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Heal My Heart - Chapter 2

November 2007 (Y/N) POV

“Caramel Iced Latte for Victor” I yelled out as I placed the cup of coffee on the edge of the counter. I turned and headed back over towards the register.

“That has to be a record. You have the drinks done in like five seconds.” Tati said as I shrugged my shoulders.

“I just feel like I wouldn’t want to wait so why make others wait…”

“Still it’s impressive.” She said as I nodded my head. “What time is the game on Sunday?”

“1 pm” I commented as she nodded her head.

We were well into the season and this Sunday we would be set to play against Stanford. I was both nervous and excited. One the one hand, it’s Stanford and they have had one hell of a season. On the other hand, I would get to see Christen so that was super exciting.

My time here at Berkeley has been pretty great so far. I am doing well in all my classes and I haven’t got to stressed out yet. Trying to manage a job, classes, training, and traveling for games has been a little hectic but not too bad yet.

“Hey.” I turned from my conversation with Tati to see Alex and Blake. “You look like you’re having fun.”

“It’s work.” I commented as they both smiled.

“oh, don’t lie…we have so much fun.” Tati said as I shook my head.

“Okay so…Katie is going to approach you about going to a party on Friday night and I for one would like for you to say no.” Blake said as I stared at her.

“Why?”

“I don’t want to go. If you don’t go, I don’t have to go.” She reasoned as I thought about it.

“I’m going. It’s going to be fun and you should both come as well.” Alex said as she glanced at the menu above me.

“Which party is it?” Tati asked as I immediately started making Alex’s drink. She had yet to order, but she always got the same drink.

“Fraternity.” Blake said with a frown on her face.

“Which one?”

“Alpha Delta Pi.”

“No, I know some of them. We should all go.” Tati said as I glanced at her. I grabbed Alex’s drink and set it on the counter just as she opened her mouth to order.

“How did you know I was going to get that?”

“You come in here and look at the menu and then order the same thing every time.” I said with a smile as she rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I don’t know if I am going to go.”

“Why wouldn’t you go? What other plans do you have?”

“Maybe I have to work.” I shrugged as Tati gave me a look.

“You know I make your schedule, right?”

“That sounds like power of abuse.”

“If you don’t go, then we can hangout away from everyone else.” Blake said with a giant smile. “We can like play video games or something.”

“See that sounds like more fun than going to a party. A quiet night in.”

“You are both losers. You’ll go with Katie and I, though right?” Alex asked giving Tati a hopeful look.

Tati grinned at the forward and nodded her head. Alex’s face lit up at the news. It was no secret to me that Alex had the biggest crush on Tati. I assume it’s why she comes into the coffee shop so often which is how I know her habits really well. The way she looks at Tati reminds me a lot of how I look at Christen. So, I have a little sympathy for her.

“Great!”

“You better find something fun for us to do.” I said looking at Blake who nodded her head.

“It’s not hard to entertain you…I find it to be similar to playing fetch with a dog.”

“You’re comparing me to a dog?” I questioned as she turned with Alex to walk away.

“It’s because you’re so loyal.” Tati said as I frowned.

A little later in the day I finally made it back to my dorm room. I had pretty much collapsed into bed right after my shift at the shop. I was somewhat grateful that Blake didn’t want to go to the party considering that I really did just want a night in and not to do anything crazy.

“Are you playing on Sunday?” I turned my head and stared at Blake.

“Yeah I should be.” I mumbled as she nodded her head. “Why?”

“Trying to decide if I am going to go. I don’t want to go alone.”

“Tati and Katie are both going so I am sure you can hangout with them.”

“Yeah…” she said seemingly getting lost in thought.

It didn’t take me long after that for me to fall into a deep sleep. The next couple days seemed to pass by like my usual routine. Work on Tuesday. Classes on Wednesday. Work on Thursday. Classes on Friday with a shift and practice somewhere in there. I had practice almost every day and they seemed to be at the most inconvenient times. By the time Friday night came, I was exhausted from the week. I knew deciding to stay in with Blake was a better idea than going out.

“So, what did you decide for us to do?” I questioned as Blake glanced up at me.

“I don’t know. I thought we could wing it.” I stared at her as I shrugged my shoulders.

We ended up watching a few movies including Charlies Angels and Scary Movie 2. It was about 10 pm when I looked over at my friend.

“You know what we should do…”

“what?”

“We should watch charmed.” She nodded her head getting up to put the discs in. While she did that, I took a moment to check some of my messages. I had a few from Katie and Alex both telling me I was lame for not going. A couple from my mom and one from Christen. I immediately checked Christens message because she is usually my main priority.

I can’t wait to see you when Stanford comes to beat you.

“What a nerd…” I mumbled as I sent her back a quick text.

“Who?”

“A friend of mine.” I said as she snorted.

“You have friends?”

“I do surprisingly enough. She goes to Stanford. She plays for their team.”

“So, you’ll play her on Sunday?”

“Yep.”

We started watching charmed and managed to get through a few episodes before calling it a night. The next day seemed to pass in a blur before it was Sunday. I thought I would be a little more nervous, but I was just super excited to see Christen.

“Wake up!” I rolled my eyes opening to see Alex grinning at me. “It’s game day!”

“I am aware of what day it is.”

“Aren’t you excited?”

“Yes, let’s go…” I mumbled as she turned to walk down the hall. “Blake! I’ll see you later.”

“Okay.” She said as I exited the room heading towards Edwards Stadium. The game was in about 4 hours, but because it was the Stanford game we had to be there earlier.

Once we arrived, I took note that the Stanford players had yet to arrive. We got to the locker room and placed our stuff down.

“I really hope we win. I think I might cry otherwise.” Val said as I nodded my head.

“I just want to win because it’s Stanford and I would rather die than lose to them.” Torrey said as I chuckled.

“Is this a bad time to mention I have a couple friends on the team?” I asked as they all shook their heads at me.

“They are dead to you until after the game.” Alex said as I rolled my eyes.

“You’re so extreme.” I joked as she nodded her head.

“I’m going for a walk.” She said as she grabbed my arm pulling me with her.

“Why do I have to go on this walk with you?” I questioned earning a shrug from the forward. “How was your night with Tati?”

She whipped her head around and stared at me. Her cheeks burned red as I chuckled. She shook her head trying to hide her smile.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, your reaction to my question tells me that…”

“It wasn’t a big deal.” She said looking anywhere else but me

“It wasn’t?”

“No…but like we danced together, and she walked me back to my dorm. She said she wanted to make sure I got home safe.”

“Did she now? Where was Katie?”

“She went home with someone.” I grinned at that.

“Of course, she did. Did you try to make a move on?”

“No! I could never…I don’t think she is interested.” She sighed as I threw an arm around her.

“You’ll never know if you don’t try…”

“What if it ruins our friendship though? I mean…we have a really nice friendship and I don’t want to tell her how I feel and then it be ruined.”

“I know, but you will never know if she feels the same if you don’t try…” I reasoned earning a small frown from the other girl.

“Maybe…what about you?”

“What about me?” I looked to her as she stopped and stared at me.

“Don’t you like anyone? We’ve been in school now for a few months…hasn’t anyone caught your eye?”

“Not really…I don’t really think anyone here is worth my time.” Also, I love someone else.

She went to respond before we heard the sound of a bus. We both turned in time to see the Stanford bus rolling into the stadium. I tried to hide my excitement at seeing it. It came to a full stop as the doors opened and people started filing off of it. It took everything in me not to jump with joy when my eyes fell onto one Christen Press.

“Wait…Chris wait up…” I heard Kelley say coming off the bus and throwing an arm around her. I frowned a little feeling a little jealousy inside of me at the action but ultimately I decided to ignore it.

“We should get back to the locker room.” Alex said as I looked at her.

“Why can’t we say hi?” I frowned as she shook her head grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the locker room.

“Dead to you remember.”

“But…”

“No Buts.” She said as we entered the room. I had a frown as Alex addressed the group. “Stanford is here.”

“Great.” Val muttered as I shook my head.

We waited a little while until it was closer to kick off to go out and start our warm ups. They didn’t last long as I tried to stay focused on the warm ups and not the Stanford girls. Though, I did note that Kelley and Christen seemed close. I tried to continue fighting down that feeling of jealousy, but it was becoming more difficult. At one point, I did make eye contact with Christen and we shared a wave. I wanted to go properly greet the forward, but at the risk of my own safety in my team I decided not to.

It wasn’t long before we were getting ready to lineup in the tunnel to walk out. I took that as my chance to greet Christen who was standing talking to Kelley. It was the blonde that noticed me first as she stepped out of the line and came towards me to give me a hug.

“Hi! I missed you.” Kelley said as I hugged her back.

“Hey Kel…I missed you too.” I said as I turned and let go of her to pull the other girl in for a hug. We stood for a moment hugging as Christen practically squeezed the life out of me.

“Hey Chris…” I pulled back a little as she grinned at me.

“I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too.”

“I totally forgot that you guys know each other and was like really offended that you seem more excited to see her than me.” Kelley said as I laughed.

“Yeah, we go way back…” I said still having my arm around the forward.

Eventually, I let her go as we walked out. The game got off to a quick start as I attempted to help the defense keep both Christen and Kelley contained. We didn’t do too bad in the first half, but the second half was much more difficult. Our efforts were pointless as we went down 3-0 with a goal from Kelley and a brace from Christen. I was eventually subbed out in the 86th minute.

“Well, this sucks…” Alex said as I sat next to her on the bench.

“You had a good game…” I tried to make her feel better as she shot me a glare.

“No, I didn’t…” she mumbled as I threw an arm around her. She leaned her head on my shoulder. Once the game ended, we stood and started shaking the hands of the other girls. When I got to Christen, I hugged her with a small pout earning a laugh from her.

“I’m sorry.” She said as I laughed.

“No, you’re not…”

“I’m not.” I looked down before giving her a small smile.

“Are you guys leaving right away?” I asked as she nodded with a small pout of her own. I sighed as she hugged me again.

“I’ll miss you. Are you going home for thanksgiving?”

“I was planning on it. Are you?”

“Yes. We will hangout then…” she said as I nodded my head. We smiled at each other before I felt an arm get thrown aggressively around me. I turned to see Kelley grinning at me.

“Better luck next time.” She said as I frowned at her.

“Don’t be mean.” Christen said as Kelley shook her head.

“That sounded sarcastic, but I am being serious.” She commented as I smiled looking down.

“Thanks Kelley.” I said gratefully as she gave me a wide smile

“If it makes you feel any better, you’ll probably get a call up to the senior national team before any of us…”

“Doubtful but thank you.”

“It’s not. You are one of the most talented defenders I have ever seen.”

“Thanks!” I said as she kept her arm around me. Christen ended up getting pulled away as Kelley and I continued talking.

“So, can I ask you something?”

“What’s up?”

“So, Christen and I have a date tomorrow and I know she-”

“What?” I cut her off staring at her in disbelief as she stopped talking for a moment.

“What?”

“You guys are dating?” She gave me a confused look before nodding her head.

“I mean…it’s not like super serious, but we’ve been on a few dates.”

“Oh…It just took me by surprise…what’s your question?”

“Where should I take her? Like, what are some of her favorite places?”

“You should take her…” I debated on actually helping for a moment before deciding that I wasn’t a mean person. “Take her somewhere that it can just be you guys…she likes to talk and have deep conversations and stuff so somewhere that you can just enjoy your time together should be good.”

“That is…really helpful actually.” She grinned at me as I smiled. “Thanks.”

“Yeah of course…” she moved to walk away from me. “Truffle Fries. She loves truffle fries so…”

“Got it!” I stood their trying to decide if I want to scream or cry. I turned to try to find my friends before I heard my name being called.

“(Y/N)!” I stopped when Christen caught up to me. She gave me a bright smile, but all I could muster up was a small smile.

“I was hoping to see you before you left.”

“Here I am” I stood there awkwardly as she gave me a confused look.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah…just bummed about the loss.” I lied as she gave me a sad smile.

“I am sorry.” I nodded my head pulling her in for a hug.

“Don’t be. I am so proud of you.”

She hugged me back as we stood for a moment. I let go of her as she was called to join her team.

“I’ll see you at thanksgiving?” she questioned as I nodded my head at her. “Great!”

“Good luck on your date tomorrow.” I said as she faltered for a moment as I immediately turned to walk away. I could feel her eyes on me as I made my way towards my team. I joined the huddle they were in as we were given a pep talk from the coach.

“You okay?” I turned towards Torrey as I thought for a moment.

“I’m alright. Bummed about the loss.” I responded as she nodded her head.

“Yeah, I feel you…” she muttered as I made my way towards Alex who was talking with Blake, Katie, and Tati.

“Hey, you did great buddy…” Katie said as I stared at her. I gave her a small smile before Tati spoke.

“Why don’t we go to the coffee shop and get some snacks and stuff? I’ll even pay for it.”

“I don’t want to. I’d rather just go back to my room.”

“I’m down for free food.” Blake said as Katie nodded her head.

“It could be fun.” Alex said with a slight blush as I smiled.

“Yeah, I’m still not down to go.” I said as they all gave me sad looks.

“Come on…” Tati whined as I shook my head.

“No. You guys go ahead…I am going to head back to our room.” I said as they all continued giving me sad looks.

“You want me to come with you?” Blake asked as I thought about it for a moment.

“No, I can get there on my own and plus you seemed excited to go.”

“okay well…we will see you back at the dorms then…”

I waved to them all as I started the walk back to my room. I was lost in thought as I tried to think of anything other than the fact that Christen was dating Kelley. She said it wasn’t serious, but I was still extremely bothered by the news. I loved Christen. I never thought she was an option though and to find out that she is just hurts.

It’s also the fact that she knows that I am gay and yet she didn’t tell me that she at least had an interest as well. I keep trying to wrap my head around it. Like, did she not trust me enough to tell me? Maybe we aren’t as close as I thought we were.

Before I knew it, I was back in my room. I entered the room and stopped. I let the silence engulf me as I stood there by myself. I felt my eyes start to sting and my chest begin to tighten up. I don’t know what the proper response to this situation is supposed to be. I don’t know what to do or say. All I want to do is curl up into a ball and die. I dropped my stuff onto the floor and walked over sitting onto my bed. I sat there for a moment before I heard my phone beep.

Hey, can I call you later?

Beep.

Please let me explain.

Beep.

(Y/N) I just need to talk to you.

Beep.

I’m sorry.

I stared at my phone for a moment wanting nothing more than to answer and tell her that it is okay. I am okay. I am not mad. I tossed my phone to the side as my thoughts took over. I am hurt and angry and sad and heartbroken. She won’t even understand all the reasons either.

I laid down and finally let the tears fall freely. I sat there crying silently for a few minutes before a choked sob finally escaped. I buried my face into my hands as I tried to find a little composure. I was finding nothing though.

I’m not entirely sure how long I was crying before sleep found me. The next time I opened my eyes it was dark in the room as my stomach ached. My eyes felt dry as my body ached. I stood up stretching just a little as I recalled the events of the day and the pain washed over me again.

I picked up my phone to see a few messages from Blake, Alex, Christen, Kelley, and my mom. Blake and Alex both asking if I was okay and Blake asking me if I wanted her to bring me food. Christen continuously texting me about the news I got today and Kelley asking me if I was okay because Christen was freaking out. My mom just telling me she heard about the loss and that I just needed to keep my head up. I smiled at that one.

I replied to her first thanking her before texting Blake and Alex back letting them know I am okay, and that some food would be nice if they pass anything interesting. I stared at the messages from Kelley and Christen trying to decide what to say. Kelley really had no clue that this was even a problem, but it didn’t take away the fact that she was dating someone I loved. It didn’t take away from the fact that Christen is dating someone I happen to be good friends with. This whole situation is fucked up. I keep trying to convince myself that it’s okay and I can get through this, but I don’t feel like I can.

I decided against responding and ignoring the forward. I moved to take a shower and try to do some homework. It wasn’t long after my shower that Blake and Katie showed up back to the room. They came in with burgers from In N Out. I smiled when she came over handing me the bag.

“We decided to be nice because you seemed so sad earlier.” Blake said as I smiled at her.

“Thanks.” I mumbled as I pulled the food out and started eating. “How was the café?”

“It was good. Alex stayed because she and Tati were in deep conversation about shit, we didn’t care about.” Katie said as I smiled

“Good for them.” I commented earning amused smiles from both girls.

