#they’re just so fu- *gunshots*

[wonysugar]

been thinking about a game of spin the bottle with the legal fimmies and my spin landing on kazuha and she's so shy about it but we end up lowkey making out while the others cheer but then later on it's like we can't stop and get enough of each other so we just messily make out even long after the game has finished and we're letting our hands wander lower and lower 🏃🏻‍♀️

spending your group’s week off over at your parent’s house, you decide to invite over your fellow members for a hangout. the day consisting of you guys eating junk food, talking and playing mario kart.

as soon as it hit 9 pm, eunchae’s parents came to pick her up and you guys quickly switched to playing spin the bottle.

you’ve been waiting for your turn, seeing the girls kissing and laughing made you crave it. then, as if you manifested it, the bottle lands on you. you now have to kiss the person across you, who is coincidentally the member you’ve been paying close attention to, kazuha.

she’s a little shy at first, saying that she’s just gonna take a shot, but the cheers of everyone give her enough courage to let you lean in and kiss her. it’s a little peck at first, but it quickly turned into a heated makeout session, earning drunk encouragement from the girls.

you stop after a while, though, since it’s a collective game. you guys can’t just be making out throughout the whole thing. despite that, you can’t help but keep staring at her lips during the game.

then, a few hours later, you wrap the game up and your members all go to bed, except for kazuha.

instead of sleeping, you two are now making out in the bathroom, still not over the whole situation that happened during the game. you whisper to her about how wet that got you, and seeing her get so embarrassed over your words made the pool in between your legs grow even more. the fact you had to stay quiet made it all so much better.

you went from gently kissing, to messily making out, to having your hands all over her abs and the curves of her body, to then just straight up getting fingered by her on the bathroom sink! was it the alcohol making you both this messy? maybe so.

she’s leaving hickeys and bite marks on your neck and asking for reassurance ughh she’s just a sweetheart like that<3 “a-am i doing okay y/n?” and you just quietly moan in her ear to let her know that yes, she is in fact doing more than okay.

once you cum, you end up asking to eat her out, because a pretty girl like kazuha deserves the biggest orgasm she could ever get, especially after what she did to you<3

you work your mouth on her and she just loses it, quietly whimpering and whining at every lick, trying not to wake both the others and your parents up. the closer she gets to cumming, the rougher she gets with your head, kinda closing her thighs on you and lowkey gripping on your hair :( she’s not doing it on purpose, she doesn’t want to hurt you. she apologizes for being unintentionally aggressive but you just make her feel so good, she can’t help it.

then when she cums, she just cuts her breath for a moment, mouth slightly agape as she throws her head back, taking it all in. she wishes she could just scream your name at that moment, but maybe next time she will.

anyways waiting for my turn to play spin the bottle with he- *gunshots*

[writerswhy]

imagine aeron slapping davos tho 😭

anon’s referring to @ladymorghul’s great post here. That’s literally all I want, anon.

Like, imagine the first time Aeron slaps Davos. Maybe Davos corners him, tries to rile him up. They used to play together, they were friends, and Davos knows that under all those knightly manners and anxious avoiding, he’s still the same Aeron who once punched him so hard he thought he bit off a piece of his tongue. The same Aeron who used to laugh until he snorted. The same Aeron who liked to brag about how he knew the lay of the land so much better because he was always on his own on horseback like a great rider. (Practicing, away from the others so no one could see him fall. He’s not that great of a rider, actually.)

Davos keeps pushing at him until Aeron snaps and slaps him and it’s like they’re seeing each other for the first time since they were torn apart. They haven’t been able to stay away since.

I like to think about their ugliest fights. When they just lay into each other and dredge up their greatest fears and biggest insecurities. Davos is tired of Aeron’s denial and Aeron is tired of Davos constantly pushing, as if it’s that easy. (Imagine falling in love with the boy who serves or may even be related to the man who killed your uncle and wants to kill the rest of them too. There’s some serious baggage here!) Aeron loves him so much he’s willing to walk away to save him. So that Davos doesn’t become a traitor or a kinslayer. (Doesn’t he care? About ruining them both? Maybe Blackwoods really are a bunch of heartless and immoral heathens.) And Davos just wants to spend every minute they can together. (Isn’t that enough? Isn’t Davos enough? He’s not stupid, he’s aware of the reality of their circumstances, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to give up without a fight. He’s not a coward like Aeron.)

They blow up, Aeron slaps Davos and Davos slams him into the wall. Aeron’s practically yelling until Davos puts his hand over his mouth to shut him up. Aeron likes secrets, he likes hiding, why start yelling now? Then Aeron bites him and instead of snatching his hand back Davos leans into it, lets him bite until he draws blood. Lets Aeron push him to the ground where they fu[gunshots].

[leora-rambles]

The Road I Have Traveled On: Pigtailed Bastard (La Squadra/Reader [Multiple Chapters])

so basically. 

Previous chapter!

You barely miss an array of glass shards in your path.

“Luce? Luce!” Worry claws at your throat and lungs, adrenaline high as you crawl towards your brother.

You two hadn’t made it far from the mob chasing after you. In just a few minutes, they would surely catch up and capture you both.

“They’re gonna catch us if you keep this up! Come on!”

You cry, shaking his stiff shoulders. You don’t know if the wetness running down your cheeks are tears or sweat.

Luce doesn’t budge, even when you let out a frustrated sob and your back complains as you pull him further into the alleyway.

“Why do you always do this?! You always have to make things hell for me!” You can't help the bitter words from spilling out your mouth.

You frantically brush hair away from his eyes, wiping the sweat on his forehead. “Get up! We need to…!”

A crimson streak follows your fingertips.

You freeze.

With blurry eyes, you inspect your shaking hands, noticing just how much more of that crimson colour there was.

The red that had soaked through your brother's coat bleeds into your own clothes and skin.

“Luce?”

You hear your heart thump once. Then twice. Then a third time. And then it was the thundering footsteps of the men catching up to you both.

“I found them!”

You don’t resist when they grab your arms and pull you away. You don’t thrash. You don’t scream.

You just watch.

He’d save you now, wouldn’t he? He had spent the last bit of his life doing so. Actually, now that you think about it, you’ve lived most of your life cowering in fear behind your brother.

Surely right now, he’d save you. Like the million times he did before.

He doesn’t budge.

It wasn’t the lack of breathing that settled it for you. It wasn’t the way his limbs remained limp on the concrete. It was the way his eyes glazed over. How as they stared up, they did so emptily and towards the sky.

You don’t know why it took you so long to process the  gunshot that caused you two to falter. He was running with you just a few minutes ago, but now he’s dead on the concrete.

“They’re not fighting back.”

“Good shot, we hit the brother.”

What did you two do to deserve this? You lived your life trying to be the best you can be. You were a good person. You never hurt anyone, you haven't even committed any crimes- so why were you being punished this way? Why were they doing this?

“What do we do with him?“

“Leave him. if the police don’t get to him first, the rats will.”

As if you were staring into a mirror, your eyes reflect that very same hollowness. With deep regret, you wish that it was you who had taken the bullet instead.

—

“What?”

“Yep, that’s what happened. He hates you a lot.”

“Just for a little toilet joke? His panties are still in a knot over that?”

“I guess so.”

Illuso scoffs, blowing away a stray piece of hair falling into his eyes, relaxing deeper into the plush sofa. Melone subconsciously fixes his posture.

You had become a hot topic ever since you left the base on a hit with Prosciutto. Melone mainly brought you up because, well, he found you fascinating, and (like a crazed fanboy) wanted to babble on about you.

He was midway his seventh retelling of your assassination with him, recounting every little delicate detail of your conversation with the victim when a distinct phrase caused Illuso's ears to perk up. Unfortunately, Melone's babbling included the part where you called a certain someone a certain thing.

“I mean,” Melone starts, laying his ankle on his knee as he speaks, “His stand only works if you invoke intense emotion in someone, so him using you was the best way to get the target to succumb.”

“Yeah, sure, that’s true, but Leche has a gun does he not?“ Illuso scowls. “Would you not shit yourself if you had a gun pointed at your face?”

The petty man disliked pettiness against himself. When he heard Melones retelling of events (nickname of him highlighted), he was furious. How dare you think you can insult him in front of a target and not repent? You think you can call him a Pigtailed bastard with no consequences ?

Melone shrugs. “They probably feel the same way about Formaggio— haven’t said anything about him yet, though.”

“Oh, so if I do something, they get all pissy, but if it’s Formaggio, they’re completely fine? That seriously annoys me.”

‘What a pain in the ass,’  Illuso thinks. ‘ If he’s that appalled over a little joke, then this job isn’t for him.’

“I hate sensitive people like that,” Illuso spits.

He thinks of a way to ruin your week. What would a secretive, aloof, and easily offended man-baby be pissed off at?

Illuso seriously racks his brain— much more than he did on some of the hits he’d been assigned to. His shoes tap on the floor as he plays with a lock of his hair.

When the idea flickers in his head like a light bulb, he kicks himself for not thinking about it earlier. Illuso has to fight back the shit-eating grin crawling onto his face. He knows exactly what a secretive, aloof, and easily offended man-baby would get pissed off at.

“Hey, you know Leche has a twin, right?”

Illuso recalls the spot where you hid away all your passports, documents, and most exciting, birth certificates. ‘So typical,’ he nearly snickered out loud as he tucked the paper beneath your mattress. ‘You truly are a rookie.’

“Twin?” Melone’s ears seemingly perk up.

“Yup, and seems like they got the better half, they're actually pretty cute.”

Illuso knows of the others’ nature. He knows that even the tiniest seed of interest would soon grow into a giant oak, a curiosity he knows Melone can’t control.

“… Tell me more.”

And he does. He talks about how in comparison to you, your sibling shone like the sun. Where you were shabby and awkward, they were graceful with every move.

The longer he spoke, the more intrigued the other became. They almost didn’t notice Risotto at the door.

“Illuso, Melone.” His deep voice instantly catches their attention. “Prosciutto’s been shot.”

The two on the couch instantly sit up. To any of the men in the assassination squad, a sentence with Prosciutto’s name and any form of injury to it was simply a fairytale.

The last Melone heard of Prosciutto being hurt on a job was 5 years ago. Illuso had never heard of such a thing, and therefore didn’t think it was possible.

“Leche betrayed us.” Illuso says, more of a statement than a question. He feels blood rushing up to his chest in anger. No wonder he didn’t like you. Come to think of it, he always had a gut feeling about you—

“No. He’s the one that called.” Risotto’s out the door, leaving Illuso confused, and admittedly a bit crestfallen.

The brunette looks back at Melone, who seems just as bewildered.

“Is Prosciutto still conscious?” Risotto finally speaks after a period of silence at the other end of the line.

“Yes, but uh— he’s a bit delirious right now. I’m afraid if my Stand intervenes anymore, he’ll bleed out and I won’t know." You hope he can't tell from your tone that you're about to vomit right now from the sheer amount of anxiety you're facing, or that you're bluffing well enough to pass it off.

“The targets, what happened to them?”

“I took them down. They’re a few metres away from us in the alleyway.”

“Give the phone to Prosciutto,” the man orders.

Your hands shake as you do so, brain wracking up all the ways that Prosciutto could seriously throw you under the train right now. You hope he's in a kind mood, despite the bullet in his side.

There’s a deep heavy breathing on the other line, a small indication to Risotto of who was on the phone.

“Prosciutto,” Risotto’s voice lowered, if that was even possible, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m doing fine. This is nothing." From the way he struggled to keep his eyes open, it was something.

“How did you even—“ Risotto shuts his mouth before finishing, trying to think of why one of his best men would get injured on such a considerably easy hit.

“Is your new revolver giving you any trouble?”

“I don’t—“ Prosciutto’s mouth opens before he can truly think of an answer. Then he pauses. Though he’s not in the right state of mind, he still manages to understand the question.

You don’t seem interested in the conversation, keeping your sights on the side of his stomach where the bullet hit.

He looks to his right, where the targets lay dead. “I don't think it is. It worked well. It didn’t fail on me.”

Risotto lets out a sigh, relieving his chest of the black hole about to form from how long he’d been holding his breath.

“Alright. We’re on the way.”

You tilt your head once you hear the click from his phone, “… that’s a pistol.”

Prosciutto ignores you, still silently suffering from the injury. You shrug your shoulders, continuing your handiwork on his wound.

“… if you don’t know the names of your guns, you don’t have to be embarrassed by it. I’m willing to teach you—“ “I can take care of my own injuries.” He interjects coldly, though fatigue still sticks to his voice

“You also don’t have to be embarrassed of others helping you,” you sigh, making a point by tying the bandage around his waist a little tighter than you probably should’ve, “ Especially when they’re your comrades .”

Prosciutto clicks his tongue, snatching the roll away from you. “Your bandages are sloppy,” he complains, fixing his own injury up himself.

Truth be told, he just didn’t like the way you were inspecting his wound with such tenacity. How your fingers treated him as if he was made of glass.

No matter how much he tried to scrub the scene away from his head, he couldn’t forget the way you looked at him when the gunshot sounded. How fear filled your eyes.

Everyone reacts that way to a gunshot, yes, but the way your lips quivered and eyes widened made an impact on him.

Were you that afraid of him being hurt? He figured you would’ve looked happy, considering that all he’s given you during the past few days was hell.

Why weren’t you laughing in his face? Why did you fix him up with such careful hands? He tightens his lips as he tries to come up with a way to somehow make it up to you.

‘ Thank you’ simply wasn’t in his vocabulary when it comes to newbies.

He looks at your bloodied state, your knees dusted from their place scratching against the ground and your eyes sunken. You’re still standing despite getting your ass fairly beat by the opponents.

Minutes pass, and you can tell there’s something hanging in the air that is longing to be said.

“You didn't disappoint me.” He finally grunts, noting how your eyes seemed to light up at his sudden confession.

He bites the inside of his cheek when you smile to yourself.

“I’m glad,” you dust off your suit-jacket, clasping your hands together afterwards.

“And uh,” you clear your throat, awkwardly shifting on the balls of your feet, “Thank you for not passing out on me. I don’t think I could’ve handled that well.”

He scoffs at the gratitude, “I can’t just give up in the middle of a hit.”

Prosciutto says that, and yet his eyes seemed to brighten. You don’t bring it up, knowing he’d deny the claim until hell freezes over. “I guess so."

“Leche, Prosciutto.”

Your heads perk up at the voice. Risotto alerts the two of you, his silhouette brooding from the remaining sunlight behind him. Melone and (your favourite) Illuso follow him, like ducklings to their mother.

“Illuso, help Leche carry Prosciutto to the car.”

“Tch, wouldn’t it be better if Melone were the one to do this? It would help him gain some muscle…”

“Don’t make it seem like I’m not doing any work. I have to inform the client that the targets are done with— also that we need cleanup.”

Illuso rolls his eyes, clearly holding back a complaint as he stands beside the slightly-delirious Prosciutto.

“Good on you for not letting him die out here.” You let one side of your mouth perk up at his words as you hold Prosciutto’s arm around your neck. Illuso mirrors your actions.

“Seeing how much of a pussy you are, it was surprising when I heard you didn’t abandon him,” Illuso adds before lifting his side of the blond.

Your smile drops.

He really can’t compliment others without having to ruin it huh?

You let it go for now. Half because you don’t feel like arguing, and half because you have an idea on why your teammates' performance was… less than stellar today.

“I’m not going to sit here and watch you nap as if I’m your grandmother! You’re on a hit, act like it!” You remember him whipping your head with a rolled up newspaper.

You groaned, glaring at the blonde. “Is it my fault that Risotto sets these schedules up badly? He expects me at 6 am, and yet he—“ you felt a hand grip your mouth closed. Prosciutto was glaring daggers into you.

“Quit your ungrateful bitching. You’re lucky he let you in the team despite your stupidity and incompetence.”

You sensed murderous intent in the air. You knew if you tested him even the slightest bit more, he’d actually kill you. If he really wanted to, he could have ended you right then and there.

He let go of your jaw, and you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. In a panic, Your Stand secreted a chemical to calm Prosciutto down without him noticing.

Throughout the whole day, he’d complain of headaches and bouts of sudden dizziness. You cringe, realizing how it only began once you asked When She Cries to save your ass from his lectures (and possibly the pistol you knew he kept hidden away in his pocket.

Had he been untouched by your stand, you’re sure he would have been able to dodge the bullet.

“… It was the bare minimum to treat him. It’s what a good partner does,” you smile as you reply, eyeing the way Risotto nods his head in approval.

They don’t need to know about your Stand’s interference. Not now. Not ever.

