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madelynraemunson · 2 months

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CALL ME WHAT YOU WANT 𓆩♡𓆪

(Book #1 of the Hellfire Gentlemen’s Club series)

strip club owner!eddie x fem!exotic dancer!hargrove!reader

𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐀𝐔 18+ MDNI

Chapter 020: ‘Red Thong, Party’s On!’ (Epilogue)

a/n: pov you’re back at hellfire, but this time you’re sharing the stage with eddie, stripping while he plays a song for you to dance to 🤭🤭♥️ (SURPRISE AT THE END) it’s been a WILD ride my loves, thank you all so much for the support for CMWYW. i hope we all continue to create more beautiful things together. readers, writers, artists, creatives of all kinds keep the world going round. 🤟🏼💋 all my love, maddy

MESS WITH HER? SHE’LL FUCK YOU UP

↳ chapters: 001, 002*, 003** , 004**, 005 , 006 , 007* , 008**, 009, 010, 011, 012* , 013**, 014** , 015, 016**, 017, 018, 019, 020*

CW: strip club behaviors hehe, grinding, pole-dancing, ass-shaking, all that hellfire goodness, implications that shy girl c*me on eddie's guitar

word count: 990 words

♡

Mom always used to say, "Inside of you, there are two wolves: a good one and a bad one. Depending on which mouth you feed, one will triumph the other.”

She left out one thing, however: sometimes being bad feels so fucking good.

“We’ve got a verrry special treat for you tonight folks!” the DJ announces. “She took a break for a little while but now she is BACK… and here to stay with us, FOREVER! Put your hands together for the ONE, the ONLY — Hellfire’s Princess — SHYYY GIIIIRL!”

And the crowd goes wild.

You emerge from the side stage in your glimmering scarlet set, flipping your plump, bouncy locks around as you dip your hips to the beat. Your regular customers swoon as you blow them kisses, and the petty kisses you issue to the Hellfire Girls (they came to pick up their severance checks) leave them shaking in their stilettos.

"WOOO, HARGROVE!" Nancy cheers for you backstage, dancing to the song as she curls Nina's hair.

"LET 'EM KNOW, BABY!" Nina shouts after her.

You acknowledge them with a wink, giving one to Chrissy as well as she cheers for you on the opposite side of the stage, bouncing up and down in her sexy Hellfire cheer uniform.

“Let’s go, Shy Girl!” ‘Cherry’ cheers as she waves her pom-poms in the air. "LET'S GOOOO!"

She's hot! Can’t stop! Up on stage doing shots!

You shake your ass when the song calls on it, grinding your hips to the beat to match the lyrics as they come. The crowd hoots and hollers as you dance, showering you in dollar bills as you make the pole your bitch for the night.

“YEAAAH!” Max cheers. “That’s my sister!”

As you glide down the cylindrical silver steel, you wave to the crowd and thank them all for coming out.

“Thank you! Aww, thanks so much! OMG, how are you? Long time no see!”

But just because you’re doing your thing on stage doesn’t mean you aren’t paying attention to the happenings beneath you. Because while you have a bird’s eye view of Vecna’s Lair, you can’t help but fix your gaze on Lucas, who is dressed rather sharper than usual tonight, going up to Maxine in attempts to ‘rizz her up’.

“I see spiciness runs in the family,” Lucas remarks to her as they stand beside each other in Vecna’s Lair.

The self-proclaimed 'Dark Chocolate' shoots her an awkward wink, to which Max responds with a grimace on her face.

“Genetics wasn’t playing ‘bout y’all,” Lucas continues. "You're looking mighty fine tonight, Max."

“Thanks. I guess,” Max shrugs, refusing to entertain it. “But, if you knew anything about family dynamics and DNA, you’d know she’s my step-sister."

"Psh," Lucas scoffs. "Yeah! Yeah, I knew that."

"Course you did," she jeers. "Stalker."

“Stalker?! I thought we were friends.”

Max rolls her eyes. “Whatever this is, is far from platonic.”

She begins to strut away, giving Lucas the opportunity to race after her. And Sinclair wastes no time, pushing himself past the sea of sweaty men to catch up to the beautiful redhead in front of him.

“So there’s a chance we can be more than friends?!”

You chuckle as you watch it unfold from the stage. Then you turn to everyone else.

Argyle and Jonathan give you two stoned-filled waves hello. You wave back. Henry whose the designated bone-snapper bouncer tonight blows you a kiss. You catch it and return the favor. Mike and Will don't even give you the time of day.

You then turn your attention to Dustin who is both head-banging to the song, and holding up a lazily written message on the black screen of his phone: “I AM LOOKING RESPECTFULLY”. You can't help but giggle. It's like he's a mini Eddie.

Speaking of your boyfriend, your eyes dart back to the side stage where you meet Eddie’s gaze.

She likes to pull my hair when I make her grind her teeth.

You watch as the curly-haired, metalhead-turned-strip-club-owner eyes you steadily, situating his guitar around himself, giving the body of his NJ Warlock one more wipe down with a cloth.

He smirks to himself, satisfied at the thought that only you two know why that guitar needed wiping down in the first place. But he’s mostly pleased with the fact that, despite the long list of handsome, eligible bachelors after your heart, the passionate, down-to-earth, sexy, siren of a woman that is you, is all his.

My girlfriend's a dick magnet. MY girlfriend…

Eddie then takes to the stage, using the same fingers he’ll use to ravage you tonight to strum the chords of the sexy guitar solo of the song — you know, the song about a guy…..with a hot stripper girlfriend…..whose seducing everyone around her while she does her thing…..in that beautiful red set.

“HOLY SHIT!” someone from the crowd raves, causing Eddie’s eyes to light up like a little kid. “DUET OF THE CENTURY!”

You’ve healed so many parts of Eddie that he was too scared to explore: Love after Isabelle. Showing him that self-care is just as important as caring for Wayne. Encouraging him to find a hobby outside of Hellfire that didn't include doing payroll or grocery shopping. And healing his inner teenager by letting him play on stage with you, as he relives his glory days as the guitarist and frontman of Corroded Coffin one last time.

And as Eddie continues to strum, he stays thinking of you. He couldn’t wait to heal more parts of himself…with 'Shy Girl' Hargrove by his side.

“So,” you pant, edging closer to your boyfriend as the music draws on. "What's next after this?"

Eddie smirks. As the instrumental allows, he presses you against his body, kissing you softly against the lips before trailing all the way down your neck. Your breath hitches in arousal as he hums against you.

“Whatever you want.”

The End

SIKE! King Steve has entered the chat… 😉

CALL OUT MY NAME ♛

(Book #2 of the Hellfire Gentlemen's Club Series)

CEO!bachelor!steve × fem!college grad!reader

MODERN AU • 18+ | BOOK #1 (e.m.)

slight age gap (Steve is 31, reader is 23); reader goes by the nickname "Sweets"

*loosely inspired by sara cate’s salacious players club*

Summary: 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐄. Steve Harrington has the WORST luck with the ladies. His high school sweetheart left him for another dude, his former fuck buddy is dating his roommate, and his dream girl is a lesbian. King Steve is losing hope. That is until he meets you — a newly graduated university student from Seattle — when your paths cross on a fateful night in Sin City. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas... that is until your risky business trickles over to Hawkins, Indiana, a town your best friend knows of a little too well.

theme song: call out my name by the weeknd

tag list is open 💌✨

PREVIEW

♛

Winter 2024

“WATCH OUT INDIANAPOLIS — you're about to get... absolutely SOAKED!”

The booming voice of a man in Steve’s bedroom stirs him awake.

Letting out a ferocious yawn, The King rubs his eyes free of the annoying crust in the corner of his sockets, flopping around one more time before doing his routine stretch.

“Google,” Steve commands. “Turn off the TV.”

The TV immediately switches off. It’s nothing personal to meteorologist Marcus Bailey, but if Steve ever needed an accurate forecast of Indianapolis, all he would have to do is look outside his penthouse window. And that, after brushing his teeth, is just what he does.

"G'morning Indy,” he sighs happily on his balcony before going back inside.

Steve then makes his way over to the kitchen to fix himself some breakfast.

“Google,” he calls out again. “Open the curtains, please.”

Google replies:

“Opening curtains. Good morning — Steve.”

"Google, what's my schedule looking like today?" "Google, text Dustin." “Google, what is the weather looking like in Nevada?” “Google, turn on my shower tunes.”

The best thing about not living with Eddie Munson anymore, is that Steve can shamelessly sing Amy Winehouse in the shower without being hounded about it.

“We only saaaid GOODBYE, with WORDS!” Steve sings, confidently off-key. “I died a hundred times! You go back to her, and I goooo baaack toooo…”

"Scanning fingerprint...”

an automated voice announces at the entrance of Steve's walk-in closet.

Swish...

The door slides open. Sauntering his way inside, Steve ventures for some slick black athleisure down to the shoes, his usual musky cologne, and some matching sunglasses (despite the gloomy forecast prediction).

Black. 🎶

Steve Harrington is ready for the day.

---

"Google, make reservations for 3 people at Tony's Steakhouse at 7pm please."

All Steve had left to do for the day now was grocery shop. Which was always a hassle. Because sometimes, the store doesn't have the specific brand he's looking for so the shopper has to opt for an alternate version. Or sometimes, the shopper assigned to him that day chooses produce that is nearing its expiration date making every fruit in his bag a mushy mess. It doesn't happen too often, but it sure feels inconvenient as hell when it does. There are worse problems in life though, so Steve really can't complain.

*Ring, ring. Ring, ring*

The very distinct and custom ringtone has Steve bolting across the room to answer the call. One of his best friends was on the other line.

"Yello?" he says into the phone.

"Hey, it's Shy Girl," comes a voice. "Eddie and I are pulling in."

"Pull off to the side. Valet's got it. I'll send you guys up."

A bottle of cabernet sauvignon a la Steve awaits the pair when they make their way over. Consider it a Tony's pre-game.

"GameWorld stock is up 4% today,” Steve's buddy, and owner of Hellfire Gentlemen's Club Eddie Munson announces as the two clink glasses. "I don’t have much faith in it though, figure I’ll get my pie slices from actual grocery stores. Like Meijer.”

“Everyone's always gonna need groceries,” Steve points out. "Definitely. Just don't day trade. Not now."

"Ooh, you hear that, Eds?" Shy Girl nudges him. "You gotta be careful where you put your money."

"I gotta be careful with my money, period," Eddie smirks. "You're a danger to my pockets, angel."

"Oh but you love me," she says.

"Yeah," Eddie gives in, grabbing his lover's dainty digits, trailing his fingers across hers, and rubbing the glistening rock that took up most of her left hand on the distal side. "I sure do."

"I'm just... so proud of us," Steve sappily reflects. "So much has happened over the past two years and we've all come so far."

"Yeah," Shy Girl agrees. "And it's about fucking time we celebrate."

"I agree," Eddie chimes in, raising his glass once again. "This weekend trip is going to be... one for the books."

"Viva Las Vegas," Steve toasts. "Cheers."

"Viva Las Vegas!"

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Black and red.

They're the two colors that occupy your closet the most. But of course, after graduating from Washington State University (or Wazzu, for short), you expected nothing less.

You could do with some more sequins though, you think to yourself as you pack your bags.

"What do you think of this, Sweets?"

Peering over your shoulder, you see that your best friend, Elle has started festivities early, managing to hold two glasses of champagne in one hand, and six-inch stilletoes in the other.

"Can't take the party out of the girl, that's for damn sure," you respond.

When you left Seattle to attend WSU Pullman, Elle was your only friend in business class. Mainly because the class was predominantly for dudes, but eventually you found out that you two have a lot in common.

Elle is everything you would want in an older sister figure: she is both book smart and wise, she is sexy, and she eats men for breakfast. And, now that she's about to celebrate the launching of her lingerie business (along with her Dirty 30s Era), and you're about to enter your new-grad era, you two are hitting up Las Vegas to go ham together one last time.

It's all so bittersweet. You owe everything to the Warrens, having taken you in when you were a lost undergrad. It also sucked quite a bit not having a support system after graduating high school. You and Elle were all each other has. Which makes this inevitable separation so much more painful.

"Are you sure you're okay with Vegas by the way?" you question. "I know since the split, being surrounded by gorgeous girls 24/7 can kinda be triggering.”

"Don't worry about it, love," she shakes it off. "The past is in the past. This is a new era of me."

Cheers to that. Clinking your airport-pregame champagne glasses with one another, you raise a toast to yourselves, celebrating how far the two of you have come over the past four years.

"To friendship."

"To being elegant and educated."

"To elegance and education."

"And to being girl-bosses for the rest of our lives."

