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pendragonfics · 5 years

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Sparks Fly

Paring: Carol Danvers/Reader

Tags: gender-neutral pronouns, gender neutral reader, mutual pining, requited love, idiots in love, awesome Carol Danvers, electricity, electrocution, Terrigen Crystals, fluff, girls kissing, alternate universe - canon divergence, infinity war and endgame? who's she?

Summary: Avenger-in-Training ___________, is a mirror. Ever since they burst out of the Terrigen Crystal with newfound abilities, they were picked up by S.H.I.E.L.D., and sent to be trained by the Avengers. But that's the thing - it's hard to concentrate on training when there's a good book, or, better yet, Captain Marvel herself...

Word Count: 2,524

Current Date: 2019-05-02

You tried to stay away from her, and yet…there was a magnetism that drew you closer. That was all anyone had to say when they talked of Carol Danvers, the first Avenger. If it wasn’t everything about her that made you want to fall to your knees at her presence, there was her abilities, her eyes that could glare into oblivion or sparkle like nebulas…

You shake your head at the thought of her. There wasn’t a chance that she’d be interested in you, let alone like…that. And there wasn’t a chance that she had a clue who you were. Well, apart from the fact that she knew your name, and said hello once in passing in the halls of Stark’s upper New York base…

But that was a fluke, you reminded yourself. She was Captain Marvel. Literally more powerful than the Hulk himself. The tabloids were going off the hook with theories since she’d returned to Earth for good; the story of the poor Carol Danvers, abducted by aliens had been replaced with a mixed review of cynical old men afraid of a powerful woman whose blood ran with energy, and swathes of fans who looked up to her like she was a sun goddess.

Maybe you were just one of those people. You were one of those people. Not in love. Yeah, you weren’t.

You tried to keep to that narrative, but then Tuesday happened.

You were in the workout room, laying on the bench-press with a book. You were supposed to be training; Steve had given you strict orders to not be idle, and yet…the pages of adventure within the cover of The Martian called to you with a stronger song. The Compound was in one of its quiet days; Wanda had taken the week to travel to her hometown to visit her family’s graves, Scott was taking time for family, Thor had found himself a hobby in glassmaking, Bruce and Tony had absconded to Wakanda for a special scientific seminar in the capital, and while Steve and the remaining Avengers took the time to go out for the team-appropriate missions, you were housebound.

It wasn’t too bad, in theory, but it was starting to get to you.

You were almost up to a good part of the book when it was taken from your hands. Furious, you looked up to see James Rhodes striding away with your book, and behind him, Steve.

“I didn’t know you could bench five hundred,” he commented, gesturing to the weights piled onto the side.

Sitting up, you glance at the barbell. It must have been left on from when Thor was somewhat showing off for Dr. Cho yesterday; there was no other people you knew who could even dream to lift that around. But you looked back to Steve, taking in how his jaw was set, elbows jutting out akimbo from resting upon his hips; testing you.

Knowing you’d fail.

“You really do underestimate me,” you reply. Laying down again, you reach for the bar, fingers grasping the metal like a cat latching onto a scratching post. You take a deep breath, knowing most certainly of what will happen - you’ll be crushed. You don’t even mind if it’s because you’d rather do this than admit you’ve been skiving the weights training. “Watch this.”

“___________ -,” Sam interjects, concerned.

But you don’t pay mind. You push upward with all you can, unlatching the bar, and shakily, you lower it. Your abilities are tapping in, mimicking the strength of those closest to you. But even then, it’s hard. Steve stands near, and so does Sam and Clint, but you can only tap into one person at a time. One person to copy.

“What is this, a pissing contest?” Carol speaks up, pushing between Clint and Steve. Her eyes are full of fury and her hair starts to spark with static at the rising of her voice. “I get it, Rogers, you’re angry that ___________ didn’t do what you ordered, but five hundred?” She’s incredulous. “You’re going to kill them!”

Steve doesn’t reply, at least, before you feel a jump under your skin. It’s like pins and needles, except it hurts less, and is so much more number. It’s a different feeling than anything you’ve ever gotten from your abilities, and in the moment, you grasp it, holding it under your skin like a pool toy thrust underwater.

