#he had utterly zero plans when he actually got here he was so excited | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

naaaaayyyhaay · 1 year

Text

GGE2022 ;)

Hello!

A GGE2022 for @imikhailotakeyouian , definitely a stickler for details and an imperfect perfectionist so i apologize for the long wait😭 I really hope you enjoy your gift tho!! (i do intend to post it on AO3 too, so i'll come back and link it here when i get the chance💫)

And a very big thank you to @gallavichthings for hosting this years exchange❣️

Rated: M

Words: 3,330

Prompt: "Ian finally takes Mickey to the beach

Social media!AU

Any AUs/anything Gallavich makes me happy really"

Tags: fluff, toothrottingfluff, jealousy, jealous!ian, domesticity,postcannon, soft!mickey

Mickey's head is killing him, his eyes are lidded and tinged red from constant rubbing and his whole body feels like it's moving through a thick jello, leaving him weighted and slow. He had Ian to blame for this. To blame for his excessive tiredness. He was awoken this morning at 5am to an extra giddy Ian, rushed in the shower, and forced to leave by 6am(without a morning quickie he might add). And this all would've been unforgivable, an absolute injustice, if Mickey wasn't about to board a flight to Jamaica to go lounge drunk on their famed nude beaches with his very sexy husband Ian for their anniversary. And even if he tried, he couldn’t deny it, the fact that Ian is just so thoughtful. Surprising Mickey with an impromptu beach vacay for the second time in a row now. So as Mickey entered the airport with an utterly delighted husband hot on his trail like an overly excited puppy he couldn’t help but to think back to their first attempt at a beach trip…

"Mickey... Mick... get up. C'mon sleepy head."

"Gallagher” Mickey grumbled as he fought back a yawn and squinted through sleepy eyes. “It's like four in the morning man, can't this wait?"

"Mick it's literally twelve in the afternoon."

"Oh. Same difference." he muttered as he rolled over and nuzzled his pillow attempting to drift back off into sleep.

"Mick seriously, get up." Ian laughed as he shook his husband and wrapped his arms around him squeezing him tight.

"I swear I'll make it worth your while.” He says voice is sultry and inviting, practically dripping with honey.

"You really waking me up for a morning quickie Mr. Milkovich." Mickey replied with playfulness evident in his tone.

"No Mr. horny, I've got a surprise for you." He said, flicking Mickey on the nose and then hushing it with a soft kiss.

"A sexy surprise?" Mickey asked incredulously.

"Well... sorta," said Ian.

"This is n o t a sexy surprise." Mickey said, as he stared at what looked to be the world's most polluted beach. Or y'know just your regular average Southside public beach.

“Yeah I didn’t really expect it to be this…” Ian trailed off disgust and a bit of disappointment written plain on his face. The wind was loud in their ears, whistling the classic tune of ‘Get The Fuck Back Inside, It’s Too Damn Cold For This Shit’. A tune Mickey never ignored.

“Hey freckles, just in case you didn’t get the memo, it’s like below zero temperatures outside.”

“No it’s not, Mick. It’s like thirty degrees at worst.” Ian shot back.

“Okay, well I don’t know how you plan on doing this beach day at the start of March, genius.” Said Mickey.

“Don’t worry, we can just come back in the summer.” Mickey said, discerning his husband's disappointment and pulling him into an embrace mostly to console him but also to steal some of his body heat. Ian didn’t mind, what Mickey didn’t know was that his thoughts were already elsewhere.

“Yeah okay, you may be right.” Ian huffed a small laugh, finally giving in to the shiver that he was holding back as if somehow that would mean admitting defeat and accepting that it actually was in fact very cold.

“I promise I’ll make it up to you, Mick.” and that was the end of that. Or so Mickey thought.

One Year Later.

"This is gonna be great, Mick!" Ian exclaims, beaming ear to ear after fighting back another yawn.

"We're gonna go straight to the beach!" He has one arm wrapped around his short thug of a husband and in the other holds both his and Mickey's carry-on. It wasn’t a short impromptu vacation that Ian had planned at the very last minute, but it was much better. He figured their armed transportation business was doing pretty well and they had saved up a ton of extra money in the bank, and Mickey had just been working so hard with all the managing and security work and shit that hey, why not give themselves a little treat, right?

"We gotta check in and unpack first, dummy." Mickey says with mock annoyance. He hates to admit it but all Ian’s excitement was actually quite adorable. It reminded him of how Ian was back in their earlier days when they had just first started seeing each other in secret, fooling around in the back of the Kash&Grab, and sneaking underneath the bleachers.

"I know that already, sweetheart." Ian coos, ever since the start of their anniversary month he had picked up this funny little habit of responding to Mickey's attitude with over the top affection. Mick playfully bops him on the nose before they board their plane and settle into their seats. Without even waiting for any of the other passengers to board Mickey reclines his seat and places a sleeping mask askew over his eyes, planning to drift off into snooze-ville before the plane takes off. He takes one last peak at his studious Ian seated beside him, nose already buried in some book, before pulling his mask securely into place and dozing off. Well, dozing off for about five minutes before he was so rudely interrupted by a quiet

"Excuse me."

For god knows what reason, some stupid mix up with the tickets or whatever, Mickey was in the wrong seat and some fuckhead standing in front of Ian would like him to move. Or at least that's what he’s gathered from listening in to the conversation happening right beside him with some stranger and his husband.

“Absolutely not.” Mickey deadpans. Believe it or not he actually didn’t mean to come off as aggressive for once in his life, but Ian had woken him up waaaay too early. Trip or not Milkovich’s don’t get up before noon on a weekend, and he was already nicely settled into his seat and too comfy to migrate down the plane having to brush shoulders with a bunch of randos with morning breath probably.

“C’mon, Mick.” Ian sighs, already exasperated.

“It’s only a couple seats down, let’s just move.” He says as he nudges Mickey’s shoulder, probably giving him the ‘please let’s not make a scene just this once’ puppy dog eyes, but his magic can’t work on his husband this time seeing as how Mickey still has his eyes shielded with his sleepmask.

“M’not moving Gallagher. Already comfy. Can’t shithead just sit in the already free seat?” Mickey asserts.

“Not moving from my window seat.” He repeats once more and crosses his arms over his chest in defiance.

“Actually it has nothing to do with wanting a window seat, as it happens I actually prefer the aisle.” Came the stranger’s voice.

“It’s just that they seated me in a window seat right at the front, with all this legroom and empty space and it’s making me a little nervous.” He forces out a chuckle, obviously embarrassed but still trying his best to make light of the situation.

“Like the opposite of claustrophobia I guess, if that makes any sense?” The strange man laughs.

“No, it actually doesn't.” Mickey grumbles.

“I’m a nervous flyer and I guess it just makes me feel safer to be compressed.” Suddenly Ian’s body language shifts, he sits up right and turns to face the stranger.

“Say no more, I’ll switch with you.” Ian declares like he’s doing the guy some big favor, but Mickey doesn’t need to look at his husband to know that there is a goofy little grin plastered on his face. But Mickey does in fact dramatically rip off his night mask to shoot Ian a death glare. One that says ‘how dare you abandon me?!’without even having to utter a word.

“Wait, so you’re giving up a window seat and extra leg room?” He asks, almost in disbelief. The younger skinny stranger nods with extra enthusiasm, as if he was a salesman trying to seal a deal.

“You’re welcome to join me at any point, darling.” Ian replies all coy and shit as he closes his book and shimmies out of his seat and down the cramped plane aisle, just to end up sitting about two seats in front of his husband.

‘We can get through this right?’ Mickey thinks to himself as anxiety, and of course a total fucking stranger, start to settle in. `We've been separated by bars, by Terry, and even the Mexican border! There’s no way I’m panicking over a couple of plane seats!’ But here they are, literally just some old couple reading in silence and a jaded looking woman with her equally moody teenaged daughter placed in the rows between them. And on the inside Mickey’s mind is racing with thoughts like… ‘How could my husband do this to me? Wow, the ultimate betrayal. Now I have to move… but I’m already so comfy. You know what, he’ll just have to sit all by his lonesome then. Not my fault he decided to ditch me. Now I’m stuck sitting next to some weirdo for the rest of this dumbass flight, so serves him right anyways.’ But as the minutes pass Mickey surprisingly lets his curiosity get the better of him and he moves his night mask a little to get a peak at the so-called weirdo in question. And as he glances over he meets eyes with a young man who is practically swallowed up by his own large gray hoodie which almost distracts him from the man’s surprising striking features. Dark green eyes, razor-edged cheekbones, what seemed to be a small brown beauty mark above the left side of his upper lip and… Wow, what a crazy fucking coincidence, because as the stranger turned to meet Mickey’s gaze his hoodie pulls back just enough revealing fiery auburn hair. ‘Dude is totally stunning and a redhead?!’ Mickey thinks. ‘Oh my god he's just like a younger version of my husband!’ And as they share a quick smile Mickey is again reminded of how totally hopelessly in love with Ian he really is. ‘I wonder if he's a natural redhead..? Well, we're gonna be on this plane ride for a while so… there’s probably no shame in asking, right?’

Ian on the other hand, who was at one point as cool as a cucumber waiting for Mickey to get up and switch seats, is now a bit of a nervous wreck. Because ‘Why hasn't Mickey switched seats yet? Could he possibly be distracted? Maybe I should get up and remind him, or-’ But as he finally decides to go back and beg his husband to come join him the plane departs and he is forced to try to make peace with the fact that he won’t be riding beside Mickey. And yeah he might be more than a little upset, but then he thinks about how Mickey must be annoyed with his new plane mate, so he tries to focus and listen to see if he can hear Mickey being irritated by the poor talkative fool. “Oh a redhead, is that all natural or you get that outta ten dollar Revlon box?” He hears his husband chuckle. ‘A redhead?!’ Ian thinks, his brain sounding off alarms. ‘Don’t be ridiculous Ian, that doesn’t mean anything.’ he thinks to himself as he tries his best not to, but he can’t help the red hot burn of jealousy throbbing deep in his chest no matter how hard he tries to fight it back with logic. With each hour passing he feels his anger slowly start to bubble to the surface and just as he's about to explode the pilot announces that the plane will be landing and soon passengers will have started to depart. So out of the "greater good of his heart" Ian ends up deciding that he's just being paranoid and that the guy chatting up his husband is in fact just being friendly and nothing more. So Ian decides to let it go, it’s not like he wants to ruin this first trip alone with his husband anyway. So when the plane lands he makes sure to love up on Mickey from the airport all the way to the hotel check in and and to the beach.

"I'm telling you Mick, you need to reapply your suntan lotion! It's been two hours, and the bottle says to apply at least every hour!" Ian nags. And yeah he nags, but it’s with love, so sue him!

"Nah, they just want you to buy more of their shit. Anyhow, I'm not as pale as your ghostly ass, you should be the one worried about sunscreen here Mr. I burn like a vampire in the daylight.” Mickey chuckles.

“And if you don't come here, you're gonna miss seeing this crab, man. Little guy’s fascinating! Think he's looking for a new house!" Mickey babbles, crouched down in the sand, a half smoked joint pitched between his fingers. He was already a shade tanner and his eyes were a lazy tinge of red. Mickey was so beautiful like this. Relaxed, a little buzzed, and off in his own little world no longer burdened by the traumas that once plagued their love like Terry or prison or shitty sadistic PO’s.

"I want to see him too, baby, but you're gonna bitch all night if you get burned! Come on, it'll only take a sec."

"Nah, man. That shit s'all sticky and cold. It fucks with my high, and I might miss when Mr. Krabs finds his new house! If I burn then I burn, bitch!"

"You named the crab Mr. Krabs?” Ian giggles as he stares at the little guy who seems to have stolen his husband’s full attention.

“Not Shelly or Pincher or somethin’, you’re really going with Mr. Krabs?" Ian laughs.

“Yep.” Mickey says grinning up at his big orange giant.

“How original, Mick.” snickers Ian.

“Hey, I’m on vacation. I don’t need to be creative on vacation. I don’t need to be anything on vacation but good and high.” He takes another drag of his joint before placing it in the tiny ashtray he brought along with him and then grabs Ian and pulls him down onto him, startling and exciting him in the process.

“Well high, and on top of my husband of course.” the Milkovich says with that same flirty tone of voice that never fails to make Ian’s stomach do summersaults. And it takes every ounce of self control in his body to tear himself from Mickey when his phone rings and he knows that it’s either another goddamn ‘family emergency’, or it’s something work related that ‘just can’t wait’.

So, much to Mickey's dismay, Ian sits in the sand and answers a call from Kev regarding the transportation business while Mickey takes it upon himself to avoid work at all costs and nap beside Ian looking all cute. And by god’s name it takes everything in Ian to not just stare in awe at his beautiful husband laying face down drooling just a little on his beach chair looking very much double cheeked up in his tight blue swim trunks. ‘So blue that they almost match the blue of his damn near mesmerizing eyes, but not quite because the blue in his eyes is just too beautiful that no man-made creation could ever recreate that specific color that is Mickey and oh shit he's staring, and oh shit he's definitely waking up now…’

“Hey, there,” Mickey murmured.

“Hey, sunshine,” was all Ian could say. Still a bit stunned by Mickey’s unwitting beauty.

“Sunshine?” Mickey raises a brow.

"What's up with all the mushy gushy shit, huh lover?" he asks with a sleepy laugh, finally deciding to call it out.

In response, Ian reaches up to brush his fingers against his husband’s cheek, his once pale face now a bit bronzed and heated by the sunlight spread over them.

“You just got a bit of sun on your face, thas all. Also chair marks,” Ian moves his hand to the opposite side, feeling the faint lines pressed into his lover’s skin.

“Meanwhile you look like you’ve been very busy, real important business I see.” Mickey laughs.

“You should get some rest there, Red. Must be real tired after all that hard work playing in the sand and whatnot.” but Ian knows it’s not an insult, nor is his tone heated. He actually sounds content. So Ian huffs a small laugh in response and wraps his long arms around Mickey’s waist, burying his face into the soft part of his stomach and purring like a cat in the sun.

“Thank you for your concern, but a nap is the last thing I wanna do right now.” He mutters into Mickey’s stomach.

“Ohh, so you trying to get back to the hotel then Mr. Milkovich.” Mickey asks with a smirk. And Ian doesn’t even honor such a stupid question with such an obvious answer, and instead he grabs Mickey by the hips and hoists him up out of his beach chair and kisses him with a burning desire.

“Okay. Hotel. Now.” Mickey says, lips bitten and red, eyes a little glazed over with lust.

Hand in hand they walk along the sandy beach, enjoying the warm sun and the cool ocean breeze, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore providing a soothing background noise as they make their way back to the resort. "This is amazing," Ian says, interrupting the silence and smiling as he looks out at the ocean. "I can't believe we're actually here." and somehow Mickey knows that he’s not just talking about being here on the beach. But here. Together at last.

Eventually they make it to the hotel and quickly they rush their way through the entrance and make a beeline straight for the elevators, but before they can even make it past the hotel bar Ian is suddenly blind sighted by his actual worst nightmare. They’re greeted by none other than Mickey’s plane mate.

“Mickey? Hey! How’s it going?” He smiles brightly, too damn bright if you asked Ian, and makes his way over completely uninvited.

“Oh, hey. Brett? Right?” Mickey replies, thumbing at his brow.

“Brandon actually.” The man laughs, seemingly unfazed by Mickey's lack of gentility.

“So… this is crazy huh, I thought I had seen the last of you. Thankfully I was wrong though.” says Brett or Brandon or whoever.

“What’re you doing right now? I mean, I am working but I could definitely make you a drink. My shift ends in a bit actually.” And this time Ian knows that he's blatantly flirting with Mickey and there’s just no way he can hold his anger back now.

"He's married! To me! He's my husband!" Ian exclaims angrily, red in the face, a scorching rage igniting in his emerald eyes and permeating through his entire body as he grabs Mickey by the hand before getting in between him and plane guy. All it takes is one look and Mickey can see it in Brett’s(or Brandon’s or whoever’s) face that he has no intention of pushing back against Ian, and he watches as the poor guy basically folds up into a shell of himself and just embarrassedly backs off. So Ian doesn’t wait a second and finally drags Mickey into the elevator and up to their hotel room but on the way up Mickey just can’t help but to tease him.

"Don't know what came over ya back there, firecrotch." Mickey laughs breathlessly, lips pressed lightly into that spot on Ian’s neck that he knows just drives him wild. Ian groans and kneads the thick flesh of Mickey’s ass fitted perfectly into his palms. He places a couple more wet kisses to his neck and up his jawline before biting his lip and pulling back to look at the absolute mess he’s made of his husband.

"Can't say I didn't like it though."

#GGE2022 #fanfiction

21 notes · View notes

gale-gentlepenguin · 4 years

Text

ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Part 32

Happy Halloween to everyone! I hope that you enjoy this treat. Sorry this took so long to write out. This one took a few rewrites to get it where I wanted it to be.

Plus, Real life stuff got in the way So hopefully this will be a nice little treat for you all.

(Master Post)

__________________________________________________________________

Marinette watched in horror as she watched her best friend struggle on the floor.

She dashed to her side, and tried to help Alya get that weird mask off her face.

“By all means go right ahead. Its already too late.” Masquerade laughed as she watched Marinette struggle. “Soon enough she will be helping me take you down.”

The designer pushed the words of the psychotic akuma out of her mind. She refused to let her friend get turned into a mindless drone like before.

“It wont come off!” Marinette grunted as she tried so hard to remove it.

Masquerade watched her bracelet, waiting for a change to occur.

Alya’s muffled screams and frantic movements stopped.

“Alya?”

Marinette jumped up as she watched her friend transform, her casual clothes transformed into a familiar black and white costume. The Wi-Fi symbol on her chest. Lady Wifi has returned.

Masquerade’s bracelet gained a new charm, one looking reminiscent of a cell phone.

“And now she is my friend.” The villain stated as she watched Marinette start stepping away from the enslaved akuma.

“Alya… you need to fight it. You can’t let her control you.”

“Sorry Marinette, but Alya is unable to answer.” Masquerade mocked. “But I can take a message for you.”

Lady wifi stood silent, like an inactive robot, awaiting orders from its master. The inner machinations of the mind are not shown with the emotionless white mask covering her face.

Marinette turned her eyes toward the mask themed akuma, anger burning in her pupils.

“Let her go Lila. Let them all go before things get serious. Your plan will fail, Ladybug and Chat noir will arrive and beat the akuma out of you. Then you will have to answer for this too.”

Masquerade’s smile faded when she saw the fierce look. Marinette was not a sniveling mess, she actually looked even more defiant then before!

“Acting all high and mighty. I think I will enjoy turning you into my helpless puppet next.”

Masquerade lifted her hand towards Marinette, waiting to unmask her deepest secrets, and break her down.

“When I get a peek at what is hiding behind all of that fake courage, it will all come crashing down. Now let’s see your greatest secrets.”

Marinette looked around, trying to think of something. If Lila figured out her big secret, it was over. Ladybug would be exposed. She needed a way out, until she noticed something. Masquerade wasn’t doing anything.

“Huh?”

Marinette was perplexed by the akuma simply standing there.

“Ummm... are you going to do it now or...”

“Why can’t I see your secrets? My powers should allow me to see what you’re hiding and allow me to exploit it. It worked on everyone else I used it on, why not you?”

“Maybe I just don’t have any secrets to hide.” Marinette commented, watching with a bit of satisfaction as the akuma’s smug look shift.

Masquerade felt her frustration and anger boil at the comment. Something wasn’t adding up.

“Hawkmoth!” She cried out in rage.

A purple butterfly outline popped out.

“What is it?” The dark voice connected in her head.

“Why can’t I read Marinette’s secrets?” Masquerade angrily questioned.

“What?”

“Her secrets! I was able to zero in on everyone else I’ve used the ability on. Why does it not work on her!? Of all people I want this power to work on!”

Marinette felt both concerned and a bit flattered that she was the one Lila wanted to defeat the most. It was sort of mutual.

“Your power works on anyone I’ve akumatized, regardless of who it is.” The butterfly villain communicated.

“So… your saying you didn’t akumatize her before? How is that possible?”

“I haven’t gotten to every single person in Paris.”

“You’ve akumatized that stupid pigeon man 26 times! How have you not gotten everyone!?”

“Paris is a big city, even if I akumatized someone every day, I doubt I would have hit 1/10th of the population. Besides, it takes strong negative emotions for me to send out an akuma. And that man seems to just be the easiest target for it. “ Hawkmoth defended himself. “Its not like I WANT to akumatize him every other day.”

“Unbelievable!”

“Just get the miraculous. That is your focus, the girl can wait for later.”

Masquerade’s butterfly outline dispelled as hawkmoth was finished with that conversation.

“Well that sucks. I guess I can just go back to plan A. Having you watch as I turn everyone against you... aren't here. What!”

Masquerade frantically looked around for the teen she had been antagonizing and found that she was no longer in the same spot. In fact, she was no longer in the office!

Marinette had decided to slip away from the akuma while she was having her little tantrum to the evil butterfly man.

“Why didn't you do something!” She shouted at Lady Wifi.

“You did not give me an order.” Lady Wifi answered robotically.

Masquerade glared at the akuma servant. She would almost think it was rebelling against her.

“Even as a mindless servant you still find a way to ruin things.”

She looked around and noticed the other akuma in the room that was still on the floor.

“Dark Owl get up!”

The owl themed akuma got up from the floor. Removing parts of the broken pot from his costume.

Masquerade snapped her fingers. Catching the attention of Dark Owl and Lady Wifi.

“Both of you, I want Marinette brought back to me right now! I want to make sure she stays quiet and sees everything we have set up. I don’t need her causing trouble.”

______________________________________________________________________

“…and that is everything.” A young woman said with a mixture of relief and excitement. She had finally finished setting everything up in the school infirmary. She had organized the files, restocked the bandages, changed the sheets on the resting cots, and put her personal decals on the desk. She was starting her first day as the school nurse, and things have been going up.

She put herself back out there and started dating Curtis, the sweet guy she met last week despite what would’ve normally been a deal breaking misunderstanding, she got into the med school program she wanted to get into and will be attending part time, and she managed to get a job at the school she went to when she went to Lycee.

She heard a ding from the front of the nurse’s office just as she was about to sit down.

“First student of the day. I better see what they need.”

She exited the small office area in the infirmary to see a blonde student who was clearly impatient

“What is taking so long!?” The teen shouted.

“Hello there. How can I help you?”

The blonde looked up a bit to see the nurses smile, she rolled her eyes.

“Who the hell are you? Isnt there supposed to be a different woman here?”

“If you are referring to the previous school nurse, she retired officially last week. I am the new school nurse. You can call me Nurse Angela.”

Angela never really liked using her last name, it made her sound old. So, she would be fine with the kids calling by her first name. It also helps with psychology, allowing more for a social dynamic based on mutual respect rather than authority.

“Whatever.”

Angela felt a twinge of frustration at the girl’s dismissal. But she kept her smile.

“And you are?”

The teen smirked.

“Chloé Bourgeous. And before you ask, yes, the daughter of the mayor.”

Angela felt a shiver go down her spine. She remembered from what the previous nurse told her. That Chloé was the mayor’s bratty daughter who would use her father’s influence to get anyone fired if she got angry enough.

‘That at least explains her rude attitude. She is a spoiled Brat.’

Angela was not going to let this bother her. She was going to take it in stride. She would be kind and courteous as she planned to be with any student at the Dupont.

“So, Chloé. What brings you here?”

Chloé walks in.

“My chair broke because someone sabotaged my chair. I ended up bruising my… anyway I need some ice, and anything to numb the pain.”

“My goodness! That sounds terrible. Who would do such a thing?”

“It was probably Marinette, that nasty little rat. Adding insult to injury now that she is dating Adrien.”

Nurse Angela moved to get some ice from the freezer for the bruised bottom of the Mayor’s daughter, listening to the girl vent. She was sure that whoever this Marinette girl was, probably didn’t do it. And if somehow, she did, it was likely because the annoying blonde deserved it. But that was not something Angela felt was worth mentioning. She kept that bit to herself.

“She is probably blackmailing my adrikins with something. There is no way he would be dating her without some sort of reason.”

“Is it possible that maybe he just likes her?” Angela inquired as she presented the bag of ice to Chloé.

Chloé looked at the nurse as if she had just told her that she had 3 eyes and a scorpion tail.

“Adrien liking Marinette?! That is ridiculous, Utterly ridiculous! There is no way that Adrien would…”

Chloé felt her mind flash through moments. Adrien and Marinette about to kiss for that movie, Adrien and Marinette dancing at her party? The photos she found of them running from fans, that kiss at the picnic during heroes’ day. Adrien taking Marinette to that interview instead of her… The stubborn blonde felt as if everything clicked into place.

“Chloé? Is everything okay?” The nurse called out, trying to get the spaced-out teen’s attention.

“He might actually LIKE her!”

Chloé felt her own skin crawl as she made her realization.

Angela didn’t know how to respond to this situation.

“I am going to straighten Adrien out right now! I am not going to let him make such a foolish mistake!”

The nurse could tell this could be bad if the mayor’s daughter was so heated, what if she got this innocent girl expelled? If she stood by and did nothing then her time at the school would be internally marked with the regret of not stopping such a potential disaster.

“Wait, Miss Bourgeois.”

Chloé stopped.

“What is it?”

“I… I just noticed that you’re limping. The injury might be more serious than you think. Let me have a look at it closer before you leave.”

The mayor’s daughter would simply have left without a second thought. But having a limp would make her walk much less dignified and lacking the power she needs to intimidate, but mainly that she would look lame with a limp.

“Alright, just make it quick.”

______________________________________________________________________________

“I don’t get why you felt the need to leave.” The cat kwami rolled his eyes. “If you want to be rebellious Adrien, we could leave the school and head to the movies. Though if we do, you should invite your girlfriend.”

“Plagg, this isn’t about rebellion or future date ideas. Something isn’t right with this whole situation. I just want to sneak a peek in the office, make sure Marinette and Alya get their story out, and then I am headed right back to class. No problem.” Adrien summarized as they kept walking.

Plagg noticed someone headed their way and went to hide in Adrien’s pocket.

Adrien took notice that it was his homeroom teacher. Perhaps he could ask her.

“Hey Ms.Bustier. Can I ask you a quick question?”

The red headed teacher walked past the teen without acknowledging his question. Her eyes focused on what was ahead.

“That’s weird… She would always stop to help a student.”

Adrien could feel that his favorite teacher may have been affected by something sinister.

“Ms.Bustier, can you hear me out for a second?” He asked as he touched her shoulder to try and get her attention.

The mirage of her appearance shifted from the homeroom teacher to the stylized patchwork costume of a familiar akuma enemy.

Adrien was surprised to see the true form of the imposter. The kiss zombie maker, Zombizou.

The akuma turned to show the face mask that hid her face. Her attention was now firmly on the boy, whether he wanted it or not.

Adrien backed away, nervously keeping his eyes on the teacher as he carefully backed up.

“You know, I think I will just ask someone else.”

Adrien took down the next hall running.

______________________________________________________________________

Masquerade reclined in her chair, her frustration was growing as she wondered what was taking those two minions she sent out to capture Marinette so long.

“They shouldn’t be having that much difficulty. She is just one person!”

She heard a ring, and knew her sentimonster was trying to contact her.

“What is it Simulare?”

“The illusion I had on Zombizou was broken. Someone is on to us, and the minion is in pursuit.”

Masquerade felt a headache forming. She didn’t have time for a wild goose chase. She needed to move on to phase two of her plan, making her army of akuma.

“Track down Marinette and this other person that found out about Zombizou, keep them busy as long as possible. I am going to move on to phase two. Make sure no one is on to us.”

“Understood. I’ll get them back in the office and make sure neither of them escape.”

“Good”

Masquerade ended the call and felt her head ease a bit. The sentimonster she was given was obedient and competent. It was based on her mindset, so it would make sense that it would be capable of handling this problem.

“Now, let’s get that army.”

______________________________________________________________________________

“Give me a break.” Marinette muttered to herself.

She thought she would have time to transform once she escaped the office, but the two akuma were right out of the office before she had time to make sure everything was clear.

In her rush she cut a corner down a hallway and ended up colliding with another person.

“Ouch.” They cry out in unison, both looking to realize who they bumped into. Their faces turned to relief.

“Marinette!” “Adrien!”

The two called out in unison.

“Why are you running?” “Why are you running?”

“An akuma!” “An akuma!”

“An akuma?” “An akuma?”

They both look behind the other to notice the incoming akumas approaching them.

“As cute as this is, we need to go.”

Adrien Grabs Marinette’s Hand and they both head to the open area and try to get to the main entrance.

‘I need to get Adrien somewhere safe, then I can go transform into Ladybug.’ Marinette thought to herself, unaware that Adrien was thinking the same thing.

They make quick movements down hallway, moving up and down staircases to confuse their pursuers. They managed to give them the slip as the controlled akuma seemed to not be able of basic reasoning and quick fake outs and movements.

The two make their way down to what appeared to be the front of the school.

“The entrance!” Marinette called out. “Okay, we split up at the entrance and try to get help. They can’t catch us both.”

The run to the entrance only for them to stop short, colliding with some invisible wall.

It was only after making contact did the front entrance of the school shift back into a wall. The layout of the entire school seemed to shift instantly. The school had been put under an illusion to trick them into thinking they were escaping.

“It’s an illusion. Which means Lila must be involved with that group of akumas.” Adrien exclaimed.

“More like she is the cause. She is the one controlling the akumatized mask wearers. She got the Principal and Alya.”

“Wait, does this mean that Lila’s power is to make akuma!?”

“From what I saw, she can only akumatize people that have been akumatized before using her face masks. You haven’t been akumatized right?” Marinette questioned.

“No, and since she didn't get you, you haven't either right?”

“Yea, though I have had a few close calls.”

“So, if Lila’s power is akumatizing people, what akuma made this illusion on the school?”

“That would be me.” A third voice calls out.

The two turned to look and see a familiar fox themed villain smiling confidently.

“Volpina!”

“Not exactly.”

The Volpina impersonator looked around to see if the other akumatized servents were going to arrive.

“Seems you both are quite clever when it comes to annoying Mistress Masquerade.”

“Masquerade?”

“That’s what Lila’s calling herself.”

“Oh... cause of the masks.”

The villain rolls her eyes, encapsulating the personality of the arrogant volpina that it was pretending to be.

“Masquerade realizes that you two are both quite difficult to snag with mindless servants, so she requested I handle this.”

“No, you won’t.” Marinette grabs Adrien’s Hand and tries to run away only for the Faux Fox to flip in front of them

“Yea, I am not letting you out of my sight. Now be good and come along peacefully.”

Adrien moves in front of Marinette.