“I have a thing so I will see you guys later.” Katie said turning and walking out of the room.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Blake asked as I stared at her. I nodded my head slightly as she raised a brow at me. “You know…we’ve lived together for almost three months and I feel like I can tell when you’re upset…”

“It’s nothing. Just got some unpleasant news today. It’s really not a big deal.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” I mumbled turning back towards my homework. “Thanks for the food.”

I could feel her eyes on me for a few moments before she seemed to realize I wasn’t going to acknowledge her. She went into the bathroom as I looked over for a moment. No one was going to benefit with this, and nothing will change so might as well just not say anything.

The next couple weeks were spent doing my best to isolate myself. This meant going to work, school, practice, and then home. I went out less with my friends and even skipped class a few times to avoid having to interact with them. Blake has tried multiple times to call me out on my behavior, but I ignored all her attempts to get me talk.

Both relief and dread filled me at the thought of going home for the upcoming break. I was getting to go be with my family, but it also meant Christen would be able to find me and talk with me much easier. I had been avoiding all her messages and calls because I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t want to talk about the storm going on in my head. For the moment, I was relieved because my mom had just arrived, and I was on my way down to meet up with her.

“Not going to say goodbye?” I turned to face Blake who was leaning outside of our room as I was at the end of the hall about to walk out.

“I’ll be back on Sunday.” I said as she shook her head.

“That’s so not the point. Look, I don’t know what the hell is going on with you, but I do know something is wrong. You haven’t been yourself lately.”

“How would you know?” I asked as she stopped and stared at me. “We’re roommates. Not friends.”

I turned and walked out to go meet my mom. When I got down and was outside, I regretted snapping at her. It’s not her fault that things have sucked for me a lot. She didn’t do anything wrong. There was nothing I could do at the moment, so I just went to go meet my mom. I smiled when I spotted her car and got into it.

“My baby.” She said pulling me towards her and kissing my forehead multiple times.

“Mom.” I complained with a smile as she gave me a wide smile.

“I am just so happy to see you.” She said as I nodded my head.

“Me too.” I said feeling happy for the first time since I found out about Christen and Kelley.

The drive home was long, but I used it to catch up with my mom. She filled me in on what she had been up to since I had been gone. Obviously, we talked pretty much every day, but it was still nice to talk with her. Once we arrived at the house, I immediately beelined it for my room to put my stuff down.

“My baby!” I heard as I was engulfed into the arms of my grandmother. “Look at you…I have missed you dearly…let me tell you it has been a drag since you left.”

I grinned at her as my mom rolled her eyes. She winked at me as I made my way to sit at the counter. My mom was moving around the kitchen as my grandmother started spilling all her usual gossip to me.

“I tell you…Gina can’t tell you what’s going on in that book her book club is reading, but she can sure tell you which of the housewives are hooking up with who…”

“Oh please, we all know the book club is a cover for the hot gossip of the town.” My aunt said coming into the kitchen. “Hey Kiddo.”

I smiled at her as they started arguing about the validity of a book club. I shook my head as I listened to it. My mom just continued ignoring them as she started getting stuff out to make dinner.

“Enough from the both of you.” She said after a few minutes. “You’re going to give me a migraine. Sweetheart will you help me with this?”

I stood up and walked around the counter to assist her with dinner. My grandmother narrowed her eyes at my mom as I started cutting veggies.

“Mija you are not too old to go over my knee.” Gina and I both laughed as my grandma whipped around to scold Gina as well.

“Well, what about (Y/N)? She laughed too.” Gina defended as I shot her a scandalized look.

“Like I would ever lay a hand on my precious chiquilla” she reached over the counter to squeeze my cheek as I beamed.

“She’s hardly a little girl anymore…how old are you now?”

“18” I commented pushing the vegetables over to the side for my mom.

“Yeah see a full-grown adult.”

“As long as I live, she will always be mi bebé” my mom said kissing my cheek as I smiled at them. I stuck my tongue out at Gina who rolled her eyes at me.

After dinner was done, it was mostly just lounging around the house. It was nice to finally have a break from everything. There was nothing that could interfere with my relaxation. I knew it was only a matter of time before a certain forward came in search of me, but for the moment I was enjoying the peace and quiet.

“Have you spoken to Christen?” I looked up at my mom who gave me a curious look. I shook my head as she frowned.

“Oh.”

“Why?”

“Well, I ran into her family the other day. Her mother mentioned something not being right with Christen the last time they spoke so I figured maybe you would know…”

“Nope.” She gave me a skeptical look as I tried to focus on the tv.

“Did something happen?” I shook my head not breaking my gaze as she sighed. “I can’t force you to tell me.” I glanced in her direction before she turned to exit the room.

I decided to just ignore it for the moment. I appreciate her not pressing the issue despite her no doubt wanting to. I know it’s coming from a place of love and care, but I had no desire to discuss the past few weeks.

The next day started off pretty hectic. I knew my mom would be running around trying to get everything ready for thanksgiving. We weren’t doing anything big. Just a family dinner, but ever since my dad left these things have become important to my mother. The rest of us just go along with it because we know it’s what she needs. I did my best to help her out the best I could, but eventually she banished me from the kitchen. Dinner went by uneventful before my mom announced that she, my grandma, and my aunt were going shopping and that they would be back later.

So, I was left alone for a few hours. I debated calling Blake and trying to fix things, but I didn’t think she would want to talk to me after the way I treated her. Before I could make any decision, I heard a knock on my door. I stood walking over and opening the door. I froze in my spot as my eyes found the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life. She seemed to freeze too as her eyes searched my face.

“Hi.”

“Hey.” I muttered as she stood there awkwardly. I coughed before moving aside a little. “Come in.”

“Thanks.” She entered the house and glanced around before giving me an odd look.

“They went shopping.” She nodded her head as we walked into my living room.

“You didn’t go with?”

“I have never been allowed onto those shopping trips.” I joked a little as she gave me a small smile.

We sat there for a moment not saying anything before she sighed. She stared at me with her eyes shining a little bit. I held my breath as I waited for her to say something.

“I don’t know what to say.” She admitted as I looked down. “I want to apologize and tell you I never meant to hurt you.”

“Do you even know why I am upset?” I lifted my eyes to meet hers as she seemed to give me an unsure look.

“I think I do.”

“Even if you don’t, I will tell you. I thought that you and I were at a point in our friendship where we could tell each other anything. You were one of the first people I came out too and I know that it really isn’t my business because I can’t force you to tell me anything. I would never take that away from you, but like…it took so much courage for me to tell you I was gay. I practiced in my head over and over because I didn’t want to mess it up and I was so scared…I was afraid it would change our friendship. It would change our interactions and how you looked at me. I had to trust that you would be okay with it. It hurts that you didn’t tell me because even though I was scared I still told you.”

“I know. I should have told you before…I didn’t know if it was even a for sure thing…I still don’t really…I’m exploring you know, and Kelley is super patient. She understands that I am still figuring it out and so far, it’s been nice you know…”

“I get it. I understand it. It just sucks to hear your best friend is dating someone from someone else…”

“I am really sorry.” She gave me a sad look as I tried to fight through the internal storm in my head. “If I could go back and do things differently, I would.”

“I know.” I looked down again as she let out a little sigh. “I forgive you for it because I really have no right to hold it against you…”

“I still feel bad though…” I looked at her as I tried to fight through the heartbreak. “I don’t want you to be upset with me. Just tell me how I can fix this…”

“Damage has been done Christen…all we can do is move on.” I said as she shook her head with a few tears escaping her eyes.

“Am I just supposed to live with the fact that you’re upset with me?” she had a frustrated look on her face as I stared at her.

“Christen…I would rather just move on. I don’t know if you have noticed but I don’t exactly like carrying around so much anger. I’ve been there done that…but I do know that I am not going to let this whole situation ruin our friendship. No matter how upset I am at you. I’ve lost enough people…I’m not trying to lose anymore.”

She shot me a pained expression at my indirect reference to my father as she stood and crossed the room to hug me. She buried her face into my shoulder as I stood there with a pained expression. It hurt to have her this close and not be able to do anything. I hugged her back as I tried to fight back the sobs that were threatening to spill out.

“You could never lose me. You promised remember…”

“I know.” I whispered as she pulled away for a moment. We stood there staring for a moment our faces inches as the air became thick with tension. I made the first move to pull away as I stared at her. “You and Kelley make a cute couple.”

“Thanks.” She offered me a weak smile as I completely let go of her. “Are you going to continue to ignore my messages?”

I stood silent for a moment before shaking my head slightly. She gave me a small smile at that as we stood there awkwardly again. Thankfully, it was the opening of my front door that broke the tension as my mom came through the door. She smiled at me though it definitely faltered a little at seeing Christen.

“Christen honey…I didn’t know you were coming over.” She said as I looked between them.

“I just stopped by to say hello.” She said as my mom looked to me. I shrugged my shoulders as the forward turned back towards me. “I need to get home, but will I see you before you go back?”

“Sure.” She nodded her head before saying a quick goodbye and exiting my home.

“Well what was that all about?”

“I’d rather not talk about it.” I said as my mom gave me a soft look.

“Well, I am here if you change your mind…”

“Thanks mom.” I mumbled as I decided it was enough excitement for one day.

As I laid in bed, I hated to admit that I had felt some relief in having actually talked about it with her. Obviously, she didn’t know the full story, but there was no way in hell that I was actually telling her that part of it. There was less anger in my thoughts though…just the loneliness of heartbreak. This led to my mind wandering to my friends and to Blake in particular. She was trying to help me. I shoved her away when all she wanted to do was help.

I mean…how could I ever expect to grow and make new memories with people other than Christen when I push them all away? Blake deserved better than me. It’s a hard thought to swallow but Blake might just be the closest thing I have to a best friend besides Christen. I owe her one hell of an apology. These are the thoughts that led me to sleep as I slept somewhat peacefully for the first time in a few weeks.

The next day was spent with my mom before Christen came around the house. I hadn’t really been interested in doing much so it was mainly spent hanging out in my living room. My mom kept sending me suspicious looks and I wanted to tell her, but I wasn’t ready to really talk about it with her. The rest of the weekend seemed to fly by before it was time for me to return to Berkeley. I could tell my family wasn’t pleased with my ultimate return to college, but I only had a few weeks left before I was done with the semester.

The drive was long, and I was restless by the end of it, but I was happy to be back. One tearful goodbye with my mom and I returned to my room. I busied myself by getting my stuff cleaned up and checking my schedule to see when I worked next. It was when the door to the room opened and in walked Blake. She looked tired as her eyes fell on me. I stared at her for a moment before she rolled her eyes and continued moving around the room.

“Can we talk?” I asked as she stopped and looked over in my direction.

“Are you serious?” I nodded my head as she looked away before glaring at me. “I’m talking first.”

I opened my mouth to speak before she held her finger up at me to be quiet. I shut my mouth as she ripped her jacket off slamming it down on her bed. She paced for a moment before stopping and staring at me.

“You don’t get to walk away from me like that. I know you’re used to pretty much everyone treating you like a special snowflake, but I resent being called just a roommate. Yeah, we have only lived together for a limited amount of time, but we spend pretty much every day together. I know more about you than anyone else around here. I know that you snore in your sleep. I know you have to talk to yourself to make things make sense. I know that you shut the world out when things become too complicated because you would rather deal with it on your own than to talk to someone about it. I know things about you. I know that you're the closest thing to a best friend I have ever had so don’t you ever sit there and tell me that we aren’t friends.”

“You’re right.” I said as she stopped and stared at me.

“I am?” I nodded my head as she nodded her head. “Of course, I am.”

“I am so sorry Blake. You’re right. I have been dealing with something and I don’t know what to do about it. I don’t feel like anyone could understand what I feel so I just decided to keep it to myself.”

“It’s not good to keep it in like that.”

“I know. It doesn’t really feel like it matters much anymore though.” I looked down as she scoffed.

“If it matters to you, then it matters. Now, you can either tell me and we can figure it out or you can sit there, and I will annoy you until you tell me.” I gave her a slight smile as she sat down across from me on her bed. “Your choice.”

“I am in love with someone and I just found out that she is dating a good friend of mine.”

“oof” Blake gave me a look as I nodded my head at her.

“Yep.” I mumbled as she gave me a sympathetic look. “I found out after the Stanford game.”

“Well that makes sense, you’ve been very closed off since then…”

“Yeah…I didn’t know how to deal with it. I didn’t really want to deal with it, but I can’t keep carrying around this anger.”

“Yeah, that’s not healthy…you have to deal with it. There is no right reaction in that situation…you can only learn to live with it. Maybe it’s a sign that you should move on.”

“Yeah I know…it’s just this girl is amazing. She is one of the most perfect people I have ever met, and I don’t know if I can live in a world where I don’t love her.”

“Do you really want to spend your life on hold though?” I looked at her and shook my head. “I didn’t think so. I am sure she is great, but we are so young, and we have so much life to live. Who knows…maybe it’s just not the right time for you guys…”

“Or maybe we don’t belong together…” I said as she sighed.

“That is a possibility but again…you’re young. You still have so much in life to experience.”

“Yeah you’re right…thanks Blake.” She grinned at me giving me a thumbs up.

“Anytime. Also, just to say you’re not alone…I got your back.” I nodded my head as I stood to head to the bathroom.

“Oh…and for the record…you’re my best friend too.” She smiled at me as I turned to go into the bathroom. I stopped when I heard my phone start ringing. I frowned walking over to see a number I didn’t recognize.

“Hello?”

“Hello. Is this (Y/N) Torres?”

“This is her.” I said not entirely sure what this was about.

“My name is Pia Sundhage. The new Head Coach for the Senior National Team. I would like to talk to you about getting you onto the roster for the upcoming January camp.”

To Be Continued…

#uswnt imagine #USWNT #uswnt imagines #kelley o'hara #kelley o'hara imagines #kelley o'hara imagine #alex morgan imagine #alex morgan imagines #Alex Morgan #Christen Press #christen press imagine #christen press imagines

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need-a-fugue · 4 years

Text

The Most Amazing Thing in the World

Summary: The cold puts Bucky in a mood, leaving you to play out your snow day with a certain blond god – giant cockblock – as your mopey super soldier slinks off to brood.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Author’s Note: Thank you so much to @fanfictionaries for letting me participate in this classic tropes challenge…one of my first ever! And congrats on the 300 followers! My prompt… Snowed In Trope

Warnings: Not a one... just some saccharine sweetness with a mostly moody Bucky.

Word Count: 5.6K

Snow. The whole of the outside world is covered in brilliant, blinding depths of pristine white snow. It’s stunning, dazzling, brilliant. And Bucky absolutely hates it.

Even just the thought of a cold front moving through is enough to set him in a sulk that lasts for days. Weeks. It’s the reason Tony had to have the Weather Channel blocked from their lineup.

Back in March, an early spring nor’easter blew through upstate New York, absolutely pounding the compound, and Bucky spent the entirety of the blizzard either wandering the halls, muttering curses in Russian, or holed up in the common room cleaning not only his own guns and knives, but every single weapon in the Avenger’s arsenal… also whilst mumbling and cursing in Russian.

Steve worried he was suffering some kind of ongoing flashback. Natasha complained that he was simply being a giant damn baby. Sam lamented the fact that they might have to put him down. But you… you simply followed him around the compound with a fluffy blanket to toss over his shoulders, settling in to drink hot tea beside him once he sat down to clean.

The truth is, Bucky Barnes had never liked the cold. Growing up in a bit of a shithole apartment in Brooklyn meant that – more often than not – the boiler would go out the moment winter hit and he’d be forced to sleep snuggled in a tight ball with his little sisters, winding himself into a protective outer layer to conserve all the warmth for them. Walking to and from school in the freezing temps all too often meant giving up his winter coat for Steve – cloaking the frail boy in an extra layer in an attempt to ward off pneumonia – while he shuffled through the snow in old, worn boots and as many sweaters as would fit on his body. And work never stopped for the cold either, all of the odd jobs picked up to help support his family – trudging around town making deliveries for the seamstress, butcher, the guys who ran some sort of business out of the back of the butcher shop – continued despite the bitter city winds and bone chilling temperatures.

And that was all before he suffered through collapsing foxholes in the dead of a European winter – depths of snow obscuring mortars and limbs in the Ardennes – and decades of being languidly pulled in and out of dreamless slumber as he lingered in an ice-filled tomb tucked away in the blindingly desolate depths of Siberia.

Snow was little more than a bitter reminder of the pain he felt so long ago… the pain he was sadly certain would one day return.

Snow most certainly was not… “The most amazing thing in the world!”

