individuals.”

“You mean Peter.” Harley stated with a smirk

“Weren’t you going to piss?”

Harley just shook his head and walked out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony licked his lips as he made gestures on the projection. Looking at the time she should be home, as it’s been an hour since she left. “Fri baby, Call Pep.”

“Tony?” Pepper questioned as the phone picked up.

“Hey Pep, you busy?”

“Uh no. Are you feeling alright?”

Tony leaned back in his chair “Yeah just got a favor to ask.”

“Of course you do.”

“I need you to agree to override the privacy protocol for Peter. For his phone history to be exact.”

“Tony!” Pepper scolded

“Pepper.”

“What are you doing trying to override protocols we had put in place specifically for you not to be nosing in other people’s private matters?”

“It’s important.”

“What you deem important doesn’t mean it’s actually important.”

“It’s conversations involving Thompson.” Tony stated, glancing to the doorway when he heard the toilet flush. Nodding at Harley as he walked by towards the kitchen.

“Tony Flash is just a teenager, you need to give this up.”

“You near your email?”

“Yes why?”

“Hang on a sec.” With a couple flicks of his wrist, Tony brought up the messages he retrieved from Peter’s phone and sent them in an email to Pepper. “Check your email I just sent you something.”

Pepper sighed and Tony could here rustling which he assumed was her putting him on speaker “Oh.”

“Yeah ‘Oh’ is right.”

“Peter never mentioned these to you or Harley?” Pepper questioned

“Nope.” Tony’s lips popped around the p.

“I don’t want to know how you got these but as much as I hate to say it your right. We need more information on this Thompson. IF and I mean IF I agree to temporarily overriding the privacy protocol, I want to be there. I can’t have you going AWOL over your underage boyfriend. “

“He’s not underage for consent.”

“Sure but the tabloids will take the fact he was your protégé so to speak since he was 14 and run with it. They’ll accuse you of grooming Peter and that will be a PR nightmare that I don’t want to deal with right now.”

“I really don’t give two fucks about the tabloids or what kind of PR nightmare it will cause you Pepper. My number one priority is and will always be Peter.”

“I realize this Tony and that’s who I’m thinking about. While both of us are used to your PR incidents. Peter hasn’t had many as himself and how do you think his last few months of high school are going to be if this were to become public.”

Tony swallows, in his anger over the whole situation Tony didn’t think about how other kids at school treat Peter based on what the press would release.

“Tony?”

“Yeah I’m here.”

“I’m assuming your silence means you understand my point?”

“Mhmm.”

“Great, now as far as reversing the protocol. We will, but not until I’m with you. Is Peter at the tower?”

Harley walked in at that exact moment with a tuna sandwich “Nope, He stalked off to Mays.” He said around a mouthful of food

“Hi Harley, Care to explain to me why Peter just went off to his Aunts?”

“Hi Ms. Potts. He decided to go as Spiderman, and drop in and visit her while Stark was with you downstairs.”

“Okay well I suppose now is good time as any. You’re in luck Tony that I decided to run some errands before heading home. I should be maybe 15 minutes away.”

“Thanks again Pep.”

“I’m doing this for Peter too.”

They said their goodbyes and Tony just sighed loudly.

“What’s up Uncle?”

Tony just shook his head. “Nothing you need to fret over Nephew”

Harley stopped eating his sandwich looking at it before offering it to Tony

Tony shook his head “I’m good, you eat it.”

“Remember when I was little and mom and whatever pos she was with at the time would be get abusive you’d come and we’d go to the little sandwich shop?”

Tony couldn’t help but smirk at the memory “Yeah I remember”

“So for old times, eat some of this.” Harley split the sandwich in half and offered a half to Tony with a smile on his face.

Tony sighed and grabbed the sandwich

“Peter’s making you sentimental Uncle.” Harley grinned, enjoying this way too much.

Tony just gave him a look and shoved the blonde’s chair, which caused him to go sliding

“Hey!! I didn’t say it was a bad thing.” Harley rolled back over to his desk

“Mhm.” Tony finished off his sandwich and leaned back into his chair, looking at the holographic pictures of those messages.

“Peter’s okay and you know if you would lift my house arrest, I could keep an eye on Flash.”

Tony scoffs “And by keep an eye on you mean beat him up and throw him in the trash.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sure. Just like I don’t know how you and your friends act like greasers from The Outsiders.”

Harley couldn’t help but giggle at the reference

Tony shook his head. “That’s the first time I heard you actually giggle since you were little..”

“Seems Peter is good for more than just you Stark. Speaking of Peter We should have something made for when Peter gets home.”

Tony looks away from his work to his nephew “Oh?”

“Well yeah because he’s going to rip your head off when he gets home and we both know the best way to Peter’s heart is his stomach.”

“Hmm you have a point. What do you think we should make?” Tony turns fully to face his nephew

Harley grins “Friday! Bring Peter’s Pinterest up please.”

“Of course.”

“Let’s see what our favorite hero’s been posting online.” Harley flicks his hand across the screens until he finds what he was looking for, an album titled food porn “Here we go.”

Tony grinned “For once being a millennial has an advantage."

[dandyytrash]

☀︎︎Little Miss Sunshine Prologue ☀︎︎

(Aka I have an idea of fic I want to write that’s mostly Marc Spector x Reader)

TW: Anxiety? Reliving Endgame, Sam and Rhodey being dorks.

Pairing: Marc Spector x Reader (even though he doesn’t make an appearance yet!)

Word count: 722

Prologue

“She sacrificed herself for that stupid orange stone!”

“You took EVERYTHING from me!”

“I. Am. Ironman!”

I shot up in bed, trembling, trying to catch my breath. Every night I hear their voices in my sleep, my friends, my loved ones. Some gone, some lost. I wiped the tears that were streaming down my face and hoped out of bed.

This was my nightly routine. I would have nightmares, flashbacks of the blip. Flashbacks of how we failed to defeat Thanos. Flashbacks of blinking and being told that I had lost 5 years of my life. I would make my way to my balcony like I always do, to catch my breath and let the coldness of the night envelope me. I’d look up at the stars, at the moon, and let myself be enthralled with the beauty of the night sky.

That’s what I planned to do as I walked out onto my balcony like I did every night ever since I came back, except this night was different. I sucked in a breath, the sight before me catching me completely off guard. I saw as the stars created a light show in the sky, moving at an abnormal speed.

“What the…” I trailed off, a cold chill going down my spine. Whatever this was, it couldn’t be good news. I quickly ran back into my room, grabbing my phone off the nightstand. I dialed the numbers as fast as my trembling fingers could let me.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

“(Y/n)? Shouldn’t you be asleep at this time?” I heard Sam’s voice over the line, I sighed.

“Sam I’m sorry to be bothering you, you probably can’t even see what the hell is going on! But you gotta hop onto the news or something.” I rushed out, it was still early in the time zone he’s in, but I was praying he could see what was happening with the sky.

“What the hell? First that solar eclipse, now this?” Sam said, I could hear the panic in his voice. “You don’t think it could be another alien attack do you?”

“I sure as hell hope not, I’m gonna message Rhodey. See if I can get any intel on what the government thinks is going on. Stay safe, and take care of Buck please!” I sighed out, taking my phone away from my ear and putting the call on speaker. I heard Sam chuckle as I started messaging Rhodey.

“Don’t I always? I’ll ask some of my guys to see if they know something. I’ll message you whatever info I get. Take care, sunshine!” Sam said before he hung up.

I laid back in bed, waiting for a response from Rhodey, from Sam. From anyone who might know what’s going on. I soon dozed off to the sound of my heart beating heavily in my chest.

☾☀︎︎☽☾☀︎︎☽☾☀︎︎☽☾☀︎︎☽☾☀︎︎☽☾☀︎︎☽☾☀︎︎☽

“Just 5 more minutes…” I mumbled, trying to stop the ringing noise coming from my phone. I quickly sat up, remembering the events from last night. I grabbed my phone a second too late, whoever was calling decided to hang up. I looked at my notifications.

4 Missed Calls

23 Messages

Crap! Rhodey and Sam had sent me all the intel they had gather on the current occurrences and here I was snoring away.

“Disturbances seem to be coming from Cairo, Egypt. Would you be up for a quick mission to check it out? 🥺👉🏼👈🏼”

I snorted after reading Rhodey’s message, I really had to stop showing him how to use emojis.

“I don’t mind, just make sure the U.S. government isn’t on my ass the whole time.”

I texted back as I made my way off of my bed and into my closet, needing to pack a bag for my trip. During my time as a SHIELD agent I had never been sent on a mission to Egypt, strangely enough.

Maybe it was the thought of going to a place I’ve never been to before, or the fact that something strange was going on and I had no idea what it was, but I felt a flutter of butterflies in my stomach.

“Just relax, this is just another day on the job.” I told myself, trying to calm my nerves. But something in me knew that my life was about to change.

[masterofmunson]

look after you (1)

TFATWS Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Sam asks you to join him and Bucky on a mission in Madripoor. When you get injured, Bucky feels the need to remind you more than once that he’s supposed to look after you now that Steve’s gone.