“Go, I’ll hold her off.”

“But…”

“Go. I trust you.” Adrien smiles as he looks to her for a moment.

Marinette wanted to stay and fight with him, but she knew that she needed to go and transform. Ladybug will be needed before this blows up.

“I’ll get help.”

Marinette runs away from the two as fast as she can. Adrien making sure to block the way should their foe get any ideas.

“She won’t get far, she will get captured before she even gets a chance.”

Adrien shook his head.

“You would be surprised with how just how amazing Marinette is.”

Marinette rushed out of sight and into the closest bathroom, quickly making sure it was a safe place to transform.

“Coast is clear. Time for Ladybug to step in.”

“Let’s hope we can get to Adrien in time before things get worse.” Tikki commented.

“Don't worry, I trust he’ll be okay. Tikki! Spots on!”

______________________________________________________________________________

“Can you believe it Juleka?” The peppy perfume enthusiast squealed. “Marinette and Adrien are finally an item.”

“Yes, I was there rose.” Juleka commented with an eye roll and a smile.

“I know! I am just so happy for them both.” Rose calms herself a bit. “Though… how will your brother take it?”

The purple haired teen reflected on the comment.

“It will be an adjustment, but I am sure Lulu will be fine once he gets a couple songs out of it.”

“I’ll be sure to be supportive.”

Juleka patted Rose’s head, smiling sweetly at the blonde’s caring attitude. She decided now would be a good time to spring that surprise on her. She was planning on showing her during lunch, but since Ms.Bustier wasn’t in class. Now would be the perfect time to show Rose the earrings she got her.

She casually reached into her bag, sliding her hand into her lunch bag, trying to find the earring box, only to notice it not there. Her hand moved frantically searching.

“Is something wrong?” Rose inquired, a bit of concern on her face.

“No, nothing. Nothing is wrong, just…” Juleka dismissed as she kept searching only to know for certain that her gift was not in there.

“Are you sure?”

“I just need do something really quick.”

She quickly grabbed her phone and calmly while hoping that her brother would see her text.

In her quick movement, she failed to notice the door of the classroom opening.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Psst, Luka. Luka!” A dark-haired teen whispered, trying to get the attention of the teal-tipped hair guitarist that was hiding his sleeping face with an open science book.”

“Hmm?” The tired teen responded with his eyes still closed. He was barely awake. He had been up all night working on that new song that was stuck in his head. He could still hear it playing in his thoughts as he tried to shake himself awake.

“Your phone vibrated, seemed important.”

“Oh, thanks Theo.” He moved his hand to take a look at his phone.

The science teacher was rambling on about molecules or something, clearly unaware of how disinterested everyone in the class was with his boring lecture.

Luka looked through to see a few text messages from his sister.

‘Hey, can you check your lunch to see if there is a jewelry box in there? Rose’s gift is in there.’

‘If you find it, can you swing by around your free period to bring it to me?’

Luka quickly snuck his hand into his backpack and sure enough he felt the small box. He was about to text a response. But stopped when he read the last two texts.

‘Sh*t there is an akuma in the class!’

Luka’s eyes shot open, his sister was in danger. Which also meant his band was also in danger. He needed to get there.

He shot up from his chair. And started making his way to the door.

“Mr.Couffaine, where do you think you’re going?”

“Family emergency.”

The science teacher was about to tell the young boy to wait until his parent calls, but he remembered who is mother was and what she did the last time he held up her kid when Anarke wanted to pick him up early. The teacher proceeded to held back his response.

“Proceed. Just be sure to get the notes from today’s lesson.”

Luka was out the door before the teacher could finish.

______________________________________________________________________

A car speeds down the road, the driver cursing to herself as she tries to move faster.

‘Get in, get Adrien, and get out before everything hits the fan.’

Nathalie mentally repeated to herself. She knows that pushing herself too hard was also dangerous. She couldn't risk feeling weak right now.

The driver slammed the break as she arrived at the school. She needed to hurry. She parked the car and opened the door.

“Lets hope that this akuma hasn't gotten to Adrien yet.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Ms. Bustier’s class had diverted all their attention to the costumed individual in the front of the classroom. The eerie masks that adorned her costume seemed to unsettle everyone.

Juleka put her phone away and joined in on what everyone was staring at

Alix was the one to say what was on everyone’s mind.

“Who the f*** are you?”

The akuma smirked.

“Excellent, a volunteer.”

Raising her hand and pointing towards Alix, her charm bracelet began to glow.

“Interesting, seems that you have quite a soft spot for cute things.”

The class turned to look at Alix with confusion.

Alix kept her cool.

“And? Is there a point?” Alix rolled her eyes, ignoring the akuma’s attempt to get under her skin. It would take more than that to actually do anything to her.

“You pretend you have this ‘Devil may care’ attitude, that you are too cool to care about what people think, but really you are more obsessed with how people perceive you than anyone else in here.”

Alix felt her smirk falter for a second.

“You are really sensitive about your height and anytime someone brings it up you are in a bad mood for the rest of the day. But what really gets to you is your ‘Family’. You hate how your brother is a laughing stock because of his crackpot theories and your greatest fear is that no matter how much you try to be this punk rebel, you will always be cast as ‘The Conspiracy nut’s sister’.”

“Shut up! You don’t know my life!” Alix yelled.

“Not so fun getting exposed, is it?”

The class realized immediately who this mysterious akuma was.

Masquerade smiled as she flung a mask right at the pink haired teen. Causing her to fall down. And struggle to get the mask off, but before anyone could help her. It was too late.

The class could only watch in horror as their classmate transformed into their Akuma persona. Before standing up.

The class tried to make a break for it. They knew full well the dangers of this new akuma.

“Timebreaker, guard the door.”

The akuma skated to the door and everyone jumped back. They knew that touching Timebreaker was not a good idea.

“Lila, this isn’t cool. Let Alix go.” Nino called out.

The Mask akuma shook her head.

“Lila is not a thing anymore. She was unmasked and dismissed. But now I have a new mask, I’m Masquerade. Soon enough, you will all be unmasked and given a new mask that better suits you. Alya knows that very well.”

Nino’s his eyes flared at the statement.

“What did you do to my girl?”

Masquerade pointed her hand at him just as her charm bracelet glowed, now with a rollerblade charm added to it.

“The same thing I am about to do to all of you.”

______________________________________________________________________

Will the rest of the class fall victim to Masquerade’s evil plan? Will Ladybug be able to save Adrien from the Sentimonster? Will Nathalie get to Adrien before its too late? Will I ever update consistently?

Fine out all these questions and more in the next part.

Thank you all for reading the most recent addition to Soulmate Survey.

Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter and if you really liked it. Reblog it. (Sharing is the only way my story actually gets out.) Plus, tagging has been kind of glitchy for me, so until that gets straightened out, I can't tag people for the story at the moment.

#ml #soulmate survey #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanficiton #ml au #ss #miraculous #masquerade akuma #masquerade #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #lady wifi #lila rossi #ladybug #tikki #plagg #adrinette #lovesquare

642 notes · View notes

kpopfanfictrash · 4 years

Text

s is for sexy

Author: kpopfanfictrash

Pairing: Jungkook

Word Count: 1,532

Rating: PG-13

Summary: An accompanying drabble to The Art of War More. This drabble takes place after the events of both TAOM and L is for Lunacy. Jungkook is included in People magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive issue, but you can’t find a copy anywhere.

[ PART OF MY JUNGKOOK BIRTHDAY DRABBLE GAME ]

“We’ve made a terrible mistake,” you complained, sinking down on a park bench to rest your chin in one hand.

Coming to a stop, Gina craned her neck to peer over her shoulder. “I agree,” she said. “We should’ve stopped and gotten donuts at that shop I pointed out.”

“Gina.” You looked up. “Read the room, alright?”

“Right, sorry.”

She grinned, plopping down on the park bench beside you. Adjusting her green and white striped shorts, Gina lifted a hand to scan the horizon. A few children played on the slide at the playground, their innocent cackles drifting over the hedges.

Utterly exhausted, you sighed. “We should give up.”

“No!” Gina turned to face you, appalled. “We’re not stopping until we’ve combed every newsstand in the city. Until we’ve harassed every bodega owner! Until our names are plastered under persona non grata in every library!”

Normally, Gina’s speeches were enough for you to crack a smile, but not today. Today was the day Jungkook’s big magazine article was released and you had woefully dropped the ball. To be fair, Seokjin had suggested you order the volume ahead of time, since the People’s Sexiest Men issue tended to sell out, but you completely forgot.

Jungkook had stayed on campus through Senior year, but then had immediately entered the NHL. This was his second full season with the team and already, he was garnering national attention. Much of this was due to a viral clip of your boyfriend removing his jersey at the end of game five of the western conference finals, but said clip wouldn’t have gone viral if Jungkook had been on the bench.

The fact that he got playing time in his first season was remarkable – let alone that he was playing in the semis and was now considered the league’s It boy. Already there were rumors of him being nominated for end of year awards. Jungkook was excited about those, of course, but you and your friends were more excited for this. People’s Sexiest Men Alive.

He wasn’t the cover, of course – that was reserved for A list celebrities – but it seemed Jungkook’s abs had been enough to land him a mention. You’d planned on wallpapering the apartment door with the photo before he got home tomorrow, but that wouldn’t happen if you couldn’t get your hands on a copy.

Unfortunately for you, the issue seemed to be sold out.

Sighing again, you folded your arms over your chest. “Has Seokjin said anything to you?” you asked Gina. “Was he able to find one?”

“How should I know?” she said, somewhat defensive. “It’s not like I know everything Seokjin does or says.”

You stared at her for a moment, unsure how to respond. “Uh – I know?”

“Right.” Gina swallowed, somewhat mollified. “Why don’t we call him?”

Shaking your head at her weirdness, you pulled your phone from your pocket. Honestly, Gina and Seokjin had been acting mad weird lately. They acted all cagey and awkward whenever you asked one about the other. If you didn’t know better, you’d almost think they were fighting.

Dialing Seokjin’s number, you leaned back on the bench and listened to his ringback tone. Kim Seokjin was one of the only people you knew – well, him and your aunt – who still had that feature, and Seokjin hadn’t bothered to update his since 2011. It was still Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen.

HEY, I JUST MET YOU! AND THIS IS CRAZ –

“Hello?”

“Seokjin,” you groaned. “When are you going to change that dumb ringback tone?”

“Whenever Carly Rae goes out of style, so never.”

Gina, having overheard, cracked up beside you.

“Anyways,” you said, switching to your other ear. “Any luck on the search?”

“Sorry, but nope. Seems your boyfriend is more in demand than that one donut shop Gina always wants to go to.”

“That, or it’s the fact that Michael B. Jordan’s on the cover.”

“Yeah, probably that.”

“Alright,” you sighed, picking a thread on your jeans. “Thanks for trying, Seokjin.”

“Anytime,” he said and hung up.

As you shoved your phone in your purse, Gina looked at you warily. “No luck?”

“Nope.”

“Hm.” Gina leaned back on the bench. “Maybe we should switch gears here, get creative. We could cut out semi-nude photos of Jungkook and stick them to the pages of last year’s edition!”

“Where would I get last year’s issue, though?”

“Good point.” Gina thought. “You could just stick semi-nude photos of Jungkook to your front door?”

“Gina,” you laughed, shoving her shoulder. “Stop stripping my boyfriend!”

“There it is!” Gina beamed. “I knew I could get you to laugh.”

Shaking your head, your smile faded a little. Gina was right though, this was silly. It would’ve been fun for Jungkook to come home from his away game to this, but it was hardly the end of the world. You would just order a copy online and wait.

Heaving a great sigh, you stood from the bench. “Okay,” you said, turning to Gina. “Let’s head out.”

Gina convinced you to go to the donut shop at least, so you didn’t arrive home empty-handed. That was the reason she gave you at least, although you knew it had more to do with her recently launched donut Instagram.

The box was precariously perched on your hip as you shoved open the door, placing the keys on the hook to kick the door shut. As you turned to walk inside, you started – nearly dropping the entire box of donuts on the floor.

“Jungkook?” you gasped.

Chucking the box on the counter, you dashed across the room.

Jungkook laughed when you reached him, immediately jumping to wrap your legs around his waist. He caught you easily, warm hands on your waist as you buried your face in his chest. Somewhat awkwardly, he walked you towards the kitchen.

“You’re back!” you blurted, pulling back to see him.

Jungkook grinned, rosy-cheeked from your touch. “I’m back,” he agreed, depositing you on the kitchen counter. “Miss me?”

“How?” you demanded, poking his chest. “How’d you get home so fast?”

“I feel so welcome,” Jungkook teased. At the look on your face, he grinned. “Coach cancelled tomorrow’s practice, so I caught a flight back today.”

“Yay,” you said happily, leaning to rest your head on his chest.

The steady thrum of his heartbeat reassured you and for a moment, you allowed yourself to enjoy this. Jungkook smelled as he always did, like light floral and cotton, and the weight of his hands on your thighs made your heart calm.

His thumbs played with the thread on your jeans, which sent your mind to other places – places involving your bed, his ass and zero clothes – but for now, you were content with this.

“What’s in the box?” he murmured into your hair.

“Oh, right,” you said and pulled back. Twisting around, you dragged the donut box towards you and popped the top. “Some might be a bit squished since I threw them. Gina and I went to the new donut place on Lakeview.”

Jungkook’s eyes went super-wide. He immediately bent to grab the closest donut, powdered sugar getting everywhere when he bit into the side.

“Yum.” Jungkook’s eyes rolled exaggeratedly back in his head. “Wow, this is the best welcome home I’ve ever gotten. There’s you, of course, but also – donuts.”

“Obviously,” you said. “There was actually supposed to be another surprise, but I kind of messed it up.”

Jungkook licked powdered sugar off his wrist. “Messed something up? You? Don’t buy it.”

“Suck up,” you teased. “But no, really. I wanted to get your People’s Sexiest Men edition! I was going to plaster it across the front door and embarrass you.”

Jungkook grimaced. “As fun as that sounds, the donuts are better.”

“What? You aren’t proud of how sexy you are?”

“I don’t care about that.” Jungkook swallowed the last of the donut. “As long as you find me sexy.”

Tipping your head back, you groaned. “Okay, now you’re seriously sucking up.”

“Mm.” Placing his hands on either side of your thighs, Jungkook’s nose grazed your jawline. “Anything else you want me to suck?”

“Jungkook!”

Drawing back, his gaze glinted darkly. “Besides, why do you need that photo of me with my shirt off?”

You frowned, perturbed and he reached one hand overhead. Still looking at you, Jungkook did that stupid-hot thing guys do where they remove their shirt with one hand. When his six pack abs were revealed, they left you a bit speechless.

Flexing a little, Jungkook grinned. “You have the real thing.”

“Shut up,” you groaned, shoving his pec. Oh – hard. Sliding down from the counter, you began walking towards the bedroom. “But since you offered…”

Jungkook waggled his brows. “I did.”

“Get in there, sexiest man alive,” you laughed. “Show me what you got.”

“Alright.” Jungkook caught himself on the doorframe with both hands. “But before we go any further, I feel compelled to clarify I’m not People’s sexiest man, just one of them. Michael B. Jordan is the sexiest man alive.”

“Jungkook!” You pointed through the door. “Bed!”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a salute.

You stared after him, grinning stupidly before following.

kpopfanfictrash, 2020. Do not copy or repost without permission.

#jungkook fanfic #bts fanfic #jungkook fluff #bts fluff #jungkook drabble #bts drabble

813 notes · View notes

swordlesbean · 4 years

Note

rewatching the first 3 eps is kinda frustrating at how much Adora does NOT think about Catra covering for her not even once while she's playing around in beds, plays pinata, eats good food etc, she's gone for days and like Catra says later didn't even think she was taking the fall for her damn. and didn't even spare a glance at Catra while celebrating with her new driends at selinas

This is actually something I've wanted to talk about for a long time, so thanks for giving me an excuse to finally do it! I think when people are annoyed with Adora for supposedly not thinking about Catra in early s1, they aren't giving full consideration to Adora's perspective during that time period. She's, uh... dealing with a lot, to say the least. There's been a fair amount of analysis about Catra's perspective during this time, but not nearly as much about Adora's. I will try to remedy that here, in my typically long-winded way.

Let's take it from the beginning. Adora touches a mysterious sword in the woods that gives her visions and makes her black out. She’s still having these visions and hearing voices when she’s back home, so she sneaks out at night to find the sword again because she wants answers. Reasonable. She plans to be back by morning, but she asks Catra to stay behind because she doesn't want Catra getting in trouble on her behalf in case something goes wrong. Also reasonable. Boom, nothing goes according to her plan, and everything goes wrong.

Adora finds the sword, but runs into Rebellion soldiers. She tries to fight them for the sword, but when she touches it, she has another vision and blacks out again. She wakes up with her hands tied, a prisoner. She bides her time instead of trying to escape because she still wants the sword. During this time, she's told information that conflicts with what she knows about the Horde, and oh yeah, she somehow randomly transforms into an 8-foot-tall legendary warrior princess. Then she and her captors get chased by a giant spider to an abandoned temple, which she’s able to open because she can apparently read a long-dead language, but then they’re trapped in the ruins.

Once they get out, she’s no longer being held captive, so she can now go back to the Horde. But she needs answers and decides to go to Bright Moon so someone can give her an explanation for all this crazy shit happening to her. At this point, is she thinking about Catra and what might be happening back home? No. But frankly, there is a lot on her plate! Like, life changing stuff. She can turn into a princess! But princesses are evil and the enemy! But this angry sparkly princess and nice archer guy are saying the Horde are actually the bad guys? What is going on? What is she?

Adora still intends to go back to the Horde, but she feels she can't do that until she gets more intel about what happening to her and what it means. She’s always wanted to know more about where she came from. This may be her only chance. And even though her overprotective streak sometimes makes Catra think she feels otherwise, Adora absolutely believes in Catra and knows she's smart and resourceful and can handle herself, so it doesn't occur to Adora that there's reason to worry.

Then Thaymor happens. They stop there for transportation, but Bow insists they stay for the party because he realizes Adora's life has been utterly depressing, and he wants her to experience something nice. I think it's pretty harsh to hold it against Adora that she gets excited and awed and distracted by encountering a party and eating good food for the very first time in her life ever. Can the girl please be allowed to live a little? Like, she's an anxious, guilt-ridden, duty-burdened mess 90% of the time, so let's maybe not blame her for having a good time for once.

That good time is pretty quickly ruined anyway. Reality ensues. The Horde ensues. Catra ensues. But even as Thaymor is attacked, Adora thinks it's a mistake. It's bad intel; she just has to explain, and the Horde will stop. It's only when she comes face to face with Catra that she understands the truth about the Horde and makes her decision to leave. Let’s be clear on this: Adora doesn't just leave the Horde without any consideration for Catra. Catra isn’t an afterthought here, she is literally standing right in front of Adora when Adora makes her decision.

Thaymor from Adora's perspective is finding out that her whole life has been a lie and that she doesn't know her best friend as well as she thought. What Adora sees is Catra being part of an attack on defenseless people and seeming to have zero concern or regret about it. What she perceives is Catra refusing to join the good guys and choosing to remain part of a lying, destructive army despite the truth of a burning village in front of them. What she feels is Catra disregarding her decision to leave and tasing her in the back as she tries to walk away.

It's important to remember that in this moment, Adora feels betrayed by Catra as much as Catra feels betrayed by Adora. People always talk about Adora breaking their promise by choosing to leave, but Catra breaks it too by choosing to stay. They both make decisions that hurt the other, and they both feel abandoned.

So that's what Adora is carrying with her in regards to Catra in early s1. She's internalized this betrayal, these hurt feelings, but she's also really trying not to let herself feel any of it. Not just because it hurts, but because it’s what she’s been taught to do. She’s well-practiced in denying herself, denying her pain and her wants and needs. This trait of hers is given specific attention in s5, but it's a necessary lens to view Adora through in every season. She won't ever put herself and her feelings first. She doesn't think she's allowed to be weak, to feel hurt and express that hurt, not when more important things are at stake. Shadow Weaver always said her feelings for Catra were a problem, and for the first time, Adora agrees, so she tries not to feel them.

She can also avoid thinking about Catra because she has so much to distract her. Catra is still in the Horde, surrounded by reminders of Adora, so it's impossible for her not to think of Adora. But Adora's situation is different. She's in a new environment, suddenly overwhelmed by a huge destiny and all these new experiences and stimuli and social dynamics she has never experienced in her life. So she puts all of her attention into learning the rules and expectations of this new life. She hyperfocuses on her duty as She-Ra.

That doesn't mean there aren't reminders of the past. Adora doesn't feel comfortable sleeping alone, and the clear implication is that she can't sleep without Catra. She isn't "playing around in beds," she just has no idea what to make of a soft bed because she's used to austere conditions. And she's certainly not able to forget what the Horde represents to the people she's now living with. She gets run out of Bright Moon because of the Horde symbol on her back, and she receives a thinly veiled threat from Angella in front of Micah's portrait. She doesn't feel secure in her place in the Rebellion, so she's definitely not going to talk about missing anything or anyone from the Horde, however much of it she actually lets herself feel.

Salineas is the first time Adora encounters Catra after Thaymor, and the wounds from that confrontation are still fresh. She asked Catra to come with her then, but all it got her was a taser to the back, so she's not feeling too charitable towards Catra and isn't keen on reaching out again. She's completely in She-Ra duty mode, trying to restore the Sea Gate to protect the kingdom from the Horde. But then, Catra isn't making real efforts to try and bridge the gap between them either. In fact, from Adora’s perspective, she appears to be perfectly happy widening it.

While Adora is fixing the gate, she’s getting hit with electric feedback and also can't risk moving or fighting back, but that doesn’t stop Catra from lashing out at her. Catra mocks, scratches, punches. Even when she softens up a bit, she talks like Adora is just going through a phase. She's trying to convince Adora to come back to the Horde, but in the same way Adora wasn’t thinking about what Catra might face by covering for her while she was away, Catra’s not thinking about what it would actually mean for Adora to come back, the terrible consequences she would face as a defector.

Adora knows she can’t go back to the Horde, not just because of her morals, but also because it’s too late to do so without something bad happening to her. So she wonders, if Catra cares about her, why would she want to bring her back to that? If Catra cares about her, why won’t she just leave the Horde and come with Adora? Adora can't see into Catra's mind, so she doesn't know the underlying motivations and feelings driving her behavior. And Adora’s never really had the "you hurt me, so I'll hurt you back" impulse, so she’s more inclined to read Catra's aggressive actions towards her as a sign that Catra maybe doesn’t care about her as much as she once thought.

After Salineas, things continue to heat up between them during Princess Prom. This time Adora is highly confrontational towards Catra. She fully believes Catra is planning something bad, and she's absolutely right, though she still tries to save Catra's life when they fall off the cliff. That act doesn't seem to matter to Catra, and she ups the ante and hurts Adora worse then ever by taking Glimmer and Bow as hostages.

Adora finally softens towards Catra when Catra returns the sword and let's her and Glimmer escape the Fight Zone. Up until that moment, Adora isn't sure that Catra still cares, but this is confirmation for her. The next time they meet, Adora makes a real effort to reach out, and she again asks Catra to leave the Horde. And they actually do start reconnecting a little, until Light Hope plays on Catra's insecurities with those memory simulations, in an attempt to drive them apart and get Adora to let go of Catra in the same way Shadow Weaver always wanted her to.

And it does successfully drive them further apart and is the true beginning of Catra’s descent into villainous self-destruction and reality-destroying levels of resentment towards Adora. But what it doesn’t do is get Adora to let go of Catra. Because it doesn't matter what Light Hope and Shadow Weaver and even Catra say or do, Adora never can let go. She does eventually let go of the idea that she's the one responsible for Catra's actions, and she puts up boundaries and becomes harder towards Catra. But she never truly gives up on her or stops caring about her, even when Catra is at her most destructive and spiteful and personally hurtful towards Adora.

But then, Adora letting go of her feelings for Catra wasn't ever the solution anyway. Because She-Ra's power comes from love, and Catra is the first person Adora loved, and the person she loves the most deeply. So Adora as She-Ra is at her most powerful when she's loving Catra and doing it without conflict, either between the two of them or within Adora herself.

#adora #catradora #spop #she ra #meta #anonymous #congratulations to those of you that make it through this long ass read #there were just a lot of points i wanted to hit to really cover adora's perspective #and i felt it was necessary to describe the events of the first two eps in detail to drive home exactly what adora was facing

777 notes · View notes

simplybakugou · 4 years

Text

Shut Up and Kiss Me

↝ Working side-by-side, Bakugou felt himself become encaptivated by you the more he spent time with you. After a failure of a first date, he can’t help but be drawn to you even more under the unruly night sky.

PROMPT: “Can I kiss you?”

⋆ PAIRING: prohero!bakugou x female!reader ⋆ WARNINGS/TAGS: swearing ⋆ WORD COUNT: 5019

A/N: Here’s my submission for the @bnhabookclub event! I changed the prompt a little to “I wanna kiss you” to fit Bakugou’s character a little more. Here’s the link to the event!

✐posted 05.16.2020✐

Bakugou, one of the most self-assured pro heroes in the world had never felt so emotionally flustered until he met you. He always found himself observing you whenever you were at the agency, even if it was rare that the two of you were in the building at the same time. You were a rookie hero who was excited as well as determined to make your way to the top. You had a strong quirk and if there’s anything Bakugou recognized, it was a suitable rival. Through numerous training sessions and working your ass off, you slowly climbed up the rankings and eventually became the number two hero, working at the same agency, one that Bakugou owned himself.

On that particular day, Bakugou had finished a mission earlier than expected, luckily dodging any reporters who always invaded his personal space and pissed him off. He had gone back to his agency, wanting to change out of his hunk of metal of a costume and return home to get some rest. He couldn’t ignore the disappointment he felt when he scanned the room and didn’t see you around.

Nonetheless, he continued walking down the street, thankful that his agency wasn’t located in a socially attractive area like other top notch agencies. As he turned down the street, something caught his eye and he couldn’t help but stare at the sight.

There you were on the corner of the intersection, looking practically unrecognizable. Bakugou had never seen you without your hero costume on, usually ending up as a sweaty mess with your hair tousled and your costume ripped and torn at times. But there you were in a dress and heels, makeup perfectly painted onto your skin, and your hair pinned neatly. You were practically radiating an aura that commanded everyone to have their attention drawn to you. Bakugou never really cared about looks but seeing you now looking more beautiful than any person he had ever seen, he couldn’t help but stare.

With looking so stunning, that aura of yours attracted the attention of others other than Bakugou. He felt his fists tighten when from across the street as he was waiting for the light to change, a grubby man approached you, smirking as he looked down at you.

“I’ve never seen such a pretty little lady in these parts of town.” He grinned even wider at you. Even passerbys couldn’t recognize you without your costume.

You rolled your eyes, ignoring him. “Get lost, dickwad.”

The man narrowed his eyes at you, reaching down to feel you up. Right as Bakugou felt his body move towards you instinctively to help you, you turned around, twisting the man’s wrist in your own. The impact sent him falling down, hitting his head on the stop sign behind him. Bakugou couldn’t help but laugh, feeling a sense of relief knowing you were strong on your own, not having to rely on anyone to protect yourself.

As you began crossing the street, Bakugou absentmindedly crossed the other way, not wanting to run into you. He didn’t understand why at first but he didn’t want you to know that he was watching you. He saw that you were heading towards the agency and he began going through the shortcut that he often would go through if the press would hover outside of the building at times. Bakugou was able to get to the building before you did and he let out a sigh of relief, beginning to unlatch the gauntlets around his wrists.

“Hey, Ground Zero, great work out there today,” Haru, one of the secretaries from the front desk stated.

Bakugou nodded in response, moving to the back to quickly change out of his hero costume. He wanted to leave immediately and not have to run into you on the way here. He began to recall the way you were dressed and how you looked, closing the door behind him to not only change out of his costume but also hide the blush that was evident on his cheeks.

A few moments later, you pushed open the doors to the building, going towards the front desk. Haru looked up, surprised that you were here so abruptly as well as your change in attire. “(H/N), what’re you doing here? It’s your day off.”

You sighed. “I know. But I’m bored out of my mind so please give me work to do.”

The other receptionist, Aiko, looked you up and down with a grin. “Ooh, I see someone’s all dressed up! Did you go on a date? Was that why you wanted a day off?”

You rolled your eyes at her. “No, my mom made me go to some shitty brunch with her boyfriend’s family. They’re all pestering me so I got out of there and now I have nothing to do.”

“I can go through some reports and see what you can do,” Aiko said with a wink and you thanked her.

“Man, can’t believe our two biggest heroes are in the building. You guys are usually never here at the same time,” Haru commented, looking at you in awe.

You raised your brows, perking up immediately. “Ground Zero’s here?”

Haru nodded, pointing down the hall. “He’s in the back.”

You smirked, pulling out your phone and typing something in your web browser as you made your way to the back. You pushed open the door without any warning and Bakugou, who was in the midst of changing his pants, was taken aback, his face burning up as you stared at his half naked body. Only his briefs were covering him and he held his pants up to shield his legs from your eyes. “What the fuck?!”

“Just wanted to pop in and say ‘hello.’ And to show you this.” You held your phone up to an article covering your new ranking. “I’m in second place now. So just you wait; I’ll be number one soon enough!”

You slammed the door behind you as you made your own dramatic exit, leaving Bakugou utterly speechless and stunned. Just when he believed he couldn’t be more intrigued, you proved him wrong once again. You reignited his burning desire to be the best, wanting to show you exactly why he was the number one hero in the first place.

Since that day, you worked twice as hard as you did before and with your handwork, Bakugou wasn’t going to let you beat him so easily. He had to make sure to work twice as hard as you did, ultimately leading to him staying on top. As time progressed, you were often asked to accompany Bakugou on various missions and with the time the two of you spent together, you became close.

“I can’t believe I’m still ranked number two,” you grunted in annoyance as you walked with Bakugou side by side back to the agency.

Bakugou smirked. “Hah, like I was just gonna let you surpass me without a fight. Dream on.”

You sighed, crossing your arms over your chest and pushed open the large glass doors. Bakugou made his way all the way to the back like he usually did while you stood in front of Aiko’s desk, pouting profusely.

Aiko snickered, recognizing that look of defeat on your face. “Let me guess: the rankings came out and you’re still number two?”

You clenched your fists, slamming them on the counter in frustration. “He’s just too damn good! I don’t know how to beat him!”

“Come on, you can’t tell me you thought it would be easy, right?” Aiko sneered playfully. “He does work with you, too.” You stuck your tongue out at her as she got up to go to the filing cabinet.

“(H/N)? Could you fill out a report from today’s patrol?” Haru asked in a tone lower than normal.