You giggle as you raise your glass of champagne even higher.

"To being girl-bosses for the rest of our lives," you two take a sip at the same time. "And no matter how near and no matter how far, we're always gonna be besties."

"I love you, Sweets."

"I love you too, Isabelle."

🏷️ tag list: @chrrymunson , @the-fairy-anon , @ali-r3n , @corrodedcoffincumslut , @bebe07011 , @mmunson86 , @eddiesguitarskills , @chelebelletx , @imonhereforareasonsadly , @eddies-trailer-babe @motherfckerr , @jxpsi , @sidthedollface2 , @manda-panda-monium , @elvendria , @micheledawn1975 , @hereforshmut , @siriuslysmoking , @mediocredreams @nymphetkoo , @m-chmcl-rmnc , @ahoyyharrington , @keepittoyourselftellnobodyelse @kellyxo1 @emsgoodthinkin @winchester-angel @chloe-6123 , @redbarn1995 @angietherose @kiyastrf94 , @purplewitchcauldron @kellsck @joyfulfxckery @munsons-mayhem28 @dragonfire @emma77645 @drivelikenina @livosssblog @thinkingth0ts @hugdealer @ellielunamckay @xblueriddlex @maskofmirrors @babyloutattoo89 @queenofhawkins @feral-pumpkin-energy @bl0ssomanddie

divider from: @plum98

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson smut #strip club owner! eddie #stranger things #stranger things 4 #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fanfic #eddie munson fanfics #joseph quinn #joe quinn

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kingdomoftyto · 9 months

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I'm crying laughing, the DVDs are even worse than I remember... Season 1's menus are silent with a single static jpg of the same key character art they use for everything else, and the episodes on the Season 2 discs don't even match what's listed on the box! Absolutely stunning lack of shits given. Truly unparalleled. But I really shouldn't be surprised given... well... everything about how this series has been treated since the very beginning.

Time for a quick ~✨PHANDOM HISTORY LESSON✨~ to give newer/less hyperfixated folks more context for why the graphic novel being as great as it is is such a HUGE deal:

Danny Phantom was one of Nickelodeon's MAIN cartoons, in its time. It was a central pillar. One of the top three or four of their lineup, which is saying something when the competition includes the cultural juggernaut that is Spongebob.

Despite this, and despite its superhero theming making it perfectly marketable, it got basically ZERO official merch.

What little we did get was often ugly and very, very cheap. The dedication at the start of the graphic novel that jokes about collecting the Burger King toys? That's because it was some of the most notable merch the franchise EVER had. (I sadly do not have any of it. There was no BK in my hometown. Here's a pic from the internet, though, to give you an idea.)

If you think I'm exaggerating about that being the most significant physical merch to come out of the series, consider that the first video game had an entire menu option specifically for the Burger King promotional tie-in:

That video game, by the way, was one of only two ever based on the show. The first was an adaptation of "The Ultimate Enemy" in the style of a short sidescrolling beat-em-up, and the second was themed around "Urban Jungle" and (as far as I can tell--I've only played the first couple levels) was an arcade-style scrolling shooter. Both were for the Gameboy Advance, and both are...... fine, as far as cash-grabby video game tie-ins to kids' shows go. This was pretty normal for the time, so I suppose we did okay in that department, actually. They're not GOOD, but they're playable and have at least a bit of effort put into them.

But besides those two video games (plus a handful of simple, long-defunct Flash games on nick.com)? In the decade and a half since the show ended?

Nothing.

No books, no games, no comics, no web shorts--unless you count mega-crossovers with every other Nicktoon (a la Nicktoons Unite), or soulless promotional material like "Fairly Odd Phantom" (which, trust me, despite being the first new DP animation in over 10 years was not even worth the effort of watching).

...I think there was a limited edition FunkoPop once?

So yeah.

A Glitch in Time is not just the first cool, well-made thing we've seen from the franchise in a while. It's the first THING we've seen since the show. PERIOD. And arguably the first worthwhile supplementary material to EVER come out of the show, depending on how you feel about those GBA games and the Nicktoons crossovers.

This franchise is widely beloved even now, almost 20 years after it first aired, and it feels like that fact is now, finally, FINALLY getting some official recognition.

PLEASE read A Glitch in Time. Tell other people about it. The series--no, the fans--deserve this (and more of this, if the folks in charge see enough of a response and decide to grace us with any followup). It's LONG overdue, but better late than never.

#Danny Phantom #this is why I've been losing my mind repeating ''please buy it'' over and over btw #this is the FIRST and maybe ONLY time we'll ever get to directly show support for the series #it is a uniquely huge deal for this fandom #it's totally fine if you can't (or just still won't) buy it of course but I am begging folks to consider it IF they can.#not for any moral guilting or anything just.... for me. for the fandom. (for yourself because it's a cool story lmao)#long post

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shadowsndaisies · 9 months

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codename: nightingale - performance

Reference: Young Justice Season 1 Episode 24

WC: 9.1k

synopsis: the team tests their acrobatic abilities and robin takes a trip down memory lane. aka the one where ng is a supportive girlfriend. ft. couply vibes from our favorite non-couple.

main masterlist

codename: nightingale series masterlist

a/n: I know I'm consistently inconsistent, but. it means a lot to hear from each of you and to see your comments and responses to what I write. it's hard to believe that there are only two updates left in the season, but it's been a long time coming. I do plan to continue with this series, but the breaks will probably be similar to the ones many of you have already been experiencing. thank you again for all your dedication!

BRUGES December 22nd, 20:08 CET

You weren’t really sure how to feel as you stood before the crowd. Standing on the ground beside Conner, you were dressed in a white and red leotard, identical to the ones the rest of your team was wearing. Each of you was wearing a similar mask that covered the top half of your face, and while you pulled your daggers out, your eyes connected with Conner’s, he seemed to recognize the slight unease in your expression. Before he could comment on it, the Ring Master was walking into the spotlight, and the crowd seemed to get louder as he started the night.

“Damen und Herren, Mesdames et Messieurs, Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Haly International Traveling Circus! Where the world in the center ring is your oyster, and these are our latest pearls! The Daring Dangers!” he announced, and you straightened out, blades twirling in your hands.

“Dan Danger!” The spotlight focused on Dick as he swung from a trapeze high above everyone’s heads. Your breath caught in your throat as you watched; part of you absolutely amazed at how he moved in the air, and part of you trembling with fear as your brain flashed to the memory he had shown you at the start of November.

You held your breath as he launched from his trapeze and somersaulted in the air opposite M’gann, “Dawn Danger!” Haly announced, and the light focused on her for a second.

“Diane Danger!” The light moved to Artemis as she notched three arrows and then to Roy as he did the same, “Dane Danger!”

You nodded at Conner as you took your starting position, knowing your alias was coming soon. “Dean Danger!” Haly called, and a light shone on Conner, who was juggling barrels. You watched the moves, and as soon as he tossed two barrels, you ran and pushed off his crouched back. Vaguely you registered Haly’s “and Dana Danger!” announcement as the light shone on you.

You sent two blades flying clear across the ring, through a few hoops where they hit their bullseyes, triggering confetti cannons that shot up in time with Artemis and Roy’s release of sparkler arrows and Dick and M’gann’s well-timed tumbles through the hollow barrels that Conner had tossed. You barely blinked as you tucked down into a roll and came back down, using the momentum to spring up into a handspring with the agility of a trained acrobat.

“You'll never see another trapeze act like this, folks! And all of it, without a net!” you had straightened out and returned to the podium beside Conner, new blades in hand, just in time to hear Haly’s statement. You winced at the thought before your eyes caught on the pained sound that Dick made.

“Robin!” M’gann’s shout had your gaze shooting up immediately. And your heart leaped up as you watched Robin fall, the imaging too real for a memory, paired with shrieks from the crowd.

“Don’t blow our cover!” Robin instructed as he fell, and your eye twitched.

“Dean,” you hissed, at Conner, eyes dipping to the barrel in his hand, and he nodded, understanding your meaning.

“But saving your life's okay?” Conner asked, sarcasm dripping from every word as he launched the barrel up in the air with enough force to meet Dick in the air and then push him back up to where M’gann was coming back around for another pass from the trapeze.

“What did I just say?” Robin chastised as M’gann caught him.

“The crowd couldn't see me using telekinesis from below,” she countered, dropping him back at the platform of the trapeze frame. “Besides, I've been using it all night. I'm not exactly the acrobat you are,” M’gann adds as she lands beside him, the two of them wearing show smiles and waving out to the crowd.

“Yeah, neither am I right now. I think I've caught that 24 hour bug that's been going around the circus,” Dick admits, and you make a clicking noise in contempt that only Conner could hear.

“But the show must go on,” you note with an obviously upset tone.

“Yes,” is all Dick answered.

Your eye twitches once more as you start hitting targets that Conner was lobbying up in the air, most containing some confetti or glitter that would explode mid-air. You have a brief flash-back of the mission briefing, the one you hadn’t technically been invited to but had stumbled onto, to the great annoyance of Dick.

[FLASHBACK- MOUNT JUSTICE]

“Advanced weapons tech have been stolen at manufacturing plants throughout Europe. And each theft coincides with tour stops made by the Haly Circus. Batman is sending us undercover to catch the thieves,” Robin had led the briefing, and no one else had commented on it.

But you had sent him a look that made it apparent that you didn’t believe that Batman had authorized anything, but you also trusted Robin too much to make that a public fact.

“This clown car have room for one more?” Roy asked with a faux cheerful expression.

Your brows dipped as you looked at him. You weren’t completely sure where you stood at the moment. Everything he did to antagonize Artemis earlier this month still didn’t sit well with you. But this was Roy, who was practically your brother; after all the years he’s supported you and everything you’d been through together, there was no simple answer.

“Uh..” Dick shot a look at you, noting your stormy expression, “We've got this covered,” he offers hesitantly.

Your forehead creases as Roy leans closer to Robin, talking in a hushed tone you can’t hear. Whatever he says has the slightest effect in twitching Robin’s lips down. Not enough to be noticeable unless you’d been paying rapt attention to the interaction.

Haly’s announcement pulls you from the memory, and you realize you’d subconsciously been doing your routine and were now standing on one foot in Conner’s hand, hitting a final confetti target before being tossed up in the air for a summersault and then caught by Conner once more. “Put your hands together for The Daring Dangers!”

“Didn't think you’d make it through!” M’gann adds as you all regrouped together on the center podium, waving out to the crowd with show smiles.

“Neither did I. Help me backstage,” Dick admits, your eyes flashing something dangerous as you and M’gann loop an arm around Dick on either side.

Subtly you support his weight, Conner, Roy, and Artemis flanked you as the team made their way backstage. Your eyes caught on Ray, the stage hand, as he talked with the next act as you passed by.

“Ray, have you seen my other torch?”

“Here, you dropped it outside the train.”

“Thanks, you're a lifesaver!”

“Break a leg!”

Haly’s introduction timed up perfectly, “Bear witness, ladies, and gentlemen, to the Dragon's Breath!'' and a second later, the Ring Master himself is walking back to the backstage area.

The twins immediately swarmed, “Haly, what's the deal? Giving the top slot to those Danger kids?”

The other pipes in, “That's our slot!”

“Was your slot until you missed that performance in Paris,” Haly scoffs, looking at the twins and then glancing at us.

“Carlo was sick! He's better now,” one twin argues

“Plus, those Dangers are a sham! They say they're brothers and sisters. They don't even look alike!” Carlo butts in, and you can’t help the quirk to your lip because he’s not wrong. A few of you could probably pass for siblings if the masks stayed on, but not all of us.

Haly simply waved a hand at them, “Ah, you just don't like the competition!” he huffed, shooing the twins away. When he turned around again, he noticed the man in the suit standing just a few feet away. “Ah, for crying out loud, not you again! We're in the middle of a show!”

The man in the suit offered an unimpressed expression, "Then we'll talk after. But we will talk. Another city last week, another tech firm robbed. Another stop on your tour. If I prove you're responsible, I will shut you down.”

Haly frowned at the man, “I've got three minutes to gather props and get back to the center ring," and promptly turned to grab what he needed.

The suit noticed us when Haly walked off and approached, “Faraday, Interpol." He introduced himself, and you made eye contact with Robin. He hadn't mentioned Interpol during the briefing. "New act?” The agent asked.

“Yeah, just joined the tour," you affirmed, plastering on the same camera smile you used at all the events Oliver would drag you to.

“Probably clears you. But don't get too comfortable. Haly's going down for this," Faraday warns before stalking off.

You were crouched on a roof with Robin and Miss M as you all observed the prospective target when Superboy spoke up, “If Interpol's already on this, why are we bothering?”

