#then the 5 year mission ended and neither of them knew how to go on with their lives so they followed the inertia away from each other

[2063april5]

The ones about them dating in TOS already imply that they broke up and got back together post-TMP, it's just about when it technically started.

Let me know specific episodes when you think it clicked for them or your theories and propaganda in the tags I'd love to hear them

[zeawesomebirdie]

Superbat Fake Dating + Identity Porn Rec List

Thanks to @jourquet for asking for this!! I hope you find something here to read!! (And paging @steine-druff as promised!)

These are in no particular order, but generally organised by trope. I tend to read longfic as a general rule, so these recs will reflect that :) the titles contain links to each fic.

Fake Dating

1. A Common Misconception by rotasha; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 91,114 words; 21 chapters; complete

Summary:

When Bruce Wayne comes out, he accidentally becomes the poster child of bisexuality and realizes his lifestyle of sleeping around needs to come to an end. Clark, being the supportive friend that he is, volunteers to pretend to date him for a year.

You know the rest.

This fic has everything that one could want in fake dating: idiots in love, mutual pining, one bed, fake vacations, miscommunication. It also really captures the superbat dynamic of trusting and yes and-ing each other, even when they probably didn't need to be!

(And if you like this fic, any of rotasha's other works are just as good! I've got a few more of them in this list too)

2. over this threshold by orphean; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 59,283 words; 7 chapters; complete

Summary:

'I don't understand how tax evasion relates to you going on a date with, do I need to remind you, Bruce Wayne.'

Clark bit his tongue.

'We're going to get married. It's a tax break, not tax evasion.'

'Are you kidding me.' Lois stared. 'That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.'

———

Bruce asks Clark to marry him for tax reasons. Clark, against his better judgment, agrees.

Exactly what it says on the tin. Some highlights include Bruce buying Clark ridiculously expensive suits, Clark taking forever to tell his mom what's going on, and of course the wedding itself which was just delightful, with speeches from Lois, Alfred, and Dick that had me crying.

3. A Rich Man's Game by malicegreres; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 63,942 words; 13 chapters; complete

Summary:

The editorial staff of the Daily Planet, currently owned by Bruce Wayne, is trying to organize a labor union. Clark can't explain to his coworkers why he can't participate without jeopardizing the campaign—or tell Batman why he's been so cagey around him lately. When Bruce finds out what's been going on, Clark recruits him to resolve his conflict of interest in the only way Clark can think of: by pretending to date him.

This fic is truly glorius. Of all the ways Clark could have solved this problem, he chose the most convoluted. And surprise surprise, it works!

4. mission parameters by shipyrds; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 33,394 words; 6 chapters; complete

Summary:

"Bruce." Clark turns towards him, leaning back against a bank of consoles. "We're not actually going undercover. We don't need an elaborate backstory– if anything, it'll be harder to keep straight. It doesn't have to be complicated." He spreads his hands. "Here's a story: we're members of the same elite fighting force. After years of saving each other's lives in the field, we fell in love. That's it."

Bruce swallows past the almost-truth of it. In Clark's warm smooth radio voice, it sounds plausible. It sounds like something that could happen.

—

Bruce and Clark pretend to be married for diplomatic reasons. When they return to Earth, things are a little different.

Of all the things that normally Bruce says, Clark is the one to insist on a simple coverstory. And of course, from such simple things spirals out a whole entire adventure that doesn't stop just because the mission is over! This fic features a domesticity that neither of them knew they needed until they had it

5. tell all the truth (but tell it slant) by susiecarter [@susiecarter on tumblr]; rated M; no archive warnings apply; 33,007 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

It takes a while for Batman and Superman to work things out, once Clark comes back from the dead. Pretending to date each other in order to explain why Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent are in the same place so often? Doesn't help as much as you might think.

*slapping this fic like that one meme with the car* this fic can fit so much miscommunication into it, it's truly delightful to read!! Also, yet another fic where Clark fails to mention what's going on to his mother. And of course the constant worrying about each other without actually expressing it, which is truly such a golden trope when it comes to these two!

I'm adding a cut here because this is already very long and we are still only just starting, so click the read more to see the rest ^.^

6. there ain't no star that shines by amosangius [@amosanguis on tumblr]; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 11,713 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

“I'm not the same person I was back in high school,” Clark says, “and I doubt they all are, either. What would be the point?”

“Oh, Clark,” Bruce is suddenly holding Clark's face with both of his hands, “the point is that I'm going to land us in a helicopter somewhere for all your classmates to see.”

Clark sighs and closes his eyes.

“Say 'yes', Clark,” Bruce orders.

Clark doesn't open his eyes, just says, “Yes, Clark.”

If you thought Bruce buying Clark expensive suits just for their fake dates was excessive, you ain't seen nothing yet!! This fic also features casual bed sharing (and so many references to casual intimacy oh my goodness it's lovely), Bruce Wayne being Rich As Fuck, and Bruce casually being overprotective of Clark in social situations

7. my heart is an open wound by yukla [@yuebings on tumblr]; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 13,367 words; 1 chapter; complete

“—I’ll see you kneel again,” Luthor is hissing, eyes hungry, and Clark is swaying back in discomfort—and as Lois checks their surroundings again, she notices that Wayne is still standing across the room, staring uselessly, as though he believes the sheer force of his murderous gaze would be enough to laser-blast Luthor into oblivion.

Jesus Christ, Lois thinks. I have to do everything around here.

5 times a Daily Planet employee protects Clark Kent, and 1 time Clark Kent protects the Daily Planet.

Or: Clark's coworkers watch as he fake-dates his crush with limited success.

It is probably obvious by now that miscommunication and Bruce's emotions getting in the way of everything are two of my favourite things to read. All of Clark's coworkers are the best, and once again Clark is a self-sacrificing idiot (affectionate)

8. flash in the pan by shipyrds; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 15,951 words; 3 chapters; complete

Summary:

Here’s the thing. Clark does understand. Superman and Batman are fucking. Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne are not. Clark can handle this. He keeps parts of his life separate all the time.

It’s possible, Clark thinks, as he glares at a lurid tabloid cover of Bruce’s latest scandalous yacht party in the grocery store checkout aisle, that he can’t handle this.

—

At the Wayne Foundation's annual holiday party, things come to a head.

Okay there is so much I want to say about this fic and yet there are no words that could possibly express just how incredible it is. Bruce coming up with the worst case scenario for literally everything? Check. Clark agreeing to fake date even though he's majorly head over heels and this will likely end in flames? Check. Ma Kent giving the best relationship advice ever? Check. Dick yelling at Bruce when he tries to self sabotage again? Check. Truly one of the best fucking-but-still-pining fics I've ever read!

9. Operation Sponsalia by Brenda [@brendaonao3 on tumblr]; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 13,610 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

"When did you first realize you were in love with me?"

Bruce coughs up his wine.

"I mean, in this...whatever this is," Clark clarifies, blushing to the roots of his hair. "I don't think you're really — I mean, I know this isn't —"

"It's alright." Bruce's voice is raspy, but steady. "I know what you mean."

Clark's glad one of them does.

Or: Bruce and Clark have to fake an engagement for ~reasons — featuring a metric ton of very romantic dates, enough floral arrangements to start a flower shop, SO MANY puns, and Clark finally getting to know the real Bruce. :D

Clark doesn't find out that Bruce said to the press that they had been dating long enough to be teasing enagagements until after it's already been said. Was there a better way to explain why Bruce just happened to help save the Kent family farm? Absolutely. And yet they follow through on it anyway, and I love it for them

10. Sham-pagne by ChrisLeon; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 8,248 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Superman is spotted visiting Wayne Manor, prompting speculation about how exactly he knows Bruce Wayne. To protect their secret identities, they need a plausible explanation and it seems easy enough to go along with the tabloid theory that they’re sleeping together. All they have to do is pretend to be in a relationship until the speculation dies down and then they can break up move on.

Or: Superman fake-dates Bruce Wayne, we all know how this ends.

This one was fascinating to me because instead of Clark and Bruce dating, it's Superman and Bruce dating, and let me just say I'm so incredibly hinged about it!! I think there is so much potential in that particular version of their dynamic, and this fic was such a beautiful exploration of it!

11. Speaking in Code by Mithen; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 7,459 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Clark and Bruce must go undercover at a newlywed resort to try and stop an assassination attempt. Hijinks, UST, and reluctant making out ensue.

First of all, Mithen is a superbat master. Pick any fic of theirs and it will be delightful. Second of all, I could write an entire essay about how much I adore the way they go from irritable about this mission to incredibly enthuasiastic over the course of their two days at the resort, but then we'd be here all day so: if you like banter, one bed, and a case fic this is a brilliant read

12. Kind Truths by Mawiiish [@superbattrash on tumblr]; rated G; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 6,478 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Bruce needs help with an undercover mission. Clark can never say no to him even though he probably should before he does something stupid. Like tell Bruce he's in love with him.

--

“Why me?” Clark can’t help but ask. He tries his very best to keep his voice level, to not sound as desperate as he feels.

“Because I need someone there to watch my back,” Bruce says, a little exasperated. He really shouldn’t have to explain this to Clark of all people, it’s not like they haven’t been on missions together before.

“I get that, but what about Diana? Shayera?” Anyone who doesn’t have a big fat crush on Bruce would do.

Is it obvious I have a thing for Clark agreeing to fake dating despite his big crush on Bruce? This fic is glorious, and features delights such as Bruce metaphorically putting his foot in his mouth, Clark wanting nothing more than to defend Bruce's honor, and one of the most beautiful confession scenes I've ever had the pleasure of reading

13. where i come from by soetry [@soetrys on tumblr]; E; no archive warnings apply; 52,494 words; 11 chapters; complete

Summary:

Bruce doesn’t have a soulmark, and Clark doesn’t have a soulmark, on an Earth where everyone has a soulmark. Somewhere in there is a simple solution. Somewhere to that solution is an overcomplicated journey. Surely two of the world’s leading superheroes will not take the overcomplicated route?

Surely not?

This one is a little bit of both. The identity porn in this was really well done - Dick is a massive Superman fan, Bruce is unimpressed with both Superman and Clark Kent, and it all goes downhill from there (affectionate). Highlights also include Bruce using a dubiously legal site to crossreference soulmarks, him getting the Superman crest tattooed on his wrist using Kyrptonian tech, and Clark being a self-sacrificing idiot. This is also one of the best soulmate AUs I've ever read!!

Identity Porn

1. Get Over It by rotasha; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 32,378 words; 3 chapters; complete

Summary:

Bruce needs to get over his inconvenient feelings for Superman and he meets an attractive reporter who he thinks can help him do just that. Little does he know...

Of all the identity porn I've read, this is one of the best! Bruce dating Clark to get over Superman is one of the best things ever and this fic really does a good job of their dynamic!

2. Lost Time Without You by rotasha; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 68,792 words; 21 chapters; complete

Summary:

In a universe where your soulmate’s injuries show up on your skin, Bruce is convinced he doesn’t have a soulmate, and Clark is seriously concerned for his soulmate’s well-being.

This was my introduction to soulmate!AUs and oh my goodness it was spectacular! The build up to the reveal of their identities was brilliantly done, and the chance encounters that pepper through the lead up to that point were captivating. This fic also features Bruce being a good parent and I really love that for him

3. the cost of being a good dad by Mawiiish [@superbattrash on tumblr]; rated T; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 95,533 words; 10 chapters; complete

Summary:

Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian are all tired of watching Bruce struggle with the stress of trying to handle the newly formed Justice League. He needs an outlet, he needs to relax, he needs to get out of the house, he needs... he needs to start dating. And what he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?

--

“Excuse me, I don’t know who you think I am, but I think there’s been a mistake.”

“Bruce, right?” the guy says, albeit less confidently this time. He looks slightly concerned and if Bruce is not mistaken… a tad embarrassed. “Bruce Wayne? You look just like your pictures.”

“My pictures?” Something finally clicks in Bruce’s mind, and he takes a small step back and plasters a smile on his face as to not rouse suspicion. Stalker. “Ah, of course, I’m sorry but I’m late for an appointment.”

This fic features the batkids catfishing Clark on Bruce's behalf, Bruce being a good parent, and the utter chaos of miscommunication that can only come from these two being idiots! It was a delightful read, and of course the batfam in action is always a joy!

4. ship-to-ship combat by pomeloquat; rated M; no archive warnings apply; 62,737 words; 12/13 chapters; incomplete

Summary:

"Clark. What the hell is this," Lois asks, staring at Clark's Bruceman WIP folder. Clark's first instinct is to fly away, but that would still leave his fic on display for her to see. His second instinct is to blast a hole straight through his laptop screen with his heat vision, which isn't much better.

Clark, in an attempt to make some spare cash, unintentionally stumbles into the world of superhero fanfiction, becomes a prolific writer for Gotham's OTP, and tries his best to fend off rival fans who want him to convert to superbat instead.

Oh my goodness okay. Where to start with this fic. First of all, Clark writing Batman/Bruce Wayne fanfiction is such a brilliant concept. Then add to that the fact that Clark is secretly crushing on Batman at the same time, and the entire comedy of a trainwreck is a delight to witness!

