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bucky-h0e · 2 months

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A/N: Welcome to literally the only Universe where Alpine has a happy childhood (I am so sorry). This is going to be the most canon-divergent universe and I am so excited for Bucky and Alpine to have their happy bio family. I may also eventually turn this into a reader insert but that is a future project (not like I have six on the go at the same time).

Warnings: Bucky Barnes having one night stands, Bucky Barnes will never be doing that again, Bucky Barnes gets a girl pregnant, major canon divergence, Bucky Barnes gets his happy ending

Bucky Barnes: ex-Winter Soldier, Now DILF | Masterlist

Bucky Finds Out He's Going To Be A Dad

At last the world was safe

Steve Rogers had retired the shield, instead taking to training Sam to take up the title as Captain America

of course Sam still had his grievances when it came to this change, but after what had happened with the flag smashers and Isiah Bradley, he figured if anyone was to take up the shield, maybe it should have been him

Steve and Bucky could not have agreed more

Steve had began taking art classes in his spare time, but worked with Sam as a volunteer talking to Veterans and helping them adapt to civilian life whilst under going his own journey

he went to therapy with Bucky (Bucky was not happy about doing double sessions since the courts made him do a separate session to ensure he was stable)

he was even considering getting back into the dating world

after all, Peggy had lived her life, it was time for him to do the same

Tony had also retired after the war with Thanos. His brief rush with death made him rethink the life of a super hero - he's consult occasionally but for the majority, he was a retired stay at home father

Pepper was still running the company after all

he enjoyed finally being able to rest, supporting Morgan and Peter with all their endeavours

and being able to plan fabulous baby themed parties throughout Pepper's second pregnancy

he and Bucky, whilst not on regular speaking terms, had sat down and engaged in a civil conversation in which Bucky was finally able to apologise fully

their relationship is strained, but they can be civil with one another when needed to be

Tony some what trusts Bucky to look out for Peter on missions

but he knows that he and Sam are Peter's main annoyances

Steve had managed to bring Natasha back from the dead, unable to explain just how, nobody questioned it, just happy to have her back in their lives

she had taken a well deserved holiday after everything she had done and sacrificed

seriously, she was gone for months, no body knew where she had gone

Thor and Bruce had wondered if she'd accidentally ended up on Sakar and couldn't decide who they felt more sorry for, Natasha or the Grandmaster

speaking of Thor

this man had the biggest heart attack of his life

Loki had once again faked his death, having to spend the war in hiding from Thanos after a promise of death for his betrayal

Thor was rightfully pissed, refusing to speak to his brother for months

the avengers got the chance to actually see Loki grovel for forgiveness from his brother

only for this man to grin and accept money from Clint since he bet that Loki would come begging for forgiveness and Clint figured he'd die before he saw the day that happened

Loki got the last laugh however when he introduced Thor to the young boy he'd basically adopted whilst in hiding

Wanda, who had briefly slipped into the darkness, used her powers to search the multiverse (something she'd neglected to tell the other avengers until it was almost too late) for Vision and had found him in a universe which had been dying

when she'd brought him into their universe, her and Doctor Strange had it out, it nearly tore the team apart once again and nearly brought Tony and Steve out of retirement

but after many days of studying various spell books and looking into many futures - they were able to settle on a course of actions which meant the new Vision could stay in their universe without it tearing itself into pieces

how nice

now Bucky

he had gone to therapy, made his amends, listened to Sam and Steve's advice, made friends with other grumpy old men

he finally felt content

and with Steve in his life, he slowly began to found pieces of his old self mixed in with the newly found version of himself

he loved it

one night, he Sam and Steve had decided to attempt a guys night out

Bucky and Steve, for obvious reasons, couldn't get drunk

but Sam could and he was loving the fact that he always had two designated drivers at his beck and call

so Sam goes pretty heavy at the bar, drinking like its his last night

everyone is enjoying seeing Captain America pissed out of his mind

Steve Rogers literally could never

so seeing this version of Captain America reminded them of his humanity

it also gave Steve an actually heart attack

"Sam get off the bar!"

"ALL THE SINGLE LADIES"

Bucky is loving it, filming it on his new phone

he'd bribe Sam with that later

He's just about to head back to the booth they'd situated themselves in when he notices a young woman had made herself at home there

despite their coats being there

"Sorry miss, that's our table."

"Oh yeah? What are you gunna do about it?"

theres a flirty undertone there and Bucky picks up on it

and he likes it

"I'm sure you'll enjoy it, whatever it is."

"Shall we find out?"

Honestly this man will never get over just how confident and outgoing modern women were

not that he was complaining

he spends the night talking to her, flirting back and forth

they're leaning in close together as they share stories

she talks about how she moved from South Korea at a young age, he gives her stories of his own childhood in return

before he knows it, he's walking her back to her place and their leaning against her door before she invites him in

"Look, I should just tell you now. I'm not looking for an old timey romance here..."

Bucky was fine with that

he wasn't ready for a relationship definitely not, but they had made a small connection

and she was an attractive young woman

and bucky barnes is a simple, simple man

"Neither am I."

the next morning, after a night that Bucky will not forget anytime soon, he slips out of her apartment, hearing a muffled 'bye' by the woman he leaves behind

when he gets home, he's disappointed to see a hung over Sam led on his couch with his head essentially in a bucket

not as disappointed at Steve who sits in his arm chair, glaring at his old friend

"And where have you been James?"

"You left without even saying goodbye."

"Do you know how worried I was?"

Sam looks up and all it takes is once look at the disgruntled Bucky who just wanted to get in bed after a long night

starts grinning like the idiot he is

"Bucky got some."

"James Buchanan Barnes you sly dog you."

"That's my boy!"

he definitely gets teased by these two but lets be honest, Sam is teasing Steve about the fact Bucky wasn't even looking for anyone and managed to get laid and Steve is there tryna get in the game

Steve reminded him it's because he had to do damage control after the new Captain America tried twerking his ass to Taylor Swift

they spend the day together, just three friends watching random shit on TV and enjoying themselves

apart from Sam who was so heavily hungover he genuinely thought he was going to die

Since that night, Bucky hadn't really thought much of it

he didn't need to go out and get with some girl every night, it was just nice to know that he actually still had game

he'd thought of the woman maybe once, but other than that wasn't too fussed if she never wanted to see him again

he's survive

but imagine his shock when he gets a knock on his door nearly two months later and opens it to reveal her stood, annoyed as all hell at the trouble she just had to go through to find this man

"Jesus! I know you're an avenger and everything but do you have to be so difficult to find? Had to force it out of Wilson, who by the way is an ass."

as if on queue, a message from Sam comes through on his phone reading 'you're welcome ;)'

"Uh.... hey? Come on in, how can I help?"

"Glad you asked."

she's so annoyed and Bucky is so confused as she shows him the three positive pregnancy tests in her pocket

e x c u s e m e w h a t

he doesn't blink

just stares

she has to click her fingers in his face to snap him out of this little daze

he doesn't know what to do

should he apologise?

should he propose?

no proposing would not be the best way

after all it wasn't to 40s anymore

oh god

his mother is rolling in her grave

"I.... Uh...."

when i say he's panicking

he's panicking

but he's so calm on the outside

she thinks he's actually a robot malfunctioning until

"I left my stove on."

Man is trying to walk out of his own apartment

she stops him, sits him down and gets the poor man a glass of water

"Are you sure you aren't the one that's pregnant?"

Bucky nearly faints at the thought

"Woah okay there soldier,"

she's sat on the arm of his chair, rubbing his back as he comes to grips with the situation

"I am... so sorry. I don't.. we used protection. You said you were on birth control."

he may have been confused on the idea of birth control seeing as the pill hadn't become mainstream until the 60s

but that name implied it's purpose, it was one of the few things that made bucky think

ah, the wonders of modern medicine

"Yeah well, they're only like 99% effective and sometimes the pill can be even less than that depending on which on you take"

the wonders

of modern medicine

"besides, you're a super soldier. no doubt your swimmers are uh super as well,"

bucky could die right there

of course this would be the way he finds out the serum effective everything about his body and DNA

"Well this is what i get for being happy."

this dramatic ass man

he just hadn't considered that fact that this part of his body would have been effected in such a way

"look, i've got an appointment today, I wanted to tell you before hand but like I said, you were hard to find. You wanna come to the appointment and we can talk about this?"

all bucky can do is nod

he stands and follows her out the door, the walk to the appointment is long and quiet

she's occasionally patting his back in comfort

it's not like shes heartless

the man literally just fought in a war and was still in recovery, despite being a lot better than he had been

when they got the the doctors, they sat together in the waiting room and Bucky looked terrified as he read all the flyers and posters

literally this morning all he wanted to do was laze on his couch

he had no where to be

he'd done his training for the day

Sam and Steve were doing special Captain America training

and now here he was sat around a doctors office surrounded by pregnant lady with the stranger he'd knocked up weeks ago

to say he wanted to vomit was an understatement

when her name was called, they both stood and walked into the room

Bucky had done the decent thing and left the room briefly when she got changed for the examination but was back inside and sat at her side soon enough

she was trying to make small talk and bucky was honestly trying to answer but Jesus Christ he was nervous

he tries smiling at her as she makes small jokes but he can't help the nagging feeling in his stomach

he doesn't even know what it's trying to tell him

and it's not until the doctor smiles and tells the two that she's found their baby

"There we are! I'd say by the looks of it, you're around 7 weeks."

holy shit

it was tiny but it was there

they had to lean in closer to see the baby, but when they did they couldn't both help but laugh at the size of it

it was so so small and it barely looked human

but it was there

Bucky had the biggest smile on his face watching the screen

"You're both looking pretty healthy, I'm happy with that. Have you been told your options in regards to carrying out the pregnancy or deciding not too?"

his heart dropped at the thought but he tried not to think about it

obviously they needed to discuss this

"Actually, would we be able to have a minute?"

the doctor nods and leaves and bucky takes a deep breath

okay

looks like they were going to talk about this now

he tears his eyes from the screen, frozen on the little sack of cells

he looks at her and gives her what she could only describe as kicked puppy smile

"What do you want to do?"

he asks her the question first, not wanting to get any hopes up

wanting to get straight to the point

she sighs and gives him a serious look

"I don't..."

Bucky's heart is breaking

"I don't want a kid. I can't look after a kid, I have zero maternal instincts."

Bucky nods at her words, eyes glancing at the screen

maybe he could get the doctor to print it out

"but... i can see you want this."

he looks back at her and shakes his head at her firmly

"Don't do it just because of me. It's your body, your choice. I won't hold it against you."

she stares at him for a little while

she didn't want to be a mother

she wasn't ready to have a child to support just yet - to be honest she was sure she'd never be ready

kids just weren't in her plan

that being said, she always had wondered what pregnancy would be like

and she knew she'd never get herself in a situation like this again

she didn't know if Bucky would get this chance again

and if you were gunna have a kid with anyone and let them raise it

might as well be an avenger

"To be honest, I wouldn't mind it. I think, if even if you didn't want it I'd still try carry to term and out it up for adoption. So, if you want the kid, then let's do it. But I was serious, I don't want a romance, and I'm not ready to be a mother."

Bucky is nodding his head quickly

"That's fine. I'll raise the kid, won't ask for child support or anything. You won't have to worry about anything, you can have as clean of a break as you want."

she nods, they'd work out the finer details later down the line but for now, they smile at each other and look at their kid on the screen

"It's so damn ugly."

"Yeah, you definitely are not ready to be a mother."

they laugh together and the doctor comes back in, nodding at their plan and prescribing the necessary prenatal treatments and organising their next appointment which Bucky was adamant he be available for

Bucky didn't forget to ask about the pictures, asking his baby mama for permission of course

When they get back to his apartment, he's pinning it on his fridge and she's shaking her head at him being a total dad

that night, in his excitement and her amusement, they settle those finer details

Bucky would take full custody of the kid and she would sign away her rights

she'd still be able to visit, Bucky made sure to tell her that, and if in the future she decided she wanted back in their kids life and it was something the kid also wanted she'd be able to

he also asks for a medical history, just in case something came up and he needed a full breakdown of anything that could cause the baby harm in their future

She meanwhile agrees to it all, happy with her own decisions and the fact that Bucky is so understanding in them

she only asks for help with the hospital bills and anything that relates to baby care and Bucky agrees

he'd figure something else, but helping her pay the bills was the absolute least he could do, especially since she was going to be bringing a piece of him into the world

something he'd thought would never happen in a million years

they'd exchanged numbers and decided to do weekly check ins, since Bucky had asked to be apart of the pregnancy journey with her, wanting to offer as much support as he could

she had also asked for him to record the reactions of the other avengers when he told them

he hadn't even thought about that part of the journey

too hooked up on the fact that he was going to be a dad

that someone in this world was finally going to be blood related to him once again

he couldn't be more nervous

or more excited

now he just had to tell Sam and Steve

how he was going to do that he didn't know

he still didn't know three days later, howe to slip it into a conversation when they went round Steve's for a more calmed down version of guys night

they're sat around the TV, watching some random crap that Sam had put on as apart of his 'educating the oldies' project he had going on

now there could have been another way to tell them

maybe if Bucky had used half of a braincell he would've thought of another way

instead, this man waits and wait and wait and waits

until in the middle of a dramatic scene in the movie

when Sam is mid beer sip

and Steve is mid popcorn crunch

to spit out

"Oh i'm going to be a dad by the way"

the men are choking as soon as the words leave bucky's mouth and they're looking at him like he's crazy

he is

he's whipped out the baby scan that he'd cut off the strip and kept in his wallet

proudly and nervously showing his friends

Sam is shook

Steve is malfunctioning

"How... when.... who?"

"Was it the girl at the bar?"

"James Barnes did you not wear protection?!"

"C'mon man, wrap it before you tap it."

Bucky is shaking his head and handing Steve the picture

"We used it and she said she was on the pill. Best guess we have is that it failed."

"Well i'll be."

Steve claps him on the shoulder, smiling at his old friend

"Congratualations Pal."

Bucky grins and nods

"She said she's not ready to take care of it, so I'm getting full custody when the time comes. But the kid's gunna need it's two stupid ass uncles,"

he pauses for dramatic effect

as if this moment wasn't dramatic enough

"and a god father,"

Sam jumps up, movie completely forgotten about as he salutes to

"SHOTGUN"

"You can't call shotgun on being a god parent."

"Yes i can, I just did."

"You gotta work for it,"

"Oh i'm gunna -"

Bucky shakes his head because he already knows the kid is gunna have Sam, Steve and Nat as god parents (the latter was the one he was absolutely dreading telling)

he's looking at the picture of his baby whilst Sam and Steve about who will be god parent and can honestly say that for the first time in a while, he was excited about this new chapter in his life

it was definitely going to be a wild ride

but it would be so so worth it just to have his own flesh and blood in his arms once again

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makeste · 3 years

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BnHA Chapter 307: The One With Shindou

Previously on BnHA: Endeavor and Hawks (and Jeanist too, although he didn’t really do anything, but BY GOD, WHAT IS UP WITH HIS NECK) held a press conference and were all, “everything you’ve heard is true, so we would just like to say, from the bottom of our hearts... our bad.” U.A. opened its doors to the public as an evacuation shelter. Deku and All Might told basically EVERYBODY about OFA, which is absolutely wild, and yet somehow we hardly paid any attention to this at all. Mostly because the chapter ended with Deku being all “I WALK A LONELY ROAD, THE ONLY ONE THAT I HAVE EVER KNOWN” and peacing out of U.A. to embark on a solo journey of angst. So this is either gonna be the best or the worst thing that ever happened to this series, so TIME TO FIND OUT WHICH IT IS.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “so who do you guys want to see next? Deku? Bakugou?? Well how about SHINDOU?” Shindou is all “hi :) I’m Shindou :) :) remember me :) :) :)?” Horikoshi is all “I’m so sorry for depriving you guys of Shindou for so fucking long, how about an ENTIRE CHAPTER ALL OF HIM” and then he REALLY FUCKING DOES IT because, I don’t know?? Did we make him mad?? Am I being punished for something I did in a past life?? It really is, honest to god, seventeen whole goddamn pages of Shindou, punctuated by a few pages of Muscular, and topped off with one (1) whole appearance by Deku at THE VERY END. And we don’t even get to see his face. I am beside myself lmao I’m sorry you guys, you can skip this recap if you want. Or just skip straight to the end, because movie 3 promo.

“long time no see” now what could this mean?? can’t think of too many characters this phrase would apply to right now. although I can think of one big one, and I know that fandom has been trying to manifest his deadbeat ass to finally show itself for years now. could it finally be that time? if Hisashi shows up and debunks DFO a big chunk of the fandom is probably going to riot lol

(ETA: why oh why did I get my hopes up like that lmao. I’m pretty sure Hisashi doesn’t actually exist and Deku was either immaculately conceived, or the stork really did bring Inko a lil green baby from the cabbage patch.)

anyway, so the chapter is opening on this random scene of CRIME and DISARRAY

was this all done by that big villain from the previous chapter? utility poles knocked down, random holes in the sides of buildings, and it looks like this one car pulled over in a hurry and the driver just hopped out and ran

who are these people talking

OH NO, OH GOD

I am immediately struck by the urge to push Shindou off of this ledge. is that mean? probably that is mean, but also fuck this guy lmao. every year you cheat someone out of their well-deserved spot in the popularity poll, and every year I want to punch you in your stupid face for it

bah. and how are you doing, Tatami. love that hero name even if you do have arguably the dumbest superpower in the entire series

listen, though. here I am shitting on these Ketsubutsu kids for no good reason, and I’m sorry about that, and truthfully it’s mostly because I just want to see Deku and/or Kacchan and so it’s hard to give a fuck about anything else right now. BUT, I will immediately cease and desist ALL of my complaining if this means we also get to see my best girl Ms. Joke, omg. Horikoshi please

sdlkfjlskalk

FUCK YOU SHINDOU OMG. I’M SORRY GUYS I CAN’T HELP IT, EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM IS SO EMINENTLY PUNCHABLE AND DETESTIBLE. IT’S LIKE SOMEONE COMBINED WESLEY CRUSHER WITH JEAN RALPHIO

but LSKJFLEK at this random reminder that Bakugou refused to shake his fucking hand. like, that’s his “fun fact” apparently lol. it’s what he deserves

also living for this “cringe” here, too. fuck you Shindou. I am so, so sorry to any Shindou fans out there you guys because I’m just going to be like this the entire time he’s here. the hate is flowing through me

how has it been three whole pages and I still have to look at his stupid face

anyway so it seems like the kids are having to pick up the slack for Old Man Samurai and all those other assholes who retired. I’m guessing the U.A. kids will be seeing a lot more action as well

but in the meantime let’s hope no villains attack here all of a sudden, because all Tatami can do is make herself shorter while Shindou creates an earthquake to bring the entire building down around them dflkjslk

these guys don’t particularly want to go with them and I can’t say I blame them

so now Shindou is saying that yeah, they can probably handle the looters and such by themselves, but it’s a different story when it comes to the Noumu and the escaped Tartarus prisoners. Shindou how dare you make a reasonable point that I can’t immediately argue with

he says that one of the escapees was sighted in the area, so that’s why they’re trying to evacuate everyone

and the guy disagrees and says he doesn’t trust the heroes and thinks they’re pompous

fdskljk. fucking...

ME: Horikoshi can we please stop and get Deku HORIKOSHI: we have Deku at home THE DEKU AT HOME:

Horikoshi. please. we get it, the civilians don’t trust the heroes anymore. I UNDERSTAND. I COMPREHEND THIS. so unless there is some other point to this scene I respectfully ask that you hurry things along because omg

did Tatami always have this habit of speaking in meme language and such? I thought that was Camie’s thing but hey

listen, I’m here for anyone who’s willing to drag this man down into the depths of the earth. I would just also rather not spend the entire fucking chapter on this oh my god. Horikoshi do you have any more of those chapters where things happen in them?? those are good, I like those

YESSSSSS FINALLY

so whoever’s on the other end of the call (ETA: it’s that rock-looking guy who can harden anything that he touches. why does BnHA have so many hardening powers) is telling them to run because there’s apparently a villain heading right for them, oh my

WHO IS HE

depending on who it is I can’t promise I won’t be rooting for them over you, buddy

ohhhhhh shit

huh. well that’s... hmm... but on the other hand...

okay lol no, I know it’s bad. Muscular fucking LOVES murdering kids. not even Shindou deserves that. I’m sure he has a family that loves him and stuff. and Tatami seems like a sweet girl. they don’t deserve to be murdered

that is the question isn’t it? are we really going to spend the entire chapter with Limbs-Retracting-Girl and her boyfriend, Joseph Gordon-Levitt from (500) Days of Summer??

YES OMG

YES PLEASE CALL YOUR SENSEI. my god do you know what I would give to see Ms. Joke take down an S-class villain??

(ETA: all I’ll say is that we were robbed here, you guys.)

now Tatami is running away while Shindou stays behind omg

Horikoshi I know I said I hate the guy, and I do, but my god. seems I don’t hate him half as much as you do you. been nice knowing you Shindou my man

are you serious Tatami really ran all the way back up here to try and evacuate these guys one more time

SHE’S SUCH A GOOD PERSON omg if you assholes don’t listen to her you deserve to get murdered

BRO

HORIKOSHI DID YOU REALLY FUCKING DO IT I CAN’T BELIEVE IT

LOL OKAY NO, SO FAR HE’S ONLY MESSED UP HIS FACE

WHAT A SHAME WHAT A TRAGEDY. THE WORLD MOURNS

okay but seriously, now he has to be dead

r.i.p. Shindou. he died doing what he loved, talking a lot and being utterly useless

then again, damn Shindou are you really gonna come out here and be a badass?? gonna make me eat my words there kiddo?

I have absolutely no idea if I should expect this to work or not. all I know is that this is page 14, and so it would seem we really are going to spend the entire fucking chapter on fucking Shindou. this beautiful chapter had so much potential, Horikoshi. and now look at it. I hope you’re happy

nope it didn’t fucking work at all lmao

IT’S JUST LIKE I SAID. r.i.p. you pretentious handsome lump

OHHHHHH SNAP

DEKU YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO LOL. anyway but it’s good to see you!! it’s good to see ANYONE other than these guys sob but especially you

FINALLY SOMETHING COOL OMG

somehow Horikoshi actually made the bunny mask look badass?? I don’t think this is sustainable, but I am here for it while it lasts

Shindou should by all rights be nothing but A HANDSOME PASTE at this point lol but WHATEVER. it’s BnHA; getting smashed into walls and cliffs has more or less the same consequences as being set on fire. slap a band-aid on it and you’re good to go

we are REALLY ENDING IT HERE huh

well. and that’s it. I just did not care about any of that lmao. a rare dud of a chapter. well, but we’ve had something like ten in a row that ranged from “pretty good” to “amazing”, so I guess that’s fair

anyway I feel like I owe you guys something other than endless bitching and moaning, so! BONUS:

now this is more like it

first of all, I’m absolutely living for this promo’s “YEET THE CHILDREN OUT OF A HELICOPTER” vibes. FUCK YEAH WE’RE HEROES BITCH

is Deku wearing a jetpack/parachute?? let’s hope he is because I’m assuming he doesn’t have Float yet, so if that’s not a jetpack then it is a LONG WAY DOWN kiddo

these maniacs actually got Deku to wear something other than his red shoes holy fuck. I’m speechless. are we sure that’s not an imposter??

Shouto has the funniest falling position I’ve ever seen. I’m assuming his left arm is not in fact tucked under his leg like it appeared to be at first glance?? like, wtf is the outline of your body right now Shouto

this is what I think it is after careful analysis, but at first I thought this kid had some hidden contortionist abilities

and then there’s this guy

I MISSED YOU YOU BIG GOON. loving the new gauntlets!! and he’s changed up his impractical metal neck thingy into arm thingies! but most importantly, ARE THESE WHAT I THINK THEY ARE

ARE THOSE WEENIES. KACCHAN. KACCHAN HAVE YOU GONE NATIVE OMFG

and meanwhile, look who’s with them! Endeavor makes perfect sense of course, but Hawks is a very welcome surprise. does this mean we can expect to see Tokoyami too? because I would fucking love that

lastly, so this confirms the whole “world heroes” thing! which we all pretty much guessed anyway lol. I wonder if this movie will take place in another country (fingers crossed). the city in the background doesn’t look particularly familiar, but this image probably wasn’t meant to be analyzed in that way lol. anyways, looking forward to this so much, PLEASE GIVE US A TRAILER SOON omg

#bnha 307 #shindou you #nakagame tatami #muscular #midoriya izuku #bakugou katsuki #todoroki shouto #bnha movie 3 #bnha world heroes' mission #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #'I never knew shindou was so popular' said horikoshi not understanding memes #'I guess I better give the people what they want'#smdh #this chapter should be called 'horikoshi's revenge'

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shih-coulda-had-it · 3 years

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casualty report

my entry for @queenangst‘s bnha gen contest! Link to AO3, but also contained below the Keep Reading.

WC: 2,454

Summary: Hospitals are supposed to be places of healing. Yet whenever Toshinori sits in one with Gran Torino, it seems that Toshinori is always clawing at his own heart. Spoilers up to C305.

The air is cold, sterile, and silent, save for the low hum of machinery and intermittent beeping of the heart monitor.

Yagi Toshinori enters Gran Torino’s assigned room in a similarly muted fashion, sliding the door open and shut with barely a click. He finds the chair where he left it; the old man hasn’t gotten any visitors besides him and the nurses. Like Midoriya, Torino teeters on the knife edge of survival, and like Midoriya’s classmates, Torino’s colleagues are swamped with work.

Toshinori has the privilege to visit them both. So he splits his time between his teacher-mentor-father and his student-successor-son and waits. They are similarly stubborn about clinging to life; Toshinori is confident they will wake.

Whether they will be happy about it…

As he sits, Gran Torino’s eyes crack open. His already labored breathing stutters, resulting in a full-body twitch that eventually culminates in a pained groan.

“Take it slow,” Toshinori advises.

“Stupid lesson from a stupid teacher,” Torino snaps. Toshinori looks away to focus on the bright yellow fabric bundled on top of a cabinet, neither laundered nor repaired. He’ll have to do it later.

The silence between them is tense. Surprisingly, it’s Torino who breaks it.

“Izuku?”

“Coma,” Toshinori says, fingers curling into fists. Before Torino can curse, Toshinori adds, “I think he’s talking to the predecessors of One for All.”

“Not something you could do,” the old man comments. He’s peering down at his injuries with a detached fascination: the maimed leg, the thick compress hiding beneath his bandages. Toshinori is uncomfortably reminded of his own injury, and of his own convalescence. He had recovered quickly, and privately, though he suspects that One for All had assisted with the process.

However lucky Torino is to have survived, Toshinori thinks the aftermath will be so much messier.

“It’s not,” he agrees.

“How can you tell?”

“A feeling,” says Toshinori. He forges on despite Gran Torino’s disbelieving eyebrows. “I think oshishou had a point, about the predecessors’ spirits living on in One for All. I’m not able to channel One for All anymore, but I think I still have some connection to the Quirk.”

“Ghosts in the machine,” says Torino dryly. He studies Toshinori. “Oh. You’re not joking.”

“I wouldn’t joke about this.”

Honestly, Toshinori had thought Torino would be ecstatic (as ecstatic as the old man ever got, as he swung between smugness, serenity, and seething fury) at the possibility of reconnecting with Shimura Nana. He had also quailed at the thought of telling Gran Torino that Toshinori’s own connection seemed to be a one-way thing.

And Toshinori doesn’t know how to tell Torino that he feels betrayed, in a way.

When he was researching the previous users of One for All, an alien-like urgency had pushed him past investigating to obsessing. As though a whisper had filtered through his head and said: what else, what more, why now?

Shinomori’s case. The hypothesis that Toshinori’s Quirkless heritage had protected him from the pitfalls of a stockpile Quirk.