His head snaps to the right so fast that a loud crack-pop reverberates through the room, twitching your face into a disgusted grimace, your nose crinkling in revulsion as you turn away from the window and watch him bend his neck awkwardly to release another small snap. He rolls his eyes at your expression and lets out a weary sigh, returning his empty gaze to the window as his breath fogs the glass. “No. It’s not.”

You drop a loud snort and fold your arms tightly over your chest as you glare at him. “You can’t possibly think this is a bad thing.”

He cocks his head towards you, confusion wrinkling his brow. You know how much he hates the cold. You’ve known him long enough – well enough – to understand why. And unlike so many of the others around here – Steve always telling him to quit moping, Sam poking fun and calling him ice princess the minute the weather starts to change – you’ve never once tried to get him to get over it.

Your arms unfurl as you take a step a closer to the man by your side, your hands – warm hands – reaching over and gathering his clenched fists, allowing no more than a breath of a moment to pass before peeling his fingers apart and winding them with your own. “Steve and Nat and Sam are on a mission in Costa Rica,” you remind him subtly.

“Lucky bastards,” he interrupts, bitterness lacing the words.

Your fingers tighten around his as you go on, sly, crooked smile pulling across your face. “Tony and Bruce are at some kind of science conference… somewhere.” The cavernous wrinkle between his brows begins to flatten out, a bit of dreamy blue breaking through the gray of his stormy eyes as he starts to catch on. You take half a step closer, chests not quite touching, but warmth still radiating across the limited space separating your bodies. “Clint took Vision and Wanda into the city this morning, something about testing powers with Stark tech at the tower,” you offer with a shrug before looking up and locking onto his still curious gaze, offering a rather sultry one of your own. “And now… with all this snow… there’s no way that any of them will be able to make it back tonight.”

A small grin tugs at the corners of his lips, his eyes crinkling at the edges as he looks down at you. “You’re saying… for once… we’re actually alone?”

You nod, pulling yourself up on your tiptoes to swiftly swipe the tip of your nose against his, finally pressing your oh-so-warm body up against him. And you whisper, “That’s what this snow gave us. Now, tell me again how it’s not the most amazing thing in the world?”

His countenance cracks even further, no longer showing even a trace of the doom and gloom from just moments before. “S’not,” he murmurs, unwinding from your fingers and dropping his hands to your hips. He gives a small tug, bringing you utterly flush with him, and he gazes deeply into your eyes in that way that makes your insides shudder. “Definitely not the most amazing thing.”

“Ooo,” you intone lightly, playfully. “Such a charmer. What would the rest of the team think if they knew you were such a sap?”

He shakes his head languidly back and forth, the motion extending down to his hands plastered to your hips as well, pulling you in a subtle sway. “They’ll never know. S’not for them to know.” And he leans in, delicately parting your lips with his own.

The kiss is sweet and lingering and speaks of having all the time in the world. A rarity for the two of you – outside of your rooms, at least – being as you’re typically forced into swift and fervid lip locks that knock the breath from your lungs. Fast and aching and yearning for more as one or the other of you presses into the wall in a dark corner of the compound hard enough to pepper your backs with bruises. Stolen kisses take the shape of clashing teeth, pounding lips, desperately squirming hips, all held together by the deliciously perilous threat of being found out.

But now… now there’s no one around. There’s no lingering danger nor press of time. No upcoming mission to prepare for, nor debrief to hurry off to. No Steve about to knock at the door in hopes of an early morning run, nor Natasha silently sweeping through the halls like some kind of ninja ghost. Now, there is only you and him and the silent still of a snow-covered morning offering the sweet, tender promise of –

“Lady Agent?!”

The thick, heavy bellow reverberates in from the hall, swift plodding footsteps echoing behind it. Bucky’s eyes shoot wide and he not only releases your hips – and your lips – but actually shoves you away, setting you to stumble. “Fucking Thor,” he bemoans, swiping a hand over his mouth before shoving it madly through his hair.

“Sergeant Winter?!” sounds from just outside the common room door, the rather jumbled handle pulling a sudden snicker from you and a frustrated groan from Bucky. “Surely someone remains,” the god laments piercingly, his cries sounding almost frightened.

You choke back a laugh – mostly at the mess of a man in front of you, now shaking out his hands and pacing as though trying to rid himself of a years’ worth of pent up energy – and you call out, “In here.”

Thor turns the corner and enters the room with a delighted swagger and such a wide smile of relief on his face that you feel a little tug and pull in your chest. This poor giant of a man – a god – has spent the better part of the past month following each of you around in turn, just trying to break into the rather tightknit group you all had formed in his absence. He trains with the Avengers, fights with the Avengers, but actually fitting in with the Avengers has been proving difficult for the God of Thunder, the scent of his desperation flooding the compound and setting eyes to roll and exasperated glances and glares to proliferate.

Still, as annoying as he can sometimes be – tagging along for debriefs he has no need to attend, showing up for movie nights to which he’s not exactly invited – you see his struggle for what it truly is. He’s a man bereft of family and home, simply searching for a place he might belong. And you’d be lying if you said it didn’t break your heart.

“Ah, most excellent!” the hulking blond enthuses, making a beeline for you. “I was beginning to wonder if it was only I and…” – he flings a haphazard hand through the air – “the woman in the walls.” He positively beams as he steps in between you and Bucky, pressing his nose to the glass of the window as he looks out over the snow-covered grounds. “Have you seen, Lady Agent?! The world is covered in the most blissfully brilliant white!”

Bucky offers an indignant snort from over his shoulder. “No snow where you’re from?” he asks with a low, vexed tenor.

If Thor notices his irritation, he doesn’t let it show, huge grin still plastered to his face as he replies, “In Asgard? No, of course not. It is perfectly temperate year-round.”

“Of course it is,” he mutters.

“I have seen this snow many a time on my travels to Midgard. But rarely so much. And so… undisturbed. It is quite beautiful, wouldn’t you say?”

You nod, the corner of your mouth ticking up in a crooked grin as you shoot a quick wink over at Bucky, only to find that he’s once again taken on the slumped posture and bitter demeanor that he’s managed to become known for around here. “It certainly is,” you tell Thor, your eyes lingering on Bucky for a long moment as you fight off the thick and sudden sense of discontent curling in your gut.

“Are there no others here?” he asks, eyes still plastered to the outside.

You sigh. “Nope, just us. And Friday said that the surrounding roads are shut down for now, so doesn’t look like anyone will be back any time soon.”

“Well, then,” he starts, stepping away from the window and leaving a giant steamy smear from his face. He looks to you with something akin to glee, and you feel your disappointment at Bucky’s mood begin to wane. “What shall we do with our day?” he asks, oozing a sort of childlike enthusiasm.

You smile wide, a massive toothy grin splitting your face in two. “Thor,” you start, slow and drawn out, the name stretched methodically, voice taking on that very specific air that only comes about when you have a plan. Bucky feels his heart drop to his shoes as he hears the shift in tone, watches the impish expression take over your face. Whatever this is – he’s certain – it won’t be good. “Have you ever experienced an old fashioned snow day?

000

Four hours later and Bucky’s barely seen you at all – save for a quick meal of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches that you used your long-lashed doe eyes to convince him to fix for you and your new BFF – until he peers out the wall of windows in the common room and catches you awkwardly climbing through the foot-deep snow below, holding tightly to the arm and shoulder of a bundled-up god as he trudges alongside. He watches closely, watches as you struggle to find footing, falling and laughing, your face lit with such delight that he thinks he can almost hear your high-pitched giggles from behind the reinforced glass, two stories above. Thor winds his arms around your middle and hauls you to him, only seeming to realize that clomping through the snow as a single four-legged unit is pointless the minute he goes down beside you, faceplanting in the thick, white fluff.

Bucky smirks as the massive blond jerks upright and sputters, shaking the snow from his hair. But his expression changes on a dime – dropping back into that sullen, somber, perhaps even angry scowl that has sat so comfortably on his face ever since that giant cockblock rolled in – when he watches Thor pick you up, plucking you easily from the deep snow, and throwing you over his shoulder before trudging further out from the building.

At some point you stop, demanding that your giant companion put you down, which he does by tossing you into an even deeper drift, the thrill of flying and fun of landing in the delightfully powdery snow causing you to ask him to do it again – several more times – before the laughter finally subsides and you decide to get down to business. You flop backwards, laying flat in the snow and demanding that Thor do the same. And you show him precisely how to move his arms and legs about to create the perfect – just absolutely perfectly deep and symmetrical – snow angel. And while swimming about in fresh giggles and joy and soft, crunchy snow, you look up to the window where you’d caught a glimpse of Bucky perched just moments before, your red face beaming with a euphoric, toothy grin.

But he’s no where to be seen.

By the time you finally come back in – just after a rather disastrous snow ball fight leaves you with what you’re certain is quickly blooming into an angry welt on your ass – the sun has all but disappeared beyond the horizon, leaving the deep blue twilight butting up against the sparkling sheen of pure white. You shiver as you shed your thick winter coat in the atrium – vowing to come back for the sopping mess later lest Tony finds it and blows another gasket about the messy heathens he so graciously houses – the blistery winds whipping through the indoors for a moment before Thor wrestles the door shut. The cold sizzles along the tops of your ears and tips of your fingers, hat and gloves soaked through and thick with slush. You tug them off and drop them on the floor by your coat, order Thor to do the same.

Once in the elevator, you tell him to go thaw out in a hot shower… one of the most integral pieces of this snow day routine. You step out into the hall that leads to both of your rooms and spin to level him with a pointed stare. “When you’re done,” you say, tone terribly commanding despite being punctuated by soft, snotty sniffles, “Come back to the common room and we’ll have hot chocolate. A snow day’s not a snow day if it doesn’t end with cocoa.”

He nods in agreement, but says nothing, the rather enthusiastic yet slightly confused look that twists his features being by now an all too familiar sight. You let out a breathy chuckle and shuffle past his room, not at all surprised when he refuses to stop at his door, instead insisting – wordlessly – on showing you to your room before backtracking to his own.

You thank him with a nod – admittedly charmed by his gentlemanly actions – and slip into your dark dormitory only to be met with a low growl of, “Hey doll,” that causes you to jump and shriek in surprise.

“Jesus, Bucky! You scared me,” you breathe out, hand flying to your chest.

You flip on the light in time to catch his smirk. “Figured an Avenger would have better instincts than that,” he smarts from his spot on the corner of your bed. “I left the door unlocked… not exactly hiding that I’m here.”

You roll your eyes. “First of all, you’re sitting in the dark, so… hiding. And also, I’m not technically an Avenger,” you argue, hopping on one foot as you struggle to free yourself from a soggy boot. “Just… adjacent personnel.”

“Sure,” he intones, rising from the bed and crossing the room to help. “Lady Agent, is it?” he mocks with a scoff as he gives you a gentle shove back into the wall and takes over wrestling the boot from your foot.

You lean back heavily, switching feet to raise the other once he frees you, and let out a small chortle. “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”

The second boot pops off with a jarring smack and Bucky stumbles back as it almost hits him in the face. He snorts loudly and angrily chucks the shoe across the room before turning back to you with a raised brow. “I don’t get jealous,” he says, a challenging note to his voice.

You drop an indignant snort as you reach down to peel off a single, sloppy sock. Rising, you peer up at him, eyes narrowing as you take in his oddly contemplative stare. He doesn’t seem angry, nor upset in any way, really. He just looks… confused.

“Should I be jealous?” he asks then, the words slipping past his lips in a soft, hesitant tone.

You huff out a breath and throw the sock at him, barking a quick laugh when it slaps him in the cheek, landing with a thick, wet splat. The tentativeness falls from his face, expression filling instead with an irritated sort of impatience. That same scowl he’d been wearing earlier – when you zipped up your parka and pulled on your hat and told him that you were declaring today a snow day – returns full force. “Man,” you mutter, shaking your head as you awkwardly tug off the other sock. “Sometimes you can be a real dick, ya know?”

You stumble a bit, hopping on one foot in a small circle as you try to maintain your balance. Bucky rolls his eyes, purses his lips, and steps over to steady you, one firm hand clamping down on your shoulder to hold you in place while you pull off the sock with a squelch. He doesn’t let go once you regain your footing, instead clenching his fingers tighter as he bites out, “He doesn’t even know your name.”

You shrug. “Doesn’t always seem like you do, either,” you smart, accusatory brow raised high. His eyes narrow suspiciously – confoundedly – and you huff out a long and languid sigh before collapsing forward into him. Your arms wrap around his neck as you let him bear the brunt of your weight – whether he wants to or not – your spent, numb limbs tingling uselessly in your damp clothes. His shoulders stiffen beneath you and you respond by snuggling closer, burrowing your face into his neck and grinning wildly when he bucks at the touch of your bitterly cold nose. “Doll,” you mock thickly, the word nearly eaten up by the flesh covering his bobbing throat as your lips linger near his Adam’s apple. “Baby, Sweetheart, Darlin’.”

His shoulders relax and he sighs out into your damp hair, arms slowly winding around your middle, tugging you close and holding you tightly to his chest. “I can start calling your Agent, if you want. Or, I don’t know, Ice Queen?”

You pull back abruptly, leaning away whilst still penned in by his arms, staring at him in something akin to horror. “I think we all know who the real Ice Queen is here, Barnes,” you snipe.

Maybe it’s wrong – hell it must be because everything he thinks and feels and does seems to be wrong nowadays – but seeing you get riled up, watching that angry fire creep into your eyes, that smug tilt to your chin as you go on to accuse him of being so rude to Thor, well damn if it doesn’t cause a lighthearted rumble of a laugh to bubble up his chest and a crooked smile to spill across his lips. “I just meant…” he interrupts swiftly, cutting off your complaint of just wanted to play in the snow with a shushing press of his metal index finger to your lips, “because you’re freezing, doll face.”

You roll your eyes languidly, irritation still present in your pinched features, but beginning to melt into a reluctant fondness. “Doll face… psh. Why not just call me honey bear or baby cakes?”

“Alright, honey bear,” he intones with a bit of a glint in his eye. “You gonna peel these wet clothes off or just die in my arms from hypothermia?”

You raise a brow. “Those are my only choices?”

He shrugs. “You got a better suggestion?”

A deep and dramatic frown rolls over your face – more than a bit overdone – and you unclasp your hands from around his neck, begin to futz pathetically with the zipper of your hoodie. “My fingers are numb,” you whine “I can’t.”

“Okay.” He unfurls his arms from around you, looks down at your attire and reaches out to languidly tug down the zipper of the sweatshirt, slowly, delicately, inch by inch, while his metal fingers make their way beneath your top and swiftly pop the button of your jeans, single index finger lazily pressing the zippered fly down. Once done, he steps back and stares, blank expression on his face as he raises both brows assessingly and says simply, “There you go.”

You continue to pout, hands rising and swiping awkwardly – pitifully – for him across the nearly negligible distance separating you. “My feet are numb,” you whimper. “Carry me.”

It comes out as a command – a rather whiny, juvenile command, but a command none the less. And damn if that doesn’t cause his whole expression to shift, teasingly aloof demeanor fleeing in an instant as he chokes on a laugh. “Carry you?”

You merely nod in response, wasting no time at all leaping forward, clutching his shoulders and forcing yourself on him, chests colliding and driving a thick oof from his mouth in lieu of the laughter as you wrap yourself around him like an overgrown spider monkey, latching on and locking your ankles at the small of his back. “Carry me,” you say again, once more dropping your face – and that that damn cold nose, those frost-bruised cheeks – into the crook of his neck.

“Okay, baby bear,” he teases lightly, voice soft and melodic and smooth like melted honey as his metal arm sweeps beneath your ass to haul you higher. “Let’s get you in the shower.”

You let him carry you back to the ensuite, clinging to him even as he reaches into the shower to turn on the water, an awkward feat that he manages with a surprising amount of grace and not a word of complaint, a thing that makes your smile burn even brighter as you continue to press into his warm and inviting neck. He settles you down onto the bathroom counter as the water heats up, steam already beginning to billow out and cloud the mirror behind you.

You watch as he makes a move to pull off his Henley, simultaneously toeing off his thick-soled boots. And you settle your still-chilled hands over the tops of his to halt his movements. “Uh-uh,” you hum dully, returning his confused glance with an almost reprimanding one of your own. “You’re not forgiven yet.”

“Forgiven for what?” he bites out, irritation blooming in the corners of his narrowed eyes.

