#there's no one character to latch onto besides scott

[jewishcissiekj]

maybe it's just me but the current (adjectiveless) X-Men series sometimes feels more like a Cyclops solo series than an X-Men comic

[cantfightmoonlight]

@lunarcovestarters

Option A: Leyla

TW Blood

Shit. A shaky breath left her lips as she placed the heavy bucket of soap and water down with the thud. Every muscle in her body was begging her to curl up into a tiny little ball, to pull the covers as high as they would go and stay in bed for the next eternity, or even worse, do what the Selvi's did best- run without ever daring to look back. Her best friend was in the hospital thanks to her biological sister who, from the not so subtle message sprawled across the windows of her coffee shop, had used Aiyla's own blood to write it. She felt she was going to be sick, but rather than letting herself break down into tears, Leyla did the only thing else she knew how to do. She threw herself into task, scrubbing away at the horror scene of vandalism before her rather than let anyone feel the gut-wrenching sensation that she currently did. She had gotten nearly all of it but 'think again' cleared up before she felt the presence of someone behind her. "Fu-dge," She jumped, spinning around on her feet to catch the other's glance. "You scared me," Leyla mumbled out, ringing out the sponge in her hand and trying her best not to wrinkle her nose too much as she watched the blood run down her hands into the bucket.

Option B: Jasmine

"Mhm," Jas winced slightly as she rubbed her sore wrists. The metallic cuffs glistening in the sun almost could be mistaken as a fashion choice. Almost, except for the fact that they were latched onto her skin. The distinct and ancient charms cut off any access she had to her magic. Now, as she sipped her cup of coffee, attempting to reschedule all of the ghost tours the Seen It Route was having this week, the cuffs, besides the relatively hefty weight for bracelets, weren't much of a bother. They were clunky, for sure, but they no longer hurt. Though, the immediate pain she had felt when they had been placed on still lingered in her thoughts along with the fact that for the first time in weeks, the world seemed silent. While, she hadn't exactly been looking forward to paying the cost for something she had done over six months ago, she'd be lying if the fact she couldn't be harassed by the dead or overwhelmed by the coven's judgements that she had 'gotten off scott-free' while Rohan had not, had been nice. And now, hopefully, her name wouldn't be able to be thrown around as a weapon against her sister, the Supreme, or her boyfriend, the Alpha's character. The only problem remained, how the hell was she going to rebook five different tours and how many refunds was she going to have to give? A groan slipped out as she rubbed at her temples. "Who knew scheduling would be so complicated."

Option C

PTSD, Depression tw

Meena sat at the end of the bar. It was one of the first times she had sat, period, after the past few days. Aaliyah was finally healed up and headed back home. The emptiness in her house was hardly lost on her. Her eyes drained of even the slightest hint of a spark as she milked the glass of wine in hand. Her thumb and forefinger swirling the stem back and forth as if she was completely and utterly memorized by the red liquor. She was more angry than anyone could possibly imagine. The Catalyst had hurt her own and one who was older and, by proxy, physically stronger than even she was. But, on top of ever fiber of her being being filled with rage, she also felt entirely drained. The typical curve of her lips, her signature smirk, was no where to be found. Instead, the clan leader was entirely and utterly numb. Too exhausted to even bother to fake it anymore. It wasn't until someone slide into the open seat beside her that she finally took a moment to glance up. "I'd say care to join me, but I take it you already have?"

Option D: Elif

"Oh hey, come in, come in. Please make yourself comfortable," She assured them as she ushered her next client into her office. She'd be lying if she said business hadn't been slow recently, which one likely wouldn't expect with a therapist's office given how much had been going on in town these days. From the attacks to a witch getting their magic stripped to a death curse, you would think, now, more than ever, her scheduled would be booked solid. But, instead, the office almost felt like a ghost town. As if people were too afraid to attempt to start to process what they had collectively gone through, let alone talk about it. The chill in the air these days was unsettling to say the least. But, thankfully, there was one brave soul who had come to see her today and maybe that alone was hope.

[rejectedscurvy]

Our Reflection(Zoe x Damien fic)

Word count: 4,178

Summary: What happens when you get a trans coded character with the girl who wasn't born one. Combing aspects of Damien's secret ending with Zoe's

On AO3? Yes

Spooky High, homes to some of the most unique students and a wide array of chaos and antics. Two people were usually front and center for any shenanigans. Yet this time around behind the bleachers Damien was just alone, participating in a hobby that’d be embarrassing for the tough and rough demon himself. Yet, out of nowhere…

  “Red!” The eldritch cutie appeared from thin air.

This started him and suddenly he threw a mannequin head attached to a wig. Zoe just stared at him blankly. He relaxed once realizing who it was. But stayed on guard.

  “What was that…” Zoe inquired.

  “Nothin…” Damien lied through his teeth.

  “That WAS something” She gained a smirk as she placed her head over his shoulder. She noticed scissors. Zoe smirked at the red demon. He tosses the scissors away, but Zoe latches onto it with one of her tentacles. “Come on Red, you know you can tell me anything.” She starts to fiddle with the scissors.

  “You sure?”

  “Yup”

  “You won’t judge.”

  “Nope.”

  “Won’t laugh?”

  “Not at all”

  “i wanna be a haistylist…”

  “What did my favorite demon say?”

  

He clicked his tongue and sighed. She knew how to push his buttons too well. Maybe this was why they were dating. Cause this spicy red baby loved the attention.

  “I WANNA BE A HAIRSTYLIST. AND THE BEST DAMN HAIRSTYLIST ANYONE HAS KNOWN.” Zoe hands the scissors back to Damien. “Had that headcanon for a while.” She stated. “Wha- how?”

  “You’re the classic bad boy with a soft side, it matched with your obsession with knives. It was that or a plastic surgeon…” She sat down beside him. “And you’re not gonna laugh?” He asked softly.

  “Nope, you said it yourself, we’re in this together, now why would you hide this from our friends? I think Vicky would love it if you redid her hair, and Scott would have a field day with the fur he has.”

  “Eh I’m not good enough, I gotta be perfect… So that nobody can tell me what I can or can’t do.” He examined the scissors in his hand.

Zoe actually quieted down. A realization struck Damien.

  “Shit did I say somethin wrong?”

  “No, just, I understand… here.” She positioned herself infront of him, her tentacles becoming more of a blob. “You can practice on me, my form is basically just silly putty.” Damien had a softer smile as he held his scissors up again. The two were catching up on their individual playthroughs of Hades. By the time they caught up Damien finished, he formed her hair into dutch braids, with the eye in her hair acting as a flower. Damien pulled a mirror from his backpack. Zoe had a soft gasp.

  “I! Love! it!” She examined herself closer in excitement. “How do I thank you?”

  “Yah don’t gotta thank me.” He had the softest smile you’d ever seen. Zoe just wanted to treasure this. Yet Zoe gained a smirk, as she decided to hold his hands closer to her.

  “You know with such talent I can only imagine what you can do with these hands.” This statement made Damien blush slightly. “Well guess we just find out.” This made Zoe squeal. “This is just like my self-insert fic I wrote about you!” Damien laughed a little. “Well guess you’re leadin this one huh.” Zoe held Damein face to face. “Oh no, I NEED you to take control of this one, or else the flow, the body language, the deep look of fire and passion. It’ll all be for NOTHING.”

Damien just shrugs as he’s dragged off by Zoe in an off screen steamy encounter to be written another time.

Damien gained +1 Confidence +2 Zoe affection

A few days later we meet in the Auditorium, we’re backstage and Damien has a makeup kit ready to go. Already prepping Zoe for her part.

  “You don’t have to do this Red.” She giggled a bit. “Well I gotta get better at my stuff somehow, Vera and Miranda can’t shift like you do.” He was focused in, face to face with Zoe, making Zoe blush a bit. After a while he finished. “I don’t look that much different. But I still love it.” She examined herself. “It’s a natural highlight, can’t overdo it or yah look like a clown.”

  “Fair enough, wish me luck Red!”

Their play was a fantasy set in the medieval ages. This scene was Scott as a Tree, Polly as a Plague Doctor and Zoe as an Alchemist. Narration came from the wonderful wizard, Oz!

  “Nighttime in the forest, you could only hear the hooting of owls, the distant crickets and the sounds of trees-” 

  “TREE NOISES!” Scott yelled which led to an immediate sigh from Oz. “We see our tireless Alchemist Zoey brewing concoctions of all sorts in the middle of the forest. Yet a failed brewing led to the scent of death and pestilence, which always attracted one type of person.”

  “An alchemist? In these parts, you might want to explain your business…”

  “Plague Doctor Pollina was an expert in this regard, known across the lands.”

  “A brewing, for the king himself, these animals often lend themselves use.”

  “Yet it smells like the morgue, are you… plotting?”

  “Me? Plot? Never! I’m a taxpayer like any other, I’m planning on imbuing life from death, and these things have been dead for a while, watch and BEHOLD!”

Zoe hands the empty bottle to Scott, he drinks it on instinct.

  “Wait, can I talk now? Why was this empty?”

  “Incredible… It seems to not have any object permanence though…”

  “I’m flattered, now if you’ll excuse me…”

  “Zoey soon went back to experimentation, with Pollina’s worries put aside so she could rest easy. At least, until disaster struck. End Scene.”

The Audience clapped, leaving the actors on stage talking to one another. Damien soon joined and dropped in on the middle of a conversation.

 

  “Woah Zoe, looks like you used to be a helluva prankster back in the day.”

  “You betcha! I was what you would call in this realm “da shit”!”

  “Hey you still are, think you’re better than before.”

  “Aw shucks, thanks Red.” Zoe gave him a peck on the cheek.

  “I think you’re an even better prankster now!” Scott yelled.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, being happy with yourself is a whole lot better than being Z’Gord.”

  “Hell yeah dude!” Polly said in agreement.

  “NONSENSE!”

A voice came from almost thin air. It was none other than the insufferable Leonard.

  “Oh Leonard, got anything to add this time?” Zoe remarked.

  “Yeah I heard you talking about how precious it was when you changed from an eldritch being into a highschool girl. I mean it’s so sexy to be a minority isn’t it?”

  “Wha-?” Polly took off her mask just to blankly stare the weirdo down.

  “I mean change seems to be the new fashion. Artstyle changing for reboots, people changing identities, Steven universe gems changing form, even the climate apparently. What’s next? Should we change our ideas? Should I change how I dress? Should I change my signature smell?”

  “Yeah…?” Zoe said blankly.

  “NO to all the above, I, Leonard must be the beacon of hope for the majority before we become the new minority. I will continue this role by being generally obnoxious and saying my opinions without anyone asking and shoving them down people’s throats because I’m the only one who doesn’t need to change. And nobody can change my mind. BECAUSE CHANGE FUCKING SU-”

Before Leonard can finish his rant Damien tosses a blade at him, but barely grazing his forehead. Leaving the man dumbfounded.

  “Geez, just shut the HELL up.” Damien says as he plays with a knife in his hand. “Change is somethin you gotta do, me and Scott change our Pokeman comps to try and match meta. Dude I fuck around with Yu-Gi-Oh decks constantly cause I love changing my decks. I remember you dueled me with a Blue eyes deck, then your dumbass chose a Toon Force deck into Maxx “C” like come onnn.” Damien points his blade towards Leonards neck as he leaned down. “At least be consistent dude.”

The blade was just inches away from his throat, almost a threat rather than a promise.

  “Well uh, it was just comp and- uh- I’ll make angry tweets about this.” He soon ran off. Afterward Zoe lightly punched his arm. “Thanks dude you didn’t have to do that.”

  “Wait wha just happened? Scott asked.

  “Leonard got scared of our demon boy, and of his own stupidity, great play as always dude. The two fistbumped. “Ain’t nothin, should’ve stabbed him honestly.”

  “So Team Zoe won?” Scott asked. “Yes, team Zoe won.” Zoe just laughed.

The quartet had the sweetest group hug and parted ways after a while.

Zoe gained +2 Damien affection and +1 Affirmation

We tune into Zoe’s humble abode. Scattered figurines, games, consoles, and trading cards everywhere we see the two on the bed. With Damien messing around with Zoe’s hair once more..

   “Yah know, this doesn’t make me feel like I’m gettin any better.”

  “Really? I think you’re selling yourself short. You make miracles, like a hair alchemist. Wait… do you have a state license to be one?” Zoe remarked.

  “Nah dude, guess you gotta send the sin of wrath after me, lil hint the dude is actually super chill.”

  “This is when Amira would say something like have a rival or almost lose a loved one.”

  “I mean it might work, just gotta get into the zone.”

Damien thought for a while, he remembered something. He starts moving his hands and tools with a fervor and precision not seen before. It isn’t blind rage or even sadness. There’s a touch of passion for the career of his dreams ladened with each transformation. 

After two hours it was indescribable the beauty that was on top of Zoe’s head. She gasped softly.

  “Dude… this is witchcraft, how did you-“

  “I just… did, thought about losin somebody I love.” He held onto Zoe closer than usual. “At this rate you’ll take my breath away.” Damien leaned his head onto her shoulder. “I mean it, for real.”

A shaky breath escaped her lips, her eyes shaping into spirals. “Dudeeeeeee, I might go off script and pay you back ten fold today.” Damien laughed. “Bring it! I ain’t afraid.” Zoe turned to face him, pinning him to her bed, her tongue extending beyond comprehensible lengths, locking him into a deep passionate kiss to the point he could feel every inch of her tongue wrapping around his. They broke apart, saliva trailing where their lips met. “I mean it for real, fuck the script, it is going down.” Damien just laid down. “Then let’s get this show on the road.

Due to this encounter going off script I can’t even narrate this. 

But  Damien gain +5 Affection for Zoe, +100 skill and infinite hickies

Soon we set our next scene in the classroom. But you could hear chanting nearby. It was the cultists.

  “Guys, I’m not Z’Gord anymore, my name’s Zoe…”

  “Is this a test of faith? Giving us a false name to prove we know it’s not you. We know your name is Z’Gord and that is true.”

  “Guy’s I’m-”

A cultist getting hit over the head with a rolled up newspaper cut Zoe off. 

  “Bad cultist, bad cultist, now scram.” Vera said while continuously hitting the cultists.

  “Those damn cultists?” Damien asked. “Yup… they keep referring to me as it thanks again Vee”

  “No prob.”

  “Yo Broskis” They turn to see the Wolfpack. “Heard from those cultists you used to be Z’Gord. That true?”

  “I guess in a way it’s not wrong.”

  “They told us all about you! They were talking about us being good cult material. Something about being pack-minded.” Confusion rang in his voice. “But why would you go from being a big ol’ monster to a little girl? Seems kinda puny.”

  “Cause I didn’t feel like I was Z’Gord. I wasn’t Zoe.”

  “Sounds convoluted as hell…”

Soon the same irritating voice appeared out of nowhere.

  “Well she’ll still never be Zoe. She’s purposely confusing you for attention. Everyone treats this thing like a change of clothes. I identify as a-” Before he could finish his very original joke he gets stabbed by Vera. “My spleen!” He then disappears.

  “Nice one” Damien said as he put away his knife.

  “Thanks again Vee,”

  “Sure. You know: we’re sisters, not cisters.” She takes her blade and holsters it again.

  “No but dude, like why would yah change all that? Pronouns, name, all that. I still don’t get it.” They sounded genuinely confused once more. “I’m getting tired of explaining all this, I’m clearly not getting to them.”

  “Don’t look at me, my bit is stabbing.”

Damien’s is too but he looked at Zoe. Baton pass to Damien.

  “Well it’s like…”

Spotlight was on him, and words aren’t Damien’s best aspect. Guess now was the time to show his heart.

  “Like you aren’t a wolfpack. You were born as somethin you weren’t supposed to be, somethin that never wanted to exist. Like whatever box people put you in based on how you looked was somethin out of your control, so yah started presentin differently to take control on how people saw yah. Weren’t you somethin before the wolfpack?”

  “Yeah?” The wolfpack said softly.

  “Did you want to stay that thing? Be somethin that wasn’t the wolfpack, never to do what you want as the person you wanna be?”

  “I think I kinda get it, sorry Zoe.” They were much more quelled.

  “It’s fine, I’m glad you understand.”

The wolfpack left Vera, Zoe and Damien there.

  “I think I’ll go too, I have to talk to someone after that.” Vera spoke.

  “Who?” Zoe asked.

  “Maybe anyone.” Vera, stunned as she was, left as well.

  

Zoe sat next to Damien.

  “I knew you had that in you honestly.” Zoe admitted softly. “Yeah, but it’s cheesy, sappy, and I don’t know how Vera will think of me.”

  “Well, it’s the man I adore and cherish, so don’t try hiding it now. Guess I’ll have to share you with the world.” Zoe lightly teased as her tentacles gently pulled them closer. The final bell rang which startled the two slightly but they walked out the building. As they exited they heard a car horn honk, turning to See Vera, Brian and Valerie in one car.

  “GET IN LOSERS, WE’RE GOIN SHOPPING!” Valerie yelled. Brian sighed. “Heard we had some folks needing a new closet after exiting their closet. But do I seriously have to pay?” Vera glared at him. “Just get in you two, it’ll be a fun time, I think…” Brain stated.

The duo got in the car. The rest of the day they were trying on dresses. Even suits as well. The best way to play dress up.

  Zoe gained +20 Affection for Damien + Many many outfits

Damien’s place was hellish, pun intended, but very elegant on the outside. Guess that what you get when you're the prince of an entire sector of hell. Our duo was just outside the door.

  “Shit I’m nervous, like really really fuckin nervous.”

  “Damien, they’ll accept you.”

  “Yeah but I also really haven’t told them about us either.”

Zoe stared at him a bit blankly, not in disappointment, just in confusion.

  “Can I ask why?”

  “Well I dunno, I’m supposed to be the tough rough independent prince of hell, not needin nobody. It’s kinda hard…”

  “Then they’ll know today, and they’ll have to accept.”

  “What if they don’t?”

  “I will unleash the wrath that I have contained in the form. Easy.”

Gee that was scary, but kinda hot in a sense for Damien.

  “Hey calm down horndog, we have to at least get through this first.”

  “Fine…”

  

Damien unlocked the door and entered. The inside was incredibly casual. The only thing that made it lavish was the amount of rooms and the size of it all.

  “OUR LITTLE PRINCE!”

The two kings said in unison while hugging their son.

  “And do I see… a possible daughter in law?!” Mr. LaVey extended his hand eagerly.

  “Now Stan, don’t scare the poor girl off.” Lucien spoke up.

  “It’s fine, my name’s Zoe, it’s an honor to finally meet you.”

Lucien gestured to the table.

  “Dinner is ready, and I imagine we have a lot to talk about.” 

  “You know what to do my little prince.” Stan ruffled Damien’s hair.

  “I gotcha Dad.” Damien went to the kitchen to gather utensils.

Damien and Zoe set the table, the dinner? Mutton with a side of mashed potatoes plus bread. Zoe looked eagerly at the food. After the table was served they dug in.

  “I’m so glad you finally brought someone home!” Stan leaned in to whisper in his son’s ear. “And if you need some privacy we can leave, we have some business later either way.”

This flustered Damien funny enough.

  “Dear, at least let our lovely boy speak up. I imagine he has a lot to tell us today.” 

Gee this felt awfully familiar. But with all eyes on him he gained some courage.

  “I think I know what I wanna do after I’m done with school… I wanna be a hairdresser.”

  “Oh that’s lovely!” Lucien spoke as he passed some salt to Stan.

  “Glad you finally figured yourself out son.” He poured the salt on the mashed potatoes

  “Wait… you two aren’t mad, I’m like the only heir.”

  “Son, I know love that matches ours from a mile away, and at this rate I don’t think I need to worry about an heir.” Stan bit into the lamb chops for a moment then continued. “Even if that weren’t the case, being the ruler of this circle isn’t something we’ll force upon you. You’re still our little prince.”

  “You shouldn’t speak with your mouth full… but he’s right. It’s our right and job to support you through and through. You’re also paving the way, just like we did. Love conquers all as they say.” Lucien held Stan’s hand.

  “See how easy that was.” Zoe just slyly smiled.

  

Damien sighed as the table laughed. 

  “Hey dear don’t we have some business soon after this?”

  “Why we do, and won’t be back for a while.”

And after lunch finished up the two kings left the duo alone. Damien sat on the couch and looked at the ceiling. Zoe stood above him and met his gaze.

  “So, how dumb is my favorite demon feeling?”

  “Pretty damn dumb… Sorry Zoe.”

  “Dude it’s fine, plus.” She gently held his face. “I get you all to myself.”

  “You know they know what we’re doing right?”

  “Who cares! Besides, now I get to love you even more!” Zoe soon let go but sat herself on his lap. “Come on Damien, you know you can’t resist.” 

He stared at her down, but she had a look in her eyes that couldn’t be resisted. Soon he smiled and tossed her over his shoulder. “Hey! Let me go, you big dork!” She playfully hit his back while giggling. “You said you wanted this, now we go.” Zoe sighed. “This is so fuckin hot, I love you so much.” He placed her on his bed kissed her cheek. “Love yah too.”

Think you get the bit by now.

  Damien gained +30 affection for Zoe + a restless night

We tune to the great outdoors. The home of many of Spooky High’s greatest parties. Zoe and Damien found a corner to game on their DS’s

  “Dude! Monster Prom is coming, I finally found some dresses that will totally highlight my tentacles.”

  “Oh cool-” He was interrupted once more.

  “STOP RIGHT THERE YOU PURPLE TENTACLED PHONY.”

  “Hey again Leonard.”

  “Thought Vera stabbed you…”

  “That doesn’t matter, what does is the fact that no matter how many dresses you wear you’ll never be a girl.”

  “Leonard… I’m wearing a dress cause I fucking want to, it’s about how I feel not you…”

  “Of course it’s about me and how I feel, what if I find a gamer girl and she turns out to be an imitator like you. You fuckin Z’G-” 

Without warning Damien immediately lights Leonard on fire. He dissolves into a pile of ash. But you can hear a cough from the pile as it moves. It was almost cartoonish in a vague sense.

  “You know I’m not gonna lie, I thought you’d do the same as Leonard when I first met you.”

  “Geez, I know I’m an asshole but I ain’t a bigot. We’re like two sides of the same damn coin. Sure being a deity of endless despair sounds metal as hell, but defining yourself and being yourself while everyone might hate you, that makes you twice as metal, and a fuckin million time braver than me dude.” He smiled a bit. Zoe laughed a little afterwards. “You big dork, you sure have a way with words.” She went in for a quick and gentle kiss and the two laughed a little.

Before this sweet moment could be continued they were interrupted.

  “Z’Gord, you’re still trapped in this-” One cultist was burned, another took their place. “Pathetic form, let us” Another burned, another returned. “Perform a ritual to.” Three down thousands to go. “Free you from this pathetic form that isn’t yours.”

  “I can do this all day.” Damien said as he readied himself for mass arson. 

  “Nah no point, they’d just come back, guess this is karma for torturing people for millennia.”

Calculester eventually popped up from out of the blue, running from Liam.

  “I will not let friend Liam use me to argue against people online.” There was a D: on his screen

 “The masses are uncultured, I need to tell them how Starco is morally wrong on so many degrees.” He said while running out of breath.

The two paused and looked at the scene. A Neon Genesis Evangelion Figurine dropped from Liam’s bag. The cultists examine the figurine of the EVA.

  “What is this totem?”

  “You buffoons!” He snatched it from the cultists. “This represents the most depressing show with countless layers of devotion and subtext. With the amount of information and metaphors packed into this no simple person would understand.”

  “So… it represents Z’Gord?”

  “Sure if that’s your interpretation.”

The cultists look at each other.

  “And it’s like it’s still trapped in that totem.”

  “It’s not statistically improbable.” Calculester spoke up.

The group huddled for a moment then came to a conclusion.

  “Allies! Z’Gord is trapped in that very totem! We must take that totem and learn about it to release it upon this realm. You there, how could we learn more?” They turned to Zoe. “Well um.” Zoe handed them a collection of NGE Dvds. “This is a documentary on how it works, there’s also a deeper meaning to the totem online.”

  “Thank you random girl, NOW CHASE THEM DOWN AND FIND OUT MORE.”

Calculester and Liam run from the cultists, leaving Damien and Zoe alone.

  “Wait, I thought it was just a cool show bout fighting angels in robot mech suits.” Damien said in confusion. “Damien, listen to me, don’t go any deeper, trust me, once you get into the subtext, you never escape.” Damien pulls out his phone and Zoe immediately pockets it. “HEY-”

  “I said, YOU. NEVER. ESCAPE.” Damien sighed. “Alright I getcha, but I’m kinda hungry, wanna get some sushi.” Zoe smiled widely. “No more people bothering me about who I am and Sushi, dude I’m gonna marry you, like, at this rate you better propose at prom.” This made Damien flustered, especially spending life with someone he loves.

  “Well come on, let’s get goin.”

The two ate sushi and avoided talks about the show to not fall deeper into the rabbit hole.

Zoe gained max affection for Damien + a stomach full of sushi

The week before prom, and when it came to the question of WHO WILL YOU ASK TO PROM Damien and Zoe had their answers. Damien was able to use his skills confidently, doing the makeup and hair of his friends and Zoe. By the time the night arrived it was incredible. They danced, they talked, ,ate a ton of food and got into a lot of shenanigans, but more importantly they had each other. Nothing beat that slow dance, the jealous eyes surrounding them, made them feel like the world was in their palm. Especially the kiss under the stars, it felt leagues above everything.

 Damein gained Max Affection for Zoe + the spark to chase his dreams

After prom was just as magical. Confirming the bond in a way they knew how. After high school Damien opened up his own hair salon, with Zoe supporting him. Through it all he was able to rise to the top quickly with support from all angles. And each second Zoe was affirmed was better than the millenia spent as Z’Gord. Maybe this world needs more love than hate, but what do I know, I’m just a goofy writer.

FIN

[poppinisperfection]

Peter Maximoff x Reader // Hello, Monica // WandaVision // Part 2

Part 1

Post Dark Phoenix X-Men & WandaVision fanfiction. FemReader and Peter Maximoff dating when he suddenly disappears.

Xavier returns and a plan is formed.

Word Count: 1892

Warnings: Emotional distress, mentions of violence, blood, gun wounds etc.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

(Y/n) sat by the screen, her vision blurring and bags forming under her eyes. The analog clock ticked with each second as Hank fiddled around with some tech, and the others sat on the floor half asleep. They had eventually contacted Xavier, and he promised to travel back to New York as fast as possible. That was hours ago, and now it was the middle of the night.

