#yeah as if I’d stoop down to that level

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

A Gift From the Heart

Warnings: noncon, and other dark elements. Not all kinks or triggers are tagged. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

Summary: As you adjust to life on your own, the retired Sheriff makes sure that you're kept comfortable.

Character: silverfox! Lee Bodecker

Day Thirty of the December Daze Challenge.

Prompt - a homemade gift.

Note: As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

You pull the cardigan around your middle and cross your arms. The wool hangs loosely with your linen dress, tenting around your figure as you pad to the front door. Your hand hovers for a moment before you grip the door knob. You hope it’s not Mrs. Griswold again. She’s friendly enough but nosy. 

You open the door and put on a smile. It turns genuine as you see your visitor. You shiver as the wind gusts around his figure and tickles your stockinged legs. 

“Sheriff,” you greet, “how are ya?” 

“Checkin’ in. Again,” he drawls as he takes his hat off and tries to tidy his hair with his pudgy fingers.  

The gray strands are coarse but thick, a bit longer than he can manage. His beard too. You suppose retirement has done away with his need to stay close shaven. 

“Oh, Mr. Bodecker, you are too kind. Ya know, I’m doin’ just fine. Makin a stew of the bone from that ham you dropped off last week,” you say. 

“Sounds delicious. Now, ain’t no type of thing as too kind.” He grins and tucks his hands into his leather jacket. He’s not the sheriff anymore but he still wears that sort of authority. “’specially this time of year.” 

“Course,” you agree thought your smile twitches. You should be happy but when the carolers come by, you only feel like sobbing. 

“Maybe not the best this year,” he comments. “Ya know, Buford, he was a good man. Rookie when I left the force but high hopes for that one. S’too bad what happened down in that ravine. Worse how’s all yer neighbours can do is whisper ‘bout it.” 

“I don’t hold it against them. They got their own lives, sheriff.” 

“And ya got me, huh?” He kids with a chortle. “Ya know, I hate to bother since you got the stew and all but I did come to give ya something. Be a lonely year ‘round the tree for ya so I thought I’d get ya a special gift.” 

“A special gift? For me, sir?” You touch your chest, keeping your other arm over your stomach. His eyes flick down but you’re sure he can’t tell through the layers. Right? You’re waiting until the new year to deal with all that. 

“Mhmm, yeah,” he once more tries to smooth his hair. “Ya know, I can’t really give it to ya here. But if you’re too busy--” 

“I can leave the stove off for a time,” you say. “Who am I to say no to a gift? Sheriff, really, you didn’t have to do all that. You’ve done enough.” 

“Someone’s gotta. Used to be, people took care of each other. An officer dies and his widow’s left to her own,” he tuts and shakes his head. “Wouldn’t be happenin’ if I was still wearing the star.” 

“You’re too sweet,” you sway. 

“Go’on, get a coat,” he says and puts his hat back on. “Don’t wanna be freezing out in this.” 

“Sir,” you nod. 

You leave him on your stoop and go to turn off the stove. You cover the pot of broth then hurry back. He went to all this trouble and you wouldn’t want to keep him out in the cold. You pull on your coat with the patch sewn in the chest and tuck your feet into your lace up boots. They aren’t very warm on their own but they’re what you got. 

You emerge, the sheriff catching the screen door and holding it until you shut the inner door. He lets it snap behind you and offers his arm. He’s so gallant in an old-fashioned sort of way. 

“Don’t want ya to slip, miss,” he says. 

You accept his offer of balance and descend the narrow steps to ground level. He takes you up the walk and opens the passenger door for you. He kept his cruiser but had the emblems removed, painted it a nice forest green. You sit on the front seat and keep your knees together as you chatter through your teeth. 

He closes the door and you watch him lumber around the hood. His breath fogs before him as he puts his face down against the bitter gusts. He climbs in next to you and takes off his hat, laying it on the dash. He turns the engine and cranks the gears with the shifter behind the wheel. 

“Ya cold?” He waves you closer, “c’mere, takes a while for this thing to warm up.” 

“Oh, sir, I’m alright,” you assure him. 

“Mmf,” he grumbles and cranes to check the road before he pulls out. “I don’t like ladies goin’ cold on my watch.” 

“Sheriff,” you preen. 

“And ya know I ain’t got the star no more, you just call me Lee,” he insists.  

“Yes, sir, uh, Lee,” you agree, clasping your hands in your lap. 

He drives, offering some chatter about the barn cat haunting his porch window or some episode down at the hardware store. The sheriff, Lee, has always been good at talking. At making people feel comfortable. It’s probably why he was so good at his job. 

“I wanted to show ya this,” he nods over the wheel. 

You come up to the river, the surface crystalline as it’s frozen over entirely. The icy sparkles in the dulled sunlight hidden behind the blanket of clouds. You lean forward to see it all, the edges framed with a dusting of the snow that pillows over the ground. 

“Oh, wow, that is pretty,” you say. 

“What can I say? I got an eye for pretty things,” he chortles and shifts in his seat. 

You stare out, marveling at the pristine and peaceful landscape. You didn’t know there were scenes like this in Knockemstiff. To be fair, you hadn’t paid much attention where he was driving. You peer back through the rear window and see dark sentinels speckled around the winding road. 

“So, ya ready?” he asks. 

“Sir,” you flinch and look at him. 

“For your gift, honey,” he feels around his jacket, tucking his hand inside as he pokes his fingers into the pocket there. “Ya know, don’t got no criminals to chase so I got some new hobbies.” He plucks out something he quickly hides in his fist. “Keep myself busy.” He keeps his hand balled. “So I made ya a little present for the holidays.” 

“Oh, sheriff—Lee, I don’t got nothing for you though.” 

“Think ya do. More than ya know,” he opens his hand and shows you the silver ring. You blink as you examine it, confused. The emerald on it is square and pretty big. “Took me some time but I wanted to have it done before Christmas.” 

“That’s... not for me,” you utter. 

“Sure is,” he holds his hand out as you shake your head. 

“I can’t accept that,” you lower your chin and pout. “It’s too much.” 

You touch the ring on your finger, the one Buford gave you. You were going to be married when he got his promotion. That was coming soon, he said. Then he went off and got himself shot. 

“Here,” he grabs your hand, untangling it from your other, “you know, I made it special for ya. It’d be rude not to.” 

You try to tug away but he’s too strong. You gasp as he wiggles off the ring already there and replaces it with his own, shoving it down until it bites into your knuckle. You hiss and wince. 

“Sheriff, that’s my ring,” you squeak. “Buford--” 

“I know what it is,” he lets you go and cranks down the window. You cry out as he tosses ring into the snow. “It’s a bad reminder.” 

“No--” you try to lunge over him and he catches you, forcing you back to the seat. 

“Now, honey, you haven’t been ungrateful, so don’t start now,” he holds your shoulder, squeezing it tight. 

“But--” 

“Can he help ya now? Hm? Now ya got that bun in ya? Now that yer alone and about to be all big?” Lee grits. You recoil but can’t escape his grasp. 

“You know?” 

“Well, course I know. Makes sense. And the way you been walkin’ round. I can tell,” he tuts. “You’re just lucky I'm the only one payin’ attention.” 

“Sheriff,” you murmur. 

“Now, I don’t want none of that from ya no more, I told ya.” He trails down your arm and grabs your hand. He pinches the ring between his thick fingers. “You call me Lee. Or Hubby. I like that. ‘Hubby’.” 

You blink at him and shiver, this time, it isn’t from the cold. 

“Go’on, say it for me, honey. Just imagine what other would call ya when they find out.” 

You frown and flutter your lashes. Your nose tingles and your chest knots with futility. He's right, but you’re not ready for this. You were waiting, until after the holidays. Why couldn’t he wait too? 

Your eyes gloss over and you sniffle. He tightens his grip on your hand until you whimper. You look at Lee and suck back your grief. It shouldn’t be him. It shouldn’t be the way it is. 

“Yes,” you croak through your coarse throat, “yes, hubby.” 

[itsanerdlife]

Wicked Intentions 3

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Stark!Reader // (Seriously close) Steve Rogers x Reader // Clint Barton x Reader // T’Challa x Reader.

Warning: Violence. Language. Bullying. Girl Fights. Name Calling. Degrading Comments. Angst. Degrade of Woman (to a point). Criminal Life. Illegal Shit. Fights. Alpha Males. Stalking.

Characters: Peter Stark. Howie Stark. Bucky Barnes. Steve Rogers. Clint Barton. TC (T’Challa). Ben Reilly. Cledus Kasady (CK). Brock Rumlow. Gwen Stacy. Wanda Maximoff. Becca Barnes. Amore Lorelei. Kitty Pryde. Frank Castle. George Barnes. Joe Rogers. Winni Barnes. Pepper Stark. Wade Wilson. Eddie Brock. Warner Strucker. Barney Barton. Bobbi Morse. Pietro Maximoff. Logan.

A/N: This is a Bully Romance. High School setting. Mafia Family Life. Woman are on a lower level than males in their world. Just a heads up. This is the third installment of the series. Bad Intentions, Cruel Intentions, and Wicked Intentions.

Credit: Huge shout out to @ml7010 for all the help, pushing, hyping up, putting up with my changes midway through. If it wasn't for this peach, y'all never would have gotten this series or nearly as far as I am now.

Peter is yelling, hands cupped at his mouth.

Howie is on his feet, cheering.

Clint’s on the ring edge, calling out tips.

Steve’s staring down the opponent’s boyfriend.

Bucky watches her dodge right, hands up protecting her face. Her knee comes up, connecting with the girl’s side. She stoops, her first mistake. Y/N grabs the back of her head, her toes barely touching the ring mat, before her knee comes back up faster this time. Y/N slams the girl’s head down, meeting her knee. Shoving the girl back, into the ropes, when she stumbles from the knee to the face, Y/N winds up, throwing an absolute ruthless right hook to the jaw.

Her head snaps back, blood spraying, her body goes limp, hitting the mat with a thump.

The Ditch goes nuts, screaming from all sides. Cheering, celebrating, talking shit.

TC dips under the ropes, grabbing Y/N’s hand, holding it up, cheering just as loud.

When the Stark’s meet eyes. Howie and Peter are on their feet. Y/N bounces on her toes, all three at the same time, flex inward, with a loud “AHHHHH!” at one another.

“That’s our girl!” Becca is on her feet, screaming for her best friend.

He grins when his girl locks eyes with him. She grins, rolling her eyes at him.

They still went to The Ditch, sometimes TC worked the decks there. Mainly when Y/N wanted to beat on bitches for kicks. She was getting Becca into it now. Only Y/N’s now fighting top fighters from other areas, coming to see what she’s made of.

Sure she might be taking over the table, running her own mafia, and be the most feared thing in Saints high school, but she’s still the girl that needs a good fight to feel calm. Compromises were made between him and her when they started settling into life together. Like her training with Frankie and TC, after the battle for her, she never wants to be underprepared for another fight. He couldn’t blame her, encouraged her.

The memory of her in the hospital, damaged and broken, burned into his mind for life.

A tight feeling appeared in his chest, worrying about his baby sister taking over.

“Boss man?” She’s next to him, Clint cutting the tape off her hands. Steve, cleaning up the few cuts on her.

“The right hook, baby girl.” He shakes his head, smirking at her. “I’d say it’s blessed by Satan.” He chuckles, leaning into kiss her.

“But I am Satan.” She laughs against him, kissing him again.

“Don’t we know it.” Clint snorts.

“Unlikely to ever forget it.” Steve shakes his head.

“And if you do, I’ll remind you.” She sasses, like a snotty teenager.

“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.” The two mutter at the same time, laughing.

“Ah.” Steve pauses.

“What?” He asks.

Steve scratches the back of his head. “Is that new or old?” He cut his eyes to her thigh and back away.

Fingerprints, on the outside of her thigh, a thumb print on the inside of her thighs.

“Old.” She grins in Steve’s face.

“Scarred for life.” Becca whines, walking away.

Clint looks down and back to her. “That’s hot.” He grins.

“Fuck yeah.” She laughs, they high five.

“Alright, enough of that.” He pushes Clint away, making him laugh.

-----

The house party loud and packed. The typical Friday night high school parties for them. He sat on the couch talking with the guys. “What’s the policy for fighting here?” Howie laughs, sipping from his beer bottle.

“Don’t. Why?” Steve smirks.

“Cause if Smalls sees that girl eye fucking Bucky, that policy won’t matter to her.” Peter laughs.

“Does any rule?” Bucky sighs.

They all laugh.

“Boss man.” She saunters up to them. Dark cut off shorts, a cut short red T-shirt, with a black sports bra underneath. Her ball cap turned backwards, dark hair in messy waves.

“Doll?” He smirks up at her when she comes to stop the side of the couch, he’s on.

She leans down, black fingernails tip his chin up towards her. Her eyes cut to the side and instead of kissing him as he thought. She licks him, from his jaw to his eyebrow. Staring down the girl watching him. She looks startled before she bumps into someone trying to get away.

“Much better.” She smiles pretty walking away.

Peter’s brow yanks down. Howie looks confused. Steve and Clint are unbothered.

“Did our baby sister,” Howie blinks.

“Lick you?” Peter’s eyelids flutter quickly.

“Yup.” Clint and Steve reply, throwing back shorts.

“What in the fuck?” Peter laughs.

“Not new.” Clint shakes his head, downing his beer.

TC is moving towards them, a look of worry on his face.

“What?” He puts his cup down.

“Pretty sure Eddie is across the street.” He jerks his thumb backwards.

They exchange a look between the five of them before jumping up and hurrying out of the house.

Indeed, on the other side of the road, sits Eddie parked, leaning against his car. He smirks at them, as they come to stand on the walkway of the house.

“Gwen get in the house.” Y/N’s voice hits his ears.

“Y/N.” Gwen sounds nervous.

“Wanda stay here.” Y/N orders, he can hear her coming up behind them. She cuts around him, walking down the path, they follow her. She stops on the edge of the curb.

Eddie flicks his eyes from her to Becca, standing next to her.

“Try it.” Y/N warns him.

Eddie smirks, cutting his eyes back to Y/N. They stare back at one another.

She stares him down, Buck looks from Eddie to Y/N, something dark and dangerous in her brown eyes.

It’s Eddie who blinks first, looking away. Suddenly he gets back into his car, leaving.

She turns on them, staring at each of them for a moment.

“Something you boys need to tell me?” Her brow lifts, Becca looks tense next to her.

“We don’t know what that was about.” He assures her.

She nods slowly. Cutting between them heading back towards her girls at the door. The six of them exchange a look, heading for her. She pauses, taking the cup from Gwen, she turns to them standing above them on the front stoop.

“You better swear on whatever god you believe in, Boss man; you didn’t lie to me.” She repeats the saying from the beginning, when they first started out and Ben Rielly and Sina were causing issues for them. The ice cold look in her eyes, makes his steps stop suddenly.

“I’ll make your life hell, James Barnes, you think before was rough, you haven’t seen shit yet.” She warns him. Turning, she steps into the house between her friends, walking away.

Fear creeps into his chest.

He swallows hard.

-------- Everything Peaches 12/8/22 @mo320 @ml7010 @kmc1989 @irepeldirt @joannie95 @nunu2888 @coley0823 @rileyloves5 @sexyvixen7 @duckestylez @abschaffer2 @drayshadow @shirukitsune @xoxabs88xox @carostar2020 @rosalynshields @destiel-artemis @hookslove1592 @CallSign-Vesta @royal-sunflower @iwillbeinmynest @bellamy-barnes @geeksareunique @happydeanpotter @fanfic-n-tabulous @steel-blue-eyess @mariekoukie6661 @wonderswrittings @bless-my-demons @notyourtypicalrose @lets-talk-about-xyz @loving-life-my-way @shinycupcakebaker @also-fangirlinsweden @stupendous-science @daughterofthenight117 @dandelionsmarkthegrave @physically-a-cheesecake @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked

Bucky 'Fuck Me Up' Barnes: @nickyl316h @jbbarnesgirl @lets-roggerthat @this-is-mycrisis @kaylaphantomhive

Series tags: @sebastians-love

[talesfrommedinastation]

My Redneck Neighbor Doug has watched The Bad Batch Season 3 opener:

LEEEEET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!

This is more pithy than normal: Doug's been busy with work, as have I. But I'm determined to hear his thoughts on The Daddy Warcrimes 'n Company so here we go!

These were all via text messages, btw.

CW: Doug Doug's as you know Doug will do. Away!

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

Episode 1: 'Little Orphan Blondie's Shit Internship at The Museum of Science and Industry'

Poor Little Orphan Blondie, stuck in The Museum of Science and Industry in a shit summer job because they got bills to pay. Except they got rid of the dinosaurs and walk in heart and filled it with gross shit.

Hey look, they still got the coal mine exhibit! Man I miss Chicago.

(Doug, that museum has never had dinosaurs. “What, since when?”)

MUTANT JIMMERS EVERYWHERE! Aw, Little Orphan Blondie gave one her chicken nuggets! And it’s shy, aw, I hope it’s okay.

Poor Mutant Jimmers…she named her?! Swear to Christ Almighty if that dog gets Old Yeller’d I’ll just lose it. 

That freaky alien thing that ran the mall on the ocean looks sad, I bet she wishes she fell into the water and got eaten by a shark or something. I wish you did too, lady. 

The Sons of Robocop really are everywhere, they must be a cult or something. They look cool, I’d join, why not. Think they get 401ks?

Oh man, Daddy Warcrimes is down bad. Poor Daddy Warcrimes. Man, all my clone boys are stooped and sad…this ain’t good. 

At least Little Orphan Blondie can craft! Man, she should start selling those at the Museum of Science and Industry’s gift shop. Maybe Tarkin can bring one back for the grandchildren he’s not allowed to talk to since the restraining order was put in.

Oh, there’s Stepsister Beth, she seems on edge. Must’ve gotten divorced recently, don’t blame her ex, I bet she screamed at him for leaving cabinets open who knows. How do her eyeballs not hurt after wearing those dumb glasses all day?

Episode 2: 'Night Elves and Neverland Ranch'

The night elves from Warcraft invaded Star Wars and got horns or something and now they have a castle that looks like a boss level in Diablo IV or V or how many Diablo games they got now.

Now they yelling at people and throwing them in the basement today. Makes sense, gotta fight the orcs and stuff. Think they fight the orcs in the basement?

The Night Elf Horned Queen hired Daddy Rambo and Julio to get people, I guess they’re turning into Boba Fett or something. They got her son's horn back, guess that's good. Oh they need new paint jobs on their armor.

Do they end up in the basement in the Diablo Boss Level? No? And off they go! 

Daddy Rambo and Julio are in their homeland of FLORIDA! Hell yeah, SPACE FLORIDA! And they’re bringing the talking trashcan with them using straps! Go Julio go!  Yeah, boa vines, this is TOTALLY the Everglades! 

Escaped clone boys! Oh man! Shit, is Neverland Ranch in the jungle? Oh man–oh, they know what they’re doing. Good kids. Real good kids. Oh what happened to the rest of them? Oh Meat Muffin, this ain't good :(.

You know what? Them clone boys are smart, take it back, this ain’t Space Florida, this is Space Louisiana! Them baby boys gone get feral and run off into the bayou and live in the caves and now you know my origin story, Meat Muffin! 

If this was Florida they'd just end up working the late shift at Zaxby's and smoking rocks in the parking lot. We know better, we French and all.

I bet they’ve been living on nutria and half-empty chicken boxes from behind the gas stations. Resourceful scrappy kids and I can tell its making Daddy Rambo proud.

Oh holy SHIT, there go them vines! It's like the kudzu all over again, maybe this is LaFourche Parish?

See, them boys are definitely white trash, Mandalorian rednecks. Look at em, living in the woods and hijacking a plane, but they good kids, saving their brothers. Even saved the robot too. 

Man, all the feels, them poor little boys. What will they do now?  Oh, they're going to Space Daytona! Good, wait, I saw the trailer, doesn't the Empire invade it? THIS AIN'T GOOD MEAT MUFFIN!!!

Wait...where's Toaster Strudel and Rex?

Episode 3: 'Blondie Got a Gun'

Well here's the Emperor. He wants to be immortal. Gotta make that other movie make sense or something.

Where's Darth Vader? Is he running the government when the Emperor is running around giggling?

Don’t you DARE kill Mutant Jimmers, you damn droid. I hate that ugly assed stupid thing. It looks like its scarecrow daddy fucked a microwave and then left it enough money to go to Planned Parenthood but instead spent it on crack and there ya go.  

Oh shut your goddamned yap, Jimmy the Scientist. I bet he gloves that hand up because he keeps shoving it up his own ass and that's why he walks funny all the damn time.

The Emperor also has a Diablo IV or VIII boss level all to himself too at the Museum of Science and Industry. How many Diablo games are there, Meat Muffin?

YEAH, LITTLE ORPHAN BLONDIE! GIT ER DONE!!! They're out! Oh wow! There she goes with Daddy Warcrimes! Kill em all and let GOD SORT THEM OUT! That's my GIRL!!!!

Blondie’s got a gun 

Blondie’s got a gun

Her whole world's come undone

Shooting droids is FUN!

GO MUTANT JIMMERS GO!!!! 

YEAH BLONDIE DADDY WARCRIMES AND MUTANT JIMMERS!!!!!!

I AIN'T A BULLS FAN BUT REPEAT THE THREE PEAT! YEAH!!!!!!

....so when we gonna get Toaster Strudel and Rex? Next one? Where's my reg boys?!

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

Tagging those who missed my Cajun neighbor. LOOKS LIKE REDNECK DOUG IS BACK ON THE MENU, BOYS!

@skellymom @amalthiaph @eyecandyeoz @cdblake1565 @sued134 @merkitty49 @supremechancellorrex @yeehawgeek @wrenkenstein @techs-stitches @deezlees @autistic-artistech @perfectlywingedcrusade @auntie-venom @megmca @thecoffeelorian

[hazshit-hotel-hater]

What theories do you have with season 2 or what do you think is going to happen hazbin hotel?

None of my theories are super fleshed out but I do have some concerning theories that I really hope do not happen, the biggest is how Vox’s character will be written.