You grasp his face lightly, fingers dragging across the achingly familiar scruff lining his jaw, thumbs scratching lazily at the stubble on his chin. His muscles instantly loosen beneath your fingertips, clenched jaw dropping, lips parting for the briefest of moments before he closes his eyes and shifts in your hold, pressing a lingering kiss to the pad of your thumb.

“You need to go make hot cocoa,” you say then, voice cutting through the rumbling of the running water and steady, swooshing pulse of your blood rushing in your ears. He looks back at you, deep blue eyes darkened with desire, and for a moment you think you may have lost the upper hand. “Please?” you ask primly, sweetly, cocking your head to the side as you continue to hold his in your faltering grip.

“Hot cocoa?” he breathes out, dubious brow raised high.

You nod. “Every snow day ends with cocoa.”

He sighs and drops his head heavily onto your shoulder, his own hands splaying out on the countertop on either side of your hips. “Okay,” he laments softly, patting your thigh as he pulls himself upright. “Hot cocoa.”

He turns to leave, no more than a half a step out the bathroom door when you mention brightly, “And make a lot. You know how Thor gets around Midgardian food and drink.”

000

“The snow people,” Thor begins again, slapping his knee as a loud guffaw spills from his lips. “I had never heard of such a thing! But, so wonderous! Imagine,” he says, vivid stare locking onto Bucky as he reenters the room, “taking that… that… snow and building men!” He shakes his head fondly, wistfully. “Ah, and it held together so well. Like icy clay. Just wonderful.”

“You did a hell of a job,” you tell him, nodding gratefully at Bucky as he hands you another cup of cocoa. “There’s a whole damn army of snowmen out there now. Probably better security than anything Tony could build.”

“Ha!” he barks. “Indeed!” He turns to Bucky accepting a fourth mug for himself. “Have you seen them? Just out the window there… our snow warriors.”

Bucky offers him a stiff, closed-lip smile – all the acknowledgement he’s willing to give – and heads back to the kitchenette to mope.

“It is quite a delicious drink,” the blond god enthuses as he slurps indelicately, turning back to you. “Chocolate, but… hot. Remarkable!”

You take another sip from your cup, feeling your insides warm as the thick, hot treat slips down your throat. “When I was a kid, my mom would always make us cocoa when it snowed. Even when we were all grown up and home visiting from college.” A wistful smile pulls across your face, features softening and glowing in the burning orange light cast by the fireplace as you reminisce about those days long since gone.

Thor watches you closely, his own face relaxing in pace with yours. “When I was a child, my mother would have the servants brew barrels and barrels of mead, which we would roll out to the hills and drink dry.” He chortles a bit as a melancholy air envelopes the room. “Mother would come out to gather us in the evening, hurrying us home as we tripped and stumbled and played.” He meets your eyes for just a fraction of a second before dropping his gaze down to the drink in his hands. “She would always make sure we arrived back home safely, neatly tucked into bed as the mead made our heads spin.”

“Wait,” Bucky, murmurs, suddenly looming above you both. You look up at his perplexed visage from the nest of blankets built up beneath you on the floor. “You were drunk? As kids? Your mom gave you beer?”

Thor snuggles deeper into his own warm cocoon and glances up at Bucky with the smallest – and saddest – of smiles. “She did, yes. A wonderful mother indeed.”

You reach out and lay an open palm atop his fleece-clad knee – one he quickly sweeps into his own large hand to squeeze with a grateful air – while glaring at Bucky with a raised and warning brow. Don’t make fun, it says. He was raised in a different culture.

Bucky sighs and offers a glare of his own – Still weird as fuck. – before dropping heavily onto the sofa behind you.

The three of you sit in silence for several long moments… Thor, watching the flames flicker in the fireplace as he continues to grip your hand in a silent plea for strength, for comfort. You, staring idly at the side of his face, gently tracing your thumb over his knuckles, lending what little solace you can. Bucky, squishing into the corner of the couch, as far from you as he can possibly get, watching the interaction from the corner of his eye, feigning disinterest.

A long, drawn-out yawn pulls suddenly from your chest, causing Thor’s attention to snap your way. “You should go rest,” he says with a soft smile. “I must thank you for such a wonderful day. It did quite a lot to lift my spirits.” He pulls your hand up to his lips and lays a tender kiss upon your knuckles. “Truly. Thank you.”

You beam over at him, a slight blush tinging your cheeks. “Anytime,” you mutter with a small, awkward laugh as you set aside your mug and peel your way out of the blankets nestled around you. Bucky leans over and helps you unwind them, wrapping his hand around your ankle as you stand, foot catching clumsily. He says nothing, just flicks away the offending blanket and sets you steadily back on the ground so you can continue on your way. You give him a quick nod of thanks, blush somehow burning brighter when you catch a glimpse of his lovely face tinged orange by the dancing firelight. And you leave, more than ready to curl up into a heap in your warm bed… and await the subtle press of that other body’s heat that so often curls around you once all the others at the compound slink off to bed.

Both Bucky and Thor watch you go, your thick-socked feet sliding and gliding out the door in an innocent ice dance, pulling a tender, loving smile from one and an amused, low chuckle from the other.

“She is rather wonderful, don’t you think?” Thor asks after a long and silent moment. He turns to look at Bucky with an oddly eager expression. “All of the Avengers have been… kind. But none so welcoming. So… caring.”

He nods absently, taking a slow pull from his own mug of cocoa. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Was she such a way with you?” he asks, words dripping with an almost unprecedented level of solemnity from the typically jovial god.

Bucky stares at him for a beat, silently assessing something about him. Or, perhaps, something else altogether. “Yeah,” he says finally, another nod bobbing his head. “Yeah, she was. Might’ve been the only one, really… who seemed to…” he shrugs vaguely. “I don’t know, care.”

“Isn’t the Captain your dearest friend?”

“He is, yeah.” He clears his throat awkwardly. “But Steve… he’s always looking for the guy I used to be. He’s always looking for Bucky Barnes, the kid from Brooklyn. Sometimes it’s like he looks straight through me, just searching for him.”

“And I suppose the others look for the soldier in you,” he offers with a glaring amount of earnestness. “That is who they need on this team, no?” Bucky glances at him, cocks his head, but says nothing. “They always look for the god in me,” he mutters, shifting his gaze back to the fireplace. “To bring down the hammer, as Stark seems so fond of saying.”

“Yeah,” Bucky murmurs softly, the single word swimming in mutual understanding.

Thor turns to him again, shifting to face him bodily. His expression is impassive – sincere – as he says, “It is late, my friend. Perhaps you too should go.” A tiny, sly smile ticks up the corners of his lips. “Go find your lady and make love to her before she falls asleep.” He offers a swift and telling wink and a, “Thank you. For the cocoa,” before turning his attention back to the fire and nestling down deeper into his blankets.

Bucky says nothing at all, stunned speechless for a long moment before the buzzing between his ears halts and he’s able to climb off of the couch. He silently pads from the room, down the hall – with practiced, measured steps – not at all surprised to find your door left ajar.

He slips in soundlessly, just like any other night, and sheds his shoes and socks in the corner, peels off his jeans and shirt. He drops a knee to the edge of your bed, prepares to crawl in and slink beneath the covers, wrap himself around you, peck softly at your neck until he’s met with that delicate, airy giggle that he so desperately craves. But he stops suddenly as his eyes catch a glare from the window.

He pulls back and crosses the room to tug the curtains shut, a thing you so rarely think to do despite the fact that anyone who wanted could peer right into your room. As his fingers close on the thick fabric, he glances out the window, taking in the reflection of the moon on the snow-covered trees, the blanketed grounds… seeing also the reflection of your face in the window pane, features soft and sleepy, heavy lids blinking languidly as you watch him, patiently waiting.

He nods slowly, gaze arcing out over the pristine grounds below before settling back on the reflection of your barely open eyes. “Yeah,” he breathes out, scarcely a whisper, his breath fogging the glass. The smallest, most tender smile tugs at his lips as he pulls the curtains closed. “The most amazing thing in the world.”

#FanFictionairiesClassicTropeChallenge #Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #thor #marvel fanfic #marvel #MCU

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surveys4ever · 3 years

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25.

Section 1 – Who were you?

Think back as far as you can. What is the first memory you have? I think meeting my (now) dad for the first time when he and my mom were dating. I was very upset because he was short and that’s not what dads were supposed to look like in my 3 year old eyes since my bio dad was super tall.

What is something you remember enjoying very much as a small child? Playing Barbies, watching Barney, Happy Meals, being with my grandma.

How old were you, when you made your very first friend? Probably preschool.

Are you still friends with this person today? Facebook friends, yeah. Real friends, no.

Was there a story somebody read or told you that has stuck with you? No one ever read to me after I learned to read for myself so one day I was sick and I came home and curled up with my mom on the couch and asked her to read me a Little Mermaid book I had and she did, even though I had to get up to go shit myself halfway through and it meant a lot to me at the time.

What is something you get an immense feeling of nostalgia from? Hannah Montana for some reason. It was my favorite show and we didn’t get the Disney channel so whenever we went to a hotel, nobody could tell me fuckin NOTHING because we were watching Hannah Montana whether they liked it or not.

As a child, were you a sore loser or a sore winner? I was the only child for 8 years and then the oldest after that so I never lost at anything and now when I do, I feel like I'm the biggest piece of shit loser there’s ever been. So that’s fun.

Did you go through the "naked phase"? I learned that you didn’t have to sleep in pajamas and you could just sleep naked so I did it for a while but then realized that I much preferred pajamas.

Which television shows do you watch the most as a child? I loved TV so basically all of the 90′s/early 2000′s shows there were.

Did you play with siblings, neighbourhood kids or by yourself? Either with neighborhood/school kids or by myself. I didn’t ever really have siblings who weren’t my kids, if that makes sense.

Is there something you really miss from your childhood today? I miss back when everything was simple.

Section 2 – Likes and interests

Would you ever like to try competitive pinball playing? Ummm, no.

Do you knit, crochet or cross stitch? I’m trying to teach myself to crochet.

Have you ever, or would you like to attend a gaming or comic convention? No thx.

What's your opinion on online multiplayer games? I really liked Among Us for a while there but I don’t really enjoy how rude everyone is on online games.

Do you like to go cycling? If so, where? Uh no.

Have you ever tried woodturning? If not, would you like to? Never tried it, don’t really have any desire to, but it can be relaxing to watch!

Do you enjoy drawing? If so, what do you usually draw? I do! I usually draw graphics for YouTube videos or doodle over Instagram photos, draw things to put on shirts with my Cricut, etc. I use my iPad for so many things.

Have you ever attended a painting class? If so, what did you create? I haven’t but I would like to!

How about a creative writing course? If so, did you get any feedback? I took Creative Writing literally every year it was offered in high school and I always got awards for having the top marks in the class.

What is your favourite form of exercise? No thank you.

Section 3 – People

Who is the most important person in your life (besides yourself)? My husband.

Do people generally approach you easily? I think so!

Do you get along with people well? If not, what's the problem? Yeah! I’m pretty friendly and easy going.

Do you enjoy being in crowds or do you prefer your own company? I would much prefer my own company than crowds.

Which one of your friends have you known the longest? I still talk to the girl I was best friends with in the 6th grade on occasion so like 17-18 years?

Do you find it easy to make friends now? If not, what makes it difficult? As an adult who works from home, making friends is hard as fuck.

What is something about people that annoys you? Something I've noticed in recent years is just how entitled and greedy everyone is. Everybody wants something from you or for your skills to benefit them without them putting in any work or paying you for your time. It’s just gross.

What is something about people that you really like? We have really, really harsh winters and if you ever find yourself in the ditch for whatever reason, there will be a lineup of cars stopped behind you to help you push it out or let you chill in their car while you wait for a tow truck. On the really bad blizzard days, there are groups of men in big trucks that literally L I V E to go around and help pull people’s cars out of the ditch. It’s the only time I feel like there’s actually a sense of community around here.

If you live alone, what would be your criteria for a roommate? I honestly would never have a roommate because they could either be your friend or a stranger and living with friends is a good way to ruin a friendship if your living styles aren’t similar and living with a stranger just sounds like a nightmare.

How about criteria for a spouse, if you're single? I am married but my criteria was honestly that I just wanted him to be kind and funny and I got that tenfold with my husband.

In general, what's your attitude towards people? I can’t stand to be around grumpy people. If all you do is gripe and complain about literally everything, I’m out. No thank you. Why is your hobby being angry? Take up knitting or something for christ’s sake.

Section 4 – Habits

What is something you do every day without fail? Baby talk the dog and snuggle with Beebs.

What is your typical breakfast? I’m a leftovers for breakfast kinda gal but lately I’ve been having a bagel and watermelon.

Which article of clothing do you like to wear the most? I loooove me a good baggy T-shirt and booty shorts.

Is there a TV show you watch habitually? We’re currently watching Unhhhh while we eat dinner every night, haha!

Where do you usually spend most of your day? I really only sit in 4 places--bed, the couch, my makeup/work desk, or my sewing desk. Depends on the day which one I’m at.

Is there a product that you do not want to run out of? Moisturizer. I’m a dry son of a bitch.

What is your preferred mode of transport? Car!

Do you usually have something playing in the background when you're home? Nah. I’m in silence a lot of the time.

Where do you usually get your groceries? Walmart for the bulk of it, a local grocery store for the specialty items, and Target if we ever run out of something midweek because I cannot handle Walmart more than once a week.

How often do you go to your local park? Like once or twice a month in the summer!

Which of your hobbies do you indulge in most often? Sewing and Sims currently!

Section 5 – Favourites and dislikes

What is your favourite fruit? Watermelon!

How about your favourite berry? Strawberries are the only berry I like.

Which food do you highly dislike? Fish. It’s all disgusting.

What is your favourite song, and why? I hate this question. Who can pick one definitive favorite song out of the bajillions of songs that have been written??

What is a movie you cannot stand? Anything with Seth Rogen in it, any movie that's got a 3+ after it (looking @ you, Fast & Furious), and all the fuckin’ superhero movies that have the same ‘ah yes, this undefeatable bad guy that we have absolutely no chance against and will undoubtedly kill us all--but we’re going to pull through at the last second with the power of friendship!’ plot line.

Which trait in a person do you find most appealing? I don’t know how to describe it--certain people just have that spark and you can always tell right away if they’ve got it or not and those are my favorite kind of people.

Which trait puts you instantly off? If they’re religious it’s an instant no from me, dog.

Who is an actor/actress who you dislike so much you can't watch them? I really, really dislike Tom Holland. I honestly think he’s a terrible actor.

What colour are your favourite shoes? White!

What is a smell that disgusts you to no end? B.O., on me or others. I just can’t deal with it.

Which door handle/door knob do you like the most in your home? They’re all the same.

Section 6 – Culture

What is something very typical to the culture of your home country? Apple pie and baseball are the only things coming to mind atm.

Do you enjoy art? If so, which form of art is the most enjoyable? I do! But I prefer art that you can look at and know the artist is incredibly gifted and/or has put in a ton of time and effort to master their skills. None of that million dollar paint smear on a canvas shit.

What is something about another country's culture you don't understand? I feel like other cultures take their family and their family’s approval way too seriously. That might be rich coming from someone who doesn’t have a very good relationship with their family but I just don’t understand what the point of making yourself miserable to make your family happy is.

Do you ever attend the theater? If so, which play did you see last? Last thing I saw in a theater was Shangela perform a drag show, haha!

How about the opera or the ballet? Nope.

Which dance troupe do you enjoy, if any? ...they still do that?

Do you attend concerts or gigs? If so, which band did you see last? Not as much as I’d like to as no one good really comes here very often. Last band we saw was X Ambassadors and Paramore!

Are you interested in foreign food? I’m not uninterested but I’m not super interested either.

If so, which country's cuisine do you enjoy the most? Chinese...albiet probably a very Americanized version of Chinese.

Do you enjoy stand-up comedy? If so, who is your favourite comic? I doooo! Bo Burnham and Drew Lynch are my favorites.

Do you contribute to culture in some way? If so, how? I try to? I’m an influencer so I definitely have a platform of a couple hundred thousand people. Not sure what exactly I contribute tho.

Section 7 – Charity

Do you volunteer your time to anything charitable? If so, what? Newp.

Do you donate money to any charities? If so, which ones? No. I don’t trust a lot of charities, to be quite honest. A lot of them are very shady and I’d rather donate money directly to someone who needed it rather than it getting tied up in a charity where it might never actually see the people they claim to be helping.

If you have pets, are any of them rescues from shelters? We adopted our dog from one of my husband’s coworkers but she probably would have gone to the shelter if we didn’t take her.