The harsh intake of multiple people breathing in at once, even though Toshinori had been alone, with only stacks of heavily-redacted reports to keep him company. All of Toshinori’s devotion, and it had earned him nothing but sleepless nights and silent vigils.

Torino sighs then, heavy with resignation. And just like that, he moves on. “Shigaraki?”

“Escaped,” Toshinori reluctantly says. He doesn’t want to talk about the current situation of society and its failure to stabilize in the wake of so many terrible revelations and events. He really doesn’t want to talk about Tartarus. Except, it will be impossible to keep Torino in the dark about it forever. “Don’t have a heart attack on me, but—All for One’s back on the field.”

One heartbeat. Then two.

Something like forty years ago, Gran Torino and Toshinori had sat in a hospital room, numbed to the core by the very real confrontation and consequence of baiting All for One into the light. The superficial injuries belied the grief suffusing Toshinori’s body, and although he hadn’t recognized it at the time, the terror in Torino’s.

White-faced, Gran Torino had told Toshinori that they could not afford to stop moving.

Sleep. Wake up. Go to school. Your internship hours are going to be spent sparring with me.

For the rest of the year?

Until I’m goddamn satisfied.

It was a miracle they had survived the first week without killing each other. In retrospect, Toshinori could see the value in Torino’s decision to forgo the mourning period. Toshinori had still ended up sobbing on the ground, confessing to his father what he could not to his mother.

And of course, without dwelling on Toshinori’s admission, Gran Torino moved on to the next point of business.

“Cockroach,” Torino says through gritted teeth. The heart monitor stays impressively calm. “Third time’s the charm, then?”

“Torino-sensei, the third time was Kamino Ward. It’s safe to say the odds are against us.”

Toshinori’s bleak assessment earns him a narrowed glare, and it’s a sign of how exhausted and bitter Toshinori feels that he is unfazed. He can afford to be scared of Torino when Torino is walking of his own volition, cursing up a storm about the fact that he can no longer eat a whole box of microwaved taiyaki.

“Casualties?”

“Multiple civilians,” says Toshinori. “Multiple pro-heroes. None of the students, thank goodness.”

Torino stares at him. “There were no students at the hospital.”

“Many were… encouraged to participate in the mansion raid.” It still leaves a sour taste in his mouth. Terrible, yes, to see Eraserhead bandaged up yet again due to Toshinori’s failures, but it was even worse to see his students file back into U.A.’s dorms, eyes shadowed with something more than grief. Midnight’s death haunts them still.

The old man breathes.

“What else?”

“A loss of trust,” Toshinori says, leaning his elbows on his knees, fingers pressed together like a prayer. “Civilians want to protect themselves, and the remaining pro-heroes of Japan are stretched thin. Some died, and many are retiring.” He offers Torino a mirthless smile. “Yoroi Musha is out.”

“Twenty years too late,” Torino responds.

“You never liked him.”

“Gimmicky cowards with a chip on their shoulder shouldn’t be in this line of work.”

Well. Either Toshinori takes that as a personal insult, an unintentional dig, or Gran Torino’s acerbic sense of humor. He goes quiet anyway. Now is a good time as any for a lull in conversation to occur, but Toshinori doesn’t get long to contemplate his next move.

“What’s eating you up,” Torino demands flatly.

“Nothing.”

“Pull my other leg.”

“It’s nothing,” Toshinori stresses. “And if there was something, I wouldn’t want to talk about it.”

“Toshinori. When you bottle up your specific brand of guilt, it has a tendency to backfire on you spectacularly,” says Torino. “I’m not walking away for a long time, so get it off your chest right now while I’m wired to half a dozen machines.”

Toshinori interlocks his fingers.

“Toshinori.”

“The Public Safety Commission has been disbanded,” he tries. “Their headquarters were attacked the same time the raids occurred.”

“Unsurprising,” says Torino.

“I don’t think anyone could have anticipated a direct attack, Torino-sensei.”

“I’m not talking about the Commission. I’m talking about you. Deflecting.”

Hospitals are supposed to be places of healing. Yet whenever Toshinori sits in one with Gran Torino, it seems that Toshinori is always clawing at his own heart.

“Do I disappoint you?” Toshinori asks, resigned to hearing an answer he already knows, staring hard at his hands. He’s pushing the wrong side of his fifties, less grizzled and more gaunt, more of a beanpole and less of a pillar. It’s impossible to remember all the things he did right when all Toshinori can see is where he went wrong.

And even though Gran Torino looks so fragile, tiny and bedridden, bandaged and hooked up to more machines than Toshinori can count on one hand—he still has the strength to look ahead.

Toshinori didn’t learn that. He had thought he did, those six years ago when he survived the fight with All for One, because in spite of the grievous injury, All Might had forged on.

“You can be honest,” Toshinori says. “Just like in U.A.”

“We’re a long way from that time,” says Gran Torino. His expectant and unimpressed expression hasn’t changed.

“It was a yes or no question, Torino-sensei.”

“No, then.”

He says it so simply. Toshinori blinks. Torino tips his head to the side, watching with half-lidded eyes how Toshinori processes his answer. Except Toshinori cannot fathom when this change of perception happened, because just as recently as Kamino Ward, Toshinori had still been reduced to sitting on his ass, listening to Gran Torino’s instructions.

“You’ve done more than anyone should have asked of you,” Torino says. “And you did it well.”

“I overlooked so many problems,” Toshinori protests. “So many people didn’t feel safe.”

“Brat,” says Gran Torino fondly.

“Torino-sensei.”

“There’s something more than that. You’ve been dealing with that insecurity for decades, and you know as well as I do that even a Symbol of Peace can’t catch everything. What’s going on?” Torino is ruthless when he wants to make a point; Toshinori circles back to his original impulsive question and thinks—

“Midoriya-shonen,” says Toshinori in a soft voice. “He’s talking to the predecessors.”

“So you said.”

“And I couldn’t. I can’t, even now, even though I’m connected to One for All still.” From there, the words come spilling out. “Oshishou told me from the beginning that One for All had some kind of spiritual essence. She might not have said outright about the voices, but she hinted at it. That we could meet again, somehow. And all those years… forty years, Torino-sensei, and—and nothing. Not a word, not a vision.”

Midoriya’s crybaby genes must have bounced over the connection, because horrifically, Toshinori can feel his face contort and his eyes water. He hasn’t cried in front of Gran Torino in decades.

“Like I wasn’t worthy,” Toshinori concludes, choking on the last word.

Here is what Toshinori learned on his own, independent of Gran Torino’s teachings: don’t cry. Smile through the fear and the pain, and don’t cry.

Conveniently, Toshinori has forgotten that all those decades ago, Gran Torino never censured him for his tears. So it is now, that Toshinori feels the unfamiliar prickle and the cooling trails sliding down his face, and Gran Torino says nothing.

Until he does.

“You’re everything Shimura stopped hoping for. Did you know that?” Toshinori jerks his head up from its bowed position; he can hear oshishou saying in her wry tone, typical Torino. Can’t make eye contact when communicating an emotion. “I saw her through almost every big milestone in her life. Her pro-hero license, her marriage, her pregnancy. The loss of her husband, and then her son.”

“You didn’t try and stop her.”

“She knew best.” Torino’s grin is painful. “I believed that then, and I believe it now. Kotarou survived longer than he would’ve if he stayed in her custody, which was ultimately her goal. So Shimura was right on that, never mind what Kotarou did with his life after. And you… I told you already.”

“You know me,” Toshinori jokes. He recalls his rusty impression of Torino’s lecturing tone, perfected during those golden hours of patrol with oshishou. “‘It takes twice as long for me to tell you something, versus me beating the lesson into you once.’”

“Then listen,” says Torino. “When Shimura met you, she was still hurting from giving up Kotarou. She couldn’t stop being a hero, but she didn’t want to stop being a mother. And every day, the news cycle spoke of a crime wave, fueled by something bigger than the injustices of the world.

“I was enough to keep her from drowning in work. It wasn’t until she met you that she started smiling again. That she had a son again.”

Toshinori scrubs his eyes. “Really could’ve used this talk forty years ago,” he manages.

“I wasn’t this emotionally intelligent forty years ago.”

“If Hound Dog ever managed to sit us down for therapy, he’d diagnose us both as emotionally-stunted,” he tells Torino. “You probably perpetuated a family cycle, Torino-sensei.”

“One of us cries, and it isn’t me,” Torino shoots back waspishly.

“It’s Midoriya-shonen,” Toshinori agrees.

Torino’s laugh comes out as a wheeze, and Toshinori winces in sympathy. The exhaustion that comes out of crying begins to settle in; he hasn’t allowed himself to cry for a while. Not in front of the students, and not in front of his colleagues. Gran Torino is situated in that blurred zone of family and teacher and co-worker.

Gran Torino is tiring as well. The conversation’s taken a lot out of him, and it surely doesn’t help that he was treated to a hint of Toshinori’s resurfacing insecurities.

“You asked if you disappointed me,” the old man says quietly, hoarsely. “Didn’t I disappoint you?”

His throat sticks.

Torino smiles, wry. “I know,” he says.

“Torino-sensei,” Toshinori attempts, horrified at his slip. He should fix this. He has to make sure Gran Torino knows that the past is past, and that his efforts haven’t been wasted on an ungrateful child. As Toshinori opens his mouth to reassure Torino, an urgent flicker of something calls out to him.

His head jerks to the door. Outside, down the hallway, in another room—

“He’s waking?”

Toshinori looks back to Torino, distractedly saying, “Yes,” before he freezes. Gran Torino has propped himself up halfway, teeth gritted with the effort it takes. He has reached out and clumsily pressed his hand against Toshinori’s forehead, fingers dipping into his hair.

It feels like a benediction.

“I am,” Torino forces out, “so proud of you. I could not be prouder. You were worth it, do you hear me, Toshinori? You are, still.”

The moment doesn’t last forever. Whatever burst of adrenaline fuels Torino, it dwindles with emotional vulnerability. He pats the top of Toshinori’s head and slumps back into his pillow, looking gray with exhaustion.

For his part, Toshinori stares, wide-eyed, like he’s fourteen years old again, meeting Gran Torino for the first time.

“Go,” says Torino. “Izuku shouldn’t wake up alone. He should have his family with him.”

There is a weak grin pulling at Torino’s mouth, familiar in its toothiness. Toshinori gets to his feet. He’s unable to return the smile, because he is suddenly terrified that if he leaves this room, Torino will somehow find a way to escape the hospital, hole up in his apartment, and—and—

“He’ll need you too,” says Toshinori. “Get better soon, tou—Torino-sensei.”

Gran Torino closes his eyes, and Yagi Toshinori moves on.

#queenangst gen contest #bnha #torino sorahiko #gran torino #yagi toshinori #all might #shih.txt #/DIVES THROUGH THE FINISH LINE/ TOUCHDOWN #found family feels #except the found family won't/can't acknowledge it #this is a long overdue conversation i hope we get in canon

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a-n-conrad · 4 years

Text

Starcrossed (Dabi x Reader)

[Summary: Being a hero makes dating a little hard. Most heroes either don’t do committed relationships or end up in pretty forced, unhealthy ones. You figured you’d be alone until you either died or retired until you fell in love with a villain.

Warnings: Swearing, alcohol mention, injuries, blood, knives, Endeavor, not canon]

It was a pretty boring day when you met him, to be honest. A regular patrol. You were on your own since your agency was still pretty small and you only had two sidekicks, who you didn’t want to be alone on the streets. You were a bit protective of them. You were a relatively young hero, but you knew that you could hold your own. You trusted them, but they were still just sidekicks. They were your responsibility, and you took that pretty seriously.

Patrols were usually the most boring part of your job. Meet a few civilians. Take a few pictures. Smile and nod while they talked about other heroes. You weren’t very well known, so you didn’t exactly have a very big fanbase of your own. It was getting a little old having to explain that, no, you weren’t friends with All Might. That even the top heroes that you did know weren’t really your friends, and that you just worked together. That, no, you couldn’t say hi to Hawks for them. And no, you weren’t going to give Midnight their number.

You were on your way back to your office and it was starting to get dark. You were always a little more cautious when it started to get dark. Your quirk was shadow-based so it’s a little harder to use at night when there aren’t really that many shadows. It was during one of your overly cautious glances into the alleys that you noticed the bright blue eyes watching you. They looked like Endeavor’s, but you knew that there was someone a little more dangerous with those eyes to keep watch for. And the shining of the staples signaled that you were right in your second guess. The League of Villains was in your section of the city. Dabi was in your section of the city. Shit.

He broke the eye contact that you had with him to turn on his heel, heading into the alley that he had been lingering in. It took you a second before you thought to follow. You jump into a shadow, hoping to follow a little more stealthily, using your quirk. Manipulating the shadows to cover you so that you wouldn’t be seen.

“You know that I know you’re following me, right?” He sighed as you reached a secluded section of the alley, “It’s cute that you’re trying though.”

“What are you here for?” You asked, stepping out of the shadows.

“Not ‘work’ if that’s what you’re worried about, sweetheart,” His voice was almost a little amused, despite the fact that he seemed so bored with everything. Something about his voice made you pretty sure that if you were in a different situation, you’d swoon a bit, “Look, Doll, I’m not in the mood to fight you, so maybe we can just both go on our way. I won’t cause you any trouble. Tonight, at least.”

“And why would I let you go? Do you realize exactly how much of a wanted man you are?” Why hadn’t you attacked him yet? Tried to restrain him in any way? Were you just waiting for him to get the drop on you?

“Aren’t you bored?”

“Bored?” What the hell kind of game was he playing?

“All the posing and smiling and playing nice while everyone ignores you for people like Endeavor?” His voice held a special brand of venom for the flame hero, “It’s gotta get exhausting. How do you play nice all the time? Don’t you just want to do something bad?”

“I’m working my way up,” Why were you indulging him? You didn’t have to answer his questions.

“Working your way up? I’ve seen you on the news. You genuinely help people. I’ve seen you on those debates trying to advocate for counseling for villains,” He rolled his eyes, “They’ll never actually let you rise in the rankings.”

You knew that. You’ve gotten enough “subtle” threats from the commission to figure that out. But why did he care? “What’s it to you anyway?”

“You know, this may sound weird,” He finally looked you in the eyes, that shade of blue looked so good on him, “I kinda like you.”

- - - - -

You let him go that night. And you had been seeing him more and more since then. And every time, as long as he promised not to cause any trouble in your area of town, you’d let him go. You had started to actually look forward to your talks. And you had started to worry when you went too long without seeing him.

Eventually, he had started coming to your apartment. It was safer than having discussions out in the open. You’d just come home from a night of patrols and find him half-asleep on the couch of your apartment.

One night you came home a little later than usual. One of the other agencies across town had insisted on a meeting since they had been having a bit of trouble with a small gang of new villains that they had a feeling was crashing in your turf. When you walked in the door you were greeted by the usual shine of the hallway light reflecting off of his staples, but you were missing his blue eyes. Usually, by then you’d already hear some sort of snarky greeting, but everything was quiet.

You flipped in the light to see him, lying on the couch, slumped over with his usual white shirt slowly turning more and more red.

“For fuck’s sake, Dabi,” you say, rushing over to crunch next to where he was sitting, “What the hell happened.”

He groaned and opened his eyes, smirking as he looked at you, “You’re pretty cute when you’re worried.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“A mission went bad,” He said, trying to sit up, only for you to push him back down, “Boss told us to lay low for a bit and I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.”

You sighed and left to grab the first-aid kit. You knew there was no way he could go to the hospital, but you also weren’t about to let him bleed out on your couch. No matter how much of an idiot he could be sometimes, “Take your shirt off.”

“That’s moving a little fast there, dollface.”

“Shut the hell up and let me make sure you don’t die,” You quipped back, rolling his eyes, “Do you need some booze or can you handle the pain?”

“I’m a big kid, doll,” He groaned, throwing the torn shirt on the floor and the jacket on the couch next to him.

He laid back as you brought all the equipment over. He had a pretty decent gash across his chest. It was deep, but not too deep for you to deal with. It’d leave a scar. But considering the amount scars he already had painted across his body, you figured he wouldn’t mind all that much.

“This might burn a little,” you say, before pouring a little bit of hydrogen peroxide on the cut. He didn’t even flinch. You supposed he was used to pain enough that this was nothing. It honestly made you sad to think about all of the pain he must have been through in his life.

You pulled out one of your sanitized needles that you kept in the kit and a bit of surgical thread that you had convinced a doctor friend of yours to give you for free. You were stitching yourself up a lot, and you weren’t exactly proud of having to buy medical supplies that often. At least the practice was coming in handy.

It took you about an hour to sew him all up, and another few minutes to get him bandaged up. At least he was cooperative. It was actually a lot neater than you expected. Hopefully, it would heal alright.

“You’re staying here for the next week at least,” You command. You’d have to make sure that no one came over and that all of your blinds were closed the entire time, but you were sure you could pull it off. You had to make sure that his stitches didn’t break and that the cut didn’t get infected.

“Stay where, darling, the couch? It’s not exactly comfortable,” He chuckled, obviously trying to lighten the mood. You were starting to be able to read him a bit better. It always made him uncomfortable when you cared about him. He wasn’t used to anyone trying to protect him, so he didn’t know how to handle it. You just had to insist.

“No, idiot. You take the bed. I’m not even home often enough to need it, I’ll take the couch.”

“Oh, come on, doll. I may be a villain, but I’m not stealing your bed after you sew me up. I don’t need charity.”

“Fine, then we’ll share, you big baby.”

You could see him think about. You wondered if he’d refuse, “Alright, one condition, though,” He said, the usual joking tone in his voice, “Kiss me.”

You know he didn’t actually expect it. He was teasing you, as he often did. But you did. You kissed him. You didn’t think you would, but you did. His lips were rough, and the staples that touched the sides of your mouths were surprisingly cold. You’d think that his body heat would warm them up, but apparently not. It was new, but you wouldn’t say it was bad. It definitely wasn’t bad.

He froze at first, not expecting you to actually kiss him. You took it to mean that he didn’t actually want you to kiss him, and started to pull away. However, before you could actually pull away too far from the kiss, you felt a hand on the back of your head, tangling in your hair and pushing you back into the kiss. It was rough, but somehow also sweet. He tasted a bit like ash and cigarettes and whiskey and you wondered if he always tasted like that. And you wondered why you cared what he always tasted like.

Eventually, you had to pull back for air. He looked at you with his fiery blue eyes, a little glazed over, and pupils blown out, and you felt your heart skip a beat. He was so pretty. His eyes and his hair. Even the map of scars painting rivers and caverns across the landscape of his body. Fuck. You were hopeless. You had to be the worst hero in the world to fall in love with a villain. But you wouldn’t change it.

“I think I definitely have to take you up on that offer to share a bed now, honey,” He winked at you, and you led him to your room.

- - - - -

You and Dabi had been together in secret for months when you got the call from Endeavor. It was usual for a high ranking hero to talk to the lower running heroes if they were going to be doing an operation in their district. Especially if their quirk could be helpful. And your quirk was plenty helpful in fights.

He wanted you to help him with stopping a villain attack on a local hero agency. Apparently, one of the other agencies in town had intercepted some of the League of Villains’ goons and had confiscated some sort of new weapon that they had been carrying. Apparently the League wanted it back. And apparently they were sending some people to get it that night. And you’d have to be an idiot to throw away the career-boosting move of helping the now number one hero help take down some of Japan’s Most Wanted. You just hoped you wouldn’t have to face Dabi.

Of course, your hopes were quickly dashed when your eyes met the fiery blue ones that you had gotten so well acquainted with. You hoped he understood why you were on opposing sides, but you didn’t get a chance to even try to read him before Endeavor throw a fireblast directly at him. You froze for just a moment. Just long even to end up with a knife in your side, thanks to the little serial killer that they had adopted, named Himiko Toga.

“Shit,” You didn’t want to fight her, either. She was still a kid. She was in her high school uniform. Obviously she needed help, and you didn’t understand how anyone could possibly fight her full force without guilt. But you needed to.

She lunged at you, a grin on her face and a new knife in her hand. You quickly dodged and used the shadows to push her back. It was getting pretty dark, so your quirk was kind of weak at the moment.

It was a struggle. She was faster than you, especially since you already had a knife wedged between your ribs. You were managing, though. At least, well enough. You were starting to get a bit dizzy, but you had managed to keep her from getting any more hits in.

About ten minutes into the fight things started heating up. Literally. Dabi and Endeavor had been facing off against each other. You had a feeling there was some sort of history there, but you had never really asked Dabi. You had a feeling he couldn’t really tell you without revealing a ton of his past. And he was pretty private about that.

Either way, the two of them were facing off without much thought about anyone else. Before you knew it, flames had engulfed most of the building that you were fighting in. The mix of blue and orange flames showed that neither one of them was holding back. But it was getting hard for the rest of you to continue fighting. The flames were starting to lap at your legs and your uniform was starting to get a little singed.

Just before Toga could lunge at you again, somehow ignoring all of the fire, a warp gate appeared. It was a signature of Kurogiri, meaning it was time for the League to leave. Either they got what they wanted, or they were running out of time. You couldn’t help but hope Dabi would just leave.

“Oh,” Toga sounded a little disappointed, “It looks like it’s time to go. And I was actually having some fun.”

She took off and you didn’t even try to stop her. Your legs were starting to give out. You had lost a lot of blood. You were pretty sure you couldn’t even chase her if you tried. You just watched as the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains started to flee. And Dabi didn’t.

You watched as he and Endeavor continue to face off while his friends tried to pull him away. They continued to throw flames at each other for a good two minutes until you noticed something off with Endeavor. He was charging up for a “Hellfire Storm”, which he didn’t use all that often. He was going to do anything to capture Dabi. Even if it meant killing him.

Before you could even think about it, you activated your quirk and jumped into the shadow right in front of Dabi. Just as Endeavor fired off his attack, you used your quirk to create a bubble around you and Dabi. You were straining your quirk, that was for sure. And you had no clue how long you’d be able to hold out, but hopefully longer than Endeavor.

Your nose started bleeding and the shield you created started falling apart. There were cracks and holes where the flames were starting to peak through, but you weren’t about to give up. Dabi was frozen behind you as this all went down. You just hoped he’d be able to get out once you dropped the shield.

Eventually, Endeavor let up. It felt like hours, but you were sure it wasn’t nearly that long. Your brain was pretty fuzzy and your vision was starting to go black. As you dropped the bubble, your legs finally gave out. The last thing you registered before the world went black was a pair of arms wrapping around you.

- - - - -

You woke up what you were pretty sure was a few days later. Your limbs were sore and your head was still fuzzy. You were so goddamn thirsty. And you weren’t in your apartment. Where were you exactly?

“Thank god, you finally woke up,” You heard next to you. It was a familiar voice, though it held a whole lot more relief than you were used to, “I thought you died on me.”

“This was revenge for you bleeding all over my couch,” you rasped, “Can you get me some water or something?”

“Already ahead of you,” He handed you a glass of water. You took a sip, realizing just how thirsty you were. Your throat was so sore. How long had you been out?

“Alright, update me,” You said once you set the glass down, “I have a feeling there’s a lot I need to know.”

“You mean like how you’re now a wanted villain? Or how I got Shiggy to let you stay as long as you promise not to turn any of us in.”

Wanted villain, huh? It was kind of funny. You had a feeling you got more news coverage from just that than you ever had as a hero. To be honest, you feel like you might do more good as a villain too.

“Welcome to the League, (Y/n),” He said, “If you’ll join, that is.”

[Might do a part two if requested?]

#dabi x reader #bnha dabi x reader #Dabi #bnha #bnha x reader #mha #mha x reader

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nothisis-ridiculous · 3 years

Text

Take Me Home Now: Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve: In Your Head, In Your Head, They are Dyin'

Set after the events of ME3.

A rewrite. Ao3.

FemShepxKaidan

Geez, open my big fucking mouth much? Oh Jane, could you go to the Citadel? But why shouldn't you? You said you had spent time there; you're the one person who knows how to get around. She half-assedly kicked at the locker at the foot of her cot, besides, Rogers is too green. We need someone with experience leading the team. It would be best if you kept busy; civilian life doesn't agree with you.

They couldn't order her around.

Jane craned her head, taking in the entirety of the beam that would catapult her into the Citadel. A frown was the sole betrayal of her panicked nervous system, she would never be ready to go back there. But this was not the time for fear, not when Biotic's Division looked to her guidance. At least she could hide the apprehension- they looked like they could piss themselves at any moment. Jane knew the beam wouldn't lead to death but they were not so confident. It seemed insane, she got it.

Roy and Helen talked amongst the students, leaving Jane some time to collect herself. The last time she had approached the beam the entirety of Hammer had died to get her here, it seemed too easy now that it was a simple jaunt down a hill.

"You sure this thing won't vaporize us?" Roger's question interrupted her solitude.

"I'm not saying it's going to be pleasant, or you'll like what we're going to find-" distress crossed the 2nd lieutenant's face, this was the wrong approach, "if Anderson's team could make it to activate the Crucible, I think we will be fine. Besides, think of the bragging rights- being the one to restore communications with the Citadel, and eventually with the rest of the galaxy. It's not a small thing."

"But I'm not leading the operation," Rogers's hadn't taken the forced deference to the Recruit well.

"Believe me, kid, you'll be glad for all the calls you didn't have to make." She had refused to lead on principle, even after several others had tried to guilt her for refusing the mission. Jane wouldn't have stepped up if not for a series of harsh conversations from Mr. Alenko, most of them implying he would take the mantle if she would not, "get the team into place, we leave in two."

Roy and Helen naturally separated from the group, not away from the mass of students but toward her. Roy led a step ahead and Helen fixing her with the usual judgmental stare from behind her husband.

"I'll be fine," the woman snapped the M-77 into a ready form, "it should be easy."

"Be careful."

How many times had she heard that? To boot, in the same somber tone. The last time, so physically close to where they stood now. It was an odd irony that his father stood closer to the beam than Kaidan had managed to get.

"Thank you," regret was a hell of a thing, so unprompted she grasped his hand unflinching under that whiskey-hued gaze. For a blip of a moment, she looked forward to coming back. Hope returned in a microdose.

The students lined up as ordered, each reaction as individual as the person who stood before the blue light while they wouldn't argue with the mission: it didn't mean they had to trust it. Jane would question flinging herself blindly into the beam, she had at a couple of points. On Illos, she at least had the Mako to give her the illusion of safety, here for the second time only experience made her undaunted besides the emotional toll.

"Alright, the mission is simple. Meet with Bailey or whoever is left in charge. After that, we worry about setting up the long-range commlink," it was better to put this off as a simple run, when things got complicated, they would deal with it then, "on arrival, where exactly we'll end up is a mystery. This functions much like a Mass Relay, so small groups and make sure your ass is out of the way."

Jane nodded to Rogers and the female that stood beside him, "anyone else want to go first?"

She didn't wait for a reaction before sauntering brazenly into the beam.

The Spectre had thought she was used to running into the unexpected. She had made a career of dealing with the strange, but awe of circumstance truly never went away. This time it was far more physical than expected. Pulling herself over the lip and onto the metal path, water violently expelling from her nose and mouth. If she were a little more with it, she would have pulled a gun on the Keeper scuttling by- but she was a little more focused on breathing. The next concern was the two in line behind her; one was lucky and ended up straddled over the railing the next erupted from the water much in the way she had.

Once it was clear all was fine, Jane rolled onto her back. Dark laughter barking from her diaphragm. It was a far cry from the body-lined hallways and corridors she had dreamed up, the relay monument looked down on her. God, she felt nauseous. Her sides didn't stop seizing until all breath left her body, eyes stinging with tears. Rolling to all fours, then finally upright the world swirled into sudden clarity.

