#yes i know she is very much so and that's part of her charm y'know

[sheyshen]

it's finally not horribly hot out so i doodled a little and took the chance to practice drawing kids a little. so bout 6 years post EW kiddos. Bella Baelsar age 5, Wilred Waters age 6, and Blair Borel age 16 (does she get the de in there if she's adopted??? man i dunno)

[eva-of-the-sea]

Y'all ever notice that Fujiko receives a disproportionate amount of hate in the fandom? I'm sure it's something we've all seen, especially if you're a fan of her, but I don't really see it discussed.

I'm bringing it up now because for the past couple of months, I keep running into new fans that are very vocal about disliking her. And while I understand that everyone has their preferences, the reasons they give for why they hate her bother me the most:

"She's a bitch, she's so awful to the poor guys and especially to Lupin."

"She's a slut. She's constantly using her body to get what she wants."

"She betrays the gang so much it's annoying how she always does the same thing."

"It's the writers' fault for making her so unlikable."

While I partially understand one of these points, some of these other ones confuse me.

Fujiko is a character that looks out for herself. She goes into every heist with the thought of "what can I get out of this?" And despite this, she's been shown many times to care about all of the gang. Yes, even in part 2 where folks usually base their hatred of her off of. This is because she is a multifaceted character that isn't just driven by a single motivation.

"But Jigen and Goemon hate her!"

Do they? Because while they do get mad at her shenanigans, we also see them going out of their way to protect her and comfort her. Hell, Fujigoe is a common canon occurrence! Do you really think Goemon would be dating her if he didn't like her? Or that Jigen would be pushing her out of the way of bullets or shielding her with his body if he didn't care about her? Being mad or annoyed with someone's actions aren't the same as hatred. No one ever points out how they get mad at Lupin, and I'd argue that happens more often!

And on the point of her being a slut...where? I'm genuinely confused with this one. Fujiko does use her beauty and charms both to manipulate rich men into giving her treasure and to get out of dangerous situations. That's kind of the point of her being a femme fatale. But how often does she sleep with the people she manipulates? Most instances I can think of, she knocks them out when she gets that far. In fact, I would argue she doesn't seem to be that interested in having sex at all. Do they count her flirting as being slutty? If so, c'mon. And even if she did sleep with her targets, why would this be a bad thing? Are women characters not allowed to have sex? And again, how come Lupin doesn't get the third degree for HIS sluttiness. In fact, I see people joke about it and celebrate it if anything.

On the point of her betraying gang, yeah it is very one-note and does get old. You know what else is very one-note? Literally the actions of every other character in the show. I don't see people complaining about Zenigata chasing the gang getting old. Or about Lupin flirting with every woman he sees. Or about Jigen and Goemon using the same weapons in the same way to get out of every situation. Y'know, maybe this is just a repetitive show! And tbh, the writing lately has been shaken up. The modern series doesn't really have Fujiko betray the gang much anymore. She's either off doing her own thing or she's working with the gang as a member of the team. A lot of people complain about parts 4-6, but I think this is one of the elements it does right.

And finally, on the note of "poor Lupin", I think this one pisses me off the most lol. The fuck y'all mean "poor Lupin"?? I think fans either forget or don't realize that Lupin is a pretty smart guy. He knows Fujiko is most likely going to betray him if he does something for her, the bastard LIKES IT. This is foreplay for both of them. In case you haven't noticed yet, both of them are kind of freaks lol. There's a reason that most of the time, Jigen and Goemon are mad at HIM. Lupin is not a poor sweet baby that needs protection from Fujiko. He specifically loves the chase, the constant push and pull of their relationship. She's an exciting challenge for him, he's a stable home for her.

While I agree that Fujiko has not always been written great in the past, and I'm sure a lot of that was due to misogyny, I think fans need to reevaluate why they criticize her more harshly than the rest of the gang. There's a lot of things she's done that the fandom deems unforgivable, yet the boys have done some of the same stuff without so much as a slap on the wrist. Lupin constantly puts them all in unnecessary danger. Jigen has made some really unsavory comments about women. Goemon has betrayed the gang more than once. And I don't see nearly enough discussion about how Lupin really used to push himself on Fujiko, to the point of it being uncomfortable sometimes. Like damn I'd sell his ass out too😬.

I think it all boils down to Fujiko being a woman. And as a woman, she has to work harder to please the fans. If she's too nice, then she doesn't really have a personality or a reason for anyone to like her. If she's too selfish, she's a mean bitch and everyone should hate her. What if people saw her as a character first? Because no she's not a good person, but neither are the rest of the gang. Their morals are all on a sliding scale of what works best for the plot. But damn she's a great character. She stands out on her own and really makes you remember her. She's so much more than "the girl" character, and I'm so grateful for that. I hope more fans come to this conclusion too.

[paigemathews]

Something that I feel a lot of fans forget when they get angry at Phoebe for refusing to help Cole in the Wasteland is that he's not just asking her to save him. Despite saying that the Source is gone, he very intentionally still asks her to be evil. That's not me being dramatic or anything either because that's very explicitly canon. Phoebe, even as a Charmed One, doesn't have the power to resurrect Cole. As a good witch, she just physically (magically?) can't; it's not something within her abilities. (Obviously, otherwise, she and Piper would've resurrected Prue.)

The only method that Cole gives her to save him is the Grimoire. Y'know, the book that requires you to be evil to even touch it, much less use it. That's not something that you can trick; she would have to become evil again to even use it. He knows that, even acknowledges it to Phoebe in the Wasteland. She literally tells him that she won't use dark magic again, acknowledging it as evil. Cole isn't like oh, forgot about that! No, he asks her if she wouldn't use it "even for us." He knows what that would entail and what that would require Phoebe to do.

That isn't even getting into what the spell itself would require. This part, admittedly, is speculation but with the Grimoire being the Grimoire and resurrection like that being so rare and difficult, I have a hard time believing that the spell or ritual wouldn't have involved killing innocents. (Personal headcanon is that the spell calls for at least one heart personally. We see with Tuatha in That Old Black Magic that she uses a human heart to disempower witches. Something much worse would logically be required for a resurrection spell.) Just asking Phoebe even retrieve the Grimoire, much less use it, is bad.

As for later, she is still planning on giving up her powers, so it's not as if she'll be able to discover some other method to save him. She won't be Charmed anymore. And while, yes, the Angel of Destiny gives them some time to make this decision, there's still a time limit on how long they can take this option. Maybe with more time, Phoebe would have been able to figure out a way to save him without the Grimoire. However, it'd have required her to stay chained to a destiny that she no longer wanted and give up the future that she, and Piper, wanted: one free of magic, pain, loss, etc. So, yeah, she simply doesn't have the time, resources, or ability to save him without the Grimoire (which still isn't an option anyways). And by the time that she and Piper decide that they want to remain as witches, Cole has already freed himself, so it's a moot point anyways.

I mean, genuinely, in this situation, what did people want Phoebe to do? She didn't refuse to save Cole; she literally could not save him from the Wasteland. (And this is without delving into the argument about if Phoebe should save him or is obligated to save Cole anyways, which is a completely different question involving their relationship, choices, and morality.)

[queen-scribbles]

Keeping Warm

Welp, wotr!Trinne/Lann have fic now. We all know what that means: the brainrot is here to stay. :D ---

The grey clouds overhead looked like snow, the threat given extra weight by the chill air, making this a horrible time to be galivanting around, but needs must. It wasn't like the demons would hold off rampaging until the weather was nicer. At least this clearing was semi-protected from the wind, though Trinne still shivered as she approached the solitary figure sitting a ways off from the fire. She bit back a grin.

"I want a rematch," she announced without preamble, playfully twirling the quarterstaff she held.

Lann's head snapped up from the longbow balanced across his knees, the half of his expression she could read torn between amusement and surprise. "Really? Now?"

"And have you kick my ass again, in front of our friends this time?" Trinne laughed, flicking a wrist toward where Seelah and Sosiel chatted, the former keeping half an eye on dinner and the latter clearing the components from his protection ritual. "Not a chance. Mostly I just wanted to see what your face would do if I asked."

He chuckled. "Mostly?"

She leaned the quarterstaff against a nearby tree. "Also wondering what you're doin' over here," she plunked down next to him, squeezing in to the left despite the wider space on his other side, "When the campfire is over there."

Lann shifted to give her more room, the lizard side of his face unreadable as always, but she was pretty sure the other half was pinker than a minute ago. "I thought my bowstring looked a little frayed after fighting those cultists earlier, wanted to check it over to see if it needs replacing or just maintenance." He ran a small hunk of beeswax along the length of the string. "I think it's alright for now, but working too close to the fire would dry it out and it would just fray that much faster."

"Okay, well, you could've thrown on an extra cloak," Trinne said as she cast an admiring look at his handiwork. "Gods know we have plenty. Or, y'know, even just a real shirt," she teased, poking the bare center of his chest.

"I'm fine. Also, almost done," Lann countered. He was trying very hard not to let her see the other half of his face, which, really, meant she didn't need to see it to know what it would show. "I wanted to take care of it tonight so I'm actually useful tomorrow without worrying my bow's about to break and take my nose out with it."

"Yes, you're plenty dashing without the added charm of a broken nose," she laughed, scooting closer again rather than call out the goosebumps she could see on his right arm.

He snorted. "Charm. Right."

"Hey, some people find them attractive," Trinne said with a shrug. "Me, I'd rather you stay uninjured. I like your face the way it is."

She hadn't quite meant to say that last part out loud, and heat rose in her cheeks. Lann looked down at the bowstring, preventing her from reading his expression, and Trinne swallowed a curse.

"There's something I don't hear every day," he deadpanned. "Usually it's shrieks or mothers hissing at their kids that it's rude to stare. Most aren't a fan of the whole stitched together look."

Less competition for me, then. Trinne bit her lip and just managed to hold that one back. "Their loss," she said lightly, bumping her shoulder to his. And lack of taste. It was only because she happened to be looking at his arms(looking, not ogling, much as archery did wonderful things for your arms and, well. She had working eyes) that she caught the faint shiver. "Maybe we should do a rematch."

Now he did turn to shoot her a questioning look for the abrupt shift.

"Maybe hand to hand this time so your 'stunning warrior maiden' can pick up some tricks," she teased, despite knowing that would likely end with her on her ass even faster; at least with a quarterstaff she knew what she was doing. (though not as well as him, clearly.) "At the very least it'll get the blood flowing and be a good way to keep warm."

Lann shook his head and laughed. "Trinne, I told you, I'm fine."

"Well, maybe I'm cold," she countered. His scaled shoulder was cool against hers, even though their clothes. "Or maybe I don't believe you b'cause I saw you shiver, Lann."

"I'm also almost done," he reminded her, a flash of a teasing smile on his face, "or I was before getting distracted."

"Alright, I can take a hint," Trinne snickered. "Just... either throw on a damn cloak or hurry up an' finish so you can come sit by the fire. I think Seelah's almost done dinner. I'll save you a seat and some monster casserole." She leaned over to kiss his cheek before pushing to her feet and heading for the cheery campfire glow without looking back.

The wind was still chilly, the sky threating snow, but there was a warmth in her chest that made those much less of a problem than a few minutes ago.

[rinwellisathing]

Papa Bhaal's House of Horrors: Part 3

Jaina and Wyll glanced uneasily at the stairs as another group joined the table, first, a tall, lean muscled tiefling boy with silvery hair and tall golden horns dressed in denim and flannel, albeit a bit more scant and tattered than Sarevok or Gabraela. He was clinging to the arm of a tan skinned, dark haired man in gold jewelry and flashy clothing and behind them, an imposing white dragonborn followed buttoning his white collared shirt. He was professionally dressed, but his red eyes had a bestial glint to them. “Why, brothers! So good of you to finally join us!” Tomi gave her dazzling false smile again. “Oh and Enver! I had no idea you were joining us for dinner tonight. Come, sit down, there's space. Have you met our other guests yet?” She nodded towards Wyll and Jaina. The tiefling gave them a quick once over and a nod before returning his attention to the human and sitting him down at the table before scooting in right beside him. The Dragonborn's eyes flashed dangerously, almost hungrily, at the guests and then joined his two companions, those predatory eyes still focused on Jaina and Wyll. Wyll cleared his throat and forced a smile. “Well, you...ah...have quite a large family, it seems. That's a good thing in a house this big, I'd imagine it'd get quite lonely otherwise.” “Oh, we have plenty of guests coming and going.” The beautiful woman in the long white coat smiled, neatly rising from the table to fetch a bottle of wine from the counter and beginning to pour a glass for each of the adults, causing Orin to roll her eyes and pout. “Our house certainly is never quiet.” Tomi added as she carried a tray of heavily seasoned meat over to the table and began to serve. “We all see to that.”

Enver chuckled a bit and took a sip of his wine before meeting Wyll's gaze. “So, young man, what brings you and your charming companion out to the middle of nowhere at this time of night?” “We were on our way to Baldur's Gate for some business, my fiancee is starting work at a local school there and I'm starting work for my father...” He explained, nodding his thanks briefly to Tomi as she served him. “Ah, I see. It's a great city, lots of money to made, fabulous night life. I'm surprised you decided to stop.” Was he smirking? “Actually, our car broke down...” Jaina admitted. “Well, a wheel popped and we flipped into a ditch, really.” She gave a nervous chuckle. “Not surprising, these roads are just terrible.” The young tiefling grinned widely, his tail flicking back and forth. “They don't do shit for us out here in the sticks, y'know...there's pot holes, debris...Who knows what else.” “Yes, well, we're very lucky we ran into your brother.” Wyll nodded uneasily, the tiefling's smile was unnerving. “Hmmph...lucky you didn't run into Judge Ketheric's crew, woulda found yourselves in a whole mess of trouble.” Jackal smirked with a laugh. “Sheriff Z'rell doesn't need much to find a charge to pin on tourists and then you'd be spending your night in lock up.”