Warning for stuff about Raphielle and their grossass fetishes

Judging by a “fan animatic” they did to that Valentino fansong, I’m worried their portrayal of Vox is going to bleed into the show, aka where he jerks off to Angel Dust being raped. Genuinely if they do this I don’t know what I’m going to do. Vivzie and Raph can’t seem to think of any other way to write a villain rather than make them a rapist or make the character have a rape fetish themself. It’s horrible and lazy writing. If you can’t write an interesting villain, you’re a bad writer. If you can’t keep your fetishes out of your shows, you’re a bad writer. If you can’t handle genuine criticism of your insanely offensive show and characters, you’re a bad writer.

I hardly believe I’ll canonise much of anything from S2 for my rewrite when it comes out. My version of Vox will not ever stoop to the level of whatever the fuck Vivzie does with him. Even the way I write Valentino isn’t absolutely trash. Yeah, he’s still horrid, but I’m not treating him like some silly background character with mildly scary scenes and shock value. Treat him with the severity he brings from the actions he does. End of story.

Somewhat aside from the Vee’s, I hope they do fun things with Sir Pentious. They set up that whole double agent thing for him just to drop it the same episode and yeah I guess to be like “but people can be redeemed guys.. 🥺” okay? Thats a real fuckin mundane thing to focus on for his redemption though? Talk about like. Actual bad shit. Like all the murder. Seems a bit more important? Anyway, I think having Pentious somehow be a double agent in Heaven and provide information to the cast down in hell would be cool. No idea how they’d do that but I’d the idea is fun.

I also have a suspicion that Angel might be the second person to be redeemed although I hope not. For as much “character development” as he’s gotten for some reason, it’s all been incredibly half-assed. He’s hardly fixed himself at all and all of his progress was offscreen. There’s no way he sang a song with Husk on the street and that just suddenly stopped his drug addiction. That’s not how addictions work. Trust me I fuckin wish I could’ve sang a song and been cured from that kinda shit but unfortunately it just is not like that.

Photo I made to express my grievances.

Husk and Angel are also likely gonna date or whatever, personally I’m horrified if this is true because Vivzie is Vivzie and I don’t think she knows what slowburn actually means. I’d wait for like a third season before even starting that stuff but like I guess as long as it isn’t horrifically abusive??? Idk.

Dropped my wallet while writing this and im blaming it on the shows existence

Oh also I think Valentino might die, thats about it

[moonbeamwritings]

a dinner date with gojo

pairing: satoru gojo x gn!reader

wc: 1.6k

warnings: none

← prev. date | next date →

“So,” Gojo asks, breaking you from your thoughts. “What do you say?”

And it’s in that moment, with embarrassment threatening to spill to the surface, you realize you hadn’t been listening much at all. A few minutes earlier, Gojo had cornered you in the hallway of Jujutsu High after a sorcerers’ meeting with the higher-ups. He rests an arm against the wall to stop you in your tracks, and Nanami shoots you a sympathetic look over his shoulder. 

You’d been so focused on the subtle flex of his muscles as he leaned, the curl of his lips, and the distractingly smooth sound of his voice, that you had completely lost focus.

Blinking dumbly, you bring your gaze up to meet his. “Uh, I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

“Too distracting, huh?” Gojo drops his head a bit, stooping to bring his face level with yours. He pouts in faux sympathy, and the expression floods you with annoyance. Stupid Gojo and his stupid face. “I know, I get that a lot.”

The roll of your eyes only seems to spur him on. “Aww, c’mon. Don’t be like that. You know I’m just teasing.”

Yeah, you think bitterly. That’s the problem. “What do you want, Gojo?”

“Well, what I was asking before someone...” He reaches out to tap the tip of your nose, smiling when you pout. “...got lost along the way, is if you wanted to go out to dinner with me next week.” He pauses for a moment, looking almost nervous before he clarifies, “For Valentine’s Day.”

This was not how you were expecting the conversation to go.

When he’d first trapped you against the wall, you were fully convinced he’d just pass busy work off to you or poke fun at you for something or tell you how great he is, like he always does, but this is a rare side of Gojo, and a vulnerable one at that. In the wake of your silence, Gojo brings a hand up to rub at the back of his neck and adjust his blindfold. It’s cute.

You glance up at him and his lips quirk up almost sheepishly. You definitely can’t say no to that face. Returning his smile, you tell him, “I’d like that.”

His face brightens in an instant, smile almost blinding as he straightens up, bouncing on the balls of his feet not unlike a man who’s just won the lottery. “Oh yeah? You wanna be my valentine? I knew you couldn’t resist my charm.”

And there he was again — the Gojo you were so used to. Eyes rolling, you press a finger into his chest. “You keep that up and I’ll take it back. I’ll find someone else to be my valentine.”

Feigned hurt erupts across his features. “You wouldn’t dare.”

You shrug, nonchalant, ducking under his arm to make your way down the hallway. “Don’t test me, pretty boy.”

Gojo is on your heels in an instant. “Pretty? You think I’m pretty?”

The following week, Gojo picks you up at exactly 7 o’clock. He steps out of a sleek black car, dressed to absolute perfection in a perfectly tailored suit. He’s styled his hair so it’s off his face, though a stray lock curls down onto his forehead. He does everything a true gentleman should — opening doors for you, pulling out your chair at dinner. Hell, he’d even remembered your favorite type of wine, ordering it for the table with a wink and a charming smile. Every action stirs heat in the apples of your cheeks and a giddy feeling in your chest.

The restaurant is beautiful; an incredibly high-end place with expensive dishes and chandeliers twinkling where they hang from the ceiling. Little tea lights burn in the space between you, nestled on either side of a vibrant bouquet of red roses and baby’s breath. You lift one of the many forks and find that it’s heavy in your hold. Expensive. 

The couple beside you is decked out in damn near black tie attire, an elegant gown and a stylish black tux. You cringe, suddenly feeling very out of place and underdressed. You take a sip of your wine in hopes that the alcohol will help to dull your fraying nerves.

When Gojo told you it was a nice restaurant, you weren’t exactly expecting it to be this nice.

“You look beautiful.”

Gentle classical music drifts through your ears as you bounce your foot beneath the table. You’re only pulled from your thoughts when Gojo’s hand reaches across to close over yours.

“What’d you say?”

“You know, this seems to be a recurring problem with you.” He tilts his head and lifts a brow. “Am I really that distracting?”

When you don’t roll your eyes or even attempt a smile, Gojo drops the act. His smile is kind, tone gentle as he tells you, “I said you look beautiful.” He squeezes your fingers when he notices the expression on your face, one that cracks to expose the anxiety simmering beneath the surface. “Hey, are you alright?”

“I-” Your face flushes with embarrassment. Deflating, you sheepishly admit, “I feel a little...” Your free hand flops helplessly in the air as you struggle to find the right word, swirling about before returning to the table. “... out of place?”

Gojo’s brows furrow and he glances around the room. He looks at the couples on either side of you before his eyes follow the waiter and then the hostess, flicking over to the pianist before finally, after a long moment of silence, his piercing blue eyes greet yours again. His expression shifts, flickering with understanding. “Ahh, I see what you mean. You are the prettiest person here. I can only imagine the kind of stress that puts you under.”

His tone lilts with a hint of teasing, but you can sense the sincerity that weaves through his statement. You bite your lip before sighing. “That’s not what I mean, Gojo.”

“It’s the,” he clears his throat, head nodding in the direction of the uppity couple beside you. “clientele, isn’t it? The vibe?”

Your voice is small, almost sheepish. “A little.”

“I guess I should’ve warned you about it. Maybe I went a little overboard. I just wanted-,” He pauses, as if questioning his own words before his face softens. “I wanted today to be special, you know?” He shrugs. “You deserve it.”

The confident facade cracks, just as it had when he asked you out last week, to reveal a big, sappy heart. It’s another rare occurrence that stokes the affection for him brewing in your own.

You can’t help but smile as your foot ceases it’s bouncing, as the nerves start to dissipate. “I appreciate it. I think I just need to settle a bit.” You eye your wine glass. “And maybe have another glass of wine.”

“How about this?” Gojo asks suddenly, his finger moving to delicately trace the heart line on your palm — a gentle movement that tickles as much as it distracts you from his soft gaze. “We’ll skip dessert here, and I’ll take you to a bakery down the road.” He leans across the table and lowers his voice. “It’s a lot less...” He glances around the room almost judgmentally before his eyes return to yours, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “... stuffy. How does that sound?”

You capture his hand in yours again, weaving your fingers between his. “I would really like that.”

“Then consider it done.” Gojo falls silent as his eyes begin to scan the menu again, and you watch him for a moment before you draw his attention back to you with a gentle squeeze of his hand. “Gojo?”

“Mm?”

“Thank you.”

He grins, so wide and so cute it makes your heart stutter against your ribs. “Anything for my beautiful valentine.”

Your food orders and a few more glasses of wine spark light-hearted conversation, and before you realize it, your plate is empty and your cheeks are sore from laughing. Gojo bats your hand away when you offer to pay, but takes it again when you go to leave, leading you down the sidewalk to the bakery he mentioned.

He orders an extra large slice of chocolate chiffon cake and two forks and the two of you dig into the sweet treat, forks knocking against each other with each bite you take. The slice disappears in mere moments, and with only crumbs remaining, Gojo taps his fork against yours with a dull, metallic clink, a pleased smile on his face.

“That was delicious.” You watch as he inspects your face for a moment before gesturing to the corner of your mouth. “Oh, you have a little-.”

“Here?”

“Nope,” he leans into your space to swipe his thumb across the opposite corner, eyes flickering from your own to your lips. “Right here.”

With his proximity, you can’t help but lower your voice to a whisper. “Did you get it?”

“Mm,” he hums, lips now ghosting over yours, “I think I see another crumb.”

“Well, we don’t want that.”

“No, we don’t.”

The kiss he presses to your lips is chaste; the pressure there and then gone in a blink. When he pulls away, he captures your chin between his finger and thumb, holding you close. “I think I got it.”

“Thanks.”

“Ah,” he clicks his tongue, “maybe not.” He drags you in for another kiss and then another, and after no less than three kisses, he pulls away with an exaggerated huff. He smirks, all too pleased with himself at the heat he feels radiating from your cheeks. “There. I think I finally got it all.”

[wonderswritings]

When Worlds Collide 2: Bits and Pieces

Summary: In the past year, you’d suffered more than you’d ever could’ve imagined. Now, after a relative moment of peace, it seems trouble has started once more, and you’re dragged into it. The multiverse is real, and with it, possibilities of a new life. 

Warnings: No Way Home Spoilers, Multiverse of Madness Spoilers, Angst, Lost Memories, Unrequited Feelings

Pairings: TASM!Peter Parker x Fem!Stark!Reader (nicknamed Mel read book 1 to find out why)

AO3

When Worlds Collide Masterlist

You were walking down the sidewalk next to Peter, listening to Peter’s rambling. You looked around, taking everything in when you saw the tall building in the distance, overshadowing all the other buildings.

“Think you could’ve made it any bigger?” He grinned, throwing his arm over your shoulders. “Nah, couldn’t have it too big.” “Right, can’t surpass your ego.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Come on, let me show you the inside.” He steered you inside, the two of you cracking jokes as you went.

“And they looked at me like I’d grown two heads or something.”

Peter stooped when he noticed you weren’t walking next to him, causing him to turn, seeing you standing in one spot, staring off into the distance. He rushed back to your side, stopping in front of you.

“YN? YN, what is it? What’s wrong?”

Your eyes were glassy, causing Peter to turn, looking off at where you were looking, the only thing he could figure you were looking at was Osborn’s building. He slightly shook his head as he turned back towards you, reaching up and cradling your face in his hands as he leaned down so he could be eye level with you.

“Come on YN, come back to me.”

Peter watched as the glassy look in your eyes faded, a small gasp escaping you as you blinked repeatedly.

“There we go, that’s it.”

You looked over at Peter, seeing the soft smile he was giving you.

“Are you okay? What happened?”

You shook your head, Peter’s hand falling back to his sides.

“I- I don’t know.”

You looked back over at the building slightly making a face before you looked back at Peter.

“Sorry.”

Peter shook his head as he stood to his full height.

“No, none of that. It’s okay.”

He grinned cheekily as he grabbed your hand, holding it in his.

“But let’s just stick together from now on, yeah?”

You nodded, offering him a small smile as the two of you started walking again. Turning at the corner you glanced back at the building, blinking when it changed, looking like a completely different building before it went back to normal.

You were sitting against the trunk of a tree, Peter across from you as you both picked at your food.

“Who is Mel?”

Peter looked over at you mid gab of a fry, his mouth hanging open.

“What?”

“Earlier, you said Mel.”

“Oh.”

Peter nodded, leaning back on his arm as he set his fry back into his tray.

“Mel is a nickname.”

He glanced over at you, meeting your gaze for a second before he looked away.

“It’s actually your nickname.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Your dad gave it to you. You live a pretty public life, so he’d call you Mel. He called you honey first-”

“Come on honey, it’s just for an hour, tops.” You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “An hour of listening to the board talk like idiots? No thanks.” “You’ll be with me.” “You just don’t want to be alone with them when they yell at you.” “I actually want you there for moral support-” “Because they’re going to yell.” “And because I want your perspective on something.” You groaned, looking over at him. “Fine.” He grinned, doing a fist pump as you lifted a finger, pointing at him. “But you owe me a burger.” “Deal honey.”

“And then later he called you bee.”

“It’s dangerous.” Glancing at him from the corner of your eyes you scoffed, pulling your gauntlets on. “I’m dangerous.” “Bee please, I don’t want you doing this.” You stood up, turning towards him, your hands on your hips. “Good thing it’s not your choice then.” “Bee-” “No. You said I could do this. You promised me, I could be the one to bring him in. You can’t take it back. You don’t get to take it back.” He sighed, nodding as he walked closer to you. “Just, be careful. Promise me.” You nodded as you closed the distance between you both, wrapping your arms around him. “I promise dad.”

“And Mel means both honey and bee.”

“Mel, nine o’clock.” Through the chaos happening around you, you could make out the others asking who he was talking to. “My sweet honey, stinging bee, daughter of mine.” “Dad, what the hell.” “I’ve got a new name for you.” “Mel?” “Yep. Combines both into one.” He landed next to you, firing his repulsor before he turned, his face mask opening as he placed his hands on his hips. “Now, when I say nine o’clock I mean fire.” You turned towards him, tilting your head to the side. “Oh I’m sorry, Mr. I have to give a new nickname in the middle of a fight without letting anyone know.”

“Hey, YN?”

Peter sat up, moving to kneel in front of you.

“YN?”

You shook your head, glancing at Peter.

“I-I can see him. But I can’t see him. It- he’s blurry.”

Tears welled in your eyes as you looked over at Peter.

“I want to see him, Peter, please.”

Peter slightly shook his head as he reached for your hand, gently running his thumb over your knuckles. 

“YN, I-I’m sorry but you can’t.”

“Wh- Peter pl- why?”

“It- it’s complicated.”

“Well uncomplicate it Peter! Please, I want to see him! I want to see my dad!”

“I’m sorry YN. It- there’s a lot you don’t know, that I don’t know.”

“Then take me to my dad.”

Peter took a deep breath, glancing down at his hand that held yours.

“I can’t take you to your dad because he’s not here. He’s not from this earth, and neither are you.”

Peter kept glancing at his room, willing the door to open. Since he’d brought you back to his apartment, explaining what little he knew, you retreated to his room, the sound of the lock clicking echoing throughout the apartment. He wanted to be there for you, offer you whatever support he could, but you’d shut him out and he didn’t want to cause you more pain. But it’d been three hours now, and Peter couldn't hear any sound coming from his room, causing him to worry. With a sigh he stood, making his way to his room, knocking. When there was no response he tried the handle, his eyes widening slightly when he was able to open it.

“YN?”

He stepped into the room, looking over at the bed, expecting to see you sitting there. When he didn’t see you he looked over at his desk, noticing the chair was pushed under the desk. He even checked the corner where you had hidden earlier, but even that was empty. He looked around the room, hoping to see you somewhere but he didn’t. He ran his fingers through his hair, shaking his head.

“Crap, crap, crap.”

You weren’t here, and if you weren’t here then you were out there, in an entirely different New York than your own, with no memories and unstable powers.  Rushing to the closet where he’d stashed his suit, he quickly changed, rushing back into his room, his mask in his hand as he opened the window. With a quick glance to make sure it was clear, he pulled his mask on, climbing out and lifting his hand, shooting a web. He swung through the city, his mind racing. Where were you? New York was a big place, and there were many places to hide or get lost in, and it was dangerous. He didn’t know where to start looking. There was a chance you weren’t even in the city anymore, seeing as he had no idea when you’d left. But Peter was determined to find you, no matter what.

“Please, let me go.” “Raise the voltage.” “Sir, if we do that it may kill her.” “Raise the voltage. If her father won’t come to us-” “Then we’ll send parts of her to him.”

“You can’t keep me locked in here forever!” “Until I know you’re safe, I will!” “You’re treating me like a prisoner! You're my dad, not my warden!” “Right now, I’m both! Until you realize the danger you’re in, you’re staying put! And don’t even try to override the system, you’ve been locked out.”

“Dad, something’s happening.” “We’re okay.” “Tony. There was no other way.” “I don’t feel so good.” “You’re all right.” “I don’t- I don’t know what’s happening. Please, I don’t- I don’t wanna go." “Mel, stop, you’re hurting yourself.” "I don’t wanna go.” “I’m sorry.” “He did it.”

“Whe- where is he? Where’s daddy?” “Little miss, I- something’s happened. Some- something bad has happened.” “Daddy’s not coming back, is he?” “No, no he’s not.” “I miss him already.” “Me too.”

“In the grand calculus of the multiverse, his sacrifice means far more than his life.” “Does it?! My sister has to grow up without her father! Her mom has to live without the man she loves!” “I’m sorry, but it had to be done.” “Not at the cost of his life!” “You killed him. You killed my father!”

With a gasp you jerked to, looking around. Purple wisps surrounded you, and your eyes widened when you saw you weren’t on the ground, causing you to fall once you realized you were floating. You landed with a groan, rolling onto your back, looking up at the ceiling. You lifted your hand, watching as it lit up, a small ball of energy circling between your fingers. Throwing your hand up, the ball grew as it exploded from your hand, creating what you’d just seen while you were in your trance. You stood, walking towards the closest orb, reaching out and touching it, gasping as it grew.

Wide, teary eyes turned towards the man in white. “Please, let me go.” “Raise the voltage.” “Sir, if we do that it may kill her.” “Raise the voltage. If her father won’t come to us-” A loud scream tore through your as the stinging pain spread throughout your head. “Then we’ll send parts of her to him.”

Your hand fell to your side as you stepped back, shaking your head. You moved to the next orb, hesitating for a second before you reached out, touching it. 

“You can’t keep me locked in here forever!” He shook his head, slightly glaring at you. “Until I know you’re safe, I will!” “You’re treating me like a prisoner! You're my dad, not my warden!” “Right now, I’m both! Until you realize the danger you’re in, you’re staying put!” He walked towards the door, opening it when he stopped, looking at you over his shoulder. “And don’t even try to override the system, you’ve been locked out.”

For some reason you were angry, a sense of resentment filling you as you moved to the next orb, reaching out. 

“Dad, something’s happening.” He walked towards you, grabbing you by the arms and pulling you into his chest, his head resting on top of yours. “We’re okay.” “Tony. There was no other way.” “I don’t feel so good.” He let you go as he turned, grabbing the kid. “You’re all right.” “I don’t- I don’t know what’s happening.” He helped him down to the ground while you appeared next to them, your hand glowing as it hovered over him. “Please, I don’t- I don’t wanna go.” “Mel, stop, you’re hurting yourself.” “I don’t wanna go.” Tears were in his eyes as he turned his head to the side, looking up.  “I’m sorry.” Your concentration broke as he turned to dust, the light around your hand fading. “He did it.”

You felt like a piece of you was missing as you moved to the next orb, taking a deep breath as you reached out.

“Whe- where is he? Where’s daddy?” You stepped forward, moving to kneel in front of her, reaching out for her hand. “Little miss, I- something’s happened. Some- something bad has happened.” “Daddy’s not coming back, is he?” You sniffled, shaking your head. “No, no he’s not.” She surged forward, wrapping her small arms around your neck, her head on your shoulder. “I miss him already.” A broken sob left you as you returned the hug, looking over at the group of people watching you both, tears in all their eyes as tears streamed down your face, tightening your grip on her. “Me too.”

Tears welled in your eyes as you stepped back, watching it replay, over and over again before you moved to the last orb. 

“In the grand calculus of the multiverse, his sacrifice means far more than his life.” “Does it?! My sister has to grow up without her father! Her mom has to live without the man she loves!” “I’m sorry, but it had to be done.” “Not at the cost of his life!” Your hands started to glow as you shook your head, tears streaming down your face as you glared at him. “You killed him. You killed my father!” You threw your hands forward, a surge of energy leaving your hands, hitting him in the chest.

You looked around at the memories playing around you, making a face. These were your memories, at least, they had to be, seeing as you were in them, but the man you believed to be your dad was still blurry. Lifting your hands you closed your eyes, concentrating on trying to make the memories clear. The energy leaving your hands grew stronger, glowing brighter. There was a stinging pain forming in the back of your head, but you chose to ignore it as you pushed harder. When it became too much you stopped, falling to your knees, your chest heaving.

“Fine, if that won’t work then maybe this will.”

You sat down, your elbows resting on your knees as you closed your eyes. Your hands started to glow, your powers pulsing in waves as a warm, tingly feeling spread up your arms from your hands. 

Peter was swinging through the city, his jaw clenched. Reluctantly, he had stopped at the local police department, inquiring about anyone matching your description. Luckily they didn’t ask him any questions, but Peter still had a nagging feeling that he should’ve left them out of it. Unfortunately, they were of no help, and he was back to square one, aimlessly swinging around hoping to catch a glimpse of you. With a harsh sigh he landed on the roof of some apartment building, walking towards the ledge. Where were you? It was starting to get late, and Peter had no idea if you were okay or not. He was mentally going over the places he’d already checked, thinking of what other areas he needed to check when he felt it, the thrum of your powers. His eyes widened under the mask as he looked around, trying to see where your powers were coming from when there was a rumble, everything around him shaking, causing him to slightly lose his balance. After righting himself he walked closer to the ledge, lifting his arm and shooting a web, swinging off. He followed the rumbles, landing on the ground outside of a broken-down warehouse. He could see the purple glow coming from inside. Taking a deep breath he walked forward, stopping at the door.