This was the Presidium. Behind her, the partially broken statue that honored the krogan. A white spire jutting into the sky, a brave blue flower standing tall, heat speckled metal walkways, and the white-walled building. Her fingers raked through a tangle of wet hair, shook out her pistol, pulled Rogers from the railing, and tightly squeezed her fist until the twang of her muscles bid for release. The relay fired again, splashing followed, and the approach of footsteps came from her right side. The tepid water running down her face made pinpointing smells impossible, but she could sure taste the strange flavor of the unfiltered liquid.

"Holy shit."

"See, you should have never doubted me."

The Lieutenant did not find it quite so humourous.

"Lighten up, Kid," she remarked blithely, turning her attention to the squad that corralled them into the center of the walkway, "it's nice to see C-Sec arrive promptly."

The turian officer scoffed but lowered his weapon, "Bailey will want to see you."

"Good, we're looking for him."

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

"How is it always you?" Bailey hardly looked up at her, "but I've got to admit, nobody else is crazy enough to walk through a beam on foot."

The man was one of the few who could recognize her immediately, even with grown-out and natural hair. He had seen the scarring left behind after the Lazarus Project before they had faded for the first time. It took only a little imagination to see past the more extensive facial scars.

"The first or second time?"

Bailey's head craned up, concern crossing his face, "Com-"

Jane waved a hand, "please, Bailey, that person is gone. Let her die with her crew."

The concern grew behind the glow of his omnitool "if anyone ever asks, you waved your Spectre status in my face. But I don't think you are here to catch up."

"No, I am not."

The team back on Earth had tried to reconnect with the Citadel, but all attempts to reach them had failed. So a mission to the station became necessary. Bailey attempted to skirt the subject, but life on the Citadel was not easy. Slowly some peace was restored but at a snail's pace. Whatever jammed the comms slowed any hope of a unified force on the station. It also explained their failure to find a tech expert who might fix the issue and perhaps the lack of a Spectre or someone of a higher rank to authorize it—security measures as usual were great until they hindered progress.

"I'll need you before you try and disappear again," Bailey warned, swirling the scotch in his lowball glass. He figured this was special occasion enough, even if the hero returned as little more than a ghost.

"I'll consider it my retirement party," she mused, finishing off the bitter liquid, "seems easy compared to a Reaper invasion."

"Nothing with you is ever simple."

"Hell, this could all be a dream... for both of us." It felt a little cold for a dream, but it was all surreal. For now, she put it off as walking old hallways and the memories of the companions that haunted the place.

"The scotch must be hitting you hard."

"I haven't hit the hard stuff since-" the statement crossed into territory painful for both of them, "but I say there is no time like the present. Must be driving my squad nuts waiting."

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

"Shepard before-"

Jane flinched, and Bailey retracted for a moment. Equal parts confusion and frustration with the jumpy woman. Perhaps it was time, untold horrors of war, or the alcohol that made her weird, if not mentioning the other multitude of reasons the Spectre seemed off her game. She went by a different name to the men she led, and it was becoming apparent the problem was far out of his wheelhouse.

"I have to give it to you plain, we found Anderson's body in here. It looked like he was shot."

"I know."

She had shot him after all. For a long time, she had tried reasoning that it was not her fault; after all, the Illusive Man had made her do it. Those strange cybernetic eyes had stared at her in her dreams, one of the thousands of voices taunting her. Those blue eyes had found her again as she walked the hallways to the Council Chambers.

"He must have activated the Crucible before he died, it's funny because we all assumed you had done it."

Jane hadn't activated the Crucible. That was true. Maybe Mary had; it was all a little foggy.

"We gave him the best funeral we could, I can take you there later if you like," Bailey offered, trying to rouse her with a touch.

Jane shook her head, "another time, this is enough."

Too much.

Bailey nodded, falling behind a few paces so she could absorb the room. Mentally, she remarked on little other than it had become a bit overgrown in disuse and that she liked it better without the constant trickle of running water.

"Nothing unusual up here, Ma'am," buzzed the comm.

"Roger, roger."

"It wasn't funny, even when the Major did it."

Fine, "hold position, I want eyes on anything that could go wrong. I'll place the shunt."

Jane moved slowly across the catwalk, the face staring at her accusingly grew clearer as she approached. The simple frame wreathed in upkept foilage, plants, and candles of all sorts making up an altar. She tried to move through littered petals and papers with reverence, but some wound up disturbed fluttering into the pit below. Jane crouched to cradle the picture gently, "Admiral."

Her blue eyes scanned upwards, resting on the bloody handprint covering the virtual interface sensor.

The total weight of another being crashed onto her, attempting to wrestle her from the catwalk. Even after weeks without combat, Jane dislodged the man with ease throwing him over the unprotected edge. The unnatural steel blue eyes, shocked with bright blue patterns, brimming with fury. Quickly as they had entered her vision, the figure went still and dark.

Coldly, empty, she returned the broken frame to its spot. Her complete attention turning to the console that lit up at her presence. The only break from her attention was the dramatic slam of her fists on the sides of the railing behind the console- it wasn't working.

Before she could release her temper upon the undeserving railing again, a keeper nudged her aside. Compiling the necessary commands with ease, the sudden noise of a system erupting in a blastwave. As quickly as the creature arrived, it scuttled back away. Leaving Jane to complete her task.

Bailey looked over the ledge, approaching the woman slowly once he was satisfied.

"Commander Bailey, you should have access to all Citadel systems," her bright blue eyes turned to him with a terrifying hollowness, "don't make me regret it."

"You- but, he," Bailey swallowed, running a hand over his cropped hair, "it's never simple with you."

He grabbed her arm before she slipped by him, "take this."

"I should go."

"Don't worry, you weren't here," he called after the stumbling figure.

Jane didn't recall stumbling back through the relay, or for that matter, picking her way back to the mall. Or the time she had left, or if she had bothered to warn anyone in the meantime. Reality was a persnickety thing at the moment, failing to anchor her securely to the present.

It was dark, the mechs hadn't stopped her, and not even her body was warning her of exhaustion. It was all instinct.

The room she stole into, that was not so much a call of instinct but of desperation. Her world grew colder, and it was beginning to tumble at a speed that she could barely withstand.

"Rahna."

Nothing.

"Rahna."

"Jane?"

#kaidan alenko #shenko #fshenko #mass effect fanfiction

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plasmacandle · 3 years

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May I ask, if Afterimage ever became canon, and got his own episode, how would that go?

this is such a cool question, thank you!! i'm SO glad there's interest in him

i don't have a full script, but i have several key points in mind for how an episode with him would go! it got very long, so i'm putting it under a read more

i'm imagining it as another halloween special, only more lighthearted in nature because of who the villain is. highlights include a scooby doo-esque chase through krei tech. please enjoy

i imagine his intro ep taking place about a week before halloween. the team would catch a glimpse of a strange figure during night patrol on a foggy, spooky evening - but he seems to disappear before they can get a good look! but there WAS definitely something there, right?

fred is convinced they just saw a ghost; hiro of course is skeptical and looks for answers. based on the footage they have, the most baymax and/or basemax can come up with are a bunch of strange blurry "ghost images" that people have taken all over the city recently. hiro figures it's some sort of viral halloween prank, but the team decides to keep an eye out just in case

hardlight has also recently escaped, so they've got bigger things to worry about, anyway

one night during a battle with hardlight, bh6 manages to knock his glove several feet away from him but then it starts... floating? moving on its own? and somehow tosses ITSELF back to hardlight, in a series of motions that leaves the team very confused. they're even more confused when things start hitting them out of nowhere - gogo is tripped on something invisible and crashes into fred, wasabi's hit with lasers from thin air, honey's suddenly ensared by a net. hardlight gets away, for the time being, and the team is left wondering about all these new tricks he's got up his sleeve...

“could it be GHOSTS?” “we know for a fact hardlight is not a ghost” “but DO WE?”

the next day, bh6 receives a report from alistair krei that there's been a strange figure showing up outside krei tech for the past few nights. nothing's been stolen - yet - but it's worth looking into. plus, a rumor's been spreading that krei tech is HAUNTED, and that's not good for publicity!

using security cam footage, they recognize the figure as the "ghost image" that's been popping up around san fransokyo. they're also able to determine that the subject is wearing some kind of robotic armor, which they recognize as the buddy guard technology - and it's confirmed even more when the figure disappears on tape! everyone wonders what this "ghost’s” goal could be, and why they'd be using the decommissioned tech. bh6 asks for a list of everyone who worked on developing the buddy guards, which krei gives them (mel meyer, notably, is NOT on that list).

in the next days, people begin to report sightings of afterimage more frequently, usually with blurry distorted photo evidence if they catch him mid-vanish. he tends to show up at big gatherings and events and sabotage them, usually by cutting the power and sending everyone into a state of confused panic. strangely, it seems to affect personal devices too, and happens too often to just be a coincidence...

big hero 6 makes note of the fact that afterimage's appearances seem to line up with hardlight's - they tend to strike on the same day, sometimes even the same place. the same is true for the photos people have been reporting; they line up with hardlight sightings. however, hardlight hasn’t been near krei tech, so that seems to be the outlier

so the next time they face hardlight, the team are prepared to confront afterimage as well. luckily for them, hardlight's on the same page. there's a line like "allow me to introduce... my player two!!!" and afterimage makes himself seen, in a dramatic, but silent, flourish. he and hardlight do a cool pose together, and there's probably some fun sparkle effects

wasabi would say something like "...does he not talk?" and hardlight would reply that the two of them agreed it was more mysterious and threatening that way

and so the battle continues. with afterimage switching in and out of visibility so fast, hardlight's menagerie of light weapons, and the two of them protecting each other, it's difficult to get a hit on either of them! and the duo escape again, much to the frustration of the team

the heroes probably do a little pondering on how the two of them can be so in-sync. even if we don't see them react to it, i'm assuming bh6 knows that hardlight = ian, so they start looking for potential connections of his. they'd probably check out retired villain dark volt (who i headcanon as ian's father), olivia (who i hc as his half-sister), and even judy (under the assumption that them being co-workers means they might have co-conspired), but of course those are all dead ends

soon enough, it's halloween eve, and bh6 figures something big is likely to go down the next night, so they try reaching out to krei again for any more information. but they can't get through to him. uh-oh... the power seems to have been cut at krei tech!!

they rush over to check on krei, and find the building encased in one of hardlight's force fields. hardlight tells them that afterimage has been in tutorial mode, and now he's on his first big solo quest - the one he's been gathering XP for all this time!! and hardlight's NOT gonna let them sabotage it, so he'll just have to dominate them in single-player >:]

so of course they have to take hardlight down first. which they do, because all they have to do is get his glove and i can't think of a cool detailed way that they do that right now

with the light shields gone, they get into krei tech and - since baymax is scan-jammed - they have to search for krei and afterimage in the dark facility. on the way, they run into a few employees who have been trapped in the building, many believing the intruder is an actual ghost! hiro is still patiently trying to convince people it's not, but the others, to his frustration, seem to be getting more open to the idea

they finally reach krei's office and find him pleading with this mysterious invisible force to leave his company, and his face, alone. he doesn't deserve to have his company haunted, he says! is this a vengeful spirit come to throw his past mistakes at him, in the form of his own obsolete decommissioned tech?? :’(

a modulated voice finally speaks, to everyone's surprise. "oh, like you decommissioned ME??" afterimage is now visible, in the moonlight coming through the large window

"i thought you weren't speaking," gogo quips, to which afterimage stammers and replies something like "ugh, i totally messed that up. but anyway-"

he proceeds to let his lasers do the talking and battles it out with big hero 6 once again!! until honey lemon jams his blaster with a chem ball. and he realizes that while he may still be able to disappear, he doesn't have the advantage of open space in krei's office. so, amidst the chaos, he manages to slip out the door

the team proceeds to chase him down the halls of krei tech, each taking different paths (this part could be a little haunted house montage where they run in and out of different doors, if you wanted a little comic relief) and fred beats him to the door. as afterimage runs toward the exit, fred finally decides on the most effective way to fight invisible with invisible, and simply sticks out his tail to trip him

AND HE TRIPS!!

the team catches up as afterimage tries to collect himself. fred and wasabi quickly grab him. hiro, excited at the opportunity to prove once and for all this is not a ghost, removes his helmet, exposing him as none other than.....

former krei tech employee mel meyer!!!! cue GASPS from everyone. "sur...prise," he manages, still a little dizzy from all that

krei is, of course, extremely upset (and pretty embarrassed and trying to brush off having ever been afraid), and demands to know what's been going on

mel explains that ever since A Certain Someone convinced him that sometimes villainy is empowering and lets one do the things they can’t as a civilian, he'd been wanting to teach krei a lesson about how he treats people. you can't keep getting away with using others!! and that's why he became the ghostly apparation, because the REAL monster looming over san fransokyo is YOU, alistair krei!!! and he would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for these meddling kids and their robot!!! >:[

“you really think THIS is what would have stopped him? trust us, he’s seen worse.” krei stubbornly nods

and, frankly, mel's a little hurt that krei never even suspected it was him. to which krei responds that he forgot about mel entirely after getting him arrested, and so did everyone else, probably. big hero 6 nods sheepishly

...well, not everyone. cut to hardlight, who is Still standing outside, long after being subdued by bh6 - he’d had the opportunity to escape when they raced off to save krei, but clearly didn’t. he calls mel's name (and would be waving if he weren't handcuffed and surrounded by the SFPD at that very moment). mel is pleasantly surprised, and a little confused. "wait, you stayed and kept watch for my WHOLE mission? you didn't even try to get away?" he asks

to which ian replies, "of course not! i wasn't gonna let anyone break up our co-op, and i wanted to make sure you got out alright. after all, you're my... player two :)" they smile at each other, seemingly unaffected by the fact that they failed and are both getting arrested again, and it's a nice moment

cut back to krei and the gang. everyone is quite confused

so, the double damage duo is in custody (for now), and it's still the night before halloween. cue some jokey banter amongst the team about what they should do to celebrate - DEFINITELY no haunted houses, and no movies about ghosts. fred accuses hiro of being disappointed that it wasn't a real ghost, and by now the whole team is in on that joke, so he begrudgingly admits that, yes, maybe it WOULD have been cool if ghosts had been real this whole time :/ so there.

The End!

(but hopefully not the end of hardlight and afterimage - ideally there'd be more in store for them, even if they just got cameos!!! 😌)

#big hero 6 #big hero 6 the series #afterimage #mel meyer #ian hardlight #alistair krei #bh6 #double damage au #melian #at the end a little bit :)

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comicbookuniversity · 4 years

Text

SUPERMAN: UNDER AN EVIL STAR_A PROPOSED DCEU SEQUEL

Technical delays got in the way of this going out sooner, but I am glad something has put Superman back trending at least a little bit. Where Superman goes next on screen is in the air, so I would like to propose how it could go. I know there’s no way that this could be used, but I thought it would be fun to share. And if the producers of the DCEU want to hire me to write something that they could use, then that wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen. I think @davidmann95 was right: the next Superman film doesn’t need to be a grand statement piece. It just needs to be a good time. There’s this weird thought that Superman is boring, so we need a film that shows he’s fun as all Superman fans know. Snyder had his turn and he has his fans, but it is time for a new direction after the,at best, mixed legacy to Snyder’s turn with Superman. This isn’t to be dismissive or disrespectful, but if Aquaman can make a billion dollars while getting well praised for a far more ‘comic book’ take after Snyder, then why not Superman?

The film opens with Superman saving a family from an apartment building, and across town a protest is happening, police are in riot gear ready for action, and at the front of the crowd is a single known metahuman: Hank Heywood. The protests have been going on for hours now over the death of several homeless vets who were being cleared out, because the city did not want the homeless encampment there any more. Between scenes of the protest being covered by the news, we will see Superman performing a variety of rescues with a smile and kind words. Flying from rescuing around the city, Superman stops a tear gas canister from hitting the crowd and a SWAT member from using advanced equipment to attack Heywood. The whole scene is changed by his presence as the police and protesters back up from their positions, but Superman encourages the protesters to keep peacefully as they were and he finds the commanding officer. They have a talk about the police being unfairly positioned to enforce a status quo that has little to do with serving and protecting, but what the officers did to those vets was wrong. It might be easier for Superman to act, but it does not mean that the officers have any less of a responsibility or that they are shielded from accountability. Superman mentions the need to avoid escalation and how he’s been responding to other emergencies across Metropolis while the police were occupied doing this. The protest continues as Superman marches with them. The goal of the scene is to show Superman trying to advocate other ways beyond force, encourage peace, and standing for justice. While I would like to move Superman pretty left politically to match the spirit of his origins, I can definitely understand hesitation for broader market appeal. But that being said, we still need to show Superman openly caring about more than emergencies. He knows he needs to be a shining example of compassion and strength of character.

We cut to Lois Lane sent abroad to continue being the world’s best reporter at finding new metahumans and identifying where they stand. She just got done with a major story on how quickly Asian nations are developing their own metahuman responses. She’s taking a boat out of northern Japan to try to investigate reports of a strange activity around a crash landing in the ocean in international waters. She’s able to identify several warships and accompanying aircraft from Russia, Japan, China, and the USA. Without much warning, the ships are attacked by unknown forces. She is able to get some photos that help her identify one of the forces as being American. She knows where she has to go, so she grabs her phone. The forces fly off.

We cut to a scene in a suburban neighborhood. There’s a celebration at a home, we see a family celebrating, and while the kids are having fun, some of the adults look uneasy. We follow as a woman carries two drinks; one for herself the other for her husband: Captain Atom. His adult nephew asks how he feels about the party- now with everything changed. He says he’s happy to see the family for any reason. A kid walks up to the nephew and pulls him away, so Angela, his wife, talks and asks him if he’s made a decision: will he push to retire as he was supposed to have by this point or will he continue to serve? He’s not sure in the moment, but there’s a yearning to stay. But then the call comes in: Captain Atom is needed. He kisses his wife, and flies off.

Atom arrives on the scene at a military facility under attack. It’s Manchester Black, telekinetic terrorist, and he’s looking to free his friends after being detained while unconscious after fighting Superman. He escaped, but he’s back to save his friends. Atom demands he stand down, and there’s a dialogue exchange to code Atom as a moderately conservative military type and Black as a punk egoist with a poor understanding of liberal politics. They fight, Coldcast is freed, but before the other members of the Elite can be freed, Atom beats both Black and Coldcast. The goal of these two scenes is to establish Atom as a formidable hero, but also a man who is not certain about his place in the future. How much more does he owe his country, how much longer will he have with his family, and is superhero work something he really wants?

Clark is in his apartment, lots of philosophy and ethics books scattered everywhere, and he’s writing in a journal in Kryptonese. We hear the narration of his writing: Clark loves Lois and asked her how she’s so good at everything, but particularly her writing. She said better is the horizon she’s always chasing so she never stops. He’s applied this to his time as Superman and has been reading up to try to learn in order to do better. He feels like he could be doing more, but must walk a fine line in order to be the hero he wants to be and not the monster the world fears he could be. This caused him to push his powers to the limits, and in that he saw beyond anything he had could have seen before and was profoundly moved by what he saw. This moment of clarity changed him. He does not want to repeat his past- no more Zods. Everyone deserves life. He needs to balance out pushing for peaceful action and his awesome might whenever possible. The question isn’t what does his power let him do, but how does he use this power to do the most good?

Clark gets a call from Lois. She needs a ride and he needs to act quickly. He pulls his shirt open and there’s a gust of wind. We cut to Atom in an office with General Lucy Lane, having taken her father’s old post. They talk about how Black must have found the base, but Atom quickly pushes that aside. He wants to know where the Pentagon officially stands on his current situation. Lane tells him that his request has been postponed until further research on his new biology is complete. Atom is not happy with this as he was finally hoping to retire to civilian life. A call comes in, and Atom is needed again. He grumpily accepts the mission, and as Atom leaves the room, Lois enters.

Superman is seen flying around the Earth searching for the individuals Lois pictured, and he’s in luck when he sees them flying towards California. He stops them over the coast and tries to reason with them, but they are unresponsive. He sees something on them all that seems unnatural: starfish-looking creatures. They attack without warning, and at first their unusual powers working together have him at a disadvantage. The battle moves to land, and as Superman struggles against his attackers, the arrival of a peer changes the course of the battle. Captain Atom proves to be a great help, but before the battle can really change tides, the four leave. Atom is about to pursue, but Superman stops him to ask him what he knows. They stare down each, but Atom decides to tell the truth: they’re the Ultramarine Corps, the Pentagon’s best effort in the superhuman arms race and as a last resort against Superman himself. But they appear to have gone rogue, and it’s Atom’s job to stop them no matter what. Superman thinks the starfish creature is responsible for their behavior and he will help stop them, but he’s not happy about them. The two pursue at hypersonic speeds.

Meanwhile, Lois is trying to keep pace with Lucy as Lucy is trying to monitor the situation with the Corps and the crash site. Lois had already been researching the Pentagon’s efforts in metahuman biotech, but she wants to know two important things: what have been the deployments of the Corps and how many others are currently in development. Lucy asks Lois why she thinks Lucy will talk, because it’s been more than a year since their father passed and they haven’t spoken since then, so why would she start now. Lois is taken aback not having realized it had been that long. Lois says she’s sorry. A senior officer tries to make Lois leave as they enter a plane, but Lucy tells him that Lois is fine to travel. She still does not answer Lois and makes her stay behind as she enters a secure command section of the plane. A door closes in Lois’ face as she tries to get through to her little sister; she did not mean for it to be like this. The advanced plane takes off.

Approaching urban areas, Superman and Atom catch up to the Ultramarine Corps and knock them off course to more isolated areas. Atom is paired off with Pulse-8 and 4D, while Superman fights Glob and Warmaker-1. We cut back and forth between the fights as Atom and Superman struggle against their opponents. Superman takes the lead when Glob tries to crush him in his hyper-pressurized body, but Superman takes a deep breath-taking all of Glob inside his lungs- and blows him back out as an ice structure. This kills the starfish, and after a moment, Glob returns to normal stating that being blown out like that was one the grossest things that has happened to him. Warmaker-1 flies off, and Glob tells Superman to chase after him; he’ll be ok. We cut back to Atom who is struggling against 4D until he opens his perception beyond his limits, which allows him to track her atomic movements. He is able to pin her down long enough to destroy the starfish creature. With her down, Pulse-8 proves to be an easier opponent, or so it seems. Superman catches backup to Warmaker-1 in front of the White House. He knows he must be very careful, so he simply takes every blow Warmaker-1 can deliver to keep the collateral damage minimal as he pushes ever closer to his opponent. Superman eventually grabs and rips off the starfish creatures, which struggles to escape his grasp. Warmaker-1falls to the ground, but gets back up and shakes Superman’s hand and thanks him for ending the nightmare. Superman is visibly hurt, but seen healing in the sunlight.

Back on the plane and very near the crash site, General Lane gets word that the Corps has been defeated, but they’ve lost contact with Atom. Lucy calls Lois in. Before Lucy can say her piece, Lois apologizes again. Growing up in a military family wasn’t easy for her, and since Lucy always sided with their dad, it was hard for her to keep up family relationships when their father was so disappointed with Lois. She felt isolated and buried herself in her work. Lucy says she’s sorry too. She never meant for Lois to feel isolated. She wanted to make Dad proud by being the youngest general in history, but she let her career isolate her as well. They hug, but Lucy pulls away because she needs Lois to be Lois Lane. Lucy tells her the world is being invaded by an unknown alien force and that the Corps behavior is a direct result of this, which means a form of mind control is in play. Lucy needs Lois to be the independently trusted voice to the world before paranoia and misinformation spreads too quickly before the world can unite and act swiftly against a threat to the very autonomy of all people everywhere. Lois says she’s not letting her off the hook about the metahumans just because of an alien invasion, and starts a livestream the Daily Planet is trying to spread across the globe with their partners. The plane begins to move unexpectedly. Enemy combatants are on their way.

Superman sees Lois’ broadcast, and flies off to the Pacific Ocean. Flying down from a shortcut in low orbit, Superman is intercepted by possessed Captain Atom. The two struggle as Superman can see from a vast distance that foreign metahumans being controlled by the starfish aliens are after the plane Lois is on. Atom is raging against the control of the alien and telling Superman to get it off him, but Atom is generating K-radiation. Despite the pain, Superman acts quickly to throw Atom off balance to rip the alien away. Before being fully pulled off, the alien makes Atom release a concentrated blast of K-radiation, which knocks him out of the sky. Regaining his senses, Atom dives into the ocean to save a sinking Superman and carries him off above the clouds stating that Superman won’t die on his watch. At the very edges of the atmosphere Superman begins to wake up. He thanks Atom, and Atom says he owed him one after Superman caught him from falling from the moon. He tells Superman to heal up quickly, because his family and every other family on Earth is in danger and Atom can’t do this alone, so he flies off to General Lane. We see Superman push off fully into space to face the Sun.

The plane is rocked as Atom passes by to intercept the pursuing metahumans, and several sonic booms can be heard. On the plane, Lois narrates the battle. At this point we see Atom fighting several identifiable metahumans, but exactly who depends on budget and production limitations. I would personally like to see at least August General in Iron, a Rocket Red squad, and Cosmo Racer. I definitely would like to see more heroes to establish that the DCEU has really expanded when the camera was not looking, but I can understand not being able to have everyone. From the plane's view, we see a giant tentacle rise out of the water and seemingly millions of smaller starfish are flung in the direction of land. Atom is trying to play defensively to protect the plane, but this means taking a beating. Cosmo Racer proves the hardest to keep away, but right when Atom thinks he’s failed a red streak knocks him down.

We see Superman ripping the starfish away and burning it. The Racer, an alien themself, says they know this being. It is a Starro the Conqueror; no known planet has survived contact with a conqueror. Superman thinks it's time to do the impossible then. Another tentacle rises out the seas and sends millions more starros into the upper atmosphere to ride the jetstreams. Superman and the Racer nod and fly off from each other. The Racer joins Atom and the two aim to even the battlefield by removing the starros. Superman flies to the edge of the cloud of starros and begins to fly in circles around creating a wind tunnel he can lead them back to the sea with. Despite his efforts to keep away from him, the cloud of starros uses their psychic power collectively to interfere and they are able to land on him. The tunnel stops, but they fall back into the ocean. Several starros on Superman try to break his will and he has hallucinations. A satellite feed beamed to the plane shows this to Lucy and Lois. Lois starts to talk to Superman knowing he can still hear her. Her words help, and Superman is able to break free control of the starros. Atom and Racer are successful in removing all the starros from the metahumans. Atom’s containment suit looks damaged.

Superman joins the other heroes in the sky. The Conqueror Prime rises from the ocean floor. The heroes are ants in relation to its size, and it is teeming with millions of smaller starros of various sizes and colors. The heroes devise a strategy on how to defeat the Conqueror Prime. Racer stays behind thanks to his speed, while the Rockets and General flank Superman and Atom as they try to get beneath the alien to throw it back into space. Thousands of starros fly up at the group and they fight through this obstacle, but they have to be careful because if even one of them is taken, it could derail the entire plan. They get close, but one of the Rockets is taken and they are forced to retreat for a second pass. But even as they try to make a quick turn around, more and more Starros are being launched into the upper atmosphere and sent into the ocean. August General in Iron says that they must stop the spread or getting rid of the Prime will mean nothing. Even with their awesome powers, it seems to be far too much. Then sonic booms are heard and Superman can hear Warmaker-1 speaking on an ultrasonic frequency; Glob will break off the Corps to help Superman and Atom take care of the Prime while the Corps leads the other heroes in stopping the spread. Aerodynamically pointed, Glob meets Superman and Atom mid air to form an aquatic shell and they dive below the water. Warmaker-1 and the General take to the ocean as Pulse-8 and 4D work with the remaining Rockets to stop the ariel Starros. Cosmo Racer fights the possessed Rocket from reaching the plane with General Lane. We cut back and forth between the three groups as they fight the Starros.