Warnings: tfatws spoilers, language, violence, blood, grief, angst, major pining

Word Count: 6k+ 

Author’s Note: Here she is!! I’m really excited to see what you guys think! This is my first Bucky fic in AGES! I decided to make this into a mini series since this fic is so long haha. Please let me know what you think. Comments, reblogs, and asks are highly encouraged and appreciated! Enjoy!

You hadn’t seen Sam or Bucky in several weeks. You were still adjusting to life post-blip. It had been a long five years for you and just seconds for them. You were no longer the bright-eyed and bushy tailed recruit. You’d grown into your position amongst the established and experienced Avengers. Now, it meant nothing. 

Tony’s gone. Steve’s dead, Natasha too. The Avengers had officially disbanded. You felt lost and confused, still blinded by your grief over losing them. You had nowhere to go, so you just floated from place to place as needed. 

You were laying low and a shell of the person you once were. You had no one to look towards anymore. Bucky went his separate ways and got some sort of footing in New York City with the pardon he was given by the government since his return to the states. You checked in every now and then with him, but you didn’t want to slow down his progress so you distanced yourself from him. 

You know he feels some sort of responsibility towards you. Steve did too, and you suppose now that he’s gone, Bucky feels the need to take his place. It doesn’t matter that you’re no longer the naive 23 year old he met in Berlin all those years ago. It doesn’t matter that there was something lingering between the two of you before he turned to ash. You’re a grown woman now and war and politics has hardened your soul. 

He needs to move on from you. The version he has of you in his head is gone, dead. He wants a fresh start, and you can’t give it to him. 

Sam checks in with you once in a while. He asks you how you’re doing and you respond the same each time. “Same shit, different day,” you laughed lightly. 

He knows better than to ask you to join him on his missions with the military. You’re not in the right headspace to return to the field, least of all if it meant that you were representing the US government wherever the fight was. 

Now that John Walker has the shield and has been branded the new Captain America, it gives you all the more reason to stay away. If he had so much as just breathed in your direction, you’d kill him and rip the shield from his grasp and return it to Sam. 

You ignored all emails and phone calls that had to do with John Walker. He wanted your blessing on live television, as if that meant anything. Yes, you were close with Steve, but you’re not an original Avenger. You just caught his eye during training one day and he took you under his wing. John Walker just wanted to create a bridge between the two of you since Sam and Bucky were obviously out of the question. 

You were the first person Sam called when he told you he was giving up the shield. You didn’t ask why. You knew he had his reasons and you respected him to accept that whatever the reasons were, they were good enough. 

So, when Sam called in the middle of the night, you picked up the phone without a second thought. Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you sit up and fumble for the light on the nightstand beside you. 

“Sam? You do realize it’s three in the morning, right?” you asked, yawning into your phone. 

Sam curses in your ear and apologizes quietly. “Sorry. You would think with all this traveling, I’d remember time zones are a thing,” he laughed softly. 

“What is it, Sam?” 

“We’re in a bit of a tight spot. We could use your help.”

Your brows pinch together. “Who’s we, Sam?”

“Me and Barnes.”

Your heart jumps inside your throat. How the hell did Sam manage to rope Bucky into whatever he’s doing? The last you heard, Bucky wasn’t allowed to go on government missions until his therapist thought he made enough progress to do so. You know he’s nowhere near the progress he wants to be, so how is he with Sam? 

“Jesus, Sam. You know he’s not in the right headspace to go on missions!” There’s a heavy pause between the two of you before you relent. “Where am I meeting you?”

“Latvia. I’ll fill you in when you get here.”

You hang up quickly and hurry out of bed. After so many years of getting up at odd hours for emergency missions and the like, you’re not surprised that Sam asked you to meet him in the middle of the night. You grab your duffle bag and stuff all your belongings back inside. You travel lightly, and now it definitely seemed to work out in your favor. 

You’ve spent the last couple of weeks in a small town just outside of Helena, Montana. It’s nice and quiet and you’ve really taken the time to reflect on your life since things started going back to normal post-blip. The locals are nice and hospitable, and no one asks you about Steve, Tony, or what you thought of John Walker. You hope it had something to do with the fact that they didn’t know who you were. You certainly hoped that was the case. You’ve kept your head down and tried your best to blend in. 

You go hiking quite frequently and take drives through the mountains. It’s nice and relaxing, a far cry from what you’re used to. You’ll definitely miss it, and you have second thoughts about meeting up with Sam, but you push them away. Steve abandoned you both, and you wouldn’t do that to him. 

It takes you several hours to get to the closest international airport and by the time you arrive, the sun begins to rise in the distance. You hurry through the airport security and send Sam a quick update that you’re about to board your flight before you settle in your seat and fall back asleep.

....

You sleep through the entire flight. You blame it on your ability to sleep anywhere due to the number of missions you have under your belt. You’re wide awake when the plane lands and you’re quick to pull out your phone and send a message to Sam that you’ve made it safe and sound to Latvia. 

Your legs are stiff and sore when you stand up for the first time when it’s time to leave. You pull your duffle bag from the overhead compartment and slowly make your way to the front. It takes you nearly an hour to get through customs and now you’re just anxiously waiting to see Sam. 

When you see him waiting for you at the baggage claim area, you grin as your eyes meet. You hurry over to him and drop your duffle bag to the floor as he pulls you in for a hug. It’s warm and tight and it’s exactly what you need. Sam pulls away first and reaches for your bag, throwing an arm over your shoulder as you walk out of the airport to his car. 

You stop walking when you notice two figures near a very fancy yellow car as you and Sam near them. Sam keeps walking and you take slow, tentative steps. You know one of the figures has to be Bucky, but Sam never mentioned a third person. 

“Sam, I thought you said that it was just you and Bucky,” you said cautiously. 

Sam stops in his tracks and lets out a nervous chuckle and scratches the back of his head. It makes your heart race and you swallow the lump in your throat as they begin to come into focus as they near the two of you. “Y/n, before you get angry, I just need you to know that this wasn’t my idea. Believe me when I tell you that he is the last person we would ask for help,” Sam replied as his eyes went from you to the two people approaching.

“Who is he?” you asked through gritted teeth. 

“Ah! Y/n, good to know that your flight went rather smoothly. It is good to see you again.”

No. There’s no way. You must be dreaming. Hemlut Zemo is not standing right in front of you. He is in prison. He is behind bars for the crimes he committed. The two men that you're closest to wouldn’t jailbreak someone as atrocious as Zemo. There has to be an explanation. It doesn’t make sense. 

“What the fuck is Zemo doing out of prison?!” you hissed, looking between Bucky and Sam, demanding an explanation. 

“Y/n, honey, I can explain, just please get in the car,” Bucky pleaded, reaching out to touch your hand. 

You glare at him and take a step back. “Are you out of your mind, Bucky? You break him out of jail because you need him, is that it? Do you remember what he did to you, because I certainly do!”

Bucky frowns and lets out a deep and heavy sigh. He looks over at Sam. “Did you fill her in at all?”

“No!” you shouted. “I can speak for myself, James! Someone better start talking and tell me what the hell is going on!”

“We don’t really have time for this right now,” Zemo interrupts, “we really must be going. I’m sure Sam and James can fill you in in the car.”

You glare at the Sokovian terrorist and snap at him. “Shut your mouth, Zemo.”

He raises his hands up in surrender and takes a step back. Bucky towers over you and this time you let him take your hand. He squeezes it gently and pulls you into his chest, hugging you tightly. You’re tense and fuming as he holds you. 

His mouth finds the shell of your ear and despite the wave of anger flowing through your body, it sends a shiver down your spine. Bucky whispers, “I hate to say it, but Zemo’s right. We have to go. I’ll explain on the way, I promise.”

You huff childishly and turn your head away from him as he kisses your temple. “Fine. If he steps out of line, I’ll kill him.”

Bucky laughs and takes your hand and walks you to the car. “Get in line, honey. Sam and I have first dibs.”

You resist the urge to smile and Bucky opens the door for you as Sam tosses your bag in the trunk and climbs into the front seat. Bucky slides in beside you and he tells you everything.

He tells you about their first encounter with the Flag Smashers. He tells you about how the leader and a few of her followers have taken a newer version of the serum that runs through his veins. He tells you that she plans on giving the serum to more people to build an army and that you have to stop her. 

It makes your heart stop. You hadn’t really been keeping tabs on the Flag Smashers. Now, looking back, you probably should have. There’s still a lot of unknown variables to account for and it looks like the boys are taking it one step at a time, and apparently it starts with a trip to Madripoor. Zemo chimes in every now and then as he drives and it makes your blood boil that you’re forced to listen to what he has to say. You hate that he has the upper hand and is keeping valuable information hostage. You want to strangle him. 

After a while, Zemo pulls into a private airport. Bucky helps you out of the car and grabs your bag from the trunk as the four of you walk towards the jet just off the runway. You had no idea just how rich Zemo was. Now that he’s out of prison, for now at least, his arrogance returned back in full force in addition to his pompous attitude. 