Caps Tags

Everything Tags:

@jedi-dreea 

@sammysgirl1997

@scarlett-witchhh

@cevans-winchester

@rafecameronswhore

@jennmurawski13-writes

When Worlds Collide Original Tags:

@nyx2021 

@puredicks @jedi-dreea 

@luvr-bunnyy

@xoxabs88xox

@scarlett-witchhh

@pancakefancake

@preciousbabypeter

@lacunaanonymoused

@shaded-echoes-recs

@multi-fandom-lover7667

TASM!Peter Parker Tags:

@preciousbabypeter

Marvel Tags:

@3leni

@vxidnik @qiqilious 

@sky0401

@nyx2021

@dani5216

@ajeff855 @steph213 @23victoria

@kelseyd07

@jedi-dreea @dorks2022   

@bxnnywatts @luvr-bunnyy

@sleutherclaw @thebookisbtr

@n00dlesncheese @mariaenchanted

@scarlett-witchhh @cevans-winchester @lacunaanonymoused

@rafecameronswhore @mychemicalimagines @maluisamarvelfan123 

@todaywasafairytale07 

@jennmurawski13-writes

@multi-fandom-lover7667

[m1ckeyb3rry]

Ok same before BLLK I was like knee deep in JJK (do you have a fav?? I’m personally a raging Inumaki advocate LMAO) but after discovering BLLK and also seeing where the story went…..yeah….i can’t say I’m caught up on all the leaks (everything between Gojo sliced to Yuta copying kenjaku) only because I got so confused and I genuinely have no idea what happened I just know people were dropping like flies left and right…I’m hoping gege has a plan because not to be overly critical but I could not see ANY plot for awhile LMAO it was just kinda an ongoing toss someone into the Sukuna fight tag team whoops they died next person kinda vibe for me too….if I’m being honest I think I was originally captivated by the whole premise of jjk and the fighting curses thing that was most prominent in the content covered up to shibuya but I think I was slowly fading from culling games…something about it just seemed so different from what jjk had built up to be originally (or I just was too hard stuck on its original kinda theme of sorcerer vs curse strictly..simpler times…)

Also I don’t know how much you’ve seen of these but the recent exhibition content?? Where apparently gege clears up some stuff about the camellia being not a camellia and throwing people for a loop like I’m NGL I thought that was kinda ridiculous like huh??? I can’t tell if maybe it’s just a mistranslation but the never ending cycle of “DADDYS HOME”(meme ref I wouldn’t actually call gojo daddy for disclaimer’s sake LOL) to “it’s gojover” burnt me out…but LMAO I def remember reading culling games for the first time and talking to my friend being like yeah I’m just gonna wait for this to be animated because I have no idea how hakaris ct works

I love we have Otoya at one end of the disrespect spectrum yuki at the other and karasu in between LMAO

Ah yes agency my fav word fr!! Whenever I do in depth analysis I find myself gravitating towards talking about agency and will of certain characters I love how you developed this…also talk about scholar?? Pop off the amount of research/knowledge you took into account while writing this omg

And fr!! Bonafide soccer losers I’m sure they’d find their way to a field and a ball no matter what au they’re slapped in LMAO that being said cherry tree is also a personal fav of mine from your portfolio…the characterization for Rin was on point and aligned a lot with what I’ve understood to be his character LOL but yeah that tag is flooding (I could be wrong but sometimes I feel like saes is even more active??) it’s gotta be something about the Emo teal eyed dudes I’m somehow hoping at some point in bllk we see Rin get to redevelop his interests outside of soccer..(like the horror games and his personality kinda pre-sae trauma) but we’ll see how that goes LMAO

Back to research DOWN TO THE PLANTS IN HIORIS FIELD goodbye that’s some next level research I’m honestly living for it though!!! I mean I wouldn’t know which plants are native to Japan off the top of my head but I can imagine if I read something wrong about something I was familiar with I’d be a little irked the dedication you have is too real

SHHSHS GLAD TO HAVE YOU TOO HEHE I’m also hoping tabieitaken nation RISE honestly I’m sure they will I think they’re just kinda like…idk paywalled for lack of a better term behind the anime only/stuck in manga barrier I’m hoping we’ll get to see them in action from ep1!! Also yuki always almost seems like the third wheel to me LMAOA I think he’s just too dignified to stoop to their level of goofiness sometimes he’s just got that air to him….honestly I’m just excited to see all the new s2 characters in action with their dynamics and relations etc….im also kinda a nanase stan I can’t wait to see my headband boy in action…I think it’s funny how Isagi gets surrounded by people with accents and dialects I can fs see him being lost when they use region specific vocab LMAO

THANK YOUUU I know I just braindumped there so do take your time LMAO…I’m excited to read the karasu one shot and your other event works too!!! Will be back for commentary with each release o7

Also that shot of Karasu from s1 has me dying eightbit better give him compensation and do him justice s2 because that’s not Karasu that’s Kevin….like who is that man…..but no you’re blessing the Karasu tag never stop LMAOAO

-Karasu anon

i’m in pretty much the same boat!! i loveddd jjk and was p active in the fandom from like 2022-early 2024. my favs were megumi kashimo and yuta!! but i loved inumaki for a while hehe. i think some of my best fics are for jjk in terms of the kind of story i like to write 🤔 but i do agree that recently i’ve felt v lukewarm abt it

i feel like it’s a trend to hate on things that are popular which i don’t necessarily agree with but i just feel like i don’t really enjoy reading jjk anymore!! and i think a lot of its fans think popular = good which isn’t always the case. i also believe it gets a lot of praise which while some of it is merited (the things jjk does well it does VERY well) some it maybe not so much. for example i’ve seen a lot of people praising jjk for its female cast and honestly i don’t see the appeal. not a single female character is written as well as the male characters (including maki, who as much as i love her and as much as she is def above average for a shonen fc, is not really as well written as people make her out to be imo) and they all have dissatisfactory/vague endings (the way yuki tsukumo’s character was handled was a crime, same w tsumiki). i think a lot of fans think not sexualized automatically means good female character but that’s only one portion of it. jjk is kind of what i mean when i say i’m glad bllk has barely any female characters…i rather they don’t exist than get shelved for the plot/development of male characters/not even fully explored

also the way people were confused about whether nobara died for YEARS after it was shown in the manga and it was only cleared up in an interview is just. idk. i feel like i love what jjk could be (and again, i love a lot of things in it as well!! this is more me explaining why i’m not so into it anymore ig haha) and the things it set up to happen, but the execution isn’t really to my taste. different people will enjoy diff things but that’s just me 🤷🏻‍♀️ i keep up with it just because i feel like i have to?? i want to know how it all ends but i’m not emotionally invested like i used to be. also one thing i will say is i see a lot of analysis posts breaking down jjk and pointing out the different subtle details gege has put into it, and while i admire that level of attention i think those kinds of details should only serve to enhance a main story?? like the plot should be able to stand on its own without needing to have a very very deep understanding of many many nuanced topics. but again all of this is my personal opinion!! at the end of the day jjk is wildly popular and many people do enjoy it. gege isn’t perfect but no one is tbf so while i think criticism is good i would never bash on them for their ideas/work. at the end of the day it’s their story and the way they want to tell it is what they’re going to do!!

if soccer didn’t exist in an au they were put in the itoshi bros would simply invent it HAHAH omg i’m glad you liked cherry tree!! that’s like one of my least fav bllk fics i’ve written LMAO i feel like rin is so wiggly to write about (that makes no sense but basically he’s just hard to capture in my mind) that it was difficult despite being a relatively simple request 😫 yes i do think that sae’s tag is a bit more popular than rin’s!! maybe it’s because sae is being set up a bit like the gojo-type character who’s untouchably skilled 🤔 that kind of trope is always a winner w the fandoms i feel…i have to admire i think his haircut is weird asf 😔 i don’t think he’s UGLY but i also don’t know what everyone sees in him (i have to be careful though because the last two times I said this it was abt kaiser and otoya and. you saw how that turned out.)

PLSSS omg yes i sat there making sure white butterflies even exist in japan and everything 😭 there’s a line in hollyhock too where y/n compares reiji hiiragi to a hornet and originally the line referred to him as a vulture but apparently japan doesn’t have native vultures?? so it wouldn’t make sense coming from someone in the sengoku era to refer to a bird she would have had no chance at ever seeing. my philosophy is that it’s one of those things that people won’t care about if you forget (and sometimes artistic liberties can be taken) but the more careful you are to ensure you’re being as accurate as possible, the more the work really feels cohesive and believable ig?? 🤔 idk i think it just gives a more seamless vibe and you can def tell when an author is knowledgeable or at least did some research before writing abt a subject!! it always elevates a fic to me and i’d like to give that same experience to my own readers hehe plus i’m a bit of a perfectionist so i’d make myself do it anyways most likely

I AGREE i can sense them becoming popular they really are just fandom tropes as actual characters!! as long as their animation does them justices 😭 otoya and yuki looked okay in the last ep but karasu…they did my man a lil dirty icl 😔 omg that screenshot of him is so funny to me idek what it is he just looks so odd!! same in the epinagi movie though not to that extent 😔 i think part of it is that he’s drawn so sharply in the manga that in the anime he looks a little too soft?? for lack of a better word. also i got so used to him having black hair that i forgot his hair is technically purple-blue (karasu with black hair and purple eyes you will forever live in my heart). i was rewatching bllk a while ago and i saw him in that moment (he’s in the background i think he’s either judging shidou or judging raichi and gagamaru) and i had to rewind like HELP IS THAT KARASU?? but he’s kinda cute though…w his little 😒😕 expression…

also this is unrelated but idk how i just realized kurona was number 4 in second selection?? the way he beat literally every relevant character except rin is so funny (although tbf idrk how aryu and tokimitsu got 2nd and 3rd but then completely faded from relevancy after second selection)

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

Scared to Death: Part Two

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~1.8k

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there is any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them. If you’ve seen the show, then it’s the same level of angst unless otherwise stated

You kept your promise and went to the hospital and made it back in forty minutes. You had to use your FBI advantages to get things moving along quicker, but there isn't any damage to your lungs or throat from the smoke. There is a little irritation, but the doctor prescribed you an inhaler to take twice a day for a week.

You're the last one on the plane where everyone is. You put your bag off to the side and take a seat next to Spencer with a huff.

"Everything okay?" Derek asks.

"Yeah, no permanent damage. Just a little irritation. The doctor gave me an inhaler. What did I miss?"

"We haven't started. We were waiting for you," JJ says.

Just then, the plane doors closed, and the pilot started to takeoff.

"Can we go over what Portland found?" Hotch asks.

"One female and two male victims were found buried together in the same grave. All twenty-five to thirty. All had been dead for six months."

"That sounds like three different MOs," Emily says.

"Gary Taylor, the Phantom Sniper, was all over the map, just like this guy. He changed his MO as his need to control the situation changed," Spencer rants.

"What about the fresh grave?"

"Female, twenty-eight, roughly dead for forty-eight hours. She was asphyxiated."

"It's a good thing this guy's dumpsite has been compromised."

"Is it? That means he'll find a new place. A place that could be far away from the others. Maybe over state lines."

"As soon as the unsub knows that, he may feel pressured that we're onto him. It could push him to make a mistake."

"Maybe," you shrug.

"Hey, you," Penelope's voice says. You look to the table to see her face on the monitor that's connected to a video chat she's using. Spencer doesn't realize and looks around for his friend, but she just chuckles. "Down here."

"I knew that."

"Good thing you're handsome, doctor," she grins. You lean up and kiss his cheek, glad that not only you can see how cute Spencer can be. "Attention team members--this killer guy continues to stoop to an all-time low of lows by posing as his victims. He's also manipulated two of the families into thinking that everything was okay, even after they were reported missing. One of the fake emails was from their daughter. She said she met this guy and was taking him to her favorite place, Australia, for a couple of weeks. The family contacted the Australian authorities after too much time had passed."

"This guy sure knows a lot of personal information about his victims," you state. "How did he get access to their email accounts?"

"The screen name was the same, but the domain was different. The families never noticed. When I find more pieces of the puzzle, you'll know. Garcia out."

She hangs up the phone, and you look to Hotch for instructions.

"This guy's creative. Let's go over the details one more time just to make sure we haven't missed anything."

By the time you got to the police station in Oregon, you already knew every detail by heart. Hotch made everyone go over it at least three times to make sure no one was confused about anything. It sure felt like the team wasn't complete without Gideon around. You hope he's doing well... wherever he may be. He has your number, so you hope he uses it if he needs anything.

"You must be the BAU. Special agent Bill Calvert," Bill introduces himself to the team.

"Hi. Jennifer Jareau. This is SSA Aaron Hotchner. These are agents Morgan, Prentiss, Y/N, and Dr. Reid."

"I appreciate your help on this case."

"We'd like to take a look around Jenny Wittman's apartment," Hotch says.

"I'd take you myself, but I'm waiting to meet a family, so I'll have another agent drive you out there," Bill says.

"I'll stay behind and work on victimology," Emily offers.

"Great. Reid, Morgan, Y/N, I could use some extra hands. We'll call you if we find anything."

Along with an agent, your half of the team leave for Jenny's apartment. She lives in a building that looks run-down and old. It definitely needs some upgrades and renovations, but maybe the inside is better. The agent can't be here with you, so he's only going to drop you off and pick you up when you're done.

"Wittman's place is on the fourth floor," Spencer says.

Derek presses the button on the elevator, but it's a small one. Only three people will be able to fit easily inside, but four would be way too crowded.

"I'll... meet you guys up there," Hotch says.

He heads to the stairs, but you, Derek, and Spencer enter the elevator. Derek presses the button for the fourth floor, and you sigh heavily.

"Are you okay?"

"Someone was in my apartment, Derek. Either someone has a key or they broke in while I was sleeping. I wasn't harmed. Why? Why break into my apartment and not hurt me? Why fire? I can't get my head wrapped around this."

"We'll help you figure it out. Whatever you need," Derek says.

"At least you weren't harmed. You're here. That's all that matters," Spencer says.

You look at the display screen that tells the occupants inside the elevator what floor they're on. It says you're on floor number three, but then the elevator rolls to a stop. You think that maybe there are people on that floor that need the elevator, but the door doesn't open.

In fact, it's stuck.

"Why isn't it moving?" Derek asks, bouncing up and down a bit to see if it'll kick start the elevator.

"I don't know. Don't--stop it! Don't..."

"What? What's the problem?" Derek asks and bounces again.

"Don't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because there are six elevator-related deaths per year. Not to mention 10,000 injuries that require hospitalization. Chill out."

"That sounds like pretty good odds to me. Are you scared, Reid?" Derek grins.

"I'm not scared."

He is, but you don't comment on that. Derek is scared too, but only a little bit. Derek jumps once more, and that causes the elevator to drop a few inches. It's at this point, that everyone is shitting their pants. You, Spencer, and Derek all hug the walls, and you're trying not to let the emotions of the two men get to you.

"Push it!" Spencer panics, pointing to the big red button on the panel.

Derek pushes and pulls it, but nothing happens besides the emergency ringing whenever Derek pulls the button out.

"I'm doing it. Nothing's happening."

The elevator drops a few more inches, and you actually might cry. Everyone is panicking, and you're becoming unstable because of them

"No, no, no, no. Not today. No, not today."

"Hotch?" Spencer says, his voice cracking at the end. "Hotch!"

"I love you guys, but panicking is only making it worse. Please calm the fuck down!" you whimper.

Just then the doors to the elevator open, and Hotch is standing there with a confused look on his face. All three of you exit the elevator as quickly as you can with relief across your expressions.

"Was that the alarm? Are you guys okay?" Hotch asks.

"I'll get back to you on that," Spencer sighs.

Without another word, Hotch walks over to Jenny's apartment where the landlord is waiting to let you in. Derek follows quickly, but you and Spencer are still trying to calm yourselves.

"Are you okay?"

"I will be once your heart stops racing," you sigh.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. We're fine. We'll just take the stairs when we leave. Come on."

You and Spencer approach the apartment and head inside. The place isn't as bad as you thought it was going to be. This is small, but Jenny was living alone, so you didn't expect much.

"The FBI was already here two days ago. They didn't find anything," the landlord says, getting out of the way.

"We're from the Behavioral Analysis Unit."

"What's that mean?"

"It means that we study human behavior. We don't just look at the evidence. It helps us to determine why this killer chose this particular victim. The place has a lived-in feel to it."

"It looks like she spent most of her free time here," you say, already connecting with her spirit. You can see her lingering around and doing whatever makes her relax. Nothing you see suggests she was ever in danger. That means she might not have had any enemies. "No messages on the answering machine."

"Hey, guys. Come take a look at this," Derek says from the bathroom. You join him where you can see a bunch of boxes stuffed inside her walk-in shower with glass walls. She wasn't using the shower, so she must have taken baths to clean herself. "There are bath products all around the tub, but she never turned the shower on."

"Uh, did anything ever strike you as odd about Jenny?" Spencer asks the landlord.

"You know what? When she moved in here two months ago, she walked up and down those stairs a hundred times. She wouldn't use the elevator."

"I don't blame her," Derek mutters. "Okay, so we know Jenny didn't like tight spaces or the elevator. What else do we know?"

"We know that the unsub preys on people that are new to the city with no strong social ties."

"Jenny fits the model. She was an easy target," you say. "The unsub is probably betting that she won't be missed."

Due to Jenny's apartment being too small, there is nothing else that you gathered from her place. You didn't use the elevator on the way down, as you probably won't use any besides the ones at your work. There is nothing left to do here, so you had to go back to the police station to see what JJ and Emily found out.

"We have been over the details of this case so many times, I could recite it in my sleep," Emily sighs.

"Nothing like being prepared."

"Sorry to interrupt, but I just spoke to Jenny Wittman's family," Bill says and walks into the conference room.

"Did they give you any insights?"

"Well, they weren't what you'd call close-knit. It was like she wanted a fresh start. She struck out on her own."

"Yeah, Garcia couldn't come up with any connection between the victims. Different socioeconomic backgrounds, levels of education, and areas of work. However, they all had relocated to Portland without any family or friends--one divorced, the rest single."

"That'd describe me to a T. I transferred to this field office a month ago. I'm thirty, single, and I don't have much of a social life since I work so much," Bill reveals.

"Well, I need to go over whatever evidence you found at the other victims' homes, and then I would love to pick your brain about how you got settled into the city," JJ says.

'Absolutely. So, this guy... He burns them, hangs them, and smothers them. Why does he kill so many different ways?"

"That's exactly what we're trying to find out."

You stare at the board with all the victim's information. One burning, one hanging, and one asphyxiation.

"I have a fear of burning alive," you mutter to yourself, but no one else hears you.

wanna be tagged? add yourself to this document! if your tag has a strike through it or it’s not linked, it means doesn’t work. find out why!

@averyhotchner​ @lets-be-gay-for-the-angel​ @fan-girl-97​ @inkstainedwritergirl​ @estrela-rogers​ @kwbaby24​ @redsalv20​ @joonie-centric​ @xs​ @sixpencespencee​ @boygenius-reid​ @meganskane​ @prophecyflame​ @babydee17​ @darlingisntit​ @fandoms4ever97​ @spencerreid-187​ @snakeythesnake​ @nomajdetective​ @scarletstarrs​ @hc-geralt-23​ @fairytalesforever​ @bluetreecloud20​ @lucyysthings​ @slightlyvicked​ @zephyrmonkey​ @aysixdy​

[with-love-from-hell]

CONGRATS BB! YOU DESERVE ALL THE FOLLOWERS!

my request: "I'm about 75% sure this will work" with Satan, Mc, and Belphie (; crack pleasseeee!

hehehe yes I can. Thanks for the love, bb!

Prompt #14: "I'm about 75% sure this will work"

Character(s) featured: Satan & Belphie

Genre: Crack

Written for GN!Mc

cw:  swearing

“Satan would you hurry the fuck up?” Belphie winced as Satan’s chunky heal twists on his- lower back 

“Hold on just one more minute- I’m almost done.” Satan continues maneuvering around the records on the shelf above Lucifer’s fireplace, trying to reach the very top and unfortunately for Belphie, he was his step-stool. 

You had helped them sneak into Lucifer’s room while he was out at the castle for a meeting, given you were the only one who was allowed access. Little did Lucifer know, the A.L.L. was using it to their advantage for various types of pranks. 

“We don’t know when he’ll be back, so you should probably get a move on, Satan...” You nervously glance at the door, then back to the middle brother who was now on his tippy toes, causing Belphie what looked like enormous amounts of pain. 

“Almost....Got it!” Satan exclaimed, just in time to be sent tumbling backwards as Belphie’s arms gave out under him. Fortunately for them, they barely missed the glass coffee table that sat before the hearth, instead toppling over a potted plant next to the couch. 

Belphie groaned as he stoop up, stretching his back to loosen up his aching spine. “Can you explain to me what you were doing again?” 

“Yeah, I’m not really sure I get it either.” you shrug. 

Satan slowly gets up, spitting out the mouthfull of dirt he managed to get when he fell into the plant, trying to speak in between coughs. “It’s simple, r-really.” *cough* “all we needed to do was set up the tiny robot fly out of v-” *cough* “view. Then, when Lucifer goes to sleep, we will operate it from Levi’s r-room. He has all the video equipment that came with the package. Then we fly it around his room and annoy the shit out of him so he can’t sleep!” 

You and Belphie exchange uncertain glances. 

“Why did we need to hide it so high up?” Belphie raises an eyebrow.

“So he won’t find it...duh?” Satan bushes off his pants, trying to sweep up the broken ceramic and dirty. “Lucifer can tell something is amiss if it’s at eye level.” 

“Yeah...and you broke one of his plants, so wouldn’t he notice that..?” You quip an eyebrow as well waiting for his answer. 

“Also, can’t he just squish the robot?” Belphie threw up his hands in exasperation. “I mean, If a fly was bothering me I’d just squish it.” 