“Because Batman said so," Dick deflected, “Why? You had something better to do?”

You turned back to look at Dick and quirked your brow, you were well aware of the significance this circus held for him, but no one else on this mission was. To them, his attitude was most likely abrasive.

“How do we know the thieves will hit here?” Artemis asked from her perch with Roy; you let your eyes drift toward them and were happy to see they were both still in one piece.

“There are more obvious targets,” Roy supplied, begrudgingly seeming in agreement with Artemis.

“And Faraday will have them covered!” Robin shot back defensively. “But I analyzed the tech already stolen, and the patterns suggest this is the place.”

M’gann interrupted with a soft voice, “How are you feeling?”

Her question had you turning back to Robin, features softening. You could see the strain he was putting himself through.

“Lousy, actually, but I'll manage,” he offers, and a frown pulls at your lips.

You were ready to butt in and tell him maybe he should stay back, but before you could, Conner cut in, “Contact! North-East quadrant.” You all watched as a hooded figure approached the gate and managed to flip their way over it. Their acrobatic skill was apparent. “Looks like we know why Carlo missed their performance,” Conner offered.

“Could be Carlo, could be his brother,” Robin reminded everyone. “Keep an open mind, and move in!”

You repelled down, Robin doing the same by your side, though you noticed as he landed a bit harsher than normal, before turning and trying to find your mystery acrobat again.

“Did you see where he went?” Robin asked as we regrouped, and everyone focused on finding any sign of your culprit.

Conner landed beside you, and a minute passed before he answered, “The warehouse.”

You all managed to slip into the warehouse undetected and took up positions surrounding the hooded figure from the railing above.

Robin laughed, drawing his attention, and that’s when you realized under the hood that he was also wearing a mask. “Caught red-handed! Red faced too, I'll bet.”

Artemis glared at him, “Acrobatics won't get you out of this.”

You saw the baton before he had it all the way up, and your eyes went wide, “Look out!”

No one else had a chance to say anything before your offender utilized a mock of devil's breath (fire) as a distraction. You all split up to avoid being burned, tumbling away from the heat.

“Somebody do something!” You huff, pushing yourself up and looking down at your arm, you can feel a burn there, and you bit down on your cheek to keep from letting out a pained cry.

“Those crates are full of live ammo! Move!” Roy shouted, and your eyes went wide. Roy jumped down toward you and helped you up, pulling you to your feet before tugging you after him.

You all found a somewhat secure spot and pulled down the metal supports around you, blocking you from most of the blast as the explosion shook the building and shattered the glass windows.

You waited an additional minute for aftershocks before Superboy kicked down the metal around you, “That guy is dead meat!”

“Superboy, no!” Robin shouted, stopping Conner before he could follow after our mystery firebug.

“You need to get her out,” you tell him as you gesture back to M’gann, wincing when your suit pulls against your burn.

“He's getting away!” Conner argued, and you couldn’t hide your surprise.

You could feel the rage pouring off of him. You hadn’t felt something this intense from Conner in a while. It was potent but awkward. You were all upset, angry, and annoyed, but no one to his extent, even with them being as close as they were.

You frowned at him, “And that matters more than Miss M? The fire's killing her!” You remind him, and suddenly the rage evaporated; his fluctuating emotions became increasingly more baffling with each mission.

“Right right!” He corrects, taking M’gann into his arms and running out from the smoke.

With the pressing concern of M’gann’s health resolved, Robin turns to the rest of you. “Artemis, NG, Arrow! Find the thief!” he shouts, but you all see as he collapses.

“Fuck,” you mutter, rushing up to him.

“Because he matters more than you?” Artemis asks, repeating your words from seconds earlier.

“You're still off your gigs, pal. We're getting you out too,” Roy determined as he and Artemis each looped an arm around him. “Birdy, you alright?”

“Fine! I’m right behind you!” You affirm, wincing once again as you grab your grapple, every movement of your arm paining you.

By the time you returned to the train, your arm was throbbing. You had applied burn paste on the bioship in the small bathroom while everyone else decompressed and bandaged it up, deciding to deal with it fully once back on the train, hoping to avoid any questions about it. Everyone seemed to be in a mood when you touched down and relegated themselves to quietly fuming while preparing for bed. Between the six of you, there were two compartments, one for the three boys, the other for the three girls. M’gann got ready for bed first, and Artemis approached you while she was in the shower. You were seated on the floor beside your bed. Despite having changed to get in unnoticed by anyone who happened to be wandering about, you still smelt like smoke and had no desire to get that on your bed. Artemis gently sat down beside you, hands hesitating before gently grabbing at your arm. You let out a hiss at the contact despite how light her touch had been.

“I saw it, before we carried Rob out, but it was hard to see, and there was fire everywhere, so I thought maybe it wasn’t as bad as I had thought, until you walked out of the change room with a bandage on…” she trailed.

“It’s fine,” you tried to shrug off.

“I know I messed up last time, but I thought about what you said. I want to be on this team, NG, I want-“ she cuts herself off, dropping your gaze. “I want them to be able to put their trust in me,” she says firmly.

You stare at her for a second, knowing she’s trying to be exceptionally open with you right now. Allowing you to read every emotion she’s got while holding your arm and meeting your masked eyes. Tiredly you pull the mask from your eyes, and hers widen.

“I’m not giving you my ID, not yet. I-” you take a deep breath cutting yourself off. “it’s a lot for me. But I could use some help with this burn, if you’re offering,” you respond.

“Yeah, let me grab the med kit,” she nods, stretching out to grab a box from under her bed.

When M’gann came out of her shower, Artemis had cleaned your burn and debrided what she could. You had taken a mild painkiller and used a localized anesthetic on the area to keep the pain at bay. M’gann’s eyebrows raised at your unmasked face but simply offered you a warm smile once you replicated though much more muted.

“That looks pretty rough, I didn’t realize you got burned,” M’gann notes, her tone full of concern.

“It’s alright. You were looking pretty rough yourself,” you muse tiredly.

“You feel any better?” Artemis asks, looking back at the Martian.

“Lots, but I’m still pretty drained,” she admits, walking over to sit beside the two of you on the floor. “Why don’t you wash up, Artemis? I can take over,” she offers.

“You sure?” Artemis asks hesitantly.

“Go,” you affirm. “It’s not like I can shower until this is properly bandaged up anyways,” you shrug,

“Alright,” she nods, standing up and grabbing her stuff before disappearing behind the doors and down the walkway to the shower.

“Big step,” M’gann notes as she picks up where Artemis left off, though her eyes glance up to make uninhibited eye contact with you.

“Maybe I’m just high on the pain killers,” you lament.

M’gann giggles, “No, but whatever the reason, I’m glad. I know you know I caught glimpses back in Biyaliya, but I’ve done my best to respect your privacy and the things I learned during that mission,” M’gann admits.

“Yeah, we’ve all come a long way since Biyaliya, haven’t we?” you muse.

“Very,” she affirms. “How goes the empath development? My uncle mentioned he and Canary have been corresponding regarding your training,” she inquires.

“Did he tell you he thinks I may be able to manifest as a telepath? If my empathic abilities continue to develop the way they have been, I mean,” you tell her lazily, the pain killer defiantly helping in your unusual calmness.

“No, he hadn’t,” she admits. “How do you feel about that?”

“Honestly? I’m not sure yet, I just started understanding my empathic abilities, grasping how to read others, how to interpret the feelings, and it’s still so easy to get overwhelmed, when everyone else’s feeling are just too loud, and I can’t manage it all flooding at me… but Canary said I’ve always been an empathetic person, that I find it in myself to forgive and understand quicker than most, we just never realized it had to do with my latent abilities more than my experiences.”

“It’s both,” M’gann assured you. “You might be an empath, NG, but that just means you can read other people’s emotions, empathizing with them has more to do with your character than it does with your powers. It’s both, not one or the other, you’re more than your powers, don’t let their inherently emotional core make you think any different,” she says seriously, picking up the tub of burn cream.

“Thanks,” you manage to croak out, staring at M’gann. You hadn’t realized just how much of a toll the overpowering nature of your powers had been taking lately.

“Anytime, Birdy,” she smiles warmly once more before wrapping your arm up. She added an additional layer of waterproof bandaging to help protect your arm while you showered. “We can check it in the morning, but the bandage should you last you through the day, and we can clean it again tomorrow night,” she adds as she finishes.

Artemis returned a moment later and smiled at your now cleaned and bandaged arm, “You’re up, Birdy,” she mused, tossing her towel over one of the hooks in the compartment.

You smiled at the two girls, grabbing your towel and shower things before exiting the compartment yourself.

BRUGES December 23rd, 08:13 CET

When you got up the next morning, M’gann and Artemis unwound your bandage, inspected it, and added more of the burn cream before rewrapping it. The three of you exited the compartment and met with the boys for breakfast. You had just finished when you spotted the return of Interpol Agent Faraday.

“Another weapons plant is hit, and once again, the circus is in town. I don't believe in coincidences,” Faraday warned.

“I don't care what you believe! My people are not responsible! I did a bed check last night. Every single member of my troupe was asleep in their bunks!” Haly defended, and your brow quirked as you looked over to your team. Everyone was dressed in their performance outfits, but given that your arms were usually on display with the leotard, you had opted to slide a compression long sleeve on underneath, perfectly reasonable given the snowy weather outside, the sleeves covering your bandaged arm perfectly.

“Well, we sure weren’t,” M’gann notes in response to Haly’s defense.

“And if he's lying about us…” Artemis trailed off as everyone settled with the idea. Your gaze flickered to Dick, caught as his eyes narrowed on Haly and then dropped to the floor.

“Let’s go, I think it’s time to debrief,” you decide, urging your teammates to move and catching Dick’s gaze once more before you all moved back into the boys’ compartment on the train, closing the door behind you.

Everyone took up varying spots in the compartment, Artemis and Dick seated on one side, M’gann and you seated on the other, while Roy and Conner stood on each end.

“S, two thieves, right? The fire breather and one of the acrobats,” Artemis offered, starting the debrief.

“Dressed in identical clothes,” M’gann offered.

“Maybe not just two,” Dick decided, pulling something up on his holo-screen. “Here's the Madrid security footage.” you all watched silently as a hooded figure bent the bars. “And now, Paris,” confusion spread as you watched another figure walk on some cables, just like a tightrope.

“So the strong man and the clown too,” Roy supplied. “If the entire circus is involved, Haly himself may be the mastermind,” he voiced, and you cringed internally, fighting to keep your face straight, knowing exactly where this was headed next.

“You don't know that!” Dick argued, standing up to get in Roy’s space.

“It would explain his lies,” M’gann offered, though her tone was soft, as she tried to de-escalate the tension between Dick and Roy.

“I told you to keep an open mind!” Dick huffed before storming out. Your lips pursed, you wanted to run after him, but you also wanted to ensure that everyone was at least somewhat on the same page.

“Hello, Megan! I'll read Haly's mind!” M’gann offered, but before anyone else could comment on it, Roy took a step forward with crossed arms.

“I’m not sure we can trust you to do that without tipping him off,” Roy decided, and your eye twitched; you were getting really sick of questioning everyone’s trust.

“Or maybe you don't trust her, period!” Conner roared, stepping forward, voicing your thoughts. “I heard you talking to Robin back at the Cave. I know you're only here to spy on the three of us!”

“There's a mole on this Team,” Roy said so seriously you could see his sureness, but it did little to change your opinion. “And there’s good reasons to suspect all three of you. Both Artemis and Miss Martian have already been caught in lies,” both of their heads dipped a bit, “And you could be programmed by Cadmus without even knowing.”

“Or maybe I take your head off without even trying!” you’re once again struck by Conner’s aggressiveness. You’d thought he’d sorted through most of it with Canary. He’d been doing better, but suddenly it seemed like it was all coming back, and you couldn’t place why.

“Okay, let's all take a time out,” M’gann decided, placing a gentle hand on Conner’s shoulder and tugging him back a bit. “Before we do something we'll regret.”

“Speak for yourself,” he grumbled, allowing her to lead him out of the compartment to cool off.

Artemis waited until the compartment door shut again, “None of us are perfect. But each of us would give our lives for this Team. So try and keep an open mind,” Artemis reminds him, and it’s reassuring to hear your words echoed by another, but also to see the calm, collectedness she managed to keep about her this time. You were proud of her and offered her a smile of your own as she left too.

“She’s not wrong, and it’s exactly what I’ve been saying for months, Roy,” you huff.

“Just because you’ve gone all kumbaya on me-“

“Don’t,” you snap. “Just don’t. I don’t know why my empath abilities seem to be such a focus for you lately, but it doesn’t make me any different than I have ever been. And this.. This being on edge, being angry, whatever it is, you need to knock it off because I can only take so much.”