There was nothing they could do, even discussion led to nowhere; nothing about the situation made sense. Metal crashed on the floor, causing Scott to Jolt awake and Kurt to bamf in surprise as Professor McCoy gave a frustrated grunt at his clumsiness. The disturbance didn't phase (Y/n) though, as she read the line for the thousandth time,

"Please stand by."

She was somewhere between breaking into tears and punching every wall she saw. In short, (Y/n) was desperate. After hours of thinking, she finally allowed her eyes to close for longer than a short blink. Her mind was crashing around like a restless ocean, and she found herself drowning inside endless possibilities. But at the centre of it all was his face, his smile, his voice... him.

Suddenly the doors opened with a whoosh, and (Y/n) turned her attention towards whoever was entering the labs. A determined looking man wheeled in, locking with (Y/n)'s blood-shot eyes. An alabaster-haired, umber-skinned, and confident woman followed him; shooting a look of concern towards the group.

"Xavier-" Hank exclaimed with some relief at the Professor's appearance. The bald man gave a small hum in response, but he continued to near (Y/n) instead of making conversation. He placed a hand out and gave her a kind look.

"May I?" he crooned in his English accent, as the (h/c) lady nodded and placed her head forward. Closing his eyes and placing two fingers on her temple, and another on his own - Xavier began to see the whole story, without anyone saying a single word. After a few seconds, his pulled back and gave a sharp sigh.

"(Y/n), I am so sorry." the wise man's voice faltered after feeling the gut-wrenching fear that swept through her mind. The worried girl said nothing, but just tried to keep the strength on her face instead of breaking down into tears. "You've got a location?" Xavier turned to the beastly professor, trying to solve the mystery.

"Sort of- I mean, it's unbelievable Charles." he grabbed some pages and handed them to his colleague, "It's like he's traveled to another universe; I've only heard about theories of multiverses, but this- this is more evidence than anything I've ever read..." Hank rambled on, as even Charles Xavier- telepathic mastermind- look on in shock.

Before anyone could say anything, the old computer screen buzzed and the image shifted. (Y/n)'s tired eyes widened as she sat on the edge of her seat. Even Kurt teleported closer in an effort to not miss a second of the developing situation. A lead guitar began to play, and the opening credits rolled...

The group we're unsure if it was the same show, as it looked completely different in style. But their doubts were cleared when that same woman showed up, slamming the door using some sort of powers.

"She's a mutant..." (Y/n) mumbled, as the others looked on in confusion. The opening continued to play on as more characters were shown - most of which they had never seen before. Then finally, a speedy friend appeared.

"As himself?" Scott added, reading the credits. (Y/n) stared at the title and mentally recorded it.

"It's like they're a family." Kurt noticed as Peter integrated himself so naturally with them. The pair of young boys started to monologue about halloween.

"Halloween? This just gets more and more confusing." Scott rubbed his forehead in bewilderment. Ororo stood beside them, barely comprehending what she was watching. She had previously offered to look after the students while the situation was being investigated, and that lost time had undoubtedly caused her to miss a lot of information.

"So Pete's on TV?" Storm questioned in a baffled tone. The silver haired fellow lay on a couch as the twin boys discussed him, and they referred to him as their uncle. "Okay, somebody needs to expla-" she began, but was cut off as Xavier placed a finger to his temple and transferred the information she had missed. Ororo gave a soft gasp, but ultimately was relieved to be filled in. Since the professor had learned about the situation from (Y/n), some of the grief in her mind was passed to Storm; so the loyal mutant placed a caring hand on her friend's shoulder in comfort.

Xavier chatted behind the group of young mutants who watched the show play out.

"She suggested that maybe Kurt could go in, I told her-" Hank whispered to his friend.

"That would be dangerous..." Charles finished his thought, "But dangerous doesn't mean impossible." the telepath looked towards the blue teleporter who stared at the computer screen.

"You can't be serious, Charles." Hank furrowed his thick brows and stared in disbelief.

"Kurt, (Y/n)," the professor called out, catching the pair's attention,

"Come with me."

-------

The small group trailed down the metallic hallway and approached the familiar doors to Cerebro. (Y/n) looked back at the room they had left, still hearing the distant sounds from the broadcast. Her mind travelled to what she was missing; was Peter still okay?

The circular door released and slid open, and the group followed Xavier's lead towards the machine at the end of the walkway. Kurt's tail wrapped around his leg in fear, as he fiddled nervously with his hands. Placing the silver helmet over his head, Charles nodded for the intellectual beast to flip the switch. Immediately, the room lit up and images of people flashed around. A million conversations ran through the professor's mind, but he was only searching for one person.

"Turn it up." Xavier requested as his eyebrows knit together in concentration. Reluctantly, Hank did as he said. Soon the voices faded and a only a muffled conversation echoed through the large room. "The whole way, Hank." the british man added.

"Charles that's too mu-"

"Do it!" Xavier demanded his face contorting with the amplification. (Y/n) gave a soft gasp as the voice grew clearer.

"I think mom and dad would've loved it."

Peter's words reverberated, as tears formed in (Y/n)'s eyes. Despite Cerebro being on full power, the only thing that Xavier could access was the detached audio of the mind he was connected to.

"Where were you hiding these kids up til now? I assume they were sleeping peacefully in their beds."

"Can you speak to him Charles?" Hank asked.

"Something's... Something's not right... It's too powerful to see..." Xavier stuttered out, trying not to loose his connection. Peter's voice continued, as the group wondered to who and what he was talking about.

"I'm not some stranger and I'm not your husband, you can talk to me."

"There's something... dark... clouding his mind." the powerful telepath explained, "but he's still in there, somewhere." he added. The group began to notice a purple hue clouding the entire room. The clearer Peter's disembodied voice became, the more the mysterious smoke descended. Kurt and (Y/n) stood back slightly, scared of what it could mean.

"Don't sweat it sis, it's not like your dead husband can die twice."

The sentence rang through their ears, before the whole room erupted in a blast of ruby red energy. It was exactly like the force that 'Wanda' had used earlier. Energy passed through the mutants, as images of terror entered their minds. Fragments of memories flashed; glowing stones, broken families, and piles of ashes.

Xavier groaned with pain, but he kept the connection despite the immense power that surged through his mind. (Y/n) grasped her head and panted heavily. The image of a young man lying cold, bleeding through bullet wounds, on a pile of rubble haunted her. She didn't know who it was, but he seemed familiar for some reason - and her heart broke at the sight of his lifeless form.

"He's slipping... I- I can't hold on..." Xavier cried out through gritted teeth, "I can't latch onto anyone!" the room filled with a booming static noise as the bald man searched though all the available minds in that reality. Hank writhed on the floor, clutching his ears with the horrible sound. Soon he gained the strength to pull a hand up towards the switch and slowly tune down the settings. The din faded, and the only noise that could be heard was the heavy breathing from the group that tried to recover from the experience.

"I didn't tell you to turn it off." Xavier pulled off Cerebro's helmet and placed it harshly on its holder.

"It would've killed you." Hank rebutted, standing on his feet.

"There was something forming, a gap in the reality, I could feel it!" Charles placed a hand on his forehead in frustration, "It's like all the minds were under some sort of deep control - but I could sense other ones... ones that were free."

"But what can we do about it!?" the beastly Professor retaliated, annoyed at his colleague.

"If I can find the free minds, I can see where they are; exactly where they are." Xavier began to ramble, "Then I can show Kurt, and you can get there." (Y/n)'s eyes grew wide at his suggestion. Even though she had considered it earlier, she now began to doubt her logic. If it were just her, then she wouldn't hesitate to risk her life for Peter - but she couldn't ask Kurt to do it too.

"Professor, what if... What if it doesn't work?" (Y/n) piped up, looking to the powerful telepath with concern plastered all over her face.

"We can't risk more of our lives, Kurt you don't have to do this." Hank tried to assure the German mutant.

"Nein." he responded, "Peter is my friend, I vill not leave him in danger. I vill do it." Kurt nodded his head as he stood confident in his decision. Despite the hatred that Kurt Wagner had received his whole life; he was always the most selfless person in the room. (Y/n) shot him a weak smile, thankful for his kindness.

"This isn't just about Peter. Somebody brought him there. Somebody, or something, has a power that could change everything we think we know." McCoy warned, trying to convince the group of the dangerous situation.

"Which is why we need to know more." (Y/n) interjected.

"I will be able to communicate with you, as long as you don't go under this person's control." Xavier explained, deep in thought. Hank looked at the trio, and finally gave a deep sigh.

"There's no talking to you people." he shook his head, "I'm sure travelling across the multiverse will be a cinch." his tone dripped with sarcasm as Charles placed Cerebro back on his head.

"Have a little faith, Hank." Xavier joked stiffly as he flipped the switch to the machine. McCoy reluctantly turned the power knob and soon the static noise returned, causing a grimace to appear on everyone's faces. The noise flickered as Xavier passed through more empty minds, searching for one that would work. The sensory overload build up in a crescendo, until everything stopped to a halt.

"Hello, Monica."

[storytellerofuntoldlegends]

take my hand, take my whole life too

A/N: i missed the flower husbands so much that i wrote the majority of this in my phone's notes app when at my grandma's. also i think we were robbed of a sacrifice scene >:) (title is from the song "Can't Help Falling In Love" cause my grandma loves Elvis and we were listening to it while i was writing this)

Warnings: violence, kidnapping, near death experiences, human sacrifice, character death in dream, nightmares, fear of death (specifically of leaving someone behind), cuddling, forehead kisses, teasing/banter, crying (despite all the warnings i SWEAR this fic is mostly fluff and makes up for the angst)

Summary: For someone who had experienced death twice already, Jimmy would think he would have nothing to fear when it came to death. Or maybe those experiences made his fear more valid. But it wasn't really dying that scared him, it was who he would leave behind. Although if he was being honest, his own death was only his second biggest fear. His main fear was losing Scott.

-

It was dark when they came- setting their wall ablaze, weapons flashing and red banners waving. Jimmy put up quite the fight but was quickly disarmed, and Scott dropped his weapons when he saw the drawn bow aimed at his husband's head. Martyn was quick to bind Scott's hands behind his back, while Ren kept a sword pointed at Scott's throat. Skizz and Impulse grabbed either one of Jimmy's arms to hold him back. Etho kept the bow trained at his head for good measure- not that Jimmy would have dreamed of moving. Not when Ren's blade was close enough to graze Scott's neck.

"Sorry about this," Impulse murmured. Jimmy couldn't care less about Impulse's apology. He clearly had chosen his side, no matter how much he claimed to be a double agent for them. 

"What do you want?" Scott asked, sounding surprisingly calm for having a sword pointed at him, but Jimmy could tell from his stiff posture and clenched fists that he was trying to keep himself from trembling.

"We've come for your tribute. You'll give it to us, or we’ll take it from you, one way or another," Ren said with an evil grin, and Jimmy didn't like how he looked at Scott one bit. 

"We gave you your rabbit's foot, what more do you want?!" Jimmy demanded, straining against Skizz and Impulse. Etho readied his bow, but it wasn't until Martyn roughly pulled Scott against him and put the blade of his axe against Scott's throat that Jimmy stopped struggling.

"Not yet, my hand. We need to be at the altar for that," Ren said, causing Jimmy's blood to run cold. They were going to sacrifice Scott. And he was going to have to watch.

“He has two lives left, my liege. We could afford to kill him once- but if his red knows what’s good for him, we won’t have to,” Martyn replied, looking to Jimmy with a cruel glint in his eyes. He scowled, but stayed put as he nervously looked to Scott. Jimmy could tell Scott was trying to put on a brave face for him, but he was noticeably pale and his eyes kept darting between the bow aimed at Jimmy’s head and the diamond axe hovering at his own throat.

It felt like Jimmy had barely blinked and they were within the Dogwarts walls. He was stood in front of the altar, Skizz and Impulse still on either side of him. Etho was off to one side, bow slung over his shoulder, but he kept a hand on the hilt of his sword as he eyed Jimmy warily. Ren stood in front of Jimmy, but he could still see the scene of the altar clearly.

Martyn shoved Scott to his knees, then with a firm grip on his teal colored hair, he forced his head down. Scott grimaced at the treatment of his hair, but kept his head down when Martyn removed his hand. Scott's eyes met Jimmy's, and it was like everything else drifted away. No altar, no Dogwarts. Just Scott and Jimmy. The terror was clear in Scott's eyes, but he gave Jimmy a reassuring smile despite that. Jimmy wanted to stay in that moment forever, with Scott's gentle smile and the fantasy that maybe everything would be okay. But reality came crashing back in with the glint of a diamond axe poised in the air. It swung down to its target-

And Jimmy woke up with a scream. He sat bolt upright in bed, chest heaving and the events of his dream circling through his head with a startling amount of realism. It was like he could see his husband's blood spattered on the stones of the altar, even if he woke up before it could actually happen. It... it didn't happen... right? Jimmy scrambled out of his bed and up the stairs- he had to be sure.

He ran to Scott's home across the pond, quickly making his way up the side of the mountain to the door. Taking a shaky breath, he quietly opened Scott's door, and closed it just as softly behind him. He walked to Scott's bedroom, and breathed out a sigh of relief at the sight of his husband sleeping soundly in his loft. A fond, soft smile came to Jimmy's face as he watched his husband’s chest rise and fall. Scott was fine. Dogwarts hadn't sacrificed him.

Scott stirred, even though Jimmy had tried to be quiet, and sleepily blinked his eyes open. He propped himself up on a forearm, his other hand rubbing his eyes. Scott's hair was a mess, and Jimmy couldn't help but smile at the sight. Scott was always poised and presentable- seeing his husband a little ruffled from sleep was rather adorable.

"Jimmy? What're you- c'mere," Scott said, quickly giving up on getting answers to instead make grabby hands at Jimmy. With a laugh, Jimmy climbed up the ladder to his bed to nestle in beside Scott. He had barely laid down before Scott smushed his face inelegantly against Jimmy's chest with a pleased hum. Jimmy chuckled and wrapped his arms around him as he quickly drifted off again. Jimmy felt sleep tugging at him insistently, despite the rude awakening he had gotten. With a kiss to the top of Scott's head, Jimmy fell asleep, at peace knowing that his husband was safe in his arms.

-

Jimmy awoke to a weight stirring on top of him. His eyes slowly fluttered open to see a head of teal hair resting on his chest. Jimmy couldn't help but run a hand through Scott's hair with a likely ridiculously sappy smile. Scott let out a soft, startled sound and tilted his head to look up at Jimmy with mild confusion. His expression softened when he realized who was holding him, but he still looked rather perplexed.

"Jimmy? When did you get here? Did you sneak into bed with me?" Scott asked with a mischievous grin. Jimmy rolled his eyes. 

"Scott, we're married. Sharing a bed is hardly scandalous. And do you seriously not remember waking up and making grabby hands at me until you could latch onto me like an octopus?" Jimmy asked with a laugh. Scott's cheeks tinged pink, and he laughed nervously.

"Did I actually?" Scott asked, sounding a little flustered. 

"You did! You looked like you were gonna pout if I didn't cuddle you instantly," Jimmy replied with a grin. 

"I can't believe I'm being bullied by my own husband," Scott huffed, burying his face in Jimmy's chest.

"Guess I could just leave then..." Jimmy teased, shifting like he was going to move away. Scott made a disgruntled sound in the back of his throat, holding onto Jimmy tighter. Jimmy laughed, hand gently running through Scott's hair to reassure him that he wasn't going anywhere. 

"So why were you in my house in the middle of the night before I apparently demanded cuddles?" Scott asked. Jimmy's hand stilled in Scott's hair, flashes of the nightmare coming back to him in the form of lifeless blue eyes and cruel laughter from their enemies. Scott peered up at him, and with an almost wounded sound he shuffled closer so that they were eye to eye, a hand coming up to wipe away tears that Jimmy hadn't even realized were falling.

"Nightmare. Had to make sure you were alright," Jimmy said softly. Scott smiled, gentle as he had in Jimmy's dream, then shifted up to kiss his forehead before nestling back down beside him, foreheads resting against each other and noses practically touching. 

"I'm here. You're here. We're together. It'll be alright," Scott said, voice gentle yet determined. Jimmy frowned slightly.

"You know it can't stay that way forever," Jimmy said. He was on red, Scott was on green. Odds were high that Scott would outlive him. Scott frowned right back at him.

"Then let's not worry about forever. Let's just enjoy the here and now," Scott said, more determined than before. Jimmy couldn't help but smile, and Scott returned the smile easily.

"I think I like the sound of here and now," he said softly. 

"Good! Because the here and now includes cuddling," Scott chirped with a grin, ducking his head down to where Jimmy’s neck and shoulder met. Jimmy chuckled, holding his husband tighter and burying his nose in his hair. They couldn't lie in bed forever, there were things they needed to do with their day- but after all, Scott said they should focus on the here and now. And that was exactly what Jimmy intended to do.

-

MCYT Fic Taglist (lmk if you wanna be added/removed): @corazon10000 @damiensaidno @franticfandomfanatic @space-ace123

[nephilimeq]

Scott is a stagnant character who was NEVER held accountable for his abusive tendencies and behavior. Of all the characters in the show, Scott McCall and Gerard Argent are the ones who grew and matured the least (one could argue that Scott and Gerard getting worse as the series progressed is some kind of character development, but still...) And since Scott has more screen time than anyone else, that's almost criminal. It's one of the many reasons Scott McCall is Teen Wolf's worst character

Gerard was always supposed to be a bad guy, I never expected him to grow or change as a character. Scott, on the other hand, I hoped would actually grow and change--he didn't.

This is entirely on the writers.

The fact that Scott, the main character, had as little character development as Gerard Argent, should tell you that something is wrong with the writers. There's a reason why we latched onto characters like Lydia, Stiles, the Sheriff, and Derek. All of them learned from their mistakes and developed and changed.

I really do think something was wrong in the writer's room because there is no excuse to write a main character that badly...

...unless it was some sort of sick inside joke that Jeff doesn't want to tell us. Because at least that would make sense. Create a show that's supposed to be about a kid becoming a werewolf with powers and instead of becoming a better person because of his new abilities and responsibilities, his worst qualities get emphasized--and he never learns about personal or social accountability.

If it was on purpose to get us to dislike Scott and to root for everyone else besides him, then mission accomplished!

This is the only thing that would make sense.

[thehollowprince]

Do you ever smile because Sterek never had a snowballs chance in Hell of becoming real in canon, meanwhile Draeden is very much canon with Hoechlin supporting it? I try to think from his viewpoint sometimes, he works hard on his character's performance, only for 99% of the fandom to constantly ask about Sterek... like people, grown adults too, are "shipping" your adult character with a teenager

I will admit that I am petty enough to enjoy the fact that despite their constant online harassment over the years, Sterek never became a canon thing. Meanwhile, the ship that they absolutely loathed, with Derek being happy with Braeden, was an actual thing that happened on the show.

Truth be told, even all these years later, I still don't understand where Sterek came from. I mean, on one hand, I can hazard a guess. Scott had Allison, ans Jackson and Lydia were a thing, leaving only Stiles and Derek out of the six "mains" who didn't have a love interest. I'll admit, at the time, I was also surprised that they put Derek and Stiles together. Not just because it was a grown man with a teenage boy, but the fact that fandom latched so strongly onto a ship that was made up of two men.

This was before I understood Fandom, but this shocked me then, because of how often mainstream media and even the fans worked to suppress or remove any semblance of same-sex relationships from television. I mean, sure, I had seen the rise and fall of the whole Yaoi culture, but the fact that the Teen Wolf fandom threw itself so wholeheartedly into this crack ship was stunning, to say the least, especially because there is almost no basis in canon for it.

Now I'm not one to harp on anyone for having a crack ship, because as anyone who follows me knows, I have plenty. Hell, I have multiple myself in the Teen Wolf fandom, but they all have a basis in canon. I like the thought of Scisaac because there was a foundation already there within the actual canon. Same with Scott and Theo, Lydia and Allison, Kira and Malia, Brett and Mason, etc. All of those (and more) had a solid foundation on which to build something from, whereas Sterek, to keep with the analogy of ships, was made out of broken driftwood in the middle of the ocean. This was a ship that had a firm (and obsessive) fandom long before either character had any meaningful, civil, scenes together, which didn't happen until the fourth season.

Yes, one could argue the pool scene in season two, but that wasn't what I would call "civil". Besides which, that came after this was an already established thing in fandom. All of their interactions were pretty antagonistic in the first two seasons, with it not being until the third season that they backed off.

It's baffling, to say the least.

And then infuriating when they attack other characters, like Braeden, who I recall pretty recently being referred to as "just tits and ass", because they "interfered" with their ship. Which circles back around to the petty when I remember that Derek and Braeden were a canon thing and Stiles ans Derek were never more than a fandom-born fever dream that tried (and succeeded in some sense) in hijacking the narrative of the show and diverting attention away from the actual story.

[gumnut-logic]

Who do you save, John? (Bit 10a)

Bit 1 | Bit 2 | Bit 3 | Bit 4 | Bit 5a | Bit 5b | Bit 6 | Bit 7 | Bit 8 | Bit 9 | Bit 10a

We’re on the home stretch now. Didn’t get enough written to finish it, so a few more scenes to write (whatever the characters tell me basically as I tie up plot threads). Lots of Alan and a little John in this one. Thank you for all your amazing support with this fic, you’ve all been just wow! ::hugs you all::

For @5hadow-alpha​​  cos they wanted Shopping and a Tracy brother. They got more than one, and I got more than I expected.

-o-o-o-

Alan was in pain.

It wasn’t a huge amount of pain and thanks to the drugs, his brain was appropriately foggy. He really couldn’t complain. He was getting the best care. His family was here, coming and going, sitting beside his bed, beside Virgil’s bed, keeping them company. And, to be honest, he hadn’t really been here very long relatively speaking.

But his arm hurt and Virgil still hadn’t woken up and there were worried words bouncing around the room when the doctors visited and really Alan was starting to get scared.

Virgil was his big brother and he loved him dearly.

Alan had a brother for everything and Virgil was his go to for reassurance and comfort. Virgil was gentle and kind and caring and damnit, it wasn’t fair.

The room blurred a moment and Alan swallowed.

“Alan? Are you okay?” A fuzzy red-haired figure rose from the other side of Virgil’s bed.

Oh. 

John.

Alan blinked rapidly, suddenly embarrassed at what his brother might think.

“Um.” The syllable was distinctly wet. He cleared his throat. “Where’s Scott and Dad?”

John slid between the two beds and sat in the seat that Scott had been occupying so much since they arrived here. He turned it to face Alan. “Grandma dragged both of them out. They were here all night. She’s not happy.”

“Oh.” His voice was small and somewhat fragile.

C’mon, he was eighteen. Why did he feel like crying?

“They’ve got you on some decent painkillers, Allie. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are messing with your head at least a little.” A hand landed on his uninjured arm. “How are you feeling?”

Alan swallowed but didn’t answer. Instead he asked a question. “How’s Virgil?”

“He’s resting quietly.”

“He hasn’t woken up, has he?”

“He just needs a little more time to heal.”

“You don’t need to protect me, John. I’m not a little kid anymore.”

His brother paused, staring at him calmly. “That’s where you are wrong, Alan. I will always protect you. You’re my brother.”

Alan bit back a snarky response to that statement and found himself tearing up again.

Damnit, John was supposed to be the stoic one. 

The hand on his arm squeezed gently.

Which made the tears worse.

Damnit.

“It’s the medication, Alan. Don’t fight it.”

“I want him to get better.” It came out as a sobbing wail. Oh god, he was losing it.

A tiny part of him expected John to bolt. John didn’t do distressed and crying brothers. That was Virgil.

Of course, the thought of his hugging bear of a brother only made it worse and to his utter embarrassment, he found himself crying.

John was rubbing his arm.

“John, why isn’t he getting better?”

“He is.”

“Then why hasn’t he woken up?”

“He just needs a little more time.”

“I want him to wake up.”

“We all do, Alan.”

“I just...” His heart tightened in his chest. “I’m scared.”

Something vulnerable flickered across John’s face and he opened his mouth but a different voice spoke in a scratchy, worried tone.

“Alan, what’s wrong?!”

Both Alan and John startled, the latter spinning around to reveal a pair of worried brown eyes latched onto Alan. Virgil shifted where he lay, an errant hand pushing the oxygen mask off his face. His arms flailed a little, his intention obvious to sit up and most likely attempt to climb out of bed. His expression crumpled into one of pain and he groaned.

In the corner of the room, the nurse shot to her feet and hurried over as John took a step towards his brother, hands out to hold him down. “Virgil!”

Those brown eyes darted fearfully between his brothers. “What’s wrong with Alan? Why’s he crying?” He tried to push himself up, but again grimaced in pain.

“Virgil! He’s okay. Stay still.”

“Scott? Need Scott...Allie...” His eyelids dipped and Virgil wilted under John’s hands.

“Allie’s okay. Scott will be here shortly.” John thumbed his comms and said a few pertinent words.

The FAB at the other end was sharp and in motion.

Virgil turned his head on the pillow and stared directly at Alan. “Allie?” His brother’s voice was dry and cracked on the second syllable and those kind eyes so worried.

Alan clung to them with his own and struggled to control himself for his brother’s sake, but apparently he had no control. Fresh tears welled and wet his pillow, but at least their cause was for an entirely different reason. “Virg.”

His brother was awake. A smile threatened and he found it spreading onto his face despite the tears.

Virgil’s frown became puzzled, but his eyelids dropped again.

“Sleep, Virgil.” John’s voice was so soft and gentle. John had a voice just like Virgil. He didn’t sing, but there was something ever so calming about it. Alan’s heartbeat began to slow and his breathing with it. The throb in his arm was overwhelmed by the relief in his heart.

His brother continued to speak to Virgil, their older brother querying worriedly several times. Alan wanted to climb out of bed and hug Virgil, eighteen years old or not.

Virgil was awake. He was going to be okay.

As John lulled their brother back to sleep, Alan’s eyelids drooped with exhaustion.

“He’s okay, Virgil. Go back to sleep.”

As his big brother’s eyes dipped closed and he drifted off, Alan went with him.

-o-o-o-

TBC

[tsarisfanfiction]

Wax and Feathers

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rated: Gen Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Family Characters: Scott, Gordon, Virgil, John, Tracy family

Sometimes limits need to be broken. But a limit is there for a reason, and breaking them has consequences. Episode tag for 3.20 "Icarus"

It was fact that everything had a limit. No matter who, or what, there came a point when they just couldn't push any further. This was even true for International Rescue.

