#also weighs a tonne which surprised me

[echollama]

😏👉🌟

😳😳😳

SHE’S HERE-

THE RAIDEN SHOGUN

ALSJHSAFSFSFDSSA IT”S SO WELL MADE AND CUTE OMG

Great charger for my stylus 😭😭😭😭😭😂😂😂😂😂 my doodles are gonna be supercharged from now on

(just to clarify it is NOT a charger)

#genshin impact #raiden shogun #I'M HEAVING AND WHEEZING i had a rough day and the rush from receiving this just made my day omgggg #she's much smaller than expected but that made it so much more amazing #ALSO ALSO THE CUSHION IS ACTUALLY A CUSHION #I THOUGHT IT WAS VINYL WITH THE REST BUT NO #IT'S A TINY SOFT CLOTH CUSION #im gonna buy a clear case for her later #also weighs a tonne which surprised me

[bird-inacage]

Only Friends: Sand & Ray's Fears of 'Being a Burden'

This is a follow-up to the initial observations I made on both the characterisation of Sand and Ray. Two qualities that really stood out to me in episode 1 which made for a surprising point of commonality.

Sand's Righteousness

So many times this episode Sand comments on how Ray is being socially irresponsible. There's definitely the expectation that those who are wealthier live more frivolously and selfishly. They don't stop to think too much about how their actions have consequences and will impact those around them.

Whereas what was overwhelmingly clear in this episode is that Sand's strong sense of righteousness means he's driven to always 'do the right thing'. This means he's going to be in immediate conflict with those who do not do so, or don't care. The questionable behaviour of others may aggravate him, but when it truly matters, Sand jumps straight into action. He won't disregard someone in need.

This makes me wonder if he's predisposed to act because he feels it's objectively right to do so, regardless of someone's wishes. Funnily enough, we've probably all had instances where we chose to do something we knew was not 'right', for the sake of protecting someone's feelings. I anticipate there will be plenty of situations where his righteousness (which comes from a place of rationale) will come into conflict with his own personal feelings (which are often irrational).

This is where Ray will make a huge impact on his perspective. Because all people have their own battles and struggles, no matter what background they come from. It's not so black and white. Right and wrong. Just and unjust.

Sand also uses the term 'burden' a lot. This actually says a tonne about him. Often we can be critical of qualities in others we possess ourselves. It's because we have them, that we are hyper-sensitive to their presence in those around us. The way he chides Ray is because he himself doesn't want to feel burdensome on others. This would explain why he tries to be as self-sufficient as possible, working several jobs to make ends meet. He holds himself to the standard he expects of others. He wants to be financially independent. He wants to be able to take care of himself and not cause trouble.

If he's upholding a a high example of what it is to be a morally and socially conscious individual, he has value. His value goes beyond his financial hindrances. He can still contribute, he can still be useful.

Ray's Fear of Inadequacy

This line spoke volumes. It shows that Ray has deeply buried fears about being left behind or being surpassed. All his friends have something going for them. Mew is the clever, assertive one. Boston is the popular, astute one. Namcheum is the outgoing, social one. And he's the boisterous drunk. This is the role he often plays in the group, which no doubt really weighs on his own understanding of who he is.

It could explain why he has a crush on Mew, because Mew possesses a lot of qualities he wishes he had. Due to his bad temper and his shortcomings, he can easily come across as unapproachable and be misunderstood. He probably feels very lonely or often like the odd one out. Boston is always slinking off to hook up with a stranger. Namcheum is busy reading the room and including everyone. Mew used to be the one who was happy in the company of his own intellectual interests, but is now focused on Top. This leaves Ray as seemingly superfluous.

His friends often joke about exactly this but Ray probably internalises these comments more than they realise. On the two occasions he leaves the table, note how none of his friends follow him. No one tries to comfort him, because they've seen it all before. 'This is what Ray does.' 'Ray likes to throw a tantrum'. 'This is the alcohol speaking.'

When Ray is genuinely upset, his friends can't always tell the difference. His attitude is what isolates him, but he can't help reacting in the way he does, which isolates him further. It's no wonder Ray is so easily frustrated, because he doesn't know how else to express himself other than to get angry.

He may genuinely believe what everyone says about him. That he doesn't bring any value to the table. That he is (as Sand puts it) "a burden to society". He doesn't know what his place is.

Just like Mew's unconscious rejection of him, he may fear that one day his friends will move on without him. Like a small animal that's imprinted on others out of survival, he can't be left alone to fend for himself because he needs people to feel worth. To prove that he's not useless. To prove he's not expendable.

This has become a self-actualising prophecy he's begrudgingly accepted, mostly out of fear of losing his friends. He plays into the misnomer that's been assigned to him. "You know I'm only good at spending money", because he doesn't know what else he can offer. His friends tease him over the fact he often gushes about how much he loves them when drunk. But this is actually in a bid to keep people close. If you shower them with love, maybe they won't ever leave you.

And the sad part of this is that no one realises Ray feels this way because it's masked by his bad temper and tendency to drink.

Sand doesn't want to be a burden in a socially responsible sense. Ray doesn't want to be a burden on his friends, who may be the only people he has. We just need these two to realise they have a very similar complex here, hidden beneath their apparent differences.

#only friends #only friends the series #ofts #only friends meta #ray x sand #sand x ray #raysan #sanray #khaofirst #firstkhao #first kanaphan #khaotung thanawat #already anticipate i'll be analysing this show like a woman possessed

[saltybaltic]

Natasha Romanoff X Reader - FIVE FEET WORTH OF PROBLEMS

Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow X Super Soldier Reader

Synopsis: Natasha isn’t the tallest member of the team which leads to her needing help sometimes (for clarity this is based on MCU Nat when she is just little and I’ve made the reader a super soldier simply to be more inclusive cause we’re not all 6 feet tall)

Warnings: language

Words: 1435

(1 ft)

One of the things you’d noticed about Natasha from the word go was her stubbornness. Especially when it came to asking for help. She was a firm believer that if something needed doing, there was no reason she couldn’t do it herself. Even so, you couldn’t help but laugh at some of the situations she tried to handle by herself.

For example when you walked into the kitchen one morning and saw Natasha straining to reach the ceiling from a set of step ladders, you couldn’t hold in a small chuckle as you went to pour a coffee.

“Need a boost?” you joked, grinning up at the other woman over the rim of your mug.

Natasha didn’t seem in the mood for your humour, shooting you a quick glare before continuing to try and reach upwards, “This damn lightbulb has been out for three days now and not one of you idiots has had the inclination to change it.”

“I hadn’t noticed.” you stated, taking a swig of your drink before placing it down and stepping closer so you were able to look up at the other woman, “You’re never going to reach.”

“Shut up.” shot back Natasha, huffing out a growl of frustration and standing as tall as she possibly could on her tip toes, “Why in the hell have we got the shortest step ladders in the world when the ceilings are this high?!”

You laughed, seeing Natasha’s frustration getting the better of her as you gestured for her to move, “Come on before you break your neck, let me do it.”

“If you were going to do it you would have done it by now!” snapped Natasha, “I can do it.”

“Okay but I mean, clearly you can’t.” you teased, not in the least bit put off by Natasha’s blatant irritation. Seeing she wasn’t going to move from the step ladders, you hopped up onto the kitchen counter beside her and stood up straight. The counter was about the same height as the ladders but you were still head and shoulders above the other woman as you reached up with ease and unscrewed the lightbulb.

The fact you had not only made it look so effortless but had also done it in a matter of seconds only seemed to annoy Natasha further, her jaw working as she narrowed her eyes in your direction, “And yet you still couldn’t be assed doing it three days ago?”

“Like I said,” you started, holding your hand out as Natasha begrudgingly slapped the spare bulb down into your palm so you could reach up and put it in place, “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Sorry I didn’t realise you suffered from blindness.” grumbled Natasha sarcastically as she made her way down from the ladders, “My condolences.”

Even with the snappy attitude from the other woman, you had to grin back at her, “I think the words you’re looking for are, thank you for your help.”

“Kiss my ass.” muttered Natasha, folding up the ladders and making her way back out of the room.

Hopping down from the counter you shouted after her, “Any time.”

You just about caught the rude finger gesture she sent your way before she disappeared down the hallway.

(2 ft)

The next time you had to help Natasha you found her much more accepting of your assistance; seeing her in the gym one evening and staring between the punching bag on the ground and then back up at the hook on the ceiling with a frown.

You had to smile, seeing the other woman obviously trying to figure out a way to get the equipment where she needed it but unable to find a solution. “Seems I’m always in the right place at the right time these days.”

Turning to see who had joined her, Natasha folded her arms and tilted her head with a small smile, “I suppose you are, yes.”

You walked over to join her, bending down to grip the chain at the top of the punching bag before lifting it carefully towards the ceiling and clipping it into place. Natasha watched intently as you did so, her eyes drawn to the flex and strain of the muscles in your arm with the action. Instinctively she swallowed, feeling a small lump in her throat and a dryness to her mouth that she hadn’t been prepared for. Of course it was no secret that you were enhanced but she couldn’t deny it was impressive to see an example of your strength. Especially in such close proximity.

Turning back from the punching bag, you didn’t fail to notice the way Natasha’s eyes were focused on you and the slight flush to her skin. You broke out into a smirk, flashing the red head a wink for good measure as you gestured to one of the corners of the gym, “I’ll be just over there if you need help with anything else.”

(3 ft)

Getting a knock at your door one afternoon, you weren’t particularly surprised to see Natasha on the other side of it. Granted you weren’t the closest of friends but you felt like your relationship with the other woman had been improving over the last few weeks. There was a sort of ease that had settled over the pair of you, finding it almost effortless to be in one another’s company. Comfortable silences were becoming more common and playful, flirtatious banter had quickly replaced the usual indifference towards one another.

Despite not being surprised to see the other woman, you couldn’t help but be a little shocked by what came out of her mouth when you answered the door.

“Can you come and help me with something?”

Leaning against the door frame, you thought for a moment and shot the red head a playful smile, “Is there a please in there somewhere?”

Natasha rolled her eyes, “Please.”

“Lead the way.”

Following behind Natasha, you were even more surprised when she took you to her bedroom, having never seen the other side of her door before. The room was predictably nice and tidy, not to mention tastefully decorated.

Natasha didn’t give you much time to take in your surroundings, clearing her throat to get your attention, “I um ... I need this mirror hanging.”

You looked down to where the red head was pointing, seeing a large, tall mirror leaning against one of the walls, “And what? It’s too heavy?”

“I can’t reach.” admitted Natasha, her words quiet as if she didn’t want anyone to actually hear what she’d said as she motioned over to the far wall, “It’s like a six foot mirror and well ... that’s a little out of my reach. Plus, yeah, it’s really heavy so I didn’t exactly want to be stood on a ladder with it.”

Nodding your head in understanding, a small smirk made it’s way across your face, “So you, Natasha Romanoff, need my help?”

“Don’t be an ass about it, this is exactly why I didn’t want to ask one of the boys.” grumbled Natasha.

Laughing quietly, you gave her shoulder a small squeeze as you walked over towards the mirror and assessed what needed to be done, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Natasha settled herself on the edge of the bed, neither one of you speaking as you worked silently at setting the brackets up on the wall and making sure everything was in place. You could feel her eyes on you the whole time, occasionally looking up from what you were doing and receiving a small smile in return.

When you were finally finishing up, you had to admit that Natasha wasn’t lying and the mirror was indeed very heavy. You huffed out a breath as you lifted it into place, straining slightly as you tried to get it level and hook it onto the brackets, “Jesus Nat, what’s it made of? Solid gold? This thing weighs a tonne.”

She chuckled at your comment, laying down on her side and resting her head on her hand as she watched you hang the mirror in place, “But you make it look so effortless.”

“Oh so that’s what this is,” you laughed, turning to face the other woman, “You just wanted to check me out.”

Natasha clutched a hand to her chest in mock horror, “Me? I would never.”

“Sure you wouldn’t.” you teased, bending down to scoop up the few tools you’d used and placing them on the bedside table next to Natasha. Giving the other woman a grin, you stepped close enough that you could gently pat the side of her cheek a couple of times, “Don’t worry though, I don’t mind checking you out too if that makes us even.”

For a moment it looked like she didn’t know what to say, her eyes narrowing slightly as if she was trying to work out if you were being sincere. By the time she spoke you had already stepped back and made your way towards the door.

“Not sure I have nearly as much to show off about.”

Turning back to face her for a moment, you let your eyes trail over her body slowly and purposefully before looking back at her with a smirk, “Oh I would have to disagree with that.”

(4 ft)

“What you making?”

Your words seemed to startle Natasha, the spoon she was stirring her food with dropping against the side of the pan with a clatter as she gasped and turned to glare at you, “It’s rude to sneak up on people!”

“Well I didn’t exactly sneak.” you chuckled, walking around the breakfast bar to stand beside the other woman and peer down at the stovetop, “So what is it?”

Natasha shrugged, “Just pasta.”

“How exciting.”

Pushing you in the arm playfully at your tone, Natasha gave you a mock scowl, “I was going to offer you some but now I’m not so sure.”

“Well how do I even know you’re a good cook, it might be awful.”

Natasha rolled her eyes, dipping the spoon into the sauce in the pan and scooping some of it up. She held her free hand underneath it so not to drop any as she moved the spoon towards your mouth and raised her eyebrows expectantly, “Open up then.”

Looking down at the food cautiously, you blew on it for good measure before opening your mouth and taking the sauce from the spoon. You swallowed, running your tongue over your lips as you assessed the taste before pulling a face, “Needs more salt.”

“I know.” sighed Natasha, stirring the sauce again with a defeated slump to her shoulders, “But it’s in the top cupboard.”

At her words you had to laugh, running your hand over her back comfortingly, “Aww can you not reach the salt?”

“Don’t be a dick.” scolded Natasha, hitting you gently in the stomach but not shying away from your touch on the small of her back.

Reaching up to the cupboard above her head, you pulled it open and looked inside to retrieve the salt, earning you a quiet thank you from Natasha in return. It didn’t pass either of you by that even as the pair of you had settled into silence and the red head busied herself with adding the salt to her food, your hand remained on Natasha’s back, your thumb occasionally brushing delicately over her shirt.

The fact she seemed to enjoy the contact, almost leaning back into you to get closer, made your next words fall easily from your lips.

“How about for dinner tomorrow, I take you out somewhere?”

Natasha paused her stirring of the pan for just a second, your question taking her a little by surprise. You both knew that things had been leading this way, with every day that went by you seemed to be getting closer. The flirting, subtle touches and lingering stares were common place now and it was no secret that you were both clearly attracted to one another. Natasha supposed she just hadn’t expected you to ask her so casually and boldly. Still, she couldn’t deny it was what she wanted.

“Okay. I’d like that.”

(5 ft)

“This was nice.” offered Natasha, her arm slipped in to link with yours as you walked through the doors and back into the compound.

You nodded, tilting your head to look at her with a smile, “It was.”

“Thank you for dinner.”

Walking the red head down the corridor towards her room, you shrugged nonchalantly, “Thank you for joining me.”

The rest of the walk was silent until you reached Natasha’s door, the other woman reluctantly removing her arm from yours and taking a step back, “Next one’s on me.”

“Next one?” you asked with a grin.

Natasha nodded her head, reaching forward to smooth her hand over the front of your shirt, “If you want there to be a next one.”

“I think I could handle that.” you joked, bringing your hand up to join Natasha’s and brushing your thumb over the top of it.

The two of you stood in silence for a few moments, a small smile on your face as you simply enjoyed being in one another’s company for a little while longer.

Natasha smile widened as she watched your line of sight drop for just a second to her lips, now certain enough that you were probably thinking the same thing that she was. Giving you a playful grin, she took a step closer, “You know I would kiss you but, you’re a bit out of my reach.”

With a small laugh, you nodded your head slowly and reached down to cup the side of her jaw with your hand, “How about I come down to your level for once?”