5. I'm Not As Think As You Drunk I Am by Mardiaz173; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 12,920 words; 3 chapters; complete

It was like living in the Twilight Zone. Everyone else believed fervently in Bruce Wayne’s reputation. He was a flirty, stupid, and entitled drunk whose only redeeming quality was his bleeding heart. And yet every time Clark spoke with Wayne, the man was clever, mischievous, and sober with an indecipherable ulterior motive.

And no one believed Clark. Not Lois, not his parents, not even Batman.

Clark insisting upon defending Bruce to everyone much to everyone's dismay is one of my favourite superbat tropes ever, and this fic really does it well! And of course, this fic also features Batman shit talking Bruce, which is always a joy to see!

6. Don't Quote Me by metropolisjournal [@metropolisjournal on tumblr]; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 77,131 words; 20/21 chapters; incomplete

Summary:

Bruce Wayne has weathered scandal before, and Wayne Enterprises can handle another publicity crisis. What Bruce can’t handle is one crashing up against his plans to infiltrate Lex’s estate. Set during Batman v. Superman.

This was the fix-it for Batman vs Superman that I didn't know I needed until I read it. The identity reveal was so incredibly well written, and the whole fic was stupendous from the very first chapter!

And that's all for now! I hope you find something in here to read, may you enjoy!!

[aingeal98]

Damian and Cass go to the zoo as civilians because Babs and Dick think they need some non vigilante bonding time (they may have blown up the batmobile on their last mission together) but unfortunately a group of mercs decide that this is the best way to get a ransom from Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately for the kidnappers of course. Cass gets distracted for 5 minutes in the gift shop and Damian gets surrounded by ex military kidnappers who he infuriatingly cannot beat to a pulp because he is supposed to be a normal 14 year old boy.

So they take him to their hideout, and that's when things start looking up because these fools try to negotiate with him in order to get to Bruce. Which let's Damian insult them to his hearts content, secretly hoping he can push them over the edge to violence so that he has an excuse to use his skills.

Meanwhile Cass realises she lost something important: Her ice cream cone that Damian was holding. And Damian too, but more importantly she wants to know what penguin ice cream tasted like (She later finds out it's just vanilla. Major disappointment.)

So off she goes, tracking the kidnappers in her jeans and t shirt. And when she does find where they're holed up she takes six of them down before the seventh one even realises who's attacking them. At which point he has time to say "What the-" before Cass knocks him out.

She finds Damian having driven the two leaders of the operation to tears by taunting them about their mothers and how disappointed they must be in the horrible sons they raised. One of them looks tempted to end it all. The other looks tempted to end Damian.

Cass knocks them out, and then debates whether or not she should call the police. Neither of them want to deal with that fuss, so they just tie up the kidnappers and leave a tip along with a promise of a witness statement if needed. Then it's back to the zoo to try that penguin ice cream as the two cones had tragically melted during the kidnapping.

Personally, Cass and Damian both thought it was a fun day. But from the way Babs sighed, Dick laughed, and Bruce grunted, it's clear that not everyone was pleased with their chosen form of bonding.

Oh well. At least Damian wouldn't have to fake being helpless as much anymore now that kidnappers knew that not only would he not give them what they wanted, but he had the world's most terrifying protective big sister. A win is a win, even if it wasn't as entertaining as beating them up with his own hands.

[wow-its-me]

My TikTok has been taken over by different versions of a “drifting stars” AU, so here’s my version of that, that I think could actually work within the show

“Gruncle Stan, I trust you”

A man steps trough the portal as Mable is pulled in, knocking them both back into the other dimension before the portal closes

After a moment of quiet, Dipper starts to yell at Stan, asking him questions, implying that Stan somehow knew this would happen and didn’t care about the end of the world

Stan remarks that this is why he needed the kids to stay out of the way, he’s already back by the portal trying to work on getting it open again

Dipper goes to look at it, accuse is Gruncle some more, but he feels a hand on his shoulder. Soos asks him to go upstairs, worried that it isn’t safe down here.

Dipper goes to his room, Soos sleeps on the couch that night

1st drifting stars episode

Mable is immediately attacked by some sort of monster, Ford steps in to save her, Mable is able to help with some quick creative thinking

Early the next morning, Stan checks in on Dipper, who’s flipped from angry to worried. Stan apologizes and reassures him that it isn’t his fault, he’ll answer any question he has.

Soos, Stan, and Dipper sit around the table while Ford and Mable sit around a firepit

And this is where we get a tale of two Stan’s! Bouncing back between Ford and Stan’s perspective

2

A few days have gone by.

Ford is getting increasingly annoyed with Mable, which makes sense because he hasn’t been around anyone in 30 years, now he’s responsible for a 12 year old.

Mable thinks Ford thinks she’s not capable, the two go on a mission to get a part for something Fords building, Mable uses this opportunity to try to prove herself. It ends with them saving the day, learning to trust each other

Meanwhile in Gravity Falls, Dipper is becoming depressed and obsessed with getting his sister back. He’s wearing a sweater she made for him. Stan, very worried about him, sends him on a nonsense task with Soos, and Wendy (who had stopped by the shack to ask why it’s been closed)

Through this task Dipper thinks Stan is going to send him back to California, it ends with them having a conversation about it, and deciding what to tell his parents

3

Ford finally tells Mabel his plans for getting the two back to Gravity Falls, and what they need to do to make it happen.

Uh-oh a monster/bill?? steps in and tries to mess it up. They’re able to get away. Mable is injured (not badly) and finally has to face that she isn’t safe anymore, and she has no idea when she’ll get home. She has a bit of a breakdown, and Ford tries to comfort her

One/both of Dipper and Mabel’s parents show up in gravity falls, worried that one of their children has gone missing. Dipper tries to convince them that he needs to stay, which only worries them more.

It ends with them deciding it would be worse to try to take him away from the support system he has in this town

They don’t stay, but they’ll be closer by if needed

4

Oceans 11 style heist. Stan and Dipper get the help from the people of gravity falls to help them steal more radioactive materials (Wendy, Soos, Robbie, Candy and Grenda, Mcgucket, Lazy Susan, Pacifica, Shmebulock)

Meanwhile Mable and Ford deal with a more lighthearted interdimensional monster

5

Some more plot but by the end of the episode they get the portal open, with efforts by all four of them

Mabel steps through holding fords hand

The argument between Stan and Ford is put on hold as they reunite with Mable

She hugs Dipper first, and she’s quite, really quiet.

They all sleep in the living room that night

Except for Ford, who stays in the basement

6

A plot - Dipper and Mable both want everything to go back to how it was, so they take the journal into the woods and try to have a classic adventure. In the end they learn that they can’t just ignore everything they went through, and it’s clear that neither of them are the same as before. They find the importance of talking about their feelings

B plot- Stan and Ford have the fight they did in the original show… they do not come to the conclusions that their younger counterparts did

C plot- Wendy and Soos set up a welcome home party for Mable (and Ford)

(Then it goes into the d&d&d episode)

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

my favorite scully and mulder moments from s2

when they aren’t supposed to talk to each other anymore in the first episode because the x files were disbanded, so they came up with a code to know when to meet up

(and mulder at first is very annoyed that she wants to risk being seen with him because she’s deeply concerned about how distant he’s acting… “so what did you want?” “to see if you’re alright”. him trying to grapple with being cared for vs her trying to figure out why he won’t let her in. yeah.)

((and she runs her fingers through his hair at this covert meeting, after he confesses he’s lost all faith))

when she finds him, in the same episode, passed out on the floor of a random puerto rican jungle compound, and he grabs her by the shoulders, saying he saw the same aliens that took his sister

another covert meeting in episode 2, after moody mulder thinks he was moved to a case just to keep him busy: “is this seat taken?” she asks. “no, but I should warn you I am experiencing violent impulses” “well, i’m armed, so I’ll take my chances”

(and right after, when he said he wants to leave the FBI, but working with her is his only reason to stay)

“i’d consider it more than a professional loss if you decided to leave” <- sobbing. for ten thousand years.

episode 3, when she flew 300 miles in the middle of the night to draw his blood. couldn’t anyone else have done that? no. it needed to be Her.

(there’s another, very brief scene towards the end of episode 3, where she peeks over his shoulder and the height difference is incredible)

scully stopping her class because she gets a call from him, then flying up to New York to do an autopsy for him. and when they see each other they both smile SO big it’s adorable, even as she is holding a human stomach. krychek seems confused. he wouldn't understand, would he?

and then flying in AGAIN to try and help mulder during his hostage negotiation with duane barry in episode 5, getting furious when she is told to “calm down” while he is in danger

when she finally wakes up from her coma in episode 8- how she yells at her mom for calling him “fox”, how he brings her a VHS tape of superbowl highlights and she deadpans “i knew there was a reason to live”

(and he finally gives her necklace back- but then he leaves, despite wanting nothing more than to stay by her side, to let her be with family)

in episode 9, when they are finally back together, mulder tries to get her to stay home from this investigation to keep her safe, because he's terrified of her getting hurt again: “scully, i don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go”, he says, but she’s too stubborn to be stopped, and he realizes it’s an impossible fight

(later, they engage in an intense scientific argument over the existence of silicon based life forms, and it feels deeply charged)

another reassurance in episode 9 that she is okay despite what she has gone through: “i’m back and I’m not going anywhere” (shoulder grab!!!!) “i'm counting on you” (lingering eye contact!!!!)

when he returns from his mission to find scully handcuffed, having just saved herself with some quick thinking, and she has to comfort HIM at the sight of her in distress: “i'm okay, i’m okay”, she repeats, while he gently grabs her face, and seems to ignore everything she is saying to ask if she’s alright

(and the month long quarantine that ensued, which we saw none of, but the fact that it happened at all is lovely to me)

sharing an umbrella in episode 10!!!!! it’s really the simple things in life you know!!!

going out on a rib date… he wipes the sauce off of her face, then goes into explaining how a new spirit can take over a body

when mulder’s sense of injustice is going off that episode, so he leaves the restaurant to defend a kid being bullied, and when scully follows the mean kid taunts him by saying “why don’t you run along with the little wife?” and neither of them react (except for a few moments later when he’s staring intently at her, and it looks like he is considering the possibility)

(bursting into her motel room) “scully? you’re not gonna believe this” <- he said the line!!!! (and she could believe it, because she had figured it out on her own)

exchanging theories on murders and repression of memories: “i seem to recall you having some pretty extreme hunches”, she says, and he replies “i never have”. they both smile in the quiet of driving along a small town road.

when mulder narrowly escapes having his throat slit, and after scully nearly shot the woman holding him hostage, she runs to him and carefully cradles his head while he’s still on the floor…. oh the tenderness. i actually might fall apart.

thinking they will have free time on their trip to Minnesota in episode 13, he bought them tickets to a football game <3 and they didn’t get to go but it was SUCH a nice thought

mulder noticing that scully is in extreme distress while looking at the victims of the killings in episode 13,  but trying to give her space to admit that she is terrified; “scully, if you’re having trouble with this case, I want you to tell me” “I’m not having trouble”, she lies, and he answers “i just don’t want you to think you have to hide anything from me” oughhh.... </3

and when the killer who terrified her so awfully kidnaps her, and mulder arrives to find her, she insists that she’s okay despite shaking like a leaf, until he lifts her chin up. only then does she start sobbing into his chest, while he mumbles “it’s alright, it’s alright” to her. ohhh, the vulnerability hits hard here, especially because she had just said she didn’t want him to feel like he had to protect her! as if there was ever going to be any other option; he is the protector and he will protect what he loves, it’s all he knows

taking the little kid they meet at the refugee camp in episode 15 to get lunch, because one thing these two are gonna do is get any youth they encounter some food. and mulder gives him money for extra fries because he WILL spoil any random child.

she cuts her hand on a thorny branch left in their car, and when mulder says “let me see that”, she replies that it is nothing, trying to deny him any chance to be concerned. then when she starts feeling very ill, she keeps telling him its fine, because for some reason the doctor cannot doctor herself.