Scott liked to pretend it wasn't. Acknowledging limits felt like giving up, but when Thunderbird Two went underwater, or into space, and barely survived the experiences, or Five's immensely strong structure cracked under too much gravity, those limits almost took the lives of his brothers. So, as much as he hated them, he couldn't quite ignore the fact that limits existed.

Thunderbird One was the fastest aircraft in existence. The idea that speed could ever be an issue for her was ludicrous. Her full capability was rarely exercised, unnecessary in all but the direst conditions and, as John was fond of saying, everything Brains designed had a huge safety margin. Even her limit wasn't really her limit; Scott had never tried to push her more out of respect for his father's impressive record than anything else. He didn't want to know if he could beat it. Not without his Dad watching, anyway.

Something was wrong. Experienced pilot, more or less one with his Thunderbird from so many flight hours together, Scott knew the moment he engaged the VTOL to leave the air show and head for home that Thunderbird One wasn't going to make it back without considerable skill and a healthy dose of luck. The noise of her engines was just off kilter to usual, a change that he could feel more than hear it was so subtle.

Subtle, but there. The controls weren't one with him. For the first time in a long time, Scott actually had to dedicate conscious thought to them, counting carefully the beats before the next shift to account for the airspeed. Ever his Thunderbird, One worked as closely with him as she could, responding to his touches, but it was impossible to fall into her usual rhythm.

"Scott?"

He ignored the hologram of his brother appearing in his line of vision, focusing on the readouts flickering up instead and not even daring to spare the time to swipe the floating image away.

"Scott!"

Mach 1.3 seemed to be the sweet spot, Thunderbird One purring along almost as though nothing was wrong, but it was tough to keep her at exactly that speed without autopilot – and with something seriously wrong somewhere in her engines, Scott refused to trust autopilot.

"Thunderbird One, respond!"

John barked in that tone that meant answer me or I'll take control of your Thunderbird. Anyone else taking control of One right now would be disaster. Scott responded.

"What?"

Short, curt. Uncharacteristically so, even for him at his most stressed.

"Thunderbird One's flight pattern is erratic. Are you okay?" His brother sounded worried. Scott didn't have the concentration to spare on reassuring him.

"Fine."

"You don't sound fine."

Scott ignored him as Thunderbird One shuddered. Whatever was wrong in her engine wasn't fixing itself, and instead seemed to be worsening steadily. He was still several hundred miles from base.

Gritting his teeth, he slowed to sub-sonic flight. At least now if she crashed, he had a chance of walking away from it.

"Scott what's going on?" Virgil's hologram appeared beside John's. Gordon quickly flickered into life to complete the trio of concerned looks. "Why have you dropped speed? Did something happen?"

"We're ahead of you, slow poke," Gordon chimed in. "Feel like doing the dishes for once?"

"Gordon!" Virgil snapped. "Scott, speed up or I'm turning around."

He opened his mouth to protest, instinct rebelling at the notion of his brothers coming back to help him, before common sense prevailed. Thunderbird One was deteriorating too quickly. Either he landed her now, while he was over land, or he would get an unwelcome swim somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

Thunderbird One had hit her limit. She wouldn't make it back.

"John," he said. "Somewhere remote I can land. Now."

"Scott?" Virgil asked, but John's F.A.B cut across him. Scott gritted his teeth as Thunderbird One juddered again, more fiercely this time. Alarms began to wail, belatedly telling him something was wrong with his 'bird.

"Scott, what's going on?" Virgil demanded.

John was still silent, hopefully calculating somewhere he could land with minimal damage and audience.

"I don't know," he lied. "Some sort of engine trouble."

He knew exactly what had happened. Thunderbird One's operating limit was Mach 19. Her top speed was Mach 20. In pursuing Icarus, he'd pushed her past Mach 21.

His brothers thought he'd stuck to Mach 19, closed in using Kayo's flight path, and not sped up past that until he'd hooked Icarus, at which point he was being effectively towed so the only strain was on the tow cable.

At their comparative speeds, the sudden strain from a craft going Mach 19 latching onto a craft reaching Mach 22 would have torn both ships apart. A difference of Mach 3 was no small feat. In order to keep both intact – and consequently both pilots alive – Thunderbird One had had to attempt to match speed. It hadn't gone perfectly, still enough of a difference that the ships had threatened to tear apart, but he'd caught her and slowed Icarus down at least for a while.

"Sending co-ordinates now," John told him, and Scott glanced up at the new destination as they flashed up, making the adjustments to his course. Dimly, he could hear the lower roar of Two's engines over the sound of One's struggling and despite himself relaxed slightly. The sound of a Thunderbird really was the sweetest thing to hear when in trouble.

It was not his best landing, not by a long shot. He tried to set her down gently, feather-light as usual, but the various small shifts in the engine power required to land a supersonic jet proved to be the final straw for his poor, damaged 'bird. With a concerning snap from somewhere behind him, the engines cut out entirely just before the landing struts engaged and she ploughed, nose-first, into the dirt.

"Scott!" a chorus of brothers' voices sounded, and he groaned, straightening up and bringing a hand to his head. No whiplash, hopefully no concussion either he self-diagnosed as he pushed the restraints up and rolled his shoulders. There was sure to be some bruising from that, but nothing worse.

"Thunderbird One, respond!" John snapped as One shuddered in the familiar way that meant her sister was landing right next to her.

"Scott!" Gordon's voice sounded through the comms in stereo with a faint noise from outside One.

"I'm okay," he told them both, fumbling for the emergency override and opening the cockpit. Gordon leapt in before he could get out, pushing him back into his seat.

"We're gonna be the judges of that," his younger brother told him. "Seriously, what the hell happened?" Scott suffered through the brief medical exam, lengthened by the arrival of Virgil who promptly took over from Gordon and did it all again. It spoke volumes of how worried they were that Gordon didn't protest that he'd done it already.

"She couldn't quite hold long enough," Scott admitted. "Something in her engine's broken." He tried to stand, itching to go and see the damage for himself, but his brothers stopped him.

"I'll check the damage," Virgil said, stepping back. "You and that concussion of yours are staying right there until I get back."

"What concussion?" Scott demanded, then flinched as Gordon's gloved hand brushed against the back of his head.

"That one," his blond brother told him. "Why didn't you put your helmet on?"

"Wasn't time," he defended himself. Gordon raised an eyebrow.

"If I could get mine on with a volcano landing on top of me, you could have got yours on when you knew there was a problem." Scott flinched, mind flickering back to the nightmarish sight of the crumpled Thunderbird Four and her limp aquanaut as Penelope pulled him out of the wreckage.

There went any chance of sleep tonight.

He was saved from having to reply by Virgil's reappearance. The dark-haired Tracy looked grim.

"She's not flying anywhere," he declared bluntly. "Her main engine core's completely burnt out. Two'll have to carry her back." Scott had feared as such.

"But Two's already got a full load," Gordon pointed out. "She can't carry One and Four at the same time."

"I'll just have to drop Four off then come back," Virgil sighed. "Gordon, wait here with Scott. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. I won't be long."

"F.A.B."

Scott bristled at the implication he might try and get her airborne again. He wanted her home in one piece, and he knew the only way that would happen was by the grace of Virgil and Two now.

The behemoth in question lifted away from the ground slowly, only to engage her thrusters to full as soon as she was fully in the air and disappear off in the blink of an eye. It was easy to forget that although she was sluggish compared to One, Two was still an incredibly fast craft. And Virgil wasn't hanging around.

He went to stand up again, and growled at Gordon as his younger brother put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"You've got a concussion, Scott," the aquanaut reminded him.

"So you've said," he retorted. "But concussion or not, I'm getting out of this chair and seeing the damage for myself so get out of the way."

Gordon did not get out of the way. But he did, after a moment, remove the hand from his shoulder and offer it instead. Scott tried to deny that he appreciated the help as the interior of his beloved ship swam slightly before his eyes.

"You'll be riding back in Two anyway," the blond menace shrugged. Scott ignored him as he stumbled his way down through the fuselage to the main engine. The internal access panel was still open from Virgil's investigation, and immediately he could see why Virgil hadn't been gone long.

Burnt out was a rather understated way to describe the charred lump of metal that had once housed the engine core, and his engineer brother hadn't even bothered to mention the relay. It was sheered clean in half – clearly the snap he'd heard as his 'bird had fallen the last few metres from the sky. No doubt her other engines were in a similar condition.

Virgil was right. There was no way Thunderbird One would be able to get back in the air under her own power.

"Brains is going to kill me," he groaned, pressing a hand to his face.

"Join the club, bro," Gordon chimed in, before giving off a low whistle. "Woah, how the hell did that even happen?" Scott shrugged, unwilling to admit that Thunderbird One had gone too fast.

"Scott," John buzzed in from his comms channel. "I just reviewed Thunderbird One's flight telemetry. What were you doing at Mach 21.7?"

"Catching a plane," he said, overriding Gordon's yelp of "Mach what?

"No wonder her engines are fried!" the aquanaut continued. "Thunderbird One's top speed is Mach 19. Nine. Teen."

"Technically that's her operating limit," Scott corrected. "Her top speed is Mach 20."

"Mach twenty one, Scott. Twenty one is higher than twenty. My point still stands."

"Point seven," John corrected Gordon. "He reached Mach twenty one point seven."

"That's even worse!" Gordon cried dramatically, hands in his hair. "What even possessed you to do that?"

"We had to catch the Icarus," Scott reminded him, even though his gut churned as he remembered that despite pushing Thunderbird One into this state, he'd still failed. The success story had been the combination of Two and Three. Wrecking his Thunderbird with nothing to even show for it gnawed at his mind unpleasantly.

He heard Gordon sigh and a hand returned to his shoulder.

"Come on, let's go outside."

He didn't move, staring into the depths of his 'bird and the carnage of her engines. She was going to be grounded for weeks with that much damage while Brains repaired her.

But Brains was working on the T-Drive engine.

He sank down to the floor, one hand blindly reaching out to trace the cool metal of her hull as he did so.

Brains would have to stop working on the T-Drive to repair her. They didn't have time for petty delays yet he'd gone and wrecked his Thunderbird without even a success story to excuse the damage and subsequently put a huge dent in their too tight time frame.

Unless he told Brains to leave her, keep Thunderbird One crippled until the Zero-X was complete and Dad was home. But International Rescue needed her.

The Zero-X or Thunderbird One.

Unbidden, bile built up in his throat, catching him off guard as he retched.

"Geez, Scott." Gordon's voice was softer now, and his hands were gentle even as they hauled him to his feet. "That concussion's not happy with you, is it? Let's get you outside." Drained, too burdened by the realisation that he would have to choose between two equally important craft to have any fight left, Scott let himself be led out of his 'bird's cargo bay door.

Gordon guided him to her nose cone, splattered with dirt and streaks of silver cutting through the red where the impact had damaged it, and coaxed him into sitting on the ground with his back leaning against his downed Thunderbird.

"Stay there," he said before disappearing back inside One. Scott watched him go, looking down the long silver fuselage of the plane to the blue stripe around her engines. From the outside, there was no sign of the wreckage. A slightly scratched nose cone and the lack of her landing gear out were the only signs that she hadn't simply landed there.

"Here." Gordon reappeared seconds after vanishing, holding something that glinted in the sun in his hands. "You're trembling," his younger brother explained as the foil blanket wrapped around him. "Nothing to be done about the concussion, though." He sat down next to him, slinging an arm around Scott's shoulders lightly. "She'll be okay. Brains'll fix her up, better than new."

"Brains is working on the T-Drive engine," Scott reminded him. "He doesn't have time to fix her."

"Then we'll fix her," Gordon said matter-of-factly. "You, me, Virgil, Alan. Well, mainly Virgil. Just like we fixed Two up after her little swimming adventures."

Thunderbird Two's damage had been nowhere near as severe as this.

"It'll be okay, Scott," his brother continued. The arm around his shoulders tightened slightly. "We'll save him."

That was his line, to be recited to younger brothers whenever they needed it. Not for them to recite back to him.

It was comforting to hear.

"Yeah," he said as the roar of Two's engines came into earshot, the green behemoth appearing as quickly as she'd vanished. "We will."

"Budge over," Virgil ordered, their comms crackling back to life in unison and with no ceremony. "I'm going to land on top of her and I don't feel like explaining to Grandma why two of my brothers are fried worse than her cooking."

"I'd pay to see you tell her her cooking is bad to her face," Gordon retorted, but he was already on his feet and pulling Scott up with him. Together they backed up, Scott knowing exactly how far was safe and reluctant to get any further from Thunderbird One than required. Gordon pulled him back a little more.

"You couldn't afford it," Virgil scoffed as he positioned his 'bird over her sister. Without a module, she looked flimsier than usual, even though Scott knew she could lift greater weight without one. "Why is Scott in a foil blanket?"

"You said to make sure he didn't do anything stupid," Gordon chirped, a huge grin on his face. "So I make sure he couldn't."

"Resourceful," Virgil commented approvingly. Scott scowled, even though he knew Gordon was lying – or at least, partially lying. He wouldn't put it past his prankster brother to have had multiple reasons for bringing out the blanket. Two's landing struts deployed to their full extent and Scott watched with rigid shoulders as they came down either side of his 'bird, the rear pair barely missing her extended wings.

Thunderbird Two wasn't strictly designed to land on her fully-extended struts, but Virgil made it look easy as she settled daintily over her sister. The grapples fired down and Gordon ran over to secure them. Contained in foil, Scott could do nothing but watch as his younger brothers secured the two craft together. It looked terrifyingly flimsy, four relatively thin cables trailing down from the walls of Thunderbird Two's module bay the only links, but Scott knew that it would hold. Brains put safety first, and in a gift of forethought and paranoia had installed specific places on Thunderbird One's hull for just such an eventuality. She was far better secured to her sister than any other craft could ever be.

Once all three brothers were satisfied, Scott unable to resist joining Gordon if only to instruct ("I know, Scott!"), Thunderbird Two's platform lowered. Mild concussion or not, Scott refused to be treated as a rescuee and won the argument over whether or not he could grapple up to the platform by himself. That didn't stop Virgil from manhandling him into the nearest seat – usually Alan's, directly behind the pilot – while Gordon slid triumphantly into the co-pilot's seat, which was technically Scott's right as commander, but his brothers were clearly having none of it.

"You sit back and call Tracy Island," Virgil told him when he tried to resist. "Kayo's having kittens about what could have brought One down under her watch and Alan's not much better. Now shut up and let me get your 'bird home in one piece."

Scott scowled, fighting his way out of the foil blanket before tapping his comm unit. Beneath him, Two's powerful VTOLs roared into life, straining for a moment before they began to gain altitude.

"Scott!" Alan's voice burst out of his communicator, the small hologram appearing above his wrist. "Are you okay? What happened? Did you crash? Virgil didn't say much."

"I'm fine, Alan," he cut in, silencing his youngest brother's babble. "One's engines gave out, that's all."

"What happened, Scott Tracy." Kayo flickered into view, pushing Alan aside as she scowled at him, eyes sparking dangerously. "Thunderbird One performed just fine during the air show, and no-one unauthorised got near her at any point."

Scott gritted his teeth for a moment before letting out a sigh. His head throbbed and his shoulders ached – reminders that no matter how lucky he'd been, it had still been a crash landing.

"It's nothing to worry about," he told her, conscious that Virgil was listening in from the seat in front of him. Gordon was tapping his own flight controls, already aware of the cause thanks to John earlier and hopefully on standby to prevent any erratic flying from Virgil. Kayo opened her mouth, clearly about to protest that it was clearly something to worry about if it could take a Thunderbird out of the sky straight after a public event. "Catching the Icarus just put too much strain on the engines."

"Mach 19 should not have strained Thunderbird One's engines like that," Kayo disagreed. Scott winced, and her hologram's eyes narrowed. "Scott?"

"Mach 21.7," Gordon interrupted, and Scott shot him a glare as Thunderbird Two dipped slightly. His brother had firm hold of Two's flight controls, which was fortunate as Virgil whipped around to stare at Scott incredulously.

"Excuse me?" Kayo asked, taken aback. "Thunderbird One's operational limit is Mach 19. Even taking into consideration Brains' safety limits, she can't exceed Mach 20."

Control of the conversation was slipping away – if he'd ever had it – and Scott wanted it back.

"Well she did," he snapped.

"And murdered her own engines in the process," Virgil retorted, regaining flight control from Gordon. "Good job."

"But you're okay, right?" Alan piped up again, shoving Kayo back out of view. Blue eyes, washed out slightly in hologram form, looked up at him in concern, and Scott softened.

"I'm okay, little brother."

Alan's worried look gave way to one of relief, and Scott was content to sit back and let him talk, revisiting his part of the rescue – the successful bit, his brain muttered mutinously – and all the fun he had at the show when they weren't saving Professor Kwark. Virgil kept sending him disapproving looks over his shoulder, which he studiously ignored.

"Tracy Island, this is Thunderbird Two." Virgil cut through Alan's retelling of how he swept up Professor Kwark from the remains of the Icarus for the fifth time. "On final approach now. Alan, Kayo, get ready."

"F.A.B."

Scott's communicator blinked out.

He looked out of the window to see their home looming in the distance, growing by the moment. Two's palm trees were folded back already, a blob of green sitting on the runway. Gordon made a strangled noise of protest.

"Did you just dump Four?" he demanded of Virgil, who raised an eyebrow at him.

"Two can't enter or leave her hanger without a module," he reminded him. "That's where her wheels are."

"Point," Gordon conceded with a shrug.

"Now go get ready to unhook One," Virgil ordered, and with a cheeky salute Gordon headed to the rear of the cockpit. "Scott, you are not leaving that seat until Two is back in her hanger."

"She's my 'bird," Scott retorted, standing up. Gordon pushed him back down and before he knew it the foil blanket had been wrapped back around him and the safety belt fastened over the top of it. "Gordon!"

"Concussions don't go away that fast, bro. Don't worry, I'll take care of your 'bird." Scott groaned and let his head fall back, wincing as the headrest made contact with the source of his headache.

"Good thinking with that blanket," Virgil told Gordon. "We should use it more often."

"You should not," Scott snapped, but went ignored as Virgil turned his attention back to their approach and Gordon got ready to rappel out of the hatch.

Two pods trailed out of Two's hangar, set up as landing gear cradles. Scott watched them vanish underneath Two's bulk and a moment later Virgil opened the hatch for Gordon to disappear out of.

The operation began. Scott listened as his three brothers and Kayo co-ordinated the two pods and Thunderbird Two to get One nestled safely on the landing gear and had to bite his lip to prevent himself cutting in. Unable to even see the holographic display Virgil was referencing clearly, he was stuck waiting, and dwelling.

Scott did not do waiting or dwelling well. Never had done, and now so much was weighing down on him at once, it was even worse. Gordon's words had helped, but they couldn't clear all of the worries away. He'd been useless – worse than useless, now an actual detriment to International Rescue – in trying to save Professor Kwark, and now he was useless in even getting his crippled Thunderbird home.

What was he even doing?

Two's engines increased their thrust, pushing the behemoth back into the sky. Below, the two pods carefully manoeuvred back into the hanger, carrying Thunderbird One.

"Still with us, Scott?" Virgil asked as he brought his 'bird down over module four, finally bringing Gordon's beloved sub into the hangar.

"Yeah," Scott grunted, watching as Thunderbird Two finally came to a halt. "I'm fine."

"No you're not," Virgil corrected him, flicking through post-flight checks rapidly. "Your Thunderbird fell out of the sky and you have a concussion. You're not fine, Scott, and none of us expect you to be."

"I'm fine," he snapped.

Virgil sighed heavily and stood up, smoothly stepping around his chair to stand in front of him.

"Come on, big brother," he huffed, releasing the safety belt. "Let's get you in the house."

They were all waiting for him when the platform lowered, Virgil's arm firmly around his shoulders and keeping the foil blanket in place despite his efforts to dislodge it. Alan barely waited for him to step off of it before tackling him into a hug, while Gordon sauntered over at a more leisurely pace to slip his arm around his shoulders from the opposite side to Virgil. Kayo's arms remained firmly crossed but her eyes were soft, and even John was there, standing next to Brains and looking as though he'd come Earthside in a hurry. Grandma wrapped her arms around as many of them as she could reach.

"What-" he started, wondering what had prompted the sudden family gathering in Two's hangar.

"Don't you scare us like that, young man," Grandma overrode him briskly, squeezing tighter before letting them go. "Now, let's get you upstairs."

"I-I'll get started o-on the repairs," Brains excused himself, and Scott's mouth fell open.

"What?" he demanded. "But the T-Drive-"

"Dad wouldn't want us to prioritise him over International Rescue," John overrode him quietly. "Thunderbird One takes priority. You know this, Scott."

He grit his teeth, wishing he could refute what his brother was saying, but John had the annoying habit of always being right.

"EOS and I will continue calculations for the T-Drive," John continued. "This isn't a setback, Scott."

"It shouldn't have happened at all," Scott spat. "It didn't even help."

"Stop talking nonsense," Grandma scolded, hands on her hips as steely eyes glared up at him. "You might not have saved her by yourself, but that isn't Thunderbird One's role. Thunderbird One brings hope, and you, young man, brought the Professor hope that she would be saved. Don't you forget it."

She reached out and rested a hand on his cheek, breaking into a smile.

"Besides, your father would be delighted that you broke his record."

[authoressskr]

Write Into My Arms [1]

Characters: f!Reader, James “Bucky” Barnes, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, James “Rhodey” Rhodes, Peter Parker, Hope Van Dyne, Natasha Romanoff, Scott Lang, Wanda Maximoff, Vision, Okoye, T’Challa, Shuri, Clint Barton, Happy Hogan, Dr. Strange, Wong, Bruce Banner, Amelina Rodrigez (OFC), with mentions of Thor, Carol Danvers, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Peter Quill, Gamora, Nebula, Mantis and Drax.

Warnings: Language, Action (in last chapter) and no Beta (just me and Grammerly up in here)  ::  Word Count: 8885  ::  Pairing: Bucky x f!Reader

This was written for @jewelofwinter’s Writing Challenge!! I also incorporated a prompt for @jaamesbbarnes + @sgtjbuccky’s D&S’ Milestone Celebration!!

Prompt: “Tin Man lost Y/N.” (@jewelofwinter’s prompt) + “Publicly, I agree. Personally, I think it’s chickenshit.” (D&S’ prompt) Bolded in text below. Prompt #1 will appear in the third part while Prompt #2 appears in the second part. The next two parts will be posted by the end of this week. All three will be linked.

Summary: You’re a small time blog writer who is invited to interview the Avengers. ALL the Avengers. 

Please do NOT repost, copy & paste, post or share my works on any other platform without my EXPRESS PERMISSION.

-+- REBLOGGING is fine and very appreciated! -+-

Looking around the compound’s living room, you can’t help but openly stare. Everything is expensive, even the doorknobs seem to know their elevated worth.

You’ve circled the room three times so far, each time slower than the last as your keen eyes searching out every minute detail. You’ve been waiting for nearly twenty minutes, which isn’t too much of a bother, and from what you’d heard from other reporters and writers isn’t that long of a wait for Tony Stark. Although your boss said that the article was supposed to cover all of the inhouse Avengers…

Happy, Tony’s chauffeur/bodyguard and right-hand man, had brought you into this room and at this point, your overthinking has begun to wonder if being made to wait here is a diversion so that he can get all the Avengers to clear out. After all, Stark Industries controls most of the press about the Avengers and they don’t do interviews...except Tony and every so often, the good Captain Rogers.

You wonder briefly if watching some YouTube would be extremely unprofessional or just a mild, millennial version of unprofessionalism.

Deciding against it, you sit on the plushest and buttery soft black leather couch, fishing around your large purse for your notebook. Carefully flipping past the first pages, you look over the list of Avengers you’ve compiled - along with basic stats, going over them for the umpteenth time since being assigned this article. And, being the person you are, you had arranged them by age, willingness to talk to you, and then on difficulty on opening up for the story.

Fishing out a pen, you make a few last-minute notes, only to feel that tell-tale prickle at the back of your neck alerts you to the three figures lingering in the large entryway that leads towards a hallway. You pop up, smoothing out your dress bottom nervously.

“Oh! Hello. I’m Y/N, writer for Undefined Muses. I’m, uh, here to interview you?”

“You don’t seem to know if you are or not,” Hawkeye, Clint Barton, says with a big smile - the last yellow traces of a bruise fading on his left cheek.

“I wasn’t sure who all had agreed to participate - and I don’t want to force anyone to do if they aren’t interested.”

“Normally, the reporters are kind of rabid about these kinds of interviews,” Natasha replies smoothly, moving into the room and perching on the arm of an oversized loveseat. She’s dressed impeccably, looking like a glamorous movie star from the thirties, with high waist black dress pants and a dark blue silk shirt with tiny red roses dotted all over.

“Well, my boss sent me because I’m,” You pause, searching for the right word. “Demure.”

“I honestly was waiting for you to say ‘unrabid’.” Clint chuckles out, tossing himself into the loveseat that Natasha is perched on directly across from where you stand.

“I’m not sure what writer would use the word ‘unrabid’. I’m also 90% sure that isn’t a word.”

“Only 90%?” Natasha queries, smiling so knowingly it makes you a little wary.

“Well, he said it, so thus it has been made a word. But you won’t find it in a dictionary. So yes, 90%.”

The large brunet, whom you knew as James Barnes, still stood by the hallway they must have come from, watching the interactions with storm blue eyes. Your shoulders tighten, straightening as you realize that they’d sent all the previous assassins in first. Quite the unsettling welcome wagon… Wait. Was this a weird sort of game? Like chicken? You very nearly chuckle, if that’s the case, because little did these people know you weren’t the bravest person - content with hiding behind your words, telling others amazing and heart wrenching stories.

“Will you all be participating?” You finally manage to get out with a smile without nerves making it forced.

“They will,” Comes the answer from behind you - Tony Stark himself, Iron Man in the flesh, says with a confidence you’d only seen on tv. “Miss Y/L/N. So glad you could make it. Plane ride enjoyable?”

“Yes, sir. Thank you so much for the use of your plane.” He waves a hand as he flashes a megawatt smile.

“No problem. No problem at all. Now, I know they’ve probably introduced themselves but that is Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, and one of the 100 plus pair, Bucky Barnes.”

“Nice to meet you all,” They all nod as Tony rubs his hands together then claps.

“Now, I’ll show you where you’ll be staying, I’ll have Happy drop your luggage in there while I show you around -”

“I’m sorry - uh, staying?” You tilt your head a tad to the left, blinking at the illustrious Mr. Stark.