You board the plane in silence, ignoring every word coming out of the Baron’s mouth. You settle in the back of the plane and ignore Bucky’s stares as you look out the window. You’re too angry to engage in conversation. You don’t care that Zemo insults Steve’s legacy. He’s gone, dead, what do you care? Yes, you wanted Steve to be happy, but he abandoned you. He abandoned Sam and Bucky. 

Zemo rambles on and on. “People like Steve become symbols, icons. Then we start to forget about their flaws. From there, cities fly, innocent people die. Movements are formed, wars are fought,” he turns to address Bucky directly. “You remember that, right? As a young soldier sent to Germany to stop a mad icon. Do we want to live in a world full of people like the Red Skull?”

Silence fills the space and for a moment, you feel a reprieve. That was until Zemo mentioned the Winter Soldier. 

��“We can’t go into Madripoor as ourselves. James, you will have to become someone you claim is gone.”

You immediately stand up and protest, storming to the front of the plane. “No. Absolutely not. I won’t let you use Bucky, not again. There has to be another way.”

Zemo clicks his tongue at you and shakes his head. A smug graces his features and you lung at him, wrapping your hands around his throat. “I’ll fucking kill you!”

Bucky leaps to his feet and tears you off of Zemo, dragging you to the back of the plane behind the curtains to give the two of you an illusion of privacy. Your shoulders shake with rage and Bucky’s hands caress your face. 

“You can’t be him. He’s not you anymore. You don’t have to do this, Bucky. Please,” you begged, clinging to his hands. “I can’t let Zemo control you again.”

Bucky’s touched with how protective you are over him. He pulls you closer and hugs you tightly against him. Your fingers grip the back of his shirt and he presses a gentle kiss to the top of your head. 

“Honey,” he whispered. “I have to. I have to do this so we can stop the Flag Smashers from getting the serum. It’s for the mission.”

You huffed against his chest. Now you’re really regretting your decision to help Sam. You would’ve said no if you had known that it meant watching Bucky turn into the Winter Soldier again, even if it wasn’t real. 

You don’t know what to say. He won’t change his mind. Bucky’s just as stubborn as you are and he’ll do anything for the success of the mission, just like Steve did. 

You pull away and return back to your seat, crossing your arms over your chest as you stare into the back of Zemo’s plush leather seat. Bucky trails behind you and squeezes your shoulder. You shrug off his touch as he takes the empty seat next to yours. 

“And, I’m afraid that where we’re going doesn’t take too kindly to women who are…. how do I put this…. strong willed,” Zemo said. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Bucky barked, jumping to your defense just moments after you did the same for him.

“Selby will see Y/n as competition. We can’t have that happen. She’ll have to stay behind.”

“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m just going to just sit here and do nothing,” you snapped. “I’m coming with. I don’t care if I have to pretend to be meek.”

Zemo turns to look at you. He’s challenging you. You both know it. He’s pushing your buttons and it’s working. He smirks and leans against the armchair. His eyebrows raise and he asks, “Even if it means pretending to be a prostitute?”

Your gaze doesn’t falter and you ignore both Sam’s and Bucky’s protests. It falls on deaf ears. You don’t care, as long as you’re with Sam and Bucky and they’re safe. “Yes,” you answered without a second thought. You’ve done worse things than pretend to be a sex worker. It would be a piece of cake. 

Zemo grins, letting out a soft laugh. “It looks like you’ll be joining us after all then, Y/n.”

You scoff at him and look out the window. Bucky drags you from your seat once more and pulls you behind the curtain. You look away from him and he reaches to squeeze your hand. 

“You don’t have to do this. You have nothing to prove,” he whispered, brushing the top of your palm with his warm and calloused fingers. 

“You don’t either,” you mumbled back. 

He smiles softly at your retort and pulls you into his arms. He holds you gently and cards his fingers through your hair. You hum quietly as he holds you. 

“Touché, honey.”

There’s a beat of silence between the two of you before you lean back to meet his gaze. His blue eyes pierce through yours and it makes your heart race. You pull away and rub your palms against your thighs. 

You disappear behind the curtain once more, leaving Bucky behind. 

…

When you arrive in Madripoor, you’re dressed in an outfit that leaves little to the imagination. The dress has a plunging neckline that settles just below your naval. Your chest is barely covered and your boobs threaten to slip over the fabric. You’re dressed for the part, that’s for sure. 

Zemo is the first one to look at you when you return from behind the curtain. He whistles at you and it makes your skin crawl. 

Bucky shoves Zemo harshly and grips his chest tightly, snarling in his face. “Watch your mouth,” Bucky hissed, shoving him into one of the chairs. 

He turns to look at you and you reach to squeeze his hand. You pull him away from Zemo and whisper softly, “It’s alright, Buck. Take a deep breath.”

He grits his teeth and shakes his head, and does what you ask. “I’ll kill him. If he does that again, I’ll kill him.”

You laugh softly and press a gentle kiss to his cheek. “I don’t doubt you will, Buck.”

The two of you trail behind Sam and Zemo as you leave the plane. A sleek black car is waiting just off the runway and you follow behind to the vehicle. When you settle into your spot in between Buck and Sam in the back, Zemo turns to look at the three of you. 

“It’s imperative that we don’t break character, no matter what. If you do, we’re good as dead, understand?” 

You scoff and roll your eyes as he looks towards you. “Crystal,” you snapped, crossing your arms over your chest. 

He turns to face the front of the vehicle and silence fills the car. 

Suddenly, a number of motorcycles surround the car as you drive into Low Town. you make sure to keep your eyes forward and Bucky reaches for the hand on your knee. He squeezes it tightly and you do the same. 

Reality is now just setting in for you. This is the first mission that you’ve been on since Steve went back to the 40s, and since Tony died. It had been three long months since Tony saved the world and brought everyone back that was taken five years earlier. You know that three months isn’t long, but it still makes you nervous. You haven’t been training to keep things from going rusty. You had no desire to. 

Bucky leans into you, his mouth near the shell of your ear. “You okay?” 

You nodded, swallowing the lump in your throat. “Yeah, just a bit nervous. I’m a little out of practice. This is my first mission since Steve left,” you mumbled back, squeezing his hand again to keep you grounded. He does the same in return. 

“It’s alright. I have your back. I’ll protect you, promise.”

A small smile finds its way onto your face and you shake your head at him. “You know better than anyone else than to promise something like that before a mission, Buck. It’s bad luck,” you teased. 

He laughs too and the car stops in what you guess is the downtown area of Low Town. You take a deep breath and Bucky does the same. You squeeze his hand one last time before his hand falls from your grasp. He opens the door and climbs out. You follow close behind and find your spot next to Sam. He gingerly wraps his arm around your waist as you walk into the Princess Bar. 

Electronic music blasts through the speakers and the bass vibrates through your chest. You press against Sam as you push through people to get to the bar. The smell of drugs and alcohol is suffocating as you walk and ignore the stares sent your way. They’re not staring at you, but Bucky, who walks just a step behind you like a looming shadow. 

“Ready to comply, Winter Soldier?” Zemo asked Bucky in Russian. 

It makes your blood boil and Sam squeezes your waist tightly, a reminder that you must not break character. You hate it. You hate that Bucky has to pretend to be the person he’s worked so hard to distance himself from. Bucky is not him. The Winter Soldier doesn’t exist anymore. That part of him is gone, dead. You only hope that Bucky reminds himself that the Winter Soldier isn’t him anymore as he pretends just feet behind you.

You stand in front of the bar counter as the bartender approaches. You keep your mouth shut as Zemo exchanges words with the man, briefly bringing Sam, the Smiling Tiger, into the conversation. Your eyes find Bucky’s and your heart jumps inside your throat. His eyes are cold and void of any emotion. He’s stoic and brooding. He’s fallen into character perfectly and it scares you to think that all the progress he’s made over the years has been destroyed in this moment. For his sake, you hope not.

You tear your eyes away from Bucky at the feeling of Sam’s hand on the curve of your ass. You watch him carefully as he takes a shot. The bartender moves on and you let out a careful breath. 

A man grasps at Zemo’s shoulder and sneers at him. He looks over at Bucky as Zemo asks to see Selby before he walks away. Another man approaches Zemo from behind and he speaks in Russian once more. “Winter Soldier, attack.” 

You hold your breath in anticipation as the unsuspecting man rests his hand on Zemo’s shoulder. You want to reach out and touch Bucky, tell him that he doesn’t have to, that the two of you still have time to make a run for it, but you don’t. You can’t. Zemo would probably try and kill you if you interfere and it’s the last thing you need. 

Bucky stalks over to him with two long strides, and rips the man’s hand from Zemo’s shoulder. He twists his wrist back and throws him to the ground. Another man swings at Bucky and he stops it with ease. He punches his back and kicks him against another crowny. As another man attempts to punch and kick at Bucky. He uses his metal arm and momentum to take each of them out.