Allowing you to tug her closer, Natasha smiled into the kiss as you ducked your head and brought your lips together. Neither one of you felt the need to rush or deepen it, happy to move your lips slowly together as her hands came to rest around your waist and your fingers brushed the side of her cheek. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but when you pulled back you were pleased to see that Natasha looked just as happy as you felt. Giving her hand a final squeeze, you nodded to the door behind her, “Go on, get inside before I change my mind and don’t let you leave.”

Laughing at your comment, Natasha reached up to grip the back of your neck and pulled you back down to her level so that she was able to press a kiss to your cheek, “You know, I see a lot of leaning down in your future.”

“Honestly? I really don’t mind.”

#natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff imagine #black widow #marvel #Natasha Romanoff fanfiction

[one-boring-person]

Hey again! I know I just asked for one and I don’t wanna be bothersome, but I saw that Raymond Tango is on your list and I was hoping I could get an imagine with him and maybe Gabriel Cash as well?

Something like the reader works at the prison where they end up and helps them out when they’re jumped? Or whatever scenario you can think of 😁 Please add a lot of flirting if you can

I actually watched Tango and Cash and the Expendables because of your imagines 😆 And I’ll probably keep discovering more awesome movies thanks to you!

I also had an idea for Rambo where the fireworks on the 4th of July trigger his ptsd and the reader is there to comfort him? (It was Canada Day today so there were fireworks in my hometown to celebrate and I got the idea for it 🤷🏼‍♀️)

Thank you so very much!!! 💕

I'm really sorry for the wait, but I hope you like this!😊❤

Tip-Off.

Ray Tango x reader x Gabe Cash (Tango and Cash)

Warnings: injury, swearing, mention of violence, mention of gun use

Masterlist

Finally, I manage to fling the door open, the thick metal clanging loudly as it slams against the wall, announcing my arrival to the room behind it. Gritting my teeth, I crash through it, yelling out to the inmates I know are gathered there, my standard handgun held at the ready. I hate to use it, but I know very well that many of the people turning to face me won't move unless threatened by something a little more dangerous. 

The room is lit with a drab light, keeping most of the thugs' faces cast in shadow as they turn towards me, shouts of surprise and panic filling the air. As if startled by a ghost, the lot of them suddenly retreat into the darkness, doors banging open and shut around the perimeter, many of them cursing loudly as they clear out. Frowning, I move further into the room, shouting at them hoarsely, my head rotating quickly to make sure I'm not being ambushed by any of them. Thankfully or not, they disappear quickly, leaving me alone in the deserted area with two familiar people hanging by their necks from the ceiling above large troughs of water. Upon closer inspection, I notice that the water is electrified, a sparking cable lying a metre or so away. 

"Hey, hey, what's going on?! Don't just leave us hanging here, kill us or let us down! You shitbrains!" I groan in realisation as I notice exactly who is hanging from the ceiling, the two captives facing away from me.

"Are those my only options, or would you rather I tried to get you down?" I call out to the only one of them who is actually moving, walking round to face them.

"Huh? Who're you?" It's Raymond Tango, the one still writhing on his hook. His partner, Gabriel Cash, hangs listlessly, head drooped, blood dripping from his lip.

"The reason you're still alive." I frown, tapping Cash's foot.

"Oh, it's you. Feel like helping me down?" Ray stares at me, fear still bright in his eyes as he shifts in his bindings.

"Don't sound too grateful. I just saved your ass." I roll my eyes, but move to start helping him.

Going closer, I ignore the dark-haired man's expectant expression, bowing so that I can heave the troughs of water out of the way, first. It isn't easy: the containers weigh tonnes, their contents sloshing all over the place as I brace my shoulder against the battered steel, muscles straining to dislodge them. A grating screech sounds from the base of the troughs as they rasp along the hard ground, but I eventually manage to get them clear, panting by the time they're significantly out of the way. 

"Ok, this is probably gonna hurt a bit." I warn Ray, before going over to the knots at the end of the ropes holding them up.

"What is- argh!" The detective yelps in surprise as he drops unceremoniously from the ceiling, landing with a thud on the cold stone floor.

I leave Gabe's line for now, going over to help Ray up as he rolls onto his side, groaning in pain. Untying him, I check him over for any particularly bad wounds.

"Couldn't you have done that a little less painfully?" Ray grumbles as he moves to sit upright, wiping away blood from his nose, groaning. 

"Sorry, next time I'll bring a mattress." I roll my eyes again, "You'll live. Now help me with Cash."

"Can't we just leave him there? He makes quite a nice light fixture." Ray jokes dryly, climbing wearily to his feet.

Shooting him a pointed look, I try to ignore the small spike in my pulse as I regard the dishevelled detective, not for the first time admiring his chiselled good-looks. Swallowing down the idle thoughts, I move back to the end of Gabe's line.

"Catch him, will you?" I tell Ray, loosening the knot, Cash's limp body dropping ever so slightly as I do so.

"The lump'll crush me!" He complains, but goes to stand underneath him anyway, reaching up to brace Cash's thighs with a grimace.

"You know, your jibes would have much more effect if he were awake." I smile wryly.

Ray doesn't say anything, but sends me a quick smirk anyway, knowing I'm right. 

Turning away, I untie the knot completely, looking back to see Cash fall onto Tango, his torso rocking precariously as the latter struggles to hold him up. Rushing over, I reach out, arms outstretched as the two start to fall, Gabe landing heavily in my grip, throwing us all to the floor. We land heavily, a dull pain erupting in my back from the impact.

Winded, I lie there, Gabe on my chest, Ray on his rival's stomach, breathing heavily as we try to recover. Against me, Gabe shifts slightly, moaning in his unconsciousness, making me force myself to sit upright, his head now in my lap, Ray still trying to catch his breath on his back. Looking down at the man on my thighs, I brush aside some hair from his face, swiping away a little blood from his lip, glancing up to see Ray staring at me, jaw tight. Confused, I go to say something, my brow cocked, only to stop when a pained voice trickles up from between us.

"This isn't what I expected from the afterlife." Gabe murmurs, eyes barely open as he gazes up at me, licking his dry lips.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Cash." Ray jumps in, pushing himself back up.

Frowning, Gabe lifts his head, opening his mouth to speak, before closing it again, the sharp response clearly struggling to materialise.

"Come on, let's get you untied." I chuckle, moving to shift out from under the detective in my lap.

Gabe groans, whining as I roll him over, Tango reaching over to loosen the knots of his ties. Once free, he lazily tries to return to his original position, only to complain when he finds out I've moved. Now standing, I look down at the two with a fading smile, quickly becoming serious as I think back over the gravity of the situation. The two notice, joining me in standing, Gabe rapidly adjusting his clothes as Ray wipes blood from his lip.

"Whoever set you guys up has a serious problem with you two." I muse, scratching my chin in consternation.

"Wait, you believe us?" Ray sounds surprised, his rival regarding me with a similar expression. 

"About what?"

"The setup." 

Glancing at him, I tilt my head.

"Yeah, of course. What, you thought I was one of the bribed guards? After all the tip-offs I gave you both?" I shake my head in exasperation.

"Pretty dumb, if you ask me, Tango." Cash comments, smirking as he runs a hand through his hair, betraying his nerves.

"And who didn't listen to the tip-offs?" I tease him, grinning as Ray sends him a pointed look. 

"Hey, I've had a lot on my mind!" Gabe protests, before he conspiratorially rakes his gaze over me, "A certain someone in particular."

Blushing, I wave him off, muttering a quick "behave" before gesturing for the two detectives to follow after me.

"You're disgusting, you know that?" Ray hisses to Gabe as they limp along behind me, a scoff following this as we reach the door I came through.

"And you think you're better? Come on, man, I've seen you staring at her when she does her rounds. Your cellmate practically has to wipe the drool from your chin." 

"I'm not deaf, you know." I sigh, leading them into a side room,  where a desk and few chairs have been pushed to the wall, a couple of pieces of equipment sat neatly where I left them.

The two men enter behind me, frowning at the sight of the small room, confused by its purpose. Naturally, Gabe is quick to recover and goes straight to one of the chairs, sitting down and leaning back in it, head tilted back so that his mane of golden hair falls down between his shoulder blades. Ray eyes him disdainfully, only to take a seat near him, running a hand through his own hair, muscular arms flexing as he does so. It's a struggle for me to keep my eyes averted from them both as I go to the table in the centre and take out my first aid kit, opening it to check inside. 

"Ok, who's first?" I finally look up at them both, my cheeks warming up as I am met with two intense stares, neither looking away as I make eye contact.

"I'll go!" Gabe interrupts Ray before he can speak, hopping up and coming over to me, leeching on the table with a grin.

Shaking my head, I take some gauze and start to clean out the worst wounds he received, which I soon find are not particularly bad, so I move to check that he's not concussed at all. Removing a small penlight from my keys, I hold it up to his face, placing a finger under his chin to level his head properly. 

"Ok, stare straight ahead." I tell him, not quite realising why he's smirking until I realise that he's decided to stare straight at me, blue eyes fixed on mine. Shaking my head, I once more ignore the blush on my cheeks as I check if his eyes are dilating properly, quickly moving to check his response as I move my hand in front of his face. Thankfully he seems to be ok, everything working as it should be. 

"All done." I tell him, placing the penlight down on the desk beside him, glancing back up in time to see him leaning in. Surprised, I have no time to react before he's pressed a quick kiss to my cheek, the blonde smirking as he hops off the bench, eyes glittering mischievously. 

Ray makes a sound of disapproval, glaring at Gabe as his rival steps past, muscles tensed up as he tries to fight back the (very) obvious jealousy. Quickly, he takes Cash's place on the table, looking at me gratefully as I start cleaning up the wound on his head. His dark eyes don't leave mine the entire time, unnerving me a little.

"So what do we do now?" He eventually asks, voice low as I stand close to him to make sure the cut is properly dressed.

"You guys need to get out of here." I muse, chewing my lip as I work, "It's just how we're gonna do it that's difficult."

"We?" Gabe sounds hopeful, though I can hear a little jealousy in his tone. This confuses me, until I realise why: Ray has gently placed a hand on either side of my waist, most likely under the pretense that he needs a hold to ground himself. 

"Y-Yeah, we. I don't think you two will make it out without help." I tell him, calming my nerves as my pulse picks up, swiping the gauze over Ray's head once more before taking up the penlight again.

"And you're offering? Won't that lose you your job?" Ray questions, surprised at what I've said.

I sigh, standing back upright once I've checked his eyes.

"If I get caught, yeah, it will. At least it'll be for good reason." I shrug, stepping back out of Ray's grip, somewhat reluctantly.

Taking advantage of this, Gabe steps closer, placing a reassuring hand on my lower back. Unused to this kind of affection, I look up at him, expression somewhat blank as he speaks.

"You're sure about that?" He queries, searching my face for hesitation.

"Yeah, I am. What happened to you two wasn't fair, so I think it's good if you get your revenge." I nod firmly, glancing back at Ray, who smiles at me, "Look, I'll come up with a plan as soon as I can. For now, you two need to try and stay alive."

"Easier said than done." Ray murmurs, but agrees nonetheless.

"For you, we will." Gabe teases, tapping my chin with a grin.

#tango and cash #Ray Tango #Raymond Tango #Ray Tango x reader #Gabe Cash #Gabriel cash #Gabe Cash x reader #Sylvester Stallone #Kurt Russell #break writes #Ray Tango x reader x Gabe Cash

[kazeofthemagun]

Should you fight Black Wind?

[tagged: I see people do this so I shall, too]

[tagging: @shiroi---kumo @cursedfortune (@ofmanytxngues ) depends on if you wanna do a writeup]

[Anyway, let's get on with it: Should you fight Kaze?]

[Realistically? He's the God of Destruction's vessel, no you should not fight him. Jokes aside:]

Anime Kaze

At least with this one, the Magun is wounded and asleep so unless you both happen to be near a potent source of Chaos that will wake the gun up, you will not be blown up by a godly and/or demonic creature. In this version, Kaze is almost completely unable to use the Magun, which includes manifesting the engine blades. Really, his right arm is solely a bludgeoning weapon. Seriously, that thing weighs a figurative tonne, stay away from it.

Despite being incapable of using his Main Thing, Black Wind is a highly trained Windarian general, and is all about guns. Gun-mage, remember? He has a double-barreled, spring action shotgun with heavy caliber rounds that pretty much guarantee a kill upon impact by making sure your body is turned into mincemeat. If you're hit in a limb, that limb is going to be decimated. If you're hit in the main body you're toast. This gun possesses an indeterminate mag size of anywhere between 10-20 and please do not ask me how it works, this thing is more fantastical than the Magun itself.

When fighting long range, the best strategy would be to try and get him to waste his ammo until he has to reload, though he could very well bluff and surprise you with a few more shots. When he does have to reload, however, he has to do it onehandedly and it takes a while. Getting in melee is your best bet, but now you're facing a 6'8" humanoid alien with superhuman strength who is more than capable of snapping your neck (and everything else). Despite his heavy Demon Weapon, he is surprisingly fast and skilled with the use of the dagger he keeps at the backside of his belt. Absolutely will fight dirty, trying to sweep your leg and utilizing more underhanded tactics as the fight goes on.

This version of Kaze's stamina is notably worse than his after-series counterpart. He hasn't eaten in a long time and the magical Demon Weapon is the only thing keeping his body functional. Despite his height, he is quite the twig, and despite the Windarians' racial strength, could probably be contended with by a physically powerful human. Can be off-balanced somewhat easily due to the Magun's immense weight bending his spine and causing his center of mass to shift to his right. Also, any version of Kaze is weak to water magic and extremely weak to Blue Elenium, if some still exists in Wonderland.

After Kaze (Main Verse Kaze)

Noooope. You're fighting an awakened Unlimited, which is Bad. No ordinary human stands any semblance of a chance here, similar to a fight with White Cloud. These two? Gods' vessels, and have the power to show for it. The Magun is well awake and capable of unleashing potent magic (and its blades) at a moment's notice. When fighting this version, you will have to contend not only with summoned Espers, but Spiral magic. Sand alone is coarse, rough, and irritating, but have you ever considered magic soul sand? Soil comes in a variety of colors and elemental properties, and when it starts to stir, you will be assaulted by a magically volatile sandstorm and any hard-hitting attacks of your own will be blocked by the Soil hardening into near-unbreakable glass walls. Glass walls that can well explode outwards like frag grenades. All the while, you will be shot at.

But none of this is nowhere near as terrifying as what an Esper can do. Sure, if you can get past rampaging Soilwind you could probably throw a wrench into Black Wind's summonings. Certain spells could interrupt him and force him to fold the Magun's engine avoid damage. Still, if you find yourself unable to throw your biggest attacks to stop this process, you'll be forced to fight an entity known as an Esper. There are many Espers, and each has a different set of abilities, but one trait they do share - being am unparalleled force of utter destruction. Good luck.

If you still survive, you probably know what to do. Prevent the gunmage from casting his funky lil spells and you may stand a (temporary) chance because yup, you can't kill an Unlimited in any way that will stick. If you can use your own magic to manipulate Soil in any way, you can throw off the Demon Weapon's mechanisms and cause it to overheat faster. Similarly, going through 4-5 summonings in quick succession is nearly guaranteed to overheat the gun and cause it to shut down. Kaze's blood serves as its coolant, so this is more than likely to be a kill.

Congratulations, you've beaten who's probably one of Final Fantasy's most OP characters. Now go fight Kumo and see if you can get that one achievement for besting the both of them.🏆

Gun Dragon form

...Don't even think about it.

#[[muse meme #[[headcanon

[blu-joons]

Sweet Tooth ~ Kim Seokjin

The noise in the back garden hit you like a tonne of bricks as you walked out of your friend’s kitchen to place more of your cookies on the long row of tables on the left side of the garden that was covered in food.

When you originally agreed to bake for your friend’s birthday, you imagined a gathering of maybe, ten, fifteen people. Instead, what you’d been met with was over fifty faces in the garden, each requesting to try a bit of your food.

As soon as you placed the tray down, hands flew to try and grab one of your cookies. You were surprised yourself at how well they’d gone down amongst the group, happily stepping back as the tray was quickly cleared with the exception of one.