As Superman and Atom push the Prime into space, Atom is struck and his suit breaks containment. Glob wraps around him to help contain him, but in the last bit of atmosphere, Glob can hear Superman say Atom should not be afraid, he will be fine. As Glob falls to Earth with Atom inside him freaking out about dooming the Earth with his suit breaking, Glob tells him to snap the hell out of it and that Superman says he will be fine. Atom cannot understand, but he takes a deep breath and uses his atomic vision. He sees and understands in a moment of clarity, and rips his suit off revealing a blue-hued man. This will transition the more traditional look towards a version of the Pax Americana look. Superman can hear the terrifying psychic words of Prime in his mind as it tells him to give up, but he smiles as he looks down to Earth. Every reason not to is in his sight and he pushes Prime into zero gravity, then circles the Earth at blinding speeds, and uses the gravity sllingshot to knock Prime into space at a velocity that will send it beyond the reach of Sun’s gravity.

The international heroes work to stop the spread of the Starros, but still are not able to stop all of them as they seek hosts. But then, a blue light grabs all the Starros simultaneously, and Atom can be seen manipulating them and sending them out into space. Cheers from across the world as Lois streams this amazing event and the heroes hug. Arriving back from space, Superman stops next to Atom and they shake hands.

Relieved, Lois ends her livestream, but does not turn off her camera. She asks Lucy how many more metahumans the Pentagon has. Lucy frowns, and not giving an exact number states a few. Note: in a post-credits scene, this could easily be used to introduce Wildstorm characters into the DCEU if desired. Lois points out that the world almost ended within several hours, and they’re lucky that there was a clear enemy. She asks her sister where this race ends, because next time the enemy may not be so clear. Lucy takes her point, but she says the world is getting stranger and more dangerous. Large scale response will be needed, but she understands what Lois is saying about escalation. It will not be easy to change course, but Lucy says she’ll do her best to ensure that the world won’t be consumed in this arms race. With that being the last word, Lois turns the camera off and then asks when they’re going out for drinks. It’s been too long.

We see Superman and Atom back at Atom’s place, and Angela is very excited to meet Superman. Superman is flattered, and he’s happy to see Atom have such a loving home. Atom asks Superman how he knew. He says he could see that Atom could see like him, but just had not reached that point yet. He knew as soon as Atom could see like him that everything would be fine. Atom asks if this is how he sees the world all the time, and Superman says not all the time, but he knows the feeling Atom is talking about. Atom cries. His wife and the world has never looked so beautiful before. Angela embraces Atom. After a moment, he says he is retiring no matter what his superiors say. He tells Superman that he won’t be fighting again, but if Superman ever needs help, he always has a friend. Superman says he’s happy to hear that and asks Atom that even if he does not plan on fighting to use his position to push for a better world. He understands why the Corps was made, but he hopes Atom will help push for ensuring they are deployed responsibly, held accountable, and used as a last resort. After all, we’re all we have and we need to trust each other. A scream in the distance can be heard, Atom nods and Superman flies off. The End.

#superman #dc comics #henry cavill #captain atom #dceu #lois lane #fan fic

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timelords-angel-is-sherlocked · 4 years

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Hot Cocoa (ladynoir) - Day 2

It was a particularly bad day for Adrien. He had to miss half of school for a stupid solo photoshoot he didn’t want to do. The photographer kept scolding for not paying complete attention. Despite how hard Adrien tried to pose and look stupidly perfect, but his mind kept drifting to the most recent akuma attack. His classmates were so close to being gravely injured by chunks of the ceiling but thankfully Ladybug swooped in just at the right moment to lasso them out of harm’s way.

“Adrien, pay attention. Just two more wardrobe changes and you will be set free,” he scolded.

“Yes, of course. My apologies, I will concentrate harder.” This seemed to please the man.

An hour and a half later, Adrien sat at the dinner table. His food was starting to get cold, but his father promised he would join him tonight. So Adrien waited. And waited.

“Your father will not be joining you tonight,” Nathalie confirmed once a solid 20 minutes have passed.

“Then I will be retiring to my room. Please do not disturb me, I have much school work to catch up on since I wasn’t there.” Adrien kept his face impassive to mirror Nathalie and stormed up the stairs to his room. He knew it wasn’t her fault, but it was starting to eat away at Adrien. When was the last time he had an actual conversation with his father? A month?

My Lady <3: My ladybug senses are tingling. How is my kitty fairing?

Adrien’s scowl disappeared off his face when he read the message. Not too long ago, he was able to convince Ladybug to download this messaging app. No numbers required. She finally agreed, saying it would be useful to inform each other of patrol times. It was hardly ever about patrols.

My Kitty ^-^: He feels as if he has been kicked to the curb and left out in the cold :(

They agreed they would keep their civilian lives as private as possible, but even those lines started to blur regularly. He didn’t mind it of course, but he could tell that it made Ladybug anxious any time anything too specific was said.

My Lady <3: Regular spot in let’s say… half-hour?

Do I need to feed my poor stray kitten? ;)

My Kitty ^-^: Half-hour is purrfect.

He is full with the amount of love you have given him, but some food will be appreciated, pawlease

My Lady <3: See you soon, Chat <3

Adrien has pretty much forgotten all about his horrible mood.

“Ladybug?” She turned around, eyebrows furrowed. Alya and Nino were sitting at a table happily chatting away until they saw Ladybug of all people walk in.

“Alya, Nino?” She looked around in confusion then looked down at herself. In the midst of trying to get everything ready for her impromptu outing with Chat, she forgot to detransform.

“You going out with Chat?” She gestured to the picnic basket. She had her phone ready but decided not to film.

“Yes. And I completely forgot to change back. I was going to buy us dinner real quick. I don’t even have pockets in this thing for my money! And if I change and come back, I’m pretty sure you’ll figure out who I am. Ugh,” she groaned at her situation.

“This sounds like something my friend, Marinette would totally do.” The three laughed at the joke and Ladybugs face burned red. “I’ve got you. Superhero to superhero,” she whispered.

“Thanks a bunch, Alya.” The three sat at a table and everyone kept glancing over at the red and black hero. They talked about the American fast-food restaurant they were in - McDonald’s - until the order was ready. About a dozen pictures and autographs later, Ladybug was ready to head out.

“Girl, you know I love you, but can I have a picture for the blog?” Marinette knew Alya was gonna at some point and gladly took the selfie with just her at first, then Nino, then the three of them at the same time.

“Little kitty on the roof, all alone without his lady…”

“Chat?”

“My Lady!” He hugs her and spins her in the air before pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I was started to wonder if you had forgotten about me.”

“How could I forget you, mon amour?” She pulls him into a warm kiss and he gladly melts into it. Once her hands found his hair, he started to purr.

“What’s in the basket?” Although he loved kissing his lady, he could smell something delicious in the basket.

“Many things.”

They were on top of the Arc de Triomphe, somewhat hidden from the citizens of Paris. Ladybug reached into the picnic basket and pulled out a couple of blankets. One to lay on and two for cuddling. She then pulled out the McDonald’s and Chat’s face glowed at that.

“I forgot to transform before I went in. Alya was there thankfully and help me out. I took a bunch of pictures and autographs before I managed to escape,” she giggled at her partner’s face which was full of awe.

“You did that all for me? I’m furrtunate that you were able to leave in one piece. There were no boys getting close to you right? Because if they were-” Ladybug cut him off with another kiss.

“Oh, my smitten kitten.” She left a chaste kiss on his nose and his tail swept behind him playfully. He loved it when she called him her kitten. He also loved it when they got unhealthy food because he knew it would drive his father absolutely mad if he knew.

They ate while they were comfortably snuggled up next to each other. They did their best to meet up at least once a week for a little date like this one, but their schedules have been all over the place with school projects.

“Was it your father?” She asks once the food is finished. She reaches over and pulls out two thermoses filled with hot cocoa and hands one to her partner.

“Yeah,” he admits. “I get he’s super busy with the company and junk, but I’m his son. Ever since my mom died, I’ve only seen a ghost of him. I don’t know my father anymore. The last time we spoke face to face must have been last month.” Chat cuddled closer to his lady to feel her warmth and presence.

“I’m sorry Chaton.” She once again started playing with his hair and the little spot by his ears that she knew he liked. “I love you as much as you love hot cocoa.” He smiled at that.

“How do you make it taste so… homey?” He took another long, wistful drink. “You must share the recipe with me Bugaboo.” He tilts his head up to look at her and they share a loving look.

“It’s a family recipe. Once we’re married, you can ask my mom for it.” Realizing what she had said, Ladybug ducked her head in embarrassment. Both of their faces were flushed. They always tip-toed around their identities and the future, but Chat knew his lady wanted to marry him. This was when they were their most real, after all.

“Does your family take in strays?” He smirked at her and she rolled her eyes playfully.

“No one knows I’m Ladybug. Not you or my mom or my dad or my best friend. How can I show off my handsome boyfriend when I don’t even know who he is?” She took hold of his hand and ran her thumb over his ring. A shiver ran down his spine. They were almost always adamant about avoiding touching each other’s miraculous. It was personal in a weird way. “My parents would take it in stride, I think. They would understand why I didn’t tell them.”

“Just as I understand,” he mumbled quietly.

“Maybe I don’t understand anymore. I want to be there for you, Chaton. Always. I feel like we’re sneaking around. I get that I’m the one who put the rule in place but I don’t want to do this anymore. I want to show my parents what an amazing guy you are and bake cookies with you and walk home with you after school. What if we go to the same school? I-”

“If we reveal ourselves, right now,” Chat held her gaze steadily and looked serious for once, “will your mom pawssibly make me hot cocoa every day?” She laughed at him and shook her head fondly.

“Tikki?” She spoke to her kwami.

“Plagg?” Chat emulated.

“Spots off.”

“Claws in.”

For five heartbeats they both remained unlooking. This was it. They were going to reveal themselves. Adrien looked first.

“Marinette?” He was a bit surprised when he saw that freckled face up close but soon was over the moon with join. “Marinette!” He stood up and pulled her up with him.

“Adrien? No way!” They embraced each other tightly. They couldn’t believe their luck! For some reason, the kiss that followed was the most intimate one they’ve shared.

After one look at Adrien’s pleading face from right above her daughter’s, Sabine caved in and made him her secret hot cocoa. She didn’t question how he knew it tasted different than the one served in the bakery, because in a way she already knew. She didn’t even flinch at how easily they kissed and fit into each other because she had seen the same loving looks on Ladybug and Chat Noir. Sabine walked over to her husband who took her in an enthusiastic hug and kissed her passionately. She was happy for her daughter and Adrien. And when they were ready, they could tell her how they started dating. But Sabine already knew, so she didn’t ask for details.

#mlholidays2k19 #ladynoir #ladybug #chat noir #ladybug x chat noir

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princess-of-the-corner · 5 years

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Taking a little break from Monarch to write out some of my ideas for how Love Eater and Miracle Queen work out in the Lady Luck AU. I thought about waiting for Chat Blanc and Felix but oh well!

As the Lady Luck AU focuses on Chloé having the Ladybug Miraculous from the beginning and getting actual character development until she’s a decent person and leader of an entire team of Heroes, there is no subplot about her and the Bee Miraculous.

Other things in the AU involve the lack of a Love Square by this point(it was only a lopsided triangle to begin with, but Secret Identities have been tossed out the window), and the fact that Chloé’s parents are getting divorced as Audrey is a horrific person.

So naturally, the entire episode has to be rewritten. I have a couple ideas on how to do this, but one of the biggest ideas involves Senti!Bug, or rather, Senti!Luck sticking around a bit longer. So here we go!

After the events of the Episode ‘Ladybug’, the corresponding chapter being called ‘Lady Luck’, Senti!Luck accidentally is left existing.

This is due to a combination of the Peacock malfunctioning due to being damaged combined with the Miraculous Ladybug ability trying to ‘fix her back into existence’.

As she seems like a real person now that she’s not being puppeted by Mayura, and the fact that she doesn’t seem to have an Amok Item(I forget the technical term right now), they decide to treat her like a real person.

Before I go further, let’s discuss how ‘Sentient’ the ‘Sentimonsters’ are, along with ‘Is Senti!Luck a real person?’. And tbh, I’m going to use a computer AI metaphor.

Sentimonsters are like a program’s AI. You program them, give them enough learning capabilities and executive decision making abilities to let them do their job efficiently, but ultimately, they are just a tool.

Senti!Luck, is like this at first. Sure, she’s good at seeming like she has emotions, but she is following her Programming.

After she comes back with the Miraculous Ladybug, she is much more real, like a real person.

The crew decides to treat her as a real person, and tries to figure out how exactly to do that.

Since they’re still not entirely sure if she’s real or not, they don’t let her in on the secret identities.

Lady Luck drops her off at Chloé’s place and then later comes back as Chloé saying ‘oh Lady Luck trusts me to help you’.

Chloé even discusses it with her dad a little bit. She tells him that ‘Lady Luck trusted her to look after a friend’, and basically convinces him to pretend Senti!Luck is a distant cousin or something if asked.

Many things go into cementing Senti!Luck as a person. This all happens during what should be ‘Love Eater’.

One of the first things is a name. After all, they can’t keep calling her Senti!Luck. I’m choosing the name Astra Avalon.

Firstly, because when Senti!Bug happened in Canon, I got flashbacks to W.I.T.C.H. and Will’s Astral Drop.

Secondly, way back in the day when I was writing TOWCK, I was planning on giving Chloé a half-sister named Astra Avalon. Though at that time I had picked ‘Astra’ because I planned to make her an Akuma called ‘Star Maker’.

I’m going to call her Astra from now on in the post.

The next thing is honestly a bit of a make over

Despite being made to imitate Lady Luck, Astra doesn’t look like Chloé. There’s similarities, but between the mask and whatever Magic goes into keeping the identities, Mayura doesn’t know what Lady Luck looks like and just guessed as it would work well enough for the same reasons. Chloé and Astra could pass as related, but not identical twins.

However, they do want to minimize the chance of Hawkmoth and Mayura finding her.

This ends up being a drastic haircut and maybe a bit of hair dye, and a montage of Chloé digging through her closet and finding her an outfit.

The next order of business is seeing how smart Astra is and where to put her in school

Originally I was going to use Ms. Bustier for this, but… Kwami Buster made me switch it to Ms. Mendelieve. Maybe both work on it idk.

Anyway, they want to see what all she knows. Both in a ‘what grade level is her intelligence/learning ability?’ and in a ‘how well does she understand social norms?’ way.

They eventually figure out that she has pretty average intelligence for someone of Chloé’s age group, and a basic idea of how to act in society, but a weird blank in her knowledge on things like common phrases or popular media. It’s not a big thing, but it’s something a little noticeable.

Overall, they agree that Astra could be put in Chloé’s class, but will need some support in social interaction. Since most of the class are Heroes and know about all this, they’re all willing to chip in. Adrien is already planning a movie marathon to catch her up on things.

Cue montage of Astra loving life and being alive

The class is very friendly and understanding, and she’s enough of a blank slate that she can get along with all of them fairly well.

She’s hella curious since even if she has an understanding of things, she doesn’t quite ‘get it’ until she does it herself.

From music to food to tv shows, it’s all new experiences and she enjoys all of them with a hell of a lot of enthusiasm.

Where everything goes wrong is a combo of Lila being a fuck and Astra having a breakdown over the standard ‘oh god I’m not a real person’ thing.

Lila figures out that Astra is Senti!Luck.

As a liar herself, Lila is good at figuring out other people’s lies. She realizes something is up with Astra due to how many lies everyone else is spinning about her, and eventually finds out.

While the info is filed away for the next time Hawkmoth Akumatizes her, Lila decides to confront Astra and threaten her.

Basically, it’s a ‘you help me, and I won’t tell everyone you’re a Sentimonster!’.

Said help would be things like turning against Chloé and friends, getting any dirt Lila could use against them, backing up Lila’s lies, etc.

When Astra refuses, Lila gets all ‘come on, they might be friendly now, but what do you think will happen when they find out what you really are? Our so-called Heroes didn’t even want you around! Just dumped you on some brat with enough resources to keep you alive’.

Cue existential crisis

I mean that literally. Astra begins to question how ‘real’ she is. And to make the AI comparison again, it’s the ‘Sure I feel things, but do I really feel them or am I Programmed to?’ thing.

She also panics over the fact that Lila might be right. As far as Astra knows, only Chloé really knows that she’s just a Sentimonster. The rest of the class has been nice and friendly, but would they do the same if they knew that she wasn’t even Human? Just a Magic Construct that happens to imitate Humanity enough.

I guess it’s a little similar to the Robustus situation, but tbh there’s also the added in ‘Sentimonsters are something evil’ thing added in.

Of course this is enough for Hawkmoth to Akumatize her.

Due to the nature of Astra’s Akumatization, Hawkmoth now knows that she’s Senti!Luck

That’s bad for a few reasons.

I’m debating on Astra’s Akuma form.

Miracle Queen is still an option, being able to control Miraculous holders.

Star Maker though, I could bring her back. Star Maker has the power to create fighters out of Constellations. Think kinda like the Ursa Major/Ursa Minor from MLP. She could use the Zodiac against the Zodiac!

Eventually Miracle Queen/Star Maker is defeated.

Astra is still upset, but the Heroes decide to tell her the secret identities. They didn’t abandon her, and the ‘normal civilians’ she’d been befriending knew what she was the whole time.

She’s still a little sad that they didn’t trust her in the first place, but they explain that even if they trust her, they weren’t sure how much influence Mayura still had over her.

But Mayura had made another Sentimonster during the fight and wasn’t able to control Astra like she did with Feast.

As for what happens to Astra after, I’m not sure. I’ll have to see what happens in Season 4. Unfortunately.

Maybe she stays. After all, she’s a real person now and Hawkmoth can’t control her more than he can control anyone else.

On the other hand, he still might try something with her, so it might be better to send her away. Like the ‘My uncle lives about an hour away from the city and he can take her in’ kind of way.

Either way she is safe and happy!

As for the plot with Master Fu and the Miracle Box…

Lady Luck doesn’t have to go to him all the time because all the Heroes are permanent, so Hawkmoth wouldn’t be able to reliably make a plan that would let him follow her to the Guardian.

And even if he was just waiting and hoping she would, Astra is the only Akuma this time, so it would happen after she’s Akumatized.

Maybe Lady Luck tries to add a new Hero. Maybe Master Fu himself slips up.

Actually, so far I’m thinking that no one slips up.

Master Fu sees how far the Team has come, and especially how far Chloé has come as their leader.

He realizes that they really don’t need him anymore. The only time anyone really comes to him about something other than handing out more Miraculous is either training Chloé as the new Guardian, or Mylene visiting(Something she does so that Master Fu can still talk with Wayzz, since he misses his friend.)

And honestly, with the training there’s very little he can teach that isn’t either clearly outlined in the Book of Miraculous Bullshittery, or things she’d need to learn through experience.

So Master Fu decides to retire.

While he names Chloé as the new Guardian, she does say ‘this is a hell of a lot of responsibility for one person, so the whole team is getting part of this’. Basically creating their own Order of Guardians, in a way.

Since he’s retiring and not ‘giving up Guardianship as a last resort’, the memory wipe thing doesn’t happen.

Instead, he meets up with his girl(I forgot her name like an asshole, sorry), and they leave the country.

Chloé still has his number, just in case he’s really needed, but for the most part he’s still hella gone.

So, again, I might change some things depending on Felix and Chat Blanc, but for now…. >:3c

#ml spoilers #Lady Luck AU

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girlactionfigure · 5 years

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Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird" said, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." The heels of Dabney N. Montgomery's shoes are now at the Smithsonian. If only those shoes could talk, they could tell you a remarkable story of the man who walked around in them, the man who was part of the ground support for the Tuskegee Airmen, the hero who faced racism and discrimination when he returned home from war, and the feet which once dreamed of becoming a dancer and instead heroically marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Even during his last days, Dabney Montgomery was trying to help people, to share awareness, and educate young people. When he passed away at the age of 93 on September 3, 2016, he left some very large shoes to fill. Montgomery was born in 1923, growing up in Selma. His father was a fireman (a stoker) for Southern Railroad. "Watching my father board his train, I wanted to be an engineer when I grew up," he told the Wall Street Journal. "But only white men were engineers then, and only a few blacks became firemen." He instead joined the Tuskegee Airmen to help win World War II in a role that would eventually earn him a Congressional Gold Medal, one of the highest civilian awards in the United States. Black servicemen who trained at Tuskegee faced discrimination in the armed services and at home, but the “Red Tails,” as they were known, distinguished themselves in a March 1945 bombing run to Berlin and by discovering a German destroyer in the harbor of Trieste, Italy, according to Tuskegee University. And, when he returned home, he would face more discrimination. "For Dabney Montgomery, the indignities at home stung more because of the noble tasks he performed for his country abroad . . . at a train station in Atlanta in 1945, carrying an Army duffel bag over his shoulder after receiving his honorable-discharge papers, he was abruptly confronted with Jim Crow America," according to the Washington Post. “Before I could get in, a white officer threw up his hands [and said]: ‘You can’t come in this door, boy. You got to go around the back,'” Montgomery told Alice Bernstein in a video interview. “‘You can’t come in here; you’re black. You got to go around the corner.'” When he returned to Selma, he would try to register to vote, according to the Bernstein interview. A woman there, he said, told him that he had to find “three white men that would endorse me as a good negro that would not cause any trouble in Selma, Alabama, if I voted.” When he returned with the endorsements, he said, he was denied again. This time, the woman said, it was because he did not own land in Alabama. He was told he needed to own $1,000 worth of property, according to the Wall Street Journal. He didn't have it, and she wouldn't let him register. However, after he left, he noticed a white soldier, just fresh out of the Army, just like him, go to the same window saying he wanted to vote. With no questions and no restrictions, the white soldier was told, "Okay, sign your name here. Right here. Okay. You can vote.” “That was the welcome that so many of us [blacks] received after fighting World War II,” Montgomery recalled. “We have lost so much talent, we have lost so much achievement because of discrimination,” he would later add. Montgomery did his best to keep his spirits up after the war, even enrolling at the Boston Conservatory of Music, studying dance. He also later studied dance with the New York City Metropolitan Opera Dance School before an injury forced him to end his career. He also tried to help people, working for the city, first as a Social Service Investigator in the Department of Social Services and later for the Housing Authority. Years later, sitting at home in New York City, he watched the Bloody Sunday attacks on people in Selma on the Edmund Pettus Bridge," according to NPR. "They gassed them and beat them with sticks — the sheriff, the officials in their uniforms, because they was marching to the governor's office to vote . . . And I saw them knocked down, and I saw the gas in the air, and I was sitting here — this is happening in my hometown, Selma!," he would say. He decided then and there he would go back home to Selma, to help out in any way he could. He would become one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s bodyguards, The Associated Press reports, guarding the leader on the famous 1965 march from Selma. "Alongside King, he prayed on the steps of the Selma courthouse and, later, walked 50 miles to Montgomery, according to the Washington Post. "His contributions were recognized later in life. In 2007, President George W. Bush awarded him the Congressional Gold Medal." According to The AP, Montgomery would later move back to New York, settling in Harlem and continuing to serve his community for his entire life. After his retirement in 1988, Montgomery worked as a Social Outreach Worker for Project FIND, a non-profit organization assisting older adults on Manhattan’s West Side. He was also very active with Harlem’s Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, which is the oldest organized black church in New York, founded in 1796, and he was active on the Parks Committee and Harlem’s Interfaith Committee of the Tenth Community Board of Manhattan. “Montgomery remained active until his final weeks, frequently visiting schools to talk to children about his experiences growing up in Alabama, serving in the war and marching for civil rights,” the AP reported. "He had broken color barriers in the armed forces and marched with King, doing his part to give black Americans the right to vote, according to the Washington Post. After his passing, Montgomery would be honored with the renaming of a Harlem street for him. His wife, Amelia Montgomery, who he was married to for 37 years, would say, “I cannot even begin to tell you, there aren’t enough adjectives to tell you what I think of this day." The street, with the top label of "Tuskegee Airman", reads, "Dabney M. Montgomery Place." Now, people walking along or driving on that street will know Dabney Montgomery. Oh, and the heels of his shoes - the same shoes he used when he marched with Dr. King - now hangs in the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, according to Smithsonian magazine. Maybe someday, the children he spoke to in the classrooms he visited will remember those same shoes he walked in and follow in Mr. Montgomery's footsteps, speaking out against discrimination and just trying to help people.

The Jon S. Randal Peace Page

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comicgeekscomicgeek · 4 years

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Their Hero Academia – Chapter 48: Three More Stories

Presenting the next raw and unedited chapter of my on-going, next-gen, My Hero Academia fic, Their Hero Academia!

Earlier chapters can be found here

Shota Shinso in The Perks of Being a Fanboy

So far, this had been the best week of Shota’s life. He got to work with the Number Four Hero, Ground Zero! The guy who’d snuffed out Mustang Flame, blown Shatterstorm to pieces, and even out exploded the Living Bomb! One of Uncle Izku’s—Deku!—best friends! Who’d help take down the League of Villains!

He’d gotten to go on patrol with him! He’d gotten all kinds of extra training too! And he’d gotten to work with a bunch of different Sidekicks, including Sonic Boom! In fact, Ground Zero had been very insistent that he work with as many of his Sidekicks as possible. Something about “broadening his experiences as much as possible.” Shota had even found a new frequency for his Quirk that could make stuff explode by vibrating it just right! That one had almost gotten Ground Zero to smile.

Though really, Ground Zero didn’t talk to him too much, except in short, one or two word answers. Of course, Shota was asking him a lot of questions, about his fights, and his Quirk, and what it was like working with Red Riot or Ingenium or Uncle Izuku or… It was really weird how he didn’t seem to know all the details like Shota did.

Either way, it was so exciting! He was even being allowed to sit in on a briefing about a new crime wave Ground Zero was tracking. Though Ground Zero had been very insistent that he not speak. He was supposed to watch and learn. He could do that!

“Okay,” Ground Zero said, standing at the foot of the table. Counting Shota and him, there were eight people sitting at the table. A miniature projector hung from the ceiling displaying a map on the whiteboard. Multiple points on the map were highlighted and Shota gave them his attention, trying to see if there was a pattern. “Let’s take a look at it again.”

He pointed to a spot on the map. “Flash Freeze has hit here, here, here, and here. We stopped the last two, Shoto stopped the second one.” Ground Zero made a face at the mention of Shoto’s name. For the life of him, Shota couldn’t figure out why. Shoto was a great Hero!

“And the first one was stopped by Pinky, of all people. He’s not after money, he’s not trying to make some nutjob phony baloney statement, he’s just out to get his damn jollies making people scream. Bastard’s too smart to just be throwing out random attacks. But I can’t see the damn pattern.”

Shota stared at the map again. It tickled something in the back of his mind. Wait, the Villain’s name was Flash Freeze, right? He shot a hand up in the air.

“This ain’t school, kid,” one of the Sidekicks, a man named Step-Mine said.

“Shut it,” Ground Zero said. He fixed Shota with a serious look, crossing his arms. “This better be good, kid.”

“Which Flash Freeze is it?” he asked.

Ground Zero gave him a confused look. So did the Sidekicks. “…What?” he asked, flatly.

“Which Flash Freeze is it?” Shota asked again. “I mean, the first one fought Endeavor and All Might a couple of times, but that was when they were young and he’d be way too old now. The second one mostly operated in Hosu City and fought the first Ingenium a few times and even got beat by Native, but he liked to kidnap people and freeze them and hold them for ransom, he didn’t get into fights if he could help it and definitely didn’t go looking for trouble.”

He sucked in a quick breath and kept going. “Then there’s the third one, who only showed up twice, but he fought Creati both times, about twenty-three years ago. He was also the only one who didn’t have ice powers; he had a camera lens on his chest that froze people in place when he hit them with the flash. Then there was the fourth one, who was part of the second League of Villains, but he died in a prison yard fight after they all got capture, and then there was actually a fifth one about three years ago who fought Sequoia Rose, but she talked him down before he could hurt anyone and last I knew, he actually reformed after prison…”

“Is there a point to this?” another Sidekick, Bulleteer asked. Shota recognized that tone. It was the same way everybody sounded when he was talking too much. He’d done it again.