[spicesprinkles]

KinnPorsche - Finale

Wow, that final episode was amazing! I love how they tied most loose ends up if S2 doesn't end up happening - it ended in a satisfying way but left just a few breadcrumbs setting up a second season if it’s greenlit.

Here are my final thoughts:

Kinn and Porsche 💜 got a happy ending, which I hoped they would. After all, they are the main couple. MileApo are godtier! I will never be able to put into words just how grateful I am to them for putting their heart and soul into these characters and in this couple. I love that Kinn and Porsche are now Mafia King husbands where the rift between the Main and Minor families is starting to close. This is also how it ended in the novel. I think Porsche will be a good influence on the Minor family and will bring some humanity in. It also sets up potential angst between KP in S2. But if they could overcome everything thrown at them this season, they can overcome anything.

This couple is everything and has cemented themselves as my #2 OTP ship after WangXian.

VegasPete 🩸💜🥀 Wow, is all I can say. Despite VP not starting until later in the show, this couple was everything I hoped it would be (aka still dark but Pete being in on the darkness). Bible is phenomenal - in the hands of any other actor, Vegas wouldn't be as loved as he is, even after everything he’s done. Also knew he wasn't dead (though I got scared for a second there). Vegas didn't die in the novel and BOC changed the car crash to a gunshot (probably ran out of budget by then) and it made it more emotional with Pete crying over his body. I’m happy Vegas-Pete-Macau have each other.

KimChay 🌸 Bittersweet ending which I’m happy with. Chay is still so young and they both need to find themselves separately before coming together as one. This ship ended on a hopeful note.

Other thoughts:

All the emotional feels when Vegas called Porsche and warned him what his father was going to do. Essentially telling him, ‘Kinn is in danger, now is the time to act but also, sadly our short-term alliance must come to an end. I do like you, but I have to stand by my father’s side’.

Porsche/Porchay’s mother still being alive. Huge shock for everyone including novel readers. There is something mysterious about her - we don’t know the whole story. What was Gun about to reveal? Is she the true heir and Korn is keeping her locked up? Is she the one who killed her husband? Is she just as cunning and as willing to use her children for her own game as her brothers are? Is she faking her amnesia to keep her sons safe from something? Her expression in the last shot is up for interpretation: 1 - amnesiac woman cut off from the world who is damaged beyond repair - scared of her sons but with a hint of recognition; 2 - cunning and manipulative with a plan of her own; 3 - not their mother at all, or 4 - a woman being controlled by her brother and now has two children she needs to protect? They could take this is in either direction, I wonder which one they will choose.

Tankhun: 👑👑👑👑👑👑

I don’t trust Korn at all. The man clearly loves his children but he’s been poisoned by greed and power. He now controls all the pieces on the chessboard and looks invincible rn but for how long? Personally, really want Porsche’s mom to bring her brother down with the help of her eldest son and his husband - we need some badass Mafia Queens!

Vegas finally getting Kinn where he wants him, and knowing killing Porsche while he watches would break him the most. Like I said, Vegas clearly likes Porsche but he’s willing to do what he needs to, to win in his father’s eyes. All is fair in love and war.

Kinn/Porsche/Co. caring that Vegas is recovering. There doesn't seem to be bad blood between them a month later. They’ve all used one another in some form and they know they’re all fu*ked up in one way or another. But in the world of Mafia, they’re all each other has. I kinda like big fu*ked up families who want to kill each other one minute but deep down loves each other in that morally grey kind of way. 

Erika and Chan: Loyal to the end.

Those action sequences and KP GunTango? *Double chef’s kiss*

We all agree that Kinn and Porsche are married right?

In Conclusion:

What the hell do I do with my life now? But seriously, thank you to the actors, and to the crew and to BOC. They promised an adult, LGBTQ+ Mafia love story filled with morally grey characters, action, passion, lies and deceit, found family, comedy and above all a story of falling in love and what it means to be human. And boy did they deliver!

9 / 10 for me. 

[h0rnyshakespeare]

could you do a fantasy au with bakugou as a kitsune? you’ve just recently moved into a cottage in the woods to get away from your previous life, when you stubble across baku in a trap surrounded by hunters! you of course aren’t going to let some assholes hurt an innocent creature, so you devise a plan to get him free. you draw the hunter’s attention away from the caged baku, causing them to run off. you then get to baku, and are able to free him. though a slight problem, the hunters are coming back, and they see you messing with their ‘find.’ while you’re frozen in place, baku literally picks you up, and jumps into the trees, evading gunshots. he keeps you there until the hunters go away.

after all this drama, you start hanging out with the kitsune more and more. you two get closer as time goes on, and bakugou becomes more and more infatuated and protective of you. he’s touchier, softer, and overall more gentle with you. he even lets you touch his ears and tail. everything is all well and good when oh no, the hunters are back, and they’re out for revenge. while you’re at the cottage, they ransack your home, chasing you out into the woods. you’re sprinting, calling for bakugou as the hunters are gaining. just then, none other than the fox himself jumps in and beats the absolute shit outta the hunters. he then turns to you, worry as well as rage in his eyes. he sees they’ve hurt you, and that’s the final nail in the coffin for what he’s about to do. “Stay with me.” he pleads. “you don’t have a safe home anymore, and even if you did, i can’t promise your safety. i NEED you to be safe, okay. stay with me as my mate. i’ll hunt for you. i’ll protect you. anything, and you’ve got it.” you’re stunned. eyes wide, you ask him why. why does he care so much? nobody else ever did, so why does he, as powerful and as beautiful as he is. the answer isn’t as hard as you would think “it’s because i fucking love you...”

OKAY this is definitely long and more of a vent than anything but i think it’s so cute! just imagine cuddling with him as soft and as cute as he would be, hanging over you like a jungle cat. very nice, very nice indeed

kitsune!Bakugou x gn!reader (I couldn't think of a title, sorry)

Genre: Fantasy

Warnings: Swearing caz Bakugou, brief mentions of gunshots (that’s it I think?? But if there’s anything I missed please let me know)

Word Count: 2.5k

A/N: Tysm for requesting, this was such a cute idea! I’m sorry this took some time, exams are coming so my writing’s a little slow haha. I wrote this to be gn!reader but if anywhere implies otherwise please let me know :) And to everyone else who requested, I’m working on them!

Y/N: Your name

L/N: Last name

You had recently moved into a little cottage in the woods, not too far away from the main city, but enough to be away from the busy, commercial life you once lived. Others might disagree, but you felt more at peace among nature, like you were truly satisfied. You had never enjoyed living among many people, so you were excited to start your new life, out here in the woods. As you walked back to your cottage after taking a walk to familiarize yourself with your new surroundings, you heard a few voices up ahead. You groaned, not wanting to socialize with anyone, but before you could turn to take a different route to avoid whoever was there, you overheard one of the voices say, “We’re gonna get a fine amount of money for this creature’s fur, ya hear me? So make sure the trap is secure.” A couple of other voices mumbled in agreement. You frowned. Although you could not really make out what animal they had caught, you did know that whatever they were doing, it sounded illegal. You sighed. You did not want to confront anyone, but you made your way towards the voices. You saw three men surrounding a cage, holding… guns? “What have I gotten myself into?” you internally groaned, but it was too late to turn back now. “Um, excuse me?” you called out hesitantly. They turned at the sound of your voice, looking displeased. You smiled nervously. “Hi, um, it’s actually illegal to hunt in this area…” you trailed off, seeing their annoyance. “How would you know, you little punk? Go braid daisy crowns or whatever you do in this dump,” one of them sneered at you. You were slowly growing irritated, but you kept the smile on your face, determining to help whatever animal they had imprisoned. “Ok, well, I was going to let you know that if you walk a few miles from here, there is a hunting area. You guys aren’t the first hunters I’ve seen around here,” you lied through your teeth, trying to distract them to give you enough time to release the trapped creature. “If you check it out, I’ll forget I even saw you guys here, and no one will know that y’all were hunting illegally, ok? Plus, I’ve seen a lot of finer animals in that area.” “Maybe we should listen to her, boss,” one of the hunters said to the one who had spoken to you first. “I mean, it is just a fox, and if we’re caught…” he whispered the rest of his sentence to their leader, who in turn frowned. “Fuck, whatever. How far is the hunting area, kid?” he asked, the question directed to you. “Oh, um, about… 10 miles from here? In that direction,” you said, pointing. “You better not be lying to us,” the hunter glared at you, making you gulp. You tried to act nonchalant until they were out of sight, then immediately rushed to the trap. You gasped when you saw a beautiful fox with… tan, almost golden fur. You had never even heard of foxes that colour. The hunters were idiotic to listen to you and leave this amazing creature, but you were glad they did. The fox made a low, growling noise, snapping you out of your trance. “Ah, right, I’m sorry, I’ll let you out now, don’t worry,” you said, suddenly feeling stupid that you were conversing with an animal. You quickly set your attention onto setting it free. The trap looked complicated to deactivate, but you realized it was actually quite simple, and you managed to free the fox in no time. “There you go,” you smiled, “You’re free now.” Surprisingly, the fox lingered, studying you with beautiful carmine eyes. First tan fur, now red eyes? “You’re like something outta a fairy tale, huh? So pretty,” you said softly, gazing at it at wonder, when you heard distant voices shouting.

Crap. The hunters.

“You really thought you could fool us! There were no animals in that area!” “Ahaha fuck, I’m in trouble,” you murmured, thinking of a way to escape, when you remembered the fox was still here! “Hey uh, you really should get outta here-” you said, turning to find not a fox, but a man with fox ears and a- no wait, nine tails. Your eyes widened, freezing as you tried to process what just happened.

“Oi, dumbass, if you’re not gonna run they’re gonna get you, you know.”

“I- uhhh… well this is a weird dream,” you chuckled nervously. “Tch, idiot,” was all he said before picking you up bridal-style and running faster than the hunters could catch up. You felt something whizz past your ear. “HOLY FU- THEY’RE SHOOTING AT US!” you yelled, grabbing at the man’s collar. “Thanks for stating the obvious, dumbass!” he yelled back. “Now would you shut up so I can focus on not dying?” You quickly turned silent after that statement. Without warning the… man? fox? man fox?? suddenly took a huge leap into the trees, landing on a branch that somehow held his weight. You yelped, then quickly covered your mouth in order to keep quiet as you saw the hunters running past from underneath. “They’re gone now,” you heard the man speak as he set you down on the branch. The tree you both were on was sturdy, giving you a secure foothold. You turned to face him. “Uh, thanks for saving me back there, but I’m pretty sure you were a fox when I first saw you…?” “Tch. Humans really have gotten dumber over the past few years haven’t they. I’m a kitsune. Ya know what that is?” Your eyes widened. “A-a kitsune as in the ones in the fairy tales? The foxes who can shapeshift to humans, and have many tails…” you trailed off, feeling stupid that you had not noticed earlier. The kitsune smirked in response. “Yeah, and I have nine, meaning I’m the most powerful. You’re lucky I was there to save you.” “You saved me? Who was trapped in a cage, huh? If anything, you should be thanking me,” you huffed, annoyed. Who did he think he was? He said nothing, simply gazing at you with interest written all over the flaming pools of scarlet that were his eyes. You tried not to feel intimidated by them, not knowing what powers this creature possessed. You could not deny that he was beautiful as a human, alluring even, with blonde hair similar to his fox fur, and his body looked as if it were sculpted by gods. You gulped, forcing yourself to stop staring at all the scars scattering his bare chest. He smirked as if he knew exactly what you were thinking of, causing your face to heat up. “Where do you live, dumbass? I’m sure you can’t climb down trees.” You rolled your eyes, embarrassed that he was right. “Not far from here, I’ll manage.” “Don’t be ridiculous,” was all he said before he lifted you in his arms again, leaping to the ground and taking you home in no time. “I didn’t even give you directions,” you said, confused. He sighed. “I could smell your scent from here. Why do you live in the middle of the forest?” “Caz I want to??” you said. “That’s weird,” he responded. “Don’t you live here too though?” you retorted. You saw a smirk flicker briefly on his face before being replaced again with his bored expression. “I’ll see you around then, dumbass.” He said, turning to leave. “Wait!” you called out, immediately regretting it. Why’d I do that? But there was no time to question your actions as he looked at you, eyebrow raised. “Uh, I-I just wanted to know your name,” you said a little breathlessly. “Katsuki Bakugou,” he said, never breaking eye contact. “Bakugou, huh? Well, I’m Y/N L/N,” you replied. Bakugou shrugged. “I’ll be leaving then dumbass.” You huffed. “I literally just told you my name!” “And?” was all he said, before vanishing through the foliage of trees. You exhaled slowly, feeling a little disoriented. You had so many questions but decided not to think too much of the day’s events, instead opting for relaxing in your new home.

The next day, you decided to just hang out at home, yet you could not get the kitsune out of your mind, making you frustrated. “Ah, fuck it,” you mumbled, before heading out. You were not sure where you were going, but you walked in the same direction you did yesterday. “What are you doing this you idiot? What if the hunters find you again?” you thought, yet your body did not listen, continuing to walk in the same path. You did not run into anyone on the way. Unfortunately, that included Bakugou. You decided to just sit down under a tree and read the book you had brought with you. You had been peacefully reading for a while, the sounds of the forest soothing to you ears.

“Well fancy seeing you here.” You whipped your head at the sound of his voice. You saw the fox with tan fur you rescued yesterday. “Bakugou?” He transformed into his human form, grinning as he did so. “So, what’re you doing here, dumbass? Missed me?” You rolled your eyes. “You wish. I came here to relax for a bit.” “Whatever you say, dumbass. What’re you reading?” You showed him your book, causing him to snort. “What?” you asked, slightly irritated. What was his deal? “Your taste is so bland, I’m not surprised.” “Fuck off,” you responded. “As if you’ve ever even touched a book before.” “I have,” Bakugou said, raising his eyebrows. “Didn’t peg you as the type to read,” you said, getting back to your book. “Is that all modern-day kitsunes do these days?” Bakugou shrugged. “I’ve never met any others here.” You looked back at him, surprised. “So… you’re alone?” “Tch. I just prefer to be by myself.” You nodded. “Me too.” “Pfft, you? You look like someone who would love being around people, with how much you talk and all.” You glared at him. “And this is exactly why I like being on my own.” He raised his arms. “I guess I’ll leave then. Since you seem to really hate company, right dumbass?” “My name is not dumbass, it’s Y/N. Why’re you so rude?” you hissed. You were met with silence when you realized he had left. You could not believe you actually came out all this way just to talk to him, only for him to randomly leave mid-conversation. You huffed, shifting your position to get more comfortable. “I’m still here you know.” You jumped, hearing his voice from above you. “What the hell?” He snorted in amusement. “You really think you could get rid of me that easily, dumbass?” You rolled your eyes, but inside you felt secretly happy that he had stayed, and you hated it. “You’re so annoying,” you retorted, turning a page in your book, yet somehow not really seeing the words. It was quiet for a while, before Bakugou jumped back down to the ground, sitting next to you. “Read that for me,” he said in a tone unlike his usual one. “What?” “You seem to like this trash so much, so read it,” he said, making himself comfortable. You sighed. “Fine.”

And so began the afternoons you would spend with him. Every day, you would meet him under the same tree and read. Sometimes he would fall asleep next to you, exposing a more soft and vulnerable side of him, contrasting to his normally brash and rough personality. It was pretty sweet, and over time, your feelings for him only grew. You were not sure, but you felt that he too had become softer and gentler around you as time went on. He even let you pet his ears, blushing whenever you did so, trying to hide his flusteredness behind his colourful words. He even went as far as falling asleep on your lap in wolf-form, making you happy he could trust you with the more vulnerable side of him.

You were at home, about to leave to meet Bakugou, when you heard some commotion outside. You were about to check when you heard the door break open. “Find them!” you heard a loud voice say. Your blood ran cold. The hunters? Why were they so set on revenge? You heard something break as they stormed through your house. Before you could grab something to defend yourself, one of them burst into your room, causing you to freeze. “There you fucking are,” he said moving towards you, blocking the exit. Thinking fast, you opened the window next to you and jumped out. Thankfully, it was close to the ground, so you easily picked yourself up and you ran, not daring to look back, but you heard them shouting and running after you. You sprinted down the familiar path, calling for Bakugou as you did. “Goddammit, where are you Bakugou?” you yelled as the hunters gained on you, when-

“The HELL you fuckers think you’re doing, HAH?”