“Birdy…” He says it softly, and you frown.

“I’m gonna go find Rob,” you decide, pulling a jacket from Robin's bag. “Figure your shit out, Roy.”

You make a quick stop to grab one for yourself before running out after Dick. You find him while he’s stopped in front of an old poster on a tent. When you get closer, you know why. You stare at it a second longer, The Flying Graysons, and you take a deep breath before walking up next to him.

He’s quiet as you saddle up beside him, and your fingers fidget for a second, trying to think of what to say. “They don’t know, and so they don’t understand, they can’t understand why this is so important to you, or why you’re being evasive and defensive… But I do. I know, I understand, and I’m with you all the way. If you truly think that Haly’s not involved, then he’s not, but I’m begging you Dick, please don’t block me out,” you say softly, voice barely louder than a whisper, as you drape his jacket over his shoulders and tentatively grab his hand.

He doesn’t answer, but his fingers tighten around yours, and you release the breath you’d been holding. Only a few moments later, his com rings, a quick glance lets you know it’s Wally, and Dick answers, linking you in while you both stand out in the snow.

“Uh yeah?” he answers lamely, gaining an eye roll from you, though you can hear how bothered he still is in his voice.

“Dude, where are you?” Wally asks; there’s a slight note of concern in his tone.

“Confidential mission,” Dick covers, shooting you a pleading look, “from Batman,” he adds, and your eyebrows raise.

“Wow!” Wally exclaims. “You know what I'm doing? Making a baloney sandwich, kinda like you just did,” he laments, and you can’t help but snort. “Hey there, Pretty Bird, I was hoping you’d be around,” Wally greets, and you smile playfully at your best friend’s tone.

“Hey, Wall,” you muse with a light smile as you and Dick turn to start walking, your fingers still laced together with his.

“Anyways, I talked to Tornado. You guys are NOT on a mission. Not an official one, anyway,” Wally continues, and you make eye contact with Dick.

“A friend, Jack Haly,” Dick sighs.

“The circus guy? From your old Flying Graysons days?” Wally asks, tone suddenly soft.

“Yeah. He's implicated in this global crime spree. Someone in the show's dirty, but I need to prove old Jack's clean or he might lose the circus,” Dick admits, and you squeeze his hand.

“Then why not bring me along?” Wally asks. “I know your back story, I know what that circus means to you. It's where you grew up, it's where you lost your-“

“I left you behind because you know my back story,” Dick says quickly, effectively cutting Wally off, and he squeezes your fingers back again. “I didn't want my best pal questioning my objectivity.”

“Dude, that's what a best pal's for. Plus, Birdy got to go!” Wally shoots back, though you know Dick understands the immense support and emotion behind Wally’s words.

Dick’s lip twitches up slightly as he looks at you, “Birdy didn’t give me an option,” he huffs.

You smile back at him, “I really didn’t,” you affirm into the coms, and it’s true. Dick had tried to convince you that you weren’t needed on this mission, but you didn’t relent until he gave in.

BRUGES December 23rd, 22:34 CET

“And that's our show! Farewell, good people of Bruges!” Haly announced, gaining massive applause in response before exiting the ring and joining everyone else in the backstage tent. “Pack it u! The train leaves for Geneva in two hours!” he reminds everyone as we all load our gear.

It’s nearing that two hour mark when everyone’s out by the train. You’d been helping Conner with the boxes that housed all our gear, both for the show and for our suits, when you heard Ray come up to M’gann.

“Need a hand?” he asks, and you watch him reach out to grab the box in M’gann’s grip, tensing slightly because you know the box she’s got right now has Artemis’ suit inside.

“I-I'm good, thanks,” she deflects gently, plastering on a small smile.

“Maybe one of the others could use some help?” you offer instead, with a fake smile of your own. “A lot of them seem to have that flu,” you note, seemingly offhandedly.

Ray nods, “Yeah, it's going around,” he affirms before offering one last smile and walking to the aforementioned performers sitting, trying to catch their breath.

All aboard, everyone, now!” Haly’s shout comes minutes later, and you frown as you make eye contact with Roy.

“Someone's in a hurry,” Roy notes, tone laced with suspicion, and you can’t help but search for Dick in response.

The train had been going, and you were on your way to Geneva. You were all in your compartment looking at M’gann, who wasn’t feeling well.

“You look better,” Artemis notes as she looks at Dick, “you too,” as she nods down to your arm, which still hurts, but not as bad.

“It’s getting there,” you nod.

“I feel better,” he nods, “I'm sorry, M-Dawn,” he frowns, turning to M’gann where she was lying in her cot. “I hope you didn't catch it from me.”

“I feel so silly. Who knew a Martian could be vulnerable to a human virus?” she hums, clearly tired.

“H. G. Wells?” you offer with a slight smirk, eyes twinkling when you catch Dick’s lip twitching up.

“Look, when did you first feel sick?” He asks, cutting you off before you can try for another joke.

“Just after boarding the train,” she admits, and you can remember how she had been loading up gear before, seeming fine, “it came on suddenly.”

Dick frowns, “Same with me, the other night. I remember Ray rubbed my head for good luck right before we went on,” he explains.

“Ray? That roustabout?” Conner interrupts, “He touched her before we boarded. That guy must be a walking Petri dish,” he scoffs, shaking his head.

You’re struck with a thought, the seed of one which you didn’t like. As if sensing your sudden idea, Dick’s blue eyes focus on you. You freeze for a moment. You’re used to the whiteouts of his domino, so being able to see his eyes like this makes you pause just for a moment because you realize this is the look he must always give you on missions, the one where you both just seem to know the answers together, without ever saying a word.

“Yeah, yeah, maybe,” he mutters, nodding to the door.

You quickly turn, and he follows you out of the train compartment. You look left as he looks right, and then he’s pulling your wrist, heading to the right, and you follow after him at the sight of a white button-up.

“Dana, Dan! You look refreshed!” Haly cheers, staring at you and then at Dick.

Dick’s still holding your wrist, and you can feel the tension coming from him. The nostalgia and longing that he automatically associates with Jack Haly and his past, and you have to bite back the innate need to comfort him because you would’ve hated it if someone tried to pity you, so instead, you shift your hand subtly from where it’s hidden behind his body and in front of yours, so that you can hold his hand, lacing your fingers together and offering a small squeeze.

“Thanks. Uh… Jack, how long has Ray worked for you?” he asks, squeezing your hand back once more.

“A bit about the start of the European tour,” Haly says after a moment of silence. “Poor lad's down with the same flu as the rest of them,” he adds, and you feel the team's presence appear behind you.

“We'll check on him, it’s the least we can do,” Artemis offers with a false tone of empathy.

“If you insist,” Haly smiles, and the team starts making their way toward the back of the train.

You smile at Haly as he continues on with what he was doing before, while M’gann forces herself up to join you.

“You should stay in bed,” Dick tells her.

She offers a coy smile, “As a friend of mine once said, I'll manage,” she teases, and you nod at both of them before following after the other three.

You manage to make it all the way to the back of the train, and when you get there, you’re honestly not that surprised to find the compartment empty.

“I guess he wasn't that sick,” you drawl, sarcasm laced into your voice.

“Does this circus have an elephant I don't know about?” Roy asks with a furrowed brow.

“Not on foreign tours,” Dick answers, the words tumbling out quicker than he probably should’ve let them.

Roy spares you another glance before opening the box, “empty,” he notes, and you lean over his shoulder to take a look.

He’s about to shut the box when you notice something off, “no, wait!” and he freezes as your hand reaches out and brushes up against the side of the box. “Ash,” you note, throat a bit dry as it begins to fit into place.

“From the warehouse fire in Bruges,” Dick notes, and he seems to come to a similar conclusion.

“Uh… guys?” Artemis calls, “I found Ray,” she says, holding up a face mask of who you all had assumed to be the Circus’ roustabout.

“Split up!” you decide, voice urgent. “Search the whole train!” you add, and everyone files out, heading to different carts.

You and Dick split off toward the front compartments, and he’s a few feet ahead of you before he stops and looks back at you with wide eyes. The space is silent except for the sounds of the train moving and that’s when you hear it, the muffled shouts coming from one of the compartments.

“Top?” you offer, trying to trace the sound.

“No. Haly’s office,” Dick answers with a grimace before kicking the door open.

Your lips part when you spot Haly, stripped down to his undershirt and pants tied up on the floor in his office.

“Shit,” you mumble.

“Who did this to you?” Dick asks, tone urgent as he pulls Haly’s gag down. Though you bite back a sarcastic, who do you think dickie?

“Ray,” Haly gasps, “Ray, the roustabout! Right after the train left Bruges!” he tells you, and Dick freezes to look back at you. You offer him a roll of your eyes and your best duh expression. “Hey, I'm not Houdini here!” Haly shouts, gaining Dick’s attention once more, and you grab one of your ring daggers, tossing it, hilt first, to Dick to cut through the ropes.

“Tell Dawn!” He shouts to you, and you step out into the hallway, clearing Haly’s sight before taking off.

“Dawn, come in!” you call out over the comms.

“Uh… Dana?” she answers.

“Dan tried to reach you, the other way,” you hint.

“I think the flu's knocked out my other way,” she admits and you stop running just in time for Dick to catch up to you.

“That clinches it,” he decides, and you nod.

Clicking your comm again, you call, “Dane, Dean, Diane, come in!” you call and hear the beep from Dick’s comm as it’s linked to the call. “We're chasing someone who's stolen Dawn’s act. Her whole shtick, if you catch my drift,” you hint.

“I got him! But he's on to me,” Conner calls through, “Exiting the dining car now,” he adds, and you both take off towards the cart. “He's gone top side!” Conner corrects, and you skid to a stop, tossing a door open and climbing up to the top of the train, Dick right behind you.

“That won't work on me, clown!” Conner shouts.

“That's no clown,” you argue, theory confirmed.

“He's the Parasite! The guy who once stole Superman's powers,” Dick supplies, as you both stop across from Conner.

“As if you, kids, are who you claim to be!” Parasite argues, “please,” he scoffs, willing his disguise to melt away, leaving us staring at the alien.

“Stay out of his reach!” you order, “there's no flu going around, the weakness comes when he makes physical contact and feeds on the powers and abilities of others,” you explain, pulling out a few more daggers.

“I happen to be a bit of a glutton today. Chowed down on the skills of nearly every loser in this troupe. But, oh, my! But the pièce de résistance was Dawn Danger,” he drawled, and you saw as the rest of the team started appearing on the train roof as well. “Or whatever her real name is. Thought I'd pouch on her trapeze skills imagine my surprise when she tasted like Martian Manhunter, instead,” he grins. “She made a lovely appetizer. But guess who I want for my entrée,” he teases, and your eyes blow wide.

“SB!” you shout, trying to warn him, but it’s too late.

Using M’ganns telekinesis, Parasite pulls Conner to himself, hand wrapping around his neck while he drains him. “M-hmm, now that's the full body Kryptonian flavor I love!” Parasite taunts.

“Everyone, stay whelmed!” Robin orders, “Subdue, but keep your distance!”

Both Roy and Artemis pull out their bows, but before they can get a shot off, Parasite uses heat vision to burn them to ash in their hands, and your lips part in surprise.

“You know, I almost never say this, but I'm sated,” Parasite decides, dropping Conner's body, which falls at his feet. You catch as Parasite shifts his weight and adjust accordingly, to leap up as he takes off, “Hate to eat and run!” he calls back, but you timed it right, managing to catch onto the box he’s touting with him, but miss it as he hits Rob, nearly knocking him off the train.

You get a sound footing and climb up the box until you can launch yourself at him. There’s a distant shout of “NG!” but you’re unable to progress any further before Parasite stops you. You managed to get a hold of him in time to find something of interest, but before you could continue, he’s turning to face you.

“Sorry, no hitchhikers,” he huffs, hitting you in the chest with his Kryptonian strength and knocking you back down to the train.

You land harshly on your back, groaning when your head hits the train’s top before your body bounces off, and suddenly you’re falling. There’s a split second of panic when your hand ghosts your hip, the action trained into you by Dinah and Ollie, but there’s no grapple. There’s no pressure from your belt, no sting of a bow slung over your shoulder. For a moment you’re just falling. You think of Dinah and Ollie and how crushed they’d be, of Roy and how angry he already is, and how much worse it’s bound to get if you were to die in front of him.