“Or just leave the room...” You giggle. 

“Look, I’m about 75% sure this will work!” He exclaimed in annoyance, trying hard to get you and Belphie on his side. 

“75%?!” Belphie pouted, crossing his arms. 

“...Maybe 60%...” Satan muttered, beginning to realize how bad the mess he made was. 

“I risked a spinal injury for 60% certainty?” He shook his head. “Unbelievable.” 

“Do you accept constructive criticism?” You snicker. “If so, your plan is shit.” 

“Well, let’s see you come up with better ideas!” Satan finally snapped, abandoning the dirt that coated the floor. 

“Dude, I’m pretty sure Mammon could come up with a better idea than this.” Belphie giggled. 

Satan sighs, rubbing his temples as you and Belphie share a laugh. Though it is quickly stifled by the front door to the house opening. You all rush out of the room, both you and Belphie knowing Satan would spend the night hanging upside down from the ceiling as the dirt caked onto his shoes trailed behind him to the library. 

[villlainarc]

bend the nightmare

The world is ending, and Etho has someone he needs to save. 

7466 words // minor violence/horror elements and canon last life deaths :) // ao3

a gift for the beloved prince @ranboocore for a server gift exchange given as targeted last life propaganda <3

---

Something is wrong. Etho’s head snaps around, holding his shield out towards the blazes as he looks behind him. There’s a tugging sensation in his gut, and something is terribly, horribly wrong. He freezes, holding his breath and tuning out the sounds of fire around him as he listens for any disturbance. 

Nothing. 

He shakes his head, unsure of what his instincts had been trying to tell him. 

Twirling his sword in his hand to instill some surety back into it, he swings it at a blaze, killing it in one smooth motion. He stoops down to pick up the dropped blaze rod and fits it neatly into his inventory. There’s nothing to worry about, he assures himself, and then he hears a cry from below him.

Shielding himself from an onslaught of attacks from the newly spawned blazes as he turns, Etho nearly drops his sword in his rush to slide down the ladder to the level of the fortress he spots Tango on. Panting slightly as he lands, he asks, “What happened?”

Tango’s face is a mask of shock. He says nothing, merely pointing towards the nearest ledge. Carefully, Etho steps towards it, gripping the wall tightly as he peers down at the ground.

Scattered weapons, assorted blocks, experience orbs. 

“Tango,” Etho says slowly, “where’s Bdubs?”

“Not here,” he replies, his voice a hoarse whisper. “I’m so sorry, I looked away for less than a second and then—”

Etho just nods, cutting off his rambling. “I see.”

“You’re not… mad at me, are you?”

He laughs, more out of surprise than anything. “Why would I be mad? It’s not like it was your job to look after him or anything, it’s—” Not mine either, he reminds himself sharply. Shaking his head, he shifts their focus to something else. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll figure something out, we always do.”

“Etho, he’s—” He’s red, Tango doesn’t finish. He’ll want to kill you. To kill us all.

“I know. But we’ll figure it out,” Etho says again, insistent. Deciding the conversation is over, he slides the rest of the way down the ladder until his feet hit the ground.

“C’mon,” he says, motioning for Tango to follow him down. “Let’s go find our Bdubs.”

Silently, they make their way through the heat of the nether, a sort of tension between them that neither particularly feels like addressing. 

And there’s something else in the air too. A tugging wrongness that festers in Etho’s chest, an entirely irrational cocktail of fear and righteous fury. He doesn’t know where it came from, and he doesn’t particularly feel like addressing it either.

The world is ending, the acrid wind whispers in his ear, and Etho pretends he does not hear it.

“There,” Tango says finally, pointing towards the portal above them at the edge of a far-off cliff. 

“Perfect.” Etho fishes around in his inventory for a few blocks, towering up the side of it and meeting Tango right by the portal. Taking a deep breath, he asks, “Ready?”

Tango lets out a sigh. “As I’ll ever be.”

As one last precaution, Etho grips an enderpearl in his hand. With one last glance at Tango, he shoots him a grin from behind his mask and says, “See you on the other side.”

“Etho!” There’s a familiar voice when Etho arrives on the other side of the portal, and he can feel his smile grow more genuine. “There you are!”

Stepping down from the portal, he has to hold himself back in his excitement as he replies simply, “Bdubs?”

“Yep! It’s me!” He pops out his head from beneath the nearby set of stairs. 

“How… are you?” he asks tentatively, still keeping a safe distance between them.

“Oh, me? Just fantastic,” he says with a joyous little laugh.

Etho feels his heart skip a beat. “Yeah?”

“Mhm!” Bdubs has made his way up the stairs by now and is approaching uncomfortably close levels. “I’d be much better if you joined me though, I think.”

Etho takes a very unsubtle step back and feels a wave of cold wash over him. “We’re not doing that.”

“It’d be fun though, and you know it!”

Etho contemplates it, almost against his will. “Maybe,” he says, and it feels like the word is forced out of him. “Wouldn’t you like to come back to yellow instead though?”

“Why would I want that?” His eyes are too wide and his smile is too sharp and his teeth are too white and he feels wrong.

Etho hesitates, held in place by Bdubs’ intense stare. “I’ll have to kick you out if you’re red,” he finally settles on.

“What?” Bdubs’ grin turns to a look of concern. “Why?”

“Well, personally, I don’t want to die. I don’t think any other members of Team B.E.S.T. want to either.”

“No!” Bdubs insists. “I helped build this, I deserve at least half.”

“Half?”

“Yes.” He nods vehemently.

Etho considers for a moment, glancing briefly at the portal to see if Tango’s made it out yet. He doesn’t see him, but his eyes do catch on a hastily replaced snow block in the wall, so he can figure out what happened there easily enough. With Tango having safely escaped, he can make whatever compromises he needs to. “Fine,” he agrees, turning back to Bdubs. “But I draw the border.”

“Wh— no! That’s not fair, I want to draw the border.”

“It’s either that or I call Skizz and Tango for backup and actually kick you out. Which would you prefer?”

Etho tenses as he feels a hazy sort of anger emanating from Bdubs, slowly warping into outright bloodlust. Before it can get quite that far though, he blinks. “You draw the border,” he concedes.

Warily, Etho steps around him and towards the doorway of the storage tower. “Alright,” he says, “we’ll put it riiiight here.” Refusing to look up just yet, he continues placing blocks all across the fortress in a perfectly straight line.

“Hey!” Bdubs cries after a moment, realizing what he’s done. “Very funny, Etho, very funny.”

Chuckling, Etho looks up at him. “What, you don’t appreciate my border placement?”

“No,” he huffs, muttering to himself about being blocked out from their storage tower. “I’m going to have to ruin our walls to fix this.”

Etho shakes his head, almost fond as he finishes the line of cobblestone right down the middle of their base just as Bdubs bounds over to him. “We stay on our separate sides, and everything will be fine, okay?” 

“Sure, sure. Anything you say.”

“Alright. Good.” Etho shifts from foot to foot for a moment, considering his options. “I’m going to… go out for a bit, actually. I’ll be back soon.”

“Sure thing! See ya, Etho!”

Etho squints at him. That was much too easy for him to be reassured about anything. “Don’t get into too much trouble while I’m gone,” he adds, eyes still narrowed.

“Oh, no. Of course I won’t! In fact, I would never!”

Etho just looks at him, his expression saying quite clearly, I know you’re lying.

Bdubs doesn’t seem to care much, and Etho just turns away with a sigh, deliberately waving away the unsettling feeling that had been lingering in the air ever since he’d gotten back from the nether. He’ll be back quickly, and it’ll be fine. But right now, he has a deal to make.

---

Scar’s mountain base is surprisingly pretty for something so impermanent. It seems silly for him to have spent any time and effort on ensuring its beauty, but Etho supposes he isn’t one to judge when Scar is the only one who has what he needs. He can cope with the irrationality of it all just for a few minutes.

“Scar,” he calls when he enters the wooden wizard hat. “Scar, are you there?”

“Etho?” Scar sticks his head down from the upper level, peering over a ladder.

“That’s me!” he replies with a small wave, tamping down the shock of fury he’d felt run through him at seeing Scar’s dark, dark green eyes.

Scar pulls his head back and begins clambering down the ladder. “Etho! So nice of you to drop by.” He steps behind the makeshift counter and rests his elbows on it casually. “What brings you here today?”

Etho takes a breath. No need to beat around the bush. “I’d like to make a deal.”

Scar’s eyes brighten immediately, glowing with an intensity that would have ordinarily made Etho hesitate. “Ooo, what kind of deal?”

Today, though, he’s willing to pay any price. “You’re selling souls, aren’t you?”

Scar begins to smile. “Three lives not enough for you?”

Etho shakes his head. “It’s not for me.”

There’s a beat of silence. “…What? Wait, who would you want another life for? Why are you here on their behalf? I didn’t think you even— y’know?” When he’s met with nothing but a cold stare, Scar just shrugs. “Never mind.”

Etho doesn’t particularly want to talk about how he’s here because how Bdubs acted on red unnerved him too much, nor does he want to say that he just wants his friend back. So instead, he explains, “It’s to save my alliance. I don’t know if you heard, but Bdubs went red and Team B.E.S.T. without the ‘B’ is just Team… E.S.T. Doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?”

Scar fixes him with a calculating look, the hint of a smile stirring just behind his eyes. Dark green to Bdubs’ red.

Etho thinks he might want to kill him.

“Alright,” he finally decides. “But you have to sign a contract for it, you know.”

And for the first time, Etho hesitates. “What kind of contract?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just, uh, here! Now, you don’t really need to look at the fine print, actually, it’s not necessary that you—”

Etho tunes him out and cracks open the spine of the book, and there it is. The very words he’d been worried about: I shall not kill Scar as a green or yellow name for any reason. 

“—really. In fact, why don’t you sign right—”

“It’s a bit much,” Etho interrupts. “I don’t know about this.”

“I don’t think it’s that much at all! All I’m asking is that you—”

“I know what you’re asking, Scar. But I don’t want to be held to this.”

Scar tilts his head, tapping his chin a few times as he thinks. “Okay,” he decides finally, “how about this? You don’t have to sign, but Bdubs does.”

It’s all Etho can do to stop from lighting up so obviously that Scar would know that something strange was going on. “I can work with that. Deal.”

Scar grins. “Perfect! Break that crystal right there—” he gestures to a piece of what Etho is certain is just purple stained glass, “—and Bdubs’ new life will be transferred right to him.”

Silently, Etho walks over to the block of glass and in one swing, breaks it cleanly with his pickaxe. He turns back to Scar, and he can immediately tell that something is different. The world almost—almost—feels right. He senses Bdubs, miles away though he is, and he feels normal again. He’s yellow. But there’s also a tension, a dissonance in the very air he breathes and he feels dizzy with it. He fixes Scar with a narrow-eyed look. His eyes are still dark.

Scar gives him a smile in return. “Shall we go see Bdubs?” he offers.

Etho considers, wondering how easy it would be to slit his throat before smiling back. “Let’s go.”

---

“Scar! Scar, thank you!” Bdubs calls, running across a field of grassy hills towards the rock formation Etho and Scar had told him they’d meet on. 

“Thank Etho,” Scar says, giving him the most charming grin Etho thinks he’s ever seen as Bdubs approaches them, panting slightly. “He’s the one that convinced me to make the deal, after all.”

“Did you? Did you really?” Bdubs’ bright, grateful eyes turn to him. 

Etho clears his throat. “Couldn’t have a ruined alliance now, could we?”

Bdubs merely laughs. “Thanks, Etho,” he says with a less than subtle wink. 

Etho turns away.

As though to remind the two of them that he’s still there, Scar coughs lightly. “So, Bdubs, we just have a quick contract for you to sign, and then all will be in order.”

“’Course! Anything.”

And Etho is snapped back to reality as Scar begins muttering to himself, digging around in his inventory for the contract he knows he has stashed away in there somewhere. Something cold flashes through Etho then, and he’s reminded of Scar’s green eyes. They were so dark—almost black when Bdubs’ are only yellow. 

It’s not exactly fair, is it?

“Etho?” Bdubs asks quietly from the ground. 

Etho looks down at him. He hadn’t even realized he’d been towering up, but he’s certainly not going to back down now, even if the height makes him dizzy. After all, what harm is there in evening the playing field a bit? 

So he ignores him.

“Here it is!” Scar finally exclaims, oblivious to the fact that Etho has now moved several feet above him. He presents the book to Bdubs with a flourish, and Etho grips a fishing rod tightly behind his back. He feels a bit nauseous, and his vision starts to swim. But he can’t stop this. He can’t.

Bdubs signs it quickly, barely skimming the words on the page. He shuts it, and the book begins to shimmer with a purplish hue.

Scar claps, and it vanishes. “Perfect! And that, my friends, is what I call a deal well m— oh! Wh—”

He’s pulled into the air by the back of his robe and held there, kept free from death by the will of a single fishing hook. 

And, of course, its owner. 

“Etho, what are you—”

Scar is dropped unceremoniously to the ground, and he dies.

Bdubs looks up at him with his jaw dropped. “Etho! What— what’s gotten into you? What was that for?”

Etho, for his part, just blinks.

“Etho?”

“I— I’m not sure. I don’t know what came over me.”

His mind has cleared now, and the wind’s dissonance has resolved into nothing. For the first time since Bdubs died, Etho feels at ease.

But the wind still insists, the world is ending. It’s louder now than it was before.

Bdubs looks stricken. “You should apologize to him.”

Etho shakes his head and tries laughing, waving him off. “Oh, come on. He’ll get over it soon. He had lives to spare anyway.”

Bdubs doesn’t look convinced.

“Look,” Etho continues, “I promise you, it doesn’t matter that much. Will you forget about it for me?”

Bdubs hesitates, still looking a bit put out. 

Etho turns down his eyebrows and fills his eyes with as much pleading and vulnerability as he’s willing to show. “Please?”

Bdubs takes a breath. Then a second one. On the third, he sighs out, “Fine.”

Etho’s face breaks into a smile.

But— but. Something is still wrong.

The world is ending, the wind reminds him.

---

Even so, life continues. 

Etho and Bdubs keep their distance from everyone else, the desire to stay safe overwhelming the need for human connection. 

At least, that’s how it goes for a few days. Eventually though, Bdubs gets tired of isolation and greets the first people that have approached their fortress since news of Etho’s killing had traveled.

“Grian!”

“Why, hello there! It’s nice to see you again! How’ve you been?”

“Great, great. What are you doing here? Wait, no. Let’s get out of the fortress, actually. Etho doesn’t like having other people in here.”

“Etho is right here, and Etho doesn’t like being stolen from either,” he says from the top of the wall with a pointed look at Grian.

For his part, Grian at least has the decency to look somewhat ashamed.

“Let’s go outside, yeah?” Bdubs says quickly, looking more nervous than perhaps he needed to be upon seeing Etho at perfect fishing rod height to kill Grian.

Etho drops from the top of the wall, following quietly behind the two of them. “Wow,” he says, suddenly stopping short. “You really brought everyone here with you for this heist, didn’t you?” It’s a bit of an exaggeration; Grian had really only brought Mumbo and Martyn, but being outnumbered by even one person puts Etho on edge.

Grian, once again, looks somewhat ashamed and Bdubs elbows Etho. He mutters under his breath, “You don’t have to be so… mean. To them. Or stand-offish. Not everyone’s out to get us.”

Etho almost argues that they were in fact out to get them this time—see the fact that Grian had all but admitted to stealing from them—but he figures it’s not worth it. “Fine,” he murmurs instead. “I’ll be nicer.”

Bdubs smiles at him, and any qualms Etho’d had about not pressing the issue before vanish immediately. 

Bdubs steps forward to join the conversation, and Etho stands beside him, merely observing.

The world is ending. The wind calls to him, and Etho turns slowly to his right. 

His narrowed eyes meet Mumbo’s sharp ones, and the voice repeats itself. It’s faster this time, he thinks. Theworldisending. 

Etho turns away. He doesn’t need his reputation being tarnished further by throwing suspicion onto someone with no discernable reason besides a voice on the wind. He almost convinces himself that nothing is wrong when Mumbo takes a step back from them.

It’s so small that if he hadn’t been watching obsessively out of the corner of his eye, he wouldn’t have seen it happen at all. But he had been watching, and it did happen and now gravity feels like it’s tilting and tilting and he’s being pulled to the left and then it’s switching again to the other side and it does it again and again and he’s being ripped apart and something is terribly, terribly wrong. He thinks he smells gunpowder.

“Mumbo?” he asks, cutting Martyn off midsentence. 

Silence falls over the clearing. “Mumbo.” Etho repeats. “What are you doing?”

Mumbo steps off a short ledge. Still backing away, still unnervingly quiet.

“Etho,” Bdubs says, stepping between him and Mumbo. He doesn’t have his line of sight anymore, and he tries to step around Bdubs but he’s held firmly in place between his hands. “Etho,” Bdubs repeats, “what did I say about not everyone being out to get—”

There’s the sound of an explosion. 

The smoke clears, and there are no hands holding him in place anymore.

Just a piece of obsidian and Mumbo’s eyes staring at him, just above it. 

A shock of white hot fury passes through him before his body goes unnaturally cold. With shaking hands, he lifts up an axe. His vision narrows, a beam of absolute clarity focused entirely on the figure in front of him.

Mumbo’s eyes go wide, and he runs. 

Mind empty of everything but a positively dizzying level of rage, Etho tears through the forest after him.

He blinks. 

Once. 

Twice. 

And then Mumbo is shoved against a tree, diamond axe through his shoulder. He exhales, blood dripping from his mouth as the light fades from his eyes.

Then he’s gone. Etho pulls his axe free, and there’s nothing but a deep gash in the bark to indicate that anything had happened at all.

Silently, Etho walks back through the forest. He passes Grian and Martyn, but he doesn’t speak, doesn’t meet their eyes. He just sheathes his bloody axe and assumes they’ll understand what happened.

Bdubs is gone again. The thought finally registers as Etho sees him on the other side of the snow fortress, greeting him with a too-wide grin and too-empty eyes. He looks more inhuman than he had last time.

Bdubs steps closer to the cobblestone line that they hadn’t even had the time to remove, and Etho’s vision goes blurry with panic. He stumbles back.

And Bdubs laughs. “You should join me.”

Etho’s voice catches. 

Another step closer. “I’ll get you to join me, Etho.” Another. “Oh, we’ll have so much fun together, won’t we?” Two more. He’s walking now. “We’ll—”

“The border,” Etho says hoarsely. 

Bdubs stops. “What?”

“You can’t cross the border,” Etho says more clearly. “Or you’re out.”

“Oh,” he replies, expression souring. “So you… won’t? Join me?”

Etho shakes his head slowly.

“Oh,” Bdubs repeats, his lip curling in disgust. Etho can see gaps in his too-sharp, too-white teeth. He’s getting worse.

“I’ll see you later,” he says finally, unusually cold. 

“Bdubs—”

He’s ignored.

The wind picks up again as Bdubs leaves, but this time it doesn’t have to tell him that the world is ending for him to understand that it is. He needs more lives. He needs to fix this. This is his fault. He needs—

He lifts his eyes to a breaking snow block. “Tango.”

Tango nods at him and turns back to help Skizz through the wall. “I heard about Bdubs,” he says as Etho walks towards him. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” Etho says, “but we’re going to bring him back.”

“We are?”

“Yes, we are. We’re all members of Team B.E.S.T., and we’re both light green now, Tango.”

Tango glares slightly. “Yeah, but you’re the one who—” Skizz places a hand on his shoulder, and he stops. 

“You’re both light green,” Skizz agrees. “And one of you needs to give a life to Bdubs. So to make it fair, how about we, uh…” he hesitates, thinking.

Etho feels like a man possessed as he asks, “What about a game?” Even his voice sounds wrong. It rings through the air like thunder.

Tango blinks. “What do you mean?”

Skizz speaks up this time, his voice taking on the same quality Etho’s had. “I’ll close my eyes and spin and spin and spin and then I’ll stop. And when I open my eyes, and they will see you. You will know if they do, and your life will be his. If they don’t see you, your life will remain yours. If I don’t see either of you, I’ll spin and spin and spin and spin and spin and spin and I’ll spin and spin and spin and spin and spin—”

“…And then you’ll stop and open your eyes?” Tango eventually cuts in, looking just short of completely terrified.

“Yes.”

“…And if you don’t see any of us again, you’ll repeat until you do, right?” Etho prompts, feeling the way Tango looks.

“Yes. Follow me.”

Tango shoots Etho a concerned glance, but he can only shrug in response. It’s for Bdubs, so he follows Skizz despite the queasiness he feels upon hearing his voice.

“Opposite ends,” Skizzleman commands, standing in the center of the circular tower and staring them both down.

Tango quickly darts to the other side, and Etho watches as Skizz closes his unnaturally bright eyes. He starts spinning, and Etho holds his breath.

He keeps going and going, and for a moment Etho wonders if he’s ever going to stop or if he’s going to keel over at some point and just… die. 

He doesn’t, thankfully, and when Skizz finally slows, his eyes open and stare in the opposite direction. Tango looks back, wide-eyed.

“It’s you,” Skizz says, and the words drive a spike through Etho’s skull with their echo. He winces, but at least he’s not Tango. 

Tango looks to be in physical pain, moving in jerky motions as he mimes pulling out his own heart. His hand has formed into a twisted claw and when it pulls away, Etho can see a piece of his glowing aura grasped in it, light green shifting gradually to yellow. His mouth is open in a silent scream, and he hunches over as he shoves his hand forward.

“Take it,” he croaks. 

Etho hesitates. 

“TAKE IT!”

His heart stutters. Skizz is making no move to take the life from Tango, so Etho steps around him, deliberately avoiding his eyes. Tango’s hand loosens around the fragmented aura and it drops into Etho’s waiting hand. 

In one smooth motion, both Skizz and Tango collapse. 

Etho flinches, his eyes darting between them. He almost moves to help them up, but then Skizz exhales softly and begins snoring, so he decides against it.

Looking down at the life in his hand for one last moment, Etho breathes out and raises his hand towards the sky. It continues rising away from him and as he’s watching, it blinks out of existence. Immediately, Etho feels something in the world slot back into place.