You had never felt so relieved to hear his voice. “Bakugou!” “Stay behind me,” was all he said before going absolutely feral. He beat them up in no time, then watched as they ran away in terror. When he made sure they were gone, he turned to you, anger dissipating, his eyes filled with worry. “You ok?” You nodded weakly, then raised your arm, showing him the wound you had gotten when one of the hunters had shot at you. “It’s not bad, don’t worry. The bullet didn’t hit me, just grazed my skin.” “Shit,” Bakugou cursed as he took your arm in his hand, examining it. “That’s definitely more than a fucking graze.” “It’ll heal, I’m good at first aid,” you said. Bakugou looked at you, incredulous. “Dumbass, this needs more than first aid, are you really that stupid? Don’t move,” he said as his hands began to glow. He positioned them above your wound, using his power to heal you. “Thanks, Bakugou,” you said when he was done. “Really, I appreciate everything.” “Katsuki,” he said, not looking at you. “Huh?” you said, confused. “Call me Katsuki, dumbass.” A playful smile made its way on your lips. “Sure, when you call me Y/N.” He chuckled, then looked at you with a serious gaze. “I want you to stay with me.” You looked at him, dumbfounded. “W-What? What do you mean?” “Your home isn’t safe anymore. Those hunters could come back anytime, I went easy on them. I need you to be safe, Y/N, I-” he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “What would’ve happened to you if I wasn’t there? Just… please, become my mate Y/N. I’ll do anything for you, I’ll hunt for you, protect you, anything you want.” You were stunned, trying to process what he had just asked. “Y-You want me to be your… your mate? Why? And why would someone like you care so much about someone like me when no one really ever has?” He blushed, looking away to glare at the grass. “Fuck, I don’t know, maybe it’s caz I fucking love you, dumbass.”

[malinaa]

trc rewrite

the secret good trc in our heads co-written by @rosesau 

they’re actually in college :)

ronan’s a criminal justice major just for fun. gansey has smth w history and polisci but on a law track. adam is a psych major and blue majors in fashion design. noah would’ve been undeclared 

this is technically just three books in our heads bc so much of trc is just... useless 

blue is a woc who actually IS a feminist 

ronan should seek HER approval bc she’s just so cool <3

adam gets bitches 

blue and adam kiss. obviously

adam has sexy brown eyes

yk what adam also has sexy scars on his hands <333

this post but we’re making all the genesis symbolism Blatant and Intentional 

blue has friends at school that the readers get to know. she IS like the other girls 

declan lynch is somebody’s favorite . 

that’s for the declan girlies <3

the fox way women actually matter. they HAVE to pass the bechdel test 😭 on god we’re gonna do it 

get rid of the gray man / malory / greenmantle and his wife piper / whelk (replace whelk’s pov with noah’s). no gwenllian either. or artemus sorry blue but no. 

we’re not having a fucking hit man date blue’s mother. 

we’re also just not making blue a tree. like why. why did maggie do that. why did maggie make maura fuck a tree

actually we get alive!noah’s pov instead of whelk and we build up to his death... im about to sob. we are NOT forgetting noah. this is for book 1

book 1 should actually just focus on noah and cabeswater’s existence and blue/adam

it should be a mystery with magical elements. like noah and cabeswater start off as seemingly separate entities but then as the gang finds out more, they realize they’re entangled 

bluesey fuck. they don’t kiss. i mean they kiss pushing daisies style <3

also re: bluesey... their arcs ... we’re gonna make them have parallel arcs where blue’s fine with gansey dying in the beginning and slowly not accepting he’s gonna die. then u have gansey who has faced death and feared it and is trying so hard to run away from it, to someone who wants and asks blue to kiss him. he will walk to death willingly

book 1: instead of gansey seeing glendower in the vision, he sees the same vision as blue... imagine that....

blue has the vision first, then gansey smth smth knowledge being passed from eve to adam smth smth 

blue and adam gets wrapped up at the end of book 1 or the beginning of book 2 at the latest and they kiss in st agnes

we are absolutely murdering adam’s father. robert parrish must die 

what if ronan kills robert parrish ... ahaha jk... unless 😳

book 2 should’ve been: gray man stalks the gang, ronan finds out kavinsky’s a dreamer, ronan wants to protect himself and his friends but then kavinsky teaches him how to dream and ronan’s like. ur fucking insane but ur like fine or whatever and then the gray man targets them both for potentially being graywarens and he grabs kavinsky and ronan saves him in the dream 💆🏻‍♀️ kavinsky is alive. no dragons bc ... what the fuck???? i love a good dragon as much as the next person but cmon... 

TOGA PARTY. BLUE AND GANSEY FU-[gunshots]

at the end there either IS a king that they can ask a favor from but it’s only 1 favor OR . there is no king and we establish that early on n then we just vibe

gansey dies from blue’s kiss and then noah sacrafices himself for gansey and moves on AND THEY REMEMBER HIM. GOD. noah saying “this is my choice. this is my sacrifice.” 

just for funsies we’re gonna make gansey and adam drunkenly hook up. like so true bi kings

this series is about a bunch of repressed el gee bee tees

i’m fixing bluesey. cross my heart. just trust me on this i got repressed pining sexual tension yearning down 

bluesey car scene. drive by halsey. like.... there NEEDS to be more tension ... like kanej-level-several-pages-type-of-tension

bluesey in the car fu-[gunshots again] 

blue get her own mint plant… putting a leaf on her tongue just so she can imagine what he tastes like

also massive love to big noses rip to maggie but big noses are sexy 

any plot points that most readers just do not rmbr... its out love n light 2 maggie

actually we’re sending hatred and darkness. fuck her. weird ass

ok but rly like why was greenmantle and his wife there why was gwenllian there if only to make the 300 fox way girlies a trio again (there are Enough to make a trio already just add one of the younger girlies) why does the gray man have an arc why does he have an arc why is he important what does he even do. every scene with the jesse the guy guarding the cave. What was the reason... actually we are getting RID of the cave. this is why it’s only 3 books instead of 4. like find maura in cabeswater. blue does not need gwenllian to learn more about being a mirror like neeve could’ve said one off handed comment in trb and blue could just suddenly rmbr

seed: WHO is jesse

me: guy who guards the cave 😭

pynch stays the same. maggie has one right for them 

actually wait . this CAN be 4 books. everything that we got rid of is just replaced by bluesey and pynch fucking. 

god more of pynch in the barns.... HELPPPPPPPP 

and for the declan girlies... we get more declan <3 

no bluesey roadtrip... with HENRY?????? sorry to all the henry stans but i dont get him 

the way it would help to actually remember the books but we don’t

[ragingbookdragon]

To Be Human--To Be Alive

Hal Jordan x Reader One-Shot

Word Count: 3.5 Warnings: Explicit Language, Mentions of Death, Angst

Author's Note: I've been listening to Calum Scott's "Biblical" on repeat since it came out and I thought about this. Enjoy! -Thorne

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

Hal Jordan was no stranger to pain. He’d felt it all: emotional, psychological, physical, mental, the list goes on and on, up and down, left and right, every which way until the end of time. That being said, he still wasn’t used to being thrown into concrete walls by meta-humans who had strength equivalent to Superman’s.

He rolled onto his side, feeling his broken ribs shift beneath his skin, and groaned, trying to find the will in him to get to his feet. All he had the strength to do was look over at Barry who was busy getting his own ass handed to him by another meta-human who seemed overly fond of freezing his feet.

A sinister laugh came from above him and Hal turned his head, eyes widening as he saw the meta-human standing before him a slab of concrete raised in his hands.

“Oh fu—”

He saw it before he heard it. The meta-human’s head intact one second and exploding into a hundred shards of brain matter and bone, some of it splattering across Hal’s suit and face. The concrete slab fell behind the meta-human and then he went to his knees, body pitching forward to land beside Hal’s feet.

The echo of the gunshot was enough to gather the other’s attention and her eyes had barely widened before another shot echoed across the street and her head exploded too, body falling beside Barry.

The two superheroes scrambled to their feet, and Hal was already forgetting about his broken ribs, willing constructs to life in order to provide protection for him and his best friend. Whoever killed the two enemies wasn’t firing anymore, but Hal wasn’t going to take any chances.

Green Lantern. Flash. Come in.

Barry skidded a stop beside Hal who shifted his hand, making the constructs combine into one giant wall; he put his free hand to his ear. “We’re here, Batman.”

What just happened? The life signs of your targets just went offline.

Hal looked to his friend whose blue eyes were wide, equally shocked about the turn of events. “Uh…about that…”

What happened?

“Batman, we’ve got a sniper somewhere in the range of our local. Took down both meta-humans within seconds of each other.”

Deceased?

Hal glanced behind him at the freezing meta-human’s corpse, a giant pool of blood growing from the spurting arteries. “Well, they don’t have heads anymore, so, yeah. They’re deceased.”

Understood. Superman’s coming in for protection.

The line clicked and Barry looked at Hal. “I think we should move. If that sniper’s still in the area, we shouldn’t be hanging around waiting to find out.”

Hal let the speedster pick him up, speeding down an alley away from the street so they’d be out of the line of sight. “What type of gun do you think they used?”

Barry shrugged, setting Hal down. “I don’t know. Normal rifles don’t do that much damage, even from that distance.” He didn’t even want to look out the alley way. “That had to be a high caliber rifle.”

“You think they’re a friendly?”

“Hal, they just blew off two people’s heads. That doesn’t seem friendly to me.”

He shrugged. “Well yeah, but they didn’t blow our heads off so…” he tipped his head side to side. “Seems like they were helping.”

Barry glowered at him. “Blowing people’s heads off isn’t helping superheroes. It’s vigilantism gone dark.”

“Sheesh, you sound like Spooky with that attitude.” Hal griped, turning with a new construct when a flash of red appeared in their visions. He lowered it when he realized it was Superman. “Supes!”

“Are you two okay?” Superman asked.

“We’re fine,” Barry replied. “The bullets came from the right. If I had to take a guess, it would’ve been the parking garage in the distance.”

Clark shook his head. “I checked. There were no signs of scuffing from a gun stand, or GSR around the area.”

“So, where’d they fire from?” Hal questioned and Clark nodded towards the street.

“Somewhere farther than just this street.” He glanced at them. “Whoever it was is gone now. C’mon, Batman’s getting a statement ready for the local PD.” He flew off, leaving Hal and Barry standing beside one another, more confused than anything.

***

Calling in late to work had never been Hal’s thing. Honestly, as lazy as he was sometimes, he loved his job. Loved the thrill of getting up in the air, loved feeling the shock sending him into his seat as he broke the sound barriers in the sky. Scrounging around parking garages and abandoned buildings for a ghost-shooter wasn’t his idea of a good day.

So far, he’d searched at least three abandoned buildings in the area, each coming up empty, and the last one showed the exact same signs. He sighed, letting the construct fade. Even the ring couldn’t make heads or tails with any of the evidence around him. Whoever their shooter was, was practically a specter. Hal had no idea how someone managed to shoot two meta-humans down that fast and then leave just as quickly, escaping both Barry and Clark’s abilities.

Hal had seen people killed before. Had even done the same a few times, even up in the air on combat missions and in his suit when he had no other choice. But seeing someone’s head burst like a watermelon hitting concrete right in front of his very eyes was something completely different. A different level of fear that there was someone out there ready to do the same to him, and all it would’ve taken was a random whim and a finger pulling a trigger. But it was like he told Barry—whoever their shooter was, wasn’t shooting to kill them, they were helping.

He drew his eyes along the wall of the empty room, finally resigning himself to the fact that he wasn’t going to find whoever it was that had helped them; with that, he sighed, letting his shoulders droop—he was going to lose fifty bucks to Barry because of this.

“Giving up so soon?” Hal spun around, coffee eyes wide as he scanned the room around him. “I’m surprised Green Lantern showed up. I was expecting Superman or Batman.”

“Who said that?” he questioned, spinning in a circle.

“Who or what?”

“What?”

“Who.”

Hal growled. “Quit screwing with me.” Apparently, they already knew who he was, and he let the green suit flash to life. “Show yourself.”

“Why should I?” they asked in return. “I saved your life.”

“You blew off two people’s heads.” He retorted.

“Should I have let the metas crush you and freeze off Flash’s legs? And here I thought you wanted to live and let your best friend be safe.”

“Killing people isn’t always the answer.” Hal said, turning around again and then he saw it, the glimmer of what looked like a tactical cloak. He pointed to the corner of the room and let a construct come alive. “Show yourself.”

The glimmer appeared again, and then something booted down and he watched as the tactical cloak faded, leaving a woman in its place, sitting up against the wall, one leg stretched out, the other pulled up near her chest, her elbow resting on her knee—and a big sniper rifle was resting against her chest, barrel pointing up towards the ceiling.

She was decked out in some kind of cyber armor that Hal could only describe as futuristic, solid black with purple electric currents running through the slots where the plates of her gear met, mainly down her shoulders and arms, and down the sides of her chest to her ribs to her feet.

“What’re you doing here, Green Lantern?” she inquired, the mask she wore muffling her voice enough that it wouldn’t give identification; her visor was darkened too. “Shouldn’t you be in the air, flyboy?”

Hal tipped his head curiously. “You know who I am?”

She nodded. “I do. And who Batman and your friends are.”

“How?” Batman’s identity was practically unidentifiable unless he told someone.

“Government databases as well as a hacked encryption into the Justice League computers.” She seemed awfully nonchalant as she shifted and rose to her feet, slinging the rifle to her backs. Even when Hal aimed the construct at her, she didn’t seem phased. “Why are you here?”

He blinked. “I wanted to find you.”

“What for?”

“Well…I’ve got a bet riding on finding you, but I also wanted to see where you’d shot from.”

She eyed him momentarily then gestured him over to the window; he stood beside her, and she pointed down the street. “I shot from here.”

Hal’s eyes almost bulged out of his head—he couldn’t even see the street they’d been on. “That’s gotta be at least eighteen hundred meters. Maybe farther.”

“Fifty caliber rifles are built for long range.” She merely replied. “I heard the commotion when the JL got into the city. Then I heard you and Bartholomew Allen getting beat down and decided to level the playing field.”

“How’d you hear commotion that far away?” he asked, and she tapped the side of her head.

“I’ve got enhanced senses. But the detection cameras around the city help too.”

Hal looked at her, watching as her eyes were darting around the street, like she was trying to work a strategy in her head; it reminded him of Barry. “Are you some kind of super soldier?”

She nodded. “I was. Designation Spectre.” Her head turned and she met his eyes. “I was created for covert military operations.”

“You mean assassinations?” he mused, and she nodded.

“Amongst other things, yes.”

“So, if you’re a military toy, why are you here?”

Something shifted in the air and Hal shivered. “Because when they cut the operation, they started hunting down all the soldiers. I went AWOL before they got to me.”

“You’re on the run?” Hal was sympathetic to her, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder. “I can help you. Come to the Watchtower with me and we’ll see about setting you up with us.”

Her head turned again, this time staring at the hand gripping her shoulder; he didn’t seem to get the hint because he squeezed her arm. “You mean come to the government regulated superhero operation? That one?”

He winced. “Okay, maybe that wasn’t the smartest thing I could’ve said.” He pulled away. “But we can protect you. Or at least get you to safety away from any enemies.”

She grunted quietly. “There’s a lot of enemies after the bounty on my head.”

“How many?”

“Well, Deathstroke’s been a recurring figure.” She rolled her shoulder and turned around, walking away from the window. “He’s more annoying than dangerous. Like a brown recluse infestation that you just can’t kill.”

“Do you want to come with me though? I can take you directly to the Watchtower and call Batman.”

“I don’t think someone like Batman is going to like someone like me coming into his territory.”

Hal made a face. “Excuse you, the Watchtower is our territory.”

“Yeah, everyone but Wonder Woman is Batman’s bitch.” She bemused. “You just think the place is for everyone.”

“Still waiting on a yes or no.” Hal griped.

“I’m thinking it over.” Then she fell silent for a few moments; she hummed and looked at him. “Alright I’ll go with you.”

Hal cocked a brow. “It took you that long to think about it?”

She scoffed and led him from the room. “Don’t be ridiculous, my mind moves at a speed similar to Bartholomew Allen’s or Bruce Wayne’s.” She glanced at him. “I was looking over the watchtower floor plans in case you decided to collect my bounty and I needed to escape.”

He merely blinked at her and formed a construct outside the building, watching as she climbed in. “Something tells me you’re going to be a handful.”

“Well, I can tell you like having your hands full, Hal Jordan.”

Hal chuckled. “What’s your name?”

“(Y/N) (L/N).”