“Yes. Of course, you’ll be staying here in the compound. Rhodey, Steve, and Sam are headed home as we speak, should be here sometime early tonight. Wanda and Vision are on their way back, they were having brunch at a nearby vineyard. Oh, and Thor, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Captain Danvers should be in - oh, I don’t know - maybe 3 or 4 days. Everyone else is on site.” Logically, you know your mouth is open. You also know you should close it, but the shock…

Every. Single. Avenger.

Fuck.

“Um, I just...Sir, I didn’t mean...I only just brought...ALL OF THEM??”

“To answer your oh so eloquent questions, I did tell your boss I would be getting you as many as possible. I would have thought Mrs. Rodrigez, was it?, would have conveyed the seriousness,” He gives a little huff, smile firmly in place. “Anyhow, you’ll manage. FRIDAY will have a list of shops that will deliver here - we have a tab, just feel free to add to it.”

“Sir -”

“Tony,” He corrects.

“Tony. I will manage my own clothes, thank you. My boss did stress the importance of this interview block. I was told, however, that this was by choice for the Avengers or Stark Industries staff. Not that you’d make them come from outer space to be riddled with questions. And, Tony, I honestly don’t know why our little site was chosen to write these interviews to begin with, sir. How do you even know who I am…” You were so focused on Tony that you hadn’t realized that Wanda Maximoff, Vision, Pepper Potts (Stark?), Bruce Banner, Scott Lang, Hope Van Dyne and a man of Asian descent you couldn’t place had entered the room. Tony moves closer, peering over the couch and down into your purse, finger pulling at one of the edges to see into it.

“Well, that’s simple. I asked for you.” Eyebrows shoot upward in shock before your forehead furrows. “See, Pep read a piece you did on library and book importance - specifically in young and all school-age children. It was lying around, so I read it. And you know what? I liked the emotion. The thoughtfulness behind it. Every word was picked with such care - constructed to paint a picture. And that’s what I want you to do for us.” He gestures for you to sit, which you give a gentle shake of your head at and takes up the seat you’d been in before. He leans forward, one elbow balanced on his knee as he looks up at you. “We get good press, bad press too, but I want people to see the big picture. We’re a team. We’re a family. We sacrifice a lot to be able to do what we do. Paint that picture for me.” The spell Tony seemed to have cast on you raised and you look around to see the whole room staring at you, waiting.

You swallow hard and nod a couple of times. “I’ll do my best, Tony.” He rises and gives a nod of his own, flashing you a smile tinged with sadness that he quickly hides.

“Good. Good. Let’s get you into a guest room and then the tour. But first, some more introductions.”

::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx::

The voice in your room, in all the building you suppose, FRIDAY as she introduced herself, announced that dinner would be casual dress and served in an hour. Tony had been a gracious host, informing you he’d canceled your room at the winery - that, coincidentally, Wanda and Vision had been having brunch at earlier - before sashaying around the compound with Pepper, Scott, and Hope all in tow like a little tour group. Tony dutifully recited when it was built, remodeled, rebuilt. The layout and their functions. He adds little tidbits about visiting when he was little, making everything a little more real for you. You walk beside him, with him sometimes latching onto your elbow as you talk softly into your recorder, reminding yourself to get pictures of certain areas later with your camera.

It had been nice, Scott was witty and said aloud most of the smart ass comments you’d been thinking. Pepper kept Tony focused and Hope spent as much time as you did asking questions. The tour of the basic facilities ended back where it had begun in the living room, rain beginning to splatter against the massive wall of windows to your left.

You’d managed to find your way back to the room, 5th on the right, to find your overnight bag sitting on the end of the bed next to a plush white robe and a note from Tony stating he’d still asked for the stores to bring over things for you to pick out tomorrow and not to bother fighting him on it. Kicking off your shoes, you’d wandered over to the floor-to-ceiling window in your room to watch the raindrops slide down the glass, tucking your legs under you as you sat on the very soft, thick carpet with your notebook and pen.

Amelina, your boss and best friend, had bought you a gray, faux-leather sunflower embossed one to butter you up. Your little addiction and she knew it. You’d accepted the notebook and the assignment with little hesitation. Only to look at the notebook lying on your desk later and think ‘What the hell have I just done?!’

The first page is an outline of what Amelina had said she wanted from the articles (she ideally wanted to break them into separate pieces with each Avenger getting their own spotlight), your notes on the Avengers from digging online and the preliminary dates the article, or articles, would be posted on the site. Taking a deep breath you flip past the Avengers you’d already made lists for, adding the Guardians, Captain Danvers, Doctor Stranger, Wong (whom you’d met earlier), adding Scott and Hope as well, since they are West Coast-based and you had a 50/50 chance of actually interviewing them initially.

Your recorder would hold the interviews, your verbal notes and memos to take pictures of certain locations...but your gray notebook, that was for your notes and thoughts on their habits, likes and dislikes based on observation, how they interact with you, and how they interact with each other.

The alarm on your phone drags you away from writing a few more observations on the page designated for Pepper Potts, letting you know that you need to get up and changed for dinner. You plug your recorder in to download the tour from earlier while you change and freshen up your hair and makeup.

Your hopping on one foot, trying to shove your foot into the stupid pump when your alarm goes off again. Tossing yourself onto the end of the bed, you unplug your recorder and wiggle your foot into the pump better before heading out the door. You shove the recorder into the pocket of your skirt, making your way down the hall when the intro to “7 Rings” begins playing from the phone in your hand. With a quick swipe you answer, stopping almost halfway down the hall.

“Yes?”

“Is that any way to answer the phone?”

“It is when I’m on my way to dinner and your long-winded call could make me late.”

“Harsh, dude, harsh.” Amelina barely takes a breath before continuing. “So, whatcha got so far?”

“First of all, that isn’t how I work. How long have you known me, Lina? By the way, I’m mad at you.”

“What for?”

“You didn’t tell me I’d be staying here or that I’d be here for two weeks. I looked like an idiot in front of Tony Freaking Stark and Pepper Freaking Potts!” You hiss into the phone, tapping your foot in irritation as she chuckles on the other end of the line.

“Sorry! I honestly didn’t know how long you’d be staying -”

“Well, it’s nice that you let me know that!”

“Mr. Stark just asked how long he could have you on loan. I said a max of three weeks.”

“Oh my god, Amelina,” you groan, letting your head drop forward as you repeat in your head to breathe.

“You are such a -”

“You’re being a real bitch. I would have packed. I would have been prepared. But nooooo! Now I’m standing in a hallway wishing that your brother’s new puppy would pee in your expensive shoes!”

“Now that’s just mean!”

“I’m hanging up now. May Jedi maul all the shoes you hold dear.” You jab your thumb against the screen before taking a deep breath and continuing your trek to the living room.

::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx::

Apparently ‘casual’ at the Avengers compound is a broad term. Clint is sporting a sweatshirt with the SHIELD logo emblazoned on the front with black jogging pants and loafers. Steve has a dark blue shirt that is miraculously being held together by mere buttons, which you’re afraid if he strains, will lose their valiant efforts to keep his shirt together. His is paired with khakis and the same loafers as Clint, which amuses you for some unknown reason. Sam Wilson has a red t-shirt with a black blazer over it, dark gray jeans and some well-worn boots. As you finish taking in appearances, standing like a wallflower half-hidden by the hallway arch still, you can’t help but wonder if you should pinch yourself to see if this was reality.

Sam spots you first, or is the first to acknowledge it, and makes his way over with a friendly smile painted on his face.

“I’m Sam Wilson, nice to meet you.” His hand extends and nearly swallows your own before giving it a firm shake. You liked that. He wasn’t treating you as delicate. You detested when men did that when shaking hands with women…

“Y/N Y/L/N, nice to meet you as well.”

“Heard Tony gave you the tour.” He’s got a smirk now, eyes bright and teasing.

“Oh yeah. He offered to let me try out a suit - but only when Pepper and Steve weren’t around.”

“Killjoys,” Sam gives a serious shake of his head, chuckling as FRIDAY announces dinner is ready to be served. “Let’s get you to dinner. We’re having it in the mess hall once everyone gets here - tonight we can still have it in the actual dining room.” He offers his arm, guiding you out of the living area. “You met Bucky, right?” You give a nod, very aware the aforementioned is right behind the two of you. “His article will be the shortest. Dude’s damn near a mute unless he’s lecturing Steve, so I wish you good luck on interviewing him.”

“And here I thought that your odd friendship was all made up…” You answer slyly, hearing a snort of laughter behind you - unsure if it belongs to Steve or Bucky.

“Hey Cap, you meet the reporter?” Sam flashes you a smile as he turns the two of you around, bringing you to a hard stop so you don’t ram into the super-soldier.

“Steve Rogers, miss.” He offers his hand and gives yours a firm shake, his blue eyes holding a wariness you weren’t expecting. Captain America, wary of you? Doesn’t inspire a lot of hope in you about this whole experience…

“Y/N Y/L/N, sir.”

“Sit! Sit!” Tony orders jovially from down the table before pointing to the man at his right. “Rhodey. War Machine. Liar extraordinaire. I may need to sit in to make sure he gets all the facts straight.”

“Don’t listen to Mr. Stank over here, ma’am.”

“Unfortunately, that’s why I’m here Mr. Rhodes.” Steve pulls out your chair for you, waiting until your seated to take his seat to your left. “Thank you.”

“I think we should all get to know each other,” Tony starts, only for Rhodey to roll his eyes and Bruce to scoff from the other end of the long table.

“May I record?” You ask, watching everyone sort of tense and shuffle.

“Of course!” Tony answers as you withdraw the recorder, clicking it on and sitting it beside your plate.

“I think it’s only fair since I’ll be bothering all of you for the next two or so weeks, that you can ask me whatever you’d like as well.”

“That’s fair,” Dr. Strange concedes from his spot to your right.

“Very fair, I think,” Scott agrees, giving you a big comforting smile.

“Okay, well let’s start with where you were born.” A handful of waiters come in, setting bowls and plates onto the tabletop before disappearing.

“Family style,” Pepper clarifies before looking expectantly to you.

“I was born in California. But moved to Seattle when I was little, maybe about 3. Right before I started kindergarten we moved back to California. Been there ever since.”

“And your business?” Pepper asks, dishing some green beans onto her plate.

“It’s more Amelina’s than mine. We’re partners in the site, but I do the money part, well I prep it for the accountant - and most of the writing - and she does the schmoozing, bossing around, the sports articles and the keeping up of the site. So she’s doing the lion’s share.”

“I would think you break even,” Hope pipes up. “Well, what with you having to travel and compile the information and then write it out. Plus anything to do with money is usually more stressful. Do you both hire and fire?”

“Unfortunately, yes. We tried to hire a sports writer after we’d had the site for a year, but it didn’t work out...”

“Wait. Wait. Was it that guy that kept inserting himself into the story?” Sam laughs out, peeking around Bucky who is beside Steve. You bite back a groan.

“Yes.”

“Bucky, Rhodey - it’s that article I sent you saying that Babe Ruth was only half the baseball player he could have been and that the writer could’ve been the next Bambino.” Rhodey is at least trying not to laugh, but you can see Bucky’s shoulders shaking as you lean backward in your chair.

“That was a huge mistake. All of his work we reviewed before hiring was impeccable. I checked to make sure it wasn’t plagiarized and we called all of his references. Apparently, he’d had some experience in coding and websites, so after he handed in his first final draft, he went in an hour after Amelina posted it, and changed it. We got so many emails - we were getting all these calls... Brian up and disappeared after he did that. To this date, still haven’t had as much traffic on the site as that day.”

“Brian sounds like a douche,” Wanda mutters with a smile, taking a sip from her wine glass. You look down at your plate, finding it overflowing with more food than you’d put on there. You raise an eyebrow at Steve, who just shrugs and puts a forkful of potato salad in his mouth with a smile.

“Yeah. I blacklisted him.”

“Blacklisted how?” Clint manages around a mouthful of bread.

“Oh, um, well I emailed almost every single media outlet in California, Washington, Oregon, and Nevada. Then I asked them to forward it to their parent stations or owners. So basically, after a year of emailing people, most blogs, newspapers, tv stations, circulars, and YouTube hosts in California to Kentucky know not to deal with anyone going by his name. I helped a reporter from Pennsylvania with her story, and she began emailing people on the East Coast about it. All emails included his picture too, just in case he went by another name.”

“Effective. A bit ruthless.” Vision is seated between Wanda and Rhodey, nodding in approval.

“No! Not ruthless!” You defend, voice rising a little before the heat rises in your neck and cheeks. “Sorry. I just didn’t want anyone to get dinged as we did. We had to say a lot of apologies and lost a lot of work because of his pointless self-involved rant. And I mean, who goes after Babe Ruth?”

“Balls but no brains,” Scott adds, the two of you nodding. He points his fork at your plate. “Eat.”

“Can I ask a question?”

“That’s what you’re here for.” Tony chuckles out.

“What do you guys do in times like these? When there aren’t aliens or Loki or HYDRA? Like a big spa day for all of you guys? Karaoke?”

“To be honest,” Natasha begins. “There aren’t a lot of days like this when we are all free at the same time. But honestly, it’s more watching and waiting than action and aliens.”

“Kind of miss SHIELD to kind of take care of the day to day bad guy cartel and mafia stuff?” You manage around a mouthful of pasta. Sweet Jesus, it was decadent and cheesy.

“Sometimes I miss the help,” Clint admits.

“What Clint means is that he misses telling people what to do.” Sam teases, tossing a bread roll at him across the table, which Clint catches without even looking away from you.

“Hey! I didn’t tell people what to do. They just did it.”

“Did you buy a bar just to tear it down, Tony?” Tony smiles around a forkful of steak.

“Yes. Yes, I did. Ross just rubs me the wrong way.”

“To be fair, I think he rubs everyone the wrong way.”

“You’ve met him?” Steve sounds surprised, eyebrows raised in what you hope is astonishment.

“Unfortunately. I was in college and had to write a piece on something or someone whom you don’t agree with. Now I am all for soldiers but upper management sucks in the military, no offense Mr. Rhodes. But, everywhere, really... I just think the old guys in Congress and equally old guys in the upper ranks are calling the shots on things they shouldn’t be interfering in, as far as college me was concerned. Ross irritated me for the simple reason that he was the smartest person in the room and no matter what I said, what facts I had, what questions I asked, I would always be wrong. Never disliked being called ‘sweetheart’ so much in my life. Hard to have a conversation with the other side when they talk to you like that. Plus, I got a D on that paper, so he sucks in my book.”

“I told him to call me if he needed help. Then I left him on hold. In my own defense, I did warn him earlier I did like to watch the light blink.” Rhodey snorts into his glass at Tony’s admission.

“Like a tiny Christmas light of joy.” Steve comments, leaning back in his chair with a smile.

You shove a forkful of green beans into your mouth, giving a little sigh at how damn good it tasted before spearing a few more and eating those as Scott launches into the tale of him, Cassie, Luis and his ex-wife’s husband all hanging Christmas lights - only for the new husband to find he’d rewired and programmed them to blink in super slow motion with the fastest Christmas songs he could find and vice versa. And every 9 hours and 45 minutes, it played La Cucaracha, perfectly in time with the lights. There are a few chuckles around the table, but you’re laughing pretty damn hard.

“That’s brilliant actually! The deviousness lies in the amount of annoying that they could take. Having to time your exit must have been a bitch.”

“He and one of his buddies took it all down, bought new lights and hung those up. Cassie told me she missed hearing the Chipmunks, so I remotely programmed a timer so it would play the Christmas Don’t Be Late song right before her bedtime.”

“Cassie sounds like a wonderful girl. And very lucky to have you for her father.” Scott looks flustered but gives you the brightest smile before looking down at his empty plate.

“Th-thank you.”

“Of course. Do you guys do Netflix around here? Movie night?”

“Your mind is everywhere…” Hope says with a grin. “That’s good.”

“And to answer your question - yes. We have Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime…” Sam trails off as the waiters reappear, clearing the table only to return seconds later with plates of beautiful personal assorted desserts. If this was how they ate, you’d hate to see their exercise regime. Oh god, you hoped you weren’t expected to work out with them...

“I was just wondering how you all decide on a show. Do Steve and Bucky have lists? Like are you all working through AFI’s 100 Greatest Movies? I think I’ve only seen 20 of them. Do you all binge shows together?”

“Pep started a rotation. So if it’s your Sunday night and you’re in the compound or tower, then you pick the movie or show. If you aren’t here, it goes to the next person on the list.”

“Sometimes after a mission, it’s usually just decided to watch tv shows just cause we all sort of zone out,” Steve whispers after Tony’s answer, taking a big scoop of his parfait.

“We’ve never been invited,” Wong pipes up, frowning at Tony.

“Oh, I invited both you and Strange right after Pepper made the schedule. If Strange didn’t relay that…” Dr. Strange just rolls his eyes.

“I mentioned it.”

“You didn’t say it was a regular occurrence.” Wong huffs out before biting into a ladyfinger.

“Like an old married couple,” Clint chuckles out, his desserts all gone as he leans contentedly back in his chair. You give your head a small shake at their exchange before reaching to stop your recorder.

“Well, thank you so much for that delicious meal. And thank you for letting me record. I hope I get less awkward as this goes on.”

“This was awkward?” Wanda raises an eyebrow, making you fiddle with the recorder before tucking it into your pocket.

“Okay, well, um then it will get more awkward before it gets less awkward.” You all rise, pushing in your chairs before wandering out of the dining room and back towards the living areas.

“You’ll find out we’re all awkward. Well, except me.” You nod seriously at Tony’s words, managing to see Bucky roll his eyes at Tony’s words. Huh. Who knew… “Nightcap?”

“Oh, no. Thank you. I’m so full I don’t think I could even manage that.”

“Then we’ll say goodnight.” A chorus of goodnights echoes around the large living room.

“Goodnight everyone.”

You totter off to your room, cursing the fact that you’re so sleepy right now. After washing your face, brushing your teeth and changing into your pajamas, you shuffle down under the covers.

“Well, that wasn’t the most awkward or silent dinner I’ve ever been to…” You mutter before sleep drags you under.

::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx::

In the morning, you wake up earlier than you usually tend to, sitting on the floor in your pajamas in front of the rain-splattered window with your headphones on - going over the recordings, transcribing them and making notes in your dotted notebook, since it better served to add afterthoughts to. Not the nice orderly layout of your new notebook. And you’re so involved in listening and typing, snatching up the notebook beside you to jot down memos, that you don’t hear Steve and Tony calling your name and you sure as hell don’t hear them enter.

The scream accounts for that, Bucky and Sam barrelling through your door as you look up at Steve and Tony with wide eyes, shoving your headphones off.

“We’re sorry.” Tony barely restrains a chuckle. “I’m sorry. I had FRIDAY see if you were awake, then came to get you for breakfast, but,” He laughs now, the skin by his eyes crinkling. “You didn’t answer.”

“Maybe we should think about a different system!” You blurt as you stare up at the four men.

“Yes. Definitely,” Tony chuckles. “Next time I’ll have FRIDAY blink the lights to alert you.”

“Thank you!”

“Our pleasure.” Steve grins out, extending a hand.

“No, I’m fine here, thanks.” Steve shrugs, the smile not disappearing.

“Well, we’ll leave you to get dressed for breakfast. The shops are due to arrive after breakfast for you to pick some more clothes for your stay. Sam has also requested to be your first interview.” Sam winks at you from Cap’s left, sporting a wide smile as Bucky’s gaze goes from Sam to you.

“Thanks again.” You peer around Steve. “And thank you two for coming so quickly.”

“Anytime, Y/N.” Sam delivers smoothly, Bucky rolling his eyes before making a swift exit. The other three leave with smiles on their faces.

It takes you several minutes to realize you were in your pajamas; a worn and oversized ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’ shirt paired with sleep shorts that could barely be seen peeking under the hem of your shirt.

“Jeez…” You groan, rubbing a hand over your face before closing the laptop and tossing your notebooks on the bed.

Ten minutes later you have your teeth brushed and you’re dressed in adequate attire, shuffling nervously into the kitchen area on the other side of the bar in the living room. Clint and Bucky are cooking, Wanda weaving between the two expertly. You slip in the seat next to Hope, her hair in a ponytail and dressed in workout clothes.

“How long has everyone been up?” You whisper-ask, setting your recorder and notebook beside the empty plate that Natasha sets in front of you with a small smile. You return it as Hope cuts her pancake which is riddled with syrup, fruit and whipped cream.

“We all did a workout before breakfast,” She puts a big bite of sugar-laden pancake in her mouth, “Speeds up your metabolism.”

“Where’s Scott?”

“Here.” He mutters, slipping into the seat on the other side of Hope.

“Not a morning person?”

“I enjoy my sleep.”

“Thank god. Me too. Under normal circumstances.”

“Yes,” A new voice pipes up from the other side of the room, making you lean back to see who it is. “We heard about the intrusion this morning.”

“Holy - Princess Shuri!” After nearly tripping trying to slither out of your stool, you manage to get upright and extend a hand. “So lovely to meet you.”

“Thank you. It is lovely to meet you as well. I read your articles after Tony mentioned you were selected to do the interviews, and I must say that when you do scientific articles, there is a very nice flow and imagery that one does not usually get.”

“Thank you! I’m sure whoever I’ve interviewed in the science community doesn’t care for all the questions I have after the interview, so I’m glad that it reads well to a genius.”

“You will just make her head bigger, Miss Y/L/N.”

“King T’Challa, wonderful to meet you.” You breathe a deep breath of relief as he extends his hand, giving it a firm shake with a warm smile.

“Wonderful to meet you as well. Please sit, you must keep your strength up if you are to deal with all of us.” There is mischief in his eyes, the twinkle of a man temporarily unburdened.

“That bad?”

“Wait ‘til the Guardians are here!” A male voice pipes up, followed by a tossing sound and a huffed “Sorry!”

“Peter Parker, ma’am.” Your eyebrows shoot up as you automatically stick out your hand.

“Spider-Man,” Tony supplies as he walks by with a bowl of oatmeal. Honestly, your only thought is that he’s a baby and should be protected at all cost.

“Yeah, I think I saw a post on Instagram about someone in New York making Spider-Man ice creams...So you’re the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man?” Peter blushes, withdrawing his hand and crossing his arms over his chest.

“Don’t worry, kid. Pep had her sign contracts before she even came. She can’t reveal your identity.”

“Oh. Okay then.” His smile brightens at least a hundred watts. “Did you eat yet? Mr. Barnes makes the best pancakes!”

“Does he now?” Bucky’s back is to you, so you can’t see his expression, but there are already two hot pancakes setting on your plate next to several pieces of bacon. “I’m going to gain so much weight while I’m here…” You sigh, actually not the least bit bothered by it once you bite into the pancake, it’s buttery soft fluff filling your mouth, the second bite revealing a tiny melted chocolate chip to add to the deliciousness. Flipping open your notebook, you scribble down a note: Bucky Barnes = wonderful pancakes. Peter sees it and ducks his head as he takes his plate over to where Shuri is sitting, the two of them bent over a tablet when you glance over your shoulder.

Everything is terribly domestic. Normal.

And you want them to enjoy it. Cause honestly, after all that’s happened, they truly deserve a little peace and camaraderie.

::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx::

”Okay, so is this alright?” You ask, settling a little more into the plush blood-red chair in Sam’s bedroom, his desk to your right littered with your notebook, your phone, the recorder, and several pens.

“Great. I’m good to go.” You pick up the recorder, clicking it on with a nervous smile directed at Sam before you began.

“Interview One: Sam Wilson, known as Falcon. Okay, Sam, please tell me a little about yourself?”

“What would you like to know?”

“Let’s just start with the basics - like speed dating.”

“I’ve never been speed dating.”

“Well, aren’t we the lucky one?”

“Wait - you’ve been speed dating?”

“Unfortunately. It was for an article but nothing really was romantic or fun about asking the same questions of men who aren’t looking you in the eye.”

“Don’t gotta worry about that here. Our mamas all raised us right.”

“Noted. Alright, so I’ll ask the nice fluffy questions first.”

“Working our way up to the heavy hitter ones.”

“Exactly. What’s your favorite thing to do in New York, besides save it? What was your childhood dream job? Favorite Disney movie? How do you like your coffee?”

“Eat. Man, I love food. They have a little gumbo place in Harlem,” He kisses the tips of his fingers. “Best Southern food up here. As for my childhood dream job - man, I love birds. I wanted to train raptors, rehabilitate them...or I wanted to be a chef ‘cause I enjoy food. All kinds. Man, I haven’t seen a Disney movie in ye -- well, that’s not true because Spider-Nerd made us watch Toy Story 4 the other day...but probably a tie between Fantasia and The Rescuers. And coffee? That I take black with room so I can add cream and three sugars.”

“Good memory skills. Want more difficult ones now?”

“Oh yeah, I’m ready,” He rubs his hands together with a smile spreading quickly across his face.

“If Stark does a superhero calendar, which month do you want and what are you wearing for it?” His laughter is loud and boisterous, his hands braced on his knees before looking at you.

“Whew - went right for it, didn’t you? Are you asking everyone this question? Can I be there when you ask Cap and Bucky? I bet you twenty bucks that Tony says he’s thought of it before and he wants December cause of the gift he is.” You lean over and make a note of it in your notebook.

“I’ll take that bet. I counter with he doesn’t want to do one but he’d like to be July.” He extends his hand and you shake it firmly, mustering up a serious expression as you did so before settling in to wait for his answer.

“Man, okay. Uh, I think I’d like to be August. Not as hot but not cold either, with those pre-fall feelings. And I’m getting the tightest red shirt I own, along with my favorite pair of jeans. But I could be persuaded to dress sexier - nice fitted suit and tie.”

“Why’d you join the Air Force?”

“I just wanted to help people. And I wanted to see the world. My mom was okay with it since she figured the Air Force weren’t the first to deploy and that I’d be mostly out of harm’s way. But I enjoyed the regimen, the camaraderie I had with the other guys. But when my wingman, my partner Riley, died -- you, you know I just didn’t want to be apart of that anymore after that. I decided I’d get more out of life if I helped other soldiers deal with their problems.” He pauses, searching your face for something before continuing. “I met Steve one day when we were both out running. I knew who he was, but I also knew he was just like any other soldier who had come home and was looking to adjust - looking to find his place.”

“So you did what came naturally - you offered a sympathetic ear and some words for him to think on.”

“Yep. And, honestly, I enjoyed getting to know Steve Rogers. I think we have a lot in common, just morals and being a good soldier, but it’s more important to be a better man than all of that.”

“You really admire him.”

“Of course I do. He’s my best friend. I wouldn’t trade what I had to go through - what we all had to go through - to have it done any other way. I mean, it was brutal in some places, but I’d do it all again -- I sure as hell don’t want to, but I would.”