“It doesn’t take much for him to fall back into form,” Zemo smirked, leaning over to look at you and Sam. 

“Shut your mouth,” you hissed between your teeth as you watched Bucky. 

Bucky grabs one of the men by the throat and slams him into the counter. Guns cock all around you as you look around the room. Your heart is inside your throat and there’s ringing in your ears. You reach to grab Bucky’s arm, but Sam beats you to it.

“Stay in character or the whole bar turns on us,” Zemo whispered. “Well done, soldier.”

Sam lets go of his arm and takes a step back, pulling you with him. He squeezes your hip tightly as you watch Bucky’s grip fall from the man’s throat.

“Selby will see you now,” the bartender said.

Zemo moves to follow him and you resist the urge to reach out and touch Bucky. Sam pulls you along and you walk in silence down a number of hallways. The music fades into the background and you’re squeezing Sam’s hand like your life depends on it. 

A number of men on Selby’s security detail whistle as you walk by. You bite your tongue and resist the urge to snap their necks. The four of you wait at the door at the end of the hall for several seconds before it opens. You walk inside and Zemo takes you from Sam’s side. Your jaw ticks as he guides you to the empty sofa. His hand settles on your thigh and you tense under his touch.

Zemo and Selby negotiate for information. All you need to know is who created the serum and where they are. That’s it. Zemo needs to stick to the plan. 

Zemo stands up from his spot next to you. “Tell us what you know about the super soldier serum, and I give you him…. along with the code words to control him,” Zemo stands behind Bucky, his hand resting on his shoulder. He’s silent and obedient, the perfect encapsulation of who he had been for the last 80 years. 

There wasn’t a discussion over what the offer would be when you were on the plane from Latvia. You just assumed Zemo would figure a way out of it, he was clever enough to do it before. You hadn’t thought that he would actually use the Winter Soldier to his benefit outside of protection. How naive of you. 

Bucky’s eyes are dark and he stares straight ahead as Zemo caresses his chin. He doesn’t flinch or react. He’s playing the Winter Soldier perfectly and you hate every second. You bite the inside of your cheek so hard that you start to taste blood. 

“He will do anything you want.”

Selby grins, leaning back in her spot on the couch opposite of you. She tells him what you need to know. She nears Sam and then the worst happens, his phone begins to ring. 

She tells him to answer it and your fingers squeeze into the leather couch. Your heart races and for the first time since you walked into the bar, Bucky’s eyes find yours. You know he can see your panic. 

Things are fine momentarily. Sam’s trying his best to stay in character and you know it’s not working as well as he’d like. You hold your breath and your panic settles in at the mention of Sam’s name coming from Sarah. 

“Kill them—” 

Your eyes widen in horror as a bullet pierces through the glass window in front of you and lodges into Selby’s throat, killing her instantly. The act is over. 

You leap to your feet and pull the tactical knife that you hid in your dress out from underneath you. You slice the knife across your attacker’s arm. Bucky kicks him into the wall and grabs you by the arm. 

You run as fast as you can out the bar and through the streets of Madripoor. You dodge bullets and fight off others that attack you with knives. 

You do well, all things considered with what you’re dressed in. You dig your heel into the boot of your attacker, throwing them off balance. You kick their leg out from underneath them and Sam knocks them unconscious. 

Bucky, of course, is doing just fine on his own. You run over to help. You disarm the man closer to you and use the butt of the gun to knock him out. 

You barely have time to register the man creeping up behind Bucky. His arm is outstretched with a gun in his hand. Bucky has no clue. 

“Bucky!” you screamed at the top of your lungs, running as fast as you can towards him. 

He turns to look at you as you use your whole body to shove him aside as the gun goes off. 

Time stands still. 

You fall to the ground in a daze as the bullet rips through your shoulder. Your eyes stare up into the night sky as it takes you a moment to realize that you’d just been shot. 

You try to sit up and get back on your feet. You don’t have time to worry about your wound. You need to get the hell out of Low Town. 

Bucky nearly drags you off the ground and you run. You run as fast as you can despite the bullet in your shoulder. 

“We need to get out of here!” Bucky shouted, inspecting your wound. 

A shadowy figure approaches and Bucky blocks you from view. The hood drops and you peer over Bucky’s shoulder. You don’t have time to be surprised that Sharon is the one standing in front of you. 

“Sharon? What are you doing here?” Sam asked. 

“We don’t have time for that!” Bucky snapped. “Sharon, please. You gotta help us. Y/n’s been shot.”

She nods and motions for you to follow her. She stops in front of a beautiful blue car and Bucky guides you into the car, pressing his metal hand against your shoulder to stop the bleeding. You ignore Sam and Bucky’s bickering as they yell at you for getting shot. You don’t have the energy to respond. 

Sharon races across town and pulls up to a very fancy building. Sharon jumps out and opens the door for Bucky. His arm holds your torso and your uninjured arm is thrown over his shoulder as you walk inside. You gather into the elevator as it takes you to the top floor. 

Your entire body goes numb and Bucky guides you to the kitchen counter. Sharon briefly disappears before returning with a heavy duty first aid kit. 

“Do you have tequila?” you asked her as Bucky rummaged through the bag for the correct supplies. Sharon laughs softly before grabbing a bottle of tequila from her liquor cabinet. You take a generous sip and the liquid burns your throat. 

Bucky inspects the bullet wound carefully. Thankfully it was a through and through. He doesn’t have to fish the bullet out. He works quickly and you grit your teeth as he stitches the wound close on both sides of your shoulder. 

The pain lessened to a dull throb now that he’s finished. He cleans the excess blood off your skin before gently placing your arm in a sling. 

“Why did you do that, Y/n?” Bucky chastised you, shaking his head in disappointment. “I could’ve taken care of him.”

You scoff and roll your eyes at him. “I don’t even get a thank you for saving your ass? You were vulnerable, I did the right thing.”

He sighs and you look away. Your eyes find Sharon’s. “Can I borrow some clothes?”

She nods and disappears down the hall to her bedroom. Silence fills the room and Sam takes his turn to reprimand you. You ignore him entirely and take another large swig of tequila. 

Sharon returns moments later with a pair of clean clothes. You thank her quietly and she points you in the direction of one of the guest bedrooms. You hop off the counter and ignore Bucky’s protests and calls of your name. 

You huffed in frustration as you limped towards one of Sharon’s guest bedrooms. You had enough of Sam and Bucky yelling at you for your recklessness, especially Bucky. You’re exhausted and all you want to do is sleep. 

You did what you thought was right. You did what Steve would’ve done. You had Bucky’s back. Isn’t that what mattered? Sure, you got shot in the shoulder, but it isn’t something you haven’t done before. You have the scars to prove it. 

“Stop running away from me! We’re not done talking about this!” Bucky yelled after you, hot on your heels into the bedroom. “What were you thinking?”

You’re sick of Bucky questioning you. You’re not a child and you’re not the bright eyed recruit he thinks you still are. You did what was right in the heat of the moment. You don’t regret it. You’d do it all over again if it meant that he was safe. 

“Stop treating me like a child, James! I’m not Steve’s recruit anymore! I’m a grown woman,” you shouted back at him. Your shoulders shake and you glare at him. “I know you still think I’m that naive 25 year old, but that’s not me anymore. The last five years may have been five seconds to you, but they weren’t to me. Accept the fact that I did what I thought was right.”

“It was reckless!”

“Steve would’ve done it!” you bit back. 

“This isn’t about Steve!” he argued. 

You laugh bitterly and shake your head. He doesn’t see it. He doesn’t see what you see. You know he sees you as his responsibility now that Steve’s gone. He feels an obligation to look after you because Steve did. You have a part of Steve with you. Bucky’s clinging to any last remains of Steve, and that includes you. 

“Isn’t it though? You feel like you have a responsibility to protect me, to look after me. Why? It’s because Steve did and now that he’s gone, you feel like you have to replace him!”

The silence that fills the room suffocates you. Your heart races with anger. You want Bucky to leave you alone. You didn’t ask for this. Sam needed your help, and when you provided it, you got yelled at for it. Now you just want to go home. 

You turn your back to Bucky and pull the pants that Sharon gave you up your legs before discarding the dress in the corner of the room. You don’t care if Bucky sees all the scars that litter your backside. Maybe then he would understand that you’ve always done what’s best for the mission, even if that meant getting hurt. You throw the sweatshirt over your head and turn to look at Bucky again. 

“Do you have anything else to say to me? Are you going to try and deny it?”

Bucky sighs, running a hand through his hair. “You’re one of the only people I have left that have a connection to Steve.”

Another bitter laugh escapes your mouth. He doesn’t understand. “He abandoned me, James! He abandoned us. Steve’s gone. You can’t hold on to him anymore. You don’t have to do anything Steve did. You have nothing to prove to me, I promise. I don’t need you to replace Steve. I need you, Buck. You’re the one that’s here with me, not Steve.”

Tears threaten to spill over your cheeks and you look away from him. The silence is deafening and Bucky moves to take you in his arms. He holds you against his chest and cards his fingers through your hair. You cry against his chest and cling to his henley. He gently guides you to the bed and sits down with you in his lap.