Do you donate your old clothes, linen etc. to charitable organizations? Yes! We almost always have a bag of donations in our trunk that we always forget to take to the thrift store when we go.

If someone you know is in need, is it in your nature to offer help? If I can, yes!

Have you ever donated Christmas presents to children of poor families? We used to do that when I was a kid.

Have you ever had to rely on other people's charity? One Christmas when I was really young I remember my parents signed up for a sponsorship through the Salvation Army where a family adopted us and bought us Christmas presents and Christmas dinner or whatever.

How do you feel about donating to charities endorsed by celebrities? I would never donate to a charity simply because it was sponsored by a celebrity but I guess its the easiest way for a charity to get the word out that they need donations.

Is there a charity you absolutely never ever will not trust? PETA, Salvation Army, Goodwill, and that breast cancer one with the horrible CEO.

Have you ever donated to a cause that had a person going door to door? No. I extra wouldn’t if someone came knocking on my door asking for money.

In general, what is your opinion on charity? I already did my rant about them, haha.

Section 8 – Entertainment

Which was the very first video game you remember playing? Ocarina of Time I believe!

Which was the very first film you remember watching? That I don’t remember. Maybe that Barney movie with the magic egg?

What is your go-to form of entertainment? TikTok usually.

Do you have a large collection of DVDs/Blu-Rays? Nah. We have a drawer but we usually stream everything.

How about music albums? Beebs collects vinyls!

Do you prefer to have your music on vinyls, tapes, CDs or digital? I prefer digital and Beebs likes vinyl.

When and where do you like to entertain yourself usually? Either the bed or the couch.

Do you ever binge watch shows? If so, what are you binging now? Usually! I’m sadly in between shows rn.

What kinds of books do you like to read, if any? I honestly don’t read anymore.

Is there a book series you're currently collecting? ..

Is entertainment something you prefer to enjoy alone or with someone else? I have my shows and then we have shows we watch together. So there’s a time and place for both!

Section 9 – Internet

Do you always have access to the Internet, wherever you go? If not, why? Yup!

Which website do you frequent the most? Website website? Google. App website? Instagram or TikTok.

Which search engine do you prefer and trust the most? Googs.

What do you use the Internet the most for? Social media or entertainment.

Do you judge people who have their phones out all the time? If so, why? Random people? None of my business. But if we’re spending time together and I’m trying to have a conversation with you and you're not paying attention to me because your nose is glued to your phone, I’m gonna be pissed.

If your connection goes down, what do you do? Go do something that’s not on the internet?

Is there something you wish you could do online that isn't possible yet? I still wish you could smell things through the internet.

Do you remember the first time you used the Internet? When was it? Yes! I believe the 2nd/3rd grade?

What was a website you used to frequent that doesn't exist anymore? I loved the Disney website with all the games.

Do/Did you ever have your own website? That was the thiiiing back in the day.

Isn't it great how much knowledge and info we have at our fingertips? It’s great but also overwhelming.

Section 10 – And finally...

What is something you consider to be highly controversial? Politics, apparently.

What kinds of jokes do you like the best? I love a good pun.

Is there a person who makes you laugh effortlessly? Oh definitely.

Which part of your body do you like the least? My eyes.

What's something random, out of context you remember from your past? I don’t do well with really vague questions.

Do you wear shoes indoors? No, I’m not a heathen.

What's the silliest thing you've worn on your body in public? I don’t think I usually wear silly things.

What's the most important thing in your life right now? Just spending time with my fam. Trying to get over this anxiety.

What is the most distant point on the planet that you've been from home? Florida.

Do you enjoy trivia games? If so, which one's your favourite? We love some Trivial Pursuit in this house!

Are you more logical or emotional? My emotions take over and then my logic brings it back in. Equal parts, baby.

#survey

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insidethegiftbasket · 3 years

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Gleyber Torres

The Basics

Gleyber Torres is entering his age 24 season (they grow up so fast!) from Caracas, Venezuela. He just went through his first year of arbitration, where he and the Yankees agreed to a $4m deal for the 2021 season. Gleyber is under team control through the 2024 season. He’s a two time All Star, finished third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2018, and received MVP votes in 2019.

What Did Gleyber Do This Offseason?

He went home to Caracas for a little while.

He and Mrs. Gleyber went to Aspen.

He sold underwear.

He did advertisements for some pain reliever where he drove around in an Audi.

Some Fun Gleyber Highlights

Gleyber playing with Rookie and Derby in Trenton

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Gleyber Torres vs Gary Thorne

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Gleyber ALDS Game 4 Moon Shot

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Gleyber Walk Off Against Cleveland

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Gleyber’s 2020

So I think the general consensus during the season was that Gleyber had a disappointing season last year and wasn’t very good, but that is absolutely not the case, at least offensively.

During the regular season alone Gleyber put up a 106 WRC+, which is worse than his normal seasons but still better than league average. He was the 15th best shortstop in WRC+ last season (min 150 PA) and that’s with having a huge slump and a complete loss of power for a month last year while dealing with an injury. He started to heat back up and look better in September, and then he was back to perennial All Star Gleyber Torres in October.

So normally you wouldn’t take a whole lot from a postseason run, because in a normal season you’re talking about seven games vs 162 games, but this past season you’re talking about over 15% of his total plate appearances for the year. If you combine his regular season numbers with his October numbers, then all of a sudden that 106 WRC+ jumps all the way up to 128 WRC+, which would have been a career high for him.

So then, why was it a “disappointing” season at the plate for him? Ironically, I think part of the reason why he struggled was because of something he made huge strides in.

Gleyber almost doubled his BB% year over year (7.9% to 13.8%). He took a lot more pitches, and was a lot more selective about what he swung at.

His zone swing% went down nearly 9%, his meatball swing% went down 15%, his first pitch swing% dropped 12%. He mentioned this spring that he felt uncomfortable last year with everything, and while the decrease in his chase% and increase to his BB% was nice, part of what made Gleyber who he is was his ability to go out and there and be aggressive at the plate and crush the ball.

He also dropped from the 82nd percentile in barrels to the 11th percentile, so he stopped crushing the ball as often as he was. Now, the good thing is, he didn’t lose his power or anything- his grounder/line drive/fly ball percentages where basically the same, he didn’t change his approach to being a pull only guy or something like that as those splits stayed roughly the same, his exit velocity and launch angle were similar to previous years — it essentially comes down to Gleyber not getting the barrels and being a little too selective, which is honestly a good problem to have.

If Gleyber can marry his new control over the strike zone with his ability to crush pitches, then you’re not just looking at an All Star level player, you’re looking at a legitimate MVP candidate. Do I expect Gleyber to be hitting nearly 40 bombs again like he did in 2019? No, but he’s a 24 year old who was focusing on making an improvement and by the end of the season he was even better than who he was before, and that’s ignoring how bad his start of the season was.

Defensively he was bad. I don’t think Gleyber will ever be a good defensive player, let alone a good defensive shortstop, but I do think he has it in him to be an acceptable defensive shortstop.

He struggled on balls hit to his right, which as a shortstop is a pretty difficult play to make. He’s a year older now, he’s in better shape, he’s not dealing with a leg injury, I’d expect him to be closer to the 20th best defensive shortstop than the worst in the league going forward. Yankees may want to consider having him start a little more back defensively to give him some extra room to make the play, and Gleyber needs to focus a bit more when throwing to first.

Gleyber is also kinda slow for a shortstop, even before he had to deal with a leg injury this year, but unlike having the ability to improve defensively or at the plate, this is more or less what you’re going to get baserunning wise.

Gleyber was also surprisingly below average against four seam fastballs last year after murdering them in 2019, and really struggled to slug any sliders or curveballs like he had in the past. To me this seems like more of a flukey thing than a cause for concern.

Lastly, I’d be sad if I forgot to mention this: the dude is straight up clutch. The bigger the moment, the better Gleyber plays.

Optimistic Projection for 2021

Gleyber is dominant and puts up a monster season. He combines the power and slugging from his previous seasons with a great command of the strike zone and is an obvious All Star and wins the AL MVP. He’s only at a -1 OAA for the season at shortstop but puts up a 175 WRC+ and takes the mantle of being the best Yankee and the number three hitter in the lineup. Torres plays 150 games, hits 35 homers, and has huge moments throughout the season and pitchers are so afraid of DJ in the one spot and Torres in the three spot that Judge gets to feast on pitches in the zone. Gleyber then wins World Series MVP by hitting over .450 in a sweep over the Dodgers and pimps a bat flip on Trevor Bauer after bombing one into the upper deck in Yankee Stadium. The Yankees and Gleyber agree to a 10 year extension for over $250m as Torres becomes the face of baseball.

Pessimistic Projection for 2021

Gleyber is still good, but not elite and struggles at points through the season with a couple big slumps. He still ends up with a 108 WRC+ and 18 homers, but his defensive struggles end up affecting him at the plate as a lot of people wonder what the Yankees will do with him. Gleyber does well in the postseason, but an error blows a game wide open in the ALDS as they get eliminated early on. Torres ends up moving off shortstop to second base in the offseason as the Yankees have to trade Gio Urshela to have DJ play third base.

Sam’s Official Gift Basket Projection for 2021

I am all in on Gleyber for 2021. I think of all the guys on the team last year, his poor season was the flukiest and I think that he’s right back to being at least an All Star player and ends the season as the Yankees best position player. The issues he had at the plate are all super fixable assuming he can get back to barreling the ball like he had in the past, and having a full season and being ready to go right off the bat will make it even easier for him as well. My guess is he ends up around a .300/.400/.550 slash line and makes people realize they forgot about Gley.

Join us tomorrow when Evan takes you Inside the Gift Basket of a literal hitting machine, DJ LeMahieu.

#Gleyber Torres #new york yankees #Yankees #Baseball #MLB #Breakdown

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lightcomingthroughthedarkness · 4 years

Note

Just wanted to send you some love. With the last few asks it’s reminding me of when this all went down. And how hurt and truly lonely I was !!!! I join fandom because I’m going through a hard part of my life and I love Bob and Eliza !!!!!!!!!for different reasons but mostly because they both helps me to accept who I am. Especially the hard and difficult parts of me that I didn’t think others would like. And when all this came out and so many people were just downright nasty I felt super alone because 1. I still love these people and didn’t (couldn’t) believe this. Second to the life experiences stepping back and looking at things logically a statement did not lineup. Too many holes and “facts”that just weren’t true. Not to mention it was super suspicious that she let it out at the time that she did after being super nasty and called out for it

2. But even though I was firm in my belief in OK with that it was super lonely to be at the time one of the only people who believe that I believed in din hey Bob and Eliza and thought they were in the right. You were one of the first to that I saw to stand and say yo this isn’t right and this is why I believe what I believe and still say that you like them. It was a lifeline for me and I just wanted to thank you again for helping someone in a time of need by just being yourself 💕💕💕🥺🥺. I’m in a good place now I’ve blocked all those I need to be blocked and I’m following the right people cause I don’t see that hate anymore

------

First of all, I didn't mean to bring all this up again, which is why I was unsure of answering the ask in the first place. But I thought it was important to just say something because I've seen so much nonsense lately and in whatever way, I just wanted to address that.

I'm very touched that you could find something comforting on my blog when you needed it most. It's very sweet and I'm very happy you had somewhere to turn when you needed it. Though, I would be remiss if i did not share that appreciation with all of those who sent asks in support of fellow fans, of people who reached out to others and who helped each other.

But most of all, I'm so happy that you have blocked those accounts and that you are doing well. It has definitely helped me as well. Mute and block. It's a superpower.

You are definitely following the right people. Sending love back. 💕

#beliza #fandom wank #ask answered

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thanksjro · 4 years

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The Death of Optimus Prime: Running from Our Responsibilities, in Stereo

It was 1986, and Hasbro murdered me on the silver screen to make room for the new toy line, emotionally scarring hundreds of thousands of children all over the world.

Optimus Prime has woken up on a planet he doesn’t recognize, with nothing but a busted Matrix and the stars overhead to help him figure out what’s happened. At first, he thinks he’s dead- a fair assumption, considering his surroundings. It’s looking a lot like hell at the moment.

Damn Optimus, you good? Need to talk about it? Should we go get Rung?

He recognizes the constellations as ones that would be visible from Cybertron, which doesn’t bode well for the fate of the planet. He thinks he might be in the past, but the missing moon seems to knock that theory on its ear. Perhaps the future, one where the Manganese Mountains have been eroded away, and the corpses of the Sweeps are still laying around.

Hmm. Maybe not actually, seeing how erosion and decay works.

Deciding to just see where the day takes him, Optimus wanders over to the ruins of Iacon, where he finds something rather curious: a populace.

You’re going to need a bit more of a repaint if you want any of these guys as toys.

Optimus gets recognized by someone- though he calls him Orion Pax, so it’s probably been a minute- who yells at him about the honestly ridiculously-long war. This guy is what’s referred to as a NAIL- Non-affiliated Indigenous Life-form, meaning he’s neither an Autobot nor a Decepticon.

Sideswipe and Whirl come by to make sure the NAIL isn’t bothering Optimus, and by that I, of course, mean that they’re here to be vaguely threatening because that’s the only way they know how to interact with anything anymore. The lack of a war is going to hit these guys HARD.

Whirl’s first little morsel of characterization in a comic, and it’s a pun. That’s how you know he’s going to be violent and angry at the world.

Optimus gets taken to Autobot High Command, where Rodimus and Bumblebee are trying to coordinate the entirety of Cybertron without causing any more incidents than necessary. Turns out Optimus has been missing for almost a month, but life doesn’t stop happening, even when the space-pope is seemingly dead. Rodimus gives him the skinny on what’s happened in the last few weeks.

Throwing the Matrix into Vector Sigma seems to have kickstarted Cybertron’s heart, which is why it currently looks like hell- it’s primordial. Bumblebee called all their Earth friends back to Cybertron, seeing as they needed all the help they could get getting things back up to speed.

Then all the NAILs started showing up. Turns out, Vector Sigma had shot off a sort of beacon, alerting every Cybertronian to the fact that Cybertron had been reborn. Of course, when they showed up, they probably were expecting something a little more… attractive, we’ll say, as opposed to the current, lava-y landscape.

This is Metalhawk. He’s a NAIL, and has to enter rooms by side-stepping, because his arms are silly. He and Optimus seem to have a past, though it’s probably been a bit. Metalhawk was opposed to the idea of factions from Day One, though if he had to pick one to side with, he seems to be a bit more soft towards the original ideology Megatron had been pushing, back when he was a writer instead of a warlord. He currently wants Optimus and his Autobot friends to leave the planet, and implies that they could potentially be forced out by the growing forces of the NAILs who are returning to the planet in droves.

Rodimus cuts in, saying that surely they can fix the planet with the magic of the Matrix, and then everything will be hunky dory!

Yeah, small problem there.

So, with the bad news about the Matrix shared, Optimus is shown all the redecorating Bumblebee and Rodimus have been getting up to while he’s been gone. Like the Decepticon prison they’ve fashioned out of the smoking remains of the Kimia facility.

Cyclonus is here too, and he’s mad as hell about it. That rat creature is Ratbat. He’s a disgraced senator.

Comic books are wild.

This is a temporary solution, of course, because this particular sort of housing is inhumane and illegal, and they’re going to have to do something with these POWs eventually. Perceptor calls Optimus with news about the Matrix.

You can tell Roberts is on this script because everyone’s apparently deep in the throes of depression, and has been for ages.

Optimus heads back to the workshop and finds Perceptor, and also Rewind. Rewind’s here because he’s an archivist, and he’s sussing out the inscription that Perceptor found on the inside of the Matrix. It’s old. Very old. So old, in fact, Rewind has a difficult time trying to translate it into modern language, though he’s got a few things.

Optimus, because he held the Matrix, knows that this refers to the Guiding Hand, though the details aren’t so clear, now that the Matrix is busted and gone forever.

OR IS IT?

Yes, it is, but now that it’s broken, the Matrix has revealed its true nature.

When you shine a light through half the Matrix, you get a real sweet light show that turns out to be a galactic map.

Over at the spaceport, Metalhawk is schmoozing up his fellow NAILs, before his plot-sense starts tingling and he jumps into the sky to see what bullshit the Autobots are about to pull now.

Back at High Command, there’s a riot outside, complete with a lynching reenactment featuring Optimus Prime.

This has all happened over the course of a couple of hours, by the way.