***Months Later***

Oddly enough to Hal’s surprise, (Y/N) fit right in with the League. She and Barry could talk about forensic science for hours, going into their own little world that only batman knew anything about, and occasionally, the Big Bat himself would involve himself in their discussions. It was the one time Hal thought that Batman was enjoying himself. Of course, Batman also seemed to enjoy training with her.

They’d go for hours on the mat, switching through different forms of martial arts, and Hal and the others kept a betting ring on who would win each match because for all the greatness Bruce Wayne was as Batman, (Y/N) seemed to be the only person who could match him blow for blow and still win sometimes.

Diana loved her, or so she loved the idea that (Y/N) didn’t back down from fights or simply let enemies off the hook. And he understood from listening and learning, that (Y/N) enjoyed Greek literature and culture, prompting the two women to delve into deep conversations over history and stories.

Everyone loved (Y/N). She was like Bruce if he were lethal and was kind. And Hal? Hal wanted nothing more than to take her to dinner, but surprisingly, (Y/N) was either extremely dense or she just didn’t want to date anybody because every time Hal asked her out, she had an excuse. And while Hal backed off when a woman said no, she’d not said no yet, so he was merely wondering if she was waiting it out—something he was going to find out, come hell or high water.

***

He watched as she held the soldering iron in one hand and held up the gauntlet in the other, examining her work before deciding it was decent enough to call it a day. Setting both the armor and the tool down, she stood from her seat and stretched, rolling her muscles, and popping her joints. She didn’t like to be still for long periods of time unless she was doing something, like sitting in a sniper nest or enhancing equipment; he’d learned that the hard way after they were set on global patrol in the Watchtower one night.

“Do you want something?” she asked, not looking at him as she gathered her armor together.

Hal chuckled, walking over to lean against the table. “A few things.”

“Gonna ask me out again?” (Y/N) questioned, putting the gear into a footlocker.

“Finally gonna say no?” he responded, and she stood up, meeting his gaze.

“Do you want a no?”

Hal shrugged. “It’d be easier than having to come up with another excuse for asking you out.”

(Y/N) hummed, walking past him and he followed her as she wandered through the hall of the Watchtower. “So far you’ve asked me out twenty-one times.”

“I’m tempted to make twenty-two, if you’ll say yes.”

She paused and turned on him, giving him an odd look. “Why do you want to go out with me? Aren’t you worried about fraternization?”

“Fraternization is only regulated in the military,” Hal shrugged off. “We’re no longer in the force.”

“That only answered part of the questions.”

Hal reached out, thumbing a smudge of oil off her face. “I’m interested in you.”

“That’s it?” (Y/N) inquired. “You’re interested in me and that’s why you won’t quit asking me out on dates?”

“You’re smokin’ hot?” he offered with a snarky grin, and she rolled her eyes, turning around.

“Every day I’m reminded of why you’re such a skirt-chaser.”

As she walked off, he hurried behind her and grabbed her upper arm. “(Y/N), wait.” She paused and he pulled her around. “Go out with me tonight.”

“Are you asking or telling?” she challenged. “Because the latter isn’t going to fly with me.”

Hal snorted. “It’s a bit of both.” When she cocked a brow, he added, “Go out with me tonight, and if you don’t have a good time, we’ll never talk about it again and I’ll stop asking.”

(Y/N) regarded him a moment. “Promise?”

“Cross my heart.”

She pulled her arm from his grip and spit into her hand holding it out to him. “Shake on it, flyboy.”

Hal pulled a face and grabbed her hand, shaking it firmly, and when (Y/N) pulled back and stalked off, he grimaced and wiped his hand down his pants—but he was happy she finally agreed.

***

“It’s been a long time since I had good Cuban food,” she murmured, glancing towards the stars in the sky. “I’d forgotten how good it was.”

Hal looked over at her, folding his hands in his lap. “Before or after the program?”

(Y/N) hummed. “Before…I grew up in an old neighborhood in the suburbs of Jacksonville…there was a Cuban restaurant down the street from my house and we used to go there all the time for dinner.”

“Who’s ‘we’?”

“My family.”

Something in her tone seemed bitter, but also disheartened and lamenting. “Have you seen them since you came back?”

(Y/N) looked away and muttered darkly, “The government executed them when they couldn’t bring me in.” Her lips pulled down. “I heard that none of my family gave into their demands…they were loyal to me until the end.”

Hal felt his heart sink in his chest. “I’m so sorry, (Y/N). That’s horrible.”

She shrugged. “I killed the squad that attacked them…I got my revenge.” Her eyes found his as she looked back over. “What about you? Is your family still around?”

He found it hard to believe she didn’t know even though she knew everyone before she joined. “You don’t know my history?”

“I only know your name,” she responded. “And what little you’ve shared. Well…little is for Batman, you share an awful amount of yourself with everyone.”

Hal snorted and nudged her in the ribs. “Hey, just tryin’ to be friendly.” She smiled, waiting for him to speak, and when he did, his voice was just as sad as hers was. “I have a big family. Me, my siblings, my mom, everyone else.”

“No dad?” (Y/N) questioned and he looked at his hands.

“My dad died in a plane crash when I was a kid.” He sighed. “I witnessed it.”

“That’s…I’m sorry.”

“I swore I’d never bow down to my fears and when I turned eighteen, I joined the Air Force and followed in dad’s footsteps.” He huffed a breath. “I still get terrified when I fly…always have…but I do it to honor him.” Hal swallowed thickly, feeling warmth in his eyes. “I’ve always wanted to be someone that would’ve made proud.”

A hand touched his and he looked down at it, then to her, eyes widening when he saw tears silently running down her cheeks. “I’m sure your father is looking down on you with pride wherever he is, Hal.”

He couldn’t help but reach over with his free hand. “You’re crying?”

(Y/N) nodded. “Your story is…heart wrenching.” She leaned into his palm. “I feel your pain.”

“I—I can’t believe you’re crying for me though…no one’s ever done that.”

She reached up and wiped a tear that had fallen form his eye; he hadn’t realized it did. “You can cry too, Hal.” (Y/N) smiled sadly. “We might be strong…but we’re still human.” She reached up with her free hand and pulled his hand down from her face, squeezing it in hers. “Cry if you want to, Hal. I won’t judge you if you do.”

Hal didn’t want to cry. Not in front of her at least and he squeezed his eyes shut to keep them at bay. “It’s not manly to cry in front of a woman.”

“Everyone cries, Hal, even men.” (Y/N) leaned forward and took his face in her hands, pressing her forehead to hers. “You are allowed to feel.” He gazed into her eyes, this time not stopping the tears as they gathered in his; she smiled. “Fall to pieces, Hal…I’ll put them all back together.”

“Yeah?” he breathed tearfully, and she nodded, pressing her lips to his.

“Promise.”

Hal pulled from her grip and buried his face in her strong shoulder, and soon his body was shaking with sobs. And (Y/N) merely wrapped her arms around him.

“Let it go, Hal. Fall to pieces, darling.” She whispered, pressing kisses to his skin. “I’ll pick it all up.”

He kept apologizing, “I’m sorry’s” rolling off his tongue with each cry and she merely shook her head.

“Don’t be sorry, darling.” (Y/N) replied, turning her face to his cheek, pressing her lips to his skin. “Be human…be alive, Hal.”

His grip only tightened on her, and he shifted his face so he could see her, and he stared into her eyes, his own big, brown ones saddened, but full of heart and emotion. She threaded her fingers in his hair and smoothed it with gentle stokes and caresses.

He sniffed strongly and croaked, “The next time we go out, can we forgo the emotional moment?”

(Y/N) huffed a laugh and kissed him. “Sure, Hal.”

[mythiccheroacademia]

“I like bad bitches who be ragin’.”

                —Rage | Rico Nasty

Word Count: 1.2K Pairing: Midoriya Izuku X Reader Context: Everything is the same, but you and Izu are married and have a kid named Miko. And I’m not sure what your quirk is exactly. Telekinesis? Idk. Whatever it is, it’s scary as hell.  Warnings: kidnapping, use of guns, angst (kinda), the kid remains relatively unharmed, but someone goes feral

All characters are 18+

A/N: You heard it in the lyrics. Izuku likes them unhinged. Enjoy <3

Midoriya Izuku | Rage

Everything was numb as you ran down the dark hall of the abandoned building. You couldn’t think. Someone was trying to talk to you—maybe it was Todoroki, or was that Iida?—but it was hard to decipher their words.

After three days of endless searching, running, and crying, there wasn’t much left in your mind past your missing son and husband. And now that you were so close to finding them, anything else was just a waste of your time.

When you turned the corner, you gasped in relief. Despite the darkness, the familiar thrum of air your family carried around them touched your skin. Jirou had said they were a few kilometers away, but you could feel them. Even the tormented bags beneath your eyes couldn’t mask your hope.

“They’re here,” you whispered. “I can practically see—”

Your thoughts were interrupted by the faint but piercing sound of a gunshot.

…

By the time Deku’s heart began pumping again, his entire body was screaming. It ached in places that made him nauseous and he wanted nothing more than to leave. And he could. The ropes around his wrists and ankles were nothing more than paper bracelets compared to the magnitude of his quirk. Nearly a decade of having One for All easily surpassed whatever physical restraints any villain could put on him.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Izuku could obliterate this place to hell and leave in the next five minutes. But he wouldn’t.

He couldn’t.

And it was all because of the little boy in the damn cage.

Lurch laughed with deranged glee. In his hand was a pistol aimed upward, bullet miles away from the boy’s head. Once Izuku registered what had happened, he happily sunk to the ground as his hair was let go.

“Papa?” Miko called out.

The cool pavement against his forehead brought him minor relief. His heart was about to leave his ribs and he felt his body prickle after the onslaught of fear that attacked him.

“It’s okay, Miko,” he breathed. “You’re okay,” he reassured for both himself and the boy. His son hadn’t been shot. He was still alive.

“Did you see your face!? HAHAHAHA! That was beautiful!” the leader guffawed.

Izuku coughed to catch his breathe. He couldn’t do this anymore. It was too much. No amount of physical torture could amount to this.

“Okay, you win. I surrender. Just let my son go,” he whispered, voice pinched and weak. Painful tears dropped down his nose.

Lurch smirked. “I thought you’d say that. Luckily for you, I don’t believe in killing kids. I’ve got morals,” he shrugged.

“You’re crazy,” Midoriya muttered.

“So I’ve heard,” Lurch chuckled. The fox-like man nodded his head to his lackies. “Tie the kid up. We’ll dump him somewhere after I handle this.”

He loaded his pistol and aimed the barrel to Izuku’s forehead.

“Papa!? What’s happenin’!?” Miko cried. He couldn’t understand why his father was smiling his hero smile at a time like this. He wanted it to stop. He just wanted to go home.

“I love you, Miko.” Izuku simply said, trying to keep his voice strong. “Look away, okay? Be strong for me and your mother/father.”

The toddler continued to cry and question what was going on, but Izuku used all his strength to avert his gaze to the ground. He quickly made peace with the fact that this was probably where he’d die. He had a good run. As long as his son and his s/o were okay, he could die content.

But not without getting the last word.

The person behind him lifted his head up by his hair as Lurch spoke, “Any last words before I blow your brains out?”

“They’re coming.”

“…Pardon?”

Midoriya smirked at the man that would give him his end.

“If you just offed me alone, they might’ve gone easy on you. But the fact that you touched our son means all bets are off. They won’t rest until they find you. And when they do, they’ll take down each and every person in this pathetic gang with a vengeance that could make the devil shiver. You thought I was a pain in the ass? His mother/father will be your worst nightmare.”

The glint in the hero’s verdant irises made the man shiver. Lurch wanted to believe that he was saying this to unnerve him, but he couldn’t shake off the raw truth that radiated from the hero.

The villain clicked his tongue and held the gun with both hands.

“Prepare to meet your end.”

Izuku felt a sliver of hope as he remembered the person that was his s/o. You were never a fan of unnecessary violence. However, he knew there were things that surpassed the extent of your mercy and this was one of those things.

He hated that he had to leave you, but he knew you would handle it. You’d handle everything like you always did.

Y/N, Miko, I love you.

The sound of the gun going off was surely to bring death to Izuku, however he didn’t fall to the ground for that reason. The bullet never reached him. He fell because he was let go.

There was a moment of silence, confusion in the air, before a startled scream choked Lurch’s men. They held their necks and were forced to the ground as they gasped for the air that was suddenly cut off from them.

The gun flew out of Lurch’s grasp before it was decimated by the bullet that should’ve been in Deku’s head.

“What the fu—”

He suddenly found a hand wrapped around his throat, pressing his trachea close. The fox-man gripped the hand, struggling against it but could only let out a strangled gasp as he was lifted from the ground. As the surrounding heroes went to lay aid to Izuku and Miko, Lurch attempted to kick and throttle his way out. That was before his eyes finally met his attacker and a shiver so cold nearly paralyzed his spine.

The searing rage that burned white hot through your veins overtook your body like a physical cloud of thunder. Wisps of black and white dauntingly danced around you as the walls of the abandoned building darkened into something murky and dangerous. The only thing visible in the blackness of your fury were two glowing pairs of crimson sclera.

But that wasn’t just anger. Lurch knew anger.

What he saw in your eyes was hell.

What should’ve been your mouth cracked open into a cursed grin.

“Found you~” you sung.

Lurch gave a horrifying scream that shook the walls.

Off to the side, Izuku, who had been released form his binds and was now holding a passed out Miko, looked on at the scene. Call him crazy, but as you shoved the villain into the concrete, he let a smile of relief kiss his lips.

Iida was too busy informing the team of their location, but Todoroki had front row seats to the display of your built-up rage. He winced when all the villains were thrown into the walls.

He then gave his friend a wary side-eye when he chuckled. Izuku couldn’t help but gaze at you with adornment. He held his child tighter and spoke lovingly.

“That’s my Y/N.”

[bluehoseoks]

Code Name: Breadwinner - intro

“I hope you like my new recipe. They’re called shut the fu-cupcakes”

     “That’s it, you’re on artillery supply count.” 

svt x reader - heist/bakery au

You just wanted a cute job at the local bakery, so that you could brag to your friends about all the free bread you were eating and smelling like powdered sugar. That didn’t really work out.

Oops. At least you’re getting paid, even though you don’t get compensated for gunshot related hearing damage.

 Profiles: the cake walk | the diamond vipers

* please send in an ask off anon or dm me if you would like to be added to the taglist for this series 

[radreactions]

First off love your blog. Your so much fun to read, and your reactions are great. So in the truest spirit of Fo4, how about the companions reacting to Fo4 glitches? Gonna let YOU surprise us with what glitches they are.

Damn this was fun! I even added a few pics of my own experiences 😂 Enjoy!

Ada -

She stops and turns, gazing at the young man enjoying his dinner on a floating plate, sitting backwards in his chair with a table right behind him. She glances up at Sole, the little light on her processor unit blinking rapidly overtime as she tried to make sense of such an impossible scene. "Hey George," Sole greets overly casually, as if nothing was wrong it the world. "Good food?" The physics defying man looks up with a grin. "Oh the best! Molly just got in a new shipment of bloatfly, it's the best I've ever had!" Sole glances to Ada, that little light rapidly picking up in speed as George places down his now floating knife. "Good to know, thanks Geroge." They walk off but Ada remains still, staring uncomprehendingly at the poor man who just wanted to enjoy his dinner. He didn't know a series of "!Error!" messages were flickering throughout Ada's HUD.

Cait - "Ohh THAT is the creepiest goddamn shite I have ever seen." She mumbles, clutching her shotgun tightly as she watches the bones of a long forgotten corpse jump and rattle around on the ground. "What'd ya do ta it?" She demands, casting Sole an accusing look, a single skeletal leg fluttering up between them before dropping back down again. "I don't know," They replied, face pale. "I stepped over it and my boot must have caught on something." Suddenly the whole thing lurched upwards almost to the roof, causing the both of them to yelp and jump back, before it calmly floated to the ground where it finally lay still. "Fer fuck's sake, I thought goin' clean was supposed ta stop me from seein' shite like this."

Codsworth - "Oh heavens!" He gasps upon seeing the settler pumping water. If he had a chest, he'd place a hand over it. As it was, his pincer was clutched dramatically to his hull as all three of his optic units focused themselves on the headless settler who just made as if to wipe sweat from their nonexistent brow. He turns to Sole then, shocked and more than a little disturbed. "Sir/mum, are my optical units malfunctioning or are they suffering a severe case of a headache?"