Shota looked down at the floor.

Ground Zero, meanwhile, approached him and bent down so he was eye level with him. “So,” he said, kindly, “lots of Villains have used the name, huh?”

Shota looked up and nodded. “Uh-huh. Lots of people with ice Quirks like to use it.”

Ground Zero looked over to Sonic Boom. “Can you look up the statuses of all those Flash Freezes?”

She nodded and tapped a few keys into the computer screen in front of her. “First one’s currently in a retirement home outside of Bespeen. Second one is still in prison. Third one was paroled years ago, but no criminal activity since then. Fourth is confirmed deceased. And the fifth is likewise paroled and working for a non-profit environmentalist group.”

Ground Zero made a non-committal noise. “Okay, still doesn’t tell us anything.”

“Told you it was a waste of time,” Bulleteer whispered to Step-Mine.

“Out.” Ground Zero growled.

“Boss, what?”

“I said out!” Ground Zero snapped. “You’re off the case.”

Bulleteer looked like she was going to protest, but a glare from the Hero shut her down. She left, but not before giving Shota a dirty look.

Then Ground Zero turned his attention back to Shota. “Kid…” he began, then stopped suddenly. He looked to the map then to Shota then back to the map again. “Kid, did any of those Flash Freezes have fights at those locations?”

Shota considered the map, wracking his brains. He hoped out of his seat and went over to it. “The first one fought Endeavor here. The second one was only in the city once, but he fought Present Mic here. And then the third one fought Creati here. The fourth one had a battle with Burnin’ here…”

He stopped and his fingers lingered over a currently unmarked portion of the map. “The first one fought Sequoia Rose here, but you don’t have anything marked there…”

He turned around and Ground Zero was smiling.

“Kid’s right,” Sonic Boom said. “And if he keeps up the pattern…”

“Then that’s where he’ll be tonight,” Ground Zero said. He punched his palm with his other fist. “And we’ll be waiting to kick his ass.” He paused for a moment, looking over his sidekicks. “Looks like we got ourselves a Villain fanboy. And Loud Kid here figured it out. …Why couldn’t any of you do that?!”

The Sidekicks looked distinctly uncomfortable, shifting awkwardly in their chairs. Ground Zero gave Shota’s hair an affectionate ruffle. “Don’t worry about them. I’ll deal with them later. But you, you did good, kid.”

***

Sora Iida in Flight Fight

Sora sat on the edge of a rooftop, legs dangling over the side. Carefully, she removed her helmet and placed in on the roof, running a hand through her hair. She unclipped the thermos from her belt and poured a coffee into the lid. She took a long drink, feeling the caffeine surging through her system.

“What the hell, kid?” Kestrel asked. The Number Twelve Hero let her white wings spread out behind her. They contrasted sharply with her dark skin and were the same shade as her hair. Which was somewhat curious. The moth-girl, Kocho, from the Sports Festival, had also had hair that matched her wings. Was that a common factor in winged Quirks? “Just the fumes from that are getting my heart racing. What’s in that stuff?”

She gave her mentor a little shrug. “Just my usual blend. A combination of several brands noted for their high levels of caffeine as well as a large quantity of sugars.” It was her mother’s recipe, useful for pulling long nights in the lab or otherwise powering past the body’s usual limitations and pesky habit of requiring sleep. Who could sleep when there was always so much to be done?

She missed working in the lab. The projects she and Tensei had been working on still required significant amounts of testing and fine tuning and every moment lost was difficult to get again (Theoretical exercises about manipulation of the space-time continuum had suggested they were more likely to break causality and destroy the universe, so they had abandoned that plan.). But she also admitted that she had learned a lot from Kestrel already. The Razor-Wing Hero was one of the few Heroes who possessed both flight and incredible speed. Her own practice drills had been invaluable, especially for high speed turns. Sora would have to work them into her own practice routines and share them with her brother.

She also found herself missing Toshi. Her very first boyfriend, possibly her very first serious one. She liked him very much, his smile, his optimism, the curious but also adorable way he flailed and had difficulty talking when she was physically demonstrative. And, of course, the feeling of his muscles.

Kestrel pinched the bridge of her nose. An unexpected reaction. “Kid,” she said, “you’re going to give yourself a stroke at this rate. That stuff ought to be characterized as a biological weapon!”

The repeated “Kid” nomenclature was also something of a puzzlement. Kestrel was only eight years older than she was, the daughter of former Pro-Heroes Hawks and Mirko. She’d risen through the ranks rapidly in that time, cracking the Top Twenty within the second year as a full-fledged Hero and holding that position all that time.

She took another drink of her coffee. “Perhaps,” she said. “But I am quite used to it. As I am quite tall, you can see the worries of stunting my growth are baseless.”

Kestrel laughed at that. “Good joke, kid.”

“Joke?”

***

“Couple of jaywingers up ahead,” Kestrel said, pulling her goggles down. “Might just be kids acting up… but we should check it out.”

Jaywingers was common police and Hero parlance, referring to people with flight Quirks operating outside of designated flight path zones. While some use of flight Quirks for travel by civilians was permitted, there were still regulations and paths to be followed. There was too much air travel and too many buildings for such to be otherwise. A regrettable, but reasonable, balance between the freedom to exercise one’s Quirk and the need for a safe and regulated society.

“You take the one on the right,” Kestrel said. “I’ll take the one on the left!” She flapped her wings extra hard and took off like a shot.

“On it!” Sora said, giving herself an extra boot from her Jetpack. She would probably need a long drink or two of grape juice to refuel after this excursion. Fortunately, she had designed her Hero uniform with several storage compartments for juice rations, as had her brother.

It was, in fact, a teenager, perhaps a couple of years older than her. A boy, with spikey green hair several shades brighter than Toshi’s. He was dressed all in black leather. He didn’t have any obvious flight enhancements, such as Kestrel’s wings or her Jetpack. No were there less obvious means of propulsion, such as manipulating explosions or flame, or even wind. Even their teacher, Skyline, used what was technically a telekinetic body sheath to fly.

Pure flight Quirks, like something out of magna, were quite rare. Fortunately, he kept moving, since her Quirk required forward momentum and did not allow her to hover.

She pressed a button on the side of her helmet, activating the sound amplification speakers built into it. “Attention! You are in violation of multiple ordinances concerning flight path and speed! Please land immediately!”

The boy looked over his shoulder, then rotated in midair so he was facing her, while still flying backwards. “You going to make me, robot?” he asked, a self-satisfied smirk crossing his face.

“I have been authorized to use all necessary force to detain you,” Sora replied. “But would prefer not to cause undue injury. So I am again requesting that you land.”

“Nah,” he said. “Don’t think so.” He made a rude gesture with his hand, then spun in the air again and added a burst of speed. “You can’t catch me, Hero!”

“An interesting hypothesis,” Sora said, realizing that her height and armor made her age difficult to determine. If he believed her to be a full-fledged Hero, then so be it. “Let us test it.”

She spread the fingers on her right hand, sighting along the length of her gauntlet. Then, the brought her middle and ring fingers inward, double-tapping a button built into her palm with a precise application of force. Instantly, a long cable, ending in a loop, launched, covering the distance between herself and the teen. She let it fly and it wrapped around his ankle, letting her pull it tight.

He jerked in midair, flailing for a minute, slowing down to float and look back at her. He made another gesture that was even ruder than the first and tried to remove her capture weapon, but to no avail. His features went slightly paler, but he took off again, trying to fly every which way.

Against his pull, she adjusted the engine pipes of her Jetpack, so that she was pulling counter to him. She had a pretty good idea of his velocity and force now from having watched him, and the math needed to calculate the best degree of counterforce was simple enough. Then, she pressed her palm with her index and middle finger, triggering the retrieval spool for her capture weapon. Against that and against her own thrust, he stood no chance.

His face turned to a snarl as he realized there was no escape and he instead put all his flight power into flying towards her. His fist hit against her helmet hard and knocked her back, but the padding inside and metal outside protected her nicely. His first, however, was not so lucky.

“You… bitch!” he snarled, clutching his hand.

“I gave you ample opportunity for surrender,” she said. “The time for niceties is now over.” Her own fist struck out and clipped him upside the head. His head spun around and his eyes went wide, before he simply collapsed in mid-air. Her capture weapon ensured he did not fall.

“And that’s what you get for such salty language!” she said to his unconscious form.

***

On a near-by roof, Kestel made a call to the local police. They’d be sending someone as quickly as they could to retrieve the two jaywingers. Though Sora doubted that was what they were. Not with how much of a fight both of them had put up. Kestrel’s opponent had possessed some kind of force protection Quirk, which he had been able to use for both flight and offense. Several of her feathers were still imbedded in his clothing from the fight.

“Ugh,” Kestrel said. “Gonna be a big stack of paperwork for these two.”

“A simple apprehension form is not that complicated,” Sora told her.

Kestrel shook her hand, then opened her fist, revealing a couple of vials on her palm. “Trigger,” she said. “We haven’t been seeing a lot of it on the streets. Someone’s been buying up the whole supply or even raiding other criminal’s shipments. So I really want to know where they got it. We’re just lucky they didn’t get to use it.”

Sora perked up. Her primary skills were in machinery, but her knowledge of chemistry was nothing to sneeze at either. “Perhaps a scientific examination of their sample may yield insight into why they have it or how they came to possess it? Assuming they do not reveal anything voluntarily.”

The winged woman grinned. “Knew there was a reason I went with an egghead for an intern.”

***

Chihiro Kaminari in Plug In, Turn On, Get Shocked

“Seriously, Aunt Momo,” Chihiro said, “this is way too much.” They’d spent a lot of the first day of her Internship going over designs for her new costume and now, on the third day, it was finally ready.

Creati was the Number Eleven Hero, having been the Number Ten until Aunt Pony had taken the Number Seven Spot. Her Agency was large, boasting a number of different Sidekicks with a wide variety of different Quirks. Aunt Momo’s managerial skill and intelligence made it one of the smoothest operating Agencies in the entire country. Even if she was her godmother, Chihiro knew she was lucky to be working with her.

She needed the new more than she’d been willing to admit. Her original costume had been bare bones, little more than a yellow track suit with lightning bolt striping. She’d looked like something out of an old movie. No Support Gear, no nothing. The closest it’d gotten for doing anything for her was the fact that the jacket had pockets.

And as various events had proven, she really needed more than that. Mom has all the sound systems built into her costume, Dad has his Sharpshooting gear, she just jabbed things with her Extension Cords and electrocuted them. Which led to her letting out too much electricity at once. Which led to her temporarily frying her brain. And there definitely wasn’t enough in the costume stipend for this kind of overhaul.

Sure, she recovered faster than Dad did… But it was hardly a good use of her Quirk and it left her vulnerable while it happened.

The new costume was something different entirely. A black bodysuit was combined with white torso armor and boots, along with a small headpiece and visor. Finally, additional bracers and black circuit lined-gloves completed the ensemble. The bracers primary function was to allow her to plug her Cords into them, so that she could fire her electricity long range. Her output would be monitored by the visor, so she’d know when to back off.

More importantly, however, was the tool belt, containing numerous small devices she could power with her own electricity, like a flashlight, a strong magnet, GPS, a more complicated communications rig, even an electric arc welder. Each could be attached to the bracers or run independently. She’d still have to be careful, of course, but it gave her a chance to actually do something.

Aunt Momo had worked with Mrs. Hatsume to design the whole thing. They were even talking about a miniature rail gun and some other ports to plug into on the torso armor and boots. But those were apparently still in development.

But this represented something. She was well aware that, while her Quick was reasonably powerful… it really was a poor draw of the limitations of both of her parents’ Quirks. Like Mom, she was limited by what she could make contact with, and like Dad, she risked brain breakage with overuse. The worst of both worlds. That anyone supported her dreams of being a Hero at all was a sign of their faith in her, but this…

This would let her make good on that faith.

“You deserve the chance to be the best you can, Chihiro,” Aunt Momo said.

“Well, yeah, I guess,” she said, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. “So really, thank you. But all this tech… I can’t imagine what this all cost, even with the friends and family discount.”

Aunt Momo shrugged. “I always budget generously for research and development. One never knows what might be needed. And I can’t make everything myself. Think nothing of it.”

Pretty much everyone in Chihiro’s immediate circle of friends was, to put it bluntly, well off. Some simply came from money to begin with, like the Iida Twins. And nearly all of them had a least one family member in the top One Hundred Heroes or higher, which came with significant earnings, to say nothing of merchandising. Even Chihiro herself was far from poor. Mom’s co-careers as musician and Hero did very well, and Dad, well, even the lower hundreds still drew a lot of cash.

Aunt Momo and family were in another class entirely. The Yaoyorozu and Todoroki fortunes were significant enough even before Aunt Momo and Uncle Shoto had gotten married.

But she knew Aunt Momo well enough to know that “think nothing of it” translated into “more expensive than most people could comprehend.”

Chihiro filed that under things she wasn’t going to think about.

“Come then,” Aunt Momo said. “Get changed and we’ll give it a good shakedown.”

***

“You say you wanna be a Hero,

But you feel like you’re a zero,

Feels like you lost without a fight,

Feels like you can’t do anything right,

But what you don’t know,

What you don’t see,

Is all you gotta do…

Is believe!

Take a stand,

Say “this is for me”

You’ve got the power,

To shape your destiny!

When your back’s to the wall,

That’s where you’ll excel,

Tell all those haters

They can go straight to hell!

You might start out small,

Maybe breaking your bones,

But someday you’ll be the greatest,

That anyone’s ever known!

You say you wanna be a Hero,

But you feel like you’re a zero,

Feels like you lost without a fight,

Feels like you can’t do anything right,

But what you don’t know,

What you don’t see,

Is all you gotta do…

Is believe!”

Chihiro retracted her Cords, powering down the speakers that had been built into her costume. They were mostly supposed to be used for voice projection, but she could loop her phone into it too. The music snapped off immediately. She wasn’t as good of a singer as Mom was, but she could carry a tune and harmonize well enough. “Believe” was the best-selling song Mom had written and that had been on a dare with Dad on whether or not she could get one of the schlockiest songs to sell. She’d expected that no one would want to play it, ever.

So of course it had gone to number one and stayed there for months. Mom used to say it had paid for their current house.

Chihiro, on the other hand, agreed with Dad. It was a great song.

“I always did like that one,” Aunt Momo said. She nodded smartly. “I’d say that confirms all of your equipment is working well.”

Chihiro let out a cheer. “I’ll say! I still can’t thank you enough, Aunt Momo. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

“I told you,” she replied, “think nothing of it. But still… perhaps over tea?”

***

Chihiro really wasn’t much of a tea drinker, but when your godmother dropped a small fortune on you in new gear, you had tea when she said you should have tea.

Her private office was spacious and expensively decorated, looking more like a study in a mansion (And Chihiro had been in the Todoroki-Yaoyorozu mansion, so she could confirm this) than anything else.

“So,” Aunt Momo said, after taking a sip of her tea. “I truly hate to do this, but as a mother… I must ask. Tell me about Izumi.”

“What?” Chihiro asked, taken by surprise.

“You’re one of her closest friends,” Aunt Mono went on. “And, as a mother, I worry. She tells us that everything is all right, and I saw her do quite well at the Sports Festival, but you see her every day.”

She put her teacup down and folded her hands. “So please, Chihiro, tell me how is she doing?”

“She’s fine, Aunt Momo,” Chihiro assured her. She understood, of course, why Aunt Momo might worry. Izumi’s health had had its ups and downs over the years, but it had largely stabilized over the last few.

Hero training was intense and physically demanding. It required incredibly physical shape and pushed even physical paragons like Midoriya or Shoji to their limits. Her own Quirk was less reliant on physicality, but Chihiro was often left exhausted by it as well.

She’d often seen Izumi being helped back to the locker room by Kirishima-Bakugo, who’d shoot daggers at anyone else who came close, ratcheting back the venom only when Izumi made her. Chihiro didn’t understand the friendship between the two of them at all… but she herself was friends with both Izumi and Mika, two people who couldn’t be less alike, and so wasn’t in much position to judge. Mika also insisted there was something more going on there, but was committed to being tight-lipped about it. Though if there was, something there had definitely changed since school started…

“She’s good,” Chihiro said. “Gives it everything she’s got. Plenty of friends. Helps some of the rest of us study. Hasn’t collapsed since the first week, unless you count the Sports Festival, and frankly, anything than can make Kirishima-Bakugo collapse would take out anything short of an elephant.”

She frowned, feeling very uncomfortable with the question. She knew Izumi questioned every day whether she was good enough to be in the Hero Course, if any given day was going to be the day her body let her down, let someone else down. And she also knew she tried harder than anyone to keep up and go beyond.

“And I’m sorry,” she added, “but even if she wasn’t… I’m not gonna rat her out. That’s Izumi’s business, not mine to blab. But I’m not worried about her, for what it’s worth.”

Aunt Momo’s mouth opened in protest, then closed again. Finally, after regaining her composure, she spoke. “Thank you,” she said. “For your honesty… and your reassurances. I wonder sometimes, if I worry too much.”

Chihiro shrugged. “You’re a mom. Kind of your job. Pretty sure Mom’s always worried I’m going to shock my brains out.”

That got a smile from Aunt Momo. “She may have confessed that occasionally.”

The ringing desk phone interrupted any other questions. Aunt Momo saw the caller ID and answered it. “Hello, Denki,” she said, switching it to speaker phone. Worry tinged her voice now.

That was weird. Why would Dad be calling? Izumi was interning with him, though…

“Oh, ah, hey, Momo,” Dad said. “So, ah, we may have, ah, screwed up. Izumi knows about Plague.”

Aunt Momo went pale at that.

Who or what was Plague?

#my hero academia #their hero academia #shota shinso #sora iida #chihiro kaminari #momo yaoyorozu #katsuki bakugo #fan fic #fan fiction #my writing

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imagitory · 5 years

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So I saw Endgame! [spoilers]

To save your feed from nasty spoilers, here's a cut!

Overall, this movie was half-epic awesome and half...well, not.

The Good!

+As always, it was so great to see all of our favorite Avengers interacting and working together, especially at the end. Nebula and Tony playing games in space -- Natasha's friendships with Steve and Clint -- Scott fawning over Steve -- Tony and Steve teaming up to get the tesseract and more of Hank Pym's formula -- Nebula connecting with her past self and Gamora -- PETER REUNUTING WITH HIS PAPA TONY -- these characters and their bonds are what make all of these movies. There are a few I feel that got a bit overlooked, but to be fair, there are so, so many that it's not hard to see why not all of them could be in the spotlight.

+All of the action was well-choreographed and executed. It never felt one-note and it never dragged, at least for me.

+STEVE USING MJOLNIR, HELLZ YES. I cheered like an idiot when that happened.

+Even though I saw it coming, Tony's sacrifice was still well-written and not only fit his character but also the story. RDJ couldn't have asked for a better exit from the Marvel film franchise.

+Scott's reappearance after five years was great too! His reunion with Cassie got me kind of emotional -- such a proud daddy!

+As much as I do have problems with Steve's ending (which I'll come back to), I liked that it saluted the Falcon taking over the mantle of Captain America as he does in the comics.

+That whole bit with all of the ladies charging in after Captain Marvel -- total girl power, man!

+Tony and his daughter Morgan's interactions made me laugh -- who knew Tony could be such a good daddy? I always support good daddies. (And "I love you 3000"? My heart.)

+Thanos accessing Nebula's memories and thoughts because the technology in both her past and future selves are on the same network was actually kind of clever, and I loved how Gamora decided to fight with future!Nebula for the hope that they could really be sisters like she claims.

+All of the comments about Steve's ass made me laugh so hard. Looks like it's canon now, guys: Tony has given Steve's ass and what flatters it notable attention.

+Hey, Carol. Nice haircut. ❤️

The Not-So-Good...

+I must admit, half the reason I dreaded seeing this movie as well as Infinity War was that I knew that any deaths in Infinity War would inevitably be completely undone in Endgame, effectively canceling out any fatal stakes you could assign to the Cinematic Universe. It's something I hate about Marvel and DC comics, that in their long history, there are so many ways to bring characters back from the dead that you either don't believe they're actually dead or are left wondering why they're still dead. At least in Harry Potter, Harry surviving the Killing Curse (both times) was a fluke -- something that only came about by extreme chance that most people wouldn't have, something that could only have happened to Harry. That makes it so we still feel something when people die, and therefore care about what's going to happen. But yeah, sure enough, all the deaths in Infinity War basically get undone, thanks to some time travel and magic stones. It unfortunately almost had to be like this, if this story was going to be told, but that doesn't change the fact that I don't like that aspect of the story. This invalidation of stakes wouldn't hurt as much if this was the last film Marvel ever made, but really, with how much money Marvel could make with the remaining cast of characters, I sort of doubt that.

+The filmmakers try to give some logical explanation to the time travel thing, but in the end, thanks to Steve's decision (which I'll get into), it's kind of thrown into question again. The idea was that they wouldn't be able to change the future by going back in time...and yet I can't see Steve not trying to do anything to hinder Bucky's suffering in the past, if he was back there. Yes, maybe it wouldn't change future!Bucky, but it would still be his best friend. And Steve's return to civilian life in the past would surely influence some things, wouldn't it? Wouldn't him living a life back then involve him getting a job, earning accolades for his past service, making friends, having children...anything? The alternate universe scenario proposed by the Ancient One would inevitably have to happen if Steve stayed behind, which was the whole reason he supposedly went back to put the stones where they were in the first place!!

+Okay, and now finally what I've been leading up to...Steve. As appropriate as Tony's ending was, Steve's was just as inappropriate in my mind. Steve not only had gotten over Peggy in previous films, where he got to speak with her as an old woman and make peace with the life they never got to have, but Steve was actively moving on. He had been dating Sharon Carter. He had developed close friendships with the other Avengers. He had an entire scene where he preached to others the value of dealing with grief productively and growing despite it...only to run back to the past as soon as he got the chance? And this isn't even touching how terrible of a friend this makes Steve, leaving Bucky behind and not even bothering to talk to him about what he was doing. Steve barely even spoke to Bucky in this movie: even after Bucky came back from the dead, Steve never had a proper reaction. They never fought side by side, exchanged affectionate one-liners, hugged, nothing. And this is Bucky we're talking about, the guy who Steve let beat him within an inch of his life -- who Steve protected from Tony -- who Steve openly and painfully grieved during Infinity War. And Bucky not only is left out in the cold by Steve, but Bucky thinks the Falcon should be the sole person to talk to him after his decision becomes clear. Bucky should have confronted Steve. He should have been angry. He should've asked why Steve didn't ask him to come too, didn't ask if he wanted to. Bucky deserved a happy life just as much as Steve did, after all the horrible things they went through. Why did Steve deserve to go back in time and live happily, and not Bucky? Why was Steve okay with the fact that he wouldn't see his best friend for decades? Why was Steve comfortable with the thought that Bucky would have to watch his best friend die of old age not long after just fighting side by side with him? Not only does this ending break Steve's character, but it doesn't match his arc at all. He was adapting well to the present -- he was growing, he was evolving. And yet his ending ended up being running back to when things were simpler, running back to the past like a coward instead of embracing the future. FUCK. THAT.

+I really didn't care for either Clint or Thor's development in the five year time jump. For Clint, as much as I like the parallels the script made between him and Natasha in regards to the awful things they've done, I still have difficulty seeing someone who was so devoted to S.H.I.E.L.D. being a ruthless, lawless, out-of-control assassin, even if he did lose his whole family. But Thor's characterization was so much worse. Thor has always been funny in the movies, as are a lot of the characters, but something I always loved about him in the series was how he balanced humor, sincere emotions and being a total bad ass. In this film...yeah, he's almost entirely there for laughs. He had a few bad-ass moments, but he didn't get the chance for much sincere pathos, when he kind of deserved some. The loss of Loki and how Thor dealt with it is never really addressed after the five-year time jump. Loki in general actually doesn't get addressed after he gets the tesseract either -- that almost inevitably will have to be a spin-off, but...hey, yeah, if Loki's still unaccounted for, then Bruce's promise to not let any alternate timelines pop up is already going to be broken, isn't it? The God of Mischief has a hold of the tesseract.

+As much as I liked the thought of Bruce being able to balance out the two sides of himself, I preferred the execution from what little I've seen of Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, where Hulk is the dominant personality but listens to Bruce more often and is therefore smarter than he was previously. In this version Bruce almost seems out of touch with his Hulk side when he tries to fight at first, even if he's now green all the time. It's just less entertaining, and seeing how Bruce evolved to the point where Banner and Hulk are interacting peacefully could've been an interesting thing to show over the course of several movies rather than something just alluded to after a time jump.

+Does everyone's vision of retirement involve moving out to a farm? Like, seriously, both Thanos and Tony do this. Thanos is almost comical, but Tony's just doesn't make sense to me. He just dropped his whole company, all of his weapons, protecting the world, everything?? Tony is a total control freak who became a superhero because other people were using his tech in a way he didn't approve of, yet he leaves his company and tech presumably in someone else's hands to raise his daughter out in the country? That just seems kind of unlike Tony.

So yeah, this film definitely is feels-worthy! I can see why there are so many strong reactions to it. It was a rather fun ride a lot of the time, but I admit, as an ending for quite a few of these characters, it wasn't all it could've been, in my opinion. Not a terrible way to end the Marvel Cinematic Universe's long run, but it's not an ending I'll have much fun revisiting. Once is more than enough.

Overall Grade: C

#marvel #the avengers #endgame #endgame spoilers #marvel spoilers #avengers spoilers #opinion #reviews #oh boy here i go

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littlemisskookie · 6 years

Text

Banter

Banter Ship: Superhero!Jungkook | Supervillain!Reader Description: Roommates!AU, Super!AU. Ironically, some of your best moments are with your archnemesis, the man who you literally fight every other day. But the two of you might be closer than you originally thought. Warnings: Intercourse, Fluff, Small Angst, Oral, Dirty Talk, Orgasm Denial, Dry Humping, Grinding, Kind of Cracky Word Count: 10,861

The government in your world definitely worked in strange ways. A rare gene let people activate powers hidden within oneself- no other having the same. That meant that if someone had flight, no one else had it. Though it was so rare, that it was such a slim chance of seeing someone have that power.

Some people decided to use their powers for their own advantages- these were the supervillains.

Such a cliche, right?

The difference was how the government dealt with it.

Instead of putting these people in jail, they'd simply have the superheroes foil their plans. Odd, right? Well, those who didn't wish to do evil typically volunteered to use their powers- since one couldn't exactly blend or fit into society with the powers they were born with. Therefore, the government assigned them to a known supervillain with powers equal to theirs so that they'd essentially cancel each other out. Neither would be able to kill one another, but the superhero could ruin the plan for the supervillain, but wouldn't be able to capture them and send them to jail.

The reason for this system was as a way to keep both parties rather busy. The villains running away and the heroes chasing after them. It was, in this case, the government could ensure the heroes would be too busy to turn against them, and the villain would be too focused on their archnemesis to focus on the actual government. It kept the supers in a completely different world from them, in a sense where they didn't have to be involved and they'd solve their own problems.

Your power was telekinesis. Your super name was Circe, after the Greek Goddess of magic and witchcraft. Mainly because the first time you displayed your telekinesis, you were thought to be a witch. The first time you did it for your own personal gain was when you were using it at the bank, chatting up one of the workers while the safe was unlocking behind him, and he was none the wiser. It was brilliant- and was one of the best parts of being a villain.

But unfortunately, it was your enemy who foiled your plans.