“May I ask why you chose to follow Steve instead of, say, Col. Rhodes? Both military, both having friends who sort of go rogue, both just wanting to do the right thing…”

“Rhodey and I are good friends, don’t get me wrong. But he had a lot on his plate: The military. Ross. Tony. Still dealing with the fallout of SHIELD in the upper ranks. I would follow Rhodey for a lot of things, but I won’t fight against any of the other Avengers again unless they’re mind-controlled or some shit.”

“Peanut butter and jelly or ham and cheese?” You ask softly, giving him a kind smile.

“Peanut butter and jelly.” He says with his own soft smile.

“Can I pet Redwing?” He perks up at that question.

“Yeah, come on, I’ll show him to you.”

“Maybe the suit too?” You tease, gathering up your notebook and phone, shoving the latter into your pocket before the extra pens you’d brought got shoved right along in there. You carefully pick up the recorder, holding it aloft as Sam holds open his bedroom door.

Once you’ve petted Redwing, letting Sam fly it around you. Luckily you were smart enough to stop at your room first for your camera, most of the time focusing on the light in Sam’s eyes as he looks at his little buddy before Steve and Clint come into the hanger, Clint playfully throwing a few rocks as Redwing dodges them, the three of them joking as they stand in a semi-circle and watch. All the while you watch them through the lens, happily snapping pictures before you notice Bucky leaning against the hangar door a handful of feet away. He looks like he’s a model, a small smile on his face that’s half turned away from you with one hand - his metal hand - tucked into the pocket of his black, worn-looking jacket. You snap a few pictures before he turns his head towards you, the smile disappearing. You snap a picture anyway before lowering the lens and smiling as warmly at him as you can. He gives a little nod before pushing off the door and disappearing around the corner.

Clint drags you to the archery range after that, carefully digging through his arrows as he answers question after question.

“Okay, Clint, last one: If Stark does a superhero calendar, which month do you want and what are you wearing for it?” Clint snickers, his shoulders gently moving.

“Really? Well, alright then. I think I’d like to be January. And I think I want to be dressed in a velvet eggplant jacket with a black shirt and some black underwear.” You nearly snort when he wiggles his eyebrows and gives you a lazy smile, twirling an arrow.

“Boxers? Briefs? Thong?”

“I think some nice fitting briefs. Don’t want to make too many people jealous if I bust out my thong…”

“I certainly learned a whole lot about you, so thank you for that, Clint.”

“Anytime, sweet cheeks. Anytime.” He leads you back to the living room for your last interview of the morning before you all break for lunch. “Wanda! I got your girl here!” Wanda is standing by the hallway, a cup in each hand with a smile gracing her too-pretty face. She gestures with her head, her red hair swinging slightly. Clint doesn’t let you go initially, pushing his cheek closer to you.

“Alright, alright, Mr. Sweet cheeks.” You concede, kissing his cheek before watching him saunter past the others, tossing himself down onto the couch beside Scott with a chuckle.

“Good luck!” Sam hollers, making Wanda glare at him for a second before you follow her down the hall.

::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx:::xxxxxxxxxx::

Wanda is teaching you a few words in Romanian when you emerge from her room for lunch.

Lunch is already laid out as you repeat “Nu, mulţumesc” until she nods.

“And that means?”

“No, Thank you.” You answer obediently.

“Now, combine everything.”

“Ce fasi! Mici sărutări pentru tine în această după-amiază. Nu, mulțumesc. Aș prefera să fac un tort.” [Little kisses to you all this afternoon. No, thank you. I'd rather have a cake.]

Bucky and Natasha shake their heads with a smile.

“And that means?”

“What are you doing? Little kisses to you all this afternoon. No, thank you. I’d rather have a cake.” Wanda chuckles out, giving your arm a loving pat.

“It was something my mother always said to my father. He said little kisses to us all and she said she would rather have cake. Y/N said it beautifully. Very naturally.”

“I am a wonderful parrot.” You smile out before Tony pokes his head in and whistles.

“Lunch!”

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Bruce’s interview after lunch is filled with long pauses, his answers thought out and sometimes not what you expected. He takes you through his lab and then he suggests a short jaunt around the garden to finish the interview. When he excuses himself, you stay in the French-style garden, snapping a few scenic pictures and unwinding a bit from the interviews of today.

With four down, you’re feeling pretty perky about the whole series, trying not to think about the 25 or 26 more interviews you needed to do. Wandering through, your fingertips brushing over the perfectly trimmed hedges before spotting a few wild sunflowers towards the path leading into the woods. Carefully kneeling you take a picture, frowning as it’s just not quite right. You settle on your belly, one foot rising into the air as you refocus the camera and nail the picture you wanted!

You don’t even realize that Bucky is taking your picture as you grin at your camera, entirely too pleased with your results before you regain your footing and trek back to the compound.

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You shoot for six interviews the next day, just trying to get them done before the Guardians, Thor and Captain Danvers arrive...Tony having casually mentioned recording a video group interview of sorts before you left. Which didn’t stress you out at all.

Not.

Hope’s interview was witty and broadening...how she described quantum physics (which just led to more questions) was outstanding.

Scott’s was quick-witted, dry and peppered with his pretty broad knowledge of electrical engineering, Captain America, and songs from the 80s. He was very open about his conviction and time in prison, his decision to be ankle monitored to be with his daughter, and how he feels all of this may affect her in the future. He’s an achingly good person and you add him to your “Protect At All Costs” mental list you’ve started.

Steve is stiff. He doesn’t see the humor in your calendar question (you have to show him the Australian firefighter one with the baby animals for reference) to which he begrudgingly requests the month of May and says a casual suit with flowers in lieu of a pocket square. You suggest him sitting slightly towards a camera, painting a field full of flowers...he seems to like the idea and it makes him relax a little - and you’ll have to thank Sam for that tidbit of information he’d given you. You ask Steve a lot about his life before Captain America, how he thinks it would have gone differently if Dr. Erskine had lived, and what he initially liked about the modern world. He tells you about art school and Bucky, getting beat up on a near regular basis in alleys all over Brooklyn, how he discovered Mr. Rogers’ TV show early one afternoon after moving into the compound.

Vision, on the other hand, doesn’t have a lot of life experience to draw upon but he’s a wealth of knowledge. He talks about JARVIS and ULTRON, the differences between the two of them and Tony, he talks about how DUM-E knows who he is and how loyal he is to Tony. He then shows you who DUM-E is, the bot jerkily “shaking” your hand as you marvel over how not just Tony has evolved but his creations as well. Do you coo how smart and handy the robot it? Of course. But it’s worth it to see the robot nodding as you talk about how smart his dad is. DUM-E then gives you a tiny circuit board before you leave, Vision remarking that he likes you very much to have done so. You scribble down a note to ask Tony if that’s okay that you have that.

Peter is your last interview before dinner, and holy cow, everyone in the compound is a fucking genius. Peter tells you about his web fluid, the neighborhood where he’s grown up, and it’s clear how much he admires Tony from how reverently he speaks. Their relationship, you notice, is a little more parent/child than a mentor/mentee relationship. It’s adorable with a tinge of awkward. Peter shows you pictures he’s taken swinging all over New York and you show him where he can get a Spider-Man ice cream. He asks you just as many questions as you do and you chuckle when he refers to nearly every movie before his date of birth as “a really old movie”. You show him a few Charlie Chaplin shorts to show him what exactly “really old” is. He, in turn, shows you Tik Tok videos that you both laugh over.

“Do you like serial killer stuff?” He asks as you both head to the dining room for dinner, tucking his phone back into his pocket, both sets of your sneakers squeaking ever so slightly on the expensive floors.

“I think most women do.”

“Why do you think that?” His little focused face is adorable, trying to link it up in his head.

“Women always think they can do things better. And they’re usually right, just to let you know.” He nods seriously. “We’re outraged by it but intrigued. Pretty sure women can get blood out of just about anything - I’ve gotten red nail polish out of khaki pants by sheer will alone. It’s different for everyone, I guess. But mostly I think it helps us to collectively learn how to plausibly commit the perfect murder while we drink wine from the couch and shove snacks in our faces. And possibly solve a crime in our heads.”

“Huh,” Peter’s brow is still furrowed but he’s nodding his understanding. Peter looks up to find Bucky studying you, and when you look at Peter, he’s just smiling. “Excuse me.” You nod, watching him high-five Shuri before you feel someone by your side. Dr. Strange gestures to your ever-moving seat, which tonight is between Okoye and Wanda.

“Thank you,” you murmur gratefully, not noticing the quick clench of Bucky’s hand as he moves around Strange to his own seat opposite Natasha.

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Rhodey steals you after dinner, Sam teasing him as they disappear to his office.

“Come on, man. Just talk to her.”

“Shut up, bird brain.”

“She’s pretty nice. I was concerned she was just gonna go after us, with the questioning, but she eased into it and just didn’t focus on the darker stuff. She seems to want to get to know us as people.”

“It’s weird, huh?” Clint comments as Hope nods.

“It’s nice to be treated like a person. Not someone who’s infallible or holier than thou…” T’Challa remarks from his spot in the plush crimson chair across from them.

“Very inclusive, as well,” Okoye adds as Shuri and Peter come skidding into the room, Peter holding a tablet.

“What are you two doing?” Steve asks as he arches one blonde eyebrow high at the two.

“Nothing,” Shuri says smoothly, Peter nodding a few times too many when Tony comes into the room.

“Why is there a herd of deer in my hanger?” Both teens shoot off towards the patio door, laughing the whole time. “I don’t know what they did, but Redwing is acting like a herding dog with them, so you might need to go check that out, Sam.”

“Damn kids, I swear...I’m gonna need to squash me a spider…” He mutters loudly, heading briskly for the hanger.

“So, you gonna talk to our little journalist?” Tony smirks down at Bucky, which makes him scowl at the billionaire.

“I’m supposed to do that tomorrow,” He grumbles, making Tony smirk harder.

“You know that’s not what I mean, Tin Man.” Bucky wisely says nothing as he tries to calm his ramping up heart rate. “Even the kids have noticed you looking.”

“He has some competition,” Vision adds, smiling at Wanda who tilts her head slightly but returns his smile. “DUM-E.” Tony snorts, shaking his head as he turns away to gather himself.

“The robot? So the two are evenly matched then.” Natasha chuckles out, taking a healthy sip of her gin and tonic as she meets Bucky’s eyes.

“Nat, that’s not fair. The robot shook her hand and gave her a circuit board. He’s leagues ahead of Buck.” Clint teases, taking Natasha’s drink and taking his own healthy sip before handing it back. Bucky looks at his best friend, who is trying desperately to stop his shoulders from shaking with his laughter.

“40’s you would be ashamed. A robot who can’t talk?”

“Bucky Barnes vs a Roomba!” Shuri comments from behind Tony before making a break for it down the hallway with Sam hot on her tail. T’Challa, Okoye, and Bucky all point Sam down the hallway where she disappeared to when he comes panting into the living room.

“Now me is more inclined to hit your once-asthmatic ass for being the little shit you are,” Bucky growls at Steve, getting up from the couch turning to head to his room, only to freeze when he sees you and Rhodey standing by Peter in the door frame to the patio.

“Do you know there are deer in the hanger? And are you guys running a weird robot/human fight club?”

“Is that all you heard?” Tony asks, turning around and slinging his arm over the back of the couch with a smile flirting on his lips.

“We picked up the pace getting in here when we heard Shuri shout Bucky Barnes vs a Roomba. I mean, I’ve seen a raccoon with a machine gun, so that would have just been something else to add to the Weird Shit I’ve Seen list.” You press your lips together hard to keep from laughing at Rhodey’s nonchalant attitude and suddenly, Bucky isn’t as pissy as before. Well, he is - but at his friends - not at you.

Shit.

It’s been three days. Three fucking days and he’s smitten.

“Goodnight,” He says gruffly before retreating down the hall.

He’s nearly in his room, so he doesn’t hear you ask if you’ve done something wrong.

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Tagging: @jewelofwinter @sgtjbuccky @jaamesbbarnes @thewhiterabbit42 @nobodys-baby-now @unleashthemidnight @stay-frosty-royal-unicorn @chelsea072498 @clockworkmorningglory @sakurablossom4 @marichromatic @blondecoffeecake @ourloveisforthelovely @whinywingedwinchester @feelmyroarrrr

NOTE: Found the pic online and edited it, props to Google and all rights/privileges/ownership goes to who took the photo and to Marvel who made up all these characters. 

[PART 2]

[doomdays-a]

common  misconceptions  about  tracy.

these  are  just  a  few  thinks  that  have  irked  me  when  digging  in  the  deep,    dark  depths  of  tracy’s  tag  and  sometimes  in  some  threads  with  people  over  the  last  year   (  +  )   that  i’ve  been  writing  tracy,         and  i  understand  how  easy  it  is  to misread  a  character if  you’re  not  studying  them  personally   /    don’t  care  as  much  about  them  as  the  ones  who  are  writing  them,       so  i  don’t  blame  anyone  for  it    —–     but  this  is  a  character  who  gets  a  lot  of mindless  hate,      a  lot  of  it  stemming  from   the  fact  that  people  just  didn’t  care  to  try  to  understand  her when  she  was  on  the  show.        i  respect  that  our  opinions  may  not  align,       but  i  needed  to  write  all  of  this  out  for  people  to  understand  where  i  stand  on  all  of  it.      i’ll  also  link  all  metas  relating  to  these  misconceptions.

tracy  was  a  lovesick  girl  obsessed  with  theo  and  making  him  her  boyfriend.        

yes,    tracy  loved  theo,      but  in  ways  that  needed  no romantic  connotations.       she  was  loyal  because  she  had  NOTHING  before  theo.       he  offered  her  guidance  that  she  had  been  searching  for all  her  life.       without  a  mother  for  most  of  her  life    +     a  father  who  only  gave  her  attention  when  he  had  to,        she  needed  someone  to help  mentor  her,      and  she  latched  onto  theo  quickly.       but  what  people  often  forget  is  that  tracy’s  prominent  genetics  are  the  KANIMA.       kanimas  seek  masters,      someone  to guide  them,     someone  to  use  as  their  weapon  of  vengeance,         someone  to   give  them  orders.     it’s  why  theo  and  tracy  work  so  well  together     —–       theo  needs  people  who  are  willing  to  act  as  his  tool  to  get  what  he  wants.      tracy  is  willing  to  be  that  for  him  because  her  genetics pull  her  to  him,       making  everything  he  needs  a  priority.        tracy  NEVER  cared  about  having  a  boyfriend,       nor  did  she  care  about  being romantically  involved  with  theo.     that  was never  a  priority,      just  a  BONUS  between  them.      it  was  something  that  heightened  their  bond,       though  not  at  all  necessary  to  the  relationship.         it’s  important  to  remember  that  she  wasn’t  constantly  by  his  side  because  she  was too  obsessed  and  sickly  in  love  with  him,       but  because  she  RESPECTED  him  as  an  alpha,     a  master,    a  genuine  friend  and  the  FIRST  real  friend  she  has  ever  had,        and  as  a  LEADER.       her  idea  of   the  perfect  alpha  was  skewed;       she  believed  the  way  theo  behaved  was  the  way  alphas  were supposed  to  behave,      and  that  as  his  beta,      it  was her  responsibility  to  always  protect  him  and  put  him  before  herself,      in  every  situation.     being  LOYAL  doesn’t  mean  she  was simply  obsessed.  

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tracy  and  the  rest  of  the  pack  were  close.    

this  definitely  isn’t  true  on so  many  levels,      but  i’m  going  to  start  with  the  fact  that  it  was  IMPORTANT  to  this  entire  arc  that  this  pack  was  not  close.        to  insist   that  they  were  close  and  all  got  along  as  a  happy  family  as  scott’s  pack  did  is  to  totally  invalidate   what  really  happened  between  them  all.       theo  was  NOT  a  good  alpha   in  terms  of  how  he  treated  his  betas       (  despite  tracy’s  own  skewed  thoughts on  the  matter.   )     this  doesn’t  mean  they  didn’t  have  their  own  friendships      ——     josh  obviously  looked  out  for  corey,      hayden  and  corey  were  close,       hayden  cared  for  tracy  as  seen  once  she  found  her  dead  body  even  though  that  definitely wasn’t  reciprocated.       hayden  was  trying  to  be  part  of  the  pack  because  she  thought  that  was   what  she  had  to  do,      eventually  straying  and  joining  the  other  pack.       corey  was back  and  forth giving  insider   information  to  both  packs  and  tracy  could  see  that,      also  having  reason  not  to  trust  him  given  his  connection  to  mason.       tracy  didn’t  like  hayden  or  corey because  of  their  constant  back-and-forth  and  their  hesitance  to  trust  theo  immediately  as  she  did.       she  saw  them  as  weak    (    often,    unrightfully  so.    )

but   more  specifically,      i  want  to  talk  about  josh  as  i’ve  seen  so  many  edits,     imagines,    thoughts,    etc.    that  allude  to  the  fact  that  these  two  were  CLOSE.      while  they  were  seen  together  most,       that  doesn’t  mean  she  liked  him.      she  tolerated  him  because  he  was  the  only  one  of  the  pack  besides  her  who  seemed  to  be sticking  around,      but  more  often  than  not,      she  was  ANNOYED  with  him.         he second  guessed  theo,      he talked  back  to  him,      he  acted  ungrateful  for  what  he  had,      and  that  wasn’t  something  tracy  could  never  get  behind.      she  never  had  any  sort  of  respect  for  josh.      she  liked  him  BETTER  than  the  other  two in  the  pack,      but  that  didn’t  mean  she  enjoyed  his  presence.      this  is   especially  true  when  they  have  the  mask.       she  knows  josh  is  the  only  one  capable of  putting  it  on without  dying    ——    he  has  POWER  that  the  rest  don’t,     and  this  is  an  advantage  for  him.      it frustrates  her  that  he’s  not  taking  advantage  of  it,     especially  since  she’s  quick  to  use  her  own  newfound  powers  whenever  she  sees  the  opportunity.        this  is  a  real  opportunity  for  josh  to  help  the  pack  be  one  step  closer  to   their  overall  goal    (    an  in  general,     get  answers  that  they  can’t  find  elsewhere    )     and  he  refuses  to  help.      to  tracy,     this  makes  him  seem  disloyal  and  worthless  to  the  pack.    

i  don’t  know  what  it  is  that  makes  everyone  convinced  that  she  cared  about  josh  at  all,     but   i  think  the  scene  after  he  dies  is  one  of  her  most  misread  scenes  there  is.     i’ve  seen  a   lot  of  posts  about  how  she  was    ‘   obviously  so  broken  up  about  watching  him  die  ‘   but  i  will  continue  to  refute  this.      tracy  blindly  supports  theo  in  everything  he  does.       if  he  wants  one  of  their  pack  members  dead,     then  to  her,     that’s  something  that’s  necessary  and  beneficial  to  them.      she  TRUSTS  his  decisions;    he’s  her alpha,     she’s  made  to  believe  that  he  knows  what’s  best  for  all  of  them.      josh  had  just  literally  proved  himself  USELESS  to  the  pack  because  he  refused  to  do  the  one  thing  that  only  he  could  do  and  that  the  pack  desperately  needed.      what  does  theo  do  when  something  is  worthless  to  him?      he  gets  rid  of  it   ——-     that’s  something  tracy  has  picked  up  on  and  uses  herself.      her  reaction  to  josh’s  death  was  of  SURPRISE,     not  remorse.      she  was  surprised  it  happened  so  suddenly,     but  she didn’t  blame  theo for  doing  it.      they  needed  josh’s  power  and  if  josh  wasn’t  going  to  use  it  himself,      they  had  to  take  matters  into  their  own  hands,     which  is  exactly  what  theo  did.     “   he  was  small  and  inexperienced, ‘“   ——-    it  was  a  reminder  to  her  that  she  couldn’t  be  that.      it’s  a  WARNING  from  theo.      if  you’re  not  willing  to  oblige  by  theo’s  rules,     you  have  no  purpose in  this  pack    ——    and  the  last  thing  she  wanted  to  be  was  something  worthless  to  theo.     she  didn’t  respect  josh,      she  had  no  remorse  for  his  death,      and  she  thought  their  pack  was  better  off without  someone  who  was  so  willing  to  disobey  his  alpha.  

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tracy  and  her  dad  were  close   /   she  respected  her  father.

she  kills  him  that  night,       presumably  because  she  was  trying  to get  rid  of  everyone  who  was  trying  to  help  her     ———      but  there’s  more  to  look  at.       tracy  kills  her  father,   her  psychiatrist,      and  attempts  to  kill  her  guidance  counselor,     natalie  martin.       while  we  haven’t  seen  her  relationship    with  her  psychiatrist,       we  have  seen  the  very  POOR  attempts  that  natalie  and  her  father  had  given  to  try  to  help  her.        they  reduced  her  problems,      made  them  seem  as  if  they  were  nothing  to  worry  about  and  made  her  feel  as  if  she  were  simply  CRAZY  for  envisioning  and  feeling  the  things  she  felt  because  of  them.     natalie  reduced  it  to    ‘ common  anxiety  about  senior   year .  ‘        her  father  treated  it  as  if  it  was   ‘ just  a  dream ‘   and  that  it  was  ridiculous  that  she  needed  real  comfort  and  protection  at  night.      these  people  hadn’t  HELPED  HER,      they  only  made  her  feel  worse  about  herself  because  they  refused  to  accept  she  was  truly  struggling.       of  course,     the  dread  doctors  didn’t  want  anything  in  her  way  of becoming  the  monster  she  was  meant  to  be.      besides  her  father,      she  had  no  one  else.,   no  tie to  anyone  here.       by  controlling  her  and  manipulating  her  into  killing  him,    they  rid  her  of  any  ties  she  had  to  a NORMAL,    HUMAN  life,      so  they  could  take  over  and  be  her  master       (     and  after  she  fails,      it’s  theo  who  gets  to  take  over  that  title.   )    

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tracy  wanted  to  be  saved.

this  is  a  big  one    —–     one  that  i’ve  run  into  many  issues  with  when  it  comes  to  writing  with   others  who  want  to  save  tracy.       it’s  great  if  your  character wants  to  try,     it’s  very in  character for  many  of  the  canon  characters  on  this  show    ——      but  you  have  to  remember  that  tracy’s  mindset does  not  align with  theirs.         she  is  convinced  that  theo  was  the  one  doing  the  saving.       the  dread  doctors  don’t  give  much  room  for  chimeras  to be  saved,       they’re  doomed  FAILURES  and  that’s  all  there  is  to  it.      her  first  death  was  inevitable.      it’s  what  happens  after  she  comes  back  that  makes  this  important  to  note.     she  is  content  with  being  with  the  villain.     she  has  confidence,     she  has  power,      and  she’s  with  the  alpha  who  knows  MORE  about  what  they’re  up  against  than  scott  does.      not  to  mention,     she  knows  scott  and  his  pack  wanted  to  save  her  from  becoming  the  creature  she  is  now    ——-    which  would  only  take  away  everything  she  has  been  so  thankful  for,      so  she  believes  scott  would  have  RUINED  HER if  he  had  been  able  to   ‘   save  her.    ‘         while  other  members  in  the  pack  second  guess  theo  and  start  to  wonder  if  they’re  better  off  elsewhere,       everything  that  should  look  alarming  to  tracy  DOESN’T.        her  ideas  were  skewed;      she  believed  that  he  was  supposed  to  treat  his  pack  the  way  he  did  and  that  it  was  just  an  honor  to  be  able  to  work  alongside  him.        

this  often  leads  me  to  a  standstill  in  any  plot  where  your  character  wants  to  save  tracy  from  theo.      IT’S  IMPOSSIBLE.       you  can’t  convince  her  to  ever  turn  her  back  on  someone  who  she  is  genetically  connected  to  because  of  her  kanima  genes  +    someone  who  was giving  her  guidance  that  she  had  been  longing  for  all  her  life.      he  was  her  first  real  friend,      that  wasn’t  something  she  could  give  up.       while  i   never  mind  writing  this  out  because  it  IS  interesting  for  tracy  to  continue  that  fight,       you  have  to  understand  this  if  this  is  the  direction  your  character  intends  to  go   ——    they  can  try  to  save  tracy  if  it’s  in  their  nature  to  do  so,      but  she  won’t  oblige.      there  is  NO  WAY  to  change  her  mind,     unfortunately.  

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tracy  suddenly  becoming  cold  was  out  of  character   /    didn’t  make  sense.

i  can  understand  why  this  may  be  confusing  from  the  outside  while  not  looking  into  it,     but  we  have  to  remember  a  few  very  important  things.      1)    tracy  was  dead  for  a   month.       this  has  been  a  running  fact  throughout  this  show    —–      death  changes  you.      there’s  a  darkness  that  surrounds  you  that  will  always  be  with  you  once  you’ve  died.       tracy  wasn’t  dead  for  a few  minutes,     for    a  day,      she  was  dead  for  an  entire  month.         it  wasn’t  necessarily  that  she  just  embraced  darkness,       but  that  she  literally  was  brought  back  from  the  darkness.       before,      she  never  had  guidance  from  anyone     (   no  mother,     a  nearly  absentee  father.   )       she  had  no  friends,     no  one  she  was  close  to.      even  the  school’s  guidance  counselor  told  her  that  her  serious  problems   were  just   ‘   common  anxiety   ‘     and  that  she  had  nothing  to  worry  about.       she  was  never  treated  fairly  by  anyone,     so  she  never  felt  like  she  belonged  anywhere.      

theo  noted  himself  as  her  alpha  and  instantly  said    ‘   you  belong  to  me.   ‘        this  instantly  clicked  for  tracy.        it  gave  her  a place  to  belong.      it  gave  her  someone  to  follow,     which  was  something  she  always  desired.      it  was  because  she  had  no  tie  to  anyone  in  her  previous  life  that  i’m  sure  theo  found  it  easy  to  prey  on  her.      while  another  chimera  with  ties  to  their  life  before  death  could  gravitate   to  them,     tracy  had  no  one  to  do  that  with   —–    she  only  had  theo,      making  it  so  that  her  focus  was  entirely  on  him.        for  a  girl  who  had  just  been  dead  for  a  month  to  come  back  and  know  NO  ONE  and  have  no  family  with  a  house  that  is  a  crime  scene,      where  was  she  going  to  go  and who  would  she  turn  to?     ——       the  person  who brought  her  here.        in  her  mind,       theo  didn’t save  her  life,      he  CREATED  it.      the  life  she  has  now  is  a  complete  180  from  who  she  was  before,     and  that’s  important  for  her  to  take  advantage  of.

deucalion  says  it  best    —–     “   just  how  powerless  were  you  before  all  of  this  happened?     in  my  experience,     it’s  the truly  powerless  who  are  all too  eager to  demonstrate  their  newfound  strength.     “       he’s  right  about  tracy.      she  was  completely  powerless  before  theo,      but  now  he  offered  her  a  place  to  have  power   —    instantly  making  her  feel  confident  on  a  level  she  felt  nearly  invincible.      it  was  liberating  to  tracy  because  she  finally  felt  like  she  had  a  PURPOSE,     because  that  was  what  theo  did  for  her.        all  she  had  left  was  this  power.    the  only  person  she  had  was  theo.       it  would  have  been  difficult  for   her  to  avoid  darkness  at  all.