“Or worse...the Mad Devil.” Sentry chimed in, his grin widening. “Sentry please! You don't need to be frightening our guests with wild stories.” Desdemona gave him a chastising look as she set down her wine glass. “The Mad Devil?” Wyll asked, raising a brow.

Enver picked up the story here with a solemn air. “I'm afraid that story is entirely true, actually. She was a former employee of mine, security personnel, you understand. Coming out here from the city to do some good for the people here, I was leaving the comfort and safety of tall, secure buildings for a simple trailer office and I needed some measure of safety, after all, local law enforcement hates the idea of their victims having an advocate of their own. Her name was Karlach Cliffgate, eager, excitable thing, but highly capable.” He took another sip of his wine. “But she had a bad heart. A genetic condition, you know, and because she was a dear friend and a valued employee, I saw to it that she had access to the most cutting edge treatment. It worked spectacularly...But, unfortunately, something went wrong during her recovery and she claimed that her heart was burning. Over time, she lost her mind and ran off, killing several people in the process. No one has seen here since and rumor has it, she's still hiding out somewhere in one of the abandoned parts of town.” “Yup, and if you run into her, she comes at you with a fireman's axe and cuts your to pieces, they say she needs to eat your heart to cool hers down.” Sentry smirked ghoulishly, tearing into a piece of meat for effect. ---- Alfira stood by the window of her small apartment attached to the radio station, brushing her long hair. Her eyes stared out across the town, but her mind was miles away, back at the school she'd left just a year before. Gods, she could still smell Lihala's blood permeating through the music classroom. She could still see her mangled body, pieces tossed hap hazardly across the room, innards strewn across the floor. She had only been gone maybe an hour before she realized she had left her bag with all of her songbooks in it in the classroom, she'd just come back to get it and she'd stepped into the scene of a massacre. She hadn't been the one to call the police, she assumed someone heard her screams and called. Because all she could remember was that she had screamed and the world around her had been a blur, she was only dimly aware that she had stopped screaming when a woman laid a blanket over her shoulders and guided her away from the scene for questioning.

Ultimately, the murder had been chalked up to some crazy obsessed with the cult of Yeenoghu, gnoll fur had been found as had a symbol, but it didn't matter. Either way, her teacher was gone and Alfira didn't feel safe anymore. With no real reason to stay, she had returned home and taken a job at the local radio station, but at least back home she had Lakrissa to welcome her back and keep her company. Well, that was mostly a good thing, apart from Lakrissa's obsession with the idea of some local cult making tourists disappear. Hells, Alfira could only hope her partner was wrong as she took a sip from the still-warm mug in her hand and turned to look at the bed where Lakrissa lay lazily flipping through static-y channels on the small TV. “There's one of those dumb romantic comedies on if you need a laugh, babe.” She smiled, patting the spot beside her on the bed. “You know, you can watch a horror movie if you want, Lakrissa, I can handle it.” Alfira smiled gently. “After all, they're all very obviously fake.” “You don't have to put on a brave face for me, you're allowed to have things that bother you.” Lakrissa replied. “Now come on, let's relax a little, you've got an early broadcast tomorrow.” Alfira nodded and joined her partner in the bed, placing her mug on the bedside table and snuggling in under the blankets, resting her head on Lakrissa's shoulder, savoring the pleasant warmth of her skin and the soft cotton of her sleep shirt.

----- As dinner concluded and the table was cleared, the family began to leave the table, Sentry preparing to wander off with Enver again, but was stopped by a sudden look from 'father'. “Boy, it's your turn to take the trash to the incinerator. Do it now, do it quickly.” Sarevok's expression brooked no argument, yellow eyes intent and commanding, mouth set in a stern growl. The tiefling rolled his eyes, raising his hands in mock surrender as he took a few steps back towards the large, tied up bags in the far corner of the kitchen.

“Right, fine, okay, whatever.” He replied. Then he looked to Enver with a grin. “I'll catch up with you later.” He winked coyly before turning to pick up the bags and begin his task. “It's quite alright, dear Sentry, I have work to finish up back at the office.” The human inclined his head with a chuckle. “Do stop by later if you're out and about.” And with that, he made his exit through the kitchen side door, making his way down the drive to his car. He stopped a moment, reaching into his pocket and producing a cigarette and placed it between his lips before raising a gold lighter with an emblem of a clawed black hand on it and lighting it, taking a long drag and leaning against his car. Sentry paused a moment, laying the bags down at his feet, looking in the direction Enver had gone and grinning broadly, losing himself in the moment before being yanked out of his thoughts by an adamant clearing of someone's throat near his knees. “Young master,” When Sentry looked down, a diminutive figure in a neatly pressed white shirt, black slacks, and suspenders peered sternly up at him beneath a black hat decorated with bones and teeth. “I do hope you aren't allowing this ill bred fellow to distract you from your duties.” “Hey, I have time for some fun too. You know, your work suffers if you don't take breaks every now and then.” The tiefling protested. “Maybe you need a hobby, Fel.” The butler's brow wrinkled with concern. “My dear boy, I only worry that this fellow will sour the bond you share with your family! It is a special one after all. And one that your father feels is oh so very important to his diabolical purposes.”

“Well, so far dear old dad's never been disappointed with the offerings Orin and I make, so I must be doing something right.” And with that, the young tiefling hoisted up the garbage bags again with some effort and continued his path to the incinerator before the butler could continue, leaving the impish being to carry his groceries into the house.

---- “Oh thank you, Sceleritas. All these unexpected guests lately have done a number on our stores.” Tomi beamed, accepting the brown paper bag Fel placed beside her. “Oh and you even managed to retrieve my samples from the post office. What ever would we do without you?” She laid out her things across the counter and began to sort them, turning away from the sink, which was filled with soapy water with just the slightest unsettling tinge of red to it. “Naturally, ma'am.” Sceleritas inclined his head reverently, retrieving the remaining bags and continuing with his deliveries. He passed by the living room where Orin sat in front of the TV, focused on one static-y horror film or another with eager eyes. Gabraela sat wordlessly on the battered couch behind her, hands rested on her knees. He walked by the breeze way where he could see Jackal carrying some raw, skinned portions of meat out to one of the many freezer chests in the shed, the drow's footfalls surprisingly inaudible despite his heavy work boots. Desdemona met him at her laboratory door with a wicked smile as he placed a discreet brown paper bag with several wrapped parcels in it at her feet. “These will do nicely. My contact back in The Gate outdid himself this time, it seems. Remind me to find something nice to wear next time I pay him a visit, will you?”

“My dread mistress, consider it done.” Fel gave her a sweeping, genteel bow before again picking up the final bag of shopping and turning to head back up the stairs. As he made his way towards the house's second largest bedroom, he passed one of the usually empty guest rooms and paused a moment, pressing a long, pointed ear to the door and smirking as he listened to tonight's house guests going about preparing for bed. “There's something weird about these people, Wyll...I'm starting to second guess staying here.” The woman's voice sounded frightened, Fel shuddered with excitement at that fear. “I know, but if we leave, we'd be contending with the cold and the dark and they still might follow us. I guarantee they know these woods well enough that catching us wouldn't be a challenge if they wanted to.” The man replied. He was trying to sound calm, but Fel caught the slight hitch of tension in his breathing. Tonight's sacrifice would please The Master for certain. He stepped away from the door and picked up the back again, finally reaching the door to Gary's room, where he knocked almost reverently. “Oh my rotted master, I have retrieved the things you requested from town.” The Dragonborn opened the door slowly, red eyes lowering to the bag on the floor and his reptilian maw curled into a grin of jagged, red stained white teeth. He collected the bag and nodded to Fel. “Thank you, Sceleritas. Remind Sentry to stop by before he heads into town...” He paused a moment and thought. “And why don't you and Tomi see if our guests could use a night cap? I think it would do them good.” He smirked as he turned to retreat into his room.

“Right away, Master!” Fel took a knee, head bowed with utmost respect as the Dragonborn closed the door, leaving him alone in the hallway again.

[dani-ellie03]

RI Comic Con 2024 Bits and Bobs and Pics

Yes I know it's now a week later but, y'know, stuff happens sometimes.

-If you ever have the opportunity to meet Matthew Lillard, please do yourselves a favor and do so. He is just the nicest guy. He walked up the autograph line giving high fives. During this little jaunt, the woman in front of me told him she loved him. He hugged her and then told her she had terrible taste in men. He was giving everyone hugs so when it was my turn, I asked if I could give him a hug. He told me to hug the hell out of him. :) And he gives phenomenal hugs. Just a lovely man who enjoys meeting the fans.

-I met Skeet Ulrich, you guys! I have liked him since The Craft! He is also a lovely man who is very personable and easy to talk to and also greeted me with a hug. (*swoon!*) I brought my Jericho DVDs for signing, which he seemed surprised to see. We had a little chat about it, haha.

-I also met Rose McGowan because like, Charmed. She is also lovely and surprisingly tiny! Paige looks taller, I guess. Anyway. What was really amusing is that most people were coming to her with Scream or Charmed memorabilia but then I rocked up to her with my Once Upon a Time book (because wee Cora!), haha. She was impressed with how many autographs I had in it. :)

-Jennifer Morrison was there so you know I had to go say hi. She was her typically lovely self and we had a nice little chat about friends getting other friends hooked on TV shows, haha.

-Right next to Jen was Soleil Moon Frye, who I had to meet for six-year-old me. I told her I was sure she had been hearing it all weekend, but Punky Brewster was such a large part of my childhood. So much so that I remember being in first grade and playing Punky Brewster on the playground and dressing as Punky for the Halloween dance/party thing in second grade. She was really appreciative and I really don't think she had been expecting the warm reception she would get from the fans. She seemed genuinely touched. She also had pretty much every color marker under the sign for autograph signing, which amused me because how Punky!

-This was also the first year I did selfies at the table as opposed to the pro photo ops, mostly because my gallery wall is pretty dang full at this point. Honestly, I think I like the selfies better! You get more time with the actor and they're less rushed.

Here be my selfies and a pic in a model DeLorean:

[mrwoeful]

HENRI AND AUGUSTINE HEADCANONS PART 2!!!

caution warnings for:

Religious homophobia, internalized homophobia, and period typical homophobia. Child abuse, and violence me thinks.

No nsfw, not sure if that's good or bad depending on the reader LMAO but there is like. A hint of mild sexual themes.

Augustine headcanons -

Listen. He's a mamas boy through and through.

I really don't see him having a father figure, memes aside.

His boyish and childish nature comes from somewhere, and it comes from his mother sort of babying him, even as an adult. (although alot less so) he's not a man child, just,,, childish.

Which is not a bad thing, I love love LOVE childish characters!

Augustine has a charm to him that makes others attracted to him like a magnet. He was such a ladies man before he met his wife.

However his family was really religious and his mother had a habit of demonizing his father, Augustine never really met the dude at all, so he just takes her word on it.

His mother was very vocal of being against same sex relationships, saying she'd never know what to do if her little boy turned out to be a predator on other men. (Eugh, that kinda hits hard considering what he is now :((()

So anytime Augustine has any thoughts of being in a relationship with a man he'd shoot it down. Despite having romantic and sexual feelings for men. He'd repress those thoughts.

But a certain y'know who made him very welcoming of these thoughts. It took self convincing. At the time, his mother was dead. he didn't care if she was looking down at him with disappointment. Augustine really wanted a certain soldier.

He never felt so sure.

But he was a very outgoing and social man, confident and such. adding on to his Lambert charm. And as a child he is basically the same.

He is around 6'1-6'3.

Fuck it. He has freckles. Someone draw Augustine with freckles he'd look like more of a nerd that he already does,,, a buff nerd lmao

for some reason Augustine would be a really good dancer, wouldn't be surprised if the stalker tried to do a mating dance for Henri similar to toothless attempting to impress the light fury. (Search the reference up at least)

Yeah his body is really fit, he's a man trained for war, he has to keep himself fit.

his face doesn't really match his body, his face appears soft and a bit rounder, I just imagine Augustine have a bit of a baby face. (Compared to Henri you can see that Henri has a bit more angles to his jawline. Augustine has a much softer curve.)

He pouts if frictional games gave me Augustine lambert and said "give him more personality" you bet your ass I am.

However when drafted into war, he sorta forgotten all about god. He started to doubt if there even was one.

That's it for Augustine headcanons! Feel free to discuss them!! I really wanna know your Augustine headcanons! (I hope they aren't him being mean

Cracks fingers and they glow. Ok, henri. Cmere you twink.

Yeah he sorta lived with his dad his whole life.

His father was a harsh, cold and careless man and only cared for his son to like manly things. (He took that too literally)

Henri with daddy issues? Yes please. Run wild.

His mother is dead, she died due to a horrible illness when Henri was only four, and it took a toll on his father, making him lash out at Henri for anything he did that his father deemed wrong.

Henri was a very quiet and shy boy as a kid, his determination in his later life was not to be found until he'd be 13.

But his father decided that if he sent his son to war, he'd come back a man.

Well uh. Your son either has a badass monster boyfriend or he's a prisoner of war.

Pick your cards dude. Gay son or dead son.

knowing that this specific time period was violently homophobic,,, yeah.

As a teenager he actually figured it would be better not to try and mingle with others. When girls of all things attempted to speak to him he'd freak out. The only woman (or person) he hugged was his mom. And he was 4.

Henri is definitely antisocial. An introvert. An introverted scoundrel, perhaps.

However in war, a man named Augustine really helped him out of his shell.