You practically seethed when you thought to your archnemesis, the other side of your coin, Coder. Oh, how you loathed him. He was essentially a 'glitch' of the real world, able to transport to new and impossible places within the blink of an eye, and all you could see were his pixelated remains before he was right by your side. It was sort of like transportation- but not quite. Transportation was always different. Besides, you remembered how different it was in the beginning- he had accidentally glitched himself to be partially stuck with a plant at his side and had to glitch his way out. You figured it was just nerves since he was the most recently released superhero, only a few weeks after you started your 'rampage', but you never failed to joke about it just to get under his skin mid-duel.

Coder got far better though, and soon enough you were actually beginning to put up a fight. He had a good build- and something was so oddly familiar about him it made your mind hazy.

Supers had a thing where whenever they slipped into their 'true' identities, as many often called it, and out of their aliases, they'd have a sort of haze or charm that hid their face from anyone elses' perception. Sure, you could sense cocky smiles or twinkling eyes- but when it came down to it their identity was hidden, and it was impossible to recognize them. That was unless they revealed it to you. That was known to happen once or twice, once supers had retired or those very rare cases. The moment they announce the news to the world, everyone can recognize them.

They could also tell a friend, but even if the friend told, the spell wouldn't be broken to the new informant. It was weird- but just another part of the gene you supposed.

Besides, it was far better than those ugly masks.

At the moment you were doing something very super villainy- holding the principal of a nearby high school over the roof, dangling him by his ankle over the ledge. Truth was, you were just having a really bad day at the moment, and this asshole spilled coffee all over you at the cafe you were visiting and didn't bother apologizing, instead treating you as though you were the nuisance to his day. So you followed them to work, which happened to be the school, not one you used to go to, thank god. And then you simply barged into the school, stomping through the hallways as the path cleared before you, and dragged the man by his ankles as the two of you floated to the roof. You were face to face with him, and he was begging for mercy, wondering what he possibly could've done. You were tempted to tell him you were the waitress at the cafe that he treated so rudely- but of course, you weren't an idiot.

"Why can't you be like most villains who tell the heroes their plans before they actually do them?" a familiar voice chastizes behind you.

You stop your mid-scolding to turn to Coder, a grin stretching across your face. Despite how annoying and irritating Coder could be, you were especially fond of him. Probably to the point where if some other villain tried to hurt him you'd destroy them, reminding them how it was your job. Heroes and villains had a complicated relationship, sure. On the line between friends and enemies- since they did spend most of their time together. Yet the other could be a complete nuisance.

You were confident Coder felt equally as reluctantly-fond of you as you did him.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," you chuckle, turning around to face him. His suit was black and silver, tight in that way that clung to his body. You might not be able to decipher his familiar face, but you definitely knew that beneath the skin-tight suit he was positively ripped. It made you laugh at the string bean he used to be back in the old days.

"Doesn't answer my question," Coder grins, stepping forward. Silly how he does that, especially when he could simply glitch his way over to you.

"What? I'm not like those other cliche villains you know," you laugh. "I'm just treating this jerk a lesson."

"By killing him?" Coder pouts. "Hasn't anyone taught you about the justice system?"

"There's no justice in this world," you say. "That's why us villains put it in our own hands while you heroes try to stop us like the goody-two-shoes you all are."

"Funny," he snorts with derision. "If you guys were doing the right thing, how come you're called villains?"

"Well, maybe not all of us. But I for one am-"

"Oh, for Christ's sake, can you two stop your flirty bantering and get me down?!" the principal screams, his voice throaty.

Irritated, you turn to him, your gaze piercing and boring into his red face. He gulps as you give the false pretense of a smile. "Sure thing," you grin, releasing your telekinetic grip on his ankle.

He screeched, falling three stories. You tapped your foot, yawning as you stared below as the crowd stepped away from the falling body, Coder glitching below to catch the man.

"You're saved, sir," he said, setting the man down and onto his feet.

"You should've been here five minutes ago!" the principal scolded. "If you were one of my kids here, I'd-"

You floated down behind him, crossing your arms as you stared at the back of his head. The students and staff before the man gulped, staring at you with fear as they pointed to you with shaky fingers. The principal froze, and you didn't need to see his face to know that all the blood drained from it.

"She's behind me, isn't she?"

"Yup," you said, holding your arm out. "And I don't think you're treating the heroes of our city very kindly, do you?"

"C-C-Coder?" the principal stammered, looking to the young man for help.

Coder clearly wasn't feeling so friendly at the moment. "Uh- y'know, I'm kind of already late for a lunch at the moment, and since you already scolded me for my poor timing, I'd figure I shouldn't make that same mistake again. Don't want it to become a habit, do we?"

You flung your arm back, the principal's body flinging through the window of the school and into the classroom. People around you screamed and rushed to the window, careful not to step onto the glass.

You step closer to Coder while the citizens were preoccupied. "Someone's getting a bit less goody-two-shoes, huh?"

He rolls his eyes, giving you a snort. "Yeah right- I actually have a lunch to go to."

"Well, I've got someplace to go right now too. See ya later, Code?" you wink, holding your hand to your forehead as you salute him, waving your hand away quickly.

"Only this once!" he says, reminding you that this was a one-time thing of letting you off the hook so easily. Only because the guy was a jerk, of course.

You roll your eyes, waving goodbye as he glitches away.

Shit, you had to get back to your apartment to meet with your roommate. The two of you were getting Chinese food.

You scrambled to change into your civilian outfit and catch a bus, calling the Chinese restaurant on the way as you finally made it to your apartment complex. You got to the apartment, Jungkook waiting for you on the couch. He always looks so adorable, with his round glasses and bunny eyes. So adorable!

"You're late," he says with a click of the tongue.

"Sorry, sorry!" you say. "But don't worry, I've already called Cass to tell us to get our usuals and that we'd be there soon!"

"You got my favorite, right?"

"Jungkook, it's literally lo mein. It's nothing special."

He gives you a playful pout, eyes like a puppy's. "You always have to make me feel small, huh?"

"No no no!" you say, hopping onto the couch to pinch his cheeks, making him blush and slap your hands away as the two of you laugh. "I'd never want the baby boy to feel small!"

"I'm like three times bigger than you!"

"You're still younger."

"By like, two months!"

"Is that any way to treat your elder?" you chastise.

"Y/N!" he whines, tackling you into the couch. The two of you wrestle, and soon enough he's tickling you, knowing your weakness. You're crying from laughter, begging for him to stop until he finally gives mercy.

"You're evil," you say, wheezing as you try to catch your breath.

"Yeah, but you love it," he says, crinkling his nose.

You try to annoy the fluttering in your chest. The truth was you were in love with him- completely in love with him. But feelings between him and Coder were always tugging at your heartstrings, and you didn't know which to choose. There was one night where you just needed some fresh air, got into your outfit and floated to a nearby building.

Somehow Coder had found you, and for one brief night instead of simply having your usual fights, he sat next to you, wrapping his arm around you as you sobbed into your knees.

"Bad day, huh?"

"I'm just... It's hard, balancing two lives at once, y'know? I know you wouldn't understand since one of my lives is 'bad' and all that so I should choose the good one, but..."

"No, I get it," Coder said softly, rubbing your shoulder as he looked at you, understanding your confession. "Really, I do. Kind of like being two people. Good or bad, it's hard to balance. It's hard to see which one is really you."

"Exactly," you breathed, surprised by how well he understood.

The two of you were in a peaceful silence, neither of you saying anything for quite a while until you finally parted ways, you thanking him as the tears dried on your cheeks. He had glitched away, an embarrassed expression on his face as he left, and you were unable to look at it as a simple, friendly rivalry anymore.

So you were tugged between the snarky Coder and the sweetheart that was Jungkook. Fitting that two lives had two crushes.

You and Jungkook walked outside, walking to the Chinese restaurant since it was nearby to your building. You walked by the nearby Super Store.

And no, it wasn't just some big store. It was literally where they sold merch on the supers. True enough, you guys had fans, and somehow you got merch money from all of the stuff of you that was sold. Probably from the government or something, but you never really questioned how they knew your identity. It was just sort of how those things worked- and you got enough to pay for rent and food and other expenses- so you were fine with it.

"Oh my God- JUNGKOOK!" you say, yanking on his sleeve.

"What? What?" he said, turning towards the window.

There, you saw a fan art poster of you- er, Circe, and Coder. The two of you were were in each other's arms, smiling at each other. As sweet as it was you couldn't help but grimace at how overly lovey-dovey it was. Totally not you and Coder.

"Wait... people are shipping Circe and Coder?" Jungkook asked with widened eyes, gawking at it.

"I know w-they're the most popular anti-duo at the moment but," you gulped. "What?"

Jungkook grinned, looking at you. "Want to get it?"

"Jeon Jungkook, are you insane?"

"C'mon, I know you're a total Coder fangirl."

"Am not!"

"Are too! I saw you drooling over him last time you saw him on the news," Jungkook laughed.

"Absolutely not! He's just a snarky bastard and has a stick up his ass," you huff. "Circe is way cooler- villains always are. She's got telekinesis- mind powers, Jungkook! Mind. Powers."

"You just like her because she's a girl," he accused, chuckling.

"You like her too- I saw you staring at her on the TV as well," you said, snickering. "You looked like you were about to have a hard-on."

"You take that back!"

"When you take back that I'm a Coder fangirl."

"Never!"

"Then I'll just assume you jack off to Circe," you laughed.

The two of you ended up getting the poster.

Jungkook scrambled to put on his Coder outfit, cursing himself. Did he hide it in the wrong drawer again?

He and Circe had an important interview to go to. The first time in recorded history the two would appear on TV together, peacefully, no fighting. Which was fine- they had their peaceful moments away from the public eye. But this would be the first time the public would truly see them not really doing their typical super ways.

The two of them were celebrities anyway, and so it was typical for them to go on separate interviews, getting support from fans and such. Even Circe, since most admired how cool she was and how she'd often stand up to those were generally assholes. Though she'd be overly dramatic and take things to the extreme, putting them in near-death situations. That's where Jungkook- or, Coder, had to step in.

"Uh- Jungkook, I've gotta go to a friends house," you called from the other side of the door. "I'll... see you in a few hours?"

"What? Oh, yeah, yeah," Jungkook said hastily, finally getting his silver and black suit. "See you then!"

"Ok, cool," you said. Jungkook listened to your footsteps and finally the door slam, and let out a breath of relief. He slipped into the costume, making sure everything was alright before, with a snap of his fingers, he glitched over to the TV set.

The TV host jumped, letting out a startled shriek. Coder instantly tried to calm her, patting her shoulder. "Sorry to startle you," he said, an assuring smile on his face. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm sorry," she apologized. "I guess it was silly of me to think you'd step into the room when you can practically teleport."

"I should've given a heads up," Coder laughed. "Is Circe here yet?"

"No, not yet. But you are ten minutes early. Why don't you have a seat? We'll have cameras rolling as soon as she walks in."

"Don't mind if I do," Coder smiled, going to the couch he supposed Circe and he would have to share. True enough, Circe walked in, her devious smile plastered over her face.

"Guess you're not making the mistake of being late again, huh?" she snickered, taking her seat beside him, leaning back on the couch.

"Well, unlike you, some people actually give me a heads up," Coder smiled, making Circe roll her eyes.

"Where's the fun in that?" she asked. She had a point.

"Oh, this is perfect, guys, get the cameras rolling already!" the host urgently requested, sitting down in the seat adjacent to the couch and smoothing her hair and clothes. Soon enough the red light of the camera was on, and she had her 10,000-watt smile on.

"Now, Coder and Circe! How wonderful it is to have you two as guests on our program," the host grinned. Probably because she knew ratings would go through the roof.

"We're happy to be here," Coder grinned.

"Yeah, it's good not having to rob a bank or mug a dude for a day," Circe jokes, causing Coder to roll his eyes.

The host laughed. "Now, as we're sure you must know, you two are very popular heroes. Any clue as to why you're so popular?"

"My charm probably," Circe grinned. "Though I don't know what it is for him."

"Very funny," Coder groaned, though the smile was still evident on his face.

"Actually, recently I visited the Super Store nearby- I was so surprised to see so much merch and such. I had no clue we were so well received," Circe said. "In all honesty, though, I'd say it'd be from our usual banter. Despite trying to lunge at each other's throats every other day- especially when we first began our careers, I'd say we're close." Even Coder was surprised by your honesty.

The host's eyes lit up at that. "Close you say? And how close?"

"How close are you thinking?" Coder raised a brow.

"Knowing each other's secret identities, by any chance?"

The two supers stiffened at that.

Circe waves her arms, laughing it off. "Oh, definitely not. Simply as we're the only ones who we can properly interact within our true, super identities I mean. I mean, you can interact with anyone normally under the guise of a typical citizen, but definitely not in the case of having powers. So I guess that's what we share in common- especially being the only supers in the area since there're so few of us scattered about."

Coder nodded along, agreeing with every word she said. "She's right. It's exactly like that."

"So, you'd say by that, the two of you have a bond?" the host guessed.

"Call it more of frienemies," Coder clarified.

"Alright, are you aware that many people wish for the two of you to become a couple?"

The two were tense again, rubbing their napes as they blushed.

"I'm... vaguely aware of it," Circe chuckles nervously. "Though I can't speculate as to why."

"I am as well. I've also seen a bit of it at the Super Store," Coder coughed. "It's strange."

"Well, let's check out a bit of what they've got for the two of you, shall we?" The hostess had a grin more malevolent than Circe's as she turned to the TV screen behind them.

Circe and Coder blushed heavily, looking at the provocative fanart of the two of them, sharing a passionate kiss, bodies molded together. It flipped to another picture, one where the two were in their underwear.

Circe burst out laughing. "Oh my God- I'd just like to thank whoever made my body look that good. Really, it's flattering."

"That's what you're commenting on?!" Coder guffawed at. "I'm just glad they made me look realistic."

"You totally aren't that beefy!"

"How would you know!"

"Please, when I first met you, you were basically one of those dancing things in front of car washes."

"I was new!"

"You had the noodle arms of Mr. Potato."

"You guys are so cute!" the host gushed, looking at the two adoringly. "No wonder over 500K voted for you two as a top couple."

"I'm sorry, what?!" Coder gawked.

"Wow, can like, every one of those people donate a dollar to me? That'd be appreciated," Circe grinned. "Hey guys, pay me enough and I'll kiss him!"

"Isn't that prostitution?" Coder turned to her.

Circe shrugged. "I'm a villain- my job is to literally not care about the law."

"Alright, for the final piece we'll have the two of you read a bit of fanfiction written by your fans," the host said, interrupting the usual banter. Two staff members walk up to them, handing the two sheets of paper.

"Oh God, I regret coming up here," Coder said, burying his face. "I just wanted to save the world."

"Um, I don't think your thing is nearly as big as these writers are suggesting," Circe laughed, aiming to embarrass the man on television.

He cocked a brow, providing a smug smirk. "Care to take a bet on that, sweetheart?"

She could do no more than gulp at that, and the host clapped her hands, her way of telling them to begin.

"Should I be the narrator?" Circe asked. "It seems to be from my point of view."

"I want to bleach my eyes," was all Coder could manage to say.

"Alright, guess I'm narrating. You just say your dialogue," Circe laughed. She managed to put on a serious face, although it was beet red. As calm and collected she tried to remain, she still seemed rather embarrassed. "My hands ran over his defined thighs, creeping up to his tight abs and rippling pectorals- wait, isn't that last bit from Hercules?"

"Shh, keep going!" the host encouraged. Circe began to suspect she was the one who wrote this.

"You like what you see, baby?" Coder stammered, burying his head in his hands.

"I-It's so- pppfh, oh God- It's so big," Circe nervously giggled, trying to contain her laughter. "I didn't even know what to do with it- Ok, can I say for the record that I am not a virgin? Just want to make that clear. I know what to do with a- wait a minute is this even appropriate enough for television?"

"It has no curse words- so it's fine," the host assured. "I mean, Fifty Shades of Grey was read aloud, and other fanfiction, on television. So, continue."

"Oh baby, I'll treat you like a queen," Coder's voice continued, more stable than before.

"Coder, I- hey can someone please shoot me- Coder, I need you inside me now," Circe said.

The two exchanged one look, and then burst into laughter, spilling over themselves as they began to cry from having to read this ridiculous piece of work. It was so embarrassing and awkward, and yet something about it made it so, horribly hilarious.

"Alright, I think that's enough for now," Coder said, wiping away tears.

"Can I just say if anyone's the virgin between the two of us, it's him," Circe jabbed a thumb to him as she slapped the paper down.

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night," Coder rolled his eyes.

"Well, I'm not doing another interview for another thousand years," Circe laughed. "I look forward to fighting you tomorrow to blow off steam and embarrassment."

"Oh, definitely!" Coder groaned, glitching out.

"Wait, wait!" the host said, scrambling out of her seat. Unfortunately, Coder was already gone, and it was just Circe and her left. She looked at Circe, sorrowful. "Was it that bad?"

"No, it really wasn't," Circe assured her. "But uh- I highly doubt it's got the girth of a tree trunk- let's just say that.

You and Jungkook were currently eating popcorn, watching the horrible interview that just aired. You still couldn't believe they had made you and Coder read that dirty fanfiction- though you definitely read it on the bus ride home.

You rewound to the moment of the fan art, a cocky grin on your face as you stared at how they drew Coder. "Hey, Jungkook- you know, I'm more of a Circe girl, but damn, Coder's got more muscle than you!" you joke, jabbing him in the rib with your elbow.

Jungkook sputtered, choking on his water. "Oh dear God- I thought you totally weren't into Coder?"

"We've got a pic of him and Circe hanging in our living room," you remind him, nodding back to what hung right behind you. "So I definitely don't hate him."

"So suddenly you think Coder's sexy?" Jungkook asked, quirking a brow.

"Sure, but I've seen better," you shrug, playing the clip again.

"Really?" Jungkook said, unbelieving. "Who?"

"You're pretty hot," you admit.

Jungkook's silent for a few seconds and you sense a thicker amount of tension between you and your roommate. "You think I'm hot?" he questions.

"I... I think you're a lot of things," you say quietly, unable to look him in the eye. Why was it you were more flustered now than you were in the interview with Coder? You didn't think it was possible to be more embarrassed than you were yesterday.

"Like?"

"I mean, I think you're cute, funny, sweet- more than just looks," you admit bashfully. You reluctantly turn to him, and he seems pale, unable to look at you. Your heart sinks. "I... You know what? Forget I said anything."

"Y/N, do you like me?"

"What? That's ridiculous. You're my roommate," you huff, turning up the volume of the TV. You and Coder were reading the fanfiction now.

"Y/N, you aren't answering the question."

"I'm gonna get some fresh air!" You quickly stand up abruptly, marching to your room. You quickly pack your suit into your small bag, feeling embarrassed and angry and a whole tornado of emotions that you didn't want to deal with at the moment.

You couldn't look Jungkook in the eye as you quickly walked out, knowing your cheeks were a burning shade of red. "Don't wait up for me!" was all you could manage to say, squeaking out the words as you slam the door shut behind you.

Tears are streaming down your face as you quickly slipped your suit on, floating above the city to perch onto a skyscraper. You were the wet kind of mad, where you were furious but couldn't get the words out properly through the tears.

You had accidentally confessed to your crush, and he looked so mortified he couldn't even meet you in the eye.

You hadn't felt this angry since you were, what, a teen? Your adolescence had your mind spinning, and though you hadn't started your villainous career, your powers leapt out in dangerous ways. To the point where you caused a tree to fall and collapse into a house.

And now you felt crushed. It was a stupid crush, but it was so much more. Jungkook was like your best friend, and now you had ruined everything. Things wouldn't go back to being the same, even you knew that. But you had to be just so stupid!

You leapt across to land on the rooftop of a building, too forceful to where some of it crushed beneath your feet, leaving cracks in the cement. You didn't care. You felt as though a fire was coursing through your veins, and all you wanted to do was hit something.

You knew where to go immediately, and you found yourself in the nearby junkyard. Scraps of metal and broken cars. Yeah, this is where you could go to blow off some steam.

"Aye! Lady! You can't be here!" one of the junkyard workers said, marching up to you.

You rolled your eyes, quickly getting one of the long sheets of metal, having it bend before you and slam into the man, trapping him against the fence of the junkyard. He screamed in his makeshift prison, the small dome keeping him captive.

"Shh," you say, hitting your head with both fists. "God, can you please shut up? I'm having a bad day!"

"You know, I was joking a bit about fighting today," Coder's voice immediately sounds behind you, only irritating you further. "But I'm curious as to what villainous plan this leads up to."

"Oh my God, you're the last person I need to see right now!" you say, frustrated. You toss a car to him, and he glitches out of the way, and you attempt to swing it back towards him, only to miss again.

"Woah, a bit more murderous today?" he guessed, surprised by your more furious tendencies. "You want to talk about it?"

"Talking is the last thing I want to do right now!" you seethe, using quite a bit of effort as you lifted another car, an old red Chevy, flinging it to him, he quickly ducked down, the machine flying over his head.

"But that's typically your favorite part of this!"

"Not today, fucker," you curse, flying up to launch yourself foot first, aiming towards his chest. He doesn't even bother to glitch out of the way, instead ducking to the side and grabbing you by the leg and swinging you in the other direction. You land in rubble, your mind dizzy as he steps forward.

"You're forgetting- powers or no powers, I'm stronger than you," he reminds you, his smirk cocky.

"I'm more of a brain over brawn's type of girl," you roll your eyes, ignoring his flexing as you flicked him over to crash into a bulldozer.

"Alright, I'm done going easy," he said, the serious injury taking place. You threw him way harder than usual- you haven't been this rough with him since your very first encounters. But you were too pissed to care.

"You know, if you had just left me alone I would've been fine! I wasn't planning on doing anything bad today," you grumble as he glitches before you, and you have to duck to avoid his punch.

"You're already holding a civilian hostage!" Coder reminds you, gesturing to the makeshift metal cage.

"Oh please, I was going to let him out once I'm finished! He was just annoying me because I was trespassing," you say, sliding to the side as you avoid how he launched himself to you.

He shakes his head. "Yeah, because you were- are, breaking the law!"

"Coder, just shut the fuck up!" you say, exasperated and not in the mood to fight verbally anymore. You stand up, and he takes the opportunity to lay down, launching himself to kick both feet into your chest, sending you flying back to crash into the metal cage, leaving a dent.

He's prepared to launch himself back at you, running forward and lunging. You flip the metal scrap from behind you, switching it in front of you for Coder to land in, trapping him. The civilian you had trapped scrambled away, running as far as he could.

You launched the metal as far as you could, hurtling it to the other side of the junkyard, piles of metal between the two of you.

He glitched before you, and before you know it he's holding you up by your throat, slamming your body against the metal fence. His glare is intense, and he looks pissed. "You're really lucky I'm the good guy here," Coder growls as you gasp for breath, gripping his steely fist. "That I, of all people, was assigned to you."

You manage to crack a mischevious smile. "Why? G-Got a soft spot, Coder?"

His jaw clenches, and he drops you, leaving you to gasp for breath at his feet. "If I didn't, you'd be dead a long time ago," Coder reminds you. "There've been plenty of instances where I let you go when I could've easily turned you in or killed you."

"You're forgetting I've done the same for you," you sputter. "We're equal- asshat. Don't act so high and mighty."

"You know, some people go to counseling to deal with their issues. Not trap someone and destroy a junkyard," Coder says, gesturing to the rubble that had scattered around you, as well as numerous dents.

"Some people also don't have powers," you spit, glaring at him.

"What the hell has you got so pissed anyway? You're usually not nearly this much of a lunatic," Coder hisses.

"Fuck off, why do you care? We're enemies," you remind him.

"No, we're not. We're friends. Or frenemies- whatever it is preteen girls say," Coder sighs. "You and I both know what we are."

"And what's that?" you ask coyly, quirking a brow.

"Cut the shit, Circe," Coder spits.

"Ooh, seems like goody two shoes is getting a foul mouth. Mommy should shove a bar of soap down his throat," you chuckle. "Bet you'd deep throat that shit, huh, Code?"

"Bet you deepthroat worse shit on the daily," he grits his teeth. "Now answer the question. What, did some guy reject you or something? Is that why you're acting like some prepubescent teen?"

You freeze at that, and you feel tense. "Coder- just shut the fuck up. I'm under no obligation to tell you what happens in my civilian life."

"So what- you still want to fight? Round two?" he asks.

"I'm too tired- give me five minutes," you pant, slumping over.

Coder sighs, sitting down next to you as you take a break. You close your eyes and take a deep breath.

"I'm... I'm sorry I'm such a bitch today. I'm not myself- I've just... I made a big mistake today."

"I'm sure it can be fixed," Coder assures you, catching his breath as he leans back into the fence. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

"Oh, it's bad," you clarify. "Bad as in I may have to make new living arrangements."

"...That does sound pretty bad."

"Yeah," you sigh. "So I'm frustrated."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. You just tend to act first, think later."

"That sounds like the toned down version of shoot first, ask questions after."

"I feel like you'd do that too," Coder chuckles.

"I've never touched a gun in my life," you confess, laughing for no reason at all.

"Really? I mean I have."

"Oh? How come? Saving some civilians from a robber before your career even started?"

"No, it was for hunting. My dad used to take me out into the woods to hunt."

"Oh, my friend's dad used to do the same thing. I guess it's a typical father-son thing to do."

"Mhm," he hums. "I think five minutes passed. Want to fight again?"

"Ugh, do we have to?"

"It's up to you."

"Y'know I've got major plans on kidnapping a senator or mayor- some politician later this week. I've got to conserve my energy," you grumble.

"Are you actually confessing your plan in advance? What happened to not being a cliche?" Coder laughed.

"Shh, I'm tired," you groaned. "And it's the one who basically voted for more kids to get shot in school. Agreed with that lady that porn was the problem."

"Oh, that's the senator."

"Thanks," you say.

"I'll give you a five minutes head start."

"Very much appreciated." Your eyes are squeezed shut, and you're about to doze off until you hear the sounds of cars pull up, and cameras snapping.

"There they are!" A voice cries. You and Coder jump up in surprise, seeing the flock of cameramen and reporters going to you, questions spilling out about the 'secret date' the two of you were on.

"Uh oh," you hiss, looking back to Coder in fear. The tabloids would have a field day with this.

"Later this week?" he questioned.

"Remember you promised a five minutes head start!" you remind him. He glitches out, and you give a flirty wink to the cameras before floating away, quickly heading to the comforts of your apartment. It was the dead of night, so Jungkook was probably asleep already.

You hide in the shadows as you crawl into your window, thankful you left the hatch unlocked. You remembered one time when Jungkook locked it unknowingly, and you had to sleep on the roof because you left your spare civilian clothes inside.

You crawled inside, immediately going to the comforts of your bed, changing into PJs and falling into a blissful sleep.

You're making yourself a bowl of cereal when Jungkook steps out, and you drop the bowl as you see him. You scream, horrified. He's got a bruise on his jaw and a fading black eye. There's a deep scratch along his hairline.

"Oh my God!" you say, eyes wide. "What happened to you?"

"I went outside to look for you, and I ended up running into some thugs," Jungkook explained immediately, as though he were waiting for you to ask.

"What kind of idiot are you? In the big city- Jungkook you're so stupid!" you scolded, rushing to him to brush your fingers along his bruises, examining the injuries. "They really did a number on you- but it seems to be healing already."

"Yeah, they do that," he assured you, taking your hands off his face. "Y/N, we need to talk."

"Let me get the first aid kit. Then we can talk," you huff, grumbling to yourself about how the younger should be old enough to know better by now. You return, immediately putting the ointment on the injuries.

"So can we talk?" Jungkook asks hesitantly.

"Whatever, kid. Go ahead," you huff, already dreading the conversation. Though you were a lot calmer about the situation after the conversation with Coder.

"I know you like me," Jungkook said.

"Thought we got over that bit last night," you huff, not even denying it.

"Well, yeah. But I won't force you to answer. I mean, I already know now but- uh, yeah," Jungkook said.