And then you’re lifting the weight, once, twice, three - and you continue to do so until you finish a set. At ten, you place it back in the resting place, and sit up to face Steve.

“It’s okay, I’ve got this covered,” you look to Carol with a little smile. Even as the mimic wears off, you feel a little of the burn, and it fills you with a wave of pride course your veins. Turning to Steve, you say, “I get it, you’re sad, but so am I. And obviously I can’t press five hundred by myself, but…” you grin, feeling the pride rising, heating your ears. “A mirror reflects what it sees, and what I see, is a leader who needs to get off my case.”

You walk off, and as you pass James, you grab your book. Just as you’re at the exit, you turn back to the group, and, with your hand posed as if there’s an invisible microphone in your grasp, you drop it, and walk out.

---

After that, there seems to be no end to your evasion of Carol; simply because wherever you turned, there she was. Making coffee? She’d be sitting on the kitchen bench, talking with Dr. Banner over scrambled eggs. Chilling out and reading in the common area? She’d be watching reruns of the original series of Full House. Taking out the trash? She’d be covered in grease and tinkering with her motorbike. And every single time that you saw her, you became more and more maddened by the feelings you had for her.

It got to the point where something would flare up inside of you at the mere thought of her, which, was unheard of for you. You were a mirror, a mimic. You’d been able to copy anyone with special abilities ever since you’d been subjected to a potent dose of a Terrigen crystal, no exception to the rule. Except…now. You usually needed to have a subject in front of you to copy, but more and more, your body was lighting up with static electricity that zapped at you.

At first, you dismissed the static as just seasonal. It happened to everybody. But when you kept getting little electric shocks, even on things that weren’t conductive, it made you question what you knew. So, you did what you did best in times of confusion: you found an expert.

Dr. Cho had a lab for herself to potter around in - which was code for ‘not in the vicinity of Tony Stark’s tinkering’ - when she was around the Compound. It was well-lit, nicely organised, and rarely visited by those who weren’t in need of something. Which is why it shocked you - pun intended - to see Tony Stark in the lab. Well, it shouldn’t have. He owned the whole place, and it literally paid to be a friend of his.

“Mirror-Mirror, fancy seeing you here,” he greeted you with a signature smile. “What brings you to my favourite medic’s wing?”

“Mr. Stark,” Dr. Cho shook her head, “This is the only medic’s wing in the building.”

You chuckled at Helen’s response, but answered the Iron Man. “Well, Shell-Head, I happen to need a doctor.” You gave him a wan smile, approaching he and Dr. Cho slowly, “and while Dr. Banner can practice a few different kinds of medicine, I so-happen to prefer this practitioner.”

Helen beamed. “You’re too kind, ___________.”

At that, you went to walk toward them. But it seemed that with every step that you took toward the two out of three parents of Ultron (and ultimately, Vision), your body lit up with the electricity. It felt like the static you’d use to get as a kid by touching too-hot car doors or the play-ground slippery-dip, but much, much worse. With every step it worsened, until it got too much, and leaning onto a bench, your fingers zapped at the tabletop, and raised the hair on your arms.

“If it’s not too much,” you whimpered, “I need a diagnosis, please.”

Strangely enough, Stark left without another word, leaving you alone with a very perplexed doctor before you. She approached tentatively and touched one of your limbs with a plastic rod. The both of you watched as it conducted a little electric zap. Humming in approval, she looked to you.

“This looks like something I’m not quite sure of…” she frowned, and touching your hand with her bare hand, received no shock at all. “That’s curious…” she whispered.

“Everything about me at the moment is curious,” you whined, placing your head flush against the bench. A zap echoed as your forehead touched the metal, and you winced. “Ow.”

---

Until the medical professionals work out why you’re a walking phone charger, you’re benched from Avengers activities. Which, even if you weren’t actively doing before, kind of bums you out now. Being stuck in your room is nobody’s picnic, and even after you finish watching all the available episodes of The Good Place on the streaming service, you’re still full of energy.

Damn the sparkles. Damn your abilities. Damn everything.