He's not a good dancer at all please he'd trip so much he'd be so apologetic if he stepped on your foot 😭

My personal headcanons for Henri is that he's just.. really shy. Atleast when he was a child. But grew to like being alone. Other than his father being not... Very good at parenting, Henri managed to survive his stressful home life. But war can't really compare to it.

I'm projecting onto Henri no I am not ok :D

He is surprisingly not as twinkish you'd expect him to be, he's got a fair enough muscle on him. He's still pretty fucking hot tho imo.

This man has NOT RESTED. Has NOT EATEN. has NOT DRANK WATER IN DAYS. he is in such an unhealthy state in the bunker help him

He does lock himself in the generator room, turn off the generator and just make a makeshift bed and attempt to rest as best as he could. Luckily he got a whopping 3 hours of sleep that time.

i can't get blonde Henri out of my head please help

Also I'm sorry you say Henri has blue eyes yet his eyes are black in the photo STOP LYING HIS EYES R BROWN.

Anyways I think I just fueled the bunker fans with Henri with daddy issues.

Shit I'm gonna end this here I planned on giving them a fairy amount of headcanons.

But yes, please discuss! I love it when ppl actually interact with my posts, so it'd be nice for some input!

[bramblewatchescharmed]

s1e8 "Bug a Boo"

Thoughts after watching Charmed (2018) s1e8 "Bug a Boo":

For a show whose marketing was very pointed about Mel being a lesbian, it is, uh . . . Not a Good Look when it kills off a white gay man in an interracial relationship as the Victim of the Week.

It's also not a good look that all the cicada demons in this episode are played by Asian actors. Yes, there's a point to be made given the demons are running a dating app and one of them makes the comment on his date with Macy about Asian guys being statistically underrepresented and less likely to be chosen, but uh... that seems undercut with the reveal that he's, y'know, an insect demon.

Gods, the CGI for these bug demons makes them look absolutely disgusting and I am not here for it. Yeah the original had some questionable choices for demons and dodgy CGI, but Masselin was absolutely terrifying. Here, I'm just majorly grossed out.

Yeah, Parker and Maggie have been dating for five minutes so why is she talking about spending the summer with him?

Also, again, they've been dating for five minutes and he asks her for a plasma donation? (I know it's because she saw him shooting up and went with his cover story that it's a rare autoimmune disorder, which . . . I mean, yeah, you could say that, but ???).

Jada and Macy are the only likeable characters in this whole show, tbh. Jada's cool as fuck with her witchlighter powers.

Though it's kind of hard to take Jada seriously when she goes so very hard on the Mysterious Witchy Goth thing.

The Sarcana coven all in black, the Elder witches all in white . . . yeah, I'm saying it now: they're both very different types of cults, and Mel is a dumbass and manages to completely misunderstand both of them.

LMFAO at Mel walking into the Sarcana's lair and immediately being whacked upside the head with a wooden plank bc she walked in like a total noob. (She really is a dumbass, holy cow.)

I sorted at Galvin being hit by a car out of literally nowhere and that's how the episode ends.

Oh, for a rewrite of this whole season where the Veras have to figure shit out on their own and didn't go running to Harry and the Elders for every fucking little thing.

Though gods, as someone who is very gladly single, this episode makes me never want to use dating apps ever.

There is also way too much going on in this whole season thus far. I mean, you've got Mel still trying to figure out her mom's murder, the Elders vs the Sarcana, Fiona (Charity's sister), Maggie doing... whatever with her college campus and sorority, and Macy's subplots with Galvin and the university's genetics lab.

Actually, wait, I thought Macy worked for Hilltowne University as part of its genetics research lab? So why and how would a third-party company (Morningstar Biotech) move in and completely take over the lab? I don't remember if this was ever explained or not. (Yeah, the Vera-Vaughns vanquished the previous head of the lab/department, but still.)

"We all know you and Charity used to date," Mel tells Harry, except uh . . . outside of this episode it was never obvious that they used to be a couple, and the one time Harry/Charity do have a moment, it's when they're alone and the Vera-Vaughns are nowhere to be found. So how the hell does Mel know that Charity and Harry used to bang?

It's also never really made clear in this universe why witch/Whitelighter relationships are forbidden, but damn at Jada saying the Elders called her an abomination simply for being born.

Again, the Elders in this show are even worse than the Elder Whitelighters in the OG, and that is saying something, considering these Elders are all cis women / female witches.

I snickered at Hunter calling his and Parker's demonic dad "a three-thousand year old douche". This whole demon family is.... oooh boy, but at least Hunter sticks up for his younger brother.

"I'm still getting over my ex," Mel says while infiltrating the dating-app building on campus. Uh-huh, I'd have a better time believing that if she didn't literally only grieve for Niko for, like, five minutes.

[actualaster]

Major plot spoilers. Mentions of brainwashing (both fantastical and more realistic, including mentions of real-world manipulation in the instances of police and military worship). Mentions of medical abuse in the context of brainwashing.

Uh... also fucked up implications about brainwashing and picking a life-partner

Oh, also assisted suicide mention.

So basically the part of the story that is just dropping a TON of fucked up shit on you at once (most of it isn't new to the series, but wow that a lot at once), and connecting some of the fucked up dots you've found along the way

Agdhdhfjw

Aloy, commenting on a holo display: "they tried to make it look like these soldiers had a last stand against the dinosaurs"

Seyka: "that's ridiculous. ...Aaaand kinda awesome"

Seyka, starting to see what Old Ones liked about our patently ridiculous media premises XD

Aloy: "Do you think baby dinosaurs were cute... or scary?"

Seyka: "both?"

I love them both so much

OH. OH FINALLY. FINALLY A COMMENT ABOUT MACHINES.

Looking at a raptor holo Aloy: "Kinda looks like a Clawstrider"

Seyka: "They travel in packs, too. Huh."

I was wondering if somebody would comment on the appearance

(No, I don't count on the comment about a long-necked one being the size of a Tallneck because they didn't comment on the shape, and many things can be the size of a Tallneck)

...So. Sounds like Londra may be planning to clone his Quen devotees. Makes sense, his brainwashing worked pretty great on these ones but if he could have more of them raised with it from birth? Loyal followers forever, and so easy to claim it was by his benevolent power ones who died before were born anew.

...So possible implication that he's been using medical modification to brainwash the Quen, to a degree at least?

So he's got a brainwashing DEVICE, as well. He worked wonders using (false) charm on people who had suffered a lot, at first to indoctrinate them into his little cult to have devoted slaved and sacrifices for his goals and comfort. Then used the device for more complete brainwashing that would be less likely to have people still questioning things. Likely a combination of brainwashing recordings with medically induced altered consciousness states to increase susceptibility to the recordings, if the stuff found in the infirmary is any indication.

PLEASE let me put a spear in his face. Please. He deserves it I want to stab him so bad.

...Jesus fuck it was LIKE OFFICIAL BRAINWASHING??? "Muntiny Suppressiom Program" used on employees to ensure they didn't nudge asteroids being mined into destructive orbits??? I mean like yes real-world conditioning does very much happen, not just at companies but like state-sanctioned (look at the way cops are conditioned in the USA, look at the cult of worship built up around and through the USA military as well) so like y'know shit already happens.

And I guess it shouldn't be surprising in the setting they'd take it a step farther using more advanced tech to do it since that's the sci-fi aspect of the series. And of course the deniablity would be the same--"it's for safety, it's not brainwashing or mind control, it's just making sure they know (what we want them to know so they'll do or not do what we wish/don't wish)". But somehow it feels extra creepy even though it's legitimately just a logical progression of the kinds of things that already go on IRL

OH FUCK HE'S CONSIDERING USING SEYKA'S SISTER IN THE CONTEXT OF HIS BRAINWASHED MATE?! Jesus fuck it gets more fucked up without end

...Oh. I thought. Nova maybe wanted to be free. No, she. Wants us to kill her. Shell help us so we can stop Walter in exchange for killing her because she wants to rest. ;_; (not the first suicidal AI in the series, Minerva hit that as well in the main HFW story. But ouch)

Okay, back to lighthearted stuff for a moment, I did laugh when I backtracked go grab the last Dino figure and did the Dino Digits.

Seyka: "Did you have fun?"

Aloy: "...A little"

I love them so much

Olay back to the fucked rich asshole who needs to die because he's a creep.

"Crush you like an insect" he says before summing an Apex Slaughterspine.

Okay. While they're not the easiest machines to tackle I hunt them for sport so. (Obviously that was just a precursor)

DUDE WHAT THE FUCK HE JUST. LET A TERRIFIED INNOCENT GET CRUSHED. I mean yes he's a sick monster but come ON god I hope we kill him personally

Aaand that's a wrap for this segment. The Horus fight will be in the next one I bet. Do a quick check for sidequests and activities and stuff first though.

[mymainwastoocluttered]

Crewel and Crowley (seperately ) falling in love with female reader at first sight ?

Fluff plz

On Sight (Crewel, Crowley)

NOTE: I only write for female reader but everyone is welcome to read it!

— (⁠•⁠‿⁠•⁠)

— Crewel

Divus Crewel is not one for romance.

Specially the cliches.

His best friend Andrew married a musician and has one of those saccharine dream marriages and Divus wants to barf every time he visits

If it weren't for their absolutely adorable hundred pups, Divus would not dare step inside that house when Andrew's husband is also there.

So, why, oh why is he living the greatest cliche?

One look. All it takes is one look and he is back to being a middle schooler with a crush.

He feels like hugging one of his dogs and screaming on their belly. He's sure at least one of his lovelies would let him.

Crisis aside, Divus is not a man for hesitating. Once he accepts that yes, he has some strong feelings for the new Literature teacher, he's on the case.

Divus will make his intentions clear from the beginning to avoid misunderstandings and wasting time

I see him as being a heartthrob, but not overly flirty.

He is eccentric, however, and might go a bit overboard, like buying a way too big flower bouquet, or taking her to a very fancy place (that conveniently asks for an elegant outfit, and he just happens to have a good dress for her to wear), or buying expensive things she likes

He knows when to stop if she gets uncomfortable, but his love language is mostly gift giving. Man's loaded and loves the finer things in life, and he wants to pamper his soon-to-be girlfriend.

It all doubles when he takes her to meet his dogs and she falls in love with them as much as they do with her. That's all the evidence he needs to know she's the one.

— (⁠•⁠‿⁠•⁠)

— Crowley

This motherfucker –

Y'know how I said Crewel will be direct and to the point as soon as he gets through the initial crisis?

Dire Crowley is the opposite.

At the beginning, it's because he's old. This man is ancient, he probably has had his fair share of romances.

So when he looks at the new Languages teacher and feels the sparkle, he thinks it's a one time thing.

Yeah, she's attractive, what of it?

Except he thought wrong, and soon enough she is all he can think of

Doesn't help that they have to see each other regularly since they're both staff

Now it's because he just... He just doesn't know how to go about it

He's very frustrated. He did have a bunch of romances! Why can't he do with her the same thing he did with all the others?

(it's because this is actual love and not just a fleeting interest)

So now he's avoiding her because he's trying to figure out how to... Woo her. By avoiding her. Logik

At some point he kinda resorts to his crow part and starts bringing her small, mostly shiny trinkets. Look, he's trying, ok? Give the old man a break.

The more gifts she accepts, the more confident he gets, and he finally gets into the game, fully courting her with all the charm he thinks he has

He might actually start doing his best at his job just to hear her compliment him

Will not tell her they've been courting until he asks her out

[barry-j-blupjeans]

#50 Taakitz

50. “It's okay, I couldn’t sleep anyway.”

--

Kravitz was a liar. Not on purpose! Never on purpose, because when he tried to do that, it always turned out horribly. No, any lie that Kravitz had ever told was on accident. He just- couldn't stop doing them. After all, he had spent the last several hundred years going undercover for cases and that had gotten him comfortable with the concept of a lie. Even if he could make a convincing one by itself, his Charm Person work had gotten much smoother over the years.

But. But- Kravitz was a liar. Not a big lie, and not an important one, but one he sorely wished he hadn't said.

"Of course, I sleep," past Kravitz had said. "Why wouldn't I sleep?"

Because you have no functioning body systems, genius. And now he got to spend even less time with Taako because he had to go "sleep". Like a mortal. Ugh.

The Raven Queen had been endlessly amused by his struggles, which She always was. So instead of sending Kravitz on missions to make use of his valuable time, She sent him to his sad little apartment off the east wing of Her castle and told him to go take a nap. Kravitz very distinctly felt like he was being put in time out, like a self-deprived toddler, or a disobident dog going back into his crate.

It felt like it had been hours. Kravitz didn't know. Clocks didn't exactly work in the Astral Plane the same way they did in the Prime Material Plane. But at long last, something interrupted the silence of his empty bedroom. From his pocket- yes, he was napping with his suit on, so what??- his Stone of Farspeech started to ring. Kravitz was answering it before it even had time to ring a second time.

"Taako!" he said.

"Heyyyy," Taako said. His voice crackled a bit over the line. "You, uh, doing anything right now?" Kravitz opened his mouth to respond, but Taako cut him off with- "fuck. You said you were gonna sleep, weren't you? That's- that's my mistake, I'll leave you to-"

"It's okay," Kravitz said before he could stop himself. Lies, lies, lies. All reapers did was eat hot chips, kiss cute boys, and lie. "I couldn't sleep anyway."

"Oh," Taako said. He sounded a bit... off. Like he had a cold, or he had been crying. A selfish part of Kravitz hoped it was the latter because he didn't know how to deal with colds. "Well, uhm. I can leave you to that-"

"No," Kravitz said, sitting up in bed. "No, I- what do you need?"