“I’m sorry, honey,” he whispered, rubbing your back. “You’re right. It just scared me. I don’t think I can handle losing you too. I’m sorry.”

You pull away to look at him with your tear stained cheeks and he carefully wipes away your tears with the pad of his thumb. You blink away the remaining tears and lean into his touch. “It’s okay, Buck. You can’t get rid of me that easily.” 

You rest your forehead against his and breathe him in. His metal hand rubs circles against your back and it sends shivers down your spine. He holds you carefully and no words are exchanged. Your eyes flicker to his lips and your heart thunders against your chest. 

There’s a soft knock at the door and you pull your body off of Bucky’s. You sit beside him as Sam pokes his head inside the room. “Is everything okay?” he asked, looking between the two of you. 

You look over at Bucky and then back to Sam. You smile and nod slowly. “Everything’s perfect, Sam.”

[moonlitceleste]

marinette dupain-cheng’s guide to picking up cute guys

A/N: Chez Vous is real in the DC universe; it’s described as a restaurant but I decided to use it as the name of the café because I didn’t want to come up with one myself. It translates to “at your house,” which basically implies “make yourself at home.”

thanks to @ramos123 for being my beta reader! <3

ao3

“Bet.”

Marinette slapped a crisp 20-dollar bill onto the wooden table with enough force to slosh around the brown liquid in the cup sitting before Alya’s smirking face.

Chez Vous was the name of the café they had been sitting in for the past fifteen minutes. The place had a nice ambience, the quiet chatter of customers and aromatic smells combining to make what was an unusually cozy atmosphere considering the location.

Gotham wasn’t exactly known for being hospitable, but she supposed the fact that it was clearly fashioned after Parisian cafés contributed to the homey feel. It vaguely reminded her of her parents’ bakery as well, so it certainly lived up to its name.

Perhaps it was this sense of familiarity that had her and Alya reminiscing on how far they’d come. It hadn’t been that long since lycée or université—the two were only 22 and 23, respectively—but recalling the good times they’d shared was always fun to do.

Of course, their friendship had momentary blips (ahem, Lila), but the two had managed to sort out their problems eventually. Now that Alya had become more attuned to Marinette’s boundaries and there were no pressing superhero secrets to keep, they knew how to both ground and challenge each other in positive ways. Which was exactly what had caused Marinette to get herself into this situation.

While chattering about their lycée days, Alya poked fun at her once again for what had transpired on the day of the Animan akuma. How could she ever forget that while secretly masquerading as a superhero and locking her best friends in an empty gorilla habitat together, she had somehow helped them end up in a relationship? And now the two were engaged.

This topic somehow lead to Adrien and the stupid puns he spewed both in superhero and civilian form. Alya was insistent that Marinette was charmed by them at some point, to which she replied, No way! They were horrible. Even I could do better.

It was with twinkling eyes that her best friend asked “Bet?” and well, Marinette was never one to back down from a challenge. So after pulling out some spare cash from her purse and setting it down in front of Alya, she raised a brow.

A wicked smirk grew on her best friend’s face, and any lesser person would have faltered, but Marinette was prepared for anything that could possibly be thrown at her.

“Fine. If you’re so confident, I dare you to use a pick-up line on… him.”

As if on cue, the bell at the top of the glass-paneled wooden door jingled, and Marinette followed Alya’s pointed finger right on time to see a very attractive man walk through.

He had a confident stride, but not an arrogant one—his aura was one of someone who was assured and knew exactly what they were capable of.

Despite his seemingly laid-back disposition, she didn’t fail to notice how his eyes darted around the room cautiously, the same habit she had gotten used to doing after she had been given the Ladybug Miraculous. Then again, this was Gotham, so being on constant guard was only natural.

One thumb was hooked in the pocket of his jeans while the other moved up to ruffle his hair, and wow did he have nice hair.

It was perfectly coiffed, and if she didn’t have experience with hairstyling due to her career she would’ve thought it was as effortless as it looked. Most models would kill for the natural luster his locks seemed to have, and even from a distance she could tell that anyone who decided to run their fingers through his hair would be met with softness.

And she didn’t even want to get started on his face. From his glowing skin to his strong jaw and pretty eyes, she refused to believe someone so attractive could be real. It was unfair, really.

“...inette? Marinette? You good there, girl?”

A snap in front of her face broke Marinette out of her stupor, and she offered an instinctual yelp in response.

“What?”

Alya’s eyes twinkled knowingly, and Marinette shifted anxiously in her seat.

“You sure you weren’t checking him out?”

“Alya!”

Said girl let out a mischievous cackle at her hissed response.

“Now get over there!” she said, waving her hands around in a shooing motion.

Marinette glanced over to the line, where the man was no doubt giving the barista his order.

From what she could tell he was just about done, and she watched as he shuffled through his wallet to hand the barista a bill. But rather than proceed normally as most client-worker interactions would, his payment was met with wide eyes and flailing hands.

Marinette was much too far to discern what was being said, but from context clues she could deduct that he had just handed the barista quite a sizable amount. She had already guessed he was well-off from simply observing the quality of his clothes, but this was near confirmation.

It wasn’t as if status or wealth mattered much to her, but she did have a tendency to be wary of higher-class people due to past experiences with them. Being around them really wasn’t as pleasant as it seemed.

Her musing was interrupted when the man suddenly moved, relocating to the waiting line. There was her chance.

Marinette pushed herself out of her seat, steeling herself and lifting her chin high. This was no biggie. All she had to do was somehow convince this gorgeous man to give her his number by making a crappy pick-up line and a pun on the spot. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t done before, but this felt different, probably because it was a total stranger she was about to attempt it on.

She felt Alya’s gaze trailing after her with each step, and Marinette reminded herself that she absolutely had to succeed or she would never hear the end of it.

The closer she got, however, the more her confidence died. Apparently she had made a major miscalculation while gauging her probability of success, because she hadn’t accounted for the brain spasm she was currently having. Why, oh why did he have to be so cute?

Marinette had the sinking feeling that she was about to majorly embarrass herself, but she was determined to win. Screw embarrassment—she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. All the trouble she had gotten into with Alix and Kim as kids had prepared her for this very moment. Nothing mattered besides victory.

So she sauntered up confidently, stopping right in front of her target.

“Hey, you must be Batman’s sidekick.”

“What?”

The man’s head snapped towards her, and Marinette didn’t fail to notice the subtle defensive stance he took. Years of hero experience had made her more perceptive towards these things—it was part of the job, after all. She filed the information away in the back of her mind, making a mental note to dissect all that later. Her priority was winning the bet—and oh, right, she still had to finish that pick-up line.

“...because you’re Robin my heart.”

The quip was accompanied by an uncharacteristically roguish smile, à la Chat Noir. She’d give herself a solid 10/10 points on delivery.

Her target seemed to agree with the verdict, because after a split second of shocked silence, he burst into full-bodied laughter.

The instantaneous shift in demeanor nearly caught her off-guard, but she was too occupied by the bright smile on his face and his melodic chuckle to notice. It was light and carefree, and she couldn’t help but crack a small smile as a result.

The only problem was that the laughter didn’t end, though, and she felt her face heat up more as the seconds ticked by.

Oh, Kwami.

Marinette buried her face into her hands with a soft groan, wishing the ground could just open up and swallow her whole.

She knew it wasn’t the greatest pick-up line ever, but she didn’t think her attempt warranted that much amusement.

The laugher ceased abruptly, and she peeked through her fingers in time to see the man quickly sober up.

“Sorry, I wasn’t laughing at you!”

A pause.

“Okay, not exactly. I just—wow, that was a great pick-up line.”

She slowly lowered her hands, though she kept her head down to peer at him through her lashes.

“Did it work?”

He chuckled and offered her a bright smile that made her blush like a high schooler with a massive crush.

“Yeah, you can tell your friend over there that you won your bet.”

If it was even possible, she turned redder.

“What? How…”

At the mention of Alya, Marinette sent a quick glance to their café table only to find that she was doing absolutely nothing to hide her rapt attention. She quickly caught on to the fact that they were looking her way and sent a very obvious thumbs-up and wink.

Oh, I am so going to kill her later!

But Marinette’s momentary vexation made way for embarrassment as the gravity of the situation hit her.

“I guess I wasn’t exactly subtle, huh?”

“Yeah,” the handsome stranger shrugged. “You probably could have been more discreet. But I liked it.”

“Okay, that’s the second time you’ve said that, but I have a hard time believing you. You can’t possibly tell me that you actually enjoy puns.”

“So I’m guessing I shouldn’t tell you that meeting you was a fortuitous aster?”

“Aster? As in the opposite of disaster?” she wrinkled her nose.

“You got it!”

Marinette rolled her eyes in exasperation, though the upwards tug at the corner of her lips betrayed her true feelings.

“Careful there, or you’ll be the one Robin my heart.”

She’d never admit to it, but she flushed a tiny bit before straightening up in realization. Hey, she was supposed to be the one doing the wooing here!