Simmering with activity, you push your laptop away, and begin to pace the room. But even then, you stop, because looking down, you realise that you’ve started to scorch the floating floors around your room with distinct foot-shaped sears. Deciding against running a hand across your face for fear of accidently frying it, you look to the window, and see the fire escape. It was a remanent of the past, when Howard Stark had this facility kitted out to be something of a base than as a living area for people who were the Earth’s first and last line of defence.

Since there’s no-one around to say no, you go to the window, and clambering out, climb onto the roof. Once up there, you’re met with silence. It’s not a bad kind of silence, like when you’re alone with your thoughts and trapped in a crystal catacomb by a terrorist. It’s…good. It’s a clear night, but on the horizon, behind the still-fading sun, there’s a storm brewing. You can tell by the clouds. Thor is still away in Italy, so it can’t be him. You settle into a comfortable position and watch as it creeps over the hills.

But it doesn’t. It’s the most curious kind of sunset, and in almost a doomsday fashion, the bright spot comes nearer. If you weren’t an Avenger-in-Training, you’d be considerably more afraid. But since you regularly interacted with weird things and once met the Wolverine (who was horrified at your abilities, by the way), you kept your cool. Which was good. Because as the bright spot neared, you started to see a face, and you recognised the meteor-esque flying object to be none other than Carol Danvers.

She landed ceremoniously beside you, sitting with her knees raised, hands resting upon them. Her suit looked so good, and even better with her in it. Just thinking that made your feel a flush of embarrassment, and as she looked to you, you ducked your head into your chest.

“Any news?” she says, giving you a smile that made your heart flutter.

You blink, mind blanker than a fresh ream of printing paper. “…”

Carol leans back onto the roof, gazing at the sky that coated the world around you with a growing smattering of stars. “About the zapping thing you’ve got.” She says. You must look visibly mortified, and she adds, “I talked to a couple of people. It doesn’t look fun.”

You look at your hands. Bringing your fingers near to one another, you watch as little shocks traverse between them. “To be honest, I’m not sure if it’s so bad.”

Carol nods. “I didn’t like my thing when I first got it,” she says, bringing two fists to her chest, and with a pumping motion, shoots two photon beams from her body. “…but it depends on how you look at it.”

Your brain is almost like static, but you manage to process her words. “it’s just…when I got hit with the crystal, I thought I knew what I was. I’m a mimic, and yet, I’m like a walking Vegas light show for some reason.”

Carol laughs, and says, “Have you been to Nevada?”

“Not for a while.”

“Well, when you’re not grounded to this base, and I’m not on a mission, let’s go.” She tells you. “It’s been a while since I was last there.”

You feel your pulse quicken under your skin, and as you swallow, you feel your skin prickle with static. “You want to go? With me?” you ask, dumbfounded.

Carol nods. “Yeah. Well, because Maria has her own Captain Trouble to take care of these days, and while I’m sure Stark would love to take a trip down to the desert, I’d rather go with you.”

The sun has started to properly set now. The sky has begun to pick up colours through the clouds in the sky, and the stars that glisten on the other side of the horizon sparkle like diamonds or shards of glass. It’s like a Bob Ross painting, and you’re in it, and so is Carol.

“Why me?” you wonder, voice small.

She beams, like the shooting star that she is, and leans close. She and you are the only ones outside, and other than who’s in the base, the only ones for miles. She doesn’t need to lean close to you, but she does.

“Because,” she says, slowly, tantalisingly, “I’m kind of into you.”

“Holy shit,” you whisper. It’s not the ideal answer, but Carol’s face lights up at it. “That’s…I like you too,” you tell her, so quiet, that it could almost be carried away with the wind. But she heard it. Slowly, you felt a magnetism again, and this time, stronger than ever. Your hands touched hers, and leaning closer, you felt yourself drawing toward her, closer, closer -

“___________,” Carol breathes, your name heavenly in her mouth, “You’re glowing.”

Opening your eyes, you see that you are. Like a Christmas tree strung with so many battery-powered globes. You watch as it dims, but instead of it fading away, the light that had encompassed you, all the sparks that flew and the fireworks that boomed in your belly, they passed through your hands, seeping into Carol’s skin.

You retract your hand from hers, and as you replace it to lean once again on the roof, you miss the feeling that came before.

“I’m not static anymore,” you gasp.

Carol shivers, unbidden. From her shoulders, sparks fly. “I think I’m your cure, then.”