You waited for a moment until a hand came over and swiped the cookie off the tray. With their other hand, the culprit passed the tray across to you, which you quickly took, holding it down by your side as you looked across at who had taken the cookie.

With one quick moment, the cookie disappeared as they placed it in their mouth.

Your jaw hit the floor at how quickly they ate it, smiling at the hums of delight that came from them as they tucked in, rubbing their hand across their belly once the cookie had been eaten.

You could only manage a smile, seeing someone enjoy what you had created so much. It had been the theme of the afternoon; you barely had a minute to breathe before people were asking for more of your creations to arrive.

“They’re delicious,” the voice suddenly spoke, “they really do hit my sweet tooth perfectly.”

You bowed in front of him, moving your hands so they were behind your back. “It seems quite a few people are of the same opinion as you today, I’ve not even had a moment to stop.”

“Why don’t you let me get you a drink in that case, this is a gathering for you to attend to,” he reminded you, grabbing one of the glasses. “I’m Jin, by the way.”

“Y/N, it’s nice to meet you.”

You watched on as Jin walked over to the table of drinks, grabbing you a glass of anything before handing it to you. You downed it also immediately, making the most of the refreshing flavours. After a long day of walking back and forth and being around the hot oven, a cool drink was a welcome return for all your hard work.

“Y/F/N must have chosen a good friend in you if you bake for her as much as you’ve baked for her today,” he spoke, smiling widely in your direction.

A light blush danced onto your cheeks, “well, I can’t be eating all the things I bake, my hips are big enough as it is, so instead I bring them round here for her to eat. There’s never been anything that she’s disliked so far.”

With your comment, his eyes fell down to your waistline, his brows knitting together. There was a moments silence between you before Jin looked back across at you.

“Why would you of all people need to watch your waistline?” He questioned, “you could eat plenty of cakes and bakes and you’d be absolutely fine. It’ll be me that needs to watch my waistline if I eat any more of your cookies.”

“Your kind,” you smiled appreciatively down to the ground, “but you don’t need to try and make me feel better, so I’ll continue to bring you food.”

“I would never say it just to make you feel better,” he assured you, “you just need to have more confidence in yourself like you do your cakes.”

Before your cheeks could turn any darker, you headed back into the kitchen to make some more with the ingredients you had left over. As soon as you stepped foot into the kitchen, your friend stared back at you with a mischievous smile plastered across her face.

“The two of you seemed to be getting on well,” she mused, twirling around you as you began to weigh out the ingredients. “Jin’s a good friend Y/N, he’ll treat you well.”

“We were just talking, he wouldn’t be interested in me anyway, he’s a sweet guy, that’s it,” you responded, brushing a strand of hair behind your ear as the conversation changed.

You enjoyed the peace and quiet of the kitchen as you continued to bake, stacking up a pile of cookies on the plate yet again. As the smell of your fresh bakes wafted, you watched on as a crowd began to gather around the table again.

Just as you turned to walk outside, a figure appeared in front of the door. Your body jumped as Jin stood in front of you, holding his hands out for you to pass the plate into his hand. You happily passed one of the plates across to him, keeping the other one firmly in your grasp.

Jin followed behind you as you made your way to the table, “I might need to hire you as a personal baker if all your baking is as good as this,” he smiled as you both placed the plates down, quickly stepping away before everyone started to crowd around you.

“There’s many bakers you could find that are better than me. I don’t even know why I’m still doing this; Y/F/N isn’t even paying me for feeding all of her friends together.”

Jin’s hand rested against your arm, “why don’t I give you some money, I bet you’ve spent a fortune on ingredients today, you shouldn’t have to pay for it all by yourself.”

“You don’t need to do that.”

“But what if I want to?”

“Y/F/N warned me that you were a stubborn one,” you smiled, shaking your head at his persistent behaviour. “I don’t need your money though, I bake for fun, and also to stop myself from eating everything in the kitchen.”

“If you don’t want money, how does dinner sound instead?” He continued to ask, “I refuse to listen to you berate yourself any longer, so why don’t you let me treat you to a meal?”

Your body tensed up as Jin’s eyes stared down at you hopefully. From the other end of the garden, you could feel Y/F/N staring too, unable to hide the smile on her face.

“Is this your way of just getting me to bake for you?”

“It might be a small part of my plan.”

“If you want to take me out to dinner, I wouldn’t say no,” you finally replied, hearing him let go of a sigh in relief. “I didn’t realise dinner meant so much to you.”

“Someone’s got to do something to say thank you for all that you’ve done today,” he smirked, nodding across at your friend, “and if Y/F/N isn’t going to do it, I guess that just means I have to be the gentleman and do it.”

You glanced up at him, noticing the look in his eye, “is this just dinner to you, or are you trying to get more out of me? You have a look in your eye that suggests that you want something aside from just a meal with me.”

“Well, I didn’t want to frighten you off by using the word date,” he sighed, “but if you’re alright with a date, maybe we could turn it into a date.”

“I’d be more than happy with a date, especially with you.”

“If it’s a date, will you bring a gift?” He asked you.

“What could you possibly want as a gift?” You replied.

“One of your delicious cakes.”

---

Masterlist

#bts #bts imagine #jin #jin imagine #kim seokjin #kim seokjin imagine #bts scenario #bts reaction #bts jin #bts seokjin #seokjin #seokjin imagine #bts drabble #bts one shot #bts fluff #jin drabble #jin scenario #jin reaction #jin one shot #jin fluff #bangtan #bangtan sonyeondan #kpop #kpop imagine

[thekaijudude]

Mass Reply: Joneus in perspective

So yeah color me surprised that not many knows truly how strong Joneus is nor is convinced of how strong he is still after his fight with AT so imma just briefly go through this using probably his best feat as well as addressing more FAQs relating to this

FAQ 1: How strong is Joneus?

So Joneus literally dragged this dude, Bagon from earth to orbit AND THEN threw him overhead back down to earth

Bagon is around 1 km tall and weighs close to 2 MILLION tonnes yo

This is definitely a feat on the same scale as the Ultra Brothers, such as when Ace and Taro threw kaijus into orbit which I posted that at the bare minimum it'll require at least 3 MILLION tonnes of brute strength to achieve this feat

And Joneus seems to be consistent in his feats as well as he frequently tosses around kaijus that weigh more then 100 000 tonnes no diff, very reminiscent of Powered and Gaia as well

FAQ 2: So where does Joneus stand in the power scale?

At the bare minimum, Joneus can be scaled to the Ultra Brothers rather comfortably

And yes, this is also why Titus is obviously nowhere near close to Joneus' level of power despite their suits suggesting otherwise. Its all for aesthetic purposes and staying true to the source material.

FAQ 3: What about the rest of the Great Eight?

As of now, all we know is that Joneus is the strongest U40 ultra, but I suppose there's really no point in awarding them Ultra Stars if they're not at least in the same tier of power

But we can't be sure if their power differs so drastically like with Taro and the rest of the Ultra Brothers, so for now we can just only assume that they don't differ too much

FAQ 4: Why did AT ran from Joneus on U40?

And thats why AT escaped from U40, while it even though it seems that he was the stronger of the two, fighting in enemy territory is never a good idea especially when the rest of the Great Eight is probably nearby as well. And this is why AT's motive was simply reconnaissance to gauge Joneus' strength to paint a better picture of U40's might, which was also why the fight had to to be so short

And if AT had to weaken the Ultra Brothers before even attempting to show his face, of course we can probably expect his power at the most, to not supersede the combined might of the Ultra Brothers or the Great Eight at full power

And this is also another reason why AT has been gathering forces in order to combat said groups

Tho itll be interesting to see the results of Taro vs AT as well as Joneus vs AT in a 1v1 fair fight

#ultraman #ultraman z #ultra galaxy fight

[peacharchivedtm]

CONTINUED / @tenacityreturns 

hell yeah! kise’s over. they’re worn out from playing a one-on-one a few minutes ago, and they’re recovering in the living room with cold drinks. kagami’s not embarrassed that he’d been beaten in the slightest. it’s exciting. what’s the point of playing if it isn’t exciting, after all? he’s lying sprawled out on his beanbag, mostly, with the can of lemonade never far from his lips. kise’s not that bad to talk to, actually. and the surprise in that sentence is entirely justified because kise can get so annoying when he’s running around after kuroko or talking about himself. he’s a lot of fun to play against.

being in the comfort of his own home, kagami was able to change his t-shirt. kise hadn’t been interested in borrowing anything, or showering, and when the offer had been politely declined, kagami was left thinking about the many times a certain mutual friend and invited himself to a fresh set of clothes. and now he sat in exhausted quiet with kise, listening to a song the blond had discovered this week and wanted to play. it’s actually pretty cool, not that kagami’s going to say that.

a knock at the door interrupts the zen, and at first, kagami doesn’t move. where’s nijimura? why can’t he answer the door? and who’s knocking, anyway? ah, it could be tatsuya, he supposes. a long second later, he’s lifting himself up like he weighs two tonnes and half dragging himself to the door.

“man,” he says as he passes the sofa, “maybe i pushed myself too hard today.”

kagami opens the door to a slight girl who looks familiar. something about her face. she’s frowning at him, and he returns it ( subconsciously, of course ). maybe she’s a neighbour? does she want sugar or something? he lets her speak first-- or rather, her processing speed is faster than his and she’s talking. in english? his frown deepens. now what the hell is an english speaking--

wait, shuu-chan? shuu-chan... she repeats her question in japanese with less confidence, so replying in english is the first decision he makes. the next thought he has is that she really looks like nijimura. like. really looks like nijimura.

“ah, is shuu-chan nijimura? you’re his sister, right?” a nod, “i’m sorry, he’s not here right now, but you can come in while i try to get a hold of him.” kagami steps out of the way and leads her inside. “i’m kagami, i live here. that’s kise, he used to go to school with your bro. uh, anyway. please make yourself at home.”

he guesses? that makes sense, right? make yourself at home, since this is where your dumbass fucking brother lives who didn’t warn him about this visitor! what if she’d come here while kagami had been out? now she’ll just have to sit with kise while kagami stands in the kitchen to make the call.

poor nijimura, really. as soon as he picks up the phone, when he picks up the phone, he gets an immediate onslaught from his flatmate. “what the hell do you mean not telling me your sister’s coming today? i only just got back, she could’ve missed me, then had to walk around waiting for ages! and where are you?” if nijimura replies, it’s ignored. an indignant cry comes from the living room and for a second, kagami’s worried it’s nijimura’s sister getting hurt ? falling over something ? but no, he can hear kise saying something and will attribute the high-pitched noise to him instead.

“just get here quick, okay?” he kind of sounds like he’s begging at this point. “i mean it when i say i can’t talk to girls!”

okay, so here’s what happened. her grades had dropped from a’s to all a’s and one low b and her mother had told her that she needed to get it back up to a’s to continue modeling. it’s not like L.A. cared about any of that stuff , as long as you weren’t failing which is what she tried to point out but her mother , exhausted , had just stared and she just wanted her big brother , so she took some of her modeling money , hopped on a plane , and came to japan to see shuu-chan. he always let her get what she wants. most of the time. it was the definitely the guilt from being half way across the world but , then again , she would use that to her advantage if she had too. once landed , she let shuuji know where she was at so he could calm down their mother.  good luck shuuji ! she’s straightening the straps when someone huge answers the door and she almost falters but the look of disappointment stays on her face. no shuu-chan , but he speaks english ! thank god ! she’s been in america for most of her learning years so english was definitely better and easier for her. ( even if they spoke japanese in their house-hold , english comes more easy to her. )  she nods at his question , blinks and walks in. AH ! there’s kise ! suzume recognizes him. she takes her shoes off first , keeping her socks on and letting long dark hair fall over shoulder as she does before she replies a soft “ thank you ” to kagami. he exits the scene and she immediately makes a bee-line towards kise where the other is very excited to see her. ‘you’re nijimuracchi’s sister ? i haven’t seen you since you were a baby and came to a game! ’ she nods , although nose scrunches as he says baby. she wasn’t a baby. she was a kid.  she switches to japanese , and even though it’s rocky , “ you’re not that pretty for a model --- ” a lie, suzume can recount the stories of kise that shuu-chan has given her about him modeling. also her brother has his collection of photo-books and he’s the one that really made suzume think she could be a model. he all but screeches , and she smiles. job well done.  ( nijimura answers the phone on the third ring , he’s in akita , hanging out with tatsuya and murasakibara for a change. he blinks at his phone , eyes questioning roam towards tatsuya and he shrugs. “ what what do you mean suzume -- i’m in akita-- no she wasn’t suppose to come --- fuck . okay . i’ll be there in about three to four hours. just deal with it and be nice to her. ” looking at tatsuya , he shrugs. he’s got to leave. but first he’ll need his bag from the other’s dorm so they have to check out and go back to the dorms and then he’ll have to make the trek back to the penthouse. ) 

she wonders where her brother is at , she knows he’s barely playing basketball any more -- maybe school ? no but if these two were here , then he shouldn’t be at school. she feels a little slighted that he wasn’t here -- he should have known. then again , she hadn’t let him know. she can’t really hear their conversation from the kitchen as she lets herself sit down , and manicured fingers pick at skirt in awkward silence. “ i’m suzume. ” she finally says to kise.  “ you’re the one with the copy ability on the team -- ” and when kagami enters , she points finger at him , “ and he’s the one who beat you right ? ”

#suzume tag tbd. #* ⁖ ic → nijimura #tenacityreturns #suzume i love u... #♡ ⸺ nijihimu.

[scapegrace74-blog]

Saorsa, Chapter 27

A/N  Here is the next installment of Saorsa.  Jamie finally acknowledges what we knew all along, and Claire takes a bath.

Rather than link to all previously posted chapters, I’ll just direct those of you wanting to catch up on your Saorsa-reading to my AO3 page, where the fic is posted in its entirety.

Thank you to each of you liking and reblogging!  It does my little fanfic writer’s heart good.

Shearing sheep hadn’t changed much in two hundred years, Jamie thought as he hefted another startled ewe from the shearing pen and pinned her to the ground with a well-placed knee.   Murtagh mentioned that some of the larger farms used a mechanical trimmer, but they both preferred the time-honoured method of metal shears, sharp as daggers.   Today was their third day.   Jamie’s shoulders and arms were throbbing from the constant effort, but they were almost done.

“Tis good fortune we’re having a bonnie spring,” Murtagh commented as they broke for a drink of fresh water from the well.

“Aye.  I need tae be on the road wi’in the week, if I’m tae be back a’fore the bairn arrives.”

“I’m surprised the mistress is allowin’ ye tae go at all, wi’ the way she fusses o’er ye like a wee whelp.”

Jamie’s mouth opened and closed, trying to find words to defend his masculine honour against the truth in the old man’s claim.  He caught the twitch of Murtagh’s lips through his heavy beard.  He cuffed him on the shoulder, laughing at himself.

“She’s lining ‘er nest, ye ken.  I reckon she needs me tae practice upon, a’fore the we’un gets here,” he quipped.

“Oh, aye.  I’m sure tha’s it.”  Murtagh’s sarcasm was so thick, you could serve it on toast.

**

Jamie groaned as he lowered himself into the armchair in their bedchamber, trying to reach down to untie his laces and failing miserably.

“Here, let me,” Claire offered, before realizing she couldn’t bend over the growing bulk of her belly.

“We’re a fine pair.  I’m too lame and ye’re too big a’bout the middle.”

“Speak for yourself,” his wife retorted as she carefully lowered herself to the floor.   She gently eased off each boot, then proceeded to unbutton and draw his trews down as well.  He sighed and cupped her jaw as she began to gently knead the bunched muscles of his thighs.

“Careful, Sassenach.  Ye wouldna want tae start somethin’ ne’er of us is in fit condition tae finish,” he warned, feeling himself stir despite his bone-deep exhaustion.

“Wouldn’t I?”  Warm eyes gleamed up at him.  And then, more gently, “Lean back.”

Unsure what was being asked of him, he complied by letting his back fall against the cushions, his long legs stretched on either side of where Claire knelt on the floor.  Having never accustomed himself to the modern notion of underclothing, he was naked from the waist down and hardening quickly below the flimsy hem of his linen top.