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tracy  felt  betrayed  by  theo  when  he  killed  her.

tracy’s  main  goal was  to  be  everything  that  theo  needed  her  to  be.       she  was  literally  his  PERFECT  WEAPON in  this  sense.      what  he  needed,     she  did.      she  was  always  more  concerned  about  his  safety  than  her  own     (     that  was  why  she  often  attacked  people  without  thinking  of her  own  safety   because  she  knew  she  could create  a  wall  between  theo  and  the  victim.    )        if  he  thought  that  the  only  way  he  could  defeat  the  beast  and  take  its  power  was  to  have tracy’s  powers,      she  would  give  them  to  him.      in  her  mind,     he  deserved  them,     and  she  was  here  to  do  whatever  she  could  to  make  sure  he  got  them.       he  had  to  have  known  this  anyway,      not  that  he  ever  needed  her  permission    —–    but  it  was  obvious  that  she  was  willing  to  do  anything  for  him.

if  she  knew  that  was  the  best  option  for  him  and  knew  it  was  really  what  he  wanted,        she  would  have  no  problem  giving  up  herself  and  her  power for  him  as  long  as  it  helped  him  survive.           theo  killing  tracy  was  not  an   act  of  betrayal  to  her,       and  it  wouldn’t  be  had  she  survived  the  attack.         she  would  simply  be  GRATEFUL  that  she  could  offer  him  something.        this  is  the  main  reason  i  do  not  interact  in  a  canon  timeline  past  season  five     —–     what  happened  here  was  very  much   in  character  for  both  characters  and  showed  a  lot  about  who  they  were,       especially  to  each  other        (    theo  willing  to  sacrifice  even  his  best  beta  just  for  his  selfish needs,        tracy  so  heavily  manipulated  by  him  that  she  would  be  willing  to  give  herself  up  for  him.    )      

tracy’s  beliefs:       she  died  in  the  arms  of  the man  she  loved.      she  died  in  turn  for  theo  to  be  more  powerful,     which  was  always  her  main  goal.       she  would never  regret helping  theo,      even  if  having  her  powers  didn’t  last  long  for  him.

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if  tracy  survived  theo’s  attack,      she  would  go  to  scott’s  pack.

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tracy  wasn’t  important  to  theo.

i  know  i’m  overstepping  on  this  one  as  this  is  more  of  a  meta  for  theo,      but  her  character  is  often  invalidated  because  people  forget  the  connection  these  two  had,      and  this  post  would  be  irrelevant  if  i  didn’t  touch  on  the  BIGGEST  misconception  of  all.      let  me  preface  this  by  saying  this  is  something  i’ve  discussed  with  @nctafailure  over  and  over  again,      getting  a  real  look  into  theo’s  perception  in  all  of  this.        what  people  seem  to  forget  is  that  killing  tracy  was  never  part  of  theo’s  overall  plan      (   neither  was  josh,     for  that  matter.    )      the  murder  of  both  of  his  beta’s  death  were  an  act  of  IMPULSE.     he  needed  their  power  right  then  and  there,     so  he took  it.      

tracy  was  his  BEST  BETA.     she  was  someone  who  was blindly  loyal  to  him,    and  he  knew  she  wouldn’t  disobey  him.      theo  is  a  guy  who  uses  people  as  tools.      he  wants  things  to  work  in  his  favor.      he  wants  HIS  WAY.      why  would  he  disregard  someone  who  has  literally  made  it  in  NUMBER  ONE  GOAL  in  her  life  to  please,    protect,    and  obey  him?      he  has  the  most  useful  tool of  all,      his  own  kanima  that  he  has  mastered.      while  no,     he  didn’t  care  for  her  on  a  personal  level     (    i  haven’t  forgotten  WHO  we’re  talking  about   )       she  was  still  a  good  resource for  him.       she  looked  out  for  him,      she  protected  him,      she  was  violent  to  those  he  needed  out  of  his  way.       in  the  end,     theo  cares  about  what’s  useful  to  him,      and  tracy  was.      

he  valued  her  opinion   (   she  was  always  there  to  back  him  up  with  anything.    )        even  if  he  worried  he  made  a  bad  decision,      she  would  assure  him  he  didn’t.        he  asked  her  for  validation.         though  we  only  saw  this  once  in  canon,     it’s  pretty  obvious  that  it’s  not  the  only  time  he’s  needed  it.      after  he  kills  josh  and  deucalion  reminds  him  he’s  only  making  his  pack  smaller,      theo  is  quick  to  look  over  to  tracy  and  ask  her,    ‘   what  do  you  think?   ‘     he  knows  she’s  going  to  remind  him  that  he  made  the  BEST  decision  that  would  end  up  helping  them.    

he  trusted  her  with  an  important  task.      they  had  created  an  alliance  with  the  desert  wolf.      he  got  the  talons  that  would  take  the  beast’s  power,     and  she  got  her  daughter  to  kill.       for  theo  to  hold  up  his  end  of  the  bargain,      he  sent  tracy  to  open  the  mountain  ash  to  let  the  desert  wolf  in  to  kill  malia.      this  was  something  he  wanted  to  ensure  happened,     and  he  trusted  tracy  with  the  mission  rather  than  the  rest  of  the  pack,      probably  because  he  knew  they  wouldn’t  have  accomplished  it.    

yes,    he  killed  her.     but  he  killed  her  for  his  own  selfish  needs,   not  because  he wanted  her  dead.   this  wasn’t  a  malicious  effort  to  get  rid  of  her;      it  was  an  act  of  SURVIVAL.       i’m  not  saying  it  was  okay  for  him  to  kill  whoever  he  needed  to  get  his  way,      but  to  insist  that  he  had  always  planned to  kill  her  or  that  he  had  killed  her  because  he  didn’t  want  her  is  bogus.       it’s  also  very  clear  that  he  didn’t  even  have  that  idea  until  AFTER  the  kiss    ( i see  all  the  time  that  he  only  kissed  her  to  kill  her,     but  he  literally did  not  have  to  kiss  her  for  that  to  work.    at  all.   )         he  needed  to  HEAL,     tracy   didn’t  have  the  ability  to  take  his  pain.    she  put  the  idea  in  his  head  that  they  needed  to  rest  and  take  a  step  back,     and  he  needed  to  move  forward.     he  needed  to  take  the  beast’s  power  and  time  was  running  out.      if  he  took  her  power,     he  could  use  that  and  be  STRONGER.     right  now,     his  only  goal  was  getting  the  beast’s  power,     with  or  without  a  pack  by  his  side.     killing  her  was  impulsive,      not  planned  as  the  deaths  he  wanted  from  the  mccall  pack  were.

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Panels Far, Far Away: A Week in Star Wars Comics 7/3/19

Some of the galaxy’s most notorious criminals set their sights on the Dark Lord of the Sith, we finally reach the Age of Resistance, and Lando and Chewie get a taste for the fast and the furious this week in Star Wars comics.

Star Wars Adventures #24 written by Ian Flynn and Arie Kaplan and art by Tony Fleecs and and Drew Moss

IDW closes out its mini arc of Adventures issues starring iconic original trilogy heroes this week with Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca. While it still comes in short in comparison to Cavan Scott and Derek Charm’s amazing Han and Luke team up, Ian Flynn and Tony Fleecs close out this three issue project with plenty of energy and a sense of fun.

Flynn puts Lando and Chewbacca in charge of a mission to locate a potential source pivotal to helping the Alliance secure vital trade routes after the Battle of Endor. However, it turns out that Lando’s plan to catch up with this source is a deadly space sport known as “battle racing.” To make matters worse, it turns out that Lando’s source is a particularly thorny racer known as Sebulba. Yes, that Sebulba. The cheating little Dug evolved from podracers to spaceships. Flynn and Fleecs have a great time setting up the race and its contestants and Fleecs excels at these fast-paced moments of excitement and action. It’s almost a shame that we don’t get more of the race before the Imperials arrive the crash it. Regardless, it makes for a fun time.

“Tales from Wild Space” is a bit of an oddity this week. Its story of Jabba the Hutt learning to appreciate the work that Bib Fortuna does form him is charming on its own and filled with lots of decidedly dark slapstick humor, but it is hard not to shake the gross reality of both of these characters. These are gangsters that traffic in slavery, drugs, and all manner of shady business. Being endeared to them can’t help but feel a little weird and uncomfortable and it gives the segment a weird sense of dramatic irony.

Score: B

Star Wars Age of Resistance: Finn #1 written by Tom Taylor and art by Ramon Rosanas

We’ve finally reached the sequels and Tom Taylor is prepared to guide us through eight of the newest generation’s most iconic heroes and villains. Given the mystery still shrouding many of these characters, it’s hard not to feel that Age of Resistance is the most anticipated of the three limited series especially with the conclusion to this trilogy arriving in December.

Fittingly, we open with Finn. The stormtrooper turned rebel was one of the first characters we got to know in The Force Awakens and it seems appropriate that we begin this eight issue journey with him.

There is a bit of confusion when it comes to plotting Finn’s early days. Pre-release material for The Force Awakens, such as the middle grade novel Before the Awakening, painted Finn as a capable but compassionate soldier that was torn between his skills for battle and his innate care for his fellow stormtroopers. After The Force Awakens, a throw away joke about Finn being on sanitation patrol at Starkiller Base has more or less transformed his past into him being a janitor. It’s still not really clear how both visions of the character fit together at this point, and “Infestation” does little to really clarify that.

We open with Finn on sanitation duty before being drafted for a clean up mission in the sewers of Starkiller Base. It turns out there is a race of deadly batlike creatures living beneath the icy superweapon and they have a taste for First Order personnel. However, while Finn and his squadmates battle for their lives against these beasts it turns out that there may be more to them than meets the eye.

It is a bit odd that we have had two comics now that focus on Finn’s early days of being a stormtrooper and both have focused on him attempting to save small purple creatures from extermination by the First Order. Yes, the similarities between Tom Taylor’s story here and IDW’s “Star Wars Adventures #3″ are more than a bit uncanny, except Taylor’s Age of Resistance issue features 100% more decapitations. Are there really so little stories to tell about Finn’s stormtrooper career that saving small purple animals is the default?

On its own, “Infestation” is serviceable if not remarkable. Taylor’s dialogue has a strong sense for Finn’s voice and it’s easy to see this version of the character lining up well with John Boyega’s energetic and vulnerable portrayal in the films. The early sequences that involve Finn and his squadmates fighting off the alien creatures in the sewers brings entertaining Aliens vibes and does some legwork in showing Finn as both capable soldier while also being someone who is willing to break the rules to save those in need.

It’s a decent start to this era of Star Wars one-shots but it’s hard not to feel disappointed at the results here, especially if you are a fan of Finn. It proves serviceable if not remarkable.

Score: B-

Star Wars: Target Vader #1 written by Robbie Thompson and art by Marc Laming

You just can’t keep a good Sith Lord down. Less than a month after his previous limited series wrapped up, Marvel has launched yet another six issue Darth Vader tale so you can get your fix. Writer Robbie Thompson has taken a different approach that will hopefully lead to a strong series down the road even if its debut issue is a bit uneven.

The Hidden Hand is wreaking havoc in the galactic underworld. Selling weaponry to the rebellion and operating with complete discretion and anonymity, this criminal syndicate has attracted the attention of the Emperor himself. With Darth Vader dispatched to hunt down and put an end to this organization, the Hidden Hand prepares to strike back with a strike team of its own with one mission: kill Vader.

On face value, following a team of bounty hunters charged with assassinating Darth Vader is a fun and enticing premise for a comic series. Making the series a split narrative following a hunted Vader, who is also playing detective, and the bounty hunter leading the team charged with eliminating him makes for an exciting dual narrative that is rich with tension and divided loyalties.

The problems start to show once we are introduced to our mercenary lead, Beilert Valance. Valance was a cult favorite character from Marvel Comics’s original Star Wars run from the late 70’s and 80’s who recently made a reappearance in this year’s tribute continuation of the same comic. Sporting a robotic skeleton and all manner of cybernetic gadgets, Valance was the Terminator before the actual Terminator. Recanonizing the character is a fun idea and making him the lead for this series seems like a natural fit.

The issue is that Thompson doesn’t give us much of a personality for Valance besides him being a cool badass. There’s little to Valance as a character besides being an angry, part robot loner who doesn’t take any shit. It makes for a fun side character or antagonist, but as a protagonist it gives the reader little to latch onto. Given that he’s about to face off against another angry, part robot loner who doesn’t take any shit, it robs the book of much of a charisma or emotional resonance. Maybe Thompson is gearing us up for a comparison of the two? A “good” cyborg vs a bad one? No matter who wins, humanity loses? We’ll have to wait and see.

The Hidden Hand is another plot device that feels a little misguided here. Thompson apparently spoils his biggest mystery on the closing pages of this issue and the answer is less than inspired.

On the plus side, Marc Laming may be the best artist currently working under Marvel’s Star Wars line. His detailed pencils are always impressive and when paired with the right colorist, like with Neeraj Menon in the amazing Age of Rebellion Boba Fett issue, the results are frequently stunning. Thankfully, Menon returns here and the pages he oversees are great, but he is also joined by three others and these can’t help but feel inferior.

Hopefully this was just a rough start and the story will begin to pick up from here, but it’s hard not to be disappointed. Given that the best part of this comic was undeniably the art team, who is leaving after this first installment, we will have to wait and see until August to get a sense of whether this a hunt worth taking.

Score: B-

[creativeashproductions]

Blessing in Disguise // Scott McCall

Summary: As a newlywed you were anticipating a blessing coming into your lives until you were ready. A cold night brings a new member into your family while also juggling the pack. Are you and Scott ready for the responsibility?

Characters: Scott McCall x Reader, OFC!Andy, Stiles Stilinski, Lydia Martin, Malia Tate, Sheriff Stilinski, Melissa McCall, Jackson x Ethan, Nolan Holloway (a reluctant pack member), Theo Raeken, Mason x Corey, Derek Hale, Liam Dunbar, OC!Reese, and OFC!Lucy.

Words: 4181

Disclaimer: I do now own Teen Wolf or the characters. I do not own any gifs that appear in this either or images because they’re probably off google images.

Warnings: Possible swearing, mention of death, car accident, angst, fluff and fighting.

Author: Caitsy.

A/N: A twisted version of the movie Life as We Know It with Katherine Heigel and Josh Duhamel.

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You stood there in the room staring at the little baby girl in a carrier ever so carefully set on the Sheriff’s desk. All she was did was sleeping through what you would consider the most life changing and heartbreaking thing. When Sheriff Stilinski called you into the station following a huge devastation in your life you didn’t expect this.

You twisted your ring on your wedding finger as the repercussions of losing your best friend impacted your life. Yesterday you were just a new wife of barely two months and now you were a mother also. And not in the traditional sense you had envisioned. Instead of happy, exhausted tears after a birth your face was painted with streams of watered down makeup and pain filled heart.

“W-what happened exactly?” You meekly questioned as a social worker stood stationary near the baby.

“Lucy and Reese were on their way home when a drunk driver hit them.” Sheriff Stilinski slowly began just at the door to his office burst open. You husband stood there taking in the room.

“Did they…they suffer?” You asked pressing your hand under your chin trying to keep from crying again.

“The medical examiner told me the force of the crash would have immediately died on impact. Their car was towed out of the water and a quick examination showed no struggle in their lungs.” Sheriff replied.

“What’s going on?”

“Scott. Lucy and Reese were killed last night around midnight.”

“They…they were celebrating their anniversary. It was the first night they weren’t home with Andy since they were still expecting.” You spoke. Your eyes still trained on the innocent little girl.

“Why are we here?” Your husband said coming closer to press a hand on your lower back. He was still in the scrubs he had left home in this morning.

“Lucy and Reese named you as the guardians for Andy if things would come to that.” The social worker replied stepping forward with her hand held out, “I’m Jane. I’ve been working after Andy since she was put in my care.”

“Wait. We’re now the parents of a little child?”

“Yes.”

“A cat or dog is significantly different from a baby.”

“Mr. McCall you have the right to make a decision if you want to place Andy up for adoption or not.” Jane said grabbing a bag to hand to you, “I’ve placed a list in the diaper bag of what you’ll need and how you should care for her. I know the first night is overwhelming amid the other emotions.”

“Uh. Thanks.” You mumbled while Sheriff sent a sympathetic smile at the two of you. Jane smiled reassuringly before she walked out of the office.

“I’ll drive you guys home.” Sheriff said grabbing his jacket from the hook.

“We can drive.” Scott said slowly walking to the carrier. His eyes were glued to the still form breathing with her lips only a tiny bit open.

“No you can’t. Scott you’re not blinking and not thinking properly.” Sheriff said placing his hand on Scott’s shoulder, “I’ll ask Parrish to take me home. Besides I still know my way around a car seat instalment.”

Needless to say Scott and you stood beside the car with Andy beginning to wake up and hushed profanities in the backseat. Sheriff was still trying to figure out the car seat.

“These damn things have changed!” Sheriff grunted leaning back to glare at the damn contraption.

“Things have changed Sheriff.” Scott chuckled, “You haven’t needed once since Stiles was a baby.”

“It shouldn’t be this difficult.”

“It’s been twenty-seven years since Stiles was physically able to fit in one.” You muttered as Scott awkwardly swayed Andy as her lip began to quiver.

“Don’t remind me that my adult son and the energy of a kid still.” Sheriff sighed pushing his hands into his hair as the rain started to fall, “That’s it.”

“Call Lydia?” Scott and you spoke at the same time knowing the genius would know. For christ sake she began a qualified professor because she was bored.

“I’d rather not call Ethan and Jackson.” You sighed rolling your eyes, “Jackson gloats about his kid and he would hold this over our head.”

“Jackson’s putting Max into kid lacrosse.” Scott replied, “He asked me if he would help train him.”

“Jackson did?” You asked shocked.

“Okay maybe Ethan asked me.” Scott chuckled as headlights lit you guys up and an annoyed girl got out of the vehicle.

“What do you need?” Lydia asked shutting her car off to join you, “When did you get pregnant and have a baby? I just saw you on Saturday.”

“This is Andy.” You grimaced as you remembered how you become the caregiver for the little girl.

“Andy as in Reese and Lucy’s little girl?” Lydia questioned stepping back in shock, “Lydia hadn’t been close with the couple but she had talked to them a little in high school.

“They were in an accident last night.” Scott supplied as Andy began to coo.

“Did they…”

“Yeah. They named us as the guardians.” Scott sighed as Lydia swooped in to correctly place the car seat in before undoing the straps of Andy to pull her jacket down and redoing the straps once she was done.

“Thank you.” You whispered watching as Andy latched onto her bunny with her mouth.

“If you need help call the Whittemores.” Lydia said beginning to walk back to her car, “Good luck.”

“This is really happening.” You sighed as Scott helped you to sit in the backseat before climbing into the front seat with the Sheriff.

“You’ll do fine. You have friends and family that will help.” Sheriff calmly stated, “You’ll figure it out.”

You had gotten into your small apartment while Sheriff was picked up by Parrish to return to the station. Scott placed Andy on the table before you realized something. You didn’t have anything for Andy to sleep in.

“Shit.” You groaned.

“Don’t swear in front of her.” Scott glared as he undid the straps to take Andy into his arms.

“We don’t have anything other than her diaper bag and carseat.” You sighed collapsing into the chair.

“Can we put her on the couch?”

“No. It’s not safe.” You sighed as the doorbell rang. Getting up you opened the door to see Ethan standing there with a small box and a larger one. Behind him Jackson stood holding their four year old son with striking features that matched Jackson.

“Lydia called us.” Ethan smiled coming in to place the boxes in the living room, “We have Max’s old crib and an extra play pen for you.”

“We got new things for our unborn baby.” Jackson smirked, “You can have the old ones.”

“Jackson shut up.” Ethan hissed before rolling his eyes.

“Your having another baby?” You questioned surprised.

“Our surrogate agreed to carry our baby again. We used Ethan’s sperm this time.”

“Sperm!” Max squealed clapping his hands together. Ethan groaned sending a heated glare to his husband.

“Stop talking.”

“Uh thanks.” Scott said grabbing one of the boxes to take to the spare room you had. It was empty seeing as you guys were saving up money for a house and you had just moved in last month.

“You should set up the play pen in your room for the night. She’ll want her parents and supporting her with help you all bond together.” Ethan said kneeling in the spare the spare bedroom to build the crib. Jackson bounced Max as the little boy yawned feeling the late night.

“Don’t heat the bottle in the microwave.” Jackson inserted, “Read stories to her.”

“Call if you need help.” Ethan said leaning back once the things were set up. Reaching for Jackson’s hand he led his family out of the apartment leaving you and Scott severely overwhelmed.

“We can do this right?” Scott gulped.

“I think so.” You nervously replied as Andy’s lip bang to quiver, “Is she going to-“

Andy interrupted your sentence by beginning to cry an insane amount. Shoving your hands into  your hair you winced at the height of the crying. What the hell do you do?

“What the hell.” Scott stated racing towards the diaper bag where three sheets of typed instructions were. Tips on what to do and how to do it.

“Maybe she’s hungry?” You suggested. Following the instructions to a ’t’ you gently picked up Andy from Scott to feed her. The only problem was that she immediately turned her face away, “Okay not hungry.”

“I’m calling my mom.” Scott called out over the screaming. You nodded while gently swaying with Andy.

You hummed remembering how you watched people in public places soothe their children but nothing was working. Her diaper was clean. She wasn’t hungry and the paper said she wasn’t teething yet. In the time you had seen her when her parents were living you barely remembered how they soothed her.

“I don’t think we can do this.” Scott sighed rubbing his tear-filled eyes. You were close to calling the social worker.

“Hey little bug.” You barely even heard Melissa walk into the apartment. Her soothing voice persuaded Andy to quiet down before she was smoothly switched into Melissa’s arms, “I’m Melissa. I’m his mother.”

While her screams weren’t as loud that didn’t mean that Andy was calming down at all. You were tempted to find any alcohol in the damn apartment but with Scott being unaffected you didn’t have any. Besides you didn’t want to start reluctant motherhood off as a drunken fool.

“Sweetheart you have stop crying. Hey can I tell you a story?” Melissa cooed gently bouncing Andy in her arms while supporting her head.

“Please. Please just stop crying.” You whimpered shoving your face into your hands. You didn’t even need to look to know that Scott was in the same boat.

It all came to a stop when Andy sighed before a sharp cute giggle came from her mouth. in her little hands was a slightly raggedy stuffed animal that had seen better days. You awed when Andy pulled the stuffed animal into her arms.

“How did you do that?” Scott marvelled with new respect for his mother.

“You were exactly the same. If you were crying and nothing helped we would give you this and you would quit crying on the spot.” Melissa explained, “This is Bear. It was yours.”

Scott smiled as his mother navigated parenthood with Andy within just a few moment. It was more calming then watching Ethan built both a crib and a play pen within ten minutes. It was more than a brainiac properly place a car seat in. It was knowing that a woman raising a son with a barely there father and then as the only parent he knew. If his mother could do this alone then Scott could do it with you.

“Thanks mom.” Scott whispered.

“It’s nothing.” Melissa grinned, “It’s more for my benefit because she is too cute.”

“I respect you so much more now.” Scott admitted hesitating to come closer to Andy.

“I’ll give you a tip. Parenting isn’t a science, you can’t learn everything from a book or an app. You learn through examples and by going through this. It’s scary, that I won’t lie, but it’s the most rewarding part of life.”

“Thank you.” You sighed as Melissa began to show you how to place Andy down and a visual presentation on how to do things.

“Did you know she doesn’t have a middle name?” You asked Scott as you sipped from the coffee cup early in the morning. You liked seeing a bare chested Scott cuddling Andy at the breakfast table while feeding her a bottle.

“She doesn’t?”

“When Lucy told me her name was Andy I asked her what the middle name was. Lucy told me that they wanted to choose her middle name when she was little older because it was a family tradition in Reese’s family.”

“Did they ever pick a name?”

“No. I wanted you to consider maybe giving her Reese as a middle name? I remember that Lucy was telling me that Reese is a family name. I want to keep that going so that Andy always had a piece of family.” You explained picking at the toast in front of you.

“We’ve had Andy for a week now. Have we decided if we want to keep her?” Scott asked shifting Andy into a proper burping position. He was rewarded with an adorable burp.

“I think we both know.” You chuckled looking at the little girl that was beginning to look like Lucy more and more each day.

“We should tell the pack.” Scott said looking up, “We could finally tell them that we have a little girl.”

“Guess we don’t need to find a babysitter for today.” You chuckled making faces at Andy.

That pack was having a more private school reunion to both celebrate surviving the perils of the supernatural. Things fluctuated in the town every once in a while with the large amount of the town knowing about the supernatural. If you were supernatural you were accepted by everyone but you were also aware of that invisible line between the humans and you guys.

“Do you think Lydia told Stiles?”

“Probably not.” You shrugged, “They haven’t spoke to each other in two years. Do you know what went wrong there? Lydia won’t tell me anything.” 
“Stiles won’t either.” Scott sighed, “They were together for nearly six years and out of no where broke up?”

“Distance?”

“Can’t be.” You huffed before grabbing Andy, “It’s my time on diaper duty.”

It was hard to adjust to having to remember you weren’t caring only for yourself anymore. You had to take it account of packing extra outfits if you went out for Andy, diapers and formula. You had make a schedule and not get frustrated when Andy woke you up in the night. You already loved her to bits though.

Of course you weren’t a whiz at parenthood yet, you called Melissa at least three days a day now which questions that most parents would find stupid. Melissa found it endearing and quite frankly was pleased that you two came to her for help instead of modern day technology.

“Did you grab extra diapers?” You called out with your keys in hand. You had placed your second hand car up for sale to get a better model, it would put a dent in your finances but you wanted safety for Andy.

“Yeah. Wipes are in there also.” Scott replied strapping Andy into her car seat with her ever present Bear. You swore she never could part with it unless it was bath time because her ducky took the role.