(he goes off to get the bad guy, and she is in the car hallucinating. when she finally breaks free from the clutches of evil, he’s lying on the ground, having been… like, psychically stabbed? and still. his first question when he sees her is. “you’re okay?” aughhhhhhhhh)

that time mulder was actively dying of alien poison in episode 17, so she barged in and started yelling at the doctor to get his shit together, because she knew what to do and he didn’t. and she manages to save him.

mulder agreeing to trade who he thought was his sister for scully in a hostage deal, then saying he couldn’t have told her it was his sister because he knew scully would never have let him go through with it... the terrible pain of knowing somebody so well, you know they'd endanger themselves for you...

after scully saves his life by figuring out how to treat his alien poison, she stays by his bed and gently strokes his hair. and when he opens his eyes, she was holding his arm. she smiles and says “thanks for ditching me”, to which he replies that he found his faith again (<3)

seasick mulder fumbling for words in episode 19, while she tries to see if he's feeling any better: “you’re lucky you inherited your father’s legs” “what?” “his SEA legs” (scully laughs while he is in ocean-induced misery)

when they take shifts watching the suspicious guy on the boat that makes you old, his alarm goes off to indicate his shift was over. he goes to wake scully up and switch off, she mumbles something about having just fallen asleep, and he offers to give her a little bit longer to rest. so sweet.

exchanging magic tricks while investigating the sideshow performers in florida in episode 20- her making it look like the cricket came from behind his ear, him pretending to make the nail suddenly appear

“we’re exhuming your potato” “may i ask why?” (she goes into a convincing explanation on searching for evidence, he ruins it by interrupting to say “we found out you used to be a dog-faced boy”)

episode 21: “see, this is a helium balloon, and the one thing i did learn in kindergarten is that when you let them go, they float up, up, and away” “did you learn about wind in kindergarten?” (she is funny and she doesn’t get enough credit for that!)

and episode 24: iI just came up with a sick theory, mulder” “ooh, I’m listening”

mulder brushing her hair back, asking if she is okay after nearly getting decapitated

and who can forget episode 25, the season finale, when mulder is collapsing into her arms, delirious with fever and covered in his father’s blood; she lays him down in her bed, placing a cold compress on his forehead. “we’ve got to find out who killed my father” “right now you need to rest. it’s okay” what if i started yelling

him waking up after she had to put him in a coma for damage control: “you shot me >:(” “yes, i did” (patiently explains how she saved his life about 3 times in 72 hours, including by shooting him)

him thanking her for taking care of him; her asking him to find out what the files he's determined to understand say about her disappearance

[sunshineandspencer]

Work the case (Iridescent, Part 5)

Let me stress, this is not Maeve from the show, but my own Maeve just named the same to send Spencer into hell whenever he thinks about it.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!BAU!OC.

Summary: His first bout of cases with Maeve, and one of them doesn’t exactly go the way they had hoped

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: swearing, cm typical horror, mention of cannibalism and choking, spencer is less of an ass™

Parts: Pt1, Pt2, Pt3, Pt4, Pt6

In the past 100 days that Spencer gets to spend with the BAU, they were only on their third case. Which, really, should’ve been a good thing, because it means less time stuck with Ave.

Their first case, which came in on his first day back, took them to Atlanta for about a week.

Men had been turning up with their own ring fingers in their stomachs, with the ring still attached. It was clear that the fingers had been cut off and force fed to the men while they were still alive and conscious, evident by the bite marks on the fingers and the degradation from the stomach acid.

It hadn’t been a very pretty case, and with the mild Atlanta weather, it wasn’t the nicest case to be in.

Emily had, of course, noticed Spencer’s mild distaste for Maeve, and made it her life mission to have them paired together for everything. Which led to them sort of bonding. Him explaining their Tracey Lambert case, which was so long ago now, and her talking about her very first case with the BAU and the man who had a hungering for brown eyes. Laughing softly when she recalled how the man had made immediate eye contact with her, and Emily threatened the man.

The case after that, something that could’ve been a national emergency, was actually solved relatively quicker. In Iowa, almost an entire town of people came down with a sudden and painful illness that was suspected to be the work of activists since Iowa was one of the largest states for agriculture.

Since they were called in so quickly, they knew they didn’t have much time to work it out. On the off chance it was an attack on an agricultural state.

It wasn’t, it was far simpler than that. Two of the largest farming families in the town had been in a massive rivalry for years, something that the BAU had definitely seen before. One of the grandsons decided enough was enough and, with his ties to the industrial plant the next town over, poisoned the rival’s crops and blamed the activists.

Not intending for anyone to get hurt, or to die, but he actively evaded the cops and lied in their investigation. So it ended up worse for him.

All in all, a completely normal case.. except for the sleeping arrangements. There had been an influx of media reporters and visiting family, meaning there were very few rooms in the motel they’d been sent to.

Emily, still trying to sort out their rivalry, sent them to share a room.

It was.. painfully awkward.

Thankfully there were two, very shitty, beds, but that didn’t change the fact that they bickered over everything. For the most part it was playful - for them anyway - fighting over who gets into the bathroom first, shoving each other out of the way to get into the mirror while they brushed their teeth. The only time it got serious was when they needed to choose the beds.

Maeve wanted the one near the window, and so did he. After a strangely heated argument, they agreed to rock-paper-scissors for it, and he lost. So she got the bed by the window.

After learning, however, they both beds were equally as shit, she let him take the window bed the next night and they swapped each of the four nights they stayed. Neither of them said a thing about how much.. nicer it was to sleep in a bed that smelt like the other person.

Blatantly ignoring whatever comfort they’d gotten from that, a week later they were on a new case in Alaska.

This one was a little more concerning, a very small town - the smallest Maeve had even been to anyway - and anyone that had ever tried to move in or leave in the last ten years had been killed. At first they’d all looked like an accident, until a junior, researching their aunt’s death for fun, found all the connections and the BAU were called in.

They knew it had to be someone who had lived here their whole life, but experienced a massive change in their childhood, unfortunately that was most of the residents. A fire about a decade ago had killed a significant amount of the elderly people in the town, and matched their timeline.

When it all went quiet, however, Maeve had suggested having her act as someone who was going to move in. The most recent victim left behind an empty house, and trying to ‘move in’ to that would probably drive the UnSub crazy and draw him out.

Emily agreed, knowing that she was capable and also it would be good for her to have some kind of undercover work. Not that it encapsulated more than just acting like a woman moving into the home alone.

For the rest of them, they were parked in vans just down the road. There were a few cameras on the outside of the property as the remaining family didn’t want any cameras to be placed inside. With Maeve told to have her phone on her constantly and her earpiece in.

The first hour was alright, she was responding to everything, even complaining about the shit channels on the tv.

Only twenty minutes later, Spencer was tense. Standing behind Emily as she kept a look on the screens, occasionally asking Maeve to respond but assuming everything was alright. Spencer knew better.

She’d been quiet for too long.

Ave had offered herself up, to be used as bait for the UnSub. He’s sure it’s out of some misguided need to prove herself as more than just the newest member on the team.

Arguably, he should’ve put her foot down, as both her partner and the senior agent, it should’ve been someone else to go in, him preferably, but she’d had none of it. Playfully suggesting that he’d gotten a concussion from whacking his head on the hotel door frame which is why he almost gives a shit.

He’s stopped after that, scowling at her, and refusing to allow any kind of implication that he cares. He doesn’t care.

Of course he doesn't, however, you certainly don’t need to care about her or be a profiler to notice things. Ave is a stickler to the rules, a real suck up, and she wouldn’t ever go this long ignoring Emily’s order to respond. Nor would she miss the chance to snipe back at him, and she’s ignored all his insults.

So, blatantly ignoring his Unit Chief, he gets out of the van and walks down the road towards the house. Actually, he runs, gun drawn and earpiece taken out so that he can’t hear the team yelling at him to get back.

Kicking down the front door in a way that would make Morgan proud, he could already hear her struggling. It sends ice through his veins, and he raises his gun. Even though he heard the UnSub react to the door, clearly he didn’t stop with Ave.

Rushing to the living room, his heart dropped, and he allowed himself a split second to react. Their UnSub was holding Ave down face first against the carpeted floor, and he could already see the violent burns on her jaw where she’s trying to hold her head up. But the guy’s knee was firmly on her face and his hand was around her throat, choking her from behind. One of his entire hands wrapped around her throat, and the other pinned down her wrists so she couldn’t reach her phone, which had been kicked across the room.

Taking in the scene, and knowing he could hear backup coming through behind him, he raised his gun, shooting the man in the shoulder. Barely registering the howl of pain from the guy before he tackled him.

Killing this guy would be too easy, he needed time to sit and think about what he’s done, for a very long time. And shoving his shoulder to the ground, putting all his weight onto the wound as he sobbed was good enough for him. Even as he thrashed and tried to get out, Spencer just pressed down harder.

“NONONO! It has to be perfect! It has to stay the same!”

Backup arrived and helped Ave up, and Spencer considered just killing the man anyway, choking him just like he’d done to his partner. They’d profiled this man to have severe Metathesiophobia, and his fear of change stemmed from losing his parents in that fire.

Even though Spencer knows why the man did it, that doesn’t stop the flood of white hot rage hardening his grip on the man as he finally caught sight of Ave’s face.

She was breathing slowly, shallowly, trying not to pass out from taking in too much oxygen after being deprived. Her face was covered in tears and spit as JJ helped her to her feet. But it was the harsh, mottling bruises on her throat that made killing a man seem like nothing.

But Emily eased him away before he could ruin his entire career over someone he claims to hate.

Statements were taken, and Ave was forced to be checked out by the paramedics, but just wanted to get back to the hotel. So once she was cleared to leave, Spencer took them back, knowing the rest of the team would deal with the arrest and interrogation.

The entire ride, she was silent, and while he knew why that didn’t make it any less odd. Even at the beginning, when he snapped at everything she did, she was never this still or quiet, he hates this. Jesus, he’d even take her useless humming to the radio.

In fact, she didn’t even say anything until they were in the elevator. Huffing out a watery laugh and rubbing at her eyes, leaning against the wall.

“It’s a shame..” he waited uncharacteristically patiently for her to continue, not wanting to stop if she needed a serious conversation, “I was really into choking before tonight.”

It was such an insane thing to say, and so jarring after having watched a man strangle her, that it made him laugh. In turn, she laughed, a sound hoarse and scratchy but delightfully alive. Both of them tried not to acknowledge that this was their first real laugh together.

Dissolving into delirious, quiet giggles as they stepped out onto their floor. But as he followed behind, watching her pull out her keycard, he realised she was still shaking. Calling out softly to get her attention.

“Ave.. Ave?”

When that didn’t work, he got a little closer, slowly enough that she wouldn’t get spooked from where she was just staring down at the keycard. Voice soft as he tried again.

“Ava.”

She finally turned around at that, surprised to see him so close considering how much he preaches about personal space. Her lips formed a thin line as she forced them not to tremble, not wanting to cry and not trusting her voice.

“Mhm?”

Just this once, because it was a horrible experience and she was clearly more than shaken, he’ll be gentle with her. Today, right now, she deserves it.

“Are you alright angel?”

Hearing that, immediately being sent back to when they met, she couldn’t hold it back anymore. Tears finally fell and she tried to hide them, turning back to the hotel door and fumbling with the keycard.

“‘M fine-”

But he grabbed her elbow and urged her into his arms, letting her cry it all out. He hates touch, still tells himself that he hates her, but for a few minutes he could act like her friends and someone who cares. She’d do the exact same thing for him.

Plucking the card from her hands, and letting them in, walking her backwards into the room and not bothering to turn the lights on. Easing them down onto the couch so that she could tire herself out and get some decent rest. It passed the few minutes he thought it would take, but a couple more can’t hurt.

Once she was finally exhausted, he got her up and walked her over to the bed. Sitting her on the bed and easing her shoes off, and standing to get her jumper off so that she didn’t get too hot. But as he did, her hand shot out to his forearm and he met her very embarrassed gaze.

“.. thank you.”

He didn’t say anything, just got her to lie down so that she could get comfortable, but even as she started trying to sleep she kept hiccuping through uneven breaths. And the bruises were even harsher in the soft moonlight filtering down on her.

Just a little while longer, he’ll sleep on the couch for a few hours, just in case she needs anything. It’ll save her from having to go too far to get help.

It’s nothing, he’d do the same for anyone else, he.. he still doesn’t like her. But he’ll be a bit nicer, at least until she feels a bit better. If only to stop her from retreating and not getting any help from the people that care about her.

The team cares, of course, he tells himself as he settles onto the couch, he doesn’t care. 

Want more?! Good!

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Hey there

What do you think of the show pulling a Philip J Fry on Alix as per Thomas’s Twitter? And how season 5 began with “thanks for saving our lives, now get the fuck out of reality”? Personally, I would have made the duo a trio and try to get all hands on deck

I thought it was super weird and didn't really understand the in-universe logic for why Alix needed to run away. I do get the meta logic, but we'll get to that in a bit. For now, let's focus on how the show tried to justify it. This is the dialogue when Alix gets her mission:

Ladybug: Once we have retrieved the Miraculous of time, you won't return it to me. You'll have to continue wearing it in order to protect it, until Monarch is defeated. Alix: Keep it? That means... Ladybug: (crestfallen) You won’t be able to return to this time right away.

Alix keeping the miraculous makes sense, but her not being able to return to her own time doesn't. What are they worried about that doesn't apply to Ladybug and Chat Noir, too? It's not like Alix's identity was outed at any point. The miraculous would have been perfectly safe in her pocket, so that's a terrible reason to send a 15-year-old girl wandering through time with no support system.

This oddness is not helped by Future Alix's presence in both this episode and Chat Blanc. It shows us that Future Alix can mess with the past for some reason, meaning that there's no reason for her past self to go on a solo mission. If things get too bad, then Future Alix can just come back to the past and fix it.

It would have made way more sense if future Alix wasn't a thing and if the rabbit was the one miraculous Monarch didn't get, leading Ladybug to give the rabbit to Alix for safe keeping. Alix would then offer to go back to the past and change things, but Ladybug would refuse and say, "You can't change your own past! But you can protect our future. Now that Monarch is so close to reaching his goal, I need my hero of last resort to make sure he doesn't win." Then Alix could either go off to monitor the time stream or Fluff could say that it was time to start Alix's training so she knew when a situation was dire enough that it was time to interfere, thereby implying that Alix might help, but wouldn't in most cases.