Leaning forward so that her moist breath seeped between the buttons of his shirt and over the fine hairs of his belly, Claire began to run her hands languorously up and down his legs, reaching higher with each pass.

“Sassenach,” he warned, and then more urgently, “Claire.”

“Shhhh,” she whispered, before her fingertips brushed against his baws.

“Christ!”

“I’ve never done this before,” she murmured, as though speaking to herself.  “Tell me if… well… if it doesn’t feel good.”

And before he could wonder what she meant, she was lifting his shirt, exposing his very emphatic endorsement of whatever she was planning.  A tentative moist swipe against the head, where it lay aching against his quivering belly, and then a sensation unlike anything he’d ever experienced.  It was the humid welcome of her sex combined with the nimble manipulation of her fine-boned hand, and yet so much more than the sum of those parts.  A lightning bolt of sensation shot up his spine, lighting the back of his eyeballs with colourful explosions.  A senseless groan burst from his lungs.

Between the exertions of shearing and the elaborate logistics of making love to a woman almost eight months with child, it had been nearly a week since he’d last lain with his wife.   A lifetime, in the bountiful feast that marked their newborn marriage.  He wasn’t certain it would have made much difference, though.  Anything that felt this absurdly good was certain to be over soon, lest it kill him with pleasure.

As it was, it was mere minutes after first feeling her mouth around him before he knew the end was nigh.

“A dhia.  Sassenach.  Mo nighean donn.  Christ, please, ye must…”

Whatever pleas he was trying to utter were lost to the onrush of his release, racing from his body with the force of a gale, whipping around to slam his head backwards as he groaned in blissful agony.

When he was next able to focus, Claire was carefully unbuttoning his shirt.  She extended her hands so that he could help her to her feet.  He rose as well, naked and blushing to the tips of his ears.  Whatever had just happened, he felt compelled to apologize, if only he could do so without alluding to the actual event.

“Sassenach…” he began.

“Let’s get you washed up, shall we?  It’s been a long day.”

He was still new to the art of reading his wife’s unspoken wishes, but this one was plain enough.  She did not want to discuss or debate the propriety of what they’d just done, probably a bit shy herself.  They would leave it here in the murky shadows of their bedchamber, where it could visit with the other nameless wonders they’d released inside its walls.  He followed her docilely from the room.

One modern amenity Jamie had absolutely no qualms about embracing was indoor plumbing, and the associated boon of having a bath whenever a bath was needed or desired.   Claire lit thick-trunked tapers in the washroom, formerly a servant’s room adjacent to the laird’s quarters.   Bent over the billows of steam that rose from the gushing copper pipes, she reminded him of a painting of a water nymph he’d seen as a boy, all translucent skin and bonnie curls.

He gingerly lifted his legs over the high-backed tub and grimaced as the water seared his skin.

“Too hot?”

“Nah.  Jus’ right.”  He extended his hand gallantly, as though assisting a lady from her carriage.   “Join me?” he offered, before adding, “If ye dinna think it immoral.”

Something about the scene struck them both as a trifle ridiculous, and they snickered.

Claire slipped her nightgown over her shoulders, letting it puddle around her feet, before carefully stepping into the water, holding onto Jamie for balance.

“Now what?” she challenged, eyebrow raised.

“Now I hold onto ye.  Ye and the little one.”  They sunk together into the steaming water.

She found a resting spot between his legs, forehead tucked under his jaw.   Jamie amused himself by scoping up palmfuls of water and letting them loose to roam across the hills and valleys of her torso.  Time slowed, as did the vigilant beating of his heart.  The water cooled and one by one the tapers guttered, and still they did not move.   It was in those peaceful moments, with nothing but the silky stroke of water, the honey whiff of candle wax and the quiet stirrings of a new life beneath the taut skin of her belly, that he realized he loved her.   Not in the demure, fitting way that a man was meant to love his wife.  But in a pivotal, essential way that was as integral to him as breathing and as endless as the tides.

**

“Ye’ll watch o’er her?  Make certain she is no’ rebuildin’ the castle nor tilling the fields by hand, or whate’er stubborn notion settles in her hard heid?”

Murtagh had heard this request, or others very similar, every day for the past fortnight.  It spoke to his forbearance that he produced his standard response without a flicker of exasperation.

“Aye, lad.  I canna promise ye she willna be stubborn, but I’ll see her safe.”

It was the best he could hope for, and the primary reason Murtagh was staying behind at Lallybroch rather than accompanying Jamie on his journey to Galashiels, much to Claire’s vocal displeasure.   She only acquiesced when it was agreed that Rupert would join him as far as Edinburgh, ostensibly to visit relatives.   Jamie had an opinion on the true reason for Rupert’s sudden interest in leaving the Highlands for the first time, but he wouldn’t be sharing it with Murtagh.

Fourteen bales of wool were loaded carefully into the estate’s hay wagon.  Weighing over a tonne, it would take both Clydesdale plow horses to drag the load over two hundred miles to Galashiels, near the border with England.  Rupert would drive the wagon while Jamie rode his favourite horse, Donas.

The smoothest, most direct route southward was available to them only after nightfall, when motorized traffic was forbidden on the roadways on account of the blackout.  That meant they’d do most of their travelling by night, which posed its own challenges.   In addition to a small bag of provisions and spare clothing, Jamie was also armed with a dirk and a pistol, though he longed for the familiar heft of his broad sword.

The whole trip should take two fortnights, a little less than a month.  The plan was to leave immediately after Easter, so he could be home by late April with time to spare before the Duke of Sandringham’s visit and Claire’s confinement.

In the early morning hours the day before his departure, Jamie crept out of the castle while everyone was still abed and walked up the hill to his parents’ graves.  He was pleased to note that the exertion no longer winded him; that he had regained his previous strength.  He owed that to Claire; that and so much more.   She had given him back his freedom when he thought he was trapped in amber.  Offered him a place to stand when every other foothold was lost.  She was his redemption.  Saorsa.

He knelt beside the graves, now cleaned of moss with bluebells sprouting between the stones.  Resting his forehead against the cool stone, he began to pray.  That Claire might be safe.  That the bairn be healthy.   That his voyage be swift and without peril.  And selfishly, that he be the kind of man his parents would be proud of in this strange new world.

#my writing #outlander

[thehandsomeasshole]

@starttheanarchy from X

"Then why use them for a job they are not meant for, just keep them to their original purpose and make something new that works for what you need. And because quality work will save in the long term with less repairs, replacements, and malfunctions over all. And your welcome." The wide grin could be heard in her last three words. She was raised to have some manners after all. "And DT could probably do it as long as the load weight isn't over hmmm..." She drifts off as fingers tap together, mental math being calculated. "Eight tonne? Maybe less. I'm not exactly sure on that front since I actually haven't tested his limits on that front. Hmm something to test another day." Her eyes drifted over the floating form of her robot as it stayed ever vigilant of her surroundings. She knew it could do some heavy lifting since she had used previous versions to move things in the junk yard.

Eyes roll at yet another reason on why to avoid corporations, and another as he seems to enjoy being a pest.

"Actually last thing I did was fix up several things that were in disrepair in Overlook, since too much of the population of that poor town have the skull-shivers and had no access to the medicine. Something about repair tickets being ignored or something like that. And I didn't come here for the shallow reason of becoming rich, I'm opening the vault to try and prevent a very clearly corrupt corporation from monopolization on something that might be a blessing or a curse." If she had it her way, she would keep it locked forever since no one has a full understanding of the capabilities and issues of Eridium that began to spawn after the first one opened. To many variables and yet everyone wanting to just add more into the chaos.

"Yes, yes. The definition fits, but you seem to think I am on the same level of depravity like the Fleshrippers or the Bloodshots. To which all I can say is, rude and incorrect. And princess? Really?" That got her to shoot a glare back at the space station.

"Not everyone. Yes there are people who still deserve a chance to be treated like a decent human because they are. But you seem to be hard at work for making it so those people are just as dead as the rest. And you are right, no one has used an army of robots to lay siege on a planet in the name of their own ideals. They used armies of people, and all of them were considered like a plague upon humanity in the context of history. Dictators, tyrants, oppressors, authoritarians, monsters. Wonder how will you be written down."

At the laughter, and how it grew as she talked about what started this whole hot mess off for her on planet side, it made her skin itch with irritation. Out of everything on this fucking disaster hellscape, it was Hyperion that tried to kill her first. Sure others might have had to deal with bandits at other stops, but she went from off the inter-space shuttle to the train with no issues.

It was fair to say Jack was the first person to try to actually kill her. Even when escaping Eden-5 they were aiming for capture to make her life a living hell instead of a death sentience. It was one of the reasons she was trying so damn hard to keep surviving at this point, out of spite for the asshole who tried to kill them after using some shitty signs to inform them of their supposed doom.

Hands were clenched into fists and she could feel a chill roll through her body. It was like the ice never left at times.

A deep breath as she turns her face to the sun that burns the landscape, she is fine and alive. And she isn't going to follow his script and get pissed. She isn't going to scream like everyone else on this planet. The Mechromancer is going to do what she always does, go against what is expected.

"How about you tell me something else instead. You worked with the Crimson Raiders? What happened? What is the full story, from beginning to end?" Her voice is calm and even, one that seems to hold no judgment and wanting to listen. And she does, after all there isn't much information on the group. Gaige had no plans to jump ship, but she honestly had as much trust for them as she did for most anyone on this planet that wasn't shooting at her. Eden-5 taught her that the only person she could ever trust was her father and the friends she created with her own two hands.

"No bullshit, no propaganda. Just your side of the story. I have time."

Jack did smile at the little sass she threw his way, despite himself. "Well, empty, those things weigh nearly five tonnes. So, nice try. I guess." He chose to ignore her initial comment about using the loaders for their designed purpose. There was not enough patience in Jack's body to unpack all of that right now.

"Oh, the vaults are definitely a curse. But, once you get the ball rolling around here, there's not really anything anyone can do to stop it." Jack shrugged lightly, scanning through the first four pages while he spoke, "You just… gotta do what you can before another idiot comes along and screws everything up even worse than you did."

"Nah, you're right. Princess made me feel a little icky. How about… I- I'll get back to you, I'll think of something real good." he laughed lightly, beginning to scribble down some notes on the papers before he continued. 

"You sure as hell act like 'em, you and your bandit buddies. Just exactly how many things or people have you killed since you got to Pandora? Hey, look, I'll even give wildlife a pass cause- Well, you could kill a hundred skags one day and the next day there'd be two hundred more. Let's just focus on people. Maybe you're not running around screaming about meat bicycles, and maybe it is a little rude of me, but it's also correct. You just don't wanna admit it."

"The people who are still decent in this universe are few and far, kid. In my entire life, I've only met two people who were truly selfless." One's dead and the other’s… worse. "But, you do realise that if it wasn't me up here, it'd just be someone else? Hell, Dahl and Atlas would still be plowing through planets like they're big balls of paper and slaughtering everyone in their way while going off about fighting for those planets' freedoms and peace."

"Ooh, I love tyrant! Has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Always considered myself more notorious, than anything else." The sharp, almost humorous-sounding edge to his voice gave the impression he was teasing her, "Kid, it's nothin' I haven't heard before. You really think I'm gonna be kicking it anytime soon, anyway? Nah. Nope, not happening! I got way too much to do."

Jack's brows knitted together and slowly raised in a mixture of surprise and confusion. Sure, maybe she didn't care, he'd just never had a person who hated him ask for his side of the story before.

He decided not to express his shock.

"So, I'd been working on Helios since it launched, I was, uh-... A- a programming and engineering specialist for Hyperion for ten, fifteen years, maybe. I was in charge of most of the construction, getting together schematic proposals to give to my bosses, all that kinda shit."

"The first time I met Lilith and Roland was when Dahl decided they wanted to massacre all the workers on Helios and take it over. They… They didn't discriminate. If you worked for Hyperion, they'd gun you down without even batting an eye. They killed so many of the workers up here, I knew them all personally. We- we didn't even have a real military then, for God's sake! They shot workers out of the sky when they were trying to evacuate. That was the level of murderous psychopaths we were trying to deal with. We defended as best as we could, but even the freaking loaders weren't weaponised yet, I had like… Six hours to get them into a position to defend themselves, and you bet your ass I did it. I guess that actually answers your earlier question, too. I used them for a job they weren't made for out of necessity, the damn Lost Legion shot at them when they were running away, too. Assholes."

"I managed to get the vault hunter's I'd hired down to Elpis in a moonshot, think you've met a couple of them. They got to Concordia thanks to-" Shit. He hadn't actually thought about Janey in a while. He'd ask Athena how they were both doing, but she'd probably curb stop his head before he could even say hello. "-uh, this mechanic. They asked Lilith and Roland to help cause, y'know, Dahl had stuck a jamming signal somewhere on that moon and I couldn't work Helios's defences until it was shut off. They knew people on Helios were dying, and they said no."

"They only started to help when their lives were in immediate danger and Dahl got control of the moonshot laser and start firing away at Elpis. I really did trust 'em to help us, y'know? Like they promised they would."

"I guess they kinda did. We managed to get control of the laser again and… They blew it up. They nearly took the whole space station down just because they didn't want Hyperion having it. That stupid laser could've saved Pandora, you know. It could've- The blasts were so concentrated we could've wiped out an entire bandit settlement and their nice neighbours next door would've barely felt the ground tremble. I'd worked so hard on that laser. You have any idea how hard it was to make? How much progress they destroyed when they blew that damn thing up? A lot! A whole, freaking lot and-... Sorry. Off topic. Uh…"

He made a small noise, "Oh, yeah. Anyway, after that it was just a rush trying to get to the vault before anyone else did. Dahl was already there, but after what happened with those two I wouldn't have been surprised if they got to the vault first just so we couldn't."

"But, we did. My vault hunters took care of the- The Empyrean Sentinel, I think they called it. Big bastard, more human than the other vault monsters. Freaky stuff."

"So, the Sentinel was dead, and we finally got to the vault relic. It looked like… Nothing. Very underwhelming. Just a weird little floating vault symbol. I decided to touch it and-..." Jack went quiet for a while, his knuckles growing white with how tightly he was gripping the armrests of his chair, "And I saw… everything."

He felt sick even talking about it. The pit in his stomach growing deeper and he knew if he didn't stop soon he'd fall into a full blown breakdown. So, he took a shaky breath in and continued.

"Wasn't long after that when Lilith made her grand entrance. She destroyed the relic and- blasted the fuck out of my face. You ever had your face branded by some freaky eridian technology? It sucks. Real bad."

He let his head drop back, and he rubbed his eyes, "So, there's my side. Think I can quit my day job and become a professional story teller?" Though he tried to make a joke, the fire in his voice seemed to have dissipated. He just sounded… tired.

#jack was not expecting that either hsndkdkd #and also i do see what you mean about this turning into a whole ass novel hahaha #it could've been paradise // borderlands 2

[danetobelieve]

The More You Know || Orion and Winston

Winston wasn’t sure how to take Orion right now. They were sure that they were being lied to about a good number of things but Winston was trying their hardest not to judge them because they knew that they were in a very difficult situation. Instead, they were trying to keep them occupied and busy. Ricky was out currently, and Winston had decided that it was time to introduce Orion to the pleasures of having pretty much every sort of gaming available that you could possibly once. “So, you gamed much before? Are you like a hardcore gamer? Do you hate games and everything about them? Give me some context here dude.”

Things were still a bit awkward around the house. Not from lack of trying on Winston or Ricky’s part. They had practically bent over backwards trying to make the place as accommodating and welcoming as they could to Orion. Made him food, cleared out a bedroom for him, offered to help move his things. They were even planning a whole day around an ikea trip to get him some necessities. And yet.... well Rio was an awkward person. Around everyone. So it was hard to settle into this new environment that he was supposed to be calling home. Plus, it didn’t help that he still had to lie about so much. “Gaming? Oh yeah. I game a lot.” He smiled, blinking away from his train of thoughts to focus on Winston speaking. “I played handheld games more when I was a kid. I never had a console. But now I game a lot on the PC.” He scratches at the back of his head nervously.  “I’ve been super into like RPG’s. Trying to work my way through the Final Fantasy series. What about you? What do you like to play?”