Inside, the lads are discussing the Matrix map, and Drift is regaling everyone with the history of the Knights of Cybertron, the guys who made Cybertron super rad during the Golden age and then fucked off to try and spread the good word of being cool and nice to other planets. Bumblebee thinks it’s a load of bunk. Prowl is weirdly pretty again, and also an asshole.

STOP IT.

Rodimus is totally on-board with this idea, though. He’s completely ready to pick up and leave Cybertron, the factions, and most importantly the war, completely behind.

Bumblebee, of course, doesn’t want to be left alone with the bureaucratic nightmare that is currently warless Cybertron, and tries to tell Rodimus how to live his life. Bumblebee has forgotten that Rodimus is pretty much a 15 year-old boy, and he’s not his real dad.

Rodimus is going to try and learn from the old ways- after all, if the Knights of Cybertron were as great as the stories say, surely they could teach the modern Cybertronians a thing or two!

Then High Command explodes.

One of the NAILs outside threw a power cell at the building. The situation is spiraling out of control rapidly, and Prowl’s going to need to make some calls.

Prowl was one of the few characters Roberts wanted for MTMTE that he didn’t get, so it would seem he’s using him to the utmost of his ability while he still can. Geezum crow, look at that bastard go. Cold as ice.

Prowl orders the Decepticon prisoners be released. Ratbat tries to take advantage of the situation, but nobody cares about Ratbat. The Decepticons start pummeling the NAILs, acting as crowd control in exchange for not being locked inside the barrel of a giant gun. The true nature of the I/D chips they’re all outfitted with is revealed: Inhibitor/Deterrence chips can A) prevent usage of alt-modes and built-in weapons, and B) kill you if you get too mouthy.

Who the HELL is throwing fireballs??

This is a huge mess, and it only gets bigger as Metalhawk’s hit with a laser. Optimus calls for him to be brought in for repairs, and the narrative returns to just who’s going on the space adventure with Drift and Rodimus.

Oh, and Magnus. He wants in on this, too, which surprises Prowl and Bumblebee greatly. His reasoning is pretty sound though: the Autobots aren’t wanted on Cybertron, and maybe the Knights of Cybertron can teach them a thing or two about living peacefully.

This sets Prowl the hell off.

If this seems like a case of “thou doth protest too much”, that’s because it is. You see, once upon a time, ol’ Prowler here tried to run away from the war, only for the ship he was on to get shot down over the Manganese mountains.

This confession makes everyone feel a little awkward, and Bumblebee is about to tell Prowl that he can leave the planet if he really wants to, but is distracted by the fact that Optimus has vanished. Oh no, where has he gone?

Why, he’s addressing the people of course, with all the sensitivity and thoughtfulness a leader ought to have in such a tense moment. His final point is an interesting one- Optimus himself is a giant burning torch for the war and everything it put the planet through. He offers the NAILs this: in exchange for allowing the other Autobots to stay on Cybertron, he will leave, never to return. Self-exile is an interesting approach, Optimus. Let’s see how that plays out for you.

Later on, Rodimus and Bumblebee are talking. Bumblebee agrees with Optimus’ decision, as well as his reasoning for it, and it’s very much implied that if Optimus hadn’t exiled himself, Bee would have done it for him. Bumblebee’s ready for everyone to start working together to make Cybertron a better place.

Bumblebee didn’t look up the IDW lineup for 2012, it would seem.

The fact that Rodimus is still going to try to find the Knights of Cybertron leads to a huge blowup between the two of them. Bumblebee needs him here to start fixing Cybertron, while Rodimus thinks that the Knights will be able to solve all their problems, if they can just bring them back. Their squabbling brings Optimus out of the shadows, and he hands them a half of the Matrix each, before walking off again.

This is like the opposite of a get-along shirt.

And with that, Optimus Prime fucks off into space, takes up the name of Orion Pax once again, declaring Optimus Prime dead, and is now finally, finally free.

I give it about a year before he’s back.

That’s the end of The Death of Optimus Prime, the one-shot that sets up all the final pieces to the dual publication of Robots in Disguise… and More Than Meets the Eye.

#transformers #jro #the death of optimus prime #maccadam #Hannzreads #text post #long post #comic script writing

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kyouxa · 5 years

Text

Diabolik lovers Lunatic Parade: Shu Sakamaki (Chapter 3)

Can I get a massage too?(๑•́ω•̀) Honestly, if anyone still has someone they want me to translate from Lunatic Parade in the future please type an anon ask and I will definitely see it! **Disclaimer: だるい = Darui (I wrote 『bothersome』 instead of it’s actual meaning “dull or sluggish” because I felt like it sounded more like Shu so please don’t yeet at me, thanks)

Monologue

"Healing Rigel-sama who lost his love and closed his heart''

The mission of preparing a party for him began.

I want to make a place where he can remember the good memories of himself and his wife.

I want to do whatever I can do to make exactly that happen—

Place: Hotel Mondstein — Guest room

Yui: (First of all, we somehow have to find the perfect venue)

Shu-san.

Where do you think would be a good place for Rigel-sama to remember his time with his wife?

Shu: Oh... what about the gondola station?

Yui: The gondola station... really... ?

Shu: If the information from the familiar are correct, then Rigel and his wife met each other there.

It seems that it had happened during the parade.

If you want to bring him to a place of good memories, I think this would good timing.

Yui: That’s right... ! I will talk to the owner right away. Please wait here!

Shu: ...Hey, wait a moment.

*Shu comes closer*

Shu: Are you really going alone?

Yui: Oh, umm... I don‘t want Shu-san to move for me because I know it’s bothersome for you...

Shu: Oh, I might change my mind. It‘s bothersome.

But... I‘ll go.

Yui: Is that okay for you?

Shu: Yes. Let’s go before I change my mind again.

Place: Demon world — Gondola landing

Yui: (The Illumination is reflected on the surface of the water and it sparkles... how beautiful)

If they really met in such a place, it will surely be a good memory for him.

Shu: — It would be bad if he’d remember something he didn’t want to.

You were the one who was scared of me at the beginning as well.

Yui: T-That was... Yes, that’s actually right...

But all of those things turned out to be good memories for me now.

Shu: Well... that’s fine for me... haha

— Now

If you want this as the party venue, you should talk the Gondolier in the back for permission.

Yui: Yes, understood!

(Okay, let‘s go and ask him)

Place: Demon world — Rubin canal

Gondolier B: Welcome! Are the two people of you goin‘ on a ride?

Yui: Oh... um...

I'm sorry we don’t, in fact, we came here because there was something we wanted to ask you.

Gondolier B: Ask me... ?

Yui: Yup.

Actually, we are planing on throwing a party...

And I would like to borrow this place as the venue for it.

Gondolier B: Heh!? You want to throw a party here!?

Yui: Yes. It really needs to be this certain place.

Gondolier B: Even if you say that. There are many customers durin‘ the parade and it’s my time to earn money.

Yup, that is the point, that’s why I can’t reply easily to you.

Yui: Th-That‘s right...

(No matter how much I beg it probably still will be unreasonable, right?)

(But there is no better place for us to hold the party for Rigel-sama than here...)

Gondolier B: It’s bad, but I’m busy today. Come early tomorr-

Shu: ....*yawns*

Gondolier B: ..... ! Y-You are... Karlheinz-sama's...

Whaat! You should have said it way earlier.

Okay, you can hold the party on the gondola and do anything. I’ll excuse my bad and awkward behavior.

That’s why... you should tell your father from me.

Shu: Well, if I feel like it.

Yui: (... W-Wow... it was really as I expected)

Place: Demon world — Gondola landing

Shu: Haa... I was able to secure this place.

Now, what’s next?

Yui: Umm...

The next thing should be necessary as well which contains food and drinks.

I'm mainly wondering if I can ask someone from the hotel ...

But I‘d like to arrange a special dish that he maybe ate with his wife in the past.

Shu: There certainly were informations from the familiar that they both liked sweet things.

Yui: Yes. I really liked the store "Garette de Loire" in the human world...

Why aren’t we going to a sweetshop in the Demon world that makes the same?

Shu: ... I don’t mind it, so let’s go.

Yui: (Fufu, I’m glad that you’re coming with me properly while saying something like that)

Place: Demon world — Zafia confectionery store

Vampire woman A: Wow, it looks delicious! As expected from the Makai-no saffir candy store!

Vampire woman B: It’s really hard to move to a different flavor from one day to another day. I honestly want to eat them all ...

Vampire man C: If this is what we all are thinking about, I‘ll pick everything from the left side today.

Yui: (Wow... it‘s very crowded... just moving around is already difficult...)

Shu: .....

You were the one wanting to come here. I am... sleeping over there.

*Shu leaves*

Yui: (Nn... he is just hiding himself in the eat-in corner...)

(I know that it surely is painful to get through this crowd)

(But I‘d like to talk to the shop staff as soon as possible...)

???: There! Look at this, look at this! The cake will be passing through!

Vampire woman A: Ah, the Manager! This smell... oh it’s really unbearable!

Yui: (That’s the store manager! Alright, let’s try talking a little... !)

Oh, uhm! I‘m sorry!

Confectionery restaurant manager: Hmm? What’s the matter? I'm currently really in a hurry, come back later!

Yui: Please wait, just a little! I have some sweets that I want to order on the last day of the parade ...

Confectionery restaurant manager: Order on the last day? That’s impossible! I'm particularly busy now and now you ask me to borrow my hand!

Ahh I’m super busy! Busy! I‘m drowning in work already!

Yui: (Such...)

I-If thats so...

Please let me help you! I-I will do my best!

Confectionery restaurant manager: That’s impossible! That’s indeed impossible.

*More costumers come in*

Confectionery restaurant manager: You! If you ask for help, please do so!

It’s okay even if I think about the previous case!

Yui: Huh? Y-Yes! Understood!

(I‘ll try my best to help out!)

Vampire woman D: From this cake, I‘d like to have three more slices.

Yui: Y-Yes!

Vampire woman E: Hold on! I was lined up first! First of all, give me four of these!

Yui: (That‘s hard! I‘m already busy now... !)

Shu: .....

*yawns* ...

Yui: (Oh... Shu-san seems to have woken up)

Shu: ... Just what are you doing?

Yui: As you can see, I’m helping out in this store.

Vampire woman A: The clerk there! Stop talking!

Yui: Aye!

(Agh!? The tableware got broken!)

Shu: Need help? With this?

Yui: (Uhh... I first of all I need to clean that up!)

Shu: Oh my... you really need help ...

Yui: (Hm, where did Shu-san go... ?)

Vampire woman A: Uhh, I'd like to have one pie with a modest sweetness if possible ...

Which one is better ...

Shu: ... How about this one here? The sugar is modest and the sweetness of the fruits stands out.

Vampire woman A: Oh, so you know about it.

Yui: (Wow...)

Vampire woman A: Yeah okay... I'll get this one which was recommended.

Shu: Thanks

Well... that’s how it should be.

Yui: That was amazing Shu-san! The customer was also overjoyed!

Shu: I would say, I‘ll do this never agai—

*More costumers arrive*

Vampire woman B: I heard that there is a shop assistants here who is familiar with cakes?

Vampire woman C: Could I maybe have a recommendation as well~?

Vampire woman B: Perhaps are you the managers brother!?

Vampire woman E: It‘s officially decided!

Yui: (Uhh... they really like it)

Shu: .....

To go back to sleep... I can just dream about it.

Yui: (Fufu...)

*time passed*

Confectionery restaurant manager: Yeehaw! Thank you very much for today! You two were great help!

I really need to show my appreciation...

Let me hear the story of the candy that you wanted me to make.

Yui: I-Is that okay?

Confectionery restaurant manager: Sure!

Whether it's the last day of the parade or not, as the store manager, I'll promise to do it!

Yui: (I did it!)

Confectionery restaurant manager: So? What kind of candy is it?

Yui: Uhh—

*time passed*

Confectionery restaurant manager: Then I will think of something special to make it for you.

Look forward to see it on the last day of the parade.

Yui: Thank you!

Place: Demon world — Glimmer Main Street

Yui: We did it thanks to you Shu-san. Thank you very much.

Shu: It was only because of my hard work... Haa...

— So? What’s the next thing? The preparations are not over yet, right?

Yui: Um, what about the gondola decoration?

I really want to decorate it nicely for him.

Shu: Then ... I think the "Reine • de • Azi" store is good.

Yui: "Reine • de • Azi"... ?

Shu: You will understand once we go there. Follow me.

Yui: (..... ?)

Place: Demon world — Reine • de • Aji store

Yui: (Wow! There are lots of beautiful ornaments ...!)

(I cant even decide what to pick)

What kind of decoration do you think would look good?

Shu: There’s no matter what you pick. There is no particular commitment anyway.

But, rather than the decoration I’d like to—

Yui: (Oh... there’s an old antique violin laying there)

*Shu plays some tones*

Shu: I think music would be more important for the party.

Yui: That may be true

Oh ... I know we got a lot to do, but what about Shu-san playing something?

Shu: No. It‘s bothersome.

Yui: (Ah, I thought that he would say that ...)

... But I really want to hear Shu-san’s violin skills after a long time.

Shu: .....

Yui: Is that a no?

Shu: Haa... maybe just a little

.....

*Shu starts playing*

Yui: (Those really are beautiful tones...)

*someone comes closer*

Shu: ...Who?

???: .....

Shu: Aji, is that you?

Yui: (So you mean, this is Aji?)

Reine • de • Aji: ...What is the eldest son of the Sakamaki family doing in such a place?

Shu: There is no need to explain myself. It doesn’t matter to you anyways.

Reine • de • Aji: Hmph... if you don’t want to answer, I don’t want to sell anything either.

Yui: (T-That‘s bad... !)

Aji-sama! Actually, we will throw a party for a certain person...

That’s why we came here to buy some decorations for that time.

Reine • de • Aji: ...I see...

Well, I’ll believe that this is really the exact reason why you two came to my store.

Because there is an abundant product lineup...

There is something really special I have.

Here, this is it.

Yui: A rocket pendant... ?

Reine • de • Aji: It’s not just a pendant

If you put a picture of someone in this, the person wearing the pendant will become a special substitute which makes them become that person.

Yui: T-That’s amazing!

(Now... that means we just have to put a picture of Rigel-sama's wife in there)

Reine • de • Aji: Well, this was just to show you. I’ll clean up, clean up now.

Yui: Ah! Please wait! Could you please lend me the pendant?

Reine • de • Aji: You want me to lend this?

Even if you say that...

Yui: Could you please lend it to me... ?

Reine • de • Aji: .....

Then there is one condition.

Instead of lending this pendant, you should bring Reine de Aji something more enjoyable than this.

Yui: ... Aji-sama... ?

Reine • de • Aji: If you can‘t think about something. Then what are you going to do?

Yui: P-Please let me do it! I will really do my best!

Place: Glimmer street — Eisen alley

Yui: (I have may have responded too vigorously... )

How do you think Aji-sama would be pleased?

Shu: .....

Yui: Shu-san?

Shu: Well... thinking about it, is that pendant necessary in the first place?

Yui: (I know you don’t feel like it‘s necessary. But...)

I‘m pretty sure Rigel-sama would be highly pleased by it.

Shu: .....

... Well, I understand it if you say it like that.

Anyway, we should go and ask some passengers in the city about what Aji could possibly like.

Yui: Y-Yes... !

Place: Demon world — Glimmer Main Street

Vampire man A: Hmm... to be suddenly asked something like that

Yui: Anything is fine. Any trivial thing...

Vampire man A: .....

Yui: .....

Vampire man A: I‘m sorry, but I don‘t know. You should ask others.

Yui: ... okay... thank you

Vampire man A: See you

Shu: *yawns* ... This was our 10th time already... what will you do? Have you given up?

Yui: ... No, I did not. I think we just need to change the place. I‘m sure it‘s that...

(I‘ll do my best without worrying about anything!)

Place: Glimmer Main Street — Front wagons

Yui: (There is even more traffic than before now. Someone in here must know something)

(Okay... ! Let‘s ask that person at first)

Excuse me... ! I‘d like to ask you a little question...

Vampire man B: ... Oh. What do you want?

Yui: Do you know Aji-sama‘s store on the other side of the street?

Vampire man B: Yes, I know it.

Yui: Actually, we want to please her... do you know any good treasure she‘d want?

Vampire man B: .....

... hmm...

Yui: (Maybe this time... !)

Vampire man B: I‘m sorry, but I don‘t think I can help you.

Yui: ... Oh, uhm, is that so...

Vampire man B: .....

The only thing that I know is... that she grows plants as her hobby

Yui: ... growing... plants?