Of course, those fixes fall flat since Monarch does win, but I guess that's fine since neither version of Alix stopped it? Why the wish was fine, but Chat Blanc wasn't is beyond me.

This is the problem with introducing a time traveler to your show and not giving them clear rules that prevent them from helping. It fills the story with plot holes, which is the meta reason why Alix was shipped off. The writers quickly realized that the villain really couldn't have time travel powers, so they got the miraculous back to Ladybug and then removed it from play because they had no idea how to handle time travel given how badly they've mismanaged it so far.

Almost everything that happens in Evolution is there for a similar reason. Nothing about its plot makes sense and it seems obvious to me that the events of this episode are just a sloppily attempt to fix time-travel plot holes and to make season five's plot work even though it goes against established characterization.

For example, this episode sees Gabriel give up saving Emilie because he's too tempted by the idea of beating Ladybug. This makes no sense because Gabriel has never put defeating Ladybug above saving those he loves. He's actually given up potential victories when the cost to his loved ones was too high. It's not like the writers forgot about this trait either because they bring it back to "redeem" him in the final. If he hated Ladybug more than he loved Emilie, then the season couldn't end with him listening to Ladybug and changing his wish, so him choosing fighting Ladybug over saving Emilie at the start of the season makes no sense since his character supposedly gets worse as the season goes on.

This one-off sloppy change to his character was only there so that the writers could give Nathalie an excuse to no longer support Gabriel, which is really dumb because Nathalie doesn't see Gabriel pick Ladybug over Emilie. Given that Ladybug always wins no matter how clever Gabriel's plans are, it's straight up insane for Nathalie to assume that this time was any different. Just look at this dialogue, she has no idea what happened in the burrow! She just randomly assumes the worst after three seasons of blindly following him to the point where she is actively dying because of her blind faith in Gabriel:

Nathalie: (on-call) Gabriel, did it work? Gabriel: No, Ladybug tricked me! She stole the Time Miraculous from me! (Nathalie coughs from her sickness.) You have to help me! Come up with a new plan! Ladybug can’t get away with this! Nathalie: (on-call) You had the Time Miraculous. You could’ve chosen to save Emilie! You could’ve chosen to save me! (coughs) But instead, you chose your obsession with Ladybug and Cat Noir. You're insane, Gabriel! Gabriel: (stuttering and panicking) I-It’s not my fault! It was Ladybug!!

I'd like to take a moment to remind you that one of the times Gabriel gave up winning for the sake of a loved one was when he chose Nathalie over defeating Ladybug! Why is Nathalie so certain that he acted differently here???

Circling back to your terrific trio idea, while I do like the idea of there being a larger team (but not a team of 18), Alix is the last character I'd chose for that team. It's nothing against her character. I like Alix! The problem is that her power set is broken. If she was there, then we'd be asking why she doesn't just undo the events of the season four finale or use her powers to track down Monarch's identity because canon has failed to explain why those aren't options.

To be perfectly honest, I don't think that the time traveler we see should be one of the modern kids. It just introduces too many plot holes. I think Bunnyx should be someone from the past who is watching their own future and interfering based on very clear rules that leave them almost no room to help. I think it's fine if Alix is the holder who will follow this random person from the past, but we should never see future Alix and current Alix should never mess with current affairs. Which basically means that I'd never use the rabbit for an episode focused on Ladybug and Chat Noir. I'd use it for "filler" episodes that are just about Alix learning to use her powers, which is a pretty huge deviation from the show.

[dailycass-cain]

I'm just as surprised as you are to find out Cass had an appearance in DC's How to Lose a Guy Gardner in 10 Days #1, and not in the way I was expecting.

Was it good or a pass?

Well...

Cass appears in "Date Night" in the anthology story which is more a Dick/Babs story about well the two of them going out on a date. Cass and Steph are basically on a mission checking out something Babs had an inkling things would be bad.

Things do end up being bad.

Alright, I'll just jump in about said bad.

Yeah, this is a supporting role for Cass (along with Steph) in the story. I don't really mind that. Dick/Babs are the leads in this and I'm okay with that.

What I'm not okay with is how the story treats the two Batgirls as amateurs.

Okay, I get the "Scarecrow got the drop on them" opening because neither knew Crane was behind this until fear gas canisters were being loaded.

So that I don't mind. Mainly it's the sections of panels like above saying, "Make sure you do things like Dick is doing."

I didn't like it when Batgirls pulled this off in #5 when Babs showed up and it wore out its welcome in #7-8 (and the Catwoman #45 tie-in).

I get Cass/Steph are younger compared to Dick/Babs but they aren't "rookies". The year is 2024 not 2002.

Just cut down the dialogue to the first sentence. Bam, gripe solved. It's simple word fixing that gets fans of said characters off-backs because it at least treats the characters as being experienced rather than not.

We do get one whole page of Cass/Steph busting the criminals introduced earlier looking to take advantage of Scarecrow's schemes (aka the B-protags taking out the B-antags).

In all honesty, I think the reverse should've occurred. Dick/Babs taking out the B-antags (as they were introduced via being a few tables from them) and well Scarecrow gets his comeuppance from Steph-- AGAIN (or them/Dick being him with Bruce/Helena/Kate in "Shadow of the Bat".

I'm done being nitpicky so I'm gonna talk about the positives aka that whole page and how artist Leonardo Rodrigues draws a nice old-school Cass. No white eyes and we even get the bat fins on her gloves.

NICE.

I think the one detail I loved most was the yellow stitching which does make Cass's mask more striking.

The one page is also a nice little touch showcasing Cass/Steph getting SOME measure of respect by owning the B-antags.

In the end, this is a harmless "fluff" tale that's not gonna be much looked at like Cass's entry from Beast World Tour: Gotham a few months back. Both are kind of forgettable save the latter's being the first mention of her old origin (Steph's story really stole that one-shot).

I'd be more frustrated if this was Cass's only showing this week (it isn't) and really it's because of THE OTHER comic that makes me less cross.

Stephanie fans?

Oh, they deserve to criticize MORE on this.

As for it being a Dick/Babs story?

It's alright.

Nothing memorable as to "why" they work as a couple. They were both paranoid enough to know their date night was gonna get ruined. But at least they're both Bat enough to have "plans within plans."

So yeah, this story is just "there". Doesn't give us adequate Cass/Steph (because it isn't their story), and Dick/Babs stuff is "middle of the road".

Given where both characters are at the moment, yeah "middle of the road" will do.

[sarahs-secrets2]

Ruined Me (Phillip Graves x Reader) 18+࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

This is a request from @underatreedrinkingtea ! I wasn't too familiar with the song so I hope I lived up to the request, I might have gone a different path oops. Also, I feel like I've used all the pictures of Graves I could find on Pinterest so if you see me reusing one... close your eyes you didn't see anything.

Based on Ruins by Aaryan Shah

f! reader (no use of Y/N)

Word Count: 1.1k

Warnings: NSFW, SMUT, angst, Graves is a dick, pet names, cursing, not a happy ending oops

₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗

Waiting at home for Phillip felt like a losing battle, dating a military man was never easy, but somehow you felt like you got the short end of the stick with Graves. The two of you had been dating for a year, not counting the 3 or 4 breakups which always ended up with you two getting back together (breakup and makeup sex included).

Finally deciding to give up waiting for him, you stood up, flicked off the tv, and walked to the bedroom you and Graves shared whenever he was home, which evidently was not tonight. The obnoxiously bright alarm clock read 3:34 a.m., you pushed it away from you so the light didn't taunt you as you tried to sleep. 

Staring at the ceiling you were hoping you would hear keys at the door or something to let you know he was home, and safe. Eventually, sleep overtook you and you drifted off hoping your military man would be home soon. 

A creak at the door caused you to slightly wake up, flipping the alarm clock towards you to check the time, 5:12 a.m., what the hell. You felt the bed dip as your “long lost” boyfriend had finally found his way back home. 

“Phillip,” you were half awake, “Where were you,” 

“Hey baby, Shepherd had some shit for me, the usual, don't worry about it,” he was pulling you closer to him in bed, he sounded so casual about the whole matter, which just made you more upset. 

“You could’ve texted, you do have a phone”, you adjusted in his arms to face him now.

“Ahh yeah, shit, that's on me, my bad it slipped my mind”, how could texting your girlfriend slip your mind you thought to yourself. Probably another one of his bullshit excuses for something you'd rather not know. 

“Missed you doll”, his hands were all over you as he placed kisses on your neck and forehead. 

“Phillip, I missed you too but it's 5 a.m. can we at least try to go to bed before the sun’s up”, 

“How about we just fuck instead, I don't want to sleep”, Graves was now on top of you continuing his work on your neck, knowing your weakness. “Cmon baby”, 

You felt yourself getting weak under his grasp, he always knew how to make you come apart. You reached a hand up to his face, snaking it around the nape of his neck and pulling him in for a kiss, Graves moaning into your lips as your other hand snuck down to his boxers as you felt for his hard-on.

Phillip’s hands pulled down your shorts and underwear in one motion as he immediately connected his fingers to your heat, wasting no time to dive into your folds. “Let me hear you baby c'mon”, he encouraged your small moans as he continued his work with you. 

“Just fuck me already Phillip”, and he obliged the request as he grabbed both of your legs tossing them over his shoulders, pushing deep inside you. 

Morning eventually rolled around and neither you nor Graves got any amount of sleep. Glancing at the alarm clock that now read 10:23 a.m., you forced yourself to the shower, Phillip still sleeping. 

Mid shower you heard someone on the phone, Graves speaking in a low whisper to the other voice. Cutting the shower short, you wrapped up in a towel to eavesdrop on your boyfriend. 

“I can ship out tonight, whatever you need Captain, hell I’d leave right now”, you felt shell-shocked. He didn't even want to see you when he came home, too busy planning the next mission. “Sounds great, see y’all tonight, bye”. 

“What the hell was that Phillip, another mission? You just got home”,

“It’s business, you wouldn't get it”, he shot back, walking past you into the bathroom, “You done with the shower?”

“Fuck you, it's not business, you're just using me, Phillip, come home for a fuck and then quickly pack up and leave”, seeing red was putting it lightly with how you felt right now. 

“Watch what you’re saying there doll, might say something you regret”, his hand was rubbing his jaw, obviously irritated with you. 

“I’m not gonna regret anything, you come home late, and leave early. It's very obvious I’m just here to fuck, we don't talk about anything, you don't ask me about my day, you're cold to me Phillip”,

“If it's so obvious why’d you let me use you then huh? What makes you think you deserved to be anything more?”, his words stung like venom, you felt frozen standing in a towel as he berated you in the shared bathroom. 

“I hate you so much, Phillip Graves”,

“You don't seem to be understanding this doll, so I’m gonna take that with a grain of salt, I don’t have time to be your ideal boyfriend, I got Shadow Company to run, don't hate me because you let me use you, deep down you knew it”, twisting the knife deeper with his words, he didn’t care how deep the wound he was creating was. Maybe you were mad he was right, mad at yourself for letting it happen, especially for so long.

Graves walked up to you, taking your jaw in his hand and forcing you to look at him, “My loneliness isn't love darling, you just couldn't figure it out fast enough”,

“You ruined me, you wasted a year of my life, what am I supposed to do?”

“Ruined? Don’t be dramatic now,” he was leaning up against the counter now, “Hey you know what, you ever want to fuck again you just give me a call, I would always love to have you in my bed again darling”,

“Get the fuck out of my house Graves, it’s done, we’re done, leave”, your now ex-boyfriend’s hands went up in a defensive matter as he slid past you to leave the bathroom, he grabbed his untouched duffle and headed towards the door. 

“I’ll be seeing you, yeah? Don’t be a stranger gorgeous”, Phillip winked at you as he left, letting the door slam behind him. You stood arms crossed still in shock at what had happened. 

“Karma will get you one day Phillip Graves”, mumbling under your breath as you went back to finish the shower that was interrupted. 

₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗

Another angsty one for yall, sometimes evil Graves just takes over

[cinnamontoastcrunch-15]

Happy New Year

Happy New Year’s Eve/New Year everyone!

Have a oneshot that I wrote last year and didn’t post (but with some minor editing to fit with my current writing style)

Sirius was stood against a wall at the New Years Eve party, celebrating the end of 1979 and the start of 1980. James walked over to him. Well, walked was a generous word, he more stumbled over.

“Padfooooot!” He slurred, and Sirius reached out and grabbed his arm to steady him.

“Merlin, Prongs. How much have you had to drink?”

“S’fine, it’s nothing.”

“Whatever you say, mate. Whatever you say.”

“So. Who you kissing at midnight?” He asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively. “I heard Edgar’s got his eye on you.” Sirius glanced over at Edgar who was, indeed, watching him from across the room, suddenly shy as he turned away. The thing is, he knew exactly who he wanted to kiss. His boyfriend and one of their best friends, Remus Lupin. Not that anybody else knew that they were anything other than friends, and he wasn’t even fucking there, on a mission infiltrating the werewolf pack. So, Sirius had resigned to his fate, and stayed at the back of the party, knowing that if he drank too much, there would be a real possibility that he would out their relationship without Remus even knowing.