Winston got it. This must have been awkward enough for them as it was and they were sure that being nice to them didn’t make it any better. But they had to try and get them to settle in as best they could. “Fuck yes dude,” Winston replied with a bright smile, “so we’ve got the PS4 for like entertaining and just hanging out, if we need to relax and get out of our bedrooms and all that good shit. It’s got like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, it’s also got a VPN app I wrote on it that lets you change regions but keep that on the downlow because it isn’t technically legal and I work for the police.” Winston kept going as they made their way to the kitchen looking for snacks. “I play a shit tonne of PC games, mostly League and Overwatch, but I’ve been playing a bit more WoW recently because that is always a good time. I’m down for RPGs, me and Ricky have been playing Monster Hunter and obviously the classics like Skyrim and Witcher 3. We’ll have to get your PC set up and hardwired in when we bring it over.” 

Orion laughed, “That’s an impressive set up, but don’t worry your secret's safe with me.” They really did have like the ideal set up going on in this house. It was basically an all inclusive bachelor pad. All it was missing was a bunch of gratuitous sports paraphernalia hanging around the place. Orion wasn’t sure that either of them seemed to like the type to be into sports but Orion wasn’t sure. Orion was perched on the living room couch and turned to continue listening to Winston as they were talking about the games they played. “Nice. I am not great at any shooting games, but I’m sure they’re super fun. Especially if you have someone else to play them with. He eventually pushed himself off the couch and made his way into the kitchen also, grabbing a cup to fill up a glass of water. “What are you up to play right now?”

Rummaging through the shelves and cupboards of their kitchen, Winston found a few snacks that they could give to Rio. Chips, doughnuts, some cookies and then a bunch of fruit that they bought because Ricky didn’t really eat anything that was not full to brim with meat or fish. “Hey, when you’re playing a video game you should just enjoy whatever you’re playing,” Winston gamed to relax, not for any other reason. “Uh, I don’t really mind, we can play whatever you like or I can try and find something that’s just good fun if you want to kill time.” Winston grabbed the snacks and made their way over to the lounge, placing everything on a coffee table. “Uh, there’s snacks if you want something, I don’t think I can be bothered to actually make real food unless you’re dying from hunger, but help yourself. Me casa su casa right?” 

Winston gathered a collection of snacks together to take over to the living room area, which Orion appreciated. “Yeah, definitely. I tend to enjoy more strategy or puzzle games but I think I could enjoy most games.” Maybe he had never really enjoyed shooting games because he had been playing them alone. Any game was probably more fun while playing with friends. “Oh no worries. I love snack foods.” Most days, they were his entire meal if he was at the Scribe Headquarters. He had weighed the pros and cons of going home for food or just eating whatever he had stashed at the abandoned building. The junk food usually won out. “I’m cool with whatever. Or I can just watch you play something, that’s cool too. I’ve never really had friends that were also into gaming.” Orion shrugged, trying to be as honest as possible. Considering all the other lies, he at least owed that to Winston, right? They had gathered a pretty good collection of snacks at the coffee table, so Rio didn’t really need to worry about grabbing his own, opting instead to take a drink of his water and grabbing a cookie from the platter on the counter. He took a bite of it, noticing the semi familiar taste. Curiously, he noticed a note tucked slightly under the tray, and peaked down to get a better look at it. Once he glanced at the sender of the note, the cookie immediately caught on his throat and he began coughing, spitting the cookie out in the process. His coughing fit continued for at least a minute before he finally swallowed the entire glass of water and cleared his throat. “Where’d these cookies come from?” He yelled over to Winston, trying to make the question sound more calmly curious rather than frantic.

Everything was going well, Winston was about to suggest that they give something like Crash Team Racing a go, a nice middle of the road game for them to bond over. But then Orion was biting into a cookie and shouting at them. “Uh, someone that I’m …” Winston wanted to say seeing but they weren’t sure that was entirely true just yet, “Uh I don’t know, a friend I guess was hanging out with me earlier in the week and she left them here and you know I had them left over and Ricky doesn’t really eat cookies,” Winston was sweating slightly now. Was Orion deathly allergic to something that had been in the cookies? “Are you allergic to something in the cookies, I don’t have an epi pen or anything but if you’re allergic then you’ve got to have one right? Rio do I need to get your epipen or do I need to take you to the hospital?” Winston couldn’t understand how they hadn’t thought of this, of course they were trying to poison their new roommate in the first few days of him actually being there. 

“No, no I’m not allergic to anything.Just got caught in my throat.” Orion answered once he was finished chugging his glass of water. It was just any other cookie, but for whatever reason it tasted almost acidic in his mouth now. That was all just in his head clearly. A trick of the mind making the food taste worse than it was just because the person who baked it left a bad taste in his mouth. Though Rio wouldn’t have been especially surprised if she had made poisonous cookies, but she wouldn’t do that to Winston. He was a human, harmless. If she was testing him, she wouldn’t have left it at the door with a note. She’d want to see it for herself. Plus, it wasn’t easy to lace cookies with silver. “I-uh” he didn’t know how to approach this. He reached for the note, swiping it from the counter and reading it fully this time, eventually holding it out towards Winston. Not that they could read it from that far away most likely, but he wanted to get the message across. “Did uh- is this the note that came with the cookies?” He asked. His anxiety was practically having a field day in his brain right now, but besides a crack or two in his voice, he was remaining relatively calm. Faking a relationship with his sister had become one of his specialties after all. “That was nice of her… so you’re friends with Athena? Athena Quinn?” Rio questioned, emphasizing the last name and laughing nervously. “I didn’t know you knew my sister.”

Winston winced at the note, they weren’t exactly eager for Orion to find out about Athena in that way. They hadn’t even really told Ricky that much about her and for a good reason. “Uh, yeah, the note came with the cookies…” Winston was very aware about it saying something about enjoying the last night and they were really not a huge fan of the way that Orion was looking at them. Swallowing, their entire reality slowly began crashing down around Winston. “Athena … as in … she’s your … oh fuck … I knew she was a hunter but I didn’t realise that you two were related …” shaking their head, Winston looked up at Orion awkwardly. Looked at the scab on his lip that was mostly healed now. They’d known Orion was a hunter because of Skye, but that had never been an issue for Winston. Just because you were born a hunter didn’t mean that you were a bad person. But … had Athena done that to her own brother. “Orion I swear I didn’t actually know that you two were related, we never exactly exchanged last names and it isn’t like we’ve really … did she do that to your lip and your parents are her parents?” She knew where Winston lived. “It’s fine, I can … I uh … uh….” they were sweating now, unsure of what exactly they were meant to say or do here. “I didn’t know…”

Orion had remained calm up until now. He didn’t want to make it seem like a big deal. In some ways, it wasn’t a big deal, he supposed. It wasn’t Rio’s business who Athena or Winston slept with. Or dated. Or whatever was happening. But still… it was, well most people didn’t know Athena like he did. She was scary good at the facade that she put on, and most people fell for it hook, line and sinker. “Wait.. What?” The calm demeanor lost all traction when Winston mentioned hunter. “You knew she was a hunter?” Oh no. That meant he knew that Rio was a hunter. Or- he wasn’t a hunter but he was technically one. Winston needed to know that. “It’s not- I’m not.” He sighed. This was impossible. If Ricky knew… and before they even had the conversation about Rio knowing that Ricky wasn’t entirely human… this wasn’t good. “It’s- it’s not a big deal.” He forced himself to calm down, to take a deep breath and remain nonchalant about the situation, “I don’t control who my sister sees. That would be creepy.” He laughed, scratching at the back of his head nervously. Talking about his family always made his arms itch. He crossed his arms over his chest and gently scratched at them through his hoodie sleeves. “It was training. I wasn’t lying about that. I just lost focus and she got a good swing in.” Which was true. How did Rio get Winston to realize that his sister was crazy insane without actually disclosing just how crazy insane she was? “Like I said. She’s intense. If you know- well if you like know know. Then you know that too.”

Raising an eyebrow gently, Winston shrugged. “We met fighting vampires Rio, it was pretty obvious that she wasn’t just your run of the mill regular human, besides, no offence but Skylar and I talked about you before I offered you a spot, I’ve known you’re a hunter too for a while. But I don’t get this shit that everyone complains about, it isn’t about who you are or what you are, it is about what YOU do. You obviously aren’t going around killing anyone but biologically if she is it makes sense…” Winston would rather talk about Orion then Athena. How could she have hurt her own sibling like that? Had Winston misjudged her? They weren’t sure. “Ricky doesn’t know, unless Skylar told him, but I don’t think they exactly talk a lot for reasons I can’t really explain but I didn’t think it was my place to tell him your secret…” they swallowed gently thinking about their own secret. “I won’t have her here, if you … you know, if you don’t want her to know the truth about where you are … is she not cool with you coming out too?” Winston knew it was kind of wrong to test that story now, but they wanted the whole truth before they talked to Athena. “I know she’s intense and she obviously is actively out there … well at least killing vampires, she said she only hurts things that hurt other people but that is remarkably arbitrary but at the same time I’m not sure it is my place to judge and now I’m rambling about your sister which I’m sure you don’t want to hear and I know you don’t control her or what she does but I just want you to know that your safety comes first here, Athena’s really nice but your place here comes first…” they fell silent and grabbed a cookie, using the food to silence themselves as they tried to think about what they were going to ask next.

Orion stayed silent the whole time that Winston talked, and blinked surprisingly once the rant was over. “Uh” he began, trying to get everything in order before figuring out how to respond. Winston’s ability to incoherently babble definitely rivaled Rio’s. It was actually pretty heartwarming, know that Rio wasn’t the only one that did it. Plus, he liked having more in common with Winston, he liked them a lot. “Hold on let me think.” There was a lot to unpack in Winston’s monologue. Winston knew about Rio being a hunter. Had for a while, and yet he wasn’t afraid of him? Winston was a human, so Rio supposed he wouldn’t have that fear of death. Also, Skylar and Ricky knew each other, but weren’t talking much anymore. Could this have anything to do with the Selkie thing? Rio knew about Skylar, but had only theorized about Ricky. He hadn’t exactly proven anything or approached Ricky about it. He had learned his lesson from Skylar. Invasion of privacy, not so cool. “I’m not a killer.” Was the first thing that he wanted to make clear, “And Ricky can’t know about it. I’m not even a hunter. I mean I am technically. I was born with the abilities. But I would never hurt anyone.” But what did that make Athena? Until a couple of days ago, Rio had accepted that his sister was just like his parents. A lost cause. But he saw something the other day. A hesitation. She wasn’t a good person, Rio knew that. But maybe she was still a victim after all. “She can’t know where I am. It’s- She wouldn’t hurt me, okay? Not like that at least. But she would tell my parents. And they cannot know.” This was a mistake. Maybe he should leave. The Scribe Headquarters would work for now. Maybe Alain would let him sleep in one of the cars at the garage. Was that unfeasible? He couldn’t believe that Athena had told Winston about what she did. She must actually… like them? Rio wasn’t sure she was capable of that, but Winston was here as proof. And despite the fear and anxiety that came with the fact that Athena had crept her way into one of Rio’s friendships, he hated that twinge of jealousy that he felt in his gut. It wasn’t his place to feel jealous about their relationship. It wasn’t even his business to know about it. “I don’t- I’m not telling you to not hang out with her. I wouldn’t do that. I’m just-” What was he? What did he want to say? This was a disaster. “She doesn’t know. About the coming out part. I mean I think she knows. There was this guy that I used to have a crush on. I never told anyone but Athena just.. Knew. She would always tease me about him, talk about him whenever she hung out with him.” Rio felt gross just thinking about it. She had mostly meant it harmlessly, like the rest of the harassment he supposed. “I’m just surprised I guess. I didn’t expect you two to know each other. She must have really grown from her high school bullying days.”

Head still completely whizzing, Winston tried to calm down and think clearly. Orion’s request for a respite was a welcome break and Winston was pleased that they could their own thoughts coherent. They needed to talk to Athena and find out what was going on, because they didn’t feel like they had the whole story here. But now wasn’t the time to work out that part. Now was the time to be there for Rio. Suddenly Winston wanted to know everything. Most of all they wanted to know why both Rio and Athena seemed to have such different perspectives about their parents. She hadn’t seemed nearly as affected by them as he was. “Of course not, I never even imagined that you would be one,” Winston paused and tried to think of the best way to say it, “no offence but you don’t really strike me as the type to go looking for a fight.” They frowned gently at the insistence that Ricky couldn’t no. “No offense dude, but Ricky gets it, he will work it out eventually and then he’ll feel betrayed you didn’t tell him, you don’t have to do anything and considering that this is your secret to tell I would never dream of telling him, but he deserves to know…” they sighed gently, how had they gotten themselves into such a mess. The number one rule with roommates is that you didn’t sleep with SOs, relatives or friends. So of course Winston had already done that. The worst part was that Winston didn’t exactly get a lot of opportunity to sleep around and yet here they were fucking it up the first time they tried it. But it didn’t really change the way about how they felt with Athena. “I won’t tell her that you’re here,” Winston replied, “I won’t lie to her but I won’t tell her anything either and if she does try and come round well then Dee can get very grumpy with trespasers and she’s remarkably good at missing by a few inches with that shotgun…” Winston was sure that it wouldn’t come to that. Athena wasn’t as terrible as Rio seemed to think that she was. Winston didn’t need to hear them say it to see the anxiety and apprehension in his voice. “Look, me and Athena need to talk, about well this. I won’t make you any promises about anything, because first of all don’t make promises because fae and second of all … wait bullying?” Winston frowned at the last part of the sentence that Orion had just said. “She’s not a bully, at least she hasn’t seemed like she is a bully…?”

This wasn’t going well. The last thing that Orion wanted to do was get in the way of any of Winston’s relationships. At the same time.. He also cared about Winston. A lot, actually. He didn’t want them making a mistake. Dating Athena was a mistake. Even if by some miracle, Orion was wrong about Athena and she did actually care for Winston, Athena was too into her duty. Orion was sure that his parents would settle for no less than building a hunter family of their own. They wouldn’t support someone like Winston, not when people like Adam existed. And Athena wouldn’t disobey their parents. It was a doomed relationship from the start. Orion just needed to remind himself that that wasn’t his business to get in between. Right? This was too complicated. Rio detoured for a minute. “I can’t tell Ricky! Not when-” Right, Winston probably knew what Ricky was. But Winston didn’t know that Rio thought he knew too. And Ricky didn’t know that Rio knew. This was too complicated. How did he explain that Rio’s specialty was supposedly killing shapeshifters just like Ricky? That if the situation were flipped, Rio couldn’t trust any hunter. Not after the evils he had seen. “He’ll think I’m a monster.” Maybe he was a monster. Whether or not he had killed anyone, he knew people that had been killed. Had watched it. And had never been able to stop any of them. He sighed a breath of relief. The last thing he needed was Athena to show up, so at least that part was cleared up. “Thank you. And I understand. You have to figure things out for yourself.” He knew about Fae. He wondered if that was information that Athena had passed along to him? She held a special disdain for Fae, and had already yelled at Rio multiple times for making promises. “Huh? Oh it’s probably not a big deal. I’m sure she’s grown out of it. It’s just…” He paused, trying to find the right way to phrase it. “Back in high school, she had some uh… well she liked to mess with people. Me, obviously but that’s more sibling stuff. Her main target was this girl in our class, the valedictorian. I didn’t talk to her much in high school, but Athena loved making her life miserable. I ran into Blanche and drove her home one night a couple months ago and she told me about it.” So much for not getting involved.