Curie - "Oh! Mon Dieu! I seem to be...structurally compromised!" She gasps, pushing with all her little body's might against the ground she had suddenly fallen through. The concrete was at her waist and despite how hard or fast she kicked her legs - seemingly underhindered by soil that was alarmingly nonexistent below the surface - she just couldn't get herself up. Sole tried pulling, as did Dogmeat, but alas to no avail. "This will pass, yes?" Sole's noncommittal shrug certainly didn't alleviate her worry. But hey, on the bright side, she decided to study this rare phenomenon of intangibility while it lasts.

Danse - He could feel it burrowing around under his feet. He could hear it squealing and hissing, hungry for his blood. His eyes tracked it's movements through the sights of his weapon, finger halfway depressing the trigger in preparation for when it finally makes it's move. A silent, breathless moment later and suddenly it burst through the ground in a raucous explosion of soil and rock and fury....only to sail right over his head and up into the sky. He watched, shocked, as the radscorpion hissed and clicked it's pincers metres in the air above the treeline, it's tail whipping about in a frenzy as it sailed away into the distance, never to be seen again. "Danse?" Sole called, emerging from behind the Red Rocket and startling him. "Did you get it?" He lowered his weapon and scratched his head, still trying to come to terms with the fact that he ACTUALLY saw that. "It...got away?" Sole gave him a questioning look but didn't press the matter further. Even hours later he was still thinking about it, brow pinched in confusion, bewildered mind wondering where the heck the thing ended up. What if it was still out there? Looking for him? Waiting for the perfect moment to strike? He shudders.

Deacon -

"Umm. Sole? Uh, a little help? Gravity is...well...I think I must have broke it. In related news, guess who's looking fabulous?" *tilts shades, gives a wink* "That's right, it's me!"

Dogmeat - He bounds ahead of Sole, panting excitedly because Sanctuary and all his friends are just over the rise and he's got a new collar on and wow, doesn't he look fancy! Just as he turns his head to check on his companion, he see's them disappear. Immediately, he stops in his tracks and tilts his head in confusion. That's a new trick. Is that normal for humans? He knew they were a little weird but...how did Sole DO that? And where did they go? He looks left, he looks right, he sniffs around for a bit and still can't find them. Where...? Suddenly he hears them screaming and there, falling from nowhere above him, they tumble from the clouds shouting words that would normally cause his tail to hide between his legs. He winces when they hit and trots over to give them a questioning lick. "Fucking Todd fucking Howard. Mister 'it just works'. Yeah right you sonofa-" Suddenly they're gone again and he hears "Are you fucking kidding me?!" shouted once more from above. He sits down and sighs. This could go on for a while.

Gage - "Now how in the...?" He shields his eyes as he gazes up towards the roof of the dilapidated pre-war home where a caravan's Brahmin stood, chewing calmly on a peice of yellow straw. "That ain't the weirdest shit I've ever seen, but it's up there." He grimaces as the thing lifts it's tail and shits through the rafters, a grin spreading across Gage's lips when he hears cries of disgust from the occupants within. He looks to the Overboss and lifts a mischievous brow. "Wanna make their day even worse? My caps satchel is feeling a little...light."

Hancock -

"Whoa! What the hell is this? And why the hell didn't I get an invitation?" He turns to Sole and waggles an eyebrow, already removing his trenchcoat. "You gonna join in or do you like watchin'?"

MacCready - He couldn't stop it. He just COULD NOT stop it. "Seriously, I'm freaking the fu-heck out here, Sole!" he yelled, paddling for his life in thin air. He was walking fine one moment, then suddenly his body developed a mind of it's own. He's swimming. On land. And he can't FUCKING stop it. Sole, laughing, kept backing up a few steps of which MacCready couldn't help but following with a big kick of his legs and a stroke with his arms. "Help me out here, for fu-argh-God's sake!" Sole just kept laughing and backing up, resolutely deciding for him that he's gonna kick their ass as soon as this humiliating ordeal is over.

Maxson - He stared in horror as Paladin Danse approached him, all words seemingly lost in the face of this...this...ABOMINATION. Gone was the power armour, despite the clunk of each of Danse's steps, and in it's place was freakishly elongated limbs that Danse didn't even seem to notice. "What the hell?" He demanded. "Where is your designated power armour, soldier?" In the past he had wondered if Danse was one of those soldiers who took to liking their armour way too much, but this? This was...certainly unprecedented. "I'm wearing it, Elder." Danse replied, a questioning furrow on his brow. "What are my orders, Sir?" Shaking his head, Maxson gave them and immediately reached for a bottle of bourbon once Danse's freakishly long back was turned. He was pretty sure, as Danse made his way through the Prydwen, that he heard suprised screams followed by gunshots.

Nick Valentine - He watches disbelievingly as Sole shoots down another raider. "Nick, are you gonna help or are you just gonna stand there and look pretty all day?" They shout, promptly reloading the clip in their gun. Their UPSIDE DOWN gun, that they seemingly still operate as if it were the right way up. Their left hand was grasping nothing but thin air but still looked as though there was something clutched in their hand. He could see the trigger being pulled, but their finger was miles above it. "Uh...sure...sure." he replies, still watching as Sole aims through the upside down weapon, literally through the stock, and still manages to hit their target. "You just...have a little something on your piece there." They look at him before looking down at their upside down gun, giving a sheepish grin as they wipe away a bit of congealed blood. "Thanks, Nick." They promptly go back shooting and he watches, noticing the muzzle flash appearing at least thirty centimetres above the actual barrel. "I need a hard reboot." He mutters.

Old Longfellow - He squints into the sky, watching in half amusement as the mudcrab drops from thin air and splats on the ground only meters away from him. "Well," he grumbles, his white eyebrows lifting a little as he turns to look at Sole. "That's new."

Piper Wright -

"Umm. Blue? You're seeing what I'm seeing...right?" She timidly shuffles closer to the giant pink behind of what she can only assume is a Brahmin and stares at the way it is seemingly stuck THROUGH the solid concrete wall. "Is...is it still alive??" Suddenly it moos and she jumps back in shock, clutching Sole's arm as if for dear life. "I can't tell if that came from the front or the back, but either way...what the heck do we DO with it?"

Strong - The sound he made was almost defeaning in the dark and stuffy subway station. It was also creepy. VERY fucking creepy. Sole has never heard a sound like that before and they desperately hope, as Strong remains doubled over laughing, that they'll never have to hear it again. On the ground, where they've just killed a lowly ghoul, it's corpse was spinning like a beyblade and was apparently the most hilarious thing Strong has ever seen. "Are you done yet?" They ask impatiently, but get nothing but another roll of creepy ass laughter that finally prompts them to move on into the darkness without him. At least ghouls were a lot less scarier than...whatever THAT was.

Preston Garvey - He and Sole were gazing out over the ocean just after successfully winning back the castle from the queen mirelurk, her corpse being promptly dissected by the Minutemen in the courtyard behind them. "Wow. Not that long ago, I never would've thought we could-" He cuts off because just as Sole turned to look at him, the ocean suddenly became a flurescent green rectangle stretching endlessly before him. "What the hell?!" He sputtered, eyes going wide. Sole turned back and the ocean promptly reappeared. "What?" they asked, turning to look questioningly at him. Again, the ocean flickered and the almost blindingly bright green glared up at him. "The ocean!" He exclaimed, pointing. Again, they turned and again, the deep blue of the ocean reappeared. "Preston, this can't be the first time you're seeing the ocean." They turned back to him and he had to squint from the brightness of the most hideous colour green he's ever seen.  He shook his head, breathed a sigh, and decided that he'd help cut up that monstrosity after all. At least that thing was meant to be green.

X6-88 - "Sir/ma'am, you seem to have displaced your ammunition cartridge." He states calmly, gesturing to Sole's left hand where one seems to be lodged through their palm, an end sticking out of both sides. It looks painful and he silently commends them for their handling of it. "What do you mean?" They ask, lifting up the hand in question. "I have it right here." He frowns, noticing that their fingers are clutched around air roughly the shape of the cartridge. "Are you feeling alright, X6?" He doesn't know what to say to that, or when they go to place the damn thing in their satchel and it magically floats through their fingers. Literally THROUGH their fingers. For the next couple of hours on the road, he runs a self diagnostic and feels like screaming when it comes up normal.

[gaycatastrophe]

@yamitamiko​ your turn! I am literally incapable of shutting up about supernatural but since each of these have been like. pages and pages long im not subjecting the groupchat to that directly.

11. Which episode do you wish we had gotten (ex. beach episode, body swap episode, human!impala episode, etc)?

Thinking specifically in terms of destiel my answer to this is the same as my “which fanfic trope” answer, which is of course Cas possessing Dean. However, I really wish we had gotten more ensemble cast focused episodes. How about an episode where Donna and Jody are out of town but there’s a monster in Sioux Falls and now the Wayward Sisters have to take care of a case on their own? And they’re all too proud to call the Winchesters or Jody or Donna for help so it’s a bit of a comedy of errors and it raises the stakes but they’re all fine and they bond over it and then the episode ends with Jody getting home like “so what were you girls up to?” and they’re all like “nothing! 😇”

22. What is on the jackles tapes (wrong answers only)?

Dean’s response in which he calls Cas a-[gunshots]

A full on Brokeback style ki-[gunshots]

They fu-[gunshots]

[I open my mouth to start answering][gunshots]

28. Who would lock Dean and Cas in a room until they figured shit out (if you choose Sam, include your second choice too).

In a version of tsgspntlimh it would be Charlie, Eileen, and Rowena, all together.

I mean Sam yeah of course. The next time they start bickering like an old married couple he decides he’s sick of their shit, and he has that right, he’s had to put up with the UST for over a decade, he would be fully justified in locking them in a room just to have some peace and quiet. Godspeed you funky little sibling. However I don’t actually think Sam would do that he would just remove himself from the situation as much as possible.

But in a world where OG!Charlie still lives, I think she sends Eileen all the Carver Edlund Supernatural books because they contain so much good Winchester blackmail material, and then from there it’s actually Eileen’s idea. They rope Rowena into this too partly because they’re gonna need some witchcraft to Cas-and-Dean-proof a room (lmao you think a regular lock could stop those two? cute) but also Sam/Eileen/Rowena is definitely a thing and Eileen knows Rowena will get a huge fucking kick out of this plan. She does. Charlie’s apologetic to Dean like “I’m sorry! It’s for your own good!” Eileen is similarly apologetic to Cas though this is mostly conveyed through a shared look, while Rowena is chanting some spell to keep them locked in together and wearing The Most shit-eating grin about it.

[spn asks]

[iamvegorott]

Hidden Romance Ch. 16

Wanna help me and give me some support? |Donate To My PayPal|

No Rest

“I bet you’re happy,” Phantom said, looking at the sleeping Mad on the bed, Mare sitting in a chair next to him. “I mean, not about the whole heart-break shut down thing...but...like...they don’t like each other.” Mare didn’t say anything and he hasn’t since telling Phantom what happened after carrying Mad into the room. “He’s going to be okay...right? I mean, I don’t uh...I…” Phantom felt the phone buzz against his chest, he glanced at it before sighing. “Let me know if I can do anything. I don’t...I don’t like seeing you guys hurt like this.” 

“I’m sorry.” Mare finally spoke again, looking at Phantom. “I’m sorry for getting into your private business and breaking your phone and-”

“You already apologized,” Phantom said. 

“I’m sorry for lashing out because you were right.” Mare’s admission made Phantom let out a little sound of surprise. “I’m upset that Mad likes Jackie and not me. That they were getting so close in such a short amount of time compared to the years I’ve known him, that I’ve cared for him, that I’ve…” Mare stopped himself and sniffed. 

“It’s fine.” Phantom chewed on his lip. “I’m…” Phantom made a face before sighing and speaking quickly. “I’m sorry for bringing it up when I knew it’s a soft spot.” 

“It’s been a long time since I’ve heard you apologize.” Mare chuckled. 

“Don’t get used to it.” Phantom rocked on his feet. “I’m...I’m going to go see what the others are doing.” 

“You’re going to call Illinois.” Mare corrected with a little smirk.

“Shut up,” Phantom muttered, his cheeks flushing. 

“Let him know if he does anything stupid, that I’ll kill him slowly,” Mare said.

“That message has been made loud and clear several times.” Phantom looked at the phone again. “I’ll delete everything before I give the phone back.” 

“You don’t want me to see the dick pics?” 

“There are not!” Phantom was now bright red. “Shut up!” He left in a huff while Mare laughed, it slowly fading as he looked at Mad again. 

“I’ll take care of this, Mad. I’ll get Blank back, I’ll get rid of Alice, I’ll get us a nice new home with plenty of room to work and play and…” Mare tilted his head up, looking at the ceiling. “Our own bedrooms with no need to always be...together.” Mare closed his eye, suddenly very tired. “Maybe I’ll...design it a little...different…” Mare drifted off. 

“I took you this long to finally get it?” A voice snapped Mare conscious. He jerked up and was unable to move, ink holding his arms and body to the chair. 

“Alice? Alice!” Mare shouted when Alice was standing in the corner of the room. 

“I thought you were smarter than that.” Alice scoffed, crossing her arms. “But it’s taken you, what, ten years to realize you like Mad?” 

“Let me go, now,” Mare demanded.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do anymore.” Alice twirled her hand around, ink coating it and becoming a sharp point. A blade of sorts “You destroyed your chance long ago.” 

“Where’s Blank?”

“You won’t need to worry about him for too much longer.” 

“What does that mean?” Mare didn’t get a response since Alice only laughed. “You can stop this, it’s not too late.” 

“I know I just said you were stupid, but you and I both know you’re not that dumb.” Alice slowly walked towards Mare. “It is too late, far past too late and there’s only one thing that’ll stop all of this.” Alice was now next to the bed, holding her arm in the air and aiming the blade at Mad’s chest, right at his heart. 

“Alice! Alice, don’t! Don’t!” Mare strained to move, he should be able to break through the ink, he should, but why was it so strong?

“Either I kill all of you or you kill me. No other choice.” Alice giggled and grinned. “Come find me, dad.” Alice plunged her blade down.

“No!” Mare jerked forward and stumbled out of the chair, the slap of reality hitting him hard and making him dizzy. “Wh-What?” Mare looked around and saw nothing. He checked Mad and there was nothing as well. He was fine, he was safe. “She…” Mare felt his stomach churn at the realization. “She gave me a nightmare...how?” Mare wasn’t much time to think before there was a scream, followed by several gunshots. 

x~x~x

“Everyone was probably hit with exhaustion when Mad passed out,” Phantom said to Dark, the two standing in the living room, surrounded by sleeping Septiceyes and Ipliers. They were only missing Chase, Marvin, Mare, and Mad. “Me and Mare are used to it and I can see it’s buggin’ you but you’re too much of a hardass to give in.” 

“So they’re just napping?” Dark asked. 

“Yeah. Hell, they’ll probably feel better when they wake up with how shitty Alice has been making the past few nights.” Phantom started texting. 

“She might be using a lack of sleep and the inconsistent pattern…” Dark trailed off when Phantom was clearly not listening and caught up in his phone, chuckling at something before typing away again. “Could that wait?” 

“Nope.” Phantom popped the ‘p’.

“I’m sure your boyfriend is patient.” Dark grinned when he saw the look Phantom made at the word ‘boyfriend’.

“Listen here you mother fu-” Phantom was stopped short by JJ rolling off of the couch. “Dude?” JJ sprang up, one hand on his throat and his eyes staring wide at something.

“JJ, are you...okay?” Dark saw a figure standing at the edge of the room. A young woman with a large smile was staring directly at JJ, a hand slowly traveling up to her mouth. The woman laughed before slamming her palm against her face and forcing her head back, a loud, sickening crack echoing from it.

“Mom!” JJ signed, jabbing at his own chin and falling to his knees. 

“Get JJ, I’ll take care of the woman,” Dark ordered.

“I think the woman took care of herself.” Phantom scoffed, bouncing to the side when something was thrown at him. 

“Get up!” A new woman had appeared behind them, her scream waking up almost everyone. Bim and Yandere were the only ones still down Henrik stumbling away when he saw the new woman. 

“H-How did she find…” Henrik was shaking. 

“Is that? The fuck?” Edward moved in front of Henrik. “Why is your ex-wife here?” 

“She’s not. Cover his eyes and I’ll take care of her.” Dark reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. 

“There’s more ink!” Phantom pointed at ink pooling from the walls, more people being formed form it as Bim and Yandere woke up.  

“Mom...dad…” Yandere’s face went pale.

“There’s our little boy!” The man cooed. 

“Still obsessed with me?” A different man said in a mocking tone to Bim. 

“JJ, JJ, I’m right here, it’s okay, JJ.” Wilford was holding a sobbing JJ. “Dark! Do something!” 