“Sure!” You said, grabbing the clipboard from him and filling it out on the counter in front of his desk. Being drawn to your work, you didn’t notice Haru fidgeting in his seat as he took shy glances at you. Although you weren’t aware of it, Bakugou sure was as he came out of the back room, glaring at Haru from a distance as he looked at you nervously.

“(H/N), I was wondering if you were busy this weekend?” Haru asked, rubbing the nape of his neck as he began to sweat apprehensively.

You looked up as you were writing, tapping the ballpoint pen against your chin as you began to think. “Hm, I’m pretty sure I have Saturday off and I’ve got nothing to do. Why’d you ask?”

Haru let out an anxious laugh. “Oh, you know, I was wondering if you wanted to go out--”

“She’s going out with me,” Bakugou butted in, leaning down on the counter in front of Haru’s desk, a frown printed on his lips.

“I am?” You asked in confusion in unison with Haru’s, “She is?”

“You’re gonna have to try another day ‘cause she’s all mine Saturday,” Bakugou grumbled, loud enough for you and Haru to hear. He pushed open the glass doors in aggravation, mumbling incoherently under his breath as he left.

You stood stunned as you watched his figure become smaller and smaller. Haru snapped you away from your thoughts, whispering, “So are you really going out with Ground Zero?”

“Hm?” You turned your head to face him, smiling widely. Seeing as his social skills were pretty low to begin with, you were intrigued with the thought of spending time with Bakugou outside of the work setting. “Yeah, it sounds fun! It’s not everyday I get to go out with Bakugou instead of Ground Zero!”

***

Bakugou never knew the day would actually come where he would be able to take you out. Despite being the proud man he was for everything hero related, he was hesitant to approach you with the intention of taking you out. And now the time had arrived where Bakugou, in his own unique way, managed to ask you out.

However, Bakugou had no idea where to start planning a first date. His friends, specifically Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sero gave him different ideas, ultimately not being helpful at all for Bakugou. In the end, he decided to make his own plan, no matter how shitty it may end up being. The most difficult part about all this was that Bakugou didn’t really know much about you, having to rely on the help of Mina as she was a woman herself and had the most insight out of his friends. With her help, Bakugou based his planning on Mina’s interests.

Bakugou started off the date with dinner at a restaurant, a recommendation made by Mina herself. However, to Bakugou’s disappointment, the food was probably one of the worst things you’ve ever consumed in your life. Despite this, you didn’t want to be rude or make Bakugou upset by addressing the awful food. Bakugou knew you were just trying to be nice and nevertheless, he didn’t want this to ruin your evening. He strived to redeem himself with the rest of the night.

“What movie are we watching again?” You asked as Bakugou handed you your ticket.

“Some rom-com. I wasn’t sure about which movie you would wanna watch so I guessed and chose one.” Bakugou shrugged. In actuality, Mina had been talking nonstop about this movie and had begged Bakugou to show you it, guaranteeing that you would love it. He didn’t want to admit that he had Mina help him out to plan this date since he had no idea what to do.

You and Bakugou gave in your tickets and went into the theater you were instructed to enter. As you chose and sat in your seats, the screen began changing to the title sequence of the movie.

As the movie continued into the last quarter, Bakugou couldn’t help but feel bored out of his mind. Everything about the movie was awful: the cinematography, the directing, the acting… it was simply a shitshow. Finally, the movie had come to an end and so was Bakugou’s misery as he forced himself to sit and watch the movie in its entirety instead of running out and hiding in the bathroom. The two of you got up, making your way out of the theater.

“How was it?” Bakugou asked, throwing out the empty bucket of popcorn.

If possible, you actually hated the movie more than Bakugou did. But similarly to the dinner, you didn’t want to hurt his feelings, especially since he planned out this whole evening. “It was… good.”

Bakugou sighed. He knew that you were just trying to spare his feelings but he didn’t want to call you out either. The one time he actually plans something like this out and it completely blew up in his face. You smiled sympathetically at him, throwing your empty buckets of popcorn out as you exited the theater. It was evident that Bakugou, who was quite obviously talented in other areas, was lacking experience in planning an amazing night out for a date.

As if the night couldn’t get any worse, the minute the two of you stepped outside, you heard numerous screams from a few blocks down. Low and behold, a giant rock-type villain was attempting to rob a bank and even had hostages in both of his hands.

“We can never just get a fucking day off,” Bakugou muttered.

You chuckled and the two of you began making your way towards the site, running in the direction of the chaos without a second thought. You threw your shoes off to the side, cursing at yourself mentally for deciding on wearing a skirt and heels. But you couldn’t help yourself; you wanted Bakugou to see you on a day that you weren’t a sweaty mess. To your misfortune, it seemed that your perfectly pinned hair and makeup would be ruined within a few minutes.

Bakugou didn’t hesitate to maneuver himself towards the villain using his quirk for mobility and sending a blast to his face. The villain screamed, letting go of the hostages as he began wailing and covering his eyes. You jumped up and caught both hostages, safely setting them down to the ground.

They looked up at you in awe, two teenage girls who had met their first pro hero. “Thank you, (H/N)!”

“Don’t mention it! Now get back before you get hurt!” You called out as you maneuvered your body upwards using your quirk.

“Get behind him!” Bakugou yelled towards you. You nodded and moved to the villain’s blindspot, Bakugou following suit. The two of you sent blasts at his neck, causing him to fall onto his face with a thud. You held down one of his arms and Bakugou held the other, waiting for the police to arrive. The small crowd that was watching in awe began to cheer and clap, all of them getting excited to have gotten the chance to see the top two heroes in action. Truth be told, after spending numerous missions with him, you began to understand Bakugou’s fighting style and incorporated your own moves to suit his as well and he did the same, too. Alone, you were both strong in your own ways and can manage yourselves efficiently. But together, you were a force to be reckoned with.

Finally the cops showed up, piling out of the cars and taking the villain into custody. They thanked you and Bakugou repeatedly and you returned their thanks while Bakugou watched as they took care of the villain. You waved at the crowd as Bakugou started walking in the opposite direction of the crowd, patiently waiting for you to follow. You caught up with him, letting out a sigh once you were away from the commotion.

“It’s too bad tonight didn’t go like we wanted,” you said, frowning at the state of your now tattered clothes. You could already feel your makeup being smudged and your hair tousled, not bothering to fix it now. The pain in the soles of your feet only increasing with every step you took with your bare feet. You could even feel bits of gravel stabbing at your heels.

Bakugou paid no attention to his own attire, taking off his button down due to the various rips and tears and sticking to his black tank top underneath his clothes. “Even if that villain didn’t show up, tonight was still a fucking shitshow.”

He glanced down at your bare feet and bent over to remove his own sneakers. You shook your head. “No it wasn’t! I mean the food could’ve been better and the movie wasn’t as good as we expected but I still had a great time!”

Finally taking notice of his removing his shoes, you rose a curious brow at him. “What’re you doing?”

Bakugou scoffed, shoving his sneakers into your hands and started making his way towards your apartment where he had picked you up from when the night started. “You think you can walk home fucking barefoot?”

You let out a small smile, thanking him as you bent over to slip his shoes on. Although they were obviously large and difficult to walk in, it was better than walking without any material protecting your feet. You caught up to him as Bakugou shoved his hands into his pockets. “Plus you don’t have to spare my feelings. There’s no point in lying, I know that tonight was a fucking mess.”

You looked towards him as he had his signature frown etched onto his face. “It doesn’t matter what we do. I always have a great time when I’m with you, Bakugou.”

Bakugou felt a tug in his chest as he glanced over at you, looking away immediately once making contact with your (E/C) eyes. You laughed at his reaction, taking notice to the slight pink tinting of his cheeks. “It’s still weird for me to not call you ‘Ground Zero.’ I mean, you’re still my boss technically.”

“We’re co-workers, I’m not your boss,” Bakugou insisted. “It’d be weird for a boss to be going out with his employee.”

“Either way, it’s odd, but just because we’re heroes doesn’t mean we can’t be friendly.” You glanced over in his direction, watching as he continued to trudge down the path towards your apartment. He could feel your eyes on him, not wanting to acknowledge them as he felt himself grow nervous under your intense gaze. “Speaking of, why did you become a hero?”

“Simple,” Bakugou started, “I wanted to become the best, the indisputable best.” He glanced over to you, smirking. “And I’m gonna keep it that way.”

You rolled your eyes at him. “We’ll see about that.”

“And you?”

“Why I wanted to become a hero?” You reiterated, Bakugou nodding as the two of you turned the corner. “I’ve never really told anyone this but to make it straightforward, my sister was hurt in an altercation with a villain when we were kids. She wasn’t hurt too bad but she was hospitalized for a few weeks. Ever since then, I’ve vowed to save as many people as I can, sort of like I’m trying to compensate for not being able to save her all those years ago.”

Bakugou glimpsed at you, his attraction towards you only increasing with this new found information. Although his desire for becoming a hero seemed subpar compared to yours, he admired you even more than he already did for taking a situation that wasn’t even your fault and turning it into your driving force for your profession.

“And now you’ve saved more people than any other hero,” Bakugou said.

You shrugged. “I’m trying to at least.”

The conversation took a turn as you continued to talk about your personal lives, getting to know Bakugou in a different light. It was odd to see him talk about himself in a manner that wasn’t related to heroism. You had grown accustomed to hearing the various news stories about the brash number one hero that wasn’t as kind-hearted or catered for the crowds like All Might or other previous pro heroes but you never really cared for that. Being a pro hero wasn’t about one’s ability to present themselves in an attempt for the general public or media to like them but to use their quirks to help and protect as many people as they can. And Bakugou has done just that, protecting and saving people left and right without looking for any critical acclaim from anyone.

He really was the indisputable best.

The walk to your apartment finally came to a close as you stood in front of your complex, turning to face Bakugou. “I know you think that today was shitty but I don’t think it was at all. And I mean that.”

Bakugou scoffed. “Whatever. You can say that shit all you want, but I know how today went.”

You chuckled, shaking your head at his stubbornness. “I just liked getting to know more about Bakugou. Ground Zero’s cool and all but Bakugou’s pretty interesting if you ask me.”

You slipped his sneakers off, raising them up in front of them. “Thank you for these. I know most people say that you’re an asshole or they say all this crap about you being inconsiderate but I think tonight showed me that you’re actually a sweet guy. I think I’m liking Bakugou Katsuki more and more.”

Bakugou felt his face heat up, looking off to the side in an attempt to not let you acknowledge his blushing as he took his shoes from you. “Shut up, don’t say dumb shit like that.” He turned around, feeling like he would explode if he saw you for more moments than he already had. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You laughed again, waving as he knelt down and slipped his shoes back on and began to walk away from the building. You couldn’t help but watch on as his figure grew smaller and smaller, finally deciding to go inside once he turned the corner. A sigh you didn’t know you were holding in escaped your lips, your feet aching from the momentary period of time spent running after the villain barefoot. Ignoring the pain, you made your way to the bathroom, frowning at the sight of your physical appearance. Just as you predicted, your hair and makeup were a mess, streaks of black blotting around your eyes and locks of hair knotted together as your neatly pinned hair had fallen apart. Your clothes that you had spent so much time figuring out were a tattered mess and you felt slightly embarrassed for a moment for looking like this in front of Bakugou. But that embarrassment dissipated as quickly as it came as you knew Bakugou has probably seen you looking like a sweaty mess more than he has seen your appearance on your best day.

You removed your makeup with a wipe and let your hair loose, the locks cascading down your shoulders. Just as you changed out of your clothes into something more comfortable, the sound on rain droplets pelting your windows echoed from the outside. Within a few minutes a downpour hit the city and you sighed, thankful that you had gotten inside before getting caught in the mess outside.

That was when you realized that Bakugou was still outside, on his way to his own house. He was also most likely getting drenched. Without thinking twice, you grabbed two umbrellas and ran out in an attempt to spare Bakugou from the harsh weather.

***

Bakugou’s phone began to buzz in his pocket, groaning incoherently as he saw Mina’s name on the screen requesting for a video call. He answered it begrudgingly, Mina, Sero, Kirishima, and Kaminari’s faces popping up on the screen.

“Well if it isn’t the romance master himself,” Kaminari teased.

Bakugou rolled his eyes at him. “If you idiots are here to just fucking make fun of me, I’m gonna hang up.”

“No!” Mina called out. “I just wanted to know how it went. Did my suggestions help?”

“No they fucking backfired on me,” Bakugou huffed. “The food tasted like fucking cardboard, the movie was the shittiest thing I’ve ever seen, and to top it all off, a villain popped up outta nowhere and fucked everything up even more. I just walked her home and now I’m going home.”

Mina frowned. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out well, I really tried hard to help you out!”

Kirishima patted her shoulder. “I’m sure it’s not your fault, and Bakugou and (H/N) just don’t have the same tastes as you do. But cheer up, man, I’m sure she had a good time.”

“Yeah, (H/N) seems like a chill girl,” Sero added.

“Whatever,” Bakugou let out a sigh, “I’m just glad it’s over. I didn’t wanna embarrass myself more than I already did.”

His friends said goodbye, trying their best to cheer him up before he hung up and shoved his phone back into his pockets. Bakugou felt defeated, not knowing how to rightfully come across with his feelings without being too direct. You were the only person he’d ever met that caught his attention immediately after the first encounter. Since the beginning, he found himself wanting to spend more time with you but after spending time with you outside of work, he was afraid that you wouldn’t want to be around him after the failure of a first date. Despite hearing you say how much you enjoy being around him and how you didn’t care what it was you were doing with him, Bakugou couldn’t help but feel as if you were only saying those things to make him feel better. He felt like he failed you.

Before Bakugou could even think about other ways the night could get worse, a drop of water pelted his nose. He looked up at the gray sky, the clouds rumbling as the water droplets increased in size, speed, and amount as it started pouring. This is just fucking great…

Bakugou didn’t bother running or seeking shelter as he was drenched in a matter of minutes. He was only a few blocks from his house and just as he was about to turn the corner again, Bakugou stopped at the sound of his name being called. He spun around, bewildered at the sight of you running towards him with an umbrella over your head and another opened in your other hand.

Once you caught up to him, you raised one of the umbrellas over his head, breathing heavily to attempt to catch your breath.

“(H/N)…” Bakugou muttered, still in shock to see you again so soon. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I saw that it started pouring and I just thought about how you didn’t have an umbrella so…” Your voice drifted off, gesturing to the umbrella.

“You didn’t have to…” Bakugou mumbled and you laughed.

“I came because I wanted to. And because I wanted to tell you again that I really did enjoy tonight.” You smiled. “Knowing you, you’re probably beating yourself up over dinner, the movie, and not to mention that villain showing up, but I don’t care what we do. I like being with you, no matter where we are.”

Bakugou felt his heart beating out of his chest as he stared at you. He brought his hand up to grab the umbrella from your hand, his own fingers curling around yours and around the stem of the umbrella. You gasped inwardly at the sudden contact, your own heart palpitating vigorously.

In the darkness of the night sky and the droplets pouring down from the gray clouds, Bakugou’s crimson eyes shined against the dullness of your surroundings as they pierced right through you. “Listen up ‘cause I’m only gonna say this once.”

Bakugou’s fingers gripped yours as he took a deep breath. “I like you, (F/N).”

Your eyes widened as Bakugou muttered your name through his lips. It was the first time he had addressed you by anything other than your hero name, let alone your first name. You smiled gently. “I like you too, Katsuki.”

Your lips parted as you began to speak, talking about how much you admired him and his ambitious ways. But Bakugou couldn’t hear a word, just watching your lips moving. Despite the bleakness of the weather, your skin was practically glowing, the same aura radiating off of you like it always had. Your locks were slightly wet from the rain as they hung against your shoulders. But your lips, red and plump, were the only thing Bakugou could focus on.

“Shut up, would ya?” Bakugou murmured. You were taken aback, staring up at Bakugou as he sighed once more and abruptly said, “I wanna kiss you.”

You were puzzled, wanting to ask why until you sucked in a breath as his warm lips planted themselves on yours. The umbrella hovering over your head fell to the floor with a thud along with the umbrella in Bakugou’s hand. The rain pelted both of you, drenching you within seconds but neither of you paid any mind to it. Bakugou’s warm lips compensated for the coldness in the air and he snaked an arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him. Your hands held fistfuls of his tank, being completely drawn into his touch.

Bakugou pulled away, a blush tinting his cheeks as he looked down at you, your own face heating up from the aftermath of the kiss. You giggled, brushing away some blonde hairs that were stuck to his forehead. “You know I brought two umbrellas for a reason, right?”

Bakugou smirked, picking one up and holding it over your head. You smiled, grabbing the other umbrella and closing it, wanting to be close to Bakugou huddled under one umbrella rather than two. Although the night hadn’t gone to plan and wasn’t what Bakugou or what you were expecting, it was safe to say that both of you left that night feeling more satisfied than you could’ve ever been.

#bnhabookclub #bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugou x reader #bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #bnha x reader #my hero academia #my hero academia imagines #boku no hero academia imagines #boku no hero academia #boku no hero imagines

577 notes · View notes

boop-le-snoot · 4 years

Text

PARTY FAVOURS I CHAPTER 13

first time readers click here 💖

TWs/Summary: In this house, we ship Reader/Tony's Rolls-Royce. Reader and Tony being dorks on a date. That's it that's the chapter. Lots of sass and Tony being Tony.

A question for my readers: Are you still invested? How's the slow burn? Is everything realistic? 👉🏻👈🏻🥺

As usual, my beta is @miscmarvelwritings . I love her.

"Nice digs, Cupcake."

"Nice ride, Tin Man."

The sass fell from my lips, warm and familiar, paving the way for our upcoming debut like the old, soft living room rug. Any awkwardness I had expected there to be left the moment I saw Tony pull up to my front gate in his Royce: the man was just that extra. The size of my estate, the five-figure outfit of mine - it paled in comparison to his own clout.

In a world where my choices were usually distributed between stuck-up rich boys or insecure middle-class men, Tony was a fresh drink of water with his absolute indifference towards my and his own net worth.

I wasn't afraid to admire said ride, either. Being a huge petrolhead was what got me interested in engineering, physics and computer sciences in the first place. The desire for speed grew into thirst for knowledge: how to get more horsepower, how to tune, how to mod. No mechanic took an eighteen year old rich-girl seriously even when I had all the lingo right, I had to be a step ahead, at all times, if I wanted my ride to be the best. And I never settled for less than that.

"No driver?" I inquired for the reason behind the unusual behaviour. After all, a Rolls' wasn't the kind of car you drive personally. All the amenities it had, it had in the back.

"Gave Happy a day off," Tony remarked absently. I noticed the small quirk of his eyebrow, however. He was intrigued.

I decided to give it a shot. "So what, this thing packs, what, about five-fifty horses?" I mused, watching Tony nearly swerve into the opposite lane. "At two and a half tons, it's still gotta be pretty quick with that V12-turbo. How fast it go?" The satisfaction was immeasurable, as pleasant to my soul as sitting in a heated leather chair with the smell of a new car, engine quietly rumbling in front of me. And by quietly I mean, it was focus-or-you'll-miss-it kind of quiet.

"Well aren't you full of surprises, baby girl," Tony grinned; a happy, excited grin even. It made his face lose ten years of age just like that. "Zero to sixty in five and a half seconds," He said after a moment.

"Not bad," I said, sounding impressed. I already knew that but I wasn't planning on robbing Tony out of well deserved praise for his choice in vehicles.

"Got a ride of your own?" He asked with a smile, like he didn't know it already. No background check would have skipped my three speeding tickets, but I concur. This game was fun.

"I do, actually. It's a 2008 Range Rover. Supercharged," I added in the end, just to emphasise.

"A big car for such a little girl," Tony whistled playfully.

"I'm compensating," I deadpanned. "I'm a little slow on the uptake, y'know, so my Rangie with five hundred horses makes up for it. Gotta keep it balanced."

Tony chewed on his lip. "Five hundred? Haven't heard about that, it comes with three-ninety-five in stock," His eyebrow wiggled. "Tuned it?" He cast me a contemplative glance.

"Yup," I exclaimed happily. As far as the date, I would have been utterly ecstatic to talk about cars all evening. Screw the boring "where do you see yourself in five years" questions, talk to me about your favourite engine swaps. Concept cars, give me those. Monster trucks? Yes, please. Vintage low-riders? Couldn't wait to get my grubby little hands on one. Gimmee!

Tony kept his silence and kept his press smile starting the moment we set foot on getting out of the car. The place he'd taken me to was ridiculously upscale and fancy; the valet hesitated only for a second before catching the keys Tony so carelessly tossed in his direction. There was almost no fear in his body language when the boy approached the massive, expensive vehicle.

The hostess smiled big at Tony and gave me the world's biggest stink-eye when he looked the other way but what else is new? As soon as she left us in the privacy of our booth, I didn't hesitate to stick my tongue at her retreating back. A brief lapse in maturity, if you will.

Tony cackled, growing suddenly serious. "Did she bother you? I can get her fired. I should get her fired."

"Nah," I shrugged. "Don't really care, just wanted to showcase my amazing sense of humour." Snorting, I gave Tony a wink and a secretive grin.

"You really don't give a fuck, do you," His eyebrows twitched again, a sign of mild interest that I noted during our routine sciencing time together. Tony was incredibly expressive if one took the time to observe.

"I could suck your dick under the table right now," I answered honestly. "It's just that when God gave out things like dignity and shame, I wasn't home. Too many fun things to do, y'know," I spoke as casually as I could even though I was dying of laughter inside.

Eyes bulging, jaw hanging mid-way to the floor. Tony was serving Looks™ and I didn't mean just the white tee and purple blazer combo. "Princess, you're going to be the fucking death of me!" He took a sip from his water glass, smirking.

Finally releasing my mirth, I gathered my hands in a lock in front of me. His own, warm and calloused, reached over - I allowed the brief intimacy, clasping them, fiddling with the leather band of his watch. For a moment, it was just us, sitting in the dim light, discovering each other anew to Robert Johnson singing the blues and NYC bustling with life just behind the wall.

The waiter took our orders - and if I totally butchered the Italian, Tony was gentleman enough not to make any remarks.

"Somehow, every time I am with you, you both manage to meet my expectations to a T and surprise me at the same time," I wasn't able to completely ignore my nerves. My hand was still loosely in his and he didn't mind at all, me messing with his watch.

"How so?"

"I'm going to loosely quote someone, bear with me." Mr Davies's words popped into my mind just as I was wondering how to best articulate my feelings. "You're eccentric and interesting because it's, well, it's you, because it would be much weirder if we'd be sitting here and making boring small-talk and asking each other the genetic get-to-know-you questions," I briefly paused to sip my Dom Peringon and stare at our hands. Gathering my wits. "That would be why I don't do dates. It sounds so tedious on paper, just sorting through people until a person that's not absolutely mind-numbing comes around."

Tony was silent for a moment, the sheen of his eyes, the faraway look; he was lost in memories. Probably remembering all the girls he had charmed before. I didn't doubt it was easy for him: his smile was distracting and people usually were attracted to shiny things. He shone plenty. Also, most people were stupid, they never cared to look past the golden wrapper. I was convinced there was a diamond under it. But then again, I was biased.

"I've never thought about it that way, but I guess you're right," He finally said, serious. "With Pepper, at least, it was. Come to think of it, we never had that much in common, besides Stark Industries and her willingness to put up with my shit." It was painful for him to talk about her, that much was obvious. His laugh was forced and sardonic.

I, on the other hand, never understood why they got together in the first place. Or maybe I did - but the cold, composed Pepper and the chaotic, energetic Tony reminded me too much of my own parents. All four people in this fucked up equation could have been much happier if they choose... What? Being alone? That was terrifying, too.

I kept quiet, giving his hands a gentle squeeze.

"You know, this is so bizarre. Even an eighteen year old kid has got it figured out," He suddenly said, his tone bitter like the coffee that he loved.

"Woah, slow down," I put up a hand. "I never said I know what to do. I just said I know what NOT to do." The 'kid' remark would have made me eye-roll so hard my skull would crack any day. In this context, however, it was pretty spot on.

Tony snorted. "And how did you come by that information, pray tell, Baby?"

I huffed. "Have you met my parents?" We simultaneously cringed and I hurried to erase that mental image. "I make fun of myself for being into old dudes all the time," I made air quotes around the phrase that made Tony scoff, "But, honestly speaking, I've never even been on a date. Like a real one. Usually it's twenty minutes and I'm falling asleep mid-conversation. People can't seem to keep up with me or something," I felt genuinely dejected. "So many meaningless questions, so many downright idiotic comments. From men," I pointed out the obvious. "My mother used to tell me she thought I was gay because I didn't act like a girl... Whatever that means."

"That sounds pretty shitty," Tony was studying me like one would have been looking at an exotic animal in a zoo. "That said, I agree."

"That I don't act like a girl?" I teased him, the left corner of my mouth tilting upward. "Fuck that noise. I want to drive fast cars, drink straight liquor and have orgasms. If that makes me a dude... I look pretty good for a dude in a dress."

We laughed in unison, tension evaporating under the shared, mutual understanding. With Tony, it was easy. The waiter brought our selected dishes. Blink-and-he's-gone. Top notch service.

"A dude in a dress, can't say I'm surprised 'bout your lack of dates," He remarked conversationally, happily digging into his food. The noises he made were intriguing, to say the least, and I followed suit on my own food, finding it absolutely delicious. A delicious meal with a delicious man at my side. I refused to feel guilty about my thoughts.

"I guess I have exactly one (1) date on my ledger now," I raised my argument.

The fork clattered as Tony once again, came to a sudden realization. "Holy shit, you weren't kidding."

"No shit," I gave into the urge to roll my eyes. "But on the upside, my first date was with the most gorgeous, intelligent and witty bachelor of the city. I'd say I don't have it all that bad," I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Aw, you're making me blush," Tony recovered quickly, grinning. "And don't be shy. The most desired bachelor of the country, if not the world."

I shook my head. "No, the world's most delectable bachelor is one of the Saudi princes. What's-his-name, the one who posts goat and horse pics on Insta," I snapped my fingers a couple of times, trying to remember the name as Tony looked at me all offended. "Anyways, you get my point. I could have a go at him, don't you think?" Cocking my shoulder, coyly twirling the strap of my dress, I gave Tony my best come-hither look and was rewarded with an appreciative once-over. His eyes were growing hungry again.

"You're a million dollar baby," He finally said, voice low. "And the extent of people I would be willing to share you with is very small."

That got me interested, sudden heat prickling underneath my skin. The conversation took a turn I didn't expect it to; and there lied the delight of being around Tony. He was always ready to surprise, in the best way. "Tell me," I requested politely.

"That's a conversation for another time," He was enjoying the chit-chat, desire beginning to creep into his features.

"Mmm, you think?" I allowed the strap of my dress to slip down my shoulder, exposing a collarbone, showing him just how far I was willing to go to satisfy my curiosity.

He swallowed audibly. "I think... You're smart enough to figure it out," He finally gritted his teeth, finishing off his dinner and immediately calling for the check.

I wasn't done yet, however. The possibility of riling him up, taunting him into a lustful frenzy - I was in heaven. Karma had favoured me that evening, it had given me a chance to get Tony back for all the times he unknowingly made my mouth water and my brain go blip. "Must be Steve then," I bit my lip in thought.

Honestly? I was as clueless as the couple next table over. Steve it wasn't, that much I knew for sure, he and Tony had their little love/hate dramatic connection that always ended in a massive ego standoff. Tony would be on the frontline fighting against Steve if the blonde dared to show anything even remotely resembling romantic interest towards someone Tony himself had his eyes on.

"Princess," Tony growled, sarcastically raising an eyebrow.

"Not Steve," I replied, cracking a smile. Success! "You know, I'm really bad at guessing who's into me. Unless someone is balls deep in me," My face was mere inches away as we quickly shrugged on our coats. "And even then, I can't be sure."

My giggling was accompanied by Tony shaking his head in exasperated fashion; he took my hand nonetheless and I happily swayed it between us, poster child for "not a care in the world". He allowed it, maintaining the same exasperated air about him, and I let him. Fondness and happiness seeped through that anyways.

"Brat," His voice was kind. And his kiss tingled where he left it on the corner of my mouth, sweet and short. "Here, have a go," Before I could react, the keys to his Rolls Royce were placed in my palm and he was making his way around the car to the passenger's side.

THE TAG LIST IS NOW OPEN! @another-stark-sub @mostly-marvel-musings @vozit @littlegasps @pilloclock @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads @hermione-grangers-wife @individualistfem @sleep-i-ness @capbrie @lillsxd @agustdowney @dee-vn @justanotherblonde23 @fanngirl19 @persephonehemingway (it finally let me tag you)! @softie-socks @schemefrenzy

#tony stark x reader #tony stark x you #tony stark x y/n #bruce banner x reader #bruce banner x you #bruce banner x y/n #stephen strange x reader #stephen strange x y/n #stephen strange x you #party favours #bun writes

133 notes · View notes

popculturebuffet · 3 years

Text

New X-Men Xtrospective Part 1: E is For Extinction “They Will Need Us”

I am SO fucking excited for this one. As might not be obvious to ALL of my readers but should be obvious to some, I fucking love the X-Men. They are one of my favorite superhero teams period as are several of their spinoffs such as X-Factor (All versions), New Mutants, and Marauders. I love the wide cast, the hugely vast universe within the already vast and wonderful marvel universe, and the sheer amount of GREAT stories. I own all 11 movies, have several action figures, and two posters from Jonathan Hickman’s current and utterly dynamite run right above me right now as I work, as well as a marvel 80′s themed poster behind me that’s at least half x-men for good reason. I love this gang of mutants and I have not talked about them enough.

I”ve done some X-Men stuff sure: I’ve talked about hickman’s time as head writer of the books a year in earlier this year, I did a few scattered reviews back when I did single issues of comics, and then we get to the one I beefed big time: covering ALL of X-Men evolution. While it’s a noble endeavor I freely admit to overexerting myself: I recapped the episodes way too closely, gave myself no real schedule and did so while I was already covering two shows a week at the time. My point is it was a good idea, but the timing was REALLY fucking bad and if I do it again, I intend to do it right and iwth a proper place in my now properly paced schedule. I also planned to do the movies which, unlike evolution, I have solid plans to do once I clear out some of my projects. Point is I burned bright and then exploded and took a whole projecet with me phoenix style.

I had until this moment yet to do a really big x-men project, something digging into the comics, something that could help fans both of the comics and not get familiar with something really good, and help me dig into both the good and bad of something. I jsut needed the right start.