Vaguely you hear shouts of “NG!” and “Birdy!” but it’s not until a hand wraps around your wrist that everything comes back to sharp focus, the sound of the train, the cold of the air, and as your eyes snap back open you’re staring straight into blue. Dick’s got a stern look on his face as he grips your wrist tight. straining as he tries to pull you up, but you know it must be taking all of his energy because there’s no leverage for either of you to grip onto. A second passes as you hang there, eyes sweeping out to the mountainside under you, “Birdy,” he grunts. You reach up and tuck a thumb drive into Robin’s wrist.

Your eyes meet his again, his eyes are wide, but you offer a wry smile. Before you can say anything, Roy is sliding down next to Dick, throwing a hand out to help grab onto you, grip bruisingly tight. Artemis and M’gann quickly drop down and help the boys pull you up, tugging until you’re back on the train with everyone else.

“Birdy? Birdy, are you okay?” your eyes had locked with Dick’s for a second, but it was Roy’s frantic tone that was addressing you.

“‘M fine,” you say, pushing yourself to a sitting position.

“Conner!” M’gann’s shout has you turning your head to look at what’s happening.

“C’mon, let’s get you up,” Roy’s voice is soft as he offers his hands to help pull you back to your feet, Artemis and Dick standing on either side of you as they maneuver you back toward the other two.

“You alright?” M’gann’s voice is soft as she checks Conner over.

“Fine, fine!” he huffs, the anger and annoyance evident.

“You're drained!” Dick corrects. “Parasite took more power than you even have!” he argues, “Heat vision?”

“I have the genetic potential for it!” Conner reminds him, “Must've been enough for him.”

Dick lets out an irritated groan pushing forward, and you make hesitant eye contact with the two archers on either side of you.

“Go! I'll manage,” Conner says, and the rest of you follow after Dick.

“Are you okay?” Roy’s the one to ask after you’ve climbed back down.

“I’m good,” you dismiss.

“You hit your head pretty hard,” Artemis adds, concern evident. “Plus the arm Rob grabbed you by was the burned one…”

You look down and see specks of blood coming through the bandage and bite back a sigh. You hadn’t even realized that the arm Dick caught you by was your injured one; you probably pulled the skin off the burn, aggravating the injury more.

“It’ll be okay, I’ll re-wrap it before I change,” you swallow, looking at both archers.

“And your head?” Roy’s tone conveys his obvious big brothering. It’d be sweet to know it still exists if you weren’t in the middle of an emotionally charged mission.

“Still smaller and smarter than yours, so I think I’ll manage,” you joke.

He scowls at you and at the slight snort that escapes Artemis, “Not what I meant, and you know it,” he grunts.

“No concusion, but I’ll probably have a nasty bump,” you relent.

“Good, and let’s not tell D and O that you almost died? I don’t think they’d be very happy with me,” he adds.

“My lips are sealed,” you assure him.

Artemis scoffs again, “mine aren’t,” she smirks viciously at the way Roy pales a bit.

You chuckle as you pull her into your compartment, so you both can get changed.

You find yourself seated with the rest of the team shortly after, dressed in your suits, a new wrapping on your arm. Artemis had spare arm braces from her stealth suit, black in color, that she lent to you so you could use them to cover and secure the wrappings, which you did.

“It's not a complete debacle,” Robin announces as we all settle. “Birdy picked Parasite's pocket, and got this flash drive,” he announced, and you feel some eyes slide to you questioningly.

“Did she?” Roy’s tone has an edge, probably because you didn’t tell him

“Looks like Parasite's working for Intergang. Everything he's stolen, they're all pieces of something!” Dick explains as data starts filtering through the holo-screen.

“It looks like they’re putting together a weapon that generates…. Black holes?” you read over his shoulder, eyes blowing wide at the revelation.

“Oh, come on! To build that, you need a particle accelerator!” Roy argues.

“Like the Large Boson Collider in Geneva?” Robin offers, tone flattened, as he glances over at Roy.

“The circus's next stop!” Roy realizes. “But now that Parasite can fly, he's got a big head start on us!” he tacks on, gaze zeroing in on M’gann and Conner.

“Sorry,” her mumbled response comes out.

“Not your fault,” you assure her with a glare at Roy.

“But this thing could wipe out entire cities,” Dick explains. “We need to hurry.”

“You, me, and Birdy need to hurry,” Roy corrects. “Without powers, the others would hold us back.”

Your eye twitches in response, but Artemis quickly counters, “Hey, you're not the only one with a backup bow,” she challenges, holding up a compact crossbow.

Before anyone else can say anything, there’s a loud thud as Conner slams his fist into the wall of the train compartment, leaving a massive dent, “my powers are back!”

Dick stepped forward, lips tugging down, “how?”

Even M’gann looks a bit shocked, “I'm still-“

“I guess Kryptonians recover faster than humans or Martians,” he shrugs and eyes shift to M’gann, but you note the way Conner rubs at his arm subconsciously, and your eyes narrow.

“Don't even think about leaving me behind,” M’gann laments.

Roy turns to you, “Well, that settles that,” you shrug.

GENEVADecember 24th, 00:37 GET

Rocking up to the particle accelerator, you spot the body and crouch to run a quick diagnostic on the man.

“Happy Christmas Eve, everyone,” you mumble while ensuring that the man would be okay until the proper authorities and medics could arrive.

“Trail of destruction, this way,” Robin tags on and you nod as you stand back up, all of you running back into the building, nearly silent as you go.

You can hear it when the accelerator starts up, and Rob’s quick to pull up his holo-screen, “We need to take him down, or at least lure him away so we can safely disengage the-“

“SB!” you whisper shout when he shouts out and starts charging at Parasite.

“No, wait!” Robin tags on, but it’s too late. Conner’s charging straight at him, revealing your location as well.

“Seconds? No, I couldn’t,” Parasite teases, eyes lighting up green.

You cringe as you watch Parasite pull Conner forward with M’gann’s telekinesis and then let out a breath as SB decks him, but another wince quickly follows when Parasite pulls him back and launches him out.

You suck in a breath as Parasite begins flinging Conner around the lab. Even Roy seems to be getting antsy when he raises his bow, “What's wrong with-“

Before he can finish, M’gann lays a hand on his shoulder, “wait,” she commands. He hesitates but does, “I might have an idea…”

We watch as Parasite pulls Conner to him a third time, grabbing onto him and feeding on his power again, “Ah, what a rush!” he goads. “How do you do it, kid? Even Superman never recharged this fast,” he says, waiting until Conner was drained before tossing his body to the side. Your eyes slide to Conner, trying to ensure he is still breathing while M’gann explains her plan.

Parasite quickly clicks something on the panel before him, “Alright, Dangers, come on out! Only a couple of minutes before this baby's done warming up and eats Geneva.

“What do you think?” she asks, and your eyes dart to the Martian.

“Big risk to take on a theory,” Roy bites, but Dick’s gaze settles on you.

He offers a slight quirk of his lip and a barely noticeable shrug; it could work.

You nod, “Do it. Go!” you order, and everyone splits up.

M’gann steps out, making her entrance obvious to the target as she all but waltzes up to him, “what do you have against Geneva, anyway?” she asks.

“Never liked the food, but the menu keeps improving,” Parasite chuckles, rubbing his hands together, before summoning M’gann to him.

“I'm just the appetizer, remember?” she huffs, managing to duck out of the way. “Here's the main course!” she shouts, knocking his feet out from under him.

Everyone springs into action. Roy shoots off an arrow that covers Parasite in a foam-like substance that traps him where he is as it hardens.

Parasite is quick to react; using his pilfered Martian telekinesis, he pulls Roy’s bow, and then Roy himself into the air, “Foam? You think foam can hold me? Or stop me from crushing you with a thought?” he demands. “Combined Martian and Kryptonian powers here!” he scoffs, using his strength to start crumbling the material.

“But do any of those powers free you before I sabotage your death thingy?” Robin asks from his spot beside the keyboard.

“This one does,” he groans, finally freeing his arms and aiming his heat vision at Rob, who ducked down in time.

Artemis drops down next, shooting an arrow that emits gas, and you roll a few marble bombs quietly into the gas’s bounds. When Parasite turns his heat vision on Artemis, it sets off the gas, and the explosion sets off your marble bombs, adding to the flames.

Roy drops to the ground with a groan, and you quickly run up to check on him. Dropping down on a knee, you roll him onto his back, and when he groans again, you breathe. Your hand checks his pulse to ensure it’s not too elevated.

“Birdy-“ he groans, trying to sit up.

You push him down, “No. Stay down, Red Arrow,” you hiss, forcing him to catch his breath and slow his heart.

When Parasite stands up and starts goading, you pop back up and move closer to Artemis. “So clever… trick me into igniting inflammable gas… but you forgot… doofuses double dose of invulnerability… Fire can’t… touch me,” he argues, but you can hear the strain the flames are starting to take, and a small smirk graces your lips.

“Unless you make a meal of my powers and get my weaknesses as a side dish!” M’gann all but hisses at the villain.

Realization falls upon Parasite quickly, “No, No!” he shouts before finally succumbing and passing out.

“Aw, poor baby, something you ate?” M’gann teases.

Robin quickly gets back to the keypad, and in seconds he has shut the system down.

You let out a sigh as you hear the doors bang open. Agent Faraday and his squad of Interpol agents run in with trained precision. “We'll take it from here,” he states as his team puts out the fire.

“All yours,” you smirk lazily as Robin walks over to Stand beside you.

“Thanks for the tip, by the way,” he adds, smiling at you both. “Definitely helps to prep the inhibitor collar in advance.”

“Glad to be of service!,” Robin nods, and you bump his shoulder promisingly.

While Faraday turns to coordinate with his team, you and Rob turn back to yours. You turn in time to catch Roy taking Artemis’ proffered hand, pulling him back to his feet.

“Wow… He deigns to touch the hand of a suspected traitor,” Artemis drawls sarcastically, and you can’t help but snort.

“Mind open,” Roy replies, repeating your request from earlier. “I guess I never really saw you three in the thick of it before,” he admits. “Superboy's a hot-head,” he adds on, turning to the boy in question who had just wandered over with M’gann, and you can’t help but let out an even louder snort, one Roys glares at before adding, “but I know I'm not one to talk.” You smirk victoriously and he shakes his head before continuing. “You could each have betrayed us here, you didn’t. I’m sorry I doubted any of you. There is no mole.”

Roy’s admission immediately affects the general comfort level around you. Conner, M’gann, and Artemis all seem a bit lighter, Dick’s shoulders relax the slightest bit, but your eyes are focused on Roy. You want to believe him, want to think that the mission genuinely changed his mind, but you know him, and more than that, you can sense his emotions, and yet you can’t see a change.

GENEVADecember 24, 10:06 GET

The train made it to the Port of Geneva train station, the rest of the team was getting all their bags and gear together for exfil, but you had decided to go with Dick as he said his goodbye.

“So,” Haly drawled, “The show will go on. And I have the feeling I have you, Dangers, to thank,” he decides, staring at Dick, though his eyes flick to you quickly before returning to Dick.

“Don't know what you mean,” he shrugs.

“No, of course not,” Haly agrees, a kind knowing smile on his face. “But I'm guessing

you'll be leaving now.”

“Time to move on,” Dick tells him, shaking his hand, and you can’t help but smile softly.

“Well, Dick, I'll miss you,” Haly tells him, and you can feel the swell of emotion in the room, and you don’t need to look in his eyes to know that this moment is so much more than Dick could have ever asked for when he decided to come back.

He’s still quick to disagree. After all, he had covers to protect, “It's Dan! Dan Danger!”

Haly chuckles, placing a hand on Dick’s shoulder, “Son, you've grown, but some things never change. Like the sight of a Grayson on the trapeze. You can't fake that. Can't hide it,” Haly tells him, and you can’t help how your breath catches in your throat. “So, doing old ring master one last favor?” he asks softly.

Haly’s standing in the center of the ring, spotlights focused, “Ladies and gentlemen, the farewell performance of the Daring Dangers! Introducing Dan Danger!” he announces, and the lights switch to Dick, who waves at the audience.