“Nobody.” Sirius answered simply, lifting his glass and draining what remained of it, before putting it on a table nearby.

“C’monnn! You have to kiss someone, s’bad luck!”

“Then I guess I’ll have bad luck for 1980. I’m good, honestly.” James frowned.

“Fine. Sssuit yourself.” James went to leave, but almost fell again.

“Please go and sit down, Prongs!” James clearly wasn’t listening, as he walked in an entirely different direction. He watched Dorcas and Marlene wistfully, making him miss Remus and worry about him even more. The countdown started, and Sirius looked out of a nearby window, ready for the fireworks.

“10!” Wow, he was really spending New Years alone.

“9!” It was times like that that he really hated that Dumbledore sent Remus on such a long and dangerous mission.

“8!” He thought about his last letter from Remus.

“7!” It was incredibly dangerous to even begin to send letters, so Sirius kept every one safe.

“6! 5! 4!” He tried to imagine Remus’ touch on his face, running through his hair. Every day hurt more without him there.

“3! 2! 1!” He shut his eyes, ready to listen to the fireworks and joyful cheers from the busy party.

“Happy New Year.” A gentle voice came from behind him, and he froze. He didn’t hear any of the other shouts, the fireworks, the music. Just the voice he knew better than any other. The voice he missed every day. He turned around, and Remus smiled at him.

“Oh. Oh my god, Moons.” Soft lips met his, suddenly feeling like nothing at all had changed. Like the gaping hole in Sirius’ heart had been healed the moment he saw the mess of golden brown curls, the eyes like honey, the familiar orange jumpers that felt like home. He pulled Remus even closer, as Remus’ hands moved, one on his cheek, thumb stroking his cheekbone, and the other running through Sirius’ hair. “I love you. I love you so much.” Sirius mumbled against Remus’ lips.

“I love you too.” Remus breathed, pulling away to smile at him. James cleared his throat, and neither of them looked at James, eyes locked.

“Kind of in the middle of something here, Prongs.” Sirius said.

“So, were neither of you ever going to tell us?” He said. They turned and realised that their friend group was staring at them. The rest of the people at the party didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, not actually knowing the two of them.

“Alright, this isn’t a free show!” Sirius called to them, watching as they all slowly turned back to their own celebrations.

“In our defence, we’ve been apart for months. We were planning on telling you next time I was here.”

“How long are you here?” Sirius asked.

“I’m not sure, but let’s not think about that, okay?” He wound his fingers through Sirius’, gently squeezing his hand.

“Yeah, yeah, let’s not.” They could pretend everything was fine for an evening. “Happy New Year, Moons.”

“Happy New Year, Padfoot.”

[yezielmoore]

1. Steer

First and only warning:

HERE BE SPOILERS!!

There will innevitably be spoilers for, at the very least, Endwalker. Possibly all the way to Dawntrail, idk. I'm warning this once for the whole challenge.

This 1st fill is pretty neutral, but right now my brain wants to write about an isekai'd character from Honkai Impact 3rd. So... there's that. I don't know if ALL the month will be about that, or if i'll rotate my WoLs like rottiserie chickens, we'll see.

Venat, even before going through her personal apotheosis, had never been prone to panicking over… anything, truth be told. 

And after… 

Well…

Hydaelyn didn't panic. It simply wasn't in Her nature.

She had the mission Her summoners had imparted as Her core and continued reason for existing, and She could feel the echoes of Her Heart’s emotions should She want to.

Or should they be strong enough to break through the barriers that separated their existence. 

The potential unraveling of twelve millennia of torturous work was enough to shatter those barriers entirely. 

So yes, Hydaelyn was the closest She has ever been to the metaphysical equivalent of a panic attack. 

Because their Star, their shining guiding Star was no more. Their bright light snuffed years before their time. The Calamity that should have forged them into the Warrior her Heart met before the Final Days shattered on the anvil of Fate instead. 

How had that happened? It was impossible… wasn’t it? Everything she knew about time loops and time travel said so, and yet… 

Still reeling from Venat’s shock and anguish, Hydaelyn found herself adrift. The Light that had steered Her all these centuries was no more. But the Mission remained, so… what now? 

Much like Venat, Hydaelyn was far from an expert on time magicks and the sciences related to them. She knew what She needed to know to fulfill her Purpose, no more no less. So what did She know that could help correct, or at least salvage, the timeline?

Should She deviate from the script? Was that possible? Maybe.

What were the facts?

The correct Warrior had been necessary to maintain the future/past as they knew it. The Warrior was dead, but the timeline hadn’t unraveled so far. What did that mean? Were they doomed to a slow decay? Or had Venat misunderstood? 

She felt a muffled burst of indignation from her core and her porcelain-like features curved infinitesimally with a smile. Indignation was good, better than the creeping despair.

So neither of them knew what would happen now. Did it matter? Hydaelyn had Her Mission and nowhere in the fine print it said She was allowed to give up. Whether Her attempts were futile or not didn’t factor at all. She would defend Etherys and stave off the Song of Despair until they won or nothing of Her remained to witness the destruction. 

However, the best timing for victory was fast approaching so the time to grab the reins and be proactive was now or never. 

In the end, it all came back to the same question… Should She deviate from the Script?

Time was such a strange concept in general but especially to an immortal. Before this… bump in the road She had had all the time in the world to wait for the correct moment to come. She hadn’t expected the correct moment to crash and burn spectacularly and now She couldn’t even wait for Her Warrior to regain a corporeal form, because even She knew that 5 years olds had no business being in a battlefield. 

In a sense, time was of the essence, but She reigned over Stasis, so all was a bit relative and stretching a moment into almost infinity was a matter of flexing her Authority. She couldn’t keep it up for more than a moment, but again. Relative. 

Should She break from the Script? A deceptive question. The script was already broken. The better question would be…

Could the Companions succeed without the Warrior. Her Heart’s memories told her clearly: no. Without the Lynchpin the Companions would go on tangents, some would die  too early, or not die at all, and then the Mission would drag on for too long. Long enough for Her enemies to open the floor to the Song in their zealous mission to revive Zodiark. 

The Lynchpin was necessary, but… Did the Warrior need to be the Lynchpin? 

Not really. 

So then the better question would be… should She break the Rules? 

Should She look beyond the bounds of their place in the Tree? 

A great shudder thrummed through Her being, an instinctive knowledge that if/when/once She opened that door there would be no turning back. 

However, if She did nothing, sooner rather than later Etherys would wither and fall. 

Poking at her Heart, beyond a profound sorrow, She found agreement and the stubborn reckless hope that had carried them both this far. Well then, that was that. 

With an unnecessarily sigh, Hydaelyn removed her hold keeping time in stasis…

(A part of her awareness remained focused on the Calamity and wept at the destruction and loss of life) 

…but the bigger part of Herself stretched outwards. Carefully, cautiously, like a house cat tiptoeing around a sleeping coeurl. Both were predators, yes, but the difference between them was beyond measuring. 

She searched and waited for time immeasurable until She saw it, saw her. A comet that had burned bright and triumphantly, now dull and dimmed, fading but not faded.

A Light had been extinguished, but maybe, just maybe, a dying ember could be stoked back into a Fire of Hope. 

[callsign-bunnie]

Why Can’t I Be More Chapter 3

A mission brings up an old friend, one that Rodolfo wishes would stay gone. Alejandro makes a plea for Rodolfo to start taking care of himself more and Rodolfo is starting to not know what to do with himself. He wants to be more, so much more. But maybe more is frightening.

--

Rodolfo had given up on sleeping about an hour after he finished crying. When he did finally give up, he’d just gotten up and washed his face, managing to resist the urge to shower again. Barely, though, because crying had just made him feel gross and sticky again. 

He had taken one just hours before, though, and he knew it just wasn’t a good idea. Wasting water or whatever. Plus, Alejandro knew he had taken one the night before. He’d told him he was going to as soon as they’d made it back to base. Yeah, he could lie and say he ended up taking one that morning instead but… that was extremely unlike Rodolfo.

Why is it any of Alejandro’s business? Because Rodolfo only showered twice over the course of twenty four hours if he was really upset. Which, yes he was. But, he didn’t want Alejandro to know that. So, instead, he would just wash his face and hope that satiated the problem. He knew it wouldn’t, but he could ignore the problem until that night when he could shower again. 

He’d likely feel the need to shower after the mission, regardless, so two birds, one stone. 

When he saw that it was 5:00, he wiped his face, and went to the small kitchen area in his quarters. He was still completely exhausted, he’d really like to sleep. But, he couldn’t sleep, and going to sleep for maybe two hours at this rate would only make him feel even worse when he did wake up. So, no sleep it was. 

Hopefully, he’d be so exhausted that night that he’d just collapse in bed and pass the fuck out. That would be most desired to him, honestly. 

Rodolfo turned to the coffee maker and turned it on, watching the coffee drip. Why would he need an apartment? He had everything he needed, here. He had a decent kitchen, even if it was small, and a small couch to rest on. He didn’t need anything else. 

All in all, it was pretty nice, too. Nice wallpaper, decent bed set that he had stuck on the bed, some decorations to make it feel more like home… What else did he need? Fuck, what would he even do with an apartment?

Lay around and cry. Well he already did that, there, so an apartment really just wasn’t necessary, it seemed. 

Once it hit 6:00, he sighed and dressed himself, wearing the same jeans, t shirt, and hoodie he wore. Well, okay, the shirt was a different shirt and the jeans were a clean pair, but the hoodie was the same. It was comfortable, okay?

Then, he tugged his vest and radio on. He was supposed to leave them in the locker rooms but… he wasn’t comfortable gearing up around everyone else. It felt like changing, honestly. Maybe he took advantage of his position to not have to, but he didn’t feel bad for it. He was a private man, years of sharing a bunk or showering with others hadn’t changed that. As soon as he’d gotten the opportunity, he’d gladly gone back to being just as private. That would likely never change. 

When he was suitably geared up, he made his way to the briefing room, despite knowing he’d likely be early. He wanted to check some things on the tablets they had, anyway. Logs, reports, stuff like that. 

As he walked, his body reminded him just how exhausted he was. His eyes were heavy and there was this dull empty-ness filling every inch of his body. He wasn’t that concerned about it, he’d run more intense missions on even less sleep, somehow. 

He did drink the coffee he’d brewed and stuck in a pack of disposable coffee cups he’d snagged from the kitchen on the way, though. It helped none, but he kept drinking if not for just liking the taste of it. Alejandro had gotten it for him, since neither liked the cheap crappy coffee they kept in the mess hall. 

Another part of his position he would gladly take advantage of, as did literally anyone else who had it. 

Once at the briefing room, he slipped into his seat behind Alejandro, who was at a table, looking over schemes. “Hey,” Alejandro murmured as Rodolfo slipped in, glancing up briefly. Rodolfo nodded in response and then reached over, grabbing a tablet from the table. 

He used his log-in to get in, going through his emails first. Nothing interesting, just mass emails that he could honestly ignore since Alejandro religiously went through his own. There was a reminder that he would need to take his vacation time, soon, and… he’d worry about that later. 

Oh, Jiminez, one of their majors, had emailed him about a couple recruits. Oh no. Rodolfo reluctantly opened it, worried. But, it ended up just being a request for creative punishment, for a tricky problem he was having. Rodolfo starred it, deciding to try to answer it later. 

His CO had made them write essays if they were being particularly problematic. Seriously, actual essays. They had a word count and everything. Rodolfo had actually loved them and his CO had given him a few as less of a punishment and more of an activity. 

As such, he’d picked up an affinity for creative punishments. 

“It’ll be cut and dry. They’re not expecting us.” Alejandro finally told Rodolfo, turning to him and leaning back against the table. “You and I will lead in through the front with our team and the rest will go in the back.”

Rodolfo frowned. “Shouldn’t we split up?”

“One, and risk our Vaqueros thinking one of us has had a stroke?” Alejandro laughed, though it was clearly more out of shock than amusement. “Two, no. Why would we need to do that?”

Honestly? Rodolfo wasn’t even sure why he’d asked. Alejandro was right, Rodolfo and Alejandro usually did everything together. They rarely split up, hell it was just known they were better together. Alejandro’s preference to be on the offense perfectly complemented Rodolfo’s need to be on the defense. 

Alejandro would strike first and Rodolfo would back him up. Alejandro started fights and Rodolfo finished them. Everyone knew this. 

“I don’t know..” Rodolfo conceded. “I don’t know where my mind was.”

Alejandro frowned and came over to him, touching his chin and lifting his face up. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

Rodolfo went dark red. Of course Alejandro noticed. He winced and decided to lie. “I did. Just… not well I guess.”

Alejandro narrowed his eyes, but then the rest of the ones going on the mission filed in, so he released Rodolfo’s chin and shook his head, turning back to everyone else. 

Alejandro was quick as he briefed everyone and diligently made them aware of what their duties were. Rodolfo, of course, listened and made sure to keep track of everyone’s place in his head. 

“Cut and Dry.” Alejandro reiterated before they set out. 