Bdubs is safe again.

Something twists in his gut at that, something about no balance no justice no fairness, something about how this trading of lives is unnatural something about how he’s done this twice now and Bdubs should be dead, but he isn’t. Something about how he’s running and running, but someday he’ll be out of breath and whatever loopholes he’s diving through will close around him and he’ll be stuck. He can’t keep saving Bdubs forever. One day, there will be no more lives to drag from someone else’s unwilling corpse.

But that day is not today, and he’ll think more on that later. He’ll figure out what to do if it ever comes down to a choice between his life and Bdubs’, and only then will he think about the way it grips him with the sort of fear he doesn’t think he’s ever felt.

---

Etho had thought he was so clever when he’d figured out something had been wrong with Mumbo. He’d thought himself even more clever when he’d asked Tango to play a game with him, and more clever still as he’d continued to keep Bdubs safe against all odds and hold their alliance together with nothing but sheer willpower, even after Bdubs had brought one of their own down to yellow to join him.

But someone else thinks Etho is clever too. 

That someone thinks he’s a bit too clever. Thinks that perhaps, he shouldn’t have as much life left in him as he does, and perhaps this someone feels just the smallest bit frustrated with the fact that Etho has escaped all these wild schemes entirely unscathed. 

This someone believes that Mumbo just might deserve avenging and wonders whether or not a wither would be able to finally do the job no one else has been able to.

So Grian asks Impulse to help him collect a few blackened skulls and to place a few blocks of soul sand for him, praying as he places the last skull atop them that this will be what finally kills Etho.

When Etho hears the deafening sound signaling the creation of the wither though, he panics. He’s clever, but he’s not nearly as strong as Grian believes him to be. This reputation he’s created for himself was, of course, created on purpose, but he realizes now that it’s come back to haunt him in an incredible way.

So because he’s clever and because at this point he is skilled in cheating death, Etho wants to run. There’s no point in staying. It’s not like he has anything to prove and even if he did, proving a point is not worth more than life itself.

Bdubs, however, is foolish. His first instinct is not to run, it’s to destroy a creature that will cause others pain. 

He’s too selfless, Etho thinks as he blocks Bdubs from an explosion. “Please leave with me,” he says instead. “If you die even once, I don’t know if I’ll be able to bring you back.”

Bdubs acts like he doesn’t hear. He’s going to stay no matter what Etho says to him, and Etho knows that. He’s Bdubs, and Bdubs doesn’t back down from a challenge.

Etho’s going to stay too because he’s Etho, and he cares a just bit too much.

So they stay, and the sky turns an ugly, charcoal grey and the clouds crumble into nothing. The sky stays dark though, and the sun goes all watery and Etho thinks once again that something is terribly wrong. The wither is just a wither, but the world it’s spawned into has gone all wrong, and Etho can hear it in the discordant pitch of the wind as it whips through the trees. 

Bdubs keeps fighting, but maybe that’s because he’s the center of the wind that has visibly surrounded him and the center of the clouds that have descended only to create more darkness closer to him. From Etho’s vantage point, he looks like the eye of the storm. 

The comparison hits him with painful understanding. Maybe he isn’t paying attention to it because he simply can’t see it. Maybe he is as much the source of this apocalypse as anything else Etho could point to. 

He watches Bdubs fight against the wind and the beginnings of pounding rain and he wonders if their time is really and truly running out now. Lining up another shot, he lets his arrow fly and pretends the swelling of the storm doesn’t feel like death catching up to them at last.

“Etho! I’m getting low!”

With an immediacy that seems almost mindless, Etho shifts his bow to his back again and picks up his shield, sliding down their walls of snow to reach Bdubs.

The storm he saw from afar is much worse on the ground than he’d ever have imagined. He has no idea how Bdubs has even managed to stay upright in all of this, much less see well enough to dodge the wither’s incoming attacks for as long as he has. Etho can only just tell up from down, and that’s only because the rain is beating against his head, not his feet.

“ETHO!” Bdubs cries out, and Etho runs against the wind at a snail’s pace.

Briefly, he has to lean against a tree to catch his breath, arms wrapped as tightly around its trunk as he can manage just to stay in one place. This is too much. He should just run.

But then he hears Bdubs’ voice yelling something incomprehensible, and he knows he can’t. He pushes off the tree and braves the storm once more.

Then rain turns to hail around him in a shift so sudden even the wither screeches, and he hears Bdubs scream as the world around them explodes. 

Etho is thrown back against the tree he’d left moments ago, groaning as he rubs at the back of his head. His ears ring, and it takes him a moment to realize that aside from that, the world around him is silent. 

No more rain. No more wind. Even the wither seems to have frozen.

With a gasp, Etho shoots to his feet. This is wrong. If it’s silent, then where’s— 

“Bdubs?” he asks hesitantly.

There’s no reply.

Etho feels dizzy. He leans against the tree again, and his vision swims. It warps incomprehensibly and this time, he can’t even tell if he’s standing on the ground or floating in midair. His heart feels tight and wrong, like it doesn’t fit in his chest anymore, like it’s gone all bloated and started beating too fast to make up for it. His lungs feel the opposite, like they had to shrink for his new heart to have enough space inside of him and thought he couldn’t possibly need that much air anyway. 

He feels like he’s choking and he grasps at his throat as he tries to breathe properly but only ends up falling to his knees. And again, though the wind screams the words in his ear, he doesn’t need anything more to know that the world is still ending. He can feel that it is all on his own.

It feels like an eon has passed before his organs go back to normal. On shaky legs, Etho manages to stand up. 

“Bdubs?” he calls again, voice quieter this time. In vain, Etho hopes he’s made it back here by now. 

“Etho?”

It’s not Bdubs. Etho looks up at the wall and sees Scott standing upon it, Cleo and Ren climbing up behind him. 

“Scott,” Etho replies, and even though it’s not Bdubs, he feels relief at seeing someone else. “D’you guys think you could… help me with this?” He nods at the rather obvious mass of the wither.

“Of course,” Scott replies, pulling his bow from his back without question and taking aim.

“Thanks,” Etho says, doing the same.

This time, there’s no storm to battle alongside the wither and with four people fighting, it becomes trivially easy to beat. The wither offers one final screech as Etho’s arrow finds its mark and vanishes into a puff of smoke, leaving only a glowing nether star behind. 

As the only one on the ground now, Etho walks over to it and picks it up, pocketing it. He feels that he of all people deserves it most. This star cost him the life of his ally, after all. 

No one objects. Maybe they can tell that arguing with Etho right now would be an incredibly ill-fated endeavor. 

Though his body protests, Etho climbs the snowy wall to stand alongside everyone that had come to his aid. He doesn’t say anything, but his gratitude surrounds them.

Hesitantly, Ren asks, “…Do I want to ask where Bdubs is?”

Etho hides a wince, his faces schooled into neutrality. “He died before you got here,” he says, trying to find a balance between hiding how wrecked he feels inside and avoiding coming off as completely heartless. 

Cleo looks at him, and Etho thinks he sees pity in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she says, and Etho doesn’t think he’s done a very good job of concealing his brokenness. 

“It’s not your—” he shakes his head. “It’s fine. I—” he gives up after that. There’s no right thing he thinks he can say to them. 

There is almost an awkward silence, but then, like a miracle, Bdubs is there, grin larger than life. “Etho!” he says, approaching them with a face full of such joy Etho can’t help but smile back. 

Scott, though, holds out a hand. “Hold on, Bdubs. How are we supposed to trust that you won’t kill us?” 

Bdubs merely shrugs, still smiling just a bit too wide. So Scott turns to Etho instead. “We can’t have him here.”

“I know,” Etho replies, not meeting his gaze. He’s watching Bdubs though, not taking his eyes off him as his mind moves a mile a minute trying to come up with a way to fix this all over again. 

He can’t offer his own life, not when he’s surrounded by faces that when they turn to him look too smooth and too blank. He can’t trust them when he feels their breaths surrounding him and choking him out if he turns his back on them for too long. Etho isn’t one to get easily claustrophobic, but on this wall, he feels like he’s being buried alive.

But he can’t get a life out of someone else either, not when there are no more lives to take for free.

There has to be a way to save Bdubs. There has to be.

“How about a deal?” Scott offers as though he’d heard his silent plea. His voice has taken on a quality like thunder, and Etho’s blood runs cold. This can’t be happening again.

As though he’s a puppet on a string, Etho feels himself nod. “We’ll make a deal,” he agrees, mouth moving against his will.

No one on the wall says anything else, but their breaths are so loud that Etho can hardly come up with the terms before his head starts to throb.

“Bdubs,” Etho says finally, his voice cutting a path through his own hazy thoughts. “I’ll give you another life so you can come back to— to us, but you need to do something to help me—to help us—first.”

Bdubs nods, and it feels like the world tilts on its axis to match his movements. “Anything.”

When the ground doesn’t seem desperate to move anymore, Etho continues. “There needs to be balance,” he says in a voice that’s barely his own. “You can’t keep living like this, running from your ever-looming death, so you’ll have to kill someone to take your place. For me to give you a life, you need to kill another red.” It’s a desperate bargain, done both to appease whatever eldritch thing it was that had possessed Scott and to prevent the earth and sky around Bdubs from caving in.

But Bdubs agrees easily. “I’ll be right back,” he says with another world-altering nod.

“You didn’t seem so preoccupied with balance when you saved him the first two times,” Ren says sharply as soon as Bdubs is out of earshot.

“I—” Etho sounds unsure, even to himself. “Would you have preferred if I asked him to kill someone every time?”

Ren shrugs. “Maybe I would have.”

Etho shakes his head. “I have no doubt that he’d be dead by now if I’d asked that of him.”

“Then maybe he should be dead,” Ren says, his voice turning cold and echoing just as Skizz’s had during the game he’d played with Tango, just as Scott’s had too moments ago. “You forget how inevitability works, Etho. What is meant to be will be, regardless of how fast you try to run from it.”

Etho shudders, feeling helplessly cold once more. “I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about,” he says despite his discomfort, a quiet strength behind his words. “Ren, are you alright?”

Ren blinks slowly. “…Yes.” He proceeds to collapse, and Etho rushes to catch him.

Scott and Cleo look on in abject horror.

“He’ll be alright,” Etho assures them. “This happened to Skizz and Tango before too, but they were perfectly fine afterwards, promise.” He doesn’t mention the fact that Skizz is now dead and that Tango is possessed by the same bloodlust he’s trying to save Bdubs from.

They don’t look convinced. “You don’t have to stay,” Etho tries. “I can wait here for Bdubs and you can go find somewhere safe.”

That seems to reassure them, as relief floods their faces. “Find us once you’ve gotten Bdubs back,” Scott says, shooting him a kind smile. “And we’ll take Ren too, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course not,” Etho nods, gently lifting him up and placing him in Cleo’s arms. “Take care.”

“You too.”

They leave, and Etho walks up the steps to the top of a tower Bdubs built, waiting there as patiently as he can.

Time ticks once, and Etho feels instantly that something has gone wrong. The world itself seems to cry out in anguish. Between one blink and the next, the world has from full to empty and Etho knows somehow that Bdubs is gone. 

He doesn’t cry. He thinks for a moment that he might, but something catches in his throat and he finds himself unable to so much as breathe as grief like he’s never felt tears its way through him. He falls and the world falls with him, its very fabric ripped apart in jagged lines. The sky above him crumbles and the ground beneath him drops into nothing.

“The world is ending,” he says in unified horror with the screaming wind.

Bdubs. The one word is the only thing that cuts through his mounting panic. He has to find Bdubs. He has no idea why he feels such a need to, but somewhere deep in his heart he knows he must.

So he stands, fighting against gravity itself as he walks towards the force that’s wrapped around his every limb and tugs him away from the safety of the fortress. One step at a time.

The world seems to warp around him, and time dilates too. It takes him either seconds or years to reach Bdubs, and he can’t tell which. Maybe the ground had lengthened the distance between them, or maybe the earth had been compressed. He isn’t even sure if the shifting movements that surround him are real or if they’re all in his head.

But he keeps walking, taking one final step towards Bdubs that feels like it should have been five. 

Slowly, Etho drops to the ground beside him, taking his head into his lap. His hands are gentle on Bdubs’ cold skin, as though if he’s careful enough he’ll be able to bring him back, good as new. And despite knowing that he’ll only be answered with stillness, Etho feels for a pulse.

Denial is a fascinating thing. Denial is what pushes Etho to question reality itself, what pushes him to wonder if, in this broken world, something like necromancy would actually work. Denial is what causes him to stare into Bdubs’ cold, empty eyes and think, it’s worth a shot.

He knows what lives feel like at this point, and he holds one of his own in the palm of his hand. It twists, bending his mind alongside it as his vision begins to cloud with an unfamiliar yellow. 

He didn’t think it would hurt this much. 

With a cry and the understanding that there’s no going back, he presses the life into the spot where Bdubs’ heart had been beating.

Everything goes still. Etho hadn’t realized just how loud the wind around him had been until it’s no longer roaring, and he hadn’t realized how cold it had made him until he starts shivering. He looks up and sees the sun setting in the sudden peacefulness. 

It’s almost too much to bear. The normalcy of it all is more offputting than the way the world had been breaking around him before, and it makes Etho believe for a moment—just one moment—that when he looks back down at Bdubs, he’ll be breathing. 

For his foolishness, Etho is thrown back by some force greater than anything he could possibly comprehend. He hears something crack as his shoulder makes painful contact with a piece of debris that’s been picked up by the returning wind, and he falls back to earth unceremoniously at the foot of the hill Bdubs had been lying upon. 

His vision has returned to that familiar green, and Etho thinks it might be the ugliest color he’s ever seen. 

There is no more silence, no more stillness. The world around him is screaming with wind and rain and lightning and thunder and darkness all in an indescribable vortex, and it repeats to him like a mantra: THE WORLD IS ENDING.

It’s nothing new to hear, but it’s so, so much louder this time. The noise of it rattles his brain around in his head, and it hurts. But if the world is ending, there’s only one thing left for him to do.

With the weight of the world pressing down on him and his right arm hanging limply at his side, he crawls back up the hill. One arm, one foot, another foot. Don’t fall. Careful of the branch flying past fast enough to cut him in half. Barely dodge the strike of lighting that sets his hair on end. He can make it.

All the while, there’s that voice like thunder that assures him, the world is ending.

It takes Etho longer to climb that hill than it’s taken him to do anything else he’s ever tried, but he doesn’t so much as consider giving up. He’s going to make it.

And then he does. He falls flat to the ground the moment he sees Bdubs, feeling the energy drain from his body in an instant.

It’s quieter here, at the top of the hill. Like the eye of a storm, like it’s been Bdubs all along that’s torn the world apart, like his escaping death displeased whatever god decided it wanted to watch this death game.

And still, Etho realizes, he doesn’t regret saving him. He drags himself closer to Bdubs and cradles his body in his arms, holding him as close to his heart as he can manage. The world can continue to crumble, and he’ll still treasure the few extra moments he had, still wish for more. 

This is all a game. He gets it now, he thinks. It’s ending because he broke the rules, but it was always just that. A game. 

This is all a game, and Etho played to win it his way. 

So in the eye of the storm, on the last hill standing, he smiles.

The world goes dark, and Etho closes his eyes along with it.

“I love you,” he says, and the last words said as the universe collapses are ones of triumph.

[latte-fairytaekwoon]

𝑴𝒂𝒇𝒊𝒂! 𝑨𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒛: 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝑶𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒚

Disclaimer: In no way am I condoning, justifying, encouraging or promoting mafia behavior or lifestyle. This is simply a work of fiction and not meant to represent real life scenarios.

❥𝓚𝓲𝓶 𝓗𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓳𝓸𝓸𝓷𝓰

"Ok ok stop fussing now. I'll get you out now."

Hongjoong walked over to the portable crib and picked up his son who was currently whining and kicking his legs around, hating being cooped up inside the contraption for too long. Hongjoong picked him up and looked at him.

"You know, not even the people we lock up in solitary confinement complain as much as you."

The baby reached his tiny hands out, gently patting at his father's nose and cheeks, making Hongjoong chuckle.

"Then again none of them have ever been half as cute as you are. It's a crime to be this cute. I should punish you."

Hongjoong nuzzled his nose against his son's, causing the baby to let out a happy squeal. A tiny buzz let Hongjoong know Yunho was calling him.

"Hey Hongjoong. Your boss is on the line."

Hongjoong rolled his eyes at Yunho's teasing, always saying how you were the real boss. Putting the baby down so he could crawl as he liked, Hongjoong picked up the phone.

"Hey honey." He greeted you.

"How's the baby doing?" You asked.

Hongjoong got a deadpan expression.

"Well hello to you too Mrs. Kim, I'm fine too thanks for asking."

Hongjoong was so concentrated on your conversation he didn't realize the door was open and the baby inadvertently went out.

"He's fine don't worry. And he's no trouble at all, he's currently crawling around my office-"

Hongjoong abruptly stopped when he realized the baby was gone.

"Hongjoong....? What's going on?"

He could hear you getting ready to scold him if anything happened to your child. He stammered as he began looking around for him. A beep on the other line let you both know someone else joined your call.

"I think an enemy spy has infiltrated our base, but honestly, I don't have the heart to fight back." Yunho's voice was followed an incoherent babble, belonging to none other than your baby.

"Oh my God! Yunho is he with you?" You were relieved to find out the baby was ok.

"Yep, and although I'd usually send out a ransom note, I think I'm keeping him hostage for a while." He chuckled.

Hongjoong fumed as he walked out of his office.

"Heck you will! Give me back my son!"

❥𝓟𝓪𝓻𝓴 𝓢𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓱𝔀𝓪

Seonghwa peeked his head into the room, 7 pairs of eyes staring at him intently. Hongjoong sighed softly.

"You're late." He told him.

"Sorry. Got caught up with something." Seonghwa apologized.

"Whatever. Just get in. You haven't missed much of the meeting." His leader assured him.

Hongjoong was about to resume speaking, but he, like the rest of the members watched as Seonghwa opened the door and went to take his seat, a baby carrier on his left hand with his baby daughter inside.

"Night light!" San exclaimed the nickname they all had for Seonghwa's daughter.

"Night fury got stuck with babysitting duty?" Yeosang raised an eyebrow.

Seonghwa glared at him, about to say something but was stopped by Hongjoong.

"Guys! Meeting! Focus ok?"

Hongjoong began talking once again, detailing about a government cargo ship that was soon to land in the city, containing secret weapons.

"Now, if our information is correct, it'll get here in-"

A soft and subtle sneeze interrupted him, followed by a chorus of 'aaaws' and 'ooohs'.

"She's the deadliest weapon ever!" San clutched his heart.

"Yeah! Who can resist that level of cuteness?" Mingi agreed, crouching down to poke her tiny nose.

"I know! Isn't she adorable?" Seonghwa beamed with pride at his baby.

"Guys, remember? Timeline-" Hongjoong tried to get their attention again.

"Has she started talking yet?" Jongho asked.

"No not yet. But she's babbling a lot more, mostly songs in movies or cartoons though." Seonghwa explained.

"Ooooh! Can she do the banana song?! Night light! Watch uncle Woo."

Wooyoung began singing the minions song, not really getting a reaction out of the baby and further causing Hongjoong's annoyance to spike up.

"One more interruption and I'm shooting you all in your legs!"

They all stayed quiet, not wanting to further anger their leader. Hongjoong let out a sigh of relief.

"Now, as I was saying-"

"Ba ba ba, ba na na." The baby interrupted him as she tried to sing the song Wooyoung was previously singing.

They all stared in shock and adoration at her.

"Ok, that's actually fucking cute." Hongjoong admitted.

Seonghwa only giggled as he picked up his daughter and kissed her cheek.

❥𝓙𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓨𝓾𝓷𝓱𝓸

Yunho tried shushing the whimpering baby underneath his desk.

"Buddy come on. You're going to get me in trouble. Now shush."

Having no alternative, he picked up his baby son, cradling him in his arms as he tried to keep him from making anymore noise. He cooed at him and even made funny faces, but the boy didn't seem to calm down.

"Why are you being like this?" Yunho pouted.

The baby nuzzled his face against his father's chest before opening his mouth against it. Yunho immediately pulled the baby a few inches off him.

"Ok I get it now. You're hungry. Please don't do that again. My body doesn't work like your mom's."

Setting the boy back in the carrier, Yunho reached inside the baby bag and got out the bottle and baby formula. He quickly mixed them together, careful not to spill any of it on his desk. He looked around and realized he had absolutely no idea how he was going to heat it up. When the baby began fussing again, he quickly stooped down, trying to quiet him down.

"Uhhh Yunho?"

Yunho hit his head as he quickly stood up, looking at Yeosang who was right in front of him with a folder. Yeosang noticed the baby bottle in his hand and snorted.

"Is that your new guilty pleasure?" He teased.

"I'm not in the mood Yeosang. In case you haven't noticed, I sneaked him in."

Yunho picked up his child and rocked him in his arms, trying to stop his crying.

"Hi junior." Yeosang waved.

Scanning the baby, Yunho and the bottle, Yeosang ended up deducing what was going on.

"Give me the bottle, I'll heat it up for you." Yeosang offered, taking the bottle away from him.

"You will? Thanks Yeo. I'd really appreciate it." Yunho thanked him.

"No problem..." Yeosang looked at the bottle, studying its structure and model.

"I kinda want to try out the new fire weapon I created and this might just be the perfect test subject..."

When he heard those words, Yunho quickly stopped Yeosang.

"A microwave will do Yeosang! Don't fucking use my son's bottle for one of your weird experiments!"

Yunho gasped when he realized he cussed in front of his kid.

"Don't tell your mom."

❥𝓚𝓪𝓷𝓰 𝓨𝓮𝓸𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓰

Yeosang carefully weighed the powder into the brown paper bags, careful not to go above the amount he needed. His eyes trailed to the tiny hand that tried reaching up for the contents he had.

"No no no sweetheart. Don't touch anything."

He put what he had in his hands down and picked up his daughter, setting her down and making her rest on top of a stack of books he had.

"Ok. Here you go. Play with this. Your mom says you like it." He handed her the rattle that was shaped like a chicken leg before going back to concentrate on his task.