You smile as you stand next to Conner in the wings, waiting for each of your queues. Dick looked so graceful as he launched from the trapeze platform, he always seemed at ease when he was in the air, and you were glad to see it again. You knew he needed this, this opportunity, for closure at the Circus in a way he’d never had before. You only hoped it’d finally help relieve some of the guilt you knew he still carried, despite how misplaced it was.

everything tags: @butterfly-skinnylegend

dc tags: @grey-water-colors @batarella @loninctzencarat @escapenightmare

cnng tags:

@babymango-writes @smile-more19 @bruiscdlikeviolets @truly-dionysus @farfromjustordinary

@sometimeseverythingsucks @dweeb-central @casedoina @cipheress-to-k-pop @currentresidentinhell

@anonomano @seninjakitey @wherethesidewalkens @whelmedparker @meigalaxy

@officiallydarkgeek @midnxghtblue @unini @blackwhiteandshadesofgradient @dontmesswithbeebo

@raggedyoldwitch @tinybeantm @unicorn-mya @bouqet-of-gay @duckmylife18

@kendallambrosio @haniscrying @torchbearerkyle @cynthiarose07 @lolsnacks

@mono--moonchild @emo-space-tea @notsostraightweeb @cryingnotcrying @sassyspanishartist

@we-flower-fan @aces-tattooartist @awkward-youtube-trash @laurcad123

@so0bercore @sanovr @feverish-dove @raginghellfire @mischiefmanaged71 @evermoore580

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waywardxwords · 6 months

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Chapter 1 - Rules Were Meant for Breaking (Taking Chances)

Summary: You meet a mysterious man on your flight. When a long travel day turns even longer, you find yourself breaking all of your personal rules as you get to know the stranger.

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Female Reader (no real romance happens in this one, though I am actually considering making this into a series so there may be more to come!)

Word Count: ~3k

Warnings: Slight language

A/N: This was meant to be Day 13 of the #flufftober (@flufftober) challenge. I had to travel for work this week, so it's late. Oops! The prompt was: Wrong (...). I hope you enjoy!

This day had felt like it would never end, but you knew it had only really started as you planned to head into the office for a handful of meetings. You boarded your flight from Atlanta, Georgia to Salina, Kansas. Flying Southwest, you had landed an aisle seat as you ensured you checked-in exactly twenty-four hours beforehand.

A tall, built man eyed the aisle seat on the row next to you. He lifted his duffel bag to the overhead luggage bin and plopped his backpack on the floor under the seat in front of him. You could tell he wasn’t a frequent flier, as he sat and quickly buckled his seat belt. You smiled to yourself, but popped your earpods in your ears and listened to the audiobook start to play.

Out of your peripheral vision, you eyed the man carefully. You’d be lying to yourself if you thought he wasn’t attractive. But you knew better than that. The career you had started years ago had become something important to you, and while the work was hard and the days were long—you were proud of your accomplishments and independence. There wasn’t any room for an attractive man in your life. But you couldn’t argue with the fact that he was nice to look at.

The plane took off without incident, but you couldn’t help but notice how the passenger to your right gripped his arm rests as you moved through the bumps one would during take off.

Everything changed, though, as you approached Kansas City. The ding of the intercom system throughout the plane sounded over the words of your audiobook, and you reached up to pause your earbud.

“Good afternoon, folks, this is your captain speaking,” the man’s voice sounded. “Unfortunately we have some inclement weather in Salina and we’ve been told by the Air Traffic Controller that we can’t land right now. We are going into a holding pattern. I’ll update you as soon as I know more.”

There were a few grumbles and groans amongst the passengers, but this wasn’t anything too new for you. The man in the aisle seat next to you caught your attention.

“Great,” he groaned and closed his eyes. You were drawn to the way his jaw muscle tightened as he clenched his teeth.

“I hate when they have us go into a holding pattern,” you offered him a sympathetic smile. His green eyes popped open as he looked back at you.

“Is this a thing? Does this happen a lot?” His questions confirmed your earlier suspicions–he wasn’t used to flying.

You shrugged with a small nod. “Eh, sometimes. I’ve noticed it happens a lot in Kansas with the tornadoes and all,” you explained. “Usually we’ll circle for a bit and then get the clearance to land.”

He nodded as he processed your words. “Here’s hopin’ that clearance comes ASAP. I just wanna get off this damn plane.” You nodded in agreement. As you circled, you closed your eyes a bit, in hopes that you’d soon start to feel the plane begin to descend and the landing gear move into place.

But that didn’t happen. After forty-five minutes, the ding sounded from the intercom once more.

“What now?” The man grumbled as you peeled your ears to listen over the hum of the engines.

“Sorry folks, we are being told that we are not going to be able to land for the foreseeable future. We have decided to head back to Atlanta where we will re-fuel and get a new crew assigned. We will have to wait to hear from ATC on when we can return to Salina.” The groans and grumbles from everyone aboard the flight were audible now. You closed your eyes in annoyance, but when you opened them, you felt bad for the man next to you. He seemed visibly upset as he ran his palms against his jean-clad thighs. He leaned forward a bit to try to catch a glimpse out of the window down his row, and his left foot bobbed up and down as he tapped it against the floor of the plane.

You leaned towards him across the aisle a bit. “Sorry, I know that’s probably not what you wanted to hear.”

His head turned back towards you. “Yeah,” he breathed. While he still seemed nervous, you could tell he was trying to hide it. “This ever happen to you before?”

“Once,” you nodded. “The airline took good care of us, though. Usually, they offer up free booze as a consolation prize.” You said with a smile.

His eyebrows raised as he processed what you had said. “Hm, now that’s something I could get on board with.” You chuckled softly with a nod.

You put your hand out and offered him your name.

“Dean,” he smiled back at you and took your palm. His hands were as large as they looked, and you felt like his grip almost swallowed yours.

“Nice to meet you, Dean,” you managed to practically squeak out and hoped he hadn’t heard how unsure of yourself you were over the roar of the engines.

Over the course of the two hours it took to get back to Atlanta, you and Dean busied yourselves with conversation—you learned he had a younger brother and the two of them had taken on the family business (though you weren’t really certain what the family business was, exactly. Dean hadn’t gone into great detail, but something about extermination?). The brothers lived in Kansas, born and raised–but they traveled a lot by car. He shared that he would rather spend twenty-four hours driving than get on a plane, but he had an urgent matter to attend to in Atlanta and driving just wasn’t an option. He didn’t speak about his parents, and you chose not to pry. But he was funny, and quick-witted. Two things that only added to his physical attraction.

“Flight attendants, prepare for landing,” the pilot’s voice spoke over the intercom once more.

You were glad that Dean seemed a little more relaxed during landing, given the circumstances. But you also wondered if he had put up a mask for your sake, to not seem nervous or afraid.

Once the plane touched down and taxied to the gate you had departed almost six hours prior, the flight attendant came over the intercom. “Alright folks, we know it’s going to be at least an hour before we can give you additional updates. You’re free to get off of the aircraft, but please stay in the terminal. We will call you back to the gate once we know more over the PA system.”

Passengers started to stand and gather any personal items they wanted to take with them. Your eyes traveled to Dean, and you realized he was watching you.

“Wanna grab some food and a drink?” He asked, almost cautiously.

No harm in that, the thought rang through your brain. “Sure,” you nodded, with the simpler answer. Dean held out his hand in a gesture for you to lead the way.

As you exited the aircraft onto the jet bridge that led the way from the plane to the gate, Dean struck up conversation again. “You know this airport better than me. Any ideas on where we could go?”

“Hmm,” you hummed as you processed what was in this terminal. “Atlanta doesn’t have a lot, but I know there’s a Longhorn Steakhouse in this terminal.” You suggested. A quick glance to his face confirmed that it sounded good to him.

“Steak and beer? My kinda place,” he smiled. His smile sent a shiver down your spine. While you held tight to the fact that dating wasn’t in the cards for you–especially with some stranger from Kansas who you would have otherwise never met–you couldn’t help but feel a little giddy that you would get to spend a little more time with the handsome, mysterious passenger from your flight.

“Let’s do it,” you grinned as you walked dangerously close. For every stride he took, you felt like you had to take two in order to keep up.

It was a short walk to the restaurant, and thankfully there weren’t a ton of people, so you were able to find a quiet table towards the back. It was a small half-booth, so you and Dean sat on the same bench with a table top just in front of you.

“Welcome to Longhorn,” the waitress beamed as she placed two drink napkins down in front of you both. “My name’s Casey, can I start y’all off with any drinks or an appetizer?” She asked as she produced a notepad from her front apron.

“I’ll have a glass of cabernet and water,” you smiled at her as you looked over the menu. “No appetizers for me.”

“Coors for me, if you have it,” Dean’s eyes wandered the menu. Casey nodded. “No apps for me, we’ll just take a minute to look over the menu.”

“Sure thing, I’ll get those drinks right over,” Casey headed back for the bar.

You didn’t realize you were staring at him until Dean’s tongue darted out to wet his lips and his eyelids fluttered slightly as he read over the menu. The lighting in the steakhouse was dim, but the hanging pendant over the table cast a yellowish glow across his features. You hadn’t noticed his freckles before, but swore you could have counted them under the glow.

“So,” Dean’s gruff voice interrupted your thoughts and you hurriedly looked away in an attempt to not get caught staring. “What are you getting? The porterhouse is calling my name.”

“Oh, uh, you already decided?” How long was I staring? Your thoughts ran together as you quickly tried to look over the menu.

“Steak is easy, sweetheart,” he chuckled softly as he glanced back down at the menu. He almost cut himself off as he realized sweetheart had just rolled off of his tongue. It almost looked like he wanted to apologize for it, or take it back–but when he saw you hadn’t flinched, he let it hang in the air. You surprised yourself by liking it…

“Hmm,” you murmured as your eyes grazed the menu. “Probably the sirloin, with loaded mashed potatoes and a mixed green salad.” You said with certainty as you closed your menu and placed it at the end of the table.

“Alright, I see you with the loaded mashed potatoes, but you can keep your rabbit food,” he put his menu on top of yours.

A laugh rumbled in your chest. “Okay, food connoisseur,” you rolled your eyes. You surprised yourself again when you gave his shoulder a playful shove. “What are your two sides?”

“Loaded mashed potatoes,” he agreed with you with a firm nod. “And the steakhouse mac and cheese.”

“Two carbs, love it,” you teased slightly with a wink.

“Listen, carbs have never done me wrong,” Dean teased back. “The way I see it, life is short. Eat the damn potatoes.”

“I feel like that should be on a bumper sticker,” you mused as Casey returned with your drinks.

“Y’all ready to order?” She asked with a smile.

You started your order as you had relayed to Dean, but paused when it came time for your second side. You hesitated for a moment before you glanced at him. His eyebrows were raised, as if he were egging you on.

“Ah, screw it,” you mumbled. “Loaded potatoes and the mac and cheese, please.”

“Atta girl,” Dean seemed pleased. For the first time in a very long time, you had gone against the grain. You had always followed a subset of rules for yourself—as silly as it may sound, that even applied to food. Protein, carb, vegetable. Always. But something was different; Dean was different.

After Dean ordered, Casey headed back to send your selections off to the kitchen.

“I’ve never done that before,” you almost sounded giddy, but you couldn’t help it.

Dean seemed perplexed. “…ordered food?” He asked, unsure of what you meant.

“No!” You laughed as you took a sip of your water. “Ordered two carbs? I know it probably sounds so stupid…” you nibbled at the inside of your lip as you tried to process what you were trying to say. “I’ve always just had these rules for myself.” You took a breath as you tried to think of an example. “Okay, like: wait thirty minutes after you eat before you swim. Or don’t have sex on the first date.” The words slipped from your lips before you could stop them. But they had already landed and Dean choked on the water he had just sipped from his glass.

“Jesus,” he laughed.

“Sorry, that was awkward,” you felt the heat rise in your cheeks. “The point is…I’ve just always followed rules. They’re ingrained in me, I guess.”

“Darlin’,” Dean started slowly. “In my world, rules have always been meant to be broken.”

You weren’t sure what he intended with that statement, but it made your breath hitch in your throat. Against your better judgment (or rules, rather), you raised your glass of wine towards him.

“I’ll drink to that,” you said softly. His eyes held your gaze carefully in his before he reached for his beer and clinked it against yours.

“To breaking the rules,” he said gently.

“To breaking the rules,” you repeated before you both took a sip.

“Okay, okay,” you laughed at something your newfound friend had said in this silly game you had created as you ate your meals. “Would you rather…be stuck in a ring with a pissed off bull, or travel by plane?”

“Seriously?” He managed a smile. “I can’t believe you haven’t figured this out yet, but sweetheart, it’s always gonna be anything but traveling by plane.”

“Burning building or plane?” You contemplated exasperatedly.

“Light my ass on fire, still not the plane,” he took another swig of his second beer.

“Jesus,” you mumbled. “You really don’t like flying, huh?” As if on cue, you heard the call for the passengers on your plane to return to the gate. You had already settled the bill, but you each pulled out cash for the tip.

“Guess I gotta face my fears at some point,” Dean grumbled as you headed out of the restaurant.

“Aw, it’s okay,” you felt more comfortable giving him a little grief as you patronized. “I can hold your hand if you’d like.” You winked.

He stared back at you with a confident smile etched across his lips. “That a promise, darlin’?”