“We have the swing right?” You questioned turning the lights off in the room.

“Jackson and Ethan have their swing still set up.” Scott returned before opening up his newer SUV. His bike was still beside in it’s usual parking spot. Selling your car would allow you to use the SUV until you could buy a second hand vehicle of your own.

“We have everything.” You sighed as Andy gurgled with Bear’s ear in her mouth. The short journey to the Whittemore house was longer than usual and filled with the happy coos from the back seat.

Scott drove slower with Andy in the vehicle even if it meant getting rude gestures and yelling from passing vehicles. He couldn’t help it, you were both responsible for the safety of a vulnerable little human that couldn’t heal like Scott.

“How do you think Stiles will react?” You asked as the beat up jeep came into view parked on the street.

“It’s Stiles. We can’t right off the bat know what will happen.” Scott chuckled, “You want to grab the diaper bag?”

“Sure.” You shrugged while your husband shut the vehicle off to grab the curious baby.

Before either of you got to the door Ethan was already standing there with the door open and a welcoming smile on his face. Jackson would never truly admit it but marrying Ethan had mellowed him out and brought out of his egotistical self loathing. That and having a miniature version of himself helped.

“Hey guys.” Ethan smiled motioning you to step into the large foyer. Ethan knelt down to see Andy in all her glory.

You however continued into the living room where the pack was congregating as usual. Malia stood with her hands in her pockets striking up a conversation with Mason whereas Theo and Liam were bickering as usual. Corey was sitting the couch close to Mason. Nolan was shuffling on his feet under Stiles still suspicious look. Lydia was in a conversation with Alec, the newest member after the battle with Gerard and Monroe in Beacon Hills.

“I’m not into fashion or understanding it but that’s a strange version of a handbag.” Stiles said as you walked into the living room with the diaper bag resting on one shoulder.

“That’s because it isn’t.” Scott called out as he walked into the room.

“Who’s that?” Stiles asked walking closer, “I haven’t not seen you in nine months and I’m sure you would have told me about your child.”

“This is Andy. A week ago she came into our lives.”


“She looks a little older than a week.” Malia inserted sniffing the air to catch the baby’s scent, “Besides Y/N hasn’t changed.”

“This Lucy and Reese’s daughter. They were in an accident and we’re Andy’s guardians.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” Stiles burst.

“They don’t have to tell you anything Stiles.” Lydia huffed rolling her eyes.

“Sounds like someone I know.” Stiles snapped back.

“Can you go have sex? I’m drowning in your pheromones and it’s annoying.” Malia grunted with a huff of breathe. She’s gotten better with the filter but it’s still a work in progress.

“Shut up.” Stiles grunted raising his hand to scratch his scruff that had build on his face. His eyes still that whiskey brown colour but it lacked the same youthful expression in them. He was haunted both by the supernatural and human nature of his life.

“She’s cute. Good thing she isn’t Scott’s kid.” Mason joked leaning in to get a look at the carseat, “You are adorable.”

“She is pretty cute.” Nolan blushed as eyes locked onto him. While he wasn’t going around stabbing random people he was still awkward.

“That’s a lot of responsibility.” Stiles interjected earning a heavy eyeroll from his ex-girlfriend.

“I think I can handle a baby if I can handle you.” Scott retorted as he began to unstrap Andy to meet everyone in the room. The poor baby was curious about everyone in the room that exuded power.

Being passed around wasn’t the greatest thing for a young child still adapting to life but she was irresistible to the pack. Even Theo was taken with the little girl that he wanted to sit by and talk because an innocent child wouldn’t know about the things he had done and judge him. Of course Stiles would try to keep him away.

“That’s rude.” Stiles chortled fearful when Andy reached out to him. Andy shoved her fist into her mouth while staring at the male, “Why is she staring at me?”

“Maybe she likes your ugly mug.” Theo smirked earning another glare from his least favourite person.

“I’m guessing we can’t use the alcohol?” Malia questioned.

“It wouldn’t even work on you.” Mason said shaking his head.

“But it’s fun to drink and watch others be idiots.” Malia retorted crossing her arms.

“No alcohol.” Lydia said shaking her head as she wandered closer to the baby, “Can I hold her?”



“She seems pretty enamored with Stiles.” You said shifting on your feet.

“I don’t know why.” Lydia breathed rolling her eyes at the mention of her ex-boyfriend.

“You were once enamored with me too.” Stiles goaded with an uncharacteristic smirk painted on his face. Scott and you slowly backed out of the room causing a rippling effect when everyone else began to also.

Unaware of not having an audience Lydia and Stiles came toe to toe as the tension burst from the awkwardness and agony between each. In the two years each had manage to not speak to one another amid the reasoning behind being stubborn. Each didn’t want to admit that the relationship failed because they weren’t properly communicating like they should have.

“Does anyone know why they broke up?” You challenged sitting on the lounge chair in the backyard. Everyone had found their own little spot to converse on while the two inside continued.

“Honestly?” Malia asked, “Lydia wouldn’t budge and she always managed to keep her chemo-signals from giving away her reactions.”

“It’s the same with Stiles. He did everything he could to not be in the presence of us. Making excuses of working and broken down vehicles.” Scott admitted bouncing Andy on his knee, “In the time since their relationship ended I’ve only seen him in person a few times and our wedding was the longest.”

“It’s Stiles.” Jackson snorted leaning back in his chair. Ethan keeping a hand on his thigh as he did so.

“It was bound to explode.” Corey said shifting on his feet, “Like the fight between Scott and Stiles when Theo was still an ass-“

“Still is.” Liam mumbled dodging a swing from the boy in question.

“It’s my house and I’m kicked out of it.” Jackson grunted.

“We don’t use the backyard much.” Ethan hummed looking over the large green fenced in area.


“That’s because we’re either in the living room, kitchen or spending quality time in our bed.” Jackson retorted with a playful smirk.

“There’s no fighting.” Malia interrupted cocking her head to the side, “It’s silent.”

Sharing a look with Scott you gently shifted Andy from your arms into Liam’s. Like Stiles Liam looked fearful at being left with a baby. Pushing the door open you slinked in with some pack members behind you to peak into the living room. Standing in the middle of the room with his one hand in her hair and her head resting on his chest was a serene image of the couple you remembered from graduation.

“Maybe we should take Andy to the park before it gets dark.” Jackson whispered to the group.

“Are you being nice to Stiles.” You questioned shocked.

“I don’t care about the spaz. I care about her, she’s had it rough her entire life and I admit I contributed to it. She deserves happiness and he makes her happy.” Jackson lightly smiled pulling Ethan’s hand into his own, “We’ll just get the housekeeper to clean every inch of the house and maybe get a new couch.”

“I knew he couldn’t not be an ass.” Mason huffed albeit the sight of the Stydia reunion making his grab Corey’s hand in his.

Andy was able to pull her self up onto the couch and make hesitated steps along the couch as she wobbled and just in the last few days she was walking by her self. In the eight months you had been her parent you had become more confident in your parenting and it became easier. You were adamant that each night you told Andy a story of her biological parents and had a picture hanging on the wall in her nursery.

There was a routine and having Stiles and Lydia over once a week helped maintain stability in your non parenting social group while being parents. You also liked knowing that Andy was the sole reason that Stiles and Lydia were happily back together with an engagement ring on Lydia’s finger now.

“Mama!” Andy called with a large almost toothless grin.

“Come on Andy! Say Stiles!” Stiles groaned from the living room carpet.

“Mama!”

“No! Stiles. Sti…les.” Stiles slowly spoke gently grasping Andy’s hand.

“It’s a lost cause.” Scott chuckled as he set down a plate of food to cool down for Andy, “She calls everyone Mama.”

You awed when Scott bent down to scoop Andy into his arms to blow a raspberry on her cheek. It was a perfect Hallmark moment with Scott snuggling your daughter and Stiles haphazardly stretched out on the ground with a severe case of uncle fever.

“Hey Lydia! Can we have one?” Stiles called out to the kitchen where Lydia was finishing putting a salad together.

“Stiles. I’m not being pregnant during the summer.” Lydia mused thinking of all the pros and cons of it.

“Wait is that a yes?!” Stiles exclaimed tripping over himself.

“Our babies could be best friends or date!” Scott burst excitedly.

“That’s quite a-“

“YOU’RE PREGNANT?!” Lydia gushed dropping the knife you hug you, “Oh my god! That’s why we aren’t having wine!”

“We are. We’re looking at a small house near Melissa’s house.” You admitted resting your hands on your small bump, “We’re thinking of naming the baby after Lucy. Luke for boy and Lucy for a girl.”

“Stiles!” Andy gleefully yelled clapping her hands.

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[venomclaws]

COMMON  MISCONCEPTIONS  ABOUT  TRACY. 

these  are  just  a  few  thinks  that  have  irked  me  when  digging  in  the  deep,    dark  depths  of  tracy’s  tag  and  sometimes  in  some  threads  with  people  over  the  last  year   (  +  )   that  i’ve  been  writing  tracy,         and  i  understand  how  easy  it  is  to  misread  a  character  if  you’re  not  studying  them  personally   /    don’t  care  as  much  about  them  as  the  ones  who  are  writing  them,       so  i  don’t  blame  anyone  for  it    -----     but  this  is  a  character  who  gets  a  lot  of  mindless  hate,      a  lot  of  it  stemming  from   the  fact  that  people  just  didn’t  care  to  try  to  understand  her  when  she  was  on  the  show.        i  respect  that  our  opinions  may  not  align,       but  i  needed  to  write  all  of  this  out  for  people  to  understand  where  i  stand  on  all  of  it.      i’ll  also  link  all  metas  relating  to  these  misconceptions. 

 tracy  was  a  lovesick  girl  obsessed  with  theo  and  making  him  her  boyfriend.        

yes,    tracy  loved  theo,      but  in  ways  that  needed  no  romantic  connotations.        she  was  loyal  because  she  had  NOTHING  before  theo.       he  offered  her  guidance  that  she  had  been  searching  for  all  her  life.       without  a  mother  for  most  of  her  life    +     a  father  who  only  gave  her  attention  when  he  had  to,        she  needed  someone  to  help  mentor  her,       and  she  latched  onto  theo  quickly.       but  what  people  often  forget  is  that  tracy’s  prominent  genetics  are  the  KANIMA.        kanimas  seek  masters,       someone  to  guide  them,      someone  to  use  as  their  weapon  of  vengeance,         someone  to   give  them  orders.      it’s  why  theo  and  tracy  work  so  well  together     -----       theo  needs  people  who  are  willing  to  act  as  his  tool  to  get  what  he  wants.      tracy  is  willing  to  be  that  for  him  because  her  genetics  pull  her  to  him,        making  everything  he  needs  a  priority.        tracy  NEVER  cared  about  having  a  boyfriend,       nor  did  she  care  about  being  romantically  involved  with  theo.     that  was  never  a  priority,      just  a  BONUS  between  them.      it  was  something  that  heightened  their  bond,       though  not  at  all  necessary  to  the  relationship.         it’s  important  to  remember  that  she  wasn’t  constantly  by  his  side  because  she  was  too  obsessed  and  sickly  in  love  with  him,       but  because  she  RESPECTED  him  as  an  alpha,     a  master,     a  genuine  friend  and  the  FIRST  real  friend  she  has  ever  had,        and  as  a  LEADER.       her  idea  of   the  perfect  alpha  was  skewed;       she  believed  the  way  theo  behaved  was  the  way  alphas  were  supposed  to  behave,      and  that  as  his  beta,      it  was  her  responsibility  to  always  protect  him  and  put  him  before  herself,      in  every  situation.     being  LOYAL  doesn’t  mean  she  was  simply  obsessed.   

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tracy  and  the  rest  of  the  pack  were  close.     

this  definitely  isn’t  true  on so  many  levels,      but  i’m  going  to  start  with  the  fact  that  it  was  IMPORTANT  to  this  entire  arc  that  this  pack  was  not  close.        to  insist   that  they  were  close  and  all  got  along  as  a  happy  family  as  scott’s  pack  did  is  to  totally  invalidate   what  really  happened  between  them  all.       theo  was  NOT  a  good  alpha   in  terms  of  how  he  treated  his  betas       (   despite  tracy’s  own  skewed  thoughts on  the  matter.    )      this  doesn’t  mean  they  didn’t  have  their  own  friendships      ——     josh  obviously  looked  out  for  corey,      hayden  and  corey  were  close,       hayden  cared  for  tracy  as  seen  once  she  found  her  dead  body  even  though  that  definitely wasn’t  reciprocated. ��     hayden  was  trying  to  be  part  of  the  pack  because  she  thought  that  was   what  she  had  to  do,      eventually  straying  and  joining  the  other  pack.       corey  was back  and  forth giving  insider   information  to  both  packs  and  tracy  could  see  that,      also  having  reason  not  to  trust  him  given  his  connection  to  mason.       tracy  didn’t  like  hayden  or  corey because  of  their  constant  back-and-forth  and  their  hesitance  to  trust  theo  immediately  as  she  did.       she  saw  them  as  weak    (    often,    unrightfully  so.    )

but   more  specifically,      i  want  to  talk  about  josh  as  i’ve  seen  so  many  edits,     imagines,    thoughts,    etc.    that  allude  to  the  fact  that  these  two  were  CLOSE.      while  they  were  seen  together  most,       that  doesn’t  mean  she  liked  him.      she  tolerated  him  because  he  was  the  only  one  of  the  pack  besides  her  who  seemed  to  be sticking  around,       but  more  often  than  not,      she  was  ANNOYED  with  him.         he second  guessed  theo,      he talked  back  to  him,      he  acted  ungrateful  for  what  he  had,      and  that  wasn’t  something  tracy  could  never  get  behind.      she  never  had  any  sort  of  respect  for  josh.      she  liked  him  BETTER  than  the  other  two in  the  pack,      but  that  didn’t  mean  she  enjoyed  his  presence.      this  is   especially  true  when  they  have  the  mask.       she  knows  josh  is  the  only  one  capable of  putting  it  on without  dying    ——    he  has  POWER  that  the  rest  don’t,     and  this  is  an  advantage  for  him.      it frustrates  her  that  he’s  not  taking  advantage  of  it,     especially  since  she’s  quick  to  use  her  own  newfound  powers  whenever  she  sees  the  opportunity.        this  is  a  real  opportunity  for  josh  to  help  the  pack  be  one  step  closer  to   their  overall  goal     (    an  in  general,     get  answers  that  they  can’t  find  elsewhere    )      and  he  refuses  to  help.      to  tracy,     this  makes  him  seem  disloyal  and  worthless  to  the  pack.    

i  don’t  know  what  it  is  that  makes  everyone  convinced  that  she  cared  about  josh  at  all,     but   i  think  the  scene  after  he  dies  is  one  of  her  most  misread  scenes  there  is.     i’ve  seen  a   lot  of  posts  about  how  she  was    ‘   obviously  so  broken  up  about  watching  him  die  ‘   but  i  will  continue  to  refute  this.      tracy  blindly  supports  theo  in  everything  he  does.       if  he  wants  one  of  their  pack  members  dead,     then  to  her,     that’s  something  that’s  necessary  and  beneficial  to  them.      she  TRUSTS  his  decisions;     he’s  her alpha,     she’s  made  to  believe  that  he  knows  what’s  best  for  all  of  them.      josh  had  just  literally  proved  himself  USELESS  to  the  pack  because  he  refused  to  do  the  one  thing  that  only  he  could  do  and  that  the  pack  desperately  needed.      what  does  theo  do  when  something  is  worthless  to  him?      he  gets  rid  of  it   ——-     that’s  something  tracy  has  picked  up  on  and  uses  herself.      her  reaction  to  josh’s  death  was  of  SURPRISE,     not  remorse.      she  was  surprised  it  happened  so  suddenly,     but  she didn’t  blame  theo for  doing  it.      they  needed  josh’s  power  and  if  josh  wasn’t  going  to  use  it  himself,      they  had  to  take  matters  into  their  own  hands,     which  is  exactly  what  theo  did.     “   he  was  small  and  inexperienced,  ‘“   ——-    it  was  a  reminder  to  her  that  she  couldn’t  be  that.      it’s  a  WARNING  from  theo.      if  you’re  not  willing  to  oblige  by  theo’s  rules,     you  have  no  purpose in  this  pack    ——    and  the  last  thing  she  wanted  to  be  was  something  worthless  to  theo.     she  didn’t  respect  josh,      she  had  no  remorse  for  his  death,      and  she  thought  their  pack  was  better  off without  someone  who  was  so  willing  to  disobey  his  alpha.  

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tracy  and  her  dad  were  close   /   she  respected  her  father.

this  is  a  tough  one,      because  the  few  interactions  they  had  on  screen,      if  you’re  not  looking  closely,      her  father  seems  like  a  supportive  dad who  only  wants  to  be  there  for  his  daughter.       however   —–    if  you  DO  look  closer,      this  isn’t  true  at  all.       he  was  good  at faking  it      (     he’s  a  lawyer  for  criminals.     he’s  used  to  sticking  up  for  the bad  guy  and  making  things  look  much  better  than  they  are.      )        this  wasn’t  always  the  case    ——-     their  family  had  been  tight-knit  before  tracy’s  mother  passed  away  in  a  car  crash     ——     one  that  she  was  in  and  the  reasoning   for  her  own  skin  graft  that  made  her  eligible  to  be  a  chimera     (     of  course  this  is  my  own  written  back  story  for  her  and  everything  relating  to  HOW  her  mother  died  is  all  my  own  interpretation,       but  the  way  her  father  pulled  away  is  still  relevant  in  the  show’s  canon.     )        her  father  pulled  away  from  tracy  after  her  mom  died;         he  no  longer  knew  how  to  act with  her,        especially   1)     given  how  similar  she  was  to  her  mother  and    2)    part  of  him  blamed  her for  the  crash  because  she  was  there  and  she  survived,       while  her  mother  didn’t.       he  put  his  career  before  his  family.       late  night  meetings,      never  home  when  tracy  was  going  to  sleep,      and  this  is  a  girl  who  has  suffered  from  nightmares  and  night  terrors  for  years       (    presumably  since  losing  her  mother.    )       after  tracy’s  night  terrors  become  more  apparent  and  she  opens  up  about  them,       she  needs  someone  to  take  care  of  her  more  than  ever.        being  alone  makes  it  so  much  worse,        she’s  scared  that  one  she  closes  her  eyes,       she’s  going  to  be  HURT.        her  father  knows  this.      she  makes  this  clear  to  him.      still,     he  offers  her  nothing.      he  doesn’t  intend  on  staying  home to  make  sure  he  doesn’t hurt  herself or  to  make  sure  she’s  safe;       he  still  leaves,      choosing  his  client  over  her  once  again.       it’s  clear  by  the  disappointed  look  on  her  face  that  this  was  her  last  time  trying  so  desperately  to  reach  out  to  him,       only  to  be  rejected  and  left  alone  yet  again.         this  scene  is  the  last  scene  we  truly  see  her  with  humanity  and  showing  real  emotion,       before  her  chimera  side  truly  took  over.       

 she  kills  him  that  night,       presumably  because  she  was  trying  to get  rid  of  everyone  who  was  trying  to  help  her     ———      but  there’s  more  to  look  at.       tracy  kills  her  father,    her  psychiatrist,      and  attempts  to  kill  her  guidance  counselor,     natalie  martin.       while  we  haven’t  seen  her  relationship    with  her  psychiatrist,       we  have  seen  the  very  POOR  attempts  that  natalie  and  her  father  had  given  to  try  to  help  her.        they  reduced  her  problems,      made  them  seem  as  if  they  were  nothing  to  worry  about  and  made  her  feel  as  if  she  were  simply  CRAZY  for  envisioning  and  feeling  the  things  she  felt  because  of  them.     natalie  reduced  it  to    ‘  common  anxiety  about  senior   year .  ‘        her  father  treated  it  as  if  it  was   ‘  just  a  dream ‘   and  that  it  was  ridiculous  that  she  needed  real  comfort  and  protection  at  night.      these  people  hadn’t  HELPED  HER,      they  only  made  her  feel  worse  about  herself  because  they  refused  to  accept  she  was  truly  struggling.       of  course,     the  dread  doctors  didn’t  want  anything  in  her  way  of becoming  the  monster  she  was  meant  to  be.      besides  her  father,      she  had  no  one  else.,   no  tie to  anyone  here.       by  controlling  her  and  manipulating  her  into  killing  him,     they  rid  her  of  any  ties  she  had  to  a NORMAL,    HUMAN  life,      so  they  could  take  over  and  be  her  master       (     and  after  she  fails,      it’s  theo  who  gets  to  take  over  that  title.    )      

tracy’s  father  had  to  die for  her  to  become  the  monster  she  was  destined  to  be.      she  doesn’t  regret  that.        i’ve  had  a  lot  of  things thrown  my  way  about  how  tracy  is  probably  hurting  and  probably  so  remorseful  for  what  had  happened  to  her  that  night    ——-    but  she’s  NOT.      she  doesn’t  care.      tracy’s   WANTS  to  be  a  monster  because  it  gives  her  power  and  finally  gives her  a  real  purpose.     her  father  held  her  back  from  that.    he  made  her  feel  WEAK,     and  weak  isn’t  something  she  was  allowed  to  feel  anymore.      it  doesn’t  matter  to  her  that  she  was  unconscious  when  killing  him  or  that  the  dread  doctors  had  control  over  her,     she  STILL  wanted  him  dead     (     the  version  of  her  before  becoming  a  monster  would  have  never  gone  there,      but  her  mindset  is  entirely  different  now.     )        also,      there  have  been  a  lot  of  instances  where  people  have  insisted  that  theo  forced  her  to  kill  her  father.     no.     theo  wasn’t  involved  with  her  YET.      the  way  i  see  it,     he  saw  just  how  brutal  she  was  with  her  father  and  that’s  why  he  kept  an  eye  on  her  when  it  came  to  deciding  who  to  bring  back  to  life  for  his  own  pack.      that  was  the  first  time  she  was  really  able  to prove  herself to  her  future  alpha  and  caught  his  eye.

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tracy  wanted  to  be  saved.

this  is  a  big  one    —–     one  that  i’ve  run  into  many  issues  with  when  it  comes  to  writing  with   others  who  want  to  save  tracy.       it’s  great  if  your  character wants  to  try,     it’s  very in  character for  many  of  the  canon  characters  on  this  show    ——      but  you  have  to  remember  that  tracy’s  mindset does  not  align with  theirs.         she  is  convinced  that  theo  was  the  one  doing  the  saving.       the  dread  doctors  don’t  give  much  room  for  chimeras  to be  saved,       they’re  doomed  FAILURES  and  that’s  all  there  is  to  it.      her  first  death  was  inevitable.      it’s  what  happens  after  she  comes  back  that  makes  this  important  to  note.      she  is  content  with  being  with  the  villain.     she  has  confidence,     she  has  power,      and  she’s  with  the  alpha  who  knows  MORE  about  what  they’re  up  against  than  scott  does.      not  to  mention,     she  knows  scott  and  his  pack  wanted  to  save  her  from  becoming  the  creature  she  is  now    ——-    which  would  only  take  away  everything  she  has  been  so  thankful  for,      so  she  believes  scott  would  have  RUINED  HER if  he  had  been  able  to   ‘   save  her.    ‘         while  other  members  in  the  pack  second  guess  theo  and  start  to  wonder  if  they’re  better  off  elsewhere,       everything  that  should  look  alarming  to  tracy  DOESN’T.        her  ideas  were  skewed;      she  believed  that  he  was  supposed  to  treat  his  pack  the  way  he  did  and  that  it  was  just  an  honor  to  be  able  to  work  alongside  him.        

this  often  leads  me  to  a  standstill  in  any  plot  where  your  character  wants  to  save  tracy  from  theo.      IT’S  IMPOSSIBLE.       you  can’t  convince  her  to  ever  turn  her  back  on  someone  who  she  is  genetically  connected  to  because  of  her  kanima  genes   +    someone  who  was giving  her  guidance  that  she  had  been  longing  for  all  her  life.      he  was  her  first  real  friend,      that  wasn’t  something  she  could  give  up.       while  i   never  mind  writing  this  out  because  it  IS  interesting  for  tracy  to  continue  that  fight,       you  have  to  understand  this  if  this  is  the  direction  your  character  intends  to  go   ——    they  can  try  to  save  tracy  if  it’s  in  their  nature  to  do  so,      but  she  won’t  oblige.      there  is  NO  WAY  to  change  her  mind,     unfortunately.  

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tracy  suddenly  becoming  cold  was  out  of  character   /    didn’t  make  sense.

i  can  understand  why  this  may  be  confusing  from  the  outside  while  not  looking  into  it,      but  we  have  to  remember  a  few  very  important  things.      1)     tracy  was  dead  for  a   month.       this  has  been  a  running  fact  throughout  this  show    -----      death  changes  you.       there’s  a  darkness  that  surrounds  you  that  will  always  be  with  you  once  you’ve  died.       tracy  wasn’t  dead  for  a  few  minutes,      for    a  day,      she  was  dead  for  an  entire  month.         it  wasn’t  necessarily  that  she  just  embraced  darkness,       but  that  she  literally  was  brought  back  from  the  darkness.       before,      she  never  had  guidance  from  anyone     (    no  mother,     a  nearly  absentee  father.    )        she  had  no  friends,     no  one  she  was  close  to.      even  the  school’s  guidance  counselor  told  her  that  her  serious  problems   were  just   ‘   common  anxiety   ‘     and  that  she  had  nothing  to  worry  about.       she  was  never  treated  fairly  by  anyone,     so  she  never  felt  like  she  belonged  anywhere.      

 theo  noted  himself  as  her  alpha  and  instantly  said    ‘   you  belong  to  me.   ‘        this  instantly  clicked  for  tracy.        it  gave  her  a  place  to  belong.       it  gave  her  someone  to  follow,     which  was  something  she  always  desired.      it  was  because  she  had  no  tie  to  anyone  in  her  previous  life  that  i’m  sure  theo  found  it  easy  to  prey  on  her.      while  another  chimera  with  ties  to  their  life  before  death  could  gravitate   to  them,      tracy  had  no  one  to  do  that  with   -----    she  only  had  theo,      making  it  so  that  her  focus  was  entirely  on  him.        for  a  girl  who  had  just  been  dead  for  a  month  to  come  back  and  know  NO  ONE  and  have  no  family  with  a  house  that  is  a  crime  scene,      where  was  she  going  to  go  and  who  would  she  turn  to?     ------       the  person  who  brought  her  here.        in  her  mind,       theo  didn’t  save  her  life,      he  CREATED  it.      the  life  she  has  now  is  a  complete  180  from  who  she  was  before,     and  that’s  important  for  her  to  take  advantage  of. 

deucalion  says  it  best    -----     “   just  how  powerless  were  you  before  all  of  this  happened?     in  my  experience,     it’s  the  truly  powerless  who  are  all  too  eager  to  demonstrate  their  newfound  strength.     “       he’s  right  about  tracy.      she  was  completely  powerless  before  theo,      but  now  he  offered  her  a  place  to  have  power    ---    instantly  making  her  feel  confident  on  a  level  she  felt  nearly  invincible.      it  was  liberating  to  tracy  because  she  finally  felt  like  she  had  a  PURPOSE,     because  that  was  what  theo  did  for  her.        all  she  had  left  was  this  power.     the  only  person  she  had  was  theo.       it  would  have  been  difficult  for   her  to  avoid  darkness  at  all.