"I was just like, wondering if you wanted to- to come over." There was a pause. If Kravitz's heart could beat, it would be going very fast right now. "Not like- not like a hookup, just, y'know, to hang out. And stuff."

"I can come over," Kravitz said, a little too eager.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Kravitz said. "Let me- let me get ready-" As if he wasn't already ready. God, he needed to stop lying. "And I'll be over in a few minutes. Can I portal into your room?"

"Yeah," Taako said, a bit more warmly. "Yeah, that'd be great."

"I'll see you in a few," Kravitz said.

"See ya," Taako said. The Stone flicked off. Kravitz carefully set it down on his bed before kicking his feet a little in delight. Taako wanted to see him again!! He had been a little worried because Taako had seemed rather down when he left last time, but he wanted Kravitz to come back!! He liked him!! Kravitz hadn't had anyone like him in- in, well, an embarrassingly long time. He had to stop himself from doing a little dance around his room.

(Okay, no, he did do a tiny dance on the way to his mirror so he could make himself look presentable. But no one had to know that.)

Kravitz waited what, again, felt like hours, but he counted to sixty three times in his head. As he got out his scythe, the presence of the Raven Queen filled his room and he worried, just for a moment, that She'd actually make him take a nap.

Instead, a raven from part of her flock appeared in a puff of black smoke on his bed. The raven flew up to his shoulder, something shiny between its beak. When Kravitz held out a hand for it, the raven deposited a shiny earring on his palm. The raven opened its beak again and the Raven Queen's voice boomed out,

"TO MAKE YOU LOOK PRESENTABLE, CHILD."

Part of Kravitz was mortified. The other part, the far bigger part, removed his current earring stud with shaking hands and put the new one on. He looked at himself in the mirror again- it did make him look rather charming.

"HAVE FUN ON YOUR DATE," the Raven Queen said.

Kravitz cut a portal into Taako's room before he could feel too embarrassed about that one.

[helloalycia]

my patient’s neighbour [five] // wanda maximoff

summary: Wanda decides to ruin your chance at moving on, which doesn't go down well with you.

warning/s: none

author's note: jealous!wanda is one of my favourite wanda’s 👀 also your comments/feedback always make my day so thank you so much! ♥️

part one | part two | part three | part four | part six | part seven | masterlist | wattpad

Meeting Anna's granddaughter wasn't something I'd ever imagined, since Anna rarely mentioned her unless it was to recall a memory that eventually made her quiet for the rest of the day or to make a snide remark out of annoyance. So, to have her here in front of us was definitely... new.

"What are you doing here?" Anna asked with disbelief.

Sasha blinked awkwardly. "I, er, got a call from the nurse. She said you'd hurt your back, so I thought I'd check in." Her gaze fell to Wanda and I. "I see you've got company."

"Sorry, we'll give you a moment," Wanda blurted, before looking to Anna reassuringly.

I did the same before eyeing Sasha suspiciously then following after Wanda into the hall. When the door closed behind us, I wondered what exactly would happen in there. To say I was overprotective of Anna was an understatement.

Taking a seat on the chairs outside her room, I became acutely aware of how stupid I looked in my trainers, Mickey Mouse pyjamas and raincoat. Especially when Wanda sat beside me, knee brushing mine.

"Do you want a drink or anything?" she asked suddenly, earning my attention.

I shook my head, crossing my arms and leaning back into my seat. "No, thank you, I'm good."

She hummed in acknowledgement but said nothing else. The awkwardness that lingered between us was overpowering, but nowhere near as overpowering as the scent of Wanda's shampoo that was drifting up my nose from how close she was sat to me. I tightened my crossed arms, trying to think of something else. Then I remembered what had happened in Anna's room before Sasha interrupted.

"What were you and Anna arguing about?" I asked, glancing at the witch.

She winced, but didn't look my way. "Nothing. Just neighbour stuff."

I smiled bitterly. So, she didn't want to share. Fine. No big deal. Who was I but her neighbour's carer anyway?

After ten minutes of waiting, we decided to head back inside to make sure Anna was okay. What we saw was Anna and Sasha crying happy tears as the latter sat at her bedside, clutching her hand.

"Damn, sorry," I apologised for Wanda and I, realising we'd interrupted a special moment. "We can–"

"No, we're done," Sasha said, wiping away her tears with embarrassment. "Sorry about that."

"Devushki (girls), this is my granddaughter, Sasha," Anna introduced, and I'd never seen her look happier.

As Sasha stood up and rounded the bed to approach us, I realised she seemed familiar because of the photographs I'd seen around Anna's apartment.

"It's nice to finally meet the two people who have been taking care of my grandmother," Sasha said, before putting out her hand.

I bit back from retorting with something along the lines of 'we wouldn't have to if you had cared for her yourself', and instead shook her hand. Wanda glanced at me, probably sensing the negative thoughts in my mind with her powers, but she said nothing as she smiled politely at Sasha and shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Wanda spoke, realising I wouldn't. "Anna talks a lot about you. I was hoping we would eventually meet."

Sasha sighed regretfully, smile fading. "Yes... well, I haven't been around as much as I should have been. I know that now."

"Took you long enough," I muttered under my breath, it slipping out without me realising.

Wanda shoved me in the arm in response and I frowned, rubbing the sore spot.

"You're right," Sasha said, looking to me apologetically. "But I'm here now. And getting that call earlier... it made me realise that I've treated Anna horribly. That's why I've invited her to live with me. To make up for lost time."

Certainly not expecting that, my jaw dropped with surprise. "What?"

Sasha sat back down beside Anna's beside and I exchanged startled looks with Wanda before looking to the older woman in question.

"No offence," I started, glancing at Sasha, before focusing on Anna again, "but are you sure this is the right move? It's not too sudden?"

Anna shook her head and grabbed Sasha's hand. "She wants me to be around her family. And I want it too, Y/N. I miss them."

I nodded, but chewed on the inside of my mouth anxiously. It's not that I didn't trust Sasha (okay, maybe it was a little), but I was scared for Anna. I didn't want her to get heartbroken all over again.

Be supportive, Wanda's voice filled my mind, and I looked to her to see her eyes fading from red to green.

I clenched my jaw. Stay out of my head.

With a bright smile, she ignored me and looked between the grandmother and granddaughter duo.

"I think that's wonderful, Anna," she said kindly. "I mean, of course I'm going to miss having you as a neighbour, but this is all you've wanted. I'm thrilled for you. And so is Y/N."

When she looked to me for confirmation, I felt a familiar anger in the pit of my stomach, only reserved for Wanda Maximoff. But this wasn't about us, this was about Anna.

"I am," I agreed, eyes flickering to Anna. "It sounds great."

"You can both visit whenever you want," Sasha said, nodding enthusiastically. "Anna loves you both so dearly."

"You can't get rid of us even if you tried," Wanda joked, flashing Anna a teasing smile.

Anna chuckled. "I knew you would both understand."

I smiled halfheartedly, glad that everything was working out for Anna but knowing I would miss caring for her greatly.

"We should leave you to rest," I said with finality.

"Thank you," Anna replied, and by the way she looked at me, I knew she was thanking me for a lot more.

"Get well soon," I told her in my 'nurse' voice that she hated, a playful smile on my lips. "I'll check on you tomorrow."

Anna nodded. "Tomorrow."

After saying an awkward goodbye to Sasha, I left the room and headed for the lift down the hall, not bothering to wait for Wanda. Thankfully, she must have known I didn't want to speak to her, as she didn't speed after me.

—

Since Anna moved in with her granddaughter, the last time I saw Wanda was at the hospital. Two more months passed and I had no need to bump into her at Anna's apartment since Anna didn't live there anymore. And the one time I visited Anna since she moved in to Sasha's house, Wanda wasn't present.

I guess it made it a lot easier to attempt to get over her. Six months since she broke up with me was long enough to move on, I think. I'd been on a few dates, none really going anywhere until Natasha decided to set me up with someone a few weeks ago.

It was a family friend of her Avenger's teammate, Clint Barton, and though it was a blind date, it actually worked out well. The woman was called Elise and she was very sweet and charming on our first date, having a similar sense of humour to mine and a killer smile. It was actually the first time since Wanda left that things felt like they were falling into place. We went on a few more dates, deciding not to rush things, and I found myself looking forward to going out with her.

It was a few weeks into our dating relationship when Natasha gave me a call, inviting me as her plus-one to Clint and his wife's vow renewal. They were having a whole celebration at their homestead in Missouri and Natasha figured I'd enjoy it, able to take a weekend break and join her at the lavish hotel she'd be staying in. And also because Elise would be there.

"Oh?" I said with surprise. "Elise didn't mention anything."

"She wanted to," Natasha said with amusement, "but she didn't want to bring it up in case you didn't want to go."

I quirked a brow, despite her being unable to see me. "And why wouldn't I want to go?"

Natasha hesitated. "'Cause Wanda will be there...?"

A sigh escaped my lips as I massaged my forehead. Elise knew about Wanda because it came up when she asked how Natasha and I became friends. She was actually really chill about the whole thing, which I appreciated, but I could only imagine how she must have felt knowing that Wanda would be at the vow renewal.

"You should still come," Natasha encouraged when I didn't say anything. "I already spoke to Wanda and she said she won't cause a scene or anything."

"I doubt that she would," I mumbled.

"She just wants you to be happy," Natasha finished. "So, be happy as my plus-one and get a cute date in with your girlfriend whilst you're there."

I tried to stifle the smile on my lips. "Elise isn't my girlfriend."

"Yet," Natasha added knowingly.

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Look, send me the details and I'll be happy to be your plus-one."

"Yes!" she exclaimed, and I could just imagine her fist-pumping like an idiot. "I'll see you then, Y/N."

"Goodbye," I told her, though a smile of amusement was playing on my lips.

After that call with Natasha, I didn't hesitate to give Elise a call, hoping I wasn't bothering her whilst she was at work.

"Hello?"

"Hey," I greeted, smiling to myself. "Is this a bad time?"

"Well, luckily for you, I'm actually just starting my lunch break," she said in a joking manner. "What's up?"

I scratched my head uncertainly. "Well, Natasha just called and invited me as her plus-one to Clint's vow renewal. She said you would be there, too, obviously, but I just wanted to check in and see if it was okay that I went."

I left out the part about her not telling me about it, but she seemed to pick up on it anyway as she breathed out slowly.

"I just don't want to step on your toes," I quickly added, before chewing on my lip.

"You could never," she said reassuringly. "I actually wanted to ask you to be my date, but I thought it may be too soon. Y'know, a vow renewal when it's only what, the sixth date in?"

"It's not too soon," I said, before adding, "I can just come as Natasha's friend and we don't have to make it a date."

"There's also the fact that your ex will be there," Elise added, and I frowned at the mention of Wanda. "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"It's been six months," I told her with certainty. "I'm as comfortable as can be."

She paused. "If you think you'll be okay, then I'd love to see you there, Y/N."

"I know I'll be okay," I said promisingly. "And I'd like to go and maybe see you, too."

She laughed quietly and it made me smile. "In that case, I guess I'll see you there."

"It'll be fun," I said knowingly.

"It will," she agreed. "And now I can't wait."

It was my turn laugh. "Me either."

And fun it was... along with many other words.

The day of the vow renewal came by quickly enough and as promised, I went with Natasha as her plus-one. She made it as enjoyable as she could for me which I appreciated, with the two of us getting first-class tickets which Natasha was happy to pay for, and checking in to a beautiful hotel for the weekend. And that was just the accommodation.

The actual vow renewal was a stunning affair, as Clint and his wife, Laura, had gone all out with decorating the homestead and it's fields in a traditional, romantic way. A flower arch stood front and centre, with rows of seats set out for guests. Bouquets lined the outside and lights were strung above and all around the trees which I could only imagine would look stunning once the sun set.

"They really went all out," Natasha said, impressed as she took in the scene before us.

I hummed in agreement. "It's beautiful." I glanced at her adding, "Bet you wish you brought an actual date now."

Natasha smirked knowingly. "What's to say this isn't one? This could all be a plan to steal you away from Elise."

"Because that makes sense," I played along with amusement. "The woman who set me up with her best friend's family friend is trying to steal me away from said family friend. Makes complete sense."

"True," she said with a shrug, walking forward. I followed her as she continued, "If I was trying to make a move, you wouldn't see it coming."

I tried not to laugh. "Sure, Natasha."

"Trained assassin, expert in espionage, master of lying and hiding in plain sight," she listed off her skills one by one on her fingers. Shooting me a knowing smile, she repeated, "You wouldn't see it coming."

I rolled my eyes playfully and the two of us made the rounds, myself reacquainting with the other Avengers whom I hadn't seen since, well, since Wanda and I were together. It was a little awkward, since I was never really close with them and vice versa, but they were polite and kind and made me feel comfortable (probably because of Natasha, which gave me yet another reason to be grateful to the redhead).

Eventually, it got to a point where Wanda was the next person to say hello to and I truly thought six months would be enough to get over her; oh, how sorely mistaken I was.

She was talking to Sam Wilson, the two talking about something or the other that was clearly entertaining enough to warrant a laugh from Wanda. As we approached them, the sound of her laugh taunted me, melodic and dancing around my ears like a terrible reminder of what I couldn't have.

They spotted Natasha and I soon enough, their conversation ceasing and Wanda's laughter silencing as her eyes met mine. I tried not to let her effect me, but it became increasingly different when I noticed how beautiful she looked today, wearing a maroon-coloured dress and wearing her brown-red hair down in curls. Of course, all of that didn't compliment the giant scar on her forehead.

"Y/N, it's so good to see you!" Sam exclaimed, trying to prevent an awkwardness from occurring. "How have you been?"

I smiled his way. "I'm good, Sam. You?"