“I am!” Dark snapped. “Anti, Jackie, get Yandere’s. Phantom, get Bim’s. I’ll take care of JJ’s.” Right when Dark finished, they jumped into action. The people weren’t strong, they didn’t even fight back as they were easily killed. A simple stab to the head and they went down. They weren’t here to kill, they were just here to upset. 

“Why waste her time and energy on this?” Anti scoffed, kicking the body he had killed away from him, it splashing at the contact and flicking ink on his face. “All she did was make a mess.” 

“She’s getting impatient,” Phantom said. “She’s trying to make a point and throw most of us all.”

“Dead parent, cruel parents, ex-wife, and a dick-head.” Jackie listed off, trying to connect all of them. 

“She wanted to break their hearts,” Dark said. “She went more personal rather than violent. Like what she did with the twins.” 

“It still doesn’t-” Anti stiffened when there was a scream. “Mavin?” A gunshot went off. “No!” Anti took off.

——————————-

Tag List: @thesinginggal @ninazappy @takethepainawaybae @classy-birb @madallice329 @m0th-goo @always-in-a-fandom @such-a-dumbass @mirrored-calamity @thelonelycreature @grnpurplgrmln @shamelesscollectorpiratesstuff @antibeaneverybody @constantgaycrisis @nightwillow14

[knives-out20]

Inglourious Boyfriends - Alternate Ending - Part 2

Fandom: Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Pairing: Joshua Margolis (OC) x Lt. Aldo Raine

Word Count: 1433 (1667 With Post-Death)

Warnings: Angst, Death, Sad Aldo, TW Suicide, 

Notes: I Wanted To Post This Last Night But Tumblr Was A Bitch. Here.

Meanwhile, Aldo paced back and forth upstairs, waiting impatiently to see the soldiers and the love of his life, alive.

Donny was half-asleep on the bed at this point, sure that Joshua was able to take care of himself. He was jostled awake by a parade of various gunshots coming from the basement tavern, very easily coming from more than one gun."Shit- we gotta go check on 'em".

Aldo nodded, hands on his hips."Alright. I'll go first, Donny, you follow me. Hirschberg, stay on lookout with the others" he ordered, Hirschberg nodding obediently. Aldo gestured for Donny to follow him, making his way towards the door and opening it. He froze on the spot, hearing more gunshots- this time from a singular gun- fire at the bottom of the winding staircase.

"You, outside, who are you? British, American? What?" The unfamiliar, but terrified, voice asked, cocking his gun.

"We're American" Aldo called down in reply."What are you?".

"I'm a German, you idiot-" the voice called.

"Speak English pretty good for a German" Aldo commented, the voice calling up "I agree".

"So let’s talk" it added.

Aldo glanced to Donny, and back down the stairs."Okay, talk" he agreed, ready for a load of bullshit to be said.

"I'm a father. My baby was born today, in Frankfurt. Five hours ago. His name is Max; we were in here, drinking, celebrating, they're the ones that came in shooting and killing, it's not my fault!" He yelled.

"Okay! It wasn't yer fault" Aldo nodded, going along with him."What's yer name, soldier?".

"Wilhelm".

"Now, is there anybody alive on our side?" Aldo asked.

"No" Wilhelm shook his head.

"I'm alive!" A frantic, female voice suddenly called, sounding like she was in pain, followed by Wilhelm yelling angrily in German.

"Hammersmark" Donny breathed, barely above a whisper.

"Who's that?" Aldo asked, Wilhelm answering with another question; "is the girl on your side?"."Which girl?" He followed up, a weird feeling rising in his chest when he didn't hear Joshua's voice.

"Who do you think? Von Hammersmark" Wilhelm exclaimed.

"Yea, she's ours" Aldo sighed, Wilhelm ignoring his "is she okay?" To cuss Von Hammersmark out in German."Wilelm!" He called, to get the German soldier's attention back onto him, but he only heard Wilhelm yell at her.

"She's been shot!" Wilhelm finally complied, "but she's alive!".

Aldo thought for a moment, eyes darting around as he thought of an explanation as to why Joshua didn't call up to him. Any answer, except for one obvious one."Okay Wilhelm. What do y'say we make us a deal?".

"What's your name?" Wilhelm hesitantly asked, panting.

"Aldo" Aldo answered."Okay, Wilhelm, here's my deal; you let me and two of my men come down there and take the girl away. No guns, no guns me, no guns you! And we take the girl, and leave. It's that simple, Willie. You go yer way, we go ours. And little Max gets to grow up playing catch with his daddy. So, what do you say, Willie? We got us a deal?".

Wilhelm stayed silent for a few moments."Aldo?" He spoke up.

"I'm here, Willie".

"I want to trust you, but- but...but how can I?" Wilhelm stuttered.

Aldo glanced to Donny, then back down the stairs."What choice you got, son?" He asked, softly.

Donny put a hand on Aldo's shoulder, just as frightened that Joshua hadn't revealed himself yet.

Wilhelm took a deep breath."Okay, okay, Aldo, I'm gonna trust you. Come down".

Aldo turned to look at Donny."Stay at least a few steps behind me. I'm sure Joshy's just hiding" he whispered, staring his descent down the stairs. Aldo put his shaky hands up, slowly peaking out and looking at Wilhelm with a hopeful smile. He ducked back when he saw the gun in Wilhelm's hands."Hey, Willie, what's with the machine gun? I thought we had us a deal" Aldo complained.

"We still have a deal, now get the girl and go".

"Not so fast" Aldo showed his face for a second, "we only got a deal when we trust each other. And a Mexican standoff ain't trust".

"Whoa, whoa, you need guns on me for it to be a Mexican standoff" Wilhelm corrected.

"You got guns on us. You decide to shoot, we're dead. Up top, they got grenades. They drop 'em down here, yer dead. That's a Mexican standoff and that was not the deal" Aldo whined, pointing a finger at Wilhelm."No trust, no deal" he added.

"Wilhelm." Von Hammersmark pleaded, speaking to Wilhelm in German.

Wilhelm huffed in thought, his gun shaking in his hands as he looked down."Alright, Aldo. Fine" he gave in, standing up straight and putting the gun down on the counter."Just take the fucking traitor and and get her out of my sight" he snarled.

Aldo and Donny were about to go down the rest of the stairs, but stopped dead in their tracks when they heard a handful of gunshots.

"Oh thank fuck, that must be Joshua" Aldo let out a relieved sigh, peace washing over him.

Aldo came around and saw Von Hammersmark, shaking as she pointed a small gun at Wilhelm, who was now dead.

As was everyone else in the room, except for her.

"Woah, what the-- Josh? Joshy? Joshua Margolis, quit playin' games and come out right now!" Aldo called, looking around.

"Sir..." Donny spoke softly from behind him, gaze steady on the floor.

"Joshy? Joshua, it- it's me! C'mon out, yer safe now! Joshua?" Aldo ignored him, looking around."What the fu- JOSHUA!" He called.

"Lieutenant-".

"Quiet, Donny. Joshua!" Aldo cupped his hands around his mouth."Joshy, c'mon, dear, this isn't funny anymore!". He made the mistake of inching forward, toes of his boots softly hitting a body."What the-" Aldo arched a brow, making the second mistake of looking down at what Donny had his eyes fixed on.

On the floor in front of him, just as limp as everyone else in the room, lay Joshua Margolis’ corpse. An arm was reached out for the stairs, eyes wide open, mouth agape, like he was saying something as he died. His gun was only a foot or two away from him, by Donny's feet. Joshua was bleeding out, his blood oozing onto the tips of Aldo’s boots.

”No...” he breathed, eyes going wide.”No, no, no, no-“ Aldo repeated, getting down on one knee.”Josh. Joshy. Joshua, wake up, sweetie. Get up, Joshua, c’mon, g-get up-“ he urged, shaking the lifeless body before him.”Joshua! Getup right now, that’s an order from yer fuckin’ Lieutenant!” Aldo exclaimed, refusing to believe what was in front of his very eyes.”Joshua Margolis, get- get up, right now, y’hear me?”.

”Lieutenant-“.

”Shut UP, Donowitz!” Aldo’s voice boomed, as he continued to rattle Joshua’s body.”Joshua, baby, no, no, no. Joshy, come back to me...please, Josh, come on, we- we gotta do this together...Joshua...” Aldo stuttered, tears welling up in his eyes as they bore into Joshua’s glassy blue ones.”Joshua...” he called softly, scooping his love’s dead, bloodied body into his arms.“Joshua, baby, please...” Aldo sobbed, waterworks streaming down his face.

”A-Aldo...” Donny called.

”Sh-Shut up, Donny” Aldo hissed, holding Joshua’a body close to him.”It wasn’t supposed to end like this, it- it wasn’t supposed to” he told, now on both knees, wetting his clothes with the blood of his boyfriend.”We were supposed to defeat the Nazis together, Joshua. A- A team, a fucking team, Josh. What...What we’ve always been” he cried, tear droplets landing on Joshua’s pale face, no longer bearing the smile it always donned.“Joshua, we were supposed to end the war together...we were supposed to die together, d-dammit, Margolis you dumb righteous fuck...I should’ve said no, I should’ve said no, why didn’t I fucking say no?!” Aldo yelled, crying into Joshua’s shoulder.

Donny reached to put a hand on Aldo’s shoulder, but his Lieutenant swatted his hand away.

”I love you, Joshua, I love you, I fuckin’ love you, come back to me, baby. I love you so much, Joshua, why’d you- why’d you have to go and goddamn leave me, Margolis? We were supposed to do this with you, I- I was supposed to do this, with you fuckin’ with me, dammit, J-Joshy” he croaked, fingers curling into Josh’s uniform. Aldo slowly pulled away, pressing one, last kiss to Joshua’s cold lips.”I love you, Joshua Margolis. I’ll never fuckin’ forget you”.

*****

Donny and the other Basterds ended up dragging Aldo away from Joshua, and out the tavern. The rest of their plan went just as it had in the movie, but it was very obvious, the sudden demeanor change in the Lieutenant. He didn't speak as confidently, or with as much macho as he always had. Over the rest of the mission, he would find himself calling "Josh" "Joshy" or "Joshua" and turning, expecting to see his love, but to no avail. Though he tried to seem alright, and okay, and just fine, it was clear to the Basterds how much Aldo was struggling to keep his composure without Joshua.

Post-movie-ending, Aldo hauled his ass back to the tavern with Utivich to retrieve Joshua's body. Upon receiving it, their OSS General was able to help the three Basterds get back to America, specifically back to Maynardville, Tennessee. Aldo and Utivich held a small burial for Joshua, burying his body in the middle of the Margolis estate orchard. 

Although strictly unheard of, Aldo attempted to go on with his life, without Joshua. This was proven difficult, seeing as Josh and Aldo had planned for their lives to intertwine ever since they were kids. But one day, Aldo had enough.

On Christmas day, 1996, Lieutenant Aldo Raine committed suicide, alone in the Margolis estate orchard. He figured only then could he reunite with his beloved.

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 50

Last Time: Beard went into Papa Bear Mode, Greed pulled a Vegeta, and Mrs. Bradley was very confused and upset. Onwards!

Episode 50 - “Upheaval in Central” We’ve got the Beret!Officer from last ep talking over the title, saying that they can kill everyone besides Roy. Cue gunshots… Yup, the Officer’s just standing there in shock while all of his men are on the ground, clutching busted kneecaps or wrists. You fools pulled guns on Riza, what did you- Oh ok there’s a bunch of plain-clothes conspirators up in the rafters, and another guy with spiky hair putting a gun to Officer’s head. Where did all these guys come from? While that’s going on, Mrs. Bradley is facing two unfortunate possibilities; either the country is attempting a coup against her husband… or her husband has abandoned her. Roy “doesn’t know”, but promises to continue to protect her. Also, if she could maybe possibly use her position as spouse of the Fuhrer to pardon them once this is all over, that’d be greeeeeat. Now they’re on the move to avoid the commando’s backup, Roy’s being updated by Spiky Hair who apparently knows him (manga character?), learns he’s still at the wreckage and confirms Mrs. Bradley doesn’t know the truth just yet. Now, back to scaring off the hapless mooks! Said mooks’ boss is very upset that his men haven’t killed the five meddlers of the Conspiracy yet. Then reports start coming in that they’ve got a full platoon of rebels now, and that while they have a bunch of casualties there haven’t been any deaths. Whaaa? You mean the Good Guys are trying to fight nonlethally? Who would ever think of such a thing? Apparently not the rest of the Amestrian military, the mooks keep spending so much time wondering why they aren’t already dead that our heroes keep incapacitating them while they talk. Central Officer takes this as a personal insult, orders even more mooks out to get wounded.

The remaining Generals in the War Room are whining about how their troops getting systematically whittled down, until Armstrong the Great points out that it really should be expected. Think of it like the Military Police of Attack on Titan: While you’ve got more troops along the borders fighting in wars with other countries, these troops are in the very center of Amestris, with not nearly as much experience as those who are fighting daily on the borders. Armstrong the Great even points out their feeble performance against Mr. Freeze in the first episode, how a single rogue Alchemist decimated them and nearly froze over the entire city. Now they’re facing a rogue Alchemist with experienced and determined soldiers behind him.

The other General takes offense to the truth and her offer to step in and help, barks that she’s only there as a hostage to ensure her loyal troops toe the line (oh he is so dead). Armstrong the Great just laughs as Skyrim Chanting starts up.

[Armstrong the Great]: “Hahaha! You don’t understand a single thing about the resolve of my troops! Your plan is useless. The only law the men of Briggs know is Survival of the Fittest. They know to abandon me if confronted with a crisis. Even if you were to murder me in cold blood, my troops would simply write me off for being too weak. They don’t need me! Those men can act as their own force. That’s the strength of the Briggs army! Don’t even begin to assume that you know the soldiers I’ve trained!” Mowhawk. White Uniforms. Sandals? Ok so Buccy’s standing with some other unique Briggs troops and soldiers in the white Briggs coats in an apparent cellar. But sandals? And there’s a space in the back with two glowing red eyes. Who are these new people? Guess we’ll find out later, because the Briggs soldiers are on the move and the Oh Shit alarms are going off in Central, as Armstrong the Great “wonders” if her bear-killing soldiers will have any trouble with the dolls of Central. Let the curbstomp begin! But seriously, where were they? They mentioned a cellar but I don’t think they’d all fit under Madame Christmas’ bar even it wasn’t blown up. [Spiky Hair]: “The Armstrong Mansion?” Oooooh, duh. They even ‘subtly’ pointed it out when Roy visited Armstrong the Great after the timeskip, of course that’s where the Northern troops hid. Ok so apparently Spiky Hair is Charlie, one of his own subordinates comes running up asking for ammo. What, you aren’t getting enough spare bullets from the soldiers you’ve wounded? Or the dead now, seeing as the Briggs troops are in play. Or they’ve got a supply unit that hasn’t shown up yet. [Roy]: “Look guys, if it comes down to it just leave me behind.” [Charlie/Other]: “Roger that!” [Offended!Roy]: “You could at least pretend like you’re willing to die by my side!” Uh oh, but it looks like the Military’s realized they’re out of ammo. They make a push- and nearly get run over by a Funny Bear truck. Ooh, here’s that supply unit! With a familiar face, it’s Riza’s friend Rebecca! And oh my Leto that was certainly worth the wait, rifles bullets and bazookas galore! Roy gets a new rifle from the driver, a lady with a covered face? Someone who knows the Colone- … … … [HELL TO THE FUCK YEAH]: “Second Lieutenant Maria Ross, returning to active duty without permission, sir!”