But before she could open her mouth to respond, her companion beat her to it.

“Since you’re stealing something so dear to me, I think it’s only fair that I get my thief’s name in exchange.”

He was clever, she had to admit.

“Marinette,” she proffered.

“Dick.”

She blinked in surprise at the seemingly random obscenity before it clicked.

“Oh, that’s your name!”

The words tumbled forward, and once she realized what she had said, Marinette tried to frantically backpedal. Her spilled apologies didn’t seem to be necessary, though, because that mesmerizing laugh came back.

“No, it’s fine, I get that a lot,” he breathed between chuckles.

She brightened immediately, glad she hadn’t offended him or embarrassed herself too much.

“Well, since I’m already taking something from you, may I steal your number as well?”

“Only if I can do the same.”

Her inquiry was met with a grin, and the two exchanged phones to type in their respective numbers. Marinette’s found its way back into her hand shortly after, and moments after she pocketed it the call of “medium espresso and beignets!” broke the quiet ambience.

“Well, that’s my order,” Dick said, words weighted by a silent apology. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I have a few things I need to take care of. Maybe we can meet up later this week?”

The end of his sentence lilted up in hope, and Marinette found her chest warming with affection.

“I’d like that.”

She bid him goodbye with a smile and a wave and quickly tacked on an “I’ll text you later!” in afterthought.

She’d forever deny squealing giddily as she unceremoniously dragged Alya out from her seat and through the café doors, but the sound didn’t escape Dick’s attention—or his enhanced hearing, courtesy of Bat-Tech.

As he watched her leave with Alya, a smile slowly spread across his face at the thought of seeing her again.

Yeah, he sighed to himself. She’s definitely Robin my heart.

-

PERMANENT TAGLIST *@astoriaandromeda @avengerthewarrior *@bluesimani @enternalempires @flower-girll @freesportspalacesalad @glastwime859 @h1sss @heart-charming @iloontjeboontje @jayjayspixiepop @jalaluvsu @kitsunebell @maskedpainter @moongoddesskiana @nathleigh @no-username2544 @too0bsessedformyowngood @ultimatetornshipper

[exovapor]

I'm OBSESSED with your writing. Can you try.. Maybe, Donnie being a filthy boy being an 'stalker-ish' of his long time crush? Be checks their FB for new posts, saves every picture of them he finds? He doesn't mean to be a creep, feels guilty, but just doesn't know how to ask for more than friendship?

Good afternoon Anon. Here is my short story in relation to your ask.

I wasn't sure where you wanted me to take this, so I had to do a bit of guessing on my part. I hope this something like you were wanting.

I will admit that this ask was a bit of a struggle for me, not knowing a clear direction to take it outcome made me a little unsure of my writing and guessing abilities LOL. However, I will admit to crying along with the characters in this story more than once.

Thanks again for the ask and the initial compliment. I hope to continue to earn your favor in future posts.

· Stalker [noun]: 1a person who harasses or persecutes someone with unwanted and obsessive attention. 2a person who hunts game stealthily.

· Donnie stared at the definition on his one of his monitor screens while his various other screens were busy flashing receipts of files downloaded, text trail streams from your phone, notices of any social media post/update/like/heart/emoji, a GPS line grid of your routes today (overlayed over the routes you’d taken previously), and data search hits of anything and everything that pertained to you.

· At this point, the boy had literally every picture you had ever posted, anywhere, of yourself. In fact, he had all the pictures that other people posted of you in them. He had even gone through the effort of designing a face recognition program that picks you out of the background of total strangers’ pictures and, yeah, he had those in a file too.

· He has special file folders that compile things that you like, things you don’t like, things that make you happy, things that make you sad. He is your own personal Pinterest and you didn’t even know it… and maybe that is the part that keeps bothering him so much.

· He sits staring at that word and definition and chewing his bottom lip. True, he knows the word and the meaning, but he needed to LOOK at it, analyze it, mull it over in his guilt ridden brain.

· He just KNEW the word Stalker couldn’t apply to him.

· After all, he isn’t harassing or persecuting you, you don’t know! So, it isn’t necessarily ‘unwanted attention’. It is just…unknown attention.

· Stealthily, hmmmm, did that part apply to him? Well, He isn’t EXACTLY being stealthy.

· If you knew about technology like him, then you would probably see his programs running on your devices and be alerted to his activities. AND, if you shared his love and view of technology, then you would probably be more understanding of his activities and not consider them stealthy…just data mining. In fact, you might applaud him.

· ‘Ok, that was taking it a bit too far’, Donnie thinks to himself and he feels a band tighten and squeeze around his infatuated heart.

· He is almost certain that you would be shocked to learn of his extra curricular activities and how they revolve around every aspect of you.

· Regardless of how he tried to spin the truth and wiggle out of the definition of stalker, Donnie still felt guilty for invading your privacy. However, he honestly couldn’t help himself…at least not anymore.

· He has fought the urge, the nagging thoughts and the burning need, to know more about you for what seemed like an eternity.

· Listen to him, he is starting to sound dramatic like Mikey! What is his turning into? He is losing his rational edge!

· To be accurate, it hasn’t been an eternity. In fact, he has known you 1 year, 36 days, 14 hours, 11 minutes, and 23 seconds to be exact. However, you started occupying space in his mind 2 minutes into meeting you and your claim over his mind has grown exponentially over time.

· You were quiet and reserved during that first meeting, so there wasn’t much to go on. It started as a simple visual interest with a thought of ‘Oh. She’s pretty’.

· However, then you started talking and that changed everything.

· You opened up more and more each time you hung out with their little group, revealing layers and layers of interests and personality. You were fascinating…and that’s when his thoughts about you really started to snowball and spiral out of control.

· You went from being a simple pretty face to being a walking embodiment of everything he seriously ever dreamed of having in a mate.

· Early on, there were three sticking points that really made Donnie’s feelings problematic. 1. He was a nearly seven foot tall walking talking turtle and you weren’t. 2. You had a boyfriend that you were deeply in love with and adored. 3. Donnie was too insecure about #1 and how you felt about inter-species dating to let you know that you had started to OWN his heart.

· Now, thanks to his surveillance, there were only two sticking points….#1 and #3.

· He still remembers the feelings of that day, 44 days ago, when the blip of information popped up on this screen alerting him to the fact that your boyfriend was starting to stray.

· Donnie had severely conflicting feelings bombard him at once and it was overwhelming.

· The initial knee jerk reaction was elation, one of the problems blocking him from you may soon be null.

· However, the feeling of elation only lasted for a second or two before the intense anger and sadness set in. Donnie was honestly shocked at the depth of his anger, he didn’t even know he had that level of malice in him. Had he been in physical proximity to your boyfriend at that moment in time, Donnie isn’t sure that he wouldn’t have hurt your guy…or worse.

· How COULD this guy do this? WHY would he? He HAD YOU! What the heck was this guy thinking? Not only did he have you, but you thought the world of him. When you spoke about him you would smile so genuinely, your eyes would shine and gaze off into a bright imagined future. Donnie was always so jealous to watch it happen, he wondered what it would be like to be THAT GUY. And here the idiot was throwing it all away and meeting up with another girl!

· WHAT THE…(yes, this called for a curse) HELL…IS WRONG WITH HUMAN MEN?

· As the anger set root in his heart, the sadness engulfed Donnie like an all-consuming wave. He realized he was going to have to share this information with you, somehow, and that he was going to have to watch as it destroyed you.

· At first, Donnie had a plan to try and save you both from that fate. True, it would hurt him more to save your relationship, but he would rather be the one facing the pain and not you.

· He TRIED to circumvent the situation. He sent anonymous messages to your boyfriend stating that he knew about the infidelity and that he would tell you if needed. However, it didn’t seem like your boyfriend cared because he sent messages back stating Donnie could, basically, go fuck himself.

· Life had cruel sense of irony, thought Donnie, that is exactly what I do since this moron has the woman that I love.

· So, after trying for nearly two weeks to stop what was happening behind your back, Donnie had no choice but to let you in on the secret.

· Donnie couldn’t come right out and tell you that he caught your boyfriend cheating by hijacking your data streams and the data streams of those around you. So, Donnie intercepted some texts between your boyfriend and his mistress and he then sent you a text, under the guise of your boyfriend, telling you to meet him at a specified restaurant for a date.

· It had been a gut wrenching night for Donnie. He remembered watching it all play out on camera feeds from around the restaurant and street outside. He watched you dressed up in your pretty dress get out of your cab in front of the restaurant. You had such a lovely smile on your face, you must have thought you were in for a romantic evening.

· He watched as you walked inside and how the hostess got flustered and confused by a 2nd girl showing up for your boyfriend’s seated-for-two table.

· Donnie stopped breathing as your eyes found the new couple holding hands and giving each other sweet kisses across the table. Hands and lips that were supposed to be yours were touching some stranger.

· Donnie watched your smile and eyes die…the light of your inner sun go out…

· …and it killed him.