“What exactly do you think Ricky is?” Winston asked curiously, they weren’t interested in playing the game of cloak and daggers that being supernaturally inclined sometimes required you to play. “Ricky isn’t the type to judge someone because of what they are or who they are, they judge people for their actions. That’s always how they have treated me and you’ve given no one any reason to think you’re a monster. Have you ever actually hurt anything? I had to kill some vampires last month, I am probably more of a monster then you are…” not to mention the whole part of being a spellcaster that Winston was kind of holding out on Orion with… they swallowed another mouthful of cookie. Somehow they didn’t taste quite as good now that they were starting to find out more about Athena. But the next words that Rio would say would send fury and anger through Winston. Blanche had become a very close and important friend, confident and honestly so much more. Nell and Blanche and Winston had all come together and were supporting each other through this. Blanche had mentioned high school, they had mentioned the video and suddenly Winston found themselves shaking with fury. They set their cookie down which had been jiggiling about as their hand shook. “Athena was the one who made Blanche’s life hell?” Winston had clearly misjudged her, they had clearly not known better. Part of them wondered if they had been naive and innocent but another part of them wondered if maybe Athena had changed. “Thank you for telling me Rio, like, I know you don’t want to fuck with your sisters life and relationships but I didn’t know any of this, I honestly just met Athena and I didn’t know that she was like … well this.” 

“I- I don’t know exactly. I don’t care what he is.” Orion sighed. He wasn’t lying. Despite what the Quinn family groupmind always tried to tell him, Rio thought of most supernatural creatures as still human in a lot of cases. Vampires and werewolves were human. Just because they died or because they could change into werewolves didn’t change that. Sure, Selkie’s were a little different. Just like Fae, their true form wasn’t human. But they still had thoughts and feelings and people they cared for. Sure, Rio was pretty sure he knew what Ricky was, but at the end of the day it really didn’t matter. “I just-” Winston had killed a vampire? Rio had to wonder what kind of vampire. Had Athena been there? Had she encouraged him to do it? The mere thought made Rio’s stomach turn. “I’ve been there. When something has gotten hurt. And I wasn’t able to help and I-” He stopped himself before he went too deep. If he didn’t, Winston would be trying to stop him from sobbing uncontrollably on the floor. The last thing he wanted right now was a panic attack. “You’re not a monster. Whatever happened- I’m sure you had a reason. You’re like the nicest person I’ve ever met.” Orion answered honestly. Maybe this honesty thing wasn’t so bad. But if that was the case, why were his arms still tingling? “She wasn’t the only one. I mean… Blanche had it rough in high school. A lot of people were mean to her until she started fighting back.” He could feel the shift in the room. As Winston flipped to anger. That was the emotion that people should feel for Athena. But it still felt wrong, being involved. “I’m sorry. It’s- well it's honestly not my business what either of you do. And I shouldn’t get involved in that.”

“Maybe you should care what he is,” Winston replied with a shrug, “and I don’t mean in a bad way, but Ricky is proud of himself and of his heritage and he’d probably like to share that with someone who is going to stay with us, at least for a little bit. You two should talk.” Winston wasn’t going to push the matter too much more, but they weren’t going to let Orion just leave this alone either. Ricky was a selkie and Orion was a hunter and that needed to be cleared before things could really get normal. Plus, Winston didn’t tell Ricky about Orion’s … heritage and they would like for Ricky to not find out about that later because it might reflect badly on both of them. They paused and glanced at their shoes. “Dude I could say the exact same thing about you, you’re like being really hard on yourself. You didn’t choose this, you didn’t choose your family or your siblings. You can only do what you think is right and you can only act in a way that you think is appropriate.” They tried not to think about it. Winston was the oldest of a lot of the people in college that they had met through the supernatural and they hadn’t had it easy in high school, but at least Nell had had their back. They just wished that there had been someone there for their friend. “I wish I had known about this before I …” they didn’t say have sex with Athena but they wished that all the same. This was messy and suddenly they felt the need to apologise to their best friend, even though they hadn’t really done anything wrong. “Anyway, look, you’re still safe to stay, you should definitely talk to Ricky about … well you two should just talk and be honest. It’ll be better.” They paused for a moment. “Whilst we’re tearing off bandages, I know you already said something about paying rent, but you literally won’t be able to. Ricky owns the house and I spent my first few months living here trying to get him to take my money and you just can’t do it. So take my advice and buy him some really fucking expensive gifts at Christmas and his birthday and accept that your budget is going to go further then you thought.”

“Yeah. You’re right. Obviously.” At least Orion confirmed that he was right about Ricky. Or at least semi right. He still hadn’t confirmed the Selkie heritage, but the Ricky and Skylar connection was another big connecting dot. Of course Winston was right, it was just… hard to figure out how he was going to do it. How did you tell a friend that your parents actively wanted them dead? “I’ll figure it out. How to talk about it. I just… don't know how I’m going to do it yet. I don’t really have a great track record with this stuff.” Winston knew about Skylar too right? Probably better to not mention it just in case. Keeping track of this stuff was too much, he needed a white board or something. “Maybe, yeah. But it’s whatever. I’m here now. And I want to help people. That’s my goal.” He shuffled over to the couch again, suddenly realizing that he had been awkwardly standing the entire conversation. His mouth still felt dry, but he ignored it. “Right. Well, thanks again. For being so welcoming and all.” Of course Ricky wasn’t going to let them pay rent. He was so annoyingly nice. Rio could still find ways to help around the house though, right? Buy groceries, maybe help with utilities? He knew Ricky didn’t mind the cold, he wondered how much he could get away with turning the place down temperature wise. The long sleeves and pants kept Rio pretty warm. Plus the electricity bill in this place must be out the roof with how much technology all three of them seemed to use. “He’s so annoying. But fine. I can find other ways to help out I guess. Maybe. Once I figure out what I can do to help.”

“Weird, I don’t think anyone ever says that I’m right, you’re going to have to stay with us for a very long time because I like being told that I’m right and you’re literally the only person that does it.” Winston smirked gently and finished their cookie. “Just be yourself, be honest and try and be patient, this is not going to be easy for either of you and you know if you want me there even as moral support, I’m here for you both.” Winston smiled, they liked Orion’s goal. “Well, you’ve come to the right place, we’re all about helping people who need help, that’s why we asked you to come here, plus we genuinely think you’re gonna be a great roomie, that wasn’t a lie.” Winston watched Orion take a seat and pushed some snacks towards them. “You don’t need to say thanks my dude, we’re your friends and this is exactly what friends are for. But yes, Ricky is the most annoying dude ever. All I want to do is try and pay my way in this world, I don’t want to owe anyone and I don’t want to deal with someone else paying for me to just exist, but he literally won’t take money off of you, if he does he’ll just use it to buy you groceries or put gas in your tank or he’ll put the money in his bank account and transfer it back to yours. It’s beyond frustrating.”

“I find that hard to believe. Because you’re the coolest” Orion shrugged, stating it matter-of-factly. Winston was the coolest, and had helped Rio on multiple occasions now. They were exactly the type of person that Rio wanted to help with the Scribes. But more so, they were the type of person that Rio wanted to be friends with. “I thought you were just taking pity on me for calling you frantically in the middle of the night?” Rio asked, laughing and reaching for the pile of snacks. Despite the stress, he was starting to feel a bit more relaxed. It did make Rio feel a bit better, knowing that they had talked about it. That the offer hadn’t just been a one time offer at the Scribe Headquarters that they felt too awkward to take back. “Well that’s… very nice of him I guess. But also, the worst.” Rio had no idea how much money Ricky had, but it didn’t really matter much, he should still accept some money. Rio sighed, stuffing a handful of chips into his mouth, “Okay. Let’s fire up a game and try to think about something a bit more positive.”

“Again, very weird because no one else thinks that, are you sure you didn’t hit your head or something?” Winston winked playfully and smiled at their friend despite everything. “I mean, I guess we kind of took pity on you,” Winston laughed and shook their head, “Nah I’m joking, it wasn’t anything like that, we saw someone who was in need and we’re in a position to help with that and so we wanted to, you’re a nice guy and we like you around.  It all just works really well.” Winston considered the situation that Ricky put them in, whilst it was comfortable it made Winston feel as if they were taking a lot from their friend sometimes. Swallowing they shrugged in agreement. “You’re preaching to the choir bro, I hate it, I want to help out with the bills around here and feel like an adult, like I’m not complaining about my rent free existence, but at the same time I wish that I was actually pulling my weight. But yeah, you’re right, we should definitely try and enjoy ourselves.” At least before Winston had to get in contact with Athena directly to discuss this. 

#wickedswriting #para #p: orion #The More You Know

[randomingoftherandomness]

endgame post

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS BENEATH THIS CUT

[Update] I made a Youtube review (still spoilery though). If you wanna support what I do, please consider buying me Ko-Fi

Firstly, there’s no after credits so don’t bother waiting around for that. Three hours is a long time to be holding your pee. Second, bring tissues. I was crying from the moment the title sequence rolled. 

The main thing you need to know is that there was time travel courtesy of Scott Lang and the Pym particles in this film and a tonne of pop culture references in terms of time-travelling and it was all 

The gist of the Time Heist was that they were gonna go back into time and get the Infinity Stones before Thanos could get to it and they figured out that if they hit the right year, there were already three stones on Earth (Mind, Space & Time). So our heroes split up into three teams to Pokemon Gotta Catch’em all.

Now, we’ll start with my favourite, the love of my life, Tony Stark. My man. We got them right that Carol Danvers definitely brought Nebula and Tony’s space ship back to Earth. There is a five year time jump in this film that saw Tony and Pepper get married (which regardless of how you may swing on Pepperony, YAY!) and have a child together, Morgan H. Stark who, let me tell you, I would die for because she is the perfect copy of Tony and I would not be surprised if one day they did a Young Avengers roster and she is there. Tony Stark having a child of his own and it is glooooriuuusss.

Steve Rogers got rid of the beard, and honestly I missed it ngl. 

Let me just say that I adore, adore, adore them for not letting the Stony reunion be just a push by. They let it breathe and matter and it was every angsty Post-Civil War fanfic brought to life. They allowed Tony to lay it into Cap that this was what happened when you didn’t listen to me when I told you I saw this coming. There was a reference to the suit of armour statement from Age of Ultron and Tony laid it into Steve that look at what we lost because you tore us apart and it hurt so good my friends, so good. But over the course of the movie you could see them slowly relearn to trust and depend and be a team again and it was great. When they said that Endgame was a Stony event, they meant it. I live for this. I love it.

Thor got a beer belly and it’s as if the writers underestimate the powers of our thirst for this man. I would still ride him like no one’s business. He’s let himself go, feeling the survivors guilt weigh on him because he aimed for the head and not the arm. The Valkyrie survived Thanos’ raid on the Asgardian refugee ship and New Asgard is formed, probably, where Odin told Thor to remember the view. Thor, Korg and Miek are running a roommate situation where the Wifi is free, and Thor fights back Online trolls.

I think we all knew going in that Clint Barton was gonna be the Ronin and they certainly didn’t disappoint. They gave us a bit of Hiroyuki Sanada’s character fighting with Clint and that was great. But it honestly made me want to say SO dark you sure you’re not the DC Universe?

Natasha has always been a character I was always a bit miffed with the writing about. There have been many complaints about the inconsistencies of her characterisation and those weren’t unwarranted. That being said, I am at peace with where they took her in this movie. 

Hulk and Bruce Banner managed to find some zen where Banner’s consciousness could exist at the same time as Hulk’s body. 

I’m so happy about the way they treated Nebula as a character and you could tell that Karen Gillan was given a lot of room to stretch out and breathe here. As one of the effects of travelling into a timeline which had her past self, Future!Nebula shared the same network with Past!Nebula which allowed Thanos to access her memories and to be aware of what the Avengers were planning to do. Which, Oh No.

So what happened: The heroes split up through time and space to get the stones. Steve, Tony, Scott and Bruce all go back to 2012 during the Battle of New York, where Bruce goes to convince Tilda Swinton’s Sorcerer Supreme to give him the Time Stone, Steve goes and intercepts the Mind gem (still in Loki’s glow stick of destiny) by convincing Sitwell and Rumlow that he was all Hail Hydra, which gave me all kinds of Hydra!Cap feels, Tony and Scott get to go for the Tesseract. Shit happens, Bruce succeeds by telling the Sorcerer Supreme that Strange gave it willingly to Thanos which clues her in that there might be more to it, and Steve battles himself for the glow stick of destiny

Also, there is much mention and appreciation of Steve’s ass. America’s Ass. Yes, indeed. That is a nice derriere. Premium grade American Ass right there 🍑💦

(I’ve been waiting hours to use this gif :>>>) 

Tony and Scott screwed the pooch and they lose the Tesseract while Loki, who sees an opportunity, snatches and bails. So I guess that’s how they get to slip into the planned Loki series for Disney+. Tony and Steve then jump back to the 1970s where they can get more Pym particles, for more jumps and where the Tesseract will be both at the same place, the secret bunker facility we saw in Cap2. Steve chances upon Peggy’s office there and spends some time looking at her from the shadows, while Tony bumps into his dad who is freaking out about Tony’s impending birth. He manages to give his dad some advice on becoming a dad, and they gave us a nice closure for Tony who hugs and thanks his dad for everything he has done. 

Rhodey and Nebula go to Morag to intercept Peter Quill right before he gets the orb with the Power Stone. They both succeed but right before they can jump back, Nebula is paralysed by Ebony Maw hacking into her memories and she figures out that Thanos knows the plan. Rhodey jumps back, but she doesn’t and is captured by Thanos, Past!Nebula and Gamora. 

Clint and Natasha travel to Vormir and is soon acting like self-sacrificial idiots who battle it out to throw themselves for the Soul stone. Clint manages to clear the ledge, but Natasha is the one who pulls a switcheroo and tells Clint to “Let me go” which :<<<<<< So she dies and Clint gets the stone.

Thor and Rocket go to Asgard circa Thor The Dark World to get the Reality gem. Soon, Thor bumps into Frigga who immediately tells him that she knows he isn’t her son and that the future must’ve not been kind to him. She gives him some words of comfort and wisdom and tells him, despite his insistence that she knows what is going to happen to her, she doesn’t want to know, and honestly this movie gave Frigga the character fleshing out in five minutes what two movies couldn’t and I fucking love it. They are also successful and right before they leave, Thor calls for Mjölnir, and is pleased to know that he is still worthy when she answers.

Our heroes all come back, plus Nebula but they all soon realise that Nat isn’t coming back. They waste no time with assembling the stones with Tony’s nanotech gauntlet (I was kinda bummed we didn’t get to see more giant Peter Dinklage but I guess season 8 of Game of Thrones was a big thing huh) and Hulk-Banner takes it upon himself to do the snapping because he is the strongest avenger and it damn near kills him (remember this). 

It works, but before our heroes can enjoy the sweet taste of success, we figure out that Nebula ain’t our Nebula and is Past!Nebula who has impersonated our Nebula to open up a portal for Thanos to arrive in. Thanos decimates the Avengers facility and we enter the final battle.

Thor, Steve and Tony are the only ones not currently trapped under rubble and they all try to hold Thanos off from Clint who has the gauntlet and the stones.

Thor becomes pinned down under Thanos who is trying to stab him with Stormbreaker when Steve picks up Mjölnir and knocks him a new one and we get Thor saying “I knew it!” and let me just say that by this point I was screaming. Really. This was a comic book payoff and I love it. #SteveIsWorthy

This battle bit made me so anxious, like, holy shit I was worried for the safety of all involved. Then we see that Steve is the only left standing against the legion of Thanos, but wait! We see the Strange’s magic circle portals and it shows the arrival of all the other heroes who were snapped. So we have Black Panther coming in with the Wakandans and Bucky and Sam who goes “On your left” to Steve, the heroes on Thanos’ home planet (PETERRRR) and also, Pepper in her own armour! 

We get, fucking finally after all this time, to hear Cap say “Avengers Assemble!”

The ensuing melee sees them all try to get the gauntlet to Scott and Hope who are standing by the Pym van to try and get the stones back in time where Thanos can’t get them, and we get to see Peter finally get his hug from Tony and ngl I was crying.

All through it all our Nebula convinces Gamora that she’s changed, and that they have to stop Thanos, and our Nebula kills Past!Nebula when she tries to kill Gamora. 