“Hell yeah you are,” you grin, closing the distance between your mouth and hers once again.

#carol danvers #captain marvel #carol danvers x reader #carol danvers/reader #captain marvel x reader #captain marvel/reader #marvel fanfic #marvel x reader #Avengers #avengers x reader #chaotic--lovely #pendragonfics #Female reader #f/f #gender neutral reader

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neverwatchedonepiece · 6 years

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473-474: “The Encircling Walls Activated! the Whitebeard Pirates Backed into a Corner!” and “Execution Order Issued! Break Through the Encircling Walls!”

Outrageous, Doflamingo? I think the word you are looking for is awesome.

I’m glad I watched two episodes this time. 473 seemed to be a prep episode and the dramatic payoff was delivered in 474. Like Whitebeard, I’m having a bad feeling about three (potential) foreshadowing moments in 474. I hope I’m wrong, but Oda has been hammering home the message for a while now and it conforms with a well-worn trope. 474 wasn’t all doom and gloom, though. There was an amazing revival and a scene that genuinely made me say “Wow...” out loud.

You just can’t rely on tech, Sengoku.

For most of 473, the Marine’s Advanced Wall Tech fell victim to Aokiji doing his job a little too well. Sengoku ordered the raising of the Encircling Walls. Except, Aokiji’s vast sheet of ice made it difficult for the mechanism raising the wall to work. Sengoku spent 473 sweatdropping at the fact Whitebeard was charging straight at the scaffold. He had faith that the tech would work, however, and the Marines gradually stole away inside, leaving Kumas and Pirates on the battlefield.

While charging after Luffy, Ivankov noticed this (as only a season Revolutionary Army commander could, I suppose). Jimbei acknowledged it, but what could they do about it?

Sengoku continued to sweatdrop. “Are they ready yet?” he kept asking, as the distant dot that was a raging Whitebeard grew larger. But the ice would not budge. The gears were not grinding, though Sengoku’s certainly were.

Enter Vice-Admiral John Giant, who decided to act as hype fodder for Whitebeard buy Sengoku time and have a swing at Whitebeard. I loved the guy’s name and I loved this whole sequence. John Giant and Whitebeard clashed blades. Whitebeard told him to move it, then pulled off a literal power move. He grabbed the fabric of reality with his bare hands, tore it and the earth literally shifted. Then he air-crack punched John Giant so hard he was sent screaming back towards Sengoku. The only reason the scaffold wasn’t destroyed was because the Admirals deflected the human missile.

Courtesy of Whitebeard, Marineford is ruined, the land is tilting at a very strange angle, many ships were sunk and Luffy almost fell into a chasm, only to be saved by Jimbei. Again. xD

(What would happen if Luffy fell into a hole like that? Would he bounce? I’m still uncertain why he wasn’t able to stretch out his arms to full capacity to pull himself back out. Is he tired?)

Amidst the chaos, Doflamingo laughed maniacally, as you would if you were a few ants short of a picnic.

I loved how the Admirals bickered among themselves when John Giant fell victim to Whitebeard hype:

Aokiji: “The walls aren’t ready yet. That’s what’s causing this mess.” Akainu: “Your ice is blocking them!” Kizaru: “Can’t you just melt it?”

Or... you could have Sengoku order full power directed to the walls, which did the job in the end. Well, sort of. The vast, steel walls reinforced to counter Whitebeard’s power, and kitted out with hundreds of cannons looked pretty impenetrable. Then Sengoku turned to Akainu and said, “Do it.”

I thought, oh, that’s an interesting order. Another scheme cooked up between the two Absolute Justice Friends. Akainu’s trick was awesome, I have to admit. When the Fiery Fists of Justice rained down from above, the anime team went mad with red-tinged frames, flashes of white and images of pirates being punched to oblivion, boiled by lava-melted ice, caught by cannon fire or predatory kumas. The Whitebeard Pirates and Allies did look on the ropes and I did worry for a moment.

Thank goodness Little Oars Jr was slumped over the final panel, leaking blood into the mechanism, eh?

Trapped!

It was round about this time in episode 474 that the Ominous Foreshadowing moments appeared.