We talked for a little while, catching up, before Natasha decided to drag Sam away for a stupid, fake reason that was clearly said on purpose. Knowing I couldn't exactly stop her, I let her get away with it, figuring I'd have to face Wanda at some point.

"You look good," she spoke first, making me push a stand of my hair behind my ear to give my hands something to do.

"Thanks," I mumbled, before clearing my throat and meeting her gaze. "So do you. That's, er, that's always been your colour."

She smiled in response and I cursed inwardly, wondering why the hell I said that.

"You sound like you've been doing well," she said, referring to the conversation I had with Sam.

I nodded. "Yeah, I have."

A silence filled the air that none of us knew how to fill. I stared at my shoes so hard that I'm surprised a hole didn't form. Wanda hugged herself, unsure whether to speak or not.

"What happened to your head?" I finally thought of something, nodding to the scar.

She subconsciously reached up to touch it, though she didn't seem affected by it. "Oh, nothing. Just happened in a recent mission."

I nodded uncomfortably, never responding well to when she got injured. But she knew that.

"So, Nat said you've got a date," Wanda said, and the way she said it made me think that maybe she'd been wanting to mention it for a while. "Elise, right?"

I swallowed. "Yeah. She's just helping the Bartons out with some stuff then I'll be seeing her after."

Wanda nodded, eyes flickering between me and the floor. "That's nice. So, is it new?"

God, this was awkward.

"Kind of, yeah," I answered, not even sure why. "It's not, like, exclusive, but it's nice to move on, y'know?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Oh, so you're moving on?"

I pressed my lips together firmly. She was watching me curiously, green eyes bright with intrigue.

"I'd hope so," I answered, cocking my head to the side and watching her. "It's been six months."

She nodded, looking down. "Yeah, okay... so you're not in love with her?"

I clenched my jaw. "Is that really any of your business, Wanda?" She didn't answer, so I straightened up and avoided her eyes. "I should go. Ceremony is going to start soon."

Walking away, I left with tense shoulders and more nerves than when I headed in. She had no right to be jealous. She left me.

I found Elise just before everybody was told to take their seats for the ceremony. She apologised for missing me before, mentioning how she was helping Laura with getting ready, then proceeded to shower me in compliments which sent me into a blushing mess. After catching up, we took our seats for the ceremony and waited for it to begin.

Feeling someone's eyes on me, I glanced to my left and saw Wanda sat on the other set of rows, but she was staring right at me, lips pressed together thoughtfully. I rolled my eyes and looked ahead, ignoring her stares. As if sensing my mood, Elise grabbed ahold of my hand gently, glancing at me with a small smile as if to check that was okay. I squeezed her hand in response, letting her know it was.

Are her hands sweaty? Because they look sweaty.

I clenched my jaw and shot Wanda a glare, seeing the amused smile on her lips as she watched me.

Stay out of my head, I told her mentally, knowing she was listening, before rolling my eyes. And her hands are soft, thank you very much. Yours are the sweaty ones.

Though it was a terrible comeback, Wanda lost her smile and rolled her eyes before looking away. I tried not to let her annoying self bother me as Elise and I sat together, watching the ceremony.

It was short and sweet and though I didn't know Clint and Laura too well, it was easy to see they loved each other very much. Their vows were beautiful and it was adorable when their kids ran up to them at the end to give them a giant hug. I didn't know much, but I knew that I'd love to have a love like theirs some day.

After the ceremony came the reception, and there were loads of tables and chairs set up for guests, including a stage and dance floor next to it, perfect for a nice celebration after the vow renewal. It was all wonderful and I was excited, until I learnt that I was sat on the same table as Wanda.

Me, Elise, Natasha, Sam, Wanda and Bucky Barnes were all sat at the same table, which definitely didn't help with the awkwardness as Wanda eyed me from across the food. I tried to ignore her presence and focus on having a great time with Elise. Natasha promised that Wanda wouldn't make a scene, so I just had to believe her.

"So, what can I get you all to drink?" a waiter said, stopping by our table.

Everybody told him what they wanted and when he looked to me, I shrugged.

"Literally anything is fine with me," I said, before quickly adding, "Well, anything except gin. Not a fan of gin at all."

The waiter nodded and smiled politely. "I'm sure I can get you something good without gin."

I returned his smile as he nodded to us all once more before walking away to get our drinks.

"So, what did you think of the ceremony?" Elise asked, giving me her attention.

The two of us erupted into conversation, as did everyone else, and I was genuinely having a good time with her. The food was good, too, as were the drinks when they arrived. But the one problem was Wanda bloody Maximoff who couldn't keep her eyes away from me and was agitating me with her mere presence. I tried so hard to ignore her, but God forbid my eyes flickered over to her and she was already looking my way.

After a delicious meal and lovely conversation with the others, everybody began to get up and mingle with the other guests. I took this as my chance to steer away from Wanda and instead catch up with Natasha and hang out with Elise, who got on with everyone wonderfully. Sadly though, she had to keep nipping away to help the Bartons with some stuff for the party, but I didn't mind. I figured that was also part of the reason why she didn't invite me as her plus-one, so I didn't take it personally.

About an hour into the celebrations, I was mid-conversation with Natasha when we were interrupted by Wanda. I rolled my eyes as she looked to the redhead questioningly.

"Have you seen Clint around?" she asked. "Laura wants me to take everything from the gifts table inside and I need the key."

Natasha pursed her lips, shaking her head. As her eyes looked around for him, she said, "I'm not sure where he is..."

Before either of them could come to a conclusion, Elise appeared by my side with an apologetic smile and a drink in her hand.

"Hey," she greeted, squeezing my hand gently. "Sorry for ditching you before. I had to make sure the bar didn't run out of alcohol."

"It's all good," I told her with a small smile.

"I got you this gin cocktail to make up for it," she said sweetly, making me eye the drink like it was a bomb.

Wanda snorted suddenly, making me look to her with a glare. She tried to hide her laughter behind a smile as she looked the other way, though that didn't stop her from commenting in my mind with her obnoxious, intrusive powers.

Real good listener this one. Didn't you say you didn't like gin earlier?

I refrained from smacking her. Go away, Wanda.

"Thank you," I said to Elise gratefully, accepting the drink. "It looks great."

"Oh, I think I see Clint," Wanda said, before shooting us all a smile I'd love to punch. "Catch you later."

"See ya," Natasha said, as Elise waved and I rolled my eyes.

—

Dancing was fun and I liked to think I was good for an average person. So, when the DJ put on some fun music and encouraged guests to have a little dance, I immediately asked Elise to join me. Unfortunately, she wasn't exactly the most confident of dancers. She was adorably apologising as she held my hands, letting me take the lead.

"It's okay," I reassured her with a laugh. "You're doing fine."

But as she stepped on my foot for the millionth time, I could tell she thought she was doing anything but. I didn't mind though since it was amusing and cute all at the same time.

Be careful over there, Y/N. You may have been better off wearing some steel-toed shoes.

At the sound of Wanda's voice infiltrating my mind, I searched around me until I caught sight of the familiar green eyes over Elise's shoulder. She was stood to the side, entertained smile adorning her lips, as she watched Elise and I dance.

Why don't you piss off and mind your own business before I buy a pair of steel-toed shoes just to kick you with!

She didn't respond, so I focused my attention back on Elise and paused as something a little slower and more romantic played in the background. Offering an encouraging smile to Elise, I held out my hand which she accepted happily.

"Luckily, this one is pretty easy, so you might avoid bruising my feet," I joked to lighten the mood.

She flushed with embarrassment but let me pull her close as I took the lead. Subconsciously, my eyes wandered back to Wanda, who was now crossing her arms with annoyance and watching me with glowing red eyes. She had absolutely no right to be jealous. But I didn't care. It wasn't my business.

After sharing a lovely dance with Elise, the two of us took a seat at our empty table to have some water and talk. Of course, as we were chatting, our conversation was interrupted by none other than–

"Wanda," I got out through gritted teeth.

She grinned as she took a seat next to us, crossing her legs and resting her intertwined hands on her knees comfortably.

"I figured I'd introduce myself properly since we haven't really met before," Wanda explained, eyes dancing with mischief before she looked to Elise. "I'm Wanda Maximoff."

Elise smiled politely. "I'm Elise Fey. And I know who you are. A really impressive Avenger at that."

I narrowed my eyes as Wanda waved her hand dismissively. What was she playing at exactly?

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," she said bashfully. "But I guess, since you know who I am, it's only fair I return the favour. After all, you're here as Y/N's date, and as Y/N's friend, I thought it would be nice to get to know you."

"Friend," I repeated the word bitterly. "So, that's what we are now?"

Wanda chuckled, brushing off my words, before focusing on Elise. "So, what do you do, Elise?"

"I'm a veterinarian," she quipped proudly.

"How cute," Wanda said, tilting her head to the side and smiling. "How long have you been doing that?"

"Only a few years," Elise said, glancing at me with mild confusion. "It's a really rewarding job."

"I can imagine," Wanda said, before pulling a puzzled expression. "But wait, how does that work with you both? Since Y/N is allergic to pets an' all?"

Locking my jaw with agitation, I stared at Wanda's doe-eyed face. Elise looked to me with surprise.

"You are?" she asked. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I shook my head, smiling at her. "No, not really... I mean, well, rabbits. I'm allergic to rabbits. I didn't think it was a big deal."

"It kind of is," she said playfully. "What if I had treated a rabbit at work and then went on a date with you?"

I chuckled awkwardly. "Hmm, yeah, okay, maybe it's a little bit of a big deal."

She hummed disapprovingly before looking back to Wanda, who watched us both curiously.

"So, you work as a vet in New York?" she asked Elise, and I couldn't tell if she was actually interested or just trying to piss me off. When Elise nodded, she continued, "Are you from New York?"

"I'm originally from here actually," Elise said, motioning around us. "My family knew Laura's family before she married Clint. That's how I know the Bartons."

"Oh, so your parents still live here?" Wanda asked, leaning her head in the palm of her hand as she continued to question her.

"Yeah, not far from here actually," Elise answered with a smile.

Wanda nodded. "Cool... so how would that work, the whole visiting them thing? I mean, Y/N works a lot, right? And I assume you're close with your family. So, how does taking the time off to visit your parents work with you both when it's, like, 16 hours away?"

I squeezed my hands together to contain my frustration towards Wanda. Elise opened her mouth to respond, then closed it when she realised she didn't know how to answer. Her eyes darted to mine, asking for help, and I knew she was too polite to call Wanda out for her bullshit.

"We're still newly dating, Wanda," I answered through a fake smile. "We haven't even talked about meeting each other's parents, so it's not an issue right now."

"Right now," Wanda echoed my words, as if adding a double meaning. "But it will be in the future?"

I tried not to react harshly as I said, "That's not what I said."

Wanda nodded slowly, smirk tugging at her lips. Saying nothing more on the subject, she looked to Elise with dark eyes.

"It was lovely meeting you," she finished. "I'll see you around, I guess."

Elise nodded uncomfortably. "You, too, Wanda."

Shooting me a smile, she got up and left Elise and I sat there in mixed emotions. I was peeved at the Sokovian woman, not understanding why she had to try and ruin my one chance at moving on.

"I'm sorry about that," I said to Elise, a frown on my lips. "I don't know what the hell happened, but I definitely didn't expect it."

Elise chewed on her lower lip with thought. I waited patiently, wishing I knew what she was thinking. Finally, her blue eyes met mine apologetically.

"I don't think Wanda is quite over you," she said quietly. "And maybe you're not over her either, Y/N. At least not as much as you think you are."

I raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Elise, she's just being a dick to piss me off. It's not like that."

Elise winced. "I think it is. And honestly, you're a lovely person, but I just don't want to get involved in something like that right now."

I knitted my brows together with confusion. "What do you mean?"

She rested her hand on mine atop the table. "It's probably better we stay friends. Easier."

"Elise... c'mon. We just– we only just got to know each other." I frowned, feeling bad that she didn't want to see where this would go.

"For what it's worth, today was really fun," she said with a smile, trying to make light of the situation. "And every date we've shared has been fun, too. But I can't compete with the history you share with Wanda. And I don't want to."

I didn't know what to say, speechless, unable to understand why she was doing this. Taking that as her chance to leave, she leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek before standing up and letting go of my hand.

"I'm gonna leave early," she explained. "I hope you work stuff out for yourself."

I looked up to her, watching as she smiled once more before leaving me be. We'd only been dating a few weeks, I knew that, but I still felt saddened to know she didn't want to keep things going. And with the realisation that it was because of Wanda, my sadness was quickly replaced with anger. It always came back to her.

Scowl on my face, I stood up and knew one thing: Wanda Maximoff was dead meat.

[redjaybathood]

I kinda want Jason's relations with the all caste to be brought up more often y'know?

Yeah, for sure. A guy has magic swords and doesn't use them? Weak, boring, let's change that.

Especially if you make him go fight zombies. A flaming sword can both decapitate and burn zombies, which is traditionally the best ways to fight them.

Plus, All Acres have literal portal in any dimension, any timeline! How much fun you can have with that, huh?

Jason was an interuniversal traveler once, during Crisis on Infinite Earths. You can stipulate that he was chosen by Bob for a simple reason that he has experience with that. Maybe a part of his trials was doing exactly that!

It could be another Lost Days esque story, or Red Hood year zero, if you will. Any universe you as a writer want to explore, here's your chance. The genderswitch Earth, the middle ages, the crossover with Marvel again, the no powers verse... I don't know what are you into, but go wild.

Another way that would be interesting to me to explore his connection with All Caste is a cultivation novel. Xianxia is a great genre, and I don't know if it's possible to hire a Chinese author for a project like that, but if yes, that would be great.