Then Christmas gave me that spark, that project that gave me the idea for a butload more x-men content on here and was the perfect starting point for some. See my friend Marco lives in Honduras, and so since i couldn’t afford to send him anything for christmas in the mail, as i’m not exactly rich, I instead offered him three reviews of anything.l He still hasn’t taken up two of them, nor one I gave him for graduating college, but the first one was a doozy, something he hadn’t read due to not liking the art, which is fine as I have some art in comics I don’t like everyone has diffrent tastes, at least for the first arc, and something VITALLY important to x-men as a whole and that’s the backbone of hickman’s current run: the first arc of new x-men, e is for extinction. And given New X-Men is one of my faviorite comics of all time I not only lept on it.. but decided fuck it I’m covering the whole thing. So every so often on here from now until I finish, i’m going to be covering Grant Morrisons ground breaking, mind shattering, status quo destroying run on the children of the atom. This.. is going to be fucking awesome. Buckle up.

New X-Men came about in 2001. Stop me if you heard this one: The X-Men, once marvel’s best selling title and one of i’ts most beloved, had been set adrift in a seal of editorial bullshit, bad writing, bad storylines and a stale continuity where not much could change or grow and things always reset to about the same place it was last week. If this sounds familiar it’s because it somehow happened AGAIN thanks to Ike Perlmutter’s bullshit, hence the current hickman run, but we’ll get into all of tha tsome other time. Point is as it was in 2018, so it was in 2001: The x-men were in bad straits and marvel reached out to a host of various creators to swing for the fences and find a new direction, something to bring sales and life back to the book. To my shock they actually took a LOT of diffrent pitches in before Morrisons won and from huge names: Geoff Johns, who had not yet returned to DC never to leave, Alex Ross, Keith Giffen.. all huge creative types. but in the end the best man won.

For those unfamiliar with him, Grant Morrison is a gloriously batshit scotsman with a long, storied and delightfully insane history in comics, mostly at DC before and after this comic. This is for good reason: DC scouted Morrison specifically because of his early work at 2000ad. See at the time Alan Moore had hit it really big with Swamp Thing, taking a d list, so so book and making it into an utter masterpiece and giving it thoroughly interesting mythology. Given it was a blockbuster hit that’s still widely loved and discussed, as it should be today, DC decided to repeat the strategy of asking British indie comics creators to come do the same to another property. This same experiment is why Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman exists, so.. yeah it was actually a great strategy and naturally Grant had their first big hit with Animal Man, a metafictional take on a b-list hero that made him a loveable family man, while also putting him through hell and playing with the medium and dc’s vast history, the last two being Morrison’s trademark from then on out.

They’d next go on to reinvent one of my other faviorite teams: THE DOOM PATROL! The patrol are a bunch of victims of strange accidents who got powers out of them that are basically curses... and Morrison solidified that concept, taking over after a weak run that ironically enough was trying to imitate the x-men’s success at the time. Instead Morrison just went all out with his weird shit for the first time and made them a team of broken but likeable people with weird powers fighting just the weirdest most incomprehensible shit, a run i’ll likely be digging into eventually along with the team as a whole. It’s also, along with Gerard Way’s recent run, the bedroock for the current and utterly masterful doom patrol series I need to catch up on. They also apparently once wrote a satrical comic starring and lik mocking hitler... a fact I somehow JUST learned but naturally doesn’t surprise me at all.

Morrison’s career at dc, after doing some creator owned stuff there when Vertigo opened up, hit it’s peak in the late 90′s as they were given the go ahead to reinvent the Justice League, with the wildly successful and awesome JLA, another book I probably need to take a look at that put the big 7 back into the team. And by now your probably getting the point of me covering his career pattern.. besides giving morrison the praise they deserve, and they’d have some really great runs after this.. and some terrible ones but no one’s perfect. My point is that at this point in their career Morrison’s greatest skill was taking something that had grown stagnant or been forgotten, blowing it up and reworking it into something glorious and new. Taking what worked, scraping away what didn’t and on the whole making something fucking glorious out of it. So here we are. The X-Men needed a new coat of paint and uncle grant had their lcd laced psycadelic paint bucket and brush shaped like a pidgeon at the ready. And for better, way better and admitely sometimes here and there worse,they changed the x-men for good. Some changes were rolled back out of spite, others finally got their chance after said rollback recently, and some were just outright thrown on the grown and smashed with a hammer. But for the most part Grant left a huge impact on the x-men and i’m here to show you why, warts and all. To me my x-men, this is new x-men. Now naturally there’s even more exposition but i’ts more in what COULD’VE been. Originally while Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey and Professor X were all part of the team the other two members of the slim roster for this run, Beast and Emma Frost.. weren’t. Originally Morrison was going to have Colossus and Moira Mactaggert, long time team ally, token human until very recently, and now thanks to hickman one of the most important x characters peirod and long before that a fan favorite of mine, on the team, with Moira taking over for beast.

This.. didn’t pan out since Marvel apparently either didn’t give a shit about their plans or already had things in motion as the climax of the longtime legacy virus storyline killed both off. Colossus until Joss Whedon, bastard he may be, brought him back for his terrific Astonishing X-Men, and Moira SOMEHOW stayed dead until House/Powers of X. See this speaks to one of the big roadblocks morrison faced: Jonathan HIckman currently has absolute power and all his writers working in concert, a new way of doing things comic companies shold honestly copy en masse as it’s really working wonders. Grant.. was just one of many writers and one of three main x books the others being Chris Claremont’s XTREME X-MEN, basically “let the legend do what he wants since he can’t get freedom on the main book” and another writer on uncanny... before eventually chuck austen took over and I will tackle that horrible mess some other time. Point is while Morrison was setting the tone, costume style and making the big waves, they still didn’t have full power and thus had to play nice with eveyrone else. So their next idea was Rogue, making mer more like her x-men evolution version.. except Chris wanted her, so that was out, though being a decent enough guy he willingly gave up Beast since the moira thing meant Morrison needed a science person. As for Colossus replacement, as it turned out a fan had suggested Grant do something with Emma Frost since Gen X was canceled and while Morrison had zero intention for it clearly Emma clicked with hthem and she was soon both a main part of the cast and one of their biggest contributions to X-Men as a whole.

As for what I think of the needed changes.. they ended up being for the best. I do like Moira... but Hank ended up being a much better fit for the team dynamic wise and power set wise, while Emma was the same. While Colossus, Rogue and Moira are all fantastic characters, I think what we ended up with was just a better mix overall. I DO think the team is incredibly white, but that’s a general x-men problem, even with having an assload of diverse and intresting characters, so it’s not entirely his fault. All in all it’s a fantastic roster: four of the x-men’s best, their leader in the field for the first time in forever, and a new and intresting wild card. IT’s a nice ballance of characters and we’ll get more into it as we go. Now all the expositions done, we can finally dive head first into new x-men. I hope you survivie the experince under the cut.

After an utterly gorgeous and striking cover, the one used up top, we get one solid page to introduce us to Morrison’s mission statment, how they feel and how good Frank Quitely’s art looks

I cropped it best i could for tumblr but this one image immidetly says a lot. Our heroes are just.. easily taking down this sentinel, an old model... the same one we’ve seen a dozen times. What were once the grim, possible destroyers of an entire race of beings in days of future past and devistating killing machines in the present.. had become stale easily defeated murder bots There had been noble attempts to really make the sentiinels work again like the horrifying omega sentinels, humans forcibly converted into sleeper agent killing machines, during operation: zero tolerance, but otherwise they were mostly just a prop for the x-men to knock down. And that.. really is morrison’s whole point. Lampshading and mocking the fact the x-men had grown stale, things hadn’t really progressed.. and that it was time to move on. But to Uncle Grant’s credit, they not only uses this as a mission statment but it’s plot relevant: this mission will both be explained soon and explains why Logan and Scott are out and about enough to end up where the plot will soon need them. It also helps, via the sight of the syndey opera house establish something Morrison made a staple of their run: the X-Men going global. While the x-men were never really NOT global post claremont, Morrisons run has them handling rescue missions and what not worldwide far more often than most runs before it sans Claremont, and really made it feel like they weren’t just another super team but a global force of good with a specific goal and mission. More on the global aspect next time, as that’s where it really comes in but I felt it was important to show it was there for minute one.

So yeah before we move onto the first full scene of the run, let’s talk about the costumes.

We’ll talk about Emma’s later since she’s not introduced to the story for a while but yeah. There’s a sharp, obvious and immediate change just in the outfits, which take after the movie’s more military look, having the x-men not only look more like a unit but more like a professional orginization. Someone to come and help when needed. While this would take on more siginifigance in a bit, we’ll get to it, it also fits Morrisions own views that the x-men were less of a traditional superhero team and more something different on the edges that fought things out there, sorta what like he did with doom patrol. And it’s honestly a valid interpretation as the x-men are often seen as outlaws and misfits by society for beingn well.. mutants. Not as trusted as the avengers. So having them adopt this look played into that: Having them look more professional and focused as The X-Men have a less blanket mission statement than the avenger.. but also mildly threatning. Something to alarm the humans. It’s an utterly brilliant look thrown best together by the big yellow x’s, still giving it a nice flash of color to show off and show this is still a comic and this is still damn colorful.. this just isn’t your AVERAGE supherhero comic or the x-men your used to. IT’s a real shame the only fox x-men movie to use it was fucking dark phoenix.. a film where it didn’t even fit as xavier was getting flashier and more reckless so why wouldn’t he have more garish and colorful and more traditional superhero outfits. They did look good in their variants in first class though. Props there. Point is this is a classic, utterly stunning look, and tha’ts coming from someone whose fine with goofy superhero outfits and perpetually bitter hawkeye is almost never allowed to wear his actual comic outift and is instead stuck with shades instead of you know.. a mask. Or anything resembling an actual good looking costume. This though this is how you do a less superheroy costume: practical and realistic, but still cool looking and comic book friendly.

We cut to a mysterious lady, we’ll come to know her as Cassandra Nova and while I know her origin... i’m saving it for later as the comics themselves explain it eventually, and a simpering dolt she brought with her, Donald Trask, a distant relative of the creators of the sentinels who, via holograms she’s showing cro magnons slaughtring the neanderthal. Her point is that Mutants are going to do this and she’s clearly fearmongering him and trying to talk him into genocide: to wipe them out before they wipe out humanity. And it’s here we get one of hte most important plot points of Morrisons run and one of the most intresting: according to cassandra’s research Humanity will be no more in 4 generations. Mutankind is on it’s way to overtaking them at last.. i’ts still a few decades off.. but it’s coming. It’s sometihing that the whole decimation nonsense sadly snuffed.. and John Hickman has thankfully brought back. I’ll get to his run once i’ts complete in a few years, but point is it’s an utterly marvelous plot hook: Humanity, whose already attempted genocide a few times, is now in real danger of what their petty, racist, fearful attacks have been about: being replaced. It’s one of the central themes of the work the other two being “Just what IS mutantkind and what will it be”. WHat are they as a people? We’ll dig into these as we go but the threat of exctincion is the backbone of this arc... and will lead to something truly ghastly.

It’s then we get our title page.. which nothing really to add it just looks really good and helps show off who are cast is and what they can do with striking simple art.

And since we’re already talking the art of the book, let’s take a moment to discuss an intresting detail of this run: despite it’s short length there’s quite a few diffrent artist, who we’ll talk about of course as we get to each one. The most common and notable though is Frank Quitely. Frank Quitely is one of Morrison’s closest and best creative partners, having a unique, squishy art style.. i.e. the one my friend didn’t like which is why i’m covering this. And while I like the art style quite a bit, I do get why it’s not everyone’s cup of tea: His art is squashed, weird, and admitely some faces can be good god no incaranate. But it’s also why I like it: his characters feel unique, each body and figure feels like it was custom made and thus feels.. real. Like this is a person before you. And given comics can often surrender to having everybody look the damn same, this is nice. His faces may sometimes look similar but his bodies are where the action is. But while having a realistic feel his work also has a weird alien quality that perfectly fits Morrison, and thus his run on x-men. I will say while I love All-Star Superman, his art fits less there in the more hopeful silver agey story, so he’s not an artist for EVERY STORY OF EVERY TYPE.. but when it comes to sci fi weridness, he fits it like a glove so i’ts unsuprising he and morrison are practicaley soul mates, nor that his art sets the tone perfectly for the run: this is something new, diffrent and strange.. and what says x-men at it’s best more than that?

So after our opening titles we cut to the mansion where Hank is showing off his latest and greatest invention: Cerebra. Cerbebra is a massively upgraded version of Cerebro, aka Professor Xavier’s iconic helmet that allows him to track mutants to help them out.. and covertly backup their conconousness for his long game plan, but shhhh, don’t tell anyone yet that’s not going to be retconned in for a few decades. Though i’m damn certain if Morrison has heard about the current era of x-men and how it both builds on what he built, shatters the status quo and is incredibly weird, he’d be damn proud. As for how it’s diffrent Cerebra not only has a large dome around it but said dome allows the machine to amply Charles powers to a global reach. He can now see mutants all over the world anywhere in the world, something I didn’t realize wasn’t ALWAYS a thing because it seems so simple. It’s also likely to bring it more in line with the movies. And while marvel has done TERRIBLE with bringing things in from the movies or in line with them in recent years, i.e. making star lord more like his movie self while forgetting that’s how he already used to be in canon before later writers thankfully did hte better step of merging the two, Hawkeye’s outfit, Cap’s outfit or Nick Fury Jr. But for every mistep there’s also been tons of times it’s worked out really well such as here, as well as bringing hulk into the avengers for the first time since the founding, making tony stark more like the mcu version and less like a nightmarish self righetous dicktator who rightfully gets beat up and called out a lot, making Scott Lang prominent since he became prominent in the MCU, Wakanda being a major force in the marvel universe as it always should have been and various titles that have popped up to tie into movies, often bringing back a team or property that hadn’t had a book in some time like Ant-Man, Black Panther, and Shang Chi just to name a few. It’s not always hawkeye looking all jeremy renner is what i’m saying.. though thankfully comics clint isn’t that uninteresting. Hopefully the series will change that.

So yeah along with a bigger shinier cerebro we’re also introduced to a big change in Hank whose taken on his lion form rather than his classic gorilla with a weird haircut or his return to that except bald. Here he’s more like aslan in a human body and I.. love it. It looks great, helps sell hanks delima of being brilliant while looking like a beast and makes sense: he kickstarted what was likely his own secondary evolution by drinking the potion that made him bestial, so it only makes sense his body wouldn’t be all that stable even if it took years to change again. And even that makes sense as hank was breifly turned back to his original hairless ape mutation during x-factor, easily one of the books.. worse decisions honestly and one that louise simonson thankfully later undid. That probably bought him some time hence why it’s only mutating further now. It also adds an intresting wrinkle which the run will explore further: how far does this go? Will he regress? and how much hank will be left? And how will society treat his new form?

For now he’s actually extatic. While he’s going through hormonal changes, and giving out some excellent banter with Jean

Which also includes one of the greatest lines in comic book history, one that’s been in my head for decades and made me absolutely love henry mccoy.

He’s just great is what i’m saying. As you can tell it’s stuff like this why i’m glad Moira fell through. While I love her.. Morrison’s hank is just a delight and one really questionable subplot aside, we’ll get to that, he’s one of the highlights of this run with an intresting internal struggle, and great chemistry with EVERYONE. And that is the main reason i’m glad Moira fell through as his history with everyone but Emma, who he still has a great raport with, means each interaction has weight. He’s close friends with both scott and jean and thus serves as their needed confidant, while still being able to buddy and banter iwth good old weapon x, and speak with his mentor charles as an equal. While I love moira... Beast just fits into the cast too perfectly and I 100% suspect Morrison was only using her because, while she’s awesome, Claremont wanted her and thus gladly snapped her up when he no longer had a science person. I’ll get into his Jean soon enough but she’s likewise fantastic and easily my faviorite version of the character.. not that until very recently there was much honest competition.

So Cerebra fires up showing a massive cloud of mutants, showing just how much of a huge spike theirs been with Xavier wondering what it all means.. and Hank seeing a weird flare on the mointor for just a second with his special eyes. But since Xavier isn’t stupid and isn’t the kind of idiot who just dismisses it as a fulke, and since Scott and Logan are in the field, he decides to confrence call them in to see if they can go take a look.

And naturally we get to see what their up to and get context for what the hell happened in the first page. Our heroes were on a rescue mission to save Ugly John, tha’ts what people called him, a three faced mutant who ends up passing out as they head out of the atmosphere for a second. Wolverine is regenerating and smoking out of his neck becaue he could still smoke back then before marvel decided “he’s setting a bad example”.. in a comic meant for teens and adults.

I mean I get it on some level as the x-men cartoon was a huge thing in the 90′s and Ben Grimm is basically a giant children’s toy with the mind of a surly 40 year old jewish man from yancy street, but stilll it’s just.. why. I may not like smoking but it’s not like it was SPIDER-MAN saying

It’s a grown man.. whose not a sterling roll model and who Claremont went out of his way to have Logan point out his healing factor means it really dosen’t hurt him in the long run and when Kitty, an actual teenager, tried one of his cigars she choked. I know it’s a weird thing to get hung up on but while i’m all for keeping kids from smoking, this was a really clumsy way to try and hehlp that that made no sense and will never make any sense.

One tangent later we find out that Cassandra was showing Trask a simulation on a flight to, unsuprisingly, south america, to a sentinel blacksite. Between covertly funding civil wars as they do, the US Goverment naturally founded an experimental sentinal project, and a second master mold during the production of the first line... when larry trask asks where it could possibly be well...

Subtly was not the trasks strong point.. or common sense... or.. not realizing their creations would dominate humanity too or not dying.

Anyways we then cut back to the x-men, as their having a psychic zoom meeting with Charlie giving one of his patnted big speeches.. and like a lot of this comic it’s too damn good not to use

The reason I couldn’t should be obvious: This one speech sums up the x-men, why their great and why their necessary in a nutshell: in a world full of prejucided morons.. there’s plenty of scared kids who NEED the x-men to protect and guide them, and with a surge in the mutant population, their needed now more than ever. We also get a good explanation in universe for the uniform change: Charles had them in the superhero outfits hoping humanity would accept them if they were packaged as something they know. Since that clearly hasn’t worked he’s trying new ways to reach out and thus going with a diffrent more rescue team approach to the uniforms. He assigns Wolvie and Cyke to go check out the flair as you’d expect and the meetings over. On the blackbird we get our first hint at a subplot as Logan noticed Cyclops couldn’t wait to get out of there, and is being a tad distant to his wife. He actually has reasons for being kind of cold for once instead of just bad writing as he just came back from being possed by apocalypse. Yeah that happened. So the experience has rattled our boy some what. More on that as we go. But Jean ducks the subject with hank but does breach the fact that Charles has been going kind of crazy with the spending, new uniforms and ambition lately. Hank explains it perfectly: After all the death, suffering and misery the x-men have endured lately, the aforementioned deaths I talked about that took Colossus and Moira off the roster, have lionzed Charles to make sure it was all worth something and look towards the future.

But enough hope time for horror as Cassandra makes her first direct move, trying to take over Charles brain , make his body her own and use cerebra to kill lots and lots of mutants. We then get one of the best moments of Morrisons run with Charles response to a horrifying monster trying to take his brain

While it is shocking to find out Charles has a gun..it’s a grim but kind of understandable precaution. The guy once got fully taken over by a brood, assembling the New Mutants in part because the brood wanted to create more of i’ts kind with more super powers. You’d be paranoid too if some of your beloved students were brought together partly due to your good intentions and partly because a space monster wanted to make more space montsters out of helpless teens, and even horribly gaslighted one of them. We’ll get to that some day. Point is Charles brain is one of the greatest weapons on earth and if the wrong person got a hold of it, it’d be the end of said earth. Thankfully Charles does not need plan gun, as Jean yanks Cerebra off him but the sheer HATE Charles felt from Cassandra, the sheer power has rattled him.. and also told him she’s in Ecuador and his X-Men need to be warned NOW. It’s a great way to set up just HOW powerful Cassandra is. Speaking of which as our first issue of the arc ends, we find out two things: Cass faked being int he government but really just used dead soldiers as prop.. and just what kind of sentinels are out there.. wild sentinels. Easily my faviorite variant of the old killing machines and one that’s barely used despite being really damn awesome. Their adaptive killing machines, designed to mutated just like their pray and take tech from around them, as a result they look like a jumble of guns and parts.. but not only does it give them a unique, cool look.. but it makes them ten times deadlier as instead of being big bricks of robots that while intimidating, the x-men know how to kill... their unpredictable variable killing machines. You can figure out how to kill one sure.. btu the next might be entirely diffrent. They are one of morrisons best creations and I hope someone uses the idea again.. aka hickman. Please use it jonathan I know your focused on nimrod but come on.

And we end on one of the best lines of the entiire run as we close out the issue

Yeah it goes without saying but i’ll say it anyway; Morrison is really damn good with dialouge and being damn quotable.

So we open with another great quote “When I got up today I didn’t expect to kill 20 million people”... and Cassandra being aware Wolverine and Cyclops are on their way and sending the Wild Sentinels to dispatch them. Also our heroes brought Ugly John along while while a dumb move, Wolvie does point out how dumb it was to divert to Ecuador with a civlian in tow.. after the plane crash of course. As for “wait what plane crash’, the sentinels attack and start picking it apart... and since letting them have such good tech is a terrible idea, Scotty blows up the damn plane. So to recap our heroes are stuck in ecuador, surrounded by murder machines, and oh look their there and knock off cyclops viser. Fantastic. So yeah our heroes are fucked. And naturally captured by the enemy.

The rest of the x-men are doing SLIGHTLY better. While beast makes a note for his girlfriend, more on that later on, Charles is in bed, half alive, explaning the rationale I gave for why he has the gun with Jean refusing to let him get back out of bed and you know.. put on the device that just nearly killed him. But when beast announces they lost contact with our boys.. yeah that ceased being an option.

Back in the Ecuadorian Genocide Factory, Cassandra does the obvious and kills donald trask as his real purpose..was to stick around and be stupid for a bit while she copied his dna so she could have full control of her new murder toys.She soon uses them, having a horrifying death chamber slaughter john.. or at least flash fry him. Wolverine takes it how you’d expect and since the sentinels need to “perserve trask dna”.. they can’t fire on him without killing her. Scott escapes.. and in a heart wrenching scene mercy kills john.. before getting badass.

To anyone who says Scott Summers is boring, unintersting, or a stupid asshole idiot head I present exhbit shut the fuck up. Morrison gets scott just right, deconstructing his emotional suppression, while showing him off as a dedicated, companionate man who gets the job done and who seconds after tearfully having to mercy kill an innocent mutant whose death was partially his fault, wastes no time making it painfully clear to the person responsible she WILL die if she tries that again. Logan however realizes she’s already won in some fashion as she’s grinning.. and yeah never a good sign when a genocidal madwoman is grinning like a loon.. and when we find out why.. it’s even less good> We cut to Genosha. A lot of you probably know what happned to Genosha but in case you don’t know what it is it was once a horribly racist country that genetically enslaved mutants and used them for slave labor. It was freed, but still struggled to truly move on.. till Magneto showed up, took the country for himself and made it a home for all mutants. When we last saw him he once again tried to take over the world leading to Logan seemingly killing him. Right now though Emma Frost finally enters the scene teaching some mutants.. when a young one named Negasonic Teenage Warhead.. yes that one and yes she was entirely chosen for deadpool for her name, reveals, via precognition, that their all going to die.. right as the sentinels attack.

Genosha.. is gone. In an eyeblink 16 million mutants are dead, a possible future gone, and one of their greatest leaders is no more. Yeah Magneto WAS alive.. but paralyzed so he could do nothing when his island was utterly slaughtered. Only a handful of mutants will be revealed to survive. Humanity had done a lot to mutants before .. but for once.. they’d succeeded in wiping a massive chunk out. What was an x-men location for DECADES at this point.. was now a smoldering crater. A what could of been that would hant the x-men ever after, even now into utopia it remains the darkest day in mutant history outside of hte decimation. It is a truly horrific moment.. and if the changes already hadn’t made it clear this is morrison saying “NO character is safe, nothing is safe, and nothing will be the same and I damn well mean that”. In one act of hate the world has changed. And it hasn’t finished changing yet.

Issue Three opens hammering in things, as Jean and Beast are in the ruins of genosha, with Xavier having found ONE surivor among the rubble, and our heroes sturggling to find even them, though Jean eventually picks them up and uses her TK to sift through the rubble.

They find Emma who emerges from a bunker in shock, clutching NTW... and not realizing she’s dead until later and revealing she now has diamond skin, her own secondary mutation. Secondary Mutation was a birlliant idea, new powers sprouting up within established mutants.. it’s just morrison barely used this great idea as did hardly anyone else. Only X-Men Blue ever really dug into it and those were artifical at that. IT’s a great idea..it’s just barely used and at most heavily implied to explain changes in powers like Jamie Madrox Multiple Personalities later on or Doug Ramsey’s vast increase in power. Disapointing.

While Charles takes in the tragedy and the fact his old frienmie is dead, the x-men wonder what the fuck Cassandra is and what to do with her.. why did she kill 16 million people, and what the fuck is she. I mean I know, but as I said i’ll explain that when the story does. IN the other room Beast tends to Emma who wants none of not fucking killing Cassandra.. and is utterly right. Bitchy, because i’ts Emma, but right: she killed 16 million people. Say what you want but while it may not be up to the x-men to kill her.. she shoudln’t be living much longer. She commited genocide. Emma decides fuck that and prepares to leave summoning a cab and making peace with being a glorious living fabrige egg. Emma did apparelty change in generation x.. but Morrison is responsible for returning her not only to being a bitch, but a gloriously delightful one And really I don’t think they reset her character entirely: she’s not the heartless monster she started out as: she has empathy, grace, and caring.. she just buries it under a lair of absolute bitch and after you know, surviving a fucking genocide who can blame her? And honestly.. I love their verison of her. She provides a nice contrast to the more idealistic, even logan, x-men and a nice contrarian voice in the room without being obnoxious and her style and sacrastic swagger makes her endlessly entertaning. Thanks to morrison she’s stuck around to this day and went from a pretty good character.. to a great one. And what makes her this way, or as jean puts it “such a bitch?”

With that settled, Hank explains what Cassandra is: a competing species. As he puts it sometimes evolution takes a quantum leap forward.. and Cassandra is the result. Thus she wants to wipe out the compettition and is so far above humanity, she dosen’t need them... especially since she knows what Hank now knows: humanity is at an end. As hank puts it we have an E Gene, one that basically shuts off a race.. and thus the x-men now know what we learned earlier and that cassandra wasn’t lying: in 4 generations there are no more humans and something has to repalce htem. And Cassandra wants it to be her.

Before Logan can do what he does best, and asks why she looks like charles, Cassandra escapes, and Scott briliantly urges them to fight only on instict as she’s a telepath. A damn awesome fight insues including Cassandra donning Charles Psoonic battle armor, Scott being put in his black bug room and the general good looking chaos you’d expect from a superhero fight. While this goes on Emma has an ephinany and realizes she likes to teach, the x-men have a school.. and she shoudln’t give up on helping kids just because of what happened and turns around.

Cassandra is near victory, slipping her way to Cerebra.. and planning to kill only one mind before getting to the millions she wnats, a horrifying slug manifesting around her.. only...

So the x-men accept this and cassandra rises.. seemingly saying “I am charles” Huh... and then charles uncaracteristiacally shoots her saying things must change

We’ll get to what all of that means next time as we close on Jean and Scott in bed. Scott explains why he’s been so distant as what I said earlier: fighting off apocalypse stripped away a lot of illusions about himself and he’s having a hard time walking back from that but Jean is willing to help.. but before they can resolve their issues.. charles has an annoucnment to make and grant has one last whopper of a suprise to end his opening arc on, and just like genosha...it’s a game changer of titanic proportions

No longer is Xavier’s School hidden. Their walking into the light now and so is charles. Hope they surivive the experince. Obviously this move is brilliant: while it removes the veil of saftey the x-men had it also brings on tons of new possiblities and unlike secondary mutation, this one not only stuck but would impact the x-men for good: no longer would they hide and cower.. their mutant and proud.. and their here to stay. E For Extinction is one of the best x-men stories period. Blisteringly paced, full of great character, great concepts and utterly terrifying and terrific moments that would impact the x-men all the way to present day. It’s beautifully drawn, well paced, and a masterwork. I highly recommend it and it’s a great kickoff to a great run. Shame the run couldn’t of ended on this kind of high but.. we’ll get to that. For now this is a masterclass in how to start a run and if you haven’t read it do so NEXT TIME ON NEW X-MEN: A bunch of weirdos try to harvest mutant organs, the x-men get a brain in a jar and a new teamate, and Scott maybe cheats on his wife. Until then, goodbye goodbye goodbye.

25 notes · View notes

gerec · 4 years

Text

AU-gust 2020 Prompts

1. Fantasy AU - Cherik 2. College AU - Cherik, Xavierine 3. Soulmates AU - Cherik 4. Angels & Demons AU - Cherik 5. Post-Apocalyptic AU - Cherik 6. Hospital AU - Cherik

7. Childhood Friends AU - Cherik

For @ikeracity - I hope you don’t mind that I used your prompt for this childhood friends au fill! :D

----

They’re just sitting down to dinner when the doorbell rings, surprising Erik as he’s about to make a giant dent in his mother’s kugel. Everyone he knows is already here – to celebrate his birthday, Edie’s orders – and he can’t imagine who else could possibly be at the door.

“I’ll get it,” Ruth shouts, bolting out of the dining room like her feet are on fire, which is – not that surprising really, since she’s been buzzing with anticipation all night. Erik would worry that she had some sort of big surprise planned, if he didn’t know any better; he hates surprises, almost as much as he hates getting presents for his birthday.

“Oh that must be Charles,” his mother says blithely, setting the last of the dishes on the dinner table with a pleased smile. “I’m so glad he could make it. I hope he still likes my brisket.”

Her comment makes zero sense to Erik, because he doesn’t even know a ‘Charles’; he doesn’t socialize with anyone outside of the people from work, and even then it’s really only Azazel and Moira that he likes enough to call friends. (Alex and Sean report to him, so they’re not really friends, but Mama insisted on inviting them too). And he‘s fairly certain his mother doesn’t know anyone named ‘Charles’ either, or would have had the chance to feed him her special brisket recipe.

Well, except for…

No they can’t possibly mean Charles Charles, who he hasn’t seen or spoken to in over ten years.

“Erik, Erik, look who’s here!” Ruth says, eyes glittering with excitement as she rounds the corner of the dining room, dragging some poor soul behind her by the arm. “It’s Charles! Can you believe it?”