The baby shook the rattle a few times before becoming bored with it. Instead, she was fascinated by all the intricate colors and strange devices inside her father's laboratory. Looking next to her, she saw a display of assorted test tubes that had different liquids in them. Curiously, her hand reached out to grab the red colored one. At that moment, Yeosang had finished weighing the stuff out and placed them in a container. When he looked back, he saw his daughter pulling out the test tube.

"No don't touch-"

Yeosang quickly scooped the baby up and covered her with his body as the tube fell to the floor, not only splattering the contents, but immediately setting off a tiny explosion that spread a horrible smelling gas in the air. Yeosang covered his daughter's face as he quickly got them out of the room. At that moment, Jongho came running down the hall.

"What was that?!" He immediately asked.

"One of the test tubes I was working on." Yeosang explained, as he scanned his daughter to make sure she was all right.

"Seriously Yeosang?! We've told you time and time again to be careful! How did it even happen?"

Yeosang immediately turned to his daughter, who was merely sucking on her thumb, looking at him with the most innocent eyes ever.

"You're lucky it was one of the least deadly ones and I got you out of there in time. Otherwise we'd both be laughing ourselves to death." Yeosang chuckled at her and kissed her forehead.

Jongho shook his head.

"I swear to god, if your daughter becomes another crazy scientist like you, I'm joining another gang."

❥𝓒𝓱𝓸𝓲 𝓢𝓪𝓷

The diminutive man strolled from one corner of the alley to another, sighing as he stared once again at his watch.

"Where the fuck are they?" He shook his head, hating people being late above anything else.

Finally hearing footsteps, he saw the two figures approach him. He smiled contentedly until he saw that one of them had a baby strapped to his chest.

"All right Changbin, we got the money now where's the drugs?" San asked, not yet giving him the bag of money.

Changbin looked at San, then back at the baby boy.

"Don't look at the baby, look at me." San gestured to his eyes.

Changbin raised an eyebrow at him before looking over at Wooyoung, who looked completely unfazed.

"Just don't even question it man." Wooyoung suggested.

Changbin hesitantly got out the package from his coat. He was about to hand it to them, but he stopped when he looked at the baby again.

"Don't look at the baby, look at me." San repeated himself.

"Look man! It's just feels completely unorthodox to make illegal transactions in front of an innocent baby ok?! Did you kidnap it or something?" Changbin scanned him.

San scoffed in offense.

"This is my kid! Can't you see the resemblance? He's as handsome as me."

Changbin raised an eyebrow.

"You're seriously bringing your kid.... you know what? Never mind."

Changbin opted for giving the package to Wooyoung and then taking the bag of money.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

San waved at him when he departed. As him and Wooyoung made their way back to the car, his son started babbling something incoherently. San looked down and patted his head.

"Yes I know he's a mean, grouchy dwarf. Don't worry about him."

❥𝓢𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓲

Mingi sat down on the stool in front of the bartender, setting down the carrier on the chair next to him.

"I'm here." Mingi told the man who had his back turned.

"Oh Mingi you've come. Tell me what can I get-"

The pink haired man stopped when he saw the baby and pointed at her.

"Just give me my usual and don't worry about her. She's covered."

Mingi opened his trench coat and took out a baby bottle before taking the baby out of the carrier so he could feed her.

"You got the info Hyunjin?" Mingi lowered his voice.

Hyunjin rolled his eyes as he prepared him his drink.

"Mingi you brought a baby inside a bar. Forget trying to avoid unnecessary attention, everyone is already looking at you weird."

Mingi looked around, noticing a couple people staring at him as if he was crazy.

"Oh...right."

Hyunjin set the drink out in front of him before pulling out a folder and sneakily handing it to Mingi.

"Even got a few of the members' names gathered for you. Don't be fooled by their small numbers. These guys are very deadly and are slowly gaining momentum in the criminal world."

Mingi nodded and stuffed the folder in his coat. At that moment, his phone started ringing and he panicked when he saw who it was.

"Do me a favor. Hold her and cover her ears."

Hyunjin obeyed and cringed when Mingi fired a gun at the roof.

"I'm gonna need all of you to be quiet for a minute or else I'll put a bullet in your heads."

Mingi then quickly answered the phone, suddenly changing his tone.

"Hey baby. Oh nothing. I'm with Seonghwa, he wanted to see the baby.....no! I'm most definitely not working at the moment." He laughed awkwardly.

Hyunjin shook his head and looked down at the baby girl in his arms.

"Mind sharing some of your milk with me? I think I need it."

❥𝓙𝓾𝓷𝓰 𝓦𝓸𝓸𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓰

"Wooyoung? Do you see the target?" Yeosang's voice echoed through his ear piece.

Wooyoung casually tilted his head to the side.

"No. There's too many people. " Wooyoung answered casually.

He looked down when he heard his daughter sneeze.

"Bless you." Wooyoung cooed at her.

"I'm literally trying to put a bullet through a man's head and you're giving me your blessings?" Yeosang asked.

"Not you idiot! My princess just sneezed and-"

"Oh my gosh! What a lovely baby you have!"

Wooyoung turned to find a young woman standing in front of him, twirling her hair in her finger as she looked at him and his daughter.

"Thanks..." Wooyoung answered.

"Is she yours?" She asked, stepping closer to him, reaching her hand out.

"Yeah...mine." Wooyoung shifted in his seat, moving the baby so she wouldn't touch her wandering hands.

Wooyoung tried not to cringe as the girl didn't seem to get the hint and continued talking to him.

"Want me to put a bullet in her head?" Yeosang offered.

Wooyoung immediately declined the offer as quietly as possible, not hearing what the girl said until she repeated herself.

"I asked if there was a mom in the picture."

She tucked her hair behind her ear before sitting down next to Wooyoung, her hand brushing on his shoulder.

"Cause if not.....I could help out in more ways than one." She bit her lip.

Before Wooyoung could even respond, he was saved when you suddenly showed up.

"I'm giving you ten seconds to run before I pull the trigger."

The girl froze when she felt a gun pointed at her back. Wooyoung waved.

"Hi honey." He smiled.

"Don't 'honey' me. First you take our daughter out on a mission and then I find some skank trying to take my place?" You scoffed.

"Should have taken my offer when you had the chance." Yeosang poked fun at him.

❥𝓒𝓱𝓸𝓲 𝓙𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓱𝓸

Jongho kept his eyes on the road, occasionally looking at the rearview mirror to check on the little boy in the baby seat.

"Getting sleepy there buddy?" Jongho chuckled when he saw the baby's eyes open and close slowly.

"Don't worry. After we deliver this package, I promise I'll take you to get ice cream......just don't tell your mom I've been feeding you that before you're old enough."

Jongho began to sing softly, hoping it'll help the baby sleep faster. However when he looked at the rearview mirror again, he noticed a strange looking car tailing right behind him.

"Huh....strange..... very strange."

Jongho gripped the steering wheel tightly. Looking back at his son, he noticed he was now fully awake.

"Buckle up buddy cause we're in for a fun ride."

Shifting the gear, Jongho immediately pressed down on the accelerator before rapidly making a u-turn, momentarily confusing the car behind him. Jongho drifted through the different alleys, hoping to loose the car, but it still seemed to catch up to him. His son on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the fun ride.

"Oh shit." Jongho cursed when he saw you were calling.

Pressing the button, he answered your call.

"I just got off work, barely going back. Think you can handle the boy for a little bit longer?" You asked.

"Take all the time. I'm going to be late too."

Jongho made a rather sharp turn that had your son squealing excitedly. You immediately sensed something was off.

"You're on a mission aren't you?"

"Yeah and we kinda ran into some chasers." Jongho chuckled rather amused.

You sighed softly.

"Where are you?"

"Gangnam district. Near the old abandoned factory." He answered as he continued trying to loose the car behind him.

"Give me 5 minutes and I'll be there."

Jongho couldn't help but bite his lip at your words.

"God baby, I love you so much."

He then turned his attention to his son who was still having the time of his life.

"Hear that bud? Mommy is gonna be joining us soon."

Gifs not mine, credit goes to their respective owners.

[biggest-stupidhead]

more modern au levi x reader!! is it okay where reader makes petra jealous???

Just a reminder: WE DO NOT CONDONE PETRA SLANDER IN THIS HOUSE!!!

with that said, I will write this heavily focused on Petra to make it a lil angsty, hope you enjoy!

Summary: Petra watches her ex fall for another

Word Count: 1.7K

__ 

It had been two long years since Petra and Levi ended things. It wasn’t messy but it was painful, she had seen it coming from a mile away. He had grown just as distant as he had been when they first met. Staying late at work, texting her dryly, and using terrible excuses. Although she had known it was coming, she still was a wreck when he actually ended things. She spent the months following the break up drinking wine and crashing at Oluo’s place regularly. After two years she was finally feeling better, dare she say, ready to get back into the dating scene? Or at least that’s what she thought, she was scrolling through her instagram feed when she stumbled across Hange’s page. It was someone’s birthday, someone she wasn’t familiar with. 

A woman with bight eyes and an even brighter smile was in the center of the group photo. On her right was Levi, who had an arm thrown casually over her shoulder, the faintest trace of a smile on his lips. Petra pinched the screen to zoom into Levi’s side, where she saw a feminine hand on his waist. She stared stupidly at the image. She shouldn’t feel jealous, she had no right. It had been two long years since the break up. But the picture only dredged up old memories of times when she would hold Levi that same way. When that smile was directed to her. She then turned her attention to the caption, which read: 

Happy Birthday (Y/n)! 24 never looked so good!

She then scrolled through the comments, many of them consisted of birthday wishes and support. She lost interest when she didn’t see Levi’s username and instead went back to the collection of photos, three of them in all. The group one that she assumed had just been taken, the second one was a picture of Hange and you on the beach, Petra felt a involuntary wave of self consciousness wash over her at the site of you in a swim suite. The final picture was the one that hurt the most though, it seemed to be a very old picture of you, maybe from your early years in college? You were sitting on a couch with younger versions of Hange, Erwin, Levi, and Moblit. Levi’s arm was casually thrown over your shoulders. Why had he never mentioned you before? Were you the reason that they broke up? No Levi had assured her that it wasn’t like that, said he wasn’t seeing anyone else. She tried to stop herself from going down that rabbit hole, but she couldn’t seem to. Before she really knew what she was doing, she had clicked on your profile which she was almost disappointed to find as public. This meant that there was nothing stopping her from judging every perfect image that was posted, and to her pleasant surprise, there was only one photo of you and Levi. The photo was posted the week prior, the two of you were hiking in the mountains, the dusty trial behind you. Your face was flushed from the exertion of the climb, Levi seemed cool as a cucumber, his face blank and void of emotion. She scrolled through the post and found a video, the sound of your shoes crunching and Levi talking behind you were clear as day. 

“I mean come on, who uses fucking Lipton? Have some god damn class.” Levi spat, as you snorted in amusement. Petra found herself chuckling along with you at Levi’s little rant. She felt a rogue tear slide down her cheek when you showed the phone to Levi, who’s face fell from being mildly animated to apathetic once more. You cackled as he swiped the phone and the video ended abruptly. It was so innocent, it was clear from the rest of your page that you were a private person, much like Levi. With little indication that you were dating him, it left her wanting to know more. More about the girl that had taken her place, had managed to worm her way into Levi’s heart of stone and make herself comfortable. As soon as these thoughts crowded into her head, she deleted instagram all together and powered her phone down, determined to wipe her memory of the images she had seen. 

__

The music was a nice distraction from the awkwardness that hung in the air. You had arrived uncharacteristically early to Hange’s party, and consequently meeting a whole group of people that you had never met before. The new people were about your age, three young men and one stunning young woman. It was early fall and Hange’s annual bonfire bash as you all had dubbed the event. Basically you lit a massive fire, when you were younger it was your past assignments from your pervious school year, then it became just regular old wood. You tapped your finger against the cool beer bottle as you leaned up against the counter, the men were laughing obnoxiously as they dropped the alcohol that they’d brought into one of the many coolers. The woman was looking at you almost nervously, she seemed extremely on edge, shifting her weight back and forth, eyes wandering around the room in a jittery manner. You frowned, wondering what was bothering her, but ultimately deciding that it was not really your business. Erwin shimmied behind you, his hands on your shoulders as he slide past you into the kitchen. You caught his arm, clinging to his familiar presence. 

“Erwin.” you hissed as he stooped to reach your level. 

“Who are these people?” you asked as you held his bicep firmly in your grasp. He pulled away and looked at you with a confused expression. 

“You mean Levi didn’t tell you?” He said slowly, clearly he was unsure if it was his place to speak on the relationship between Levi and these people. 

“No....” You said carefully, not wanting to make Erwin uncomfortable. 

“Oh well they used to work in the same department before Levi switched.” He said, he looked over to the men and motioned for them to come over, they ambled over with curious expressions. 

“What’s up Erwin?” the dark haired man asked as he looked between the two of you. 

“Just thought I’d ought to introduce you to (Y/n) here, she’s an old friend of ours from high school.” Erwin explained, his hand still comfortingly placed on your mid back. You waved shyly and smiled at all of them, including the girl. 

“Pleasure to meet you.” The blonde with a ponytail said, outstretching his hand to shake yours. 

“I’m Eld, this is Gunther, Oluo, and that fine young lady over there is Petra.” He said, pointing at all of them respectively. 

“It’s so nice to meet you guys!” you said sweetly as you struck up a conversation with Oluo about what they thought about the department that they worked in. It didn’t go unnoticed that Petra remained nearly silent, her amber eyes wide and a bit fearful. When the interns arrived, the men were quick to go help them carry in the alcohol that they brought, leaving you and Petra alone in the kitchen. You cocked your head at her as you poured some pretzels into a large bowl. The warm glow of the setting sun cast a halo over her head and you couldn’t help but voice your admiration for her. 

“You’re really pretty.” you gushed as she blushed at your words and turned to look at you with wide eyes. 

“So are you...” She returned the compliment and you smiled, feeling more at ease now that the two of you were alone. 

“So how long have you known Hange?” You asked conversationally as you crumpled up the bag and tossed it into the trash. 

“Hm let’s see...about four years now?” She responded with a bit of a wistful tone. 

“Really? I’m surprised we haven’t met sooner!” you chuckled as the two of you opened a bottle of wine and poured it into two large glasses. The two of you strolled out into the bark yard, where Hange and Moblit were chucking large pallets of wood onto the fire pit. You and Petra sat down in two lawn chairs watching as Hange and Moblit bickered over if it was safe enough to light the fire with gasoline. 

“I am too, you seem....like a really nice girl.” Petra said a bit downcast as she looked deeply into her wine. 

“So do you! We should grab breakfast ooo or maybe even brunch sometime!” You said excitedly and Petra sat there in awe, wondering if there was even a mean bone in your body. Or if you had any clue that she had dated Levi. 

“Yeah...this is kind of random but...are you dating Levi?” She blurted out, her face turning to look at you with a flushed expression. You nodded nonchalantly and took another sip of your wine. 

“Yeah we just started dating about a year ago.” You said with a shrug, Petra inhaled, readying herself for the next words that would either make or break the future relationship between the two of you. 

“Did...you know we dated?” she said, cringing when the words left her mouth. She sounded crazy and she knew it, but she felt obligated to clear the air between you before it got bad. 

“Hm I think he mentioned it once or twice, and Hange told me about you when you first started dating.” You said looking up thoughtfully, your tone held no malice or any sign of ill will. 

“You’re not...” 

“Insecure? Nah, and don’t take that like I’m being cocky! I just mean that...” 

“No, no let’s just not do this. I’m sorry for bringing it up. God I’m such a bitch.” Petra went to stand and you followed her, catching her wrist. 

“It’s alright really, I don’t care about what happened between you and Levi. It’s frankly none of my business, I just...wanna be friends with you.” you smiled at her sheepishly as she looked at you with wide eyes. 

“Oh” She managed to say dumbly. 

“That is if you want to be friends.” You said, letting go of her hand and giving her some space. 

“Yeah...I think that I’d like that very much.” Petra said with a bright smile. 

__

In honor of Women’s History month, I couldn’t bare to write something that was a stereotypical jealous ex, so I did the next best thing and wrote this more geared towards the reader and Petra bringing each other up instead of tearing one another down. As someone who was apart of the fandom back in like 2014 I am way too familiar with writers turning Petra into a psycho bitch, and I don’t like that. SO I hope that this is good enough to fit the prompt! 

[vigilantetendencies]

Prompt 42

“You’ve been avoiding me,” Villain hissed, throwing the Hero down. They hadn’t even had the decency to fight Hero in their suit. No, Villain decided that confronting Hero while they were in civilian clothes was a good idea. How rude.

“I haven’t been avoiding you, jack ass,” Hero managed to tell them, groaning in pain. They didn’t both getting up off the ground. “I have to pay the bills and hero work isn’t doing it.” Villain loomed over them, glaring down at them.

“And what work is so supposedly rewarding that you decided not to come spend time with me?” Villain grabbed Hero’s sweater and pulled them up off the ground, glaring.

“The cat cafe,” Hero admitted, cheeks red as Villain’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“You...You’ve been avoiding me for cats?” Hero nodded curtly. “...Fine. But I’ll kick your ass if you’re lying.” They dropped Hero, letting them land on their rear.

“And how exactly are you going to know?” Hero stood and brushed themself off.

“You’re going to bring me there,” Villain decided.

“Can you please stop threatening me into proving where I am every day and just ask me on a date like a normal person?”

Villain opened their mouth to argue, nothing coming out for a moment.

“How dare you insinuate I’d stoop to your level!” They shoved Hero.

“Yeah, yeah. See you at four tomorrow for the cat cafe.”

“It’s a date!” Villain responded, a bit too excitedly, then their face dropped. “Well- not a-”

“It’s a date,” Hero repeated in confirmation, turning around and waving as they kept walking home.

[fangirlovestuff]

More Than Meets The Eye - Steve Rogers x reader

a/n - hey lovely people!! this one is for @s1utforfictionalcharacters​, who asked for a Steve x reader enemies to lovers a while ago. thank you so much for bearing with me and being patient, and i hope you enjoy!!<3

Summary: Between figuring out what was the Tesseract doing at a Hydra base and if it even is the Tesseract, you need to navigate your relationaship with one annoying, broody Captain. Honestly, you might prefer the Hydra thing. 

this isn’t set in the mcu timeline, but takes inspiration from a few mcu movies. it’s not canon compliant and everyone’s alive:)

Word Count: 7k

Warnings: lowkey angst and some tension, maybe a curse word or two? tell me if i missed anything!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Rogers!" you heard Tony's voice over the comms, "Where the hell are you?"

"Babysitting," you heard Steve's irritated voice, not only over the comms but also behind you, right before you saw him dashing past you to punch the Hydra agent you were fighting square in the jaw.

"Well, get America's ass over here, now," Tony grunted, clearly mid-fight himself, "we need backup."

"Go!" you yelled at him, spinning to take out another agent that was coming up behind Steve, "I got this!"

"You sure?" he asked, his tone sarcastically degrading, jumping while kicking two agents simultaneously. Showoff.

"Yes," you resisted the urge to roll your eyes, "I can handle them, go help the others!"

"Alright," he grunted as he pushed off another agent before running back in the direction he came from, towards the rest of the team.

"Cap, you coming or what?" Natasha spoke on the comms, calmer than Tony, but it was obvious she's just as in need of backup as he was.

"Coming!" Steve replied, before it went relatively quiet.

You finished up disarming the rest of the agents in your wing of the building. No one was calling for you on the comms yet, so you decided to make another round in the perimeter, make sure you didn't miss anything.

God knows captain know-it-all is gonna be on your ass about it if that's the case. And honestly, you have more than enough of that as is.

As you were walking down the hallway, you noticed a strange, glowing light coming from under the doors. Upon finding it was unlocked, you opened it to reveal a room that was entirely filled with the same blueish light you had seen, and it was all coming from a desk in the middle of it.

Approaching slowly and letting your eyes time to adjust, you got closer and closer, realizing the shiny object was a peculiar blue cube. A cube you knew well, perhaps even too well.

"Guys, if you're done over there, you might wanna come to my wing. There's something you're gonna want to see."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay, we have to keep looking, maybe they left some blueprints or anything that can indicate how they were planning on using it," Steve commanded, "or already have."

"Wait," you said before everyone split up to follow his orders, "as important as the why they got it is, I think the first question we should be asking is how the hell they got it. I thought it was locked away in the Asgard safe?" you looked at Bruce, who out of all of you had the most contact with Thor.

"It was, the last time I checked," he frowned. "I'll see if I can contact Thor, see if he knows anything."

"You do that," Tony interjected, "the rest of you, follow Cap's order while he and I have a little chat. Shall we Rogers?" he pulled a frowning Steve aside, while you all split up to try and find any information you could salvage.

In your search, you ran into Natasha. As you were both scouring the same desk for clues, working together like a well-oiled machine, you asked, "what did Tony want from Cap?"

"Probably to ask him where the hell was he when we needed his backup," she said matter-of-factly. "Or, you know, where the heck he was. We all know Steve's proper like that," she smiled, and you let out a chuckle at her words.

"Well, that’s good," you remarked, "since he really should've been there for you guys. I don't know what was that all about," you scrunched up your nose. "Nothing here," you added, closing the drawer you were looking through.

"Yeah, here too," Natasha closed her own drawer, "let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that day, you were all having dinner together as you went over some papers the others found at the Hydra base. Since you were already in the same place, you split the takeout, taking caution not to spill any of it.

"Cap," you asked, seeing the saltshaker was too far for you to reach, "Can you pass me th-" your words were abruptly cut by him planting it in your hand, going back to whatever it is he was reading.

"Thanks," you muttered, going back to your paperwork as well.

This might be the place to mention that pretty much ever since you joined the team, Steve exhibited a certain… coldness to you. Arrogance, indifference, call it what you want – from day one, Steve Rogers made sure you knew he was better than you.

And considering he was literally Captain America, it's not like you thought you were ever better than him in the first place.

You blended in with the rest of the team seamlessly, fighting and training among them. I mean sure, there were jokes about you being "the new kid", but it was just that – jokes. No one, or at least no one but Steve, seemed to view you as inferior.