Your brain told you it was wrong, but your body chose to ignore it as you managed a nod. Dean smiled.

As you approached the gate agent, you heard bits and pieces of conversations that didn’t sound too promising. Once you and Dean were next in line, the agent offered a sympathetic smile.

“Unfortunately, we aren’t going to be able to get you to Salina tonight. We have an extra flight added first thing tomorrow morning, and Southwest will put you in a hotel near the airport for tonight. You can go ahead and show your boarding pass to retrieve your bags. Did either of you have anything checked?” She asked. You and Dean both shook your heads ‘no’. “Great, here are your hotel vouchers. There’s a shuttle that runs from the airport. And I’ll reprint your boarding passes for the flight out tomorrow.”

“Looks like we live another day,” Dean joked as you walked the jet bridge once more to get your carry-on bags. You rolled your eyes, but smiled.

“My boss is gonna be so pissed,” you mumbled. “I had a huge presentation today and so much work I had promised to get done. I have a personal rule that I don’t break work promises. Ever.”

“Look at you, little rule breaker,” Dean playfully nudged your shoulder. His words caused you to smile once more.

“You’re rubbing off on me,” you teased back.

Once you had gathered the items you had left on the plane, you and Dean headed back into the terminal and towards the shuttle pick up.

You typed out a note to your boss, keeping him in the loop of your travel plan changes. Then there were a few emails, and you forwarded your presentation material to your colleague who would need to cover on your behalf. In no time, you were on the shuttle headed to the hotel.

Dean seemed much more relaxed, but also seemed to be lost in thought a bit. “You okay?” You asked as you finally glanced up from the iPhone in your hands.

“Oh, I’m fine,” he answered quickly. He eyed you for a moment just as the shuttle pulled up to the hotel. “Uh, you wanna hang out? We could watch a movie or grab some drinks at the bar?” You couldn’t quite place it, but he seemed nervous to ask.

“Dean…” you started slowly. “I just think…” your words failed you as you tried to explain—your priorities were a lot different than other women your age.

“Hey, I get it,” he shook his head. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it, alright?”

“It’s just the wrong place—” he cut you off before you could finish.

“Wrong place, wrong time,” he smiled kindly at you. “I understand, and it’s okay.” He shrugged the strap to his duffel bag over his shoulder. “It was really nice meeting you, sweetheart. Truly. Thanks for keeping my brain busy so I didn’t worry about flying.” He smirked.

He started to walk towards the reception desk inside the lobby. You stood for a moment and bit at the inside of your lip again. Just as before, your brain told you to stop before you could process it.

“Dean, wait!” You called after him. Your feet carried you quickly in his direction as he began to turn around. “Rules were meant for breaking, right?” You breathed as you saw the glimmer in his eyes. He smiled with a nod.

“Alright, then,” he beamed as he held his hand out for you to walk in first. “What’ll it be, bar or a movie? Pick your poison.”

The heat rose in your cheeks as you pushed out every fear that had ever consumed you of following some plan or holding tight to some stupid rule. “Who said we have to choose? Why not both?”

He chuckled. “Atta girl.”

The feelings that bubbled in your chest left you feeling breathless, and you felt excited for the first time in a very long time.

Read Chapter 2 - Nothing to Lose Here!

Thank you so much for reading! So, while my travel experience this week wasn't this bad, I did end up having to return to my original destination due to weather and spent 15+ hours traveling on Thursday when it should have only taken me ~6ish. Lol. Not thrilled. Unfortunately, Dean Winchester wasn't on my flight, BUT that experience inspired this story!

I really love the dynamic between Dean and the reader in this one, and I feel like the story isn't finished. Possibly more to come? Let me know if you'd like to see more from these two!

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precious-little-scoundrel · 2 months

Text

Dear John | Part 2

Masters of the Air Fanfiction

Part 1

Series Summary: Major John Egan wasn’t the pen-pal sort but a couple of hours into a dark night full of writing condolence letters he finds himself wondering why he never tried his hand at the nicer forms of correspondence. Who better to reanimate his numb inspiration than the glamorous Miss Lana Tierney? -the army’s girl next door, the pinup so prolific she was practically a wall paper print and Bucky’s long-standing cinematic crush. It’s not like she’ll read it anyways. Right? Right.

Warnings: suggestive language, crass vocabulary, the vintage form of sexting -honestly this is mostly fluffy in reply to his more overt letter

Author’s note: after episode four I’ve got feelings and fics for this universe that are far ahead of these establishing pieces. So I’ve gone ahead and tossed this preliminary one out but I may very well skip around and ahead to October next. At least now y’all know: she wrote him back. Hehe. If it’s of interest, I’ll probably end up writing John’s reaction to receiving this response as well as Gale’s response to realizing his friend actually went and sent that awful thing.

Date: Early August, 1943

Dear John, (I’m sorry Major Egan, I just had to)

Thank you for your kind letter of the 18th. It’s been many years since I received so delightful a correspondence or so candid an expression of admiration. And you should know I keep most of the letters the sweet people of this country send me. They’re stacked in quite an orderly fashion in my various garages, kept for the rainy days to peruse and keep the blues away and also so I might try very hard to reply. I don’t take such affection for granted. It’s humbling really, always has been, to be so loved by folks but it’s another level entirely to be singled out by someone as brave and impressive as yourself.

I found your letter to be heartfelt and wonderfully brave and in an effort to be equally transparent, you should know that when I finished it I clutched it to my breast and whispered half a dozen prayers for you. Or as you might say, I held it to my knockers.

That’s an awful word, you must know that Major.

As is “rack”, for that matter, but I’ve a sneaking suspicion that you would make it sound charming as even your blotted paper was electric. How could you dare to praise my film set flapjacks and mention making babies? I’m fizzing just glancing at it. You really must be quite the fella and I’m terribly sad now that our rendezvous, such as you say it was, got cut short. You must reprimand your friend -Buck, is it?- and tell him he did an bad deed that night. There’s nothing I like better than duets and hamburgers, we might’ve been one of the great loves by now if he hadn’t meddled. But don’t be too hard on him, if he’s the sort to take it well, kiss him for me, after you chide him.

But since we are being honest, I must admit, reading your letter, being privy to your thoughts, seeing myself through your eyes as it were - dear man, I feel rather riled. Quite riled, in fact. Why, I haven’t felt riled in a while, not like this. Not like an ordinary girl with an extraordinary boy. Do you know what I mean?

Maybe you don’t.

I mean regular, old fashioned flustered. That’s what you’ve made me. And thank you for that, John. Can I call you Johnny? I wonder if you’re the nickname sort, or if you’re real stern and serious, a real John-John. Not a Johnny at all. But either way, I think you deserve a treat, for being so nice, Major Egan. For reminding me I can feel my pulse somewhere besides my wrists before a show -and for all you’re doing in the war, besides. There seems to be no safer hands to trust this to, you do seem so very fond of them, I am led to believe you’d be protective of them, too.

Enclosed is something for the personal morale, I hope you’ll think of me nightly with it at hand, in fact, I’m so excited about it I’ve taken this ill advised measure to insure you do. I’d very much like a report, do they live up to your expectations? They’re homegrown, after all, I hadn’t much say in them but now I’ve got them, I don’t see why they shouldn’t do their bit to keep you alive. A small sacrifice.

One of those reasons you mentioned, John, you’ve so many of them, more than you know. A million souls over here rooting you on, insisting you make it out the other side.

I’m forefront among them, I’ll be scanning the crowd when I come to Europe -because I will, at your invitation. Perhaps if you send me a picture of your own mug I won’t be looking a fool asking every man in uniform if I remind them of an acorn. Are you going to tell me what on earth that means? I’ve tried to work it out but I always end up with some mathematical conundrum and I just know in my heart of hearts you wouldn’t let me down like that, would you Major? It’s something awfully salacious, isn’t it? Please let it be!

I’m a vain little thing and I can’t deny the way this poor heart of mine is all pitter pattering at the thought of you being so awful while also so nice. It’s a strange blend, and rather like my coke, I do prefer my men mixed.

Best wishes, may you have cloudless skies and fresh coffee to your heart's content. My sources -and I’ve excellent ones, an upside of working the war bond circuit- tell me you’re airforce. I think that’s remarkable and I hope you give that picture some thought. Mine, and yours.

Your vain little friend,

Julia Jean Turner

P.S.-I’m only ever ‘The Lana Tierney ‘ to strangers, and we aren’t strangers now, are we? not if you’re to take my picture to your bunk. i suspect you may have already taken that liberty. who’s to say I did not take similar liberties upon reading certain stirring passages of your letter? Xx 💋

__insert vintage titty pic__

Whew this week was a doozy wasn’t it? Here’s some fluff for those of y’all who needed it, and I can promise angst soon for those who want to stay in the soul shattering mood. Hope you enjoy. Feedback is a writer’s lifeblood, let me hear your screams.

Drop a comment to let me know if you’d like to be tagged in any of my MOTA fics. Xo

Taglist:

@stylespresleyhearted

@ab4eva

@earth-to-lottie

@suraemoon

@blurredcolour

@steph-speaks

@crazymadpassionatelove

@rubyfruitjungle

@taestrwbrry

#masters of the air #masters of the air fanfiction #john egan #John Egan x oc #mota fanfic #bucky egan #dear john

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gentlebeardsbarngrill · 3 months

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01/28/2024 Daily Crew Recap

TLDR; Hoist The Ads Charity Donations; Campaign Status Updates; Hunt For the Pirate Home Watch Party; General Morale; Past Renewal Campaign Comparisons; Cast & Crew Sightings; Upcoming Events: Pets for Pirates Jan 29; Love Notes; Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika

=Hoist The Ads Updates =

Looks like the voting is done, and the results are in! @gingerlyvibing was kind enough to break down how much is going where. Just a reminder-- you all made this happen! Everything over the $10K it cost to get the billboard is going to help out these awesome charities! Links to threads: Tumblr / Twitter

Funnily enough, apparently one of the trucks still has the ads on it

== How To Help ==

How To Help Save OFMD Task List - US

How to Help Save OFMD Task List - Outside US

I'm helping some folks over on FB get similar/ the same updates right now, if anyone would like to help give me feedback I'd appreciate it, please just PM me! I have a couple ideas and I want to run them by folks.

== Status Updates ==

Good news! Wb is still having trouble recovering, as it should. Thanks @btweenhisteeth on twitter

==Petition Status==

Over 82K -- going slow, but still ticking up! Takes time all, especially since we're focused on the networks right now. Don't give up!

== Hunt For The Pirate Home Watch Party ==

Had some great turn out all over the world today for the Hunt For the Wilder People watch party. Thank you again to @dandeebakes for getting those coordinated!

Saw some great trends during it, and a lot of people having fun. If you haven't actually seen the movie, I highly recommend it, it's incredibly good!

==General Morale==

So despite things being fairly quiet today, the general vibe from folks has been that we're just in a holding pattern and we're just gonna keep clowning and polite menacing until we hear more word.

== Other Cancelled Series Comparisons ==

Something cool that I saw more of today was several groups doing comparisons with other cancelled TV Shows. Thank you to @OFMDCrew for these stats on twitter.

After they were posted, I did hear conflicting feelings on these (some felt it helped raise their mood, some felt it made it worse). So I wanted to point out a few things:

1. We've done a hell of a lot in 3 weeks (and signatures were our priority for most of the first two weeks, but once David Jenkins lit the beacon 8 days ago, we changed our focus). 2. We had a leadership change mid-all of this with Renew As A Crew. 3. Oh and there's other stuff in the world going on (Palestine) 4. As @saltpepperbeard says in their post "David only posted his "call to arms" just a little over a week ago. Eight days ago." So much has changed and we've STILL accomplished so much in that time too.

We are kicking ass, we really are, I promise you!

Across Twitter / IG / and Tumblr, several people have mentioned they feel like something's "in the air". That's totally a second hand "I have a feeling" thing but as you probably remember, quite a few of us had that as a bad feeling the morning before the show got cancelled. Now, if you're not into that kinda thing-- I would like to mention, that could just be because this crew is so fucking awesome, and that's why the vibe is so good-- because we're leaning on each other and take care of each other. Also when lovely people like @saltpepperbeard (as referenced above) write lovely responses to asks that can always help too. This post made ME feel better, I recommend giving it a read for a little perspective :)

= Cast & Crew Sightings =

1. The weekend is still pretty scarce as usual. Our pirate queen Ruibo Qian has been enjoying a lot of everyone's artwork lately. 2. Nathan Foad announced his con dates 3. Renewal Campaign Related: mostly seeing updates again from our boi Erroll Shand supporting the campaign.