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tracy  felt  betrayed  by  theo  when  he  killed  her.

tracy’s  main  goal  was  to  be  everything  that  theo  needed  her  to  be.       she  was  literally  his  PERFECT  WEAPON  in  this  sense.      what  he  needed,     she  did.      she  was  always  more  concerned  about  his  safety  than  her  own     (     that  was  why  she  often  attacked  people  without  thinking  of  her  own  safety   because  she  knew  she  could  create  a  wall  between  theo  and  the  victim.    )        if  he  thought  that  the  only  way  he  could  defeat  the  beast  and  take  its  power  was  to  have  tracy’s  powers,      she  would  give  them  to  him.      in  her  mind,      he  deserved  them,     and  she  was  here  to  do  whatever  she  could  to  make  sure  he  got  them.       he  had  to  have  known  this  anyway,      not  that  he  ever  needed  her  permission     -----    but  it  was  obvious  that  she  was  willing  to  do  anything  for  him.

 if  she  knew  that  was  the  best  option  for  him  and  knew  it  was  really  what  he  wanted,        she  would  have  no  problem  giving  up  herself  and  her  power for  him  as  long  as  it  helped  him  survive.           theo  killing  tracy  was  not  an   act  of  betrayal  to  her,       and  it  wouldn’t  be  had  she  survived  the  attack.         she  would  simply  be  GRATEFUL  that  she  could  offer  him  something.        this  is  the  main  reason  i  do  not  interact  in  a  canon  timeline  past  season  five     —–     what  happened  here  was  very  much   in  character  for  both  characters  and  showed  a  lot  about  who  they  were,       especially  to  each  other        (     theo  willing  to  sacrifice  even  his  best  beta  just  for  his  selfish needs,        tracy  so  heavily  manipulated  by  him  that  she  would  be  willing  to  give  herself  up  for  him.     )        

tracy’s  beliefs:       she  died  in  the  arms  of  the  man  she  loved.       she  died  in  turn  for  theo  to  be  more  powerful,      which  was  always  her  main  goal.       she  would  never  regret  helping  theo,      even  if  having  her  powers  didn’t  last  long  for  him.

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if  tracy  survived  theo’s  attack,      she  would  go  to  scott’s  pack. 

quite  the  opposite.      her  loyalty  would  not  have  ended  there.       when  she  found  out  what  scott’s  pack  has  done  to  theo,      it  would  have  set  off  even  MORE  rage  in  her,      and  her  hatred  towards  this  pack  would  be  so  much  more  explosive.       they’ve  stolen  her  alpha  from  her;       this  girl  is  so  far  gone  from  theo’s  manipulation  and  from  the  kanima  /  master  bond  they  share  that  she  can  never  get  back  on  track  and  realize  that  theo  was  a  bad  guy  because  she  was  linked  to  him  in  a  way  that  NONE  of  these  people  can  understand.      this  is  why  i  don’t  believe  tracy  had  any  part  in  season  6  and  refuse  to  go  divergent    —–      had  she  not  died,      she  wouldn’t  be  with  scott’s  pack.      she  would  be  FIGHTING  them  to  get  him  back,      and  it  would  be  disconnected  from  the  current  storyline.      i  also,     100%,     don’t  believe  she  would  have  survived  without  theo.       her  whole  life  now  depended  on  having  him  and  the  purpose  that  he  offered  her.       without  him,     she  was  NOTHING  again  and  she  refused  to  be  that.     she  would  be  more  reckless  and  get  herself  into  more  trouble   and  ultimately  find  a  way  to  DIE  so  she  wouldn’t  have  to  be  without  him.      the  only  way  she  would  keep  fighting  is  if  she  genuinely  believed  there  was  a  chance  to  get  him  back.        she  would  never  have  any  reason  to  trust  scott’s  pack  after  they  sent  him  to  hell.          they  wouldn’t  have  the  chance  to  even  convince  her  to  trust  them  because  she  wouldn’t  want  to  hear  it.       

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tracy  wasn’t  important  to  theo.

i  know  i’m  overstepping  on  this  one  as  this  is  more  of  a  meta  for  theo,      but  her  character  is  often  invalidated  because  people  forget  the  connection  these  two  had,      and  this  post  would  be  irrelevant  if  i  didn’t  touch  on  the  BIGGEST  misconception  of  all.      let  me  preface  this  by  saying  this  is  something  i’ve  discussed  with  @nctafailure  over  and  over  again,      getting  a  real  look  into  theo’s  perception  in  all  of  this.        what  people  seem  to  forget  is  that  killing  tracy  was  never  part  of  theo’s  overall  plan      (    neither  was  josh,     for  that  matter.    )      the  murder  of  both  of  his  beta’s  death  were  an  act  of  IMPULSE.     he  needed  their  power  right  then  and  there,     so  he took  it.        

tracy  was  his  BEST  BETA.     she  was  someone  who  was blindly  loyal  to  him,    and  he  knew  she  wouldn’t  disobey  him.      theo  is  a  guy  who  uses  people  as  tools.      he  wants  things  to  work  in  his  favor.      he  wants  HIS  WAY.      why  would  he  disregard  someone  who  has  literally  made  it  in  NUMBER  ONE  GOAL  in  her  life  to  please,    protect,    and  obey  him?      he  has  the  most  useful  tool of  all,      his  own  kanima  that  he  has  mastered.      while  no,     he  didn’t  care  for  her  on  a  personal  level     (    i  haven’t  forgotten  WHO  we’re  talking  about    )       she  was  still  a  good  resource for  him.       she  looked  out  for  him,      she  protected  him,      she  was  violent  to  those  he  needed  out  of  his  way.       in  the  end,     theo  cares  about  what’s  useful  to  him,      and  tracy  was.      

he  valued  her  opinion    (    she  was  always  there  to  back  him  up  with  anything.    )        even  if  he  worried  he  made  a  bad  decision,      she  would  assure  him  he  didn’t.        he  asked  her  for  validation.         though  we  only  saw  this  once  in  canon,     it’s  pretty  obvious  that  it’s  not  the  only  time  he’s  needed  it.      after  he  kills  josh  and  deucalion  reminds  him  he’s  only  making  his  pack  smaller,      theo  is  quick  to  look  over  to  tracy  and  ask  her,    ‘   what  do  you  think?   ‘      he  knows  she’s  going  to  remind  him  that  he  made  the  BEST  decision  that  would  end  up  helping  them.    

he  trusted  her  with  an  important  task.      they  had  created  an  alliance  with  the  desert  wolf.      he  got  the  talons  that  would  take  the  beast’s  power,     and  she  got  her  daughter  to  kill.       for  theo  to  hold  up  his  end  of  the  bargain,      he  sent  tracy  to  open  the  mountain  ash  to  let  the  desert  wolf  in  to  kill  malia.      this  was  something  he  wanted  to  ensure  happened,     and  he  trusted  tracy  with  the  mission  rather  than  the  rest  of  the  pack,      probably  because  he  knew  they  wouldn’t  have  accomplished  it.    

yes,    he  killed  her.     but  he  killed  her  for  his  own  selfish  needs,    not  because  he wanted  her  dead.    this  wasn’t  a  malicious  effort  to  get  rid  of  her;      it  was  an  act  of  SURVIVAL.       i’m  not  saying  it  was  okay  for  him  to  kill  whoever  he  needed  to  get  his  way,      but  to  insist  that  he  had  always  planned to  kill  her  or  that  he  had  killed  her  because  he  didn’t  want  her  is  bogus.       it’s  also  very  clear  that  he  didn’t  even  have  that  idea  until  AFTER  the  kiss    (  i see  all  the  time  that  he  only  kissed  her  to  kill  her,     but  he  literally did  not  have  to  kiss  her  for  that  to  work.    at  all.   )         he  needed  to  HEAL,     tracy   didn’t  have  the  ability  to  take  his  pain.     she  put  the  idea  in  his  head  that  they  needed  to  rest  and  take  a  step  back,     and  he  needed  to  move  forward.     he  needed  to  take  the  beast’s  power  and  time  was  running  out.      if  he  took  her  power,     he  could  use  that  and  be  STRONGER.     right  now,     his  only  goal  was  getting  the  beast’s  power,     with  or  without  a  pack  by  his  side.      killing  her  was  impulsive,      not  planned  as  the  deaths  he  wanted  from  the  mccall  pack  were.

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[gumnut-logic]

Gentle Rain (Part Seven)

Title: Gentle Rain

Warm Rain Series

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Author: Gumnut

26 - 27 Jan 2019

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: Sometimes it is so gentle, you don’t realise it is happening.

Word count: 2017

Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo, Scott/OC, spoilers for Warm Rain up to this point in the timeline.

Timeline: Six months after ‘The Proposal’, almost a sequel.

Author’s note: For Scribbles97 Thank you all for all your support on this fic. You are wonderful.

Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

-o-o-o-

Virgil could never be anything but awed at the power of Mother Nature. The massive swirl of cloud beneath them was one hell of a spectacle. Of course, it wasn’t his first cyclone or hurricane, he had tackled many over the years, but each one had its own character.

And this one was big and angry.

“We’re looking at a category four, verging on five.” John hovered above the dash, sitting rather than his usual float due to his being earthbound. “Be careful.” A frown. “And incidentally, your brother is an idiot.”

“Hey!” This from Gordon in the co-pilot’s seat.

John raised an eyebrow in his younger brother’s direction. “I was referring to your big brother. Scott just ran himself into a wall.”

Virgil was calculating his descent trajectory as the scanner located the fishing trawler floundering in the storm below. His head shot up. “What?!”

“Don’t worry, Kayo’s got him. He’s fine. Update you when you get back.”

“Thanks for that, John.” His tone dripped sarcasm.

“Not a problem.” The red head smirked. “Seriously, he’s fine.” In the background, a woman yelled, “You bloody idiot!” Another arched eyebrow. “Assuming our guest doesn’t kill him.”

Virgil had to grin at that. “Beginning descent now.”

“Copy that.” John’s image flickered out leaving Virgil to concentrate on flying into the cyclone.

-o-o-o-

Em had a split second to see a room with a view, a massive Christmas tree, a desk and some portraits before her eyes latched on her patient barrelling up out of a central sunken lounge area directly into a stonework wall on the other side of the room.

He clipped his prone and broken leg causing the hoverchair to slew sideways, sending his entire left and damaged side into the stonework.

The room froze in shock.

Then she was moving.

Her hand activated the ‘scoot’s controls in her palm and she zipped around the curvature of the lounge and was at his side in a moment.

“Scott?” She lowered herself, reaching for him.

His eyes scrunched closed, but his right hand was reaching for his left arm. “Ouch.” A blink, one eye opened and looked up at her. “Em?”

She stared at him. Her eyes tracked the length of his body, checking for further injury. “Are you okay?” She vaguely registered Kayo approaching from behind.

He wriggled in his seat as if checking. “Uh, yeah. I think so.” An amused glance in her direction. “How are you?”

“How am I?” Her voice was faint even in her ears. His blue eyes sparkled up at her and the butterflies in her stomach went feral. She lost it. “You bloody idiot! How am I? What the hell do you think you are doing? Do you have any bloody idea how close you came to dying under that hotel? My god, Scott!”

The expression on his face faltered and he straightened up. His brow furrowed as he appeared to finally fully register her presence.

“It was an accident.”

“What the hell were you doing? You can fly a Thunderbird, but you can’t steer a bloody hover chair?”

“Well, when you put it like that.” But his eyes latched onto her hoverscoot and he paled...for all of two seconds before looking up at her again. “Nice to finally meet you.” The smile returned.

She spun on the spot and, turning her back to him, made her way around the lounge and out toward the view. She would be of better mind if she didn’t have to contend with his charm.

Goddamnit, he’d scared her. And it scared her how much he had scared her with such a simple moment. She couldn’t afford to be vulnerable right now. Too much to contend with. Maybe she shouldn’t have come. No, she definitely shouldn’t have come. She should have holed up at home and rebuilt her shields.

Behind her she heard a quiet Kayo. “You know she’s right. You are a bloody idiot.”

Okay so that made her smile just a little.

The sea breeze whipped up from the ocean below and she used it to calm her frazzled nerves. Closing her eyes, she forced her muscles to relax, slowed her beating heart and took a moment to just be.

The whir of his hoverchair slipped up beside her. “Can we start again?”

A swallow, keep it together. “I guess.” She turned and looked down at him. He was all calm and politeness. A moment and she offered her hand. “Hi, I’m Em Harris. Very pleased to meet you.”

He took her hand in a firm grip, his skin warm. That smile appeared again, but it was softer and more genuine. “Scott Tracy. And I’m very happy to finally meet you.” His voice was as soft as his smile and she found herself drowning in his eyes.

She mentally shook herself, fighting the current. He still had her hand. “Are you going to introduce me to your brother or do I have to guess which one he is?”

He started at that and let her hand drop, peering over his shoulder. “John, come here.”

The tall and slim red head rolled his eyes and stood up from behind the desk, walking over to join them on the balcony. He dipped his head in greeting and she was stunned by the flicker of green in his eyes. What was it with the Tracy genes? Primed for gorgeous eyes?

“Em, this is my middle brother, John Tracy.”

She held out her hand and he took it gently. His skin was softer than Scott’s, but equally as warm. “I’m very pleased to meet you.”

John’s smile was much more subtle than Scott’s as well. “Likewise. Welcome to Tracy Island.” His eyes darted back to the desk. “Please excuse me, I’m on duty.” He took a step back inside before turning back to his brother. “You might want to give Em a tour, Scott.”

To her surprise, Scott started and blinked. “What? Oh, yes, of course.” He shot her a smile, but it was distracted.

She frowned.

But suddenly that genuine soft smile was back and he held out a hand. “Shall we?”

Turning to look back into the lounge, she spotted Kayo. The woman smiled at her and nodded. Okay, in for a penny, in for a pound. At least if she was following him around he wasn’t colliding with any more walls.

She reached out and took that hand.

It was still wonderfully warm.

“Lead on.”

-o-o-o-

Virgil clung to the yoke as the cyclone attempted to throw his ‘bird into the ocean and she fought against the howling wind. It wouldn’t have been a problem if he had been flying straight, but he had to hover and collect the module. His brother and the surviving fishermen were relying on him.

A nasty downdraft slapped them again and the ocean beneath attempted to reach up and grab him from the sky.

His clearance was limited by the length of his grapples and the swell was massive. He had managed the drop off easily enough, the module hitting the surface and rapidly submerging to a safe level where TB4 could disembark. The module’s inbuilt engines and pumps kept it stable in the depths awaiting Gordon’s return.

The aquanaut, with some swearing over the comms, had been able to save the three fishermen before their trawler took a plunge under the next mountainous wave. They all ended up wet, Gordon ended up furious, and now they were safe in the module, awaiting pickup just below the surface.

But the winds were hell, Virgil was tired, and, if he was honest, afraid. This was the one scenario with module deployment that had him scared he may not be able to do it. Mainly because if he couldn’t, his brother could be lost. It all relied on Virgil catching that module in heaving seas and howling winds.

He wrenched on the yoke again and the whole right side of his ribcage twinged. Great. He did not have time for this.

“Whenever you are ready, Virgil.”

He grit his teeth. “Doing my best, Gordon. This is a cyclone after all.”

“FAB.” At least his brother sounded suitably admonished.

He shunted altitude control over to autopilot, upped sensory response to wind velocity and took aim. Three green targets almost immediately. The fourth failed and within a second or two the other three followed and he had to reset the system.

Again.

An exhaled breath, his chest tight.

Two targets green, two red and targets lost.

“Goddamnit!”

He had to do this.

Reset.

Aim.

One target green.

‘C’mon.”

Three.

And four!

He fired.

They stayed green.

Oh, thank god. He immediately set the pumps in the module to shedding water as the grapples started pulling her to the surface. He had to be fast because his ‘bird was now chained to the swell and she rose and dipped alarmingly as the autopilot calculated the distances.

He could almost feel the pumps grinding away below sloshing water, desperately doing their best to free the module of saltwater.

Of course, this was the very moment the ocean decided to throw a wall of that water at him. Suddenly his entire view was wrapped in turbulent whites and greys, TB2’s own spotlights lighting it up for all to see.

Shiiiiiiiit!

He yanked on the yoke and TB2 screamed at the sudden power surge. Module Four was ripped from the ocean surface still half full, and caught immediately by the gale force cross winds. He struggled to gain altitude as the autopilot failed to compensate, desperate to clear the mountain of water bearing down on them.

He almost made it.

Water rushed across the bow of his ‘bird, splashing the rain off his viewports. VTOL flickered, but it was the extra weight on the cables that set the dash screaming at him. There was suddenly a good twenty to thirty metres of saltwater between Thunderbird Two and her flailing module. Unbalanced, continually moving and heavy.

He froze the retrieval, desperate to relieve the strain on the grapples and let the wave move past.

It took forever.

Red lights strobes at him. Grapple two registered a loss of grip momentarily, scaring the bejesus out of him, before locking in green again.

Time hung in terror.

And the swell moved on.

Module Four swung once again in the gale.

Virgil struggled to take a breath.

The pumps churned out the remains of the saltwater as Two finally gained the necessary altitude, fighting the winds best enough to once again draw up and nest the module in her belly.

Heart still pounding, Virgil kicked in the rear thrusters and pushed her towards the cloud ceiling, breaking through finally into the clear air above.

The sudden absence of turbulence was startling.

Once free and steady, he programmed the autopilot to send them to Broome, a matter of minutes away, and took a moment for himself.

Oh god.

His heart was beating against his breastbone. He felt he couldn’t breathe in enough oxygen.

Alone in the cockpit, he dropped his head towards his knees, ignoring the pain in his side at the position. He took strong steadying breaths, desperate to calm himself down.

“Virgil? Virgil!”

Gordon rushed over, but the engineer managed to get himself upright before his brother reached him. “I’m fine. ‘S okay.”

“You look like shit.”

“Thanks.” The sarcasm was there, but the energy wasn’t.

“Are you sure, you’re okay?” Gordon was frowning at him.

A deep breath that didn’t quite feel deep enough, but it got strength back into his voice. “I’m fine. I should be asking you that question.”

“Oh, that was some ride, Virg. We will need to replenish the sick bags in Four, though.”

Virgil stared at his brother. Did he have any idea how close it had been?

Gordon stared back. “What?”

“This is Broome International Airport calling Thunderbird Two. You are clear for approach.”

He blinked and turned back to his console.

Dump the dumb fishermen and go home.

That was all he had to do.

And ignore his trembling hands.

-o-o-o-

End Part Seven.

Part Eight

[crimsonrevolt]

Congratulations Jen you’ve been accepted to Crimson Revolt as Ted Tonks!

↳ please refer to our character checklist

Jen -- you already know how much I adore writing with you and how wonderfully in depth your applications always are. They always have so much detail and attention that it’s clear that you’re passionate about the muses you write and want to play them out in their own fascinating journeys. You fully flesh out the characters you write and develop them in the most beautiful of ways. I’m already so excited to see Ted on the dash and to see what he will bring to this roleplay -- since I’m sure it’ll be amazing! 

application beneath the cut

OUT OF CHARACTER

INTRODUCTION

Jen, 22, GMT, she/her

ACTIVITY

I currently have two other muses in the roleplay as well as being part of another roleplay. That being said, I am reasonably confident that I’ll be able to keep up a good level of activity on all of them so I would say about a 6/7 out of ten when I’ll be able to reply either every day or ever couple of days.

TRIGGERS

*removed for privacy

HOW DID YOU FIND US?

I’m already a member of this wonderful group but initially it was the lsrp tag.

WHAT HARRY POTTER CHARACTER DO YOU IDENTIFY WITH MOST?

This is such a tough one to me because they’re all so near and dear to my hearts. If you were asking me to pick a favourite then it would be a tie between the twins and Ginny but as for which one I relate to most I would probably have to go for Mrs Weasley. Family is hugely important to me and I think that being open and caring are two of the most important things a person can be and those are two things that she embodies and that I strive for.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Nothing I can think of!

IN CHARACTER

DESIRED CHARACTER

Edward ‘Ted’ Joseph Tonks

FACE CLAIM

I’d like to use Scott Eastwood please!

REASON FOR CHOSEN CHARACTER

When I first joined, I was very much committed to only having the one muse but I’ve found I enjoy it so much that I just can’t help but want more and though I love my two girls I started looking through the open skeletons and Ted’s immediately caught my attention. To me, there’s so much to explore with him when his traits are so varied but also make so much sense and he’s a far more complicated man in my mind than even he lets on sometimes.

To me the most striking thing about Ted isn’t his generally good nature, it’s his strong morals and desire to do what’s right. His nobleness is both his greatest strength and biggest flaw all at once when it leaves him pushing for something better and striving to be the best person he could be but also incredibly unsatisfied with the way the world is and unable to let things slide when they oppose his views on things.

Above all, he is kind and wants to help others but his kindness shouldn’t be mistake for complacency or weakness because he’s a man who knows his own mind and rarely lets anyone else influence him. He doesn’t back down, sometimes to his own detriment and while I think he’s reined himself in to an extent now that he very much has others to think about, he’s never shy of making his stance clear.

Despite all his admirable traits, he’s flawed and I would love to explore how they play into any scrapes he gets into and even just any interactions he has with those who he knows hold a grudge against him.

PREFERRED SHIPS // CHARACTER SEXUALITY // GENDER & PRONOUNS

Having grown up with two loving parents in a healthy relationship, Ted has always known he wanted that for himself so romance and love have always been very important to him. In his younger years he definitely viewed sex as something casual but always managed to remain committed when the situation was right. When it comes to ships for him, it’s definitely him and Andromeda all the way for me!

Ted identifies as male and uses the pronouns he/him.

CREATE ONE (OR MORE!) OF THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR CHARACTER:

Anything I have for Ted can be found here: https://extonks.tumblr.com/

IN CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE

♔ If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it? Feel free to name it:

Thinking the question over, he finds himself “I guess I should be saying something medically related but I think I’d invent a potion a little bit like Liquid Luck but instead of making the drinking lucky, it’d make them do what was right. I never was much good at Latin so I’ll hold off naming it for now.”

♔ You have to venture deep into the Forbidden Forest one night. Pick one other character and one object (muggle or magical), besides your wand, that you’d want with you:

“I’d probably take a map or something to helps us get in and out as quickly as possible because I doubt I’ll want to be in there for long at night when there’s other things to be doing. I would say I’d take Dromeda but I actually think I’d probably ask Amos to go with me if it’s going to be dangerous- just don’t tell her because I doubt she’d be chuffed.” Chuckling lowly, he shrugged slightly as he already pictured her reaction to it but stood by his logic all the same.

♔ What kinds of decisions are the most difficult for you to make?

Despite the frown that puts itself on his brows, there’s no hesitation from the man before he begins to answer. “Ones that might affect my girls. If it was just a case of my own safety then it’s easy- I do what’s right and what’s needed. But it’s not just me to consider anymore so anything that might take me out of the equation in some way needs to be properly thought through.” His tone had been level when it wasn’t something he really had to think about when they would always be his number one priority.

♔ What is one thing you would never want said about you?

It’s a tough one to answer for him when he thinks he’s heard plenty said that he wished had never met his ears. “That I stand by and do nothing.” Relaxing his jaw that had clenched thinking about it all, Ted carries on to explain himself. “I’ve heard a lot of bad things said about me but you learn to handle it when it’s not something I can change but inaction is how evil truly wins so I never want to be thought of as someone who sits on the sidelines and lets it happen.”

WRITING SAMPLE

If you asked Ted Tonks when the bruises on his knuckles had become an almost permanent fixture on his hands, he wouldn’t be able to tell you for sure. They were something he tried to ignore, almost ashamed of what they meant when their cause was almost always a lapse in self control and his burning rage flaring up into something that made him see nothing but red. He knew he should be better than this. Better than venting frustration by laying his fists into a wall.

But right now he wasn’t better, he was angry and that was all his mind could seem to latch onto. That seething rage that was always just lurking under the surface. Anger at the way the world worked. That his daughter would never truly know her aunts or grandparents all because she was his. That he couldn’t walk down the street anymore without having to look over his shoulder. That every day more and more people like him were admitted to St Mungos, their injuries getting steadily worse.

Rise above it echoed in his mind, his mother’s voice beseeching him to take the moral high ground and change the world by setting a good example rather than changing it by force. But he’d always been his father’s son. That unwillingness to forgive and forget, to let injustices slide was a part of him. That same hardness running up his spine and ensuring he’d always stand tall and proud against those things that clashed with his morals.

But it didn’t change that he should be better than this. Better than resorting to bruising knuckles when what he wanted was peace.

With a clenched jaw Ted, halts his fists. Pulling them down to his side, he flexes his hands and brings on the inevitable familiar pain. Sighing, he rakes a hand through his hair already berating himself when it was something he should have outgrown years ago. He wasn’t a teenager anymore, these sorts of outbursts couldn’t be explained away by the usual angst or hormones. He was a father now, a husband, a Healer. Responsibility was something he’d chosen to take up and he owed it to everyone else to keep himself in check no matter how frustrated what was going on left him feeling.

With a wave of his wand, he dulls some of the bruising so it looks days old rather than fresh then he signs off and apparates home and pauses just inside to rub the back of his neck somewhat sheepishly when the last thing he wants to do is worry his wife. Except that hesitation fades instantly when Dora came running towards him and he’s bending down with a motion that’s become second nature to sweep her up into the air. “Hello, trouble.” The words come out along with an affectionate chuckle before he presses a kiss to the top of his daughter’s head. It was moments like those that brought his clarity back and reminded him what he was really fighting for. It wasn’t so he could be the hero or unleash his anger, it was to make the world a safe and more accepting place for the future. To challenge everyone to be better and shape a world that would bring his daughter nothing but happiness.