Everyone stops to gape at the newcomer, conversations coming to an abrupt halt as they collectively stare at the handsome man framed in the doorway. The handsome, famous, talented, movie star Charles Xavier, who just won an Oscar for his leading role in the newest ‘Pride and Prejudice’ remake, and who also happens to be Erik’s best friend from kindergarten. They had been inseparable as children, and even shared their first kiss with each other, though nothing came of it beyond Erik’s lifelong crush and a broken heart he’s been nursing since their high school graduation.

“Holy shit,” Cassidy blurts out loud, dropping his fork with a clang, his eyes practically bulging out of his head. “What the fuck! You’re Charles Xavier.”

Dressed in a long sleeve button up and tan slacks, Charles is still utterly gorgeous in an effortless way, like he never has to do more to be camera ready than run his fingers through his hair. Erik remembers all the embarrassing times he’s gotten inconvenient erections around his best friend, when Charles had merely grinned in amusement, or look fixedly at him with those big blue eyes.

“Hello all,” Charles says, a little awkward, like he still isn’t used to the millions of people fawning all over him in real life and on the internet. “Mrs. Lehnsherr, hi. Thank you again for inviting me. I brought this with me; I hope you like it.”

His mother pulls Charles into a hug, and pets his cheek like she used to when they came home after school and raided the fridge for snacks. “None of that now, boychik. It’s Edie remember? Now come in and say hello to Erik.” She hands the bottle of wine Charles brought over to Ruth, and then turns to him with a slight frown. “Don’t just stand there with your mouth open, Erik. Introduce Charles to your friends.”

“Yes, Lehnsherr,” Azazel says with a smirk – because he’s an asshole, and because he knows that Erik has a private catalogue of all of Charles’ work, even his earliest, super obscure stuff from before he hit it big – “introduce the nice movie star to your boring, normal friends.”

“I know right?” Moira adds, her eyes still glued to Charles like he’s Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny rolled into one. “Why didn’t you tell us you knew Charles Xavier? Oh my god, we went to see Pride and Prejudice three times in the theater and you never said a thing!”

“Actually, why didn’t you get us tickets to see ‘Fires of Morder’ on opening night, you asshole?” Alex actually throws a napkin at him, though it bounces off his chest and lands on his kugel. “You’re friends with the lead actor! Why did we have to wait three days to see it with the unwashed masses?”

Erik scowls, because his friends are ridiculous, and because he doesn’t even know if he would consider Charles a friend anymore after all these years apart. They’d been so excited after graduation, and even talked about doing stage work together in New York, until Charles got a part in a miniseries that took him overseas to England for filming and then to a busy life in L.A.

And though Charles had promised to call and to stay in touch, the distance and time zone difference became too much to juggle, and gradually, he stopped reaching out to Erik, and Erik had let him go.

Some of those thoughts must have been apparent because Charles grimaces a little as he explains, “Actually, I’m afraid I haven’t been a good friend to Erik at all, for a long time now. I’m ashamed to say that I let work and life get in the way of our friendship, though I’m hoping he’ll give me a chance to make things right.”

“Of course he will,” his mother says, already pulling Charles over to take a seat next to Erik at the table. “Now let’s eat before the food gets cold.”

Erik realizes he still hasn’t said a word to Charles - because he’s still in shock, and because he’s apparently still madly in love with him, which is an inconvenient emotion to have for an ex-best friend who callously discarded your friendship for a life of wealth and fame. But Charles is still Charles, and his resolve to stay mad forever crumbles like dust when he sees the mix of hope and regret painted so clearly all over his face.

“You��ve been a terrible friend,” he says with a teasing grin. “I hope you’re ready to grovel, Xavier, ‘cause I’m definitely going to make you pay.”

“I’ll make it up to you, I swear,” Charles agrees readily, shoulders sagging as he huffs a relieved sigh. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you again. I’ve missed you, Erik.”

I’ve missed you too, Erik thinks, as he wraps his arms around Charles and pulls him into a hug. I’m not letting you get away again, without telling you how much.

#gerec writes #cherik #childhood friends au #au-gust 2020 #august writing challenge #day 7

82 notes · View notes

erin-bo-berin · 4 years

Text

Darkest Storms & Brightest Rainbows (Part 3)

MASTERLIST

Part 1

Part 2

Hard Love (unofficial part 4)

The final part of the Cat fic is finally here! Hope I didn’t leave you in too much suspense. I don’t have much to say about this part other than it’s the longest of the three and there’s a nice mix of angst, smut and daddy Spence. Happy reading :)

Spencer Reid/Reader

Rating: M (some smut)

Word Count: 5,425

You hadn’t felt this queasy since your pregnancy.

There across the room stood Spencer, Cat’s face in his hands as he kissed her hungrily. His lips moved with hers with a lightning type of electricity between them.

You couldn’t believe your eyes.

“Spencer?” you croaked.

The two broke away quickly, his hands still on her face and he looked utterly horrified.

Horrified and guilty.

Cat untangled herself from your boyfriend and walked toward you, not so discreetly wiping the edge of her mouth.

“Oh good, you’re awake. Welcome to the party,” she purred.

“W-What’s going on?”

Your voice trembled, your gaze flickering back and forth between Spencer and Cat. Between being confused at the current situation, you were freaking out, worried about the whereabouts of Spensa. You desperately hoped she was okay.

It had been nearly a year since you last saw him in the flesh. Now his hair was longer and his face was shadowed with facial hair, more present than it usually was.

“Just to catch you up, sweetheart,” Cat sat next to you on the couch, “Spencie has been alive and well this whole time.”

You had to force yourself not to flinch, both at her close presence and at her words.

“Y/N, I can explain,” Spencer said, his eyes pleading for you to understand.

You couldn’t comprehend anything at the moment.

“Now, now. Don’t steal my story from me,” Cat tsked before turning back to you.

“Anyway, Spencer here thought he was being smart by faking his death. He thought I wouldn’t find him. Obviously he underestimated me. Did I also mention that the entire BAU knew he faked his death and didn’t have the decency to tell you?”

Your brows furrowed, your chest feeling tight. You looked over at Spencer.

“Is that true?”

But Spencer wasn’t looking at you. He was looking at Cat.

“Why are you doing this, Cat?”

“Well I thought it would be nice to have a little reunion. Besides while you and I were having some fun, I had my partner kidnap Y/N here so she could join us.”

“Where even are we?” you asked, peering around the dusty, rundown apartment.

There was a smashed TV in a corner, empty beer cans scattered by a wall and dust bunnies everywhere. It looked like it had been a long time since anyone had inhabited this space.

“Not important,” she brushed the question off, “But I thought us women should stick together, ya know?”

You looked at her blankly.

“Well I wanted to get three of us together to let you know that you could do better than Spencer over here.”

“And why do you say that?” you challenged her.

“Well, one,” she bit her lip, pretending to think, “He’s just like me. We deserve each other. Two, I hate to disillusion you that there’s nothing going on between Spencer and I. I just wouldn’t be able to live with myself. Three, I’m just looking out for you. You could find someone so much better for you.”

She reached out to push a lock of your hair behind your shoulders and you flinched away from her, anger growing in you.

“So this entire time, you’ve been with her?” you asked Spencer.

“No! No,” he shook his head emphatically, “I was in Moscow until she found me.”

“We’ve been having a great time,” Cat crossed her legs, smirking, “As you’ve seen. Did we even leave bed yesterday, Spencie?”

You pressed your lips together, refusing to let her see that she was getting to you.

“You kidnapped her just to make a point that I could do better, with you?”

“Not exactly. I also wanted to tell her just the kind of guy she’s dating. Oh, I’m sorry, thought she was dating.”

Her eyes were locked on Spencer’s, the challenge like flames of a fire in them.

“Did you know, that right before you woke up he told me that you’re not me?” Cat said, turning back to you, “That a part of him still thought about me all the time. I asked him to prove it.”

She made a face, a mock grimace, “Well you saw that part.”

Spencer now stood near you. She got up and squatted in front of you.

“I have to admit the sex is great,” she said nonchalantly, “But I’m sure you knew that. With the baby and all.”

You felt the blood freeze in your veins. How she knew about Spensa, you had no idea. Your fear for her spiked even more. If Cat even as much as touched a hair on your little girl’s head, you wouldn’t hesitate clawing her eyes out and ripping every hair from her head. The mama bear part of you was intense, just as intense as your love for your daughter.

“Baby?” Spencer looked confused, glancing between the two of you.

“I forgot, you didn’t know,” Cat laughed dryly, “My bad. Well she was pregnant with your baby. Such a shame that you miscarried and on the day daddy dearest decided to…”opt out” of being a father. Guess the excitement was just too much, huh?”

The look on Cat’s face was of a cruel pleasure. Spencer looked devastated as he tried to process what she’d just said.

“You...miscarried that day?” he whispered.

You weren’t about to make Cat aware of Spensa’s existence, so you made the lightning quick decision about what you had to do.

“Yeah. I did.”

•

“Emily!”

Penelope ran into the bullpen, concern written all over her face.

“What is it, Garcia?” Emily asked, instantly picking up on her frantic mood.

“I just got a call from your associates in Moscow that was keeping an eye on Reid. He’s gone missing.”

“You think Cat found him?”

“I don’t know, but it gets worse. JJ went to pick up Spensa to take her for a few hours like she’d promised Y/N, but she found Y/N gone and Spensa in her crib screaming.”

“She could have both of them.” Emily’s eyes widened, horrified.

“I’ll get the team!” Penelope was already running to locate all of them.

Cat Adams was going to be caught for good this time if they had to shoot her themselves.

•

“Just let her go Cat,” Spencer pleaded, “I’ll do anything you want.”

“Anything?”

A wicked grin crossed her face as she sat in an overstuffed chair across from the couch.

“You could always kiss me again. You know just to make sure she gets the picture.”

You had yet to face Spencer completely. Your turmoil was rolling inside you, too many emotions competing to be felt at once. You were angry that no one told you about Spencer and you’d spent a year mourning what you thought was his death. You were hurt, Cat’s words and Spencer’s actions still playing in your mind. You were scared, sad, confused, jealous, overwhelmed; it was like a bad combination of every emotion imaginable creating one big miserable cocktail.

“Y/N could just get up and leave,” Spencer argued.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t do that if I were her.”

The click of her gun got your attention, she had it pointed in your direction. She knew you had enough sense not to test her; she would pull that trigger if necessary.

“You think you’re so clever,” you sneered.

“Oh I don’t just think it sweetheart, I know it.”

“You account for every possible outcome and plan accordingly don’t you?”

“Wow, you sound just like Spencer,” she glanced over at him, “You sure know how to pick ‘em.”

“You obviously didn’t plan well enough,” you goaded.

“Y/N, what are you doing?” Spencer said.

He was on the couch, a good distance from you. He’d been there, head in his hands for a while before he’d started negotiating with her for your safety.

You ignored him and played the one card you knew you had.

“Can you actually trust your partner, Cat?”

“That’s irrelevant,” she deadpanned.

“Well I’d think it over if I were you.”

You sat back with a smirk of satisfaction because of the knowledge you had. Earlier hadn’t been the first time you had gained consciousness.

•

You’d waken in the backseat of a moving car. Your hands and legs were bound with zip ties. In the driver’s seat was a dark haired girl with a pixie cut.

“Hey!” you hollered, “What’s going on? Why are you doing this?!”

You thrashed and hit the back of her seat when she ignored you and turned the volume of the radio up.

“Shut up!” your captor hollered over the music.

You decided to be on your best behavior.

For now.

Spensa had been left in her crib asleep when this mysterious woman had kidnapped you. Tears slid down your face as you thought of her. All you wanted is to be home with her in your arms. You prayed she was safe and that someone would find her soon.

You waited until the radio became nothing but static, the channel lost, before you made your next move.

“You’re working for Cat Adams aren’t you?”

“I don’t have to tell you nothin’.”

The woman lit a cigarette while she drove, taking a long inhale of it. You watched her exhale the smoke then asked your next question.

“What’s your end of the deal?”

“Don’t know what you’re yapping about.”

“Come on. You don’t give a shit about me. What’s she promising you?”

She ignored you and continued to drive. You pleaded with her, you were desperate.

“Please, I have a daughter. She’s only 5 months old. Did she tell you that?”

“Shut up.”

“How do you even know Cat?”

You fell to the floor of the backseat as the car swerved suddenly and the tires squealed. You felt the car come to a stop.

The driver’s side door opened and closed. Then the back door was yanked open. You were grabbed by the back of your shirt and pulled upwards.

The pixie-cut woman jabbed her gun in your face.

“What’s to say I won’t shoot you right now?”

“Cause it’s not worth going to prison for killing a person you give zero fucks about,” you stated.

You might’ve been terrified, but your voice came out clear and even. She stared you down for a long moment until she spoke again.

“I don’t know her that well. She just came to me saying she needed a job done.”

“Did you get any payment?” you questioned.

“She promised ten grand.”

“Did you get the money?”

“She said I had to get the job done, then I’d see the money.”

“You know you’re probably never going to see that money. Either she’ll kill you or she’ll disappear without paying her dues.”

For the first time, you see her hesitate.

“What if she turns on you? She could lead the police, feds, the whole works right your way. She could blame it all on you. I’ve dealt with Cat before. She’s a dangerous woman.”

You knew you were probably grasping at straws by now, but you had no other choice. You had to do something.

“How do I know you’re not just bullshitting me?” The gun came closer to your face again.

“All I want to do is get back to my daughter. She already lost her father, I don’t want to make her an orphan.”

“What the hell do you expect me to do anyway?” she laughed cruelly, “It’s not exactly like I can walk in and say “hey I kidnapped this woman” you know.”

“Make an anonymous call. They won’t have to know your name. Just tell them where Cat is, where you’re taking me, something. You can call from a pay phone, they won’t be able to trace it back to you. No one will ever know you were involved in this.”

You can see her resolve wavering, the gun lowering just a bit. You tried not to get your hopes up.

“You can walk away from this,” you said evenly.

For a moment you think she’s actually going to let you go as leans forward to you, but she doesn’t. Instead, she swings her arm back, the gun coming in contact with your forehead.

You fall backwards in the seat, your head now pounding doubly as hard.

“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want, bitch.”

The car door slamming shut was the last thing you heard before you blacked out again.

But you hadn’t missed the look of panic in her eyes.

The next time you’d woke up, you were in the jaws of the psychopath.

•

“Your partner decided not to play by your rules anymore, Cat.”

Your voice was calm, but your nerves were frazzled. You were sick of dealing with Catherine Adams.

“I doubt that,” she smiled, “I have her loyalty.”

“Just because you’re a bitch doesn’t mean you get what you want, Cat.”

“Y/N,” Spencer warned.

“No, no. I’d love to hear what she has to say,” Cat leaned forward, interested.

“You literally had me kidnapped just to tell me that I’m not good enough for Spencer, that he should be yours which is ridiculous cause I doubt you have any feelings, much less love.”

“Love?” she snorted, “Please. I’m not delusional, besides love bores me. Do you think he’s capable of love?”

Spencer looked at her. You looked at him. He looked even worse than he had five minutes ago, if that was even possible. There was just something about Cat that drained him.

“If he was capable of love, he would’ve never put you in danger. Only reason you’re here at all is because of him.”

“If you’re this pleasant now, I’d hate to see what you’re like when someone double crosses you. Like say, your partner.” You ground your teeth in attempt to keep your cool.

“This isn’t her first rodeo, sweetie,” Cat looked over at Spencer, “You’ve got a fiesty one here.”

The glint in her eyes was a tell that she was enjoying this challenge. If it was a fight she wanted, a fight she was gonna get.

You stood up and walked toward her. Her eyes never left you as you approached her.

“I know for a fact that she’s gonna give up every bit of information she has on you and your plan.”

“She wouldn’t be an idiot. It would incriminate herself.”

“Not if she had something to,” you paused, shrugging nonchalantly, “Enlighten her.”

You had no idea if her partner had really contacted authorities and you hoped against hope that she had, but you weren’t about to show your doubts. With Cat it was all or nothing and if this would get you and Spencer out alive, this is what you would do.

“Huh. I like her, Spencie.”

“Cat, the gig is up. By now the BAU would have been alerted about my disappearance, Y/N’s too.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Cat said, sitting back as if she had all the time in the world.

“Did you know that Spencer is the only man to actually peak my interest? I’ve spent my whole adult life studying men and their lies, yet he intrigues me.”

“Obsessed is more like it,” you huffed.

“We have a...connection, you might say. By the way are you this bitter and bitchy because you lost his baby or is that just a personality trait of yours?”

She was goading you, you knew it. Even though she didn’t know about Spensa, it still felt like she was insulting her entire existence.

You’d noticed she’d completely taken her attention away from the gun, which was resting on the arm of the chair.

All the anger, all the resentment you had felt the day you thought Spencer died was bubbling to the surface. All the hurt you’d felt, the loss you’d experienced, the frustration, the pain that she caused made you snap. You’d had more than enough. You lunged for the gun just as fast as she did.

“Y/N, no!” Spencer yelled, jumping to his feet behind you.

Both of your hands were on the gun as you wrestled for it. It went off, a stray bullet going into the ceiling but even the gunshot was drowned out by the sound of the door caving in.

“FBI!”

Your hands dropped from the gun and you fell backwards onto the floor with a grunt. In your line of vision you saw Rossi, Emily and JJ rushing in, their guns on Cat.

With her two hostages too far out of reach and three guns pointed against her in comparison to the lone gun she had, the odds were not in her favor. You breathed a sigh of relief when the cuffs snapped closed around her wrists.

“Hey Spencie,” she smirked in his direction, “I may be going to prison, but that’s not going to ruin my mood. Wanna know why?”

“Why?” he bit out.

“Because you two are over.”

His jaw clenched, mouth pursed. The look of misery was written all over his face.

With one last knowing grin before she was escorted out, Cat’s last words were thrown in Spencer’s direction.

“I win.”

•

The tears started to fall the moment you exited the dirty, musty apartment. It was like you couldn’t stop crying.

You were sitting in the back of one of the FBI’s SUVs, tears still streaming down your face as you stared into space. Spencer was sitting in the backseat with you, on the opposite side and you could feel his eyes on you.

You were less than a foot away from each other yet you couldn’t feel more distant. You were relieved that he was alive, of course, but so much had transpired in the last hour that you weren’t sure what to feel anymore.

“You know, crying can actually be good for you. It can cause the release of oxytocin and endorphins, chemicals that can make us feel better,” he said gently.

“Spencer,” you sighed, feeling worn.

“Sorry.”

You didn’t mean to make him feel bad, but all you could feel were the torn shreds of your relationship at the moment, as if Cat’s words and actions had reduced it to nothing.

“Did you really sleep with her?” you whispered.

“No,” he answered firmly.

The kiss hung in the air between you two, though. Even knowing it was just Cat, stung.

“That kiss though.”

“Yeah,” he sighed, “You can’t fake things like that.”

You looked out the window, rain beginning to fall from the grayed sky. It was fitting for your mood.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N,” his tone was dejected, “Please don’t be mad.”

You shook your head.

“I’m not mad. It’s just...a lot to take in.”

He nodded, staying silent. There was nothing but the soft sound of rain hitting the window for a few minutes before he spoke again.

“Did you really have a miscarriage?” His voice was barely a whisper.

“No. I carried her to term.”

You looked over at him, his face changing when your words finally sunk in.

“I have a daughter?”

A small smile crossed your lips.

“I named her Spensa. Spensa Rose Reid.”

“You named her after me?”

You nodded.

“Can I meet her?” he asked, hesitantly.

“Of course.”

A smile peeked at the corners of his mouth. You glanced down at his hand that was resting on the middle seat. You reached out, touching your fingertips to his.

Maybe things would be okay after all.

•

After long hours of briefing, medical check ups and paperwork for Spencer, you both were finally back at the apartment. You hadn’t really had the chance to talk much to each other after the ride back to the BAU, much less see each other.

You were extremely grateful when JJ and Will had offered to take Spensa for the night and the next day, to give you both a chance to settle back in at home.

In a way, it was awkward being in the same space as him again, especially after all that had happened. It had been your space, then yours and Spensa’s for so long that you weren’t used to having him around.

“You know we’re gonna have to talk about this at some point,” Spencer pointed out gently as he sat down on his side of the bed.

The sight took your breath away for a moment. It had never occurred to you that you’d have the opportunity to see him on his side of the bed, ever again, but here he was.

You just weren’t ready for that conversation at the moment.

“I promised you I’d show you pictures of Spensa,” you said, getting your phone off the charger.

He didn’t say anything about your shift of the subject.

You sat down on the bed, pulling up pictures of your and Spencer’s daughter. You handed him your phone.

“Those are pictures from when she was born.”

He was speechless as he stared at the pictures, scrolling through them.

“She’s beautiful,” he breathed, in awe.

“She is,” she smiled.

“She’s so tiny.”

“Definitely not tiny anymore,” you chuckled.

“What’s this?”

You scoot closer, peering at your phone screen.

“Oh that’s a mini photoshoot I did in different onesies that the team bought her. They were so big on her then.”

Spencer kept looking through the pictures, watching her grow up via photos and videos, desperately trying to soak up all the moments he’d missed out on.

You weren’t quite sure of when it happened, but you’d settled next to him, your shoulder touching his. He was quietly scrolling through pictures when you spoke.

“I thought you were gone forever,” you whispered, your voice shaking.

He looked up at you, the pictures forgotten for the time being. You guessed there was no better time to talk about this than the present.

“I know. I knew the risks I had to take when I decided to fake my death.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me? Especially the team. They saw me all the time, how bad things got, how depressed I was and they never said a thing.”

“I told them not to, Y/N,” Spencer said.

“Yeah, I got that. But it still wasn’t fair to me.”

He sighed, placing the phone on the nightstand before turning back to you. He contemplated his next words before he spoke.

“I knew it wouldn’t be. It was a lose lose situation. I would be away from you and you would be hurting, but I wanted to protect you. I needed to keep you safe,” he rubbed his jaw, agitated, “Although a lot of good that did considering what happened.”

“Spencer, you can’t blame yourself for things that Cat did. She’s the one that did this, not you.”

“I know, but she tricked me too. As much as I tried to outsmart her, she seemed to be one step ahead of me. She told me if I came with her, she wouldn’t hurt you, so I did.”

“But she kidnapped me anyway, just to mess with you.”

“Yeah,” he sighed.

“Was it true? What she said you told her? That there’s a part of you attracted to her or fascinated with her, or something?”

“Truthfully, yes,” his tongue glided over his lips, stalling his continuation.

“That kiss you saw...part of it was just giving into what I knew she wanted from me because I knew she would hurt you if motivated enough. Part of it was all the frustration and hurt and anger she’s caused me. It just kinda came all out, in that kiss.”

“Yeah, it was...something,” you chuckled slightly.

“I’m sure I could do better with you.”

You grinned marginally.

“What about your wound? You actually got shot, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” he said, lifting his shirt to show the now faded scar from surgery, “That part is true. I had to have surgery and it was touch and go there for a while. Hotch decided then I was to fake my death until Cat was caught and I agreed once I had woken from surgery.”

You turned the information over in your mind. You wanted to be mad at him, mad at the team, but you knew that wouldn’t be fair to them. They had a job to do, Spencer had tried to do his best in a bad situation. You were still hurt, but you weren’t angry.

“I understand you did what you had to do. Faking your death, Cat and all. I can’t be upset with you just for trying to keep me safe.”

Another silence fell, but a more comfortable one now that you’d cleared the air.

You slid down on the bed, making yourself more comfortable against your pillow, assuming he was going to return to looking at pictures.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?” you looked up at him.

“You know that no matter what convoluted thing Cat and I shared that she doesn’t hold a candle to you, right?”

“I know. It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I hurt you, I can tell. I don’t want her to win. I don’t want her to break us up.”

“She won’t. I wouldn’t dare let her have the satisfaction,” you said.

“I don’t love her, I love you,” his fingers traced your cheek.

“And I love you,” you whispered.

He leaned down, his lips meeting yours. It had been so long since you last felt his touch that it was like the first time all over again. Your hand slid across his jaw to the back of his neck, pulling him closer.

He slid down the bed with you, moving over you as his lips moved against yours. It was as if the two of you were rediscovering each over anew. Just the way he kissed you made you feel like the most loved person in the world.

His hands slid under your shirt, resting on your stomach and pushed up your shirt, breaking the kiss only to pull the shirt over your head. He looked down at you, pursing his lips in contemplation as his eyes drank you up.

“What?” you whispered.

“Nothing. I just love you, is all.”

You smiled, pulling his face back to yours. You lay there a while, just simply kissing each other, the kisses varying in length and pressure. From slow and sweet kisses to longer and more heated kisses, you both were making up for lost time.

Between kisses more items of clothing hit the floor until you were both left completely skin to skin attempting to get as close to one another as you could.

His lips grazed your collarbones, a hand sliding up your side before his gaze returned to yours, eyes locked with yours as he entered you.

Your soft moan mingled with his own. It had been so long since you’d been in each other’s arms that the sensation was a blissful relief.

Your chest was flush with his and you felt his skin glide against yours as his whole body moved with his thrusts. Your hands ran over his back, pulling him closer to you.

His lips pressed against yours, a deep groan rumbling in his throat. He broke the kiss, his mouth hovering close over yours as he moved within you. He was so close you could feel his breath across your face, his breathing becoming erratic.

“Fuck, honey,” he groaned and your stomach churned in desire at the sentiment.

He dropped his head into the crook of your neck and your hand gripped the back of his hair, your hips beginning to have a mind of their own, working for that sweet release. The bed shook from your passion as your bodies moved together quickly.

You were incapable of words, repeated moans escaping your lips. His lips kissed your neck, nipping just hard enough to add to your pleasure.

“Spence, Spencer,” you whimpered, your toes beginning to curl.

Your fingers twisted in his hair, tugging hard enough to make him grunt in your ear. You had to smirk to yourself, you still knew what drove him wild.

His grip on your hips tightened, moving them to a different position resulting in your feeling of him deeper inside you. You couldn’t even care about being embarrassed at the loud moan he elicited from you.

Spencer’s hand came up to caress your head then landed on the bed sheet next to your face, gripping the sheet in his grasp. His grunts and groans of your name rang in your ears as the pressure in your stomach built.

Inadvertently your legs pulled him nearer as if he couldn’t get any closer to you than he already was. You could feel his own muscles tense, your knowledge of his body and his tells coming back to you as if it had never been such a lengthy period.

Your teeth scrape against your bottom lip, his fingertips finding your clit, knowing exactly when and how to bring you to careening over the edge. You do just that, your nails scraping down his back with a vengeance. The long break from intimacy has made this high even better than you remembered, his name falling from your lips repeatedly.

You faintly register his growl of your name as he comes apart, his jaw slackened with his groans, eyes closed blissfully. Your hand is still tangled in his hair and you slide it down the side of his neck as you watch him recover.

He’s breathing hard, as are you and his forehead rests against yours for a moment before he pulls away, looking at you lovingly. He leans down to kiss you softly and briefly, breaking away to push a strand of your hair that had fallen in your eyes, aside.

“I love you,” you whispered, captured by his gaze, smiling at his return of your sentiment.

“Welcome home to me.”

•

You were still naked when you heard the doorbell ring the next morning. That was what in fact woke the two of you.

“Shit,” you jumped out of bed, grabbing your clothes, “That’s probably JJ.”

He tossed you one of his shirts as you pulled on a pair of lacy underwear that you managed to find on the floor. Whether it was the correct pair or not didn’t matter, at least it was clothes. You pulled on the shirt afterwards.

“Go ahead and get dressed, I’ll go get the door.”

You rushed towards the front door before the bell could ring a third time. Opening it, you found JJ holding Spensa’s carrier, diaper bag and then a smirk. Her eyes roamed over your attire.

“Fun night?”

“Okay, not in front of the child,” you chuckled, taking her carrier and bag from her, “Thank you so much for watching her.”

“It’s no problem, really. It’s nice to have another girl around the house sometimes.”

You smiled, unbuckling Spensa from her carrier. She was already beginning to get fussy. She loved to be on the go and hated to be restrained.

“Do you want to come in?”

“No, it’s okay. I gotta run, besides I figured you’d like some family time,” she smiled, “She’s gonna love him, by the way.”

“She better, she’s too much like him.”

JJ laughed and gave Spensa a kiss on the head, telling you and her goodbye then left, leaving you and Spensa alone in the living room.

Spensa babbled, sucking on a finger.

“I have someone for you to meet, baby girl.”

More babbling ensued as you walked back to the bedroom. Spencer was still somehow trying to get dressed.

“Have you seen my pants?” he mumbled, before turning around and freezing.

“Spencer, I want you to meet your daughter, Spensa.”

Spensa was already fussing, trying to reach for him. He took her, a smile brightening his face.

“She sure doesn’t seem to be shy.”

“Oh no. She’ll let practically anyone hold her. She loves people,” you said.

“I can’t believe it,” he smiled, looking down at her.

Her fingers were back in her mouth and she was looking around the room contently.

“Look at those little curls,” he chuckled, running a hand over her head and then kissing it, “She’s perfect.”

“That she is,” she smiled, leaning against the dresser, watching the two of them.

“You’re totally going to be a daddy’s girl aren’t you?”

As if she had understood what he said, she yawned, laying her head on his shoulder.

“I love you so much, my little Spensa. I’m never leaving you or your mommy ever again.”