I wouldn't make Jason the main character in All Caste centric story though, since Essence is right here. Maybe he could be a love interest.

Because as much as I love the possibilities that All Caste opens, the Chosen One story isn't exactly what I am looking for here; tbh, I find it a little more like Danny Rand's Iron Fist story? A white guy appears in Tibetan mountains, martial arts sect takes him in, he becomes the best fighter or in other ways the most important figure. In our case, Jason has a prophecy about him, and he frequently ends up being the only survivor of the sect, except Essence and Sar'u, whose survival is revealed later.

So I don't know if it will work, but I feel like it could, if you don't make Jason the major character. The prophecy? Isn't about him, it's mistakenly interpreted. The journey? Is Essence's. Who has to face what does she want, to succeed her mother as she always supposed to do before Jason showed up. Or to maybe leave the All Caste entirely, as Jason's appearance makes it clear that there's more to life.

And another thing: making Jason a love interest instead of the main character could help writers to display some of his best qualities, which are often forgotten nowadays. His compassion and empathy, his charm and sense of humor.

And another thing: yet again, we're shown that Essence is his ex but not the relationship itself. It's like it's just a formality: yeah, wherever he goes, Jason always gets his girl. Which, ugh. I dunno, show Jason be smitten with a woman who can run circles around him in terms of martial arts, and slowly capture her heart by showing her his own. Emotional vulnerability plus Jason Todd worshipping women as God intended!

Another thing: we get a lot of 'ancient and powerful male entity falls in love with a young and naive mortal girl' in the media, but where's the other way around? Huh? Here it is, I am telling you.

Wow. I didn't expect to feel so strongly about this ship. It is very frustrating in canon but, I think, if you put some thought into it and a little of elbow grease, you could wipe most of these frustrations away!

[dabiboy]

Hawks and reader are both virgins, doing it for the first time ! The mans busy, he hasn’t got a chance to smash yet 😆

I’m so so so so sorry this one took me ages 😭 I finished it just now, after like two weeks, hope you enjoy it!

[Warnings: NSFW, protected sex, virgin Hawks and reader, curses] Word count: 4343.

Free Fall 

''I really don't understand why did we have to travel all around the globe to see a suspect.'' You whined as you left the bags in the middle of Keigo's apartment.

''Commission rules, you know how they are kid. Can't tell them no'' Keigo walked across the apartment stretching his wings wide, it was lucky that he didn't break anything.

You and Hawks worked together, you were not trained by the commission but they were aware of your abilities, and decided that you and Hawks should work with each other. And that's how you ended traveling to California, but the guys they had checked was just a suspect, and it turned out that he had nothing to do with your case, so in order not to waste more time you had to fly back all the way to Japan. And there you were, feeling tired as hell in Hawk's apartment.

''I hate them so much'' You said again, taking your shoes off. ''Mind if I take a shower?''

''Go ahead, and you need it. You stink'' Keigo teased as he let himself fall on the couch.

You were not only working partners, but the two of you were also very good friends, trusting enough to ask him to get a shower. And even borrowing one of his shirts without asking him. So that's what you did when you got out. The bathroom was inside his room, so the first thing you saw when you got out was the large and comfy bed. Damn, you wish you could just lay there and have some good sleep. His bedroom was rather big, kinda messy but tidy at the same time, and it smelled like him, his perfume and scent. Maybe it was a bird thing, you thought. But it wasn't uncomfortable, on the contrary. It was nice.

After picking a random Keigo's shirt, you went back to the living room, and the blonde man's eyes went wide at your image. His shirt too big for your body, covering almost half of your thighs. Naked thigs. Maybe later you were going to ask him for a sweatpant.

"Earth to Hawks?" You called him with a smile by the third time. "You good?"

"What? Yeah, I just love that shirt" he could say.

"Oh, should I take it off? I don't mind"

"No, keep it on. It looks good on you" he scratched the back of his head as he stood up "I will take a shower too. Are you crushing here tonight or want me to fly you home? It is pretty late though"

"Oh, I'm not a damsel in distress, winged hero" you lifted an eyebrow "but I was thinking of staying, I feel too lazy to go out. Besides it is cold as hell" you pouted.

"Oh shut up" Keigo let out a low chuckle "Ok then, make yourself home" that was the last thing he said before heading to the bathroom.

The truth was, that things between you were kind of complicated. You had a crush on him, but you were good at hiding it. How could you not fall for someone like him? He was funny, caring, handsome, a bit of an asshole but that was part of his charm. However, you knew him a bit more than the rest. You had seen him worried after you got injured on a mission, or sad whenever he had failed. Or done something he wasn't proud of. You even knew his real name, but it was not common to call him like that.

But it thinking about it was not making things different. He was a busy man, and he should have an army of women behind him, there was no way he had the same feelings for you. You were just friends. That's it.

Minutes went by, and after drying your hair you went back to Hawk's room, it was about time to borrow those sweat pants. However, you got distracted when you saw the view from his room; the entire city shining at your feet. Your eyes went bright to at such beauty.

"What are you looking at?" A Keigo dressed in a tank top and grey sweatpants took you out of your thoughts.

"The city looks so pretty from here" you smiled "so many lights and colors. Don't you get distracted when you fly?"

"Yeah, sometimes when I'm just patrolling. Most times I don't even pay attention to it. To busy fighting the bad guys y'know" he laughed and stood next to you. ''It is not as bright as your smile, though'' Did he think his words? he didn't.

You felt your cheeks getting a bit red, what did he mean by that? He had it so clear. Since the day you walked into his office, he felt his blood rushing through his veins, the need to talk to you, to get to know you overwhelmed him. There was no way a jerk like him could get close to you. But it changed when you started working together, and it was as if two pieces of a puzzle finally found each other, working in perfect sync.

He looked back at you, a shy smile still plastered on his face. It isn't worth it to tell her how I feel, she must have a lot of guys waiting for her, Keigo thought. Or maybe he should risk it all, fuck it.

''Y/n? I-You'' He stopped ''You're the best sidekick I've had'' That was a compliment? You're an idiot, Hawks. He said to himself.

''Well, thank you. You make it easier though'' You gave him a sided smile as you left a strand of your hair behind your ear.

''Yeah, anytime'' Keigo smiled back at you.

There was a moment of pure silence between the two of you. His golden eyes were stuck on yours as yours were on his. You could swear he was analyzing every detail of your face, and you couldn't help but make your eyes take a little trip on his facial traits too. Smiles vanished as both of you realized what was happening, yet no one wanted to talk about it. Or let it out. Finally, Keigo parted his lips to let out some words but he got interrupted by his phone ringing.

''Shit, sorry. Gotta take this one'' He apologized, turning away from you quickly in an attempt of hiding his blush. He hated whoever was calling.

In the meantime, you let out a sight. It was the first time he had been so close to you, so close it was possible to see the definition of his stubble, a stronger color in his eyes, details that daily were unnoticed. Maybe you were crazy and those were hallucinations.

Getting away from your thoughts, you got closer to the big window, resting your hands on it as you look down drawn by the lights. But you had no idea that the window was not closed. Keigo left it open when he got out the last time. And there you were. Everything happened in a split of a second, the big window opening, you feeling the weight of your body being pulled down by gravity, Keigo ending his call and turning back at you. His eyes went wide and his wings puffed immediately.

That was it? That was the end of your life as a hero and as a human being? All those years of intense training were vanishing in a second. What the hell could you do if you were free-falling?

But there was one detail you forgot. Hawks was there.

His reflexes worked on time when he grabbed you by the wrist and pulled you back in with the help of his wings to get the right amount of strength. He couldn't lose you, not before telling you everything he felt.

You ended up falling anyway, but not from the last floor of the building. You fell right on the floor, over the winged hero who had you secure in his arms. Keigo's wings hurt when he fell with his back on the floor, but you were fine. That's all he cared about.

''Shit kid, you good?'' He asked you, panic still present in his voice as he looked at you.

''Yes, damn that was so quick'' You let out a nervous laugh, and waited for a few seconds for him to set you free from his strong grip. ''Uhm, Hawks? You can-You can let me go now'' This time there was no nervousness from almost falling, they were because of the little distance that was between the two of you, the way his hands felt on your back and how his body felt against yours. Suddenly, his body started shivering lightly, and the following words just slipped out of his mouth.

''No, I can't. I really fucking can't... Ever'' He whispered that last word.

''What do you me-''

''Fuck it''

That was all you could hear before he slammed his lips on yours. It was a messy and shy kiss, but you felt even dizzier than when you were about to fall. He tasted like mint, and the way his stubble tickled your chin felt amazing. Your lips moved softly against him, in an attempt to calm him down.

''I like you. I fucking like you, y/n'' He said, eyes pleading for a positive answer ''I can't let you go cause I don't wanna be away from you. I just can't''

''Hawks...'' You whispered ''I-''

''Listen, you don't have to say it back. I know you must have lots of guys waiting for you, and better than me. With normal lives and-'' This time, you interrupted him crashing your lips with his one more time.

''I like you too, and there's no one else'' You said when your lips were still slightly touching ''You never leave my head, Hawks''

If someone were looking at that scene, they could notice the tension from miles away. And then they would ask, why do they keep wasting time? Hawks lifted his head to kiss you once more, this time eagerly. His hands found home on your hips as you softly rested your hands on his chest.

You felt your heart racing, it was the first time you found yourself in such a circumstance. It felt odd yet familiar, you didn't want it to stop. Daringly and as if it was an agreement the kiss turned into a heated one, his tongue caressing yours with need but with shyness.

''Call me Keigo'' He whispered as he sat on the floor, wings wide open.

You tangled your legs on his waist, feeling totally unsure about it. Was he comfortable? Was it like that? Those feelings and emotions you were experiencing, were normal? Thousands of questions roamed through your head as you continued kissing him. And then you felt it again, his hands shivering on your hips.

''You okay?'' You asked him tenderly, a hand caressing his cheek.

''Yeah, it's just...'' He looked away, hiding from your eyes. ''I've never...'' His golden eyes were looking at you again. Embarrassed, shy, and even scared. ''Damn, this must be so depressing'' Keigo scoffed, drifting his eyes away one more time. However, you felt a relief inside of you. And you couldn't help laughing a bit awkwardly.

''It's fine, I... I haven't either'' You shrugged your shoulders, his eyes lighted up looking up at you.

''Really?'' you nodded ''We can stop it here, though. I can go take another shower and-'' You shut him up again.

''I want you'' a whisper left your lips, sending shivers down his spine. You could feel now his hard crotch against you and your cheeks turned red.

''Are you sure you want me to be your first?'' Keigo's voice was almost unhearable, and you melt in tenderness when he caressed the back of your head with such affection.

''Are you sure?'' You laughed nervously.

''Totally'' His smile could brighten an entire city, and that night it was shining just for you. He moved a bit, creating friction between you and him. You let out a surprised yet pleasing whimper ''Shit, sorry''

''Don't worry, isn't that what is this all about?'' You laughed again.

''Yeah, you're right'' A kiss on your chin ''Come here''

He lifted you with ease so he could lay you down on his bed. And it was as comfortable as you thought it was. After a long struggle of getting rid of Keigo's shirt between laughs and jokes, he was kissing you tenderly and fiercely, feeling his own body shiver under your touch. You took the time to appreciate his body. It was not as muscular as other pro heroes, but his muscles were still well defined.

His lips on your neck feel like heaven, the way he kissed and lick your kiss had you wanting more, but the fear and the doubt were there too. And he could feel the exact same thing. Keigo's shaking hand move to the end of the shirt you were wearing. Once it was off, you tried to cover yourself. You were supposed to sleep in the guest's room that night, therefore wearing a bra after a long trip was not the best idea, but nothing said that you were going to be under Keigo's body.

He sat on his knees looking at you, jaw hanging low as he licked his lips.

''Shit, your gorgeous'' You heard him say as he crawled back to you again, kissing your mouth ''Can I touch you?'' His voice was still low, and even though he was trying to keep it cool the way his body was reacting was betraying him.

''Of course'' You said biting your lower lip.

His hand moved down until it reached your breast, cupping it delicately. He let out a sigh over your lips when he felt your hardening nipple against his palm. The slow squeezes were amazing. You were human, you had needs. You had done that before trying to stimuli yourself, but his touch was nothing compared to his. His was magical.

''I want to...'' Keigo said to himself as he lowered his face towards your chest. He licked your nipple and you moaned loud enough for him to hear it. He repeated his actions, kissing the underside of your breasts, sucking them tenderly, and trying to make you feel good. And God he was wishing he was doing it well. As he carried on with his not so shy ministrations, your hands touched his torso, feeling his warm skin on your hands. It was possible to feel his hard length pressing against your thighs, and surrendering to the temptation you played with the edge of his pants.

''Is it Ok if I-''

''Please do'' His voice came out a few octaves low as he went back to kiss your neck.

Carefully you slid one hand inside of his sweatpants, and he wasn't wearing underwear. How convenient. You gripped his hard cock on your hand, and your mouth went open in surprise. It was thick. And long. You gulped as you started moving your hand up and down, blushing when he bucked his hips.

''You can do it a bit tighter'' He said with a shy smile, and you did what he said ''Fuck, yes. Just like that''

The way his heavy breath was on your ear was working you up faster than you thought. And instinctively you moved your hips towards him as well. Keigo used one hand to get in between the two bodies, sliding his middle finger down your slit, trembling at how wet you were. It felt nothing like the porn videos he used to watch on the nights he needed some relief. A moan escaped your lips when you felt his finger on you, moving slow and even a bit fearfully.