It becomes a whole monkey in the middle situation with everyone passing the gauntlet off to another teammate and we see Peter activate Instant Kill, which is awesome, and then just when shit was about to get worse, get Carol coming in to get the gauntlet coz she’s the star quarterback here (i honestly feel like she was only here for the beginning and end so if you’re only watching this for her, i’m sorry?) and Peter asks her how's she going to get through all of that, all the women Avengers come up and Okoye says, “Don’t worry, she’ll have help” which just, ❤️

When Stephen Strange came back into the fray, Tony had asked him whether this is the one time they succeed and he says that he can’t say it because then it becomes real. So, when it seems like Thanos was going to get another shot at the snap, he makes eye contact with Tony and lifts up a ☝🏼which. 

Tony makes a roll for the gauntlet, but Thanos pushes him back, tries to snap but. Nothing happens. We turn, and see that Tony has the stones melding with his gauntlet, and as he prepares to snap his fingers, looks Thanos in the eyes and says “I am Iron Man”

Tony lays dying on the battlefield as Thanos and his legion are dust in the wind. Rhodey, Pep and Peter all say goodbye and are with him to the end and fuck y’all I thought I did my crying in the cinema but as I’m remembering this scene I’m tearing up again holy shit.

We get a funeral where Pepper and Morgan lay a wreath on a lake which had the Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart reactor from IM1 laid on it. The funeral is a who’s who of the MCU and we get Harley Keener back, which is, yay, but also :< Happy asks Morgan what she wants to eat and she says cheeseburger. Which. Fuck. Tears Happy up as he promises to get her all the cheeseburgers she wants. And ensures that I won’t be touching a cheeseburger within the next year. So many callbacks to IM1 which was the movie that started it all and I can’t even.

Clint goes back to his family, looking like he’s hanging up the bow for good this time, and Thor hands over Kingship of New Asgard to Valkyrie and boards the Guardian’s ship for a future instalment of GOTG. 

Steve is charged with being the one to get the stones back into their own timelines. Right before he goes, we get a callback to Cap1 with “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone” “How can I? You’re bringing all the stupid with you”, they prepare to pull him back but he misses the jump point. Sam, Bucky and Hulk-Banner panic for a moment before Bucky spots a man in the distance. They approach, and Bucky tells Sam to go talk to him, and we now see that it’s an aged Steve Rogers who had decided to stay back in time and is very much at peace and happy with it, Sam tells Steve that he doesn’t know how to live in a world without Captain America, when Steve hands over the shield to Sam and tells him that he’s it now. Now I cannot wait for the Falcon and Winter Soldier series.

The final scene in this movie was of Steve and Peggy dancing in their living room in what looks like the 1940s. Honestly, if I hadn’t already gone through a pack of tissues, I would’ve started then.

Cameos (at least the ones I picked out): Ken Jeong as a security guard in the San Fran warehouse where the Antman van was parked, Yvette Nicole Brown at Camp Lehigh, James D’Arcy as Jarvis (Which I was super stoked by because JARVISSSS), Joe Russo in a therapy circle with Steve (also made me real happy coz they kept a gender drop uncensored in my screening), and finally who could forget Stan Lee’s cameo all bedecked out in ‘70s flower power.

This movie was a lovely bowtie on 22 movies and 10 years of the MCU. Was it everything I wanted? No. It was more. Am I happy with what I got? No, I do wish some things ended differently but I knew they were coming. Nothing good lasts, and everything had to come to an end some time. I’m still unpacking my emotions tbh. The credits had all the OG6 signing their names, and the fact of the matter is, I have been so very changed by the MCU. The past 10 years have been amazing and I’ve been proud, and always will be proud to call myself a Marvel fan.

I honestly don’t know where they’ll be taking the MCU as a whole from this point onwards because it seems like there will be ripple effects from the actions of this film will be felt for at least the next ten years. Far From Home is the next MCU movie and I’m sure they’ll be dealing with the direct effects of this film so I’ll be looking forward to that. I’m elated, I am heartbroken, I am a glass case of emotions. 

#gab watches stuff #avengers endgame #endgame #marvel #mcu #tony stark #steve rogers #natasha romanoff #clint barton #bruce banner #thor odinson #iron man #captain america #black widow #hawkeye #hulk #thor #endgame spoilers #avengers endgame spoilers

[scribeofmorpheus]

As Fate Would Have It Part 11

Catch Up Here!

Pairing: 1940′s Bucky Barnes x Reader (Reader’s alias is Elle)

Words: 2921

Rating: E for Explicit! Smut be here, all ye be warned!

A/N: So I know I took forever to actually post this chapter (I’m sorry guys, being inspired and productive is much harder since I got back home) but it’s here, it’s shorter and yes, it’s a bottleneck! We have only a couple more chapters left in the beautiful 1940′s and then it’s Winter Soldiering time! Also, I just realised I made like TWO teasers for chapter 11! Oops!

Song: Don't Deserve Your Love by Plumb

;

The rain began to pour in soft, satin-like droplets. Each bead of water causing a shiver down your spine. Your dress and hair were practically soaked. Your hair-pins were weighed down by wet curls that refused to stay put.

Bucky had taken off his jacket and placed it around your shoulders as you headed for shelter. His apartment was closer, so naturally, you had both decided to go there to wait out the weather.

Bucky's shirt had all but soaked through too. Revealing a tease of his muscled chest and strong arms hiding under his clinging white shirt. His arm still on the small of your back as he led you up the steps to his apartment. A second shiver ran through your body, but it wasn’t from the cold. To compose yourself, you gripped his jacket firmly around your body, the scent of his cologne, faint but noticeable. It was a smell you'd sworn you'd never forget and to your relief, you were reassured that you hadn’t. His jacket smelled just like you remembered. Just like you’d memorised.

Under the cover of the porch, Bucky patted his trousers in search of his keys. "I'm always losing those damned things!" He swore to himself.

You watched as he kept patting down his pockets one after another, before starting again. You bit your lips to keep your grin from evolving into a tooth one. You dug your hands into your pockets and felt the familiar cold tinge of metal on skin. You pulled the keys out of your pocket and dangled them close to Bucky's face. A warm blush settled over his face when he realised they had been in his jacket the whole time.

"Looking for something?" You teased. Right then, for some reason, his stare turned serious. He grabbed the keys from your hands but never broke the contact of his hand on yours. He held your hand close to his chest and you could all but feel his heart hammering against his strong chest.

With one foot forward and another hand cupping your chilling cheeks he whispered, "No. I found it..." As he inched closer you couldn't help but think he wasn't talking about his stupid keys.

"Buck?" You began, but before you could get another word in, he had all but drawn you in. His soft lips brushed against yours, his warm breath tickling your skin -igniting a warm spark that threatened to chase the cold from the rain-saturated clothes. And then, just as you dangled on the electrified precipice of his touch, he pulled back. A cheeky smile and a sly expression on his lit up face.

"Let's get you inside before we catch pneumonia," he joked.

You were so bewildered by the intense emotions trying to surface that you didn't notice Bucky walk you into his apartment and, like the gentleman he was, take the soaked jacket off your shoulders and place it on a set of hooks by the door.

It wasn't until he brought his eyes to your eye-line and shook your shoulders lightly that you realised he had asked you a question.

"What?" You said softly, unsure of what he had said.

Bucky let out a bemused huff of air, "I asked if you'd be more comfortable in something a little less… wet?" He said with a harmless smile. But when he mulled his words over, his brows rose up and his eyes went wide. He looked like a child that just got caught eating a cookie before dinner.

You chuckled at the suggestiveness of the question. Something about this moment made you feel exposed. Without armour. And by the nervous tone hanging around Bucky's words, you figured he felt just the same.

Bucky cleared his throat, "What I meant was, I have some dry clothes you can borrow. They're probably more comfortable than..." Bucky searched for the right words, but the sight of you in your clinging dress made it difficult for him to stay on track. It didn't help that the outside world was drowned out by the sound of raindrops hitting the roof and windows in a lulling mood.

You looked down and noticed how tightly the fabric stuck to your body. It didn't leave much to the imagination. Your head snapped up and so did Bucky's.

"Uh, yes. Yes. Dry clothes seem like a good idea… Are a good idea!" You had a hard time not stuttering your words.

Bucky tried to wipe away the hungry expression in his eyes by running his hands through his damp hair and taking a deep breath. He walked towards a door less room and disappeared in the unlit setting. When he re-emerged he was holding a folded, crisp white shirt and a pair of brown trousers.

"You can change in the bathroom. It's right through there," he pointed to the only other door in the apartment. When you graciously took the clothes he added, "I'll put some coffee on the stove."

You simply nodded and walked into the bathroom. With the comfort of solitude, you set the clothes on the sink and spent the next minute trying to calm your nerves. The feeling of electricity in your toes and fingertips made it difficult for you to focus your thoughts. You repeatedly waved your hands about as though you were having a hot flash, blowing out air through achingly untouched lips.

"Get a grip. This isn't the first time he's kissed you!" You snapped at your reflection lowly. But the stern execution of your words had no effect on your racing heart and flushed skin. Your eyes caught glimpse of a ticket stub fixed between the mirror and its frame. It had the words '*Coney Island*' printed on it. He had kept the ticket stubs from your date. Guilt and joy caused a storm in your stomach. It felt like butterflies, but also not quite. You sighed, averting your gaze.

Admitting defeat, you resigned yourself to focus on changing out of your clothes. When you put on the white shirt you couldn't help but notice how comforting Bucky's scent smelled. A coy smile spread across your face when you saw how cosy you looked in his garbs. You hung your dress on an empty towel rack. Suddenly, a dangerous thought began to swim around your mind. What if that towel rack belonged to you? What if there were two toothbrushes in the porcelain cup beside the sink instead of one? What if… You shook your head. Such thoughts weren't just dangerous, they were ludicrous. Someone like you couldn't afford to place hope in hypotheticals. Your life wasn't your own. The realisation hit you like a tonne of bricks and you felt your steely conviction return.

When you emerged from the bathroom, you were greeted by the sight of a newly changed Bucky pouring two cups of coffee. He wore simple slacks and a shirt identical to yours. He looked particularly domestic. You could imagine him reading the papers in the morning, mentally battling a crossword puzzle while his coffee grew cold just as the morning sun illuminated his face. Those blue eyes of his rivalling any morning sky.

‘What if's’ are certainly dangerous, you mused solemnly as you sat at his kitchen table.

"The shirt looks good on you," Bucky mused out loud. You raised a brow at him. He shrugged unapologetically. "Well, better than it ever looked on me." Bucky sat across from you, blowing at his cup of coffee.

"Somehow, I doubt that," Your eyes raked over Bucky's well-toned figure.

"Trust me," he reassured. And then it happened again. That long pause. The hush was neither uncomfortable nor empty. The lingering looks. Your heart, betraying you by skipping several beats while your body yearned to be touched. It was overpowering. You stood from the chair under the guise of perusing his apartment.

You saw a family picture held by a chipped frame hung on the wall where his calendar and key hooks hung. You noticed he hadn't flipped the calendar to the current month. There was a day circled in red pen with a note: Elle's surprise party. Diner. 6pm.

Your throat constricted at the memory of your going away party. Instead of dwelling, you made small talk about the picture. "Is this your family?" You pointed at the frame.

Bucky nodded enthusiastically, "Yup. The proud Barnes clan. In all its glory." He took a sip of his coffee, a proud smile on his face.

"You didn't tell me you had siblings," you said intrigued.

"I would have," he said. You hummed softly. "What I mean is… whenever we were together, I planned to tell you but I just got so wrapped up in… Us." The way he said 'Us' made it difficult to breathe. You moved on to something else, fighting to keep your composure while Bucky followed after behind you.  

You walked into his living room, which was just about the same size as your own -just large enough for a rug, coffee table, small bookshelf and a couch. On the table, you saw a hardback bound book. There was a piece of paper wedged between its pages -a makeshift bookmark. You read the title. "Heart of Darkness."

"A little stuffy for my taste but it kept me busy. Steve lent it to me."

"I can agree with you on that." You flipped through the pages and noticed a few scribbles on the edges until it opened on the bookmarked page. Your breath hitched in surprise. Bucky had used the napkin Sally had used to write your phone number and address as his bookmark. With shaky fingers, you ran your hands over the familiar digits written in an overzealous cursive.

And suddenly you couldn't do it any longer. You couldn't keep yourself together. You turned to look at Bucky with tears on the brim of your eyes. He moved instinctively towards you and held you.

You had tried to remain a ghost in this town. You had tried to not leave any traces of yourself. But here you were, a presence in Bucky's apartment even though you had never stepped a foot inside it until today. You were like a ghost kept alive by remnants attached to his memories. The napkin. The unchanged calendar. The ticket stubs. Whether you liked it or not, you had failed at remaining invisible. You were a part of his life and he was undeniably a part of yours. That wasn't a "What if".

"Oh, Bucky. I've missed you," You hugged him closer to you.

"Not as much as I've missed you," he said softly.

You looked up with foggy eyes, your lips trembling slightly, and then you kissed him. Deeply. And he kissed you back with just as much enthusiasm and vigour -if not more. The kiss lingered for ages, but it also felt quick. All the distant worries and words of warning disappeared in a fog. In this room, in this apartment, and in this moment, nothing else mattered except the man whose arms held you.

When the kiss finally ended, Bucky with bated breath, whispered with closed eyes, "Will you stay?"

You stared at his face. Vulnerable and without any armour, and you were completely captured by his raw emotion. You wondered if a tear would slip if he opened his eyes. So you kissed the edge of his face, where you imagined crow’s feet would one day form and said, "Yes."

With the uttering of that one feeble word, Bucky's face lit up like it was Christmas. He opened his eyes and swooped you closer to his chest before he twirled you slightly. You couldn't help but giggle at his giddiness. When he set you down, you were both locked in another kiss. This one was different. Hungrier, more wanting. Before you knew it, the two of you were leading each other to the bedroom, helping each other discard obstructing clothing.

Bucky laid you down onto his firm mattress before removing his t-shirt and vest -hurriedly- before joining you.

"God," Bucky exclaimed as you pressed sweet kisses along his collar bone to his ear lobe. A shiver trickled over his abdomen as he tucked a stray hair behind your ear before pressing a chaste kiss to your nose. "You have no idea how long I've dreamed of this moment."

You looked into his eyes and a coy smile spread across your lips, "And now that you've got me here, what will you do with me, James Buchanan Barnes?" You stressed his name slow and suggestively.

He chuckled low and deep and it reverberated across your chest, "I have a few ideas."

With each new article of clothing removed, you peppered each other in kisses and filled the air with moans and soft sighs. Every nerve in your body came alive with an electricity you'd never felt before. It was both surreal and the most real thing you'd ever felt. Eventually, you were both naked and writhing against each other.

When Bucky entered you, slow and languid, you bit your lip with anticipation. Rocking your hips back and forth to express your own want. Bucky had a hard time controlling his own grunts of pleasure.

"Bucky," you whispered slowly when his pace was slow and tantalising.

"Elle," he whispered back between hot pants. For a moment, it stung -hearing him call out to your false name. You wanted his to moan your name. Your real name. But the overwhelming feeling of being embraced by the man you… cared deeply for, was enough to snap your mind back into the blissful moment you shared.

Bucky's pace quickened and his hands began to roam your body. Kneading breasts and gripping your hips with a slight roughness you savoured. You mimicked his movements and soon your own arms began to rake at his back and squeezed the firm muscles of his ass.

"Oh god, Buck! More. Yes!" You were numb to everything but the pleasure of his touch.

Bucky nibbled at your ear lobe and teased, "You're really cute when you moan my name like that!" He chuckled,

You bit his collarbone playfully in retaliation.

"Nggg! That's playing dirty."

"Don't tease, Buchanan. Ahhh!"

And before you knew it, his pace had turned to sputtering thrusts and his kisses became sloppy.

You felt the pressure building between your legs. The friction between your bodies, applying ample amounts of pressure to your undulating core. Specks began to form in your vision and you bit down on your lip and death gripped the pillow to maintain your focus on the wonderful feeling spreading from your centre to your fingers and toes. And just before you climaxed, you screamed, "Bucky!"

Bucky followed a few thrusts later. Your ears were hot and still ringing from your own climax that you didn't quite catch the words that slipped through his shaky breaths.