Yessssssssssss Sorry, give me a minute. I need to walk around with a stupidly large grin on my face for a while. Ok, I’m better now. Let’s continue. Aw, Rebecca’s all upset that she came all this way only to find a bunch of “sissies” restraining themselves since they’re in the city. As she loads a friggin mortar Leto damn woman how is Grumman still alive? Oh ok it was a smoke bomb, just enough to disrupt the military so they can load into the truck and drive away. Rebecca’s showing off all the cool Xingese weapons Ross brought back. But she procured the rest of the conventional weapons through someone else? She says she’ll let “him” tell Roy, they hook up a radio. [Roy]: “This is Colonel Roy Mustang speaking. I’m honored to have your support.” [!!!]: “Heh heh, man, whose ass do you think you’re kissing?” [Roy]: *shock* [!!!!!]: “I’d prefer if we kept things casual!” Oh my Leto it’s Havoc! Running a General Store/Conspiracy Quartermaster! yessssss [Havoc]: “So, who do I send the bill to?” [Roy]: “The office of the Fuhrer. And start a tab!” yesssssss Mid-ep pictures of Ross and Havoc being awesome (all my babies are coming back I’m so happy!) and Beard pushing up his glasses. Seeing smoke and hearing sirens in the distant city, Ed and the crew (minus Greed and Al) are preparing to make their move. Ooh, and Beard says he has a countermeasure if the TC gets activated, but just says he’d rather stop it in the first place. So we’ve got two unspoken plans going on, this is looking better and better! Wait no Beard’s saying they need to destroy Uncle’s “flask” in order to defeat him and free the souls he gathered. Eh, just vague enough that I won’t count it as a stated plan. As for finding the guy, Scar’s going to show them the tunnel he and May found way back when I thought Beard was the bad guy. Lion’s staying behind because of his injuries, as is Marcoh for his wanted status and Yoki because Yoki. Ed takes a moment to say goodbye to Al still stuck in the Dome, they bump fists against the earthwork as Pride is still tapping Al’s helmet with a stick wait. Wait wait WAIT NO LETO-DAMNIT the Goth is clearly doing quick taps and longer taps it’s obviously Morse Code he’s sending a signal to the surviving Goths damnit Al take your helmet back! Ugh ok so while that ticking timebomb counts down we’ve got May running through Central with her covered jar, urged on by Envy to reach Uncle before he reveals the secret of immortality. She slips into the tunnel just before troops arrive to block the area off. Back in Central oh buddy you really don’t want to do that. The Military Police General is pointing a gun at Armstrong the Great, demanding she call off her soldiers. She’s all “What? But you stripped me of my northern command, remember?” But the General just whines that they’ve been chosen to ascend with Uncle and all the sacrifices are necessary- Nope! Just like with Raven, Armstrong the Great’s gotten bored of listening to their stupidity and stabs his arm while drawing a pistol on the other general, chiding them for being Armchair Generals who don’t dirty their own hands, espousing the “necessity of sacrifice” while never making any of their own. Also, you threatened Armstrong the Great, so die. The Mighty Armstrong? What are you- oh shit, did nobody tell you about the Promised Day? Holy crap, if The Mighty Armstrong wasn’t updated then he’s still working for the Military, just sees his comrades apparently go crazy and start shooting up soldiers and setting the city on fire. Someone please update this poor man- Oh hey, it’s Brosh! Speaking of updates, someone tell this guy that his partner isn’t dead, he’s had to spend all this time thinking she was killed by Roy! [Brosh]: “That devious coward! First he murdered Lieutenant Ross and now he’s kidnapped the Fuhrer’s wife?! The man has got to be pure evil!” Ooof, even if he doesn’t know the Promised Day plan The Mighty Armstrong did know Ross was alive, he’s probably feeling a bit guilty for not telling Brosh. Fu’s off to the side, overhears The Mighty Armstrong being told about his sibling’s actions, and heads off to try and find Ling in the chaos. But he can’t sense his new Goth nature, what with Uncle giving off Big Bad Vibes underground. That have grown stronger? Uncle’s sitting in his pipe chair, lounging as machinery rumbles and pounds, disturbing mice and dogs even outside the city wait nevermind it’s not the machinery that’s making that noise. It’s the Littlest Goth with his helmet and stick, tapping out a message. Al, take you Leto-damned helmet back!

Three quick taps. Three long taps. Three quick taps. And Uncle opens his eyes. Al and the others have arrived at the cordoned off tunnel, think there’s too many to fight past. Come on guys, it’s just a couple of Military Police, you’ll be fine. That’s your only way in any case, it’s not like you can just manipulate the ground beneath your feet to make a new tunnel OH WAIT. Or is there actually another way? Oh yeah, the Third Laboratory! With only three guards at the gate too, that’ll be easy. Hold up, Ed says he has a plan- Right, I keep forgetting that he’s an official State Alchemist, he can just order them to stand aside and- [Ed]: “Oh please help me! That murderous Ishvalan Scar is trying to kill me!” [Scar]: “wait what.” [Guard]: “*gasp* Oh my, that man’s on the wanted list! Stay back little boy, we three Muggle Soldiers will tell this murderer of multiple State Alchemists to surrender!” [Ed]: “Mwahaha!” [Guard]: “Aaargh! No, our consciousnesses! We need tho-” Man, Ed can be a jerk when- [Beard]: “...that was a mean thing to do.” [Ed]: “Aw shut up, c’mon.” No, sorry Ed, but I’ve got to side with your old man on this one. Meek nerds in labcoats cower as our heroes brush past them in the hallways, until Ed finds the poorly-transmuted doorway and oh for Leto’s sake do you have to put tacky demons or skulls on everything you Transmute, you deranged midget? Anyways Ed made a new door, let’s continue. Oh yeah, I remember how Roy’s Crew had to split up to take both hallways last time. So how are the groups getting split? Apparently Beard leading one, and ooh Ed has to travel with Scar. Ed’s not happy with this, especially when Beard raises the valid but still condescending point that Scar could still fight against Uncle when Ed’s power was shut down…. Wait. Wait wait wait WAIT. Did you… did you seriously never get any lessons in Alkahestry? Not a single one? Dude. You KNEW that Uncle could shut down your conventional Alchemy. The whole POINT of tracking down May and Scar was to get lessons from the little girl. And you learned NOTHING of the discipline? Wow. Just, wow. So our Protagonist gets saddled with the repentant murderer because he’d be curbstomped on his own. Meanwhile Beard takes… nobody? Because he’s already so OP? [Beard]: “On second thought…” [Lan Fan]: “Huh?” *Old Man Flirt Mode Engage* [Beard]: “It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a bodyguard, so I might as well take the young lady with me.” Somewhere Fu and Greedling feel rushes of protectiveness and anger about lecherous old men. After the groups separate and the Chimeras grumble about the “pervy old man”, Beard actually take a moment to Iroh at Lan Fan, lets her go to search for Ling. And like that she’s off, and Beard’s on his own. Oooh, shit. That’s the Golem Room. An officer’s just barged in with a labcoat running after him, shouting about how they haven’t been tested yet. But Officer thinks there’s no better test than a field test, and starts pulling levers. Tubes of liquid and shattered red stones start glowing, the pipes make a heartbeat sound, and red sparks OH LETO NOPE NOPE NOPE I did not need to see eyes pop up on their foreheads and AAARGH they’re all screaming nope nope nope Cue lots of dramatic head turns from characters at The Hell Is That Noise, and fade to black. Grrrrreat. This is going to go swell, I’m sure. End credits. Jeez. So on one hand, this episode had me grinning like a loon as characters came back from offscreen in awesome ways. On the other hand, that noise is going to give me nightmares tonight, and I really, really don’t want to see those creepy Golems moving.

[p-artsypants]

Longest Night (4)

Ao3 | FF.net

Then it came time for patrol. And here, dear reader, is where it all goes wrong.

A fall evening, not long after sunset, cool winds, but not unpleasant. Ladybug and Chat Noir were doing their weekly rounds. Looking for any sign of Hawkmoth or an Akuma. But so far, nothing ‘super’ had been seen.

Ladybug arrived at the Eiffel Tower first, having left 15 minutes ahead of time out of restlessness.

Still, Chat was late, and she made sure to mention it as he landed next to her with a ‘thwump’.

“You’re late, Kitty.”

“My apologies, it’s so rude to keep a lady waiting.”

“You better have a good excuse.”

“But of course!” He smiled. “Caught a pickpocket on the way here. Walked him to the police station and had him turn over his wallets. They’re taking it from there.”

“Good Kitty!” She praised, scratching under his chin.

He relished in it. “What about you? You…you don’t look so hot. You feeling okay?”

She shook her head. “I feel fine Chat. Just…just a bad day. I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Are you sure?”

She offered a smile. “Maybe after patrol, if I’m feeling like it.”

“Okay. You can talk to me about anything, My Lady. I don’t judge.”

“I know. It’s just…its fresh. And I don’t want to cry anymore.”

His ears flattened to his head. “Oh…”

She sighed, trying to breach a new topic. “ugh, I haven’t seen a thing. I haven’t even seen any angry couples fighting.”

“We could fight?” He offered.

She rolled her eyes at him. “Very funny.”

“I thought it was!”

“Give it up Chat, you’re going to win me the day pigs fly.”

“Be careful what you wish for. You never know, Hawkmoth might make a flying pig Akuma.”

She hummed. “You know, that wouldn’t be the weirdest Akuma he’s made.”

Chat laughed, “besides, there’s nothing wrong with being a little flirty, right?”

“As long as it’s not in the middle of a fight.” She reprimanded.

He held his hands up in surrender. “Of course, of course.”

She offered a smile. “Well, I’m going to check the docks first. Been catching a few drug deals happening down there.”

“Good idea. I’ll double back on Barbes Boulevard. Just to double check.”

“Call me if you need backup.”

“Likewise, Bug. Be safe.”

“You know I will.” She blew him a kiss and leapt away towards the Seine.

The docks were never really a civilian hotspot. People rarely even went there in the day, unless they worked there. So at night, it was safe to assume anyone there was up to no good.

So of course, when Ladybug saw headlights shining in an alleyway, she knew something was up. She crept over, and watched from the rooftop.

There were several men, most in expensive suits. One with a white suit that Marinette could already tell was so luxurious, her father couldn’t afford it with two years profits at the bakery.

The man himself was huge, reminding her of Kingpin from the Spider-Man comics Alya had in her bathroom. He stood in front of the head lights, his shadow cast against the ground and to the wall somehow bigger than his associates.  

About five men, including this rich one, were facing a young man, in a classic showdown.

The large man spoke, his voice ricocheting off the wall and settling in her stomach with nausea. “I gave you a month. That’s more time than I’ve ever given anyone before. I saw promise in you. I took you in.”

“Eddy, please—“ The younger man begged. Ladybug couldn’t see his face, but she could hear his panic.  

The man grunted.

“M-Mr. Savauge. You gotta understand! I was doing great! I made all of it back, with interest! But-but my buddy double crossed me! He took all of it. But I know where he’s going! If you give me just a little more time—“

Ladybug took out her compact and silently sent her coordinates to Chat.

“Charles...” the man, this Mr. Savauge drawled out. “This was your last chance. I warned you in the beginning. You’re just not made for dealing. Not dealing cards, not dealing drugs...but I will get my money from you. And I know...just what to do. Got plenty of rich old bitches looking for companions.”

“No...no please sir! I don’t want to do that! I got a girl! I can’t do that to her!”

“No girls huh? That’s fine, got lots of bull queers too. They’d love that cute little ass of yours.”

“No! No please!!”

Mr. Savauge laughed, a sick sound that made Ladybug curl her lips in disgust. “I’m just kidding, Charles. You’re too ugly to be a prostitute.”

The other men laughed.

Mr. Savauge held up a fist, silencing them. “You know Charles, it’s surprisingly easy to get information on people these days. Especially for someone like me. I know everything! I even know who Hawkmoth is!”

Ladybug gripped her yo-yo. She would be confronting this man, one way or another.

“So you know, trying to hide you and your wife’s life insurance policy from me? It ain’t gonna cut it.”

“No...please not my wife!”

“I’m not gonna touch your wife. That is, as long as she complies. You’re worth more dead than alive to me, Charles. And I much as I liked your spunk, I’m going to have to make a decision based on business.”

There was some clicking noises as the man’s goons withdrew guns.

“Nothing personal, kid.”

Ladybug leapt, her yo-yo spinning to create a shield, as she landed in between Charles and the fire.

“Hold it!” Mr. Savauge called out.

The gunfire ceased, and Ladybug stopped spinning her yo-yo. But she was still on defense, ready to start again at a moment’s notice.

From this perspective, the man was just a silhouette against the light. LED headlights, super bright, made her squint.

“Why, if it ain’t the cutesy little bug girl. What’re you doing here, kid? Don’t you got a moth to catch?”

She answered calmly, her voice a pitch deeper than usual. “I happened to be in the area. I overheard you mention you know who Hawkmoth is.”

He barked out a laugh. “It’s an expression! Come on, no one knows who that psychopath is.”

But Ladybug still didn’t budge. She fixed her glare on him.

“Oh, you really got that menacing look down! If you weren’t an actual child, I might be scared!” He chuckled. “But I’m being honest Ladybug. I don’t know who Mothman is. Don’t know, don’t care. Now move along, this doesn’t concern you.”

“I promised to protect Paris, and that’s what I’ll do.”

The man winced, “man, superhero types are just no joke. Fine, have it your way, Bug. Open fire.”

Ladybug spun her yo-yo frantically as a hail of bullets came raining down on her and Charles. She felt his hands on her back, and knew he was trying to hide behind her.

“Distract them for me, okay?” He said into her ear.

“Wait! Don’t!”

But it was too late. Charles tried to run. He only made it a single step out from her shield, before being shot several times in the chest. He didn’t even scream. Just stopped, collapsed onto his knees, and fell flat on the ground.

“No!” Her line fell slack for a moment and a bullet whizzed just passed her cheek, leaving a burning sensation just below the mask line and a ringing in her ears. She snapped back to attention quickly, and avoided any other nasty blows. The gunfire was suppressive and her arms were getting tired.

Her saving grace came from her partner arriving, coming up behind the goons and taking them out quickly, before they could turn to shoot.

But that didn’t mean they didn’t try.

Chat weaved in between them, not standing still and always staying close enough to be a risk of them shooting each other.

Ladybug took the opportunity to also take out a goon, who had been distracted. A clear shot with her yo-yo to the back of the head, and the gun fire ceased.

Mr. Savauge had wisely ducked down during the fight, and right as he returned to his feet, he found himself tied up in a yo-yo line.

“End of the road, scum.”

“Scum? Me? Do you even know who I am?” He laughed. “Who am I kidding, of course you don’t.”

Chat stood opposite Ladybug, effectively cutting off the exit should he try to escape. Not that he would be able to break his bonds though.

“I don’t care who you are. A young man is dead because of you. I will make sure you go to prison for your crimes.”

The man laughed. “That’s real cute bug. Real cute. But here’s the thing, I’m Edward Savauge. I can buy and sell you. I know every dirty secret of every cop and politician in Europe. You try to do anything to me, and I promise you’ll suffer instead.”

Her line grew tighter.

“I’ll give you to the count of three to let me go...1...”

“Don’t listen to him, my lady. He’s full of hot air.”

“2...”

Ladybug didn’t waver. She didn’t even consider it.

“...3...we’re enemies now, Ladybug. You’re going to regret that for the rest of your short life.”

“Get in line.”

Neither party said another word until the police arrived. Ladybug explained the situation, but there was little to explain, considering the guns and body on the ground.

Mr. Savauge was taken away without a word.

After all was done, now long after midnight, the heroes returned to the rooftops.

“My lady, you’re bleeding.”

“I know, I can feel it. Must have been a bullet.”

“Who was that guy?”

“Some gangster drug lord pimp. I don’t know. A bad dude.”

“Well, he’s going to prison.”

“...I hope.”

“You hope? There was a body on the ground with gunshot wounds, and a whole bunch of guns! There’s no way!”

“Something he said bothered me. About knowing everyone’s secrets. He even claimed to know Hawkmoth’s identity.”

“...you don’t think he knows ours?”

“I don’t know, Kitty. But I’d stay on your toes.”

“Absolutely.” He nodded. “You should go see Master Fu about that cut. Then maybe come up with an excuse when people ask what happened.”

“I’m really clumsy in my normal life, I’ll just say I tripped and hit a corner of my table.”

“Perfect! Next time I see you, I’ll be sure to give you a little kiss to make it better.”

“You’d infect it.”

“Rude.”

“Maybe some day, kitten.” She said, looking at the ground. The police cars were long gone, and the other car was powered off. In the dark of the night, the blood stain from the young man was impossible to see. Still, in her mind, she could see it. She could hear the sound of his breath coming up short, since it didn’t even get the chance to scream.

“My lady?”

“I saw a man die today. I could have saved him, but he darted out from behind me.”

“He would have died regardless,” Chat reminded her gently. “You did your best, and that’s all that matters.”

She didn’t respond, just kept looking to the ground.

“You wanna talk about what was bothering you earlier?”

She shook her head. “That seems so…so minor now. My crush found out I liked him, I mean, I told him, but I was forced into it. There was a bunch of other shitty things, too. But that’s the main thing.”

“I’m so sorry, Bug.”

“It’s…it’s not a big deal anymore. We talked, and we’re good. So I just…” Tears started rolling down her bloody cheeks. “I’m scared.”

His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. “It’s going to be okay, Bug.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Cat intuition.”

“That’s not a thing.”