In an attempt of digging your free hand on his back, it landed on one of his wings. They weren't as sharpened as you used to see them whenever he was fighting or patrolling, they were soft. You moved your hands through the feathers, but just when you did an erotic moan left his throat.

''Fuck don't do that, I won't last long if you touch my wings'' His voice was tight, making you knew that it was a sensitive area.

''Sorry'' You said, kissing his jaw ''They're just so soft'' The way you spoke in his ear sent shivers down his spine again, and as you kept stroking him he said in between breaths.

''I need you'' His voice was low but filled with excitement at the same time.

''Do you have a-'' Keigo finished for you.

''A condom, shit. Yes I do''

He suddenly remembered. Every single feeling was overwhelming him, it was the very first time he was in such a situation with a woman, and not with any woman. With you, the one who stole his breath from the very first time, the one that took care of his wounds, the one he tried to protect every day.

He stood up from the bed quickly, moving to the nightstand that was next to it. Nervously he looked among all the useful and useless things, and then he found them. Keigo remembered that night clearly, how one of his drunks friends at the party held in his apartment had told him to use them with some hot chick, but instead, he just kept them on the nightstand. To busy to do that while he was saving the world.

Going back to the bed he sat on his knees right in front of you. His chest was cleary moving up and down as he stared at you, and you could tell you were looking the same. Shy, exposed, uncertainty in your head, but confidence was in your head too. You trusted him with your life, and your feelings for him were strong. You just had to take that leap of faith. That free-falling.

''I will... Can I take them off?'' Keigo asked, looking at your still clothed sex.

''Yes'' you managed to say, feeling your face burn in embarrassment.

Carefully, he slipped the cotton piece down your legs, making you completely exposed to him. Your breathing became erratic, what was he going to think? Was it ok? But his eyes, his eyes were yelling his thoughts. They looked brighter, and the golden melted in them seemed shinier than never. Keigo licked his lips and swallowed at the image in front of him, and almost as a primal instinct he slid a finger on your wetness, making you and him moan.

''Fuck you're so wet'' He murmured, repeating his actions.

''Is that good?'' you asked timidly and a humming sound was made with your throat when he slid a finger along your cunt again.

''As far as I know, it is'' He laughed nervously. It was calming to know you weren't the only one feeling like that.

Your eyes went wide when he pulled his pants down, his cock sprang free from its confines, and just as you felt it when you stroke it earlier it was thick and long, not extremely big but it had a good size. And honestly a scary one for a first time. Even for him. With shaky hands Keigo opened the silver package, and after fast seconds he rolled the condom down his length.

''Ok,'' He took a deep breath, leaning close to you again. You moan when his erection rubbed your entrance, and you could feel your heart beating like crazy inside your chest. ''You sure about this?'' Keigo asked one last time.

''I am,'' You said ''But be gentle'' You said holding your breath for a short while.

''Sure thing'' He said above your lips ''I'm not less nervous than you are'' Keigo laughed, and the sound of it felt like peace among the sea of emotions you were at. ''I don't wanna screw this up'' Now he looked at you, eyes full with concern.

''It doesn't have to be perfect'' You reassured him, caressing his face, making him nod like an excited child who was trying to hide their emotion.

''I'm gonna do it'' A kiss on your lips ''Just tell me if it hurts and I'll stop, ok?''

After agreeing with his statement you looked at him getting on his knees again, pulling you closer to him. He spread your legs once he was in between them and with a shallow breath he grabbed his length, aligned it on your entrance. Softly he pushed his hips towards you, and a sharp pain made you close your eyes.

''Shit, are you good?'' Keigo stopped his motions immediately, not even thinking about the heat taking over his body.

''Yeah, you can go on'' You said clenching your jaw, adjusting to him.

He moved his hips a bit more, and a loud moan filled your ears. That felt a lot better than his hand. Keigo kept pushing slowly, hating the fact that he was hurting you. But it was supposed to stop, wasn't it? You moaned again, this time with a mix of pain and pleasure.

''Fuck your big'' You managed to say, closing your eyes again as he started to pull out slowly again.

''Sorry, not my fault'' He joked to lighten the mood. He bit his lower lips trying to oppress another moan. And without even pulling out completely he thrust inside you again, as slow as the first lunge. ''I... I need to move'' He said, closing his eyes with strength too.

You gave him a nod right after digging your fingers on his shoulders. Keigo's hips started moving again, a soft and steady pace as he was filing you up. He cursed at the feeling, so warm and so tight, he thought. It was hard to keep that steady pace with each thrust, but he waited. Waited until you felt comfortable enough.

The pain was becoming less by the second, at it was being replaced with pleasure. He felt so good, all of him. Not only the way he felt inside you, but the comfortable weight of his body on top of yours, his fresh scent after the shower, the praises he was whispering in your ear, all of that was bigger than the pain you felt with those first movements. And you loved it. It was with one specific thrust he hit the perfect spot, making you throw your head back and moan loudly, tangling your legs on his waist.

''More'' You said.

Maybe it was your instincts talking, but you didn't care. You wanted him, all of him.

Keigo's movements became sloppier, messier. He had never felt that way before, but it was amazing. And the truth was, that he wanted more as well. He moaned lowly, burying his face in your neck as he started pounding faster and deeper. You felt that tension building in your lower stomach, and when he twitched inside of you something tell you it was about to end.

''Fuck I'm close'' He said with a drowned voice.

''Do it, Keigo'' You caressed the back of his head while you whispered in his ear, the coldness of his earing feeling better than it should. How could a simple detail make you shiver?

Your hand traveled down his neck, to his back, and then to his wings. Another loud moan escaped his lips when your fingers dug in his feathers, playing softly with them. Lots of 'fucks' were leaving Keigo's mouth, and moans were leaving yours when he needly sped up.

And there it was. Something hit you, and it sent you right to the place where you could see the music and listen to the colors. You rolled your eyes to the back of your head, bucked his hips towards him as you fell into a void of just pleasure.

Keigo bit your neck as a growl was made with his throat, his hips still moving a bit as he came undone. His sweaty forehead landed on yours, and he couldn't control the urge to kiss you deeply.

''You good?'' He asked when he ran out of breath.

''Never been better'' You said with a lazy smile on your face, making him chuckle.

''I lasted too little'' Keigo almost apologized, as if that was a bad thing. Once again you caressed his face, pulling him in for another kiss.

''It was perfect'' You whispered in between his lips.

''Was it?'' A tiny smile appeared on his face ''Stay tomorrow. Let's have lunch, like a proper date. What do ya' say, mhm?'' He said, using the tip of his nose to trace your cheek.

''It was'' You assured him. Eyes went wide in joy and surprise at his proposal ''You won't be able to get rid of me, then'' You lifted an eyebrow in an attempt of being cocky but laughing right after.

''Fine with me'' Now it was him the one who was smiling cockily. His lips were on your again, smiling between the kiss. ''I guess you're not staying in the guest's room tonight, right?'' He looked at you, using his arms to make you free from his weight. He pulled out, and the two of you moaned lowly again.

''I wouldn't even think about it, I've been wanting to cuddle with you for so long'' You admitted making him laugh.

''Well that makes two of us'' A kiss on your chin ''You'll get all the cuddles you want'' A kiss on the tip of your nose.

''But first, we gotta take another shower''

''Yes, this is so messy'' Keigo laughed and threw the preservative to the trash bin next to the bed.

''Keigo'' You called him out of nowhere, and he looked at you like a confused bird at such a sudden call. ''I like you. A lot'' A shy smile was on your lips. He smiled widely.

''I like you too. So, so much'' He whispered, and pulled you in for another tender kiss. Good things were to come.

[shslpunkartist]

This is so so random, but I HAD to write something after a particular part in Persona 5 Strikers. Hope you don't mind!

Summary: Sophia confronts Ryuji on his reaction to the voice from before

**(SPOILERS FOR JAIL 4 (and vague Jail 3))**

"An AI like you should not exist. You are bugged beyond worth. Such an existence does not merit any further inquire. Wholly worthless."

The battle against the fourth warden ended almost as quickly as it began, thanks to the strength and support shared between the Phantom Thieves. With the materialized Desires free and back to their rightful owners, it was only right to return back to the real world to see if the locals were back to normal.

And yet.. those words that were told to Sophie still lingered in her mind. Perhaps it would be smart to delete that memory from her database, but.. the moment that had happened afterwards? That seemed to linger just as much, but it wasn't a negative one. She had already expressed her gratitude to the others, but for that moment to continue to replay in her head, over and over..

"Skull?"

The blonde thug paused in his step when his codename was called, looking over to the AI, who was shy behind him. "Yeah? What's up?" He asked. "Are you still thinkin' about what happened earlier?"

"Huh? Are you a mindreader?" Sophie tilted her head in awe from how Skull was able to figure out exactly what she was thinking.

"Huh?? No, no! I just.. figured, y'know?" He scratched his head and cleared his throat to hide his slight embarrassment. At least she didn't lose that innocent lil charm of hers. "Look, don't believe what that shithead voice told you. It was nothing but lies from somebody who doesn't know a great person even if it smacked them in the face.. which, by the way, we smacked 'em good, didn't we~?" Skull perked up at that, clearly proud of their victory over that piece of shit warden.

"Yes, you're right.. but there's something else on my mind." Sophie fiddled with the poof on her sleeves as she collected her thoughts properly. What would be the best way to ask this..?

"Hm? What is it, then?"

"Well.. it's about you."

"Me??"

"Yes. We may not have been friends for a long time, but from what I've gathered about you, you yell a lot. Whether it be to a Monarch, to strangers on the street, or even your friends. You are a very loud person."

Skull's head drooped. Geez, what a callout.

"But.." Sophie continued, "when you yelled at the voice back there.. it was different. You were angry, very much so. I think that's the angerist I've ever seen you. Your voice volume was higher than normal, and you were cursing so much more.

"I wonder.. why is that?"

Skull blinked after hearing Sophie's question, clearly stunned. Thinking back on it now, however, this really may have been the angrist he had been this entire adventure. For sure, the monarchs and the people that created their traumas pissed him off, and there have been times where he was angry BEYOND belief way before this last month, but.. it was true: he hadn't yelled like that in front of Sophie before. "Well, 'cause.." Skull shrugged, trying to think of his own way to phrase his thoughts well. "I just.. hate people that are like that, y'know? People who think they're so high 'n mighty, who think they can just say whatever they want about people they don't know jackshit about.. it's so annoying to have some piece of shit act like their words are fact, when it's all baseless insults and.. just bullshit!" God, just thinking about it was getting Skull all riled up again; he had to look at Sophie's surprised expression to force himself to calm down again. "I.. shit, sorry. I've seen people in ugly colors these past few years, so hearing someone disrespect my friends, or to people that don't deserve that bullcrap? I just wanna punch 'em until they get it."

"Have.. people really disrespected the other Phantom Thieves?"

".. yeah. A shit ton of 'em."

"Have those people disrespected you too?"

"Mhm.."

"I see.."

"...."

".. don't listen to them, Ryuji."

The sound of his real name surprised him, but it was the sudden hold of his hand that got him to jump. "You are a very good person." Sophie continued. "You are a strong person who fights for AND protects your friends. You have such passion for food, fun, and everyone's happiness. You work hard to bring justice to others, too. All of you are amazing people-.. no, amazing friends!

"So please don't believe that you are worthless, either! You're a very important friend to the Phantom Thieves, and to me as well!"

"... heh.."

A rough hand reached around the back of the AI's head and pulled her closer to the thug, embracing her in what felt like a weak hug. "Don't worry," Ryuji said, "I don't believe those kinda people. Not anymore. I got you guys to keep me goin'. It's only fair I do the same."

Sophie stared blankly at nothing when being hugged like this, unsure what to feel or how to respond. This is what people would call a hug, right? She has seen others do it, like how Haru and Mariko did in their last mission, but.. she had never experienced one for herself. ..perhaps she should replicate it?

Sophie lifted her arms up, and wrapped them around Ryuji's waist. He didn't seem to push back; if anything, he seemed to hold her closer. His clothing felt a little rough, but it felt.. warm. She felt warm.

".. strange.. I am an AI, but I feel like crying.. even though I also feel happiness.."

Ryuji chuckled at her confusion, petting her head as a sign of reassurance. "That's fine. That's how emotions work. Weird, huh?"

"Yes, very. But I like it. I like learning about emotions. And.." she looked up at the taller male, smiling, "I like feeling happy."

"Heh, good. We'll try to help you experience happiness more often. It's a promise."

"A promise? .. hehe, yes, a promise!"

An AI that has no purpose.. tch, what bullshit. She's already got a purpose: being true to herself, and being our friend..

[nitewrighter]

Pre-Fall fic idea for a slow day: Echo asks McCree to go on a date. Liao thinks it'll be a good learning experience for her.

“...I dunno about this...” McCree straightened the collar on his shirt. Why did he dress up for this? Why did Liao feverishly take notes on her tablet when she saw he dressed up for this?

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” said Liao, poking at her tablet.

“See the way you’re gettin’ all excited about it makes me feel like a guinea pig.”

“Echo likes you. She trusts you. This is a chance for her to rapidly expand her social interaction repertoire.”

“It’s still weird.”

“How is it weird?”

“Well... how does it work with the age thing?”

Liao snorted. “What?”

“I mean she just got the body! Don't that make it... y'know...”

“The frame is new, yes, but the bare bones of her coding are only a couple years younger than you,” Liao said breezily, “Her processing levels were miles beyond yours well before she even had a body.”

“Ouch.”

“It’s computer science, Jesse, it’s nothing personal.”

“Why’d you give her hips?”

“Well, controlling said body actually has massive processing demands on its own, so you could say what could be recognized as her pelvic region hosts an 'auxiliary AI core'--"

"There's a brain in her ass?"