Tag List: @dreatine @reid-187 @groovyreid @reidslibra @suvikamahes98blr @fuckthealarm @whatspunispun @iamburdened @cindywayne @thomasfoockinshelby @tinyminy88 @theitcaramelchick @missprettyboy @hushlilbabydoll @sammy-jo1977 @theonlyone-meeeee @haileymorelikestupid @lemonypink @multifandommandy

#spencer reid #dr spencer reid #spencer reid gifs #Spencer Reid fic #spencer reid smut #dr spencer reid fic #dr spencer reid gifs #dr spencer reid smut #Criminal Minds #criminal minds gifs #criminal minds fic #criminal minds smut #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you

207 notes · View notes

surveys-at-your-service · 3 years

Text

Survey #405

“today i went to therapy, told him the embarrassing issues that i’m having with my life / he told me that i need to change; life is not a video game, so stop playing & open up your eyes”

What was your favourite sweet as a child? Things like Baby Bottle Pops, Ring Pops, Airheads, etc. Do you like to wear socks to bed? NOOOOOOO. I don't wear socks unless I have to. What’s your favourite berry? Strawberries. If you have a job, how long is your shift? I don't. Do you like sunflowers? Well yeah. Are you counting down for anything? No. Are you watching TV? What’s on? No. Do you have make-up on? No. I haven't worn makeup since last October. Are you any good with kids? People have told me I am, but I beg to differ. What if you had a baby with the last person you kissed? We're both cisgender women, we physically couldn't. Do you think you’ll be married in 5 years time? It'd be nice honestly, but I kinda doubt I will be. What is your favorite card game? Magic: The Gathering. What is the weirdest thing you’ve done in public? Ha, probably the times I've gotten down on the ground beside the road to photograph roadkill... More than once has someone stopped and asked if I was okay, haha. Favorite sleeping position? Twisted half on my side and stomach with my legs just sorta splayed out. What is your dad’s name? Ken. Have you ever been on a diet? Multiple times. Do you own any jersey shirts? No. Are you proud to be of the nationality you are? There are two moods I have on this: I'm either neutral or embarrassed. Can you remember what you last clapped for? Omg the woman who facilitates my TMS treatment was telling Mom and me about this one time a tiny snake got in the lobby and I did a lil squeal and clapped a bit because I was just excited to hear about a little snake, haha. What is the geekiest part of your music collection? *shrug* Maybe game soundtrack music. What do you eat when you raid the fridge late at night? Well, not really the fridge, but w/e. I'll usually get a granola bar or something of the sort. What is the little physical habit that gives away you're insecure moment? Kneading/wringing my hands together is a dead giveaway. Do you have too many love interests? No. How much money would it take to get you to give up the Internet for one year? If you want honesty... probably no amount would lmao. I rely way too heavily on the Internet for so many things. Do you talk a lot? It depends on my mood and who I'm around. Do transient, homeless, or starving people sometimes annoy you? What a fucking awful question. They don't annoy me. It can be awkward driving past them, but they're in no way annoying. Do you consider yourself to be a nice person? I definitely try to be. What is your ideal marriage location? Either a gothic-looking mansion or something of the sort or a wooded area in the fall. Do you tell your friends about your sex life? I don't have one to talk about. Would you ever admit to having done plastic surgery of any kind if confronted? Yeah? No shame. What kind of watch(es) do you wear? I don't wear watches. What do you cook the best? My family likes my scrambled cheesy eggs... basic as that is, haha. When my sisters would go to Taco Bell all the time and save the hot sauces for later use, I would use some packets in the eggs I cooked. Honestly amazing. What's one car you will never buy? "Anything that is two door, or low to the ground." <<<< This right here. On the other end of the spectrum, I also won't ever buy a car that's high up. I need a good medium so I can actually get in with ease. What's one thing you're a sore loser at? Hm, I dunno. What kind of first impression do you think you give to people? "Wow, she's awkward." What's one thing you like to do alone? Draw. When's the last time you cried? Not long ago at all because I was just so exasperated over my weight gain. Do you think you're cute? God no. Do you have problems changing clothes in front of friends? I don't change in front of anyone if I can avoid it. Did you like kissing the last person you kissed or the one before that more? The last person. I gotta say I was not a fan of kissing Girt because for whatever reason his lips were ALWAYS wetter than lips naturally should be and I just didn't dig it, man. That and every kiss with him was awkward. Whose bed other than yours did you last lay on? My mom's. What turns you off immediately? Acting sexist, to name one. Which city do you particularly enjoy visiting and for what reasons? I don't like going into cities. Do you often take pictures with the camera on your phone? No. I don't like the camera on my phone. In the past year, have you lost weight or gained weight? How much? Gained. You don't need to know. What year was the last car you rode in/drove? I have zero clue. What’s your worst/funniest experience with one of your neighbors? "Worst" and "funniest" are very different... but I can tell you the worst easily. At my childhood home, our next-door neighbors had a pair of Rottweilers in their back yard within a chain-link fence, and we had a LOT of outdoor cats at the time. (I will emphasize every time I bring it up to NOT keep cats outside.) Somehow the dogs got loose and went on a rampage trying to kill our cats; one young one was killed, while our fearless mother cat, Chance, literally fought them off to defend her new kittens. More were maybe killed, I honestly can't remember. My mom was hysterical and threatened to call animal control if it ever happened again. I was absolutely, utterly heartbroken. The last time you burned your tongue or mouth, what were you eating? Ummm I want to say it was some sort of pasta that I didn't let cool long enough. Honestly, are you shallow? Far from it, honestly. Can/could your parents tell when you were lying? Not always. Besides clothes, shoes, and accessories, what’s your favorite thing to shop for? I love window-shopping at Morph Market, haha. AAAAAAAAAALL those ball python morphs, man... *drools* Does/did your parents ever go through your computer or cell phone? When I was younger, Mom was very intent on figuring out why I was always so secretive about what I did on the computer (mostly RP-related things) that ohhhh yeah, she'd do some digging. The night she finally snapped, demanding I tell her my passwords to everything, and she ultimately found out about me being a forum RPer, was literally almost traumatic to me, I think. I know, that sounds INCREDIBLY overdramatic, but I'm not fucking joking. I was in my room SOBBING on my best friend's shoulder, who was spending the night. I was just so embarrassed, and I *still* am when I share that fact with people I know, even though I have no reason to be. Like I don't do any weird or kinky RP shit, it's just genuine, artistic writing with actual, well thought-out plots, but I still feel like people would think it dumb, childish, and just weird. What song reminds you the most of a particular day in your life? Why is that? "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin. I've talked about it a few times before and really don't feel like doing it again. Do you have any close friends that were adopted? I don't think so. Who, in your opinion, is the best thriller writer? I don't know. Does your mom eat meat? Yeah. Was your dad ever on a sports team? Lots in high school, I believe. Do you prefer thick or thin crusted pizza? Thick, by a long shot. What do you have in your fruit salads? Not a fan of fruit salads. Have you ever spent more than two weeks in a wheelchair? I've only needed a wheelchair once in my life, and that was just to get inside and maneuver around the doctor's office when I tore a ligament in my foot. So no. What are your favorite word? Serendipity, tranquility, lucid, etc.; pretty, peaceful words like those. Is there a lot of drama in your life? Nope. I don't do enough or have enough people in my life for there to be. What are you listening to? An extended version of "Nightsong" from WoW. Do you hear any animals right now? No. I'm sure I'd hear birds if I didn't have my earplugs in, though. Have you ever played fetch with a dog? Yes. Have you ever pet a stingray? No. Who is the last baby you held? Emerson, my youngest niece. Do you have any scars from an animal? Yeah; I've got looooots from my cat playing too rough. Have you ever seen an Igloo? I don't believe so. Do you like Korn? They're high on my list of faves. Are you more afraid of tornadoes or hurricanes? Absolutely tornadoes. Do you like mushrooms? Ugh, NO. Have you ever been on Omegle? No. So do you have a favorite M&M? Just the regular ones. Have you ever snuck out? No. Do you currently feel like you have pretty stable career goals/a pretty stable life plan? Have you ever felt this way? I don't know, man. I know what I WANT to do, I just don't know if I'm ever going to get there. Or if what I want will be financially supportive enough, now that I'm really losing interest in photographing people. I might just have to if I want to be financially stable with photography, which would be okay, but bleh. I'd much rather just work with nature. If you could buy an android that was was convincingly human and could be tailored to be your perfect partner, would you want one? No. I don't want to build my own partner, nor do I want my romantic partner to be an android. I want life to just introduce me to a person who is uniquely themselves, who have built themselves from their own life experiences, and not just have a perfect spouse tailored to everything I like. If you do not identify as being “straight,” can you remember back to your childhood some things you did that were, in hindsight, possible indicators of your future sexuality? Yes, especially in middle school. I thought women were prettier than probably a straight kid would, and looking back, I definitely found the natural curves of the female figure to be attractive. When you consume media (movies, books, etc.) with a romantic element, what sort of romance scenarios interest you most? Hm. I know I prefer serious ones over silly; like I'm a sucker for Nicholas Sparks' style, if that says anything. If you are female, do you feel connected to other women as a class? What sort of things make you feel a strong sense of sisterhood or female empowerment? This is too big of a question for me to feel like delving into right now, haha. But I can say it more so depends on the individual than the gender when it comes to feeling connection over anything.

#survey #surveys #random questions #lyrics: ''game over'' by falling in reverse

2 notes · View notes

writingpaperghost · 3 years

Text

Like Father, Like Daughter (Part 10)

Chapter 10: It's Pigmon!

A special guest? Ugh, fetch quest time.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22967815/chapters/81476080

Mayu was walking home from school when she got what would have been a normal call from Noa, were it not for a few things. One, Noa usually walked part of the way home with her, but today she’d taken a detour to pick up something for one of her siblings. Two, Noa should still be one her way home and not really have much of a reason to call. Three, the entirety of the phone call itself.

“Uh, hey Noa?”

“So… Mayu,” Noa began in a tone that immediately made Mayu mildly concerned. It was the sort of faux casual tone that Noa occasionally used when she had something awkward to say. “I, uh, found something. In an alley way. Again.”

“Like what?” As Mayu asks her question, she can hear a curious sound in the background, one that could best be described as “pi” sound.

“Well, I’m not sure,” Noa responds, “Hey, you wanna talk to Mayu and her guest?” The last part is quieter, like Noa moved away from the phone a bit. Zero grumbles something about the description.

There’s some shuffling sounds, and then the “pi” sound is louder. Noa must have moved the phone closer to whatever it was she had found. It was then that Zero makes a noise of gleeful recognition.

“Moroboshi!” He cheers, then, as though remembering that Mayu has no clue who that is, adds, “He’s a Pigmon, you might have heard Glenfire mention him?”

“What’s a Pigmon?”

The gleeful tone in Zero’s voice when he responds makes Mayu wonder if she should just go home, “You’ll see!”

“Stay there, I guess, Noa,” Mayu sighs, “Zero and I will be over.”

When Mayu and Zero arrive at the alleyway where Noa waits, they’re greeted by Noa, who sits on the ground alongside who can only be Moroboshi, the Pigmon. Moroboshi is, well he’s red and sort of spikey with short arms. His appearance strikes Mayu as familiar, but she’s not sure from where.

Zero quickly removes Mayu’s glasses a grins at Moroboshi, “Moroboshi, it’s been a bit,” He says. Moroboshi looks over and then stands up, then responds to Zero with something that Mayu still can’t understand. “Yeah, what brings you here?”

When Moroboshi responds, Mayu can tell that Zero isn’t too concerned, “Oh, you’re here with Booska? Looking for someone, huh?” He nods his head as Moroboshi continues, “Another Pigmon?”

Noa stands and picks up her bags, “Right, I’ll let you and Mayu figure this out, I’ve got to head home,” She heads out of the alleyway.

Moroboshi says something else, “Huh?” Zero responds, “Oh yeah, I know. It does seem like there’s something… Odd about her. I haven’t been able to figure it out.”

“Mind sharing what you two are talking about?” Mayu asks, as she can’t understand what Moroboshi was saying and Zero wasn’t exactly doing a good job of conveying it.

“Oh right,” Zero nods, “So Moroboshi’s here helping Booska, they’re both a part of an intergalactic peace corps. They’re looking for Moroboshi’s friend, another Pigmon named Masami.”

With a sigh, Mayu wonders, “So we’re going to help Moroboshi look for Masami, huh?”

“I’d like to,”

“Well, I feel like I’ve seen something like Moroboshi somewhere before… Maybe a park?” She offers, “I don’t really remember, but that feels about right.”

“Alright then!” Zero turns to Moroboshi, “Mayu thinks she’s seen someone who could be Masami at a park, so we’ll start our searches with those.” He then returns control to Mayu, who puts her glasses back on. She still can’t believe Zero doesn’t think he needs them.

After searching several parks, they finally arrive at the one that Mayu recognizes as where her and her parents had gone before, when Galactron appeared. At the other side of the park, she sees something that’s red and sort of spikey. She’d seen it before, but hadn’t paid it much mind, thinking it was just a normal mascot character. But now…

“There!” She points towards the figure in the distance, then looks to Moroboshi, “Is that your friend?”

Moroboshi hops closer, than makes an excited sound. The other creature, whom Mayu previously thought a mascot, but could now clearly see was a Pigmon, turned towards Moroboshi and waved with the hand that wasn’t holding balloons. They both seemed pretty excited.

The two Pigmons converse for a bit, with Zero making sounds of what was probably understanding as they did. Finally, Mayu grew tired of being utterly clueless in the conversation and asked Zero, “What are they talking about?”

“Moroboshi wants to bring Masami back with him, but Masami doesn’t want to leave until he’s finished helping prepare for a birthday party,” Zero explained, “It sounds like they’re short on some things though.”

After a moment of thought, Mayu asked, “What do they need?”

“Uh… Masami says that they need more balloons, sweets, and flowers,” He responds, “Why?”

“I tell you two what,” Mayu begins, catching both Masami and Moroboshi’s attention, “Why don’t we find Masami his stuff, and then he can head back with Moroboshi?”

The two Pigmon talk amongst themselves for a moment, before both nodding. It seemed like Mayu had come up with a good plan here, which was good because it meant she’d get to go home sooner.

“Alright!” She grinned, “You two stay here, Zero and I will find you your balloons, sweets, and flowers.” With that, she turned heel and began to walk out of the park.

“Where are we even going to find any of that?” Zero asked.

“It shouldn’t be too hard,” Mayu responded, “You can find sweets almost anywhere. Balloons are pretty easy too. The only one that might be harder is the flowers.”

---

As it turned out, the flowers were not the hardest thing to get. The hardest thing to get was the balloons. Mayu sighed and sat down on a bench. She leaned back and stretched before rubbing her head a bit.

“Every store we’ve gone to, out of balloons,” She said, “What, is every kid in the city throwing a birthday party that needs twelve packs of balloons?”

Zero too sighed, clearly as tired of walking from store to store as Mayu, “You’d think we’d be able to find one package of balloons.” All they needed to get Masami was one, but that was turning out to be a lot harder than they had thought.

“If only,” She groaned, wondering if it was too late to head home and pretend none of this happened. It was, she knew, given she’d already told Moroboshi and Masami she’d get those items for them.

It was about then that Mayu’s phone beeped, telling her that someone just texted her. To little surprise it was Noa, asking how their search for Masami was going. Typing out a reply, Mayu explained what had happened over the past hour and how they were now scouring for a pack of balloons.

“Oh,” Noa texted back, “I think we have a spare package somewhere here?”

To which Mayu responded the only way that someone as desperate as her could, “Please,”

They wait a few minutes, Mayu fervently hoping that Noa was right and then they could just get the pack from her and call it good. Once they could get the items to Masami, then Masami would go with Moroboshi to meet with Booska and… do whatever they had to do.

Finally, Noa responds, “Okay, found it!!!” Then she adds, “Meet me on the way to the park?” Mayu answers and tells her where the park is and the pair of her and Zero make their way to meet up with Noa.

“Well at least that problem’s solved,” Mayu sighs, relieved as she walks. Though that did remind her of something from earlier. “Hey, when you and Moroboshi were talking earlier, you mentioned something about someone being odd. Who were you talking about?”

“Huh, oh,” Zero sounds a bit startled, though it’s probably because he forgot about that part of the conversation. “Uh, well I was referring to Noa, actually.”

That was odd, “What did you mean, then? By odd?” As far as Mayu could tell, Noa was one of the most normal people she knew. Especially given more recent additions to the list of people she knew.

He doesn’t respond right away, it seems like he’s thinking about how the answer the question, though Mayu isn’t entirely sure. After a few moments, Zero finally answers, “It’s hard to explain, but there’s this sort of… energy, of sorts. It seems like it’s always just simmering just below the surface, easy to miss, but sometimes… It’s more noticeable.”

“…What is any of that supposed to mean?” It would be an understatement to say that Mayu was hesitant to hear the answer, but she also really was curious. If only because Noa was her friend, and she was worried about her.

“Like I said, it’s hard to explain. I don’t think it means that there’s something she’s hiding, she might not even be aware of it…”

Mayu stops walking for a moment, sensing the operative word, “But?”

“But I’m worried that other people are.”

“More than just you and Moroboshi.”

“If Moroboshi can notice it, then so can a lot of other creatures, monster and alien alike,” It’s those words of Zero’s that really worries Mayu. She wonders if she should be, maybe it was nothing and Zero was just making it sound worse. As if sensing her worry, Zero continues, “I think she’ll be find though. It’s easy to miss unless you’re really close.”

“Good,” Mayu sighed, “You had me worried for a bit there.”

“Sorry,” He apologized, sounding a bit sheepish, “Let’s keep going, we still have to meet with Noa and get those balloons for Masami.”

With a nod, she begins to walk again. Better not waste anymore time, especially with the amount of time they spent searching for the balloons. The rest of the trip is uneventful and they finally see Noa, who gives Mayu a wave.

When Mayu approaches Noa, Noa hands her the package of balloons, “There you go,” Noa smiled, “One pack of balloons for the fetch quest.”

With a slight laugh, Mayu responds, “I hate how accurate that description is,”

Noa gives her a pat on the back, “Well, I should get going, but have fun!” She turned around and began to leave. Mayu follows suit, but she can’t help but think she sees something move, in the shadows. She looks in the direction, but doesn’t see anything. Maybe she was just being jumpy… (But what if you’re not?)

She keeps moving. She has flowers, balloons, and sweets to deliver to a pair of Pigmon in a park not too far from here. The delivery of the items themselves weren’t terribly noteworthy. Masami was particularly excited running the items over to an adult of some kind, who was setting up tables and chairs for the party.

“Now that that’s settled,” Zero sounded particularly proud of himself, despite having only acted as translated this entire time, “Masami and Moroboshi can meet up with Booska and they can leave.”

Then Moroboshi says something and Zero makes a funny sound. Mayu isn’t sure how she feels about that sound. “What did he say?” She asks, though she, once again, isn’t sure if she wants to know the answer.

“Well, as it turns out, Moroboshi and Booska had a hard time getting here. Apparently something’s just outside the Earth’s orbit making it hard for anyone to get in or out.”

“What does that mean for them leaving, then?” Mayu was, like any normal person, at least a bit concerned about the whole thing. Like the fact that something was making it hard for people to come and go from a planet, which was pretty concerning in and of itself.

Zero thinks for a moment, “They’ll need some help,” He finally says, “I think that’ll be my job.”

Mayu’s not sure how to feel about that. On one hand, she might be rid of Zero, at least for a bit. That sounds nice (does it?). But on the other hand… “What about that Emari guy?”

Once more, Zero doesn’t respond immediately. Mayu can’t tell whether he’s using the time for thinking on what to say, or what the answer is. “He hasn’t seemed to be active for a bit… I think it’ll be safe for me to be gone for a bit.” (is it?)

“You’re not dragging me with you again, are you?” She dearly hoped he wouldn’t (such a pain).

“Nah, don’t want to drag you away from school, this could take a bit,” Zero, for once in this conversation, wastes no time in answering, “Besides, I think Leito might kill me if I did.”

“Mom, more likely,” Mayu idly notes, “Dad not so much.”

“Still, my point.”

She doesn’t want to say she’s upset that Zero is leaving, even for a bit, because she’s not. Not one bit. (Is that the truth?) No, she was just worried about what would happen, despite Zero’s assurances. But she decided she’d take him at his word.

Zero takes control and explains his new and quickly thrown together plan to Moroboshi and Masami. The two Pigmon don’t seem to think it’s a terrible idea, at least, though it’s hard to tell since Mayu doesn’t know what they’re saying.

“Bye for now, I guess,” Mayu says as she feels Zero start to separate, beginning to take his own form and scooping up the two Pigmons.

“Yeah,” Zero responds, “We’ll grab Booska real quick and head on our way. I’ll be seeing you in a bit.”

“Sure, see you.” There’s something in her response that lacks the proper feeling, but Mayu isn’t sure what.

With that, Zero was off. Mayu waked home alone for the first time in months. She wasn’t sure how to feel about it yet. (Are you upset? Are you mad? Sad? What do you feel?)

#ultraman zero #mayu igaguri #pigmon #like father like daughter #my writing #ultraman

1 note · View note

cherry3point14 · 4 years

Text

Stranger Than Fanfiction: Ch 4

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Dean x Reader Warnings: Like one big boy word. Criminal activity. Word count: 3,185. Chapter Summary: Staying late at work is usually nice and quiet. Usually. A/N: This chapter is so dumb but I love it a lot.

Ao3 if you prefer

Y/N would say that one of the perks of her job was getting out of the office from time to time. Sometimes a case required anything from a simple home interview to speaking to several family members over a number of days. She relished in the peace working away from inboxes and water cooler talk however, every once in a while she could find the same serenity in the uniform walls of her employment building. Today was one of those very days. Today she sat at her desk, alone, long past her colleagues' departure at five pm. The overhead lights were off and Y/N, whose fingers sped over the keyboard urgently, was lit only by the cool glow of her screen.

“It’s not super peaceful when you won’t shut up.” As much as you fought becoming complacent to the voice in all honesty you were glad to have her back in some small way. You hadn’t heard her for days now, not since you started reading Supernatural. It’s only now that you’d finished, she was back to her usual tricks. Some ridiculous ten-minute lecture about you waking up late for work was your reunion this morning. While it was true that you were very late for work today—two hours to be precise—she didn’t once mention that it was because of your late-night finishing off Swan Song.

That wasn’t too concerning. The voice ignoring your reading habits was minor in comparison to her being back at all. Her return meant your aneurysm hadn't been temporary and you were closer to one of two things. Solving the mystery of why Maggie Hall’s file was so important, or dying.

Obviously, option number one was preferable.

After an entire day of her, you have fallen completely into accepting that she's not going away anytime soon. For the most part, you have let her harp on like she’s looking for a book deal but now that you’re alone and trying to concentrate, you find yourself responding to her. For your own satisfaction of answering back.

She was feeling productive. Each word she wrote punctuated by the precise click of her fingers on the keyboard. A familiar sense of achievement swelled within her chest as she began to summarise her decision on the claim. Summaries are nothing more than detailed endings, which is why Y/N was particularly excited to be writing this one. More so than any other claim she had finished up before.

An ending was exactly what she was hoping for. The unusual situations she had found herself in over the last few days were too messy for even her to organize. Tangled up like a ball of string after being batted around by a cat. Logically then she was focusing on the only thing that made sense, tie up one loose end and the others would right themselves. Finish this piece of work and maybe she'd live.

How unfortunate then for Y/N that the universe did not look kindly upon her attempts to be orderly. How utterly unlucky that she had not guessed any of the answers correctly. Today was not fated to hold any happy endings for her. Not the closing of file twenty-four zero one, nor the reasonable explanations she had been searching for.

Your fingers stutter to a stop. What the hell does she mean you weren’t closing this claim? You are ten minutes of proofreading away from pressing submit, you had stayed late to finish. At this point, it would take an act of God himself to stop you.

That’s when you see a flash of light coming from reception. Flash is vague. A beam of light might be a better description, as in, the kind of beam emitted by a flashlight. Wait, there are two flashlights now. Oh shit.

Suddenly you taste bile in your throat and your hands are clammy enough to be sticky. The voice said this case would kill you and now you’re sitting here working late, and she’s saying you weren’t going to close it and… and… is it going to happen now? You’d assumed it was something in the file that killed you but you’d also assumed you had more time. Really, truly, this could be it. Imminent death means about to happen, not will happen when it’s convenient for you. This is it, isn’t it? You’re about to be accidentally murdered in an office robbery because you stayed to work late. On that particular file.

She was not prepared to die. Not while there still wasn’t a grey hair on her head or while she hadn’t been to the Grand Canyon. Y/N had no preparations for the end.

No. Not now. It couldn’t be.

She had no will, no funeral plans, and no video message to her family about a series of clues leading to a great treasure. And on Wednesday night, early June with spring barely making way for summer was the last possible moment she would ever expect to meet her maker.

You want to hide but it’s impossible. Hiding would require you to have some control over your body. An impossible feat, while you're listening with bated breath to what you assume, is your last paragraph.

Obviously, Y/N would not be dying tonight.

“Are you joking? How is that obvious?” You whisper into the dark, edging into frustration. Barely enjoying the relief of not dying when your narrator is toying with you.

She still had a new life to begin. One which began and ended with two men that had left as quickly as she'd met them. Fate has a perverted sense of humor and had chosen to push her forward into the unknown. This is why these important men were breaking into her office at precisely that moment.

The footsteps of the intruders get closer. You don’t have a direct view of reception but you’d seen the flashlights on account of it being dark in here. They sound like they're near reception, maybe twenty seconds from coming in. Once they’re in the main part of the office then all they’d have to do is turn a little to their left and they’d spot you. In the corner hanging out.

But it’s the guys breaking in? The cosplayers. They’re the wannabe Winchester’s who have turned to robbery to get their kicks?

You don’t know if it's actually them, not really. Not until they do take those last steps into the room but you hear them before you see them.

“Remind me why you haven't done some nerd computer thing to get this?”

“I already tried, remember? Their system says it’s still in process so none of the details are on their servers yet. And since we need to find out where the money went…”

“... we need to get the physical file. Got it.” Mystery man number one sighs before he continues, “S’no fun killing a monster if you don’t have to work for it.”

A monster? It’s almost impressive how much these guys committed to whatever insane game they're playing. Almost being the keyword. These guys were genuinely crazy, and that was coming from someone with an unexplainable voice in her head.

Y/N finally overcame the initial wave of fear that had hit her when the flashlights had cut through the darkness. She reached up and shut off the monitor on her desk, the last thing that had been lighting her up like a Christmas tree. Her laptop was still running in its dock, she had no intention of losing all her work. She only wanted to lose herself, hide, snuffing out the screen, and rolling her chair backward seemed to do the trick. She felt safer already. Her heartbeat returning to something akin to its normal steady rhythm now that she was cloaked in darkness. As soon as they were distracted she might even be able to risk slinking to the floor and hiding below her desk. It wasn’t a risk she was willing to take right now though, while they were still on high alert having just arrived.

You’re grateful that the voice is playing ball and giving you some useful information. It’s completely new, having so far only heard ominous foreshadowing and cryptic introductions, but it’s nice. Dare you say it, fun. For once in this whole ordeal, you actually feel like you’re in a story while you do exactly what she says. You sneak the smallest smile when you see their large shadows, finally step into the office. This might be where you have some luck on your side.

“You check out the desks, I’ll go find the filing cabinets.” It’s pretty hard to make out with their backs to you but you’d wager it was the taller shadow that said that.

The same bigger shadow starts walking towards the back of the office. He doesn’t know he’s heading towards the break room, although he probably thinks he has all night to figure it out. He can have all the time he wants as soon as you’re under your desk. Once you’re properly out of the way you look forward to not interrupting them as a stupid person might. You were perfectly ok with not being a hero.

Of course, she was not accustomed to the cat and mouse game of breaking and entering. Y/N was not used to dark corners and darker rooms. And since she hadn’t used one since the last time her power went out, she seemed to have forgotten how flashlights worked as well.

“What?” you splutter. Faith in the voice shattered in an instant.

In the next second, you’re blinded by a light in your eyes, you reach up to block it out but as you do his voice booms out. “Sam! We got company.”

The tall guy comes running and now there are two lights in your face.

“Do you think we could not blind me?” They start lowering their flashlights when the other shoe drops, “wait, Sam? You-you’re using the names too?” It shouldn’t shock you, they’re driving the car and wearing the flannel clearly, they’re adopting the names too. But until now you’d been able to compartmentalize the books you’d read and the men that drove around in a car with the Winchesters fictional license plate.

Coming face to face with them she feels completely different now. The territory is hers; her office, her desk, her mug with her name on. The problem; this was not her game, it was theirs. Y/N was simply working late whereas they were more adept at the after-hours version of this story. She might think they were delusional but this wasn’t the first crime she had them on the hook for. She could only imagine the hundreds, if not thousands, of other illegal activities they had gotten away with, all to play pretend.

“Nobody was supposed to be here.” The guy pretending to be Sam says to the guy who you can only imagine is pretending to be Dean.

“Well, there she is anyway.” Wannabe Dean huffs, both angry and disappointed at the same time. “But hey, maybe this can speed everything along, no more looking around in the dark at least.”

They’re both very good at talking about you while simultaneously ignoring you. Neither of them even flinch when you get up out of your chair and walk over to the light switch.

The room flooded with light like any room would when a switch is flipped, however, this wasn’t any kitchen light switch. The office is a large space and the fluorescents required to illuminate it are industrial. It’s enough to pain anyone's eyes with how sharply their pupils contract. Unless you are the one pressing the switch in the first place. It was Y/N’s hand flipping the four switches required and so her eyes were closed in preparation. However the mystery men had been seconds from bickering so they jerk their heads as if trying to escape the inescapable, like it's the first time they've ever seen anything so bright. Y/N felt wholly better with the heat on her closed eyelids. Because she knew when she opened them the office would hers again, the control would be hers.

When you dare to look they both whip their heads to you, shocked that you’ve moved. You’ve managed to find an ounce of confidence in the light, or if you believe the voice in your head, a whole gallon. “I don’t know what game you’re playing pretending to be people, first at the house and now this. I didn’t tell anyone about this,” you motion a hand at where they're standing, “clearly that was my mistake. So, uh-just get out of here and I won’t say anything else about it.”

“Sweetheart, we ain’t playing games here and we ain’t leaving.”

He steps towards you, a finger pointing to the floor to reiterate that he’s staying put. You wrongly assumed this would be as easy as it had been at Mrs. Halls when they'd run so quickly, forgetting that you'd had an audience there.

“You are if you don’t want me to call down to security. I’m sure the cops would love a case like this—there’s an eyewitness!”

Y/N would never in a million years be able to describe where the sudden anger that consumed her had come from. She was hardly an agitated person. She could be sad or sarcastic, she’d been known to give a measured but scathing comeback and some would even call her curious. That’s not to say she’d never been angry, she had, but anger was never the first thing she chose to be, or feel. It was always such a demanding emotion. So, then this agitation was almost foreign to her and the way it forced her hand, more so.

“Maybe we should…” Not Sam starts before he’s interrupted.

“No Sam. We need that file if we’re going to stop this thing and right now this is our only option.” He points at you now signaling that you are the ‘this’ part of his sentence; their only option.

In another life, she might have rolled over rather than stare down the barrel of this argument. She might have seen the opportunity to get rid of them by giving them something small, like say confidential information, and done it without question. This was not her old life, nor the old Y/N. This was the new life she hadn’t realized was starting. The funny thing was she hadn’t needed to know. All she’d needed was this man in front of her to force her into a rage and as if by magic, she had begun to transform.

You push past fake Dean to make your way back to your desk, “that’s not happening. All client information is property of First National which means it isn’t mine to give. Not to mention the fact that you didn’t say please.”

Her shoulder connects with his and it's the exact moment she realizes how close he was standing to her. He realizes the same. He’s close enough to grab her and spin her around but Y/N's body shudders tellingly with his fingers pressing into the flesh of her forearm.

“I don’t know what kind of power trip you think you're on but..." He grits through his teeth still holding you.

“Dean, can you calm down?”