You still fought well together, it was your job. Hell, he just passed you the salt before you even finished asking for it. Being attuned to each other's actions and attitude in that way made it all the more obvious how much he seemed to covet his leadership position, his place of dominance.

It got on your nerves. So. Much.

You see, if he were like that to everyone else on the team, so be it. But the absolute majority of it was directed towards you – the new girl. And it was clear that's all he ever saw you as. A girl.

Even that salt thing – he handed it over so impatiently, so suddenly, like one would handle an irritating child.

You had hoped he'd get over it at some point, but so far, that didn't seem to be the case. Well, you're not planning on going anywhere, so you'll both have to get over yourselves at some point.

"Hey!" Steve snapped his fingers in front of your eyes, shaking you from your reverie. "C'mon, listen up. Tony found something."

Oh well, that "some point" is probably not today.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, Hydra wanted to use this," Natasha gestured at the Tesseract, "To power up a weapon they've designed?"

"That's the gist of it," Tony confirmed. "But from the looks of it, this thing is a lot more powerful than it seems. They planned on powering up a whole armored aircraft, plus all of their rifles using this cube. If that's possible, and by the looks of it, it very well might be, it's a lot stronger than you'd think."

"Wait, what do you mean their rifles as well?" you asked, your brows furrowing, "like, split this thing into pieces?"

"No, it looks like they were planning to project its power somehow, like…" Tony trailed off, struggling to explain.

"Like… Bluetooth?" you suggested.

"Yeah," tony snickered, "pretty much."

"Okay, but they didn't do that yet, right? We stopped them?" you looked around to the rest of your teammates before looking back at Tony.

"Seems like we did," Steve answered instead. "Bruce, any update on how they managed to get it?"

"Didn't hear anything back yet," the man in question shook his head, "I'll try again."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Bruce ended up getting an answer from Thor, telling him to come to Asgard, you immediately volunteered to go with him. It was partially because you've never actually been there, and you were very curious as to why Thor would ask Bruce to come.

But also, you could use a break from a certain Captain.

You tried to ask Bucky and Sam what his deal with you was, several times, but they just shrugged and gave you vague, unhelpful answers. You even considered trying to convince Wanda to just tell you what he thinks about you, but you didn't want to give him the satisfaction of bothering you so much that you'd stoop that low.

So lately, you've been just trying to avoid him, which usually worked just fine, since it's not like he was that adamant about being around you either. That is, until you said you'd go with Bruce.

"No way," he immediately objected.

"Why?" you asked, "Bruce might need some backup, and I'd like to visit Asgard. Win-win."

"We need you here, going over the papers."

"C'mon Cap, I think we both know I do better out there in the field than I do with all the blueprints. Tony's way better with that, he's the only one who does it anyway."

"So what, you're just gonna go on a field trip?" he sneered.

"No, I'm going to look out for my friend and teammate." It took everything in you to keep your voice level.

"That's nice. Cause it would be a shame if Banner had to watch your back while you went on vacation."

You scoffed. "Where did you even get that idea? I said I was gonna give Banner backup. That's the first thing I said, cause that's the most important thing. End of story."

"Fine." Steve shrugged.

"Fine?"

"Yeah, if Banner's willing to take you with him, go."

"Good," you nodded.

"Great."

Somewhat awkwardly, you shuffled out of the room to tell Bruce to count you in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Natasha was the one to send both you and Bruce off to Asgard, the rest being otherwise occupied.

"Be safe," she told the both of you, holding each of your shoulders with one of her hands, before stepping away.

"We will," Bruce promised and you nodded, and just in time the Bifrost came down, taking the both of you where you needed to get.

Thor was the one to greet you, taking you both in for a warm hug before his face became serious.

"I didn't call you all the way here for nothing," he said, "come with me to the palace."

As you were on your way, he explained. "When you told me you encountered the Tesseract in Midgard, I immediately checked in our vault. Sure enough, there's still a Tesseract there."

"A Tesseract? I thought there was just the one," you frowned.

"We did too," Thor replied, "which is why I wanted you both to come see it for yourselves. Maybe you'd be able to point out some differences."

Getting to the palace, you wasted no time going down to the vault. And there it was – the Tesseract.

"How…" you trailed off. It looked completely identical to the one you had found on earth, the same blue tinted glint lighting up its surroundings.

"That's what I was hoping you might have an answer for," Thor sighed, his brows furrowing. "You said the one you encountered was previously in the possession of a group called… Chimera?"

"Hydra," Bruce corrected him. "And yes, we found it in one of their bases."

"Is it possible that the one we found was a fake?" you asked, lifting your eyes from the Tesseract. "Or maybe this one is the fake? Is there a way to know?"

"The only way to know is to try and use them," Bruce sighed, "but trying to wield the power of an infinity stone can be dangerous and destructive to the one who tries. It's something we should try and avoid."

"Okay," you thought, "can't we try and take this one to earth? See if maybe Tony could run some tests on them both, find us a lead as to which one's the real one?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Bruce agreed, "or at least the best one we've got. Can we take it?"

"Of course. I trust you to guard it," he looked at Bruce fondly.

"Thank you," Bruce's eyes and smile are sincere as he shakes Thor's hand.

You pick up the Tesseract tentatively, putting it in your bag and looking back up at Bruce, whose handshake with Thor was still lingering. You hated to interrupt, but you two needed to go back to earth to fill your friends in if you wanted to solve this mystery.

"Shall we?" you asked, somewhat softly.

"Yeah," Bruce shook his head slightly, "Let's go."

You trailed behind Bruce and Thor as you made your way back to the Bifrost, thinking it over.

If the Tesseract you found on earth was the fake, then why would Hydra have a fake? And if the one that was currently in your bag was the fake, then why would they just leave the real one lying around while the Avengers stormed their base? And at any case, how did they manage to make such an accurate replica?

"Thank you, Thor," you said sincerely once you reached the end of the Bifrost. "We're going to figure this out."

"I know you will," he said, and touched your shoulder affectionately.

You said your goodbyes, and then, you and Bruce started to make the journey home, until suddenly you felt a force push you out of the Bifrost, and before you knew it you landed on dirt, rolling a few times, Bruce landing a few feet away from you.

Hurriedly getting up, you helped Bruce to his feet as well, before the two of you looked around to find yourself in the middle of what seemed to be a desert, but it was like nothing you've seen before.

The sand was orange, red, much darker than it was in deserts you've been to. You and Bruce landed in some sort of valley, surrounded by large dunes of the dark sand, creating a perfect circle around you.

"Have any idea where we are?" you asked, trying to keep your cool, "Or how we got here?"

"I-"

His words were cut off by the sound of a gun cocking behind you. Instinctively, you crouched down and spun around, sending your leg out, taking the man down with a kick to his ankles.

But it wasn't enough. Before you could fully get back up, you and Bruce were already surrounded by agents, and the fight quickly escalated into a hand-to-hand one, having to take on multiple agents at a time. At some point, Bruce hulked out, but even then, you were still fighting them all simultaneously.

You barely managed to take in the glint of a knife from the corner of your eye before the felt the sharp sting of it on your ribs, your hand automatically going to hold the wound. The man started running in the other direction, which was when you realized you weren't the objective of this attack.

Your bag was.

"Bruce!" you yelled, trying to get his attention, as you started trying to run after the agent.

But before Bruce could even notice you, a deep rumble sounded through the air, the prominent crackling of thunder. You turned around just in time to see Thor coming down from the sky, Mjolnir clad tightly in his fist, sending bolts of lightning at your enemies.

You turned back and tried to keep running, but you couldn't do it fast enough, the wound in your ribcage still bleeding, and soon, the agent disappeared from sight.

You were panting when the battle died down, a mere few minutes after Thor's arrival. You didn't turn around, even as you sensed Bruce and Thor approaching you from behind.

"I lost it," you said, still unable to meet their eyes.

"They took it," Bruce said gently. "Now, let me take a look at that wound."

Well, you thought, that's not how Steve's going to see it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You lost it?" Steve asked, his disbelief clear. His eyes were trained on you, a frown on his face.

"She got hurt trying to protect it, Steve," Bruce answered before you could. "We'll get it back."

Steve's eyes didn't waver from yours, even as Bruce spoke.

"I'm sorry," you said, your voice coming out smaller than you wanted to. You cleared your throat, continuing stronger, "I did everything I could."

"I told you, you shouldn't have gone out there," he sighed, frustrated.

"Really, Cap?" you asked, "is this the time for 'I told you so's? for a hundred-year-old that's really fucking childish," you said through your teeth.

"Watch it," he snapped, "next time, maybe if you listen to me you won't get hurt."

"If I'm that bad of a soldier, Captain," you spat out, "am I not dispensable to you? Why do you even care if I get hurt? I bet it would've been just the same to you if I died but you still had the Tesseract."

Your words rendered him speechless, and you turned to walk towards the med bay. Bruce offered you his arm, but the look you sent him made it very obvious you weren't interested in company.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The wound healed well. You and Steve were… civil, to say the best.

You'd admit your words that day you were back from Asgard were harsh. You'd even admit that to his face, if he'd change his attitude towards you. Which he didn't, so really, maybe he deserved to hear them.

Anyways, a few days after the Asgard thing, the wound was fine, and you had an idea.

"Hey," you asked Tony, who happened to be next to you at the moment, "what if we go ask Strange?"

"What?" he looked up from the robot he was currently tinkering with.

"What if we went to Strange to ask him about the Tesseract?" you repeated, "he'd probably know more than us about this stuff."

Tony wasted no time in calling a team meeting, in which you told the others your idea about reaching out to Strange.

"That's a really good idea," Steve said.

Taken aback, you opened your mouth to speak, but before you could, he continued, "I'm coming with you."

Yep, it was way too good to be true.

"Why?" you asked, frowning. "I thought Tony would come, since he's already had a run-in with him before."

"Yes, but I think we can agree he's not the most diplomatic person out there," Steve smirked.

"I'm right here," Tony remarked dryly.

Steve paid him no mind and continued, "And besides, he's pretty much the only one except Bruce that knows enough to figure out Hydra's blueprints, and we still need all hands on deck in that front.  So, I'm coming with you," he finished in a tone that left no room for argument.

You considered objecting anyways, but knew whatever you'd say would sound childish and tactless, so you simply nodded at him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since the Sanctum Dr. Strange usually resided in was in New York, there was no need for Steve and you to take the Quinjet, but you did take a car from Tony's collection, which Steve drove. The car ride was filled with quite the uncomfortable silence, but at least it was better than arguing, right?

Small victories.

When Steve parked the car about a block away from the Sanctum, you both got out swiftly, blending right in with your civilian clothes, and making your way to the doorstep.

There, Steve knocked on the door hesitantly. You both listened, but there was no answer. You held onto the handle and managed to open the unlocked door easily. You exchanged a look with Steve, both of you on high alert, and entered through the door, Steve closing it behind you.

You both silently stood in the threshold, contemplating your next move. Eventually, you took a tentative step forward, and just then a red object whipped right in front of your eyes, making you stumble backwards, right into Steve. You quickly turned around to apologize, but before you noticed it the red fabric was wrapped tightly around your arms, holding them tight against your torso. Steve was in a similar predicament, and since the cape wasn’t that long, you two were left tied face to face and extremely close to each other.

You tried to wiggle out of the fabric's hold, but it was almost like it tightened with your every move, adjusting itself accordingly. You struggled against it, trying to move even the slightest bit, but it wouldn't budge. You sighed, looking up at Steve.

Oh my god, he was way closer than you'd realized. His wide frame towering over you, you swallowed dryly before you whispered, "What now?"

Before he could answer, the sound of footsteps carried through the halls, and soon enough, Dr. Stephen Strange was descending down the stairs of the New York Sanctum to greet you.

"Hello," he said, his face indifferent, "I wasn't expecting you."

"Well, we weren't expected to get so… tied up, so that makes three of us," Steve remarked, prompting you to chuckle.

"Hello, Dr. Strange," you introduced yourself to him, "the Captain and I were wondering if you could help us with some… Tesseract trouble."

"Sounds awful," he smirked slightly. "Follow me," he started going up the stairs again and you exchanged a look with Steve. "Oh right," he gestured with his hand, and the red fabric detangled itself from the two of you, and turned out to be a cloak as it wrapped around Strange's shoulders. "I almost forgot," the man chuckled, "Now come on."

You and Steve exchanged another look as you rubbed your arm where the cloak dug into it a little, before following Strange up the stairs and into the library, where he offered you two chairs to sit in before sitting down in front of you. In the air. He was sitting down while floating.

Still less weird than the cloak, in your opinion.

"So," he started, "what, uh, Tesseract trouble are you having, exactly?"

Steve and you took turns explaining the situation to him, from finding a Tesseract in a Hydra base to losing the one that was previously in Asgard. Steve, to your relief and wonder, said nothing about it being your fault, but just said it wasn't in your possession anymore.

"So," you summed up, "we were wondering if you knew how anyone could manage to replicate the Tesseract this well, and how can we tell which one's the fake one. Without using them, of course."

"Well, those are great questions. I don't know of another way to determine if an infinity stone is indeed real besides taking the risk and trying to use it, so I can't help you with that. But as for the fake, I believe opening the Tesseracts will provide a good enough answer. You see, the Tesseract isn't that hard to fake. Might be a little expensive, sure, but some lights and plastic and you're set, and from what I understand Hydra isn't exactly struggling financially. But," he sighed, "you can’t fake an infinity stone. For most people, once you'll come in direct contact with it, you'll feel its power, and also its destructive properties."

"So the only way to know if an infinity stone is real is to risk touching it?" Steve asked.

"As far as I know of, yes," Strange nodded.

"Thank you," you said, "for your help. We sure get back to the compound, but we'll let you know if there are any big developments."

When Steve and you got back to the compound, everyone was already waiting for you, and you told them what Strange told you. Together, you all went to open the tesseract you had found in the Hydra base.

"Be careful not to touch what's inside," you warned, and Tony put of his Iron Man arm before breaking the side of the glowing cube, opening it to find…

A bunch of wires and lightbulbs. They didn't even try to make it look like an infinity stone.

"Well, the one in Asgard could've also been a fake," Natasha shrugged. "This doesn't really tell us anything. C'mon guys, we'll continue the search tomorrow," she touched your shoulder comfortingly before slipping away.

You were about to do the same when you saw Steve fidgeting with his sleeve, around where the cloak was wrapped around him. You walked up to him.

"You okay?" you asked, expecting him to brush you off.

"Yeah, I just think this cape held on a little too strong," he chuckled, removing his hand to reveal a stain on the fabric of his right suit sleeve, on you knew all too well was blood.

"Oh my god," you frowned. "C'mon, I'll help you clean it up," you gestured towards the med bay.

The walk there was brief and silent, and when you got there, you told Steve to sit down before ripping his sleeve enough to see the shallow wound.

"You don't have to do this," Steve said, as you looked for some gauze pad and wet it with water.

"I know," you said, "but since I'm the reason we needed to go there in the first place, I am doing this."

"You know it's not your fault, right? You couldn’t have known he'd have a magical cape that ties up people."

"That's not what I was talking about," you mumbled, before cleaning the wound gently.

Steve sighed. "I guess I do owe you an apology for the Asgard thing. I acted like a jerk. I'm sorry."

"No, you were right," you chuckled bitterly, "it's my fault we lost what might've been the real space stone to Hydra. You were just the only one willing to admit that."

"Well, I hope you know what you said about me then wasn't true. I care. You know, if you get hurt. And I wouldn't want anyone to die so I can have anything."

"I know," you said dryly, "you're too perfect for that."

You finished cleaning the wound and started bandaging it.

"That's not- god, I really do have a way with words, don't I? you probably hate me by now."

"I don't hate you, Steve," you looked up from his arm to his eyes, and he smiled at you. "Relax, it doesn't mean I like you all that much either," you smirked, prompting him to laugh.

"Yeah, that's fair, I guess. Thank you," he gestured to his now bandaged arm.

"Sure," you sent a small smile his way before walking away.

Maybe Steve Rogers wasn't that bad after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, scratch that, Steve Rogers was the worst.

The conversation actually started out civil. Nice, even.

"Hey, Cap," you started, "do you know if Bruce found anything on the wiring in the fake Tesseract yet?"

"Nope," he turned to face you.

"Oh. Well, thanks," you smiled, "I'll just…" you gestured at the exit, but he stopped you.

"Wait. Actually, I wanted to talk to you. Can you…" he gestured at the empty chair in front of him, and you sat down.

"About the whole Tesseract thing," he started, "I think you should consider sitting this one out."

"What?" you frowned.

"I just…" he sighed, "I think it might be better if you sat this one out."

"Steve, I found the Tesseract in the first place," you said, getting angrier by the second, "I'm not backing down from this."

"You found the fake Tesseract," he corrected, "and lost what might have been the real one."

"I thought you said it wasn't on me."

"It's not, but still."

"I don't get it, a few days ago you were telling me it wasn't my fault and now you're benching me because of it?"

"I just… you're clearly very invested in this-"

"Which is why I deserve to stay on this mission," you cut him off, fighting to keep your voice level.

"Which is why I think you should sit it out," he ignored you, "because you don't need to get yourself hurt for this."

"I'm an Avenger just like you," you snapped, "you might get hurt as well. So might everyone else. I don't get why I'm any different."

"I told you, because you're too emotionally invested," he insisted, his tone rising.

"Oh, you're benching me cause I'm 'emotional'? really? That's your excuse?"

"That's not an excuse, I-"

"No, tell me, Steve, what's your problem with me? Just spit it out, clearly you have one. What have I done to you to make you hate me?" you were yelling now, exasperated at his flawed logic.

"I don't hate you."

"That's all you have to say?" you scoffed. "You know what? If you're letting whatever your problem is with me to get in the way of the mission, maybe you're the emotional one."

The charged atmosphere was interrupted by Natasha's frame showing up in the doorway.

"Hey guys," she started, before looking between the two of you. "Is this a bad time?" she waited a second before shrugging, "Doesn't matter. There are sightings of suspicious activity midtown, we think it can be Hydra. We gotta move, be down in five," she stated, before walking down the hallway, leaving Steve and you alone once more.

"I-" he started.

"Let's go," you said at the same time, before simply turning away to go and suit up. You had a battle to win, no matter what he thought.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  

"So," Tony started once you were all on the Quinjet, "Here's what we know – Hydra is probably in the possession of the real Tesseract, since we just got word of people seeing a big aircraft over midtown. My guess, they wanted to test the new weapons out before using them on a larger scale," he said, "which is why it would be the best thing to stop them now."

You split up into groups, Tony, Wanda and Sam going after the aircraft, Bucky and Steve go one way on the ground, you and Natasha the other. Thanking every god you knew you weren't paired up with Steve, you and Natasha ran and turned into a large square, starting to point people away from the steady stream of Hydra agents that was coming your way.

You and Natasha were both fighting off the agents together, most of the civilians already cleared from the area, when suddenly, they just… stopped, all in unison.

"Avengers," a voice with a heavy accent boomed through the air, presumably from the aircraft, magnified by speakers, "I know what you're here for," the voice chuckled. "Come and get it."

All at once, the Hydra agents in front of you pulled out something from their bags, or the pockets of their jackets, and it took you a second to realize what it is – exact replicas of the Tesseract. Dozens of them, maybe even hundreds.

You looked over at Natasha, who was just as exasperated as you were. "We gotta break these things," she said, and you nodded in understanding, charging at the men and women with renewed energy.

Because this was your chance to fix what you broke, to make things right. To show Steve you're better than your mistakes.

That was the mantra that was going in your head, as you smashed Tesseract after Tesseract, even as you found nothing but wires, you kept repeating it – fix what you broke.

Slowly but surely, you and Natasha tackled and defeated more and more agents, moving closer towards where they were coming from – the aircraft, that was lowering more and more, sending out more agents, in a wave that seemed never ending.

Expect when you got closer, you noticed that there was a staircase going down from it. A staircase that at the top of stood a small an in old fashioned army clothes, holding, how not, a small, glowing cube in his hand.

Your vision zeroed in on him. You had a target.

Barely stopping to disarm the other agents, you quickly made your way through the crowd of agents surrounding you, until you were right at the bottom of the staircase. You looked up to see the man still standing on top, smiling at the chaos unraveling at his feet.

You decided to take advantage of the fact he hasn't seen you yet, and climbed the staircase from the bottom side, hanging on to creases and bumps, to keep the advantage. When you got to the top, you tried to swing yourself over the rails. You would've fallen down if a hand wouldn't have reached out, catching your arm and throwing you back on the staircase, right side up.

"Ah, the new kid," the man snickered above you, "I've heard about you. Were you really the one they sent here?"

"No one sent me," you hissed as you got up. "Now hand over the stone and it'll be much more pleasant for you."

"So much spite," he laughed, "but alas, I don't think I will, sweetheart."

"Whatever you say," you delivered a poignant kick to his knee, "sweetheart."

You tried to punch him, but this time he was quicker, avoiding your blow and landing one of his own on your shoulder. You shrugged it off and continued to try and pry the stone from his hands. The struggle was drawing attention, and Natasha yelled at you to watch out just in time before a Hydra agent from down there shot at you, only missing narrowly.

You continued to fight the man, who was stronger than he let on, considering he was fending you off with only one hand, but you also had getting shot to worry about, which was in his favor.

At last, you managed to knock the Tesseract out of his hand, and it fell to the ground in a shattering sound. Out of the broken pieces, there were no wires to be seen, only a stone.

Bingo.

You heard Steve shout something at you from far down, but you weren't paying attention, instead diving for the stone, grasping it in your hand, along with some shards of glass that cut you, but you couldn't care less, because this was it.

Fix what you broke.

You concentrated with all your might of the stone, its power almost physically throbbing in your hand, along with the excruciating pain, but you didn't care.

Fix what you broke.

Your breathing became labored, the pain near insufferable when you finally did it – opened a portal. You didn't know where it led, but the important thing is, it wasn't here. You threw the stone away with all the power you had left in you, praying it would reach so far you'd never see it again.

Fix. What. You. Broke.