· He’s not sure who was crying the hardest, you standing there in that restaurant witnessing the scene or him back at the lair watching your world crush around you on his monitor.

· It had taken a while for you both to recover from that night.

· His brothers noticed his melancholy mood for a couple of weeks but Donnie wouldn’t tell them what was bothering him. And you stayed in your bed, refusing to face the world, for nearly as long.

· Eventually, the group began to notice your silence and absence, so April stopped by your apartment to check on you. She was the one to pull you out of bed, get you to shower and eat. She visited everyday and made sure you had someone to vent to and a shoulder to cry on.

· Donnie was glad that April could be there for you when he couldn’t. He didn’t think it was appropriate for him, a male, to be your confidant at that time. Especially since he felt so much guilt over having to be the one to expose you to that pain.

· No, he didn’t CAUSE the pain, but he did have to make you face it and he didn’t like not being able to protect you from it. You were such a rare, precious creature and watching you in pain felt like he was suffocating slowly.

· There were some points during those first few weeks that he questioned if he did the right thing, but logic told him it would have eventually come to pass with or without his involvement. It was better to rip the bandage of quickly and let you start to heal than it was to let you linger and drag out the inevitable.

· Donnie did secretly check on you every single night during patrol. And, of course, his surveillance feeds were always running. He watched from a distance as his beautiful phoenix burn down to ashes and, eventually, started to rise again.

· Now, it’s been over 3 months and you’ve begun to be more like your old self. Donnie can tell there is a silent sadness there, but you are able to laugh and smile with the group during your get togethers. And each time you two are left alone, his mind nags at him about those last two sticking points.

· Would you be at all interested in him? And HOW does he go about telling you that you have become the center of his world?

· Still staring at the monitor and the Stalker definition, Donnie sighs and rubs the bridge of his snout to release of the pressure now pushing against the inside of his head. The memories of what has happened, the emotions of what was and what is, it was all starting to be too much.

· “Bro, what’s all this?”, Mikey says standing behind Donnie’s chair, talking around a mouth full of pizza.

· “NOTHING!”, says Donnie, voice breaking from the stress of being caught. A startled Donnie quickly taps some keys on his keyboard and the screens revert back to the standard lair camera feeds.

· Mikey may look or even come off as naïve at times, but he’s no fool, he can sense that his older brother is trying to hide something. “Dude, seriously, what was that? I’ve been standing back here reading the screens. I saw Y/N’s name and that looked like her phone number on that other file…, you know the file that looks like texts messages. And why is there a plotted map of the area around her apartment, her work, and to the lair? What’s up?”, Mikey said giving a disapproving look at being thought a pushover.

· “Just standard surveillance, Mikey, nothing to worry about.”, Donnie says trying to placate Mikey’s curiosity. Donnie hates lying, especially to Mikey, but he’s feeling so guilty about being such a…(inward sigh)…stalking creep that admitting the truth is hard to do.

· Mikey stands there staring at Donnie and, as he does, Donnie begins to fidget with his computer chair armrests.

· Mikey stuffs the remnants of the pizza slice into his mouth and does his best Leo impersonation by crosses his arms and staring down at Donnie as sternly as his jolly face can achieve, “Dude, I’m not going to ask you again. You’ve been weird for months. We’ve let it go for the most part but now you are hiding things from me…from ME, dude! You and I, we’re like peanut butter and jelly, we’re ice cream and chocolate fudge, we young dudes have got to stick together. Trust me, bro, I’ve got you!”.

· Donnie stared at the floor, too ashamed to meet Mikey’s eyes any longer. He gave a heavy sigh and reluctantly started to speak, “Sorry Mike, I…I honestly don’t know what’s come over me lately. I’m doing things I never thought I would do, I’m feeling so guilty about it, but I don’t know if I can stop doing it either. I feel…lost.”.

· Mike relaxed his leader stance and leaned against one of Donnie’s lab tables, “Bro, I can tell you’ve been carrying some heavy stuff lately. You need to let it out.”

· Donnie felt the heat rise up through his body like he was suddenly being consumed by a fire and he ripped his glasses off his face and drew them down on the desk in frustration, “Mikey, I’m in love with Y/N. I have been for a while. I have been…”, Donnie hangs his head in shame, “…tracking all her digital foot prints and watching her. In fact, I’m the reason she found out that asshole boyfriend of her's cheated.”

· Mikey’s mouth drops open at Donnie’s demeanor and use of the word ‘asshole’, “Whoa, dude, why didn’t you say something earlier?”.

· Donnie can feel a stinging at the corners of his eyes, this was so embarrassing, so frustrating, so…..so many things at a once. He didn’t have a response for Mikey, all he could do was shake his head.

· Still with his head hung down and staring at the floor, Donnie starts to hear Mikey chuckle. Donnie looks up to see Mikey’s eyes on him and for some reason they are full of merriment at his painful dilemma. Donnie stares at his, normally, very considerate brother in astonishment, this isn’t like Mikey at all!

· “Mikey, I’m more than serious here, now is not the time to make fun of me. What is so funny?”, Donnie asks exasperatedly.

· Mikey shakes his bald head and claps his brother on the shoulder with his green hand, “Bro, she thinks you’re cute.”.

· “W-What?!”, Donnie stammers out.

· Mikey, still chuckling, says, “Yeah, dude, that’s why I asked WHY you didn’t say something about liking her sooner, she’s always thought you were cute. She and I talk about it all the time.”.

· Donnie just stares at his jolly brother in silence. His mind is too blown to form a sentence.

· Mikey turns to leave stating, “And by the way, dude, stop watching her like that…that’s just creepy.”.

@turtle-babe83 @tmntspidergirl @kokokatsworld @nittleboo @the-second-circle-of-shell

[charmtale]

re-watched episode 22 (and 23) of rgu a few weeks ago and one particular moment in 22 won’t get out of my head ever since. tokiko returns to the school to put flowers on mamiya’s grave and while she’s walking through the hallway she encounters mikage. mikage, who has been obsessed with her for decades since they stopped being in contact, who thinks about her constantly, who multiple times looks directly at utena and sees tokiko instead because he’s that desperate to interact with her again... doesn’t even react to her. zero acknowledgement.

(she stops, he keeps right on walking)

and that’s... i don’t know, there’s something about it that gets me. because of course he doesn’t recognize her. the tokiko in his mind is as frozen as he and ‘mamiya’ are. he’s so trapped in the past that even when he finally encounters what he seems to be looking for after all this time, it’s not even a blip on his radar because he’s so focused on the past- not even just the past, but his version of the past, where mamiya never died, where he never flambéed one hundred boys, etc. and that past continues into the present, or really, it never ended so it never had to continue, so of course tokiko doesn’t look like that. that woman is a stranger. now this random pink-haired child with a sword? that’s tokiko

i wish i could put into words better how it makes me feel but like... i miss my childhood friends every day, and yes, i could conceivably walk right past them and not even recognize their faces anymore. i don’t know. this is incomprehensible. anyway <3

[margarethx]

Sambucky writing prompts

Because I have a lot of ideas and no ability to focus on writing any of them right now... so I might as well share. Feel free to use any of these. You can tag me or send a link if you want to. (Unless it's ”a story about poor, sad Bucky... and Sam is kinda there to help” type of fanfiction, bacause I love Sam too much to read something like that.)

Let's go!

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1. Both Sam and Bucky are trained to be Winter Soldiers at the same time. On one of the shared missions they accidentally form a connection which helps them with slowly getting their memories back, so they can escape together.

2. The Winter Soldier is sent to kill one Samuel Thomas Wilson, but for some reason he just cannot do it. (Or he almost did and regrets it immediately.)

3. Bucky's a mechanic that Sam called to help with repairing the boat and he works very slowly on purpose to have an excuse to see Sam more often.

4. Sam can actually talk to birds (as he should!) and they start to be annoying always asking about his dating life.

5. Sam is a literal angel. That's the prompt. (And canon.)

6. Sam and Bucky go on long, separate vacation. But they somehow end up in the same country, the same town, and the same hotel. Probably the same room too. What a surprise...

7. Bucky knows a lot of things about Sam and Sam is sure he never told him about any of that. Turns out Bucky migh have done some research between 2014 and 2016 when Sam was looking for him.

8. Sam discovers that Bucky had something to do with picking the designs for his new superhero suit.

9. Bucky finally tries to bond with Redwing and Sam does a very bad job at pretending he’s not amused.

10. Bucky has to deal with a painful realisation that Sam is not a supersoldier and that no matter how strong he is he'll always be more likely to get seriously hurt on their missions.

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11. When they are frustrated Bucky starts to speak Russian and Sam responds to him in Arabic which doesn't solve the initial problem, but at least it's funny. (Bonus points if one of them - or both - pretends to not now the language the other one's speaking.)

12. Bucky has a terrible reputation and looks dangerous, so everyone prefers to avoid him, but then he meets Sam who just makes fun of his edgy persona all the time... and Bucky for some gay reason lets him. Everyone else is just very confused and worried about Sam’s safety. (Probably some University/High School AU.)