Vampire man B: Yeah.... well then, i‘m sorry to rush off but I have a meeting

Yui: T-Thank you very much!

(Plants, huh...)

That’s it Shu-san. What about giving a special plant to Aji-sama?

Shu: ... I got no idea. I don‘t know if she really would be pleased or not either.

Yui: But, now we can at least rely on this kind of information we got...

Are there any shops around here that sell exotic plants?

Shu: Well, there are some.

Yui: (Okay... ! let‘s go then!)

Place: Demon World — Horticultual Shop

Yui: That place is...

(There are a lot of plants that I haven‘t even seen before!)

... Wow...

Shu: Not really. There are just pretty common plants for the demon world. I don’t think Aji would be pleased by any of them.

In other words... did I really just waste my time on walking here?

Yui: I-I‘m sorry...

(Hmm... we‘re in trouble. We once again need to start from the beginning)

???: ... Hmm? Welcome, dear customers.

Soun store owner: If you‘re looking for something don‘t hesitate to ask me, I‘m the owner of this store.

Yui: Thank you very much.

Soun store owner: Because it is only a boasting that you probably don‘t know anything about the flowers in the demon world.

Yui: ... That‘s right...

Which kind of flower would you give someone from the Demon world to please them with?

Soun store owner: All different kinds could make each person happy.

But... if you surely want to please everyone, the "ARE" flower would be the best.

Yui: "ARE"?

Soun store owner: Exactly. "ARE" is only blooming on the mountains.

Yui: It blooms only on the mountains... which part of the mountains is it?

Soun store owner: Don’t tell me... are you going to look for it?

Yui: If anyone would be pleased to get this kind of flower, I‘d like to go there if possible.

Soun store owner: I see

But I think it’s a shame, because it is quite difficult to get.

... Well, you will see for yourself once you get there. I‘ll show you the way on the map then...

Yui: (What does he mean?)

Place: Mine site — Entrance

Yui: (Um... i‘m surely we‘re close... next is the left...)

Place: Mine site — Underground lake

Shu: Hey... haven‘t we arrived yet?

Yui: Please wait. I think we‘re close to be there...

According to the map, there should be a cave around here.

Shu: Cave?

Isn‘t it this one?

Yui: Ah... !

Shu: Oh my. You were so focused on the map you couldn‘t even see what was around us.

Well, that is why it is not so hard to get lost while walking with no directions.

Let‘s go there quickly.

Yui: Y-Yes!

Place: Mine site — Selenite Crystal Cave

Yui: (Wow... somehow everything is sparkling...)

What is this... ?

Shu: It is a selenite. It seems that the cave was made out of it.

Yui: ... I see...

Shu: Hey, watch where you walk. Let’s go and search for the flower.

Yui: I agree

(In particularly, the store owner didn’t tell me anything about the flower)

(He just said that it would be in a spot where you couldn’t easily discover it...)

... Uhh...

..... ?

(I don‘t get it... where could it be?)

Shu: ... Oh. Hey, that’s probably it. I saw something glowing at the back.

Yui: Let‘s go

Monologue

It was a mysterious flower that we found on the other side.

It is in full bloom all around, giving off a warm light like a firefly that shines in the darkness. It’s so beautiful that I can‘t even believe it.

I reached out for the petals. However—

Place: Mine site — Selenite Crystal Cave

Yui: (Beautiful...)

Shu: This one seems to be a ghost flower.

Yui: Ghost flower?

Shu: Yes. It is a ghost-like flower that cannot be touched.

Yui: (That means it would disappear if I touch it)

(But... it really is beautiful. If you look at it, you really feel like as if it could make everyone happy)

(Including Aji-sama...)

... Now, Shu-san. Can you somehow carry this to Aji-san?

Shu: ... Haa...

You don‘t seem to give up, why don‘t you try it yourself?

Yui: (Uhh, this is... would it be okay for me to have it for awhile... ?)

(I will definitely try to think of something to get it out of here... !)

*time passed*

Yui: Ahh... another failure...

(No matter how gently I touch it, I can't change it‘s position to pick it up)

(I wonder if it is impossible ...)

Shu: *yawns*...

Yui: (Shu-san seems to be listening to music and yet he also seems bored ...)

(But ... I‘ll try it just one more time)

(It disappears if I touch it, so I should be careful ...)

(Then, why don't you scoop the whole soil instead?)

(Once again... okay... !)

.... ! Look at it Shu-san! The flower is still remaining without disappearing!

Shu: Seems like it.

Yui: Now we can take it back to Aji-sama ...! Oh, that is good!

Shu: .....

No, it wouldn’t remain that long.

Lay it down and wait a moment.

Yui: ..... ?

*time passed*

Yui: (How long should I wait? It’s already been over 5 minutes later)

Shu-san this is really—

*flower begins to disappear*

Yui: Kya!

Shu: …I knew it.

The gardener would have done the same if the whole soil was solved.

Yui: Th-That might be right...

(But like this we won‘t return to Aji-sama’s shop in 5min)

After all it is impossible...

Shu: ...No, that is not the case.

Yui: Eh... ?

Shu: I will ask you again... Do you really want to borrow that pendant?

Yui: I uhh... of course I want!

Shu: Then I will help.

— Hey, take the ghost flower from the soil again.

Yui: Y-Yes

(What exactly is he planing? Anyway, I will believe in Shu-san ...)

I did it.

Shu: Okay. And then...

Yui: (What will you do by picking up a stone ...?)

Shu: How about this— !

*bats flying around*

Yui: Kya!? There are bats!?

(I was surprised by the sounds the stone made! That's where the bats hide—)

*Shu hugged Yui*

Yui: Shu-san!? Just what are you... !?

Shu: If you give these guys 5 minutes, they will immediately bring us to the store.

Yui: I see—

— Wait, they what!?

Shu: Wake me up once we arrived.

.....

Yui: (Shu-san really is like that...)

(O-Okay. If nothing happens, we really can make it just in time)

Monologue

I made up my mind and decided to be quietly transported by the bats.

A quick glance over the ground showed that the parade continued.

If the Earl just didn’t stole my heart, I would go there with Shu-san as well... Such thoughts went beyond my mind.

I shook my head, cut off my thoughts and continued to pray that the ghost flower in my hands would not disappear.

Place: Demon world — Reine • de • Aji store

Yui: (I managed to arrive before the ghost flower disappeared!)

Shu-san! Please wake up! We arrived at the store!!

Shu: Nn... *yawns*...

We got here too fast. I want to sleep a little more...

Yui: Aji-sama might be able—

Reine • de • Aji: What is that fuss all about!?

Yui: Oh, Aji-sama!

Reine • de • Aji: It‘s you ...! Are you feeling like breaking my store in the anger of me not lending the pendant to you!?

Yui: N-No, that’s not it!

Please look at this! We wanted Aji-sama to be happy ...

Reine • de • Aji: Th-This is... it is a ghost flower...

It is a special phantom flower that I‘ve heard a lot about, but I’ve never seen one before...

Yui: (Oh, it disappeared...)

Reine • de • Aji: .....

Yui: (What should I do? Even if the bats helped us out I still couldn’t make it...)

(And now... it just disappeared...)

Reine • de • Aji: This just now was not a vision. I really saw a real ghost flower. I am …

It's completely fine, because I was able to see such a kind of flower in my store.

Did you really bother yourself to bring this to me?

Yui: I wanted you to be pleased ... but I'm sorry I could only show it to you a little...

Reine • de • Aji: It’s fine. I enjoyed it enough.

Besides, the flowers are beautiful because they die.

— Thank you. I am very pleased with this.

Yui: (T-Thats good! We did it...)

Reine • de • Aji: About the earlier story...

I‘ll surely lend you the pendant.

Yui: T-Thank you!

(I got it!)

Reine • de • Aji: There... the Sakamki one.

Shu: ...*yawns*

Reine • de • Aji: I honestly thought you guys would actually quickly give up on it.

But, you somehow managed to make me happy. Especially this young girl.

... This child really shows a lot of joy and happiness.

You really chose a nice partner. As expected from the eldest son of the Sakamaki family.

Shu: Thank you.

Yui: (Did his personality... just change? He may be a little shy after all)

Place: Hotel Mondstein — Guest room

Yui: (If you put a photo in this pendant and wear it, you can become that person)

(It's really strange when you think about it again.)

Anyway ... It looks like the party is fully organized now.

Shu: Yes

But ... you forgot one important thing.

Yui: What is it... ?

(What could he mean with "important"?)

We have a place, cake, and a surprise ... maybe…

Shu: .....

Yui: Maybe... ?

Shu: Haa...

Yui: Oh, uhm... would you mind telling me what I forgot to prepare?

Shu: Oh my...

*Shu comes closer*

— My effort

Yui: Yes?

Shu: Reward me.

Who do you think has prepared everything so far?

Yui: (From the beginning with the Gondola, it was impossible to proceed with everything without Shu-san's help)

Shu-san. Thank you very much for today.

I'm sorry for saying this so late.

Shu: Words are not enough.

If I don’t accept, then ... what else would you do?

Why don’t you ask me for something special once in a while?

Yui: Uhh...

(... what I can do ...)

Choices

1) — Massage Shu-san♡♡♡

2) — Write a letter of thanks

— Massage Shu-san♡

Yui: ... Oh, yes!

What about... giving you a massage?

Shu: Massage...

Yui: (Uh, I’m sure he feels exhausted)

Shu-san, you really worked hard today and that’s when a massage would be good.

Shu: Haha ... It might be good occasionally. Would you really like to do it then?

Yui: Y-Yes...

Shu: ...Hey. I honestly wouldn’t call this a massage. Try it with more passion.

Yui: Understood.

Shu: ... Hmm...

— Write a letter of appreciation

Yui: Then ... what about writing a letter of appreciation?

Like this I could show my appreciation in clear words...

Shu: .....

Yui: (Oh, he doesn’t look amazed)

Shu: Haa ... I'll just take what you said.

Yui: Yes...

(I wonder if it would have been much better to give him a massage ...)

(Let's do it next time)

end Choices

Yui: (In any case ... It was good that the party proceeded safely)

(Oh ... but ...)

(Shu-san, he didn’t really like the idea of the pendant)

(I wonder what’s the reason behind it?)

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sang-el · 4 years

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Thoughts on Fred the Fugitive

it’s the third episode of the last lineup of s2 of BH6 and we are getting some serious stuff. Fred has been the fugitive, and now it’s up to the rest of the crews to save him before he gets caught and potentially reveal their identities to the public. Do BH6 save Fred from the polices? Let’s find out! (SPOILER ALERT)

Cold opening; Fred wants to reinstate night patrol, but the rests refuse since the situation is still uncertain and unsafe to do the night patrol, and only to get out if there is any emergency situation. So, Fred tries to convice them with ‘emergency situations’; impressioning Obake, Alien, and Monster invasion, to of course, no work.

Fred finally does night patrol by himself, secretly, and asks Mini-max to come along, convicing him that being duo won’t be recognizeable by the polices “your logic is really nonsense... but i don’t need sensible logic to defend justice” that’s what she he said.

on the other plot, Aunt Cass is getting frantic to prepare herself for a ‘dinner’ with her ‘friend’, which Hiro finds out that her ‘friend’ is.... (drum roll) Chief Cruz. He brings Megan with him so she can stay with Hiro rather than being alone in her home. Baymax detects an increasing heart rates between Aunt Cass, and Cruz, indicating that there may be attraction to each other, which ofc both deny it, while rushing to the restaurant. Megan and Hiro comment of how weird they are.

After giving some lessons about narrating their night patrol, Fred and Mini Max begin to ‘swing’ on the night patrol, but Fred gets distracted with Mini Max speech and he hits himself to the ad board, creating malfunction on his suit.Fred tries to collect his ‘tongue’ but it stucks into a bus, dragging them, before Fred’s attempt to stop the bus throwing them into in front of a police officer. She sees them, and notices her fellows to catch after them.

Things going well (well not really) between Cruz and Cass on their dinner, before a message from his fellow, forces Cruz to leave the dinner, creates a disappointment on Aunt Cass’ face

After some chasing, Fred finally gets cornered in the alley. Fred asking for help to Mini-Max, before he breaks the fourth wall.....bizzarely

Megan and Hiro still discuss about how weird is Aunt Cass and Chief Cruz ‘having a dinner’, Baymax explains that there is some kinda attraction between them, and then ‘tease’ them if Hiro and Megan are attracted to each other too.... which they both embarassingly deny the explanation

so the shipping is starting to sail eh

Aunt Cass comes home early, and Hiro and Megan wonders where Chief Cruz is. Cass takes Megan home, not before Megan telling Hiro ‘Good luck’ (this revelation comes handy, eh? altho i was hoping Megan could involve in BH6 action again.... welll) and Hiro calls the rests to save Fred from getting jailed

Watching from far, Crews sees Cruz trying to open Fred’s suit, which coming to no luck since the malfunction of the suit keeps the suit locked..... which relieving Fred (Well it doesn’t last long since Cruz drag him into the police car anyway).

Hiro has the plan to distract the polices while the rests getting out Fred from the police car.... well it lasts shorter than he thought, since Cruz opts to chase Hiro and Baymax by himself instead. Honey Lemon has an idea to parkour do improvisation, and with suspenful fight, they do get Fred freed eventually, not before they have to freeze Felony Carl (who’s with him).

The chase begins, as they try to escape from the polices, Cruz, and the robot polices. the intense of the chasing, the robot crashing, the slippery, and flying... it’s the flight or fight situation (or both, i guess).

Hiro tells them to meet him at Murihara Woods, but others refuse since there is Bessies inhabit it, and it causes malfunctioning on their suits, which well, we know how it ended. they opt to go to the roof of the abandoned warehouse (or their lair?) instead, while Hiro and Baymax go with Murihara Woods (Well Chief Cruz needs to feel the nature of the woods, so he is coming)

At the Roof, crews blaming Fred for the difficult situation, while Fred regretting not to listen to them. they seems being cornered and there is nothing much they can do.

Tbh, while i would have pissed off over Fred for making the situation becomes more difficult, i kinda feel bad for him. the passion of being superhero does really glue on him. he loves being a superhero, and when the polices force him to work less on superhero thingy, he feels empty. he really wants to do the job, night patrol, saving the city, just like his father did. He wants to be like his father. The difficult situation happens on bh6 and that he is still desperate to do night patrol, is the passion of superhero... well on the other hand, he made them in a verge of being caught, which is well..... you decide

on the other side of coin,of San Fransokyo, Hiro and Baymax head into Murihara Woods (we meet again, mysterious woods). after some robot crashing and stuffs, they meet Bessie, which she responding them by blasting the magnet blast into Baymax and Hiro’s suit, making them stopped functioning. Hiro hides malfunctioned Baymax, and goes wander. luckily, Cruz and his Crewz get blasted too, and Cruz falls into the woods, and they eventually meet (as Hiro’s Hiro ofc).

Hiro lied to Cruz that he was there for sightseeing, and they meet Bessie again, which she seemingly on outrageous mode, they (luckily) fall into the mud pit, and Hiro orders Cruz to mask himself with the mud, so his scent won’t be recognizeable, and ofc it works well. Hiro and Cruz then have some discussion about why he is hating BH6 and he explains: he was one a fan of Boss Awesome when he was a child, but when he and his father got met by a super villain, he didn’t show up and his father died from protecting Cruz.

Well, we finally ‘the explanation’ about why he hates superheroes... but wait... i feel like there is something more about the story. i feel the explanation is rather cheap, and the purpose is to just answer a teenager question. if the explanation is true, then it is a cheap explanation. if there is any secret hidden, i wonder what’s more to come. I believe that he did want to tell Cass the reason why he moved to San Fransokyo again, which i believe it would have been the honest explanation about them. i don’t doubt the motivation of he hating BH6, i mean it makes sense, somebody used to love superhero stuff, but when they needed it, the superhero didn’t show up and it cost much for them... but the explanation is kinda too modest to be true, we’ll see for sure

moving on to the roof again; Fred finally decides to sacrifice himself as his responsibility for his mistake, so the rests can escape, which sounding not a good idea for the rests, but they let him. when he starts to see himself getting handcuffed, Mini Max intervenes him, and fix his suit, so his invisible feature can now be working. he then escape, with the rests of BH6.... well it’s kinda the same situation when Mochi saved Hiro, Krei, and Gogo from getting killed by Mutant Ned, it’s deus ex machina, but i’ll let it slide

moving on to Murihara Woods, Cruz explains that BH6 do more harm than they thought, and he oath to protect Megan and the city.... which creates Hiro the idea why Bessi was so outragous. he finally finds out, that the momma bear is missing her cubs (which is enough to confuse Cruz), and the mud wrapping the cubs’ body is the reason why Bessie couldn’t find them. they take the cubs back to their momma, and they are finally reunited. Cruz appreciates the good work to Hiro, and applauds that ‘this is why Megan likes you’ (hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.............................) which makes Hiro embarassed.

so the ship is sailing strong eh? kinda happy and suspicious at the same damn time. i really don’t know atm. i really don’t know man

also before we cut into the end, How the fuck can Bessie have cubs?