"Arguably, humans have a secondary brain in their colonic region--"

"There's a brain in my ass?!"

"We're getting off topic. There's a secondary AI core focused on mechanical coordination that is housed in her pelvic region, it was large enough to warrant certain design shifts to suit her center of gravity, and I wanted a friendly and appealing silhouette so --” Liao perked up, “So you noticed the hips?”

McCree’s face burned and he glanced off.

Liao rolled her eyes and smiled. “Jesse... if this goes really badly, I can just erase it from her memory.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“I’m only saying, the stakes aren’t that high,” said Liao, "I think it's cute that you're getting nervous."

"Nervous, hell! I just don't know what to make of it!"

"You've had plenty of perfectly pleasant conversations with her--"

"They weren't dates!"

"Did you just say yes because you didn't want to hurt her feelings?" the brightness and absolute lack of accusation in Liao's voice only unsettled McCree further.

"N-no..." McCree rubbed the back of his neck, "I--I wasn't really thinking. I guess... I assumed you'd think I'd wreck it or... or wreck her and you'd... write it out of her code..."

"Interesting..." Liao tapped her tablet stylus on her chin.

"I ain't that good with sciencey shit! Reyes brought me on to shoot things!" McCree shrugged a little helplessly, "And the way you talk about her, I don't know if she's a--a work in progress, or-or your kid so..."

"A little bit of both. This is where AI gets messy," said Liao with a smile, "You don't know if you're making something human... but you get to make something new."

McCree just stared at Liao for a few seconds, opened his mouth to say something, realized he had no idea what to say to that, and then closed his mouth.

"It's going to be wonderful," said Liao, gently putting a hand on the back of McCree's shoulder.

"Wait--Is there anything I should---?" McCree started but the door slid open and Liao more or less shoved him out into Zurich Headquarters' courtyard gardens. It was twilight, Friday night, and strings of fairy lights had been strung around the sycamores, magnolias, and plum trees that decorated the garden. A couple of brightly colored paper lanterns were strung along the lines of electric lights, giving the usual contemplative and monumental air of the garden a more warm and festive feeling. McCree scanned the garden, seeing a table set with candles and a small basket of bread about 15 feet ahead of him.

"Jesse?" McCree heard a familiar voice and swiveled on his heel to see... a glowing blue-white Dolly Parton circa 1974 in a daisy-patterned peach sundress.

"Whuh..." McCree's face scrunched up in confusion.

"Is this okay?" Dolly Parton spoke with Echo's voice and McCree visibly flinched again. "Oh you don't like it--" The glowing Dolly Parton pressed her fingers to her forehead. "Give me a moment! I can fix it!"

"Echo--?" McCree started, but holographic pixels spiraled around the not-Dolly Parton and reshaped her into.... Olivia Rai, her usual afro styled into the more-textured Gibson Girl hairstyle she sported in Six Gun Killer. 

"What about this?" said Echo, "Is this all right?"

"I mean I like the movie but--" McCree started but the pixels whirled around Echo.

"Lee Byung-Hun, 2016, Magnificent Seven," said Echo. “My scans of your hormone levels showed an overwhelming positive reaction to him.” Again, this hologram form was still in the sundress.

Okay we really need to talk about the scanning thing, thought McCree, but he just stammered out, "They're all really nice, Echo, but you don't have to--" McCree rubbed the back of his neck, "I mean, I think we'll both be more comfortable if you're... you, y'know?"

"Me? But it's so..." 2016 Lee Byung-hun Echo twiddled her fingers nervously, "It's so..."

"It's the you I know," said McCree, shrugging, "I like it, Echo, really."

The hologram fell away from Echo in a shower of cubic pixels, revealing a partially holographic head on a heavily modified omnic frame. She was a patchwork between a handful of standard omnic parts and sleek parts whipped up on-site at this point. No wings. The sundress sagged a little off her metal frame.

"There you are," said McCree.

Echo smiled a little. "Sorry... the hologram capabilities were for optimal interfacing... so I thought..."

"I get it," said McCree with a smile, "I was a little nervous too."

"You were?!" said Echo, "But you're so... charming! And my scans of your antibodies revealed that it was very statistically likely you have had higher than average amounts of--"

"Hoookay! Moving on!" McCree said quickly.

"Moving on," said Echo, processing this.

There was the sound of a cybernetic throat being cleared and both McCree and Echo turned their heads to see Genji in a long-sleeved collared shirt, black vest, bow tie, and apron.

"Genji?" said McCree, suppressing a laugh in his voice.

"...not a word," said Genji.

"I know I got stuck as the waiter back in Venice but this is--"

"I said not a word!" said Genji, furiously. He drew in a steadying inhale. "Ma'am and sir. If I may direct you to your table."

"...oh this is rich--" McCree started.

"McCree, I know 37 ways of killing you in under 11 seconds, do not test me," said Genji.

"Uh huh," said McCree, "Show us the way, Garçon."

Genji muttered something under his breath in Japanese as he lead them to the table. McCree hurried over to Echo's side and pulled out her chair for her.

"Oh--Thank you!" said Echo, sitting down.

Genji rolled his eyes as McCree took his own seat. "Liao was able to negotiate with the headquarters chefs,” he said, setting glasses of water on the table, “You're getting chicken scallopini and asparagus."

"So there's not a menu--?" McCree started.

"You're getting chicken scallopini and asparagus," said Genji, with about as much murder as anyone could inject into the words 'Chicken scallopini and asparagus.'

"Okay," said McCree meekly as Genji walked off briskly.

"Er--don't mind him," said McCree as Genji walked off, "Blackwatch suspended... getting antsy, y'know."

"I don't," said Echo, equally pleasantly and blankly.

McCree cleared his throat and grabbed some bread from the basket between them, buttering it. "Well... You heard about the Venice incident, right?"

"I did not," said Echo, "I'm quarantined from most networked systems."

"Mm," McCree took a bite of his buttered bread, "Well... the long and short of it is, we fucked up."

"Not you!" said Echo on reflex.

"Well, not me, at first--but we had to follow through on the fuck-up if we were going to get out of it alive," said McCree with a shrug.

"I'm sure you did your best," said Echo, picking up a piece of bread. They both knew she couldn't eat, so instead, she seemed to be using it as something to do with her hands, breaking it off into bits.

"Eh, I don't think any of us were at our best," said McCree, "But... you do what you can, right?"

""Mm-hmm," Echo nodded, "Doctor Liao's been able to convince a handful of operatives to bring my AI processor on the orca with certain missions to observe, but my speech is disabled. Apparently it 'freaks people out.'" Echo glanced off resentfully.

"Not you?" said McCree.

Echo nodded. "And I know Morrison doesn't like me learning combat tactics."

"Echo, I can't think of anyone who loves humanity more than you," said McCree.

"Thank you, Jesse," said Echo. She was silent for a few beats. "And.... thank you for doing this. I--I don't know how you see me..."

"I'm still figuring that out too," said McCree, smiling a little, "But... I like to think I'm a good judge of character. And I'm proud to know you. And I'm proud that I mean enough to you to be here."

Echo's hologram face brightened, and she glanced off, a bit bashfully. "I--I can't even eat bread," she said quietly, smiling as she glanced down at the small pile of shredded bread bits on her plate.

"Psh. Bread. You can turn into whoever you want. Why worry about bread?" said McCree.

Echo snickered a little.

"...who's your favorite to turn into?" asked McCree, "I know you were turnin' into all that stuff earlier for me because of all the stuff we talked about and those dumb movies we watched--”

“I don’t think they’re dumb--”

 “But... what about you? Is there a person you like turning into?"

Echo thought for a few seconds. "I would say...Figure skaters," she said thoughtfully.

"Figure skaters?" McCree repeated.

"Not any individual one, but I’ve been putting together a composite hologram of several of them," said Echo, "Skaters, they--they aren't ruled by the same physics as other humans. All that power, all that grace, all on a plane that does not have the same rules of speed or friction."

"Bet you'd be a hell of a dancer," said McCree, smiling.

"I like to think I'm learning," said Echo, with a slightly smug shrug.

"Chicken scallopini," a plate clanked unceremoniously in front of McCree and McCree flinched to attention to see Genji next to him.

"Jesus, man! A little warning next time!" said McCree.

"Ninja," said Genji flatly.

"What about her?" said McCree, pointing at Echo.

Genji looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Jesse, it's fine," said Echo. She waved her hands and a hologram of what appeared to be lobster thermidor glowed into existence in front of her.

"...she can take care of herself," said Genji, walking off, "Let me know if you need a refill on water."

"Don't mind him," McCree said again.

"I don't," said Echo, materializing a holographic fork into existence and taking a holographic bite of her holographic food.

McCree sectioned off bites of his own meal and took tentative bites and chews, but it was good. A faint 'Mm' fell out of him and he opened his eyes to see Echo closely observing him. He took another bite, not taking his eyes off of Echo this time. Echo seemed to do the same, imitating him. But it wasn't quite the same, he observed. There was a lot of Liao in her, the way she'd stuff food off to one cheek and slowly parse it out as long as she needed while she multitasked. He saw it in all the nights Liao had brought takeout to the lab. In this case, Echo perfectly adapted Liao's eating habits to McCree's.

McCree swallowed hard. "Do you ever uh... make food... make you happy?"

"What do you mean?" said Echo.

"Well, if you eat really good food, you go, like, 'mm' and stuff--if all the food is only stuff you come up with... how does that work?"

Echo thought for a few seconds. "I... never thought of food as stimulating the pleasure response. Mostly it just seemed necessary for interfacing. Does it stimulate a pleasure response?"

McCree tried not to focus too hard on the words 'Pleasure response.' "Well, it depends on the food," said McCree.

"Does your food stimulate a pleasure response?"

"I mean compared to the rest of the shit I've had this month? Definitely," said McCree with a shrug.

"I see," said Echo. She looked at her food for a few seconds. She took a bit of her own holographic meal and a deep, sensual "Mmnh," bloomed out of her, her shoulders bunching up and her head tilting back with the sensation.

McCree sharply inhaled, realized his mouth was full of chicken scallopini, and coughed and choked for nearly a minute.

"Did I do it wrong?!" Echo asked with alarm.

"N--" McCree coughed, "No--" He coughed again, "You're-- You're doin' fine--"

Echo giggled. “I--I’m sorry, I’m still deciphering the appropriate forms of human pleasure.”

McCree found his face burning again and just gulped down some of his water.

“...that was an odd thing to say,” said Echo, glancing off.

“Nah, I’ve been told I’m old-fashioned a lot,” said McCree with a dismissive hand wave.

“Well, that’s why I like you,” said Echo, shyly.

McCree’s chews slowed.

“You... feel solid. I know I can trust you to... to tell me what you think... but.. also to be kind. I don’t know what other people want from me, but I know you just want another person. And... you’re very open in terms of what that person can be.” 

“Well I can tell you you don’t need to be Dolly Parton to win me over,” said McCree with a shrug and another bite of his food.

Echo giggled again and McCree swallowed.

“I’m still not sure if I’m doing this right,” said Echo, smiling down at her own hologram food. 

“Eh, you don’t really think of it in terms of ‘doing it right’--it’s mostly just about both of you having a good time. And trust me, you’re a better date than a lot that I’ve had,” said McCree with a snicker, “I just hope I’m doing it right too, y’know? It’s a lot of pressure, being anyone’s first date.”

“Oh!” Echo perked up, “I never thought of it that way....”

“Am I doing it right?” said McCree with a slight lopsided smile.

“Hmm...” Echo seemed to genuinely and very seriously ponder this.

“Oh come on, you’re making me nervous!” said McCree.

“Current assessments are... positive,” said Echo, “More data may be necessary to confirm any findings I’ve drawn thus far. We may have to do this again. An experiment is useless unless you can replicate its results”

“So... second date then?” said McCree, “That’s generally considered a good sign.”

“Oh! So I’m good at this!” said Echo.

“Sure are,” said McCree with a snicker.

Echo beamed. 

“Think we might have to do something other than dinner next time, though. I think if we try to get Genji in a waiter outfit again, he may actually kill me.”

“I estimate by his hormone levels and body temperature that there is an 89% likelihood of that occurring, yes,” said Echo. They both laughed for a little bit, and as the giggles died down Echo tilted her head. “So... you’ve been on bad dates?”

“Oh, terrible dates--but I don’t want to bore you---”

“It could be very useful data!” said Echo with that same brightness Liao had shown when she saw McCree being nervous.

McCree rubbed his chin. “Well... there’s a couple funny stories....”

-----

McCree was humming when he arrived in the Blackwatch sector later that night, bobbing his head and shoulders a bit with his humming as he loosened his bolo tie and took off his hat.

“Sounds like someone had a good time,” Reyes was seated in front of Blackwatch’s main monitor, mindlessly leafing through some paperwork.

McCree barely interrupted his own humming with an “Mm-hmm” as he kept walking past. 

“Reyes, you really must find a way to end Blackwatch’s suspension, or I fear he’ll romance one of the custodian’s vacuuming bots, next,” said Moira, leaning against the desk next to Reyes.

“Eh, if it means getting Genji in a bowtie again...” Reyes shrugged.

“You will never get me in a bowtie again,” Genji seethed from a shadowed corner.

“You asked for a mission--” Reyes started, but cut himself off as the three of them watched McCree continue to walk and hum down to his own quarters.

“...by god, I think he actually had a good time,” Reyes said quietly.

“Madness is setting in,” Moira mused.

“We need to get out in the field again,” Genji said, his voice tense.

“Or maybe you just need a date,” said Reyes shrugging. Reyes heard the audible click of the shuriken plate on Genji’s arm as Genji’s shoulders tensed up. “...or not.”