The breaking point of your anger turns into a sardonic laugh aimed at him. “You too?” You pull your arm away and get back to your chair. “I can’t get normal criminals breaking in while I’m working late? It has to be two weirdos running around pretending to be the Winchesters.”

It’s clear immediately that you’ve said something neither of them was expecting. You’re sitting at your desk waiting for one of them to stop you from picking up the phone, while they don’t seem to even notice your hand is on the receiver.

“How do you know that? I mean, how do you know about us?” The tall guy that you refuse to call Sam, even in your head, asks.

Two pairs of eyes bore into you waiting for an answer and for some reason your hand goes lax on the phone. “I ran your plate from outside Mrs. Halls because you don’t work with me. And I found these books but I mean, why are you even driving around with fake plates from some books anyway?”

It was a simple question that you were hoping had a simple answer, you know, fanboys or something. Instead of any answer at all, they start having one of those lovely conversations that excludes your existence, again.

“Goddamn son of a bitch, we’ve got to get rid of those things.”

“Charlie said there’s no point now they’re online. How would we even start? Great example right here.”

“So what? We just roll over and die?”

Tall guy, not Sam, takes a reassuring step to fake Dean which means he takes a step away from you and your desk. “This might be a good thing ok, if she knows she can help us track it.”

You refuse to believe it because it’s ridiculous. Those books are works of fiction and there’s no possible way they are real. Because if the books are true then that means monsters are… nope. You live alone so there’s definitely no way. But you should clarify. Even if it’s a thousand percent the most ridiculous thing you have ever heard, you should still double-check.

“Are you trying to say that you’re actually Sam and Dean? Like, you think you’re Sam and Dean from the books?”

It’s scarily-similar-to-the-description-of-Dean who leans in with both hands flat on your desk and growls. “Honey, we don’t think okay, we are them. I’m Dean and this is Sam, and those books you decided to read? Yeah, they’re about us.”

“But that means monsters are…”

“Real. Monsters, angels, and everything between.”

She may not have known about the ticking clock already counting down the remaining seconds of her young life. She may mistakenly have thought that her newfound temper was the reason for her flushed cheeks. She did know one thing for sure. One completely life-changing fact with absolute certainty, because that fact was staring at her with more intensity than she'd ever known. A man named Dean Winchester just told her that every terrifying monster she could imagine was real.

The voice in your head, unfortunately, had not been wrong yet.

Continue to Chapter 5.

5eva tags: @divadinag @darthdeziewok @fluentinfiction @witch-of-letters @supernatural-teamfreewillpage @magnitude101999 @alexwinchester23 Dean babes: @thewinchesterchronicles @akshi8278 @bloodydaydreamer StrangerThanFiction tags: @jaylarkson

#dean x reader #supernatural fanfiction #spn x reader #dean winchester x reader #spn fanfiction #supernatural #spn #spn fanfic #supernatural fanfic #dean winchester #dean winchester x you #dean x you #dean x y/n #dean dean the soft lil bean

37 notes · View notes

echodrops · 4 years

Note

*Slides in on a office chair* Now that you shared some of your HaaH headcanons for Shiro and Hunk, can you do Lance and Lotor?

Didn’t want to post these until I finally had some time to update them a bit and trim out spoilers, but I got a second last night, so here you are:

HaaH Lance and Lotor headcanons:

(Under the cut to save everyone’s dash)

First, a warning: Neither one of these characters’ backstories or plot event headcanons remotely line up with the show, one because I originally wrote most of this stuff around the time season 2-3 was being released and two, because I stopped watching Voltron after season 6 and have no intention of watching the rest of the show due to my dislike for the directions the writing took. I went back and updated some stuff, such as the names of some of Lance’s siblings, to more closely match what came later in the show… but for the rest… I’m just gonna do my own thing and pretend canon does not exist.

Lance:

- The literal definition of “rich as fuck.” When relaxations on economic policy were passed in Cuba that increased opportunities for private business, Lance’s grandfather made a solid deal for three massive sugar refineries. Today, artisanal coffee houses across the world utilize the sugar refined in Lance’s family’s factories.

- Grew up in a giant villa on the peninsula just outside the town of Varadero, on a sprawling property that included a long stretch of beachfront and individual bungalows for visiting family members and the family’s several live-in staff members.

- The whole family is incredibly down to earth despite this. Lance’s aunt and grandmother insist on having a hand in every family meal, Lance’s parents always make time to be involved in the children’s activities, and Lance was taught from a very young age never to take advantage of people, regardless of their position in the world.

- Lance is the baby of his immediate family by almost ten years. He was an accident that occurred after Lance’s mother believed she was too old to become pregnant. Of course his parents never treated Lance like an accident and loved him, but still, Lance has never been able to shake the idea that he wasn’t planned—and therefore he wasn’t wanted.

- He has four older siblings, two sisters and two brothers.

- All of Lance’s siblings are extremely successful in their careers. Lance’s oldest sibling, his sister Veronica, is a captain of the Cuban Navy and commands the impressive warship Audaz. Lance’s second oldest sibling, his brother Yuniel, is a decorated conservational ecologist working to protect Matanzas’ native forests. Lance’s third sibling, his brother, Marco, is a famous solo folk musician who made it big in Cuba. Rachel, Lance’s closest sibling, runs an immersion-based cultural heritage museum that preserves the rich and complicated history of Cuba and its people.

- In short—Lance grew up surrounded by the rampant success of his older siblings, watching as they excelled at everything they pursued—which just bred a greater and greater sense of insecurity in him, as he feared he would never be able to measure up.

- On Lance’s eighth birthday, in an attempt to cheer up his very depressed youngest son, Lance’s father dragged the family’s telescope down to the beach so that they could watch a space shuttle launching from the cape in Florida. At first Lance couldn’t work up the slightest interest, but when he finally saw the huge plume of the shuttle, arcing off into the unknown depths of space, he had a Moment™. Lance knew, right then and there, exactly what he was going to do with his life, something that none of his siblings had ever achieved: he was going to go into space and explore worlds unknown.

- Lance decided that he had, absolutely HAD, to go to Galaxy Garrison when he grew up. This part worried his parents, who pointed out that Garrison was not only in another country but also a solely English-speaking school and extremely competitive. Nonetheless, Lance was determined that he would not settle for anything less than the absolute best.

- Was totally that space obsessed kid. Still thinks Black Holes are the coolest thing in the universe. His parents bought so much “Astronaut” ice cream that they probably kept that entire industry afloat.

- Lance attended Garrison’s summer Astrocamp in Arizona when he was nine. Quickly made friends with his cabin-mate, Hyrum Tava. The nickname “Hunk” came about from a slip-up when Lance tried to compare his new friend to one of his favorite American cartoon characters, the Incredible Hulk.

- Even after leaving the Astrocamp, Lance and Hunk stayed close friends, exchanging frequent emails and phone calls, which helped Lance stay on top of memes popular trends back in the states.

- Shiro was Lance’s cabin leader at the Astrocamp, and his kindness and exciting stories about actually visiting space(!!) made a huge impression on Lance. Lance… may or may not have had a celebrity shrine to Shiro made of photos and news clippings taped to his wall for several years. Whatever, every kid does it and he took it down eventually, gosh!

- Identifies as bisexual, but has never successfully dated anyone, male or female. Due to several bad experiences and close calls, Lance doesn’t talk about his sexuality or express any attraction to men except around people he is extremely comfortable with. Hunk has known for years, of course. (In fact, it was Lance’s struggle with his feelings that helped Hunk develop strong sympathy for LGBT people, despite the fact that his religion is very against it.)

- Never had a real kiss. Might be just a tiny bit desperate to have a real first kiss.

- Also might buy a bit too much into the idea of needing to be stereotypically attractive to fit in. Although his nightly beauty regime is now a comforting routine, it originally stemmed from Lance being extremely self-conscious about his looks. He’s more comfortable about his body than he used to be, but he still frequently compares himself negatively against others; do you know what kind of hell it is to have to share a locker room with people like Shiro?

- Cries at the drop of a hat. Sad book? Sad movie? Abandoned kitten? Dropped something on his toe? Tears times ten thousand. Lance was never pressured by his family to “man up;” in fact, he was always encouraged to empathize, so Lance is extremely sensitive to others’ feelings. (He and Hunk are a great fit in this regard.) He can perceive even minute changes in people’s emotions and is always ready to cheer up people who are down.

- He can’t read Keith for crap though. Not really his fault. Keith’s a literal alien.

- Lance’s extreme empathy actually backfires on him. Because being sensitive to others is second nature to him, it’s often hard for Lance to remember that not everyone is as perceptive as he is. Lance has, many times, mistaken the other paladins’ obliviousness for indifference. Everyone on the ship cares deeply about Lance and would never want him to feel bad about himself—but not everyone on the ship is perceptive enough to notice when Lance’s insecurities are affecting him.

- Wasn’t put in the cargo pilot classes at Garrison because of his flight test scores—most green cadets have zero flight experience and all do pretty badly at first. Lance was placed in cargo class because he scored too high on a combat sensitivity test, indicating that he was a poor fit mentally for becoming a soldier. Fighting monstrous looking aliens is one thing, but Lance would have coped very, very badly if he’d ever been required to kill another human being.

- Struggled to fit in at Garrison. After the crushing disappointment of ending up in cargo class, Lance also dealt with a lot of people treating him like an outsider because he was an international student. “Why is someone from Cuba trying to join the U.S. military? Are you a spy?”

- Couple that with the complicated student visa process and how his status as an international student might affect his ability to take part in Garrison-sanctioned internships and cross-border activities, and Lance felt utterly alienated at Garrison in his first few months.

- May… or may not have done exactly what his parents taught him not to do by looking for a scapegoat to take out his frustrations on. Keith, the lone wolf, ace pilot pretty boy who was too cool to even talk to the rest of the cadets (really thought he was too good to even make eye contact with Lance, huh?!) was an obvious target. Keith had every single thing that Lance had ever wanted in his whole life—the combat class, the talent, the prestige, the respect, the effortless looks—and he didn’t even seem happy to have it!

- Lance had never hated anyone before in his entire life, but Lance hated Keith—Keith basically came to stand in for every obstacle in Lance’s way, every mocking insult thrown Lance’s way, every harsh reminder from the professors that he’d never even be close to good enough, never measure up when someone like that existed… Lance started to honestly believe that the only way he’d ever be able to achieve his entire life goal was if Keith was taken out of the picture—something that proved unfortunately true when Lance was bumped up to combat class the moment Keith went missing from Garrison.

- Lance never actually said any of this stuff to Keith’s face before Keith left Garrison (Lance dreaded his parents finding out he’d been rude), but he would shit-talk Keith to anyone who would listen, a bad habit that was reinforced by people actually accepting Lance more when he started gossiping and spreading rumors than when he’d just tried to be genuinely nice.

- Even though he’d like to repair his relationship with Keith now that they’re teammates, Lance has no idea how to do that after so much time has passed. He really has no clue how to treat Keith normally after building him up into such a bitter rival. It’s… a work in progress.

- A big fan of RPG games and roleplaying. Definitely gets the most in-character when it comes to Monsters and Mana. His favorite thing about meeting new cultures is discovering nifty space items that look like key items from video games. Used to play old school RPGs with his cousins every afternoon. Playing with Pidge is extremely nostalgic for him.

- Has a host of other hobbies that don’t get much use inspace but are nevertheless impressive: he can surf, dive, and was part of a traditional dance group all the up until he left for Garrison. He doesn’t tend to think much of his hobbies as they’re not exactly practical skills you need every day in a space war, but the other members of Team Voltron are quietly impressed whenever they’re reminded of the cool things Lance can do.

- Lance has the strongest bond with his lion of any of the paladins. His connection with Blue is so innate that he can actually activate Blue’s abilities from outside his lion.

- The first one of the paladins to transform his bayard and the only one whose bayard can take three forms. And no, none of the three is a sword because what was the point of that, even??? Lance can wield his standard blaster, a long rifle, and dual pistols. The strength of theshots from Lance’s bayard can be consciously controlled—his thoughts and intentions determine whether a shot has the strength to kill or merely stun.

- Lance’s incredible aim isn’t a natural talent. Actually he’s spent hours and hours in a shooting range he found in the castle, working on perfecting his shot. Just like the gladiator levels on the training deck, the targets in the range keep getting harder and harder, but Lance is progressing very well. No one but Coran knows that Lance has been training so hard with his bayard, since Lance desperately wants to pretend his skill is all natural and has sworn Coran to secrecy. Coran covers for him by pretending he’s sent Lance off on absurd cleaning missions all the time.

- Is 1000% Coran’s favorite of the paladins. Coran won’t even try to lie if asked. Although Coran has never expressed it out loud, he sees Lance as an example of the brave, kind-hearted son he would have hoped to raise—if his son had survived the war. (On Lance’s part, although he’s also never shared this, Coran reminds him very much of his beloved uncle, who passed away when Lance was very young, but whom he still remembers well and extremely fondly.)

- After his uncle passed away, Lance’s aunt moved in with Lance’s parents permanently, and Lance essentially helped to raise his two very young cousins, Nadia and Silvio. Lance does have very good experience with children—unfortunately for him, what human children respond well to doesn’t always work for Galra kids!

Lotor:

- Has not spent 10,000 years kicking about the universe. We’re not doing that weird “If he’s immortal because of the rift creatures then how come his governess is still alive?” plot hole song and dance routine from the actual show. Lotor was born after the war decimated the Alteans 10,000 years ago, but due to Haggar’s condition (aka being, you know, dead), he was essentially unable to live on his own and was placed in cryostasis very shortly after being born.

- Roughly 20 years before the discovery of the Blue Lion on Earth, Haggar used advancements in quintessence manipulation technology to successfully revive the infant Lotor. But she didn’t wake him for no reason—she has a very specific intention for her son, a long endgame plan, of which Lotor and even Zarkon are currently unaware.

- We’re also not doing that dumb “How could Haggar—the only remotely Altean-looking being in all of Zarkon’s presence—possibly be my mother?” plot from the show either. Lotor is aware that Haggar is his mother, although he has never been able to infiltrate her research facilities and therefore has no idea how an Altean scientist ended up where she did, looking like she did, and siding with the Galra against her own people.

- Because his parents’ past and his own origins are such a mystery, Lotor is obsessed with learning the truth of the war, the Alteans, and every hidden secret from that time period, including Voltron and the mysterious “rift.” He devours any information he can get on this period of history, and especially on Alteans, voraciously.

- But even though he’ll take any pieces of information he can get, Lotor’s real favorite obsession is mythology. He’s a deep lover of folklore and fairytales, bestiaries and local legends, and more than one assassin has traded a good story in exchange for having his life spared. Lotor may or may not hunt for space cryptids in his spare time. However, no single legend occupies Lotor’s mind as much as the legend of the mythical realm of Oriande, home of the ancient Altean alchemists. As practical as he tries to appear, Lotor has never given up his deep-down childish wish to be the one who finds the promised land of Oriande and prove it is real. But when he thinks back… Where was it that he first heard about Oriande, again? Who told him…?

- That entire thing with the hidden Altean colonies is just… not going to happen. The writers were bad and they should feel bad. Although Lotor has looked, after 10,000 years and plenty of centuries of hiding any Altean connections, distinguishing those who still have Altean blood has become essentially impossible.

- Part of the reason Lotor has looked for Alteans is that he was born with a bizarre grab-bag of Altean instincts and abilities and no guidance on how to deal with them, because he’s certainly not going to reveal to Haggar that he has unexplained talents like precognition and the ability to speak to planets. Growing up with half of his bloodline extinct has been ROUGH on Lotor.

- Speaking of growing up… Even though he remains the crown prince on official record, Lotor took the first opportunity he could to leave his parents’ sphere of influence, and he has not physically been back to Galra Central Command in more than ten years.

- Lotor is effectively a universal wanderer. Aboard his personal ship the Urbanus (a Destroyer-class star cruiser which has been heavily modified and improved by Lotor himself), Lotor and his generals travel wherever they like, both within the Galra Empire and outside it, dodging Haggar’s frequent attempts to re-exert control over Lotor and even more frequent assassination and kidnapping attempts from Zarkon’s enemies.

- Although Lotor has a very specific goal in mind, progress on this goal has been slow and painstaking, and he’s often left waiting for the next bare bones clue to chase after; this has resulted in the young prince having an unfortunate abundance of free time, which is dangerous for everyone involved. In between progress on his mysterious life’s goal, Lotor and his generals frequently get into trouble with small planets, local governments, militaries both official and off-the-books, giant monsters, and at least two hundred museum curators. They may or may not be wanted for grave-robbing in 13 different star systems.

- Basically he’s space Indiana Jones, if Indiana Jones was still 20 and also purple and also not being paid enough to be a good guy.

- All that said, as much of a devil-may-care rogue as he’d like to be seen, Lotor did spend all of his childhood under the thumb of the empire’s brutal authoritarian dictators, and he is therefore every inch a crown prince; as befitting one of his stature, he speaks eight languages fluently, flawlessly matches his formal dress to the occasion, knows exactly which piece of silverware to use when, can engage in political battles of wits and diplomatic machinations with the best of them, and has been training in armed combat since he was three years old. Lotor’s impeccable manners and steely leadership ability were literally beaten into him, to the point that now, even among trusted allies, he sometimes finds it difficult to turn off his cold, calculated princely persona.

- Not that his generals really let him get away with that kind of thing for long. Only those who have lived with multiple older sisters can truly understand the constant state of teasing and mortifying blackmail that Lotor lives in. On official record, Lotor’s generals are a crack team of terrifying bodyguards; in practice, they’re more likely to be dragging Lotor for all he’s worth than rescuing him. They might keep up formal appearances in front of others, but they’re effectively a close-knit family behind the scenes.

- It’s not a coincidence that all of Lotor’s generals are women; besides generally being awful, most Galra men make Lotor uncomfortable. From a human standpoint, Lotor is ridiculously tall and powerful; but from a Galra standpoint, Lotor is a thin, unhealthy-looking thing whose stature doesn’t command authority or respect in the slightest. It’s exhausting feeling like you have to constantly prove yourself, so Lotor prefers to spend time with a group that doesn’t invite negative comparison.

- However, it should be noted that a Galra man having only female friends has completely different connotations than a human man having only female friends—Galra women are, on the whole, considered more aggressive, bloodthirsty, and over-bearing than Galra men, so any Galra man who would choose to surround himself with that many women must either be out of his mind or incredibly badass.

- When asked what it’s like to live with four beautiful women, Lotor is basically ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ personified. Despite living together for years, none of the generals are romantically interested in Lotor and he’s not romantically interested in any of them.

- Many people have incorrectly assumed that Lotor and Axca are a pair, but Lotor helped Axca escape from a slave colony and she will never let another man touch her in her life. Axca is extremely grateful and loyal to Lotor, but given that Axca was Lotor’s first real friend, he’s just as grateful to her.

- If you think I’m killing off Narti, you’re out of your mind.

- Despite the fact that Lotor does not feel connected to the Galra Empire or the Galra as a whole, he’s somewhat more traditional and more likely to conform to Galra social standards than he wants to admit (even to himself). He insists that he has no interest in upholding the classic values of the Galra or meeting their expectations for how a prince should behave—but in truth, it’s impossible to fully kill that deep-down desire to just fit in. When push comes to shove, Lotor always finds himself falling in line with the Galra’s oldest and most deeply ingrained beliefs.

- With Lance in the “has never had a real kiss” club. Is not with Lance in the “wants a real kiss” club. Lotor is actually uncomfortable with being touched by strangers (36 assassination attempts will do that to you) and doesn’t make real friends, let alone anything closer, remotely easily. Some people are open books; Lotor is that one book from Harry Potter that bites people’s fingers off when they try to open it. Once you’re in his inner-circle, he’ll let you hang all over him, but before that, the space bubble is ten feet in every direction.

- Doesn’t actually put any special effort into his appearance. He just Looks Like That™.

- In fact, he actually kind of hates that stupid cowlick hair that’s always in his face but no matter how many times he cuts it off or slicks it back, it just keeps falling right back in his eyes. He’s basically given up at this point.

- His sword’s name is Eris and it was actually forged in the heart of a dying star.

- Kova the space cat hates Lotor. Lotor hates Kova. It’s a mutually antagonistic relationship. Somehow though, Lotor never makes any effort to get rid of Kova and Kova never takes the opportunity to leave. No one else understands it either, especially since Lotor gets along great with basically every other animal he meets.

- He’s not a pacifist by any means, but he is painfully practical and knows that, on occasion, sparing the life of one’s enemy nets more gain than indiscriminately crushing opponents beneath his heel. More manipulative than outright aggressive, he’s easily capable of twisting even the worst of situations to his advantage. Has an unfortunate tendency to be overly cunning—sometimes the tricks and twists he comes up with are unnecessarily full of flourish just because he thinks manipulating people like pieces in a board game is extremely entertaining. Riddles and mind games are Lotor’s favorite—the more convoluted, the better.

- Although most people refer to him by the basic “Prince Lotor” (Lotori Ahn in Galra), Lotor’s full name and official title is Lotori Kir Ahnja Avel i’ya ne Daibazaal, His Royal Highness Prince Lotor of the First Star. As the emperors and empresses of the Galra are said to be physical representations of the goddess, the firstborn children of emperors/empresses are always called “the first star,” after the supposed first creation of the goddess.

- Extremely competitive, but mostly about weird things—like sure he’s going to win if you challenge him to a swordsmanship duel, but challenge him to a staring contest? Your eyes will rot out of your head before this boy will blink. Do not think he will let you beat him in a spelling bee. More than once the generals have had to drag him away from getting involved in the bizarre competitions of the alien cultures they come into contact with. He was 1000% ready to learn to knit eight-armed sweaters with Rikrik fur, thank you. Would totally take up pig-farming JUST to win an Earth state fair.

- Likes to collect interesting artifacts and trinkets of lost civilizations by force if necessary. His ship is basically a floating museum at this point. The generals are starting to worry that they’re going to have add a whole ‘nother deck for all the war prizes Lotor wins himself. Lotor’s gathering hobby extends to games too—he’s a big fan of games that involve sets of items, like Renni, the Galra collectible card game. Would 110% be that Magic the Gathering nerd back on earth.

- In terms of other interests, Lotor is the picture definition of a Renaissance man. Although he’s not a flawless genius savant in every field, he is wicked smart and has studied a vast array of subjects; he’s a capable engineer, a skilled mathematician, a deft philosopher, a good scientist, and extremely well-read, and he is not going tolet you forget any of those things at any point in time. Lotor is always going to be better than you, please just accept your fate.

- Art is… another story. He might be able to sketch detailed architectural blueprints without breaking a sweat but ask him to draw a dog and you’re going to be in for some trouble.

And that’s more than enough for now I think! XD

#lance mcclain #prince lotor #lotor #Voltron #voltron headcanons #voltron fanfic #Home and a Half #HaaHVLD #echo answers asks

63 notes · View notes

softestgentlest · 4 years

Text

Lily & Harry - high school fanfic

Harry Styles.

Harry fucking Styles.

An egotistical, quick witted asshole with a silver tongue and easy charisma.

He's also irritatingly privileged; not only is he filthy fucking rich, but he's also extraordinarily intelligent, and to top it all off, positively, mercilessly, despicably gorgeous. As if he wasn't already dealt the winning hand, his otherworldly physical attractiveness afforded him the freedom to do whatever the hell he pleased, whenever, and wherever he wanted to do it.

And, of course, in some cruel twist of fate, he most often chose to utilize his influence by victimizing me: Lillian Mercier, a quiet, harmless junior, whose sole desire is to graduate ASAP, so I can move onto Cambridge University by the Fall of next year.

I'm on track to receive my diploma a year early, according to my guidance counselor, but I've got to keep my GPA above a 3.8 at least, if I have any hope of getting admitted into my uni of choice.

My mind is humming, sifting through upcoming exams, assignments, papers that need writing, and a number of other priorities as I open up my locker.

I'm just pulling out my SAT prep book, when a series of excited murmurs echo through the crowded hallway. A girl a few feet away turns, whispering to her friend, "I think my ovaries just exploded, dude. Look at Harry's haircut."

I roll my eyes, swapping the prep book with the AP English text that's currently weighing down my bag. I try to focus on my mental "to do" list, but I'm now annoyingly in-tune with the girl's conversation, unable to block them out.

"I know! How could he have gotten even hotter? And look at his outfit...like, he can literally make anything look good."

"Oh my goooodd dude, he's graduating this year. I honestly think I'll die, like, he's the only thing that makes this school tolerable."

"Shhhh, they're coming over here."

The girls go quiet, and I tense, keeping my eyes trained on the interior of my locker. Harry will be graduating at the end of the year, as he's a senior, and with that knowledge, I feel intensely relieved.

Even if I can't graduate early, he'll be gone, and I'll actually be able to enjoy my senior year.

A smile plays across my lips as I stretch to reach the top shelf of my locker, standing on my tippy toes. I'm 5'3, and these lockers were clearly built by men of average height, with little to no regard for high schoolers of smaller statures.

I know I threw some flash cards up there in the rush to make the bus yesterday, but even when I step up and onto the metal base of my assigned storage space, I still can't seem to-

I gasp, as I lose my footing and fall backwards. Luckily - or, maybe unluckily - my fall is broken by something solid. I hear a soft grunt, and large hands grip my waist, steadying me.

I pant, pressing a hand to my racing heart, when I feel something soft brush against the sensitive shell of my ear, "good morning to you too, clumsy."

I shiver, and pull away, immediately recognizing that deep, accented voice as it burns hotly into my skin.

Do not engage, I mentally remind myself, forcing my trembling hands to occupy themselves with the contents of my backpack.

He tssks, clicking his tongue, "Aren't you going to thank me?"

"Thanks." I concede through gritted teeth.

He chuckles, leaning too close for comfort once again, "it was my pleasure, Lillian." His voice drops an octave on the word 'pleasure,' giving it an unnecessarily sexual undertone, if only to get under my skin.

At the corner of my vision, I see his shadowed silhouette as he leans against the locker beside mine, tall and domineering as ever.

I ignore his presence, slowly zippering up my bag, and securing my lock, before reluctantly turning to face him.

The first thing I notice is the lack of hair. What had once been long, lustrous, chocolaty curls, is now shortened gossamer strands of hair falling over his forehead in a provocative, untidy tumble. The new cut exposes his defined jawline, and those sharp, light catching cheekbones.

As usual, he's dressed to the nines, somehow managing to make his unexpected attire look effortlessly appealing. Today, he's clad in a strange mix of professional, and bohemian pieces: a blue and white checkered wool jacket, a dark pinstriped suit, a red beaded necklace. He's got on bright pink socks, and white loafers, and his signature assortment of rings.

I clear my throat when he catches me checking him out, "Harry, I didn't know you could sew."

He looks perplexed, considering my assumption with furrowed brows, "I can't."

"Oh, then I suppose it was your mother who made that jacket from one of her tablecloths?"

He tilts his head to one side, and runs his fingers roughly through his freshly cut curls, "this," he snarks, smoothing his hands down the woolen fabric, "is a $2,000 jacket, love."

I roll my eyes, hitching my bag over my shoulder, and turn to walk away, only to come face to face with Mitch and Nick, two of Harry's equally asinine friends.

"Excuse me." I prompt. The two boys ignore me, smirking over my head at their scumbag leader.

I huff, turning back around, knowing full well that they aren't going to do anything unless he commands it. "I don't have time for this, Harry." I cross my arms, pursing my lips in annoyance, "I'm gonna be late to class, and so are you."

His mouth curves dangerously, drawing my attention to the pillow-soft push of his lips. "And we wouldn't want that, now would we, Lillian?" he pronounces my name so that it drips from his shapely lips leisurely, provocatively. "What with your big plans to graduate early."

Immediately, I recoil, meeting his expectant stare with wide eyes, "H-how...?"

"Oh, you thought I wouldn't find out?" He pushes off the lockers, Stepping closer, "did you know that you're GPA is just .01 points less than mine?" His voice is honeyed, sickeningly sweet - it sets off warning bells in my head.

I swallow nervously, taking a small step backwards, "I don't see what that has to do with my plan-"

"Oh, but it has everything to do with your plans." Again, he advances, but this time I hold my ground, tilting my head to meet his stare, "you see, we weren't competing before...not really. But, if you graduate ahead of your class and maintain that same GPA, well...Cambridge won't even look at me, regardless of my achievements, because you'll have the edge."

I blink, processing his words, "You want to go to Cambridge...?"

He quirks a dark brow, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement.

I'm dumbfounded, "But...but I-you...but-that's just ridiculous!" I nearly stomp my foot at the sheer absurdity of the notion, but opt to clench my fists at my sides instead.

He looks utterly amused, and leans a bit closer, a challenge in his eyes: "is that right?"

"Why would you want to go to Cambridge?!" I note how whiny my voice sounds, but I'm too distressed to care.

He's full on grinning now, his emerald eyes dancing with glee. "wouldn't you like to know" He purrs in that slow, sexy drawl, his voice dropping so low that it can only be heard by the two of us.

It is then that the bell rings, shrill and disruptive, tearing me from his trance-like stare.

I realize how close we've gotten, our faces perhaps six inches apart. I can feel the warmth of his body radiating off of him and wrapping around me. Before I can stop myself, I inhale his intoxicating scent: spicy and earthy and masculine, like cigarettes and pine and the leather spines of old books.

For a fraction of a second, my eyes slip shut...he smells so damn good.

Then, just as quickly, I blink, and step back, my heart racing in my chest. I did NOT just...

He straightens, raking his eyes over my trembling frame with an air of affected smugness. Silently, he steps the side, watching me as I collect myself, an embarrassing blush infusing my cheeks.

Slowly, I move down the hallway towards my class, uncharacteristically unconcerned with the possibility of being marked tardy. I can tell that he's following, as students all around turn to stare behind me. We're in the same English class.

My brain seems to have gone into overdrive, conjuring up insane reasons for why I'd smelled him and liked it enough to consider doing it again. Impossible. Harry's a prick. The bane of my existence. Sure, he's wildly attractive, but never have I ever been even remotely interested in him...sexually. So what the hell was that?

Why am I all hot and blushing and trembly? Why?! Especially after he'd dropped the Cambridge bomb! I mean, really? Of all the schools for him to choose, it had to be my dream school. And of the thousands of people I'll be competing with to be admitted, it just had to be him.

Harry's one of the smartest people I've ever met, and he's got the resources and connections to get into any school he wants. The chances of two kids from the same high school getting into Cambridge are absolutely zero, and whether I graduate early or not, Harry's a shoe in for a spot there - he's the ideal student: rich and intelligent and driven, with a shit ton of community service and extracurriculars under his belt, and with a number of published poems and short stories.