== Pets For Pirates ==

Tomorrow, Jan 29, there will be a Pets for Pirates Even! Share your Pet pictures and use the hashtags:

#PetsForPirates

#AdoptOurCrew

#SaveOFMD

==Love Notes==

I know, I know "Jeez Abby, Shut Up We Already Know How Awesome We Are" Well good! Cause you should! But that won't stop me from saying so again! I'm serious when I say the vibe is so good right now in general because we have such a great crew. You all take such good care of each other and it shows every single day. You helped raise an extra $11,578 that are now going to charities that are going to help so many families, and kids, and that's just from the extra stuff from the Hoist The Ads Campaign -- not including everything else going on. I'm going to include a picture from one of my favorite people @thelatestkate because she does awesome work, and this one applies significantly to all of you. <3

Daily Darby/Tonights Taika

Tonights gifs are brought you by the wonderful @celluloidbroomcloset's Posts: Rhys / Taika

I'm literally watching Green Lanturn this moment because I needed to remember this youngin Taika, so thank you / no thank you for that, but hey I've watched worse for Rhys so I guess I can't complain.

Goodnight Lovelies <3

#ofmd daily recap #ofmd daily recaps #hoist the ads #our flag means death #ofmd #gentlebeard #renew as a crew #save ofmd #save our flag means death

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urbanflorals · 1 month

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Hiii im Emma the amount of fandoms I'm in is concerning. The amount of books i'm writing at once is also concerning. Point is you should just be concerned, enjoy your stay at my blog - here is a piece of cake 🍰

-> Im Emma/Ems or whatever nickname u want to give me I love giving people nicknames and petnames. Basic info -> She/her, minor, capricorn, intj, australian, ferrari girl, i will defend my babies warnette and evajacks until i die, a believer in sarcasm, i post about my writing sometimes, sometimes - cause im too lazy to write, im an ambivert and a joey lynch and damon torrance defender

Books -> [series] The inheritance games, acotar, shatter me, the folk of the air, pjo [im new to the fandom] the prison healer, caraval, ouabh, dance of theives, divine rivals, boys of tommen, the lunar chronicles, the red queen, the naturals, six of crows, devils night, boys of tommen [standalone] Better than the movies, the do over, betting on you (basically anything by lynn painter), the cheat sheet, powerless, the summer of broken rules and A LOT more. 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 Music -> taylor swift, gracie abrams, [recently getting into] maisie peters, tate mcrea, sadie jean, a little of lana del rey, chase atlantic, artic monkeys, guns and roses, conan gray. my music is all over the place lmao. 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 Movies/tv shows -> friends, b99, babysitters club, alexa and katie, fuller house, now you see me 1&2, oceans 11,12&13, knives out 1&2, mamma mia, adam project, red notice, enola holmes, and pretty much most chick flicks 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 Other -> rain <3, christmas, baking/cooking, art -> I paint, sketch, and draw, whenever I feel like it. I mostly draw though. 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 Moodboards -> I love making moodboards here is the masterlist 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝Writing -> i have a few side blogs but my public writing blog is @the-ballad-of-us and i also have a secret one see if you can find it ;)

Misc -> my dream life is to runaway to paris or new york and open up a bookstore/cafe/flower shop. (and to be the rich hot aunt the everyone loves), I want to travel when I'm older! [places] -> London, Paris, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Sweden, Germany, New York, Bahamas, Japan, Korea, and a bunch more!, I spend an unhealthy amount of time on Pinterest and Tumblr, 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 -> If we're moots, we're best friends, no takes backs. -> I over use lmao, lol, <3, :), and 😭 too much. im trying not to come on too strong and be rude lol (right there see? perfect example) -> My Wattpad -> My Pinterest -> I love talking to new people, and asks and dms (only for minors unless i agree to it :)) are always open <3 -> i most likely won't follow you back if you don't have an intro post, but if you want to get to know me just send me an ask :) 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

Special people ->@skeelly - kris, @percabeths-blue-cookies - har, @a-beautiful-fool - lou lou, @moonlightt444 - mare bear, @nqds - nadsies, @mqstermindswift - nicky, @lost-in-reveriie - addy, @art-of-fools - mr o'hare, @reminiscentreader - jas, @myster3y - my wifey kiara, @sophiesonlinediary - soph, @deprivedofbraincellsandsleep - zia, @runwiththerain - ives, @doyoujustnotwantto - mihane, @that-multi-fandom-hijabi - nova my world manipulation partner, @hijabi-desi-bookworm - esme, @gergthecat - scout, @baboland - aria, @missedyour21st - fay, @daydream-of-a-wallflower - kat + all my other moots that i didn't tag but rlly wanted too [if you want to be added or removed just let me know!! <333

𓆝 this is a safe space for everyone!! ↳ Dni - if you're a racist, homophobe, sexist, pedos, ect..

love ya all <3

Emma

#intro post #new theme new intro cause i was SICK of the hearts and everything changing #so hopefully this time it works other wise im cracking a tantrum

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absolutebl · 8 months

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This Week in BL - There's so much airing even I'm struggling to keep up

That's why I'm late.

Aug 2023 Wk 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Laws of Attraction (Sat iQIYI) 6 of 8 - Oh no. I am totally in love with the escaped young master & his smitten bodyguard. How did that happen? (Be careful P’Thee the broken ones are the most tempting. Tin understands.) NO SINGING! Trust Thai BL to destroy any moment of sentiment I might have by picking up a damn guitar. And we finally get Charn’s Batman villain origin story. Good use of back hug! This is a GREAT show. Melodramatic as fuck, but GREAT. Gotta say this pair in NOT Thailand’s best kissers but not everyone can be Zee++. Still I think that + singing + a touch of overacting is likely to keep this out of the 10/10 club.

Dangerous Romance (Fri YT) ep 1 of 12 - Rich /poor dynamic with characters & set up exactly as expected. Chimon is great. Perth is good too. A real rich-kid bully, Heirs level or Japanese F4 evil. All the teachers are also corrupt (that’s kinda a Thai thing, I think because they can't call out the government). I gotta say, Marc is doing a bang-up job as the jock friend, too. And the kiss twist was fun. All in all, this is good. And you know me, I love a high school BL.

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Sat YT) ep 1 of 12 - The time travel historical romance many of us have been waiting for. Adaption of y-novel by Violet Rain, from the producers of Lovely Writer. Heartbroken architect is transported to the 1930s. Nonkul (actor playing Jom) keeps reminding me of Cho Han Gyeol from Love Mate. It’s a bit slow to start but interesting when it hits its stride. The pacing feels like a Chinese historical (makes me wonder if this with be 4 or 6 act structure). Nonkul is a wonderful actor. They weren’t sharing the screen for long, but the leads seem good together. I’m in.

Only Friends (Sat YT) ep 2 of 10 - Well. It’s entertaining, I'll say that for it. Addiction. Manipulation. Queer as folk & all that jazz. (No jazz for you, Thailand. Oh no! I’m giving them ideas.) I would like it to turn out that Mew is actually manipulating everything. This is his revenge con on Top. Mew is, after all, supposed to be "the smart one." Gotta say, this is darn near perfect casting. But honestly? This show could just be about Ray & Sand. Their story (and them in it) is easily the most riveting. Sand better be careful, the wildly broken ones are always the best in bed, because they don’t care ao they have no shame and that's HOT.

Hidden Agenda (Sun GMMTV YouTube) ep 6 of 10 - I like how soft Joke’s version of seme flirting is. It’s mellow, like his voice gets with Zo. I also liked Zo casually chatting to his friends about how he feels about being flirted with. His friends gave good advice & were supportive. Oh no! A boy in a BL went into the rain ALONE. What ON EARTH will happen next? The argument was interesting, because it gave us insight into Zo’s maturity & ability to handle a relationship. I’ve been wondering why anyone would like him, and now I know. Joke & Nita’s backstory is fun. I like the gay boy protecting the straight girl reverse beard action. On a complete aside, I really like Dunk’s makeup in this series. It’s very Kdrama.

Low Frequency (Sat iQIYI) ep 7 of 8 - The house ghosts trying to help are cute. The plot is at least... a plot? I don’t know. Dias Ex Mafia is a new one on me. (COME ON THAT’S A GREAT PUN, PRAISE ME!) I’m ready for this show to be over.

Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 7 of 12 - Honestly, the whole time I’m watching this I’m just thinking I wish JaFirst got better scripts. Speaking of, I don’t object, but these characters sure moved into sex fast. I really don’t quite understand how Daddy & Hot Doc got together so fast either. It feels like their story was meant to be spread out into the other episodes but didn’t get cut in properly, so it ended up all in this one? Or is it just the pacing is particularly bad in this show?

Dinosaur Love (Sun iQIYI) ep 8 of 10 eps - I have no idea what is going on. What are all of Dino’s friends doing? What do they want? what’s their point in the story? I’m even annoyed by Peak, and love him. Sex scene which they tried to make sexy. Operative word being tried. Although, there was some interesting after sex discussion about mechanics. And there was a cute bathtub chat about pet names. But this show is a lotta work for very little pay out.

Wedding Plan (Wed YT & iQIYI) ep 5 of 7 - I like the sunshine sides? PUNCH LOM 2023! Trash watch here!

Love in Translation (Sat iQIYI) ep 1 of 10 - Pushy older bro is Earn from Love Sick, yay! And he’s the hyung of a side couple, which is "best friend’s older brother" trope! My favorite!!!! Have we seen this in BL before? I don't think so. Anyway, DOUBLE YAY! The main couple… eh. You know I loathe stalker characters. And I viscerally HATE this one. Almost as bad as SCOY, not sure I can take it, actually. The squealing of "Tammy!" is worse on my ear than any off-key guitar strumming. I may have to DNF or fast forward through all his parts… but he’s the lead. What to do? I do like the “Chinese” businessman actor. He very cute. (On an aside, I was just reading about commercial real estate as the loophole for foreign property investors in Thailand. Cool plot point.) I’m getting a Taming of the Shrew vibes from this. Just me? For now it's living at the bottom of the list for sheer unadulterated loathing of Phumjai. Not the actor, he was my favorite and only good thing about Our Days. But this character? NO.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Jun & Jun (Korea Thur Viki) ep 5 of 8 - This is basically the gay Boys Over Flowers of my heart. Or as close as I think we’ll get from BL. I like both of the 2nd leads, even though I suspect Simon of actually being into everyone’s fav hyung. Cute to see the Mr Heart boys back on my screen, oh so briefly. Such a Taiwan trick, reusing a beloved couple like that. Nice gimmie to the fans. Meanwhile, Choi Jun - boy sure knows his angles but his motives? Please don’t let this be another arranged marriage beard situation? I can’t take 2 in the same month.

Stay By My Side (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 8 of 10 - The boyfriends ep! JC is biggest simp spoiling his baby EVER. Taiwan = the sappiest of saps. “Owning the same key” is such a cute way of putting it. Also I love the "knew all along" twist, made me happy. The angst is silly but that's normal in Taiwanese BL.

Love Class Season 2 (Korea Fri Viki) eps 3-4 of 10 - Pair 1: Lee Hyun is such a wide-open, bleeding, no-shame romantic. It’s kinda great. Boy has a poet’s soul & NO artifice. J-Min is startlingly good, very nuanced. I know I keep saying that, but I’m v surprised by his skillz. And… add in creepy stalker, goody. Pair 2: The "other student couple" I’m not into, also NO SINGING. Pair 3: The underwear gift was so fucking funny. “I’m going reap the boxers I sewed” is next level script excellence. These two are brilliant at gayest-of-gay flirt-negging, I'm INTO IT. One of my housemates said, in response to my audible cackling, "You seem to be enjoying your shows extra much tonight."

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 2 of 8 - Oh I love love love them. It’s so old school yaoi and SO JBL. No other country could produce this kind of show. I love this little feminist aspect where the weatherman treats his boy like a 1950s housewife & said boy thinks that makes him an indentured servant. Clocks. But also, the way our weatherman LOOKS at his boy. He is so in love. (It looks like we skip next week for holiday reasons?)

Sing My Crush (Korea Wed iQIYI) eps 5-6 of 8 - It remains enjoyable.

Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) ep 6 of 12 - At least we know Minato actually desires Shin, he just won’t do anything about it. Also, Minato chose the perfect person to come out to. That's nice for him. Finally, Shu & Asuka are glorious. Sides are winning these days.

Stay Still (Hong Kong Tues YouTube) ep 3 of 5 - A proper faen fatal has entered one of our couples. She won too, since she ended up marrying the boy. Still not sure about this show (and it should have convinced me by now). I definitely like the tattoo couple better than the reunion couple. Still, not a lot happened in this episode and this is short series, they don’t have time to waste. It remains intriguing but not... erm... good.