This was so unbelievably far from cut and dry. It hadn’t exactly been a disaster from the beginning, but several members of the cartel had obviously taken off running, and of course this had been several of the recognizably important ones. 

Or, recognizable to Alejandro, since they were wearing balaclavas. So, to Rodolfo, they might as well have been just like everyone else. Yeah, the masks apparently meant something, but Rodolfo didn’t care. 

God, he wished he could just shoot them and move the fuck on. He was exhausted. His side was splitting and he couldn’t get enough air in his lungs. He had a high cardio tolerance, but he’d been chasing these fuckers for borderline 30 minutes through the fucking mountains and he was sick of it. 

Honestly, he was tempted to just collapse, but Alejandro was unfortunately running with him and that would cause so many problems that Rodolfo didn’t even want to try to begin to list off. So, he just kept running. 

“Go the right path and try to cut them off!” Alejandro spoke over the radio and gestured to the path.

Rodolfo groaned and glanced at the sky before doing as told, practically sprinting so he could get ahead of them. Thankfully, the path he went on was straight, while their path was curved. So, along with his sprinting, it allowed him to get a lot more ahead of them. 

Unfortunately, both of these paths led to an inevitable destination, which was a cliff that went off into a river. It was a pretty high fall, but one would likely only break a limb or two if they fell from it. Surely, these cartel members would not risk that.

Surely not. 

When he finally made it to the cliff, he lifted his gun and pointed it at the group of three members that were now coming directly at him. “Stop!” He called, standing firm. 

However, rather than stop, the one in the lead slammed straight into him, forcing them both to fall from the cliff. 

Legs underneath you, legs underneath you! Luckily, he managed before he hit the water, and he remembered to fucking hold his breath this time. He swung his gun to his back while underwater, since it’d be damn near impossible to shoot at this rate, and he’d be unable to swim with it in his arms. 

Coughing as he broke through the water, he gasped and quickly looked around. The one that had knocked him off was right next to him, clearly also attempting to recover from the impact. However, he wasted no time, reaching over and yanking off their balaclava in an attempt to grab them. “Valeria?!” He exclaimed, taken back. 

Valeria looked at him, her eyes wide in shock. “Rodolfo-”

Rodolfo cut her off with a punch, not wanting to let his surprise risk her getting away. He grabbed the back of her vest and started to drag her to land, ducking as the other two finally hit the water. 

She struggled and kicked, but Rodolfo was firm, dragging her up onto the rocks and letting her go. She stared up at her in surprise and Rodolfo held up a finger, heaving breaths. She looked almost like she was going to attack him, anyway, but then she was hunching over, coughing up water. 

“Why… the fuck… are you working for the cartel?!” Rodolfo panted, glaring at her. 

“Mind your own fucking business!” She snarled and then grabbed his leg, yanking him down. Rodolfo groaned as he hit the ground, the wind knocked from his lungs. Not that he had much to really begin with. 

Then, she climbed on top of him, getting a knife out and swinging it down. Rodolfo managed to throw his arms up to stop her, causing her to slash through his arm. “Fuck!” He screamed and threw her off, holding his arm. “You fucking psychopath! I gave you a fucking breather!”

Valeria looked up at him as he got up, her eyes wide. Rodolfo stared at his arm and cursed, loudly, glancing up as he heard Alejandro calling his name from the cliff. He just ignored it, getting out cuffs. Valeria also appeared to glance up and then a cruel smile spread across her face. “I see you’re still Alejandro’s pet.”

“Oh fuck you!” Rodolfo went over to her, lifting her up and trying to get her hands behind her back. Instead, he was greeted with a headbutt which had his head spinning. Alright, that one was his fault, he walked into that. “You’re still a fucking bitch, I see.” He glowered at her, stumbling back and touching his nose, which was now bleeding. 

She screamed and launched at him, slamming him down and holding his head under the water which he had been close enough to that she could fully dunk his head in. He struggled against her, holding his breath to the best of his ability. He reached up and clawed at her face, kicking. 

She finally released him right as his thumb started to press under her eye socket and got up. Rodolfo was out of the water before she could manage to run away, sweeping her legs out from under her. 

“Fuck…” He breathed, coughing up water. “Goddamnit. I’m just trying to arrest you, yet you’re trying to kill me.”

“No, you fucking dumbass… I’m trying to knock you out.” Valeria wheezed and hit at the ground as she coughed. 

Rodolfo rolled his eyes, grabbing his cuffs from where he’d dropped them during the struggle and going to her. He grabbed her hands and put them behind her back, which she appeared to just go limp, finally conceding. 

However, his collar was then yanked back and a knife was put to his throat before he could even fully secure them. He put his hands up by instinct, backing up as whoever had him yanked him back. 

“What do you want me to do to him, Valeria!?” The person asked. 

Valeria carefully got to her feet, coughing again. “Fuck… He’s not a threat without Alejandro.” She finally said, shaking her head and glancing over Rodolfo. Rodolfo stared at her, incredulous. He’d just beat her ass! And she was calling him harmless?! “Tie him up and then leave him. Alive, Luiz.”

Oh, absolutely not. Rodolfo swung his head back as hard as he could, connecting with the guy’s skull. Luiz stumbled back and Rodolfo grabbed his wrist, yanking the knife out of it before swinging around and swiping the knife up, narrowly missing as Luiz yanked back. 

A hand grabbed his collar and yanked him back down to the ground and Valeria put her boot firmly in the middle of his chest. “Stay, like a good pup.” She hissed at him. “If you know what’s good for you.”

Rodolfo debated grabbing her leg and yanking her back down his level, but instead he just glared at her. She chuckled and removed it, crouching down and patting his face. “Good boy.” Then, she stood and took off with the other two. 

Or, well, both of them tried to, because Rodolfo kicked his leg out, tripping the third. He did not waste time with this one, yanking his hands behind his back and binding them. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to be as important to the other two, because despite his pleads for help, Valeria and Luiz just kept running. 

Rodolfo got up and coughed again, shaking his head. He was even more exhausted than before and half tempted to just lay on the ground and pass out. Misfortunate laughed at him, though, because Alejandro was there a moment later, finally making it to him. “Rodolfo! You let the other two get away!”

“Let?!” Rodolfo made an incredulous noise, staring at Alejandro. “She tried to kill me and then was going to have both of them tie me up and leave me here! You’re lucky I managed to get this one!”

Alejandro groaned and ran a hand over his face. “Fuck!” He cursed and kicked the rocks before helping Rodolfo get the third one up. Both ignored his cussing and ranting, dragging him up to the truck that had apparently met them. 

Rodolfo shoved him into the back and then they rode back down to where the other trucks were. Once there, Rodolfo went to shrink off to his and Alejandro’s, but he heard his name called. “You,” Alejandro pointed at him when Rodolfo turned to him. “My office when we get back.”

Rodolfo cringed. “Right.” He mumbled, getting into the driver’s side of the truck. Once Alejandro was in, he drove back to the base. 

-

Rodolfo had barely received much of a scolding, just more of a lecture. Even there, it was clear Alejandro wasn’t even sure he agreed with the contents of the lecture. So, Rodolfo had tuned most of it out and just focused on the fact that the curtains in one of the windows were moving, despite the window being shut. 

“There’s a draft.” Rodolfo commented, looking over at Alejandro.

Alejandro stared at him, having just been in the middle of speaking. “Rodolfo, have you been listening at all?”

“Yes. Don’t let important people get away. Next time, I’ll let her drown me.” Rodolfo sighed, looking at the curtain again. He furrowed his brows, realizing a lot of repairs needed to be made. This place was falling apart…

Alejandro rolled his eyes and sat in his chair. “No that.. That…” He paused and then rubbed a hand over his face. “You’re right… I’m sorry. Lately, it just feels like we’re having more losses than wins.”

Rodolfo frowned and looked at him. “That’s not true.” He really didn’t think it was. Honestly, it felt more equal than that. Two steps forward, two steps back. “We have wins all of the time. Most of the field squads have wins. Two busted missions don’t mean that we’re losing.”

“Feels like it does.” Alejandro leaned back in his seat. Rodolfo examined his body language, trying to see if Alejandro would make a request for him or not. But, instead, Alejandro put a manilla envelope on Rodolfo’s side of the desk. 

Rodolfo relaxed and pulled the chair forward. He was still soaking wet, but being wet had gotten rid of his need to take a shower, so he was dealing with it. Honestly, it was kind of pleasant, it made his body feel like it was being pressed down on. 

Carefully, he looked over the paperwork, curious what he would be working on that day. Alejandro had already said he would fill out the mission report, so it seemed all of this was just more of the daily stuff. He decided he should also check his email in a minute, so he could answer Jiminez. 

Alejandro, himself, turned to his laptop, likely going over metrics again. He seemed to almost obsessively keep watch of them, but Rodolfo knew this was necessary. They could change so much in the matter of just an hour and it was necessary to know what was going on where. 

Rodolfo bit his lip, watching Alejandro type at the laptop. He was squinting again and Rodolfo sighed, softly. “You really should get glasses.”

Alejandro gave him a look before shaking his head. “Not yet.”

“You are squinting so hard I’m genuinely worried for your eyesight.” Rodolfo shook his head.

“I can still read the screen just fine.” Alejandro sighed. “And my aim is perfect.”

Rodolfo couldn’t really deny that. Even still, Alejandro’s aim was impeccable. Regardless, though, he worried that trying to forgo glasses would only make Alejandro’s eyesight worse. “I still think you should go in for an eye exam.”

“Get an apartment.” Alejandro retorted, glancing at him. 

Rodolfo looked up at the ceiling, unsure how these were comparable at all. But, he just conceded and dropped the conversation, looking back down at his paperwork again. He supposed they both had ideas of what was best for the other person. 

They worked in silence after that. Rodolfo’s mind soon was wandering to all of the events of the mission. Still Alejandro’s pet, I see.

He’s harmless without Alejandro.

“Why did you and Valeria fall out?” Rodolfo asked Alejandro, looking at him. 

Alejandro blinked and looked at him, looking almost startled. “Why?”

“I… I’m just curious.” Rodolfo lied, quickly turning back to his paperwork and trying to appear busy with filling them out. 

“Bullshit,” Alejandro sighed, “you’re never just curious.”

Rodolfo winced, putting his pen down. He then closed the manilla envelope and rested his uninjured arm on it. His injured arm had been bandaged lightly when he got back. “The… reason I was caught off guard was that the third one was Valeria. I… didn’t expect her to be who we were chasing.”

“She was there?!” Alejandro straightened, immediately, slamming his laptop lid. “Did she hurt you?!” He was up and around the desk, immediately, touching Rodolfo’s chin and seeming to examine over his face.

Rodolfo turned red, like he always did when Alejandro touched him without provocation and shook his head. He was surprised by this reaction, since Alejandro didn’t often react this strongly when she was brought up. “Just… my arm. Slashed me to kill me, I think. She said she was trying to knock me out, but her blade was coming down at my head. I blocked it, though.”

Alejandro sighed, running a hand through his hair. Then, he picked up Rodolfo’s arm, pushing the sleeve up and unwrapping the bandage. Rodolfo winced as that caused the dried blood to be peeled off as well. It actually looked fairly bad. 

Alejandro tsked and touched it, making Rodolfo wince again. “This needs stitches.” He put the bandaging back around Rodolfo’s arm. 

Rodolfo shook his head. “I don’t think so, it’s should be fine.”

Alejandro gave Rodolfo a look and Rodolfo decided not to push his luck, since he was already in a fair amount of trouble. Alejandro went back around the desk, sitting down. “You remember the mission she left, right?”

Rodolfo hesitated before nodding. “I do…” He rubbed at his shoulder. He remembered it with no amount of fondness. They’d been sold out by a member of their Unit, but Rodolfo had never found out who. Considering several members had left or died, it was… impossible to really know. 

One of those members had been Valeria. For weeks before that, though, she’d been talking about how the military was corrupt, how she was sick of how she was treated by it. Rodolfo had actually agreed with a few of her sentiments, but… he’d only joined to stay by Alejandro’s side so it didn’t change much. 

That mission was fucked for more reasons than just being sold out, though. They were trying to arrest the current head of the cartel and it had gone wrong. So very wrong. Valeria’s squad had been meant to keep out his enforcers, but… honestly, most of it was a blur.

Alejandro seemed to be watching him. “I should have filled you in on every detail. But… I never wanted to think about it, honestly. Valeria’s squad was corrupt. They were in the pocket of the cartel, already. They… were tasked with keeping out his enforcers, right? Problem was, they were his enforcers.”

Rodolfo winced, “oh.” That explained why her squad ended up with the least amount of casualties, but the most deserters. 

Alejandro sighed. “Valeria… came back to me that night. Tried to get me to come with her. Tried to convince me to bring you, too, don’t worry. But… she knew you wouldn’t leave without me, so that’s why she came to me, first. When I didn’t budge… she said- well, let’s just say we both said things we probably regret.”

Rodolfo furrowed his brows. That explained why Alejandro had been so messed up, afterwards. Both he and Rodolfo had almost lost their lives during that mission. The betrayal… that must have been hard. “So… Valeria was the one that sold us out.”

“No, actually. That was a different member, Diego.” Alejandro shook his head. “But… she didn’t stop it.”