He'll take my spot there just by aiming his perfect white grin in the right direction. And if we were both admitted, by some miracle, that would be even worse! 6 more years with him?! I'd die. I couldn't take it. I'd-

"Ah!" I gasp, colliding with a tall boy for the second time today. My books fly out of my arms again, and I fall flat in my ass with a soft yelp of pain.

"Woah! Are you ok?" A voice asks, and I glance up to find a familiar blonde boy looking down at me.

"Um, y-yeah." I say, quickly moving to stand up. Like a gentleman, he reaches down, offering me a hand, and I take it, allowing him to pull me gently to my feet. "Uh, sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention..." I smile sheepishly,

"Oh, no, it's totally fine." He grins back, then kneels down to pick up my books. "As long as your ok."

"Really, I'm fine." I giggle, kneeling down to help. "Your Neil, right? I think we have psych together?"

He hands me my things, standing up, "close! It's Niall, and yeah, 6th period right?"

I nod, "Niall. Yeah, I'm Lily. I'm the one always shouting out the answers and then getting yelled at." I giggle nervously, feeling a little self conscious around this boy with pretty blue eyes and a kind smile.

He laughs, "well, I'm definitely not one to shout out answers. I'm terrible at Psych." He gestures for me to walk with him, and I do, "I'll walk you to your class, just to make sure your alright."

I roll my eyes playfully, but follow, "I already ran into you. Don't let me be the reason that your late to class too."

I lead the way to the English wing, and we joke lightly about our Psych teacher, Mrs. Campbell. By the time we've arrived, the bell has rung, and I know that he's going to be late because of me, but he doesn't seem to care.

"Hey," he calls out, just as I'm about to open the door to my classroom, "maybe you could tutor me sometime? In Psych? You always seem to be yelling the right answers, and I could really use the help..." he rubs the back of his neck nervously, and I can't help but smile at how cute he looks.

"It's the least I can do after running into you." I say, "let's talk in class later?"

"Yeah, sure!" He backs down the hallway, "I'll see you then, Lily!"

When I enter the classroom, there's still a smile on my face, and I quietly make my way to an empty seat in the back. My teacher, Mr. Gray, shoots me an inquisitive look, since I'm not one to show up late to my favorite class, but he doesn't call me out on it.

"Alright guys," he says, "while I was reading you essay submissions from last week, I noticed quite a few spelling errors, so I thought we might have a little bit of a...spelling bee today, just to see where we all stand when it comes to commonly misspelled words." The class groaned collectively, and he laughed, "nothing to worry about. This won't count for a grade, I just want a chance to see where everyone stands. It'll be fun!"

Mr. Gray proceeded to split the class into two groups, and two at a time, he called students up to the board, and in tournament fashion, the winner played the winner from the opposite team. I could tell that he was saving certain students for the end, since they would likely beat out all the competition, thereby depriving their teammates of turns. By the time it got to me, only a few students were left on the opposing team.

"Ok, Kim," he called to my competitor, "your word is Accidentally" Kim correctly spelled two words, and then swapped out with another teammate, Jamie, who only beat me on one word.

"Alright, this is it, guys. Last two. Harry, join Lily up front."

Immediately, my eyes found him, just as the rest of the class turned to watch him rising from his seat. He took a step towards me. Then another. I sort of shivered, watching him move, observing his long legs, slowly closing the space between us with their every measured step. There's something almost feline about it - the way he moves - very masculine...and very...sexual, if that makes any sense at all.

I averted my eyes as he took up the space beside me. Again, the drowsy scent of books and pine with undertones of coffee and tobacco invaded my senses, and I felt my knees threatening to buckle.

"Harry, your word is 'allegiance'"

I felt him smiling, tasted his smooth baritone, skating hotly down my spine: "A-L-L-E-G-I-A-N-C-E. Allegiance."

"Lily, controversy."

I spelled it correctly and held my breath, gazing stubbornly straight ahead.

"Harry, 'immediately.'" He did the same.

"perseverance"

"Accommodate"

"I-N-T-E-L-L-I-G-E-N-C-E, Intelligence." I glanced over at Harry, noting the look of intense boredom on his face as he stared off into the distance. Clearly, this was too easy for both of us.

"Too easy is it, Lillian?"

"Uh, w-what?" I snapped out of my reverie, glancing at Mr. Gray, who looked rather amused.

"If you think it's too easy, we can really put you two to the test. What do you think class?" Mr. Gray looked around, and the class erupted into excited giggles and shouts.

Realizing my mistake, I felt my cheeks flush hot with embarrassment, "oh I-I didn't m-mean to say that um...out loud sir..."

The damage had already been done. Mr. Gray grinned, clearly excited to have piqued the class's interest, "alright then, let's try....sacrilegious."

Harry, looking rather more alert than he had before, turned to look at me, holding my stare even as each honeyed letter fell from his lips "S-A-C-R-I-L-E-G-I-O-U-S" the flecks of gold in his eyes danced, embers crackling, glittering.

"Conscientious, Lily."

"Oh, um..." I quickly averted my gaze, glancing nervously at my trembling fingers, "C-O-N..." my heart wobbled in my chest. What's comes next? "...S-C-I-E-N-T-I-O-U-S, Conscientious." I want this to be over...

Harry chuckled beside me, low and slow. I felt his eyes on me. "bureaucratic." He spelled, quick as a whip, and all eyes were back on me.

"Bourgeoisie." Amidst the nerves and exhaustion, my stubbornness gave way to another correct answer. I won't lose to him. Not this, not Cambridge.

He managed "clairvoyant," "coalescence," and "kaleidoscope." I got through "lachrymose," "mnemonic," and "pharmaceutical," and then, finally, he messed up.

I heard it in his voice first, knew before it happened that I had won. Mr. Gray - once again proving himself to be my favorite teacher- threw "triskaidekaphobia" at Harry, and we both froze.

"T-R-I-S-K....A-D-E-K-A-P-H-O-B-I-A." Harry murmured uncertainly, sounding just as breathless as I felt. The class had gone silent, and I could hear my heart racing.

"Incorrect." Mr. Gray uttered, but before the class could erupt into cheers, he continued, "let me just say, Harry, Lily, that was extraordinary. Really, very good show." He slowly began to clap, and our classmates followed suit, whooping and jeering at Harry good-naturedly.

I turned to glance at him then, not feeling very excited about having won. I couldn't help the little gasp that escaped my throat when I saw his face. He had curved his mouth into a grin, ran a hand through his hair boyishly, a calculated carelessness slackening his features - but I saw it in the way his lips twitched, in the way his eyes glossed over and darkened to muted jade.

He's upset. I realized, moving closer without really thinking about it. He's really, really upset.

"H-Harry?" I heard myself whisper, voice trembling. Everyone had, by now, moved into their own little groups, all talking animatedly about the results of our little duel, so they weren't really paying us any mind.

His smile faltered - just for a moment - "good game." He husked, his voice raw. He held out a hand, quirking a brow, watching me with those expectant eyes.

It was then, in that moment, that I realized, very suddenly, that Harry is...beautiful. Like, proper beautiful, like earth shatteringly, mind numbingly gorgeous.

The realization hit me with such immense force that I had to grab his outstretched hand to keep from crumbling to the ground. "O-oh." My mouth parts on the startled little noise, and suddenly I'm very aware of the gentle press of his cold rings against my fingers, his large hand claiming mine, the muscles in his forearm flexing as he holds me. "Uh-huh." My response catches in my throat and comes out sounding like a strangled hiccup.

Quickly, I pull away, stumbling back a few steps, I tear my eyes from his face, flailing my hands around like a monkey.

What the fuck?

•••••••••

LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT A PART 2 💛

#harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles friends to lovers #harry styles imagine #harry styles x oc #fanfic #imagine

61 notes · View notes

roswelldetails · 4 years

Text

RNM 2x10 - American Woman

EPISODE SUMMARY:

SECRETS OF THE PAST — After uncovering a cryptic message from the past, Alex (Tyler Blackburn), Isobel (Lily Cowles), Max (Nathan Dean), Michael (Michael Vlamis) and Maria (Heather Hemmens) set out in search of answers at the reservation where Alex’s mother grew up. Meanwhile, Cameron (guest star Riley Voelkel) encourages Liz (Jeanine Mason) to reach out to someone from her past after Auturo (guest star Carlos Compean) gets detained. Marcus Stokes directed the episode written by Rick Montano & Vincent Ingaro & Jason Gavin (#210). Original airdate 5/18/2020.

DETAILS:

Tripp brings Louise to the Reservation in a body bag where the Navajo doctors are able to save her life.

"Your message said that you were gonna bring two women that would be no trouble. This looks like a lot of trouble."

"I must have gotten the codes wrong."

"No, don't give me that Manes man nonsense. Not here in my own home."

"Her name is Louise. I promised her friend Nora I'd protect them. My brother triggered an ambush before I could get them here. And Nora…"

"Wait, what does the Air Force want them for?"

"They're not from around here. They're from...up north."

"Yìiyáh. No. She can't stay here… What if your brother comes here and finds a fugitive. I can't put my people at risk for a white woman."

"Please. You're the only person I trust. If she doesn't make it, it was all for nothing."

"I'll have you remember that I was the one that saved your ass in Okinawa. I don't owe you anything. I'm only doing this because you're my family. And because I'm a damn fool."

A few notes on this scene:

--I don't know why Tripp pretends he got the codes wrong. Unless he's spiraling and talking about the timing of the attack. But it seems like he means the message that he was bringing them to the reservation. Clearly things didn't go according to plan. Though, it is always possible that we're still missing bits of the story.

--OG Easter Egg. "They're not from around here. They're from up north." For anyone who didn't watch OG, this is almost exactly how the exchange went when Max told Liz he was an alien in the 1999 pilot.

--Yìiyáh - I found nothing on this word. I'm assuming that it's a curse word or general exclamation of negativity, but literally got zero results on google. It's possible, of course, that it's misspelled in the captions. There were a lot of errors in the captions in this opening scene.

--While there really isn't any overt statement that Alex is half Navajo and this town is part of Navajo Nation (which has been in the news a lot lately and therefore is a good place in this country to be aware of), there's lots of clues or subtle enough statements that I feel like it can be accepted as fact, since: Harrison is a codetalker, the necklace is Navajo, tsela is a Navajo word. So I did a little peeking and it could work. The closest Navajo town is about a 4 hour drive from Roswell.

Navajo Nation:

(side note - Navajo Nation has extreme poverty but also is utterly gorgeous. And the Tribe gets income from tourism. Just a few places there that I'm dying to go? Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, Shiprock. Check it out.)

Liz comments on Max's irregular heartbeat, with literally no acknowledgment of the fact that she's straddling him and has a history of causing his heart to race...and other forms of lack of control (think 1x03).

"I'm excited about this though. You know Alex dug up all that info on our bio Mom. You sure you can't come?"

"Got to take my dad in for his blood tests. I want to check on Jenna too. Cannot believe she's back in the hospital again."

"She's been in pain for weeks. I have no leads on the mysterious hunting van, and Charlie hasn't made contact."

"Hmm. To be fair, I do hear that phone service is a little spotty in flying saucers."

"Okay, I get that. You think my alien abduction theory is bogus."

"I know you're worried that this has something to do with you, but I don't think this is an alien thing."

"Cam and I had fractal burns on our necks. We had no memory of what happened. That's alien stuff. I just want clarity on something."

--Note that it's past time to abandon all hope of anything resembling a defined timeline for this show...once again we have weeks passing between episodes. This is the second time this season that the time passing has only been generically described as "weeks". It's been at least a year since Liz came back to Roswell (per her conversation with Diego), but a year would be summer (late May or early June, specifically), and in this episode Isobel mentions that it's winter (which would be a year and a half).

Maria's pitch:

"In conclusion, esteemed members of the Roswell Tourism Board, while the Pony is normally a sanctuary for locals during CrashCon, I think that my plan to turn it into the Contact Cantina Pop-Up Bar will be a hit with alien fans."

"We're talking more money than we first speculated, aren't we now?"

"You know, Mayor Bernhardt, I forgot to tell you about our new morning cocktail… It's coffee, vanilla cream, and our best bourbon. Let me get you a double."

Note: so this is the famous Mayor Bernhardt. Funded by the Long family. Doesn't like immigrants. Had a racist relative who wouldn't give first prize to the black man.

Maria's vision…

Herself, younger, sitting at the Pony bar.

"You have to let me go! You're just crazy! And I'm trapped!"

And then she runs from the bar crying.

She's not wearing the necklace.

Describing it to Michael:

"I had a vision, but it was more like a memory. Of a fight I had with my mom when I was younger."

Isobel interrupts Michael and Maria to pick them up for the road trip. Just a few relevant excepts from this scene:

"Pack your bags. We're going on a family road trip."

"Is this why Max wanted the day off?"

"In the photo of Max and Isobel's bio Mom, there was a water tower. Alex recognized that water tower from the town where his mom grew up. You should come with us."

Alex and Forrest talk in the Crashdown:

"Hope that limp isn't from a paintball injury."

"Nope. Those bruises have mostly healed. I just got a new prosthetic. Takes a minute to get used to. You working on your book?"

"I write my book on my computer. However, I write my angsty emo poetry in an angsty emo journal."

"I'm actually working on some poetry myself. Well, song lyrics, technically. It's a lot harder than it was in high school."

"Yeah, writing was easier for me when I was a kid too. Feelings...we bury 'em now. You just got to find that thing inside of you that doesn't have a voice. Lend it yours. You know? Listen, I have like, zero musical talent, but if you need help with the worst part, we could, uh…"

"Actually I'm leaving tomorrow for a few days to go talk to some recruits."

Michael interruptus, and the conversation goes casual.

--What happened to "angsty nerd isn't really my type." Or...was it FORESHADOWING!!!?! 😂

--Oh hi there clear shot of Forrest's clearly Deep Sky logoed ring…

Cam has been having debilitating migraines that have been keeping her bedridden since the abduction.

Nurse Kate is a badass. she tries to keep ICE from getting into a patient's room. Liz hears her and hurries to the waiting room, where there's more ICE activity. Liz panics and tries to get Arturo out of the hospital, but she caught the attention of the ICE officers. However, Liz knows her rights.

"He has applied for his green card. I'm his sponsor, okay? This is his G-1145 right here."

"You can show that to the court."

"It's okay. Call the lawyer."

"No. He is a diabetic. It is illegal to detain a patient."

"Exigent circumstances. Move."

"No. Hey, this is an unconstitutional arrest and the ACLU will be all over you."

"Elizabeth, we respect the law in this family. If you're in trouble, who will take care of the mouse?"

--G-1145 is a request for confirmation that your green card application has been accepted:

--The timing of this all. Liz has been prepared for this moment all her life and would fight it to the point of getting arrested herself, if not for Rosa. Rosa's safety is the only thing that convinces Liz to step aside.

--As an only semi related note, this is a really interesting contrast to how they wrote Jeanine's character out on Grey's Anatomy.

--Also feel like it would be remiss of me to not point out Liz's reactiveness and fightinf mentality is mirroring how Liz initially reacted to Max pulling her over in the pilot.

"Okay. So the Deputy on call says there's one detention center in the county. Here's the info."

"He doesn't have anything left in Mexico. No one. Nowhere to go."

"You can't think like that right now."

"I think like this always. Rosa and I used to recite our escape plan for if our parents got deported and we got separated in foster care. I begged my parents not to tell Santa where we lived because I was afraid he'd ask for papers. My whole life was built on a fear of this day coming, and it's here. If I'd have kept better track of his health, he wouldn't need these tests. I should have made him move to California. I thought we were safe being outside the hundred-mile zone, but after this election I should have known better. And I should have made him wear a sweater this morning because it's freezing out there. And what if he…?"

"...okay think. Is there someone we can call?"

"Kyle's at a conference, but I can have him call his mom."

"Do you know anyone with some real power? You know, Federal muscle?"

Cam gets dressed to take Liz to the Detention Center and Liz calls Diego for help.

The road trip group arrive at the reservation and meet Gregory Manes. He says he remembers them all from high school. He takes Max, Michael, and Isobel to learn about Louise while Alex and Maria go jewelry shopping.

Meanwhile Gregory is taking the Pod Squad to Louise's grave, but pauses for some flirting:

"You're still the Isobel Evans who convinced the basketball captain to pull four different fire alarms to get out of AP Gov, right? Yeah, legend. Here she is."

"Oh my God, it's covered in flowers. It's winter."

"Rumor is they grow year-round unattended. She was a healer. I'm told she helped with trauma, addiction, that sort of thing. All without speaking."

"This another grave?"

"She was pregnant."

"Louise arrived gravely injured. And the baby didn't survive.

--Louise died the same day the Pod Squad came out of the pods, confirming that she is probably the old woman on the reservation that was described in 1x09.

--Michael found the mysterious purple flowers growing on Louise's grave.

Alex and Maria at the trading post.

"Are you okay? Seem a little off."

"I had a vision during a meeting this morning. It almost cost me a deal that could save the bar. Maybe I should just wear the necklace. Go back to being a social media guru. Slash barkeep. Slash magical trope in our redneck mayor's fantasy."

"So why did you really come today? Your ideal day off isn't fighting for the radio silence with Isobel Evans, so…"

"This is the back of my necklace. The word stamped in the silver says Tsela. The necklace is Navajo, so I thought maybe that was the jeweler, but no one I've asked here seems to know who made it. I just want answers."

"Well, there's a ton of silver jewelry for sale here. So why don't we just keep looking for something with the same stamp?"

Pod Squad sharing a bottle of acetone by Louise's grave.

"Noah said our planet was war-torn. But the hell they found here can't have been worth it."

"Do you think that Louise's baby died from her injuries or do you think maybe it was never going to survive?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I was pregnant. When you died. Obviously I'm not anymore. I just can't help wondering if that was my last chance. Assuming that humans and aliens can't procreate because they're different species. Maybe that little baby wasn't viable."

"You almost died during the abortion, didn't you? I could feel it. Noah almost killed you again, huh? Oh, I need a minute."

After Max leaves Michael offers to be a sperm donor for Isobel if she ever wants to have a kid.

Liz at the Detainment Center

"It's Ortecho. Arturo Ortecho. He's my dad. And he needs gliclazide and beta-blockers. I brought both."

"We can't take contraband here, but there is an infirmary on-site, if he's here."

"You know, out of curiosity, did Nebane Abienwi visit an infirmary before he died of a brain bleed in your custody? What about Johana Medina León? She was 25 years old, okay? People walk through those doors and they die...Who's your supervisor? You need prior approval before conducting enforcement in a hospital. There was a compliance memo."

"Right, a memo, which is just like a law only not. Unless you calm down, I'm gonna arrest you for obstruction."

"Okay, Liz, maybe sit down. Sir, I'm Deputy Jenna Cameron, and we appreciate your interpretation of your guidelines, but we have an urgent health concern about an inmate here, if you just wouldn't mind checking the system."

Jenna goes with the agent…when she returns...

"Do you have a court case next week for a vandalism charge?"

"What? Yes, but I didn't do it. I'm just gonna plead guilty and pay the fine. It's nothing."

"They denied your dad's green card application because of a misdemeanor on your record. You can't be his sponsor."

Jenna's headaches overtake her. Meanwhile, the ICE agent comes back with news:

"Here just came up. Ortecho is being transferred to El Paso for his deportation hearing. You can see him there around Tuesday."

--Liz's misdemeanor is taking the fall for Rosa's vandalism from when she was arrested by Sheriff Valenti in 2x02.

Gregory takes the Pod Squad to see Harrison who is on his death bed. Manes boys are always welcome here, the woman tells them. Harrison is the only one Louise ever spoke to on the reservation.

"He met my great uncle Tripp Manes fighting in WWII. Harry was a code talker."

Michael gets Gregory to leave with him so that Max and Isobel can go inside of Harrison's head. Their conversation:

"You look like her."

"Harrison. You look different."

"That was a lesson I learned from Louise. How to take your mind to a better time when you're in pain. Come on. I haven't seen the sky in a while. I'll tell you about her...I taught Tripp the codes in the Pacific. That's how we set up the rescue. He was supposed to snuggle Louise and Nora here, but the plan fell apart."

In the past between Harrison and Tripp:

"You've changed. The man I met on that ship obeyed orders."

"Guess I saw what happens when good men fall in line with bad orders. I'm a Christian, Harry. When evil itself tells me to kill a woman with child, I disobey. Even if the evil looks just like my brother."

A nurse rolls Louise into the room in a wheelchair.

"Did you find a family for her?"

"There should be music where you take her. I think she's a dancer."

"You can give her a house full of music, Louise. Nora wanted me to protect you so that you could protect the child."

"No. He's coming for me and I can't even move. No. When the devil comes, I won't be able to fight for her. Please. It is hard to be a woman on your planet. It's only gonna be harder still for her. Roy Bronson believed in meeting hatred with compassion. And I want her to be like him. A light in the darkness. A little star on the ground. I want that for both my girls."

"Where did he take the baby?"

"Can't say."

"No. Tell us where our sister went."

"She isn't your sister. Louise rarely spoke, but when she did, she spoke of two daughters. Two stars on the ground. She had no sons. You aren't hers. You came from something else...She lived for decades longer than she should have, trapped inside of a body that could no longer dance, waiting for a sign that you would be all right. She loved you."

Jenna wakes up back at the hospital.

"I asked them to run a new test. Your headaches are spinal headaches. Because there was a hole torn into your spinal cord."

"I'm sorry, what? My kidnappers gave me a spinal tap?"

"Do you mind signing off so I can look at your tox screen?"

"Yeah, of course, but, Liz, you don't have to do this, okay? Your dad, and…"

"I need a distraction. I can't leave for El Paso until tomorrow, and they're not letting him have visitors other than his lawyer until Tuesday, so...thank you for being here. You used your privilege to help me. I'm furious that I needed it, but I needed it."

--Reposado is a type of tequila

--Spinal Headaches:

Isobel and Max on what they learned from Harrison:

"You've always been different than me and Michael, okay? Always. You were the leader. From the start. I mean, you're the special one. You're the healer."

"I was. Now I can't even sneeze without my heart skipping a beat. All my life, no matter how weird things got, I never felt alone. Because I was your twin. Maybe I'm different. Maybe I'm a freak...I can't stop thinking about being chained up when I was a kid. It didn't feel like someone bad chained me up. It felt like I was the someone bad."

"Max, you're not dangerous."

"Saving people destroys me. But killing Noah? That felt good. I was high. And whenever I think about what he did to you, I want to chase that high. I wish I could kill him a thousand times. Louise mentioned the devil. Maybe something evil was chasing them. And maybe that something was me."

"Okay. I want to show you something. You see this hand on her shoulder there? See, Michael thought it was just someone who got cropped out of the photo, but no. Any female would recognize that body language. She does not want that hand on her. Louise said the devil would come. I think something evil was after them, but it wasn't you. I want to find out who it was."

Alex and Gregory:

"Hey, I just wanted to say thank you before we go. I also feel like I should congratulate you on getting out."

"Of the Navy?"

"Of the family. Getting out from under Dad."

"You got to break free of him, man."

"Do you feel free?"

"I don't think I get to be free until you are, Alex. You know, you're my brother. I wish that I would've stood up for you more."

"You know, I think he's actually getting a little bit better. It's like the stroke melted away the psycho in his brain or something."

"If you can forgive him you should. Cast off the stone. Let me hate him for you. I owe you that much."

Back at the trading post with the whole road trip group.

"We scoured the store for jewelry that said Tsela on it, but nada. Although I did manage to spend an entire week's worth of tips anyway."

"Tsela?"

"Yeah it was printed on the back of my grandmother's necklace. I thought I might find some answers here."

"Well, apparently, it is Navajo for star on the ground. So, you guys ready to go?"

"Star on the ground. Maria? What year was your grandmother born?"

"Uh, '48, I think?"

"Was she adopted?"

"Yeah. Oh my God."

"Your grandmother was my sister."

Note: The direct translation of Tsela is stars lying down. Interestingly, it's often a name in Navajo. When I googled it, the top results were names for Navajo boys.

Diego and Liz's conversation:

"Diego, I never would have reached out if it weren't an emergency. Thank your mom for me."

"The Senator was more than happy to call in a favor. She's always liked you."

"I like her too. We need more people like her."

"Look, we got lucky your dad got out at all, much less without an ankle monitor. And you pissed a few people off back there, so it's not likely that this is the end for you. Who's your lawyer? Or should I make some calls?"

"No, you've done enough. After what I did, I can't even believe you listened to my voicemail...How did you get here so fast?"

"I was at the airport in Phoenix when you called. Just had to reroute real fast."

"And how have you been?"

"Well, my fiancée left me. I'm kidding. No, I'm seeing someone. It's getting pretty serious, so…"

"Good. Me too."

"Good. We can be friends...And don't take this the wrong way. Please tell me you're not wasting that incredible brain of yours writing alien hamburger puns."

"I am working on a few projects. Nothing I can talk about, but, I'm not wasting anything."

"Well, all the coolest studies make you sign NDAs anyway, so…"

"You know what? There actually is something...Do you know what butyricol is? Worth a shot. It's this chemical I found in my friend's tox screen. I had never heard of it."

"Maybe you're slacking, Ortecho."

"I am sorry, it has only been a year. Did you literally forget everything about me?"

Note: I'm very pleased to say that when I googled butyricol, half of the top results were RNM related. Definitely not a real drug.

Malex fight in the bunker:

"We're closed!"

"Hey, that alien console piece that Jim Valenti left me...You still have it?"

"No. I sold it on eBay."

"You didn't attach it to your console."

"I tried. Doesn't fit."

"So, Tripp left this for my dad before he died. My dad thought it was a code, but this is a reference sketch of this exact piece. My dad's been looking for this thing for 30 years and Jim Valenti had it all along...I'm gonna give it to him. I want to see what he does with it once he's got it. Look, if it didn't fit in your console, then it fits somewhere else. My dad could lead us there.""Your dad hunts aliens, Alex. He'll lead my family right off a cliff."

"I've protected you so far. That's not changing. Besides, he's different these days...I don't trust him, Guerin. I just…I'm asking you to trust me.""When we were kids, you believed people were good, despite humanity doing everything to prove you otherwise. And, God, I loved you for it. But what was charming when we were 17, it's just stupid now. How do you not see that? You believe there's some good in your father?"

"Yeah. Yeah I do. God forbid I have faith in people who don't give me a good reason to."

"That's not fair."

"No? Why is your hand covered? You miss your injury because you want to hurt. Your anger made you feel safe. I will always hate my father for what he did to you, but I don't want to live in that toolshed for the rest of my life. I don't want to walk around thinking that people don't change, that one day everyone's just gonna let me down, 'cause I am not building a damn rocket ship in a hidden lair. There's one way for me off this planet. And I need to believe in a reason to stay. I promise I'll keep you safe."

"Can't let you leave with that."

"What are you gonna do? Fight me for it?"

And then Alex leaves and is kidnapped. Hit over the head by an unknown assailant. The note from Tripp blows away.

Max and Liz are talking back at Max's house while Max drinks a lot of bourbon.

"You know, you never told me why your parents immigrated here in the first place."

"My dad wanted a family, but not in Juárez. There was no opportunity, no money. Women were disappearing there all the time. He didn't want my mom to be one of them. So he fled. You're wondering why your family came here."

"If I even had a family. I know so little about my own story. And the parts I thought I understood are just unraveling."

"Max. Family is the one area where I am certain that biology does not matter. Look, when I found out that Rosa was only my half sister that didn't change anything."

"This is different...There are only three of us on this planet, as far as we know. I mean, feeling disconnected from them makes me feel completely alone."

"Completely alone? I'm right here."

"When you needed a rescue today your Mensa society, old money son of a senator ex was there to answer your prayers. I couldn't even answer a call. You didn't need me."

"Oh my God. Okay, so would you prefer that I did need you? Would you prefer to come home to find me crying into my dad's windbreaker so that you can swoop me up and drive me to El Paso for his deportation hearing in the morning?"

"That's not fair. You wanted me to talk about today."

"Yes, okay. I'm sorry. I want you to feel better."

"Well, you think maybe you could go back in time and not meet someone as handsome as Diego? Seriously. He's like if someone mixed a cologne ad with a Kennedy. It's ridiculous. I will never feel adequate again."

"You're wrong. Max, let me be clear. You are objectively better in bed...And I never woke up on a Sunday morning to him singing Hank Williams in the shower...He never snuck unreasonable tips into my dad's checks. Or quoted Henry the Fourth. Coming home to you at the end of my worst days and my best days is the only rescue I need."

I actually found this background on the Ortechos to be fascinating. In case you don't know Juárez is a pretty big city directly opposite the border from El Paso. It does have some huge crime issues. But it also is one of those border cities where the border is a little thinner. Like San Diego and Tijuana. People live in Juárez and work in El Paso and vice versa.

If you want to see a really dark & gritty portrayal of Juárez, I'd highly recommend you to check out the American version of the show The Bridge. Which literally deals with an investigation related to disappearing women.

Isobel and Maria at the Pony:

"She looks so determined."

"Yeah, neither of us would be here if she hadn't been. You know she was paralyzed 50 years and she still managed to use her powers to help ease troubled minds. You know how hard that is? To take on someone else's suffering? I mean, it doesn't just disappear. She would have been carrying all of that."

"She suffered so much loss."

"I don't know how to be worth it."

Michael on the bracelet.

"The beads are made with pollen from the alien flower. I found another plant growing at Louise's grave. Okay my working theory is that they grow from alien remains. There's this UFO lore about that Libyan desert where the flowers have been discovered before. You don't have to wear it if you don't want to. I know better than to think I can save Maria DeLuca. I hope you decide you can save yourself."

Max is still drinking after Liz went to bed. At 4:04am Diego calls and wakes her up.

"I made a call, about that toxin in your friend's system. Butyricol. It's a drug. It's a memory eraser. It was developed by a private organization and purchased by the military for weaponization. There's no approved application outside of violent combat."

Liz tries to call Alex, but he's too busy being unconscious in the back of his SUV. So his kidnapper pockets his phone.

Max has a memory flash. There's fighting, weapons clashing, a woman's voice...all while he's chained down in the cave. Louise appears and kneels down to touch his shoulder. He looks afraid, but she's trying to comfort him (even though she has blood splattered all over her white clothes). She smiles and nods and then cuts Max free of the chains with her alien weapon. She offers him her hand, but before he can take it a figure in white appears and he and Louise fight. Max cries out and hides his face.

Present day Max is visibly shook by the flash.

MUSIC:

1. Shelly Fairchild "Worry No More"

2. Powerslide "Just You And I"

3. Will Fox "Against The Tide"

4. Tommee Profitt feat. Sam Tinnesz "Bullet With Butterfly Wings"

#roswell new mexico #details #rnm season 2 #episode details #long post #rnm 210 #american woman

17 notes · View notes