The action briefly cut to The Rest of the World Via Sabaody. Turns out the other Rookie crews had gathered clandestinely to watch the war (it sounds so weird saying that, like they’re watching a World Cup match and people aren’t dying). I liked seeing the reactions of some of the captains. Bonney seemed to be devastated by the news Whitebeard sold out his allies. Trafalgar Law didn’t believe a word. Apoo was aware of World Government propaganda and knew why the feed had been cut. I can’t remember what Kidd said. But Hawkins drawing the Death card is ominous.

I don’t know anything about tarot, so I had to google it. Apparently, cards have different meanings if they’re upside down or not. Hawkin’s card is not upside down, so it could mean:

- the ending of a major phase or aspect of your life that may bring about the beginning of something far more valuable and important

- a time of significant transformation, change and transition

- elements of a sudden and unexpected change. You may feel as though you are caught in the path of sweeping change and cannot escape its effects. Though the immediate thought is toward the negative, an end need not mean failure.

At first, I thought, how does this apply to Luffy? But then I realised it might be more appropriate to apply it to the future of Piracy as a whole. Doflamingo is obsessed with the New Era and how dreams are obsolete. Blackbeard thinks that’s a load of old shite, but both he and his crew are obsessed with fate and being caught paths of sweeping change, unable to escape their effects. Everyone needs to move on after this and where the future will take pirates, no one knows, but I’m guessing there will be major changes afoot. Maybe some of the hot shit new rookies will take up the mantle and drive it forward. Who knows?

This made it more obvious that change is afoot.

That moment was sad. I wanted to reach through the screen and punch Akainu for bombing the Moby Dick. I’m still not over Merry and seeing a ship that was symbolic of the absolute pinnacle of piracy: of freedom, comradeship, power and discovery actually made me die inside a little. Not to mention the very symbol of Whitebeard snapped off in the flames and was trampled on the ground. That is a big giveaway.

Whitebeard looked back, his eyes reflecting the firelight and said, “I’m sorry...” to his grand, old faithful ship and... Ugh.

I wonder what the little ship spirit said back?

I have the funniest feeling the Death card could also be interpreted literally. Like, Whitebeard is going to die, which I don’t really want but all the flags are there. He’s old, not what he used to be, he’s just been stabbed through the chest, his Jolly Roger is in flames, trampled on the ground and his ship - the symbol of his glory - is a smoldering wreck at the bottom of the sea.

But then again...

Oars is Alive: Death or Glory!

The fact that Oars is alive gives me hope that all the death foreshadowing this episode might amount to nothing. I was wrong about Oars (nice time to take a nap btw, Oars, ffs).

I did like when Marco said to Squard, “Oars is still fighting” even though he was flat out, basically hinting, “Get out there, stop crying and make it up to Whitebeard.” Oars resolve was also symbolic in a way. His path and the literal blood he shed was the only way forward. When Luffy made his last forward charge down the only narrow opening left, the anime team even backlit Oars’ body to resemble a fiery light at the end of the tunnel. Death or glory!

Ace is still not having a great time. He couldn’t watch as Luffy was blasted away by cannon fire and sunk into the water in front of his. Only Jimbei’s timely response saved Luffy from drowning. (Jimbei for Man of the Match, honestly. I wonder how many times he’s saved Luffy so far?)

It fell to Jimbei again when Luffy realised he had no hope of charging straight into cannon fire with as much aforethought an angry rhinoceros.

That moment when Luffy appeared in front of the Admirals in a pillar of water, swinging a chunk of mast genuinely made me say, “Wow...” aloud. I bet the screenshot above was taken from the manga. It looks like it should have been. A lot of care’s gone into it. It looks great.

Again, the Admirals’ reactions were interesting.

Akainu: You're standing tall, Dragon's son. I praise you just for your tenacity.

Kizaru: What makes you think you can beat us?

Aokiji: You’ve not leveled up enough to have a crack at us yet, son.

Well, Luffy’s gonna try! That frozen mast shattered into pieces by a Stamp Gatling might give him enough cover to pull off a miracle.

Looking forward to the next one now. Now Luffy’s at the scaffold, it’s getting good.

After rehearsing for weeks in Akainu’s bedroom, Sengoku finally lets the Admirals show off their dance routine.

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