Rodolfo looked down at the envelope, trying to fully process everything. He’d never asked Alejandro what fully happened. He’d been too afraid to, especially once Alejandro started to get better. 

“I’m sorry, Rudy.” Alejandro sighed and Rodolfo looked up at him, again. “I should have told you. I really should have. But… I was just so… betrayed. I didn’t get it, how she could just betray Las Almas and… well, us like that. And, by the time it was all the way through, I figured it would never matter again.”

Rodolfo shook his head. He didn’t need to forgive Alejandro for this, he understood. He’d never asked, either. “Don’t be sorry. I get it. Valeria and I weren’t close but… you two were.”

“Closer than close.” Alejandro shook his head, sighing.

Rodolfo winced, trying hard to ignore the way that made his heart sting. Oh. 

“I was hoping she’d never be a problem again. It appears I should have… hoped harder.” Alejandro shook his head. “Just give up on reports tonight. Do them tomorrow. Just go get your arm sewn up.”

“It doesn’t need stitches,” Rodolfo tried again. 

“Rudy.” 

Rodolfo sighed and gave in. When he stood, he reached over and straightened the stack of papers beside Alejandro, pausing when Alejandro touched his hand. He frowned and looked at Alejandro. Alejandro took his hand and kissed his fingers, softly, and Rodolfo had to resist the urge to just melt. “If you have trouble sleeping tonight, come find me. I’m going to be up late.”

Rodolfo flushed but nodded. He pulled his hand away and smiled at Alejandro. “Okay.”

“Please start taking better care of yourself.” Alejandro sighed before opening his laptop again.

Rodolfo blushed darker and nodded again, before quickly leaving.

--

Fun fact, in the original, the last chapter and this chapter were just one chapter (Chapter 2)

[akirawrites24]

Full Name: Tammin Mikuriya 

Kanji: タミン 御厨

Alias:  Star

            Girl with glasses

            Weird Girl

Age: 16 (both in Persona 5 Vanilla and Persona 5 Royal)

         17 (In Third Semester, Persona 5 Strikers and Persona 5 Tactica)

Persona:  first form: Serena

                 Second form: Vanessa

                 Third form: Aishi

Weapons: Bazooka and Dagger

Looks:

Tammin is seen with her long brown hair down that stops at the end of her back and wears black glasses and blue eyes. In her free time, she wears black gloves, a black T-shirt that says “I Love Hardrock” while wearing a black and red skirt with black boots.

As a Phantom Thief, she wears a black mask and a dark blue outfit full with stripes that share the same color shade. Her shoulders are exposed while everything else is covered and has a star shaped lock on her belt.

Biography 

Tammin is the sixth member of the Phantom Thieves and is a second year student at Shujin Academy, she is in Ryuji’s class. 

Tammin is raised by a single mother while her father had an affair with another woman and doesn’t seem to be in contact with him at all, this has only been stated once in the game.

She has her first appearance when she showed up in Leblanc, eating curry there and meeting Ren Amamiya, the protagonist for the first time. She showed no worries at the rumors that are going around him, she even said not to react to them, that would mean giving them a reaction, which is what they wanted.

She isn’t to be seen again until the studio trip, where she seemed to be talking with Goro Akechi, who is later revealed to be his help in certain cases, as her mother works with the police, so Tammin is around them sometimes.

When she was walking in Shibuya, she accidentally got dragged into the Metaverse when Ren, Ryuji, Ann, Morgana and Yusuke were entering Mementos, not noticing her passing by while she wanted to say hi.

Tammin managed to escape Mementos through the exit and had the app ever since on her phone, but she confronted the others, who had no choice but to admit that they are the Phantom Thieves, only for her to admit that she already knew as the changes of hearts begun when Ren arrived back in April.

Despite not understanding everything yet, she asked the Phantom Thieves to change her best friend’s Candy heart due to her being in a depressed state and she was scared to lose her forever.

Despite being told not to tag along, she sneakily followed them anyway, and seeing the Palace, her heart was breaking, seeing how her best friend is losing herself more and more. 

She awakened to her Persona later when confronting Candy, who swore to make her find happiness again in this distorted world after almost giving up hope.

Her Arcana, Justice, can be unlocked when she comes to Leblanc, this can happen at any moment.

Arcana: Justice

Personality:

Tammin seems to be the girl that keeps to herself most of the time, but won’t hesitate to tag along in a conversation in class if it is about something that really interests her.

She speaks up to people about how they can’t say anything about Ren’s situation as they weren’t there and couldn’t have possibly known what happened, implying she can be hot headed and hates it when rumors are spread, especially when it is only there to cause hatred.

Tammin is concerned at times when it comes to her close friends, who are clearly hiding something, and is shown not to give up on them at all.

She makes very sarcastic remarks, especially when it comes down to Ryuji, but that is just the playful banter between them, which neither of them seems to mind.

As reckless as she can be sometimes, she actually thinks first, but her sharp mind and short temper is what makes her act and think at the same time.

She gets angry when people are picking up on the innocent, needing to be held back before a fight happens.

Her biggest insecurity is that she can’t help anyone that needs it, and abandonment as it happened to her. She and Ren make it a mission to change this in her confidant. 

Arcana biography: a second year and fellow team member. She resents people who hurt others for their own pleasure.

Arcana end: with a clear mind, she lets go of the past and focuses on the future and present.

Love interest: Ren Amamiya

[holly-fixation]

Three... Guards? Ch 5

Summary: Tifa finds Cloud at the train station in Sector Seven. It’s the first time she’s seen him in seven years. But he’s not alone. Three silver haired boys protected him. Three silver haired boys that triggered memories of her hometown. Of steel through her chest. Of SOLDIER First Class. Of Him.

Their determination to protect Cloud was far greater than she was ready for.

Inspired by this prompt by @im-totally-not-an-alien .  

Please Enjoy!

Chapter 5: The Mission

They knew no matter how well they prepared for this mission, new road blocks waited for them ahead. First it was Jessie’s fake IDs failing on the train, making them walk along the rails to try and find their way to Sector Five’s plate on foot. Cloud wasn’t sure how many times he was willing to follow the ‘AVALANCHE dog’ before he looked for his own path. However, Tifa and Barret convinced him to keep going. And it’s not like he’d ever say no to Tifa. He would complain about it though, but even then he was far more pleasant and accommodating than he was when they were kids. He was still kinder than she expected, yet that didn't reflect his swordsmanship in the slightest. 

Cloud was a beast on the battlefield. 

Every enemy in range met their end quickly with their little party of three. Barret even made a joke of ‘where were you on our first mission’ before giving him a hearty laugh. Cloud rolled his eyes, but the smallest of a playful smirk played on his lips. Things were starting to get back on track before they wasted even more time trying to understand and activate the correct sunlamps to continue their way. Who designed something like this? This probably wasted more energy than it saved. 

Luckily, things looked more familiar when they entered the reactor. Various elevators, twisting paths, endless rooms filled with security robots and personnel, all expected obstacles they were well practiced in taking down at this point. Cloud’s SOLDIER healing was absolutely something else. At very least, Tifa swore she saw bullets that didn’t break his skin. He wasn’t a perfect fighter, but he was leagues better than any mercenary in the slums. Shinra’s defenses had certainly changed since the last mission though. But since this was Cloud and Tifa's first one, neither noticed the difference. 

Despite their skills, Cloud found himself looking back after nearly every battle. This may not be the stealthiest operation, but he kept seeing things moving at the very end of his periphery, only to completely vanish when he turned. He was understandably on edge in general, but this only added to it. If Shinra wanted to attack, they would wait until they were vulnerable, especially after destroying every machine thrown at them. And yet, he brushed the feeling off as they entered the mako chamber, convincing himself it was just first mission jitters. 

He was wrong. Very. Very. Wrong. The blobs from the corner of his eye finally slipped into sight after failing to silently climb down the ladder in mako storage. Correction: one of them failed, landing with just enough force for Cloud's SOLDIER enhanced hearing to catch. The other two were still on the ladder, but they instantly realized it was too late. 

They were supposed to be at the bar. 

They were supposed to be watching Marlene. 

They were supposed to be under the Sector Seven plate without causing any trouble, like they all agreed to. 

“What the hell are you doing here!?” Cloud’s voice boomed up the high walls of the reactor. Only after hearing Cloud’s call did Barret and Tifa turn to assess the threat. Neither one of them expected to see the three boys that saved Cloud in the middle of the mission. 

“What is wrong with you three?! Did you abandon my baby girl!?” Barret yelled next. “Are you three tryin’ to die an early death? Because if she has a single scratch on her-”

The brothers stood silently, looking at Tifa for the final questions to be thrown at them. However, the eldest’s eyes were already watery from the scolding. 

Tifa just stared in shock at the three silver haired boys in black within the mako glow of the chamber. Her hands started shaking, her eyes on the sword the youngest used. 

When they realized she wouldn’t respond, they answered the father’s questions first. 

“We left Marleen with Marle to be safe… They’re both at the apartments…” Yazoo answered first. 

“We told you we’re protecting Big Brother,” Loz spoke after swiping off his tears. “No matter what.”

“And do you have any idea how easy it is to follow you guys when you take out every security measure in the building?” 

“Don’t be smart with us,” Cloud scolded, fury in his eyes. Yes, he was kind to them before but it was borderline suicide for three ten year olds to go on an ecoterrorist mission, no matter their skills. “You could’ve been killed. Can be killed.” 

“By what- all the broken machines?” 

His mako glare sharpened. “What did I just say?!”

Shoot. They really pissed him off. His increased emotions were acting against them now. They needed to be careful with their next words. 

“We just wanted to protect you…” 

“Y’all ain’t protectin’ anyone if Shinra kills you boys!”

They all looked away, shutting their mouths from the next snippy comment to come out of their mouths. 

Cloud growled a sigh, frustratingly accepting this absolute mess of a scenario. Yet before he spoke, Tifa grabbed the back of his arm, her hands still shaking. He looked at her and all his anger vanished. Her head was down, blocking his eyes from hers with her head and her hair. She was nearly cowering, clinging to him in protection. “Tifa…?” He spoke as softly as he could. “Are you alright…?”

She should’ve been the angriest after everything these three put her through. She should’ve scolded him for his ridiculous ‘eye for an eye’ mentality, to protect them because they protected him no matter what they did. She should’ve thrown them to the first orphanage she could find long before this mission began, but he was the one that stopped her from trying. Yet she was quiet and trembling, not an ounce of frustration boiling in her. “Let’s just finish this… Please…”

I’m sick of this…

I’m sick of all of this!

The memory hit Cloud like a truck and he wrapped his arms around her in comfort. Their hometown. The fire. Her father. The reactor. 

“Let’s just set the bomb…”

He wanted to obey, but he glanced back at the three boys that weren’t supposed to know any of this. 

“It's too late now. Just set the bomb and let’s get out of here,” She steeled her voice against her emotions. 

“Okay… Yeah…” Cloud hesitantly agreed, trying not to upset her any further. “We’re too deep in this now. We have to pull through.”

“You three are gettin’ one hell of a scolding when we get back.” Barret glared at the kids again before setting up the bomb. 

“Is it a timer or do you have a remote?” Cloud questioned. 

“Remote controlled,” Barret stated almost proudly while holding up the controller. “Gives us plenty of time to get out. Especially with this extra cargo.”

The youngest brother nearly hissed, his eye twitching once at his frustration towards them and the truth he couldn't reveal. The other two just glanced away like disobedient children. 

After they set up the bomb and double checked everything worked, they headed back to the lone ladder they all came down. But the ladder quickly lifted up the second they were in reach. 

Shinra was watching them. The director of security, Heidegger literally laughed at them and put the group on the news, stating that they were not only the ecoterrorists responsible for destruction surrounding Mako Reactor One, but that they also used child soldiers as backup, brainwashing and forcing them to obey. Of course none of the boys cared about the comment, but it absolutely painted AVALANCHE in a deadly light. The director sentenced them to death and told them exactly where it waited: the only exit in the reactor.

As a group, the six members made their way through the remainder of the facility, sending sections of the incomplete mech to a defective equipment room in order to limit its attacks. The boys tried to climb directly on the rails guiding the remaining equipment to destroy each one directly, but the adults all informed that messing with the assembly line itself could let Shinra catch wind of their plan, so they jumped down and hunted for key cards in every room they entered. 

Everything was relatively normal until they all finally made it to the catwalk on the way out of the reactor. Multiple drones suddenly flew past them before projecting a cyan hologram of President Shinra himself. Regardless of the weapons before them, the three brothers surrounded Cloud and nearly growled in their battle stances. Guns out, blades in hand, fists at the ready. The drones scanned each of the adults first to give the president a perfect view of his enemies. 

“Oho. The eyes of one who has bathed in mako…” Clearly Cloud caught the president’s attention. “Which would make you a SOLDIER?”

Cloud drew his blade, the slightest scowl on his face. “Ex-SOLDIER.”

“Once a SOLDIER, always a SOLDIER. Though not, alas, for very long.” The president continued as Tifa looked to Cloud in concern, “Accelerated cellular degradation being the most common cause of death by far. This is classified, of course, but every SOLDIER knows the truth.”