***

Bucky's thumb slowly rubbed against your thigh as you both laid back completely sated with flustered cheeks. His other hand was draped around you, holding you close to his chest. You could hear his loud strong heart beating beneath you. A warm smile spread across your lips.

"Elle," you felt his breathing pause. "I need to tell you something."

You looked up to see his face, it looked conflicted. "What is it?"

"I- I don't want there to be any secrets between us. Not after…"

You cradled his face between your hands, "Hey… What is it?" You asked softly.

"I enlisted."

Those two small words clashed uncomfortably in your gut. On the one hand, you were proud. How could you not be? Bucky was a protective man. He protected people, just like he did countless times with Steve. That was something that always drew you to him. But on the other hand, it meant one way or another, the reality of you losing him was becoming more and more clear.

You searched your mind for the appropriate thing to say, but ultimately settled for what you felt to be right, "I wouldn't expect anything less."

"I know I just got you back. And I don't want to be apart from you again but…"

"It's inevitable now," you finished his thought for him, placing your head back on his chest.

After a moment of silence, Bucky spoke again, only this time with a slight waver in his tone. "Will you wait for me?"

You wanted to give into the moment and just say yes. You wanted to mean it too, but your life wasn't simply your own to promise away. But your heart was.

"I can promise that my heart will always belong to you, Bucky." You kissed his jawline.

He looked down at you half frazzled, half proud. "Are you trying to say you love me?"

You hummed, "Maybe I am."

Bucky snaked his arms around you and shifted his weight so he was above you once more. He kissed your forehead and smiled warmly. "Good. Because I've been dying to say 'I love you' too."

And just like that, Bucky had managed to knock the breath right out of you and leave you speechless. Your heart felt full and heavy, like it would explode if not for Bucky's beautiful sea coloured eyes keeping you grounded. All you could do was grin from ear to ear to like a happy fool. Which was exactly what you were in this moment: a fool happy in love. And nothing, not time or distance, would take this memory away from the two of you.

Part 12 Coming Soon!

Please don’t be afraid to ask to be tagged. Comment welcome. Like or Reblog if you liked it!

Tags: @fangirl-colo @dormousse @smallmarvel @ren-ni @sargentbucket @nikolett3 @wnygirl2012 @jentismyname @evilgeniuslabz-blog @myrabbitholetoneverland @500daysofbecky

#Bucky Barnes #Bucky x Reader #Bucky Barnes Imagine #Bucky Barnes x Reader #Marvel Imagines #Marvel #Winter Soldier #I lowkey added my distaste for Heart of Darkness in here #Smut #Bucky smut #bucky fanfic #mcu #Sebastian Stan

[evilkitten42]

I was put on this earth to make content for myself and absolutely no one else, so here’s a tiny excerpt of the Easy Virtue fic I started writing in 2016 and have only started looking at again this week

“It was amicable.” Sarah says, two weeks after John and Larita’s surprise return from Paris; she sits on the back porch with Larita while the Whittaker’s squabble near the rose garden. Marion is trying to play mediator. It isn’t working. “John and I separating.”

“I heard.” Larita smiles. She smiles a lot, which is not something Sarah had expected. She’d honestly thought, sometimes angrily, that John would marry someone completely opposite to Sarah since he found something about her so lacking. “He told me a lot about you two, when you were younger.”

Sarah thinks that’s a funny way to say ‘less than four months ago’, but she’s not going to rock the boat on this one.

“In fact,” Larita leans in close, as if telling a secret. “John pressed the point so much that I began to think he was lying for the sake of his pride.” She giggles. “He is not a man who likes to admit when he is wrong.”

“I don’t think he’s ever admitted to being wrong in his whole life.” Sarah sniggers. She can ignore the fact she’s also lying to Larita if she simply focuses on the fact that John was too proud for his own good, would always apologise as vaguely as possible so he could stop an argument without admitting fault. It was one of his most infuriating habits. Sarah had fallen for it constantly.

“Well,” Larita scrunches her nose up when she’s truly happy, a tiny detail Sarah’d noticed in the two weeks since John and Larita had arrived. It made her look younger, in only the way genuine happiness can. “With a face like his, he can afford a few personal failings.”

Sarah barely restrains herself from snorting. John looks up from his spot in the centre of the chaos that is his family and smiles at the two of them, face softly lit by the glowing lights of the porch and the dying sun.

(‘Wine makes it easier’ Sarah thinks, which is painfully true. Sometimes, stone sober, she can barely stand looking at John, can barely be near him without wanting to reach out and curl her fingers through his hair, wanting to slap him in the face and scream, wanting to cry until her heart stopped feeling like it weighed a tonne. At least with alcohol she can pretend that he’s not looking at her, that his soft gaze is nothing more than a wine-tinted dream, that she met Larita any way other than the way they met in real life, that their friendship doesn’t occasionally feel like ripping herself apart at the seams.)

“See what I mean?” Larita pats Sarah’s shoulder gently and Sarah laughs because the other option is to walk up to John and his ridiculous, soft, happy face and scream ‘I loved you! I loved you until I couldn’t breathe and you left me to choke on it! How dare you think I was ever going to survive that!’

#Easy Virtue #fic extract #99% of this was written in 2016 and by GOD is it difficult to mesh my current writing style with it #especially since I was changing my writing style to feel more 20's inspired #I need to do immersion therapy on my own writing #anyway #my writing #my life

[bellefrenchroleplays]

“I couldn’t sleep either. Want me to make you some tea?”

‘’--Jesus Christ, Robbie!’’ A breath of surprise left her as she heard a familiar voice behind her, just about managing to stop herself from grabbing the nearest sharp object and ramming it right into whoever it was that was disturbing her on her own front porch at 2 o’clock in the morning that Autumn evening. It was a little chillier now the season’s were changing, she’d been forced to bring a blanket with her, which was now wrapped across her shoulders to starve off any kind of chill. In a few more weeks, coming out here at night would be a sure fire way to develop pneumonia but sitting under the stars in the black of night had been one of her favourite activities for the past few years. 

Ever since the incident with her Father, and the loss of their unborn child, sitting out on the porch in front of the big salmon coloured house, just letting the world pass by and hearing the owls chirp had been somewhat therapeutic for her. That had been almost two years ago now, the anniversary a few weeks away and her heart ached as she thought about it. There had been some nights that she’d spent permanently outside, almost as if she didn’t want to be caged in and needed to feel the wind through her hair to be soothed but eventually, the nightmares had calmed and her own bed had been more of a sanctuary than not. 

The little black and white photo next to her on the porch swing - which she’d made him buy, despite his protests that he wasn’t an 80 year old woman - had disrupted the peace she’d found, and left her almost just as scared as she had been two years ago. 

Belle had expected to feel elated when she fell pregnant again, but instead she just felt fear and a stinging sense of melancholy that told her they should have had a rambunctious toddler running around, preparing to become a sibling for the first time. Deep down, she was happy. A part of her wanted to scream it from the rooftops and buy every baby item available in Storybrooke but the other part of her was just terrified. While their lives had calmed down, he mostly worked at the pawn shop and she at the library, it wasn’t completely safe and she was so scared about something happening to this baby that she almost didn’t want to let herself get attached. At almost 8 weeks pregnant, she was nearing the time when they would have lost their first and that reminder weighed down on her like a tonne of lead.

It was probably weighing on both of them, hence why he was also awake in the early hours of the morning and right on the porch with her in his pyjama’s. He looked tired, brow furrowed, and was probably trying to focus on her and her feelings rather than his own when it came to their pregnancy. She’d seen his tears at their first ultrasound earlier that day though, and she knew how much this meant to him. They’d only known a few days, perhaps because both of them had been ignoring the symptoms for the last few weeks, and she’d seen his protectiveness increase ten-fold in that time. He probably wanted to wrap her and their baby up in cotton-wool, never let them out of his sight and truthfully, a part of her wanted that too because she was just so scared this would be ripped away from them again. 

That fear likely wouldn’t dissipate until their child was placed in their arms and she sighed, brushing a hand through her hair and nodding at him, her other hand curling around the ultrasound photo in her lap. 

‘‘I... yes, a cup of tea would be good.’‘ That fixed everything, didn’t it?

#ship: mobster rumbelle #rumplerps

[bucky-at-bedtime]

The Bet Pt.2

Summary: You’ve spent the entirety of your college life avoiding parties and living a life of quiet Saturday nights and hangover-less Sunday mornings. That is, until Bucky Barnes cons you into attending 5 parties. Chaos ensues.  

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Warnings: None yet!

Words: 1599

A/n: Part 2 is here! Thank you to everyone who read and enjoyed part one! I hope this is worth the wait! (If you want to be tagged in this series feel free to send me a message or an ask!)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

You were being tortured. Some evil god was looking down at you and cackling, you were sure of it. Wanda was giggling in front of you as you tried to blink away the mascara she had just poked into your eye but it was difficult to blink when you had false eyelashes on that weighed a tonne.

Ok, so maybe it wasn’t torture - but it felt pretty close.

It had been 6 days since Bucky proposed his little scheme which meant it was Friday night and you were finally going to your first college party. Unwillingly. Not that any of your so-called friends cared.

“We wouldn’t go to all these parties if they weren’t a bit fun” Wanda mumbled, cleaning up the makeup around your eyes.

“It’s just not my thing!” There they were, those words that you have repeated incessantly for your entire college career.

“Well then, just think about the assignment” she gently moved a couple of your hairs from your face. “Now, go get changed”

Wanda and Natasha had taken it upon themselves to use you as their personal, life-sized Barbie doll. Walking into your room you found the little black dress they decided was appropriate party-wear and quickly put it on. It was short.

Finally, you turned, looking at yourself in the mirror. You looked… different. It was strange to see yourself in clothes and makeup you would never usually wear - not that you didn’t like dressing up, you just did it differently - it was as if someone had taken your brain and replaced it with some strange mash-up of Wanda and Natasha’s.

It was a little cliche – you walked down the hallway, a little wobbly on your heels, and everyone turned to look at you with varying responses of shock and awe – it felt like a movie.

“Damn, you have legs” Sam’s comment was alluding to the fact that you had never worn a dress this short in your life and you quickly poked your tongue out at him.

“You look hot!” Natasha stood up, walking over to adjust the straps of your dress.

“I feel unstable” you murmured, running a hand through your hair “let’s go, I wanna get this over with”

Everyone was up in an instant, out of their chairs and through the front door. Bucky, instead walked towards you, holding an arm out.

Bucky knew you weren’t comfortable in the dress you were wearing and he saw the way you wobbled on the heels. He just hoped you would still have fun - this was his idea after all. 5 parties. 5 chances to get you to come out of your shell.

“M’lady” he chuckled and you quickly hooked your arm under his, mostly for balance. You didn’t get very far. When you reached the top of the stairs outside your apartment, you stopped in your tracks. Bucky’s eyebrows pulled together in confusion at your abrupt halt.

“Alright, bet’s off, I’m going home”

“What?” Bucky looked at you incredulously “what are you talking about? We’re only 5 steps out of your apartment”

You gesture towards the daunting stairs with one hand, pointing at your heels with the other. “I already fall down stairs on a weekly basis - add these things into the mix and I’ll break my leg” It was true, only a couple of months ago you had fallen down these stairs and torn the ligaments in your ankle, you didn’t plan on doing it again.

He sighed, looking at you with one eyebrow raised before bending down in front of you. “Get on” he demanded “I’m not letting these stairs ruin our quest”

You groaned, but you knew he wouldn’t give up, so you found yourself awkwardly climbing onto Bucky’s back, your arms around his neck and legs around his waist. His hands moved so that they were underneath your thighs, holding you up and you shivered slightly when his hands touched your bare skin. You found yourself so close that when you breathed in you could smell the earthy scent of his shampoo. Your arms tightened around him subconsciously.

“Alright, onwards.” He started down the stairs making you laugh as he ran to catch up with others. You began to think that maybe this wouldn’t be that bad.

It was that bad.

When you rocked up at the frat house at around 8, you immediately knew it was going to be a long night. The booming dubstep was escaping every exit of the large house, you found yourself surprised that the ground didn’t shake in time with the shitty music. A car full of hysterical girls rocked up as you stood on the front lawn and one of them immediately threw up on the curb. You found yourself leaning over to Bucky, a hand on his arm.

“Good start” you spoke quietly and he looked down at you, a strained look on his face as he assessed the party, pulling you inside. He thought this was going to be a little more relaxed, but from the small snippet they had already seen, he was pretty sure this wouldn’t be your kind of party.

Now, a couple of hours since you arrived, you found yourself sitting in the bathroom, the cold edge of the bathtub digging into your thighs. There mightn’t have been any comfortable seating in here, but it was your best escape from the sleazy guys that kept trying to flirt. You had a beer in your hand but you were far from drunk, your feet aching from standing up in heels for too long. The music also had a hard time penetrating the bathroom walls, so your safe haven was filled with strange buzzing noises from the strong bass of the speakers rather than the actual deafening music. For the most part, this party was exactly what you remembered them to be.

You had watched as Natasha, Sam and Wanda did too many shots, far too quickly. Steve instantly went to find Sharon - the girl he’d been passively flirting with for what felt like years.

Bucky stayed with you for a little while, both of you downing a few beers and chatting idly, but he was soon pulled away by a girl in your fiction writing class. The last thing you had seen as you went to find your tiled retreat was her pushing her lips onto his.

Your phone buzzed in your back pocket and you pulled it out, finding a couple of texts from a very drunk Natasha:

10:08: ‘Come dance with meeeeeeeee’

10:30: ‘We’re doin SHOTS’

10:33: ‘I miss yooou’

You didn’t bother responding, chuckling slightly at her enthusiasm before opening a couple of texts from Bucky:

10:15: ‘Are you okay? Where’d you go?’

10:31: ‘Doll, please respond, I’m worried’

You smiled down at the texts, your thumbs hovering over the keypad as you tried to think of a good excuse. Instead, you decided to call, holding the phone to your ear as you waited for him to pick up.

“Hey, what happened to you?” the music boomed through the phone and you winced slightly, pulling it away from your ear.

“I’m fine Buck, just retreated to the bathroom after a girl cried on my shoulder for a good twenty minutes” you let out a dry chuckle. “Y’know, my history paper is looking pretty good right now.”

You could basically feel him roll his eyes through the phone as he laughed. “Hey! I have four more chances.”

“I’m just saying, it’s not looking good for you, Barnes.”

“Give me a couple of minutes.” He hung up.

You weren’t exactly sure what he needed a couple of minutes for, but soon there was a knock on the door and he called your name through the chipped wood. You quickly yanked the door open, and he grabbed your wrist, pulling you out of the bathroom and down the hallway.

“Where are we going? I thought you were having a wonderful time with Hannah” you referenced the girl you had previously seen him making out with and he shook his head at you.

“This is a shitty party,” he said, briefly looking back at you. “It’s my fault you’re here and not having fun so, I’m getting you out of here.” He pulled you out the front door “let’s go for a walk”

“Bucky, I can’t just go for a stroll in these shoes” you complained, pulling your hand from his and gesturing to your aching feet. He looked down at them but something else on the porch caught his eye and he crouched down, picking up a pair of lime green crocs and putting them in front of your feet. “No way.” You crossed your arms. “I am not wearing crocs - that is a crime - so is stealing, we are not stealing someone’s crocs”

“C’mon, doll, it’s just me. No one else will see the crocs” his bright eyes were pleading at you, and you weren’t sure if it was the alcohol or the fact that you immediately lost yourself in the blue of his iris’, but you slipped off the heels, replacing them with crocs.

“This is ridiculous.”

“Let’s go.” He hooked his arm under your elbow and pulled you away from the door and towards your apartment. “They bring out your eyes”

He laughed loudly as you punched him gently in the arm, unable to stop the grin from spreading across your face as you watched the corners of his eyes crinkle with his smile. “Shut up, Barnes”

Part 3

Tags:

@camillechan @projectxhappiness @fandoms-who @verycoolveryunique @brokenanxiety @confidentrose @bookgirlunicorn @anamcg317 @sebastianstanisagift @imshalida @phenomenalgoober (If I missed anyone, let me know!)