"Stay still, kid. You want to heal or not?" you scold, trying to hold his face in place. "Yeah yeah, I've got a crush on an infant. It's no big deal."

"I'm not that much younger than you!" Jungkook pouts.

You grin despite yourself. "Shh, Jungkook. Mommy's got to heal your bruises so that you can play on the playground with all your little friends again, ok?"

Jungkook groaned, rolling his eyes, causing you to laugh. "My point is, I do like you back..."

You stop your moments, eyes wide as you stare at him. "You what?"

He looks at you hesitantly. "But I like someone else."

"Oh."

"Yeah..." he sighs. "Trust me, I'd be with you but- I don't know, I'm so conflicted and she's so-"

"Jungkook, I get it," you say, your heart sinking to know he found someone better than you. "So, who is she?"

"Uh... She's a coworker of mine."

"At that engineering company you work at?"

"Yeah, sure," Jungkook coughed.

"Well, I wish you two the best of luck," you gulp. "But if she hurts my little boy, Mommy's gonna whoop her ass."

Jungkook rolled his eyes at that, mumbling, "Sure you could." But you were deadly serious. You'd beat that bitch's brains out, then Coder really would have a reason to send you to jail.

"So, when are you going to see her? Y'know, ask her out and all that?" you ask, finished with his injuries. You were glad you tended to your own this morning, though most of the bruises you had were on your neck and back. Coder didn't leave any on your face.

"Well, I probably won't be able to. At least not for a while. But I'm willing to take my time," he says.

"Mhm," you hum. You quickly change the subject. "Oh, did you see the news! That same reporter lady from that interview did a segment. Apparently, she caught Coder and Circe on a secret date or whatever, which is ridiculous."

"Oh God, that woman's obsessed," Jungkook groaned.

"She's got her own fan account on Twitter. She just made a poll on who's the top between the two."

"Easy, Coder."

"No way, Circe!"

"Let's agree to disagree."

"No way, punk! Coder's a whole ass baby boy, just like you."

"Bull fucking shit! Circe probably couldn't dom to save her life," Jungkook challenged.

"Oh, sure thing, kid. What would you know, you're too young to have that much experience," you grinned.

"You're! Only! Two! Months! Older!" Jungkook said, tackling you as the two of you wrestled on the couch. You laughed, glad that things were completely, and totally, back to normal.

"So you think that some top-notch playboy on the shelf of a local Kroger that a twelve-year-old most likely wouldn't even be allowed to purchase is the reason why we've got mass shootings every weekend?" you question the senator. He was curently very tightly bound in metal bars- you'd like to see Coder's incredible strength beat that.

Where were you? On a skyscraper where you had tied the asshole senator to. Really, you'd take his place in the government if you didn't hate the damn government.

"M-Miss C-Circe, I-"

"Oh, don't call me Miss Circe. That's my mother. Just Circe will do," you grin. That was a lie. Your mother's name was Priscilla. "Or is it because two consenting adults who happen to want to cum? That's why high schoolers have to fear for their lives?"

"Well, that BDSM nonsense isn't suitable for children-"

"That's not my point, senator!" you scold. "I really do wish I had charmspeak or something- but then my name would be Vixen instead of Circe, wouldn't it? Say, that's a pretty neato name if I do say so myself. My point is you can't blame porn for mass shootings. Hell, I can partially understand why some people would say 'people kill people' and that whole stance- but saying porn is the cause is absolutely ridiculous. And so I need to make sure you don't continue spreading that bullshit- because, y'know, as a person who believes sex shouldn't be so taboo- you're kinda pushing it further back. So, like, can you stop please?"

He guffawed at you, and then a beaming smile of relief showed. "Oh, thank God! Coder, sir! Thank goodness you're here to rescue me!"

"I'm only here because kidnapping and blackmail- or threatening a politician, is illegal," Coder says. "Personally I disagree with your views severely."

You stomp your foot childishly, glaring at him. "You said you'd give me five minutes!"

Coder's jaw drops. "I did give you five minutes!"

"No you didn't," you say, whipping out your phone, showing the timer. "You gave me four minutes and forty-seven seconds!"

"What, you want thirteen more seconds to scold him?"

"No, no, the moment's ruined already, there's no point," you huffed, turning away from him.

"Hey, tell you what, I'll give you an extra thirteen seconds next time to make it up to you. Ok?" Jungkook says.

"I doubt I'll be kidnapping another politician next time."

"Well make it a good one then," Coder shrugged. "Now, I've got to rescue this old man because he looks like he's about to have a heart attack."

"Oh please, he's fine!" you say, wrapping a hand around to swing to the other side, your foot landing on his chest as you kicked him off the skyscraper. The politician beside you let out a ghoulish scream as Coder fell, and you rolled your eyes at how dramatic the senator was. As expected, Coder glitched out of midair, and you smiled, turning around to see him glitch before you.

"Should've seen that coming," he said.

"You're getting rusty," you chastised.

"Mhm, sure," he said, stepping behind the senator to bend the metal bars out of shape, loosening their tight hold.

"Hold up! Last time I checked you didn't have super strength!" you say, watching as he undid the senator's bindings.

"I work out- and this metal isn't exactly the best," Coder chuckles, letting the metal fall below as the senator was now free, though clinging onto whatever he could out of deathly fear of falling.

"Sorry I'm not an expert on metal," you huff, flipping your hand with a wave to pry the man off the skyscraper, dangling him over the busy street. You drop him, hearing his shrill shriek as he plummeted down. You and Coder watched as he tumbled down, fumbling, his limbs flying out wildly as though it would slow his falling.

"Spread your limbs, don't curl into a ball!" Coder shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Aren't you going to rescue him?" you ask quizzically.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get to it. I told you I didn't like him either," Coder says. He glitches away, and you watch as he glitches above the man's body, wrapping his arms around the old man's waist right when he was about to hit a car, and he glitched away. You saw them reappear on the side of the street.

You decided to go home already- confident that the senator would take heed of the multiple warnings you gave him before Coder showed up, and you made your way to your apartment. You quickly float into the window once you get there, beginning to change, half of your costume off already.

"Hey, Y/N are you still in the sho-" Jungkook was frozen.

You didn't even hear his footsteps or the door open or shut- but you definitely spied the all too familiar pixels that appeared around him. And he caught you, your Circe logo still splayed over your chest.

You two stared each other in the eye, putting two and two together quickly at your grave mistakes.

"Oh," you said, your face paling.

"My." His eyes widened.

"Fuuuuuck!" you say, scrambling into your restroom.

"That's not what I was going with!" Jungkook shouts.

"Why the fuck did you just enter my room!"

"I thought you were still in the shower, I heard the shower water on!"

"That's the recording I left for you to think I was still in there!" you say. "So you just glitched into my room?"

"Would you walk places when you can teleport and think no one's looking?"

"Jung-Code- Ah fuck!" you grumbled, quickly changing into civilian clothes as you looked at him. "Are you fucking serious?"

"Any chance you are just dressed up as Circe for an early Halloween costume?" Jungkook gulped.

"GET OUT!" You fling him away, his feet dragging as the door opens and shuts. It locks, and though you know he could easily glitch back in, you keep it that way.

"So I take that as a no?"

It had been two weeks since your last fight as Circe and Coder. And at the moment, the public was freaking out. Whether Coder- their shining knight in white armor- was missing, or perhaps you were actually coming up with a truly devious plan that took so much time to craft. They were worrying over nothing, but two weeks of nothing has them paranoid.

Man, couldn't you have a vacation once in a while?

You sighed, putting down the piece of bread you were eating. Jungkook was watching the news, your fangirl-host fretting over the disappearance of you two.

You got changed, seeing Jungkook's wide eyes at your costume change.

"I'll see you there soon," you say, still unable to look at him. The two of you still hadn't properly talked about it yet.

You quickly made your way to the news station, breaking into the set and in front of the camera. You shoved the hostess aside, who gave a shriek as you went to the camera. "Is this thing on?" you said, tapping against it, the red light blinking. You look to the cameraman for confirmation, and he nods. "Ok, great. Uh- Coder, you big... I can't cuss, right? Coder, you big... idiot. Get here or I'll, uh. blow up the newsroom."

"WHAT?" someone shouts.

You throw your arms up in defeat. "I don't do anything and you guys freak out- I do something and you freak out- honestly there's nothing I can do to please you people!" You sigh, turning back to the camera. "Anyways, Coder come over here. I know you can see this so get over here."

"You're not actually going to blow up the news place," Coder says, glitching into the room, his arms crossed.

"Well, we'll see about that Code- oh what the fuck!" You slap your mouth for cursing on air, but the fact you could actually see Jungkook- er, Coder's face, was so odd. You were so used to it being hazed out in your mind that now you didn't know what to feel. "Oh my God, it's so weird."

"Circe, seriously?" Coder deadpanned. "You couldn't have put more thought into this?"

"It's not my fault all of the people here get so scared when we take a break for a few weeks!" You turn to the host, her legs shaking. "You're the one hyping it up the most- seriously I'm not sure if we have vacation days or not, but we definitely should! I mean, seriously!"

"You just threatened to blow up a news station, Circe. Of course, they're going to be paranoid," Coder rolled his eyes.

"You know, you should've come up with a plan then!" you say.

"Let's go home already," he groaned. "This was a failure."

You swat his arms, eyes wide. You didn't want the people to catch on that you two lived together. Catching on, he coughs awkwardly and crumbles at your feet. "Oh no, you've defeated me! But you won't get the best of me! Come with me, you- er, villain!" He grabs onto your ankle, and the two of you glitch into your apartment.

You're dizzy, stumbling around the room. "How can you do that every other day without passing out? I feel hungover."

"That's because you don't have the power- I got used to it. And don't pull a stunt like that again!" he scolds.

"Yeah yeah, whatever Coder-Jungkook- fuck I don't know what to call you anymore!" you say, groaning to yourself. "By the way, that was horrible acting."

"You know, it's kind of hard to get into the act when your roommates face is plastered all over the mystery girl you've known for years," he says.

"Ok, ok, let's get changed or whatever. It's weird talking to you as Jungkook when you're dressed as Coder," you say. He glitches away, to his room, you presume, and you get changed into your pajamas.

Ten minutes later the two of you are watching The Princess Bride, an awkward silence between the two of you. Both of you were drinking wine. Jungkook from a plastic cup, and you from the bottle.

"Want to talk about it?" he finally asks.

You take a swig from the bottle. "Nope."

He waits a few more seconds. "What about now?"

"Nah," you say, crinkling your nose.

"You know we probably should."

"Or not."

"Or should."

"Damn, you're annoying in both versions."

"Does this mean you will?"

"Sure," you sigh, putting down the bottle. "You shoot the first question as we decipher how we unknowingly lived with the person we beat the crap out of at least once a week."

"So... Have you ever suspected?" he asks, taking a nervous glance towards you.

"What? Never. Coder's a cocky guy and you're like a kid!" you say.

"I'm only two months younger than you!" Jungkook groans.

"And apparently Coder is, too," you say, taking another swig of wine. "What about you? Did you ever suspect?"

"No- but I guess the way it masks our identity is also what keeps us from suspecting. Trust me- I suspected a lot of people, and practically interrogated them trying to break them into confessing. It never even crossed my mind you'd be Circe," he says.

"God, I feel like an idiot," you grumble, burying your face in your hands.

"That's because you are."

You glare at him, flicking his forehead. "Respect your elders, kid!"

"I literally beat your ass like twice a week!"

"Oh please, you fucking wish. I just went easy on you because you're so young," you grumble.

"You just found out Coder was younger than you like two weeks ago!" Jungkook huffs.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," you say. "Ugh, now I know what kind of porn Coder watches."

"When did you find out what kind of porn I watched?"

"Remember that time you borrowed my laptop and it ended up getting a virus?" you questioned.

"It got a virus?" Jungkook asked, perplex.

"Seriously, Jungkook, PornHub's free. But yeah. It explains when Coder choked me in the junkyard," you snickered. "Didn't think you were into that sort of thing."

"Don't make it so weird!" Jungkook said, his face flushing red. "Why can't you be normal for five minutes?"

"You teleport, I have telekinesis, we've been fighting and living together for years- I'm sorry, but what bit of that is normal?" you question.

"So, that day we were in the junkyard, it was because..."

"I..." Your mind traces back to that moment. "Yeah, that's why."

"I'm sorry I made you so upset," Jungkook apologized.

"It's alright. You have nothing to apologize for. You're allowed to feel however you feel. I guess I was scared of our friendship being jeopardized and I was angry at myself for allowing it to happen," you clarified.

"So you trapped a civilian in a junkyard and started flinging cars left and right?" Jungkook quirked a brow.

"I... You should know first hand how bad I am at making decisions," you grumble. "And I was really upset that day, alright?"

"I should know- you fucking wrecked me! You're lucky the super genes or whatever allow me to heal fast," Jungkook laughs.

"I'm sorry about that!" you say, "I really didn't mean that I swear!"

"You hadn't been so rough on me since the early days," Jungkook grinned.

"That was before I had a soft spot for you," you smiled fondly. "And you were such a string bean back then."

"I had just begun my career, you can't blame me," Jungkook huffed. "Although, I don't think your boobs even fully grew out at that point."

"You did not!"

"What? I'm a guy, I notice things like that."

"Jeon Jungkook, you fucking pervert!"

"Technically it was Coder who was looking," Jungkook grinned cheekily.

You tackle him, tickling his sides as he squirms beneath you. "Take that! And that!" you laugh, grinning mischievously as he begs for mercy, swatting at your wriggling hands. At some point, he bucks his hips up, almost as though to knock you off, and you fall forward, gripping onto his shirt for purchase, your faces centimeters apart.

The two of you are deathly silent, realizing what situation the two of you were in.

"I..." you say, slowly getting up, your cheeks burning. "Sorry, I-"

He grabs onto the sides of your face, crushing your mouth against his. You don't protest, pressing your lips against his own hotly, your mouths molding together. He wraps his arms around you at the moment you sneak your tongue in, and your shirt begins to ride up.

In a moment of boldness, you sit up, much to his protest. You ignore him as he tries to reach your lips again, and tug your shirt above your head. He stills beneath you, eyes wide as he licks his lips, hands settling at your sides. "How about we take this to the bedroom?" he suggests quietly.

"What's wrong with here?" you ask.

"Well, for one there's fanart of us right there," he says. Both of you instinctively glance to the drawing that hung in your living room.

"Y'know... the more I think about it, the weirder it is that we've got fanart of ourselves right there," you mumble.

"Yeah... it kind of backfired," Jungkook admitted. He grips you tightly as he sits up on the couch, and walks to the bedroom, carrying you to his bedroom. Your back hits the mattress, and he crawls back on top of you.

"Wait- why's it in your room? My bed is so much comfier!" you say.

"Your bed squeaks," Jungkook murmurs, ignoring your whining as he grins into you, one hand curled into your locks as he licks a stripe up your neck.

You shiver beneath him, mewling at the sensation. "S-Squeaking is sexy."

"Who the fuck says shit like that?"

"Me, duh."

"Fine, if you want I'll fuck you hard enough to make my bed squeak," he murmurs. You feel pressure in the pit of your stomach at that, biting your lip as he started slipping your pajama pants down your legs.

"You need to get naked too, you know," you pout.

He doesn't protest, quickly stripping his shirt off. You can't help but gawk at his rippled muscles, and how fit he was. Instinctively you begin to cover yourself, but he sees your actions and pins both of your arms on either side of your head.

"No fair! You're making me feel insecure! Fanart me was so much hotter," you say. "Can't you gain three pounds or something?"

"Not in three seconds," Jungkook chuckles, delivering a thrust from his covered crotch to yours. You gasp at the sensation, and he gives you that cocky Coder grin. "But if you really want to exercise, I have a suggestion."

"That is so stupid." You roll your eyes. "Now get your pants off already."

He laughs, slipping them down his legs and pushing you further up the bed to press himself against you. You feel his erection a bit better, and you can tell already how big he is. Your eyes widen, and you turn to Jungkook.

"Jungkook," you whisper. "I was just reminded of something."

"What?" he asked, brows furrowed.

"You really don't want to hear it."

"Just tell me already."

"The fanfiction," you admit.

"Oh my God, I'm going flaccid already," Jungkook groans.

You grin deviously, whispering in his ear, "Coder, you're so big."

"You know, under different circumstances that would've been sexy- but then I'm reminded that I'm dealing with you," he says, rolling off of you.

"I thought you were joking when you said you were going flaccid!" you say. "C'mon, Jungkook, I won't do it again."

"Good," he says, lowering himself on your body. You watch as he curls his fingers into the waistband of your panties, yanking them off and hooking his arms under your legs to drag you forward. You moan at the feeling of him licking a stripe up your slit.

He laps at your juices, and you curl your fingers into the boy's locks, spreading your legs wider as he attaches his lips to your clit. He sucks tenderly, and you groan his name at the sensation of him slipping two digits inside of you. You were so wet that they slipped in without any resistance, and you arched your back as he began pumping them into you, curling them into the rough spot as he found your g-spot.

"Fuck, Jungkook you feel so good," you say. He hums against you, and you squeeze your thighs around his head, as though this was how you'd finally get rid of your archnemesis- crushing his big head between your thighs like a watermelon. You feel the vibrations go throughout you, and you throw your head back.

Your orgasm is quickly approaching, and you put on a sly smirk. "That's right, treat your elders, Jungkook."

He slips out of you, and you whine that your prank backfired. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Oh c'mon, Jungkook, I was so close to cumming!" you whine, pouting at him.

He growls, chucking his boxers off as he crawls back on top of you. "You can cum on my dick."

You roll your eyes. "Now you're really sounding like that fanfiction."

"You actually read that entire thing?"

"I told you I found Coder sexy. And hell, I ended up masturbating to it later- the girl's grammar was impeccable!"

"I can't believe you," he chuckles, taking his girth in his hand to run along your folds. You shivered at the sensation as he teased you, and your clit was throbbing and sensitive from when he ate you out earlier. "So what'd I do after I said that, hm?"

You raised your hips enticingly. "Easy: you fucked me."

He cursed under his breath, grabbing your thighs to pry them apart, thrusting into you. You yelp, squeezing around his dick as both of you groaned and hissed at the sensation.

"You're so tight," Jungkook groaned. "Oh, f-fuck."

"Hurry up and fuck me, Jungkook," you urge, squeezing around his dick. "You're younger, you should have more stamina."

You feel him growl against the curvature of your neck as he snaps and twists his hips against yours, making you cling to him as he begins fucking into you. "You're only two months older," he hisses, a grunt and thrust at each syllable.

"Fuck," you say, throwing your head back. True to his word, he was fucking into you so hard that the rocking bed was beginning to squeak at his movements.

"W-Wait, Jungkook, I need to ask you something," you say.

"What is it," he asks, slowing down his movements.

"When you said the other girl you liked, your coworker, was she me? As in Circe me?" you questioned.

"I- what? Yeah, that's her. I mean you. I liked both of you and I couldn't choose between you guys."

"Does that mean you like me?" you grin.

He blinks at you. "Y/N, my dick is literally inside you right now. Shouldn't you know the answer to that?"

You shrugged. "Just making sure."

He sighs, slipping a hand between your bodies to play with your clit, causing you to moan again. "I swear, you're so weird sometimes." He rocks his hips again, and you chant his name again.

You're squeezing and spasming around his dick, causing him to clench his jaw and grit his teeth. "Shit- I'm close. Are you still on the pill?" he asked.

"Yeah. Fuck, I'm so close, Jungkook. Don't stop!" You bit down on your lip, holding onto his shoulders as you tried to stabilize yourself.

"Look at me," he breathed. You opened your eyes, looking at his piercing gaze as he slowed his thrusts to be less sloppy, hitting your sweet spot. He slams his lips back to yours, a sloppy kiss as you come undone. He follows after you shortly, and soon enough he's collapsed on top of you, cock still half plunged into you.

You're both panting, breathing heavily.

"Jungkook, you're heavy," you groan.

"Mm, are you calling me fat?" he asks.

You laugh at that, and force him off of you, rolling him off using your amazing capabilities. He pouts, propping himself on one elbow to stare at you. "That's unfair."

"You're lucky I didn't use my powers for something else. I read one fic where we were meeting your parents and I jacked you off using my mind powers," you laughed.

"How many of those did you read?"

"I dunno. It was a long bus ride."

"You know what power I'd rather have, honestly?"

"A super dick?" you ask, skeptical.

"Already got that," he grinned, collapsing next to you to wrap his arm around you, burying his face in the crook of your neck. "But that would be pretty genius."

"Ugh, forget it, I don't want to know," you laugh, twirling your fingers in the strands of his hair.

"I'd probably want telekinesis. I'm sure it's useful," Jungkook mumbles.

"Well I can't exactly use it as often as I'd like in my day to day life," you say. "But it can be useful at times."

"What about you, what'd you like?"

"On, invisibility. It'd be so much easier to sneak around places, and I wouldn't have to constantly change in dark alleys or closets. Could you imagine how people would react to see Circe just walking around in her outfit? It's exhausting," you groan.

"I wonder if our kid is gonna have powers," he hums.

"One, it's too soon to start thinking about kids. Two, we already clarified I'm on birth control."

He hummed, climbing back on top of you where your noses touch. "Hey, Y/N, guess what?"

"What?"

"I've got a secret."

"Bigger than you being a superhero?" You raise your brows.

He nods, grinning that bunny smile you adore.

"Well, what is it?"

"I love you."

Your heart flutters, and you wrap your arms around his neck, offering a chaste kiss as you give him an equally cheeky grin. "I love you too, kid."

#jungkook #jeon jungkook #bts jungkook #bts smut #bts #smut #jungkook smut #jungkook fanfic #bts fanfic

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elizabethrobertajones · 5 years

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14x05 watching notes

filed under: episodes that demand a written apology from the writer

Morning, I opened the episode to check it worked and the first thing on screen was dead Maggie, so I guess skip the preamble, let's get rid of that D:

Meredith is going to look after Maggie. Who so far this season has just been the human representation of the :o emoji

Er, she's not going to look after us, after the THEN card we abruptly drop into Dean having his beach retirement chat with Sam

A lingering reminder of how Jack would help - if he had his powers - but Sam asks "then what would we do" and cut to Dean being Michaeled. At this point I can't tell if we need to remember 13x23 for Reasons or if they just don't trust us to remember the recent history of the show at all and are catching up people who might have dropped by to see how their favourite guest star, Maggie, is doing.

I mean I love her but she isn't the headliner normally :P

OH GOODNESS SHE'S THE COLD OPEN GIRL. Maggieee no. She looks so scared. Why are they sending her hunting on her own??? She is a smol scared bean who was not prepared for the apocalypse and surely must be able to find other off-the-radar jobs for a person from another universe in this world that don't involve throwing herself at monsters!

She's wearing pink trousers for a stealth mission at night. She makes Sam's orange jacket look like camo

Also she's recording herself... Maggie... What are you doing........ hon......................

I have adopted her, but it turns out I have another stupid child among my many, many stupid children and just once I wish they didn't turn out like this :P

So she's like, attached a go pro to herself to record her hunt for... training purposes? reporting back to Chief? because she's become an adrenaline junkie after all the time she was nearly eaten by supervampires?

MAGGIE

Gad dangit

He was slow moving and you heard him behind you. Swing first, ask questions later, when it's a growling noise in a dark crypt.

Has anyone been counting the apocalypse world peeps because I'm pretty sure they're relying on us not to recognise them because they're a crowd. At this point we almost certainly have like 50+ distinct individuals instead of the 25 they purportedly rescued.

I say this because I feel like some of the white guys from the original batch appear to have metamorphosed into a more diverse group

Sammy setting homework.

Sorry, not Sammy. The Boss.

Dean comes in to observe class.

Sam immediately sheds all his confidence and goes back to being Sammy. He does seem to have a slight layer of scruff more, or maybe it was just that he was looking particularly clean-shaven last episode out of shock

Dean offers to get him a camp counsellor whistle, and Sam gets even more awkward about hunter check ins. I can see this feeding itself here, with Sam blustering and getting weird about his position of authority in front of Dean, and Dean who is both latching on in a brotherly way, and lashing out in a recently emotionally maimed Dean way, but can't yell at the apocalypse peeps they rescued and graciously allowed to stay because, you know, Michael destroyed their world, so taking it all out on Sam... Unfortunately, Dean being the wounded, irrational party, it's down to him to realise he's being a lil too harsh on Sam OR Sam to stop rising to the bait.

In this case, I would say the ball is firmly in Sam's court, not because he's at any particular fault for instinctively reacting like the needled little brother when big bro wanders in snarking at his attempts to do his job, but because he is the one behaving like the adult already in this scenario when he's facing the AU peeps and being The Chief in a natural way where he's thriving in the environment, and crumpling immediately in the face of this one random element is a clear part of his growth and maturity arc. As it is he's feeding Dean's reaction a LOT by getting embarrassed and changing his behaviour and not standing his ground and continuing to act like a mature adult, and giving Dean the little brother teasing opening he feeds off in the dynamic.

In other scenarios this could flip with Sam doing his best and Dean being a dick who's seeking an opening and trying to get Sam to crack and in that case it would be all on him to correct his behaviour, but in this case, I'm leaning Sam being the problem despite the appearance, because he crumpled just to hear Dean coming up the steps, never mind how it went from there. He's acting ashamed of being the leader, because he knows it's emotionally infringing on Dean territory, as he sees Dean as a natural and more rightful leader, and doesn't recognise his own strengths and skills being applied in spades here; his self-confidence immediately is put under the microscope when he knows Dean is there, and it topples his precarious house of cards of self confidence.

He has also put himself in a position of managing Dean, coming in last episode all, alright champ how's it going? and had a success by a country mile with getting Dean to leave his room, open up, and have some fun, and that's not even comparing it to the same time last season when in 13x05 he completely failed at the same task. He has been working gently on Dean to help him, but he can't when it comes to getting Dean used to having the AU peeps around and accepting Sam's new job there, if Sam acts like it's something to be ashamed of and is too horrified by usurping Dean to focus on letting his instincts talk and continuing to blatantly be a wonderful leader.

These AU peeps are also seeing their venerated war hero general just crumple into an insecure mess as soon as his brother walks into the room >.>

Sam gets coffee, turns into coffee!Sam (Lizbob's on the record favourite character in the entire show), finally snaps back at Dean about how many hunters he's keeping track of right now when Dean stops needling in a funny way and asks about Sam's health - of course, now it's all built up into Dean bothering Sam so instead of being a nice request, Sam snaps.

It's possible that while Sam now runs the hunters, delegating to Mary and AUBobby and even Dean if he'll accept it, to help keep track etc, will really benefit in the long run.

Slick way to work where Cas and Jack are into the same breath as where Mary and Bobby are - rugarou, which is code for off screen case - and throw it all out there as plot and ongoing character work AND the requisite where is Cas comment to keep fandom happy.

God, I haven't even gotten around to what I meant to say immediately that Sam dropped down into his codependency seat at the table and Dean is unintentionally mirroring 9x13's final scene of all the many times they've been around this block - off the top of my head but as someone who has been keeping a very close eye for a very long time, I can't think of another significant instance where Sam was sitting and Dean was standing while it got heated.

Of course 9x13 was working very hard to show their divisions, while of course here Sam is just sitting in his Dean Is Upsetting Me chair and Dean's not sitting at the table which just means not engaging with Sam on his level in a very literal as well as metaphorical way - in character, that's a body language dissonance as well as making Sam look up at him. In staging terms, it carries the weight of years of directorial and acting decisions about how to portray the brothers in crisis that I've been noting in case of a pattern.

"Yeah, but a war isn't hunting" good grief Sam is making their entire lives sound even worse than ever given they grew up in this and now he's listing off all the stuff they need from the perspective of being the Bobby. I mean, when they say they were raised like soldiers, they're adding in the fact they do zillions of almost completely unsupported 2 man raids into hostile territory with limited gear or recon. The recap at the start, showing them going in to fight the werewolves with an angel and a nephilim on their side, was an easy hunt for a reason and not just because there were 4 of them :P Without that, no matter how many hunters they accumulate, it's always looked like a losing battle because many of these things you'd want to call the national guard on if civilians could be alerted to the danger.