“Well, it is now.” He nuzzled his nose in her hair. “Look, the guy in the suit? He’s full of hot air. We’re both wearing masks, and no one knows who we are. People have been trying for years. He was just trying to psych you out.”

Ladybug swallowed thickly. “If that’s what you think…”

“I know so. You were right to be so diligent about our secret identities. This will blow over. Trust me.”

“I guess I have no choice.” She chuckled. “Now I got to go, my face hurts.”

He warmly brushed his hand over her arm. “I’ll catch you later Bug.”

—

Later that night, Marinette laid awake in bed. It was nearing 4 in the morning, and she just couldn’t sleep.

Who could, seeing what she had seen? Hearing what she heard?

The pain in her face was numbed by some ointment that Fu had applied, so that was one less thing to bother her.

She’d been in the superhero business a long time now. She’d seen plenty of awful things. Most of them were fixed with a ‘Miraculous Ladybug’.

But she couldn’t bring that young man back.

He didn’t deserve that. Even if he was a drug dealer, even if he was doing something he shouldn’t, he didn’t deserve that. And neither did his wife, who would probably have to give that life insurance money over for her own safety.

Life was so much easier when all she had to do worry about was her grades and her crush on Adrien. Even an akuma was nothing compared to hard crime.

Akumas could be fixed. Things could go back to normal. But this stuff was dirty and awful. She wondered if this is how it felt to be part of the police.

She wondered if Chat was wide awake too. Probably not, he hadn’t seen Charles get shot after all.

“Tikki,” Marinette spoke.

“Hmm?”

“What have other Ladybug’s done, in times like this…when they knew they could have saved someone, but didn’t?”

Tikki pondered the question. “Well, it was hard at first. But eventually, they just had to just used to it. Joan cried nights on end. Her time was the hardest I think.”

“I…I don’t want to ‘get used to it’.”

“You don’t have to be callus. Just…know that it’s something that comes with the job. Charles still would have died if you hadn’t intervened. But you tried, and that’s what matters, just like Chat said. You also got that man arrested, and justice will be served.”

“Hopefully.”

“Yes, hopefully.”

Silence reigned for a little longer. “Tikki, I’m scared.”

“Of Savauge?”

“Yeah…Paris is a big city with a lot of people and cameras…It would be pretty lucky if no one ever saw me.”

“Even if they did, it wouldn’t be likely that they’d identify you. I wouldn’t worry, Marinette.”

“…I can’t help it.”

Tikki floated down to lay against her skull and gently petted her hair. “I know. Humans are such anxious creatures.”

“I bet you’ve seen much worse in your life, huh?”

“I’ve seen horrible things. But what happened tonight was traumatic and I don’t expect you to just get over it. So I’ll be here to comfort you in the meantime.”

“Thanks Tikki.”

“Now try to get some sleep. You have school tomorrow.”

Marinette sighed. “I have school in a few hours…maybe I can get a nap in.”

[sablelab]

Covert Operations - Chapter 53

DISCLAIMER: This is a modern AU crossover story with Outlander and La Femme Nikita. LFN and its characters do not belong to me nor do those from Outlander.

SYNOPSIS: Madame Cheung manages to escape through a secret passageway but James Fraser, joined by his team members including Claire, manage to pursue their target through the streets and alleyway.

*N.B. This chapter contains some violence.

The Madame Cheung storyline is nearing an end and there will be TWO more chapters after this one that bring this arc to a conclusion when she faces Madeline in the White Room.  My THANKS for reading, liking, reblogging or commenting on my work in progress and I truly appreciate your support of my story over the past months. xox 

P.S.  THANKS @widchadidcha for the Molly Meldrum shout out last week. Yer blood’s worth bottling xox

Chapters 1 - 52 can be found at …https://sablelab.tumblr.com/covertoperations

  CHAPTER 53 (V)

Jamie, Claire, Geillis Duncan and Rupert Mackenzie made their way through the secret passageway and down the stairs in pursuit of their elusive target Madame Cheung, while Joe Abernathy and his team stayed at her establishment to secure the building until further instructions. Regrettably, the lane was full of people milling about at the back of the building but nonetheless the operatives converged and vigilantly moved through the throng ever watchful for a woman who may have converged in with the crowd.  It was clear to Jamie that Madame Cheung’s escape route could make it difficult to find her for it would be easy to see how a person could hide in plain sight by blending in with the surrounds to evade detection particularly when there were so many individuals to be seen. Avoiding exposure by this means was obviously her escape strategy, thus she would not draw attention to herself if she looked and acted like a local. 

Crowded with hawkers setting up their wares for an afternoon and evening of bartering for locals and tourists alike, the backstreet was a flurry of noise and activity. As the operatives proceeded down the lane, they paused every now and again to check the various establishments along the way looking for Madame Cheung. Entering each location, they were ever watchful for the woman who eluded them. The sight of the black clad operatives obviously keen to find someone in a hurry was the cause of some inquisitiveness. In the hustle and bustle people either stepped aside or were pushed out of the way by the pursuers in their search of the target. A cacophony of rapid dialects echoed in the alleyway in contempt and annoyance as the Section One team continued searching for the elusive Madame Cheung. Yet, there was no sign of her anywhere to be seen and when they came to bisecting alleys Jamie sent Geillis Duncan and Rupert Mackenzie, down them to check if she’d gone that way. Together, Jamie and Claire continued down the main laneway when all of a sudden, from out of nowhere, a gunshot ricocheted off a building narrowly missing Claire by a whisker. Looking to see where the shot had come from Jamie noticed a lone assailant in the distance that had begun shooting at them from one of the establishments further ahead. He fired once again. This time the bullet whizzed over Jamie’s head and lodged in the masonry of a merchant’s shop. The two operatives dived for cover behind a vegetable cart as a man exited premises just ahead of them with an automatic weapon. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Noticing that the two pursuers had taken cover, the man stood his ground and stared blasting away firing at the cart with a round of ammunition in rapid succession. Jamie rolled to the left and Claire to the right as the hail of bullets splintered the wooden frame of the wagon into smithereens. Fragments of wood flew into the air and vegetables scattered all over the laneway. Pandemonium broke out as people screamed and ran every which way looking for any kind of cover to get away from the assassin. From the safety of the doorway of a shop on opposite sides of the alley both Jamie and Claire exchanged fire. Reloading his weapon, the assailant followed with yet another discharge of bullets, and although a shootout followed, they were pinned down by the ricocheting bullets. “Claire, hold yer position. Hostile still in place.” “He must be one of Madame Cheung’s men.” “He’s creating a diversion so that she can get away.” “We must be getting closer to her.” “Aye.” “I can get him Jamie,” Claire stated as she lined him up in her gun sight. “No. Hold. I’ve got a clear view of the target. I’m pursuing.” Creating a diversion, the attacker began running down the alleyway pushing frightened people out of the way who had sought refuge in any safe place they could find. Noting his getaway, Jamie took off after him in hot pursuit. He ran quickly and his heels clipped his buttocks while his hair blew backwards in the force of the breeze as he pursued the assailant. When Jamie started to gain on him, the Thai man grabbed a human body shield and fired at his pursuer while his terrified hostage was placed in the direct line of fire. Dodging the bullet, Jamie took aim and fired in return. With deft skill and precision his bullet wounded the man in the shoulder. He lost his balance and recoiled backwards loosening his grip on his hostage. The captive innocent screamed in terror and tried to free himself in all the commotion. Noticing that his captor was injured he made a play at escaping and began flailing his arms about as the villain tried to keep a hold of him. Losing his grip, he pushed him to the ground in disgust and took off in haste blood dripping from his wound. Both ran down the alleyway and as they did so the assailant threw obstacles in Jamie’s way hoping that they would slow him down. Unfortunately for the man they didn’t impede him one iota, as James Fraser jumped, dodged and weaved over any obstacle thrown in his path. This managed to slow the attacker down somewhat and enabled Jamie to gain on him. Eventually catching up with the assassin he knocked him down to the ground kicking his weapon away from him. Although wounded, the assailant picked himself up and lunged at Jamie with a karate kick that hit him in the thigh. Reeling back from the blow, the level 5 operative retaliated with a Kung Fu move to the man’s throat that disabled him once and for all. He fell to the ground lifeless. With one cautious look down the alleyway he alerted Claire. “Target contained.” “Got it,” she replied watching what had taken place.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

The alleyway was a scene of mayhem but people gradually came out from their hiding places knowing that the pandemonium had ceased and that the shooter was dead. Shop owners and sellers surveyed the damage to their property and attempted to right their belongings while others sought to find a quick exit from the alleyway in case something like what had just taken place would happen again.

Nonchalantly stepping over the lifeless man on the ground James Fraser, however, continued down the alleyway as if nothing had happened. He was a man on a mission and he knew that Madame Cheung would have taken the opportunity to make her getaway in all of the commotion to disappear further into the crowd. Men and women watched the black clad man casually walk away seemingly oblivious to what had just taken place. They stepped aside for him in awe but trepidation also, too frightened to look him in the eye. Everyone gave him a wide berth hoping to avoid his attention in any way. “Any sign of Madame Cheung Jamie?” Claire queried. “Not yet. Did ye patch this location to Abernathy’s Team?” “Yeah. They’re re-tracking.” “Good.” “What now?” “Stay alert. She's smart. She could be anywhere.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Madame Cheung’s bodyguard’s fatal attempt to halt Jamie and Claire’s pursuit only confirmed that they were getting closer and that she couldn’t be that far in front of them. The lane was surrounded by shops so there was no way of escape unless she had hidden in one of them which unfortunately was a possibility. However, given the premise that she would need to exit the alley before she could really make a clean getaway, it was logical that Madame Cheung had persevered with this route. Weaving his way down the alleyway, Jamie ran with a determined stride with Claire running after him. Ever watchful they continued in the same direction when suddenly he stopped. There not too far ahead of him he saw a woman hurriedly retreating at the end of the alley. She was trying to be inconspicuous and blend in with the people thronging about in the narrow lane but sensing that someone was following her, she turned around. That was her mistake. Realising that it was indeed Madame Cheung, Jamie set off at a run at a quick pace. She in turn saw who was in pursuit and although surprised at who her pursuer was, she bolted.   “Claire ... Target in sight. Let's go.” “Where?” She asked finally catching up with him. “Fifty metres ahead.” “How do you want to proceed?” “We’ll take her alive.” Jamie responded and motioned to Claire to follow him down the alleyway at a distance. “Okay.” He nodded at her, then he and Claire gave chase. They darted out once more along the street. Taking the lead and resolute in his quest, Jamie ran faster and swifter than Claire whose gangly gait slowed her down somewhat. He raced down the alley like a leopard in full stride in hot pursuit of the target Madame Cheung. He quickly picked up speed while Claire hurried to keep up with him as they ran quickly down the crowded lane pushing and barrelling their way past fruit vendors, shops and restaurants. People jumped out of their way as they did so cursing in a flurry of Thai at the madman careening down the packed lane and the woman running with him. Once again, his heels clipped his behind as Jamie ran fast but given her headway, extreme agility and timely diversion by her bodyguard, Madame Cheung soon disappeared around a corner out of sight. Realising that she had no means of escape the two Section One operatives continued their pursuit rounding the corner after her. Unfortunately, Claire crashed into a man who didn’t see her coming and she fell to the ground. Jamie looked back when he heard her gasp, but she waved him on and he continued with the chase. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Some way ahead Madame Cheung stopped to look back once more to see if she had lost her pursuer, or if he was gaining on her. Wearing a black T-shirt and a leather jacket, with his hair pulled back and wearing sunglasses, Monsieur Le Comte looked more like a Terminator than the man she had come to know. How could she have been so wrong about his character? She had been well and truly hoodwinked by his charming personality. But why was Le Comte St. Germain chasing her? Who was he really? Trying to avoid him, she made a dash through the opened back door of the nearest building. Madame Cheung found herself in the kitchen of a restaurant that backed onto the street. Surprise registered on the faces of the staff to see the sight of the well-dressed woman apparently in a great hurry scurrying through their working area as if the devil was nipping at her heels. To some it was quite comical. They stopped what they were doing to watch the antics of the woman and the bemused chefs got out of her way not quite cognizant of what was going on. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” The Maître-D asked the woman tersely as he came near realising there was an unauthorised person on the premises. However, Madame Cheung made no attempt to explain her presence in the kitchen and pushed him away and any other personnel who approached her. Whatever the woman was doing in the kitchen of the restaurant was a mystery to them all. “Madam! You’re not allowed in the kitchen area!” He repeated quite angrily. “Get out of my way,” Madame Cheung bellowed as if she had every right to be there. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Déjà vu. The bewildered staff had little time to recover from the first intrusion when there was another. Each person looked around at the others in the kitchen as they watched what was unfolding. Not only had there been a woman in the preparation area but she was being followed by a black clothed man in hot pursuit. The staff got out of the way when they saw James Fraser, knowing it was useless to try and intervene. Obviously, the woman must have stolen something from this vendor and he was out to make retribution. They shook their heads in disbelief wondering if that was the end of it. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Seeing the doors to the main restaurant area Madame Cheung hurried in that direction, however, she nearly fell over as a waiter came through the revolving door and bumped into her. His dishes flew up into the air and fell to the ground with a crash as she pushed him out of the way in her haste to get away. Stumbling she nearly lost her footing and this slowed her down to some extent which allowed Jamie to gain on her. She then burst through the crowded restaurant as patrons who had heard the crash and noise in the kitchen area looked on wondering what the heck was going on. Knowing that Madame Cheung had very little chance of escape, Jamie reached into his inner jacket pocket and withdrew his laser gun and followed her into the Chinese restaurant. Standing in the doorway he saw her trying to find an escape route but she had very few options. Madame Cheung had taken a wrong turn and now was cornered by the tables in the restaurant. Aiming his weapon, Jamie shot a bullet above her head. Completely focused on the target he ignored the people scattering to get out of gun range. People began to scream and disperse thinking that the police were raiding the restaurant. People raised their hands in the air while others took coverage under their tables trembling in fright. There was nothing she could do. Madame Cheung stopped bolting caught like a rabbit in headlights. Casually Jamie lowered his gun to his side ever watchful of Madame Cheung cornered in the restaurant. With a slow, nonchalant stride he approached her, his gun swinging as he walked towards her. On seeing his deadly manner, the terrified patrons cowered away from the formidable man who still had a lethal weapon in his hand not knowing if he would use it again. Slowly Madame Cheung turned towards her pursuer and standing her ground, she watched defiantly as Monsieur Le Comte St Germain moved closer to her. As he did so, she could see her face reflected in his sunglasses. This man was a stranger to her. This man was a killer and she admonished herself that she had not recognised this side of Monsieur Le Comte’s character.  Dressed all in black, James Fraser, Section One’s unemotional, taciturn operative stood with legs apart holding his gun at his side, a complete contrast to the character he’d been playing. His eyes were cold, unflinching ... menacing. “What the hell is this Monsieur Le Comte?” Madame Cheung demanded. Jamie didn’t reply to her veiled question. “Who the fuck are you?” she shouted. “And what the hell are you doing chasing me in here? ... Do you have any idea of who you are dealing with?” Ignoring her tirade, James Fraser merely grabbed Madame Cheung by the shoulders and shoved her against the far wall, placing his gun next to her head and quietly requested, “Come with me, please.” She glared at him in contempt. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Claire soon arrived and stood menacingly at Jamie’s side. Madame Cheung averted her eyes and looked at her standing by Le Comte St Germain with an exact mirror image of his body language. Astonishment registered on her face and her pupils dilated in surprise.  This woman who she had taken under her wing and for whom she had developed a great affection was unrecognizable.  Glancing from one to the other she finally realised their subterfuge and that they had duped her. Shock soon turned to contempt. In her most vitriolic manner Madame Cheung spat at Claire, “YOU!” “Yes, me.” “You ... You betrayed me!” Ignoring her outburst, Jamie placed his hand on Madame Cheung’s shoulder to lead her away. She recoiled, shaking her body to dislodge his touch, but to no avail. As she moved forward, Madame Cheung looked back at the woman she had trusted. Looking Claire square in the eye and without faltering, she leaned towards her speaking tersely.

“Beware Claire Beauchamp! The Rising Dragons will retaliate with a rampant vengeance for my capture. Mark my words. Your days are numbered!” 

With her head held high, the captive target, Madame Cheung, walked out beside James Fraser with Claire following behind with the woman’s threat ringing in her ears. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ to be continued

 P.S. I will post another chapter on the 24th as it is my birthday and the last chapter in this arc on the 30th April. Happy Easter Greetings to all.