Cloud’s eyes hit the ground before he forced them back up with a glare. “...That’s right.”

“Yet knowing that, you still…” He cut himself off, clearly recognizing something. “...How did you find these children?”

“It doesn’t matter how,” Kadaj snipped. 

“It most certainly does. Those are more than mako eyes. You three should go back to the lab, where you belong.”

“We’re staying here!” The eldest barked.

“We’re not your property…”

The president scoffed. “Everything involving him is ours.”

Kadaj immediately slashed the closest drone in two, rage already staining his breath. He was very tired of everything in every world circling back to him. “We’re not his either!”

The reaction made him raise an eyebrow, far more than anything else they got out of him. “Still, you’d make fine additions to SOLDIER. Where you belong.”

All of the boys nearly hissed at that.

“Think you forgettin’ someone!?” Barret finally pulled the president’s attention away, going on his usual rant about mako, the planet, and the Lifestream. The president brushed him off as pawns, his company’s propaganda spinning AVALANCHE’s little story as he saw fit. 

Despite Barret’s back talk, the time for talking was over. Heidegger took over the hologram and released the Airbuster, giving the order of execution barring the three silver haired boys. The children were to be taken alive. 

They instantly broke into pairs to take down the massive mech. Its attacks constantly shifted from destroying them head on and charging large attacks while barely within targets of long ranged weapons. Yazoo paired up with Tifa to make up for her lack of ranged options. Loz paired with Barret in order to do more damage when the mech was on the ground. Kadaj used their ‘take them alive’ order and his height to his advantage by attacking its hover engines underneath it. However, he could not survive under their heat for long, so he constantly shifted sides despite his obvious intention to stay by Cloud’s.

Was fighting alongside three small children against a mech on a terrorist mission extremely strange? Yes.

Was it as difficult as they expected it to be? Yes and no. 

Despite their intentions, the combination of their weaker weapons and their inferior strength barely allowed any significant damage. However, against a foe like this, even the slightest damage mattered over time. All six of them couldn’t fight this thing forever, and they knew more security would be on its way if the machine looked like it was failing. The faster its death, the better. However, the boys needed to be extremely careful with the downgrade of these child-like forms. One dead on attack and they’d be lucky to be out of commission. Gods this was frustrating. 

They didn’t know if they lived or died when the machine’s self destruction blew the team apart. A large section of the catwalk was destroyed in the explosion, five of them flung towards the exit, but one dangling on the opposite side. 

“Cloud!”

“Big Brother!” 

All of them ran to the closest edge to see the blonde SOLDIER holding on, unable to drop the massive sword in his other hand. 

“We don't have long to get clear,” Barret stated the dark truth first. They didn’t have the time or ability to save Cloud now.

But he was more concerned with them than himself. “Take Tifa and the boys, and get outta here!”

“We’re not leaving!” The eldest brother yelled and was immediately pulled back by Barret. “No matter what!”

“This ain't the end of the line for you or me!”

“What are you doing…?” The middle brother asked.

The surviving drones began shooting before he could answer. They didn’t have time to think before thr bomb in the reactor detonated and fire wooshed out of the entrance. Cloud had no choice but to let go. 

“CLOUD!”

None of them were ready for something like this, and only one thought fast enough to succeed. Cloud tried to use his grappling to save himself. 

Yet when it failed, Kadaj jumped. 

Both of the boys yelled their brother’s name while holding onto the only two adults that remained, reaching but unable to will their instincts and bodies to let go and chase after their brothers. Barret lifted the eldest up and grabbed Tifa’s arm.

“We have to go. Now.”

She shook her head quickly and tried to focus on protecting what she could, even if it was the boys that looked like the man who killed her father but saved her childhood friend.

* * * 

Everyone was quiet. No one spoke a word until they were ‘safe’ again with Shinra finally off their tails but at what cost?

The boys had no idea what was supposed to happen on that mission even in their own world. They failed. If they're the reason their big and even little brothers died, through this butterfly effect, then what the hell were they supposed to do now? They didn't know what to do in general, let alone with this… feeling that wouldn't go away, one that kept their eyes down and their movements sluggish. 

Tifa certainly had more of this odd status effect than Barret at least. It seemed Barret's little affirmations that Cloud would be okay only did so much to soothe her. 

Even if Cloud survived the fall, the chances Kadaj did too were little to none. Not in these bodies. Not in this world. It wasn't like they couldn't function without each other. But Loz couldn't stop tears from falling and quite honestly it was just annoying to him at this point. He wasn't sobbing or incapable of doing other tasks, but his eyes and his throat were cursed with these stuttering emotions. Yazoo simply couldn't break out of somber silence, sitting at the bar with his arm supporting his head, his silver hair brushing the counter with his occasional shift. 

Neither Barret or Tifa scolded the boys for going on the mission. They already knew exactly what they did. And Loz had a nearly soaked sleeve to prove it. 

“Come on,” Tifa pushed, placing a meal closer. Some kind of egg dish that normally looked so appetizing to them. “You gotta eat.”

They shook their heads and stayed quiet, occasionally moving a chunk of food around the plate with a fork. 

“Biggs is on his way. He'll be here in twenty,” Barret informed, finally giving them the distraction they needed. “Says he's got some info for us.”

Tifa nodded, trying to force her mind on the next task rather than the boys in front of her. She should take them to the orphanage in Sector Five. It would absolutely be better than anything she can provide while working with AVALANCHE. 

“Are you going to abandon us too…?” Though extremely small, Yazoo’s question cut deep into their hearts. Neither adult answered. 

“Why don’t you eat, and then we can talk, okay?” Tifa tried to avoid the idea, but they clearly noticed her dodge. In fact, they dropped their forks entirely and huffed into their own hands. Tifa and Barret just sighed. It wasn’t like force feeding would help either. 

Luckily, the doors to the bar opened, but they were all confused. Biggs was absolutely too far out and the sign clearly said they were closed-

Tifa’s eyes locked on the man that entered. 

He’s alive. 

He’s alive!

She ran out from behind the bar to greet him in a deadly hug for doing something so stupidly risky. But she stopped herself. 

It was Cloud, blonde spiky hair and all but… he looked different. He wasn’t wearing the SOLDIER uniform anymore. That wolf earring was definitely new, so was the wolf on his shoulder pad. And why was he carrying so many swords? He would never part with the Buster Sword. 

Only the two Remnants knew exactly who they were looking at. It was Cloud. But it was the one they knew. From their time. From their world. They recognized him instantly. And he absolutely recognized them. 

.

.

.

.

Thanks for reading!

Author’s Note: I almost googled what AC Cloud looks like before I suddenly dashed across my room. I finally found a purpose for my Cloud amiibos.

[silverhallow]

Do you have any more headcanons to share about the Bridgerton 11 verse?

Ohhh okay so Lemme share a few of my thoughts for this AU…

Edmund and Violet run a very successful business, a bit like Wayne enterprises: called Bridgerton Enterprises (shock… I know) and are like mega mega mega rich.

Edmund never meant to get into the business of stealing and replacing works of art or jewellery but ended up helping out a friend who found that a piece of family art work went missing and weirdly… it was his mother of all people who suggested it.

His mother was the one who had the business and their father had been using funds from the business in clever ways to help fund her little missions.

Edmund and his mother do maybe one job every 5 years but Anthony learns the skill from his father.

Benedict’s skills come from his Grandmother and it was only after a trip to the Louvre with her and he had painted an almost identical version of one of the paintings form memory that she realised her grandsons has the talent to take over her little network.

Anthony meets Kate on a job.

Where she was trying to steal the same piece of jewellery, for the same client who had hired the two of them. Neither knew who it was but it was an anonymous request. (Lady D)

It nearly goes sides ways when they were arguing so much that when the police arrive Anthony did the only thing he could think of, and that was to stick the ring down Kate’s bra and kiss her.

To the police, they were just making out and innocent by standers and when they saw the duplicate ring in place, as Benedict and Daphne had managed to sneak in and get it in position, no questions were asked.

Kate didn’t go home after that and became part of the team.

Each of the family have respectable jobs along side their criminal backgrounds.

Anthony runs the business with his father.

Kate is actually a trained lawyer and occasionally likes to tell everyone just how much trouble they’d be in if they were caught just as they were doing something.

Benedict is a photographer.

Sophie didn’t really have a job before she meets the Bridgerton’s other than as a maid/slave to her step mother, and ends up working with Violet and Simon in the family business working with finances.

Colin works as a travel blogger which helps with their jobs and helps cover their tracks as he’ll often arrive first in a location and if anyone asks the family have come to visit usually.

Daphne worked as an intern with the business, working as Anthony’s aid and Simon’s until they started dating. Once she marries and has kids she stays at home but she still works and helps organise the jobs.

Simon is an accountant. Works for the family business, much to his fathers annoyance.

[kmze]

"Caroline chose not to take the cure because she was a better human as a vampire". This makes me wanna say so much but I shall refrain from that. * deep breath* He is the same person who once again victim blamed Caroline on that special short they did: "she knew he(Damon) was bad news but she was acting out". UN-FUC*ING-BELIEVABLE! Another thing that I remember from that short was Nina saying something like 'the girls are each others' true loves..." and Kat probably said that the girls were each others' sisters.I was like WHO WROTE THIS SCRIPT? 8 seasons of that show and the girls' friendship had the least amount of screen time.Elena treated Caroline and Bonnie as dirt under her shoes.Bonnie was the magical portable device for her white 'bestie' AND her brother! Caroline and Bonnie were probably better friends than whatever they had with Elena.But the writers neither spared their friendship nor developed them as a complex female bond,once elena was gone, since they weren't revolving in Elena's orbit anymore.And the finale decisions were made keeping Elena in mind.Not Caroline.Not Bonnie! Elena got her picket fence human life while Caroline got a cheque from her abuser and Bonnie was still romancing her dead ghost boyfriend!

Alright Anon let's talk about it because I am so tired of how much KW got hand waved responsibility for the Caroline and Andie storylines in S1 and S2 when he was the one in charge. Got long so under the cut:

The reason he did those storylines as well was to prop Elena and be like see Damon would never compel Elena because she's too pure and special unlike these pions Caroline and Andie. I think KW saw Caroline the exact same way he saw Jen on Dawson's Creek who he killed off in the series finale (after he left for like 4 years sound familiar) just a prop to the other characters. Julie on the other hand ended up loving Caroline and basically switched from Elena to Caroline as her #1 gal around S4 (the sirebond storyline felt like the big turning point) and once Nina said she was leaving Caroline got her huge arc in S6 where Stefan was HER love interest.

The girls friendship was really such window dressing when you really thought about it lol. I noticed it so much in my rewatch, in S1 Bonnie and Elena seemed to only tolerate Caroline because she was just always their friend and it was convenient. Then in S2 Bonnie became a friggin' martyr trying to protect Elena and basically being A-OK with going on a suicide mission to save her while Caroline was more involved with Tyler and the werewolf plot. Then in basically S3-5 Bonnie existed just to sacrifice her happiness for Elena and Caroline would appear every once in awhile to stick up for Bonnie but Caroline became closer to Stefan than she did to Bonnie and Elena as the seasons went on.

I actually think both Bonnie and Jeremy got dragged down by Elena and I almost felt like Jeremy stuck up for Bonnie against Elena and thankfully by S6 they were both free of her. Caroline and Elena were always more rivals than best friends even if the show wanted to keep telling us they were best friends. You really saw that in their no humanity arcs because NH!Elena was SUPER jealous of Caroline with her storming over to break-up Stefan and Caroline dancing or stealing Caroline's prom dress she was voicing the fact that Elena was pissed Caroline took the "crown" from her. And NH!Caroline kept mocking Elena for making everything about herself and how she the world used to revolve around her. I don't really blame the actress' for their comments though because that's not their job to get into the complexities of the relationships especially in like an interview setting, the writers should have done more.

This is a point I differ with a lot of fandom on because I don't really think Elena got the better ending of the two girls because she was still essentially killed off. I'm also not someone who bought into the "humanity is beautiful" crap this show pulled sometimes, why would you want to give up your superpowers knowing how easy it is to die as a human in this world. But that's not to say Bonnie and Caroline didn't get tragic endings as opposed to Elena who got Damon even if that felt like default because the writers told us nothing about their life together and they didn't even share dialogue in the finale.

I think this is where KW and JP butted heads with the finale in terms of Elena vs. Caroline more than even any of the ships because KW probably would have killed Caroline off (a la Jen Lindley) to do an implied SE endgame and JP said absolutely not but she would concede to killing Stefan especially because he was human now and lost a lot of his pizzazz to her. I feel like KW only looked at the story from TVD's perspective and didn't think about the overall universe that had been created so he wanted everyone human as opposed to JP who wanted to keep some supes around so she could continue the universe. There was some rumor I've seen that JP wanted to move Stefan to TO at one point and I wonder if Paul had agreed to continue on and guest star on TO S5 with Candice the series finale would have been different (though human Stefan would have served no purpose on TO). Because really and truly the "triangle" for all three shows aka the verse ended up being Klefaroline not the triangle of doom, KC and SC were the only ships referenced on all three shows and in significant ways.