See, Dean is acting needle-y but as soon as Sam gets an unnerving alert on his phone he's concerned and asks who it is - remember last episode where he was like don't know don't care about the guy Sam was Bobbying from the car? - and when he says "maggie" ... well, they're all clearly protective of her in particular D:

Oh good, the body cams thing was a Sam innovation and therefore a good idea and we can pat his head for it

Bobby never had that and I bet he'd have LOVED to keep track of his peeps that way.

The other hunters meet up on the last thursday of the month to watch the highlight reel from Garth Cam, BYOB, popcorn provided

Nyooom

This shot should win awards for the fuckin horrifying perspective that I, as a non-mountain-dweller, can barely comprehend that it looks like the sky but then you keep on looking up and there's trees in there. Is this something people in big countries are used to? I mean I've seen my share of mountains in Scotland and they're way too cramped to fake you out like that.

You have to understand that in my town, wedged between two cliffy cliffs, the entire old town is like 500ft wide at best before more cliff. There's only 2 directions - up and towards the sea :P You don't need fancy camera tricks to contain everything... I'm getting agoraphobia just looking at this. I mean I don't think it's intended to cause existential horror but mission accomplished.

Dean getting morbid talking about how having a private cemetery would be nice. I mean, they practically need one behind the Bunker after all this time, wherever the final resting place is of at least Kevin and Charlie's bodies as well as anyone else who died in and around there who wasn't dumped in the sewer like Ketch was :')

During day this place isn't half bad, with its whimsical overgrown look, the slanting fence of the bridge to cross to get there, the jungle closing in around the little plot...

But remember, Dean. Beach holiday. Eyes on the prize, man. You and the rest don't get to hang out behind the Bunker for eternity at least until you're all old and earned it.

Dean defends knowing what a walker from the Walking Dean is... in 12x15 he was playing with a Negan bat which I assume he still has somewhere, washed off and placed in the armoury :P Sam is at least being a bit more authoritative here in the sense of reeling off info as the Chief in charge of Maggie's fate and knowing her mission etc...

Honestly this makes me feel like the dynamic of Dean drives, Sam rides shotgun can mature too, in the sense that Dean is no longer taking control from Sam - back in season 10 that was very heavily used as part of their toxic dynamic and there's definitely shades of season 10 dynamics on the chopping block around these parts - because Sam needs all the extra time to manage his army from the road, with his hands free to check the phone and read up on everything, while Dean is free to drive and be Dean.

Sam being all I FAILED SHE IS DEAD at every turn and Dean being all "hey check it out, drag marks! :D" "but no blood!!! :D :D :D"

As a student of analaysisisign things I have no idea what was just implied by Sam and Dean being called back to the surface followed by the sound effect of spooky cold breath, a wonky focus on a statue of a bearded dude and smol cherub, and then being interrupted by a 1900s gardener.

Apron plus hat seems like Michael coding but god knows what it means.

I bet they're actually talking to a ghost but he's so busy just defending the ancestral land that he's passing as a real alive person and it's one of those completely harmless cases where the ghost just lurks around protecting the land, doesn't go vengeful, and wards off people who hang out there... Not that he had much luck with the drunk teens.

1900s gardener stands outside, unable to go into the house, surveying it with a weary eye.

The garden is completely and utterly overgrown, almost like no one has gardened it for 100 years, even though there appears to be a gardener on the property.

*rubs chin*

1900s gardener gives them one last suspicious look before wandering back to work, significantly enough that we see it with a whole separate shot

what is his deal

why is he dressed like that

Does Meredith feel guilty for MURDERING JOSHUA and side note, can we really trust that it was him who got murdered. Maybe he's in retirement dressed in an olde timey shirt and waving antique gardening implements at Sam and Dean for kicks.

Considering they improv'd the line about the HPS it's very lucky that Mobby came up with that line - I guess showing how they think alike and all

"Just wish you'd checked in with the main office," Sam bobs his head, like, "ME", "before you came out here..."

Yeah, here's the Sam and AUBobby leadership conflict I was hoping for :P

Mary asks for a mo and shepherds Sam out in particular, leaving AUBobby and Dean to handle the architect digest subscriber. She's all momsy with her handling of him, and Dean and AUBobby are left to do the awkward small talk - we know AUBobby really doesn't have it as his strong suite, even though it was Bobby's, like in 6x21 where he was the only one to ever say sorry about your mom to the guy. It also means they have to do the blathering while trying to work out any supernatural history on the property in character, while Mary and Sam are designating themselves the ones who can get to the heart of the problem and handle it like the profession adults. I like the implicit trust/respect bond that gives here.

I mean she has it with Dean too I would think but she's spent more time with Sam lately and it's important now to show she's grown such a bond with Sam, as it's been 2 whole years of her being back before they could begin to properly bond due to various issues.

"It was her first solo hunt and she was nervous" listen Sam and Dean are like 1000 pounds of muscle and "fuck you apocalypse" experience and they hunt together. Maggie was smol and wore pink trousers.

Is. Is smol.

God. I'm turning into Sam.

Lol conspicuous blood transfusion bags. Nice gig, to drain peeps and get a nurse to apply the blood directly to you. Is he a vampire with an olde timey set up?

Maggiieeee

stealing her boots is just mean.

Does she have pink plaid as well as pink trousers?

My god how did they let her out of the house? She's too cute and innocent for this world.

Or her previous world.

Can we shunt her along one more world to one which doesn't have this much monster trouble even, as she's clearly still not found the AU which suits her best.

Heee Dean knocking the mantelpiece and saying the house has "good bones" like he's an expert on houses

The question is, has he watched a lot of junk reality TV about house refurbishment, or is he just faking on the fly

I have not watched enough aforementioned junk TV to call this one

Oh, nope, the daughter validates it by saying her grandpa used to say it. Dean has watched enough TV to pass

Ooooh AUBobby having a go at Sam for his shoddy leadership of letting Maggie come here when she had no idea what was up.

I'm guessing the help over text messaging may have been a bit more backseat hunting from AUBobby, but he didn't try to STOP Maggie, or tell her to wait while he and Mary dashed up here.

In any case, here's the conflict of leadership I've been waiting for since before the season began :') Unfortunately, Sam shaved off his beard before going toe to toe with AUBobby, so he takes the first round by default of bristliness, as Sam ceded some portion of control back to Dean on Dean's return and this has made him weird and jumpy about acting like the chief in front of his peeps, and now AUBobby's taking the opening.

He has such a power stance that Bobby never had

Shoulders back, beard out

Dean defends Sam like when is anyone ready to hunt, because from their perspective of course they were as smol-seeming as Maggie and CONSIDERABLY younger when they were plunged into hunting. She's a grown adult! She can handle it! (she may or may not be a mirror to Jack, who is consumptive, and therefore betraying some sort of inherent unreadiness to hunt and a requirement that the smols among you be protected rather than forced to grow up too young and go hunting as a rite of passage, just as Sam and Dean were given their first beers barely in single digits by gnarly hunters)

"A real leader would have seen that a mile away" Yeah AUBobby is too used to leading his peeps - perhaps he liked a semi retirement where Sam was the leader and the world seemed safer and they could hunt like the old days...

Mary mediates, splitting up the team in the only way that makes sense, hoping that Dean can defend Sam in absentia (and thus be forced to confront that Sam IS a good and thoughtful leader and to stop mocking him and start defending him) and she can comfort Sam and build him back up as the Chief.

Dean goes on such a face journey about this whole thing, from feeling weird about AUBobby to bad about what's going on with Sam to just worried about Maggie and very much taking on that blame for sending a smol out into the field, especially as he has recused himself from responsibility to these people - while fairly taking a mental health break from the frontline as well as competing with how Sam already got there... Anyway that was like 18 distinct facial expressions each with a story and it's too early in the morning... I JUST got my cup of tea and it's still too hot to drink so Jensen's defeated me this round

Sam gets comforted by another trenchcoated figure

"Don't listen to Bobby" "maybe he's right" shush.

"THIS IS WHAT HE WAS BORN TO DO"

ILY Mary. She's coming in fresh on adult!Sam, she doesn't even have the feelings about him as she does to smol scared 4 year old boy Dean, especially if we account for postpartum depression making it hard for her to bond with him as per the entire metaphorical structure of the show from episode one to present. Now she's getting to spend time with him - and especially as her only significant time with him BEFORE this was 12x14 aka Bobo's ode to Sam's leadership round 1... Yeah, she sees Sam as this giant gangly admirable leader guy she happens to have birthed.

"Bobby can't see that... not the only thing he's been missing lately."

Good grief, Mary in the trenchcoat has been making the eyes at AUBobby all Michael-hatted up and being ignored and rebuffed from her sparkling heart eyes. I wonder what this is a metaphor for, Ms Meredith Mixtape "know who you love" Glynn.

Also, Mary feeling comfortable to innuendo her crush on AUBobby to Sam - it really is an adult relationship and respect and emotional trust that I feel never in a million years could just pop up between her and Dean.

Oh boy, this scene is still going.

*Hides behind the secondhand embarrassment cushion* Sam goes there, like, not going to mention it but you - he sounds less bumbling than he has at other points... Sam's awkwardness factor can shoot through the roof to the point where in 3x04 where he attacks those guys and then is like "have a nice day" when they're not demons? I kinda want to reach through the screen and strangle him with my bare hands before he does it just to spare myself seeing it. Also the gifset of that has been on my dash all week, and it predisposes me to loathe Sam's awkwardness. Please god let us get through this in one piece.

Mary is too busy being wistful to realise her son is an awkward bumbling moose who is all misplaced stammering words and wonky legs spinning for traction when he's out of his depth.

Aww now Mary is getting to talk about her deal... She thought she had something good going with AUBobby but since they've been back he's been "hunting all the time and won't take a break not even for a second" - the ole bury yourself in hunting to avoid facing trauma or feelings thing. Of course AUBobby may be struggling with the weight of the world he left behind, the people who he couldn't save there and not knowing what has happened to them. There's a lot to unpack with him that hasn't been explored on screen and a lot of it is casting him as behaving in a Dean-like way, while Mary is the "I'll just wait here then" to his coping mechanisms.

"There's something on his mind, and he doesn't want to talk about it"

Aforementioned trauma, OR a pun about him being possessed by Michael

yeah I'm harping on it as a half-joke half-kinda want to have it on the record in case I'm right :P

"Bobby's not open like your dad"

Mary, you do realise how that sounds to literally everyone else, right? We KNOW you're practically from a 3rd AU aka the past where John was practically the mirror AU to his future self

Unfortunately, Mary is the only person in the room who ever has that particular story, which sucks for her

Anyway Meredith has reached some sort of characterising level with these people that I am just in pure awe of

"Not like your dad when I knew him"

"Bobby's got walls. Big ones"

I do think it's funny that Mary has essentially ended up crushing on a man who is a John-like parallel to the anti-John mirror that Bobby was, who of course had his own Karen who he was a different person with, who was a Mary mirror, and .... yeah

it's an interdimensional timetravelling wife swap

It makes Destiel look straightforward

Part of Meredith's skill here is not just accounting for every angle, but also juggling this nonsense

Anyway Mary doubting she can get through AUBobby's walls and be the person who has to do the emotional labour to get the guy she wants - if she's ready to put herself out there again

this is NOT a conversation to have with Dean in a million years. Even Sam takes a mo

"I shouldn't be talking to you about this!" she giggles and she and Sam smile and set off again, all touchy feely.

Sweet.

Anyway there's another dynamic in these woods.

"You think I was too hard on your brother back there." "He's doing his best. He's doing better than his best." Funny way to phrase it but yeah, Dean can see Sam's levelled up and his new best is this new levels of responsibility and good leadership overall.

LOL at how terse that conversation was. Dean points out that Sam could do with a hand running things, makes fun of the beard, no offence, and cut back to Sam and Mary

Sam explains Karen to Mary, to give her an idea of what might be AUBobby's backstory too.

"he never had any children?" "no"

Scuse me, that's the line that makes me BAWL every time I watch it. HE DID SO, YOU FOOL. IT WAS YOU AND YOUR UNGRATEFUL BROTHER

I am writing a letter of complaint to the management

"Whatever your Bobby" - oh dear, AUBobby is now "your" Bobby, like, they found him first but he's now Mary's :p

Sam is now full on giving Mary relationship advice about how it's worth it to move past those walls and give him a go if she really cares about him.

Has he ever had this chat with Cas, or is this just practice

"Cas, wait, I really appreciate you came to me with this but I am getting killer deja vu for a second here..."

Mary finds a disturbing firepit, Dean finds a creepy hunting cabin. This is about to be a barrel of fun

AUBobby... Don't just run off. Poke Dean and POINT AT THE THING YOU'RE FOLLOWING

... Dean, also, have some awareness in your peripheral that AUBobby just legged it

Again, way more athletic than our Bobby was

That's a human hand

Are those real IDs or hunter IDs

Oh it all came from one wallet, with the same pic on them all, so yes.

"Not one of ours" but part of the wider network/family nonetheless. His bearded look recalls Asa Fox, and there's the unspoken discussion again about sharing resources, if ALL hunters shouldn't be pulled into their network and the word spread that the Bunker is at least a resource, that Sam is there to be the hub even if they aren't all part of the centralised AU hunter squad, and Sam starts Bobbying in earnest for this world as a whole.

Of course they'd never have sent Maggie somewhere that a seasoned hunter had already disappeared.

Dean finally realises AUBobby is gone, and immediately gets jumped, with rather less warning than Maggie had.

I like how the man has had time to dress up in a suit from his sick bed, if indeed that is the case

monsters in suits

Well that's new

Well in 13x14 Meredith wrote Gog n Magog who were a fake out full of sand... Now this monster is a fake out full of ash?

Cut to: Old man still in his hospital bed, definitely not attacking people in the flesh

Oh dear, his daughter hearing something in the house while earnestly getting on with dealing with his estate makes me pretty sure she's not in on anything and she shouted them out of the house in genuine grief-stress, which I already wasn't particularly doubting.

The ole dragging chains upstairs ghost trick, which I honestly wish I could say I have never heard for myself but the ghost next door is not my problem, Victorian walls keep them contained, and honestly if you've been following the saga on random incidental comments on my blog I'm really only inclined to believe in ghosts for the humorous fake hysteria of a moment's entertainment but the odd noises next door late at night really have been going on long enough and yesterday some folk moved in so, you know, first act of a horror movie setting up mere feet away from me, the disinterested neighbour scowling at all the evil poured into the walls of that house by careless landlords and human suffering I witnessed firsthand caused by it >.> Anyway. Unlike this woman I stayed right in this spot instead of wandering around trying to work out where that noise was coming from, because I'm in the house with the wacky backstory where weed dealers sawed through the support beam in the roof and the front of my room collapsed shortly after we moved in :P

I'm sorry, but if a ghost opens a door for you ahead of you in the hall, my advice is not to immediately go up to the door and go in

SUPERVAMP IN THE ATTIC

She does an admirable duck and cover maneouver, only to realise he hasn't chased her. Huh.

Michael's super vamps are super weird.

"You're not crazy" Neil the nurse immediately straightens up and eyeballs Sam a lil harder.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

PS where is the ghostly gardener in all this because he wasn't the supervamp so

this is like a murder mystery puzzle but all the bits are so utterly wild... Dead hunter, Maggie being drained for the "stroke" victim who is also attacking people in a suit while made of ash... supervamp in the attic who won't follow her out of the room she found him in

I mean in all this has no one gone back up to the attic where a supervamp is apparently just LIVING?

He's currently just chilling there while they have this conversation

he's just, like... waiting for them????

Dean walks in mid-crisis "You hunt monsters?!" "oh good you told them" He does like when things are all quick and easy and right to the point.

Last episode he cheerfully told Dirk that hatchetman Jordan was coming for them, while Sam blustered over telling Sam even when the EMF was SCREAMING that there was a ghost right in the room with them and the display cases were freezing over.

With Mary's influence at least, Sam is happy to get into telling the full story

"Wait time out, there's a dead body on our property?"

THERE IS A SUPERVAMPIRE IN YOUR ATTIC

BIGGER PROBLEMS

Dean is entirely brushed down... Like... He must have been brushing ghost ash off of himself all the way back to the house.

Sam invokes 8x08 right after I was talking about Fred. Dangit, Glynn.

I feel like Sam is sort of making a jump here, but on the other hand the house isn't under ghostly or vampiric shutdown. The father is here, unconscious, so perhaps projecting and I guess if Sam is wondering how he could be doing it, then astral projections may make sense to some degree... Working out how it all ties together is going to be another huge step though. I know the sell for this episode was partially nightmares and dreams, and we have Maggie in a djinn-like trap and the old man both a sleeping Bobby from 3x10 and also a possible Fred Jones projecting it... The supervamps are something that Dean would have brought here, and "walkers" from the Walking Dead is something the boys could have brought. Which means the other hunter could have been murdered by his own trauma... idk. Why am I trying to piece it together now?

watch the episode, lizzy

LOL the daughter just reeling off her dad's "workaholic with textbook narcissistic tendencies" while also herself clearly being the offspring of such a person (is the manifestation of her dad her own trauma?) and hey no doubt that description of the father might come to bear on some of the father/power figures in the episode. Definitely not what Sam is though he's among the mix - perhaps a dark warning of a guy who works himself to death like this and becomes entirely self-absorbed in the process, but Sam just took a minute to advise his mom's love life so he's hanging in there with his sense of self for now. In the sense that a dark arc doesn't seem to be looming for him in such a way as red flags literally followed pre-Mark Dean around.

Okay took a LOT of me yelling at the screen but they FINALLY realised there's an unresolved vampire in the attic situation and Sam's going up to check

Meanwhile Mary has been separated out in this cursed property to have her own side-adventure with AUBobby

Lol the daughter downs some anti-anxiety medication with whisky while Dean sits behind her tuning his knife in a rather grim melody. What a scene.

He also has his foot on an armchair like the total troll he was raised as

She goes off on one and Dean immediately likes her

"Thanks dad" "no love lost between you two, huh?"

T stands for terrible father

"I get it" "not here for a heart to heart" *pause* *launches into a John Winchester Metaphor Of The Hour rant

"But my MOM" *Dean looks up, eyes all vulnerable* "Depression runs in our family" oh booooy

So she found her mom and Dean saw his mom consumed by fire in a way that is still scarring him TO THIS DAY (re: 13x01 nightmare) and this is our first Mary parallel of even a dead mom but one with a personality, and her own problems... Not the temporary insanity of drowning her children like Constance Welch in 1x01, but a woman who had depression and a husband who wasn't there for her... In 14x01 Mary and Sam's discussion revealed how much she was doggy paddling on the surface of all the awful that's happened to her, but this is our real notable parallel to discuss a family history of depression running through Mary's side of the family, which goes not just for Dean (who, like, really has anxiety himself) but also all of Mary's issues, including in 12x21, begging Ketch to kill her at a lowest point before they got her to entirely retreat into herself.

Glynn still out for Dean's blood: "the most ridiculous thing is... I worshipped him when I was a kid" Dean is feeling like she took that machete and shoved it in his stomach, as she sits there swigging whiskey and telling him how he feels. "Didn't know any better. He's the only family I have left."

"Can I give you a little advice?......... let it go." Oh Dean :')

Emerging from his cocoon, still mostly trapped in there but I think that's a bit of a wing poking through.

"The past is -" *forcefully stops himself from saying "in the past"*

He talks about it as baggage and how every single day he tries to let it go and leave the baggage behind. God he's strong and amazing and working so hard to be the best version of himself.

Oh my god who builds the hall up to the attic as part of the crawlspace? This is horrifying on an unnecessary level and I'm writing into that architecture magazine to complain

This is the creepiest attic. Who KEEPS these horrifying mementos. Give them to a thrift shop for a hipster to buff up and turn into a conversation piece in their living room.

Okay, blood bags and a girl in chains (explains the clinking) are a bit weirder than average.

"Sam... it's here" "What?" "It's heeeere" Sam how long have you BEEN in this business?

File this under your panicky first aid to Stuart last episode

Sam got ashed just like Dean did. Hm.

It also looked like one of the crazed hunger vamps from apocalypse world more than one of michael's supervamps maybe? It's really hard to keep track of all these :P

Oh my god AUBobby has a son, who was murdered by angels. This is terrible D:

Something about the immediate moment of him wandering in... When Bobby went off earlier I was thinking of 7x11 where he saw his younger self. This approach seems almost more like 6x04 and Crowley seeing Gavin for the first time.

Anyway this is of course another way to twist AUBobby around on himself - he managed to get a son, maybe Karen wasn't murdered by a demon, maybe he had a different wife. Whatever it is, it gives us a version of Bobby totally different from ours and also in how he will relate to Sam and Dean - not as the sons he never had, but if he's thinking of young men in the fight...

Oh no AUBobby just got stabbed... Er... is this a nightmare or is he just dead?

Is AUBobby really going to -

That's more impressive than breaking a crypt scene mental wall to save your loved one. Then again, original flavour Bobby once stabbed himself in the gut to save Dean so I guess he takes a lot of pain for his loved ones, and honestly gathering the strength to pull a knife out... Maaaybe nicer than putting it in???

The fact this is all going down with angel blades as well.

I swear to god... Meredith, don't make me watch AUBobby stab a vision of his own son to complete the loop with our Bobby stabbing Karen.

"I'm sorry"

*WhOMph grey ash everywhere*

Kinda takes the pure angst out of it at least :P

Dean gets a better look. "You're giving him a transfusion?"

Yeah, there's some fuckery at work here, sir. The nurse seems a lot less flustered answering this one which is almost as suspicious as someone who has been non-flustered suddenly getting flustered

Dean regrets saying "make me a sandwich before he is done asking. Which is the only reason I forgive that request :P Remember in 1x06 where he was bossing Sam's friend around to get them a beer and a sandwich so they could talk in peace about shifters? God. She KNOWS about monsters it's just that he wants to ask a sensitive question here.

Or punch the nurse in the face over the comatose form of her father.

A nod to her that it's a ruse gets her in on it, though. Female!Dean who is a different mirror than Dirk (though still messed up by a father) gets on his wavelength.

AAH He remembered the djinn thing!!! Dean's memory is so good and I love him and he's the best and also Meredith is riffing off 2x20 which is actually illegal, I literally have that written down here in the rules and regulations. Although it does give me my opportunity to remind us all of Dean's long speech about why does he have to be the one to save all these people to John's grave when he was thinking he had to go unwish stuff.

Sadly he didn't show up with a knife tipped in lamb's blood so let's see how this goes.

Oh my god the djinn's literally thought Dean was Michael the whole time. I have to rewatch now >.>

Well, not now, but.

He thought Michael was testing him, and would be back to give him an upgrade, and now he's waxing poetic about the untapped potential of djinn. We're back at season 6, with the hunter compound vs a monster army, except this time the monsters aren't a reaction to the nonsense of angels, they're the direct work of the angel stepping into the place of Eve as the experimenter, his grace vs her black goo. I suppose the weirdness out here is the djinn flexing its muscles with projecting hallucinations.

And I guess that means it hasn't affected Dean except the generic ghost of Mr Comatose over there (apologies to Cas) which I'd assume is part of the generic set up for killing hunters as it was what got Maggie too.

The question is, is that Maggie in the attic, or a nightmare for Sam. Wouldn't she be djinned too?

"Because of him - because of YOU - I can bring those nightmares into the world" well that's a weighted line >.> Dean's guilt for saying yes, for these things done with his face. Literally bringing nightmares into the world.

Which does at least confirm that the nightmares so far have been external and we're not IN a dream which has been worrying me.

On the other hand that means AUBobby really did get stabbed that badly.

"I highly doubt you have a knife dipped in lamb's blood" I TOLD him.

you can't just kneecap the djinn

"I am curious, what are YOUR nightmares"

Literally pausing it because Meredith is absolutely horrible and I hate her and she keeps being mean to my boy Dean and I can't handle this and I don't want to know

(I am curious. What ARE his nightmares?)

Er excuse me did he just prod his way into finding Michael still in there

Because the other option is that Dean's mind is so utterly scared and scary with all he's been through he literally just out-nightmared a nightmare machine by force of personality.

"You don't know my family"

Keep the one liners coming

I'm easily placated by them

Cut to: the next morning. He offers his double a chance to get her apology from her father, and books it.

Nyoooom back along a CONSIDERABLY less horrifying shot of the same sort of landscape

Maggie's back! Everyone loves Maggie. She is the adorable mascot of these people.

Keep the cute pink bunny back at home maybe

Dean gives Sam some affirmation about being the leader of his people.

Now Sam needs to not fold immediately the next time he sees Dean seeing him do something leadery. Deal?

Mobby H/C

You know he's vulnerable not because he has his shirt off, but because he has his hat off.

These "angel wars" in the AU sound pretty formal.

You know, it would probably be PRETTY HARD to get the average American to fight a war against angels until it's way way waaay too late.

I mean, case in point: we call where they come from, "apocalypse world"

"Hunting" "it ends the same." "No." Mary F Winchester puts her foot down. No it ends bloody speeches on her watch! All she has is her optimism but damned if she won't use it!

"I don't know any other way to live" "Then we'll find one"

You are doing a good job and you can save all these dumb guys from themselves.

DEAN TALKED TO MAGGIE. HE'S HELPING. HE WENT AND LEADERED HER FOR SAM.

Now have a beer, bro

"She learned from the best, huh? :)"

":)"

Awww Mary comes up with AUBobby and they're taking a vacation. Let AUBobby go fishing or something. Good lil Cas parallel Mary fixing her broken warrior with a Donna cabin adventure.

...

Do you not worry a lil about what is out there? Donna comes prepared with a flamethrower.

""relaxing"" """vacation"""

Anyway best reason ever given on the entire show for a set of characters not to be in the next couple of episodes, second to "Cas is taking his son out to teach him to hunt some more"

Bobby has a clean new formal black mourning cap to deal with fresh memories of Daniel

Sam getting the leadership baton from a representative of Bobby who he may see more as Bobby than perhaps he ought. AUBobby says he's not sure he ever had it in him to be a leader, while our Bobby was the undisputed best at what he did and as much as he may have complained, his competency is what Sam is now emulating.

Mary being "allowed" to go by Dean. "if you need anything... ANYTHING..." *grabs his shoulder and shakes him* You're starting to turn into the mom in a movie who leaves the kids behind and without supervision they throw a wild party to rebel against you stifling them. SO not the dynamic, but that's the licking a thumb and pressing down a stray bit of hair type momming she's doing all of a sudden.

"Go. Be happy." :')

HUGS FOR THE BOY. That's 2 whole onscreen dean hugs this season.

Aww Dean talking to Garth :')

Sam and Dean in synchronicity, talking to ALL their hunter network, not just Jody plus the AU peeps

Though. Sam has implemented a buddy system.

Dorky camp counsellor that he is.

Dean should get him a ceremonial whistle for Christmas.

"Move on from what I - from what we - from what he did"... Dean. Buddy.

Go lie down.

That's some of the most intense blurring of self ever, between Dean's guilt, whatever made the djinn scream in horror to delve his head, and his symbolic blending with Michael as the Michaelsword...

"Starting to feel like myself again... almost..." shakes his head and starts heading out to go watch more movies, sad that halloween is passed so no more slashers on every channel

"We'll work harder" "how, you sleep 3 hours at night" "then I'll sleep 2" *Dean gives him the NO look*

Well there's a great representation of how their issues mess themselves up and they carve away their sense of self and their health for each other.

Seriously. What did the djinn SEE. What nightmares are in my boy's head? Oh god I'm stressed.

What happened to the 1900s groundskeeper, Don?

#14x05 #season 14 spoilers #my stuff

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