13. [It’s more like an art prompt, but whatever.] They both have long hair now. No plot. Just both of them being in love and appreciating how handsome the other one looks.

14. Since both Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan exist in the MCU canon I’d love to see Sam and Bucky’s reactions to their actors being on screen when they watch movies together.

15. Bucky didn’t have much experience with dating since 1940s and he thought he’d be the awkward one once he and Sam get together, but it turns out Sam was never in any relationship, because he was too busy and neglected that part of his life.

16. They both have the canon skills/powers, but only one of them is a superhero. The other is “their” villain. So still enemies to lovers, but a different flavour.

17. Sam always had the ability to talk to birds. He just... forgot to mention it before to other people, including Bucky. So the power-reveal is quite unexpected.

18. Sam and Bucky literally hate each other – it’s not just their canon-like amused annoyance. But then they start to learn what happened to the other one in the past and the feelings slowly shift from hatered into something else. (Might be a No Powers AU)

19. Sam thinks that Bucky misses the 40s. Well, he’s wrong.

20. Sam is a regular civilian (who never met Steve). He finds Bucky right after he escaped HYDRA and helps him go back to normal life. (He might know who he’s helping or not.)

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21. Bucky learns about Riley, but he doesn’t learn it directly from Sam.

22. Sam and Bucky come back after the Blip, see each other, and try to deal with the situation together, no knowing what has just happened.

23. Bucky explains to Steve why he won’t go back to the past with him. It’s  mostly because of Sam, obviously.

24. A story about Sam and Bucky growing apart between Endgame and tfatws and how they dealt with feeling like they’re losing yet another person so soon. (And about them coming bact to each other again.)

25. Sam and Bucky learn how other people around them see their relationship. It doesn’t really mirror how they see this partnership themselves.

26. A classic role-swap. Sam is the Winter Soldier. Bucky’s the Falcon. Their personalities stay exactly the same.

27. Sam and Bucky try to tell someone who knows almost nothing about them how they met. (They lie or they don’t.)

28. Bucky deals with people who are openly against Sam as the new Captain. Sam deals with people who think Bucky should be locked up for being “with” HYDRA in the past.

29. Sam is still The Falcon and later Captain America, but Bucky’s a regular person who also happens to be Sam’s huge fan.

30. Dr. Raynor said she heard a lot about Sam (presumably from Bucky). But what exactly did Bucky tell her?

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31. Only one of them died after the Snap. The other one has to live for five years, hoping they’ll be able to reverse it.

32. The first time Sam and Bucky saw each other: scared, feeling exhausted, really happy, genuinely laughing, truly angry, crying, completely resigned, flustered, shy.

33. After being frozen in Wakanda Bucky lost all memories related to Sam. Sam has to decide whether he should use the opportunity to start the relationship over or let Bucky know about their less-than-ideal beginnings.

34. Sam accidentally gets super-serum. Bucky helps him with adjusting.

35. Bucky accidentally loses super-serum. Sam helps him with adjusting.

36. Sam used to visit Wakanda when Bucky was frozen and talked to him a lot, even when Bucky couldn’t hear him. (Well, couldn’t he?)

37. They have a conversation about Steve, but it’s Sam telling Bucky stories from their friendship (how they met, what they did as fugatives, how Sam feels about Steve leaving without saying goodbye).

38. Sam and Bucky use time travel (because they survived the Snap or for other reasons) and they see the past versions of themselves alone or interacting with each other.

39. Sam and Bucky are stuck in Soul Stone together. The problem is that they cannot really hide their emotions or memories as well as they would be able to as real people.

40. After disappearing in the Snap Sam gets a chance to talk to Riley. They know Sam will eventually come back to life, but they still can spend time together and get some closure that will help with moving Sam’s relationship with Bucky forward.

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[thegirlwhowritesfics]

Gossip

All right y'all thank you for your feedback on Part one of my Mayans post, if you haven’t seen it please check it out here.

At the end of the day, gossip is gossip and there’s no way to 100% verify the truth behind it; however, some of us do have legitimate sources. I have a friend who works in PR for a different studio, but guess what? All the PR peeps know each other and they talk. Peep (my source) I actually met many moons ago at a PR event here in Australia. We bonded over a different fandom and here we are.

I also have a couple of friends that I know from tumblr that work in the industry that have either told me things that they have heard or know of.

I’ve asked her to suss out some of the rumours that have been sent to me, so these are a mix of both our options and other sources.

I would also like to point out websites like lipstick alley and reddit are not reliable sources to get gossip from, it's just keyboard warriors. If you want good celebrity gossip (Mayans wouldn’t even be a blip on the radar though) check out deuxmoi.

So buckle up and let's get into the drama.

So back to post one and the lack of PR within Mayans coming from FX etc. It's also not coming from the cast or the crew, all of the posts they have posted recently are old pictures. They have been posted previously either on their feeds or on stories. And I get the whole “Not leaking info from set” that studios have but this isn’t a Marvel movie. Actually I feel like we saw more content from the latest Spider-man movie than we have so far from Mayans S4.

Alright here are some of my anons;

“I saw the asks from another anon about this Mayans drama, so I decided to have a look around. Now am I trippin or are people really coming out saying Emily and JD had an affair???Like is any of this true as in like there’s evidence or is it just a bunch of upset fans cause Clayton’s off the market? Oh and by the way I’m in no way a Emily or Clayton fan, but some of what I’ve seen could be career ending”

There is no way Emily and JD had an affair, there is no evidence of this and the basis of this rumour appears to have come from a “fan”. JD spent his break with his family, he was constantly posting loved up photos of his family, and they look genuinely happy.

So many people are talking shit about Emily and it 100% stems from jealousy. But not a single person has asked what a 36 yr old man wants with a 23 year old girl.

“So I don’t know if you have been asked this but what’s you take on the rumour that Emily T hooked up with Michael Irby and other older male costars? From what people are saying Gino and Danny are about the only two that didn’t hook up with her.”

Y’all seem to forget that Emily is still a young adult, she’s 23, they met her when she was 19, if she's having affairs with her older married co-stars, we should be asking why they are in their late 30s to mid 50s with her. It would be a clear power disadvantage and it's disgusting. Also I have zero belief any of these rumours are true. These rumours have come from “fans” no legitimate gossip site or whispers within the community have come up about these.

Peep agreed that none of the affair rumours are true, she's asked friends who work on the Mayans set and apparently it's all bullshit.

Did Clay and another cast member get into a fist fight?

So I’ve heard that Clay and another cast member got into a fist fight, 3 different sources have told me it wasn’t a fist fight but they did get into a verbal fight stemming from Clay acting like he's better than everyone else and treating the crew like shit. Another cast member stepped in and blew up at Clay about his behaviour and it did almost come to blows but they were separated before it happened.

Did Clay get fired?

The last thing I heard on this subject is no, but he’s on thin fucking ice and if he doesn't get his shit together he's out on his ass.

Are Clay and Emily a PR relationship?

While I would like this to be true as far as my sources go its a legit thing, and honestly everyone I know who works in PR said this would be a terrible fucking PR stunt cause of the age gap and the fact he’s known her since she was pretty much a minor. As you can see from the downward trending of Clay online it's blown up the wrong way.

I’ve heard a few other things but I don’t want to post about them because I would still like a second source to confirm as they are pretty damaging rumours. though some of them are pretty clear to anyone who has two eyes.

I hope this answers some peoples burning questions, if you have any more let me know.

[rockingthegraveyard]

The only reason I can think that Minato would believe that ANBU would do Kakashi any good is because he genuinely didn’t know any better. He’s obviously wasn’t stupid and he certainly wasn’t ignorant but I do think that he really didn’t understand ANBU. 

I’m in the opinion that no one can really understand ANBU but ANBU themselves and those who have the power over them. Minato wasn’t in ANBU and had only been Hokage for a hot minute before appointing Kakashi in it. (I don’t count ‘The Lost Tower’ though even in the movie it didn’t seem as if he were officially ANBU, more just hiding their very distinctive identities.)

Minato knew Kakashi was prone to dwelling on all his pain and sorrows so in his mind, he was giving Kakashi a point of focus. From what I’ve seen, Kakashi was assigned to patrol duties and it was he who took the initiative to hunt and kill those intruders. I don’t think Minato took into account that the ANBU reporting back about Kakashi’s mental well being would notice how alarming that is nor know Kakashi enough to accurately make that call. 

And he did realize that he made a mistake in that decision. Because he did know Kakashi and he does care about him enough to see that not only was Kakashi not getting better but was becoming more cold and reclusive, hence the whole “watch over Kushina” thing. 

Minato was a teenager when he was appointed Kakashi, Rin and Obito and was only 23/24 when he became Hokage. Minato was a child who was put in charge of other children and then sent off to war only to be expected to lead an entire village fresh from said war? Of course he was going to make poor mistakes, what young twenty year old doesn’t? Where was his training period to go from soldier to teacher to soldier to politician?? It’s not like he had psychological or political training in-between blipping all over the front lines.