Just in time, the portal closed, and you sighed gratefully. The pain was starting to take over now, your mind dancing on the edge of consciousness when you heard voices coming towards you. You wanted to tell them you were fine, but you found yourself falling to the ground, registering the pain of the fall before everything went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you woke up, your first thought was that the light's too bright. It felt almost like a hangover, but way worse, and

"I didn't even drink anything," you said, before breaking into a dry cough.

In a second, Steve was there by your side with a glass of water, holding it to your mouth. You took some small sips until you calmed down enough to remember that while no, you didn't drink anything, you did wield the power of an infinity stone, which means it's a miracle you're even alive.

So really, you should be thankful all you ended up with is an awful hangover. Of sorts. A magical hangover.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked, breaking you from your reverie, and making you meet his gaze with yours.

"As much as I can be," you replied, your gaze falling to the blanket that was laid on you. "how long was I out?"

"About 18 hours," he said solemnly, "we didn't… we weren't sure if you'd wake up," he admitted, his voice dropping below a whisper by the end.

"Can't get rid of me that easily," you joked. Despite everything Steve put you through, for some reason you couldn't stand to see him this devastated.

"No, don't-" he sighed, "no one wants to get rid of you. Least of all me. Hell, thinking I'd lost you and it was my fault… hurt more than I could imagine."

"It wouldn't have been your fault, if I, you know," you shrugged, "that was my choice. I had to fix what I broke."

"No, you didn't," he insisted, his eyes snapping up to meet yours once more, "because you didn't break anything. None of this was your fault, and yet you fixed it, alone. You risked wielding the power of an infinity stone to keep earth safe, alone. You shouldn't have been alone."

"It worked out just fine. Besides, what difference would it have made, one more injured person?"

"If I was quick enough… I don't believe the stone could've taken both of us down."

"Us?" you smirked, "I didn't know we were an 'us'. But it's fine, I can deal with that, I guess," you shrugged, and Steve chuckled. You couldn't tell if you were imagining it, but it looked like the slightest of blushes was sprinkled on his cheeks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  

As a part of getting you back to normal, you started training again, moderately at first. But as you regained your strength, your training was almost as intense as it was before. Or maybe, even more intense.

You see, before that, you weren't training with Steve.

Since you didn't really get off to a good start, you'd always train with the others – Nat, Wanda, Sam… other non-super-soldier humans with a very human self-discipline, meaning that you could take breaks and chat in between reps.

Alas, those days were far behind you. I mean, not that far, that's just kind of dramatic, but you get it; you trained with Steve way more often and it was a nightmare.

You didn't know what standards Steve held for his other friends, but if he's like that with everyone then maybe it was better off not being his friend.

"What was that?" Steve asked, his eyes not moving from the timer, which looked comically small in his large hands.

"I said," you repeated between labored breaths and fast push-ups, "if you're like this with all your friends maybe I was better off not being one."

"Who said you are?" he shot back with a smirk, "and… time!"

You collapsed on the training room mattress, letting out a deep breath. "how much was that?"

"98 pushups in one minute," he stated, "not bad."

"Okay, Mr. captain super soldier," you breathed. "You know, maybe I should go back to doing these with Sam. A human being with normal people achievements," you sighed, faux-dreamily.

"I thought you wanted to get better?" Steve chuckled, extending his hand out to help you off the mattress.

"I'll tell him you said that," you smirked and took his hand, letting him help you up. Your touch lingered for the briefest of moments before you let go of his hand.

"Be my guest," Steve shot back, before taking a couple of sparring staffs off the wall, handing you one. An unusual technique in battle, but you found that practicing them with Steve provided a decent challenge to you both, since you were better with it than he was.

With both of you getting into a fighting stance, you started the match by dashing forward, trying to land one on his shoulder, but he quickly spun to the side, accompanied by a move of his staff that, fortunately for you, was a bit poorly aimed, thus only hit you in the arm.

You continued this back and forth for the next few minutes, one graceful move answered by a steady block from the other side, almost like a delicate dance. After a while, you felt yourself getting a little tired, and knew if you didn't end it now, he'd win.

And well, you just can't give him that kind of satisfaction.

You quickly planted your staff on the ground, using the momentum to jump up and wrap your legs around his neck, using your weight to push him down onto the mattress. You'll have to thank Natasha for that move.

His staff fell from his hand as he hit the floor, and you used your advantage to pin his arms above his head, making sure to lean enough of your weight on his torso so he couldn't move. You were both panting from the exertion of the fight, and you could feel a bead of sweat traveling down your back.  

He smirked up at you. "Did Nat teach you that one?"

"Maybe," you raised your eyebrow in amusement. "But I executed it to perfection."

"You sure?" he asked, and before you could answer he broke free from your grasp, flipping the both of you so your torso was pinned below him, catching your arms the same way you did to him moments ago.

Breathing heavily, your tongue darted out to wet your lips. "Well, maybe not perfection," you murmured, "but I'd say I did pretty well. You're in nice shape for a hundred-year-old," you slowly grinned up at him.

"Just nice?" he mock pouted, not moving from his position above you.

"Yeah," you smirked, "from what I've seen."

"Well, maybe you've seen nothing yet," he suggested with a quirk of his eyebrow, his head lowering even closer to yours.

"Maybe," you said softly, standing your ground. His eyes were boring into yours, you could hear the shallow sound of his breath, feel it even.

Closing the distance between you was almost more impulse than an actual aware decision. Your lips met his soft ones, his momentum pushing you back against the mattress, your head hitting it with a soft thud you paid no mind to. One of his hands left yours, coming to cup your cheek as his tongue hesitantly entered your mouth, continuing eagerly when you let out a hum of approval, one of your hand sneaking around his neck and tangling in the hair on the nape of his neck, pulling slightly.

When you finally parted, your breaths were once again labored, but for an entirely different reason now.

"Okay, maybe you are in good shape," you rasped, shrugging as well as you could.

He chuckled before his eyes met yours. "You don't hate me," he stated incredulously.

"I already told you I didn't. I take it back, maybe old age is getting to you," you giggled.

He groaned lightly, making your laughter grow stronger.

Okay, so Steve Rogers wasn't the worst. Final verdict.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

i’d love to hear your thoughts!!<3

Taglist:  @horny-nd-bored​ @shannon124 @perfectlyharolds​ @wintersoldierslut​ @iceebabies​  @sleepingpapermouse @steverogerswasalwaysworthy @holtzkinnon @angelicl-y @stydia-4-ever @thatoneperson5000 @fangirlfree​ @kaitcordx25 @bequeening​ @steve-barry-damon-logan​ @itscrazycherryblossomcollection​ @hollandxmarvel​ @stargazingfangirl18 @readsreblogsfics @onetwo3000 @beritmetal @harrystylesholland @jazbot2000 @anobscurename @xxxtwilightaxelxxx @peggycarter-steverogers @evansphnx12 @starlightcrystalline @procrastinatingsapphictrash

Chris & co. taglist: @patzammit

if you wanna join / be removed from a taglist, comment/message me! much love <3

[twilightmalachite]

Tori Himemiya Sub Story - The B in Class B Stands for...

Author: Akira

Characters: Tori, Tsukasa, Shinobu, Mitsuru, Yuuta, Sora

Translator: Mika Enstars

Proofers: Anonymous & meteorgreen

"Ehh, who said that? Well, ‘scuse us for being dumb! Boo, boo!"

Season: Summer

Location: Karaoke Box

Tsukasa: Shut up! Silence!

You are not elementary school students, so quit clamoring around like children at once!

This is precisely why it’s said that the B in Class B stands for brainless, you know!? [1]

Mitsuru: Ehh, who said that? Well, ‘scuse us for being dumb! Boo, boo!

Sora: Right, Mitsu-chan~? That’s an awful thing for someone to say!

Shisho~ taught Sora that words contain magical power, so you should be mindful of how you use them!

Tori: Yeah! Did someone actually say that? If so, I'll take it as a declaration of war on Tori Himemiya himself!

Seriously though, I’ve never heard that before~!

Tsukasa: Hah, so not only is your height stunted, but your hearing is too, Tori-kun?

Everyone, everyone is saying it!

Every time there’s some sort of uproar taking place in our classroom, I end up hearing someone ridiculing us with words like "Ah, is it that brainless Class B again?"~!

Tori: Haah? Isn't that just you being paranoid~? You've always been like that, you know!

Nobody's paying that much attention to you—you’re just acting like a victim and making weird assumptions on your own again, aren’t you?

Ah~, no way! Isn't this just the opposite of the proverb "the rich don't pick fights"~? This child of a declining noble family is suffering from an inferiority complex!

Tsukasa: I-It's fine to make a fool out of me, but I will not allow you to dishonor the Suou household!

Yuuta: Whoa... Calm down, Suou-kun. Let's not get heated~ I mean, aren't you the one making the biggest racket here?

Shinobu: Y-Yeah. Could we at least refrain from using violence de gozaru~? My foot kept getting stepped on just now!

I know it can't be helped because it's cramped in here de gozaru, but can't we get along~?

We may all come from different places, but aren't we all compatriots who line their desks up and partake in the pursuit of knowledge together, de gozaru?

Ehehe, I sounded a bit like a ninja just now...♪

Yuuta: Mhm, you did, you did~♪

Tsukasa: Tch…! Ugh, to think I'd end up stooping down to their level!

Everyone, regain your composure. The reason behind today's meeting is to discuss our out-of-school practice that will take place over the weekend.

I have a curfew to respect, so let us commit to a decision for this trivial matter already—I am expected to be back home soon!

Most importantly, why karaoke? Would it not be more proper for such a meeting to be held in the classroom?

I was unable to pay any attention to our matter thanks to Tori-kun's annoyingly high-pitched singing voice!

Tori: Hmph! So you're saying you can't see the charm of this adorable, angelic, fairy-like voice of mine?

Ahaha, not only is your household poor, but your taste is too!

Tsukasa: Alright, please stay right where you are! I'll cut your head off, you fattened pig!

Shinobu: Th-This is why I need you two to calm down~! We're within the castle de gozaru, we're within the castle de gozaru! [2]

Yuuta: Hey, hey! I'm gonna order some more food, does anyone want anything else to drink? I'll get refills while I’m at it~♪

Sora: Haha~♪ Yuu-chan seems surprisingly unaffected by all of this~?

Yuuta: Yeah, I'm used to being around noisy people. In other words, because of my Aniki... He's your friend too, right?

The Light Music Club is pretty much always really lively as well, I guess that's also a reason...

It's more like, the quieter my surroundings are, the harder it is to relax ♪

Mitsuru: Aah, I've gotten a little hungry too...

But it's like every time I eat out, my mom goes "Now you won’t have any room for dinner!" once I get home.

Yuuta: It's fine if it's just dessert, right? We're young and have fast metabolism! Look, look, doesn't something like this look yummy~? ♪

Shinobu: Yu-Yuuta-kun, I don't think super spicy curry is classified as a dessert de gozaru...?

Tsukasa: Oh, are you ordering dessert?

I'd rather like to help myself to this parfait. It's described here with all sorts of enticing words, such as "deluxe" and "gorgeous"...☆

Mitsuru: Hm~? But if you eat too much sugary stuff, you won't be able to dash as fast, yanno?

Tsukasa: Oh, I’m not all that concerned about dashing anywhere, at least not to the same extent as you, Tenma-kun! Look, doesn't this look delectable? It's like a jewelry box of sweet wonders... ☆

Tori: …

Sora: HiHi~♪ Hime-chan, were you enjoying the fight? Is Hime-chan lonely now that Tsukasa-chan got distracted by sweets?

Tori: N-not at all! Talking to that guy makes me feel like I'm drinking boiling water, you know!

By the way, Harukawa, I’m the only one who's been singing here… why don't you give it a try this round?

Sora: Yes! Sora loves singing! It’s a form of magic that has been spun since ancient times, long before humans had acquired language!

Mitsuru: Ah, is Sora-chan gonna sing? I'll play the tambourine, then! Tambourine, tambourine! Jingle jingle! Ahahaha...☆

Shinobu: Then, I'll shake the maracas de gozaru! Fufu, the movement is kinda like throwing kunai...! [3]

Tsukasa: Ah, while we’re at it, may I order this cream puff as well?

Yuuta: Seriously, this class... is such a mess, isn't it? Everyone's so lively and full of energy, it's fun~♪

Tori: Mm~ Turns out we can't prove that the B in Class B doesn't stand for brainless, huh?

But that's a bit of a disappointment too! So, I'll be taking applications for a word starting with B that better fits someone as adorable and noble as me!

Rack your brains, everyone!

Sora: Count Sora in! Sora loves these kinds of games~☆

Tsukasa: Wait, so we're having a meeting for this now?! Let us not lose sight of our original objective, please!

Tori: Ahaha. Wow, they really are nothing but a bunch of carefree idiots, aren’t they~♪

Tsukasa: Don't say that as if it doesn't concern you! You're one of "those idiots" too, you know!

Tori: Same to you, Tsukasa. You know, it's okay for you to act like a normal 16-year-old boy, at least when we’re at school...♪

Tsukasa's original text here called the B in Class B the B in "馬鹿, B A K A", which means idiot or fool.

"We are within the castle" (殿中でござる) is a popular line from 47 Ronin, used to remind one to not draw their sword as they are within Edo castle. It means "Please calm down!", more or less.

Kunai are a type of ninja weaponry that is often seen in ninja pop culture. Although traditionally used for close-hand combat, they're often portrayed as a type of throwing knife in media, hence Shinobu's comment. They look like this.

[new-sandrafilter]

How Timothée Chalamet Channeled The Blockbuster Pressure of Leading Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ Back Into His Role – Venice Q&A

DEADLINE: In a few days Dune will premiere at the Venice Film Festival. You first met Denis Villeneuve about the role in May 2018 and started shooting in the early half of 2019. It was always going to be a long journey, but the pandemic stretched it even further. How does it feel to have finally arrived at this moment?

TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET: You know, I like to think that with every film I’ve done, whether it’s Call Me by Your Name or Beautiful Boy, The King, or Little Women, the character you play is almost a piece of your flesh. And that’s always true, but simply from the perspective of how long the shoot for Dune was, and also the arc that Paul Atreides is on, as well as the huge love and almost biblical connection that so many people have for the book and the original film, it really felt… tectonic, if that’s the right word for it. Just getting to this finish line feels like: phew.

And independent of what the film is now, and what it has become, the experience of making it was I was put in such a safe environment, which you can never take for granted as a human, as an actor, but especially when you’re just starting your career, and when this is the first film of this size you’ve ever done.

To get to work with Denis on it, to get to work with someone of his caliber, let alone on a book that he considers the book of his youth and one of the things he has connected to the most… When he would have it in his hands on set, his body language would become that of a fan; of a kid who had fallen in love with the book at home in Montreal. And when all the kids around him were wearing hockey jerseys with their favorite players’ names on the back, this was a kid wearing a jersey that said ‘Spielberg’ on the back.

For it all to come together, especially with the added challenge of the pandemic, it has all combined to make this moment feel especially spicy [laughs].

DEADLINE: The entire ensemble will show up in Venice.

CHALAMET: Right. And I just can’t believe it; Jason Momoa has the number one film on Netflix right now with Sweet Girl, which I just watched. And since we shot, Zendaya has had all this success with Euphoria and Malcolm & Marie. Just to be part of this cast, period, let alone as one of the title characters, it’s really the shit you dream of.

And let me not forget, too—and I know I’ve told you this before—that The Dark Knight was the movie that made me want to act. That movie had a score by Hans Zimmer, and he has done the score for Dune. And it’s almost not what you’d think. It’s totally appropriate and excellent for the movie, but he has somehow managed to do something subversive, in my opinion. It’s a pinch-me moment all over.

DEADLINE: So, take me back to the start. Is it true you had a Google alert set up to track the latest news on this project before you were ever cast?

CHALAMET: Yeah, it’s true [laughs]. Not right away—Legendary had the rights and was developing it—but as soon as Denis got involved, I set up a Google alert and that’s when I got the book.

In total honesty, I think my understanding of Dune at that point was from a graphic novel I’d seen at Midtown Comics when I was shopping for Yu-Gi-Oh! cards when I was about 10. The year you and I first met, when I was there at Deadline Contenders with Call Me by Your Name, that would have been 2017 or early 2018, and Denis was there with Blade Runner. I remember I was trying to put myself in front of him as much as possible and set up a meeting with him. We had a night at the BAFTA where one of my good friends, Stéphane Bak—who’s also an actor—saw Denis across the room and was like, “Hey buddy, he’s right over there.” So, we went over to talk to him. I kept trying to put myself in front of him, but I didn’t really get a sense of the possibility [of working with him].

I was about halfway through the book when I got the call that he was going to be the president of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival, and I was in London prepping The King. He asked me if I could come out there, so I quickly busted through the second half of the book as best I could. So, like, the first half of my copy is properly annotated and full of my thoughts, and then the second half I just raced through. And then I had that meeting with him, and it was such a joy.

I’m struggling with this even now, as I’m working with Paul King [on Wonka], because he’s another guy I have huge respect and admiration for, and it’s hard to feel on a level. Not that you ever are, because as an actor you’re a cog in the machine, and you’ve got to be humble to the vision of the director. But with Denis, he was pacing around the room, throwing ideas around, in some fancy suite in Cannes, and all I could think was that a year before I was just sat on a stoop on 9th Street in the East Village or something.

DEADLINE: Was that your first time in Cannes?

CHALAMET: Yeah. Well, bizarrely, my sister would do dance camps growing up. Ballet intensive programs in a town called Mougins, which is nearby Cannes, so I spent a lot of time there growing up, but never during the festival, and not on the Riviera. To get to be there for the festival was just nuts. I went to see the Romain Gavras movie, I think, and it was just a huge joy.

I got attached [to the role in Dune] a couple of months after that, and it was nerve-wracking from the announcement, because like I said before, the fans of the book, and the fans of David Lynch version, the computer game, and everything, there’s so much love and strength of feeling. And so much of our pop culture and films and books have been derived from Dune, and all the philosophy the book. I’ve been shocked to learn how many people have a next-level connection to the book. I compare it to how our generation grew up with Harry Potter, and that one makes sense to me. But it’s cool to see with Dune also, when you actually sit down and read it… It’s not that it’s a quote-unquote “hard read” or anything, but it’s not made to be consumed easily, I think that’s fair to say.

So, I was grateful to be working on something of this size not only with Denis Villeneuve leading it, who between Polytechnique, Incendies and Prisoners had nailed the smaller indie film across languages, and then had nailed Arrival and Blade Runner, but who, in his own words, he didn’t feel he’d made his greatest film yet. But also, to be working with this cast. I don’t know if there’s some nightmare version of a film where a young lead is not supported by the rest of his cast, where every one of them had been the leads in their own huge projects. But on this, everyone was there to support, and I think it’s because we all wanted to be foot soldiers for Denis, and I think we understood the potential, based on the script by Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts and Denis, that this could be something really special.

DEADLINE: I don’t have a connection to Dune; this movie is really my first experience of the story. What strikes me is this is clearly an enormous universe—a broad canvas being painted with various families and factions and politics and mythos—but that ultimately it comes down to very elemental, human themes, and we feel them through this character you play, Paul Atreides. Did those themes help ground the experience for you?

CHALAMET: Yes, and I would give the credit entirely to Denis. He would constantly say on set that he had some opposing drumbeat or something. In my diminished intellectual standing, I didn’t understand it, but it was like some vision for the movie based on how biblical the book is that tries to tackle so much that it doesn’t tackle anything. I think he felt the need to be close to a character in it, and Paul is that guy in the book. He’s a character that is still in formation, like a lump of clay, which makes him a great figure for the audience to mirror off.

It speaks, I think, to Denis’ premonition and his directing ability that there were times when we’d move on from a shot or move on from a scene, and I swear, literally, we’d go back because Denis wanted to get something over my shoulder, or push in on my reaction, just to make sure [it stayed on Paul].

And again, it’s something where I’m pinching myself. I had the best time on Interstellar, and that was one of my favorite films I’ve ever worked on, but it was very much something where I was aware of when I had the opportunity to do real acting. And on a movie like Dune, again, one could think it would get lost in the scale and scope. But I felt every day like my plate was full.

DEADLINE: One of those themes is fear, and Paul must overcome his to become the person he needs to be. When you are number one on the call sheet on a project of this scale, and the cast list reads like an address book of Hollywood in the 21st century, and Legendary has injected hundreds of millions of dollars into this production, and it’s all falling on your shoulders, I have to imagine fear is a theme you can readily relate to.

CHALAMET: Oh yeah, and they can bleed into each other for sure—not to diminish the other work that goes in. It’s great when your life experience can inform the role. That’s not at all to say I’m on some crusade in the universe or anything, but definitely… And I had that same good fortune with The King I think. My life is not nearly as significant or as exciting as Paul or Prince Hal, but we all share an unwitting needle in the haystack feeling. On The King that feeling was because I was so new to having a career. On Dune it’s because of, as you say, just feeling the pressure of the hugeness of the project in all those different ways. Those things can absolutely inform each other.

And then there are the moments of glee that come, too, like seeing Jason Momoa running at you at a hundred miles an hour, or just getting to shoot the shit with Josh Brolin, or getting to do a scene with Oscar Isaac. I felt so supported, whether it was Rebecca Fergusson or Charlotte Rampling. When Zendaya came, it was a total breath of fresh air, and she’s one of my favorite parts of the movie. I just got really lucky, and I can’t wait to see them all in Venice.

Denis split the book in half, and the hope is a second movie will get a greenlight. That’d expand Zendaya’s role in the story.

CHALAMET: Definitely, Chani will play a huge role in the next film. I don’t know if there’s a script yet, but just based on the book, along with Lady Jessica [Rebecca Fergusson], they have a lot to do together, let’s put it like that. And Zendaya was incredible in this movie; the moment she pulls the mask down, it felt properly showstopping and powerful. I was hiding behind the camera, counting my lucky starts, because I was there in month two of the shoot and here was a total powerhouse just coming in for the first time.

And as I said before, this was before I’d seen Euphoria and Malcolm & Marie. She’s doing such incredible work and is just trailblazing her own path, and she’s so, so cool. She also happens to be in the most-watched trailer of the moment, too, for Spider-Man: No Way Home. I cannot wait for that movie, and I was there, by the way, with everybody else, clicking through the trailer frame by frame looking for clues [laughs].