In the end, Fred is getting appraisal cake from his friends for taking his responsibility and sacrifice himseld for the friends, which tearing him, and he starts narrating again, before getting interrupted by the upset Gogo.

Conclusion:

The episode starts with high suspenful chasing and ends with somewhat a decent episode. the fight and the chase are stoing as usual, but the ending could have been better, i think. i’m not the biggest fan of deus ex machina twist ofc, but since there might be nothing it can do, i’ll let it slide, for a moment. the explanation of why Cruz hates BH6 is somewhat rather cheap and too modest, and i am hoping that there is more than that, and my guts feel that way. the ship is starting to sail to Cruz and Cass, and Hiro and Megan, and while it makes me hmmmmmming, i’m curious about what’s next. overall, a decent episode, and can’t wait to see the Major Blast and their debut.

#big hero 6 the series spoilers #big hero 6 the series #big hero 6 #bh6 season 2 #big hero 6 the series spoiler #fred the fugitive #sang el's thoughts

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askneruandhaku · 5 years

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Disrespectful behavior towards Neru, Haku and their fans

This is a letter of complaint, venting and opening my heart to you guys about a subject that has to do with the blog and matters lots to me.

I usually don’t address the disrespect towards fanloids and fanloid fans i’ve been seeing from Vocaloid purists since the very day i made this blog, but today is a heavy topic day.

As you guys know Miku is no longer gonna be a Vocaloid. What that means to the relationship between Piapro and Neru/Haku i do not know. If they’re gonna appear in Mega39s, if Crypton will use their image rights ever again and so forth is to be seen. But what’s going on in the Vocaloid Wiki is something i have seen coming for a couple of years now.

The Vocaloid WIki has been on a Vocaloid purism purge for a good couple of years. It started with the deletion of some character pages that were confirmed not Vocaloid like Alys or Meaw and it’s extending now to Teto, Vocalina, Acme Iku, etc. The topic of deleting fanloids was brought up by the same person who was doing the purge at the time and was ignored. Now that Miku is abandoning Vocaloid this user who to put it as kindly as i can has a hateboner for fanloids is taking the chance to get their pages completely deleted, arguing there’s the much copypasted, much more bare-bones and disorganized fanloid wiki for them if anything.

The initial purpose for Neru, Haku, Sakine, Hachune, etc having pages on the Vocawiki was to avoid confusion and correct the idea clueless fans have about them being Vocaloids. It’s there to inform and archive facts, story, trivia. I am someone against Vocaloid purism and deletion of information (fe all the interesting information on the Meaw project has been lost FOREVER wiped from the entire internet because their only wiki page with their profile and history was deleted by this same user) because it never hurts anyone to archive all the interesting tidbits things this Vocaloid fandom overall has gone through. It’s not occupying space on your computer so i don’t understand why it’s harmful for it to exist online for the curious to learn.

Because of my opposition to this direction i already had my qualms towards this user but on top of that they have given me reasons to believe they actually loathe Neru and Haku.

There are no comment sections more policed and controlled than Neru and Haku’s in the wiki. Any innocent fun cheeky comment under their page will recieve a lengthy reply from this person shutting the fan down because Neru/Haku are unoriginal Miku copies, “irrelevant” and “just memes”. It’s very disheartening for fans and disrespectful. They spread tons of misconception like saying Haku was made as a form of bullying users or that Neru and Haku have no merchandise since 2013. I myself bought official NeruHaku Piapro badges from the Animate store in my trip to Japan in 2017. Sega released in 14 a macaron set with Neru and Haku’s logos which Piapro reported on. Crypton staff featured a Haku song in their official “classics” Vocaloid collection in their playlist site Kiite... this same year.

Moreover, this person has a DA account which they use to comment rude things under MANY!! Neru/Haku artworks (such as "if they disappeared tomorrow it would have no impact") and try to get fans to ditch them for "real Vocaloids" instead, f.e. leaving comments like “sigh i’d love to see you draw Miku” (instead of Haku, etc).

Their crusade against Neru and Haku specifically borders on obsessive to me. I understand trying to clarify what's a Vocaloid and what's not to people, but why is it so important to you that you go out of your way to BROWSE arts of characters you dislike and pressure people into not drawing them any longer.

Bigger version here

Please don't listen to comments like this if you ever get them, block and move on. You're in the right to draw and love whatever characters you want no matter their recognition or label. There is a decently sized Japanese community of Neru and Haku fans over on Twitter so don't get a devastating picture of "nobody cares about those characters and if you do you're outdated" from these misinformed comments. Don't feel crazy or wrong for loving Neru and Haku in 2019 even OVER actual Vocaloids, there are many of us who love them still the most.

This is not my first rodeo with Vocaloid purists saying horrible things about Neru and Haku, however this time i had to speak on it since the person is involved in Wiki editing and it's going to affect the information available for all of us on their history, official links, artwork/concept art, most popular songs etc. This person themselves is also running the new Piapro Studio Wiki which means they will also have no future over there (even though Crypton’s Wat has recently tweeted being interested in including more characters in the MMD Piapro official model lineup in the future).

There is no point in protesting to such a stubborn person, so i’m just gonna archive Neru and Haku’s pages on the wayback machine and post links for everyone in the future. Personally i have no energy anymore to compile info, translate and make my own site about them.

But i want you guys to know. Even if i disappear for a year or two, for a long time. You all will always have a place here in my blog as Neru and Haku fans, you are valid. You enjoy whatever fanloid you want. You stan your dead fanloid, your dead Vocaloid, your Hibiki Lui, hell, whatever. Screw people who only see facts, software and data. Even their popularity “status” or recognition. Many people love Leon, Lola, Miriam, Piko... to this day. A fictional character dies when YOU decide it, when it doesn’t exist in anyone’s thoughts anymore. Not when a truly irrelevant “authority” figure Hereby Declares your Fave has Henceforth Become Irrelevant.

I made this blog at 19. I’m almost 30 now. And i still love Neru and Haku as much as when i first made this blog, if not even more!! Neru and Haku allowed me to meet some of the most amazing people in my e-life, like all of you askblog mods, but related to the subject in particular, some NeruHaku fans such as @ask-neru-and-or-haku who i still talk to every single day.

Life got super difficult and tragic for me so i’ve been having difficulties to post; partly it’s adulthood but partly just my luck (had three people die on me on the course of running this askblog... two a couple months ago). But thinking about Neru, Haku, the people they brought into my life. Makes me so happy.

I wish i could be back posting here everyday. I will be back for sure, from time to time, sporadically doing answerbombs in rampages... until i’m very old i hope :) but in the meantime have my blog as a safe Neru Haku loving space. A little shrine blog. I won’t tolerate disrespect towards my daughters here or bullying towards any of you Neru and Haku fans.

Phew... that’s it. Some good old venting and... sad but unsurprising news coming from this dry, canon-limited new wave in the fandom. Not “canon” to Vocaloid or Piapro? Gotta go!

RIP Neru and Haku Vocaloid Wiki entries (2009-20??)

#akita neru #yowane haku #vocaloid #yeah i DO dare use this tag fight me #OOC #sorry about so many OOC post but this really rustled my jimmies #this is not a callout post #its not to harass the person #but im concerned about you guys getting messages like these and getting discouraged or made feel uncomfortable for supporting the girls #and i don't want you all to become surprised if their wiki entries go oop- and disappear suddenly

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karazor--el · 4 years

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Supergirl's Brainy Teases Intense Resolution to His Double Agent Storyline

Supergirl star Jesse Rath teased Brainy's confrontation with Lex, some 'intense' scenes, the return of his sister Meaghan Rath and more.

In the fallout of "Crisis on Infinite Earths," Supergirl's Brainiac-5 has embarked on his most difficult mission yet. On the advice of his female doppelganger, he distanced himself from the Super Friends and aligned himself with Lex Luthor in order to keep an eye on the supervillain's moves against Leviathan. As Season 5 moves into its final two episodes, this will come to a head when Brainy makes a decision that could nullify all the sacrifices he made to protect those he loves.

Speaking to CBR, Brainy actor Jesse Rath previewed what's in store for his character in the last two episodes of the season. He promised his double agent storyline will be resolved by the end of the finale, although some consequences will extend into next season. He teased a confrontation with Lex, some "intense" scenes, the return of his sister Meaghan Rath and more. He also reflected on creating a new voice for uninhibited Brainy, what it is like to work with Jon Cryer and why he'd wear his new comic book-inspired costume all the time if he could.

CBR: This season has been big for Brainy. I mean, his personality got almost an entire overhaul. How did you go about crafting this new voice for him?

Jesse Rath: I thought, for episode 10, it was important that each of the Brainies be distinct from each other. There was five of them, including my sister [Meaghan Rath], and two of them had transformations within that same episode. It was emo Brainy turning into the evil Brainy, and our Brainy Prime turning into the uninhibited Brainy. So I thought it was very important to be able to tell it was a different Brainy and a transformation through their voice. I thought it was very important that you could tell just by hearing that it was a different person. So I wanted there to be a distinct sound that could differentiate them between each other.

So yeah, the green Brainy -- uninhibited Brainy, who they referred to in the script as Suave Brainy -- is just like... I like to think of Family Matters when Steve Urkel takes the potion and becomes cool and he becomes Stefan Urquelle. It was more just uninhibited, more confident in himself and socially grounded. That's kind of what I was going for.

We've also seen a shift in terms of his looks, with a move towards a more comic book-inspired costume. Obviously, you're not wearing that getup all the time, but how has that changed your hair/makeup experience when do you get into it?

The green and blonde look? I mean, I love it. I would wear it all the time, if I could. I'd wear it home. I'm a big fan. It's made my life a lot more comfortable. I don't know if it's easier, but it's comfortable. I no longer have to wear a prosthetic forehead on on my face. That makes a world of difference, because it's very uncomfortable. There's a wire running down my back to turn on the lights and the thing is hot and I'm not very expressive in it and so it becomes hard to emote. You know, it's just a grueling process to put it on and take it off. So the fact that that's not in the mix anymore and that all have to worry about is being painted and get the wig thrown on me, it definitely is more comfortable and it's made my life a lot easier.

And you know what? Even if it was harder to do and more uncomfortable to wear, I'd still do it, because I love that it's the comic-accurate look and I know that it means a lot to a lot of fans out there that I look like this beloved character from the books and it means a lot to me too. I want to do the character justice and I want him to look the best he can. So it was a long time coming and I couldn't be more happy with the results.

Brainy has acted almost like a triple agent all season. Now, with the understanding that the season was cut a bit short due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, is that something we'll see a resolution to when everything wraps up?

Yes. You will. All that stuff comes to a head in these next two episodes. When I heard that we were obviously going to have to cut episode 20 from the schedule, I felt okay about it because episode 19 is such a strong episode. It's a great episode. David Harewood directed it. It's epic, action-packed. The whole storyline with Brainy comes to fruition. It comes to a point, and we leave on a cliffhanger. Whereas with episode 20, before we had time to resolve everything and see how the pieces landed, episode 19 will end on big cliffhanger, which is cool. I love it. It kind of puts Brainy in a very dangerous situation and I'm excited for everyone to see it. I think very strong episode. So I'm not worried about it at all.

How does Brainy's dynamic with Lex Luthor continue to evolve?

I think their patience with each other is wearing thin for both of them. I think Brainy can't really take it anymore. You know, knowing that Lex is actively manipulating him is a very frustrating thing for Brainy. You see in episode 18, he pulls the trigger on a decision and things start to crumble around him. He's aware that Lex is manipulating him and that, I think, is part of the whole reason why he's forced to work with Lex. It's working against all of his instincts that would put him opposite Lex, and so working with him, it's not the easiest thing in the world to do. I think you see, in these next two episodes, how that all unfolds.

You've been working pretty closely with Jon Cryer this season. What has that experience been like?

Well, it's a lot of fun working with Jon. He is a tremendous actor. I learned a lot from working with him, as I do with all my cast mates. It's great. He's a really down-to-earth, funny guy. Yeah, I've had a lot of scenes with Lex and then some more to come. We have a great one -- we have a couple great ones coming up in 18 and in 19, so I'm excited for everyone to see that. I think he does such a great job as Lex. I couldn't imagine anyone else playing that role now. It's so much fun working with him and I can't wait for you to see these next two episodes and see what happens with this whole Lex and Brainy storyline.

I'll admit that I'm particularly fond of the BrainNia relationship. That said, how will we see their relationship continue to grow?

Without 20 in our lineup anymore, there are certain scenes that I don't know if we'll see or if we'll have to wait till next season to see. But in this next episode, in 18, Nia does confront Brainy about everything, about him lying to her, working behind their backs and Supergirl and Nia do confront Brainy about how he's been acting. And in 19, I believe she starts seeing dreams of him. So yeah, there'll be some Brainy and Nia scenes. I don't know if it'll all be sunshine and rainbows, but we do get a lot of Brainy and Nia stuff to come in these next two episodes.

Last year, you had this frankly incredible scene where you ran through a gamut of emotions in about 30 seconds. As the season winds down, will we get to see a spiritual successor to that?

The closest thing I could think to that scene would be episode 10. I think that scene at the end of Season 4 of going through all the different Brainies maybe was like an audition in a sense to show that I could play multiple different versions of the same character. And I think that's what I really got to do in episode 10, which was physically embody all these different versions of Brainy.

But in terms of what's to come in these next two episodes, I'm not saying you should expect a bunch of Brainy cycling through a bunch of personalities, but things get just as intense and emotions are high and the situation is very dangerous. There are some epic scenes to come, and I think you'll be happy with it and I'm very excited for everyone to see. I'm very excited to it see myself!

Can you tease your favorite moment or scene from an upcoming episode?

Well, in 19, my sister comes back to the show. She will return to the show. So I have a handful of scenes with female Brainy, or Meaghan Rath, or whatever you want to call her. So I'm very excited to see those scenes. I always love working with my sister and I'm very grateful for her to come and do the show, so I can't wait to see those scenes.

Martian Manhunter actor David Harewood has directed a few episodes, and now Supergirl herself Melissa Benoist has made her directorial debut on the series. Would you be interested in directing, yourself?

I would! Yeah, I've always wanted to direct. It's something that I think is so cool, that Warner Bros. and The CW, that they allow their actors to direct. It's pretty cool. You know, I don't know any other networks that give us this opportunity and it's definitely something I'd like to take advantage of in the future. I think it's pretty cool. Yeah, I would like to do that. So who knows! Maybe Season 14 I'll be directing some episodes.

You joke, but look at Supernatural!

Exactly! Yeah. Fly in on my private jet and direct a couple. [laughs]

With Melissa directing the last episode, what was that experience like for you?

Oh, it was so cool. We were all so happy for her and proud of her and trying to support her. None of us had any doubt that she would be great. She's always filming and editing stuff on her laptop and she has a great eye for this kind of thing and, as you saw, the episode was amazing. Such a great episode! I love that whole sequence with "The Man Who Sold the World" song over Lex -- that montage of Lex giving speeches around the world. I thought it was a great episode, and I think she is a very talented director. We're all just very happy for her and very proud of her.

Do you have any game/book/TV/film recommendations for everyone stuck at home?

I've been playing a lot of video games. I play Mario Kart with my friends online. We've been doing a lot of Zoom calls and playing Codenames and games with my friends and family online. I watched all of Sopranos with my girlfriend and we really devoured that. We've just been making our way through television series. We watched Community -- for the fourth time, for me. I love that show so much.

I'm really taking this time to just consume a bunch of television and entertainment. It's really kept me going throughout this whole process. My girlfriend Holly and I, we're bunkered down here in LA, and we've been having a great time with each other, and we've been enjoying our quarantine. So we're making the most of it.

Airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW, Supergirl stars Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers, David Harewood as Martian Manhunter and Chyler Leigh as Alex Danvers. The Season 5 finale will air May 17.

CBR.

#supergirl

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